VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) - The new commander of the 23rd Wing at Moody Air Force Base is making history as the first woman to ever hold the title.

Colonel Jennifer M. Short now leads the 23rd Wing, which is home to the Air Force's legendary "Flying Tigers".

It consists of six groups with 30 squadrons of more than 5,000 airmen and over 1,000 civilian employees.

Colonel Short says she is excited to become a member of not only Moody Air Force Base, but Valdosta as well.

"They're incredibly welcoming," said Colonel Short. "I mean, just going to Target and going through the line folks are like, 'Hey, welcome to Valdosta' and the folks here at the 23rd Wing, again just an incredible welcome as my family and I came into town and have been so helpful to make sure that we can get settled and have everything that we need and they're all excited to get to know us and include us and everything. It was just the warmest welcome we could have had."

Colonel Short says she's ready to hit the ground running.
WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - Wakulla County is showing a substantial loss in labor force, dropping from 77.3 percent in 1990 to 58 percent in 2016.

That's according to data collected by the State of Florida.

With these declining numbers comes the end of an era.

"Glenda's Country Store", which was open for nearly 58 years, has closed it's doors. And now, former employee's are cleaning out the store.

WTXL spoke with some of these employees about some of their favorite memories at the store.

The building is set to be demolished. The date for that has yet to be set.
ELLENSBURG  Dwight Bates has nothing against solar power, just as long as it doesnt come at the expense of good farmland.
Makor Rishon is a right-wing religious newspaper whose target audience is national-religious Jews in the settlements. Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at a Makor Rishon conference. Occasionally, I hear that the newspapers goal is to strengthen me from the right, he said. So Im telling you, thats unnecessary. First of all, I come from the right; and second, Im strong.

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The term right, which is currently on the rise, both in Israel and in the world, requires an update. In a crossword puzzle, the four-letter answer to the clue right-wing is hawk. Thats a mistake. A hawk is someone who favors the use of military force in times of conflict. The most hawkish Israeli leader was Shimon Peres. Right-wing is something completely different.

Teddy Roosevelt, who served as US president at the beginning of the 20th century, was considered a true hawk. The advice he gave his successors entered the pages of history: Speak softly, and carry a big stick. This sophisticated piece of advice no longer appeals to right-wing leaders. They prefer to carry a small stick and not hold back on the their tone or volume.

Netanyahu and Modi at the beach. Like a student with his teacher (Photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO)

US President Donald Trump is an example: He threatened Iran decisively, but violated his promise to cancel the nuclear agreement; he threatened China never carried through; and most importantly, he released a series of aggressive, arrogant statements against Kim Jong-un, the North Korean tyrant. When Pyongyang realized there was no real intention behind those statements, the missiles began flying.

Netanyahu is much more experienced than Trump in this game. He understands that the people dont want warsthey want a warlike rhetoric. The lesson is clear: Dont be a war mongerjust don't be shy on the rhetoric. Give them an enemy to be afraid of; give them constant security tensions; be careful not to give them military funerals.

In his speeches, he describes Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as the oppressor of the Jewish people, almost a new Hitler. In practice, his government cooperates with Abbas in the most sensitive area securityday and night. Last week, Netanyahu met a former left-wing Knesset member at an event. Netanyahu tried to be nice. We are doing a lot for Israels Arabs now, he said. What about the Palestinians? the former MK asked. Netanyahu whispered, as if sharing a secret, as if he knows what the Palestinians say to each other behind closed doors: They want Jaffa.

Everything is falling into place for him right now, like pieces on the Backgammon board. Years ago, experts warned that the influx of Muslim immigration to Western Europe would be translated into votes and would make the governments drift away from Israel. The opposite happened: The Muslim immigration was perceived as a threat to personal safety and to Europe's cultural and religious heritage. Israel gained appreciation as a stable and strong country, a safe haven in the heart of a wild and dangerous Islamic region.

The horrific images from Syria and Iraq that occupied our television screens and newspapers pushed the Palestinian issue to the periphery of the international agenda. The invaluable experience Israel has gained in the war on terror interests Europe's governments more than the injustices of the occupation; the innovation of Israels high-tech industry is more interesting than the expansion of settlements. Not to mention Trumps America.

These are the good times for the State of Israel and excellent times for Benjamin Netanyahu.

Last week, he posed for photographs with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the beach, near Givat Olga. In the picture selected by the Prime Ministers Office, the two are seen standing in the water as the waves lightly wet their pants. Netanyahu is explaining something and Modi is listening. In another photo, Netanyahu is driving a car and Modi is sitting next to him obediently, like a student next to his teacher.

If things are so good, why is Netanyahu so frightened? Why does he give in to every empty threat made by a coalition partner and then reconsiders, like a person in a state of utter panic? Why is controlling a remote television channel more important to him than any other issue on the agenda? Why does he follow up on every provocative statement made by Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett? How does he benefit from advancing anti-democratic bills which stir up a large part of the public, including part of his public? Why is he so discontented, so troubled, so frantic?

The police investigations are an explanation of course, and so is the feeling of fatigue, and perhaps the revulsion over his familys excessive presence in our lives. But thats not enough.

When someone is at the top of the pyramid for so long, looking down at the view can make them dizzy. From this place, the only way is down. Netanyahu has been serving as prime minister for 11 years now: Three years in the first round and eight years, for now, in the second round. He has reached the point in which he is the only person who can bring himself down. Neither Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid nor the new Labor leader Avi Gabbay can do it. Netanyahu is the only one. The Greeks referred to it as hubris.
The family of Suleiman Shaluf, a Tulkarem resident who was shot dead Monday night when he broke into an elderly man's home in Moshav Beit Yitzhak in the Sharon region, finds it hard to believe the chain of events portrayed by the homeowner and the police and has presented a different version of what led to the tragic outcome.

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The family claims that there is "no proof" that Shaluf, together with another man who was also shot and seriously wounded, tried to steal from the old man's house, adding that "if an Arab had shot a burglar, they would have arrested him immediately."

On Monday evening, it was reported that an 80 year old from Beit Yitzhak noticed two burglars in his house and opened fire on them. Shaluf, 41, a father of eight, was killed while his friend, also a Palestinian from Tulkarm, was seriously injured and taken to Laniado Hospital in Netanya for treatment.

Hiam Abu Zahara with Shaluf's children

"We were shocked when we heard he was shot and killed. We do not believe he wanted to steal anything, he never did anything like that," said Hiam Abu Zahara, Shaluf's mother-in-law. "He worked as an electrician in Israel and would come home once a week. He has a wife and eight children and he makes sure to support them from his work and not from theft."

"All we know is Suleiman and a friend who worked with him were on their way home, and they were waiting for a vehicle to pick them up," added Abu Zahara. "For a reason we do not know, a Jewish man shot them without thinking twice. Why did he shoot him to death? He could have shot them in the legs and wound them only lightly.

"Unfortunately, he murdered him in cold blood, without (any provocation). I'm sure he has no proof of his false claims."

Suleiman Shaluf

Abu Zahara claimed the shooter was lying and the police's version of events was incorrect.

"The man who murdered him lies and does not tell the truth," she said. "Now the shooter has destroyed an entire family. They will remain without a father  It is important to us that the murderer is arrested and punished.

"If an Arab fired at a Jew who broke into his house, they would arrest him immediately. But the Jew who shot Shaluf remains free and is considered a hero."

Gal Brami, spokesman for the Beit Yitzhak moshav, said he was not surprised by the incident. "The situation in all the moshavim in the Sharon is a catastrophe," he said, "There is no security, and there is no quiet, and there are daily break-ins. Even if I go out for five minutes to drive my kids to the kindergarten, I switch on the home's alarm system. It's been like that for a few years now."

Elhanan Eitan, a neighbor of the elderly man who shot the burglars, said Tuesday: "Yesterday afternoon I saw some of my tools outside the shed, where they were not supposed to be. I checked the shed and noticed I was missing tools, so I checked with the (man) who had the break-in. The burglars simply broke into my shed and then used my tools to break into my neighbor's house."
IDF troops came under attack at the Jenin refugee camp overnight Tuesday, with Palestinian terrorists throwing dozens of explosives at them.

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The troops from the Special Forces unit Maglan returned fire, killing two of the terrorists and wounding a third. One of them, Saad Salah, 20, was killed instantly, while a second, Awss Salameh, 17, was seriously wounded and later succumbed at the hospital. A third has been hit in the leg.

Overnight clashes in Jenin

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The IDF said none of the soldiers were hurt.

Israeli security forcesincluding IDF, Shin Bet, Border Police, and police forcesarrested 21 wanted Palestinian suspects in the West Bank overnight. Eighteen of them are suspected of being involved in terror activity against civilians and security forces.

Overnight clashes in Jenin

The overnight assault in Jenin comes at the heels of a terror attack on Monday in Gush Etzion, when a Palestinian terrorist rammed his car into a pillbox post near the settlement of Tekoa, where Artillery Corps soldiers were stationed, lightly wounding one of them. The terrorist then left his car brandishing a knife and tried to stab the soldiers. He was shot and killed.
David Shimron , the personal attorney and close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been questioned by police as part of investigations into corruption surrounding the procurement of submarines and patrol ships from German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp, it was cleared for publication on Wednesday morning.

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Police suspect a series of crimes was committed surrounding the two deals, including bribery and money laundering

Other central suspects include Miki Ganor , a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a representative of ThyssenKrupp in Israel, whose remand has been extended until Thursday; Avriel Bar-Yosef , who served as the acting-national security advisor, whose remand has also been extended until Thursday; and former Navy commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer Marom , who was put on house arrest on Tuesday.

Shimron, 65, is a relative of Netanyahu and has been serving as his personal attorney since 1988. He was put on a three-day house arrest starting Monday.

Shimron arrives at the Lahav 433 offices for questioning (Photo: Yariv Katz)

Amit Hadad, Shimron's lawyer, said that "despite the complicated situation, both personally and professionally, attorney Shimron feels relieved to a large extent to have finally been given the opportunity to present his full version to law enforcement authorities. Attorney Shimron has been acting in accordance with the law. He has fully cooperated with his investigators and is confident law enforcement authorities will reach the same conclusion."

The case came to light in November 2016, when it was reported police were investigating suspicions of tender bias in the procurement of submarines and patrol ships from ThyssenKrupp, bribery and a conflict of interest.

Shimron represented Ganor in the two deals, which amount to some NIS 10 billion ($2.8 billion).

Miki Ganor (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The prime minister has denied he had any knowledge that Shimron was involved in the submarine deal, but did release a statement in November in support of Shimron. "Netanyahu has been acquainted with advocate David Shimron for many years and knows him to be a man of integrity who is as straight as a ruler, who goes beyond what is required to abide by the law and follow statutes and as a lawyer of the first order," the statement said.

In March 2017, Shimron gave his testimony to police on two different cases Netanyahu is being investigated for, but while those were defined as "open testimony," he was questioned in the submarine affair, also known as Case 3000, under caution.

Intially, Shimron claimed he had never discussed the submarine issue "with the prime minister or with any other government official." However, it was later revealed he did contact the Defense Ministry's legal advisor Ahaz Ben-Ari in 2014 asking for a status report on an international bid issued by the Ministry of Defense for the acquisition of vessels to protect Israel's natural gas rigs. ThyssonKrupp wanted the deal without having to bid.

State Attorney Shai Nitzan decided in late February 2017 to launch a full criminal investigation into the case, while stressing Netanyahu himself was not a suspect.

INS Tanin (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

The German government later confirmed Shimron was present at a meeting in Tel Aviv between Ganor and German Ambassador Clemens von Goetze in December 2015. The meeting was held two months after Netanyahu, accompanied by then-National Security Advisor and current director of the Mossad Yossi Cohen, went to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and discuss, among other things, the possibility of Israel purchasing three submarines.

Meanwhile, leading German economic newspaper Handelsblatt reported that Shimron was present in at least one meeting Ganor had with representatives from ThyssonKrupp. In response to the report, ThyssenKrupp claimed that Ganor is its sole representative in Israel, and that he had breached the terms of his contract with them when he involved Shimron in the proceedings. Despite this, the sources claimed that ThyssenKrupp does not at present have concrete evidence of wrongdoing by Ganor, though the company has issued a statement saying that following Israeli reports, it will launch an investigation of its own into the matter.

It has also been reported that Shimron and Ganor attempted to outsource the maintenance work on the submarines to a German shipyard, pressuring the Israeli Navy and the workers' unions. In a letter to the IDF Workers Union, chairman Moshe Friedman confirms that Ganor and Shimron met with him and with Avi Nissenkorn, the head of the Histadrut Labor Federation, to pressure them against trying to foil the efforts to outsource the maintenance work.

Germany's national security council has approved a deal to sell three further nuclear-capable submarines to Israel, with magazine Der Spiegel reporting Germany had inserted a clause into the contract giving it the right to tear it up if corruption allegations were proven.

Ya'alon 'absolutely' believes Netanyahu will be indicted

Former defense minister Moshe Ya'alon only learned of the deal to acquire the submarines in February 2016, a month and a half after Ganor and Shimron met with the German ambassador. IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot was also reportedly not informed of the ongoing talks on the deal.

Ya'alon on CNN (CNN)

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In a video he posted on his Facebook page, Ya'alon claimed he "blocked the submarine deal with (his) body while I was defense minister, and the talks were renewed only after I left. This is a deal worth billions neither I as defense minister, nor the IDF chief, nor the Navy commander have asked for."

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Ya'alon said he "absolutely" believed Prime Minister Netanyahu will be indicted on the case.
US President Donald Trumps special advisor and Middle East Envoy Jason Greenblatt told a Palestinian delegation in Jerusalem Tuesday that Israel had committed to slowing down the pace of construction in the West Bank during peace negotiations, according to a report published in the London-based Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat.

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After the report was published on Wednesday morning however, the Prime Ministers Office issued a statement flatly denying the claim: There is no such commitment, the statement read.

Jason Greenblatt and Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: Reuters)

Greenblatts comments were reported to have been said during a meeting with the Palestinian PLO Executive Committee headed by Saeb Erekat ahead of President Trumps expected announcement to kick-start his new peace initiative between the Palestinians and Israel.

Senior Palestinian officials said that they had been informed by the American envoy that Trump will ask both sides to enter into negotiations without preconditions on final status issues.

The Palestinian delegation was said to have estimated that the negotiations would be restricted to a period of between one and two years. Another Palestinian senior official said that by establishing contact with both parties separately on every issue, the Americans were aiming to reach understandings which would be immediately publicized in order to facilitate a positive climate for boosting the talks.

Saeb Erekat (Photo: EPA)

Furthermore, the Palestinians apparently confirmed that Trumps initiative would have an effect on the entire region and would include the participation of other Arab states to achieve a peace agreement in which all parties would have an interest.

It is this crucial difference in Trumps fresh initiative, the Palestinians stated, that would increase the chances of a breakthrough for establishing relationships between Israel and other Arab states.
The city of Hebron has seen an increase in the number of attempted stabbing attacks than the height of the wave of terror last year. However, in all of the attempts, the IDF and Border Police have succeeded in neutralizing the armed Palestinians with the incidents ending without injury to either the soldiers or the would-be terrorists.

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Speaking in an interview with Ynet, a senior IDF officer from the Judea and Samaria Division said that the forces had caught no fewer than 25 suspected Palestinians carrying knives on their bodies at checkpoints around settlements in the West Bank between April and June. The figure, he says, has only risen and reached its peak during the month of Ramadan.

Border Police enter the checkpoint cell

Despite the high numbers, not a single Israeli was harmed and no soldier was forced to open fire on the attacker. The reason? The Judea Division, which controls the Hebron area, has made dramatic changes to the methods used for searching people passing through the checkpoints which separate Jewish settlements and the Palestinian neighborhoods.

Now, passing through some checkpoints requires standing in a special reinforced concrete room containing bullet proof and shatter proof glass, along with a machine capable of detecting not only metal or sharp objects on the body, but also of identifying the exact point of the body to which the object is attached.

Effectively, the system allows for a comprehensive search without endangering the safety of the soldier who, instead of approaching potential harms way, stands in small room next door and views the scan through the reinforced glass.

A Palestinian who is spotted carrying a sharp object is immediately locked in the cell with the touch of a button and is then taken in for questioning leaving both the assailant and the soldier unscathed.

The new system has now been added on the Palestinian side of the Cave of the Patriarchs, a flashpoint for attempted and successful knife attacks.

In the new checkpoints, a computer is also installed for a more efficient transfer of Palestinians entering for legal purposes. For example, a computer in the room assists the soldier in quickly identifying Palestinians carrying entry permits for merchants, VIPs and teachers.

Not only will the number of efficient checkpoints increase in the Jewish settlements, but over the last few days one has already started being built at the beginning of a road leading to the entrance of Kiryat Arba where Jewish civilians have been, hitherto, exposed to unchecked Palestinians from northern Hebron where infamous clans control well-known terrorists.

We dont want IDF soldiers patrolling the road in a Jewish community with a bullet in the barrel around Palestinian and Jewish children, the officer said.

Other measures have also been taken to beef up security in some of the most sensitive zones that have experienced the deadly realities of terror.

In Otniel, for example, NIS 2.5 million have been invested in security, including the installation of 25 CCTV cameras. The city of Hebron is the most recorded city in Israel and in the last four years, the number of IDF security cameras has risen in the West Bank and its vicinity from 82 to more than 160.
Israel Police forbade German ship building company ThyssenKrup's representatives in Israel from being contact with the company's headquarters. The order, discovered by Ynet on Wednesday, was the result of the investigation of several high-profile individuals in Israel, surrounding corruption allegations regarding the procurement of submarines and patrol ships, in what is being referred to as "Case 3000." Police suspect bribery and money laundering were a part of the deal between ThyssenKrup and Israel.

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The police's instructions include Miki Ganor, another close associate Netanyahu's and a ThyssenKrup's official representative in Israel, whose remand has been extended until Thursday; Attorney Ronen Shemer, who worked for Ganor and whose remand has extended until Monday; Avriel Bar-Yosef, who served as the acting-national security advisor, whose remand has also been extended until Thursday; and former Navy commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer Marom, who was put on house arrest on Tuesday.

Ganor awaiting investigation (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The above-mentioned arrests come as an attempt to move forward with the investigation without fear the suspects' coordinating their testimonies with one another. Police also detained former Navy commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer Marom for questioning on Tuesday.

"We've discovered a very concerning conduct with regards to security procurement deals in Israel that are worth billions," a police representative said in court regarding Case 3000 on Monday. "The findings (of the investigation) raise a real suspicion of ethical offenses, breach of trust, bribery, money laundering, and tax offenses."

Shimron arriving for investigation (Photo: Yair Sagi)

Another person under investigation is Attorney David Shimron, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cousin and personal lawyer, who arrived early on Wednesday to be investigated for the third time, after being placed under house arrest on Monday. Attorney Amit Hadad, who is representing Shimron, gave a statement this morning. "despite the complicated situation, both personally and professionally, attorney Shimron feels relieved to a large extent to have finally been given the opportunity to present his full version to law enforcement authorities. Attorney Shimron has been acting in accordance with the law. He has fully cooperated with his investigators and is confident law enforcement authorities will reach the same conclusion." Shimron's house arrest was later extended until Friday.

The case came to light in November 2016, when it was reported police were investigating suspicions of tender bias in the procurement of submarines and patrol ships from ThyssenKrupp, bribery and a conflict of interest. Shimron had represented Ganor in two of ThyssenKrup's deals, which amount to some NIS 10 billion ($2.8 billion).

Thyssenkrupp (Photo: Reuters)

Meanwhile, leading German economic newspaper Handelsblatt reported that Shimron was present in at least one meeting Ganor had with representatives from ThyssenKrupp. In response to the report, ThyssenKrupp claimed that Ganor is its sole representative in Israel, and that he had breached the terms of his contract with them when he involved Shimron in the proceedings. Despite this, the sources claimed that ThyssenKrupp does not at present have concrete evidence of wrongdoing by Ganor, though the company has issued a statement saying that following Israeli reports, it will launch an investigation of its own into the matter.

It has also been reported that Shimron and Ganor attempted to outsource the maintenance work on the submarines to a German shipyard, putting pressure on the Israeli Navy and the workers' unions as part of their efforts. In a letter to the IDF Workers Union, chairman Moshe Friedman confirms that Ganor and Shimron met with him and Avi Nissenkorn, the head of the Histadrut Labor Federation, to pressure them against trying to foil the efforts to outsource the maintenance work.





Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Germany's national security council has approved a deal to sell three further nuclear-capable submarines to Israel, with magazine Der Spiegel reporting Germany had inserted a clause into the contract giving it the right to tear it up if corruption allegations were proven.

Former defense minister Moshe Ya'alon reportedly only learned of the deal to acquire the submarines in February 2016, a month and a half after Ganor and Shimron met with the German ambassador. IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot was also reportedly not informed of the ongoing talks on the deal.

In a video he posted on his Facebook page, Ya'alon claimed he "blocked the submarine deal with (his) body while I was defense minister, and the talks were renewed only after I left. This is a deal worth billions neither I as defense minister, nor the IDF chief, nor the Navy commander have asked for."

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Ya'alon said he "absolutely" believed Prime Minister Netanyahu will be indicted on the case.

Netanyahu has denied he had any knowledge that Shimron was involved in the submarine deal, but did release a statement in November in support of Shimron. "Netanyahu has been acquainted with advocate David Shimron for many years and knows him to be a man of integrity who is as straight as a ruler, who goes beyond what is required to abide by the law and follow statutes and as a lawyer of the first order," the statement said.

In March 2017, Shimron gave his testimony to police on two different cases Netanyahu is being investigated for, but while those were defined as "open testimony," he was questioned in the submarine affair, also known as Case 3000, under caution.

Initially, Shimron claimed he had never discussed the submarine issue "with the prime minister or with any other government official." However, it was later revealed he did contact the Defense Ministry's legal advisor Ahaz Ben-Ari in 2014, asking for a status report on an international bid issued by the Ministry of Defense for the acquisition of vessels to protect Israel's natural gas rigs. ThyssenKrupp wanted the deal without having to bid for it.

State Attorney Shai Nitzan decided in late February 2017 to launch a full criminal investigation into the case, while stressing Netanyahu himself was not a suspect.

The German government later confirmed Shimron was present at a meeting in Tel Aviv between Ganor and German Ambassador Clemens von Goetze in December 2015. The meeting was held two months after Netanyahu, accompanied by then-National Security Advisor and current director of the Mossad Yossi Cohen, went to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and discuss, among other things, the possibility of Israel purchasing three submarines.
The State Comptroller issued a report Wednesday on the conduct of the Ministry of Communication towards Israeli telecommunications giant Bezeq during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's tenure as head of the ministry. The report comes as a criminal investigation is underway into Bezeq primary shareholder, Shaul Elovitch.

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"The Ministry of Justice must exhaust its examination into the question of whether, prior to the formation of the conflict of interest arrangement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Shaul Elovitch discussed the issues under the purview of the Ministry of Communications and the minister in charge.

Netanyahu and Shaul Elovitch (Photo: Eli Dasa and Kobi Gidon/GPO)

"Without exhausting the examination, the fear that these issues were discussed cannot be allayed and it would be impossible to examine the implications which Prime Minister Netanyahu was involved in as part of his position as minister of communications prior to the formulation of the arrangement," wrote State Comptroller Yosef Shapira.

At the beginning of the current government, Shapira addressed Netanyahu, all government ministers and deputy ministers in a letter clarifying their duties according to the rules on disclosure issues and conflicts of interest.

In the letter, Shapira also included a questionnaire in order to identify possible conflicts of interest. Netanyahu received a copy of the letter as well the questionnaire in May 2015, while he was still holding the communications portfoliowhich he only recently surrendered.

Additionally, at the end of May 2015, Shapira informed Netanyahu that press officials had approached the comptroller's office, claiming that Netanyahu's representatives had significant business ties in the communications field.

Shapira then asked Netanyahu to discuss the claims and added that if Netanyahu has additional connections that relate to his capacity as minister of communications, he must provide details according to laws on disclosure.

In October 2015, it was determined that Netanyahu had a conflict of interest regarding his capacity as minister of communications. The determination noted that lawyers David Shimron and his brother-in-law Yitzhak Molcho maintain "special" relationships with Netanyahu, yet any clients in their firm that are in the field of communications are handled by another partner.

As such, Shapira wrote that it was determined that under these circumstances, there was no reason to prevent Netanyahu from having dealings with Shimron and Molcho's law firm, as long as it did not create a conflict of interest with the firm's other clients.

Following an article in Haaretz that same month, requests were directed to the attorney general to examine whether the prime minister is in a conflict of interest in his tenure as minister of communications, among other reasons due to his personal relationship with Elovitch.

Bezeq (Photo: Reuters)

Elovitch, according to the comptroller's report, has significant holdings in the communications markethe is the primary shareholder of Eurocom Holdings Ltd., along with his brother, who holds a small portion. In turn, Eurocom Communications Ltd. is almost exclusively owned by this company, which through a chain of companies also controls Bezeq.

As such, the article claims that Netanyahu's connection to Elovitch may raise concerns about a conflict of interest in Netanyahu's role as communications minister.

The legal adviser to the Prime Minister's Office was asked to clarify with Netanyahu whether he was in personal contact with Elovitch. In response, she said, "the prime minister has been in friendly relations with Elovitch for 20 years and they maintain social ties between them."

She also reported that the prime minister met with Elovitch once every few months and the meetings are of a social nature and are attended by their wives and usually by other friends. She did however emphasize that the prime minister did not discuss professional issues with Elovitch.

The adviser's response also made it clear that Netanyahu and Elovitch have no economic connections and that the prime minister had received no donations, money or loans from him.

The legal adviser added that Netanyahu wanted to clarify that his decisions as minister of communications were not influenced by his personal acquaintance with Elovitch and that all decisions were made in accordance with the recommendations of professionals.

In June 2016, more than a year after Netanyahu took over the media portfolio, the attorney general arranged another conflict of interest agreement for the prime minister, this time about his social ties with Elovitch.

The agreement stated that in order to prevent claims of a conflict of interest and for reasons of public visibility, Netanyahu announced that he would be willing to avoid dealing with matters relating to Elovitch and the companies under his control.

Comptoller Yosef Shapira (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

In a joint conversation between representatives of the attorney general and representatives of Netanyahu, two conclusions were agreed upon: (1) The Minister of Communications must "refrain from dealing with matters relating to companies in the Bezeq Group and matters affecting them materially"; (2) The Minister of Communications must "refrain from dealing with areas in which Bezeq is a monopoly, or in areas where it is in an exclusive (or almost exclusive) field with another company in the HOT group."

It was determined that the powers of the minister of communications in these matters would be transferred to another minister, which occurred in July 2016, when they were transferred to Minister Tzachi Hanegbi.

The comptroller's report revealed that in April 2016, the senior professional advisor to the director-general of the Ministry of Communications had compiled a list of issues that the prime minister had dealt with since he took office, either directly or indirectly.

The issues included: supervision procedures for the Bezeq Group, a request to approve the sale of Alon Cellular's activity to Pelephone, extension of the authorization to approve work permits for Bezeq employees, approval of a change of holdings for Yes (owned by Bezeq), a yes licensing amendment and several payment demands from Bezeq for various services.

The comptroller noted that the issues listed were not included in the report of the Office of the Director General from August 2016 to the State Comptroller's Office, even though they concern the reform of the fixed-line communications market.

An investigation conducted by the State Comptroller's Office and the Ministry of Justice in February 2017 revealed that even though the Prime Minister's Office had prepared a list of issues relating to Bezeq that Netanyahu had been involved in since he took office, it was not forwarded to the Ministry of Justice.

The State Comptroller's Office noted that the list of issues dealt with by Netanyahu prior to the formation of the conflict of interest arrangement prepared by the Ministry of Communications should have been brought to the Ministry of Justice's attention by the Ministry of Communications, together with any other relevant material necessary for formulating the arrangement.

Without looking at the list, the comptroller wrote, it may be difficult to determine the proper balance regarding the applicability of the arrangement to past decisions.

Elovitch (Photo: Yuval Chen)

Shapira stressed that "the outcome of the situation creates serious difficulty. This is a situation in which a personal relationship between the prime minister and a central figure in the realm of communications was not reported on from the beginning; the prime minister has held the communications portfolio since November 2014, was actively involved in several issues that directly or indirectly affect Bezeq (until the beginning of the clarification of the subject of conflict of interest).

"The Ministry of Justice did not have a full picture of the extent of the Prime Minister's involvement in matters related to Bezeq; the prime minister's response to the Justice Ministry prior to the formulation of the arrangement did not negate the existence of talks between Netanyahu and Elovitch regarding matters in which the prime minister was involved as minister of communications."

In conclusion, wrote Shapira, "This report indicates the need to sharpen the provisions relating to the declaration of full ties by ministers when they take office; The need for full public transparency regarding the existence of an examination of the implications of conflict of interest arrangements for past decisions and their results; And the need to examine in principle the issue of the implications of a conflict of interest arrangement of a minister and a director appointed under circumstances in which a significant factor in the appointment is a high level of trust between the two."
Israel Police now suspect that Attorney Ronen Shemer, who worked at the legal firm of Miki Ganor, shredded and removed documents pertaining to current police investigation focused on the allegedly corrupt submarine deal with German company Thyssenkrupp, in what is being referred to as "Case 3000." Shemer denied the allegations, as his remand in police custody was extended to Monday. He is now suspected of interfering with a police investigation.

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The police also investigated Shemer over Ganor's overseas companies that are suspected of receiving funds without reporting it to the Israel Tax Authority. Shemer claimed that he is not required to report such funds, and that Ganor did not involve him in all of his business deals. Attorney Yael Grossman, representing Shemer, stated that "he is an employee of Ganor's and only performs technical work for him. He is not involved in his (Ganor'sed) deal and has no interest in them. The police is acting to extend his arrest to receive information about other people's actions, though he himself has no partnership in them."

IDF submarine (Photo: AP)

Earlier on Wednesday, it came to light that the police had forbidden German ship building company ThyssenKrup's representatives in Israel from being in contact with the company's headquarters. The order, discovered by Ynet on Wednesday, was the result of the investigation of several high-profile individuals in Israel, surrounding corruption allegations in Case 3000.

IDF submarine and Ronen Shemer (Photos: IDF Spokesperson's Unit, Motti Kimchi)

The police's instructions include Miki Ganor, another close associate Netanyahu's and a ThyssenKrup's official representative in Israel, whose remand has been extended until Thursday; Attorney Ronen Shemer, who worked for Ganor and whose remand has extended until Monday; Avriel Bar-Yosef, who served as the acting-national security advisor, whose remand has also been extended until Thursday; and former Navy commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer Marom, who was put on house arrest on Tuesday.

Shimron (Photo: Yariv Katz)

Another person under investigation is Attorney David Shimron, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cousin and personal lawyer, who arrived early on Wednesday to be investigated for the third time, after being placed under house arrest on Monday. Attorney Amit Hadad, who is representing Shimron, gave a statement this morning. "despite the complicated situation, both personally and professionally, attorney Shimron feels relieved to a large extent to have finally been given the opportunity to present his full version to law enforcement authorities. Attorney Shimron has been acting in accordance with the law. He has fully cooperated with his investigators and is confident law enforcement authorities will reach the same conclusion." Shimron's house arrest was later extended until Friday.

The case came to light in November 2016, when it was reported police were investigating suspicions of tender bias in the procurement of submarines and patrol ships from ThyssenKrupp, bribery and a conflict of interest. Shimron had represented Ganor in two of ThyssenKrup's deals, which amount to some NIS 10 billion ($2.8 billion). Police suspect bribery and money laundering were a part of the deal between ThyssenKrup and Israel.
DUBAI -- US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has wrapped up talks with the king of Saudi Arabia and other officials from Arab countries lined up against Qatar without signs of a breakthrough in an increasingly entrenched dispute that has divided some of America's most important Mideast allies.

The secretary of state's trip from Kuwait to the western Saudi city of Jiddah on Wednesday followed discussions the previous day with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, that ended with the signing of a counterterrorism pact.
Lawmakers in the predominantly Catholic island nation of Malta have voted to legalize same-sex marriages. Malta joined much of Western Europe on Wednesday when its parliament approved legislation eliminating the traditional "you are now husband and wife" declaration in civil ceremonies and replacing it with "you are now spouses."

The vote was 66-1, with the sole lawmaker who voted against the change citing his Christian faith. The Catholic Church had opposed the legislation, which the Labor government promised to introduce as its first law after winning a second term last month and which the main opposition party supported.

The aim of the law, piloted by Equality Minister Helena Dalli, is to "modernize the institution of marriage" to give all consenting adult couples the right to marry.
As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More
Lagos: Nigeria's Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has returned to Abuja after a brief and unexplained visit to President Muhammadu Buhari, who is on sick leave in London, his spokesman said on Twitter on Wednesday.

The unannounced and brief trip has fuelled speculation over Buhari's illness, the details of which have not been made public, and whether he will be able to stand in the 2019 elections.

Osinbajo's spokesman did not give a reason for the visit and declined to comment when asked.

When Buhari left Abuja for London on May 7, his second trip abroad for health reason, he handed over power to Osinbajo, who according to the constitution would assume the presidency should Buhari be unable to continue.

Osinbajo is already being talked about in the capital as a potential nominee for the 2019 presidential elections.

The vice president "is now back in Abuja from London" and will be presiding over Wednesday's regular cabinet meeting, the vice president`s spokesman said on his official Twitter account.

Some Nigerians took poorly to the news of Osinbajo's visit.

"The worst sceptics of Buhari's government never imagined this level of rudderless, adrift disaster we have in our hands today," said Twitter user @obinna_nlebedum.

A thin-looking Buhari, 74, was last seen in Nigeria on state television welcoming a group of 82 girls released by Islamist militant group Boko Haram, hours before he flew to Britain.

Buhari's first trip to London January and lasted nearly two months.
Maiduguri: Suicide bombers killed 17 people and injured 21 in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the police commissioner of Borno state said on Wednesday.

The blasts struck four areas in the city, which is the capital of Borno, the state worst affected by the eight-year-old insurgency by Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
Washington: US President Donald Trump's son has said that he did not inform his father about the meeting with a Russian lawyer who said she could help his election campaign.

Donald Trump Jr told Fox News that his meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in June last year was "just a nothing", but in retrospect, he would have done things differently.

Asked by Fox News if he had told his father about the meeting, Trump Jr said: "No. It was just a nothing. There was nothing to tell."

The President's son, defending his actions and the allegations that Russia tried to sabotage Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign, said he did not have any knowledge of this.

Russia has also repeatedly denied interfering in the November 8 US presidential election.

Trump Jr on Tuesday released emails showing that he welcomed an offer to meet the lawyer, who was allegedly linked to the Kremlin and had material damaging to Clinton.

"I mean, I wouldn't have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame."

Trump Jr, his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort met Natalia Veselnitskaya after he received an email from an intermediary, British publicist Rob Goldstone, promising documents from Russia that would incriminate Clinton.

At that time, Donald Trump was the presumptive Republican nominee and heading towards an election fight against Clinton.

One email from Goldstone said the information they had been promised was "obviously very high-level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Trump".

Trump Jr's response email read: "If it's what you say I love it."

He said the meeting went nowhere, the woman provided them with nothing of use and it only lasted 20 minutes.

"This is before the Russia mania, this is before they were building this up in the press. For me this was opposition research, they had something you know, maybe concrete evidence to all the stories I'd been hearing about."

"Someone sent me an email. I can't help what someone sends me. I read it, I responded accordingly, and if there was something interesting there, I think that's pretty common."

Trump in a brief statement supported his son, describing him as "a high-quality person" and applauding his transparency.

Veselnitskaya has said she was never in possession of information that could have damaged Clinton, and has no links to the Kremlin.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the emails were "very disturbing".

The highest-ranked Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, said he wanted Trump Jr and all participants in the meeting to testify before the panel.
Washington: Frustrated with Pakistan's duplicity over its relationship with the US, a top American lawmaker has said Pakistan must be held accountable for continuously working against the interests of the US.

The US has been reluctant to cut ties or meaningfully confront Pakistan over its treachery because the supply line that keeps the coalition fed and equipped in Afghanistan runs through Pakistan, Republican Congressman Ted Poe said in an op-ed in The Washington Times titled 'Pakistan's long history of duplicity'.

"However, this key link does not come free and has even been severed by Pakistan on multiple occasions after violent incidents between their forces and our own," Poe alleged.

Poe said in order to put pressure on Pakistan, he has recently introduced two anti-Pakistan legislations in the US House of Representatives.

One of the legislation calls for revoking major non-NATO ally (MNNA) status of Pakistan, which was granted to it in 2004 by the then president, George Bush, in an effort to get the country to help the US fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The second legislation would require the State Department to assess Islamabad's long history of cooperating with terrorists and determine whether or not Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism.

"Pakistan must be held accountable for the American blood on its hands," said Poe, who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade.
Houston: Various US Congressmen have strongly condemned the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir that killed seven people, including six women, criticising the despicable act of terrorism.

Several Congressmen from Texas, Florida, Arkansas and California issued a statement criticising the attacks, and paid condolences to the families of the deceased and injured.

Some of them took to twitter, openly criticising the act.

Congressmen in the state of Texas strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Kashmir and expressed deep condolences and sympathies to the bereaved family members.

Congressman Ted Poe,US representative for Texas's 2nd congressional district said "The terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra is reprehensible and must be condemned".

Congressman William Pete Olson, US representative for Texas's 22rd congressional district wrote- "The terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra is deplorable & must be condemned. Prayers for the families of those killed".

Congressman William Ballard Hurd, US representative for Texas's 23rd congressional district said, "My thoughts & prayers to all of the Amarnath Yatra Terror Attack victims & their families. The attack is reprehensible & must be condemned".

Congresswoman Sheela Lee Jackson, US Representative for Texas 18th congressional District tweeted- "the terrorist attack on #AmarnathPilgrims is outrageous. Religion is a fundamental right and human right".

Congressman John Ratcliffe, US representative for Texas's 4th congressional district- "Sending my prayers to the families of those killed in the horrific terrorist attack".

Congressman John Culberson, US representative for Texas's 7th congressional district-"Our hearts go out to the victims of the terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra. We must stand united against these deplorable acts of terrorism".

US Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, Florida's Seventh Congressional District in the US House of Representatives wrote, "Saddened by the barbaric act of violence against #AmarnathYatra pilgrims. People everywhere must stand united against hate".

Indian American Rohit "Ro" Khanna- US Representative for California's 17th congressional district tweeted- "The world must stand united against the heinous terorrist act on Amarnath pilgrims. It's an attack on the freedom of religious expression".

French Hill, US Representative for Arkansas's 2nd congressional district said, "Once again, innocents are victims of terror. My sympathy to the families horribly impacted by the murders at #AmarnathYatra".
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed anguish over the flood situation in various parts of the Northeast and promised all possible help from the Centre.

"I am anguished by the situation arising due to floods in various parts of the Northeast. I share the pain of all those affected by floods. The entire nation stands with the people of Northeast during this time. Centre assures all possible help to normalise the situation," he tweeted.

PM also said that he had asked Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju to personally supervise the rescue and relief operations and facilitate all possible help needed.

At the same time, he said that he had spoken to Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and officials, both in Delhi and the states, on the flood situation.

I am anguished by the situation arising due to floods in various parts of the Northeast. I share the pain of all those affected by floods.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 12, 2017

I have spoken to Arunachal Pradesh CM @PemaKhanduBJP & other officials both in Delhi & the states on the flood situation.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 12, 2017

I have spoken to Arunachal Pradesh CM @PemaKhanduBJP & other officials both in Delhi & the states on the flood situation.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 12, 2017

I have also asked my colleague @KirenRijiju to personally supervise the rescue, relief operations & facilitate all possible help needed.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 12, 2017

Five persons were killed and nine went missing yesterday as a massive landslide triggered by incessant rains hit eight dwellings in Arunachal Pradesh's Papum Pare district.

In Assam, the flood situation deteriorated further yesterday, with six more people losing their lives and over 15 lakh people across 23 districts affected by the deluge.

With this, the toll in this year's flood related cases has gone up to 39, including eight in Guwahati, a Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report said.

On the other hand, Manipur has suffered a loss of around Rs 131 crore in the floods since cyclone Mora hit the state in late May, a senior officer said today.

"The state lost nearly Rs 131 crore because of loss of property and other damage done by floods and related incidents like landslides," Principal Secretary (Relief and Disaster Management) MH Khan told PTI.

The flood crisis and landslides started with cyclone Mora that made landfall on May 29 and, under its influence, came heavy rains that lasted for almost 10 days, he said.

This was later followed by torrential rains and storms lasting for 10 more days in mid-June and the situation worsened when incessant rains began on June 29.

These caused severe damage to property, agricultural land, road transportation sector and others, he said adding that a memorandum has been sent to the Centre asking for assistance.

(With PTI inputs)
Patna: Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi today refused to buy the defence of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav that he was a minor "without a moustache" at the time of the land-for-hotels deal.

"When Tejaswi Yadav became the owner of the property, he had turned an adult with a moustache and a beard," he said in a statement here.

"He cannot put a veil on his crime by pleading that he was a minor at that time," added Modi.

The BJP leader claimed that the Kochhar brothers had sold a commercial property on February 25, 2005 in the form of a three-acre land in Patna, through 10 sale deeds for Rs 1.47 crore, to Delight Marketing, in which Sarla Gupta, the wife of former Union minister Prem Chand Gupta, was a director.

After the tender was awarded to Sujata Hotel, owned by the Kocchars, the ownership of Delight Marketing also changed hands from Sarla Gupta to Rabri Devi and Tejaswi Yadav between 2010 and 2014, he alleged.

Modi dared Tejaswi to announce that he did not own the said land, on which Bihar's biggest mall was coming up.

"Tejaswi should also announce that he does not own a four-storied building at New Friends Colony in Delhi, the value of which is Rs 115 crore today," he said.

The BJP leader once again urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to sack Tejaswi.

"When Tejaswi Yadav and his family have refused to resign, should the CM not show the courage to sack him?," he wondered.

Bihar BJP chief Nityanand Rai also dismissed Tejaswi's defence of being a minor at the time of the land deal and alleged that he was putting the blame on his father (RJD supremo Lalu Prasad).

Earlier in the day, Tejaswi virtually ruled out the possibility of resigning from the state cabinet and dubbed the FIR against him as a part of a "political vendetta".

"The FIR (in the land-for-hotels case) is part of a political vendetta. BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are conspiring against me and my family members because of political reasons," he told reporters.

"Can you believe that a 14-year-old child, whose moustache is yet to come, will indulge in corruption?," he asked and dubbed the FIR as a "farzi" (fake) one.
Patna: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, who has been named in a CBI FIR in land-for-hotels case, on Wednesday broke his silence on the ongoing political crisis in the state and alleged that he is being subjected to a political vendetta by the opposition.

The 27-year-old Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) minister also made it clear that the Bihar ruling grand alliance of RJD-JDU-Congress will remain intact.

"I haven't done anything wrong. This is a conspiracy. This is all fake. I had pledged zero tolerance to corruption when Ii took over as a minister. There has been not one case of corruption in my three departments so far," Tejashwi said.

Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tejashwi dubbed the CBI action against him as a conspiracy to break the grand alliance in the state.

"FIR against me is a political vendetta. This is a conspiracy by Amit Shah and Prime Minister Modi. From day one, they have tried to break our alliance. The alliance is strong and will not break. BJP will get a fitting reply," he said.

"They are bringing up cases of 2004 against me. I didn't have a moustache in 2004. I was 13-14 yr old that time. How could a kid do all this?," Tejashwi said on FIR against him.

As per a News18 report, the RJD minister made it clear that he won't resign from his post.

On Tuesday, CM Nitish had called a meeting of JD(U) MPs, MLAs and other office-bearers of the party to discuss the CBI raids on ally and RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family members.

As per IANS, Nitish broke his silence over Tejashwi, against whom a corruption case has been filed by the CBI, saying he has zero-tolerance against corruption.

"I shall not compromise with my principles. I am firm on my resolve of zero tolerance against corruption," IANS quoted Nitish as saying while addressing his party Janata Dal-United's leaders and workers at his official residence here.

Meanwhile, the RJD, which held its legislature party leaders meeting two days back, has already thrown its weight behind Tejashwi and ruled out his resignation.

In addition, the BJP too has offered its support to the JD(U) from outside if it breaks out of the ruling grand alliance in the state.

On July 7, the CBI registered a corruption case against Lalu Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejaswi Yadav; former Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Managing Director P.K. Goyal; and the wife of Lalu's confidante Prem Chand Gupta, Sujata on allegations of awarding the tender for development, maintenance and operation of hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006.

The CBI later questioned Rabri Devi and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav.

The case was registered on the allegations of awarding the tender for development, maintenance and operation of Hotels at Ranchi and Puri to a Private Company dealing with Hotels in the year 2006.

The investigative agency also conducted searches at 12 locations across Patna, Delhi, Gurugram and other places.
New Delhi: FMCG firm Bajaj Corp on Wednesday reported a 5.32 percent increase in standalone net profit at Rs 54.97 crore for the first quarter ended June 30.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 52.19 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Total income during the quarter under review fell by 1.96 per cent to Rs 208.49 crore as against Rs 212.67 crore in the corresponding period last year, the company said in a BSE filing.

Bajaj Corp has several products in hair care segment such as Bajaj Almond Drops, Bajaj Kailash Parbat and Bajaj Brahmi Amla. The company also acquired Nomarks brands in 2013.

Shares of the company were trading 2.79 percent higher at Rs 407.15 on BSE.
New Delhi: Tata Motors on Wednesday reported 1.71 percent decline in global sales in June at 90,966 units, including that of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles.

The company had sold 92,551 units in June 2016, Tata Motors said in a statement.

In the passenger vehicles category, global sales stood at 60,725 units last month as against 59,831 units during the same period in 2016, a growth of 1.5 percent.

Sales of luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover were up 4.7 percent to 49,422 units in June as compared to 47,197 units in the same month of 2016.

Tata Motors said sales of its commercial vehicles declined by 7.57 percent to 30,241 units as against 32,720 units in the year-ago month.
New Delhi: An Indian national with suspected ISIS links, who had been deported twice from Turkey, was arrested from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, the police said on Wednesday.

An agent who had prepared his fake documents had also been arrested, the police added.

Shahjahan Velluva Kandy (32), from Kannur in Kerala, was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police after it received information from Turkey's police about his deportation, said Pramod Singh Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell).

Kandy was being questioned about ISIS operatives and his links with them, the police said.

He had gone to Turkey in June last year with his wife but was deported from there in February after he tried to cross over to Syria in an apparent bid to join the ISIS, the officer said.

His wife was also sent back to India.

The police said he procured a fake passport using the services of an agent from Chennai. In the fake documents, he was identified as Mohammad Ismail, 35, the officer said.

He travelled alone to Turkey in March and made an attempt to cross over to Syria last month, but was deported to India again, he added.

He was arrested from the Delhi airport with fake documents on July 1.

Subsequently, the Chennai-based agent, who the police said was instrumental in preparing fake documents, was also arrested. The police did not identify him.

The officer said Kandy had been "radicalised" and a local contact in Kerala had introduced him to the ISIS.

The police are looking into the documents that he was carrying and his nmobile phone records.

Last year in October, National Investigation Agency teams, with help from the Kerala Police, Delhi Police and Telangana Police, had arrested six people with suspected links to the ISIS.
New Delhi: Tech major Lenovo on Wednesday said it will slash prices of handsets sold through offline retail channels in the coming days, following the GST implementation.

Motorola handsets sold through brick-and-mortar stores too will see the downward price revision.

"We will cut the prices of handsets sold through retail stores. We are still evaluating the quantum of price cut. This would come into effect soon," Lenovo MBG India Executive Director Sudhin Mathur told PTI.

He added that the revision follows the rollout of GST.

However, prices of the new devices being introduced in the market factor in the impact of the new tax regime, Mathur said.

Players like Apple and Asus have already reduced prices of their smartphones after July 1 when the GST regime came into effect.

Under GST, mobile handsets are being taxed at 12 per cent as compared to an earlier range of 8-18 per cent depending on the states.

The government had also introduced a 10 per cent basic customs duty on mobile phones and certain parts, in a bid to promote domestic manufacturing.

Lenovo (along with Motorola) manufacture their handsets in India through contract manufacturing.

India is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets globally. Players like Samsung, Micromax and Lava have had a significant hold of the market, Chinese players like Lenovo, Vivo and Oppo are aggressively eating into their market share.

The competition among these players is fierce, especially in the affordable (Rs 12,000 and below) and mid-range (Rs 12,000-20,000) handsets.

Motorola today also launched the fourth generation of its affordable 'E' series. The Moto E4 will be available in two versions -- Moto E4 for Rs 8,999 (offline retail only) and E4 Plus priced at Rs 9,999 (Flipkart).

"Over 52 million devices were sold in the last 4 quarters in the USD 100-200 category, making it the largest segment. Interestingly, online and offline account for similar proportion of this segment," he said.

Motorola has the 'E' series and the recently launched 'C' series in the USD 100-200 price category.

"This segment is witnessing growth, driven by demand from first-time buyers as well as people upgrading from their first smartphones to a better device," he said.

Mathur added that Lenovo has a market share of around 28 per cent in the said price segment.

The E4 features a 5-inch display, 2GB RAM, 1.3 Ghz quad- core processor, 16GB internal memory (expandable up to 128GB), 8MP rear and 5MP front camera and 2,800 mAh battery.

The E4 Plus has a bigger 5.5-inch display, 3GB RAM, 32 GB internal memory (expandable upto 128GB), 13MP rear and 5MP front camera and 5,000 mAh battery.
Beijing: China on Wednesday said troop withdrawal by India from Doklam remained the precondition to resolve the border crisis in the Sikkim sector.

Beijing also dismissed Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar's remarks that differences over the border between India and China occurred in the past also and were resolved.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the trespass by Indian troops in Doklam was different from the "frictions in the undefined sections of the boundary" between India and China.

Geng said what happened in Doklam was a dispute.

Jaishankar, who on Tuesday was at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore to deliver a lecture, said "differences should not become disputes".

Gang said, "China has pointed out many times that the illegal trespass of Indian border troops of the mutually recognised border line is different in nature from the frictions in the undefined sections of the boundary.

"The Sikkim section has a special historical background and this is only defined boundary between India and China. And this is totally different from the undefined boundary in the east, middle and west part.

"According to the 1890 convention, the Sikkim section has been recognised by both China and India and this convention is effective for both countries.

"We again request India to withdraw the border troops to the Indian side of the boundary and properly settle this dispute at an early date."
New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday hit out at Rahul Gandhi for attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and "not terrorism", after his return from "vacation", hours after the Congress vice president said Modi's policies had created space for terrorists in Kashmir.

Union minister Smriti Irani said the challenges around Kashmir were a legacy of the Nehru-Gandhi family and that "the country knows it".

"After his return from vacation, Rahul attacks Modi, and not terrorists. I want to ask when Mani Shankar Aiyar (Congress leader) sought Pakistan's help in removing Modi from power and bring in the Congress, was it Rahul's personal agenda or political agenda" she asked.

When the Army chief was called a "goonda", she said referring to remarks of Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit, was it Rahul's personal agenda or political

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi, at a press conference, asked the Congress vice president to read the history of his family, saying that they were responsible for problems in Kashmir.

She also raked up the 1984 anti-Sikh riots to attack Gandhi over his accusation of "personal gain" at Modi, and said only those behind such riots would consider drawing "personal gain from the blood of innocents".

Gandhi's attack on Modi showed his "immature" mind, she said.

If one person was responsible for what was happening in Kashmir, it was Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister, the Lok Sabha MP from New Delhi claimed.

"He will do well to get a correct briefing from his advisers," she said.

Gandhi had earlier accused Modi of pursuing policies that created space for terrorists in Kashmir.
New Delhi: In a major decision, the government has empowered the Army directly to procure critical weapons systems and military platforms to maintain combat readiness for short duration "intense wars", a top government official said on Wednesday.

The move, aimed at filling the "voids" in the Army's combat readiness, comes amid nearly a month-long standoff between the armies of India and China in the Dokalam area as well as heightened Indo-Pak tension along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the decision by the government, the Vice Chief of Army has been given the "full" financial powers to procure ammunitions and spares for 10 types of weapons systems and equipment after an internal review found that optimum level of "war stores" were not being maintained, the official, who is privy to the development, said.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The official said the financial power vested, depending on the budgetary support available, to buy the complete range of weapons system may translate into Rs 40,000 crore.

"The decision is primarily aimed at filling the voids for short duration intense wars," the official said, adding "gaps" in combat readiness were found during an internal review in the aftermath of the Uri terror attack last September.

According to the decision, the Vice Chief of the Army has also been empowered on a routine basis to review the optimum holding state and maintaining it on a recurring manner.

The official said the procedure will be part of revenue procurement of the Army for in-service equipment and weapons and it will not require to go through numerous procurement stages which often cause in-ordinate delays.

As part of the decision, the Army has been allowed to procure 46 types of ammunition and spares for 10 different types of weapons systems.

Another proposal to allow the Army to procure 20 types of armament and 6 types of mines is also under consideration.

The Army has been pressing the government for ensuring speedy procurement of key military platforms citing evolving security challenges.

"It is a major move to fill various gaps in our combat readiness," said a senior Army official.

In April, top Army Commanders had brain-stormed over the prevailing security scenario as well as external threats facing the country and decided to enhance combat effectiveness of the Army.
New Delhi: Union minister Mahesh Sharma today said that his visit to China was for an international event and not for a bilateral meeting, days after Rahul Gandhi raised questions over union ministers going to that country amid the border tension.

The Union culture and tourism minister, addressing a press conference during which announced about the 8th Theatre Olympics in India, also said that he had gone to China with the government's approval.

"It was an international forum of BRICS countries. It was not a bilateral meeting and all five countries which participated did so with the approval of their respective governments as did India. They (the Chinese) welcomed us warmly," he said when asked about his reaction on Rahul's allegations that union ministers were enjoying Chinese hospitality at a time when border skirmishes continued.

"The issue (at the border) that you are raising concerns the ministry of home affairs, defence and external affairs. I can assure him (Rahul) that I had gone to China with the approval of the government," Sharma added.

Rahul, who had come under fire after his meeting with Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui had asked through tweets why three union ministers were availing Chinese hospitality while tension along the border was on.

"If government is so concerned about me meeting an Ambassador, they should explain why three ministers are availing Chinese hospitality while the border issue is on," the Congress vice president had tweeted.

Rahul was referring to the visits of three union ministers to China amid escalation of the standoff around Dokalam area in Sikkim - Union Human Resource Minister Prakash Javdekar who was in Beijing to attend the 5th meeting of BRICS education ministers, Health Minister J P Nadda who participated in BRICS Health Ministers? conference and Sharma who was there to participate in the second BRICS Culture Ministers' Conference.
New Delhi: An ISIS suspect, who had been deported from Turkey twice, was arrested by the Delhi Police Special cell with a fake passport at IGI airport.

Shahjahan Velluva (32), a native of Kannur in Kerala, was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police after US intelligence agency CIA informed it about his arrival.

Velluva was earlier deported from Turkey in February for allegedly carrying out terrorist activities there. He subsequently got a fake passport with another identity, an official added.

The alleged Islamic State suspect was planning to sneak into Syria from Turkey and join the dreaded terrorist outfit.
New Delhi: Union minister Kiren Rijiju will lead a high-level central team to assess rescue and relief operations in flood affected areas in the North East.

During the three-day tour, beginning tomorrow, the central delegation will visit Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, where more than 15 lakh people were marooned by flood water.

"The minister of state for home will lead a high-level central team tomorrow to supervise the rescue and relief operations in flood affected different parts of the North East," an official statement said here today.

The team will include members from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

Central forces along with state agencies are involved in the rescue and relief operation in the three states and, if the situation arises, additional central forces can be deputed from other parts of the country, the statement said.

At least 39 people have lost their lives in Assam where 15 lakh people in 23 districts have been affected by the deluge.

Five persons were killed and nine went missing as a massive landslide triggered by incessant rains hit eight dwellings in Arunachal Pradesh's Papum Pare district yesterday.

In Manipur, more than 20 per cent of the total paddy fields in all five districts of Imphal valley were hit by the floods.

Manipur has suffered a loss of around Rs 131 crore in the floods since cyclone Mora hit the state in late May, leading to floods and related incidents like landslides, state Principal Secretary (Relief and Disaster Management) M H Khan said yesterday.
New Delhi: Emphasising on quality education, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday asked higher educational institutions to make students sensitive to local socio-economy needs.

"It is not enough for higher education institutions to be modern and relevant. They must be designed to serve and make an impact on society," he said.

The president said students research capability must be used with an aim to innovatively address real world problems that nations face.

"Higher educational institutions must strive to become community assets," he said, dedicating the BML Munjal University to the country at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

The university was set up to recognise and celebrate the life of Brijmohan Lall Munjal, one of the most respected industrialists of the country and the founder of the Hero group, a press release issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan quoted the president as saying.

Mukherjee said in the emerging global scenario, the quality of higher education imparted will play an important role in moulding the careers of young men and women.

"In less than 10 years from now, nearly 140 million people will be in the college-going age group. Every fourth graduate in the world will be a product of our higher education system.

"In such a competitive environment, only those professionals who are properly skilled and trained will achieve success.

"The onus is on the higher educational institutions to prepare their students in a way that they are globally relevant and yet sensitive to the needs of the local socio-economy," he said.

Mukherjee said higher education institutions have a great responsibility in modernising education.

"Technology and communication are fast transforming the way the world works. Institutions must catch up with the latest technology to make education more effective and meaningful," the president said.

He said students cannot sit and be passive recipients any longer. "Those students who are entering the workforce must be self-managing, self-developing and emotionally self- sustaining. These are qualities that must be ingrained in students when they enter an institute of higher learning," Mukherjee said.
Patna: Trouble seems to be far from ending for Lalu Prasad Yadav, with the Enforcement Directorate issuing summon to RJD chief's son-in-law Shailesh Kumar, in the alleged Rs 8,000 crore money laundering case.

The latest summon comes a day after Lalu's daughter Misa Bharti was questioned by the ED for eight hours on Tuesday.

The ED had on July 8 conducted searches at three Delhi farmhouses of Bharti, her husband Shailesh Kumar and the firm.

The agency officials said that the questioning of Misa Bharti was related to a Rs 8,000 crore money laundering probe being conducted by the agency against Delhi-based businessmen brothers -- Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain, and others who are alleged to have laundered several crore rupees using over 90 shell companies.

The Jain brothers were arrested by the ED earlier under the PMLA.

One of the firms that the arrested duo dealt with was Ms Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited.

Bharti and her husband are alleged to have been directors of this firm in the past.

The agency said it was detected that 1,20,000 shares of M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited were bought during 2007-08 at a rate of Rs 100 per share by four shell companies -- M/s Shalini Holdings Limited, M/s Ad-Fin Capital Services (India) Pvt. Ltd, M/s Mani Mala Delhi Properties Pvt. Ltd., and M/s Diamond Vinimay Pvt. Ltd.

These 1,20,000 shares, it said, were allegedly bought back by Bharti at Rs 10 per share.

According to the ED official, same money was used to purchase farmhouse in Bijwasan at a low price of Rs 1.41 crore in 2008-09, whereas its actual value was above Rs 50 crore.

The agency's action comes in the wake of the raids it carried on Saturday at three premises of Misa Bharti, her husband and Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt. Ltd in connection with the alleged money laundering.

The ED had raided Misa Bharti's premises a day after the CBI raided multiple premises of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo, his wife Rabri Devi and two sons -- Tejashwi and Tej Pratap Yadav -- who are ministers in Bihar government for allegedly receiving a three-acre plot of land as a quid pro quo for leasing out two railway hotels to a private company when Lalu Prasad was the Railways Minister in the UPA government.

Last month, the Income Tax department had attached over 12 properties of her relatives, including her husband, and brothers under the Benami Act.

The ED had also arrested Rajesh Agarwal, a Chartered Accountant allegedly linked to Bharti, who provided accommodation entries (black funds) of about Rs 60 lakh to M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited.
Patna: A day after eighteen Opposition parties chose Gopalkrishna Gandhi as their joint candidate for vice president, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday phoned Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to thank him for supporting the former West Bengal governor.

Nitish, the JD(U) president, also received a phone call from Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi last evening, JD(U) leader KC Tyagi said.

Rahul had recently intervened to end the war of words between the Congress and the JD(U) in the wake of Nitish breaking away from the Opposition to support NDA's Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

The vice presidential election will take place on August 5 and votes will be counted the same evening.

Interestingly, on July 10, Bihar BJP chief Nityanand Rai had said in Delhi that his party could support state Nitish if he broke ties with the RJD but had insisted that the decision rested on the BJP's central leadership.

"If our central leadership gives such instructions, then we will support Nitish," he had said.

To be noted is the fact that, the RJD-JD(U) alliance government in Bihar has been following uncertainty following the CBI's case of corruption against RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son and Deputy CM Tejashwi.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Four terrorists, two of them Pakistanis, are suspected to have been involved in the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, Home Ministry officials said on Wednesday.

Quoting intelligence inputs, the officials said Pakistani national and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) 'commander' Abu Ismail was the mastermind of Monday's attack which killed seven people.

He is said to have been assisted by another Pakistani and two local militants.

The terrorists are believed to have used two motorcycles to escape from the scene after attacking the pilgrims bus, officials said, as per PTI.

Police sources said that 26-year old Ismail infiltrated into the Valley two years back and has since been carrying on terror activities in south Kashmir area

Police believe the attack was carried out in revenge against the arrest of LeT terrorist Sandeep Kumar Sharma who had been produced before the media by the police.

Sharma, according to police, was involved in the killing of an SHO and five policemen in Achabal area of Anantnag district last month, as per IANS.

Security forces have launched a massive hunt for Ismail and others.

'Highest alert' sounded across J&K

Meanwhile, as the annual pilgrimage continues, the central government issued the 'highest alert' in Jammu and Kashmir.

The alert by MHA was issued after a central ministerial team comprising Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh and Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir visited Kashmir and held extensive discussions with the top brass of the security establishment, Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the prevailing situation.

"Considering the unfortunate loss of life and injuries suffered by the yatris (pilgrims) in the recent terror attack, the entire security apparatus has been put on the highest alert by the ministers," a Home Ministry statement said.

The ministers visited Srinagar, following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

They discussed the security situation in detail with the CM and the Governor, before holding an in-depth security review with the local Army commander, the chief secretary, the police chief and senior officers of the state government, the DG of the CRPF and senior officers of BSF and other security agencies, the statement said.

What really happened on the fateful day

Officials said the Gujarat registered bus, which was attacked, reached at Jammu on July 7 and got registered at Amarnath shrine facilitation centre.

Initially, the bus was part of the regular convoy of the pilgrims and travelled together till Baltal.

The pilgrims in the bus paid their obeisance at the cave shrine on July 8 and returned. On the way back, the pilgrims left the convoy and drove to Srinagar.

The Gujarati pilgrims stayed in Srinagar for two days as tourists. On July 10, around 4:30 pm, they left Srinagar for Katra.

The vehicle got punctured at a place 10 km away from Khanabal around 6:30 pm. Then the passengers went down and had food at a roadside eatery.

When the bus resumed its journey, it came under attack from the terrorists at Khanabal around 20:17 hours.

Facing the bullets, the driver of the bus, Salim Sheikh, charged past the area but had to face another group of terrorists after crossing just 75 metres.

The driver again did not stop the bus despite facing the terrorist attack for the second time in quick succession.

The bus was finally stopped at a police point after a few kilometres and the policemen on duty took the pilgrims to the Anantnag police line where the injured were given first aid before being shifted to a hospital, officials said.

(With Agency inputs)
Washington: The White House on Wednesday strongly condemned the 'cowardly' attack on Amarnath pilgrims and said that US and India will continue to fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world.



In a statement, the White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer also said that an attack on religious freedom is an attack on the most fundamental right of liberty.



"The United States strongly condemns the cowardly terrorist attack on religious pilgrims in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on July 10. We extend condolences to the victims' families and the people of India. An attack on religious freedom is an attack on the most fundamental right of liberty. The United States and India will continue to fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world," the statement said.

The United States strongly condemns the cowardly terrorist attack on religious pilgrims in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on July 10. pic.twitter.com/SnPEEkqBZq  Sean Spicer (@PressSec) July 12, 2017

Earlier, Mary K Carlson, Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in New Delhi had also tweeted her condemnation.

"We deplore the attack on Amarnath pilgrims and condemn all acts of terrorism. Deepest condolences to the families and all those affected," she had said, as per IANS.

Condemnation against the Amarnath attack has continued to pour in from the international community.

While Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wrote to her Indian counterpart PM Narendra Modi, condemning the 'heinous' terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims and reaffirming her country's support to India at this 'difficult hour', Nepal's foreign affairs ministry, in a release, also strongly denounced the terrorist attack and expressed its condolences.

Strongly condemning the terror attack targeting a bus of pilgrims, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said, "being enemies of civilisation and humanity, terrorists don't respect any religion and law but in order to disseminate terror and hate, they target sacred locations and civilians including women and children."

Afghanistan, which is at the front-line in the fight against terrorism, has always evinced its honesty and valor in counter-terrorism efforts, once again stressing on putting up a collective and earnest fight against terrorism through a unified strategy, a statement from the Afghan President's office said.

The UK's acting High Commissioner to India, Alexander Evans, also condemned the attack.

"The UK stands resolutely with India in the fight against terror," he tweeted.

In a message, Pavel Dorokhin, member of state duma and deputy chairman of India-Russia inter-parliamentary committee, said, "on behalf of all our deputies in the state duma, I convey our deep condolences on the terrorist attack in J&K yesterday. Russia stands united against terrorism and terrorism cannot be justified."

Dorokhin further said, "our joint efforts and unity in developing our cooperation will be the basis for ensuring security in Eurasia."

France sent out a message of solidarity. "France assures the people and authorities of India of its solidarity in face of terrorism. During their meeting in Paris on 3rd June this year, the French President and Modi, had declared counter- terrorism to be a priority of our strategic partnership," said the spokesperson of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, as per PTI.

German Ambassador Martin Ney in his message said he strongly condemned the terrorist attack on behalf of his government. He also conveyed deepest condolences to the families of the victims.

"Germany resolutely stands by India in the fight against terrorism and extremism," Ney said.

"As the G20 leaders just reaffirmed in Hamburg, we are resolved to tackle terrorism as a common challenge to the global community," he noted.

In a tweet, Norwegian Ambassador Nils Ragnar Kamsvag said, "Norway condemns cowardly Amarnath terror attack . Amarnath yatra represents faith and pilgrimage. Our condolences to the families.

The Embassy of Iran said in a release that it "condemns in the strongest possible words the Monday night terror attack on the Amarnath pilgrims." The embassy also extended condolences to the Indian government and families of victims.

(With Agency inputs)
San Francisco: In the following weeks, you may see ads in your Facebook Messenger as the company is extending beta test of home screen Messenger ads worldwide.

A report in the VentureBeat on Tuesday quoted Messenger`s head of product Stan Chudnovsky as saying that the update would be rolled out slowly, but the targeted promos would be widely visible by the end of 2017.

"Advertising is not necessarily everything, but it`s definitely how we`re going to be making money right now. And going forward, there are some other business models we are exploring as well, but they`re all around ads one way or another," the report quoted Chudnovsky as saying.

The beta version of Messenger home screen ads started in January in Australia and Thailand.

These ads on Messenger home screen fits the company`s vision of facilitating connection between its 1.2 billion users and the 60 million businesses on Facebook.

"Ads in the Home tab will follow an auction-based model and will feature the same sort of user-targeting capabilities found on Facebook or Instagram," Chudnovsky noted.

Currently, Messenger ads include sponsored messages and ads in Facebook News Feeds that redirect to Messenger conversations with a bot or human.
Srinagar: Three Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed in overnight encounter with security forces in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The terrorists were eliminated in a joint operation conducted by the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

After receiving intelligence inputs the forces cordoned off the area last night. The search operation turned into an encounter as the search party of the security forces was fired upon by the militants.

All slain militants were locals and were identified as Javed Sheikh, Dawood and Aquib. Sheikh was the Hizbul district commander, a senior police officer said.

The security forces recovered arms and ammunition and war like stores from the gunbattle area.

Terrorists on Monday killed seven Amarnath pilgrims from Gujarat, including six women, and injured 32 others as they struck at a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district, in the worst attack on the annual pilgrimage since the year 2000.
New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday stepped up attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of pursuing policies that led to terrorists creating space for themselves in Jammu and Kashmir.

He also alleged that the prime minister's pursuit of short- term political gains from the BJP-PDP alliance in the state has cost the country dear and resulted in sacrifices of innocent Indians.

"Short-term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively," the Gandhi scion tweeted today.

"Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India," he added further.

"Modi's personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood," he tweeted

On Tuesday, the Congress vice president launched an attack on the prime minister over security lapses that led to terror attack on Anantnag pilgrims.

"This is a grave & unacceptable security lapse. The PM needs to accept responsibility and never allow it to happen again" he said while asking PM Modi to accept the responsibility for the same.

He had also said that India will never be intimidated by terrorists.

Opposition parties had also asked the government to introspect on its failure to prevent the "cowardly and ghastly" terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims despite reports of advance intelligence inputs.

"The government needs to introspect as to why, despite advanced intelligence inputs, was there a failure to prevent this attack?" a resolution passed by 18 opposition parties yesterday said.

The BJP, however, lashed out at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's 'lack of maturity' over his attempts to politicise the terror attack that killed seven pilgrims.

"While the whole country is united at this dark hour, there are some discordance voices like Rahul Gandhi's. Right now, we need to go after the enemy, not place blame and politicise the matter. This is something that people who are not mature don't understand," BJP leader RK Singh told ANI.

"Whatever corrective action is necessary, it will be taken in due course of time," he added.
Srinagar: A massive manhunt has been launched to track down Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander and Pakistani national Abu Ismail, the matermind of the Amarnath terror attack.

In the worst attack on the annual pilgrimage since the year 2001, terrorists Monday night killed seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, and injured 19 others as they struck at a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district.

The security forced have stepped up operations in south Kashmir to trace Ismail.

In order to send a strong message, a fresh batch of pilgrims today left for the Himalayan cave shrine amid tight security as the Amarnath Yatra continued post a Lashkar terror strike.

A Jammu and Kashmir police official said the attack in Anantnag appears to be a reprisal for killing of several Lashkar militants including Bashir Lashkari in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.

Also Read: Security forces kill three Hizbul militants in Budgam

The attack was carried out despite deployment of a multi-layered security cover provided by nearly 35,000 security men drawn from the Army, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal and the state police.

Surprisingly, Lashkar has not only distanced itself from the attack on Amarnath pilgrims but also condemned the attack.
Srinagar: Mobile internet services were restored in Jammu on Wednesday after a two-day ban, According to PTI.

The internet services were shut in Jammu after terrorists carried out an attack on Amarnath Yatra pilgrim on late on Monday. At least seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed whereas twelve including three policemen were injured after four bike-borne militants attacked a bus full of passengers and a police party in Anantnag along the Jammu-Srinagar Highway in south Kashmir.

On Tuesday, the Jammu and Kashmir had ordered the closure of all educational institutions and suspended internet facility here to maintain law and order in the aftermath of the Amarnath terror attack.

Meanwhile, the National Conference (NC) called a bandh in Jammu on Tuesday to protest the attack on innocent pilgrims.
Srinagar: Kashmiri separatist leaders on Wednesday hailed the people of the Valley for showing their deep resentment against the killing of seven Amarnath pilgrims.

A statement issued jointly by Chairman of hardline Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani, head of moderate Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chief Yasin Malik said, "The protests over this ghastly act (attack on the pilgrims) and the participation of all segments of society in them is heartening to see."

It is highly commendable that "the people of Kashmir have retained their humanitarian values and their belief in the great Kashmir ethos is intact," the statement said.

They said this should "serve as an eye-opener to those who encourage polarisation as a political tool and leave no stone unturned to demonize a people through media and crush them by use of force for their just political aspirations that have a historical and democratic bases."

The killing has sparked an outrage in Kashmir, with most people dismissing denouncing the attack on pilgrims.

"All bloodshed on all sides is uncalled for, unfortunate and painful and should stop. That can happen only when the reality of Kashmir is accepted and ways and means of resolving the dispute addressed by the Indian State," the separatists said.

"If the Government of India is seriously interested in the welfare of the youth of Kashmir and wants peace in the region, then it has to engage with their political sentiment and aspirations and give them the basic right to decide their future dispensation as guaranteed by the first Prime Minister of India and the international community," they said.
Jammu: Unfazed by the brazen terror attack on a bus carrying pilgrims in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, the largest batch of Amarnath pilgrims left for Pahalgam and Baltal on Wednesday.

Monday's attack was the second such strike on Amarnath pilgrims in the past 17 years.

According to ANI, the batch left amid unprecedented security put in place by the state and the central government.

Jammu: Largest batch of #AmarnathYatra pilgrims leave for Pahalgam and Baltal amid high security following #Anatnag terror attack pic.twitter.com/hW0dFdHA7X  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

Following Monday's attack a series of meetings to review security situation was conducted by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who also spoke to state government officials and top officers of the Army and para-military forces.

Army Chief Bipin Rawat also arrived in J&K to review the ground situation there.

The security forces deployed in J&K have pledged to teach an unforgettable lesson to those responsible for Monday's attack, which left at least seven person dead and several others injured.

J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti and the Gujarat government also announced compensation for the kin of the deceased and those injured in the attack.

Rising above the party politics, all political leaders condemned the Anantnag attack and called for a thorough investigation to ascertain if there was nay security lapse.

A high alert was sounded in all states including Delhi, UP, Rajasthan and Punjab and the security forces were asked to remain vigilant to avoid any untoward incident.

Amarnath Yatra had resumed on Sunday after a day-long suspension with a fresh batch of 4,411 pilgrims who left Jammu for the Kashmir Valley.

"Due to security reasons, the Yatra was suspended on Saturday," an official said.

The 40-day long Yatra to the Himalayan cave shrine started on June 29 and will end on August 7 on Shravan Purnima coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival.

So far, over one lakh pilgrims have reached the shrine located at 3,888 metres above sea-level.

The cave houses an ice stalagmite structure that waxes and wanes with the size of the moon.

Devotees believe the ice stalagmite structure symbolises mythical powers of Lord Shiva.
Mumbai: Taking a dig at the BJP over Monday's brazen terror attack on a bus ferrying Amarnath pilgrims, Shiv Sena had asked its senior ally to send 'gau rakshaks' to face terrorists in the Kashmir Valley.

The remarks were made by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district last evening.

While five of those killed hailed from neighbouring Gujarat, two were from Maharashtra.

"They (the BJP) used to say that do not bring sports, culture etc. in the political issues. Today, religion and politics came together in the form of the terror attack. Should we understand that none of those terrorists would have been alive today if they had the cow meat in their bags than weapons?" he said

"The issue of 'gau rakshaks' is raging today. Why don't you send these cow vigilantes to face terrorists?"

Thackeray asked while addressing representatives of various Ganesh mandals for the upcoming festival.

He chaired the meeting of the Ganesh mandals here.

Thackeray, whose party shares an uneasy relationship with the BJP, further said, "If the BJP government can talk to separatists in the Kashmir Valley to resolve their issues, they can certainly talk with those wishing to celebrate the Ganesh festival amidst fanfare".

He requested the Devendra Fadnavis government to bring out an ordinance against the restrictions imposed by the Bombay High Court on noise level during the festivals.

With PTI inputs
Mumbai: In a setback to the Enforcement Directorate, a court in Mumbai on Wednesday granted bail to Aamir Gazdar, an alleged close aide of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, in a money laundering case.

Judge A N Sirsikar of the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court granted bail to Gazdar on a bond of Rs 5 lakh.

He shall not leave the country without the court's permission, and shall cooperate with the investigation, the judge said, laying down conditions while granting him relief.

During the hearing on the bail plea, Gazdar's lawyers Taraq Sayyed and Mubin Solkar had argued that he be released as investigation was over and charge sheet filed.

Unlike Zakir Naik, Gazdar had not been booked in any other case by the NIA or other government agencies, the lawyers said.

The ED had arrested Gazdar in February this year. Naik had allegedly established some 'dummy' companies in India and abroad which were used to camouflage diversion of funds received by him through his illegal activities, and he had named Gazdar as a director of at least six such companies, the agency said.

Gazdar was a close confidante of Naik, it claimed.

The ED had registered a criminal case against Naik and others last December after the National Investigation Agency booked him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The ED also summoned Naik for questioning, but he has not appeared before the agency.

Naik, who was already abroad when the case was filed, has not returned to India fearing arrest since some perpetrators of the Dhaka terror strike of 2016 claimed they were inspired by his speeches.

The NIA registered a case against him and 'unnamed officials' of his Islamic Research Foundation under section 153-A of IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and the UAPA.
Jammu: At least two Army jawans were martyred and three others were injured after suspected terrorists opened fire on Army personnel in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.

According to a News18 report, the army men were shot dead by Pakistani army soldiers.

The incident took place in Keran sector of Kupwara today afternoon.

This comes after three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists in an overnight encounter with security forces in Budgam district.

Also Read: After attack on Amarnath pilgrims, security forces intensify counter-terror ops in J&K, kill three Hizbul militants in Budgam

The terrorists were eliminated in a joint operation conducted by the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

A cache of arms and ammunition and warlike stores were recovered by the security forces from the gunbattle area.

On Monday night, a group of terrorists killed at least seven Amarnath pilgrims and injured 32 others as they struck a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district, in the worst attack on the annual pilgrimage since the year 2000.
Assam: Floods in Assam cross the danger level after incessant rains hit several parts of the Kaziranga National Park.

More than 50 percent region of the national park has submerged.

Assistant Conservator of the national park M Das told ANI, "Elephants, Rhinos and Deer have migrated to Karbi Hills. Flood level is expected to rise.''

Divisional Forest Officer Rohini B Saikia said that most of the strayed animals are crossing the National Highway 37 and are taking shelter in Karbi hills.

Earlier on Tuesday, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal paid a visit to Lahorighat of the state's Morigaon district and took stock of the measures that the Water Resources Department has taken so far to control the menace.

He directed the department to take immediate steps to contain erosion.

Sonowal convened a high-level meeting at the circuit house, Morigaon, and reviewed the situation emanated from flood and erosion in the district.
New Delhi: A 'highest alert' has been sounded across Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the killing of seven Amarnath pilgrims by militants, the Home Ministry said on Tuesday.

Also, a massive manhunt has been launched in for Pakistani LeT terrorist Muhammad Abu Ismail, who, according to police sources, headed the group that attacked a bus carrying Amarnath yatris, killing seven pilgrims.

The alert by MHA was issued after a central ministerial team comprising Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh and Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir visited Kashmir and held extensive discussions with the top brass of the security establishment, Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the prevailing situation.

"Considering the unfortunate loss of life and injuries suffered by the yatris (pilgrims) in the recent terror attack, the entire security apparatus has been put on the highest alert by the ministers," a Home Ministry statement said.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday.

The ministers visited Srinagar, following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, as per PTI.

They discussed the security situation in detail with the chief minister and the governor, before holding an in-depth security review with the local army commander, the chief secretary, the police chief and senior officers of the state government, the DG of the CRPF, and senior officers of BSF and other security agencies, the statement said.

The central ministers stressed that the entire country was with the Kashmiris and the pilgrims and that all arrangements for a safe and secure pilgrimage would continue with renewed vigour.

The central ministers expressed their gratitude to the governments of J&K and Maharashtra and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board for the financial assistance announced for the victims of the attack.

It is a unique pilgrimage where people of one faith undertake the pilgrimage, while people belonging to all other faiths play the host, the Home Ministry statement said.

So far, more than 1.5 lakh pilgrims have visited the cave shrine located in the Himalayas. The 40-day long pilgrimage started on June 29.

Meanwhile, police sources said that 26-year old Ismail infiltrated into the Valley two years back and has since been carrying on terror activities in south Kashmir area, as per IANS.

"Abu Ismail with at least one foreign terrorist and two to three local terrorists of LeT carried out the attack on the Yatra bus on Monday," said a source, adding information based on intercepts indicates that the attack was planned by him too.

"The terrorists came on two motorcycles and fired at least a hundred rounds from their automatic weapons at the bus at two places. After the first attack, the terrorists chased the bus and fired at it for the second time," said a source, noting that although investigations into the terror attack were in the initial stages, yet the involvement of Abu Ismail had been established beyond any doubt.

Police believe the attack was carried out in revenge against the arrest of LeT terrorist Sandeep Kumar Sharma who had been produced before the media by the police.

Sharma, according to police, was involved in the killing of an SHO and five policemen in Achabal area of Anantnag district last month.

(With Agency inputs)
Los Angeles: A man living in California, charged with sexually assaulting at least four children including a five-year-old, could face 300 years in prison, a report said on Wednesday.

According to the NBC Los Angeles report, Gilbert Andrew Chavarria broke into homes and sexually assaulted children in the cities of Escondido and San Marcos, located about 140 km south of Los Angeles, in June and July of 2013, Xinhua news agency reports.

The 29-year-old, nicknamed "the Creeper", cut to pieces the victims` pajamas during the assaults, suspect police.

Chavarria, working at an auto shop, on Monday pleaded not guilty to 22 charges including burglary, assault, lewd acts with a child and possession of child pornography.

Police have not yet determined the exact number of victims and are asking for public help in finding other sufferers, the report said.

Chavarria could face 300 years in prison if convicted.
New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday rapped the Assam government for the death of several animals in road accidents in the Kaziranga National Park and directed it to ensure their safety, especially during monsoons.

Concerned over growing wildlife deaths in road accidents near the home of the famous one-horned rhinos, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed the Assam government to take urgent steps to protect animals during the floods.

"The animals are dying in road accidents on a daily basis. What are your traffic sensors doing? Tell us, why the sensors are not able to protect these animals," the bench said.

The green panel was informed by the Sarbananda Sonowal government that it has carried out 1,010 challans on National Highway-37 that passes along the southern boundaries of Kaziranga National Park for over-speeding and over-loading till July 10.

The Assam government counsel told the NGT that not even a single animal has died on the stretch where sensor-operated automated traffic barriers have been installed.

The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by wildlife activist Rohit Choudhury opposing the widening of NH-37 which passes from Jakhalabandha to Bokakhat along the reserve.

Advocate Ritwick Dutta, appearing for the petitioner, alleged that nine hog deers have been killed in road accidents in the last 10 days and said urgent steps are needed for the safety of these animals.

The tribunal directed the counsel for the petitioner to identify the stretches where sensor barriers have not been installed so that it can be replicated in other areas.

The matter was fixed for next hearing on July 14.

The tribunal had earlier said that any vehicle found crossing the 40-km speed limit on the NH-37 will have to pay an environment compensation of Rs 5,000, besides a fine under the Motor Vehicles Act.

The national park director had earlier told the bench that sensor-operated automatic barriers on NH-37 near the Malini Camp of the rhino habitat have been installed.

He had submitted that a total of four animals -- two hog deer, one capped langur and one python -- have been killed till April 30 after being hit by vehicles.

Three interceptor vehicles are at present in operation round-the-clock in the 66-km stretch of the highway running along the park to check that vehicle speed does not exceed the 40-km limit, he had added.
Bhubaneswar: The Department of Higher Education (DHE) is expected to release the second first selection list for Degree (+3) admissions on Wednesday.

Candidates shall log on to dheodisha.gov.in to check the merit list.

The third selection list will be out on July 18.

Classes for +3 first year students will commence on July 24, 2017.

How to check DHE Odisha +3 result 2017:

- Visit the official website dheodisha.gov.in

- Click on Degree +3 link

- Alternatively, open http://dheodisha.gov.in/SAMS/degree.aspx

- Click on Merit List

- Enter the necessary details in the respective fields and click on `Submit` button

- Download or view the merit list
New Delhi: Ace comedians Kapil Sharma and Ali Asgar have, time and again, made audiences go ROFL with their hilarious acts together. But, when the latter left 'The Kapil Sharma Show, people started speculating that things are not well between the duo.

However, both share a good rapport even today! Well, let us tell you how.

Recently, when reports of Kapil's hospitalisation took over the Internet, Ali contacted him and even wished him a better health. I couldnt meet Kapil because I was rehearsing for The Drama Company but I messaged him, Get well soon, and he replied, an indianexpress.com report quoted Ali as saying.

It clearly shows that the former colleagues still have massive respect for each other.

On the professional front, Ali is gearing up for his new television program 'The Drama Company'. Interestingly, Kapil's professional rival Krushna Abhishek is also a part of this show. Sudesh Lehri and Mithun Chakraborty will adding more zing to the new show.
Jaipur: At least 16 policemen were injured, including a Superintendent of Police, in violence in a village in Rajasthan`s Nagaur district on Wednesday over an alleged staged gunfight, police said.

A mob attacked police with stones and set afire a police vehicle in Sanwarda village in Nagaur district late evening, injuring 16 policemen, including the Superintendent of Police, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) N.R.K. Reddy told IANS.

Though police denied it, eyewitnesses said at least four protesters too were injured.

Three seriously injured policemen were referred to a Jaipur hospital.

Thousands of persons had gathered in the village from all over the state to demand a probe by the Central Bureau of Inquiry into the death of gangster Anandpal Singh on June 24.

His family claimed he was killed despite his willingness to surrender before police and that it was a part of the political conspiracy to eliminate him.

The protesters also damaged a section of the railway tracks in the area, following which rail traffic was diverted between Ladnu-Kuchaman section.

Earlier, police was deployed and Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure imposed in the village due to the protest.
New Delhi: Everyone knows how close Shah Rukh Khan is to his family, especially his children and he feels really blessed that his children get so much love from everyone.

The actor feels elated that his third child AbRam is receiving affection from all around.

Replying to film journalist and author Bhawana Somaaya, who praised the four-year-old son of Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan on Twitter, the 'Raees' star shared that "more than stardom, AbRam is born for lovedom."

Somaaya wrote, "I just love the way AbRam starts waving at his father Shah Rukh Khan's fans, he is so unfazed among crowds like he is born for stardom."

To which, SRK replied, "More than stardom I believe he is born for Lovedom! So fortunate to get such love from so many, he is blessed."

In May, SRK expressed his gratitude to his fans and posted an emotional message on Twitter on AbRam's birthday.

"I felt that only parents know how to love their child.the overwhelming msgs for AbRam make me realise u all lov him so much too. Grateful," he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan is currently busy promoting Imtiaz Ali's ' Jab Harry Met Sejal'. The movie also stars Anushka Sharma in lead role.

The flick is scheduled to hit theatres on August 4.
New Delhi: In its sixth science orbit, NASA's Juno spacecraft successfully flew over Jupiter's iconic Great Red Spot on July 10, coming closer to the gas giant than any other spacecraft has ever been before and providng humanity first up-close view of this mysterious 10,000-mile-wide storm.

As per NASA, Juno reached perijove - the point at which an orbit comes closest to Jupiter's center - on July 10 at 6:55 p.m. PDT (9:55 p.m. EDT). At the time of perijove, Juno was about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) above the planet's cloud tops.

During the flyby, all of Juno's science instruments and the spacecraft's JunoCam were operating, collecting data that are now being returned to Earth.

NASA says raw images from Junos latest flyby of the gas giant will be posted in coming days.

"For generations people from all over the world and all walks of life have marveled over the Great Red Spot," said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "Now we are finally going to see what this storm looks like up close and personal."

The Great Red Spot is a 10,000-mile-wide (16,000-kilometer-wide) storm that has been monitored since 1830 and has possibly existed for more than 350 years. The Great Red Spot, which is 1.3 times as wide as Earth, has appeared to be shrinking in modern times.

By peering deep into the planet's deep red heart, scientists believe Juno may help them understand how this gian storm works and why it's shrinking.

Juno's next close flyby of Jupiter will occur on September 1.

Launched on August 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Juno logged exactly one year in Jupiter orbit on July 4 at 7:30 p.m. PDT (10:30 p.m. EDT), marking 71 million miles of travel around the giant planet.
Chennai: Leader of Opposition M K Stalin on Wednesday opposed in the Assembly a proposal mooted by the Centre for an entrance examination on the lines of NEET to recruit judges for the lower judiciary.

Secretary in-charge of justice in the union law ministry had written to the Supreme Court suggesting recruitment of district level judges on the basis of an all-India examination, the DMK leader pointed out.

Stating that the Centre's proposal went against principles of federalism, he said seven States including BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh had reportedly "filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court against it."

He wanted Tamil Nadu to take a similar stand and pass a resolution in the House against the proposed move and send it to the Centre.

Citing Constitutional provisions governing appointments to lower judiciary, he said so far the State Public Service Commission was making such appointments.

Arguing that the proposed move would deprive States of their rights in the matter, he said it would take away the rights of the High Court and the Public Service Commission as well.

On GST, the Leader of Opposition referring to messages on 'WhatsApp,' said some traders felt taxation was on the higher side under the GST regime.

Finance Minister D Jayakumar said the grievances, views of the industry would be put forward to the GST Council and such issues would be addressed.
Rameswaram: Twenty persons, including passengers of a bus and two drivers were injured when a crowd pelted stones at state transport buses after alleged reckless driving led to a fisherman's death at Thangachimadam area lateTuesday night.

The two bus drivers are reported to be in serious condition.

The passengers suffered minor injuries,police said.

They said the protesters also made a futile bid to set ablaze another bus, leading to mild use of force by striking force personnel, who rushed to the spot, to disperse them.

Eleven persons have been arrested in connection with the violence and cases booked against 150 others, they said.

Police said violence broke out after a fishermen returning home with his wife on a bike after attending a function was fatally knocked down by a government bus. His wife was seriously injured.

As news about his death spread, people in the area surrounded the bus, blocked road traffic and pelted stones at the vehicle and two other buses, police said.

District Collector S Natarajan and Superintendent of Police Om Prakash Meena rushed to the spot and held talks with the agitators even as some persons tried to set a bus ablaze, leading to the police action.

The fisherman's body was later sent to the Ramanathapuram government hospital for post mortem.

Armed police police have been posted in the area and the situation was under control, police said.
Jaipur/Mumbai: A 35-year-old computer science dropout from Rajasthan has been arrested for his alleged involvement in a case of leak of customer data from India's newest telecom entrant - Reliance Jio.

The accused has been identified by his nickname 'Imran Chippa' and was arrested from Churu district in Rajasthan.

A resident of Sujangarh town, Chhipa had made the website Magicapk. He claimed to provide Jio user data through his website, police said.

However, Jio has said that the claims of the website were "unverified" and "unsubstantiated".

After the police complaint lodged in Mumbai, Mumbai Police had reached Churu after tracking the IP address and took Chhipa into custody last night.

"Chhipa has been arrested in the data leak case," Additional SP, Yogendra Kumar Faujdar told PTI in Jaipur.

Following the data leak, the domain of the website has been suspended.

"We have seized the computer and other devices used by him to leak the data and he will be thoroughly interrogated. A team of Mumbai Police led by ACP Deepak Dhole had reached Churu district after tracking the IP address and will interrogate Chhipa," police said.

An analysis by the Maharashtra Cyber Police headed by Inspector General of Police Brijesh Singh led investigators to zero-in on the location from where the suspected data breach had happened, he said.

The suspect's computer, mobile and storage devices have been seized and will be sent for a thorough examination, he said.

There were reports on Sunday which claimed that customer data, including mobile numbers and other details of Reliance Jio users, were allegedly leaked on an independent website.

Jio had also said its subscriber data "is safe and maintained with highest level of security".

The company is one of fastest in the world to touch the 100 million subscriber mark within months of its launch in September 2016.

When asked about the data leak, Maharashtra Cyber Police's Superintendent Balsingh Rajput confirmed that some leak had occurred but declined to give details about the quantum of the breach.
New Delhi: Reliance Jio is planning to come up with Jio Fiber broadband services anytime soon.

A JioFiber preview plan was spotted on the company's website, by a Redditor, that talked about offering 100GB of data per month at 100 Mbps of speed for three months. Good news is this that it will come all for free. Nevertheless, customers will pay an installation charge of Rs 4,500 for the JioFiber preview plan but, it's a refundable amount.

The information on the website further disclosed that the plan will be first launched in cities which include Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara, and Vishakhapatnam.

The user will receive a custom router during installation from the company. The coat of the device will be included in the installation charge.

The company may have removed the plan details from its website as of now, it surely stipulates that the roll out of services is very near.
Chennai: The Hindu Makkal Katchi on Wednesday demanded ban on the Tamil version of reality show Bigg Boss and wanted its host actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan to be arrested for tarnishing Tamil culture.

In its police complaint, the nationalist Hindu party demanded that the contestants of the show -- such as Oviya, Namitha, Ganja Karuppu and Harathi among others -- be arrested as well.

They claim the show is obscene.

"The participants are mouthing obscene statements and are acting 75 per cent nude. It is also derogative of Tamil culture and hurts the sentiments of seven crore Tamilians," read the statement.

"They should be arrested under law because they are hurting Tamil culture and the programme should be banned," the statement added.

The show, which went on air June 25, marks the television debut of Kamal Haasan.
Beijing: Chinese Nobel Peace Prize-winning dissident Liu Xiaobo's condition is worsening, the hospital treating him said on Wednesday, as his friends questioned the accuracy of official accounts of his health.

Liu, 61, is being treated for worsening liver function, septic shock and organ dysfunction, and remains on dialysis, the hospital in the northeastern city of Shenyang said in a short online statement, its latest update.

Liu was jailed for 11 years in 2009 for "inciting subversion of state power" after helping to write a petition known as "Charter 08" calling for sweeping political reforms.

He was recently moved from jail to a hospital to be treated for late-stage liver cancer.

Rights groups and Western government have urged China to allow Liu and his wife, Liu Xia, to leave the country to be treated abroad, as Liu has said he wants to.

Liu's friends have voiced suspicion over the hospital's statements, which suggest a worsening of his condition soon after two foreign doctors said he was well enough to travel abroad.

"We do not know how reliable these accounts are, or if they mean Liu Xiaobo cannot travel," a friend of Liu's family told Reuters, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.

No one answered the telephone at the hospital's publicity department on Wednesday.

The "confrontational tone" of those in the West voicing their opinions on Liu failed to focus on his illness, the state-backed Global Times tabloid said on Wednesday.

"China has already taken the feelings of relevant Western forces into consideration, and has no obligation to meet their unreasonable demands," it said in an English-language editorial.

Two doctors from the United States and Germany who visited Liu on Saturday later said they considered it safe for him to be moved overseas for treatment, but such a move must happen as quickly as possible.

After the doctor's Sunday statement, China released short videos of their visit, apparently taken without their knowledge, in which the German doctor appeared to praise the care Liu had received from the Chinese doctors.

On Monday, the German embassy in Beijing said in a statement the release of the videos went against Germany's wishes and suggested, "Security organs are steering the process, not medical experts."

Asked about Germany's statement, the foreign ministry on Tuesday said it did not know anything about the issues raised, reiterating its position that countries should not interfere in China's internal affairs.
Beijing: Chinese troops have departed for Africa to establish a military base for logistical support in Djibouti, the first such Chinese facility to be set up outside its borders, a local media report said on Wednesday.

Two ships carrying soldiers and military equipment left the southern port of Zhanjiang on Tuesday, following a farewell ceremony by the People`s Liberation Army for the units in charge of the new base in the Horn of Africa, Efe news reported.

The base will support China`s military operations in Africa and Asia as part of international humanitarian missions, escorting ships to avoid piracy and peacekeeping, the Army said.

After China showed interest in opening such a base in 2015, Beijing reiterated many times that the facility would not be for military expansion but to provide logistics support to international activities and protection of maritime routes.

Djibouti already hosts military bases set up by the US, France and Japan, which support warships escorting convoys carrying humanitarian aid to different countries in the region and guard the waters against maritime piracy, apart from other objectives.
Beijing: China will cut down its present military force of 2.3 million, the world's largest army, to below one million, the biggest troop reduction in the People's Liberation Army's history.

"This is the first time that active PLA Army personnel would be reduced to below one million," said a report in a social media outlet run by PLA Daily.

The article on structural reform in the military said: "The old military structure, where the army accounts for the vast majority, will be replaced after the reform."

In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping had announced a reduction of 300,000 troops in the PLA.

According to the report, the number of troops in the PLA Navy, PLA Strategic Support Force, and the PLA Rocket Force would be increased, while the PLA Air Force's active service personnel would remain the same.

"The reform is based on China's strategic goals and security requirements. In the past, the PLA focused on ground battle and homeland defence, which will undergo fundamental changes," said the WeChat article.

China has cut down its defence spending in the past two years, with the military budget in 2017 remaining seven per cent, lowest hike in more than a decade.

Xi wants a lean but modernised armed forces.

China has been becoming a major sea power and its disputes are more on seas than land.

Of the 14 neighbours, China has land disputes only with India and Bhutan.

According to the Chinese Defence Ministry, PLA had about 850,000 combat troops in 2013.

"This reform will provide other services, including the PLA Rocket Force, Air Force, Navy and Strategic Support Force (mainly responsible for electronic warfare and communication), with more resources and inputs, and the PLA will strengthen its capability to conduct overseas missions," Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, was quoted as saying by Global Times.

"The PLA must be capable of spotting overseas threats and destroying hostile forces thousands of kilometers away before they enter our 12 nautical mile territorial waters," Xu said.

"China's overseas interests are spread around the world and need to be protected. These are beyond the army's current capabilities," said Xu.

The PLA structure should also fit China's international status, Xu added.
Iraq: Iraqi forces clashed with Islamic State militants holding out in Mosul`s Old City on Wednesday, more than 36 hours after Baghdad declared victory over the jihadists in what they had made the de facto Iraqi capital of their self-declared caliphate.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi`s victory announcement signalled the biggest defeat for the hardline Sunni group since its lightning sweep through northern Iraq three years ago. But pockets of Mosul remain insecure and the city has been heavily damaged by nearly nine months of gruelling urban combat.

About 900,000 people fled the fighting, with more than a third sheltered in camps outside Iraq`s second largest city and the rest living with family and friends in other neighbourhoods.

Civilian activity has quickly returned to much of Mosul and work to repair damaged homes and infrastructure is underway, but authorities have not prepared a post-battle plan for governance and security in the city, officials say.

Iraqi forces exchanged gunfire with the militants in their final Mosul redoubt just before midnight and into the morning hours, three residents living just across the Tigris River from the area told Reuters.

Army helicopters strafed the Old City and columns of smoke rose into the air, though it was unclear if these came from controlled explosions or from bombs set off by Islamic State, the residents said by phone.

"We still live in an atmosphere of war despite the victory announcement two days ago," said Fahd Ghanim, 45. Another resident said the blasts shook the ground around half a kilometre away.

An Iraqi military official attributed the activity to "clearing operations".

"There are Daesh (fighters) hiding in different places," he said, using an acronym for Islamic State. "They disappear here and pop up there, then we target them."

Media access to the area has been heavily restricted since Abadi claimed victory on Monday, hailing "the collapse of the terrorist state".

Footage released by the Islamic State news agency Amaq entitled "Fighting till the last gasp" and allegedly filmed in Mosul`s Maydan district showed militants mixed in with civilians and unidentified corpses lying amid the rubble of an urban battlefield. Reuters could not authenticate the video.

ASYMMETRIC ATTACKS

The Iraqi official declined to estimate the number of militants or civilians remaining in the Old City, but the top U.S. general in Iraq said on Tuesday that as many as a couple of hundred IS insurgents could still be in Mosul.

"There are bypassed holdouts. We haven`t cleared every building in this city the size of Philadelphia. That`s going to have to be done, and there are also hidden IEDs (improvised explosive devices)," Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend told reporters. "There are still going to be losses from the Iraqi security forces as they continue to secure Mosul."

The U.S.-led coalition said it had conducted three air strikes on IS in the Mosul area on Tuesday, targeting militants, machine-gun emplacements and rocket-propelled grenade systems.

South of the city, Iraqi security forces repelled an IS attack launched from western desert areas on the village of al-Jaran, a tribal fighter said.

Reinforcements also arrived to help government forces oustmilitants armed with machine guns and mortars from the village of Imam Gharbi, further to the south. IS had taken around 75 percent of the village since storming it last week.

These are the kind of asymmetric, guerrilla-style strikes Islamic State is expected to concentrate on now as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces regain control over cities the group captured during its shock 2014 offensive.

Another attack on a border guard convoy in western Anbar province, near the Syrian border, killed two soldiers and wounded four on Tuesday, military sources said.

Separately, 28 Sunni Muslim civilians were kidnapped in the Iskandariya district south of Baghdad this week and 20 of them were found dead later, a police officer told Reuters.

Suspects detained by the authorities said they belonged to the Shi`ite Muslim Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia. A Baghdad-based spokesman for the group, whose fighters are taking part in the Shi`ite-led government`s campaign against Islamic State, said he had no knowledge of the incident.

The government`s victory in Mosul may rekindle revenge attacks and fresh violence between Sunnis and Shi`ites, a sectarian divide that tipped Iraq into civil war after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday visited a region devastated by flooding over recent days and promised that the government would do everything possible to help rebuild.

Torrential rain that began a week ago set off landslides and sent rivers surging over their banks on the southwestern island of Kyushu, at one point forcing more than 400,000 people from their homes.

Twenty-five people were killed and 23 are still missing.

Abe, whose support has plunged to its lowest since he took office in 2012, cut short a European tour by a day because of the disaster and went to visit the region less than 24 hours after returning.

"I was able to talk with people in evacuation centres and hear their worries and troubles," said Abe.

"The government will make every effort to rebuild so that people can resume their former lives without worries."

About 11,000 soldiers, police and firefighters are combing through mud and piles of logs in the largely rural area, searching for the missing.

"We finally found my wife, and held her funeral yesterday," one man, his chin dusted with stubble, told NHK public television. "There's nothing left of the house."

Abe knelt down to talk to survivors sitting on the floor of the evacuation centre and he also inspected the site of a destroyed railway bridge.

One woman told media Abe had shaken her hand and commiserated with her about how tough things must be.

"We want him to work hard for Japan," she said.
Port Dickson: Malaysian authorities have raided a construction site and detained 77 foreigners as part of a fresh crackdown on illegal immigration.

Immigration officials say more than 3,000 foreigners and 63 employers who hired workers illegally have been detained since a sweep began July 1 targeting the workforce of foreigners who come to Malaysia illegally to work mostly low- wage jobs in the construction, plantation and service industries.

As one of Southeast Asia's richest countries, Malaysia has long attracted workers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and India.

Immigration officials who conducted the raid at the construction site in northern Negeri Sembilan state found 77 of the 85 workers on site had no valid documents.

Most of them are Indonesians.
Manila: A Philippine government air strike aimed at Islamist rebels mistakenly killed two soldiers on Wednesday, the military said, the second such deadly accident in a bloody campaign to oust the militants from a southern city.

The accident happened when a plane bombing rebel positions in the city of Marawi missed its target and knocked down buildings on to the soldiers, a military spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera, said in a statement.

"Large debris from heavily reinforced buildings accidentally hit two of our personnel," Herrera said. We are saddened by this unfortunate incident."

He said 11 soldiers sustained minor shrapnel wounds and were recuperating in the hospital.

An air strike on Islamist rebels killed 11 government troops in May.

Militants linked to Islamic State seized Marawi on May 23 and have been resisting daily assaults by government forces using aircraft and artillery.

President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday he needed 15 more days to defeat the militants.

More than 500 people have been killed, including 389 militants, 90 members of the security forces, and 39 civilians, since the fighting erupted. About 260,000 residents have been displaced.
Manila: Philippine troops clashed on Wednesday with communist rebels in the south, leaving eight rebels and a soldier dead, officials said.

The fighting erupted after patrolling troops encountered some 40 New People's Army rebels in southern Compostela Valley province, said army spokesman Captain Alexandre Cabales.

The guerrillas later fled, leaving behind the bodies of eight rebels and six high-powered guns.

A wounded soldier died on the way to a hospital, he said.

On Monday, troops in the same province captured a camp of the rebels, who have been waging one of Asia's longest-running Marxist insurgencies.

The violence happened despite a statement by officials and rebel peace negotiators that they would suspend offensives to allow troops to focus on quelling a bloody siege by Islamic State group-aligned militants that in southern Marawi city.

The Marawi fighting entered its 51st day on Wednesday, with President Rodrigo Duterte saying Tuesday that it could end in 10-15 days.
Imphal: The state police commandos arrested one militant of the banned outfit Kangleipak Communist Party (Noyon) from the Sawombung Forest Gate area in Imphal East district, police said on Wednesday.

The area is under the jurisdiction of Lamlai police station.

The militant was arrested yesterday evening by a team of high ranking police officers comprising Imphal East Additional SP (L&O) W Kasar and others, said a senior police officer.

The cadre has been identified as 24-year-old Hidam Aboy.

He reportedly received basic military training at an area in Myanmar.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the cadre had joined the banned outfit in 2012 and currently assumes the position of self-styled lance corporal of the outfit, and works under the deputy army chief of that outfit - "Langam".

One mobile phone along with a SIM was recovered from his possession, said the senior police officer.

A case has been registered and investigation is in underway, the officer said.
Istanbul: Turkish police killed five Islamic State militants in a raid on a house in the city of Konya on Wednesday and four police were slightly wounded, the Dogan news agency said.

Special forces police launched the operation at the house in the Meram district of Konya, in central Turkey, at 5:15 am (0215 GMT) because they believed the militant cell was planning an attack, the agency said.

Police sealed off the area and approaching vehicles were searched after the clash, which occurred during raids conducted by the police on 10 different addresses in Konya, it said.

Five Kalashnikov rifles and a pistol were seized during the raid on the house, it added.

Islamic State militants have in the past carried out gun and bomb attacks in Turkey.

In recent years, thousands of foreign fighters had joined the jihadist group in their self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq, many passing through Turkey.

Ankara has detained more than 5,000 Islamic State suspects and deported some 3,290 foreign militants from 95 different countries in recent years, according to Turkish officials.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. On July 11, a meeting between Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov, Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, took place at the initiative and presence of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov, Stephane Visconti and Richard Hoagland, which was attended by Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, the ministry told ARMENPRESS.

During the meeting the discussions were held on the modalities of advancement of the Nagorno Karabakh negotiating process. Edward Nalbandian underscored the importance of stabilization of the situation on the Line of Contact and in this regard emphasized the necessity to implement the agreements, reached during the Vienna and St. Petersburg Summits.

The Co-Chairs asked the Ministers to convey to the Presidents their proposal on organizing a Summit in the course of this year. An agreement was reached to convene the next meeting between the Ministers in September in New York in the margins of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. President of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Artur Javadyan has departed for St. Petersburg to take part in the 14 session of the Foreign Currency Policy Coordination Council operating within the EAEU with participation of the presidents of central/national banks of the member states, as well as in the 26th international banking congress on Financing for Development, press service of the CBA told Armenpress.

During the congress issues relating to financial stability, banking regulation, insurance market, protection of investors and consumers of financial services, payment systems and innovations in the financial field will be discussed.

Within the frames of the event several meetings are scheduled with heads of financial institutions.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. President Serzh Sargsyan on July 12 signed a decree on appointing Alexander Arzumanyan Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to the Kingdom of Denmark (residence in Copenhagen), press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

According to the Presidents another decree, Hrachya Aghajanyan has been relieved from the post of Ambassador of Armenia to Denmark and the Kingdom of Norway.

***

Born on December 24, 1959 in Yerevan.



1986 - Graduated from the faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Yerevan State University.



1990 - Engineer-programmer at the Yerevan Automated Control Systems Scientific Research Institute (YerACSSRI) for managing the city.



1988 - 1990 - Headed the Information Center of the Armenian National Movement, published records of the center.



1991 - 1990 - Assistant to the President of the Supreme Council.



1991 - Business trip to the USA by the joint decision of the Presidency and Council of Ministers of the SC of the Republic of Armenia (for establishing of diplomatic representations of the Republic of Armenia.)



1992 - 1993 - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia in the USA.



1992 - 1996 - Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the UN.



1996 - 1998 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.



Since 1988 - Participated in the Karabakh movement.



2000 - 2002 - Chairman of the Department of the Armenian National Movement.



2001 - 2004 - Member of the Armenian-Turkish Reconciliation Commission (an independent group comprised of well-known Armenian and Turkish figures.)



July, 2002 - By recommendation of the Armenian-Turkish Reconciliation Commission, the New York International Center for Transitional Justice conducted a legal analysis of the applicability of the UN Genocide Convention on the Prevention and Punishment, related to the Armenian Genocide.



2002 - During the presidential elections of 2008 worked in non-governmental organizations dealing with human rights, democracy and regional cooperation.



2008 - Head of the central election headquarters of presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian.



May 6, 2012 - Elected Deputy of the National Assembly by the proportional electoral system from the Heritage party.



Married, with a child.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. Swedish lawmakers filed a complaint against Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing him of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, Independent reports.

5 Swedish MPs filed the lawsuit to the countrys prosecutor against Erdogan highlighting his role in the bloody conflict between Turkish forces and Kurdish militants since 2015.

This is the first case in Sweden when an attempt is made to held the leader of another country accountable. The complaint also names Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and several other Turkish ministers. It the complaint is pursued, it could be considered as an arrest warrant issued against Erdogan.

A law has passed in Sweden in 2014 according to which the Swedish courts can preside over any case involving crimes against humanity regardless of where the crime has been committed.

Green Party member Carl Schlyter expressed hope the European countries will also think about taking similar step. If Erdogan is hindered from roaming around in Europe and influencing European countries the way he wants, then I hope that this will affect his politics, he said as quoted by Independent.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. Defense Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, Defense Army commander, Lieutenant-General Levon Mnatsakanyan hosted a group of MPs of Armenias Parliament on July 12 who arrived in Artsakh on a working visit, press service of the Ministry told Armenpress.

Welcoming the guests, the Defense Army commander talked about the military operations of the April 2016 calling then as a mass attack launched by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh taking into account the special forces, large number of armored personal units, missile and artillery systems, latest weapons and the selected directions for the attack used by the Azerbaijani side.

Thereafter Levon Mnatsakanyan presented the works following the April 2016, adding that comprehensive analysis have been carried out. He said currently the situation in the frontline is stable and under control and assured that the Defense Army is able to give adequate response to the Azerbaijani provocations and is ready to take offensive actions if necessary.

At the end of the meeting Minister Mnatsakanyan answered to the questions of the Armenian lawmakers.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. Within the frames of the visit of Head of General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia Sergey Avetisyan to Singapore, an agreement on Air communications between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Singapore was signed on July 12, press service of the Department told Armenpress.

Given that up to now the relations between Armenia and Singapore in aviation field have not been regulated under an inter-governmental agreement, this document will contribute to proper legal regulation of the relations between the two states in aviation field, as well as will ensure necessary legal base and predictable conditions for operation of air communications by airlines.

The new agreement also enshrines the obligation to provide with necessary conditions to carry out commercial activity without restrictions.

Sergey Avetisyan visited Singapore to take part in the 6th World Civil Aviation Forum entitled Advancing Aviation: Fortifying Fundamentals.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. As a result of sanitary inspections by Russian agriculture ministry officials over the Azerbaijani tomato imported to Kurgan region, more than 16 tons of tomatoes have been removed from the Russian market, the Azerbaijani media report citing the Russian media, Armenpress reports.

Based on the inspection it was revealed that the tomatoes imported from Azerbaijan contain toxic chemicals.

The Russian agriculture ministry strictly banned the sale of tomatoes, as well as tasked the respective specialists to clear the products from the toxic chemicals.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on July 12 hosted renowed violinist, laureate of many prestigious awards Maxim Vengerov who arrived in Armenia to take part in the gala concert of Armenia first international contest-festival which will be held by the initiative of the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia and the European Foundation for Support of Culture in Yerevan on July 4-12, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

Welcoming the guest, President Sargsyan said with satisfaction that within the frames of the festival the Armenian audience will have one more chance to enjoy the high art of violinist, conductor Maxim Vengerov, will be admired with his talent and once again will feel the maestros warm attitude towards the Armenian people.

Serzh Sargsyan highly appreciated the great contribution of both Maxim Vengerov and a number of renowned musicians in musical education among the Armenian youth and thanked for inspiring the Armenian young performers with their example, as well as holding master classes for them. We, of course, are grateful that you participated in the concert dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Brussels in 2015 which once again affirms your commitment to universal values, Serzh Sargsyan said.

Dear President, as a musician its a pleasure for me to hear about the great values you mentioned. Every state that appreciates the universal cultural values, in particular, the music, in my opinion has a great prospect and good future in each field.

I am very thankful to you for your support to culture, in particular the music. I look forward to my concert in Yerevan and hope to again enjoy the warm attitude of the Armenian audience, Maxim Vengerov said.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs once again reaffirm that the settlement of the Artsakh-Azerbaijan conflict is possible exclusively through negotiations, Eduard Sharmazanov- Vice Speaker of Armenias Parliament, told reporters on July 12, reports Armenpress.

He said the Armenian side reaffirms its stance according to which it is impossible to ensure progress in negotiations without the implementation of the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements.

I have identified three important points over the July 11 meeting results of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov. The Co-Chairs once again reaffirm that the conflict must be settled exclusively though negotiations, secondly, the Armenian side as well reaffirms its stance that it is impossible to reach progress in negotiations without the implementation of the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements, and third one is that Azerbaijan continues its unconstructive approaches and doesnt implement the agreements in practice, Sharmazanov said.

According to him, the Armenian side must continue its tough stance. The Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan clearly stated in his May 18 speech at the Parliament that the most important is to ensure the safety of the citizens of Artsakh, and secondly, the issue must be solved through the realization of full, free expression of will of the Artsakh citizens, Sharmazanov said.

Sharmazanov said on the other hand the international community and first of all the Co-Chairing countries must find ways for convincing or pressure to have an impact on Azerbaijan so that it will implement the agreements. Sharmazanov also attached importance to the strict assessment of the Foreign Ministry of Russia, as a Co-Chairing country, over the Azerbaijani discriminative attitude towards Russian citizens of Armenian descent.

After the April war Azerbaijan wanted to start from a new negotiation point, however, it failed, and the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements were a failure of Azerbaijan since the Armenian side has always supported installing trust mechanisms, but a year later we still do not have progress, the Parliaments Vice Speaker said.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. Due to the construction of the trade corridor passing through Abkhazia and South Ossetia the cargo transportations will become easier for Armenia, Vahan Martirosyan  Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies, told reporters, reports Armenpress.

This is continuous and it firstly depends on the Russian-Georgian relations. We hope it will be solved soon, the Minister said.

According to him, the construction of the road will enable Armenia to have second, third alternative routes.

At the moment the Russian-Georgian-Swiss group is working, and the last meeting was held in Prague. During various meetings they gradually move forward. Thanks to the construction of the trade corridor, the cargo transportations will become easier for Armenia, there will be alternative routes, competition and of course, price difference, he said.

As for the deadline of constructing the road, the Minister expressed hope it will be completed very quickly.




YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs plan to visit the region in autumn 2017 after the possible meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesperson Hikmet Hajiyev told RIA Novosti, reports Armenpress.

During the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Brussels the sides were proposed to meet this year within the frames of the UN General Assembly. Azerbaijan approved the proposal, Hajiyev said.

He said the two FMs will convey to the Presidents of the two countries the proposal to meet within this year. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs plan to visit the region in autumn of this year after the expected meeting of the Presidents, he said.

On July 11, a meeting between Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov, Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, took place at the initiative and presence of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov, Stephane Visconti and Richard Hoagland, which was attended by Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.

During the meeting the discussions were held on the modalities of advancement of the Nagorno Karabakh negotiating process. Edward Nalbandian underscored the importance of stabilization of the situation on the Line of Contact and in this regard emphasized the necessity to implement the agreements, reached during the Vienna and St. Petersburg Summits.

The Co-Chairs asked the Ministers to convey to the Presidents their proposal on organizing a Summit in the course of this year. An agreement was reached to convene the next meeting between the Ministers in September in New York in the margins of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. Armenias parliamentary standing committees on foreign affairs and European integration affairs and the standing committee on foreign affairs of Artsakh issued a joint statement.

Armenpress presents the full statement:

Discussing the recent escalation of the situation in the conflict zone, the continuous destructive and provocative actions by Azerbaijan, the demonstration of xenophobia in Azerbaijan at a state level

The sides

attach importance to the implementation of international obligations set under the 1994 and 1995 termless ceasefire agreements,

highlight the importance of agreements reached at the Vienna and St. Petersburg summits, in particular, the creation of investigative mechanisms for ceasefire violations as a preventive tool,

state that the violations of obligations on the peaceful settlement of the conflict, hindering the implementation of preventive measures by Azerbaijan creates responsibility for Azerbaijan in its entirety of consequences,

condemn the Azerbaijani military-political leaderships policy on consistently violating the Geneva Convention, deploying military posts near civilian settlements and using civilians as a human shield,

call on the international community to impose targeted political and economic sanctions on those responsible for escalating the situation in the conflict zone,

expect the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to make more effective and practical efforts to stabilize the situation and ensure conditions for progress in peace process,

apply to international structures aimed at having active contribution to the peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict by assisting the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

The statement has been signed by Chairman of the Armenian parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs Armen Ashotyan, Chairwoman of the standing committee on European integration Naira Zohrabyan and Chairperson of the Artsakh standing committee on foreign affairs Arzik Mkhitaryan.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. Member of the European Parliament Charles Tannock called on Azerbaijan to agree to install investigative mechanism in the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact, the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) reported.

He said the recent tensions along the line of control in Nagorno Karabakh are deeply concerning. The MEP also expressed deep regret over the death of civilians in Azerbaijan.

Reports that Azerbaijani military equipment was positioned in civilian areas for the purposes of human shielding are of grave concern and such actions would constitute a contravention of the Geneva Convention. A full investigation into this incident is clearly necessary and a return to the Minsk Process as a means of deescalating the current tension along the line of control is clearly in order, he said.

Charles Tannock reminded that Armenia has agreed to the installation of the OSCE independent investigative mechanism. I call on Azerbaijan to do the same, Tannock said.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. Today the major issue in the world is the Syrian crisis, and the superpowers will not allow Azerbaijan to start large-scale war, Eduard Sharmazanov  Vice Speaker of Armenias Parliament, told reporters on July 12, reports Armenpress.

He ruled out large-scale war in Artsakh in practice.

I rule out large-scale war in Artsakh. I also link this with Trump-Putin meeting. Today the first issue in the world is the Syrian crisis, and overall, the Presidents of the two superpowers, Russia and the US, came to an agreement on ceasefire at least in Syrias south. And none of them will allow Azerbaijan to open new heated point near the Syrian region which can lead to serious consequences, Sharmazanov said.

However, the Vice Speaker doesnt rule out that Azerbaijan will carry out certain actions, but they need to calculate that their losses will be much more. During the April war Azerbaijan also didnt solve its task, it didnt manage to capture any settlement, Sharmazanov stated.
YEREVAN, 12 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 12 July, USD exchange rate down by 0.22 drams to 478.91 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.72 drams to 548.69 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 7.89 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 2.58 drams to 615.69 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 21.65 drams to 18646.92 drams. Silver price up by 4.36 drams to 238.81 drams. Platinum price down by 67.92 drams to 13719.01 drams.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. The US Embassy in Turkey issued a security warning to its citizens in the country regarding the upcoming anniversary of the 2016 coup attempt.

The security message which was published on the Embassys website says:

The U.S. Mission to Turkey informs U.S. citizens that on Saturday, July 15, 2017, and the preceding days, government and non-government groups may stage large commemorations, such as rallies and marches in public squares and other places throughout the country to commemorate Democracy and Freedoms Day. The national holiday marks the anniversary of the July 2016 coup attempt.

Media sources state that the Parliament building and other government offices in Ankara, the July 15 Martyrs Bridge in Istanbul and other sites nationwide will host events. Turkish authorities have yet to release a comprehensive list of all events, including times or locations. U.S. citizens should monitor local news reports and avoid areas where gatherings might occur, which can happen with little advanced notice.

The U.S. Mission to Turkey urges U.S. citizens traveling or residing in Turkey to exercise caution and avoid demonstrations and large gatherings. Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.

Due to the occurrence of the holiday on the weekend, the U.S. Mission to Turkey plans no changes to its public services. Nonetheless, the U.S. Mission to Turkey will inform the public if any commemorations during the week initiate a change which affects public services.
KIEV, 12 JULY, ARMENPRESS. On July 12, the ceremonial transfer of junior Sergeant Sedrak Aghajanyans remains to Armenia was held in Kiev, Ukraine.

The soldier died heroically in 1941 during battles near Malyn, the Union of Armenians of Ukraine said, according to local media.

Aghajanyans remains were discovered by Vertical, a search organization. The soldier was missing for more than 75 years. Several items were found with the remains, including ID.

It was further revealed that in the outset of the war the soldier married a Ukrainian woman named Galya Zhmuyde.

The ceremonial transfer of the remains was held in Ukraines national military-historical museum, and was attended by Armenias Ambassador Andranik Manukyan and other officials.

The soldiers remains will be buried in Armenia.
YEREVAN, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani authorities are continuing their well-known practice of blocking media outlets, including opposition news agencies, which are deemed undesirable by the Aliyev regime.

Access to euroasianews.org, euroasianews.blog and euroasiainfo.com, Voice of Europe has been blocked in Azerbaijan, Meydan reports.

Faoud Aghayev, president of Euroasianews media group, who currently resides in Switzerland, told RFE/RL that Azerbaijani authorities have been blocking their websites since April 2017.

The first blocking occurs on April 5, when 4 days were left for the opposition National Councils rally. We were publishing materials regarding the rally in our website, and on this very day the authorities blocked our website, he said.

Aghayev is convinced that the blocking is done at the direct order of the Aliyev regime, which is a crime against freedom of speech.

It is noteworthy that the websites are always blocked within the territory of Azerbaijan, while people who access from other countries can view the websites.

A few months ago The Washington Post published an article entitled War declared against independent press in Azerbaijan. The article mentioned that the countrys president Ilham Aliyev gets very angry when criticized.

The Washington Post said Aliyev jailed Khadija Ismayilova, the famous reporter, for discovering his daughters shares in the countrys gold mines.
This blog is totally independent, unpaid and has only three major objectives.

The first is to inform readers of news and happenings in the e-Health domain, both here in Australia and world-wide.

The second is to provide commentary on e-Health in Australia and to foster improvement where I can.

The third is to encourage discussion of the matters raised in the blog so hopefully readers can get a balanced view of what is really happening and what successes are being achieved.


LOS ANGELESAttorney Karen Tynan issued a statement on behalf of her client, Tony T, Wednesday morning announcing that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Delilah Lyons has denied several motions adult performer Nikki Benz made to strike director T's defamation suit against her, and that the case will be allowed to proceed.

In May, Benz filed an anti-SLAPP motion against T, as well as a demurrer and a motion to strike punitive damages in the case, which concerns claims Benz made via social media last December that she was sexually assaulted and had her consent violated during a shoot which T directed for Brazzers and PornHub parent company Mindgeek.

"We feel incredibly vindicated by this," Tynan said in her statement. "Benz went on Twitter to make outrageous claims that were easily refutable, but did tremendous damage to my client's reputation and caused him to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts and business opportunities. This isn't about silencing free speech, it's about the consequences of making criminal allegations with no basis whatsoever. The Tony T suit against Benz will proceed."

The statement also indicated that while Judge Lyons found Benz's statements to be "protected activity," she ruled that T had met his burden in showing that he had a probability of prevailing in his lawsuit on all causes of action, and that he properly alleged his right to punitive damages.

At the same hearing, the statement added, Judge Lyons heard Mindgeek's own anti-SLAPP motion against T regarding the company's press release announcing it had fired him. The judge granted Mindgeek's motion on the grounds that the press release did not adopt Benz's defamatory statements.

Benz has 10 days to file her Answer to Judge Lyons' ruling. Benz's attorney, Lisa Maki, told AVN that she intends to file an appeal. "The court dismissed Tony T's case against Brazzers and gave Brazzers' [attorneys] the opportunity to file a motion for attorney's fees and costs against Tont T," Maki said.
LOS ANGELESPleasure products manufacturer Maia Toys will be showing off a bit at the ANME Founders Show next week, unveiling a new branding, several new products and the newest team members.

Earlier this year, Maia added industry vet Nicole Talley to their team as vice president of sales. Talley will be making her debut with the manufacturer at the booth this summer. Talley has been a driving force in re-charging Maia Toys' approach to customer service and retail relations.

The company has spent the last year re-branding their signature colorful aesthetic and refining their luxury toy line. Maia will be launching five new products with high-end features accompanied by new marketing resources for customers. Five of Maia's current best sellers will also be available in new packaging. All of our new releases are rechargeable, high-grade silicone, and amazingly powerful, and everything in our Diamond Collection is submersible, said Talley. Maia Toys is taking an exciting new direction with our products, packaging, and merchandising options.

The company's latest designs include Syrene, an artistic take on the bullet vibrator with a flexible stem; Sera, a clitoral lay-on vibrator with fluttering ears; Darcy, a femme-inspired vibrating booty plug; Roxie, a glamorous lipstick vibe; and Jack, a dual-vibrating wearable couples' C-ring. We wanted to bring more feminine concepts and shapes into our new designs, said Maia Toys President Fai Chan.

The sales team encourages new and long-standing customers to join in on Maia's enhanced client experience and vibrant new look at the ANME booth.

The new direction we are going with Maia is worth a visit, said Talley. You wont be disappointed!

For more, visit MaiaToys.com.
LOS ANGELESThe creator of JoeyKim.tv turns her cam shows into erotic events, streaming live from remote locations and even underwater.

A skilled aerialist and elegant dancer who specializes on the Lyra and silks, Kim tells stories with her sensual performances, demonstrating the art of seduction with soaring aerial burlesque and often surreal stripteases.

Tech savvy and resourceful, the 26-year-old artist has given members of her official site glimpses of exotic places in Hong Kong and Thailand, delivering dazzling acrobatic exhibitions in front of waterfalls, in the trees and at international festivals.

Whether shes performing online or in front of an audience, Kims captivating life-cam streams tend to go well beyond what has become the industry norm for cam showswith their production value alone.

They may just be one of the internets best-kept secrets.

I hope to see the site continue to grow, Kim tells AVN. Theres always something to improve. And so Im actually working on meeting with some tech people to improve it and the future JKTV is going to be great. Were going to have a lot higher production videos being released on there.

Kim performed before a crowd for the first time in Hollywood in 2014 after someone discovered one of her videos online.

One of my videos I recorded while camming, doing a little strip thing on my Lyra, Kim explains. Someone saw that in LA and was like, You need to come and perform for our event. Well put your name up. Youre going to be the spotlight. Youre going to be the main person.

I was like, I dont dance for a living, I dont know what Im doing. But they really liked me and they really wanted me there. So I went and that was like my very first performance ever. And then I realized like, hey, I think I could do this for a living. This is fun. I enjoy it.

Now Kim is signed with Bespoke Talent Agency in New York and is invited to perform at gatherings all over the world. In February, she traveled to Pattaya, Thailand, where she brought her Lyra act to Wonderfruit, an annual arts, music and lifestyle festival held at The Fields at Siam Country Club in Chonburi province.

Its a festival thats about loving and sort of bringing wonderment back into your life, Kim says. That was wonderful. That was probably my favorite experience of all time. Everyone was so creative and open-minded and just inspiring in some way or another. That was refreshing. Some of my closest friends now are people that I met there.

I got to perform while the sun rose with great DJs on crazy installations, so it was magical. That was one of the most fulfilling things Ive ever done.

Kim debuted on MyFreeCams seven years ago when she was a sophomore studying photography at Parsons School of Design in New York. With student loans mounting and no part-time job, she knew something had to change.

So I ended up trying to look around for a job and one of my friends was like, Hey, have you ever heard of camming? Kim says.

He was like, You can work from home. And I was like, No, Ive never heard of camming. And then I checked out the very first site he told me about, which was MFC. That was the first site I signed up for kind of out of curiosity. I didnt even do my research.

And then I ended up being there for another seven years.

But at the beginning she took it slow. Raised in an ultra conservative Asian American family, the topic of sex was taboo and never talked about at home.

It was a strange dynamic of I guess just trying to understand my sexuality and at the time when I started, I was still very uncomfortable with nudity and sex, Kim says. And so I actually started on cam as a non-nude model and I didnt take off any of my clothes for several years.



Even though she remained clothed in public chat, Kim gradually started doing explicit private shows with regulars she trusted. It gave her mixed feelings.

I used to get naked and I would masturbate and it was fun and I felt comfortable doing that but I guess I was kind of ashamed of it, too, she admits. It felt more like what other peoples opinions of me sort of shaped my own opinion of me.

So one day some of my nudes and some of my privates got leaked and people started using that as a way to bully me, to call me a liar and to call me a slut and to threaten me and to blackmail me. And then I think it was at that point that I started realizing exactly how important it was to continue what I was doing.

So I actually switched from being non-nude to nude at that moment and I started shooting.

It was 2013 and Kim was still at Parsons, where she was diving deeper into landscape photography.

And all of a sudden I decided to turn the camera back onto myself and start shooting self portraiture, Kim continues. And that was my own personal, private way of becoming more comfortable with my body and also becoming more confident with it and viewing it almost in a clinical way, but through my own lens, Kim says.

And then I started doing it with my live streaming camera and it just started to merge into one thing. Now my live streaming camera is like my art lens that allows me to express myself.

The breadth of life-cam shows on JoeyKim.tv inspires and titillatestheyre at once unexpected, uninhibited and understated.

In Beautiful & Damned, Kim goes from aerial silks, to a metal chair, to a Lyra with the grace of a ballerina. In Rivers Will Freeze, she writhes slowly in a bathtub with snowflakes falling into the neon-colored water. In Reaching Hands, she prances and teases as shadowy silhouettes of hands paw at her figure. And in "Slow Pour," she opens her show in a giant wine glass.

Sometimes she performs with another model, such as in Holy Water, a tasteful girl/girl dream sequence bathed in blue light; or when Lomeli Wassmer joined her for their sizzling Holiday Exclusive in front of mirrors.

On New Years Eve last year she danced with a disco ball. She did live aerial burlesque at the Shanghai Gala in June 2015 and at again at Sandra LaMorgeses All Nude book launch party in September 2016 in New York.

I started getting more and more comfortable with my body and so now I dont mind doing the sexual performances and getting more sexual. It doesnt make me feel afraid of judgment, Kim says. Its a nice feeling.

The upgrades to JoeyKim.tv now allow her to stream in crystal clear HD. Shes also fully mobile.

I can stream in 1080p. Im now able to stream from my phone anywhere in the world as long as there is 4G, 3G or WiFi, Kim says. So theres like limitless possibilities and I can do a lot of things that I couldnt do on my original platform because there were lots of limitations on the bandwidth you could use and the software you could use.

So for me being like kind of a control freak a little bit I decided that I needed my own platform so I could do whatever I want. And if I want a better quality stream I have the control, the power to do that. To say OK, Im going to make something different.

When Kim switched to self-portraiture four years ago she focused mainly on black & white photosa stark contrast to the vibrant imagery she produces now.

It was always very dark. It was always very sad I realized, she says. But it wasnt something I intended, just something that ended up looking that way I guess. But now I feel like my work is more conceptual and its like raw and sometimes uncomfortable to look at, especially when it deals with blood or something like that. But its meant to be uncomfortable and a little bit beautiful, too, because Im trying to make people comfortable with it.

But I guess the work is moremy body language is different. The way I perceive myself is different, so the way I photograph myself has changed as well. Id say its more conceptual and more colorful.

And for me its liberating.

Kim says she began training on the Lyra, or aerial hoop, at first as a self-defense thing.

It was two things. During the time I was getting bullied a lot it was probably the most depressed Ive ever been in my life. Because I was scared. It was like fear and depression and everything at the same time. That was my fuellike my pain and my fear and my desire to want to understand my sexuality and to accept it, Kim says.

And so I started taking exotic dance just sort of as a way to start feeling myself and loving the skin Im in. Because really my perception was everyone elses opinion of me and the Internet is so cruel.

Kim continues, You start to get really lonely first of all, because youre at home every day and you prefer to just stay home and hang out with your friends online instead of go out. You have that and then you have a lot of people bullying you on the internet and so the only opinion you have of yourself and of your body is everyone elses, especially if youre not someone who grew up really looking at your body ever except when you shower or masturbate. So that was what really started it all. I had no intention of really becoming a performer.

She next signed up for circus classes.

Because I wanted to be stronger so that I could beat some people up if I had to. I never had to beat anyone up, fortunately, Kim jokes. But I did get a lot stronger and I started feeling a lot more confident in myself and I started putting my knowledge of performance art into my shows because it is very performative. Once the camera is on youre talking to your audience and youre entertaining them.

So it was great. It just went hand in hand, the photography, the dance. It was almost like the perfect marriage of the two with my camming. So I ended up doing a lot more striptease performances and dancing.

She launched the first version of JoeyKim.tv in 2013.

It kind of went through different versions, where Id just completely toss it out and start new because I wasnt happy with something about it. And Ive always been like that kind of, so the current JKTV was launched in October two years ago, Kim says.

Her next stop is Europe, where she recently relocated. She plans to work closely with a freelance production crew that contributes adult-themed projects to companies such as Playboy, X-Art, Brazzers and WowGirls.

Were all kind of homeless, no-home wanderers of the world. So we work together and we are like a family, like a little porn-creating family, Kim says. I am behind the scenes doing a lot of the work for either styling or makeup. Its always changingstory-boarding, conceptualizing, set design, things like that.

Kim met the crewwhich is all internationalwhile in Bangkok.

They wanted to shoot me and they met me and learned about me and they could see that Im always looking for the light. And its very easy to work with me because I have an understanding of photography already and Im a photographer myself, Kim says. I think they saw that and they thought it was really cool that Im not just someone who can be behind the lens but also in front of it and that I have the understanding from both sides.

And so they were like we want to add more of a womans eyes behind the work and I have a good understanding of photography and the adult business and so they decided to invite me with them and I said yes.

Kim has been featured twice in Penthouse, shooting with veteran photographer Tammy Sands first for the magazines Peace on Earth Issue in December.

It came out great. It was so good working with her, Kim says.

She wore a North Korean military uniform for the edgy layout with Marica Hase.

Shes a sweetheart. It was definitely down my alley; it was very political and very gutsy. But also very sexy and Im all for it. I loved it, Kim says.

Sands also photographed Kim by herself in a dressing room for the May 2017 issue.

It was a very cool experience, Kim adds. I would do it again and again.

Kim says several refinements are underway with her site, including a new tipping system that will be similar to a cryptocurrency.

Were going to have more photosets, she says. Now that I have people working with me its a lot easier to produce what I want when I want it. So its going to keep getting better I think.

We also have a lot of secret projects happening as well that are not ready to be talked about yet. But theres a lot happening that is going to be really exciting this year I think.

Kim usually cams three times a week on JKTV and recently returned to doing one show a week on MFC. In past years, she has reserved the month of August for running for Miss MFC.

She says the best part of her journey so far has been the people Ive met.

I went from being a really lonely person and feeling like I was undeserving of love because of my occupation to surrounding myself with like-minded people who are incredibly open-minded and loving, Kim says.

And that I would say is the most rewarding because I think for me that is when Im the happiestto be around these people who make me feel accepted and surrounded by creative, inspiring, sexually liberated women and men. To be in that space is just a great feeling.
In September, North Carolinians will know which low-performing elementary schools will be considered for the Innovative School District in 2018 and be turned over to charter school operators.Formerly known as the Achievement School District, the Innovative School District was brought about last year by House Bill 1080 , from Rep. Rob Bryan, R-Mecklenburg. It wasn't until March of this year that the North Carolina State Board of Education hired Eric Hall, the former CEO of Communities in Schools of North Carolina, as the Innovative School District superintendent.As reported by the News & Observer , Hall will reveal later this year which low-performing schools fit the bill for the Innovative School District program. A mix of rural and urban schools that score in the lowest 5 percent of student performance will be considered.By October, Hall plans to recommend which schools on that list will be turned over to charter school operators. The State Board of Education will vote by Dec. 15 on at least two schools for the 2018-19 school year.Meanwhile, Hall will review management companies - selected by the State Board - to run the district's schools for five to eight years. Any school board chosen for the program will have until Feb. 1 either to cede control of its school or close it.Critics argued back when H.B. 1080 was being debated that it exploits taxpayers while also preventing struggling students from improving. They have also pointed to the mixed results of Tennessee's version of the Innovative School District, on which the N.C. model was based.Rodney Ellis, then-president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, told the N&O.Hall, however, has maintained that the Innovative School District program is about cooperation and forming a working relationship.Hall told the newspaper.Opponents of the Innovative School District plan haven't been as vocal as they were when the bill was first introduced, something Terry Stoops, director of research and education studies at the John Locke Foundation, credits to the approach Hall has taken with the program.Stoops explained.Stoops pointed out that the ISD probably doesn't want to create a situation where it appears that the state is imposing its will on low-performing schools, but instead create a partnership where the ISD can assist the school selected for the program and help raise student achievement.Stoops added.
Last fall Wake Forest University announced a $4.2 million donation to fund "the study of human flourishing" at the university's newest institute-the Eudaimonia Institute (EI). Although it took people a while to pronounce this elegant Greek word correctly-the pronunciation is "yoo-dye-mo-NEE-uh"-the generous gift seemed to be a perfect fit with Wake's mission.The Greek root words in "eudaimonia" are "eu" (meaning good) and "daimon" (meaning a protective spirit). It turns out that the word "demon" (as in Demon Deacon) comes from the same root word as "daimon," so the institute's name fits especially well with the school's identity. In Greek, "eudaimonia" means "good spirit" and Demon Deacon means "servant spirit"! Nice match.But that's not the way a lot of faculty members saw it. This wasn't a good-spirited endeavor in their eyes. It was bad.The Greek word for "bad" is "kako," and the institute's detractors knew it was bad because the main source of the gift had a bad name: Koch. "Koch" and "kako" even sound similar. (Actually "Koch" comes from a Germanic word meaning "cook.")Charles Koch, whose foundation donated the money to Wake Forest, is about as evil as they come, according to campus radicals, who soon educated the unenlightened by holding protest meetings and circulating a lengthy petition describing Koch's vast plan to hijack higher education and spread his benighted ideas. Faculty and students soon learned that the multi-billionaire Koch is a libertarian. Or maybe even a conservative (which is obviously still worse).Libertarians and conservatives are a rare species on campuses and it appears that although some college professors have apparently never actually met any of them, just reading about their goals is enough to make their hair stand on end. It seems that Koch's big idea is to push something called "freedom."What do you do when freedom tries to invade your campus? The response was swift and clear-the petition, signed by almost 200 faculty members, impelled the faculty Senate to demand that the university administration return the tainted money and sever all ties with Koch's foundation. The student government met as well and considered endorsing the Senate's resolution, but ultimately declined to do so.You may be perplexed by the reaction of these Wake Forest faculty members. Don't college professors tout freedom, especially academic freedom? This time they didn't. Instead, they turned their backs on the Eudaimonia Institute.As a member of the Eudaimonia Institute's Advisory Board, I heard reports that people who were affiliated with the institute were being ostracized and unfriended. During a college faculty meeting, angry comments and accusations were hurled at the director of the institute, philosopher James Otteson, and the faculty moved to deny credit to students for taking a course created by Otteson. (The course is taught in the business school, which has greeted Otteson and EI warmly, but credit was denied to non-business majors in the college who took this course.)Why was this reaction to a grant to study human flourishing so hostile? I think I discovered the reason when I was invited to explain EI's mission to Wake's student government.I explained that EI's mission is genuine. It has begun to and will continue to study human flourishing from a wide range of viewpoints. Some of these viewpoints (those to the left of center) have increasingly claimed a monopoly on wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and have actively moved to push other viewpoints off campuses all over the nation and increasingly at Wake Forest. In a boat that is listing badly to one side, it is possible that EI will add balance and help right the ship by bringing in new viewpoints.For saying that, I was told that my comments somehow confirmed the ideologically-biased mission of EI. Imagine that! You're an ideologue only if you are open to opinions that aren't firmly to the left of center.After I spoke, I overheard a detractor speaking with some earnest student defenders of EI in the hallway. This faculty member had found a "smoking gun" in Koch Foundation statements, a smoking gun that said its mission is to promote freedom. How could you possibly object to the goal of freedom, asked the students. Isn't our country founded on freedom?The response said it all. "Freedom," the students were told, is a code word to these people. When they say freedom they only mean less government regulation and lower taxes. This is, of course, a caricature of the range of freedoms that interest the Koch Foundation, but it is very telling. These ideas are verboten to campus radicals. Students, faculty, and the rest of the world should never be exposed to ideas about a smaller government and more freedom for people in their economic lives.It is also deeply ironic, because so little of what EI will study is likely to touch on such mundane issues as taxes and regulatory overreach. EI is unique because it's trying to look deeper-into the human mind, into the human soul, into the loving embrace of family members, and even into eternity. (Fittingly, one of the board members is in the school of divinity.) Raise up your gaze, will you! Do you think that money alone can make people and society flourish?To their credit, the president, provost, other administrators, and board of trustees at Wake Forest rejected these calls to decline the Koch Foundation's gift.In April, EI held its first big event-a conference that did exactly as advertised by examining human flourishing. The keynote address bore the title "Eudaimonia Is Not Measurable Pleasure, But the Fruit of a Liberal Life." (Remember that the root of "liberal" means "free.") Other papers had titles like "Eudaimonia and International Politics," "Desperation and Unfulfilling Lives in America: The High Costs of Being Poor in the Land of the Dream," "Just Action and Eudaimonia in Plato's Republic," and "Happier People Are Less Likely to Be Unemployed: Evidence from Longitudinal Data in Germany."Philosophers, economists, political scientists, and other scholars delivered papers-just as they do at every other academic conference. But the conversation was unusually interdisciplinary and participants from different fields spoke with each other, instead of past each other as is often the case.Sitting in the audience, taking notes, were some high-profile detractors of the institute, organizers of the effort to shut down this very discussion. My sense is that they were surprised by what they saw and heard: ideas from across the political spectrum and a calm discussion of how to measure human well-being, how to conceptualize it, and how to further it. Some common ground was found, but the most solid terra firma was the very conversation itself-a genuine attempt to learn from each other, an authentic study of human flourishing.Perhaps the faculty enemies of the Eudaimonia Institute would drop their opposition to it if they looked at what it does, rather than where its funds come from.


Post-doctoral fellow Dr. Terence Ryan is part of the research team thats investigating how genetics could play a role in limb loss due to vascular disease. (Photos by Cliff Hollis)

Research specialist Reema Karnekar works in the genetics lab.



From left, doctoral student Cameron Schmidt, assistant professor of physiology Dr. Joe McClung, post-doctoral fellow Dr. Terence Ryan, research specialist Reema Karnekar, and research specialist Tom Green. Not pictured is collaborator assistant professor of anatomy and cell biology Dr. Kelly Harrell.

An East Carolina University researcher is making great strides toward helping patients with vascular disease avoid limb loss.Some patients with peripheral artery disease report pain in the legs that goes away with rest. Others with the condition - a narrowing of the arteries to the extremities - experience constant numbness and pain, wounds that don't heal, and even gangrene. In the worst cases, doctors must amputate one or more limbs.It is this latter group that Dr. Joseph McClung, assistant professor of physiology in ECU's Brody School of Medicine, is working to help.McClung said.McClung and his team want to find the specific genes responsible for limb survival or loss, to discover if there is a 'biological switch' at the cellular level that lets the body mount a response to stress from the disease and allow the leg to survive. If the researchers can identify the genes that aren't working, perhaps scientists could introduce functioning genes that allow the body to respond positively to the disease and prevent amputations.The team's latest work shows great progress toward their goal.In a preclinical study conducted on mice, they identified a genetic mutation in animals with peripheral artery disease who lost a leg as a result of ischemia, or inadequate blood flow to the limb. By inserting a strong form of the same gene into affected mice, they were able to rescue tissue damaged by ischemia and save the leg.The study was published in a recent issue of the journal Circulation and supported by a five-year, $1.5 million National Institutes of Health grant. An $800,000 NIH grant that McClung brought to ECU in 2013 after serving as a postdoctoral fellow and research associate at Duke University supported the earliest phases of the research.McClung is an adjunct professor in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the East Carolina Heart Institute and a member of the ECU Diabetes and Obesity Institute, an interdisciplinary institute with an international reputation for cutting-edge, collaborative basic and clinical research in metabolic disorders.Any enhancement in treatment for peripheral artery disease has the potential to drastically improve many lives, McClung said. There are about 150,000 amputations related to the disease in the U.S. annually. Incidence of the disease increased 23.5 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to a 2013 report in The Lancet.In eastern North Carolina, cardiovascular disease accounts for approximately 20 percent of deaths among people younger than 65, according to the N.C. Division of Public Health. Unfortunately, many patients with cardiovascular disease here also have obesity and diabetes, further increasing their risk for amputations. Poverty and a lack of access to primary care means that sometimes a limb is beyond help by the time a patient with ischemia makes it to a specialist.said Dr. Dean Yamaguchi, an ECU vascular surgeon who collaborates with McClung on clinical research.Doctors treating patients with cardiovascular disease prescribe lifestyle changes such as adding exercise or quitting smoking as a first step. For limb ischemia, cholesterol-lowering and blood-pressure medications can help increase blood flow to the limbs. Procedures such as angioplasty and bypass surgery can help by reopening or circumventing clogged arteries, but these steps aren't always enough.McClung explained.McClung and his collaborators are now conducting a similar research program studying the same gene in tissue from patients in Yamaguchi's clinic.Yamaguchi said.Contributing to the study published in Circulation were East Carolina Heart Institute members Tom Green, research specialist; Cameron Schmidt, physiology doctoral student and Dr. Terence Ryan, post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Espen Spangenburg, associate professor of physiology, worked closely with McClung on the project along with collaborators from Duke and the University of Virginia.
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.
I came to Elizabeth City on Saturday morning. Somehow, I finished the porch at the rabbit patch on Friday evening as the sun was setting. I believe it was sheer determination. As I drove the familiar route, over three rivers, to Jenny and Wills' home, I drove under a bright and cloudless sky. The water looked gilded in silver. Even the large fields, I passed, sparkled with morning dew, in the suns' generous light.When I arrived at the Riverside Village, there was a lemonade stand set up by a quaint bridge . There was an older couple sitting in the shade and they waved and smiled, as I passed. Had I not been so anxious to see Lyla, I would have stopped just to say hello. It was a sweet sight- and a good idea, I thought. Why can't adults sell lemonade, after all? Maybe I will do that one day, as well.Moments later, I was walking in the back door at Jennys' and into the kitchen. Lyla came bounding in and said "Good Morning!" clear as a bell! It came to me like a song sung sweetly. Lyla says all sorts of things these days. I have been "Honeybee" since Lylas' infancy all because of a silly rhyme I concocted that made her laugh . . every time. Of course, Lyla has called me "Bee" for a while. Since then, she has learned to say "Honey" and so now she has dropped "Bee".We had toast and coffee and then Jenny had an assignment to complete, so Lyla and I took to strolling. It became hot quickly and only a "now and then" breeze blew. Young rabbits are all over the village, now. We had several close encounters on Saturday morning.. When a rabbit knows it is being watched, it becomes as still a statue. Lyla, when spying a rabbit, does the same thing. She says to me "shhh" and she will want to watch him for as long as he allows-which is really a good while. Sometimes, I secretly wish for a nice "clap of thunder" or a noisy blue jay to happen by, on such occasions.The lemonade stand was closed by the time we crossed the little bridge in Riverside, and so we stopped by the banks of the "laughing river". The water was still, because of the "now and then" breeze. Somewhere I heard some little boys splashing and laughing. I could tell they were a long ways off as their voices were faint. This is July, I thought, when children are unencumbered and this is what they do with their liberty. I found it beautiful to think about.The air changed, as Lyla and I sat on the grass by the river. It felt wonderful, but the sky darkened and I knew we best head home. Lyla laughed as the wind became strong and constant. Thankfully, the banks of the Pasquotank, are just a few minutes from the house. We had not been back too long when a storm arrived with thunder, lightening , wind and heavy rain. We all went out on the porch to watch. The willow tree bowed low in the gales. Its' tendrils were flung wildly and harshly, about . The willow is known for its' graceful beauty, but that night the young willow battled like a warrior. On Sunday morning, the willow stood proudly, with no sign of "wear and tear", and I was glad, as Jenny especially, loves the willow.On SundayI did not rise so early on Sunday morning. All of the work of the past few weeks, seemed to have caught up with me-and besides that, it rained most of the night. Under such circumstances, I slept quite soundly, and right through , what I call, "the early service", which is dawn.After breakfast, Lyla and I headed out, in the cool of morning. Zinnias are blooming everywhere. Zinnias are reliable friends. They bloom til the first frost and discourage pests that spoil picnics -and eat your tomatoes. I planted some at the rabbit patch, ten years ago and they have returned faithfully ever since. Tansy is blooming now, too. I have some of those , given to me by Miss Susie. The particular variety she gave me smells like honey. I have always admired Miss Susies' yard. She grows all sorts of flowers, so something is always blooming. I just recently saw an arrangement she created and it was as pretty as any I have ever seen.As Lyla and I walked the sidewalks of "Riverside" we came across a stretch strewn with the bright pink petals of the oldest crepe myrtle, I have ever seen. It looked like the aftermath of a small parade. Lyla said "wow!" in a hushed voice and like her "Honey" . . .clapped her hands in delight.Dear Diary, I am glad for cool mornings. I am glad for the strength of a young willow and the pink rain of blossoms from an old crepe myrtle. I am glad for silver water and flowers that smell like honey. I am glad that a young rabbit and a mighty river too, reminded me sometimes . . . I just need to "Be still".
DPRK is a country of all-pervading secrecy. The USSR in the Stalin times is almost an open society in comparison, an expert on North Korea Andrei Lankov wrote. Sale of radios with free tuning is prohibited in North Korea: the radios that are distributed by vouchers are tuned only to the Pyongyang radio station. A Korean person has no access to newspapers or magazines from other countries, access to foreign literature is restricted. The Internet is only for the use of experts, and their actions online are strictly controlled. The country still performs public executions.

Since the late 1970s, all adult Korean have to wear badges with Kim Il-sung. The portraits of the leader are obligatory for every room of every institution, factory shop, classroom, and lecture hall. Even the unintentional damage done to the portrait of the Great Leader may have grave consequences for the perpetrator.

Philippe Chancels photographs from North Korea reminds of the images of the Soviet Union in the 1970-1980s. However, the French photographer says that the attitude of Koreans to their regime is different than that of the Russians or people in Cuba who habe lived under a socialist regime for a long time. Koreans cant afford to laugh at their regime or their leaders. In his series, Philippe Chancel investigates what its like to remain true to Communist ideas in the 21st century.
Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been found guilty of corruption charges stemming from a scheme at the state oil company, Petrobras. He will remain free on appeal. Lula remains a very popular politician with widespread public support.

The Brazilian newspaper Estadao was the first to report the news, in Portuguese.

Estadao's breaking report reads (rough translation from Portuguese):

At age 71, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sentenced to 9 years and six months in prison for crimes of corruption and money laundering. The conviction of federal judge Sergio Moro of the 13th Federal Court in Curitiba is the first of the former president in Operation Lava Jato. "Among the crimes of corruption and laundering, there is material [concurso  competition?], which is why the combined sentences amount to nine years and six months of imprisonment, which I consider to be definitive for former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva," Moro said.

Reuters reports that this is the first of five separate graft trial that Lula faces in Brazil.

Lawyers for Lula, still one of Brazil's most popular politicians, have said they would appeal a guilty ruling and have continuously blasted the trial as an illegitimate political witch hunt. His attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Judge Sergio Moro found Lula guilty of accepting 3.7 million reais ($1.2 million) worth of bribes from engineering firm OAS SA, the amount prosecutors said the company spent refurbishing a beach apartment for Lula in return for his help winning contracts with state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro.





And Bloomberg with the understatement of the year:

The guilty verdict on Lula, one of the most popular presidents in Brazilian history, weakens his chances of leading the Workers' Party back into power in the 2018 elections. Over the past few months he has consolidated his position in opinion polls as the front-runner for the presidential race, but he will become ineligible if his sentence is upheld on appeal. The conviction of the left-wing leader also ratchets up yet further the political tension in Brasilia, coming as President Michel Temer faces corruption charges of his own.

PHOTOS: Reuters
In a now viral video clip from a police bodycam, Aramis Ayala, Florida's first African-American elected state attorney, is pulled over by Orlando cops for what appears to be no good reason.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Ayala is "no stranger to racially charged insults, especially after she declared in March that she's not pursuing the death penalty for violent felony cases. For instance, in April, she received a noose in the mail."

But now footage has emerged where two white police officers are having a tough time explaining why they pulled over Ayala, the Orlando-area prosecutor on June 19 at about 8:15 p.m.

Ayala informed the cop she was the state attorney, which led to the cop explaining why she had been stopped.

'Thank you, your tag didn't come back, never seen that before, but we're good now. We ran the tag, I've never seen it before with a Florida tag, it didn't come back to anything, so that's the reason for the stop.'

Ayala then asked, 'what was the tag run for?' which led to further attempts at explanation from the officer.

'Oh we run tags through all the time, whether it's a traffic light and that sort stuff, that's how we figure out if cars are stolen and that sort of thing,' he said, as the attorney could be seen getting noticeably annoyed in her seat.

'Also, the windows are really dark, I don't have a tint measure but that's another reason for the stop.'

Ayala then asks for the officers' names, saying: 'Do you guys have cards on you?'
By Lisa Barrington and Ellen Francis CAIRO/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters on Tuesday that it had "confirmed information" that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed. The report came just days after the Iraqi army recaptured the last sectors of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which Baghdadi's forces overran almost exactly three years ago. Russia's Defence Ministry said in June that it might have killed Baghdadi when one of its air strikes hit a gathering of Islamic State commanders on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Raqqa. But Washington said it could not corroborate the death and Western and Iraqi officials have been skeptical. Reuters could not independently verify Baghdadi's death. "(We have) confirmed information from leaders, including one of the first rank who is Syrian, in the Islamic State in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zor," said Rami Abdulrahman, the director of the British-based war monitoring group. In Iraq, U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State, said he could not confirm the news. Abdulrahman said activists working with him in Deir al-Zor had been told by the Islamic State sources that Baghdadi had died, but not when or how. The sources said Baghdadi had been present in the eastern countryside of Syria's Deir al-Zor province in the past three months. The Pentagon said it had no information to corroborate the reports. Kurdish and Iraqi officials also had no immediate confirmation. Baghdadi's death has been announced many times before, but the Observatory has a record of credible reporting on the Syrian conflict. Islamic State-affiliated websites and social media feeds have so far said nothing. The death of Baghdadi, who declared a caliphate governed by Islamic law from a mosque in Mosul in 2014, would be one of the biggest blows yet to the jihadist group, which is trying to defend shrinking territory in Syria and Iraq. The United States put up a $25 million reward for his capture, the same amount as it had offered for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his successor Ayman al-Zawahri. It is not yet known if anybody will claim the bounty. The Islamic State leaders killed in Iraq and Syria since the U.S.-led coalition began its air strikes include Abu Ali al-Anbari, Baghdadi's deputy; the group's "minister of war", Abu Omar al-Shishani, a close military adviser to Baghdadi; and Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, one of its most prominent and longest-serving leaders. FAMILY OF PREACHERS Baghdadi was born Ibrahim Awad al-Samarrai in 1971 in Tobchi, a poor area near Samarra, north of the capital Baghdad. His family included preachers from the ultra-conservative Salafi school of Sunni Islam, which sees many other branches of the faith as heretical and other religions as anathema. He joined the Salafi jihadist insurgency in 2003, the year of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and was captured by the Americans. They released him about a year later, thinking he was a civilian agitator rather than a military threat. It was not until July 4, 2014, that he seized the world's attention, climbing the pulpit of Mosul's medieval al-Nuri mosque in black clerical garb during Friday prayers to announce the restoration of the caliphate. Thousands of volunteers flocked into Iraq and Syria from around the world to become "Jund al-Khilafa", or soldiers of the caliphate. At the height of its power two years ago, Islamic State ruled over millions of people in territory running from northern Syria through towns and villages along the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. It claimed or inspired attacks in dozens of cities including Paris, Nice, Orlando, Manchester, London and Berlin, and in nearby Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In Iraq, it staged dozens of attacks targeting Shi'ite Muslim areas. A truck bomb in July 2016 killed more than 324 people in a crowded area of Baghdad, the deadliest attack since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The loss of Mosul and the siege of Raqqa, Islamic State's capital in Syria, by a U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led force stripped Baghdadi of the trappings of caliph and made him a fugitive in the desert border area between the two countries. (For a graphic showing shrinking area of Islamic State control, click http://tmsnrt.rs/2uMypac) (Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Beirut, Omar Fahmy in Cairo and Phil Stewart in Washington; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein and Samia Nakhoul; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
By Elzio Barreto HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based startup CompareAsiaGroup has secured $50 million in funding from investors led by the World Bank's commercial lending arm, as the personal finance management platform looks to develop its technology and launch more products. The International Finance Corp (IFC), as the World Bank unit is called, said it had agreed to invest $15 million in the firm. The other investors include Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, a not-for-profit fund launched by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, and Japan's SBI Group. Existing investors of CompareAsiaGroup, such as Goldman Sachs Investment Partners and private equity firm Ace & Company, also took part in the funding round, the fintech company said without disclosing the breakdown for each investor. CompareAsiaGroup helps consumers in Hong Kong, Indonesia and five others countries in Asia Pacific compare and buy financial products ranging from insurance, loans and credit cards. It earns a fee from banks including HSBC, DBS and Standard Chartered and insurers such as FWD Group and QBE Insurance Group every time a person buys their products on its platform. The company plans to expand its offerings in Southeast Asia and roll out more broadly products such as broadband services and mobile phone plans on its platform, CEO Sam Allen said. "It's a great strategic fit for us to have the IFC on board," said Allen, on the sidelines of the RISE technology conference in Hong Kong. "The focus for us is how do we grow in Indonesia, Philippines and other countries where there's a huge population of unbanked people that is coming online every day." (Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Policy & Advocacy

Net Neutrality Fight Takes Over the Web Today

The latest fight for net neutrality has officially begun. On one side of the ring stands FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a Trump appointee who controls a majority of votes for any decisions currently made by the Federal Communications Commission. He's backed by the three major companies that deliver Internet services in America: AT&T, Comcast and Verizon. Facing them off on the other side stands a self-described "ragtag" coalition of web content providers  some 70,000 at last count  who are declaring the "last stand" for net neutrality.

As people go online today, they'll be alerted by prominent messages on sites as varied as Google, Facebook, Amazon, Airbnb, Netflix, Kickstarter, Dropbox, the American Library Association, Green Peace and Chess.com warning against "big ISPs" that plan a future filled with "traffic throttling, site blocking and new fees."

Later this summer, the FCC is expected to schedule a final vote on its planned changes to the net neutrality rules. In May the agency requested feedback on its proposed rulemaking, which it titled with the positive-sounding, "Restoring Internet Freedom for All Americans." At its heart is a proposal to reverse a 2015 rule that classified the internet as a utility. So far, 6 million comments have been sent to the FCC, nearly 75,000 per day since the proposed changes were first taken up by Pai.

The core of net neutrality is the idea that broadband providers must grant access to all content and applications, without blocking, slowing or otherwise discriminating against any websites or online services. If the current regulations are weakened, opponents have suggested, some websites will work better than others. For example, "Comcast might choose to slow Netflix traffic since it owns NBC, a part-owner of Hulu, which is a Netflix competitor," explained MapLight.com, a non-profit that investigates the influence of money in politics, in a recent article. The likelihood of that scenario isn't out of the question. As the Verge reported last year, AT&T wooed wireless customers by offering them unlimited access to DirecTV Now, a service provided by the satellite TV subsidiary owned by the company. (The deal has since been modified to impose a throttle after 22 GB of data usage.)

One of the banners that will appear on sites today in support of net neutrality.

MapLight said the stakes for the three telecom companies and its public voice, the National Cable TV & Telecommunications Association, are high. Since 2008 they've poured an estimated $572 million into lobbying the federal government for favorable regulations, a tally that equates to spending the equivalent of almost $100 for every one of those net neutrality comments.

Many of those public statements, however, are being generated automatically, as PC Magazine reported last month. On the side of sticking with the current rules are filings that begin, "I don't want [internet service providers] to have the power to block websites, slow them down, give some sites an advantage over others or split the Internet into 'fast lanes' for companies that pay and 'slow lanes' for the rest. Now is not the time to let giant ISPs censor what we see and do online." Many of the comments from those who support the proposed changes use this text: "The unprecedented regulatory power the Obama Administration imposed on the internet is smothering innovation, damaging the American economy and obstructing job creation. I urge the Federal Communications Commission to end the bureaucratic regulatory overreach of the internet known as Title II and restore the bipartisan light-touch regulatory consensus that enabled the internet to flourish for more than 20 years. The plan currently under consideration at the FCC to repeal Obama's Title II power grab is a positive step forward and will help to promote a truly free and open internet for everyone."

While the origin of the identical comments being posted is unknown, one phrase has become a watchword for those who want changes made: "light touch." In a February speech, Pai used the phrase, "returning to the light-touch approach to regulation." And an FCC webpage explaining the initiative uses a similar expression: "The FCC has proposed to return the U.S. to the bipartisan, light-touch regulatory framework under which a free and open Internet flourished for almost 20 years."

Those participating in today's online protest, however, aren't buying the official messaging. According to Evan Greer, campaign director for the Fight for the Future, which is leading the "Internet-Wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality," the action is intended to "fight tooth and nail" to keep the current net neutrality protections in place. "Politicians in Washington, D.C. need to learn that net neutrality is not a partisan issue and Internet users will not tolerate these attacks on our basic rights  we will come together to protect the web as an open platform for free expression and exchange of ideas," he said in a prepared statement. "The Internet has given more people a voice than ever before, and we're not going to let the FCC take that power away from us."

The comment period will remain open until Aug. 16.
TUESDAY, July 11, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- A malaria drug protected mice fetuses from the Zika virus, researchers report.

In humans, Zika infection during pregnancy can cause severe brain damage in infants.

In this study with pregnant mice, investigators found that the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine prevented Zika from crossing the placenta.

"We found that the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine effectively blocks viral transmission to the fetus," said senior author Indira Mysorekar. She's an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and of pathology and immunology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

"This drug already is used in pregnant women to treat malaria, and we suggest that it warrants evaluation in primates and women to diminish the risks of Zika infection and disease in developing fetuses," Mysorekar said in a school news release.

Even though hydroxychloroquine has been used safely in pregnant women for short periods of time, the researchers said further studies are needed before it can be used in pregnant women to protect their fetuses against Zika. Research involving animals often fails to produce similar results in humans.

Pregnant women living in areas with Zika may need to take the drug throughout their pregnancy. Right now, the long-term safety of the drug is unknown.

"We would urge caution but nevertheless feel our study provides new avenues for feasible therapeutic interventions," said Mysorekar, who is also co-director of the university's Center for Reproductive Health Sciences.

The study was published July 10 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on Zika.
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Recommendations

The Committee to Protect Journalists offers the following recommendations:

To the Ukrainian authorities

To President Petro Poroshenko

Commit sufficient resources of your office to bringing the perpetrators of Pavel Sheremets murder, including the masterminds of the crime, to justice. Demand regular progress reports on the investigation and instruct the responsible agencies to make those reports public.

More in This Report Table of Contents In Other Languages 



Consider inviting an independent international inquiry in Pavel Sheremets killing to ensure that every motive is thoroughly examined and that justice is achieved.

Unequivocally condemn and order investigations into all threats and acts of violence against journalists in Ukraine. Publicly state your recognition of the importance a critical, independent press plays in Ukrainian society. Condemn the practice of dividing journalists into patriotic and unpatriotic.

Hold public officials accountable for encouraging or failing to investigate anti-press actions.

To the agencies investigating Pavel Sheremets murder, including Ukraines Prosecutor Generals Office, Security Services (SBU), Interior Ministry, and National Police

 Investigate Sheremets journalistic work in Ukraine as a potential motive for his murder.

 Allow Sheremets family and their legal representatives access to the investigations files into Sheremets murder.

 Reinvigorate the investigation into Sheremets killing by pursuing unchecked leads, questioning witnesses who have not yet spoken with investigators, interviewing Sheremets colleagues, and analyzing his journalistic work. Track down and detain potential suspects and substantively follow up on the findings of any parallel, independent investigations into the slaying.

 Eliminate the potential for investigative bias by assigning independent professionals to carry out the probe.

 Require regular, substantive progress reports on the investigation into Sheremets murder and convey those reports to the public. Communicate regularly with the media and promptly respond to interview requests in relation to the murder investigation.

TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

To the Russian government

 Cooperate fully with the investigation into the murder of Sheremet and facilitate access for the Ukrainian investigating officials to pursue any and all relevant leads to the case in Russia.

To the Belarusian government

 Cooperate fully with Ukraines investigation into the murder of Sheremet and facilitate access for the investigating officials to pursue any and all relevant leads to the case in Belarus.

 Posthumously restore Sheremets Belarusian citizenship.

To the European Union

 Mark the first anniversary of Sheremets murder with a firm statement calling on the Ukrainian authorities to swiftly bring all the perpetrators, including the mastermind, to justice.

 Raise the case of Sheremet with the Ukrainian authorities in bilateral discussions until a full investigation into his murder has been undertaken. This should be a benchmark for measuring progress of ongoing reforms financed by the EU, including in the areas of justice and the rule of law, anti-corruption and the strengthening of Ukraines media.

 Ensure the EU Delegation and diplomatic missions of EU Member States in Kiev support and protect all Ukrainian journalists at risk, follow all cases of impunity for murdered journalists, and maintain communication with families of murdered journalists as they push for justice.

To the Council of Europe leaders:

 Scrutinize, including through the Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists, Ukraines impunity record in crimes against journalists, and hold Ukraine accountable for responding to alerts in a meaningful way.

 Ensure the Commissioner for Human Rights uses every opportunity to raise the issue of impunity in Sheremets murder in public meetings in Ukraine, and assists Ukrainian authorities in enhancing media rights and legal institutions tasked with addressing impunity in crimes against the press.
At least ten prisoners, including three Afghan citizens, were reportedly hanged at Taybad Prison on drug related charges.





Iran Human Rights (JULY 12 2017): On Sunday July 9, at least ten prisoners, including three Afghan citizens, were reportedly hanged at Taybad Prison (Razavi Khorasan province, northeastern Iran) on drug related charges.





Iran Human Rights has obtained the names of four of the prisoners: Nasser Karimi, Mahmoud Teymouri, Abolfazl Mokhtebaz, and Ahmad Sheikhi.





Iranian authorities are carrying out death sentences for drug related charges at the same time that a bill is being reviewed by the Judicial Commission of the Iranian Parliament calling for the death sentences for many prisoners charged with drug trafficking to be called off. Iranian parliament members had requested from the Judiciary to stop drug related executions for at least five thousand prisoners pending further investigation. However, the request has not stopped the Judiciary from carrying out death sentences for prisoners with drug related charges.





Iranian official sources, including the Judiciary and the media, have not announced these executions.





At least Two Prisoners Including Father of 7 Year Old Child Executed on Drug Charges





Iran Human Rights (JULY 12 2017): A prisoner was reportedly executed at Mahabad Prison and at least one prisoner was reportedly executed at Rasht's central prison. Both prisoners were reportedly executed on drug related charges.





According to close sources, the prisoner at Mahabad Prison was executed on the morning of Monday July 10. Iran Human Rights has obtained the name of this prisoner: Sheikh Morad Ebrahimi.





"Sheikh Morad was arrested five years ago on the charge of possession and trafficking of two kilograms of morphine. He was sentenced to death even though he had no criminal record. He is the father of a seven-year-old girl with autism," an informed source told Iran Human Rights.





According to a report by the human rights news agency, HRANA, the prisoner at Rasht's central prison was executed on the morning of Saturday July 8. The report identifies the prisoner as Hossein Hosseini, 32 years of age. Mr. Hosseini was reportedly arrested in 2013 on the charge of producing crystal meth. According to HRANA, it is likely that a total of seven prisoners were executed on Saturday at this prison, but has not been able to confirm the exact number.





"At the time of his arrest, they didn't find any narcotics on him. He was convicted based on the claim of police forces that the machinery and equipment they found on him was for producing crystal meth," a source close to the family of Mr. Hosseini told Iran Human Rights. According to the close source, Mr. Hosseini confessed under pressure and physical torture to producing and selling three kilograms of crystal meth. "Other than the forced confession, there was no other evidence against him."





Iranian official sources, including the media and the Judiciary, have not announced these executions.

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The UN Secretary General recently released his biannual report on implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. In it, he confirmed that all parties, including Iran, are living up to their commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal agreed to by Iran, the EU and the P5+1 countries.

But when UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman presented the report to the Security Council, he focused on the resolutions other provisions as well, one of which calls on Iran to refrain from activity related to ballistic missile development. He noted that on January 29, 2017, Iran launched a medium-range ballistic missile, and that that had followed a series of earlier ballistic missiles launched by Iran in March 2016.

The sanctions outlined in Resolution 2231 also restrict Irans arms transfer and export. UN Under-Secretary Feltman reported that after analysis of a cache of weapons seized by the French navy in the Northern Indian Ocean in March 2016, it was determined that the weapons were of Iranian origin and had been shipped from Iran. In addition, Mr. Feltman noted that Irans Defense Ministry Organization again participated in Iraqs Defense Exhibition.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the Secretary Generals report is filled with devastating evidence of the nature of the Iranian regime and documents the Iranian governments actions in defiance of Resolution 2231.

Repeated ballistic missile launches, proven arms smuggling, illicit procurement of ballistic missile-related technology.

She also observed that while Resolution 2231 requires states to prohibit the entry into their territory of certain individuals like Major General Qassem Soleimani, chief of the IRGC's Qods Force, he has openly visited other countries.

We as the Security Council must stand behind the provisions of 2231. We must strictly enforce them and show Iran that we will not tolerate their egregious flouting of UN resolutions.

The United States will do its part to implement Resolution 2231. It will also work with global partners to interdict prohibited cargo and continue to impose U.S. domestic sanctions on those who help Iran violate Resolution 2231.

Irans behavior and rhetoric are not those of a responsible member of the international community, said Ambassador Haley. The Security Council must recognize this fact and act accordingly.
The United States is deeply concerned over the recent violations of the ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which have resulted in multiple reported civilian and military casualties, including a young child. In a statement issued July 6, the State Department called on both sides to cease military action and return to the negotiation table.

In their statement released July 5, the Co-Chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group called upon the parties to cease military action as violence only begets further violence and accomplishes nothing. The Co-Chairs called upon the sides to return to the negotiation table in good faith. In an earlier June 19 statement, the Co-Chairs underscored that such negotiations are the only way to bring a lasting peace to the people of the region, who expect and deserve progress toward settlement of the conflict.

Stephane Dujarric, the United Nations Spokesman for the Secretary-General stated on July 6, that the UN also shares the concerns of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs over recent ceasefire regime violations, We [the UN] call upon the sides to refrain from any military action, and strongly urge them to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions and prevent further violence. An early return to the negotiation table in good faith is the only way to resolve this long-standing and dangerous conflict, Mr. Dujarric said.

For its part, the United States continues to engage intensely with the sides. The longstanding policy of the United States, shared by the Minsk Group co-chairs, is that a just settlement must be based on international law, which includes the Helsinki Final Act, in particular the principles of the non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity, and equal rights and self-determination of peoples.
Tourists in Palma de Mallorca. Atienza (EFE)

The city of Palma, on the island of Mallorca, has introduced a one-year moratorium on licenses to build new tourist accommodation in four districts of this popular Mediterranean destination.

The local government  which is run by a leftist coalition of socialists (PSOE), the local group Mes per Mallorca and Spains anti-austerity Podemos  said the decision is based on a notable increase in demand to set up new tourist lodgings in a city where there is already a saturation of hotel businesses in some districts, said urban planning chief Jose Hila.

Boutique hotels are left out of the moratorium

Palma joins Barcelona, which implemented a similar freeze on new tourist accommodation. The move is also the second time that the Majorcan city has attempted to deal with the issue of growing tourism, which critics say causes rents to rise and local residents to be priced out of their neighborhoods. In March of this year, local authorities announced that homeowners who rent out their apartments to tourists without a permit could face fines of up to 40,000.

Ban on new beds

The capital of the Balearic Islands currently has 38 licensed lodgings offering 2,149 hotel beds, and the city is handling 63 requests for new businesses that would see 2,193 more beds added.

The freeze on new licenses will mostly affect hostales  lodgings that are smaller and more affordable than hotels  and youth hostels. It will also have an impact on apartment buildings registered under the category of inland tourism, a term that has become a catch-all for vacation rentals, said Hila.

If we dont do anything, many of the new licenses will get processed via this inland tourism category, he added.

Boutique hotels are left out of the moratorium, but will have to meet a raft of requirements before obtaining a new license  such as being housed in a landmark building and securing five-star quality status.

The moratorium will serve to redefine a new tourism model for the city

Urban planning chief Jose Hila

The ban affects the historic part of town and three other downtown districts that are either already saturated or under significant pressure from tourism: Santa Catalina, Eixample and Nou Levant.

Hila said that the moratorium will serve to redefine a new tourism model for the city.

Palma Mayor Antoni Noguera, of Mes per Mallorca, said that the city has acted with courage and co-responsibility in a decision that is backed by the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Palma and the Mallorca hotel business association.

English version by Susana Urra.
On the afternoon of July 10, 1997, as I was returning from doing some paperwork in Mondragon, I was told that ETA had kidnapped a young councilor, Miguel Angel Blanco, from our own town. I told the people around me, ETA is not getting away with this scot-free! I immediately called a plenary session and told the municipal police to go out on the streets and announce a street protest for 8pm.

The speaker is Carlos Totorika, a Socialist who has been the mayor of the Basque town of Ermua since 1991. This is where the 29-year-old Popular Party (PP) councilor was abducted by a terrorist cell at 3.30pm on the platform of the local train station.

Between 1976 and 1994, ETA caused 771 deaths. Between 1995 and 2010, there were 98 killings

It was a massive protest. Thousands of locals packed the streets of Ermua, population 17,000, demanding Blancos release. The following night, thousands more held a vigil. Totorika viewed the kidnapping as a challenge issued by ETA, and he believed that Ermua would be up to that challenge.

I knew there was going to be a powerful response, because people were really sick and tired, he says in reference to a period of time when ETA activity was at a high. A 2015 report commissioned by the Basque government found that ETA committed most of its violent acts not under Franco, but during the consolidation of democracy. Between 1976 and 1994, ETA caused 771 deaths. Between 1995 and 2010, there were 98 killings.

There had already been significant protests over the murder of law professor and Constitutional Court justice Francisco Tomas y Valiente in February 1996. The same with the abductions of the businessmen Julio Iglesias Zamora and Jose Maria Aldaya. And with the kidnapping of prison worker Jose Antonio Ortega Lara, who was held for 532 days between 1996 and 1997. Spaniards were shocked by images of an emaciated Ortega Lara upon his liberation by the Spanish Civil Guard, who found him inside a humid underground cell so small that he could only take three steps in it.

Miguel Angel Blanco. EFE

One day, the streets were plastered with posters showing local residents faces in the middle of a target, recalls the mayor, alluding to a classic intimidation technique used by ETA supporters in many Basque towns. I called a plenary session inside a local movie theater to get people to participate. We put the [pro-ETA party] Batasuna councilors on the defensive. In Ermua, respect for life and human rights took precedence over ethnic patriotism. There was a plurality of thought.

In the meantime, regional Basque premier Jose Antonio Ardanza, who served between 1985 and 1999, was calling all the signatories to the Ajuria Enea Pact, a cross-party effort to fight terrorism in the region through coordinated work and international cooperation. Jose Luis Zubizarreta, who was Ardanzas advisor at the time, remembers that ETA was making it a condition for Blancos release that all its prisoners serving sentences across the Spanish geography had to be transferred to Basque penitentiaries within the next 48 hours.

The Ajuria Enea Pact replied that Blanco should be released because those conditions were impossible to meet, and it called a street demonstration in Bilbao for Saturday at noon, a few hours before the deadline, he recalls.

Following the civic rebellion in the Basque Country, political leaders showed that they were not up to the task

The Basque premier traveled to Ermua to show his support for the Blanco family. We let the family use municipal facilities so they could talk to people there, says Totorika, the mayor. They had enormous support. A network was set up to deal with all the visitors who came to Ermua. There was a lot of solidarity on display.

The Bilbao march of July 12 was the largest anti-ETA protest in Spanish history. A lot of people showed up who had never been to this kind of demonstration before, and they came to help save Miguel Angel, a young man from a working-class family with whom they could identify. The media covered those emotional 48 hours, and people felt like they were in the spotlight, says Jose Maria Calleja, an activist who was involved in the social movements of that period.

Citizens demanding the safe return of Miguel Angel Blanco on July 11, 1997. Santos Cirilo

So when a mortally wounded Blanco was found two hours later in the nearby town of Lasarte, there was an outpouring of indignation. The mayor of Ermua broke the news from the balcony of the town hall, where he stood along with members of the Blanco family. Thousands of people began chanting: Murderers! Murderers! A group of people set fire to Batasunas party headquarters, and Totorika helped put it out, fire extinguisher in hand.

There were quite a few people who thought that, after all the demonstrations, ETA would release him; but they saw [ETAs] infinite cruelty, and indignation was stronger than fear. A lot of people protested in front of Batasuna headquarters, and special ops officers from the regional police force, the Ertzaintza, took off the balaclavas they routinely used to conceal their identities as a safety measure against an ETA attack. In Ermua, many women kneeled and yelled out: ETA, here is the back of my neck!, recalls Calleja.

The democratic uprising of the Basques against ETA caught on in the rest of Spain, and a slogan was born: Yes to Basques, No to ETA, he adds about that watershed moment in Basque and Spanish history. There was a proliferation of demonstrations across Spain to support Basque societys rebellion against the terrorists.

Batasuna definitively lost its hold on the street because people shook off their fear

Carlos Totorika, mayor of Ermua

ETA lost the arm wrestle, confirms Totorika. Terrorism tries to create fear and paralyze people with it. But indignation was greater than fear. People felt safe when they saw that they were united and could count on support from the institutions.

After Ermua, Batasuna people found themselves on the defensive, and some of them looked down when they saw us on the street, adds Calleja, underlining a notable change in attitude by pro-ETA individuals who had, until then, felt that they owned the streets.

The civic revolt had another kind of impact on Batasuna. In an unprecedented move for the radical political group, one of its leaders, Patxi Zabaleta, condemned the murder and later headed a breakaway party named Aralar. Even former ETA leaders serving prison sentences, such as Joseba Urrusolo and Jose Luis Alvarez, aka Txelis, issued condemnations.

A woman hugs a member of the Basque regional police (Ertzaintza) who has removed his head gear and is showing his face during the unrest in Ermua. Javier Hernandez

The Spanish interior minister at the time, Jaime Mayor Oreja, stated that Ermua is to ETA what the Burgos process was to Francoism: the herald of its de-legitimization, alluding to a summary trial held in 1970 against 16 ETA members.

Yet following the civic rebellion in the Basque Country, political leaders showed that they were not up to the task. The cross-party unity was broken. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar tried to capitalize on the wave of anti-terrorist sentiment, and Xabier Arzalluz, the head of the moderate Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), signed a deal with Batasuna that came to be known as the Lizarra Pact. Progress was set back by several years.

Even so, the social momentum gave birth to civic groups such as Foro de Ermua and Basta Ya, and pushed legislators to pass the Solidarity with Victims of Terrorism Act of 1999 and the Political Party Act of 2003, which outlawed parties that openly supported acts of terrorism.

After the civic rebellion at Ermua, victims began to take center stage and Batasuna definitively lost its hold on the street

Ardanza, the former regional premier, admits that Ermua represented a before and after in Basque society. Totorika and Calleja confirm that: In the 1990s, the street demonstrations with people wearing blue lapel bows began to award public visibility to ETAs victims, and to challenge ETAs control over the streets. After the civic rebellion at Ermua, victims began to take center stage and Batasuna definitively lost its hold on the street, because people shook off their fear. Every murder after that came up against mass protests, and we began thinking that we could defeat ETA, which took a downhill path without any brakes.

ETA would still go on to murder 67 more people before ceasing its violent activities 15 years later. Two of their targets were leading members of this civic rebellion: Jose Luis Lopez de Lacalle and Joseba Pagazaurtundua. But ETA was eventually defeated, and there is no doubt that the citizen revolt that began in Ermua was one of the determining factors in that outcome.

English version by Susana Urra.
A protestor is arrested in Santiago on Monday. PABLO VERA LISPERGUER (AFP)

Seven people were arrested during demonstrations that saw police use water cannon against protesters trying to halt the progress of the vehicle at the center of the controversial campaign.

Meanwhile, Chiles Movement for Homosexual Liberation (MOVILH), which backs gay marriage in the country, made its own statement by rolling out its own blue bus as a form of counter campaign.

The Hazte Oir vehicles debut in the Chilean capital was organized by a coalition of conservative Christian groups

The Hazte Oir vehicles debut in the Chilean capital was organized by a coalition of conservative Christian groups including CitizenGO, the larger organization to which Hazte Oir belongs. The vehicle  dubbed the Freedom bus on the Chilean leg of its tour  bore the slogan Nicolas has the right to both a mother and a father  a clear reference to a 2014 campaign by MOVILH under the banner Nicolas has two fathers, according to Chilean television station T13.

Several groups had called on the government of the Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to ban the campaign, but the controversial bus was finally allowed to take to the roads.

The bus in New York.

Government spokesperson Paula Narvaez noted several days ago that the campaign promoted intolerance. Instead of being called the Freedom Bus, it should be called the intolerance bus, she said.

In an interview with T13 Radio, Teresa Garcia, spokesperson for Hazte Oir, argued the groups aim was to denounce government policies and laws that oblige children to be brought up according to certain emotional and sexual norms.

Parents have the right to decide on this upbringing, not governments, she added.

The groups aim is to denounce government policies that oblige children to be brought up according to certain emotional and sexual norms

Hazte Oir originally launched its bus campaign in Spain in response to a public awareness campaign run by the Basque advocacy group Chrysallis Euskal Herria, an association of families with transgender children. The group used the slogan There are girls with penises and boys with vulvas, in a poster campaign funded by a mystery New York donor.

But the bright orange bus used by the ultraconservative Catholic group was banned from the roads in Madrid with authorities saying it could constitute a hate crime. The campaign vehicle was later pelted with eggs as it made its way across Spain while one woman was reportedly injured while trying to block its progress.

In New York, the vehicle was dubbed the Hate bus with Chelsea Clinton among those lining up against the campaign whose organizers say they are defending free speech.

English version by George Mills.
Spains King Felipe VI called for the British and Spanish governments to redouble their efforts to find satisfactory formulas for all over the issue of Gibraltar, during a speech made on Wednesday afternoon before a joint session of the House of Commons and the House of Lords in London.

Queen Elizabeth and King Felipe VI in London today. SEAN DEMPSEY (EFE)

The speech came on the first day of the Spanish royals state visit to the United Kingdom, and was delivered in English by the 49-year-old monarch. Directly addressing the thorny issue of the British overseas territory, located in the south of Spain, King Felipe said that during our rich and fruitful history there have also been estrangements, rivalries and disputes, but the work and determination of our governments, authorities and citizens have relegated such events to the past.

If the size of the welcome serves to gauge the importance of the head of state being received, Felipe VIs visit must be historic

I am certain that this resolve to overcome our differences will be even greater in the case of Gibraltar and I am confident that through the necessary dialogue and effort, our two governments will be able to work toward arrangements that are acceptable to all involved.

The king also called for solutions so that any deal on Brexit  the United Kingdoms planned withdrawal from the European Union  guaranteed the necessary confidence and certainty needed by the hundreds of thousands of Spanish citizens who live in the UK and the Britons who reside in or visit Spain.

Queen Letizia chats to the Duchess of Cornwall on Wednesday. HANNAH MCKAY (REUTERS)

Pomp and ceremony

At the start of their state visit, the king and queen of Spain were received in London on Wednesday by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at an elaborate formal event on Horse Guards Parade in the political district of Westminster, after they had already met with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. An avenue lined with Commonwealth flags, cavalry, bagpipes, drums, bugles and gleaming cutlasses awaited the royals.

King Felipe and the Duke of Edinburgh during the changing of the guard on Wednesday. POOL (REUTERS)

The arrival of King Felipe and Queen Letizia was also accompanied by a 41-gun salute from Green Park, and another 41 from the Tower of London. If the size of the welcome serves to gauge the importance of the head of state being received, then Felipe VIs visit must be historic. Queen Elizabeth had pulled out all of the stops for the event. Nothing was missing in London on Wednesday: there was the threat of rain, wind, cold and even the odd ray of sunshine.

As well as the queen and the duke, a delegation led by the prime minister, Theresa May, was also there to receive the Spanish royals. Later in the day, King Felipe and Queen Letizia had lunch in Buckingham Palace, before visiting an exhibition of Spanish artworks from the Royal Collection in the Picture Gallery. There was also an exchanging of gifts.

Before heading to the British parliament, the king and queen met with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall to have tea in their London residence, Clarence House.

Tonight Queen Elizabeth will be holding a gala dinner in Buckingham Palace in honor of the royal couple, at which all the members of the British royal family will be present  something that is not often seen during such state visits. Around 150 invitees will be present, including Spanish and British business leaders who have interests in both countries.

On Thursday night, the London Eye  the giant Ferris wheel located in the British capital  will be lit up with the colors of the Spanish flag.

This trip is the first state visit to be made by the Spanish royal family since 1986, when King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia traveled to London, just when Spain was joining the European Union. Now, of course, the visit is taking place at a time when the commercial and social relationship between the two countries is set to be affected by the UKs exit from the EU.

English version by Simon Hunter.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

Trend:

Member of the Argentine Senate Maria Ester Labado condemned the Armenian provocation against Azerbaijan, as a result of which Azerbaijani civilians were killed.

In a letter to the Azerbaijani Embassy in Argentina, she expressed deep regret over the killing of civilians in the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijans Fuzuli district by Armenian armed forces.

"This concerns us not only because it is contrary to the spirit of our peoples, but also due to the fact that the killing of children must be condemned," said the Argentine senator.

It should be noted that on July 4 at about 20:40 (GMT+4 hours), the Armenian armed forces again violated ceasefire and, using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers, shelled Azerbaijani positions and territories where the civilian population lives, namely the Alkhanli village of the countrys Fuzuli district, thereby grossly violating the requirements of international law, the Azerbaijani defense ministry said earlier.

As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sahiba Allahverdiyeva, 50, and Zahra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Salminaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

By Elmira Tariverdiyeva  Trend:

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have made a statement regarding the meeting of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian in Brussels July 11, the OSCE website said July 12.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs (Ambassador Igor Popov of Russia, Ambassador Stephane Visconti of France, and Ambassador Richard Hoagland of the US) met July 11 with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian to discuss modalities of further work on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, according to the statement.

The personal representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, also participated in the meeting, said the statement.

The ministers agreed to pass to their presidents the co-chairs proposal for a high-level meeting later this year, the statement noted. The co-chairs offered their assistance in organizing this meeting.

The current situation on the contact line between the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops was also discussed, according to the statement.

The ministers and the OSCE MG co-chairs agreed to meet again in New York in September on the margins of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, said the statement.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

By Seba Aghayeva  Trend:

Azerbaijan supports continuation of substantive talks on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend July 12.

Hajiyev was commenting on the negotiations of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian in Brussels July 11.

At the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Brussels, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group proposed to hold another meeting at the ministerial level in New York within the framework of the UN General Assembly session, Hajiyev said.

The co-chairs also proposed to hold a meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in autumn 2017, he noted.

The foreign ministers will bring the proposal of the mediators to the attention of the heads of state, Hajiyev said.

In autumn 2017, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will visit the South Caucasus region again, he said.

Hajiyev went on to add that the issue of creating any mechanisms was not discussed at the meeting in Brussels.

During the meeting, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov reiterated that in order to reduce tensions and ensure security in the region, the Armenian Armed Forces must be withdrawn from Azerbaijans occupied territories according to the plan of the mediators, Hajiyev said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Details added (first version posted on 15:46)

Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

Trend:

Murder of little Zahra and her grandmother demonstrates Armenian fascism and Armenia received a response for this military crime, said Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev.

He made the remarks at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to results of socio-economic development in the first half of 2017 and objectives for the future.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the major issue in our foreign policy. Unfortunately, no result has been achieved in the negotiations in the first half of this year. At the same time, I believe that there were important developments in 2017 in terms of solution of the conflict and Azerbaijans fair position has gained even greater value, said the president.

I would like to bring some facts to the attention of Azerbaijani society," said the president. "First of all, this year, the self-proclaimed separatist regime, instigated by Armenias political leadership, held another fictional, illegal, so-called "referendum" in Nagorno-Karabakh. Indeed, holding this "referendum" is their big mistake, more precisely, it is stupidity. If they were a little bit smarter, they wouldnt do that, because it was obvious that the international community would never recognize it.

This happened. The OSCE Minsk Group made a statement and its co-chairs -- the U.S., France, Russia -- didnt recognize the referendum. The EU did not recognize this "referendum". The neighboring countries  Iran, Georgia did not recognize it as well, while other countries made similar statements said President Aliyev.

President Aliyev said that non-recognition of this referendum once again proves that Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan.

With such position, the entire world and the countries directly involved in settlement of the conflict once more affirm that Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, he added.

This is the truth. This is the historical truth and of course, this truth was reiterated once again. This was another disgrace of Armenia, said the president.

As you know, after the April 2016 events Armenia was imposing some conditions to restore the negotiations and was openly stating this, noted President Aliyev.

That time, I saw and knew that this was another stupidity, because sooner or later, they will come back to the negotiating table and will simply disgrace themselves for the next time. That happened. Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers met yesterday [July 11]. The process of negotiations has been restored and the Azerbaijani side hasnt accepted any condition. The negotiation process has been restored without any condition, said the president. This is our standpoint. We have always stated that should be in this way. This is also the position of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries. Therefore, they made the invader to return back to the negotiating table.

President Aliyev noted that current task is to restore substantive, thats to say, meaningful, concrete talks.

Our lands should be liberated and Azerbaijans territorial integrity should be restored as a result of the negotiations. This is our position. No other way is possible beyond that, he added.

President Aliyev said that Armenia has always tried to disrupt the negotiations and to stage provocations when facing with increasing pressure.

We are well aware of this from recent history. In late 1990s, a terror attack was committed at the Armenian parliament and this was a pretext for the then Armenian leadership to disrupt the negotiations. So this happened. Immediately after the talks held in France in 2014, Armenia staged another provocation and held military exercises in Aghdam. Our positions were attacked by helicopters and one of them was destroyed by the Azerbaijani army, he added.

President Aliyev recalled that he and the Armenian president attended the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in late March 2016.

That time, pressure was put on the Armenian president to solve the issue as soon as possible, said the head of state. "To breach the negotiations Armenia committed the April 2016 events and staged a provocation against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani army gave an adequate response to the enemy. As a result of this response, today, our flag is on the liberated lands of Aghdere, Fizuli and Jabrayil districts.

He added that no talks have been held since then, and Armenia was facing increasing pressure.

In an effort not to commence the negotiations, they staged another provocation last month, killing one Azerbaijani soldier, said the president, adding that the Azerbaijani army punished them again and a lot of invaders were killed as a result of the response strikes.

Another provocation was staged in Alkhanli village of Fizuli district on July 4. This is a military crime. This demonstrates Armenian fascism and Armenia has received a response for this crime. This is an unprecedented atrocity. Murder of little Zahra and her grandmother showed the ugly face of Armenian fascism to the whole world, said President Aliyev.

The president pointed out that this crime was not left unanswered and the Azerbaijani society is aware of that.

Although Armenia always wants to conceal its losses, it cant conceal all of them. Azerbaijani army inflicted destructive strikes on the enemy. Many invaders were killed as a result of these strikes. Little Zahras and her grandmothers blood was avenged. This will always be so. What was this crime considered for? First of all, it shows the essence of Armenian political leadership. It is impossible to expect anything else from the Khojali killer, baby and woman killer. This is the Armenian fascism and the whole world should accept it this way, said President Aliyev.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

Trend:

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has chaired a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to results of socio-economic development in the first half of 2017 and objectives for the future.

The president made an opening and a closing speeches at the meeting.

Other speakers included Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Huseyngulu Baghirov, Chairman of the State Committee on Property Issues Karam Hasanov, and Chairman of the Melioration and Water Management OJSC Ahmad Ahmadzade.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Azerbaijan always showed the greatest support for Turkey in the fight against the movement of Fethullah Gulen, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral said July 12.

He made the remarks in Baku at a press conference dedicated to the anniversary of the military coup attempt in Turkey.

The Turkish authorities accuse Fethullah Gulen, living in the US, of being involved in the military coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.

On July 15, 2016, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country as a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.

More than 200 people were killed during the attempted coup.

Unfortunately, Turkey doesnt receive the necessary support from the international community in the fight against the Gulen movement, Ozoral said. This is while Azerbaijan has supported and continues to support us in this issue from the very beginning.

The diplomat noted that on the night of the military coup attempt, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was one of the first heads of state to call Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are stronger together, the ambassador said. The strength of Azerbaijan is the strength of Turkey and the strength of Turkey is the strength of Azerbaijan.

He recalled that there was one Azerbaijani among more than 255 Turkish citizens who were killed during the events related to the military coup attempt.

Ozoral noted that the events of July 15, 2016 didnt weaken Turkey, but, on the contrary, made the country stronger.

After the military coup attempt, the Turkish economy during the year was growing at a faster pace than earlier, he added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

Trend:

The plenary session of the 19th World Congress of Russian Press Partnership for the future: priorities of modern civilization will be held July 12 in Minsk city, BelTA news agency reported.

After the official opening ceremony of the congress, two panel sessions Challenges and opportunities: sovereignty, integration, globalization and Mass media in the context of digital revolution are planned to be held.

Both these sessions are aimed at large-scale discussion of the agenda relevant to the information society. Together with the congress, the traditional media forum Partnership for the Future will be held. The organizers considered it necessary that all guests work on one platform, because the press has no borders and topics that are planned to be discussed are common to all.

The forum gathered media representatives from 52 countries in Belarus. The country hosts the congress already for the second time, the 15th World Congress of Russian Press was held in Belarus in 2013.

World Association of Russian Press (WARP), the Ministry of Information of Belarus, and the WARP Foundation for Cooperation with Russian-Language Media Abroad are the organizers of the 19th World Congress of Russian Press.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

Financial Monitoring Service of Azerbaijans Financial Market Supervisory Authority has added the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar terrorist group to the list of persons and structures subject to international sanctions for their support of terrorism, said a report of the service posted on its website.

The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar terrorist group is suspected of having ties to the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) terrorist group, according to the report.

This is the 17th change made to the list in 2017. The list is updated in accordance with the UN Security Councils decisions and the information received from regional organizations.

According to an order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, the international list is approved and updated by the Financial Monitoring Service based on the information received from the countrys Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Financial Monitoring Service of Azerbaijan was established Feb. 23, 2009.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

Trend:

Azerbaijan is a land of stability, and investors invest in stable places, said the countrys President Ilham Aliyev, speaking at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to results of socio-economic development in the first half of 2017 and objectives for the future.

The number of stable counties is reducing dramatically. Therefore, I am sure that in the future, even more foreign investors will appeal us to invest in Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev said in his opening speech at the meeting.

The president went on to add that $5 billion was invested in Azerbaijans economy in six months of 2017.

Today capital investments decrease almost in all countries by force of financial difficulties and problems. However, Azerbaijan attracts investments and most of them are foreign investments. That is, Azerbaijan is a very attractive country for foreign investors. Why? Not only because we have good investment environment, but because Azerbaijan is a land of stability and investors make investments only in stable places, President Ilham Aliyev said.

The president noted that Azerbaijans non-oil economy grew by 1.7 percent in the first half of 2017.

This is a very good indicator. I particularly note the non-oil economy because the general economic indicator, that is the Gross Domestic Product indicator, depends mainly on oil production and oil prices. And they change, he said.

Therefore, this cannot be the main factor for evaluating our work. The growth of the non-oil economy by 1.7 percent is the result of the economic reforms we implement. I believe this is a very good indicator, especially in present conditions, he said.

The non-oil industry grew even more. The growth is 4.4 percent here. I think this is also the best possible indicator. This shows that the reforms and the policy we pursue yield results, said Ilham Aliyev.

The Azerbaijani president noted that the countrys currency reserves have increased by about $3 billion since early 2017.

Our currency reserves increased to $40.6 billion. This is also a very good indicator as from the beginning of the year until present, our currency reserves have increased by about $3 billion, President Ilham Aliyev said.

Oil prices fell sharply and then rose to a certain extent. It is likely that they will fall again. And our currency reserves increase. This happens thanks to a well thought out policy, because we have never engaged in populism. We have always engaged in long-term development of our country. We both saved up and carried out reforms, and allocated funds only for strategically important projects. Of course, we reduced import and increased export. There is no budget problem. Therefore, transfers from the Oil Fund to the budget decreased. So, the increase of currency reserves in the first six months of the year by $3 billion is an excellent result.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The Southern Gas Corridor is opening a new chapter in the way energy is supplied, and Turkey is helping to write that story as one of the great transport hubs of the world, said BP CEO Bob Dudley.

He made the remarks during the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, Turkey.

One of BPs largest partnership projects, the Southern Gas Corridor, will bring a further 6 billion cubic meters a year of gas from [Azerbaijans] giant Shah Deniz field in the Caspian to industrial customers across Turkey, as well as supplying an extra 10 billion cubic meters a year to EU markets, said Dudley.

He pointed out that of the 3,500 kilometers of pipeline, 1,850 - more than half - are being laid in Turkey.

The advantages of natural gas are clear and at BP we are evolving our production portfolio to contain a larger proportion of gas, said the CEO. Six out of the seven major projects coming on-stream this year will produce gas.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.

At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.

As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans Adriatic Pipeline.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

According to secondary sources, total OPEC-14 crude oil production averaged 32.61 million barrels per day in June, an increase of 393,000 barrels per day over the previous month, the cartel said in its July Oil Market Report.

Crude oil output increased mostly in Libya (up by 127,000 b/d), Nigeria (96,700 b/d), Angola (66,000 b/d), Iraq (60,600 b/d) and Saudi Arabia (51,300 b/d), while production showed declines in Venezuela (down by 13,600 b/d), according to the cartel.

The 172nd Meeting of the Conference approved Equatorial Guineas request to join OPEC, with immediate effect from May 25, 2017.

In line with this development, data for Equatorial Guinea will now be included within the OPEC grouping. As a result, the figures for OPEC crude production, demand for OPEC crude and non-OPEC supply have been adjusted to reflect this change. For comparative purposes, related historical data has also been revised.

Equatorial Guinea has increased its crude output by 1,400 b/d in June as compared to May 2017, said the report.

On May 25, OPEC member countries and non-OPEC parties, Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, and the Republic of South Sudan agreed to extend the production adjustments for a further period of nine months, with effect from July 1, 2017.

The reductions will be on the same terms as those agreed in November.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 12

By Demir Azizov Trend:

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, who arrived in Tashkent on a two-day working visit, discussed the issues of expansion of the Uzbek-Turkmen cooperation July 11, Uzbekistan National News Agency (UzA) reported.

The sides also discussed new areas of partnership between the two countries.

Currently, Turkmen and Uzbek companies and enterprises are implementing agreements worth over $200 million.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Rashid Meredov exchanged views on topical issues of regional and international politics.

The Turkmen foreign minister confirmed his countrys readiness for further development of full-scale cooperation.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

By Fatih Karimov Trend:

Irans Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh attended a parliamentary session on July 12 to defend the recent deal signed with Total to develop the South Pars gas field, SHANA news agency reported.

He said that the signed deal is completely legal, accusing the critics of being against the foreign investment.

Over the course of 20 years, the Phase 11 of the gas field is expected to produce 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, 335 billion cubic meters of soar gas as well as 290 million barrels of gas condensate and 14 million tons of liquid gas, Zanganeh said, adding that the total worth of the output will reach $185 billion.

He added that Iran has lost some $22 billion because of delays in developing South Pars.

The contractors should pay $6 billion to government for construction of facilities and as taxes during the contract period, Zanganeh said.

Each year of delay in developing South Pars can cost Iran up to $5 billion, he added.

Zanganeh further said that Iran even welcomes US firms presence in its oil and gas industry, but the Washington administration imposes lose to the United States companies by preventing them from investment in Iran.

A number of hardliner MPs in Iranian parliament tried to submit an urgent bill on July 12 to stop the implementation of the deal, however their failed due to lack of needed support.

Earlier Zanganeh, in response to certain criticisms expressed by hardliners against the deal said the contract has been approved by a seven-member committee, consisting of four former ministers and experts, representatives of Presidential Office and Supreme National Security Council.

A Total-led consortium and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed a contract last week for the development and production of phase 11 of South Pars, the world's largest gas field.



This contract, which has a 20-year duration, is the first Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC) and is based on the technical, contractual and commercial terms as per the Heads of Agreement (HoA) signed on November 8, 2016.



Total is the operator of the SP11 project with a 50.1 percent interest alongside the Chinese state-owned oil and gas company CNPC (30 percent), and Petropars (19.9 percent), a wholly owned subsidiary of NIOC.



The South Pars Phase 11 will be developed in two phases. The first phase, with an estimated cost of around $2 billion equivalent, will consist of 30 wells and 2 wellhead platforms connected to existing onshore treatment facilities by 2 subsea pipelines.



At a later stage, once required by reservoir conditions, a second phase will be launched involving the construction of offshore compression facilities.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12



By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:



Iranian artillery officer Mehdi Joudi was killed in Syria on Tuesday, local news agencies reported.



Joudi was killed in Aleppo city while conducting military advisory mission, the reports said.



The Islamic Republic earlier in March announced that the death toll of Iranian-backed forces in Syria had surpassed 2,100.



Following the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, Iran reportedly set up pro-Shia militias to support President Bashar al-Assad's government against armed opposition groups.



In addition, the Islamic Republic dispatched a group of its military personnel to Syria on advisory mission.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:



Iranian Foreign Ministry has implicitly admitted reports suggesting that the countrys border guards have fired three rockets into the neighboring Pakistan.



Sometimes tensions occur along borders between Iran and Pakistan, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said, responding to a question by ILNA news agency asking whether he confirms Iranian rockets targeted Pakistan.



He further added that the two countries are planning to set up a joint commission to discuss the issues taking place along the borders of the two countries.



Pakistani sources have reported that Iranian border guards fired three rockets into Pakistani territory of Paroom district on July 7. On the other hand Iranian officials in several cases have criticized Pakistan over its failure to properly monitor borders with Iran.



The Islamic Republic claims that the lack of presence of Pakistani border guards along the frontier area helps terrorists cross border illegally and carry out terrorist attacks in the Islamic Republic.



Over the past several years dozens of Iranian border guards have lost their lives in clashes with pro-Sunni rebels operating along the countrys borders with Pakistan.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12



By Fatih Karimov Trend:



An Iranian airplane traveling from the country's central city of Esfahan to Tehran, was forced to make an urgent landing after experiencing technical problems.



The airplane made an urgent landing in Esfahan airport midnight, Hassan Amjadi, head of Esfahan province airports, said, Irans official IRNA news agency reported July 12.



The airplane which was carrying 157 passengers faced a technical fault in its front wheel, Amjadi said.



No one was harmed in the incident, he said, adding that the passengers took off to Tehran on another plane July 12 morning.



Iran has suffered a series of airplane crashes, blamed on its aging aircraft and poor maintenance.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12



By Fatih Karimov Trend:



A fleet of Russian warships berthed in the Caspian port of Anzali in Northern Iran on July 12 morning, the Islamic Republic's Mehr news agency said.



The fleet carrying message of "peace and friendship" was welcomed by Iranian officials.



The visit is part of programs intended to boost military cooperation between the two countries.



The commander of the Russian Makhachkala fleet is scheduled to meet with local officials in the northern Gilan province during the three-day stay.



This is the fifth visit of a Russian fleet to Iranian ports.



In last years the Russian ships and the ships of other Caspian states exchanged friendly visits for several times.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:

Russian gas pumping by the Turkish Stream pipeline will more likely to get to Europe via Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Gareth Winrow, an independent analyst on Turkey and energy security in Eurasia believes.

Russia is still very much interested in connecting the second leg of Turkish Stream to Turkey and the rest of Europe via Greece. This would link up either with the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, once its annual capacity is doubled to 20 bcm, or would connect Greece and Italy by reviving the previously proposed Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI), Winrow told Trend by email.

The expert noted that Russian Gazprom recently held talks with Greek DEPA and Italian Edison companies on promoting the latter project.

According to Winrow, it seems that the EU would also not oppose the flow of Russian gas to Europe via an enlarged TAP as this would not be in breach of EU regulations concerning the Third Energy Package.

He went on to add that the Europeans have already shown that they are not opposed to more Russian gas imports with regard to the planned expansion of Nord Stream for Russian gas supplies to the EU.

Winrow also noted that for the foreseeable future, it is not clear what additional non-Russian gas (besides Azerbaijani gas) could be transported to Europe via TAP pipeline.

Further exports from Azerbaijani gas fields or gas deliveries from Turkmenistan, northern Iraq or even Israel to Europe via Turkey and the Southern Gas Corridor are not likely in the near-medium term because of political problems, the lack of infrastructure, or delays in developing gas fields, he said.

Meanwhile, according to the expert, there is certainly an ongoing competition between various countries in southeastern Europe concerning the possible route for the second leg of the Turkish Stream pipeline which would have a planned capacity of about 16 bcm per year.

He reminded that the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boiko Borissov, and the Serbian President, Aleksandr Vucic, have attended the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul this week, where they have taken the opportunity to lobby for the routing of the second leg of Turkish Stream via their countries. Moreover, a few days earlier Hungary had also expressed a serious interest in hooking up with Turkish Stream via Serbia.

Although this possible gas pipeline has been receiving a lot of publicity of late and in spite of lobbying from Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary, Moscow may still prefer one of the two options via Greece, Winrow said, adding that in particular, using the upcoming open season of auctions to provide an extra 10 bcm per year to an enlarged TAP would be attractive to Gazprom as it would restrict the volume of non-Russian gas flowing to Europe along this key component of the Southern Gas Corridor.

Russia and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement on the implementation of the Turkish Stream project in October 2016. The agreement envisages construction of two strings of the main gas pipeline through the Black Sea, the capacity of each string being 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas.

One string is meant to supply gas directly to the Turkish market and the other for the supply of gas by transit through Turkey to Europe. Initially, Russia and Turkey planned to build four strings of the pipeline. Russian Gazprom began laying pipes for the Turkish Stream pipeline off the Russian Black Sea coast in early May 2017.

TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries. The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italys south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers). TAPs shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

Trend:

Ilia Eloshvili was appointed as Georgias energy minister, Georgia Online quoted the countrys Prime Minister George Kvirikashvili as saying July 12.

Since 2012, Eloshvili has served as the first deputy energy minister and made a great contribution to all projects implemented by Georgias Ministry of Energy, Kvirikashvili told a government meeting.

Eloshvili also has experience in both private and public sectors, the PM said and expressed confidence that the appointee will successfully serve as an energy minister.
China hit back on Tuesday in unusually strong terms at repeated calls from the United States to put more pressure on North Korea, urging a halt to what it called the "China responsibility theory", and saying all parties needed to pull their weight, Reuters reported.

U.S President Trump took a more conciliatory tone at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, but he has expressed some impatience that China, with its close economic and diplomatic ties to Pyongyang, is not doing enough to rein in North Korea.

That feeling has become particularly acute since Pyongyang launched an intercontinental ballistic missile that some experts believe could have the range to reach Alaska, and parts of the U.S. West Coast.

Asked about calls from the United States, Japan and others for China to put more pressure on North Korea, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said it was not China ratcheting up tension and the key to a resolution did not lie with Beijing.

"Recently, certain people, talking about the Korean peninsula nuclear issue, have been exaggerating and giving prominence to the so-called 'China responsibility theory,'" Geng told a daily news briefing, without naming any parties.

"I think this either shows lack of a full, correct knowledge of the issue, or there are ulterior motives for it, trying to shift responsibility," he added.

China has been making unremitting efforts and has played a constructive role, but all parties have to meet each other half way, Geng said.

"Asking others to do work, but doing nothing themselves is not OK," he added. "Being stabbed in the back is really not OK."

While China has been angered by North Korea's repeated nuclear and missile tests, it also blames the United States and South Korea for worsening tension with their military exercises.

China has been upset with the U.S. deployment of an advanced anti-missile system in South Korea too, which it says threatens its own security and will do nothing to ease tensions.

Additionally, Beijing has complained about Washington putting unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals for their dealings with North Korea.

Geng questioned how China's efforts could bear fruit if, while it tried to put out the flames, others added oil to the fire, and if, while it enforced U.N. resolutions, others harmed its interests.

Everyone needed to accept their responsibilities to get the North Korea issue back on the correct track of a peaceful resolution through talks, he added.

"The 'China responsibility theory' on the peninsula nuclear issue can stop," Geng said.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday there are many areas besides Syria where the United States and Russia can cooperate and that would be a welcomed development, Sputnik reported.

"Well he wants what's good for Russia, and I want what's good for the United States. And I think in a case like Syria where we can get together, do a ceasefire, and there are many other cases where getting along can be a very positive thing," Trump said in an interview with CBN.

Trump noted that he had an excellent meeting with Putin last week, and they get along very well.
Turkey expects Liberia to act against the dangerous Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in the capital Monrovia on Tuesday.

According to the Turkish government, FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 2016 in Turkey, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, Anadolu reported.

Ankara has said FETO is behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

Cavusoglu told the media in Monrovia that FETO was not just a threat to Turkey.

I expressed our concerns about the FETO establishment in Liberia. I would like to underline that FETO is not only a serious threat to Turkey but also for other countries as well, where it is active, he told a news conference after meeting his Liberian counterpart Marjon V. Kamara.

We expect our Liberian friends to take necessary steps against this very dangerous terrorist organization and its activities here, he said.

When the investigations start, I am sure that Liberia will see how dangerous they are and their connections. I also advice my dear friend, Minister Kamara, to examine the example of other countries on what kind of measures they took.

More and more African countries saw the danger and they are taking measures.

The Turkish minister also said FETO had used a Turkish name to give impression that Turkey supports it.

"Turkey does not support terrorist organization, an illegal organization.

"This is the best strategy for them; open schools and get the best students to infiltrate the state institutions," he added.

Cavusoglu also spoke about bilateral ties with Liberia.

He described his meeting with his counterpart Kamara as fruitful, adding that Turkey and Liberia would like to increase bilateral ties in every possible field.

The minister also said Turkey has decided to open an embassy in Liberia, adding that he would encourage Turkish Airlines to fly to Liberia as well.
The number of passengers Turkish Airlines carried in the first half of the year has hit 30.3 million people -- the highest ever, according to a statement released by the airline on Tuesday, Anadolu reported.

The national flag carrier said this year's number of customers in June rose by 13.5 percent, reaching 5.7 million, compared with the same period in 2016.

The airline said the number of customers in June rose by 15.3 percent on its international flights compared with last year's June.

Turkish Airlines flies to 120 countries, more than any other airline.

Turkey's flag carrier currently has 337 aircraft and flies to more than 302 destinations -- over 250 international.
Ankara, Turkey, July 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Ankara appreciates the support provided for Turkey by other states in time of the 2016 military coup attempt in the country, Turkish presidential administration told Trend on July 12.

On July 15, 2016, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country as a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. More than 200 people were killed during the attempted coup.

On that day, Turkey once again identified its friends, who supported the countrys government, said a source in the presidential administration.

The source also noted that the Turkish people proved to the world their commitment to democratic values, not to chaos and instability.

This is thanks to the people that Turkey managed to prevent the military coup attempt.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The movement of Fethullah Gulen is not as strong as it was before the military coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, the countrys Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral said July 12.

He made the remarks in Baku at a press conference dedicated to the anniversary of the military coup attempt in Turkey.

However, in order to eliminate the threat posed by the Gulen movement, it is necessary to fight until the end and completely destroy it, he said. To date, great success has been achieved in the fight against the Gulen movement.

Ozoral noted that about 130,000-140,000 people were detained and about 45,000 of them were arrested due to the military coup attempt.

The ambassador went on to add that Turkey continues contacts with the US, where Fethullah Gulen resides.

The Turkish authorities accuse Fethullah Gulen of being involved in the military coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.

On July 15, 2016, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country as a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.

More than 200 people were killed during the attempted coup.
Ankara, Turkey, July 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The Fethullah Gulen movement poses a threat not just to Turkey, but also to other countries, Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag told reporters in Ankara July 12.

On July 15, 2016, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country as a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. More than 200 people were killed during the attempted coup.

The Turkish authorities accuse Fethullah Gulen of being involved in the military coup attempt.

What Osama bin Laden means for the US is what Fethullah Gulen means for Turkey. It is known that currently, Gulen is hiding in the US and a number of coupists are in Germany and Greece, Bozdag said, adding there are difficulties in their extradition from the countries.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Ankara, Turkey, July 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The military coup attempt was prevented in Turkey thanks to the countrys people, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters in Ankara July 12.

"The Turkish people gained a victory over the military coup perpetrators and supported the countrys government," Yildirim said.

He added that the majority of those killed during the military coup attempt were young people.

"No violence was used against the military coup perpetrators during its prevention," Yildirim said.

According to some individuals, a controlled coup was organized in Turkey, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak said, adding that this statement is false.

"To our great regret, today some circles conduct propaganda against the peoples will, he added. Those who claim that there was a controlled military coup in Turkey are involved in the vile plan against the country.

He added that the fight against the Gulen movement will not be easy and will take a lot of time.

"The Gulen movement has operated in Turkey for forty years, he said. The movement has greatly weakened, but until now, its supporters continue to hide in some organizations."

The events dedicated to the anniversary of the military coup attempt are being held in 81 Turkish provinces July 11-16. The main events will be held in Ankara and Istanbul, where monuments to the coup victims will be opened. Special sessions will be held in the country's parliament.

On July 15, 2016, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country as a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.
Ankara, Turkey, July 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The military coup attempt in Turkey is a terrorist act, and the countrys people overcame the terrorists, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Currently, the Turkish Justice and Development Party is a guarantor of stability and democracy in the country, according to him.

Turkey will fight to the elimination of the last terrorist, as we promised the people to fight terrorism, Erdogan said at an event, held in connection with the anniversary of the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

On July 15, 2016, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country as a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.

More than 200 people were killed during the attempted coup.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Ankara, Turkey, July 12

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey will fully switch to the presidential form of government in 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said July 12.

President Erdogan made the remarks at the event dedicated to the anniversary of the military coup attempt.

He added that the presidential form of government will strengthen Turkey in all spheres, including political and economic.

"Turkey will completely get rid of external dependence in the military and defense industries," Erdogan said.

The constitutional referendum was held in Turkey April 16.

Thus, 51.4 percent of votes in the referendum were in favor of amendments to the Turkish constitution. Eighty four percent of voters participated in the voting.

The events dedicated to the anniversary of the military coup attempt are being held in 81 Turkish provinces July 11-16. The main events will be held in Ankara and Istanbul, where monuments to the coup victims will be opened. Special sessions will be held in the country's parliament.

On July 15, 2016, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country as a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.
New York, 11 July 2017 - The financial sector has a number of underutilised tools at its disposal to disrupt funds generated by human trafficking and modern slavery, claims a new report published today by the United Nations University (UNU), a United Nations think tank. The report, "25 Keys to Unlock the Financial Chains of Human Trafficking & Modern Slavery", draws on insights from a unique collaboration of representatives of the financial sector, financial regulators, investigators and prosecutors, civil society and UN entities. It identifies concrete measures to break the ties between the financial sector and modern slavery.

"Human trafficking is both big business and a serious crime", said Dr James Cockayne, the report's author and Head of the UNU Office at the United Nation. "With an estimated 45.8 million people enslaved today, the impacts cannot be measured in dollars and cents alone. These numbers hide the stories of real people, most of them women and girls, facing abuse at the hands of criminal and terrorist groups, and in exploitative businesses. By handling the proceeds of these crimes, banks and other financial institutions risk violating anti-money-laundering and counter terrorist-financing laws. Disrupting the associated financial flows associated with these crimes will make a powerful contribution to improving these lives and preventing future crimes."

UNU's report suggests that financial sector actors and their allies are beginning to scale up their efforts. Government regulators and investigators are paying increased attention to these crimes, and serious penalties can ensue. For example, in the US, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) recently introduced a bill to strengthen regulation of the financial sector to reduce its use for human trafficking. Furthermore, Western Union, one of the world's largest money service businesses, entered into a USD 586 million settlement with the US Department of Justice relating to money-laundering for various crimes, including human trafficking.

The report identifies tools already available to financial institutions to identify how and when they may be handling funds generated by modern slavery, to cease handling them, and to prevent against the risk of handling them in future. Financial sector actors are also developing tools to work together and with regulators, to strengthen sectoral knowledge tools, infrastructure, and uptake.

The report proposes specific steps to strengthen regulation and promote information partnerships among industry, regulators, and civil society actors. It proposes measures to address knowledge gaps on financial exposure to, and leverage over, human trafficking. Efforts to treat anti-trafficking issues are not only, it suggests, a compliance issue, but also should be seen as a factor in investment decisions.

"The '25 Keys' in the report will help unlock the financial chains of human trafficking and modern slavery", says Dr Cockayne. "Actors dedicated to this cause hope to galvanise a community that will break the ties between the financial sector and modern slavery. This means encouraging leadership -- for example, by promoting effective 'safe harbour' provisions to facilitate information-exchange, by improving suspicious activity reporting, and by using banks' investment decisions to prevent these crimes occurring in the first place -- to turn up the heat on those who participate in this crime."

###

Notes for journalists

The preparation of this UN University report was supported by the government of Liechtenstein, a long-time advocate for international accountability for human rights violations.

This UN University report summarises discussions held in March 2017 amongst a select group of nearly 100 experts from the financial sector, financial regulators, investigators and prosecutors, anti-slavery organisations, and key practitioners from around the world. These discussions were held at Grace Farms, a new centre for nature, arts, justice, community, and faith, in New Canaan, Connecticut.




antarctica larsen c ice shelf rift crack nov 2016 john sonntag nasa gsfc.JPG

A 1.1-trillion-ton iceberg has calved off Antarctica, into the Southern Ocean.

The block of ice is roughly the area of Delaware and more than twice the volume of Lake Erie.

Scientists aren't sure where it will go, but Business Insider mapped all known iceberg paths from 1999-2016 to see where it may float.

Antarctica has birthed one of the largest icebergs ever recorded, scientists announced Wednesday morning.

A crack in an Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf calved the colossal new iceberg, which is roughly the area of Delaware state and more than double the volume of Lake Erie.

larsen c ice shelf antarctica iceberg july 12 2017 nasa modis satellite

Researchers first noticed the rift in Antarctica's ice in 2010, but it had been growing rapidly since 2016. The iceberg calved between July 10 and July 12, researchers said.

"The iceberg weighs more than a trillion tonnes," Adrian Luckman and Martin O'Leary, two glaciologists at Swansea University, wrote in a July 12 blog post for the MIDAS Project, which has been monitoring the ice.

"The calving of this iceberg leaves the Larsen C Ice Shelf reduced in area by more than 12%, and the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula changed forever."

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.

Luckman and O'Leary said the iceberg will probably be named "A68," and that it's one of the largest ever recorded  possibly the third-largest iceberg since satellite measurements began, according The Antarctic Report. However, Luckman said its enormous size makes its fate tough to predict.

"It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments," he said. "Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters."

Story continues

Where the iceberg may go

larsen c iceberg path falkland islands nasa

Although the iceberg's path is uncertain, Anna Hogg, a glaciologist at the University of Leeds, previously said that "ocean currents could drag it north, even as far as the Falkland Islands."

Those islands lie more than 1,000 miles away from the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica.

To see which paths the iceberg will be most likely to take, Business Insider reached out to David G. Long of Brigham Young University, who works on a data project that tracks all recorded icebergs. The database goes back to 1978 with some gaps, Long wrote in an email, but is continuous from 1999 to today.

Business Insider compiled the data from June 1999 through April 2016 to show all the paths of known Antarctic icebergs in one image:

iceberg paths 1999 2016 business insider nasa scp

As the illustration shows, many icebergs that break off the Antarctic Peninsula drift north and east of that location.

Few are large enough to stay intact until they reach the warmer waters of the Falkland Islands, but many reach the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, which lie farther east.

St Andrews Bay on South Georgia penguin seal beach shutterstock_438314467

Wherever iceberg A68 wanders, warmer ocean waters north of Antarctica will eventually melt it away.

Thankfully, this won't contribute much to rising waters, since the ice "was already floating before it calved away," Luckman said, and thus "has no immediate impact on sea level."

To learn more about Antarctica's gigantic iceberg, read our full story about its calving.

Correction: In a previous version of this story, we misstated the iceberg's volume as comparable to that of Lake Michigan. The iceberg's size is closer to double the volume of Lake Erie.

NOW WATCH: A 1.1-trillion-ton iceberg has broken off Antarctica, and scientists say it's one of the largest ever recorded





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The Department of Defense will provide $65 million in funding to develop brain-machine interface technologies that could, one day, lead to major medical breakthroughs in hearing, vision, speech, and other brain-related disorders.

The funding comes in the form of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contracts under the agencys Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) program, part of a variety of projects meant to support former President Barack Obamas BRAIN initiative. The contracts have been awarded to Brown University, Columbia University, The Seeing and Hearing Foundation, the John B. Pierce Laboratory, Paradromics Inc, and the University of California, Berkeley, DARPA announced Monday.

The NESD program looks ahead to a future in which advanced neural devices offer improved fidelity, resolution, and precision sensory interface for therapeutic applications, said NESD program founder Phillip Alvelda in a statement. By increasing the capacity of advanced neural interfaces to engage more than one million neurons in parallel, NESD aims to enable rich two-way communication with the brain at a scale that will help deepen our understanding of that organs underlying biology, complexity, and function.

You read that right: These companies and academic organizations goal is to create neural links that can communicate with more than one million neurons. But as impressive as that sounds, its still just a tiny fraction of the 86 billion neurons in the brain. For now, the NESDs mission is to uncover data relating to sensory functions like eyesight and hearing and create a basic foundation for brain-machine technology.

That will involve myriad complications, technological, biological, and regulatory alike. Which is why DARPA has chosen a range of grant winners focused on various aspects of the project, such as creating implantable devices that help restore speech or building a holographic microscope that can keep track of one million neurons (you can check out the full list of contracted firms and their initiatives here). Down the road, the NESD will collaborate with regulators like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss possible clinical trial procedures in humans.

While this may be one of the first major public-private partnerships for brain-machine interfaces, the private sector has already been chasing the science fiction-like dream. Eclectic billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk made waves earlier this year when he announced that his latest venture, Neuralink Corp, is working to connect the brain with a computer interface within the decade. Theres also been considerable progress on developing technologies that allow the brain to form connections with artificial limbs.

A version of this essay appears in todays edition of the Fortune Brainstorm Health Daily. Get it delivered straight to your inbox.




Delta Boeing 757

Late last month, Delta Air Lines posted a video on its public relations website attacking Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways.

Now, the airline's rivals have hit back at Delta with an economic impact study and an attack ad of their own.

The long-running feud between America's three legacy carriers and their Middle Eastern rivals continues to be most the volatile and heated business dispute in recent memory.

Here's the shorthand version of the feud: Since 2015, American, Delta, and United Airlines (the US3) have been complaining about competition from three huge and fast-growing Middle East-based rivals  Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways (the ME3).

The US3's position, which is succinctly explained in Delta's 15-minute-long video, argues that the ME3's growth has been fueled by more than $50 billion in subsidies over the past decade. As a result, they believe this allows the ME3 to flood the international market with un-sustainably low prices designed to drive out competitors and threaten the job security of US aviation workers.

"They're taking our jobs, they're taking our markets, and over time, they want to take over international flying," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said of the ME3 in the video.

Delta and its allies believe the playing field is inherently unbalanced and that it is unfair to expect a private company to compete against the resources of a national government.

[Money Basics: How stock splits work]

As a result, they also say the ME3 are in violation of the Open Skies agreements that govern air travel between the US and 120 nations including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The US3 has asked the Trump Administration to re-examine the Open Skies agreements with the UAE and Qatar while prohibiting any further expansion into the US by the ME3.

ME3 and Co. Responds

Infographic Emirates_ Economic Impact in the US

In reaction, Emirates released a study on Monday claiming the airline's activities generated $21.3 billion worth of economic impact in the US during 2015. The report by Virginia-based consulting firm Campbell-Hill Aviation Group posits that Emirates' activities, directly and indirectly, supported more than 104,000 jobs in the US that year.

Story continues

Emirates, while closely associated with the government of the Dubai, has always maintained that it is an independent profit driven enterprise. In an interview with the Business Insider earlier this year, the airline's president, Sir Tim Clark, called the US3's unrelenting campaign against his company as "infantile".

Delta Air Lines declined to comment on the matter and instead referred Business Insider to the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, the lobbying organization representing the US3 in the dispute.

"Emirates new study is based on fundamentally flawed assumptions and is simply meant to distract from their trade cheating behavior," the Partnership's chief spokesperson, Jill Zuckman, said in an emailed statement. "Economists have already empirically demonstrated that the presence of Gulf carriers fails to meaningfully stimulate new demand in U.S. markets."

Also on Monday, US Airlines for Open Skies (USAOS) released a new 30-second attack ad calling for the Trump Administration to ignore the US3's demands which they characterize as merely an attempt to limit competition. The group whose members include JetBlue, Hawaiian Airlines, FedEx, and Atlas Air believe the US3's actions put US airlines operating in the UAE and Qatar at risk for retaliatory actions. In fact, the USAOS believes the US3's campaign will destabilize the whole network of more than 100 Open Skies agreements that support hundreds of thousands of US jobs while saving consumers $4 billion annually in airfares.

USAOS JetBlue UPS Hawaiian Air ad

The presence of USAOS represents a faction of the US aviation industry that operates in an environment very different from the nation's three remaining legacy carriers. FedEx and Atlas Air are two of the world's largest international freight carriers with major operations in the Middle East and around the world. Although they do depend Open Skies agreements to do business around the world, they are not in direct route competition with the ME3.

While most major US airlines, including American and Delta, benefit from direct business dealings with the ME3 and their subsidiaries, JetBlue is the most open about it. The New York-based boutique airline is a major partner for Emirates and takes on much of the airline's connecting traffic within the US.

In 2016, JetBlue was awarded a Fly America Act contract for all US government travel to Dubai as well as between New York and Milan, Italy. Since JetBlue does not operate any long haul international routes outside of the Americas, all of its Fly America passengers will actually travel on Emirates planes.

In response to USAOS, Zuckman told Business Insider:

"Our opponents have chosen to stand with foreign airlines that want to kill U.S. jobs and undermine international trade agreements. Its outrageous and offensive that any American business would defend these foreign trade cheaters over the livelihoods of over 1.2 million American workers. We hope that President Trump and his administration will see through this misleading campaign and enforce our trade deals to protect American jobs."

Related:

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North Korea 's refusal to drop its nuclear weapons program may have a lot to do with the fate that met another would-be nuclear power's dictator just a few years ago.

Pyongyang's ongoing development of nuclear weaponry  including the successful launch last week of a missile that could potentially reach the United States  has set off alarm bells across the international community. But the insistence of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to keep building an arsenal could come from a lesson he learned from another one-time opponent of the West: Libya's Moammar Gadhafi.

Gadhafi conceded to Western demands that he give up his quest for nukes in 2003, only to be toppled by NATO and his Libyan opponents during a brief civil war in 2011.

Nobody likes Kim having nukes. He's an erratic leader whose weapons programs defy UN sanctions, and North Korea has repeatedly broken promises to stop developing them. Worst of all, Kim likes to threaten to attack other countries, including Japan , South Korea , the United States and Australia .

But Kim likely sees the weapons as an insurance policy that keeps him in power. There are uncanny similarities between his regime and Gadhafi's: The Libyan dictator had seized control of the state after leading a military coup in 1969. Like Kim, Gaddafi ran a socialist dictatorship built on a cult of personality. Under Gadhafi, Libya earned a reputation as a rogue nation. It consistently breached international norms, committing human rights abuses, funding terrorist groups, and proliferating weapons of mass destruction.

Yet, in a surprise move in 2003, Gadhafi agreed to give up his weapons program and welcome international inspectors. In exchange, the U.S. and its allies promised better relations with Libya and lifted long-standing economic sanctions.

Eight years later, NATO led a military intervention to support rebels trying to overthrow Gadhafi's regime. NATO said it was responding to a United Nations call to end crimes against humanity in the country.

Story continues

Gadhafi was beaten and killed after he was chased down by rebel soldiers on October 20, 2011. His convoy had been bombed and scattered by U.S. and French airstrikes only moments earlier. Gadhafi holds the unfortunate (for him) distinction of being the only Middle Eastern national leader who was killed during the Arab Spring.

U.S. President Barack Obama has called his failure to plan for the consequences of Gadhafi's downfall the worst mistake of his presidency. But he has said he still believes military intervention was the "right thing to do".

It's highly likely that Kim keeps Gadhafi's unfortunate end in mind, and it deters him and his North Korean leaders from surrendering their own nuclear weapons, according to experts.

"We see in Libya and Iraq countries who gave up their WMD programs, and foreign power campaigns that led to a regime change," said Dr. Guo Yu, principal Asia analyst at global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. "To safeguard against that, North Korea (is) firmly in the belief that they need to have credible nuclear deterrent, and they believe that as a sovereign country they have the right to do so."

Kim is also "watching what's been happening in the Middle East , and the external military interventions  mostly led by the U.S.  which are interested in regime change and just reinforce the mindset for pursuing independent credible nuclear deterrence," Yu said.

During a visit to Libya's former colonial ruler Italy in 2009, Gaddafi remarked: "We had hoped Libya would be an example to other countries  But we have not been rewarded by the world."

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The US is not interested in making any deals with North Korea right now. Here's why





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A woman stands in front of the logo of Snap Inc. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) while waiting for Snap Inc. to post their IPO, in New York City, New York, U.S. on March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/Files

REUTERS - Snap Inc shares tumbled on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter on the company's initial public offering, downgraded the stock and raised concerns about the social media company's ability to compete with Facebook Inc's Instagram.

The ratings move, a rarity by a lead underwriter so soon after a listing, came four months after the Snapchat owner's public debut, which was the hottest for a U.S. technology company in years.

Snap shares have tumbled some 45 percent from a high hit shortly after their debut and slipped under their $17 IPO price for the first time on Monday.

They were last at $16.12, down 5.1 percent on the day, after falling as low as $15.84.

Morgan Stanley cut its rating to "equal-weight" from "outperform" and slashed its price target to $16 from $28, below the median target of $19.50.

Snap's user growth trends have been modestly weaker than expected, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak wrote in the note.

"We have been wrong about Snap's ability to innovate and improve its ad product this year and user monetization as it works to move beyond 'experimental' ad budgets into larger branded and direct response ad allocations," Nowak said in the note.

Snap declined to comment on the downgrade.

A fresh round of selling could follow the July 29 expiry of the stock's lockup period, after which certain insider investors are allowed to unload their shares.

The Snapchat disappearing-message app is popular with users under 30, but many on Wall Street have long been critical of Snap's lofty valuation and slowing growth.

The company faces growing competition from Facebook, which once made a $3 billion bid for Snapchat.

Facebook has made the camera central to its apps and offers Snapchat-like features on its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms.

In June, Instagram said its Stories feature had 250 million users, compared with 166 million users for Snapchat at the end of the first quarter.

"You have a one, two, three punch here: Slowing growth, advertisers are still favoring established platforms and a very, very threatening competitor," said Philippe Collard, founder of management consulting firm Yabusame Partners, which specializes in the tech industry.

Story continues

"Probably, people are sitting on the sideline saying, 'What do I do with Snap, is it going to be another Twitter?'"

Shares of Twitter, which went public in 2013, now trade about 30 percent below their IPO price.

Morgan Stanley cut its estimates for Snap's 2017 revenue by 6.9 percent to $897 million, and daily active user expectations by 1.6 percent to 182 million.

Goldman Sachs, another lead underwriter, still has a "buy" and an unchanged $27 price target.

Some big names took stakes in Snap during the first quarter, including billionaire George Soros' hedge fund, activist hedge fund Jana Partners, Daniel Loeb's Third Point and Daniel Och's Och-Ziff Capital Management.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru and Lewis Krauskopf in New York; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Meredith Mazzilli)
The Russia email scare spooked stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC), but just like that bulls were back in charge. But what happens when the next report comes out? Plus, FAANG stocks are feeling the heat recentlyand there could be more pain to come, thanks to Janet Yellen. And, Go east, young man  Thats what ETF maven Tom Lydon is telling investors. We get the lowdown on why hes high on China. Catch The Final Round at 4 p.m. with Jen Rogers and Yahoo Finance markets correspondent Myles Udland.

Winners and losers

Stocks in the red today include Barracuda Networks as the cybersecurity firms current quarter profit forecast missed estimates; Michael Kors as MKM Partners initiated shares with a sell rating citing bad sales metrics and too much inventory; and Snap, with shares dropping below its IPO price as lead underwriter Morgan Stanley downgrades the social media company to equal-weight, citing competition like Instagram.

Stocks in the green today include Arena Pharmaceuticals as its lung disease treatment met its primary endpoint during phase 2 trials; Rent-A-Center as the rent-to-own company rejected an $800 million takeover offer from Vintage Capital; and Western Digital, with shares of the memory and hard disk firm climbing after the company said it matched all bids for Toshibas chip unit, currently valued at $18 billion. Western Digital is seeking to halt an auction for Toshibas chip business in court.

Tom Lydon on international investing and active vs. passive

It was a close call for the first time in over a year as mutual fund inflows outpaced ETF inflows in May, according to Morningstar. What do the flows tell us about the market and the rest of the year? Tom Lydon, editor of ETF Trends.com, joins us now.
The exchange between Col. Ralph Peters and Tucker Carlson begins at the 5:20 mark

The Fox News personality Tucker Carlson got into a heated debate with the news analyst and retired US Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters on Tuesday after Peters suggested Carlson was sympathetic to 1930s Nazi Germany.

While discussing Russian President Vladimir Putin's veiled campaign against ISIS, which experts largely believe is focused on keeping the government of Russia's ally Syria in power, Carlson said: "I'm not vouching for Putin's character. He seems like a shady guy, a strongman for sure.

"Hard to see why he's a threat to us," he continued. "Why not just accept that people who are bad people share our interest and side with them?"

"You sound like Charles Lindbergh in 1938 saying, 'Hitler hasn't attacked us,'" Peters said.

Although Lindbergh warned the US of Germany's advancement in aviation technology in the 1930s, he received criticism after he was honored by the Nazi government and suggested the US ought to negotiate a neutrality pact.

"I beg your pardon," Carlson said. "Hey, slow down, colonel. You cannot compare me to someone who can make apologies for Hitler. And I don't think Putin is comparable to Hitler."

"I think Putin is," Peters replied.

"I think it's a grotesque overstatement, actually," Carlson said. "I think it's insane."

"Fine, you can think it's insane all you want," Peters said.

Screen Shot 2017 07 11 at 8.54.37 PM

"You just compared me to a Nazi apologist because I asked a simple question," Carlson said. "Which is: Why does it contravene American interests to make common cause with a group that's trying to kill ISIS?"

"Because he invaded his neighbors, broken the long peace in Europe," Peters said of Putin. "He assassinates dissidents and journalists. He bombs women and children on purpose in Syria. He is as bad as Hitler."

Story continues

The US has imposed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Crimea in 2014. Putin has been accused of ordering the killings of people who have criticized the Russian government, and Russia has been accused of targeting Syrian civilians in its bombing campaign in the country last year.

"And I'm sorry, if you don't like the Charles Lindbergh thing, I will retract that," Peters said. "But let's just say you sound like someone in 1938 saying, 'What's Hitler done to us?'

"Putin is the equivalent of Hitler," he continued.

"I would hate to go back and read your columns assuring America that taking out Saddam Hussein will make the region calmer, more peaceful, and America safer when, in fact, it has done exactly the opposite, and it has empowered Russia and Iran, the two countries you say you fear most," Carlson said, referring to Peters' opinion columns in support of the US's invasion of Iraq in 2003.

putin

"Let's just be totally honest here: We don't always know the outcomes," Carlson continued. "So maybe we should lower the moral tone a little bit, rather than calling people 'accomodationists.'"

"You made your career being an American conservative patriot, and now you're suddenly cheering for Vladimir Putin?" Peters said.

"I'm not in any sense cheering for Vladimir Putin," Carlson said. "I am cheering for America as always. Our interests ought to come first. And to the extent that making temporary alliances with other countries serve our interests, I am in favor of that. Making sweeping moral claims, grotesque ones, comparing people to Hitler, advances the ball not one inch."

"Vladimir Putin is comparable," Peters said. "He hates America. He wants to hurt us. And I'm sorry, all this suddenly 'Vladimir Putin is a good guy, Russia's OK'  not it's not. Russia is evil. Russia is our enemy."

"You're not talking about dealing with them," Peters said later. "You're talking about an alliance, an anti-terror alliance."

"A good deed is a good deed, no matter who commits it," Carlson said. "Why not just say that?"

National-security experts have said that Russia's claim that it's fighting ISIS, especially in Syria, is disingenuous, and that its interference in the country's six-year civil war aims to ensure Syrian President Bashar Assad, an ally, remains in power.

"Whatever they do against ISIS is done to protect themselves or to support Assad," said Jim Townsend, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy, according to Vox. "It's a different kind of fight for them."

The heated exchange between Carlson and Peters lasted over six minutes. Toward the end, the interview took a lighter tone after Carlson asked Peters, "And do you speak Arabic, by the way?"

"No, I don't," Peters said. "How's your Russian?"

Watch the Fox News clip:

Tucker throws a fit when Lt. Col. Ralph Peters calls him out for defending Putin and compares Tucker to Lindbergh's comments on Hitler. pic.twitter.com/QgJGzU1GXf

 Richard W. (@IceManNYR) July 12, 2017

tucker carlson

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RENO, Nev., July 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) plans to announce its second quarter 2017 financial results in a press release that will be issued on Thursday, August 3, 2017 before the market opens. The Company has scheduled a conference call to discuss the results at 10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, August 3, 2017.



To participate, please dial 1-877-511-6790 approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. If calling from Canada, please dial 1-855-669-9657. If calling outside of the United States and Canada, please dial 1-412-902-4141. Please request the Ormat Technologies, Inc. call when prompted by the conference call operator. The conference call will also be webcast live from the Investor Relations section of the Company's website on www.ormat.com/investors.

A replay will be available one hour after the end of the conference call. To access the replay, please dial 1-877-344-7529, or from outside of the United States 1-412-317-0088 and use the replay conference ID number 10110511. The webcast will also be archived on www.ormat.com/investors.

About Ormat Technologies

With over five decades of experience, Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a leading geothermal company and the only vertically integrated company engaged in geothermal and recovered energy generation (REG), with the objective of becoming a leading global provider of renewable energy. The company owns, operates, designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and REG power plants primarily based on the Ormat Energy Converter  a power generation unit that converts low-, medium- and high-temperature heat into electricity. With 73 U.S. patents, Ormats power solutions have been refined and perfected under the most grueling environmental conditions. Ormat has 530 employees in the United States and 720 overseas. Ormats flexible, modular solutions for geothermal power and REG are ideal for the vast range of resource characteristics. The company has engineered, manufactured and constructed power plants, which it currently owns or has installed to utilities and developers worldwide, totaling over 2,200 MW of gross capacity. Ormats current 727 MW generating portfolio is spread globally in the U.S., Guatemala, Guadeloupe, Indonesia and Kenya.

Ormats Safe Harbor Statement

Information provided in this press release may contain statements relating to current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally relate to Ormat's plans, objectives and expectations for future operations and are based upon its management's current estimates and projections of future results or trends. Actual future results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" as described in Ormat Technologies, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2017.

These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Elis closes the acquisition of Bardusch's Brazilian operations

Saint Cloud, July 12, 2017- Elis, a leading multi-services group in Europe and Latin America, specializing in the rental and maintenance of professional clothing, textile articles, hygiene and well-being appliances, reached an agreement to close the acquisition by Elis of 100% of Bardusch Arrendamentos Texteis Ltda, the Brazilian subsidiary of the Bardusch Group, which operates three production sites in the country.

These three laundries, located in Curitiba, Jundiai and Rio Verde (at a client's facility), mainly offer a rental and maintenance service of professional clothing for industrial clients in the automotive and food-processing sectors.

In 2016, these three production sites posted revenues of c. 30 million Brazilian reals (c. 8 million euros using an exchange rate of 3.7 Brazilian reals for 1 euro).

Commenting on this announcement, Xavier Martire, CEO of Elis, said:

"This new bolt-on acquisition in Brazil marks a further expansion of our activities in the country. By acquiring Bardusch's three laundries, Elis reinforces its offer in the workwear segment. We expect to quickly integrate the company and its employees into the Elis Group. The transfer of know-how should contribute to Elis' profitable growth trajectory going forward."

About Elis

Elis is a specialized multi-services group, a leader in Europe and Latin America for the rental and maintenance of flat linen, professional clothing, as well as hygiene appliance and well-being services. With more than 25,000 employees spread across 14 countries, Elis consolidated turnover in 2016 was 1,513 million and consolidated EBITDA reached 468 million. Benefiting from more than a century of experience, Elis today services hundreds of thousands of clients of all sizes in the hotel, catering, healthcare, industry, retail and services sectors, thanks to its network of more than 300 production and distribution centers, which guarantees it an unrivalled proximity to its clients.

Contact

Nicolas Buron, Investor Relations Director - Phone: +33 1 75 49 98 30 - nicolas.buron@elis.com
NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AXIM Biotechnologies, Inc. (AXIM Biotech) (OTC:AXIM), a world leader in cannabinoid research and development, announced today that it held its bi-annual board meeting on July 8, 2017 in New York City. AXIM Biotech board members reviewed company milestones for the first half of 2017, clinical trial progress for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), multiple sclerosis (MS) and psoriasis and eczema (PSO), the Companys expanding product portfolio, and the current market opportunity for cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals.



Management and advisory board experts considered further proof of concept studies of cannabis based treatment for indications such as nicotine addiction, Glaucoma, dry eye syndrome, adolescent drug addiction, post-haerpetic neuralgia, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and ethyl alcohol abuse. Other items discussed during the board meeting included AXIMs collaborations with leading academic institutions, strategic relationships with big-pharma manufacturers and distributors for drug development and licensing, as well as progress on vertical integration with the manufacturing facility in Almere, Netherlands.

AXIM continues to make solid progress with our growth and positioning in the pharmaceutical space, said George E. Anastassov, MD, DDS, MBA and Chief Executive Officer of AXIM Biotech. There is a formidable opportunity for growth in pharmaceuticals based on cannabinoids and AXIM is executing on becoming a leader in this space with a robust clinical pipeline and expanded study for additional therapeutic indications. We are also excited to be embarking on clinical programs for new indications soon such as restless leg syndrome, chemotherapy associated N&V, drug-related psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)."

About AXIM

AXIM Biotechnologies, Inc. (AXIM) focuses on the research, development and production of cannabis-based pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmetic products. Our flagship products include CanChew, a CBD-based controlled release chewing gum, CanChew+ containing 50 mg of CBD undergoing clinical trials in patients with IBS and MedChew Rx, a combination CBD/THC gum that is undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of pain and spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis. We prioritize the well-being of our customers while embracing a solid fiscal strategy. For more information, please visit AXIMBiotech.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Axim Biotechnologies, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein.



LEGAL DISCLOSURE

AXIM Biotechnologies does not sell or distribute any products that are in violation of the United States Controlled Substances Act (US.CSA).
getmba wrote:

Theater Critic : The play La Finestrina , now at Central Theater, was written in Italy in the eighteenth century. The director claims that this production is as similar to the original production as is possible in a modern theater. Although the actor who plays Harlequin the clown gives a performance very reminiscent of the twentieth-century American comedian Groucho Marx, Marxs comic style was very much within the comic acting tradition that had begun in sixteenth-century Italy.



The considerations given best serve as part of an argument that



(A) modern audiences would find it hard to tolerate certain characteristics of a historically accurate performance of an eighteenth-century play



(B) Groucho Marx once performed the part of the character Harlequin in La Finestrina



(C) in the United States the training of actors in the twentieth century is based on principles that do not differ radically from those that underlay the training of actors in eighteenth-century Italy



(D) the performance of the actor who plays Harlequin in La Finestrina does not serve as evidence against the directors claim



(E) the director of La Finestrina must have advised the actor who plays Harlequin to model his performance on comic performances of Groucho Marx

Solution

Passage Analysis

Gist of the passage

The play La Finestrina was originally written in the 18th century in Italy

A theater critic talks about a director who has produced a theatrical presentation of the same play and it is now playing in Central Theater.

This director claims that he has kept his theatrical production of the play as similar to the written version as it is possible to, when one is adapting a written play to modern-theater production

The play has a character called Harlequin, the clown.

The theater critic comments that the actor who enacts the role of Harlequin gives a performance that reminds one of the 20th century American comedian, Groucho Marx.

Though Marx was a 20th century actor, his comic style was very much in keeping with the comic acting style that had begun in the 16th century.

We can infer here that the actor who played Harlequin in the modern production actually used a comic style that had begun in the 16th century and was also used by Groucho in the 20th century.

Question stem analysis

The considerations given best serve as part of an argument that

Answer Choice Analysis

A

Understand the choice

Analyze in the context of the passage and the question stem

B

Understand the choice

Analyze in the context of the passage and the question stem

C

Understand the choice

Analyze in the context of the passage and the question stem

D

Understand the choice

Analyze in the context of the passage and the question stem

E

Understand the choice

Analyze in the context of the passage and the question stem

Theater Critic: The play La Finestrina, now at Central Theater,A theater critic says that the play La Finestrina, which is currently playing at Central Theater,was written in Italy in the eighteenth century.Was originally written in the 18th century in Italy.The director claims that this productionThe director of the play La Finestrina says that his theatrical productionis as similar to the original production as is possible in a modern theater.Is as similar to the original written play as is possible to produce a written play in the modern theater.Although the actor who plays Harlequin the clownIn spite of the fact that, the actor who plays the role of Harlequin, the clowngives a performance very reminiscent of the twentieth-century American comedian Groucho Marx,gives a performance that reminds one of the performance of the twentieth-century American comedian Groucho Marx,Marxs comic style was very much within the comic acting tradition that had begun in sixteenth-century Italy.Marx himself displayed a comic style that was in keeping with the comic acting style that had begun in 16th century Italy.The information given in the passage acts as the strongest logical support to which of the following options?The option talks about the reaction of the modern audiences viewing the modern production of a play written in the 18th century. It says that the audience would not find it easy to bear certain characteristics of the older century play.The passage talks about director's claim that in his theater production of the play he had adhered to the original play as much as was possible to when adapting a written play to a theater. Does the passage imply that the modern play was an absolutely accurate performance of an 18th-century play? No.The critic commented that the performance of an actor in the theatrical production reminded one of another comedian of the 20th century who had followed a 16th-century comic acting style. But does the critic talk at all about the reaction of the audience? No.Therefore, no comment can be made about the tolerance level of the audience.Hence this is not the correct answer.As per this option, Groucho Marx had earlier played the role of the character Harlequin in La FinestrinaThe passage only talks about the comic acting style of Groucho Marx who acted in the 20th century. He followed a style of comic acting that had begun in the 16th century. And the passage tells us that the actor who played the role of harlequin in the theater production of the play La Finestrina performed in such a way that he reminded one of Marx. But whether Marx had ever played that same part earlier or not cannot be concluded. Here we can infer that the style of the two actors might have been quite similar, but we cannot comment the same about the role played by the two.Hence this is not the correct option.This choice states that in the 20th century the actors in the U.S. were trained on the basis of principles that were not much different from the principles that lay behind the training of actors in 18th century Italy.The option means that actors in 18th century Italy and actors in the 20th century U.S. were both trained along the lines of similar principles of acting. The passage talks about Groucho, one comedian, who followed the comic style of acting that had begun in the 16th century. Whether he was trained or not, do we know? No. Was the comic acting style that had begun in the 16th century still followed in the 18th century or the 20th century? We dont really know except for Marx. One case cannot be representative of the general.Hence, this is not the correct option.The performance of the actor who plays Harlequin in the theater production La Finestrina, does not contradict the claim made by the director of the play.The critic commented that the performance of the actor who played Harlequin in the theatrical production reminded one of another comedian of the 20th century who had followed a 16th-century comic acting style. The director too claims to have adhered to the original 18th-century production as much as was possible. We, therefore, know that both the director and the actor followed the styles of an earlier period, and we can thus infer that some of the period and the prevalent style may have been common to both.Thus, we can say that the actors performance was not going against what the director had claimed. Rather it was in keeping with the claim.Hence, this is the correct option.The director of the play La Finestrina must have told the actor who played the part of harlequin to follow the comic style Groucho Marx.The director of the play wanted to keep his production as similar as possible to the original earlier version. He may have advised his actors to follow a certain school of acting or he may not. He may have told his actor playing Harlequin to follow Marx or he may not. Can we say this for sure? No. Marx might have been that actors role model and so he followed Marxwe dont really know.Hence, this is not the right answer choice._________________
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Guwahati, July 11 (IBNS): The current Assam flood situation worsened with flood waters inundating more areas affecting over 15.18 lakh people in 23 districts out of 32 in the state and claiming 6 more lives on Tuesday, taking up the death toll to 40.

According to the reports of Assam Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), six people were drowned in Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Sivsagar, Barpeta and Kamrup (Metro) districts on Tuesday.



A top official of ASDMA said that, over 15.18 lakh people of Lakhimpur, Bongaigaon, Darrang, Jorhat, Golaghat, Cachar, Dhemaji, Biswanath, Karimganj, Sonitpur, Majuli, Barpeta, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivsagar, Morigaon, Chirang, Dibrugarh, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, South Salmara, Charaideo, Goalpara district are affected in the current flood.



The flood waters submerged 1,40,837,42 hectares agricultural land of 2498 villages under 82 revenue circles of the flood affected districts.



Over 3.09 lakh are affected alone in flood-hit Lakhimpur district, while 2.82 lakh people affected in South Salmara, 1.93 lakh in Dhemaji, 1.55 lakh in Morigaon district, the ASDMA official said.



On the other hand, over 48,000 people are homeless and they had taken shelter in the 208 numbers temporary based relief camps in 16 worst affected districts.



The flood situation turned worse in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji district after the release of excess water by Ronganodi Hydro Power Project of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) breached Ranganadi embankment at Bogolijaan area under North Lakhimpur revenue circle and inundated over 200 villages in the northern Assam districts on Tuesday morning.



The ASDMA report said that, water level of Brahmaputra river has flown above danger level mark in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur, Goalpara, Dhubri while its tributaries Siang flown above danger level mark at Pasighat in East Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh, Burhidehing in Dibrugarh, Subansiri in Lakhimpur, Dikhow in Sivsagar, Dhansiri in Golaghat, Jia Bharali in Sonitpur, Puthimari in Kamrup, Beki in Barpeta, Sankosh in Dhubri and Kushiyara in Karimganj following incessant rains in Assam and neighbouring states Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland in past couple of days.



On the other hand, the current flood claimed 20 wild animals including two one horned rhinos in Kaziranga National Park.



Flood waters havealready inundated over 83 per cent areas of the world heritage site and the wild animals of the park have been forced to move safer places.



Meanwhile, Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Tuesday visited flood affected Nagaon district and spent time with the flood hit people in the relief camps.



He took stock of the relief materials being provided at the camp and directed district administration to make adequate arrangement for pure drinking water, medicines, sanitation and baby food.



Swollen by heavy monsoon rains, Brahmaputra and its tributaries have flooded parts of Nagaon district affecting more than 30 thousand people in five revenue circles prompting district administration to set up eight relief camps and nine distribution centres in the district.



Governor Purohit asked Deputy Commissioner to take care of the medical facilities of the camp especially that of aged people, lactating mothers and babies.



He also asked Addl.Superintendent of Police to ensure security to the camp inmates.



The Assam Governor visited Kaliabor revenue circle where flood water have inundated several revenue villages.



Purohit visited the relief camps at Silghat Balika LP School in Bihdubi No.1/2 village, Salona Bapuji High School, Amlokhi ME and High school, Kalapani village and spoke to the camp inmates and assured all possible help from the administration to lessen their plight.



He also took stock of the preliminary flood induced damages to the properties, crop land and of course cattle and assured flood victims that he will compensate their loss with adequate intervention from the state and the central government.



Governor Purohit also asked Deputy Commissioner Shamser Singh to keep his administrative machinery on the toes to have a round the clock vigil on the Kaziranga National Park and its animals strayed by the flood water.



After inspection of the flood relief camps, Governor Purohit also expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made in the relief camps by the district administration.



Minister Water Resources Keshab Mahanta, MLA Raha Dimbeswar Das, Deputy Commissioner Shamser Singh, Addl.Superintendent of Police Nagaon, SDO (C) Kaliabor and several senior officers were present during Governors visit to the flood hit areas.



(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
The iceberg weighs more than a billion tons and covers an area of 6,000 sq km, which is more than half of Cyprus area (9,300 sq km), Joinfo.com reports with reference to NewsMonkey.

These are impressive statistics, but still, scientists say it is not an extraordinary event.

The huge iceberg has been tearing off from Antarctica since 2010, but the rift expanded quickly during the last month. Finally, it has happened. The iceberg that separated from the Larsen C ice shelf is one of the largest bergs in the world.

The block was about 12 percent of the total plate, which is now smaller than it ever had. And although it is a major event, scientists still want to relate the impact of the fracture.

The iceberg will not have any impact on the sea level, according to the scientists. Compare it with the ice cube in your gin-tonic, they say. If it melts it will not increase the volume of water in the glass.

Martin Siegert, co-chairman of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and Environment, also says that this does not mean that the entire ice sheet would fall apart. Im not worried about it, he says. Professor Shepherd of Leeds University supports the opinion: Im sure Antarctica will not let it go because the continent loses a lot of ice this time of the year. Its business as usual.

Professor Adrian Luckman at Swansea University also does not think that Larsen C is going to face the same fate as his brothers Larsen A and Larsen B, which have fallen apart. Luckman also emphasizes that no link can be made between the fracture and the global warming.

Another glacier expert, Twila Moon, agrees with him, but also says that the warming of the climate has affected the possibility that this could happen. Thats possible, says Luckman. But recent data even says that a large part of the shelf becomes thicker.
This past weekend Vans Shop Series 2017 headed to Lyon, France with a new twist to the qualifier. For the first time in its 9-year history France took the competition straight to the streets in a brand-new format.

So, with a team comprising of 3 skaters and 1 filmer, the 15 strong shops had 24 hours to film and edit a 90 second video clip. On a day that saw temperatures reach a cool 37 degrees locals Wallstreet set the benchmark with an explosive session in the famous Hotel De Ville, local ripper Quentin Boillon even deciding to drop in from the Louis Pradel statue down into a tiny quarter.

All the participating shops took to the new format with ease, ABS, Nozbone, Side Shore and ABS Annecy in particular, all ripping across the various street spots throughout the city.

With all the video parts analysed by the judges it was A La Bonne Planchette who took the top prize and therefore winning a golden ticket to the finals in Milan, Italy. However, tricks that will be remembered for a long time on the streets of Lyon included, a shove it nosegrind at gorge de loup by Joseph Biais, Nozbone, a nose wheelie to nollie heel and fs crooked nollie inward heel out at the Sucriere by Side Shore, plus a cab on the small place gap by ABS Annecy.

A special mention must go to Loris Baccileri (Shifty Skateshop) for his FS Smith down the Valmy rail, winning him the Nixon Best Trick competition.

Results:

A La Bonne Planchette ABS Skateshop Wall Street

Best Trick Winner:

Loris Baccilleri (Shifty Skateshop)  Back Smith on the Gnarliest rail in Lyon

Ph. Loic Benoit.

View team edits here:

ABS LYON :

https://www.facebook.com/absskateshoplyon/videos/1346301525448419/

ABS GRENOBLE :

https://www.facebook.com/1667481563557731/videos/1702151643424056/

ABS ANNECY :

https://www.facebook.com/absannecy/videos/817996478350865/

NDJ :

https://www.facebook.com/151717574976911/videos/904023436412984/

EAST :

https://www.facebook.com/eastnancy/videos/10155623432817287/

A LA BONNE PLANCHETTE :


A huge iceberg, seven times the size of New York City, broke off of Antarctica, scientists said Wednesday.

The iceberg that broke away is 5,800-square-kilometers large. It is described as weighing 1 trillion tons. That is about the same volume as the great Lake Erie between Canada and the U.S.

Scientists at the University of Swansea in Britain described the iceberg as one of the largest ever recorded. It broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf over the last few days.

The Larsen ice shelf is located off the coast of northwestern Antarctica. The area is connected to land, but floats on seawater instead of sitting on top of the continent.

The process of the ice breaking away and moving into the ocean is known as calving.

Researchers are watching closely to see whether climate change is affecting the calving process. For months they have kept their eyes-- and satellites -- on a large crack, or break, in this section of the Larsen ice shelf. While its breaking off into the water was not a surprise, the timing was.

We have been anticipating this event for months, and have been surprised how long it took for the rift to break through the final few kilometers of ice, said Adrian Luckman of Swansea University and MIDAS. We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C ice shelf, and the fate of this huge iceberg.

The U.S. space agency NASA, and European Space Agency satellites have been watching the shelf. So have many people around the world who saw pictures of the large crack in the ice. The final break was first seen in an image from NASAs Aqua MODIS satellite instrument.

This is not the first time parts of the Larsen ice shelf have broken off the frozen continent. The Larsen A shelf broke off in 1995 and the Larsen B fell in 2002. For years now, researchers from the British-based Antarctic project, MIDAS, have been monitoring the rift in Larsen C.

The researchers said because it was already floating before it broke off, there is no immediate impact on sea level. This event leaves the Larsen C ice shelf smaller by more than 12%, and the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula changed forever.

The project is investigating the effects of a warming climate. They use a combination of fieldwork, satellite observation and computer models.

So, now what is going to happen to the iceberg?

The researchers suggest it is likely to break into pieces. They say that some of the ice may stay nearby for decades. Other parts may drift, or slowly move north into warmer waters.

Martin OLeary is a glacier expert at Swansea University and a member of the MIDAS project team. He said, Although this is a natural event, and were not aware of any link to human-induced climate change, this puts the ice shelf in a very vulnerable position.

Anna Hogg, with the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at the University of Leeds, says there is not the evidence yet to say it is caused by climate change. At this point it would be premature to say that this was caused by global warming, she said.

Scientists will be watching the rest of the shelf for any signs of it becoming unstable. Adrian Luckman added that the ice shelf could regrow slowly or more calving could lead to its breaking off. Luckman said scientists have different opinions on what will happen next.

Our models say it will be less stable, but any future collapse remains years or decades away, he said.

Im Anne Ball.

Anne Ball wrote this story for Learning English with information from the Associated Press. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

iceberg  n. a very large piece of ice floating in the ocean

calving  v. the breaking off of ice in big pieces from the edge of a glacier

anticipate  v. to think about something that will or may happen in the future

rift  n. a deep crack or opening in the ground

fate  n. the things that will happen to a person or a thing

vunerable  adj. easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally or emotionally
The scientists presume that the ability to compensate an impaired process by another part of the brain depends on the hierarchy level on which the language is perturbed: Processing the rhythm of a word is such a basic mechanism that cannot be simply overtaken by another part. They gained their insights by using the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS, picture) Credit: MPI CBS

After a stroke a person often suffers from language problems. In some cases certain linguistic abilities can be regained, whereas others are lost forever. Now scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brains Sciences (MPI CBS) in Leipzig have found one possible explanation: The injury of some brain areas can be well compensated, whereas this is not the case with others. These findings could not just be relevant for therapy after a stroke but also prove the hierarchical structure of language.

Talking to each other is a complex matter. While chatting we have to recognise single words and phrases out of a flood of sounds. In parallel we have to think about an answer and to plan the movements of our lips and tongue. Every single step, from analysing the words to producing the language, requires a range of brain areas to work together. Until now, it remained a mystery as to how they collaborateand what happens if one of the central areas is damaged.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) in Leipzig discovered what happens when two crucial brain regions of our linguistic comprehension are inactive: They observed that failure of some regions can be compensated by the commitment of other areas, whereas others cannot.

"If the region in which the meaning of language is processed is impaired, the so-called left angular gyrus, our brain is able to balance it well. In this case the neighbouring area, the anterior inferior frontal gyrus, stands in and enhances its activity. This is surprising since it is originally responsible for the rhythmic structure of the words", study leader Gesa Hartwigsen explains. By taking on this role, the meaning of the words can be recognised nearly as fast as when the appropriate area fulfils its task. "If the anterior inferior frontal gyrus itself is impaired, its failure can hardly be compensated and its tasks are not taken over by another part of the language network, making it much harder to analyse the rhythmic structure of a word, that is to say its syllables."

The scientists presume that the ability to compensate an impaired process by another part of the brain depends on the hierarchy level on which the language is perturbed: Processing the rhythm of a word is such a basic mechanism that cannot be simply overtaken by another part. More complex processing stages, such as analysing the meaning of a word, could on the contrary be supported by simpler processes, since they are one of the underlying steps. More general processes can then provide support in order to maintain this ability.

Hartwigsen and her team conclude two things from these findings: "We can now estimate which injuries could be counterbalanced and on which of these it is worth focusing language training, for instance on the network which fills in", says the leader of the research group modulation of language networks. Furthermore, they confirmed the hypothesis of a hierarchical structure of language. According to this, during the processing of language, complex steps build on basic steps. Before we analyse the meaning of the word we have to process its sounds.

The neuroscientists examined these relationships with the help of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This method can interrupt the activity of single brain regions for a short period of time and can therefore measure the brain's reaction to this impairment. TMS therefore uses magnetic fields to specifically inhibit or stimulate single brain areas by weak electric stimulation through the scalp.

In this study of 17 healthy participants, the team inhibited both the areas of word meaning and of rhythmic structure for a short period. Subsequently they compared the abilities of these people in linguistic tasks - and noticed a considerably weaker performance only in those which demanded word analysing.

More information: Gesa Hartwigsen et al, Rapid short-term reorganization in the language network, eLife (2017). Journal information: eLife Gesa Hartwigsen et al, Rapid short-term reorganization in the language network,(2017). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.25964
Credit: Murdoch Childrens Research Institute

Children conceived using donor sperm have similar health and well-being to the general population, according to a study published in Reproductive BioMedicine Online.

The study of 224 Australian children aged between 5 and 11 was the largest study to date to examine the psychosocial development of school-aged children conceived using donor sperm. This was also the first study to describe health outcomes of these children.

Professor David Amor, from Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) led the study and said of the findings:

"For prospective parents, the decision to use donor sperm can seem like a step into the unknown. Our results should provide reassurance that the physical, psychological and mental health of children conceived using donor sperm is similar to that of children in the general population."

The retrospective, descriptive study used questionnaires with validated scales to measure the psychosocial and mental health, healthcare needs and child development. These questionnaires were completed by the mothers of the children, who had been conceived in Victoria at either Melbourne IVF or Monash IVF.

The results showed that the well-being and health of the children were similar to the general Australian population.

The rise in the use of donor sperm means that this is an increasingly important topic. This study should be reassuring to anyone who was a child conceived through the use of donor sperm, or who is thinking about starting a family using this method. More studies looking at the health and well-being of children conceived using a sperm donor in different populations are needed to confirm these findings in the wider population.

An interesting additional finding of the study was that the type of family structure (heterosexual couples, single women or lesbian couples) did not appear to impact the health or well-being of the children.

The mothers' health and well-being were also measured using a questionnaire with the results suggesting that these women appeared to have better physical and mental well-being than the general Australian population.

More information: David J. Amor et al. Health outcomes of school-aged children conceived using donor sperm, Reproductive BioMedicine Online (2017). Journal information: Reproductive Biomedicine Online David J. Amor et al. Health outcomes of school-aged children conceived using donor sperm,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2017.06.012
Credit: Yale University

Millions of patients suffering from major depression get little relief from the first drug they are prescribed. A major new study of 1,522 patients at 35 U.S. Veterans Health Administration medical centers shows these patients benefit more from adding an antidepressant treatment than from switching to another one, researchers report July 11 in the journal JAMA.

"We found that among three strategies evaluated in this study evidence of the greatest symptom benefit was provided by adding an antipsychotic to previous antidepressant therapy," said lead author Dr. Somaia Mohamed, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine and of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.

Less than a third of 16 million Americans with major depression obtain relief of symptoms from the first drug prescribed. The new study of this population showed a remission rate of 28.9% of those who augmented initial treatment with the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole (Abilify) after 12 weeks. This was a significantly greater proportion than the 22% remission among patients who discontinued use of one antidepressant and switched to another (buproprion).

The group taking aripiprazole was also significantly more likely to show a clinically meaningful response to treatment than either switching to another antidepressant or adding another antidepressant to the original medication, the authors report.

"The study by Mohamed and colleagues is one of the very few definitive studies addressing this question and it suggests that that all options are not alike," said Dr. John Krystal, the McNeil Professor and chair of the Yale Department of Psychiatry. "This study provides the type of detailed guidance that doctors need."
Credit: Georgia State University

Doctors who work in emergency rooms are generally supportive of prescription drug monitoring programs, while those in other specialties appear more concerned regulatory oversight will interfere with the doctor-patient relationship and do little to curb the opioid epidemic, according to a study led by a researcher at Georgia State University.

Understanding how the attitudes of physicians can vary by specialty, and by their age and status, can be important for public health professionals seeking solutions for this national crisis, according to the study led by Dr. Eric Wright, a professor of sociology and public health.

The researchers surveyed physicians and other health care providers in Indiana and examined their attitudes toward the Indiana Scheduled Prescription Electronic Collection and Tracking (INSPECT) program. The study analyzed the responses supplied by the 2,444 licensed physicians who completed the survey.

The study found "significant variation" in attitudes among physicians.

"Doctors who have higher levels of professional status, who are older, and who prescribe more opioids are more likely to have concerns about this form of expanded government intervention in the practice of medicine," researchers said.

Previous studies have found that physicians who specialize in geriatrics are more concerned with pain management for their patients than concerns about potential abuse, and pain management specialists "report the greatest comfort prescribing opioids for chronic pain," the paper noted.

Across specialties, most doctors who responded to the survey indicated support for law enforcement access to prescription databases, but they felt such access should require a warrant or other court order designed to support the investigation of a specific case, rather than blanket access.

More information: Professional Status and Physicians' Views of Expanding Governmental Oversight of Prescribing Drugs. Socius. DOI: Professional Status and Physicians' Views of Expanding Governmental Oversight of Prescribing Drugs.. DOI: doi.org/10.1177/2378023117707647
The way certain hospital labor and delivery units are managed may put healthy women at greater risk for cesarean deliveries and hemorrhage, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers and colleagues.

The study, which will be published online July 11, 2017 in Obstetrics & Gynecology, is the first to link management of unit culture, nursing, and patient flow to maternal health outcomes.

"It is hard to predict when women will go into labor, how long labor will take, and which women may require critical resources like the operating room or blood bank. The way managers address this uncertainty appears to be an independent risk factor for a woman getting a C-section," said senior author Neel Shah, an obstetrician and Harvard Chan School researcher who leads the Delivery Decisions Initiative at Ariadne Labs, a joint center of Harvard Chan School and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Maternal health outcomes vary dramatically across hospitals, including 10-fold variation in cesarean delivery rates. Previous research has demonstrated that this hospital-level variation is not well explained by women's health or preferences. In just one generation, the U.S. has seen a 500% increase in the number of C-sections, placing women at significant risk for surgical complications. Cesarean deliveries are associated with increased rates of severe morbidity (such as hemorrhage or infection), longer hospitalizations, and greater average costs than vaginal deliveriesand approximately 45% of these procedures may be avoidable, according to the study.

To conduct the study, lead author Avery Plough, an Ariadne Labs researcher, interviewed 118 nurse and physician managers at 53 diverse hospitals about three areas of management: (1) unit culture management, including practices that facilitate communication and collaboration among staff; (2) nursing management, including practices that ensure appropriate nurse staffing levels; and (3) patient flow management, including practices that adjust resources to accommodate surges in patient arrival. Hospitals were categorized as having either "reactive" management practices that address management problems as they occur or "proactive" management practices that pre-emptively mitigate challenges before they arise.

The study looked at how those management practices affected the health of low-risk women having their first child. The results showed that women receiving care at hospitals with the most proactive unit culture management had a higher risk of cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, blood transfusion, and prolonged hospital length of stay. These counterintuitive findings may indicate that managers at these hospitals are focused on achieving different goals, such as neonatal outcomes or financial performance, which are not always aligned with maternal wellbeing.

The research is an important cornerstone of Shah's Delivery Decisions Initiative at Ariadne Labs to identify the key drivers of dangerously high C-section rates and to develop a health system-level solution to the problem.

More information: Avery C. Plough et al, Relationship Between Labor and Delivery Unit Management Practices and Maternal Outcomes, Obstetrics & Gynecology (2017). Journal information: Obstetrics & Gynecology Avery C. Plough et al, Relationship Between Labor and Delivery Unit Management Practices and Maternal Outcomes,(2017). DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002128
Surgeons examine the pulmonary vessels during a lung transplant performed in April 2017. Credit: Shawn Rocco

Each day, tens of thousands of patients on waiting lists across the United States await a simple phone call: one that says a match has been found and an organ is available for transplant. Despite a growing demand for donors, organ shortages continue to hinder many patients' chances in receiving their potentially life-saving call.

The organ shortage has impacted several transplant teams at Duke. Carmelo Milano, MD, Professor, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, says part of the reason for the shortage is the method used to preserve organs while in transit from donor to recipient.

"Duke has performed over 1,000 heart transplants using cold static storage," says Dr. Milano, Heart Transplant Surgical Director. (That's a fancy term for a bag of ice.) "With this method, the heart is removed from the donor and cooled with a solution before it is transported, but lack of oxygen to the organ can cause graft failure."

Cold storage has been a staple of the transplant procedure for over 50 years. While this method is serviceable, it is far from ideal. Vital organs are sensitive to cold ischemia while stored on ice, as irreparable damage from a lack of oxygenated blood flow rapidly occurs. When a heart stops beating, or lungs stop breathing, the organ slowly dies.

Cold storage slows down the deterioration process but not entirely, and this race against the clock severely limits organ availability. The heart is particularly sensitive to cold ischemia. Consequently, Duke's range of potential donors for heart transplants has been limited to those east of the Mississippi, according to Dr. Milano.

The lung transplant team faces similar obstacles, says Matthew Hartwig, MD, Associate Professor, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. Though the team has successfully transplanted lungs held in cold storage for longer than the conservative 4-hour window, Dr. Hartwig says doing so can create more complications. With such a small window of time, organ matches found a considerable distance away often go unused.

The Ice Age May Be Over

The most logical answer to the cold storage problem is also the most challenging: keep a transplanted organ in a near-physiologic state while outside of the body, perfused with blood, and limit the amount of time the organ is kept on ice.

Though the ability to keep an organ alive outside of the body may sound like something out of science fiction, perfusion systems make this a reality. The devices keep an organ as functional as possible after surgical removal, during a process known as "ex vivo perfusion." Rather than using ice, the device stores the organ at close to body temperature, causing less injury. Nutrient-rich blood taken from the donor filters through the organ, and the system allows close monitoring while the donated organ remains in a living state: beating, breathing, or producing bile, metabolizing glucose and balancing the blood's chemistry.

Several Duke teams are at the forefront of national clinical studies to examine the effectiveness of these devices in transplant procedures.

Duke's cardiac transplant team has partnered with TransMedics, whose portable Organ Care System (OCS) allows the heart to be perfused while in transit from donor to recipient. Dubbed the "heart in a box," the device is sent with the procurement team to retrieve the heart, which is transported back to the transplant center.

The first successful surgery at Duke using an organ transported via the OCS was performed in July 2016. The surgery would not have been possible without the new system due to the distance the organ had to travel, says Dr. Milano. Since then, surgeons have performed eight more successful transplants using the OCS.

The lung transplant team has also had success using a device developed by XVIVO Perfusion, completing 25 successful transplants and enrolling more patients than any other center in the United States for the trial. Lungs are fragile organs at high risk for infection due to their role as a main filter of our outside environment. This fragility comes at a cost: the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network reports only 1 in 4 donated lungs is viable for transplant.

Duke's trial with the XVIVO system focused specifically on lungs that initially would not have been accepted for transplant. Using a perfusion device allows the lungs to breathe without straining, making the organ stronger and healthier outside of the body.

The liver transplant team formed a third partnership with OrganOx. The manufacturer's metra device allows the donor's liver to be preserved for up to 24 hours prior to transplant. This clinical trial began in February of 2017.

Transplant surgeon Matthew Hartwig examines a set of donor lungs, transported to Duke in the time-honored bag of ice. Credit: Shawn Rocco

"There are several benefits to using the device," explains Andrew Barbas, MD, Assistant Professor, Division of Abdominal Transplant Surgery. "We can access the metabolic activity of the liver and restore energy levels in liver cells. We can also assess which organs will function better after transplant."

This evaluation period prior to the transplant procedure can be critical to success, and perfusion devices offer the surgeon more breathing room to examine the organ fully before surgery begins.

Expanding the Donor Pool

Duke's transplant surgeons all say perfusion systems can increase the number of organs available. Longer preservation times allow organs to travel greater distances, offering a larger geographic area to search for matches.

But more important than geography is the ability to use "extended criteria organs," says Jacob Schroder, MD, Assistant Professor, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.

"Extended criteria hearts have some feature that makes them imperfectventricular hypertrophy, minor coronary disease, advanced age of the donor, certain causes of death, or a long estimated ischemic time," says Dr. Schroder. "The success rate for these hearts has traditionally been very low, but the OCS device allows us to take the ischemic time out of the question."

Whether heart, lung, or liver, when the threat of damage from cold storage is minimized, more organs become viable options for patients in need. To put it simply, Dr. Schroder explains that utilizing the OCS is the equivalent of transplanting an organ from a donor found in Raleigh, rather than farther away. It entails less risk, and more positive outcomes.

The Future of Ex Vivo Perfusion

Perfusion also raises an interesting question about the ability to rehabilitate organs while outside of the body: Is it possible to transplant an organ in a better condition than when it was procured?

Dawn Bowles, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Surgical Sciences, believes this may be a possibility. She has conducted biological therapy studies using pig hearts perfused in the TransMedics OCS.

"These devices answer questions about whether or not a heart can be rehabilitated while it is stored," says Bowles. "It is possible that we could fix some things that need fixing in a heart before it is transplanted."

While this type of therapy is still on the horizon, it highlights the potential of the new technology. Through a grant from the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, Dr. Barbas is using animal models to test the possibility of repairing damaged livers through perfusion.

Repairing organs ex vivo may be another solution to the organ shortage problem.

This potential application may already be a reality for lung transplants. Duke's next trial with United Therapeutics will test the use of what Dr. Hartwig calls an "organ hospital"a centralized location where organs are rehabilitated before transplantation.

"This technology is still in its infancy, but I can see our program being able to use the devices to not only stabilize lungs while outside of the body, but to intervene and improve them," says Dr. Hartwig.

Healthier organs available in greater numbers means more patients could receive the life-saving operations they need. For many patients awaiting a transplant, the wait for their phone call may become shorter.
The virtual reality system is helping train residents, assist surgeons in planning upcoming operations and educate patients. It also helps surgeons in the operating room, guiding them in a three-dimensional space. Credit: Paul Sakuma

Having undergone two aneurysm surgeries, Sandi Rodoni thought she understood everything about the procedure. But when it came time for her third surgery, the Watsonville, California, resident was treated to a virtual reality trip inside her own brain.

Stanford Medicine is using a new software system that combines imaging from MRIs, CT scans and angiograms to create a three-dimensional model that physicians and patients can see and manipulatejust like a virtual reality game.

After donning a headset connected to the VR system, Rodoni could clearly see the ballooning blood vessel, as well as the spot where her neurosurgeon, Gary Steinberg, MD, PhD, would place a clip to repair it. "Because I had been through this before, I thought I knew it all until I saw this," she said. "I felt better knowing it was so clear to the doctor."

Created by the Colorado startup Surgical Theater, the VR system is helping train residents, assist surgeons in planning upcoming operations and educate patients. It also helps surgeons in the operating room, guiding them in a three-dimensional space.

For the residents, class is held in a room in the hospital basement. Under low lighting, and surrounded by three massive screens, the residents settle into reclining chairs complete with drink holdersall promising a comfortable ride inside the human skull.

Once the residents don headsets, an instructorwho shows up as an avatar in a white coatcan lead them inside the brain of a patient. The system allows instructors to highlight different components of the brain, such as arteries to show an aneurysm, bones to show skull deformities or tissue to show a tumor, while rotating the view to illustrate how a tumor or aneurysm looks from different angles. They can also progress, as avatars, through the steps for removing a tumor or fixing an aneurysm, starting outside the skull.

'A window into the brain'

Surgeons make their way down to the Neurosurgical Simulation Lab to practice an upcoming operation. Because they're practicing on images from the actual patient, rather than a generic brain, they can map out the surgery ahead of time. "It's a window into the brainand a window into the brain of the particular patient we're going to operate on," said Anand Veeravagu, MD, an assistant professor of neurosurgery and the head of the Stanford Neurosurgical Simulation Lab.

The three-dimensional aspect of the imagery eases surgeons' planning and improves the accuracy of the surgery, with the aim of producing safer procedures. "We can plan out how we can approach a tumor and avoid critical areas like the motor cortex or the sensory areas," said Steinberg, professor and chair of neurosurgery. "Before, we didn't have the ability to reconstruct it in three dimensions; we'd have to do it in our minds. This way it's a three-dimensional rendering."

Steinberg noted that in Rodoni's case, an artery was attached to the top of the aneurysm. "You couldn't see it on conventional imaging," he said. "Had I not known about it, it could have been a real disaster."

To show patients what's going on inside their skulls, Malie Collins, MS, senior program lead for the VR program, rolls a mobile unit, complete with headset, into an examination or hospital room. Being able to see the problem in three dimensions reassures them, she said, adding that it's especially useful for young patients or those who don't understand English well. She can also download the imagery onto a thumb drive and give it to the patient as a souvenir.

"Traditionally, doctors can show their patient a standard physical model of the brain or of the spine and say, 'On this model, imagine your tumor is located here,'" she said. "But with VR, we are able to immerse patients in their own anatomy, so they can very clearly get a sense of what's going on."

Stanford Medicine doctors are using the VR technology for the brain and spinal cord because these organs are stable and lend themselves to imageryunlike other body parts, which move with blood flow and breathing. Collins said the technology may soon be available for the rest of the body.

'Much, much more detail'

Surgeons typically use video feeds while they are operating, but the new VR technology adds a three-dimensional view which they can superimpose on the real-time video. "It has much, much more detail," said Steinberg, the Bernard and Ronni Lacroute-William Randolph Hearst Professor in Neurosurgery and Neurosciences. For Rodoni's surgery, "I had the 3-D rendering of her anatomy and could match that up with the surgical microscopic view, something I can't do with any other technology."

Veeravagu said some patients have chosen Stanford over other nearby hospitals solely because of the VR technology. "This software really helps them understand what it is they are about to undergo," he said. "Seeing it on the screen, in 3-D, really helps put a patient's mind at ease."

It certainly did for Rodoni. Knowing where her aneurysm lay, and how Steinberg would repair it, helped calm her as she faced her third brain surgery. "I knew that Dr. Steinberg would be able to see the same thing I saw, and he wasn't going to run into any surprises," she said. Rodoni's surgery went smoothly and she was discharged from the hospital within two days, her aneurysm gone.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Researchers from the University of Surrey and University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy) collected data from more than 400 participants on behavioural expectations of people described as 'moral' and 'immoral'. Participants were asked to estimate the probability that an individual possessing a characteristic (i.e. honesty) would act in an inconsistent manner (i.e. dishonestly).

It found participants perceived that those with a 'good' moral disposition were more likely to act out of character (i.e. immorally) than an immoral person to engage in inconsistent (i.e. moral) behaviours. For example, 'covering for somebody' was considered by participants to be a behaviour that could be displayed by a sincere person whereas an insincere person was less likely to be associated with behaviours such as 'telling the truth'.

Such a finding shows that those who are perceived to have immoral traits will have difficulty in changing how they are viewed by others as they are deemed to be less likely to change than a person classed as moral. This is particularly damaging for those who have a questionable character or are facing legal proceedings and highlights the obstacles they face in reversing perceptions of them.

Lead author Dr Patrice Rusconi from the University of Surrey, Social Emotions and Equality in Relations (SEER) research group, said, "Popular television shows like Breaking Bad show that those viewed as morally 'good' are seen as more likely to act out of character and behave immorally on occasions.

"However what we have found is that those perceived to be immoral are pigeon-holed, and are viewed as more likely to act in certain ways i.e. unjust and unfairly, and therefore unable to act morally on occasions.

"How an individual is perceived is incredibly important, as if you are viewed negatively it can impact on your treatment in the workplace and in the legal system as you are judged on your past misdemeanours."

The study also examined whether these findings translated across different cultures. Researchers collected data from over 200 Italian and American participants, who were asked a series of questions including "How likely do you consider it that a righteous person would behave in an unrighteous fashion?"

They discovered that despite cultural and lifestyle differences, Italian and American participants had similar perceptions that moral people are more likely act immorally than immoral people would act morally, highlighting that this is a problem encountered globally.

More information: Patrice Rusconi et al, You are fair, but I expect you to also behave unfairly: Positive asymmetry in trait-behavior relations for moderate morality information, PLOS ONE (2017). Journal information: PLoS ONE Patrice Rusconi et al, You are fair, but I expect you to also behave unfairly: Positive asymmetry in trait-behavior relations for moderate morality information,(2017). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180686
Although ADSL subscribers are switching from copper to fibre and LTE, there is still life in the network.

Telkoms recent annual results show its fixed-broadband subscriber base has started dwindling, after constant growth from March 2003.

This means the number of fibre subscribers using Openserves network and Telkoms services is not increasing fast enough to match the decline in ADSL.

Even Telkom Group CEO Sipho Maseko said people will give up good old copper.

Maseko said they expect fibre-to-the-home to grow rapidly in the future and that it will be a big contributor to the companys revenue.

Old bones have life in them

The decline in DSL subscribers in South Africa is typically linked to bad user experiences, with congested DSLAMs forcing users to look for alternatives.

This is according to the executive for carrier and connectivity at Internet Solutions, Greg Montjoie.

Despite the decline in subscriber numbers, usage per user is still climbing, he said.

Internet Solutions has always taken a multi-network and multi-technology approach to our broadband offerings. We are seeing the poor-performing DSL connections  those at the limited end of traditional DSL range or on deteriorating copper  being replaced by alternative connection options.

Although there is a perception that DSL is declining, we do feel with the right level of investment in the DSL network and the use of new technologies, there will be life in the DSL network for many years to come.

These technologies include G.fast, which Openserve will offer on South Africas DSL network. G.fast can offer speeds well over 100Mbps on existing copper infrastructure.

Openserve recently conducted trials with Nokia demonstrating aggregate speeds (download and upload) of up to 900Mbps on short copper loops using G.fast.

Speeds of between 500Mbps and 250Mbps were reached on an existing copper line at a distance of 150 metres.

Justin Hovener, senior product manager for mobility solutions at Vox, agreed that DSL has a place in the local market.

DSL growth is certainly not what it used to be, but as the cheapest and most prolific method of home Internet access, DSL still has a place in the South African market for a few years to come, said Hovener.
Van Gogh's painting sold for a record $117 million

Gentiloni: EU countries have accumulated enough gas to get through the coming winter

Several dozen activists detained at protest rally in Baku: They chant slogans 'Freedom!', 'Resign!'

Princess Haya seeks asylum in Wales

Pashinyan: Iran is concerned about the presence of other actors in our region, which are not in the territory of Armenia

Pashinyan: Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan listened to presented proposals

Volvo reveals its flagship EX90 electric crossover

Pashinyan: Yerevan supports Russia's proposals for Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement

Pashinyan: Russia cannot withdraw from Karabakh unless it creates additional guarantees for peacekeeping mission

Pashinyan: We will do everything to Armenia-Azerbaijan sign peace treaty by end of year

Russia bans entry of Biden's family and White House press secretary

Pashinyan: We believe there should be a dialogue between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh

Pashinyan says positions voiced by some member countries of CSTO are unacceptable

19 countries that use euro currency will slide into recession over winter

Pashinyan to Baku: If 1991 border is mutually recognized, what are your troops doing near Jermuk?

Pashinyan: If the Karabakh issue is solved, why is Azerbaijani Armed Forces shooting at Karabakh residents?

Pashinyan: Russia should say whether their version of peace settlement is still circulating?

Pashinyan: Maybe Azerbaijan doesn't want Armenia to receive revenues?

Pashinyan: Azerbaijan must withdraw its troops from Armenia

Pashinyan: My yesterday's speech served its purpose, Azerbaijani MFA no longer uses 'corridor' term

Microsoft founder Paul Allen's collection of world masterpieces sold for $1.6 billion

Public TV of Armenia hosts Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan

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Armenian FM meets his French counterpart

Rishi Sunak decides to close hole in British budget through austerity

Delegation of Russian MPs visits Jermuk resort town

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Harut Sasunyan: The best way to achieve peace is to be prepared for war

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German business leaders warn against leaving China

Sasunyan: Russia and US pursue their own interests in South Caucasus

British economy shrinks in three months, foretelling prolonged recession

Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan summoned to Foreign Ministry

Euro rises above dollar for first time in long time

Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister calls Council of Turkic States 'forum of peace' and praises Turkey

EU embargo on Russian oil will be a boon for OPEC

Armenia defense minister receives China ambassador, military attache

Lemkin Institute condemns Azerbaijan president's genocidal rhetoric

Dollar goes up, euro rises sharply in Armenia

U.S. warns Europe that conflict over Taiwan will cause massive global economic shock

EU calls on Armenia, Azerbaijan to moderate their rhetoric

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Chinese MFA: China is not distancing itself from Russia, as Biden believes

Ukraine will seek help from its foreign partners in financing Starlink satellite internet systems

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Marukyan: Azerbaijans Aliyev admitted that his country started 2nd Karabakh war, despite previously insisting opposite

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Azerbaijan army fires at Armenia positions, uses mortars as well

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YEREVAN.  A meeting between Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov, Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, took place Tuesday in Brussels, at the initiative and presence of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs Igor Popov, Stephane Visconti and Richard Hoagland, and which was attended by Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.

During the meeting discussions were held on the modalities of advancement of the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiating process, press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Nalbandian underscored the importance of stabilization of the situation on the Line of Contact, and, in this regard, emphasized the necessity to implement the agreements reached during the Vienna and St. Petersburg Summits.

The Co-Chairs asked the ministers to convey to the presidents their proposal on organizing a summit in the course of this year.

An agreement was reached to convene the next meeting between the ministers in September in New York, in the margins of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Turkey wants to establish normal relations with Armenia, said Turkish MP Ravza Kavakc Kan, who is also deputy chairperson of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), speaking to the Voice of America.

In her view, however, the issue of Armenian Genocidewhich Kavakc Kan does not recognizeshould be resolved to normalize these relations.

But James Jeffrey, the former US Ambassador to Turkey and Iraq, is more cautious with respect to the prospects for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

As per the diplomat, these relations are under a thick layer of ice because Turkey views Armenia as an ally of the Russians and the Iranians.

According to Jeffrey, even though the US can help the parties improve their relations, the White House will soon be busy with more urgent matters.

James Jeffrey added, however, that Turkey is suspicious of America ever since US President Woodrow Wilsons policy towards Turkey 100 years ago.
The results of the Minsk Group were perhaps not that impressive, as some people would like to see, namely solution to the conflict, EU official said during the discussion on the future of agreements with Armenia and Azerbaijan organized at the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Dirk Schuebel, head of Eastern Partnership bilateral division, added, however, the existence of the Minsk Group is preventing escalation and it is an achievement in itself.

Even though when you see recent escalation it is not enough, Schuebel said.

The Karabakh conflict is very dangerous and hinders the development of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, he emphasized.

Over, European Parliament members expressed concern over the recent escalation in Karabakh conflict area. They stressed that the parties have to agree to mechanism investigation mechanism proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group.

MEP Petras Austrevicius said he is extremely concerned when reading the reports about what is happening there. He called to be equally critical to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Austrevicius said he regrets casualties on the Azerbaijani side, but also condemns the report by Azerbaijani side that they are striking units of Armenia located nearby.

It is not a solution, he said.
Turkey and Israel intend to conclude an agreement for the building of a natural gas pipeline to supply gas to the EU, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said at the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, Anadolu reported.

Steinitz noted that they had a fruitful conversation with his Turkish ounterpart Berat Albayrak.

"Hopefully Mr. Albayrak will also pay a visit to Israel this year in 2017, which will help us accelerate our attempts to conclude this agreement," he continued.

Steinitz expressed his hopes to realize the visit in the next few months, adding that the two ministers have not fixed a date yet.

"We decided after four rounds of talks to accelerate our talks and try to conclude the government-to-government umbrella agreement that will enable the construction of Israel-Turkey pipeline before the end of this year. We are making enormous efforts to conclude it," he said.
President Trump late Monday nominated former Treasury official Randal Quarles as the Federal Reserve's top bank supervisor, a nomination that will lead the way to a dismantling of many Obama Administration bank regulations and one that is expected to send a positive signal for now to big and regional bank stocks.

Quarles' nomination had been expected for months and was confirmed by the White House late Monday. The candidate served in both Bush Administrations before joining buyout shop Carlyle Group in 2006 and later the Cynosure Group.

The appointment should boost stocks of the largest U.S. banks on Tuesday, including Bank of America Corp. (BAC) - Get Free Report , Wells Fargo (WFC) - Get Free Report , Citigroup (C) - Get Free Report , Goldman Sachs (GS) - Get Free Report , Morgan Stanley (MS) - Get Free Report and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) - Get Free Report . His pick should also make it easier for some regional bank consolidation, with some of the larger mid-size banks such as BB&T (BBT) - Get Free Report and Regions Financial (RF) - Get Free Report leading the way with Fed-approved acquisitions.

If confirmed by the Senate, as expected, Quarles will be the Trump Administration's point man on bank regulation. His appointment suggests that the Treasury Department will take steps to ease restrictions imposed on big banks by the Dodd-Frank Act, written in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Legislation would be required to eliminate many of the regulations set up by Dodd-Frank. However, a whole host of restrictions could be eased by the Fed without the need for a legislative overhaul.

For example, the Federal Reserve vice chairman essentially controls stress tests that big banks have been required to undergo before being permitted to buy back shares and issue dividends. The central bank could make the most onerous of the tests, the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, less difficult. Alternatively, Quarles and the Fed could move to eliminate it altogether. Already the Trump Administration has given the biggest banks the authority to increase their capital distributions to nearly 100% of net earnings over the next four quarters, a major hike from 65% last year.

In addition, the Fed could lead the way among regulators to ease restrictions on the so-called Volcker Rule, which is a key restriction designed to keep big institutions from speculative trading on their own accounts. A recent report by the Trump Administration Treasury Department recommends that banks with less than $10 billion in assets be exempted from the Volcker Rule, which is based on a concept introduced by former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker. The report also recommended that regulators could exempt bigger banks for the Volcker Rule if they don't trade a lot, however little detail is provided as to how regulators would oversee such a change.

Isaac Boltansky, analyst at Compass Point in Washington, notes that Quarles has stated that the Volcker Rule was "not well designed." In addition, Quarles has said that the Dodd-Frank Act was a "failure of ambition."

"Our view remains that Mr. Quarles would use his post as Vice Chair for Supervision to orchestrate a broad deregulatory agenda for the nation's banks, with a focus on increasing stress test transparency, altering the Volcker Rule, and securing relative regulatory relief for regional/community banks," Boltanksy said. "We caution, however, that these changes will be measured in years -- not months. Quarles would surely face pointed questions during his confirmation hearing, but his path to confirmation appears clear."

Jaret Seiberg, analyst at Cowen Washington Research Group, noted that the new Fed chief of bank supervision will be the "leader of financial deregulation" because the central bank supervises the biggest banks. He said that the nomination would be seen as a positive for big banks.

"That pick should ensure the door is open to sensible changes that can reduce costs and burden," Seiberg said.

A pick of Quarles follows the departure in April of Daniel Tarullo, who unofficially was the top bank supervisor during the Obama Administration. Tarullo effectively filled the role, created by Dodd-Frank, even though he wasn't confirmed by the Senate for it and didn't officially hold the title.

Privately, Tarullo was feared and criticized by many bankers, who grew frustrated when the Fed blocked dividends and stock buybacks because of unclear "qualitative objections" to their risk management plans.

Already the Trump Administration's Fed has eased restrictions on big banks by eliminating the qualitative review aspect of the tests for all but the largest 13 financial institutions. It's possible that the Fed will eliminate the qualitative review by pointing out that the institutions have already raised a significant amount of capital as a buffer against future financial crises.

As a Fed governor, Quarles will also have a voice in the Federal Open Market Committee's decisions on interest rates.

He's generally seen as more hawkish on interest rates than many current FOMC members, as well as being opposed to breaking up big banks deemed "too big to fail" during the financial crisis of 2007-2009.

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Shares of Snap Inc. (SNAP) - Get Free Report fell 9% Tuesday, making new 52-week lows. As investors worried on Monday about whether Snap stock would hold its IPO price of $17, shares have found themselves down even further Tuesday, now below $16.

The culprit could be the "very devastating" downgrade from Morgan Stanley. Although the analysts only assigned a price target of $16 and lowered their rating to equal-weight, the explanations packed a punch, TheStreet's founder Jim Cramer, who also manages the Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust portfolio, noted on CNBC's "Mad Dash" segment.

Ad products are trailing the analyst's expectations and competition is increasing. Advertisers do not appear to be generating a high-enough return on investment with the Snap platform, while Facebook's (FB) - Get Free Report Instagram platform appears to be doing betting.

"The ROI may not be there for advertisers. That's very damning and it's what started the long decline of Twitter," Cramer explained.

Facebook is so intense, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg looks to squash any and all of its competition. This led Cramer to say he felt bad for Snap on Monday and he reiterated that sentiment again on Tuesday.

Additionally on Monday, Cramer highlighted the enormous stock lockup expiration set to take place throughout the summer, which could also weigh on Snap stock.

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Burberry Plc (BURBY) posted stronger-than-expected sales in its fiscal first quarter as growth in China and its domestic U.K. market offset slowing North American revenue.

The luxury goods maker said retail revenue grew 3% on an underlying basis to 478 million ($613 million) compared to analysts' forecasts of a 2.5% advance, with comparable sales rising by a better-than-expected 4%. Burberry said sales in the Asia Pacific region grew by a "mid single-digit percentage" while continued U.K. strength offset weakness in Italy to deliver "high single-digit percentage growth" in the European region. North American sales growth was in the "low" single digit range, Burberry said, thanks to reduced domestic demand.

"I am delighted to have started as Burberry CEO," said Marco Gobbetti. "We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter, while mindful of the work still to do. This is a time of great change for Burberry and the wider luxury industry. I look forward to building on the foundations Christopher (Bailey) and the team have put in place and creating new energy to drive growth."

The sales figures fall just 24 hours ahead of what could be a contentious annual general meeting during which the group's executive pay plans -- including a 5.4 million award to outgoing CEO Bailey -- are expected to be challenged by some of its biggest shareholders.

Burberry shares surged more than 5% in the opening minutes of trading in London to change hands at 1,659 pence each, trimming their three-month decline to around 1.7%.

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The latest

4 new features you'll find at the refreshed Cafe Hollander in Tosa

In addition to refinished hardwood floors, additional reclaimed wood accents and new paint throughout the restaurant, there are numerous new features which diners can enjoy during their next visit ... or during the upcoming Tour de Tosa progressive dinner on Jan. 26.
The Newspace Center for Photography, the nonprofit studio and exhibition space in Portland, closed July 7, four days after the directors announced the news on its Facebook page. At a public meeting on July 10, members of the board of directors said Newspace Center for Photography owed $150,000 to vendors, and would be unable to make its payroll or pay its monthly rent of $5,000. Students who had enrolled in classes scheduled for this summer will not receive refunds on their tuition, according to Oregon Business.

Founded in 2002, Newspace Center offered photography classes, provided darkrooms and studio space and hosted exhibitions by regional and national photographers. Since the closing, staff and instructors have been laid off.

Oregon Live reported that at the July 10 meeting, treasurer Steve G. Stegeman said, We ran out of money. Board member Bob Hestand said the financial problems came to the boards attention only two weeks ago, according to Oregon Business.

Newspace Center has been supported with grants, class fees, entry fees to juried exhibitions and individual donations. According to its 2015 tax returnthe most recent tax return available to the publicincome from grants, donations and program fees had declined 9.4 percent since the previous year. Expenses had increased only 0.4 percent, and it ended 2015 with a deficit of $10,703. Hestand and Stegeman did not specifically explain how their deficit had increased so much in two years, but they told the audience that class registrations had declined recently, and individual donations had also fallen off. (The nonprofits tax returns from 2011 to 2015 are available on Charity Navigator.)

In 2014, the space held a successful crowd-funding campaign that raised $25,000 to help pay for a full-time curator and start a guest speaker program.

Hestand told the crowd at the July 10 meeting, Weve unfortunately added to that long list of arts organizations that have had to do just this  close the doors.


In this Friday, May 13, 2016, file photo, a man uses his mobile phone near an Apple store in Beijing. On Wednesday, July 12, 2017, Apple announced it will open a data center in mainland China with ties to the country's government, raising concerns about the security of iCloud accounts that store personal information transferred from iPhones, iPads and Mac computers there. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Apple will open a data center in mainland China with ties to the country's government, raising concerns about the security of iCloud accounts that store personal information transferred from iPhones, iPads and Mac computers there.

The data center announced Wednesday will be located in the Guizhou province and run by a company owned by the Chinese government. Apple is teaming up with the company, Guizhou on the Cloud Big Data, to comply with a new Chinese law requiring data-storage providers to keep the information of mainland China customers on computers located within the country.

The Guizhou data center will store photos, video, documents and other personal information uploaded to iCloud accounts by Apple customers in mainland China, even when traveling outside the country. Backups and other data stored in iCloud accounts by customers outside China will continue to be stored in data centers in the U.S. and eventually Denmark.

Other major technology companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM, have already made similar deals to run data centers in mainland China to remain in the good graces of the country's Communist government.

But Apple's acquiescence is striking because CEO Tim Cook has made preserving customers' privacy a company cornerstone. The Cupertino, California, company underscored that commitment last year in a high-profile battle with the U.S. government over a legal demand to crack open the iPhone of a suspected killer in a mass shooting.

Apple has a strong financial incentive to toe the line in China because that country already is its third-largest market behind North America and Europe, with all signs pointing to it become an even bigger profit center. China currently accounts for about 20 percent of Apple's revenue.

Even though it's working with a government-owned company, Apple sought to reassure customers in China that the arrangement won't compromise their privacy. "As our customers know, Apple has strong data privacy and security protections in place and no backdoors will be created into any of our systems," the company said in a statement.

What's more, Apple says it will hold to the security keys protecting the data that people routinely back up in iCloud accounts.

But experts believe the data center will make it easier for the government to retrieve the information through legal demands or other means.

Apple will find it more challenging to resist any order from a Chinese court to give authorities there access to an iCloud account that they want to sift through, predicted Nate Cardozo, a senior staff attorney specializing in privacy for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group. Currently, the Chinese government has to funnel those demands through the U.S. court system, a more difficult process to negotiate.

Cardozo recommends that Apple customers in mainland customer turn off the iCloud feature on their iPhones and other devices to protect their information from prying eyes.

Data stored on the devices themselves should remain secure as long as they lock them with passwords that only the user knows. Even if the government seizes a device, Apple won't have the keys to unlock data. But with iCloud, Apple does have the keys. The exception is passwords and credit card data synced with iCloud Keychain.

Ajay Arora, CEO of data security specialist Vera, also warns that Apple's partnership with a company owned by the Chinese government increases the chances that authorities could secretly pry their way into iCloud accounts.

"It's like Apple is putting the fox in charge of the henhouse," Arora said.

 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
A research team led by scientists at UC San Francisco has developed a computational method to systematically probe massive amounts of open-access data to discover new ways to use drugs, including some that have already been approved for other uses.

The method enables scientists to bypass the usual experiments in biological specimens and to instead do computational analyses, using open-access data to match FDA-approved drugs and other existing compounds to the molecular fingerprints of diseases like cancer. The specificity of the links between these drugs and the diseases they are predicted to be able to treat holds the potential to target drugs in ways that minimize side effects, overcome resistance and reveal more clearly how both the drugs and the diseases are working.

"This points toward a day when doctors may treat their patients with drugs that have been individually tailored to the idiosyncracies of their own disease," said first author Bin Chen, assistant professor with the Institute for Computational Health Sciences (ICHS) and the Department of Pediatrics at UCSF.

In a paper published online on July 12, 2017, in Nature Communications, the UCSF team used the method to identify four drugs with cancer-fighting potential, demonstrating that one of theman FDA-approved drug called pyrvinium pamoate, which is used to treat pinwormscould shrink hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer, in mice. This cancer, which is associated with underlying liver disease and cirrhosis, is the second-largest cause of cancer deaths around the worldwith a very high incidence in Chinayet it has no effective treatment.

The researchers first looked in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), a comprehensive map of genomic changes in nearly three dozen types of cancer that contains more than two petabytes of data, and compared the gene expression signatures in 14 different cancers to the gene expression signatures for normal tissues that were adjacent to these tumors. This enabled them to see which genes were up- or down-regulated in the cancerous tissue, compared to the normal tissue.

Once they knew that, they were able to search in another open-access database, called the Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures (LINCS) L1000 dataset, to see how thousands of compounds and chemicals affected cancer cells. The researchers ranked 12,442 small molecules profiled in 71 cell lines based on their ability to reverse abnormal changes in gene expression that lead to the production of harmful proteins. These changes are common in cancers, although different tumors exhibit different patterns of abnormalities. Each of these profiles included measurements of gene expression from 978 "landmark genes" at different drug concentrations and different treatment durations.

The researchers used a third database, ChEMBL, for data on how well biologically active chemicals killed specific types of cancer cells in the labspecifically for data on a drug efficacy measure known as the IC50. Finally, Chen used the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia to analyze and compare molecular profiles from more than 1,000 cancer cell lines.

Their analyses revealed that four drugs were likely to be effective, including pyrvinium pamoate, which they tested against liver cancer cells that had grown into tumors in laboratory mice.

"Since in many cancers, we already have lots of known drug efficacy data, we were able to perform large-scale analyses without running any biological experiments," Chen said.

He and colleagues developed a ranking system, which he calls the Reverse Gene Expression Score (RGES), a predictive measure of how a given drug would reverse the gene-expression profile in a particular diseasetamping down genes that are over-expressed, and ramping up those that are weakly expressed, thus restoring gene expression to levels that more closely match normal tissue.

After using open-access databases to determine that RGES was correlated with drug efficacy in liver cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer. Chen focused on liver cancer cell lines, but since they have not been investigated as much as breast and colon cancer cell lines, there was far less data available to study them. So, he used RGES scores for drugs and other biologically active molecules that had been tested on non-liver cancer cell types. The RGES scores were powerful enough that he could still predict which molecules might kill liver cancer cells.

Chen's collaborators from the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University examined four candidate molecules with known mechanisms of drug action. They found that all four killed five distinct liver cancer cell lines grown in the lab. Pyrvinium pamoate was the most promising drug, shrinking liver tumors grown beneath the skin in mice.

Cancer researchers usually target individual genetic mutations, but Chen said drugs that are targeted in this way often are less effective than anticipated and generate drug resistance. He said a broader measure such as RGES might lead to better drugs and also help researchers identify new drug targets.

Because RGES is based on the molecular characteristics of real tumors, Chen said it also may be a better predictor of a drug's true clinical promise than high-throughput screening of large panels of drugs and other small molecules, which are based on drug activity in lab-grown cell lines.

"As costs come down and the number of gene expression profiles in diseases continues to grow, I expect that we and others will be able to use RGES to screen for drug candidates very efficiently and cost-effectively," Chen said. "Our hope is that ultimately our computational approach can be broadly applied, not only to cancer, but also to other diseases where molecular data exist, and that it will speed up drug discovery in diseases with high unmet needs. But I'm most excited about the possibilities for applying this approach to individual patients to prescribe the best drug for each."

More information: Bin Chen et al. Reversal of cancer gene expression correlates with drug efficacy and reveals therapeutic targets, Nature Communications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms16022 , www.nature.com/articles/ncomms16022 Journal information: Nature Communications
Religion is sometimes used as shorthand to define a political candidate's views"evangelical" and "antiabortion" may be considered interchangeable. But a new analysis by political scientists at the University of Houston suggests party labels are far more powerful predictors of how voters perceive candidates.

"Party brand matters," said Elizabeth Simas, assistant professor of political science. "You're running under a label."

Simas and doctoral student Adam Ozer say their findings, published in the journal Research & Politics, suggest the conventional wisdom and scholarship overstate the role religious affiliation plays in voter perceptions.

It's not that a candidate's religious affiliation doesn't matter to voters, who may use religion as a proxy for trustworthiness or likeability. But when it comes to voter beliefs about where a candidate stands on the issues, as well as how liberal or conservative voters perceive a candidate to be, the researchers found party affiliation is the overriding factor.

"Though Evangelical and Catholic cues do impact impressions of a candidate's stance on abortion, the partisan cue dominates perceptions of overall ideology," they wrote. "These findings further demonstrate the power of the party brand."

The relationship between "cues"party affiliation, religious affiliation, race and other traitsis complex, Ozer said. Previous research had found religious labels affect how people perceive a candidate's stance on issues, but Simas and Ozer say those studies often considered religious affiliation in a vacuum, rather than coupled with party affiliation. Once party affiliation was added to the equation, it became the dominant factor.

"Partisanship is a hell of a drug," Ozer said.

There are practical applications to the finding: "If you are a Democrat in Texas and want to appear more conservative, saying you go to church won't necessarily make people think you are more conservative than any other Democrat," Simas said.

She and Ozer based their conclusions on a review of previous literature, coupled with an analysis of data drawn from a nationally representative sample of 1,008 individuals.

"Our results question earlier assertions about the inferences drawn from religious labels," they wrote. "We offer more evidence for the argument that the religion of a candidate is important, not because it serves as an ideological dog-whistle, but because it is a signal of non-policy characteristics."

Religion, it turns out, is one piece of information among many considered by voters. "Religion is a cue, but it's not the cue it's considered to be," Simas said. "It doesn't tell us much."
They played a key role in demonstrating the unusual behaviour of carbon: Tim Schleif (left) and Joel Mieres Perez (right). Credit: RUB, Marquard

Chemists at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum have found evidence that carbon atoms cannot only behave like particles but also like waves. This quantum-mechanical property is well-known for light particles such as electrons or hydrogen atoms. However, researchers have only rarely observed the wave-particle duality for heavy atoms, such as carbon. The team led by Prof Dr Wolfram Sander and Tim Schleif from the Chair for Organic Chemistry II together with Prof Dr Weston Thatcher Borden, University of North Texas, reports in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

"Our result is one of few examples showing that carbon atoms can display quantum effects," says Sander. Specifically, the researchers observed that carbon atoms can tunnel. They thus overcome an energetic barrier, although they do not actually possess enough energy to do that.

Rarely observed for heavy particles

Wolfram Sander explains the paradox: "It's as though a tiger has left his cage without jumping over the fence, which is much too high for him. But he still gets out." This is only possible if he behaves like a wave, but not if he behaves like a particle. The probability of an object being able to tunnel depends on its mass. The phenomenon can, for instance, be observed much more easily for light electrons than for relatively heavy carbon atoms.

The researchers investigated the tunnel reaction using the Cope rearrangement, a chemical reaction that has been known for almost 80 years. The starting material for the reaction, a hydrocarbon compound, is identical to the product molecule. The same chemical compound thus exists before and after the reaction. However, the bonds between the carbon atoms change during the process.

The Cope rearrangement results in a product that is identical to the starting material. However, both forms have different energies. The energy barrier for the rearrangement (symbolised by the dotted line) cannot be overcome at low temperatures. Only when the carbon atom behaves like a wave (purple arrow) can it get round the barrier. Credit: Markus Henkel

In their experiment, the Bochum-based researchers marked one of the carbon atoms in the molecule: They replaced the hydrogen atom bonded to it with the hydrogen isotope deuterium, a heavier version of hydrogen. Molecules before and after the Cope rearrangement differed in terms of the distribution of the deuterium. Due to these different distributions, both molecular forms had slightly different energies.

Reaction shouldn't actually take place

At room temperature, this difference has little effect; due to the plentiful supply of thermal energy in the surrounding area, both forms occur equally frequently. However, at very low temperatures under ten Kelvin, one molecule form is significantly preferred due to the energy difference. When transitioning from room temperature to extremely low temperatures, the balance has to move from an equal distribution of both forms to an uneven distribution.

This transition cannot, however, occur in the classic way  since, when rearranging from one form to the other, an energy barrier has to be overcome, although the molecule itself does not have the energy for this and the cold environment is also unable to provide it. Although the new balance should not occur in the classic way, the researchers were nevertheless able to demonstrate it in the experiment. Their conclusion: the Cope rearrangement at extremely low temperatures can only be explained by a tunnel effect. They thus provided experimental evidence for a prediction made by Weston Borden over five years ago based on theoretical studies.

Solvents influence ability to tunnel

At Ruhr-Universitat, Wolfram Sander undertakes research in the cluster of excellence Ruhr Explores Solvation, where he concerns himself with the interactions of solvents and dissolved molecules. "It is known that solvents influence the ability to tunnel," says the chemist. "However, so far it has not been understood how they do that."

More information: Tim Schleif et al. The Cope Rearrangement of 1,5 Dimethylsemibullvalene-2(4)-d1: Experimental Evidence for Heavy Atom Tunneling, Angewandte Chemie (2017). DOI: 10.1002/ange.201704787 Journal information: Angewandte Chemie
A new CRISPR system-based technology enables the recording of digital data, like those presenting successive frames of the movie of a galloping horse, one of the first made ever, in a population of living bacteria. In the future, this molecular recording device could allow researchers to have cells record the key changes they undergo during their development or exposure to environmental or pathogenic signals. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University

Researchers are developing ways to harness DNA, the blueprint of biological life, as a synthetic raw material to store large amounts of digital information outside of living cells, using expensive machinery. But, what if they could coerce living cells, like large populations of bacteria, into using their own genomes as a biological hard drive that can be used to record information and then be tapped for it anytime? Such an approach could not only open entirely new possibilities of data storage, but also be engineered further into an effective memory device that may be able to record the molecular experiences cells are having during their development, or exposure to stresses and pathogens in a chronological fashion.

In 2016, a team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard Medical School (HMS) lead by Wyss Core Faculty member George Church, Ph.D., built the first molecular recorder based on the CRISPR system, which allows cells to acquire bits of chronologically provided, DNA-encoded information to generate a memory of them in the genome of bacteria as a cell model. The information, stored away as an array of sequences in the CRISPR locus, can be recalled and used to reconstruct a timeline of events. However, "as promising as this was, we did not know what would happen when we tried to track about a hundred sequences at once, or if it would work at all. This was critical since we are aiming to use this system to record complex biological events as our ultimate goal," said Seth Shipman, Ph.D., a Postdoctoral Fellow working with Church.

Now, in a new study published in Nature, the same team shows in foundational proof-of-principle experiments that the CRISPR system, developed further as a first-of-its-kind approach, is able to encode information as complex as a digitized image of a human hand, reminiscent of some of the first paintings drawn on cave walls by early humans, and a sequence of one of the first motion pictures made ever, that of a galloping horse, in living cells.

The CRISPR system helps bacteria to develop immunity against the constant onslaught of viruses in their different environments. As a memory of survived infections, it captures viral DNA molecules and generates short so-called "spacer" sequences from them, that are added as new elements upstream of previous elements in a growing array located in the CRISPR locus of bacterial genomes. The by now famous CRISPR-Cas9 protein constantly resorts to this memory to destroy the same viruses when they return. Besides Cas9, which has become a widely used genome engineering tool, other parts of the CRISPR system, however, have so far not been exploited much technologically.

"In this study, we show that two proteins of the CRISPR system, Cas1 and Cas2, that we have engineered into a molecular recording tool, together with new understanding of the sequence requirements for optimal spacers, enables a significantly scaled-up potential for acquiring memories and depositing them in the genomeas information that can be provided by researchers from the outside, or that, in the future, could be formed from the cells' natural experiences," said Church, who also is the Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and a Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard and MIT. "Harnessed further, this approach could present a way to cue different types of living cells in their natural tissue environments into recording the formative changes they are undergoing into a synthetically created memory hotspot in their genomes."

To approach complex information on much larger scales, the team resorted to still and moving images because they represent constrained and clearly defined data sets, while a movie, in addition, offers the opportunity to have bacteria acquire information frame-wise over time. "We designed strategies that essentially translate the digital information contained in each pixel of an image or frame as well as the frame number into a DNA code, that, with additional sequences, is incorporated into spacers. Each frame thus becomes a collection of spacers," said Seth Shipman, the study's first author. "We then provided spacer collections for consecutive frames chronologically to a population of bacteria which, using Cas1/Cas2 activity, added them to the CRISPR arrays in their genomes. And after retrieving all arrays again from the bacterial population by DNA sequencing, we finally were able to reconstruct all frames of the galloping horse movie and the order they appeared in."

While realizing this new concept of molecular recording, Shipman together with second-author and Postdoctoral Fellow Jeff Nivala, Ph.D., during their analysis, defined a valuable set of requirements that make spacer sequences likely to be more easily acquired, and identified sequence features that prevent their acquisition into growing CRISPR arraysthe do's and don'ts of spacer design.

In future work, the team will focus on establishing molecular recording devices in other cell types and on further engineering the system so that it can memorize biological information. "One day, we may be able to follow all the developmental decisions that a differentiating neuron is taking from an early stem cell to a highly-specialized type of cell in the brain, leading to a better understanding of how basic biological and developmental processes are choreographed," said Shipman, who, in addition to Church, is also mentored by neurobiologist and co-author Jeffrey Macklis, Ph.D., the Max and Anne Wien Professor of Life Sciences and Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University. Once adapted to specific paradigms, the approach could also lead to better methods for generating cells for regenerative therapy, disease modeling and drug testing.

"This groundbreaking technology advances the field of DNA-based information storage by leveraging the biological machinery of living cells to record, archive and propagate that information, in addition to potentially providing a new way to study dynamic biological and developmental processes inside the living body. It is yet another example of bioinspired engineering at its best," said Wyss Institute Founding Director Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., who also is the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at HMS and the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children's Hospital, as well as Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS.

More information: Seth L. Shipman et al, CRISPRCas encoding of a digital movie into the genomes of a population of living bacteria, Nature (2017). DOI: 10.1038/nature23017 Journal information: Nature
In the Southwest, water availability for irrigation is already a concern, says Elodie Blanc, a research scientist at MITs Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. If we mitigate, this could prevent added stress associated with climate change and a severe decrease in runoff in the western United States. But it will be even worse in the future if we dont do anything at all. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A new study by MIT climate scientists, economists, and agriculture experts finds that certain hotspots in the country will experience severe reductions in crop yields by 2050, due to climate change's impact on irrigation.

The most adversely affected region, according to the researchers, will be the Southwest. Already a water-stressed part of the country, this region is projected to experience reduced precipitation by midcentury. Less rainfall to the area will mean reduced runoff into water basins that feed irrigated fields.

Production of cotton, the primary irrigated crop in the Southwest and in southern Arizona in particular, will drop to less than 10 percent of the crop yield under optimal irrigation conditions, the study projects. Similarly, maize grown in Utah, now only yielding 40 percent of the optimal expected yield, will decrease to 10 percent with further climate-driven water deficits.

In the Northwest, water shortages to the Great Basin region will lead to large reductions in irrigated forage, such as hay, grasses, and other crops grown to feed livestock. In contrast, the researchers predict a decrease in water stress for irrigation in the the southern Plains, which will lead to greater yields of irrigated sorghum and soybean.

If efforts are made to reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change, the researchers find that water scarcity and its associated reductions in cotton and forage can be avoided.

"In the Southwest, water availability for irrigation is already a concern," says first author Elodie Blanc, a research scientist at MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. "If we mitigate, this could prevent added stress associated with climate change and a severe decrease in runoff in the western United States. But it will be even worse in the future if we don't do anything at all."

Blanc's study appears in the journal Earth's Future, and her co-authors are Erwan Monier, a principal research scientist at MIT; Justin Caron, an assistant professor at HEC Montreal; and Charles Fant, a former MIT postdoc.

"A more integrated world"

While many researchers have investigated the effects of climate change on crop yields, Blanc's study is one of the first to consider how a changing climate may shape the availability and distribution of water basins on which irrigated crops depend.

"Most modeling studies that look at the impact of climate change on crop yield and the fate of agriculture don't take into account whether the water available for irrigation will change," Monier says.

In predicting how climate will affect irrigated crop yields in the future, the researchers also consider factors such as population and economic growth, as well as competing demands for water from various socioeconomic sectors, which are themselves projected to change as the climate warms.

"We try to be as representative of reality as possible," Blanc says.

To do this, the researchers used a model of 99 major river basins in the country, which they combined with the MIT Integrated Global System Model-Community Atmosphere Modela set of models that simulates the evolution of economic, demographic, trade, and technological processes. The models also include the greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants that result from these processes, and they incorporate all of that information within a global climate model that simulates the physical and chemical processes in the atmosphere, as well as in freshwater and ocean systems.

"We're looking at a more integrated world, and how all these interactions will drive changes in irrigation," Monier says.

"Severely accentuated" shortages

The researchers focused their global simulations on the U. S. and modeled the country's evolving economic activities in different geographic regions to determine the water requirements for five main sectors: thermoelectric cooling; public supply, such as for drinking water and other public utilities; industrial demand; mining; and irrigation.

They then used a crop model to simulate daily water requirements for various crops, driven by the researchers' modeled projections of precipitation and temperature, and compared these requirements with the amount of water predicted to be available for irrigation in a particular basin through the year 2050.

"The biggest finding is that it really makes a difference in specific regions, whether you take into account how irrigation availability will change in the future and how that will impact yields," Monier says.

By 2050, the team projects that, under a business-as-usual scenario, in which no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gases, a number of water basins in the U.S. will start experiencing water shortages. Several basins, particularly in the Southwest, will see existing water shortages "severely accentuated," according to the study.

The researchers note that the basins that will be the most affected generally do not supply the largest areas of irrigated cropland. For example, though climate change will significantly reduce cotton production in the Southwest, the bulk of the country's cotton production does not occur in this region.

"It may not matter too much for the total crop production of the U.S., but if you're a farmer in that particular region that's going to be impacted, that matters to you," Monier says. "What we want to do is provide useful information that either farmers or land investors can use to look into the future and make decisions on where is the right region to expand irrigated agriculture, and where is it more risky. We also want to make clear that climate mitigation is better for U.S. irrigated agriculture than not doing anything."

A climate-changing landscape

Under the same business-as-usual scenario, the researchers projected higher yields for irrigated crops such as wheat, soybean, and sorghum. The increased production in these crops is driven by higher precipitation predicted to occur in the central U.S., combined with higher concentrations of carbon dioxide, which reduces a plant's water requirements.

The researchers predict that crop yields for wheat, soybean, and sorghum should increase even more if mitigation measures are put in place. In addition to a business-as-usual scenario, the team ran its simulations under two mitigation scenarios, previously proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in which efforts are made to mitigate global warming to 2 and 3 degrees Celsius, relative to pre-industrial times.

They found that both mitigation scenarios should increase yields for all crops compared to the business-as-usual scenario, including cotton and forage, and that the more ambitious scenario has the potential to reduce the number of water-stressed basins.

Going forward, the researchers plan to factor into their simulations various ways in which climate change drives adaptation, and how such adaptations in turn shape crop patterns and the agricultural landscape.

"In the real world, if you're a farmer and year after year you're losing yield, you might decide, 'I'm done farming,' or switch to another crop that doesn't require as much water, or maybe you move somewhere else," Monier says. "That's the next step: How would the agricultural sector adapt?"

More information: Elodie Blanc et al. Is Current Irrigation Sustainable in the United States? An Integrated Assessment of Climate Change Impact on Water Resources and Irrigated Crop Yields, Earth's Future (2017). DOI: 10.1002/2016EF000473

This story is republished courtesy of MIT News (web.mit.edu/newsoffice/), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching.
Code @ TACC Robotics camp gave 34 high school students mostly from underserved Central Texas hands-on experience assembling and programming internet-connected robotic cars. Credit: TACC

On a hot and breezy June day in Austin, parents, friends, brothers and sisters navigated through main campus at The University of Texas at Austin and helped carry luggage for the new arrivals to their dorm rooms. Thirty-four high school students from mostly low-income Title I schools in Central Texas, some from as far away as Houston, said good-bye to their families.

The students came for a different kind of summer camp, where for one week they became part of a science team that used computer programming and internet-connected technologies to solve a real-world problem. They had high hopes to walk away with experiences that would help them become future scientists and engineers.

From June 11 to 16, 2017, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) hosted Code @TACC Robotics, a week-long summer camp funded by the Summer STEM Funders Organization under the supervision of the KDK Harmon Foundation. The 34 students received instruction from five staff scientists at TACC and two guest high school teachers from Dallas and Del Valle, as well as round-the-clock supervision from five undergraduate proctors. Leading the camp was Joonyee Chuah, Outreach Coordinator at the TACC.

"The goal of the camp is to provide these students with their first experiences with programming, to jumpstart them and get them further ahead to things that are current in the computing world," Chuah said.

The students divided themselves into teams, each with specific roles of principal investigator, validation engineer, software developer, and roboticist. They assembled a robotic car from a kit and learned how to program the software that controls it. The robotic cars had sensors that measured the distance to objects in front, and they could be programmed to respond to that information by stopping or turning or even relaying that information to another car near it. Teams were assigned a final project based on a real-world problem, such as what action to take when cars arrive together at a four-way stop.

Code @ TACC Robotics camp students formed science teams to tackle a real-life traffic problem for their robotic cars. Credit: TACC

The Code @TACC Robotics camp went a step further than the typical introductory Lego-based robotics program by using maker-based electronics that connected to the cloud using the Particle platform. The robots assembled for the camp were three-wheeled cars that communicated via the internet and could relay events and interact with services such as Gmail, Twitter, and Facebook.

"The platform allows these robots to do a lot of communication with each other that facilitates projects that you wouldn't normally be able to do in a standard high school classroom using off-the-shelf toy robotics," Chuah said. The robotic cars presented a simplified version of the cutting-edge autonomous vehicles being developed today by leading companies such as Google.

Industry outreach was an important part of the camp, and the students toured the offices of IBM in Austin, where they participated in student activities that explored the IBM Watson supercomputer and robotics connected to it. The students also visited engineering departments and computer science departments at UT Austin, as well as TACC's world-renowned Visualization Laboratory. "They get a full experience of both college as well as future industry," Chuah said. "It's important for students to understand that there are economic and intellectual opportunities out there."

High school teachers sometimes lack the training needed to teach the more difficult programming languages like C++. Code @ TACC Robotics developed curricula and training for two guest high school teachers. "These individuals are working with us because they're excited to learn about robotics and they want to get jumpstarted on learning how to teach coding and robotics themselves," Chuah said.

Code @ TACC Robotics camp students demonstrate their project in precise positioning of a self-driving car to adjust and steer itself with a bend in the road. Credit: TACC

Lashonda Petty of DeSoto High School and Katrina Van Houten of Del Valle High School were the guest teachers at Code @ TACC Robotics. "The camp has been really good for a lot of them. I've been talking to the students, and most of them are not pre-AP (Advanced Placement). They're not the type of kids who end up taking the harder courses, the higher sciences in their school. But they are way above in their ability to do it. They have all done amazingly well," Van Houten said.

Communicating the results of their research formed an important part of the Code @ TACC Robotics experience. They delivered their final presentations to an audience made up of TACC staff and the students' families, with translations provided in Spanish.

Central Texas student Guadalupe Oca, the software engineer for one team, explained their problem of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication at stop lights. Like the other teams, they arrived at a solution by breaking the problem down into small, and codable, bites.

"Our code was designed to make the robots stop at the stop sign. And they would decide who would be going first, just like in the real world. Humans expect the first person to go. There are those crazy drivers that just go whenever (audience laughs). They don't wait for the other person. Our initial solution was that whenever the robots get to the stop sign, they would tell each other, "I got here at nine seconds." Then the second robot gets here, and he says, "I got here two seconds after you. Go ahead and go first," said Oca.

Code @ TACC Robotics camp gave 34 high school students mostly from underserved Central Texas hands-on experience assembling and programming internet-connected robotic cars. Credit: TACC

The crowd gathered around the improvised four-way intersection marked by blue tape in the middle of the classroom. The student team looked intently into their laptops, and with a few keystrokes two robot cars whirred to life and advanced toward the intersection. One stopped at the intersection, then the other. Like a model driver, the last one to get there yielded to the first one, which then crossed the intersection safely followed by the second. The crowd cheered. If only the real-world could always behave so perfectly.

Funding for Code @ TACC Robotics camp was provided by the Summer STEM Investment Hub pooled funding comprised of the following organizations: Andy Roddick Foundation, Austin Community Foundation, KDK-Harman Foundation, and Webber Family Foundation.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

(Phys.org)A pair of researchers at University College London has found evidence suggesting that fear of crime is contagious. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A, Rafael Prieto Curiel and Steven Bishop describe the model they built, how it works and what it showed.

Fear of crime is a concern for people who live in areas where they worry about falling prey to a criminal act, but according to Prieto Curiel and Bishop, the amount people worry may not be warranted. This, they contend, is because people can be influenced in their social interactions. If someone living in a relatively safe area speaks with someone from a high-crime area, they suggest, the person from the safe area can experience increased fear of crime. The researchers came to this conclusion by building a mathematically based computer model.

The model was based on a simulated city with a population of 100,000. Three groups were created to represent three parts of the virtual city: those that were immune from crime, those that lived in a safe part of the city, and those that lived in a crime-ridden part of the city. Each virtual person was given attributes meant to mimic actual human behavior under certain conditions, one of which was a number representing their level of fear of crime. The model ran for a virtual six-year period as the researchers tinkered with events, such as occasions when people in the model interacted with one anothersome of the virtual people even became victims of virtual crimes. The passage of time also allowed impacted fear levelsan absence of crime, for example, caused levels to fall.

The researchers report that the virtual people living in the safe parts of the city felt safer, quite naturally, than did those living in the high-crime areas. But that quickly changed if an individual was the victim of a crime, or if they talked about crime with someone from the crime-ridden area. The latter, the researchers note, suggests that fear of crime is contagious. People can find themselves fearing crime more than they need to just by talking to people who live in higher crime rate areas. Sadly, things did not appear to work in reversethe people from the high-crime areas did not walk away from such interactions with lower fear levels.

More information: Rafael Prieto Curiel et al. Modelling the fear of crime, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Science (2017). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2017.0156 Abstract

How secure people feel in a particular region is obviously linked to the actual crime suffered in that region but the exact relationship between crime and its fear is quite subtle. Two regions may have the same crime rate but their local perception of security may differ. Equally, two places may have the same perception of security even though one may have a significantly lower crime rate. Furthermore, a negative perception might persist for many years, even when crime rates drop. Here, we develop a model for the dynamics of the perception of security of a region based on the distribution of crime suffered by the population using concepts similar to those used for opinion dynamics. Simulations under a variety of conditions illustrate different scenarios and help us determine the impact of suffering more, or less, crime. The inhomogeneous concentration of crime together with a memory loss process is incorporated into the model for the perception of security, and results explain why people are often more fearful than actually victimized; why a region is perceived as being insecure despite a low crime rate; and why a decrease in the crime rate might not significantly improve the perception of security. Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society A

 2017 Phys.org
Associate Professor Nancy Bertler at the National Ice Core Research Facility. Credit: Victoria University

Climate scientists will be able to more accurately study Earth's temperature changes, thanks to a global database compiled with the help of a Victoria University of Wellington and GNS Science researcher.

The database has been released today in the Nature Scientific Data journal by a large international team of scientists, including Associate Professor Nancy Bertler.

Associate Professor Bertler says the databasewhich expands on a version released in 2013provides a rigorously assessed compilation of temperature reconstructions for the past 2,000 years.

"The database gathers information on past temperature based on evidence from a number of sources including tree rings, corals, glacier ice, and marine and lake sediments.

"It's the most comprehensive collection of information on global temperature change ever, and has taken over three years to pull together."

This database is important because it provides much-needed information on regional temperature patterns and trends, says Associate Professor Bertler.

"It enables us to critically assess and improve earth system models used to provide future projections. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's analysis of future change will include investigating the past 2,000 years, before looking into the future. How well they capture those past trends provides a tool to assess how realistic a model is, and helps to identify where improvements are necessary. This is the only tool to independently test and verify climate models beyond the past forty years."

The database gathers close to 700 records from 648 locations, compiled by 98 regional experts from 22 countries. It was coordinated by the Past Global Changes (PAGES) network of international paleoclimate scientists.

Data for the Antarctic region was contributed by Associate Professor Bertler.

"We contributed three ice core records from the Ross Sea region, a particularly climate-sensitive area of the Antarctic. We collected those ice cores over the past decade," says Associate Professor Bertler.

"Our reconstructions provided a detailed view of the region during the past 100 to 1,000 years, including ocean and air temperature, sea ice extent, atmospheric circulation pattern and ocean productivity. A particular focus of our work is to understand when and how quickly West Antarctica could collapse, leading to rapid increase in global sea level."

Associate Professor Bertler is an ice core scientist jointly appointed by Victoria's Antarctic Research Centre and GNS Science. She manages the National Ice Core Research Facility at GNS Scienceone of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the worldand leads Antarctic field deployments for ice core research.

PAGES has released the database as an open resource, allowing anyone to download and use the data.
In evolution, a high sex drive does not always pay off. Female mosquitofish swim away from over-impetuous lovers because they leave them hardly any time to feed and also tend to injure their genitalia more often.

In some species, males invest virtually nothing in their offspring apart from sperm. So far, biologists believed that the most sexually active males in such species had an evolutionary advantage. But the 'more mating, more offspring' equation does not always hold in the case of the eastern mosquitofish (a small, livebearing freshwater fish) because the females also have a say, as behavioural researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have now discovered.

"The starting point for our studies was the question why males in some animal species differ pronouncedly and consistently in their sexual activity levels even when they are exposed to identical environmental conditions and don't need to compete," explains Carolin Sommer-Trembo, who is dealing with the topic in her doctoral thesis. "We wanted to know how this variation in male behavioural types is maintained, although selection ought to oust males which display low or average levels of sexual activity."

She chose the small and inconspicuous mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) as a study object because they have sex and give birth to live offspring. Males have a penis-like mating organ on their underside which is long in comparison to their overall body size. To copulate, they swim up to the female from underneath in order to remain undiscovered for as long as possible.

To find out which males are interesting for female mosquitofish and whether the level of male sexual activity plays any role at all in their choice of partner, Carolin Sommer-Trembo and her colleagues Dr. David Bierbach (Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin) and Professor Martin Plath (Northwest A&F University, Yangling) let females choose between males which displayed different levels of sexual activity. To exclude the possibility that specific males were chosen because of their appearance (morphology) or other behavioural characteristics and to control precisely the degree of sexual activity of the males, the researchers worked with computer-animated stimulus males which were presented to the females on monitors.

The result was that females preferred males which displayed a moderate level of sexual activity whilst they clearly avoided males with a greater sex drive. The researchers assume that this is due to cost-benefit considerations, since females who find themselves in the close vicinity of sexually very active males often not only suffer injuries to their genitalia but also scarcely have an opportunity to feed as they are constantly busy avoiding the males' advances.

The situation is different when a group of females encounters a rampant male determined to mate. "Under natural conditions, female mosquitofish often form shoals to protect themselves from male harassment, just like other fish do to protect themselves from predators," explains Carolin Sommer-Trembo. In the group, females showed far greater acceptance towards sexually very active males, since the cost-benefit ratio shifts under these circumstances.

The dependency of female choice on social context could explain why variation in male behavioural types is maintained amongst mosquitofish. And the experiments show that females include male sexual activity as a criterion in their choice of partner.

By the way: That swimming away from tempestuous lovers is a good idea when out on your own as a female mosquitofish does not appear to be instinctive but based on experience. When Sommer-Trembo conducted additional tests with virgin females, they were equally open to all types of male.

More information: Context-dependent female mate choice maintains variation in male sexual activity. Royal Society Open Science; DOI: 10.1098/rsos170303 Journal information: Royal Society Open Science
New York | Heidelberg, 12 July 2017 Leonardo Da Vinci had already noticed it. There is a very peculiar dynamics of granular matter, such as dry sand or grains of wheat. When these granular particles are left on a vibrating solid surface, they are not only subject to random vibrations, they are also under the spell of solid friction forces, like the force a dry floor would exert on a brick in contact with that floor. In a study published in The European Physical Journal E, Prasenjit Das from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, and colleagues extended our understanding of this problem from the well-known, one-dimensional case to multiple dimensions.

The trouble with the one-dimensional case is that it does not represent physical reality. In this study, the authors have solved the equation describing the effect of solid friction on granular materials for an arbitrary number of dimensions.

First, they considered that because the particle is affected by a vibrating random force, they cannot obtain its position and velocity with certainty. Therefore, they considered the probability distribution of its position. They then used an equation - the Fokker-Planck (FP) equation - to describe its evolution.

They managed to solve this equation, and obtain relevant physical quantities that are measurable experimentally to check the validity of their solution, by employing a simple analogy with another field, that of quantum mechanics and the solution to the famous Schrodinger equation. Their results are in excellent agreement with numerical solutions in 2 and 3 dimensions.

This means that the model can also be used in further studies of a driven particle in a granular fluid, which is relevant to a number of industries, ranging from construction to pharmaceuticals. In this problem, a constant force acts on an intruder particle which interacts via two forces, namely the normal contact forces and friction forces, with the particles of the granular fluid.

More information: Prasenjit Das et al, Single particle Brownian motion with solid friction, The European Physical Journal E (2017). DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2017-11549-9 Journal information: European Physical Journal E

Provided by Springer
Two weeks of intensive fishing in and around a Chicago waterway failed to produce any proof that more Asian carp have made it past electronic barriers intended to keep the invasive species out of Lake Michigan.

As the Detroit Free Press reported two weeks ago, a live 8-pound, 28-inch-long silver carp was caught beyond the barriers just nine miles from Lake Michigan on June 22. Silver carp, along with bighead carp, are known collectively as Asian carp.

State and federal officials, environmentalists and others fear that if the voracious species of non-native carp reach the Great Lakes, they will destroy the habitat for native fish. And there are growing concerns that the electronic barriers about 37 miles from Lake Michigan are not foolproof in terms of keeping fish out.

The capture of the silver carp below the T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam in Chicago set off two weeks of intensive sampling and monitoring, which included four fishing crews that use devices to stun fish with electricity, three contracted commercial fishing crews and more than 43 miles of gill net to catch fish.

The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee - a consortium of local, state and federal agencies - put out a statement today saying despite some 365 electro-fishing runs and more than 91 hours of efforts, no additional silver or bighead carp were detected.

Last month's find was only the second instance since 2010 when an Asian carp was found beyond the electronic barriers but many officials, including members of Michigan's congressional delegation, argued that it called for stronger measures to ensure that the species are kept out of the lakes.

They and others also used the capture of the Asian carp as an argument for President Donald Trump to release a report on recommendations for blocking Asian carp at another key choke-point in Illinois. The Trump administration has been holding up the release of the report since Feb. 28 despite bipartisan calls for it to be released.

The Alliance for the Great Lakes, an environmental group, said that while federal, state and local agencies "appeared to be breathing a sign of relief" that no other Asian carp were found beyond the barriers, the earlier find remains "incredibly disturbing news" especially when coupled with evidence that in some cases small fish may be pull through the electronic barriers along with barges passing them.

"The situation should be a wake-up call for agencies that have become complacent while Asian carp populations march steadily toward Lake Michigan. Instead, it appears to be met by government agencies and administration officials with a collective yawn," the group said.

2017 Detroit Free Press

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Populations of endangered species reach a critical point in their life where they either survive or evolve towards extinction. Therefore, efforts to predict and even prevent the extinction of biological species require a thorough understanding of the underlying mechanisms. In a new study published in The European Physical Journal B, Hatem Barghathi and colleagues from Missouri University of Science and Technology, have investigated how environmental disturbance at random times could cause strong fluctuations in the number of individuals in biological populations. This, in turn, makes extinction easier, even for large populations. They found that environmental disorder can lead to a period of slow population increase interrupted by sudden population collapses. These findings also have implications for solving the opposite problem when attempting to predict, control and eradicate population of viruses in epidemics.

To model biological populations, they performed simulations using an agent-based model. The behaviour of populations that become extinct can be analysed using techniques from statistical physics. These help us to study transitions between a state where the population is active and fluctuates in number, and an inactive state where the population goes extinct.

The authors find that in the presence of time-dependent environmental disturbances, the average time for a biological population to become extinct grows only slowly with population size. This allows even large populations to become extinct quickly. In contrast, in time-independent environmental disturbances, large populations have very long lifetimes.

Barghathi and colleagues also found that when a biological population is close to the transition towards extinction, the population undergoes periods of slow increase alternating with fluctuations leading to a sharp decrease in the number of individuals.

More information: Hatem Barghathi et al, Extinction phase transitions in a model of ecological and evolutionary dynamics, The European Physical Journal B (2017). DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2017-80220-7 Journal information: European Physical Journal B

Provided by Springer
Credit: Wikipedia

Right now, you may have a shaky idea of what net neutrality is, but on July 12, a massive online protest plans to make you painfully aware.

More than 50,000 people, sites and organizations will take part in the net neutrality "day of action," an online protest being organized by multiple internet advocacy groups. A few well-known participants include Amazon, Reddit, Netflix, Facebook, Google, Etsy, Kickstarter, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Sites taking part in the protest will display messages on their homepages with language that's meant to show people what the web could look like without the net neutrality principle that internet service providers should give equal access and treatment to all content online.

Right now, barring factors like your own internet connection's speed and how well the site you're visiting is designed, every site should load at the same speed whether it is your email, Netflix or a small business's website.

Supporters of net neutrality argue that relaxing the rules could lead to internet service providers putting some content in the fast lane while slowing down other content, or even making some things more difficult to find.

On the other hand, ISPs like Comcast and Verizon believe net neutrality keeps them from innovating in areas where they make money off the internet service they provide.

During the online protest you could see faux-alerts with messages like "Sorry, we're stuck in the slow lane." The slow lane, in this case, being an internet connection's speed.

If a site you visit displays primarily videos, you may even encounter a few spinning wheels of death in place of content that would normally buffer quickly and play.

Vimeo will also be taking part in the protest. Jamie Wilkinson, a VP of engineering at the company, described what the video-sharing website would be doing on Marketplace.

"The top, maybe, quarter of the (homepage) has a big banner saying, 'Today is the day. Let's save the internet,' " he said. "Take action around net neutrality, and really save this thing that we've all really enjoyed and benefitted from - and continue to want to benefit from."

The "day of action" goal is to encourage people to submit public comments on net neutrality to the Federal Communications Commission because the FCC would like to remove the legal authority (called Title II) used to support net neutrality rules.

This round of comments is due before July 17. After that, a second commenting round will open until Aug. 16. In the second round of commenting the public is expected to reply to comments filed during the first round.

2017 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
It may be possible to control a quantum computer over the internet without revealing what you are calculating, thanks to the many possible ways that information can flow through a computation. That's the conclusion of researchers in Singapore and Australia who studied the measurement-based model of quantum computing, reported 11 July in the open-access journal Physical Review X. Credit: Timothy Yeo / Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore

Here's the scenario: you have sensitive data and a problem that only a quantum computer can solve. You have no quantum devices yourself. You could buy time on a quantum computer, but you don't want to give away your secrets. What can you do?

Writing in Physical Review X on 11 July, researchers in Singapore and Australia propose a way you could use a quantum computer securely, even over the internet. The technique could hide both your data and program from the computer itself. Their work counters earlier hints that such a feat is impossible.

The scenario is not far-fetched. Quantum computers promise new routes to solving problems in cryptography, modelling and machine learning, exciting government and industry. Such problems may involve confidential data or be commercially sensitive.

Technology giants are already investing in building such computersand making them available to users. For example, IBM announced on 17 May this year that it is making a quantum computer with 16 quantum bits accessible to the public for free on the cloud, as well as a 17-qubit prototype commercial processor.

Seventeen qubits are not enough to outperform the world's current supercomputers, but as quantum computers gain qubits, they are expected to exceed the capabilities of any machine we have today. That should drive demand for access.

"We're looking at what's possible if you're someone just interacting with a quantum computer across the internet from your laptop. We find that it's possible to hide some interesting computations," says Joseph Fitzsimons, a Principal Investigator at the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT) at the National University of Singapore and Associate Professor at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), who led the work.

Quantum computers work by processing bits of information stored in quantum states. Unlike the binary bits found in our regular (i.e., classical) computers, each a 0 or 1, qubits can be in superpositions of 0 and 1. The qubits can also be entangled, which is believed to be crucial to a quantum computer's power.

The scheme designed by Fitzsimons and his colleagues brings secrecy to a form of quantum computing driven by measurements.

In this scheme, the quantum computer is prepared by putting all its qubits into a special type of entangled state. Then the computation is carried out by measuring the qubits one by one. The user provides step-wise instructions for each measurement: the steps encode both the input data and the program.

Researchers have shown previously that users who can make or measure qubits to convey instructions to the quantum computer could disguise their computation. The new paper extends that power to users who can only send classical bits - i.e. most of us, for now.

This is surprising because some computer science theorems imply that encrypted quantum computation is impossible when only classical communication is available.

The hope for security comes from the quantum computer not knowing which steps of the measurement sequence do what. The quantum computer can't tell which qubits were used for inputs, which for operations and which for outputs.

"It's extremely exciting. You can use this unique feature of the measurement-based model of quantum computingthe way information flows through the stateas a crypto tool to hide information from the server," says team member Tommaso Demarie of CQT and SUTD.

Although the owner of the quantum computer could try to reverse engineer the sequence of measurements performed, ambiguity about the role of each step leads to many possible interpretations of what calculation was done. The true calculation is hidden among the many, like a needle in a haystack.

The set of interpretations grows rapidly with the number of qubits. "The set of all possible computations is exponentially large - that's one of the things we prove in the paperand therefore the chance of guessing the real computation is exponentially small," says Fitzsimons. One question remains: could meaningful computations be so rare among all the possible ones that the guessing gets easier? That's what the researchers need to check next.

Nicolas Menicucci at the Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and Atul Mantri at SUTD, are coauthors on the work.

"Quantum computers became famous in the '90s with the discovery that they could break some classical cryptography schemesbut maybe quantum computing will instead be known for making the future of cloud computing secure," says Mantri.

More information: Atul Mantri et al, Flow Ambiguity: A Path Towards Classically Driven Blind Quantum Computation, Physical Review X (2017). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevX.7.031004 Journal information: Physical Review X
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A psychological intervention implemented to help students cope and learn more in a tough statistics course did more than just help them in the class, a new study found.

Researchers found the intervention helped students improve their math literacy - what scientists call 'numeracy' - which was vital for success in the course.

But it also helped the intervention students, compared to students who did not get the intervention, demonstrate better financial literacy and make better health-related decisions during the semester they took the course, findings revealed.

"Improved math skills helped these students outside of class," said Ellen Peters, lead author of the study and professor of psychology at The Ohio State University.

"This study showed that knowing how to use numbers is important for everyone, even if you think you're not using math. Numeracy helps people in their everyday lives."

The study appears in the journal PLOS ONE.

The study involved 221 students enrolled in an undergraduate psychology statistics course at Ohio State that is required for all psychology majors.

"Many students are not huge fans of the class because of the math involved, but it is a requirement," said Peters, who is director of the Decision Sciences Collaborative at Ohio State.

The researchers wanted to see if a psychological intervention called values affirmation could help students succeed in the class by making them more comfortable dealing with the math that may intimidate them. The hope was that this would have a snowball effect, helping students in other areas of their life where numeracy is important.

Values affirmation has been shown in other studies to be helpful in a variety of educational situations.

Students first completed the values affirmation exercise near the beginning of the course. They were given a list of six values (including relationships with family and friends, spiritual/religious values and science/pursuit of knowledge) and asked to rank them in importance to themselves personally.

Half the students affirmed their values by spending 10 to 15 minutes writing why their most important value was meaningful to them.

The other half of the students, the study's control group, took their least important value and wrote about why it might be meaningful for someone else.

The students repeated the exercise a second time right before their first exam.

This simple exercise had some impressive positive effects. The researchers found that students who participated in the values affirmation did significantly better on a test of their objective numeracy skills at the end of the course compared to their scores at the beginning. The students in the control group did not see improved scores.

Students also completed a questionnaire at the beginning and the end of the course that measured how good they thought they were at math and how much they preferred numbers over words. Results showed that students who completed the values affirmation showed no change in this subjective numeracy measure from the beginning to the end.

Researchers saw that lack of change as a positive development because those in the control group showed declines in how good they thought they were by the end of the course, presumably because of the stress and difficulties they faced in the statistics class.

While it may seem strange that a psychological intervention could help improve math skills, other studies have shown similar results. The key is that values affirmation reminds students of who they are and what is important to them in life. That, in turn, is thought to make them less stressed out about the math requirements and help them achieve some early successes in class, Peters said.

Those early successes then give students something to build on. "It has a snowball effect. Values affirmation is thought to help students get some early wins in class. That leads them to try harder and get more achievements and it creates a cycle of success," Peters said.

The success in improving numeracy was important. But Peters said she was most interested in seeing if a boost in the students' math literacy could help them in the real world. And the research found that it did.

Results showed that the better numeracy scores seen with the values affirmation led to students scoring higher on a financial literacy test. In addition, these students showed better health-related behaviors, intentions and habits (such as avoiding cigarettes and practicing safe sex) over the course of the class.

In contrast, students in the control group showed declines in both financial literacy and health behaviors from the beginning to the end of the semester, Peters said.

"We were able to show that numeric ability really matters outside of class. Math isn't just for people who want a STEM career. It is for all of us," she said.

Researchers also found that students who did the values affirmation exercise and showed better numeracy received better grades in the statistics class, had stronger intentions to take future math classes, and actually took more math classes in their college career. These results were correlational, however, and without a total effect of the intervention on these positive results so that the researchers couldn't prove that values affirmation was the cause.

The researchers also examined whether the values affirmation and improved numeracy would improve financial outcomes, such as whether the students had an emergency fund. Similar correlational results were found, without a total effect, and Peters said more research is needed on this issue.

How can stronger numeracy skills help students make better health and financial decisions? While the answer to that question is beyond the scope of this study, Peters said evidence suggests people who are better at numbers also have a stronger understanding of probability and are less influenced by emotions in the moment. This helps them better understand the personal risk involved in health decisions such as smoking or having unprotected sex, so they make better choices.

Numbers are an important part of financial literacy and help people understand how mortgages and credit-card debt work, so it is not surprising that math skills help in this regard, she said.
It's time to make a confession about my television. I only have one TV in my house, and it's a 10-year-old, 42-inch Panasonic plasma set.

It's huge compared with the TVs of today, it throws off a lot of heat and it uses more electricity, but the picture is gorgeous and there's nothing wrong with it, so it stays.

I learned years ago that moving big TVs isn't easy in my small Honda, so I don't say yes to many TV reviews, but when Samsung offered its QLED for review and offered to deliver it to my house, I had to say yes.

I reviewed the 55-inch Class Q7C Curved QLED 4K TV (QN55Q7CAMF) along with a Sound+ soundbar (HW-MS650) and an Ultra HD Blu-Ray Player (UBD-M9500).

This was quite a step up from what I've been watching.

I have been worrying about my next TV purchase. Plasma TVs have disappeared and LED TVs have always looked a little weird to me. You have probably noticed the "soap opera effect," where things tend to look a little too sharp and unnatural.

After having the Q7C ($2,199, www.samsung.com) in my house for the last month, I'm not worried about LED TVs any more.

What is QLED?

You may have heard of OLED TVs, which stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode.

OLED TVs can produce absolute black, which provides contrast ratios that are unmatched. OLED TVs produce very realistic images and are still expensive.

But what's QLED?

It's an acronym for Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode.

To find a clear explanation, I went to TrustedReviews.com: Quantum dots are tiny particles of between two and 10 nanometres in diameter. They're employed in displays due to their ability - in conjunction with other materials - to give off different colors according to their size.

The advantage of this is that they're capable of emitting brighter, more vibrant and more diverse colors - the sort of colors that really make HDR (high dynamic range) content shine, thanks to the high peak brightness that can be achieved.

These early QLED sets apparently don't have the contrast of OLED, but they are cheaper to make and the picture is terrific.

In fact, the picture quality of the Q7C is like putting on your glasses first thing in the morning. The world might look pretty good when you wake up, but put on your glasses and wow - the world is really sharp and colorful.

DESIGN

The Q7C has a stunning design. The gently curved jet black screen reaches to within a quarter-inch of the edge of the panel, which is surrounded by just a few millimeters of silver bezel.

Of course the design of the screen means there are no visible speakers. The TV's built-in speakers sounded fine, but there is a reason Samsung wanted me to use the Sound+ soundbar along with the Q7C (more on the Sound+ later).

The TV is supported by a single bracket in the center, which worked well for my smallish TV cabinet. I've seen other 55-inch sets that have legs on the ends and I would have needed a larger surface to hold such a set.

I was not a fan of curved screen TVs when I first saw them, but I've come to like them.

Our TV is in a corner, and the curve of the panel really plays off the corner placement well. I also found there was much less glare from lights, windows or other shiny surfaces.

The Q7C comes with a skinny silver remote that's made of metal. It feels substantial in your hand, and it has a simple design dominated by a circle of four buttons. Most of the navigating is done on the screen.

To enter a number to tune to a specific channel, you have to call up a number pad on the screen and use the left and right buttons to select the number, which is tedious.

The remote also lacks simple playback controls like rewind and fast forward. It does have a play-pause button, but to get to any other playback button, you have to press the OK button, then press the left or right buttons to find the onscreen button you want. Again, it's tedious.

Here's a tip: Download the free Samsung SmartView app on your phone and use it to control the TV. It's a lot easier, and all the functionality is there.

The panel is about half an inch thick at the edges and the panel stays thin because there are no ports built in.

Samsung has moved all the ports from the back of the TV to a small breakout box that connects to the panel via a very thin optical cable. You can place the box with the ports inside your TV cabinet next to your peripherals. You still need a traditional power cable from the TV to an AC outlet.

Making the ports portable means that once you put the TV on a stand or mount it on a wall, you'll likely never have to access the back of it again. Genius design.

SPECS

The Q7C has a 54.6-inch diagonally measured screen with a resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 pixels (4K Ultra HD). The refresh rate of the screen is 240 hertz, which means you get very smooth motion. The Q7C supports HDR10 and UHD upscaling.

The built-in audio has 40 watts of power with Dolby Digital Plus and DTS Premium Sound 5.1. The TV can broadcast its sound to a pair of Bluetooth headphones.

Connections to the internet are wired (Ethernet) or wireless.

Ports include four HDMI, three USB 2.0, digital optical audio out, Ethernet and coax for your OTA antenna.

Physically the TV is 48.2 by 31.1 by 11.8 inches with the stand. It weighs 47.6 pounds.

The Q7C uses 195 watts of power while powered on and under 0.4 watts in standby.

The TV turns on almost the instant you press the power button.

SMART TV

The Q7C can connect to the internet through Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

The TV's interface is called SmartHub, which allows you to see all your connected sources (like OTA, U-Verse, Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV) along with built-in streaming apps (like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon) in one place.

Hit the Home button on the remote, and you can quickly navigate to any video source.

Connected video sources and streaming apps really do work side by side.

SmartHub is one of the easiest interfaces I've used. I like it so much that a Samsung TV might just be my next choice.

SOUND+ SOUNDBAR

Sitting just in front of the Q7C in my living room was the Sound+ soundbar ($399 for a straight Sound+ and $429 for the curved model).

Each Sound+ has nine speakers, each with its own amplifier, to provide full sound without a subwoofer. I did turn it up pretty loud a few times, and I was happy with the sound.

The Sound+ connected with an included optical audio cable, and it can stream music from your phone wirelessly.

ULTRA HD BLU-RAY PLAYER

Samsung's Ultra HD Blu-Ray Player UBD-M9500 ($329.99) was simple to use. It also has Wi-Fi or Ethernet connectivity and can put the SmartHub interface on 4K TVs that don't have it.

The UBD-M9500 can also upscale DVDs to make them look as good as they can on your 4K TV.

CONCLUSIONS

The Q7C is a wonderful TV. The QLED technology is very impressive and a worthy competitor to OLED.

Choosing a new TV is all about how it looks to you. I advise you to take a little time and do some comparison viewing. Seeing is believing, and when I had some friends over last week, one remarked he'd never seen the color green reproduced so accurately on a TV. I agree.

Samsung's QLED TVs rival the best video displays I've ever seen.

-

Pros: Stunning design and crystal clear picture quality. Great smart TV interface.

Cons: Not cheap. Remote might a little too simple.

Bottom line: If you want a top-tier TV, Samsung QLED is on that list.

2017 The Dallas Morning News

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
VENu lets you view real tracks left in the MicroBooNE neutrino detector. Credit: Marco Del Tutto

What happens when tiny, invisible particles called neutrinos are sent hurtling through a tank of liquid argon? For most of the neutrinos, not much. They'll pass through the argon unscathed. But other neutrinos will collide with argon molecules, leaving behind tracksproof they were there.

These kinds of collisions take place inside Fermilab's MicroBooNE neutrino detector. Now, with the help of VENu, a free smartphone app, users can dive into MicroBooNE's 170-ton tank of liquid argon and see neutrino tracks for themselves.

"The primary goal of the VENu app is to get more people involved in particle physics, especially in neutrino physics," said Marco Del Tutto, the app's primary developer from Oxford University who works on the MicroBooNE experiment. "The app enables users to immerse themselves inside our particle detector and to see with their own eyes the particles that interact in it."

VENu uses real data collected by the MicroBooNE neutrino detector, modeled in a 3-D environment to create an interactive neutrino-hunting experience. A game mode helps users understand what's happening in the detectorwhat's going on when a neutrino interacts with argon?and then lets them catch the neutrino interactions themselves. VENu can also be used with any virtual-reality headset for an even more immersive experience.

The development of VENu started in 2014, as the MicroBooNE team prepared to bring the detector online.

"We had been thinking about new ways to show off the MicroBooNE experiment. MicroBooNE is an innovative technology, and we wanted an innovative way to show it off," said Sam Zeller, co-spokesperson of the MicroBooNE experiment.

VENu is compatible with personal virtual-reality devices, allowing for a portable, immersive experience. Credit: Marco Del Tutto

Alistair McLean, a student from New Mexico State University, was the first to create a virtual model of the MicroBooNE detector, forming an important platform for a new way to visualize particle physics.

Del Tutto took VENu's design a step further to make it more accessible for everyone.

"Many people hear 'particle physics' and think it's too secretive and too hard for them to understand," Del Tutto said. "An app looked like the perfect product, as it shares what we are doing, who we are, and shows real data, all in a simple and intuitive way."

MicroBooNE isn't the only particle physics experiment to have an appDel Tutto is also a part of the team that made Collider, an app for the ATLAS experiment at CERN laboratory in Switzerlandbut VENu is uniquely engaging.

"There aren't many apps out there that combine real particle events and visualizations, learning sections and games to engage the public," Del Tutto said.

In the future, Del Tutto plans to add visualizations of more detectors to the app, including ICARUS, a much larger neutrino detector than MicroBooNE. ICARUS is currently on its way to Fermilab from CERN. But for now, VENu will continue to showcase the MicroBooNE detector.

Zeller said, "We are very proud of where VENu started, what it has become and the possibility to show off MicroBooNE in a completely new way."
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Amazon Prime Customers To Hear About Risks To Delivery Service Ahead Of Prime Day

WILMINGTON, Ohio, July 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/  Ahead of Amazons largest single-day sales event, pilots who fly for Amazon Prime Air are taking their concerns about the future of the delivery service directly to Amazon customers. Pilots from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWW) and Air Transport Services Group (ATSG)which, together, are contracted to fly 40 planes for Amazon Prime Air by 2018  launched a nationwide advertising campaign detailing the intensifying issues at their airlines and the potential risks for Amazon Prime customers. Events like Prime Day are an important reason why customers love Amazons service, and as pilots committed to making Prime successful, we feel its our responsibility to educate consumers about the troubles brewing behind the scenes, said Captain Michael Griffith, a long-time pilot at AAWW subsidiary Atlas Air. Our airlines are facing serious challenges, and after years of working below industry standards, many of our colleagues are leaving at a time when finding and retaining experienced pilots is more difficult than ever. Customers shouldnt have to worry about the future of Prime, and were calling on them to urge Amazon executives to work with pilots and its contractors to address these issues.

The pilots, who work for companies contracted to fly for Amazons Prime Air service, say issues simmering beneath the surface at their airlines and across the air cargo industry threaten to undermine the success of Prime and could pose challenges for their ability to deliver for Prime customers.

Raising these concerns directly with customers in the lead up to Prime Day, the pilots are launching an advertising campaign that will target consumers nationwide on Google and Facebook. The ads will link to CanAmazonDeliver.com, an informational website which details the growing issues at the Prime Air carriers that could undermine their ability to get the job done. The site also includes tools for customers to ask Amazon executives to make sure its contracted pilots have a fair contract to strengthen their ability to deliver for Prime customers.

In what industry experts are calling a slow burning crisis that has airlines of all sizes and types scrambling to cope, the pilots and experts say a looming pilot shortage not only threatens to disrupt operations at airlines across the country, but poses a significant challenge to the success of Prime Air. The effects of this crisis have already started to have significant ramifications for consumersmost recently, Horizon Air, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group and a major regional carrier in the Pacific Northwest, was forced to cancel more than 300 flights this summer due to a severe shortage of pilots for its Q400 turboprop planes.

At the same time, the realities of the pilot shortage combined with substandard pay and years-long delays in union contract negotiations have also triggered significant problems at the Prime Air airlines. Both AAWW and ATSG are undercutting industry-wide standards in everything from pay and wages to working conditions, eroding pilot morale.

Conditions at Atlas Air, one of the Prime Air carriers and a subsidiary of AAWW, have also created turnover, recruitment, and retention issues that could undermine the airlines commitments to Amazon. The companys efforts to hire at least 160 pilots in the first five months of 2017 have come up alarmingly short. Over the same period of time, Atlas has lost 110 pilots, leaving the company only able to fulfill less than a third of its staffing needs.

In May, pilots voiced concerns to Amazon investors about what Quartz described as bad news in the cutthroat world of e-commerce at the companys annual shareholder meeting in Seattle. There, dozens of pilots from each of the Prime Air carriers protested outside of the venue to alert shareholders about the escalating issues at their airlines and how these could spell trouble for Amazons growing logistics and delivery business. These challenges were also outlined in a letter to the Amazon Board of Directors from International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall, which called on the company to work with pilots and the union on solutions to these problems.

BACKGROUND

First rolled out in 2015, Amazons Prime Day is a one-day exclusive sales event for Prime members. In 2016, the event generated the highest single-day sales figures for the company surpassing Black Friday and Cyber Monday  with Amazon selling two million toys and 90,000 TVs in a 24-hour period.

In recent years, Amazon has signaled an increased investment in creating and growing its logistics arm. The e-retailer broke out revenues for its logistics operations for the first time in the first quarter of 2017, and earlier this year, the company announced that it will construct a $1.5 billion hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport (CVG) and will partner with German shipping giant Deutsche Post DHL to leverage the shippers existing resources at CVG. Amazon has also inked numerous deals to lease freighter aircraft to build out its air cargo fleet and is rumored to be in discussions to purchase as many as 400 new Boeing 767s. The company has also secured warrants to purchase substantial equity in AAWW and ATSG, driving speculation among some analysts that the tech giant may consider acquiring its cargo contractors in the near future.

At the same time, growing issues bubbling beneath the surface at Amazons cargo contractors and across the logistics industry threaten to derail the success of Prime Air. Carriers of all types are facing a nationwide pilot shortage that could leave airlines scrambling to replace tens of thousands of pilots expected to retire in the coming years.

Simultaneously, extensive delays in union contract negotiations and years of substandard pay continue to fuel problems at Prime Airs contractors, including staffing, attrition and recruitment issues at AAWW. In a recent survey of Atlas pilots, 65 percent of surveyed pilots said they were planning to apply to another airline in the coming year. Many are looking to FedEx and UPS, major delivery companies that offer competitive benefit and pay packages, and that Amazon is relying on less and less for its Prime Air business.

Citing contract violations and short-staffing issues, pilots at ATSGs ABX Air went on strike in 2016 at the start of the busy holiday shipping season, creating what Fox Business called a rocky start for Prime Air.

The Airline Professionals Association, Teamsters Local 1224 represents pilots and flight crewmembers from 11 airlines operating across the country.

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New commitment focuses on ending the spiral of poverty through eliminating hunger, driving inclusion and the enablement and empowerment of those in need.

Hamburg  July 6, 2017  At the Global Citizen Festival Hamburg [1] , Mastercard and the World Food Programme (WFP [2] ) will announce a new commitment in their continued vision to reverse the cycle of hunger and poverty. Connecting Mastercards expertise in technology and digital innovation with WFPs work providing vital food assistance and resilience-building programmes to vulnerable communities. 100 Million Meals is a truly global initiative designed to raise significant funds and meals for those in need around the world.

With the mission of creating a world beyond cash and a world beyond hunger, this bold new initiative is Mastercards first global commitment with WFP focused on helping reverse the spiral of poverty  supporting four of the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals [3] ; No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Quality Education and Gender Equality. As part of the commitment Mastercard and WFP have set an aggressive target of fulfilling as many meals as possible within the next twelve months.

Mastercard and WFP have already delivered innovative programmes to help build a world beyond hunger and reverse the cycle of poverty. Our 100 Million Meals initiative strives to meet the needs of some of the most deprived and marginalised citizens across the globe, said Ann Cairns, President, International, Mastercard. By combining Mastercards expertise in technology and payment systems with WFPs work delivering food assistance around the world, we can leverage innovation to help ensure everyone, everywhere, is included. So far, our journey has already helped provide over 17 million meals, but today were stepping up several gears with this ambitious new goal designed to drive greater opportunities and a more inclusive world.

WFPs Executive Director, David Beasley, said that over the years of the partnership, Mastercard has helped the organisation change the way it does business, reaching more people with a more efficient and agile approach. Mastercards work toward ending hunger is an inspiring example of how the private sector plays a vital role in social good, he said. Their new commitment to 100 million school meals is the next phase of an already very successful journey with WFP to reach Zero Hunger. This contribution to saving lives, changing lives and feeding dreams for kids is truly priceless.

The initiative, which will provide support equivalent to 100 million meals, will be met by boosting the existing collaboration with WFP, focusing on two clear areas; leveraging expertise and giving campaigns.

Leveraging Expertise:

Digital Food: In communities where food markets are stable but people are vulnerable and require food assistance, WFP is increasingly using cash and vouchers instead of traditional food distribution, which can save time and money and also support local economies

In 2012, Mastercard helped WFP set up a pioneering system to provide pre-paid cards for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan. Since that time, 2.2 million Syrian refugees have used these cards to purchase food in local stores, empowering them to choose food for their families.

Cost Benefit of School Meals: During 2016, 18 Mastercard employees undertook temporary assignments in WFP country offices. Their analytical expertise optimized research that has shown that every dollar invested in school meals brings an average economic return of US$6 in the form of improved health and education for schoolchildren

Giving Campaigns:

At the heart of integrated giving is the Priceless Causes donation platform, which facilitates contributions to WFP through card-based micro-donations. This partnership leverages Mastercards payment mechanisms to support a humanitarian cause and provides an opportunity to engage Mastercards network of partners, including consumers, to drive a community for change.

Making giving part of everyday life, Mastercard and its partners have helped raise funds to provide over 17 million school meals to children around the world. Over 70 cause-related marketing campaigns in 17 countries across Europe have given cardholders the opportunity to come together and make a cumulative difference one transaction at a time. Through 2017 the partnership plans to take best practices from Europe and expand globally.

Highlights include:

Asia: This year, Mastercard has supported WFPs flood relief efforts in Sri Lanka to provide food to 75,000 of the most vulnerable people in temporary government shelters. Mastercard has in the past contributed to WFPs disaster relief efforts in Nepal, following the devastating earthquake in April 2015, and in the Philippines in 2013 and 2014 after Typhoon Haiyan and Typhoon Hagupit struck the country.

This year, Mastercard has supported WFPs flood relief efforts in Sri Lanka to provide food to 75,000 of the most vulnerable people in temporary government shelters. Mastercard has in the past contributed to WFPs disaster relief efforts in Nepal, following the devastating earthquake in April 2015, and in the Philippines in 2013 and 2014 after Typhoon Haiyan and Typhoon Hagupit struck the country. Central Eastern Europe (11 country campaigns):

The largest campaign under the partnership has been running since 2015, with Mastercard donating for each card usage throughout 11 countries. To date 7.5 million nutritious school meals have been provided for school children in Rwanda

UK: The first of its kind in the UK, this campaign saw Mastercard link up with Virgin Money to help raise funds equal to over 250,000 school meals in Mali

The first of its kind in the UK, this campaign saw Mastercard link up with Virgin Money to help raise funds equal to over 250,000 school meals in Mali Belgium: In 2016 Mastercard donated 775,000 school meals through a Cross Border usage campaign in collaboration with Buyway Personal Finance

In 2016 Mastercard donated 775,000 school meals through a Cross Border usage campaign in collaboration with Buyway Personal Finance German supermarkets and restaurants raised 336,000 in May and June 2013, by donating one school meal for every transaction and Facebook like

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the worlds fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities  such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances  easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

About WFP

WFP is the worlds largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries. Follow us on Twitter @wfp_media and @wfp_mena

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Payroc Enhances iTransact Payment Gateway and PayFac Program

TINLEY PARK, Ill.(BUSINESS WIRE)Payroc LLC, a leading merchant services and payment processing organization, today announced enhancements to its iTransact payment gateway and payment facilitator (PayFac) program. Referral partners, independent software vendors (ISVs), digital marketplaces, banks and credit unions servicing small business clients and merchants all benefit from greater payments security, connectivity, flexibility, simplicity and visibility:

New application programming interface (API) enables developers to connect with little to no effort

Tokenization safeguards sensitive data during processing and storage, making it useless to hackers

Secure vault storage allows merchants to remotely store customer payment types on file, substantially reducing Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) scope

Auto-populating Level II corporate card data during processing optimizes interchange qualification

White-label logo and color scheme capabilities present a cohesive brand experience

Payrocs iTransact payment gateway and PayFac program offers integrated payments across multiple payment methods and commerce channels, including credit card, eCheck, ACH, e-commerce, EMV mobility solutions, virtual terminal, recurring billing, invoicing and more to meet the needs of any business regardless of size or type. Payroc additionally offers online application, instant boarding, and extensive underwriting and risk management tools and expertise, plus a vast array of consolidated reporting capabilities.

Providing exceptional technology, solutions and service is Payrocs top priority, said James Oberman, chief executive officer for Payroc. The enhancements weve made to our iTransact gateway and PayFac program demonstrate this commitment and will help drive businesses forward for all our customers and partners, added Oberman.

These technology enhancements make secure and seamless integrated payment processing a reality, said Jared Poulson, Payrocs chief product and technology officer. This enables our clients to have the best of both worldsthey can stay focused on their core businesses while leaving us to worry about payments and the related risks, added Poulson.

For more information about integrating with Payrocs iTransact platform and PayFac program, please visit our website. Interested parties may also telephone 844-PAYROC4 or inquire via email.

About Payroc LLC

Payroc drives commerce for merchants with anytime, anywhere payment solutions. We serve our merchant clients and referral partners with integrity as trusted advisors and recognized experts in payments, providing transparent pricing clarity and developing personal relationships while delivering exceptional technology. Payroc services and supports more than 10,000 merchants throughout North America, providing stability in payments by safely and securely processing more than $4 billion in annual charge volume.

Leveraging the processing network of Vantiv, one of the largest card processing platforms in the United States, Payroc is a registered independent sales organization (ISO) and payment facilitator of Fifth Third Bank, as well as a registered ISO of Wells Fargo Bank. Formerly known as Retriever of Chicago, Inc., Payroc is headquartered in the Chicagoland area. Its iTransact business unit is located in Farmington, Utah. For more information, please visit payroc.com or telephone 844-PAYROC-4.

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VALLETTA (Reuters) - Maltese lawmakers voted on Wednesday to legalise same-sex marriage on the Roman Catholic Mediterranean island, fulfilling Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's campaign promise to make this the first law brought before parliament in his new term. The law, which drew cross-party support, removes words including as "husband", "wife", "mother" and "father" from the Marriage Act and replaces them with the gender-neutral "spouse", "parent who gave birth" and "parent who did not give birth". Muscat said such wording was needed to avoid categorising any member of society. He rejected accusations that this could spell the end to "Mother's Day" or "Father's Day", saying such suggestions were "laughable". "I think this is an historic vote. It shows that our democracy and our society are maturing ... It is a society where we can all say we are equal," the prime minister told reporters. Muscat won a second term in office on June 3 and had vowed to reinforce his call for equality in society. Once a staunchly conservative nation, Malta has been steadily adopting more progressive legislation in recent years. In 2011, the country voted in a referendum to allow divorce, and in 2014 it approved civil partnerships. Malta was the 24th country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage with Tuesday's vote coming just two weeks after German lawmakers approved a similar measure in June. The opposition Nationalist Party backed the introduction of same-sex marriage, despite fierce criticism from some conservatives, who said it marked a damaging departure from the party's Christian-Democratic principles. "You have pushed the party into a lose-lose situation and it seems many of you cannot even see it," said former finance minister Tonio Fenech, who is no longer a member of parliament. In the end, only one opposition lawmaker voted against the bill, while 66 parliamentarians supported it. There were no abstentions. Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said his party backed the law because society was changing and because it did not alter anything from the civil partnerships law which gave civil partners the same rights as married couples. The Malta Gay Rights Movement celebrated the new law with a party attended by hundreds in a square outside the prime minister's office in the capital, Valletta. (Reporting by Chris Scicluna; Editing by Louise Ireland)
By Andrew Osborn and Olga Sichkar MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Moscow court convicted one of Russia's most flamboyant tycoons, Sergei Polonsky, of fraud on Wednesday, and yet the property developer who symbolised the excess of the oil-fuelled boom times walked away a free man. The presiding judge, who had just sentenced Polonsky to five years in prison in one breath, ordered his release in the next, saying too much time had elapsed since his crime for the sentence to have legal force. Polonsky, 44, staged antics during his career ranging from a hunger strike to eating part of his tie on live TV. However, they failed to endear him with Russians left behind by the boom during President Vladimir Putin's first two terms in office and who are now struggling following a sharp economic slowdown. Vedomosti, a business daily, quoted him as saying in 2008 that anyone who did not have a billion dollars could "fuck off". Polonsky - a former occupant of the Forbes rich list with a fortune of $1.2 billion - disputes the accuracy of the quote. Nevertheless, it went viral as the global financial crisis was about to hit Russia and many ordinary people remember it with bitterness to this day. The conviction, despite his unexpected release, appears to mark the end of an era in Russian business when displays of fabulous riches were common and tycoons were self-made through wheeling and dealing. That has been replaced by a more sober atmosphere where the Kremlin frowns on the flaunting of wealth and only Kremlin-connected tycoons make the biggest fortunes. Polonsky has spent the last five years fighting the fraud allegations and more than two years in pre-trial detention in Moscow. He says his fate is a cautionary tale about the risks of doing business in Russia today. Making money is closely tied up with fickle and often corrupt political connections and business partners routinely betray one another, stealing and cheating their way to huge wealth, he alleged in court. "It's civil war," he told the judge in his final address. "How can we do business if we are destroying one another? The situation is close to catastrophic with the Russian economy." Polonsky's legal problems began in 2012 when state prosecutors accused his firm of stealing more than 5.7 billion roubles (now $94 million) of prepayments for flats in an unfinished Moscow complex it was building. Polonsky indicated in court that state prosecutors had later revised that sum downwards to under 3 billion roubles. The fallen tycoon, who at 1.93 metres (6 feet 4 inches) towers over most people, denied wrongdoing. He said the funds were taken in good faith, that many of the apartments had been delivered, but that the global crisis had made it impossible to hand over others on time. He alleged that business partners, keen to steal his firm, had helped to organise charges against him. They had encouraged scores of buyers who did not get their homes on time to cooperate with investigators, even though he was working with them to try to find a solution, Polonsky said. The judge sided with state prosecutors, however, and only the statute of limitations saved Polonsky from more prison time. FORBES LIST TO JAIL Polonsky, originally from St Petersburg, found success as a young man, thriving in the anarchic 1990s that followed the fall of the Soviet Union. He and a friend started small, buying up unfinished apartments, doing them up, and selling them for a higher price. They soon graduated to entire buildings and built one of the city's early business centres. Polonsky opened an office in Moscow in 2000 but he and his friend later split the business. Polonsky took sole control of the Moscow firm, which he called Mirax Group, and his friend the St Petersburg operation. Mirax flourished, embarking on projects in the United States, Britain, Turkey and Ukraine among others. Back at home, it started building the Federation Tower, billed as the Russian capital's first skyscraper and the tallest building in Europe. In 2008, when Polonsky was 35 years old, Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at $1.2 billion. Mirax was hit hard by the crisis of that same year, when demand for the swish apartments and town houses it specialised in building slumped, leaving the firm overstretched and mired in debt. It struggled to raise fresh capital. In October that year, Polonsky pledged to eat his tie if prices for elite apartments did not rise by a quarter in a year and a half. They didn't and Polonsky stuck to his promise. Mirax staggered on even as creditors called in its debts, securing a loan of almost $400 million from a state lender. Polonsky liquidated the brand and renamed the firm. The crisis affected a residential complex Polonsky had taken on at the request of the Moscow authorities after the company he was working with on the project terminated the contract, citing Mirax's funding problems. Polonsky, in protest, declared the hunger strike and took up round-the-clock residence in a tent on the construction site. In June 2013, the Interior Ministry charged him with embezzlement, saying he had taken 5.78 billion roubles in downpayments from people wanting to buy flats at the site that they never received. The funds had been illegally diverted to other Mirax entities, investigators said. Polonsky, who at the time was in Cambodia where he also had real estate interests, denied wrongdoing. He spent time in a Cambodian prison after being accused of briefly kidnapping six Cambodian sailors in a New Year's Eve celebration gone wrong. In May 2015, he was deported to Moscow. Sporting long hair and a beard outside the court on Wednesday, Polonsky told reporters he had "something to say" about the verdict but would be devoting his first seven days of freedom to his wife. When asked what his wider plans were, he replied: "To turn the world upside down." ($1 = 60.6128 roubles) (Editing by David Stamp)
The United Nations on Wednesday urged Singapore to halt the execution of a Malaysian drug trafficker, saying it should not go ahead while an appeal was pending in his home country. Prabagaran Srivijayan was sentenced to death in 2012 for trafficking 22.24 grams (0.8 ounces) of heroin, but has consistently maintained his innocence. He is expected to be hanged Friday, according to the UN's human rights body which cited family members. Trafficking certain volumes of illegal drugs carries the mandatory death penalty in Singapore, unless certain conditions are met for it to be commuted to a life sentence. The UN rights body's Southeast Asia office "calls on the Singaporean government to halt the imminent execution of Malaysian national Prabagaran Srivijayan for a drugs-related offence, and urges the government to immediately instate a moratorium on the use of the death penalty", it said in a statement. "We are gravely concerned that the execution will proceed despite a pending appeal," the statement said. Prabagaran's lawyers have filed a case in Malaysia where the Court of Appeal is considering an application to refer Singapore to the International Court of Justice over concerns about the trial, according to activists. His legal team has also raised concerns about the fairness of his trial. Amnesty International said this included the alleged failure of the authorities "to follow up leads and call on key witnesses that would corroborate his version of events". James Gomez, Amnesty International's Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, added: "The Singaporean authorities must immediately halt his execution before another person suffers this inhumane and irreversible punishment." Both Malaysia and Singapore execute murderers and drug traffickers by hanging, a system which dates back to British colonial rule. Singapore, however, has consistently maintained that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime and has rejected calls to abolish capital punishment. The city-state last November hanged two foreigners -- a Malaysian and a Nigerian -- for drug trafficking after their last-minute appeals were rejected. Singapore hosts thousands of multinational corporations, many of which have made the city their regional headquarters because of its reputation for safety and incorruptibility.
The Vans Shop Riot 2017 French Qualifiers saw a change of format from the usual, with shops taking to the streets of Lyon to film a 90 second edit over 24hrs. Scroll down past the press release below to see each edit, covering a wide array of the citys many spots!

This past weekend Vans Shop Series 2017 headed to Lyon, France with a new twist to the qualifier. For the first time in its 9-year history France took the competition straight to the streets in a brand-new format.

So, with a team comprising of 3 skaters and 1 filmer, the 15 strong shops had 24 hours to film and edit a 90 second video clip. On a day that saw temperatures reach a cool 37 degrees locals Wallstreet set the benchmark with an explosive session in the famous Hotel De Ville, local ripper Quentin Boillon even deciding to drop in from the Louis Pradel statue down into a tiny quarter.

All the participating shops took to the new format with ease, ABS, Nozbone, Side Shore and ABS Annecy in particular, all ripping across the various street spots throughout the city.

With all the video parts analysed by the judges it was A La Bonne Planchette who took the top prize and therefore winning a golden ticket to the finals in Milan, Italy. However, tricks that will be remembered for a long time on the streets of Lyon included, a shove it nosegrind at gorge de loup by Joseph Biais, Nozbone, a nose wheelie to nollie heel and fs crooked nollie inward heel out at the Sucriere by Side Shore, plus a cab on the small place gap by ABS Annecy.

A special mention must go to Loris Baccileri (Shifty Skateshop) for his FS Smith down the Valmy rail, winning him the Nixon Best Trick competition.

Results:

A La Bonne Planchette ABS Skateshop Wallstreet

Best Trick Winner:

Loris Baccilleri (Shifty Skateshop)  Back Smith on the Gnarliest rail in Lyon
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Chimera Investment Corporation operates as an internally-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. The company was incorporated in 2007 with the purpose of investing in mortgage loans, asset securitization, and mortgage-backed securities.

Chimere Investment Corporation is based in New York, New York, trades on the New York Stock Exchange, and works to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns via dividends and capital preservation. As of late 2022, the company had more than $3 billion in capitalization including common and preferred stock, and had paid more than $5.8 billion in dividends.

The company has elected to be taxed as a REIT which is a tax-sheltered vehicle for real estate investment. As such, the company must invest at least 75% of its assets in real estate and return 90% of its taxable income to shareholders in the form of dividends. The only drawback is that shareholders are responsible for income taxes on the earnings.

The companys strategy is to invest in a portfolio of mortgage assets, including residential mortgage loans, agency, and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities, and agency commercial mortgage-backed securities. Income is generated by the net spread between the income earned on investments and the costs of financing.

Chimera Investment Corporation finances its operations through secured pools of residential and commercial mortgage loans and by leveraging other real estate-related securities as well. The strategy not only provides a stable source of financing but also provides the flexibility to enhance returns or mitigate risk as necessary.

One risk of Chimera Investment Corporation is its exposure to US credit risk retention rules. These rules limit the companys ability to sell or hedge a large portion of its RMBS portfolio which means it may have to hold some assets it would otherwise sell. In regard to portfolio diversification, RMBS historically make up about 11% of the portfolio while securitized loans comprise 80% to 90% of total holdings.

Chimera Investment Corporation investors may participate in a share repurchase plan as well. Investors of Record can participate directly in the plan while Beneficial Owners may request their shares be transferred to the agent of record and become Investors of Record.
Varian Medical Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services medical devices and software products for treating cancer and other medical conditions worldwide. It operates through Oncology Systems and Proton Solutions segments. The Oncology Systems segment offers hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, fixed field intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, artificial intelligence based adaptive radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, as well as quality assurance equipment. Its products include linear accelerators, brachytherapy afterloaders, treatment accessories, and quality assurance software; and information management, treatment planning, image processing, clinical knowledge exchange, patient care management, decision-making support, and practice management software. This segment serves university research and community hospitals, private and governmental institutions, healthcare agencies, physicians' offices, medical oncology practices, radiotherapy centers, and cancer care clinics. The Proton Solutions segment designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services products and systems for delivering proton therapy for the treatment of cancer. The company has a strategic agreement with McKesson Corp. to supply treatment delivery systems and planning, services, and radiotherapy information system solutions to its U.S. Oncology Network and Vantage Oncology affiliated sites of care; and a strategic partnership with Siemens AG to represent Siemens diagnostic imaging products to radiation oncology clinics in the United States and other select markets. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. was formerly known as Varian Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Varian Medical Systems, Inc. in April 1999. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
By Jane Chung SEOUL (Reuters) - A decision by South Korea's new president to scrap plans for more domestic nuclear power plants will make it harder for the country to sell reactors to buyers overseas, experts warn. State-run Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) is building the first of four nuclear plants in the United Arab Emirates in an $18.6 billion deal, and is scouting for more business in Britain and other countries. But many nuclear experts doubt South Korea's ability to export a technology it is ditching at home after President Moon Jae-in, who took office in May, said he would scrap plans to build new domestic reactors. South Korea is the world's fifth-biggest user of nuclear energy and KEPCO, which has built more than 20 reactors at home, vies with the likes of France's EDF and Toshiba's <6502.T> Westinghouse unit in the niche but fiercely competitive nuclear export market. "Exporting nuclear is an international competition, and Korea will look like a child fighting alone to win a game while others have support from a whole family," said Chung Bum-jin, a nuclear engineering professor at South Korea's Kyung Hee University. The complexity of nuclear installations meant companies could not rely on past experience for building reactors, said Roh Dongseok, a senior nuclear power policy research fellow at the Korea Energy Economics Institute "You also need a proven record to revise and upgrade nuclear design. Even if there's a slight change in nuclear design, it is considered as new technology and skills," he said. Suppliers in Korea, who often produced only small quantities of components, could also face difficulties without the support of a domestic industry, added Chung. KEPCO's international nuclear project team is working to keep its export business alive. "We are focussing on the UK market, but also on Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Iran," said Jong-hyuck Park, chief nuclear officer at KEPCO at a recent industry event in London. KEPCO is also in talks with Japan's Toshiba to buy a stake in Britain's NuGen nuclear project, aiming to use its own reactor design. "The company (KEPCO) aims to finish the due diligence process by August or September.... and it will take more time to look into South Africa," said a source with direct knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to media. NuGen, planned for Moorside in northwest England, was thrown into doubt after Westinghouse declared bankruptcy and its partner in the project, France's Engie , pulled out. A KEPCO spokesman said the company is awaiting government guidelines on nuclear exports. The government's nominee as energy minister has yet to take up the post and it is not yet clear when the government will specify plans for the industry. "If the South Korean government and industry show a commitment to its exports, it can have a viable and successful nuclear export programme to build on its UAE success," said George Borovas, global head of nuclear at law firm Shearman & Sterling. (Reporting By Jane Chung; Additional reporting by Susanna Twidale in LONDON and Aaron Sheldrick and Osamu Tsukimori in TOKYO; Editing by Henning Gloystein and Richard Pullin)
* Tesco (Frankfurt: 852647 - news) /Booker deal referred to phase 2 investigation

* Companies had asked CMA to "fast track" process

* CMA has identified some competition concerns

* CMA will publish final report before Christmas (Adds Booker, analyst comment, updates shares)

By James Davey

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator has referred supermarket Tesco's proposed 3.7 billion pound ($4.75 billion) takeover of wholesaler Booker for a detailed investigation, granting a request from the companies to "fast track" the process.

Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, and Booker announced the cash and shares deal in January and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) formally started a phase 1 review in May.

Last month, Tesco and Booker asked the CMA to move swiftly to a more in-depth phase 2 examination.

The CMA said on Wednesday it believed that in over 350 local areas where there was currently an overlap between Tesco shops and Booker-supplied independent grocery retailers, or so-called "symbol" stores, shoppers could face worse terms when buying products.

It said there were concerns that if the deal was cleared there was potential for Booker to reduce the wholesale services or terms it offers the stores it currently supplies, in order to drive customers to their local Tesco.

The figure of 350 areas under scrutiny was lower than initially speculated by analysts and media when the deal was announced.

Analysts at HSBC noted that previous reviews by the CMA, such as of Booker's purchase of Irish retail and wholesaler Musgraves in 2015, suggested that barriers to switching by symbol groups to alternative wholesalers were low.

"This offers some hope that once an in-depth review is carried out, remedies (required by the CMA) may be even lower than the initial 350," they said. HSBC has a "buy" stance on Tesco.

Booker supplies services to over 5,000 symbol stores, operating under the Premier (BSE: 500540.BO - news) , Londis, Budgens and Family Shopper brands.

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It also supplies restaurants such as Wagamama and Carluccio's and operates the Makro cash and carry business.

Tesco runs more than 3,000 stores across Britain.

The CMA said other concerns were raised and considered in the initial probe, but it had not found it necessary to conclude on all of these given the referral.

The regulator will now assess whether the deal could reduce competition by conducting further research and analysis as well as seeking views and evidence from all those potentially affected by the deal.

The CMA's in-depth phase 2 investigation lasts 24 weeks. Its final report will be published before Christmas, following an earlier provisional findings report.

The transaction will be cleared if the phase 2 inquiry does not find it will reduce competition. If competition is seen to be affected, the CMA can either seek remedies or block the deal.

Tesco sees the deal as a new source of growth given Booker's role as a major distributor to the catering industry.

Some Tesco shareholders have criticised the transaction, saying it was overpaying and a distraction from its turnaround plan.

Tesco and Booker said they were pleased the CMA had accepted their fast track request.

"This merger has always been about growth, and we remain convinced that it will bring benefits for consumers, independent retailers, caterers, small businesses, suppliers and colleagues," a Tesco spokesman said.

"We look forward to continuing our constructive engagement with the CMA," added a Booker spokeswoman.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Tesco were down 0.2 percent at 171 pence at 1137 GMT, while Booker shares were down 0.5 percent at 189 pence. ($1 = 0.7797 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton, Jane Merriman and David Evans)
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's President Mauricio Macri blamed Congress on Wednesday for lack of progress on a corruption investigation involving Brazil's Odebrecht SA that has roiled Latin America in recent months. His government banned the company from bidding on new public works projects for a year in a measure published in the official gazette last Friday, but Macri said on Wednesday the company would be welcome to get back to work if Congress passed a law that would enable his government to negotiate a leniency deal. "In Brazil they continue to operate and they could keep working here in the future but first we need to know what happened in the past and we are stuck due to lack of a legal instrument," Macri told reporters. His government proposed a bill that would allow companies to be punished for corruption and also enable them to sign leniency agreements in exchange for collaborating with prosecutors that was passed by the lower house on July 5. But Macri said a key clause allowing leniency agreements had been removed. "For some reason (lawmakers) prefer that Odebrecht does not talk," Macri said. The proposal could be further amended before it is voted on in the Senate. In December, Odebrecht and petrochemical subsidiary Braskem SA settled with Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss authorities for a record fine of $3.5 billion (2.7 billion). In that settlement, Odebrecht admitted to bribing officials in 12 countries, including $35 million in Argentina between 2007 and 2014. It is now trying to settle with the other countries it admitted to paying bribes in, and prosecutors across Latin America initially vowed quick action. In Peru, a lack of convictions so far related to the $29 million in bribes that Odebrecht acknowledged paying in the Andean country has also stirred concerns that local investigations have stalled. However, Peruvian prosecutors who signed a collaboration agreement with Odebrecht have cited testimony from the company's former executives in criminal cases involving two former presidents. (Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Additional reporting by Mitra Taj in Lima; Editing by Bernard Orr)
How often have you thought that somebody talks just like an accountant, or a lawyer, or a teacher? In the case of artists, this goes a long way back. Artists have long been seen as unusual  people with a different way of perceiving reality. Famously, the French architect Le Corbusier argued in 1946 that painters, sculptors and architects are equipped with a feeling of space in a very fundamental sense.

Artists have to think about reality in different ways to other people every day in their jobs. Painters have to create an imaginary 3D image on a 2D plane, performing a certain magic. Sculptors turn a block of marble into something almost living. Architects can design buildings that would seem impossible.

Think of Edgar Muellers famous street art. Or Michaelangelos Pieta. Or Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater, which seems to defy physics. All of these people are (or were) experts in rearranging the spatial relationships in their environment, each in their own way. This is a necessary skill for anyone who takes up these crafts as a profession. How could this not affect the ways in which they think  and talk  about space?

Our recent study, a collaboration of UCL and Bangor University, set out to test this. Do architects, painters, and sculptors conceive of spaces in different ways from other people and from each other? The answer is: yes, they do  in a range of quite subtle ways.

Painters, sculptors, architects (all spatial professionals with at least eight years of experience) and a group of people in unrelated (non-spatial) professions took part in the study. There were 16 people in each professional group, with similar age range and equal gender distribution. They were shown a Google Street view image, a painting of St Peters Basilica in the Vatican and a computer-generated surreal scene.

Stanislav Traykov via WIkimedia Commons

For each picture, they were given a few tasks that made them think about the spatial scene in certain ways: they were asked to describe the environment, explain how they would explore the space shown and suggest changes to it in the image. This picture-based task was chosen because of its simplicity  it doesnt take an expert to describe a picture or to imagine exploring or changing it.

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From the answers, we categorised elements of the responses for both qualitative and quantitative analyses using a new technique called Cognitive Discourse Analysis with the aim of highlighting aspects of thought that underlie linguistic choices beyond what speakers are consciously aware of. We made a short film about the research which you can watch below.

Telltale language

Our analysis led to the identification of consistent patterns in the language used for talking about the pictures that were revealing. Painters, sculptors and architects all gave more elaborate, detailed descriptions than the others.

Painters were more likely to describe the depicted space as a 2D image and said things like: Its obvious the image wants you to follow the boat off onto the horizon. They tended to shift between describing the scene as a 3D space or as a 2D image. By contrast, architects were more likely to describe barriers and boundaries of the space  as in: There are voids within walls which become spaces in their own right. Sculptors responses were between the two  they were somewhat like architects except for one measure: with respect to the bounded descriptions of space, they appeared more like painters.

Painters and architects also differed in how they described the furthest point of the space, as painters called it the back and architects called it the end. The non-spatial group rarely used either one of these terms  instead they referred to the same location by using other common spatial terms such as centre or bottom or there. All of this had nothing to do with expert language or register  obviously people can talk in detail about their profession. But our study reflected the way they think about spatial relationships in a task that did not require their expertise.

The non-spatial group did not experience any problems with the task  but their language seemed less systematic and less rich than that of the three spatial professional groups.

Thinking and talking like a professional

Our career may well change the way we think, in somewhat unexpected ways. In the late 1930s, American linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf suggested that the language we speak affects the way we think  and this triggered extensive research into how culture changes cognition. Our study goes a step further  it shows that even within the same culture, people of different professions differ in how they appreciate the world.

Iam architect via Wikipedia Commons , CC BY-SA

The findings also raise the possibility that people who are already inclined to see the world as a 2D image, or who focus on the borders of a space, may be more inclined to pursue painting or architecture. This also makes sense  perhaps we develop our thinking in a particular way, for whatever reasons, and this paves our way towards a particular profession. Perhaps architects, painters and sculptors already talked in their own fashion about spatial relationships, before they starting their careers.

This remains to be looked at in detail. But its clear from our study that artists and architects have a heightened awareness of their surroundings which is reflected in the way they talk about spatial environments. So next time you are at dinner with an architect, painter, or sculptor, show them a photograph of a landscape and get them to describe it  and see if you can spot the telltale signs of their profession slipping out.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Thora Tenbrink's research was carried out with Claudia Cialone and Hugo Spiers.
Irish sports fans

Charles Platiau/Reuters

LONDON  Major banks, insurers, and other financial services firms are favouring Dublin ahead of other EU hubs for post-Brexit relocation, a report from professional services giant EY says.

EY's UK Attractiveness for Financial Services Investors report, released on Monday, shows that of the 222 financial services companies it monitors, 59 have so far made statements about moving some staff or establishing a new entity within the EU after Brexit.

19 have mentioned moving to Dublin, or Ireland more generally, making it the most popular relocation location. Frankfurt is a close second, with 18 mentioning Frankfurt or Germany.

Barclays, the oldest of Britain's big four high street banks, is among the banks looking to move operations to Dublin. It was reported in January that the bank will set up its post-Brexit EU HQ in the city. JPMorgan has also bought office space there.

The tiny, landlocked state of Luxembourg  known for the number of major corporations that have tax bases there  is third with 11 mentions. Paris, which has lobbied hard to attract banks, was fourth.

"The variety of locations being announced highlights that no one European centre is emerging as a compelling alternative to London," Omar Ali, EYs UK Financial Services Leader said, according to a Financial Times report.

The number of banks announcing or discussing plans is expected to rise in coming weeks, especially after comments last week from Sabine Lautenschlager, the vice chair of the Frankfurt-based Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM)  which oversees the financial stability of euro zone banks.

In an interview with the FT, Lautenschlager effectively told banks to hurry up and decide what they're going to do.

"My message [to middle-sized banks] would be very clear: speed up. Make up your mind and contact us early so that we can have a discussion about your plans, about the expectations on both sides," she said.

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Hubertus Vath, managing director of Frankfurt Main Finance, told Business Insider the city is "confident" about winning euro clearing business from London post-Brexit.

A deadline set by the Financial Conduct Authority for banks to present their contingency plans is also approaching rapidly, with plans set to be presented by the end of July at the latest.

So far, just a handful of banks and insurers have announced formal plans to move staff and operations away from London as a result of the expected loss of the UK's financial passporting rights.

Three Japanese lenders, Daiwa, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, and Nomura, have all confirmed in the last couple of weeks that they will set up new post-Brexit bases in Germany's financial hub, Frankfurt.

Banks are shifting operations ostensibly to deal with the loss of passporting, which is tied to single market membership.

The passport is essentially an agreement that allows banks with a base in the UK to access customers and financial markets in the (currently) 28-nation EU trading bloc. It includes a system of common financial rules that all countries in the passport network sign up to.

It means a US or Japanese bank can set up a subsidiary in London and from there operate branches on the continent. If the UK loses the passport, those branches won't be tethered to a country in the EU single market and therefore be unable to carry out the range of services they might want to.

NOW WATCH: The bizarre and controversial 'Flintstones House' reportedly sold for $2.8 million

See Also:

SEE ALSO: 'Time is running out' for banks to shift staff out of London before Brexit

DON'T MISS: Frankfurt is confident in the arguments for poaching Britain's 930 billion euro clearing industry after Brexit
By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - Ships carrying personnel for China's first overseas military base, in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, have set sail to begin setting up the facility, as China's rapidly modernising military extends its global reach. Djibouti's position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worry in India that it would become another of China's "string of pearls" of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. China began construction of a logistics base in Djibouti last year. It will be used to resupply navy ships taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular. It will be China's first overseas naval base, though Beijing officially describes it as a logistics facility. State news agency Xinhua said late on Tuesday the ships had departed from Zhanjiang in southern China "to set up a support base in Djibouti". Navy commander Shen Jinlong "read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti", but the news agency did not say when the base would begin operations. Xinhua said the establishment of the base was a decision made by the two countries after "friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides". "The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia," it said. "The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways," Xinhua said. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing the base would enable China to make "new and greater contributions" to peace in Africa and the world and would benefit Djibouti's economic development. Djibouti, which is about the size of Wales, is at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal. The tiny, barren nation sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts U.S., Japanese and French bases. 'NOT MILITARY EXPANSIONISM' The People's Liberation Army Daily said in a front-page commentary the facility was a landmark that would increase China's ability to ensure global peace, especially because it had so many U.N. peacekeepers in Africa and was so involved in anti-piracy patrols. China would not seek military expansionism or get into arms races no matter what happened, the newspaper said. "These promises will not change because of the construction of the overseas logistics base," it said. The state-run Global Times said in an editorial there could be no mistake that this was in fact a military base. "Certainly this is the People's Liberation Army's first overseas base and we will base troops there. It's not a commercial resupply point. It makes sense there is attention on this from foreign public opinion," said the paper, which is published by the official People's Daily. China's military development was about protecting its own security, it said. "It's not about seeking to control the world." There has been persistent speculation in diplomatic circles that China would build other such bases, in Pakistan for example, but the government has dismissed this. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)
By Hassan Abdullah ARSAL, Lebanon (Reuters) - A convoy of refugees began leaving the Lebanese border region for Syria on Wednesday, a security source said, the second group to return under an agreement brokered by the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah. The Lebanese army escorted around 250 people out of the border town of Arsal. The refugees headed for the Syrian town of Asal al-Ward across the border, northeast of Damascus. A military media unit run by Damascus ally Hezbollah said the buses carried 60 families. An estimated 60,000 refugees are in Arsal. It was the second batch of people to leave for their hometown across the border Arsal under the agreement, which Hezbollah arranged in indirect talks with the Syrian rebel group Saraya Ahl al-Sham, said an official in the alliance fighting in support of the Damascus government. Hezbollah also coordinated with the Lebanese military and with the Syrian government separately, securing crossings for refugees who want to leave, the official said. Several refugees told a Reuters photographer before a checkpoint manned by Hezbollah fighters they were eager to go back to their hometown after several years in squalid, makeshift camps in the border town of Arsal. "It's been three years and we haven't seen our families and relatives, said Abeer Mahmoud al Haj, in a van with her family members around her. "May God return everyone to his country, there is no better than Syria," Since early in the Syrian conflict, Hezbollah has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, along with Iran and Russia, sending thousands of men to fight the mostly Sunni Syrian rebels. The U.N. refugee body said it was not involved in the deal. A spokeswoman said it was not encouraging large-scale return of refugees to a country where conflict is still raging. "The UNHCR is not at a stage where it's promoting return because the conditions are not conducive," Dana Sleiman said. Two refugees in Arsal who refused to give their names said many in the camps were unwilling to return because of fears their young men would be drafted into the army. Many had also lost their livelihoods and their villages had been ransacked. "RECONCILIATION DEALS" More than 1 million registered Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon, now making up a quarter of its population, the United Nations refugee agency says. The number is widely put at closer to 1.5 million. They are scattered across Lebanon, mostly in makeshift camps and often in severe poverty, and face the risk of arrest because of restrictions on legal residence and work. The group of refugees returned on Wednesday as part of a local deal, not a broader agreement. Politicians are deeply divided over whether Lebanon should work directly with the Syrian government over the return of refugees, which Hezbollah and its allies advocate. Others, including Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, are strongly opposed, questioning the safety of the refugees once they return. Hariri has called for secure areas to be set up on the Syrian side of the border to which refugees could voluntarily return under United Nations supervision. In a televised speech on Tuesday, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned that time was running out for Syrian militants along the border near Arsal to reach deals with Syrian authorities. "It's high time to end the threat of militant groups in Arsal and little time is left to reach certain reconciliation deals," Nasrallah said. "There are terrorists and planners of attacks in Arsal and this needs a solution." Nasrallah praised the security campaign the Lebanese army has been waging in recent weeks against suspected militants. The Lebanese army says it regularly stages operations in the hills near the northeastern border against Islamic State and militants formerly linked to al Qaeda. In late June, authorities arrested several hundred people in raids on Syrian refugee camps in Arsal. A Lebanese military prosecutor has ordered forensic examinations on the bodies of four of them who died in army custody, after rights groups called for an investigation. (Additional reporting by Laila Bassam and Suleiman al Khalidi in Beirut; writing by Ellen Francis; editing by Andrew Roche)
South Korea has released what it believes to be the first known footage of wartime sex slaves forced to serve the Japanese military.

Footage provided by Seoul City and Seoul National Universitys Human Rights Center on July 5 shows a group of women standing in a line and talking to a soldier. Professor Kang Sung-hyun, who took part in the research, said in a press conference in Seoul that the womens appearance and that they were bare feet mean they were likely slaves.

The 18-second clip was filmed by American troops in Chinas Yunnan province in 1944, and was found in the US National Archives by researchers from the Seoul National University, BBC and The Washington Post reported. Photographs featuring the same group of women were released in 2000 and Park Young-shim, a former sex slave who died in 2006, identified herself in the pictures, The Korea Herald reported.

The footage is said to be the first moving picture that shows Japans trafficking of Asian women, according to the Human Rights Center. Professor Kang said it would strengthen the admissibility of evidence behind wartime sex slavery.

At least 200,000 women from China, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines were forced to become sex slaves for the Japanese military during the World War II. Japan surrendered in 1945 after the US detonated atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Credit: Seoul City and Seoul National University Human Rights Center via Storyful
WWE has always been excellent at video packages and detailed documentaries, with their DVD's always being of excellent quality. Which is why when the WWE Network was created, fans became very excited about the potential of the original content the company would be producing and whilst it hasn't all been a smash hit, the WWE 24 series has been nothing short of excellent.

With previous 24's looking at Daniel Bryan's retirement, Finn Balor's return to action and the Monday's Night Raw's after WrestleMania, they are spread out so that when one is released it is treated as a big deal and this week saw the latest instalment drop. Focusing on the return of Kurt Angle to the company, the 24 followed Angle's journey into WrestleMania weekend, whilst reflecting back upon his career and encompassing all the highs and lows that came with it.

Reuniting with the boss

The first major talking point from the documentary was Kurt Angle's first meeting with Vince McMahon, something that drew raw emotion from the Olympic Gold medalist and the WWE Chairman himself. It was clear that Angle was nervous heading into the meeting, something he admitted to on camera, but those nerves were calmed with quick chats from both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

WWE's camera crew caught the moment that the two men reunited and embraced in a warm hug that showed the past was exactly that and it was great to see. It gave fans a truly unique look into the behind the scenes aspect of the business and Vince McMahon himself, although he quickly brought his image back when he kicked the camera crew out of the office so they could talk in private.

Angle's emotion continued after the meeting when the cameras caught back up with him as he broke down and cried about the fact he had been welcomed back by someone who was a father figure to him. The relationship between the two men was a key story throughout and it is evident that it means a lot to both of them.

Angle caught up with old friends. Photo-TJRWrestling.com

Reflecting on the past

The program did a great job at blending Angle's original WWE run with today's events and whilst it certainly looked at the tremendous success he had in the ring, especially the way he developed so quickly, it largely focused on Angle's demise.

His neck breaks were a key topic and it became very clear just how much they affected his life, in general, both inside and out of the ring, with some incredibly emotional moments as Angle retold his story of depending on painkillers and alcohol; an addiction that led his life down a dark path. The role that Kurt's wife played was also told, as she let him know that although she loved him, she and their kids would have to leave him if he continued; which sparked a change.

Angle then attended rehab to get his life back in order and he has been on a journey to where he is now ever since. Hearing Angle say, "I used to be a role model, now I am just a recovering addict," was an eye-opening moment which provided the audience with a real glimpse into Angle's mindset and how his decisions still haunt him to this day.

Never say never

The famous saying in the world of WWE, 'never say never' was certainly true for the latest WWE 24, as the company not only referenced the fact that Angle went away and wrestled for TNA, they even brought in former TNA President Dixie Carter as an interviewee for the program.

Never say never in WWE. Photo- CageSideSeats.com

In a moment that most wrestling fans never saw coming, Carter appeared on the WWE Network and it just goes to show how much WWE's mindset has changed, but also how much they respect Angle and wanted to tell his story in the truest form. Carter came across very well on the show, and it was clear she too cared dearly for Angle and wanting him to focus on himself and his family. It also opens the door for a working relationship between Carter and the company so she can be used for future ideas such as this with other former TNA stars such as AJ Styles or Samoa Joe.

Family theme

Another one of the main themes throughout the program was Angle's love for family and how that has driven him to be the man he is today. With five children he has plenty on his hands, but he stated himself he believes he's a good dad and it's clear from the shots we were shown that his children adore him.

This was clear from the start right up until the very end with Angle's Hall of Fame speech where he made special mentions to his wife and children and now he is back with the company, it is clear he knows the future is in his own hands and that's true, it's damn true.

Overall it was a terrific episode of WWE 24 and was in line with the previous instalments. For those who got to watch Angle in his prime, this will be a refreshing trip down memory lane with even more details added in about the secrets fans never got to hear about, whilst for the newer fans, it will show why Angle is a WWE legend.

It was emotional, it was funny, incredibly heart-warming and was yet another example of why all wrestling fans really should have the WWE Network because exclusive content such as this is absolutely must-see, so if you haven't checked it out then do so.

Rating- 8.5/10
An Iraqi man who has lived in the U.S. for 23 years and who has helped the American military in Iraq and in the U.S. is set for deportation Thursday despite a local outpouring of support for his staying in the country with his American citizen wife and citizen children.

Kadhim Al-bumohammed, 64, who in June was called up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents three months ahead of his annual check-in, was ordered this week to pack a bag and report for removal Thursday morning.

What exactly will happen at the meeting isnt clear, since on Tuesday a Michigan judge, in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, halted all deportations for Iraqis.

For years, Iraq has refused to accept deportees. But in March, Iraq agreed to begin accepting deportees in exchange for being taken off the list of countries on President Trumps travel ban, triggering an ICE roundup of hundreds of Iraqi immigrants they say have criminal records  including Al-bumohammed.

ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok did not respond to question about Al-bumohammeds case, including if he would be detained as the Michigan case proceeds.

Al-bumohammeds attorney, Rebecca Kitson, said she isnt sure if ICE plans on holding Al-bumohammed, but if its agents do hold him, she fears for his health, as he suffers from several serious medical issues.

Hundreds of Albuquerque supporters showed up for Al-bumohammeds June meeting, which ICE canceled, giving hope that maybe his deportation case might be reopened and he might be allowed to stay.

Supporters are also likely to gather for Thursdays meeting.

Taking sanctuary at a church is an option, but Al-bumohammed plans to turn himself in despite the dangers he faces were he to return to the country, his attorney Rebecca Kitson said after the ACLU meeting.

There would be no place that would be safe for him there, she said, noting Al-bumohammed worked for the U.S. military in the first American invasion of Iraq, an act that helped him secure refugee status in the U.S. in 1994. He was quickly granted a green card.

Al-bumohammed also worked for the federal government once he arrived in the U.S. Kitson said he helped teach language and cultural awareness as a contractor on military bases in California, where he first settled. It is there he met his then common-law wife, with whom he had four children. It was there that he was twice convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence charges without serious injury in 1997. He later won sole custody of his four children, Kitson said.

Al-bumohammeds case caught federal attention in 2004 when, federal agents likely renewing his green card found his misdemeanor violations and flagged him for deportation. Al-bumohammed lost three rounds of appeal to stay in the country and was ordered deported in 2010. But Iraq wasnt accepting deportees, so he was allowed to stay as long as he checked-in annually, which Kitson said he has. He was scheduled for his annual check-in in September.
Police have identified a man who they say was shot and killed in southeast Albuquerque during the attempted robbery of another man last Friday.

Officer Fred Duran, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said 36-year-old Jaime Dimas of Albuquerque was shot near San Mateo and Ortiz SE.

He said they have not identified any suspects or made an arrest in the case.

Duran said detectives are looking for a 25-year-old Native American male with long black hair in a ponytail, a Hispanic female with dark complexion and short dark hair, and a white female with long blonde hair who may have information about the case.

Tips: Police ask anyone with information about the case to contact Crime Stoppers at 843-STOP.
SANTA FE  Rio Rancho Public Schools is one of the most successful districts in the state, but Superintendent Sue Cleveland testified Tuesday that she believes poor funding is forcing her administration to dismantle its hard work by dropping programs, increasing class sizes and instituting other cost-cutting measures.

Cleveland was a witness in a landmark lawsuit that claims New Mexico is not meeting a mandate to adequately fund education outlined in the state constitution.

RRPS is a plaintiff in the case  a combination of two similar lawsuits filed in 1st Judicial District Court by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Judge Sarah Singleton will rule after the nine-week trial, which is in its fifth week.

The plaintiffs claim the case is really about opportunity, not just money, because the lack of sufficient funding particularly impacts minorities and special education students.

On the stand, Cleveland repeatedly stressed that RRPS is struggling to pay for interventions to support those groups.

Its getting very difficult to make ends meet, she said.

The district recently cut 41 positions and cant afford to meet the demand for programs like after-school credit recovery or half-day preschool. A successful truancy intervention program is struggling to stay afloat and the K-3 Plus summer program was reduced by about 100 slots.

Bus transportation continues to run a deficit, which the district covers with money straight out of the classroom, Cleveland said.

Textbooks and other instructional materials are also in short supply, she said.

At the same time, teacher recruitment and retention are more difficult than ever, said Cleveland, who noted that fewer college students are majoring in education and veteran teachers are often retiring early. Those who are still in the field can earn better pay in surrounding states.

Special education, math and bilingual-certified teachers are particularly hard to come by.

The states attorney, Jeffrey Wechsler, countered that RRPS is among the top districts in the state, highlighting the graduation rate, strong Advanced Placement enrollment and graduates going on to Ivy League universities.

Wechsler asked the superintendent if RRPS earned its achievements by refusing to make excuses for poor performance.

Cleveland agreed, but said administrators feel like they have gotten to the point where they are dismantling the district.

While state funding has gone up somewhat, Cleveland said fixed costs also have increased and the boost is not enough.

Cleveland said she believes the districts strong academic performance and good fiscal management should give weight to her arguments.

I hope there is some credibility that if we tell you its really hard, it really is, she said.
WASHINGTON  The final tally isnt in yet, but more than a million Americans submitted comments to the U.S. Department of the Interior about plans to review more than two dozen monuments, including two in New Mexico, and possibly reduce their size.

The deadline for submitting comments was midnight Monday. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Tuesday that more than 1.2 million comments were received through the Regulations.gov website and thousands more by traditional mail. Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters, estimated that 2.5 million Americans voiced a position on the monuments review during the comments period.

Whatever the final number, New Mexico Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, both Democrats, said at a press conference Tuesday that they hope Zinke listens to the concerns of those who want the existing monuments preserved.

Thats really the question here: Will the American people be heard as a part of this process? Heinrich said.

In a statement, the interior secretary assured the public that the comments will be taken into account.

These comments, in addition to the extensive on-the-ground tours of monuments and meetings with stakeholders, will help inform my recommendations on the monuments, Zinke said. I appreciate everyone who took the time to log on or write in and participate in our government.

The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument near Las Cruces and the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in northern New Mexico are both on a list of monuments Zinke is reviewing for possible changes. Zinke said last month that he would recommend that President Donald Trump reduce the size of the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

The interior secretary said in early June that he planned to visit New Mexico as part of the review process, but an Interior Department spokeswoman said Tuesday that details of the visit still were not available. The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument is viewed as particularly susceptible to a shrinkage recommendation from Zinke, partly because Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., supports a reduction of the monument, which is in his congressional district. Pearce has said the sprawling designation  more than a half-million acres  hinders economic development and border law enforcement.

Udall, a former New Mexico attorney general, has said that under his interpretation of existing law it would be illegal to reduce the size of national monuments. He said that if either monument in New Mexico were altered under the Trump administration, the matter would wind up in court.

Recess delayed: Congressional staffers hoping to take time off in early August need to rethink their travel plans.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday that the congressional recess in August will be delayed in the Senate for two weeks to allow the chamber to finish work on health care legislation and other priorities. Barring any changes in scheduling, senators should be allowed to head home for their annual recess beginning Aug. 14.

Michael Coleman: mcoleman@abqjournal.com
The Albuquerque Journals Editorial Board recently commented on the problem of domestic violence in New Mexico, based on a recent report issued by the Legislative Finance Committee of the New Mexico Legislature. I would like to respond, correct and clarify.

Editors suggested that the response to domestic violence in New Mexico is fragmented; that is accurate. However, the LFC report did not lay blame for that lack of coordination on domestic violence programs. As in other states, addressing domestic violence effectively requires the entire criminal justice system and other relevant groups to be well funded, well coordinated and educated about the issue.

There are more than 29 domestic violence victim services programs across the state, which share in the general revenue funds appropriated by the Legislature. Some federal funds supplement state funds.

There are 17 funded programs that work with domestic violence offenders, and that funding comes primarily from the imposition of fines; less than $500,000 of general revenue funds supports those 17 offender service programs annually.

There is clear evidence of the effectiveness of domestic violence services to victims and children. Highly regarded academic research, which included New Mexico, shows clearly that the work performed by domestic violence programs leads to reduced violence against victims and their children. Programs promote self-efficacy, safety, stability and hope, among other things, all of which lead directly to positive outcomes that are actually quite clear.

We agree that a broad, concerted effort is needed to address New Mexicos domestic violence problem. But victim services, and programs that help offenders to change, do not operate in a vacuum.

Ending violence requires a coordinated criminal justice system response. Other factors that reduce violence include an informed community that is intolerant of violence, prevention and adequate services to help victims and their children be safe and recover. It is past time for New Mexico to address the scourge of domestic violence in a systematic way and we stand ready to participate fully in that process.
The Journals June 16 editorial makes a valid point: (former FBI Director/special counsel Robert) Mueller should stay within the scope of the investigation  Russian interference. The Journals argument is (former FBI Director James) Comey in testimony stated in previous months President Trump was not under investigation. Expanding it now to include Trump is something unseemly, out of bounds. Casting shade on the Trump Presidency smacks of partisan politics. That was then; this is now.

As we know, Trump fired Comey under the pretext of his handling of the Clinton emails and the disarray in the FBI, this pretext in contravention of Trumps earlier praise regarding the email investigation and later testimony from the acting FBI director endorsing Comeys leadership and support in the FBI. In fact, Trump contradicted his decisional basis in comments to Lester Holt, and then, unbelievably, to the Russians, saying, in so many words, it was the ongoing Russian investigation. The administrations attempt to undermine the congressional investigation (via the House Intelligence Chairman Devin) Nunes affair was obvious. We have also recently learned Trump in conversation with two of his agency heads requested they intervene in the FBI probe. The eventual outcome was the appointment of a special counsel.

Obstruction may or not be true, but its specter permeates the current environment.

The potential of emoluments looms larger. Past loans to Trump from Russian sources is likely; his son said as much a few years ago. His son-in-laws secretive meeting with a Russian bank raises concern. (Jared) Kushner is a government employee in high office affecting national policy. If these emoluments do exist, their pernicious effect on our national security is enormous. In a rare rebuke, the Senate overwhelmingly rejected Trumps desire to ease sanctions on Russia. Why would he ease them? The Russians are still in the Crimea and eastern Ukraine. They demonstrably interfered with our election  an attack on our sovereignty.

Resolving the matter is essential. For Trump, a thorough, credible investigation would strengthen his presidency in the trust it engenders.

Unfortunately, Trump thumbs his nose at convention, the judicial and the legislative. In my view, he sees his presidency as another business acquisition, not as a responsibility he swore to protect and preserve the Constitution and the people it binds together. He and his surrogates, in typical Trumpian fashion, seize upon invective and innuendo to undermine a legitimate, legal investigation into an attack on our nation.

For us in Albuquerque, the question may be why do I care? Simply, New Mexico is part of the great enterprise of the United States. A corruption in governance, small or large, affects our fortunes and security. It is important to let the investigation follow its course, and in so doing affirm to ourselves, our children and theirs we are still a nation of laws committed to preserving our Constitution.
Brig. Gen. Andy Salas, who headed the New Mexico National Guard from July 2012 until Saturday, has left the Guard in good hands with Gov. Susana Martinezs appointment of Brig. Gen. Ken Nava as adjutant general  the formal title of the person who leads the Guards more than 4,000 full- and part-time soldiers and airmen.

Nava, a Santa Fe native and University of New Mexico graduate who joined the Guard in 1988 as a mechanic, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1992 and has moved steadily through the ranks. The 47-year-old has a masters degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College and commanded the 515th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion while deployed to Iraq in 2009.

That academic and real-world training are vital, because as adjutant general, Navas role is highly diverse. Hes the governors senior military adviser and the principal liaison to senior military officials, various state and federal officials, the state Legislature, local governments, and community groups. He also oversees more than $96 million in state and federal funding.

As a reserve military force, National Guard members can be federally mobilized for active duty to supplement regular armed forces during times of war or national emergency and activated for service in their home state upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor.

New Mexico and the nation depend on the Guard to be there in times of need; Navas experience will help ensure that.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Last week, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed an order that has everything to do with efficient government and nothing to do with being pro-extractive industries/anti-environment. Because his vow to follow federal law and process oil and gas drilling permits within the 30-day window is not about where you drill or how you drill or whether or not you drill or how much you will get from consumers if you drill  it is about expecting the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to comply with the law.

Which is admittedly easy for a bureaucracy to demand of others and harder to do itself.

New Mexicos Oil Conservation Division processes applications for permits to drill in 10 days or less. Compare that to BLMs Farmington Field Office, which takes about a year, and BLMs Carlsbad Field Office, which takes about 250 days, according to recent testimony from the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association before a House committee. And while New Mexico approves rights of way in 45 days or less, BLM again takes up to a year. Other BLM permit applications face similar delays, the association says. It estimates delays cost the feds and state around $2.3 million a day.

Now, the goal cannot be to simply ram approvals through with the hope of a big payday at the end, consequences be damned. But neither can the modus operandi be to delay things so egregiously that drillers give up and go away.

The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 states that not only does the secretary need to notify an applicant within 10 days if his/her application is complete or specify what is missing, but that within 30 days the secretary shall issue the permit, or defer decision and specify what the permit needs, or deny it if those requirements are not met within the specified period or the law is not followed. Taxpayers have a right to expect their government to follow the rules just like everyone else, and in this case process applications in the mandated amount of time so everyone involved can either drill or move on. After all, its been the law for 97 years.

The Sierra Club reacted to Zinkes order by saying he and Donald Trump share the same priority: giving Big Oil free rein on our publicly owned lands, whatever the cost to our health and our environment. Whether thats fact, fake news or something in between, the secretary is right to expect BLM to follow federal law. And the public should be able to expect BLM to be at least as efficient as the 47th state in the union.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
With New Mexicos strained budget forcing difficult funding decisions year after year, a familiar question keeps arising: Does the state have too many higher education institutions?

The answer is yes, according to Garrey Carruthers.

The former governor and current chancellor at New Mexico State University  where he oversees the research institution and its four associated branch campuses  Carruthers said even I think we (university) presidents agree on that point.

New Mexico has 31 publicly funded colleges and universities.

But speaking to the business community at Wednesdays Albuquerque Economic Forum breakfast, Carruthers acknowledged that its a thorny problem since all seven of the states four-year schools are written in the Constitution. Changing that requires amending it, and the chancellor earned a hearty laugh when describing a friend in South Dakota who once tried something similar.

He eliminated a two-year college and made it a prison and lost his next race. You want to get a governor right at the end of a term to do it, he said.  I will tell you it would take a lot of political courage to do a lot of work on that and perhaps its time we found somebody with the political courage to do it.

Carruthers highlighted some of the money challenges in his presentation, noting that higher education  which represents about 13 percent of the states total general fund budget  has absorbed 44 percent of the states budget cuts since fiscal year 2016.

He described how New Mexico State has reorganized to achieve better efficiency in the face of the financial challenges. It has reduced management, more closely monitored support staff levels and centralized some financial and information technology operations. NMSU trimmed its budget by $38 million from 2015 to 2017. It has eliminated 727 positions in the past seven years.

But it hasnt been painless.

Staff cuts account for about $20 million of the recurring annual savings, and the repercussions extend beyond the campus.

That $20 million, multiple it by 1.4 or 1.5.  Thats the amount of money youre taking out of the Las Cruces economy, he said.
KALKASKA, Mich.  A local official in northern Michigan refuses to apologize for sharing Facebook posts calling for the killing of every last Muslim and for nuclear weapons to be used on the worlds 10-largest Muslim-majority cities.

Jeff Sieting, the village president in Kalkaska, which is about 230 miles (370 kilometers) northwest of Detroit, said Monday that he doesnt owe anyone an apology over his Facebook posts, the Record-Eagle of Traverse City reported (http://bit.ly/2uaNYKP ).

The posts were discovered by area native Cindy Anderson, who along with others unsuccessfully sought an apology last month. Theyre now looking to remove Sieting from office.

You ran for office to represent all of the people of this community, not just the white, non-Muslim ones, Anderson said to Sieting. You were supposed to represent all of your constituents.

One post Sieting shared said Muslims are destructive and there is simply no place for them in our world. The post also called for using nuclear weapons against the 10 largest Muslim-majority cities, as well as pilgrimage sites.

Sieting said his comments are protected by the First Amendment and that those trying to oust him from office are only doing so because they oppose President Donald Trump.

I dont expect everyone to see things the way I do, he said.

Sieting has also come under fire for a sign on his hotel, Hotel Sieting, that asks citizens to pray for Trump. That dispute began before Sietings Facebook posts were discovered.

Local residents and others who helped create the Facebook group Kalkaska Residents for Peace are determining how to move forward after Sietings refusal to apologize. Anderson said the group of more than 150 people are looking at a potential recall and finding someone to run against him in 2018.

Joyce Golden, a county resident who supports Sieting, said she believes the official has the right to post whatever he wants on his personal Facebook page.

If you dont want to read it, get off of (his Facebook page), she said. From what I do know, you are a very honest, faithful, hardworking man and I thank you for that. I hope you continue and stand your ground for your beliefs. I dont believe he has to represent everybody.

___

Information from: Traverse City Record-Eagle, http://www.record-eagle.com
ALBUQUERQUE  Few companies doing business with New Mexicos executive agencies have actually filed the required reports outlining discrepancies in how they pay men and women in similar jobs, state auditors say.

And among those who do file reports, women generally make far less than their male colleagues  as much as 26 percent less in higher-paying jobs, such as officers and managers, according to the State Auditors Office.

The requirement to file wage gap reports is contained in a 2009 executive order issued by then-Gov. Bill Richardson, auditors said. Companies bidding on contracts issued by cabinet-level state departments are subject to the order, with some exceptions for small vendors with few employees, auditors said.

State Auditor Tim Keller, a Democrat, said his office produced the first review of the information thats been collected since the order went into place.

This data had basically been collecting dust for years, Keller said Wednesday in Albuquerque news conference.  What we found was vast under-compliance and vast under-enforcement.

He faulted Republican Gov. Susana Martinezs administration for failing to make the issue a priority.

Emilee Cantrell, a spokeswoman for the governor, said the state wont tolerate discrimination. Martinez is the first woman to be elected governor of New Mexico.

The best way to help the most vulnerable in our state is to continue to improve education and grow and diversify our economy, Cantrell said in a written statement. Gender discrimination is completely inappropriate and will not be tolerated by the state. The state is an equal opportunity employer and will continue to champion the very diversity our state is known for within state government.

State auditors said its difficult to estimate precisely how many companies should be filing reports, but there are very significant shortcomings in the number of companies actually filing and in the quality of information theyre providing, according to the seven-page report issued by the State Auditors Office.

Fewer than 270 wage-gap reports were filed over a five-year period, Keller said.

In some years, just half a dozen reports appear to have been filed, auditors said.
A Farmington businessman pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to swindling an elderly couple out of $1 million, but faces no more than two years in prison as part of his plea bargain.

Bobby Willis, who appeared at the hearing in a wheelchair and said he was on many medications for a heart ailment, faced up to 20 years in prison.

Hes already serving probation in another fraud case, which was brought in state court.

The once colorful Willis, who had worn two guns on his hips and claimed to talk weekly to then-President Barack Obama, was charged with two counts of wire fraud in the federal case that involved the elderly couple. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled, and U.S. District Judge Christina Armijo will have to approve the plea agreement and set restitution.

In 2010, Willis was recommended as an investment adviser to Theresa and Joe Lee, who wanted to convert their IRA to a Roth IRA. He told the Lees that he was starting a real estate limited liability company that would invest in commercial and residential real estate.

Willis told Lee that she would earn a 20 percent annual return on her investment through a combination of capital appreciation and possible rents, but that the deal required a 30-year commitment.

In his plea agreement, Willis admitted that he and his wife spent the victims money. Willis also admitted that he did not invest the victims money in any real estate and, when the victims inquired about the status of their investment, he had associates falsely assure the victims that their investment had grown in value.

Instead, Willis allegedly used some of the money for personal living expenses. He sent $37,000 to a country music artist company, and another $40,000 went for the purchase of a Ford Explorer for a relative.

Willis has not been in jail; he was ordered released by a federal magistrate into the custody of his ex-wife and ordered not to have any contact with victims or witnesses in the case.

Willis earlier pleaded in a separate state fraud case.

Last year, he was sentenced to five years of supervised probation in that case by state District Judge Louis E. DePauli Jr. after pleading no contest to embezzlement over $20,000 and embezzlement over $2,500.

Willis put in motion a series of frauds when he bought New Mexico Title and Escrow in Farmington and treated it like his personal slush fund, according to state prosecutors.

As part of his state sentence, Willis paid $94,000 in restitution to Damtech Holding Co. and $20,000 in restitution to a limited partnership for taking money from the businesses escrow accounts for his personal use.

Willis attorney, Robert Cooper, has argued that Willis is in extremely poor health, with severe memory problems, and that he needs 24-hour-a-day care.
WASHINGTON  The scope of congressional investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential contest came into sharper focus on Wednesday as lawmakers said they intended to question the former chairman of the Trump campaign and to determine whether Russian social media trolls were connected to Trumps election efforts.

The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to question former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and will subpoena him if necessary, according to the panels Republican chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. He said he and the committees top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein of California, have agreed to try to bring Manafort before the panel for questioning about the governments enforcement of a law requiring registration of foreign lobbyists. Feinsteins office confirmed that they plan to question him.

Manafort would certainly also be asked about his participation in a Trump Tower meeting last June with President Donald Trumps eldest son and son-in-law, where the purpose was to hear potentially damaging information about Hillary Clinton from a Russian lawyer.

Manafort disclosed the meeting in a package of information he provided to the Senate and House intelligence committees, who have been investigating potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, as is Robert Mueller, the former FBI director appointed by the Justice Department as the special counsel.

Obviously it would be appropriate for anybody to get into anything that went on at that meeting, and he was at that meeting, Grassley told Iowa reporters.

A person close to Manafort said that he hasnt yet received a letter from the committee about a possible interview. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Manaforts private interactions with the committee.

Separately, Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said his panel wants to look at the use of Russian social media trolls and whether they were connected to the Trump election campaign. That concern is certainly something we want to explore, along with the Trump campaigns data analytics, Schiff said. Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, oversaw digital strategy for the campaign.

One of the biggest crimes were looking at is the hacking of data, so understanding how it was used certainly needs to be part of the investigation, said Rep. Eric Swalwell, another Democratic member of the committee. We want to understand what data was hacked, where it was stored and if it was weaponized at all, whether it was by Russia or the campaign.

The lawmakers spoke one day after Donald Trump Jr. disclosed on Twitter a series of emails that revealed his eagerness to hear negative material on Clinton from a Russian lawyer.

The exchange showed Trump Jr. conversing with a music publicist who wanted him to meet with a Russian government attorney who supposedly had dirt on Clinton as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. He was told the Russian government had information that could incriminate Clinton and her dealings with Russia.

If its what you say I love it especially later in the summer, Trump Jr. said in one email response.

In an interview before departing Wednesday evening for France, Trump told Reuters that he didnt know about the meeting until a couple of days ago when I heard about this. He also said that he didnt fault his son for attending. I think many people would have held that meeting, he said.

Trump also said in a tweet that his son was open, transparent and innocent and again dismissed the ongoing Russia investigation as the greatest Witch Hunt in political history.

But Trump also refused to dispute an assertion made by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Trump believed him when he said that Russia hadnt meddle in the election during their lengthy meeting in Germany last week.

Look. Something happened and we have to find out what it is, because we cant allow a thing like that to happen to our election process, Trump said. But he added of Putin: Somebody did say if he did do it you wouldnt have found out about it. Which is a very interesting point.

Trump also questioned whether Putin was really gunning for his victory, as U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded.

Its really the one question I wish I would have asked Putin: Were you actually supporting me? Trump said.

The presidents attorney, Jay Sekulow, said in an interview with NBCs Today that Trump Jr. did not violate any laws by accepting the meeting.

Sekulow said the president was not being investigated by Mueller. I would know a little bit about it. Im one of the lawyers, Sekulow told ABCs Good Morning America.

As the emails reverberated across the political world, Trump Jr. defended his actions in an interview with Fox News, blaming the decision to take the meeting on the million miles per hour pace of a presidential campaign and his suspicion that the lawyer might have information about underreported scandals involving Clinton. Trump Jr. said the meeting really went nowhere and that he never told his father about it because there was nothing to tell.

In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently, Trump Jr. said.

Investigations into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign have shadowed the White House for months.

Still Trump remains defiant. There was zero coordination between his campaign and Russia, he told Reuters, adding: Its the dumbest thing Ive ever heard.

___

Associated Press writers David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.
HOUSTON  If the Trump administration gets its way, U.S. citizens boarding international flights will have to submit to a face scan, a plan privacy advocates call a step toward a surveillance state.

The Department of Homeland Security says its the only way to successfully expand a program that tracks nonimmigrant foreigners. They have been required by law since 2004 to submit to biometric identity scans  but to date have only had their fingerprints and photos collected prior to entry.

Now, DHS says its finally ready to implement face scans on departure  aimed mainly at better tracking visa overstays but also at tightening security.

It says it wont keep the face scans of U.S. citizens, but privacy advocates are skeptical and say Homeland Security is overstepping its authority.

Congress authorized scans of foreign nationals. DHS heard that and decided to scan everyone. Thats not how a democracy is supposed to work, said Alvaro Bedoya, executive director of the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown University.

Trials begun under the Obama administration are underway at six U.S. airports  Boston, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Kennedy Airport in New York City and Dulles in the Washington, D.C., area. DHS aims to have high-volume U.S. international airports engaged beginning next year.

During the trials, passengers will be able to opt out. But a DHS assessment of the privacy impact indicates that wont always be the case.

The only way for an individual to ensure he or she is not subject to collection of biometric information when traveling internationally is to refrain from traveling, says the June 12 document on the website of Customs and Border Protection, which runs the DHS program.

John Wagner, the Customs deputy executive assistant commissioner in charge of the program, confirmed in an interview that U.S. citizens departing on international flights will submit to face scans.

Wagner says the agency has no plans to retain the biometric data of U.S. citizens and will delete all scans of them within 14 days. However, he doesnt rule out CBP keeping them in the future after going through the appropriate privacy reviews and approvals.

A CBP spokeswoman, Jennifer Gabris, said the agency has not yet examined whether what would require a law change

Privacy advocates say making the scans mandatory for U.S. citizens pushes the nation toward a Big Brother future of pervasive surveillance where local and state police and federal agencies, and even foreign governments, could leverage citizens collected digital faceprints to track them wherever they go.

Jay Stanley, an American Civil Liberties Union senior policy analyst, says U.S. law enforcement and security agencies already exert sufficient gravitational pulls in wanting to record and track what masses of individuals are doing, he says.

Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said U.S. citizens should be able to opt out.

I intend to closely monitor this facial recognition program to ensure that Americans can say no to being subject to facial recognition and that DHS and airlines are fully transparent with the public about their future plans, he said in an emailed statement.

A network of government databases collects face scans from mug shots, drivers license and other images.

In an October report, the Georgetown center estimated more than one in four U.S. state and local law enforcement agencies can run or request face-recognition searches and federal agencies including the IRS have all had access to one or more state or local face recognition systems.

Bedoya said the images of at least 130 million U.S. adults in 29 states are stored in face recognition databases.

The FBI alone has more than 30 million photos in a single database, and New York state recently announced it would begin scanning the faces of drivers entering New York City bridges and tunnels.Another DHS initiative worrying privacy advocates is TSAs Precheck, the voluntary program designed to speed enrollees through airport security with more than 5 million enrollees.

Participants are not being told the digital fingerprints and biographical data they submit for background checks when enrolling are retained in an FBI identity database for life, said Jeramie Scott, an attorney with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest nonprofit. Since last month, trials that let enrollees use a digital fingerprint scanner to speed through TSA security are underway in Atlanta and Denver.

EPIC worries not just about potential governmental abuse but also the vulnerability to hackers. In the 2015 breach of the federal Office of Personnel Management, 5.6 million sets of fingerprint images were stolen.

The biometric exit endeavor will cost billions. Thats partly because U.S. airports dont have dedicated secure immigration areas for departing international flights. Domestic and international passengers commingle in the same concourses.

Currently, foreigners arriving in the U.S. submit to photo and digital fingerprint recording but there are no exit scans. U.S. citizens are subject to neither; their photos are digitally stored in a microchip in their passports with biographical data.

In written testimony to Congress in May, CBP said U.S. citizens leaving on international flights cannot be exempted from face scans because 1) Its not practical to run separate boarding systems for citizens and non-citizens and 2) Scanning U.S. citizens passports will ensure they dont travel on a passport not their own.

This is a technologically advanced way to check identity as opposed to the analog way it happens now, said DHS spokeswoman Jenny Burke.

Face recognition technology is getting better, but is far from perfect, however. A smile recorded at the gate could, for example, trigger a mismatch when compared to a serious gaze in a passport photo.

Even the most accurate systems fail 5 percent to 10 percent of the time, said Anil Jain, a Michigan State professor.

Robert Mann, an aviation consultant in Port Washington, New York, said such a failure rate would be a non-starter by slowing the boarding process.

Congress last year approved up to $1 billion over the next decade collected from visa fees to get the program rolling technically. That wont cover the additional border agents needed for gate checks, for starters.

DHS officials hope to defray costs through partnerships with airlines that are incorporating biometrics to boost efficiencies. Two airlines in the pilot program  Delta and JetBlue  tout identity-verification technologys convenience for other ends: Delta for speeding baggage handling, JetBlue for eliminating boarding passes. Both carriers say they will not retain customers face scan files.

CBP knows it wont have a full picture of who is overstaying visas until face scans are also done at U.S. land and sea borders.

Such concerns shouldnt stop the government from moving ahead with the program and U.S. citizens have already sacrificed considerable privacy as the price of fighting terrorists, said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which promotes restrictions on immigration.

He called it a moral and security imperative.

More than 700,000 overstayed their visas in the year ending Sept. 30.

But Ben Ball, a biometrics consultant and former DHS analyst, says the government hasnt yet addressed the thorniest questions.

This is still a theoretical system, he said. We are the first country on earth to attempt a comprehensive biometric system and its technically very complicated.

Australia is among global pioneers in facial recognition for traveler processing. It is currently an option for bypassing manual immigration controls for arriving and departing international air travelers. Citizens from 15 nations including the United States are eligible.

The European Union is also moving toward face scans and fingerprint collection  but limited to third-country nationals crossing external borders. An agreement reached June 30 will now be submitted to the European Parliament.



Koenig reported from Dallas. Kristen Gelineau in Sydney contributed to this report.
Todd Willens, Rep. Steve Pearces longtime chief of staff, is leaving Capitol Hill to take a high-ranking job at the Interior Department.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today announced that he has named Willens assistant deputy secretary of the Interior. In this role, Willens will work closely with yet-to-be-confirmed Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, Zinke said.

The announcement comes on the heels of Pearces announcement Monday that he will seek the Republican nomination for governor of New Mexico in 2018 and leave Congress when his current term ends.

Before taking the top job in Pearces office nine years ago, Willens served as deputy assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior from 2006 to 2008. Willens also served as senior policy adviser for the House Natural Resources Committee from 2003 to 2006.

In addition to being a westerner, Todd brings a strong combination of public and private sector experience to the Interior Department, Zinke said in a statement. Most of Interiors holdings and responsibilities are in the West, and Todds intimate understanding of the West, from growing up in rural California to his previous time at Interior to his tenure with Congressman Pearce, will be a major asset to the people we serve. I look forward to Todd helping us advance Interiors mission and the work of the Administration on behalf of local communities.

Willens said he was honored by the appointment.

I thank Secretary Zinke for his confidence in my abilities to serve the Department and the administration, he said.  I look forward to getting to work contributing to the implementation of the presidents priorities for the department and our agencies, making America great again.

On a personal note, I enjoyed working with Willens, a straight-shooter who was always willing to take time to talk with this reporter about congressional politics and policy. I wish him well in his new endeavor.
SANTA FE  With Gov. Susana Martinez entering the final 18 months of her tenure in office, the shuffling in her Cabinet continues.

Indian Affairs Secretary Kelly Zunie will leave her job at the end of this week, the Governors Office announced today.

Zunie, 49, a Zuni Pueblo member, was the first woman to head the Department of Indian Affairs. She was appointed to the post in November 2014 by Martinez, replacing then-Secretary Arthur Allison.

The two-term Republican governor described Zunie as a strong asset in strengthening the states relationship with New Mexico tribes and pueblos.

Her leadership helped us work with Native American communities throughout the state to strengthen schools, improve health care and create more economic opportunities for all our families, Martinez said.

The Indian Affairs Department is one of New Mexicos smallest Cabinet-level agencies with just 11 current employees, according to a state database.

Deputy Secretary Suzette Shije will serve as acting secretary after Zunies departure, according to the Governors Office.

Meanwhile, Zunies pending resignation marks the latest Cabinet turnover for Martinez, who was re-elected in 2014 and is barred from running again for governor next year.

At least a half-dozen Cabinet secretaries have left the Martinez administration in the last year, a trend that is not uncommon for second-term governors.

Most recently, former Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera stepped down last month after six-plus years on the job.
The 5th edition of the Kyoorius Design Awards, invites entries from across India for a total of 10 categories and 74 sub-categories. Submissions for physical entries for the awards close on September 06, 2017 while the last date for submission of online entries is August 30, 2017. The awards focus on recognising the exceptional creativity and talent from various new studios and designers.

Kyoorius Design Awards cater to design industry across multiple categories, including editorial, branding & identity, product design, packaging design and design for books amongst others. The awards call entries from individuals as well as companies and it's not limited to advertising agencies or design studios.

Commenting on the occasion, Rajesh Kejriwal, Founder and CEO, Kyoorius, said, We are glad to announce the 5th edition of the Kyoorius Design Awards, a platform which brings together the best of works from design studios and creative agencies across India. At Kyoorius, we have an open jury process ensuring complete transparency. We are committed to providing an entirely unbiased platform that recognizes the best of design works, year after year. Kyoorius Design Awards, over the last four years, has garnered respect as a symbol of quality, and is recognized by designers as a valuable marketing instrument and designers look to the Blue Elephant as an endorsement of quality."

Just like last year, the jury sessions are open to the industry people to watch, learn, check and benefit from the discussions and display of entries. The Jury session will be held in Mumbai at the Ecole Intuit Lab on 15th and 16th September, 2017.
The gender divide is fast dissipating in every sphere of business. There are several women business leaders today, leading from the front and inspiring an entire generation of young women to take up the mantle of leadership.

English Business News Channel BTVi - Business Television India has endeavoured to bring women thought leaders under one platform, celebrating their success stories, thereby motivating the millennial with their show, Women Mean Business. The second season of the show went on air on June 17, 2017 and airs every Saturday @ 8pm on the channel. The guests on the show this season will range from Media baron to Renowned Restaurateur, from award winning Gemologist and Jewellery Designer to Globally acclaimed artist.

Celebrity global artist Bharti Kher was born in England. This multi-dimensional and widely acclaimed artist studied painting and graduated from Newcastle Polytechnic in 1991. At the age of 23, she moved to New Delhi, where she lives and works today. Kher is married to Indian contemporary artist Subodh Gupta.

How would you describe where you are right now?

I am in a good space with my work right now, and I have been working for 25 years. I think at the beginning of the career you have a lot of work to do, because you need to prove to yourself that you are able to achieve certain goals, able to perform when you make exhibitions, and now I feel I am in a space of luxury in some way. I dont do exhibitions, I have no deadlines and I am free to go work at my studio and make, experiment, think and read.

To watch full video click here.

Comparing the first time and the recent exhibition  what has changed?

The first time is exciting and you are also quite nervous; you have nothing to prove as such and so you have nothing to lose. But as you progress, your audience gets wider, there is an expectation from your work and you also need to travel with the work. There is also this advantage that they have an understanding of the previous work and so they are looking through your journey as well. An exhibition poses its own challenges in terms of space, what you are doing with the place; different shows do different things.

Gallery shows are more about new work and new ideas pushing forward. Museum shows allow you space to contemplate the past and make relationships between older works and newer works. Exhibitions in specific houses and places  like something I did last year at the Ford Museum  was really special for me as I was able to engage with the history of the house and also the writings. As an artist I am extremely interested in both these ideas of femininity and psychology, and I was able to engage with ideas that related in my own practice.

People say that you are at the top of your game, what does this really mean to you?

If you can take the labels in a positive way, then what you are doing is opening doors for other people to say that you can make art, you can be an artist and you can have a voice. I am very humble to people who say that I am a voice for them as women and that my work speaks to them about something else. I am not arrogant and its not like I am not impressed or touched by them in some way. Ive always thought that it took me a long time to be accepted in India, and so I feel quite touched by that.

What kind of influence did you mother have on you?

We were first generation immigrants, and going to a new country in the late 60s was tough if you didnt speak the language, you had to learn. My parents separated when we were very young, which was almost unheard of for Asian families. My mom went to work even though she is from a Punjabi family, where the mentality is to get married, have children and taking care of ones families. So, in that sense she was quite independent. She taught us a lot of resilience  both my parents did and they were hard workers. This is the sort of ethos that I have grown up with, that if you want to do something, you have to work very hard.

How did the resilience work when you returned to India?

I grew up in a white suburban middle class part of Surrey and you were always aware of your difference in terms of race. But that has changed in the 20th century with social media changing the way people interact with each other, it has broken down many barriers. When I grew up in Surrey in the 60s and the 70s, we were the only Asian family in the neighbourhood. So you learn to take solace and find comfort in your own spaces, and also the artist in me has helped me greatly. Moreover, coming back to India helped me find my own space. In the 90s, satellite television had not yet arrived in India and we were still watching Doordarshan. Society was quite conservative. It was quite difficult for us at the beginning. A lot of my earlier work in India was about my own reactions to how I was dealing with my sexuality as a woman in a space which was predominantly male. Thus, the earlier works were a suite of 180 moustaches; the very first bindi works Spit and swallow were really ways for me to understand my space and my place, but from a female perspective. I was really talking about that how all these spaces belong to men, with no space for women, and when you did walk into their spaces, it was perceived to be somewhat aggressive.

Talking about working from India, what are some of the challenges that you actually face?

When I first came here in the 90s, India felt like this extraordinary melting pot. There was an amazing energy here and we thought we were going to be a part of something extraordinary; the change will begin and we will become part of this dynamic milieu that reintroduces this culture and looks at it in the contemporary. It felt like we could be a part of something.

I look at the entire world now and not particularly for culture. I think all of us are saying, hey, what happened? We were supposed to be part of this generation of change, but we seem to have failed. I am not really sure; maybe, this is the time where I am asking myself this question whether I need to go back to hibernation to think through. We need to be further out there and be participative and demand change.

Art is a language of communication, but at some level you need to facilitate the communication. Also, the government needs to facilitate change and facilitate ease of work as it is difficult to work here. I have worked here for 25 years. I chose to live in India, because I love India.

What was the biggest resistance that you felt?

Art is the lifeline of society, and you have to reclaim your public spaces through art, culture, architecture and music to help societies to come together. I think that in this franchise driven world, culture is the only simple link that keeps us somewhere altogether. In a city like Delhi, we have no public spaces.

What do you think happens in Indias contemporary art space?

It is a tough criticism, but to be honest, they are all speculators and they arent art lovers. It seems that the bottomline in India is just money.

What is ideally an art council?

An art council may be of the 8 best people from totally different fields, considered to be respected in their respective fields, nominated by various people by nomination, and then they would come together. We have 800 museums in India and most of them have no directorship, but they are not seemingly desirous of filling up these positions with dynamic and young people who can create spaces where people will want to come and love the work. It just needs planning, organising and skills. Take China for example, in the past 3 years, 400 museums were opened all over the country because the Chinese government gave land to Chinese philanthropists and collectors at subsidized rates. At the same time, they were told that if they failed to build the museum in the stipulated time of 3 years and did not have a director in place who was running programmes for the public, then the museum would be shut down and the provision of the land at subsidised rates would be taken away.

I think what keeps me going is my faith in my work and also because I am quite restless and get bored very easily. So, if I am sculpting, I have to put something away and go for another project. In my studio, I am currently working on six different projects that are in different stages of completion. The fabrication takes an extraordinary amount of time. We make a lot of mistakes and learn a lot from our failures.

To watch full video click here.
Building on The ROI Agency positioning, Zenith recently unveiled a new global approach to communications, supported by a relaunch of the networks brand identity, proposition and platforms with a new mantra: We blend data, technology and brilliant specialists to scout out new opportunities, solve complex challenges and grow client business.

Called ROI+, the new approach has been designed to solve business challenges though advanced communications models. The approach has three key client benefits. First is the creation of upstream strategies that deliver greater ROI through business transformation. Second is a focus on the full consumer journey in order to design personalised communication at scale. And third is maximising downstream efficiencies through market-leading automation, such as machine learning. The new global approach and rebrand was developed by Zeniths new Global Leadership Team working closely with leaders from Zeniths key markets around the world, including USA, UK, Germany and China. Zenith also worked with a range of digital, design and consultancy partners on this key development programme.

Tanmay Mohanty, Group CEO, Zenith India, said that Zenith now has an approach with three pillars, which is about delivering more effective campaigns and taking a longer-term consultancy approach and building long-term capabilities. He added, This is the appropriate time to launch Zeniths new proposition and brand identity in India. Our first pillar is our ability to create upstream strategies that deliver business transformation. For example, in ad-tech consulting, our upstream strategic development is greatly enhanced through ROI+. Second is our focus on the full consumer journey to deliver more effective communications strategies. And third is our market leading approach to maximising downstream efficiencies. ROI+ enables us to apply sophisticated automation through AI and machine learning techniques.

In conversation with Adgully, Tanmay Mohanty sheds more light on the ROI+ approach, the key objectives, Zeniths three-pillared approach, growth plans and more. Excerpts:

From the ROI Agency positioning to the new ROI+ approach  how has Zenith grown and strengthened its position in this period?

Zeniths history is one of media firsts and consistent growth. We launched in London in 1988, created from the media buying departments of Saatchi & Saatchi, BSB Dorland and KHBB. We were the first media agency in the UK. We were pioneers when we launched and we are pioneers today. After the merger with Optimedia, ZenithOptimedia launched its unique and distinctive ROI Agency positioning in 2002. We have built on this and developed ever since. No other agency in the market has this level of consistency.

Weve had a very consistent leadership: Vittorio has been with the company for over 20 years. Steve King has been here since the start. Tim Jones and Gerry Boyle have been here since the early days.

And with this consistency, we have combined continual innovation and invention. We were the first media agency to launch in China in 1994 and the first in the US in 1995. We were the first worldwide media dependent network. As the ROI Agency, we have consistently led the way with the smart use of data to drive creativity and ROI. You saw this last year with our world first in automating digital planning through machine learning. Invention will continue to be a key part of the new Zenith.

What is the objective behind adopting the ROI+ approach?

Our new approach  and new identity  is about redefining and reframing ROI. For Zenith, ROI is fundamentally about driving top line growth. You can only drive growth through inventive and creative communications solutions. Our ROI+ approach focuses on the full consumer journey, delivering capabilities that fuel creativity.

We have an important ambition to play the lead role in the full marketing value chain. To be a strategic partner to our clients, solving clients business challenges with communications solutions. Focused on the full consumer journey, creating and orchestrating a broad range of marketing capabilities. This ambition requires a more consultative approach.

Zenith is taking a more consultative approach to solving business challenges for clients. But we are far more than management consultants. Our unique and differentiating advantage is that we are able to do all the work that delivers brand growth. We bring assets and capabilities at scale. Only an agency of the size, strength and experience of Zenith can do that.

Could you elaborate on Zeniths three-pillared approach? How will it benefit the clients?

Zenith used to have a roadmap approach to planning. This no longer supports our ambitions and our clients needs. We now have an approach with three pillars thats about delivering more effective campaigns and taking a longer-term consultancy approach, building long-term capabilities.

Our first pillar is our ability to create upstream strategies that deliver business transformation. Our ROI+ approach leverages the expertise we have in building capabilities for clients. For example, in ad-tech consulting, our upstream strategic development is greatly enhanced through ROI+.

Second is our focus on the full consumer journey to deliver more effective communications strategies. In our consumer experience work, ROI+ helps us to shape a more holistic approach that can take advantage of people-based and platform-based marketing.

And third is our market leading approach to maximising downstream efficiencies. ROI+ enables us to apply sophisticated automation through AI and machine learning techniques. We believe we are market leading in this area and last year announced a world first in automating digital planning through machine learning.

What kind of growth are you envisioning for Zenith with ROI+?

The year 2016 was phenomenal for us, when we delivered high double digit growth. Zenith India won many businesses last year, which included Parle Products, Fox Networks, Toyota India, Singapore Tourism, Bombay Dyeing, etc. We also retained the Micromax business in a defensive pitch against some of Indias leading agencies. Performics.Resultrix won the Telenor and Lenovo digital mandates, among others. We expect 2017 to be far greater in new business wins, awards and performance on existing businesses.

We recently won media duties of payments solutions brands Citrus Pay and LazyPay, part of PayU. There are other significant wins that we are in the process of announcing shortly. In awards, Zenith won the prestigious Festival Of Media Asia Pacific (FOMA) Gold for Maggi Miss You Too, in addition to other significant wins at Media Abby 2017, DIGIXX, Golden Mikes and Asia Pacific Customer Engagement Forum Awards.

This was absolutely the right time to launch the ROI+ proposition. The ROI+ framework will harness the best of our capabilities in a fast changing external environment. India stands at an inflection point today. It is the growth engine of the world; one of the fastest growing economies. Government initiatives such as Digital India and Jan Dhan, coupled with greater penetration of mobile, rising broadband speeds, addressable systems, proliferation of platforms and technologies and demand for regional/local content are all dramatically changing the marketing communications milieu. There is great disruption taking place across brands, businesses and categories. A new eco-system is taking shape, which calls for transformative solutions. We at Zenith have a great part to play in this transformation. ROI+ leverages smart use of data and new technology platforms. It enables Zenith employees to think more like clients (advertisers). ROI+ allows Zenith to develop a broad range of capabilities and to be inventive. It allows us to take a more consultative approach.

When you talk about creating upstream strategies, what are those?

Upstream strategies are simply the development of strategies and capabilities that drive long term growth.

What is different from the old Zenith?

This is an evolution, but with revolutionary thinking. We are keeping the Zenith name. We remain the ROI Agency. Blue is still our primary colour. Everything else has been evolved, so we are ideally placed to exploit the opportunities of the future and deliver brand growth. We have a new proposition, a new way of working, a new brand identity, and new digital platforms (a new global website followed by new market websites). We have a new Global Leadership Team and nearly all of leaders across the markets within Publicis Media are rising stars that have been promoted.

What is the new positioning?

Our positioning is the same  We are the ROI Agency. This is the most distinctive and respected positioning in the market. However, there is a new vision and new way of working: we blend data, technology and brilliant specialists to scout out new opportunities, solve complex challenges, and grow client businesses.

What is your growth strategy for Zenith in India in the next five years? What would be your key focus areas?

Five years is a long time. But the focus for us as a group is on business transforming solutions or future ready services such as performance marketing, data and analytics and content. We will invest in talent in these areas and consolidate presence.

What are Zeniths growth projections for the Indian advertising industry this year?

Even with fresh estimates out, a 7.1 per cent GDP growth in 2016-17 is still a healthy growth rate. Consumer sentiment is getting back to normal and media spends in India will continue to be buoyed by expansion in regional print and television. Categories such as Mobile Wallets, Telecom 4G, Mobile Handsets, Fast Moving Consumer Goods and Consumer Durables will step up their spends. As India gets digitised, there will be more opportunities to tap into audiences and media spends will only peak. Digital remains one of the fastest growing mediums in India today, registering a 30 per cent growth rate. With sustained remonetisation, we do not expect any major long term impact on consumption or advertising. We still remain one of the faster growing economies on the world stage.

What are the factors that could derail these growth projections and how likely are these factors to turn into reality?

India is a fast-track Asian economy. Fast-track Asian economies by definition are those that are growing extremely rapidly as they adopt Western technology and practices, while benefiting from the rapid inflow of funds from investors hoping to tap into this growth. Zenith predicted an 11.2 per cent growth rate for India, to reach Rs 54,344 crore in 2017. We do not see any factors that could derail these growth projections.
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.
AT&T may be one of the most committed opponents of net neutrality laws in their current form, but the company has shown that it supports the spirit of the open internet by committing to take part in a day of action set to be attended by some of the biggest names in the tech world. The festivities are being put together by Free Press, Demand Progress and Fight for the Future. AT&T plans to not only take part in the upcoming day of action, but also run ads in some areas to proclaim the companys belief in the core values behind the net neutrality movement.

According to AT&T executive Bob Quinn, the carrier does believe in a free and open internet for all, but stands against the heavy-handed way that the FCC has chosen to go about achieving such. He calls out Title II regulations, the legal framework that allows the FCC to regulate internet providers in the same way as the landline phone companies from years ago, as not only being far more than whats necessary to enforce the creation and maintenance of an open internet, but as being a gateway to excessive control over telecoms by the FCC. Quinn explained that though AT&Ts opinions of how to champion an open internet may be at odds with others involved with the day of action, the carrier believes strongly enough in the concept of an open internet that differences in methods shouldnt mean much when coming together in this particular way.

Back in 2010, when the current FCC chairman introduced the Open Internet Order, AT&T came out in support of it. The release of Open Internet Principles in 2005 was met with similar agreement. Quinn provides historical instances where AT&T stood in support of an open internet as proof that the carriers disagreement with the FCC about Title II regulations is strictly limited to those regulations, and how they are written and enforced. These laws, according to Quinn, even hurt AT&Ts bottom line enough to stifle innovation by preventing the company from investing in its modern infrastructure as it would have liked to. He goes on to say that AT&T, together with others showing support during the day of action, hope to show the federal government that Title II regulations should not apply to modern internet providers, and that there are alternatives to ensuring an open internet.
On Wednesday, a Paris administrative court ruled in favor of Google, which was charged with paying 1.1 billion ($1.3 billion USD) in back taxes, by French authorities. The court ruled that Google Ireland Limited, from 2005 to 2010, was not subject to corporate and value-added taxes. And struck down the tax administrations demands for the search giant to pay back taxes for those years. This case had been ongoing for quite some time, considering the time frame is almost a decade ago. This ruling was followed by a court advisors recommendation that part of Google did not have a permanent establishment or sufficient taxable presence to justify such a bill.

This is just the latest for Google and its tax cases. Google, like a number of other companies (this includes other large tech companies, most notably Apple), are always looking for ways to get out of paying huge tax bills, as that means that the company will have less to pay its employees and invest in itself to become larger and offer better products. Google has been embroiled in a few different tax cases in the European Union, as well as anti-competitive suits. And those arent going away anytime soon. Google has been facing lawsuits over the way shopping results are shown in Google search results, as well as how they handle Android with the number of apps that are forced to be pre-installed on smartphones that are Google Mobile Services (or GMS) certified.

Currently, its unclear what the next step will be for Google and the French authorities, but this case is likely far from over. Seeing as that is a pretty large tax bill, the French are going to want that money, especially if they feel that Google does owe it. Even though Google is now part of Alphabet, its Google that owes the money and not Alphabet. Since Google is the only one with offices in multiple countries around the world. Taxes are something that many people hate to pay, but its a necessary evil. The authorities likely arent through with Google just yet, so its lawyers will be keeping pretty busy as this case continues.
Mountain View-based tech giant Google has purchased Bangalore, India-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup Halli Labs in a move that the AI company says is intended to bring more technology and information to a wider scope of individuals globally. Caesar Sengupta, vice president of product management at Google, confirmed the acquisition via his Twitter account, though terms of the deal were not made public as of this writing. Halli Labs has also confirmed that its team will join Googles Next Billion Users team, which aims to get more people to use the search giants existing and future products and services. For its part, Halli Labs claims it has been using machine learning techniques to fix what it says are old problems of a number of Internet-enabled solutions.

Halli Labs was founded by Pankaj Gupta, a data scientist who formerly served as lead for Twitters recommendation and personalization unit. He also held the position of a chief technology officer of Stayzilla, an online marketplace and hospitality service in India which announced earlier this year that its shutting down. It remains to be seen what Halli Labs can contribute to Googles wide array of initiatives, specifically its mission to bring its in-house technology to more people around the globe.

The search giant has been busy investing in AI as of late, including acquiring machine learning companies, funding AI organizations, and conducting AI-related research. The company is even seeking to fight cancer using AI and has recently unveiled a new investment arm that will focus exclusively on this emerging segment. Called Gradient Ventures, the new venture capital group aims to provide financial resources and technical guidance to AI startups. In April, the companys Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai also revealed Googles vision to become an AI-first company, noting that the tech giant has now largely shifted to AI-based offerings, which include the Google Assistant and Google Photos, among other key services. In May, Google launched the AIY Projects, an initiative meant to allow creators to integrate AI into their creations. While the majority of those endeavors have taken place in the U.S., Googles acquisition of Halli Labs now indicates that the company is also looking to expand the scope of its AI efforts to more territories.
According to a newly-surfaced report, the Galaxy Note 8 will launch on August 23, not August 26 as it was suggested recently. This report comes from a South Korea-based publication, The Bell, and the source is quoting industry sources. The source also mentions that the Galaxy Note 8 will be announced in New York on said date, and it is also said that this is the latest change that Samsung decided to make in its schedule in order to launch the device as soon as possible.

Now, yesterdays report claimed that the Galaxy S8 sales slowed down, and mentioned that as one of the main reasons behind an earlier launch for the Galaxy Note 8. That report suggested that Samsung is planning to move up the launch date of the Galaxy Note 8, and a report that surfaced today more or less confirms that, though this is still not official info. Samsung will probably confirm an official launch date for the event in the near future if the provided info is accurate, however, so well have more details to share. Now, the Galaxy Note 8 will be made out of metal and glass, it will sport a dual camera setup on the back, if rumors are accurate, and it will be slightly larger than the Galaxy S8 Plus. The Galaxy Note 8 will retain an 18.5:9 aspect ratio which Samsung used on the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus, the companys so-called Infinity display.

The Galaxy Note 8 will probably ship with a slightly different shape compared to the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus, and the phone will sport Samsungs S Pen stylus as well. The device is expected to ship with a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display, and it will probably pack in 6GB of RAM. Qualcomms Snapdragon 835 SoC will fuel the Galaxy Note 8 in some regions, while the Exynos 8895 will be in charge of doing that in other parts of the world. Android Nougat will come pre-installed on the Galaxy Note 8, and on top of it, youll be able to find Samsungs custom UI. Thats pretty much all the info that we have thus far, the phone did leak a couple of times thus far, though those leaks differentiate one from the other quite a bit, even though they all follow the same design language of the Galaxy S8 and its Plus sibling.
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) announced a special edition of one Huawei smartphone to celebrate its 30th anniversary in China, adding that the device will be sold exclusively in the Far Eastern country in extremely limited quantities. The handset will be offered only in KFCs recognizable red color and feature branding from both companies, as evidenced by its announcement video which can be seen beneath this writing. Initial reports indicated that the phone in question is called the Huawei 7 Plus, though that seems to be a mistake as it looks like the recently released Enjoy 7 which is also not to be confused with the Enjoy 7 Plus, also known as the Y7 Prime in certain territories.

No firm details regarding the hardware specifications of the upcoming handset have yet been given, though its internals are likely identical to those of the original Enjoy 7 that launched earlier this month. That particular model is equipped with a 5-inch LCD display panel with a resolution of 1,280 by 720 pixels and is powered by the Snapdragon 425, Qualcomms mid-range system-on-chip (SoC) with the Adreno 308 GPU. The base model of the device ships with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal flash memory, while its more premium variant features 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage space. Both sport a microSD card slot and the more expensive model is presumably the one that will be re-released with KFCs branding.

KFC and Huawei said the phone will ship with a price tag of 1,099 yuan, which translates to just under $162 and is the same price that the more powerful Enjoy 7 model is going for. Apart from KFCs China anniversary, this year also marks Huaweis 30th anniversary in general, though the Shenzhen-based original equipment manufacturer (OEM) has yet to commemorate it. The newly announced smartphone is said to come with a pre-loaded KFC app with 100,000 K Dollars that users will be able to spend on a jukebox service called K-music. Only 5,000 units of the device will be manufactured to commemorate KFCs anniversary, with all of them being set to go on sale tomorrow, July 13. KFC likely opted for this unusual partnership in an effort to gain some extra publicity and presumably wont see any significant financial benefits from the sales of the handset.
UPDATE: Fitbit has responded to this article with the following statement:

Fitbit believes the suit brought by Immersion has no merit. Since its inception, Fitbit has amassed more than 450 issued patents and patent applications. As the pioneer and leading global wearables brand, Fitbit has developed and delivered innovative product offerings to empower its more than 50 million registered users to lead healthier, more active lives.

End of Update

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Fitbit is now being accused of infringing on patents owned by Immersion, who announced this week that it has now filed a lawsuit against Fitbit over the infringements. Immersion, who self-identifies as the leading developer and licensor of touch feedback technology confirmed that a lawsuit has been filed in the US (in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California), in addition to a separate lawsuit that has now also been filed in China. In both instances, Immersion is seeking infringements against three separate patents.

In the announcement on the lawsuit, Immersion has name-dropped a number of Fitbit products in which Immersion claims infringements on its protected patents. The devices listed include the Fitbit Alta, Alta HR, Blaze, Charge, Charge 2, Charge HR, Flex, Flex 2, and the Fitbit Surge. With Immersion stating that the technologies in which these products infringe, include haptic feedback devices, systems and methods. Although not all products are said to infringe all patents. For instance, in the case of the US, Immersion alleges that the Fitbit Alta, Alta HR, Blaze, Charge, Charge 2, Charge HR, Flex, Flex 2, and Surge, specifically infringe on a vibrotactile feedback patent, while all of the same Fitbit devices (excluding the Flex and Flex 2) infringe on two other patents regarding Haptic Feedback and Haptic Messages. The Chinese counterpart lawsuit is largely in-keeping with the US one, with the exception that the patents accused of being infringed upon, were filed in China. With the underlying accusations of infringed technology being the same and centering around haptic feedback features.

Due to the nature of the alleged infringements manifesting in products that are currently available to buy, as part of the lawsuit, Immersion is seeking Fitbit not only stops selling the listed products, but also stops manufacturing them completely in both China and the US. That is, in addition to seeking damages in general. Although the company has not provided any firm details on the amount of damages it wants. According to the announcement, Immersion had previously try to settle this issue without the need of legal intervention, stating that Fitbit rejected our numerous attempts to negotiate a reasonable license for Fitbits products. A situation which has now led to this dual regional lawsuit being announced.
Future mid-range and low-end Samsung smartphones could be set to ship with a new storage management feature called Storage Saving. In the case of low-end smartphones and even some mid-range ones, many come with a low amount of internal storage. Devices with 16GB of internal memory are still relatively popular in this segment and it seems that Samsung is now seeking to address that storage issue in an indirect manner.

According to the latest info, it appears that the company is set to include a new kind of storage management feature in its upcoming lower-end devices. The feature will reportedly include the ability to delete multimedia file copies from the device that have already been backed up to Samsung Cloud. Considering other storage services such as Google Photos are more popular, though, itll be interesting to see if Samsung will be looking to connect the storage feature to the service, not just its own cloud offering. As part of the package, the South Korean giant is also set to include the Device Maintenance feature into its mid-range and entry-level models which will allow users to get an overview of the devices performance, as well as suggest ways to improve it, free up storage or even enhance its battery life and security. Its currently unclear when the company plans on releasing this feature to its budget devices but considering the storage limit on low-end devices, the inclusion of the new storage management functionality is sure to be welcomed by many users. The same service has already been present on several iterations of the flagship Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lineups.

Samsung has yet to comment on the possibility of addressing storage space issues in some of its low-end and mid-range devices, though the company may reveal more details on the matter in the coming months, presumably no later than early September when IFA Berling is scheduled to take place. The Korean firm has a history of announcing a wide variety of products at the German trade show and could choose to do so again this year. More information on Samsungs hardware and software efforts should hence follow shortly.
Samsung Electronics is downplaying reports of weakening sales of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, with the Seoul-based original equipment manufacturer (OEM) recently reiterating that the performance of its latest Android flagship lineup cannot be compared to that of the Galaxy S7 series, as reported by South Korean media. Whereas the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge had a worldwide launch last year, their successors were introduced in a more gradual manner, having originally debuted in only several markets in late April before Samsung expanded their availability in May. Due to that difference in product launch strategy, the largest phone maker in the world is claiming that direct comparisons of the two series cannot be accurate, implying industry watchers should give the Galaxy S8 lineup more time before judging its commercial performance.

Nonetheless, the companys new pair of high-end Android smartphones was performing 20 to 30-percent better than the Galaxy S7 series in its first two months on the market but is now reportedly doing around 20-percent worse, indicating that its sales took a major hit in the last two months. Samsung stopped publicizing the sales figures of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus in mid-May, which is likely when the commercial performance of its latest product lineup took a major hit, some analysts believe.

According to recent reports, the highly anticipated Galaxy Note 8 may even be launched sooner than planned due to the unexpected slump in the Galaxy S8 familys performance as Samsung is adamant to keep consumers interested in its flagship smartphone brand. Industry insiders previously claimed that the South Korean electronics manufacturer is looking to unveil the Galaxy Note 8 in late August or early September, presumably around the time the latest iteration of IFA Berlin is scheduled to start. The company traditionally had a strong presence at the annual German trade show and could continue doing so this year by introducing whats widely expected to be its most powerful Android handset in 2017. The premium hardware of the Galaxy Note 8 could also come at a significant cost, with one insider recently suggesting that the phablet will be priced at as much as 1000 ($1150) in Europe.
With Gregory Lee stepping down from his role as chief of the North American region in favor of a move to Nokia Technologies, Samsung made a slight reshuffle in its top-tier management appointing the former visual display marketing leader Kim Moon-soo as its new European chief and promoting Eom Young-hoon, who previously led the European office as the chief of North America. Gregory Lee is ending his 13-year long career at Samsung where he held various positions including Global Marketing Head and Southeast Asia Chief, as well as leader of the North American branch. He will now act as the head of Nokia Technologies, a consumer tech development oriented subsidiary of Nokia Corporation.

While Samsung has not yet commented on Lees sudden departure, the company reiterated the importance of the North American region which generated 34 percent of its 202 trillion won ($175.5 billion) revenue last year. With profit margins at Samsung soaring at an all-time high, it remains to be seen whether the restructuring made by Samsung will impact it at a later stage. With Chairman Lee Kun-hee incapacitated and Vice Chairman Park Geun-hye fighting multiple charges of bribery and perjury, Samsung appears to be having its fair share of leadership troubles at the moment. While Eom Young-hoon, the new North America chief will assume his role in office starting July 17th, Kim moon-soo is expected to take command of the Europe office sometime this week. Samsung has favored the management veterans owing to their vast level of experience and expertise in handling various management positions across all parts of the globe.

Samsungs business in the western region has seen a massive increase in the past few years with the company marking a 32.8 percent increase in its stock prices since last year. The massive growth in its revenue is heavily linked to Samsungs investments in the semiconductor business which has seen a substantial increase. The companys profit generation also provided a hefty hike in personal revenues of the management with Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee becoming the 45th richest individual across the globe whereas Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong rose up to 199th position on the Global Wealth Index.
UK wireless carrier Three is not happy with the government-imposed cap on the amount of the 3.4GHz frequency that could be obtained by incumbent wireless carriers. This cap was set by Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator of the United Kingdom. The agency will enforce a 37-percent cap on the amount of 3.4GHz frequency that any single carrier can win in the coming auction. This should prevent one carrier from gobbling up all the available spectrum, which in turn will protect the existing competition in the telecommunications industry. The carriers that will likely be most severely hit with the ruling are the BT-owned EE and Vodafone, which both currently own a large chunk of the usable spectrum. However, Three UK feels that the cap is not restrictive enough and may, in the long run, result in increased costs on the part of the consumers. Instead, the carrier proposes that the regulator should impose a 30-percent cap on the maximum amount of 3.4GHz spectrum that can be purchased in the coming auction.

There are four major wireless carriers that currently operate in the UK, which are EE, Three UK, Vodafone, and O2, However, EE and Vodafone currently own a massive chunk of the available spectrum. EE has licenses to use 255MHz of available spectrum while Vodafone currently has control of 176MHz of spectrum. In contrast, Three only has 90MHz of immediately usable spectrum at hand while O2 has 86MHz of available spectrum. Within the next few months, Ofcom is set to auction 40MHz of immediately usable 2300MHz spectrum, which could be utilized for existing LTE networks, and 150MHz of the 3400MHz band.

As the demand for mobile data continues to increase, the carriers will have to utilize additional spectrum in order to maintain the quality of service that it offers to its subscribers. Given the need for more spectrum, carriers are more than willing to pay exorbitant prices in order to purchase more of it. The 3400MHz band is of special importance to the carriers, as 5G technologies will likely utilize this spectrum. The carriers are very much interested in laying their hands on it as it could certainly affect their future viability as new wireless data technologies become more mature and widely utilized.
Despite the fact MINI hit a new sales record in 2016 (360,233 vehicles delivered worldwide), the United States still isnt convinced about the cheeky little British interloper. This, in turn, convinced the company to step up its game with the mid-cycle refresh of the Hatch, which has been caught by our carparazzi pootling around in Europe in five-door flavor.Internally referred to as the F55 , the 2018 MINI 5-Door Hatch wears vinyl camouflage on pretty much the entirety of its body shell. The pre-production prototype, however, lets us peek at the design of its overhauled headlights and the somewhat different taillights. Dont expect a change in the shape of the taillight cluster, but a bettering of the taillight graphic.Life Cycle Impulse changes further benefit the front and rear bumpers, whereas the S badge in the grille and the twin-exit central exhaust system offer an idea as to what hides under the scoop-less hood. Thats right, boys and girls, this appears to be a hell-bent for leather Cooper S.Because theres no JCW treatment available for the 5-Door Hatch, the Cooper S serves as the range-topping model in the lineup. In pre-facelift specification, the front-wheel-drive hot hatchback offers 192 PS (189 hp) at 4,700 rpm and 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) of torque between 1,250 and 4,750 rpm. Not bad for a 2.0-liter turbo-four engine, but not a wowzer either.From the singular spy photograph of the interior, its hard to tell if anything is different from the 2017 model year updates brought by MINI to its entire range of models. Interestingly enough, the infotainment screen of the pictured car is gifted with quite the ominous sticker: ! do not remove !As ever, customers will be offered a choice between a manual (pictured) and an automatic transmission, as well as an entry-level powerplant in the form of a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbo. Expect the refreshed MINI Hatch, including the 5-Door, to be undressed of all its secrets by the end of 2017.
A new project called Air AIR (Artists in Residence) is inviting artists to apply for a chance to spend time in the air and create art inspired by their experience aloft. Such programs are well-established in national parks, Amtrak and other venues, but this appears to be the first of its kind that takes place aboard commercial aircraft. The project launched last year and held its first Air AIR Artists Exhibition in Atlanta, Georgia, in March. Applications are now being accepted for this years residencies.

The round-trip flights will take three artists to their destination locations and back, all within 24 hours. Once the artists are back on the ground, the residency culminates in a one-night pop-up exhibition. Air AIR aims to encourage visual artists, composers, writers and other cultural workers to create under the constraints of limited space, limited materials and sensory deprivation while in flight. All applicants must have a valid drivers license or passport and be willing to participate in a 10- to 12-hour flight (including layover time) launching from Atlanta. They also will participate in an exhibition in the Atlanta area. The deadline to apply is Friday, July 21.
The History Channel says its having a look at a Japanese historians claim that a photograph that underpinned a much-hyped television special on the fate of Amelia Earhart was taken two years before she left on her round-the-world flight. As the documentary was hitting the airways, blogger baron_yamaneko from Japan was posting a digitized image of the same photo, which he said appeared in a Japanese publication in 1935, two years before Earhart and navigator Fred Noonans fateful flight. The History Channel said in a statement its exploring the latest developments about Amelia Earhart and we will be transparent in our findings. Ultimately, historical accuracy is most important to us and our viewers.

The photo in question was taken in the Marshall Islands and experts interviewed in the documentary pretty much concluded that two Caucasians in the picture were likely Earhart and Noonan.The bloggers claim hasnt been proven yet either but he did supply a link to the Japanese government archives with the photo and it is apparently dated 1935.
Iraq, which has the world's fourth-largest oil reserves, announced this week it will be offering oil and gas exploration rights as part of its effort to root out ISIS from the region, per the AP. The measure is intended to boost energy revenues amid low oil prices.

Why it matters: Oil has been important to financing Iraq's security services and its fight against ISIS  for context, in 2014 94% of Iraq's federal revenue came from oil, per the IMF, and even amid the tensions in the region, Iraq stepped up its production last year, according to CNNMoney. Note also, U.S. imports from Iraq are up this year from last, per the EIA, and more than doubled between August and September 2016 alone.

The plan: Putting nine border exploration blocks up for bidding, according to Oil Minister Jabar Ali Al-Luaibi. Five are shared with Iran, three with Kuwait, and one in the Persian Gulf.
12 July 2017 15:04 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

An Argentinean citizen of Armenian origin has been forced to apologize for death threats to the Azerbaijani embassy officials.

In the past, Leonid Stepanyan was making death threats to the Azerbaijani embassys officials through the embassys Facebook page. On April 4, 2016, the Azerbaijani Embassy in Argentina appealed to the relevant state structures of the country and demanded to take measures against Stepanyan in accordance with the law.

Stepanyan has sent a letter of apology to the Azerbaijani Embassy in Buenos Aires, a source in the embassy told Trend on July 12.

In his letter, Stepanyan promised to never again express protest to the Azerbaijani Embassy in Argentina and any citizen of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are in state of war due to Yerevans aggression, ethnic cleansing policy and illegal territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Today, Armenia keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.

Armenians killed Azerbaijani people not only in the frontline, but also in Baku and other cities. Since the late 80s, Armenian terrorist organizations and intelligence agencies, including ASALA, have committed more than 32 terrorist attacks in the transport system and other public facilities of Azerbaijan.

Moreover, 42 Turkish diplomats were killed as a result of ASALA attacks. The organization committed 110 terror acts in total.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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11 July 2017 16:32 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Azerbaijan Railways has launched next stage of the work in the framework of project on overhauling the Baku-Boyuk Kesik railway.

Sevinj Gadirova, the spokesperson for Azerbaijan Railways, said that overhaul of the 2.25-kilometer section of the rail line at the station "Garabujag" has launched.

The work will last 3 days, Gadirova told Trend on July 11. The overhaul is carried out by "Specialized Railway Enterprise No. 5" LLC, which is part of Azerbaijan Railways.

The overhaul project of the 600-kilometer Baku-Boyuk Kesik railway, which is a part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project, was launched in October 2015. To date, over 255 kilometers of the railway have been overhauled.

Azerbaijan Railways CSJC and Czech company Moravia Steel has signed an additional agreement to refurbish Baku-Boyuk Kesik railway in April 2015.

After reconstruction, the average speed of trains on the Baku-Boyuk Kesik route is expected to reach 140 kilometers per hour.

Azerbaijan Railways - the national operator of the railway network in Azerbaijan with 100 percent state capital, was founded in 2009 on the basis of the Azerbaijan State Railways, functionally replacing it.

The BTK railway is being constructed on the basis of the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. The peak capacity of the railway will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At the initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.

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11 July 2017 17:24 (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 Ismayilly region.

The Fund will accept entrepreneurs' proposals for financing investment projects on horticulture, vegetable farming, beekeeping, animal breeding farms, cheese production farms and hotel construction.

Entrepreneurs can apply to the Fund through authorized banks and non-bank lenders, in accordance with the rules for using the funds of the NFES. 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 main goal of the Fund, which was established in 1992, 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 minimizing of the impact of global economic crisis to the national economy and mitigation of its dependence on the oil sector.

Encouraging business doing in the country is one of the priorities for the Azerbaijani government, which supports entrepreneurs through creating necessary conditions for the development of a healthy business environment in the country.

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12 July 2017 14:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

The State Committee on Property Issues of Azerbaijan held next auction of privatization on July 11, following which 21 state properties were privatized.

One of the sold objects is a joint-stock company, 8 - small state enterprises and 12 - non-residential areas.

Four small state enterprises and 11 non-residential areas were privatized in Baku, 4 small state enterprises and 1 non-residential area was privatized in other cities and regions of the country.

Moreover, the State Committee on Property Issues held the first electronic auction on July 4.

The "electronic auction" service, which is available on the website privatization.az, combines the privatization procedure of vehicles and equipment. In the future, it will be possible to privatize small state enterprises and facilities, joint-stock companies through electronic auction. Now, the corresponding work in programming is being implemented.

The portal for privatization  privatization.az, launched in July 2016, reflects all necessary information about the facilities, their addresses, location, and even initial cost and aims at facilitation of the process. The website is available in two languages - Azerbaijani and English. Why Azerbaijan is special section available on the website explains the reasons and advantages of investing in the country.

The privatization process is designed to attract both foreign and local investors, as well as develop the business environment of Azerbaijan.

Next auction on privatization of state property will be held on July 18. In total, 124 state properties will be put up for auction, 25 of which will be joint-stock company, 21-small state enterprises, 73-non-residential areas and 5-vehicles.

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12 July 2017 16:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Diamed Co became the third resident of Azerbaijans Pirallahi Industrial Park.

The Azerbaijani company, founded in April 2017, will set up production of disposable syringes in the Park.

The Economy Ministry reported that the plant will allow to meet demand of the domestic market, which will significantly reduce the import of disposable syringes, as well as create an export potential in this area.

"The plant, covering an area of one hectare, will produce 55-58 million syringes annually, based on advanced European, Japanese and Korean technologies. In the process of production, both imported and local raw materials will be used," the ministry said.

The factory plans to open 50 workplaces.

Currently, two joint pharma plants are being constructed in the Pirallahi Industrial Park.

The first plant is a joint venture with a group of companies R-Pharm (Russian Federation), Vita-A LLC (Azerbaijan) and AIC. The foundation of the Hayat Farm was laid in November 2016.

The total preliminary investment in the project exceeds $70 million. The plant should be producing finished products by the end of 2019.

The second pharmaceutical plant is Caspian Pharmed. The foundation of the joint pharmaceutical plant between Iranian company Tamin Pharmaceutical Investment Company (TPIC) and Azerbaijans Azersun Holding was held in January, 2017.

The project cost is more than $20 million. The joint plant is to be operational in summer in 2018 and in the first stage it will produce 84 medicines.

The Pirallahi Industrial Park was established by the order On Establishment of Pirallahi Industrial Park dated September 14, 2016 year of President Ilham Aliyev.

Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev previously said that $20.6 million will be invested in the Pirallahi Industrial Parks Construction in the first stage.

Besides Pirallahi Industrial Park, Sumgayit, Garadagh and Balakhani Industrial Parks exist in the country, in Mingachevir and Ganja-are being constructed.

Investors, engaged in industrial parks, are exempted from the value added tax (VAT), customs duties, as well as contributions on compulsory state social insurance to 7 years.

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12 July 2017 17:52 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Azerbaijan Deposit Insurance Fund (ADIF) has paid compensations worth over 747.35 million manats ($439.1 million) to depositors of Parabank, Zaminbank, Dekabank, Kredobank, Caucasus Development Bank, Atrabank, Bank of Azerbaijan, Gandjabank, Texnikabank, United Credit Bank and Bank Standard.

Banks Volume of paid comp.(million manats) Volume of insured deposits(million manats) Volume of compensated deposits(million manats) Volume of paid comp.(million manats) Volume of paid comp. out of the total volume (pct) Volume of unpaid comp.(million manats) Parabank 87,601 50,713 43,884 43,222 98,5 0,662 Zaminbank 77,116 75,574 72,675 71,999 99,9 0,676 Kredobank 30,191 29,159 27,91 27,771 99,5 0,138 Dekabank 5,36 3,684 3,127 3,087 98,7 0,039 Atrabank 31,024 26,995 14,614 14,35 98,2 0,263 Caucasus Development Bank 11,996 6,617 2,09 2,004 95,9 0,086 Bank Standart 596,499 554,593 441,154 437,542 99,2 3,611 United Credit Bank 3,55 3,23 2,099 1,807 86,1 0,292 Bank of Azerbaijan 124,732 122,366 24,937 24,191 97 0,746 Ganjabank 3,177 1,553 1,039 0,976 93,9 0,063 Texnikabank 163,154 161,796 122,642 120,458 98,2 2,183

The licenses of all 11 banks were withdrawn in 2016 due to the discrepancy of their total capital with the minimum requirements [50 million manats-$29.4 million] and default to the creditors.

Currently, 31 banks are implementing their activities in Azerbaijan.

ADIF was founded on August 12, 2007 after the Law on Deposit Insurance was adopted by the Parliament [Milli Majlis] of Azerbaijan.

The purpose of establishing the Deposit Insurance Scheme is to prevent the risk of losing money deposited by individuals and to ensure the sustainability and development of the financial and banking system whenever banks and local branch offices of foreign banks become insolvent.

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12 July 2017 11:20 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

The year 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of a prominent Azerbaijani composer, Jevdet Hajiyev.

His beautiful and smoothing music continues to win the hearts of connoisseurs of high art all over the world.

Hajiyev left behind a legacy of masterpieces. Among them are eight symphonies, three tone poems, opera Veten (Motherland) written in collaboration with G.ara Garayev, string quartets, ballade and sonata for piano, solo and choral works and many others. These works are among the jewels of classical music that continue to delight listeners and glorify music of Azerbaijan all over the world.

The Vienna Conservatory has joined celebrations of the 100th jubilee of famous Azerbaijani composer.

The organizers of concert events dedicated to great composer anniversary told Azertac that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, led by its President, First Vice President of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, supported international competitions in order to promote Azerbaijani music.

Jevdet Hajiyevs works were included in the compulsory program of competitions and were performed by 278 participants of the competitions in France and Switzerland, Azertac reported.

Alexander Kadmiel (Romania) was named the winner of the first special Adilya Aliyeva prize in the category of young talents. Kadmiel performed one of the pearls of Azerbaijani music - the piano ballad by great composer.

The final concert took place at the United Nations in Geneva watched by diplomats at the Palais des Nations.

Several events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Jevdet Hajiyev will be also held in Austria and Germany.

The gala concert will take place on September 25 at the Vienna Conservatory, which also joined celebrations of the centenary of Jevdet Hajiyev.

Doctor of Arts Farah Tahirova will host the presentation of the event.

Piano works by Jevdet Hajiyev have been performed in Vienna, at the Feurich International Piano, Vocal and Chamber Music Competition as well as at the Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition in Indiana, USA.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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12 July 2017 17:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Baku hosts the 2nd International Folk Dance Festival "Bridge of friendship", organized by the Baku City Main Department of Culture and Tourism.

More than four hundred dancers from Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Israel, Moldova, Latvia and Georgia have joined the grand event, Trend Lire reported.

Head of the Baku City Main Department of Culture and Tourism Ministry Vugar Zeynalov met with the guests of the city, representatives of the delegations.

He stressed that the festival aims at developing folk art, building bridges of culture and friendship between peoples.

The guests expressed their sincere appreciation for the hospitality and expressed their admiration for the beauty of Azerbaijan's capital and the high organization of the festival,

They also presented national souvenirs to each other.

"Bridge of friendship" festival will run until July 13 at the Azerbaijan State Theatre of Young Spectators. The tours around major landmarks of Baku are organized as part of the event.

The gala concert will be held at the Mardakan Culture House.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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12 July 2017 13:57 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

A week has passed since the murder of two Azerbaijani civilians  a woman and her granddaughter  by Armenian militaries and the aggressor country has not been duly punished yet.

The Armenian armed forces, using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers, shelled the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijans Fuzuli region on July 4. As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sahiba Allahverdiyeva, 50, and Zahra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Salminaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on

Residents of the Alkhanli village, which is located in 400 meters from the frontline, were living peaceful life before the incident. The Alkhanli villagers, accustomed to regular provocations of Armenians, were busy with their affairs.

The Armenians were regularly firing the village with small arms, resident of the village Mazahir Guliyev told an ARB 24 reporter. But since July 2, they began to use artillery guns. On that day, Armenians were firing all the pastures and our distillery.

Guliyev said that Armenians continued the ceasefire breaches during the next two days. In the evening of July 4, they shelled the center of the village, and as a result two people died.

"This is not the first time -- Armenians shell the village almost every day," said another resident of Alkhanli Sevinj Mammadova. "Previously, they fired at the cemeteries, constructions, but lately they targeted the people..."

Little Zahra was playing in the yard with her grandmother. Suddenly a shell thrown by the Armenian armed forces fell near them and killed innocent people  a 50-year-old grandmother and her tiny angel, who couldnt even celebrate her second birthday.

Today, life in the Alkhanli village goes on. The Armenians couldnt frighten the Alkhanli residents.

They are trying to scare us in this way. But they won't achieve their goal  we are not afraid of them, said Salman Guliyev, the grandfather of the late Zahra.

By and large, Armenia has again resorted to a vile act and killed two more Azerbaijani citizens who were living their quiet life in their native village. However, the international community has again turned a blind eye to this terrible crime, as Armenia still remains unpunished for it. A number of international organizations disseminated their statements condemning this terror act, but none of them has taken a serious action against its perpetrator  Armenia.

Today, people living in Alkhanli village, as well as the whole Azerbaijani nation, believe that the day will come when the Armenian invaders will eventually withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani lands, and the long-awaited peace will be restored in the region. After that, a normal life will come to all the frontier regions of Azerbaijan, and children will live quietly, without wincing from the roar of another Armenian bullet or shell.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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12 July 2017 09:54 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan's delegation has given a sharp response to the Armenian delegation's provocation at the informal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OSCE participating states in Mauerbach, Austria.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict remains one of the most serious threats to peace and security in the OSCE region, the Azerbaijani delagation said, according to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Despite a clear mandate given by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions to OSCE, the prevailing trend we observe within the Organization is merely to defuse the conflict. De-escalating the conflict without withdrawing the Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan would not bring solution to the problem."

"We must advance almost unanimous position within OSCE that the status-quo in the conflict is unsustainable. We must change it in view of Armenias all kinds of provocations along the front lineaimed at escalating conflict," the delegation said.

"Latest indiscriminate shelling of civilian settlements, which resulted in death of two Azerbaijanis is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law by Armenia and testifies to systematicpolicy of targeting civilians with a view to compelling Azerbaijan to react and providing her an excuse to derail the peace efforts."

"It is the current Armenian regimes awareness of imminent legitimacy crisis, once the conflict is resolved, that makes it to act so provocatively. Armenian leadership realises that solving conflict peacefully in accordance with international law would mean restoring sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan over the occupied territories. Therefore, it spares no effort to perpetuate the current status-quo to make the regime survivable."

"Armenia has to understand that by increasing its reliance on current status-quo, it runs a risk of completely losing its independence and becoming a tool in political games in the region. It isonly by resolving the conflict peacefully and restoring good-neighbourly relations with Azerbaijan and other countries of the region that Armenia can secure an independent and prosperous future for its nation, and benefit from development of the region"

"I regret that the Foreign Minister of Armenia lost the opportunity of dialogue in Mauerbach. He delivered accusatory statement full of baseless allegations against Azerbaijan. Such statement mayyield desired outcome for domestic political considerations, but this was not that was expected from him in the OSCE. Everybody in this hall knows who is the aggressor and who is the aggrieved in the context of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. The question is what the Armenian Minister tried to accomplish with his statement. If he thinks that in this way he can contribute to restoration of trust and confidence in the Organization, then clearly he failed."

"The Armenian Minister sounded extremely provocative in view of planned meeting with Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan and the Co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group later today in Brussels. We stronglyencourage the Armenian Delegation to take constructive position, as expected, both here in the OSCE and in negotiations in Brussels," the Azerbaijani delegation said.

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12 July 2017 11:43 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Armenian militarys killing of two Azerbaijani civilians in provocation on the frontline and the necessity of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were once again stressed at the international arena.

Members of the European Parliament and independent Azerbaijani and Armenian experts discussed the issues at the meeting of the European Parliaments Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on July 11.

During the discussions, member of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, Slovenian MP Ivo Vajgl criticized Armenias military-political regime for the death of Azerbaijani civilians as a result of the shelling of Alkhanli village of Azerbaijans Fuzuli region on July 4.

In the evening of that day, the Armenian armed forces using mortars and grenade launchers shelled the village. As a result of this provocation, a resident of the village and her two-year-old granddaughter were killed. Another resident, who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on.

Vajgl brought to the attention of the participants that Azerbaijans territories were occupied by Armenia, adding that Azerbaijani people were forced to leave their houses.

He further stressed the necessity of making serious efforts to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is important from the security point of view of the European Union. Vajgl added that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved only within the international law.

European Parliament rapporteur on Azerbaijan, member of Euronest PA, Romanian MP Norica Nicolai also condemned Armenia for the death of the Azerbaijani civilians.

She noted that the incident occurred in the area adjacent to Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region, where Azerbaijani civilians live, rather than in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region itself.

Member of the European Parliament, Lithuanian MP Petras Austrevicius also said that shelling of Alkhanli village of Azerbaijans Fuzuli region by Armenia is a wrong action and there is a big threat of the resumption of the conflict.

MEP, Croatian MP Zeljana Zovko, in turn, stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved only peacefully, and the war is unacceptable. She added that such tension on the line of contact of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops is causing the death of civilians and it must be prevented.

Other MEPs also delivered speech and expressed concern about the events on the Nagorno-Karabakh frontline.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. As a result of the war, more than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced. Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal. Today, 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands are under Armenian occupation.

Azerbaijan has long ago stated it is ready to settle the prolonged Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through direct negotiations with Armenia with mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group. However, the Armenian side is constantly trying to make up reasons to avoid a constructive dialogue and preserve the unacceptable status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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12 July 2017 11:57 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Kristian Vigenin, a special representative of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on the South Caucasus, will visit the South-Caucasus region in September, head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the OSCE PA, Vice Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Bahar Muradova said at a press conference on July 11.

She said that the special representative will visit all three countries of the region  Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, and an appropriate date for the visit will be revealed in the coming period.

Muradova noted that during the OSCE PA meeting held in Minsk, Vigenin separately met with the delegations of each of the three countries.

An exchange of views was held regarding his upcoming visit to the region, the program of the visit, and the issues to be included in it, she said. After individual meetings, a general meeting was held with the participation of delegations from all three countries.

She added that each of the parties expressed its position in connection with Vigenins visit, and noted its importance, as well as the necessity of more frequent visits.

Last time, Vigenin visited the South Caucasus region on May 23-27. In Armenia and Azerbaijan, he had extensive discussions with the presidents, as well as with officials and parliamentarians, particularly on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

After the visit, Vigenin noted that he plans to prepare some more concrete proposals on co-operation over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution that he will discuss with MPs from both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

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. Today, Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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12 July 2017 11:42 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have made a statement regarding the meeting of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian in Brussels July 11, the OSCE website said July 12.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs (Ambassador Igor Popov of Russia, Ambassador Stephane Visconti of France, and Ambassador Richard Hoagland of the US) met July 11 with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian to discuss modalities of further work on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, according to the statement.

The personal representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, also participated in the meeting, said the statement.

The ministers agreed to pass to their presidents the co-chairs proposal for a high-level meeting later this year, the statement noted. The co-chairs offered their assistance in organizing this meeting.

The current situation on the contact line between the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops was also discussed, according to the statement.

The ministers and the OSCE MG co-chairs agreed to meet again in New York in September on the margins of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, said the statement.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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12 July 2017 14:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The activity of the OSCE Minsk Group, established to broker a peace to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, was criticized at the session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Minsk

Azay Guliyev, Vice-President of the OSCE PA and member of Azerbaijani delegation to the organization, raveled this while talking to reporters on July 12.

Guliyev said that the unsuccessful activity of the OSCE Minsk Group was stressed at the meeting.

The Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, the Russian Federation, and the United States, spearheads the OSCE's efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Although the Group deals with the issue for over two decades, its activities have brought no breakthrough results so far.

Guliyev said that the speakers also voiced necessity of bringing Armenia to the negotiating table in the shortest possible time to achieve a specific result in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Calls were also voiced in connection with the return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes, and the issue of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was raised at the session, Guliyev said.

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. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. Today, Armenia keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.

Armenia ignores all attempts of Azerbaijan and mediators to achieve progress in the settlement of the conflict, thus trying to preserve the inadmissible status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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12 July 2017 15:52 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Brussels hosted a meeting of Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian amid the high-tension over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has long posed a real threat to the security in the South Caucasus region. The recent provocation on the frontline and the murder of Azerbaijani civilians by Armenian militaries considerably increased the likelihood of a resumption of hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group, which deals with finding a fair solution to the conflict, organized the meeting with Mammadyarov and Nalbandian to discuss modalities of further work on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the OSCE reported.

The ministers agreed to pass to their presidents the co-chairs proposal for a high-level meeting later this year, the statement noted. The co-chairs offered their assistance in organizing this meeting.

Moreover, the ministers and the OSCE MG co-chairs agreed to meet again in New York in September on the margins of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The sides also discussed the current situation on the contact line between the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops. It is noteworthy that while the Armenian Foreign Minister was at the meeting in Brussels, his countrymen, as usual, were shelling Azerbaijani positions on the frontline.

Commenting on the meeting in Brussels, Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev noted that Azerbaijan supports continuation of substantive talks on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

During the meeting, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister reiterated that in order to reduce tensions and ensure security in the region, the Armenian Armed Forces must be withdrawn from Azerbaijans occupied territories according to the plan of the mediators, the spokesman said.

The issue of creating any mechanisms was not discussed at the meeting in Brussels, he said, adding that the Minsk Group co-chairs will visit the South Caucasus region once again in autumn.

The last visit of the Minsk Group to the region brought no tangible results. In contrast, the Armenian armed forces intensified their attacks on the Azerbaijani positions, although the co-chairs were still in the region, thus killing an Azerbaijani soldier on June 15. This killing and the murder of two Azerbaijani civilians afterwards are the clearest evidence that Armenia, the aggressor country that illegally occupies 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands, has no respect to the international society, and in particular to the OSCE Minsk Group.

While the co-chairs repeatedly urge the sides to strictly adhere to the ceasefire and take steps to reduce tensions along the line of contact, Armenia does exactly the opposite. The country does its utmost to preserve the status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan voices readiness for holding substantive talks with Armenia, but the OSCE Minsk Group doesnt exert any pressure on Armenia, thus the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict approaches its third decade of existence.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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12 July 2017 10:55 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Important resolutions on Azerbaijan have been adopted at the 44th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Abidjan, Cote dIvoire.

Azerbaijan was represented by Ogtay Ibrahimov at the event in the status of foreign ministers special representative, who spoke on behalf of countrys Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, Azertac reported.

A number of resolutions related to Azerbaijan were adopted at the session, including resolutions on Armenias aggression against Azerbaijan and the Armenian destruction of Azerbaijans religious and cultural heritage in the countrys occupied territories.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

Overall, since the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and occupation of Azerbaijani territories, Armenian aggressors destroyed 1,200 historical and architectural monuments, looted 27 museums, over 100,000 items were exported to Armenia. In addition, the Armenian occupiers destroyed 152 religious monuments and 62 mosques, 4.6 million books in 927 libraries, including the Holy Quran and rare Islamic manuscripts.

Moreover, a resolution was adopted on the 25th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide and a resolution welcoming the announcement of 2017 as The Year of Islamic Solidarity by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

From October 1991, the town of Khojaly was entirely surrounded by the Armenian Armed Forces. After the massive artillery bombardment of Khojaly, Armenians began assault on the town from various directions on the night of February 25-26, 1992. Finally, the Armed Forces of Armenia, with the help of the infantry guards regiment No. 366 of the former Soviet Union, implemented the seizure of Khojaly.

The invaders destroyed Khojaly and with particular brutality implemented carnage over the peaceful population of the town. As a result, 613 civilians were killed, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly, while 1,000 people were wounded and 1,275 people were taken hostage. The fate of 150 of them remains yet unknown.

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12 July 2017 10:05 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President-elect of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga.

Dear Mr President, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on your election as President of Mongolia, Ilham Aliyev said in his letter. I hope that we will make joint efforts to develop friendship and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Mongolia in the best interests of our peoples.

Taking this pleasant opportunity, on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my most sincere congratulations to you and all the people of Mongolia on the occasion of the national holiday of your country, the letter said. I wish you robust health, success in your endeavors, and the friendly people of Mongolia peace and prosperity.

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12 July 2017 12:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan consider issues relating to the exchange of experience and cooperation between the two countries religious organizations, as Uzbek delegation visits Baku.

Chairman of the Committee on Religious Affairs under the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan Artukbek Yusupov and chairman of Uzbekistan Muslims Board, mufti Usmonhon Alimov had already held several meetings with Azerbaijani officials, Azertac reported.

As part of the visit, the Uzbek delegation was firstly received by President Ilham Aliyev, who hailed good prospects for Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan bilateral relations.

The head of state also underlined the importance of the discussion of the issues relating to the exchange of experience and cooperation between religious organizations.

Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade met with the Uzbek delegation on July 11.

Pashazade highlighted historically existing friendly relations between the two countries. Uzbekistan as always support Azerbaijan`s just position, he added.

Sheikhulislam further stressed that Azerbaijan has developed an exemplary model of multiculturalism, adding the country pays special attention to preservation and further development of historical and cultural heritage.

Saying that brotherly Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are bound by ties of historical friendship, Yusupov noted that the development processes in Azerbaijan and the achievements of the friendly people of Azerbaijan are being followed with great interest in his country.

Deputy Prime minister Ali Ahmadov also received Uzbek guests, who voiced that Azerbaijani-Uzbek relations steadily develop.

Yusupov stressed the particular role of reciprocal visits in strengthening bonds between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. He also said the policy carried out by the heads of the states of both countries serve to the development of bonds.

Ahmadov also highlighted friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, saying both countries make significant efforts to realize multi-scaled cooperation. He also said traditional friendship serve to the interests of both countries.

The delegation also visited National Parliament of Azerbaijan to meet Speaker Ogtay Asadov.

The Speaker noted there are good prospects for development of bilateral Azerbaijani-Uzbek ties. He touched upon inter-parliamentary bonds, saying meetings held served further deepening relations between the two countries. The Speaker highlighted both countries` supporting each other within the international organizations.

Yusupov spoke of friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Mutual respect and friendship lie at the heart of our ties, he added.

Head of the Administration of Azerbaijani Parliament Safa Mirzayev, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade Chairman to the State Committee on Religious Associations Mubariz Gurbanli Uzbek Ambassador to Azerbaijan Sherzod Fayziev also presented at the meeting.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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12 July 2017 13:28 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Turkey highly appreciates Azerbaijan's support in the fight against the movement of Fethullah Gulen, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ercan Ozoral said.

The envoy announced about this at a press conference on the anniversary of the coup attempt in Turkey on the night of 15 to 16 July last year.



"Unfortunately, Turkey does not receive the necessary support from the international community in the fight against the Gulen movement, while Azerbaijan has supported and continues to support us on this issue from the very beginning," he said.

The diplomat noted that on the night of the military coup attempt, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was one of the first heads of state to call Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are stronger together, the ambassador said. The strength of Azerbaijan is the strength of Turkey and the strength of Turkey is the strength of Azerbaijan.

He recalled that there was one Azerbaijani among more than 255 Turkish citizens, who were killed during the events related to the military coup attempt.

Ozoral noted that the events of July 15, 2016 didnt weaken Turkey, but, on the contrary, made the country stronger. After the military coup attempt, the Turkish economy during the year was growing at a faster pace than earlier, he added.

On the night of July 16 last year, a group of rebels attempted a military coup in Turkey. The main confrontation unfolded in Ankara and Istanbul. More than 240 Turkish citizens were killed and more than 2,000 people were injured. The mutiny was suppressed.

As news of the coup attempt spread via social media and TV, thousands of ordinary citizens gathered in streets and squares around Ankara and Istanbul to oppose the coup.

The crowds resisted tank fire and air bombardments and, with the help of loyalist soldiers and police forces, they together with the government defeated the coup attempt in early hours of July 16.

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the deadly plot was organized by followers of U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.

The General Staff of Turkish Armed Forces has said that 8,651 servicemen of the armed forces participated in the military coup attempt in the country. The rebels used 35 planes, 37 helicopters, 246 tanks and three vessels during the military coup attempt in Turkey.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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12 July 2017 13:20 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan will come together in Baku on July 18-19 for a tripartite meeting.

Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ercan Ozoral said that the meeting will cover bilateral and tripartite issues in several spheres.

Ozoral also revealed that on the same dates, heads of customs of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia will gather in Baku.

Azerbaijan-Turkey-Turkmenistan format of cooperation arose at the level of foreign ministers of the three Turkic states in 2014. Baku became the initiator, and the first meeting was held in the capital of Azerbaijan, where the Baku Declaration was adopted. Then the parties met each year to discuss various topical issues of mutual cooperation.

The trilateral cooperation of Azerbaijan-Turkey-Turkmenistan is based on the energy interests of the three countries. In addition, the parties are negotiating the creation of a transport corridor, since the three countries want to combine their transport systems.



Turkmenistan is already exploring a new route through Azerbaijan for the export of its hydrocarbons to world markets. At the same time, Ashgabat sends both crude oil and oil products through Azerbaijan.



Earlier in January, Azerbaijani MP Zahid Oruj confirmed that Azerbaijan-Turkey-Turkmenistan trilateral format of cooperation would facilitate the transportation of Azerbaijani and Turkmen gas to Europe.

The three countries develop relations not only in the energy sphere. So in September, 2016, the three sides signed the Ashgabat Declaration to create a transport corridor from Beijing to London.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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12 July 2017 15:22 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to visit Azerbaijan by late 2017.

The main issue on the agenda of the Baku- Cairo relations for the near future is the preparation to the official visit of Fattah al-Sisi to Baku, Azerbaijani ambassador to Egypt Tural Rzayev told Trend on July 12.

This fall, the parties at the level of diplomatic departments plan to intensify the preparations for the visit, which may take place before the end of the year.

The visit at such a high level will give a great impetus to the development of cooperation between the two countries in all spheres, the diplomat noted.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was previously invited to the 4th Global Forum of Open Societies, which was held in Baku on March 2016. However, because of the busy schedule his visit did not take place.



Today, the main areas of the Baku-Cairo bilateral cooperation are energy, tourism, agriculture, medicine and pharmaceuticals, where Egypt has great experience.

In general, the volume of trade between the two countries for the past five or six years has amounted to about $5 billion, Rzayev noted, adding that both countries have great potential for growth in trade,.

Azerbaijan also intends to intensify efforts to promote the Made in Azerbaijan brand in Egypt and expand the opportunities for the Egyptian business to enter Azerbaijani market.

The volume of trade between the two countries in January-May 2017 amounted to $3.5 million, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan. The turnover increased by 40 percent compared to the same period last year.

The basis of Egypts exports to Azerbaijan contains medicines, clothes, rice, frozen vegetables, foodstuff, ceramics, marble and veterinary medicines. As for the Azerbaijans exports to Egypt, predominantly, oil and chemical products, geophysics equipment, spare parts, pipes and so on.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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12 July 2017 11:14 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Ankara highly appreciates the support provided by other countries to Turkey during the events connected with the military coup attempt of July 2016, the administration of Turkeys President told Trend.

The military coup attempt was a serious test for the people of Turkey," the presidential administration said. On this day, Turkey once again recognized its friends, who supported the government of the country

The presidential administration also noted that the people of Turkey proved to the whole world their adherence to democratic values, and not to chaos and instability.

"Thanks to its people, Turkey was able to prevent a military coup attempt," the presidential administration said.



The events on the occasion of the anniversary of the military coup attempt in Turkey began in Ankara on July 11 with participation of political leaders of the country.

Eighty one provinces of Turkey will host events dedicated to this date from July 11 to 16, the main of which will be held in Ankara and Istanbul, where monuments to the victims of rebels will be opened. Special sessions will be held in the country's parliament.

The deadly coup attempt in July 2016 was the bloodiest coup attempt in Turkeys political history. On July 15 2016, a section of the Turkish military launched a coordinated operation in several major cities to topple the government and unseat the president.

Soldiers and tanks took to the streets and a number of explosions rang out in Ankara and Istanbul. Fighter jets dropped bombs on the parliament, while the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hulusi Akar, was kidnapped.

As news of the coup attempt spread via social media and TV, thousands of ordinary citizens gathered in streets and squares around Ankara and Istanbul to oppose the coup.

The crowds resisted tank fire and air bombardments and, with the help of loyalist soldiers and police forces, they together with the government defeated the coup attempt in early hours of July 16.

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the deadly plot, which martyred more than 240 people and injured more than 2,000 others, was organized by followers of U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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12 July 2017 12:10 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Central Asian states, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which traditionally enjoy fruitful and successful cooperation, voiced commitment to deepen the ties.

Uzbekistans President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, who arrived in Tashkent on a two-day working visit, discussed the expansion of practical Uzbek-Turkmen cooperation on July 11.

The sides discussed the expansion of cooperation between the countries, as well as new areas of partnership, the National News Agency of Uzbekistan (UzA) reported.

Currently, companies and enterprises of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are implementing agreements worth over $200 million.

A new batch of cotton harvesting machines, cultivators and other modern equipment was delivered to Turkmenistan. This month, the trade and service center of Uzbekistan will start operating in Ashgabat.

The repair and modernization of rolling stock of Turkmen railways is carried out on the base of Uzbekistan Temir Yollari JSC.

The volumes of transit traffic between the two countries recorded an increase with the opening of the automobile and railway bridges of Turkmenabad-Farab.

The transit of Uzbek cargo by rail through the territory of Turkmenistan increased by 25 percent.

Mirziyoyev and Meredov exchanged views on topical issues of regional and international policy.

The Turkmen FM confirmed his country's readiness for further development of full-scale cooperation.

In 2015, the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to about $320 million, in January-August of 2016 - $177 million.

Uzbekistan exports fertilizers, construction materials, fruits and vegetables, electrical and mechanical equipment, vehicles, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, services to Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan supplies oil products, propylene polymers, sulfuric acid to Uzbekistan.

In Uzbekistan, 7 enterprises operate with the participation of the Turkmen side. In Turkmenistan, there are 6 enterprises with participation of residents of Uzbekistan.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 July 2017 12:36 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

The European Union and Iran continue taking steps to strengthen their cooperation in nuclear area.

The importance of establishing Nuclear Security Center in Iran was underlined at the talks between the high-ranking delegation of the European Union and Iran's nuclear regulatory body, IRNA reported on July 12.

The meeting, which was attended by Head of EU's Nuclear Safety Commission Oliver Luis and head of the Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (INRA) Khojatollah Salehi, discussed the creation of a roadmap for the establishment of the Nuclear Security Center.

The next joint working session will be held in Brussels in November, when the Iranian delegation while continuing the talks will pay visit to the E.U nuclear centers.

In April 2017, Iran and the European Commission signed the 2.5-million-euro project, which aims at improving the capabilities of the Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority by preparing feasibility study for the nuclear safety center, as envisaged by the JCPOA.

Iran and the EU also plan to set up a roadmap based on The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and use its facilities in nuclear research and development, he said.

The Euratom is an international organization founded in 1957 with the purpose of creating a specialist market for nuclear power in Europe, developing nuclear energy and distributing it to its member states while selling the surplus to non-member states.

The signing of the JCPOA between Iran and global powers after more than a decade of painstaking diplomatic negotiations was a major turning point in the Middle East region and EU-Iran relations.

The nuclear deal was negotiated in July 2015 between Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany. By ratifying the plan, Iran agreed to scale down its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

The agreement provides that in return for verifiable abiding by its commitments, Iran receives relief from U.S., European Union, and UN Security Council nuclear-related economic sanctions.

The implementation of a project to promote technical capabilities in the field of nuclear safety and the establishment of Nuclear Safety Center became one of the main achievements of the Iranian nuclear industry after signing nuclear deal, according to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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12 July 2017 13:57 (UTC+04:00)

The responsibility of politicians and journalists for the public word has grown considerably, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said at the opening of the plenary meeting of the 19th World Congress of Russian Press in Minsk on 12 July.

Of course, those vested with the authority to make decisions in the name of and for the benefit of people are fully integrated in the information flows. Words have an immense influence on us, country leaders. In this context, the responsibility of both politicians and journalists for the public word has grown considerably, Lukashenko said, BelTA reported.

It is obvious that today not everything depends on politicians, heads of state. Mass media do not just cover events. Mass media have always been called the fourth power. However, considering the influence they have on the society, we can talk about a more significant role today, the Belarusian leader stressed.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that the media write the history of present days, give an overview of events and developments, and create a picture of the world. This is why professionalism and civic responsibility of members of the media are of immense importance. Of course, the readers want sensations. Newspapers, TV channels, internet publications, especially today, survive to a great extent thanks to scandals frequently produced by themselves. Meanwhile, such an approach can eventually cost them a lot, the head of state said.

Some say that these are particularities of the job. However, I can hardly agree with that. Today, in the context of the complex socio-political and socio-economic transformations, when the moral standards get broken, the society will not survive if the moral and ethical laws are not restored. The state will also have a difficult time if its foundation loses such elements as integrity, responsible attitude, and simple decency. I think we all should understand this, Alexander Lukashenko said.

The Belarusian leader said that politicians, public figures, government officials, and journalists are equally responsible for their choices.

Russian President Vladimir Putins message was read out at the Congress. In his message, the Russian President head of state said these traditional meetings are one of the major events in Russian-speaking media space.

President Putin brought up medias potential for enlightenment, solidarity, education. Of course, you have a good understanding of the enormous educational and consolidating potential of the media, their special responsibility for fair and impartial coverage of the events around the planet. .

President of the World Association of Russian Press, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Vitaly Ignatenko said the Congress is held in Belarus for the second time. This is indicative of great attention the country pays to Russian language, said Vitaly Ignatenko.

The event has brought together participants from 52 countries, including 238 representatives of 213 media outlets.

The list of participants also includes government officials and public figures of Belarus and Russia, heads and representatives of international organizations, diplomats, MPs, businessmen, political analysts, and media experts.

The first World Congress of Russian Press was held in Moscow and Sochi in June 1999. The forum adopted a decision to establish the World Association of Russian Press, an open international non-governmental association of print and digital media, news agencies, publishing houses, television channels, and radio programs.

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12 July 2017 15:36 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Washington and Paris will try to seek common ground as U.S. President Donald Trump will arrive in Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on July 12.

Trump's visit to Paris this week, to celebrate 100 years since U.S. troops entered World War One on the side of France and Britain, follows the G20 summit last weekend that put two presidents on different sides of the barricade with regards to trade and climate policy.

Macron and Trump do not have much in common except for their recent victories in presidential elections and professional background.

U.S. and French officials said that this meeting will allow the leaders to focus on those areas where their interests overlap, including resolving the conflict in Syria and countering global terrorism, Reuters reported.

I would characterize the relationship between the two of them as being very positive, the administration official said. There are some issues where we see the world a little bit differently, but many issues where we see the world more or less the same.

The leaders will most likely avoid the issues that they do not agree upon, such as Trumps decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. This move sets the world's largest economy apart from almost all other nations on Earth.

The support of the United States, the largest economy in the world, is vital for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 by 194 countries and ratified by 143.

The agreement aims at keeping the increase in average global temperature at below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

It is unclear whether the leaders will address thornier issues such as policy toward Iran, possible American tariffs on steel and Russia sanctions legislation in the U.S. Congress that might derail a 9.5 billion euro gas pipe project in which France's Engie SA has a stake.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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12 July 2017 17:26 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

As a year passes since the attempted military coup that shook Turkey in July 2016, the country's political elite is marking this monumental turning point in their political history.

The deadly coup attempt, which claimed the lives of more than 240 people and injured over 2,000, is regarded as a test democracy for the nation in Turkey. The country received multiple international reaction to the event, showcased true friends of the nation.

Speaking at the event held on this occasion, Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag accused the west of keeping silence and not supporting the democratic government in Turkey.

"The West, including the U.S., was remained silent until the end of the events related to the attempted military coup. Instead of supporting Turkey, the West chose to keep silence until the end. Only a number of friendly countries supported Turkey, and we thank these countries for supporting the democratic building in Turkey," the minister told reporters on July 12.

Turkey is upset by the position of Europe and the U.S., which was demonstrated during the coup attempt, he added.

At the early hours of July 15 soldiers and tanks took to the streets and a number of explosions rang out in Ankara and Istanbul. Fighter jets dropped bombs on the parliament, while the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hulusi Akar, was kidnapped.

As news of the coup attempt spread via social media and TV, thousands of ordinary citizens went to streets and squares around Ankara and Istanbul to oppose the coup.

Bozdag noted that no one else can attempt a military coup in Turkey any more.

"For the first time the Turkish Parliament was bombarded by the terrorists of the Fethullah Gulen movement, which was prevented by the people of Turkey. For the sake of their country they took to the streets and supported their government," he said.

The minister noted that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also contributed to the prevention of the coup attempt.



Around 6,000 suspects, including at least 2,839 soldiers and thousands of judiciary members, have been detained as part of a wide-scale operation launched following the deadly coup attempt.

Bozdag also commented on the rumors about the violence committed against putschists, saying no violence was committed against them in Turkey.

He went on talking about difficulties in extraditing putschists from a number of countries.

"What Osama bin Laden means for the U.S., then Fethullah Gulen means the same for Turkey. It is known that Gulen is currently hiding in the U.S., while a number of putschists are in Germany and Greece. Such treatment by some countries makes a negative impact on our relations with them," he said.

The minister believes that the Gulen movement is a threat not only for Turkey, but also for other countries.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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12 July 2017 17:12 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Kazakhstan continues its actions needed for transition to green economy model.

Central Asian nation intends to use the experience of Austria, Finland, and Latvia in developing green economy.

This was stated by Kazakhstans Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev at a briefing during the International Forum Partnership Program Green Bridge, Kazinform reported.

During the panel session they signed "Low-Carbon Technologies and Policies in the Implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, a memorandum on Cooperation with the Austrian Institute of Technology and a MoU with Finnish KaukoInternational Oy.

"Why were memorandums with these two organizations signed today? As for Kaukointernational, it is, first of all, a Finnish company. And you know that Finland is one of the most green countries in the world, not only in Europe. The level of their waste processing is 98 percent. In Kazakhstan, the level is 26 percent for industrial waste, and 2-3 percent for domestic waste. Therefore, when the President of Finland was here, a few weeks ago, the heads of our states agreed that Kazakhstan will use extensively the experience of Finland," Bozumbayev said.

He noted that six working groups in all areas of cooperation were created and todays signing of documents is the result of work on one of the directions.

We think that we will need to involve Finnish technologies and Finnish companies in the development of a green economy," the minister said.

He also talked about the Austrian Institute of Technology which is the leading organization in terms of developing "green" economy and energy in Europe and the world.

They have some unique developments, and we could use them here, he added.

Bozumbayev also noted that it is planned to study Latvia's experience in waste processing.

A large group of the major cities' akimats as well as Economy Ministrys employees will be sent to Latvia for this, as Kazakh wastewater treatment plants and waste disposal sites need to be modernized.

With the largest and strongest performing economy in Central Asia, Kazakhstan has taken a leading role in the region in exploring the ways of transition to green economy. The country aims at diversifying the economy with alternative, cleaner sources of energy and reforms its agricultural and industrial sectors with the use of advanced brand-new technologies.

Main directions of the concept of green economy include introduction of renewable energy resources other than oil and gas, promotion of energy efficiency in housing and communal services, use of organic fertilizers for crop yield, improvement of waste management system, and development of clean transport.

Kazakhstan will use renewable and alternative energy sources to create 50 percent of the electric capacity generated in the country, according to President Nursultan Nazarbayevs ambitious 2050 Strategy. This is just one component of Kazakhstans comprehensive initiative to transfer from one of the worlds premier hydrocarbon energy producers to the green economy model.

The government has already established several organizations concerned of the smooth transition of Kazakhstan to green economy. The joint EU, UNDP, UNECE project Supporting Kazakhstans Transition to a Green Economy Model also envisages bringing of the water governance in the country into line with green economy strategy. The project envisages introducing modern environmental governance system and water management policies, and enhancing environmental impact assessment procedures for sustainable use of water resources.

Transition to the green economy reduces risks of global threats such as climate change, exhaustion of natural resources and deficit of water.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
12 July 2017 18:03 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Georgian Prime Minister Georgi Kvirikashvili disclosed the details of new state appointments at a governmental meeting on July 12.

Deputy Energy Minister Ilia Eloshvili has been appointed as Georgias new Minister of Energy.

The post of Energy Minister fell vacant after Minister Kakha Kaladze was named as Tbilisi mayoral candidate, meaning he had to leave his ministerial role.

Kvirikashvili said that Eloshvili has been deputy minister since 2012 and has contributed to all projects the Energy Ministry has implemented since then.

"He has been minister too for several months so he has this experience. Im sure he will be successful in the important task he is given. He is experienced in both the private and public sectors as well as in international programs, Kvirikashvili said.

Eloshvili has held the Energy Minister post from September to November of 2016 when the post was vacant before the newly elected Parliament gave a vote of confidence to the new government.

Kaladze also held the position of Vice Prime Minister. This role has now been given to Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze.

Kvirikashvili said that by appointing Janelidze as Vice Prime Minister, foreign relations officially become Georgias high priority.

"The foreign direction has always been our priority but this appointment once again stressed it, Kvirikashvili said.

The Prime Minster underlined the successful completion of the process of visa liberalization saying that the lion's share of the work in this direction was fulfilled by the Foreign Ministry.

Also during his tenure as Deputy Minister of Economy, Mikhail Janelidze was the chief negotiator in the process of formalizing an agreement on free trade with Europe. Thus, we consider this to be an important decision and think that the nomination of an external direction in the priorities will also benefit the process of countrys European and Euro-Atlantic integration, Kvirikashvili added.

From March 28, citizens of Georgia were granted visa-free entry to EU member countries. Negotiations on visa liberalization for Georgia began back in 2008 as part of the Eastern Partnership Program. Georgia entered the practical phase of those talks in 2012 as it prepared for associate EU membership. Georgia abolished visa requirements for EU citizens back in 2006.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
ENROUTE IIFA: Celebrities Rocked Their Style Journey To IIFA Fashion Dona

One of the biggest bashes of Bollywood, the IIFA Awards ceremony will take place this weekend and we have all the celebrities packing their bags for the occasion which is to take place in New York City this year.

Some celebrities have already packed their bags and have headed towards New York City.

We saw some of them recently at the airport and what we decoded was that the celebrities are already on their toes to rock the event with their styles. Their airport looks while they headed towards the grand event speak a lot of what is yet to come.

We picked up some of the celebrities who looked their best at the airport. The whole IIFA travel game was of camouflages to sexy bags.

Alia Bhatt Alia is a complete fashionista and we have already said that before. For her journey to IIFA, she wore a black dress, topping it with a camouflage printed trench jacket. The jacket had embroidered patches to make the look cooler. She wore a pair of black sneakers with the dress and nothing else could have looked cooler. Carrying a red Louis Vuitton vanity bag, she completely killed it. Karan Johar Karan Johar was the coolest stud among all as he headed over to the event in style. He sported a black tee, black trousers and black boots, putting on a red trench coat and carrying a cat labelled Gucci handbag. His pair of shades were also very sexy. Such swag alert! Shahid Kapoor And Mira Kapoor Shahid and Mira were seen crossing the airport arena while heading on towards New York. Shahid carried a casual look with a tee, jeans and a jacket while embracing the sleeping baby Misha in his arms. Mira flaunted her sexy camouflage printed jacket with multi-hued bars printed on it. She wore it with a pair of jeans and totally rocked it. Disha Patani Disha flaunted a casual and cool look, sporting it with a grey tee and blue ripped jeans, topping it with a parrot green jacket. She wore the outfit with a pair of white sneakers and carried a clutch bag which was very pretty and too cute to be left unnoticed. Ibrahim And Sara Ali Khan The siblings from the Pataudi family were rocking it with their looks. Ibrahim sported a cool camouflage printed jacket from Nike and GAP pants, wearing the pair with Nike sneakers. He looked uber cool while his elder sister Sara too followed his steps. She looked stunning in a casual black tee, blue ripped jeans and white jacket. She carried a tan duffle bag and wore black slip-ons with the look. Urvashi Rautella Urvashi went all flairy with the ruffled pink dress. The neon pink was too bright as we spotted her and suited her too well. The spaghetti strapped ruffled dress with the strapped flats looked quite good. Yes, we noticed the shades she wore at night. She flopped there. Aditi Rao Hydari Aditi sported a cool girl look in the grey dungaree jumpsuit and those white sneakers. We prefer jumpsuits to be a good travel attire option, as per style or comfort options and Aditi carried it like a pro. She wore a pair of the ever-cool white sneakers and took a maroon shoulder bag. We are not so happy with the bag colour though. Kriti Sanon Kriti looked too pretty while she was about to board her flight for IIFA. She wore a black dress and a moss green jacket, wearing the attire with a pair of metallic silver canvas shoes. She wore the look with lots of swag and totally rocked it. She carried a black and red handbag and wore a pair of wide shades with the look. We feel, the only thing to be avoided was the red colour in the bag. They have set off on their journey and their initial style journey to IIFA is already showing its colours. Looking at the prelims, there is no doubt that the IIFA night is going to be large enough, filled with glamour and style and we have to wait more to see all of it.
Kim Kardashian Shares Her Simple Yet Hot Look From Japan Fashion Dona

Kim Kardashian celebrated her beau Kayne West's birthday during their latest trip to Tokyo. Kim shared intimate pictures from their romantic birthday dinner on social media and we can see, it is not just the birthday which was celebrated without much hype, Kim's look from the party is also very simple, unlike most.

Kim kept it simple in style, wearing a white spaghetti top with a pair of camouflage pants. She is devoid of any makeup or jewellery in the pictures, exactly an indoor look.

In such a simple and casual look too, Kim killed it like a pro fashionista.
Did You Know That Tequila Actually Has Numerous Health Benefits? Wellness oi-Lekhaka

"Shots, shots, shots!", this is a phrase that most of us would hear, when we are out partying, right? And usually tequila shots are the most popular ones, as they get people "high" more quickly, this is the truth.

Now, the minute you had a look at this title, you would start to feel rather skeptical, because tequila is usually associated with giving a person some of the worst hangovers of their life!

Most of us who realize that alcohol is a vice, would not even consider for a minute a strong spirit like tequila could have health benefits.

The fact is that, alcohol can be extremely dangerous for our health, when we consume it on a regular basis and in large amounts.

Apart from ruining your health, by causing a number of diseases like obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, digestive problems, liver ailments, liver damage, kidney damage and even death, alcohol can also become addictive.

The "high" that a person experiences after ingesting a considerable amount of alcohol, makes them feel a temporary sense of exhilaration.

This feeling can become quite addictive, making a person crave for more and more alcohol, both psychologically and physiologically.

So, one must exercise extreme caution, before drinking and must ensure that one sticks to minimal quantities.

Drinking minimal quantities of certain types of alcohol, like wine and brandy is known to have a number of positive health benefits.

For example, red wine is known to prevent rapid cell ageing and heart ailments, while brandy is known to reduce cold and cough.

Recently, a group of researchers have found that even tequila has a number of health benefits, when had in small amounts, just once a month.

Tequila is a spirit which originated in Mexico and is made from the blue agave plant.

Let us see what some of the health benefits of tequila are, here.

1. Aids Weight Loss As tequila can boost your metabolic rate, it can help burn body fat faster and aid weight loss, effectively. 2. Improves Digestion It is said that taking a shot of tequila, after a very heavy meal (once in a while), can stimulate the production of healthy digestive juices and aid digestion. 3. Natural Probiotic Tequila helps the production and growth of healthy gut bacteria, just like yoghurt does, thus acting as a natural probiotic that can improve your overall health. 4. Treats Osteoporosis Tequila is known to allow your body to absorb the calcium in foods in a much better way, thus strengthening your bones and reducing conditions like osteoporosis. 5. Prevents Type 2 Diabetes Tequila is said to be able to prevent type 2 diabetes, as it inhibits sugar spikes in the body, along with stimulating the production of insulin. 6. Prevents Dementia Consuming small amounts of tequila occasionally is known to lower the chances of developing dementia later in life, as it can prevent brain cell regression. 7. Reduces Depression Certain research studies have suggested that tequila may help reduce depression, by upping the serotonin levels in the brain. However, people with depression must consult their doctor before consuming any type of alcohol.

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The Sexual Powers! The Aghori Babas believe that having sex in the midst of dead bodies gives rise to supernatural powers. They consummate with the opposite sex, while there are drums that are beaten hard and the mantras are chanted loudly. They ensure that no women is forced to have sex with them and also that the women must be menstruating while the act goes on. Sounds creepy, right?

They Practice Cannibalism These Sadhus are famous for their weird eating habits. They enjoy relishing on the "DEAD CORPSES" in the graveyard. They enjoy their meal of eating the corpses, either by eating them raw or cooking them on the burning pyre. It is believed that eating the corpse gives them supernatural powers that can bring them close to Lord Shiva.

They Meditate On The Half-eaten Corpses! They believe that eating a portion of the dead is enough to come closer to their god. Hence, they are seen meditating on the dead corpses by sitting on the half-eaten corpses. According to them, sitting on the dead bodies can make them achieve divine powers of the world and they also seek answers to things like the life beyond death and many other such mythical beliefs!

When They Call The Dead Since they perform various rituals, it is also known that they are famous to even perform black magic! According to them, it gives them the power to heal. It is said that it gives them the power to talk to the dead! They also perform different rituals in the graveyard at night and talk to the dead! They also cover themselves in ashes while doing so. life Crazy Habits Of Dictators Around The World!

The Power Of The Aghoris! They believe that Lord Shiva is the one who is responsible for all that is happening around them. According to them, he is the one who controls all the conditions and effects. This is one of the reasons as to why even death and dead bodies are perfect and should be accepted and appreciated in some form.

The Ashes Of The Dead Are Used! They believe that ashes of the dead will protect them from any kind of atrocities. They also believe that covering themselves with ashes of the dead gives them the power to communicate with the dead. According to them, it is a way of how they can easily see what happens after the death of the people.

They Squash The Dead Bodies To Extract Oils They believe that they have medicines that can treat some of the most stubborn diseases such as Cancer and even AIDS. Though none of these medicines work as promised! But the fact is that the medicine they use are mostly made from the dead! They extract human oils from the dead body burning from the pyre and use it as a medicine.

They Drink From Human Skulls! These Sadhus go in search of human skulls that they use as a bowl. It is believed that after death, the Prana or life force of the deceased clings in the top of the skull. By using certain mantras and offerings, especially alcohol, they summon the spirit to return to the body, and gain control over it.

Why Do They Live Away From Civilization? They are generally seen living in the rural places and, many a times, in dense forests and in the extreme climatic conditions like the Himalayas. They do not bother about what exactly the society feels about them and they live secret lives without any intention to get social recognition. It is said that they live away from the common man, as they practice black magic.

There Are 5 Protocols That They Follow! There are five protocols of Aghoris by which they perform magic and reach to the Nirvana stage. They are:

Madya: Wine (which means a heavenly fluid which drips from the glands of the human brain).

Mamsa: Meat (swallowing the tongue).

Matsya: Fish (twin-fish an 8' shaped structure which forms a part of the backbone).

Mudra: Parched grain (positions of Kundalini yoga, followed by Aghori ascetics). Maithuna: Sexual intercourse (should be learnt from a Sriguru).
Hariyali Teej Puja Items & Method Of Performing The Pooja Faith Mysticism oi-Lekhaka

Hariyali Teej is fast approaching. It will be celebrated on the 26th of July this year, as per the Gregorian calendar. According to the Hindu lunar-solar calendar, the festival of Hariyali Teej is celebrated on the Tritiya of the Shukla Paksha in the month of Sawan. The day of Hariyali Teej marks the beginning of monsoon and is considered as a festival of love and prosperity.

The name 'Hariyali' can be translated as greenery, which follows the arrival of monsoon. The greenery and a good monsoon is what ensures a good harvest and hence, increase in wealth and prosperity. Women dress themselves up in beautiful clothes and jewellery. Songs and dances are also performed to raise the joyous mood of the day to a new level.

The legend behind the celebration is the union of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. It is also celebrated in honour of Lord Krishna and Radha Maiyya. The women folk perform pooja on the day of Hariyali Teej.

In some places, women also worship the moon on Hariyali Teej, which is the first among the three Teej festivals. Here, we shall tell you how to perform the pooja and the items that are required to do the pooja. Read on for more information.

Items Required To Perform The Hariyali Teej Pooja:

Wet black mud or sand

Bilva leaves/bel leaves

Shami leaves

Banana leaf

The fruit and the leaves of the Dhatura plant

Flowers of the Ankav plant

Tulsi leaves

Janaiv

Nada/thread

New clothes

Phulera or an umbrella made out of flowers to place above the Goddess

Items Required To Decorate Goddess Parvati, Also Called Suhag Shringar:

Mehandi

Bangles

Toe rings

Bindis

Khol

Sindoor

Kumkum

Comb

Mahaur

Suhag Puda or the traditional make up kit for weddings

Shree Phal

Kalash

Abir

Sandalwood

Oil or Ghee

Camphor

Curd

Sugar

Honey

Milk

Panchamrit

How To Do The Pooja:

Sankalp

Chant the following mantra and take a vow to perform the pooja.

'    '

'Umamaheshvarasayujya Siddhaye Haritalika Vratmaham Karishye'

Making The Statue And The Start Of The Pooja

The Hariyali Teej pooja is performed during the evening time. It is known as Pradosh, which is the time when the day and night meet. During this time, make sure that you clean yourself and wear good and clean clothes.

Next, you need to make the statues of Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha and Goddess Parvati. Traditionally, it is done in gold. But you may make them out of the black mud or sand using your own hands.

Decorate the items for the Suhag Shringar and offer it to Goddess Parvati.

Now, offer the clothes to Lord Shiva.

You can now donate the clothes and the Suhag Shringar to a Brahmin.

Then, read or listen to the story of Hariyali Teej with utmost devotion.

After the story, perform aarti of Lord Ganesha. Then, the aarti of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati must be done.

Circumambulate the deities and pray to them whole-heartedly.

Spend the night in worship and holy thoughts. You must stay awake for the night.

The next morning, perform a simple pooja for the deities and apply sindoor to the statue of Goddess Parvati.

Offer cucumber and Halwa as bhog to the deities. You can now break your fast by consuming the cucumber.

Once all this is done, collect everything and float it away in a holy river or in any water body.

This pooja is done for the long life of the husband. Unmarried women can also perform this pooja to be blessed with a husband of their choice.
On June 25th the Dawn, the biggest and most influential English-language daily paper in Pakistan, published a lengthy article by one Boris Stremlin, Non-fiction: the old Bolsheviks of the new Russia, which was supposed to be a review of the new edition of Trotskys Stalin published recently by Wellred Books and edited by myself.

Trotsky's Stalin avaliable from WellRed Books

We are informed that Stremlin, of whom I confess I had never heard, is an academic who has taught history and sociology in the US, Turkey and Kazakhstan and has published articles on contemporary Russian ideology and other subjects. Having thus been forewarned of what kind of thing we might expect, we were not at all surprised by the end result.

In normal life, when two people have an argument, they might shout and wave their fists. But in the cosy world of academia, shut away in an ivory tower and far from the madding worlds ignoble strife, other, quite different methods are employed. Bourgeois lawyers in court employ the most learned language and the most exquisite politeness. They always begin My learned friend, before making the most ferocious and unscrupulous attacks, not just against the content of the other persons speeches but also impugning the honesty of their motives and the veracity of their testimony.

Mr. Stremlin comes out of this very same school and his line of attack was therefore entirely predictable. He begins by saying some nice things about the publication of the new edition of Trotskys Stalin and is even kind enough to admit being impressed by Trotskys intellect. This is roughly the equivalent of sharpening a razor before slashing an artery:

Rereading the book after more than a quarter century, Im still impressed with Trotskys powerful intellect. Without access to much of his own archival material that had been seized by Soviet authorities, Trotsky easily demolishes official Stalinist historiography that assigns Stalin a dominant role in the 1917 Bolshevik insurrection and subsequent civil war, while deleting entirely the seminal part played by Trotsky.



Similarly, Trotsky quashes the spurious accusations put forward during the Moscow Show Trials of 1936-1938, where he, as well as Bolshevik dissidents, Red Army commanders, and noted intellectuals and artists were charged with conspiring with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan to overthrow the Soviet regime. Trotsky was among the first to challenge the official Soviet line on the Great Purges at a time when many leftists accepted it at face value, and his heroic contribution to setting the record straight still leaves all of us in his debt.

So far so good, one might think. But as the Russian proverb goes, a spoonful of tar spoils a barrel of honey. And here we have to swallow, not just a spoonful but several well-filled shovelfuls of the stuff. Stremlin begins by describing the polemics of the Bolshevik Party as obscure and sectarian activity, or at least, they may seem so to those looking at the struggle from the outside. Stremlin nevertheless concedes that

it is hard to deny that disputes among socialist groupings and parties in the early years of the 20th century had a decisive impact on the trajectory of the Soviet Union and later socialist regimes, as well as on the global system throughout the interwar and Cold War periods.

These kind words notwithstanding, the entire content of the article makes it all too obvious that our friend Boris is not only looking at the struggle from the outside, but has a hostile attitude, not just towards Trotsky, but towards Lenin, Bolshevism and revolution in general. In this he is, of course, in perfect agreement with the overwhelming majority of bourgeois academics who, behind a suitably discreet curtain of false objectivity, in reality represent the interests of the class that pays their salaries and rewards their services generously.

The offensive against October

In order to understand the history of the last hundred years it is essential to have a scientific analysis of what happened to the Russian Revolution. How did it come about that the most democratic state that ever existed ended up as a monstrous bureaucratic and totalitarian regime? Unless we are able to answer this question we will never be able to attain a clear understanding of the most important events of our epoch.

But one would look in vain in all the mountain of books, articles and learned academic papers for any such understanding. The hundredth anniversary of the October Revolution has been met with a veritable tsunami of publications that are not at all designed to enlighten, analyse or explain the nature of an event that changed the history of the world. This counterrevolutionary literature has only one purpose: to lie about, denigrate, distort and belittle the Russian Revolution, and to insult and blacken the name of its leaders, who are presented as bloodthirsty monsters.

There is nothing new in all this. History shows that it is not sufficient for the ruling class to defeat a revolution. It is necessary to cover it with slanders, blacken the name of its leaders, and surround it with a cloud of malice and suspicion so that not even the memory of it will remain to inspire the new generations. In the 19th century when the historian Thomas Carlyle was writing a book about Oliver Cromwell he said that before he could begin he had to rescue Cromwells body from under a mountain of dead dogs.

The same malice and spite born of fear is what motivates the present efforts to deny the gains and revolutionary significance of the Russian Revolution and blacken the memory of its leaders. The systematic falsification of history now being undertaken by the bourgeoisie, although somewhat more subtle than the posthumous lynchings of the English monarchists, is in no way morally superior to them. Ultimately it will prove no more effective. The locomotive of human progress is truth, not lies. And the truth will not remain buried for all time.

Lenin and Trotsky 1919

Science versus subjectivism

How was it possible for the most democratic revolution in history to degenerate in such a way as to finish as a monstrous totalitarian dictatorship? That is a fair question and it deserves a serious answer. To superficial minds the answer to this question is simple: Stalin was smarter than Trotsky and therefore outmanoeuvred him. But such a simple explanation in reality explains nothing.

Bourgeois historians invariably approach history in a superficial way, laying heavy stress on the role of individual actors in the historical drama. The history books are full of kings, queens, statesmen and other great individuals whose actions allegedly constitute the mainspring of the historical process.

Marxism is different. It is based on dialectical and historical materialism. It explains history, not by the actions of great individuals, whether heroes or villains, but by profound processes that take place behind the backs of the individual actors and unseen by them. In the last analysis the destiny of a given society is determined by its ability to develop the productive forces.

This by no means denies the role of the individual in history, which can only be expressed through the actions of men and women. Indeed, under certain conditions the outcome of a great historical drama can be decided by the intervention of a small group of people or even by a single individual. Historical materialism, while not ignoring the role of individuals, teaches us to look beyond the individual players on the stage of history and look for deeper causes.

In given moments the role of a single man or woman can be decisive. We can say with certainty that without the presence of Lenin and Trotsky (particularly the former) in 1917, the October Revolution would never have taken place. However, individuals can only play such a role when all the other conditions are present. The concatenation of circumstances in 1917 enabled Lenin and Trotsky to play a decisive role. But the same men had been present for more than two decades before and were not able to play the same role. In the same way, when the Revolution ebbed, despite their colossal personal ability, Lenin and Trotsky were not able to prevent the bureaucratic degeneration of the Revolution. This was caused by objective forces against which even the greatest leaders were powerless.

The superficial and subjective approach of Boris Stremlin is immediately conveyed by the expression that Trotsky was sidelined by Stalin en route to becoming the leader of the worlds first socialist state. The question is thus reduced to a mere power struggle between two individuals. If we accept this method, it would follow logically that Trotsky wrote his biography of Stalin as an act of personal spite to take his revenge upon the man who had sidelined him.

There is nothing new in Stremlins approach. There have been many attempts to present Stalin as a work motivated by Trotskys desire to hit out at his enemy in the Kremlin, or at the very least as an account in which factors of a personal or psychological nature rendered an objective study impossible. Such a superficial judgement does a serious injustice to the author. Trotsky already anticipated these criticisms when he wrote:

The point which I now occupy is unique. I therefore feel that I have the right to say that I have never entertained a feeling of hatred towards Stalin. In certain circles, there is a lot said and written about my so-called hatred for Stalin which apparently fills me with gloomy and troubled judgements. I can only shrug my shoulders in response to all this. Our ways have parted so long ago that whatever personal relationship there was between us has long ago been utterly extinguished. For my part, and to the extent that Stalin is the tool of historical forces, which are alien and hostile to me, my personal feelings towards Stalin are indistinguishable from my feelings towards Hitler or the Japanese Mikado. (Stalin, present edition, chapter 14: The Thermidorian reaction; The revenge of history.)

Far from being motivated by a thirst for revenge against Stalin, Trotsky had absolutely no interest in writing this book and only accepted the offer made by an American publishing house as a result of his extremely difficult financial circumstances. All his interest at that time had been to produce a biography of Lenin. The work on Stalin he regarded as a most unwelcome diversion from this task and other important work. However, once he had embarked upon the task he approached it, as he approached all his work from the standpoint of the scientific method of Marxism. Personal considerations played no role in it whatsoever.

It goes without saying that Trotsky approaches the question of the Stalinist counterrevolution as a Marxist and a revolutionist. He has no need to conceal this behind a false and hypocritical objectivity as so many of our present-day academic historians do. It is sufficient to scratch the surface of the countless learned books that are churned out every year to provide us with scientific proof that Lenin and Trotsky were bloodthirsty monsters, for the mask of academic objectivity to slip, revealing the ugly, contorted features of a fanatical anti-Communist bourgeois.

Is there a contradiction between having a passionate interest in changing society and at the same time being capable of an objective appraisal of historical events and the role of individuals in the historical process? Let Trotsky answer for himself:

In the eyes of a philistine a revolutionary point of view is virtually equivalent to an absence of scientific objectivity. We think just the opposite: only a revolutionist  provided, of course, that he is equipped with the scientific method  is capable of laying bare the objective dynamics of the revolution. Apprehending thought in general is not contemplative, but active. The element of will is indispensable for penetrating the secrets of nature and society. Just as a surgeon, on whose scalpel a human life depends, distinguishes with extreme care between the various tissues of an organism, so a revolutionist, if he has a serious attitude toward his task, is obliged with strict conscientiousness to analyse the structure of society, its functions and reflexes. (Trotsky: The Chinese Revolution, 1938)

How did Stalin become the Leader?

At first sight Stalin would not seem an obvious choice to step into Lenins shoes. Bruce Lockhart, an important eye-witness, states in his memoirs that any such suggestion would have been greeted by the Bolsheviks in 1918 with roars of laughter. But Boris Stremlin cannot accept this. Because he views history through the narrow prism of individuals, their talents and abilities, or lack of them, it simply does not make sense. If Stalin defeated Trotsky, it follows that he must have been superior. After all, nothing succeeds like success!

Boris scratches his head in disbelief. He writes: Stalin, according to the author of this newly edited biography, had no time for theory and partisan debate (which he regarded as a tempest in a teapot), because he was a mediocre, backward provincial, obsessed with self-aggrandisement and covering up his numerous psychological flaws. But as he bore the legitimacy of an Old Bolshevik, Trotsky argues, these traits made Stalin the ideal expression of the bureaucratic machine that ultimately buried the Russian Revolution.

The above characterisation of Stalin is absolutely accurate. Stalin had no ideology, other than to gain power and hold onto it. He had a tendency towards suspicion and violence. He was a typical apparatchik  narrow and ignorant, like the people whose interests he represented. The other Bolshevik leaders spent years in Western Europe and spoke foreign languages fluently, and participated personally in the international workers' movement. Stalin spoke no foreign languages and even spoke Russian poorly with a thick Georgian accent. The question arises: how then could he have risen to power?

This apparent irony is explained by Trotsky, not in terms of individual traits but in terms of social relations. A revolutionary epoch demands heroic leaders, great writers and orators, bold thinkers who are able to put into words the unconscious or semi-conscious aspirations of the masses to change society, translating them into timely slogans. It is an age of giants. But a counterrevolutionary period is one of ebb, retreat and demoralisation. Such a period does not require giants but people of a far smaller stature. It is the age of the opportunist, the conformist and the apostate.

In such circumstances, bold visionaries and heroic individuals are no longer required. The mediocrity rules supreme, and Stalin was the supreme mediocrity. Of course, this definition does not exhaust his qualities, or he would never have succeeded in elevating himself above the heads of people who were in every respect his superiors. He also possessed an iron will and determination, a stubborn, indomitable thirst for power and personal advancement and an innate skilfulness in manipulating people, exploiting their weak side, manoeuvring and intriguing.

Such qualities in the context of an advancing Revolution are of only third-rate importance. But in the ebb-tide of the Revolution, they can be utilised to great effect. We see the same phenomenon in every revolution. During the period of revolutionary upswing in France from 1789 to 1794, its leading figures were giants: Mirabeau, Danton, Marat, Robespierre, Saint Juste But in the period of revolutionary ebb that followed the fall of the Jacobins, the doors were opened to a new breed of opportunists, careerists, functionaries, turncoats and apostates. The character who perfectly characterises this period was Joseph Fouche.

Marx already pointed out that in counterrevolutionary periods, a mediocrity can take power out of the hands of far more capable and far-sighted people. In his masterpiece of historical materialism The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, he explains that Napoleons nephew, who Victor Hugo nicknamed Napoleon le Petit (Napoleon the Little), was a mediocrity, completely devoid of ideas or principles, who rose to power at a time when precisely such characteristics were required. Exactly the same can be said of Stalin.

The new school of falsification

There is nowadays a concerted effort to revive the image of Stalin and airbrush his crimes as a barely concealed fig leaf for a defence of the authoritarian regime of Vladimir Putin. Behind the facade of scholarly objectivity lurk material interest and a servile attempt to please the latest Master in the Kremlin. The latest revelations that arrive every day with tedious regularity from this source should really be issued with a government health warning: something like: the consumption of this material may seriously damage your brain.

This rewriting of history reminds one forcibly of the old methods of the Stalinist bureaucracy which placed history on its head, turned leading figures into non-persons, or demonised them, as in the case of Leon Trotsky, and generally maintained that black was white. The present writings of the enemies of socialism are no different, except that they slander Lenin with the same blind hatred and spitefulness that the Stalinists reserved for Trotsky.

Some of the worst cases of this kind are to be found in Russia. This is not surprising, for two different reasons: firstly, these people have been raised in the Stalinist school of falsification, which based itself on the principle that truth was only an instrument in the service of the ruling elite. The professors, economists and historians were, with a few honourable exceptions, accustomed to adapt their writings to the current Line. The same intellectuals who sang the praises of Trotsky, the founder of the Red Army and leader of the October Revolution, a few years later had no qualms about denouncing him as an agent of Hitler. The same writers who fawned on Joseph Stalin the great Leader and Teacher soon jumped the other way when Nikita Khrushchev discovered the "personality cult". Habits die hard. The methods of intellectual prostitution are the same. Only the Master has changed.

There is also another quite separate reason. Many of the capitalists in Russia not long ago carried a Communist Party card in their pocket and spoke in the name of "socialism". In fact, they had nothing to do with socialism, communism or the working class. They were part of a parasitic ruling caste which lived a life of luxury on the backs of the Soviet workers. Now, with the same cynicism that has always characterised these elements, they have openly gone over to capitalism. But this miraculous transformation cannot be consummated so easily. These people feel a compelling need to justify their apostasy by heaping curses on what they professed to believe in only yesterday. By these means they try to throw dust in the eyes of the masses, while salving their own consciences  always supposing that they possess such a thing. Even the worst scoundrel likes to find some justification for his actions.

Marx Engels Lenin Stalin 1933- wikipedia commons

Stalin in 1917

There is not the slightest doubt that in November 1917 the fate of the Russian Revolution was determined by the actions of two men: Lenin and Trotsky, and above all by Lenin. That is why the Bolshevik Party was universally known as the Party of Lenin/Trotsky. A simple glance at any newspaper or periodical of that time  whether Russian or foreign  will confirm that fact.

The role of Stalin in 1917 was entirely secondary, not to say insignificant. A poor writer and worse orator, he was invisible to the broad masses. The name of Stalin in 1917 was known only to a relatively small group of Party activists. Only after Lenins death in 1924 was the legend of Stalin the great leader and teacher gradually invented. Despite this well-known fact, Stremlin is capable of writing the following:

Stalin played a key role in agitating for the insurrection as editor of the Bolshevik newspaper Pravda. This is an astonishing claim. What was Stalins role in Pravda? Before Lenin returned to Russia in April, Stalin and Kamenev were the joint editors of the Partys official organ. The line they took was directly in contradiction to that taken by Lenin.

Far from advocating the taking of power by the working class (summed up in Lenins slogan All power to the Soviets), Pravda advocated critical support for the bourgeois Provisional Government. Lenins articles were not published, or published in a mutilated form. When he returned in April Lenin had to wage a furious struggle against Stalin and Kamenev and the other conciliators in the Bolshevik leadership. After that Stalin retired to the side-lines, playing no further role of any significance.

Let us call a few witnesses, beginning with the well-known American socialist John Reed, whose book Ten Days that Shook the World is universally considered as one of the classic accounts of the October Revolution. Lenin, wrote a foreword to the book, which we can quote in full:

With the greatest interest and with never slackening attention I read John Reeds book, Ten Days that Shook the World. Unreservedly do I recommend it to the workers of the world. Here is a book which I should like to see published in millions of copies and translated into all languages. It gives a truthful and most vivid exposition of the events so significant to the comprehension of what really is the Proletarian Revolution and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. These problems are widely discussed, but before one can accept or reject these ideas, he must understand the full significance of his decision. John Reeds book will undoubtedly help to clear this question, which is the fundamental problem of the international labor movement. (N. Lenin, End of 1919)

Here we have confirmation of the truthfulness of John Reeds account on the highest authority. We repeat Lenins recommendation to anyone who wishes to understand the truth about the October Revolution and the role played in it by the different Bolshevik leaders. Here we confine ourselves to one simple observation.

In the index of names at the end of the book, Lenin is mentioned 62 times, Trotsky 53 times. Stalins name is mentioned only twice, and then only as one name on a list of Peoples Commissars after the Revolution. About his active participation in the Revolution there is not one single word. That is why the book that was recommended so enthusiastically by Lenin was banned in the Soviet Union for many decades. But John Reeds silence is no accident. Nor was it an isolated case.

In 1923 A.V. Lunacharsky, the veteran Bolshevik who was the first Minister of Culture and Education of the young Soviet Republic wrote a book that was very well-known at the time called Revolutionary Silhouettes. It consists of a series of pen-portraits of all the best known leaders of the Bolshevik Party in 1917. It included Lenin and Trotsky (in the first place), followed by Zinoviev, Sverdlov, Volodarsky and Uritsky. It also included articles on Plekhanov and Martov who, of course, were not members of the Bolshevik Party. But the name of Stalin is entirely absent. Neither Lunacharsky nor anybody else regarded him as an important leader of the Party at that time.

Stalins insignificance in 1917 was obvious to everybody. The Left Menshevik N.N. Sukhanov, who was a member of the Soviet Executive after the February Revolution, recalls the impression made on him by Stalin at their first meeting:

The Bolshevik party, in spite of the low level of its officers corps, had a whole series of most massive figures and able leaders among its generals. Stalin, however, during his modest activity in the Executive Committee, produced  and not only on me  the impression of a grey blur, looming up now and then dimly and not leaving any trace. There is really nothing more to be said about him. (N Sukhanov, The Russian Revolution 1917, a personal record, pages 229 -230)

Let us quote again an important source, Bruce Lockhart (there are many, many more), who was an avowed enemy of Bolshevism, a British agent in Russia at the time of the revolution, but also a highly perceptive observer who frequently showed a keen insight into events. In his autobiography, Memoirs of a British Agent, he describes a gathering sometime in early 1918 at which he met a number of members of the Soviet government:

I also shook hands with a strongly-built man with a sallow face, black moustache, heavy eyebrows, and black hair worn en brosse. I paid little attention to him. He himself said nothing. He did not seem of sufficient importance to include in my gallery of Bolshevik portraits. If he had been announced then to the assembled Party as the successor of Lenin, the delegates would have roared with laughter. The man was the Georgian Djugashvili, known today to the whole world as Stalin, the man of steel. (Bruce Lockhart, Memoirs of a British agent, page 257)

Need we say more?

The relativity of depravity

Stremlin makes repeated references to new discoveries allegedly made by Russian scholars who have access to the archives. He writes: Recent scholars have contested the charge that Stalins dictatorship has its roots in his character flaws caused by abuse in his childhood. And again: Since the opening of the Soviet archives, recent scholars such as Stephen Kotkin have argued that there is no evidence that Stalins upbringing was particularly violent by the standards of the time, or that Stalin demonstrated outstanding depravity during the civil war years (in comparison to Lenin and Trotsky).

By slipping in a comparison with Lenin and Trotsky, Boris Stremlin seeks to imply that they were responsible for outstanding depravity during the civil war years. What depravity is he referring to? He does not say. He merely drops a hint and invites us to draw our own dark conclusions. Pacifists and moralists consider all wars to be merely an expression of human depravity, inasmuch as in wars people kill each other. From the point of view of abstract morality it is easy to agree with such an opinion. Unfortunately, we live in the real world, not having yet arrived at a state of heavenly bliss. And in the real world wars are a fact of life, no matter how much we may deplore the fact.

Wars are about killing people. That we know. But in the annals of war some events stand out as unique examples of barbarity  one might justifiably use the word depravity. Let us consider a couple of interesting examples. From 13 to 15 February 1945, British (and some American) heavy bombers dropped 2,400 tons of high explosives and 1,500 tons of incendiary bombs onto the ancient cathedral city of Dresden in Germany. In just a few hours, around 25,000 to 35,000 civilians, men, women and children, were blown up or incinerated.

Victor Gregg was a British prisoner of war in Dresden that night who was ordered to help with the clear up after the apocalyptic firestorm. His team found a 1,000-person air-raid shelter in the Altstadt. There were no survivors or corpses: just a green-brown liquid with bones sticking out of it. The cowering people had all melted. In areas further from the town centre there were legions of adults shrivelled to three feet in length. Children under the age of three had simply been vaporised.

Hamburg had been similarly consigned to the flames on 25 July the previous year. Nine thousand tons of explosives and incendiaries had flattened eight square miles of the city centre, and the resulting inferno had created an oxygen vacuum that whipped up a 150-mile-an-hour wind burning at 800 Celsius. The death toll was 37,000 people. (By comparison, the atom bomb in Nagasaki killed 40,000 on day one.)

That was horrible, but at least Hamburg, as a port, had some significance as a military target. Dresden had none. This ancient cathedral city had no material role of any sort to play in the closing months of the war. So, what strategic purpose did burning its men, women, old people, and children alive serve? Apparently there was no depravity here, but only the grim necessity of war. That night Mr. Churchill went to bed and slept soundly.

On August 6, 1945 the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan. Three days later a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. The bombs reduced Hiroshima, population 350,000, and Nagasaki, 210,000, to smouldering ash and vaporised at least 200,000 civilians. Upwards of another 250,000 were to die from radiation poisoning in later years. According to one of the first doctors to arrive in Hiroshima after the blast, Tremendous numbers of unidentified corpses were piled up and cremated on the spot. The injured and irradiated continued to die. Day and night in every corner of the city, corpses are piled upon the corpses and burned. The real number of victims will never be known.

Attempts have been made to justify these acts by claiming that they hastened Japans surrender and shortened the war, saving the lives of American soldiers. These arguments do not withstand the slightest scrutiny. The victims of this horror were not soldiers but defenceless men, women and children. Neither Hiroshima nor Nagasaki had the least value from a military point of view. The aim of these attacks was to create an atmosphere of terror. That was an act of the purest cynicism. A civilian team, commissioned by Truman, including John K Galbraith interviewed more than 400 US officers and examined all the relevant Japanese military documents, reported in July 1946:

Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the surveys opinion that Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated. (My emphasis, AW)

The main aim of President Truman was to demonstrate to the Soviet Union that the USA now possessed a powerful new weapon. Here we have an excellent example of the depravity of great power politics. But our modern historians prefer to dwell on the alleged excesses of Lenin and Trotsky in the Civil War, when Soviet Russia was invaded by 21 armies of foreign intervention. The Revolution lacked an army to defend itself. The situation was saved when Trotsky built the Red Army, starting from scratch, which defeated the counterrevolutionaries and drove out the imperialist aggressors.

The real reason for this feigned moral outrage is not difficult to see. In the course of over two thousand years there have been many slave revolts. Every one of them was put down in blood. After the defeat of Spartacus by the Roman army, thousands of slaves were crucified along the Appian Way. After the defeat of the Paris Commune of 1871 30,000 working class men and women were slaughtered by the counterrevolution. If this is not depravity, one wonders what is. The reason why our modern bourgeois historians cannot forgive Lenin and Trotsky is that in Russia, for once, the slaves armed themselves, fought and won.

The hatred of the Soviet Union shared by all those whose careers, salaries and profits derived from the existing order based on rent, interest and profit, is not hard to understand. It had nothing to do with the totalitarian regime of Stalin. The same "friends of democracy" had no scruples about praising dictatorial regimes when it suited their interests to do so. The "democratic" British ruling class was quite happy to see Hitler coming to power, as long as he put down the German workers and directed his attentions to the East.

Winston Churchill and other representatives of the British ruling class expressed their fervent admiration for Mussolini and Franco, right up to 1939. In the period after 1945, the Western "democracies", in the first instance the USA, actively backed every monstrous dictatorship, from Somoza to Pinochet, from the Argentine junta to the Indonesian butcher Suharto who climbed to power over the corpses of a million people with the active support of the CIA. The leaders of the Western democracies grovel before the blood-soaked regime of Saudi Arabia that tortures, murders, flogs and crucifies its own citizens. The list of these barbarities is endless.

From the standpoint of imperialism, such regimes were and are perfectly acceptable, provided they based themselves on private ownership of the land, banks and big monopolies. Their implacable hostility to the Soviet Union was not, then, based on any love of freedom, but on naked class interest. They hated the USSR, not for what was bad in it, but precisely for what was positive and progressive. They objected, not to Stalin's dictatorship (on the contrary, the crimes of Stalinism suited them very well as a convenient means of blackening the name of socialism in the West), but to the nationalised property forms which were all that remained of the gains of October.

Stalins sadism

Stremlin attributes to Trotsky the view that Stalins violence was driven by emotional insecurities with respect to his intellectual and spiritual betters. Later Stalinist policies that bore great human cost  collectivisation and the Great Terror  were products of amoral calculation, not neuroses or paranoia.

That Stalin was in fact a vicious sadist cannot be seriously doubted. It is confirmed by a mountain of evidence that no amount of revisionist history can gainsay. The main motive of the Purge Trials was to liquidate the Bolshevik Party, to wipe out the entire generation of Old Bolsheviks and thus to consolidate the rule of the bureaucracy. Anyone who could remember the old democratic and internationalist traditions of Leninism was seen as a danger. Like any common criminal Stalin understood the need to eliminate all witnesses.

But there was also a personal motive. Stalin was a mediocrity who could not stand comparison with the Old Bolshevik leaders. Compared with Bukharin, Kamenev and even Zinoviev, let alone a genius like Trotsky, he was a nonentity. And he knew it. Therefore he entertained feelings of revenge towards the entire generation of Old Bolsheviks. Stalin was a sadist who took a personal interest in tormenting his victims. He brought to Moscow the primitive methods of the Georgian blood feud, in which not only enemies had to be killed but their families also. He once stated: "There is nothing sweeter in the world than to plan revenge on an enemy, see it carried out, and then retire peacefully to bed."

Stalin had a very simple recipe for the interrogation of prisoners: "Beat, beat and beat again." At the time of the first trials the chief of the OGPU-NKVD was Genrykh Yagoda. He carried out Stalin's directives, but not enthusiastically enough for the Leader. Stalin was furious because Yagoda had not obtained confessions to the murder of Kirov from Kamenev and Zinoviev in the 1936 trial. He called him in and said:

"You work poorly, Genrykh Grigorievich. I already know for a fact that Kirov was murdered on instructions from Zinoviev and Kamenev, but so far you have not been able to prove it! You have to torture them until they finally tell the truth and reveal all their connections." (Anna Larina, This I cannot Forget, p. 94)

In Stalins concentration camps, millions were starved and worked to death. Between 1929 and 1934 the average life expectancy was less than two years. Yet the Boss complained that conditions in the camps were too comfortable: they were "like health resorts". Stalin personally checked the list of the victims and decided who would live or die. Out of a total of about 700,000 cases, he personally signed 400 lists, with a total of 40,000 people. On these lists were the names of all of Lenin's principal lieutenants and comrades-in-arms.

Stalins cruelty was revealed when his archives were opened, showing that he drew cartoons depicting the torture of his future victims. Boris Ilizarov, a historian and member of the Russian Academy of sciences has published the sketches that Stalin drew during the long meetings of the Politburo to amuse himself in this way. One of these grotesque cartoons from 1930 depicts the then finance minister Nicolai Bryukhanov hanging from a rope by his genitals:

The sketch was found with a note written and signed by Stalin in which the tyrant made no effort to disguise his pleasure at the fate he had in mind for Bryukhanov, a Politburo member for four years.



Under the heading Special File it read: To all members of the Politburo, for all his present and future sins, Bryukhanov should be hung by his balls. If they hold up he should be considered not guilty as if in a court of law. If they give away he should be drowned in a river.



Bryukhanov was executed on Stalins orders in 1938 on trumped up charges. He was rehabilitated in 1956, three years after Stalins death. (The Sunday Times, 8 July, 2001)

Are there some circumstances in Stalins early life that suggest certain tendencies towards revengefulness, envy and a cruel and sadistic streak from an early age? Yes, there are many, and the records were painstakingly analysed by Trotsky with a wealth of documentary evidence, drawn both from his personal archives and many other sources, including the memoirs of Bolsheviks, Stalinists, Mensheviks and particularly Georgian revolutionaries who knew the man intimately.

But is Stremlin right to say that Trotsky attributes the horrors of the Stalinist dictatorship to his childhood experiences. That is simply ridiculous. Either he has not read the book, or he has not understood a single word he has read. Trotsky does not maintain that Stalins bloody dictatorship was the product of an unhappy childhood, any more than Hitlers regime was the product of his. Taken in isolation these tendencies cannot have a decisive significance.

Not every child who is abused by a drunken father becomes a sadistic dictator, just as not every unsuccessful artist, resentful at his rejection by Viennese society, becomes Adolf Hitler. For such transformations to occur, great historic events and social convulsions are necessary. In the case of Hitler it was Germanys economic collapse following the Wall Street Crash that provided him with an opportunity to lead a mass movement of the ruined petty bourgeois and declassed lumpenproletariat.

In the case of Stalin it was the ebb of the movement that followed the Russian Revolution, the exhaustion of the masses following the great exertions of the War, Revolution and Civil War and the isolation of the Revolution in conditions of frightful backwardness and poverty that led to the rise of a privileged bureaucracy. The millions of officials that elbowed the workers aside hardened into a privileged caste. These upstarts needed a Leader who would defend their interests. But this Leader had to be a man with revolutionary credentials  a Bolshevik with a solid pedigree. Cometh the moment, cometh the Man, as they say. The Soviet bureaucracy found its representative in Joseph Djugashvili, known to us as Stalin.

Stalin and famous collective farmers Demchenko and Angelina at the X Congress of the Young Communist League- wikipedia commons

The national question

Stremlin tried to pick holes in Trotskys argument, for example on the question as to whether Stalin was in fact the author of the book on the national question that was published under his name:

Neither has Trotskys contention that Stalins sole theoretical contribution, Marxism and the National Question, was, in fact, written by Lenin, found substantial support: today, the overwhelming consensus is that the book was actually authored by Stalin, who, despite misgivings, implemented its analysis in the course of establishing the Soviet Union as a multinational affirmative action empire.

Without any attempt to back this up with facts Stremlin refers vaguely to an alleged overwhelming consensus Consensus of whom? Where? When? Nobody knows, except Stremlin, and that is not too sure, either. Despite Stremlins confident claim, it was common knowledge among Bolshevik activists at the time of the Revolution that the work referred to was in fact the work of Lenin (and in part Bukharin).

At that time (1913) Lenin was living in Polish exile in Cracow and was almost completely absorbed with his important theoretical work on the national question. He was keen to get Stalin, a Georgian, to participate in this work, for obvious reasons and gave him intensive briefings on the question. All the ideas on the national question came from Lenin. Lenin encouraged Stalin to go to Vienna to get the necessary archive material for a lengthy article.

Here we meet the first problem. Stalin did not know German or any other foreign language. But all the material he needed was in German, which he could not read. He had to rely on Bukharin, who, unlike Stalin, had a head for theory, knew languages, knew the literature of the subject, knew how to use documents. Bukharin therefore also had a hand in the writing of this work, as is shown also by its academic and rather pedantic style.

Stalin returned with his material to Cracow. Lenin edited and revised the work from top to bottom. As Trotsky remarks:

The stamp of his thought and the traces of his pen are readily discoverable on every page. Certain phrases, mechanically incorporated by the author, or certain lines, obviously written in by the editor, seem unexpected or incomprehensible without reference to the corresponding works of Lenin...

There is one interesting detail that would certainly suggest a serious doubt about the authorship of this work. Marxism and the National Question was not included in any one- or two-volume Russian version of Stalin's Selected Works (Voprosy Leninizma), which first appeared in 1926. This is very strange, since it was virtually the only theoretical work of any importance attributed to Stalin up to that time. The work was finally reprinted as the lead essay in a 1934 Russian topical collection, Markizm i natsional'no-kolonial'nyi vopros, and its English translations in the following year.

Stremlin contradicts himself in a most glaring manner when he claims that the book was actually authored by Stalin, who, despite misgivings, implemented its analysis in the course of establishing the Soviet Union. If Stalin was really the author of this book, why should he have any misgivings about its content? What were these mysterious misgivings that Stalin was supposed to have had about what was supposed to be his own ideas? Yet again, Boris does not enlighten us.

The truth is that the ideas that are (more or less correctly) expressed in Marxism and the National Question were 100 percent the ideas of Lenin. Stalin had a very poor understanding of Marxism in general and of Lenins ideas in particular. While grudgingly accepting the political authority of Lenin he never really accepted those ideas. That is the explanation of his misgivings about Lenins position on the national question  and many other questions besides.

A fact that Boris Stremlin strenuously avoids mentioning is that Lenin broke with Stalin precisely on the national question. During his final illness, Lenin became aware of serious deviations in the Party leadership. Despite the strenuous attempts of Stalin to isolate him from reality, Lenin learned of the scandalous conduct of Stalin and his allies, Dzerzhinsky and Ordzhonikidze in Georgia. Using bureaucratic methods, they had trampled over the national sentiments of the people and oppressed the Georgian Bolsheviks, even using physical violence against Party leaders.

When Lenin found out about this he was furious and demanded the expulsion of Ordzhonikidze, Stalins henchman, from the Party. He wrote a note addressed to Mdivani, the leader of the Georgian Communist Party, promising the Georgian Bolsheviks his full support against Stalin, Dzerzhinsky, and Ordzhonikidze. From his deathbed, Lenin was preparing a struggle against Stalin (his secretary said Vladimir Ilyich is preparing a bombshell for Stalin) and formed a bloc with Trotsky.

But soon after this Lenins health suddenly deteriorated, making it impossible for him to attend the Party Congress. That changed the course of history.

General Secretary

Stremlin asserts that

Lenin created the powerful post of party general secretary specifically for Stalin at the time when he became chronically ill, while he kept Trotsky from the coveted post of top economic manager, suggests that Trotskys evaluation of Stalins status must be taken with a grain of salt.

This is false from start to finish. To begin with during Lenins lifetime the post of general secretary was not at all the kind of leading position that Stremlin imagines. It was in fact an organizational post that undoubtedly had a certain importance, but it was by no means a leading political post. The fact that Lenin himself never occupied that position is sufficiently eloquent in that respect.

Far from creating this post especially for Stalin, Lenin was opposed to Stalin taking it, commenting that this cook will serve only peppery dishes. He eventually gave way under pressure from Zinoviev who was attempting to form a bloc with Stalin against Trotsky. But his doubts about Stalin grew stronger as he became aware of the latters intrigues and manoeuvres, leading to a final break in 1923 when Lenin in his last letters that became known as the Suppressed Testament, demanded Stalins removal as general secretary, accusing him of rudeness and disloyalty.

In his last letter Lenin broke off all personal and comradely relations with Stalin. I do not know of any other example of Lenin taking such a drastic step. Despite the urgent demands of Lenins widow Krupskaya, Stalin and his cronies refused to hand Lenins Testament to the Party. For decades it remained hidden in the Party archives, until in 1956 Nikita Khrushchev took it out as part of his campaign of de-Stalinization.

Incredibly, Stremlin attempts to cast doubt on the authenticity of Lenins Testament. For this purpose he has recourse to his usual source: the so-called scholars in Putins Russia who have made lucrative careers from slandering the Old Bolsheviks:

Russian scholar Valentin Sakharov has suggested that Lenins famous testament of 1923, in which he recommended Stalins removal for being overly rude, may have been written by Lenins wife Nadezhda Krupskaya, because Lenin was already too incapacitated by that time."

It is frankly astonishing that Stremlin repeats the disgusting calumny, first put into circulation by the Stalinists in the 1920s, that Lenins widow and faithful comrade Nadezhda Krupskaya had invented the Testament. This is yet another example of the depths to which the modern Russian scholars are prepared to sink in their repulsive attempts to restore the image of Stalin, and thereby curry favour with Putin and the Kremlin gang and the Russian oligarchy whose interests it defends.

We note that the scholarly Sakharov covers his rear end by using the sly words may have. This cowardly evasion is quite sufficient to expose a dishonest and unscrupulous method. Krupskaya, who devoted her entire life to the selfless service of Lenin and the Bolshevik Party, would never have betrayed him on his death bed in such a vile way as is insinuated by Sakharov. But the latter has absolutely no scruples about betraying the historical truth for his own cynical purposes. And there is no may have about it.

As if embarrassed by his own source, Stremlin opens the very next sentence with a shamefaced qualification: Even if Sakharov turns out to be wrong But this method is hardly satisfactory. First he quotes Sakharov, holding him up as a Russian scholar, and therefore a man of the most distinguished and unimpeachable qualifications (i.e. a man who must be believed). The quote, however, turns out to be a completely worthless piece of speculation (may have) with not a shred of evidence to back it up. And therefore Boris drops a hint that his distinguished and unimpeachable Russian scholar may be wrong.

This is called in the trade facing all ways at once. You see, once Sakharovs slander has been stated (from an absolutely unimpeachable source) and clearly registered in the readers mind as a fact (Lenins Testament was really a forgery by his widow!), one can then quietly sidle away from the statement, as if it had never been made. It is like a little boy who throws a stone and then hides his hand behind his back.

Socialism in one country

Stremlin's failure to grasp what Trotsky stood for is exposed by the statement that the Bolshevik leadership, along with Trotsky, was less concerned with checking Stalin than with pursuing the pipe dream of fomenting a revolution in Germany. This goes to the heart of the whole question. The main cause of the bureaucratic degeneration of the Soviet state was the isolation of the revolution in conditions of extreme backwardness. Long ago Marx wrote in The German Ideology that where poverty is general all the old crap revives. By this he meant the evils of inequality, corruption, bureaucracy and privilege.

Similarly, contra Trotsky, who regards Stalins proposal to build socialism in one country a laughable distortion of Marxism, Stalins fundamental linkage between revolution and war served as the foundation of Soviet geopolitics.

These are the words of Boris Stremlin. But what was the real meaning of the theory of socialism in one country?

Up until 1924 it was accepted by every Bolshevik that the material conditions for socialism were absent in Russia. The idea of socialism in one country first made its appearance in 1924  after Lenins death. That is no accident. This notion is so alien to Marxism that Stalin would never have dared to publish it in Lenins lifetime. Indeed he contradicted it in dozens of speeches and articles. Lenin and Trotsky knew very well that the material conditions for socialism were absent in Russia. Before 1924 nobody questioned this elementary proposition. The Bolsheviks based themselves on the perspective of the extension of the revolution to the advanced capitalist countries of Europe, especially Germany. If the German revolution had succeeded  which it could have in 1923  the entire situation in Russia would have been different.

On the basis of a socialist federation, uniting the colossal productive potential of Germany with the immense reserves of raw materials and manpower of Russia, the material conditions of the masses would have been transformed. Under such conditions the rise of the bureaucracy would have been halted, and the Stalin faction would not have been able to seize power. The morale of the Soviet working class would have been boosted and its faith in the world revolution restored.

We must remember that in the period 1923-9, the process of bureaucratic degeneration was by no means consolidated. This fact was reflected in the series of zigzags that characterised the policies of Stalin and his faction both in home and foreign policy throughout this period. In 1923-28, Stalin adopted a right-wing policy, characterised by an adaptation to the kulaks (rich peasants) and NEPmen (speculators) in Russia and an adaptation to the reformists and colonial bourgeoisie in foreign policy. This placed the Revolution in grave danger. Internally, it encouraged the kulaks and other bourgeois elements at the expense of the workers. Externally, it led the Communist International to one defeat after another.

It was not that Stalin consciously organized the defeat of the German Revolution in 1923, or that of the Chinese Revolution in 1923-7. On the contrary, he desired the success of these revolutions. But the right-wing opportunist policies that he had imposed on the Communist International in the name of Socialism in One Country guaranteed defeat in each case.

Dialectically, cause becomes effect and vice-versa. The isolation of the Russian Revolution was the ultimate cause of the rise of the bureaucracy and the Stalin faction. The false policies of the latter produced the defeat of the German and Chinese Revolutions (and other defeats in Estonia, Bulgaria, Britain, etc.). These defeats further isolated the Revolution and caused deep demoralisation of the Soviet workers, who lost all hope that the European workers would come to their aid.

This led to a consolidation of the bureaucracy and Stalinism, which was only the political expression of the material interests of the bureaucracy. This, in turn, led to further defeats of the international revolution (Germany, Spain), which prepared the ground for the Second World War that placed the USSR in extreme danger.

Socialism is the future!

Finally we come to the essence of the question. At the end of his article Boris Stremlin asks a very pertinent question: Does picking through these old quarrels have contemporary relevance? And he answers as follows:

We have now entered a period of political and economic instability in which mainstream political forces have greatly weakened. Anxieties regarding socioeconomic polarisation are on the rise, while socialist ideas are experiencing a bit of a renaissance among the youth after having been consigned to the ash heap of history following the Soviet collapse. Some politicians, including Britains Jeremy Corbyn and Frances Jean-Luc Melenchon, with roots in the Trotskyist tradition, have gained prominence of late, though it is still hard to speak of Trotskyism as a force in global politics. Meanwhile, this insurgent upsurge denotes a retreat in the capacity of the bloc of developed Western states to maintain its monopoly over managing world affairs.

Ever since the crisis of 2008 the political and social equilibrium has been destroyed. The fundamental reason for this: the crisis of 2008 was completely different from any other crisis, not a normal cyclical crisis, but a reflection of the organic crisis of capitalism. Prior to 2008, capitalism not only reached its limits but went far beyond its limits. The crisis was a reflection of this fact. Now the entire process has gone into reverse. And millions of people are becoming conscious of the need for a fundamental change in society.

Trotsky's 'Stalin' Book-front coverThe masses are discontented with the existing conditions, the existing society and the existing politics. That can be seen everywhere  from Pakistan to France, from Brazil to Britain. In Britain we see the rise of Jeremy Corbyn and in France the support for Melenchon. Even in the United States, it can be seen, although expressed in a distorted and reactionary manner. The victory of Donald Trump signified a massive vote of no confidence in the old political set up. Trump promised a change, although, of course, there will be no real change. But the support for Bernie Sanders showed huge potential support for socialist ideas in the most powerful capitalist country on earth.

All this is a cause for concern for the ruling class and its ideological defenders like Boris Stremlin. He is right to be concerned. The capitalist system is in crisis everywhere. It has long since lost any right to exist that it once may have had. The future belongs to socialism, and the most advanced and relevant ideas of our epoch are the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin and that great revolutionary and martyr of the working class, Leon Trotsky.

What Stremlin calls picking through these old quarrels we call learning the lessons of history. And as the American philosopher George Santayana once said: he who does not learn from history will be doomed to repeat it. Let the ideological defenders of capitalism wail and complain. We remain supremely confident of the ultimate victory of socialism. The future will be ours!

Trotsky's Stalin avaliable from WellRed Books
By Benjamin Jumbe:

The government of United States has announced a pledge of nearly $639 million in additional humanitarian assistance.

This comes less than a month since Uganda hosted the Uganda Solidarity Summit on refugees and the just concluded G20 summit in Germany.

Some $62.7 million of this total is to support the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and World Food Program refugee assistance operations in Uganda.

U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Deborah Malac said the United States cannot continue to shoulder the responsibility of humanitarian assistance to Uganda alone urging the rest of the international donor community particularly those who do not historically respond to humanitarian crises to contribute more to prevent a broader disaster.

Uganda is currently hosting about 1.3 million refugees in the country including nearly 1 million from South Sudan which figures have increased pressure on the host populations.
The latest Morgan McKinley Ireland Monthly Employment Monitor has been released today and finds that the number of professional job vacancies increased by 19% in June compared to the same month a year ago and by 5% sequentially since May.



The Monitor measures the pulse of the Irish professional jobs market by tracking the number of new job vacancies and new candidates within the Republic of Ireland each month.



The data shows consistent growth in the professional jobs market in equal measure across the domestic and multinational employment sectors and this is also in line with recently released IDA Ireland figures for the first half of 2017 which shows a 22% year on year increase in jobs created.

Morgan McKinley believe the moderate reduction in the number of job seekers in June, compared to May, is largely seasonal in nature as there is usually less mobility and attrition to be seen in the market at this time of year. Nevertheless, they predict continuing buoyancy in the professional jobs market into 2018.



The monitor shows continuously strong growth in the ICT sector where there is demand for specialised skill sets including software engineering and cyber security. The demand for IT skills has propagated across all sectors of the economy where digital functions and roles form a key aspect of organisational management and new business development. A shortage in senior User Experience (UX) specialists is indicative of increased consumer activity where companies are acting to better meet customer needs in an increasingly online economy.



In Financial Services, there is strong demand for risk and compliance professionals, specialists in consumer protection, credit control, quantitative analysis, data analysts and recently qualified accountants as well as experienced accounting professionals.



The monitor found that in the wider business and administrative services areas, there is demand for people with multilingual skills and most notably at present the German, Nordic, Dutch and French languages. This is for roles of various ranks across all disciplines.



Director of Inward Investment at Morgan McKinley Ireland, Trayc Keevans said, "Our experience is that Ireland continues to be perceived as an appealing and competitive location for foreign direct investment (FDI). This is not just in respect of US companies as, for example, we are currently supporting the inward recruitment intentions of companies from mainland Europe, Australia and Canada where Morgan McKinley also recently opened offices in Toronto."

She added, "Ireland is still seen to be rich in skills, in spite of the war for talent and the more elongated times that we are seeing in recruitment processes for key skills."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
By Ruth Anderah

The Court of Appeal is this morning expected to determine whether or not to release on bail the 3 jailed Ministry of Public Service officers including former Permanent Secretary Jimmy Lwamafa, Principle Accountant Christopher Obeyi and Director Pensions and Compensations Stephen Kiwanuka Kunsa.

On March 27 2017, Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma held a session and presided over hearing of these bail applications but reserved his ruling on notice.

The 3 officials are serving jail terms of 7, 10 and 5 years respectively at Luzira prison having been found guilty by the Anti-Corruption Court of stealing Shs 88 billion which they falsely accounted for as NSSF contributions for public servants.

However the officials have since challenged their conviction and sentences handed to them by judge Lawrence Gidudu in November last year.

Lwamafa and Kunsa specifically contend in their bail applications that they are of advanced ages, have severe ailments, have permanent residences and that their release on bail does not cause any threat to community since the offenses for which they were convicted do not involve personal violence.

But the Director Public Prosecution Michael Chibita strongly opposed their bail applications on grounds that the 3 officials were convicted of serious economic crimes involving colossal sums of money.
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The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United states and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance. The Business Insurance segment offers workers' compensation, commercial automobile and property, general liability, commercial multi-peril, employers' liability, public and product liability, professional indemnity, marine, aviation, onshore and offshore energy, construction, terrorism, personal accident, and kidnap and ransom insurance products. This segment operates through select accounts, which serve small businesses; commercial accounts that serve mid-sized businesses; national accounts, which serve large companies; and national property and other that serve large and mid-sized customers, commercial trucking industry, and agricultural businesses, as well as markets and distributes its products through brokers, wholesale agents, and program managers. The Bond & Specialty Insurance segment provides surety, fidelity, management and professional liability, and other property and casualty coverages and related risk management services through independent agencies and brokers. The Personal Insurance segment offers property and casualty insurance covering personal risks, primarily automobile and homeowners insurance to individuals through independent agencies and brokers. The Travelers Companies, Inc. was founded in 1853 and is based in New York, New York.
Don't put Bibles in aid packs for Muslim refugees, says Philippines archbishop

A Catholic archbishop in the Philippines has condemned attempts to proselytise Muslms fleeing the city of Marawi, where Islamist rebels fighting Maute terrorists linked with Islamic State.

The fighting has led to 400,000 refugees abandoning the city and seen the Catholic cathedral and a Protestant school burned. A priest and several church workers have been taken hostage.

Chrisitan groups are among others who have delivered relief supplies to the refugees, around 18,000 of whom are in evacuation centres in Mindanao.

However, copies of the Bible translated into the Maranao language were found in packs distributed to Muslim families last week. According to Vatican Radio, Archbishop Emerius Fernando Capalla of Davao condemned the proselyting and said it could foment tensions between Christians and Muslims.

'If they do it deliberately, it's either an insult or ignorance of the needs of Muslims,' he said. Capalla said the action showed a lack of respect and that Muslim leaders should be consulted before aid was distributed. 'We should be more sensitive,' he said.

Muslim groups also criticised the distribution. According to Mission Network News, the former president of the Iligan League of Imams urged Christian groups to avoid proselytising because he said it could result in more harm than good.

However, Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs which has distributed Bibles with aid, said: 'This imam is saying, "We don't want these Muslims to have Bibles. They shouldn't have them; they shouldn't read them. This is going to cause unrest; it's going to cause problems. You Christians should not mix Bibles in with aid material."

'He doesn't want them to read the Qran and then the Bible and then decide which one is telling the truth.'

To Capalla's charge that proselytising showed a lack of sensitivity and respect, Nettleton said: 'It obviously has to be done in a sensitive way, and in an appropriate way. But, absolutely, as Christians, we should want every person to read God's Word and to know what it says about Jesus Christ and about the way of salvation, including those who don't currently believe or accept it.'

Bishops in the Philippines have stressed that the conflict in Marawi is not religious in nature; its extremist Muslim instigators have been condemned by Muslim leaderes as well as Christian. According to Fides, a statement from the bishops' conference in Manila said: 'We believe that the war in Marawi is not a conflict of religion. We heard and read truly amazing stories of how the Muslims protected us and helped Christians avoid an almost certain death. Now Christians are helping thousands of Muslims who have fled from Marawi. These are indisputable signs that there is no religious war.'
Malta presses ahead with same-sex marriage despite opposition from Church groups

An alliance of evangelical churches in Malta is objecting to the proposed legalisation of same-sex marriage on the grounds that the new laws may not extend 'religious protection' to all members of religious bodies.

The predominantly Catholic island nation is pressing ahead with the introduction of same-sex weddings despite objections from church groups.

The Catholic Church had opposed the legislation, which the Labour government promised to introduce as its first law after winning a second term last month. The main opposition party supports the move.

The explicit aim of the law, piloted by Equality Minister Helena Dalli, is to 'modernise the institution of marriage' to give all consenting adult couples the right to marry.

The amendments that will introduce same-sex marriage include 'religious protection' in the Maltese Constitution for an 'officer of a religious body'.

The Constitution of Malta already grants citizens full freedom of conscience and the right to enjoy the free exercise of religious worship.

But Edwin Caruana, the head of The Evangelical Alliance of Malta [TEAM], said: 'We would like to have the peace of mind that none of our members will be "forced" to act against their conscience.'

TEAM is demanding that members of religious organisations be granted a right akin to 'conscientious objection', Malta Today reported.

Caruana added: 'We seek that our rights to freedom of religion and freedom of conscience be respected. We are duty bound to protect our member churches, organizations, and individuals from any attempt to curb or obstruct religious freedom or freedom of conscience which are guaranteed by international human rights laws...As Christians we believe that according to Biblical teaching, God ordained marriage as a union between one man and one woman for the reason of love and pro-creation. As far as we are concerned no human law will ever erase this, as we believe that God does not change His principles but is constant in His decrees.

'We also recognise that we have no right to impose our beliefs on those that are not part of our Evangelical Christian churches, but on the same note, no one should have the right to impose on us a redefinition of beliefs that we have held dear for thousands of years. If this was to be imposed on us we would find it unacceptable and infringing on our rights.'
Melinda Gates renews war with the Vatican over contraception

Melinda Gates has said she is 'optimistic' that Pope Francis will change Church teaching on contraception.

Gates, who was raised as a Catholic and is the wife of the Microsoft founder Bill Gates, said that contraception was 'one of the greatest anti-poverty innovations the world has ever known' and that she had 'agreed to disagree' with the Church on the issue.

In an interview with the BBC, Gates said that her charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, works 'very extensively with the Catholic Church' and has had 'many discussions with them, because we have a shared mission around social justice and anti-poverty'.

She added: 'I think what this Pope sees is that if we are going to lift people out of poverty, you have to do the right thing for women, and so we have agreed at this point to disagree.'

She went on to say that Pope Francis has not changed Church teaching 'yet', but 'these things take time,' and that she was 'optimistic' the Church would change its teaching 'over time'.

The Foundation is currently co-hosting an international summit in London on the subject of accessing contraception in the developing world.

According to Reuters, it expects to raise at least $2.5 billion, and will invest $375 million of that in 'family planning' programmes over the next four years.

In 2012, the Vatican newspaper sharply criticised Gates after she announced that the couple's foundation would give $560 million over the next eight years to increase women's access to a contraception.

Under the headline 'birth control and disinformation', the article on the front page of the July 29 edition of L'Osservatore Romano said that Gates was free to make charitable donations to whomever she wants, but not to spread incorrect information.

In an interview with the Guardian, Gates had identified herself as a practising Catholic who 'struggled' with the idea of opposing Church teaching to promote a project aimed at giving 120 million women in developing countries access to contraceptives by 2020.

Herfresh comments come as theSecretary of State for International Development, Priti Patel, announced that the Government will increase aid for family planning and abortion services by 25 per cent, at a cost of over 1.1 billion.

The Government will spend 225 million per year over the next five years providing contraception for developing countries, including abortion services.

Pro-life campaigners have condemned the move. Anne Scanlan, director of the charity Life, said: 'This is absolutely shocking. A recent ComRes poll showed that 65 per cent of the public oppose UK taxpayer money being spent on abortions overseas. We call on the Government not to proceed with this new support for the family planning and abortion industry and to instead pursue global initiatives to support women in pregnancy.'
Missionary's wife appeals for news of her husband, taken hostage in Africa

The wife of a kidnapped American missionary missing in Africa is appealing for the hostage takers to telephone her and to let her husband go.

Els Woodke pleads in a video for news of Jeff Woodke, a US aid worker, abducted from their home in Niger in October last year.

His wife made the appeal through World Watch Monitor after he failed to appear in a video released a few days ago by the jihadists she believes to be his captors. That video showed six hostages, including kidnapped Colombian nun Sister Gloria Argoti. According to the US-based monitoring group SITE, the group is the Islamist al-Qaeda affiliate Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen.

No group has claimed responsibility for taking Woodke but his captors were tracked to Mali by Nigerian authorities, reports WWM.

'Jeff has lived and worked in Niger for more than 29 years,' she tells WWM.

'He leads an NGO that assists the local population with farming, health improvement, access to clean water, literacy and education.' She says he is 'truly loved and respected' by the people of Niger.

In the jihadists' video, in which Woodke was not mentioned, the kidnappers urge the hostage families to 'strive to rescue them'.

Els Woodke urges the hostage takers to call her also, and says Jeff can give them the number.

'I am sure that the families of the captives were very encouraged by this message and appreciated the mercy shown by Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen in sending this news and instructions about their loved ones. But my husband Jeff is not mentioned, so I did not receive the benefit of the reassurance and directions of how to proceed that the other families did. This has been very hard for me, for Jeff's sons and his father to understand.'

WWM reports that the kidnapping and ransoming of foreign nationals has become a lucrative business for jihadist groups. On July 2, French President Emmanuel Macron attended a meeting with the leaders of Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania to allocating troops to fight jihadis.
Previously suicidal UK Muslim in same-sex marriage says 'God's in my heart,' praises 'guardian angel' husband

A man who is believed to be one of the first UK Muslims to take part in a same-sex marriage has said his husband had been his 'guardian angel' after years of bullying and a suicide attempt.

Jahed Choudhury, 24, said he met Sean Rogan in 2015 while crying on a bench in Darlaston, West Midlands, shortly after being treated in hospital for an overdose.

'It was outside Asda of all places. He came up to me and asked if I was OK. I thought he was my guardian angel,' Choudhury said. 'I had been crying privately to myself, although I was screaming inside.'

The encounter followed years of bullying and mistreatment by Muslims and others for being gay, including at school from his 'first day' there.

He said: 'I knew I was gay at about six or seven, but I was taught it was wrong so I just kept it hidden.'

He said that at senior school the bullying had included having rubbish bins emptied on him and name-calling.

'I did anything to try and change how I felt. I prayed, I read the Koran and went to pilgrimage,' he said.

Believing that his sexuality was 'wrong' and that 'Satan had got to me,' Choudhury went abroad for several years, changed his circle of friends, took medication and had Muslim teachers pray for him.

Nonetheless, he said that he could not escape his feelings and suffered mental health problems as a result.

Choudhury, who has been supported by family members, especially his mother, 'came out' in 2012, leading to what he said was the most difficult period of his life.

'But when I came out of hospital [after the overdose] I had started to think "enough is enough",' he said. Meeting Rogan, who was positive and confident, helped Choudhury accept his sexuality.

'Every time I feel down he says to me "don't feel bad" and says a lot of people feel the same as me.'

After their first chat, Rogan 'took me to the cinema to cheer me up,' Choudhury said.

Last month, the couple were married at Walsall Register Office last month, followed by a party and honeymoon.

Choudhury said he believed that people could be both gay and Muslim. 'My religion will never change,' he said. 'God's in my heart'.

'My mother tells me "God made you like this - you have love for God".'

Choudhury said that he wanted to help others who may be in similar situations to the one he faced in the past.

'I just want to help them and would be happy if I could stop one person going through what I went through,' he said.
By Ruth Anderah

The Court of Appeal has granted bail to the three jailed ministry of Public Service officials including former permanent Secretary Jimmy Lwamafa, principal accountant Christopher Obey and Director Pensions and compensations Stephen Kiwanuka Kunsa.

The Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma has ordered that the sum of 50 million shillings deposited by each convict before the Anti-corruption court for granting of bail be retained to act as a cash bail in this court.

The judge also ordered the three convicts to deposit their passports in court and to report before the Deputy Registrar of this court every last working day of the month starting from 31st/July 2017.

Lwamafa specifically has been ordered to deposit his Land tittle for his home on plot 13, Yusuf Lule road in Nakasero, Kampala.

However Lwamafa, Obey and Kunsa are not going home since they still have another pending case before the Anti-corruption court in which they have never secured bail.

In his bail ruling read to court by Assistant Registrar Didas Muhumuza, Justice Kavuma observed that there might be a delay in the hearing of the convicts appeal.

Justice Kavuma granted them bail on grounds that they were not convicted of offenses involving personal violence nor those attracting the death penalty.

Other reasons for their bail include the fact that they have fixed places of residence and have presented substantial sureties and other aggravating factors of old age and ill-health.

The sureties have been ordered to execute a non-cash bail of 40 million and ten million shillings.

The three were jailed for seven, ten, and five years respectively at Luzira prison after the Anticorruption court judge Lawrence Gidudu found them guilty of stealing 88 billion shillings which they falsely accounted for as NSSF contributions for public servants.

They were also ordered to make good of this loss by paying back 50 billion shillings to govt.
The 'death spiral' of decline looms for Southern Baptist churches  can it be stopped?

Southern Baptist Churches in America are facing a crisis of growth, with 65 per cent of them plateauing or diminishing in numbers, and many risk entering a 'death spiral' of decline.

The research comes from LifeWay President and CEO Thom S. Rainer, and challenges a graver statistic that suggests that as many as eight in ten Southern Baptist churches are in decline. Rainer's findings provide a more comprehensive picture of the nature of church decline.

'The evangelistic deterioration within churches across North America has been a reality for several decades. This is not new information,' Rainer said, according to the Baptist Press, 'but we wanted to find out the degree of the deterioration.'

For 65 per cent of churches, congregations are either stalling in growth or depleting in numbers. Even the statistic of the 35 per cent that are 'growing' is misleading.

'Growing churches are primarily growing through transfer growth,' he said, meaning congregants who left one church for another, not new converts. 'If we look at which churches are actually healthy from an evangelistic perspective, it's only about 6 or 7 out of 100.'

Rainer also warns of a 'death spiral' looming for congregations with smaller numbers. Perpetual decline is often inevitable for churches with less than 100 members.

'Over 61 percent of churches average fewer than 100 in worship attendance. But, two out of three of these churches are declining,' Rainer explained.

'Once a church declines below 100 in worship attendance, it is likely to die within just a few years. The life expectancy for many of these churches is ten years or less.'

In response, Rainer has launched new resources to help combat the trend, centered on encouraging Christians to share the gospel through their daily conversations. These include the website EvangelismRenewal.com, created in partnership with the North American Mission Board.

The site encourages churches to measure how many 'Gospel conversations' they have in 2018.

'We know conversion is only by the Holy Spirit, but we also know that God begins most of these conversions with Gospel conversations,' he said. On a similar theme, the e-book Rainer on Evangelism has also been launched.

'It is our prayer that the research, the website and the e-book will spark millions of Gospel conversations that God will use to bring about the conversion of men and women, boys and girls,' Rainer said.

Rainer said that in his experience the key to church growth 'wasn't money or the latest fad. It was just obedience'.

EvangelismRenewal.com launches today.

Assessing Church attendance trends in the US, a recent study by Barna lists the most churched and un-churched, or 'post-Christian' cities in the US.
Under Trump, most refugees entering the US are now Christians

Under the Trump administration, Christians now make up an increasing share of refugees entering the US, reversing a trend that had seen Muslim immigration outnumber that of Christians under President Obama.

The news comes from assessment of the US State Department's refugee data by Pew Research Centre. Since Trump's inauguration on January 21 2017 and up to June 30, 9,598 Christian refugees have arrived in the US compared with 7,250 Muslim refugees. Christians have made up more than 50 per cent of refugee arrivals from February to June, while Muslims have made up 38 per cent.

In February, just 41 per cent of refugees were Christians, in June Christians became a majority at 57 per cent. Muslims went from accounting for 50 per cent of arrivals in February to just 31 per cent in June.

The number of Muslim majority countries topping the list of nations of origin for refugees has fallen too. In the first months following January 21, the top countries of origin for refugees were the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3,235), followed by Burma (Myanmar) (2,470), Iraq (1,923), Somalia (1,879), Syria (1,779) and the Ukraine (1,603).

Iraq, Syria and Somalia are majority Muslim countries, but from April-June, the only majority Muslim country among the top six origins was Iraq.

As the Pew study notes, US immigration data has come under increased scrutiny after the controversial immigration orders of President Trump, who ordered restrictions on arrivals from seven Muslim-majority nations (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen), what was criticised as a 'Muslim ban'. Despite various opposition, a second order of Trump's was partially reinstated by the Supreme Court last month.

Pew notes that 'it's not clear why the religious composition of refugees to the US has changed since February', considering 'Trump's revised executive order signed in March states no religious preference for refugee admissions'.

The effects of Trump's policy are still hard to gauge, since many of those who have arrived since February applied for asylum before Trump's inauguration. The refugee application process usually takes between 18-24 months to complete, so it's not clear yet how the religious affiliation of refugee applicants  yet to be admitted  has shifted in the past few months.
The Left has been struggling to disassociate the anti-cop hatred spewed by the Black Lives Matter movement from the assassination of New York police officer Miosotis Familia during the Fourth of July holiday. Police Commissioner James ONeill demolished those efforts in his blazing funeral oration for Officer Familia on Tuesday. Assassin Alexander Bonds hated the police, ONeill said, because he had heard and read countless times in conversation, on television, and in the newspapers that the cops were the bad guys. That hate has consequences, ONeill warned. When we demonize a whole group of peoplewhether that group is defined by race, by religion, or by occupationthis is the result. Bonds had mental problems, but its no coincidence that they culminated in the deliberate slaying of a cop.

The Left denies that the Black Lives Movement is anything other than a reasonable movement for justice and insists that it has no connection with anti-cop violence. Never mind the Fuck the Police signs, the Police = KKK chants, the Racist, Killer Cops tee-shirts. Never mind the exclusive attention to a handful of officer-involved shootings and the refusal to acknowledge why officers focus on minority neighborhoods in the first place, or why they are more likely to encounter armed and resisting suspects there. Never mind the media stampede to justify riots as an understandable reaction to supposed police racism. While any given Black Lives Matter protest, however virulent its rhetoric, enjoys First Amendment protection, it is disingenuous to pretend that the all-consuming anti-police narrative is not making officers work more difficult and more dangerous. The anti-cop Left has no explanation for the 53 percent increase in gun murders of officers last year. It turns its eyes away from the growing animosity and resistance that officers now encounter when they try to investigate suspicious behavior on the street. And most important, the anti-cop Left ignores the truth: we are not living through an epidemic of racially biased police killings of black males. In fact, if there is a bias in police shootings, it favors blacks against whites, as four studies found last year. The widely held impression that blacks make up the majority of people killed by the police is entirely a media creation.

Most tellingly, the Left has nothing to say about the rise in black-on-black violence that the demonization of cops has produced. An additional 900 black males were killed in 2015 nationally compared with the previous year, the result of officers backing off of proactive policing. Commissioner ONeill rightly asked where the demonstrations were in protest of Familias killing: Why is there no outrage? he wondered. But he could as well have asked where the Black Lives Matter demonstrations were in protest of the mindless and constant drive-by shootings of black civilians. A handful of grass-roots activists in Chicago and elsewhere have protested the slaying of children and the elderly, but not one Black Lives Matter leader has seen fit to organize against the rising street violence. Seven thousand blacks, overwhelmingly male, were killed in 20152,000 more deaths than all white and Hispanic homicide deaths combined, though black males are only 6 percent of the nations population. Not a peep of protest from Black Lives Matter agitators.

The people who are paying attention are the police, who analyze crime patterns on a minute-by-minute and corner-by-corner basis, seeking to break the grip of violence on a community. When no witnesses will cooperate in solving the latest drive-by shooting, the police work tirelessly to try to track down the shooter on their own.

Commissioner ONeill celebrated what drove Familia and her colleagues to become police officersthe desire to improve peoples lives. Cops are regular people who believe in the possibility of making this a safer world, ONeill said. Its why we run toward, when others run away. But fewer and fewer individuals are choosing to take on what ONeill called the vast responsibility of becoming a police officer, knowing that the first assumption that the media, the activists, and academia would make about them is that they are implicit, if not explicit, racists. Recruiting has dried up. And many police departments, pressured by the Obama Justice Department, are lowering hiring standards, including clean criminal-record requirements, in order to increase what is speciously referred to as diversity.

We can hope that ONeills stirring testament to the dignity and compassion of policing will inspire more upstanding individuals like Miosotis Familia to become guardians of the peace. During Familias funeral, however, a teen blasted the rap song Fuck tha Police from his third-floor window, in deliberate contempt of the proceedings below. As long as that sentiment has so many elite enablers, the violence in inner-city neighborhoods will continue, taking lives both black and blue.

Photo by Pool/Getty Images
Criminal justice charities are struggling to recover all the money they spend on service contracts they are delivering, according to new research.

Some 224 organisations responded to a survey by membership body Clinks. The body also did 10 in-depth interviews and analysed the financial data of 752 charities and 220 companies.

Only 22 per cent of respondents said they always achieved full cost recovery on contracts they deliver, while 14 per cent said they never received full cost recovery.

Some five per cent of organisations said they were at risk of closure, but this rose to 30 per cent for organisations providing specific services for people from black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

Compared to the wider charity sector, voluntary organisations working in criminal justice had much lower reserves.

Voluntary organisations as a whole in the UK had on average around six months of reserves in 2013/14. For the same year, organisations working specifically in criminal justice had an average of 1.9 months of reserves, which fell to an average of 1.7 months of reserves in 2014/15.

Grant funding from government has significantly declined for organisations who are criminal justice specialists.

In the financial year 2008/09, government grants for organisations whose core purpose is to work in criminal justice were worth 23.9m but this had dropped by 50 per cent by 2014/15.

But during the same time period, larger non-specialist criminal justice organisations experienced an increase in government grant funding.

Many organisations were increasingly concerned about their staff wellbeing, with 41 per cent saying their workers are taking on larger caseloads.

See in Charity Finance

Anne Fox, chief executive of Clinks, said poor conditions were preventing charities from delivering prison services.

Voluntary organisations play such a large role in supporting people affected by the criminal justice system that it is almost impossible to imagine what it would be like without them.

We know that our prison system is in desperate need of reform, and probation services are struggling to resettle people leaving prison.

Organisations are partnering more, developing new services, involving service users and their families to change what they do. In order to truly reform the criminal justice system we must ensure that we have a vibrant and healthy voluntary sector that can deliver change.

Civil Society Media is hosting its Charity Finance Summit 2017 on 17 October 2017. For more information, and to book, click here
A network about compliance for international non-governmental organisations has been set up to help learn about sector best practice, with other INGOs encouraged to join.

The INGO Compliance Network was first set last year up by the head of regulatory compliance of Oxfam GB, and now includes 23 charities, including Plan International, Save the Children, and WaterAid. Its founder Sophie Walsh said that the group aims to allow members to share best practice, and optimise opportunities for collaboration.

The network has quarterly meetings, with members taking it in turns to host the meeting. As the group has members across Europe, not all meetings will be in the UK.

Walsh said the aim is for the meetings abroad to be full day meetings so the majority of people attending that will travel from the UK can make the most of the travel. Meetings held in the UK will be morning or afternoon meetings.

The group has had three meetings so far. The first meeting took place in December 2016 in WaterAids offices in London, the second at Plan International in London and the third at Save the Children in London. The next meeting will take place at Action Against Hunger in Paris in September, at Oxfam GB in Oxford in December and at Goal I.E. in Dublin in March.

Walsh said she decided to set the group up after moving back into the charity sector from the corporate sector, having previously worked with charities but never in international development. She said that this was a huge learning curve for her.

She said: I assumed there would be a network of this nature, set up already, that I would be able to join and through which I would be able to learn about sector best practice. I had a look around and there wasn't one focused on compliance in this sector. Therefore I decided to set one up because I believe there is a lot that each INGO can learn from one another.

I also believe there is benefit to be had from working together. Therefore, the two aims of the network are to share best practice and optimise opportunity for collaboration. When I started reaching out to counterparts in INGOs, there was clear appetite for such a network, which confirmed to me that I should set it up.

She said she has received very positive feedback so far and it seems to be really useful for people to hear of the similarities in experiences and challenges we're experiencing in our roles and to help each other with those.

Topics discussed at these meetings have included: compliance training, responsibilities of compliance departments within INGOs, anti-fraud policies and field humanitarian practices, terrorism financing, and global risks and horizon scanning which looks at what the impact of these global risks on compliance are.

Membership now includes:

1. Action Against Hunger

2. ActionAid UK

3. Amnesty International

4. British Council

5. CAFOD

6. Care International

7. Christian Aid

8. Concern Worldwide UK

9. Goal I.E.

10. Greenpeace International

11. Islamic Relief Worldwide

12. Mercy Corps

13. Oxfam GB

14. Plan International Inc

15. Plan International UK

16. Save the Children International

17. Save the Children UK

18. SOS Children's Villages International

19. Tearfund

20. War on Want

21. WaterAid UK

22. World Vision UK

23. WWF

Anyone interested in finding out more about the the INGO Compliance Network should contact Walsh by email.

Civil Society Media is hosting its NGO Insight 2017 conference on 28 November 2017. For more information, and to book, click here.
Recovering costs from institutional funders is an increasingly difficult problem for international NGOs. Steve Harper of haysmacintyre lays out a framework to help consider the issue, in advance of Civil Society Media's NGO Insight conference.

Recent years have seen many charities, particularly those operating internationally, place an increasingly significant reliance on institutional funding. In many cases, this has resulted in charities dealing with the dual challenge of a higher proportion of restricted funding and potentially onerous reporting requirements and conditions compared with unrestricted donations. In some instances, the practice adopted has been to pursue institutional funding without fully considering the consequences or administrative requirements resulting from the funding. Some international charities had historically been able to rely on Department for International Development Programme Partnership Agreements to fund a significant proportion of overhead costs, an approach which is no longer possible following the withdrawal of that funding in late 2016.

The challenges faced and typical solutions

Where organisations are inexperienced in this dealing with such challenges, the approach adopted is often project-by-project with little or no visibility of how a project may be subsidised. On the other hand, the best in class are able to measure and track the full costs of a project and report accurately on those costs. Such organisations are often those that have a significant proportion of restricted income, resulting in them needing to place significant focus on recovering costs compared with those organisations that have been able to subsidise institutional funding via their unrestricted funding.

The approaches taken by funders in the area of indirect cost recovery differ significantly, from those funders (such as USAID) that potentially permit full cost recovery to organisations such as the EC, which typically permits only a set percentage recovery. For many organisations, the set percentage approach is at best arbitrary and insufficient to cover the cost of the overheads. However, without fully knowing your cost base, it is impossible to properly assess this and therefore make informed decisions around how resources are best used.

The tendency of many organisations is to try and first reduce costs, or raise voluntary income to cover the gap. In difficult financial times this may not be effective, and may not be the best use of the resources of the charity or may reduce central overheads to such as level as to inhibit the work or the effective running of the charity. Therefore, the question of recovering overheads is also one that should also be considered.

Effective cost recovery models

Those organisations that deal most effectively with cost recovery have a clear model by which overhead recovery is assessed before funding applications are submitted. Core to an effective model is ensuring that the organisation understands the real cost of the project. This enables an organisation to recognise the impact that receiving funding without full overhead recovery can have on reserves in a structured way, and therefore allow for informed decisions to be made as to whether to accept donor funding. Where the organisation is not recovering full overheads, this can help to ensure that this is a conscious decision which is in line with the strategy of the organisation.

The most effective models will allow the organisation to assess not only the costs of the project, but also some of the financial risks. For example, if a project is taking place in a country in which the organisation does not have an established office or significant experience of projects, it is likely this will require a greater level of support from the head office or regional functions and overhead recovery should be priced accordingly.

The importance of knowing donor requirements

It is important to understand that each donor is different, and has different needs and reporting requirements. In some cases, it can be appropriate to include the cost of addressing these reporting requirements within the planned overhead recovery. Again, this is an area where risk should be considered. For example, if the organisation has not previously worked with the donor this may lead to a greater level of risk being attached to the funding. Where this is the case, at the outset the organisation should consider if it has sufficient systems to produce the donor reporting required and, if not, how it can bridge that gap and what the costs of doing so would be.

More broadly, other key donor terms should also be considered at the outset. For example, does the donor pay in advance or in arrears? If the donor pays in arrears, does the organisation have sufficient working capital to fund the project until the first tranche payment would be due? Would there be a significant impact if payment were delayed? It is also important to understand what the donor considers to be indirect costs. Many donors would consider country office or regional office staff to be indirect costs, and therefore these costs should be considered as part of the wider question of cost recovery. However, some donors will permit certain country office and regional office costs to be charged as direct costs. Understanding this at the application stage helps to ensure that the costs are reflected in budgets submitted to the donors.

Linking cost recovery to decision-making

Once a model has been developed, it is important to consider the process by which decisions will be taken. Whilst this is necessarily a financial process, overhead recovery should become a process which is embedded in the wider organisation. Safeguards are needed, however the process should not become one which is too rigid  in some instances, an organisation may choose to take on a high impact project which will recover overheads at a lower rate than the organisation would typically require. The essential point is that this is an informed decision to subsidise the project from unrestricted funds and that it has been assessed as affordable in the context of the other projects and applications that the organisation has.

The approach of assessing overhead recovery at the application stage, and project-by-project, should also feed into the overall financial management of the organisation. Where there is significant institutional funding, a helpful KPI to measure is the recovery of overheads from institutional funding. Some organisations will use a multi-year average to allow for short term timing differences. The funding of overheads as a whole should also be understood  i.e. how are overheads funded, and how long does the organisation have guaranteed funding for those overheads? Once the cost base is fully understood, this facilitates periodic review to help ensure that the cost base itself remains appropriate.

Steve Harper is a senior audit manager at haysmacintyre.

Civil Society Media is hosting its NGO Insight conference on 28 November 2017, including a session on this topic. For more information, and to book, click here.
By Moses Kyeyune & Ruth Anderah

The Prime Minister Dr.Ruhakana Rugunda has spoken out on the prosecutors strike saying government is undertaking a review of their salaries and those of other government workers.

Rugunda made the revelation in parlaiment of Wednesday afternoon, amid pressure from the Speaker and a section of lawmakers, following a decision by the prosecutors to lay down their tools over low pay.

Rugunda on Prosecutors.

The strike by prosecutors has paralyzed business in most courts in Kampala and other parts of the country where court rooms remained deserted.

The strike also saw the bail ruling of formr Public Service Permanent Secretary Jimmy Lwamafa and two others read in the absence of a state prosecutor at the Court of Appeal.

Only cases prosecuted by the Inspector General of Government and those that are privately prosecuted by lawyers have been handled.

The Uganda Association of Prosecutors last month gave the government a 14-day ultimatum to increase their salaries and secure promotions for those on lower ranks who have been serving for quite a long period of time.

Currently, prosecutors earn between Shs 500,000 and more than Shs 1,000,000 depending on ones rank.

It is however, not clear how long this industrial action will last.

Earlier today, the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, Paul Gadenya issued a press statement saying they had agreed with the Directorate of Public Prosecution to call off the industrial action.
It is where he inveighs against FAKE NEWS, promotes his television appearances, and trumpets his administrations accomplishments. Its also where he reports on meetings with world leaders, discusses policy positions, and announced his choice for FBI Director. President Donald Trumps Twitter feed is the epicenter of a new-age White House communications strategy that has earned the oft-repeated label unprecedented.

Whether Trumps demeanor in the messages he posts is presidential is debatable, but his own spokespeople have made clear that his tweets constitute official statements. Not everyone, however, can see those statements or participate in the discussion that occurs in the replies.

On Tuesday, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed a lawsuit against Trump and two of his top advisors on behalf of seven people who have been blocked from viewing tweets by the presidents @realDonaldTrump account. Attorneys at the Knight Institute argue that Trumps blocking of users who have criticized him amounts to viewpoint-based exclusion, which is not allowed under the First Amendment.

President Trumps Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, has become an important source of news and information about the government, and an important public forum for speech by, to, and about the President. In an effort to suppress dissent in this forum, Defendants have excludedblockedTwitter users who have criticized the President or his policies. This practice is unconstitutional, the federal suit alleges.

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The case raises complicated questions about how to apply constitutional principles written in a time of pamphlets and town square debates to the realities of the Facebook and Twitter era. Skeptics might say that blocking someone on Twitter doesnt make it impossible for that person to see tweets. He or she can simply sign out of that account or create a different one. Blocking adds a barrier to entry, to be sure, but its not an insurmountable obstacle. Additionally, as anyone who spends time on Twitter knows, comments on the platform can be crude, distasteful, and even scary, and blocking trolls allows for some measure of control over the people with whom you interact.

But attorneys at the Knight Institute have put forward a series of arguments that make a compelling case for thinking differently. They are not arguing that we redefine Twittera privately owned social media platformwrit large as a virtual town square where all voices are welcome. Rather, they claim that because of the way the President and his aides use the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account, the account is a public forum under the First Amendment.

If the presidents feed is defined as a public forum, citizens cannot be excluded from viewing his statements and engaging in discussions simply because they disagree. The lawsuit alleges that Trump, along with Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Social Media Director Dan Scavino, have violated the First Amendment rights of seven Americans who were blocked soon after criticizing or mocking the president, and that the block infringes on the plaintiffs First Amendment right to petition their government for redress of grievances.

When [government officials] open up a space and allow the general public to come in and comment in that space, whether a city council meeting or a Facebook page, that is a designated public forum, Katie Fallow, a senior attorney at the Knight Institute, tells CJR. The courts have held that when you do that, you cant then exclude people based on viewpoint. The Knight Institute, which has not been blocked by Trumps account, is also a plaintiff in the suit. It argues that users who arent blocked are being deprived of their right to read the speech of the dissenters.

The reaction from legal experts last month to the Knight Institutes letter declaring its intent to sue was mixed, with some supporting the effort and others arguing the plaintiffs had a tough legal hill to climb. But in the weeks since, the Supreme Court issued a decision in which Justice Anthony Kennedy described social media as the modern public square.

Trump recently referred to his use of social media as modern day presidential. It will now be left to the courts to decide whether that requires a modern day update to First Amendment protections.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Pete Vernon is a former CJR staff writer. Follow him on Twitter @ByPeteVernon.
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Earlier this week, the News Media Alliance called for collective action by publishers against the duopoly of Facebook and Google, which now control both the distribution of and the audience for publishers work. The New York Timess Jim Rutenberg calls the bargaining effort, which appeals to the slow decline of journalism in the digital era, an extreme measure with long odds, but acknowledges the asymmetric relationship between publishers and technology companies.

Tow Director Emily Bell adds nuance to that picture for CJR, differentiating between the attitudes of legacy media publishers, who are largely leading this effort (Rupert Murdoch among them), and digital natives, who are not represented by the Alliance and whose business models rely on a good relationship with social media. For example, just two weeks ago BuzzFeed co-founder Jonah Peretti praised the forward-looking attitude of the tech companies, as opposed to the short-term focus of the media.

The approaches of digital and legacy media also correspond, Bell writes, to two visions on the future of journalism. Onesays a far closer relationship between publishers and social media is necessary.Another version says there must be a necessary separation of journalism from a compromised and opaque system of power that often works as part of the surveillance state, and which has commercial priorities that can clash with the public interest. Which vision will win depends on the regulatory environment of the years to come.

In the meantime, the duopoly lives on!

Google has helped finance hundreds of research papers to defend against regulatory challenges of its market dominance, The Wall Street Journal found , in an academic influence campaign.



Facebooks latest concession to publishers is to roll out a subscription function on its proprietary article format, Instant Articles. Its a tricky move, because, as Digiday points out , Facebook believes in creating a uniform user experiencebut each publishers business model creates different needs.



Google and Facebook are actually taking part in their own collective action. They are among a group of large tech companies staging a day of action against the rollback of net neutrality.



We usually think of Silicon Valley as a space crowded with internet startups, but is it? We havent had a major new technology company in more than 10 years, writes Timothy Lee at Vox .



From the CJR archives, Emily Bell lovingly encourages the tech companies to voluntarily fund an endowment for journalism.





Other notable stories

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Nausicaa Renner is digital editor of CJR.
07/12/2017

Photo via VisitFlorida.com Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has reached a settlement with Avis Budget Car Rental System (ABCR) in a case involving toll fees.

The agreement resolves an investigation by Bondis Office regarding Avis, Budget and Payless practices involving add-on fees for cashless tolls and other related add-on charges.

In the settlement, the company denied that it has engaged in any deceptive or unfair trade practice. Specifically, it denied that its current and former practices are deceptive, unfair, or violate Florida law.

Bondi's office investigated complaints that the rental car companies did not adequately disclose to customers they would have to pay a daily fee for the companies' e-Toll service, that allows cars to pass through toll plazas without stopping to pay.

Bondi says the rental car companies assessed this charge for each day of the rental, whether the customer passed through a toll plaza or not. She said many customers were unaware of the charge and would often receive bills from the rental car companies four to six weeks after concluding the rental.

Full disclosure

Under the terms of the settlement, Avis, Budget and Payless have agreed to "clearly and conspicuously" disclose its $3.95 per day charge to consumers when they rent a vehicle.

Additionally, the companies agreed to clearly disclose on their websites and other consumer communications the existence of the $3.95 per day charge, and tell consumers how they can avoid it.

So far, Bondi says the companies have made about $1 million in refunds to consumers who rented vehicles in the past. The settlement also requires the companies to make refunds to consumers charged for e-Toll without sufficient disclosures.

The settlement also contains a provision requiring the companies to instruct employees to provide complete disclosure to customers about toll-paying options. The companies also agreed that employees will provide complete disclosure about damage waiver options and will not impose a damage waiver fee when a customer has declined the coverage.

Consumers who rented a vehicle from the companies in Florida between Jan. 1, 2010 through July 10, 2017, may be eligible for a refund. All claims must be filed by Jan. 7, 2018. Click here to file a claim.
At Costa Crociere, the core daily focus is to exceed guest expectations.

This is our mantra; we put our guests at the center of every decision in every department, Neil Palomba, president, told Cruise Industry News. And, we focus our activities to ensure that guests are fully satisfied prior, during and after their cruise.

Continuous innovation has been Palombas calling card on the product side, and he has overseen the launch and development of Costas Italy at Sea branding platform.

The most important and relevant element of our brand, however, is the crew, Palomba said. They are our most important asset. We invest a lot to hire and train the right people before they embark. Service is an important focus for us, and we have worked on enhancing our service element and making sure we provide an Italian experience.

Two new ships will launch for the European and Western markets in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

Palomba has been busy planning for the ships. Costa has hired four different design companies to work on the interiors, which he promised will communicate the Italian brand position.

The concept behind the ship and the design point we want to communicate is that customer is in Italy. The mission of the architects is to express that with their own creativity, Palomba said.

Costa has also gone out and invited 10 Italian brands to design and supply various furniture. Those pieces will also be in the first museum at sea.

The biggest news may be the staterooms.

A lot of innovation, Palomba hinted. I cant go into detail. Weve invested a lot of time in the staterooms. The cabin layout will be completely renovated compared to the usual design.

Palomba is among the youngest cruise line presidents ever. He was born to an Italian father and English mother, in England, but was in Italy two weeks later in SantAgnello, a small town outside Naples where he grew up.

An opportunity came to work aboard Star Lauros Symphony when he was 15-years old during a summer break. Palomba took it, and was aboard as a night steward at the reception desk.

Once done with school Palomba became a cadet officer, still with Star Lauro, and eventually worked his way up to second officer while the company was brought under MSC ownership.

Noting his rise, MSC offered him the opportunity to work shoreside on its newbuilding program. So from 2001 to 2004, Palomba was front and center on the construction of the Lirica and Opera.

The sea was still calling, however, and he asked to be put back onboard.

I spent a year and a half aboard the Opera, where I met my wife in 2005, he said. Then I was on the Musica; it was new and about to be delivered. I got a call to meet with Vago (Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman) and he offered me a job to work in the United States.

So Palomba and his wife moved to America.

I was 25 years old at the time, working as chief operating officer, it was a great opportunity, he said.

Another phone call came, and Palomba went back to Geneva to work as corporate operating officer, responsible for optimizing profit by establishing performance parameters and developing new destinations.

Then came another opportunity, and he went to Costa as senior vice president of hotel operations in 2014, a position the company created for him. A year later he was named president.

We have changed (Costa), we have developed the product, marketing and commercial activities, Palomba said. To see the turn-around of the company has been great. We are very happy with the results we are seeing.

Palomba described his management style as open and eager to learn. He tries to get to the ships as often as possible, and is no stranger to the engine room, often putting on overalls and climbing down ladders with the chief engineer.

Excerpt from Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine: Summer 2017
Its a huge year for the cruise calls in Le Havre. The new MSC Meraviglia was christened on June 3 and on September 15, the Queen Mary 2 departs on a trans-Atlantic run that coincides with the 500th anniversary of Le Havre.

Traffic is up accordingly, from 118 calls in 2016 to 142 visits in 2017; including 17 double calls, five triple call days and six maiden visits. There are also eight full or partial turnarounds scheduled, which is a growing niche for the French port. 2018 will see 22 turns by the MSC Magnifica on an interporting deployment strategy, and 13 additional partial turnarounds.

AIDA is the biggest customer, with 56 port calls this year dominated by weekly visits from the 2016-built AIDAprima on her European capitals run.

Regular visitors to the port are benefiting from an incentive plan that includes a 90 percent port fee rebate for seven or more calls.

Valerie Conan, director of cruise for the tourism office, said Le Havre has come a long way since 2010, when it was mainly considered just a port to visit on re-positioning voyages.

We can accommodate up to four ships simultaneously. And as the cruise ships are getting bigger and bigger, this offers good perspectives, said Conan, noting the port can host any size ships. Transit and turnarounds: Le Havre was initially considered as a transit port, but as the demand for cruises starting from Le Havre is growing, we have implemented turnaround facilities in our terminal and we also target this clientele.

The port was allocated funding to modernize the Pierre Callet and Roger Meunier quays. Of note, part of the wharf at Pierre Callet is made up of concrete originally used and developed by the Allies for their Normandy landing in 1944.

In addition, there are safety developments to increase security in the terminals, according to Conan.

Terminal 12 has been upgraded for turn-around operations, including improving passenger flow, and the installation of more facilities including restrooms and check-in counters.
The Filene Research Institute has named Lauren Culp as the new manager of the Cooperative Trust, the mentorship and development program for young professionals within the credit union movement.

Culp succeeds James Marshall, who has led the Trust since 2013 and oversaw massive growth of the program, including a Herb Wegner award earlier this year. Marshall will reportedly remain a Filene and assist Culp during the transition process.

No stranger to Filene, Culp has been a member of the Cooperative Trust, participated in the annual Crash the GAC event and served as a member of Filenes i3 innovation team. She joins the Trust having most recently worked in a variety of capacities at True North FCU in Juneau, Alaska, focusing on business lending, developing community relationships and increasing back office efficiencies.
The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers a range of skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, cleansing devices, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools. The company also provides fragrance products in various forms comprising eau de parfum sprays and colognes, as well as lotions, powders, creams, candles, and soaps; and hair care products that include shampoos, conditioners, styling products, treatment, finishing sprays, and hair color products, as well as sells ancillary products and services. It offers its products under the Estee Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, MAC, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Darphin, Smashbox, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, GLAMGLOW, Kilian Paris, Too Faced, Dr. Jart+, DECIEM, and The Ordinary brands. The company sells its products through department stores, specialty-multi retailers, upscale perfumeries and pharmacies, and salons and spas; freestanding stores; its own and authorized retailer websites; third-party online malls; stores in airports; and duty-free shops. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Credit Suisse Group AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services in Switzerland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific. The company offers wealth management solutions, including investment advice and discretionary asset management services; risk management solutions, such as managed investment products; and wealth planning, succession planning, and trust services. It also provides financing and lending solutions, including consumer credit and real estate mortgage lending, real asset lending relating to ship, and aviation financing for UHNWI; standard and structured hedging, and lombard lending solutions, as well as collateral trading services; and investment banking solutions, such as global securities sales, trading and execution, capital raising, and advisory services. In addition, the company offers banking solutions, such as payments, accounts, debit and credit cards, and product bundles; asset management products; equity and debt underwriting, and advisory services; cash equities, equity derivatives, and convertibles, as well as prime services; and fixed income products, such as credit, securitized, macro, emerging markets, financing, structured credit, and other products. Further, it provides HOLT, a framework for assessing the performance of approximately 20,000 companies; and equity and fixed income research services. The company serves private and institutional clients; ultra-high-net-worth individuals, high-net-worth individuals, and affluent and retail clients; corporate clients, small and medium-sized enterprises, external asset managers, financial institutions, and commodity traders; and pension funds, hedge funds, governments, foundations and endowments, corporations, entrepreneurs, private individuals, financial sponsors, and sovereign clients. As of December 31, 2021, it operated through a network of 311 offices and branches. The company was founded in 1856 and is based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company worldwide. It provides test preparation services and materials; data science and training services; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global. The company also offers training, test preparation, and degrees for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates three colleges, a business school, a higher education institution, and an online learning institution. In addition, it owns and operates seven television stations; and provides social media management tools to connect newsrooms with their users, as well as produces Foreign Policy magazine and ForeignPolicy.com website. Further, the company publishes Slate, an online magazine; and two French-language news magazine websites at slate.fr and slateafrique.com. Additionally, it provides social media marketing solutions; home health and hospice services; burners, igniters, dampers, and controls; screw jacks, linear actuators and related linear motion products, and lifting systems; pressure impregnated kiln-dried lumber and plywood products; cybersecurity training solutions; digital advertising services; and power charging and data systems, industrial and commercial indoor lighting solutions, and electrical components and assemblies. The company also owns and operates 11 restaurants and entertainment venues; and engages in automobile dealerships business. The company was formerly known as The Washington Post Company and changed its name to Graham Holdings Company in November 2013. Graham Holdings Company was founded in 1877 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.
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Mobile network operator O2 confirmed a major step forward in its rollout of gigabit-WiFi in the City of London on Wednesday, selecting Cisco for its project.

The Telefonica-owned company announced plans for the network in April, claiming it would provide people in the Square Mile with WiFi speeds more than 12 times faster than the fastest fibre home broadband plans provided on BTs Openreach network, for free.

O2 was working with Cornerstone Telecommunication Infrastructure and the City of London Corporation, as well as Cisco, to deliver the project.

It was reportedly designed to rival the free connections available in other global financial centres, such as the Wall Street area of New York City and the free public WiFi available in Singapore.

Free Wi-Fi connectivity is now a prerequisite for any city looking to drive innovation and compete on a global scale, said Cisco senior vice president and global service provider for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia, Peter Karlstromer.

The deployment with O2, and with CTIL and the City of London, is a perfect example of the role that cities can play in connecting people.

We are excited to continue to support the roll out of free Wi-Fi across London and ensure that next generation connectivity is accessible to everyone.

O2 chief operating officer Derek McManus said the network operator was pleased to be working with Cisco to support the initiative.

[Ciscos] robust, speedy and seamless technology [will] create a Wi-Fi network and enable the capital to retain its position as a leading global centre.

Continued investment in infrastructure is essential to maintain the UKs reputation as a digital leader and we needed a partner that would be able to provide cutting-edge technology to help us realise this.

Consumer advocates welcomed the news, with Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at utilities comparison website uSwitch, noting that the announcement came just a week after a piece of research showed a large disparity in broadband speeds across the capital - particularly in the Square Mile.

O2s announcement comes as fantastic news for data-heavy mobile users working in the City, and, if launched as planned, should be in full operation by Autumn 2017, replacing the current service provided by The Cloud.

"This should also please tourists visiting landmarks such as St Pauls Cathedral, the Royal Exchange and the Monument, alleviating worries of sky-high data roaming charges, Doku said.

His welcoming of the announcement came with a caveat, however, suggesting broadband and mobile providers still needed to ensure their core service was up to scratch - even while providing additional services such as free WiFi.

While its great that this free WiFi will improve connectivity in well-documented coverage black spots, mobile networks and broadband providers alike must stay focused on delivering reliable speeds and service to paying customers across the capital and the country as a whole.
Equities jumped as central bankers from around the world appeared to sound a more dovish note than had been the case over recent weeks.

By the closing bell, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was higher by 1.52% or 5.75 points to 384.90, while the German Dax was ahead by 1.52% or 189.56 points to trade at 12,626.58, alongside gains of 1.59% or 81.53 points to 5,222.13 for France's Cac-40.

A day heavily-laden with central bank speakers kicked off with a somewhat dovish interview from the Monetary Policy Committee's Ben Broadbent. In an interview with the Press & Journal published overnight, Broadbent said he was not yet ready to vote for an increase in Bank Rate.

He was followed early on Wednesday morning by European Central Bank Governing Council member Ignazio Visco, who said monetary policy needed to remain expansionary in order to aid the recovery in the economy.

Capping it all off, of course, was US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen.

In prepared remarks for testimony before a Congressional panel, Yellen said that the: "federal funds rate will not have to rise all that much further to get to a neutral policy stance."

Providing a further boost to European stocks, the single currency came down by 0.41% to 1.1420 even after Yellen.

As Wolf von Rotberg at Deutsche Bank pointed out, since end-May the consensus forecast for the rate of growth in profits at companies on the Stoxx 600 had come down by 2.5 percentage points to 6.0% as a result of the strength in the single currency.

Euro area industrial production leaped by 1.3% month-on-month in May, easily beating forecasts for a rise of 0.6%.

On a related note, in an interview published on Wednesday French finance minister Edouard Philippe predicted the country's economy would expand at a 1.6% clip in 2017 followed by growth of 1.7% in 2018.

Shares in Premier Oil shot higher after announcing an oil strike at Zama-1 well offshore Mexico.

Engineering services group Bilfiger launched a profit warning, its first in two years.

German lender Deutsche Bank hived off a 5.5% stake in Heidelberger Druckmaschinen.

China's Fosun was still maintaining contacts aimed at possibly picking up a stake in French ski resorts and amusement parks operator Compagnie des Alpes, one of its directors said, with a few other consumer goods companies also on its radar.
European stocks are being buoyed by a rising tide in crude oil markets with a small dip in the euro also helping to relieve some of the previous day's selling pressure.

As of 1237 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was higher by 0.76% or 2.90 points to 382.05, while the German Dax was gaining 0.65% or 79.73 points to trade at 12,517.78, alongside gains of 0.90% or 46.13 points to 5,186.78 in France's Cac-40.

Oil&Gas shares were spearheading the advance, with the Stoxx 600 gauge for the group up by 1.35% to 288.39.

Nonetheless, traders' focus continued to be firmly on central banks, with a decision from Bank of Canada due at 1500 BST, followed by US central bank chair Janet Yellen's semi-annual report on Monetary Policy to the US House of Representatives's Financial Services Committee.

Commenting on Yellen's upcoming testimony, Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said: "Speculation has continued to grow as to the timing of when the Federal Reserve could start to pare down its balance sheet and whether this process would happen alongside the prospect of further rate rises.

"Such a move would in all probability be a little on the risky side, tightening policy from two different directions, and will be a process the Fed will need to be able to communicate effectively in the coming months."

Euro area industrial production leaped by 1.3% month-on-month in, easily beating forecasts for a rise of 0.6%.

On a related note, in an interview published on Wednesday French finance minister Edouard Philippe predicted the country's economy would expand at a 1.6% clip in 2017 followed by growth of 1.7% in 2018.

Still on the economic calendar as well was the Fed's Beige book at 1900 BST.

Shares in Premier Oil shot higher after announcing an oil strike at Zama-1 well offshore Mexico.

Engineering services group Bilfiger launched a profit warning, its first in two years.

German lender Deutsche Bank hived off a 5.5% stake in Heidelberger Druckmaschinen.

China's Fosun was still maintaining contacts aimed at possibly picking up a stake in French ski resorts and amusement parks operator Compagnie des Alpes, one of its directors said, with a few other consumer goods companies also on its radar.
Ratings agency Moodys has joined the chorus warning of a slowdown in the UK economy and said things could get a lot worse as the government was unlikely to secure a Brexit deal that was not damaging.

Britain voted to leave the EU last year, and despite a sharp decline in the value of sterling, the economy has held up better than many economists predicted in the months leading up to the referendum.

With the loss of the Conservative majority in last months snap election however, Moodys report concludes that the government will struggle to deliver a beneficial Brexit deal ahead of the March 2019 deadline.

Moodys expects the economy to weaken significantly towards the end of the year, citing a baseline growth declining to 1.5% in 2017, and as low as 1.0% in 2018.

Moodys report concludes that the government will struggle to deliver a beneficial Brexit deal

"While the negotiations with the EU have recently started, it remains unclear whether the UK government can eventually deliver a reasonably good outcome for the UK," said Kathrin Muehlbronner, a Moody's Senior Vice President.

Muehlbronner added: "The likelihood of an abrupt - and damaging - exit with no agreement and reversion to WTO trading rules has increased compared to our expectation directly after the referendum, with the government so far pursuing objectives that imply a 'hard' exit."

The ratings agency did add that it expected a deal to be agreed between the UK and EUs negotiating teams, as a failure to do so would be a negative result for both sides.

While the research from Moodys does not constitute any form of downgrade from the agency, the economy would face a possible lowering of its credit rating if it is not able to preserve core elements of the UK's current access to the EU Single Market.
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has agreed a deal to divest its upstream oil interests in Ireland for up to $1.23bn.

Shell reached the agreement with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to sell its 45% stake in the Corrib gas venture.

Shell will initially receive $947m as a result of the transaction, and will receive additional payments of up to $285m between 2018 and 2025.

The Corrib gas field has caused a significant amount of controversy in Ireland, with site protests at the Mayo field leading to a consistent police presence in the area for years.

Shells upstream director Andy Brown said the move was part of a larger plan to reshape the companys interests.

Brown said:This transaction is consistent with Shells strategy to concentrate our Upstream footprint where we can add most value. Im confident that Corrib will continue to deliver energy successfully to the people and businesses of Ireland.
Amec Foster Wheeler has been put under formal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office as part of a bribery and corruption investigation casting fresh doubts over its proposed 2.2 billion merger with Wood Group. In a statement to investors after the market had closed, Amec said that it had been told by the SFO that an investigation had been opened into the past use of third parties and possible bribery and corruption and related offences. - The Times

Britains economy will lose momentum this year amid squeezed living standards and uncertainty over Brexit and the inconclusive election result, leading ratings agencies have predicted. Moodys said the qualms about talks in Brussels and the minority government have increased the UKs political and financial risks. - The Guardian

The prospect of a cashless society moved a step closer after cards were used for more than half of retail purchases in the UK for the first time last year and debit cards finally surpassed physical money to become the most popular payment method. Debit, credit and charge cards were used for 10.3bn transactions in 2016, a rise of 5pc on 2015 that gave plastic a 54pc share of all retail payments by volume, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). - The Daily Telegraph

One of Londons fastest-growing law firms is set to list on the Alternative Investment Market after announcing a 20 million reverse takeover. Gordon Dadds yesterday said that it was in very advanced talks with Work Group, a London-listed shell company, over a deal that would make the law firm the focus for what would be only the second British flotation of a legal business. - The Times

Energy networks have been accused of exploiting UK consumers to enjoy a 7.5bn windfall of unjustified sky high profits, and urged to return the money in the form of a one-off 285 rebate to every household. Citizens Advice said the companies that transmit electricity and gas around the UK, including National Grid, were reaping eye-watering average profit margins of 19% from their monopolies. That compares with the 4% margin that big six suppliers, such as British Gas, make selling power and gas to householders. - The Guardian

About half a million rail passengers could face higher fares after a decision to award one of Britains biggest franchises to First Group, the competition watchdog has claimed. The Competition and Markets Authority said that ticket prices may rise on trains between London Waterloo and Exeter after the transport operator gained control of South West Trains. - The Times
A quality suit is good and a nice watch is a must, but without a decent pair of shoes on your feet, your first impression is likely to suffer. It is often said that the shoes youre wearing are the first thing people notice when they meet you  even before your slick fade haircut or the Rolex Explorer on your wrist  so ensuring you have a reputable brand caressing your toes will help to ensure your new acquaintances stay to chat, instead of walking away in disgust.

Yes, shoes are a serious business. Most men that are serious about their shoes identify a preference early on and rarely budge. Some like the weighty durability of English shoemaking, while others prefer Italian shoes for their sleek, lightweight shape. An increasing number think both preceding options can get stuffed, and find their footwear in emerging Japanese or Spanish markets.

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Whatever your poison, you can find quality mens shoemakers in every corner of the world, many of which have been handcrafting pairs of the utmost perfection for decades. But which mens shoemakers really are the creme de la creme? Allow us to reveal all, with this carefully consolidated list of the best mens shoemakers in the world.
Viroqua, population 4,362, is the subject of a song by the Nashville-based folk-Americana duo The Rough & Tumble.

The duo  Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler  wrote the song, Viroqua, WI from a strangely-fated evening in the citys Walmart parking lot. The song will be performed when they come to Driftless Books and Music, Thursday, July 20, and Leo & Leonas in Bangor Friday, July 21.

Graham said it was 2015 when they were traveling from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Tennessee via Chicago. Friends had recommended they stop to shop at Viroqua Food Co-op and stock up on groceries.

We stopped at the co-op and it got later than expected, and the closest Walmart was Viroqua, she said.

They drove their 16-foot camper to the Walmart parking lot to spend the night. Graham said they bought Klondike bars, and when they returned to the camper, a white Cadillac drove into the lot at a fast speed.

It was heading toward us, she said. We looked over and thought, Were going to get hit and well die in Viroqua. It veers to the right, stops and the driver falls asleep.

He left his lights on, Tyler said.

They approached the car, which had its drivers-side window open a crack.

The stench in the car said he needed to sleep it off, Tyler said. We knew he would need a jump. So the couple found their jumper cables and waited for the driver to wake up.

The driver woke up, scanned the parking lot and saw them about 10 feet away.

He says, Nice night. My car wont start, Graham said.

Tyler connected the jumper cables and was ready to give the Cadillac a jump.

The guy said he couldnt do it because it was a Cadillac and Cadillacs can only be jumped by another Cadillac, Graham said. We knew that wasnt true, but he said it with such confidence.

The driver told them he had a friend in the next town with a Cadillac who could jump start the car.

He said to get to the next town its 6 miles to get there and its 7 miles to get back again Graham said. Im not sure if its 7 miles to get back home, but we wrote a song based on (that event).

The song will be on The Rough & Tumbles next record which will come out in 2018.

The July 20 performance is their first in Viroqua.

We are excited; we have heard wonderful things about Driftless Books, Graham said. We are trying to hit Wisconsin because of our experience in Viroqua. We want to see what it is like.

They recently performed in Oconomowoc and will also stop in Bangor.

We love Wisconsin, Tyler said.

Graham and Tyler formed The Rough & Tumble in 2011. In 2015, the couple sold everything they couldnt store in boxes small enough to fit in Grahams sisters spare closet, quit their day jobs and bought a camper to venture on the open road, playing shows nationwide. They travel with two rescue dogs  88-pound Butter and 85-pound Pud  both of whom are Mastiff mixes.

They are wonderful, Tyler said.

Theres no better way to travel, Graham added.

They both sing and play multiple instruments. Tyler plays guitar, kick drum and harmonica. Graham plays toy piano, bajulle (a stringed instrument which is a half banjo and half ukulele), accordion and bells. She also has shakers, rattles and whistles in an old vegetable crate she calls Tumble Box of Magical Options and uses them during performances.

Those who attend the concert can expect a personal experience.

We like to put on a show thats personal, Tyler said. We talk during the set and after.

We put ourselves into songs, Graham said. They might hear of our travels, hear of our parents and whats on our minds.

Tyler said its not like therapy, but we like to keep it interesting.
Youre never too young to make a difference. An aspiring environmental scientist from Wilton, Connecticut has come up with a novel solution to clean up oil pipeline spills using something you would usually throw away: fruit peels.

Fourteen-year-old Anika Bhagavatula found that a mix of pomegranate husks and orange peels could absorb motor oil two to three times its own weight.

Bhagavatulas project was inspired by the ongoing fears that the Dakota Access Pipeline could spill and pollute the Missouri River.

The reason why I wanted to pinpoint oil spills was because there has been a lot of talk about the Dakota pipeline, the rising high school freshman told Business Insider. And the reason why people dont want this is because oil spills are a huge issue which can occur, obviously, from pipelines. And these oil spills can contaminate drinking-water sources and harm wildlife.

I wanted to find a natural sorbent which could clean up these oil spills and would replace harmful remediation solutions, which, while effective, can damage the environment, she added.

According to The Hour, the eighth grader presented her research at her middle school and state science fairs. She not only took home first place awards for her project, she also earned a spot as a finalist in the 2017 Young Scientist Challenge where she could win $25,000 and the title of Americas Top Young Scientist.
A Trump administration proposal to continue allowing oil companies to dump unlimited amounts of offshore fracking chemicals into the Gulf of Mexico violates federal law and threatens imperiled marine wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity warned this week.

In a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) Region 6 office on its proposed wastewater-discharge permit for offshore oil and gas drilling activities off the coasts of Louisiana, Texas and Mississippiwhere thousands of offshore drilling platforms are locatedthe Center for Biological Diversity explained that the proposed permit violates the Clean Water Act because it causes an undue degradation of the marine environment. The Center for Biological Diversitys letter notes that scientific research has indicated that 40 percent of the chemicals used in fracking can harm aquatic animals and other wildlife.

The Trump administration is letting the oil industry dump unlimited amounts of toxic fracking chemicals into these wildlife-rich waters, said Center for Biological Diversity attorney Kristen Monsell. The EPA is supposed to protect ocean water quality, not turn a blind eye as oil companies use the Gulf as a garbage dump for fracking waste.

Earlier this year the EPAs Region 6 office responded to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Center for Biological Diversity for records analyzing the effects of fracking chemicals on Gulf water quality and marine life. Officials said they didnt have any responsive records, meaning the agency has been allowing the oil industry to dump its fracking wastewater into the Gulf without studying its environmental impacts, as federal law requires.

Federal waters off Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi host the largest concentration of offshore oil and gas drilling activities in the country. Previous records requests revealed that oil companies dumped more than 75 billion gallons of wastewater into these waters in 2014 alone.

At least 10 fracking chemicals routinely used in offshore fracking could kill or harm a broad variety of marine species, including marine mammals and fish, Center for Biological Diversity scientists have found. The California Council on Science and Technology has identified some common fracking chemicals to be among the most toxic in the world to marine animals.

Fracking chemicals raise grave ecological concerns because the Gulf of Mexico is important habitat for whales, sea turtles and fish and contains critical habitat for imperiled loggerhead sea turtles. Dolphins and other species in the Gulf are still suffering lingering effects from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Its the EPAs job to safeguard our oceans from being contaminated with fracking wastewater, Monsell said. The agency has no business rubber-stamping the dumping of dangerous, disgusting chemicals without even trying to understand the risks.
By Ilissa Ocko and Mason Fried

Scientists watched with alarm this week as the fourth-largest ice shelf in Antarctica rapidly broke apart, causing an enormous, Delaware-size iceberg to float into the Southern Ocean.

After observing an anomalous rift widening across a section of the so-called Larsen C ice shelf for the past several years, researchers are left with some critical questions: What are this events broader consequences for the Antarctic ice sheet, what happens next, andimportantlywhat role did climate change play here?

Massive Iceberg Finally Breaks Off: Antarctic Landscape 'Changed Forever'https://t.co/f8cbmrcYrZ (@ecowatch)  Sierra Club (@SierraClub) July 12, 2017

For now, this event serves as yet another reminder that Antarctica is changing rapidlyand that action to curb rising global temperatures is critical.

Antarctica: A frontline for climate change

So far, scientists have been hesitant to attribute the Larsen C ice shelf breakup to rising global temperatures.

Indeed, such eventsknown to scientists as calvingoccur naturally and are essential for maintaining ice shelf balance. Without them, ice shelves would grow unabated to cover large swaths of the Southern Ocean.

Still, the magnitude and timing of this ice loss warrants attention.

The Antarctic Peninsula, where the Larsen ice shelves reside, has long been viewed as a frontline for climate change. Warming in the peninsula exceeds the global average, glaciers there are retreating, and two other ice shelves on the peninsula already collapsed over the past couple of decades after being stable for thousands of years.

Such changes will help raise global sea levels by three to six feet by 2100, projections show, affecting dense coastal communities along our Eastern Seaboard and across the globe.

Ice breakup starts chain reaction

We do know that this calving event could set in motion a string of chain reactions that further destabilize the ice shelf and surrounding glaciers, and ultimately contribute to global sea level rise.

Ice shelves are floating extensions of grounded glaciers and ice sheets that, importantly, buttress and impede inland ice flow. When an ice shelf collapses or becomes weaker, this defense disappears, allowing inland glaciers to accelerate downslope and transport more ice to the ocean, which can quickly affect sea level.

Scientists worry that the remnant Larsen C ice shelf will now be at considerable risk of further breakup.

The new calving event reduced the ice shelf area by more than 10 percent, leaving behind an ice shelf that is inherently unstable. This can, in turn, trigger new ice cracks and rifting, and cause more icebergs to break offfurther increasing the possibility of runaway ice loss amid rising global temperatures.

Whether or not this latest calving event will be attributed to climate change, its safe to say that it will make the region more vulnerable to the impacts of global warming.

Climate change caused 2002 ice shelf collapse

The Larsen C ice shelf, named for a Norwegian whaling vessel captain who sailed the Southern Sea in the late 1800s, has two smaller northern neighbors known as Larsen A and Larsen Bboth of which collapsed in the past 23 years.

Those events taught us that ice sheets, landscapes we used to think of as stable and slow to change, can actually transform rapidly.

The Larsen B collapse was particularly dramatic, with nearly the entire ice shelf disintegrating during a three-week period in 2002 after remaining stable for at least 10,000 years.

The speed of that event was unprecedented and attributed directly to increasing atmospheric warming, although rising ocean temperatures and long-term ice loss from surrounding glaciers may also have played a role.

A hint of whats to come?

After the Larsen B shelf collapse, researchers observed dramatic increases in glacier speed, thinning and ice transfer to the ocean.

Some researchers are already drawing parallels between this weeks Larsen C collapse and the series of events that led to the eventual collapse of Larsen B. The latter experienced a similar large calving event in 1995 that foreshadowed further retreat and widespread disintegration in 2002.

While it remains to be seen if and when Larsen C will meet the same fate, warning signs are already in place. Whats happening to the Larsen ice shelves could, in fact, be a proxy for whats to come across even larger sections of the Antarctic ice sheet unless we take action to slow warming.
As Donald Trump continues to stack his administration with fossil fuel industry executives and climate change deniers, new reports have been coming out nearly every day on the imminent threats global warming poses to the future of humanity. Given this, youd think that a Democratic Senator from Washington state would be doing all she could to protect the environment and resist Trumps pro-polluter agenda. Yet Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington is doing the oppositeshes promoting fracking and fossil fuel infrastructure.

Just days ago, while Trump was preparing for a trip to Europe where he would further isolate the U.S. from the rest of the world on matters of climate policy and common sense in general, Mitch McConnell announced an unusual move to bypass standard Senate procedure and push the Energy Modernization Act of 2017 directly to the full floor for a vote. This bill, authored by Cantwell and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), would greatly expand fracking and natural gas infrastructure at just the moment we need to be aggressively moving off fossil fuels and to 100 percent renewable energy.

What would this dirty energy legislation do? Among other bad things, it would:

Expedite review of fracked gas export terminals, requiring a decision on such proposals within just 45 days of an environmental review. This will encourage more fracking, and create font-line sacrifice zones for the sake of overseas gas export and profit.

Make the pro-industry Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the lead decision maker in authorizing all new interstate fracked gas infrastructure projects.

Instruct the Bureau of Land Management to create a pilot program for expediting drilling and fracking permits.

Allocate millions of dollars for discovery, development and extraction of methane hydrate deposit in U.S. coastal waters.

Together, these provisions are a shameful giveaway to the fossil fuel industry and directly support Donald Trumps pro-fossil fuel agenda. At the same time, the bill slashes energy efficiency goals in federal buildings. Not to mention the fact that the legislations renewable energy section does not even mention solar and wind power. On Monday, more than 350 national, state and local grassroots groups sent a letter to Senate leadership opposing the bill.

Sen. Cantwell likes to portray herself as pro-environment. On her website she states: Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the future of the economy in Washington state and the country. Its hard to imagine how should could believe this while also cosponsoring a fossil fuels forever bill that would move us to the precipice of climate catastrophe.

The science is clearwe must move off fossil fuels immediately if we are to have any chance of avoiding climate chaos. If Ms. Cantwell is serious about tackling climate change, she must stop working with Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans as they seek to doom us to the fracked gas future of Trumps dreams. If she is serious, she must drop her dirty energy bill, and join the Clean Energy Revolution now.

Tell Sen. Cantwell to stop promoting Trumps fracked gas agenda and withdraw S 1460, her dirty energy bill!
A red team/blue team debate on climate science is in its formative stages at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the agency may consider putting the event on television, according to EPA chief Scott Pruitt.

In an interview with Reuters, Pruitt said the debate idea advances science, while skirting around the question of how the agency would ensure no conflicts of interest with debate participants.

I think the American people would be very interested in consuming that, he said, referencing the possibility of a televised debate. I think they deserve it.

When asked directly about the EPAs endangerment finding, Pruitt said the red/blue team activity is intended to have an open transparent debate about something that is a policy issue that is extremely important in this country that is not taking place.

Climate scientists rejected Pruitts idea Tuesday. According to BuzzFeed:

Peter Gleick, a scientist who co-founded the Pacific Institute, an environmental think tank, called Pruitts proposed debate bullshit. In an email, Gleick said that climate change has already been reviewed and assessed by every national academy of sciences on the planet and is already debated every day by the very process of science itself.

The effort by Pruitt and Trumps EPA to pretend to put together a debate is no more than another attempt to open the door to the voices of climate denial, delay, and confusion that have already postponed international action almost to the point of disaster, Gleick added.

Michael Mann, a climatologist and geophysicist at Penn State University, said that a debate is already going on and its called science. He also said the debate amounts to a bad faith effort.

What Pruitt and his ilk really want is to stack the deck against mainstream science by giving cronies and industry lobbyists an undeserved place at the science table, Mann said.

For a deeper dive:

Debate: Reuters, Politico Pro, Mashable, The Hill. Scientist reaction: BuzzFeed. Interview transcript: Reuters

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News.
Pa. Dems could flip the House of Reps. Here's what that might mean
SEDE BOQER, Israel...July 12, 2017 -- Reusing graywater in dry areas may require treatment for more efficient irrigation in arid, sandy soils, according to a new study published in Chemosphere by researchers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research. Graywater includes any wastewater generated in households or office buildings except from the toilet.

Graywater use has been proven safe for agriculture irrigation. "Most of the scientific research and legislation efforts have focused on graywater's health risks, while less attention has been given to its environmental outcomes, including its effect on soil properties," says Prof. Amit Gross, head of the Department of Environmental Hydrology and Microbiology in the Zuckerberg Institute.

Prof. Gross and his team found that graywater does not infiltrate through the soil as easily as fresh water and is slower to reach plant roots. It can also cause water runoff leading to erosion.

"This condition, called 'graywater-induced hydrophobicity,' is likely temporary and disappears quickly following rainwater or freshwater irrigation events," says Prof. Gross. "However, it is a more significant concern in arid lands with negligible rainfall as compared with wetter regions."

According to the researchers, treating the graywater using biofiltration to degrade the hydrophobic organic compounds will eliminate the problem.

In the study, the researchers examined how graywater induces soil hydrophobicity, as well as its degree and persistence. They created three graywater models using raw, treated and highly treated graywater to irrigate fine-grained sand compared to a freshwater control. The result was that only the raw graywater irrigated soil showed hydrophobicity, which could be mitigated with both moderately and highly treated solutions.

"Onsite reuse of graywater for irrigation is perceived as a low risk and economical way of reducing freshwater use and, as such, it is gaining in popularity in both developing and developed countries," says Prof. Gross. "As many government authorities are establishing new guidelines, the results of this study reinforce the recommendations to treat graywater before reusing for irrigation, particularly in arid regions."

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Other researchers who collaborated on the study were Ph.D. candidate Adi Maimon of the Department of Environmental Hydrology and Microbiology and Dr. Arye Gilboa of the French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands.

Together with the Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, the institutes comprise BGU's Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research on its Sede Boqer Campus.

About American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion's vision: creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University's expertise locally and around the globe. As Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) looks ahead to turning 50 in 2020, AABGU imagines a future that goes beyond the walls of academia. It is a future where BGU invents a new world and inspires a vision for a stronger Israel and its next generation of leaders. Together with supporters, AABGU will help the University foster excellence in teaching, research and outreach to the communities of the Negev for the next 50 years and beyond. Visit vision.aabgu.org to learn more.

AABGU, headquartered in Manhattan, has nine regional offices throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.aabgu.org.
New study asks what it means for humans to realize their full potential; oftentimes it can be tied to passing genes to the next generation

As human beings, what drives us to higher levels of existence? Once we have satisfied the basics - food, shelter, a mate, children - then what? For many it's the idea of self-actualization, or realizing our full potential.

But what does self-actualization look like? How do we know when we are doing it? When are we trying to realize our highest potential? Self-actualization is a popular idea--in psychology, business, education and the multi-million dollar self-help industry. Everyone, it seems, wants to realize his or her full potential.

"Despite all of this interest in becoming self-actualized, we still didn't know what people believed it would mean to realize their full potential," says Jaimie Arona Krems, a doctoral student in social psychology at Arizona State University, and one of the authors of a new series of studies on what people think it means to be self-actualized. "So we asked them."

That research, "Individual perceptions of self-actualization: What functional motives are linked to fulfilling one's full potential?" was published in the early online edition of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Krems and her co-authors, ASU professor of psychology Douglas Kenrick and University of Iowa's Rebecca Neel, a former ASU doctoral student, drew on ideas from evolutionary biology to challenge some traditional assumptions about what it means to be self-actualized.

"The traditional view of self-actualization saw it as somehow 'above' baser physiological and social desires--it sits on top Abraham Maslow's famous pyramid of needs," said Kenrick. "In fact, Maslow's favorite examples of self-actualizing behaviors were going off to play the guitar or write poetry for your own satisfaction."

"But if you take an evolutionary perspective on human behavior, it seems unlikely that our ancestors would have evolved to solve all the problems of survival, making friends, gaining status and winning mates, just to go off and entertain themselves," he added. From an evolutionary perspective, developing one's full potential--by becoming an expert musician, scientist or philosopher--might translate into social benefits, such as winning respect and affection from other members of the group, and even winning the attention of potential mates.

So the research team recruited college students and other adults, and asked them what they would be doing if they were realizing their full potentials right now. They surveyed more than 1,200 people and had them rate the extent to which their answers reflected several fundamental and evolutionarily relevant social motives (e.g., finding friends, seeking status, caring for kin). One of the predictions that the team made was that most people would link pursuing self-actualization to pursuing status (e.g., getting all A's in school, being famous in their fields of endeavor).

Indeed, people do link self-actualization to achieving status and esteem, a motivation that can and often does translate into "fitness," or the success of passing genes to future generations. The importance of status was unique to self-actualization, and did not apply to other forms of self-fulfillment.

When people thought about achieving meaning in life (what psychologists call eudaimonic well-being) and global life satisfaction (subjective well-being), they emphasized spending time with friends and family; when they thought about pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain (hedonic well-being), they placed relatively more emphasis on finding new romantic/sexual partners and staying safe from physical harm.

"Although pursuing status and pursuing self-actualization might feel different," Krems said, "these pursuits might be rooted in a common motivational system, one that pushes us to go after those biological and social rewards that, in our ancestral past, would have made it more likely that our genes appeared in subsequent generations."

The team was also able to provide a scientific explanation for what Maslow had long ago mentioned - that different activities lead to self-actualization for different people. In line with modern ideas from evolutionary biology, a person's life-history features (e.g., sex, age, relationship status, parenting status) influenced the goals he or she linked to self-actualization--and in sensible, potentially functional ways. For example, single people emphasized that finding new romantic partners would be a part of their self-actualization, whereas partnered people emphasized that maintaining their existing romantic relationships would be a part of their self-actualization. And parents--especially when they had very young children--emphasized that caring for those children would be a major part of their self-actualization.

By finding mates, keeping mates and caring for children, people might feel self-actualized, and they might also be furthering exactly those biologically relevant outcomes that lead to getting their genes into next generations.

"So, the desire for self-actualization isn't 'above' biological and social needs; people's drive to achieve their own highest potential is all about achieving critically important social goals," Kenrick concluded.

Or as Krems explained: "For real people, pursuing self-actualization might further biologically relevant goals."

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Researchers in Singapore and Australia suggest you could operate a quantum computer in the cloud without revealing your data or the program you're running

Here's the scenario: you have sensitive data and a problem that only a quantum computer can solve. You have no quantum devices yourself. You could buy time on a quantum computer, but you don't want to give away your secrets. What can you do?

Writing in Physical Review X on 11 July, researchers in Singapore and Australia propose a way you could use a quantum computer securely, even over the internet. The technique could hide both your data and program from the computer itself. Their work counters earlier hints that such a feat is impossible.

The scenario is not far-fetched. Quantum computers promise new routes to solving problems in cryptography, modelling and machine learning, exciting government and industry. Such problems may involve confidential data or be commercially sensitive.

Technology giants are already investing in building such computers -- and making them available to users. For example, IBM announced on 17 May this year that it is making a quantum computer with 16 quantum bits accessible to the public for free on the cloud, as well as a 17-qubit prototype commercial processor.

Seventeen qubits are not enough to outperform the world's current supercomputers, but as quantum computers gain qubits, they are expected to exceed the capabilities of any machine we have today. That should drive demand for access.

"We're looking at what's possible if you're someone just interacting with a quantum computer across the internet from your laptop. We find that it's possible to hide some interesting computations," says Joseph Fitzsimons, a Principal Investigator at the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT) at the National University of Singapore and Associate Professor at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), who led the work.

Quantum computers work by processing bits of information stored in quantum states. Unlike the binary bits found in our regular (i.e., classical) computers, each a 0 or 1, qubits can be in superpositions of 0 and 1. The qubits can also be entangled, which is believed to be crucial to a quantum computer's power.

The scheme designed by Fitzsimons and his colleagues brings secrecy to a form of quantum computing driven by measurements.

In this scheme, the quantum computer is prepared by putting all its qubits into a special type of entangled state. Then the computation is carried out by measuring the qubits one by one. The user provides step-wise instructions for each measurement: the steps encode both the input data and the program.

Researchers have shown previously that users who can make or measure qubits to convey instructions to the quantum computer could disguise their computation. The new paper extends that power to users who can only send classical bits - i.e. most of us, for now.

This is surprising because some computer science theorems imply that encrypted quantum computation is impossible when only classical communication is available.

The hope for security comes from the quantum computer not knowing which steps of the measurement sequence do what. The quantum computer can't tell which qubits were used for inputs, which for operations and which for outputs.

"It's extremely exciting. You can use this unique feature of the measurement-based model of quantum computing -- the way information flows through the state -- as a crypto tool to hide information from the server," says team member Tommaso Demarie of CQT and SUTD.

Although the owner of the quantum computer could try to reverse engineer the sequence of measurements performed, ambiguity about the role of each step leads to many possible interpretations of what calculation was done. The true calculation is hidden among the many, like a needle in a haystack.

The set of interpretations grows rapidly with the number of qubits. "The set of all possible computations is exponentially large - that's one of the things we prove in the paper -- and therefore the chance of guessing the real computation is exponentially small," says Fitzsimons. One question remains: could meaningful computations be so rare among all the possible ones that the guessing gets easier? That's what the researchers need to check next.

Nicolas Menicucci at the Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and Atul Mantri at SUTD, are coauthors on the work.

"Quantum computers became famous in the '90s with the discovery that they could break some classical cryptography schemes -- but maybe quantum computing will instead be known for making the future of cloud computing secure," says Mantri.

###

Reference:

Atul Mantri, Tommaso F. Demarie, Nicolas C. Menicucci, Joseph F. Fitzsimons "Flow ambiguity: A path towards classically driven blind quantum computation" Physical Review X 7, 031004 (2017); https://journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.7.031004.

Joseph Fitzsimons acknowledges support from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Grant No. FA2386-15-1-4082. Nicolas Menicucci is supported by the Australian Research Council under Grant No. DE120102204, by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (Project No. CE170100012), and by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Quiness program under Grant No. W31P4Q-15-1-0004. This material is based on research funded by the Singapore National Research Foundation under NRF Award No. NRF-NRFF2013-01.

Researcher contacts:

Joseph F. Fitzsimons

Principal Investigator, Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore and Associate Professor

Singapore University of Technology and Design

cqtjf@nus.edu.sg

Atul Mantri

PhD student, Singapore University of Technology and Design

atul_mantri@mymail.sutd.edu.sg

Tommaso F. Demarie

Postdoctoral Fellow, Singapore University of Technology and Design

tommaso_demarie@sutd.edu.sg

Nicolas C. Menicucci

Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia

nicolas.menicucci@rmit.edu.au
Sleep changes common with age may have helped our ancestors survive the night

DURHAM, N.C. -- A sound night's sleep grows more elusive as people get older. But what some call insomnia may actually be an age-old survival mechanism, researchers report.

A study of modern hunter-gatherers in Tanzania finds that, for people who live in groups, differences in sleep patterns commonly associated with age help ensure that at least one person is awake at all times.

The research suggests that mismatched sleep schedules and restless nights may be an evolutionary leftover from a time many, many years ago, when a lion lurking in the shadows might try to eat you at 2 a.m.

"The idea that there's a benefit to living with grandparents has been around for a while, but this study extends that idea to vigilance during nighttime sleep," said study co-author David Samson, who was a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University at the time of the study.

The Hadza people of northern Tanzania live by hunting and gathering their food, following the rhythms of day and night just as humans did for hundreds of thousands of years before people started growing crops and herding livestock.

The Hadza live and sleep in groups of 20 to 30 people. During the day, men and women go their separate ways to forage for tubers, berries, honey and meat in the savanna woodlands near Tanzania's Lake Eyasi and surrounding areas. Then each night they reunite in the same place, where young and old alike sleep outside next to their hearth, or together in huts made of woven grass and branches.

"They are as modern as you and me. But they do tell an important part of the human evolutionary story because they live a lifestyle that is the most similar to our hunting and gathering past," said co-author Alyssa Crittenden, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"They sleep on the ground, and have no synthetic lighting or controlled climate -- traits that characterized the ancestral sleeping environment for early humans," Crittenden said.

As part of the study, 33 healthy men and women aged 20 to 60 agreed to wear a small watch-like device on their wrists for 20 days, that recorded their nighttime movements from one minute to the next.

Hadza sleep patterns were rarely in sync, the researchers found. On average, the participants went to bed shortly after 10 p.m. and woke up around 7 a.m. But some tended to retire as early as 8:00 p.m. and wake up by 6 a.m., while others stayed up past 11 p.m. and snoozed until after 8 a.m.

In between, they roused from slumber several times during the night, tossing and turning or getting up to smoke, tend to a crying baby, or relieve themselves before nodding off again.

As a result, moments when everyone was out cold at once were rare. Out of more than 220 total hours of observation, the researchers were surprised to find only 18 minutes when all adults were sound asleep simultaneously. On average, more than a third of the group was alert, or dozing very lightly, at any given time.

"And that's just out of the healthy adults; it doesn't include children, or people who were injured or sick," said Samson, now an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Toronto, Mississauga.

Yet the participants didn't complain of sleep problems, Samson said.

The findings may help explain why Hadza generally don't post sentinels to keep watch throughout the night -- they don't need to, the researchers say. Their natural variation in sleep patterns, coupled with light or restless sleep in older adults, is enough to ensure that at least one person is on guard at all times.

"If you're in a lighter stage of sleep you'd be more attuned to any kind of threat in the environment," said co-author Charlie Nunn, professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke.

Previous studies have found similar patterns in birds, mice and other animals, but this is the first time the phenomenon has been tested in humans, Samson said.

The researchers found that the misaligned sleep schedules were a byproduct of changing sleep patterns common with age.

Older participants in their 50s and 60s generally went to bed earlier, and woke up earlier than those in their 20s and 30s.

They call their theory the "poorly sleeping grandparent hypothesis." The basic idea is that, for much of human history, living and sleeping in mixed-age groups of people with different sleep habits helped our ancestors keep a watchful eye and make it through the night.

"Any time you have a mixed-age group population, some go to bed early, some later," Nunn said. "If you're older you're more of a morning lark. If you're younger you're more of a night owl."

The researchers hope the findings will shift our understanding of age-related sleep disorders.

"A lot of older people go to doctors complaining that they wake up early and can't get back to sleep," Nunn said. "But maybe there's nothing wrong with them. Maybe some of the medical issues we have today could be explained not as disorders, but as a relic of an evolutionary past in which they were beneficial," said Nunn, who also directs Triangle Center for Evolutionary Medicine, or TriCEM.

The study will be published July 12, 2017, in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Other authors include Ibrahim Mabulla and Audax Mabulla of the University of Dar es Salaam.

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This research was supported by a grant from National Geographic (9665-15).

CITATION: "Chronotype Variation Drives Nighttime Sentinel-Like Behaviour in Hunter-Gatherers," David Samson, Alyssa Crittenden, Ibrahim Mabulla, Audax Mabulla and Charles Nunn. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, July 12, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0967.
A year after it began making bourbon whiskey, the areas first craft distillery  RockFilter Distillery  opened to the public Wednesday in downtown Spring Grove.

Its cocktail room offers samples, and whiskey and cocktails are available for purchase there.

The room opened for Spring Groves Homecoming celebration, which began Wednesday and ends today. The event is held once every 10 years.

Rural Spring Grove farmer Christian Myrah and his wife, Trisha, are majority owners of the distillery. Its at 113 Maple Drive, in part of a former creamery and across from a city park.

In an interview before the Homecoming celebration, Myrah said he hadnt yet decided what the cocktail rooms hours would be after that event. Myrah recommended checking the website www.rockfilterdistillery.com or the distillerys Facebook page for information about hours.

RockFilters first products are bourbon whiskey, and its first two can be purchased in the cocktail room. Myrah hopes to have the distillerys spirits available in liquor stores, grocery stores, bars and restaurants by late summer. Well initially be in Minnesota, he said, while planning to eventually expand distribution to other states.

RockFilters flagship bourbon, Giants of the Earth, is made with corn, rye and sorghum, and won a bronze medal in this years American Distilling Institute completion and a silver medal at the Heartland Spirits Festival.

Its Fence Jumper premium bourbon is made with Oaxacan green corn and cherrywood-smoked rye and won a silver medal at the American Distilling Institute competition and a bronze medal at the Heartland Spirits Festival.

The distillerys third bourbon, Stones Throw, is expected to be available later this summer. Its made with corn, rye and oats. It won a bronze medal at the Heartland Spirits Festival.

RockFilter Distillerys fourth product will be an organic rye whiskey that doesnt yet have a name. It should be available by the end of the year.

State law limits the cocktail room to selling only one 375-milliliter bottle of bourbon per customer per day. The cocktail room is selling bottles of Giants of the Earth bourbon for $35, while limited-edition bottles of Fence Jumper bourbon are priced at $100 each.

Its an agricultural venture that adds value to agricultural products, Myrah said of the distillery, which eventually may make additional kinds of spirits, such as brandy.

The distillery makes its products from organic grain grown by Myrah and his father, Leonard Myrah, who also farms near Spring Grove.

Myrah has the grain for the distillery ground at Schechs Mill between Houston and Caledonia, Minn. Built in 1876, the water-powered mill still uses its original equipment.

Were using local resources, Myrah said of using Schechs Mill. Theres not many people using stone-ground grain to make whiskey. It kind of differentiates us.

RockFilter Distillery began making its bourbons in April 2016, and the first products aged for a year before being available for purchase.

Most of our products probably will be (aged) in the one- to four-year range before theyre available, Myrah said. They will age in charred oak barrels. Myrah mostly uses two barrel sizes  15 gallons and 30 gallons.

The areas limestone formations are conducive to making good whiskeys, Myrah believes. Limestone-filtered water in Kentucky often is cited as contributing to the success of distillers in that state, which produces most of the nations bourbon whiskey.

Myrah is a 1988 graduate of Spring Grove High School, and has been on the Spring Grove School Board since 2008.

He and his family moved back to Spring Grove in 2006. Before that, he served in the Navy for 11 years, flying combat jets. A member of the U.S. Navy Reserve since 2006, Myrah spent eight months in Afghanistan in 2013. I was in charge of a drone detachment there, he said.

I decided to drive tractors again rather than fly airplanes, Myrah said of returning to the Spring Grove area. I love this area. It has a good quality of life. Its a good place to raise kids. He and his wife have three children.

The areas limestone formations are conducive to making good whiskeys, Myrah believes. Limestone-filtered water in Kentucky often is cited as contributing to the success of distillers in that state, which produces most of the nations bourbon whiskey.
New study reveals direct genetic influence on way infants see their social world -- from how and when they move their eyes to what they look at when watching mom's face or actions of other children -- behaviors also disrupted in children with autism

Researchers at Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found striking evidence for the role of genetics in shaping a fundamental feature of human behavior: how children pay attention to the world--what they look at, and what they don't -- is strongly influenced by genetics.

Genetic influence directly affecting how individual infants look at and perceive the world has never before been demonstrated. The results show that variation in how children seek social information -- measured across timescales as small as tens of milliseconds -- is under genetic control. In addition, these same behaviors were found to be decreased in children affected by autism, providing an important new link between autism's behavioral presentation and its underlying genetic causes. The results are reported in the July 12, 2017, advanced online publication of the journal Nature.

The study examined 338 children, first tested when they were just 18-24 months old. Eighty-two of the children were identical twins -- that is, twins who share the same exact genotype -- and another 84 were non-identical twins (twins who share only 50% of their genotype, like other non-twin siblings). The remaining children were either non-sibling controls (84) or children diagnosed with autism (88). During testing, the researchers used eye-tracking technology to measure every movement of each child's eyes while watching videos of commonly experienced childhood scenes, such as children at play or actresses playing the role of a caregiver.

Each twin was tested independently, at different times, without the other twin present. Nevertheless, identical twins were also nearly identical in the way they watched the videos: how much one identical twin looked at another person's eyes was almost perfectly matched by his or her co-twin. In contrast, for non-identical twins, that match fell to just about 10%. Identical twins were also much more likely to move their eyes at the same moments in time, in the same directions, towards the same locations and the same content, mirroring one another's behavior to within as little as 17 milliseconds.

"These data show us that a child's genes shape the way she sees the world. And how a child looks at the world is how she learns about the world. Each eye movement -- happening every half-second--shapes brain development. So you can imagine these effects rippling forward, creating the way a child sees and understands her world," says Warren Jones, PhD, the study's senior author and Nien Distinguished Chair in Autism at Emory University School of Medicine. "This changes our understanding of how children experience their environment, and changes our understanding of what forces shape that experience. This shows us that our genetic biology exerts a strong and pervasive influence on what we would otherwise imagine to be unique individual perceptions."

The effects persisted as the children grew. When the twins were tested again, more than a year later, the same effects were found: identical twins remained almost perfectly matched in their levels of looking, but non-identical twins became even slightly more different than before. "Not only is this aspect of social visual engagement under stringent genetic control," said John N. Constantino, MD, the study's lead author and Blanche F. Ittelson Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at Washington University, "but the trait is very stable. Taken as a whole, this means we have a new way to trace direct effects of genetic factors on early social development. This is a mechanism by which genes actually modify a child's life experience. And, because of that, this creates a new opportunity to design interventions to ensure that children at risk for autism acquire the kind of social environmental inputs that they need."

Comparison with data collected from children with autism was a critical feature of the study: levels of eye- and mouth-looking--the same traits that showed the greatest degree of genetic influence in typically-developing children--were substantially reduced in children with autism. In autism, the levels were low enough, and different enough, that they could be used to mathematically identify the vast majority of children who did or did not have autism.

"This is an extremely important step," said Jones. "It's a link between the behavioral presentation of autism and an objective, quantifiable trait, one that emerges very early in infancy, and one that we now know--with these results--is directly influenced by genetics. How a child looks at the surrounding world, with or without autism, is directly traceable to her genetics."

Autism is known to be primarily caused by genetic factors, and earlier research by members of the team showed that babies who look progressively less at people's eyes, beginning as early as 2-6 months of age, are more likely to have autism. Now, with these new results in twins, the team has found a specific behavior that is highly influenced by genetics and directly linked to autism risk.

"Studies like this one break new ground in our understanding of autism spectrum disorder: establishing a direct connection between the behavioral symptoms of autism and underlying genetic factors is a critical step on the path to new treatments," says Lisa Gilotty, chief of the Research Program on Autism Spectrum Disorders at the National Institute of Mental Health, one of the agencies that supported the study.

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Additional support was given by National Institutes of Health grants HD068479 and U54 HD087011 (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at Washington University) to Dr. Constantino, and MH100029 to Dr. Jones and Dr. Ami Klin at Emory University School of Medicine and the Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

Marcus Autism Center

Marcus Autism Center is a not-for-profit organization and an affiliate of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta that treats more than 5,500 children with autism and related disorders a year. As one of the largest autism centers in the U.S. and one of only three National Institutes of Health Autism Centers of Excellence, Marcus Autism Center offers families access to the latest research, comprehensive evaluations and intensive behavior treatments. With the help of research grants, community support and government funding, Marcus Autism Center aims to maximize the potential of children with autism today and transform the very nature of autism for future generations. Visit marcus.org for more information.

About Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has been 100 percent dedicated to kids for more than 100 years. A not-for-profit organization, Children's is dedicated to making kids better today and healthier tomorrow. Our specialized care helps children get better faster and live healthier lives. Managing more than a million patient visits annually at three hospitals and 28 neighborhood locations, Children's is the largest healthcare provider for children in Georgia and one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country. Children's offers access to more than 60 pediatric specialties and programs and is ranked among the top children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report. With generous philanthropic and volunteer support since 1915, Children's has impacted the lives of children in Georgia, the United States and throughout the world. Visit http://www.choa.org for more information.

Emory University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics

Faculty-physicians in the Emory Department of Pediatrics provide the highest quality state-of-the-art clinical care, with a commitment to improving treatment for children through scientific research as well as training the next generation of leaders in pediatrics.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Veronica Smith

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta/Marcus Autism Center

404-785-7253 (office)

veronica.smith@choa.org

Holly Korschun

Emory University

404-727-3990 (office)

hkorsch@emory.edu
Last year, the existence of an unknown planet in our Solar system was announced. However, this hypothesis was subsequently called into question as biases in the observational data were detected. Now Spanish astronomers have used a novel technique to analyse the orbits of the so-called extreme trans-Neptunian objects and, once again, they point out that there is something perturbing them: a planet located at a distance between 300 to 400 times the Earth-Sun separation.

Scientists continue to argue about the existence of a ninth planet within our Solar System. At the beginning of 2016, researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech, USA) announced that they had evidence of the existence of this object, located at an average distance of 700 AU or astronomical units (700 times the Earth-Sun separation) and with a mass ten times that of the Earth.

Their calculations were motivated by the peculiar distribution of the orbits found for the trans-Neptunian objects (TNO) of the Kuiper belt, which apparently revealed the presence of a Planet Nine or X in the confines of the Solar System.

However, scientists from the Canadian-French-Hawaiian project OSSOS detected biases in their own observations of the orbits of the TNOs, which had been systematically directed towards the same regions of the sky, and considered that other groups, including the Caltech group, may be experiencing the same issues. According to these scientists, it is not necessary to propose the existence of a massive perturber (a Planet Nine) to explain these observations, as these are compatible with a random distribution of orbits.

Now, however, two astronomers from the Complutense University of Madrid have applied a new technique, less exposed to observational bias, to study a special type of trans-Neptunian objects: the extreme ones (ETNOs, located at average distances greater than 150 AU and that never cross Neptune's orbit). For the first time, the distances from their nodes to the Sun have been analysed, and the results, published in the journal 'MNRAS: Letters', once again indicate that there is a planet beyond Pluto.

The nodes are the two points at which the orbit of an ETNO, or any other celestial body, crosses the plane of the Solar System. These are the precise points where the probability of interacting with other objects is the largest, and therefore, at these points, the ETNOs may experience a drastic change in their orbits or even a collision.

Like the comets that interact with Jupiter

"If there is nothing to perturb them, the nodes of these extreme trans-Neptunian objects should be uniformly distributed, as there is nothing for them to avoid, but if there are one or more perturbers, two situations may arise," explains Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, one of the authors, to SINC. "One possibility is that the ETNOs are stable, and in this case they would tend to have their nodes away from the path of possible perturbers, he adds, but if they are unstable they would behave as the comets that interact with Jupiter do, that is tending to have one of the nodes close to the orbit of the hypothetical perturber".

Using calculations and data mining, the Spanish astronomers have found that the nodes of the 28 ETNOs analysed (and the 24 extreme Centaurs with average distances from the Sun of more than 150 AU) are clustered in certain ranges of distances from the Sun; furthermore, they have found a correlation, where none should exist, between the positions of the nodes and the inclination, one of the parameters which defines the orientation of the orbits of these icy objects in space.

"Assuming that the ETNOs are dynamically similar to the comets that interact with Jupiter, we interpret these results as signs of the presence of a planet that is actively interacting with them in a range of distances from 300 to 400 AU," says De la Fuente Marcos, who emphasizes: "We believe that what we are seeing here cannot be attributed to the presence of observational bias".

Until now, studies that challenged the existence of Planet Nine using the data available for these trans-Neptunian objects argued that there had been systematic errors linked to the orientations of the orbits (defined by three angles), due to the way in which the observations had been made. Nevertheless, the nodal distances mainly depend on the size and shape of the orbit, parameters which are relatively free of observational bias.

"It is the first time that the nodes have been used to try to understand the dynamics of the ETNOs", the co-author points out, as he admits that discovering more ETNOs (at the moment, only 28 are known) would permit the proposed scenario to be confirmed and subsequently constrain the orbit of the unknown planet via the analysis of the distribution of the nodes.

The authors note that their study supports the existence of a planetary object within the range of parameters considered both in the Planet Nine hypothesis of Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin from Caltech, and in the original one proposed in 2014 by Scott Sheppard from the Carnegie Institute and Chadwick Trujillo from the University of North Arizona; in addition to following the lines of their own earlier studies (the latest led by the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias), which suggested that there is more than one unknown planet in our Solar System.

Is there also a Planet Ten?

De la Fuente Marcos explains that the hypothetical Planet Nine suggested in this study has nothing to do with another possible planet or planetoid situated much closer to us, and hinted at by other recent findings. Also applying data mining to the orbits of the TNOs of the Kuiper Belt, astronomers Kathryn Volk and Renu Malhotra from the University of Arizona (USA) have found that the plane on which these objects orbit the Sun is slightly warped, a fact that could be explained if there is a perturber of the size of Mars at 60 AU from the Sun.

"Given the current definition of planet, this other mysterious object may not be a true planet, even if it has a size similar to that of the Earth, as it could be surrounded by huge asteroids or dwarf planets," explains the Spanish astronomer, who goes on to say: "In any case, we are convinced that Volk and Malhotra's work has found solid evidence of the presence of a massive body beyond the so-called Kuiper Cliff, the furthest point of the trans-Neptunian belt, at some 50 AU from the Sun, and we hope to be able to present soon a new work which also supports its existence".

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References:

C. de la Fuente Marcos, R. de la Fuente Marcos. "Evidence for a possible bimodal distribution of the nodal distances of the extreme trans-Neptunian objects: avoiding a trans-Plutonian planet or just plain bias?". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, July 2017. DOI: 10.1093/mnrasl/slx106. (Preprint: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017arXiv170606981D).
Quantum physics: Scientists at the Niels Bohr Institute by University of Copenhagen have been instrumental in developing a 'hands-on' answer to a challenge intricately linked to a very fundamental principle in physics: Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. The NBI-researchers used laser light to link caesium atoms and a vibrating membrane. The research, the first of its kind, points to sensors capable of measuring movement with unseen precision.

Our lives are packed with sensors gathering all sorts of information - and some of the sensors are integrated in our cell phones which e.g. enables us to measure the distances we cover when we go for a walk - and thereby also calculate how many calories we have burned thanks to the exercise. And this to most people seems rather straight forward.

When measuring atom structures or light emissions at quantum level by means of advanced microscopes or other forms of special equipment, things do, however, get a little more complicated due to a problem which during the 1920's had the full attention of Niels Bohr as well as Werner Heisenberg. And this problem - which has to do with the fact that in-accuracies inevitably taint certain measurements conducted at quantum level - is described in Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle.

In a Scientific report published in this week's issue of Nature, NBI-researchers - based on a number of experiments - demonstrate that Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle to some degree can be neutralized. This has never been shown before, and the results may spark development of new measuring equipment, new and better sensors.

Professor Eugene Polzik, head of Quantum Optics (QUANTOP) at the Niels Bohr Institute, has been in charge of the research - which has included the construction of a vibrating membrane and an advanced atomic cloud locked up in a minute glass cage.

Light 'kicks' object

Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle basically says that you cannot simultaneously know the exact position and the exact speed of an object.

Which has to do with the fact that observations conducted via a microscope operating with laser light inevitably will lead to the object being 'kicked'. This happens because light is a stream of photons which when reflected off the object give it random 'kicks' - and as a result of those kicks the object begins to move in a random way.

This phenomenon is known as Quantum Back Action (QBA) - and these random movements put a limit to the accuracy with which measurements can be carried out at quantum level.

To conduct the experiments at NBI professor Polzik and his team of "young, enthusiastic and very skilled NBI-researchers" used a 'tailor-made' membrane as the object observed at quantum level. The membrane was built by Ph.D. Students Christoffer Mller and Yegishe Tsaturyan, whereas Rodrigo Thomas and Georgios Vasikalis - Ph.D. Student and researcher, respectively - were in charge of the atomic aspects. Furthermore Polzik relied on other NBI-employees, assistant professor Mikhail Balabas, who built the minute glass cage for the atoms, researcher Emil Zeuthen and professor Albert Schliesser who - collaborating with German colleagues - were in charge of the substantial number of mathematical calculations needed before the project was ready for publication in Nature.

The atomic part of the hybrid experiment. The atoms are contained in a micro-cell inside the magnetic shield seen in the middle. Photo: Ola J. Joensen

Over the last decades scientists have tried to find ways of 'fooling' Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Eugene Polzik and his colleagues came up with the idea of implementing the advanced atomic cloud a few years ago - and the cloud consists of 100 million caesium-atoms locked up in a hermetically closed cage, a glass cell, explains the professor:

"The cell is just 1 centimeter long, 1/3 of a millimeter high and 1/3 of a millimeter wide, and in order to make the atoms work as intended, the inner cell walls have been coated with paraffin. The membrane - whose movements we were following at quantum level - measures 0,5 millimeter, which actually is a considerable size in a quantum perspective".

The idea behind the glass cell is to deliberately send the laser light used to study the membrane-movements on quantum level through the encapsulated atomic cloud BEFORE (Italics!) the light reaches the membrane, explains Eugene Polzik: "This results in the laser light-photons 'kicking' the object - i.e. the membrane - as well as the atomic cloud, and these 'kicks' so to speak cancel out. This means that there is no longer any Quantum Back Action - and therefore no limitations as to how accurately measurements can be carried out at quantum level". How can this be utilized?

"For instance when developing new and much more advanced types of sensors for various analyses of movements than the types we know today from cell phones, GPS and geological surveys", says professor Eugene Polzik: "Generally speaking sensors operating at quantum level are receiving a lot of attention these days. One example is the Quantum Technologies Flagship, an extensive EU program which also supports this type of research".

The fact that it is indeed possible to 'fool' Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle may also prove significant in relation to better understanding gravitational waves - waves in Space moving at the speed of light.

In September of 2015 the American LIGO-experiment was able to publish the first direct registrations and measurements of gravitational waves stemming from a collision between two very large black holes.

However, the equipment used by LIGO is influenced by Quantum Back Action, and the new research from NBI may prove capable of eliminating that problem, says Eugene Polzik.

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Eugene Polzik, professor and head of the Center for Quantum Optics, Quantop at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Phone: +45 2338 2045, Email: polzik@nbi.dk

Tekst til billedet herover: The optomechanical part of the hybrid experiment. The cryostat seen in the middle houses the vibrating membrane whose quantum motion is measured.
FRANKFURT. In evolution, a high sex drive does not always pay off. Female mosquitofish swim away from over-impetuous lovers because they leave them hardly any time to feed and also tend to injure their genitalia more often.

In some species, males invest virtually nothing in their offspring apart from sperm. So far, biologists believed that the most sexually active males in such species had an evolutionary advantage. But the 'more mating, more offspring' equation does not always hold in the case of the eastern mosquitofish (a small, livebearing freshwater fish) because the females also have a say, as behavioural researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have now discovered.

"The starting point for our studies was the question why males in some animal species differ pronouncedly and consistently in their sexual activity levels even when they are exposed to identical environmental conditions and don't need to compete", explains Carolin Sommer-Trembo, who is dealing with the topic in her doctoral thesis. "We wanted to know how this variation in male behavioural types is maintained, although selection ought to oust males which display low or average levels of sexual activity."

She chose the small and inconspicuous mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) as a study object because they have sex and give birth to live offspring. Males have a penis-like mating organ on their underside which is long in comparison to their overall body size. To copulate, they swim up to the female from underneath in order to remain undiscovered for as long as possible.

To find out which males are interesting for female mosquitofish and whether the level of male sexual activity plays any role at all in their choice of partner, Carolin Sommer-Trembo and her colleagues Dr. David Bierbach (Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin) and Professor Martin Plath (Northwest A&F University, Yangling) let females choose between males which displayed different levels of sexual activity. To exclude the possibility that specific males were chosen because of their appearance (morphology) or other behavioural characteristics and to control precisely the degree of sexual activity of the males, the researchers worked with computer-animated stimulus males which were presented to the females on monitors.

The result was that females preferred males which displayed a moderate level of sexual activity whilst they clearly avoided males with a greater sex drive. The researchers assume that this is due to cost-benefit considerations, since females who find themselves in the close vicinity of sexually very active males often not only suffer injuries to their genitalia but also scarcely have an opportunity to feed as they are constantly busy avoiding the males' advances.

The situation is different when a group of females encounters a rampant male determined to mate. "Under natural conditions, female mosquitofish often form shoals to protect themselves from male harassment, just like other fish do to protect themselves from predators", explains Carolin Sommer-Trembo. In the group, females showed far greater acceptance towards sexually very active males, since the cost-benefit ratio shifts under these circumstances.

The dependency of female choice on social context could explain why variation in male behavioural types is maintained amongst mosquitofish. And the experiments show that females include male sexual activity as a criterion in their choice of partner.

By the way: That swimming away from tempestuous lovers is a good idea when out on your own as a female mosquitofish does not appear to be instinctive but based on experience. When Sommer-Trembo conducted additional tests with virgin females, they were equally open to all types of male.

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Publication:

Sommer-Trembo, C., Plath, M., Gismann, J., Helfrich, C. & Bierbach, D.

Context-dependent female mate choice maintains variation in male sexual activity.

Royal Society Open Science; DOI: 10.1098/rsos170303

Online: http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/4/7/170303

A picture with a Creative Commons licence can be downloaded under:http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/images/image/GambusiaHolbrookiGSchmida.jpg

The picture shows a female mosquitofish which is being pursued by a male in a typical manner. The male's reproductive organ, what is referred to as the gonopod, is already extended and ready to "attack". He swims up to the female from underneath in order to remain undiscovered for as long as possible.

Further information: Carolin Sommer-Trembo, Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Riedberg Campus, Tel.: 49-0-69-798-42172, sommer-trembo@gmx.de.
Boston, MA -- The way certain hospital labor and delivery units are managed may put healthy women at greater risk for cesarean deliveries and hemorrhage, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers and colleagues.

The study, which will be published online July 11, 2017 in Obstetrics & Gynecology, is the first to link management of unit culture, nursing, and patient flow to maternal health outcomes.

"It is hard to predict when women will go into labor, how long labor will take, and which women may require critical resources like the operating room or blood bank. The way managers address this uncertainty appears to be an independent risk factor for a woman getting a C-section," said senior author Neel Shah, an obstetrician and Harvard Chan School researcher who leads the Delivery Decisions Initiative at Ariadne Labs, a joint center of Harvard Chan School and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Maternal health outcomes vary dramatically across hospitals, including 10-fold variation in cesarean delivery rates. Previous research has demonstrated that this hospital-level variation is not well explained by women's health or preferences. In just one generation, the U.S. has seen a 500% increase in the number of C-sections, placing women at significant risk for surgical complications. Cesarean deliveries are associated with increased rates of severe morbidity (such as hemorrhage or infection), longer hospitalizations, and greater average costs than vaginal deliveries--and approximately 45% of these procedures may be avoidable, according to the study.

To conduct the study, lead author Avery Plough, an Ariadne Labs researcher, interviewed 118 nurse and physician managers at 53 diverse hospitals about three areas of management: (1) unit culture management, including practices that facilitate communication and collaboration among staff; (2) nursing management, including practices that ensure appropriate nurse staffing levels; and (3) patient flow management, including practices that adjust resources to accommodate surges in patient arrival. Hospitals were categorized as having either "reactive" management practices that address management problems as they occur or "proactive" management practices that pre-emptively mitigate challenges before they arise.

The study looked at how those management practices affected the health of low-risk women having their first child. The results showed that women receiving care at hospitals with the most proactive unit culture management had a higher risk of cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, blood transfusion, and prolonged hospital length of stay. These counterintuitive findings may indicate that managers at these hospitals are focused on achieving different goals, such as neonatal outcomes or financial performance, which are not always aligned with maternal wellbeing.

The research is an important cornerstone of Shah's Delivery Decisions Initiative at Ariadne Labs to identify the key drivers of dangerously high C-section rates and to develop a health system-level solution to the problem.

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Support for this study came from Rx Foundation.

"Relationship Between Labor and Delivery Unit Management Practices and Maternal Outcomes," Avery C. Plough, Grace Galvin, Zhonghe Li, Stuart R. Lipsitz, Shehnaz Alidina, Natalie J. Henrich, Lisa R. Hirschhorn, William R. Berry, Atul A. Gawande, Doris Peter, Rory McDonald, Donna L. Caldwell, Janet H. Muri, Debra Bingham, Aaron B. Caughey, Eugene R. Declercq, Neel T. Shah, Obstetrics and Gynecology, July 11, doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002128

Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people's lives--not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America's oldest professional training program in public health.
A James Cook University scientist has warned about the side effects of overusing topical antibiotics, including concerns they're contributing to global antibiotic resistance.

The ground-breaking work from JCU Professor of General Practice Dr Clare Heal and her team has featured in the British Journal of Surgery -- the premier peer-reviewed surgical journal in Europe and one of the top surgical journals in the world.

Professor Heal said the researchers looked at nearly 6500 cases where topical antibiotics (creams, etc) had been applied to surgical wounds to prevent infection.

"We found that although topical antibiotics were moderately effective, their use could not be justified because there was not enough information about adverse effects such as resistance and allergy."

Professor Heal said adverse effects of topical antibiotics include allergic contact dermatitis, anaphylaxis (a severe and dangerous allergic reaction) and antibiotic resistance.

"The results of this study will discourage the overuse of topical antibiotics by the surgical community and help to fight the global issue of antibiotic resistance," she said.

Professor Heal has been pioneering national and internationally recognised clinical research over the past 10 years in Mackay.

Her program of research has focused on pragmatic, evidence based research questions, looking at wound management in general practice. Her work has produced several important outcomes which have changed medical practices.

She said collaborations with local general practices have been crucial.

"These collaborations have helped grow research capacity in our region as well as addressing questions of practical relevance to primary care and the broader healthcare system," Professor Heal said.

As a result of this program of research, Professor Heal was one of three finalists in the annual Queensland Health and Medical Research awards last month, which recognise researchers pushing the boundaries of medical research.

She continues her research through the newly opened Mackay Institute for Research and Innovation.

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An iceberg about the size of the state of Delaware split off from Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf sometime between July 10 and July 12. The calving of the massive new iceberg was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA's Aqua satellite, and confirmed by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite instrument on the joint NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP) satellite. The final breakage was first reported by Project Midas, an Antarctic research project based in the United Kingdom.

Larsen C, a floating platform of glacial ice on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula, is the fourth largest ice shelf ringing Earth's southernmost continent. In 2014, a crack that had been slowly growing into the ice shelf for decades suddenly started to spread northwards, creating the nascent iceberg. Now that the close to 2,240 square-mile (5,800 square kilometers) chunk of ice has broken away, the Larsen C shelf area has shrunk by approximately 10 percent.

"The interesting thing is what happens next, how the remaining ice shelf responds," said Kelly Brunt, a glaciologist with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the University of Maryland in College Park. "Will the ice shelf weaken? Or possibly collapse, like its neighbors Larsen A and B? Will the glaciers behind the ice shelf accelerate and have a direct contribution to sea level rise? Or is this just a normal calving event?"

Ice shelves fringe 75 percent of the Antarctic ice sheet. One way to assess the health of ice sheets is to look at their balance: when an ice sheet is in balance, the ice gained through snowfall equals the ice lost through melting and iceberg calving. Even relatively large calving events, where tabular ice chunks the size of Manhattan or bigger calve from the seaward front of the shelf, can be considered normal if the ice sheet is in overall balance. But sometimes ice sheets destabilize, either through the loss of a particularly big iceberg or through disintegration of an ice shelf, such as that of the Larsen A Ice Shelf in 1995 and the Larsen B Ice Shelf in 2002. When floating ice shelves disintegrate, they reduce the resistance to glacial flow and thus allow the grounded glaciers they were buttressing to significantly dump more ice into the ocean, raising sea levels.

Scientists have monitored the progression of the rift throughout the last year was using data from the European Space Agency Sentinel-1 satellites and thermal imagery from NASA's Landsat 8 spacecraft. Over the next months and years, researchers will monitor the response of Larsen C, and the glaciers that flow into it, through the use of satellite imagery, airborne surveys, automated geophysical instruments and associated field work.

In the case of this rift, scientists were worried about the possible loss of a pinning point that helped keep Larsen C stable. In a shallow part of the sea floor underneath the ice shelf, a bedrock protrusion, named the Bawden Ice Rise, has served as an anchor point for the floating shelf for many decades. Ultimately, the rift stopped short of separating from the protrusion.

"The remaining 90 percent of the ice shelf continues to be held in place by two pinning points: the Bawden Ice Rise to the north of the rift and the Gipps Ice Rise to the south," said Chris Shuman, a glaciologist with Goddard and the University of Maryland at Baltimore County. "So I just don't see any near-term signs that this calving event is going to lead to the collapse of the Larsen C ice shelf. But we will be watching closely for signs of further changes across the area."

The first available images of Larsen C are airborne photographs from the 1960s and an image from a US satellite captured in 1963. The rift that has produced the new iceberg was already identifiable in those pictures, along with a dozen other fractures. The crack remained dormant for decades, stuck in a section of the ice shelf called a suture zone, an area where glaciers flowing into the ice shelf come together. Suture zones are complex and more heterogeneous than the rest of the ice shelf, containing ice with different properties and mechanical strengths, and therefore play an important role in controlling the rate at which rifts grow. In 2014, however, this particular crack started to rapidly grow and traverse the suture zones, leaving scientists perplexed.

"We don't currently know what changed in 2014 that allowed this rift to push through the suture zone and propagate into the main body of the ice shelf," said Dan McGrath, a glaciologist at Colorado State University who has been studying the Larsen C ice shelf since 2008.

McGrath said the growth of the crack, given our current understanding, is not directly linked to climate change.

"The Antarctic Peninsula has been one of the fastest warming places on the planet throughout the latter half of the 20th century. This warming has driven really profound environmental changes, including the collapse of Larsen A and B," McGrath said. "But with the rift on Larsen C, we haven't made a direct connection with the warming climate. Still, there are definitely mechanisms by which this rift could be linked to climate change, most notably through warmer ocean waters eating away at the base of the shelf."

While the crack was growing, scientists had a hard time predicting when the nascent iceberg would break away. It's difficult because there are not enough measurements available on either the forces acting on the rift or the composition of the ice shelf. Further, other poorly observed external factors, such as temperatures, winds, waves and ocean currents, might play an important role in rift growth. Still, this event has provided an important opportunity for researchers to study how ice shelves fracture, with important implications for other ice shelves.

The U.S. National Ice Center will monitor the trajectory of the new iceberg, which is likely to be named A-68. The currents around Antarctica generally dictate the path that the icebergs follow. In this case, the new berg is likely to follow a similar path to the icebergs produced by the collapse of Larsen B: north along the coast of the Peninsula, then northeast into the South Atlantic.

"It's very unlikely it will cause any trouble for navigation," Brunt said.

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TUCSON, Ariz. (July 12, 2017) -- A civil engineering professor who has developed innovative solutions for infrastructure renewal and repair for over 30 years is proposing a bold, sustainable solution for the worldwide coral bleaching crisis -- starting with Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

"There is an endless supply of cool water just a short distance away, at the bottom of the ocean, and yet the warm water at the shallow reefs is killing the coral," says Mo Ehsani, Centennial Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering at the University of Arizona.

Ehsani's innovative proposal is to manufacture a durable, lightweight, single-piece pipe that is long enough to continually feed cooler water from nearby greater depths to the heat stressed coral in the shallows. The system uses a floating Wave Energy Converter (WEC) to power the pumps needed to maintain constant flow of cool water.

"The WEC uses the wave energy either above or below the surface to generate the electricity required to operate the water pump," Ehsani says. "You can make the pipe as long as is needed to reach the coolest water to pump back to the stressed coral," he says.

The low-cost solution is possible thanks to the on-site manufactured InfinitPipe, first introduced by Ehsani in 2012 after several years of development by Ehsani's company, QuakeWrap, Inc. "The use of conventional pipes would make this solution cost-prohibitive," Ehsani says. The system uses clean, renewable, infinite sources -- nearby deeper sea water as the coolant, and wave motion from the surface for the pump electricity. The result is an environmentally sustainable solution requiring minimal on-site disruption or daily maintenance.

A 2016 aerial survey of the northern Great Barrier Reef by the James Cook University Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies showed that 90 per cent of reefs in some areas were severely bleached. In 2012, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) published a paper that summarized the major trends of reef conditions from 1985 to 2012, and reported that the reef had lost half its coral cover during this time. Both sets of researchers cite warmer than usual currents causing thermal stress on coral.

Ehsani's bold, innovative proposal will debut at the National Science Foundation Workshop on Additive Manufacturing for Civil Infrastructure Design and Construction July 13. The workshop -- taking place at NSF's headquarters in Arlington, Va. -- reviews state-of-the-art of additive manufacturing for civil infrastructure design and construction.

Topics explored at the workshop include inspiring examples of additive manufacturing such as polymer reinforcement for structures or 3D printing in civil infrastructure design and construction, and exploring potential applications and innovations for infrastructure renewal.

Ehsani has pioneered the field of repair and strengthening of structures using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) products since the late 1980s. He left the full time academic world in 2010 to devote his time to the management of QuakeWrap, Inc., a company he founded in 1994.

His innovative products have been used in the construction industry to repair high pressure pipelines, freeway underpasses, marine piles, historical structures and more. One of these products, called StifPipe, received the 2016 ASCE Innovation Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers as the world's first green and sustainable pipe; and his game-changing technology for onsite-manufactured continuous pipe - called InfinitPipe - plays a significant part in the proposed coral reef bleaching answer.

"Solution for reef bleaching? Make a continuous pipe on site to submerge and bring cooler water to heat stressed coral." - Civil Engineering Prof. Mo Ehsani

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At a Glance: Bold solution to Great Barrier Reef bleaching proposed by engineering professor at NSF Workshop

What

"Onsite-Manufactured Continuous Pipe" presentation by Mo Ehsani, Centennial Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering at the University of Arizona and President/CEO of QuakeWrap, Inc., to the National Science Foundation Workshop on Additive Manufacturing for Civil Infrastructure Design and Construction.

Where and when

National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia, Thursday, July 13, beginning at approx. 3:50 p.m. Eastern.

More

More info on the National Science Foundation Workshop on Additive Manufacturing for Civil Infrastructure Design and Construction can be found here: https://events.tti.tamu.edu/conference/nsf-3dp-workshop/idea-presentations/

More info on InfinitPipe, the continuous pipe that can be manufactured onsite, is here http://www.pipemedic.com/infinitpipe.php

Contact at QuakeWrap

Steve Delgado

520-791-7000

sdelgado@quakewrap.com Orfollow Professor Mo Ehsani on Twitter @ProfEhsani
Slight increases in temperature in Mediterranean regions from global warming could potentially result in labor, productivity and economic losses for the European wine industry, an article in the journal Temperature suggests.

Researchers studied the effects of high temperatures on the labor output and productivity of manual agricultural grape-picking workers in the wine production industry in Cyprus, who often work in conditions of up to 36 degrees Celsius.

They found that higher temperatures in the working conditions during the summer correlated with a significant labor loss of up to 27%, due to the environmental heat causing increased perceived exertion on worker's metabolic and cardiovascular systems and resulting in reduced output.

When temperatures increased, there was also a 15% decrease in the amount of time workers were able to carry out their duties due to the increased need for irregular and unplanned work breaks.

These research findings demonstrate that workplace heat, specifically in European agricultural workers, is accompanied by significant labor and productivity losses. With the wine industry comprising of 0.2% of world GDP, increased temperatures from global warming may negatively impact the industry and even potentially result in large losses worldwide.

For this study, the authors specifically chose to study grape-picking workers, as the production of wine is still largely dominated by manual labor unlike other industries and therefore the effects of global warming on workers in this industry is highly likely to more prevalent.

The authors warned that this research should not be considered an exhaustive large scale study of the impact of global warming on agriculture workers, and broader studies involving more workers and different locations should be undertaken in order to full assess the full impact.

The study is the first of its kind in Europe assessing the impact of workplace heat on European agriculture workers. The researchers used an innovative approach to assess labor output and productivity of seven workers called time-motion analysis which can analyse every second spent by each worker during every work shift.

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The article represents a study within a research program funded by the European Union and led by an international consortium of scientists (HEAT-SHIELD). The overall goal of this work is to study the complex effects of climate change on the European society.

The study has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No 668786
(New York - July 12, 2017) -- In a first-of its kind study, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found an elevated risk of intellectual disability (ID) in children born to mothers treated with antidepressants, but the risk was not statistically significant and is likely due to other factors, including parental age and the parents' psychiatric history.

While other studies have examined the risk of autism in mother's who took antidepressants during pregnancy, this is the first study to examine the risk of ID in this population.

The study will be published online July 12, 2017, in JAMA Psychiatry.

Commonly diagnosed in childhood, ID is characterized by major limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. No treatments exist for ID and it is associated with substantial health care costs.

The study examined the risk of ID in a population-based cohort of 179,000 children born in Sweden in 2006 and 2007. Approximately 4,000 of those children were exposed to antidepressants and other psychotropic medications during pregnancy. The researchers compared the risk in these children with a subsample of 23,551children whose mothers were diagnosed with depression or anxiety prior to childbirth but did not use antidepressants during pregnancy.

ID was diagnosed in 0.9% of exposed children and 0.5% of unexposed children. After adjusting for potential confounders, including parental age, the risk of ID after exposure to antidepressant medication was not statistically significant in both the full-population sample and in the sub-sample of women with a history of depression.

"The study did not find a robust association between ID and maternal antidepressant medication during pregnancy," said the study's senior author Sven Sandin, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

The researchers note that while the study was conducted in Sweden, the findings are applicable in most countries where antidepressants are prescribed.

"Our study provides more information for clinicians to evaluate the risks in pregnant women taking antidepressants," said co-author Abraham Reichenberg, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "It should be factored into other considerations such as the increased risk for the mother if not medicated, the drug's side effects, and other medical conditions."

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Other institutions involved in this study include The Karolinska Institute in Sweden, Dalhousie University in Canada, and the University of Haifa in Israel.

This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health; grant HD073978 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; grant MH097849 from the National Institute of Mental Health; by the Beatrice and Samuel A. Seaver Foundation; by the Canada Research Chairs Program and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Foundation program (148394); by the Fredrik and Ingrid Thuring Foundation; and by the Swedish Society of Medicine. About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services--from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.

The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 12 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is in the "Honor Roll" of best hospitals in America, ranked No. 15 nationally in the 2016-2017 "Best Hospitals" issue of U.S. News & World Report. The Mount Sinai Hospital is also ranked as one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Geriatrics, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Ear, Nose & Throat, and is in the top 50 in four other specialties. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 10 nationally for Ophthalmology, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital is ranked in seven out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report in "Best Children's Hospitals."

For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org/, or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
A research team led by scientists at UC San Francisco has developed a computational method to systematically probe massive amounts of open-access data to discover new ways to use drugs, including some that have already been approved for other uses.

The method enables scientists to bypass the usual experiments in biological specimens and to instead do computational analyses, using open-access data to match FDA-approved drugs and other existing compounds to the molecular fingerprints of diseases like cancer. The specificity of the links between these drugs and the diseases they are predicted to be able to treat holds the potential to target drugs in ways that minimize side effects, overcome resistance and reveal more clearly how both the drugs and the diseases are working.

"This points toward a day when doctors may treat their patients with drugs that have been individually tailored to the idiosyncracies of their own disease," said first author Bin Chen, assistant professor with the Institute for Computational Health Sciences (ICHS) and the Department of Pediatrics at UCSF.

In a paper published online on July 12, 2017, in Nature Communications, the UCSF team used the method to identify four drugs with cancer-fighting potential, demonstrating that one of them--an FDA-approved drug called pyrvinium pamoate, which is used to treat pinworms--could shrink hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer, in mice. This cancer, which is associated with underlying liver disease and cirrhosis, is the second-largest cause of cancer deaths around the world--with a very high incidence in China--yet it has no effective treatment.

The researchers first looked in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), a comprehensive map of genomic changes in nearly three dozen types of cancer that contains more than two petabytes of data, and compared the gene expression signatures in 14 different cancers to the gene expression signatures for normal tissues that were adjacent to these tumors. This enabled them to see which genes were up- or down-regulated in the cancerous tissue, compared to the normal tissue.

Once they knew that, they were able to search in another open-access database, called the Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures (LINCS) L1000 dataset, to see how thousands of compounds and chemicals affected cancer cells. The researchers ranked 12,442 small molecules profiled in 71 cell lines based on their ability to reverse abnormal changes in gene expression that lead to the production of harmful proteins. These changes are common in cancers, although different tumors exhibit different patterns of abnormalities. Each of these profiles included measurements of gene expression from 978 "landmark genes" at different drug concentrations and different treatment durations.

The researchers used a third database, ChEMBL, for data on how well biologically active chemicals killed specific types of cancer cells in the lab -- specifically for data on a drug efficacy measure known as the IC50. Finally, Chen used the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia to analyze and compare molecular profiles from more than 1,000 cancer cell lines.

Their analyses revealed that four drugs were likely to be effective, including pyrvinium pamoate, which they tested against liver cancer cells that had grown into tumors in laboratory mice.

"Since in many cancers, we already have lots of known drug efficacy data, we were able to perform large-scale analyses without running any biological experiments," Chen said.

He and colleagues developed a ranking system, which he calls the Reverse Gene Expression Score (RGES), a predictive measure of how a given drug would reverse the gene-expression profile in a particular disease--tamping down genes that are over-expressed, and ramping up those that are weakly expressed, thus restoring gene expression to levels that more closely match normal tissue.

After using open-access databases to determine that RGES was correlated with drug efficacy in liver cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer. Chen focused on liver cancer cell lines, but since they have not been investigated as much as breast and colon cancer cell lines, there was far less data available to study them. So, he used RGES scores for drugs and other biologically active molecules that had been tested on non-liver cancer cell types. The RGES scores were powerful enough that he could still predict which molecules might kill liver cancer cells.

Chen's collaborators from the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University examined four candidate molecules with known mechanisms of drug action. They found that all four killed five distinct liver cancer cell lines grown in the lab. Pyrvinium pamoate was the most promising drug, shrinking liver tumors grown beneath the skin in mice.

Cancer researchers usually target individual genetic mutations, but Chen said drugs that are targeted in this way often are less effective than anticipated and generate drug resistance. He said a broader measure such as RGES might lead to better drugs and also help researchers identify new drug targets.

Because RGES is based on the molecular characteristics of real tumors, Chen said it also may be a better predictor of a drug's true clinical promise than high-throughput screening of large panels of drugs and other small molecules, which are based on drug activity in lab-grown cell lines.

"As costs come down and the number of gene expression profiles in diseases continues to grow, I expect that we and others will be able to use RGES to screen for drug candidates very efficiently and cost-effectively," Chen said. "Our hope is that ultimately our computational approach can be broadly applied, not only to cancer, but also to other diseases where molecular data exist, and that it will speed up drug discovery in diseases with high unmet needs. But I'm most excited about the possibilities for applying this approach to individual patients to prescribe the best drug for each."

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The senior UCSF co-author on the study was Atul Butte, MD, PhD, director of the ICHS. The senior co-author from Stanford was Mei-Sze Chua, PhD, senior research scientist at the Asian Liver Center (ALC) and Department of Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. The co-first author from Stanford was Li Ma, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Stanford ALC. Additional co-authors from UCSF include, from the ICHS and Department of Pediatrics, Marina Sirota, PhD, an assistant professor, and Hyojung Paik, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow; additional authors from the Stanford ALC and Department of Surgery were Wei Wei, PhD, a research associate, and Samuel So, MD, the executive director of the ALC, and the Lui Hac Minh Professor and Professor of Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Butte is a founder and scientific advisor to NuMedii, Inc., a drug-discovery company.

About UCSF: UC San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, translational and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise. It also includes UCSF Health, which comprises top-ranked hospitals, UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland - and other partner and affiliated hospitals and healthcare providers throughout the Bay Area. Please visit http://www.ucsf.edu/news.
Researchers reveal squirrels born earliest are more likely to survive because they have a better chance at finding a vacant spot to store their food for the winter

Those young squirrels now scampering around your neighbourhood were born in this year's earliest litters and are more likely to survive than squirrels born later and still curled up in their nests, according to a new University of Guelph study.

That's because when it comes to survival in the squirrel world, the first out of the nest is best, said David Fisher, a post-doctoral researcher and lead author of the study conducted on squirrels in Yukon.

"We found being born earlier than the other litters in your neighbourhood was a key factor in survival," said Fisher, who worked on the study with U of G integrative biology Prof. Andrew McAdam. "This is because if you are born before your neighbours, you can leave your nest first and find a vacant spot to store your food for the winter."

Published recently in the international journal Evolution, the study examined what traits are most important when it comes to the survival of North American red squirrels. The researchers compared birth dates and growth rates of individual baby squirrels living in the same area as well as to baby squirrels living outside the social neighbourhood.

The study involved more than 2,500 squirrels and is part of the Kluane Red Squirrel Project, a long-term field experiment in Yukon investigating the importance of food abundance to the ecology and evolution of red squirrels. Established in 1987, the project brings together scientists from several universities, including the University of Guelph, to monitor behavior and reproduction of 7,000 of squirrels.

Baby red squirrels, whose life cycle is similar to the Eastern gray squirrel common to Ontario, are typically born between March and May each year and spend just over two months in the nest. Sometimes the mother gives her territory to one of her offspring, usually a daughter, but the rest of the litter is expected to venture out to find their own place, said Fisher.

Young squirrels usually travel no farther than 100 metres from home. Their chance of survival beyond the next four months or so is only 25 per cent and this is largely dependent on whether they find a vacant territory.

One of the reasons for such low survival is that real estate is hard to come by, particularly in years when many other squirrels are living nearby, said Fisher.

"Since squirrels store their food underground, their survival depends on finding vacant or new territories to do this. Young squirrels can't oust adult squirrels from their territories so early-born litters have an advantage because they are able to begin searching for vacant or new territories first."

Birth date is a heritable trait and this study shows an early birth date helps red squirrels living in densely populated neighbourhoods. However, Fisher said he hasn't yet seen an overall trend toward earlier births.

"When we expect to see evolution, but no evolution occurs, this is called evolutionary stasis," he said, adding that the researchers continue to seek an explanation.

This study is one of the first to show multilevel natural selection which is when traits of a group, such as a herd or flock, influence the success of individuals, said Fisher.

"In this case, we looked at the social neighbourhood of a squirrel, even though squirrels certainly don't live or move in groups. From a conservation and management perspective, this means that when studying animals that may not live in obvious groups, we need to still consider traits within things like social neighbourhoods because these traits can alter how an animal responds to selection pressure. "

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A new study led by University of Pennsylvania researchers has found that the oral microbiome is affected by diabetes, causing a shift to increase its pathogenicity. The research, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe this week, not only showed that the oral microbiome of mice with diabetes shifted but that the change was associated with increased inflammation and bone loss.

"Up until now, there had been no concrete evidence that diabetes affects the oral microbiome," said Dana Graves, senior author on the new study and vice dean of scholarship and research at Penn's School of Dental Medicine. "But the studies that had been done were not rigorous."

Just four years ago, the European Federation of Periodontology and the American Academy of Periodontology issued a report stating there is no compelling evidence that diabetes is directly linked to changes in the oral microbiome. But Graves and colleagues were skeptical and decided to pursue the question, using a mouse model that mimics Type 2 diabetes.

"My argument was that the appropriate studies just hadn't been done, so I decided, We'll do the appropriate study," Graves said.

Graves co-authored the study with Kyle Bittinger of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who assisted with microbiome analysis, along with E Xiao from Peking University, who was the first author, and co-authors from the University of Sao Paulo, Sichuan University, the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the University of Capinas. The authors consulted with Daniel Beiting of Penn Vet's Center for Host-Microbial Interactions and did the bone-loss measurements at the Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Diseases.

The researchers began by characterizing the oral microbiome of diabetic mice compared to healthy mice. They found that the diabetic mice had a similar oral microbiome to their healthy counterparts when they were sampled prior to developing high blood sugar levels, or hyperglycemia. But, once the diabetic mice were hyperglycemic, their microbiome became distinct from their normal littermates, with a less diverse community of bacteria.

The diabetic mice also had periodontitis, including a loss of bone supporting the teeth, and increased levels of IL-17, a signaling molecule important in immune response and inflammation. Increased levels of IL-17 in humans are associated with periodontal disease.

"The diabetic mice behaved similar to humans that had periodontal bone loss and increased IL-17 caused by a genetic disease," Graves said.

The findings underscored an association between changes in the oral microbiome and periodontitis but didn't prove that the microbial changes were responsible for disease. To drill in on the connection, the researchers transferred microorganisms from the diabetic mice to normal germ-free mice, animals that have been raised without being exposed to any microbes.

These recipient mice also developed bone loss. A micro-CT scan revealed they had 42 percent less bone than mice that had received a microbial transfer from normal mice. Markers of inflammation also went up in the recipients of the diabetic oral microbiome.

"We were able to induce the rapid bone loss characteristic of the diabetic group into a normal group of animals simply by transferring the oral microbiome," said Graves.

With the microbiome now implicated in causing the periodontitis, Graves and colleagues wanted to know how. Suspecting that inflammatory cytokines, and specifically IL-17, played a role, the researchers repeated the microbiome transfer experiments, this time injecting the diabetic donors with an anti-IL-17 antibody prior to the transfer. Mice that received microbiomes from the treated diabetic mice had much less severe bone loss compared to mice that received a microbiome transfer from untreated mice.

The findings "demonstrate unequivocally" that diabetes-induced changes in the oral microbiome drive inflammatory changes that enhance bone loss in periodontitis, the authors wrote.

Though IL-17 treatment was effective at reducing bone loss in the mice, it is unlikely to be a reasonable therapeutic strategy in humans due to its key role in immune protection. But Graves noted that the study highlights the importance for people with diabetes of controlling blood sugar and practicing good oral hygiene.

"Diabetes is one of the systemic disease that is most closely linked to periodontal disease, but the risk is substantially ameliorated by good glycemic control," he said. "And good oral hygiene can take the risk even further down."

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In addition to Graves and Bittinger, co-authors included E Xiao, Marcelo Mattas, Shanshan Chen and Yingying Wu of Penn Dental Medicine; Gustavo Henrique Apolinario Vieira of the University of Sao Paulo; Joice Dias Correa of the Federal University of Minas Gerais; and Mayra Laino Albieiro of the University of Campinas.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (DE017732 and DE021921) with assistance from Penn Vet's Center for Host-Microbioal Interactions and the Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders.
(BOSTON) -- Researchers are developing ways to harness DNA, the blueprint of biological life, as a synthetic raw material to store large amounts of digital information outside of living cells, using expensive machinery. But, what if they could coerce living cells, like large populations of bacteria, into using their own genomes as a biological hard drive that can be used to record information and then be tapped for it anytime? Such an approach could not only open entirely new possibilities of data storage, but also be engineered further into an effective memory device that may be able to record the molecular experiences cells are having during their development, or exposure to stresses and pathogens in a chronological fashion.

In 2016, a team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard Medical School (HMS) lead by Wyss Core Faculty member George Church, Ph.D., built the first molecular recorder based on the CRISPR system, which allows cells to acquire bits of chronologically provided, DNA-encoded information to generate a memory of them in the genome of bacteria as a cell model. The information, stored away as an array of sequences in the CRISPR locus, can be recalled and used to reconstruct a timeline of events. However, "as promising as this was, we did not know what would happen when we tried to track about a hundred sequences at once, or if it would work at all. This was critical since we are aiming to use this system to record complex biological events as our ultimate goal," said Seth Shipman, Ph.D., a Postdoctoral Fellow working with Church.

Now, in a new study published in Nature, the same team shows in foundational proof-of-principle experiments that the CRISPR system, developed further as a first-of-its-kind approach, is able to encode information as complex as a digitized image of a human hand, reminiscent of some of the first paintings drawn on cave walls by early humans, and a sequence of one of the first motion pictures made ever, that of a galloping horse, in living cells.

The CRISPR system helps bacteria to develop immunity against the constant onslaught of viruses in their different environments. As a memory of survived infections, it captures viral DNA molecules and generates short so-called "spacer" sequences from them, that are added as new elements upstream of previous elements in a growing array located in the CRISPR locus of bacterial genomes. The by now famous CRISPR-Cas9 protein constantly resorts to this memory to destroy the same viruses when they return. Besides Cas9, which has become a widely used genome engineering tool, other parts of the CRISPR system, however, have so far not been exploited much technologically.

"In this study, we show that two proteins of the CRISPR system, Cas1 and Cas2, that we have engineered into a molecular recording tool, together with new understanding of the sequence requirements for optimal spacers, enables a significantly scaled-up potential for acquiring memories and depositing them in the genome -- as information that can be provided by researchers from the outside, or that, in the future, could be formed from the cells' natural experiences," said Church, who also is the Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and a Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard and MIT. "Harnessed further, this approach could present a way to cue different types of living cells in their natural tissue environments into recording the formative changes they are undergoing into a synthetically created memory hotspot in their genomes."

To approach complex information on much larger scales, the team resorted to still and moving images because they represent constrained and clearly defined data sets, while a movie, in addition, offers the opportunity to have bacteria acquire information frame-wise over time. "We designed strategies that essentially translate the digital information contained in each pixel of an image or frame as well as the frame number into a DNA code, that, with additional sequences, is incorporated into spacers. Each frame thus becomes a collection of spacers," said Seth Shipman, the study's first author. "We then provided spacer collections for consecutive frames chronologically to a population of bacteria which, using Cas1/Cas2 activity, added them to the CRISPR arrays in their genomes. And after retrieving all arrays again from the bacterial population by DNA sequencing, we finally were able to reconstruct all frames of the galloping horse movie and the order they appeared in."

While realizing this new concept of molecular recording, Shipman together with second-author and Postdoctoral Fellow Jeff Nivala, Ph.D., during their analysis, defined a valuable set of requirements that make spacer sequences likely to be more easily acquired, and identified sequence features that prevent their acquisition into growing CRISPR arrays -- the do's and don'ts of spacer design.

In future work, the team will focus on establishing molecular recording devices in other cell types and on further engineering the system so that it can memorize biological information. "One day, we may be able to follow all the developmental decisions that a differentiating neuron is taking from an early stem cell to a highly-specialized type of cell in the brain, leading to a better understanding of how basic biological and developmental processes are choreographed," said Shipman, who, in addition to Church, is also mentored by neurobiologist and co-author Jeffrey Macklis, Ph.D., the Max and Anne Wien Professor of Life Sciences and Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University. Once adapted to specific paradigms, the approach could also lead to better methods for generating cells for regenerative therapy, disease modeling and drug testing.

"This groundbreaking technology advances the field of DNA-based information storage by leveraging the biological machinery of living cells to record, archive and propagate that information, in addition to potentially providing a new way to study dynamic biological and developmental processes inside the living body. It is yet another example of bioinspired engineering at its best," said Wyss Institute Founding Director Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., who also is the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at HMS and the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children's Hospital, as well as Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS.

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The study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Human Genome Research Institute, the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, and the Wyss Institute. In addition, Shipman is a Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation Fellow of the Life Sciences Research Foundation.

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The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University uses Nature's design principles to develop bioinspired materials and devices that will transform medicine and create a more sustainable world. Wyss researchers are developing innovative new engineering solutions for healthcare, energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing that are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances, and formation of new startups. The Wyss Institute creates transformative technological breakthroughs by engaging in high risk research, and crosses disciplinary and institutional barriers, working as an alliance that includes Harvard's Schools of Medicine, Engineering, Arts & Sciences and Design, and in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston University, Tufts University, Charite - Universitatsmedizin Berlin, University of Zurich and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Harvard Medical School has more than 7,500 full-time faculty working in 11 academic departments located at the School's Boston campus or in one of 47 hospital-based clinical departments at 16 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals and research institutes. Those affiliates include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Hebrew Senior Life, Joslin Diabetes Center, Judge Baker Children's Center, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and VA Boston Healthcare System.
New research has uncovered compelling evidence that genetics plays a major role in how children look at the world and whether they have a preference for gazing at people's eyes and faces or at objects.

The discovery by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta adds new detail to understanding the causes of autism spectrum disorder. The results show that the moment-to-moment movements of children's eyes as they seek visual information about their environment are abnormal in autism and under stringent genetic control in all children.

The study is published online July 12 in the journal Nature.

"Now that we know that social visual orientation is heavily influenced by genetic factors, we have a new way to trace the direct effects of genetic factors on early social development, and to design interventions to ensure that children at risk for autism acquire the social environmental inputs they need to grow and develop normally," said lead author John N. Constantino, MD, the Blanche F. Ittleson Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at Washington University. "These new findings demonstrate a specific mechanism by which genes can modify a child's life experience. Two children in the same room, for example, can have completely different social experiences if one carries an inherited tendency to focus on objects while the other looks at faces, and these differences can play out repeatedly as the brain develops early in childhood."

The researchers studied 338 toddlers ages 18 to 24 months using eye-tracking technology, developed at Emory, allowing them to trace young children's visual orientation to faces, eyes or objects as the children watched videos featuring people talking and interacting.

The children, who were part of the Missouri Family Registry, a database of twins that is maintained at Washington University School of Medicine, included 41 pairs of identical twins -- such twins share 100 percent of their DNA -- and 42 sets of fraternal twins -- who share only about 50 percent of their DNA. In addition, the researchers studied 84 unrelated children and 88 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

Constantino, with fellow investigators Warren R. Jones, PhD, and Ami Klin, PhD, of Emory University School of Medicine, evaluated the eye-tracking data. Each twin was tested independently, at different times, without the other twin present.

How much one identical twin looked at another person's eyes or face was almost perfectly matched by his or her co-twin. But in fraternal twins, eye movements in one twin accounted for less than 10 percent of the variation in the eye movements of his or her co-twin. Identical twins also were more likely to move their eyes at the same moments in time, in the same directions, toward the same locations and the same content, mirroring one another's behavior to within as little as 17 milliseconds. Taken together, the data indicate a strong influence of genetics on visual behavior.

"The moment-to-moment match in the timing and direction of gaze shifts for identical twins was stunning and inferred a very precise level of genetic control," said Constantino, who directs the William Greenleaf Eliot Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Washington University. "We have spent years studying the transmission of inherited susceptibility to autism in families, and it now appears that by tracking eye movements in infancy, we can identify a key factor linked to genetic risk for the disorder that is present long before we can make a clinical diagnosis of autism."

The effects persisted as the children grew. When the twins were tested again about a year later, the same effects were found: Identical twins remained almost perfectly matched in where they looked, but fraternal twins became even more different than they were when initially evaluated.

Autism spectrum disorder is a lifelong condition that affects about 1 in 68 children in the United States. It is known to be caused by genetic factors, and earlier work by the Emory University team had shown that babies who look progressively less at people's eyes, beginning as early as 2-6 months of age, have an elevated risk for autism. Meanwhile, Constantino and others in the group have studied how subtle behaviors and symptoms that characterize autism aggregate in the close relatives of individuals with autism, as a way to identity inherited susceptibilities that run in families and contribute to autism risk.

"Studies like this one break new ground in our understanding of autism spectrum disorder: Establishing a direct connection between the behavioral symptoms of autism and underlying genetic factors is a critical step on the path to new treatments," said Lisa Gilotty, PhD, chief of the Research Program on Autism Spectrum Disorders at the National Institute of Mental Health, which provided support for the study in tandem with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Those new treatments could include interventions that motivate very young children to focus their gazes more on faces and less on objects.

"Testing infants to see how they are allocating visual attention represents a new opportunity to evaluate the effects of early interventions to specifically target social disengagement, as a way to prevent the most challenging disabilities associated with autism," said senior author Warren R. Jones, PhD, director of autism research at the Marcus Autism Center at Emory. "Such interventions might be appropriate for infants showing early signs of risk or those who have been born into families in which autism has affected close relatives. In addition, learning why some infants who tend to not look at eyes and faces develop without social disability is another priority."

The small percentage of healthy children who tended to avoid looking at eyes and faces may provide researchers with insight on how to successfully compensate for those tendencies and therefore inform the development of higher-impact interventions that will produce the best possible outcomes for infants with inherited susceptibility to autism.

###

In addition to Constantino, the research team at Washington University included Anne L. Glowinski, MD, a professor of child psychiatry and associate director of child and adolescent psychiatry; Natasha Marrus, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of child psychiatry; and Stefanie F. Kennon-McGill, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate in psychiatry.

Constantino JN, Kennon-McGill S, Weichselbaum C, Marrus N, Haider A, Glowinski AL, Gillespie S, Klaiman C, Klin A, Jones W. Infant viewing of social scenes is under genetic control and is atypical in autism. Nature. Published online July 12, 2017.

This work was supported by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant numbers HD068479 and U54 HD087011 (to Constantino and the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at Washington University) and MH100029 (to Jones and Klin at Emory). Other support was provided by the Missouri Family Register, a joint program of Washington University and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient-care institutions in the nation, currently ranked seventh in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
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A report has been released that has assessed the progress on retailers cage free 2025 promise.

The British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) hosted a Sustainability Seminar at the Cotswold farm of BBC Presenter Adam Henson.

The report is available to download online here.

Two projects were discussed with free range egg producers, retailers and other members of the supply chain.

All the country's leading retailers have said that they will stop selling cage eggs by 2025.

Jason Gittins of agricultural consultancy ADAS said they represent about two thirds of current grocery market share.

ADAS was asked to look at the implications for the egg market and Jason Gittins has reported that a third of sales could be barn eggs by the deadline date.

"There is a general view that barn production will be needed to supply retailers value line eggs after sales of cage eggs end," he said in his report.

"In these cases, it is estimated that barn may account for around 25 to 35 per cent of sales for those retailers going cage-free by 2025."

But Mr Gittins added: "It is noted, however, that not all retailers are committed to barn at present  some have not yet ruled out selling only free range."

The event was held at the Cotswold farm of BBC Presenter Adam Henson

Barn eggs

Currently barn eggs account for only a vey small percentage of sales in the United Kingdom, and latest figures show that production has fallen back still further.

The number of barn eggs packed in UK packing stations in the first three months of 2017 was down by 28 per cent compared with the same period in 2016.

Barn accounted for only one and a half per cent of all eggs passing through the country's packing centres in the first quarter of the year.

Just 110,000 cases of barn eggs went through the packing stations, which account for the vast majority of UK production.

Jason Gittins said that, as part of his research, meetings had been held with four retailers who had committed to being cage-free by 2025.

These were Iceland, ASDA, Tesco and Morrisons. A fifth retailer, Aldi UK, had provided a response by email.

A review of the stated buying commitments of other retailers and foodservice companies had been undertaken through their web sites.

Retailers had an input into the report confiding directly with ADAS. John Kirkpatrick from Tesco (pictured) and Jake Pickering from Sainsburys attended the event

"To date, these additional companies include Lidl, Booker, Compass, Elior, Sodexo, Pizza Hut and Costa. In certain cases, follow-up telephone conversations have been (or will be) held," he said in his report.

'Further growth in free range'

Mr Gittins said barn production was "largely considered by retailers to be unknown for many consumers and there are some concerns over the extent to which it will be accepted."

He said: "Some retailers are already considering what is acceptable for barn production and what is not. There may be reluctance to maximise stocking densities and so setting appropriate standards will be important."

If barn eggs were not accepted by consumers, there could be further growth in free range, said Mr Gittins, who said that the level of price differential between barn and free range could be important in determining sales and preferences.

Retailers had an input into the report confiding directly with ADAS. John Kirkpatrick from Tesco and Jake Pickering from Sainsburys attended the event

"It is accepted that barn eggs will be more expensive than cage, e.g. an increase of between seven and 10 pence per dozen at retail level has been suggested.

"This indicates that the price difference between value and free range will decrease, unless free range prices increase such that the differential remains the same," Jason Gittins said.

"Some retailers may continue to stock a tertiary brand cage egg for a while after 2025, if their non-cage commitment is to own-brand only.

"This could be used to assist the transition process, but it is generally not seen as a long-term option."

'Difficult'

"It is accepted that the transition from cage to barn eggs could be a difficult one for retailers in the run-up to 2025," Mr Gittins said.

"Some price-sensitive customers may continue to select cage eggs whilst they remain available, so barn may be in surplus for a while  they may have to be cascaded."

Mr Gittins pointed out that the commitment made by retailers to go cage-free had been for shell egg but not egg products.

"For larger retailers, in particular, the products area is seen as too complex because of the high number of different foods and suppliers.

"On this basis, smaller businesses with fewer product lines may be more able to adopt a non-cage policy on egg products than larger businesses," he said in the report.

He has also looked into the likely cost for producers switching to barn production and at potential problems in obtaining planning consent.

He said the cost of converting an existing shed to barn was likely to be between 10 and 15 per bird. A new build was likely to cost 25 per bird.

Expensive to gain consent

On planning issues, Mr Gittins said planning specialists reported that it was increasingly expensive and time consuming to gain consent in England and more difficult in Wales.

"The planning system in the two countries is now quite different. Furthermore, there is substantial variation in requirements between different parts of England.

"Re-development of existing facilities (e.g. cage to barn) is generally easier in planning terms than a new development," he said.

Jason Gittins' interim report was unveiled at the 2017 BFREPA Sustainability Seminar. The seminar was held on June 29 at the farm of television farmer Adam Henson near Cheltenham.

Keel bone damage

Another speaker at the seminar was Dr Vicky Sandilands of SRUC in Scotland, which has conducted research commissioned by BFREPA - partially funded by the association's sustainability fund.

The SRUC scientist spoke about keel bone damage - something that has aroused debate in the industry again recently following the decision by Freedom Food to insist on the fitting of aerial perches in flat deck layer houses.

Some experts suggest that retro-fitting aerial perches increases the incidence of keel bone damage.

Dr Sandilands explained the issues surrounding keel bone injuries in layers and talked about the research being carried out into the subject.

Andrew Naylor, head of agriculture at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking said about the event: We became involved with BFREPA to understand more about how the countrys free range egg farmers, suppliers and retailers are building a sustainable future for the sector, and how we can support the industry in achieving this.

It was interesting to hear Jason Gittins from ADAS talk about the potential impact on the supply chain as supermarkets move to meet a 2025 deadline to only stock cage-free eggs.

For instance, if the free-range market share rose by around 10%, 2.7m more free range hens would be required, laying c1.8m more cases of eggs a year, creating new opportunities for farmers and suppliers to meet this demand.
A conference has said that the future of agriculture and food production lies with young people, and that 'school farms' are important in building up passion.

The School Farms Network Conference held at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester last week (30 June  1 July 2017), said student progression to higher education and career outcomes is important for the future of the agri-food industry.

Attended by 100 teachers and students, the conference was seen as an opportunity for those passionate about school-based farm learning and developing pathways to higher education to share knowledge and expertise.

The conference explored the role of rearing farm livestock in schools, and the value of land-based education, including the areas of agriculture, business, technology, food security, and the environment.

Young people are interested in where their food comes from, and the food supply chain - so the need to promote career opportunities in food and agriculture is vital, the conference heard.

Passionate about farming

The conference also heard how school farms can help students to become passionate about animals and farming practices.

There are now more than 116 school farms in the UK.

A dairy farm in Worcestershire took the initiative to bring children onto a farm. It hosts learning visits for youngsters which has led to new outdoor classroom after receiving a 23,000 business grant.

The event was also told how school farms are able to build student confidence and improve their academic performance.

Teaching children about agriculture has always required some form of innovation to get them interested.

The National Farmers' Union launched an education roadshow - the Discovery Barn - to enthuse children to learn about agriculture and where their food comes from.

The Discovery Barn, a mobile trailer, combines games and facts for primary school children to learn on their own without teachers or assistance.
COP27: Energy and food security must be addressed, farm leaders say
La Crescent Common Council members voiced their annoyance with train whistles Monday and sketched out plans to derail the problem by creating a quiet zone similar to La Crosses arrangement.

I work next to the Main Street crossing, said council member Ryan Hutchinson, Some guys lay on that horn for thirty seconds, theres no reason for that.

Dale Williams agreed, adding, The whistles are getting louder and louder, its a nuisance.

Citizen Greg Husmann, who petitioned to address the meeting, brought information from the League of Minnesota Cities, claiming that trains are allowed to blow whistles twice at crossings, not all the way through town. He also questioned the sound level of the horns and urged the council to investigate the decibel levels as well as consider taxing the property used by the railroad.

City Engineer Tim Hruska, who had done some research of his own, proposed a mile-long quiet zone starting a quarter mile north of the Main Street crossing to a quarter mile south of the Crest private crossing.

While the Main Street crossing meets Federal Railroad Administration standards, Hruska pointed out that those criteria often fluctuate from year to year, so certain upgrades would be necessary to insure lasting compliance. New equipment would include a second set of gate arms since its a double track.

Hruska also proposed closing Crest crossing, stating that it would always require a whistle due to limited visibility. In its place, he proposed forming a one-track crossing which would be utilized by the City/Minnesota Department of Transportation shop and Crest. A further advantage, he said, is that only one track would require protection, thus decreasing costs.

Hruska stressed that all property owners would have to agree on the plan and costs to the city could run in excess of $500,000.

Can we start talking to the county? asked Williams. We should be working on something. We should have an alternative if they (the railroad) cant do anything.

Mayor Mike Poellinger then tasked Hruska with developing a 30- to 90-day action plan as well as one for a year out. Hruska also said he would investigate whistle decibel levels.

Racetrack property

At the request of Councilman Ryan Hutchinson, the council revisited its racetrack property discussion. Hutchinson raised concerns about protecting the citys $12,000 investment in a marketing/demographic study of the area and eventually recouping some of the money. His initial suggestion to prepare another option ran into stiff opposition.

The opening salvo came from council member Dale Williams. Ive said all along that the citys not in the development business, he said.

Greg Husmann who had also petitioned to speak on this agenda item agreed.

Im strongly opposed to getting in the development business, he said. What concerns me is that the city will get in so deep they cant get out.

He went on to point out that Minnesota is already the fifth highest taxed state, suggesting that the project could result in more increases.

The property has been on the market for some time, and nobody bought it, he said.

Williams felt that the role of the city should be to help someone else buy the property. The property is still sitting there, he said. The other approach hasnt worked, now were coming at it from a different way.

Williams then asked, Is everyone OK with the city attorney and the city administrator having a discussion with the owner?

In the end, the council unanimously voted to direct the staff members to have a conversation with the property owner to determine the owners interest in selling it, the time frame and purchase price.

Stormwater

In other business, Houston County Engineer Brian Pogodzinski joined Tim Hruska for the annual stormwater meeting, where the only issue that surfaced was the residual sand left from winter plowing. Pogodzinski said they use the same mix in the city limits as in rural areas which is then picked up in spring.

Were looking into using more brine, he said. We know its an issue and are working to make it better.

Hutchinson remarked that the only complaints seem to come from Elm and Seventh streets.

Crosswalk

The council also approved a $13,052 expenditure to Poellinger Electric for the installation of a pedestrian crosswalk flashing system to be installed at the west crosswalk at the intersection of Oak and Third streets before the start of the new school year. The flashing system will be activated by a button. Poellinger was the only respondent of three companies solicited for bidding.
You may not have heard of billionaire property magnate Wang Jianlin, the CEO of Dalian Wanda Group. He's China's richest man, and built numerous theme parks with the goal of besting The Walt Disney Company (DIS 5.03%) in his home market. Last year, the mogul made a number of provocative statements, in which he vowed to crush Disney, saying it "should never have entered China."

Just before the $5.5 billion Shanghai Disneyland opened last year, Wang announced plans to build 15 to 20 theme parks and resorts to compete with the House of Mouse in his native China. The resorts would include amusement parks, water parks, shopping malls and luxury hotels, and would surround Disney "like a pack of wolves." He added:

The frenzy of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and the era of blindly following them have passed ... [They are] entirely cloning previous IP, cloning previous products, with no more innovation.

After all that hype, it came as quite a surprise when the Dalian Wanda Group announced that it would sell a 91% stake in the tourist attractions, just a year after the opening of the first location. While the Chinese mogul's parks have struggled, Disney reported a strong first year for its Shanghai park and attendance that exceeded expectations.

All bark and no bite?

Wang had criticized Disney for the cost of its parks, indicating he couldn't comprehend how the company could spend so much money, and bragging about the much lower costs to build his parks. In a delightful bit of irony, one of his previous locations closed for maintenance less than two years after opening.

He also touted the lower costs to attend his park compared to Disney's. A day pass to Shanghai Disneyland would set back consumers $75 during peak days and $56 during low season, much higher than $58 and $37 for Wanda's parks. Still, even at the lower prices, attendance paled compared to Disney's. The Wanda park in the Chinese city of Nanchang recorded only 1.3 million visitors in its first seven months of operation, far below the 11 million reported by Shanghai Disneyland during its first year.

Middle Kingdom embraces Magic Kingdom

Disney CEO Bob Iger presided over the one-year anniversary of the company's Chinese theme park last month, revealing that during its first year of operation the resort had "exceeded every one of [our] expectations, from theme park attendance to guest satisfaction." Given the competition and the significant uncertainty about how Chinese consumers would react to the park, this was a massive win for Mickey and friends.

The rollout of Disney's park in Shanghai held far less drama than that of its European counterpart Euro Disney in 1992. The company had difficulty with that park, later renamed Disneyland Paris, from the beginning; it made a number of rare missteps, including incorrect assumptions about visitor demand and the cost of wages. The company recently gained the shares necessary to force a buyout and acquire full control of Disneyland Paris, and has plans for $1.6 billion in upgrades and improvements.

Not all fun and games

There are any number of reasons that the Wanda Group has abandoned its plans to take on Disney, with its lack of initial success being only one of them. Wang was quoted as saying that the move would improve his company's balance sheet, which some considered over-leveraged due to the amount of debt. This may have caught the eye of Chinese regulators, forcing the move.

Still, given Disney's rich history of success at managing its intellectual property, it should come as no surprise that it is doing just fine. In its most recent quarter, the company grew revenue by 3% over the prior-year quarter, to $13.3 billion, and its park and resorts division contributed $4.3 billion, a year-over-year increase of 9%. With the success of Shanghai Disneyland, those figures will likely grow.
While you are under there, check more than the oil pan for rust, it can be a deal breaker if the underbody is too far gone with rust.

The exhaust manifold studs/bolts tend to break on these motors, count them, if it has less than all 20 showing use their replacement as a bargaining chip. Shop costs for stud replacement typically runs around $800, but we can help guide you through the job at home. I did mine in the driveway.

Chech the entire front suspension for and loos or worn parts, at that mileage you may be looking a few repair or replacement items.

Pay very close attention to the trans performance on the long test drive, if it doesn't act correctly, think hard about the purchase, as a new rebuild is pretty costly. Check the trans fluid, it should be bright red/pink and have NO burnt smell to it.

Make sure that tires are decent quality with good tread and of the proper Load Rating, the EX should have either D or E rated tires.

Play with every bell and whistle, make sure everything works as designed.

You mentioned about checking to see if the plugs had been "addressed", what exactly do you mean by that? The '00 will have the heads with too few plug threads that are prone to plug blowouts, this can be addressed and minimized by properly (over)torquing the new plugs at installation. No way to see if they have had inserts installed without pulling the coils and plugs. But I would ask.

Good luck!
HTC launches an initiative for underprivileged young girls in partnership with CRY News oi -Chandrika Aarzoo, an initiative by HTC Corporation, in association with leading NGO 'CRY-Child Rights and You', will support underprivileged girl children.

Aarzoo, an initiative by HTC Corporation, in association with leading NGO 'CRY-Child Rights and You', will support underprivileged girl children.

Aarzoo is a movement and a promise to fulfill dreams of countless young girls from the lower income group families by facilitating guidance and resources to supplement their dedication and enthusiasm. As part of its corporate social initiative and, to mark 20 years of global operations, HTC Corporation, has unveiled this initiative' Aarzoo: ek wish har Aarzoo poori karne ki''in India.

Not just wanting to limit the contribution only from the company, last week, Mr. Faisal Siddiqui, President South Asia, HTC, visited the CRY center in South Delhi and spent time with the children talking, exchanging gifts and clicking photos and selfies.

Speaking on the association, Mr. Faisal Siddiqui said, "We firmly believe that education is the birthright of every child, especially girls as their education and awareness helps build a better and progressive society I would like to reiterate our commitment towards providing quality education and enable better prospects for the girl child in the country."

As part of the campaign, HTC hopes to achieve an on-ground-impact on girl child education for 1500 girls through CRY, and, for this, has contributed part of consumer sales proceeds over the past few months to the NGO.HTC and CRY also unveiled a calendar wherein the models were 12 bright girls from the CRY center to mark the association.

Welcoming this initiative, Ms Soha Moitra, Regional Director- North, Child Rights and You (CRY) said, "We are extremely glad that HTC is championing this cause and supporting us in making education accessible to every child. We believe this campaign will go a long way in empowering girls and bringing them into the mainstream".

Best Mobiles in India

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Display and hardware specs

The Moto E4 Plus flaunts a 5.5-inch FHD 1080p display with 2.5D curved glass protection on top. As expected, the device makes use of a 1.4GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737 SoC under its hood. It features 3GB RAM and 32GB of default memory capacity that can be expanded further up to 128GB with the help of a microSD card.

Camera

The Moto smartphone has a capable imaging department with a 13MP main camera at its rear with autofocus, LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, FHD 1080p video recording and panorama mode. Up front, there is a 5MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture along with LED flash.

Software and connectivity

Running on Android 7.1 Nougat OS, the Moto E4 Plus features a slew of standard connectivity aspects including Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi, GPS, dual SIM support and 4G LTE.

Battery

As mentioned above, the presence of a 5000mAh battery is the major highlight of the Moto E4 Plus. This battery supports the 10W fast charging technology as well. The juicy battery will definitely last for two days on a single charge.

Price and availability

The Moto E4 Plus is priced at Rs. 9,999. The device is exclusive to the online retailer Flipkart. The company also announced the Moto E4 priced at Rs. 8,999 and this one will be exclusive to the offline market.

The E4 Plus will be available via the Flipkart's BuyBack program. As a launch offer, Flipkart and Moto have tied up to offer free Hotstar premium subscription for two months, 84GB Idea Cellular data at Rs. 443 and 30GB addition Reliance Jio data.
Post GST Flipkart announces price cut on several Lenovo smartphones for a limited period News oi -Samden Sherpa Lenovo smartphones are getting up to Rs. 3,500 flat discounts on Flipkart.

Flipkart has just announced a special offer on several of the Lenovo branded smartphones on its e-commerce site. There are flat discounts starting from Rs. 500 and it goes up to a maximum of Rs. 3,500 on some smartphones.

What is the significance of this special one-day sale? Well, it marks the second anniversary of Lenovo's K-series smartphones which if you recall first went on sale via the online retailer in 2015. Flipkart has said that the sale has begun Monday midnight (12 am Tuesday) and it will go on until Tuesday midnight (11:59 pm Tuesday).

Commenting on the announcement, Ayyapan Rajagopal, Senior Director Smartphones at Flipkart said, "At Flipkart, it is our constant endeavor to partner with strong brands and bring the best products to our customers. Our partnership with Lenovo has been very successful since we first launched Lenovo K3 Note in 2015 followed by Lenovo K5 Plus, the Lenovo K5 Note, and Lenovo K6 Power - each of which has been blockbusters. We take pride to associate with a brand that is known for innovation and outstanding products and hope in the coming years we celebrate many such milestones".

In any case, this is a good news for consumers. Below are some of the smartphones under Flipkart's one day sale.

Lenovo K5 Note

The Lenovo K5 Note 32GB model is getting a flat discount of Rs. 3,000 and is now available at Rs. 9,499. The 64GB variant is getting a flat discount of Rs. 1,000 and is now available at Rs. 12,499.

Lenovo P2

The Lenovo P2 4GB RAM model is getting a flat discount of Rs. 3,500 and is now available at Rs. 13,499. The 3GB variant is also getting a flat discount of Rs. 3,500 and is now available at Rs. 13,499.

Lenovo K5 Plus

The Lenovo K5 Plus 3GB variant is getting a flat discount of Rs. 1,000 and is now available at Rs. 7,499.

Lenovo K6 Power

The Lenovo K6 Power is also getting a flat discount of Rs. 500 but for this smartphone, the offer is valid only on prepaid orders.

Best Mobiles in India

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Haiti - FLASH : A plane to Haiti makes an emergency landing





Monday, an Airbus A320 aircraft, registered N362NW, from the US airline Delta Air Lines flight DL 685 that had taken off from approximately 11:40 am from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for the destination of The International Airport of Toussaint Louverture in Port-au-Prince with 132 passengers on board, had to make an emergency landing at Daytona Beach International Airport after crossing, nearly one hour after takeoff, a hailstorm caused a crack in one of the cockpit windshields.



The aircraft landed without incident there were no injuries and the passengers were disembarked waiting for the airline to be able to carry them on a new flight to their destination.



Experts will examine the device whose nose has also been damaged by hail.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - NOTICE : Illegal tax collection in certain communes





In a note, Fednel Monchery, the Director General of the Ministry of the Interior and Territorial Collectivities, said that he learned "[...] with amazement certain drifts from the 'Citizen Committees' of the newly created communes (Baptiste, Liancourt, Montrouis, Lapointe, Marfranc), regardinf the tax collection.



He reminded the latter that in accordance with the provisions of Article 20 of the Decree of 15 January 1988 amending the structures of the Directorate-General for Taxation, the DGI is the only institution empowered to levy taxes and charges for communes.



Any other form of payment requested constitutes an illegal practice, with the exception of the rights and fees which only the elected representatives are authorized to adopt by decree, after the Ministry does not object"



See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-20700-icihaiti-taxation-did-you-know.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - FLASH : More than 140,000 Haitians turned back at the Dominican border





Following complaints from Dominican citizens about new routes taken by many Haitians daily to go illegally to the Dominican Republic, the Dominican opposition pointed to the Dominican Minister of Defense Lieutenant-General Ruben Paulino Sem, accusing him of letting the Dominican territory be invaded by the Haitians.



On Monday, in a press conference, Minister Paulino Sem defended himself and assured that the Dominican border was controlled by the army, revealing that during the first half of 2017, 140,775 Haitians had been prevented from entering while they were trying to illegally crossing the Dominican border, an average of more than 700 attempts per day that were returned to Haiti. During this same period nearly 40,000 Haitians in irregular migratory situation were also repatriated to Haiti.



On Tuesday, 11 July, the Dominican Army expanded its control operations in different parts of the country : Greater Santo Domingo, the cities of Cibao and Linea Noroeste in some tourist areas such as Bavaro, Punta Cana, La Romana, San Pedro de Macoris and areas of Puerto Plata, Sosua, Cabarete where it was found a massive presence of Haitian. Several hundred of our irregular compatriots were arrested and taken to the Directorate General of Immigration to be repatriated to Haiti.



Some illegal foreigners of other nationalities (Chinese, Venezuelans, Canadian and Colombian among others) were also arrested during checks and will be repatriated to their respective countries, in collaboration with their respective embassies in the Dominican Republic.



In addition, since Monday in Santo Domingo and Santiago, the inspectors have arrested Haitians in irregular migratory situations, operating formal and informal businesses in the streets and avenues and Haitian women begging with young age children.



According to our information, our arrested compatriots, including minors after having been identified (biometrics) by the Dominican authorities, were transported by buses by the Migration services to various points on the border where they were handed over to the Haitian authorities .



Operations against irregular migrants will undoubtedly increase in the coming weeks and months due to the not seal of the Dominican border and a Haitian upsurge without valid document on the Dominican territory.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Public meeting July 18 on Kanuga Road improvements

The N.C. Department of Transportation will have a public meeting July 18 regarding proposed improvements to Kanuga Road in Henderson County.

Related Stories

The proposal includes upgrades on Kanuga between Little River Road and Church Street to improve safety and increase traffic efficiency.

It calls for widening current nine-foot wide lanes to 11 feet through the entire corridor plus the addition of a four-foot paved shoulder to accommodate bicycles. It also includes turn lanes at the intersection of Kanuga and Erkwood Drive/State Street, and five-foot wide sidewalks with curb and gutter north of Erkwood Drive/State Street. The other major proposed addition is a center turn lane north of Hebron Road.

The meeting will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 18 at Hendersonvilles Operational Center at 305 Williams Street. Interested citizens may attend the meeting at any time because no formal presentation will be made.

NCDOT representatives will be available to answer questions and listen to comments during the evening. Written comments may be submitted Tuesday night as well as by phone, email, or mail by July 28.Comments received will be taken into consideration as the project develops. Project information and materials can be viewed as they become available online at http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/publicmeetings.

Contact Division Project Manager Steve Williams, Division Planning Engineer at 253 Webster Road, Sylva, NC 28779 or sjwilliams at ncdot.gov or (828) 586-2141 for more information.



NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Tony Gallagher, Human Environment Section, at magallagher@ncdot.gov or (919) 707-6069 as early as possible so that arrangements can be made.

Kanuga Road has been the site of three fatal accidents since December, which this spring, triggered a cooperative speeding crackdown by the State Highway Patrol, Hendersonville Police and the Henderson County Sheriffs Office.

Hendersonville Police Department data show more than 40 accidents with property damage and two with personal injury from March 2016 to March 2017 on the part of Kanuga Road inside the city limits.

The State Highway Patrol, the lead agency on the three fatal collisions, investigated 49 crashes in 2016 and 50 crashes in 2015 on Kanuga Road.
Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo, the only Forbes Five-Star luxury resort in Central and South America, announces a USD 35 million extensive re-imagination that will bring a striking new interpretation of modern eco-luxury and meaningful explorations to Costa Rica"s north Pacific coast in December 2017. Active families and couples, nature enthusiasts, bold adventure seekers and more will discover a world apart at the re-imagined Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica located on a strait of back-to-back sandy beaches within the premier eco-tourism destination of Peninsula Papagayo.

The Resort-wide transformation will begin in August 2017 and encompass the following:

All 181 guest rooms, suites and villas will emerge as soothing retreats with a seamless visual connection to the flora, fauna and ocean views beyond each balcony or patio

A redesigned arrival experience with an inviting setting along with a new luxury retail experience

New culinary concepts featuring locally-sourced organic foods, including three re-imagined restaurants and an all-new Anejo bar and Library lounge

An enhanced signature pool area with new luxury cabanas, amenities and programming

A new collection of guest activities and experiences rooted in a deep connection to self and nature

Experience all that is new with an introductory offer of a USD $1,000 Resort credit with a five-night stay

Design Details

The USD 35 million renovation of Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica will be guided by a locally-inspired yet globally-considered modern design narrative from Meyer Davis Studio. The renowned New York City-based design boutique will bring a handcrafted approach to effortlessly integrating the Resort"s signature indoor-outdoor spaces with the peninsula"s vibrant tropical landscape so that nature takes centre stage. Meyer Davis" design concept of effortless, sun-dappled luxury and modern elegance will play with space, form, texture and light to develop a visual experience that celebrates the rare beauty and alluring mystique of Peninsula Papagayo and the rustic coastal Central American lifestyle. The new design vision will weave together a soothing, natural colour palette, rich elements from nature, indigenous art and local wood to create an immediate and lasting impression while revealing an ongoing visual dialogue of discovery.

Enhanced Rooms and Suites

The Resort"s 181 guest rooms, suites and villas will emerge as all-new sophisticated retreats for today"s generation of luxury travellers, with a modern yet locally-celebrated design aesthetic that recalls the intimate luxury, warmth and comforts of a beautiful home space. Each room"s foundation of new furnishings, natural colours, rich textures and woods, and local elements including artisan pieces and artwork will create a seamless visual connection to the wondrous flora and fauna and expansive ocean views on display beyond each room"s private balcony or patio. The Resort"s 15 one-bedroom Canopy Suites built into the hillside will additionally feature new plunge pools.

Redesigned Lobby with New Luxury Retail Experience

The redesigned lobby will offer an inviting and convivial open-air gathering space that encourages guests to linger longer and enjoy the surrounding nature. The lobby will also be anchored by a new luxury retail experience.

New Dining and Drinking Experiences

All of the Resort"s five culinary venues will be re-conceptualized with a fresh approach that focuses on locally-sourced organic foods. Highlights include three re-imagined restaurants and an all-new Anejo bar and Library lounge serving artisanal rum and spirits. The resort"s signature restaurant will offer a new farm-and-sea-to-table concept and a showpiece outdoor kitchen. A redesigned lower lobby lounge will provide a dynamic gathering space for guests that transitions throughout the day from grab "n go offerings in the morning to a relaxed lounge and bar setting during afternoons and evenings. Guests can also enjoy an enhanced steakhouse and an Italian and Mediterranean seafood-focused restaurant.

New Ways to Relax and Explore

Flanked by glistening beach and ocean views, the signature pool area at the heart of the Resort will become an ultimate escape for sun-kissed relaxation and social gathering with enhancements including new luxury cabanas, amenities and programming that offer new ways to relax and play. Guests can also enjoy a variety of only-here experiences across active adventures, culture, wellness, fitness and volunteerism that range from exhilarating manta ray and dolphin expeditions, mountain biking along the Peninsula"s new trail system, surfing trips and yoga practice to experiencing the lives of the local Ticos people through horse riding, cheese making and pottery sessions.

Major Investment in Peninsula Papagayo

The December 2017 debut of the re-imagined Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica will also signal the launch of a more than USD 100 million investment toward a major transformation of the 1,400-acre (570 hectare) Peninsula Papagayo  one of the premier residential and resort communities in the Americas. Guided by new ownership led by Miami-based Gencom, a leading international luxury hospitality and residential real estate investment and development firm, the ambitious destination transformation will connect and celebrate the sprawling Peninsula from end to end for the first time. In addition to the Resort renovation, the first USD 100 million phase will include all-new Peninsula amenities, immersive adventure and cultural experiences and a Peninsula-wide network of more than eight miles of nature trails designed to integrate man and nature and help preserve one of the most extraordinary biological corridors on the planet.

Hotel website
Raleigh, NC  Broadvine, a leader in Business Intelligence and Analytics software for the hospitality industry, announced today that it is implementing its cloud-based Reporting modules, including Labor Management, for Heart of America Group, one of the premier design, construction, and management companies in the Midwest.

"As both owners and operators of over 16 properties in the Midwest, Heart of America knows their General Managers' time is best spent with their guests instead of creating spreadsheets," said Shawn Barber, CEO of Broadvine. "With Broadvine, Heart of America Group will have real-time information at their fingertips and enable data driven decisions that drive profitability and increase guest satisfaction."

"Broadvine's Reporting software will enable us to analyze our properties' performance and metrics from a single place ," said Chuck Ullrich, CFO of Heart of America Group. "Our brand leaders, corporate team, and properties will have the information and analytics needed to ensure we are meeting our financial and service level goals."

Broadvine's application delivers robust Business Intelligence via Reporting, Forecasting, Expense Management and Labor insights to hotel management companies worldwide.

About Heart of America Group

Starting with a 100-seat restaurant back in 1978, The Iowa Machine Shed, Heart of America Group has evolved into one of the Midwest's premier design, construction, and management companies with a 39-year history of developing award-winning properties. Currently Heart of America Group is located in ten metropolitan areas across six Midwestern states. For more information, visit www.heartofamericagroup.com.

About Broadvine

About Broadvine

Broadvine delivers financial performance management software to help hotel management companies and ownership groups increase profitability and operational efficiencies across their portfolio. Broadvine"s software-as-a-service application consists of Reporting, Forecasting, Labor, and Expenses Management modules  providing a robust and flexible platform. Broadvine is utilized by 25 management companies and almost 1000 properties worldwide. For more information, visit www.broadvine.com .

Stephanie Hall

VP Sales & Marketing

919 227 3766
The following editorial appeared in the July 8 issue of the St. Cloud Times.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon announced June 30 that he would defy a request from the presidents Election Integrity Commission to turn over detailed voter information to the federal government.

I will not hand over Minnesota voters sensitive personal information to the commission, he said in a statement. I have serious doubts about the commissions credibility and trustworthiness. Its two co-chairs have publicly backed President Trumps false and irresponsible claim that millions of ineligible votes were cast in the last election.

Thats a pointed statement.

But lest the debate devolve immediately into partisan finger-pointing, note that Simon, a Democrat, was not the only state election official to be blunt in response to the commissions request.

They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi is a great state to launch from, said Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, a Republican.

Youre not going to play politics with Louisianas voter data, and if you are, then you can purchase the limited public information available by law to any candidate running for office. Thats it, said Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler, also a Republican.

In all, 44 states have in part or in totality declined to provide the requested voter data. Why?

The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity was created to ferret out voter fraud (a worthy cause, although overblown based on the actual number of cases that have been found in recent election cycles).

The plan is to get all 50 states to provide all publicly available information about every voter, including name, address, date of birth, last four digits of Social Security numbers, political party affiliation, voter history since 2006, criminal history, military history, overseas citizen information and voter registration history in other states.

Once all of that information is sent to Washington, the idea is to cross-reference the lists with each other, as well as other data, to catch people who voted when they shouldnt have or are registered in more than one location.

It sounds simple. It is not. Just consider how many Sam Johnsons exist among Americas more than 200 million eligible voters. How many of those are Samuels, Samanthas, Samms, Sam Jr., Sam Sr., or Sams who moved since the last election? Its easy to see how list matching  a Sisyphean task in itself  will be the easy part.

But many of the states objections are more fundamental than skepticism about whether the commission is up to the task.

Some state officials, like Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner, point out that their own laws prohibit release of Social Security numbers or voter data about, for instance, police officers or victims of stalking or domestic violence.

Wisconsins message appears to be that the commission can buy the same list that is available to anyone, but it wont release any additional information. Thats a viable option for Minnesotas voter data, as well. By law, any Minnesota registered voter can buy the voter registration list  but it wont have ID or Social Security numbers or dates of birth, rendering it largely useless as a tool for detecting vote fraud.

Giving this commission what it wants is at least as risky as the Real ID Act that Minnesotans held out against far longer than the rest of the nation. The data security risks are gargantuan and real at a very personal level, and the problem  as small as it has proved to be by study after study  can be combated by states in compliance with their own laws.
Last month at HITEC Toronto, it would seem that HFTP put Blockchain Technology (BT) right in the middle of hospitality's radar. After some well received education sessions and an announcement by HFTP that an industry task force on the subject was being organized, the "blockchain buzz" began in earnest.

Here are some of the points that the industry audience should find useful:

What is Blockchain Technology (BT)?

"The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value." Alex and Don Tapscott.

Both Don and Alex have been keynote speakers for HFTP previously and both received excellent reviews. But there is a lot of information in that one sentence. In an attempt to interpret the statement for our industry, the following is offered:

Picture if you will that you are the CXO of a major travel enterprise with thousands of spreadsheets containing thousands of financial transactions that are duplicated at each one of your locations. Then picture that the decentralized network is designed to regularly update the all of the spreadsheets at all of the locations. This is the basics of a blockchain.

Is BT something for hospitality to be concerned about or is it just another Y2K?

BT is actually the technology behind cryptocurrency (altcoin), the most widely known of which seem to be Bitcoin, and Ethereum. It is real, "in play" and it is something people are already spending billions of dollars on. But, it is highly controversial and has generated a firestorm of headlinesgood and bad.

Since HITEC Toronto,HFTP has been contacted by a lot of industry VIP's who want to be involved with us because they believe its impact is going to disrupt the industry. Conversely others VIPs in the industry were totally unaware of BT and some contacts have said BT is like Y2K.

So with that disclosure, according to a recent interview published in SKIFT (www.skift.com), Fritz Joussen, CEO of TUI Group says "It will be very difficult for intermediaries to have sustainable business cases. These platforms [travel intermediaries] build reach by spending billions on advertising, and then they create monopolistic margins on top of what they have as sales and marketing. They do offer great sales and marketing. Booking.com is a great brand, but they create superior margins because they have monopolistic structures. Blockchain destroys this." Later in the same article, Joussen goes onto explain that his vision of blockchain was a key reason TUI sold Hotelbeds last year for $1.2 billion, moving TUI out of the role of business-to-business intermediary, which he believes blockchain can easily replace.

Will BT put Airbnb, Expedia, and Priceline out of business?

Research would indicate that if BT catches on as predicted it will change the business model of anyone in the transaction business. But unless these companies don't adapt to the market, they are not going to go away. The good news, unless you are an intermediary, is that anytime that a customer and supplier can cut out all or part of an intermediary in the transaction process should increase money in one or both digital wallets. HFTP is a small company and our transaction fees for currency conversion and credit card processing are HUGEimagine if your enterprise could erase even a fraction of these due to BT.

Another benefit to BT is that it is continually updated, reconciled, and stored in decentralized locations. This makes records transparent and auditable because the transactions cannot be changed in just one place and the network has to "agree" to changes. If this proves to be true, hacking will be virtually impossible.

Why is HFTP creating an industry Task Force and what is it going to do?

One of the things that makes HFTP a bit different than most people realize is that we represent a very wide group of verticals. These include entities that provide a hospitality experience to its guests, members, or visitors, by providing lodging, food/beverage, recreational and tourism services at establishments such as clubs, hotels, motels, resorts, casinos, restaurants, recreation facilities, tourism, cruise lines, community associations and theme parks. This is a big responsibility for HFTP. According to our bylaws, we "provide leadership in the establishment and enhancement of hospitality accounting, financial management, and information processing practices and standards." Leading the industry to determine BT impact on our industry is right in line with what our members envisioned 65 years ago when we were founded.

The mission of the BT Task Force is to study the topic and help HFTP's defined industry make their own decisions on how it will impact the industry and how we should respond to this new technology.

How can I get involved in the industry's BT Task Force?

If you are interested in being considered for our BT Task Force, please email your interest to [email protected]. Volunteers should be prepared to attend at least two in person meetings annually and have employer time and financial support. For those who are unfamiliar with HFTP, we are a global nonprofit hospitality association that uniquely understands the industry's problems. We are recognized as the spokes group for the finance and technology segment of the hospitality industry. HFTP assists our members in finding solutions to industry problems more efficiently than any organization via our expert networks, research, conferences such as HITEC, and certification programs. HFTP has several thousand stakeholders across the globe. Through our HITEC brand, we also assist both members and stakeholders in deal facilitation.

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According to preliminary data from STR, Munich reported performance declines in June. Occupancy fell 8.2% to 75.5%, ADR decreased 8.5% to 121.03 ($138.56) and RevPAR dropped 16% to 91.36 ($104.59).

STRs preliminary June 2017 data for Munich, Germany, indicates sizeable performance declines in comparison with a strong June last year.

Based on daily data from June, Munich reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:

Supply: +2.4%

Demand: -6.0%

Occupancy: -8.2% to 75.5%

Average daily rate (ADR): -8.5% to EUR121.03

Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -16.0% to EUR91.36

The absolute RevPAR level would be the lowest for a June in Munich since 2011. According to Christian Strieder, STRs in-market manager for Germany, a calendar shift for the Whitsun school holiday period from May to June this year likely affected corporate demand. In addition, the comparison base from June 2016 was high as the market hosted the World Conference on Non-Destructive Testing, a quadrennial event, and the biennial Automatica trade fair for smart automation and robotics.

STR will release actual June 2017 results later this month.

STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 10 countries around the world with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com.
How Restaurants Are Helping to Make the Planet a Better Place

The foodservice sector is putting sustainability on the menu, serving up innovative solutions to help cut waste, use resources more efficiently and change ingrained habits.

For a sector that is often portrayed as wasteful its not an easy, nor a straightforward task yet as the stats show, change is very much needed. According to a study by the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, for example, almost 85 percent of unused food from U.S. restaurants is thrown away annually. In the UK, around 920,000 tonnes of food is wasted at outlets each year, the equivalent of 1.3 billion meals.

And this comes with big consequences. Globally, food produced but not eaten is responsible for approximately 3.3 gigatons of CO2 and 250 cubic kilometers of water  enough to fill 100 billion Olympic size swimming pools.

The tech effect

A growing number of entrepreneurs are creating new tech solutions that are helping to address the foodservice industrys elephant in the room.

Too Good To Go is an app that connects hungry consumers to restaurants with leftover food, allowing surplus meals to be sold off at discounted prices. The model benefits the business, the customer and the environment, says Paulina Herrmann consultant in JLLs Foodservice Consulting team. By themselves small initiatives can only skim the surface of the issue but together they can start to drive change.

Take tech start-up Winnow, which helps restaurants reduce waste by as much as half by monitoring what they throw out. The more restaurants know about their waste, inventory and processes, the more they can improve, says Herrmann. Although a highly skilled chef knows how to re-use food by-products, there are commercial foodservice environments where such technology would be beneficial.

Some independent restaurants are combining technology and sustainability to create new concepts. Berlins Data Kitchen allows customers to order and pay for their food via an app, and collect it at a prearranged time from a futuristic vending machine, helping chefs to better plan to meet demand and cut food waste.

Elsewhere in the city, Good Banks walls are lined with LED-powered vertical farms producing fresh greens that are served up when needed. In Brighton, the UKs first zero-waste restaurant, Silo, is raising the bar for foodservice sustainability, by trading directly with farmers, using re-usable delivery vessels and an advanced composting system.

Sustainable thinking gathers momentum

Governments are also now taking steps to drive a more sustainable mindset in the foodservice industry. In Italy, a bill was passed in 2016 to reduce waste in schools, hospitals and other public canteens by incentivizing food donations to charity. Denmark and France have also taken action against dumping food waste while the UK has proposed a Food Waste Reduction Bill.

Combined with a growing awareness among consumers around where their food comes from, where the waste goes and a brands sustainability credentials, bigger food service brands are taking a greener approach.

Were seeing a push for foodservice sustainability from customers, landlords, and legislators, says Herrmann. As such its rapidly becoming mainstream.

Wahaca, which has 23 outlets across the UK, was the first restaurant group in the country to go carbon neutral. By upgrading systems and appliances, the company decreased average energy consumption by 15 percent, with a single battery replacement in one location leading to 75 percent reduction in gas use.

The equipment revolution, which is key in foodservice, has been a long time coming. Vital solutions, such as cross ventilation or heat retention are becoming ever more efficient and cheaper, Herrmann adds.

In Cambridge, Whitbread-owned Costa launched their Eco-Pod, which uses 52 percent less energy than coffee shops of a similar size. The building also produces enough energy to supply its own lighting, heating and ventilation. In March 2017, Nandos opened what it called its most sustainable restaurant yet, with eco credentials ranging from responsibly-sourced timber and rainwater harvesters to solar panels and a green wall.

Meanwhile, a number of large property owners have launched ambitious sustainability initiatives. UK-based Land Securities is working towards 100 percent renewable electricity and an 18 percent reduction in carbon intensity across its portfolio. European developer Hammerson is aiming for net positivity in resource use, water and socio-economic impacts by 2030.

Goals like this demand a lot from tenants, says Herrmann. Whether theyre set by governments or landlords, they require a big transformation in equipment and resources. This, in turn, affects how real estate is fitted out. Yet Herrmann believes that the industry is making a concerted effort to work together to drive positive change. Theres also support coming from landlords to make sure that tenants can achieve the set goals.

More work required

Despite these advances, there are many challenges along the road to transformation. One of the problems with sustainable fit out is the initial cost, says Herrmann. The upfront investment required can be off putting.

However, according to Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI), with upfront planning, a sustainable approach to a standalone restaurant need not cost more than between two and five percent extra compared with a regular fit out. You can make back around 20 percent of the construction cost over the lifetime of the restaurant, says Herrmann. However, in an industry with relatively low profit margins and a high failure rate, quick return on investment is important to operators.

Another key issue is addressing deeply ingrained habits within the industry. Training staff to turn off a dishwasher thats running 24/7 can have a huge impact, says Herrmann. Likewise, consumers piling their plates at buffet style restaurants can also led to huge amounts of waste. Changing behavior is key to creating a truly sustainable industry.

Nevertheless she believes that the outlook is promising. Big companies are showing it can be done, and customers will demand it from others, concludes Herrmann. Theres going to be a major push; sustainability will become non-negotiable.

Source - JLL Real Views
The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group announced the signing of the Radisson Blu Hotel, Riyadh Al Sahafa in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This takes the group's portfolio in Saudi Arabia to 36 hotels in operation and under development, with six hotels in Riyadh alone. Radisson Blu Hotel, Riyadh Al Sahafa will open in Q1 2019.

The hotel's location in the North Business District of Riyadh offers first class accessibility to King Khalid International Airport and is at the intersection of major highways, Olaya Street and King Fahd Road. Radisson Blu Hotel, Riyadh Al Sahafa is located close to Riyadh's new King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), which is also scheduled to open later this year to become one of the region's major financial hubs.

Elie Younes, Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, said, "We are pleased to continue boosting our presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we appreciate and thank our respected partner, Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Bin Sulaiman Bin Akrash for the commitment and contributions they make towards the Saudi 2030 vision in promoting tourism."

"We are confident that the business fundamentals, and the major infrastructure projects being developed in line with the Kingdom's future vision, will help accelerate further economic growth for the country and create more opportunities for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group to make several valuable contributions to the economy and communities where we operate," added Younes.

The Radisson Blu Hotel, Riyadh Al Sahafa will have 163 rooms and suites, a restaurant and an executive lounge. The meeting and events space of more than 900 sqm includes a ballroom. The leisure facilities will include a gym and male and female spas.

Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Bin Sulaiman Bin Akrash said, "We are pleased to enter into an agreement with Carlson Rezidor, one of the world's leading hotel operators. We are excited about our project in the key commercial and financial hub of Riyadh. We look forward to working with one of the world's most ethical hotel companies to bring international expertise and knowledge of the upper upscale hospitality industry."

Riyadh is the largest city in Saudi Arabia and is known as the Kingdom's commercial, education and transportation capital. As the political capital of the region's largest economy, Riyadh hosts numerous government ministries and public services headquarters.

The Carlson Rezidor Group's next hotel to open in Riyadh, later this year, is Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence, Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter. The group's impressive pipeline in Saudi Arabia means it remains firmly on track to achieve its target to operate 100+ hotels across the Middle East by 2020.

Radisson Blu Hotel, Riyadh Al Sahafa will be operated by The Rezidor Hotel Group.
We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector
A trio of people face meth charges after authorities found meth in a car that was parked near a dirt trail outside of Brockway on June 25.

Alexander Robertson, 21, Aurora Dodge, 19, and Seth Hawley, 27, each face charges of possession with intent to deliver or distribute methamphetamine, three counts of possession of a controlled substance and three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.

When Jackson County Sheriffs Department Sgt. Evan Mazur approached them, Hawley said he was having brake trouble and thats why he pulled over in an unusual spot.

The area was known to be used for drug transactions and Hawley had physical signs of drug use, such as dark rings around the eyes, according to Mazurs report.

Mazur also discovered that Robertson had a Michigan warrant out for marijuana delivery and he spotted a briefcase in the back of the car. Mazur called in assistance from Black River Falls Police Department Officer Jeremy James and his K9 Mattis to sniff the vehicle. A globe pipe was also found on Robertson with a crystal substance in it, according to the report.

During the search of the car, deputies found 6.5 grams of crystal substances in gem bags. A test confirmed at least one of the bags contained methamphetamine. Later testing would confirm the presence of methamphetamine on another bag. A hypodermic needle, cooking caps, tourniquet and an assortment of pills were also found in the car.

No one in the car would take ownership of the briefcase and Hawley said the car wasnt his and neither was the case.

The three will make initial court appearances Monday.
Image: twitter.com/Kay2Steel

Kolkata, July 12 (IBNS): KAY2 Steel Limited has launched steel for modern engineering TMT bars aKAY2 TMTa in Kolkata.

KAY2 TMT is designed on international standards and provides assured earthquake resistance.

Announcing the launch, Sunil Agarwal, Director, KAY2 Steel Ltd. said, We are proud to launch KAY2 TMT in Kolkata, the city is on a development spree. Visionary smart city project, expressways, flyovers and high-rise structures are already defining the skyline of the city, and this is creating huge demand for allied industries like steel. We plan to increase our production capacity to 1 lac MT per annum in the state by next year to cater to the growing demand and are hopeful that KAY2 TMT will witness an overwhelming response from individual home builders and developers alike. and we will capture a huge market share in West Bengal 

On this occasion, Anand Saraogi Director M/s Alaknanda Sponge & Iron Ltd. (Authorized Manufacturer of KAY2 Brand TMT under user license agreement) said, We recognize the contributions of dealers who have played a major role in boosting the sales of our brand KAY2 TMT Bars and worked towards ensuring its penetration in remote markets of West Bengal. The brand has been received very well by customers and the same is now translating into fruitful business. We are looking forward to a formidable and beneficial association with our dealers which should be a win-win for both. He also emphasized the need to further strengthen brand positioning of KAY2 TMT Bars and make it the most preferred choice of customers."

Addressing the dealers on the occasion, Vishal Saragoi, attributed the strong performance of the company in the state to the strong long-term relationships with dealers.


Mumbai, July 12 (IBNS): Bosch Household Appliances, European home appliances brand, has launched a national media campaign for their new range of washing machines.

Boschs Speed Range washing machines have technology for a faster wash less than 60 minutes, available from 6 to 9 kg laundry products, a company statement claimed.

Speaking on this occasion, Gunjan Srivastava, MD & CEO, BSH Household Appliances Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd. said, "We believe in addressing the customer feedback with innovation in technology. Our latest SpeedPlus and SpeedProfessional range of washing machines eliminates up to 65% of the washing time one invested without compromising on wash quality."

He added, We have also ensured that the consumers get the best after sales service. The entire installation of the appliance would be done by trained professionals from Bosch.. We also offer competitive costs for extended warranty and spare parts. In case any part of the appliance is damaged accidently or malfunctions at a later stage of usage, it can be replaced as the spare parts are available for 10 years.
Washington, July 12 (IBNS): A one trillion tonne iceberg a one of the biggest ever recorded - has calved away from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica, after a rift in the ice, monitored by the Swansea University-led MIDAS project, finally completed its path through the ice.

The calving occurred sometime between Monday 10th July and Wednesday 12th July, when a 5,800 square km section of Larsen C finally broke away.

The final breakthrough was detected in data from NASAs Aqua MODIS satellite instrument, which images in the thermal infrared at a resolution of 1km.

The iceberg weighs more than a trillion tonnes (1,000,000,000,000 metric tonnes), but it was already floating before it calved away so has no immediate impact on sea level. The calving of this iceberg leaves the Larsen C Ice Shelf reduced in area by more than 12%, and the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula changed forever.

The development of the rift over the last year was monitored using data from the European Space Agency Sentinel-1 satellites  part of the European Copernicus Space Component. Sentinel-1 is a radar imaging system capable of acquiring images regardless of cloud cover, and throughout the current winter period of polar darkness. The detachment of the iceberg was first revealed in a thermal infrared image from NASAs MODIS instrument, which is also able to acquire data in the Antarctic winter when cloud cover permits.

Although the remaining ice shelf will continue naturally to regrow, Swansea researchers have previously shown that the new configuration is potentially less stable than it was prior to the rift. There is a risk that Larsen C may eventually follow the example of its neighbour, Larsen B, which disintegrated in 2002 following a similar rift-induced calving event in 1995.

Professor Adrian Luckman of Swansea University, lead investigator of the MIDAS project, said: We have been anticipating this event for months, and have been surprised how long it took for the rift to break through the final few kilometres of ice. We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, and the fate of this huge iceberg.

The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict. It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments. Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters.

The recent development in satellite systems such as Sentinel-1 and MODIS has vastly improved our ability to monitor events such as this.

The Larsen C Ice Shelf, which has a thickness of between 200 and 600 metres, floats on the ocean at the edge of The Antarctic Peninsula, holding back the flow of glaciers that feed into it.

Researchers from the MIDAS Project have been monitoring the rift in Larsen C for many years, following the collapse of the Larsen A ice shelf in 1995 and the sudden break-up of the Larsen B shelf in 2002. They reported rapid advances of the rift in January, May and June, which increased its length to over 200 km and left the iceberg hanging on by a thread of ice just 4.5 km (2.8 miles) wide.

The team monitored the earlier development of the rift using a technique called satellite radar interferometry (SRI) applied to ESA Sentinel-1 images. While the rift is only visible in radar images when it is more than 50m wide, by combining pairs of images, SRI allows the impact of very small changes in ice shelf geometry to be detected, and the rift tip to be monitored precisely.

Dr Martin OLeary, a Swansea University glaciologist and member of the MIDAS project team, said of the recent calving: Although this is a natural event, and we're not aware of any link to human-induced climate change, this puts the ice shelf in a very vulnerable position. This is the furthest back that the ice front has been in recorded history. We're going to be watching very carefully for signs that the rest of the shelf is becoming unstable."

Professor Adrian Luckman of Swansea University added: In the ensuing months and years, the ice shelf could either gradually regrow, or may suffer further calving events which may eventually lead to collapse  opinions in the scientific community are divided. Our models say it will be less stable, but any future collapse remains years or decades away.

Whilst this new iceberg will not immediately raise sea levels, if the shelf loses much more of its area, it could result in glaciers that flow off the land behind speeding up their passage towards the ocean. This non-floating ice would have an eventual impact on sea levels, but only at a very modest rate.

Image Credit: John Sonntag/NASA
New Delhi, Jul 12 (IBNS): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, were informed about a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bangladesh on cyber security co-operations.

The MoU is between Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and Bangladesh Government Computer Incident Response Team (BGD e-Gov CIRT).

BGD e-Gov CIRT is part of Bangladesh Computer Council of Information and Communication Technology Division under the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology of Bangladesh.

The MoU was signed on April 8, 2017.

The MoU intends to promote cooperation between CERT-In and BGD e-Gov CIRT and includes exchange of information on cyber attacks and cyber security incidents; cyber security technology cooperation; exchange cyber security policies and best practices and Human Resource Development in this field in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of each country and on the basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefits.

The MoU between CERT-In and BGD e-Gov CIRT would be implemented through a duly set up Joint Committee on Cyber Security.

CERT-In is a national nodal agency under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, with the objective of securing Indian cyber space. Hence, CERT-In is collaborating with overseas Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) for incident response and resolution.

The agreement comes in the backdrop of governments, business and consumers are increasingly faced with a variety of cyber threats.
Guwahati, July 12 (IBNS): The flood situation in Assam turned worse as five more lives were lost on Wednesday taking the death toll to 44 and affecting over 1.7 million people of 24 districts.

On Wednesday five people were drowned in Majuli, Sivsagar, Dhemaji, Golaghat and Nagaon district.

The current flood situation has slipped out of control as the flood waters inundated more areas in the state and the water levels of Brahmaputra river and its tributaries flown over danger level marks in various areas following incessant rains in the state and other neighbouring areas in past couple of days.

According to the reports of Assam Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), over 1.7 million people of Lakhimpur, Bongaigaon, Darrang, Jorhat, Golaghat, Cachar, Dhemaji, Biswanath, Karimganj, Sonitpur, Majuli, Barpeta, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sivsagar, Morigaon, Chirang, Dibrugarh, Dhubri, Kokrajhar, South Salmara, Charaideo, Goalpara and Karbi Anglong district have been affected due to the current flood.

Flood waters submerged 1,05,860.01 hectares agricultural land of 2488 villages under 82 revenue circles.

Over 3.03 lakh people have been affected alone in flood-hit South Salmara district along with Bangladesh border, while 2.68 lakh were affected in Lakhimpur, 1.81 lakh in Morigaon, 1.45 lakh in Dhubri, 1.31 lakh in Dhemaji, 1.01 lakh in Barpeta.

On the other hand, a total of 31,456 people of 16 districts have gone homeless in the flood and were forced to take shelter in 294 temporary relief camps set up the administration.

On Wednesday, flood waters breached at least 20 embankments in Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Kokrajhar, Majuli, Barpeta, Sivsagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Chirang district and damaged at least 55 road and bridges in several areas in the state.

A top official of ASDMA said that, the current flood claimed 10 lives in worst affected Lakhimpur district, while 8 in Kamrup (Metro), 4 in Jorhat, 3 in Golaghat, 2 each in Sivsagar, Sonitpur, Nagaon, Karimganj and one each in Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Majuli, Nalbari, Barpeta, Goalpara, South Salmara, Cachar, Dima Hasao, Hojai and Morigaon district till Wednesday.

On the other hand, the flood situation in Kaziranga National Park is still grim as flood waters submerged over 83 per cent areas in the park and claimed 23 animals including two one horned rhinos so far.

129 anti poaching camp area in the national park are inundated and most of animals have moved to the safer places, a park official said.

Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal directed to form a coordination committee involving the Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents Police and Divisional Forest Officers of five districts with a mandate to maintain a close vigil on the movements of animals and their probable threats from the poachers during flood in the State.

Taking stock of the prevailing flood and its resultant damage in Kaziranga National Park, Sonowal took a boat ride to oversee the extent of flood induced damage in Bagori Range, and said that the Coordination Committee involving functionaries of five districts namely Nagaon, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong, Sonitpur and Biswanath would report to the Forest Minister on a day to day basis on the flood situation and protection measures being applied for the animals.

Undertaking extensive visit within 20 km radius of the Kaziranga National Park in Bagori Range, Sonowal assessed the impact of the current wave of flood on the National Park and its flora and fauna.

The CM has asked DCs and SPs of Nagaon, Golaghat and Karbi Anglong to take stringent action against possible attempt of poaching.

He also asked Environment and Forest Department to provide fodder and medical attention to the animals taking shelter on the high lands.

Holding a meeting at the Bagori IB this afternoon, Sonowal also asked the civil and police administration to be innovative and find ways and means to provide protection to the animals in Kaziranga and asked the forest guards to be on high alert to thwart any evil design of poachers.

Sonowal also informed that besides existing forces, 90 more forest guards have been deployed for the protection of strayed animals.

The Assam CM asked the Veterinary and Forest Department to fortify the highlands and plant saplings on them.

In the meeting, Sonowal also directed Health and PHE Departments of the concerned districts to spray DDT at the flood affected areas and provide halogen tablets to the flood affected people.

He also asked APDCL to check electric wires and transformers and prevent any electricity related accidents. He also directed the DCs to reach out to the affected people on a daily basis.

Sonowal informed that steps have already been taken to repair minor breaches on the embankments and said that adequate steps have already been taken to allot land to those people affected by flood erosion.

Extending his gratitude to the flood affected people, Sonowal said that Central Government is in touch with State Government and all steps are being taken to deal with the problem.

Regarding NEEPCOs release of water which caused flooding in several areas, Sonowal said that State Government has taken up the matter with NEEPCO and impressed upon it not to repeat it further.

The Assam CM while visiting the flood affected areas of Kaziranga on boat also interacted with the forest guards on duty.

Earlier, Sonowal visited two relief camps at Hatikhuli at Kohora in Kaziranga National Park and interacted with camp inmates.

Environment and Forest Minister Pramila Rani Brahma, Water Resources Minister Kesab Mahanta, Agriculture Minister Atul Bora accompanied Sonowal during his visit.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)


Ankara, Jul 12 (IBNS) : Five ISIS fighters were killed in an anti-terror operation in central Turkey's Konya province on Wednesday, media reports said.

The operation, conducted in Konya's Meram district also left four police officers injured, the reports said quoting a statement released by the Konya governor's office.

The officers were immediately brought to nearby hospitals for medical treatment.

Special forces police launched the operation at the house in the Meram district of Konya in the morning after receiving intelligence that the militant cell was planning an attack.

Police sealed off the area and approaching vehicles were searched after the clash, which occurred during raids conducted by police on 10 different addresses in Konya.

Turkey has suffered from a number of attacks by the ISIS terror group. Such attacks include the 2015 Ankara train station bombing that killed more than 100 people.
New York, July 12(Just Earth News): Thousands of South Sudanese civilians are fleeing to neighbouring Ethiopia as Government troops advance on a rebel stronghold in the Upper Nile region, a senior United Nations official today said, expressing grave concern about what is already the worldas fastest growing refugee crisis.

Reports from the UN International Organization on Migration (IOM) suggest that Government forces are now approaching the town of Maiwut, 25 kilometres north-west of Pagak. Im gravely concerned by this ongoing situation, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in South Sudan, David Shearer, told reporters from Juba, the capital.

He added that while it is unclear which side began the fighting, the military advance by the South Sudan forces is not in the spirit of the unilateral ceasefire declared by the Government in May.

Shearer said there has been active military engagement over the past week north of Pagak, and at least 25 aid workers have relocated in the area as a result of the insecurity.

The senior UN official, who is also the head of the UN Mission in the country, or UNMISS, also voiced great concern about an orphanage near Torit, south of Juba, surrounded by Government and rebel fighters who are preparing to fight.

Its unacceptable that 250 innocent children, and the people who care for them, find themselves in no-mans land between the warring parties, Shearer stressed.

Requests by UNMISS to access the Hope for South Sudan Orphanage have been denied locally, on the ground.

The Government forces central command in Juba yesterday gave UNMISS the go-ahead to send peacekeepers to the orphanage. Im hopeful that will happen today, he added.

Shearer urged both sides to reflect on President Salva Kiirs Independence Day message of peace and withdraw from the facility.

In addition to accessing the orphanage, a group of Nepalese peacekeepers have been sent to protect civilians and the UN base in Torit.

The number of patrols we can undertake in the town will increase with the additional peacekeepers. In turn, that should provide more security and boost confidence, said Shearer.

He noted that his deputy, Moustapha Soumare, is travelling to Torit tomorrow and will report back.

Photo: UNICEF/Pires

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Kabul, Jul 12 (IBNS) : The Taliban insurgents have executed at least seven passengers in western Farah province of Afghanistan, state-run news agency Khaama Press said.

The report quoted local officials as saying on Wednesday that the incident took place late on Tuesday in the vicinity of Bala Bolok district of Farah after a passenger vehicle was stopped and its passengers were abducted.

The provincial governors spokesman Mohammad Nasir Mahri confirmed that the passengers were abducted at around 6 pm local time as they were travelling in Herat-Farah highway.

Mahri further added that the highway was closed for several hours during which the abducted passengers were shot dead by the Taliban insurgents.

He said the main reason behind the execution of the civilians has not been ascertained so far.
Kabul, Jul 12 (IBNS) : A Taliban commander has been killed during the latest infighting among the Taliban insurgents in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, state-run news agency Khaama Press said.

The quoted the local government officials as saying that the incident took place late on Monday in the vicinity of Bati Kot district.

The provincial government in a statement also confirmed the infighting among the Taliban insurgents.

The statement further added that the information received by the provincial government indicates that the Taliban leader Amad was killed during the infighting in Jantian area.

Amad was reportedly involved in insurgency activities since a long time in Bati Kot district of Nangarhar, the provincial government said.




Beijing/ Seoul, Jul 12 (IBNS): Seemingly 'hurt' by South Korea's 'indulgence' in allowing the US to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in their country, China has banned all its tour operators from selling packaged tours to the neighbouring nation, media reports said.

The move can cause a drop in their tourism, media reports quoted South Korean officials as saying.

With the ban in place, the Korean Tourism Organisation (KTO) has predicted a drop of 27 percent in tourist footfalls, compared to last year, the reports said.

Korea is expected to lose around 4.7 million foreign tourists due to the embargo.

The Chinese travelers alone makes up Korea's 46.8 percent tourist population, which when taken out of the equation, is expected to cause a serious damage to the tourism industry.

"With the current trend, South Korea's tourism industry could enter a long-term depression," a KTO officer told the local Yonhap news agency.

The embargo started after South Korea allowed US to implement the defence system.

The Chinese complained that though the US have implemented the defence system in order to avert threat from North Korea, its powerful radar can penetrate Beijing and meddle with China's security.
A non-Indian woman cannot sue Bureau of Indian Affairs police officers who arrested her on a tribal warrant in Montana, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Sherri Roberts was arrested on three occasions and jailed twice for failing to show up to hearings in the court system of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe . She contended that her constitutional and legal rights were violated because, as a non-Indian, she cannot be prosecuted by the tribe.

But in a unanimous decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said Northern Cheyenne law allows non-Indians to consent to tribal jurisdiction. Even though Roberts disputes whether she granted consent, a panel of three judges said the BIA officers did nothing wrong by following an otherwise "valid" warrant.

"Because the BIA officers did not violate clearly established constitutional law when they arrested Roberts pursuant to a facially valid warrant issued by the tribal court, they are entitled to qualified immunity," the July 10 decision stated.

Despite the victory for the officers, who were represented by the Department of Justice , the lawsuit raises an important question about tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians. The 9th Circuit said the question has yet to be resolved.

"The extent to which a non-Indian may consent to tribal jurisdiction is not settled law," the court pointed out in the short decision.

In Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe , the U.S. Supreme Court held that tribes lack "inherent" authority to arrest, prosecute and punish non-Indians unless authorized by a treaty or an act of Congress. Tribal advocates consider the 1978 ruling to be one of the most disastrous because it describes tribal authority over non-Indians as "inconsistent" with their status as "conquered and dependent" nations.

Congress has since stepped in with the Violence Against Women Act . Provisions of the 2013 law recognize the "inherent" authority of tribes to arrest, prosecute and sentence non-Indians who abuse their domestic partners.

But the law would not apply in the situation facing Roberts. Her tribal case arose after she allegedly failed to remove livestock from land that was being leased on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation

Following her first arrest in April 2009, Roberts appeared in tribal court on two occasions but says she never consented to the tribe's jurisdiction. After she failed to show up to another hearing in 2010, a tribal judge issued a bench warrant and she was arrested and placed in a detention facility on the reservation.

A third arrest and detention came in 2011 when Roberts missed yet another hearing. A tribal judge subsequently sentenced her for aggravated trespass and she lost $750 in bond payments and was ordered to pay a $25 in fees to the court.

Roberts does not appear to have filed any lawsuits against the tribe or the tribal judge who handled her case. Other non-Indians and non-Indian entities who challenge tribal jurisdiction typically take their disputes to federal court in hopes of stopping proceedings in tribal court systems.

However, Roberts sued the Lame Deer Public School District on the reservation, where she was once employed as a vocational agricultural teacher. She claimed she was wrongly terminated but the 9th Circuit ruled against her in March of this year. That dispute arose just a few months after her tribal arrest and both cases were connected to her work as an adviser for a chapter of the Future Farmers of America on the reservation.

According to the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Government News , Roberts completed the "Indianpreneurship Program" at the Chief Dull Knife College in April 2010. Her participation occurred as she said she was contesting the tribe's jurisdiction over her.

An individual named "Sherri Roberts" whose biographical information matches up with the Sherri Roberts in Montana is now working for the Government of Saskatchewan in Canada. The biography refers to experience in "teaching high school and vocational agriculture" but does not say where.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the BIA officer case, Roberts v. Elliot

9th Circuit Court of Appeals Decisions: Roberts v. Lame Deer Public Schools (July 10, 2017)

Roberts v. Elliot (March 13, 2017)

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When retired Col. Gerald W. Meyer of La Crosse joined the Wisconsin Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve in 2009, he was hoping to use the wisdom and experience he gained during his 43-year military career to assist and support those currently serving.

After eight years of dedication, Meyer has been honored by the organization, receiving the 2016 Chairmans Award for volunteer service.

He excelled above and beyond our other volunteers in the state, said Chris Campbell, program support specialist for WIESGR. He rose to the top.

Meyer, vice chair of the Area 4 ESGR, which includes Fort McCoy and Camp Williams, was presented with the award by chairman Mike Williams during the organizations annual banquet in Green Lake. The ESGR, founded in 1972 by the Department of Defense, strives to promote understanding and adherence of policies between those serving and their civilian employers, as designated by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

Meyer, who served 32 years as an armor and adjutant general officer, visited 34 units in 2016, educating them on employment rights and navigating leaves of absence during deployment.

This is a wonderful example of commitment to our National Guard and Reserve service members and their families, Williams said. This is a great accomplishment and deserving of the gold level of support.

Meyer, whose previous honors include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and an induction into the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Eagle Battalion Hall of Fame last fall, calls the award a great honor.

(Volunteering) has been a very rewarding experience and I very much enjoy giving back to the state of Wisconsin and our military, Meyer said. I was very humbled and surprised to be rewarded in this fashion.
12th Annual Intereconomics / CEPS Conference (online)

De-globalisation or new globalisation? Where is globalisation heading? How resilient is it? Will we see a different globalisation? Have value chains passed the test?

The geopolitics of (de)globalisation Increasing competition and tension between US and China, the war in Ukraine and the divided stance over the conflict are changing the global geopolitical landscape. What does it mean from a geoeconomic or geopolitical perspective? What does it mean for the EU and its role in the world?

Studies and conclusions of the conference speakers will be published in Intereconomics No. 6 of 2022.
In Person Legal Expert: Press Council Must Defend Detained Journalists

U Khin Maung Myint at Kyauktada Township police station in Yangon on April 5. / Chan Son / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  Legal consultant U Khin Maung Myint discussed with The Irrawaddy the case of three journalists, from The Irrawaddy and the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), charged under Article 17(1) of the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act and how the Myanmar Press Council must stand up for and defend the detained reporters.

U Khin Maung Myint consulted on cases against The Voice Dailys chief editor U Kyaw Min Swe, satirist U Kyaw Zwa Naing, also known by his pen name British Ko Ko Maung, and Myanmar Nows Editor-in-Chief Ko Swe Win.

Which groups or authorities should be assisting the detained journalists?

The three journalists just went [to northern Shan State] as part of their reporting, with the approval of their publications. They are official staff members for those publications. So, the Myanmar Press Council must take care of them.

The thing being debated is that as the journalists didnt first seek permission from authorities for their reporting trip, they breached the Unlawful Associations Act. I dont agree with that and that is not what the Media Law says. It doesnt say reporters must seek permission from the military or other security related organizations, rather that if reporters who go to conflict areas want to ask for protective measures, they can request this from the related security organizations.

What is the role of the Myanmar Press Council?

The 2014 Media Law says the Myanmar Press Council is the only organization to oversee that media keep within the provisions of the law. The law was enacted, and signed by the then President. But the media law is not in practice and the council that was established in accordance with the law failed to work properly to keep it in practice.

So what I see is that in those three casesKo Swe Win, The Voice and the arrest of three journaliststhe main organization which holds responsibility to take care of journalists is the Myanmar Press Council. If the council does their work cleverly, the problems facing these journalists would be solved to a certain extent.

What actions should be taken by the Myanmar Press Council?

The council is the body that should explain to those who are concerned in the case [of the three journalists] to understand the law. If they could do this, there wouldnt be 17(1) charges.

The council and the Ministry of Information can express their suggestions independently and give them to the respective courts at any stage of the court trial.

The council is the most responsible and the most authorized organization in relation to the media industry. They can even give their comments directly to Supreme Court of the Union. The Myanmar Press Council is the highest body of the media, and the Supreme Court is the highest body of the judiciarythey should negotiate.

Unfortunately, the voice of the council is not seen as strong enough in the case of the journalists detained in northern Shan State as well as the two previous casesKo Swe Win and The Voice. The Myanmar Press Council and the Ministry of Information have not yet stood firmly with the accused journalists.

As the three journalists have been charged, what should the media council do now?

Now, what we want is for the council members to go the place where the incident happened. They need to examine whether the journalists were arrested fairly, whether their detainment was in accordance with the law as they are required to appear in court within 24 hours of their arrest [the journalists were kept at an undisclosed place under military detention for nearly three full days]. The council needs to be in Hsipaw now and oversee the case. But we have not yet seen the council do any of this.

The council needs to invite editors from The Irrawaddy and DVB, and ask for the details of the case and get statements from them. They need to comment that the reporters were just doing their jobs without meddling with any political affairs, and thus they didnt breach the law. The council needs to give that to the Supreme Court.

If they do those things, the case of the three journalists would go smoothly and be resolved quickly. But, if the Myanmar Press Council continues to keep their hands off the case, it will be a struggle to escape from 17(1).
Burma Couple Who Abused Underage Domestic Worker Released on Bail

A couple who abused their 13-year-old domestic helper. / Yangon Division Police Force

YANGON  Police have downgraded a charge and released a couple on bail who abused a 13-year-old domestic worker in Yangons Yuzana Housing, angering the complainant and local residents.

Police arrested the pair, Htun Htun, 33, and his wife Myat Noe Thu, living in Yangons Dagon Seikkan Township on June 3. The following day, block administrator U Myo Tint Naing filed a lawsuit against the two at the township police station under sections 325 and 326 of Myanmars Penal Code for causing grievous hurt to the girl.

Police changed the charge from section 326 to 324, and granted them bail, U Myo Tint Naing said.

The charge was altered from voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means to voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means.

This is upsetting. The girl was severely hurt, but police changed the charge to slightly hurt, U Myo Tint Naing told The Irrawaddy.

I want them to change it back to section 326 because Im concerned that more children will be abused if this stands. If people see that a light punishment is given for such a serious crime, they wont be reluctant to do the same thing, he said.

The girl suffered burns to her chest, back, arms and left thigh, as well as bruises to her head and left leg, according to a statement from the Yangon Region Police Force.

Police arrested the couple on June 3 and remanded them in custody on June 5. The two were brought to court on July 3 and received bail after police lowered the charges. Local residents and the complainant were dissatisfied with the decision and asked divisional lawmaker U Nyi Nyi of North Dagon Township to intervene on Tuesday.

I will present the case to the concerned authorities to get justice for the girl. Seeing her injuries, and thinking what if she were my daughter, makes me upset, the lawmaker told The Irrawaddy.

He said he would submit a report to the divisional social affairs minister, divisional parliamentary speaker, and chairman of the social affairs and management committee of the divisional parliament about the case.

The girl was brought from a village in Irrawaddy Divisions Thabaung Township and had only worked for 27 days at the couples house. She had to receive treatment at a hospital until June 16. The social welfare department is arranging for her to go to school.

The Irrawaddy was unable to obtain a comment from Dagon Seikkan Township Police.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma Norway Extends Media Support for Women, Peace and Security Issues

A woman records video while State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi speaks during a visit to an IDP camp outside Myitkyina, Kachin State on March 28, 2017. / Soe Zayar Tun / Reuters

YANGON  Norway is supporting The Irrawaddy news organization to strengthen its coverage of women, peace and security issues over a 19-month period as part of Norways commitment to the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 in Myanmar.

The resolution reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction, and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.

The Irrawaddys founder and editor-in-chief Aung Zaw and the Royal Norwegian Ambassador in Yangon Tone Tinnes signed an agreement to implement the project on July 7.

Starting this month, the project will focus on mainstreaming ethnic womens views and concerns related to peace and security, so that their voices will be heard and taken into consideration in the ongoing peace-building process in Myanmar.

The Irrawaddy will invest in building public awareness and understanding around womens involvement in the peace process. It will support and encourage the airing of the views of women and girls on the challenges they face and the solutions they seek in relation to gender issues and on all matters concerning peace and security.

The new project follows earlier support from the Norwegian Embassy to The Irrawaddy news organization for coverage of women and gender issues.
News Myanmar Army Arrests, Shoots TNLA Members in Namkham

Taang National Liberation Army soldiers at a military parade in 2014. / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  The Myanmar Army shot and arrested two members of the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) suspected of extorting money from businesses, killing one, in Namkham Township in northeastern Shan State on Monday, according to the commander-in-chiefs office on Tuesday.

The two menidentified as Mai Ai Oo and Ai San Aungreportedly attacked Myanmar Army soldiers with knives and attempted to escape on a motorbike after the soldiers moved to interrogate them.

Ai San Aung later died of gun wounds at the military clinic of the Tatmadaws Namkham battalion, the statement added. It said nothing about the condition of Mai Ai Oo.

General secretary of the TNLA Brig-Gen Tar Bone Kyaw denied its members were extorting money, saying the TNLA only levied appropriate taxes in areas under its control.

It is likely the two men arrested were connected to our tax collection section; we are still inquiring with lower-level staff to find out exactly who they were, he told The Irrawaddy.

The army seized 1,022,000 kyats, paperwork listing the names and details of shops, two mobile phones, a dagger, and an unlicensed motorbike in the incident, said the army statement.

Ethnic armed groups based in northern Shan State have increased taxes on businesspeople since December, hoteliers and merchants in nearby Lashio Township told The Irrawaddy.

In May, some hoteliers and company owners in Lashio reported extortion to the police after they received letters demanding tax allegedly sent by the TNLA.

The TNLA is currently facing fierce offensives from the Myanmar Army and is therefore collecting taxes for its revolutionary funds, said Brig-Gen Tar Bone Kyaw.

We dont levy tax on those who cant afford it. We systematically levy an appropriate amount of tax depending on businesses and also give receipts to tax payers in line with our rules and regulations, he told The Irrawaddy.

Last week, police issued a bomb alert to locals in Lashio alleging the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and TNLA were plotting to target public buildings with explosives in the town.

The pamphlets also claimed the two armed groups were targeting Namtu Bridge, Yay Pu inspection gate, government offices, and toll gates in Hsenwi Township.

Both the KIA and TNLA denied the allegations.

The TNLA refused to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with the government, and are members of the seven-member Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC) led by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and formed in April to discuss alternatives to the NCA-led peace process with the government.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko
News Report: Refugee Returns Must Be Linked to Broader Land Reforms

In Sept. 2015, Nan Shwe, 48, of the Yin Net ethnic group cried as she asked the then NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to help her in getting back her lands that were seized, after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi gave a speech on voter education at Hopong Township in Shan State. / Reuters

Myanmar has around 1.1 million refugees and internally displaced persons, and a lack of clear policies for their future reinstatement in society carries risks of fresh conflicts, according to a policy briefing by a Dutch think tank.

More than 60 years of civil war, natural disasters, ethno-religious and other conflicts have produced a complex and still shifting pattern of human displacement in the country, largely but not only in the border areas.

When and if conditions change, it is unclear how Myanmar will handle the task of restoring people to viable lives and futures in their places of origin.

The question is perhaps most immediately relevant to the situation of around 100,000 mainly Karen refugees on the Thailand-Burma border.

As donor support dwindles and a fragile ceasefire is maintained in Karen State, pressure is rising for a refugee return, while adequate plans for a voluntary, rights-based return program are not evident.

Purely technical approaches to return and restitution for displaced people will not work, the policy briefing by the Transnational Institute argues.

Such approaches carry strong risks of creating more conflicts due to competing claims over land, it says.

Overlapping land claims may pit displaced people against government or military elites as well as wealthy business actors and companies. Some may also pit displaced people against environmental conservation organizations.or against other marginalized and vulnerable peoples, creating the risk of inflaming intercommunity or inter-ethnic tensions, according to the briefing.

The risk of such additional conflicts means that the issue of the future of refugee and displaced must not be separated from wider discussions and policies over land use, the briefing argues.

However, Myanmars land policies remain highly problematic.

Even within the rule of law, there are contradictions between different regulatory systems (i.e. Government of Myanmar laws vs. the National Land Use Policy [NLUP] vs. Ethnic Armed Organization [EAO] policies) and their implications for responding to peoples needs.

A key piece of national legislation  the 2012 Farmland Law  is unable in practice to protect farmers from land grabs by business interests supported by government officials, the authors argue.

In addition, the National Land Use Policy adopted in January 2016 by the previous government lacks formal legal status and is ineffective as long as the 2012 law remains in place, while the national status of land policies adopted by ethnic armed organizations such as the Karen National Union (KNU) remains unclear.

That deeply problematic overall land scenario means that although displaced people are especially affected by the issues, they are not the only ones, and their needs must be allied with and tied to broader national solutions, the paper argues.

It notes experiences in other countries that show that it is vitally important to link displaced peoples rights and claims with the democratic land rights and claims of other marginalized, vulnerable and poor people.

The paper concludes that the worst case scenario for Myanmar today is any land or natural resource-related law, policy, program or initiative that would put the most marginalized and vulnerable people in competition with each other and make poor on poor conflict more likely.

What is needed, it says, is an integrated, ground-up approach to the IDP land issue that links with ground-up peoples initiatives to address wider land problems.

In light of the deepening land polarization pushed by powerful forces, the key to any durable solution in Myanmar is linking return and restitution to wider, pro-peoples right to land democratization initiatives at the grassroots levels.

The Transnational Institute is a Netherlands-based think tank that has worked on policy issues in Myanmar for many years. The briefing titled Re-Asserting Control: Voluntary Return, Restitution and the Right to Land for IDPs and Refugees in Myanmar was funded by Sweden and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
New tax increases in Illinois will take a $51 million bite out of Wisconsins budget over the next two years, complicating an already complex path to agreement among Republican lawmakers on the next state budget.

The projected $51 million reduction in tax revenue is the result of higher income tax credits that people who work in Illinois and live in Wisconsin will be able to claim as a result of $5 billion in tax increases passed by Illinois lawmakers last week to cure a two-year budget stalemate, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

Because of a tax reciprocity agreement enacted in 1973, Wisconsin residents who work in Illinois file their taxes in Wisconsin to avoid filing two tax returns. Under the agreement, whichever state has more revenue as a result must reimburse the other state.

The effect will be a $51 million loss to Wisconsins general fund in the next budget.

The revised budget outlook comes as lawmakers are already more than a week late in passing a new two-year spending plan, with Republicans in the Assembly and Senate still divided on how to fund roads projects.

Our budget will address the loss of revenue from (Illinois) tax hike, Joint Finance Committee co-chairwoman Sen. Alberta Darling and co-chairman Rep. John Nygren said in a statement. However, we expect that effect will be temporary as more and more companies are taxed out of Illinois and move to Wisconsin.

Nygren, R-Marinette, said the budget-writing process so far has yielded about $90 million in less spending and higher revenues than Gov. Scott Walkers draft, but that amount is now reduced by $51 million because of the Illinois tax hike. He said that may mean some lawmakers proposals in the final budget deliberations may not get approved.

A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said Illinois tax increase will certainly have an effect on Wisconsins budget, but we have not determined where or how.

Darling, R-River Hills, said Tuesday that Senate Republicans have settled on using $712 million in bonding, $350 million of which would be supported by the states general fund.

Fitzgerald said a detailed proposal would be sent to the Assembly sometime next week.

Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, has repeatedly said that unless options to raise revenue such as increases in the gas tax or vehicle registration fees for road projects are considered by the Senate Republican caucus, he would not consider more bonding.

Nygren said any talk of adding to Walkers $500 million in borrowing to pay for roads must include higher revenues to pay for whatever level of bonds there is.

He declined to comment on the Senate proposal until he sees details.

Darling also said her caucus wanted to resume the Legislatures budget-writing committee work this week, but that Vos refused unless an agreement on transportation had been made.

She said the committee could meet to settle budget matters related to K-12 education, taxes, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and district attorneys.

We have positions on everything  were ready to go, she said. He wont agree.

A Vos spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
Commentary Not the Time to Rock the Boat

Military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, left, and Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein, right. / The Irrawaddy

It is still unclear how the government will penalize Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein for his recent remarks concerning the head of the military. What is certain is that the incident has been an embarrassment for Daw Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD) administration, which has prioritized good relations with the army in the one-year-old governments quest for national reconciliation.

The Myanmar Army has filed a complaint with the government asking that they take necessary actions against the chief minister for saying there are no civil-military relations in the democratic era and that the position of the militarys commander-in-chief is the same as the level of director-general, according to the [state] protocol.

U Phyo Min Thein made the remarks in an address on Sunday during a workshop about the rehabilitation of former political prisoners in Yangon. The statement was delivered in the context of him explaining that the military should be placed under civilian control. But in practice, we have to treat him in the same way as we do with the countrys top leaders. Its not democracy, he added, referring to the commander-in-chief.

As a result, the relations between the government and the armed forces have soured at a time when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been attempting to build trust with the powerful military, hoping to amend the controversial 2008 Constitution. The Yangon Chief Ministers remarks have generated ire from the institution that, according to the charter, is relegated control of three of the countrys important security ministries, and 25 percent of parliamentary seats.

According to the NLD governments official protocol, the military commander-in-chief is ranked eighth in the national leadership hierarchy, just after the Union Chief of Justice. Its the same position Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing enjoyed during the previous governments tenure, during which he was ranked seventh because the position of State Counselor did not yet exist. The senior general likely was insulted that U Phyo Min Thein equated his position with that of a director-general, ranked last, or 38th, for directors from the defense ministry.

Despite the army chiefs standing as eighth in the country, there is truth in part of what U Phyo Min Thein said: that the military commander-in-chief is treated in the same way as the countrys top leaders. Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing has the final say on military and security issues, while U Htin Kyaw, the President of the elected NLD government, takes control of civilian matters. Its contrary to practices in other democracies. In the US, for example, the civilian-elected President also acts as the military chief.

In Myanmar, no one in the government can directly appoint the military chief. Only the commander-in-chief can choose his successor: after all, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing was appointed by his predecessor, Snr-Gen Than Shwe. The Constitution says the President can appoint the army chief only with a nomination and recommendation from the National Defense and Security Council. But of the councils 11 members, six are from the military, including the army chief, who appoints the others. Plus, the commander-in-chief can appoint a vice president, and ministers for defense, home affairs and border affairs.

Addressing U Phyo Min Theins concerns is only possible through constitutional reform, which is one of the NLD governments missions, alongside the realization of a successful peace process. Both aims will take time. To make either happen, military collaboration is crucial, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyis relationship with them is one that she has been developing for years. The last thing we want is to place further hurdles in her efforts for the country. The controversy surrounding the chief ministers statement is simply the latest reminder that civil-military relations in Myanmar remain sensitive, and that indiscreet comments can still rock the boat.
Guest Column Cost of Trinkets: A Growing Archaeological Looting Network Between Thailand and Myanmar

People wait to see the sunset from the top of the Shwesandaw Pagoda in Bagan. Preserving Myanmars ancient heritage from looting is a growing concern.

Ancient jewelry, coins, and tiny ornaments for the mantelpiece may seem harmless when compared to a large bust or stolen sculpture, but the cumulative process to seek, loot, and put these materials on the market for consumers is much more destructive towards heritage than we often perceive.

Many sites across Southeast Asia are lined with holes that tell tales of looting, shared overnight when tourists gather in pubs and restaurants. As tourists and collectors laugh and display the trinkets they purchase off a child in the village, a darker shadow lurks over heritage protection.

While Bagan is showing signs of this problem, one of the most refreshing sights when visiting early historical sites in Myanmar is the absence of widespread looting activities. When I last visited Thayekhittaya (Sri Ksetra), Bago, and several newly discovered urban sites in Mon State, I was always amazed by the extent to which communities were involved with protecting the sites. Local authorities informed me that there was some organized looting by certain groups hunting for gold and treasures, but villagers tended to leave the sites alone.

Myanmar is not exactly free of looting problems, but most of the time, only high profile cases receive media attention. Antiquities looting in modern Myanmar dates back to its colonial past, with many Buddha sculptures, coins, relics, and manuscripts ending up in Britain and Europe. Myanmar is a member of the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property but many of the countrys antiquities still end up in high-profile auction houses, just like other Southeast Asian antiquities. National attention to research, preservation, and conservation is often diverted towards religious artefacts and sites associated with Bamar history, which highlights the centrality of Burmese-speaking people and statecraft as a main driver of national historiography. This highlights the narrative of Tirkuls or Pyu states, as well as Bagan and subsequent kingdoms. Selective protection of a particular heritage over a more inclusive approach leaves a large part of the countrys diverse archaeological heritage and artefacts in places such as Shan, Mon, Karen, Rakhine vulnerable to looting and trafficking.

While looting of bigger antiquities such as sculptures and inscriptions receives media attention, cumulative smaller scale looting is much more virulent and destructive in the long run. Local archaeologists in Thailand estimate that extensive small-scale lootings can destroy up to 80 percent of the archaeological and historical context. There is also the risk of destroying ancient structures that could be conserved for future heritage projects. Many ancient temple sites looted between the 1960s and 1970s in the Khorat Plateau (in Northeastern Thailand) collapsed and were dismantled by locals for construction materials.

The looting of beads is highly destructive, since the process often involves random testing of sites by digging different pits across large areas. Looting in this manner is highly destructive to historical landscapes, and can at times be dangerous for looters. The best time to find treasures is often during the rain or immediately after the rain. During the monsoon season, when heavy rains cause beads to surface, looting activity is at its highest. Looters, like miners, dig L shaped pits to search for small artefacts along a certain depth. Looters would target areas near archaeological infrastructures that are poorly guarded, open agricultural fields where Iron Age burials can be found, and forest areas underneath trees (sometimes bamboo trees). Digging in these areas and at these times is dangerous, as both rain and tree coverage increase the risks of the ground collapsing on top of the digging looters.

Small-scale looters look for materials such as beads, metal jewelry, coins, and small religious amulets. They throw away materials such as iron and bronze tools, bones, and pottery. Beads in Southeast Asian sites are often related to late prehistoric to early historical sites. Indo-Pacific beads are sold by the bucketful across different local markets as well as in more prominent locations in Bangkok. Beads from Myanmar are increasingly becoming very popular on social media retail sites. Most Thai buyers seem to source primarily from Dawei and Tanintharyi (Tenasserim). There is a strong preference for beads that match those found in Thailand since they are easier to authenticate. On the other hand, there is a slow but growing demand among Chinese buyers for particular types of beads only found in Myanmar.

Looting networks, particularly those operating online through social media and web blogs, are very knowledgeable. They carefully monitor the academic community for references to help authenticate materials and potential new looting sites. There are also discussions on how to clean objects. In addition, it is not uncommon for looters to forge artefacts such as beads, coins, or larger materials. Conversely, they also establish online communities to identify forgeries and forging techniques.

Over the past six years, I have been following networks of small-scale looters in Thailand in person, and have monitored their online activities. In the past, Buddha sculptures and artefacts from Myanmar have turned up along the Thai borders in Chiang Rai, Tak, and Prachuab Khiri Khan provinces. Until recently, they were only of interest to a very niche group, and were not valued as highly as Thai or Cambodian antiquities in the market. However, with the recent growing interest in Myanmar and the simultaneous clampdown on dealings in Thai and Cambodian antiquities, materials from Myanmar are left susceptible to the black market. Whether the artefacts crossing the borders are genuine or not is a matter for the buyers knowledge, but smaller scale goods such as beads and coins are increasingly appearing in Bangkoks flea markets and online retail communities.

Subsistence looting/digging, the act of looting to supplement a meager income, has been put forward as a reason to explain extensive looting in Southeast Asia. My experience of talking to looters I encountered on both sides of the border have revealed multiple socio-economic backgrounds.

In remote areas with little education and limited market access, beads and materials found in agricultural fields are sold at subsistence level. Looters from this group are usually more literate local laborers, teenagers and children. Older generations in these communities often refrain from looting due to their spiritual beliefs. Goods in this area are either purchased by a monopoly of buyers or tourists looking for materials. Many remote areas in Myanmar are still susceptible to subsistence looting problems.

The second group of looters can be described as a regional network of collectors. Looters collect artefacts and loot by renting or monopolizing access to multiple sites. They have an elaborate system for exchanging information on price and authenticity. Online social media platforms have empowered this group of collectors, and have eased market access for new entrants with sufficient knowledge and money. One of the most well informed groups covers the area that stretches from Krabi Province in Thailand (Khlong Thom) to Surat Thani and across the border to Myanmar, to Dawei and up to Tanintharyi. They are usually willing to exchange limited information with academics and archaeologists.

The third group loots to fill seasonal unemployment. People in this group are often fishermen and agricultural laborers. Some are lucky enough to live in ancient settlements and will use their housing area or agricultural field as looting grounds. Others rent looting locations from landowners at day rates or pit rates, depending on the sites popularity. From my observations of this particular groups activity on social media, the increasing amount of professional networking between laborers in Thailand and Myanmar, particularly in the agricultural and fishery sectors, has led to a growing number of backyard looting trips to Myanmar.

Ancient beads and coins are not mere trinkets for collectors, but often hold a special spiritual value. Most collectors believe that beads from ancient sites contain special powers that will bring them fortune and protection. This is particularly tied to religious narratives, such as affiliation with sites known as ancient trade emporia or sites thought to have a close relationship to the arrival of Buddhism and Hinduism in Southeast Asia. Objects that are tied to locations with religious history and people from blessed locations and time periods are viewed by collectors as highly valued magical charms. Examples include areas around Mon State and the Isthmian Peninsula, where the semi-mythical country of Suvarnabhumi received Asokas Buddhist missionaries. Artefacts associated with this period come from Iron Age and early historical sites in Thailand and Myanmar. Collectors are not only acquiring beads as works of art, but also physical links to people who lived during a religiously significant period in time. A sense of reverence over the glorious past exists among local collectors, who believe that people in the past possessed great spiritual powers and enchantment abilities which were transferred onto objects.

Moreover, ownership of beads such as Pumtek (elongated salicized etched bead), for example, displays wealth and position within Chin communities. This idea has been adopted by bead collectors, who advertize the spiritual and magical aspects of the artefacts. A collector with large and rare beads is considered to have a high level of soul stuff (an animist concept of supernatural prowess), which is mixed with the Theravada Buddhist idea of exhibiting barami (Pali: Parami for characteristic perfections. People with more barami are believed to be closer to attaining enlightenment). Antique procurement is also a material display and measurement of the individuals punna or merit, which locals believe is reflected through the number of rare and precious items an individual possesses. It is interesting that beads from Myanmar are perceived to be more genuine and highly imbued with extra power because of Myanmars close affinity to Buddhism.

The primary concern is that, with growing trade and interactions, small-scale looting can become a serious problem for undiscovered heritage in Myanmar. While Thailand has a comprehensive database of archaeological sites across the country, a large part of Myanmar has yet to be surveyed and monitored. Even with extensive recording on the Thai side, the destruction of archaeological sites, notably of Iron Age and early historical settlements, has been detrimental.

The race to protect heritage is also a battle against poverty. Sites like Mrauk-U in Arakan State have been highlighted by Global Heritage Fund as highly endangered areas. While international organizations and some academics are now diverting efforts towards recording, monitoring, and empowering local initiatives to combat growing destruction of heritage, efforts and funding are not sufficient for the amount of heritage within the country and primarily concentrate on the main UNESCO sites like Bagan and Pyu cities. This leaves peripheral and border areas extremely vulnerable to looting, particularly those areas that are undergoing rapid modern development near Thailand. Little attention has been placed on the smuggling of small artefacts and beads, which is often viewed by authorities as petty crime. In reality, illicit trade in artefacts across borders is usually part of larger archaeomafia networks that also smuggle drugs and weapons. Subsistence looters are not benefitting from sales of small artefacts since they often sell to intermediaries that retail materials at higher prices. Studies have shown that subsistence looting is neither an equitable enterprise, nor is it a long-term solution to economic deprivation.

A heavy burden is placed upon governments of emerging economies to police looters and track down lost artefacts. These efforts would be better diverted toward addressing the demand side of the market, like sellers and collectors. At the same time, archaeologists should strive to develop an engagement approach with local communities and use heritage sites, even smaller ones, to develop alternative income and incentives. An increasing amount of grant funding for excavations now contains preferences for projects that can help develop local communities such as the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) funding for initiatives in Latin America and Cambodia. The Myanmar Archaeological Association (MMA) has started working with communities in Bagan and Pyu sites to encourage public awareness and develop local cultural management organizations for planning and resisting looting among villagers. These local efforts will need more funding and capacity building to expand towards sites outside Burman historical attention.

Most archaeologists agree that urban development, agricultural practice, and looting have extensively destroyed Thailands archaeological heritage. I write this in the hope that some efforts could be diverted towards containing trinket collection trends among the growing middle class that have led to a very widespread and destructive small-scale looting practice. However, in the long term, it is necessary to develop a further understanding of the effectiveness of law enforcement on small-scale looting. To minimize looting, communities need to be offered better alternative careers that can potentially involve heritage development.

Phacharaphorn Phanomvan is a D.Phil Candidate in Economic History at the University of Oxford. Her research is about ancient growth and trade in Myanmar and Southeast Asia. She is broadly interested in the roles of geography, technology, institutions, and heritage in long run growth and development.

This article originally appeared in Tea Circle, a forum hosted at Oxford University for emerging research and perspectives on Burma/Myanmar.
Summerville, SC (29483)

Today

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 63F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 63F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2017) - Arctic Star Exploration Corp. (TSXV: ADD) (FSE: 82A1) (WKN: A2DFY5) ("Arctic Star" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire a 100% interest in a 243Ha Exploration Permit over the Black Wolf (Masta Susi) and the White Wolf (Valkoinen Susi) diamond bearing kimberlites (together the "Wolf kimberlites") in northern Finland. The Exploration Permit is being acquired via a Share Exchange Agreement with the Finnish holding company (transaction details below).

Furthermore, the Company has filed application for an Exploration Reservation centered on the acquired Exploration Permit. The Reservation is approximately 95,700 hectares in size, and it provides Arctic Star with exclusive rights to acquire additional exploration permits for a 2 year period.

The combined regional exploration and diamondiferous kimberlite property has been named the Timantti Project (Timantti is Finnish for "diamond").

Mr. Roy Spencer, who discovered the Wolf kimberlites also led the team that discovered the Grib Diamond Mine near Archangelsk, Russian Federation, has joined Arctic Star's Board. "Kimberlites are likely to occur in fields - also known as clusters - which typically contain 30 or more separate kimberlites. The Wolf kimberlites are just the first discoveries in a more extensive cluster," according to Roy Spencer. Roy continues: "There is good evidence for the existence of this field in the public domain. This data shows regional distribution of kimberlitic indicator minerals and diamonds in surficial tills. The Exploration Reservation will allow Arctic Star to explore the entire region".

A 43-101 technical report titled, "Geological Report on the Foriet Diamond Property, Finland" authored by Kevin R. Kivi, P.Geo, of KIVI Geoscience Inc. has been filed by the Company on SEDAR. The author confirmed the diamond-bearing nature of the Wolf kimberlites by submitting samples collected from kimberlite float in overburden during a due diligence site visit. Microdiamond results are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Micro-diamond assay results for the Arctic Star due diligence surface float samples, White Wolf kimberlite.

Kimberlite Sample

Weight Kg +0.106

mm +0.15

mm +0.212

mm +0.3

mm +0.425

mm +.60

mm Total

Stones White Wolf 18.9 23 16 13 4 2 0 58

Microlithics Laboratories Inc., of Thunder Bay, ON ("Microlithics") is independent of the issuer, and is not ISO accredited. Kevin Kivi, P.Geo. has audited Microlithics to verify sample preparation and analytical methods for diamond recovery were appropriate.

Mr. Doyle continues "the opportunity for an economic discovery at Timantti is substantially improved by easier access than companies face in in northern Canada and Siberia. The Wolf kimberlites represent the first discoveries in a possibly more extensive diamondiferous kimberlite field."

"Both Roy and Buddy have led Tier 1, major company diamond mine discovery teams, and previously collaborated on diamond projects in Finland and on the development of the Lihqobong Diamond Mine in Lesotho," commented Mr. Patrick Power, President and CEO of Arctic Star. "Roy's extensive local knowledge and experience will mean we can hit the ground running in Finland, and we expect to commence work immediately upon closing of the transaction."

The Wolf kimberlites were discovered by European Diamonds PLC in 2005. The discovery team was led by Mr. Spencer. European Diamonds made the discoveries by drilling a low-magnitude magnetic high anomaly at the head of a prominent G10 pyrope garnet-bearing kimberlitic indicator mineral ("KIM") train they had traced over 30km. In total eight (8) angled diamond drill holes were completed on the bodies. Some 41.2kg of kimberlite, which comprised pyroclastic and hypabyssal phases, were collected. In September 2005 European reported "microdiamond analysis at the laboratories of Kennecott Canada Exploration in Thunder Bay, Canada, identified a total of 42 small diamonds between 0.15 and 0.88 mm in size from 4 samples totaling 41.2kg in weight. Sample processing was performed to the ISO/IEC17025 standard. Eleven of the 42 diamonds have a longest axis equal to or greater than 0.5mm with the largest stone having a long axis of 0.88mm. Approximately 26% of the stones were white and some 38% were octahedrons".

In 2006 European Diamonds changed its name to Kopane Diamond PLC. An 8.8t kimberlite sample was extracted from the Wolf kimberlites from two shallow backhoe trenches. These samples were run through a gravity separation circuit at the Finnish government facility in Outokumpu. 1.25 carats of stones greater than 1mm were recovered. The largest stone recovered was 0.09 carats.

Buddy Doyle further comments, "The high microdiamond count, 77 stones (greater than 0.15mm), from the two small samples totaling 60.1kgs (European plus Arctic Star Caustic Fusion samples) is a significant result. Backhoe trenching results are significant because they show the Wolf pipes contain diamonds of over 1mm.

The Wolf kimberlites occur on the Fennoscandian Shield which hosts the world class (multi-billion dollar revenue) diamond mines at the Arkhangelskaya kimberlite (Lomonosov Mine) and Grib kimberlite (Grib Mine), both near Arkhangelsk Russia (450km East of Wolf). In Finland the diamond bearing Kuopio kimberlite field occurs on the exposed Archaean Karelian Craton segment of the Fennoscandian Shield, south of the Timantti Project.

Arctic Star believes that the diamond bearing Wolf kimberlites signify the first discoveries in a new diamond bearing kimberlite field. This view is supported by public data showing "cloud" of KIMs distributed across an area that is some 80km wide and roughly centered on the Wolf kimberlites.

Patrick Power, President and CEO comments, "I believe that a commanding land position around the Wolf kimberlites is the key to ensuring our shareholders have maximum exposure to discovery in this new and exciting diamond district, which we believe offers high potential for numerous further diamond-bearing kimberlite discoveries. This to me is the most exciting aspect of the Timantti project."

After closing the acquisition, the next steps are to quickly gain a better understanding of the Wolf kimberlites. The Arctic Star field visit confirmed the Wolf kimberlites contain both pyroclastic (formed near surface) and hypabyssal (formed at depth) kimberlite types. Arctic Star plans to complete detailed magnetic, gravity and EM (electro-magnetic) geophysical ground surveys, which will be used to target further drilling. Drilling will help define the shape and tonnage of each kimberlite and collect more material for caustic fusion analysis for microdiamonds. The microdiamond distribution will determine the parameters of a bulk sample (to determine diamond grade and value).

To swiftly discover more kimberlites on the Timantti Project, Arctic plans to fly airborne geophysical surveys to cover the entire region that hosts KIMs. The Company will improve targeting by detailed ground follow up of the indicator mineral anomalies in the area.

Arctic Star has entered into a Share Exchange Agreement dated effective June 7, 2017 and agreed to issue 14,500,000 common shares at a deemed price of $0.20 per share for all the right, title and interest to Foriet Oy, a Finnish company that has the 243Ha exploration permit over the Wolf kimberlites in North-Eastern Finland. 10,000,000 of the Arctic Star shares are to be issued to Dragon Equities Ltd., a UK company, which indirectly owns Foriet Oy, and 4,500,000 shares will be issued to the beneficial owners of a joint venture partner of Foriet Oy. On completion of the Share Exchange, Foriet Oy will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Arctic Star.

In addition to the 4 month hold period imposed by securities regulation, all shares issued in the transaction will be subject to a Value Securities Escrow Agreement whereby the shares are released over a 3 year period. Closing of the Share Exchange Agreement is subject to TSX-V approval.

The Company welcomes Mr. Roy Spencer and Mr. Scott Eldridge to the Board of Directors.

In addition to Mr. Spencer's previously mentioned accomplishments, Roy is a GSSA Member and a Fellow of the AusIMM. Roy joined De Beers upon graduation from high school in 1966 and has been involved with exploration and deposit evaluation for gemstones and other commodities throughout his career. Roy's tertiary education was at the University of Natal and Rhodes University in South Africa, and is a member of the Geological Society of South Africa and a Fellow of the Aus.I.M.M. As technical director of Peregrine Diamonds, he discovered the first kimberlites on the Pilbara craton in Western Australia in 1989, and as Leader of the Owners Team for Archangel Diamond Corporation he was largely responsible for the discovery of the world class Grib kimberlite in far northern Russia (February, 1996). In 1998, Roy created and raised the seed finance for Ilmari Exploration Oy to explore for gold, base metals and diamonds on the Karelian Craton in Finland. Ilmari went public in 2000, and discovered the Lentiira kimberlite cluster in central Finland in 2003.

In 2006, as CEO of London-based diamond explorer European Diamonds, Roy led the Owners Team which brought the Liqhobong kimberlite (Lesotho) into commercial production on time and under budget. In mid-2007, Roy left European, a company which had evolved into a successful mid-tier diamond producer and marketer after having raised 23 million over a 6-year period. Since that time Roy has continued in gemstone exploration and deposit evaluation in Africa, Finland and western Russia for a variety of junior and senior mining companies.

Scott Eldridge is experienced in the financial industry focused on the resource sector. He is a co-founder, President & CEO of Euroscandic International Group Inc., a private company offering accounting and investment banking services to natural resource companies. During his time in the industry Scott has been responsible for raising in excess of $500 million in combined equity and debt financing for mining projects varying from exploration to construction financing around the globe. Mr. Eldridge has a B.B.A. from Capilano University, and an M.B.A. from Central European University.

About Arctic Star: Arctic Star is an experienced diamond and mineral exploration company, with diamond exploration properties in Nunavut (Stein), the NWT (Diagras and Redemption) and in the Athabasca Basin of SK. The Company has been planning and de-risking its entry to Finland over the last year, and is pleased to present what it believes is the pre-eminent new field opportunity to shareholders in the Timantti Project.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - July 12, 2017) - Galantas Gold Corporation (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:GAL) (AIM:GAL) is pleased to announce continued progress by its wholly owned subsidiary engaged in development of an underground gold mine near Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

Underground development is proceeding well with the development tunnel advanced by approximately 47 metres from the underground portal. Arrangements regarding blasting appear to be working efficiently and actions are in hand to increase the blasting frequency.

A narrow stringer vein, an offshoot of the Kearney system, has been intercepted (as expected following report dated 24th August 2016 of adjacent drill Hole 159). Hole 159 intersected the stringer vein some 11m south of the tunnel intersection and reported a mineralised intersect of 1 metre (true width 0.5m) at 5.7 g/t gold and 6.2 g/t silver. Mineralisation, examined by trenching (reported 7th September 2016) and considered the surface expression of the stringer vein, suggested a vein strike of 325 degrees, with a dip of 85 degrees east. The tunnel intersection shows the mineralisation over a true width of a minimum of 0.5m with a similar strike and dip. Grade samples have been taken. This vein has potential to provide a limited quantity of mineralised material for processing whilst the remainder of development required to access the main Kearney veins is progressed.

Having reached the first development milestone, the permanent ground support tunnel lining is to be installed. Recent tests of shotcrete (a form of sprayed concrete), at the site, demonstrated that a suitable permanent lining can be achieved. Shotcrete will be sprayed over the existing mesh and rockbolt ground support on a campaign basis until in-cycle shotcreting is possible. The current shotcreting program and installation of capital infrastructure has been scheduled over the next two weeks during which time tunnel advance will be restricted.

After the permanent ground support has been installed, it is anticipated that the enhanced blasting arrangements noted above will accelerate the rate of tunnelling advance.

The mining is being carried out by an in-house crew which is fully trained in safety and operating procedures. An in-house, mines rescue team has also been trained and equipped. Capital equipment has been purchased, including fans, pumps, compressor, additional environmental monitoring, security and safety equipment amongst the items.

Surface stockpiles of rock have been reduced by backfilling of the Kearney open pit, to create an apron area for the upper part of a ramp which has been formed in the north end of the open pit. The ramp accesses the lower portal in the base of the open pit and will eventually be contained within a concrete tunnel, permitting completion of backfilling of the open pit.

Two additional ground-water monitoring boreholes have been drilled and monitoring data collected. Water make within the tunnel is minimal and water monitoring at the site continues to demonstrate good compliance within the criteria set down by the regulatory authority.

Roland Phelps, President & CEO, Galantas Gold Corporation, said "I am very pleased with the progress being made. We have an excellent and skilled team in place delivering results. As a consequence, I am delighted to announce that arrangements are being put in hand to increase the rate of progress and with this the hiring of some additional personnel. This will take the number of persons employed at the operation to around 27. "

The Omagh Gold Mine has an operational processing plant and tailings facility with an excellent environmental record. The plant uses a non-toxic, froth flotation process, without the use of cyanide or mercury and produces a gold concentrate which is exported for smelting. The remaining tailing sands are clean and free from acid drainage. The plant is on stand-by awaiting mineralised material from underground development. The underground mine, when fully developed, is expected to create 130 jobs plus others in service industries associated with the development.

Regulatory

The Company confirms that all resolutions were passed at an Annual General and Special Meeting which took place on 26th June 2017, details of which may be found on the Company's website www.galantas.com .

The samples were taken by geological staff under the supervision of R. Phelps C.Eng MIMMM, (President & CEO, Galantas Gold Corporation), the Qualified Person (QP) for the program under NI 43-101 and who is also a "Qualified Person" as defined in the Note for Mining Oil & Gas Companies, June 2009, of the London Stock Exchange. Readers are referred to the disclosure dated 24th August 2016 for complete technical details, including sampling, security, verification and testing regarding Core H159 and the disclosure dated 7th September 2016 regarding details of the surface trenching. Mr. Phelps has reviewed the technical detail contained in this release.
VANCOUVER, July 12, 2017 /CNW/ - NexGen Energy Ltd. ("NexGen" or the "Company") (TSX:NXE, NYSE: NXE) is pleased to announce the commencement of a summer drilling and development program as well as to report assay results for 25 holes from the winter 2017 drilling program at our 100% owned, Rook I property, Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan.

Summer Drill Program

The summer program will consist of a minimum of 25,000 m of diamond drilling utilizing seven drill rigs. Six rigs are drilling expansion and delineation targets at the Arrow Deposit. The seventh rig is testing the newly identified area 300 m southeast of Arrow (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Summer 2017 Drilling Growth Target Areas





There are three primary objectives of summer activities:

Inferred mineral resource growth through continued systematic step-out drilling around the current resource domains in the A1 through A4 shears, primarily in the southwest and northeast 'gaps'. These areas, among others, represent key resource growth opportunities. Indicated mineral resource growth in high impact areas of the High Grade Domains in the A3 Shear through targeted infill drilling. Development activities that include geotechnical, hydrogeological, metallurgical and environmental work as the project is advanced rapidly towards the pre-feasibility stage.

In addition, further upgrades to the Rook I camp have been completed during the Spring drilling pause.

NexGen continues to advance Arrow towards development while concurrently expanding the resource base. The Company will undertake further advanced geotechnical, hydrogeological, metallurgical and environmental studies at preliminary feasibility levels. The Company's commitment to community engagement also continues to expand through a number of community supported initiatives targeting employment, education, recreation and health. Rook I camp facilities will continue to expand in 2017 to accommodate all current and near-term development activities.

Winter 2017 Assay Results

Drilling in winter 2017 designed to expand Indicated mineral resources in the A2 and A3 shears was successful with widespread mineralization being intersected in both shears.

A2 Infill Holes

AR-17-114c2 (115 m northeast and down-dip from AR-15-44b) intersected 33.0 m at 4.58% U3O8 (681.5 to 714.5 m) including 11.0 m at 8.78% U3O8 (697.5 to 708.5 m).

AR-17-117c1 (25 m southwest and up-dip from AR-15-44b) intersected 49.0 m at 2.93% U3O8 (519.5 to 568.5 m) including 12.0 m at 10.35% U3O8 (538.0 to 550.0 m).

A3 Infill Holes

AR-17-121c1 (45m up-dip from AR-15-57c2) intersected 29.0 m at 2.39% U3O8 (519.0 to 548.0 m) including 4.0 m at 13.46% U3O8 (528.0 to 532.0 m).

A2 High Grade Domain Step-Out Drilling

Step-outs from the A2 High Grade Domain have returned high impact assay results. Holes AR-17-118c2 and AR-17-121c1 both intersected strong mineralization in the A2 shear.

AR-17-118c2 (180 m northeast and down-dip from AR-15-44b and 60 m below the A2 High Grade Domain) intersected 62.0 m at 1.27% U3O8 (681.0 to 743.0 m) including 12.0 m at 5.13% U3O8 (728.0 to 740.0 m).

Northeast Gap A2 and A3 Expansion Drilling

Expansion drilling northeast of the Arrow resource domains in the northeast gap has retuned areas of broad mineralization. The northeast gap continues to represent a key resource growth opportunity at Arrow.

A3 Northeast Expansion

AR-17-116c1 (115 m northeast and up-dip from AR-15-57c2) intersected 43.0 m at 1.19% U3O8 (469.0 to 512.0 m) including 18.0 m at 2.43% U3O8 (474.5 to 492.5 m).

AR-17-119c2 (240 m northeast and down-dip from AR-15-57c2) intersected 12.5 m at 1.61% U3O8 (715.5 to 728.0 m).

Arrow, Activities & Financial

Assay results remain pending for 31 holes from Arrow and 8 exploration holes drilled near Arrow.

A maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment is imminently scheduled.

Upon completion of the previously announced financing with CEF Holdings Limited, the Company will have cash on hand of approximately $200 million (see News Release dated June 30, 2017 ).

A longitudinal section highlighting target growth areas for summer 2017 is shown in Figure 1. Longitudinal sections and a map showing drill hole locations are shown in Figures 2 to 4. Table 1 shows complete assay results for holes included herein.

Figure 2: A2 Mineralized Long Section





Figure 3: A3 Mineralized Long Section





Figure 4: Drill Hole Locations





Garrett Ainsworth, Vice-President, Exploration and Development, commented: "These latest results confirm and exceed our previously reported drill hole radioactivity results, which we expect will be accretive to the ultimate size of the Arrow Deposit. Much of the winter 2017 program was focused on a first pass of the Northeast and Southwest Gaps, which we plan on following up and expanding with the summer 2017 drill program."

Leigh Curyer, Chief Executive Officer, comment: "On the back of the success of the winter program we now look ahead to our summer activities which include 25,000 m of drilling as well as advanced engineering and environmental studies. Arrow's current resource base makes it the largest uranium deposit in Canada on a net to operator basis and we look forward to the delivery of the maiden preliminary economic assessment imminently. Combined with the strategic investment by CEF, we are in the strongest position the Company has ever been in and are well positioned to meet our objective of becoming a major global uranium production source."

Table 1: Arrow Deposit Assay Results Drill Hole Athabasca Group -

Basement Unconformity

Depth (m) SRC Geoanalytical Results Hole ID Azimuth Dip Total

Depth

(m) From (m) To (m) Interval

(m) U3O8 (wt%) AR-17-114c1 327 -70 849.50 130.00 436.00 456.00 20.00 0.22 472.00 474.50 2.50 0.25 482.00 489.00 7.00 0.07 493.00 494.00 1.00 0.05 502.50 509.50 7.00 1.10 514.00 517.00 3.00 7.10 532.50 533.50 1.00 0.03 606.50 609.50 3.00 0.13 612.00 617.50 5.50 0.15 623.50 632.50 9.00 2.24 635.00 640.00 5.00 0.44 645.50 679.00 33.50 1.64 682.50 699.00 16.50 0.15 701.50 713.00 11.50 0.28 735.00 739.00 4.00 0.04 AR-17-114c2 327 -70 823.50 130.00 432.50 444.00 11.50 0.02 447.00 454.00 7.00 0.16 462.00 463.00 1.00 0.27 468.00 469.00 1.00 1.48 477.00 478.00 1.00 0.05 482.00 484.00 2.00 0.14 491.00 504.00 13.00 1.07 507.00 515.00 8.00 0.12 521.00 522.00 1.00 0.25 526.00 528.00 2.00 2.26 531.00 533.00 2.00 0.31 536.00 562.00 26.00 2.59 incl. 542.00 547.00 5.00 13.14 566.00 568.00 2.00 0.06 572.50 574.00 1.50 0.02 622.50 623.50 1.00 0.05 636.00 636.50 0.50 0.02 641.50 643.50 2.00 0.27 667.00 670.50 3.50 0.01 674.50 677.50 3.00 0.02 681.50 714.50 33.00 4.58 incl. 697.50 708.50 11.00 8.78 730.50 733.00 2.50 0.28 AR-17-114c3 327 -70 792.50 130.00 639.00 651.50 12.50 0.31 673.00 674.00 1.00 0.01 677.00 681.00 4.00 0.03 684.00 687.50 3.50 0.03 694.50 695.50 1.00 0.01 701.50 714.50 13.00 0.34 723.00 727.50 4.50 0.87 AR-17-115c1 327 -70 714.50 118.40 451.50 452.00 0.50 0.13 459.00 461.00 2.00 0.07 478.50 488.50 10.00 0.14 509.50 510.00 0.50 0.04 524.50 525.50 1.00 0.08 533.50 534.00 0.50 0.15 536.50 537.50 1.00 0.19 560.00 560.50 0.50 0.04 603.00 619.00 16.00 0.39 642.50 643.50 1.00 0.02 658.00 663.50 5.50 0.07 674.00 675.00 1.00 0.07 AR-17-115c2 327 -70 786.50 118.40 458.50 459.00 0.50 0.06 465.00 465.50 0.50 0.11 468.50 469.00 0.50 0.08 495.00 496.00 1.00 0.27 500.50 501.50 1.00 0.68 516.50 520.50 4.00 0.04 533.50 534.50 1.00 0.05 539.50 542.00 2.50 0.23 550.50 551.00 0.50 1.11 572.50 576.00 3.50 0.02 580.00 582.50 2.50 0.06 600.50 603.00 2.50 0.05 608.00 610.00 2.00 0.76 614.00 628.00 14.00 2.23 incl. 614.00 617.00 3.00 8.38 632.00 640.00 8.00 0.06 644.00 656.50 12.50 0.17 672.50 676.50 4.00 0.09 698.00 701.50 3.50 0.07 AR-17-116c1 327 -70 879.50 132.00 425.50 443.00 17.50 0.16 449.00 449.50 0.50 0.73 452.50 466.00 13.50 0.23 469.00 512.00 43.00 1.19 incl. 474.50 492.50 18.00 2.43 605.00 608.50 3.50 0.90 625.00 625.50 0.50 0.11 636.00 637.50 1.50 0.03 657.00 661.00 4.00 0.04 705.50 707.00 1.50 0.04 796.50 799.00 2.50 0.10 802.00 806.50 4.50 0.07 AR-17-116c2 327 -70 897.50 132.00 440.00 440.50 0.50 0.09 443.50 445.50 2.00 0.10 455.00 459.00 4.00 0.15 485.00 485.50 0.50 0.03 488.50 493.50 5.00 0.93 497.50 500.00 2.50 3.58 518.00 526.50 8.50 0.53 532.00 532.50 0.50 0.03 536.50 540.00 3.50 0.08 545.50 550.00 4.50 0.03 565.50 574.00 8.50 0.05 578.00 582.00 4.00 0.04 641.00 645.50 4.50 0.03 663.50 675.00 11.50 0.08 678.00 688.00 10.00 0.03 693.50 710.50 17.00 2.35 incl. 700.00 708.00 8.00 4.92 720.50 735.50 15.00 0.62 747.00 747.50 0.50 0.03 752.00 754.00 2.00 0.07 860.00 861.50 1.50 0.06 AR-17-117c1 327 -70 621.50 124.20 395.00 400.50 5.50 0.02 407.50 409.00 1.50 0.06 418.00 419.00 1.00 0.05 426.00 454.50 28.50 0.06 457.50 504.50 47.00 0.04 519.50 568.50 49.00 2.93 incl. 538.00 550.00 12.00 10.35 572.50 573.50 1.00 0.01 578.50 579.50 1.00 0.01 588.50 590.50 2.00 0.08 605.50 612.50 7.00 0.21 AR-17-118c1 327 -70 873.00 129.90 427.00 427.50 0.50 0.01 462.50 464.00 1.50 0.09 467.00 475.00 8.00 0.05 534.00 543.50 9.50 0.42 571.50 577.00 5.50 0.29 585.50 586.00 0.50 0.13 606.50 612.50 6.00 2.17 616.50 622.50 6.00 0.60 627.50 650.50 23.00 2.01 incl. 631.50 642.50 11.00 4.04 654.50 670.50 16.00 0.14 675.00 675.50 0.50 0.02 687.00 688.00 1.00 0.02 695.00 713.50 18.50 0.07 716.00 719.50 3.50 0.01 743.00 747.50 4.50 0.01 758.50 759.00 0.50 0.04 814.50 815.00 0.50 0.02 839.00 840.00 1.00 0.90 AR-17-118c2 327 -70 828.50 129.90 440.00 440.50 0.50 0.02 511.00 513.00 2.00 0.13 524.00 525.00 1.00 0.17 534.00 537.50 3.50 1.73 551.50 555.50 4.00 0.45 568.00 571.50 3.50 0.83 579.50 588.00 8.50 4.51 incl. 580.00 584.00 4.00 9.10 591.00 593.50 2.50 3.69 602.50 604.00 1.50 0.55 613.50 645.00 31.50 0.97 incl. 624.00 629.00 5.00 5.45 649.00 650.00 1.00 0.02 658.00 661.00 3.00 0.01 669.00 677.00 8.00 0.02 681.00 743.00 62.00 1.27 incl. 728.00 740.00 12.00 5.13 746.00 749.00 3.00 0.07 752.00 753.50 1.50 0.02 756.50 757.50 1.00 0.01 AR-17-119c1 147 -67 825.50 119.50 354.00 358.00 4.00 0.07 418.00 436.00 18.00 0.21 456.00 456.50 0.50 0.15 462.50 471.50 9.00 0.14 487.50 489.50 2.00 0.17 504.00 506.50 2.50 7.59 509.50 510.50 1.00 0.13 514.00 514.50 0.50 0.13 529.00 529.50 0.50 0.03 536.00 536.50 0.50 0.06 543.50 560.50 17.00 0.53 569.00 570.50 1.50 0.02 580.50 581.50 1.00 0.07 591.00 592.00 1.00 0.06 596.00 596.50 0.50 0.08 605.50 608.50 3.00 0.14 613.00 624.50 11.50 0.03 679.00 687.50 8.50 0.50 715.50 716.00 0.50 0.01 AR-17-119c2 147 -67 1065.50 119.50 381.50 396.50 15.00 0.19 403.50 404.50 1.00 0.06 411.50 413.00 1.50 0.07 461.50 469.00 7.50 0.27 475.00 479.00 4.00 0.03 488.00 500.00 12.00 0.25 507.00 507.50 0.50 0.10 515.50 516.50 1.00 0.07 520.50 534.00 13.50 0.15 539.00 541.50 2.50 0.03 546.50 575.00 28.50 0.64 602.00 615.00 13.00 0.09 627.00 630.00 3.00 0.02 715.50 728.00 12.50 1.61 891.00 891.50 0.50 0.06 970.00 970.50 0.50 0.02 1011.50 1012.00 0.50 0.03 AR-17-120c1 327 -70 846.50 114.80 534.00 536.00 2.00 1.74 620.00 620.50 0.50 0.02 625.50 626.00 0.50 0.12 635.00 639.00 4.00 0.45 664.50 665.00 0.50 0.01 715.00 716.00 1.00 0.03 AR-17-120c2 327 -70 864.50 114.80 552.00 552.50 0.50 0.03 633.00 634.50 1.50 0.29 691.00 691.50 0.50 0.05 717.00 719.00 2.00 0.08 AR-17-121c1 327 -70 816.50 134.10 455.00 464.00 9.00 0.15 481.00 482.00 1.00 1.02 485.00 505.00 20.00 0.28 509.00 514.00 5.00 0.37 519.00 548.00 29.00 2.39 incl. 528.00 532.00 4.00 13.46 551.00 583.00 32.00 0.19 586.00 587.00 1.00 0.32 593.00 598.00 5.00 0.01 636.50 665.00 28.50 1.09 incl. 660.00 663.00 3.00 9.25 669.00 681.00 12.00 1.27 684.00 693.50 9.50 0.20 714.00 735.00 21.00 0.95 785.00 786.00 1.00 0.14 AR-17-121c2 327 -70 813.50 134.10 473.50 474.00 0.50 0.04 479.00 479.50 0.50 0.01 483.50 491.00 7.50 0.79 497.00 562.00 65.00 1.23 incl. 532.00 534.00 2.00 11.33 616.50 631.00 14.50 0.48 642.50 668.50 26.00 0.44 684.50 685.00 0.50 0.02 689.50 691.00 1.50 0.09 710.50 713.00 2.50 0.19 734.50 735.50 1.00 0.12 754.50 759.50 5.00 0.10 AR-17-126c1 327 -70 831.00 131.70 397.50 398.00 0.50 0.14 404.50 405.00 0.50 0.01 408.00 411.50 3.50 0.24 424.00 424.50 0.50 0.07 429.50 430.50 1.00 1.88 436.50 448.50 12.00 0.10 451.50 468.50 17.00 0.66 474.50 491.50 17.00 0.06 561.00 562.50 1.50 0.04 574.00 577.50 3.50 0.07 584.00 586.00 2.00 0.23 597.00 613.50 16.50 0.11 616.50 629.00 12.50 0.06 749.50 756.50 7.00 0.23 804.00 806.50 2.50 0.06 AR-17-126c2 327 -70 543.00 131.70 426.50 430.00 3.50 0.84 433.00 434.00 1.00 0.98 437.00 445.00 8.00 0.24 451.00 453.00 2.00 0.14 460.00 468.00 8.00 0.98 474.00 476.00 2.00 0.02 479.00 481.00 2.00 0.57 486.00 514.00 28.00 0.49 incl. 488.00 500.00 12.00 1.00 524.00 527.50 3.50 0.02 AR-17-127c1 147 -67 882.50 117.90 475.50 482.00 6.50 0.50 486.00 492.00 6.00 0.07 512.00 515.00 3.00 0.45 543.00 544.50 1.50 0.79 553.50 555.50 2.00 0.04 588.50 596.00 7.50 0.18 601.00 613.00 12.00 0.04 619.00 621.00 2.00 0.09 625.00 629.00 4.00 0.05 638.00 648.00 10.00 0.13 670.50 680.00 9.50 0.03 740.50 741.50 1.00 0.12 757.50 764.00 6.50 0.07 767.00 779.00 12.00 0.03 782.00 785.50 3.50 0.04 807.50 811.50 4.00 0.03 856.00 856.50 0.50 0.30 AR-17-127c2 147 -67 954.50 117.90 507.00 508.50 1.50 0.05 531.50 534.50 3.00 0.04 568.00 569.00 1.00 0.05 662.50 666.00 3.50 0.03 668.50 669.50 1.00 0.05 677.50 687.50 10.00 1.79 incl. 682.00 684.00 2.00 8.52 761.50 765.50 4.00 0.10 788.50 791.00 2.50 0.16 842.50 845.00 2.50 0.04 849.50 850.50 1.00 0.03 861.00 870.00 9.00 0.10 872.50 884.50 12.00 0.27 888.50 891.50 3.00 0.16 AR-17-133c1 147 -67 864.50 110.45 436.50 438.50 2.00 0.04 492.50 504.50 12.00 0.04 513.00 537.00 24.00 0.08 604.50 607.00 2.50 0.05 611.50 615.00 3.50 0.39 618.00 619.00 1.00 0.14 621.50 622.50 1.00 0.01 631.50 632.50 1.00 0.43 676.00 679.50 3.50 0.12 697.00 697.50 0.50 0.11 708.00 709.00 1.00 0.02 732.50 737.00 4.50 0.13 749.50 751.00 1.50 0.06 AR-17-133c2 147 -67 981.50 110.45 479.00 479.50 0.50 0.05 485.00 488.50 3.50 0.09 494.50 497.00 2.50 0.07 532.00 573.50 41.50 0.11 578.50 584.50 6.00 0.07 587.50 588.50 1.00 0.04 592.50 598.50 6.00 0.06 601.50 632.50 31.00 0.09 644.50 658.50 14.00 0.04 661.50 667.50 6.00 0.05 673.50 690.00 16.50 0.14 705.00 705.50 0.50 0.01 715.50 723.50 8.00 0.06 726.50 729.00 2.50 0.02 759.50 761.00 1.50 0.09 771.00 772.50 1.50 0.05 796.50 799.50 3.00 0.04 896.00 897.50 1.50 0.03 AR-17-138c1 147 -70 936.00 102.80 532.00 532.50 0.50 0.11 559.00 559.50 0.50 0.10 562.00 563.50 1.50 0.11 581.00 584.00 3.00 0.02 613.00 613.50 0.50 0.04 630.50 635.00 4.50 0.05 638.00 664.50 26.50 0.06 676.00 712.50 36.50 0.20 715.00 720.00 5.00 0.03 725.50 726.00 0.50 0.04 728.50 730.50 2.00 0.07 743.50 746.00 2.50 0.39 749.00 766.00 17.00 0.09 771.00 775.00 4.00 0.05 777.50 778.00 0.50 0.08 863.50 864.00 0.50 0.01 878.50 888.50 10.00 0.07 893.50 894.00 0.50 0.20 897.00 904.00 7.00 0.18 AR-17-138c2 147 -70 879.50 102.80 468.00 469.00 1.00 0.10 490.50 496.50 6.00 0.21 503.50 512.00 8.50 0.13 541.50 564.00 22.50 0.94 647.00 650.00 3.00 0.04 659.00 659.50 0.50 0.23 666.50 674.00 7.50 0.04 680.00 681.00 1.00 0.22 695.00 697.50 2.50 0.03 754.00 755.00 1.00 0.02 AR-17-138c3 147 -70 660.50 102.80 425.50 430.50 5.00 0.05 438.50 440.50 2.00 0.04 486.50 496.00 9.50 0.20 499.00 506.50 7.50 0.06 519.50 520.50 1.00 0.04 568.50 571.50 3.00 0.50 600.50 602.50 2.00 0.46 617.00 621.50 4.50 0.13

Parameters:

Maximum internal dilution 2.00 m downhole

Minimum thickness 0.5 m downhole

Cutoff grade 0.01% U3O8

U3O8 analyzed by ICP-OES at SRC Laboratories, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

All depths and intervals are meters downhole, true thicknesses are yet to be determined. Resource modelling in conjunction with an updated mineral resource estimate is required before true thicknesses can be estimated.

About NexGen

NexGen is a British Columbia corporation with a focus on the acquisition, exploration and development of Canadian uranium projects. NexGen has a highly experienced team of uranium industry professionals with a successful track record in the discovery of uranium deposits and in developing projects through discovery to production.

NexGen owns a portfolio of prospective uranium exploration assets in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada, including a 100% interest in Rook I, location of the Arrow Discovery in February 2014 and Bow Discovery in March 2015 and the Harpoon discovery in August 2016. The Arrow deposit's updated mineral resource estimate with an effective date of December 20, 2016 was released in March 2017, and comprised 179.5 M lbs U3O8 contained in 1.18 M tonnes grading 6.88% U3O8 in the indicated mineral resource category and an additional 122.1 M lbs U3O8 contained in 4.25 M tonnes grading 1.30% U3O8 in the inferred mineral resource category.
Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse has become the inaugural location for a billion-dollar electronic health record and billing system for Mayo Clinic Health Systems nationwide network.

Mayo-Franciscan went live Saturday with the Epic records system, which will spread to all Mayo sites by the end of next year.

This is a very big switch for us, going to a single system for the entire Mayo enterprise, said Tim Johnson, who works at Mayo-Franciscan in La Crosse as regional vice president for Mayo Clinic in Southwest Wisconsin.

The joint planning process began 2 years ago to design and incorporate the system of Verona, Wis.-based Epic, Johnson said during an interview Wednesday.

Known internally as the Plummer Project, the initiative sprung from the legacy of Dr. Henry Plummer, who created the worlds first patient-centered health records system at Mayo Clinic more than a century ago. More than 51,000 Mayo staffers in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona and Florida will be trained to use the Epic system.

Just about every person who interacts with patients will have access to it, Johnson said.

The system will improve efficiency, quality and patient safety, he said, adding that, upon completion, the electronic records will allow sharing of information throughout Mayo World.

Mayo-Franciscan in Wisconsin was tapped as the first step of implementation because Wisconsin is not too big, and not too small, so we can learn, he said.

The system has not experienced any major glitches since going live at 6 a.m. Saturday, Johnson said.

Were solving hundreds of minor issues as we roll out, he said. Were in the throes of it. Were dealing with the stress of transition.

An impressive aspect of the system is that it will accommodate not only community-based hospital care but also the complicated combinations of academic research and subspecialties as well as community care at Mayos Rochester headquarters, Johnson said.

Epic, which replaces three electronic health records systems Mayo uses now, extends far beyond medical records and billing to include vast networks of Mayos medical centers, security, radiology, data centers and every other facet of operations, he said.

Its taking the best practices of Mayo Clinic to benefit all patients at all sites  converging on a common set of tools and bringing the best of Mayo Clinic to each patients care, said Dr. Steve Peters, Mayo Clinics chief medical information officer.

For example, Johnson said, a Mayo patient in La Crosse who becomes ill while traveling in Arizona will have the benefit of the fact that Arizona Mayo physicians can tap into the patients records immediately.

The cost of the system includes training of staffers and implementation and will be spread over several years, Johnson said.

The system will include information as dialed down as medications, allergies and health issues. All billing will be done through one system, and patients will receive one consolidated statement  regardless of which Mayo facility where they receive care, Peters said.

Attesting to the effectiveness of the Epic system is Dr. Michael Redman, chief medical information officer at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, which began using Epic six years ago.

There always are challenges when you go to a new system, said Redman, an otolaryngologist who said Epic is an improvement over the old paper system by 1,000 percent, for sure. Initially, it is a big headache and they probably will find that, too.

Like Johnson, Redman noted the advantage of interhospital communication Epic allows, saying, We send a lot of patients to UW-Madison, and vice-versa.  Its easier to take care of traveling patients.

Having Epics headquarters so close, with Verona less than 150 miles from La Crosse, is an advantage in case problems arise, Redman said.

Like Mayos gradual activation of Epic, Gundersen also has been phasing it in throughout its three-state system, with the final move, into cardiology, slated for October, he said.

Launching the system at Mayo-Franciscan has included bringing personnel in from Rochester, Arizona and Florida, and Mayo-Franciscan staffers will be on call as experts as Epic rolls to other sites, Johnson said.

It is evolving, because Mayo World is so large, he said. It involves a great deal of training. We have a command center here, and Eau Claire has a command center. In Rochester, 200 people are available 24/7.

If a nurse, doctor or receptionist runs into a problem, help for them is literally at their elbow, Johnson said.

Mayo Clinic sites in Minnesota, except Rochester, are scheduled to go live with Epic in November, followed by the Rochester campus being activated in May and the switch being flipped for its campuses in Arizona and Florida in October 2018.
By Yi Whan-woo

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Singapore, Tuesday, to discuss possible countermeasures in the wake of North Korea's test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last week.

Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for the Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun and Japan's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director General Kenji Kanasugi on the sidelines of the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue that began on Tuesday.

The dialogue will run through Wednesday. It is an informal security meeting involving officials and civilian experts from the members of the dormant six-party talks aimed at the denuclearization of North Korea.

Kim, Yun and Kanasugi shared their thoughts on how they can shape the joint promise made among the leaders of the three countries in Germany during the G20 summit last week to press North Korea harder, according to the diplomatic sources.

The three envoys agreed to step up efforts for the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) to adopt stronger sanctions against Pyongyang.












By Oh Young-jin



How vulnerable is the new U.S. garrison to North Korea's attack?



Experts say that it could be vulnerable to a concentrated attack from the North's missiles and long-range rockets.



The new U.S. garrison in Pyeongtaek will accommodate most of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).



They include the Eighth U.S. Army (EUSA) headquarters and its mainstay, the 2nd Infantry Division, airfields and their command structure. Thrown in together are dependents and their housing. It can compare to one small American town transplanted onto Pyeongtaek.



Naturally, the question is whether putting all the eggs together in the same basket may invite North Korea to concentrate its attacks on it and how vulnerable it would be to such attacks.



In an opening ceremony for the EUSA headquarters on the premises Tuesday, its commander, Lt. General Thomas Vandal said that it could be protected by the low-tier Patriots missile interceptors.



Experts point out that it all comes down to a matter of chance.



"It is inevitable that some missiles will not be intercepted and land inside the base," said Yang Uk, an expert at the private think tank, the Korea Defense and Security Forum.



He said that the North is estimated to have about 200 missile launch platforms.



"If one third of them are used for first strikes, the Patriots would more or less handle the incoming missiles but still they won't make a perfect defense and some missiles are bound to pass through." If more missiles are fired at Pyeongtaek, the more incoming would penetrate and cause damage." Right now, no missile interceptors are assigned to protect the new Pyeongtaek base.



Posing a greater threat are the North's new rockets that can hit the base.



"They can't be intercepted by Patriots," he said. "It is easier to concentrate barrages on the base and the result could be devastating."



In 2003, President Roh Moo-Hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed to consolidate 173 U.S. bases scattered across Korea into one big one for EUSA, 2ID and USFK headquarters. It is assumed that they picked the location because Camp Humphreys was already located there and its location south of Seoul was safe, away from the striking range of tens of thousands of North Korean artillery pieces that target Seoul and the metropolitan area. For Korea, it was related to national pride  pushing foreign military installations out of sight. For the U.S., it was an ideal method of cost-cutting efficiency.



In the Chinese classic called "Romance of Three Kingdoms," Cao Cao's big armada were destroyed in the Battle of the Red Cliffs as he was deceived into linking up all his boats, which went up in smoke in a fire set by fifth columnists. Not seeing this flaw in the Pyeongtaek base is nothing less than a crime for any military officer.




Gronik, a political newcomer who called himself a "progressive businessperson," is the most prominent Democrat yet to get into the race and could tap his personal wealth to help spread his message.
Firefly squid

(Image credit: Big Pacific)

Superlatives are often used to describe the Pacific Ocean  deepest, widest, and biggest of all the oceans in the world. Pictured here are bioluminescent firefly squid, which live in the western Pacific depths, between 600 and 1,200 feet (180 to 366 meters) below the surface.

Read the full story about the sea life featured in the book and television series, "Big Pacific."

Frogfish

(Image credit: Big Pacific)

"Big Pacific," the companion book to a new five-part television series presented by PBS, offers a glimpse of the unusual and diverse creatures that live in a variety of Pacific Ocean habitats.

Frogfish are part of the anglerfish family and live in warm Pacific waters near coral reefs.

Galapagos finches

(Image credit: Big Pacific)

The Pacific Ocean covers more surface area on Earth than all the land masses combined.

In the eastern Pacific are the Galapagos Islands, the only place in the world that hosts Galapagos finches.

Galapagos tortoise

(Image credit: Big Pacific)

On the Galapagos Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Galapagos tortoises can live up to a century in the wild. Some individuals in captivity have lived to be 170 years old.

Guadalupe fur seal

(Image credit: Big Pacific)

The Pacific Ocean covers 64 million square miles (166 million square kilometers) which is a third of Earth's surface area. Pacific waters around Mexico's Guadalupe Island host the Guadalupe fur seal; this population has recently recovered from a population decimated by sealers in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Lord Howe stick insect

(Image credit: Big Pacific)

Rare and unique creatures live in, on and around the Pacific Ocean. The Lord Howe stick insect, the rarest insect in the world, lives on a specific type of bush that grows on Ball's Pyramid, the mostly barren remains of an ancient shield volcano in Pacific waters near Australia. The only known population consists of around 20 individuals.

Marine iguana

(Image credit: Big Pacific)

The marine iguana lives on the rocky shores of the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago of volcanic islands near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, close to Ecuador.

Marine iguana

(Image credit: Big Pacific)

Male marine iguanas in the Galapagos Islands dive in Pacific waters to find algae, the species' main food source.

Nomura's jellyfish

(Image credit: Big Pacific)

The total water volume of the Pacific Ocean is around 168 million cubic miles (700 million cubic kilometers), and is home to possibly millions of species of fish, mammals, invertebrates and microbes.

Nomura's jellyfish, mostly found in Pacific waters near Japan, China and Korea, is the largest known jellyfish in the world.

Peppered moray eel

(Image credit: Big Pacific)

Extending from the North Pole to the South Pole and covering some of the deepest points in any of Earth's oceans, the Pacific Ocean touches almost every continent. This large peppered moray  a type of eel that lives in the eastern Pacific near reef flats  has made his way onto shore to hunt for food.

Pot-bellied seahorse

(Image credit: Big Pacific)

Pot-bellied seahorses live in Pacific waters around Australia and are the largest seahorses, growing up to 14 inches (35 centimeters) in length.
It holds about half of Earth's liquid water, covers approximately 64 million square miles (166 million square kilometers) and extends deeper than any other body of water on the planet. The Pacific Ocean is familiar and mysterious at the same time, with much of its watery domain still unexplored by humans and many of its inhabitants yet to be discovered.

But a new five-part television series is offering a glimpse of this hidden world. From tiny, glowing squids to enormous whales, the creatures that call the Pacific Ocean their home take center stage in "Big Pacific," produced by NHNZ, the natural history unit of New Zealand media company Television New Zealand, and presented on PBS in the United States. And arresting moments from the program are captured in the book "Big Pacific" (Princeton University Press, 2017), a photographic and written companion to the five-part series.

Reflecting the organization of the "Big Pacific" television episodes, the book is divided into four categories that represent aspects of the natural world in the ocean: "Passionate," "Mysterious," "Voracious" and "Violent" (these are also the titles of the first four episodes of the TV series). The series' fifth and final episode describes how the filmmakers captured the breathtaking imagery, and these behind-the-scenes moments are woven throughout the book. Both the book and TV series also incorporate the impact of human activity on ocean habitats.

Author Rebecca Tansley, who collaborated closely with the television series' producers to bring the book to life, told Live Science how the photos and narratives came together. [See stunning photos of sea creatures from the book "Big Pacific"]

This Q&A has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Live Science: How did you become involved with the "Big Pacific" book project?

Rebecca Tansley: I had a long-standing relationship with NHNZ, the production company that made the series. I project-managed the production of books based on some of their series. I have a foot in both camps  I'm a writer and a filmmaker. I understood the process that they'd be going through to make the series and how I would need to fit into that in order to write the book, select the images and put it all together. For me, it was the perfect project. It drew on my background, my interest in natural history, and my love of research and storytelling.

Live Science: How did you select which stories would be featured most prominently in the book?

Tansley: I was provided with some of the narration scripts  typically they were in a first stage. NHNZ was still working on the program. But I would get a sense of the episodes and the content. I was provided access to research information. They had a lot of fact sheets, which the researchers had compiled. I only had to do supplementary research.

I would read through scripts for the program, and I identified the species and places that were covered in each episode. Then, I sat down with an editor at NHNZ and looked through all the footage relating to that particular episode and collected kind of a rough edit of still images based on what imagery was in the program. From there, I went with what I thought people would be interested in knowing about each of those species and where they fit into the overall ecosystem, but always with a view to shed light on why they might be in a given episode. For example, the "Violent" episode  you wouldn't necessarily imagine humpback whales would be featured in an episode about violence, but their heat run [when many males chase a single female] definitely demonstrates degrees of aggressive behavior that we don't usually associate with baleen whales.

In the book, I had the opportunity to build on the information communicated in an hour of TV. It was a dream job, because I got to learn a lot about the animals and the places and share that information.

Guadalupe fur seals were hunted to near-extinction by the 19th century, but have since made an encouraging comeback. (Image credit: NHNZ)

Live Science: Was there a marine species you were especially looking forward to writing about, and did you find any new "favorites?"

Tansley: One of my all-time favorite animals has always been otters. So, I was looking forward to writing about sea otters  but the footage they got of otter mating and sea otters feeding, well, they weren't the strongest visuals. They were fine as moving images, but weren't as dynamic in stills, so I didn't write a lot about otters. But I did find out some interesting stuff. They have the densest fur in the world  that's how they manage to stay so warm in cold water.

Some of the animals [that] I really enjoyed finding out about I was surprised by, because they're not sexy megafauna. Like the Chinese horseshoe crab, which is probably by most people's standards pretty ugly. But its story is one of such brilliance and survival against the odds, you can't help but feeling that it's sort of charming. It's sobering to think that this species that's survived for so long is now threatened by the development that's going on along the coastlines of its habitat.

Another one was the firefly squid, off the coast of Japan. These little squid are just a few centimeters long. The images are so beautiful, and the way they rise up from the deep and light up the ocean for just a short time and release their eggs  I suppose I fell in love with them because it was a wonderful story. It was a reminder of how diverse and how fascinating the oceans around us are.

Live Science: Which Pacific Ocean habitats intrigued you the most?

Tansley: I found the Snake Island story very interesting. It's an island full of these pit vipers, which are pretty much unique to the island. They sleep most of the year and have evolved to feed only on migratory birds that land on their way to their summer feeding grounds and on their way back. The pit viper wakes up and feeds for [a] short period of time, then the rest of the year, it lies dormant. I think that was really intriguing. [Cats and Snakes and Monkeys, Oh My! 9 Islands Ruled by Animals]

Galapagos, of course, was really interesting  ironically, the habitat is threatened by tourism, by the hordes of people who want to go experience that habitat. That's an irony that wasn't lost on me.

Frogfish are ambush predators, mostly feeding on fish that share their coral reef habitats. (Image credit: NHNZ)

Live Science: As a writer, how do you shape a story out of a topic that covers so many diverse species and habitats?

Tansey: When I was first approached to do the book and I was shown the script, my first thought was, 'That's not going to work in book form!' Voice-over scripts work well in television, but it doesn't work writing like that in a book. That's why I took the approach I did  looking at the species and places in each episode, and writing about them in a way that takes them back to the overall theme of the program, but also fleshing out those characters more and imparting more information. I wasn't trying to give the same information about every single species  their life expectancy, their breeding habits  it wasn't a species-by-species rundown. I tried to keep it more readable and more varied, just highlighting what I thought were the interesting stories about those characters.

Live Science: What would you like people to take away from reading the book or watching the series?

Tansey: I would hope they'd have a real appreciation for the diversity and the natural history of the Pacific. I hope the book will perhaps trigger people to think about their own interaction with the ocean and their own impact on the ocean. I live in New Zealand, which is a Pacific nation  for me, it was always present, I grew up within a stone's throw of the sea. We all came from the ocean. We should really respect it. That's what I hope people take home.

Live Science: The title of the first section in "Big Pacific"  and of the first episode in the series  is "Mysterious." Has writing this book dispelled any of the mystery that the Pacific Ocean holds for you?

Tansey: I think if anything it's gained more. I learned an enormous amount about places I've never heard of, but it's like when you study a subject at university  the more you learn about it, the more you appreciate how little you know, and the more it makes you want to know. It really only deepens the mystery.

The fourth episode of "Big Pacific" airs on PBS July 12, and the entire series is available to view online. "Big Pacific" by Rebecca Tansley is available on Amazon (opens in new tab).

Original article on Live Science.
Scabies causes itching and little red bumps or blisters on the skin (on the fingers and webbing between the fingers and areas with skin folds).

Scabies is a very contagious skin condition that's common around the world. Although the infections are uncomfortable, they usually can be treated easily.

Causes

Scabies isn't like other skin conditions. Whereas most skin problems are caused by allergies, viruses or genetics, scabies infections come from mites. A microscopic mite called the human itch mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis) burrows into the upper layer of a person's skin, where it lives and lays two to three eggs each day.

Scabies is more common in places that have limited health care and large populations, such as Central and South America, Africa, northern and central Australia, the Caribbean, India and Southeast Asia, according to the U.K. National Health Service. Nursing homes, prisons, extended-care facilities and child care facilities often can have scabies outbreaks because of the close contact of the people there.

Any contact with the human itch mites can transmit these critters. For example, they can be transmitted sexually, or they can be passed on when people share infested bedding and clothing. People can even transmit the mites when shaking or holding hands, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

"Transmission of scabies is usually from person to person by direct contact," said Karnika Kapoor, a primary care physician at Medical Offices of Manhattan. "Transmission from parents to children, and especially from mother to infant, is routine. In typical conditions, mites can survive off a host for 24 to 36 hours."

A scabies infection often appears as little red bumps or blisters on the skin. (Image credit: Joe Miller/CDC)

Symptoms

Though scabies has very few symptoms, it can be very uncomfortable. The prominent symptoms of scabies are itching and little red bumps or blisters on the skin (on the fingers and webbing between the fingers and areas with skin folds), Kapoor said. "Itching is often severe and usually worse at night," she said.

In infants and young children, the bumps may form around the neck, scalp, face and palms, as well as on the soles of the feet.

If a person has had scabies before, the symptoms may develop within a few days. For people who haven't had it previously, it may take as long as six weeks for symptoms to begin. However, anyone who is infected with scabies is contagious even if he or she does not have symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic.

A subtype of scabies called crusted scabies, or Norwegian scabies, is more severe than other types because it can infect people with compromised immune systems, such as people who have AIDS or transplant patients. People with healthy immune systems are able to fight off scabies to a certain extent. Those with a compromised immune system can't fight it off as well and it evolves into crusted scabies. This type of scabies causes crusty areas on the skin that contain large amounts of mites and eggs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Diagnosis & Treatment

Good timing and adequate communication are essential to the success of scabies treatment, Kapoor said. A medical professional may suspect scabies if the patient has one or more of the following symptoms:

Widespread itching that is worse at night.

Itchy eruptions with characteristic lesions and distribution.

Other household members with similar symptoms.

The doctor also may examine a sample of the patient's skin under a microscope, to look for eggs or mites in the skin.

The human itch mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis) is a microscopic bug that burrows into the skin and lays eggs. (Image credit: Bohart Museum of Entomology)

When scabies has been diagnosed, treatment is simple. Kapoor said there are two main methods for treating it. One way is to apply a cream containing an insecticide called permethrin. Patients massage it thoroughly into the skin from the neck to the soles of the feet, including areas under the fingernails and toenails, Kapoor said. The other method is to take an oral prescription medication called ivermectin, she added.

A doctor may prescribe Lindane lotion or Crotamiton (Eurax) creams instead of permethrin, or he or she may recommend antihistamines because they can help control the itching. Itching often persists for one to two weeks even after successful treatment because the mites, mite feces and mite eggs have irritated the skin and it needs time to recover.

People who live with or otherwise come into close contact with the person who is infected with scabies also must be treated. The infected person also must wash, in hot water, all of the clothes and linens that everyone in the household has used recently, in order to prevent reinfection with the mites. The mites can live for 48 to 72 hours without human contact, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

Additional resources
The Grange

(Image credit: NPS)

Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, owned only one home during his entire life: the Hamilton Grange.



Hamilton commissioned architect John McComb Jr. to design a Federal-style country home on a 32-acre estate in upper Manhattan in 1801, according to the National Park Service (NPS). It was completed in 1802, but Hamilton lived there for just two years before Aaron Burr shot him in a duel on July 11, 1804. Hamilton died 213 years ago today, July 12, 1804.



The house still stands, but it has been moved twice: once in 1889 and again in 2008. The public can visit it today in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Harlem, and see artifacts such as a silver wine cooler gifted to Hamilton by George Washington. [ Read the Full Story and Watch the Video]

$10 bill

(Image credit: iiiphevgeniy/Shutterstock)

Hamilton (1757-1804) was born in the British West Indies on the island of Nevis. He immigrated to the United States in 1772 and later enrolled in the Continental Army to fight the British. Many of Hamilton's achievements  including serving as an aide-de-camp to General Washington, a signer of the U.S. Constitution, an author of many of the essays contained in "The Federalist Papers" and father of the U.S. Treasury and Coast Guard  are now widely known, thanks to the theatrical hit "Hamilton: An American Musical."

Dueling pistols

(Image credit: Hamilton Grange National Memorial/NPS)

The dueling pistols carried by Hamilton and Burr.



Hamilton's last letter to his wife ended with an emotional goodbye: "Adieu, best of wives and best of women. Embrace all my darling children for me."

Winter portrait

(Image credit: Hamilton Grange National Memorial/NPS)

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, Hamilton's widow, owned the house until 1833. This photo, taken in the winter of 1864, was taken before the house was acquired by St. Luke's Church in 1889.



A few of the 13 sweetgum trees planted on the property by Hamilton are on the right of the photograph. The trees were a gift from George Washington, and the number symbolized the 13 colonies.

St. Luke's move

(Image credit: Hamilton Grange National Memorial/NPS)

Elders from St. Luke's Church gathered near the house shortly before it was moved in 1889. It was moved from West 143rd Street to West 141st Street and Convent Avenue, according to the NPS.

Temporary chapel

(Image credit: Hamilton Grange National Memorial/NPS)

This photo, taken between 1889 and 1892, shows that St. Luke's Church temporarily used The Grange as a chapel.



Hamilton named the house "The Grange" after his father's family's ancestral home in Scotland, according to the NPS.

The stairway

(Image credit: Hamilton Grange National Memorial/NPS)

An 1892 photo showing the staircase leading from the first to the second floor.



During Hamilton's time, the house was a 90-minute carriage ride from his downtown law office, according to the NPS.

Hamilton neighborhood

(Image credit: Hamilton Grange National Memorial/NPS)

This 1912 photo shows The Grange at its new location, next to St. Luke's Church in New York City. The tower of City College is visible in the right background.

Getting crowded

(Image credit: Hamilton Grange National Memorial/NPS)

The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society acquired the Hamilton Grange in 1924, with a goal of restoring it as a historic site and museum, according to the NPS.



This photo shows The Grange between an apartment building and St. Luke's Church in 1925.

Octagon room

(Image credit: Hamilton Grange National Memorial/NPS)

An eastward view taken in 1955 showing The Grange's east octagon room.



[ Read the Full Story and Watch the Video]

Hamilton's bust

(Image credit: Hamilton Grange National Memorial/NPS)

Another 1955 photo, this time of the south hall on the first floor. Notice the bust of Hamilton, which he commissioned during his lifetime.
The world's largest fish, a whale shark, recently got up close and personal with fishers in Ocean City, Maryland, nudging their boat for long enough that the crew captured a stunning video.

Steve Moore  who helms the boat, dubbed "The Stalker"  was on an overnight fishing trip in late June when the crew spotted the 30- to 35-foot-long (9 to 11 meters) whale shark, the Delmarva Daily Times reported. A second sighting, on July 4, occurred near the same spot. At that point, fisherman Josh Schleupner jumped into the water to snorkel with the majestic fish, capturing awe-inspiring video in the process, the Delmarva Daily Times reported. [On the Brink: A Gallery of Wild Sharks]

But although the video of a monster fish nudging its snout into a boat or swimming just feet from a human may seem scary, such occurrences are usually not dangerous, nor are they particularly rare, said Alistair Dove, vice president of research and conservation at the Georgia Aquarium.

"The interest the animal takes in the boat is not unusual," Dove told Live Science.

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are inquisitive animals that often take an interest in fishing vessels. Some fishers even keep a pole handy to nudge the behemoths back under the water, and responsible boaters will cut their engines to avoid slicing them up when this occurs, Dove said.

And despite their frightening appearance, the creatures are mostly harmless, Dove said.

"It's a wonderful shark in the sense that it breaks what we think we know about what sharks are," Dove said. "Here's the biggest shark of all, and it's a big, polka-dotted gentle giant that doesn't have big, nasty teeth [and] that is a filter feeder."

Gentle giants

Whale sharks are massive sharks (not whales) that can grow to be up to 40 feet (12 m) long. They are filter feeders, meaning they use their 5-foot-wide (1.5 m) mouths filled with hundreds of bristly teeth to filter huge gulps of plankton from seawater. The elusive creatures are also deep divers, sometimes plunging to depths of 6,000 feet (1,800 m).

Most whale sharks live in the Indian and Pacific oceans, though about a quarter of the population roams the Atlantic Ocean. They thrive in warm waters that are more than 71 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius) and, during the summer, may coast up the warm Gulf Stream waters as far north as Long Island, New York. They may even ride warm eddies from the Gulf Stream pretty close to the shore, Dove said.

As the big fish in the sea, whale sharks have very few enemies (although, occasionally, a pod of orcas may attack a juvenile). However, the gentle giants are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, mainly because humans have overfished them in the western Indian Ocean.

Whale sharks act as homes for many marine creatures. For example, remoras (also called suckerfish) literally stick to the sharks' skin; other fish school with the sharks, coasting on their swimming drafts; and parasitic creatures feed on the animals, Dove said.

Whale sharks are not aggressive, and as long as people keep a safe distance of at least 10 feet (3 m), they are not at risk of injury or harm. (The biggest risk of getting too close is being accidentally slapped by a whale shark's massive tail.) In places such as Indonesia and the Galapagos Islands, people often swim with whale sharks, Dove said.

Originally published on Live Science.
One of the largest icebergs ever recorded, packing about a trillion tons of ice or enough to fill up two Lake Eries, has just split off from Antarctica, in a much anticipated, though not celebrated, calving event.

A section of the Larsen C ice shelf with an area of 2,240 square miles (5,800 square kilometers) finally broke away some time between July 10 and today (July 12), scientists with the U.K.-based MIDAS Project, an Antarctic research group, reported today.

Scientists discovered the birth of this iceberg in data collected by an instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite, called MODIS, which takes thermal infrared images. [In Photos: Antarctica's Larsen C Ice Shelf Through Time]

The iceberg was expected, though scientists didn't know when the crack in the ice sheet would finally release the floating chunk. The rift in the Larsen C ice shelf  the fourth-largest shelf in Antarctica  has been around for decades, but it wasn't until November 2016 that satellite measurements revealed it had grown to more than 300 feet (91 m) in width and 70 miles (112 km) in length. The most recent measurements from this summer put the rift at 124 miles (200 km) long, with the now-calved iceberg hanging on by a thread; just 3 miles (5 km) of ice connected it with the rest of the ice shelf.

The Larsen C rift began to lengthen in January 2016. Images from July 12, 2017, show that part of the ice shelf had finally broken away. (Image credit: Swansea University/ESA)

Even though the towering berg weighs more than 1.1 trillion tons (1 trillion metric tons), it won't have a direct impact on sea-level rise. That's because the ice was already floating on the sea. Even so, when an iceberg like this one calves, it can speed up the collapse of the rest of the ice shelf  the new iceberg reduced the area of the Larsen C ice shelf by 12 percent. Also, the ice shelf serves as a barrier to the land-based glacier that feeds the ice shelf; as that barrier diminishes, there's more of a chance for the ice behind it to collapse into the sea, MIDAS researchers said.

And it's this once-land-based ice that would impact sea levels, researchers say.

"Although this is a natural event, and we're not aware of any link to human-induced climate change, this puts the ice shelf in a very vulnerable position," Martin OLeary, a Swansea University glaciologist and member of the MIDAS project team, said in a statement. "This is the furthest back that the ice front has been in recorded history. We're going to be watching very carefully for signs that the rest of the shelf is becoming unstable."

As for what will happen to this huge chunk of ice, nobody knows at the moment.

"The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict," Adrian Luckman of Swansea University, lead investigator of the MIDAS project, said in the statement. "It may remain in one piece, but is more likely to break into fragments. Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters."

Editor's Note: This article was updated to clarify when the rift in the ice sheet first showed up.

Original article on Live Science.
In the Room of Constantine at the Vatican, two figures at the frescoes' edges, women who represent Friendship and Justice, were painted by Raphael, according to restorers.

In the Room of Constantine at the Vatican, the walls and ceilings are awash with scenes of majestic popes, clashing soldiers, cherubs hovering in their pudgy glory and even a flying dragon. As such, it's easy to overlook two unassuming figures at the frescoes' edges: serene women who represent Friendship and Justice.

Now, these figures are receiving the attention they deserve, because researchers say they were not merely designed by the master Italian painter Raphael and executed by his assistants and students, as was thought, but were painted by Raphael himself.

The discovery was made during the room's restoration, which began in March 2015. Clues passed down from 16th-century sources tipped off the restorers. According to Arnold Nesselrath, Vatican art historian and head of technical and scientific research, the sources indicated that two figures in the room were painted in a different medium and were of a higher quality than those surrounding them. [Faux Real: A Gallery of Forgeries]

"The cleaning and removal of centuries of previous restorations revealed the typical pictorial features of the master," restorer Fabio Piacentini said, according to Artnet News. In addition, the researchers found that the figures were painted in oil  not in water-based pigments  which they say sealed the deal.

"[Raphael] decided to paint this room in oil, but he managed to paint only two figures," Nesselrath said, according to Artnet News.

The two works in the Room of Constantine, in which the figures Friendship and Justice appear, are part of a four-room project in the papal apartments.

After the master painter's death in 1520, "his students continued in the traditional method, leaving only these two figures as autographs of the master," Nesselrath said.

Now, after countless viewings, the world can finally see his mark.

Original article on Live Science.
Danville, WV (25053)

Today

Cloudy with rain ending overnight. Low 48F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible..

Tonight

Cloudy with rain ending overnight. Low 48F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
Andrew Taylor scored 24 points and Taevion Kinsey added 15 points and eight rebounds to lead Marshall past UPike, 83-69, in the exhibition finale for the Thundering Herd. Marshall opens its season on Monday at Queens University.
If you closed your eyes and listened to the words emanating from President Trumps meetings in Europe last week  instead of, say, reading his tweets  it sounded as if American foreign policy had suddenly been hijacked by adults. Most of the time, at least.

At the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Trump returned U.S. policy on Russia toward something resembling normalcy. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described Trumps meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the very model of a pragmatic, well-briefed president at work.

Theres a lot of things in the past that both of us are unhappy about, Tillerson said. The perspective of both of them was: This is a really important relationship. Two largest nuclear powers in the world. Its a really important relationship. How do we start making this work?

Its hard to quarrel with that kind of practicality. Of course we want a productive relationship with Russia, even though our interests still collide much of the time.

The one exception to my normalcy thesis is that while Trump pressed Putin on election hacking, in Tillersons retelling, the pressure was evidently a little soft. The president didnt threaten consequences if Russia were to continue its subversion. (He warned that Congress might pass new sanctions, but thats only semi-tough.)

Nor did he get a clear commitment from Putin to stop interfering. Instead, Putin denied ever doing anything of the sort  and whatever Trump said in response was mild enough that Russias foreign minister described it as U.S. acceptance of Putins denial.

Months after the election, Trump still wont state plainly and publicly, without absurd hedges, that Russia meddled on his behalf. For Trump, thats not foreign policy, its personal: A shadow on his legitimacy as president.

Trump and Tillerson sounded a bit soft on Syria too. They tacitly confirmed that their policy now is to allow Russias client, Bashar Assad, to remain in power if thats the only way to end the countrys dreadful civil war. Assad shouldnt be allowed to stay for the long run, Tillerson added, but that was well short of the Obama administrations demands for regime change  a demand, it must be noted, that Obama never managed to enforce.

By and large, our objectives (in Syria) are exactly the same, Tillerson said optimistically, unconsciously echoing his predecessor, John Kerry, who pursued Russian cooperation fruitlessly for years.

The two countries announced an agreement on a ceasefire in southwest Syria, a sensible deal designed to show that the two countries can work together. And it will be a useful test of Russias intentions. (If its anything like the ceasefire deals Kerry negotiated, it wont last a month.)

The real surprise was how tough Trump came across on some issues  particularly NATO.

In Warsaw, Trump finally reaffirmed the U.S. treaty commitment to defend NATO countries against Russia. Trump also charged  in harsher language than hes used before  that Moscow is threatening Europes security through propaganda, financial crimes and cyberwarfare as well as old-fashioned military pressure.

We urge Russia to cease its destabilizing activities in Ukraine and elsewhere and its support for hostile regimes including Syria and Iran, and to instead join the community of responsible nations, he said.

Not much promise of bromance in that. Score one for the foreign policy aides known in Washington as Trumps grownups, especially his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster. In May, McMaster tried to get Trump to embrace NATO at a summit in Brussels; when Trump balked, U.S. allies were frantic. The Warsaw speech was the presidents do-over.

Of course the president is still capable of derailing carefully-plotted policies by tweeting  and by the time you read this, he may have done just that. (He tweeted from the G-20 Summit that everybody there was talking about Hillary Clinton adviser John Podestas emails, an assertion that must have puzzled the 19 leaders who were all talking about other things.)

Still, Trump made it through his first face-to-face meeting with Putin without any gaffes. There was no bear hug, no Trump-style bombast. Trump did not claim, as he once did, that his special bond with Putin would make great deals easy. Most important, Trump finally made it clear that he accepts the 68-year-old obligation to defend NATO countries from Russian pressure.

His critics will say thats a low bar, and theyre right. But its a start.
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At Stanford Medicine neurosurgeons are relying on virtual reality to better understand the nuances of individual cases and to educate patients on their specific conditions. The system, a product of Surgical Theater, a Colorado company that we covered on a trip to the White House a few years ago, combines data from different imaging modalities to create easily navigable virtual models of the relevant anatomy. Stanford has seen significant use of the system thats been employed to prepare for challenging surgical procedures, train resident doctors, and even assist in the operating room.

To train the residents, Stanford built a special room called Neurosurgical Simulation Lab that has comfy reclining chairs, large screens, and Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets. This is a sort of modern lecture hall that has no chalkboard and in which the instructor appears virtually when the headset is put on. The instructor, also present in the room and able to communicate with the students, can navigate to and discuss each unique case and even perform a virtual procedure to demonstrate how it should be done in real life.

Patients, on the other hand, dont have to go to the Neurosurgical Simulation Lab as a dedicated virtual reality cart is brought to them that contains the virtual reality headset, computer, and tools to interact with the 3D images.

The facility is also used by surgical teams to get a grip on unusual cases, plan surgeries, and do a bit of practice before pulling out the skull drill. We can plan out how we can approach a tumor and avoid critical areas like the motor cortex or the sensory areas, said Dr. Gary Steinberg, professor and chair of neurosurgery. Before, we didnt have the ability to reconstruct it in three dimensions; wed have to do it in our minds. This way its a three-dimensional rendering.

During surgeries, Stanford doctors now have the ability to overlay previously captured imaging data with live video coming from surgical microscopes, providing a viewing aspect that previously one had to generate within ones own mind.

More from Stanford
by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, July 10, 2017



A Red Lobster campaign launching today marks the start of a new creative approach and tagline, Now This Is Seafood.

The first new ads are promoting Crabfest, one of the casual dining brands roster of annual, limited-time events.

Two TV spots (a 30-second, below, and a 15-second), which will run on national cable and network, feature close-up footage of the seafood, sides and sauces being prepared, and diners enjoying the fare.

Whats new is the multi-frame, fast-paced nature of the visuals, along with a sound track that orchestrates percussion instruments and the sounds of the kitchen and restaurant (boiling water, cracking crab, squeezing lemon and dipping butter), points out Mark Gilley, Red Lobster SVP, marketing.

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Reverse-type messaging highlights the three types of crab offered (southern king, snow and Dungeness), and a traditional voiceover comes in only in the last few seconds, to state: More kinds of crab than ever, new dishes, and all your favorites  only while Crabfest lasts. Red Lobster. Now This Is Seafood.

This is the second Red Lobster campaign from Publicis New York (previously Publicis Kaplan Thaler), which became the brands agency of record in 2014 after Darden sold the seafood chain to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital Partners for $2.1 billion.

Fresh, the first campaign under the new owners, which launched in 2015, used shots of finished dishes, but against distinctive black backgrounds. It also introduced a new voiceover.

That campaign worked really well at its goal of capturing craveability and the pure joy of eating, Gilley tells Marketing Daily. But other food brands have started to use a similar style, so its time for us to evolve. The new campaign seeks to showcase the satisfaction of the crave, not just the creation of it.

The campaign aims to appeal to our existing guests and give them another reason to visit, while also inspiring those that havent visited in a while to come back, he says.

Like most restaurant brands, Red Lobster focuses on event-related ads rather than pure branding campaigns. The new audio/visual approach will be applied for other key events and business initiatives throughout the year, according to Gilley.

Before selling Red Lobster, Darden had indicated that it would be decreasing the brands marketing budget overall and TV investment in particular, as digital marketing was ramped up.

Gilley declines to specify the brands actual marketing budget and media mix trends under Golden Gate Capital. However, he confirms that TV ads remain the most recalled media for casual dining brands, so [they are] an important component of our media spend. At the same time, overall recall scores for TV advertising are on the decline as competition for consumers attention across channels increases, he adds. Thats why we use a cross-channel approach optimized to deliver the right message in the right format.

All of the new creative is optimized for cross-channel use, he reports.

The Crabfest campaign includes a partnership with Discovery Channels Deadliest Catch.

The deal includes a 60-second on-air custom vignette, plus online video that takes the viewer through the journey of the crab with experts including on-air talent and Red Lobster leaders, says Gilley.

The campaign also includes online video, social media, digital, email, freestanding inserts and in-restaurant promotion.

On Facebook, Canvas and Carousel videos will be used to give guests a deeper understanding of what makes each species and preparation so unique, Gilley says. On Snapchat, the brand will use custom filters to inspire Red Lobster customers to share their dining experience with followers.

Guests are also being encouraged to share their Crabfest experiences on Red Lobsters Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.

The agency team supporting the campaign includes Spark on media buying, MWWPR on public relations, and Epsilon on in-restaurant merchandising.

Red Lobsters sales were in decline prior to the 2014 acquisition.

Since then, the chain  which remains the top seafood chain in the nation  has invested in improving the quality of its food and the variety of its offerings, and has been attracting hard-to-woo Millennials, among others.

As of May 2016, the company was reporting that it had seen positive comparable-unit sales for six straight quarters. However, in its 2017 Top 500 report, restaurant industry research and consultancy firm Technomic estimated that Red Lobsters sales were down slightly in 2016: -0.8%, to $2.38 million.

Technomic estimated that the seafood restaurant category as a whole also saw a 0.8% sales decline, reflecting declines for No. 2 and No. 3 players Bonefish Grill and Joes Crab Shack, as well.

Gilley declines to discuss sales specifics, but says that since 2014, Red Lobster has experienced positive business momentum and achieved [its] best-ever levels of guest satisfaction. The brands ranking rose 3% in the American Customer Satisfaction Indexs 2017 Restaurant Report, to reach a four-year company high, he notes.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, July 11, 2017

First Google, then Facebook, and now Microsoft wants to bring internet access to rural parts of the world. The company said it won't make money on the operations, but could benefit from providing its services. Many run ads on Bing or require a paid subscription.

Rural Airband Initiative will start with 12 states and offer seed money to local telecom providers that try to improve internet access through methods such as "white spaces," the wireless radio airwaves set aside for television broadcasters.

A Microsoft-commissioned study by the Boston Consulting Group estimates the project would cost between $10 billion and $15 billion to connect people using TV white-space technology.

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For advertisers, that means access to more consumers. For students at schools in rural areas, especially in the U.S., that means access to more information and a better education.

The project, unveiled at an event Tuesday in Washington, D.C., would ultimately help to connect "23.4 million Americans in rural areas who lack high-speed internet access," according to one report. The goal is to connect 2 million people by 2022.

In an interview with The Seattle Times, Microsoft president Brad Smith said the U.S. presidential election provided a wake-up call to think about the role of rural counties.

Smith didn't provide a financial commitment, but said Microsoft is prepared to provide the technology and invest the cash.

"That sum will be repaid by collecting a share of future service revenue and will subsequently be spent on additional projects," he told The Seattle Times.

The project relies on white spaces, something Google and Microsoft have fought to gain since 2008. The two companies believe broader internet access could be achieve through these spectrums.

Wireless carriers, such as Sprint and T-Mobile, oppose the idea. They are concerned the use of white spaces could compromise the quality of voice and data communication traveling on their licensed networks.
by Tanya Gazdik , July 12, 2017



Apple Watch is the top brand this year in a year-over-year analysis of 500 consumer brands by Engagement Labs.

sIn its TotalSocial Rankings, the company identified the top 10 brands that saw the most improvement with respect to the quality and quantity of consumer conversations.

Apple Watch moved up more than 100 spots. Within the last 12 months ending May 2017, Apple released a number of product innovations including the iPhone 7, Apple Watch Series 2, and Apple AirPods, among others.

The remainder of the top 10 are: Bayer, USAA, Travelocity, WWE, hotels.com, H-E-B Texas Grocery, General Mills, TNT and Head & Shoulders.

The brands that have improved the most over the past year are not just those in technology or other "new and sexy" categories, says Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs.

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They cut across a range of categories and include new comers as well as brands that have stood the test of time for decades and continue to keep themselves culturally relevant in today's consumer marketplace, Keller tells Marketing Daily.

What all of the brands  new and old  have in common is that they took their own path to best connecting with consumers. There is no magic bullet, he says.

Driving positive social influences improves your business outcomes, but it's not enough to focus solely on social media as a proxy for brand advocacy, Keller says. Offline word of mouth is quite different from social media conversation, and both must be measured and mastered to improve business performance including top line sales growth.

The list provides a roadmap for marketers as they build strategies to generate conversations and increase sales. For example, General Mills took a big risk in creating a socially responsible marketing campaign for its flagship Cheerios brand with its Bring Back the Bees campaign, he says.

While the campaign did spur a little controversy, it ultimately got consumers talking, Keller says. In the case of Apple, it is clear that the company really made the most of its product launch for the Apple Watch. And, when looking at Travelocity and Hotels.com, the increase in media spend is paying off as more consumers are talking.

The rankings are based on Engagement Labs proprietary TotalSocial data, which continuously measures the most important drivers of brand performance with respect to social media and word of mouth conversations. Engagement LabsMovers and Shakers were identified by brands that had the biggest point increase in their TotalSocial scores from the twelve months ending May 2016 to the twelve months ending May 2017, placing them in the top half of the TotalSocial ranking.
Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving metals market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets.

Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials.

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Common practice for liberals and conservatives now is to take turns calling each other enemies of the First Amendment. The results of this years State of the First Amendment survey gave us the opportunity to consider these insults  and after the numbers are crunched, who is the real enemy of the First Amendment?

Well, no one. And, everyone.

Most of our fellow citizens, regardless of their political ideology, are quite fond of the First Amendment, at least in the abstract. The people who think that the First Amendment goes too far are a minority  22.5 percent of us. A majority of Americans (67.7 percent) thinks that the press plays an important role as a watchdog on government; a slightly narrower majority (58.8 percent) thinks that freedom of religion should extend to all religious groups, even those widely considered extreme or fringe.

Thats the good news: Even in a time of great political turmoil, were generally supportive of the First Amendments protections.

The bad news: When it comes down to specific applications of the First Amendment, were less positive, and also deeply divided along ideological lines. Both liberals and conservatives have certain pain points where they balk at the amount of protection that the First Amendment provides.

Liberals are more likely than conservatives to think:

Colleges should be able to ban speakers with controversial views.

People should not be able to express racist comments on social media.

Meanwhile, conservatives are more likely than liberals to think:

Government officials who leak information to the press should be prosecuted.

Journalists should not be able to publish information obtained illegally, even if it serves the public interest.

Government should be able to determine which media outlets can attend briefings.

Government should be able to hold Muslims to a higher standard of scrutiny.

Worth noting: Some of these differences in attitude may not be a direct result of whether youre a liberal or a conservative; instead, they might be circumstantial. Do more liberals support press freedoms because thats a core value of liberal ideology  or because the press is a watchdog on the government, which liberals dont currently control?

Do more conservatives think that colleges shouldnt be able to ban speakers because of a greater commitment to free speech  or because most banned speakers, at least in recent years, have tended to be conservative? It will be interesting to see in subsequent years if attitudes change as circumstances change.

One thing that unites the majority of Americans right now: Most of us, liberals and conservatives, prefer to read or listen to news that aligns with our own views.

Thats true even if you think that the news media reports with a bias, as most Americans do (56.8 percent). Apparently, were not inclined to correct that bias by taking in multiple and varied news sources. Instead, were more likely to double down on the news that fits in with our pre-existing ideological perspectives.

This finding is both obvious and disheartening: Everyone likes reading and hearing news that confirms what they already believed. Thats one of the factors that keep us so divided.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, U.S. Retail, Wealth Management and Insurance, and Wholesale Banking segments. The company offers personal deposits, such as checking, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases. It also provides credit cards and payments; real estate secured lending, auto finance, and consumer lending services; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, and advice to retail and institutional clients through direct investing, advice-based, and asset management businesses; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking products and services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to corporations, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,061 branches and 3,381 automated teller machines (ATMs) in Canada, and 1,148 stores and 2,701 ATMs in the United States, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. It has a strategic alliance with Canada Post Corporation. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
BASF SE operates as a chemical company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. The Chemicals segment provides petrochemicals and intermediates. The Materials segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for applications and systems, such as isocyanates and polyamides, as well as inorganic basic products and specialties for plastic and plastic processing industries. The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications, such as polymer dispersions, pigments, resins, electronic materials, antioxidants, light stabilizers, oilfield chemicals, mineral processing, and hydrometallurgical chemicals. The Surface Technologies segment offers chemical solutions and automotive OEM, which include refinish coatings, surface treatment, catalysts, battery materials, and precious and base metal services for the automotive and chemical industries. The Nutrition & Care segment provides nutrition and care ingredients for food and feed producers, as well as pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergent, and cleaner industries. The Agricultural Solutions segment offers crop protection products and seeds, such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and biological crop production products, as well as seed treatment products. The company has strategic partnerships with Contemporary Amperex TechnologyCo., Limited on battery materials solutions, including cathode active materials and battery recycling. BASF SE was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.
The following companies are subsidiares of HP: 3Com, 3PAR, ABB CADE, AOME Holdings Ltd., Albacore Holdings Jersey Ltd, Alpha Holding One B.V., Alpha Holding Two B.V., Anatolus Holding B.V., Apogee, Apogee Corp, Apogee Corporation Ireland Limited, Apogee Corporation Jersey Limited, Apogee Corporation Limited, Apogee Europe Limited, Apogee France Holdings SAS, Apogee France SAS, Apogee Germany Holding UG, Apogee Group Limited, Apogee Rentals Limited, Apollo Computer, AppIQ, Applied Optoelectronic Tech, ArcSight, Arnon Holding B.V., Arteis, Artivision Technologies, Aruba Networks, Atos Origin, Atos Origin Middle East group, Autonomy Corporation, Avantek, BAS - Burosysteme GmbH, BT & D Technologies, Balreed Digitec Group Limited, Balreed Digitec North Limited, Balreed Digitec SE Limited, Balreed Digitec UK Limited, Bamberga Holding B.V., Bitfone Corporation, Bluestone Software, Boonton Radio, Bristol Technology Inc., Bromium, Bromium UK Limited, CEC Europe Service Management, CGNZ, CaLan, China HP Co. Ltd Hangzhou Branch, China HP Co. Ltd., China HP Co. Ltd. Chengdu Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Guangzhou Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Jiangan Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Nanjing Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Shanghai Branch, Choose Packaging, City Docs Limited, City Docs Solutions Limited, Colorado Memory Systems, Colubris Networks, Colubris Networks, Compaq Cayman Holdings Company, Compaq Cayman Holdings General Partnership II, Compaq Information Technologies, Compaq Information Technologies LLC, Computing and Printing Global Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Computing and Printing Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Consera Software, ConteXtream Inc, Convex Computer, David Vision Systems GmbH, Dazzle, Digipro Limited, Division, EDS (Electronic Data Systems), EEsof, EYP Mission Critical Facilities, ElseWare, Eon Systems, Eucalyptus Systems, Eunomia Holding B.V., ExcellerateHRO, Exstream Software, Extreme Logic, F&M Scientific Corporation, F. Smith & Co Office Equipment Limited, F.L. Moseley Company, Flame Holding B.V., Fortify Software, Four Pi Systems, GNA Biosolutions GmbH, HP Austria GmbH, HP Belgium BV, HP Bilgisayar ve Baski Teknolojileri Limited Sirketi, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda. - Branch 01 Tambore, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda. - Branch 2 Sorocaba, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda. - Branch 3 Porto Alegre, HP Canada Co. HP Canada Cie, HP Canada Licensing L.P., HP China Holding B.V., HP Chongqing Co. Ltd, HP Chongqing Manufacturing Export Procurement and Settlement Co. Ltd, HP Colombia SAS, HP Computing and Printing Middle East FZ-LLC, HP Computing and Printing Nigeria Ltd, HP Computing and Printing Systems India Private Limited, HP Computing and Printing d.o.o., HP Deutschland GmbH, HP Deutschland Holding GmbH, HP Europe B.V., HP Europe B.V. - Abu Dhabi Branch, HP Europe B.V. Regional Dubai Branch, HP Europe BV Amsterdam Meyrin Branch, HP Finland Oy, HP France Holding SAS, HP France SAS, HP Global Trading B.V., HP Global Trading B.V. Kazakhstan Branch, HP Health Solutions Inc., HP Health Solutions Spain Sociedad Limitada, HP Hewlett Packard Group LLC, HP Inc AP Hong Kong Limited, HP Inc Argentina S.R.L., HP Inc Bulgaria EOOD, HP Inc Chile Comercial Limitada, HP Inc Costa Rica Limitada, HP Inc Czech Republic s.r.o., HP Inc Danmark ApS, HP Inc Gulf, HP Inc Hong Kong Limited, HP Inc Magyarorszag Kft., HP Inc Peru S.R.L., HP Inc Polska sp. z o.o., HP Inc Romania SRL, HP Inc Slovakia s.r.o., HP Inc Thailand Ltd., HP Inc Tunisie SARL, HP Inc UK Limited, HP India Sales Private Limited, HP Indigo B.V., HP Indigo Ltd, HP Information Technology R&D Shanghai Co. Ltd, HP International Pte. Ltd., HP International Pte. Ltd. Taiwan Branch, HP International Sarl, HP International Trading B.V., HP International Trading B.V. Puerto Rico Branch LLC, HP Israel Ltd, HP Italy S.r.l., HP Jade Holding LLC, HP Japan Inc., HP KSA Ltd., HP Korea Inc., HP Licensing Holding LLC, HP Luxembourg S.C.A., HP Malaysia Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd., HP Nederland B.V., HP New Zealand, HP Norge AS, HP Onyx Holding L.P., HP PPS Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., HP PPS Australia Pty Ltd, HP PPS Costa Rica Limitada, HP PPS India Operations Private Limited, HP PPS Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., HP PPS Maroc, HP PPS Philippines Inc., HP PPS Sales Sdn. Bhd., HP PPS Services India Private Limited, HP PPS Singapore Sales Pte. Ltd., HP PPS Sverige AB, HP Pakistan Private Limited, HP Panama Sales and Distribution S. de R.L., HP Print Services Ireland Limited, HP Printing Korea Co. Ltd., HP Printing Shandong Co. Ltd., HP Printing and Computing Solutions S.L.U., HP Printing and Personal Systems Hellas EPE, HP Production Company Limited, HP Puerto Rico LLC, HP R&D Holding LLC, HP R&D Singapore Pte. Ltd., HP Schweiz GmbH, HP Scitex Ltd, HP Singapore Private Limited, HP Solutions Creation and Development Services S.L.U., HP South Africa Proprietary Limited, HP South Africa Trust, HP Taiwan Information Technology Ltd., HP Technology Holdings LLC, HP Technology Ireland Limited, HP Technology Israel Ltd, HP Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd, HP Technology Vietnam Company Ltd, HP Trading Kunshan Co. Ltd., HP Trading Shanghai Co. Ltd., HP Trading Shanghai Co. Ltd. Dalian Branch, HP Trading Shanghai Co. Ltd. Zhangjiang Branch, HP UK Development Limited, HP US Digital LLC, HP USA Manufacturing LLC, HPCP  Computing and Printing Portugal Unipessoal Lda., HPI Bermuda Holdings LLC, HPI Brazil Holdings LLC, HPI Federal LLC, HPI J1 Holdings LLC, HPI Luxembourg LLC, HPQ Holdings LLC, Heartstream, Hewlett-Packard A.O., Hewlett-Packard Angola Lda., Hewlett-Packard Company Archives LLC, Hewlett-Packard Copenhagen B.V., Hewlett-Packard Development Company L.P., Hewlett-Packard Enterprises LLC, Hewlett-Packard G.K., Hewlett-Packard Global Holdings B.V., Hewlett-Packard Global Investments B.V., Hewlett-Packard Industrial Printing Solutions Europe BV, Hewlett-Packard Ireland 1 Limited, Hewlett-Packard Ireland Holdings Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Japan Holding B.V., Hewlett-Packard Japan NK Holdings C.V., Hewlett-Packard KSA Ltd. Qatar Branch, Hewlett-Packard Lisbon B.V., Hewlett-Packard MENA FZ-LLC Libya Branch, Hewlett-Packard Mercator B.V., Hewlett-Packard Sunnyvale B.V., Hewlett-Packard West Indies Limited, Hewlett-Packard World Trade LLC, Hiflex Software, HyperX, IBRIX, IndiGo, Indigo America Inc., Iseo Holding B.V., Kale Holding B.V., Kale Holding B.V. Puerto Rico Branch LLC, Knightsbridge Solutions, Kopiervertrieb Rhein-Ruhr GmbH, Lefthand Networks, Limited Liability Company HP Inc, Logoworks, Lyra Holding B.V., MacDermid ColorSpan, ManageOne, Manzana Bidco Limited, Manzana Holdings Limited, Melodeo, Mercury Interactive, Metrix Network Systems, NUR Macroprinters, Neoware, Nihon HP Nin-I Kumiai, Novadigm, NuView ManageX, OOO Hewlett-Packard RUS, Office Perfection Limited, OneFlow Systems Limited, Opelin, Opelin, Open Skies, Opsware, Opsware, Optimization Systems, Optotech, OuterBay Technologies, OuterBay Technologies, PERSIST Technologies, PIXACO, PROLIN, PT Hewlett-Packard Indonesia, Palm, Palm, Peregrine Systems, Perigee Holdco UK Limited, Perigee Midco UK Limited, Perseus Holding B.V., PipeBeach, Poly, PolyServe, PrinterOn America Corporation, Printware Limited, Qosnetics, RLX Technologies, Regor Holding B.V., SPI Dynamics, Samsung Printing Solutions, Scitex, Scitex Vision, Scope Communications, Security Force Software, Shunra Software, Shunra Software, Silverwire Holding, Simpress Comercio Locacao e Servicos Ltda, Snapfish, StorageApps, Stratavia, Synstar, Tabblo, Talking Blocks, Tall Tree Insurance Company, Technology Partners, Telegra, Teradici Corporation, Teradici Inc., Teradici UK Limited, The Danwood Group Limited, The Technology Partners, Tower Software, Tower Software Engineering Pty Ltd, Transoft Networks, Trellis Software & Controls, Triaton, Trinagy, TruLogica, Trustgenix, VeriFone, Verifone, Versatest, Vertica Systems, Vital Technology Pte Ltd, Voltage Security, VoodooPC, Xact Document Solutions Limited, and Xera-Logic Group Limited.

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Yaa Pono in recent times has been in the news almost constantly. After Shatta Wale had beefed with and shut down nearly all the competition for years, Yaa Pono came along and delivered a beef Knock Out. For once, there was a unanimous decision. No controversy over the winner. Even the Shatta Wale fans agreed that Gbee Naabu had won, even if it only strengthened their support for their hero Shatta Wale. So perhaps the saying beef is a win-win situation for everybody... rings true after all.

Indeed, Shatta Wale has come back stronger than ever. And Yaa Pono is pulling huge crowds wherever he performs. His faster than gods album is getting him a new kind of radio attention, and people are noticing how much the artiste has grown and diversified in his craft.

Yaa Pono originally found a global audience through Youtube freestyles. One of the first Ghanaians to exploit the video medium, he was also the first to rack up 1 million views with his witty rap videos (mostly filmed by King Mo Joe), straight from the underground scene! He captured the hearts of Ghanaians with his creativity and manipulation of words, and his nickname ns3mkua seemed very appropriate.

But a talented rapper whose extra ordinary singing ability allowed him to sing nearly every hit highlife song with ease was always destined for greatness. And although he has remained relevant with a constant flow of good songs, many argue he has not lived up to their expectations yet.

And yet Yaa Pono headlines major concerts and at Kumasi last week 100,000 people sang along word for word to underground mega hits like High grade & Codeine, which get zero airplay. It makes you wonder if Yaa Pono was right when he said he would take the underground to the mainstream. A song that is not played on the radio can barely be described as a mainstream hit, but Yaa Pono has just disproved that.

It isnt really difficult to see why radio has avoided a lot of Yaa Pono's music. Subject matter was always controversial and/or radical, even if songs like Amen... somehow slipped below the radar. That may have just changed in a very odd way.

A lover of Ghanaian hip life myself, I listened to the 17-track album and PONOBIOM truly outdid himself. Little has changed in terms of content. But he has evolved into a more mature artiste that has been able to hold on to the rawness that endeared him to us. If anything, Ponobiom is going even further, and songs like Mr. Lucifer, #1 in Africa, and Jamming put his versatility in full view.

The album has reggae, hip-life, afro beat and even highlife sounds. It is becoming harder and harder to describe Yaa Pono as a rapper, but it is not a bad thing at all. He was always a fantastic rapper. Perhaps that was the hindrance all along. He was so good at nsemkua that he didn't need to explore the highlife, afrobeat and reggae that is very obviously a big part of his repertoire. If his current trajectory continues, he may very well take the underground mainstream.
Exclusive Events Ghana Limited (EEGL), organiser of Miss Ghana pageant, was nominated to receive the International Arch of Europe Award in the gold category.

The company was selected to join this global quest for excellence and becomes a prime example of a quality-driven organisation.

It is an honour to recognise EEGL Ghana for its commitment to quality, leadership, technology and innovation in the continuous search for excellence.

The BID Quality Award was presented on Saturday, July 1, 2017 at the Intercontinental Frankfurt Convention Hall by Hose E Prieto, President of BID, and received by Inna M. Patty.

This time, my team and I are highly appreciative and humbled by the fact the world is watching and does appreciate our humble efforts to ensure that the Miss and Mr Ghana Brand, as well as the Miss Ghana Foundation, truly represent beauty with a purpose, thus, we seek to positively transform lives, Ms Patty said.

We are gingered to do much more,'' she added.

Ms Patty also stated that as we have begun the commemoration of 60th anniversary of the Miss Ghana Brand, we thank our initiator, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his government for their kind support. We cannot forget the distinguished personalities and strategic brands that have contributed to our history and like Oliver Twist, we shall be needing much more support to achieve unprecedented heights in the next millennia!''

The 2017 International Arch of Europe for Quality (IAE) Convention and Awards Ceremony were held on June 29 and July 1 at the Intercontinental Frankfurt Convention Hall.

The event is part of bid Quality and Leadership Recognition Programme, a joint effort between BID and BID Group One, together with the Technological University of Madrid, aimed at providing a very specific set of managerial marketing and technical tools. The main media sponsor of the IAE Convention was Impress.

The award hosted companies and organisations from the five continents of the world. Amongst other reasons they were selected for their achievements in quality, innovation, impact on humanity and excellence. By receiving the quality symbol, the recipients join the historic group of prestigious BID winners. BID QC100 Total Quality Management Model is present in 179 countries around the world, creating a firm ground for implementation of integral quality process through technology and procedures of this model.

Mr Prieto mentioned that the award recipients are icons of commitment to leadership, technology and innovation, making them models for others in their sectors.''
Mary Agyemang

12.07.2017 LISTEN

The Juvenile Reform Foundation (JRF-Ghana) last Saturday launched its charity concert in Kumasi dubbed 'Our Future' to raise funds to support released juvenile offenders and incarcerated juvenile inmates in the various correctional centres in Ghana.

The launch of the concert attracted hundreds of patrons, including gospel musicians such as Mary Agyemang, Philip Acheampong, Asiedu Brobbey Charles, among others, who thrilled patrons with electrifying performances.

The concert which will take off during the last quarter of 2017 will feature seasoned and award-winning artistes who have made impact on the Ghanaian music scene. The funds to be generated from the concert will cater specifically for the technical and vocational training, formal education and the general welfare of juvenile offenders, both released and incarcerated, as well as the vulnerable children in society.

The Executive Director of JRF-Ghana, Geoffrey Chaucer Ofori, stated that majority of the young offenders pick up habits such as smoking, bullying and homosexuality from these facilities which have the tendency to further waste their lives.

He tasked Ghanaians to embrace young offenders when they are released from correctional facilities, saying discriminating against them would only force them back into such crimes.

Mr Ofori advised judges to tamper justice with mercy when dealing with juvenile offenders, arguing that majority of them are unconscious of their actions.

On her part, the JRF-Ghana brand ambassador, Mary Agyemang, called on Ghanaians to help the foundation fight against juvenile crime and violence in the country.

JRF-Ghana is an independent, non-governmental organisation that is concerned with tackling and stemming juvenile crime and violence in Ghana.
Kwasi-Selassie

12.07.2017 LISTEN

Canada-based Ghanaian artiste Kwesi Selassie, who appeared on the music scene two decades ago, has disclosed that all is set for the release of his 15th album later this year.

Known in the Ghanaian music scene as 'The Lion of Africa', Kwesi Selassie, a native of Agona Nsaba in the Central Region, shot into the limelight with his maiden album titled 'Mr & Mrs Konkonsanyi' in 1992.

His upcoming album features great artistes such as Papa Levy, Sunray and Lord Sassafras, all from Jamaica, Might Smasha from Ukraine, Aota from Japan, Sam from Canada, among others.

Since joining the music industry in 1992, Kwesi Selassie has toured countries like Canada, USA, Africa, Germany, Holland, France and Israel.

He has also shared stages and performed with international artistes such as the late Joseph Hill 'Culture', Lucky Dube, Mutabaruka and Anthony B.

In 1995, Kwesi Selassie performed at the 11th Canadian Reggae Music Awards, and was nominated in 1997 for his song titled 'False Prophets'. He was nominated again in 1999 for 'Judgment Day as the top reggae album of the year.

In November 1999, Kwesi Selassie took the African Music Awards in Canada by storm as he was nominated in four of the 10 categories for best album, composer, release, and won best producer of the year award for his fourth album titled 'Judgment Day'.

Over the years, he has received many nominations and awards. Notable among them are reggae album of the year from African Heritage Music Awards, Toronto, Canada in 2000 and Award of Appreciation from the Jamaican Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Some of his albums are 'The Lion of Africa', 'False Prophets', 'Judgment Day', '2000 Years Of Love', 'Survival', 'Hakima' and others.
Gospel artiste Piesie Esther, with support from her management, Trust Production, has donated food items worth thousands of Ghana cedis to children at the Mephibosheth Training Centre (MTC) at Apam Junction in the Central Region.

The donation, she mentioned, formed part of her social responsibility to put smiles on the faces of the less-privileged.

She disclosed that her ministry (Piesie Esther Ministries) was established to help the less-privileged people in the society to get access to good health, good nutrition, potable water and good education.

The founder of MTC, Pastor Joseph Jehu-Appiah, who received the items, thanked Piesie Esther and her team for their support. He also used the opportunity to call on the government and other philanthropists to come to their aid.

A party was also held for the children after the donation.
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday opted to extend by three months the deadline on whether to lift decades-old sanctions against Sudan, saying "more time is needed" for review.

Trump was to decide by Wednesday whether to permanently lift Washington's sanctions on Sudan after his predecessor Barack Obama eased the embargo in January but kept Khartoum on a six-month review period.

In his executive order Trump amended the deadline to October 12, 2017.

Obama made the permanent lifting of sanctions dependent on Khartoum's progress on five areas of concern at the end of the review period.

"I have decided more time is needed for this review to establish that the Government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action across all of those areas," Trump's order said, adding that "the Government of Sudan has made some progress."

Washington imposed a complex set of economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its alleged backing of Islamist militant groups.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011, was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

Washington also justified the embargo with accusations of scorched-earth tactics by Khartoum against ethnic minority rebels in war-torn Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since a brutal conflict erupted in Darfur in 2003, the United Nations says.

Prior to Trump's measure the UN said it hoped the US would make a "positive decision" on sanctions against Sudan for allowing more humanitarian aid access across war zones as sought.

Giving more access to humanitarian workers was one of the five conditions Obama insisted Sudan must meet before the sanctions can be lifted permanently.
12.07.2017 LISTEN

Two of Airtel Touching Lives awardees  Ms Winifred Selby and Chef Elijah Amoo Addo, have recently been honoured by Queen Elizabeth II at the Young Leaders Awards.

The duo was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II at the 2017 Queen's Young Leaders Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace on June 29, 2017 in London, UK.

The Queen's Young Leaders Programme was launched in 2014 to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee and aims to discover, celebrate and support young people, aged 18  29  across the Commonwealth who are leading or driving remarkable initiatives that positively impact lives in their communities and beyond. The two were part of three Ghanaians honoured and a total of 60 awardees from Africa.

Winifred Selby through her Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative produces and export high quality and durable bamboo bikes. She is also the founder of EPF Educational Empowerment Initiative which empowers young people from deprived communities by raising funds and resources to help promote education among children of school going age. Her organisation also distributes sanitary pads to students in deprived communities. She was awarded for her work by Airtel Ghana during Airtel Touching Lives season 3.

Elijah Amoo Addo is the founder of Food for all Ghana, an organization which advocates against food wastage. They collect leftover foods from restaurants and food vendors to feed the mentally challenged and needy people. His work was recognised by Airtel Ghana during season 3 of the multiple award winning Airtel Touching Lives programme.

Commenting on the recognition, Hannah Agbozo, Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, Airtel said On behalf of everyone at Airtel and the country as a whole, I want to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the Ghanaian awardees. We are extremely proud of the work that Winifred and Elijah are doing and we share in their success and achievements. As awardees of the Airtel Touching Lives programme, which seeks to empower individuals to make a marked difference in their communities, this current recognition should encourage them to impact more lives through the initiatives they proudly champion.

She continued Airtel Ghana is passionate about empowering young people to fully realise their potential and to pursue their dreams. Winifred and Elijah continue to demonstrate the impact our Touching Lives programme is having in the lives of Ghanaians across the country.

Airtel Ghana continues to demonstrate commitment towards empowering individuals to live their dreams and make a change in their communities through the company's impactful CSR initiatives including projects such as Catapult Your Business, Airtel Touching Lives, Airtel Rising Stars.

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.
Franklin Oduro Deputy Director/Head of Research and Programs CDD-Ghana

12.07.2017 LISTEN

The Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA) are concerned about the recent actions taken by the government of Zambia, including politically motivated prosecution of political opponents and a proclamation of a Declaration Relating to Threatened Emergency.

These actions are a threat to democratic governance in Zambia and we are, therefore, calling on regional and international democratic governance promoters and actors to take a keen interest in the state of affairs in Zambia and take proactive steps to safeguard Zambia's democracy.

1. We recall that on Wednesday, July 5, 2017, H.E. President Edgar Lungu invoked Article 31 of the

Republican Constitution of Zambia proclaiming that a situation exists which, if allowed to continue may lead to a public emergency. He cited, among other things, the fire outbreak at the Lusaka City Market as justification for making the proclamation.

The proclamation under Article 31, which will last for seven days unless Parliament extends it, gives the president power to direct the Zambian police to search citizens without a warrant and detain suspects longer than it is permitted by law.

2. We note that even though the President's power to invoke Article 31 of the Zambian Constitution is not in doubt; however, the latest fire outbreak at the Lusaka City Market does not provide enough justification for the president to make a proclamation for a threatened state of emergency.

3. We observe that the proclamation of a threatened emergency on July 5, 2017, by President Lungu followed a pattern of harassment, intimidation, arrest, and politically motivated prosecution of his opponents, including Zambia's opposition leader, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema. Mr. Hichilema was arrested on April 12 and charged with treason for allegedly failing to have his convoy pull off the road for President Lungu's motorcade.

4. We also note with regret that 48 opposition MPs were suspended for 30 days for failing to be present in Parliament during a March 17 speech by President Lungu.

The proclamation of a Declaration Relating to Threatened Emergency will expire on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.

Regrettably, President Lungu has stated an intention to seek approval from Parliament to declare a state of emergency. Majority of the members of Parliament are from the Patriotic Front, the same party as the president.

CDD-Ghana and ACILA are concerned that a declaration of a state of emergency will further aggravate the democratic governance deficits' situation in Zambia. We appeal to the Zambian government to take a second look at this proclamation and reverse the declaration to enable Zambians enjoy their fundamental human rights.

We also call on the African Union and other state and non-state pro-democracy actors in Africa and the international community to take a keen interest in the unfortunate developments in Zambia and help protect the rights of opposition parties and their leaders as well as all Zambian citizens.

Finally, we call on the President of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who recently returned from

a state visit to Zambia, to engage with the situation in Zambia and help take proactive steps to safeguard

Zambia's democracy.

Based in Accra, Ghana, CDD-Ghana and ACILA are non-partisan and non-profit, research, and advocacy

organizations dedicated to promoting justice, human rights, and accountable governance in Africa.

SIGNED:

Franklin Oduro, Deputy Director/Head of Research and Programs, CDD-Ghana

William Nyarko, Executive Director, Africa Center for International Law and Accountability

Date: Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Franklin Oduro Deputy Director/Head of Research and Programs CDD-Ghana

William Nyarko, Executive Director, Africa Center for International Law and Accountability
12.07.2017 LISTEN

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has announced that the Ghana Prisons Service has been given approval to recruit a total of 1000 officers to address the wide gap in the ratio of prisoners to officers.

Dr Bawumia, who inaugurated a 13-member council for the Prisons Service on Tuesday, indicated that he is aware of the ratio of personnel to inmates in the Ghana Prisons Service, a reason why the performance of our prisons service falls far below the required UN recommended standard.

To address this gap, government has requested the prisons service to initiate the process of recruitment to increase the personnel level and improve on our services. The Ghana Prisons Service has been given approval to recruit 1,000 personnel to make progress to meet international best practices in prison administration, he indicated.

Dr Bawumia noted that the skills and competence of the council members should be applied to direct policy and implement systems that will improve the country's prisons.

He further charged the council to put in measures to ease congestion in the prisons and additionally demanded an end to human rights abuses in the country's correctional facilities.

All over the world, the prisons philosophy is change for the rehabilitation of offenders with the aim to reintegrate them back to society to play the roles we all expect them to play, he added.

Dr Bawumia highlighted the need for expansion of the country's prisons, provision of modern facilities, tools for rehabilitation and trained personnel to manage the inmates properly.
12.07.2017 LISTEN

The flag bearer of the People's National Convention (PNC) has rejected claims he sacked some individuals in the party for accepting roles in previous governments.

His comments follow accusations by the Chairman of the PNC, Bernard Mornah, who has condemned him for accepting the role of Ambassador-at-large under the current New Patriotic Party (NPP).

According to him: He [Bernard Mornah] is speaking out of ignorance, malice or outright lies.

He explained that he has previously proposed Ambrose Dery and Moses Dani Baah for the NPP government under former President John Kufuor and I never chaired a meeting to expel any of them so what he [Mr Mornah] is saying are outright lies.

What I did not do in 2000 was that I would not serve as a Vice President unless it was a party-to-party agreement. A Vice President is serving under a particular manifesto that the candidate puts up in the year he is elected; ambassador is ambassador for Ghana  there is a difference, he told Citi FM on Tuesday, July 11.
Ikorodu (Nigeria) (AFP) - People cover their noses at the stench of death in the Crystal Church of God in Owode Onirin, just outside Lagos, where bloody clothes, drums, bibles and hymn books still litter the bare floor.

Three days earlier, four worshippers were killed as they prayed, in the latest murders blamed on a shadowy gang dubbed the Badoo, believed to have killed 30 people since June last year.

So-called "cult killings" -- gang violence often fuelled by drugs and belief in black magic -- are not a new phenomenon in Nigeria, which is nearly evenly split between a Muslim north and Christian south.

Crime often spikes during times of economic hardship.

But the murders by the Badoo are making headlines because of their increasing frequency and the manner in which victims are dispatched.

"They must have scaled the fence and hypnotised the victims before carrying out their deadly act," Israel Ojobaro, an engineer who lives on the church premises, told AFP.

"Two women and two children, including a nine-month-old baby, had their heads smashed with a grinding stone."

The gang then moved to another church on the same street to steal money and mobile phones.

"They must have used (magic) charms as no one noticed when they entered the church. By the time the worshippers were awake, their phones and money had been taken away," said church head Taiwo Adesanya.

Drain victims' blood

Blood stained clothes of worshippers killed by shadowy gang dubbed the Badoo, sit on the floor of the Crystal Church of God at Owode Onirin, in Lagos, on July 7, 2017

Fear and a lack of faith in the police to protect them has prompted residents to watch over their communities. Every night, bonfires are lit on the streets between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am.

Anyone caught on suspicion of being a member of the gang is immediately lynched, locals said.

Police say vigilantes have killed at least 10 suspects in the last month. Innocent people have been targeted.

The Badoo saga started last year when a female schoolteacher was raped and killed in the Ibeshe area of Ikorodu, which lies 10 kilometres (six miles) from Lagos across the lagoon as the crow flies.

The woman's skull was smashed with a stone. Before leaving, the gang wrote "Badoo" on the wall. Since then, there have been similar killings across the town.

Members of the gang are believed to have magical powers which they use to mysteriously appear and disappear during attacks.

"Initially, we thought (the Ibeshe case) was just a case of robbery," said resident Olubare Ademola.

"But we began to take them more seriously when we realised they have been using the same style."

Last month, a man, his 28-year-old wife and two children, were killed in the Odogunyan area of Ikorodu. Other killings have occurred in quick succession.

The gang is said to drain the blood of their victims into a calabash or gourd, then soak it onto a white handkerchief.

"The rumour is that Badoo sells the blood-stained handkerchief to ritualists who use it for money and power charms," said Babatunde Ogunyemi, a traditional chief in Ibeshe, in the south of Ikorodu.

"Each handkerchief costs 500,000 naira ($1,600, 1,400 euros). This explains why Badoo usually wipe out an entire family in order to make more money."

Local people in Ibeshe have turned to traditional methods to fight the gang and claim to have driven them from the area after making animal sacrifices to local deities, according to Ogunyemi.

200 suspects arrested

Head of Celestrail Church of Christ at the neighbourhood Prophet Taiwo Adesanya stands in front of a church, where valuables were stolen by a shadowy gang dubbed the Badoo, in Lagos, on July 7, 2017

Despite the prevalence of Islam and Christianity in Nigeria, belief in black magic (juju) remains widespread, particularly outside the main cities.

A joint military operation has been launched to flush out a number of gangs from in and around Ikorodu, where schoolchildren have also been kidnapped.

"We received an intelligence report that some cultists (gang members) were trying to form an umbrella body called '777' and we quickly moved in to abort it," a senior army officer told AFP on July 7.

As he spoke, soldiers jumped down from a convoy of pick-up trucks and ran towards the Ikorodu creeks in search of suspected Badoo members and other gangs.

"It's going to be a continuous exercise until we are able to make the communities safe and secure," the officer said.

The police in Lagos state said they had arrested and were interrogating some 200 suspects over the Badoo killings.

"Those with no case to answer will be released," said police spokesman Olarinde Famous-Cole.

Lagos state governor Akinwunmi Ambode met with traditional rulers in Ikorodu last week and urged them to collaborate with his government to "arrest this situation as quickly as possible".
Mogadishu (AFP) - Last month, a baby was born in the Somali capital Mogadishu with a terrible eye defect that requires treatment abroad.

The infant was cleared for treatment in Turkey but before the paperwork was complete a container ship, believed to be the Panama-flagged MSC Alice, docked outside Mogadishu port, accidentally dragging its anchor through the main fibre optic cable connecting Somalia with the rest of the world.

Since that evening of June 24 most of the Horn of Africa nation has been cut off from the web, costing it an estimated $10 million (nine million euros) a day in lost business according to the government, and freezing the lives of those, like the sick child, whose hopes depend on international connections.

Internet-enabled diaspora

There are a wealthy, fortunate few with the wherewithal to get online via satellite link-ups, but the vast majority of the 6.5 million people in Somalia's south-central region are in the dark, said Mohamed Ahmed Jama, chief executive of Dalkom, a Somali telecommunications company that is part of the consortium providing the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System.

Millions of Somalis have been cut off from the internet

The blackout has wreaked havoc in Somalia, where decades of conflict have combined with irrepressible entrepreneurialism to create a far-flung diaspora of almost two million people who earn money abroad and send it home to their relatives. The internet is what connects these Somalis with Somalia.

"In Somalia the telecommunications sector has thrived, even during some of the worst years of conflict," said Ahmed Soliman, Somalia researcher at the Chatham House think tank in London. "Urban Somalis have become increasingly connected online since fibre-optic was rolled out in 2014."

The World Bank estimates that at $1.4 billion annually, international remittances make up a quarter of national GDP.

Habiba Mohamud, a customer relations officer at Mogadishu's International Bank of Somalia, said the international transfers department has been cut off since last month's anchor incident.

Mohamud has been personally affected too. Unable to check her email in recent weeks she struggles to communicate with her family, most of whom live in Nebraska in the United States. With international phonecalls expensive, she commonly gets in touch via the WhatsApp and Viber messaging services.

"It has affected every part of my life: social life, family life, love life, work life," Mohamud said.

Information means survival

The internet plays a still more existential role for residents of the seaside capital where al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab insurgents carry out regular attacks and where potentially life-saving information is shared fastest on social media and messaging networks.

Hassan Istiila, chief editor of the local Radio Dalsan, which claims four million listeners, said Twitter is a key tool for gathering and broadcasting information on terror attacks and other events.

Ships dragging anchors through undersea internet cables are not uncommon occurrences along Africa's east coast and elsewhere -- in 2012 six African countries were cut-off in one go -- but they rarely take weeks to fully repair.

More than a fortnight since the blackout the MSC Alice's owner, Geneva-headquartered Mediterranean Shipping Company, said it was looking into the incident.

"Following reports that an underwater cable was damaged, MSC is investigating the incident with other relevant parties and these investigations are at an early stage," the company said in a statement.

The Somali government and Dalkom hope engineers will have the cable fixed and internet services restored perhaps later this week.

It will not come a moment too soon for Somalis whose lives are in limbo such as the sick child's mother, for whom a downloadable visa form and online submission are all that stands between her child and medical care in Turkey.
MTN is keen on partnering government and other agencies to deliver the digitalisation of the National Identification system, Mr Phuthuma Nhleko, MTN Group Chairman, has said.

Mr Nhleko said the significance of the National Identification as a bedrock for National digitalisation agenda, and the efficiencies and cost benefits of e-government presented real potential for meaningful partnership with government.

He was speaking at a stakeholders Dinner with MTN Group Board in Accra on the theme: A Night with MTN Group Board - Partnering for a Progressive Digital Future.

The Dinner was held in honour of the Board Members and other top executives who were on a two-day working visit to Ghana for a strategic planning session.

It was the first time the MTN Group held its board meeting in Ghana and it was aimed at fostering stronger partnerships with customers, partners, media, and policy makers, among other key stakeholders, to further enhance growth, especially in the digital space.

Mr Nhleko said MTN was committed to working with stakeholders, especially government to ensure that Ghanas current phase of technological growth was accelerated to create sustainable local businesses, jobs and economic growth.

We are also depending on our business partners to work together efficiently in a way to continuously recognise and ensure equitable advantage for all, he added.

He said MTN recognised early on the role it has as a vehicle for Ghanas economic growth and development and has made deliberate strategic involvement in technology that enhanced socio-economic growth.

Since, the acquisition of Scancom in 2006, MTN Ghana has invested $2.5 billion in network and information technology infrastructure.

The Group Chairman said to ensure continuous success, MTN must and would continue to invest in its people, technology, systems and governance processes, while making sure that it met compliance requirements.

Mr Nhleko said the government must continue to encourage the enabling environment that ensures the smooth and timely running of businesses and their sustainability for reliable infrastructure that support its business.

Dr Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, commended management and Board of MTN for being the market leader in the industry and consistently improving on its operations.

Mr Ebenezer Twum Asante, the Chief Executive Officer, MTN Ghana, said the internet penetration continued to increase and we continue to see rapid growth in data usage and new digital services.

He said the digital future could be even more progressive if MTN expands the work it does together, we can offer lifestyle- propelling solutions to enable people derive more from every living and work.

No sector of the economy and no aspect of living will miss the dividend of Mobile and Electronic innovations when we keep our focus, he added.
12.07.2017 LISTEN

Yes, that dance by the newly elected Senator Ademola Adeleke of Osun - West Senatorial district has been making the waves. It is all over the social media. Metric tonnes of sour grapes have been outpoured, and maliciously too. The sour grapes were not devoid of the usual hypocrisy of several of my friends still smarting from the pang of defeat. Most of what they say about the dance went beyond ludicrous and the ridiculous.

Suffering from selective amnesia, they are trying to fry the ebullient Senator - elect Adeleke for what the discredited Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola used to do with gusto. They are trying to tarnish the newly elected Senator with what Adam Oshiomole, former governor of Edo State has done with eulogies from their miserable sentries. They are condemning Ademola Adeleke for what El Rufai has done without them batting an eyelid.

More annoying is that these same hypocritical critics of Adeleke never saw anything wrong with his dancing when he danced with his late brother Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, at APC rallies, waving APC flags to save Governor Aregbesola from disgrace during his campaign for second term. At that time, Ademola's dancing was all well and good. It was alright then. It was okay then. It was acceptable then.

I watched the videos of his dances, the one with his daughter and the other celebrating his victory over tyranny in Osun. I couldn't see what the hewers and hawkers of sour grapes saw. I could not fathom the reasons for their lamentations. I couldn't figure out why they are weeping over someone exuding marinated happiness. I couldn't.

The dancing of Ademola I saw in those videos, that jiggling and joggling by him; that non-beguiled beguine of his, that swirling, swiveling, swooning and swooping by him are emblematic of a free spirit. A spirit that is joyous, excited and enthused. In that video, he exuded a spirit that is unhindered, unpretentious and unperturbed. It is a spirit that is unbounded, unchained and unencumbered. It is a spirit that is unscripted, undoured, unsoured and uninhibited. No dreariness. No moroseness. It is a genuine spirit, and for real. I like it. I've got no complaints about it.

A beautiful heart devoid of gouging is what is being exuded, without any iota of duplicity. Happy and grateful to those who voted for him. All the complaints you hear are nothing but sour grapes that sprouted from pains of defeat and obvious bitterness. Employing their usual tool of heinous propaganda, they adorned putrid apparels of hypocrisy, pouting poisonous puffs to smear the joyful newly elected Senator Adeleke. That is what it is. It is why we all should not pant about the padded spat.

For all I care, Senator Adeleke can dance from Ede to Oshogbo and from Oshogbo all the way to Abuja. All that matters to me is the quality of his heart. How beautiful or ugly is his heart?How considerate is he? How caring is he? How concerned is he about his constituents, about the poor, about the vulnerable, about his people and his community?

If he is caring enough, considerate enough, concerned enough, it would be enough for me. Even, if his intellect is challenged, which has not been proven to be the case, such a beautiful heart as his, infused and imbued with love, care and affection for others, glowing with unalloyed joy, would carve out the requisite intellect required for his task and for his assignments in Abuja. We need a human being as our representative in Abuja. Someone with blood flowing in his vein, not counterfeit creatures.

Or of what use is a sharp intellect brimming with evil and unfettered sadism? What is the use of a stoic demeanor in a leadership that is bitter, vengeful, vindictive, cunning, calculative, duplicitous, diabolical, murderous and heartless? What is the use of a so called "serious leader" who revels in wrecking lives; destroying families, manacling the peace and progress of all.

Please, let Ademola Adeleke dance. Let him be happy. Let him be himself. All we need is his good heart. All we need is his genuine love for his people. All we need is his caring heart to help find solutions to the woes inflicted by Tinibuism on the people of Osun State. He knows he has to deliver. He is aware he cannot afford to fail, because if he does not deliver, we will call him out.

He is not new to service in anyway. His late father was a Senator and beloved by the people of Osun State. It was his legacy that paved the way for his brother, Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke to become the Governor of Osun in the first instance. Now he is also a Senator. He has a name to protect. He has a legacy to carry on. Leave him alone. Let him be happy. Let him rejoice. Let him dance!

Follow me on twitter: @OyeyemiRemi
How would you feel if you learned that your office or home has secretly been bugged?

Certainly you could snug as a bug in a rug. But you cannot snug in a furtively bugged home or office. Ghanas current Lands and Natural Resources Minister whos been leading a sting operation against illegal mining (also known as Galamsey) in the West African nation has had his office bugged.

The spying gadget which was discovered on Monday by the National Security includes a camera, a storage unit plus another device suspected to be a transmitter. It is thought to be able to pick a whisper 35 feet away. The audio-visual recorder was covertly planted in a huge Coat of Arms plaque that hangs in the ministers office.

This writer says the incident is already causing controversy and debate among the officialdom. And it comes seven months or so, since the minister moved into that office at the Ministries enclave in Accra. Speculations are rife that there might be more bugs planted in the ministries, departments and agencies in the enclave.

The history of wire-tapping or bugging is legendary. But perhaps the most unforgettable is the one that involved former 38th American President Richard Nixon in 1972. Some employees of President Nixons re-election committee had been caught when they broke into the Democratic National Committee (DNCs) headquarters to plant a bug. The incident led to Nixons resignation and its believed it would have possibly led to his felony prosecution had he not been pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford.

Mr. John Peter Amewu the Minister in the centre of the bizarre event says he feels hes been unclothed: I Feel Naked, he told the local media.

In the early stage of the discovery the media reported that the sector minister had no idea whatsoever as to who planted the device when it was put there and why it was placed there. But on Tuesday a former minister of the Mahama-administration Alhaji Inusah Fuseini who once occupied the Lands and Natural Resources ministry claimed responsibility, saying the bugging device discovered and retrieved from the office of the current Minister, J Mr. Amewu belonged to him.

The former minister said a private citizen who works with a private security company presented the equipment to him at a time concerns were raised about his personal security in the wake of his fight against illegal mining.

I thought to all intents and purposes that it was a white elephant and had nothing to monitor my successor. Let me take the opportunity to apologise to my successor as it was never intended and nobody speed or prowled on the office when I left office," Mr. Fuseini apologised

Hes also reported to have said that the anxiety that welcomed the development was unwarranted because in his own words the device was not fully installed.

It was not working. The installation was not completed, he remarked.

Alhaji Fuseini has since rendered an apology to Mr. Amewu:

Let me take the opportunity to apologise to my successor as it was never intended and nobody speed or prowled on the office when I left office.

The device was not working, he explained. That was why security agencies that went to sweep the office the first time they did not get any transmission signals. The office was swept twice which he emphasised goes to show there was nothing untoward done.

Did his revelation calm nerves?

Not at all, its perhaps heightened anxiety and caused red-eyed t as I pointed out earlier. According to Mr. Amewu, it would have been prudent for Alhaji Fuseini to divulge such information to the security agencies rather than go public with it.

I would have preferred maybe if he had remained quiet and just inform the security that he is the one behind it and they can handle it at that level, Mr. Amewu stated.

Asked whether the device was working he said: I am not in a position to say whether its working. It is a feeling made worse by the confession by his predecessor, Inusah Fuseini that he planted the device while he occupied the office.

The Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu waded into the debate. Hed said that member of a group which met with Mr. Amewu received signals on his phone which prompted him to alert the Minister.

He said the incident could happen to any Minister of the state adding he has taken caution by inviting security experts to sweep his offices for bugs.

So if the device wasnt installed as claimed by Alhaji Fuseini how then could it pick up signal (s)?

Also a former Lands and Natural Resources Minister Nii Osah Mills who took over from Inusah Fuseini and spent two and half years in that office have expressed disappointment following the revelations.

I cant believe all my days and nights in the office were under the watch of a secret camera, he bemoaned.

Mr. Amewu told the media that the hed been shocked by the whole development following the disclosure by his predecessor. It is a feeling made worse by the confession of my predecessor, Inusah Fuseini that he planted the device while he occupied the office .I feel naked.

However, he was hopeful that the Minister of National Security who is in charge of ensuring that there are no bugs in the offices of Ministers of the state is taking steps to do that.

So whats been said or unsaid on that wire-tapping machine isnt going to go away now. It has brought in its wake, apprehensions and anxieties. It also could prove to be a red tide not only for the minister in question but to all public office holders. And I strongly believe its a wakeup call for public office holders and big corporations as it reminds them to be careful and act diligently in their day-to-day activities.
12.07.2017 LISTEN

The Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD) recent report in the June 21, 2017 edition of FrontPage Africa, a major newspaper in Liberia, is troubling and is seemingly politically motivated. It gives some Liberian legislators A and F grades for their performance in the 2016 legislature. But it does not say the methodology used to determine the grading.

Giving a person a passing or failing grade is baseless without a defined and established methodology. Legislators have three main functions; law making, oversight and representation. It is only by these criteria we can measure their performances. Law making may entail closed doors discussion, negotiation and deal making. Some observers view this process to be more effective. Thus the ability to debate in open sessions, while it may demonstrate a legislator's speaking proficiency, it may not result in bill making and passing.

Moreover, while the IREDD report now considers senators Weah and Prince Johnson ECOWAS participation resulting in their absence from legislative sessions in Liberia, the report nevertheless gives them an F grade for attendance in congress. For instead in 2016, if Senator Weah attended 28 sessions and 28 distances, technically the total attendance is 56, which is 74.67% or 75% of the 75 sessions for the senate. This would give him a B- or C+ and not F as reported and not dismally performed as cited by FrontPage reportage. Distance is approved attendance of outside legislative obligation.

Further, the timing of the report appears to have made the report political, as the Liberian presidential and legislative elections are few months from now. Senators Weah and Prince Johnson, who received F mark, are opposition presidential candidates respectively. An earlier IREDD report gave them similar grade for absence from and not debating in sessions, resulting Senator Weah to be viewed and called Bobo senator by some media. Bobo in Liberia is one who cannot talk. Such perception was political.

However, Vice President Boakai, the presidential candidate for the ruling Unity Party, has a legislative duty, as president of the senate. His function entails presiding over sessions and the signing of bills and other legislative documents such as agreements.

Moore Stephens, an international auditing firm, reported that the senate ratified 68 concession agreements of which only 2 were considered good while the rest 66 were bogus and lacking international standard. The senate passed the agreements under VP Boakai's watch. The vice president signed on those agreements. Additionally, Senator Marshall Dennis of Grand Gedeh County has stated that since 2016, the VP attended only 5 sessions and sometimes stayed in his office and refused to attend sessions. Why did not the vice president's performance cover in the IREDD report?

IREDD, formerly the Liberia Democratic Institute, is a non governmental agency, which works in the area of good governance and advocacy internationally. The agency receives international funding for its works. In Liberia, It serves as a watchdog over the performance of the Liberian legislators. It keeps their feet in the fire so that they would do the Liberian people's business. Indeed, knowing that an entity is looking over their shoulders, the thinking is that the legislators would be cognizant of their responsibilities and hence would perform better.

IREDD 2015 report on the Liberian legislature was released in March 2016. However, apparently it finds it necessary to release the 2016 report this time close to the election. Maybe the timing was unintentional.

But the institute should not become political and be used as a tool to achieve a political goal. Its report is seemingly been interpreted and viewed by some media for political purposes. IREDD should publish its report exactly so it can be read accordingly. The institute should also state the methodology utilized to arrive at its findings.
12.07.2017 LISTEN

Newmont Ghana has reiterated its commitment to provide more opportunities for the youth in their host communities and continue to serve as a catalyst for local development, says the Ahafo Mine Communications and External Relations Manager, Agbeko Azumah.

He told Space FMs Morning Flight 87.7 host, Dickson Smith on Tuesday that Newmont has an Employment Agreement with the host communities that governs the recruitment of citizens by Newmont and its business partners.

The Agreement enjoins Newmont to ensure that 24% of the national workforce should come from the 10 communities. Currently, 42% of the national workforce are locals.

Mr. Azumahs reaction follows threats by five communities to launch a massive demonstration against the company for flouting an employment agreement with the locals in the area.

He stressed that the Employment Agreement has at all times been the only agreement governing employment of local citizens by Newmont and its business partners and has been articulated in all stakeholder engagements related to the Subika Underground Project.

This is captured in the Environmental Impact Statement of the Subika Underground Project and was articulated during the public hearing related to the project.The Communications and External Relations Manager pointed out that Newmont has contracted AUMS to develop and initially operate the Subika Underground mine on its behalf.

He added that AUMS has complied with the Employment Agreement in hiring its workforce. So far, AUMS has recruited a total national workforce of 211 for the Subika Underground project. Out of this number, about 47 per cent of the workforce are locals from the 10 host communities:

Mr. Azumah gave the actual breakdown as follows, 108 nationals (other Ghanaian citizens) and 93 locals. Kenyasi No.2 has the highest number 27 of locals hired by AUMS. This translates to about one out of every three local employees in AUMS is a citizen of Kenyasi No.2

Mr. Azumah noted that Newmont would continue to engage with community stakeholders regarding the status of the project as well as employment related issues and encouraged all stakeholders to use dialogue in addressing issues. Newmont would further continue to explore opportunities that will benefit its host communitiesThe five communities which plan to demonstrate against Newmont include, Kenyase 1 and 2, Ntotroso, Gyedu and Wamaheneso.

The communities are represented by the United Youth of Affected Mining Communities (UYMAC), which seek to front and address issues bothering them on various mining activities.

The acting Chairman for UYMAC, Kennedy Adu Agyei, told Space FM on Monday that Newmont, despite their agreed terms, had neglected unemployed youths in their communities in an upcoming underground mining operation where there are employment opportunities.

According to Mr. Agyei, on 13th December, last year, they met with Newmont and were assured that locals would be recruited and well trained them for the upcoming underground mining, but the company had again ignored unemployed youths from the five communities and had rather employed foreigners from Chirano, Obuasi and other areas for the job.

They have planned going underground mining. Currently, they are in negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for permit, but we believe Newmont ought to have met representatives of the various communities to address our concerns. We are going to take a very hot demonstration against Newmont, African Underground Mining services (AUMS) DRA and its sub-contractors who are intimidating the indigenous people of the land, he cautioned.

A community based Human Rights and Environmental Mining Advocate, WACCAM has released a report on mining activities in the Asutifi North District, indicating Newmonts operations are adversely impacting lives in the area.

According to WACCAM, since the start of mining in the Asutifi North District by the multi-national company, the women have been denied access to potable water, farmlands and other means of economic livelihood.

But the Newmont Communications and External Relation Manager said Newmont has commissioned independent assessors to review the reports and assured that the outcome will be made public.
Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria's vice-president has returned from a whistlestop trip to meet ailing President Muhammadu Buhari in London and will chair Wednesday's weekly cabinet meeting, his spokesman said.

Acting President Yemi "Osinbajo now back in Abuja from London & will be presiding over FEC (federal executive committee) this morning," tweeted Laolu Akande.

He also pledged to share "more information" about Osinbajo's encounter with Buhari, describing it as "a very good meeting".

Osinbajo, who has been acting president since Buhari left for medical treatment on May 7, flew to London on Tuesday.

No details were given about the meeting but it is believed to be the first face-to-face encounter between Nigeria's two most senior politicians in more than two months.

Buhari, 74, has not been seen in that time and has now spent nearly four months of this year out of the country, prompting growing calls for clarity about his fitness to govern.

His condition has not been disclosed but aides have previously played down rumours that he was terminally ill with cancer or even dead.

His wife Aisha, who flew to London earlier this month, on Monday posted a cryptic message on her Facebook page in response to a Nigerian senator's description of Buhari as "the absent Lion King".

"God has answered the prayers of the weaker Animals. The Hyena's and the Jackals will soon be sent out of the kingdom," she wrote.
12.07.2017 LISTEN

Accra, July 11, GNA - The Court of Appeal has set July 26 to rule on an application for a stay of execution pending appeal by suspended human rights lawyer, Mr Francis Xavier Sosu, over his suspension from legal practice by the General Legal Council (GLC).

The court adjourned the matter after both counsels for Mr Sosu and the GLC made their submissions for and against the motion.

Mr Sosu filed the application seeking to put on hold his three-year suspension from the legal profession pending the final determination of his appeal by the court.

In his submission, counsel for Mr Sosu, Mr Samuel Cudjo told the court that his client has been suspended for a period three years for over estimation of fees as well as advertising his services.

He said they had filed an appeal for both his conviction and sentencing, because they were charged with grave professional misconduct, and were found liable.

'It is our position that amongst other grounds the charge of grave misconduct is a charge which has not been defined, therefore it is wrong for us to be charged with that. Thus the charge was not properly laid.'

He prayed the court to grant their appeal, saying 'the disciplinary committee of the GLC is a not a legal entity, more so it cannot suspend anybody for over estimation.'

He argued that the three years for suspension was blown out of proportion and was too harsh for his client.

Counsel for the GLC Mr Kizito Beyuo, however opposed the application saying the jurisdiction of the court is statutory and can and must only be exercised within the terms of statutes. This court is not called upon in this application to determine the merits of the applicants appeal.

He said there were special circumstances warranting a stay of execution and the applicants must go through all, adding that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain the application because there was no valid notice of appeal to vest it with jurisdiction.

Mr Beyuo argued that at this moment the record of appeal in this appeal, has not been compiled, much more forwarded to the court.

'He has admitted that his notice was not filed in the registry of the GLC, and so there is no valid appeal on which this application for stay of execution, pending appeal can be found.

'The application is incompetent and the court has no jurisdiction to entertain it. I therefore pray that the application is dismissed', he said.

The court adjourned the case to July 26 for its ruling.

At the last sitting the court adjourned the case following a request by lawyers for the GLC to consult their clients following what they call new allegations against some officers of the council.

The GLC earlier in June this year banned Mr Sosu, a Human Rights lawyer, from practicing as a lawyer for three years, for overcharging a client as well as advertising his services.

It said that, within the 3-year period, Lawyer Sosu 'shall not hold himself out as a Legal Practitioner or attend Chambers, or render, or purport to render any professional legal service to any person whomsoever, wheresoever.' GNA

By Hafsa Obeng, GNA
Accra, July 11, GNA - Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, on Tuesday, launched the United Nations Day against Human Trafficking, dubbed: 'Blue Day,' in Accra.

The Day, which falls on July 30 annually, is intended to show compassion to victims of trafficking and also sensitise potential victims on the danger to prevent them from falling prey to traffickers.

The Minister said her Ministry considered human trafficking as an organised crime, which was the second in rating after drugs, with 60 per cent of its victims globally being women while 70 per cent in Africa and Ghana are children.

She said the adoption of the Global Plan of Action to combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP) by the UN in 2010, entreated member states to take actions to fight such serious crime that violated the rights of persons and to give support to victims.

Trafficking, she said if unregulated, would continue to intensify while individual rights were abused as the practice was lucrative, generating 150 billion dollars in profits in 2014, for organised criminal groups perpetrating the act.

Combating it, she said, would require an intensive collective effort with active participation from the media, governmental and civil society groups, security agencies and community groupings such as schools and churches.

With earlier known forms of human trafficking being the purpose of sexual exploitation, current victims suffer forced and exploitative labour as well as domestic servitude, for which traffickers employ various strategies to deceive parents and potential victims especially children from rural areas.

Ms Djaba noted that the latest US TIP Report rated Ghana as a Tier Two Watch List country in spite of the varied efforts being pursued in the fight against human trafficking.

Ghana, according to her, was a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking with internal trafficking being more prevalent than external trafficking, a reason for which the country had multiplied its efforts to improve upon the rating.

She said government had allocated 1.5 million cedis to the Human Trafficking Secretariat under her ministry to combat the menace with the formulation of policies including the gender policy, child and family welfare policy as well as the social protection policy as regulatory frameworks to assist in the fight.

Ms Djaba called on the media to be apt in its support to the fight against human trafficking and irregular migration and stage a rigorous campaign to keep the public alert on the inherent risks involved in the practices.

The Minister observed that restoring victims of trafficking to normalcy was an expensive task and as such called for individual and corporate institutions to contribute into the Human Trafficking Fund to support the secretariat to give care, rehabilitation and assistance to victims of trafficking especially after rescue.

Ms Sylvia Ekra Lopez of the International Organisation for Migration underscored the need for the observance of the Blue Day, saying it is an occasion to 'critically think about and recommit ourselves to reducing this situation and implement stated goals'.

She said the Day was an opportunity to give a voice to victims of trafficking to educate and sensitise the public while celebrating the work being done by development partners and stakeholders.

Mrs Akua Ofori Asumadu of the International Labour Organisation intimated that stakeholders in the fight against human trafficking had been working on the Domestic Workers Bill, which was soon to be introduced.

GNA

By Kodjo Adams/ Deborah Apetorgbor, GNA
12.07.2017 LISTEN

Accra, July 11, GNA - Ghanaian Chevening scholars in the United Kingdom have paid a courtesy call on Papa Owusu Ankomah, Ghana's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, at the Commission's office in London.

The visit was to formally inform the High Commissioner about the end of their UK scholarship programme and to seek ways of contributing to the development of the country as they prepared to return home.

A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday said the 20 scholars, pursing masters degree programmes in various universities in the UK, also took turns to spell out areas they believed the Government could further explore to open up the country to development.

Papa Ankomah commended the scholars for their initiative and said he was highly impressed with their professional backgrounds and the knowledge they had acquired through the Chevening programme.

He urged them to be strong in their convictions and not to abandon their country in pursuit of other opportunities outside the country.

Papa Ankomah asked them to take advantage of interventions being introduced by the Government to open up the country for further development and challenged them to put their various knowledge and skills at the services of the country.

GNA
12.07.2017 LISTEN

On the 29th of June last year, one of the young members of the community completed his seven-year Medical study in faraway Russia. His name is Junaidu Salifu. He spent seven years in the Peoples Friendship University of Russia (Patrice Lumumba University). He studied General Medicine. Personally I congratulated him elephantly for the feat chalked. I saw how it all started. From Aggrey Memorial Preparatory School in Kanda to Datus Complex Senior High School in Tema to the University he spent almost a decade to come out with what he came out with. Let me use the opportunity to congratulate him once again. It is a remarkable feat. An impressive output that is best described as enviable.

Interestingly, this piece is not about him. It is certainly not about his younger sister Fuseina Salifu Zanga who is also studying Medicine in Russia. The piece was written also without her twin brother Alhassan Salifu who is also pursuing a degree in Petrochemical Engineering in that cold region of the world called Russia in mind. It was obviously not written to inform you about Farida Salifu who graduated from the University of Ghana last year neither Muhydeen Salifu who completed his study of General Science in Presbyterian Secondary School, Legon. It will not talk about Sumayya Salifu, the eldest who is managing the family business in Nima.

I am wasting my time in Sister Rafas Internet cafe just to tell you something small about the human backbone and anchorage for the above-mentioned young men and women; their parents, Hajia Adiza Ali and Alhaji Salifu Abdul Rahman. More specifically, I want to touch on the mother, Hajia Adiza Ali because I interacted with her more and also the dad is always on business travels.

The eleventh President of India, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam stated that if a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher." And that is exactly what Hajia Adiza has created for her children, a home of beautiful minds. The point must be made succinctly that she never rested on the development of her home only; she strives and wishes the whole nation will realize the importance of knowledge and industry. In my community, she became known as MadamSchool because of how she carries matters of children who have stopped or play truancy with school. And there are a lot of them as such. She carries their matter at heart and empathizes with such children. She looks for such people, talks to them, and advice to the point of begging them to go back to school or take it seriously. Almost all the anti-school youth in our area run away anytime they see her because after tracking you down and talking to you, she will help you go back to school in whatever way she can.

Once my late junior brother stopped schooling. Several years later he realized his mistakes and approached me (because he could not approach our parents who will love to revisit the past and resurrect the bones of days he was pig-headed to their advise) to help make him get back to school. We went to Haavad Senior High School and they were willing to grant him admission. The problem rested on he providing his results slip with the headmistress signature and stamp boldly on it. We went to the headmistress of his basic school, Nima Presby School. She vehemently refused to grant us our request though we begged ceaselessly. I therefore called upon Hajia Adiza to help us. When we reached the schools gate, the headmistress who was on the next floor saw us and gave us a disgusting and distasteful look. Immediately, Hajia stopped, turned to my brother and looked furious. She spoke words I will never forget in my life. If not for education, do you think that woman (referring to the headmistress) will even dare look at me like that? I value knowledge so I wont respond to her. Besides, we are here to beg. Your truancy caused us this. In the end, our quest was successful.

She wishes to have a very sound community of productive young people. She hates to see young ones that have nothing doing in life. She therefore supports every good initiative with all the energy in her.

In 2009, we formed Elements of Change. Elements of Change is a community-based, youth-centered organization that was formed to serve the community. Hajia Adiza was our patron.

She provided us with a meeting ground, fresh plastic chairs (purposely bought for us) and helped us financially anytime we had a programme.

I will never forget how she financed an entire free vacation classes that we organized for pupils in the Primary and Junior High School during the long vacation period of 2010/2011 Academic year staged in the Nima St.Kizito School.

I remember vividly when the Inspirational Committee (committee in charge of bringing successful people for the youth to interact with) organized a Meet the youth session once upon a time. We hosted Hajia Adiza that day. And I asked her what is her regret in life." She put up a pitiful face and responded My deepest regret is the fact that I never took school serious. When i leave home for school, i branch and go to the market and sit on a big pan selling. I have resolved therefore to move heaven and earth to get my children educated." And this she is doing with a grand style.

Her resolve needs to be highlighted and appreciated because of how motherhood has been rendered a poor activity in our part of the world. You come across a lot of parents who themselves need massive parenting. If parents themselves do not know what they are about, how do you think their children will fare? If green leaves are burning, how much more dried ones? Unnecessary rivalry in who wears the latest and most expensive clothes, who organizes a more grandeur wedding or outdooring ceremony, whose family rents the most prestigious place for a family event, who slaughters the fattest cow for eid and a whole lot of activities that count for nothing in the grand scheme of things. And we do all these forgetting to secure the future for our generations to come in a time when all indicators show that we woefully lost the past and have only our pitiable state of affairs to serve as a memento of our previous generations existence.

In 2011, I did my National Service with Mercy Islamic School at Adentan District. I taught General Science and Information, Communications and Technology at the Primary level. The first day I began duty, I had to go understudy a teacher in how he performs his duty. We struck a conversation. One issue led to another and we got to the welfare of the students. Now that was where a real man lost the flavor of his face due to how passionate he was about that issue. He was really sad as he lamented.There are some children who come to school looking like dirty vultures. Some dressed on a Monday morning as if they were on a desert battle-field. Unpleasantly-looking, badly-dressed, not smelling good, looking disheveled and unfit for class; after all the latin say Mens sana in corpore sano "a healthy mind in a healthy body. The brilliant students were those who presented themselves well. The most pathetic aspect of it was the fact that when their parents come around for meetings or when invited, they come dressed in very expensive clothes. The one that will rival the golden apparel of Otumfuor. The teacher called up one boy and in his description the boy looked like a mad man. It was pathetically so.

Later, I realized the boy was very gifted when it came to artistic presentation of things on paper. He was very good in giving panoramic view of whatever he wants to draw. However, he looked so raggedy and tattered. I was told his mum was very rich. I never believed until the day she came for Parents and Teachers Meeting. She was heavenly dressed.

I therefore appreciate the efforts of women like Hajia Adiza. She may have some flaws. Shes a human being. She is not an angel. But her resolve to ensure the education of her children is a jewel in her wonderful crown. And I adored her more the day I entered her room and realized she sacrificed all the luxury and comfort for her children to have education; the factory that turns an animal into a human being.

May Allah bless her.

Inusah Mohammed

[email protected]

NB: The writer is a Youth-Activist and a Student of Knowledge.
SALUTATION:

HON. DEPUTY MINISTER

CHIEF DIRECTOR

MEMBERS OF THE GHANA PRISONS SERVICE COUNCIL

DIRECTORS

INVITED GUESTS

OUR MEDIA FRIENDS

DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

ADDRESS:

1 I am privileged and honoured to be here today to be part of this afternoons inauguration ceremony.

2 Let me first thank you, on behalf of H.E. President Nana Addo Dankwa AkufoAddo, for accepting to serve mother Ghana as a member of the Prisons Service Council. You have been selected according to the regulations of the Prisons Service to either represent the Government or a key stakeholder institution.

Let me add that in choosing you to represent these entities, your personal achievements, experience, skills and commitment were seriously considered and rated high. This means that the selection body saw in you potentials and qualities that undoubtedly could positively influence the kind of management and policy direction that we intend to carry our prisons administration through in this country under H.E. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. It is for this reason that the government and the country are very grateful for your kind acceptance to serve on this council, for a full term.

3 Chapter Sixteen of the 1992 Constitution establishes the Ghana Prisons Service and the Constitution gives the Service the requisite backing to carry out its role as a custodian, and in the rehabilitation and re- integration of persons who find themselves on the wrong side of the law (Prisoners).

All over the world, prison philosophy is changing. The philosophy is changing from merely being a safe custody of Prison inmates to the rehabilitation of the offenders. The aim eventually is to re-integrate them back into their societies; and to continue to play the roles that we all expect from our compatriots- as nation builders not wreckers.

4 Unfortunately our prison facilities as they exist today cannot be trusted to offer this very important service, and achieve this noble objective of correcting behaviours and attitudes of law breakers.

There has not been much physical/infrastructural improvement since the colonial days to provide these essential and critical services which are the core functions of custodial sentences. Indeed apart from the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons and recently the newly built Ankaful Maximum Security Prisons, all other Prison facilities in the country are relics of the old forts and castles bequeathed to us from the colonial administration and this cannot be condoned further as a modern society.

You will agree with me that, with the expansion and growth in population, there is a corresponding increase in crime and deviant behaviours. Our population has moved from a little over six million (6,000,000) at Independence to twenty- seven million (27,000,000) now. Sadly, our prison facilities obviously need to be expanded, but most importantly with more modern facilities, rehabilitation tools and trained personnel to manage the situation for better outcomes.

5 Unfortunately for reasons that we are all privy to, our facilities have not seen much improvement over the years. They are highly (in fact inhumanly) over- populated and crowded with their attendant threat of outbreaks of diseases, negative survival behaviours and human rights abuses. It is my hope that under this Council, and with the support of the government, you shall work hard to earn the record of being the ones to right these wrongs in our prison facilities.

6 I must say that I have followed extensively the Justice- For  All Programme and I am happy with what it has achieved so far. I think it has been a very useful policy in helping to ease the congestions and human right abuses in the prisons.

7 To advance this further, it is the desire of this Government to champion the introduction of Non-Custodial Sentencing Law. This will offer many more non- custodial sentence options to our judges so as to avoid the congestion and human rights abuses and all the associated ills that we are currently observing in the Prisons.

8 Council members, I am also aware of the poor ratio of personnel to inmates in the Ghana Prisons Service. This is one reason why the performance of our prisons services continue to fall far below the required UN Standard.

To address this gap, Government has requested the Prisons Service to initiate the process of recruitment to increase the personnel level and improve on our services. The Ghana Prisons Service has been given approval to recruit one thousand (1,000) personnel to make progress towards meeting the international best practices in prisons administration. All these processes will require your direction and expertise so that the right caliber of persons are recruited to meet the expected standards.

9 Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very aware that the issue of Human Rights remains a concern to all of us. Our mandate can be successful only if we look at both sides of our prison services delivery; that is, the facilities/physical infrastructure and the prison officers themselves.

Though inmates are confined as prisoners, let us not forget that they have rights which should not be taken for granted. This requires the professional training and retraining of our officers using modern methods and following acceptable processes and procedures in Prisons administration. This we owe to ourselves, to those entrusted in our care, and to the image of Ghana in international circles.

It is my hope that this council will show great interest in the training and development of the prison officers to achieve this goal. Through local training, sensitization, awareness and also participation in foreign missions and exchanges, we can build the capacity of our men and women who are charged to perform the difficult and sometimes dangerous public service. Remember that the officers are our best allies in this reformative and re-molding exercise.

10 Under this Council, we expect that the Ghana Prisons Service would rebrand itself. Our expectations of diligence and professionalism are high. This is what we need in order for the general public to have the trust and the confidence in their role in building mother Ghana through prisoner reforms.

11 Before declaring this Council formally inaugurated let me remind you that the Prison Services is an essential service provider and therefore must avoid taking to industrial actions (strikes) in addressing their grievances. This means that as a Council you must be proactive and quick in dealing with issues that are brought before you in order not to push the officers to the wall.

12 Currently, the Service has a number of facilities that have been overtaken by development. The Maamobi and the Kumasi Central Prisons facilities immediately come to mind. They have been caught up in the heart of the cities, due to urbanization and growth. There is the need for Council to critically consider and supervise the relocation of the Prisons facilities to more appropriate areas to meet acceptable practices. I am sure the Council together with the Prisons Administration could explore the Public Private Partnership concept and modalities to undertake this assignment.

13 Accept once again my appreciation Mr. Chairman and all members of the council for accepting to serve on the Prisons Service Council and I wish you well as you serve Ghana in this capacity.

Having recited the Official Oath, the Oath of secrecy, and with these words; I pronounce the Ghana Prison Service Council officially inaugurated. Congratulations and God help us all.

Thank you.


Chief of mission for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Sylvia Lopez-Ekrah, has bemoaned the alarming number of Ghanaian youth risking their lives in the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe in search of greener pastures.

For instance, last year alone recorded close to 6,000 young Ghanaians who arrived in Italy by boat.

"The context in Ghana is pretty difficult at the moment. We know that young Ghanaians are increasingly trying to use irregular means to go to Europe for greener pastures, as we say. Last year we had 5,636 Ghanaians who arrived in Italy on boat," said Sylvia Lopez-Ekrah.

According to Sylvia Lopez- Ekrah, the situation is worsened by the recent wave of young Ghanaian girls being trafficked to Arabian countries through North Africa under very dangerous conditions.

Ghana's eastern neighbour, Togo, has become a major transit point for Ghanaians and other West Africans especially young people from La Cote D'Ivoire who embark on such deadly adventures.

I was recently in two refugee camps for the International Refugee Day. Even there, theIvoriann refugees were telling us they are also trying to go North Africa to get to Europe. And they are using Togo for their travels. Previously we thought Ghanaians were not using Togo for their irregular travels, but this is what is coming up," said the IOM chief of mission.

Sylvia Lopez-Ekrah was speaking at the inauguration of two new border posts for Agortime-Afegame and Hodzokorfe at Agortime -Afegame.

The two facilities are as a result of the implementation of Ghana Integrated Migration Management Approach funded by the European Union.

The two facilities have offices, holding rooms for human trafficking victims, computer, vehicle, solar energy systems, standby generator, and other equipment including a Pick-up for patrol.
12.07.2017 LISTEN

Minister of Railway Development, Joe Ghartey has hinted government is likely to choose a local contractor for the construction of the Kumasi-Paga railway line.

This, according to him is to indicate governments commitment to strengthen local content in the construction industry.

About 215 companies have so far expressed interest in the almost 600 kilometre project  out of which about 50 are local contractors.

Joe Ghartey tells JOY BUSINESS, government is doing everything possible to ensure maximum local participation in all other projects across the country.

Governments decision to construct the almost 600 kilometer railway line is to enhance transportation of Agricultural produce within the Central line he said.

He said the 3.3 billion dollar project will have a maximum local participation as a way of deepening domestic employment for the people.

The railway project is fully funded by the government of Ghana.

He spoke with Joy Business on the sidelines of a stakeholders workshop to develop a local content policy for the construction sector.
Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari is recovering fast from an undisclosed illness and should be back in Nigeria soon, his deputy said on Wednesday, after a whistlestop trip to meet the ailing head of state in London.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo told reporters before a weekly cabinet meeting in Abuja that he had been in London on Tuesday to "check up on" the 74-year-old Buhari, who left for medical treatment in the British capital on May 7.

"Of course I've been speaking to him on the phone and I thought it would be a good thing to go and see him and generally check up on how he was doing and also to brief him on developments," he said.

"We had a very good conversation on wide-ranging issues and he's in very good spirits. He's recuperating very quickly and he's doing very well."

The meeting lasted for "well over an hour", he said, adding: "We are expecting him (back in Nigeria) very shortly."

Osinbajo, who has been acting president since Buhari's departure, made no mention of the president's medical condition, which has led to growing calls for clarity about his fitness to govern.

The former military ruler has now spent nearly four months of this year out of the country and has not been seen in public for more than two months.

When he returned from a previous trip to London in January and February, Buhari said he had "never been so sick" and disclosed he had undergone blood transfusions and a battery of tests.

Aides have previously played down rumours that he was terminally ill with cancer or even dead.

Power struggle?

His wife Aisha, who flew to London earlier this month, on Monday posted a cryptic message on her Facebook page in response to a Nigerian senator's description of Buhari as "the absent Lion King".

"God has answered the prayers of the weaker Animals. The Hyena's and the Jackals will soon be sent out of the kingdom," she wrote.

The description has been seen as a reference to a supposed behind-the-scenes struggle for power and influence in government during Buhari's absence.

The Nation newspaper, owned by the founder of Buhari's All Progressives Congress party, Bola Tinubu, said Osinbajo's trip to London had been secretly planned for weeks.

"The acting president has actually been relying on third-party information and purported directives from the president in London," an unnamed source was quoted as saying.

Another said: "The trip had been planned in the past three weeks but was only known to few people for strategic reasons. The 'Jackals and Hyenas' were beaten to it."

Osinbajo wanted "undiluted information" on Buhari's health, to brief his boss on decisions he had taken in his absence and get approval for policy, the second source added.
Bunia (DR Congo) (AFP) - A Congolese journalist working for state broadcaster RTNC was killed by an unknown assailant at his home in the northeast of the country Wednesday, officials said, adding it was too early to speculate on the motive.

"A journalist from (state broadcaster) RTNC was killed around 4 am by an as yet unidentified assailant who hit him with a blunt object, causing his death," vice-governor of Ituri province Pacifique Keta told AFP.

Serge Karba, president of the regional branch of the national press union UNPC demanded a full investigation as he confirmed the death of Banga Karaba, who he said had been attacked at his property.

Keta said it was too early to speculate if the killing had had an ethnic motive.

"It is too early to link this murder to the Hema-Lendu conflict. We must await the results of the inquiry under way," said Keta, adding police had opened an investigation.

Banga was from the Hema ethnic group which has clashed repeatedly with the neighbouring Lendu people.

He had presented French language programming for state radio in the town of Bunia for more than 20 years and was known for his balanced reporting, Karba said.

Ituri, a rich province owing to its gold deposits, saw several outbreaks of violence during the Second Congo War between 1998 and 2003 which was ended with the aid of a French-led international military intervention.
For two consecutive years, Tigo Ghana have been declared winners of the prestigious African Excellence Awards held in Cape Town, South Africa on June 29, 2017.

This year, the telecom company walked away with the Best Internal Communications campaign and were also runners up for the Crises Communication category and Recruitment campaign.

The Internal Campaign, Tigo Business Month - 1 Lead Per Staff Campaign which sought to create employee advocacy for the Enterprise Unit of the company by increasing product and service awareness among staff.

Every employee was urged to identify a potential client and close a sale in order to earn a weekend stay for two at the most luxurious hotel in the Eastern Region of Ghana plus a 30% commission on the sale.

Through various internal communication channels and initiatives, the campaign exceeded its monetary target and among other successes increased employee knowledge and ambassadorship by close to 60% at the end of the campaign period.

Speaking on the teams outstanding achievements, the Director for Corporate Affairs, Gifty Bingley said, We are thrilled to receive this award and thank the Ghana Leadership Team and our colleagues from Tigo Business for their collaborative support.

Driven by the Internal Communications Manager for Tigo, Alex Offei-Lartey was thrilled to pick up the award as a testament to the belief that there are a lot of benefits businesses can realize by effectively engaging staff to become brand ambassadors.

Businesses will function effectively when information flows with ease and speed in a way that can easily be understood and acted on by employees within an organization, he said.

Congratulating the team on the award, the CEO for Tigo Ghana, Roshi Motman commended the teams contribution to the growth of Tigo Business saying, True and lasting business growth begins from within  well done to all the teams for achieving these excellent results.

Other big winners on the night included Intel, Standard Bank, Clock Work Media, Unilever, Turner Broadcasting and the South Africa National Blood Service for best Multichannel Communications, Recruiting Campaign, Agency, Fashion & Beauty campaign, Content Marketing and Social Media campaign respectively.

The African Excellence Awards was created to honour the most outstanding achievement of communications and HR professionals in their field. Winners were evaluated on the innovation, implementation, strategy and impact of the projects submitted.

In 2016 Tigo won Best Communications Team.

The Awards are part of a worldwide implementation of Excellence Awards, which were rolled out in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America simultaneously.
Paris (AFP) - France will cut processing time for asylum requests and boost housing for refugees while "systematically" deporting illegal economic migrants, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Wednesday.

Unveiling an "action plan" for dealing with tens of thousands of people who arrive in France each year, Philippe said it aimed to "guarantee the right to asylum (and) better handle migratory flows."

France, which received 85,000 asylum requests last year, is grappling with a system that President Emmanuel Macron has described as "completely overwhelmed".

France has come under harsh criticism from charities for failing to provide adequate facilities for refugees, leading to the formation of squalid camps in northern France and around Paris.

An aid worker who took part in a meeting at the interior ministry on the issue last week said he feared a "general hardening of expulsion measures" in the plan announced Wednesday.

"We are not what France should be" in striking a balance between humanitarian concern for refugees and observing a tough policy on handling economic migrants, Philippe said.

Philippe said 40 percent of asylum seekers and refugees do not have access to housing, and that the current 80,000 homes and shelters would be increased by 12,500 in 2018 and 2019.

He said the plan calls for additional resources to allow authorities to reduce processing time for an asylum application from 14 months to six.

Philippe said those who are denied asylum will be "systematically" deported, adding that the legal framework for their detention pending deportation would be "redefined" as part of a draft law to be introduced in September.

He said France would beef up means for integrating refugees such as language teaching, something Macron, elected in May, listed as a priority during his campaign.

Philippe also announced the creation of an inter-ministerial coordinator for integrating refugees into French society -- a key demand of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Last Thursday, EU interior ministers pledged to back a plan to help Italy, which has seen some 85,000 migrants stream into the country since the start of the year.
Something is wrong with Ghana, but we shall soon find it.

Ghana is so blessed with human and resources, and favorable climate to boot; yet many a Ghanaian are those that do not benefit so live deprived. Something is wrong and it has to be found.

Ghana has invested a greater part of her fortunes in free and almost-free education, turning out graduates of different shades and forms. As they sit for their final exams they are also in the visa queues for visa to travel abroad to do odd jobs, unrelated to their just-acquired knowledge. Something is wrong somewhere, we shall find it.

Ghana has hardworking rural folks producing all kinds of primary produce which could easily be turned into secondary products, yet our graduates seek government employment and Ghana imports almost everything. Something is wrong and we shall do our best to find it.

Ghana has endowed her educated ones with high level certificates which they flaunt for fans, but they are found wanting in basic knowledge about life in their own environment; the environment they are expected to develop! Something is not right, we have to find it.

Maybe God must come in to help, luckily he is well known in all his identities by Ghanaians; and judging by the serene religious atmosphere in Ghana, God must also know them. They however choose to spend four out of the seven days of the week in churches to ask God to do what God expects them to do on this earth! Something has to be wrong, we shall find it.

Is it not in Ghana that governments pride themselves in the number of hospitals and doctor's strikes they record while they cannot provide enough garbage dumps, toilets, and drainage, thereby increasing incidence of malaria, cholera, etc. Is prevention not better than cure in Ghana? If something is wrong we shall soon find it.

Ghanaian authorities always bemoan the increase in the number of road accidents, and do not forget also to complain about GORO boys at the licencing offices who help to licence unqualified drivers! Do the licencing officials not know the appropriate process in licencing qualified drivers and vehicles even if they are afraid to drive the "Goro" boys from the licencing premises? Something is wrong.

Or maybe the problem could be from Ghana's interesting policy of rejecting well-maintained ten-year old imported vehicles but certifying thirty-year old rickety vehicles to ply our roads, in the name of preventing "dumping" by foreigners! Are the thirty-year old certified vehicles not indicating a dumpsite already! Ghana has a problem somewhere, but we shall find it.

Anyway, sixty years of "proving to the world that we Africans (Ghanaians) can handle our own affairs" it would not have been too much to ply our roads with our own vehicles by now, but our leaders rather are preoccupied by how to select vehicles from the imported government car-pool for their end-of-service benefit.

These leaders acquire state-of-the-art vehicles for use in the capital cities with "polished" roads they leave villages for their inhabitants to become perpertual villagers. Something must be wrong somewhere.

Then our women emerge in the guise of contributing their quota towards national development, but strategically they incriminate to exploit men and pretend not to see their own weaknesses in our socio-cultural setting. They see women capable and even better than men only in top-level and easy positions, but not in the tough, rough, harsh and risky jobs! If being female was all the requirement for development, why do they not let the rural and illiterate women fill those decision-making positions! We shall find what is wrong soon.

"Wo werfi na wosan kfa a ynkyi" (It is not an abomination to return to retrieve what has been forgotten), is a popular Akan proverb. It is not too late learn and to correct our errors, so let us rethink, reposition and redo some of our business-as-usual things to make Ghana shine again, I believe it could be done.
Yaa Peprah Amekudzi, country Lead of Mondelez International Cocoa Life (second from left) in a group photograph with the cocoa Farmers and some teachers from the Asikasu M/A Junior High School

Mondelez International, owners of Cadbury has constructed a four-unit teachers' apartment for the Asikasu M/A Junior High School, in the New Juaben Municipality of the Eastern Region.

The construction of the teachers quarters, which is the brainchild of the Asikasu Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Society Limited was to re- accommodate the teachers close to the school.

Hitherto, the only Junior High School in the area had no accommodation for teachers, which was affecting the work output of the teachers since they have to commute from other towns like Suhyen and Koforidua to the school every day.

However, Mondelez International Cocoa Life, through its initiative to ensure a sustainable cocoa supply chain in Ghana  instituted a scheme with cocoa farmers in its catchment areas  to propose a project in their community for which they needed funding.

After reviewing over 100 proposals from different communities, ten were selected; which included the Asikasu Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Society Limited.

After three years, the Asikasu project  which the farmers bought land for  was inaugurated.

Handing over the apartment to the farmers after three years of construction, the Country Lead of Mondelez International Cocoa Life, Mrs Yaa Peprah Amekudzi said her outfit is committed to partnering communities to enhance development in the areas of health and education and not only in cocoa production.

She urged them to ensure the facility is maintained for posterity.

For his part, the Municipal Planning Officer of the New Juaben Municipal Assembly, Alex Asare urged the teachers to contribute a token monthly in order to help maintain the building.

Expressing his gratitude for the gesture, the President of the Asikasu Cocoa Life Cooperative Society Limited, Mr. Samuel Komlorm was confident that the academic performance of their wards would start to improve now that the teachers would be closer to the school.

The headmaster of the Asikasu M/A Junior High School, Henry Obiri on behalf of the teachers, thanked Cocoa Life and the farmers and said the project was a big relief to them.

Mr. Obiri explained that commuting to and from neighbouring towns to the school was a huge drain on their finances apart from other inconveniences.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri


MANAGING DIRECTOR of United Bank of Africa (UBA), Abiola Bawuah, has urged banks to team up with finance technology (FINTECH) companies to help improve corporate Ghana's mobile financial space.

She said this at the second edition of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) conference held in Accra under the theme: Who is threatening the lions of the banking jungle.

Mrs Bawuah said since the emergence of technology, the banking world has been fine-tuned to usher in a wide range of changes in the delivery of financial services.

According to her, research has shown that companies which embraced technology were likely to experience a 3 percent increase in revenue.

Fintech is an industry composed of companies that use new technology and innovation with available resources in order to compete in the marketplace of traditional financial institutions such as banks and intermediaries in the delivery of financial services.

Some Fintech Companies in Ghana have been categorized as payments (mobile and card acquiring), mobile money and agency bank tech, lending and savings, bitcoin and block chain, crowd funding, remittance, loyalty, insurance tech, agric finance and data analytics.

Even though there have been other industrial revolutions over time, none has actually affected the banking business than that of this era.

She said by the close of this year, chief marketing officers would have spent more money on technology than chief information officers while by year 2020, 50 billion devices would be connected digitally.

She therefore appealed to financial institutions to evolve their new products around innovations and collaborate with Fintech companies.

By Lawson Kwame Lugu & Memunatu Abubakari
A communications expert with the University of Cape Coast (UCC) says the Deputy Trades Ministers recent utterance to diasporans could erode the Akufo-Addo administrations goodwill.

Dr Eric Opoku Mensah said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government's goodwill, which started since winning the elections could be affected with arrogant utterances.

Deputy Trade Minister Robert Ahomka Lindsay has come under heavy public backlash for describing Ghanaians in the diaspora as "whiners" about conditions in the country.

Speaking at an event organised by the diaspora community in Accra last week, the Deputy Minister was unhappy about complaints by members of the diaspora about challenges they faced in accessing government officials in their bid to return home and invest in the country.

Nobody likes whiners, people that spend all the time whining all the time really get on peoples nerves so stop whining, the Deputy Minister said at the Diaspora Homecoming Summit at the Accra International Conference Centre on Thursday.

He entreated the investors to spend the time to understand the process and avoid taking shortcuts because that can only get them into trouble.

Video: Deputy Trade Minister calls investors whiners, gets a fitting response

Since President Akufo-Addos appointment of over 100 ministers, there has been a backlash from the public about the utterances of some of his ministers.

The Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid was heavily criticised by callers into Joy FMs Super Morning Show after his comments about the civil servants were condemned as being a brush.

The Agriculture Minister Dr Afriyie Akoto told off a journalist and called his station owner names, when he wanted answers from the Minister regarding governments new Planting for Food and Jobs policy.

The Tourism Minister, Catherine Ablema Afeku, took offence when Joy News Parliamentary correspondent, Joseph Opoku Gakpo sought clarification from her about the involvement of a pro-NPP vigilante group in the Kintampo Waterfall after a report on the disaster was released.

Recently, the Deputy Lands Minister, Benito Owusu-Bio, took Ghanaian journalists to the cleaners calling them lazy and armchair, in their coverage of a collapsed mine pit atNsuta-Prestea in the Western Region.

But the communications expert said, the aggregation of such comments which have necessitated a public discourse on the issue will go a long way to decrease the positive feeling that people have towards the government.

That will be bad as every government need that positive feeling to continue and government should be worried about that."

He warns that if the government does not do anything to protect, maintain and increase a positive public opinion, what is currently happening will affect it at the next election.

You dont want to have that but for people to share and support your vision, he said.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim |[email protected]


The Rotary Club of Tema in the Greater Accra Region has constructed a modern incinerator for the Tema General Hospital to help the premier health facility in the area manage its waste.

Estimated at a cost of GH100,000, the project was funded by the Rotary Club of Oddor in Denmark and some local partners under the initiative of Rotary Club of Tema.

The project which is about 16-cubic metres capacity is made up of two chambers; the primary chamber which loads the waste and starts the burning process from which the items move into the secondary chamber for further burning into smoke which then comes out of the incinerator through a chimney.

Presenting the incinerator to the hospital, Rotarian Mark Dei, President of Rotary Club of Tema, disclosed that this is one of the biggest humanitarian projects being carried out by the club within the Rotary calendar year.

Giving details about the incinerator, Rotarian Dei explained that the incinerator is designed with special high velocity gas burners to take care of medical waste as it burns off all pollutants.

He continued that the incinerator is fuelled with gas and designed with a fan system to make sure that effective burning is complete.

Rotarian Dei was positive that the construction of the furnace for the hospital would bring relief to both authorities of the facility and residents in the metropolis.

The president of Rotary Club of Tema pleaded with the Medical Director of Tema General Hospital, Dr Kwabena Opoku-Adusei, to ensure the incinerator is maintained properly since it would go a long way to generate revenue for the hospital when providing service for other hospitals for a fee.

He seized the opportunity to thank the Rotary Club of Oddor and its local partners for supporting the project.

Earlier, Dr Opoku-Adusei stated that the people of Tema and its environs deserve a better hospital.

According to him, There are so many uncompleted projects that need assistance. We will need government assistance to eventually get modern hospital for Tema General Hospital. We have a vast land that the previous medical director and her team of management had protected by walling around it.

Dr Opoku-Adusei has appealed to the government and other benevolent organisations to help renovate the dilapidated structures and complete projects such as the maternity expansion block, the morgue and the central theatre.

He thanked the Rotary Club of Tema and Rotary Club of Oddor of Denmark for the project, and assured that them the project would be properly maintained.

The Deputy Minister of Transport, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema East, Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, assured the management of the hospital of his support to ensure government puts up a modern hospital to take over the makeshift structures scattered on the hospital.

From Vincent Kubi, Tema


Striking staff of the Pantang Mental Hospital say they will only return to work fully if government assures them it will halt the encroachment on the hospitals lands.

The workers called a partial strike on Monday to protest the 'massive' takeover of the hospital's land by private individuals, some of whom have built at the frontage of the facility.

Accra's second mental health facility which was built in 1975 after the Accra Psychiatric Hospital had an initial land space in excess of 344 acres, however, private developers have encroached on the property to the extent that it is feared the hospital will soon lose the right of way.

There is no public health facility that big as Pantang that will have private developers hiding within it, a worried acting Medical Director, Dr Frank Baning, stated on Joy FMs Super Morning Show yesterday.

Dr Baning added, Here, we have people who are occasionally aggressive and it is not good to have private developers right at the frontage.

Unfortunately, the hospital lost a legal battle it embarked upon to reclaim the encroached portions of its land.

The Local Chairperson of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Winifred Peasah, who also spoke on the programme, mentioned that the staff of the facility have absorbed more than they can absorb, hence the resort to the action.

We still want to hear from the governmenthalt the development and then we will come back to work, Mrs Peasah told the host of the show, Kojo Yankson.

Zero funding

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the facility has not received its budgetary allocation for the past three years, except funds directed at paying for specific activities performed by service providers.

Dr Frank Baning disclosed a budget estimation of GH8million presented to the Health Ministry was slashed to about 133,000.

However, seven months into the year, nothing has been advanced into the accounts of the Pantang Hospital.

The only washing machine which the hospital has been operating with for over 20 years has broken down, and management is struggling to get it fixed because the hospital is broke, the medical director stated.

The situation, he said, has resulted in the infestation of bed bugs, compounding the challenges that the hospital has to deal with.

The fundamental challenge here is a lack of commitment from leadership (national level)we don't see mental health as a health issue. We always consider mental health as part of general healthcare, he grieved.

He, therefore, called for a policy intervention to cure the financing of mental health, which he described as one of the fundamental challenges of the sector.
The Tamale magistrate court in the Northern Region has given an order for the arrest of some residents of Dohanayili who are allegedly involved in illegal electricity connections.

Information available indicates that about 20 suspects have since been served a court summons to appear before the court.

Some staff of the Volta River Authority (VRA) in the region escaped being lynched a few days ago in the Dohanayili community when they went to arrest a resident for alleged power theft.

Authorities of VRA had to call armed police officers to escort them to retrieve their vehicle tyres which were deflated.

A fortnight ago, a female staff of VRA was slapped at Lamakara when a warrant was released for the arrest of the defaulter, but some of the community members reportedly assisted her to escape.

The metropolitan police commander and about 30 armed police officers were said to have been stoned and chased out of the community.

A heavy downpour last week Thursday left parts of Dohanayili without power supply as lightning and thunderstorm destroyed the only transformer serving the community.

Despite reports of the outages, staff of VRA refused to go to the community because the residents had threatened them regarding illegal connections.

The Public Relations Officer of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO), Alaasan Abaaba, told DAILY GUIDE that the court had given the VRA authority to invite persons suspected of illegal connections in the Dohanayili area to appear before it (court).

According to him, illegal connection is on the rise in the area and some parts of the Tamale metropolis, which is worrying because most residents know the perpetrators but would not report them.

Mr. Abaaba warned that the war against illegal connections would continue, despite the threats, indicating that there was no way consumers of electricity would use it illegally without being caught.

Whether you steal for a month, day or year, you will be found one day and when that day comes, you will be made to pay for all the times you used power illegally, he claimed.

The chief of Doahayili, Wurushia-Naa, told DAILY GUIDE that the community had regretted its actions and was therefore pleading with the VRA to restore power in the community.

I have met with the entire community and I speak on their behalf. We say were sorry for our actions, he apologized.

FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale


The troubles of former Minister of Transport, Dzifa Aku Attivor, are beginning to resurface following a call by colleague opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) member that she should be prosecuted and possibly jailed.

Bismark Tawiah Boateng, the Eastern Regional Chairman of the NDC, says he does not understand why Akufo-Addos New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is allowing the former minister to walk freely when she has a case to answer in the infamous bus branding saga that sparked heated political debate.

The NDC Chairman told Accra-based Okay FM that Madam Attivor needs to be invited by the new government without delay to explain issues surrounding the branding agreement that was reached between the Ministry of Transport and actress Sellasie Ibrahims Smarttys Management and Productions Ltd for the branding of 116 Metro Mass Transport (MMT) buses at a staggering cost of GH3.6 million.

The branding had become a wasted exercise with the defeat of John Mahama, who apparently wanted to use it to gain electoral advantage as his picture and those of past presidents of Ghana were embossed on the buses, with only his portrait appearing in full colour.

You see some of these things contributed to the partys (NDC) defeat, but nobody paid attention to it, Mr Tawiah Boateng noted.

According to the NDC guru, the NPP government should be bold enough to invite Madam Attivor for questioning and not entertain the fear that the government will be accused of witch-hunting its political opponents.

The Nana Addo government should not tell us that because of witch-hunting they will let her go scot-free. No! She should be invited by the NPP government and explain to Ghanaians issues about the bus branding, he urged.

Sometime in April, 2016, Dzifa Attivor, who had resigned as Minister of Transport following the GH3.6 million bus branding scandal, at an NDC public rally at Aflao in the Ketu South Constituency, entreated the people of the Volta Region not to vote for the NPP in the December elections because it (NPP) has a track-record of putting Ewes (people from the region) in jail.

She said that the previous Kufuor administration specifically jailed former NDC appointees, who hail from the region and went on to mention some of them as Dan Abodakpi and the late Victor Selormey.

She stated that if the NPP won the December elections, it would repeat the same thing by jailing only Ewes, including herself.

When the NPP came to power in 2001, a lot of our people were sent to prison. Victor Selormey, Dan Abordakpi and so on were imprisoned. Was it because no other persons committed crime in Ghana? But it was only Ewes that they jailed I want to entreat you not to do anything for Fifi Kwetey and I to go to prison. It lies with you all to ensure that no Ewe person goes to prison. So I am pleading with you to work hard and deliver the 120,000 votes target for the party in the constituency, she was quoted as saying.

Dzifa Attivors comment sparked heated political debate, with some opinion leaders and personalities, including former President Jerry John Rawlings, condemning her.

In late October last year  in the heat of the electioneering campaign  Tawiah Boateng, who is calling for the prosecution of Madam Attivor, had said he anticipated tough times for NDC appointees, should the party lose the elections which it eventually did.

The apprehension among some elements of the then Mahama-led NDC administration over the possibility of then opposition leader Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo becoming president became visible when Mr Tawiah Boateng said plainly that the NPP should not be voted for because the opposition leader was capable of jailing them.

But this time round its the NDC top man who is calling for the prosecution of his fellow party member.
Throw back a few decades to the 60s and 70s or even the early 80s when technology was not this far advanced. Travelling was still a great exercise but more stressful and challenging to organize. Travelling entails several little facets such as hotel bookings, flight bookings, car rentals, tourist destinations, access to healthcare and financial services, good food etc. In the past, to get all these little bits sorted out in order to have a successful travel experience, one had to go through many hustles and even end up spending more money.

Think about a domestic trip from Accra to Tamale in the 70s when mobile phones, laptops and the internet werent widespread in Ghana . You may have had to travel to Tamale not knowing where you were going to stay, what you would eat or even how you were going to move about in the city. Even if the destination was close by, you may have had to do double trips just to reserve a room, book tables in the restaurant, rent a car for your travel dates or even get a bus ticket.

Fast forward to late 90s through the millennium all the way to present day. Technology has evolved so much that smartphones,tablets,laptops and the internet have provided an amazing yet effective way of cutting all the stress and saving more money. Travel has become both comfortable and memorable with a service delivery medium known as online travel agencies (OTA) working tirelessly to provide seamless online travel solutions for its customers.

The primary roles of these online businesses are to help travelers book flight tickets, holiday packages, hotel rooms, etc online using a smartphone or a computer. The experience has to be stress free, convenient, safe and fast for it to be deemed successful. Jumia Travel, Africas leading online travel website looks at the sorts of impacts such OTAs have on tourism and hospitality in Ghana.

First of all, lets remind ourselves that OTAs come at a fee and their services are not free. However, their value and the benefits that they bring are endless. The impact is mostly felt by hoteliers and customers who form the core of our hospitality industry but the tourism industry is also greatly impacted by these OTAs. The operations of OTAs influence customer choices. Many travelers outside Ghana who may be used to certain hotels alone may want a new experience. Some may even want other options because of bad experiences in previous hotels or even the need for lesser rates. Online travel agencies provide such options for customers with just a few clicks of a mouse. Due to the ability of OTAs to discount rates on their portals, customers tend to prefer booking with them. The attractiveness of the rates and the visibility of hotel rooms and facilities push customers to travel .

If for instance, my whole budget for a trip to Ghana from Argentina is 1000 USD and i can get a flight for $50 less and hotel reservation for $55 less than what i would have paid for by booking directly, I would be eager to book and travel quickly. Once travel is made affordable and the guest travels down, tourism derives maximum benefits as the guest would love to see a few things and experience the beautiful stories he/she may have heard about the city or town. These days, some OTAs even go the extra mile of promoting tourist destinations and educating tourists about best places to visit as well as give them travel tips. When these tourists land in Ghana, restaurants, car rental services as well as tourist sites benefit a lot from them. Foreign exchange is on the high and their recommendations to friends and family to visit Ghana keeps the tourism and hospitality industries booming.

Secondly, increased revenue by these OTAs also mean increased revenue for the hotels and their partners. Since these enterprises pay tourism and hospitality levies to the appropriate authorities, there is always enough funds readily available for developmental projects, maintenance and building of infrastructure to improve the country. Also, OTAs have a great tendency of always bringing new travelers into the country because of extended marketing and the kind of reach they have with online processes and advertisements. Because they are always online, countries who may never have been heard of appear on the map and are seen by many. These days, we even have tourists from Malta and Moldova visiting Ghana. This is great news for Ghanas tourism and hospitality. Another important thing that OTAs bring to our travel and tourism is employment. With increased flight and hotel bookings come the need for more employees in hotels, restaurants and tourist sites to be able to cater for the numbers. This opens the way for more unemployed people to be absorbed into the tourism and hospitality sectors.

The benefits of OTAs go way beyond the above listed and their impact on tourism as well as hospitality is great. However, a perfect balance has to be struck between all partners and stakeholders involved for an effective and successful outcome. When all systems work well, everyone benefits.

Credit : Bennet Otoo, Jumia Travel
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo last week turned the valves on Ghanas third Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, FPSO John Agyekum Kufuor at 11.38am, to signify the start of formal commercial production on the Sankofa-Gye Nyame oil and gas field.

SRI EMAS Limited(SEL), was responsible for the complete subsea architecture installation including Structures, Flowlines, Umbilical and Risers. The installed hardware are the conduits through which the oil extracted from below the seabed is moved to the floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) - John Agyekum Kuffuor.

A 63-kilometer submarine pipeline will transport gas to Sanzule's Onshore Receiving Facilities (ORF), where raw gas will be processed and transported to Ghanas national distribution pipelines , supplying approximately 180 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd).

SRI EMAS is an Independent Ghanaian company that delivers integrated offshore solutions in Ghana and the sub-region. These include SURF installation, Light Well Intervention Works, Floater and Mooring Installation, Pipe Lay and Heavy Lift, accommodation and marine support, coupled with a track record of offshore engineering solutions for the entire oil-field cycle.

The company is equipped with highly skilled Ghanaian personnel including marine and subsea engineers.

Miss Carla Olympio, the Legal Counsel at SRI EMAS asserted that their level of delivery was evidenced in the fact that their client  ENI Ghana Ltd, has been able to start production 3 months earlier than expected.

In a statement from ENIs press office published in the media, Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi stated that starting production only two and a half years after the approval of the Development Plan - is an extraordinary result. It certifies our exploration skills and knowledge, as well as our field development vision, and it confirms the effectiveness of ENIs new operational model, where they have a central role in project management, aimed at improving time-to-market.

The OCTP integrated oil & gas development is made up of the Sankofa Main, Sankofa East and Gye-Nyame fields, which are located about 60 kilometers off Ghanas Western Region coast. ENIs statement further explained that the fields have about 770 million barrel of oil equivalent (mboe) in place, of which 500 million barrels are oil and 270 mboe are non-associated gas (about 40 billion cubic meters).

"Thanks to the laudable efforts of the Petroleum Commission in enforcing the Local Content Law, SRI EMAS has been able to play a critical role, in ENIs production of First Oil. Said SRI EMAS Local Content Manager, Miss Lydia Alomatu. The project includes the development of gas fields whose production will be utilized entirely by Ghanas domestic market. Production will be carried out via the John Agyekum Kufuor floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO), which will produce up to 85,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) through 18 underwater wells.

Eni is the Operator of the OCTP block with a 44.44% stake, while Vitol holds 35.56% and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) 20%.

SRI EMAS is optimistic that with such continued emphasis on local content and their commitment to a high-level standard of delivery, the OCTP project will provide numerous jobs as well as opportunities for Ghanaians to raise their level of expertise, in the oil and gas industry.
12.07.2017 LISTEN

Prince Tonye Princewill has hailed the Supreme Court ruling over who ought to be the rightful national Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party which favored the Ahmed Markafi-led National Working Committee, NWC.

Mr. Princewill in response to the judgment said: I want to thank the Supreme Court for denying old PDP a chance to hide away and show up tomorrow with a brand new face. Nigerians know this PDP and are familiar with not only its ways but its characters. The devil we know is better. He is much easier to defeat.

He noted that For the neutrals or the progressives in PDP, you now have a clear choice. There are no vacancies in PDP. The top is heavy, so there is little or no room for growth. You can either go back or move forward. Here in Rivers state we have two seaports, two airports, massive land and enviable resources. Are you feeling it? You need a government that does not give excuses.

Continuing he said, If your answer is No. You know where to come. Join us at the only place where vacancies exist for people like you. Where good candidates stand a very good chance and only a level playing field will suffice. A party where youths lead and winning requires a team. Work is about to start, so unless you prefer to come after the soup has been cooked, join us now.

I and many others will be here to welcome you to the APC. I promise you. You will see many more people like you Princewill said. He predicted that many in the PDP who were hoping for a new direction will find that APC is now their best chance
12.07.2017 LISTEN

Six youth have been arrested in the Mpohor district of the Western region for engaging in illegal mining.

The six all under 30-years also include a teenager, Sabina Kwesi 18.

Confirming the arrest to Myjoyonline.com , the District Chief Executive Ignatius Asaah Mensah explained a taskforce stormed their location at Ayiem following a tip-off.

The taskforce found mining equipment sitting in the River Subri and rRiver Butre, which had turned brownish following years of illegal activities.

The five others arrested are Clement Fosu 27, Paul Sissie 21, Isaac Larbi 29, Emmanuel Godzo 29, and Rafael Lewu 27.

They were allegedly mining along a stretch of cocoa farms.

Mpohor with more than 40,000 residents has an agrarian economy with a rainfall pattern very supportive of agricultural activities.

Cocoa and oil palm farming is an important activity there but a get-rich-quick fad has seen an escalation in illegal mining.

"They go [into the bush] today, they come home with money", he said and praised a de-escalation of the menace since the government clamp down three months ago.

"It used to be very endemic but now it has gone down" the DCE said. There are suspicions that the six came into the district from places as far as the Volta region.

The DCE said the arrest is the first in the district since the clampdown began more than three months ago.

Ignatius Mensah shared the difficulties the task force faces in apprehending the miners because they have also set up inteliigence-gathering that enables them to evade arrest.

Unlike the President who has been threatened with electoral consequences for the clamp down, the DCE said the District's fight against the menace enjoys considerable local support.

He said farmers have lamented the clandestine destruction of cocoa trees courtesy the illegal miners. The residents, he said, complain about the contamination of water sources.

The suspects are expected to be arraigned at a circuit court in Takoradi in the Western region.

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|[email protected]
Khartoum (AFP) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday suspended negotiations with Washington aimed at ending sanctions against Khartoum, after the United States extended its embargo for another three months, state media said.

US President Donald Trump prolonged a review period overnight to October 12 before his administration decides whether or not to permanently lift the decades-old sanctions.

His predecessor Barack Obama had eased the sanctions in January, but kept Sudan on review for six months, a period that ended on Wednesday.

Obama had made the permanent lifting of the sanctions dependent on the North African country's progress in five areas of concern at the end of the review period.

In his executive order issued on Tuesday, Trump extended the deadline, saying "more time is needed" for the review.

And on Wednesday, Bashir decided to suspend the talks between Washington and Khartoum.

Bashir "issued a presidential decree ordering the suspension of the committee that was negotiating (the lifting of the sanctions) with the United States until October 12," the official news agency SUNA said, quoting a presidential decree.

The committee has been negotiating for more than a year with US officials on lifting the American trade embargo in force against Khartoum since 1997.

Prior to Bashir's decree, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour voiced Khartoum's disappointment over Trump's order.

"We regret such a decision that came out after long negotiations between Sudan and the United States," he said.

"The United States, Europe, Africa and the international community admit that Sudan has fulfilled its commitments when it comes to the five tracks, which is why we don't see any reason for extending the review period," he told reporters.

"But we are still hoping that the sanctions will be lifted permanently."

The areas of concern -- or "five tracks" -- include giving more access to humanitarian workers in war zones, counterterrorism cooperation with the United States, an end to hostilities against armed groups in Sudan and halting support for insurgents in neighbouring South Sudan.

"I have decided more time is needed for this review to establish that the government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action across all of those areas," Trump's order said, noting that "the government of Sudan has made some progress".

'Smart' sanctions recommended

Washington imposed a complex set of economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its alleged backing of Islamist militant groups.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011, was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

Washington also justified the embargo with accusations of scorched-earth tactics by Khartoum against ethnic minority rebels in war-torn Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since the Darfur conflict erupted in 2003, the UN says.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes related to the conflict, charges he steadfastly denies.

The UN said it had hoped the United States would make a "positive decision" on the sanctions against Sudan for allowing more humanitarian aid access across war zones.

But some think-tanks had called for the review period to be extended, saying Khartoum needed to do more for the embargo to be lifted.

The Enough Project, a Washington-based think-tank, said the Trump administration should now devise a new set of "smart and modernised" sanctions that would spare Sudan's people.

They should "target those who are most responsible for grand corruption and atrocities, including air strikes on villages, attacks on churches, obstruction of humanitarian aid, jailing and torturing opposition figures and civil society leaders, stealing elections, and undermining peace efforts", said John Prendergast, founding director of Enough Project.
Express Capital Microfinance Ltd, an indigenous second tier banking institution which was incorporated in 2012, has rebranded into Direct Savings and Loans Ltd.

The mission of Direct Savings and Loans Ltd is to become a dynamic financial service provider, creating and sustaining wealth for our clients while being committed to delivering excellent returns for our shareholders and business partners.

Its main business will be to provide banking services to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), traders and market women, salaried workers and the self-employed.

Direct Savings and Loans currently operates Five (5) different branches- Tesano, Tema, Madina, Kasoa and Accra Central- all in the Greater Accra Region.

An official event to launch the new bank will take place on Thursday, July 13, 2017, at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. Notable personalities including the Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia will grace the function.

Ahead of the official launch, the Board of Directors and Management of Direct Savings and Loans in a statement, have assured clients and potential clients to brace an all-new banking experience.

The Board of Directors and Management of Express Capital Micronance Limited would like to formally inform its customers and the general public that the company has legally changed its name to Direct Savings & Loans Limited.

Direct Savings & Loans Limited has been granted a Savings and Loans license by the Bank of Ghana with license number 0089.

The statement further urged existing clients to note that all liabilities and obligations hitherto held by the entity, Express Capital Micronance Limited have been entirely and unequivocally transferred to Direct Savings & Loans Limited without any alteration of the circumstances.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Jerry Tsatro Mordy | Email: [email protected], Twitter: @jerrymordy
There seems to be some duplication in the discharge of duties in the public sector. Therefore, scrapping some of these quangos may go a long way in saving the public purse some funds.

In the energy sector, the Ministry of Energy sits at the top, then under it, several agencies, departments, authorities and commissions, springs up, whose functions seem to overlap. For example, one can find the VRA, VRA Trust Fund, ECG, GRIDCo, NEDCo, VALCO, Bui Power Authority, Energy Commission, Petroleum Commission, Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company, National Petroleum Authority, GNPC, Tema Oil Refinery, GOIL, Ghana Gas Co. and the almighty BOST!

One does not need to be a so-called energy expert to be able to harmonise the above under four (4) agencies. Thus, the VRA Trust Fund can be christened Energy Sector Trust Fund, so that with the necessary legislation, all the quangos under the Ministry of Energy are served by one trust fund.

Secondly, the agencies that are into exploration and production/manufacturing can also be brought under one umbrella.

The agencies that are into wholesale, retailing or distribution/storage, may also come under one controlling agency. The regulatory agencies functions will then be ceded to a Health & Safety Executive (HSE), which will be looked at shortly.

TOR may be allowed to stand alone at the moment. At some point, Ghana may have more than one oil refinery, and the name may have to change to reflect the trend.

This multiplicity of agencies can be seen across almost all the ministries. It is not surprising that, the Minister of State in charge of tertiary education (Prof. Kwesi Yankah), has hinted of the National Accreditation Board (NAB) and the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), being merged into one. This is a step in the right direction.

If this harmonisation is applied across all the ministries, I will leave the savings that would be made to the Hon. Minister of Finance to quantify.

Agencies like the Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana Standards Authority, Environmental Protection Agency, etc., can all be scrapped and replaced with a simple but more robust Health & Safety Executive (HSE), modelled on the UK HSE. The HSE in the UK, is given wide ranging powers, including the power to prosecute and carry out inspections of almost everything in the UK without giving any prior notice before storming an organisation, thus, both public and private organisations. It is among the most feared state agencies in the UK. It has powers to shut down any public or private organisation for breach of health and safety regulations.

Ghana desperately requires an effective and efficient HSE to curb the maiming and deaths at workplaces, erroneously termed accidents. It is clear that, basic health and safety procedures are most often given lip service by managers. I havent come across a single organisation in Ghana, where emphasises is placed on health and safety. This cannot be allowed to continue. We have vehicles driving around without headlights, invisible registration plates, no sidelights, no rear view mirrors, bald tyres, excessive smoke, etc, and this is deemed ok.

One goes to companies/organisations/institutions, and find electrical cables dangling on human heads as they go about their official duties; open gutters that people can fall into; no designated fire assembly points; no toilet facilities provided for both staff and visitors, and even in some instances where toilet facilities are claimed to have been provided, what one will see inside those death traps, is worse than what floats on the Korle Lagoon!

Go to some academic institutions, and one will find classrooms that seats about 70 students, having only one entry/exit door, and to compound the health and safety issue in those instances, the doors to such classrooms are usually shut during teaching or when such classrooms are being used for examinations. It is no surprising that, some students do collapse in classes, due to the excessive heat in such enclosed environments. What if there is an emergency like a fire outbreak, how quickly can those inside such bakery ovens termed classrooms get out? It is high time legislation is put in place to hold anyone under whose care other people come under, responsible for any health and safety mishap that may arise.

In this regard, landlords, teachers, their immediate supervisors and heads of institutions can be prosecuted for not putting in place effective and efficient health and safety measures at their various properties/schools. Food vendors, hoteliers, police cells, prisons, petrol stations, almost every nuke and cranny of mother Ghana, can then be inspected at any time by the HSE unannounced. With this, I believe, we will stop seeing the soiled used newspapers and other unspeakable things that are used by some people in the name of wiping their backsides after natures call in toilets across the various work places in this country.

Setting up a Health and Safety Executive (HSE), is long overdue!

Alhassan Salifu Bawah

Lecturer & Social Commentator

[email protected]
Africa as a continent is home to quite a sizable portion of the world's minerals and natural resources. In development circles, it is not uncommon to hear the question, "why is Africa so rich in resources and yet their citizens are poor and their continent underdeveloped?" The answer usually given is that African leaders are corrupt. While this may be true in some cases, in others it is not. But even when it is true, other supra factors compound the intra factors such as corruption. What do I mean?

Africa's challenges must be understood from an intra-continental context, inter-continental, and supra-continental context if an accurate solution is to be prescribed. Today, we'll consider the supra context. This is the realm or space within which transnational corporations (TNCs) relate with nationsespecially within the so-called developing world. This space is mostly unregulated and in many cases not characterized by equity during contract negotiations.

When one takes a cursory view at most of the mining contracts in sub-Saharan Africa, the host nations gets almost nothing, in most cases, less than 10% of what their resources are worth, while the TNCs take 90% or more. There needs to be a massive "as-one" review, renegotiation or annulment of unfair and unjust contracts and agreements with TNC and multinational corporations (MNCs).

THE TANZANIAN CASE

This article is about the country Tanzania and its dealings with a TNC called Acacia Mining plc in Tanzania. It is an FTSE 250 company and is 64pc owned by Barrick Gold of Canada. It was rebranded as Acacia Mining Plc in 2013. As per the company's website, it is registered as a UK public company headquartered in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange in Tanzania. It operates 3 mines, "all located in north-west Tanzania, together with several exploration projects at various stages of development, including exploration land holdings in the highly prospective greenstone belts in Western Kenya, Western Burkina Faso and Western Mali" according to the company's website.

In a recent article in The Guardian titled, A brutal lesson for multinationals: golden tax deals can come back and bite you, the author remarks that:

"[Acacia] is the largest gold producer in the country [Tanzania], and has long faced criticism for the amount of tax it pays there. Acacia's "payments to government" report released last week shows that the company, which operates three mines in Tanzania, exported $1bn (770m) of gold, copper and silver last year [2016], and ONLY PAID 8% of this in taxes and royalties to the government.

What's more, between 2010 and 2015, it paid out $444m in dividends to shareholders WHILE NOT PAYING ANY CORPORATE INCOME TAX in the country".

The conduct of this TNC can aptly be captioned "daylight robbery in Tanzania". The CEO Brad Gordon has admited that the original mining agreement was not EQUITABLE. He added, "The industry can be its own worst enemy when it sits down and agrees these terms, it's gonna come back and bite us. And in this case it has".

In 2016 after much pressure from the Tanzanian government and public, Acacia has agreed to bring forward corporate tax payments it has not paid.

In addition to the above, the President of Tanzania John Magufuli has accused "the company not only of striking an unbalanced deal but of massively under-reporting its gold exports to evade tax" as reported in The Guardian article . It turns out he was right. Working on an informed hunch earlier this year, the government "decreed a ban on exports of unrefined metals, preventing Acacia from selling partially processed "concentrate". The following ensued :

In April, as containers piled up at the Acacia gold mines and the port of Dar es Salaam, Magufuli appointed two committees of academics to investigate their contents. In May, the committees declared that the president's suspicions were correct and the concentrate contained eight times more gold than the company had reported, as well as several other rare minerals such as iridium and ytterbium ".

If the committees' findings are accurate, the extent of the undervaluation is enormous, amounting to almost $4bn annually (one tenth of Tanzania's GDP). Magufuli has responded forcefully, saying, "We should summon [Acacia] and demand that they pay us back our money. If they accept that they stole from us and seek forgiveness in front of God and the angels and all Tanzanians and enter into negotiations, we are ready to do business."

This is not unbelievable. This is one of the ways TNCs plunder Africa via illicit financial flows . If Africa is ever to develop, such leaks should be plugged. In any case, why would these academics falsify findings? African governments have always known these leaks exist but few have been willing to even broach the subject because TNCs control in many cases more resources than small African nation. In a world where the media is favorable to the highest bidder , TNCs have an edge over these nations. It is thus admirable to see governments such as the incumbent in Tanzania attempt to tame this chimera that has ravaged much of the so-called "developing world".

MAIN ISSUEDEVELOPMENT

Summary of allegations against Acacia Mining plc include:

Unethical deal/contract between Acacia and Tanzania

Massive under-reporting of gold exports to evade tax

Tax malfeasance: Acacia's exported $1bn (770m) worth of gold, copper and silver last year, they only ONLY PAID 8% of this in taxes and royalties to Tanzaniathe host nation and owner of the resource

Not paying any corporate tax for 5 years straight: Between 2010 and 2015, Acacia paid out $444m in dividends to shareholders while NOT PAYING ANY CORPORATE INCOME TAX in the country

What is the main issue being discussed here?

It is not solely the corrupt behavior of Barrick Gold and Acacia or other blameworthy TNCs but rather how this behavior deprives African nations of resources needed for development.

BULLYING WON'T CUT IT ANYMORE

Africa as is known today began with the Nkrumah's of Ghana who for trying to develop their continent got ousted by the CIA and some local actors.

During Obama's Presidency when Western leaders asked African nations to legalize same sex marriage and they refused, much needed funds allocated for key sectors of the economy were diverted to NGOs that were anti-government. This happened with Uganda and others.

In a recent decision of the Eastern African Community to phase in a ban on used clothing from the West which is detrimental to both the cotton and textile industry, the U.S. threatened to review Agoa benefits to these countries.

And now, as Tanzania attempts to right some wrongs by forcing Barrick Gold to do the right thing, threats like "this will make Tanzania unfavorable for business" are being spoken of in the media.

Being open for business should not be synonymous with "African nations will let you get away with thievery and corruption". Africa is open for fair and honest business. But it will not encourage Illicit Financial Flows out of the continent.

As of now, Barrick Gold is negotiating a way forward with Tanzania. Had the Tanzanian government not taken a stance to correct the wrongsdamning any retribution that may ariseBarrick Gold would not be seeking to make amends now.

WAY FORWARD

TNCs largely operate in unregulated space not subject to host governments or their parliaments and laws. For this reason, many TNCs are not incentivized to conduct themselves in a manner that respects the laws of nations they operate in. Tanzania is changing thatat least in their corner of Sub-Saharan Africa.

TNCs and MNCs do not only operate outside national laws but also settle disputes in foreign private courts of settlement. These courts are setup in such a way as to disadvantage host nationsespecially those in developing countries. Tanzania through its Parliament has set a precedent by making TNCs subject to national laws. And why not? The resources belong to the public of that nation. They should have a say in bringing TNCs to book if they behave unconscionably. Why should this privilege be given only to foreign courts to the exclusion of the owners of the resource?

Tanzania's parliament has passed two laws which allow the government to dissolve existing contracts if the terms are deemed "unconscionable". The new laws ban companies from turning to foreign courts or tribunals to resolve disputes, and compel companies to process minerals within the country rather than exporting them as raw materials as reported by The Guardian.

So what are some recommendations for other sub-Saharan African countries?

Uphold National Interest in all contracts: African governments should review existing contracts and make sure they are equitableaccruing to the mutual benefit of the host populace and TNCs Where not equitable, annul old contracts legally or force TNCs to come back to drawing board to renegotiate. If this means using Parliament, so be it. Strict monitoring and evaluation: Make sure there is no underreporting to evade tax (You can use Tanzania's style by checking containers or some other monitoring and evaluation scheme) and make sure TNCs are following their part of the bargain Make TNCs subject to national laws Give nations the power to annul contracts that do not promote fairness and development The African Union should champion some of these initiatives at the regional level to harmonize resource contracts and provide a forum for governments to learn from each other.

African governments must learn to work together and they should learn from each otherespecially from the likes of Tanzania and Rwanda who are leaving positive marks on the sands of history. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when others have already done it and can show us the way so we can build upon their success.

There is strength in unity. Sometimes TNCs get their way in Africa because they play the divide and rule tactic. They tell country A, sweeten the deal by waiving X, Y, AND Z or else I will go to this other African county e.g. country B. For instance "allow us not to be subject to your national laws or else we will go elsewhere in Africa". In such a case, if all sub-Saharan Africa countries had the same policy harmonized in the area of mining negotiations, the TNCs will be forced to deal on Africa's terms. The resource holder should never feel like they do not have options. They do. TNCs get away will spills and other such poor conduct in Africa that they would never get away with in the West. This is because Western governments would hold them accountable. It is time Africa's leaders hold them accountable.

As one, there is nothing that they cannot doincluding reforming government, governance and leadership on the continent such that it looks out always for the best interest of its varied populations in all contracts and dealings.

God bless Tanzania and God bless Africa.
I was speaking with someone the other day when I went to buy parts for my car at Abossey Okai,Accra .He asked me, Whats the most important thing the government can do to help these people at Abossey- okai, apart from taking off the import duty on spare parts? I said, The entire business must be relocated to more spacious, hygienic, inviting and accessible location, outside Accra.

If you havent bought parts from Abossey Okai during raining season lately, please skip this piecefeel free to read something else. I dont want to spoil your day!

However, I feel fairly confident that youre still with me at this point because youve had at least one experience there. Im not talking about the cutthroat prices and other tricks the dealers sometimes play on the customers. That place has so many unemployed people than the labor office. And, they are willing to help you get any part you want as long as they can add their own price to it. Ill get it from our other stores for you, wait right here!They will instruct and give you a seat.

In fact, I can take the little inconveniences and con games and rip-offs, but I cant stand the unhygienic and disorganized landscape of the place. It makes me wonder why such money making place has turned into a dump with its plastic-choked gutters. It will be nice if these people are moved to a spacious place with its layout sewage system, etc ,and modern amenities like: Toilets, restaurants, modern mechanic garages, auto body shops, car wash parlor, welders, gym and recreation area where people can sit and relax while waiting for their parts or vehicles to be checked or fixed. In fact, we can top it off with automotive technical institute (ATI) and clinic. Why not?

Yes, I know I sound like a dreamer but since the government is talking about one district, one- factory and job creation, I think if we moved these people to a better location more jobs can be created there and the parts dealers will laugh all the way to the bank with healthy minds and bodies. That will be a win, win situation for the nation as well.

Oh, I didnt hear hallelujah from you at all. Let the congregation say Amen! Anyway, I have my fingers crossed with crazy glue, hoping against hope that one day I will wake up and read in the news: Abossey -okai auto parts dealership has been relocated to a better location. Thats my dream and I know it will come to pass before NPPs first term is over.

No, I aint pandering to any group or anyone, just expressing my wishes. Any problem with that? I hope not!

From

Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi

(Voice Of reason)
Khartoum (AFP) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday suspended negotiations with Washington aimed at ending sanctions against Khartoum, after the United States extended its embargo for another three months, state media said.

US President Donald Trump prolonged a review period overnight to October 12 before his administration decides whether or not to permanently lift the decades-old sanctions.

His predecessor Barack Obama had eased the sanctions in January, but kept Sudan on review for six months, a period that ended on Wednesday.

Obama had made the permanent lifting of the sanctions dependent on the East African country's progress in five areas of concern at the end of the review period.

In his executive order issued on Tuesday, Trump extended the deadline, saying "more time is needed" for the review.

And on Wednesday, Bashir decided to suspend the talks between Washington and Khartoum.

Bashir "issued a presidential decree ordering the suspension of the committee that was negotiating (the lifting of the sanctions) with the United States until October 12," the official news agency SUNA said, quoting a presidential decree.

The committee has been negotiating for more than a year with US officials on lifting the American trade embargo in force against Khartoum since 1997.

A senior US administration official told reporters in Washington that the United States wanted with Sudan a "positive relationship going forward".

"The key focus, I think, for the Sudanese has been working to achieve the full revocation of the sanctions and if at the end of the three months, just a relatively short extension... the stated intent, as our statement indicates, is to lift the sanctions," he said.

'Five tracks'

Prior to Bashir's decree, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour voiced Khartoum's disappointment over Trump's order.

"We regret such a decision that came out after long negotiations between Sudan and the United States," he said.

"The United States, Europe, Africa and the international community admit that Sudan has fulfilled its commitments when it comes to the five tracks, which is why we don't see any reason for extending the review period," he told reporters.

"But we are still hoping that the sanctions will be lifted permanently."

Top US envoy to Sudan, Steven Koutsis, had told AFP in June that barring few exceptions, Khartoum had made "positive" steps on these concerns.

The areas of concern -- or "five tracks" -- include giving more access to humanitarian workers in war zones, counterterrorism cooperation with the United States, an end to hostilities against armed groups in Sudan and halting support for insurgents in neighbouring South Sudan.

"I have decided more time is needed for this review to establish that the government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action across all of those areas," Trump's order said, noting that "the government of Sudan has made some progress".

'Smart' sanctions recommended

Washington imposed a complex set of economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its alleged backing of Islamist militant groups.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011, was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

Washington also justified the embargo with accusations of scorched-earth tactics by Khartoum against ethnic minority rebels in war-torn Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since the Darfur conflict erupted in 2003, the UN says.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes related to the conflict, charges he steadfastly denies.

The UN said it had hoped the United States would make a "positive decision" on the sanctions against Sudan for allowing more humanitarian aid access across war zones.

But a Washington-based campaign group had called for the review period to be extended, saying Khartoum needed to do more for the embargo to be lifted.

The Enough Project said the Trump administration should now devise a new set of "smart and modernised" sanctions that would spare Sudan's people.

They should "target those who are most responsible for grand corruption and atrocities, including air strikes on villages, attacks on churches, obstruction of humanitarian aid, jailing and torturing opposition figures and civil society leaders, stealing elections, and undermining peace efforts", said John Prendergast, founding director of Enough Project.
Juba (AFP) - South Sudan government forces have launched an offensive towards a rebel stronghold in the north of the country, the UN said Wednesday.

David Shearer, head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), described "heavy fighting" and an "extremely worrying" situation in the area around the town of Pagak in the Upper Nile region in recent days, forcing civilians and aid workers to flee.

Speaking in the capital, Juba, Shearer said 5,000 civilians "from north of Pagak" have so far crossed the border into Ethiopia to escape the government offensive "with at least 25 aid workers evacuated in recent days because of the increasing insecurity."

South Sudan's civil war began in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy, Riek Machar, of plotting a coup.

Tens of thousands have been killed and millions forced from their homes in the years since as a series of peace deals have been abandoned. The latest UN figures say half the population -- roughly six million people -- will need emergency food aid this month.

Machar was forced into exile in South Africa last year but Pagak has remained a military stronghold for his loyalists and the headquarters of his rebellion.

Shearer said he was "gravely concerned" by the situation as government forces approach Maiwut, 25 kilometres (16 miles) northwest of Pagak, and called for both parties to stop the fighting.

"The hostilities should cease to allow people to go back to their homes. There is no reason for fighting in this area," he said.

"Irrespective of which side started it, and we've heard differing stories about that, we do not believe that an advance on Pagak is going to serve the interests of peace."
President Akufo Addo has announced an eighty (80) million dollars Swiss Corporation Strategy for Ghana aimed at supporting and enhancing the competitiveness of Ghanaian enterprises and the diversification of the Ghanaian economy.

Addressing a joint press conference after holding talks with the visiting Swiss President Doris Leuthard, he said the support is a welcome news for the country and everything would be done to make sure that the country reaps full benefits from it.

Other Agreements between Ghana and Switzerland

As part of the discussions held the president stated that the two countries have agreed to collaborate to uphold international peace and security. He observed that the threat of terrorism is a concern to all countries and Ghana is pleased to cooperate with Switzerland in that regard.

Fundamental Human Rights

According to the Commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, the enforcement of the fundamental human rights of the peoples of Ghana and Switzerland is extremely vital, thus the two countries have agreed to work within the dictates of the UN human rights counsel to uphold the rights of citizens in both countries.

UN Security Council Positions

Also the Swiss President and Akufo Addo agreed to support persons from the two countries vying for positions on the UN Security Council. This, the two Presidents believe would go a long way to protect the interest of the two countries on the Security Council. The two leaders also agreed to propose Reforms on the Current structure and composition of the Council to favour Africa.

Terrorism on the African Continent

Switzerland, according to the Ghanaian leader, has agreed to support the African Union (AU) to deal with the crisis in Lybia, Mali and other states of the Sahara that are affected by terrorism.

The issues of migration and mobility from Africa to Europe by peoples of the African Continent is to be dealt with by providing economic opportunities in Ghana and other African countries. The leaders are hopeful that this agreement will go a long way to address the migration challenge in Europe.

The two countries also decided to cooperate to develop safer and legal means of migration by Africans to European destinations.

MoU on Cocoa Production

The two countries also signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) to boost cocoa production in Ghana and to add value to the commodity. This agreement, Akufo-Addo said will boost the production of cocoa in the country and also add value to it.

ICC Upcoming Election

Discussion were held between the leaders for Swiss support for the candidature of Professor Henrietta Mensah Bonus for election to the International Criminal Court (ICC) ahead of the elections to be held in December 2017. Switzerland has agreed to support the candidature of the renowned Ghanaian jurist.

-Starrfmonline
Nairobi (AFP) - At least six police officers were killed and four injured in Laikipia in Kenya's central highlands on Wednesday in the latest violent incident to hit the area.

Police said the officers were killed in a shoot-out with suspected ethnic Pokot "bandits" in the Kamwenje area of Laikipia West.

"Six police officers have been killed, while four have been injured," said a senior police officer who asked to remain anonymous as he was not authorised to talk to the press.

Violence has spiked in Laikipia this year with smallholder farms and huge ranches alike invaded by armed herders.

Dozens of people have been killed and thousands displaced while a government-ordered security operation has so far failed to quell the unrest which some blame on drought and others on politics.

Kenyans go to the polls on August 8 in national elections to choose a new president as well as members of parliament and county officials.

In a report this week advocacy group Human Rights Watch said the violence in Laikipia and neighbouring Baringo county had displaced people meaning they would be unable to vote next month.

"Kenya's government needs to lawfully address the security crisis in parts of the Rift Valley ahead of the August vote," said Africa researcher Otsieno Namwaya warning the insecurity "could have a serious impact on people's ability to vote in the August election."
12.07.2017 LISTEN

I have resisted every available temptation to publish anything on the ongoing battle for the soul of the University of Education, Winneba. My view has been that the issue could have been handled behind closed doors.

But I am wrong. I should have written about this issue several months back. I should have held press conferences, I should have mobilized the alumni (since the leadership of our alumni seem to have gone to sleep), to pile pressure, to save the certificates of those who have passed through the university.

I have, personally, on a number of occasions, attempted to seek audience with the principal officers of the university, to initiate discussions, in order to avoid arriving at where we are at the moment. As an alumnus of the university, as a Journalist, and as someone who could be described as a leading member of the communities in which the university is located, I hold a sacred obligation to ensure that the integrity of the university is not impugned.

So I wanted to make sure that my contribution to the debate was informed by both sides. But the university declined every single request for me to get their side of the story. They have always hidden under the cloak of the autonomy of the university.

I have done my own independent investigations, and I have gleaned concrete evidence, and I am convinced that the University of Education is going through one of the most painful rape of a kind. The resources of the university are pouring into the pockets of a few who think that the autonomous status that was given to the institution was meant as spoils of war, for themselves.

If you shed off your partisan feathers, you will see that the University of Education is sinking. It has taken me several months of deep reflections to arrive at my conclusions. I have interviewed several staff, several present and past students, contractors, the only crop of people I did not have the opportunity to interview have been the top management of the university, since they declined my offer to do so.

I have been at the High Court twice this week. Honorable Alexander Afenyo-Markin, standing as a Lawyer for a former Assembly member, Supi Kofi Kwayera, he has gone to court to enforce Article 41 of Ghanas Constitution, which compels citizens to protect and preserve public property and expose and combat misuse and waste of public funds and property.

As I sat through the High Court judgment, and as I listened to the Judge navigate the arguments advanced by the two sides, I had no doubt that there is now a cabal of cankerworms in the university who are in a hurry to run the university down before they flee with their pensions.

The authorities of the University of Education do not seem to care, an inch, about their own students, they dont seem to care about their own staff, not even the very lecturers who deliver the core mandate of the institution, they careless about the alumni, they care only about the power they hold, and how that helps them to loot.

You may not immediately understand the situation. Visit any of the campuses of the university. You will see ordinary persons with no previous business experience, who now hold the power to award contracts, and who are now suddenly building huge hotels and hostels, and several other heavy-laden investments around the country, and you have these things happening at the time when the universitys contracts are being awarded in such questionable circumstances, you have these happening at the time when several high value contracts running into several millions of Ghana Cedis are being awarded to companies with no track records, you would then have been an irresponsible citizen if you knew of these questionable deals and yet kept quiet.

I dare say that Alex Afenyo-Markin has made a selfless show of a true son of the land. This is what leadership is about. You take steps to correct the wrong when you believe crimes are being committed. The University of Education is a public institution. Its autonomy is in the maintenance of its own integrity; we did not assume that we are creating an autonomous institution for a few charlatans to loot, no way!

In the past the KNUST has had its own share of an integrity wash down. The University of Ghana had to, at one point in time, rid itself of Professor Asenso-Okyere, one of the most powerful Vice-Chancellors we have had in Ghana. What was his crime? Nothing!

Professor Asenso-Okyeres son, Kwadwo Tabiri Asenso-Okyere, who was then a student of the same university, was alleged to have found a way of obtaining undeserved examination results. The University Council, determined to ensure the protection of the universitys integrity, and the credibility of the certificates awarded by the institution, took a brutal stand, insisting that Professor Asenso-Okyere took ultimate responsibility for the crimes of his son. Today, that action has saved the certificates of several thousands of students who have passed through that university.

In my view, I dont think the current court processes is enough to save the university; the university needs a complete overhaul. I make a call for a full forensic audit and investigations into the running of its affairs.

Unfortunately, the leadership of UTAG seem to be either misleading themselves, or are allowing their individual kick-backing interests to get in the way of their larger membership. Dr. Agbenu, the National President of UTAG), was the first to hold a press conference to threaten UTAG-led nationwide strike action if the case against the principal officers of the university was not withdrawn. Dr Bekoe, UTAG UEW President, this week applied for UTAG UEW to be joined as co-defenders of the ongoing case.

There are some senior officials who came to the university with nearly nothing, but who, after only a few years, are now the proud owners of millions and millions worth of riches. Look around you, count the high rising hostels, hotels, and other accommodation facilities, they own all of those. Go to their home towns; ask of them and their possessions. What is it that is now making you their conduit of defense?

If some senior officials of the university unilaterally awards highly inflated contracts running into several millions of Ghana Cedis, and then comes to the office, later, to ask low ranking staff to prepare documents to cover such bedroom contracts, and backdate same, completely ignoring the procurement laws and its processes, then it is not for the entire membership of UTAG to come and clean the mess for those who became rich as a result. They should bear their cross alone, and if any individual members of UTAG benefitted personally from such loot, let us not allow those individual beneficiaries to create the impression that it is the entire membership who are under attack.

Students are suffering. They pay for services they do not receive. Lecturers are frustrated. Those who live in the universitys bungalows should be able to tell us the cutthroat monthly deductions from their salaries, the poor state of the bungalows they live in. There are lecturers who fetch water from outside of their houses every single day, to satisfy their water needs, because water never runs from their taps.

There are lecturers who panic when it rains, because they live in profusely leaking university bungalows. Some live in reptile and mosquito infested bungalows.

There are lecturers who dont have offices, some dont even have functional desks to sit on to do the very work that they have been employed to do. There are lecturers whose promotions are being held for no reason. These are issues that are tough enough for UTAG to be concerned with. These are the issues that should make UTAG ask questions, of how the resources of the university are being applied.

The purging of the University of Education, of the thieves within, will save the available money for the resolution of such staff welfare and academic issues.

And who told you that the continuous existence of an illegal university council is in the interest of the students? Why are we behaving as if everyone else is stupid except those who are in leadership?

As an old student whose certificate could have been affected, I have studied the happenings so far, and I have come to a conclusion that the ongoing litigation is the best thing in protecting the degrees and the certificates students are receiving from the university, and that is why I am throwing my full weight behind Alex Afenyo-Markin, to go the full length, at getting justice for the students, and for the staff of the university.

A fight against corrupt university officials is not an attack on academic freedom. In my view, the failure to fight against corrupt university officials is rather a tacit endorsement of an attack on the freedoms of the academia.
Switzerland has earmarked an amount of $80 million to support the enhanced competitiveness of Ghanaian enterprises in the global market space, as well as help in governments efforts at diversifying the Ghanaian economy.

Ghana has been classified by Switzerlands State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) as a priority country for economic development, resulting in the signing of the Swiss co-operation strategy for Ghana.

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, 12th July, 2017, at a joint press conference held with the President of Switzerland, Her Excellency Doris Leuthard, at the Presidency, after bilateral talks between the two countries.

The teams from Ghana and Switzerland held discussions in the areas of Foreign Affairs, UN Reforms, Finance, Security and Agriculture, aimed at deepening the bilateral relations existing between them, as well as exploring other areas of co-operation.

President Akufo-Addo disclosed that the two countries underlined and reinforced their co-operation in helping to end the scourge of terrorism, and the threats to peace and sustainable development in Africa and the world.

Ghana and Switzerland also agreed to work closely within the United Nations Human Rights Council, as well as with other UN agencies, and extended mutual support for the candidatures of the two countries, vying for positions on the UN Security Council and other UN bodies.

I took the opportunity also to highlight the importance that Ghana and the African Union attaches to the long, overdue process of UN Reform, especially of the Security Council, to correct the longstanding injustice that the current structure and composition of the UN Security Council represent for the nations of Africa, he added

President Akufo-Addo also solicited the support of Switzerland for the lead role being played by the AU in its attempts to resolve the crises in Mali, Libya and other States of the Sahel, which are receiving the full brunt of the terrorism menace.

On the issue of migration and mobility, which have gripped the attention of the world in recent years, and now goes beyond the individual policies of state, President Akufo-Addo bemoaned the high numbers of young Africans taking harrowing risks across the Sahara and around the Mediterranean, trying to reach a better life.

What this means, the President added, is that if we provide them the right environment in Africa, which enables them to enhance their skills, receive appropriate training, have access to digital technology and enhanced economic opportunities, their energies can be channelled towards making our continent great.

He continued, Nonetheless, whilst the necessary measures are being put in place, Ghana and Switzerland, as concerned and responsible members of the international community, have decided to co-operate further in ensuring legal and safer means of migration.

In the area of agriculture, particularly cocoa, the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enable both sides undertake jointly projects to boost cocoa production in Ghana, as well as add value to our cocoa.

President Akufo-Addo, however, stressed that Ghana, under my presidency, will no longer become mere producers and exporters of cocoa beans, and will continue the policy of processing more and more of our cocoa here in the country. There is no future for Ghana and the teeming masses of Ghanaian youth with an economy that is structured around the production and export of raw materials. Her Excellency and her delegation agree with this, and have pledged the support of the Swiss Confederation to this end.

President Akufo-Addo also took the opportunity also to solicit Swiss support for the candidature of Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, a distinguished Ghanaian jurist, for election to the International Criminal Court (ICC) during the elections, which will be held in the 16th Session of the Assembly of State Parties to the ICC from 4th to 14th December 2017.

We hope that, as we shape the future of Ghana, and position Ghanaian enterprises to compete effectively in the global market space, we have friends, such as the Swiss Confederation, to support us in this objective.

There are many amongst us who cannot accept that it is only Asians who can engineer their transition from poverty to prosperity in a generation. We are determined to do that in our generation in Ghana, and ensure that succeeding generations will be neither victims nor pawns of the international economic order. Indeed, the project still remains a Ghana Beyond Aid, he added.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Joy Business
A proposal to expand the number of private school vouchers in Wisconsin isnt gaining traction with some Republican lawmakers who have previously backed expanding school choice.

Senate Republicans are opposing increasing the number of students who attend private schools using a taxpayer-funded voucher by making them available to wealthier families, while Assembly Speaker Robin Vos supports the proposal.

The disagreement is another division between the Legislatures two Republican caucuses that have failed to find agreement yet on a new state spending plan.

Wisconsin is one of just three states to still be without a fiscal 2018 spending plan. State law requires the two-year budget to be in place by July 1, but spending continues at previous levels without one.

While transportation funding has caused the stalemate to continue into July, how the state should spend money on schools is among other issues that remain unresolved.

One budget proposal on the table is to raise the income level that makes a family eligible to apply for a taxpayer-funded voucher to attend a private school participating in the statewide voucher program  one of four such programs in Wisconsin.

Currently, eligible families must have a combined income of 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or $45,263 for a family of four.

The proposal under consideration is to raise the income limit to 300 percent, which would mean a family of four could make $73,401 and still be eligible for a voucher in the statewide program.

Kit Beyer, spokeswoman for Vos, R-Rochester, said the GOP Assembly leader supports the proposal. But Senate Republicans arent on board.

This voucher program is for individuals who cannot afford to send their children to (private schools), said Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, co-chairwoman of the Joint Finance Committee. We just felt that that was too high of an income to have taxpayers to be paying for options for vouchers ... We felt at 300 percent of (the federal poverty level), there are a lot of people who are not considered low-income.

Its unclear if Gov. Scott Walker, who has previously championed expansions, would support the idea.

The governor supports the K-12 education budget he introduced to the Legislature five months ago, spokesman Tom Evenson said when asked if Walker would support the proposal. It provides a $649 million increase in funding for our schools, bringing funding for K-12 to an all-time high. After visiting nearly 50 public schools this year, the governor has seen overwhelming support for his plan.

Walkers budget did not include the proposal to increase income eligibility for vouchers, and Evenson did not say whether Walker would sign a budget that included an increase.

Beyer said Vos thinks its unfortunate that Senate Republicans refuse to give more families the opportunity to choose the best school for their children. Jim Bender, a lobbyist for School Choice Wisconsin, said lawmakers havent had much energy to discuss anything other than transportation.

Joint Finance Committee co-chairman Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, said the matter is still up in the air.

Raising the income limit to 300 percent of the federal poverty level would put the income limits for the statewide program on par with the older voucher systems in Milwaukee and Racine.

The statewide program has been questioned by Democrats in part because the majority of students using the vouchers were already enrolled in private schools.

Department of Public Instruction spokesman Tom McCarthy said State Superintendent Tony Evers and department officials are not in favor of raising the income limits, or lifting the cap on enrollment, another proposal Senate Majority Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said earlier this year he would support including in the 2017-19 state budget.

Youre asking public taxpayers to pick up the dime for it, McCarthy said. He said lawmakers need to fund an increase in vouchers otherwise its coming out of other peoples pockets.
Rev Dr. Obiri-Yobo who was one of the ardent critics of the John Mahama administration says he would like to apologise to former President Mahama for his comments against him and his government and the inconvenience that he caused him.

The former lecturer at the Christian Studies and Ministry department of Ottawa University, said this when he delivered a sermon at this this year's Annual Global Conference of Resurrection Church Int. held in Antwerp Belgium.

According to the man of God, lying has become part of everyday life and accepted in politics, business and society and becoming a common condition of life.

Based on what Ghanaians are going through and the massive corruption cases under the current administration in Ghana, I have come to my personal conclusion that we are part of the situation we find ourselves.

Society encourages and often reward lying and deception. Our politicians are liars to varying degree.Truth can hurt and offend and Mr Mahama suffered from this simple truth said the Minister.

"I criticized former President Mahama and on various platforms that I spoke, I didn't hide my disagreements with his policies and happenings in his government. Campaign messages and misinformation can stir your emotions, you vote or cooperate in removing governments and later discover everything was a lie." said the minister."

"I have been to Ghana, twice since the current administration assumed power and can tell you confidently that my people in Obosomase on the Akwapim Ridge who listened to my advice and voted out the NDC, have regretted. I felt bad and ashamed when they started narrating the ordeal they going through under the regime I assured them will change their situation. Arrogance, officialdom corruption, dissipation of the nation's meagre funds have become integral features of the current administration.

The honeymoon is over,Ghanaians expect nothing apart from seeing improvements in their lives.The President and his teams seem to have lost control over the country creating insecurity and display of unbridled impunity in the country.

The current President and his Vice, in opposition, promised Ghanaians that they will end the decades old trend of excessive borrowing. This was one promise I hammered on whenever I mounted the podium to speak about Ghana.

What are we seeing, the administration has signalled Ghanaians that it will borrow more than its predecessors, our minerals resources are being cheaply handed to China. Dictators around the world lie about concerns for their people while embezzling funds and depositing them in Swiss Bank accounts. History has watched the rise and fall of nations because of corruption, the lies in politics etc and see Ghana go back many years in terms of development if this government continues with the massive corruption we witnessing". Said Rev Dr.Obiri.

"I don't like to wash my dirty linen in the public which is detrimental to my nation.But I have decided to formally apologise to the former President and make a bold stand to quit from my earlier position about him in order not to mislead voters especially, the people of Obosomase,astray the next time I get the opportunity to share my thoughts with them. The former President deserves our apology and we must not hesitate in doing that. How many of us who vehemently criticised the past administration, can do same today.People are spiritually bruised and get weakened everyday because of the happenings in the administration," said the man of God.
Tunis (AFP) - A newly-opened trial over a 2015 attack at the Bardo museum in Tunisia's capital that killed 21 foreign tourists and a policeman has been adjourned until October 31, court officials said Wednesday.

Two gunmen opened fire at the National Bardo Museum in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Some 22 detained suspects were in a Tunis court for Tuesday morning's first hearing, which a source close to the case said was a procedural session.

The source, asking not to be named, said four other suspects who were not under arrest had not been present and that authorities were seeking a further 30 fugitives in connection with the attack.

The identities of those on trial have not been disclosed.

The suspects are being tried for "terrorist crimes", according to the French Association for Victims of Terrorism and Imed Belkhamsa, a lawyer for victims of the attacks.

Four French tourists were among those killed.

Under a 2015 anti-terror law, the defendants could face the death sentence -- although Tunisia has had a moratorium on implementing capital punishment since 1991.

Since its revolution in 2011, Tunisia has faced a series of jihadist attacks that have also claimed the lives of more than 100 soldiers and police.

A month after the Bardo shootings, in which police gunned down the assailants, 38 foreign holidaymakers including 30 Britons were killed in a gun and grenade attack on a beach resort near the city of Sousse.

That November, a suicide bombing in the capital killed 12 members of the presidential guard.

IS claimed all three attacks.

Shortly after the Bardo attack, Tunisian authorities arrested 20 people and announced they had dismantled "around 80 percent of the cell" responsible.

Months later, they released eight of the suspects, including a man they had said was the head of the cell.

French lawyers for victims and their families have said the Tunisian investigation into the Bardo carnage had left "several dark areas".

Some 26 people went on trial in May over the Sousse attack, including six security personnel accused of failing to assist people in danger.

The source close to the Bardo trial said lawyers had asked on Tuesday that the two judicial proceedings be merged into one, but their request was rejected.

Tunisia has remained under a state of emergency since the attack on the presidential guards.
The Minority in Parliament has registered its disappointment with the Agric Minister who failed to appear before the House to answer questions on the threat Fall armyworms are posing to farms across the country.

Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, said it is a threat to the livelihood of the farms as well as a food security concerns for the country.

"It is unfortunate that Minister of state prioritises other govt business rather than addressing concerns raised by the people of Ghana through Parliament.

We dont doubt the capabilities of the deputy minster but if you consider the question asked and the responses by the Deputy Minister especially the supplementary ones, you realise the Deputy Minister was not up to date with information," he told Evans Mensah on Top Story Wednesday.

Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak

He was not impressed with the deputy's answer to the question about the chemicals used in fighting the fall armyworms.

Parliament Tuesday requested the presence of the Agric Minister, Dr Afriyie Akoto to answer questions on the recent attack of Fall armyworms across the country.

His invitation follows Joy News report about the fall armyworm invasion across the country. The pests continue to attack farm fields in various parts of the country despite repeated assurances by government that the situation is under control.

In his stead, one of his Deputy Ministers, Dr Sugri Bambangri, was in Parliament to answer questions, but the Minority was not happy with his appreciation of the issue.

There were more than four questions that the Deputy Minister was unable to answer as he is not deeply involved in the fight of the armyworms attack," Muntaka said.

He disclosed that he was on the farm last week and he saw the results of the armyworms destructive nature and doubted the Minister's claim that some 14000 hectares of farmlands are affected so far.

Currently, an estimated 20,000 hectares of farm fields have been infected, up from only about 1,400 hectares as at April this year. Farmers have made huge losses as a result of this.

The country is once again suffering from an attack by fall armyworms which are still permeating through farm yields in various parts of the country.

The Agriculture Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto had said then that it is under control, weve seen them spraying and by the end of the week, all the farms affected would have been sprayed and that will be the end of it.

But by the end of May 2017, an estimated 18,200 hectares of maize farm had been affected by the worms.

The Asawase MP said the Agric Ministry should note that even those without big hectares who are affected are going to register low yield.

He also cast doubt on the efficacy of the chemical used to fight the fall armyworms claiming that the Ministry at best is only doing a trial and error with the chemicals.

The MP who is also a farmer said no one has been to his farm to give him any chemical although he is also affected a matter he described as worrying.

He added that it is disheartening for farmers who are in the south and are preparing to go into the lean season, not knowing what to do.

Muntaka registered his disappointment saying the minister should have allowed his deputy to rather attend whatever engagement in his stead.

According to him, it is becoming a routine occurrence in Parliament with Ministers failing to come to the House to answer questions, a posturing which shows government is downplaying the concerns of Ghanaians.

But another Deputy Agric Minister, George Oduro, said it is unfair to request the presence of the Minister when he has gone to work on behalf of the state.

He said the Minister is in Brazil, a country which has been battling with armyworms attack for the past 35 years to learn about how they have contained the situation.

We have managed the armyworm attack as soon as the attack started this year. If you look at the approach government took, it was the best ever as it was evident at the FAO meeting recently.

Nigeria, Benin, Kenya and South Africa are still struggling with controlling it but Ghanas control is more effective than those countries.

He denied that the attack has reached the reported 112,000 hectares of farm land.

The 112,000 is what we measured regarding where the infestation is headed and not affected and destroyed. They move in batches from district to district. The situation is not as scary as the Minority is painting it," he said.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim |[email protected]
Former Lands and Natural Resources minister Inusah Abdulai B. Fuseini may have breached the Data Protection Law after confessing he planted an audiovisual recorder in his office while serving as minister.

Referring to the Data Protection Law passed in 2012, Executive Director of the Data Protection Commission Mrs. Teki Akuetteh Falconer said there is a breach of privacy and the law if one is recorded without his or her consent.

Quoting Section 19 of the law, Mrs Falconer pointed out two conditions under which a person may be put under surveillance.

The law which states "personal data may only be processed if the purpose for which it is to be processed, is necessary, relevant and not excessive" adding, the person to be monitored needs to grant consent.

She was contributing to the audiovisual controversy involving the former Lands Minister.

The legal implications of Inusah Fuseini's office bugging have become the latest twist to revelations, the Lands and Natural minister John Peter Amewu may have been monitored.

The secret bug capable of picking whispers 35 feet away has been there for at least more than three years after it was first installed during Insuah Fuseini's term in office.

The 55-year old has said the device was a security gift to him from a friend but has assured his two successors, the device was never functional. He has also apologised to the ministers.

Inusah Abdulai B. Fuseini

The other possible victim of the surveillance, a former minister Nii Osah-Mills who took over from Insuah Fuseini in 2014 is not happy.

He said he now feels naked whilst in office as minister.

Discussing the legal angle to the spy saga, the Executive Director of the Data Protection Mrs. Teki Akuetteh Falconer said it is a criminal offence to breach a person's privacy.

She said the law also provides the option for an aggrieved person to sue for the invasion of privacy or lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission for investigations.

She explained that the purpose of the information is important in determining the breach of the law. Even where the purpose is determined, other questions to consider is if there are other less intrusive means to monitor a target.

The saga is reportedly under investigations by the Bureau of National Investigation.

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|[email protected]
Drama unfolded on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, when two Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Majority side in open defiance, challenged the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu on the formation of committees.

Third term MP for Atwima Kwanwoma in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Kojo Appiah Kubi had expressed his desire to be Chairman of the Health Committee during the reconstitution of the Parliamentary Committees, but his desired spot was given to a second term colleague, Dr. Twum Nuamah; a development he was not happy about.

The other MP supported his claims insisting he was the right person for the chair.

The Committee of Selection has reconstituted the Committees of the House following the drafting of many Majority MPs into President Akufo Addo's government.

Speaking on the Floor of the House, Dr. Appiah lamented that all efforts to have him lead the committee proved futile.

I expressed my desire to continue to serve on the health select committee and as chair of this committee because I have acquired sufficient experience and expertise which I believe I could bring to bear on the fortunes of this committee. It should be put on record that as it is done in most other jurisdictions, seniority counts very much as well as competence and expertise when it comes to considering leadership positions in Parliament. 

I've therefore read in dismay how unfair I've been treated in the placement by the composition of the committees. Indeed, I have been treated unfairly and I am not happy at all about this treatment. I've recognized the treat from the majority leader and I do believe that there cannot be any other thing done which couldn't have been done during the period prior to this composition and I don't think there is any new thing going to be done subsequently. Mr. Speaker, I would like to plead your indulgence and that of the leadership to suspend this motion for further consideration, he added.

Meanwhile, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, responded to his colleague and assured that his complaint will be factored into subsequent restructuring of the committees.

Mr. Speaker, he came to me and I assured him that indeed these matters usually are left with the whips. I personally have not made any intervention and I assured him that we will take his own consideration and perspectives into consideration in the next time when we come to dealing with it. What did shock me was that after I explained to him, he said notwithstanding what I told to him, he was still going to rise up to object to what I told you. I decided not to abreast myself to it.

I'm really worried to say on the floor that nothing is going to happen. It's unfortunate because he doesn't know what is contained in the new orders that we've crafted and yet he insists that nothing is going to happen in the new orders. Let him take heart and I recognize that he is a senior member of the house and certainly when we come to dealing with the new orders, we will factor his concerns, the Majority Leader added.



By: Godwin A. Allotey & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
12.07.2017 LISTEN

Hohoe (V/R), July 12, GNA - Amnesty International said close to 150 death row inmates languish in grim conditions in Ghana with only a fraction able to appeal their convictions.

In a new report, available to the Ghana News Agency, it called on the government to abolish the death penalty once and for all.

Based on interviews with 107 death row prisoners, 'Locked up and Forgotten: The need to abolish the death penalty in Ghana' provides further evidence of why the country should abolish this cruel punishment, in line with the recommendation of the 2011 Constitution Review Commission document.

Alioune Tine, Amnesty International's Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said "the 2011 constitutional review should have signaled the end of the road for the death penalty in Ghana, but six years on, courts continue to hand down this cruel punishment, while death row prisoners remain trapped in cramped conditions, separated from other prisoners, and with no access to educational or recreational activities."

'The Ghanaian authorities should commute the death sentences of all death row prisoners to terms of imprisonment and ensure that all these cases are reviewed to identify any potential miscarriages of justice.'

Fair trial concerns

Many death row inmates told Amnesty International that they did not receive adequate legal representation for their trials and the vast majority have been unable to appeal. Although around three quarters of prisoners were provided with a government-appointed lawyer in court, some prisoners said that their lawyer asked for payment. Several said that their lawyers had not attended all the court hearings while many others said they did not have a chance to talk to their lawyer to prepare their defence.

One death row prisoner said: 'I have no money, this is why I am here. If I had money I would be outside by now.' The UN Human Rights Committee and UN Special Rapporteur on Torture have previously raised concerns over the quality of state-supplied legal aid in Ghana.

Fewer than one in four death row inmates interviewed had been able to appeal their conviction or sentence, and the Ghana Prison Service informed Amnesty International that only 12 death row inmates had filed appeals since 2006 - half of which were successful. Few inmates interviewed were aware of how to appeal or access legal aid, while most were unable to pay for private lawyers.

Poor conditions on death row

The death row at Nsawam Prison is overcrowded, poorly maintained and there are just seven toilets between more than 100 prisoners. The men's section contains 24 small cells to hold four prisoners each, four medium-sized cells with up to eight prisoners per cell and two larger cells to hold 16 prisoners each. The single window in each cell is locked with metal bars and cannot be opened. Small holes in the cell walls provide limited ventilation.

There are just four female death row prisoners at Nsawam and they share a single cell, isolated from other female prisoners. Prisoners on death row displayed signs of distress and anxiety, with several men and women in tears when speaking to Amnesty International about their situation.

One prisoner told Amnesty International: 'If I were to be killed, it would be better than being here.'

In March 2017 there were six prisoners on death row officially considered to have mental and intellectual disabilities. They received no specialized treatment, although the Prison Service said it was seeking psychiatric support.

'Keeping people with mental or intellectual disabilities on death row violates international human rights law, and puts their safety and that of other prisoners at risk,' said Alioune Tine.

Death row prisoners also face discrimination and isolation as they are not allowed to participate in the recreational or educational opportunities available to other prisoners.

One prisoner described the death row section as 'a prison within a prison'. One woman who had been on death row for nine years told Amnesty International, 'I don't do anything. I sweep and wait.'

Trend towards abolition

Amnesty International is calling on the Ghanaian authorities to abolish the death penalty for all crimes.

'105 countries around the world, including 19 in Africa, have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. A great way for Ghana to mark its 60th anniversary of independence this year would be to abolish this cruel punishment and end the suffering of the death row prisoners who have been locked up and forgotten,' said Alioune Tine.

Background

As of 30 December 2016, 148 prisoners were on death row in Ghana - 144 men and four women. All were sentenced to death for murder. The last execution in Ghana took place in 1993.

For this report, Amnesty International interviewed 107 prisoners on death row - 104 men and three women - during two visits in August 2016 and March 2017.

GNA

By Maxwell Awumah, GNA
By Gifty Amofa/Jefferson Olarbi, GNA,

Kumasi, July 12, GNA - Corporal Ebenezer Kofi Okyere, a 33-year-old police officer working with Ashanti Regional Police Command, has shot himself dead in his room at Old Tafo in Kumasi, in the early hours of Wednesday, July 12.

ASP Juliana Obeng, Head of Public Affairs Unit of the Command told the press in a briefing that neighbours, on hearing a gunshot rushed to his room and found the lifeless body of the police officer, suspected to have shot himself dead, slumped in a sofa chair with blood oozing from his mouth.

A gunshot wound was also found in one jaw whilst an AK 47 assault rifle, laid on the floor close to him.

ASP Juliana said the motive for the action, is still unclear.

She said the Regional crime scene team has already visited the site and investigations has already began in earnest to unravel the myth surrounding the horrific act.

Meanwhile, the family of the deceased, who until his demise worked with the Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) Unit, has been duly informed, whilst the body has been conveyed to the Komfo Teaching Hospital (KATH) Morgue.

ASP Juliana gave the assurance that the public would be updated as investigation continued.

GNA
Comic Nollywood actor, John Okafor better known as Mr Ibu, is currently smiling at his first offspring as she has she graduated into another academic level.

The actor who has been busy on movie set could not attend his daughters graduation ceremony and as such was able represented by his pretty wife.

John has been one hard working father that has ensured that he gives his family the best in life considering the challenges he passed through as a kid.

He is already blessed with three kids, two boys and a girl and he is not planning on having more children as he wants his woman to rest and keep looking good and hot.
12.07.2017 LISTEN

Popular Nigerian on-air-personality, Toke Makinwa, is seriously utilizing her single status to the fullest as she has been busy traveling the world.

She has always had this billionaire ambition just like every other person and she has not allowed every opportunity that comes her way to slip by.

Toke has been busy promoting her book, On Becoming, which talks about her personal life and that has taken her to various countries and now she is currently on holiday in Spain.

Concluding her book tour in South Africa, Toke flew to Ibiza, Spain for her Ciroc Summer Tour. Being a Ciroc Ambassador earlier this year, Toke stepped out in a yellow dress and Yves Saint Laurent shoes, as she slayed around town.
Mount Pleasant, SC (29464)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 64F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 64F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Sacramento, CA  Proponents for releasing police body camera footage after an officer involved in a significant incident, such as fatal shooting, reignited in California due to a new bill.

The Senate Public Safety Committee advanced Assembly Bill 748 on Tuesday. The bill, which would amend Californias public records statute to limit police departments discretion for withholding video, would require police departments to release video in cases where law enforcement officers use force or in incidents where there is a possible violation of law or public policy.

Advocates state that video recordings cannot help with public oversight if they are kept secret and call for handing out recordings immediately. The American Civil Liberties Union states that the legislation is an important step forward in ensuring police transparency, especially after fatal police shootings.

More than a dozen law enforcement organizations are opposed, contending it should be up to local police departments to determine when footage should be released. Additionally, it could compromise ongoing criminal investigations and disciplinary proceedings.
Governor Brown at the Mother Lode Fair: Photo taken by: Tracey Petersen View Photos

Sacramento, CA  California Governor Jerry Brown has come up with another initiative to keep America on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the international Paris climate agreement.

Brown is teaming up with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to create a data sharing plan called Americas Pledge. It will compile climate commitments by states, cities, businesses and universities all in one place where they can be easily tracked and shared. It is Browns latest effort to showcase the countrys commitment to fighting climate change despite President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the international pact.

Today were sending a clear message to the world that Americas states, cities and businesses are moving forward with our countrys commitments under the Paris Agreement  with or without Washington, said Governor Brown.

The data will be unveiled at this years United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, Germany, in November. Ahead of the convention, Brown has been named as a Special Adviser For States and Regions. Additionally, Bloomberg is a U.N. special envoy for cities and climate change.

Following the Presidents announcement to withdraw from the Paris Accord, as reported here in June, Brown got a boost when ten states decided to join his U.S. Climate Alliance that vows aggressive action to deter climate change.

However, not all California lawmakers are backing Browns initiatives. Mother Lode Congressman Tom McClintock has gone on the record applauding President Trumps decision, as reported here.

Brown has also announced plans to host an international summit in San Francisco next September, click here for details.
- The Ohaneze Ndigbo reiterated that Nigeria will continue to be united

- The group in Lagos said the unity of Yorubas and Igbo was important

- It applauded the support Lagos has provided to Igbos

The Ohaneze Ndigbo has reiterated that the unity of Nigeria was important and disregarded report that the country was heading towards a break-up.

The Sun reports that the Lagos chapter of the apex Igbo group stated this during the inauguration of Colonel Reuben Nwako (rtd) as the chairman of Ohanaeze Ikorodu Division who was presented to His Royal Majesty, Oba Adewale Shotobi, Adegorushen V, the Ayangburen of Ikorodu and his Cabinet members.

READ ALSO: Osinbajo departs to London to meet with President Buhari

The president of Ohanaeze, Dr. Domferguson Okoli, went with Eze Ndigbo of Lagos state, Eze Christian Uchechukwu Nwachukwu and other important personnel.

Okoli assured the king that they were committed to the unity of the country and that if the Yorubas and Igbos can unite, Nigeria will be greater than it is.

He said: Kabiyesi mark my word, the problem that we are having is not the Hausa Fulani but the unity of Igbo and the Yoruba. Once they agree to work and unite together, it shall be well for this country. The entire Africa is looking up to the Igbo and the Yoruba. That is why people like you are going to work round the clock to make it happen. Nigeria shall be one, we shall not disintegrate, and we shall work together.

He said the Igbos were now learning some things from Yorubas including the inclusion of female children in the distribution of properties.

The female children now have a say and fortunately for us, Supreme Court nullified what we call the Ori -Ekpe tradition early this year that the girl child should be entitled to her fathers properties. Whether the man is alive or dead, she must be considered. This is what we are carrying home from the Yoruba land to the Igbo land and it is working.

Eze Nwachukwu explained that he Igbo leadership was constituted in Lagos not to challenge the existing authority but to preserve the culture of the Igbo people and described Colonel Nwako as a good and honest man.

He is a man that has helped us to fight problems; anywhere we have problems he comes to help us fight it. He is a man who takes ones problem to be his problem. And that was what made us to request him to come to our assistance in making sure that we come and see you, Kabiyesi so that we will be in the same page with you. So that anywhere we have any issue, when we beckon on him, he will do the needful.

He applauded Mr. Akinwumi Ambode and Bola Ahmed Tinubu for their support promising that Igbos would continue to be loyal citizens in the state.

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Meanwhile, A former governor of Abia, Dr Orji Kalu, said that Nigeria has 'gone past quit notice' as the various ethnic groups that make up the country have lived harmoniously for many years.

Kalu, who was referring to the quit notice issued to Igbo people to leave northern Nigeria by Arewa youths, said everything possible should be done to strengthen the unity of the country.

Kalu said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday July 10 that Nigeria had come to stay but suggested that the country should go back to regionalism.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of Professor Yemi Osinbajo speaking about Nigeria's unity and Biafra:

Source: Legit.ng
- Boko Haram has continued its campaign of terror in Borno state

- This is despite efforts by the Nigerian Military to completely wipe out the insurgents

- The terrorists have continually tried to invade the state capital, Maidugiri in recent weeks

At least 11 persons were killed in multiple bomb explosions on Tuesday night, July 11, in Maiduguri, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A reliable security source, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that the first and second explosions occurred at about 9.45 p.m at Mulaikalmari, some six kilometers away from Maiduguri.

The source said that eight persons, including the bombers were killed in the attack.

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Three persons were also killed and five others wounded in the third and fourth explosions, which occurred about 20 minutes later at Polo-Sabon Gari area of Maiduguri, according to the source, who said he helped in the evacuation of the victims from the scenes of the explosion.

All the attacks occurred in the outskirts of the metropolis. It is a foiled attempt by Boko Haram insurgents to infiltrate the town, the source said.

The source added that security teams had been drafted to the affected areas to ascertain the situation.

He disclosed those wounded were referred to Special Hospital, Maiduguri for medical attention.

Efforts to get confirmation from the police proved abortive as the commands public relations officer did not respond to phone calls and text messages.

However, the chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Satomi Ahmed, who confirmed the attacks, said his officials have been mobilised to the scenes.

Thanks to the hard work of our emergency response teams we were able to put together a prompt response, he told NAN.

Premium Times reports that the police in Borno state have confirmed that 19 persons were killed and 23 others injured in the attack.

The Borno state police commissioner, Damian Chukwu, who addressed journalists at one of the scenes of the blasts, said most of the victims were operatives of the Civilian-JTF.

Twelve Civilian-JTF operatives were killed in all the attack and the rest were civilian victims, he said.

He said the seven civilian residents that died were killed when they gathered to mourn the death of the 12 Civilian-JTF operatives.

The bombers attacked the crowd of mourners and killed seven of them, leaving many others injured, he said.

The spokesman of the Civilian-JTF, Danbatta Bello, said the bombers specifically targeted his colleagues on duty.

A teenage female bomber actually crept to the sandbag post of our boys at Molai and before they could realise what was happening, she detonated explosives on her body and killed three of our boys, he said.

Meanwhile, a recent media report indicates that Boko Haram publicly executed eight villagers in the North-east.

According to the report, those murdered were opposed to the enforcement of the terrorists hard-line form of Islam.

The report described a video where eight people were said to be blindfolded and lying face down on the ground when they were shot at close range by four masked gunmen. A crowd was seen cheering in the images showed.

READ ALSO: Soldiers kill Boko Haram terrorists in gunfight (photos)

Watch the Legit.ng TV report of the 10 young Air Force officers recently winged below:

Source: Legit.ng
There are a lot of questions surrounding the rule of law in Nigeria. The system seems broken, and it is generally accepted that the level of justice is shallow. Civil rights communities keep talking about these issues. Even artists and musicians use their platform to speak on the degree of injustice in Nigeria. So, we have decided to write about the challenges facing rule of law in Nigeria.

What is the rule of law?

The rule of law is a principle or system where a society or nation is governed by a set of legislation instead of by an individual making the whole decision. Rule of law makes it impossible for one person to have the unrestrained exercise of power over a society or nation. It applies and puts a limit or check to the behavior of everyone including government officials. Under the rule of law, everyone is subjected to the law and no one is above the law. The rule of law is what governs most civilized societies or democratic states in this modern day. It is to protect citizens interests, lives, and property against oppression. Although, there are limits and differences from one country to another.

Just like in every other country, there are certain principles on which the rule of law in Nigeria is founded. They include:

 Supremacy of the law

As the famous saying goes, nobody is above the law. For the rule of law to be effective, it has to be powerful and should have absolute predominance over everybody in the country. This includes those in the position of power and the hem of governance.

 The principles of equality before the law

Also, for the rule of the law to be effective, everyone has to be treated equally. The same laws have to bind everyone whether young or old, poor or wealthy, a citizen or a government official, literate or illiterate. The same punishment for any crime goes for everyone irrespective of their societal status.

 The principle of individual rights

The rule of law is designed to protect citizens right to freedom and an equal chance for a good life. Under the rule of law, everyone has their individual rights which must be no infringement to them either from another person or government.

READ ALSO: Nigerian Government structure

Limitations of the rule of law in Nigeria

Delegation legislation

Top government officials, especially in the executive branch, are granted some discretionary powers. This allows them to perform their duties efficiently. However, due to the fact that human beings are selfish and love power, this opens up the opportunity for them to use this privilege against citizens. It is most time referred to as the abuse of power. A government official can make lawful sanctions that abuse the rights of an individual or society when they are administered.

Special privileges

Some people enjoy special privileges and exceptions under the rule of law in Nigeria. These people have immunity against the law. They include the President, Vice President, Governors, Members of the House of Assembly and some other top government officials. Also, a judge is immune from the law while presiding over a court session. This is to allow them to go about their duties without favour or fear.

Diplomatic immunity

Diplomats and Ambassadors have immunity against the rule of law in the country they are serving. They are above the legislation of that country. For example, an envoy from the United Kingdom cannot be charged or tried in Nigeria. They have to be sent back to their country.

State of emergency and war

In cases of conflict or situations which require the government to declare a state of emergency, the government enforces discretionary powers. And when the government exercises these powers, it denies people of their constitutional rights. People are restricted from carrying out their normal day to day activities and forced against their wish.

Illiteracy, poverty and ignorance

The level of poverty and illiteracy in Nigeria is also a limitation to the rule of law. A lot of people live in ignorance of their constitutional rights which makes it easy for people to infringe their rights.

Major challenges facing the practice of the rule of law in Nigeria

High level of corruption in government

One of the primary responsibilities of the government is to enforce the rule of law. However, due to the degree of corruption at every level of governance in Nigeria, this has not been so. The people who are meant to enforce the rule of law keep undermining the rule of law by their actions. The rule of law demands accountability from both individuals and the state as a whole. Until the people in governance are accountable and they provide good leadership, the full potential of democracy might not be attained.

There is no clear separation of powers

Nigeria constitution states that we have three arms of government:

 The Executive arm

 The Legislative arm

 The Judiciary

Power is split among these three with laws making sure that power is not abused by an individual. These three arms of the government are designed to function independently but also in a coordinated fashion. However, today, the government officials do not adhere to this and this makes it difficult for the rule of law to be practised. There is a lot of manipulations going between these three arms of the government.

Societal class and their interests

In Nigeria, people from the higher class enjoy some kind of favoritism and see their interest being protected at the expense of others in the lower class. In a lot of cases, justice is perverted to the favour of the wealthy and higher class. There are Nigerians who are technically above the law because of the influence they wield and also some clauses in the constitution.

A broken justice system

The justice system is broken. There is a lot of corruption going on. Judges accept bribes and powerful people and politicians manipulate the system. It can be hard for a common man to get justice in Nigeria because of this.

Another challenge faced in Nigeria is the problem of tribalism

Currently, Nigeria is in a volatile state. There are conflicts, tensions, calls for separation and calls for restructuring. Nigeria is made of hundreds of tribes, but there are three major tribes identified. Because of the history of Nigeria and unresolved differences, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the constitution to be fully effective.

Insecurity and insurgencies

Also, there is a high level of insecurity in Nigeria. There are different insurgencies also present in the country. There are the Boko Haram insurgency, Fulani insurgency, militancy, widespread kidnappings, and many others. All these put together are threats and challenges to practising the rule of law in Nigeria.

Poverty and ignorance

As we have stated above, under the limitations of the rule of law, poverty, illiteracy, and ignorance are major problems. Most Nigerians dont know their rights. A lot of people are too poor to fight for their rights, and they are at the mercy of the wealthy and corrupt politicians.

There are many more challenges facing the practice of the rule of law in Nigeria but the ones above are the major ones and the root of other problems. If these things can be tackled, Nigerian laws and constitution will be of more effect. Also, until good leadership is provided by democratically elected leaders, the practice of the rule of law will not be fully realized. Nigeria is still young when it comes to democracy and we hope that as time goes on, democracy will grow and mature. But everybody has to put in the work.

READ ALSO: Emir of Keffi warns against disintegration of Nigeria

Source: Legit.ng
- Nigeria's acting president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, suddenly left Nigeria on Tuesday July 11 to London where he met with Muhammadu Buhari

- The meeting however lasted only one hour after which Acting President Osinbajo left for Nigeria

Nigerias Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has returned to Nigeria after a one-hour meeting with Muhammadu Buhari late Tuesday July 11.

His return to Nigeria was confirmed by Laolu Akande, Osinbajos media aide, who tweeted that Osinbajo would be presiding over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Aso Rock by 11 am on Wednesday, July 12.

Akande said: AgP Osinbajo now back in Abuja from London & will be presiding over FEC this morning starting @ 11am at the Council Chambers in Aso Rock.

Professor Yemi Osinbajo finally met with ailing President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday July 11 in London and spent just one hour with the latter Buhari in London.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) is reporting that Osinbajo, the acting president, swiftly left after the meeting to return to Nigeria.

The report said Osinbajo arrived in the night at the Abuja House, where Mr Buhari has been living since he arrived 8 May, from Nigeria for medical vacation.

READ ALSO: Bukola Saraki in trouble as Kwara central senatorial district announces plan to recall him

Mr Osinbajo spent one hour and left without making any comment on his meeting with Mr Buhari.

Osinbajo meeting with President Buhari in London today, and returning to Abuja immediately afterwards, the vice presidents spokesman, Laolu Akande, said in a Twitter message posted earlier on Tuesday. No details were given.

Buhari, 74, left Nigeria the night of 7 May after welcoming a group of 82 Chibok schoolgirls released by the militant group Boko Haram.

It was President Buharis second medical visit to Britain this year. The first began in January and lasted nearly two months.

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Watch the video of Osinbajo leaving the UK after meeting with President Buhari as posted by Vanguard:

Legit.ng had earlier reported that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo would soon brief the nation on the outcome of his meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in London.

Watch this video as Nigerians speak about the Muhammadu Buhari administration:

Source: Legit.ng
- Professor Wole Soyinka says Biafra has not been defeated

- The professor said Biafra was an expression of rejection of oppression

- Wole Soyinka was arrested for statement on Biafra

Given the renewed agitation for Biafra, Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka insisted that Biafra has not been defeated 50 years after the civil war ended.

Wole Soyinka who said this in his recent article argued that though the war was won by the federal government, the Biafran dream is still alive as evidenced by recent happenings in the country.

READ ALSO: UPDATE: Osinbajo rushes back to Nigeria after 1-hour meeting with Buhari in London, keeps mum (video)

The respected Nobel laureate also wrote about the role he played in the fratricidal war that engulfed the country.

According to him, his utterance that Biafra could not be defeated was branded treasonable statement.

The article read: On July 6, 1967, civil war broke out in Nigeria between the countrys military and the forces of Biafra, an independent republic proclaimed by ex-Nigerian military officer Odumegwu Ojukwu on May 30 of that year. The war killed more than 1 million people, many of whom died from starvation. It ended in January 1970 with the reintegration of Biafra into Nigeria.

Malnutrition, Red Cross, kwashiorkor, relief flights, genocide, the Uli airstrip used by Biafran planes to elude the Nigerian blockade, mercenaries, the Aburi accord that broke down and led to warthese are some of the memory triggers of the Nigerian civil war of secession that we would like to re-assign.

Over a million lives perisheda shameful proportion of them childrenmostly through starvation and aerial bombardment. The Nigerian federal government, committed to the doctrine of oneness, had boasted that the conflict would last no longer than three weeks of police action.

We had learnt much from the politics of other nations, but apparently not from history; the war lasted more than two years.

Tormented by the image of a herd of human lemmings rushing to their doom, as a young writer, I made the treasonable statement warning that the secessionist state, Biafra, could never be defeated.

The simplistic rendition of that conviction in most mindscertainly in the minds of the then-ruling military and its elite support was that this applied merely to the physical field of combat. Thus it was regarded as a psychological offensive against the federal side, an attempt to demoralize its soldiers while boosting the war spirit of the enemy.

That enemy had also boasted that no force in black Africa could defeat them. My visit to the Biafran enclave in October 1966 resulted in arrest and detention. During interrogation, I insisted that my statement was meant as a counter to the surge of emotive nationalism and a slavish sanctification of colonial boundaries.

Biafra was therefore an expression of that rejection and its replacement with a peoples self-constitutive rights. This specific challenge owed its genesis to memory at its rawest, the memory of ethnic cleansing, whose remedy could not be sought rationally in a campaign of subjugation against an already traumatized community.

One question, rhetorical in tone, stuck in my mind for long afterwards. It went thus: Why should you take it on yourself to make such a statement? Is it because youre a writer? Who are you to take a contrary stance to the government? I replied to myself that I had learned to listen. The young man countered that he was on the side of history, and Biafra would be crushed. Not quite, as it turned out.

The Biafrans were indeed defeated on the battlefield, but crushed? Today, most Nigerians know better. Biafra has not been defeated. If anyone was left in any doubt about this, the last work of my late colleague, Chinua Achebes There Was A Country, has left us re-thinking.

New generation writers, born long after that brutal war, have inherited and continue to propagate the Biafran doctrine, an article of faith among the Igbo populace, even among those who pay lip-service to a united nation. Millions remain sworn to uphold it.

Many have died at the hands of the police and the military as succeeding guardians of that legacy troop out to reclaim it in defiant manifestations. Amnesty International estimated that at least 150 pro-Biafra activists have been killed since August 2015.

Some of their leaders, including the director of their official mouthpiece, Radio Biafra, remain on trial for alleged subversion and treason. Others have gone underground. The war is not over, only the tactics have changed.

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One could claim that a project of internal secession is unfolding, one that skirts the peripheries of Nigerian laws, testing what they permit, and daring what they do not. As for the victorious side, analysts continue to cite the lingering consequences of the war of secession among the main causes of the nations instability, alongside contemporary factors such as mismanagement of petroleum resources, corruption, visionless leadership, etc.

Today, secession simmers openly, and is moving steadily beyond rhetoric. It has already taken on a dangerous complementejection. A number of combative youth organizations in the northern part of Nigeria recently called for the expulsion of the Igbo from their lands for daring once again to talk about secession.

Mainstream leaders have disowned them, but some support has been voiced by individuals within the same adult cadre, including its intelligentsia. Debate is intense, often acrimonious.

Sadly however, one is left with a feeling that most participants in this discourse shy away from a fundamental component of nation being, one that transcends the Biafran will to corporate existence.

Army Chief, Buratai reveals why Boko Haram is still a threat to Nigeria

That principle virtually gasps for air under the wishfully terminal mantra that goes: The unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable.

I have never understood how this is supposed to differ from the dogma of certain religious strains that declare conversion from faith to be an act of apostasy, punishable by death. Nationality, like religion, is only another construct into which one is either born, or acquires by accident or indoctrination.

Those who insist on the divine right of nation over a peoples choice seem unaware that they box themselves into the same doctrinaire mould of mere habit, just like religion. In the Nigerian instance, however, the matter is even more troubling.

Since the absolutists of nation indivisibility are not ignorant of the histories of other nations and are immersed daily under evidence of the assertive factor of negotiationbe it in the language of arms and violence or the conference tablesince they know full well that this process straddles pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial histories, such speakers unconsciously imply that Africans are sub-citizens of the real world and are not entitled to make their own choices, even in this modern age.

This smacks of an inferiority complex, if not of a slavish indoctrination, when we additionally consider how todays Africa came to be, a land mass of constitutive units that were largely determined by alien interests, and thus, hold possibilities of fatal flaws.

Also requiring contestation is the implicit equation of supreme sacrifice with supreme entitlement: Those who say, We have shed our blood for Nigerian unity, and will not stand by and watch it dismantled.

My observation is that in civil warfareindeed in most kinds of warfarecivilians pay the higher price in lives, possessions and dignity. We need therefore to eliminate the distracting lament of professionals of violence and confront, in its own right, the issue of the collective volition of any human grouping.

This leaves us with the other line of approach, the line of frankly subjective or reasoned, pragmatic preferences. It is a positioning that admits, quite simply, I am a creature of habit and prefer things as they are. Or: I like to be a big frog in a small pond, and allied determinants.

Such individual and collective preferences for nation validation offer sincere basis for negotiation and resolution. Once conceded, we proceed to invoke the positives of cohabitation that render fragmentation mostly adventurist and potentially destructive.

Habit is a great motivator, but it should not be permitted to transform itself into categorical controls that make any existing condition non-negotiable.

Independence surely means more the severance of ties with an imperial order. It need not go so far as to dictate the dismantling of its bequests but certainly leaves open the option of placing it in question. Propagators of the inflexible nationalist line unabashedly attempt to shut down this questioning.

They distort even the stance of those whose preference is that the nation remain one, but base their pleading strictly on a pragmatic platform, not as the manifestation of a divine will. The unity of any nation is not only historically subject to negotiation; nation is itself an offspring of negotiation.

So what is so exceptional about those who inhabit the Nigerian nation space? Nothing. Except we wish to situate them outside history. Should Biafra stay in, or opt out of Nigeria? That is the latent question. Even after years of turbulent co-tenancy, it seems unreal to conceive of a Nigeria without Biafra.

My preference for in goes beyond objective assessment of economic, cultural and social advantages for Biafra and the rest of us. Todays global realities make multi-textured nations far more compelling, not only for outside investorstourists includedbut equally inspiring to the occupants of any nation space.

The West African region is marked by an intersection of horizontally and vertically-formed groupings and identities, the result of colonial intervention in the race for territory. The result has proved often dispiriting but just as often stimulating.

It has gone on for long, with developmental structures whose dismantling strikes one as being potentially perilous even for the most resilient and endowed of the resultant pieces. Among many analogies, I have heard and read Nigeria described as a ticking time-bomb.

Ironically, I see in this very fear a strong argument for remaining intact. An explosion in closed space is deadlier than in a wider arena which stands a chance of diffusing the impact and enabling survival. My preference for remaining one is thus reinforced by that very doomsday prediction, not by any presumptive law of human association.

Among the lessons learnt today is that changing the content of geography texts does not obliterate the fundamental attachment to an idea. The Bight of Biafra was renamed during the civil warto expunge the secessionist consciousnessbut that ruse has clearly failed.

Orders from a section of Igbo leadership for restoration of the original name is a warning that the Biafran narrative has not ended. When added to the widely spread observance earlier this year of sit-at-home protests to mark Biafra Day on May 30, it would be wise to respond with a fresh understanding to the pulsation of the new Biafran generation.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Orji Uzor Kalu, former Abia state governor assured all Igbo people that no harm will befall them in the face of current agitation for Biafra an most notably the quit notice issued by some youths in the northern part of the country.

In an excerpt from Dr Orji Uzor Kalu's interview on AIT on Tuesday July 11, Kalu argued that nobody can touch the Igbo people in any part of the country, because Nigeria belongs to all.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video of the 50th anniversary of Biafra and how far it has come.

Source: Legit.ng
- The Makarfi-led faction of the PDP has won the leadership battle in the party

- Sheriff ordered to pay fine by the Abuja Supreme High

- The party is likely to experience some major changes after the ruling

The leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to have reached its end as the Supreme Court in Abuja gave it's ruling on Wednesday, July 12.

The Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the PDP has just been declared as the original and only recognised PDP party in the country.

The party crisis started in 2015, after losing the presidential election to the All Progressive Congress (APC)'s candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.

However, with the leadership mantle returned to Ahmed Makarfi, the party is likely to experience some major changes in the nearest future.

READ ALSO: Biafra has not been defeated  Soyinka

Legit.ng has compiled a list of some of the things that may happen to the party after the Apex court ruling:

1. Politicians who threatened to leave the party and those that have left might return

Most PDP governors and ex-ministers have publicly shown their distaste for the Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the party.

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state, Governor Nyesome Wike of Rivers state and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state are few of the prominent party members who had earlier threatened to leave the party and start a new one with the Makarfi-led faction.

2. Sheriff will form a new party

After losing at the apex court, Sheriff is likely to leave the party along with his supporters. If this happens, the party may lose half or one third of its members to Sheriff's new party.

3. APC will be threatened

The long leadership battle in the party has considerably weakened it against the opposition. Now that the court has given its final rulings, if members who decamped to APC during the crisis return to PDP, the party is likely to gain strength against the ruling party.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the PDP governors' forum and Sheriff agreed to honour the Supreme Court ruling without any squabble.

Leader of the PDP governors' forum, Ayodele Fayose, who had earlier threatened to leave the party if Sheriff is proclaimed the leader by the Supreme court, took a u-turn and offered an olive branch.

Fayose, who spoke on behalf of PDP governors said whatever ruling the party gets from the Supreme Court will not be challenged by him or other party members and no one would decamp from the party.

Sheriff, in a statement released by his deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, accepted Fayose's offer and assured that no one will be victimised for any role played during the conflict for the battle to control PDP.

Watch Legit.ng video of APC chieftain, Comrade Timi Frank warning of tragedy that may befall the party in 2019:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Supreme Court, Abuja, has upheld the election of Ahmed Makarfi as the chairman of PDP

- The announcement of the apex court is expected to finally resolve the leadership tussle within the party

- Former Borno state governor, Ali Sheriff, and ex- Kaduna state governor, Ahmed Makarfi, were both claiming leadership of the PDP

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, July 12, removed Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reinstating Senator Ahmed Makarfi as the authentic leader.

The five man panel of the apex court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, in its judgment delivered, reinstated Makarfi who was earlier sacked by the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal, as the National Caretaker Committee.

Legit.ng has been observing some comments on social media since the announcement.

READ ALSO: Osinbajo finally meets Buhari in London, refuses to speak after 1 hour meeting

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that there was tight security and mammoth crowd at the Supreme Court following the judgement on the matter between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Ali Modu-Sheriff and four others.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

The judgement which commenced today, had former ministers and ex-governors present.

Many PDP leaders including Uche Secondus, Patricia Akwashiki, a former minister during former president Goodluck Jonathan's regime were present.

While the ministers were allowed in, their aides were prevented from gaining access into the court by police operatives at the entrance.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng has compiled three things that may happen to PDP now that Makarfi has won the leadership battle.

In the interview below with Legit.ng TV, APC chieftain, Comrade Timi Frank warns the ruling party to resolve its internal bickering before 2019.

Source: Legit.ng
- Goodluck Jonathan congratulated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for its Supreme Court victory

- The former president in a statement said the judgment will bring the opposition party together

- Jonathan urged the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee to see the verdict as a moral victory of constitutionality

Nigeria's former President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the resolution of its leadership tussle by the Supreme Court.

Legit.ng gathered that the former president said the apex court's verdict is a judgment where there are no winners or losers, adding that it will bring the party together.

Jonathan in a Facebook post on Wednesday, July 12, called on members who had left the party because of its leadership issues to return and build the party.

READ ALSO: 3 things that may happen to PDP now that Makarfi has won the leadership battle

Read the full statement below:

"I congratulate my political party, the Peoples Democratic Party, on the successful resolution of its leadership crisis by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

"I believe in our jurists. We may have issues with some individuals but the Nigerian judiciary deserves our respect and commendation. They have served this country well.

"Today's verdict is a judgment where there are no winners or losers. It is a verdict that will bring our party together. We should all thank the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

"As I congratulate the Ahmed Makarfi led Caretaker Committee, I want to strongly urge them not to see this as a victory of a section of the party, but as a moral victory of constitutionality over arbitrariness.

"Thus, they must take inspiration from General Yakubu Gowon and declare a 'no victor and no vanquished policy'.

"As a senior member of the party, I hereby call on all those who left the party because of its leadership issues to return to their natural home and build the PDP.

"The PDP is an inclusive vehicle not an exclusive one. We see Nigerians as human beings deserving of the rule of law, separation of powers and a free market economy that provides a level playing ground for all.

"The party that gave Nigeria the largest economy in Africa is a party whose heart is large enough to find a place for all Nigerians.

"I thank God for this day of Justice and may God bless Nigeria. GEJ."

PAY ATTENTION: Read the best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria's apex court today, Wednesday, July 12, sacked Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of the opposition party.

The Supreme Court in its judgement declared Ahmed Makarfi, the caretaker committee chairman, as the authentic leader of Nigerias largest opposition party.

In the interview below with Legit.ng TV, APC chieftain, Comrade Timi Frank, warns the ruling party to resolve its internal bickering before 2019.

Source: Legit.ng
- Ben Murray-Bruce, the senator representing Bayelsa East in the National Assembly, has reacted to Ahmed Makarfi's victory at Supreme court

- Murray-Bruce said the judgement is indeed a victory for democracy and the People Democratic Party (PDP)

Ben Murray-Bruce, the senator representing Bayelsa East in the National Assembly has expressed his happiness over the Ahmed Makarfi's victory at Supreme court.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, July 12 gave a final judgement on the authentic faction of the PDP which favoured Makarfi.

Murray-Bruce said: ''We are happy this nightmare is over.There is no victor no vanquished. This is also, not a time to gloat.

READ ALSO: Its no victor, no vanquished - Olisa Metuh speaks on PDP judgement

I call on all sides to stretch out a hand of brotherhood to rebuild our great party. Peace is better than war and unity, better than division.

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This judgement is indeed a victory for democracy and together, the PDP can return to being a formidable alternative to the ruling government.''

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that all roads led to Nigeria's apex court on Wednesday, July 12 as the Supreme Court gives a final judgement on the authentic faction of the PDP. The battle is between the factions of Ahmed Makarfi and Ali Modu Sheriff.

Watch this Legit.ng TV Video of man that said APC is the worst party in Nigeria:

Source: Legit.ng
- Residents of Umudioga in Rivers state have started fleeing the community over incessant cult clash

- Five people were reportedly killed in the clash

- Many people were also said to have sustained serious injuries when suspected cultists invaded the community

Residents of Umudioga Community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers state are fleeing for their lives, following consecutive cult clash.

READ ALSO: Goodluck Jonathan reacts to PDP victory

Legit.ng gathered that at least five people were reportedly killed while several others sustained injuries after suspected cultists invaded the community.

A resident fleeing Umudioga community in Rivers state. Source: YabaLeftonline.com

A resident fleeing Umudioga community in Rivers state. Source: YabaLeftonline.com

PAY ATTENTION: Read the best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Residents fleeing Umudioga community in Rivers state. Source: YabaLeftonline.com

Residents fleeing Umudioga community in Rivers state. Source: YabaLeftonline.com

Residents fleeing Umudioga community in Rivers state. Source: YabaLeftonline.com

Legit.ng had previously reported that twelve people were killed in bloody cult clash in Rivers state. Two rival gangs were said to have clashed in Sime, a community in the Tai district of Rivers state, early Friday morning, June 3.

Watch this Legit.ng video concerning the opinions of Nigerians on who they think could be more favoured between Fayose and President Muhammadu Buhari:

Source: Legit.ng
- The sum of N1.6billion intervention fund has been approved by the acting president, Yemi Osinbajo, for the immediate release to 16 states

- The money is to be taken from the ecological fund and released directly to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) immediately

The federal government has intervened to ameliorate the situation in some states of the federation ravaged by flood.

READ ALSO: Osinbajo finally meets Buhari in London, refuses to speak after 1 hour meeting

The intervention comes in the form of a N1.6billion intervention fund which was approved by the acting president, Yemi Osinbajo, for the immediate release to 16 states who have suffered from flooding.

According to Channels TV, the states that will benefit from the intervention fund include Akwaibom, Kebbi, Enugu, Abia, Oyo, Plateau, Edo, Bayelsa, Kwara among others.

The money is expected to be taken from the ecological funds and released directly to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) immediately.

The release of the fund comes days after torrential rains caused massive flooding in some states across the country.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Legit.ng recalls that Osinbajo on Monday, July 10 visited Niger state to assess the collapsed Mokwa-Jebba Bridge in the state.

The acting president was also joined by the minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, to look at the level of damage on Monday, July 10.

The media reported that the collapse was caused by heavy rainfall and which has affected motorists and commuters on both sides of the road.

In the video below, Legit.ng visits some communities in Lagos ravaged by flood.

Source: Legit.ng
- APC national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, stated that whichever way it went, the Supreme Courts ruling had no direct consequence on the APC

- According to Abdullahi, it would be wrong for anyone to insinuate that the unity of the opposition party was a threat to the ruling APC

- On his part, the APC north-east national vice chairman, Mustapha Salihu, lambasted the PDP and reiterated that the APC was not threatened by who became the chairman of the opposition party

The All Progressives Congress (APC) national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, has said that the party is not threatened by who becomes the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), NAN reports.

He said this on Wednesday in Abuja while reacting to a Supreme Court judgment on the PDP leadership crisis which declared Ahmed Makarfi as the authentic chairman of the party.

Abdullahi said there ought not to be reaction from the APC because it was not a party to the legal suit, adding that it could not be bothered by the court judgment.

READ ALSO: Return to APC - Saraki urges Adeleke

Whichever way you want to look at it, the ruling has no direct consequence on APC whichever faction the pendulum swings to, he said.

Abdullahi added that it would be wrong for anyone to insinuate that the unity of the PDP was a threat to the APC, especially as it had nothing to do with the case.

Also, reacting to the judgment, the newly appointed north-east national vice chairman of the APC, Mustapha Salihu, said the party was not threatened by who became PDP chairman.

He said the PDP failed when it was in power and had the opportunity in government, stressing that the APC was looking at institution not individuals.

He said: Makarfi or Ali-Modu Sheriff is no threat to us; we are looking at the institution and not the person.

According to him, PDP is a party that institutionalized corruption and failed to handle the security of the nation.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Recall that Legit.ng previously reported that the Supreme Court on Wednesday, July 12, removed Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reinstating Senator Ahmed Makarfi as the authentic leader.

The five man panel of the apex court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, in its judgment delivered, reinstated Makarfi who was earlier sacked by the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal, as the National Caretaker Committee.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of a Nigerian man calling for mass burial for all the nation's leaders:

Source: Legit.ng
Captain America and the Winter Soldier Special #1 takes Marvel's secret history to a whole new level with a real world historical figure

If you know who Gavrilo Princip is, prepare to be shocked
Los Alamos is working with NASA on nuclear fission systems (Kilopower and MegaPower) as a heat source that transfers heat via a heat pipe to a small Stirling engine-based power convertor to produce electricity from uranium. NASA has focused on the use of KiloPower for potential Mars human exploration. NASA has examined the need for power on Mars and determined that approximately 40 kilowatts would be needed. Five 10-kilowatt KiloPower reactors (four main reactors plus one spare) could solve this power requirement.

During steady state, a reactor operates with a neutron multiplication factor of 1.000; that is, the number of neutrons in the core remains unchanged from one generation to the next generation.

Almost every perturbation in a reactors operation ultimately translates into either a positive or a negative reactivity insertion incident, defined as the state in which the core neutron multiplication factor deviates from its steady state value. Sudden and significant positive reactivity insertion can lead to runaway reactor kinetics, wherein temperatures can exceed thermal limits very rapidly.

Past development approaches relied on sophisticated control systems to reduce or eliminate such a likelihood. Luckily, reactors also have an inherent ability to self-correct via negative temperature reactivity feedback; reactor power automatically decreases as core temperature increases, and vice versa.

It has been known that strongly reflected small compact fast reactors, such as kiloPower, can be designed to maximize these mechanisms to a point of being totally self-regulating. the Los Alamos objective is to design-in self-regulation as the front-line feature in order to minimize technical and programmatic risk and to demonstrate via testing that self-regulation is both reliable and repeatable.

A scaled up 2 megawatt system would be expected to weigh about 35 metric tons. It would transportable by air and highway.

To that end, multi-scale and multi-physics simulations are relied upon to perform high fidelity design studies that explicitly examined

(a) how choices related to fabrication, alloying and bonding techniques would affect the internal crystalline structure of each nuclear component and in turn

(b) how that morphology affects that components thermal, mechanical and nuclear performance at conditions of interest.

Rapid prototyping and engineering demonstration

A key objective of the affordable strategy is that the nuclear components can be fabricated to the exacting tolerances demanded by the designers. This includes not only the physical dimensions, but also density and crystalline phase of the alloys.

The materials characteristics determine thermal and mechanical performance of the core, which in turn affects its nuclear performance. After several joint efforts, an exact replica of the kiloPower core was fabricated at Y-12 with depleted uranium. This provided needed experience and data on casting, machining and material characteristics of the reactor core.

The second phase involved engineering demonstrations where the DU core is assembled together with the rest of the system (including the heat pipes and Stirling engines) in the configuration needed for a flight space reactor. Finely controlled resistance heaters were used to closely mimic the nuclear heat profile that is expected in the nuclear core during regular operation.

Los Alamos National Laboratory, in partnership with NASA Research Centers and other DOE National Labs, is developing and rapidly maturing a suite of very small fission power sources to meet power needs that range from hundreds of Watts-electric (We) to 100 kWe.

These designs, commonly referred to as kiloPower reactors, are based on well-established physics that simultaneously simplifies reactor controls necessary to operate the plant and incorporates inherent safety features that guard against consequences of launch accidents and operational transients.

Full-scale nuclear test

The nuclear demonstration test will occur in late summer or early fall of 2017. The test will be conducted at the Device Assembly Facility at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS).

It will be comprised of a ~32 kilogram enriched uranium reactor core (about the size of a circular oatmeal box) made from uranium metal going critical, and generating heat that will be transported by sodium heat pipes to Stirling engines that will produce electricity.

The test will include connecting heat pipes and Stirling engines enclosed in a vacuum chamber sitting on the top of a critical experiment stand. The critical experiment stand has a lower plate than can be raised and lowered.

On this plate will be stacked rings of Beryllium Oxide (BeO) that form the neutron reflector in the reactor concept. A critical mass is achieved by raising the BeO reflector to generate fission in the reactor core. Once fission has begun, the BeO reflector will be slowly raised to increase the temperature in the system to 800 degrees Centigrade.

The heat pipes will deliver heat from the core to the Stirling engines and allow the system to make ~250 watts of electricity. For the purpose of testing only, two of the eight Stirling engines will make electricity, the others will only discard heat.

The data gained will inform the engineers regarding startup and shutdown of the reactor, how the reactor performs at steady state, how the reactor load follows when Stirling engines are turned on and off and how the system behaves when all cooling is removed. This data will be essential to moving forward with a final design concept.

Lessons learned from the kiloPower development program are being leveraged to develop a Mega Watt class of reactors termed MegaPower reactors. These concepts all contain intrinsic safety features similar to those in kiloPower, including reactor self-regulation, low reactor core power density and the use of heat pipes for reactor core heat removal.

The use of these higher power reactors is for terrestrial applications, such as power in remote locations, or to power larger human planetary colonies.

The MegaPower reactor concept produces approximately two megawatts of electric power. The reactor would be attached to an open air Brayton cycle power conversion system. A Brayton power cycle uses air as the working fluid and as the means of ultimate heat removal.

MegaPower reactor patent  Mobile heat pipe cooled fast reactor system US 20160027536 A1

The development costs for more advanced reactor concepts are even less firm. For example, presenters from the LANL cited a FOAK range of $140 million to $325 million for their reactor heat pipe system, MegaPower, with an expectation that the power conversion system could be provided on a loan basis for the initial vSMR development and testing. Considering a $25 million to $50 million range for the power conversion and other process system design development, then advanced reactor FOAK development costs could range from $150 million

to $375 million.

MegaPower cost estimates include:

* Reactor technology development: $85 million to $125 million

* LEU fuel (16 to 19% enriched) depending on DOE fuel supply: $5 million to $45 million

* Development and test facility modifications: $50 million to $100 million

* Transport Security Armor development: $0 to $25 million

* NRC Licensing: $0 to $30 million

* Total estimated costs: $140 to $340 million
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha government has approved the start of construction of a US$5 billion (S$6.9 billion) high-speed train project, to be developed by China.

Bangkok to the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, a distance of more than 250km, will start later this year and is scheduled for completion in 2021.

It will cost an estimated 179 billion baht (around US$5.1 billion).

The government hopes to eventually extend the high-speed railway by some 350km to Nong Khai Province, opposite Laos, in the hope of boosting cross-border trade volume and turning Thailand into a regional hub.

It could eventually link Bangkok and Chinas southwestern city of Kunming, over 1,200 km away, via landlocked Laos.

China, as part of its One Belt, One Road initiative to link Asia with Europe, is already constructing a 417-km stretch of single-track railway through Laos as part of a planned regional railway network linking Kunming with Singapore via Laos, Thailand and Malaysia.
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With word that Quentin Tarantino is set to retire after two more films (confirmed by the director himself), there's plenty of intrigue over what his final projects are. And in this respect it looks like his next one will deliveras reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Tarantino is readying a movie based on the murders committed by Charles Manson and his "family" in 1969.

According to THR, Tarantino will direct and is currently putting the final touches on the script. Brad Pitt, who worked with Tarantino in 2009's Inglourious Basterds, and Jennifer Lawrence are said to have been approached for the project. Unsurprisingly, producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein will also be involved, continuing their long-standing relationship with Tarantino. THR says that the goal is to start shooting in 2018, possibly in the summer.

The movie will mark one of Tarantino's rare brushes with non-fiction material. Though, as we'd seen with Basterds, the director has no qualms about taking a revisionists' slant on history, so there's absolutely no saying what the final product will be like.

Even today, the Manson murders still fascinate the public. On August 9, 1969, Manson and his followers broke into the Benedict Canyon home of actress Sharon Tate (wife of Roman Polanski) and murdered Tate and her acquaintances. The next night, the group broke into the Los Feliz home of supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and killed him and his wife Rosemary. In 1971, Manson and other members of his crew were sentenced to life imprisonment.
As Republican leaders plan to release a revised health care bill on Thursday, at least a dozen senators have expressed concerns about several major issues in the current draft.

Pre-Existing Conditions and Other Regulations

The current draft of the Senate bill preserves the Affordable Care Acts protection for people with pre-existing illnesses. However, it allows states to waive many other rules, including the requirement that insurers cover a basic set of benefits. Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee want to add an amendment that would allow insurers to offer plans that do not follow any of the Affordable Care Acts rules.

Medicaid Funding

Many senators represent states that, under the Affordable Care Act, expanded Medicaid to cover more people, and they are worried that the Senate bills funding reductions would require states to cut benefits and enrollees. But major changes to the Medicaid provisions in the bill are not likely.

Subsidies for Insurance Premiums

Some of the more moderate Republican senators are worried that the bill cuts government subsidies too much, particularly for older Americans. The more conservative bloc wants to further reduce the subsidies.

Affordable Care Act Taxes

The current version of the bill repeals a 3.8 percent tax on investment income and a 0.9 percent payroll tax for high-income households, a change that would result in a large tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. Republicans have discussed keeping the taxes, a move that could help pay for insurance subsidies, and it is likely they will remain.

Fighting the Opioid Crisis

Republican senators in states particularly affected by the opioid drug crisis have expressed concerns about cuts to Medicaid and have pushed to add more funding to fight the problem. The current version of the bill provides $2 billion in federal grants to states next year, while the revised bill is expected to include a $45 billion fund.

Funding Planned Parenthood
iGaming Super Show and Amsterdam Affiliate Conference 2017 Kick-off

Published July 12, 2017 by OCR Editor

The Online Casino Reports team is on the bustling floor of the Amsterdam Affiliate Conference, promising to bring a lot of excitement and plenty of new opportunities.

One of the most important events in the affiliate industry, the Amsterdam Affiliate Conference (AAC) has kicked off as a part of the iGaming Super Show. We are happy to announce that the Online Casino Reports team is on the spot in the Netherlands capital, reporting live on all important developments and creating valuable connections with other affiliates and brands in attendance.

Thousands of Guests & more than 100 Speakers

This year's Amsterdam Affiliate Conference will gather 4,500 guests from different sectors of the gaming industry, representing affiliate business, suppliers, casino operators, and more. Alongside thousands of delegates, there will be more than 100 speakers and 150 different exhibitors and sponsors. All who's who of the gaming industry are expected to visit and spend some time in Amsterdam between Tuesday, July 11 and Friday, July 14.

Plenty to See

Apart from the interesting speeches, our team will have an opportunity to see the latest technologies at work, as there are seven shows running simultaneously with the AAC. During the Financial Partners Expo, visitors will have a chance to marvel breakthroughs by the industry leaders such as Play'n GO, 888, PokerStars, IGT, and many others.

SEO, Marketing, and Bitcoin

Various panels during the AAC 2017 will focus on a few critical areas for the affiliates. Wednesday is reserved for SEO optimization discussions, with the focus on mobile technologies, apps, and a general focus on the future.

Thursday panels will are reserved for general discussions about the position of affiliates in the industry, recent legislative changes, and their potential impact, as well as the role of Bitcoin. The entire conference has a futuristic feel to it, and it is really an honor and a privilege to be able to attend.

Prime Networking Opportunities

For the entire Online Casino Reports team, as well as for everyone else, the Amsterdam Affiliate Conference offers prime networking opportunities. The AAC organizers have put a special emphasis on this important segment, making it easy to set up meetings and manage your time.

See You in Amsterdam!

If you happen to be at the Conference as well, we'd love to meet you and chat for a while. The AAC is one of the biggest and friendliest events in the whole year, and we believe it is the best time to make new contacts or hook up with old friends, so don't be shy!
Smoke, meet gun.

On Tuesday morning, there was a stunning development in the Trump-Russia scandal: Donald Trump Jr. confessed. In yet another bombshell story, the New York Times reported on emails showing that the president's oldest son had eagerly accepted an offer of help during the 2016 campaign from what he understood to be the Russian government. Trump Jr., the Times disclosed, had set up a meeting with a Russian attorney in the hopes of receiving derogatory information on Hillary Clinton straight from Putin's regime. As the Times was publishing this story, Trump Jr. tweeted out those same emails.

The emails reveal that top Trump campaign advisers Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner attended the meeting and suggests that all three Trump advisers colluded in what seemed to be a Russian government-backed attempt to hurt Clinton in order to help Trump win the presidency. This new development contradicts the long series of denials from Trump defenders who have claimed that there was no collusion, that there was no evidence Russian leader Vladimir Putin wanted Trump to win, and that the Trump-Russia affair is merely a hoax perpetuated by loser Democrats and fake news outlets.

The Trump Jr. emails also provide partial support for some information within the Steele dossier.

The Steele memos, which Mother Jones first reported on a week before Election Day, were compiled during the campaign by a former British intelligence officer named Christopher David Steele, who was hired by a Washington, DC, research firm retained to unearth information on Trump. The documents contained troubling allegations about Trump and his connections to Russia and relayed unverified salacious information about the candidate. The first memo, dated June 20 and based on the former intelligence officer's conversations with Russian sources, stated, "Russian regime has been cultivating, supporting and assisting TRUMP for at least 5 years. Aim, endorsed by PUTIN, has been to encourage splits and divisions in western alliance." It asserted that Russian intelligence had "compromised" Trump during his visits to Moscow and could "blackmail him."
From Smirking Chimp



Bill Gates

(Image by OnInnovation) Details DMCA



Suppose we lived in a world where Bill Gates could not get copyright or patent protection for Windows and other Microsoft products. Anyone who wanted could duplicate these products without charge, sending Bill Gates a thank you note, if they were so inspired.

In that world, Bill Gates would certainly not be the world's richest human with a fortune of more than $70 billion. Even without copyright protection Mr. Gates would probably still be doing fine -- he seems reasonably bright, works hard and comes from a wealthy family -- but he would not have amassed his huge fortune if he could not get government-granted monopolies on his software.

This simple and obvious point matters because it is popular in many circles to claim that income inequality is just an inevitable, even if unfortunate, result of technology and globalization. In fact, there is nothing inevitable about patent and copyright protection; these monopolies exist as a result of government policy. The fact that Bill Gates and many others have gotten hugely rich as a result of these protections is a result of government policy, not an inevitable outcome of technological progress.

And, there is a huge amount of money at stake here. The fortunes going to Bill Gates and other beneficiaries of intellectual property protection come out of the pockets of the rest of us. The clearest case is prescription drugs where we will spend over $440 billion this year for drugs that would likely sell for less than $80 billion in a free market.

The difference of $360 billion a year is a bit less than 2 percent of GDP. If we carry this out over the course of a decade we're likely talking about more than $4 trillion. By comparison, the battle on repealing Obamacare largely boils down to a fight over $600 billion in tax cuts for the rich, an amount that is less than one-sixth this size.

And this is just the money at stake with prescription drugs. Patent and copyright protection also hugely inflate the cost of medical equipment, software and computers, pesticides and fertilizers, video games, and recorded movies and music. Adding these all together, we can easily be talking about an amount that is more than twice as large.

While it is not really debatable that Bill Gates is immensely rich because of a government policy that has allowed him to become immensely rich, the relevant question is whether there are alternatives. We have copyrights and patents to give people an incentive to innovate and do creative work.

Even if we decide these government granted monopolies are necessary, we could still make them shorter and weaker. In the last four decades, policy has gone in the opposite direction. We have made patents and copyrights both longer and stronger.

This has not produced a noticeable payoff in productivity growth. Productivity growth has moved along at just over 1 percent annually in the last decade, roughly one-third of the pace in the long Golden Age from 1947 to 1973.

So we are clearly paying a big price for this increase in protection in the form of greater inequality, with no obvious benefit in more rapid economic growth. Of course even if we did see evidence of more rapid growth it would still be reasonable to ask whether it was worth the price in higher inequality. But we can't have that discussion until we stop pretending that it is technology causing inequality rather than policy.

The other factor that needs to be brought into the discussion is that we do have alternative mechanisms for financing innovation and creative work. The federal government spends more than $32 billion annually on biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health. There is no reason in principle that we can't double or triple this spending to replace the patent supported research done by the pharmaceutical industry. (We likely would want to change the government's funding structure also.)

The great advantage of direct funding is that all research findings would be fully open to other researchers, physicians and the general public. And drugs would be cheap. The next life-saving cancer drug would sell for a few hundred dollars instead of a few hundred thousand dollars.

Much creative work is already supported now by the tax deduction for charitable contribution. When a wealthy person gives money to support an orchestra or art museum, the government picks up 40 percent of the tab by reducing the person's tax liability. We could have a different structure under which everyone gets a modest credit to support whatever creative work they value. This work would then be in the public domain, free of any copyright restrictions.

There are many other ways to support innovation and creative work; we don't have to decide on the best path here. The point is that we have a policy that involves one particular path, which has very questionable merits on efficiency grounds, and looks really bad in its impact on equality.

It is understandable that the people who have gotten rich from our policies on patent and copyrights would not want to see them at the center of public debate. But what is the excuse for everyone else who is not talking about them?
The seven-million-strong American Muslim community Sunday (July 9) mourned the death of Dr. Jack G. Shaheen, a prolific author and professor whose career centered on dismantling stereotypes of Muslims and Arabs in the US media. He was perhaps most famous for his book Reel Bad Arabs, where he chronicled over 900 movies where Arabs were represented negatively.

In addition to Reel Bad Arabs, Dr. Shaheen authored four other books, Guilty: Hollywood's Verdict on Arabs After 9/11, Arab and Muslim Stereotyping in American Popular Culture; Nuclear War Films, and The TV Arab. His methodical study of the media and depictions of Arabs has been critical in helping to re-shape the narratives on Arabs and Muslims.

Shaheen was born in September 1935 in Clairton, Pennsylvania, to Lebanese immigrants. In 1964, he received a master's degree from Pennsylvania State University and, in 1969, he received a PhD from the University of Missouri. He died on July 9, 2017, at the age of 81.

Dr. Shaheen was an internationally respected author, academic and media analyst who was the nation's leading authority on depictions of Arabs, Arab-Americans and Muslims in the media and in American popular culture. His work was instrumental in promoting accurate portrayals of Arabs, Islam and Muslims.

He was an internationally acclaimed author, lecturer and media critic considered to be the foremost authority on media images of Arabs and Muslims in American popular culture.

Dr. Shaheen authored five books, as noted above. His writings include more than 300 essays in publications such as Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, as well as chapters on media stereotypes in 40-plus college textbooks.

His work focused on racism and orientalism, particularly in popular culture such as Hollywood films. He has given over 1,000 lectures on the issue across the United States and on three continents. Dr. Shaheen was also a former CBS News consultant on Middle East affairs, and professor emeritus of Mass Communications at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Regularly discussing media stereotypes on national programs and networks such as CNN, MSNBC, National Public Radio, Nightline, Good Morning America, 48 Hours, and The Today Show, Dr. Shaheen gave lectures in nearly all 50 states. Oxford, Amherst, Harvard, Kenyon, the University of Southern California, Emory and Northwestern, are among those universities that welcomed him, as well as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) President Samer Khalaf in his condolence message said:

"Dr. Shaheen worked passionately and tirelessly to shed light on the common media stereotypes of Arabs in Western film, providing invaluable resources to the academic community at large. His work started a conversation about the representation of Arabs in Hollywood and the need for more nuanced depictions of the community. Dr. Shaheen will be greatly missed."

Dr. Shaheed was instrumental in ADC's efforts to change the original song lyrics that served to characterize the Arab world as alien, exotic, and "other" in the film Aladdin. His positive impact in the Arab-American community will be felt for generations to come.

Dr. Shaheen created the Jack G. Shaheen Mass Communications Scholarship, which awards annual scholarships to Arab American college students studying journalism and mass communications through the ADC.

Among Dr. Shaheen's many awards, the ADC recognized him for "his lifelong commitment to bring a better understanding towards peace for all mankind" with ADC's Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF) Board Member, Dr. Hatem Bazian said Dr. Jack Shaheen was a giant public intellectual and one of the pioneers of media criticism that developed and extended the theoretical framework of Edward Said's orientalism with evidence, research and attentive scholarship.

Dr. Bazian pointed out that Dr. Shaheen confronted anti-Muslim racism, Islamophobia, before even Muslims had engaged in the field or knew the type of scholarship needed to confront this racist scourge. "More importantly, as a scholar, Jack took care and paid attention to his students, was down to earth, humble in his approach, and was never the arrogant type of intellectual, which made it possible to influence a generation of young scholars in the field."

As an organization that focuses on empowering Muslim students to pursue careers in media, in order to do what Dr. Shaheen did--that is to challenge stereotypes of Islam and Muslims--we could not think of any better way to honor his legacy than to create a media scholarship in his name, Dr. Bazian said, adding: "We can only hope to build a cadre of Muslims in the media who show Dr. Shaheen's courage, intelligence, and dedication to correcting so many problematic stereotypes of our community. We hope to keep Dr. Shaheen's legacy alive through our work and we hope you will join us in celebrating his life and contributions and continuing the work that he did so valiantly."

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From Alon Ben-Meir Website

To listen to an audio version of this article, click here.

Seven million people face starvation, and 19 out of 28 million of Yemen's population are in desperate need of humanitarian aid. Both the Saudis and the Houthis are restricting food and medicine supplies from reaching starving children; many of them are cholera-ridden, on the verge of joining the thousands who have already died from starvation and disease. More than 10,000 have been killed, and nearly 40,000 injured. UNICEF reports nearly 300,000 cholera cases, and a joint statement from UNICEF and the World Health Organization declares the infection is spreading at a rate of 5,000 new cases per day.

The AP documented at least 18 clandestine lockups across southern Yemen run by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or Yemini forces, where torture of unimaginable cruelty is routine. The torture of prisoners is reducing them to less than animals ready for the slaughter. One example of such extreme torture is the "grill," in which the prisoner is tied to a spit like a roast and spun in a circle of fire.

Another method of slow death is where detainees are crammed in shipping containers and guards light a fire underneath to fill it with smoke, slowly suffocating detainees. Prisoners are blindfolded and shackled in place in a box too small to stand in for most of their detention. Constant beating by steel wires is common, which often results in the death of the detainee. As Dostoyevsky said: "People talk sometimes of bestial cruelty, but that's a great injustice and insult to the beasts; a beast can never be so cruel as a man, so artistically cruel." The US has been aware for some time of allegations of torture, but professes that there have not been such abuses.

Moreover, the blockade of imports of food, medicine, and fuel, which Yemen is completely dependent on, is making the situation dire beyond comprehension. If humanitarian aid is not provided immediately, millions of children will starve to death, even though the international community is cognizant of this ominous situation.

The conflict escalated in March 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition (including Bahrain and Sunni-majority Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Sudan, Qatar, and the UAE) began a military operation to restore the internationally-recognized government of Abu Rabu Mansour Hadi to power.

The Saudis' targets are the Houthi forces, who are a Zaydi Shiite Muslim minority and have been fighting for control of the country. They are loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was deposed in 2011 following a popular uprising instigated by the Arab Spring. The Houthis have suffered immense discrimination, and their grievances have been addressed neither before nor after the Gulf Cooperation Council's March 2013 initiative that launched a National Dialogue Conference, which failed to resolve the dispute over the distribution of power.

The Houthis joined forces with Saleh and expanded their influence in northwestern Yemen, culminating in a major military offensive against the military and a few rival tribes in which they captured the capital Sana'a in September 2014. The Saudis' bombing against the Houthis has been indiscriminate: schools, hospitals, homes, marketplaces, weddings, and even funeral homes were targeted to maximize casualties, egregiously violating the laws of war and continuing to do so with impunity.

The Saudis claim Iran is behind the Houthis' rebellion. Although Iran and the Houthis adhere to a different school of Shiite Islam, they share similar geopolitical interests. Iran is challenging Saudi Arabia for regional dominance, while the Houthis are the main rival to Hadi and the US-Saudi backed government in Sana'a. For the Saudis, losing Sana'a would allow Iran to exert major influence in the Arabian Peninsula in addition to its alliances with Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. The Saudi coalition is meant to signal to Iran that it will not be allowed to gain any influence in Yemen.

The US along with the United Kingdom have for many years been selling offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, which are now used to attack Houthi-held areas. The UAE, Kuwait, and Jordan received licenses to sell and service American-made military helicopters for Saudi Arabia, which sends a clear message to this unholy coalition that they can kill with impunity.

UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd shamelessly said [selling arms is] "good for our industry" -- not an acceptable reason to sell offensive weapons that kill people indiscriminately. Nevertheless, the US does have national security and economic interests in the Arabian Peninsula: particularly, it seeks to ensure free passage in the Bab al-Mandeb, through which 4.7 million barrels of oil pass each day; and the support of a government in Sana'a that would cooperate with US counter-terrorism battles. That said, the US' direct involvement in the conflict makes it complicit in the coalition's violation of the laws of war, and top US officials could be subjected to legal liability.

Sadly, the Trump administration has forfeited its moral responsibility by not insisting that Saudi Arabia, over which it exercises tremendous influence, open the ports to ensure that enough food and aid enters the country, without which millions will starve to death.

The conflict is going from bad to worse as international efforts to press both sides have been woefully inadequate, and media attention is nearly absent. Continued fighting will further fuel the struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and contribute to other regional conflicts. Moreover, the prospect of finding a peaceful solution is becoming increasingly difficult and laden with uncertainty, as the Trump administration believes that a solution lies with more military force. Trump justifies his bellicose approach as he sees Iran as the culprit who is raging a proxy war against the Saudis and benefiting from continued instability.

For these reasons, the EU's neutrality has allowed it to maintain contact with all the conflicting parties, and is best positioned to build on its credibility to persuade both sides to agree on a ceasefire and settlement. The Houthis want to negotiate with someone with authority rather than a mediator, and refuse to have talks with UN-appointed envoy Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed, who they consider to be biased. They also view the US and the UK with suspicion, as they are the chief suppliers of weapons to Saudi Arabia.

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When Israel passed a new counter-terrorism law last year, Ayman Odeh, a leader of the country's large minority of Palestinian citizens, described its draconian measures as colonialism's "last gasp." He said: "I see ... the panic of the French at the end of the occupation of Algeria."

The panic and cruelty plumbed new depths last week, when Israeli officials launched a $2.3 million lawsuit against the family of Fadi Qanbar, who crashed a truck into soldiers in Jerusalem in January, killing four. He was shot dead at the scene.

The suit demands that his widow, Tahani, reimburse the state for the compensation it awarded the soldiers' families. If she cannot raise the astronomic sum, the debt will pass to her four children, the oldest of whom is currently only seven.

Israel is reported to be preparing many similar cases.

Like other families of Palestinians who commit attacks, the Qanbars are homeless, after Israel sealed their East Jerusalem home with cement. Twelve relatives were also stripped of their residency papers as a prelude to expelling them to the West Bank.

None has done anything wrong -- their crime is simply to be related to someone Israel defines as a "terrorist."

This trend is intensifying. Israel has demanded that the Palestinian Authority stop paying a small monthly stipend to families like the Qanbars, whose breadwinner was killed or jailed. Conviction rates among Palestinians in Israel's military legal system stand at more than 99 percent, and hundreds of prisoners are incarcerated without charge.

Israeli legislation is set to seize $280 million -- a sum equivalent to the total stipends -- from taxes Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, potentially bankrupting it.

On Wednesday Israel loyalists will introduce in the US Senate a bill to similarly deny the PA aid unless it stops "funding terror." Issa Karaka, a Palestinian official, said it would be impossible for the PA to comply: "Almost every other household ... is the family of a prisoner or martyr."

Israel has taken collective punishment -- a serious violation of international law -- to new extremes, stretching the notion to realms once imaginable only in a dystopian fable like George Orwell's 1984.

Israel argues that a potential attacker can only be dissuaded by knowing his loved ones will suffer harsh retribution. Or put another way, Israel is prepared to use any means to crush the motivation of Palestinians to resist its brutal, five-decade occupation.

All evidence, however, indicates that when people reach breaking-point, and are willing to die in the fight against their oppressors, they give little thought to the consequences for their families. That was the conclusion of an investigation by the Israeli army more than a decade ago.

In truth, Israel knows its policy is futile. It is not deterring attacks, but instead engaging in complex displacement activity. Ever-more sadistic forms of revenge shore up a collective and historic sense of Jewish victimhood while deflecting Israelis' attention from the reality that their country is a brutal colonial settler state.

If that verdict seems harsh, consider a newly published study into the effects on operators of using drones to carry out extrajudicial executions, in which civilians are often killed as "collateral damage."

A US survey found pilots who remotely fly drones soon develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress from inflicting so much death and destruction. The Israeli army replicated the study after its pilots operated drones over Gaza during Israel's 2014 attack -- the ultimate act of collective punishment. Some 500 Palestinian children were killed as the tiny enclave was bombarded for nearly two months.

Doctors were surprised, however, that the pilots showed no signs of depression or anxiety. The researchers speculate that Israeli pilots may feel more justified in their actions, because they are closer to Gaza than US pilots are to Afghanistan, Iraq or Yemen. They are more confident that they are the ones under threat, even as they rain down death unseen on Palestinians.

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Phil Noble has a technology company in Charleston, is Founder of World Class Scholars and writes a weekly column for the S.C. Press Association. Contact him at phil@philnoble.com and get his columns at www.PhilNoble.com.
In its quest to complement governments effort, the Juvenile Reform Foundation- (JRF-Ghana) has launched its charity concert to support released juvenile offenders and incarcerated juvenile inmates in the various correctional centers in Ghana.



The event which attracted hundreds of patrons took place on Saturday in Kumasi. The concert dubbed OUR FUTURE will take off during the last quarter of the year and will be held 3 times every year in three different regions.



The funds that will be generated from the concert will cater specifically for the technical and vocational training, formal education and the general welfare of juvenile offendersboth released and incarcerated as well as vulnerable children in society.



The concert will be used to sensitise the public on consequences associated with juvenile crimes.



Gospel musician and JRF-Ghana Brand Ambassador Mary Agyemang, Philip Acheampong, Asiedu Brobbey Charles a.k.a ABC and other musicians thrilled patrons with electrifying performances.



The Executive Director of JRF-Ghana Geoffrey Chaucer Ofori said majority of the young offenders pick up habits such as smoking, bullying and homosexuality from these facilities which have the tendency to waste their lives away.



Geoffrey Chaucer Ofori advised Ghanaians to embrace young offenders when they are released from correctional facilities, saying discriminating against them will only lead to reoffending.



He suggested to judges to tamper justice with mercy when dealing with juvenile offenders, arguing that majority of them are ignorant of their actions.



Geoffrey Chaucer Ofori called on religious organizations, corporate bodies, individuals and philanthropists to support JRF-Ghana turn the lives of these young offenders around.



On her part, the JRF-Ghana Brand Ambassador called on Ghanaians to help the foundation fight against juvenile crime and violence in the country.



Rev Emmanuel Forson Head Pastor of Refreshing Pastures who was the keynote speaker at the event indicated that juveniles who enter correctional facilities could be prevented if parents act responsibly.



Children will not fall into wrong hands outside their homes if parents spend quality with their wards, he advised.



JRF-Ghana is an independent, non-governmental organisation that is concerned with tackling and further stemming juvenile crime and violence in Ghana.









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Students of the All Nations University, Koforidua, on Friday, July 7, 2017 sucessfully launched Ghana's first satellite dubbed "Ghanasat-1" into the orbit at an altitude of 420 km.



The first ever satellite in the country was watched live at JAXA Tsukuba Space Center in Japan and All Nations University Campus at Koforidua.



The satellite which evolved the world passed over Ghana at Friday noon which sent its first Continues wave signal (CW) to the amateur space station at the All Nations University College Campus.



The satellite is said to commence its official mission operation from Tuesday, July 11, 2017.



Commenting on the newest invention in the country, Panel members on Peace FM's Kokrokoo lauded the efforts by the students as they took turns to make their submissions on the programme.



CPP Stalwart James Kwabena Bomfeh, popularly called Kabila, noted that the satellite has marked a notable feat in Ghana's history.



According to him, the satellite will benefit the nation in several ways and so commended the students for the new technology.



He also called for support from government and Ministries-related to assist the University and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to utilize science and technology in building the nation.



Touching further on the issue, PPP Communicator Nana Ofori Owusu also hailed the students and called on the government to equip the science and technology-based institutions to help Ghana's development.



Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi, Nana Ofori Owusu noted that technology should be the basis for Ghana's development, hence urging the President and his government to primarily focus on the technology sector.



To him, Ghana should stop begging and prioritize technology for nation building.



He commended the All Nations University for Ghanasat-1 and hoped they would receive all the support they deserve.



Nana Fredua, an NPP guru, also advised that it is about time the youth were given the opportunity to explore with technology to help build the country.



He alluded not only to the satellite techonology but also the solar vehicle invented by the KNUST and other engineering institutions, who he believes when well resourced would come up with great inventions.



According to him, when the youth are left to explore, it will widen their mental scope and horizon; hence paving way for them to manifest their inherent techonology capabilities.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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The Federal Republic of Switzerland has earmarked an amount of $80 million to support the enhanced competitiveness of Ghanaian enterprises in the global market space, as well as help in governments efforts at diversifying the Ghanaian economy.



Ghana has been classified by Switzerlands State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) as a priority country for economic development, resulting in the signing of the Swiss co-operation strategy for Ghana.



President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, 12th July, 2017, at a joint press conference held with the President of Switzerland, Her Excellency Doris Leuthard, at the Presidency, after bilateral talks between the two countries.



The teams from Ghana and Switzerland held discussions in the areas of Foreign Affairs, UN Reforms, Finance, Security and Agriculture, aimed at deepening the bilateral relations existing between them, as well as exploring other areas of co-operation.



President Akufo-Addo disclosed that the two countries underlined and reinforced their co-operation in helping to end the scourge of terrorism, and the threats to peace and sustainable development in Africa and the world.



Ghana and Switzerland also agreed to work closely within the United Nations Human Rights Council, as well as with other UN agencies, and extended mutual support for the candidatures of the two countries, vying for positions on the UN Security Council and other UN bodies.



I took the opportunity also to highlight the importance that Ghana and the African Union attaches to the long, overdue process of UN Reform, especially of the Security Council, to correct the longstanding injustice that the current structure and composition of the UN Security Council represent for the nations of Africa, he added



President Akufo-Addo also solicited the support of Switzerland for the lead role being played by the AU in its attempts to resolve the crises in Mali, Libya and other States of the Sahel, which are receiving the full brunt of the terrorism menace.



On the issue of migration and mobility, which have gripped the attention of the world in recent years, and now goes beyond the individual policies of state, President Akufo-Addo bemoaned the high numbers of young Africans taking harrowing risks across the Sahara and around the Mediterranean, trying to reach a better life.



What this means, the President added, is that if we provide them the right environment in Africa, which enables them to enhance their skills, receive appropriate training, have access to digital technology and enhanced economic opportunities, their energies can be channelled towards making our continent great.



He continued, Nonetheless, whilst the necessary measures are being put in place, Ghana and Switzerland, as concerned and responsible members of the international community, have decided to co-operate further in ensuring legal and safer means of migration.



In the area of agriculture, particularly cocoa, the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enable both sides undertake jointly projects to boost cocoa production in Ghana, as well as add value to our cocoa.



President Akufo-Addo, however, stressed that Ghana, under my presidency, will no longer become mere producers and exporters of cocoa beans, and will continue the policy of processing more and more of our cocoa here in the country. There is no future for Ghana and the teeming masses of Ghanaian youth with an economy that is structured around the production and export of raw materials. Her Excellency and her delegation agree with this, and have pledged the support of the Swiss Confederation to this end.



President Akufo-Addo also took the opportunity also to solicit Swiss support for the candidature of Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, a distinguished Ghanaian jurist, for election to the International Criminal Court (ICC) during the elections, which will be held in the 16th Session of the Assembly of State Parties to the ICC from 4th to 14thDecember 2017.



We hope that, as we shape the future of Ghana, and position Ghanaian enterprises to compete effectively in the global market space, we have friends, such as the Swiss Confederation, to support us in this objective.



There are many amongst us who cannot accept that it is only Asians who can engineer their transition from poverty to prosperity in a generation. We are determined to do that in our generation in Ghana, and ensure that succeeding generations will be neither victims nor pawns of the international economic order. Indeed, the project still remains a Ghana Beyond Aid, he added.

Source: Presidency.gov.gh









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An Australian tourist has been killed after falling while parasailing on the island of Phuket in Thailand.

Roger John Hussey, 71, who is a prominent Western Australian businessman, fell into the sea while parasailing off Kata beach. His wife Budsabong Thongsangka was filming at the time.

According to Fairfax, a video posted to Facebook just before his death showed him being strapped into safety gear before the flight, but that the straps between his legs were not properly fastened.

The video proceeds to show Hussey taking flight, before falling into the water as the parasail wing was still climbing into the air. This video was apparently posted after being handed over to police.

Beachgoers rushed to bring Hussey to shore after he hit the water, successfully bringing him out, but he had trouble breathing and died later in hospital.

Police have confirmed they are preparing charges against the parasailing company, and that a crew member was being interrogated. Both the boat operator and the staff member were arrested.

Suwisit Keereerak, Deputy Chief Inspector of Karon Police Station, confirmed what happened in a statement to media.

Roger John Hussey was on holiday with his Thai wife, she recorded him and were looking at the video to see how this happened. He was seriously injured in the water and died later. Were still investigating what caused him to die, why he came loose from the parasail, and who is to blame. Roger had asked to go on the parasail while he was on the beach. He went up to a height of 70 metres.

We think he was unconscious in the sea when he fell and died later.

The 70 metres figure is unconfirmed  and seems extremely high for a parasail to go.

Hussey was based in Perth and was on the boards of a number of business and charity organisations, such as Landgate WA, WA Neuroscience Research Institute and the Bali Eye Foundation.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald.

Photo: Facebook.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-07-12 09:02:01

Duff & Phelps Completes Rebranding of REAG

Duff & Phelps

Rossana Di Cecco, +39 039 6423 439

rossana.dicecco@duffandphelps.com

Duff & Phelps, a premier independent advisor with expertise in the areas of valuation, corporate finance, disputes and investigations, compliance and regulatory matters, and other governance-related issues, has announced the completion of the integration of REAG with its rebranding to the Duff & Phelps Real Estate Advisory Group. REAG, a leader in property valuation and consulting since 1992, was acquired as part of Duff & Phelps acquisition of American Appraisal in 2015. The REAG brand is now unified with the rest of Duff & Phelps, going to market as the Duff & Phelps Real Estate Advisory Group with a newly adopted logo.

The Duff & Phelps Real Estate Advisory Group is a global business that provides comprehensive support in commercial real estate investments and transactions; asset and portfolio management support; technical services; and financing and debt advisory. The Duff & Phelps Real Estate Advisory Group has over 300 professionals operating out of 25 offices around the world. In Europe, operations are principally in Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands and France.

The Duff & Phelps Real Estate Advisory Group will continue to offer independent consulting in line with international standards through specific services, such as real estate valuation; investment and transaction advisory; NPL portfolio analysis; acquisitions and divestments of public and private assets; and corporate operations.

Top management at the Duff & Phelps Real Estate Advisory Group, Leo Civelli and Paola Ricciardi, respectively CEO and Country Manager Italy of Duff & Phelps REAG S.p.A., and James Bauer, Country Manager Germany of Duff & Phelps REAG GmbH, will remain in their respective roles.

Being part of a global business like Duff & Phelps allows us to respond to the challenges of an increasingly complex, global market, remarked Leo Civelli. Our name may change, but not the quality of our services, competence and experience, which have always set us apart. As the Duff & Phelps Real Estate Advisory Group, we can provide our clients with a broader service offering delivered through our global network of professionals with extensive industry and technical expertise.

Yann Magnan, Duff & Phelps EMEA Leader, commented, The rebrand represents an essential step towards unifying our global real estate practice and further consolidating our leadership in the market. The Duff & Phelps Real Estate Advisory Group will continue to support clients in managing their assets, aiming, as always, at constantly improving our service quality.

About Duff & Phelps

Duff & Phelps is a premier independent advisor with expertise in the areas of valuation, corporate finance, disputes and investigations, compliance and regulatory matters, and other governance-related issues. From offices around the world, the firms nearly 2,500 employees help clients address their most pressing business challenges. The firms Real Estate Advisory Group focuses on property valuation and consulting offered through a global network of more than 300 professionals around the world. For more information, visit www.duffandphelps.com.

M&A advisory, capital raising and secondary market advisory services in the United States are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. Pagemill Partners is a Division of Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC. M&A advisory and capital raising services in Canada are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities Canada Ltd., a registered Exempt Market Dealer. M&A advisory, capital raising and secondary market advisory services in the United Kingdom and across Europe are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. (DPSL), which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In Germany M&A advisory and capital raising services are also provided by Duff & Phelps GmbH, which is a Tied Agent of DPSL. Valuation Advisory Services in India are provided by Duff & Phelps India Private Limited under a category 1 merchant banker license issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201707120052
PR-Inside.com: 2017-07-12 12:02:02

Cardiff UK/Somerset NJ/Taunton MA, 12 July 2017: IQE plc (AIM: IQE, "IQE" or the "Group"), the leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductor wafer products for the global semiconductor industry, will host the 2017 Raytheon Supplier EPIC Award ceremony on 12th of July in one of its US facilities, Taunton, MA.

As part of the Raytheon Supplier Excellence Program, suppliers are awarded for their outstanding performance, contributions, and support to programs across one or more Raytheon businesses. IQE has been selected to receive an EPIC Award for its overall Excellence in Performance, Innovation & Collaboration.

The IQE New Jersey team have been presented with the EPIC Award for their excellent quality and hard work

The ceremony will be attended by Raytheon representatives. Additionally, Taunton, MA Mayor Thomas C. Hoye, Jr., Massachusetts Senator Marc R. Pacheco and Massachusetts Representative Shaunna L. O'Connell will be attending to celebrate the success of IQE.

Commenting on the award, M. David Wilkins, VP for Contracts & Supply Chain at Raytheon Company commented:

"Your commitment to excellence is greatly appreciated. It enables our joint success and solidifies a platform for 'Building our Future Together' in support of our mutual customer, the U.S. Warfighter. Congratulations on your achievement."

Dr. Wayne Johnson, VP of IQE's Power Business Unit, said:

"It is a great honor to receive the 2017 Raytheon Supplier EPIC Award which recognizes the integrity, quality and expertise that IQE offers its customers. The award is greatly appreciated as recognition of the innovative and talented IQE team."

CONTACTS:

IQE Press/Investors - Chris Meadows tel: +1 610 861 6930; email: cmeadows@iqep.com

IQE Technical - Wayne Johnson: tel: +1 508 824 6696, email: wjohnson@iqep.com

ABOUT IQE

http://iqep.com

IQE is the leading global supplier of advanced semiconductor wafers with products that cover a diverse range of applications, supported by an innovative outsourced foundry services portfolio that allows the Group to provide a 'one stop shop' for the wafer needs of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers.

IQE uses advanced crystal growth technology (epitaxy) to manufacture and supply bespoke semiconductor wafers 'epi-wafers' to the major chip manufacturing companies, who then use these wafers to make the chips which form the key components of virtually all high technology systems. IQE is unique in being able to supply wafers using all of the leading crystal growth technology platforms.

IQE's products are found in many leading-edge consumer, communication, computing and industrial applications, including a complete range of wafer products for the wireless industry, such as smartphones and wireless infrastructure, Wi-Fi, base stations, GPS, and satellite communications; optical communications, optical storage, printing, thermal imagers, leading-edge medical products, barcode, ultra high brightness LEDs, a variety of advanced silicon based systems and high efficiency concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar cells.

The manufacturers of these chips are increasingly seeking to outsource wafer production to specialist foundries such as IQE in order to reduce overall wafer costs and accelerate time to market.

IQE also provides bespoke R&D services to deliver customised materials for specific applications and offers specialist technical staff to manufacture to specification either at its own facilities or on the customer's own sites. The Group is also able to leverage its global purchasing volumes to reduce the cost of raw materials. In this way IQE's outsourced services, provide compelling benefits in terms of flexibility and predictability of cost, thereby significantly reducing operating risk.

IQE operates multiple manufacturing and R&D facilities worldwide.

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: IQE plc via Globenewswire


PR-Inside.com: 2017-07-12 09:04:01

Thirty-five year industry veteran takes the reigns for company operations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East

LONDON and Morristown, New Jersey, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- James G. Bach has been appointed as the International division president of Louis Berger, reporting to the chief executive officer. In this role, Bach oversees strategic and operational performance for the company's International division, which provides a broad range of engineering, planning, architecture, development, construction management and program management services to national, state, local and private clients outside of the United States. Bach will operate from the Richmond, London office, where the company's International division is headquartered.

"As a skilled and seasoned executive with decades of leadership overseeing domestic and international operations at Louis Berger, Jim was a natural choice to assume the helm of our International division," said Jim Stamatis, chief executive officer. "Jim's leadership skills and his extraordinary understanding of our global operations makes him distinctively capable of working across internal operations to align and rally talent and resources to meet our client's needs. Jim will be a strong asset to our international operation as we continue to enhance client service in target markets."

Bach most recently served for four years as the chief operating officer for Louis Berger's headquarter operations in Morristown, New Jersey in the United States. As a member of Louis Berger's executive leadership team and a member of the International operating committee during his tenure as the chief operating officer, Bach has deep understanding of the company's international operations with a strong working relationship with the geography, practice and service leaders and a deep understanding of clients' needs.

Bach previously served as chief operating officer for Louis Berger's U.S. division between 2009 and 2013 and has played a key role in Louis Berger's efforts to transform the company's corporate culture and operations since 2007. During the past 35 years, he has held a series of leadership roles within the company, including leading the U.S. operations segment and serving as principal-in-charge for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Bach is a professional planner in New Jersey and holds a master's of city and regional planning from Rutgers University.

"When I joined Louis Berger 35 years ago, it was primarily an international company. While we have immensely expanded our U.S. market during that time, our international work will always be part of our DNA as a company," said Bach. "I am enthusiastic to work with such an extremely talented and collaborative global team, and look forward to working with our teams across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East to continue to deliver Solutions for a better world."

From the firm's first international assignment in Burma (Myanmar) in 1959, Louis Berger's multidisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, planners and economists has been committed to delivering infrastructure programs that improve social, economic and environmental conditions across the globe. Today, the company is supporting international clients on large-scale signature infrastructure programs across the globe, ranging from the Grand Paris Metro in France and Panama's Third Bridge across the Panama Canal to the Cameroon-Nigeria Bridge and the recently completed Chenani-Nashri tunnel in India.

Click here to download a high-resolution image of Bach.

About Louis Berger

Louis Berger is a $1 billion global professional services corporation that helps infrastructure and development clients solve their most complex challenges. We are a trusted partner to national, state and local government agencies; multilateral institutions; and commercial industry clients worldwide. By focusing on client needs to deliver quality, safe, financially-successful projects with integrity, we are committed to deliver on our promise to provide Solutions for a better world.

Louis Berger operates on every habitable continent. We have a long-standing presence in more than 50 nations, represented by the multidisciplinary expertise of 6,000 engineers, economists, scientists, managers and planners.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5218b74a-9c14-4c84-b578-3bf5d6bf05a8
PR-Inside.com: 2017-07-12 13:01:01

Pay now to save later says latest research from analyst IDC and Panasonic Business

Panasonic Business: Businesses Could Save 15% by Equipping Their Mobile Workforce with Rugged Devices

Press contact:

Michael Bartley

The Amber Group

michael@ambergroup.net

+44 (0)118 949 7750

Businesses could make total cost of ownership savings of 15% over five years by equipping their mobile workforces with rugged notebooks, tablets and handheld devices, according to calculations by Panasonic Business. Its TCO Calculator, launched today, shows that these savings could be achieved through reduced failure rates and extended use if Panasonic Toughbook and Toughpad devices were deployed.

The challenge is in convincing IT decision makers to pay now, to save later, said Jan Kaempfer, General Manager for Marketing at Panasonic Computer Product Solutions. Due to the superior design and investment in protection, rugged devices often cost more than a traditional notebook or laptop but as the evidence quite clearly shows, the return on investment quickly pays-off - in year one for tablet and handheld devices and year two for notebooks.

To fully understand the costs of notebook, tablet and handheld device damage to organisations, Panasonic commissioned IDC to research IT decision makers at 800 organisations across a broad range of vertical industries.

Failure Rates

They found that on average about 18% of a company's notebooks require repair of some kind during a year. The majority of these repairs are due to accidental damage. The repair numbers are slightly lower for tablets (16%) and handheld devices (14%), but they are still material. While 11% of notebooks are likely to fail in the first year and the likelihood of failure nearly doubles to 21% by year five. Year one tablet failures are 13% and year five failures 19%. Year one handheld failures are 14% and year five failures 17%.

At Risk

The components most often damaged in the notebooks were the screen, followed by the keyboard and then the storage drive (HDD or SSD). For tablets, the most damaged component was the screen, followed by ports or connectors and then the outer chassis. For handhelds, the top component likely to be damaged were the screen, the battery, and the outer chassis.

ROI Calculations

Respondents report spending an average of 1,075 per non-rugged notebook and 1,616 per rugged notebook. A look at the annual device failure rates and the average per-incident repair cost of 2,775 shows that the ROI for rugged devices is achieved by the second year of the non-rugged device. This schedule is well within the two-year eight-month average PC refresh cycle for respondents in the survey.

For tablets, the premium for rugged devices is less than for notebooks and the cost benefits of rugged devices are easily achieved. Respondents report paying 1,016 for non-rugged tablets versus 1,140 for rugged devices. Given an average repair cost of 2,003, the ROI is achieved after the first year.

For smartphones and handheld devices, the average price paid for non-rugged devices is 659 and for rugged devices is 762. Given an average repair cost of 2,512 for these devices, the ROI can be expected to be achieved after the first year.

Rugged devices do cost more to purchase up-front, but based on the amount of money saved in terms of employee downtime, IT servicing time, and other related costs, the investment in a high-quality rugged device could pay dividends for years, concluded Jan Kaempfer.

Download an Executive Summary of the Pay Now, Save Later research here.

About Panasonic System Communications Company Europe (PSCEU)

Panasonic System Communications Company Europes (PSCEU) goal is to improve the working lives of business professionals and help their organisations efficiency and performance through world leading technology. We help organisations capture, compute and communicate all sorts of information: image, voice, and textual data. With around 350 staff, engineering design expertise, global project management capability and a large European partner network, PSCEU offers unrivalled capability in its markets.

PSCEU is made up of six product categories:

Broadcast & ProAV offers high quality products and solutions to ensure smooth operation and excellent cost-performance to end-users in the areas of remote camera solutions, switchers, studio camera solutions and ENG P2. The VariCam line-up of professional digital video cameras are capable of true 4K and High Dynamic Range (HDR) which makes them the ideal solution for cinema, television, documentary and live event production.

offers high quality products and solutions to ensure smooth operation and excellent cost-performance to end-users in the areas of remote camera solutions, switchers, studio camera solutions and ENG P2. The VariCam line-up of professional digital video cameras are capable of true 4K and High Dynamic Range (HDR) which makes them the ideal solution for cinema, television, documentary and live event production. Communication Solutions offer world leading communication solutions including professional scanners, telephony systems and SIP terminal devices.

offer world leading communication solutions including professional scanners, telephony systems and SIP terminal devices. Computer Product Solutions help mobile workers improve productivity with its range of Toughbook rugged notebooks, Toughpad business tablets and electronic point of sales (EPOS) systems. As European market leaders, Panasonic Toughbook had a 67% revenue share of sales of rugged and durable notebooks and Panasonic Toughpad held a 56% revenue share of sales of rugged business tablets in 2016 (VDC Research, March 2017).

help mobile workers improve productivity with its range of Toughbook rugged notebooks, Toughpad business tablets and electronic point of sales (EPOS) systems. As European market leaders, Panasonic Toughbook had a 67% revenue share of sales of rugged and durable notebooks and Panasonic Toughpad held a 56% revenue share of sales of rugged business tablets in 2016 (VDC Research, March 2017). Industrial Medical Vision provides applications for various segments such as medical, life science, ProAV or industrial. The product portfolio includes complete and OEM micro camera solutions. End-users, system integrators or distributors can choose from a range of full product solutions and component vision technology.

provides applications for various segments such as medical, life science, ProAV or industrial. The product portfolio includes complete and OEM micro camera solutions. End-users, system integrators or distributors can choose from a range of full product solutions and component vision technology. Security Solutions , including video surveillance cameras and recorders, video intercom systems and intruder alarms.

, including video surveillance cameras and recorders, video intercom systems and intruder alarms. Visual System Solutions, including projectors and professional displays. Panasonic offers the widest range of Visual products, and leads the European high brightness projector market with a 37.20% market revenue share (Futuresource >5klm (FY16 April 2015 - March 2016, excl. 4K & digital cinema).

About Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development of diverse electronics technologies and solutions for customers in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, and B2B businesses. Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2018, the company has expanded globally and now operates 495 subsidiaries and 91 associated companies worldwide, recording consolidated net sales of Euro 61.711 billion for the year ended March 31, 2017. Committed to pursuing new value through innovation across divisional lines, the company uses its technologies to create a better life and a better world for its customers. To learn more about Panasonic: http://www.panasonic.com/global

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201707120055
PR-Inside.com: 2017-07-12 23:00:12

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for ZTEST Electronics Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---North York, Ontario (FSCWire) - ZTEST Electronics Inc. (CSE:ZTE). has issued a press release with the following headline:The Estate of Arn Schoch Announces Change in the Ownership Interest of ZTEST Electronics Inc.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 ZTEST Electronics 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/ZTEST Electronics Inc.Source: ZTEST Electronics Inc. (CSE: ZTE)Date: July 12, 2017Time: 5:00 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of ZTEST Electronics 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.)
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




Contact

Montana Infrared Services, Inc.

Michael Lehman

***@montanainfrared.com Montana Infrared Services, Inc.Michael Lehman

End

--Montana Infrared Services, Inc., a member of the United Infrared Network will provide RoofScanIR services to Montana and surrounding areas. Montana Infrared Services is an infrared service company based in Laurel, MT (www.montanainfrared.com). RoofScanIR is a network of infrared thermographers who provide on-roof infrared surveys of flat roofs of commercial, industrial, institutional and residential buildings. United Infrared (www.unitedinfrared.com)is the world's largest network of multi-disciplined infrared thermographers.Montana Infrared Services is an infrared service company which has been in business in the area since 2017 and is owned by Michael and Billie Lehman.Many flat roofs require replacement before the end of their design life because moisture intrusion allows the roof's substrate to become wet. A qualitative infrared roof moisture survey can identify and document moisture problems before the roof fails. This enables the owner's roofing professional to make informed decisions so that actions can be taken to correct the problem areas without the expense of replacing the entire roof. Since the life of the roof can be increased by as much as 300%, the savings for each roof can be tens of thousands of dollars to the roof owner."RoofScanIRmethodologies, quality control and the reports are all standardized,"states Greg Stockton, President of United Infrared, Inc. "This means a national company has one point of contact, one standard price structure, and will receive a high-quality survey and reporton any one of their building roofs, anywhere in the USA", he concludes. "We are glad to welcome Montana Infrared Services as our RoofScanIR partner and look forward to working together."To learn more about Montana Infrared's services, please visit
If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity.

PSFK iQ - Where Innovators Turn for Research. Our professional-grade research platform is designed specifically for Retail and CX leaders who want to know whats next. Whether youre staying current on trends or need a real-time research partner to help you get ahead, count on PSFK iQ to deliver the info you need to make your next move.
Hachette Books has acquired Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns that Put Donald Trump in the White House by former DNC chair and noted Democratic Party strategist Donna Brazile. The book will be published November 7, 2017, a year after the presidential election of 2016.

The book was acquired in a deal for world rights by Hachette senior editor Paul Whitlatch, who will edit the book. Brazile was represented by Keith Urbahn and Matt Latimer, partners at Javelin, a D.C.-based literary, media and creative agency.

The book is described as a close examination of the 2016 presidential election, including the notorious scandals around Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee. According to a release from Hachette, the book outlines Braziles response to a wholly unprecedented attempt by a foreign power to influence a presidential election. The book will also look at Hillary Clintons response to the Russian intrusion and to the tactics of her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.

Described by the publisher as equal parts campaign thriller, memoir, and roadmap for the future, Hachette said the book will examine the missteps, miscalculation and crimes of 2016.

At a moment when our democracy is in crisis, its time to tell the truth about what went wrong in 2016. Our nation is under unprecedented assault, and if we dont get the facts out, it will happen againand worse than you can imagine, Brazile said.

Hachette Books publisher Mauro DiPreta added that he believes the book "will not only set the record straight, but also provide a cautionary tale for future elections.
Bogotas Juzgado Cuarto Administrativo has suspended the privatisation process of Colombias public telco and IPTV provider ETB.





The court has invalidated the local plan that entitled the city council to sell its 86.6% stake in ETB. When the process started last May , a price of $800 million was set.According to the local daily paper El Espectador , the decision follows the complaints from the companys union and a city councillor, who pointed out several legal errors in the privatisation process.The local government of Bogota has already announced that will appeal the sentence. The process was due to officially start in the second week of May by opening for workers, unions, mutual insurance companies, pension funds and cooperatives. By now, larger companies and other telcos would have been allowed to enter the tender.So far, no company has officially stated any intention to acquire ETB, although both Millicom and Telefonica have been cited as possible buyers
LIFE VR and Travel + Leisure are debuting Worlds Best City: San Miguel de Allende, a virtual reality (VR) production celebrating the T+L 2017 Worlds Best City.





The project presents a virtual tour of the Mexican city in VR and with a 360 video travel guide that gives a narrated tour with views of prominent local parks, churches and universities. Its available on the LIFE VR app, Samsung VR and on the Travel + Leisure Facebook page and site.This is the second immersive city tour from the brand, following the launch of a 360 city tour on LIFE VR of Obidos, Portugal, the T+L 2016 Destination of the Year.The experience  a co-production with VR content and technology company Mesmerise  is being released in conjunction with the launch of the 22nd annual T+L Worlds Best Awards. The production is the first collaboration between Time Inc and Mesmerise as part of a new deal that will see the two companies team up to create a series of immersive experiences across Time Inc brands in the coming months.One of LIFE VR's goals is to take our viewers places they may not otherwise get to go and to apply the authority and storytelling our brands are known for, said Mia Tramz, managing editor of LIFE VR . The Travel + Leisure Worlds Best franchise allows us to give T+L readers a definitive tour of one of the most exciting and vibrant travel destinations in the world. Were very excited to kick off this new partnership with Mesmerise, an innovative new player in the VR space, that will allow us to increase the number of experiences we produce and stories we can tell.
A Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) report is critical of a Ukrainian investigation into the killing of journalist Pavel Sheremet, with no arrests in the case and more questions than answers nearly one year after his car-bomb death in Kyiv.

The report, Justice Denied: Ukraine Comes Up Empty In Probe Of Pavel Sheremet's Murder, suggests an independent investigation is needed, as Ukrainian officials have provided no evidence to back claims that Russia was behind the assassination and to ensure a complete probe into possible Ukrainian involvement.

"Authorities say they are committed to solving Sheremet's murder," Nina Ognianova, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, writes in the introduction to the report. "But [they] offer no clear evidence to back their primary line of investigation of Russian involvement."

The report, written by Kyiv-based reporter Christopher Miller, an RFE/RL correspondent, adds that "a greater amount of circumstantial evidence points to a Ukrainian trace [in the killing], raising questions about why authorities are pushing the Russian narrative and whether they may be covering up evidence to protect someone powerful."

Sheremet, 44, was a well-known reporter who had worked at prominent media outlets in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine during his career and was often the subject of threats and harassment for his hard-hitting journalism that was often critical of political leaders.

The native Belarusian died early on July 20, 2016, when his car blew up at an intersection a few minutes after he left his central Kyiv apartment on his way to Radio Vesti, where he had a morning program.

'Incompetence, Negligence, Sabotage -- Or All Three'

The shocking attack brought pledges by Ukrainian officials of a swift investigation. "It is a matter of honor to take all measures to solve this crime as soon as possible," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said after the killing, which he called "a terrible tragedy."

But with no public announcements of progress in the case after one year, observers have blamed officials for "incompetence, negligence, sabotage -- or a combination of all three," the report says.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on May 24 that one of the officers investigating Sheremet's killing had made a "mistake" that required all evidence gathered in the case to be reexamined.

The report adds that top Ukrainian police and security service officials have blamed one another for destroying video evidence crucial to the case, while Sheremet's friends, relatives, and colleagues say investigators have not thoroughly questioned them.

The report adds that the national police chief first tasked with leading the investigation resigned late last year.

And critics of the investigation point out, the report says, that a man and a woman seen on security cameras outside of Sheremet's apartment at various times in the days leading up to his death have not been identified.

The two people were also seen on video -- in disguise -- placing what is assumed to be the bomb that killed Sheremet under his car the night before he died.

Avakov said at a February press conference that the investigation indicated that Sheremet's death was a "contract killing, the order for which came from Russia." But no evidence of such a link has yet been presented.

Russian officials have rejected any involvement in the bomb attack.

History Of Attacks On Journalists

Ognianova says in the report's introduction that the CPJ is "demanding answers" about Sheremet's killing, which more than a dozen of the journalist's friends, relatives, and colleagues said they believed was carried out by Ukrainians, the report adds.

The New York-based organization says the reporter's death came during a year when the CPJ documented "attacks and hostility against journalists who covered the government critically or questioned its handling of the conflict [in eastern Ukraine] with Russia-backed separatists."

The incidents included ultranationalist groups verbally assaulting journalists and, in some cases, CPJ says, Ukrainian security officials, including Avakov, defending the actions of the attackers.

Sheremet said he and some of his Ukrayinska Pravda colleagues had been under surveillance in the months before his death, and even confronted some people stationed in cars outside his apartment on a couple of occasions.

One of the best leads in the case was the identification of Ihor Ustimenko, a former Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) agent who was seen on video outside Sheremet's apartment at the time the bomb was thought to have been planted on the journalist's car.

He was interviewed by the police but Ustimenko, who worked for the SBU until 2014, was not arrested after claiming he had been providing security for someone's children who lived near Sheremet's apartment.

Even Poroshenko said he also was "dissatisfied" with the investigation thus far. "I'm not happy that we still have not caught the killer, and he is not held accountable," he said at a press conference on May 14.

The CPJ says Ukraine has a poor record in solving the killings of journalists: it says seven Ukrainian journalists have been killed for their work since 1992, and in five of those cases no one has been convicted.

At a July 11 meeting with members of Sheremets family and a CPJ delegation in Kyiv to assess the probe, Poroshenko said he would "happily accept" a professional, trustworthy" investigator, such as someone from the FBI or Scotland Yard, to oversee the high-profile case if Sheremet's relatives agreed.

Sheremets mother, Lyudmila Sheremet, his daughter Elizaveta Sheremet, and his partner Olena Prytula, who is also owner and co-founder of the independent Ukrainian news site Ukrayinska Pravda where Sheremet worked as a columnist -- all of whom were present at the meeting -- accepted the presidents proposal.
Chinese warships have conducted live-fire drills in the Mediterranean Sea as they make their way toward a scheduled joint exercise with Russian Navy ships in the Baltic Sea.

The Chinese Defense Ministry said on July 12 that three naval vessels participated in the drill, which involved deck guns.

The ships are expected to proceed to the Joint Sea-2017 exercise with Russia to be held off the Russian port cities of Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg. The shores of the three Baltic states, all NATO members, lie between the two cities.

Earlier this month, China dispatched personnel to begin construction of its first foreign military base, which is planned for the country of Djibouti on the Horn of Africa.

Beijing has signed a deal with Djibouti allowing it to base up to 10,000 military personnel at the base until at least 2026. The purpose of the base, China says, is to facilitate peacekeeping and humanitarian missions in Africa, was well as to support joint military exercises and help secure strategic shipping lanes.

The United States, France, Japan, Italy, and Spain already have bases in Djibouti. Saudi Arabia is building one.

Based on reporting by dpa and AP
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands have announced that they will join Prime Minister Mark Rutte on July 17 for the unveiling of a national monument for the victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

The flight was shot down over Ukraine in July 2014, claiming the lives of all 298 people on board. The majority of the victims, 193, were from the Netherlands.

The monument consists of 298 trees, one for each victim, planted in the shape of a ribbon and a memorial plaque.

Each of the trees will come with a memorial plaque with a name in the center.

The ribbon of trees was designed by landscape architect Robbert de Koning, while the plaque was designed by artist Ronald A. Westerhuis.

The theme of the monument will be "to live on." The unveiling of the monument will take place as the families walk through the ribbon of trees, with the king and queen walking in the front with 17 children from Vijfhuizen.

They will then meet with relatives of the victims.

Around 2,000 people are expected to come, including representatives from the other countries involved with the disaster.
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini says she and visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have discussed the Libyan crisis, Persian Gulf tensions, the stalled Middle East peace process, along with the situation in North Korea and Ukraine.

Mogherini said at a joint news conference after the talks in Brussels on July 11 that she and Lavrov regularly discussed global problems affecting their interests, but that the two sides continued to have different stances on a number of issues.

Ties between Russia and the European Union have been strained since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

"It is clear we do not share the same positions on everything but...it is essential from our perspective to engage, cooperate wherever possible and today we identified ground for cooperation," Mogherini said.

Mogherini noted that the EU was still seeking full implementation of the Minsk cease-fire accords on Ukraine, agreed to by Russia as part of efforts to end fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Moscow-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country. The conflict has left more than 10,000 people dead since early 2014.

Earlier on July 11, EU member states formally approved a landmark cooperation accord with Ukraine ahead of a high-profile summit in Kyiv.

Mogherini also mentioned the cease-fire in southwest Syria announced after the G20 meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin last week.

"We see this as a first step to a broader nationwide cease-fire," she said.

At the same time, she reiterated that the EU has provided almost 10 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in humanitarian aid for Syrians who wanted a "normal life."

Lavrov in turn said, "We all know the contribution the EU is making...but it is high time to consider the humanitarian impact of EU and U.S. sanctions [against] Damascus."

Russia has intervened in the conflict on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Mogherini also said that the European Union respects the United States' review of the 2015 deal with Iran but will make clear to Washington that it was an international accord endorsed by the United Nations.

"The nuclear deal doesn't belong to one country, it belongs to the international community," she said, adding, "we have the responsibility to make sure that this continues to be implemented."

The deal between Iran and six world powers restricts Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for easing oil and financial sanctions.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump said in April it was launching an interagency review of whether the lifting of sanctions against Iran was in the United States' national security interests.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared that Kherson is "ours after his special forces entered the strategic southern city following the retreat of Russian troops, marking another dramatic battlefield victory in Kyivs drive to recapture territory occupied by Russia since the start of its unprovoked invasion.

The Ukrainian military also said on November 11 that its troops had advanced all the way to the western bank of the Dnieper River in some areas of the Kherson region as Moscow said its forces had completed their withdrawal to the eastern bank in the face of Ukraines powerful counteroffensive.

"Our people -- Ours. Kherson," Zelenskiy wrote in a Telegram post that also included what appeared to be a video of Ukrainian troops celebrating with local residents.

Today is a historic day, Zelenskiy said in the post. We are returning Kherson. As of now, our defenders are on the approaches to the city. But special units are already in the city.

Various videos on social media from Kherson showed resident cheering and waving flags as the first Ukrainian troops reached the center of the city, the only provincial capital captured by Russian forces following their February 24 invasion.

"Kherson is returning to the control of Ukraine," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said earlier in the day. "Units of the armed forces of Ukraine are entering the city."

WATCH: Local residents welcomed Ukrainian soldiers into Snihurivka on November 10, as advance forces of the Ukrainian military recaptured the town in the southern Mykolayiv region. Other footage from the village of Blahodatne in the Kherson region shows a massive cache of abandoned weapons left by the Russian troops after their retreat.

"The Russian occupiers' routes of retreat are under the direct fire of the Ukrainian Army," the statement added. "Any Russian soldier who resists will be killed."

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet that "Ukraine is gaining another important victory right now and proves that whatever Russia says or does, Ukraine will win." The tweet included a video purporting to show Kherson residents removing a billboard that proclaimed "Russia is here forever."

Serhiy Khlan, a deputy for the Kherson Regional Council, said a Ukrainian flag had been raised in Kherson, as multiple videos circulating on social media purportedly showed Ukrainian soldiers planting their yellow-and-blue flag on administrative buildings in the city and local residents celebrating.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had finished the pullout from Kherson city and the region at 5 a.m. on November 11 and that no military equipment had been left behind, in an another embarrassing blow to Moscow's war effort, which it refers to as a "special military operation."



"In total, more than 30,000 Russian servicemen, about 5,000 pieces of hardware, and military equipment and materiel have been withdrawn," the ministry said. "Not a single piece of military equipment or weaponry was left on the right (western) bank," he added, although the report could not immediately be confirmed.

Khlan said some Russian soldiers had been unable to leave the city and had changed into civilian clothing and urged local residents to stay at home while Ukrainian troops cleared the city.

"The number of these people is not known," he told a news briefing, without citing evidence for the claim.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Khlan also said, without citing evidence, that many Russian troops had drowned attempting to flee across the river.

The head of the joint coordination press center of the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine, Natalya Humenyuk, said Russian troops "have been changing into civilian clothes for two weeks."

"This should focus our forces as it means saboteur operations cannot be ruled out," Humenyuk told a separate briefing.

"Because of this, we are not rushing to announce our successes in other directions and in other towns."

Russia did not immediately comment on Khlan's or Humenyuk's remarks.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on November 10 that it would take Russia at least a week to withdraw, telling Reuters in an interview that Russia had 40,000 troops in the Kherson region and that it still had forces in the city.

Kherson controls both the only land route to Ukraine's Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and the mouth of the Dnieper, which bisects Ukraine.

Recapturing the city could provide Ukraine with a launching pad for supplies and troops to try to win back other lost territory in the south.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's public broadcaster quoted local residents as saying on November 11 that the Antonivskiy Bridge, the only nearby road crossing from Kherson city to the Russian-controlled eastern bank of the Dnieper, had collapsed.

The Suspilne broadcaster published a photograph showing whole sections of the bridge missing. The next road crossing across the Dnieper is more than 70 kilometers from Kherson city.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the collapse.

Recapturing the city could provide Ukraine a launching pad for supplies and troops to try to win back other lost territory in the south.

The Ukrainian General Staff said retreating Russian forces have been looting homes and destroying critical infrastructure, while forcibly evicting residents from the settlements still under their control.

"The Russian invaders continue to loot the settlements from which they are retreating. The enemy is also attempting to damage power lines and other elements of the transport and critical infrastructure of the Kherson region as much as possible," the military said, adding that Russian mines continue to wound civilians.

Elsewhere, six civilians were killed in a Russian rocket attack on Mykolayiv overnight, the mayor of the southern Ukrainian city said on November 11, as Ukrainian troops continued their advance in the direction of Kherson.

The mayor of Mykolayiv, Oleksandr Sienkovych, said on November 11 that the people were killed when Russian rockets hit a residential area of the city, destroying a five-story building.

"As of 10 a.m., six people were killed by the impact of the attack on the residential building," Sienkovych said.

Fierce fighting continues in Bakhmut and Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region as well as in the adjacent Luhansk region, the military said, adding that heavy Russian shelling pounded about 20 settlements in the Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Mykolayiv regions.

In his nightly address late on November 10, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said: "Today we have good news from the south. The number of Ukrainian flags returning to their rightful place within the framework of the ongoing defense operation is already dozens.

He added that 41 settlements had been liberated.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and dpa
Toomaj Salehi's lyrical support for protesters in Iran has landed him behind bars before, but this time the popular rapper's fortune-telling has fans and family members fearing for his life.

Just days before his September 30 arrest, the 32-year-old Salehi released his latest music video, in which he makes foreboding predictions about the future of Iran's clerical regime if it continues its violent crackdown against ongoing anti-government demonstrations.

"I am the predictor, the fortune teller," he raps in the video for Omen, which shows him reading the patterns left in his coffee cup and warning that brute force will not prevail.

"I saw a cage in the coffee grounds -- a lion was hunting a jackal," he explains, alluding to a fairy tale about wisdom defeating physical strength. "We will rise from the bottom and target the top of the pyramid."

Salehi goes on to warn that the regime's protectors -- including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the Basij paramilitary forces, the Intelligence Ministry, and the state media -- will all get their day in court.

Salehi followed up on the new video by posting on social media images of him standing alongside protesters and chanting against security forces in his native city in Isfahan Province. The rapper, an ethnic Lur who was arrested last year after releasing other songs critical of the government, offered to turn himself in if protesters detained in his hometown of Shahinshahr were released.

In subsequent posts, he called the provincial authorities "cowardly vermin" and "scum who suppress and arrest [innocent] people."

Shortly afterward, Salehi went missing and has not been heard from since.

State media reported on September 30 that Salehi had been arrested, and a news agency close to the IRGC published a photo of the blindfolded rapper inside a car.

A short video later released by a press club associated with Iran's state broadcaster purports to show the rapper admitting he made a mistake.

But the reports' claims he had been caught while "illegally exiting the western borders of the country" have been fiercely disputed, and the video confession has been labeled a fake by some and a coerced confession by others.

Family members as well as Salehi's official Twitter account have said the rapper was, in fact, arrested in the southwestern Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, hundreds of kilometers from Iran's western border.

In a statement, Salehi's uncle Eghbal Eghbali said his nephew was in the province's city of Borujen on the morning of September 30 when he wrote saying "suspicious things" were happening outside his home. Soon after, Salehi stopped communicating. Eghbali said he learned from Salehi's neighbors and friends that security personnel had arrived to take the rapper away.

Later on September 30, a prosecutor in nearby Isfahan Province was quoted by the Meezan news agency, which is close to Iran's judiciary, as saying Salehi was arrested "in one of the provinces of the country." The prosecutor alleged the rapper had played a key role in "creating disturbances and inviting and encouraging the recent disturbances in Isfahan Province and in Shahinshahr."

The official IRNA news agency, meanwhile, quoted a judiciary official from Isfahan Province as saying Salehi stood accused of "propagandistic activity against the government, cooperation with hostile governments, and the formation of illegal groups with the intention of creating insecurity in the country."

Thousands of Iranians, many of them from the younger generation, have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died shortly after being arrested for allegedly violating Iran's hijab law requiring that women cover their hair.

As the protests have continued, the authorities have intensified their crackdown, resulting in the deaths of at least 305 people, including 41 children, according to the latest figures released by the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) on November 6.

Salehi is among the hundreds of prominent young voices, including activists, artists, and athletes, who have been arrested for speaking out against the states bloody crackdown on the protests. Overall, activists estimate thousands of people have been arrested by the authorities since the rallies erupted.

Faced with a potential existential threat to Iran's clerical rule, 227 of 290 Iranian lawmakers this week called for even greater force by urging the judiciary to "deal decisively" with those behind the protests.

In recent years, Salehi has gained notoriety for his open opposition to the country's leadership, using his music and social media presence to take on issues that resonate with Iranian youths.

In the song Normal, he highlights the effects of poverty, saying "Our children sleep hungry at night" and asking Iran's leaders how their conscience can let them sleep.

The song Rathole, released in 2021, accuses members of the media and art community both inside and outside Iran of being an "ally of the tyrant," a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In another song, he blasts Tehran's close relationships with Moscow and Beijing, asking: "Haven't you robbed us enough? Now, you want to give away half [of our resources] to China and the rest to Russia."

Salehi was detained in September 2021 after security agents raided his home in Isfahan, with Human Rights Watch decrying the detention of the artist for "exercising his right to freedom of expression."

Salehi was charged with "spreading propaganda against the state," but after more than a week was released on bail. In January, he was sentenced to six months in prison but was released on a suspended sentence in February.

While out, he continued his work and released Omen amid the states increasingly violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.

"Someone's crime was dancing with her hair in the wind," he raps. "Someone's crime was that she was brave and criticized."

Listing a litany of violent acts carried out by the authorities against protesters, Salehi asks, "How many young people did you kill building a tower for yourself?" and predicts that next year, the 44th year of the clerical regime's rule, will be its "year of failure."

Salehi's arrest has led to widespread condemnation inside and outside Iran, and his advocates have spread the #FreeToomaj hashtag on Twitter to shed light on his situation.

His family has said they do not know Salehi's whereabouts or health, leaving them wondering if he is even alive.

But the authorities have shed some light on the fate of another Iranian rapper arrested shortly before Salehi. The judiciary announced on November 7 that Saman Yasin, a rapper from Kermanshah Province -- a northwestern region with a significant Kurdish population and that has been a focus of the government crackdown -- has been accused of waging "warfare" against Iran and acting against the country's security.

Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, with contributions by RFE/RL senior correspondent Michael Scollon
An Iranian medical researcher who was prevented from entering the United States to work at a Boston hospital is believed to have been an active member of the Basij force used in Iran as a tool of state repression.

Seyed Mohsen Dehnavi was the head of the Basiji at Tehran's Sharif University, former students at the university and activists claim.

Several former Sharif University students who did not want to be identified because of fear of government harassment told RFE/RL that Dehnavi was involved in putting pressure on reformist students.

Media reported that Dehnavi, who was identified as a cancer researcher, was detained at Boston's Logan Airport on July 11 and later sent back to Iran, despite traveling on a valid visa to work as a scholar at Boston Children's Hospital, which is affiliated with the Harvard Medical School.

"Dr. Dehnavi is a visiting research scholar on a J-1 visa coming to Boston Children's with his wife and three children," the hospital said in a statement. The hospital did not respond to a request by RFE/RL for comment on Dehnavi's alleged connections to the Basij.

Visa Denial 'Unrelated' To Travel Ban

Later, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol spokeswoman Stephanie Malin was quoted by the AP news agency as saying that Dehnavi and his family were put on a return flight to Iran shortly after 9 p.m. on July 11.

She said the Dehnavi family's detention was for "reasons unrelated" to President Donald Trump's executive order that bans entry to the United States to most people from six predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran.

Malin added that Dehnavi's entry refusal was based on information uncovered during a review by the Customs and Border Patrol and that foreigners can be denied entry on several grounds, including criminality, security concerns, and health-related issues.

It is not clear why Dehnavi and his family were not allowed into the United States.

After he had criticized Dehnavi's detention on Twitter, National Iranian American Council (NIAC) President Trita Parsi said that it was unlikely he was denied entry because of his reported Basiji background.

Parsi later told RFE/RL's Radio Farda in an e-mail that "we were not aware of anything about his background except that he was a cancer researcher admitted to a postdoc at Harvard. I find it unlikely that his denial of entry had anything to do with his past in the Basij, since these are things that are carefully reviewed before he even gets a visa."

News of Dehnavi's detention and deportation received widespread coverage, but no reports included information about his alleged Basij background.

Former students in Iran told RFE/RL that Dehnavi benefited from privileges given by the state to Basij members for their service. Active Basiji are often given reserved positions at universities and other bonuses.

Iranian activists and others posted on social media sites about Dehnavi's alleged Basij background immediately after news of his detention was reported.

"He was among [the Basiji] who would photograph students protesting inside or outside the university," a former Sharif University student told RFE/RL on July 12.

"Then a few days later, those students would be arrested," he said.

'Physical' Attacks

The same student also claimed that Dehnavi had been involved in "physical" attacks on students in 2009.

Another former Sharif student currently based in North America said he recalls Dehnavi being omnipresent at Basij actions aimed at pressuring pro-reform students and suppressing dissent.

"He would speak loudly and harshly and attack the other side," he said. "But to be fair I must say I don't recall seeing him physically attacking students."

RFE/RL could not independently verify the allegations. Several attempts to contact Dehnavi for comment about his alleged work with the Basij were unsuccessful.

Mohammad Rashidian, a friend of Dehnavi who had posted about the detention on Facebook, also did not respond to an RFE/RL request for comment.

'Serious Human Rights Abuses'

Rights groups and witnesses have said that the Basij and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) were active in the 2009 brutal crackdown on protesters across Iran in the aftermath of disputed presidential election.

The United States imposed sanctions on the IRGC and the Basij in 2011 "for being responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses in Iran since the June 2009 disputed presidential election."

"I don't understand why [Dehnavi] was given a U.S. visa despite his background in the Basij," the North American based former Sharif university student said.

He said he was glad Dehvani was denied entry into the United States.

"This is the price he paid for the bad things he did in Iran," the student added.

"People like him attack everyone for being a friend of the U.S. but he himself he tramples on all those [stated values]," a former Sharif University student living in Iran told RFE/RL.

But he added: "It would actually be a good for him to live and study abroad, it might soften his [hard-line] beliefs."

There was also heavy criticism of Dehnavi on social media.

"He gets paid by the student Basij to burn the U.S. flag then he expects to be allowed into the U.S," commented an Iranian on Twitter.

Iran's volunteer paramilitary Basij militia, formed following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, is notorious for its anti-U.S. stances.

Its members are involved in maintaining law and order, preserving Islamic morals and values, and also acting against internal dissent and critics.

Basiji are very active at schools, universities, and other state institutions.

Amir Etemadi, the chief editor of the opposition media outlet Taghato, which also posted about Dehnavi's alleged Basij background, says he's not surprised that a Basiji would want to live in the United States.

"I know that despite all the bad things they say about the United States -- they trample on the U.S. flag, they burn it -- one of their main wishes is to live in the U.S.," he said.

"In Iran, [the hard-liners] say one day we will turn the White House into a [mosque]," Etemadi said. "It's the slogan of IRGC and Basij members. It may be an exaggeration but I think they believe in this slogan. They believe they have to come to the United States if they want to deal a blow to the country."

Etemadi -- who is based in Washington, D.C. and was jailed in Iran for his activism -- said he began investigating Dehnavi's background because his name sounded familiar.

On Instagram, Etemadi said he managed to find a post by a friend of Dehnavi who lamented the detention at the Boston airport.

"Hostility, injustice, and cowardice...are among the worst characteristics of the demonic and unclean Satan, the United States," the post said.
About 20 leading nongovernmental organizations in Moldova have issued a public statement urging the government not to adopt a proposed ban on foreign funding for NGOs that are involved in "political activity."

The appeal issued on July 11 compares the Justice Ministry's proposal to a similar law in Russia, where many NGOs that receive funding from abroad are compelled to register as "foreign agents." That law has been widely criticized as part of a bid by Moscow to control civil society.

Moldova is the poorest country in Europe and at least 90 percent of its NGOs are believed to receive foreign funding.

Ilie Chirtoaca, a lawyer with the Institute of Legal Resources, told RFE/RL that no Western European countries had similar legislation and that the proposal violated Moldova's Association Agreement with the European Union.

Although Moldova's parliament and government are controlled by pro-European factions, the government has made a number of controversial legislative proposals in recent weeks, including a law on reforming the electoral system that was criticized by the Venice Commission, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the EU.
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U.S. and Ukrainian ships have been conducting operations in the Black Sea, joining with forces from 15 other countries in the port of Odesa for the annual Sea Breeze exercises. (RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
Police in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk have confiscated the computers from opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's local election headquarters, saying Navalny's national campaign chief, Leonid Volkov, was suspected of copyright infringement and creating a computer virus.

Volkov on July 12 posted on Twitter a notice from the police saying that he was a suspect and authorizing the search of Navalny's Krasnoyarsk headquarters and all of its computers.

Volkov denied the charges and said the purpose of the raid was to disrupt the campaign.

The search came a day after police detained and questioned Navalny's Krasnoyarsk coordinator, Ruslan Rudenko, and confiscated printed campaign materials.

Anticorruption blogger Navalny is actively campaigning for the March 2018 presidential election, in which President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to seek and win a fourth term. Russian election officials, however, have said Navalny will not be allowed to contest the election because of his conviction on felony fraud charges that he says were politically motivated.

Dozens of his campaign workers have been detained in Moscow and other cities over the last week.

Navalny has spearheaded nationwide anticorruption protests in Russia this year that have jolted the country's political establishment.
A state prosecutor has asked a Russian court to sentence five men convicted of killing opposition politician Boris Nemtsov to prison terms ranging from 17 years to life.

Prosecutor Maria Semenenko urged the Moscow Regional Military Court on July 12 to sentence Zaur Dadayev, the man found guilty of fatally shooting Nemtsov, to life in prison.

She recommended sentences of 23 years for Anzor Gubashev, 21 years for his brother Shadid Gubashev, 19 years for Tamerlan Eskerkhanov, and 17 years for Khamzat Bakhayev.

The court is expected to sentence the defendants on July 13.

Nemtsov, a reformist former deputy prime minister who was a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin and of Kremlin-installed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, was shot from behind on a bridge just outside the Kremlin on the night of February 27, 2015.

A jury convicted the five men, all from Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya, on June 29. They deny guilt.

A sixth man, Ruslan Mukhudinov, has been charged in absentia with organizing the killing.

Relatives and former associates of Nemtsov believe his killing was ordered at a higher level, and say that justice will not be done unless the real masterminds are identified and prosecuted.

With reporting by Rapsinews and TASS


A Russian court has convicted flamboyant real-estate tycoon Sergei Polonsky of large-scale embezzlement but released him from custody, saying that the statute of limitations has expired.

The Presnya district court in Moscow formally sentenced Polonsky to five years in prison but ordered his release, and he walked free from the courtroom.

Polonsky was charged in June 2013 with embezzling more than 5.7 billion rubles ($98 million) in prepayments for apartments in a housing complex his company was building in Moscow.

In May 2015, he was extradited from Cambodia, where he was living in self-imposed exile and evading Russian law enforcement.

Polonsky denied wrongdoing, saying the case against him was aimed at taking control of his holdings.

Polonsky made headlines in 2012 after another Russian tycoon, Aleksandr Lebedev, punched him on a live television show.

Also in 2012, Polonsky and two associates were arrested in Cambodia and charged with assaulting sailors. The tycoon spent three months in detention there and later fled to Israel, where he unsuccessfully sought citizenship, before returning to Cambodia.

Based on reporting by Rapsinews.ru and Interfax
The Russian Defense Ministry says a Russian military adviser has been killed in Syria.

In a statement on July 11, the ministry said that Captain Nikolai Afanasov was killed in a mortar attack in the western province of Hama.

It said Afanasov "was stationed in Syria with a group of Russian military advisers to train servicemen of the Syrian ground forces."

Afanasov's death raises to 32 the number of Russian soldiers killed in combat in Syria, according to the ministry.

Russia has had military advisers in Syria supporting President Bashar al-Assad's forces throughout the war in the Middle Eastern country, which began with a government crackdown on protesters in 2011 and has killed more than 400,000 people.

Russia launched a campaign of air strikes and stepped up its involvement on the ground in September 2015.

Based on reporting by Interfax and TASS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was "taken aback" by accusations leveled at Donald Trump Jr. over his meeting with a Russian lawyer, who reportedly suggested she had damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Speaking in Brussels, Lavrov said the meeting would not have presented a threat to anyone. (Reuters)
Dozens of Serbs and Macedonians have gathered to pay tribute to the victims of the massacre in Srebrenica 22 years ago.

Members of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights paid tribute in Belgrade on July 11 by lighting candles at a park near the Serbian presidential building.

Since there is no official marking of this event in Serbia, the nonprofit group said it wanted to draw the attention of the authorities.

Surrounded by police, participants in the rally carried a banner saying "We will never forget the genocide in Srebrenica" and placards with the number 8,372 to indicate the number of victims.

Members of right-wing organizations also gathered with the intention to stop the event. They threw surgical gloves filled with water, shouted insults, and chanted the name of the Srebrenica genocide indictee, General Ratko Mladic.

The organizers of the peaceful tribute did not comment on the provocations of the right-wingers, and said young people only want to ensure victims of the massacre are not forgotten.

Meanwhile, several dozen peple marched in the old part of Skopje carrying banners saying, "Srebrenica, the conscience of the world."

The tribute was organized by the Bosniak Cultural Community in Macedonia.
The German government demanded speedy answers on July 12 from industrial conglomerate Siemens, after two of the group's gas turbines were delivered to Russian-annexed Crimea despite sanctions imposed by the European Union.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert told journalists in Berlin that the government was following the case "with great attention," adding, "right now, the facts of the matter need to be clarified as quickly and comprehensively as possible."

"That's the Siemens company's responsibility above all," Seibert said.

Siemens said July 10 that two gas turbines it had sold for a power plant in Russia last year had been diverted to the Ukrainian region of Crimea.

The region has been subjected to EU sanctions on energy technology since Russia illegally annexed it from Ukraine in 2014.

Siemens said the transfer a "clear breach of Siemens' delivery contracts" and has filed a lawsuit against a Russian state firm after the two turbines turned up in Crimea.

Seibert said: "I would point out that it's the company's job to check whether their business falls under a sanctions regime."

"The delivery of the turbines into Crimea against the terms of the contract, against high-ranking assurances, is ... remarkable and completely unacceptable," Seibert added.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, and dpa
Rajabbi Khurshed had no say in most of the misfortunes that befell her.

Her parents arranged the 18-year-old woman's marriage, in her native village of Chorbogh in May, to a man she'd never met. The Tajik state obliged Khurshed to undergo a prenuptial medical exam, which in her case included a virginity test that while technically optional is routinely demanded of young women by either or both families. And her new husband, 24-year-old Zafar Pirov, cast her out weeks later after humiliating her with further virginity tests and demanding that he be allowed to take a second wife.

In the end, a despondent Khurshed seized the only control she felt was left.

Forty days after her wedding, the young woman, who had dropped out of school to help her parents look after two disabled brothers, drank what Tajik authorities say was a fatal dose of vinegar. She died at a local hospital in Chorbogh, in the southern Vose district, hours later.

Her family said Khurshed told them on her deathbed that she had been under enormous pressure from her husband since their wedding night and "couldn't take it any longer."



Her mother, Fazila Mirzoeva, said Khurshed had never had a boyfriend or an intimate relationship with anyone. She was a virgin and had a doctor's certificate to prove it. Mirzoeva called her daughter a victim of "slander and violence," and said the family has directed public pleas to President Emomali Rahmon and other officials to intervene to help preserve Khurshed's reputation.

Pirov, meanwhile, faces charges of driving his new wife to suicide and could face up to eight years in prison.

Speaking to RFE/RL's Tajik Service from his parents' home in Chorbogh, he defended himself by insisting that his new wife was not a virgin on their wedding night, no matter what her documents said.

"She drank vinegar when I demanded that she go back to her parents' home," Pirov said.

Mandatory Medical Check-Ups

Premarital sex is taboo in conservative Tajik society and can lead to a lifetime of public scorn for women.

Mandatory medical check-ups for both bride and groom were instituted in 2015 primarily to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and other sexually transmitted diseases, but they are frequently expanded to include virginity tests for women. Registrars can refuse to recognize a marriage if the couple fails to undergo the tests and provide the proper medical certificate.

Khurshed had opted to undergo a so-called "purity" test and received a doctor's letter confirming the result.

But in the poorest of Central Asia's five post-Soviet republics, where wages are low and corruption is widespread, many Tajiks believe that doctors' certificates can be bought with a bribe.

Pirov said he took his new wife to two different clinics, including one in the capital, Dushanbe, to undergo further tests to prove her purity. Both confirmed Khurshed's virginity, but Pirov was adamant that the doctors were wrong and said he continued to demand that his bride "tell the truth."

Eventually, just weeks into their marriage, he pressed his bride to let him bring a second wife into the household. "My wife gave me a written statement that she allows me to get a second wife because she wasn't a virgin when we got married," Pirov told RFE/RL.

Hundreds Of Virginity Disputes

A Vose district court has imposed a travel ban on Pirov pending the trial, though no date has been set.

Virginity disputes have torn families apart in Tajikistan.

Courts recorded about 600 cases citing virginity disputes in 2014, before the prenuptial medical tests were introduced. Most involved women suing their husbands for wrongly declaring them "impure" on their wedding night.

In 2014, a 19-year-old bride from the Dushanbe's Rudaki district successfully sued her new husband for slander after he beat her and sent her back to her parents' home on their wedding night, accusing her of not being a virgin.

The bride, identified by her first name, Husnigul, underwent several court-appointed medical tests that concluded her virginity was maintained even after her wedding night. The court declared Husnigul a virgin and ordered the bridegroom to pay her financial compensation. Husnigul said she filed for divorce, declining her husband's offer to put the dispute behind them and begin married life together.

The head of the National Forensics Center in Dushanbe, Yahyo Odinaev, speculated that in some cases men "fail to perform out of their own inexperience or other psychological factors" but place the blame on their brides.
U.S. President Donald Trump called his son "open, transparent, and innocent" after the release of e-mails indicating the younger man had welcomed an alleged offer from Russia to help his father's 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump on July 12 also once again condemned media coverage and the various investigations into his campaign's alleged links to Russia as "the greatest Witch Hunt in political history."

Donald Trump Jr. on July 11 released a series of e-mails revealing he had quickly agreed to meet a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who had damaging information about Democratic rival Hillary Clinton as part of Moscow's "support" for his father's campaign.

The meeting -- which also included Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign head Paul Manafort -- was held three weeks after Trump secured enough delegates to win the Republican Party's nomination and about one month before the party's nominating convention.

Some members of Congress charged that the meeting with the Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, amounted to "collusion" with Russia.

Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat-Oregon) said the e-mails show that Trump's son "sought to collude with a hostile foreign power to subvert America's democracy."

Trump Jr. called those allegations "ridiculous" and "overplayed."

In an interview with Fox News television late on July 11, Trump Jr. said the meeting did not yield anything useful to his father's campaign and that he never told his father about it.

He insisted he did not attempt to coordinate with the Russians to affect the election or try to damage Clinton.

He added, though, that "in retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently."

'A Very Nice Young Man'

After the interview, the president on Twitter praised his son's television appearance.

"He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!" Trump wrote.

Christopher Wray, Trump's nominee to head the FBI, told a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing on July 12 that he had no reason to believe special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling was a "witch hunt."

In January, the U.S. intelligence community released a report that accused Moscow of waging a cyber-and-propaganda effort to interfere in the election to benefit Trump's campaign over Clinton.

Since that time, multiple congressional committees and the Justice Department have opened investigations into the question of Russian meddling.

Trump and Russian officials have repeatedly denied any collusion, and Moscow has denied any meddling.

Speaking in Brussels on July 12, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow has "no doubt" that the accusations of Russian election meddling were "orchestrated in an attempt to reverse the results of the election won by Donald Trump."

Many Republicans in Congress on July 12 also downplayed the reports of the meeting between Trump Jr. and the Russian lawyer.

"I think that's overblown," said veteran Senator Orrin Hatch (Reputlican-Utah), calling Trump Jr. "a very nice young man."

With reporting by AP, AFP, the New York Times, Reuters, TASS, and Fox News


Donald Trump Jr., U.S. President Donald Trump's eldest son, has said that his meeting with a Russian lawyer did not yield anything useful to his father's presidential campaign and that he never told his father about it.

In an interview late on July 11 with Fox News, Trump acknowledged that he "has probably met with other people from Russia" besides lawyer Natalya Veselnitskaya, whom he met with in June 2016 after being told that the meeting was part of a Russian-government effort to help his father's candidacy.

But he insisted that he did not attempt to coordinate with them to affect the election or try to damage his father's Democratic opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Trump said he didn't tell his father about the meeting with Veselnitskaya because "there was nothing to tell."

"It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes," he said. "For me, this was opposition research" that he hoped might yield "concrete evidence" against Clinton.

"In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently," he said.

Some members of Congress charged that the Veselnitskaya meeting, as related in e-mails released by Trump himself on July 11, amounted to "collusion" with Russia.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said the e-mails show Trump's son "sought to collude with a hostile foreign power to subvert America's democracy."

Donald Trump Jr. called those allegations "ridiculous" and "overplayed."

In a tweet on July 12, President Trump once again decried the Russia investigations as a "witch hunt" and said that his son had been "open, transparent, and innocent" during the Fox News interview.

Russia: 'Fiction,' 'It Wasn't Us'

Speaking in Brussels the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had "no doubt" that the accusations of Russian election meddling were "orchestrated in an attempt to reverse the results of the election won by Donald Trump."

Lavrov said he had not seen "one fact" establishing Russian election interference and compared the investigations to "making a mountain out of a molehill."

In January, the U.S. intelligence community issued an assessment that Russian President Putin "ordered an influence campaign" aimed at the U.S. presidential election, with goals including undermining faith in the U.S. democratic system, denigrating Clinton, and improving Trump's chances of winning the presidency in the November 8 vote.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, once again stated on July 12 that the Kremlin had no connection with Veselnitskaya and compared the accusations to "a long-running soap opera in which Moscow plays no part."

Russian real-estate mogul Aras Agalarov, who has been identified as a middleman in arranging the Veselnitskaya meeting, told Russia's Business FM radio station: "I think this is some sort of fiction. I don't know who is making it up."

He said he barely knew Rob Goldstone, the music publisher who first contacted Trump Jr. to arrange the meeting with Veselnitskaya.

In a post on Twitter on July 11, President Trump described his son as "a great person who loves our country."

Republicans in the Senate were more subdued. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would wait forSenate investigation to "get to the bottom of whatever happened." Senator Susan Collins (Republican-Maine), a member of the Intelligence Committee, said the latest e-mail revelations were "only part of the picture."

The Veselnitskaya meeting, and the e-mails, add to the evidence pointing to some sort of active Russian effort to meddle in the U.S. campaign. In January, the U.S. intelligence community released a report that outright accused Moscow of waging a cyber-and-propaganda effort to interfere in the election.

Since that time, multiple congressional committees have opened investigations into the question of Russian meddling.

The FBI, meanwhile, opened a criminal probe in July 2016 into whether Trump associates -- including Manafort -- had improper interactions with Russian officials.

But the man overseeing that investigation, James Comey, was fired in May by Trump, who later reportedly bragged to Russian officials that his firing had relieved "great pressure" on him about the Russian probe.

The uproar that ensued ultimately led to the Justice Department appointing a special counsel to oversee the criminal investigation.

Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump Jr., issued a statement on July 10 saying his client did nothing wrong and had promised to cooperate with investigators.

With reporting by AP, AFP, The New York Times, Reuters, and Fox News
WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump has said in an interview that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin "get along very, very well" and that the two had "an excellent meeting" on the sidelines of last week's Group of 20 meeting in Germany.

Speaking to Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) founder Pat Robertson, Trump on July 12 said, "I think we get along very well, and I think that's a good thing. That's not a bad thing."

"People said, 'Oh they shouldn't get along.' Well, who are the people that are saying that? I think we get along very, very well," he said.

The interview is to be broadcast on July 13 by the Christian-themed television network, which released a partial text of the conversation on its website.

Trump met with Putin on July 7 in Hamburg in a session that was originally scheduled to last 35 minutes but which ran much longer.

"We had a good meeting," Trump said in the interview. "It was a face-to-face meeting. It was a long meeting. It was two hours and 15 minutes."

"We are a tremendously powerful nuclear power, and so are they. It doesn't make sense not to have some kind of a relationship," Trump said.

Trump has been criticized by Democrats and some Republicans for his perceived deference to Putin and his criticism of NATO and other Western organizations.

In his defense, he took a swipe at his 2016 presidential rival, Hillary Clinton, saying Putin would have been happier had Clinton won the election because, under her, U.S. military strength would have been "decimated."

"We are the most powerful country in the world, and we are getting more and more powerful because I'm a big military person," Trump said.

"If Hillary had won, our military would be decimatedFrom day one, I wanted a strong military. He doesn't want to see that," Trump added.

Trump also said the cease-fire deal brokered with the Russians in Syria is an example of the success he has achieved with Putin so far.

"One thing we did is we had a cease-fire in a major part of Syria where there was tremendous bedlam and tremendous killing.The cease-fire has held for four daysThat's because President Putin and President Trump made the deal, and it's held."

The United States, Russia, and Jordan agreed to press combatants in Syria's six-year civil war to suspend operations in the southwestern portion of the country.

Russia supports the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States backs antigovernment rebels in the bloody conflict.


WASHINGTON -- Christopher Wray has told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that, if confirmed as the new FBI director, he would fully support the investigation into Russian meddling into the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Wray, 50, a former top official in the Justice Department under President George W. Bush from 2003 to 2005, was nominated by President Donald Trump on June 7 to lead the domestic security agency after Trump abruptly fired the previous director, James Comey.

Comey had been leading the FBI probe of Russian hacking and meddling into the presidential campaign when he was fired.

Wray on July 12 told the committee he would also continue the probe into contacts between Trump's presidential campaign and Russian officials and other individuals.

Wray said he would fight against any attempt to block the investigation now being carried out by former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who was named by the Justice Department as special counsel in the matter.

"I would consider an effort to tamper with Director Mueller's investigation to be unacceptable and inappropriate and would need to be dealt with very sternly and appropriately indeed," Wray told the Senate panel.

"I'm very committed to supporting director Mueller in the special counsel investigation in whatever way is appropriate for me to do that," he said.

Trump has since called the investigation into links between his campaign and transition team to Russia a hoax and a witch hunt, a claim the president repeated on July 12 on Twitter.

In response to a question, Wray said he did not consider Mueller to be on a witch hunt."

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked about reports that Trump's son, Donald Jr., had met with a Russian lawyer during last year's presidential campaign and what Wray would have done in that situation.

Wray told Graham he would probably want consult with a legal adviser before taking such a meeting.

"Any threat or effort to interfere with our election by any nation state or any nonstate actor is the kind of thing the FBI would want to know," he said.

Wray said he had "no reason" to doubt the U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia meddled in the U.S. electoral process.

Over the past decade, Wray has worked in private practice at the King & Spalding law firm in Atlanta, where his clients have included large corporations and financial institutions in criminal and civil cases.

The confirmation hearing was continuing into the afternoon of July 12.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and dpa


U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan says he wants to move as quickly as possible on a package of "strong, bold" new sanctions against Russia despite opposition from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which claims the bill infringes on its rights.

The White House opposes the bill, which passed the Senate last month, saying it ties Trump's hands in dealing with Russia in regard to future policy on sanctions and his ability to make adjustments.

Ryan on July 12 said: "I'm a Russia hawk. We want to move this Russia sanctions bill."

Although Trump voiced hopes to improve relations with Russia, most lawmakers -- Republicans and Democrats -- favor a tougher line than the president on Moscow.

Nevertheless, Democrats have expressed concerns that, despite his tough talk, Ryan and his Republican colleagues are delaying passage of the bill in an effort to ease sanctions to please the Trump administration.

'New Urgency'

Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, and other lawmakers said the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump's son and a Russian attorney, and the failure to disclose it, added new urgency to the drive to impose new sanctions on Russia.

"What happened with Donald Trump Jr. just underscores how Russia was operating," Cardin said, referring to the disclosure that the president's son met in June 2016 with someone identified as allegedly working with the Russian government having derogatory information on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Despite its passage in the Senate by such a wide margin, the bill has been stalled in the House over what Ryan has called policy and procedural matters.

"Right now, we have a procedural issue," Ryan said. "[And] there are some policy issues with respect to making sure that we don't actually inadvertently help Russian oligarchs and oil firms."

Ryan said he has been told that U.S. companies object to the energy-related sanctions in the bill, which oil and gas manufacturers say could hurt U.S. businesses while strengthening Russian interests.

Constitutional Requirement

The main procedural matter is a constitutional requirement that any bill raising government revenue must originate in the House.

Congressional aides said sanctions or fines against other countries like those in the bill could be interpreted as affecting U.S. government revenue.



The Democrats have said that, to get around the issue, they would introduce a new, but identical, bill in the House, thus meeting the requirement that a revenue bill originate in that chamber, and then send it to the Senate.

The Senate on June 15 voted 98-2 to impose the tough new sanctions on Russia for allegedly meddling in the U.S. election and other matters. Sanctions on Iran were also included in the bill.

On July 10, a top White House official said the administration was seeking to change the bill so that it did not constrain the president's authority to impose or waive sanctions in the future.

Marc Short, the White House legislative director, told reporters that the administration backs the new sanctions on Russia and Iran, but it objects to a provision giving Congress a much greater say on sanctions.

That provision would require a congressional review if President Donald Trump attempts to ease or end the bill's penalties against Moscow.



CIA Director Mike Pompeo has also reportedly told a senior Republican lawmaker that some elements of the Russia sanctions package would affect his "ability to do his work and his job."

The objection was first raised by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who said in testimony last month that Trump needs to retain "the flexibility to adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation" with Russia.

The Democrats expressed concerns that Republican efforts to hold up the bill are a prelude to weakening the sanctions to please the Trump administration, and opposed any attempt to weaken the bill.

"I don't believe that having the president's party in a position to protect him from any oversight is good policy for our country, and in fact it'd be dangerous for our country," Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland said.

With reporting by AP, Axios, and Reuters
KYIV -- President Petro Poroshenko has proposed incorporating an internationally recognized investigator into the Ukrainian team investigating the killing of journalist Pavel Sheremet, in hopes of jumpstarting a probe that has produced no significant leads in a year.

At a July 11 meeting with members of Sheremet's family and a Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) delegation in Kyiv to assess the probe, Poroshenko said he would "happily accept" a "professional, trustworthy" investigator, such as someone "from the FBI or Scotland Yard" to oversee the high-profile case "if it is agreed by the family."

Sheremet, a Belarusian-born journalist, was killed by a car bomb in central Kyiv on July 20, 2016. No one has been arrested or prosecuted.

Sheremet's mother, Lyudmila Sheremet, his daughter, Elizaveta Sheremet, and his partner, Olena Prytula, who is also owner and co-founder of the independent Ukrainian news site Ukrayinska Pravda where Sheremet worked as a columnist -- all of whom were present at the meeting -- accepted the president's proposal.
A Ukrainian court has adjourned Viktor Yanukovych's in-absentia treason trial until August 3 after the former president's new lawyer asked for more time to prepare.

In a July 12 ruling, Kyiv court Judge Vladyslav Devyatko granted state-appointed defense attorney Vitaliy Meshechek's request for a few weeks to get acquainted with the case.

Yanukovych's previous lawyers, Vitaliy Serdyuk and Ihor Fedorenko, withdrew from the case on July 6, saying Yanukovych had informed them that he did not need their services anymore.

Yanukovych announced that day that he would not participate in the trial, charging that it was politically motivated. The court then decided to provide him with a state-appointed lawyer.

Yanukovych abandoned office in late February 2014 and fled to Russia in the face of protests triggered by his decision to scrap plans for a landmark deal with the European Union and improve trade ties with Moscow instead.

Dozens of people were killed when his government attempted to clamp down on the pro-European protests known as the Euromaidan.

Prosecutors are seeking life imprisonment for Yanukovych, who is accused of treason, violating Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and abetting Russian aggression.

After he fled, Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and fomented opposition to the central government in eastern Ukraine, where the ensuing war between Kyiv's forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 10,000 people.

With reporting by UNIAN and Ukranews.com
A senior U.S. general has said that the fight is "far from over" in Iraq despite the recapture of Mosul from Islamic State (IS) militants, and he sees no major reduction in U.S. troop numbers after the fall of the city.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi declared victory over IS in Mosul on July 10, marking the biggest defeat for the Sunni extremist group since its sweep through northern Iraq three years ago.

Iraqi security forces still have to clear IS fighters from a number of Iraqi towns, including Tal Afar and Hawija.

"This fight is far from over. So I wouldn't expect to see any significant change in our troop levels in the immediate future because there's still hard work to be done by the Iraqis and the coalition," Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, the head of U.S.-led coalition forces fighting IS, told a news briefing.

Townsend said he expected the coalition presence to continue in Iraq even after IS is eventually defeated. The Iraqi government, the United States, and other coalition governments are interested in keeping a force there, he said.

"I think it is in the final decision-making stages," he said.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
The United States and Russia are reviving high-level talks aimed at resolving major irritants between the two world powers, the U.S. State Department has said.

The announcement came after Russia's top diplomat threatened retaliation if the United States did not return two Russian diplomatic compounds in New York and Maryland that were seized by the Obama administration in December.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Tom Shannon will host Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Washington on July 17 for talks that are expected to focus on resolving the row over the diplomatic compounds, which the Kremlin has made a top priority.

Moscow last month abruptly canceled the last scheduled meeting between Shannon and Ryabkov after the U.S. Treasury announced new sanctions against Russia over its aggression in Ukraine.

But State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that the talks were now back on track, without providing a reason. "Shannon has been hard at work as we have been trying to find areas that we could deal with some of these so-called irritants," she said.

The dialogue was launched earlier this year at what U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called a "low point" in U.S.-Russia relations, in hopes that making progress on relatively minor issues such as the diplomatic spat might enable the two countries to cooperate on larger matters such as the wars in Syria and eastern Ukraine.

Revival of plans for the talks follows the first meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Germany last week, in an encounter both countries described as a positive first step toward improving relations.

Ryabkov, speaking to Russian media on a visit to Tehran on July 11, said the presidential meeting had inspired a "certain hope that the situation will change for the better."

Driving the agenda for the meeting is a set of grievances both countries want the other to address, including U.S. calls for Moscow to stop harassing its diplomats and to lift a ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian children.

The Kremlin is keenly focused on getting the United States to return control of its two Cold War-era recreational estates that former President Barack Obama seized as part of his response to Moscow's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Putin declined to retaliate in December for the seizures and simultaneous expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats the White House said were really spies, saying he wanted to give Trump an opportunity to weigh in on the matter.

But Moscow has recently made clear it is not willing to wait much longer. On July 11, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov threatened unspecified retribution if the compounds, also known as dachas, aren't given back soon.

"We hope that the United States, as a country which promotes the rule of law, will respect its international obligations," Lavrov said after a meeting in Brussels with EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini.



"If this does not happen, if we see that this step is not seen as essential in Washington, then of course we will take retaliatory measures. This is the law of diplomacy, the law of international affairs, that reciprocity is the basis of all relations."

Lavrov declined to elaborate. But the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported on July 11 that Moscow plans to kick out about 30 U.S. diplomats and seize U.S. government property in Russia if the issue is not resolved at next week's talks.

Ryabkov was not optimistic ahead of the meeting. "Our dialogue with the United States remains difficult," he told Russian reporters in Tehran. "It would be wrong to expect our bilateral relations to improve overnight."

Ryabkov said that "it's an alarming sign" that so far the Trump administration has refused to return the seized compounds.

Ryabkov blamed Russian "enemies in Congress" and the Obama administration for creating a "gap" in relations between the two countries that"is so deep that it will take much time to get out of it."

Much will depend on whether the United States follows up on agreements reached between Trump and Putin in Hamburg, Germany that Ryabkov said not only would establish a cease-fire zone in southwestern Syria but would form a joint working group on cybersecurity, and develop a framework for relations that "would rule out interference into domestic affairs and that

would be based on the key principle of mutual respect and equality."

With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, TASS, and Interfax
Page Content

On June 30, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens signed into law S.B. 43, which corrects the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA) by bringing it into closer alignment with federal and other states' anti-discrimination statutes.

The move marks an end to a year's-long legislative battle and a hopeful beginning of a closer-to-level playing field for employment litigation in Missouri state court.

As Greitens stated in signing S.B. 43 into law, "we need to bring Missouri's standards in line with 38 other states and the federal government."

Business leaders, like the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, supported the amendment as a means to encourage a more business-friendly climate in Missouri, consistent with Greitens's recent message that "Missouri is open for business."

As previously discussed, the amendment, which takes effect on Aug. 28, makes several key changes to the MHRA landscape, including:

Causation Standard. The "contributing factor" standard adopted in 2005 by the Committee on Jury Instructions and treasured by plaintiffs' attorneys as a low bar for causation is gone. In its place, the MHRA amendment gives us a "motivating factor" standard. The amendment defines "motivating factor" as "the employee's protected classification actually played a role in the adverse action or decision and had a determinative influence on the adverse decision or action." The "motivating factor" standard is intended to bring the standard closer to that used in federal anti-discrimination laws. The amendment also endorses the burden-shifting framework used in federal court.

Individual Liability. Plaintiffs can no longer sue individual supervisors for violation of the MHRA, which they did commonly to avoid removal by destroying complete diversity of citizenship when suing a foreign corporation. With the amendment's deletion of individual liability, foreign corporations will often be able to remove cases to federal court in Missouri when a case is filed in an undesirable state venue.

Punitive Damages. The MHRA finally has a real cap on punitive damages. Punitive damages were previously capped at the greater of $500,000 or five times the actual damages recovered (including attorney fees), routinely resulting in large and virtually unrestrained judgments. The amendment changes that to create a system similar to that under federal law. Specifically, exclusive of attorney fees, damages awarded under the MHRA as amended cannot exceed (1) actual back pay and interest on it and (2) a fixed amount based on the defendant's number of employees as set forth below:

More than 5 employees, but less than 100 employees: $50,000.



More than 100 employees, but less than 200 employees: $100,000.



More than 200 employees, but less than 500 employees: $200,000.



More than 500 employees: $500,000.



Charges of Discrimination: In Farrow v. Saint Francis Medical Center, the Missouri Supreme Court found an employer must challenge a discrimination charge's timeliness with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR) and then via an action for judicial review under RSMo Chapter 536. If an employer did not pursue the timeliness issue through those avenues, then it lost its ability to challenge a late-filed charge. That process is wildly different from the process for challenging the timeliness of EEOC charges.

With the amendment, the Farrow case is no more. The amendment abrogates Farrow and makes timeliness a jurisdictional prerequisite to bringing a lawsuit. Missouri courts lack jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit if the employee does not file a charge within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory act. Similarly, the MCHR lacks jurisdiction to investigate the charge or take any action other than dismissal. An employer may also raise the timeliness defense at any time. Additionally, the MCHR may issue a notice of right to sue only pursuant to the charging party's request for one.

Abrogation of Certain Decisions: The amendment also abrogates other anti-employer judicial decisions to now, among other things, require a business judgment instruction and endorse use of the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework.

Wrongful Discharge: Missouri now has a Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), which takes the place of common-law wrongful discharge causes of action. The WPA protects an employee who: (1) reports an employer's unlawful act to the proper authorities; (2) reports to the employer serious misconduct in violation of a clear mandate of public policy found in the constitution, statute, or regulation; or (3) refuses to carry out an employer's unlawful directive. It does not protect managers where the manager's job is to report or provide professional opinion on the conduct in question. It also does not protect employees who report alleged unlawful conduct to the person the employee claims acted unlawfully. Under the WPA, the "motivating factor" standard applies. It will also provide damages in the form of back pay and medical bills, liquidated damages (i.e., double damages), and attorney fees. The act is also intended to prevent courts from creating further exceptions to the at-will employment doctrine.

As stated above, those changes to the MHRA and the new WPA become effective on August 28. The changes are a definite win for the business community. However, we expect to see a flurry of charges and lawsuits leading up to August 28 and subsequent fights on applicability of the amendments to matters accruing before August 28.

Curtis R. Summers is an attorney with Littler in Kansas City, Mo.  Littler. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.
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Scott Paranzynski, seen here during his "epic" spacewalk to repair a solar array, is promoting his new memoir, "The Sky Below," with the #MostEpicAdventure photo contest on social media.

The only person to see the highest point on Earth both from its peak and from orbit is now in search of a few more epic adventures  yours.

Scott Parazynski, who summited Mount Everest in 2009, two years after walking in space to repair a torn solar array outside of the International Space Station, is promoting the upcoming release of his memoir, "The Sky Below," with a photo contest focused on his fans' extreme experiences.

"Want to win cool stuff from my adventures?" Parazynski, a former NASA astronaut, announced on Twitter. "Enter for a chance to win memorabilia from explorer and astronaut Scott Parazysnki."

The contest, which began on Sunday afternoon (July 9), is open to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter users. To enter, share a personal photo of your own "epic adventure" with the hashtags #MostEpicAdventure and #TheSkyBelow and tag Parazynski at @AstroDocScott.

A winner will be announced on Saturday (July 15).

Among the prizes are embroidered patches and lapel pins from some of Parazynski's five space shuttle missions, an autographed photo and possibly even a flight coin.

In "The Sky Below: A True Story of Summits, Space and Speed," now available on Amazon Kindle First and set for release in hard and soft cover by Little A Books on Aug. 1, Parazynski shares the stories behind his own adventures, including diving under the ocean to scaling tall mountains to launching into space.

In addition to his daring extravehicular activity (or EVA) to cinch a tear in a space station solar array using makeshift cufflinks in 2007, Parazynski was also one half of the first U.S.-Russian spacewalk during a shuttle mission 10 years earlier. He also served as John Glenn's personal physician during the Mercury astronaut's celebrated return to orbit in 1998.

"Scott Parazynski's drive, curiosity, inventiveness and great humor shine through the pages of 'The Sky Below' and will certainly inspire future generations to pursue their dreams with every fiber in their being," wrote Glenn, before his death at age 95 in December 2016.

Scott Parazynski posted to Twitter and Facebook the above promo for his #MostEpicAdventure photo contest. (Image credit: @AstroDocScott/Twitter)

Back on Earth, Parazynski successfully summited Everest on his second attempt, carrying with him four small specks of moon rock from the first mission to land humans on the lunar surface. An experienced mountain climber  he has also scaled peaks in the Rockies, the Alps, the Andes and Himalayas, among other mountain ranges  Parazynski is also an avid scuba diver and a one-time candidate for the U.S. Olympic luge team.

One of Parazynski's most recent adventures involved him joining the first expedition to descend into Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua to install a sensor network to better predict its eruptive activity. He writes of that experience in "The Sky Below," and how he "learned adventure is hollow without a greater purpose."

He came to a similar realization while floating in space.

"Looking back home [at Earth] changed my perspective. I look down at the sky below and realized all of humankind is in the frame, living and breathing and moving inside that thin blue line," he wrote.

In the lead up to launching the photo contest, Parazynski posted photos of his trip to Everest, inside the volcano and aboard the space shuttle.

In addition to the contest, Parazynski is also touring with "The Sky Below" in August, sharing his epic adventures in-person at The Explorers Club in New York, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida and The Museum of Flight in Seattle, among other venues.

For more about Scott Parazynski and "The Sky Below" see his website at Parazynski.com.

See the cover for "The Sky Below" by Scott Parazynski with Susy Flory at collectSPACE.

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2017 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
When the famous 15th-century inventor and scientist Leonardo da Vinci examined petrified shells with borings in them long ago, he had a remarkable insight. The strange fossilized formations, he determined, were likely left behind by ancient organisms.

Half a millennium later, this perspective is potentially useful in our search for alien life, argues a new paper that appears in Earth-Science Reviews, whose findings were recently presented at the European Astrobiology Network Association congress in the Netherlands.

Astronomers have been weighing options for how to identify the existence of life on other planets and moons in our solar system. There are a range of possibilities. Mars could be host to ancient or current life, depending on how much water flows on the surface and how salty it is. There are also many icy moons (some with water geysers) in the outer regions of our solar system  among them Saturn's Titan and Enceladus, and Jupiter's Europa and Ganymede.

"This observation appears to be trivial," he went on, "but it potentially allows [us] to detect extra-terrestrial life that differs from known life."

RELATED: Can the Search for Alien Life Be Spurred by a Lottery?

A major limitation of this kind of study, however, is that animal traces and alterations by geology can sometimes appear very similar. For example, researchers have identified what they say are more than four-billion-year-old fossils in formations in northern Quebec, Canada. This finding was announced earlier this year; in 2016, a separate team claimed to find 3.7-billion-year-old microbial mats in Greenland.

But given that the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, critics of these discoveries argue, the changes in Earth's geology over billions of years can sometimes mimic the appearances of lifeforms. Microbiologists therefore need to prove that the older lifeforms did indeed exist by comparing the older fossils to much younger and better-verified examples of life. Researchers must also attempt to verify markings by life against the chemistry in the rocks, although again this can be altered by rock deformation over time.

Baucon is a member of ROSAE, an Italian acronym that in English stands for Organism-Sediment Relationships in Extreme Environments. It's a scientific project that looks at how organisms and sediments interact in so-called "extreme environments," such as the deep sea.

RELATED: 'Styrofoam' Planet Discovery Will Help Us Find Habitable Planets and Alien Life

In this latest study, Baucon and his colleagues attempt to explain the best way to find extra-terrestrial traces. One method could be looking for "meandering" trails and burrows, which is an efficient way for microorganisms to look for food. Rather than making straight lines in an environment or repeatedly crossing a surface, the meandering allows a creature to search for food without exerting too much energy.

"Rangers look for tracks on the snow to determine the presence of elusive animals such as the lynx," said Baucon, pointing out that the traces work for creatures ranging from microscopic organisms to large dinosaurs. "Why not to do the same with alien tracks, borings, and burrows?"

"Traces of interactions with the substrate"  the natural environment for a creature  "are a common evidence for life on Earth, and their fossils can survive the humongous pressures and temperatures generated by colliding continents," he added.

Originally published on Seeker.
Shaheed El-Hafed, July 10, 2017 (SPS) - The President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, supervised Sunday the conclusion of the training days for the heads of municipalities in the liberated zones of Western Sahara, which were organized by the Ministry of Reconstruction and Development, July 4-9, under the theme "model municipalities are symbols of national sovereignty".

In his intervention, the President of the Republic referred to the security situation in the liberated zones, stressing the great role that liberated municipalities should play in order to provide more security and stability for the Sahrawi citizens.

The President of the Republic had issued a presidential decree on 16 May 2017, registered under No. 2017/10, in which he appointed the heads of the liberated municipalities.

The closing ceremony was attended, besides the President of the Republic, by Prime Minister, Abdelkader Talab-Omar and members of the National Secretariat and Government. (SPS)

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U NESCO might have awarded it World Heritage status last year, but the Lake District has always been one of the most special places on the planet. And it is getting the boutique hotels, such as The Gilpin and Another Place, to prove it.

Now there is another reason to give the Lake District a visit - the Carlisle Airport is set to re-open for the first time in 25 years. Commercial and business passenger flights will begin from Carlisle Lake District Airport on June 4, connecting it to hubs such as London,

The Lake District currently receives about 41.5 million visitors a year, most of whom use rail links or cars to get around - but now getting there will be even easier.

Here are ten reasons why you should visit this year.

It's foodie heaven

Discerning diners know that theres more than stodgy British specials to be sampled here, although if youre after the very best in pub grub, Amblesides The Drunken Duck is worth the trek alone. Lake Road Kitchen in Ambleside recently scooped Sustainable Restaurant of the Year, while Holbeck Ghyll, which hosted Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon in the first series of The Trip, offers its fine dining with even finer views across Lake Windermere. You should make a pilgrimage to the Cumbrian village of Cartmel, (in 2015 ranked 44th on a New York Times list of must-visit destinations) - the original home of the sticky toffee puddings and also twice Michelin-starred restaurant LEnclume, another star of The Trip.

A post shared by L'Enclume (@lenclume) on Jul 11, 2017 at 7:12am PDT

It's best seen from a bike

Love scrambling up hill and down dale on two wheels? A mountain cyclist in the know recommends the route that takes in Garburn and Nan Bield pass at the top of the scenic Kentmere Valley - not least because it starts and finishes at the legendary Hawkshead Brewery in Staveley, where post-ride, you can sample any number of their thirst-quenching session beers (we recommend the Windermere Pale) almost straight from the tap. If youre a little rusty, refresh with couple of practice trails at Grizedale Forest & Visitor Centre near Coniston.

It's the home of Beatrix Potter

Its hard to take a hop, skip and a jump in Bowness (the Lakes equivalent to Leicester Square) without coming across Peter Rabbit and his pals. Embrace the local heritage by paying a visit to Beatrix Potters former home Hill Top at Near Sawrey - best accessed by the foot ferry before a mile or so walk across the countryside that inspired her writing and drawings. Lunch at the neighbouring Tower Bank Arms, with its oak beams, crackling fire and series of local beers on tap, is highly recommended.

The walks

Even the most reluctant rambler will love a Lakes walk. Buggy and tramper-friendly paths (as well as curious local cattle) encircle the blue waters of Tarn Hows, one of the most-visited spots in the area. Moderate walkers will relish scrambling past waterfalls to hidden away bodies of waters, like Blea Tarn above Grasmere, or Stickle Tarn in the Langdales, while the well-trodden will relish the Striding Edge, the spectacular ridge of Helvellyn, or conquering Scafell Pike, Englands highest peak. Be sure to arm yourself with a copy of local walker Bill Birketts walking guides, which range from easy-peasy to completely off the beaten track.

Swimmers at the Keswick jetty / www.golakes.co.uk

Wild swimming

Pub quiz fans will know that while there are 16 bodies of water in the Lake District, only one - Bassenthwaite in Keswick - actually has lake in its title. And theres no better to experience the waters, meres and tarns of the area than by taking the plunge. Thousands flock to Windermere every June to participate in the Great North Swim, where wetsuited water babies swim a mile or so around the bay near Low Wood. Away from the fray, wild swimmers are drawn to the pebbled beaches of Buttermere or Grasmere. Swim the Lakes also offers guided expeditions from their base in Ambleside.

You can mess around on boats

Dave Willis

Theres nothing half so much doing as messing about in boats - and nowhere does this old adage ring more true than in the real-life location for Swallows and Amazons (author Arthur Ransome based the lake on Windermere). You can rent little put-put boats from the marina or take trip around the 11 or so miles of Englands longest lake on a cruiser - stop for an ice cream and a wander around Ambleside to the north, or visit the lake life, including pike, that are housed in the Aquarium at Newby Bridge to the south. Windermere aside, you can also cruise across nearby Coniston, while in the North Lakes, find steamers on Ullswater and bus-like boats that stop at a series of jetties on Derwentwater.

Its literary heritage

You too can wander lonely as a cloud as you follow in the footsteps of literary greats who have penned paens to the beauty of the Lake District - collectively known as the Lake Poets. Poet William Wordsworth, who called it the loveliest spot that man have found (and sparked mass tourism to the area with his 1820 guide to the area) resided at Dove Cottage in Grasmere before moving to Rydal Mount, where he regularly hosted fellow Romantic Samuel Coleridge. Visit the shores of Ullswater in late March or April to spot the famous hosts of daffodils which inspired the eponymous poem. Words By the Water, the areas literary festival, takes place in Keswick every year.

Dove Cottage, where Wandsworth lived / www.golakes.co.uk

Obscure outdoor pursuits

Dont leave the Lake District without having experienced an activity youve never tried before (or even heard of). As well as canoeing on Coniston, rock climbing in the Langdales and zip-wiring (you can zip across seven lines at the Go Ape experience at Grizedale) the Lake District offers a wealth of more obscure sports, including ghyll scrambling, where you travel up and down mountain streams, and fell running - first timers are welcome at the annual Grasmere Gallop. If you can, spectate at popular local events like hound trailing, one of Cumbrias oldest sports, or Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling, a type of Nordic wrestling. Competitions are held at varying local shows over the summer months.

Segways at Go Ape / www.golakes.co.uk

Niche museums

While theres a plethora of fascinating collections and galleries scattered across the Lakes, including the thought-provoking Ruskin Museum of Coniston, which will soon be the home of Donald Campbells record-breaking Bluebird boat, you havent lived until youve visited a museum solely dedicated to the pencil. Visitors to The Derwent Pencil Museum in Keswick - home to the worlds first pencil - can explore 500 years on the subject. Elsewhere, the Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry in Kendal is well worth a visit.

The Ale Trail

Cumbrias beer is renowned as some of the best in the UK, and the Lake District is home to a hotbed of microbreweries and start ups - several of which have won both local and national awards, including the Coniston Brewing Company as well as the Hawkshead Brewery. Beer lovers should seek out the CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) Westmorlands Brewery Map thats hung in pubs across the region to follow trails of local breweries in the style of a London Underground Map - such as the rural Beckstones Brewery in Millom.
K ing Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain were today formally greeted by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at Horse Guards Parade at the start of a three day State visit.

It is expected to be 96-year-old Philip's last state visit before he retires from public duties in the autumn.

A total of more than 1,000 troops will take part in the state visit.

Glamorous Queen Letizia, 44, travelled to Buckingham Palace in the State Landau - the carriage which was built for the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 - alongside Prince Philip, while her husband travelled with the Queen.

Her Majesty the Queen and King Felipe of Spain / PA

The visit is seen as an important step in securing and maintaining good relations with Spain as the UK leaves the European Union.

The last incoming state visit by a Spanish king - Felipe's father King Juan Carlos - was 31 years ago.

UK State Visit of the King and Queen of Spain - In pictures 1 /24 UK State Visit of the King and Queen of Spain - In pictures Spain's King Felipe kisses the hand of The Queen as she greets him during a Ceremonial Welcome on Horse Guards Parade AP Household Cavalry riding ahead of a state carriage procession carrying Queen Elizabeth II and King Felipe VI of Spain PA King Felipe VI of Spain inspects a guard of honour during a Ceremonial Welcome on Horse Guards Parade Getty Images Spain's Queen Letizia with Britain's Prince Phillip Duke of Edinburgh ride in a carriage together EPA The Queen and King Felipe VI of Spain ride in a carriage during a State visit by the King and Queen of Spain at Centre Gate, Buckingham Palace Getty Images Prime Minister Theresa May and Home Secretary Amber Rudd (left) arrive for the state visit PA The Queen stands with Spain's Queen Letizia as their husbands King Felipe and Prince Philip inspect an honour guard during a Ceremonial Welcome on Horse Guards Parade AP Prince Philip and Queen Letizia of Spain arrive at Buckingham Palace REUTERS EPA The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall greet King Felipe VI and Letizia of Spain at his hotel in central London at the start of the King's State Visit to the UK PA The Queen and Spanish King Felipe VI leave in a state carriage following a ceremonial welcome for his State Visit to the UK on Horse Guards Parade PA Queen Elizabeth II, Spain's King Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia and Britain's Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh during a welcoming ceremony at Horseguards Parade EPA Queen Letizia of Spain meets Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at their hotel during their state visit to the United Kingdom Getty Images Queen Letizia of Spain and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh ride in a carriage during a State visit by the King and Queen of Spain at Centre Gate, Buckingham Palace Getty Images Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Letizia, Spanish King Felipe VI and The Queen pose for a photograph after arriving back at Buckingham Palace after a ceremonial welcome at the start of the Spanish King and Queen's three-day state visit AFP/Getty Images King Felipe VI of Spain is greeted by The Queen during a ceremonial welcome for his State Visit to the UK on Horse Guards Parade PA King Felipe VI of Spain inspects a guard of honour with the Duke of Edinburgh during a Ceremonial Welcome on Horse Guards Parade PA The Horse Guards Parade with The Queen and Spanish King Felipe VI during a welcome ceremony for the Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia near the Buckingham Palace EPA

King Felipe, 49, is expected to raise the tricky issue of Gibraltar during his stay in London this week.

The trip has been postponed twice - firstly because of a political crisis in Spain in March 2016, and then again when the rescheduled date clashed with the UK's snap general election in June.

During the visit the King and Queen enjoy a lunch at Buckingham Palace, afternoon tea at Clarence House and a State Banquet at the Palace with senior members of the Royal family.

The Queen with Spain's Queen Letizia at the ceremonial welcome on Horse Guards Parade / AP

The King will also attend a UK-Spain Business Forum at Mansion House with the Duke of York.

They will visit Westminster Abbey too accompanied by Prince Harry, and they will both meet Theresa May at No. 10 Downing Street.

Around 1,000 troops took part in the state visit / PA

The Spanish royals are expected to meet Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at a state banquet in the ballroom on Wednesday evening.

It will be the first time full-time royal Harry, 32, has taken part in a state visit.
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Japan has become the latest F-35 user to order the Norwegian "Joint Strike Missile" (JSM). Kongsberg has been developing JSM since 2011 as an air-to-surface weapon that is not only stealthy but also designed to be launched from the internal bomb bay of the F-35 (where two can be carried). The half-ton JSM, with a 250 kilometer range, is based on the existing Kongsberg NSM (Naval Strike Missile). That means JSM added up with capabilities like two-way communication, image recognition for homing in on a specific target and the ability to fly very low and take advantage of local terrain to evade detection and interception. JSM is basically a small cruise missile using a small jet engine and pop-out wings to keep itself moving.

Adapting this weapon for air launch got American manufacturers and the U.S. Department of Defense involved and soon Kongsberg had made deals for integrating the JSM with the still evolving fire-control software of the F-35 as well as a U.S. partner to manufacture JSM for American users.

JSM uses the NSM guidance system to hit moving targets, like ships as well as very small targets on land. Japan wants JSM because that missile would be perfect for a Japanese F-35 making a surprise attack on North Korean missile or nuclear weapons facilities. Other nations see the JSM as more useful against naval targets or even specific vehicles moving along a distant road. The JSM thus becomes a very useful weapon for nations adopting the F-35. The JSM is also superior to the heavier Harpoon, which has become a standard anti-ship missile in many navies. The JSM has other competition, like the Harpoon variant, SLAM-ER, but at the moment no one weapon has a lock on future anti-ship missiles or the kind of versatile air-to-ground missile JSM has indeed evolved into. JSM is completing its final tests in 2017 and will be available adaptation (software mods) for F-35 users as they receive their aircraft. Each nation will have the F-35 fire control system (as well as some of the other electronics) modified to handle local preferences, especially when it comes to specific bombs and missiles and other unique bits of hardware.

The F-35 is armed with an internal 25mm cannon and four internal air-to-air missiles (or two missiles and two smart bombs) plus four external smart bombs and two missiles. A special bomb rack was developed which allowed the F-35 to carry eight SDBs (230 kg Small Diameter Bombs)s All sensors are carried internally and max weapon load is 6.8 tons. The aircraft is very stealthy when just carrying internal weapons. The more compact (it looks like a missile) SDB was designed with the internal bomb bays of the F-22 and F-35 in mind and has proved to be a very effective smart bomb.

JSM is based on the older, and quite successful, NSM. This is 410 kg (900 pound) missile is designed for use from ships or land based launchers (or trucks). NSM has a 125 kg (275 pound) warhead and a range of 185 kilometers. NSM uses GPS and inertial guidance systems, as well as heat imaging system (and a database of likely targets) for picking out and hitting the intended target. NSM entered service in 2007 and work on an air launched version led to the JSM. A major chore was the JSM's advanced electronics (especially the gear that defeats defensive jammers) and this stuff required a lot of tweaking and realistic testing. That was expected and the JSM was ready for service on schedule.

JSM is also being adapted for use on other aircraft, especially the F-16, F-15E and F-18, which would carry it externally. The F-35 can also carry JSM (and all other bombs and missiles) externally but sacrifices a lot of its stealth protection to do so. Japan may not consider this to be a major problem with North Korea, which has an antiquated air-defense system. The official reason for arming Japanese F-35s with JSM is to deal with the threat of ballistic missile attack by North Korea. JSM is well suited to find and destroy hidden North Korea missile launch sites. But JSM would also be an excellent weapon to use against Chinese warships, which Japan does not mention but is implied.
by Austin Bay July 12, 2017

North Korea's Kwasong-14/KN-14 intercontinental ballistic missile test launch was by far the Fourth of July's most disturbing firework.

Spoiling America's birthday was Pyongyang's goal. In fact, for the Kim dictatorship, it's an old hat propaganda tactic. On July 4, 2009, North Korea test-fired seven short-range missiles. July 4 missile displays send a provocative signal: the North Korean dictatorship is targeting the U.S.

On July 6, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce commented on North Korea's ICBM provocation. "The U.S. is not going to allow the capacity, for a despotic dictator from North Korea to fulfill his rhetoric and develop a nuclear warhead that could hit the U.S. or its allies -- for which, we (Australia) are one." Joyce said North Korea is testing the American resolve and "that's a very foolish thing to do."

However, North Korea's rotund dictator, Kim Jong Un, revels in megalomaniacal theatrics that include foolish threats.

Here's the bad news: he is now acquiring the missile and nuclear weapons technology to turn his threats into a deadly regional and international disaster.

North Korea's Kwasong-14 test demonstrated that Kim has an ICBM capable of striking Anchorage, Alaska and very likely Honolulu, Hawaii. Some military analysts argue the ICBM's performance indicates it can hit southern California. That means Kim can target western Canada, the U.S. Pacific Northwest and possibly a slice of Nevada.

For several years, his regime has fielded intermediate range ballistic missiles that can strike the western Aleutians and Guam.

Guam is sovereign U.S. territory. North Korean IRBMs are the primary reason the U.S. Army positioned a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-ballistic missile battery on the island.

THAAD has had 14 successful intercepts in 14 operational tests. That's good news, for in the 21 century, defending against enemy ballistic and cruise missile attacks is an absolutely vital military capability.

Today few in Washington or the mainstream media will disagree with that. It wasn't always so. As I mentioned in a recent column, in 2003, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi opined: "The United States does not need a multi-billion-dollar national missile defense against the possibility of a nuclear-armed ICBM. What we need is a strong nonproliferation policy with other nations to combat the most serious threat to our national security."

For three decades, left-wing Democrats opposed missile defense. Today's U.S. Missile Defense Agency was originally Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative. Scoffing Democrats call SDI "Star Wars" and ridiculed missile defense supporters.

But Reagan realized advances in missile, sensor and weapons technologies rendered the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty a Cold War relic. Violent dictators ignore non-proliferation treaties.

Earlier this year the U.S. deployed a THAAD battery to South Korea. South Korea knows THAAD provides protection. So do the short-range Patriot PAC-3 ABMs in South Korea.

Japan has several Patriot PAC-3 ABM batteries. Recently, Japan decided to buy two land-based Aegis Ashore anti-missile systems that fire the U.S. Navy's Standard Missile-3. The SM-3 can intercept an enemy missile at a range of 500 kilometers.

Japan already has six AEGIS destroyers (warships) armed with SM-3s. South Korea has three AEGIS destroyers and will build more. The South Korean ships could be armed with SM-3s.

The Trump Administration is using U.S. missile defense capabilities to provide security for South Korea and Japan and signal U.S. resolve -- a point the Australian deputy prime minister didn't want Kim Jong Un to miss. For that matter, Australia is acquiring three AEGIS destroyers with ABM capabilities.

The U.S. Ground-based Missile Defense system protects North America from ICBMs. It employs the Ground-Based missile. The good news is two months ago the GMD intercepted a target ICBM. However, the system is skeletal; at the moment around 30 GBIs are available. Development of this system was slowed by benighted political opposition.

Missile defense enhances U.S. security but it also enhances the security of U.S. allies. The Reagan Administration foresaw that political and diplomatic pay-off.
A final peace deal with the rebellious Tuareg in the north was signed in early 2015 and is being observed, sort of. The reality is that the CMA (the Tuareg separatist coalition) and the pro-government Tuareg coalition have not resolved all their clan and family disputes. These local, and often ancient, disagreements and feuds are often not connected with the 2012 rebellion in the north nor the continuing Islamic terrorism problems but they do cause security problems that interfere with rebuilding the economy and much else.

Meanwhile Islamic terrorism is spreading to the more populous south but not because of unrest in the north but because Islamic radicalism is extremely popular with young Moslems these days. You can thank global communications and all that oil money spent on subsidizing hardcore Islam worldwide.

The Tuareg peace deal was stalled for over a year because the black majority in the south did not want to grant as much autonomy as the Tuaregs demanded. The two groups have always been at odds but were only united in the same country by the colonial French in the 19th century. Like most African countries, dividing the nation is not an acceptable option and the colonial borders are considered sacrosanct. The current mess began when France took swift action in January 2013 by leading a military operation to clear Islamic terrorists out of northern Mali. Aided by Chad and a growing number of other African peacekeeping contingents, this effort continues and is somewhat open ended. The French acted because in 2012 Tuareg tribal rebels (with the help of al Qaeda affiliated Islamic terrorists) in northern Mali chased out government forces and declared a separate Tuareg state. The Mali army mutinied (because of lack of support from the corrupt government) down south and took control of the capital. The army soon backed off when neighboring nations threatened to intervene.

T he thinly populated northern two-thirds of the country has a population of less than two million, out of 15 million for all of Mali. The north was very poor in the best of times, and over a year of violence there has halted tourism (a major source of income, especially in the three major cities up there) and the movement of many goods. Mali still has internal problems (mainly corruption) and continued unrest in the north. National GDP increases about five percent a year but the corruption is still thriving and there is not a lot of evidence nationwide that the economy is getting better.

A lot depends on whether the majority in the south can reduce corruption and deal fairly with the Tuaregs and other minorities (like Arabs) in the north or the restless Fulani in central Mali. The elected Mali government is back in power but appears to be as corrupt as ever and under growing pressure from donor nations to either clean up the corruption or see most of the aid disappear. Meanwhile foreign trainers have only been able to put about 10,000 Malian troops through a Western style training course. Currently Mali has 7,000 soldiers on active duty and 8,000 reservists. There is still a problem with the quality (and honesty) of the officers who tend to be most influenced by the rampant corruption.

United We Survive

The local Islamic terror groups are, by their own standards, not doing well. They are carrying out fewer attacks and trying to concentrate on staging ones that will generate maximum publicity or cash (or both). A very visible sign of this occurred earlier in 2017 when the main local Islamic terror groups consolidated 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 (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), Ansar Dine, FLM (Macina Liberation Front), and al Mourabitoun (an al Qaeda splinter group). Another reason for merging is to make it easier to pool resources (including information and advice) and coordinate with other Islamic terror groups in the area. Making a coalition like this work is always difficult, especially considering the importance of ethnic differences. The FLM is Fulani while the other groups are largely Tuareg, Arab and some foreigners. Note that JNIM did not absorb all of AQIM or al Mourabitoun, just local groups that had long been identified with al Qaeda. Al Mourabitoun is believed to have largely rejoined al Qaeda. Internal politics for Islamic terror groups is a lot messier than these religious zealots like to admit. Thats mainly because each group believes they are uniquely qualified to be the supreme leader of all Islam. Coping with this aspect of Islamic radicalism has proved burdensome and ultimately becomes a major reason for Islamic terror movements to fade away (via desertion and other forms of self-destruction).

July 9, 2017: In the north (outside Gao) Islamic terrorists ambushed a military convoy and ten soldiers were apparently captured.

July 2, 2017: France has proposed that Mali allow Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger to raise another 5,000 peacekeepers to deal with Islamic terrorism in the Sahel (the band of semi-desert lands south of the Sahara). France would continue leading a Western coalition providing the trainers, equipment and financial support for the additional peacekeepers.

July 1, 2017: JNIM released a video showing the six foreigners (from France, Australia, South Africa, Romania, Switzerland and Colombia) they are holding for ransom in northern Mali. JNIM is apparently soliciting discreet offers. Most governments no longer pay ransoms because they have come to understand that this only makes their citizens, especially when overseas, more likely to be kidnapped. As an alternative the Islamic terrorists will sometimes try to get a swap (for a jailed Islamic terrorist) deal. Making a video of the hostage being killed (usually by beheading) is also a possibility but this has been shown to increase the efforts to track down and kill the kidnappers. These videos still get made, but not usually in the Sahel where the Islamic terrorists are more concerned about the money. AQIM in particular was always more mercenary, and quite good at it. But it is a lot more difficult to get multi-million dollar ransoms these days because it is not only illegal but frowned upon globally and to be done it must be very clandestine.

June 24, 2017: In the north (outside Timbuktu) a Swedish man, held captive since 2011, was released by his Islamic terrorist captors. Sweden has a policy of not paying ransom and the group that captured the Swede were demanding a minimum of $5 million. The former hostage, now 42, was in good health and unable or unwilling to provide details of why or how he was freed.

June 18, 2017: In the south, JNIM attacked a tourist resort outside the capital (Bamako), killing five people (including three foreigners). Police responded killing four of the attackers and soon arresting four more. JNIM described the attackers as Fulani.

June 17, 2017: In the north (outside Timbuktu) JNIM attacked an army base, killing five and wounding eight soldiers while one of the attackers was killed. JNIM looted the camp, destroyed eight vehicles and made off with one vehicle plus some weapons and ammo. Several soldiers may have been taken prisoner as well.
Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett spent the day in Tauranga today, first meeting local businesswomen for coffee at Classic Flyers.

The morning talk was given to around 30 women in the Boeing Room, with issues such as the gender pay gap and female representation on company boards taking precedent.

She began by mentioning a recent magazine survey, in which female respondents said they feel they dont have the same professional opportunities as men.

This led into the topic of the gender pay gap, which Paula claims represents a 12 per cent difference in pay between men and women in New Zealand.

I cannot fathom it, she says.

She talked about wanting to tidy up the public service and deliver better pay for women there, and trumpeted the recent pay equity victory for homecare workers.

Getting them up from $16 an hour closer to $20 makes a huge difference, but theres so much more to do.

However, she falls short of advocating a similar pay rise for workers in all fields and industries.

We generally increase the minimum wage by 50 cents a year, but we dont want to increase wages so much that it makes it unaffordable for businesses to hire people.

Paula also discussed how, although women make up 60 per cent of university graduates, theyre still not getting promotions, and she puts much of the blame on businesses.

Its time some of our workplaces started to doing things differently.

She used her own journey into parliament as an example of what a woman can achieve when she has the confidence to seize opportunities.

If theres a job that requires 10 key attributes, a man who only has six of them will still throw his hat into the ring, but a woman with nine might be reluctant, and then she ends up working for that man.

Afterwards, Paula travelled to the Tauranga Police Station, where she met with local police in her capacity as Police Minister.

One of the initiatives she was keen to talk about is the new organised crime task force for Tauranga, recently announced by the government.

A population increase naturally requires more police, says Paula. But anecdotally Im also hearing theres a bigger gang presence in Tauranga.

She says part of the problem may be Australian deportees returning to New Zealand and taking up a life of crime here.

Theres no doubt more drugs are getting into New Zealand as well, she adds. We pay more for drugs here, so suppliers know they can get top dollar.
Donald Trump has blocked a lot of people on Twitter. It's something that Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute says is unconstitutional, and it's now suing the President over the practice.

Last month, the free-speech group sent a letter to Trump threatening legal action and demanding he unblocks the accounts in question. It claims those who had been blocked are having their free speech protections violated.

After Trump's administration failed to respond to the notice, the group filed a lawsuit on behalf of seven Twitter users in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It argues that as Trump regularly uses Twitter to make policy statements, the service qualifies as a public forum, which means they can't be stopped from viewing government communication on the basis of their views.

"President Trump's Twitter account has become an important source of news and information about the government, and an important forum for speech by, to, or about the president," said Jameel Jaffer, the Knight Institute's executive director, in a statement. "The First Amendment applies to this digital forum in the same way it applies to town halls and open school board meetings."

One of the blocked defendants is Houston police officer Brandon Neely. After Trump tweeted "Congratulations! First new Coal Mine of Trump Era Opens in Pennsylvania," on June 12, he replied "Congrats and now black lung won't be covered under #TrumpCare." He discovered that the @realDonaldTrump account had blocked him the next day.

"Everyone being able to see the president's tweets feels vital to democracy," said Joseph Papp, one Twitter users involved in the suit.

While it seems clear that Trump uses Twitter as an official platform - the White House has confirmed his Tweets are official statements and is preserving them - the lawsuit could come down to whether the microblogging site counts as a public forum.
Detroit, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Backdropped by what AlixPartners two years ago identified as the CASE trends that are completely revolutionizing the automotive industry  the connected, autonomous, shared and electric vehicles of the not-too-distant future -- the global business-advisory firm today unveiled an analysis detailing how automakers, suppliers and other industry players need to evolve their organizations and their partnering approaches to successfully transition to a new automotive ecosystem. Using several examples, the firm detailed where companies, often relying on traditional auto-industry approaches, are falling behind and why they should consider revamping their operating models. Meanwhile, the report also forecasts a significant downturn in US sales ahead, to 16.9 million light-vehicle units this year and to a cyclical trough of 15.2 million units in 2019  partly driven by a used-car time bomb of 500,000 more off-lease vehicle-returns in 2017 vs. 2016, on top of the 500,000 more in 2016 vs. 2015.





On the connectivity front, the analysis points to the example of Tesla Inc.s high-spec center-stack display, featuring over-the-air upgrades from the company and iPad-like features. Though this feature has been on the market since the 2012 model year, and has garnered very strong reviews from consumers, no other major automaker has moved to match the system.

On the autonomous-vehicle front, the AlixPartners analysis finds there are now more than 50 major companies are now working on autonomous vehicles or full autonomous-vehicle systems, as well as a plethora of smaller companies and start-ups. This Wild-West environment will likely result in a handful of big winners, says the study, but on the other hand, also many disappointed investors. The report also notes that many of the newer high-tech entrants have completely different DNAs than traditional automotive companies, including being used to very high returns on capital. Given the white-hot competition brewing, the analysis predicts that AV systems-costs could drop 78% by 2025.

On the shared-mobility front, the analysis includes a survey of a total of 2,000 US adult consumers that shows just how fast things are changing in todays automotive world. The survey polled 1,000 consumers across 10 large markets where both car-sharing and ride-sharing are popular (the metro areas of Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco-Oakland and Washington, D.C) and, as a control group, 1,000 respondents across the entire US. This mirrored a consumer survey by AlixPartners in November 2013. In this years survey, consumers in the 10 trend-setting markets said their awareness for virtually all major car-sharing brands (names such as Zipcar, Car2Go and Enterprise CarShare) has decreased, and 21% of respondents were unable to name any brands at all.

By contrast, this years survey also asked users of ride-sharing (brands like Uber and Lyft) in those same 10 markets about their intended usage in the next 12 months vs. their past usage, and 24% said their usage would be or more than in the past, vs. just 5% who said less  an 18-percentage-point difference. Meanwhile, just 17% of car-sharing users surveyed in those markets said theyd employ car-sharing more in the coming 12 months than in the past  vs. 16% who said theyd use that mobility service less in the year ahead. Moreover, among respondents in the 10 markets, the survey found that ride-sharing was five times more likely to be a top-three transportation mode than was car-sharing (11.6% vs. 2.5%), and three times more likely than traditional taxis (11.6% vs. 4.2%). In addition, among millennials surveyed in the key markets, 9% said ride-sharing has allowed them to postpone or avoid getting a drivers license  another indicator of todays fast-changing times.

Another key finding of the survey, coupled with AlixPartners analysis, is that in the 10 key markets each vehicle used in car-sharing is likely replacing the need for 19 personal vehicles -- a decrease from 32 vehicles based on the results from AlixPartners 2013 survey. Meanwhile, according to the same analysis, one vehicle used ride-sharing is likely displacing four personal vehicles. The report goes on to note that both ride- and car-sharing vehicles are typically replacing vehicles driven less than 5,000 miles per year, not typical commuting vehicles.

On the electrification front, the AlixPartners study reveals that China is investing heavily to take a leadership role in electric vehicles. In an example of that, the report notes that Chinese automakers commanded 96% of the 2016 market in China for full electric vehicles (not including hybrids), more than double their share (43%) for all types of light vehicles. It also finds that of the 103 EVs to be launched globally by 2020, 49 of them will come from China-based automakers The report additionally predicts that China is targeting to have two-thirds of the worlds manufacturing capacity for lithium-ion batteries by 2021 (175 GWh of power, or the equivalent of five Tesla

giga-factories).

Meanwhile, the report notes that hybrid sales in the US have slowed, from 3.2% of the market in 2013 to just 2.1% so far in 2017, while plug-in and battery-electrics sales, while increasing, still represent only 1.0% of the market. This, says the study, underscores the need for maximum flexibility in both organizations and partnerships to handle the expected, but bumpy, shift to the new automotive ecosystem thats coming.

Against this fast-moving, uncertain background, the AlixPartners report forecasts a downturn  vs. the plateau some others are predicting  in US vehicle sales. The report forecasts US light-vehicle sales for 2017 of 16.9 million units, dropping to 15.2 million in 2019. Underlying these forecasts is the reports findings that for the last 11 months sales incentives in the US have averaged more than 10% of vehicle prices  a historical harbinger of downturns, and that theres a used-car time bomb about to explode in the market  500,000 more off-lease vehicle-returns hitting the market this year than last, likely depressing used-vehicle prices double the 13% drop already since 2014, and costing automakers captive finance companies up to $5 billion.

This all, notes the reports, will likely be a double-whammy to new-vehicle sales, displacing sales to cheaper used cars while increasing lease payments on new vehicles as leases get written with anticipated higher residual rates and tighter credit standards.

Finally, and also in a way on the partnership front, the AlixPartners study finds that private-equity firms have switched, in droves, from being buyers to sellers  most often to strategics (companies in the auto industry already), as private-equity-to-strategics deals skyrocketed from 6% of total auto-M&A transaction values in 2013 to 84% in 2016.

John Hoffecker, global vice chairman at AlixPartners and a 30-year automotive veteran, said: Theres an all-new automotive ecosystem developing, and I fear that many players really arent prepared for it. The changes coming are the biggest since the internal-combustion engine pushed aside horses and buggies, yet what the exact changes will be are as unpredictable as trying to guess which app is going to be most popular on next years smartphones. Leading players will be those that both study hard and are fast on their feet.

Mark Wakefield, global co-head of the automotive and industrial practice at AlixPartners, said: With the rapid but uncertain developments in connectivity, autonomy, shared mobility and electrification, traditional approaches to partnering and running organizations could well be setting up the auto industry up to be disrupted. Fast and savvy organizations that build their own agile ecosystems and create smart partnerships, but without locking themselves into technologies that may become quickly outdated, will be best positioned to afford the needed ?CASE investments of the future and to prosper from the coming industry changes rather than being rolled over by them.

About the Survey:

The 2017 AlixPartners consumer survey mentioned above was fielded in the United States online May 19-25, 2017.

About AlixPartners

In todays fast paced global market timing is everything. You want to protect, grow or transform your business. To meet these challenges, we offer clients small teams of highly qualified experts with profound sector and operational insight. Our clients include corporate boards and management, law firms, investment banks, investors and others who appreciate the candour, dedication, and transformative expertise of our teams. We will ensure insight drives action at that exact moment that is critical for success. When it really matters.
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Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company offers peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis, and additional dialysis therapies and services; intravenous therapies, infusion pumps, administration sets, and drug reconstitution devices; remixed and oncology drug platforms, inhaled anesthesia and critical care products and pharmacy compounding services; parenteral nutrition therapies and related products; biological products and medical devices used in surgical procedures for hemostasis, tissue sealing and adhesion prevention; and continuous renal replacement therapies and other organ support therapies focused in the intensive care unit. It also provides connected care solutions, including devices, software, communications, and integration technologies; integrated patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies to help diagnose, treat, and manage a various illness and diseases, including respiratory therapy, cardiology, vision screening, and physical assessment; surgical video technologies, tables, lights, pendants, precision positioning devices and other accessories. In addition, the company offers contracted services to various pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. Its products are used in hospitals, kidney dialysis centers, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, doctors' offices, and patients at home under physician supervision. The company sells its products through direct sales force, as well as through independent distributors, drug wholesalers, and specialty pharmacy or other alternate site providers in approximately 100 countries. It has an agreement with Celerity Pharmaceutical, LLC to develop acute care generic injectable premix and oncolytic molecules. Baxter International Inc. was incorporated in 1931 and is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.
Kellyanne Conway. Photo: Courtesy of Fox Business

Future Washington power hostess Kellyanne Conway appeared on Fox Business Tuesday evening, ostensibly to give people something to talk about besides the presidents sons emails. Instead, she and host Lou Dobbs discussed the implementation of Trumps legislative agenda, which Conway said is being hindered by Democrats and their pesky pink hats.

Its  time to shine a brighter light, a hotter light, on the Democratic obstructionism and resistance, she told Dobbs. Its no longer a bumper sticker or a bunch of pink hats. Its hurting people in this country.

.@KellyannePolls: Its also time to shine a brighter light, a hotter light on the Democratic obstructionism and resistance." pic.twitter.com/Hm5WdGR6Ed  FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) July 12, 2017

When Dobbs, whos a Republican, pushed back, saying he didnt understand why the party in power still hasnt passed a health-care bill or gotten to work on tax reform, Conway responded by saying that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells decision to cancel two weeks of the chambers recess was a great start to get things done and to show that these Democrats who are obstructing [and] think they are raising money off of it  [that] its nonsense.

Although Democrats do oppose the Senates health-care bill, theyre not the ones causing the holdup  that would be moderate and ultraconservative Republicans. Members of the former group are still skeptical about a bill that would overhaul the Medicaid program and take away funding from Planned Parenthood, and those in the latter still want a complete repeal of Obamacare. In other words, its the bills distinct lack of popularity thats stalling the presidents agenda  not the pink hats.
Late last night, beneath the Manhattan Bridge, hidden behind the fish markets of Chinatown, legendary art director Peter Saville leaned against a wall in his signature white jeans. As he waited for the Raf Simons show to start, the thunder of the Q train bore down upon him. A metal drink cart manned by a local resident gave out cold cans of Tsingtao to the standing-room-only crowd. Nearby, Christian Slater looked up at the red-and-white Chinese lanterns printed in Savilles famous album covers for New Order and Joy Division. I really want one of those lanterns, Humberto Leon whispered. Luka Sabbat walked by, looking sweaty, but in a sexy, devil-may-care way.

Raf Simons doesnt make arbitrary choices for where and how to stage a show, so venue matters for understanding his overall idea for a collection. Blade Runner was the main inspiration, basically, Simons told me. Not so much because of what the movie is as a story, but more of how the streets are, how all these cultures gather together. I wanted to also have something which feels very close to the street. Hours before the show, it was very interesting, because its normally a marketplace, so everything was blending together  the people who come here every day and sell and buy, with all the things we were starting to build up.

Indeed, there were a lot of sophisticated things built into this collection. Watching the subtle details of individual looks induced a buzz, amplified by the beer and the heat. Models like Julia Nobis cut a narrow path between the crowd, walking the wet sidewalk in knee-high, rubber rain boots with noose details, or pool slides with socks. They sheltered themselves from imaginary storms, holding clear umbrellas with glowing, lucite poles. Some carried the New Order lanterns as handbags. As this was Simonss second consecutive collaboration with the Woolmark Company, many looks incorporated knitwear  tartan outdoor hats, oversized sweaters, and cocoon coats that took cues from early Balenciaga. There was a lot of coat construction coming from mid-century couture, Simons told me. I think we kind of grabbed extreme references. Punk is the wrong word, but like, an attitude where you dare to kind of bring things together, referencing what we actually like to reference, whether its a movie or a culture or a time, he explained, as if anticipating comments about appropriation.

Yet the Blade Runner theme ran deeper than the setting. The word Replicant peeked out beneath all the wool, printed like a name badge on shirts. Small LED pins also displayed the term in both Chinese and English, a direct link to Ridley Scotts cinema androids. Simons said the movie has been an inspiration for many years, though I cant help but think its good timing for him to bring it out in a collection  the remake of Blade Runner comes out this fall, starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford. The Replicants nod is cheeky, coming from a designer with an interest in youth culture. Replicants are robots, so similar to humans that they can only be detected through a series of tests that measure their emotional responses. Replicants are dangerous, uncontrollable, seductive; familiar but alien  a little like young people.

After the show, Marc Jacobs found Simons in the adjoining public playground and gave him a hearty embrace. Friends like Julianne Moore, A$AP Rocky and top fashion editors gathered around Simons to congratulate him. The rest of the crowd dispersed into the humid night, swallowed by the cacophony of summer in the city.
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Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 11, 2017 20:28 1949 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a88f3e8 2 Politics Hizbut-Tahrir-Indonesia,Perppu,caliphate,freedom-of-expression Free

President Joko Jokowi Widodo has signed a regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to ban Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), an Islamic organization seeking to establish a global Islamic caliphate.

Presidential spokesperson Johan Budi confirmed on Tuesday that Jokowi had made the move, but could not give details about the Perppu. Johan only said that Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto would announce the decision on Wednesday.

Tomorrow, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister will make the announcement at the State Palace, Johan said.

Chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama Said Aqil Siraj, who met Jokowi on Tuesday, also confirmed that Jokowi had decided to disband HTI, adding that the announcement would be made on Thursday, not Wednesday.

The Perpu has been signed by the president, Said Aqil said.

Earlier in March, the office of Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs announced that the government would ban HTI from operating in the country on the grounds that its vision of establishing an Islamic caliphate contradicted the value of Pancasila, which values diversity and pluralism.

Read also: Jokowi administration moves to ban Islamic group

The decision to ban HTI came amidst worsening sectarianism in the country during the course of the Jakarta gubernatorial election which saw Christian of Chinese descent Basuki Tjahaja "Ahok' Purnama facing off against former culture and education minister Anies Baswedan.

Political analyst Sidney Jones deemed Wiranto's announcement to ban HTI as politically inept and "left Indonesia more religiously polarized than ever. She warned that the decision could come back and haunt the Jokowi government.

If the HTI is eventually dissolved, it would be the first Islamic organization to be banned in the period following the downfall of the New Order authoritarian regime in 1998. During the three decades of the regime, president Soeharto banned numerous Islamic organizations whose activities and ideas deemed to be threats to the country's founding ideology Pancasila.
COZAD  Lauri Gengenbach Garretson, originally from Cozad, visited her hometown and Gothenburg this week to sign copies of her first published children's book.

Garretson is the daughter of Gerard and Connie Hanna Gengenbach of Cozad and Muriel Oberg Gengenbach of Denver.

Her book, which she autographed and sold on Thursday at Cozad's Wilson Public Library, is titled,"Willamena Picklepants and a Case of the No Good, Really Mean Words."

According to a news release, the book is geared toward elementary aged students with an aim of shining a light on childhood bullying and the significant power words can have.

In the book, Willamena encounters playground meanies who use words to belittle, hurt and exclude.

The book has been read to students at Dudley Elementary School in Gothenburg, where Garretson herself attended and where her step-mom, Connie Hanna

Gengenbach, a Cozad native, is a substitute teacher.

"I've always been interested in it," Garretson said about writing. She majored in English in college.

The inspiration for her book, "Wilmena Picklepants," just came to her one day, Garretson said.

"I just woke-up and it was in my head. I knew what she was going to wear, I knew she had freckles," she said.

It was a little more complicated finding the right illustrator for her children's book however, Garretson said.

She talked to numerous illustrators before she found the right person. It turns out an illustrator from Indonesia was just the person Garretson needed.

"I sent her a sketch. She brought the character to life," Garretson said.

Being a busy mother raising four young children, Garretson's step mother, Connie Gengenbach, said she was shocked when she heard about the book being published. .

"This is her first book, there is talk of more," Gengenbach said.

"We are taught that sticks and stones break bones, but truly it is words that do

the most damage to our souls," Garretson said, in describing what motivated her to write the book.

As a mother of two sons and two daughters, Garretson said she has seen external wounds like scabs and cuts and scars get forgotten, but internal wounds aren't as easy to forget.

"The internal wounds caused by being singled out, teased, excluded or ostracized, however, sometimes leave residual scars that penetrate and damage the soul. While we dont see those scars, they often never completely fade," Garretson said.

Garretson earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and received a masters degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Prior to starting her family, Garretson served as a human resources professional with Fortune 500 companies. Garretson and her husband, Todd, reside in Marietta, Ga., with their four children, ages 12, 10, 8 and 3.

To learn more about Willamena Picklepants and the Empty Chair movement, visit www.lifeisastorybook.com.
MONTREALCanadian company is trying to corner the corner-store market in the U.S.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., which is based outside of Montreal and the owner of Circle K stores, is poised to expand its footprint to 48 U.S. states with the acquisition of closely held Holiday Stationstores Inc., a deal announced Monday. The transaction, valued by analysts at $1.5 billion to $2 billion, extends a buying spree that crossed the border 16 years ago and has now gone global.

The deal by Couche-Tard, which reported quarterly profit Wednesday that beat analysts estimates, furthers the reach of a company thats little known to Americans even though it has more than 7,000 locations in the U.S., according to industry publication CSP. The purchase of 522 stores, a food commissary and a fuel terminal gives Couche-Tard  French for Night Owl  access to the upper Midwest market, including a stronghold in the Minneapolis region, and boosts its expertise in selling prepared food.

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It is Couche-Tards third major investment in the U.S. since December 2014, after the acquisition of gas-station chain CST Brands Inc. for almost $4 billion, which closed just weeks ago.

Assuming the deal is approved by regulators, a Canadian company that started with one store in a Montreal suburb in 1980 would have U.S. customers from Texas to Alaska, adding six states to its reach. While the acquisition would move Couche-Tard closer to U.S. market leader 7-Eleven, the industry is highly fragmented, with chains accounting for 37 per cent of total stores, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report from March.

The acquisition reflects that the industry consolidation theme continues in the U.S. and Canadian convenience and fuel market, wrote Keith Howlett, an analyst at Desjardins Capital Markets, in a note to investors.

Profit grew to 52 cents a share, excluding some items, in the period ended April 30, Couche-Tard said Wednesday in a statement. Analysts projected 46 cents on average. Sales in Europe and efforts to control costs helped make up for lower gasoline and products margins in the U.S.

With the acquisition, Canadian companies have made 18 deals valued at $1 billion or more to buy U.S. targets so far this year, compared with 21 for all of last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Laval, Que.-based Couche-Tard said the agreement bars it from disclosing financial terms. It forecast that Holiday would add $180 million to $190 million a year in earnings before interest, income taxes and depreciation and amortization, which last fiscal year amounted to about $2.4 billion.

Alain Bouchard, the co-founder and now executive chairman, has gradually expanded the company, first in its home market, then to the rest of Canada, before entering the U.S. in 2001 and Europe in 2012. The company has a no-frills reputation, with top management known for visiting scores of stores before making acquisitions to spot the weaknesses.

In Holiday, Couche-Tard said it identified a very well-run company with similar growth prospects and a strong local brand. Strong points include a successful car-wash subscription program, a food commissary that makes thousands of sandwiches a day and data analytics used for pricing, chief executive officer Brian Hannash told analysts after the announcement.

Mark Petrie, an analyst with CIBC World Markets, called it an excellent fit thanks to a limited geographic overlap between the two companies and Holidays market share of about 30 per cent in its territory.

The deal could help boost Couche-Tard shares, which have fallen 1 per cent this year, compared with a 1.9-per-cent gain for a subindex of Canadian consumer-staple sellers.

That underperformance has been unusual for Couche-Tard, a favourite of investors for the last 15 years, GMP Securities analyst Martin Landry wrote. He called the price an appealing entry point into one of the best-managed companies in Canada.

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LONDONOPECs first assessment of world oil markets in 2018 showed that, despite cutting output, the group is still pumping too much crude.

Even though the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) delivered on pledges to reduce supply, its output exceeded demand in the first half of this year, according to a report from the group. Its production was 32.6 million barrels a day in June. With U.S. oil producers leading a pickup in rival supply, thats also higher than the 32.2 million a day OPEC expects will be needed in 2018.

Oil prices have slumped into a bear market on concern that production cuts implemented by OPEC and Russia since the start of the year arent deep enough to clear a global glut, while U.S. shale-oil producers are gearing up to fill in any shortfall. Producers will meet later this month in St. Petersburg to review their progress, although deeper cuts arent on the agenda.

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The report from OPECs Vienna-based research department indicates that the accord didnt go far enough, which could go some way to explain the lack of a sustainable price rally following the cuts. Despite delivering on its commitment to reduce output, the organization was still oversupplying world markets by about 700,000 barrels a day in the first half of this year, its data shows.

Still, the report also contained evidence that the cutbacks are having some effect. Oil stockpiles in developed nations fell in May, reducing their surplus over the five-year average to 234 million barrels. By keeping production at June levels, the organization would reduce the global surplus by about 70 million barrels in the second half, falling short of the groups goal of eliminating the excess, according to Bloomberg calculations using OPEC data.

Deeper cuts

While the organization and its partners have agreed to persevere with their cuts until the end of March, figures in the report suggest they would need to make deeper reductions to balance the market in 2018. If current output were sustained, OPEC will oversupply world markets by about 900,000 barrels a day in the first quarter of next year.

Growth in global oil consumption will be stable next year, at 1.26 million barrels a day, or 1.3 per cent. However, the increase in supplies from outside OPEC will accelerate to 1.1 million barrels a day, or about 2 per cent, with most of the expansion coming from the U.S.

OPECs outlook is more pessimistic than that of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Paris-based institution that advises most of the worlds major economies. Last month, the IEA predicted that global oil demand growth will pick up next year to 1.4 million barrels a day, allowing OPEC to reverse some of the cuts it has made and still keep markets balanced.

Deepening the cuts would ultimately prove self-defeating, Fatih Birol, the IEAs executive director, said in an interview in Istanbul.

Even if OPEC countries cut their production further and even if this causes prices to go up for a while, U.S. production will come to pressure the prices once again, Birol said.

OPECs production climbed by 393,500 barrels a day to 32.6 million in June as Libya and Nigeria  both exempt from the agreement to cut  restored output lost to political unrest and conflict, according to external sources compiled by the organization. Iraq, which has lagged behind other members in implementing its cutbacks, also increased output.

Saudi Arabia, the groups largest producer, which implemented the biggest cut, told OPEC it pumped 10.07 million barrels a day last month, exceeding its cap for the first time.

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Home Capital Group Inc., the embattled mortgage lender backed by Warren Buffett, has chosen an industry insider to turn around the company and woo back shareholders and clients.

Yousry Bissada, who takes over as president and chief executive officer on Aug. 3, has worked as a director or executive at banks, alternative lenders and financial-technology firms for the past three decades. Hes served for the past three years as a director at Equity Financial Holdings Inc., Home Capitals smaller rival, and was chairman of two mortgage lenders, Canadiana Financial Corp. and Paradigm Quest Inc., Toronto-based Home Capital said in a statement Wednesday.

One experience in particular prepares Bissada for his new role, according to insiders in the alternative-lending market: leading Filogix, the main platform that thousands of brokers in Canada use to submit mortgage applications to lenders.

Heres an executive that was groomed at the big banks and understands the lending space, said Andrew Moor, CEO of Equitable Group Inc., a competitor of Home Capital. Hes a strategic thinker. He thinks about the structure of industry, how things should be organized. Personally, hes a clear, level-headed, even-handed guy. You wont see any flashy or volatile things to follow. Hes very Canadian.

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That stability is just what Home Capital needs as it moves on to the next steps in revamping the firm and winning back the confidence of investors and clients. The company still needs to appoint a chief financial officer and tell investors how it intends to get clients back to replenish savings accounts and buy the guaranteed investment certificates that fund mortgage lending.

Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway Inc. agreed last month to buy a 38 per cent stake in Home Capital for about $400 million and extend a credit line, becoming the lender of last resort to the company after an Ontario regulator accused it of misleading shareholders about falsified mortgage applications. The allegations sent its shares tumbling and accelerated deposit withdrawals.

James Laird, founder and president of mortgage brokerage CanWise Financial, which arranges about $1 billion in loans annually, said Bissada has what it takes to turn Home Capital around.

He brings skill and experience and discipline, said Laird, who has met with Bissada regularly in the past decade to discuss industry trends over coffee. Within the mortgage industry, he is a big name who would bring a lot of confidence to the company.

Bissadas most recent mortgage experience comes from Equity Financial, like Home Capital an alternative lender that typically offers mortgages to borrowers who cant get funding from traditional banks. Bissada plans to step down from Equitys board before starting at Home Capital.

Bissada, 57, has been CEO of online insurance platform Kanetix Ltd. since 2011, according to his LinkedIn profile. It lists him as a certified public accountant who attended Queens University for an executive program, and University of Toronto, where he studied business and commerce.

He was CEO of Filogix from 2000 through 2007, just after it was acquired by Davis and Henderson for $212.5 million.

Bissada wasnt immediately available to comment on his new job. His appointment comes after a search that also drew interest from Alan Hibben, the former RBC Capital Markets investment banker who joined Home Capitals board in May to help restore confidence. Home Capitals shares have tripled from recent lows and deposits have stabilized.

Home Capital dropped 1.2 per cent to $14.42 at 11:30 a.m. in Toronto. The stock has declined more than 50 per cent this year.

The company had been looking for a replacement since CEO Martin Reid was ousted in March, a month before the firms woes became public. Bonita Then has been acting as interim CEO. Gerald Soloway, who founded the company in the 1980s and ran it until his retirement in 2016 at the age of 77, left the board in April after the Ontario Securities Commission announced the allegations.

Bissada will take over a firm that was granted a second wind by Buffett after it became a poster child for the ills in Canadas housing market, which Fitch Ratings and the International Monetary Fund have warned is at risk of a correction. Buffetts equity investment and credit line for Home Capital suggest hes not betting on a collapse anytime soon.

Between his employment experience and board appointments, it appears to us that Mr. Bissada has had meaningful exposure to both the prime and non-prime residential mortgage markets in Canada, Marc Charbin, an analyst at Laurentian Bank Securities Inc., said in a note to clients. He expects the firm will have a new CFO and revamped business plan in relatively short order.

Brent Belzberg, senior managing partner and founder of TorQuest Partners, has known Bissada for two decades and vouched for his integrity, an aspect sure to appease shareholders who fled the firm after the allegations.

Ive watched him at various iterations in his career, Belzberg said in a telephone interview. If I had to pick a guy whos going to give confidence to the marketplace, he should be at the top.

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Microsoft Corp. is setting up a new research lab focused on artificial intelligence, with the goal of creating more general-purpose learning systems.

The new lab, called Microsoft Research AI, will be based at the companys headquarters in Redmond, Wash., and involve more than 100 scientists from across various sub-fields of artificial intelligence research, including perception, learning, reasoning and natural language processing.

The goal, said Eric Horvitz, the director of Microsoft Research Labs, is to combine these disciplines to work toward more general artificial intelligence, meaning a single system that can tackle a wide range of tasks and problems. Such a system, for instance, might be able to both plan the best route to drive through a city and also figure out how to minimize your income tax bill, while also understanding difficult human concepts such as sarcasm or gestures.

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This differs from so-called narrow AIs, which are just designed to perform a single task well  for instance, recognize faces in digital photographs.

In entering the race to develop more general learning systems, Microsoft will be competing with other AI research companies, such as London-based DeepMind and San Francisco-based Google Brain, both divisions of Alphabet Inc., as well as OpenAI, whose founders include Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, and GoodAI, a small research outfit in the Czech Republic.

The field has undergone a tremendous amount of centrifugal force over the years, Horvitz said in an interview, noting how computer vision experts rarely talked to natural language processing experts or vice versa. The goal of the new Microsoft lab, he said, was to bring all these researchers back together and get them talking to one another and working on common goals.

In addition to its existing researchers, Horvitz said Microsoft plans to hire computer scientists and experts in fields such as cognitive psychology to join the new lab. The new Microsoft lab will also partner with the Center for Brains, Minds and Machines at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Horvitz said.

Microsoft is partnering with many of its new rivals in an effort called the Partnership on AI to Benefit People and Society that is looking at the ethical implications of the development of more powerful, increasingly ubiquitous, machine learning systems.

Horvitz, who was the co-founding chair of the Partnership on AI and will take over as sole chair next year, said that as Microsoft developed more advanced AI capabilities, it was critical that these systems were perceived as both fair and transparent.

To that end, Microsoft also said Wednesday it was creating a new company-wide advisory panel, consisting of representatives from each of its corporate divisions and also chaired by Horvitz, to provide ethical oversight for the companys AI efforts. The panel, called AI and Ethics in Engineering and Research, or Aether for short, will report directly to Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella.

The new initiatives on AI research come at a time when AI-enabled products  such as its voice-activated digital assistant Cortana  are becoming more critical to Microsoft. Last week, the company reorganized its sales force to focus more on selling products related to artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

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Ashton Kutcher had a quick explanation after a tabloid questioned why he was seen out and about with a mystery woman recently: She was his cousin.

Kutcher on Sunday responded to a Star magazine article headlined, Hey Ashton! Whos the girl? The article included pictures of Kutcher and a woman entering a private jet and noted it wasnt his wife, Mila Kunis.

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Kutcher posted a picture of the article on Twitter and added: You should have heard how upset Mila was that I spent the day with our cousin. He also apologized to his aunt, saying, These magazines lack integrity.

A representative for American Media, which owns Star, didnt immediately return a request for comment.

Kutcher and Kunis have two children together. They married in 2015.

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When this years Emmy Awards nominations are revealed on Thursday, Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany will not be among the names announced.

Space, the Canadian network for the acclaimed sci-fi series, says the fifth and final season that debuted June 10 did not air during the eligibility window for this years Emmys.

That means Clone Club members will have to wait another year to see if Regina-born Maslany will get a third nomination for best lead actress in a drama, for playing multiple clones on the series (last year she won the statuette).

But fret not, Canadian TV fans, there are several other Canucks who are eligible for Emmys this year. Here are a few shows to watch for when the nominations are revealed:

1. The Handmaids Tale: This much-heralded American series has strong Canadian connections that might not result in actual Emmy nominations, but nonetheless deserve mention. Among the connections is, of course, Toronto author Margaret Atwood. Her 1985 dystopian novel inspired the Hulu series, which aired on Bravo in Canada, and she was a consulting producer and had a brief cameo. The cast also had a Canadian  Amanda Brugel of Pointe Claire, Que., who played a Martha (a household servant). And it was all shot in Toronto.

2. Jean-Marc Vallee and James Tupper of HBOs Big Little Lies: Quebec-based Vallee directed the darkly comedic murder mystery, which David E. Kelley based on Liane Moriartys bestselling novel. Critics widely praised Vallees bold visual style and use of music in the star-packed limited series, so his chances for a nomination appear strong. Tupper, a Nova Scotia native, plays the easygoing ex-husband to Reese Witherspoons acerbic character.

3. Samantha Bee: The Toronto native earned her first Emmy nomination last year, for writing on her variety series Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, which airs on TBS and The Comedy Network. Since then, the show has continued to build momentum, with some critics hailing her fiery political commentary as an important voice in the Trump era.

4. Fargo: A slew of Canadians  from casting directors to production designers and sound mixers  were nominated for their work on season 2 of the Alberta-shot FX series last year. Season 3 was also shot in Alberta, which passes for Minnesota, so perhaps the streak will continue. Season 3 stars Ewan McGregor in two roles: as both a parole officer and his more handsome and successful older brother.

5. Long shots Schitts Creek and Anne: Canuck Schitts Creek stars Catherine OHara and Eugene Levy have appeared as long shots on some Emmy predictions lists for a couple of years now (especially OHara). Now that the CBC/Pop TV comedy series has developed a global following, with profiles in major publications and availability on Netflix, perhaps season 3 will be their time. Meanwhile, CBCs Anne (known as Anne with an E on Netflix) was shot in Prince Edward Island and Ontario and has many Canadian contenders, including Irish-Canadian star Amybeth McNulty and Canadian-born producer-writer Moira Walley-Beckett. The series is based on Lucy Maud Montgomerys classic novel.

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Theres a farm opening soon in Laurel, Md., that can grow strawberries in January. It could grow rare tropical fruits from Asia and Central America on U.S. soil. It could produce custom-designed lettuce, more peppery or sweet. Its a hydroponic farm in a shipping container, and its owners hope it could eventually put an end to food deserts, including the biggest one: outer space.

Local Roots, a California company, has created an indoor farm that can turn any produce into local produce, anywhere. They grow fruits and vegetables in shipping containers that are stacked in old warehouses or parking lots, which can either be connected to the grid or, eventually, powered by solar energy. Local Roots has designed the custom growing technology and hardware, and it owns and operates the farms, selling its produce to restaurants and food distributors under its own brand. The fact that the company is vertically integrated differentiates it from other container farming systems, such as Freight Farm, which sells their containers to others, including novice farmers.

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You can start to bring that farm into communities that historically had to import their food due to geography, climate, weather, soil or light, chief executive Eric Ellestad said.

Every 12-metre shipping container can yield the annual equivalent of three to five acres of farmland. Ellestad says his company can grow plants twice as fast as a conventional farm while using 97-per-cent less water.

Heres how they do it: Every farm is hydroponic, meaning the plants are grown in nutrient-rich water instead of soil. Leftover water is recirculated, so each container only uses between 19 to 75 litres each day. They also use sensors to keep tabs on how the plants are growing, and can give them exactly the nutrients they need at that phase in the growing cycle, speeding it up. Its almost a growing algorithm in some ways, Ellestad said. You can use that software platform to drive that farm as efficiently as possible.

Included in that are LED lamps that give the plants exactly the right wavelengths of light they need to grow and which can bring out certain qualities in their appearance and flavour. Chlorophyll, the molecule that causes photosynthesis in plants, absorbs red and blue light, so the farms usually look pink or purple. With its rows of lights and repetition, a container farm that was on display at the South by Southwest Conference in March felt a bit like stepping into a Yayoi Kusama infinity room.

When they tool around with different growing conditions, they can bring out certain qualities in their produce  the same way that terroir gives grapes grown in California a different taste than ones grown in France.

You can sit down and say, What do you want your lettuce to taste like? Do you want it to be more peppery?  Ellestad said. Especially with basil, you can really accentuate some of those flavours. You can really sit down and co-design a product with a chef.

All of the produce is grown organically and theres little risk of the types of E. coli scares that pop-up in conventional farming. Occasionally a fly will get in, and thats as serious as it gets, Ellestad said.

Another key fact: Local Roots has figured out how to make the farm efficient enough that it can sell produce at a comparable cost to conventionally-grown fruits and veggies.

If you can only sell produce to affluent customers in the Northeast, then thats a fantastic business but youre not really going to change how the food system functions for most Americans, Ellestad said.

The flexibility and scalability of the farms has huge implications for food deserts, a term for communities that have many fast-food restaurants, but few places to purchase fresh, nutritious food. Once Local Roots has scouted a location and set up a farm, its first harvest can take place only four weeks later. The company could drop a farm in the middle of Alaska, where a bag of lettuce can cost nearly $6, or in famine-stricken South Sudan.

So why dont they? Its about having the infrastructure to distribute the food properly, Ellestad said.

I think simply helicoptering a farm into a food desert could be part of the solution, Ellestad said. We would want to partner with the groups that are already working in that community . . . we cant operate in isolation. The food system is far too complex and localized.

For example, they could put a container farm in a neighbourhood with few amenities and sell their produce to corner stores, but if the corner stores dont have refrigerated cases for produce, it would rot. They are currently seeking partners that work in food deserts, as well as literal ones  In the Middle East, theres obviously huge food-supply-chain issues in those areas, he said. Container farms could be a solution for disaster relief after earthquakes, floods or humanitarian crises.

But theyre also looking a bit further. The company is talking to aerospace manufacturer Space X because these types of growing systems could one day be used to feed astronauts on long-term missions to other planets. The opportunities are global and intergalactic at the same time, Ellestad said.

For now, theyre going to begin growing lettuce, herbs and microgreens in the area, while expanding to other cities in the United States. And as efficient as indoor growing is, Ellestad doesnt think it will replace good, old-fashioned rain, sun and soil.

You cant eliminate any source of production, he said. You need everyone growing more and doing it better.

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MONTREALIt is one of the most famous pieces of sovereignty-related real estate in Montreal, made so by a man who announced Quebec and its nascent hopes for independence to the world.

But for the 50th anniversary of French president Charles De Gaulles controversial speech that ended with the phrase Vive le Quebec libre! the balcony from which he stoked the smouldering flames of separatism will remain closed to a group led by former Quebec Premier Bernard Landry.

Landry and the Societe Saint-Jean Baptiste de Montreal, a pro-independence advocacy group, had been seeking access to the city-hall perch as part of their plans to commemorate De Gaulles speech. But that request, made in an early-April letter from Landry to Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, was swiftly rejected.

I was surprised, disagreeably surprised, Landry told reporters Wednesday in front of a stone monument in a Montreal park that was erected in De Gaulles honour in 1992.

I dont want to lay too much blame, but its a lack of vision about the importance of this declaration for the City of Montreal.

A spokesperson for Coderre said in a statement that the city is planning a week-long exposition at city hall to mark the historical fact of De Gaulles 1967 visit to Montreal to visit Expo 67. On July 24, the day of the anniversary, there will be a series of 30-minute guided visits to the balcony between 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Remember that city hall is neutral and apolitical, the statement said. The citizens of Montreal would never accept that this place be used like this.

If it all seems like a quaint historical dispute, it is instructive to delve into the news archives when De Gaulles intemperate outburst provoked an emergency cabinet meeting of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearsons government in Ottawa and condemnations in many European capitals, including Paris.

The Prime Ministers Office was reportedly flooded with telegrams expressing displeasure. Students at the University of Toronto planned an anti-De Gaulle march.

It was no better back home, where French newspaper Le Figaro dubbed the presidents short speech about the progress and maturity of French Canada and its connection to France a serious diplomatic failure and a number of Parisians reportedly delivered floral bouquets of apology to the Canadian embassy.

Lost in the popular rendering of the diplomatic entanglement, is the fact that one day after De Gaulle wished long life for a free Quebec he undertook an official tour of the Expo 67 facilities. The political strategy coursing through the generals mind isnt clear, but after a brief address he ended saying: Long live Canada and long live Quebec.

It was already too late. A denunciatory Star editorial from that day, July 25, 1967, was headlined: This meddlesome old man abuses our courtesy. An official rebuke followed from Prime Minister Pearson declaring De Gaulles words to be unacceptable to the Canadian people and to its government.

The people of Canada are free. Every province in Canada is free. Canadians do not need to be liberated. Indeed, many thousands of Canadians gave their lives in two world wars in the liberation of France and other European countries.

Perhaps he had miscalculated. Perhaps the affront from Ottawa was too much. Perhaps it was the reported threats to mine the railroad tracks that were supposed to take the 76-year-old French president from Montreal to the Canadian capital.

Whatever the reasons, De Gaulle boarded his official airplane at Montreals Dorval airport on the 26th, cancelling a planned stop in Ottawa without any official explanation. One French uniformed military officer showed up to Orly Airport in Paris and conveyed apologies to a Star reporter, noting that it was Canadian soldiers who had liberated Normandy from the Nazis.

While the whole incident tainted the mans legacy for Canadian federalists, it set off a wave of pride in Quebec. The province was in the early days of the Quiet Revolution, throwing off the shackles of the Catholic clergy and taking back business from English industrialists.

Landry recalled that he had just returned to Montreal after three years at university in Paris in July 1967. He had been invited by friends to a dinner in Old-Montreal on the 24th, when the historic address took place.

I heard that crucial phrase and like all who were there we felt that we had witnessed an historic event, and it was exactly that, he said.

Three years later, the Parti Quebecois would run candidates in the first provincial election. In 1976, PQ leader Rene Levesque would become Quebecs first sovereigntist premier.

During an official visit to China, Landry and Levesque met with head of the Communist Party newspaper, the China Peoples Daily, who confided that De Gaulles speech was front-page news and prompted the creation of a Chinese character to represent the province of Quebec.

General De Gaulle internationalized the Quebec question, Landry said.

There are still two sovereigntist parties in the Quebec legislature and the independence question still dominates provincial election campaigns. But all these years later, the losing sovereignty referendums of 1980 and 1995 are as much historical relics as the fallout from the balcony speech.

My great regret and that of many others is that the General said, Long live a free Quebec, but the Quebec people have not yet said that Quebec will be free and we missed two chances to do so, Landry said.

Societe Saint-Jean Baptiste de Montreal president Maxime Laporte said there are still plans to mark De Gaulles speech on the street in front of city hall. There will be speeches and recitations, as well as an actor who will re-enact the French leaders ride through the streets in a convertible vehicle.

At least the streets belong to everybody, Laporte said.

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WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C.Fire officials in British Columbia say theyre relieved by a slight reprieve in the weather forecast that had been calling for strong winds where dozens of fires are burning.

BC Wildfire Service chief information officer Kevin Skrepnek said forecasters have revised their prediction for an incoming weather system.

We are expecting there to be some lightning with this system but it is likely to have some rain with it, he said, adding the overall pattern is for hot, dry conditions to continue.

We were a little bit more concerned about todays wind, but the forecast has shifted a little bit and we expect its going to be milder than first thought, but wind is a tricky thing to forecast so we are bracing for the worst and keeping a close eye on it. he said in an interview Wednesday.

Crews took advantage of calmer conditions to make progress on fire guards near Williams Lake, where 10,000 people remain on evacuation alert.

Twelve new fires were sparked Tuesday, just a fraction of the more than 100 that broke out each day last weekend, Skrepnek said. There are about 200 fires burning province-wide, he said.

Modest gains in fighting the fires mean an evacuation order was lifted for the community of Little Fort, north of Kamloops, although an alert remains in effect as three large fires burn nearby, he said.

More than 14,000 people have been displaced by wildfires from Princeton in the south to Quesnel in central B.C.

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Bob Turner of Emergency Management BC said the province remains prepared for the possibility of mass evacuations.

Skrepnek said if an evacuation order goes into effect in Williams Lake, people will be sent north on Highway 97 to Prince George, but Canadian Armed Forces aircraft and helicopters are also standing by in case airlifts are necessary.

Turner says the provinces priority is public safety and he encourages people to heed evacuation orders when they are issued.

But the chief of the Bonaparte Indian Band north of Ashcroft said they defied an evacuation order over the weekend and successfully stopped flames from overrunning their reserve.

My community has some really skilled firefighters, like a lot of First Nations reserves, and they came together and they stopped that wildfire from wiping out that whole community, Chief Ryan Day said in an interview. We actually didnt lose anything other than the guys who had livestock, they lost a bunch of range land.

He said 60 of the bands 280 members stayed to fight the fire.

The community doesnt have a firehall, a new water reservoir hasnt been connected to their main supply yet and they dont have a formal emergency response plan in place.

But Day said the experience of the trained forest firefighters in his community and access to heavy equipment from other members agricultural businesses contributed to their success.

We werent prepared for it of course because it happened in a blink of an eye, but we snapped into action and everyone did their part, he said.

Evacuees who are staying in communities from Kamloops to Vancouver cant return home yet, Day said, as hot spots and a fire near Cache Creek remain a cause for concern.

Over $53 million of B.C.s $63-million wildfire budget has been spent since the season began on April 1, but once it is exceeded, the wildfire service has immediate access to contingency funding, Skrepnek said.

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When Louis Saldenah first took part in the Caribbean Carnival in 1977, his band had less than 100 members.

Today, hes the band leader of Celebration Time, the largest band in the festival, with more than 4,200 masqueraders.

When we started, we had 98 people play mas with us, Saldenah said.

Since its inception in 1967 as part of Canadas centennial birthday, the Caribbean Carnival has grown into a multimillion-dollar event that has solidified itself as one of Torontos major cultural attractions.

The carnival had its humble beginning on Aug. 5, 1967, when about 50,000 people came out to celebrate, and the budget was $50,000.

With the festival celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, it now boasts itself as Canadas largest cultural celebration and North Americas largest outdoor festival. They say they draw more than one million people each year, with a budget of more than $2 million.

Performers show off their impressive costumes in Nathan Phillips Square as part of the launch of the 2017 Toronto Caribbean Carnival. The carnival celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.





Photos: Toronto's Caribbean Carnival kicks off 50th anniversary in style

About 10,000 masqueraders and 11 bands are expected to participate in the parade this year, which will take place Aug. 5, said parade manager Gerard Weekes.

The parade will start at 8:30 a.m., Weekes said, and will put a sea of costumes onto the Lake Shore.

Scotiabank stopped sponsoring the carnival last year, said Weekes, and the festival has since found a new sponsor in Peeks, a social media and tech company based in Toronto.

Peeks has Caribbean parentage, Weekes said, referring to the Toronto-born CEO Mark Itwarus Guyanese background.

Weekes hopes that Peeks will collaborate with the festival for the next five years.

Dozens of people gathered under the glaring sun Tuesday in Nathan Phillips Square for the launch of the carnival. The crowd got a taste of the upcoming festivities as spectators hid in the shade under colourful umbrellas and watched as costumed performers took the stage wearing brightly decorated attire with feathers and sequins, dancing to a mix of upbeat music.

The Caribbean Carnival puts us on the map year after year after year, Mayor John Tory said of the event once known as Caribana.

Thousands of people come from throughout North America and even the Caribbean every year, he said, which I consider to be the ultimate compliment.

Ward 21 Councillor Joe Mihevc agreed, praising the festival for its celebration of diversity and for its massive economic and cultural impact on the city.

Something amazing has happened in this city in the last five decades, Mihevc said. The event that started as a one-time gift from Torontos Caribbean community to Canada for its 100th birthday has become one of the most anticipated events of the summer.

The Star has previously reported that the carnival has brought in about $480 million in revenue during past years.

The grand parade starts at the Exhibition grounds, but many other events, including the brand new Junior King and Queen Showcase, and a number of art shows and exhibits, will take place during the next three weeks.

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Toronto Fire freed a man Tuesday evening who spent 8 hours stuck in a narrow space between two buildings on Sherbourne St.

The call for assistance came in around 8:20 p.m., after the man was found and had apparently been trapped for five hours, Toronto Fire said.

Toronto Fire Captain Michael Westwood said the man was stuck in a space that was only about 20 centimetres wide.

He was wedged in a really tight space, said Westwood. His head was sideways, his body was wedged in there really tight.

The man had little circulation in his arms and legs and was unable to move, he said. Initial efforts were made to pull the man out with ropes but he was too weak to grab them.

The ordeal led to firefighters breaking through a wall in one of the buildings, that was hemming the man in so they could get to him.

It took us over two hours, said District Chief Bill Bygrave, who was on the scene. The wall was over 19-inches thick  It was quite time consuming, a lot of work for the crews.

The rescue was all the more challenging because the mans leg was twisted underneath him, making it difficult to pull him through the breached hole in the wall.

Firefighters managed to break through a thick wall in one of the buildings and free the man at around 11 p.m. Tuesday, Westwood said.

He was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

While the man told firefighters he had fallen from a roof into the narrow gap between the buildings, Bygrave said the exact circumstances remain unclear.

We dont believe he jumped, he said. We believe he went in there for some reason  who knows what he was doing. But he got in there and he got in there way deep.

Bygrave said the incident may not actually be unusual.

We get a lot of entrapment calls, he said. This one, in between two buildings like this, has happened before but of course it doesnt happen too often.

Toronto Fire said a police victims fund or house insurance should cover the cost of the breached wall.

With files from The Canadian Press

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The union representing Toronto police is alleging that staffing cuts have reached a crisis point, leaving officers burnt out and the public at risk.

The Toronto Police Association launched a website Monday, saying the force has nearly 500 fewer officers than it did in 2010 and may cut another 400 by 2019.

Our members are trying to make a bad situation work by trying to do more with less, said union president Mike McCormack.

It is causing some concerns around the potential to public safety and officer safety.

The Toronto Police Service is currently under a three-year freeze on hiring and promotions. The move was one of a series of recommendations in a report released by the police boards Transformational Task Force in January  a group of civilians and officers thats part of a larger effort to modernize the force and cut police spending.

The days of more money, resources, staff, etc. are gone, said Toronto Police Service spokesperson Mark Pugash. We have to find a way to do what we do with fewer people, which means we have to be more intelligent, more enterprising, more economical.

Pugash also said police Chief Mark Saunders recently visited every police unit in the city to answer questions and respond to concerns. When they asked for more front-line officers, Pugash said, Saunders delivered.

The police service has also ensured officers have access to support services to help them cope with a job thats difficult in the best of times, said Pugash.

Change makes people anxious, he said. So were doing it carefully and patiently.

McCormack has previously said the task forces recommendations are a cost-cutting exercise that would endanger public safety.

In an interview Tuesday, he said the union has tried to reach out to Saunders and the Toronto Police Services board, which oversees the force, about the concerns, but those requests have gone nowhere.

This has led to an increase in crime in 10 of 17 police districts, said McCormack. Though key indicators like homicides are down, McCormack said officers are trying to police an ever-increasing population with fewer staff and time constraints from management.

The effects of that are trickling down to Toronto streets every day, McCormack said. In the citys northwest Sunday night, for example, police received six reports of gunshots but were too busy to respond right away, he said.

When those delays happen, the public takes out their frustration on whoever eventually arrives, said McCormack.

Its the front-line officers who are suffering, he said.

McCormack said a recent union survey found that 93 per cent of members feel the force is underresourced. Now, the association is telling its officers to spend extra time on self-care by not sacrificing breaks and vacations, though management is sometimes telling them to deal with calls in 45 minutes or less.

Theyre feeling pressure about clearing calls because there are so many calls pending, he said. There just arent sufficient numbers on the street or the support staff to back it up.

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Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders is defending plans to modernize the service and rejecting police union claims that staff cuts have reached a crisis point, putting officers and the public at risk.

Just hiring more police officers right now is doing a disservice to the organization, Saunders told CBC Radios Metro Morning on Wednesday.

The service wants and needs to improve the deployment model, so, for example, highly trained officers arent sitting around guarding crime scenes for days on end, he said.

We need to put our officers in the right place and the right time.

Saunders was also skeptical of the Toronto Police Association assertion that officer morale is rock bottom, suggesting the surveys used by the union might be skewed.

And the chief said he cant answer whether officers are working to rule.

I know that theyre going to be answering the calls when theyre called to be there.

The Toronto Police Association launched a website this week, saying the force has nearly 500 fewer officers than it did in 2010 and may cut another 400 by 2019.

Our members are trying to make a bad situation work by trying to do more with less, said union president Mike McCormack.

It is causing some concerns around public safety and officer safety, McCormack said.

The Toronto Police Service is currently under a three-year freeze on hiring and promotions. The move was one of a series of recommendations in a report released by the police boards Transformational Task Force in January  a group of civilians and officers thats part of a larger effort to modernize the force and cut police spending.

On Tuesday, Mayor John Tory, a member of the civilian oversight board, said he would like to see the association help with bringing about change instead of trying to resist it and protect the status quo.

I think its time they came to the table and acted as our partner in modernizing policing, the mayor said.

In two collective agreements, the association agreed to come to the table to talk about shift scheduling and two-officers-per-car at night policy, both identified as cost-saving ways the service can revamp its deployment model, Tory noted.

Its been very difficult to get those discussions going.

Those changes would allow more effective deployment, Tory said.

Thats what we need Mr. McCormack and the association on board, helping to bring about those changes in the best way possible, not kind of lobbing in hand grenades from the sidelines.

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WASHINGTONA California Democrat has followed through on threats to file impeachment articles against U.S. President Donald Trump, but there remains little indication that the effort will progress in the near future.

The resolution filed Wednesday by Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., is largely identical to a draft Sherman floated last month  one that accuses Trump of obstructing justice by threatening, and then terminating former FBI Director James B. Comey and includes language lifted from the impeachment charges against President Richard M. Nixon.

The four-page resolution garnered a single co-sponsor upon introduction: Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who has also been an outspoken proponent of impeachment proceedings against Trump but has not filed a resolution of his own.

The filing of an impeachment resolution against a president in itself is not terribly uncommon. Since Nixon, individual members of Congress have sought the impeachment of presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. What is much more serious is the launch of a formal inquiry by the House Judiciary Committee, and the subsequent adoption of impeachment articles by the House, resulting in a Senate trial.

In an interview Wednesday, Sherman said his decision to file the resolution Tuesday has driven by the House calendar and the timing of his own review process  not by the revelation Tuesday that Trumps son accepted a meeting with a lawyer tied to the Russian government with the understanding that the lawyer might have information damaging to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to share.

But, Sherman said, the emails released by Donald Trump Jr. add credibility to the notion that Trump fired Comey in order to derail the federal investigation  one that now appears certain to envelop his son.

Clearly you can no longer say that collusion is an unsubstantiated fantasy of crazy leftists, Sherman said.

But it remains fantastic to think that the impeachment push might proceed in any meaningful way in the coming months. Highlighting that reality is the lack of Democratic support for the push, let alone backing from Republicans. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has called for the completion of the pending investigations by congressional committees and by special counsel Robert Mueller before entertaining the notion.

Green said Wednesday that he signed on to see how the House responds and reserved the right to file impeachment articles of his own.

Two other key Democrats said Wednesday they had doubts about Shermans push.

California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which is probing Trumps Russia ties, said he was keeping my focus on following the facts.

From my point of view, its far too early to be thinking about where the investigation will conclude, he said.

And Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a law professor who sits on the House Judiciary Committee and has talked since January about the likelihood of a Trump impeachment, said he was surprised by Shermans move. He said he would review the resolution but might not sign on.

Impeachment is a mixed question of law, facts and politics, Raskin said. The law and the facts are beginning to crystallize, but the politics are just not there yet without Republicans willing to break from partisan discipline.

Sherman downplayed the lack of support from his Democratic colleagues, and he said the next step was to convince the Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee to hold hearings.

Its always nice to have cosponsors, he said. But I dont think thats the key thing here. The key thing is to get the ball rolling.

Read more:

The Donald Trump Jr. smoking gun is still a witch hunt to the other America. Heres why thats no surprise

Donald Trumps guide to Paris is a guy named Jim who doesnt go there anymore. He may not exist

Kremlin denies reaching out to Donald Trump Jr. via developer

Sherman filed the article a day after the presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., acknowledged that he met with a Russian lawyer during the campaign. An intermediary for the lawyer promised damaging information from the Russian government about Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr. said he received no information about Clinton at the meeting.

The president has questioned his own intelligence agencies and whether the Russians actually interfered in the election. However, federal authorities say they have definitive evidence that the Kremlin meddled in the U.S. presidential election.

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WASHINGTONFor all things Paris, President Donald Trumps go-to guy is Jim.

The way Trump tells it  Jim is a friend who loves Paris and used to visit every year. Yet when Trump travels to the city Thursday for his first time as president, its unlikely that Jim will tag along. Jim doesnt go to Paris anymore. Trump says thats because the city has been infiltrated by foreign extremists.

Whether Jim exists is unclear. Trump has never given his last name. The White House has not responded to a request for comment about who Jim is or whether he will be on the trip.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump

Trump repeatedly talked about the enigmatic Jim while on the campaign trail, but his friend didnt receive widespread attention until Trump became president. For Trump, Jims story serves as a cautionary tale  a warning that even a place as lovely as Paris can be ruined if leaders are complacent about terrorism.

Jims biggest moment in the spotlight was during a high-profile Trump speech in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland. Trump explained that Jim loves the City of Lights, he loves Paris. For years, every year during the summer, he would go to Paris. It was automatic, with his wife and his family.

Trump one day asked Jim: Hows Paris doing?

Paris? Jim replied, as relayed by Trump. I dont go there anymore. Paris is no longer Paris.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, responded by tweeting a photo of herself with Mickey and Minnie Mouse inviting Trump and his friend Jim to France to celebrate the dynamism and the spirit of openness of #Paris.

Frances then-Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also took to Twitter, noting that 3.5 million American tourists had visited France last year.

The Jim story highlights differences on immigration between Trump and major European leaders, including Trumps host in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron.

Trump has put immigration at the core of his anti-terrorism strategy. He proposed a Muslim ban during the campaign and is fighting in the courts to temporarily bar travellers from six Muslim-majority nations as well as refugees.

Macron is an outspoken critic of discriminatory policies against Frances Muslim population. He favours strong external European Union borders and hes also called for a united European policy on immigration so that countries like Greece are not disproportionately affected by the influx of refugees.

Trump believes European efforts fall short of any credible efforts to protect the public. He has vowed to push forward with a plan to build a wall along Americas southern border with Mexico and he advocates for extreme vetting to keep terrorists out.

Trump never endorsed Macrons election opponent, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, but in an interview with The Associated Press, he noted that terrorist attacks in France would probably help her win since shes the strongest on borders and shes the strongest on whats been going on in France.

Trump has criticized several European leaders, accusing them of lax counterterrorism policies. He lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan after an attack on London Bridge last month. In a February speech, Trump denounced Swedens policies and talked about whats happening last night in Sweden. Swedish officials sought clarification because there were no known attacks in their country that night.

Trump took to Twitter to explain: My statement as to whats happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden.

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WARSAW, POLANDA new exhibition in southern Poland shows the brutality of the Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz through the artistic work of its inmates. Some of the artworks are being shown publicly for the first time.

The Face to Face: Art in Auschwitz exhibition opened last week at the Kamienica Szolayskich (Szolayski Tenement House) of the National Museum in Krakow to mark 70 years of the Auschwitz Museum. The museums task is to preserve the site in the southern town of Oswiecim and to educate visitors about it. More than 2 million people visited the museum last year.

The curator of the Krakow exhibit, Agnieszka Sieradzka, said Wednesday it includes clandestine as well as commissioned drawings and paintings by Jews, Poles and other citizens held at Auschwitz during World War II.

These works help us see Auschwitz as the inmates saw it and experienced it, Sieradzka told The Associated Press. We stand face to face with the inmates.

The Nazis sometimes ordered talented inmates to make paintings for various purposes. One such painting is a portrait of a Roma woman that pseudoscientist Josef Mengele experimented on. Mengele ordered portraits like this from inmate painter Dina Gottliebova, a Jewish woman from Czechoslovakia.

The task helped Gottliebova survive. After the war she travelled to the U.S. and started a family. She died in 2009 in California under the name Dina Babbitt.

Among the clandestine art is the so-called Auschwitz Sketchbook by an unknown author. It has 22 drawings of scenes of beatings, starvation and death. It was found in 1947, hidden in a bottle in the foundation of a barrack at Birkenau, a part of the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex. It is the first time it is being shown to the general public. It is housed at the museum and only shown on request.

Also being displayed is the original Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Sets You Free) gate top that was stolen and retrieved in 2009 and is now kept under guard at the museum.

From 1940-1945, some 1.1 million people, mostly European Jews but also Poles, Roma and Russians, were killed in the gas chambers or died from starvation, excessive forced labour and disease at Auschwitz, which Nazi Germany operated in occupied Poland.

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TERNI, ITALYItalys plan to reduce the risk of a jihadi-inspired attack is pinned in small part on El Hacmi Mimoun, an imam who bikes to the prison here every week and exhorts Muslim inmates not to stray from lifes right path or hate people who arent Muslim.

Seven inmates  three Moroccans, three Tunisians and a Somali  left their cells at Terni Penitentiary on an early summer day to listen as the Moroccan-born imam led prayers and delivered a sermon. Sunlight from a high-barred window streamed through Mimouns gauzy, off-white robe.

If I am praying, I am not cooking up ideas to harm others on the outside, a 35-year-old Tunisian inmate said, sitting cross-legged in the small, beige-tiled room that was converted into the prisons Mosque of Peace.

Read more:

This is what happens when you join Daesh  then change your mind

None of the inmates would give their names, and prison rules precluded asking why they were serving time.

So far spared the attacks that have stunned France, Belgium, Britain and Germany, Italy has relied mostly on arresting and deporting suspected extremists to try to keep the country safe. But the Italian government has come to embrace prevention, too, especially in the prisons it doesnt want to become training grounds for potential extremists.

Inviting in imams who have been vetted to make sure they espouse moderate views is a tactic now being employed in Italian prisons to counter radicalization among inmates. In February, the government signed a recruiting agreement with the Union of Islamic Communities and Organizations in Italy, which professes to foster Islamic pluralism.

When preaching to inmates, we stress that we are Italians of Muslim faith, Europeans of Muslim faith . . . We are 100 per cent citizens with rights and duties, UCOII president Izzeddin Elzir said.

Italys second generation of Muslim immigrants is just coming of age now. For the most part, the nation lacks neighbourhoods with heavy concentrations of Muslim residents. But Muslims make up a disproportionate share of the population in Italys prisons.

More than a third of all inmates in Italian penitentiaries are foreigners, and 42 per cent of those come from the majority-Muslim countries of Morocco, Albania and Tunisia, according to a 2017 report by inmate advocacy group Antigone.

The advocacy group counted 411 chaplains, but only 47 imams working in Italys 200 prisons. Prison system officials worry that if imams dont make regular visits, inmates might be more vulnerable to the influence of those who are already radicalized.

Its not so much those (inmates) who preach, but those who submit to this proselytizing who are considered at risk, Terni Penitentiary Superintendent Natascia Bastianelli said.

Justice Ministry Undersecretary Gennaro Migliore stressed in an interview that of about 11,000 Italian prison inmates from predominantly Muslim countries, those who could be potentially radicalized, or already radicalized dont exceed 400 inmates.

So far, 13 UCOII imams have started preaching in eight prisons after being screened by interior ministry officials. Government officials and the organization plan to evaluate the strategys effectiveness as a de-radicalization tool this fall.

If Italy needed a wake-up call, it came with the morning news two days before Christmas.

Before dawn, officers in Milan confronted and killed a young Tunisian suspected of driving the truck that plowed through shoppers at a Berlin Christmas market that week, killing 12. Anis Amri is believed to have become radicalized during the three-and-a-half years he spent in Italian prisons for his role in a riot at a migrant centre.

In a separate case, authorities accused a Tunisian inmate with alleged links to extremist groups of recruiting fellow Muslims at an Italian prison, and attacking inmates who resented his extremist propaganda.

Terni police commander Fabio Gallo said learning that Amri had spent time in Italian prisons spurred him and other prison officials to sharpen their skills at recognizing an inmate who is becoming radicalized.

About 20 per cent of the penitentiarys personnel have taken courses to make them aware of possible signs, such as preaching to other inmates or exulting at television news coverage about extremist attacks in Europe, Gallo said.

But he stressed that its often difficult to realize which words or gestures might be worrisome signals, especially for staff who dont understand Arabic. And inmates are catching on to what tips prison personnel off, Gallo said.

Nobody has a long beard anymore, the commander said.

Vetting imams may not prove to be a straightforward process either.

Where do you set the bar? Is it OK if someone is saying Western society is decadent, but at the same time condemns ISIS? asked Lorenzo Vidino, an Islamism expert.

Former anti-terrorism magistrate Stefano Dambruoso, who is now a lawmaker in Italy, endorses careful screening of who will be preaching to men and women behind bars. He thinks its essential they have been trained in schools, in environments respectful of the founding principles of our constitution.

Yet Dambruoso also expresses concern about the imams invited into prisons turning into some kind of secret eye, or a spy for the institutions.

On the day when Mimoun was at Terni Penitentiary, 46 of the 109 foreigners in the medium-security section were from northern Africa. The imam delivered his sermon in Arabic, sprinkled with Italian and French phrases.

He said he teaches his followers to respect Italians, respect neighbours, your colleagues, your cellmates.

One of the inmates who came to pray in the mosque said that if you respect religion, our religion, you wont commit extremist attacks.

After the seven were accompanied back to their cells, Mimoun told of how an inmate once confided in him that he hated Italians.

I showed him in the Quran where it says you cannot hate others of different religions, the imam said.

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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATESU.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wrapped up talks with the king of Saudi Arabia and other officials from Arab countries lined up against Qatar on Wednesday with no sign of a breakthrough in an increasingly entrenched dispute that has divided some of Americas most important Mideast allies.

The secretary of states trip from Kuwait to the western Saudi city of Jiddah followed discussions the previous day with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, that ended with the signing of a counterterrorism pact.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and cut air, sea and land routes with it over a month ago, accusing Doha of supporting extremist groups. Qatar denies the allegations.

The quartet has given no indication it would be willing to back off from its hard-nosed stance. Just hours before Tillersons arrival in Jiddah, the four Arab states said the counterterrorism deal that Qatar signed with him aon Tuesday was not enough to ease their concerns.

Tillersons visit to Saudi Arabia included talks with King Salman and his powerful son Mohammed bin Salman, who was recently elevated to the role of crown prince, placing him next in line to the throne. He also met with the foreign ministers of the four countries in the anti-Qatar bloc.

Read more: Arab countries cut ties with Qatar

Officials gave little indication of what was discussed, but Tillerson was likely to press the bloc to ease up on some of its demands after he secured the deal for Qatar to intensify its fight against terrorism and address shortfalls in policing terrorism funding.

The four anti-Qatar countries last month issued a tough 13-point list of demands that included shutting down Qatars flagship Al-Jazeera network and other news outlets, cutting ties with Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, limiting Qatars ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the tiny Gulf country.

Qatar has rejected the demands, saying that agreeing to them wholesale would undermine its sovereignty.

The head of Qatars government communication office, Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, has accused the quartet of organizing a smear campaign in the international media to damage Qatars reputation and said they are not interested in engaging in honest negotiations to resolve our differences.

The anti-Qatar bloc took partial credit for the U.S. counterterrorism deal Qatar signed Tuesday, saying it was the result of repeated pressures and demands by the four countries and others, but that it failed to go far enough.

While welcoming U.S.-led efforts to dry up terrorist funding, the four maintained a hard line that Qatar must meet their list of what they said were fair and legitimate demands.

The quartet affirms that the measures they have taken were motivated by the continuous and diversified activities of the Qatari authorities in supporting, funding and harbouring terrorism and terrorists, as well as promoting hateful and extremist rhetoric and interfering in the internal affairs of states, they said in a joint statement.

The deal struck between Washington and Doha falls far short of the sweeping demands made by the Arab quartet for Qatar to change its policy of supporting opposition Islamists in the region.

The group has mixed its accusations that Qatar supports extremists with demands that it end support for political dissidents that they have branded as terrorists. That broad definition of terrorism is seen as an overreach by many Western allies, which do not view groups like the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations.

Saudi commentators were quick to criticize the result of Tillersons visit to Qatar.

What makes Wednesdays meeting in Jiddah difficult is that Tillerson has, since the beginning of the crisis, appeared to be taking the Qatari side, Abdulrahman al-Rashed, the general manager of the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya satellite news channel, wrote in a column published in the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

He has to realize that he will be further complicating an already complex matter and prolonging the crisis, he added, emphasizing that the goal of the four Arab countries is to change Qatars agenda.

Read more: U.S. Secretary of State signs counterterrorism deal with Qatar amid Gulf dispute

Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of the Saudi daily Arab News, framed the security agreement signed between the U.S. and Qatar as a win for the quartet, but added that it is not time to party just yet.

The squabble among five of its Mideast allies has put the United States in an uncomfortable position and risks complicating the Pentagons operations in the region.

Qatar hosts al-Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East and hub for U.S.-led operations against Daesh, also known as ISIS, in Iraq and Syria. Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet, while American surveillance planes and other aircraft fly from the UAE.

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In current political discourse there are few phrases more shopworn and tedious than, This is why Trump won. Its the 2017 equivalent of the schoolyard taunt I know you are, but what am I?

With regret, I submit it genuinely applies to the federal governments $10.5 million payout to accused terrorist Omar Khadr.

It doesnt matter that a settlement was inevitable or that it saves federal dollars in the long run. It matters less that Khadr was a child soldier or even that he may be completely innocent. Arguments about the constitutional obligations of government are futile in the face of white hot anger many Canadians have at their impression that an unrepentant Islamic terrorist is now living the dream of a Lotto 6-49 winner.

Its not just the settlement that many regard as odious. Its the appearance that the Trudeau government expedited the payment so Khadrs lawyers and accountants could firewall the money against the filing of paperwork to apply an American civil judgment in Canada. Yes, you can argue this may well have saved tax dollars in the long run but that argument is worthless in the face of accusations that Ottawa conspired with a convicted terrorist to do an end run around an American war widow.

Just check out Sundays Toronto Sun cover in which a member of the greatest generation who flew bombing missions over Europe in the flower of his youth decries the payout:

This great Canadian, writes columnist Joe Warmington, feels you are either with the good guys or the bad. The charter rights, the perks, the medals, the accolades, the assistance, the benefits of victory all go to the people who fought together for their side. Not to the enemy who was trying to kill fellow countrymen and allies. Not to traitors.

If you have had the misfortune to engage on social media in the days since the payout and apology you know this is a not a debate that can be resolved by pointing to facts. In a brief Facebook post, I urged people to at least read a summary of the case file before drawing conclusions.

Call me crazy, I thought if people knew there was never any forensic evidence or eye witness testimony to support the murder accusation against Khadr perhaps they would dial down the calls for him to be hanged.

This prompted Sarah (last name withheld) to snap: Stop acting like the rest of the patronizing media who thinks that the average Canadian is too stupid to have an opinion on this.

And thats the essence of Trumpism: the notion that elites are trying to deny people the legitimacy of emotionally informed convictions. I urged people to read the case file. Sarah was not only uninterested in doing so, she presumed I was calling her stupid.

Im not writing this to comfort these said elites. This is a warning: you are going to lose. The electors gut and opportunistic demagoguery are more potent political forces than any volume of carefully reasoned opinion pieces.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer knows this. Sun and Rebel Media figures who have started a fundraising campaign for the widow and children of the medic who died in that fateful firefight know it. Never mind the craven self promotion of running the campaign now instead of in 2002 when Sgt. Christopher Speer was killed.

The Khadr settlement is going to be a political millstone for Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals. Its a scandal that can be invoked with the mere mention of Khadrs name or incendiary sentences like: You made a man who killed a medic rich.

Canadians have  somewhat smugly  maintained that Trumpism cant happen here. Surely, the facts and Canadian pragmatism will prevail. Make no mistake, this could very well be the start of something that could make Kellie Leitchs snitch lines and values tests look quaint. Thanks to the levelling quality of the internet, where @norma31 is as much an authority on the rule law as the dean of Osgoode Hall, the currency of authority and expertise are being devalued.

Reason and facts are not going to prevail in this case. A dead American medic, an unrepentant terrorist father, and Khadrs hijab-wearing, Canada-hating immediate family are going to resonate right through until election day.

Correction- July 14, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly referred to Sgt. Christopher Speer as a U.S. marine. In fact, he was a medic.

See also Letter to the Editor from Ezra Levant: Correcting column on Omar Khadr

John Moore is host of Moore in the Morning on Torontos NewsTalk 1010 Radio.

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It is an unhappy truth that the image a politician projects has a strong influence on voters.

Controlling the image of a leader, the watchword of the Reagan presidency where image politics all began, is a critical mission for modern political staffers. Especially today, when the platforms for image distribution to the public have multiplied exponentially.

Consider how many voters perceive todays major world leaders: the calm, intelligent, thoughtful Angela Merkel; the slick, well-staged, Emmanuel Macron; the macho Putin; the out-of-touch and irresolute Theresa May; the angry Donald Trump; and, of course, our charming Justin Trudeau.

These perceptions are aided by traditional media who know that sales and ratings are enhanced by prominently featuring the most compelling video and photos. Nevertheless, for substantial information about politics, leaders, and world and local events, they still dominate and set the agenda, and, despite Trumps rantings about fake news, TV and print also impact influencers and politicians who watch and read obsessively.

President Reagans deputy chief of staff Michael Deavers sole responsibility was creating and controlling Reagans image. He wrote the book on image manipulation, a book studied and followed by future generations of leaders staff. We can thank him for the careful staging of political events with beaming supporters as backdrops, the roped off areas for cameras as presidents or prime ministers visit factories, farms, schools, or even sit down with ordinary folks in their homes.

Deaver steered the president away from reporters, instead arranging Reagan in settings that visually conveyed the message of the moment. The Harper PMO followed this strategy to the letter, as do Trumps aides.

Pierre Trudeaus staff did not have to work as hard to produce appealing images. Tossing his kids in the air, diving into a pool, or pirouetting at Buckingham Palace, constitute a memorable album of a naturally physical leader. Staff took advantage.

We got him in an Indigenous canoe on the Amazon River during a trip to Brazil and he danced in a caftan in the desert with Saudi Oil Minister Sheik Yamani. Following Trudeaumania and his 1968 leadership win, CBC ran a documentary entitled The Style is the Man Himself, featuring him in a cape. The camera loves him, a senior CBC cameraman once told me.

The camera loves his son, too. Not just press cameras. The literally millions of cellphone cameras in everyones pocket. Justins ease with crowds, his natural good looks and physicality, his beautiful wife and great kids have spawned a flood of images in social media that is unprecedented in modern politics. He remains popular with 18 to 35-year old voters partly because of his ubiquity in their media.

It is politics and political communications that have changed, and Justin Trudeau conforms perfectly and effortlessly to these changes. He may annoy with pat answers, but he delights with such very human acts, such as setting himself up at the lobby counter for the G20, greeting people with that Canadian politeness you hear so much about, as Mimi Launder wrote in social media.

His father was seldom criticized for his style or image because of the weight and substance of his vision for Canada. On the night he was defeated by Joe Clark, he said: I have miles to go and promises to keep. He kept them after 1980, repatriating the Constitution and giving us the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

His son has many promises to keep, too  many very challenging, not the least finding solutions to 150 years of mistreatment of our Indigenous peoples. He will be held to account for policy achievements by the ever-watchful traditional media. The new media may sustain his image, but it wont help him solve the serious challenges he faces.

Patrick Gossage was Pierre Trudeaus press secretary from 1979 to1985 and founder of the Toronto PR firm Media Profile. He comments on Canadian politics.

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The dog days of summer are supposed to turn people into inert matter reaching for something with beaded bubbles winking at the brim, and getting sticky in the shade. Or perhaps its only me.

For people are tinder right now. What could they be so unreasonably angry about?

1. President Donald Trump. Yes. I wont argue with this one. As much as Trump is a unifying force for civilized people, it unites them in despair and rage. Verdict: you are entitled to this.

2. New York Magazines worst-possible-scenario piece on climate change says the Anthropocene  the geologic era defined by human intervention  will wind up by the end of the century as the planet becomes too hot to tolerate. I read the massive story upon waking on Monday morning, racing through the piece to find out how I, specifically, would die.

Simply moving around outside when its over 105 degrees Fahrenheit would be lethal, wrote David Wallace-Wells. And the effect would be fast: Within a few hours, a human body would be cooked to death from both inside and out.

Alert readers may point out that I will make old bones long before this. Yeah, like thats going to happen. I will never die, and neither will you. So happy for you, my dear companions!

Verdict: no reason to be angry. Or rather, read Naomi Klein. She has hope.

3. The Omar Khadr settlement. The news stories used the same number Angus Reid trumpeted: 71% of Canadians say government made wrong call by settling out of court. But when you study the actual poll, the question was loaded. 71% might well have said the opposite if a clause had been added, given that Ottawa has already spent $5 million losing a Supreme Court case and would spend even more to lose again.

The Supreme Court is the last court. Thats why they call it Supreme.

In other words, as journalist Campbell Clark wrote, Ottawa was being sensible about legal fees. If theres one word that appeals to Canadians, its sensible.

Busy people cannot keep the entire Khadr timeline in their heads. Pollsters should be a little more helpful. Many Canadians said they didnt know enough to decide. Americans never say that. I am proud of my country.

Khadr was a 15-year-old boy with nightmarishly bad parents. So maybe do the poll again and youll find most Canadians might not be angry. Verdict: this is good news.

4. Amazon Prime Day. Touted as the biggest day of the year for cheapskates, the day annoyed me. I dont buy anything until its half-price, which is why some of my clothes have a certain je ne sais quoi quality, but Prime Day 2017 was dreadful.

It was like something run out of a bait shop or Jeff Bezos original rented garage in Bellevue, Wash. There was 21 per cent off The Canadian Cowboy Cookbook, 15 per cent off a Bible study book titled The Armour of God, and eight bucks off a $19 turquoise mermaid slanket (blanket with sleeves). You lie on the couch and for reasons best known to yourself, pull on a tubular green crocheted tail to encase the body. Amazon reviewers love it, but you know them.

So I was steamed at Amazon Prime, until I read of Iqaluit residents who say its their lifeline. It ships goods to them quickly and at lower prices than other distant outlets. Amazon Prime has done more toward elevating the standard of living of my family than any territorial program, one school principal told the CBC.

Verdict: Lets honour Amazon Prime. If it will keep shipping to Iqaluit, I will order mermaid slankets for everyone in my family this Christmas.

5. Twitter always sparks outrage. On Tuesday, it was shock and horror as an Air Canada plane almost landed on the taxiway at San Francisco International Airport where four planes were set to take off, rather than on the intended runway. Air traffic control fixed it.

But one overheated retired pilot said it would have been the greatest aviation disaster in history. But it might not have been and wasnt.

The pilot who has made a mistake is pure gold. He has learned from it, which is the most useful thing of all. Verdict: Nothing need trouble us here.

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Re: Ottawa must seek justice for Hassan Diab, July 10

Ottawa must seek justice for Hassan Diab, July 10

On principle, France does not extradite its own citizens. Yet, on the basis of deeply flawed evidence, France has pursued Canadian citizen Hassan Diab for nine years.

Diab was extradited by the Harper government on the basis of evidence which, according to Canadian Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger, would never have resulted in conviction in Canada. At this juncture, the situation is not mere lack of evidence of his culpability but mounting irrefutable evidence of his innocence which cries out for his release.

Diabs support committee reports that three different French judges have ordered the conditional release of Hassan six times in the past 13 months because of consistent evidence that he was in Lebanon at the time of the 1980 Paris bombing. Several witnesses have independently corroborated that Hassan was studying and taking exams with them at that time.

This was confirmed by official documents from the university where Hassan studied.

But, despite overwhelming evidence pointing to Hassans innocence (including fingerprints and palm prints that do not match those of the suspect), the Court of Appeal has summarily dismissed all six conditional release orders at the prosecutors behest.

Diabs case will go down in history as a miscarriage of French justice.

Justin Trudeaus Canadian government surely knows Hassan Diab will be exonerated.

Hopefully, that will happen soon with their belated intervention, rather than later due to their shameful silence.

Marjorie Robertson, Ottawa

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There's been a lot of talk over President Donald Trump saving the U.S. coal industry in recent months. The President even went so far as to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, under which the U.S. pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 26% to 28% from 2005 levels by 2025.

But while the coal industry is clearly hurting, to some, it isn't dead yet. And it certainly isn't going off to pasture any time soon, Seaport Global Securities analysts argued in a Monday, July 11, research note.

Seaport's Mark Levin and Nathan Martin pointed to a June 30 blog post by S&P Global Platts managing editor Andrew Moore, in which the coal industry follower said: "So far this year, the gas contract is averaging $3.10[per million British thermal units], which helps make coal competitive. Partly due to higher natural gas prices, the EIA expects power sector coal consumption to total 677 million [short tons] in 2017, and 687 million st in 2018. But even if gas dropped to $1/MMBtu, utilities would continue to burn coal. There just isn't enough natural gas to replace it."

Moore argued that the US power sector consumed 9,960 billion cubic feet of natural gas in 2016, or 34% of all U.S. electric generation. And even if one holds all other types of gas demand flat, U.S. natural gas production would have to increase from about 72 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to 100 billion cubic feet per day, or 40%, to completely eliminate the need for coal.

"Even if these numbers are off by 20%, it would require discovery of another basin equal in size to the giant Marcellus/Utica shale plays," Moore wrote.

As Moore explained, and SGS agreed, renewable energy is a real threat to coal energy, but renewables still make up just a fraction of the U.S. energy market.

Wind and solar accounted for just 6% of total electric generation in 2016, SGS' Levin and Martin wrote. Moore broke it down further, explaining that utility-scale solar installations generated 36.1 terrawatt hours of electricity, or 0.9% of the nation's electricity, residential rooftops produced 19.5 TWh in 2016, or 0.5%, and wind produced a record high 294.1 TWh, or 7.2%.

"Both [wind and solar] will grow rapidly and take market share," Levin and Martin wrote, adding that NextEra Energy (NEE) - Get Free Report estimates the all-in cost of wind generation will only be 3 cents to 4 cents per kilowatt hour excluding tax credits and with a storage adder post 2020, versus coal costs of 3.5 cents to 5 cents.

According to Moore, it would take 170,000 new windmills to replace all of coal generation. That number might seem doable, but Seaport notes there are currently about 53,000 utility-scale windmills in the U.S., meaning the fleet would have to be tripled to replace coal entirely.

"That's before even talking about the capital and time necessary to build out all of the infrastructure to transport//transmit all of this gas/wind," Levin and Martin added.

What does all this mean for coal? In the words of Moore, it means coal has a few decades of existence left at worst.

In the meantime, however, Seaport's Levin and Martin suggested that there are plenty of issues facing coal today, especially in the so-called PJM region. The PJM Interconnection is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

It is this region that faces the biggest headwind from natural gas, according to Seaport, largely because it is closest to the Marcellus Shale, where gas is both plentiful and cheap. Other issues that coal faces in the PJM region are the average age of coal plants, the relative inefficiency of many of these plants, and politics. Moreover, many senior utility executives have made it abundantly clear that their desire is to retire coal plants when the time comes, according to Seaport.

Those who stand to be affected the most by this over the coming years include privately held Murray Energy, Peabody Energy (BTU) - Get Free Report , Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) - Get Free Report and Consol Energy (CNX) - Get Free Report . Notably, Consol said Tuesday it intends to spin off the last of its coal operations into a separate, publicly traded company.

Eastern rails such as CSX (CSX) - Get Free Report and Norfolk Southern (NSC) - Get Free Report will also feel the pinch from PJM region plant closures, according to Seaport's Levin and Martin.

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Burgers, fries, and shakes restaurant chain Shake Shack (SHAK) - Get Free Report said on Wednesday that it is opening a new location in Hong Kong next year, as the popular New York City founded business looks to make a push into the Chinese market.

Shake Shack is partnering with Maxim's Caterers Limited to bring its food to Hong Kong. Maxim's is a diversified full service and quick service restaurant operator in Asia.

"We see tremendous opportunity for Shake Shack in Hong Kong and Macau," company CEO Randy Garutti said. "We're thrilled to bring the joy of Shake Shack to our fans in these dynamic communities as we continue to expand our footprint in Asia."

What's Hot On TheStreet

Money is just being given away: Warren Buffett donated roughly $3.17 billion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) - Get Free Report (BRK.B) - Get Free Report stock earlier this week to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities.

It is the 86-year-old billionaire's largest contribution in his plan to give away his fortune. In 2010, Buffett, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - Get Free Report co-founder Bill Gates and his wife created The Giving Pledge, a project that encourages billionaires to give more than half of their wealth to philanthropy. TheStreet takes a look at some of the wealthiest people who have pledged to give their money to charity when all is said and done.

A return of a bothersome issue for Walmart: Beginning in 2013, reports began circulating that Walmart Stores Inc. (WMT) - Get Free Report was dealing with an out-of-stock issue at its stores nationwide.

At the time, Walmart attributed the problem to a reduction in employees as it worked to cut costs. Fast forward to 2017, and the issue appears to be resurfacing, reports TheStreet's Lindsay Rittenhouse.

Paypal should cut a big check: It could be time for PayPal (PYPL) - Get Free Report to get cracking on a bid for fellow payments processor Square (SQ) - Get Free Report , TheStreet reports.

The purchase of Square would give PayPal increased acceptance with bricks and mortar retailers, Loop Capital analyst Joseph Vafi writes in a new note. All in, the deal would further PayPal's efforts to become a "true, two sided network," according to Vafi.

Vafi estimates PayPal would be able to pay a 30% premium for Square, valuing the company at more than $12 billion using current prices.

Tesla gets some more love: Shark Tank Star Kevin O'Leary said Tesla (TSLA) - Get Free Report CEO Elon Musk is a modern day Michelangelo. "He is a genius - I can't say enough good things about what he does for all sectors that he gets involved in," O'Leary told TheStreet's Scott Gamm in an interview.

Although to be fair, O'Leary is more fond of Tesla's product than its stock.

"I'm an investor and at the end of the day, I look at each opportunity to put money in harms way - one stock at a time and that's not a stock I own," he said. O'Leary is also the Chairman of O'Shares ETF Investments.

Visit here for the latest business headlines.
Analysts at Bernstein are not convinced that millennials have an appetite to buy Harley-Davidson Inc.'s (HOG) - Get Free Report classic motorcycles, so the firm lowered the company's rating to "market-perform" from "outperform."

Bernstein also cut the Harley's price target to $55 from $62, representing a potential upside of 6% from the stock's previous closing price.

The firm's checks suggest that the younger population of Americans are purchasing motorcycles at a far lower rate than the previous generation.

Harley shares are down 11% year to date but are up nearly 7% over the past 12 months.

The motorcycle manufacturer's stock fell 2.8% to $51.02 per share on Wednesday morning.

Money is just being given away: Warren Buffett donated roughly $3.17 billion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) - Get Free Report (BRK.B) - Get Free Report stock earlier this week to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities.

It is the 86-year-old billionaire's largest contribution in his plan to give away his fortune. In 2010, Buffett, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - Get Free Report co-founder Bill Gates and his wife created The Giving Pledge, a project that encourages billionaires to give more than half of their wealth to philanthropy. TheStreet takes a look at some of the wealthiest people who have pledged to give their money to charity when all is said and done.

A return of a bothersome issue for Walmart: Beginning in 2013, reports began circulating that Walmart Stores Inc. (WMT) - Get Free Report was dealing with an out-of-stock issue at its stores nationwide.

At the time, Walmart attributed the problem to a reduction in employees as it worked to cut costs. Fast forward to 2017, and the issue appears to be resurfacing, reports TheStreet's Lindsay Rittenhouse.

Paypal should cut a big check: It could be time for PayPal (PYPL) - Get Free Report to get cracking on a bid for fellow payments processor Square SQ , TheStreet reports.

The purchase of Square would give PayPal increased acceptance with bricks and mortar retailers, Loop Capital analyst Joseph Vafi writes in a new note. All in, the deal would further PayPal's efforts to become a "true, two sided network," according to Vafi.

Vafi estimates PayPal would be able to pay a 30% premium for Square, valuing the company at more than $12 billion using current prices.

Tesla gets some more love: Shark Tank Star Kevin O'Leary said Tesla (TSLA) - Get Free Report CEO Elon Musk is a modern day Michelangelo. "He is a genius - I can't say enough good things about what he does for all sectors that he gets involved in," O'Leary told TheStreet's Scott Gamm in an interview.

Although to be fair, O'Leary is more fond of Tesla's product than its stock.

"I'm an investor and at the end of the day, I look at each opportunity to put money in harms way - one stock at a time and that's not a stock I own," he said. O'Leary is also the Chairman of O'Shares ETF Investments.

Visit here for the latest business headlines.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDS.A) undefined will sell its 45% stake in the Irish Corrib gas venture to the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board for $1.23 billion, Reuters reported.

The sale marks Shell's exit from upstream operations in Ireland. Shell is poised to sell about $30 billion of assets by 2018 to trim debt following its $54 billion February acquisition of BG Group (BRGXF) .

CPPIB will operate the field with Vermilion Energy Inc (VET) - Get Free Report as it attempts to diversify beyond domestic markets in Canada. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and set to complete in the second quarter of 2018.

Shell stock traded up over 1% premarket.

What's Hot On TheStreet

Money is just being given away: Warren Buffett donated roughly $3.17 billion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) - Get Free Report (BRK.B) - Get Free Report stock earlier this week to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities.

It is the 86-year-old billionaire's largest contribution in his plan to give away his fortune. In 2010, Buffett, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - Get Free Report co-founder Bill Gates and his wife created The Giving Pledge, a project that encourages billionaires to give more than half of their wealth to philanthropy. TheStreet takes a look at some of the wealthiest people who have pledged to give their money to charity when all is said and done.

A return of a bothersome issue for Walmart: Beginning in 2013, reports began circulating that Walmart Stores Inc. (WMT) - Get Free Report was dealing with an out-of-stock issue at its stores nationwide.

At the time, Walmart attributed the problem to a reduction in employees as it worked to cut costs. Fast forward to 2017, and the issue appears to be resurfacing, reports TheStreet's Lindsay Rittenhouse.

Paypal should cut a big check: It could be time for PayPal (PYPL) - Get Free Report to get cracking on a bid for fellow payments processor Square (SQ) - Get Free Report , TheStreet reports.

The purchase of Square would give PayPal increased acceptance with bricks and mortar retailers, Loop Capital analyst Joseph Vafi writes in a new note. All in, the deal would further PayPal's efforts to become a "true, two sided network," according to Vafi.

Vafi estimates PayPal would be able to pay a 30% premium for Square, valuing the company at more than $12 billion using current prices.

Tesla gets some more love: Shark Tank Star Kevin O'Leary said Tesla (TSLA) - Get Free Report CEO Elon Musk is a modern day Michelangelo. "He is a genius - I can't say enough good things about what he does for all sectors that he gets involved in," O'Leary told TheStreet's Scott Gamm in an interview.

Although to be fair, O'Leary is more fond of Tesla's product than its stock.

"I'm an investor and at the end of the day, I look at each opportunity to put money in harms way - one stock at a time and that's not a stock I own," he said. O'Leary is also the Chairman of O'Shares ETF Investments.

Visit here for the latest business headlines.
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) - Get Free Report will sell a portion of its AgroSciences corn seed operations in Brazil to China's CITIC Agri Fund for $1.1 billion.

The assets being divested, which include processing plants, research centers, a copy of a germplasm bank and other licensing, generated about $287 million in revenue last year.

Dow's divestiture is to appease Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense, which Dow made a commitment to in order to win conditional regulatory clearance for its merger with DuPont (DD) - Get Free Report .

The sale of the seed business is set to close next month with spin-offs to occur within 18 months of the deal's close.

Dow stock traded up over 1% this morning.

Dow Chemical is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells DOW? Learn more now.

What's Hot On TheStreet

Money is just being given away: Warren Buffett donated roughly $3.17 billion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) - Get Free Report (BRK.B) - Get Free Report stock earlier this week to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities.

It is the 86-year-old billionaire's largest contribution in his plan to give away his fortune. In 2010, Buffett, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - Get Free Report co-founder Bill Gates and his wife created The Giving Pledge, a project that encourages billionaires to give more than half of their wealth to philanthropy. TheStreet takes a look at some of the wealthiest people who have pledged to give their money to charity when all is said and done.

A return of a bothersome issue for Walmart: Beginning in 2013, reports began circulating that Walmart Stores Inc. (WMT) - Get Free Report was dealing with an out-of-stock issue at its stores nationwide.

At the time, Walmart attributed the problem to a reduction in employees as it worked to cut costs. Fast forward to 2017, and the issue appears to be resurfacing, reports TheStreet's Lindsay Rittenhouse.

Paypal should cut a big check: It could be time for PayPal (PYPL) - Get Free Report to get cracking on a bid for fellow payments processor Square (SQ) - Get Free Report , TheStreet reports.

The purchase of Square would give PayPal increased acceptance with bricks and mortar retailers, Loop Capital analyst Joseph Vafi writes in a new note. All in, the deal would further PayPal's efforts to become a "true, two sided network," according to Vafi.

Vafi estimates PayPal would be able to pay a 30% premium for Square, valuing the company at more than $12 billion using current prices.

Tesla gets some more love: Shark Tank Star Kevin O'Leary said Tesla (TSLA) - Get Free Report CEO Elon Musk is a modern day Michelangelo. "He is a genius - I can't say enough good things about what he does for all sectors that he gets involved in," O'Leary told TheStreet's Scott Gamm in an interview.

Although to be fair, O'Leary is more fond of Tesla's product than its stock.

"I'm an investor and at the end of the day, I look at each opportunity to put money in harms way - one stock at a time and that's not a stock I own," he said. O'Leary is also the Chairman of O'Shares ETF Investments.

Visit here for the latest business headlines.
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) - Get Free Report CEO Lowell McAdam squashed rumors that the company was considering a purchase of Disney (DIS) - Get Free Report at the Sun Valley conference in Idaho.

McAdam was walking when a reporter asked him whether Verizon was going to buy Disney. McAdam responded "No." The reporter then followed up and asked "so it's not going to happen," to which McAdam again responded, "nope."

McAdam responded "nope" a couple more times before escaping the reporter's line of questions.

Rumors of the tie-up sprung up last week, seemingly out of nowhere. Verizon shares were up 0.65% to $43.17 in morning trading Wednesday.

Whats Hot

Money is just being given away: Warren Buffett donated roughly $3.17 billion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) - Get Free Report (BRK.B) - Get Free Report stock earlier this week to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities.

It is the 86-year-old billionaire's largest contribution in his plan to give away his fortune. In 2010, Buffett, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - Get Free Report co-founder Bill Gates and his wife created The Giving Pledge, a project that encourages billionaires to give more than half of their wealth to philanthropy. TheStreet takes a look at some of the wealthiest people who have pledged to give their money to charity when all is said and done.

A return of a bothersome issue for Walmart: Beginning in 2013, reports began circulating that Walmart Stores Inc. (WMT) - Get Free Report was dealing with an out-of-stock issue at its stores nationwide.

At the time, Walmart attributed the problem to a reduction in employees as it worked to cut costs. Fast forward to 2017, and the issue appears to be resurfacing, reports TheStreet's Lindsay Rittenhouse.

Paypal should cut a big check: It could be time for PayPal (PYPL) - Get Free Report to get cracking on a bid for fellow payments processor Square SQ , TheStreet reports.

The purchase of Square would give PayPal increased acceptance with bricks and mortar retailers, Loop Capital analyst Joseph Vafi writes in a new note. All in, the deal would further PayPal's efforts to become a "true, two sided network," according to Vafi.

Vafi estimates PayPal would be able to pay a 30% premium for Square, valuing the company at more than $12 billion using current prices.

Tesla gets some more love: Shark Tank Star Kevin O'Leary said Tesla (TSLA) - Get Free Report CEO Elon Musk is a modern day Michelangelo. "He is a genius - I can't say enough good things about what he does for all sectors that he gets involved in," O'Leary told TheStreet's Scott Gamm in an interview.

Although to be fair, O'Leary is more fond of Tesla's product than its stock.

"I'm an investor and at the end of the day, I look at each opportunity to put money in harms way - one stock at a time and that's not a stock I own," he said. O'Leary is also the Chairman of O'Shares ETF Investments.

Visit here for the latest business headlines.
Alphabet's (GOOGL) - Get Free Report Google won a battle in French court over a $1.3 billion tax bill Wednesday, sending its stock up 1.5% at the market close.

The judge ruled that Google was not responsible for corporate and value-added tax in France from 2005 to 2010 because Google Ireland did not have a sufficient taxable presence in France, Reuters reported.

French authorities had alleged Google avoided French taxes by routing sales in the country out of Ireland and called for $1.3 billion in back taxes. The news comes days after Google got hit with a record antitrust fine from European Union regulators.

What's Hot On TheStreet

Money is just being given away: Warren Buffett donated roughly $3.17 billion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) - Get Free Report (BRK.B) - Get Free Report stock earlier this week to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities.

It is the 86-year-old billionaire's largest contribution in his plan to give away his fortune. In 2010, Buffett, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - Get Free Report co-founder Bill Gates and his wife created The Giving Pledge, a project that encourages billionaires to give more than half of their wealth to philanthropy. TheStreet takes a look at some of the wealthiest people who have pledged to give their money to charity when all is said and done.

A return of a bothersome issue for Walmart: Beginning in 2013, reports began circulating that Walmart Stores Inc. (WMT) - Get Free Report was dealing with an out-of-stock issue at its stores nationwide.

At the time, Walmart attributed the problem to a reduction in employees as it worked to cut costs. Fast forward to 2017, and the issue appears to be resurfacing, reports TheStreet's Lindsay Rittenhouse.

Paypal should cut a big check: It could be time for PayPal (PYPL) - Get Free Report to get cracking on a bid for fellow payments processor Square (SQ) - Get Free Report , TheStreet reports.

The purchase of Square would give PayPal increased acceptance with bricks and mortar retailers, Loop Capital analyst Joseph Vafi writes in a new note. All in, the deal would further PayPal's efforts to become a "true, two sided network," according to Vafi.

Vafi estimates PayPal would be able to pay a 30% premium for Square, valuing the company at more than $12 billion using current prices.

Tesla gets some more love: Shark Tank Star Kevin O'Leary said Tesla (TSLA) - Get Free Report CEO Elon Musk is a modern day Michelangelo. "He is a genius - I can't say enough good things about what he does for all sectors that he gets involved in," O'Leary told TheStreet's Scott Gamm in an interview.

Although to be fair, O'Leary is more fond of Tesla's product than its stock.

"I'm an investor and at the end of the day, I look at each opportunity to put money in harms way - one stock at a time and that's not a stock I own," he said. O'Leary is also the Chairman of O'Shares ETF Investments.

Visit here for the latest business headlines.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker has apologized for recent remarks insulting U.S. flight attendants and airlines.

The remarks were widely and strongly condemned by four major unions representing flight attendants and pilots, and by American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) - Get Free Report , in which Qatar Airways is seeking to become involved as a major investor.

In a prepared statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Al-Baker declared, "I should like to apologise unreservedly to those offended by my recent remarks which compared Qatar Airways cabin crew with cabin crew on U.S. carriers.

"The remarks were made informally at a private gala dinner, following comments about the Qatar Airways cabin service, and were in no way intended to cause offense," Al-Baker said. "This is a time of strong rivalry between our airline and the U.S. carriers, and we are of course immensely proud of our own cabin crew.

"Cabin crew are the public face of all airlines, and I greatly respect their hard work and professionalism," he said. "They play a huge role in the safety and comfort of passengers, irrespective of their age or gender or familial status."

Speaking recently in Dublin at a celebration of the launch of Qatar Airways' Doha-Dublin service, Al-Baker referred to the "excellent service from our international cabin crew," adding, "By the way, the average age of my cabin crew is only 26 years."

By contrast, he said, "You know you are being served by grandmothers on American airlines."

Al-Baker also said, "There is no need to travel on those crap American carriers."

A video of Al-Baker speaking was posted on YouTube by Travel Extra, an Irish newspaper that covers travel.

American Airlines and unions represented flight attendants and pilots reacted quickly to the remarks.

In a statement issued Tuesday to American's flight attendants, Jill Surdek, vice president of flight services, wrote, "If you're like me, you found {the remarks} incredibly offensive -- it was both sexist and ageist at the same time.

"We love the diversity of our team and could not be more proud of how you represent American every day," Surdek said. "And it is because of this that we would be happy to put all of our families -- including our grandmothers -- on any American flight."

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, said, "Straight from Akbar Al-Baker's lips, he confirms what AFA has said all along: Qatar Airways thrives on misogyny and discrimination.

"When there's an emergency onboard, a flight attendant's gender, age, weight, height, race, or sexuality simply do not matter," she said.

Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents 15,000 American pilots, said, "Al-Baker's words and actions are a toxic tsunami that continues to drown any hope of a positive business relationship," Tajer said.

Last month, American reported in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Al-Baker had told American CEO Doug Parker he wants to acquire 10% of American's shares.

Qatar said subsequently that it plans an initial investment for up to 4.75% of American shares, the maximum American permits without advance notice to its board.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.
German Automotive parts suppliers Continental AG (CTTAY) and Orsam will be forming a joint venture to provide the automotive industry with lighting parts, Reuters reported, citing a German newspaper.

Orsam will submit parts while Continental will contribute electronic control systems to the project.

The venture, which is reportedly scheduled to launch early next year, will employ 1,500 people and have the two companies contribute nearly $230 million in operations.

Both companies have mentioned in the past that they planned to work together, but no official commitments have been made public yet.

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Money is just being given away: Warren Buffett donated roughly $3.17 billion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) - Get Free Report (BRK.B) - Get Free Report stock earlier this week to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities.

It is the 86-year-old billionaire's largest contribution in his plan to give away his fortune. In 2010, Buffett, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - Get Free Report co-founder Bill Gates and his wife created The Giving Pledge, a project that encourages billionaires to give more than half of their wealth to philanthropy. TheStreet takes a look at some of the wealthiest people who have pledged to give their money to charity when all is said and done.

A return of a bothersome issue for Walmart: Beginning in 2013, reports began circulating that Walmart Stores Inc. (WMT) - Get Free Report was dealing with an out-of-stock issue at its stores nationwide.

At the time, Walmart attributed the problem to a reduction in employees as it worked to cut costs. Fast forward to 2017, and the issue appears to be resurfacing, reports TheStreet's Lindsay Rittenhouse.

Paypal should cut a big check: It could be time for PayPal (PYPL) - Get Free Report to get cracking on a bid for fellow payments processor Square SQ , TheStreet reports.

The purchase of Square would give PayPal increased acceptance with bricks and mortar retailers, Loop Capital analyst Joseph Vafi writes in a new note. All in, the deal would further PayPal's efforts to become a "true, two sided network," according to Vafi.

Vafi estimates PayPal would be able to pay a 30% premium for Square, valuing the company at more than $12 billion using current prices.

Tesla gets some more love: Shark Tank Star Kevin O'Leary said Tesla (TSLA) - Get Free Report CEO Elon Musk is a modern day Michelangelo. "He is a genius - I can't say enough good things about what he does for all sectors that he gets involved in," O'Leary told TheStreet's Scott Gamm in an interview.

Although to be fair, O'Leary is more fond of Tesla's product than its stock.

"I'm an investor and at the end of the day, I look at each opportunity to put money in harms way - one stock at a time and that's not a stock I own," he said. O'Leary is also the Chairman of O'Shares ETF Investments.

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With no acquisition offers in the works, odds of a turnaround at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) - Get Free Report are impossibly low, according to one analyst.

On Monday, Abercrombie announced that it would not sell itself, despite reportedly holding talks with fellow teen retailers American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) - Get Free Report , Express Inc. (EXPR) - Get Free Report as well as private equity firms. The possibility of a transaction "was the primary upside risk factor" for the stock, Wolfe Research LLC analyst Adrienne Yih wrote in a note on Wednesday. Without one, Yih believes shares have little support over the next several quarters.

Weighing on Abercrombie's stock is "anemic" store traffic and deeper promotions. Further, Yih thinks there is "limited" historical examples of successful brand re-positions in retail, and also believes a 9% dividend is unsustainable.

"We thought the odds of a deal at a premium to current prices were very low," Yih wrote. "With dwindling free cash generation, oversupply in the teen sector, difficulty in re-positioning Abercrombie, and deteriorating inventory returns, we believe an acquisition would translate to a great deal of risk for the acquirer."

For the end of 2017, Yih lowered Abercrombie's price target to $8 per share, which represents a multiple of about 0.1 times fiscal 2018 sales. That low a multiple would normally be used for companies with going-concern warnings, she added.

Abercrombie shares closed Wednesday at $8.89, down 3.8%, after losing more than 20% of their value on Monday alone.

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The following companies are subsidiares of PepsiCo: Alimentos Quaker Oats y Compania Limitada, Alimentos del Istmo S.A., Amavale Agricola Ltda., Anderson Hill Insurance Limited, Asia Bottlers Limited, BAESA Capital Corporation Ltd., BFY Brands, BFY Brands LLC, BFY Brands Limited, BUG de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Balmoral Industries LLC, Bare Foods Co., Barrhead LLC, Be & Cheery, Beaman Bottling Company, Bebidas Sudamerica S.A., Beech Limited, Bell Taco Funding Syndicate, Bendler Investments II Ltd, Bendler Investments S.a r.l, Beverage Services Limited, Beverages Foods & Service Industries Inc., Bishkeksut OJSC, Blaue NC S. de R.L. de C.V., Blue Cloud Distribution Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Arizona Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Arkansas Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Colorado Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Florida Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Georgia Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Illinois Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Indiana Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Iowa Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Kentucky Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Louisiana Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Minnesota Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Mississippi Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Missouri Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Nebraska Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Nevada Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of North Carolina Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Ohio Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Oklahoma Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Pennsylvania Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of South Carolina Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Tennessee Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Texas Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Virginia Inc., Blue Cloud Distribution of Wisconsin Inc., Blue Ridge Sales LLC, Bluebird Foods Limited, Bluecan Holdings Unlimited Company, Bokomo Zambia Limited, Bolsherechensky Molkombinat JSC, Boquitas Fiestas LLC, Boquitas Fiestas S.R.L., Bottling Group Financing LLC, Bottling Group Holdings LLC, Bottling Group LLC, Bronte Industries Ltd, C & I Leasing Inc., CB Manufacturing Company Inc., CEME Holdings LLC, CMC Investment Company, Caroni Investments LLC, Centro-Mediterranea de Bebidas Carbonicas PepsiCo S.L., Ceres Fruit Juices Pty Ltd, ChampBev Inc., China Concentrate Holdings Hong Kong Limited, Chipsy International for Food Industries S.A.E., Chipsy for Food Industries S.A.E., Chitos Internacional y Cia Ltda, Cipa Industrial de Produtos Alimentares Ltda., Cipa Nordeste Industrial de Produtos Alimentares Ltda., Cocina Autentica Inc., Comercializadora CMC Investment y Compania Limitada, Comercializadora Nacional SAS Ltda., Comercializadora PepsiCo Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., Compania de Bebidas PepsiCo S.L., Concentrate Holding Uruguay Pte. Ltd., Concentrate Manufacturing Singapore Pte. Ltd., Confiteria Alegro S. de R.L. de C.V., Copella Fruit Juices Limited, Copper Beech International LLC, Corina Snacks Limited, Corporativo Internacional Mexicano S. de R.L. de C.V., CytoSport Holdings Inc., CytoSport Inc., Davlyn Realty Corporation, Defosto Holdings Limited, Desarrollo Inmobiliario Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Dilexis S.A., Donon Holdings Limited, Drinkfinity USA Inc., Drinkstation Inc., Drinkstation Innovation Co. Ltd., Drinkstation Limited, Dutch Snacks Holding S.A. de C.V., Duyvis Production B.V., EPIC Enterprises Inc., Echo Bay Holdings Inc., Elaboradora Argentina de Cereales S.R.L., Enter Logistica LLC, Environ at Inverrary Partnership, Environ of Inverrary Inc., Eridanus Investments S.a r.l, Evercrisp Snack Productos de Chile S.A., FL Transportation Inc., FLI Andean LLC, FLI Colombia LLC, FLI Snacks Andean GP LLC, Fabrica PepsiCo Mexicali S. de R.L. de C.V., Fabrica de Productos Alimenticios Rene y Cia S.C.A., Fairlight International SRL, Far East Bottlers Hong Kong Limited, Food Concepts Pioneer Ltd., Forest Akers Nederland B.V., Forty-Six Peaks Holding Inc., Fovarosi Asvanyviz es Uditoipari Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Freshwater International B.V., Frito Lay Gida Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Frito Lay Poland Sp. z o.o., Frito Lay Sp. z o.o., Frito Lay de Guatemala y Compania Limitada, Frito-Lay Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Frito-Lay Dip Company Inc., Frito-Lay Dominicana S.A., Frito-Lay Global Investments B.V., Frito-Lay Inc., Frito-Lay Investments B.V., Frito-Lay Manufacturing LLC, Frito-Lay Netherlands Holding B.V., Frito-Lay North America Inc., Frito-Lay Sales Inc., Frito-Lay Trading Company Europe GmbH, Frito-Lay Trading Company GmbH, Frito-Lay Trading Company Poland GmbH, Frito-Lay Trinidad Unlimited, Fruko Mesrubat Sanayi Limited Sirketi, GB Czech LLC, GB International Inc., GB Russia LLC, GB Slovak LLC, GMP Manufacturing Inc., Gambrinus Investments Limited, Gamesa LLC, Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Gas Natural de Merida S. A. de C. V., Gatorade Puerto Rico Company, General Bottlers of Hungary Inc., Golden Grain Company, Goveh S.R.L., Grayhawk Leasing LLC, Green Hemlock International LLC, Grupo Frito Lay y Compania Limitada, Grupo Gamesa S. de R.L. de C.V., Grupo Mabel, Grupo Sabritas S. de R.L. de C.V., Gulkevichskiy Maslozavod JSC, Hangzhou Baicaowei Corporate Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Hangzhou Haomusi Food Co, Hangzhou Haomusi Food Co. Ltd., Hangzhou Tao Dao Technology Co. Ltd., Health Warrior, Health Warrior Inc., Heathland LP, Helioscope Limited, Hillbrook Inc., Hillgrove Inc., Hillwood Bottling LLC, Hogganfield Limited Partnership, Holding Company "Opolie" JSC, Homefinding Company of Texas, Hudson Valley Insurance Company, IC Equities Inc., IZZE Beverage Co., Inmobiliaria Interamericana S.A. De C.V., Integrated Beverage Services Bangladesh Limited, Integrated Foods & Beverages Pvt. Ltd., International Bottlers Management Co. LLC, International KAS Aktiengesellschaft, Inversiones Borneo S.R.L., Inversiones PFI Chile Limitada, Inviting Foods Holdings Inc., Inviting Foods LLC, KAS Anorthosis S.a r.l, KAS S.L., KFC, Kevita Inc., Kinvara LLC, Kungursky Molkombinat JSC, Larragana S.L., Latin American Holdings Ltd., Latin American Snack Foods ApS, Latin Foods International LLC, Lebedyansky, Lebedyansky Holdings LLC, Lebedyansky LLC, Limited Liability Company "Sandora", Linkbay Limited, Lithuanian Snacks UAB, Mabel, Marbo Product d.o.o. Beograd, Marbo d.o.o. Laktasi, Matudis - Comercio de Produtos Alimentares Limitada, Matutano - Sociedade de Produtos Alimentares Lda., Mid-America Improvement Corporation, Mountainview Insurance Company Inc., Muscle Milk, NCJV LLC, New Bern Transport Corporation, New Century Beverage Company LLC, Noble Leasing LLC, Northeast Hot-Fill Co-op Inc., Office at Solyanka LLC, Onbiso Inversiones S.L., One World Enterprises LLC, One World Investors Inc., P-A Barbados Bottling Company LLC, P-A Bottlers Barbados SRL, P-Americas LLC, PAS Luxembourg S.a r.l, PAS Netherlands B.V., PBG Canada Holdings II LLC, PBG Canada Holdings Inc., PBG Cyprus Holdings Limited, PBG Investment Partnership, PBG Midwest Holdings S.a r.l, PBG Soda Can Holdings S.a r.l, PCBL LLC, PCNA Manufacturing Inc., PR Beverages Cyprus Holding Limited, PR Beverages Cyprus Russia Holding Limited, PRB Luxembourg S.a r.l, PRS Inc., PSAS Inversiones LLC, PSE Logistica S.R.L., PT Quaker Indonesia, Papas Chips S.A., Pei N.V., Pep Trade LLC, Pepsi B.V., Pepsi Beverages Holdings Inc., Pepsi Bottling Group Global Finance LLC, Pepsi Bottling Group GmbH, Pepsi Bottling Group Hoosiers B.V., Pepsi Bottling Holdings Inc., Pepsi Bugshan Investments S.A.E., Pepsi Cola Colombia Ltda, Pepsi Cola Egypt S.A.E., Pepsi Cola Panamericana S.R.L., Pepsi Cola Servis Ve Dagitim Limited Sirketi, Pepsi Cola Trading Ireland, Pepsi Logistics Company Inc., Pepsi Northwest Beverages LLC, Pepsi Overseas Investments Partnership, Pepsi Promotions Inc., Pepsi-Cola Advertising and Marketing Inc., Pepsi-Cola Bermuda Limited, Pepsi-Cola Bottlers Holding C.V., Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company Of St. Louis Inc., Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Ft. Lauderdale-Palm Beach LLC, Pepsi-Cola Company, Pepsi-Cola Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Pepsi-Cola Far East Trade Development Co. Inc., Pepsi-Cola Finance LLC, Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers Poland Sp. z o.o., Pepsi-Cola Industrial da Amazonia Ltda., Pepsi-Cola International Cork, Pepsi-Cola International LLC, Pepsi-Cola International Limited, Pepsi-Cola International Limited U.S.A., Pepsi-Cola International Private Limited, Pepsi-Cola Korea Co. Ltd., Pepsi-Cola Management and Administrative Services Inc., Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing Company Of Uruguay S.R.L., Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing International Limited, Pepsi-Cola Manufacturing Mediterranean Limited, Pepsi-Cola Marketing Corp. Of P.R. Inc., Pepsi-Cola Mediterranean Ltd., Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Company Inc., Pepsi-Cola Mexicana Holdings LLC, Pepsi-Cola Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Pepsi-Cola National Marketing LLC, Pepsi-Cola Operating Company Of Chesapeake And Indianapolis, Pepsi-Cola Sales and Distribution Inc., Pepsi-Cola Technical Operations Inc., Pepsi-Cola Thai Trading Co. Ltd., Pepsi-Cola de Honduras S.R.L., Pepsi-Cola of Corvallis Inc., PepsiAmericas Nemzetkozi Szolgaltato Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, PepsiCo ANZ Holdings Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Alimentos Antioquia Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Colombia Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Ecuador Cia. Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos Z.F. Ltda., PepsiCo Alimentos de Bolivia S.R.L., PepsiCo Amacoco Bebidas Do Brasil Ltda., PepsiCo Asia Research & Development Center Company Limited, PepsiCo Australia Financing Cyprus Limited, PepsiCo Australia Financing Limited Partnership, PepsiCo Australia Financing Partner 1 LLC, PepsiCo Australia Financing Partner 2 LLC, PepsiCo Australia Financing Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Australia Holdings Pty Limited, PepsiCo Australia International, PepsiCo Austria Services GmbH, PepsiCo Azerbaijan Limited Liability Company, PepsiCo BeLux BV, PepsiCo Beverage Sales LLC, PepsiCo Beverage Singapore Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Beverages Bermuda Limited, PepsiCo Beverages Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo Beverages International Limited, PepsiCo Beverages Italia Societa' A Responsabilita' Limitata, PepsiCo Canada Finance LLC, PepsiCo Canada Holdings ULC, PepsiCo Canada Investment ULC, PepsiCo Canada ULC, PepsiCo Captive Holdings Inc., PepsiCo Caribbean Inc., PepsiCo China Limited, PepsiCo Consulting Polska Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo De Bolivia S.R.L., PepsiCo Del Paraguay S.R.L., PepsiCo Deutschland GmbH, PepsiCo Eesti AS, PepsiCo Euro Bermuda Limited, PepsiCo Euro Finance Antilles B.V., PepsiCo Europe Support Center S.L., PepsiCo Finance Americas Company, PepsiCo Finance Antilles A N.V., PepsiCo Finance Antilles B N.V., PepsiCo Finance South Africa Proprietary Limited, PepsiCo Financial Shared Services Inc., PepsiCo Food & Beverage Holdings Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo Foods A.I.E., PepsiCo Foods China Company Limited, PepsiCo Foods Group Pty Ltd, PepsiCo Foods Guangdong Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Nigeria Limited, PepsiCo Foods Private Limited, PepsiCo Foods Sichuan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Taiwan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Foods Vietnam Company, PepsiCo France SAS, PepsiCo Global Business Services India LLP, PepsiCo Global Business Services Poland Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo Global Holdings Limited, PepsiCo Global Investments B.V., PepsiCo Global Investments S.a r.l, PepsiCo Global Mobility LLC, PepsiCo Global Real Estate Inc., PepsiCo Global Trading Solutions Unlimited Company, PepsiCo Golden Holdings Inc., PepsiCo Group Finance International B.V., PepsiCo Group Holdings International B.V., PepsiCo Group Spotswood Holdings S.a r.l, PepsiCo Gulf International FZE, PepsiCo Hellas Single Member Industrial and Commercial Societe Anonyme, PepsiCo Holding de Espana S.L., PepsiCo Holdings, PepsiCo Holdings LLC, PepsiCo Holdings Toshkent LLC, PepsiCo Hong Kong LLC, PepsiCo Iberia Servicios Centrales S.L., PepsiCo India Holdings Private Limited, PepsiCo India Sales Private Limited, PepsiCo Internacional Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., PepsiCo International Hong Kong Limited, PepsiCo International Limited, PepsiCo International Pte Ltd., PepsiCo Investments Europe I B.V., PepsiCo Investments Ltd., PepsiCo Ireland Food & Beverages Unlimited Company, PepsiCo Japan Co. Ltd., PepsiCo Light B.V., PepsiCo Logistyka Sp. z o.o., PepsiCo Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., PepsiCo Management Services SAS, PepsiCo Manufacturing A.I.E., PepsiCo Max B.V., PepsiCo Mexico Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., PepsiCo Nederland B.V., PepsiCo Nordic Denmark ApS, PepsiCo Nordic Finland Oy, PepsiCo Nordic Norway AS, PepsiCo Nutrition Trading DMCC, PepsiCo One B.V., PepsiCo Overseas Corporation, PepsiCo Overseas Financing Partnership, PepsiCo Panimex Inc, PepsiCo Products B.V., PepsiCo Products FLLC, PepsiCo Puerto Rico Inc., PepsiCo Sales Inc., PepsiCo Sales LLC, PepsiCo Services Asia Ltd., PepsiCo Services CZ s.r.o., PepsiCo Services LLC, PepsiCo Twist B.V., PepsiCo UK Pension Plan Trustee Limited, PepsiCo Ventures B.V., PepsiCo Wave Holdings LLC, PepsiCo World Trading Company Inc., PepsiCo Y LLC, PepsiCo de Argentina S.R.L., PepsiCo de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., PepsiCo do Brasil Industria e Comercio de Alimentos Ltda., PepsiCo do Brasil Ltda., PepsiCola Interamericana de Guatemala S.A., Pet Iberia S.L., Pete & Johnny Limited, Pine International LLC, Pine International Limited, Pinstripe Leasing LLC, Pioneer Food Group Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Groceries Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Group Ltd., Pioneer Foods Holdings Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods Pty Ltd, Pioneer Foods UK Ltd, Pioneer Foods Wellingtons Pty Ltd, Pipers Crisps Limited, PlayCo Inc., Pop corners, PopCorners Holdings Inc., Portfolio Concentrate Solutions Unlimited Company, Premier Nutrition Trading L.L.C., Prestwick LLC, Prev PepsiCo Sociedade Previdenciaria, Productos Alimenticios Rene LLC, Productos S.A.S. C.V., Productos SAS Management B.V., Punch N.V., Punica Getranke GmbH, Q O Puerto Rico Inc., QFL OHQ Sdn. Bhd., QTG Development Inc., QTG Services Inc., Quadrant - Amroq Beverages S.R.L., Quaker Development B.V., Quaker European Beverages LLC, Quaker European Investments B.V., Quaker Foods, Quaker Global Investments B.V., Quaker Holdings UK Limited, Quaker Manufacturing LLC, Quaker Oats Asia Inc., Quaker Oats Australia Pty Ltd, Quaker Oats B.V., Quaker Oats Capital Corporation, Quaker Oats Europe Inc., Quaker Oats Europe LLC, Quaker Oats Limited, Quaker Sales & Distribution Inc, Raptas Finance S.a r.l., Rare Fare Foods LLC, Rare Fare Holdings Inc., Reading Industries Ltd, Real Estate Holdings LLC, Rockstar Energy Drink, Rolling Frito-Lay Sales LP, S & T of Mississippi Inc., SIH International LLC, SVC Logistics Inc., SVC Manufacturing Inc., SVE Russia Holdings GmbH, Sabritas LLC, Sabritas S. de R.L. de C.V., Sabritas Snacks America Latina de Nicaragua y Cia Ltda, Sabritas de Costa Rica S. de R.L., Sabritas y Cia. S en C de C.V., Sakata Rice Snacks Australia Pty Ltd, Sandora Holdings B.V., Saudi Snack Foods Company Limited, Sea Eagle International SRL, Seepoint Holdings Ltd., Senselet Food Processing PLC, Senselet Holding B.V., Servicios GBF Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Servicios GFLG y Compania Limitada, Servicios Gamesa Puerto Rico L.L.C., Servicios SYC S. de R.L. de C.V., Seven-Up Asia Inc., Seven-Up Light B.V., Seven-Up Nederland B.V., Shanghai PepsiCo Snack Company Limited, Shanghai YuHo Agricultural Development Co. Ltd, Shoebill LLC, Simba (Proprietary) Limited, Simba Proprietary Limited, Sitka Spruce, Smartfoods Inc., Smiles and Bites Holdings S.de R.L. de C.V., Smiths Crisps Limited, Snack Food Investments GmbH, Snack Food Investments II GmbH, Snack Food Investments Limited, Snack Food-Beverage Asia Products Limited, Snacks America Latina S.R.L., Snacks Guatemala Ltd., So Spark Ltd., Soda-Club CO2 Atlantic GmbH, Soda-Club CO2 GmbH, Soda-Club CO2 Ltd., Soda-Club Switzerland GmbH, Soda-Club Worldwide B.V., SodaStream, SodaStream Australia Pty Ltd, SodaStream CO2 SA, SodaStream Canada Ltd., SodaStream Enterprises N.V., SodaStream France SAS, SodaStream GmbH, SodaStream Iberia S.L., SodaStream Industries Ltd., SodaStream International B.V., SodaStream International Ltd., SodaStream Israel Ltd., SodaStream K.K., SodaStream New Zealand Ltd., SodaStream Nordics AB, SodaStream Poland Sp. z o.o., SodaStream SA Pty Ltd., SodaStream Switzerland GmbH, SodaStream USA Inc., SodaStream Osterreich GmbH, South Beach Beverage Company Inc., South Properties Inc., Spitz International Inc., Sportmex Internacional S.A. de C.V., Springboig Industries Ltd, Spruce Limited, Stacy's Pita Chip Company Incorporated, Star Foods E.M. S.R.L., Stokely-Van Camp Inc., Stratosphere Communications Pty Ltd, Stratosphere Holdings 2018 Limited, Streamfoods Ltd, TFL Holdings LLC, Tasman Finance S.a r.l, The Gatorade Company, The Good Carb Food Company Ltd., The Pepsi Bottling Group Canada ULC, The Quaker Oats Company, The Smith's Snackfood Company Pty Limited, Thomond Group Holdings Limited, Tobago Snack Holdings LLC, Tropicana Alvalle S.L., Tropicana Beverages Limited, Tropicana Europe N.V., Tropicana United Kingdom Limited, Troya-Ultra LLC, United Foods Companies Restaurantes S.A., V-Water, VentureCo Israel Ltd, Veurne Snack Foods BV, Vitamin Brands Ltd., Walkers Crisps Limited, Walkers Group Limited, Walkers Snack Foods Limited, Walkers Snacks Distribution Limited, Walkers Snacks Limited, Whitman Corporation, Whitman Insurance Co. Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann Beverages JSC, Wimm-Bill-Dann Brands Co. Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann Central Asia-Almaty LLP, Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods LLC, Wimm-Bill-Dann Georgia Ltd., Wimm-Bill-Dann JSC, and Wimm-Bill-Dann Ukraine PJSC.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Archer-Daniels-Midland: 3 Grain Elevators, ACT Exportacao Ltda., ADGENE LABORATOIRE, ADM (Dalian) Animal Health & Nutrition Co. Ltd., ADM (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., ADM (Thailand) Ltd., ADM AGRO S.R.L., ADM Ag Holding Limited, ADM Agri Services Greece MEPE, ADM Agri-Industries Company, ADM Agricultural Commodities Trading (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., ADM Agriculture Limited, ADM Agro Iberica S.L.U., ADM Agro Industries India Private Limited, ADM Agro Industries Kota & Akola Private Limited, ADM Agro Industries Latur & Vizag Private Limited, ADM Agroinvestimentos Ltda., ADM Alliance Nutrition of Puerto Rico LLC, ADM Americas S. de R.L., ADM Andina Peru S.R.L., ADM Animal Health & Nutrition (Nanjing) Co. Ltd., ADM Animal Nutrition (Cambodia) Co. Ltd., ADM Animal Nutrition (Xiangtan) Co. Ltd., ADM Animal Nutrition (Zhangzhou) Co. Ltd., ADM Antwerp NV, ADM Arkady Ireland Limited, ADM Armazens Gerais Ltda., ADM Asia-Pacific Trading Pte. Ltd., ADM Australia Holdings I PTY Limited, ADM Australia Pty. Limited, ADM Bazancourt SASU, ADM Besin ve Tarim Anonim Sirketi, ADM Bio-Productos S.A. de C.V., ADM Bio-Science & Technology (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., ADM Bulgaria Trading EOOD, ADM CARIBBEAN INC., ADM Chile Comercial Limitada, ADM Clinton BioProcessing Inc., ADM Czernin S.A., ADM DO BRASIL LTDA., ADM Direct Polska Sp. z o.o., ADM Dominican Holdings Inc., ADM Dominicana S.A., ADM EMEA Corporate Services GmbH, ADM Edible Bean Specialties Inc., ADM Egypt LLC, ADM El Salvador Ltda. de C.V., ADM Europe Holdco S.L., ADM European Management Holding B.V. & Co. KG, ADM Expatriate Services Inc., ADM Export Co., ADM Food Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ADM Food Technology (Pinghu) Co. Ltd., ADM France, ADM Fuels Company, ADM German Holdings B.V., ADM Germany GmbH, ADM Grain Costa Rica S.R.L., ADM Grain River System Inc., ADM Grain de Venezuela C.A., ADM Guatemala Limitada, ADM Hamburg Aktiengesellschaft, ADM Holding (Thailand) Ltd., ADM Holdings LLC, ADM Honduras S.de R.L., ADM INGREDIENTS S.R.L., ADM Inca S.A.C., ADM Industries Centers Ltd, ADM International Holdings Inc., ADM International Sarl, ADM Investments Limited, ADM Investor Services Inc., ADM Investor Services International Limited, ADM Ireland Receivables Company Limited, ADM Israel, ADM Italia S.r.l., ADM Japan Ltd., ADM Latin America Inc., ADM Logistics Inc., ADM MANAGEMENT LTD., ADM MOROCCO S.A., ADM Mainz GMBH, ADM Malbork S.A., ADM Medsofts Sarl, ADM Mexico Inc., ADM Mexico S.A. de C.V., ADM Milling Co., ADM Milling Limited, ADM Myanmar Company Limited, ADM New Zealand Limited, ADM Nicaragua SA, ADM Nutrition Holding d.o.o. Beograd, ADM Olomouc S.R.O., ADM PORTUGAL SA, ADM Panama S. De R.L., ADM Paraguay S.R.L., ADM Participacoes Ltda., ADM Poland Sp. z o.o., ADM Protexin Inc., ADM Protexin Limited, ADM Pura Limited, ADM Razgrad EAD, ADM Receivables LLC, ADM Rice Inc., ADM Ringaskiddy Unlimited Company, ADM SERVICIOS S.A. DE C.V., ADM STF DMCC, ADM STF Pte. Ltd., ADM STF Switzerland Sarl, ADM Services B.V., ADM Slovakia s.r.o., ADM Specialty Ingredients (Europe) B.V., ADM Spyck GMBH, ADM Sweden AB, ADM Szamotuly Sp. z o.o., ADM Trading (UK) Limited, ADM Trading Australia Pty. Ltd., ADM Trading Company, ADM Trading Cote D'Ivoire, ADM Transportation Company, ADM Trucking Inc., ADM Unterstutzungskasse GmbH, ADM Uruguay SCA, ADM Ventures Investment Corp., ADM WILD Europe GmbH & Co. KG, ADM WILD Nauen GmbH, ADM WILD Netherlands B.V., ADM WILD SEE Kft, ADM WILD Valencia SAU, ADM Wild Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, ADM Wild UK Limited, ADM Worldwide Holdings L.P., ADMEcuador CIA. Ltda., ADMIS Holding Company Inc., ADMIS Hong Kong Limited, ADMIS SINGAPORE PTE. LIMITED, AGRANIX, AIC Seguros SRL, AMT West LLC, AOR, AT Holdings II Company, Agri Port Services Brasil Ltda., Agri Port Services Investments Ltd., Agri Port Services LLC, Agricolas Madagascar SARLU, Agrinational Insurance Company, Agriserve, Agrograin Ltd., Agrograin Ltd. Sucursal Uruguay, Alfrebro LLC, Alfred C. Toepfer International Exportacao e Importacao Ltda., Alfred C. Toepfer International Netherlands B.V., Alimenta USA, Alimentos Texo SA de CV, American River Transportation Co. LLC, Ameriseed, Anco Animal Nutrition Competence GmbH, Archer Daniels Midland (UK) Limited, Archer Daniels Midland Asia-Pacific Limited, Archer Daniels Midland Company South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Archer Daniels Midland Erith Limited, Archer Daniels Midland Europe B.V., Archer Daniels Midland Europoort B.V., Archer Daniels Midland Korea LLC, Archer Daniels Midland Nederland B.V., Archer Daniels Midland Singapore Pte. Ltd., Archer Daniels Midland Vietnam Company Limited, Archer Daniels Midland Wild Nigeria Ltd., Archer Financial Services Inc., Archer-Daniels-Midland Philippines Inc., Arinos Unlimited, Aston Foods & Food Ingredients, BIOPOLIS S.L., BQ Railroad Company, BTECH Tecnologias Agropecuarias e Comercio Ltda., Balanceados Nova S.A. Balnova, Balto Holdco LLC, Barbados Mills Limited, Bela Vista Bio Etanol Participacoes Ltda., Belize Mills Limited, Belwood Company S.A., Benson-Quinn Commodities Inc., Bern Aqua, Bifodan Inc., Biopolis, CONTROLADORA ADM S.A. DE C.V., Campa Sued GmbH & Co KG, Caribbean Agro-Industries Limited, Casablancas sweetener plant, Cattleman's Choice Loomix LLC, Chamtor, Ci ADM Colombia Ltda., Columbia & Willamette Maritime Services Inc., Comhan, Compania ADM S.A. de C.V., Crosswind Petfoods Inc., DE Holdings LLC, DP Holdings LLC, Daavision B.V., Deerland Europe ApS, Deerland Holdings Inc., Deerland Ireland R&D Limited, Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes, Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes A/S, Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes Inc., Eaststarch, Eatem Corporation, Eatem Foods, Elstar Oils, Empresa de Transporte La Estrella S.R.L., English River Pellets Inc., Epicore BioNetworks Inc., Epicore Ecuador S.A., Epicore Networks (U.S.A.) Inc., Erich Ziegler GmbH, Evialis (Shandong) Co. Ltd., Evialis France, Evialis Galicia S.A., Evialis India Limited, FINANCIERE FRANCO MAGYAR POUR LA NUTRITION ANIMALE - FFMNA, FISA Andina S.A.S., FISA Aromas S.A.S., Fasco Mills Co., Federation Sahanala Vanille, Filozoo SRL, Flavor Infusion, Flavor Infusion International S.A., Florida Chemical, Florida Chemical Company LLC, Flotek Flavor & Fragrance LLC, GLOBAL COCOA HOLDINGS LTD., GP Blanching Inc., GPC Trucking Inc., GROUPE PILARDIERE, GUYOKRMA spol. s.r.o., Golden Farm Production & Commerce Company Limited, Golden Peanut Company, Golden Peanut Company LLC, Golden Peanut and Tree Nut Seed SA (Pty) Ltd., Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts S.A., Green Bison Soy Processing LLC, Group Lysac, Guyomarc'h - VCN Company Limited, Guyomarc'h Vietnam Co. Ltd., Guyovital PT, HFR Shipping Company Ltd., HI-NUTRIENTS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, HRA Shipping Company Ltd., HTI Shipping Company Ltd., Harvest Innovations, Hilltop Grain and Feed, Holding P & A Asia Company Limited, Hubei Meiweiyuan Biotechnology, Ilitchevskiy Maslo Extractionniy Zavod (IMEZ), Industries Centers EOD Trade 2005 Ltd., Invivo NSA Algerie, Invivo NSA Sanpo (Tianjin) Pet Products Co. Ltd, JDS Sarl, Jamaica Flour Mills Limited, Jamaica Rice Milling Company Limited, LANCENTER S.C.A., Liquid Feed Commodities, Logus Bar Ashdod Port Ltd., Malta Industries S.A. de C.V., Malta Texo De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Maniobras Y Servicios Del Interior S.A. de C.V., Master Mix of Trinidad Unlimited, Medsofts Company LLC, Medsofts for Import Co., Medsofts for Investment LLC, Medsofts for Trade LLC (Medsofts Trading), Mepla Comercio e Navegacao Ltda., Mezclas Biomix S.A.S., Monti Foods (Pty) Ltd., Mundo Logistics S.R.L., NEC Facilities LLC, National Enzyme Company LLC, Naviera Chaco S.R.L., Neovia, Neovia Algerie SPA, Neovia Nutricao e Saude Animal Ltda., Neovia Philippines Inc., North Star Shipping S.R.L., NutraDine, NutraDine LLC, NutriMix Feed Company Inc., Nutrilac, Olenex C.V., Olsen's Mill Inc. Four Grain Storage Elevators, P & A Marketing SA, PANCOSMA FRANCE S.A.S, PJSC ADM Illichivsk, PT ADM Indonesia Trading and Logistics, Pancosma & Associates Marketing (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Pancosma (Jiangsu) Feed Additive Co. Ltd., Pancosma (Shanghai) Feed Additives Co. Ltd., Pancosma Canada Inc., Pancosma Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pancosma North America Inc., Pancosma SA, Pedigree Ovens, Pedigree Ovens LLC, PetDine, PetDine LLC, Prairie Pride - Biodiesel Production Plant, Premiere Agri Technologies Asia Inc., Premiere Agri Technologies of Mexico Inc., Proservicios Potencial Humano S.A. de C.V., Provit Sp. z o.o., Pura Foods Limited, Rodelle Inc., SANICOOPA, SDJ Sarl, SORA Laboratories LLC, Sartco Ltda., Schokinag-Schokolade-Industrie Herrmann, Sermix, Servad S.R.L, Setna Nutricion S.A., Silo P. Kruse Betriebs-GmbH & Co. KG, Silo-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH, Societe Industrielle des Oleagineux-SIO, SojaProtein d.o.o. Becej, Sojaprotein, Southern Cellulose Products Inc., Soy Investors LLC, Specialty Commodities, Specialty Commodities LLC, Sul Mineira Alimentos Ltda., Syngenta - Dry Bean Business, Szabadegyhazai Szolgaltato es Vagyonkezeklo KFT, Terminal Stevedores Inc., Terminales De Cargas Especializadas S.A. De C.V., The Pound Bakery, The Pound Bakery LLC, Toepfer International, Toepfer International Trading (Shanghai) Co. LTD., UPSCIENCE ITALIA S.R.L., Upscience, VIA CHEM GROUP a.s. Oilseed Processing Plant, Vantage Corn Processors LLC, WILD Flavors, Wild Amazon Flavors Concentrados e Corantes para Bebidas Ltda., Wild Flavors (Canada) Inc., Wild Flavors Austria GmbH, Wild Flavors Inc., Wild Flavors International GmbH, Wild Flavors Kenya Limited, Wild Flavors Middle East FZE, Wild Flavors Polska Sp. z o.o., Wild Flavors S.A. de C.V., Wild Intermare GmbH, Wild Polska Sp. z o.o., Wild Russia LLC, Wild Tunesia Sarl, Wisium SA (Pty) Ltd., World's Finest Chocolate - New Cocoa Powder Line, and Yerbalatina Ltda..

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Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions. It also offers ProxyEdge, an electronic proxy delivery and voting solution; data-driven solutions and an end-to-end platform for content management, composition, and omni-channel distribution of regulatory, marketing, and transactional information, as well as mutual fund trade processing services; data and analytics solutions; solutions for public corporations and mutual funds; SEC filing and capital markets transaction services; registrar, stock transfer, and record-keeping services; and omni-channel customer communications solutions, as well as operates Broadridge Communications Cloud platform that creates, delivers, and manages communications and customer engagement activities. The company's Global Technology and Operations segment provides solutions that automate the front-to-back transaction lifecycle of equity, mutual fund, fixed income, foreign exchange and exchange-traded derivatives, order capture and execution, trade confirmation, margin, cash management, clearance and settlement, reference data management, reconciliations, securities financing and collateral management, asset servicing, compliance and regulatory reporting, portfolio accounting, and custody-related services. This segment also offers business process outsourcing services; technology solutions, such portfolio management, compliance, fee billing, and operational support solutions; and capital market and wealth management solutions. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Lake Success, New York.
Nabors Industries Ltd. provides drilling and drilling-related services for land-based and offshore oil and natural gas wells. The company operates through five segments: U.S. Drilling, Canada Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies. It provides tubular running, wellbore placement, directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling (MWD), equipment manufacturing, and rig instrumentation services; and logging-while-drilling systems and services, as well as drilling optimization software. The company also offers REVit, an automated real time stick-slip mitigation system; ROCKit, a directional steering control system; SmartNAV, a collaborative guidance and advisory platform; SmartSLIDE, an advanced directional steering control system; and RigCLOUD, which provides the tools and infrastructure to integrate applications to deliver real-time insight into operations across the rig fleet. In addition, it manufactures and sells top drives, catwalks, wrenches, drawworks, and other drilling related equipment, such as robotic systems and downhole tools; and provides aftermarket sales and services for the installed base of its equipment. As of December 31, 2021, the company marketed approximately 301 rigs for land-based drilling operations in the United States, Canada, and in 20 other countries worldwide; and 29 rigs for offshore platform drilling operations in the United States and internationally. Nabors Industries Ltd. was founded in 1952 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; prepaid programs and management services; commercial credit and debit payment products and solutions; and payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts. It also provides value-added products and services comprising cyber and intelligence solutions for parties to transact, as well as proprietary insights, drawing on principled use of consumer, and merchant data services. In addition, the company offers analytics, test and learn, consulting, managed services, loyalty, processing, and payment gateway solutions for e-commerce merchants. Further, it provides open banking and digital identity platforms services. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.
Provident Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. The company's deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans that are secured by properties, such as multi-family apartment buildings, office buildings, and retail and industrial properties; commercial business loans; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans collateralized by one- to four-family residential real estate properties; commercial construction loans; and consumer loans consisting of home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, marine loans, personal loans and unsecured lines of credit, and auto and recreational vehicle loans. The company also offers cash management, remote deposit capture, payroll origination, escrow account management, and online and mobile banking services; and business credit cards. In addition, it provides wealth management services comprising investment management, trust and estate administration, financial planning, tax compliance and planning, and private banking. Further, the company sells insurance and investment products, including annuities; operates as a real estate investment trust for acquiring mortgage loans and other real estate related assets; and manages and sells real estate properties acquired through foreclosure. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 96 full-service branch offices in northern and central New Jersey, as well as in Pennsylvania and New York counties. The company was founded in 1839 and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Chabad on Campus International has teamed up with Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) International to launch a bar mitzvah program.

Earlier this month, five university students from the Lauder Business School in Vienna were joined by their families from Switzerland, Germany, Hungary and Ukraine as they celebrated their bar mitzvahs.

Over a seven-week period, the AEPi brothers studied the history and laws of Judaism with Rabbi Boruch Sabbach, Chabad co-director of the Jewish Heritage Center on campus.

Finally, the big day arrived. The students were called up to the Torah on a Shabbat as a crowd of sixty family members and friends cheered them on. On Sunday, they prayed in their new sets of tefillin, which were arranged by Rabbi Sabbach with the help of the Chabad on Campus International Tefillin Bank.

Magdolna Varkonyi, an 88-year-old holocaust survivor from Hungary, wept as she described how moved she was to see her first great-grandchild, Benjamin Pretzer, have a bar mitzvah.

This program was special in that we were able to see immediately how the impact reverberated to their families as well, said Rabbi Sabbach. Several of the parents spoke about a new commitment to Judaism and a desire to send their younger children to Jewish Schools.

The newly bar mitzvah-ed Peter Vandor says he wanted to learn more about his roots and reconnect with them. We, as five Jewish students, made a huge step forward with our Jewish identity.

Sabach was as moved as his students. It was extraordinary to guide these five young men through this important Jewish milestone. They showed a real committment to the lessons and their questions demonstrated a seriousness about the subject and their Judaism.

Six students have already signed up for next years bar mitzvah program.
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


Net neutrality has gone from an esoteric concept to a headline-topper in the United States. The rise of data-intensive streaming media services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video and the concentration of power in large internet service providers (ISPs) such as Comcast and Verizon have raised questions about how internet access will be parceled out and paid for among content providers and consumers. An upcoming vote by the FCC to remove current net neutrality protections has thrust the subject back into the national spotlight.



Net-neutrality concerns span issues ranging from "When will my Netflix stop buffering?" to "Will the internet remain an egalitarian, democratic environment?" Let's see what the ISPs seek to do, and how the changes could affect you.

What is net neutrality?

At its core, net neutrality is about treating all content on the internet equally. This means that big content providers such as Netflix and Amazon won't be given preferential treatment by ISPs in relation to any other company, organization or individual , no matter how small.



But strictly enforcing net neutrality might also lead to inconveniences  such as slower, stuttery video-conferencing and worse cellphone voice services. Telecommunication companies worry that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will get all up in their business, even on basic engineering decisions. Political conservatives (including FCC Chairman Ajit Pai) have the same worries.

MORE: Could Net Neutrality Ruin the Internet?

Why is net neutrality in the news?

The FCC, under chairman Ajit Pai, has voted to remove net neutrality protections and stop regulating the internet as a utility. This is likely to be reviewed by Congress and taken to court. This provides more ISPs the opportunity to throttle users, censor content or enable fast lanes, though we've yet to see if this will come to be.

Once President Donald Trump named Pai chairman of the FCC in January 2017, the future of the open internet was in doubt. Pai has voted against net neutrality several times in his career, and many saw his appointment as the administration taking the same stance. But the debate goes back further than that.



The first event was a U.S. Court of Appeals decision in January 2014 involving a lawsuit brought by Verizon against the FCC.



The court ruled that the FCC had used the wrong piece of legislation to enforce its net neutrality policy: Sec. 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which gives the FCC the mandate to promote broadband. Instead, the court said, the FCC would need to use Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (see more on that below), which would allow the FCC to regulate ISPs as public utilities, similar to the way telephone companies are regulated. This is what former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler ultimately decided to do in 2015



But in May 2017, the FCC and newly appointed Trump-appointed Chairman Pai released a proposal to reverse Wheelers decision. You can read the proposed rules, entitled Restoring Internet Freedom, here. The document recommends rolling back Title II regulations on the internet, removing any legal authority the government might have to enforce net neutrality and questioning what should be done instead.



We propose not to adopt any alternatives to the Internet conduct rule, and we seek comment on this proposal, it reads.



On July 12, 2017, five days prior to the close of the public-comment period on Pai's proposal, dozens of potentially affected companies -- including Reddit, Amazon, Kickstarter, OkCupid, Dropbox and Imgur -- as well as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other activist groups, held a Day of Action, to protest the potential abandonment of net neutrality with blog posts and pop-ups showing what could happen to the internet if net neutrality rules werent implemented.

But in November, the FCC announced that it would vote to end net neutrality rules altogether.



Under my proposal, the federal government will stop micromanaging the internet, Pai said in a statement. Instead, the FCC would simply require internet service providers to be transparent about their practices so that consumers can buy the service plan thats best for them and entrepreneurs and other small businesses can have the technical information they need to innovate.

What is Title II of the Communications Act of 1934?

The Communications Act of 1934 is landmark legislation that, among other things, established the FCC and its authority to regulate telecom companies.

Title II of the act defines a type of company called a common carrier as, among other things, "any person engaged as a common carrier for hire, in interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio." (Under U.S. law, a company is generally treated as a person.)



Title II provides sweeping regulatory control over common carriers in Sec 202 (a). It's wordy, but worth a read.



"It shall be unlawful for any common carrier to make any unjust or unreasonable discrimination in charges, practices, classifications, regulations, facilities or services for or in connection with like communication service, directly or indirectly, by any means or device, or to make or give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person, class of persons or locality, or to subject any particular person, class of persons or locality to any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage."



The gist: Anyone providing a communication service can't discriminate against, or show favor toward, any of its customers. The FCC chose to classify voice telephone service as a common carrier, which has allowed it to tightly regulate providers. But in 1980, the FCC chose to classify the transmission of data as "enhanced services" or "information services," not subject to Title II.



These distinctions were made long before anything resembling today's internet. Cable TV companies, which don't have the same heritage as telephone providers, were never considered for any common-carrier designation. Many of the first ISPs were, and still are, cable companies, whose primary business is to charge both ends of the connection -- cable channels such as ESPN, and cable customers like you and me -- for access to the lines in between.



Later, the FCC ruled that wireless data providers, are not common carriers, either. The issue of whether data and the internet are public utilities is central to the entire debate.

What are internet fast lanes?

Wheeler started out far from this position on Title II. He still insisted that the twice-defeated Section 706 rationale could be the basis of a new policy. A draft net-neutrality proposal, passed by the FCC on May 15, 2014 (three commissioners voted for the proposal, and two against), would have prohibited broadband providers from deliberately slowing (or "throttling") internet traffic or blocking legal content. But it was vague on the concept of "fast lanes." The upshot was that ISPs wouldn't be allowed to slow down internet traffic, but in exchange for higher payments from content providers, they might be able to speed it up. Critics argued that creating fast lanes by definition relegated all other traffic to slow lanes.

MORE: 5 Freedoms You'll Lose Without Net Neutrality (Op-Ed)

Wheeler, however, insisted that he did not intend to allow the creation of fast lanes. In a statement on the FCC blog, Wheeler promised that "ISPs may not act in a commercially unreasonable manner to harm the Internet, including favoring the traffic from an affiliated entity."

The current proposal under Pai removes any regulation and suggests fast lanes are nothing to worry about. In fact, it assumes that ISPs will not engage in the practice at all.



The ban on paid prioritization did not exist prior to the Title II Order and even then the record evidence confirmed that no such rule was needed since several large internet service providers made it clear that that they did not engage in paid prioritization and had no plans to do so, it reads. We seek comment on the continued need for such a rule and our authority to retain it.



Fast lanes already exist, technically speaking. Content delivery networks (CDNs) are privately operated short cuts around the regular internet that shunt content, such as website data or media streams, rapidly and directly from content providers to localized servers spread out across the U.S. and the world. From each of those servers, the content can quickly hop to a nearby ISP and its customers in that area. Using CDNs and their dedicated lines is more efficient than depending on the regular internet to distribute high-bandwidth data. Most internet-based companies with enough infrastructure and resources pay to use a CDN.



Whether CDNs would be affected by net-neutrality regulation depends on the language of the regulation, but using a CDN is arguably not detrimental to the internet in the way that having to pay an ISP for preferential treatment might be.

Who is Ajit Pai?

Pai is the current chairman of the Federal Communications Commission , picked for the job by Trump in January 2017. Prior to holding that role, he served as a Republican FCC commissioner. He was appointed as a commissioner by President Barack Obama under recommendation from then-Senate Minority Leader (now Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell. (By custom, the FCC has two Republican and two Democratic commissioners, and a chairman from the current president's party serves as the fifth commissioner.)



In 2001, Pai left a job at the Justice Department to work for Verizon Communications as associate general counsel. He left the job in 2003. In 2015, as a commissioner, he voted against Wheelers proposal to regulate the internet under Title II.



Right now, Pai is flanked by one Republican commissioner, Michael ORielly, and one Democrat, Mignon Clyburn. Trump has nominated Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat who served on the commission under Obama, to rejoin the commission, but her appointment has to be approved by the Senate.



Pai is the first Indian American to hold the position of FCC chairman.



What does Trump say about net neutrality?

Trump hasnt said much about net neutrality and the open internet. But in 2014, he tweeted that Wheelers decision was a power grab that Trump blamed on Obama. Trump also referred to net neutrality as a digital Fairness Doctrine, referring to the former FCC rule that required broadcasters to balance each piece of political commentary with an opposing point of view. The abolition of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 allowed conservative talk radio to flourish.



While Trump hasnt said much more on the topic, his press secretary, Sean Spicer, said in March that Trump would reverse the overreach and called it an example of bureaucrats in Washington picking winners and losers.

Who supports net neutrality regulation?

Supporters of net neutrality regulations include consumer advocates, human-rights groups and many tech companies and organizations. The nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a vocal supporter of net neutrality, as are smaller organizations such as Fight for the Future and Freepress.



On May 7, 2014, more than 130 high-profile technology companies submitted an open letter to the FCC commissioners stating their support for an open Internet. Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Reddit, Twitter and Yahoo all threw their weight behind the letter, along with other signatories ranging from BitTorrent to Mozilla. Many more companies have joined the effort leading up to the FCC's Feb. 26 vote on common carrier regulation.



On the July 12, 2017 Day of Action, dozens of websites and organizations -- including the ACLU, GitHub, OkCupid, Amazon, Etsy, Vimeo, Mozilla and the EFF -- banded together again.

Who is against net neutrality regulation?

Internet service providers  like Verizon, AT&T and Comcast  are the main opponents of net-neutrality regulations. ISPs are seeing a large increase in network usage as more streaming content becomes available online.



Without net-neutrality regulations, ISPs argue, they would not have the power to create a better experience for users of certain services, by finding ways to cover the cost of the additional bandwidth usage. The ISPs would also like to prioritize traffic based on how sensitive packets are to delay. Slowing down an email by a few milliseconds, for example, wouldn't be noticeable, but it would be for data packets in a videoconference.

MORE: Decoded: Net Neutrality and the 'New' Broadband

Comcast, for example, is one of several ISPs to make a deal with Netflix to improve the video-streaming experience for Comcast subscribers. Netflix is now paying Comcast to have direct access to Comcast's network, which resulted in a 65 percent speed increase between January 2014 (before the deal was in place) and April 2014, according to Netflix. In a public statement in November 2014, Comcast has said that it supports net neutrality and the specific goals the President spelled out - but not enforcement under Title II.

How does net neutrality affect Netflix?

As Netflix's popularity grows, the amount of data sent to users via ISPs also increases. During prime time, Netflix traffic accounts for roughly 30 percent of all internet traffic, with YouTube in second place at roughly 20 percent, according to a November 2013 report by Canadian internet-monitoring firm Sandvine. This puts extra strain on the ISPs, and many users have complained that streaming speed has been negatively affected. ISPs have denied intentionally slowing Netflix traffic.



In a landmark decision, Netflix has agreed to pay Comcast to ensure smooth Internet streaming services to Comcast subscribers. This deal is already impacting streaming quality for Netflix customers using Comcast, who have seen a 65 percent speed increase between January and April 2014, according to Netflix.




Campbell Gray Hotels, a leading developer of luxury hotels around the world, has unveiled the latest additions to its MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) facilities at Le Gray, Beirut, and business offerings following a major refurbishment at its flagship luxury property in the Lebanese capital.



The new facilities aim to cement the property as the citys ultimate destination, not just for leisure but also for business and conferences, said the luxury hotel developer.



The new spaces were designed in the same contemporary-classic aesthetic that defines Le Gray, Beirut and the project was overlooked by interior designer, Galal Mahmoud.



This was done in close collaboration with Gordon Campbell Gray himself who is known for his unique style and touch evident throughout the hotels choice of interiors and art which he handpicked himself.



The jewel in the crown of the new business facilities is The Grand Salon, a 400-sq-m space that can accommodate up to 500 guests with a unique colour-adjustable LED light ceiling. The space is perfect for a grand Gala dinner or even a dream wedding, said a statement from Campbell Gray Hotels.



The Boardroom is a dramatic business meeting venue that can accommodate up to 20 guests complete with drop-down wall screen, projector and coffee making facilities, it stated.



The Meeting Room is another space that is ideal for smaller business meetings and presentations of up to ten participants that comes with lookout balconies to take in the stunning Beirut views. Another great addition is The Muse Room, a multi-function 150 sqm venue that can accommodate up to 165 guests with oak-laminated backlit glass wall panels, projectors and two drop-down screens.



The hotel which is known for its connection to the Beirut art scene has also kept that in mind with The Atrium. This is an open exhibition and art venue at the heart of the central atrium bathed in natural light; the hotels very own gallery space.



Another standout addition is the very unique The Screening Room, a private 53-seat cinema. Complete with state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment and sound system, The Screening Room, is sure to leave an impression for an unforgettable presentation or even a very intimate movie night with friends, said the developer.



Centrally located in Beiruts Downtown, Le Gray Beirut offers business guests the opportunity to not only conduct their meetings in the citys most stylish venue but also be within close distance to Beiruts most popular attractions.

The hotels concierge will help guests put together a personalized itinerary to ensure they make the most of the city outside of business hours, it stated.



The hotel will also feature new guestrooms and a stylish new extended lobby area and lounge where guests can relax and work whilst enjoying light bites and their favourite drinks, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
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An Afghan-American female pilot on a solo flight around the world seeking to inspire young women across the globe has taken a detour to visit her native Afghanistan  and meet the countrys president and civil society activists struggling to safeguard womens rights.

Shaesta Waiz left her single-engine plane in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to take a commercial flight to Kabul where she arrived on Monday night. The 29-year-old said her Beechcraft Bonanza A36 was not suited for flying over the mountainous terrain of her native country.

Waiz, the first female pilot from Afghanistan, began her journey in Florida in May and has since made stops in 11 countries, with eight more to complete her mission.

The whole purpose of this flight around the world is not to set a world record, Waiz said during a welcoming ceremony by government officials and activists in Kabul. The purpose of this trip is to inspire young girls and boys to believe in themselves, to believe on what they are capable of doing, regardless of where they are from or the challenges you had faced in your life.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed Waiz at his office later on Monday evening and told her how much he admired her courage. Waiz, in turn, promised Afghan women that once her world trip is done, she would come back and find ways to help them.

Much has changed for Afghan women since the Taliban were ejected from power 16 years ago. During their rule, women were not permitted to attend school or work, were largely confined to their homes, and subjected to public beatings for violations of strict rules on what they could wear in public.

Now millions of Afghan girls go to school, compared to practically none in 2001, and many women work for the government and security services, run their own business, and are elected to parliament.

Waiz and her family moved in 1987 to the United States where she got her pilots license, becoming the youngest certified female pilot from Afghanistan.

She took off from Daytona Beach in Florida in May and has mapped out a route that will take her aboard approximately 25,800 kilometers (16,000 miles) around 19 countries, including Canada, Spain, Britain, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Bahrain, India, Singapore and Australia, before ending the trip back in the U.S. in August.

Waizs father, Fahim Waiz Atghandiwal, who accompanied her on the visit to Kabul, said each and every girl needs the support of her family  especially the support of her parents  to achieve her goal and turn dreams into reality.

After returning to Dubai, Waiz said she will continue her voyage to India as she seeks to become the first Afghan-American woman to accomplish a solo flight around the world. Rahim Faiez, Kabul, AP
- Mombasa governor Hassan Joho has finally revealed why he is always critical of the Jubilee administration

- According to the ODM deputy, the conflict goes as far back as 2014

- Joho alleges that Uhuru Kenyatta played a major role in the detaining of Somali natives during the 2014 "operation Usalama watch"

Mombasa governor Hassan Joho has revealed the genesis of the conflict with the Jubilee government.

Speaking during NASAs tour in Mandera county on Tuesday, July 11, Joho , who is popular for taking on the government head on, divulged that Jubilees first act of treason came in the form of the Somali community.

Joho spoke of how he was angered by the Jubilee regime in 2013 upon the issuing of a directive to hold a crackdown on Somalis who had no form of Kenyan identification.

Mombasa governor Hassan Joho. PHOTO: Hassan Joho/Facebook

READ ALSO: Raila takes on Uhuru through twitter but the president's response is unbelievable

According to Joho, Uhuru, during the eid celebrations in 2013, came to Mombasa to celebrate with Muslims when in truth he had failed to defend their rights.

In 2014, I started being at loggerheads with the Jubilee because Uhuru came to Mombasa during the month of Ramadhan and welcomed the wealthy to dine (Iftar) with him. I told him I could not dine with him while my brothers (the Somalis) have been detained in Kasarani. He said

"I told him you cannot go to Eastleigh and close the roads to detain women, children and take them to Kasarani. That I will not forget. He told residents.

The 2013 crackdown of non-Kenyan immigrants saw more than hundreds of Somali detainees rallied and kept at the Kasarani stadium for deportation.

Leyla Ali Adow, a Somali arrested in a police sweep, reacts after being processed for deportation at a holding station in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 9, 2014. PHOTO: Reuters

READ ALSO: Uhuru is preparing to reject the Presidential results  Raila Odinga

Similar incidents were also witnessed in Mombasa at the time in the massive security operation which the then Interior CS Joseph Ole Lenku dubbed operation Usalama watch.

Former interior CS Joseph Ole Lenku. PHOTO: Nation

READ ALSO: Nkaissery's stomach contents hold the key to what exactly killed him

Incidentally, Mandera county is home to hundreds of Kenyans of Somali descent.

Here is the video:

READ ALSO: The very last moments of Nicholas Biwott, the Total Man, before he died

Joho urged the community not to forget the 2014 incidents as a way to vote the Jubilee government, promising better delivery under the National Super Alliance.

Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke

What will Gatundu residents do if Uhuru Kenyatta loses in the polls? They speak:

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- While campaigning in Raila Odinga's home turf, Uhuru Kenyatta touched on the sensitive Migingo islands issue

- Raila and NASA have been demanding that the government speaks about the island and sets the record straight

- The Ugandan government claims the island and has since deployed its security officers to man the island

- The island is a rich fishing haven and has caused a constant tiff between Kenya and the neighboring Uganda

President Uhuru Kenyatta took the Jubilee Party campaigns to Mbita, Homabay County and carried a bag of promises for the people.

READ ALSO: Uhuru is preparing to reject the Presidential results  Raila Odinga

Homabay is a predominantly opposition zone but nevertheless, Uhuru enticed the residents with the Migingo island topic.

Migingo Island is in Kenya according to Uhuru Kenyatta and the process of marking out the boundaries is underway. Photo: Nation.co.ke

And the island, TUKO.co.ke has gathered, is dear to the dwellers of the lake region. It is a rich fishing ground that has caused bad blood between Kenya and Uganda for decades.

Uhuru stated that Migingo is in Kenya and the process of mapping out the boundary is underway.

READ ALSO: Joseph Nkaissery's widow breaks into a sob while eulogizing her late husband

He however insisted that he wants the issues handled with dignity and the issue shall be solved in good time.

"Who does not know Migingo is ours.even if it is ours, we do not go making noisewe do our things with dignity, " Uhuru stated

Uhuru also asked the residents of Homabay to vote for Jubilee saying that Jubilee had worked tirelessly to serve all Kenyans.

"It is everyone's right to seek votes from you. But we are campaigning on the basis of development," Uhuru added

The dispute about the island arose in 2011 when Uganda started harassing Kenyans living there. An outrage from Kenyans led to President Museveni saying the island belongs to Kenya but the waters belong to Uganda.

Migingo Island. Photo: Standardmedia.co.ke

Kenya and Uganda have for long held discussions but failed to agree but Uganda is said to lay claim to the island and has more police presence that Kenya.

READ ALSO: You're the biggest conman masquerading as a reformist-Duale shreds Raila

So bad has the situation on Migingo Island been that some Kenyans have been relocating to the neigbouring Ugingo Island while accusing the Kenya government of doing little to protect them.

What will Gatundu residents do if Uhuru Kenyatta loses the polls? They speak out:

Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke

Source: TUKO.co.ke
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has visited the Antonov state enterprise, which is part of the Ukroboronprom concern.

This is reported by the Ukroboronprom press service in Facebook.

"During his visit to Kyiv, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg personally estimated the capacity of domestic aircraft manufactured at the Antonov state enterprise, which is part of the Ukroboronprom concern.

Stoltenberg and Ukroboronprom Director General Roman Romanov discussed further steps to deepen cooperation, accelerate transition to manufacturing of standardized and certified products in line with international standards, including those of NATO, as well as launch joint defence projects," the statement reads.

According to the press service, the NATO Secretary General and the Ukroboronprom Director General also discussed further prospects for strategic transport operations for NATO member states under the SALIS program carried out by An-124 Ruslan, An-225 Mriya and An- 22 Antey.

In 2006-2016, the Antonov planes transported more than 122,000 tons of cargo for the Alliance in more than 2,000 flights.

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As Chinas government faces mounting international pressure to grant imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo his wish to leave the country for treatment of advanced liver cancer, its fighting back with a familiar strategy: information control.

From coordinated leaks of hospital surveillance video to a near-total news blackout for Chinese-language media and social media, the Chinese governments sprawling propaganda apparatus has revved up efforts to contain the controversy surrounding its most prominent political dissident.

In an update yesterday afternoon, the hospital treating Liu said he remains in critical condition and is now on dialysis and organ support.

Liu was convicted in 2009 of inciting subversion for his role in the Charter 08 movement calling for political reform. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize a year later while in prison.

Chinese media have hardly mentioned repeated calls by the U.S., the European Union and others for Beijing to let Liu leave on humanitarian grounds. Instead, state media provided extensive coverage this past week of President Xi Jinpings recent achievements, especially his travels to Russia and Germany, which they portrayed as a massive public relations triumph for China.

Yesterday, state newspapers including the official Peoples Daily and the English-language China Daily trumpeted Xis call to unswervingly advance Chinas judicial reform and improve the military. Meanwhile, the daily barrage of questions about Liu fired off by the international press at foreign ministry news briefings has been excised from the ministrys published transcripts, as if they were never asked.

The few mentions of Liu in the state medias overseas-oriented English editions in recent weeks contained denouncements and tough language aimed at foreign audiences.

It is probably out of politics that some people and forces are requesting Liu to be treated abroad, the nationalistic Global Times tabloid, published by the Peoples Daily, said in an editorial Tuesday headlined Lius cancer treatment mustnt be politicized.

Todays China is stronger and more confident, and will not yield to Western pressure, it said, accusing unidentified overseas forces of squeezing Liu for their political goals.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated yesterday that China hopes other countries can respect Chinas judicial sovereignty and not use such an individual case to interfere in Chinas domestic affairs.

The response is a reflection of the partys fear of showing weakness either at home or abroad, said Andrew Nathan, an expert on Chinese history and politics at Columbia University.

Any sign of giving way would only encourage domestic enemies and foreign critics, Nathan said, adding, Been tough up to now, better continue being tough to the end.

A more subtle effort to shape the narrative came this week when a video from Lius hospital room emerged just as the government was saying that he was too sick to be transported abroad and was already receiving world-class treatment in China.

Surveillance video from Saturday leaked to English-language Chinese state media showed two foreign doctors at Lius bedside telling his wife, Liu Xia, that the medical team assembled by Chinas government was doing its utmost for her husband.

However, in a subsequent statement that was ignored by Chinese media, the German and American doctors said Liu was capable of traveling abroad, and the German Embassy in Beijing lashed out at China for selectively leaking the video to state media in a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality.

It seems that security organs are steering the process, not medical experts, the embassy said. This behavior undermines trust in the authorities dealing with Mr. Lius case, which is vital to ensure maximum success of his medical treatment.

The hospital video leak followed a familiar pattern.

After Lius diagnosis was made public in June, a jailhouse video montage quickly found its way onto YouTube that showed him playing badminton with a prison guard, chatting with his wife during a visit and sitting for a teeth cleaning  all intended to show a decent quality of life behind bars at Jinzhou Prison. At one point, he was shown remarking about the great care that prison authorities have shown for his health.

Watson Meng, who runs the overseas Chinese-language media site Boxun that reposted the video, told The Associated Press that he believed it must have been released by the authorities as part of their propaganda campaign.

Outside of official channels, unauthorized discussion of Liu has been swiftly punished. A police document that surfaced on the Internet this week described how a 38-year-old man in central Hunan province had been detained for seven days for discussing Lius situation on WeChat, a social media messaging app.

Local police in the city, Zhangjiajie, said they could not respond to questions about the case and referred inquiries to the provincial propaganda and foreign affairs offices, which did not respond to queries.

News searches for Lius name on Baidu, Chinas largest internet search engine, have turned up no hits since February. Searches on WeChat also turn up empty.

Many supporters of political reform inside China have instead taken to Twitter, which is inaccessible in China without special software, to circumvent government censors. Bao Tong, a 85-year-old former top Communist Party official who has been under house arrest for decades, began learning to tweet this week because he has been forbidden from giving media interviews or publishing articles about Liu, according to his son, Bao Pu.

Chinas state-run media [] wont even report relevant information, the elder Bao fumed in one tweet. In another, he commemorated Lius calls for freedom, referring to the first line of Chinas national anthem, Rise up, all those who dont want to be slaves. Gerry Shih, Beijing, AP
No Ukrainian soldier has been killed in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone as a result of hostilities in Donbas over the past 24 hours, but one soldier has been wounded.

Andriy Lysenko, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesperson in charge of ATO issues, said this at a briefing on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"None of Ukrainian servicemen has been killed over the past day as a result of active military operations, but one soldier has been wounded during a shelling in Troitske in the Luhansk direction," Lysenko said.

At the same time, the ATO press center reported earlier in the morning that a Ukrainian soldier who was wounded today as a result of a shelling by militants near Zaitseve in Donetsk region had died at the central district hospital in Bakhmut.

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Ukraines State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection has received a message from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Ukraine regarding the abolition of the temporary ban on the import of certain products to the KSA.

This has been reported on the website of the State Service of Urkaine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection.

"The Saudi Food and Drug Authority decided to lift the ban on the import of poultry meat, eggs, poultry products from Ukraine," the report reads.

This decision was adopted in accordance with the report of May 14, 2017 that was sent to the International Epizootic Bureau regarding the absence of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Ukraine.

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In the 2016/2017 marketing year (MY, September-June), Ukraine exported 738,500 tons of sugar, which is almost 10 times more than during the same period of the previous marketing year.

Ukrinform learned this from the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine (Ukrsahar).

"In total, in the 2016/2017 marketing year (MY, September-June), Ukrainian producers exported 738,500 tons of sugar, which is almost 10 times more than during the same period of the previous marketing year  71,300 tons," the report reads.

According to Head of the Analytical Department of the National Association of Sugar Producers Ruslana Butylo, the next supplies in the current marketing year will be insignificant.

She stressed that in June of 2017 the volume of sugar exports from Ukraine already decreased compared to the previous month. For the first summer month of this year, the volume of sugar supplies abroad from Ukraine amounted to 6,355 tons, while in May it was 48,400 tons.

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A free trade agreement between Turkey and Ukraine will be signed by the end of this year.

Turkish Deputy Economy Minister Fatih Metin said this at a meeting of the International Turkish Ukrainian Businessmen Association (TUID) in Kyiv on Tuesday, according to the Anadolu news agency.

"According to Metin, the free trade agreement between Turkey and Ukraine is being drafted, but the sides have already agreed on most points of the document," the statement reads.

In his opinion, negotiations on the agreement are being delayed due to a significant difference in the cost price of industrial goods in Ukraine and Turkey.

Metin also said that the trade turnover between the two countries had fallen in recent years due to the political crisis in Ukraine.

"But Turkey and Ukraine have a sufficient potential for growth in trade," Metin said.

The statement notes that the meeting was also attended by Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mykhailo Tytarchuk and Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine Yonet Can Tezel.

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Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said that Ukraine will resume the negotiation process with Irish low-cost airline Ryanair.

He wrote about this on Facebook.

Groysman said that he had held a special meeting with the leadership of the Finance Ministry, the Justice Ministry, Boryspil Airport, the Association of Airports of Ukraine and the Ukraine Investment Promotion Office due to the airline's refusal to enter the Ukrainian market.

"We have decided to resume the negotiation process with Ryanair by involving Director of the Investment Promotion Office Daniel Bilak, along with the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry and Boryspil Airport," Groysman said.

In addition, he said, it was also decided at the meeting to appeal to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Antimonopoly Committee to assess the entire course of talks with the participation of the Infrastructure Ministry and Boryspil Airport regarding compliance with the law and the conditions of competition.

Groysman also ordered the Infrastructure Ministry to speed up the drafting of a strategy for the development of the transport industry in airspace, as well as the drafting of a strategy for the development of Ukrainian airports, including with the involvement of low-cost airlines.

"All of our efforts should be focused on providing our citizens with all the conditions for free movement," Groysman said.

Ukrinform reported earlier that on July 10, the director general of the Boryspil Airport, Pavlo Riabikin, said at a specially convened press conference that the contract with Ryanair could not be signed for a number of reasons.

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Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said that Ukraine should become an energy independent state by 2020.

He said this at a government meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Our task is to become an energy independent state by 2020," Groysman said.

The head of government noted that Ukraine should boost the production of Ukrainian natural gas and reduce energy consumption, while improving the quality of their use.

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On Tuesday, another 14 Ukrainian servicemen, who were wounded in Donbas, were delivered to Berlin by the plane of the German Defense Ministry.

This is reported by own Ukrinform correspondent in Germany.

Five of the delivered Ukrainian servicemen will remain in the hospital of the Bundeswehr in Berlin, another five will be taken by special transport to the military hospital in Ulm and four more will undergo treatment in the military hospital in Koblenz.

Since 2014, a total of 88 Ukrainians, who were wounded while participating in the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine as well as those injured during Maidan protests, have been treated in German clinics. Germany became the first country to render such assistance to Ukraine.

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Volodymyr Horbulins speech at the Forum Dawn of Europe: Historical patterns of civilizational choice

Speaking about Ukraine in modern global dimensions, I will start from bitter and unpleasant part  our national lessons. We must admit that Ukraine was too passive for all 25 years of its independence. We were balancing between the development vectors, waiting for good proposals from the East and the West, avoiding making responsible and radical decisions. In some ways, this policy was justified and even comfortable. However, the most important thing to be said about the previous period is that such a policy was forced.

We could not take the liberty of sticking to a decisive foreign policy course in view of the internal weakness and immaturity of our statehood. After all, since 1991, we have begun to build our sovereignty without having many necessary qualities and resources for this.

People express various assessments now, saying Ukraine achieved its independence too easily. I would say that we were in the imperial servitude but got liberty only after the prison collapsed. At the same time, many Ukrainians missed that prison and the first decades saw the struggle between the old and the new, between the need to build a new state and an instinctive desire to return to the past or at least to keep its main attributes.

For 25 years, we have been talking about reforms, and we have just come to reform the Soviet system of pensions, health care, education, self-government and many other areas. Our foreign policy was also unwise and inconsistent. The vectors changed, the motion was mimicked, and in the end, the resulting vector turned out to be zero. We also should mention the destructive activities often carried out in relation to the security and defense sector  the constant reformation without a clear goal, the sale of all possible property, the degradation of the Armed Forces, law enforcement agencies, and special services. This also includes a sharp decrease in the personnel of the Armed Forces, the aging of most armaments and military equipment.

Ukraine suffered all those problems when the Russian aggression started in 2014.

We were forced to test out our national maturity by rebuilding the army, upgrading intelligence and counterintelligence bodies and carefully launching the economic growth process in an extremely short period of time. I would like to emphasize that we had to do all of that amid the difficult war with an opponent, which had been preparing for it for a long time, and which we considered to be our friend and brother.

The latter led to the most important "loss", having shattered our illusions.

We no longer believe in the brotherhood and equal partnership with Russia as we see instead the revenge policy of the reviving empire, which considers the existence of the independent Ukraine to be unacceptable. We no longer believe in treaties and memoranda on security guarantees, but we are aware of the need to build our own armed forces and mobilize domestic resources to defeat the enemy. We understand that it is impossible to infinitely discuss the vectors of integration and the foreign policy strategy of the state, especially if our opponents clearly play an external opponent's hand.

Finally, we clearly understand that there is simply no alternative to the development of the independent Ukraine other than the European one.

However, the European path should not become another firm illusion for us, and another, mutual, disappointment. To avoid this, we need to clearly and objectively understand what happens in the world around us, as long as we are standing at the beginning of this path. What is present-day Europe? What is present-day Ukraine? Can we help each other? What are our goals and strategic priorities?

I would like to offer some of my insights into these issues.

The first one relates to my traditional topic  the global security and hybrid threats to the existing world order. I have already published several articles on this subject, and our Institute [the National Institute for Strategic Studies] prepared a fundamental monograph on the world hybrid war.

However, I would like to focus not only on threats faced by the civilized world but on the opportunities that are opening up.

First of all, we must understand clearly which global challenges have changed and which of them remained immutable.

It would seem that we live in the epoch when the incredible became obvious. The United Kingdom leaves the united Europe, while Turkey conducts its referendums in the EU member states. That communist China is now the main driver of the liberal economic globalization, and the United States is turning to a policy of self-isolation and trade protectionism. Moscow awards the medals "For the return of Crimea", and the warriors of the new Caliphate massively execute hostages in the Middle East.

The UN Security Council has become a controversial club owing to the consistent efforts of the Russian diplomats. European far left political groups unite with the far right ones to support Putin and a common hatred for the European integration. The regional parliaments in northern Italy now discuss the possibility of recognition of the Russias annexation of Crimea, while Iran organizes the delivery of food to the blockaded Qatar.

This could have seemed fantastic just a few years ago. Now the world has long gone beyond the traditional understanding, beyond the limits of traditional logic.

However, not everything is lost! We must understand that the current crisis is not the doomsday of the civilized world. Its only a temporary loss of course and favorable wind. Some provocateurs and blackmailers try to benefit from the current situation, but their successes are temporary, and long-term prospects are obviously disappointing.

The concept of a hybrid war initially meant that the aggression is waged in a comprehensive manner and includes an informational and propagandistic component, the so-called organizational weapons, economic and diplomatic pressure, the military operations are carried out secretly, using illicit armed formations. The boundary between war and peace disappears before our eyes.

You think you live in a state of peace, friendship and strategic partnership, while you have already become a target for the large-scale military operations against you. You can never be sure that the war is over, no peace treaty or cease-fire agreement can no longer be accepted in all good faith. If you resist, the aggressor will sincerely resent but simultaneously wage a war to completely destroy you.

Do not be misled with the adjective "hybrid" as it is a full-fledged war, which uses an extremely powerful arsenal of methods to destroy the enemy. Currently, hybrid weapons are used not only against Ukraine but against the West also. Unfortunately, we should admit that such weapons are used successfully. Why do I say so? The signs of "success" are manifested in the fact that the victims of hybrid aggression are not ready to admit that they have indeed fallen victims to the hybrid war.

The United States is a striking example. Of course, the victory of the incumbent president was reasoned by many factors, including the desire of citizens to have new politicians who offer simple solutions to complex problems. However, what was the most important result of those elections?

First, it became apparent that Russia is ready to intervene and do intervene in the elections in other states. This seemed impossible just 5-10 years ago. However, having revived the practices of the Soviet Union and realized that the democratic model of the state is limited in its capacities to respond to hidden threats to its security, Russia has embarked on a large-scale and generously financed offensive. The United States, as well as other democratic states, came under pressure. Extremely insignificant expenditures on such activities at the level of 4-5 billion dollars produce a totally explosive geopolitical effect.

And this effect led to the second consequence of the American elections  the chaoticization of political space of the democratic states. We see that the United States cannot get out of the process that began last year. Regular reports of the U.S. intelligence and counterintelligence bodies show how much Russia did to cast doubt on election results, to erode trust between political leadership and its main institutions and, if possible, to corrupt / bribe certain officials. Russia will continue to use such a scheme as it is not complex, but extremely effective.

The same is about Europe, which is also under attack. However, the vulnerability of Europe is reasoned by its civilization specifics. Europe has got used to playing by the rules, its position is always open, formed on the basis of free exchange of thoughts and rational argumentation. This is the strength of European politics, the attractiveness of the European home for many people, including Ukrainians. However, democratic procedures, pluralism of thoughts and political competition often become a weakness amid a total war. The experience of the Second World War proved that when relatively democratic countries such as Czechoslovakia and France became an easy prey to the aggressor, and the European continent became a battlefield between the totalitarian systems.

The current hybrid aggression, either from Russia or from the side of Islamic radicals, is well adapted to the European liberal environment, it parasitizes democratic institutions, shamelessly enjoys the freedom of speech, complementing it with violence and the instigation of fear.

We should not even look for prophecies about the consequences if Europe does not do anything about this. We should just look at Ukraine. An example of Ukraine three years ago is precisely what awaits Europe if it does not admit living in the new reality.

However, I would not like to be totally pessimistic as some countries of Europe succeed not only in defending but moving on to a cautious offensive as well. The victory of Emanuel Macron in the presidential election and the loss of the Kremlin-supported party of Marie Le Pen in the parliamentary elections in France are vivid examples. The same is the loss of the Italian party Five Stars Movement, another proponent of Vladimir Putin, in the regional elections. While meeting with Putin, Macron firmly debarred the representatives of the Russian foreign media the right of being identified as journalists, calling them propagandists, in fact, the ones they have actually been for a long time. So there is a progress, which inspires good hopes. We look forward to the elections in Germany.

Another topic I would like to touch on is Ukraine's role in overcoming the current crisis in Europe.

Recently, our Western partners have been seeing Ukraine as a problem for Europe. In fact, now Ukraine is more likely to contribute to solving many problems, including in relations between Europe and Russia.

In order to realize this, Europe needs to get rid of illusions about Russia the same as Ukraine did. When military units of the Western Military District of the Russian Armed Forces massively receive the status of the strike forces, and 200,000 troops are being trained for the West-2017 drills, then Europe must probably wake up from its complacency and to understand that the loss of 1-2% of the market of European products due to sanctions is the smallest of the problems that the Old Continent will face, and the increase in defense spending is payment for the right to preserve their countries.

We highly appreciate the consolidated position of the European community in supporting our civilized choice, state sovereignty, and territorial value. We are grateful for the concrete measures, which are being taken by our European partners despite the internal contradictions and the unfavorable situation: approving the economic part of the Association Agreement and the visa regime liberalization. At the same time, we can not but worry about the main problem of the modern Europe, which is the loss of some of the landmarks of development and the variability of the remaining ones.

The White Paper on the Future of Europe provides for 5 scenarios:

The first is the continuous development of the current course;

The second is "nothing but a single market";

The third is "those who want more, do more". This scenario reflects the idea of Europe of different speeds;

The fourth is "to do less, but more efficiently";

The fifth is "to do more and more together".

It is difficult to predict what course Europe will choose. However, we are confident that relations with Russia, relations with America, the place of Europe in the modern world and its mission are the issues that require a new qualitative level of European consciousness and European solidarity.

Finally, I would like to say a few words about our priorities.

The first and foremost priority is the European integration of Ukraine, which is an integral part of the overall course towards the Euro-Atlantic integration. The recently adopted amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the Principles of Internal and External Policy" open up new opportunities for the implementation of the Euro-Atlantic course of our state. And although the political situation is not very favorable for the integration of Ukraine into NATO, there are topics of particular interest both for us and NATO. First of all, it is the Ukrainian experience (including combat one) against the Kremlin hybrid aggression.

The second priority is the development of strategic partnership with the United States of America as a key priority of Ukraine's foreign policy. This issue remains to be a priority in spite of the political problems the United States currently faces. The integration into the European Union, rebuffing Russian aggression, ensuring stable peace and economic development of our state cannot be achieved without a successful interaction with the world's largest power and the most authoritative global player. Currently, the most urgent task for bilateral relations is the restoration of the effective intergovernmental cooperation mechanisms, such as the former Kuchma-Gore intergovernmental commission. The updated commission could discuss granting Ukraine the status of a strategic non-NATO ally of the United States and providing Ukraine with comprehensive military assistance, including the lethal weapons. As the meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States clearly showed, we can rely on the support of the United States on many issues.

The third priority is further cooperation with Europe on the issue of counteracting Russian aggression. The peculiarity of this aggression is that Ukraine, Europe, or any other world power cannot stop it on its own  this is possible only through joint efforts. Further consolidation of efforts on the European continent, precise analysis of the situation and coherence of action are the guarantees that the world will not further immerse in the chaos.

The fourth one is to become a security "donor" for the entire European community. The new European security system should take into account the experience of our response to the hybrid aggression as a new type of threats and challenges. The Ukrainian struggle and the European solidarity will help to clearly identify the masked enemy and expose its subversion. And this is not only about the obvious threat from the East, but also about the internal diseases of European democracy, the symptoms of which we clearly see in our own experience.

The fifth priority is the maintenance of the sanction regime. For its part, the United States has taken new important steps, realizing that the Kremlin has crossed the boundaries of the international order. Fixing sanctions at the level of the US law, if it happens, will be an important signal to the world that the United States is ready to engage in a struggle for the world peace, despite all the political turmoil.

The position of Europe remains a problem. Each time the process of sanction extension turns into a rigid European debate. And although Europeans are still able to solve this problem, there is a risk that sanctions will be lifted at a certain point. Abolition of sanctions will surely hurt Ukraine, but Europe will lose much more as it will thereby recognize the right of the aggressor to rebuild the world.

The sixth priority is strengthening Ukraines positions on the international platforms. UN, OSCE, regional security structures remain critical to defending our interests.

The achievement of these priorities, their strict observance in an increasingly changing world, a reference point for cooperation with our traditional and new partners in the face of hybrid threats is not only an important guarantee of effective counteraction to the aggressor but also the formation of solid foundations to secure a decent place for Ukraine in the new system of the international relations.

This is the path of Ukraine's historic civilizational choice.

I believe we will travel this path.

Volodymyr Horbulin, Director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies

June 22, 2017

* The point of view of the author may not coincide with the agencys standpoint
U.S. President Donald Trump urges Russia to stop destabilizing activities in Ukraine.

He said this during his speech at Warsaws Krasinski Square, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We urge Russia to cease its destabilizing activities in Ukraine and elsewhere and its support for hostile regimes, including Syria and Iran, and to instead join the community of responsible nations in our fight against common enemies and the defense of civilization itself," the President of the United States said.

He has stressed that today "the West is also confronted by the powers that seek to test our will, undermine our confidence and challenge our interests."

"To meet new forms of aggression, including propaganda, financial crimes and cyber warfare, we must adapt our alliance to compete effectively, in new ways and on all new battlefields," the president said.

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Ambassadors of the G7 countries strongly support the pension reform proposed by the Ukrainian government and urge the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to adopt the corresponding legislation during its plenary session next week.

This is said in a statement made by the ambassadors of the G7 in support of the pension reform in Ukraine.

"We, the G7 Ambassadors, wish to express our strong support for the pension reform plan proposed by the Ukrainian government, and we call on the Rada to adopt the legislation without delay during its plenary session next week," the document reads.

The diplomats note that pension reform is one of the greatest challenges for any government, and they commend Ukraines leaders for undertaking this overdue reform with "political courage and vision."

According to the statement, hard-working Ukrainians contribute to the development of their country and they deserve to receive the security of a pension system that adequately rewards that work. At the same time, the countrys fiscal sustainability needs to be reinforced. "We believe the proposed reform strikes the right balance between these goals. It is now the responsibility of all the elected parliamentarians to ensure that this reform is approved and implemented, providing a better future for present and future generations of Ukraine," the ambassadors said.

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The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) has completed its inspection and maintenance works of its mobile library, which will resume operations today. The mobile library is a lorry that accommodates 31 layers of bookshelves with 2,800 books on home economics, medicine and novels. Parking locations and opening hours will remain unchanged following the maintenance works. The mobile library opens between 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and 12.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. on Wednesdays. The mobile library is parked at three locations, namely Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Avenida de Artur Tamagnini Barbosa and Avenida de Vale das Borboletas (Coloane).

500 local representatives run for 12 NPC positions

More than 500 Macau representatives are qualified to become Macau delegates in the 13th National Peoples Congress of China (NPC). The NPCs Standing Committee has already issued a notice to these candidates informing them to register for the congress. The delegates of the 13th Chinese NPC will be elected between October 2017 and February 2018, with the quota distribution being the same as that of the previous NPC. Macau will continue to have 12 delegates included in the sessions taking place from 2018 to 2023. This year, the NPCs SAR delegates are required to swear allegiance to China and to the SAR, and are prohibited from receiving foreign funds.

MOP14m granted for building repairs

The Housing Bureau allocated MOP14.27 million in funds for building repairs in the first half of 2017. In total, the bureau received 161 applications. According to the bureau, 40 percent of the approved applications (corresponding to 73 cases) were for the maintenance of low buildings, with the total funds allocated amounting to MOP7.03 million. Sixty-three applications were for buildings management, amounting to MOP270,000. Four applications requested funding to help tear down certain facilities. The Housing Bureau hopes to increase the transparency of its administration.

Smoke breaks out in hotel

Early yesterday morning at 4 a.m., smoke broke out at the Lan Kwai Fong hotel. The smoke was a result of an accident that took place in the computer room on the first floor of the hotels casino. Within the computer room is the hotels electricity storage, according to the Fire Service Bureau. One of the computers circuit board started releasing smoke, which triggered the alarms. The bureau stated that a total of 60 people were evacuated, with no injuries reported.

Ho Chio Mengs verdict to be delivered on Friday

The final verdict of the trial of former Public Prosecutor General Ho Chio Meng will be delivered on Friday by the collective of judges presided by Sam Hou Fai. The verdict and sentence will be handed down during a court appearance scheduled in the afternoon at the Court of Final Appeal (TUI), after two months of deliberation. The trial of Ho occurred between December last year to May. Ho faces over 1,500 charges for several crimes that allegedly occurred during the 15 years that he led the Public Prosecutions Office. Ho will not have the right to appeal the decision, since he is being trialed at the Court of Final Appeal.

1,592 children have difficulties with studying

In the 2015/2016 school year, a total of 1,592 special students were registered in Macau, with 949 of them studying in inclusive classes. The education director at the Salvation Army, surnamed Cheong, revealed that some parents do not accept that their children need special education. According to Cheong, these parents think their children are just being lazy, and do not acknowledge the real needs of their children. Cheong also said that some parents, after their children are diagnosed with such study-related difficulties, do not agree with the evaluation results. Cheong suggests the public should not treat special education needs as problems. In her opinion, these needs should be regarded as a persons study needs, and these children should be assisted in order to help them find the right way of studying.

Mayor of Sao Miguel, Cape Verde visits IACM

The Mayor of the municipality of Sao Miguel in Cape Verde, Hermenio Fernandes, visited Macau. He met with the president of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), Jose Tavares, according to the Bureau. During the meeting, which occurred last week, topics related to the operations of both municipalities and municipal institutions were discussed. Fernandes was en route to a visit of the Chinese city Fuzhou in Fujian province, and thus had the opportunity to visit the MSAR. The Bureau noted that meeting between Gernandes and Tavares strengthened relations between both regions, which share a long-term historic link.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he did not discuss the issue of sanctions with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

He wrote this on his Twitter page.

"Sanctions were not discussed at my meeting with President Putin. Nothing will be done until the Ukrainian & Syrian problems are solved!" Trump said.

He also added that he had discussed with the Russian president the creation of a cybersecurity unit to prevent potential hacker interference in the election and "many other negative things."
The implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, the course of reforms in Ukraine and the situation in the occupied Donbas and Crimea will be discussed at the 19th Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv on July 12-13, the press service of the Ukrainian president has reported.

"In accordance with the agenda of the meeting, the leaders will discuss the implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, the course of reforms in Ukraine and the strengthening of support from the European Union, the situation in the occupied Donbas and the Crimean peninsula. The summit participants will also coordinate positions on key regional and international issues," the statement reads.

On July 12-13, 2017, Kyiv will host the 19th Ukraine-EU summit under the chairmanship of President Petro Poroshenko.

The EU delegation will be represented by European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The summit will also be attended by members of the Ukrainian government and the European Commission.

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The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine welcomes the decision of the Council of the European Union to ratify the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

This has been reported by the press service of the Foreign Ministry.

"Ukraine welcomes today's decision of the Council of the European Union to ratify the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and expresses gratitude to the European partners and friends who once again confirmed their commitment to the European choice of the people of Ukraine, as well as to all those who made efforts to prepare, sign and ratify the agreement," the report says.

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The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has supported a motion submitted by the Prosecutor General's Office on stripping MP Boryslav Rozenblat of deputy immunity.

A total of 296 lawmakers voted for such a decision on July 11, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

As reported, on June 21, the prosecutor general tabled in the Verkhovna Rada a motion on granting consent to the prosecution, detention and arrest of two MPs - Maksym Poliakov and Boryslav Rozenblat.

Last week, the parliament's committee on rules of procedure considered these motions and decided that the motion on Poliakov was not well-grounded and that the motion on Rozenblat was well-founded.

On June 19, detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) detained seven people suspected of involvement in extortion and gaining unlawful benefits with the assistance of a foreign company in amber mining in Ukraine. According to investigators, Poliakov and Rozenblat, in order to obtain unlawful benefits, submitted bills to the Verkhovna Rada regarding the production of amber in the interests of a non-resident company. The deputies deny the charges. NABU reported that the total amount of a bribe exceeded 300,000 U.S. dollars.

Earlier, the parliament gave consent to the prosecution of Poliakov, but refused to agree to his detention and arrest.

In addition, lawmakers supported a motion by the Prosecutor General's Office on stripping former Kyiv City Council Secretary Oles Dovhy of deputy immunity.

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The implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, the course of reforms in Ukraine and the situation in the occupied Donbas and Crimea will be discussed at the 19th EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv, the press service of the Ukrainian president has reported.

"According to the agenda of the meeting, the leaders will discuss the implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, the course of reforms in Ukraine and the strengthening of EU support, the situation in the occupied Donbas and the Crimean peninsula. The summit participants will also coordinate positions on key regional and international issues," reads the statement.

On July 12-13, 2017, Kyiv will host the 19th Ukraine-EU summit under the chairmanship of President Petro Poroshenko.

The EU delegation will be represented by European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The summit will also be attended by members of the Ukrainian government and the European Commission.

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NATO plans to cooperate more closely with Ukraine in many areas, including in the sphere of cyber security.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this in an interview with the Hromadske Internet television station.

"NATO will provide equipment and we will strengthen the cyber defenses of key Ukrainian institutions [and] help Ukraine to do so. And [we're] also helping Ukraine to develop capabilities to investigate and to attribute who's behind the different cyber attacks," he said.

Stoltenberg also said that while much was being done in the field of cyber security, still more needed to be done, as it is "extremely relevant for a response to hybrid threats and hybrid warfare."

Earlier, Stoltenberg said that the North Atlantic Alliance called on Russia to fulfill its international commitments regarding the West exercises that will take place in Belarus this autumn.

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Increasing Western pressure on Russia will trigger a further escalation of relations between the United States and some EU member states.

There have been a lot of media reports about a meeting between Trump and Putin and comments about it, but today we have another echo. The White House said that the U.S. presidential administration supports a bill on new economic sanctions against Iran and Russia, and asks not to restrict the president's right to strengthen or weaken sanctions without the consent of the Congress. Moscow's Izvestiya newspaper, referring to an anonymous source from the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote that Russia could expel about 30 U.S. diplomats and seize U.S. property (a response to similar steps taken by former U.S. President Barack Obama on December 30 last year). Former NATO Secretary General and Ukrainian presidential advisor Anders Fogh Rasmussen also spoke out about Russia: "We want to continue the Minsk process, but until we raise the costs to Putin for failing to deliver, I am not convinced he will implement Minsk or respect international law... We should show greater strength and resolve to demand Putin to finally come good on his promises to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine."

We draw attention to these news reports not to once again emphasize the "success" for Russians from a meeting between Trump and Putin in Hamburg (just in this sense, there is no sensation here). It's about more interesting things.

The apparent growing pressure from the West, and, first and foremost, from the United States, on Russia should cause a further escalation of relations between the United States and some EU members. In fact, these are Germany and those countries that are oriented towards Berlin in their foreign policy. The deep foundation of geopolitical rivalry between the United States and Europe is a long history; in this particular case, we are faced with the conflict of interests between Germany and the United States on how to respond to Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The difference between these interests is that Germany does not want to completely lose such an economically beneficial partner as Russia. Russia for Germany means cheap gas, a customer of products of the German industry, and a certain counterweight to the U.S. That is why Berlin is not interested in sanctions against Moscow being too tough, so Angela Merkel has strongly criticized a bill by U.S. lawmakers to strengthen anti-Russian sanctions.

However, the degree of opposition between NATO allies on Russia should not be overestimated, as the Kremlin hopes. Germany can be very unhappy with the actions of the United States, but it will not go into tough confrontation with them. Europe, in this (and not only in this) issue, is not united at all in support for the EU leader. Some EU member states, especially Poland and some other countries from Eastern and Central Europe, have already decided that they have chosen a close political and economic union with the U.S. as a priority in their foreign policy. This is already a geopolitical fact, a demonstration of which took place in Warsaw with the participation of Donald Trump ahead of the G20 summit. Germany is not going to "fight" immediately on several fronts - both with Russia, the United States, and with part of the EU. Moreover, a close and open alliance with Russia against the U.S. is in principle impossible for Berlin, since the trust in such an "ally" as Russia is zero, and the Germans are well aware of it.

Finally, Germany itself is not united in its attitude to Russia. Yes, it has powerful political and business circles who, for one reason or another, are ready to condemn in words the aggression of Russia, and in fact they continue to deal with it (for example, the story of Siemens turbines for Crimean power plants). They are stubbornly persuading to support the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, against which some other EU countries are no less stubbornly protesting. However, not less powerful are those German leaders and politicians who understand that a strategic alliance is possible only with a mentally and civilizationally close U.S., rather than Russia. In a word, it will not be boring to observe this hidden struggle.

Ukraine should have stayed away from all these disputes between our foreign allied partners, but it is unlikely that this will happen. When it comes to the active obligation of Russia to implement the "Minsk agreements" (and this is about to happen), Ukraine will have to choose which kind of pressure to support - American or German, in other words  which Ukrainian concessions (a "special status," "federalization," etc.) can be accepted by Russia. "Going between the droplets," that is between Washington and Berlin (Brussels), will not succeed, and, most importantly, such a policy for Ukraine is unnecessary and dangerous. We must take care of the maximum protection of our interests, which concerns the unconditional release of the Ukrainian lands seized by Russia. And this means that Ukraine must unambiguously choose the strongest alliance with the United States, despite almost guaranteed dissatisfaction from some of our European partners, because only such an alliance will return what we had to us. Is the Ukrainian government capable and viable of such a strong position?
This has become the final formal step towards completing the ratification of the Association Agreement with Ukraine on the part of the EU.

The decision by the Council of the European Union on the final completion of the ratification of the agreement has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, an Ukrinform correspondent in Brussels reports.

As reported, on July 11, the Council of the European Union finally approved the ratification of the Association Agreement with Ukraine, which has already been ratified since 2014 by the European Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, as well as the national parliaments of the 28 member states of the EU.

After the final completion of further international legal procedures, the Association Agreement will be fully implemented by the parties from September 1, 2017.

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Germany is actively supporting the reforms that were launched in Ukraine after Euromaidan protests, but the interest in Ukraine is falling because of a small number of positive news about their progress.

German Bundestag deputy Marieluise Beck said this at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday on the occasion of her visit to Ukraine for political negotiations, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"From the beginning of the Maidan, we have been standing side by side with the movement of reforms in Ukraine, and are very concerned that now we don't have enough positive news. Unfortunately, we have a decrease in interest in Germany regarding the subject of Ukraine," Beck said.

When asked whether this was due to the influence of Russian propaganda, she noted that, of course, it is also one of the reasons, because there is a fairly large community of Russian-speaking migrants in Germany who read and watch Russian media.

"But the central problem, in my opinion, is the desire of Germans to restore good friendly relations with Russia. There is a danger that Germans, because of Ukraine, which does not even bring reforms to the end, will not even want to endure the deterioration of relations with Russia," Beck said.

In this context, she noted that the German democratic system was very sensitive to the opinion of the population, and the deputies of all parties and factions in their constituencies often hear the question: "Why are you ready for such a conflict with Russia for the sake of Ukraine?" According to Beck, this is a reflection of quite prevailing sentiments in her country that Ukraine is a failed state.

"We are trying to withstand this opinion, because this is really a very threatening opinion. And this can be countered only if positive news come from Ukraine at least from time to time," the German deputy said.

She said that there was a huge threat that the interest in Ukraine could be lost. According to her, for example, the war in Syria is in the sight of Germans, but the fact that there are 1.5 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine remains beyond the attention of the German population.

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Nearly a third of Ukrainians supports blocking of Russian social networks VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Mail.ru postal service, Yandex search engine and others.

This is evidenced by the results of the nationwide survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Centre. The results were presented today by Director of the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, Iryna Bekeshkina, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

At the same time, 53% of Ukrainians do not support such a decision.

"The majority of the population of Ukraine does not support blocking of Russian social networks Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki and others. 53% of respondents condemn such decision, while only 28% of respondents support it," Bekeshkina said.

Bekeshkina explained the negative attitude to the blocking of Russian sites and networks, saying a significant part of Ukraine population used them.

The survey was conducted on June 9-13, 2017. 2,018 respondents were interviewed in all the regions of Ukraine, except for Crimea and the occupied territories in Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

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On the day they were freed from slavery, the fishermen hugged, high-fived and sprinted through a stinging rain to line up so they wouldnt be left behind. But even as they learned they were going home, some wept at the thought of returning empty-handed.

Two years have passed since an Associated Press investigation spurred that dramatic rescue, leading to the release of more than 2,000 men trapped on remote Indonesian islands.

They were initially tricked with the promise of good jobs in Thailand, but instead ended up trafficked thousands of miles away to the island village of Benjina. Many were beaten and forced to work nonstop for years with little food and no pay.

Since returning home, some stories of happiness and opportunity have surfaced. But the mens fight to start over has largely been narrated by shame and struggle.

Still, they are thankful to be alive, living as free men. They are slaves no more.

SICK AND UNEMPLOYED

Mon State, Myanmar  Myint Naing stares silently at a computer alongside his mother and sister, watching flickering images of their extraordinary reunion. The memories are still raw of Myint collapsing into his wailing mothers arms, ending 22 years of separation after he was taken to Indonesia and nearly beaten to death by a captain who refused to let him go home.

Myint, now 42, desperately wants to work, but hes simply not able. He tried manual labor, but the muscles on his bodys right side were weakened by a stroke-like attack in Indonesia.

He dreams of opening a little snack shop to contribute to the familys income, but there is no money to start it.

I dont really know how to keep going like this, he says.

Though he insists life is better, he stays with his sister and her husband, who together earn less than USD5.50 a day to feed three children and three adults.

In Indonesia, Myint eventually escaped his captors and lived in the jungle for years, farming vegetables with help from sympathetic local families.

If his former captains would just pay him what hes owed, he says he could help his sister instead of making her life harder.

If I ever saw them again, he says of the captains, I might kill them.

STILL A FISHERMAN

Yangon, Myanmar  After Phyo Kyaw was rescued, he worked a few months on the gritty outskirts of Yangon driving a bus and a motorbike taxi, but the money wasnt good and his bike was stolen.

Several of his friends from Benjina already had returned to Thailand to find better-paying work and encouraged him to join them. So Phyo traveled to the same port town where he was first trafficked and boarded a trawler with 13 other Burmese men.

He was scared of being trafficked again, but decided to risk it. I dont think its fair, but its my choice to go, says Phyo, now 31. My father is the only financial provider here.

Phyo didnt know where he was going or how long he would be at sea. He also had no idea if he was fishing legally or poaching, a dangerous practice that can land an entire crew in jail.

The days were still long but, this time, he got a few more hours of sleep  four or five a night  and he wasnt beaten.

After six months at sea, the trawler returned to Thailand. Phyo should have made nearly $1,600, but was left with just $350 after deductions for fees, food and supplies.

He could have earned nearly double that amount driving the motorbike taxi back home. Still, hes thinking about going back out to sea. Fishing is what he knows.

If I can get a better job here, I wont go, he says. But if I dont have anything, I will go on a fishing boat.

FORGIVENESS AS A MONK

Samut Sakhon, Thailand  Wrapped in flowing saffron robes, Prasert Jakkawaro speaks calmly as he looks back on his lost life. He says he spent eight years fishing off Benjina, working around the clock and never getting paid what was promised.

The rage that once sent him searching for solace at the bottom of a bottle has died. He now finds comfort praying in a monastery as a Buddhist monk.

I feel that I have to give forgiveness and kindness back, he says. I have another chance. Theres no point in dwelling on the past. The anger will only follow me in this life and into the next.

Finding peace wasnt easy: He was first forced to confront the evil he experienced.

Food wasnt guaranteed on the boat, and he saw one crew member die due to a lack of medical attention. Sleep was a luxury.

Once after asking his captain for more money, Prasert was tossed into a tiny cell with about 20 other men. They were ordered by security guards to beat each other up.

You would get hit so hard that you could see the handprints on your face, says Prasert, now 53.

After he returned home to Thailand, he received a settlement of about $2,250 from the boat owner  far short of the nearly $9,000 he says he was owed. But he knows most men received nothing.

The anger continued to swell but, with encouragement from his sister, Prasert spent three months studying at a Buddhist temple.

Slowly, the hatred melted.

When I attend ceremonies, people really look at me as if I can shine a light on their life, and it makes me feel that I am useful again, he says. I feel like I can have real happiness at last. Margie Mason, AP
China yesterday said it shouldnt be held responsible alone for solving the North Korean nuclear standoff, and accused other countries of shirking their responsibilities in the effort to reduce tensions.

The complaints, made in unusually strident language, follow a phone conversation between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month in which the Chinese leader warned of some negative factors that were harming China-U.S. relations, indicating relations between the two countries had hit a rough patch after some initial optimism.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters yesterday that China was upholding its obligations under United Nations resolutions on North Korea, while other countries were fanning the crisis while damaging Chinas interests by their actions.

China is not to be blamed for the current escalation of tension, nor does China hold the key to resolve the issue, Geng said at a daily news briefing.

If China is striving to put out the fire, while the others are fueling the flame [] how can Chinas efforts achieve expected outcomes? How can the tension be eased? How can the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue be resolved? Geng said.

Saying some unidentified parties were circulating the China responsibility theory, Geng said they were operating with ulterior motivations and sought to shrug off their own responsibilities.

Absolving oneself of responsibility is not OK. Tearing down bridges after crossing the river is not OK. Stabbing in the back is even less OK, Geng said.

China is North Koreas only major diplomatic ally and economic partner, and the U.S. and others have called on Beijing to use whatever leverage it has to pressure North Korea into curbing nuclear tests and missile launches that violate U.N. sanctions.

However, China says perceptions of its influence with North Korea are exaggerated. It also refuses to take measures that might destabilize North Koreas hard-line communist regime and lead to violence, massive flows of refugees into China, and the possibility of a united Korea allied with the United States.

Beijing complained after one of its banks was recently cut off from the U.S. financial system for allegedly helping North Korea launder money, saying other countries laws shouldnt extend to Chinese entities.

It also bitterly opposes South Koreas deployment of a sophisticated U.S. missile defense system that Beijing says jeopardizes Chinese security because of an ability to monitor missile launches and other military activities within northeastern China. AP
DUNDO, Angola, 20 June 2017  "My dad was a police officer. He was working that day and returned to the city to pick up mom and me on a motorcycle. It was there that the militia arrived, and I do not know what kind of magic they did, but the motorcycle could no longer work... and that's where my parents were beheaded. I just ran away."

These are Mashatas memories of the greatest tragedy that he has suffered in his only 10 years of life. The same tragedy that forced him to flee alone from Kamako, his hometown in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to reach the border with neighbouring Angola.

They wanted me to be part of the militia, he says. That's why I went out and came to this refugee centre.

The trip to get to the centre was not easy. Mashata walked for two days, crossing rivers in canoes with no food  only standing water. Although there were many people around, he was completely alone. He had no friend or guardian to protect him.

At the end of the journey, Mashata arrived at the Mussungue refugee reception centre in Dundo municipality, northern Angola. He remembers his first day clearly: I arrived with nothing. I never found myself among so many people and so hungry.

But within the masses of people, a familiar face changed everything. The pastor Mom saw me and remembered me. She told me that I was like her son.

Marie-Claire, an evangelical pastor, was his neighbour in DRC. "When I found him here in Angola and I knew what had happened to his parents, I did not hesitate to welcome him to my family, says Marie-Claire, who saw her house and city destroyed.

A nurse by profession, she proudly displays old photographs of her work in DRC hospitals, in an attempt to show the normality of her previous life. "I never thought Id live a situation like this," she says. "No one thinks it."
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a big increase in funding to contraceptive programs. The pledge was made as delegates from across the globe gathered Tuesday for the Family Planning Summit in London. But, as Henry Ridgwell reports, proposed cuts to family planning programs by the U.S. government overshadowed the conference.
Omar Qudrat is running for a U.S. House seat in the 2018 U.S. election and is thought to be one of the first Afghan-American Muslims to run for Congress. The Republican told VOA in an email Wednesday that he had officially announced his candidacy and established a campaign committee. He hopes to unseat Representative Scott Peters of California, a Democrat.

Qudrat graduated from the University of California-Los Angeles and earned a law degree from Syracuse University. Before moving back to his native California, he had served as an official with the U.S. Department of Defense since 2010. Most recently, he was a prosecutor in the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of Military Commissions, where he worked on war crimes prosecutions of alleged terrorists. Qudrat was also detailed for a time to the State Department, where he was responsible for developing foreign prosecutions of Guantanamo Bay detainees and negotiating security agreements with foreign nations.

Qudrats also worked in Afghanistan, helping to re-establish the judiciary, and served as a special adviser to the NATO ambassador there.

Recently, he sat down to talk with the VOA Bosnian service's Ajdin Muratovic about his run for Congress.

AM: Going back to the neighborhood that you talked about growing up in, on your website you mentioned that many politicians who advocate for what you call a failed set of policies did not go through the struggles that many Americans such as your family faced.

OQ: I grew up in a neighborhood where the public schools  were, you know, "low-performing" is an understatement.  So, in my neighborhood, I never really saw much improvement year after year, promise after promise. The schools were, in many parts of Los Angeles, failing.  Kids were graduating from high school and were essentially unable to read or write. ...

Now, couple and add in all the other factors and conditions that come into play for an American in this era  cost of living is soaring, and I have seen firsthand families and people work as hard as they possibly can  I am not talking about 40 hours a week; I am talking about 60 hours a week, even 80 hours a week  and still not be able to provide for their families. So, the policies that were promised in terms of what was going to be delivered, what was going to be improved, just were not. So, when I say "failed policies," I mean that quite literally.  The government, from my perspective, should not be given the authority or the full responsibility to essentially deliver all goods, all services for all needs of people, because they fail.  From my experience the government is not your source of hope, necessarily. It is really going to be your family, your sort of perspective on life, and it's going to be what you can do in the private sector.

AM: So what do you propose?

OQ: Essentially, my criteria for any policy is going to be the following: First, as a federal matter, what does the Constitution say? We have to first go to the Constitution. We have to determine what powers, authorities and the obligations government has.  For me the criteria for policies are: Is it legal? Is it moral? And is it effective? In that regard, I really don't care what the source of the idea is  if it happens to be from one party or another party, or from this person or that person.

AM: [You're] running as a Republican at a time when the party and the president himself has taken on a more nativist tone. To put it bluntly, it is confrontational toward Muslims. So why are you running as a Republican? What led you to the party, taking into account this context?

OQ: Here is why I am a Republican: the principles of freedom, of limited government authority, the responsibility of the government to enable conditions that have the least well-off succeed equally as the most well-off, equal protection under the law, upholding the Constitution, and justice. These are core fundamentals that I view as being essentially the core of the Republican Party's political philosophy.

AM: Let's transition to a concrete policy. I am talking about the executive order that would ban entry from certain predominantly Muslim countries. The White House argues that the EO is crucial for national security. What are your thoughts?

OQ: The president has an obligation in the Constitution to provide national security to this country. There are limits to every type of authority in the three branches of government. The way one goes about delivering national security to the people has to be consistent with the Constitution and our laws. And I think that is what is being addressed by the courts. The appeals process is not over. The Supreme Court is the last stop.

Now, of course I believe that any exercise of government authority that would use class and discrimination as essentially its intent basis and goal is unconstitutional.  So the courts will have to decide what the criteria is and what evidence they are going to consider in determining what the intent was, what the criteria is to determine something unconstitutional or not. My personal view is  anyone who tells you that you have a binary choice  you will either have national security or you will have rights  is either lying to you or does not know what they are talking about. We will, in my America, have both national security and rights protected.

AM: You were a national security prosecutor. You worked in Guantanamo Bay. Now, a lot of people in both Democrat and Republican administrations have called Guantanamo Bay somewhat of a moral travesty. What are your thoughts?

OQ: My job had to do with prosecuting alleged criminals, war criminals, for war crimes. What I think you are asking me about is the treatment of detainees in the context of war. This is unequivocal, and I don't think anyone does or should disagree with this: The mistreatment of detainees is against American law, it's against international law. We have the greatest Constitution and democracy on the face of the Earth, and it's because we are able to, and we do, protect the laws and rights of all people. And anyone who violates any of our laws should be dealt with in a manner that is to the fullest extent of our administrative and criminal law.  The detention of detainees has changed in the manner of how some things happened at one point in time, and there were course changes by the United States in terms of making sure that we do not have any case [of rights violations]. I mean, that is our goal  zero. We will not accept any mistreatment of detainees under American law or international law.

AM: One of the biggest issues that your campaign is focusing on is veteran homelessness. Can you talk about that?

OQ: It's a domestic humanitarian crisis.  I am very proud of many private organizations that are doing so much to try to alleviate this.

AM: So, concretely, what would you do differently?

OQ: What I am going to say today is what I have been working on personally, which is getting affordable housing through the private sector, pulling together private sector actors. Because, again, I am someone who is trained at an early age not to rely on the government.  I am not waiting for a politician to solve problems here. What we have to do essentially is get the private sector involved, and that is what I am working on to get very affordable housing for veterans.  It's going to require money. I'm trying to raise that from the private sector. I've got the hardware option that's going to be at a fraction of the cost of what other efforts have been able to pull off. It's going to be people who care, coming together and figuring out how to bring the ecosystem of all the services that these veterans need. Some of them have mental health issues. We have no excuse. We have to solve this problem.
Authorities in Afghanistan confirmed Wednesday that an alleged torture and sexual assault case against the countrys first-vice president, Abdul Rashid Dostum, has been sent to court for further action.

A spokesman for the attorney generals office in Kabul told VOA the charges were investigated with "complete impartiality" before the case was submitted to the court a month ago.

The disclosure came a day after the United States described as extremely serious charges against Dostum and stressed the need for a fair investigation as well as follow-up legal actions to uphold rule of law and combat impunity in the war-hit nation.



Dostum, a 63-year-old ethnic Uzbek warlord, and some of his militia guards, have been under investigation for months over allegations of torturing and sexually assaulting an elderly political rival named Ahmad Ishchi.



But in late May, Dostum flew to Turkey, saying he needed health care and remains there. His departure has prompted allegations he struck a secret deal with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to escape prosecution.

Hugo Llorens, the acting U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, told reporters Tuesday the charges against Dostum warrant close review by Afghan judicial authorities.



Former governor accuses



Afghans have the right to demand that human rights be respected, the rule of law be upheld and those who violate the public trust are held accountable regardless of position, or influence, Llorens said to a group of journalists.



Late last year, Ishchi, a former provincial governor, said in a nationally televised interview that Dostum's militiamen detained, tortured and sexually assaulted him. He said Dostum had ordered the detention and abuse.



Dostum rejected the accusations as politically motivated, and initially refused to cooperate with investigators. But the incident outraged critics at home and abroad, putting President Ghani under severe pressure to open an investigation into the incident to bring Dostum to justice.



The U.S. envoy said that, like other Afghan citizens, the first vice president deserves due process and the presumption of innocence. He emphasized that the legal process underscores the Afghan states efforts to uphold the rule of law and combat impunity, and to send a signal to the world that no one is above the law in Afghanistan.



Any efforts to politicize the case, or use it to sow ethnic tensions is harmful to the rule of law, peace and stability in Afghanistan. I believe the Afghan authorities must pursue justice and not to succumb to any political pressures, said Llorens.



Three-party alliance



The American diplomat apparently was referring to a new alliance of three mainstream Afghan ethnic minority political parties. The political group is made up of Jamiat-e-Islami, Hizb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami and Dostums Junbish-e-Milli party.



The alliance was announced in Turkey earlier this month, and it presented a list of demands for reforms by President Ghani.



Some of Dostum's critics say he is behind the political move to pressure the beleaguered Afghan unity government to seek a favorable outcome from the investigation into the Ishchi allegations.



Leaders of the other two parties in the alliance also hold senior positions in the government.



Hours before the U.S. ambassador spoke, Ghani told reporters in Kabul that his government is totally neutral" in the judicial proceedings involving Dostum.



He said the first vice president left the country with the permission of the Afghan attorney general because the laws do not bar someone suspected of wrongdoing from seeking medical treatment abroad if he is ill and he [Dostum] had a serious illness.
Bosnia boycotted a transport pact and Kosovo frustrated a European Union attempt to forge a customs union in the Balkans on Wednesday, at a summit that once again brought promises of accession but no firm timetable.

With enlargement on hold, the EU is pushing six Balkan nations to integrate their economies in the hope of fostering development and stability, concerned over sometimes fraught relations in the region and the influence of an emboldened Russia.

But what was billed as a common market at a meeting in Sarajevo in February turned into a Regional Economic Cooperation Area in the northern Italian port city of Trieste, shorn of a full-fledged customs union. Kosovo, a former province of Serbia which depends heavily on customs revenues to top up its coffers, had objected.

Bosnia, too, failed to sign a deal on upgrading transport links due to objections from its autonomous Serb Republic, which has frustrated the country's efforts to move closer to the EU before.

The summit produced a commitment from the six to harmonize investment rules, remove non-tariff barriers to trade and essentially plug gaps and enhance a trade pact that is already in place  the Central European Free Trade Area, CEFTA.

"What has been offered to us on the table is not what was presented in February 2017," Kosovo Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj told Reuters.

Slowly But Surely

Before the summit, the leaders of Germany, France and Italy met on a boat moored off Trieste's Piazza Unita d'Italia. Their discussions focussed on the growing wave of migrants reaching Italy's southern shores from North Africa, and produced little new on the issue of EU enlargement to the Balkans.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU had a duty to move the region "slowly but surely" towards the bloc, more than 25 years after Yugoslavia disintegrated in war and newly-independent states emerged from the rubble.

"Political stability in the region means political stability for us too," Merkel said. "We know this from experience."

Enlargement, however, has been sidelined by crises of eurozone debt, huge migration, right-wing populism and Brexit.

Macedonia's foreign minister, Nikola Dimitrov, said Britain's departure from the EU in 2019 presented the EU with an opportunity.

"The desire of the region to join Europe is an opportunity for Europe to feel attractive," he told a civil society forum on the sidelines of the summit. "The region and its readiness to step it up and finish the job is an opportunity for Europe to show it can make a difference and that it can think big and be self-confident."

Summit host Italy warned against freezing enlargement indefinitely.

"I do not think a freeze of this process in the next 10 years could be sustainable for these countries," said Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, speaking in English, "and I don't think it would be helpful for the EU."
Brazilian opposition senators staged a sit-in Tuesday preventing a decisive vote on labor law changes that are a crucial part of President Michel Temer's economic agenda.



The senators commandeered the leaders' table on the rostrum and prevented Senate President Eunicio Oliveira and some of his allies from taking their seats.



Oliveira responded by ordering the power and microphones cut off and he adjourned the session, leading to hours of negotiations behind the scenes while the insurgents remained in the chamber in a standoff that continued into the night.



After six hours, Oliveira restarted the session, but the opposition senators did not leave his seat. Sitting on a smaller chair, he could not use his microphone and was forced to shout to his peers to get the discussions under way.



Before the live video feed of the Senate session was cut, senators could be seen tapping on their phones and chatting with one another in a darkened room.



The spectacle underscored how acrimonious Brazilian politics have become in recent months as Temer's popularity has plummeted and a corruption charge against him has emboldened members of the opposition who believe he never should have become president. Temer took power last year after his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached and removed as president.

Given that Temer was only voted in as vice president in the last election, many Brazilians have bristled at his push to pass a series of unpopular economic measures, including a cap on government spending, an overhaul of the pension system and a loosening of work bills through the labor law bill that was on the Senate's schedule for Tuesday.



The most significant measure in the labor changes would allow agreements negotiated between employers and workers on a range of issues to override current labor law. The bill would also make it easier to hire temporary workers, even for extended periods of time.



Oliveira and his allies are trying to put the measure that was approved in the lower house to a vote in the Senate without changes. If approved that way, the bill would go directly to the president for signature. The opposition is demanding an amendment, which would send it back to the Chamber of Deputies for another vote.



Brazilian media have been predicting the bill will pass despite opinion polls showing it is unpopular with the public. But the dramatic protest by opposition senators Tuesday was a blow to Temer that raised further questions about his ability to govern.



Allies of the president are counting on a victory on the labor law to give the president a boost before the Chamber of Deputies votes on whether to suspended him from office and put him on trial for corruption. That vote is not yet scheduled.



If two-thirds of deputies vote against Temer, lower house Speaker Rodrigo Maia would take over presidential duties while Brazil's Supreme Court decided whether to remove the president or find him not guilty.



The attorney general has accused Temer of accepting bribes from a meatpacking executive in exchange for helping the company obtain favorable government decisions. He denies wrongdoing.
Frances financial lobby insists the battle for post-Brexit banking jobs isnt over.

Leaders of big European and global banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon and HSBC Holdings Plcs Stuart Gulliver met in the French capital yesterday for the annual forum organized by Paris Europlace, its main financial lobby group, to discuss the future of banking in Europe. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who last week announced three finance-friendly initiatives, gave the keynote address over lunch.

Until now, stiff firing and hiring rules, high taxes and a spike in political risk during this years presidential election held back Pariss efforts to win jobs as the U.K. prepares to quit the European Union. While Frankfurt and Dublin have garnered several relocation commitments, HSBC is the only major international bank that has publicly expressed a preference for Paris. But French politicians and executives say they have more cards to play as President Emmanuel Macron, a former investment banker, prepares to cut taxes and overhaul French labor law.

We want Paris to become the No. 1 financial hub after Brexit, he said in English to a conference hall notably fuller than it has been in recent years. The government is committed to making Paris more attractive to finance and business.

Societe Generale SA plans to move up to 400 roles from London to Paris, mostly in corporate and investment banking, a spokeswoman said Tuesday, confirming an earlier Reuters report. Frederic Oudea, CEO of Frances third-largest bank by market value, had said after last years Brexit vote that for his company flexibility to move hundreds of jobs between its London and Paris hubs was not a complex operational issue.

While banks including Standard Chartered Plc and Nomura Holdings Inc. have picked Frankfurt as their new EU base, any flow of jobs out of London is likely to be slow and scattered across several cities, meaning that Paris, home of four systemic lenders and a large asset-management industry, can get a slice of the pie, said Arnaud de Bresson, Paris Europlaces managing director.

We have a bank here, we have critical mass, we also recognize that there is a a very critical mass of real-economy companies, Gulliver said. HSBCs French bank has all the licences it needs to serve clients across EU-27 nations and it would be actually irrational for us to look at another location, he said.

Paris is hoping to lure 20,000 jobs from the U.K. as firms seek EU locations to secure continued market access to the bloc, according to Paris Europlace. HSBC, which has a French retail bank, has said it may relocate as many as 1,000 traders to the French capital. JPMorgan, the U.S.s largest bank, plans to move hundreds of London-based bankers to Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg in the short term, Daniel Pinto, head of its investment bank, said in May.

Where your legal entity is based is not where your people are based, Dimon said. The people could be in Paris, in the Netherlands, or Madrid or anywhere in the EU. We havent decided yet, he said, adding that he sees enormous leeway for Frances new government.

Paris ranks 29th on the ranking of Global Financial Centres Index by Z/Yen Group Ltd., just above Casablanca and behind Munich. London tops the list, followed by New York and Singapore. The index, which is updated every six months, was compiled from an on-line survey of more than 3,000 financial professionals and it also uses gauges in areas such as business environment, human capital and infrastructure.

Paris, long burdened by the French tax and labor-law systems, suffered an additional image blow when Francois Hollande, Macrons predecessor, took power by calling finance his enemy.

Virtually all executives and bankers consider Macrons election as shifting sentiment following last years Brexit referendum and as Donald Trump became president of the U.S. after campaigning on a protectionist promises. Macrons action to reform the job market is seen as critical. Last month, a Brexit report from a committee at Frances senate warned that three bankers could be hired in Frankfurt for the cost of two in Paris. Fabio Benedetti-Valentini, Bloomberg
European and Asian companies are eyeing a $500 million contract to replace 3,300 vehicles and overhaul the Chilean capital's much-maligned public bus network, Chile's transportation minister told Reuters on Wednesday.

In an interview before a presentation to investors, Paola Tapia said she has received interest from companies in China, France, Spain, England, Australia, Mexico and Brazil, some of whom were looking to use Santiago as a jumping off point to compete in more bus auctions throughout the region.

"From the point of view of the number of participants, this has been a success, and we hope that it consolidates into concrete offers," Tapia said, adding that the ministry wanted to award the contract before March, when the current government ends.

"We think this business opportunity has to do not only with arriving in Chile, but also expanding to other countries throughout the region," she added.

Chile, like neighboring Argentina, is trying to attract private investment to improve its ports, roads and airports, and two major candidates in November's presidential election have also pledged to dramatically expand the nation's transport network.

Included in the contract is the replacement of half of the "Transantiago" transport system  some 3,300 buses  with a more modern, environmentally friendly fleet, including at least 90 electric vehicles. The current system, with long wait times and frequent breakdowns, is widely unpopular, and has become a black eye for the current government of President Michelle Bachelet.

Among the companies interested, Tapia said, are Kowloon Motor Bus Company and MTR Corp Ltd, which both operate in Hong Kong.

Both companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside normal business hours.
China's ambassador to the United States has said reports of trade growth between his country and North Korea, in spite of international efforts to press Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and missile programs, give a distorted picture.

Last week U.S. President Donald Trump denounced China's trade with North Korea, saying it had grown almost 40 percent in the first quarter, and cast doubt on whether Beijing was helping to counter the threat from North Korea.

Data released in April showed China's trade with North Korea grew 37.4 percent year on year in the first quarter, in spite of a ban on coal imports China announced in February.

This is a distorted picture, China's ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, said in a speech to a Washington think tank on Monday.

Cui said bilateral trade declined in 2015 and 2016, and Chinese imports from North Korea dropped by 41 percent in April and 32 percent in May as a result of the coal import ban.

At the same time, Cui stressed that U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea did not constitute an embargo.

Normal trade ... is not banned by these sanctions, he said.

Copy of speech released

The Chinese embassy released a copy of Cui's speech, originally delivered in an off-the-record setting, on Tuesday.

Cui said China backed further U.N. action against North Korea for violations of U.N. resolutions such as nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

He did not though make clear whether China believed North Korea's latest missile test last week, which the United States described as a first ICBM test, was of that type of missile.

Diplomats say the United States is aiming for a vote within weeks to strengthen U.N. sanctions on North Korea over the test, but Russia has objected to a Security Council condemnation of the launch as a U.S.-drafted statement labeled it an ICBM.

Sanctions necessary

Cui said sanctions were necessary, but could not solve the North Korean problem alone. He repeated a call for Washington to back a Chinese suspension for suspension proposal under which North Korea would freeze weapons testing in return for suspension of U.S.-South Korean military exercises.

Washington says the exercises are needed to maintain defenses against North Korea and U.S. officials say Beijing could face U.S. economic and trade pressure unless it does more to rein in North Korea.

Washington is expected to press the issue when senior U.S. and Chinese officials meet on July 19 to discuss bilateral economic issues.
Ships carrying Chinese military personnel for Beijing's first overseas military base, in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, have left China to begin setting up the facility, the state news agency Xinhua reported late Tuesday.

Djibouti's position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fueled worries in India that it would become another of China's "string of pearls" of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

China began construction of a logistics base in strategically located Djibouti last year that will resupply naval vessels taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular.

This will be China's first overseas naval base, although Beijing officially terms it a logistics facility.

Xinhua said in its short report that the ships had departed from Zhanjiang in southern China "to set up a support base in Djibouti."

Navy commander Shen Jinlong "read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti."

It did not say when the base might formally begin operations.

'Conducive to overseas tasks'

Xinhua said the establishment of the base was a decision made by both countries after "friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides."

"The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peacekeeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia," it said.

"The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese, and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways," it said.

Djibouti is located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal. The tiny, barren nation sandwiched amid Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts U.S., Japanese and French bases.

There has been persistent speculation in diplomatic circles that China would build other such bases  in Pakistan, for example  but the government has dismissed this.
Chinas use of economic aid to placate angry neighbors is still seen as effective in allowing it to consolidate its controversial claims in the South China Sea, but it is also showing early signs of wearing thin a year after an international court rejected Beijing's legal basis for maritime claims that have put it at odds with much of Southeast Asia.

At the request of the Philippines, a world court arbitration tribunal in The Hague ruled in July 2016 that Beijing was violating other countries exclusive economic zones in the South China Sea.

China has used aid as sweetener in South China Sea dispute

Beijing rejected the decision but since then has stepped up aid and investment to four Southeast Asian countries. Those states resent China for building artificial islets for military use and passing coast guard ships in contested tracts of the sea -- before as well as after the ruling. Analysts say China hopes that aid will deter other countries from filing another case in The Hague.

Even China is being careful in order to avoid a second case from being filed, said Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea at the University of the Philippines. Its forced to try to really increase economic ties.

China says historical usage going back 2,000 years shows it owns most of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer tropical sea, which it demarcates with a nine-dash line extending in a net-like loop from its southern coast to the island of Borneo. That claim overlaps exclusive economic zones established by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

A year ago the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Chinas claim to historic rights to the living and non-living resources within the nine-dash line is incompatible with the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The convention leaves no space for an assertion of historic rights, it said.

In the year since the arbitration ruling, China has pledged $24 billion in aid and investment to the relatively poor Philippines, where President Rodrigo Duterte shifted to a pro-Chinese foreign policy after taking office last year. His predecessor had filed for the arbitration.

China does not want another arbitration case

China has steadily become the top investor and trading partner for Malaysia. Brunei was already in line for a Chinese seaport joint venture. Last year China stepped up talks with Vietnam about maritime cooperation and became the countrys top source of inbound tourism.

Its costing China more to keep other countries happy in exchange for not filing another arbitration case, Batongbacal said. But the largess shows no sign of stopping -- nor does China's construction of artificial islands for military use.

It is likely that the regional grouping (of Southeast Asian countries) will maintain a cautious approach in its relations with China and that any statements or agreements will be watered down so as to avoid upsetting Beijing, said Jonathan Spangler, director of the South China Sea Think Tank in Taipei.

Chinese policymakers know that now is as good a time as any to push forward with securitization of their maritime territorial claims," he said.

Eye on larger nations

China hopes its engagement with Southeast Asian nations will make bigger countries, such as India and Japan, see China positively rather than as a country that flouts world court decisions, said Yun Sun, East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington. Otherwise, she said, its international leadership image will suffer.

They care because, although their economic strength is so massive and they can coerce any country that does not agree with China, they also understand that this doesnt mean that other countries respect them for it or they genuinely accept Chinas leadership for it, Sun said.

Holes in China's strategy

But some experts warn of increasingly obvious flaws in the Chinese formula of aid in exchange for other countries keeping quiet about their own claims to the sea that's prized for fisheries, fossil fuel reserves and shipping lanes.

They particularly cite simmering discontent in Vietnam  the two sides battled each other in 1974 and rammed boats in 2014  and a possibly more aggressive role by the United States.

Vietnam angered China last month with exploration for oil in a sea block it feels is disputed while Hanoi says its Vietnamese, said Le Hong Hiep, research fellow with ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. Vietnams move prompted a Chinese military official to cut short a formal visit to Vietnam, China observers believe.

After the ruling last year by the arbitral tribunal, China does not have any legitimate claim over that area, Le said. China insists that its still a disputed area and it believes that Vietnam is violating a common understanding between the leaderships of the two countries.

U.S. and India taking advantage

The Vietnamese foreign minister asked India this month for a stepped-up partnership agreement that includes naval boat production.

The United States riled China under former president Barack Obama by helping the armed forces of Vietnam and the Philippines.

U.S. President Donald Trump initially took a step back to work with China on containing North Koreas ballistic missile ambitions. But since late May his government has passed two naval vessels through the South China Sea to highlight Washingtons call for freedom of navigation in the disputed waters.
The hospital treating ailing Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo for late-stage liver cancer says the Nobel Peace laureate's is suffering from respiratory failure.

The First Hospital of China Medical University, located in the northeastern city of Shenyang, posted a statement on its website Wednesday saying Liu's family has refused to allow doctors to perform a tracheotomy, a procedure in which a tube is inserted into his windpipe to help him breathe.

The hospital announced earlier in the day that the 61-year-old dissident is suffering from shock and organ failure. It added that blood clots have formed throughout his body.

Liu was granted medical parole in May after his cancer was diagnosed. Beijing has ignored pleas from the United States, Germany and numerous human rights groups to allow Liu and his wife to go overseas so he can seek treatment, claiming he is too sick to travel and is getting the best medical care in China.

Two doctors from the United States and Germany visited Liu last weekend at the Shenyang hospital, and declared him well enough to travel. But a video of their visit released earlier this week showed the visiting doctors praising their Chinese counterparts.

The German embassy in Beijing issued a statement Monday criticizing China, noting that "security organs are steering the process, not medical experts."

Liu is a poet and human rights activist who was arrested after writing "Charter 08," a manifesto calling for democratic reforms in China, and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his campaign for democracy and human rights. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison for inciting subversion of state power," a law often used by Chinese authorities to silence dissidents.
Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused by Turkey of instigating last year's failed coup, says he has no plans to flee the United States and would accept extradition if Washington agrees to a request by Ankara to hand him over.

In an interview in his gated compound in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, Gulen, 79, denied a Turkish government allegation from February that he was preparing to leave for Canada to avoid extradition.

"The rumors aren't true at all," he told Reuters.

"If the United States sees it appropriate to extradite me, I would leave [for Turkey]," he said, sitting in an ornate meeting room, its walls lined with Islamic scripture.

President Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish government accuse Gulen of orchestrating last July's attempted coup, in which rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and fighter jets, bombing parliament and trying to abduct or kill Erdogan. More than 240 people were killed in the violence.

The Turkish Embassy in Washington declined to comment on Gulen's latest remarks. The White House did not respond immediately to requests for comment. Officials in Ankara could also not immediately be reached for comment.

Erdogan said in May he would pursue "to the end" Turkey's demand for the extradition of Gulen, who denies any involvement in the coup attempt. But there has been little or no concrete progress on the Turkish request.

U.S. officials have said privately that even though Erdogan has appealed directly to U.S. President Donald Trump on the matter, Turkey has yet to provide enough evidence for the Justice Department to act.

The issue has been a major sticking point in the relationship between the two NATO allies.

Gulen said he hoped that the Trump administration would not allow his extradition to move forward, especially after the resignation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, a White House aide who quit just weeks after Trump's inauguration.

Flynn, who resigned over his failure to disclose the extent of his contacts with Russia, had performed paid lobbying work that "could be construed to have principally benefited" the Turkish government, according to his lobbying registration filings, and was outspoken in favor of Gulen's extradition.

Gulen said he felt "pity" for Flynn but acknowledged that the former Trump aide's departure might have helped his case.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the status of Turkey's extradition request. There was no immediate response from Flynn's lawyer to a request for comment.

Frail exile

Gulen, a former Erdogan ally, has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999, presiding over what he says is a humanitarian religious movement. His followers operate a global network of schools and businesses that has been linked to the Gulenist movement.

His network was declared a terrorist group by Turkey's national security council two months before the failed coup.

Since then, Gulen himself has become an increasingly marginalized figure across the political spectrum.

Following the putsch, a wide crackdown, which the government says is targeting Gulen's followers, has seen 50,000 people arrested and 150,000 state workers including teachers, judges and soldiers suspended under emergency rule.

Gulen denounced Erdogan's consolidation of power and the seizure of media outlets, comparing him to a "dictator." He urged the Trump administration and European governments to do more to encourage the restoration of political freedoms in Turkey.

"[If Erdogan hears] a strong voice from the United States or European Union, European Parliament, Brussels, saying: 'What you are doing is wrong ... your judicial system is not working,' then maybe he will change his mind," the cleric said.

European leaders have been critical of Erdogan's crackdown, but Washington has been more muted in its response. In a meeting in Washington in May, Trump made no mention of Erdogan's record on dissent and free speech.

The Turkish government has repeatedly said its actions are justified by the gravity of the threat posed to the state by last year's coup, and rejected suggestions that it is clamping down on dissent.

"The rule of law is upheld in Turkey, and it is not just about gaining more power or punishing the opposition," Revza Kavakci Kan, deputy chair of Erdogan's ruling AK Party, told a conference in Washington on Monday.

Gulen praised the political opposition in Turkey and stressed that any fresh effort to remove Erdogan should be through peaceful protest and elections, not non-democratic means.

His followers say his global movement - known as "Hizmet," which means "service" in Turkish - seeks to spread a moderate brand of Islam, which promotes Western-style education, free markets and interfaith communication.

"I have never supported a coup or an ouster," he said.

Today, Gulen is an isolated figure in Turkey, reviled by Erdogan's supporters but also shunned by much of the opposition, who see his network as having conspired over decades to undermine the secular foundations of the modern republic.

Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets of Istanbul on Sunday to protest against Erdogan's crackdown, but there was no sign of sympathy for Gulen.

Gulen appeared frail in the interview, walking with a shuffle, and keeping his longtime doctor close at hand.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Tuesday that "state-sponsored" or criminal hackers were targeting U.S. nuclear power plants and other energy providers, but that the government had resources to safeguard the nation's electric grid.

Perry told Fox Business Network that the threat of cyberattacks on the electric grid "is real, it's ongoing and we shouldn't be surprised when you think of the world we live in today."

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security told energy providers last week that hackers might be trying to breach their computer systems. Hackers appear to have tried to breach the business and administrative networks of unidentified facilities, DHS said.

There was no threat to public safety, the agency said. DHS and the FBI routinely advise the private sector of possible cyberthreats to help officials protect potentially vulnerable networks.

The source of the intrusions is unknown, but Perry said the hackers "may be state-sponsored" or just "criminal elements" trying to penetrate vulnerable sites.

Perry said "the good news" is that the Energy Department has substantial resources to combat the threat "and we have been working on his for a long time."

Perry cited work by the Idaho National Laboratory to devise a "full-out grid" that helps officials detect problems and protect the grid.

"I want Americans to feel very comfortable we are doing everything possible to protect their information, but more importantly to protect the electrical grid from those that would try to penetrate in and do harm or do mischief," Perry said.

The Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry group, said last week that no nuclear reactors had been affected by the would-be hackers. If any facilities were affected by a cyberattack, a publicly available report would have to be made to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees the nation's commercial nuclear fleet.

Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, asked the Trump administration to tell Congress how many nuclear plants in the U.S. had been targeted by cyberattacks and how officials were addressing the threat.

"Given the consequences of a breach of safety at a nuclear power station ... evidence that foreign governments have targeted U.S. nuclear power stations must be treated with the utmost gravity," Markey wrote in a letter to Perry, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and other officials. "These profound risks to public safety and U.S. national security require a robust and coordinated response across federal agencies."
Donor countries at a London summit pledged Tuesday to increase funding for family planning, but proposed cuts to family planning programs by the U.S. government overshadowed the conference.

The largest boost in donations announced at the Family Planning Summit came from the U.S.-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which sought to improve women's access to contraceptives.

"The $375 million that the foundation announced today, that is absolutely not a reaction to President [Donald] Trump," Melinda Gates said. "There is not anything anyone can do to fill the bucket of the money that the U.S. has committed to family planning."

The United States is by far the biggest donor to global family planning programs, giving $600 million this year. But Trump announced in April that he planned to withdraw financial support for the U.N. Population Fund, accusing it of using what he called "coercive" family planning practices, including providing abortions. The United Nations strongly rejected the claims.

Nigeria's minister of health, Isaac Adewole, told VOA the cuts would have an impact.

"Every country in the developing world will be worried, because it really signifies an increase in the [funding] gap," he said. "We know family planning is one of the strongest anti-poverty strategies the world has ever known. It is a low-hanging fruit for reducing maternal mortality. It will contribute to shared prosperity."

Call for action

By 2050, Nigeria is on course to be the third most populous country, with more than 400 million people. Nigeria's minister of budget and national planning, Zainab S. Ahmed, said action was needed fast.

"Our economy cannot grow fast enough to be able to sustain that size of population," Ahmed said, "so it is a very significant challenge and we need to address it now."

Nigeria is budgeting $3 million for family planning programs in 2017 and says more is needed. Ministers say reaching young people is key.

The African MTV drama "Shuga" weaves messages around sexual health, contraception and HIV, and it reaches an estimated 720 million people. It's currently partly funded by the U.S. government.

Georgia Arnold, executive director of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, said, "It is much harder for governments and organizations to be able to speak openly about sex. That is where we come in. We can use our brand. We can use our access to young people and all of the media platforms that they use."

Delegates expressed hope that partnering between the private sector and governments can provide improved access to contraceptives and family planning advice.
Former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who rose from childhood poverty to become a two-term president, was convicted on corruption charges on Wednesday in the first of five graft trials he faces.

He was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison. He will remain free on appeal.

The ruling marked a stunning fall for Lula, Brazil's first working-class president who left office six years ago with an 83-percent approval rating. The former union leader won global admiration for transformative social policies that helped reduce stinging inequality in Latin America's biggest country.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama once labeled him the most popular politician on earth.

The verdict represented the highest-profile conviction yet in the sweeping corruption investigation that for over three years has rattled Brazil, revealing a sprawling system of graft at top levels of business and government and throwing the country's political system into disarray.

Judge Sergio Moro found Lula guilty of accepting 3.7 million reais ($1.2 million) worth of bribes from engineering firm OAS SA, the amount prosecutors said the company spent refurbishing a beach apartment for Lula in return for his help winning contracts with state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro.

Federal prosecutors have accused Lula, who first took the presidency in 2003, of masterminding a long-running corruption scheme that was uncovered in a probe into kickbacks around Petrobras.

Lula's legal team has previously said they would appeal any guilty ruling. They have continuously blasted the trial as a partisan witchhunt, accusing Moro of being biased and out to get Lula for political reasons.

Moro has denied the accusations.

Lula's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Senator Gleisi Hoffmann, the head of the Workers Party, lashed out at the ruling, saying Lula was convicted to prevent him from running for the presidency next year. She said the party would protest the decision and was confident the ruling would be overturned on appeal.

The Brazilian real extended gains following Moro's decision and reached its strongest in two months. The benchmark Bovespa stock index rose to a session high.

Popularity persists

Despite the conviction and other charges against him, Lula remains a popular figure among many Brazilian voters, according to recent polls, and has said he wants to run again for the top office next year.

But he would be barred from office if his guilty verdict is upheld by an appeals court, which is expected to take at least eight months to rule.

If he cannot run, political analysts say Brazil's left will be thrown into disarray, forced to rebuild and somehow find a leader who can emerge from the immense shadow that Lula has cast on Brazilian politics for three decades.

Lula's absence opens a gaping hole in the political scene, it creates an enormous power vacuum on the left, said Claudio Couto, a political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a top university. We have now entered a situation of extreme political tension, even beyond the chaos we have been living for the last year.

Couto said he expected Lula's guilty verdict to be upheld by the appeals court. That would leave the 2018 presidential race wide open and raise chances of a victory by a political outsider, given most known contenders are also ensnared in Brazil's corruption investigations.

Boom to bust

Lula's two-terms were marked by a commodity boom that momentarily made Brazil one of the world's fastest-growing economies. His ambitious foreign policies, aligning Brazil with other big developing nations, raised the country's profile on the global stage.

With Lula's swagger setting the tone, Brazil sought to shrug off northern economic and political hegemony and engage in global problems, like Middle East peace and the standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

Lula proclaims innocence

But upon leaving office and managing to get his hand-selected successor Dilma Rousseff elected, Brazil's economy soured, with the nation just now beginning to emerge from its worst recession on record.

Rousseff was impeached last year for breaking budgetary rules. She and her backers say her ouster was actually a 'coup' orchestrated by her vice president and now President Michel Temer, who himself faces corruption charges.

During his trial, Lula gave five hours of fiery and defiant defense, proclaiming his innocence and saying that it was politics and not the pilfering of public funds that put him on trial.

But what is happening is not getting me down, just motivating me to go out and talk more, Lula said in his testimony. I will keep fighting.
Police in Germany have arrested four suspects in connection with a $4 million gold coin heist earlier this year from Berlin's Bode Museum.

Around 300 special police commandos took part in raids Wednesday morning in Berlin's Neukoelln area, but still did not find the missing coin.

"We are at the moment conducting searches and executing arrest warrants in several places in Berlin concerning the break-in at the Bode museum in March," said Berlin police.

The coin "was either cut into small pieces or taken abroad," said Carsten Pfohl of the Berlin criminal police office during a press conference.

"My hope that we'll recover even parts of the coin is unfortunately relatively low," he said, adding authorities have to presume the coin was sold off in parts or whole.

The robbery occurred during the night of March 27, when the thieves used a ladder and rope to get into a window of the prestigious museum, and a wheelbarrow to carry away the 100-kilogram coin.

The image of Queen Elizabeth II is on the face of the coin, which was made by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007 and is known as "Big Maple Leaf."

Police say the four unidentified suspects have close ties to a Berlin-based crime group associated with an Arabic family clan.
Hong Kong tycoon Richard Lis FWD Group is poised to renew a distribution deal with Thailands TMB Bank Pcl, after talks to acquire the life insurance operations of another lender in the country fell apart, people familiar with the matter said.

A 15-year agreement to sell FWD life insurance products through TMBs branch network could be announced as soon as this week, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The accord with TMB Bank, which is part- owned by ING Groep NV, could fetch at least USD500 million, people with knowledge of the matter said in May.

FWD had separately been negotiating with Siam Commercial Bank Pcl to acquire a stake in the lenders life insurance operations in what could have been the biggest-ever acquisition of a Southeast Asian insurer, the people said this week. Those talks fell apart because of differences over valuation, according to the people.

TMB Bank appointed Bank of America Corp. earlier this year to help negotiate the so-called banc assurance agreement. International insurers have recently been seeking ways to expand their reach in Asia by selling products through lenders branch networks. A new deal with TMB Bank would follow a 15-year agreement that Allianz SE announced in January to distribute products through Standard Chartered Plcs Asian outlets.

A spokesman for FWD declined to comment. Boontuck Wungcharoen, TMB Banks chief executive officer, didnt immediately answer phone calls and a mobile phone text message seeking comment. Arthid Nanthawithaya, CEO of Siam Commercial, said the lender has been in talks with potential partners for its life insurance business but declined to comment on talks with specific parties.

FWD was created through the 2013 purchase of INGs Thai, Macau and Hong Kong life insurance operations by Lis Pacific Century Group, which then rebranded the business. Jonathan Browning, Joyce Koh and Elffie Chew, Bloomberg
Gambia could become the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate malaria on its track record of combating the mosquito-borne disease but more donor funds are needed for the "last mile" of the drive, health experts said Wednesday.

The prevalence of the malaria parasite in children younger than five has plunged to 0.2 percent from 4 percent in 2011, according to the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP).

The total number of new malaria cases across the West African nation has fallen by about 40 percent in that time  to 155,450 last year from 262,000 in 2011, NMCP data shows.

Gambia is aiming to achieve the milestone of having no new malaria cases by 2020, but donor fatigue is a concern with a funding gap of over $25 million, said NMCP head Balla Kandeh.

"This last mile is the most difficult  we need more support to sustain the gains we have made, yet donors often turn their attention elsewhere as cases drop," he said, adding that malaria rates in Gambia may rebound if more funding is not secured soon.

Kandeh hopes that Gambia's new leadership under President Adama Barrow, who won a December election to bring an end to 22 years of autocratic rule under Yahya Jammeh, will attract back donors after many left during the previous regime.

"There is a better working environment under Barrow, with less constraints and less political uncertainty," he told Reuters. "The fear of the unknown has gone."

Aside from the usual control measures, such as anti-malarial drugs, insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor spraying, Gambia has successfully used technology to tackle malaria, according to Carla Fajardo of aid agency Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

Tablets, online platforms and GPS have been used to track delivery of the above strategies, with real-time data enabling decisions to be made on the fly, while internet service providers have boosted bandwidth in remote areas, Fajardo said.

The world has made huge strides against malaria since 2000, with death rates plunging by 60 percent and at least six million lives saved globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

But efforts to end one of the world's deadliest diseases  which kills about 430,000 people a year, mostly children in sub-Saharan Africa  are under threat as mosquitoes become increasingly resistant to measures such as bed nets and drugs.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said a strong sanctions bill against Russia would come up for a vote soon, despite procedural delays and claims of partisan clashes on Capitol Hill.

"I'm a Russia hawk. I believe in strong, bold Russian sanctions," Ryan told reporters Wednesday morning. The House Speaker said the bill had been delayed by procedural concerns, including technical changes to insure the Senate-passed version of the bill complied with the U.S. Constitution.

But House Democrats announced they would introduce their own version of the bill Wednesday, in an attempt to overcome delays to the Senate-passed version that they blame on the Trump White House.

"I don't think there's any doubt that the White House does not want this piece of legislation passed," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer told reporters Wednesday morning.

"There has been some assertion that we are holding up the bill," Hoyer said. "The majority leader can put the bill on the floor as early as 12:01 p.m. today. He has that authority. I would urge him to do so. And if he puts the Senate bill on the floor, we will support it."

The bill has been awaiting a House vote for almost a month, since the Senate passed it 98-2. The sanctions debate comes amid intense focus on Russia interference into the 2016 U.S. presidential election and investigations into the nature of the Trump campaign's relationships with Russian contacts.

"There's no question that Congress needs to respond," Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland, told reporters Tuesday. "I have contacted House members, urged them to take up and pass this bill quickly. Let the House act, they need to act now."

The sanctions build on executive actions taken by then-President Barack Obama after the Russian annexation of Crimea, and last year in response to confirmation by the U.S. intelligence community of Russian election interference.

"These sanctions would significantly hamper Russia's ability to influence European economies through the energy sector, which has been the primary tool [that] the Russians  through [natural gas producer] Gazprom, through other means of export of gas and oil  have sought to gain a foothold in European economies," Dr. Alina Polyakova, director of research for Europe and Eurasia at the Atlantic Council, told VOA.

Speaker Ryan said the House looked forward to moving on the bill to limit Russian power.

"There are some policy issues with respect to making sure that we don't actually inadvertently help Russian oligarchs and oil firms," Ryan said of some of the changes needed. "But aside from those issues, we want to get this done."

White House concerns

But concerns about other provisions could continue to hold up the bill. Earlier this week, the White House lobbied Capitol Hill for changes to language in the bill that would allow any member of Congress to express disapproval if the president eased those sanctions.

"Our concern is that the legislation, we believe, sets an unusual precedent of delegating foreign policy to 535 members of Congress by not including certain national security waivers that have always been consistently part of sanctions bills in the past," White House legislative director Marc Short told reporters Monday.

Hoyer said he had proposed a compromise to Republican leadership Tuesday night that would allow minority leadership to express those concerns.

Hoyer and other House Democrats argue the sanctions are a needed check on an administration that is too close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Stricter controls on executive power, however, could limit the United States' diplomatic flexibility.

"Once these sanctions are in place, it's a pretty inflexible tool and if Russia were to comply with some of the Minsk Agreement provisions, it's not that easy to begin lifting the sanctions," said Dr. Angela Stent, director of Georgetown University's Center for Eurasian, Russian and Eastern European Studies. "I think the president has to have some flexibility here just in case there is reason to respond positively to things Russia does."

If the House passes the bill and sends it to the president's desk, a veto is unlikely. The Senate version of the bill packages the Russia sanctions with sanctions against Iran that are supported by the administration. Additionally, the Senate is expected to have enough votes to override a presidential veto, making the bill law.
Seven hundred tourists were evacuated by boat from wildfires in Sicily on Wednesday, local media reported, as swathes of southern Italy burned after months with little rainfall.

There were no reports of injuries caused by the blaze at the Calampiso seaside resort west of the island's capital Palermo, but the mayor of a nearby town appealed for help in the rescue.

"We need minibuses and cars to pick people up at the little port and take them to school buildings," Matteo Rizzo, mayor of San Vito Lo Capo, wrote on Facebook. "Let's all do something."

Temperatures have soared above 40 degrees Celsius (104F) in arid southern regions. Twenty-three fires were raging on Wednesday, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in a speech, adding the government was "actively following this difficult situation."

Blazes on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius have sent vast clouds of smoke into the air near the port city of Naples, and Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti said a man had been arrested on suspicion of arson.

"If someone set fire to Vesuvius, I want to see them in jail for 15 years," Galletti was quoted saying in Italian media. He added that a decision would be made in the next few hours about whether to send the army to the affected areas.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said thousands of people, animals, and a nature reserve were at risk around the volcano.

"The situation is extreme, so extraordinary action needs to be taken," WWF said in a statement.

Drought in the northern agricultural provinces of Parma and Piacenza prompted the government last week to declare states of emergency, which will free up extra funds to tackle the crisis.

Opposition politicians called for a similar response to the wildfires. Beppe Grillo, leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, wrote on his blog: "#Vesuviusisburning" and called for a national state of emergency to be declared.
Malaysian authorities have rounded up over 3,100 foreigners this month as part of a major crackdown on illegal immigration.

The crackdown began July 1, the day after the deadline for all undocumented foreign workers to register with the government. The latest arrests occurred early Wednesday, when police arrested dozens of workers at a construction site in the coastal town of Port Dickson.

Authorities are targeting undocumented migrants who have traveled to Malaysia from neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh and India, to work construction jobs and one of the country's many plantations.

More than 60 employers who allegedly hired foreign workers have also been arrested in the crackdown.
Italy's plan to reduce the risk of a jihadi-inspired attack is pinned in small part on Mimoun El Hachmi, an imam who bikes to the prison here every week and exhorts Muslim inmates not to stray from life's "right path" or hate people who aren't Muslim.

Seven inmates  three Moroccans, three Tunisians and a Somali  left their cells at Terni Penitentiary on an early summer day to listen as the Moroccan-born imam led prayers and delivered a sermon. Sunlight from a high barred window streamed through Mimoun's gauzy, off-white robe.

"If I am praying, I am not cooking up ideas to harm others on the outside," a 35-year-old Tunisian inmate said, sitting cross-legged in the small, beige-tiled room that was converted into the prison's Mosque of Peace.

None of the inmates would give their names, and prison rules precluded asking why they were serving time.

So far spared the attacks that have stunned France, Belgium, Britain and Germany, Italy has relied mostly on arresting and deporting suspected extremists to try to keep the country safe. But the Italian government has come to embrace prevention, too, especially in the prisons it doesn't want to become training grounds for potential extremists.

Preaching pluralism

Inviting in imams who have been vetted to make sure they espouse "moderate views" is a tactic now being employed in Italian prisons to counter radicalization among inmates. In February, the government signed a recruiting agreement with the Union of Islamic Communities and Organizations in Italy, which professes to foster Islamic "pluralism."

When preaching to inmates, "we stress that we are Italians of Muslim faith, Europeans of Muslim faith ... We are 100 percent citizens with rights and duties," UCOII president Izzeddin Elzir said.

Italy's second generation of Muslim immigrants is just coming of age now. For the most part, the nation lacks neighborhoods with heavy concentrations of Muslim residents. But Muslims make up a disproportionate share of the population in Italy's prisons.

More than a third of all inmates in Italian penitentiaries are foreigners, and 42 percent of those come from the majority Muslim countries of Morocco, Albania and Tunisia, according to a 2017 report by inmate advocacy group Antigone.

The advocacy group counted 411 chaplains, but only 47 imams working in Italy's 200 prisons. Prison system officials worry that if imams don't make regular visits, inmates might be more vulnerable to the influence of those who are already radicalized.

"It's not so much those (inmates) who preach, but those who submit to this proselytizing" who are considered at risk, Terni Penitentiary Superintendent Natascia Bastianelli said.

Justice Ministry Undersecretary Gennaro Migliore stressed in an interview that of about 11,000 Italian prison inmates from predominantly Muslim countries, "those who could be potentially radicalized, or already radicalized don't exceed 400" inmates.

So far, 13 UCOII imams have started preaching in eight prisons after being screened by interior ministry officials. Government officials and the organization plan to evaluate the strategy's effectiveness as a de-radicalization tool this fall.

Wakeup call

If Italy needed a wakeup call, it came with the morning news two days before Christmas.

Before dawn, officers in Milan confronted and killed a young Tunisian suspected of driving the truck that plowed through shoppers at a Berlin Christmas market that week, killing 12. Anis Amri is believed to have become radicalized during the 3 years he spent in Italian prisons for his role in a riot at a migrant center.

In a separate case, authorities accused a Tunisian inmate with alleged links to extremist groups of recruiting fellow Muslims at an Italian prison, and attacking inmates who resented his extremist propaganda.

Terni police commander Fabio Gallo said learning that Amri had spent time in Italian prisons spurred him and other prison officials to sharpen their skills at recognizing an inmate who is becoming radicalized.

About 20 percent of the penitentiary's personnel have taken courses to make them aware of possible signs, such as preaching to other inmates or exulting at television news coverage about extremist attacks in Europe, Gallo said.

But he stressed that it's often difficult to realize which words or gestures might be worrisome signals, especially for staff who don't understand Arabic. And inmates are catching on to what tips prison personnel off, Gallo said.

"Nobody has a long beard" anymore, the commander said.

Vetting imams may not prove to be a straightforward process either.

"Where do you set the bar? Is it OK if someone is saying Western society is decadent, but at the same time condemns ISIS?" asked Lorenzo Vidino, an Islamism expert, using an alternative abbreviation for IS.

Former anti-terrorism magistrate Stefano Dambruoso, who is now a lawmaker in Italy, endorses careful screening of who will be preaching to men and women behind bars. He thinks it's essential "they have been trained in schools, in environments respectful of the founding principles of our Constitution."

Yet Dambruoso also expresses concern about the imams invited into prisons "turning into some kind of secret eye, or a spy for the institutions."

On the day when Mimoun was at Terni Penitentiary, 46 of the 109 foreigners in the medium-security section were from northern Africa. The imam delivered his sermon in Arabic, sprinkled with Italian and French phrases.

He said he teaches his followers to "respect Italians, respect neighbors, your colleagues, your cellmates."

One of the inmates who came to pray in the mosque said that "if you respect religion, our religion, you won't commit" extremist attacks.

After the seven were accompanied back to their cells, Mimoun told of how an inmate once confided in him that he "hated Italians."

"I showed him in the Quran where it says you cannot hate others of different religions," the imam said.
Russian state-funded Sputnik Radio has started its first broadcasts in the Washington, D.C., area, in an effort to reach more Americans with what it calls "alternative news."

Sputnik, which says it gives voice to minority views outside mainstream media and supports an anti-establishment agenda, broadcasts on the 105.5 W288BS frequency.

Critics say Sputnik functions as part of a Kremlin propaganda machine aimed at undermining Western institutions.



Sputnik Radio staffers say its broadcasts into the Washington area will allow Americans in the nation's capital to listen to them and not just to what is being said about them.

"People heard a lot about us. Unfortunately, they could not really listen to us," said Sputnik bureau chief Mindia Gavasheli. "And, people who were reporting about us quite often wouldn't even bother to listen to us and present how they see us, present what we do, accurately."

Sputnik's Washington bureau opened its doors to the news media this week, in attempt to dispel what they said were misunderstandings as well as "constant attacks from U.S. corporate media."

Sputnik and other Russian state-funded media say that while they promote anti-establishment views outside mainstream media, they don't produce Kremlin propaganda.

"Since I work here, obviously I don't feel this way," Gavasheli said. "Nobody tells me what to do. We get together with our guys every day for editorial meetings, and we decide what we're gonna do, how we're gonna do, who we want to invite, and so on and so forth. No one tells us how to do that, right?"

Critics disagree

Many who study Kremlin media, like Robert Orttung, a professor of international affairs at George Washington University, disagree.

"At the end of the day, that's the purpose of these broadcasters, that's the purpose of Russian foreign policy in general, is to undermine our democracy, undermine the faith of the American people in their own institutions," Orttung said.

Sputnik fired its former White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg in May, who then became a vocal critic.

"And, it's definitely propaganda," he said of Sputnik's product. "The idea that they are being attacked by corporate media is ridiculous. They're being called out for reporting half truths and, in some cases, lies."

Sputnik rejects the comments as those of a disgruntled former employee. But, Feinberg is not the first to work for and then turn against Kremlin-funded media. A few former reporters for RT, previously known as Russia Today, quit their jobs over coverage of Russia's gay rights and its military actions in Ukraine and Syria.

Russia's state media are not the only authoritarian government outlets operating in the U.S. China's media presence is big.

"But the Russian one seems to be particularly effective because it has very high production values and it's reaching an audience of people who feel like the mainstream media has not answered what they're looking for," Orttung said.

"The only way that Russian propaganda can be effective here is when we're completely divided ourselves," he added. "And that creates an opening for them."

Russian state-funded media promote the notion that President Vladimir Putin's Russia is a benevolent and moral power simply seeking to maintain peace at home and promote a multi-polar world. They have well-qualified journalists among their ranks. But they also seem to attract a number of idealists, anti-establishment activists and conspiracy theorists.

Focus on US

For instance, Sputnik's webpage this week showed a front-page column headlined "Trump, Putin Up Against US Deep State," which argued that "the US Deep State comprising the military-intelligence nexus and their political media machine in Washington does not want to normalize relations with Russia."

The same writer, Finian Cunningham, in June wrote, "US global power depends on its presumed economic prowess and military force. With its economy in long-term decline, precipitated by the teetering dollar, the US rulers are relying increasingly on militarism to project power. That tendency is pushing the world to war."

It went on to say, "Fortunately, Russia and China may have sufficient military power to deter the desperate, waning American empire from trying to incite catastrophic war."

Sputnik disavows responsibility for such editorial comments, despite displaying them prominently.

Sputnik's shows are critical of U.S. society, politics and foreign policy, but not Russia's. Their hosts, like Fault Line's Garland Nixon  a member of the board of American Civil Liberties Union and a critic of President Donald Trump  dismiss mounting allegations in Washington concerning Russian interference in Trump's 2016 election.

"So, regardless of where it comes from and regardless of ... I remember [Iraqi] WMDs [weapons of mass destruction], so the intelligence community doesn't mean anything to me," Nixon said. "Once there's evidence, we can look at the evidence and evaluate that. But I am not going to buy into accusations, least of all from the people that they're coming from."

Co-host Lee Stranahan, a former investigative reporter with right-wing Breitbart News, also rejects concerns that Sputnik is contributing to a Kremlin campaign against the West.

"If there's ... if it's a propaganda campaign, like, what's the goal? Like, what's the goal? What's the goal? Well, it's clearly not pro-Trump, because, like I say, I'm the only pro-Trump person here," he said.

"If people want to criticize Russia, have at it," he added. "I don't ... that doesn't bother me in the least. When I've looked into it myself, Russia's not my biggest  I don't know how else to put it  Russia is not my biggest concern."

Sputnik says people should read, listen and judge for themselves whether it is "alternative news" or Kremlin propaganda.
A Malaysian state amended its Islamic laws on Wednesday to allow public canings, sparking criticism that the change was unconstitutional and could on the rights of religious minorities.

Ethnic Malay Muslims make up more than 60 percent of Malaysia's 32 million people and attempts to implement stricter forms of sharia law in recent years have raised concerns among members of the ethnic Chinese, Indian and other minorities.

The new law was approved in the state assembly of Kelantan, which is governed by a conservative Islamist party, PAS, and where nightclubs and cinemas are banned.

The northeastern state has been pushing for the adoption of a strict Islamic penal code, called 'hudud', that would provide for punishments such as stoning for adultery and amputations for theft.

The amendment allowing public caning was passed as part of an effort to streamline sentencing under Islamic criminal law, Kelantan deputy chief minister Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah was quoted as saying by the Bernama state news agency.

"Caning can now be carried out inside or outside of prison, depending on the court's decision," Mohd Amar said, according to Bernama.

"This is in line with the religion, which requires that sentencing must be done in public."

He did not say exactly what crimes would be punished by caning but the list would likely include adultery.

Islamic law is implemented in all Malaysian states but is restricted to family issues such as divorce and inheritance, as well as sharia crimes involving Muslims, such as consuming alcohol and adultery.

Criminal cases are handled by federal law.

Ti Lian Ker, a member of the Malaysian Chinese Association, part of the ruling coalition, said public canings were unconstitutional under federal criminal law.

"This is a rewriting of our legal system and spells a bleak future for the nation," he said in a statement.

Last year, the PAS introduced a bill that would expand the powers of sharia courts and incorporate parts of hudud into the existing legal system.

The bill is expected to be debated in parliament when it reconvenes later this month.

Critics of the bill say the implementation of hudud could infringe on the rights of religious minorities and disrupt the fabric of Malaysia's multi-ethnic and multi-religious society.
Myanmar writer and satirist Kyaw Swa Naing thinks the police could come back for him any day now.

"If it happens, I am already prepared, the 30-year-old said in an interview with VOA at his home in Yangon. I am not worrying too much because I have already been in jail for 14 days [recently]. But I am worried about my family because I am the only breadwinner.

Under the pen name Britisher Ko Ko Maung, Kyaw Swa Naing has been writing satirical pieces in Burmese publications since 2012, soon after Myanmar lifted decades-old censorship laws put in place during military rule.

He has never had any problems, he said, but that changed in March, when his employer, the Voice daily newspaper, published a piece of his entitled Allegiance to the Republic of the Upright Bullet.

Labeled satire at the top of the headline, the essay casts Myanmars long history of civil war in darkly comical terms.

Under careful analysis, I suppose we are genuinely united, truly patriotic. So united that we dont pick fights with foreign nations; we only smack and slug one another, going around and around, he wrote, according to an English-language version by San Francisco-based Burmese translator Kenneth Wong.

The rest of the worldwhen America went to war with Iraq and Afghanistan, their soldiers had to go across land and sea to reach the battle zone. Here, we take it easy. To go to battle, we travel by car for about a day, and suddenly there we are! At the front line! Free to fire at will!

He also refers to several violent incidents in recent history, and ends by suggesting that the bullet-riddled, bomb-whizzed Union of ours change its name to the Republic of the Upright Bullet, concluding with ahem, ahem, just kidding OK?

The military did not get the joke.

The newspaper published an apology, but Kyaw Swa Naing and the editor, Kyaw Min Swe, were arrested in June after a military officer filed a complaint against them. They were charged under article 66d, a controversial law criminalizing online defamation that carries a maximum three-year prison sentence.

Scores of activists, writers, media professionals and ordinary citizens have faced the same charge since Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD) won landmark elections in 2015. Many cases involve criticism of senior NLD officials. While amendments to the law are currently under consideration in parliament, advocates say they dont go far enough.

After being arrested, Kyaw Swa Naing spent two weeks in jail, but the court dropped the charges against him and let him go, saying the editor bore responsibility. Far from feeling relieved, however, Kyaw Swa Naing was racked with guilt.

I wrote this satire. ButKyaw Min Swe and I were in jail. I was sad. He has two children. When I was released, I felt like I left him and ran away, he said. I was just released according to the law. But I was feeling so hurt that night. I even cried. He has a wife and two kids. We were in jail for 14 days together. The two of us became close.

His wife was pregnant before the arrest but the trauma over the ordeal caused complications with the pregnancy and she lost the baby, he said.

"So I worry about her health."

The problems are not over. He said the police informed him that an additional complaint has been filed, which could lead to a new trial.

Colonel Lin Tun, who filed the original complaint against the pair, told a court last week that satire should not hurt the countrys unity, and that the article could create tensions in army ranks.

Kyaw Swa Naing said this isnt true and that he didnt single out the army, known in Burmese as the Tatmadaw. The piece was inspired by a pro-military movie, but Kyaw Swa Naing said writers should be allowed to freely satirize films.

He said he will continue to write but the case has made him wary of certain topics.

Writing is my professional career so I cant stop it. And I want to write a satire if I see something wrong. And I am still writing satire now, he said. But I have to control myself when I am writing about the Tatmadaw because they are watching me and I feel insecure. I will write for sure and I am writing now. We will have to fight for freedom of expression like we did [in the past].

He is worried, however, that future generations of writers will self-censor.

It is dangerous for the country. I think democracy means working transparently with government and people, he said.

Journalists are those who light up the space between the government and people. It is like the [light] bulbs were hit by stones and I am afraid the next bulbs will not light up. I am afraid the next generation writers will be afraid to write.
Search the Internet for "Native American Art and youll find dozens of sites offering tribal jewelry, paintings and crafts at low prices. But as much as 80 percent of these products arent Indian at all; they are manufactured in Asia or the Middle East. Native American artists say, Enough. With all the phony products in the marketplace, they can no longer compete and they are calling on the government to take action.

At a Senate committee field hearing July 7 in Sante Fe, New Mexico, U.S. Senators Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Martin Heinrich, both New Mexico Democrats, heard testimony from tribal artists who described the scope of the problem:

Time and time again, I hear from my fellow Indian artists about their art and craft work being knocked off by non-Indians and sold as Indian made, Southern Cheyenne artist Harvey Pratt said. When Indian artists are undercut by the sale of fake Indian art, the integrity of authentic Indian art and artists suffers. We are being robbed economically, culturally, and spiritually.

Native American art is big business, not just in the United States but worldwide, and an important driver of tribal economies. For nearly a century, Sante Fe has hosted an annual seven-day Indian market, where as many as 1,000 Native artists from tribes across the country offer their work for sale.

The Indian market itself has an $80 million economic impact just from that one-week period on the state of New Mexico and the city of Sante Fe, said Dallin Maybee, Northern Arapaho/Seneca lawyer and chief operating officer of the Southwestern Association of Indian Arts (SWAIA), which organizes the event. And thats just here in Sante Fe. The Native American art industry generates millions of dollars a year throughout North America.

The First Peoples Fund estimates a third of all Native Americans are practicing or potential artists. Many live in isolated areas below the poverty line and depend on art sales to survive.

But with all these knock-offs that have flooded the market, Indians cant sell their product, Pratt told VOA. So what ends up happening is that artists just quit making art, because they can no longer make a living doing it. And what this means is that they lose touch with their traditions.

Before last weeks hearing, Udall acknowledged the fake Indian art business is a serious problem that has been going on for decades, despite laws designed to fight it.

We in Congress need to hear if there are ways the Indian Arts and Crafts Act needs to be updated and strengthened to fulfill the goals we all agree with, Udall said.

Passed in 1935 and twice amended, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act bans the display or sale of art misrepresented as Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian or Indian Tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization. It established an Indian Arts and Crafts Board under the U.S. Interior Department, which works to promote and protect the rights of Native American artists who belong to federally-recognized tribes.

Next week, a federal jury in New Mexico is scheduled to hear the case against four individuals alleged to have manufactured Native American-style jewelry in the Philippines and passed it off as genuine in shops and galleries. If convicted, they could face $250,000 in fines and/or five years in prison.

But arrests like this are the exception, not the rule, and, as Udall noted, only two enforcement officers are dedicated to investigating tribal art forgers and fraudsters.

We must take action to stop this assault on artists' ability to carry on deeply significant traditions that have helped hold families and communities together for generations," Udall said.

U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement officials today are trained to spot and identify looted cultural artifacts and pirated electronics coming into the country, but Pratt complains no such program is set up to deal with counterfeit Indian art, and few have enough expertise in tribal art to identify fraudulent items.

Pratt says, Youve got to have an investigative body, somebody that has expertise to run this stuff down at the border.

During last weeks hearing, Pratt and Maybee urged Senators to tighten existing laws and allocate more funds to combat the problem.

Were asking Senators for more resources. More boots on the ground. More people who can give federal and state prosecutors the evidence they need to really send a tough message to fraudulent dealers, said Maybee.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson returns to Doha Thursday to meet with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the latest step in a round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at resolving a standoff between Qatar and a group that includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.

The Saudi-led group accuses Qatar of supporting terrorism and has given Doha a 13-point list of demands after severing diplomatic ties in early June. Qatar has said it is willing to negotiate but will not give up its sovereignty.

Tillerson met with ministers from the Saudi-led group Wednesday in Jeddah, but did not speak to reporters afterward. Before the talks, a senior UAE official said any resolution of the conflict must go beyond terrorism financing and address all key issues.

After an earlier meeting this week with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Tillerson announced the United States and Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding for Doha to take steps to curb terrorism financing.

But the Saudi-led group said in a statement that while they appreciate U.S. counterterror efforts, the agreement signed Tuesday is not enough and they will be closely monitoring Qatars seriousness in combating the funding and support of terrorism.

Brokering a crisis

The U.S. is concerned the dispute could hurt its military and counterterrorism operations and enhance Irans influence in the region. Qatar hosts the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East, which aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition use to launch attacks against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

Aaron David Miller of the Washington-based Wilson Center, an adviser to both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state in Middle East negotiations, told VOA the conflict with Qatar and Saudi Arabia and its allies has been brewing for years, saying in many ways, Qatars open domestic policies embody Saudi Arabias worst fears and amount to competing views of the shape of the Middle East. He said it would be very difficult for Tillerson, or anyone else, to help broker a long-term agreement.

Amnesty International issues warning

As Tillerson shuttled through the Gulf, the international human rights group Amnesty International called on the secretary to not overlook the issue of human rights and advocate for the release of activists being detained in Gulf states for peacefully expressing dissent.

While Secretary Tillerson holds talks with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, human rights defenders are in prison and face torture for speaking out against horrific abuses in the region, said Naureen Shah, senior director of campaigns at Amnesty International USA.

Tillerson should condemn the persecution of peaceful dissidents, many who are facing bogus national security charges. Otherwise, Tillerson risks giving Gulf governments a green light to continue ruthless crackdowns on dissent.
Will China ever become democratic? That question has been a staple of geopolitical discussion since the 1990s, and at times many commentators thought a democratic China was not so far away.

Today, as restrictions on political speech and opposition increase, hardly anyone thinks this is a realistic scenario. Yet its still worth asking why China might never democratize, and what that can teach us about our own political dilemmas.

The argument that China will become democratic rested on observations of Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, all nearby countries that became democratic or sustained a democracy once they were sufficiently wealthy. The middle classes in these countries wanted accountable government, and ultimately the autocracies were willing to step aside and support democratic transitions, albeit with the Japanese path being more closely linked to the American postwar settlement and occupation. Much of Eastern Europe and Latin America became democratic too, and so it seemed plausible that China might be next in line.

Conversely, there are two powerful arguments that China will not become democratic. First, China never has been democratic in thousands of years of history, and perhaps that history simply will continue.

Second, the middle to upper middle class is still a minority in China, and will stay so for a long time. A smaller country can build up in percentage terms a larger middle class, by exporting, than can a very large and populous country. Theres just not enough demand in global markets to elevate all or even most of the Chinese people, and so Chinese inequality likely will stay high, to the detriment of democratic forces.

In essence, many of the wealthier Chinese trust the Communist Party to look after their interests more than they trust elections. Furthermore, the current political performance of the West is not in every way the ideal exemplar for democracy.

Those who predict Chinese democratization typically reply that the regime will need some new source of legitimization as economic growth slows down, as it inevitably must. Winning a democratic election is one way a government can show to a people that it represents their interests.

Yet this argument now looks weaker, in part because of what we are learning about countries other than China, namely that nationalism is often a stronger political motivator than democracy; just look at either Turkey or Brexit or some of the currents within the Trump administration.

So China will grow richer, as the number of democracies in the world (sadly) declines. With global growth continuing at roughly 4 percent a year, the link between income and democracy isnt actually so strong these days.

Indeed, nationalistic currents in China are strong. Whether we like it or not, the Han Chinese often see themselves as an ethnically special group of people who have a destiny to make China great again.

Before judging this too harshly, keep in mind that truly cosmopolitan attitudes are not common in history, and a lot of observed cosmopolitanism is often faux cosmopolitanism, serving as a veil for particular cultural or economic interests on trade or immigration. The common American belief in American exceptionalism seems self-aggrandizing to many Chinese, just as we might object to their philosophy.

On top of all that, Chinese nationalism, whatever its drawbacks, has in fact served as an ideology to make China great again.

Another argument for predicting Chinese democratization is the claim that autocratic rule is highly unstable and tends to move to either tyranny or democracy. Even if that is true, these days it hardly seems a surprising insight that stability is never guaranteed.

Studying Chinese history, with its ongoing struggles between central rule and chaos in the peripheries, might be a better predictive guide to global futures than the philosophy of Western liberal triumphalism, however dear the latter may be to our hearts. In other words, the Chinese notion of cyclical history might apply to much of the rest of the world.

The best argument for the possibility of Chinese democratization is that China has served up big surprises in the past, including conquest by the various external parties (for example, the Manchus), the Taiping rebellion, and the Communist revolution and subsequent Cultural Revolution, as well as the reforms starting in 1979.

The chance of Chinese democratization may be a somewhat underrated prospect for this reason, even if the short-run signs appear to be pointing in the opposite direction.

Still, the best bet is that China will remain non-democratic for the foreseeable future and that political history does not consist of a series of linear improvements.

It is again time for the West to learn from China. The emotional force of nationalism is stronger than we had thought, stability is not guaranteed, and the Western democratic status quo ex ante is less of a strong attractor than many of us had believed or at least hoped for. Tyler Cowen, Bloomberg
Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and the leader of the powerful opposition party that controls Congress expressed optimism that they can work together after holding a rare, two-hour meeting on Tuesday aimed at easing political hostilities.

Speaking to reporters side-by-side outside of the presidential palace in Lima, centrist Kuczynski and rightwing Keiko Fujimori agreed that political dialogue is needed to jumpstart the country's faltering economic growth.

Fujimori proposed the meeting last week after Congress forced Kuczynski's finance minister to resign - the third of Kuczynski's ministers to step down due to pressures from her party.

"I walk away from this with optimistic that the executive can take actions that all Peruvians are waiting for," Fujimori told journalists after listing her concerns about the economy and corruption that she said she discussed with Kuczynski.

Kuczynski described the meeting as positive and said it would bear fruit "in the not-too-distant future."

However, no pact or concrete plans for new reforms that would be backed by both political leaders were announced.

The tone of their remarks was similar to those following a meeting December after Congress ousted Kuczynski's education minister - raising questions about how lasting the renewed gesture of political cooperation might be.

Amid rising political tensions with Congress last month, Kuczynski proposed evaluating a potential pardon for Fujimori's imprisoned father, ex-president Alberto Fujimori - an announcement that has been widely viewed as a bid to placate Fujimori's party.

Kuczynski, a 78-year-old former Wall Street banker, took office a year ago after scraping together a razor-thin victory against Fujimori in a run-off election. But he will need the support of Fujimori's party, which holds a majority in Congress, to govern effectively in the remaining four years of his term.

Kuczynski said he and Fujimori "spoke a lot about the economy" that has slowed sharply following a graft scandal involving Brazilian builder Odebrecht and severe flooding earlier this year.
Officials say Philippine troops clashed with communist rebels in the south, leaving eight rebels and a soldier dead.



Army spokesman Capt. Alexandre Cabales says the clash erupted Wednesday after patrolling troops encountered some 40 New People's Army rebels in southern Compostela Valley province.



He says the guerrillas later fled, leaving behind the bodies of eight rebels and six high-powered guns. The wounded soldier died on the way to a hospital.



On Monday, soldiers in the same province captured a camp of the rebels, who have been waging one of Asia's longest-running Marxist insurgencies.



The violence happened despite officials' and rebel peace negotiators' statement last month that they would suspend offensives to allow troops to focus on quelling a bloody siege by Islamic State group-aligned militants in southern Marawi city.
Novartis AG's pioneering cancer drug won the backing of a federal advisory panel Wednesday, paving the way for the first gene therapy to be approved in the United States.

An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration voted 10-0 that the drug, tisagenlecleucel, should be approved to treat patients with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of U.S. childhood cancer.

The FDA is not obliged to follow the recommendations of its advisers, but typically does so. The agency is expected to rule on the drug by the end of September.

Approval of tisagenlecleucel would have significant implications not only for Novartis but for companies developing similar treatments, including Kite Pharma Inc, Juno Therapeutics Inc and bluebird bio Inc.

All four are developing chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies (CAR-T), which harness the body's own immune cells to recognize and attack malignant cells.

If approved, the drugs, which are infused just once, are expected to cost up to $500,000 and generate billions of dollars for their developers. Success would also help advance a cancer-fighting technique that scientists have been trying to perfect for decades and lift the broader field of cell therapy.

"In the last five years, there have been a significant number of cell therapy companies that have gone public or gotten investment in hopes of moving this type of therapy forward," said Reni Benjamin, an analyst at Raymond James. "This is our first glimpse from a commercial and regulatory perspective about how the FDA is thinking about this space."

A clinical trial of Novartis' drug showed that 83 percent of patients who had relapsed or failed chemotherapy, achieved complete or partial remission three months post-infusion.

Patients with ALL who fail chemotherapy typically have a 16 to 30 percent chance of survival.

Novartis is also testing the drug in diffuse large b-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as is Kite. Part of the competitive landscape will include which company is best able to manufacture its product most efficiently and reliably.

The products are made by extracting and isolating a patient's T cells, genetically engineering them to recognize and target specific cancer cells, and then infusing them back into the patient.

Novartis said the entire process will take 22 days by the time it is launched.

More than half of patients experienced a serious complication known as cytokine release syndrome (CRS), which occurs when the body's immune system goes into overdrive.

Doctors were able to manage the condition, and the syndrome caused no deaths.

The FDA expressed concern that the drug could cause new malignancies over the long term, but panelists generally felt that risk was low.
Poland's conservative ruling party has pushed a bill through the lower house of parliament that would give lawmakers a dominant role in appointing judges, a move that opposition parties and rights groups said would make jurists subject to political influence.

The proposed law would change the makeup of the National Judiciary Council.

At present, the council's members are appointed by sitting judges, and it is considered nonpartisan. The pending bill would give the legislature the power to select 15 of the 25 members, and thus control the process of selecting, reviewing and nominating all new jurists.

The lower house, or Sejm, which has 460 members, voted 227-5 in favor of the measure Wednesday. Most opposition deputies abstained, but almost all members of the Law and Justice Party, which holds a majority in the chamber, supported the bill.

Final approval of the measure is assured, since the ruling party holds 62 of the 100 seats in Poland's Senate. It would become law when signed by President Andrzej Duda, who also is from the Law and Justice Party.



Speaking in parliament before Wednesday's vote, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro criticized the current makeup of the National Judiciary Council as undemocratic.

'Extreme politicization' feared

Opposition figures and international rights groups disagreed. Borys Budka of the Civic Platform party said the pending bill would cause "extreme politicization" of the courts, and Amnesty International said it would greatly increase political influence over the judiciary.

"Rights and freedoms in Poland [are] at great risk," Amnesty said in a statement. "The right to a fair trial is one of the key requirements of international human rights law as well as of the Polish constitution. ... Poland is now heading to a situation where legislative powers will exercise influence over the process of selecting judges."

The European Union's executive arm previously has questioned the value of the proposed changes and said parliament should reconsider the bill entirely.

As refugees flooded Europe and Russia asserted itself in Ukraine, Poland's Law and Justice Party rode a nationalist wave to power in 2015. The party has previously made it more difficult for the courts to block legislation and, according to the president of Poland's Supreme Court, Magorzata Gersdorf, Wednesday's vote is another step in that authoritarian direction.

Gersdorf warned the nation's judges months ago that "the courts are easily turned into a plaything in the hands of politicians," and she asked them to stand firm against the changes promoted by the Law and Justice Party: "You must show that we oppose the pushing of a democratic state into oblivion."
Linda Bell, a beekeeper and farmer who makes about $11,000 a year, feels Washington power brokers have no intention of making health care affordable.

"They don't care about people like me," the Bosque County, Texas, resident said.

Three-quarters of Americans say people like themselves have too little influence in Washington, rare unanimity across political, economic, racial and geographical lines and including both those who approve and disapprove of President Donald Trump, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Majorities also don't have a great deal of confidence in most of the nation's institutions. That's especially true of Congress, which takes the biggest hit, and the presidency.

Even at a time of deepening economic and political divisions, the poll finds widespread agreement that small businesses, poor Americans and workers have too little power in Washington, while lobbyists, big business and rich people have too much.

The results are notable because Trump won his presidency with a populist call to arms to make "forgotten Americans" his priority and to restore jobs to people still struggling amid the economy's recovery. Republicans who control Congress echoed Trump's vow to overhaul President Barack Obama's national health care law and cut people's taxes as part of a drive to restore the American middle class. Those efforts have wobbled, however, amid Trump's efforts to crack down on Muslim immigration, his feud-filled Twitter feed, investigations into allegations of collusion between Russia and Trump's campaign, and Congress' inability so far to come up with a replacement for what's commonly known as Obamacare.

Out of touch

"He said he was going to restore the middle class, and I thought he would pick really good people who would do that. But the people he picked seem to be not in touch with the middle class," said Hobart, Indiana, resident James Pavelka, 60, a health and safety instructor who said he voted for Trump.

Pavelka was referring to Trump's Cabinet, thought to be the wealthiest in modern times. "During the campaign, he said, 'I'm for the little guy.' People were angry and he fed on that and he knew how to do that."

It's not just Trump who makes people feel like they lack power.

Only 6 percent of Americans have a great deal of confidence in Congress, with wide agreement across party lines.

Fourteen percent of people said they have a great deal of confidence in the executive branch, which includes the president and all of the Cabinet agencies, and 24 percent say the same of the Supreme Court.

Most Americans feel solid about the armed forces, with about 56 percent saying they have a great deal of confidence in the people running the military.

About three in 10 Americans say they have a great deal of confidence in the FBI, and a third of them say the same of the scientific community. Both are trusted more by Democrats than Republicans.

Beyond government, only about 11 percent of Americans say they have a lot of confidence in the news media, the target of angry tweets by Trump.

And just one in 10 expresses a great deal of confidence in major companies, banks and financial institutions, or labor unions.

There's no question that Trump, a Manhattan real estate magnate with a global business empire, has little personally in common with the majority of people in the U.S., where the median household income is around $54,000 a year. But Jennifer McDonald, an office manager from Arvada, Colorado, said the president shares her loathing of the Washington establishment. Still, she said she was disappointed in Trump's "hissy fits" on Twitter and downright angry with the leaders of Congress who share her party but not her priorities of "just getting things done"  such as cutting taxes and replacing Obama's health care law.

'Get it done'

"There are times when I'm watching them and thinking, 'I just don't know who you're speaking for,' " McDonald, 44, says of the GOP Congress. "All they do is stand there and argue and I think, 'My God, would you please realize what you have here? You have control of both houses. Get it done.' "

Bell, the 55-year-old Texas beekeeper, said she still liked Trump because "he's scrappy. I like someone who's a little scrappy." It's early in Trump's administration, she noted, "and I do believe he has more respect for people like me than has been shown in the past." But she doubts any health care law Congress passes and Trump signs is going to make it easier for her to afford insurance  which she says would eat up $675 of the roughly $881 she nets every month.

"They are not thinking about people, they are thinking about politics," Bell said of Washington power brokers. "It's kind of like I accepted when I was in my early 20s that 'OK, I'm going to be lied to' coming out of Washington, and I have been."

The AP-NORC poll of 1,068 adults was conducted June 8-11 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents was plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
A herd of Holstein cows was airlifted to Qatar in an effort to increase local dairy supplies as the Saudi-led boycott of the emirate continues.

The cows were flown in Tuesday from Budapest in a Qatar Airways cargo plane.

It was the first of 60 flights that will bring more than 4,000 cows to the country. They are being imported by Mountaz Al Khayyat, chairman of Power International Holding. The Doha businessman, whose main field is construction, saw an opening in the dairy industry as several Arab states closed the only land border to Qatar five weeks ago, severing the supply of fresh milk.

The bovines were promptly transported to a massive new dairy operation 50 miles north of Doha.

"We brought 165 Holsteins, all highly bred Holsteins, especially for dairy," said John Dore, a senior manager at the farm.

"This is the time to work for Qatar," Al Khayyat told Bloomberg News, echoing a common pride in the new cows. Their arrival is seen by many as an act of defiance in the face of a Gulf crisis that sees no sign of ending.

Five weeks ago, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, accusing the emirate of funding extremism. Qatar has denied the allegations.

Prior to the embargo, the arid emirate imported much of its food, including milk, from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In recent weeks, Turkey and Iran both have come to their ally's aid, airlifting fruit, vegetables and dairy goods into Doha.

"At the moment the gap is being filled by Turkish imports, which are welcome for the present but the quality won't compare with local produce," said Dore.

The new cows are part of a wider attempt by Qatar to become more food secure for the future. "Vision 2030" calls for the economy to shift from oil production toward sectors like agriculture. When the full 4,000-head herd is assembled, about a third of Qatar's dairy demand will be met.
Kurdish fighters with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces rescued dozens of civilians trapped in the besieged city of Raqqa as clashes intensified with Islamic State militants.

More than 100 civilians were freed, said Habun Osman, an officer with the SDF, a coalition of Kurdish, Arabic and Turkmen fighters.

IS had been using these civilians as human shields to impede our progress in Raqqa, he told local reporters.

Among those freed in the past 24 hours was a Yazidi woman and 10-year-old girl who had been sold as a slaves by the militants several times.

SDF commanders say they are trying to open up safe escape routes to reduce civilian casualties in the battle to oust the militants. But United Nations officials warn that civilians are being placed in an impossible position, risking being shot by IS snipers if they try to flee or killed in the fighting if they remain.

The U.N. refugee agency is urging all parties in the battle for Raqqa, ISs de facto capital in Syria, to allow the estimated 30,000 to 50,000 civilians still trapped in the northern Syrian city safe passage out.

Fears of indiscriminate tactics

SDF commanders say they are not the ones targeting civilians. They accuse IS militants holding the city of endangering families by not allowing them to leave before the full-scale assault on Raqqa began.

Rights groups, which have criticized tactics employed in the assault on the Iraqi city of Mosul, say the same indiscriminate force is being used by coalition warplanes and anti-IS ground forces in Raqqa, too.

On Tuesday, U.S. officials reacted angrily to Amnesty International's report that detailed the loss of civilian life in the battle for Mosul, documenting at least 400 civilian deaths in the west of the city alone between January and mid-May.

Amnesty acknowledged in the report on the battle for Mosul that IS fighters ruthlessly exploited noncombatants and systematically moved them into zones of conflict, used them as human shields, and prevented them from escaping to safety.

But the rights group argued IS abuse doesnt excuse battlefield tactics used by coalition and Iraqi forces. Amnesty accused the anti-IS forces of acting unlawfully by failing to ensure that their attacks were discriminating and proportionate, as required by international law.

Amnesty cited a March 17 airstrike in Mosuls al-Jadida neighborhood targeting a pair of IS snipers in which at least 105 civilians were killed. Iraqi and coalition reliance upon explosive weapons with wide area effects against targets in heavily populated civilian areas ... left a trail of deaths, injuries and destruction across west Mosul, Amnesty concluded.

Taking civilian casualties seriously

On Tuesday, in response to Amnesty's criticism of civilian casualties in the fight to defeat IS, State Department press spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, The coalition and its forces do everything that they can to avoid civilian causalities. That is something as Americans and I know the coalition as a whole takes very, very seriously.

The criticism of the battlefield tactics used and the munitions deployed in Mosul has been echoed in some military circles as well.

There were numerous images of artillery and rockets being fired by the Iraqi Federal Police into Old Mosul in a haphazard manner, said David M. Witty, a retired U.S. Special Forces colonel, who served two stints as an adviser to the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service, the last term ending in 2014.

In an interview with the blog Musings on Iraq, Witty said he noticed mortars were fired without using aiming stakes or re-sighting mortars between volleys of rounds fired.

He blames that partly on the fact that in west Mosul much of the fighting was done by the Iraqi Federal Police and Rapid Reaction Division as opposed to the better trained CTS, which he says should have been used early on for the tough fighting in Old Mosul with its narrow streets and packed population.

With Raqqa, too, there are similar worries about the skills of the attacking forces, who have not been trained to the CTS level when it comes to urban warfare in populated areas. For many of the SDF fighters, the battle for Raqqa also is an opportunity to avenge the atrocities committed by IS in the past three years.
The number of refugees allowed into the U.S. this fiscal year has exceeded 50,000, the cap set by President Donald Trump in his executive order restricting travelers and refugees to the U.S.

But after months of uncertainty and legal wrangling, it remains unclear how many more refugees will be allowed into the country under a recent exemption by the U.S. Supreme Court for those who have a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.

As of mid-day Wednesday the total number of refugees admitted was 50,086.

While the cap has been reached, the number of refugees may continue to grow. Pending its review of the travel ban later this year, the Supreme Court allowed parts of the executive order that had been suspended by judges in lower courts to go into effect; this included the temporary ban on refugees, except for those who have evidence of close family ties to the country.

Guidelines issued by the U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security define bona fide close family as a parent (including parent-in-law), spouse, child, adult son or daughter, fiance(e), son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and sibling. The agencies will not recognize grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and other extended family members as close family, leading some critics of the decision to call it the Grandma Ban.

An acceptable relationship with an entity has to be documented, the State Department determined, and could include a job offer or enrollment in a university.

But government officials have said that relationships with the refugee agencies that agree to work with newly arrived refugees would not count as bona fide.

Refugees already fill out a form on family relations during the vetting process for admittance to the U.S. The new guidance requires additional documentation of the family ties and another review of a refugees case file by government officials, delaying the process for those individuals.

Kay Bellor, vice president of programs at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, says about one third of the refugees the resettlement agency has committed to receiving by the end of September have claimed a close family tie.

Of the 3,707 refugees that we have assured, sorting out the sons and the mothers and the husbands and the fathers, it appears we have a little over 1,200 individuals that have that bona fide relationship, says Bellor.



That leaves thousands more refugees who have already been through the vetting process to come to the United States without a new country to call home.

Theres still a lot of people we think should be able to come, but that at least during the pause cant, says Bellor.

Resettlement agencies began the fiscal year anticipating the arrival of up to 110,000 refugees, as determined by then-President Barack Obama.

The Trump administration, citing national security concerns, first issued a travel and refugee ban in January. But the White House failed to provide evidence of those concerns and has faced lawsuits across the U.S., as it has struggled to implement restrictions on those groups.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the two travel ban-related cases when it reconvenes in October.
Senegals former president, Abdoulaye Wade, is making a comeback. The 91-year-old politician returned to Senegal this week for the second time since his 2012 defeat, and will be on the campaign trail for the next two weeks [until July 28], traveling around the country to boost his partys chances in the legislative elections at the end of this month.

Thousands gathered at Dakars international airport to welcome the former leader.

Gorgui is great, chanted the crowds as Wade made his way through the city. Gorgui is a term of endearment, meaning "old man" in the Wolof language.

One supporter, Cheikh Baye Mbour, says, You know today is a work day but everyone is here and more people will come.

Wade's caravan weaved its way to the headquarters of Senegal Democratic Party, or PDS.

Wade was a popular opposition figure in Senegal when he won the presidency in 2000; however, he lost his controversial bid for a third term in 2012. Wade conceded defeat to President Macky Sall and retired to France.

At the PDS headquarters, Wade addressed the cheering crowds in Wolof. He remains head of the party.

I heard Senegal is suffering, he said, and this hurts me. If no one solves this, I will take care of it. My party and other parties have formed a force that will make Macky Sall leave, he added.

The PDS is hoping for a comeback with the July 30 parliamentary elections.

There are 165 seats to be filled in Senegals National Assembly. Political parties and coalitions put forward lists of candidates for the regional and national levels. Voters cast their ballots by party, not for individual candidates. Wade tops the list for the main opposition coalition.

The former presidents supporters, however, do not expect him to actually take a seat in parliament.

Binetou Fofana is a member of the Mouvement Karim President, which is advocating for Wades son, Karim, to become Senegals next leader in 2019.

She says Abdoulaye Wade has only returned to campaign for his party, and she does not believe he will sit at the National Assembly even if his Wattu Senegal coalition wins enough seats.

Karim Wade received a presidential pardon last year after serving half of a three-year jail sentence on a corruption conviction. He remains abroad where he has lived since his release.

Political analyst Ali Ndiaye says strengthening the PDS is a way for the elder Wade to pave the way for his son.

Ndiaye says the results of these parliamentary elections will be a measure of the current presidents popularity. He says if the ruling coalition does not get a majority, the opposition will conclude that the president can be defeated in 2019.

Ndiaye says the key battlegrounds for the legislatives are Dakar, its suburbs and the religious city of Touba, which are among the first places Abdoulaye Wade is visiting.

This year, 47 political parties and coalitions have put forward lists of candidates for the National Assembly. This includes the Manko Taxawu Senegal coalition, whose list is headed by Dakar Mayor Khalifa Sall, jailed in March for embezzlement.

The number of lists is unprecedented, but, the ruling coalition faces two main rivals: Khalifa Salls coalition and that of former President Wade. The presidential coalition, led by the current prime minister, Mouhamed Boun Abdallah Dionne, has not made any official comment on Wade's return.
Six Kenyan police officers were killed and two wounded when their convoy was attacked by gunmen in central Kenya where drought and scarce grazing land is fueling violence.

Members of the police's anti-stock theft unit (ASTU), traveling in two vehicles, were attacked by members of the Pokot ethnic group while on a "familiarization tour" in Laikipia county, a police statement said.

They were attacked while negotiating (a) sharp corner and as a result the officers ... were fatally injured, it said.

Wave of violence

Laikipia has been hit by a wave of violence in recent months as armed cattle-herders searching for dwindling grazing land have driven tens of thousands of cattle onto private farms and ranches. Over a dozen Kenyans have been killed in the violence.

In April, gunmen wounded an Italian-born conservationist at her conservation park in the area. Kuki Gallmann was shot in the stomach after the vehicle she was driving in was ambushed.

The previous month, Tristan Voorspuy, a British military veteran who ran a safari company, was shot dead at a private ranch in Laikipia after he went to inspect the remains of a friend's home that had been burnt down.

Police blamed for violence

Many residents in the area accuse local politicians of inciting the violence ahead of general elections in August.

According to the police report, the raiders in the latest attack first attacked a village elder as he was repairing an electric fence at a nature conservancy, before ambushing the police vehicles.

The wounded officers were airlifted to the capital Nairobi for treatment, police said, adding that the attackers fled with six rifles and a pistol.
Among the sneakers, diapers and pet food for sale on Taobao, Chinas biggest e-commerce platform, is a listing that may take up a little more space in the online shopping basket.

For 4.15 million yuan (USD610,000), customers on the site owned by e-retailing giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. can bid for the debt of a steelmaker from Zhejiang, a coastal province in eastern China. The company has failed to pay back a 9.95 million-yuan loan, including interest, so a distressed asset manager is auctioning it off to the highest online bidder.

Its not the only bad debt for sale on Taobao, which translates roughly as digging for treasure.

Used by millions of Chinese to buy everything from clothes to food and electronics, the platform, known for its bargains, typically markets more than 1 billion yuan of soured assets a day, according to Bloomberg calculations. Recent listings include a portfolio of 118 non-performing loans from some companies in Yunnan province, a villa seized by a bank in the southern canal city of Shaoxing, and a property in central Beijing thats also in default.

Financial technology and e-commerce in China has reached a high level of sophistication, said Xia Le, chief Asia economist at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA in Hong Kong. Online platforms are leveling the playing field in the distressed debt market as it means everybody gets access to the same information.

Chinas embrace of e-retailing is helping it tackle another byproduct of the countrys rapid economic evolution: the rise of bad debt.

Slowing growth and an uptick in corporate defaults has fueled the market, with NPLs at commercial banks more than doubling over the past two years to 1.6 trillion yuan as of the end of March. As Beijing pushes lenders to find market-oriented ways of dealing with soured loans, interest in distressed debt has climbed, spurring banks and asset managers to look beyond traditional venues like auction houses and exchanges to dispose of the assets.

China Cinda Asset Management Co.  one of the countrys biggest distressed asset managers, and the firm marketing the steel companys debt  said last month that its collaborating with Alibaba to set up a special section on Taobao to auction its wares. Though Alibaba declined to provide data on actual sales, the advertising of such loans shows how interest in the market for Chinas distressed debt is developing.

Following Taobaos lead, more than 50 other websites marketing their services to banks and other sellers of bad loans emerged in China in the first half of last year, according to a March report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. More than 20 financial institutions are listed as partners on Taobaos auction platform for soured assets, including Shenzhen-based Ping An Bank Co., Beijings China Minsheng Banking Corp. and China Citic Bank Corp.

But bad-loan investing isnt like trading equities or even ordinary debt, which raises questions over the opening up of the market to rank-and-file investors.

Interaction with the seller is important in an NPL transaction and the deals can take months to complete, says Andrew Brown, a partner for macro and strategy in Hong Kong at ShoreVest Capital Partners Ltd., which invests in Chinese bad loans.

The online auction sites open the marketplace up to potential buyers that may not be as diligent in the required analysis that we deem appropriate to price a portfolio, he said. If you are developing a platform for NPL portfolios, the question is does it allow for appropriate time and access to do the research? Its not like buying and selling stocks.

On Taobao, distressed assets are typically advertised several weeks or months before the auction date. The listing for the Zhejiang steelmakers debt says interested investors can call a local branch of Cinda for information on the offer, and includes details and photos of the collateral: a 240 square-meter (2,580 square feet) apartment in the city of Hangzhou.

Both Alibaba and Cinda declined to comment for this story.

Industrial Bank Co., a lender based in Fujian province, signed an asset disposal cooperation agreement with Alibaba in May. The bank sold 232 million yuan of NPLs on Taobao between May 20 and the end of June, according to Fang Zhiyong, general manager of the special asset management department.

E-commerce platforms provide access to more investors and the lender has garnered interest for assets marketed on Taobao that failed to yield inquiries offline. But while they can bring a level of transparency to bad loan trading, sites like Taobao also attract individual investors who dont typically have the skills needed to do full due diligence on an NPL deal, Fang said. Nonetheless, Taobao will be a key channel for the bank in disposing bad debt.

Chinese bad-loan prices are up more than 30 percent this year: read more.

For Song Lingling, a partner at Beijing-based distressed debt fund DCL Investments, disposing of NPLs on web platforms can be less complicated than via auction houses, which usually charge commissions. Her firm has used Taobao to buy and sell soured assets.

Supply of bad loans in China is likely to increase further, with most coming from trust companies, internet financing firms and peer-to-peer lenders going forward, according to Bald Eagle Asset Management.

Conducting NPL auctions online has increasingly become a trend, Song said. More investors are using Taobao as a platform because of the simplicity, transparency and confidentiality of the bidders identity. Bloomberg
((INTRO)) [[Russian state-funded Sputnik Radio has started broadcasting in the Washington, D.C. area, in a hoped-for first step in reaching more Americans with what it calls "alternative news." Sputnik says it gives voice to minority views outside of mainstream media and supports an anti-establishment agenda. But as VOA's Daniel Schearf reports from Washington, critics say Sputnik functions as part of a Kremlin propaganda machine aimed at undermining western institutions.
Sri Lanka's prime minister said on Wednesday Buddhism will remain paramount in the bitterly divided island, seeking to head off protests led by the powerful Buddhist clergy against proposed changes to the constitution.

The government announced plans last January to devolve power to provinces including in areas dominated by the country's ethnic Tamil minority in an effort to address alienation and bury the kind of ethnic tension that led to a 26-year civil war, but Buddhists who make up 70 percent of Sri Lanka's 21 million people are opposed to any changes in the constitution under which Buddhism is accorded foremost position while allowing people of other faiths to practice.

Sri Lanka has chosen only Buddhists to the post of president and prime minister since independence from British colonial rule in 1948. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the Buddhist character of the country would not be touched.

We are in the process of preparing the new constitution ... the president and myself have agreed to maintain the priority given to the Buddhism in the constitution as it is, Wickremesinghe told a group of Buddhist monks in Colombo.

Monks offer warning

More than 75 prominent monks last week warned the government not to change the constitution or it would face consequences.

The opposition, led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, and hardline Buddhist groups have warned the government of nationwide demonstrations if the government went ahead with changes to the charter.

Some opposition members have alleged that the new constitution had been drafted to please Western nations and to dilute the influence of Buddhism.

More than 100,000 people were killed in the civil war that ended in 2009 in a crushing defeat for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fighting for a separate homeland for the Tamils.
In an effort to save one of Africa's last desert elephant herds, Mali has employed Mitch, Bobby and Amy - Dutch spaniels with a nose for sniffing out illegal ivory.

The chocolate-colored spaniels are the newest members of an anti-poaching brigade set up to dismantle ivory trafficking networks that have devastated elephant herds in Mali, General Birama Sissoko, an advisor to the environment ministry, told Reuters.

Poaching has been rampant since Tuareg rebels and Islamists took over the north of the country in 2012. French forces pushed them back a year later, but lawlessness still reigns and ivory smuggling has flourished. Trade in elephant tusks funds militants, the United Nations says.

Only about 300 elephants are left in Mali. About 167 have been slaughtered since fighting broke out in 2012 and a system of local self-policing fell apart, the environment minister said earlier this year.

"There is a stock of ivory that circulates. If we can get hold of the ivory, we can work backwards until we get hold of the poachers," Sissoko told Reuters.

The anti-poaching team will take the dogs on searches when they get intelligence about traffickers' hideouts, and they should be able to help police make arrests, said Susan Canney, director of the Mali Elephant Project, which partnered with the U.S.-based Chengeta Wildlife organization to obtain the dogs.

No poaching has been detected since the unit was founded in February, but that could be because poachers are simply laying low for now, said Canney.

"This should be game-changing," Canney said. "Poachers and traffickers are still there. This could catch them red-handed."

Mali's elephants roam the northern Gourma region, where Islamist and separatist groups still frequently stage attacks.

Elephant tusks from Mali are thought to be sold on the black market for up to 3 million CFA francs ($5,000), Canney said.

($1 = 580.6800 CFA francs)
U.S. President Donald Trump says the White House is "functioning perfectly," challenging accounts it is in chaos from his eldest son's disclosure of how he met last year with a supposed Russian government lawyer who offered incriminating information about Hillary Clinton, Trump's Democratic election opponent.

The news accounts described the president, with a light schedule Tuesday, as fuming while he watched news channel reports about Donald Trump Jr.'s email chain with an intermediary for the lawyer as they set up a June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower in New York.

But Trump said his White House was focused on overhauling the country's health care law, tax cuts and reforms and "many other things. I have very little time for watching T.V."

In one Twitter comment, he complained, without elaboration, "Why aren't the same standards placed on the Democrats. Look what Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with. Disgraceful!"

He touted accomplishments, saying the Islamic State "is on the run & will soon be wiped out of Syria & Iraq, illegal border crossings are way down (75%) & MS 13 gangs are being removed."

Earlier, he renewed his claim that questions about links between his presidential campaign and Russia amount to "the greatest Witch Hunt in political history." Numerous U.S. investigations are underway about Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, including allegations that Trump's campaign colluded with Russian interests to help him defeat Clinton.

The younger Trump said in an interview Tuesday night on Fox News he did not tell his father about the meeting, and also dismissed charges of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia as "ridiculous."

WATCH: Trump Junior Releases Russia Meeting Emails, Denies Wrongdoing



President Trump, in a tweet Wednesday, praised his son's performance.

"My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent," Trump wrote.

In a statement Tuesday read by a White House spokeswoman, Trump called his son "a high-quality person." The spokeswoman deflected other questions about the younger Trump's email exchange with Rob Goldstone, a British music publicist who was representing Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met with the younger Trump shortly after his father clinched the Republican Party's nomination for president.

The younger Trump released his email chain with Goldstone after The New York Times told him that it was about to publish the emails.

VOA's Capitol Hill correspondents said the disclosure that Donald Trump Jr. eagerly sought damaging information about Clinton ahead of the November election sent shockwaves through Congress and prompted strong reactions from Democratic members in particular.

'High level and sensitive information'



Goldstone told the younger Trump on June 3 last year that "the Crown prosecutor of Russia ... offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump," the email said.

Within minutes, the younger Trump replied, "If it's what you say, I love it, especially [for use] later in the summer."

Democratic senators, such as Chris Murphy of Connecticut, said Tuesday's developments in the tale of Donald Trump Jr. and his meeting with the Russian lawyer "starts to look like collusion ... open, knowing collusion with the Russian government" on the part of the Trump campaign team. Republican senators were more cautious in their reaction, VOA's Michael Bowman reported, but Susan Collins of Maine said "the emails deserve a thorough investigation" by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Congressman Adam Schiff of California, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, saw the email disclosure as a "very significant, deeply disturbing development," and said he wanted Trump's son to testify before his committee, VOA's Katherine Gypson reported.

"We must investigate," said Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings, because the e-mail chain "confirms that the presidents son was both aware of and supported the Russian governments efforts to help [Trump] get elected."

In his emails to the younger Trump, Goldstone referred to Veselnitskaya as "the Russian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow." The Russian government has denied knowing Veselnitskaya and rejects U.S. claims that it meddled in the election.

The subsequent meeting was also attended by then-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and the future president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the husband of Trump's daughter Ivanka. Both Kushner and his wife are now White House advisers to the president.
U.S. President Donald Trump's choice to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Christopher Wray, assured lawmakers Wednesday the agency would continue to be free of political influence as it conducts business operations, including a special prosecutor's probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

I believe to my core that there is only one right way to do this job, and that is with strict independence, by the book, playing it straight, faithful to the Constitution, faithful to our laws, and faithful to the best practices of the institution, Wray said.

Watch: Trump's FBI Pick Pledges Independence from White House

Wray, a defense attorney and a former Justice Department official, faced questions during his confirmation hearing from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including inquiries about whether he can work independently from the White House.

White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the White House was pleased with the hearing.

"During his hearing, Chris Wray continually displayed the strong character, deep knowledge and moral integrity that make him, as former Democrat Senator Sam Nunn testified, 'the leader the FBI needs at this critical moment.'"

The hearing was held as Trump faces months of multiple investigations into allegations his campaign colluded with Russian officials to help him win the White House and that he possibly obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey while leading the FBI's investigation into Russia.

In response to a question from Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy about how he would respond if the president asked him to perform a task that was unlawful or unethical, Wray said, First I would try to talk him out of it, and if that failed, I would resign.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the election by launching a campaign that included planting fake election-related stories throughout social media outlets in the United States and hacking into the computer files of Clinton's campaign chief, John Podesta.

When Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked if he questioned the agencies findings, Wray responded, I have no reason to doubt the conclusions of the intelligence community and added to interfere with our election is an adversarial act.

Wray faced questions about his relationships with Comey and Robert Mueller, a former FBI director who was appointed by the Justice Department to serve as special counsel in charge of the agency's Russian investigation. Wray worked at the Justice Department in 2004 when Comey was deputy attorney general and Mueller was FBI director.

Asked if he would inform the committee of any attempts to interfere with Mueller's probe, Wray responded, I would consult with the appropriate officials to make sure that I'm not jeopardizing an investigation or anything like that, but I would consider an effort to tamper with director Mueller's investigation to be unacceptable and inappropriate and would need to be dealt with very sternly.

Wray also testified the White House has not asked him for a pledge of loyalty nor would he provide one.

No one asked me for any kind of loyalty oath at any point during this process, and I sure as heck didn't offer one, he said.

Russia allegations

The hearings come amid new revelations about the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia last year. The president's eldest son, Donald Trump, Jr., released emails on Tuesday that indicated he met with a Russian attorney last June to discuss allegedly compromising information about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The emails also showed the younger Trump was told the information would be conveyed as part of the Russian government's campaign to help his father win the election.

The president has repeatedly described the Russia investigations as a witch hunt, including in a tweet early Wednesday that applauded his son's defense of his actions in a Tuesday televised interview.



Wray testified, It would be wise to let the FBI know about meetings with the Russian government or any other foreign actor about U.S. elections and added he does "not consider Mr. Mueller to be on a witch hunt."

To the members of this committee, any threat or effort to interfere with our elections from any nation-state or any non-state actor is the kind of thing the FBI would want to know.

Committee member Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, said in opening remarks it is imperative that the FBI continue to operate without political pressure.The FBI director does not serve the president, he serves the Constitution, the law, and the American people, Feinstein said. As such, the director of the FBI must be a leader who has the integrity and strength that will enable him to withstand any attempts at political interference.

Republican committee chairman Chuck Grassley said, There are no restrictions on the ability of any president to fire any director, a position that has a 10-year term limit to help prevent the FBI director from overreaching or abusing power.

Wray must be confirmed by the full Senate before he can assume the position of director. FBI agents and lawyers who have worked with Wray describe him as dedicated and discreet with the apparent ability to avoid political influence.
The U.N. said Wednesday it had identified another 38 probable mass graves in central Congo, where violence has killed thousands since August.

This would bring the total of mass graves found in the Kasai region to 80, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo said Wednesday.

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.
A suspected U.S. drone strike has reportedly killed four key Islamic State commanders in eastern Afghanistan, a provincial security official in Nangarhar said.

The drone strike late Tuesday  which has not been immediately confirmed by the Pentagon  targeted a gathering of IS militants in eastern Kunar province, killing 11 fighters, including four commanders.



The drone strike targeted IS militants in the Gambir region, provincial police chief, Juma Gul Hemmat told VOAs Afghan service. Four IS commanders along with seven of their fighters were killed in the strike.

The slain commanders also include Mohammad Rahman who was in charge of the terror groups financial affairs and Noora, known by his first name, who had the responsibility of recruiting new fighters in the province.

A brother of Rahman was also killed in the strike, according to police chief Hemmat.

Based in southern parts of eastern Nangarhar province, IS's self-styled Khorasan province branch emerged in early 2015 in the mountainous areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The terror group is active in several districts of eastern Nangarhar province.

IS in Afghanistan has been able to draw its members from the Pakistani Taliban fighters, some former Afghan Taliban, and other militants who believe that associating with or pledging allegiance to IS will further their interests, according to an annual Pentagon report submitted to U.S. Congress .

Extending its reach

The group has recently expanded its presence and activities to neighboring Kunar province as well.

According to police chief, Hemmat, up to 2,000 IS fighters are active in several districts of Kunar province.

He told VOA that the terror group has established a training base in the Patash valley, where foreign fighters, including Arabs and Pakistanis provide training to new recruits.

Attaullah Khogyani, Nangarhar provincial government spokesperson told VOA that as IS is losing ground in Nangarhar, it is trying to expand to neighboring mountainous Kunar and Nuristan provinces, which share a border with Pakistan to establish a persistent presence there.

U.S. and Afghan forces have been engaged in joint- counterterrorism operations against IS in eastern Afghanistan. Earlier this year, American military, in partnership with Afghan security forces, promised to eliminate IS in Afghanistan this year. Hundreds of IS fighters, including several senior commanders, have been killed in recent months.

In May of this year, Sheikh Abdul Hasib, the terror groups leader in Afghanistan was killed in a joint U.S. Afghan forces raid in Nangarhar.

In April, the U.S. Air Force dropped a Massive Ordinance Air Bomb (MOAB), informally known as the mother of all bombs, on an IS stronghold in Achin district of Nangarhar, killing at least 95 IS fighters, mostly foreign nationals.
Russias assessment of North Koreas latest missile launch puzzles many U.S. experts, who say the Kremlin "mischaracterized" the nature of Pyongyang's test, either as a result of technical flaws or possibly for political reasons.

According to Russian state-run media, Moscow's U.N. mission submitted a letter to the U.N. Secretariat that described the North Korean projectile fired on July 4 as an intermediate-range rocket. That assessment is at odds with U.S., South Korean and Japanese findings that classified the Hwasong-14 as a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

China has not yet commented details of the rocket involved.

A Voronezh-type radar station deployed in the Irkutsk region monitored the launch of the Hwasong-14 medium-range ballistic missile (IRBM) from North Korea, which flew a distance of 510 km in 14 minutes, reaching an altitude of 535 km, before landing in the Sea of Japan, the Russian letter stated.

It followed a fierce U.N. Security Council debate last week, during which Moscow challenged Washingtons reference of the missile as an ICBM. This derailed efforts to reach a consensus among 15 council members on a press statement condemning North Korea for the launch.

Describing the use of a long-range rocket launch as "a clear and sharp military escalation," U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley blasted the Russian claim at the emergency U.N. meeting, telling Russias deputy U.N. ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov, "If you need any sort of intelligence to let you know that the rest of the world sees this is an ICBM, I'm happy to provide it."

North Koreas official news agency KCNA identified the launch as the regimes first test of an ICBM. It said the missile was fired at a steep angle and reached an altitude of 2,802 km and traveled 933 km during its 39-minute flight into the Sea of Japan.

Extrapolating from the North Korean data, many analysts agreed the Hwasong-14 could, if launched at a standard angle, travel up to 8,000 km - a range long enough to reach Alaska. The Pentagon defines an ICBM as having a range greater than 5,500 km.

This is so baffling that Russia would have such a different assessment of the Hwasong-14 launch, Mark Fitzpatrick, a scholar at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told VOA's Korean Service. It's almost as though Russia saw a totally different launch or made up the numbers.

The only possibility for a country geographically close to North Korea to conclude it was a shorter-range rocket would be a technical flaw or human failure, said Fitzpatrick, adding: In either case, it's actually worrisome that Russia apparently has so badly mischaracterized this launch.

Fitzpatrick said it Russian radar may simply have missed the launch, or did not track the missile's flight completely.

John Schilling, a missile technology specialist with 38 North, a North Korea monitoring website run by Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), brought up another possibility. Given that the Hwasong-14 was a two-stage rocket, Russian monitors may have detected only the rocket used for the missiles first stage - believed to be a well-known KN-17 liquid-fueled missile - which Schilling said would have reached the lower altitude and traveled a shorter distance.

Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, also believes the missiles second stage may have escaped the notice of Russian trackers.

The second stage separates, fires and goes up to this almost 3,000 km height, but if the Russians didn't see the second stage for some reason and just saw the first stage, that would only go up to sort of the height that they report, he said.

Russias failure to track the Hwasong-14s second stage could be explained by a lack of good sensor systems as close to North Korea as the U.S. does have, presumably in South Korea, that are much closer to the action, McDowell added.

He said Russia's early-warning systems to detect missile launches have been deteriorating for several years. A lot of their early warning satellites have been retired, and their radars, not all of them are in operation, and so this may reflect the aging of the Russian technical capability, the scientist said.

Another North Korea expert, Bruce Bennett of the Rand Corporation, said while Russias assessment could be a result of technical shortcomings, it seems more plausible that Moscows political motivations may have influenced its missile report.

In theory, Russia could be trying to play down the North Korean assertion that it did happen and that therefore [leader] Kim Jong Un accomplishes his objective, Bennett said. So Russia could be taking a position against North Korea  as well as acting against the U.S. It's kind of a poor play by the Russians.

Fitzpatrick shares this view as Russia historically tends to minimize North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities, so as not to play into what is sometimes an excessive sense of threat perceived by the United States.

I think it's fair to say that Russia has a political motivation to assess that it was not an intercontinental ballistic missile because Russia does not want the United States to have any further excuse to expand its ballistic missile defense capabilities, Fitzpatrick said.
Vietnamese authorities plan to hold talks with a Catholic monastery and church officials to resolve a land dispute that prompted a violent scuffle last month, a provincial government body said.

Land disputes are common in Communist-ruled Vietnam, where conflicts over property between Catholics and regional authorities have posed one of the key obstacles to a normalization of relations with the Vatican.

The Thua Thien-Hue provincial people's committee said it would meet clerics of the Thien An Saint Benedict Monastery and church officials from Hue, about 700 km (435 miles) southeast of the capital Hanoi, to try to resolve the dispute.

The panel will "consider the legitimate aspirations of Thien An monastery within the framework allowed by the laws," it said in a statement late on Monday, without giving a date for talks.

On June 28, clergy at the monastery said dozens of what they believed to be plainclothes policemen took down a cross and a statue of Jesus on land the church claims in a dispute.

But the provincial committee accused the monastery of illegally cutting down trees and levelling land in a special-use forest to erect a cross, besides destroying a road used for forest fire rescues and obstructing efforts to rebuild it.

Monk Joseph Mary Chu Manh Cuong told Reuters the clerics opposed the unauthorised construction of a road to link a lake to a tourist resort.

In the clash that followed, regional authorities accused the monastery of having threatened people and injured two.

Plainclothes police used sticks, saws and water pipes to beat the priests, monks and nuns and hurt many in the monastery, the monk said. Reuters could not immediately verify the competing claims.

In 2008, more than 1,000 Vietnamese Catholics protested in Hanoi as eight Catholics went on trial over their claim to a plot of disputed land in the capital, a rare expression of dissent against the ruling Communist Party.

In that case, the court ruled the land in dispute was public property.
In Alexandria, Virginia, just outside Washington, the Del Ray neighborhood is fighting back after hate posters were put on trees and windshields around the area. After tearing down about 50 signs, some residents responded by placing anti-hate placards in front of their homes and businesses. VOA's Deborah Block takes us to Del Ray's main street, where store owners say hate messages of any kind are not welcome is the close-knit community.
The President of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry was in Macau yesterday to promote the Austrian capital as a top-tier location for tourism and hospitality education.

Walter Rucks single-day visit to Macau reinforces the routine work of his frontline colleagues  Consul for Commercial Affairs Franz Rossler and Special Project Consultant Monica Ng  at Advantage Austria, the countrys official trade promotion authority.

One of the reasons for my journey is to promote the Austrian educational system for tourism in East Asia, said Ruck in an interview yesterday. I am convinced that a location like Macau, which is totally focused on tourism, may have a big demand for education in this field.

We are very proud that we already have five or six students from Macau [now studying] in Vienna, and about 100 from the [China] region, he added.

Austrias chambers of commerce are individual and decentralized entities, each representing one of the countrys nine federal states.

The Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry, representative of the metropolitan Austrian capital, draws its support from the mandatory membership of approximately 150,000 companies. This backing has made the organization highly influential in Austria, its representatives claimed yesterday, becoming the third-largest provider of education in the country, after the government and the Church.

One such institution, MODUL University Vienna, was co-founded by the Chamber ten years ago, with a specialization in tourism, new media and business management education. It currently has an exchange program with City University of Macau.

Monica Ng leads a project promoting Austrian trade and education  in particular MU Vienna  from her Hong Kong base, where she represents the region of southern China. She said that her mission to promote Viennese education in Macau began only a year ago, but several hospitality students from the territory are already taking courses at MU Vienna.

However, while Ng may be responsible for attracting tourism students, she insisted that she has no quota to fill and MU Vienna only selects very high quality students.

One Macau student, Carisa Chan, has just finished her first year of a hotel management and operations course at the University. She said that nobody knows MODUL University in Macau, adding that there are just two other students from the MSAR on her course.

Chan explained that she had considered studying hospitality and tourism-related courses in Macau, but she received her high school diploma from an institution outside of the MSAR, meaning a slightly more complicated application process than her Macau-educated peers experienced.

In any case, Its also a new thing for people to go to Vienna for hotel management, and I wanted to try it, she said.

Neighboring Switzerland has long been famous for the quality of its hospitality and hotel management education. Ng said that there was no comparison between the two, with MU Vienna being an academic university, whereas, in Switzerland, most of the hospitality institutions are hotel schools.

But the president of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the differentiating factor was the relative affordability of the two locations, with the Austrian capital providing greater value for the education on offer.

I looked at the hotel management program in Switzerland and Austria and I found that the cost is more affordable for me, agreed Chan, unprompted in a separate conversation.

Meanwhile, commenting on the quality of tourism and hospitality education in the MSAR, Ruck said that they operate at an excellent level in his opinion, because thats the core business in Macau.

On the other hand, there is a need to diversify this education if the tourism sector is to become broader in its scope, he said. There is the challenge to diversify in the future I am not sure if they [Macau institutions] can help to [diversify] the tourism here.

Other parts of the world could offer a different approach to tourism education, he argued. If you look all over the world, you will find Austrian hotel managers [and senior staff] at every destination. You must remember that Austria is a small country [] and therefore we are very internationalized in the tourism sector and we have a lot of experience in it, he said.
Three years ago, at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency, Nigerian soldiers stopped all fishing activities in the country's section of Lake Chad. Militants had infiltrated the ranks of the fishermen, the army said, and were using the guise to fund arms purchases and launch surprise attacks on innocent people.

The local fishermen's union said it understood the army's actions but pushed for an easing of the ban, because its members had no other way to earn a living in the largely dry and remote area.

Relief came to the local fishermen over the weekend, when the Nigerian Army commander in charge of the area, Major General Ibrahimn Attahiru, addressed the fishermen and said they could return to work based on some guidelines the army had reached with their leaders.

Fishermen support changes

The president of the Lake Chad Fishermen Association, Alhaji Abubakar Gamande, confirmed the development in an interview Monday with VOA's Hausa Service and pledged that fishermen will follow the new rules.

Based on what happened in the past, we will not continue to operate as we used to, where everyone did as he deemed fit, he said. We and the army will watch the activities of the fishermen and anyone whose work requires entering the lake. We will not let him operate as he wishes. We will screen all our members. We have to know where they are coming from and where they are going."

In normal times, the fishermen can still make a decent living off Lake Chad despite the lake's radical shrinkage over the past 50 years, which scientists believe is a result of overuse and shifting rainfall patterns brought on by climate change.

Local authorities back in control

But Boko Haram's takeover of northeastern Nigeria severely disrupted a fishing industry that draws traders from Nigeria's Lake Chad neighbors Chad, Cameroon and Niger and enables many locals to support themselves. By early 2015, the well-armed militants had seized effective control of the areas along the lake, and there was little the fishermen could do to stop Boko Haram activity.

Local authorities are now back in control, following a 30-month regional offensive by the army and a multi-national task force that includes soldiers from Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin.

Gamande was full of praise for the army, which he said has worked tirelessly to restore peace to the area.

Quiet on new rules

Asked how the new rules will prevent Boko Haram activity, the union leader said he cannot reveal all the details for security reasons.

On our own part as a union we have laid down guidelines that enable us to know who comes for fishing, those who buy, and those who come to sell, Gamande said.

We will do all we can to ensure that what happened in the past will never happen again. Enough is enough.
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Yazidi female fighters are joining the ongoing operation to liberate Raqqa, the de facto "capital" of Islamic State. Fighting alongside the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), these fighters are resolved to fight the terror group that wreaked havoc on Yazidis in Iraq's Sinjar region in 2014. VOA's Mahmoud Bali reports.
Zambia's parliament has imposed a 90-day state of emergency, after the president last week declared the need for one. The situation is likely to deepen the political crisis in the country, and analysts say it also could scare away much needed investors to the copper-dependent, landlocked nation.

The president called for the state of emergency after a fire destroyed the capitals main market earlier this month. He described the fire as an arson attack by "a few unpatriotic citizens" and said, in a speech to the nation, that this and other fires were "premeditated acts, which if left unchecked could have serious socio-economic consequences capable of drawing the country backwards."

Parliament unanimously passed the measure Tuesday. No opposition lawmakers voted, as 48 of them were suspended last month for boycotting a speech by President Edgar Lungu. Their leader, Hakainde Hichilema, has been in jail since April, facing a treason charge. The few opposition who remained Tuesday boycotted the vote.

Opposition spokesman Charles Kakoma says his opposition United Party for National Development would have voted against the measure, which he says limits citizens essential freedoms. Additionally, he says he fears it will scare away visitors.

People obviously, investors and even tourists will be scared to come to a country that has just declared a threatened state of emergency, he told VOA. They are not sure about their investments, and about their safety once they are in Zambia.

Falling copper prices and an energy crisis had already sent Zambias economic growth downward in 2015. That was well before the disputed 2016 poll that pitted Lungu against Hichilema and led to todays bitter political landscape.

Martyn Davies, managing director of emerging markets and Africa at Deloitte, says local business owners expressed heightened concern to him during his recent visit to Zambia. He notes, though, that Zambia has never quite lived up to its promise.

The country always had this perennial word which is used for many countries in the region, potential, he told VOA from Johannesburg. The potential doesnt quite trickle down, didnt quite result into real strong robust growth and real trickle down economics, i.e. creating a competitive private sector.

"And I think this is something which a small economy  a small, arguably vulnerable economy like Zambia, landlocked as it is, dependent on a single economy source  you have to be stable. You cant have these sort of swings in policy and fiery political rhetoric. That just undermines the confidence of capital, both domestic and foreign, in your economy, said Davies.

Analyst Nicole Beardsworth, of the Johannesburg-based Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, notes that parliament enacted Article 31 of the constitution, the milder Declaration Relating to Threatened Emergency, instead of Article 30, Declaration of Public Emergency. She says the effect is the same, however, and Lungus soft-pedaling of the situation could be making things worse.

Hes trying to play a very dangerous game, which is he is imposing legislation that curbs, or has the potential to curb, the freedoms of Zambians, she told VOA. But he is trying to sell it as not being a state of emergency, and not legislation that will curb the freedom of Zambians. I dont think that anyone really believes him in the statements that he made where he said Zambia is a democracy and peoples rights and freedoms will be respected. Because to be quite honest, his behavior over the last 18 months has proven that to not be the case.

A spokesman for Zambia's president told VOA last week that the emergency measure is not intended to curb liberties, but to keep Zambians safe.

Lungu now has three months to apply his new powers to solve the case of the fire that gutted the countrys busiest market and destroyed the livelihoods of some 1,900 traders. Officials have estimated it will take one year and cost $20 million to rebuild.
There was chaos and pandemonium in Harare on Wednesday when protesting youth members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) led by Morgan Tsvangirai clashed with police in Harare.

MDC members, who wanted to deliver a petition to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to demand the holding of free and fair elections in 2018, were dispersed by riot police.

Police using water cannons and teargas were seen chasing protesting MDC-T activists in the Harare central business district, which came to a standstill as law enforcement agents targeted anyone who was walking along the streets.

Police refused to comment on the number of people who were arrested during the protests.
Africa's version of Mauna Loa, Nyamuragira (or Nyamulagira) is a massive basaltic shield volcano neighboring Nyiragongo. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and has voluminous eruptions every few years.


(Iker Ayestaran for The Washington Post)

A periodic look at my communications with readers.

Chris Chew was in a party of 11 at a restaurant in Maui when a server accidentally dropped a glass and a bottle of beer, shattering the glass and spilling suds on two vacationers. Cleanup took a few minutes, a towel was provided to the spill-ees, and a manager came over and checked to see if everyone was okay,  the resident of Fulton, Md., wrote in an email. Dinner continued on without incident.

[The latest trend I loathe in restaurants: No space between tables]

The bill came with everything the party had ordered  spilled-but-replaced beer included, reported Chew. I took your advice and spoke with the manager, who said that since he came over and everyone was okay, he assumed we were fine. He noted that he didnt want to leave a sour taste in our mouths, and asked what could be done to remedy the situation. When the party said it would have been appropriate to address the spilled beer on the check, the manager deleted $6 from their bill.

Chew figures the manager thought he had done his job by asking after the guests physical comfort, but the diners thought otherwise. Chew asks, What else could we have done in this scenario?

Clearly, the manager didnt read the situation very well. Kudos to him for checking in on everyones well-being  standard procedure whenever theres a dropped dish in a restaurant  but a brickbat for making the party work for what should have been gratis in the first place: the $6 beer, partly to make up for the discomfort experienced by those who felt its splash. Depending on the amount of dispersed liquid, a dry-cleaning voucher or a complimentary drink or snack for the affected parties could have sweetened the deal.

The best managers are mind readers, anticipating what guests want even before the guests know what they want. They also tend to go out of their way to make sure customers leave singing the restaurants praises rather than bristling at an establishments very name.

Feeling the squeeze

A participant in my weekly online discussion recently complained about being directed to the kitchen counter of a restaurant rather than a seat in the dining room. When the chatter, a solo customer, inquired about one of the four unoccupied tables, the hostess said they were all reserved. Well, I had a reservation, too! submitted the chatter. But I took the counter seat.

[2017 Spring Dining Guide]

To the diners chagrin, patrons at the counter sat shoulder-to-shoulder, and by meals end, the four two-tops were all still unoccupied. That last part irked me, but I think its separate from my primary question: I would think a reservation means a table. Do I need a reality check?

I have two issues with the restaurant. One, solo acts should not be made to feel like second-class citizens. Also, unless a customer is informed otherwise (and in advance), a reservation implies a table and chair(s). As much fun as it might be to watch the cooks in action or make friends of strangers, not every diner wants an up-close-and-personal meal.

Wine and repeat

My sister-in-law has developed the habit of asking for a taste of wine before deciding to order a glass, writes Kathy Hartman of Fountain Hills, Ariz. Most times it is just one taste, but I have seen her go as high as three. Is this acceptable behavior? Last night we were at a busy restaurant (it was Fathers Day), and she did it again.

One of the more admirable trends is the increasing number of both casual and high-end restaurants that follow a request for a glass of wine with a sample, a gesture more often associated with the choice of a bottle. That, at least, should free a curious customer to try another wine without coming across as the dude in the ice cream shop who keeps everyone waiting while he explores seemingly every bucket on display.

[Mike Isabellas newest restaurant, Arroz, shines the brightest]

At least one local sommelier, Brent Kroll of the freshly minted Maxwell Park, a wine bar in Shaw, says two to three tastes fall in the realm of acceptability, with the caveat that explorers should be patient if a restaurant is busy. One way he narrows down wine for the undecided is to ask the simple but revealing question, What do you normally like to drink?



(Iker Ayestaran for The Washington Post)

Sizing up menus

The preponderance of unwieldy menus prompted another participant of my online forum to ask where to put poster-sized or heavy, book-like lists of food and drink. Oftentimes there isnt much room on the table, especially with elaborate place settings, to set [menus] down while waiting for drinks and before ordering.

The question gives me another opportunity to ask (beg?) restaurateurs to give as many details as possible a test drive before offering them to paying customers. Its not enough to run a bunch of dishes and a team of servers through their paces before opening for business. The astute restaurateur also auditions lighting, acoustics, restrooms and seating  including the space between tables  to see whether they make sense and enhance or hinder the dining experience.

Menus belong in this category, too, and having recently eaten at the new, seafood-themed Millies in Northwest Washingtons Spring Valley neighborhood, where a single script covers half of a two-top, I am eager to address the issue  and sort of at a loss for an answer for anyone who finds himself, as I did there, on a tall stool at a high counter. Had the two of us placed our menus down, they would have covered the table in plastic. Had we put them on our laps, the billboards would have slipped to the ground.

The best strategy at such places? Failing a nearby ledge or booth for stowing the plus-size menu, diners should come to a quick decision on what to eat, return the lists to the server and inform the powers that be that they dont care to be handed (take your pick) posters or door stops. If enough customers pipe up, operators might feel obliged to make changes.

Next week: A review of Millies in Spring Valley.
Dear Heloise: What is the ingredient that makes the difference between soft and crisp cookies?

Kathleen H., Camp Hill, Pa.

Kathleen H.: High moisture does, as well as baking time, and the temperature must be adjusted to retain moisture. Binding the water in butter, eggs and brown sugar (which contains molasses, which is 10 percent water) with flour slows its evaporation. Theres also a little more flour in a soft cookie. Volume also helps cookies stay moist. A large cookie rather than a small spoon-drop cookie usually will be softer. Theyre baked for shorter time periods at a higher temperature.

Dear Heloise: I cook two scrambled eggs in a very small skillet to preserve the shape and size. I turn them once to cook on both sides, then I stack them on a saucer, cover and refrigerate. When ready to serve, I warm them in the microwave on half power and top with diced fresh tomatoes, grated cheese or precooked bacon. It works well and saves time.

Lana D., Taylorsville, N.C.

Lana D.: Now thats a clever way to get breakfast in the morning!

Dear Heloise: To lose weight and not be uncomfortable doing so, Ive been doing the following:

 When filling my plate with high-calorie foods, I say, A little less rather than a little more.

 To continue filling my plate with vegetables and low-calorie items, I say, A little more rather than a little less.

Its a slow process, but its been working for me.

Terry S., Danville, Ky.

Dear Heloise: My boyfriend loves good coffee, and Id like to serve him some creative coffees, except that Im a total klutz in the kitchen. Do you have any ideas or recipes on how to make plain coffee a little more interesting? Please, nothing complicated or where I have to go buy a fancy machine.

Joan E., Maplewood, Minn.

Joan E.: I have several recipes, but one of my personal favorites is Mocha Coffee:

 cup instant coffee granules

 cup sugar (or equivalent measure using a sugar substitute)

1 cup powdered milk or powdered creamer (nonfat creamer also is okay to use)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Mix the ingredients together, and store in a labeled container. Just mix with hot water when ready to use. If you like this recipe, I have several more you can try in my Flavored Coffees and Teas pamphlet. Just go to my website, Heloise.com, to order one, or send a stamped (70 cents), self-addressed, business-size envelope, along with $3, to Heloise/ Coffees & Teas, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. There are few things more enjoyable than sipping a warm cup of coffee or tea with friends. It just makes life more enjoyable.

Dear Readers: Freezing does not kill bacteria; it only stops their growth. The only thing that will kill bacteria and help to prevent food poisoning is cooking food at high-enough temperatures.

Heloises column appears six days a week at washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
Alexandria

These were among incidents reported by the Alexandria Police Department. For information, call 703-746-4444 or visit alexandriava.gov.

ASSAULTS

Cameron St., 11:33 p.m. July 3. An assault was reported.

Duke St., 3200 block, 2:33 p.m. June 30. An assault was reported.

Duke St., 800 block, 1:10 a.m. July 5. Two assaults were reported.

King St., 500 block, 1:56 a.m. July 5. An assault was reported.

Nelson Ave., 11:45 p.m. July 3. An assault was reported.

Port St., 700 block, 5 a.m. July 5. An aggravated assault was reported.

Port St., 700 block, 1:51 a.m. July 1. Two assaults were reported.

Quaker Hill Dr., 1100 block, 4:09 p.m. July 3. An assault was reported.

Washington St. S., 1200 block, 10:47 p.m. July 5. An assault was reported.

ROBBERIES

Royal St. N., 100 block, 4:10 a.m. July 3. A robbery was reported.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Braxton Pl., 700 block, 3:41 p.m. July 2. A residential burglary was reported.

Clovercrest Dr., 800 block, 6 p.m. July 2. A theft was reported.

Duke St., 3100 block, 7:35 p.m. July 2. A theft was reported.

Holland Lane, 500 block, 11:19 a.m. July 1. A theft was reported.

John Carlyle St., 500 block, 7:16 p.m. July 1. A theft was reported.

King St., 800 block, 3:06 p.m. Two thefts were reported.

Washington St. S., 800 block, 12:30 p.m. June 29. A theft was reported.

Wythe St., 900 block, 9:20 p.m. A theft from motor vehicle was reported.

VANDALISM

Braxton Pl., 700 block, 3:41 p.m. July 2. Vandalism was reported.

John Carlyle St., 500 block, 3:55 a.m. July 1. Vandalism was reported.

Washington St. N., 200 block, 12:14 a.m. July 4. Vandalism was reported.

Arlington

These were among incidents reported by the Arlington County Police Department. For information, call 703-558-2222 or visit newsroom.arlingtonva.us.

SEXUAL ASSAULTS

Cameron St. N., 1900 block, 9 p.m. July 3. A rape was reported at a residence.

Jefferson Davis Hwy., 2700 block, 10:20 a.m. July 2. A man sexually assaulted a woman. A man, 34, of Bahrain, was arrested.

Henderson Rd., 4100 block, 12:45 p.m. July 2. A man exposed himself to a woman in a parking area.

Old Glebe Rd. S., 100 block, 7:55 p.m. July 2. A man exposed himself to several people at a park. A man, 43, of no fixed address, was arrested.

17th St. N., 5000 block, 1:30 a.m. June 30. A rape was reported at a residence.

24th Rd. N. and Underwood St. N., 8:45 p.m. A man exposed himself to a woman.

ASSAULTS

Adams St. N., 2000 block. An assault was reported.

Crystal Dr., 1400 block. An assault was reported.

Culpeper St. N., 1900 block, 5:10 p.m. June 30. An assault was reported on a street.

Frederick St. S., 1000 block. An assault was reported.

Orme St. S., 900 block, 9:20 a.m. July 2. A domestic assault was reported at a residence.

Thomas St. S., 1100 block. An assault was reported.

Wayne St. N., 100 block, 8:02 p.m. June 29. A domestic assault was reported at a residence.

Wayne St. N., 100 block, 3:31 a.m. July 3. An assault was reported at a residence.

Wilson Blvd., 3100 block. An assault was reported.

Seventh St. S., 3400 block, 9:53 p.m. June 28. A female driver hit a pedestrian who was unloading items from his parked vehicle, causing non-life-threatening injuries. The driver stopped but returned to her vehicle and fled. The victim was taken to a hospital.

14th St. N., 2000 block, 7:03 p.m. July 2. An assault was reported at a government building.

14th Rd. N., 2000 block. An assault was reported.

23rd St. S., 300 block. An assault was reported.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Army Navy Dr., 500 block. A theft was reported.

Barton St. N., 400 block, 10:30 p.m. June 28 to 5 p.m. June 29. Property was stolen from a residence.

Brandywine St. N., 2100 block, 1 a.m. July 2. A theft from a motor vehicle was reported.

Clarendon Blvd., 1600 block. A theft was reported.

Columbia Pike, 3200 block, 11:05 a.m. June 28. An employee opened a store and discovered a known man inside. Items were later found to be missing.

George Mason Dr. S., 1400 block. A theft from a motor vehicle was reported.

Glebe Rd. N., 600 block, 11 a.m. July 1. A break-in was reported at a car dealership.

Glebe Rd. N., 600 block, 11 a.m. July 1 to 7 a.m. July 3. A building was entered by force and property was stolen.

Hayes St. S., 1000 block. A shoplifting incident and another theft were reported.

Hayes St. S., 1100 block. A theft was reported.

Hayes St. S., 1200 block. A shoplifting incident and another theft were reported.

Joyce St. S., 900 block, 3 p.m. June 30. A pick-pocketing incident was reported at a grocery store.

Hayes St. S., 1000 block, 2:47 p.m. July 1. A shoplifting incident was reported at a department store.

Key Blvd., 2600 block, 10:15 p.m. July 1. A theft was reported at a residence.

Kirkwood Rd., 1600 block, 5 p.m. July 1. A burglary was reported at a residence. Police believe the intruder intended to assault a resident.

Kirkwood Rd., 1600 block, 3:52 p.m. July 2. A residence was entered by force and property was damaged. An Arlington man, 58, was arrested and charged with burglary, destruction of property and petit larceny.

Lee Hwy., 4000 block. A theft from a motor vehicle was reported.

Ode St. S., 800 block, 11 a.m. June 29. A theft was reported at a residence.

Ode St. S., 800 block, 10 p.m. July 2. A theft was reported at a residence.

Pershing Dr. N., 4300 block. A theft from a motor vehicle was reported.

Rhodes St. N., 1400 block. A theft was reported.

Shirlington Rd., 2300 block. Midnight to 10:30 p.m. June 30. An attempted break-in was reported at a residence. Nothing was reported stolen.

Wayne St. N., 1300 block, 9:49 a.m. June 29. A man entered a residence and damaged property. Nothing was reported stolen. A D.C. man, 29, was arrested and charged with unlawful entry and destruction of property.

Wilson Blvd., 6000 block, 4:15 p.m. July 2. A theft was reported at a park or playground.

Wilson Blvd., 3200 block, 11:30 p.m. July 2. A break-in was reported at a car dealership. Property was stolen. A male suspect was seen.

Fifth St. N., 3900 block, 9 p.m. July 1. A theft was reported at a residence.

Sixth St. S. and Adams St. S., 4:30 p.m. June 29. A man threatened a store employee during an argument and was found to be in possession of burglary tools. A Hyattsville man, 24, was arrested and charged with possession of burglary tools, larceny with intent to sell, petit larceny and possession of stolen property.

12th St. N., 2200 block, 9 p.m. June 29. A theft from a motor vehicle was reported.

MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS

Glebe Rd. N., 600 block, July 3. A silver 2014 Mercedes-Benz was stolen.

VANDALISM

Dinwiddie St. S., 900 block. Graffiti was reported.

12th Rd. S. and George Mason Dr. S. Destruction of property was reported.

Joyce St. S., 1400 block. Destruction of property was reported.

Lang St. S., 2700 block. Destruction of property was reported.

Little Falls Rd., 5800 block. Vehicle tampering was reported.

Utah St. N., 1500 block, 6:45 p.m. June 29. Destruction of property was reported on a street.

Ninth Rd. N., 3100 block, 3:35 a.m. June 30. Vandalism was reported at a parking area.

15th St. N., 4500 block, 6:45 p.m. June 29. Destruction of property was reported on a street.

15th St. N., 4400 block. Destruction of property was reported.

23rd St. S., 3500 block. Destruction of property was reported.


Fault Lines co-hosts Lee Stranahan, left, and Garland Nixon talk in the D.C. newsroom of Sputnik, a radio station funded by the Russian government. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

On a Washington radio station known for broadcasting the high and lonesome sound of bluegrass, the fiddles recently fell silent, replaced by a very different kind of programming: Russian state media.

Rather than string instruments, 105.5 FM listeners now hear Sputnik, a terrestrial radio station named for the satellite that started the space race. Funded by the Russian government, the station began broadcasting July 1 out of unassuming offices about three blocks from the White House, next to a Chopt on K Street NW.

Russias influence on American politics is debated daily. This is what it sounds like.

Mindia Gavasheli, editor-in-chief of Sputnik's D.C. bureau. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

Im sure youve heard a lot about us, said the Russian-born editor in chief of Sputniks D.C. bureau, Mindia Gavasheli. Now you can actually listen to us.

Gavasheli, showing visitors the stations studio this week as news of Donald Trump Jr.s meeting with a Russian attorney scrolled on a nearby television, made it clear: Boris and Natasha are not in the building. Theres not even a Russian flag.

Sputnik, like news outlet Russia Today, is a project of the Russian government. Available only online in the United States until last month, the station, with a staff of 40, now reaches radio listeners 24 hours a day in the D.C. region  its only terrestrial radio presence in the country.

Sputnik points the way to a multipolar world that respects every countrys national interests, culture, history and traditions, according to its website. It adds: The agency is uniquely positioned as a provider of alternative news content.

Gavasheli and some of the stations hosts  all of whom broadcast in English, and some of whom are familiar faces in D.C.s political landscape  said no spymaster is telling them what to do.

If theyre propaganda artists, they aint good at it, said Garland Nixon, a Sputnik radio host who also appears on WPFW 89.3 FM, which bills itself as dedicated to jazz and justice.

Nixon, a former Maryland Natural Resources Police officer, co-hosts Fault Lines, a Crossfire-style show in which discussion is dominated by U.S. politics. A self-described die-hard Bernie supporter, he doesnt appear to be awaiting marching orders from the Kremlin.

At some point, if I say something and theyve got to fire me, theyll fire me, he said. All I can do is say the things that I believe in, and whoever attacks me, thats up to them.

There seem to be few supporters of President Trump in Sputniks D.C. orbit. Its hosts include a former union organizer and a politico to the left of the mainstream Democratic Party less interested that Sputnik is funded by Russia than that its not run by a corporation.

Eugene Puryear unsuccessfully ran for an at-large seat on the D.C. Council in 2014 as a member of the Statehood Green Party. He hosts By Any Means Necessary, a show he said spotlights the voices of young people and members of the Black Lives Matter movement. A recent episode focused on protests at the Group of 20 meeting in Hamburg and Amazons efforts to monopolize shopping in America, according to the shows website. (Amazon founder Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

This is an extraordinarily valuable opportunity to have, he said. The New York Times and Washington Posts of the world arent giving these voices their just dues.

(Fault Lines w/ Nixon & Stranahan)

Sputniks most visible Trump supporter is Lee Stranahan, a former Breitbart reporter who calls Trump chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, his mentor. He co-hosts Fault Lines with Nixon, offering a conservative counterpoint.

I like the fact that Im on the same network as By Any Means Necessary,  Stranahan said. I think thats awesome. What I dont like is highly controlled corporate media.

Trump supporters or not, many Sputnik hosts profess skepticism that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. Top U.S. intelligence officials from both the Obama and Trump administrations have said Russia interfered in an attempt to help elect Trump.

[Obamas secret struggle to punish Russia for Putins election assault]

Nixon, Stranahans co-host, said he has yet to see the evidence of Russian meddling. Those looking for someone to blame for Democratic nominee Hillary Clintons loss shouldnt look to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said, but to voter suppression and corruption in the Democratic Party.

Were not comfortable unless we have a boogeyman, Nixon said. I dont subscribe to the common narrative that we have to run around with our hair on fire fearing Russia.

Stranahan, meanwhile, said he wanted to work for Sputnik because so many Americans falsely think Russia is an enemy.

I think the Russia narrative is b-------, so Ill work for the Russians, he said. If you really thought the Russians were meddling . . . you wouldnt work here.

Gavasheli, who formerly worked at Russia Today, said Sputniks D.C. location is one of many bureaus around the world, although its the only one in the United States. He noted that other nations also fund international journalism, such as the British Broadcasting Corporation.



Sputnik, a radio station funded by the Russian government, is broadcasting from the heart of the nation's capital. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

Its hard to be a good spy if no ones told you youre a spy.

If we are a vehicle in a disinformation campaign, I should have known by now, he said.

Whatever the geopolitics, Sputniks takeover of 105.5 left bluegrass fans unable to hear the genre on Washingtons airwaves for the first time in 50 years. (The station can still be heard online and on 88.5 FM HD Channel 2.)

WAMU 88.5 FM announced last summer that it was selling its Bluegrass Country service, citing changing demographics and a greater interest in news programming among listeners. The station reached an agreement with a nonprofit earlier this year that kept bluegrass on D.C. radio at 105.5, although that move was short-lived.

The owner of the transmitter clearly got a better deal from Putin than a public radio station, Randy Barrett, president of the D.C. Bluegrass Union and a board member of the Bluegrass Country Foundation, wrote in an email. Its a pretty amazing story, as Vlad has bumped all-American bluegrass in the very heart of the nations capital.

John Garziglia, a part owner of Reston Translator, the company that owns 105.5, said it leased the frequency to Sputnik through the end of 2019 after it became clear that Bluegrass Country could no longer foot the bill. He said the deal wasnt related to politics, but was a business arrangement.

[WAMU 88.5 reaches deal to keep bluegrass on the air]

I leave it to anyone who listens to make up their mind to what Radio Sputnik is doing, he said. I think theyve been straightforward.
Maryland Treasurer Nancy Kopp is refusing to pay two members of Gov. Larry Hogans Cabinet whose appointments were not confirmed by the state Senate, ratcheting up a battle between the Democratic-majority legislature and the Republican chief executive.

Susanne Brogan, the deputy treasurer for public policy, said Wednesday that acting health secretary Dennis Schrader and acting planning secretary Wendi Peters could be paid only through June 30, the end of fiscal 2017, because of a provision in the budget bill that prohibits paying the salaries of acting secretaries who do not receive Senate confirmation.

The language was added to the bill by Senate Democrats in the final weeks of the legislative session.

On advice from Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D), Kopp (D) deducted two days worth of pay from the checks issued to Schrader and Peters on Wednesday, which cover the two weeks that ended Tuesday, July 4.

These payments could not be legally made, Brogan said. The treasurer took an oath to uphold the laws of the state and the constitution.

Schraders annual salary is $174,417, and Peterss is $137,749.

Kopps decision is the latest punch thrown in the battle between the Republican governor and the states Democratic-majority legislature over the Senates role in the appointment process.

Hogan pulled Schraders nomination late in the legislative session; the Senate Executive Nominations Committee had not scheduled a vote on the appointment, and Hogans spokesman said the governor thought it would be blocked. He withdrew Peters  who worked as a paralegal before becoming deputy secretary of planning in 2015 and had served on a local government planning board  after the panel rejected her as unqualified.

After the session ended, the governor reappointed both of them in an acting capacity.

Doug Mayer, a spokesman for Hogan (R), called the decision not to pay Peters and Schrader unprecedented and wrong on may different levels.

The fact is both these secretaries are legally serving in their positions, and the state has a legal obligation to pay them, Mayer said. The individuals who have spent countless hours in an effort not to pay these public servants should be ashamed of themselves.

Mayer said the governor was told by Froshs office this year that he had the authority to withdraw the names of Schrader and Peters from consideration and reappoint them in an acting capacity after the legislative session ended.

But that legal advice did not address whether the two appointees could be paid under the budget language passed during the legislativesession.

The governors chief legal counsel, Robert F. Scholz, argues that the budget language violates the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of government. In a July 6 letter to Frosh, Scholz questioned whether the General Assembly had the constitutional authority to include the language in the budget bill.

We are exploring all options, both legal and otherwise, Mayer said.

Last week, Comptroller Peter Franchot (D), whose office processes the state payroll, said the state would pay Schrader and Peters absent any judicial action, suggesting that someone would have to sue the government to get the budget language enforced.

Franchots office also sent a letter to Frosh asking him to seek judicial review of the situation, given the conflicting positions of the executive and legislative branches.

Kopps office, which disburses the paychecks, then notified the comptrollers office of its decision to deduct two days pay from the checks issued Wednesday.

Deputy Comptroller Sharonne R. Bonardi said the comptrollers office is caught in the middle of an unprecedented situation and was concerned about possible legal ramifications if the office denied payment.
President Trumps daughter and son-in-law are on their way to Sun Valley to attend the Allen & Co. conference, according to multiple reports Wednesday.
Diane J. Nelson, a jockey who rode more than 1,000 winners during a 21-year racing career and who also worked as a model, died July 5. She was 51.

Her death was announced on the Moloney Family Funeral Homes of New Yorks website. No other information was provided.

Ms. Nelson was the sixth female jockey in North America to reach 1,000 winners. She had 1,095 victories in 9,905 career races and purse earnings of more than $19 million, according to Equibase, a horse racing database.

She was one of horse racings elite female jockeys, although she never rode in any of the prestigious Triple Crown or Breeders Cup races. She rode regularly on the highly competitive New York circuit, where at times she was the lone woman.

Im realistic enough to know that Im not going to get all the good mounts, she told the New York Daily News in 2001. There are 10 riders in here that are the top riders in the country. I would prefer to stay here and ride less and ride quality. Ive gotten to ride some unbelievable horses in my career. That means more to me than winning a lot of races.

Diane J. Nelson rides Acey Deucey to victory in The Dearly Precious stakes at Aqueduct Race Track in New York in 2005. (Adam Coglianese/Coglianese Photo via AP)

Ms. Nelsons career began at New Yorks Aqueduct Racetrack in 1986, and she rode her last race at the same track in 2007. She won eight graded stakes races in her career, including the Grade 1 Prioress Stakes with Acey Deucey in 2005 at Saratoga.

After debuting at Aqueduct, she moved to New Hampshires now-defunct Rockingham Park and later Suffolk Downs in Boston. Eventually, she went on to ride at tracks in New Jersey and New York, near her Long Island home.

Being in New York is incredible, she told the Daily News. Im not going to get rich, but theres always a chance of riding a really nice horse and winning $100,000 stake races.

Ms. Nelson said the lack of female riders who followed her was proof of how tough it was to survive in the sport.

At 5-foot-6, Ms. Nelson was considered tall for a jockey. After she was featured in television ads for the New York Racing Association, she landed a contract with the Ford Modeling Agency.

An earlier version of this story erroneously reported Diane Nelsons age as 54. She was 51, according to a birthdate provided by The Jockeys Guild.

Diane J. Nelson in undated photo. (Coglianese Photo via AP)
The Puritan preacher Cotton Mather  a prodigy who took his place at the pulpit at 16, wrote no fewer than 437 books, and argued for both the existence of witchcraft and the importance of smallpox inoculation  approached his sermons much as a painter might approach a canvas.

More than simple Sunday speeches, they were an opportunity to bend the minds of his Boston flock toward God in language that was artful and evocative, if sometimes bombastic.

Among Mathers many Boswells, Kenneth Silverman approached biography in much the same way. Trading bombast for rigorous research, he wrote acclaimed biographies of American innovators as varied as Edgar Allan Poe, Samuel Morse, John Cage, Harry Houdini and Mather himself, in a research-intensive process that Dr. Silverman described as wrestling with an angel.

Dr. Silverman, who died July 7 at 81, was a longtime English professor at New York University and a practicing magician on the stage and on the page, where he made the act of describing a persons life in all its knotty complexity appear almost effortless. His first major biography, The Life and Times of Cotton Mather (1984), won the Pulitzer Prize as well as the Bancroft Prize, awarded annually by Columbia University to two leading works of American history or diplomacy.

The author seems virtually to have taken up residence inside Mathers head and heart, the historian John Demos wrote in a review for the New Republic, and the reader is repeatedly invited to see the world as Mather himself would have done  looking out.

Puritan minister Cotton Mather died in 1728. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

While Mather was traditionally blamed for the bloodshed of the Salem witch trials (his soft bookish hands, the poet Robert Lowell once wrote, are indelibly stained with blood), Dr. Silverman offered a more nuanced account of the incident. Drawing from thousands of letters, diaries and unpublished works, he offered a portrait of the preacher as a man whose actions were driven by an all-too-human mix of religious faith, political ambition and social courtesy.

His research led him to unearth documents at rural auction houses and in hospital basements, and to dip into early Colonial court records that were slowly being organized by Massachusetts archivists. At one point, he sat next to technicians who were bathing centuries-old documents in what he described as troughs of liquid nitrogen. Their work enabled him to learn of a long-forgotten lawsuit over Mathers handling of an indebted estate.

The aim, and quite often the result, was a work of literary art derived from a mass of unwieldy facts. The concluding passage of Cotton Mather, for instance, was a litany of objects that Dr. Silverman came across through his research. It made for an interesting biographical detail but in Dr. Silvermans hands also suggested a larger sense of sacrifice and futility.

However luxuriantly he lived in heaven, Mather had not lived affluently on earth, and had lost much, Dr. Silverman wrote. What he left behind, as set down in the inventory of his estate, was dingy and mean: pie plates, lumber, a crosscut saw, three old rugs, four old bedsteads, two old oval tables, two old chests of drawers, old china curtains, old quilt, old warming pan, old standing candlestick, red curtains motheaten, broken stone table, broken fireplace dogs, broken chairs, broken pewter, broken spoons.

Kenneth Eugene Silverman was born in Manhattan on Feb. 5, 1936, to parents who emigrated during World War I from what is now Lithuania. His father was a plumber and building contractor who eventually bought the Hotel Wales on the Upper East Side, and his mother helped manage the property.

Dr. Silverman studied English at Columbia University, receiving a bachelors degree in 1956, a masters degree two years later and a doctorate in 1964. He began teaching at NYU that same year and remained at the school until his retirement in 2001.

As a young man, Mr. Silverman was interested in magic. He went on to write a biography of Harry Houdini in 1996. (Kerr Studios)

Dr. Silvermans initial focus was on American Colonial poetry, and his career was launched by A Cultural History of the American Revolution (1976), a 700-page survey that literally galvanized the past, the literary scholar John Seelye wrote in The Washington Post, sending electricity down Franklins Promethean kitestring.

But two childhood interests, magic and Jewish identity, pushed him in new directions. Growing up, he was often beaten up because he was Jewish, said his daughter, Willa Silverman. He found refuge in part through performing card and coin tricks.

His interests culminated in his 1996 Houdini biography, which he titled with a bit of showbiz glamour: Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss, American Self-Liberator, Europes Eclipsing Sensation, Worlds Handcuff King & Prison Breaker  Nothing on Earth Can Hold Houdini a Prisoner!!!

The book was a remarkable achievement, the magician Teller wrote in a review for the New York Times, and a work of scholarship so extensive that Dr. Silverman published his sources and notes in a separate volume.

Dr. Silverman had lung cancer and died at a hospital in Manhattan, his daughter said. His marriages to Sharon Medjuck and Jill Bokor ended in divorce. Survivors include his partner of 34 years, Jane Mallison of Manhattan; two children from his first marriage; and three grandchildren.

Dr. Silvermans books also included Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-Ending Remembrance (1991), about the author; Lightning Man: The Accursed Life of Samuel F.B. Morse (2003), about the painter and inventor; and Begin Again: A Biography of John Cage (2010), about the composer.

At the time of his death, Dr. Silverman had completed a draft of a short biography of the poet Emma Lazarus and started work on a book about author Gertrude Stein, Mallison said. Above the desk where he worked was a quote from the painter Robert Rauschenberg, a kind of motto that spoke to the difficulty that Dr. Silverman said he encountered in writing each of his books: Youre not going anywhere unless theres a wall in front of you.
PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY

These were among cases received recently by the Prince Georges County Animal Management Division. Call 301-780-7200 for directions to the county animal shelter, hours of operation, and adoption and licensing procedures. The department website is princegeorgespets4us.com.

Rabbit pickup: Rhode Island Ave., 8800 block, College Park, June 29. A woman requested pickup of a friendly rabbit she was holding in a cardboard box. An animal control officer removed the rabbit and transferred it to a rescue group July 6.

Three little ducks: Annapolis Rd., 15400 block, Bowie, June 30. An animal control officer picked up three ducklings and transferred them to a rescue group July 1.

Officer pickup: Crain Hwy., 1900 block, Bowie, July 4. A Bowie police officer requested help with a medium-sized stray dog he was holding in the back of his cruiser. An animal control officer picked up the 1-year-old brown male Siberian husky. The dog was reunited with its owner the same day.

Hobbling mastiff: Brooke Lane, 12400 block, Upper Marlboro, July 3. A woman reported a large, hobbling dog with an apparent injury to its ear. An officer picked up the 6-year-old tan male mastiff. The dogs owner was located, and they were reunited the same day.

Boxer in basement: Glen View Dr., 9600 block, Clinton, July 3. A man reported finding a stray dog on the street and holding it in his basement. An animal control officer removed the 2-year-old black female boxer. The dog was claimed by its owner July 5.

PET ADOPTION CLINIC

SPCA/Humane Society of Prince Georges County is sponsoring cat and dog adoptions noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Petco, 2319-D Forest Dr., Annapolis. The pets foster owners will answer questions and accept adoption applications for the animals. Adoption fees are $75 for cats, $180 for dogs. For information, call 301-262-5625 or visit pgspca.org.

VOLUNTEER NEEDS

SPCA/Humane Society of Prince Georges County, an all-volunteer organization, needs volunteers 18 and older to assist in a variety of tasks. Opportunities include photography and videography, social-media outreach, adoption show assistance, administration, and pet fostering. Call 301-262-5625 or visit pgspca.org/get-involved/volunteer .

County Animal Management Division seeks volunteers to assist animals in need by joining the pet foster-family program. Foster families provide a safe, loving home to animals that are injured, very young, recovering from surgery or in need of other special care until they are adoptable. Call 301-780-7219 or visit princegeorgespets4us.com.

Partnership for Animal Welfare needs volunteers to foster homeless dogs and cats, provide transportation to vet appointments and handle animals at adoption shows. For information, go to paw-rescue.org or leave a message at 301-572-4729.
A Maryland man was charged in connection with the killing of a former FBI agent found dead in March under a woodpile and a plastic tarp outside his home.

Jason Byrd, 42, was arrested Monday after police say he was part of a conversation over texts in which the victims estranged wife thanked Byrd for being her muscleman.

The exchange occurred March 16, shortly before the body of Scott Alan Horn, 62, was discovered, charging papers said.

Byrds arrest comes about a week after Horns wife, Anne Allen, 62, was charged with murder in the case. Byrd and Allen were in a romantic relationship, charging papers said.

The case stems from March 16, when Horns children reported him missing, police said. Horns son later discovered his fathers body under a tarp and a pile of firewood in the yard of his home about 9 p.m. in the 200 block of Patuxent Road in Laurel, police said.

Anne Allen (Laurel Police)

Though police did not detail the role Byrd allegedly played in the killing, charging papers said Byrd and his truck were spotted at the home the day Horn was discovered dead.

[Estranged wife charged in killing of former FBI agent]

Police said Byrd received the text from Horns estranged wife thanking him while police were investigating Horns disappearance.

Byrd, of Westminster, was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and the use of a handgun in a crime of violence, according to Laurel police.

Online records do not list an attorney for Byrd, who is jailed.

Police said they had been developing evidence and their case in Horns slaying since March, leading to Allens and Byrds arrests this month.

Allen and Horn were in the middle of a divorce, court records show. The couple had a history of domestic violence allegations between them, according to police and court records.

Allen accused Horn of treating her consistently cruelly and unconscionably both physically and emotionally, divorce papers state.

Horn, accused Allen of assaulting him and said she repeatedly and maliciously filed false criminal accusations against him, according to divorce filings he made.
A construction worker in Oxon Hill, Md., died Wednesday morning after being trapped up to his chest at a site, officials said.

Few details were immediately available, and the persons name was not released, pending the notification of relatives.

The incident happened in the 700 block of Neptune Avenue near Indian Head Highway.

It was not known how the worker became trapped.

Prince Georges County Police said in a tweet that the worker was a man who was killed while performing utility work on a road.

Officials said they do not suspect any foul play at this time.
A Montgomery County correctional officer has been charged with forcing an inmate to perform a sex act in her jail cell, according to police allegations filed Wednesday in a case that could hinge on DNA evidence the inmate allegedly saved and hid for investigators.

Authorities said the incident unfolded Tuesday morning at the countys main jail, near Clarksburg. Later in the day, authorities questioned the suspect, Olukunle A. Oyekanmi, 41, at his residence, where they say in court filings that he admitted to the sexual assault.

Oyekanmi was charged with second-degree sex offense, assault, malfeasance in office and other counts, and booked into the countys intake detention center in Rockville, according to court records. He posted a $20,000 bond Wednesday and was released.

Oyekanmi could not be reached for comment. It is not clear from online court records whether he has an attorney.

Robert Green, director of the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, said Oyekanmi began working for the facility in December but is no longer an employee of the department, an employment status that changed Wednesday.

Olukunle A. Oyekanmi, 41, has been charged with second-degree sex offense, assault, malfeasance in office and other counts. (Montgomery County Police )

Green said that after corrections officials learned of the inmates allegations, they cooperated with detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department.

We fully support investigations of this nature, Green said. It does not reflect the values of the men and women of the department who do this work every day. . . . We have great correctional officers.

According to the inmates account, Oyekanmi walked into her cell at 6:20 a.m. Tuesday. She was wearing pants and no shirt but was under the sheets in bed. Oyekanmi allegedly removed the sheet, fondled her and said he wanted her now, according to an arrest affidavit filed by investigators.

The inmate ignored Oyekanmis statement, and he left the cell, according to court papers.

The inmate, identified only by initials in the court papers, said Oyekanmi returned to her cell a short time later and repeatedly ordered her to stand up. When she did, he grabbed her, she tried to pull away, and he directed her to sit on a toilet seat, where he sexually assaulted her, according to the affidavit.

Oyekanmi then ordered [the inmate] to gather up her clothes and bring them down to the laundry, detectives wrote in court papers. While collecting her clothes, though, the inmate hid a pair of pants in her cell that contained possible evidence.

In their affidavit, detectives described information they say confirmed various parts of the victims account.

The detectives said they watched video footage from the pod where the inmate was housed, and it showed Oyekanmi entering her cell several times  the last time for an extended period.

When he exits, investigators wrote, describing the video footage, the victim is seen exiting her cell and bringing what appeared to be clothing to the laundry located in the pod. Detectives had the victims cell secured and documented, and collected items of evidentiary value.

The inmate was taken to a hospital for a forensic sex assault exam.

Green said his agency has about 360 uniformed staff members across its facilities.

Oyekanmi underwent a background check before he was hired. Had there been any indication of such behavior, he wouldnt have been hired, Green said.

Green said the correctional facility in Clarksburg was one of the first local jails in the country to comply with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, and has worked to create a culture that supports the reporting of sexual assaults involving inmates or staff.

Part of being a good organization is policing your own organization, he said. Youve got to get the facts, and the facts must prevail.

Eddy Palanzo contributed to this report.
Prince Georges County police on Wednesday announced an arrest in a double homicide in District Heights and identified the victim in another fatal shooting in the city.

Karon Moore, 20, of Forestville faces first-degree murder and related charges in the double slaying last week, police said. He is in jail pending trial.

In that case, officers responded to a call reporting gunfire shortly before 1 a.m. July 6 in the 6600 block of Atwood Street. Officers found the two gunshot victims, Phillip Michael, 34, of Southeast Washington and Kenneth Edmonds, 31, of District Heights. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

[Prince Georges police beef up patrols after tallying 12 homicides in 11 days]

The suspect and the victims knew one another and were part of a larger group that had been in an argument before the shooting, police said.

Prince Georges police also identified a man who was fatally shot early Tuesday in District Heights as Traumone Lesene, 29, of Southwest Washington.

Lesene was found shortly after 2:30 a.m. in the 1500 block of Forest Park Drive, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another man was shot, but his injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, police said.

The incident does not appear to be random, police said, and detectives are investigating whether the shooting was a case of self-defense.

The three slayings are among 13 homicides that Prince Georges County and Greenbelt police have been investigating since July 1.
Police said they made an arrest after shots were fired in the District at two cars, one of them a police car. iStock) (iStock/iStock)

For reasons best known to themselves, people in cars driving on the street sometimes fire shots at other cars. But it might have seemed unlikely that anyone wishing to shoot at a vehicle would open fire on a police car.

However, that is what the police say happened early Monday in Southeast Washington. According to police, a shot was fired from another vehicle at a police car in the 2200 block of Savannah Street SE about 2 a.m.

Officers were in the car at the time, and the rear fender of their car was struck, the police said. After the gunfire, police said someone drove away became involved in a collision at Alabama Avenue and Stanton Road and ran from the crash scene. Police who investigated the incident said they found a gun.

Two days before that, police said, at about the same time of the morning, in the 3000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue someone shot from one vehicle into another. A car was hit and an occupant was wounded, police said. They said the wound was not life-threatening.

Police said they made an arrest Monday in the the Pennsylvania Avenue incident.

They said Randy Sparrow, 31, of Southeast, was charged in that incident with assault with a dangerous weapon.

After further investigation, police said, they charged the same man with assault on a police officer while armed.

The arrest and the charges were reported by police in a statement on Tuesday. But the statement gave no motive for the gunfire.
Correction: Earlier versions of this article incorrectly said the program has shielded more than 800,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation. The correct number is 787,580 undocumented immigrants, as of March, the most recent data available. The story has been corrected.

Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly leaves after meeting with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Wednesday. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)

Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in a closed-door meeting Wednesday that an initiative that grants work permits to nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants may not survive a looming legal challenge.

Kelly declined to take questions after the meeting, but his spokesman said the secretary told the lawmakers that the Obama-era program, which shields immigrants brought to the United States as children, is at risk.

This is what hes being told by different attorneys, that if it goes to court it might not survive, DHS spokesman David Lapan said. If Congress does not pass a bill to protect the program, he added, theyre leaving it in the hands of the courts to make a decision.

Kellys meeting with the caucus came nearly two weeks after officials from 11 states warned Attorney General Jeff Sessions they would sue the federal government if it does not rescind President Barack Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program by Sept. 5.

The officials also want Homeland Security to gradually phase out the program by refusing to renew the two-year permits or issue new ones.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), center, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, departs after a meeting with Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)

Members of the Hispanic caucus said they urged Kelly to support bipartisan legislation known as the Bridge Act that would effectively preserve the DACA program. But they expressed skepticism that the Republican-controlled Congress would pass any law to spare undocumented immigrants from deportation  or that the Trump administration would defend DACA in court.

Jeff Sessions is going to say, Deport them,  a visibly shaken Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said in English and Spanish, noting that the attorney general had been a fierce opponent of illegal immigration as a senator from Alabama. If youre going to count on Jeff Sessions to save DACA, then DACA is ended.

As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to revoke DACA, which was created in 2012, along with a 2014 executive order that also sought to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation.

Obama signed the orders after failing to persuade the House to pass an immigration bill that would create a path to citizenship for the countrys estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.

DACA flourished, but the 2014 order, which would have expanded DACA and protected the parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents from deportation, was blocked by a lawsuit filed by Texas and other states.

Last month, Kelly officially rescinded the 2014 order, saying the administration saw no legal path to implementing it. But he left DACA untouched, and his agency has continued to renew work permits and issue new ones through the program, angering Trumps base.

Texas and the other plaintiff states have said they would drop the lawsuit against the 2014 program if the government rescinds DACA; otherwise, they will amend the lawsuit to target the existing program, as well.

(Meg Kelly,Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

The Trump administration has moved to implement many of the presidents chief campaign promises on immigration, including curtailing refugee arrivals, temporarily banning the entry of certain travelers from six Muslim-majority countries, and detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants.

However, the Trump administration is still struggling to secure congressional support for one of his signature campaign promises: to erect a big, beautiful wall on the southern border.

Members of the Hispanic caucus said Kelly told them Wednesday that federal programs that grant Haitians, Salvadorans and Hondurans temporary protected status because of past disasters in their homelands are also at risk of being canceled, or not renewed, by the Trump administration. Haiti and Honduras are set to lose that status in January.

Lapan said Kelly has not made a decision about Haiti or the Central American nations, but he has signaled that the protections could end.
Alarmed that Ed Gillespie barely won the Virginia GOP primary for governor in June, top Republicans from the White House on down are pushing him to hire some of the presidents strategists and more aggressively court Trump voters, according to Republicans with direct knowledge of those efforts.

In addition, the Republican National Committee has taken charge of field operations for the Gillespie campaign, according to two Republicans who called it a sign that the national party is worried about Gillespies team.

Aligning with Trump strategists could be a stomach-churner for Gillespie, whose resume reads establishment Republican: counselor to President George W. Bush, former Republican National Committee chairman, lobbyist. Gillespie got behind Trump only after he had sewn up the 2016 nomination. Now, Gillespie studiously avoids discussing the president.

Running a campaign in the Trump style could be risky in purple Virginia, the only Southern state Hillary Clinton won and where Trumps approval rating sat at 36 percent in a Washington Post-Schar School poll in May.

So far, Gillespie has resisted the advice  to the chagrin of activists who say his campaign desperately needs shaking up.

(Dalton Bennett/The Washington Post)

The course Gillespie takes will have meaning not only in November but also in 2018, when scores of other Republicans running for state and federal offices in swing districts across the country try to win over Trump voters as well as those repelled by the president.

Gillespie is the next Republican candidate to wrestle with the factions of the Republican Party and the challenge of also needing independent voters, said Nathan L. Gonzales, editor of the nonpartisan Inside Elections.

John Fredericks, the host of a conservative radio show who helped run Trumps Virginia campaign, has urged Gillespie to add advisers who know how to reach Trump voters. If they dont figure this out, it can cost them the election, he said.

In the primary, Gillespie was strongest in Northern Virginia but lost the largely white, rural vote in Southwest and Southside Virginia  Trump country  to his GOP rival, Corey Stewart.

Still, GOP strategists critical of Trump say Gillespie, who had the support of 91 percent of Republicans in a recent Quinnipiac University poll, would be smart to keep his distance.

Ed is going to have a difficult enough time winning with Trump in the White House, said John Weaver, chief strategist for Ohio Gov. John Kasichs 2016 presidential bid and a longtime adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Adding Trumps bullying, foolish staff  who focus on narrow casting and messaging to the lowest common denominator  would dramatically decrease Eds chances in a state, as a Republican, where you have to build a broad coalition to win.

Gillespie campaign spokesman David Abrams did not respond directly to questions about outreach from the White House and others. He issued a brief statement that sought to shift the focus to Gillespies Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam.

Ed is working hard every day to earn the support of everyone who will be hurt by Ralph Northams liberal agenda, it said, noting that the campaign expects to expand its staff as a part of a post-primary scale-up, not a course correction.

The White House, former Virginia governor George Allen and state lawmakers have been urging Gillespie to tap Trumps strategists, six Republicans familiar with that outreach said. Some were pushing Corey Lewandowski, Trumps bombastic early campaign manager, they said.

The six  a mix of Richmond and Washington political operatives and party insiders  spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive campaign matters.

To date, Gillespie has run a mainstream Republican campaign, the centerpiece of which is a 10 percent income tax cut. He supports gun rights and opposes abortion but has played down social issues.

He has avoided the Southern heritage issues Stewart nearly rode to victory. While Stewart decried Charlottesvilles plans to remove a Robert E. Lee statue, Gillespie said he opposed removal but thought it was the citys call. As Stewart vowed to jail sanctuary city mayors, Gillespie said he wanted to be a governor for all Virginians.

Gillespie was mum on Trumps travel ban and his firing of FBI director James B. Comey. He has refused to take a position on the GOP health-care plans pending in Congress, although he did roll out a proposal to address the states opioid epidemic on Tuesday.

Some Republicans say Gillespie should take harder lines against illegal immigration and the protection of Confederate monuments. Others say that his positions are already sufficiently conservative but that he should sharpen his tone.

And still others say Gillespie must demonstrate support for Trump  or at least White House policies that play well in the state, such as efforts to improve Veterans Affairs, ease regulatory burdens on coal and other industries, and boost infrastructure spending.

When there are Trump administration initiatives that are particularly beneficial to Virginia, he should say: This is good. I endorse it,  Allen said.

The White House has offered to dispatch Trump family members to stump for Gillespie, but so far he has not accepted, according to one Republican familiar with the discussions.

Hes surrounded himself with Never Trumpers, and they dont know how to navigate this new dynamic in the party, said a Republican familiar with the outreach. White House officials want to help and they want to embrace, but youve got to want to be hugged. You cant blanch.

Late last month, White House political director Bill Stepien met with Gillespie campaign manager Chris Leavitt and Virginia party activists in Washington. Activists lit into Leavitt for nearly losing the primary, said two people familiar with the discussion.

Wendell Walker, the partys vice chairman for the western half of the state, left convinced that the campaign was listening. But others fear the campaign remains overconfident.

I feel like Im on the Titanic right now, one Republican insider said. Were about to hit an iceberg. Hey, we need to turn! Youve got the current Ed Gillespie team saying, Nah, hold my beer, we got this. 

The RNC has long played a part in field operations for various campaigns but is taking a more forceful role than usual in Virginia, calling shots more than collaborating, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.

Garren Shipley, Virginia spokesman for the RNC, called the ground game a collaborative effort among the RNC, the Republican Governors Association, the state party and the campaign. Everyone quite literally has a seat at the table, he said.

Gillespie was expected to handily win Junes primary. But he finished just 1.2 percentage points ahead of Stewart  almost recount territory.

The next day, a handful of Republicans asked Lewandowski whether he would meet with and consider advising Gillespie, according to two Republicans with direct knowledge of the effort. Lewandowski agreed, but Gillespie was said to have flatly rejected the idea. Lewandowski declined to comment.

Others have suggested that Gillespie tap different Trump operatives, including those who helped him win tough battles in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

[Trump parts ways with campaign manager]

No ones pushing one particular person, said a Republican familiar with the efforts. The message that has been delivered by multiple people is, Ed, just bring somebody in from Trump world who understands Trump. 

Virginia is a swing state, but one that increasingly leans blue. Republicans have not won a statewide election since 2009. Gillespie came close to unseating Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), a highly popular former governor, in his first bid for elective office in 2014. Leading Gillespies Senate bid was Leavitt, his current campaign manager.

Gillespie will need Republicans of all stripes  plus independents  to have any hope of overcoming the advantage Northam has in the states heavily Democratic population centers.

That task became harder still late last month, as Libertarian Cliff Hyra qualified for the ballot. A legitimate third-party alternative . . . gives Trump voters somewhere to go, Fredericks said. For Ed, it is a ring-the-alarm bell, red-alert fire.

Some are urging Gillespie to make peace with Stewart, who never made a concession call.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said he spoke to state party leaders after the primary about the need to unify up and down the ticket.

But an attempt by a mutual friend to bring them together recently fell apart. Stewart has said he will vote for Gillespie but wont endorse him without more forceful stands on Confederate monuments, illegal immigration and other issues. Maybe take some testosterone supplements and just get out there and start beating the hell out of Northam, said Stewart, who has mocked Gillespie as Establishment Ed and called his stump speeches boring.

[Democrat Ralph Northam has early lead in Virginia governors race, poll finds]

Gillespie has adopted a more aggressive tone lately. Ahead of July 4, he called for legalizing bottle rockets and Roman candles  an effort to appeal to liberty-minded voters  in a video that showed him lighting fireworks and dashing to safety.

During the primary, Gillespie declined so many debates that Stewart branded him No-Show Ed. But after Gillespie won the primary, he challenged Northam to 10. When Northam agreed to just three, Gillespie was ready with a warmed-over insult: No-Show Northam.

[With fireworks, Ed Gillespie tries to light a fire under his bid for Virginia governor]

Stewart sees that as the sincerest form of flattery  and a good sign.

Doesnt bother me in the least, he said. I want him to win.
Crosses mark the burial sites of four of the earliest leaders of the English colony that would become America, near the altar of what was Americas first Protestant church, in Jamestown, Va. (Joe Fudge/Daily Press via Associated Press)

A nonprofit preservation group has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to try to halt the electrical transmission line planned for across the James River near Jamestown, the site of the historic settlement.

Dominion Energy won final federal approval for the project last week, which will feature 17 towers, some nearly 300 feet in height, marching across the river. The James City County Board of Supervisors approved a switching station for the project earlier this week.

[Feds approve transmission line across the river near Jamestown]

Historic preservationists have opposed the project on the grounds that it will alter a landscape that has changed little since Capt. John Smith and the Virginia Company founded the first permanent English settlement in America more than 400 years ago.

If we allow this to happen to one of Americas most important historic areas, whats next for our other national parks? said Theresa Pierno, chief executive of the National Parks Conservation Association, which filed the lawsuit in federal court in Washington. We will continue to fight in court to ensure that reckless development does not destroy this treasured and historic area.

Dominion says the towers will not be visible from the historic fort on Jamestown Island, but they will be just downstream near Carters Grove Plantation in an area thick with history.

Environmentalists also have warned that the crossing will threaten an endangered population of sturgeon that spawn in that area of the river.

[Endangered sturgeon at center of Jamestown battle over power lines]

But the utility has said the 500,000-volt line is necessary to ensure reliable power for the Virginia Peninsula region as two coal-fired plants in Yorktown are phased out because of environmental standards.

The Corps of Engineers considered alternatives, including digging the line under the river, but found the crossing to be the best option.

The Army Corps and other approving agencies followed the law and based their permitting decisions on sound legal basis after considerable study and input from the public and various other constituents, Dominion spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson said in an email. This has been one of the most heavily scrutinized infrastructure projects in the history of Virginia and any further delay in its construction will only put at greater risk our ability to keep the lights on in the Peninsula.

The conservation group said the Corps failed to conduct a full environmental impact statement and is asking the court to halt the project until alternatives are given more scrutiny.

A spokesman for the Army Corps said the agency is unable to comment on matters in litigation.
CONGO

U.N. identifies 38 more potential mass graves

An additional 38 probable mass graves have been found in central Congo, where violence between troops and militia members has killed thousands since August, the United Nations announced Wednesday.

This would mean that at least 80 mass graves have been identified so far, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Central African nation said.

The international community has expressed alarm over the violence in the Kasai region. Some have suggested that the tensions are also tied to Congos presidential election, which has been delayed since last year.

The Catholic Church estimates that more than 3,300 Congolese have died in the fighting.

The United Nations says that more than a million people have been displaced, making Congo the African country with the most internally displaced people  an estimated 3.8 million.

The latest mass graves were found this month in the Diboko and Sumbula areas of Kamonia territory by an investigative team from the local U.N. human rights office and Congos military justice authorities, the United Nations said.

 Associated Press

SUDAN

Talks with U.S. frozen over sanctions decision

Sudan announced Wednesday that it was freezing negotiations with the United States in retaliation for the Trump administrations move to postpone permanently lifting U.S. sanctions on the African country.

Earlier, Washington said it wanted more time to determine whether the government of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir had made enough progress after decades of isolation, war and abuses.

After the U.S. announcement, Bashir decided to suspend the work of the negotiating committee with the U.S. until Oct. 12, according to a brief announcement carried by the official Sudan News Agency. Bashir and his government had previously said the country had met all requirements and expected the sanctions to be lifted.

Just before leaving office in January, President Barack Obama issued an executive order lifting decades-old Sudan sanctions on a probationary basis. Temporary sanctions relief took effect immediately, and it was to become permanent on Wednesday unless the Trump administration acted to stop it.

President Trump, in an executive order issued Tuesday, moved that deadline back by three months while keeping the temporary sanctions relief in place.

The Obama administration had cited improved counterterrorism efforts and other progress in Sudan as justification for lifting the sanctions. But human rights activists and opposition groups have said the sanctions should stay in place.

Sudan has been under U.S. financial sanctions since the 1990s.

 Associated Press

INDONESIA

Presidential decree targets radical groups

Indonesias president has signed a decree giving the government the power to ban radical organizations, in a move aimed at outlawing groups behind an apparent rise in the political clout of hard-line Islam.

The measure follows months of sectarian tensions in the worlds most populous Muslim nation that have undermined its reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam.

The decree amends an existing law regulating mass organizations, allowing the government to sidestep a potentially lengthy court process to implement a ban. It is likely that Hizb ut-Tahrir, a group that campaigns for Indonesia to adopt sharia law and become a caliphate, is among the targets of the decree.

Wiranto, the coordinating minister for politics, security and law, said Wednesday that the decree is aimed at protecting the unity and existence of Indonesia as a nation and not at discrediting Islamist groups.

Hizb ut-Tahrir and groups such as the violent Islamic Defenders Front were behind months of massive protests in Jakarta, the capital, against the citys minority Christian governor, who was accused of blaspheming Islam. He subsequently lost a bid for reelection to a Muslim candidate and was sentenced to prison for two years for blasphemy.

 Associated Press

Predominantly Catholic Malta legalizes same-sex marriage: Lawmakers in predominantly Roman Catholic Malta have voted to legalize same-sex marriage, replacing the traditional you are now husband and wife declaration in civil ceremonies with you are now spouses. Only one out of 67 lawmakers voted against the legislation, signaling its broad support on the island nation despite opposition from the Catholic Church.

Boko Haram kills 19 in Nigeria: Four Boko Haram suicide bombers killed 19 people in attacks that targeted a civilian self-defense force and the people who gathered to mourn members deaths, police in Nigeria said. It was the deadliest violence in months in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Harams insurgency. The government declared last year that the Islamist extremist group had been crushed, but deadly attacks continue.

 From news services
Michael E. Mann is distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University and director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center. Susan Joy Hassol is the director of Climate Communication LLC. Tom Toles is the editorial cartoonist for The Post.

It is easy to understand why advocates for climate action have become somewhat dispirited in recent months. In the space of less than a year, weve seen the United States go from playing a leading role in international climate negotiations to now being the only nation in the world to renege on its commitment to the 2015 Paris climate accord.

It is in this environment of defeat and despair that weve witnessed a dramatic rise in the prominence of climate doomism  commentary that portrays climate change not just as a threat that requires an urgent response but also as an essentially lost cause, a hopeless fight. Some of the more egregious examples can be found among fringe characters such as ecologist Guy McPherson a doomist cult hero who insists that exponential climate change likely will render human beings and all other species extinct within 10 years.

Such rhetoric is in many ways as pernicious as outright climate change denial, for it leads us down the same path of inaction. Whether climate change is a hoax (as President Trump has asserted) or beyond our control (as McPherson insists), there would obviously be no reason to cut carbon emissions.

(Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Doomist narratives, albeit of a more nuanced and subtle variety, are now starting to appear in respected, mainstream venues, written by otherwise able and thoughtful journalists. In this vein comes a recent New York magazine article The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells.

It is important to be up front about the risks of unmitigated climate change, and it is critical to keep in mind the potential for unpleasant surprises and worst-case scenarios, the so-called fat tail of risk. It is, moreover, appropriate to criticize those who understate the risks. But there is also a danger in overstatement that presents the problem as unsolvable and future outcomes as inevitable.

The New York magazine article paints an overly bleak picture, arguing that climate change could render the Earth uninhabitable by the end of this century. Its opening story about the flooding of a seed vault in Norway leaves out that one of the vaults creators told NPR there was really no flood. It exaggerates the near-term threat of climate feedbacks involving the release of frozen methane. It mischaracterizes one recent study as demonstrating that the globe is warming more than twice as fast as scientists had thought, when in fact the study in question simply showed that one dataset that had tended to show less warming than other datasets has now been brought in line with the others after some problems were corrected for. The warming of the globe is progressing as models predicted. And that is plenty bad enough.

The evidence that climate change is a serious challenge that we must tackle now is very clear. There is no need to overstate it, particularly when it feeds a paralyzing narrative of doom and hopelessness. Some seem to think that people need to be shocked and frightened to get them to engage with climate change. But research shows that the most motivating emotions are worry, interest and hope. Importantly, fear does not motivate, and appealing to it is often counter-productive as it tends to distance people from the problem, leading them to disengage, doubt and even dismiss it.

It is important to communicate both the threat and the opportunity in the climate challenge. Those paying attention are worried, and should be, but there are also reasons for hope. The active engagement of many cities, states and corporations, and the commitments of virtually every nation (minus one) is a very hopeful sign. The rapid movement in the global energy market towards cleaner options is another. Experts are laying out pathways to avoid disastrous levels of climate change and clearly expressing the urgency of action. There is still time to avoid the worst outcomes, if we act boldly now, not out of fear, but out of confidence that the future is largely in our hands.
What lessons can we take from the Islamic States defeat in Mosul and its coming eviction from Raqqa? The collapse of the caliphate tells us that the United States can succeed militarily in the Middle East if  and probably only if  it works with local forces who are prepared to do the fighting and dying.

Where the massive U.S. ground campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade and a half became expensive exercises in frustration, the war against the Islamic State has been far less costly in money and American lives  and also more successful. Amazingly, over the past three years, just five Americans have been killed in action in Syria and Iraq, according to the U.S. military.

The overall human toll has been horrific, even if Americans havent been paying the price. A triumphal Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi proclaimed victory in Mosul on Monday, but pictures of the city showed a devastated wasteland of pulverized buildings. We may never know how many thousands of civilians lie under the rubble.

Because the U.S. footprint and casualty levels have been so modest, to Americans this war has mostly been out of sight, out of mind. But its worth examining how the strategy has worked militarily  and to recognize the lack of any corresponding political strategy, which may well cause problems down the road.

The American campaign has been built around Special Operations forces. The SOF slogan has been that the battle must be waged by, with and through local partners. That has meant training, equipping and advising Iraqi and Syrian soldiers  then providing them with air support that has relentlessly pounded the enemy.

The most brutally efficient part of the campaign has been the secret capture or kill strikes by the United States and some of its partners. In simple terms, when the United States has had actionable intelligence about a terrorist operative, it has tried to take that person off the battlefield.

The marriage of local ground forces with U.S. drones, warplanes and intelligence has been potent. Linda Robinson, a Rand Corp. analyst who spent weeks observing the fight this spring in Iraq and Syria, wrote in a recent blog post that the United States has found a new way of warfighting.

Credit for this innovative campaign goes to the U.S. military, which became increasingly confident after a slow start; to President Barack Obama, who sent thousands of U.S. troops to Iraq and Syria despite public wariness; and to President Trump, who delegated decisions to the military in ways that accelerated the campaign.

The surprise has been how motivated and disciplined the Iraqi and Syrian forces have been. Theyve fought bravely, taking significant casualties. And for the most part, they have cooperated across sectarian lines.

In Iraq, the United States has relied on two battle-hardened forces: the Iraqi armys Counter Terrorism Service and the Kurdish peshmerga. The two cooperate on the battlefield (even as their political leaders continue to bicker). Meanwhile, Iraqs Shiite militias, which analysts feared would undermine the fight against the Sunni extremists, havent played that spoiler role.

In Syria, Americas decisive ally has been the Kurdish militia known as the YPG. This partnership began almost by accident back in 2014, when the marauding Islamic State was on the verge of capturing Kobani in northern Syria. Iraqi Kurds from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan militia touted the Syrian YPG to their American advisers, and an improvised system of spotting, targeting and air assault evolved. The Americans were astonished by the determination of the Kurds, and a warriors kinship developed.

The Syrian Kurds were an awkward ally politically, because Turkey regards them (probably rightly) as an offshoot of the terrorist PKK. But as U.S. Central Command commander Gen. Joseph Votel told me at a training base inside Syria a year ago, We have to go with what weve got in Syria, which meant the Kurdish-led force.

This sort of improvised approach has characterized the U.S. effort since 2014. Rather than build the ideal force on a U.S. model, commanders adapted. Political problems  bitter Turkish opposition, Iraqi Kurdish ambitions for independence, incoherent political strategy for Syria  were put on the shelf for later. The military strategy has been built on political quicksand, but its still standing.

In 2012, the CIA conducted a study that argued that American support for such local forces had rarely worked. But sources say that agency analysts had an important caveat: In the U.S. interventions that were successful, the United States had operated closely with its partners on the battlefield. This finding seems to have been reinforced in Syria and Iraq.

Read more from David Ignatiuss archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Karl Racine is the D.C. attorney general. Beth McCann is the district attorney for Denver. Miriam Aroni Krinsky is the executive director for Fair and Just Prosecution.

This March, Florida State Attorney Aramis Ayala announced that she would not seek the death penalty in any case before her office. Instead, Ayala said she would revisit the issue if the chaotic circumstances surrounding Floridas death penalty  recently struck down twice  changed.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) didnt approve, so he unilaterally reassigned about two dozen homicide cases from her jurisdiction to a state attorney known for his death penalty advocacy.

Now the two are facing off at the Florida Supreme Court in what has become just the latest constitutional crisis in our country with potentially dire consequences for our criminal-justice system. At stake is the authority of elected prosecutors to make decisions about how to handle their criminal cases. A decision in the case may come as soon as this week.

Scott argues that he gets the authority for this unprecedented move from a statute that has historically been used for consensual reassignments.

But that statute does not cover the impartial, reasoned, entirely appropriate exercise of discretionary decision-making that Ayala engaged in here. The governor has no authority under any statute or the Florida Constitution to usurp Ayalas prosecutorial autonomy, which comes directly from the constitution. The governor admitted as much when he previously said that only voters could remove an elected public defender found to have violated ethics rules.

That is why we, along with dozens of former prosecutors and judges, including four former Florida Supreme Court justices and two former U.S. solicitors general, joined in an amicus brief urging the court to protect prosecutorial independence and reject the governors attempt to override a duly elected state attorneys exercise of discretion.

Ayala was overwhelmingly elected to serve Orange and Osceola counties. She made her decision after weighing the heinousness of the crimes, the lack of deterrent value in pursuing the death penalty, the best interests of victims and their family members, and the millions of dollars needed to reach execution, concluding that death penalty prosecutions were not in the best interest of her community.

This was a transparent and reasoned exercise of her discretion as an elected prosecutor. Legislatures establish the crimes that can be prosecuted and the range of punishments sought. But it is the locally elected prosecutors who must decide which prosecutions and punishments to pursue. These decisions are an inherent part of the independent exercise of prosecutorial autonomy  decisions that must be free from political or executive intrusion.

Prosecutors cant prosecute every crime and must determine fair, smart and consistent ways to employ limited resources. Examples of blanket pleading, charging and sentencing decisions  inherent in the independent autonomy and exercise of discretion by elected district and state attorneys  arise every day.

As a case in point, New Yorks Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., announced last month that his office would no longer prosecute turnstile jumping. In this blanket announcement, which ends prosecution of about 20,000 low-level offenders annually, Vance made a reasoned decision that, in his mind, best advanced public safety and accounted for inherently limited prosecutorial resources.

All prosecutors make decisions based on the local communitys challenges and needs. In Houston, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg recently put in place expansive policies to divert certain marijuana users, avoiding the human and fiscal cost of criminalizing drug addiction. In Chicago, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx has changed charging practices for certain theft offenses, in an effort to dramatically reduce the number of incarcerated individuals in her county.

And Ayalas decision on the death penalty is not without precedent. Locke Bell, the district attorney for Gaston County, N.C., made a similar announcement on how his office would handle these cases. Denver District Attorney Beth McCann (one of the authors of this piece) announced in her campaign this year that she would not seek the death penalty and was elected with more than 70 percent of the vote. Larry Krasner, the presumptive next district attorney of Philadelphia, has also made that pledge. This is the essence of prosecutorial discretion.

What Floridas governor has done deprives local voters of their right to choose a state attorney who aligns with their values. Indeed, one poll found that a majority of Orange and Osceola county voters support life imprisonment over the death penalty. If these voters do not like how the state attorney is using her discretion, they can choose a different representative in the next election.

Preserving prosecutorial independence does not mean that everyone will like or agree with every decision. But the governors decision, if left unchecked, could fundamentally subvert the independence of prosecutors to pursue justice  and that is a dangerous place to be.
That quaking beneath your feet is from shock waves in Washington where tipping points are merging with other tipping points to create the Mother of All Tipping Points.

Not only did Donald Trump Jr. meet with a Russian attorney who, he was told, had damaging information about Hillary Clinton, but also there are emails indicating that he knew in advance that the opposition research was part of the Kremlins effort to help Donald Trump become president.

If thats not collusion, it seems at least collusioney, a newly minted term surely destined to erase all memory of Mondays exhaustively used nothing-burger.

Smoking guns dont need to be nearly this hot to capture Washingtons attention, but these latest revelations should be enough to make every American take a deep breath. Whether Trump Jr. is merely stupid is yet to be determined, but he wasnt alone in that meeting. Joining him were his brother-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Paul J. Manafort, then Trump Sr.s campaign manager, who is known to have had business dealings in Russia for a number of years.

The New York Times broke the story over the weekend, reporting that three (unnamed) individuals had corroborated the existence of the damning emails, which clearly establish intent to something. Tuesday afternoon, Trump Jr. released the email thread between him and some guy  named Rob Goldstone  a music publicist who knew some guy who knew Donald Trump vis-a-vis the Trump-owned Miss Universe contest. Got that?

(Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

Goldstone arranged the meeting, which took place in Trump Tower in June 2016  just before the Republican primary season had ended  to talk about dirt on the presumptive nominees general-election opponent. After Goldstone said that the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, had information that would incriminate Clinton, Trump Jr. replied that hed love it. Who wouldnt? Youre the namesake son of the man on track to become the Republican nominee and possibly president  and Russia wants to help him win? Hell da !

The fact that the alleged opposition research was part of Russias war on Clinton, as indicated in one of the emails, would have raised flags for most people  no, make that for all but these people. Im confident that, if the nice Ace Hardware man who recently helped me select a mailbox were to receive such an email, hed contact the FBI as soon as possible.

Which, obviously, is what Junior, Manafort and Kushner should have done.

Thus, we can presume that all three knew better than to attend such a meeting. After all, it could well have been a trap  and Im not sure it wasnt. But to the inexperienced minds of Kushner and Trump Jr., the calculation may have been as simple (and feeble) as: Why not? Defeating Clinton was in the national interest, wasnt it? And the Trumps have (or had) no pique with Russia.

Trump Jr.s claim that he didnt tell his father about the meeting rather strains credulity, dont you think? Ditto Veselnitskayas claim that she has never worked for the Kremlin and has no idea what all the fuss is about. She was here to lobby against American legislation that her client finds objectionable.

In an exclusive interview Tuesday with NBC News, Veselnitskaya said she never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton. It was never my intention to have that. Asked where Trump Jr. could have gotten that idea, she responded, It is quite possible that maybe they were longing for such an information. They wanted it so badly that they could only hear the thought that they wanted.

So, apparently, the future of the Trump presidency is in the hands of Goldstone. He set up the meeting; he brought Trump Jr. into a damning email exchange; he promised dirt. Wait, who is this guy again?

1 of 14 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The scene during the G-20 summit in Hamburg View Photos President Trump travels to Germany for the Group of 20 Summit, where he will meet with several European leaders who view him skeptically and hold starkly different views on globalization. Caption President Trump travels to Germany for the Group of 20 Summit, where he will meet with several European leaders who view him skeptically and hold starkly different views on globalization. July 7, 2017 President Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg. Steffen Kugler/European Pressphoto Agency Wait 1 second to continue.

Well, thats a very good question. Hes an intermediary for Veselnitskaya, who either (a) works for the Kremlin and possibly even Vladimir Putin; or (b) is just a lawyer/lobbyist interested in U.S. policy. Wouldnt we like to know? Also possible is that President Trump knew all along about the meeting, which may be why he acts like a cocker spaniel at a Doberman rally whenever the name Putin comes up. What did Veselnitskaya really come to say? For whom?

More shock waves are doubtless coming. Meanwhile, we know for certain: When a Russian lawyer meets privately with the future presidents son, his son-in-law and his campaign manager on a third-party promise of Clinton-disabling intel, its hard to say the Trump campaign had nothing to do with Russia. For now: Collusioney.

Read more from Kathleen Parkers archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook.
THERE CAN now be no doubt: The Russia meddling story is not just smoke but fire. Donald Trump Jr.s interactions with Russians during last years presidential campaign were abnormal and alarming. An incriminating email chain has made it impossible for the administration to deploy its always flimsy argument of last resort  that the whole story is just fake news.

Not only Mr. Trump but also presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign chairman Paul J. Manafort are involved. Following a string of misleading and false statements, Americans must also wonder: Were other Trump associates involved? Did other meetings take place? Was President Trump aware of them? What more did the Trump camp know about Kremlin support for the Trump campaign?

And then there is this recurring question: How long can the rest of the Republican Party prioritize partisanship and agenda over decency and patriotism?

The emails were released by the younger Mr. Trump after he learned that the New York Times was about to publish them. They show that in June 2016 a publicist who had been involved with Donald Trumps 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow offered the presidents son official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton]. This very high level and sensitive information would be from the Crown prosecutor of Russia, an apparent reference to Russias prosecutor general. It would be passed on as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump.

Donald Trump Jr.s reply was damning: If its what you say I love it. In subsequent emails, it was explicit that he would meet with a Russian government attorney in order to get the information.

The younger Mr. Trump and his apologists claim that he responded as would any campaign operative seeking dirt on an opponent. No. A ny ethical operative confronted by a foreign powers attempt to meddle in this way in U.S. elections would refer the matter promptly to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Instead, Mr. Trump was enthused, drawing Mr. Manafort and Mr. Kushner into a meeting with someone he believed to be a Russian government attorney. Even if the Trump camp got no dirt on Ms. Clinton out of that meeting, the Russians could have used the email chain and subsequent meeting as leverage over Mr. Trump and Mr. Kushner, who is now a top White House adviser. Mr. Trumps enthusiasm may also have communicated to the Kremlin that the Trump camp would welcome Kremlin election meddling. The Russians went on to run an anti-Clinton hacking campaign.

What now? The presidents sole comment on the matter, relayed Tuesday by principal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is that my son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency. On Monday, Ms. Sanders herself said that the only thing I see inappropriate about the meeting was the people that leaked the information about the meeting after it was voluntarily disclosed. Thats the only inappropriate thing? A responsible president should have something to say about the gross inappropriateness of this meeting and, speaking of transparency, about how and when he learned of it.

Senators questioning Christopher A. Wray, the presidents nominee to lead the FBI, in a Wednesday hearing must demand that he detail any conversation he had with Trump administration officials and commit to cooperating fully with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III in his investigation of the Trump-Russia connections. Lawmakers must pass a tough sanctions bill holding Russia accountable for its election meddling.

And Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.), must finally decide: Is this really okay? Are they really prepared to debase themselves in defense of a president whose closest advisers may have welcomed underhanded interference in Americas election from a hostile foreign power?
Hal S. Scott is professor of international financial systems at Harvard Law School and director of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation.

In recent months, the Trump administration and members of Congress have called for reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act, a Depression-era law that separated commercial banking from investment banking. That would be a serious mistake. Instead, Congress should repeal the Dodd-Frank financial reforms Hotel California provision, which prevents large banks from voluntarily separating their commercial and investment banking activities.

The biggest problem with the calls for the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall is a lack of understanding about Glass-Steagall itself.

Gary Cohn, director of President Trumps National Economic Council, has in the name of Glass-Steagall called for treating large banks and small banks differently. A good idea, but nothing to do with Glass-Steagall. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has called for a 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, but he has not specified what that means. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) recently asserted that a reinstatement of Glass-Steagall must completely separate commercial banking (accepting deposits and making loans) from investment banking (trading securities and helping companies raise capital), just like the orginal act did. Only it didnt.

It is time to clear the air. The Glass-Steagall Act prohibited commercial banks from engaging in investment banking activities and vice-versa. Therefore, commercial banks could not underwrite certain securities, and investment banks could not take customer deposits. These laws remain in effect today. There is no need to bring them back.

The Glass-Steagall Act also prohibited commercial banks from affiliating with firms principally engaged in investment banking. In practice, this meant that there was very little affiliation between commercial banks and investment banks from the 1930s until the 1980s. But in the 1980s and 1990s, the Federal Reserve interpreted principally engaged to allow for affiliates of commercial banks to derive 10 percent, and eventually 25 percent, of revenue from investment banking. So, the affiliation of commercial banks with entities engaged in investment banking became common under Glass-Steagall itself.

Then, in 1999, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), which was championed by then-Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and signed into law by President Bill Clinton, repealed the Glass-Steagall Acts restrictions on affiliation. The GLBA received widespread bipartisan support because it put the U.S. banking system on more equal footing with foreign competitors not subject to such restrictions.

However, the GLBA has received much of the blame for the 2008 financial crisis, and therefore many critics, including Warren and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), argue that we should reintroduce Glass-Steagall. In April, they and other senators introduced the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, which would prohibit any affiliation between commercial banking and investment banking, thus going even further than Glass-Steagall itself.

But these calls for reinstating the repealed portions of the Glass-Steagall Act are misplaced  because the GLBA did not cause the financial crisis.

The financial crisis was caused by a bubble in residential and commercial mortgages that led to a widespread run on the global financial system. The securitization of mortgages (packaging mortgages into mortgage-backed securities) increased the size of the bubble through an opaque and often conflicted process. Ultimately, governments from across the world had to step in. But what does this have to do with the affiliation of commercial and investment banks? The answer is nothing.

The largest failure during the financial crisis was of a stand-alone investment bank, Lehman Brothers, that did not have significant commercial banking operations. The largest commercial banks that failed, including Washington Mutual and IndyMac, did not have any significant investment banking activities. AIG, which received $182 billion in government support, was a thrift holding company, and thrifts had always been exempt from the Glass-Steagall Acts restrictions.

Which, finally, brings us to Hotel California. Oddly, while there are calls to mandate the complete separation of commercial banking from investment banking, there are no calls from Glass-Steagall champions to eliminate this Dodd-Frank provision, so dubbed for the well-known Eagles lyric, You can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave.

Hotel California applies to commercial banking organizations that received Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) assistance and have more than $50 billion of assets. It prevents these banks from spinning off their investment-banking activities by deeming such an entity a non-bank systemically important financial institution subject to enhanced regulatory scrutiny, including significantly higher capital requirements.

Currently, Hotel California applies to 65 percent of U.S. banking assets, so eliminating it could significantly reduce the concentration and complexity of U.S. banking organizations. Activist shareholders could once again press large commercial banks to simplify if they think this would enhance their overall profitability  on a too big to manage rationale. Senior management of former investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, might be inclined to separate their investment and commercial banking operations given the relative unimportance of deposit-taking to their overall operations.

Fortunately, repeal of Hotel California passed the House in June as part of the Financial CHOICE Act. The Senate should follow suit. Congress should therefore seriously consider empowering the management and shareholders of the largest U.S. banks, rather than mandating a wholesale redesign of the U.S. financial system based on a misunderstanding of a 1930s law and its role in the 2008 financial crisis.
I love it.

Thats how Donald Trump Jr. responded, we now know, to an email last year offering dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government.

What I love is the defense of this attempt by senior Trump campaign officials to receive Russian help in the election. As my colleagues John Wagner and Rosalind Helderman report, presidential advisers are explaining away the meeting with the Russian lawyer as a rookie mistake by an unsophisticated campaign.

Rookie mistake: the all-purpose defense of the Trump White House.

When President Trump failed to support NATOs collective-defense promise, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called it a rookie mistake. After revelations of Trumps meddling in the FBIs Russia probe, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) explained that Trump is new at this. The rookie-error explanation has been employed to describe Trumps firing of FBI Director James B. Comey, his handling of health care and his legislative approach.

(Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

There have been enough rookie errors to send this whole team back to Double-A ball. The longer this goes on  were now six months into Trumps term  the less it looks like growing pains than incompetence and mismanagement aggravated by nepotism and dishonesty.

Returning from three weeks abroad, Ive been catching up on developments at home. These weeks, though highly abnormal by usual standards, were fairly typical of the Trump presidency. Mistakes and outrages are so common that we become numb to them. But stack three weeks of the embarrassments together and the cumulative effect makes it plain that this is amateur hour for the greatest nation on Earth:

The president, representing the United States at the Group of 20 summit in Germany, tweets that everyone at the world conference is talking about why Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta wouldnt give DNC servers to law enforcement. Trump erroneously claims the CIA sought the server. Podesta, who had no authority over the DNC, urges our whack job president to get a grip.

Trump gives a speech in Warsaw contradicting an earlier speech he gave in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While in Poland, he publicly disparages U.S. intelligence agencies.

The president meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the White House press release identifies his country as the Republic of China  that is, Chinas foe Taiwan.

Trump meets with Vladimir Putin and tweets that he discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit with Putin. Twelve hours later, Trump tweets that such a Cyber Security unit cant happen.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tells reporters that Trump discussed sanctions with Putin. Trump tweets the next day: Sanctions were not discussed. (The previous month, Tillerson called for the end to a blockade of Qatar; hours later, Trump touted the Qatar blockade.)

1 of 14 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The scene during the G-20 summit in Hamburg View Photos President Trump travels to Germany for the Group of 20 Summit, where he will meet with several European leaders who view him skeptically and hold starkly different views on globalization. Caption President Trump travels to Germany for the Group of 20 Summit, where he will meet with several European leaders who view him skeptically and hold starkly different views on globalization. July 7, 2017 President Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg. Steffen Kugler/European Pressphoto Agency Wait 1 second to continue.

Trumps voter-fraud commission requests voter files and is roundly rejected by Democratic and Republican state officials alike; the Mississippi secretary of state, a Republican, tells the commission to go jump in the Gulf of Mexico.

In spite of Trumps vow that a North Korean missile capable of reaching the United States wont happen, North Korea tests an ICBM. Trump calls this very, very bad behavior. After the missile test, Trumps U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, complains on Twitter on Independence Day: Spending my 4th in meetings all day. #ThanksNorthKorea.

Trump gives a speech at the Kennedy Center, in July, vowing, Were going to start saying Merry Christmas again.

The president tweets that a cable-news host, Mika Brzezinski, was bleeding badly from a face-lift when he met her. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) responds: Please just stop.

Trump follows this by tweeting a mock professional wrestling video of him pummeling Fraud News CNN.

The Posts David Fahrenthold reports that fake Time magazine covers featuring Trump were on display in at least five of Trumps clubs.

The president, who had implied he had tapes of his talks with Comey, tweets that there are no such tapes. Lawmakers, calling the presidents word insufficient, threaten to subpoena the tapes.

Former CIA director David Petraeus, asked in a panel discussion whether Trump is fit to serve, replies: Its immaterial.

Trump claims the Senate health-care bill is working along very well. Republican leaders soon abandon plans to have a vote on the bill.

The White House issues a statement threatening to bomb the Syrian regime. Both the intelligence community and the Pentagon appear to be caught off guard.

Eight months after the election, Trump tweets: Hillary Clinton colluded with the Democratic Party in order to beat Crazy Bernie Sanders.

Now, after months of Trump denials of Russia contacts, comes proof of a Russia meeting with Donald Jr., Jared Kushner and then-campaign chairman Paul J. Manafort during the campaign. Among Juniors conflicting explanations: It was okay because the Russian didnt produce good dirt on Clinton.

And these are just some of the misfires.

They arent rookie mistakes. This is a team that never should have taken the field.

Twitter: @Milbank

Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
The president heaped praise on Poland as a country at the center of European civilization and warned that our shared Western civilization is threatened by totalitarian forces in the world who seek . . . to further their barbarous assault on the human spirit. He called on the West to defend the great civilized ideas: individual liberty, representative government, and the rule of law under God and criticized the shyness of some of us in the West about standing for these ideals.

The president in question was not Donald Trump, whose recent speech in Warsaw calling on the West to summon the courage and the will to defend our civilization has drawn irrational criticism here at home. It was Ronald Reagan, in his famous 1982 Westminster address promising to leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history.

In fact, Trumps words could have been delivered by almost any American president of either party in the past century. They could have been delivered by Harry S. Truman, who in 1952 praised the United States for saving Western civilization from enslavement by a godless creed. They could have been spoken by John F. Kennedy, who in a 1963 speech in West Germany spoke of preserving Western culture, and Western religion, and Western civilization and defending our common heritage from those who would divide and destroy it. They could have been uttered by Lyndon B. Johnson, who warned in 1966 of ideologies . . . that threaten the very roots of our common Western civilization. They could have been spoken by Bill Clinton, who declared in 1994 his belief that Western civilization was the greatest of all, and America was the best expression of Western civilization because of its commitment to . . . the belief that the future could be better than the present and that we have an obligation to make it so.

Never mind all that, according to Sarah Wildman of Vox, Trumps call to defend Western civilization sounded like an alt-right manifesto, as the headline on her article described it. In the Atlantic, Peter Beinart complained that Trump referred 10 times to the West and five times to our civilization  and that His white nationalist supporters will understand exactly what he means because The West is a racial and religious term.

No, it isnt. Quite the opposite, Western civilization is founded on ideas that transcend race and religion. As Yale historian Donald Kagan put it: Americans do not share a common ancestry and a common blood. What they have in common is a system of laws and beliefs that shaped the establishment of the country, a system developed within the context of Western civilization. He added that every student should study the philosophical, scientific, agricultural and industrial revolutions in the West which allowed human beings to produce and multiply the things needed for life so as to make survival and prosperity possible for ever-increasing numbers and gave birth to the theory and practice of the separation of church from state, protecting each from the other, and creating a free and safe place for the individual conscience.

(The Washington Post)

These ideals are described as Western not because they are exclusive to the West, but because of the historical fact that they emanated from the West: the first democracy in Greece under Pericles (which predated Christianity by more than four centuries); to the principles enshrined in Magna Carta; the works of the Renaissance humanists; and the treatises of Enlightenment philosophers that inspired the authors of our Declaration of Independence.

Western values are universal values, and Trump affirmed their universality in Warsaw, declaring that we value the dignity of every human life, protect the rights of every person, and share the hope of every soul to live in freedom.

Since the 1980s, the left has been on a tireless crusade to drum the study of Western civilization out of universities in the name of fighting Eurocentrism. Now, apparently, they want to drum Western values out of presidential rhetoric. We must not let them do so.

Trump has said many objectionable things, but his eloquent defense of Western civilization in Warsaw was not one of them. It is ironic. The left likes to paint Trump as a threat to democracy. But the real threat to democracy is when the leader of the free world can no longer defend the ideals of the West  which, Reagan told us, have done so much to ease the plight of man and the hardships of our imperfect world  without being accused of bigotry.

Read more from Marc Thiessens archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
The White House has been thrust into chaos after days of ever-worsening revelations about a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a lawyer characterized as representing the Russian government, as the president fumes against his enemies and senior aides circle one another with suspicion, according to top White House officials and outside advisers.

President Trump  who has been hidden from public view since returning last weekend from a divisive international summit  is enraged that the Russia cloud still hangs over his presidency and is exasperated that his eldest son and namesake has become engulfed by it, said people who have spoken with him this week.

The disclosure that Trump Jr. met with a Russian attorney, believing he would receive incriminating information about Hillary Clinton as part of the Kremlins effort to boost his fathers candidacy, has set back the administrations faltering agenda and rattled the senior leadership team.

On Wednesday, in his first Twitter posts since the email disclosures, Trump defended his son as open, transparent and innocent and repeated past claims that his administration is the subject of a witch hunt fueled by leakers.

My son Donald did a good job last night, Trump wrote, referring to his sons appearance on Fox News. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!

(Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

Trump also took aim at anonymous leaks from sources  even though Trump Jr. gave a step-by-step email chronology of the plans for the meeting with the Russian lawyer in 2016.

Even supporters of Trump Jr. who believe he faces no legal repercussions privately acknowledged Tuesday that the story is a public relations disaster  for him as well as for the White House. One outside ally called it a Category 5 hurricane, while an outside adviser said a CNN graphic charting connections between the Trump team and Russians resembled the plot of the fictional Netflix series House of Cards.

Vice President Pence sought to distance himself from the controversy, with his spokesman noting that Trump Jr.s meeting occurred before Pence joined the ticket.

Inside a White House in which infighting often seems like a core cultural value, three straight days of revelations in the New York Times about Trump Jr. have inspired a new round of accusations and recriminations, with advisers privately speculating about who inside the Trump orbit may be leaking damaging information about the presidents son.

This portrait of the Trump White House under siege is based on interviews Tuesday with more than a dozen West Wing officials, outside advisers, and friends and associates of the president and his family, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid.

[The Take: Trump Jr.s emails offer a revelation unlike any other in the Russia probe]

The makeup of Trumps inner circle is the subject of internal debate, as ever. Ivanka Trump, the presidents daughter and senior adviser; Jared Kushner, her husband and another senior adviser; and first lady Melania Trump have been privately pressing the president to shake up his team  most specifically by replacing Reince Priebus as the White House chief of staff, according to two senior White House officials and one ally close to the White House.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner walk together during the Congressional Picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on June 22. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

The three family members are especially concerned about the steady stream of unauthorized leaks to journalists that have plagued the administration over the nearly six months that President Trump has been in office, from sensitive national security information to embarrassing details about the inner workings of the White House, the officials said.

Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys communications director, said: Of course, the first lady is concerned about leaks from her husbands administration, as all Americans should be. And while she does offer advice and perspectives on many things, Mrs. Trump does not weigh in on West Wing staff.

Lindsay Walters, a deputy White House press secretary, disputed reports about Priebuss standing. These sources have been consistently wrong about Reince, and theyre still wrong today, she said.

After this story first published, Josh Raffel, a White House spokesman, said in a statement on behalf of Kushner and Ivanka Trump: Jared and Ivanka are focused on working with Reince and the team to advance the Presidents agenda and not on pushing for staff changes.

Trump recently publicly praised Priebuss work ethic, and the chief of staffs allies note that Priebus has done as good a job as can be expected under the unique circumstances of this administration. Defenders of Priebus have long said they expect him to make it to a year in the position, and Trump is said to be hesitant to fire him or any other senior staffer amid the escalating Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

The mind-set of Trump Jr. over the past few days has evolved from distress to anger to defiance, according to people close to him. He hired a criminal defense attorney but maintains that he is innocent of any wrongdoing. After his tweets commenting on the matter drew scrutiny, he agreed to his first media interview  with his friend Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity on his show on Tuesday night.

One friend of Trump Jr.s said the presidential son saw the Hannity appearance as an opportunity to give his version of Richard Nixons Checkers speech, a 1952 address in which the then-vice-

presidential candidate defended himself against accusations of financial improprieties.

[Trump Jr. could be in legal jeopardy, but analysts said more would be required for a criminal case]

Trump has had no public events since returning Saturday night from Germany but has been closely monitoring developments with his eldest son in the news.

Trump continues to view the Russia controversy as an excuse used by Democrats for losing an election they thought they would win  and an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of his victory, aides said. They said that the presidents frustration is based on the media coverage of his sons actions, as opposed to the actions themselves.

He just looks at this as the continuum of taking a group of unrelated facts and putting them together in concentric circles and saying, Aha  look what happened!  said Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a longtime friend of the president who was chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. With Don Jr., whatever set of facts there are may not lead to the conclusion that the establishment media is making.

Trump and his advisers are deeply frustrated that the disclosure by Trump Jr. has overshadowed the positive coverage they expected to receive from the presidents trip abroad, as well as other issues they hoped to spotlight this week, such as the Senate health-care bill and trade.

A handful of Republican operatives close to the White House are scrambling to Trump Jr.s defense and have begun what could be an extensive campaign to try to discredit some of the journalists who have been reporting on the matter.

Their plan, as one member of the team described it, is to research the reporters previous work, in some cases going back years, and to exploit any mistakes or perceived biases. They intend to demand corrections, trumpet errors on social media and feed them to conservative outlets, such as Fox News.

But one outside adviser said a campaign against the press when it comes to Trump Jr.s meeting could be futile: The meeting happened. Its tough to go to war with the facts.

In the West Wing, meanwhile, fear of the Mueller probe effectively paralyzed senior staffers as they struggled to respond.

No official has yet delivered a robust defense of Trump Jr., although Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the principal deputy press secretary, told reporters Monday, I would certainly say Don Jr. did not collude with anybody to influence the election.

At Tuesdays press briefing, Sanders read a brief statement from the president  My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency  but declined to speak further on the issue, referring all questions to Trump Jr.s attorney.

[Donald Trump Jr.s emails about the meeting with a Russian lawyer, annotated]

Other senior White House officials were hesitant to talk about Trump Jr.  even on the condition of anonymity  for fear of exposing themselves legally.

Some top officials, as well as outside advisers, had earlier suggested that the White House conduct its own internal review to identify any potential problem areas related to Russia so that it can release the information on its own rather than be caught unaware by news reports. But that notion went nowhere, in part because officials were afraid to discuss any potential Russia interactions that could make them targets of Muellers probe.

One White House official went so far as to stop communicating with the presidents embattled son, although this official spoke sympathetically about his plight, casting Trump Jr. as someone who just wants to hunt, fish and run his familys real estate business.

The kid is an honest kid, said one friend of Trump Jr. The White House shouldve never let that story go out on the presidents son  What hes upset about was that it was a minor meeting and the media glare  anything thats Russia-related, gets picked up the way roaches get caught in a roach motel.

Eric Trump, another son of the president, defended his older brother Tuesday night by retweeting a message from British politician Nigel Farage, who said Trump Jr. was under attack because he is the best public supporter of the president. Eric Trump tweeted: This is the EXACT reason they viciously attack our family! They cant stand that we are extremely close and will ALWAYS support each other.

Critics of Trump Jr. counter that he should have known better than to accept a meeting with someone who was explicitly described in an email as a Russian government attorney.

It wasnt naivete, said Michael McFaul, the U.S. ambassador to Russia in the Obama administration. It was, Oh, they have some dirt on our opponent and Im eager to receive it. Nobody thought to think, Well, how did they obtain that? Is this coming from the Russian government, Russian intelligence? Those are the kinds of obvious questions that should have been asked, in my opinion.

Pence found out about Trump Jr.s meeting with the Russian attorney Friday evening in advance of the first Times story, said one person familiar with the discussions. Both Pence and his team view the Russia coverage as a distraction, and are working to keep the vice president clear of it and focused on Trumps policy goals  such as health care, the subject of his scheduled visit to Kentucky on Wednesday.

The vice president is working every day to advance the presidents agenda, which is what the American people sent us here to do. The vice president was not aware of the meeting, Pences press secretary, Marc Lotter, said in a statement. He is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket.

On Capitol Hill  where Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday that he is delaying his chambers August recess by two weeks  Republican senators were becoming increasingly frustrated with the White House, which they blame for Congresss inability to pass any major legislation.

A growing number of senators believe that the widening Russia probe  as well as the Trump-

fueled tumult that seems to dominate nearly every news cycle  have stalled their legislative agenda, leaving them nothing to offer their constituents by way of achievements when they head home over the break.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference after the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg on July 8, 2017. Trudeau and other Canadian officials, including Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, will attend the National Governors Association meeting in Providence July 13-16. (Markus Schreiber/Associated Press)

The annual summer meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA) is often a low-key and sometimes sleepy event, mixing quiet policy discussions with socializing among the nations state executive leaders. This years meeting could be anything but that  reshaped by international concerns about President Trumps trade policies and struggles by Senate Republicans to pass a health-care bill.

The meeting, which begins Thursday in Providence, R.I., will feature an appearance by Vice President Pence and private sessions between the governors and Trumps health secretary and budget director. But what also has heightened focus on the meeting is the appearance of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with other officials from Canada, Mexico, India, China and Japan.

The sudden interest in the work of the governors from abroad reflects fears by leaders of some foreign governments about the direction of U.S. trade policy under a president who has sharply criticized free-trade agreements negotiated by past administrations. Those concerns were on display at last weeks Group of 20 meeting in Hamburg and have quickly become a prime topic of interest ahead of the NGA. One NGA official described the interest from other countries as amazing.

The number of attendees from foreign governments underscores concerns that these nations economic interests are at risk. The result is a more concerted effort by officials in other countries to create relationships below the level of the federal government that can help to maintain support for freer trade, particularly in North America. It is as if they are attempting to build a wall of protection, with the help of governors, as a bulwark against the presidents intentions.

The governors welcome the attention. Our point is: With the disarray going on in Washington, D.C., today, you should be dealing directly with governors, said Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-Va.), the NGA chairman, who will end his tenure this weekend. Youre not going to cut a business development deal in Washington. You need to come directly to the states.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, talks to President Trump before a working session at the G-20 summit on July 8, 2017. (Michael Sohn/Associated Press)

[Trump leaves leaders fearing the future as G-20 summit closes]

At the beginning of his term, Trump pulled the United States out of the pending Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), an agreement long in the making that was finalized during the administration of President Barack Obama.

Later, the president appeared to be on the brink of pulling out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has been in place since the administration of President Bill Clinton. At the last minute, after entreaties from Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Trump agreed to try to renegotiate the pact. But concerns about the future of trade relations between the United States and its northern and southern neighbors remain strong. Trudeaus keynote address will hit hard on trade and the importance of the U.S.-Canada relationship.

This is part of a broad, longstanding strategy of engaging directly with the United States, both with the administration and with sub-national governments, said Cameron Ahmad, spokesman for the prime minister. The main priority will be to reinforce the importance of free, open and fair trade between our two countries.

Trudeaus government has been aggressive in developing relationships not only with the Trump administration but also state and local ones. Canadian ministers in the Trudeau government have fanned out across the country in the past few months, with trips to California, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana for meetings with governors, mayors and industry leaders  all with the goal of reinforcing support for free trade ahead of the NAFTA talks.

But the effort involves more than the Trudeau administration. Among the Canadian attendees at the NGA meeting this week will be Kathleen Wynne, the premier of Ontario. Since Trump was elected, she has reached out to more 30 governors to talk about trade and mutual issues.

Ontario has a full-blown engagement strategy, said Monique Smith, Ontarios representative in the Canadian Embassy in Washington.

[World leaders signal free-trade plans  whether Trump joins or not]

The effort began with letters to the governors, followed by phone calls. Wynnes outreach also has included visits to Illinois, Michigan, Georgia and the nations capital. She has been traveling this week and was not available for an interview but sent a statement to The Washington Post about her reasons for attending the NGA this year.

Strong relationships between governors and premiers are critical to developing meaningful economic opportunities for workers in Ontario, Wynne said. The NGA meeting will allow everyone participating to find ways of working across borders to create jobs and support businesses.

For Wynne, the stakes in the trade debate are enormous. Ontario is the first or second largest export destination for 28 states in the United States and almost 70 percent of Ontarios trade globally is with the United States, estimated at $299 billion in 2016, according to figures supplied by her office. Her attendance is all part of an effort to raise the profile of international trade ahead of the coming NAFTA negotiations.

Mexico will be represented by the mayor of Mexico City, who heads a parallel organization to the NGA, as well as two Mexican governors. Ties between Mexican and U.S. governors have existed for many years, particularly among those in the border states.

Theres a very keen interest from the NGA to engage with foreign governors, said a Mexican official familiar with the issues, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk freely. I can tell you there has been an uptick from governors from all political stripes to engage with us and, Im sure, with the Canadians, because of the political climate in the [United States]. They know the value of trade.

Speaking through a translator by telephone, Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said governors in his country are concerned about the direction of trade policy in the Trump administration and see U.S. governors as allies in the coming discussions about NAFTA. There is great support for Mexico, he said, adding that he expects constructive talks in Providence with other leaders.

Trade is an issue upon which there is common interest among governors of both parties. Health care, though, is one that divides an organization that prides itself on acting in bipartisan fashion. As the Senate Republicans prepared to unveil the latest version of their health-care bill, the governors are camped in three places.

[I was all set to terminate: Inside Trumps sudden shift on NAFTA]

Democrats, like their counterparts in Congress, oppose any effort to repeal and then replace the Affordable Care Act. Some GOP governors strongly favor the efforts in Congress. But other Republican governors, particularly those who chose to expand Medicaid coverage and accept the federal funds that came with it under the terms of Obamacare, worry about the impact on their states and either oppose the changes outright or are not willing to give the GOP legislation their backing.

Some of those Republicans who have been most outspoken in opposition will not be in Providence. That includes Ohio Gov. John Kasich, whose harsh words for the Senate and House bills have given him a national platform. That comes in the face of resistance Kasich has faced from his own Republican legislature, which sought to freeze enrollment, which has increased by twice the original estimate in 2013.

But one of those who will attend will be Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R), who will succeed McAuliffe as the NGA chair. Sandovals opposition and his popularity in his state contributed to the decision earlier by Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) to announce that he could not support the first version of the Senate bill. Heller, who was standing next to Sandoval when he made the announcement, is facing a difficult reelection race in 2018. His vote is seen as crucial to passage of a bill in the Senate.

McAuliffe and Gov. Charlie Baker (R-Mass.) wrote to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in June asking that the Senate give governors time to review any proposed legislation to ensure that the bill does not adversely harm their constituents. Bakers state also is a Medicaid expansion state.

Apart from the action in Congress with regard to Obamacare, governors of both parties long have wrestled with the rising costs of Medicaid and over many years have shared ideas on how to keep costs in check without denying coverage to those who qualify under the program. That likely will be a topic for a fuller discussion at a future meeting.
Every great American scandal follows a similar arc, historians say. One side smells nefarious behavior. The other side contends theres no there there. Shreds of evidence and whispers of proof energize one side and appall the other. This goes on for a long time.

Sometimes, the scandal talk fizzles out. And sometimes, something comes along that changes everything  the smoking gun.

When Donald Trump Jr. said I love it to the prospect of scoring nasty information from friendly Russians about Hillary Clinton in June last year, did that constitute a smoking gun?

In one America, the answer was a pretty solid yes. Slate, Politico, Vanity Fair and some Democrats straight-out declared the presidents sons email the smoking gun in the investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to take down the Clinton candidacy. Many other news organizations hedged a bit, attaching a question mark to the smoldering term.

But in Trump Country, the gun wasnt smoking  it was just one more toy gun masquerading as the real thing, just one more burst of the same noise that has been cluttering up this presidency since its inception.

Al Baldasaro, a six-term Republican member of New Hampshires legislature and an early Trump backer, said on a radio show last summer that Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason over her role as secretary of state during the 2012 attacks on two U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya.

Now, Baldasaro sees not treason but normal behavior. In politics, he said, people come to us all the time with stuff on our opponents. . . . I dont think theres anything there. Its a typical witch hunt. Some media are keeping it alive, making money off this.

Baldasaro called President Trump an honest guy and said that I would bet my last dime he had nothing to do with it. . . . I travel all over the state and have never come across one person who brings up anything about Russia. They dont care. They dont think anything happened.

[Category 5 hurricane: White House under siege by Trump Jr.s Russia revelations]

From the Teapot Dome scandal of the 1920s through Watergate in the 1970s and the stream of -gates that have followed in the decades since, American political scandals have followed a distinct pattern, said David Dewberry, a professor at Rider University who wrote a book called The American Political Scandal: Free Speech, Public Discourse, and Democracy.

Scandals are stories, cliffhangers that play out in real time, Dewberry said. You have two sides, one saying this is not important and the other saying we know theres documented proof of wrongdoing. With Trump Jr.s email, this is the point where this scandal has changed.

But that doesnt mean that this email is the smoking gun  the one piece of evidence that produces instant consensus that something unacceptably wrong has taken place.

(Victoria Walker,Whitney Shefte,Randolph Smith/The Washington Post)

This is not the [Watergate] tapes, this is not the blue dress from the Clinton scandal in 1998, Dewberry said. We still dont know from this email if President Trump did anything.

In todays deeply divided political landscape, in a society in which information flows with unprecedented speed, its much harder now for us to absorb these key moments, Dewberry said. The major scandals of the past century took years to play out, and this story might, too.

Many enthusiastic Trump supporters dont believe the president has done anything terribly wrong. And according to some political observers, even those Trump voters who do believe he acted in concert with the Russians wont be willing to abandon him until they see an alternative that would maintain Trumps commitment to upsetting the Washington apple cart.

They need to hear that nothing Donald Trump has done couldnt have been done by a President Mike Pence without the drama, said Robert Leonard, news director at KNIA radio in Knoxville, Iowa. Its going to take Fox News to tell them that.

For now, many Trump enthusiasts in the conservative media are standing with the president  and placing the blame for the rough first six months of the administration squarely on the news media.

This is not just a story that people are pursuing, Rush Limbaugh said on his nationally syndicated radio show Tuesday. This is a lifestyle. This has become a mechanism whereby these people state their identities. They are now defining themselves on the basis of the pursuit of this story. They cant stop it. They cannot help themselves.

But Limbaugh hinted that perhaps Trump Jr. was overzealous in taking the meeting with the Russian lawyer. Junior wanted to be a player, Limbaugh said. The thing thats happening to that family is something that most of us will never experience. . . . Everybody wants to be in on it. Nobody wants to be a straggler. Everybody wants to be considered a player. . . . So Trump Jr. gets the email. Yeah, yeah, I want to help dad, all right, all right, Ill take it. 

In his 1978 Political Dictionary, William Safire, the former New York Times columnist and a speechwriter for President Richard M. Nixon, defined a smoking gun as incontrovertible evidence  the proof of guilt that precipitates resignations.

By that definition, the emails that the presidents son released Tuesday cannot be a smoking gun, at least not yet.

But in the operatic structure of political scandals, the I love it email might eventually be seen as the first appearance of the prop that turns out to be vital to the denouement of the story.

In most political scandals, the search for a smoking gun fails to result in any such dramatic find. There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. News databases are jammed full of quotations from defenders of Bill and Hillary Clinton through the years, insisting that there is no there there regarding allegations about purported scandals in Arkansas, the White House, Benghazi, the Clinton Foundation and the former secretary of states email server.

In the early stages of this investigation, its following the pattern of every other major scandal, Dewberry said. Waves of publicity about alleged misconduct. Claims that this is nothing. And what tips the argument is when somebody is found blatantly lying, usually to investigators.

In the Watergate years, the catchphrase was its not the crime, its the coverup. In the Trump-Russia investigation, Dewberry said, if the scandal ever fully erupts, it will be not the collusion with Russia, but the lying about the collusion with Russia.

But even if the presidents son had collected incriminating information about Clinton and even if the Trump campaign had then used that against her, some Trump supporters say they would have been fine with that.

If there was real information about Hillary Clinton that the public needed to know, I understand why that was disseminated if that was the case, said Robert Jeffress, senior pastor at the 13,000-member First Baptist Church of Dallas and an early Trump supporter who praised the president during the Celebrate Freedom concert at the Kennedy Center on July 1.

What I have followed does not concern me at all, Jeffress said. I remain 100 percent committed to this president and his agenda. There has been talk of collusion with Russia for almost a year now and nothing has been proven. What is indisputable is that there is a determined effort by those on the left to paralyze and prevent this president from enacting a conservative agenda.

Smoking gun imagery entered the lexicon of American scandals in the final stage of Watergate. Defenders of Nixon had repeatedly argued that there was no proof he had obstructed justice in trying to limit the political damage caused by his reelection campaigns burglary of Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate office complex. There was, Nixon loyalists insisted, no smoking gun.

Until, of course, there was, in the form of the tape recordings that the president had ordered made of his conversations in the Oval Office. When Rep. Barber Conable, a Republican from New York who had avidly defended Nixon, heard the recording that did the president in, a tape in which Nixon discussed ordering the FBI not to look any further into the Watergate break-in, the lawmaker dubbed that the smoking gun.

[Russian lawyer who met with Trump Jr. has long history fighting sanctions]

The term was coined, according to the Yale Book of Quotations, in Arthur Conan Doyles 1894 Sherlock Holmes story The Gloria Scott. The great detective, investigating a murder aboard a ship, describes how we rushed on into the captains cabin, but as we pushed open the door there was an explosion from within, and there he lay with his brains smeared over the chart of the Atlantic . . . , while the chaplain stood with a smoking pistol in his hand. . . . The whole business seemed to be settled.

A quest for a smoking gun was a central part of the public debate during the Iran-contra scandal in the 1980s, when the Reagan administration secretly sold arms to Iran, in violation of a U.S. embargo, and used the receipts from the sales to fund the Nicaraguan rebel group known as the contras.

But most scandals dont end with a dramatic reveal. An independent counsels investigation into Iran-contra dragged on for eight years; eventually, 14 people were charged and President George H.W. Bush issued six pardons, including to his predecessors defense secretary and national security adviser.

All of which led Alistair Cooke, the late longtime BBC commentator on American affairs, to say that the eternal hunt for smoking guns was a classic bit of misdirection. Weve been conducting the wrong kind of search, Cooke said in a 1996 piece. The object in question is the body of the constitution. When we find it with a hundred stab wounds, theres no point in looking for a smoking gun.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is pursued by reporters as Republican senators are questioned aboutGOP health-care bill at the Capitol Wednesday. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

President Trump put the onus squarely on Senate Republicans on Wednesday to pass a health-care bill, declaring that he will be very angry if the chamber falls short on a long-standing promise of his party.

The comments, coming in an interview at the White House with televangelist Pat Robertson of CBN News, intensified public pressure on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who plans to release a revised version of his health-care legislation Thursday morning.

I am sitting in the Oval Office with a pen in hand, waiting for our senators to give it to me, Trump said. It has to get passed. They have to do it. They have to get together and get it done.

The presidents remarks also came amid concerns from conservative lawmakers and activists that McConnells revamped measure would not undo the Affordable Care Act aggressively enough.

Those worries, alongside lingering anxiety among centrist Republicans that the bill is going too far, threatened to leave the rebooted effort short of the votes it will need to pass next week, when McConnell hopes to bring it to a vote. He can only afford two Republican defections.

As far as I can tell, the new bill is the same as the old bill, except it leaves in place more taxes, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said on a Wednesday conference call with reporters. I cant support it at this point.

Paul was referring to two taxes for high-earning Americans that McConnell is prepared to preserve, according to Republican senators and aides: an investment income tax and a Medicare payroll tax on wages and self-employment income.

In McConnells original draft bill, the taxes were repealed. But some Republican senators pushed for keeping them and using the revenue to provide more assistance to help lower-income Americans pay for health care. At least two Republican senators predicted Wednesday that the way the new bill addresses insurance subsidies will be different from the old version.

The insurance subsidies are going to be beefed up, said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.). Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) said, I think there will be some changes there.

Amid the discord, some signs emerged that McConnell was making progress. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), one of five GOP senators who so opposed the original draft that they planned to block the bill from moving to the Senate floor for debate, said Wednesday that he no longer plans to do that.

Johnson said the extra two weeks since the collapse of the original bill gave him sufficient time to talk to experts and constituents. Now, he said, he is open to starting debate.

The bigger concern among most hard-right activists and lawmakers was whether a controversial amendment that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) has been pushing would be included in the package that McConnell releases Thursday.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is surrounded by reporters at the Capitol Wednesday. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

It needs to be in the underlying text, Cruz told reporters, dismissing the suggestion that he could instead introduce it during an open amendment process if and when the bill heads to the Senate floor. Conservatives worry that the Cruz plan probably would not have enough support to pass as a stand-alone amendment.

Corker said he believes McConnell will release two versions of the revised bill on Thursday  one with Cruzs amendment and one without it. GOP leaders were more circumspect.

There should be a lot of information released, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.) told reporters. But I cant speak to the exact format.

Cruzs proposal would allow insurers to sell plans that dont comply with Obamacare coverage requirements as long as they offer at least one plan that does. Cruz argues that it provides consumers with more choice. But critics assert that it would lead to less healthy people ultimately paying more for coverage.

Americas Health Insurance Plans, a major trade association of insurers, took aim at Cruzs amendment in a two-page statement Wednesday. This proposal would fracture and segment insurance markets into separate risk pools and create an unlevel playing field that would lead to widespread adverse selection and unstable health insurance markets, the group said.

Leading conservative activists, however, demanded that McConnell either include the Cruz proposal as a core element of the final Senate bill or move on to the original GOP pledge to simply repeal the law.

We were promised [repeal] many times by leaders in the White House as well as Congress, former South Carolina Republican senator Jim DeMint said during a conference call with reporters. Now were looking at a version that basically is trying to fix Obamacare in different ways.

Meanwhile, Toomey, who opposes the Obamacare taxes, nevertheless indicated that preserving them wouldnt be a dealbreaker.

Toomey said he expected the updated bill to index Medicaid growth to the same rate as the original draft. But that could turn off some Republicans who worry about long-term federal spending cuts to the program.

As the Republican push to revamp the ACA has stalled again, even some Trump boosters have questioned whether he has effectively used the bully pulpit afforded by his office. They also have been increasingly frustrated by what they view as distractions related to the Russia investigation.

The urgency that Trump placed on the effort to pass the bill Wednesday stood in sharp contrast to his comments last month, when he said that it would be unfortunate if the bill didnt reach his desk but that it would be okay.

In the interview with Robertson, Trump suggested that McConnell was most responsible now for the fate of the bill overhauling the ACA.

Hes got to pull it off, Trump said. Mitch has to pull it off. Hes working very hard. Hes got to pull it off.

Trump has spoken out repeatedly about the shortcomings of Obamacare, which he brands a disaster. But he has made relatively little effort to detail for the public why Republican replacement plans would improve on the former presidents signature initiative.

Trumps public efforts to dismantle the health-care law contrast sharply with former president Barack Obamas efforts to build support in advance of its 2010 passage. Obama gave a joint address to Congress on health care. He fielded questions at town-hall meetings around the country. He even bantered on live television with hostile lawmakers at a Republican retreat.

McConnell is expected to present his new bill to GOP senators at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Republican senators and aides.

On Wednesday, many GOP senators said they had yet to see the full picture of what McConnell plans to release and would reserve judgment until they do.

Said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska): I am going to choose to not comment on what may show up tomorrow.

Read more at PowerPost
President Trump was not expected to attend Frances Bastille Day, which this year will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the United States entry into World War I.

But then he learned there would be a military parade.

French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump in a June 27 phone call about the event, which this year will feature U.S. and French troops marching through the historic streets near the Arc de Triomphe, fighter jets cutting through the skies above, and flags, horses and military equipment on display  the sort of spectacle that Trump wanted to stage at his own inauguration in January.

Trump told Macron he would be there, according to a White House official, and French and U.S. officials rushed to schedule a last-minute trip that will last about 27 hours and include dinner at an opulent restaurant in the Eiffel Tower and a visit to Napoleon Bonapartes tomb.

The president arrived Thursday and quickly began a fast-paced schedule alongside Macron, who played tour guide at one of the French capitals most-visited landmarks.

(Jenny Starrs,Cleophee Demoustier/The Washington Post)

At the Invalides monument, which includes Napoleons tomb, Macron described some of the sites highlights to Trump and first lady Melania Trump. Later, both leaders posed for photographers before entering the French presidential palace for talks.

Before the Trump meetings, Macron held discussions with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who both noted their deep policy differences with Trump yet stressed the importance of keeping open dialogue with the White House.

Trump and Macron are political outsiders in the early months of their presidencies, and their relationship has been defined by public confrontations. Trump  who has repeatedly described Paris as dangerous and crime-ridden  clearly favored Macrons rival in the French election this spring, and Macrons win seemed to cool the nationalist movement sweeping the globe.

When the two first met in May in Brussels, Macron aggressively shook Trumps hand and would not let go, later telling a French newspaper that it was a moment of truth and that we must show that we will not make small concessions, even symbolic ones. Trump hit back in early June when he announced that the United States would pull out of the Paris climate agreement because he was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris. Macron then defiantly launched a Make the Planet Great Again effort.

Macrons jabs at Trump have been widely applauded in France, where a Pew Research Center poll recently found that only 14 percent of people say they have confidence in Trump.

But administration officials from both countries insist this visit will be a friendly one that is focused on the long relationship between the two nations  especially on the battlefield. In their private discussions, the two leaders are expected to focus heavily on the conflict in Syria and weakening the Islamic State terrorist group.

Its the 100th anniversary of the American entry into World War I  its a beautiful symbol, Francois Heisbourg, a former French national security adviser under presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, said in an interview. Its also a reminder to Trump and to those in France that theres a century of transatlantic history here, and that the not-so-subliminal history is quite strong.

1 of 42 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  See President Trump and the first lady on their visit to France View Photos Beginning a 24-hour trip that coincides with France's national day and the 100th anniversary of U.S. involvement in World War I. President Trump arrived in Paris for a presidential visit filled with Bastille Day pomp. Caption Beginning a 24-hour trip that coincides with Frances national day and the 100th anniversary of U.S. involvement in World War I, President Trump arrived in Paris for a visit filled with Bastille Day pomp. July 14, 2017 French President Emmanuel Macron and President Trump watch the Bastille Day military parade in Paris. They are joined by their wives, Melania Trump and Brigitte Marcon, and the French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, left. Julien De Rosa/European Pressphoto Agency Wait 1 second to continue.

A senior Trump administration official who briefed reporters on the trip Tuesday echoed that sentiment, commending France for being far and away one of the largest and strongest military members in the NATO alliance.

The fact that we participated in such a major way in World War I, side by side with the French, is a clear parallel to what were doing today, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. We still live in a dangerous world. We still live in a world that has many, many threats.

Trumps whirlwind tour of Paris comes just days after he returned from a trip to Poland and Germany for the Group of 20 summit.

In Paris, Trump made his first visit the U.S. Embassy to meet with diplomats, military members participating in Fridays parade and military leaders based in Europe. Trump said the bonds between the U.S. and France were forged in the fires of war.

Macron, 39, is Frances youngest leader since Napoleon, and some comparisons have been made between the two because of Macrons quiet and quick consolidation of power and his penchant for displays of grandeur, such as his recent 90-minute address to both houses of Parliament in the opulent Palace of Versailles.

In the evening, Trump, Macron and their wives will dine at Le Jules Verne, a one-Michelin-star-rated restaurant perched high in the Eiffel Tower where the six-course tasting menu costs 230 euros, or $262, per person.

The restaurant is named for the famous 19th-century French author who wrote Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in Eighty Days. Its website proclaims: One does not come to the Jules Verne by chance. It is a destination that transmits a dream.

Friday morning will bring the military parade along the Avenue des Champs-Elysees that first caught Trumps attention. This years parade will feature 1,200 people, 211 vehicles, 341 horseback riders and 63 aircraft  and a competing protest march titled Dont Let Your Guard Down Against Trump, which will start from the Place de Clichy, nearly two miles away from where Trump will be seated.

Macron has been sharply criticized across the political spectrum for honoring Trump with this visit. Le Monde, Frances leading newspaper, editorialized that the invitation revealed that Macron was an attentive student of Machiavelli and that he stole from the U.S. president the monopoly on unpredictability.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the erstwhile presidential candidate and leader of the far-left France Unbowed party in Parliament, said in an interview with Europe 1 radio that Trump is not welcome.

The holiday of July 14th is that of the freedom of the French, Melenchon said. Mr. Trump represents NATO and the enslavement of our nation to an international coalition in which it plays no role.

Leila Charef, co-director of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France, called Trumps visit a shocking symbol, especially following Macrons recent push to enshrine certain elements of Frances anti-terrorism state of emergency regimen into normal French law. The state of emergency went into place after the November 2015 terrorist attacks that killed 130 in and near Paris. The measures were intended to temporarily expand French authorities ability to investigate terrorism plots, but they have led to thousands of warrantless arrests and weigh on the way Muslims are treated and perceived in France, Charef said.

It would be useful for good, anti-discrimination practices to circulate  not bad speeches, she said.

Despite the angst among some about Trumps visit, it was largely being overshadowed on the streets of Paris by Bastille Day, which marks the storming of the royal fortress during the French Revolution in 1789. By Wednesday afternoon, barricades had been installed along the parade route, and preparations were underway for a massive fireworks display at the Eiffel Tower. There were few signs of Trumps impending arrival, and many Parisians seemed more interested in discussing their holiday plans than U.S. politics.

Paris law enforcement officials had planned for heightened security on Bastille Day after a terrorist last year drove a truck through a crowd that had just watched a fireworks display in the seaside city of Nice in southern France, killing 86.

After the parade, Macron plans to travel to Nice to remember those who were killed. Trump was not invited to come along, according to the White House, although he probably will mention the attack in his public remarks. Trump will return to the United States on Friday afternoon, arriving home in time for the start of the weekend.

Anytime that you can go visit a couple like the Macrons in the City of Light, its pretty tremendous, the senior administration official told reporters Tuesday. On this particular day, however, its got added significance. So I think the president is excited and very much looking forward to that.
Palestinians walk on a street in al-Shateaa refugee camp during a power outage in Gaza City on June 30, 2017. Most Palestinians in the Gaza Strip use batteries, generators or candles to illuminate their homes. (Wissam Nassar/For The Washington Post)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is pursuing a high-risk campaign in the Gaza Strip to squeeze his own people so hard that they might force the Islamist militant movement Hamas to surrender control of the isolated coastal enclave.

The 82-year-old leaders Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank but has only limited sway in Gaza, has slashed salaries for its employees in the seaside territory, withheld permissions for medical patients to leave and, in its most dramatic step, cut payments for the electricity provided to Gaza by Israel.

Israel fears Hamas might lash out with rocket fire, and the World Bank worries the strip could collapse. The United Nations on Tuesday declared that a decade of Hamas rule, Palestinian infighting and crippling blockades by Israel and Egypt have made life for people in Gaza more and more wretched each day.

But Abbas has said he is prepared to go even further, threatening to impose sanctions against Hamas and freeze funds for its leaders if they continue to rule Gaza and use the money of the Palestinian people to strengthen their hold on power, according to an interview he gave to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

Hamas has never been so isolated. Egypt has outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the progenitor of Hamas. Turkey, which once lavished attention on Gaza, has reestablished relations with Israel. And worst of all for Hamas, oil-rich Qatar is suffering from an embargo, accused by its neighbors Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Egypt, of supporting terrorism. Qatar has supported Gaza for years.

A picture taken on July 2, 2017, shows a general view of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip during a power outage. (Wissam Nassar/For The Washington Post)

The tough tactics by Abbas are unprecedented in the decade-long split between the rulers of Gaza and the West Bank. The widening of the divide comes as President Trump is pushing Israel and the Palestinians to return to peace negotiations. Trumps Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt, returned to Jerusalem on Monday evening.

[Gaza is running perilously short of power. This time, its not all Israels fault.]

Abbas favors talks with Israel if they lead to an independent Palestinian state. Hamas has never recognized Israel and rejects talks. Because of the split, Israeli leaders have doubted whether Abbas represents all Palestinians.

Ghazi Hamad, who serves Hamas as a de facto foreign minister, told The Washington Post that Abbas cannot force Hamas to back down.

After 10 years he uses the stick and not the carrot? He cuts electricity. He cuts salaries. For what? This is what the people are asking, Hamad said.

He said Hamas has survived targeted killings by Israel, three wars and 10 years of blockade. We have not surrendered yet, and we will not surrender, Hamad said. Abbas wants Hamas to cry and beg for help?

He waved his hand, dismissing the idea.

A Palestinian family sits at home in candlelight in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip during a power outage on July 2, 2017. (Wissam Nassar/For The Washington Post)

But in the streets of Gaza, people feel secure enough  or frustrated enough  to curse both Hamas and Abbas, saying neither side cares about their suffering.

Rolling blackouts have reduced electricity to a trickle, deepening the misery of Gazas 2 million residents and forcing factories to shut down in a failing economy.

The lack of power has idled Gazas dysfunctional sewage-treatment systems, denying residents of one of the few sources of relief from the heat  a day at the beach. The Health Ministry ordered black flags to be flown along the coast, warning against bathing in water that is dangerously polluted with untreated human waste.

A few blocks inland, business is brisk at the dealerships selling batteries to run fans and charge mobile phones.

During the last war, we had more electricity than today, said Abu Mohammed, an engineer, who was buying a battery-powered fan for his mother.

Asked whom he blamed, the sweating shopper said, All of them!

In the past, Gazans named Israel as the source of their woes.

[A rare journey from Gaza to Jerusalem stirs memories for these Palestinians]

Taher el-Nounou, an adviser to the new political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, said: Abbas is tossing small grenades into Gaza. He wants to create a hostile environment in Gaza against Hamas. But you can say that he has failed. Abbas misread the situation. Maybe you can say that Hamas has not won, but Abbas has definitely lost.

In the Gaza Strip, Haniyeh has the support of 55 percent of those surveyed recently vs. 39 percent who support Abbas, the largest gap ever between the two leaderships, according to the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah.

Israel is watching Gaza closely, worried that pressure on Hamas could push the groups militia to start firing rockets into Israel again, an escalation that would be answered by retaliatory strikes.

Israel has fought three wars in nine years with Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel, which alongside Egypt enforces a partial travel and trade blockade of the impoverished strip because of Hamass presence.

Israels defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said that Abbas was goading Hamas toward war. In my opinion, the strategy is to hurt Hamas and also to drag Hamas into a conflict with Israel, he said at a security conference in June.

The crisis has stoked a growing sense of instability  and raised the prospect of previously unthinkable alliances.

Instead of pushing an isolated Hamas toward collapse or capitulation, the pressure is sending the militants in Gaza into the arms of Abbass greatest rival, a Palestinian leader named Mohammed Dahlan.

Egypts intelligence officials have been coaxing Hamas to seek new understandings with Dahlan.

When Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 after winning parliamentary elections the year before, Dahlan was running the security apparatus in Gaza for Abbass Fatah movement, and his forces fought in the streets against Hamas gunmen. For years, Dahlan has been persona non grata in Gaza, hated by Hamas leaders.

Dahlan is also one of a handful of names on a shortlist of possible successors to Abbas. A protege of Yasser Arafats, Dahlan was forced into exile in 2011, kicked out of Fatah the same year and accused of corruption and defamation, allegations he denies.

From a villa in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, Dahlan plots his comeback. He is well-positioned  with powerful friends in Saudi Arabias new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, Abu Dhabis crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi.

To ease the electricity crisis, Egypt in the past two weeks began sending tanker trucks filled with diesel to run Gazas sole electricity generating plant. In Gaza, Dahlan gets the credit.

Now we are in a potential new era. Dahlan could be back in the Gaza Strip, either physically present or operating by remote control from Egypt. He could be an influential figure, very suitable for Hamas and Israel at the same time, said Kobi Michael, a former head of the Palestinian desk at Israels Ministry of Strategic Affairs.

The biggest potential loser is not Hamas, Michael said. It is Abbas.

Nathan Thrall, a senior analyst with International Crisis Group, said that it remains unclear where Gaza is going but that a lot is in play.

Dahlan supporters and many in Fatah would be happy to see him return and would be happy to see an alleviation of the electricity and other crisis in Gaza as a result. To see a kind of joint Hamas and Dahlan authority? That is something many people, not just Dahlan supporters, might welcome.

Ruth Eglash in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Read more:

A Palestinians daily commute through an Israeli checkpoint

The $1.4 billion bet on a new Palestinian future

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 12, 2017. (Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court via Reuters)

Secretary of State Rex Tillersons quest to mend a squabble among Persian Gulf countries will continue Thursday in Qatar after a day of talks with Arab diplomats in Saudi Arabia ended with no signs of an imminent breakthrough.

Tillersons trip to Qatar to meet with its leader suggested, however, that the four Arab countries leading a month-long embargo against Qatar may be willing to relent, at least in part, on the 13 maximalist demands they made two weeks ago before Qatar flatly rejected them. Tillerson will report to the Qatari leader on the various points of view expressed Wednesday at talks in the Saudi coastal city of Jiddah, aides said.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt are leading a bloc of countries that severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar last month, ostensibly over its alleged support for groups they consider terrorists, notably Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood.

On Tuesday, Tillerson signed an agreement with Qatar for the two countries to work together trying to plug the pipeline of funds flowing to terrorist groups, a separate deal that nevertheless addressed one of the main demands of the boycotting nations.

[Qatar crisis offers glimpse of feuding within Trump administration]

Immediately after the deal, however, the four Arab countries declared in a joint statement that the agreement fell far short of their demands. They also claimed credit for the agreement that Qatar signed with the United States, saying it was their stance that pressured Qatar to take steps against networks that finance terrorism.

Before meeting with Tillerson, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir deflected a question about his thoughts on the Qatari agreement.

We have many thoughts, and I will discuss them with the secretary, he replied.

Tillerson has expressed frustration with the ongoing feud, fearing that it is a distraction from counterterrorism efforts and boosts support for Iran. Tehran has sided with Qatar by letting it use its airspace after other countries closed their airspace to flights in and out of Qatar.

State Department officials have said that none of the countries in the region have clean hands on the issue of allowing money from their territories to flow to terrorists and that the United States wants them to focus on ways to stop it instead of becoming entangled in a regional spat.

[Why Key Arab countries have cut ties with Qatar]

On the surface, the dispute is about Qatars alleged support for terrorists, which it denies, and its relationship with Iran, which is geographically so close to Qatar that it can be reached by ferryboat.

But Qatar has said it thinks the embargo is an attack on its independent foreign policy, which differs in important ways from that of Saudi Arabia. For example, Iran and Saudi Arabia are bitter rivals for influence in the region, while Qatar maintains friendly relations with Tehran. And among the demands made on Qatar is that it close the news network Al Jazeera, which reports critically on many Arab governments.

Tillerson was joined in the talks in Saudi Arabia by the foreign minister of Kuwait, which has been unsuccessful so far in its efforts to mediate the diplomatic row. In a rather unusual choice of venue, the meetings with the four foreign ministers were held in the opulent VIP departure lounge at Jiddahs international airport. Tillerson also traveled to private villas to meet with King Salman and the newly designated crown prince, the kings son Mohammed bin Salman.

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Christopher A. Wray, President Trumps nominee to head the FBI, told a Senate panel Wednesday that if the president improperly pressured him to drop an investigation, he would first try to talk him out of it  and if that failed, resign.

He testified during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee that no one has asked him for a loyalty oath as part of his nomination, adding, And I sure as heck didnt offer one.

Wray, a low-key former senior Justice Department official, was nominated after Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James B. Comey in May amid a bureau investigation of potential coordination between Trump associates and the Kremlin to interfere in last years presidential election.

Comeys dismissal hung over the proceedings, as a number of lawmakers said they wanted to avoid a repeat of the controversial firing. The former FBI director has testified that the president asked him for his loyalty and suggested that he drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn.

The issue of the FBIs independence took on even more significance this week in the wake of revelations that Trumps son, son-in-law and then-campaign manager met last year with a Russian lawyer who Donald Trump Jr. believed might offer damaging information about Hillary Clinton, his fathers chief Democratic opponent.

Wray said he would never allow the bureaus work to be driven by anything other than the law, the facts and the impartial pursuit of justice.

He said: My loyalty is to the Constitution and the rule of law.

Wrays promise to resign before yielding to such pressure appeared to satisfy Republicans and Democrats that he would assert his independence on the job.

Asked by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the Judiciary Committees ranking Democrat, to commit to alerting the panel if he learned of any machinations to tamper with the investigation, Wray said he would consult with officials to ensure he was not jeopardizing the inquiry.

But I would consider an effort to tamper with Director Muellers investigation unacceptable and inappropriate and would need to be dealt with very sternly indeed, he said, referring to former FBI director Robert S. Mueller II, the special counsel leading the investigation of ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) sought Wrays position on the meeting with the Russian lawyer in June 2016 attended by Trump Jr., Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign manager Paul Manafort.

Wray did not answer directly. But when asked whether someone like Graham should agree to such a meeting, Wray responded: Senator, I think youd want to consult with some good legal advisers before you do that. . . . I think it would be wise to let the FBI know.

1 of 11 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Photos from Christopher A. Wrays confirmation hearing for FBI director View Photos The nominee, a former senior Justice Department official, faces the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Caption The nominee, a former senior Justice Department official, faces the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. July 12, 2017 Christopher A. Wray faces a confirmation hearing to become the FBIs eighth director, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

In Wray, 50, the president chose an accomplished lawyer with a classic establishment pedigree: a Yale Law School degree, a clerkship for a respected and conservative appellate judge, experience as a federal prosecutor and work at a corporate law firm.

Wrays tenure in President George W. Bushs administration, in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks, raised questions from Democrats about his role in reviewing policies about the harsh interrogation of detainees that were blessed by the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the Bush administration.

From 2001 to 2002, Wray worked directly under the deputy attorney general, and from 2003 to 2005, he headed the Justice Departments criminal division.

Some Democrats noted that former OLC head John Yoo testified in 2008 that Wray was among the senior Justice Department officials who would have reviewed memos relating to interrogation techniques during Bushs first term.

Wray said he did not remember commenting on or approving any memo for Yoo on the subject.

I understand he thinks its possible he might have, he said. I can only tell this committee I have no recollection of that, and I think its the kind of thing Id remember.

Wray said that while he headed the criminal division, the department prosecuted a CIA contractor, David Passaro, who had gone overboard in interrogating a detainee in Afghanistan. Passaro was convicted in 2006 by a federal jury in North Carolina. That was not only an important case in its own right, but sent a message about the criminal divisions intolerance for that kind of conduct, Wray said.

During the hearing, Graham asked Wray whether he thought, as Trump has said, that the special counsel investigation of Russia led by Mueller is a witch hunt.

I do not consider Director Mueller to be on a witch hunt, Wray said.

When pressed by Graham, Wray also said that he has no reason to doubt the conclusions of the intelligence community that the Russian government interfered in the election with the intent to help Trump win  a finding that the president has cast doubt on.

Wray was asked about Comeys handling of the case involving Clintons emails while she was secretary of state, especially his decision to hold a news conference to announce the conclusion of the investigation.

I cant imagine a situation where, as FBI director, I would be giving a press conference on an uncharged individual, much less talking in detail about it, Wray said, noting that department policies restrict such actions.

Wray also spoke publicly for the first time about a 2004 incident in which he, along with Comey and other senior officials, was prepared to resign over a Bush administration warrantless surveillance program.

Wray said that although he was not privy to the programs classified details, Comey, who was then acting attorney general, told him there was an ongoing dispute over a program that was constitutional and legal in nature.

Comey also identified the officials who were prepared to resign over the issue.

Knowing those people, and that they were hardly shrinking violets in the war on terror, there was no hesitation in my standing with them, Wray said. He said he told Comey to let him know if they were about to resign, and Ill resign with you.

Wray said he has had two meetings with Trump and other officials at the White House as part of the nomination process, and went into them listening very carefully for any hints of pressure. If anything had been said that made me remotely uncomfortable, I would not be sitting here today, he said.

After several hours of questioning, Wray seemed to have made a positive impression on senators from both parties.

Im looking around and feeling that you had a good hearing today, said Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), who in past confirmation hearings  including that of Attorney General Jeff Sessions  has aggressively questioned nominees. Best of luck to you.
Federal prisoners, including those with mental illness, are being kept in solitary confinement for long periods of time in violation of federal policy, according to a new report.

Although the Bureau of Prisons states that it does not practice solitary confinement, the Justice Department inspector general found inmates, including mentally ill prisoners, housed in single-cell confinement for extended periods and with limited human contact, the 96-page report said.

The Bureau of Prisons, part of the Justice Department, does not put a limit on the maximum amount of time that inmates can spend in what is known as restrictive housing. Inmates, including those with mental illness, may spend years and even decades in these types of cells.

At one prison, investigators found inmates who were confined to their cells for more than 22 hours a day and did not engage in recreation with each other or with other inmates.

You have no contact, you dont speak to anybody, and its a form of torture on some level, a psychologist at one prison told the inspector generals investigators.

In one case, a prisoner had been placed in single-cell confinement for about four years. In another case, a mentally ill inmate was placed in restrictive housing for 1,912 consecutive days, or five years. One mentally ill prisoner was there for six years. Investigators also found a mentally ill inmate who had spent 19 years in a maximum security facility until he was transferred to a residential mental health treatment program.

[Read the Justice Dept. inspector generals report on solitary confinement for federal inmates, including those with mental illness]

By contrast, officials in six of eight state departments of corrections contacted by the inspector general said that they limit the length of time inmates with mental illness can be placed in restrictive housing. In 2015, according to the report, Massachusetts, Mississippi and New York had at least a 30-day limit, while three other states  Colorado, Maine and Pennsylvania  no longer place inmates with serious mental illness in restrictive housing.

The Bureau of Prisons does not track its housing of inmates in solitary confinement, nor does it always document inmates mental disorders, leaving the agency unable to ensure that inmates with mental illness are receiving appropriate care.

As of 2015, for example, only 3 percent of federal inmates were being treated regularly for mental illness. Yet an internal Bureau of Prison study suggested that about 19 percent of federal inmates had a history of mental illness, the report said. And a 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics report concluded that 45 percent of federal inmates had symptoms or a recent history of mental illness.

We found that the BOP cannot accurately determine the number of inmates who have mental illness because institution staff do not always document mental disorders, the report by Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said.

Horowitzs report said that equally concerning was the finding that 13 percent of the inmates in the sample the investigators studied were released by the Bureau of Prisons directly back into the community after spending nearly 29 months in restrictive housing before release.

The Bureau of Prisons adopted a new mental health policy under President Obama in 2014, which increased the standards of care for prisoners with mental illness. But the inspector generals investigation found that after the new policy was implemented, there was a 30 percent reduction in the number of inmates who receive regular mental health treatment.

It appears that mental health staff may have reduced the number of inmates . . . who must receive regular mental health treatment because they did not have the necessary staffing resources to meet the policys increased treatment standards, the report says.

Read more:

Human Rights Watch details abuse of mentally disabled prisoners

The painful price of aging in prison
A House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on U.S. Policy Toward Putins Russia, on June 14, 2016. Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, center right, testified as Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, center left, sat behind him. (House Foreign Affairs Committee)

The photograph is striking: There sits Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. and others at Trump Tower in Manhattan on June 9, 2016, seated a few days later in the front row of a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing at which witnesses discussed U.S. sanctions against her country.

The day before, Veselnitskaya was at Washingtons Newseum, attending the screening of a film that criticized U.S. sanctions.

In the course of a week  from New York to Washington  Veselnitskaya showed up at several events that go to the heart of the investigation of questions about whether Russia colluded with the Trump campaign to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Veselnitskayas role has raised questions about how close she is to the Kremlin, and why the Trump campaign  which has denied colluding with Moscow  agreed to a meeting with a person described to them as a Russian government attorney who could provide information detrimental to Clinton. The lawyer told The Washington Post in an interview Tuesday that she has no connection to the Kremlin.

Veselnitskaya, while familiar to those who follow the issue of U.S. sanctions against Russia, was otherwise little known until revelations this week that she played a pivotal role at the Trump Tower meeting attended by three close associates of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump: his son, Donald Trump Jr.; his son-in-law Jared Kushner; and his then-campaign manager, Paul Manafort.

The story of how she ended up in the meeting can be traced to her role as an attorney representing a Russian-owned company, Prevezon Holdings.

Veselnitskaya, 42, has deep experience in Russian political and legal matters. She has practiced law since 1998. She served in the prosecutors office of Moscow Region for three years, where she has said her work included overseeing the legality of statutes adopted by legislators. She founded a law firm, Kamerton Consulting, specializing in corporate and property disputes. She has said that her firms clients include large state-owned and private corporations, as well as clients from the real estate and banking sectors.

She said in a court declaration that she has won more than 300 cases and that she represents victims in many criminal cases involving economic crimes.

It was one of her most high-profile cases that brought her to New York City in June 2016, as the U.S. presidential campaign was underway. At the time, Donald Trump had sealed the Republican nomination but was trailing far behind his Democratic rival, Clinton.

Veselnitskaya, meanwhile, represented Prevezon, which had been sued by the U.S. attorney in New Yorks Southern District in a money-laundering case. It was while she was in that role that she also became an outspoken advocate for lifting economic sanctions imposed by Congress against Russia for human rights violations.

Magnitsky connection

The sanctions stemmed from the death of a Russian lawyer named Sergei Magnitsky. He worked for a U.S.-born businessman, William Browder, who runs a company called Hermitage Capital Management. The company once was one of the largest foreign investors in Russia, but Browder became critical of corruption under Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged reforms. He was banned from entering Russia in 2005 on grounds that he was a threat to national security.

Two years later, Browder said, his companys offices were raided, documents were seized and Hermitage companies were illegally taken over. Subsequently, those who arranged the takeover applied for a tax refund of $230 million, which was granted, Browder said. Browder hired Magnitsky to investigate. Magnitsky determined that fraud had occurred and testified against Russian officials in the matter, Browder said.

Magnitsky was arrested by those he had testified against and was found dead in jail a year later. Russian officials said he died of a heart attack, but Magnitskys family said he had injuries consistent with a severe beating.

Browder, who is now a British citizen, accused Russian officials of being culpable for Magnitskys death, and he said Moscow was trying to cover up corruption. He launched an effort to impose U.S. economic sanctions against Russia, and Congress approved them in 2012 legislation named the Magnitsky Act. Russian officials, in turn, accused Browder of colluding with the CIA and fabricating key pieces of his story. The passage of the act infuriated Putin, leading the Russian leader to retaliate by halting American adoption of Russian children. The adoption issue is frequently used as a talking point by opponents of the Magnitsky Act.

As accusations flew and the Magnitsky Act took effect, Prevezon was accused by U.S. officials of buying real estate with laundered funds from some of the proceeds of the $230 million tax refund. Prevezon, owned by a Russian named Denis Katsyv, fought the charges in federal court in New York. The company, in addition to hiring American lawyers, brought on Veselnitskaya to help make its case.

June meeting

Veselnitskayas visa for U.S. entry was denied, but she received special permission  in what is known as a parole letter  to come to New York specifically to defend Prevezon and Katsyv. She said in a court statement, however, that when she tried to reenter the United States, she was detained at Londons Heathrow Airport and unjustifiably subjected to a strip search, for no apparent reason. She eventually received permission to come to the United States to continue her work for Prevezon.

That set the stage for Veselnitskaya to be in New York City in June 2016, where a hearing related to Prevezon case was being held in federal court. (Prevezon paid $6 million to settle the case in May; Reuters reported that Prevezon said it was a victory because no guilt was declared and the amount was far less than initially sought by the U.S. government.) While Veselnitskaya was in the city, she had an opportunity to try to get her message against the Magnitsky Act to the Trump campaign.

The meeting was arranged by a publicist named Rob Goldstone, who wrote to Donald Trump Jr. that he could arrange a meeting with the Russian government attorney who could convey information that incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. Trump Jr. responded that if its what you say I love it.

Goldstone then wrote in a June 8 email to Donald Trump Jr. that Veselnitskaya cant do today as she hasnt landed yet from Moscow. Goldstone then said it would need to be the following day, late in the afternoon, because Veselnitskaya is in court until 3 p.m.

Veselnitskaya, who has said she cannot read or write English, did not speak at the hearing. She then went to the Trump Tower meeting, bringing an interpreter with her. Trump Jr. has said that Veselnitskaya had no information to share about Clinton and that she talked about her opposition to the Magnitsky Act. The legislation preceded sanctions imposed against Russia for its annexation of Crimea and incursion into Ukraine; overturning the Magnitsky Act is seen in Russia as a first step to ending all sanctions.

We sat and talked to each other for a few minutes, and it was clear we were talking about two different things, Veselnitskaya said in an interview with The Post in Moscow on Tuesday.

Veselnitskaya said that Goldstones statement that she was a government attorney is wrong. She told The Post that she once worked in the prosecutors office of the province that surrounds but does not include Moscow. A regional prosecutor is not the Kremlin, she said. A Kremlin spokesman has said that she was not speaking to the Trump campaign on its behalf and that we dont know who she is.

Trump Jr., in explaining why he met with Veselnitskaya, said he was told the woman would be in New York and asked if I would meet. I decided to take the meeting. The woman, as she has said publicly, was not a government official.

Sanctions focus

Veselnitskayas stay in the United States was only beginning. Four days after her meeting at Trump Tower, she attended the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, which focused on sanctions and overall U.S.-Russia relations. She secured a seat in the first row, directly behind the witness table. She was photographed by a committee staffer as she listened intently to a witness, former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, who testified that many Russians quietly believe that Putins current course of confrontation with the West does not serve its interests.

Opponents of the Magnitsky Act had hoped to show a film about the issue to members of Congress, but they were rebuffed. Instead, the film was screened the night before at the Newseum. Veselnitskaya took a seat at the screening, according to a congressional official who attended the event, but she did not speak to the audience. She later returned to Russia, where she is raising four children, and she seemed to fade from public notice until her role surfaced in Trump Tower meeting.

On Tuesday night, she was by turns tearful and angry about her sudden prominence. She defended her role, and stood steadfast in her belief that the Magnitsky Act is unfair and that her appearance at Trump Tower had nothing to do with the Russian government.

I did not have an assignment from the Kremlin. There were no orders from the government, she said.

David Filipov and Natalya Abbakumova reported from Moscow. Aaron Davis contributed to this report.

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 Former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was convicted Wednesday of corruption and money laundering and sentenced to more than nine years in prison, a stunning blow to a man once hailed across the hemisphere as an innovative leftist leader.

The verdict is the highest profile conviction to come from Brazils Operation Car Wash, a massive corruption inquiry that has shaken the countrys political elite and created a leadership crisis.

The landmark decision marks the first conviction of the former president, widely known as Lula. He also faces four other corruption charges. The verdict represents a major setback for the popular leaders political aspirations. His lawyers have already said he is planning to appeal, a process that could take a year and a half. He is expected to remain free while the case winds its way through the courts.

No matter how important you are, no one is above the law, Judge Sergio Moro said in announcing his verdict.

Lula, 71, has proclaimed his innocence and called the trial a witch hunt. The former president, who presided over Brazils government from 2003 to 2010, was found guilty of receiving $1.1 million in favors from a construction company.

[Two possible paths for Brazils beloved ex-leader: prison or the presidency]

Moro is one of the main protagonists in Operation Car Wash. Over the past three years, the investigation has traced corruption from a Brasilia gas station to the highest echelons of the government, and uncovered a complex kickback scheme in which politicians traded political favors for donations.

Brazils current president, Michel Temer, along with more than half his cabinet, a third of the Senate and dozens of representatives are being investigated as part of the probe.

On Wednesday, supporters of Operation Car Wash lined up outside the courtroom in southern Brazil where the verdict was announced, holding flowers for Moro and waving Brazilian flags. In Sao Paulo, fireworks sounded from the citys main thoroughfare, Avenida Paulista. Supporters of Lulas Workers Party, meanwhile, called for protests nationwide.

Lula was found guilty of charges that he accepted the use of a beach apartment  and free renovation work on the home  from the engineering company OAS SA in return for helping to arrange lucrative contracts with state oil company Petrobras. Lulas defense says that the apartment belonged to the construction firm and that he visited it only once.

Gleisi Hoffmann, the president of the Workers Party, described the verdict as politically motivated and baseless. This is an attack on democracy, she said. Where is your proof, Sergio Moro? Show us your proof.

Lula, a former union organizer with a fourth-grade education, won fame as a spokesman for Brazils neglected poor. A co-founder of the Workers Party, he led the country as it rode a commodities boom and became a darling of investors. But he also introduced welfare policies that helped lift 36 million people out of poverty. President Obama once called him the most popular politician on Earth. Lula left office with an approval rate of more than 80 percent.

All these things coming together presented a perfect sunny day, and Lula was at the helm. It is only natural that many of these positive things were attributed to his policies, but in reality, the enduring legacy of his time is the realization that the dream is over, said Marcos Troyjo, co-director of the BRICLab at Columbia University, which studies Brazil, China, India and Russia.

As the commodities boom went bust, Brazil sunk into its worst recession on record, and the Workers Party lost support. The countrys leftists fell into disarray as Lulas successor, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached in 2016 for mismanaging the countrys budget.

The lefts hopes for revival rested on the shoulders of the same man who led the party to international prominence. Lula was widely expected to run for reelection in 2018 and a June poll showed that he could beat prospective opponents by margins of nearly 20 percent. If he is found guilty by the appeals court before the election, though, he will not be permitted to run for president.

These accusations and condemnations are tarnishing the image of Lula as a beloved leader at home and abroad, said Alexandre Bandeira, a political consultant in Brasilia. But Lulas decay may open up space for new leadership not just in the [Workers Party], but through more moderate central-left parties. It creates an even greater opportunity for the reconstruction of the left.

Read more

He was the most popular politician on Earth. Now he could go to jail.

How Brazils political class came undone

A corruption scandal helped ruin Brazils economy. Now workers face the consequences.

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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A woman who is seeking asylum has her fingerprints taken by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at a pedestrian crossing from Mexico to the United States, in McAllen, Tex., on May 10. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

A group of immigration lawyers and advocates filed a class-action lawsuit Wednesday against Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly and other top U.S. officials, alleging that guards along the U.S.-Mexico border have systematically violated the law by turning away people who are seeking asylum.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in California alleges that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have used a range of tactics to deny people their right to state their fears of persecution and apply for asylum, including misrepresentations, threats and intimidation, verbal abuse and physical force.

In some cases, the complaint alleges, CBP officials have told people that Donald Trump just signed new laws saying there is no asylum for anyone. In other instances, border guards have allegedly threatened to take away the foreigners children unless they signed forms forgoing their asylum claims or said on camera that they had no fear of returning home.

CBP has been emboldened by the anti-immigrant rhetoric around the election. They are flagrantly breaking the law, said Erika Pinheiro, the policy and technology director at Al Otro Lado, a legal aid organization based in Los Angeles that is one of the plaintiffs in the suit. They have either been told, or believe, that there should be no more asylum seekers.

The United States has long adhered to international law allowing people to seek asylum if they are being persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, political beliefs or other factors. If foreigners entering the United States express a fear of being returned to their home country, Border Patrol officers are required to process them for an interview with an asylum officer, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Tuesday, before the lawsuit was filed.

A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle shines its headlights towards the U.S-Mexico border fence at dawn, as seen from Tijuana, Mexico, in May. (John Moore/Getty Images)

As we continue to work toward protecting our borders, CBP has not changed any policies affecting asylum procedures, the statement said.

But over the past year, immigration lawyers and advocates have documented hundreds of cases of asylum seekers, often from Mexico and Central America, being turned away at the border. Groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights First say such incidents have occurred at crossings along the 2,000-mile border with Mexico. There has been a surge in asylum cases in recent years, particularly involving Central Americans, amid rampant gang violence in countries like El Salvador and Honduras. The numbers, have fallen off since Trumps inauguration, however, as fewer migrants are attempting to cross.

[U.S. border officials are illegally turning away asylum seekers, critics say]

In January, immigrant advocates filed a complaint with Homeland Securitys Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties alleging a systemic practice of turning away asylum seekers. Migrants who are denied interviews are often forced back into dangerous circumstances in Mexico or Central America.

The plaintiffs suspect that pattern of rejections stems from some change in policy, and they hope that the legal process may shed light on whether senior Homeland Security or border officials have issued orders that resulted in asylum seekers being turned away.

Our organization has documented this over 100 times, Pinheiro said. It would be very strange if there's that many rogue officers that are all doing the same thing at different ports of entry.

The lawsuit, filed by Al Otro Lado and six individuals who are represented by the American Immigration Council, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the law firm of Latham and Watkins, argues that top U.S. officials have violated the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which says that any foreigner who reaches the United States has the right to apply for asylum. The complaint also alleges a violation of international law and of the asylum seekers constitutional right to due process.

[The Trump effect has slowed illegal U.S. border crossings. But for how long?]

Several of the plaintiffs are Mexican and Central American citizens who fled to the United States to escape violent drug cartels and gangs. The complaint describes several cases in which CBP officials allegedly coerced asylum seekers into signing false statements or recanting their fears on video, or allegedly provided false information  such as that Mexicans are no longer eligible for asylum, or that the United States was no longer accepting migrant mothers and children.

One Honduran woman and her 18-year-old daughter had been repeatedly raped by MS-13 gang members, the Central American gang that Trump has highlighted for its brutality, according to the suit. But CBP officials misinformed them about their rights and denied them a chance to apply for asylum at the Tijuana-San Diego crossing, the suit alleged. A Mexican woman who had been abducted and threatened by drug cartel members was told by one CBP official in San Diego that her children would be taken away if they allowed her into the United States to apply for asylum, according to the suit.

In recent months, other asylum seekers at Tijuana were told by U.S. border guards that if they wanted to get processed, they needed to sign up with Mexican immigration authorities first, according to interviews with migrants and advocates. But the Mexican officials ultimately wouldn't handle their cases. This was an issue of particular concern to Mexicans trying to flee their own country.

Theyre getting very creative; we keep hearing new ways theyre turning people away, said Kathryn Shepherd, a lawyer with the American Immigration Council, a Washington-based advocacy group.

Lawyers say that not all asylum seekers are rebuffed at the border. But, said Shepherd, If a single asylum seeker is denied in a day, thats one too many.

Read more

Trump wants to deport more MS-13 gang members. El Salvador is dreading their return.

Why El Salvador became the hemispheres murder capital

As the world tightens the screws on refugees, Nigerians are being deported to a bombed-out hellscape

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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RUPERT  Police say a Burley man fired a pistol at two men in Rupert last week.

Cameron Eugene Barrus, 27, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault.

The wife of one of the victims said she saw Barrus point a black gun at her husband and fire a shot at him, court records said.

Deputies recovered a spent bullet from the area where her husband had been standing. A spent casing was found inside Barrus pickup.

Another man who witnessed the incident from across the street said Barrus leaned out the window of the truck and fired a shot at him, too. The witness followed Barrus and got the license plate number from his vehicle.

Police found Barrus in Burley.

Barrus told police that he was at the mans home trying to collect money. He said his girlfriend and their five-month-old daughter were in the truck with him at the time.

Barrus told police that he did not shoot at either man. He said he grabbed a black object from his truck, but he could not tell police what the object was.

He said when he was leaving he threw loud poppers, at the man he was trying to collect money from. Poppers are fireworks that make a snapping noise.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Minidoka County Magistrate Court.
Snap Inc. is a social media company operating globally. The company was founded in September 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy. Originally known as Snapchat, the company changed its name to Snap in order to represent its offerings better as it grew over the years. The companys headquarters are in Santa Monica, California and it is a very tightly held company. The original founders, Evan Speigel and Bobby Murphy own a combined 45% of non-dilutable shares with ownership transferable to the other upon death. The two remain active in the company today serving on the board and acting as CEO (Speigel) and CTO (Murphy).

The company was formerly known as Snapchat, Inc. and changed its name to Snap Inc. in September 2016. Snap Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. Over the years it has been courted by most of the big tech companies including Facebook and Google but has always opted to remain a standalone company. The business went public in 2017 and raised $30 billion on its opening day which is about 10 times the expected amount.

Today, Snap operates as a camera company internationally. The companys main revenue streams are Snapchat, a mobile app for cameras and communications, and Spectacles, a wearable augmented reality device. Snapchat is a camera app that allows users to take pictures and tell stories, the platform also permits ad sales which is an integral part of the revenue and earnings. The companys mission? To empower people to express themselves in todays digital world.

Spectacles is a hardware device that can connect with Snapchat to deliver pictures and video from a point-of-view perspective. The company has since made three upgrades to the original version and has a Next Generation model available too. The Next Generation of Spectacles are not intended for sale but will be made available to creators who wish to push the boundaries of video and digital communications.

In October 2022 the company reported it had more than 347milion daily active users with more than 250 million engaging with AR each day. The platform had more than 250,000 Lens creators (Lenses are AR experiences) with more than 2.5 million lenses created. There were more than 6 billion lens plays each day and more than 75% of 13-34-year-olds in 20 countries were users.
Angelina Green impressed everyone with her powerful voice on America's Got Talent Tuesday night. The 13-year-old sang "I'll Stand By You" by The Pretenders, which was a fitting song choice considering what she and her mom had been through. Angelina said that her dad had left one day and never returned, adding, "We were left with literally nothing." She also talked about overhearing her mom on the phone with homeless shelters after they had received multiple eviction notices. Angelina used singing as a way to escape from all of her troubles. "I would sing and all my sadness and troubles, they would all go away," she said. The 13-year-old put on an amazing performance that got a standing ovation. All of the judges loved her, and Simon Cowell told her, "I mean, you've made my goose bumps have goose bumps." Although, Heidi Klum loved her the most, saying, "And I loved it so much that I'm gonna hit the Gold Buzzer!" Gold confetti then fell down around Angelina, as tears of joy fell from her eyes. And now it's on to the live shows for the young teenager.
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What It Is: The BMW 3-series gets completely redesigned for the 2019 model year, and these images are our clearest look yet at what we can expect from the all-new compact luxury sedan.

Like its bigger 5- and 7-series stablemates, the new 3-series features large headlights that appear to merge into the brands classic kidney grille design. That grille will employ shutters that open and close at higher speeds in order to improve aerodynamics and fuel economy. Meanwhile, the 3s body sides will include a handful of character lines that sweep across the cars four doors. Expect the front fenders to house a pair of functional vents that mimic those on other BMW models.

Change also is afoot inside the new 3-series, which appears to usher in a new iDrive control knob, new center console buttons, and model-specific seats. As in other recent BMWs, the new 3 will have a center stack thats curved toward the driver, and it will offer an optional digital gauge cluster and the latest iDrive software, which will include a touchscreen that works in conjunction with the console-mounted control knob.

Why it Matters: Traditionally BMWs best-selling model, the 3-series is key to the companys financial success, even as the market focus shifts to crossover SUVs. More importantly, the new 3-series will set the tone for BMWs future as an enthusiast marque. While the 5- and 7-series have lost the inherent behind-the-wheel joy of BMWs past, were hopeful that the new 3-series will bring BMW back to its dynamic roots, which were established by four generations of 10Best winners.

Platform: The 2019 BMW 3-series will ride on the brands new cluster architecture platform, dubbed CLAR. (That platform also underpins the 5-series, the 7-series, the new 6-series Gran Turismo, and the new X3.) Expect the new car to weigh slightly less than its predecessor, but ride on a marginally longer wheelbase and cast a larger overall shadow. Engines will continue to be longitudinally oriented and the plug-in models battery pack is expected to be unobtrusively mounted underfloor.

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Powertrain: The 3-series four-cylinder gas engines are said to carry over to the new car unchanged, plus or minus a few horsepower. Base models likely will continue to bear the 320i badge and rely on a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four with about 180 horsepower, while 330i models will pack around 250 ponies. Rear-wheel-drive will be standard, with optional all-wheel-drive models getting the usual xDrive badge. The six-cylinder 340i may give way to a harder-edged M340i M Performance model with approximately 350 horses that will allow the 3-series to properly battle the Audi S4 and the Mercedes-AMG C43. The plug-in hybrid 330e is expected to see upgrades that will improve upon the current models paltry 14-mile all-electric EPA driving range. Additionally, BMW is expected to introduce a fully electric version of the new 3-series. The model will be aimed directly at the Tesla Model 3, and it should have over 200 miles of range.

All 2019 3-series trim levels will use an eight-speed automatic transmission; its possible that the manual transmission may not make it to America. Across the pond, BMW is poised to offer a 3-series motivated by the Mini Coopers turbocharged three-cylinder engine. We dont expect to see this engine under the hoods of U.S.-bound 3-series models.

Competition: Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-class, Jaguar XE, Infiniti Q50.

Estimated Arrival and Price: Look for the 2019 BMW 3-series to arrive in the middle of 2018 as a 2019 model-year vehicle after debuting at the Frankfurt auto show this September. Pricing should stay close to todays cars, with four-cylinder models starting in the mid-$30,000 range, the plug-in hybrid adding another $5000 or so to the ticket, and the six-cylinder versions pushing well past $50,000.
Air Canada has launched its own investigation into Flight 759 from Toronto: Getty

An Air Canada plane with 140 people on board had a near-miss at San Francisco airport after it came close to landing where four other aircraft were waiting to take off.

US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials are investigating after the passenger plane narrowly avoided colliding with jets on the ground.

The pilot of the Airbus A320 inadvertently lined up to land on Friday night on a taxiway that runs parallel to the runway.

An air traffic controller ordered the jet to pull up and circle for another approach, and it landed without further incident.

According to an air traffic control audio recording posted online, a pilot with United Airlines who was waiting on the taxiway said the plane "flew directly over us".

Air Canada has launched its own investigation into Flight 759 from Toronto, which had 135 passengers and five crew members on board.

Safety experts said it is rare for planes to land on a taxiway instead of a runway, and when it happens it usually involves small planes at smaller airports.

Taxiways do not have the same distinctive markings that appear on runways.

It wasn't immediately clear how close the plane came to disaster, with FAA spokesman Ian Gregor only giving basic details, citing an ongoing investigation.

Earlier this year, actor Harrison Ford flew over an airliner and landed his small plane on a taxiway in Southern California.

In December 2015, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 landed on a central taxiway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. No one was injured.

Aviation-safety consultant Todd Curtis called the incident "a serious event since a landing on an active taxiway could lead to a catastrophic accident.

Additional reporting agencies
Amazon has been upgrading its delivery capacity.

Prime Day is Amazons biggest global shopping event, says Echo, Amazons smart speaker and bestseller. But to Amazons logistics system, the 30-hour shopping spree means nothing out of the ordinary for a summer sale, as an Amazon (AMZN) spokesman told Yahoo Finance in an email on Monday.

Amazons self-made shopping holiday on Tuesday offers a peek into the e-commerce giants expanding delivery system. The annual event attracts people to pay $99 a year for the Prime Membership to gain access to exclusive discounts and two-day free delivery.

Last year, Prime Day marked its largest single day sales ever. Amazon can handle a high volume of packages with a promise of two-day delivery with its existing logistics system, with help from its partner carriers including UPS, the US Postal Service and FedEx.

Both UPS and USPS confirmed to Yahoo Finance that they dont need to hire temporary workers to support the event, while FedEx says it plans for volume needs year-round.

Amazon doesnt need to add additional capacity for Prime Day because Amazon has excess capacity on non-Prime Day events, said Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant who worked for Amazon until this March.

A test of Amazons expanding delivery system

Amazons shipping costs have surged recently, even as the company put more resources into building its own delivery system.

Amazon is focusing much of that expansion on air delivery. The company boasted this week that it used Prime Air Cargo planes to support Prime Day for the first time. However, 40 jets with blue logos have been flying with lightweight loads to meet growing delivery demand since last year, reported by Reuters.

Prime Day will be a test for their own capacity apart from FedEx and UPS. I dont think they know for sure, said Dale Rogers, professor of logistics at Arizona State University. Its a nice test to do before Christmas.

During the Christmas holiday in 2013, bad weather and the overwhelming surge in orders resulted in large-than-expect package delays, which Amazon settled by offering $20 gift cards and refunds on shipping costs. Last holiday season, Amazon added more than 120,000 temporary workers to work in its fulfillment centers and to do customer service.

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While Amazon is trying to reduce its dependence on third-party shipping companies to deal with order surges on special occasions, it may never rely 100% on its own internal delivery systems. It might not make sense for Amazon to send everything to Prime members doorway on its own.

I think theyre going to build internal capacity, but they will also continue to grow external capacity, Rogers said. Wall Street wont like it if their return on assets become much lower. It makes sense for Amazon to outsource part of them and have a mixed delivery strategy.

Krystal Hu covers e-commerce for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter

Read more:

Think youre buying on Amazon? Its actually from Alibaba

How Amazon is eclipsing Walmarts best efforts to dominate e-commerce

One Quote from Jack Ma sums up a huge shift in Chinas economy
An Iraqi forces sniper looks on as smoke billows, following an airstrike by US-led international coalition forces targeting Isil in Mosul on July 9 - AFP

A senior British commander has hit out at a human rights groups claims the US-led coalition and Iraqi forces used excessive force in the battle to recapture Mosul, calling them naive and deeply irresponsible.

Major General Rupert Jones, the deputy commander of the international anti-Isil coalition, on Wednesday criticised a report published by Amnesty International the day after troops claimed victory over the jihadists as "disrespectful" to the Iraqi government.

Amnesty suggested the government and coalition carried out "disproportionate" and "unlawful" attacks in the fight to take back the city.

Major General Rupert Jones Credit: MoD via PA

The organisation accused the forces of using unnecessarily powerful weapons in Mosuls densely-populated Old City, which they say resulted in needless loss of civilian lives and could constitute war crimes.

Gen Jones said it is naive to think a city such as Mosul, with a population of 1.75 million, could be liberated without any civilian casualties while fighting an enemy that "lacks all humanity".

Amnesty International has accused the Iraqi forces of using excessive force in a civilian area Credit: Getty

"It strikes me as being written by people who simply have no understanding of the brutality of warfare. But we should be absolutely clear who were deliberately killing civilians," he added.

"It wasn't the government of Iraq, it wasn't the coalition, it was Isis - everybody should be entirely clear what they were doing with the civilians. It went way beyond human shields, they were out and out murdering civilians left, right and centre."

A coalition air strike on Mosul, where Isil has used the local population as human shields Credit: AFP

The UK has played a leading role in the coalition, striking 750 Isil targets in support of the Iraqi army during the nine-month offensive.

Thousands of Iraqi troops are thought to have been killed in the fighting, although the total number across the army may never be known as it does not release casualty figures.

Major General Rupert Jones, deputy commander of the anti-Isil coalition, said Amnesty didn't understand war Credit: AFP

Troops faced a high-tech enemy in Isil, whose campaign was fought using drones carrying explosives, Mad Max-style car bombs, foreign-trained snipers and a complex warren of tunnels. Snipers would take over houses and round up civilians in the basements to use as protection against air strikes.

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Whole neighbourhoods of the Old City and western side of Mosul were levelled in the deadliest urban battle since the Second World War.

The Iraqi government says the cost of rebuilding the city will run into the tens of billions of dollars.

Iraq victory over Isil in Mosul, in pictures

Airwars, a UK-based civilian casualties monitoring group, believes that as many as 5,800 civilians were killed in military activity in west Mosul. Iraqi civil defence officials have suggested that up to 4,000 bodies may still be lying buried under rubble.

"The Iraqi security forces have put the safety of civilians as the absolute centrepiece of the liberation of the city over the last nine months - that is beyond question, said Gen Jones.

"Does that mean there have been no violations? No, of course there have, but whenever those are presented to the government of Iraq, they are taken very, very seriously.

Fleeing Iraqi civilians sit inside a house as they wait to be taken out of the Old City during fighting between Isil and the Iraqi army Credit: AP

Amnesty demanded a commission of inquiry, saying allied forces failed to adapt their tactics even when it was clear that Isil militants had forced civilians into areas most likely to come under attack.

The scale and gravity of the loss of civilian lives during the military operation to retake Mosul must immediately be publicly acknowledged at the highest levels of government in Iraq and states that are part of the US-led coalition, Lynn Maalouf, the Middle East research director, said.

A heated debate has ignited around the cost of the offensive.

Ian Bremmer, a global risk consultant, tweeted a picture of destroyed parts of Mosuls Old City alongside the caption Mosul, liberated? It was shared almost 10,000 times.

Some Twitter users responded with pictures of Dresden after the Second World War, a city which was badly destroyed but quickly rebuilt.

One UK-based Iraqi architect replied: Why the speech marks? Yes, liberated is liberated, and we are going to rebuild it.

Members of the Iraqi forces celebrate the liberation of Mosul's Old City, where thousands of their comrades are thought to have died Credit: AFP

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commanding officer of the British Armed Forces who is advising forces fighting Isil, told the Telegraph Amnesty had failed to understand the difficulties of fighting in cities, against a determined and organised adversary.

Time has been of the essence here and every day Mosul was under Isil control hundreds of people were dying at their hands, far more from alleged coalition activity," he said.

Warfare is brutal and what might seem dreadful in an office in Europe, or elsewhere, is a fact of life in a warzone, and those who criticise should ensure they really understand the environment.

Amnestys work is essential to bring those responsible for atrocities to book, but it also needs to be tempered in this case, with the reality of the lengths Isil would go to protect their so-called caliphate with no regard to human life.

FAQ | The battle for Mosul
By Dave McKinney and Karen Pierog CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois' first budget after two years is filled with partial outlines to address its debt-ridden pension system and unpaid bill backlog -- signs that political fighting and the fiscal mess in the nation's fifth-largest state are far from over. At least 15 House and Senate Republicans broke with first-term Republican Governor Bruce Rauner on Thursday and joined with Democrats to override Rauner's vetoes of the state's first budget package in more than two years. The $36 billion spending plan relies on a $5 billion tax increase that permanently hikes the flat personal income tax rate to 4.95 percent, up 32 percent from its prior 3.75 percent rate. To address the state's nearly $15 billion in unpaid bills, Illinois depends heavily on borrowing. Lawmakers approved $6 billion of 12-year bonds to raise money for repayments. But State Representative Greg Harris, the House Democrats' point person on the budget, has acknowledged there is only enough revenue to support half of that borrowing amount. Illinois will also borrow up to $1.2 billion from various state accounts that have accumulated cash for specific purposes, while "sweeping" cash from other accounts --a government version of looking under couch cushions that is expected to yield $300 million. Illinois' $130 billion pension liability is one of the largest in the nation, and the new budget takes only small steps to address the structural underfunding of Illinois' five retirement systems. The new law gives the state five years to phase in changes retroactive to fiscal 2014 in actuarial or investment return assumptions made by the pension systems for an estimated savings of $892.1 million. Seemingly small changes in projected investment results can have significant impact on a pension fund's actuarial calculations. Last year, when the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System reduced its earnings assumption to 7 percent from 7.5 percent, the change caused a $660 million spike in the state's fiscal 2018 contribution. The new budget attributes $500 million in savings to the creation of a new tier of pension beneficiaries. But that tier applies largely to newly hired employees, raising questions about how the state expects to book that savings in the current fiscal year. That estimate was lifted straight from the proposed budget presented by Rauner earlier this year. The projection has not been independently verified by legislative leaders, and Rauner's office has not responded to requests for an explanation of how the estimate was calculated. The Illinois Education Association, one of the state's largest unions, said it has no evidence that its pensioners would be harmed by the new budget's pension provisions. But the union questioned why lawmakers approved structural changes to pensions without an independent financial analysis. "It's a little bit of a shot in the dark. For something this major, you'd think the legislators who are voting on this would want to know this information," said Jim Reed, the union's government relations director. A budget was welcomed as a positive step for Illinois, which still faces fiscal and pension crises. "The pension pressures will continue, and Illinois' financial challenges will continue, but at least there will be a framework to recognize there's a limit to the liability growth to this state," said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a budget watchdog group. Steve Malanga, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute think tank, said the fixes in the new budget do not match up to the challenges faced by Illinois. "This is the kind of budget you would pass if you were a state that hit a bump in the road and had a deficit you needed to get rid of over the next two or three years," he said. "It's not the kind of budget you'd pass if you have $14 billion in unpaid bills and a $130 billion unfunded (pension) liability." The Democrats and Republicans who voted for the budget did so at least in part to prevent Illinois from becoming the first U.S. state in history to see its credit rating fall to "junk" status. Moody's on Wednesday put Illinois on review for a possible downgrade, but some of the state's bonds traded higher on Friday, an apparent sign of optimism about the budget. (Additional reporting by Julia Jacobs; Editing by David Greising and Sandra Maler)
Blogger Chidera Eggerue is speaking out about issues within the natural hair community. (Photo: @theslumflower via Twitter)

In recent years, natural hair has been a larger part of beauty conversations than ever before  particularly as women feel more empowered to wear their naturally textured curls and coils. As good as it is to have natural hair in the spotlight, there are deeper issues about what is being defined as acceptable natural hair, and some in the community are speaking up about the issue.

On Twitter, award-winning blogger Chidera Eggerue shared a video with a caption that read, my issue with the natural hair community. She opens the video by getting straight to the point: Yall want to know what Im mad about today? The fact the natural hair community is dominated by women who have socially acceptable curls, like 3A and 3B, 3C curly hair textures.

The 22-year-old goes on to say that you rarely see women with hair like her own dominating hair campaigns. In the three-minute video, she touches on how women with tighter curl patterns face different issues and how this ties directly to colorism; she also speaks about the obsession with hair length versus health and says that without more widespread inclusion, no further progress will be made.

my issue with the natural hair community pic.twitter.com/7DExy4dRFU  THE SLUMFLOWER (@theslumflower) July 9, 2017

Eggerues post quickly became wildly popular and has been shared by social media users more than 3,800 times in a matter of a few days. People are thankful that she is speaking out about this underdiscussed reality, and they are saying as much via their comments.

I appreciate u talking on the importance of hair health vs. just aesthetics. That message is always lost. Watching again w/my 4Z daughter. pic.twitter.com/aXrJOmdVPL  The Hon. Tiffany (@WhoIsTiffIsMe) July 9, 2017

Beautiful. Articulate. Necessary.  ebonee davis (@eboneedavis) July 9, 2017

Omg preach !!!!!!! I love the fact that you tied this with colorism which I have been saying for the longest. Totally agree pic.twitter.com/LIOWQPlGxv  Cee (@ChillOnCee) July 9, 2017

Yahoo Beauty spoke with Eggerue and got to the heart of what had inspired her to so publicly share this opinion. I got extremely tired of seeing the natural hair movement being led by the same type of woman  light-skinned, loose-curled, and fitting a Eurocentric standard of beauty, she says. This is problematic because different women of color have different hair textures and different needs, but there is a major lack of representation. Darker-skinned women with thicker hair textures are the least heard.

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In her video, Eggerue brings up colorism  discrimination based on shades of skin tones  a controversial topic that some people feel has nothing to do with the natural hair movement. One person wrote under the initial post, Its not that deep. Just find people with 4c hair and network with them and share experiences. It has nothing to do with colorism. Another quickly responded to that with, In fact, it is that deep. Everything she said was factual. You speak of building up Africa yet you dismiss her personal experience. How.

Personal experience is a lot of what drives Eggerues video and this debate. In the video, she speaks about ways she traumatized her hair as she tried to conform to the natural hair examples she saw in the media. Due to pressure to conform to having socially acceptable hair, Ive damaged my hair through relaxers, heat and heavy extensions, Eggerue says. As a result, I now have traction alopecia, which is a condition where some of my hair follicles have died, leaving a large bald patch at the front of my head. After a lot of effort to fix it through various natural oils, Ive realized that its irreversible and have made peace with it.

She goes on to further break down and clarify the posttraumatic impact and societal presence of colorism: Its extremely problematic because it means that darker-skinned women like myself who have thicker hair textures feel excluded. For a very young black girl seeing campaigns that exclude her, this can create identity issues and lead to internalized anti-blackness, she says. It sounds extreme, but people dont understand that the little seeds of underrepresentation that are planted through selective advertising eventually sprout into giant bean stalks of self-hate. I used to believe my curls were not curly enough because no matter how much product Id load my hair with, it would never have the shiny, popping, defined curls advertised on the product packaging.

Another interesting moment in the video is when Eggerue brings up the obsession that people in the natural hair community have with hair length as opposed to hair health. When speaking with Yahoo Beauty, she elaborated more in that topic: Women with natural hair types would benefit more from focusing on the health of their hair as opposed to length, because with health comes length anyway. Long hair doesnt necessarily equal healthy hair! The issue with prioritizing hair length over hair health is that its often rooted in proving that black women can grow long hair. But long hair is a Eurocentric beauty standard, and we have nothing to prove to anybody.

This isnt the first time the Internet has lit up in debate over how much more looser curls are celebrated as opposed to kinkier, tighter coils, and it probably wont be the last. There is obviously still a noticeable lack of balanced representation, and people are fed up.

Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:

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Luke Rutter, from Birkenhead, Merseyside, was killed in a neighbourhood near Raqqa - YPG

A British man killed fighting with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) filmed a video before his death where he apologised to his family for not telling them he was going to Syria.

Luke Rutter, 22, was killed last week during the battle to drive Isil fighters from Raqqa, their self-declared capital in northern Syria. He is the fourth Briton to die fighting with the Kurds.

Mr Rutter, who was from Birkenhead in Merseyside, joined the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) in March but reportedly told his family that the was volunteering for the French Foreign Legion.

In a video recorded before his death, he apologised for the deception.

YPG announces English volunteer Luke Rutter (Soro Zinar) KIA in Raqqa on July 6 pic.twitter.com/ZKLX3ePAgM  Mutlu Civiroglu (@mutludc) July 11, 2017

Sitting in a field with an AK-47 across his lap, he said: I lied to people I care about to come here. I said that I was going somewhere else, I didnt. I apologise massively for that. Aside from that I dont regret my decision and I hope you respect it.

His death was announced in a statement by the YPG, which said that he died so all the people of the world may have a free life.

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) looks at a smoke after an coalition airstrike in Raqqa Credit: GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS

His death was announced in a statement by the YPG, which said that he died so all the people of the world may have a free life.

Kimmie Taylor, a British woman fighting alongside Kurdish fighters, posted rest in peace, comrade on Facebook in response to news of Mr Rutters death.

Mr Rutter was killed alongside an American volunteer named Robert Grodt. Mr Grodt came to prominence during the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2012 when he was filmed coming to the aid of a woman who had been pepper sprayed by a New York police officer.

The British volunteer was given the Kurdish nom-de-guerre Soro Zinar by his Kurdish comrades. In the video he speaks of having nothing very significant in his educational history but was put through weapons and language training with the YPG before being sent to the front lines.

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Jesper Soder, a Swedish fighter with the YPG, said he heard Mr Rutter had been a good recruit. I knew who he was although I didnt serve with him directly. From everything I heard he did very well in training and was a good fighter, he told The Telegraph.

Mr Rutter was part of a unit fighting with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed rebel group made up mainly of Kurds but also some Arabs. The SDF is leading the assault on Raqqa with air support from the US-led coalition against Isil.

He is believed to have been killed during an ambush on the outskirts of Raqqa on July 5. Our comrade Soro was martyred in the right against Daesh fascism, the YPG said, using Mr Rutters Kurdish nickname and a disparaging Arabic name for Isil.

The Rutter family could not be reached for comment.

Three other British volunteers have died fighting for the Kurds against Isil.

Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, a former Royal Marine was killed in March 2015 while fighting in northeast Syria.

Dean Carl Evans, a farmer from Reading, died during the offensive to take back the town of Manbij on the Syrian-Turkish border in July last year.

Ryan Lock, a chef from West Sussex, shot himself rather than being taken prisoner in fighting just before Christmas 2016.

The emergence of Isil
Jezebel

Its been nearly two decades since actress and former Scientologist, Leah Remini, has been looking for Shelly Miscavige, the missing wife (and First Lady) of the Church of Scientologys de facto leader, David Miscavige. Shes dedicated entire episodes of her A&E series to her investigation, mentioned it innumerable times in the press, and even confronted church officials with questions at Tom Cruises 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes. Now, via viral thread on Twitter, Remini has detailed a new devel
A soldier of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is holding a PLA flag as others stand guard at a military port in Zhanjiang, Guangdong

Ships carrying Chinese troops tasked with setting up the country's first overseas military base are steaming towards the East African nation of Djibouti.

China calls its new facility a 'support base' and says it will have mainly logistical functions, however observers see it as a key part of Beijings plans to expand its global reach through military might.

India in particular views the base with suspicion as New Delhi is concerned that China is confronting it with a ring of pearls  a series of assets and alliances across the Indian Ocean and into South-East Asia.

A report from the Pentagon recently suggested that China is likely to open a military base in Pakistan, Indias main rival in Asia. However, China dismissed this.

Chinese sailors on parade

China started building its base in Djibouti just over a year ago.

It is stationed just a few miles from a US camp, and France and Japan also have bases in the nation, which is about the size of Wales.

A report by Chinas official Xinhua news agency said the decision to set up the base was "made by the two countries after friendly negotiations.

The report added: The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia.

The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways.

The Chinese flag flies from the ship

Chinas defence ministry said that a ceremony was held at a naval pier in the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang presided over by navy commander Vice Admiral Shen Jinlong.

Neither Xinhua or defence officials gave details on numbers or units of troops travelling to the new base.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing the facility would enable China to make "new and greater contributions" to peace in Africa and the world and would benefit Djibouti's economic development.

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The People's Liberation Army Daily said in a front-page commentary that the new base would help China fulfil its obligations in ensuring global peace, working with its huge UN peacekeeping force in Africa and its anti-piracy patrols.

The Global Times, a newspaper which often takes a nationalist tone, said the new facility was indeed a military base.

We will base troops there, it said. It's not a commercial resupply point. It makes sense there is attention on this from foreign public opinion.

Additional reporting by Christine Wei.
On The Late Show and The Daily Show, Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah (respectively) mercilessly ripped into Donald Trump Jr. for his part in an email scandal thats quickly turning into much more.

This screenshot shows a tweet posted July 11, 2017, by Donald Trump Jr. on his Twitter account, in which he reveals an email chain with publicist Rob Goldstone in June 2016. In the email, he discusses plans to hear allegedly damaging information on Hillary Clinton that were described as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. (Photo: Twitter via AP)

Amid speculation that he met in June 2016 with a Russian lawyer with connections to the Kremlin who was said to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton, Trump Jr. wanted to clear his name. To do this, he tweeted out a chain of emails in which he and a man named Rob Goldstone planned the meetings. These emails may point to collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, which led Colbert to compare Trump Jr. to Deep Throat, the secret informant whose tips blew the Watergate scandal wide open.

Just a reminder, these emails were leaked by Donald Trump Jr. himself. Hes his own Deep Throat, Colbert said. Hes Deep Throating himself.

Noah began by asking, What do you get when you cross a Russian, an email, and an idiot? He later referred to Trump Jr. as a two-legged brain foreclosure.

Colbert finished by making a chalkboard drawing connecting the dots from the Trump campaign to the Russian side of things, with Trump Jr. in the middle. When he was done, he had made a picture of Donald Trump Jr. behind bars.

Check out Stephen Colberts fake interview with Kellyanne Conway about Donald Trump Jr.:

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Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Khail Anonymous, on Twitter.
Karista Harris received hateful messages for entering a magazines modeling contest. (Photo: Courtesy Karista Harris)

Karista Harris has been in the pageant world for more than 16 years, and regardless of the stereotype of shallow beauty contests, she says its always been a supportive community for her. Thats why when she decided to enter a different competition, to be on the cover of Arizona Foothills magazine, she was surprised to receive a number of insulting emails directly from her detractors.

Wow, I woke up this morning to some very derogatory name calling and surgery suggestions in my inbox, she wrote on Facebook last week, after posting her profile on the Face of Foothills voting site. This is a first for me as I have been blessed to have been met with positivity with being a plus size model. Im just saddened that adults would take time out of their day to say such words and not accept that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

Harris tells Yahoo Style that people called her pig, and asked why she didnt get weight-loss surgery. They dont really know what all is going on medically, and why I cant do that, she said. It rolled off of my skin, and theyre not going to deter me. Theyre just going to make me more determined.

Harris, 34, started entering pageants when she was 18.

I got into it because I was abused as a child, a survivor of domestic violence, I was bullied in foster care, and then I came down with chronic health diseases, she explains. The medication that Im on for the rest of my life causes weight gain and it is very difficult to lose the weight. Im battling all that and finding confidence in my new size.

Harris, who is a married mother with a 15-year-old son, noticed a while ago that no plus-size man or woman had ever won the Face of Foothills contest. According to the magazines website, the contest runs from July through October. The first rounds are determined by public voting until the final round, in which a panel of judges chooses from the top 10. The winner gets to be on the cover of the magazine, in a six-page spread, and on the top banner of the site for the whole year. There are also unspecified cash rewards and other prizes.

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I figured, why not put myself out there and make this a challenge and see if I can maybe pull it off? Harris said. Now that shes spoken out about her haters, and appeared on Arizonas ABC 15 news, her chances of succeeding are considerably higher. She says she went from last place last Monday, to 39th (out of 205) on Tuesday evening.

She hopes that she can show people, even the haters, the lesson shes learned: You may have some sort of tragedy that youve gone through, whether its losing someone or battling a chronic disease  you can find a way to become self-confident, to build your self-esteem, and to view yourself as beautiful.

Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.




The Department of Defense announced Tuesday it successfully tested its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) against an intermediate-range ballistic missile in the Pacific Ocean.

The announcement comes after North Korea claimed last week it had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Read: Blocked By Trump: Twitter Users File First Amendment Rights Lawsuit Against President

For the U.S. Missile Defense Agencys test, a ballistic missile target was air-launched by a C-17 over the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii. The THAAD system, which was located at the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska (PSCA) in Kodiak Island, Alaska, detected tracked and successfully hit the missile target.

I couldnt be more proud of the government and contractor team who executed this flight test today, MDA Director Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves said in a statement on Tuesday. This test further demonstrates the capabilities of the THAAD weapon system and its ability to intercept and destroy ballistic missile threats. THAAD continues to protect our citizens, deployed forces and allies from a real and growing threat.

Read: Will The US Go To War With North Korea? Twitter Reacts As Nuclear Missile Talks Escalate

Soldiers who conducted the test and used the same procedures they would if it were an actual scenario were unaware of the drills target launch time, officials said.

The successful demonstration of THAAD against an IRBM-range missile threat bolsters the countrys defensive capability against developing missile threats in North Korea and other countries around the globe and contributes to the broader strategic deterrence architecture, the MDA said.

Officials emphasized that the THAAD is strictly a defense system which uses hit-to-kill technology while kinetic energy destroys the incoming target. The high-altitude intercept destroys enemys weapons before they reach the ground.

Last week, Pyongyang said Kim Jong Un oversaw the test of a Hwasong-14 missile on July 4, its eleventh missile test this year. The launch brings North Korea closer to its goal of striking the United States.

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The missile was launched from the Banghyon airfield in Kusong, North Korea and flew 578 miles before it landed in the Sea of Japan. State media said the missile is able to hit the heart of the United States, with experts saying it could reach as far as Alaska.

Kim said the launch was a gift to President Donald Trumps administration for the Fourth of July.

The American bastards must be quite unhappy after closely watching our strategic decision, the Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim stating after watching the test. I guess they are not too happy with the gift package we sent them for the occasion of their Independence Day. We should often send them gift packages so they wont be too bored.

The Pentagon responded to North Koreas missile launch saying: "We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies and to use the full range of capabilities at our disposal against the growing threat from North Korea."

Meanwhile, Trump tweeted about the test last week saying: North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?

Related Articles
On Wednesday morning, Christopher Wray will face the Senate Judiciary Committee in a confirmation hearing to become the nations next FBI director. Wray is well qualified in every formal sense; he ran the Justice Departments Criminal Division, and hes been a federal prosecutor in high-profile cases. But his nomination will face skepticism  and rightly so.

Thats because of the bizarre circumstances surrounding his appointment: namely, President Donald Trumps campaign of pressure against, and abrupt dismissal of, Wrays predecessor, James Comey, and the presidents particularly active interest in the Russia investigation, a matter in which he has multiple personal interests. Over at Lawfare, one of us has posted 20 questions the Judiciary Committee should pose to Wray, all aimed at exploring one broader issue: Will Wray be able to function independently on investigative matters from both the incumbent administration and Trump personally?

But Wrays nomination raises other questions as well that senators will want to ponder and discuss with the nominee  questions both inherent in the nature of the position he seeks to fill and specific to the age of Trump. It will be up to the Senate, as much as Wray himself, to determine whether Trump will be permitted to change the very meaning of the job of FBI director.

First and foremost, what are Wrays priorities and vision for the bureau? Wray has had a very respectable career both in private practice and public service, but its not a career that  at least on its face, anyway  bespeaks any particular public mission. As is true for plenty of public servants, its not really possible to deduce from Wrays career what he views as the most important priorities for federal agencies like the Department of Justice and the FBI. The FBI, however, is a mission-driven entity. So when you contemplate putting someone like Wray in charge of it, you have to ask the question: What does Wray want to do at the helm?

At one level, the answer to this question is obvious: Wray will want to maintain the bureaus status as the nations premier investigative agency on criminal and national security matters.

But at a deeper level, the answer is not obvious at all. Different leaders take on different missions even within the same general institutional mandates and functions. Robert Mueller, for example, spent his time in office reorienting the bureau toward international counterterrorism; Comey built on that but also focused on developing capacity in cybersecurity and on changing the FBIs culture, such as providing a direct line of communication between the FBI rank and file and their director. In his last months in office, he also spent an enormous amount of energy trying to protect the bureau from Trump. How does Wray see his mission as director?

A second important consideration is how these priorities dovetail with those of the president. Trumps security priorities are, after all, eccentric. He cares a huge amount about radical Islamic terrorism, not so much about hate crimes against Muslims and others in the United States; the FBI, however, is responsible for both. Trump does not appear to care much about cybersecurity to the extent that cybersecurity investigations raise questions about matters inconvenient to him. By contrast, he cares a great deal about factually unsupported allegations of widespread voter fraud and crimes committed by immigrants, particularly those who are not in the country legally. He also seems to care a great deal  and in a fashion that is potentially very dangerous  about misconduct, real and imagined, by people with the temerity to oppose him politically.

All of this raises an interesting question for any FBI director: Given the presidents exceedingly strange priorities, how much latitude will you have to pursue on your own? Comeys solution was simply to ignore the presidents agenda. The FBIs investigative priorities didnt change much  if at all  when Trump took office. But Comey also didnt last long. And the question now is whether Wray, a new director selected by this president, is more aligned with Trump on substantive matters than Comey was or, if not, whether he is more pliable and willing to allow the White Houses political agenda to dictate the bureaus priorities.

Wrays nomination raises another important question related to the directors 10-year term of service. By law, the FBI director has a 10-year term; he does not lose his job when a presidential administration ends. At the same time, the president always has the right to fire him  something that had occurred only once before Comey, in a situation in which there was bipartisan agreement regarding allegations of serious misconduct. The 10-year term serves two purposes: to prevent the emergence of another J. Edgar Hoover, who served for life and grossly abused the office, and to create a norm of independence of the bureau from politics and presidential administration. This norm has been reinforced by the willingness of some presidents to name FBI directors from the opposite political party.

Trump has done exceptional  perhaps catastrophic  violence to this norm. He not only removed Comey years prematurely, but he did so for reasons not involving any misconduct and that by his own account are overtly self-interested, if not outright corrupt. Whats more, he then turned around and replaced Comey with a member of his political party. Although Wray is not a bad selection  and certainly more worrisome names were floated  there is nothing about this nomination that seeks to repair the immense damage that Trump has inflicted.

Under these circumstances, the Senate in considering Wray  not to mention any successor to Trump  is going to have to think hard about how to restore the integrity of the 10-year term. To give Wray his 10 years would send a message to all future presidents that there is no cost for removing the FBI director and replacing him or her with your own person. If Trump gets away with this, in other words, why would any president not come into office and replace the FBI director, along with the attorney general? On the other hand, for the next president to enter office and do exactly what Trump did  that is, fire the FBI director without cause and replace him with a member of his or her own party  would reinforce the acceptability of Trumps course.

The Senate here might have a valuable role in emphasizing during Wrays confirmation that members consider him temporary and will expect the next president to remove him and name an FBI director who is both untainted by Trumps conduct and who hails from the party opposite the new president. If the next president is a Democrat and Wray has performed admirably between now and then, it may well be that he should be retained. However, the point for present purposes  and its a point that senators should make now  is that Wray should have no expectation of retention one day past Trumps service. Neither Trump nor he should expect to reap the benefits of the 10-year term without respecting its discipline.

The independence of law enforcement on investigative matters is going to require some care and feeding over the next few years. Christopher Wray has a big role to play in that. The Senates job this week is to make sure he recognizes the substance and importance of that role  and to get him to commit to playing it.

Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Hours after Donald Trump Jr confirmed a meeting with a Russian lawyer to discuss information on Hillary Clinton, his father promised to make a speech with new information about his former rival for the US presidency.

I think youre going to find it very informative and very very interesting, the US leader said, adding that it would likely take place next week.

"We are going to be discussing all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons," he said.

His comments came after his son released emails relating to his previously undisclosed meeting last summer with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who has been linked to the Kremlin.

He said "I love it" to what he had been told was an attempt by the Russian government to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential election campaign.

Mr Trump Jr has denied telling his father about the meeting, claiming there was nothing to tell and that the meeting was a wasted 20 minutes.

However, he has said that with hindsight, he probably would have done things a little differently".

He posted the email exchange on Twitter this week in anticipation of a New York Times story on the subject that was scheduled to be published.

The President has praised the transparency shown by his eldest son and described him as a high quality person in a statement read out by White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

His defence of his son comes despite the fact that the emails increase the pressure on the White House over a number of investigations into potential ties between the Trump team and Russia.

Democrats have jumped on the revelations, calling the emails "explosive".

A number of Democrats also claimed that the messages prove there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia as part of attempts by Moscow to meddle in the 2016 presidential election - something the White House has repeatedly denied.
When it comes to inspiring controversies this week, Donald Trump Jr. is the gift that keeps on giving. First there were the emails stating that junior would "love" to meet with a Russian government lawyer about incriminating Hillary Clinton info. Then there was the hidden nugget that, wow, those emails contain truly the worst email signature ever.

Now there is a new Donald Trump Jr. scandal that's got the internet shooketh: How exactly the hell are we supposed to punctuate this man's name?!

SEE ALSO: Court settles debate thats divided grammar nerds for decades

It all started when The New Yorker published an article, "Donald Trump, Jr.,'s Love for Russian Dirt." Seems like a pretty typical headline.

Image: The NEw Yorker

Except, wait just one damn second. What's this?!

Image: The New Yorker, MaShable Composite

That's four punctuation marks in between four characters, which is, aesthetically speaking, excessive AF.

It's the grammar equivalent of this GIF:

What was that punctuation conversation like:

Period: "Brb, I gotta go help out the younger Donald Trump."

Apostrophe: "Oh fun, can I come too?"

The Comma Twins: "Ain't no way in hell y'all are leaving us out of this punctuation intervention."

Period: "FINE, WE'LL JUST DO THIS THING TOGETHER THEN!"

Or, in the words of Michael Colton, ex-Washington Post journalist and writer for the upcoming film A Futile and Stupid Gesture, this is bullsh*t.

Unfortunate side effect of the scandal is this period-comma-apostrophe bullshit from the New Yorker. pic.twitter.com/ITijnSXOWn  Michael Colton (@mikecolton) July 11, 2017

And the internet agreed:

The comma is a disaster.  Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) July 11, 2017

Oh, hell to the no. This isn't okay.  Steffen Christensen (@Wikisteff) July 12, 2017

The first and second commas are redundant and silly, but the comma apostrophe combo is just infuriating.  Patrick McGee (@PatrickMcGee_) July 12, 2017

What on earth is the comma doing there?  Mark Jupp (@markjupp4) July 11, 2017

totally discredited. Fake punctuation  Casmilus (@Casmilus) July 11, 2017

The New Yorker, though, is sticking to its guns. The head of The New Yorker's copy department, Andrew Boynton, posted a story on Wednesday, "The Correct Punctuation of Donald Trump, Jr.,'s Name," that outlines exactly why the publication unleashed their punctuation army.

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"The reasoning for the punctuation of Jr.,s is pretty straightforward. Its a collision of conventions."

Let's just take another look at it, real quick:

Image: The NEw Yorker

Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, the article was a direct clap back at Michael Colton's initial tweet, as evidenced by the fact The New Yorker literally embedded Colton's tweet at the top of the article. (Writer's note: Yassss, New Yorker. A+ trolling!)

And, taking everything in stride, The New Yorker also noted that the decision is likely to be as controversial as the publication's use of diaeresis (you know, those two dots that appear above the second vowel in words like naive) and for its use of double consonants.

"This styling doesnt come up very often in the magazine, and its occurrence in a headline of sorts has brought it a weird kind of notoriety. Now it can comfortably stand alongside the diaeresis and 'focussing,'" writes Boynton

At the end of the day, punctuation debate aside, the meaning is the same: The President of the United States' son said he would love a meeting with a Russian government lawyer to talk HRC dirt.

And while everyone is sorting out what that means, make sure you take a second and smell the commas. After all: hell hath no fury like a grammar nerd scorned.
Facing a frenzy of criticism over emails showing he had sought incriminating information on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government, Donald Trump Jr. said he would have done things a little differently with regards to a 2016 meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer.

In a Tuesday interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump Jr. gamely attempted damage control over back-to-back New York Times reports regarding a June 2016 meeting he took with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a lawyer with alleged ties to the Russian government and its spy agency. The meeting was set up by Bob Goldstone, a publicist who had previously helped broker a deal between President Trump and a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, and who had promised Trump Jr. dirt on the Clinton campaign.

[ Related: A timeline of Trump Jr.s meeting with Russian lawyer ]

In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently, Trump Jr. told Hannity. Again this is before the Russia mania; this is before they were building this up in the press. For me this was opposition research, they had something, you know, maybe concrete evidence to all the stories Id been hearing about, probably under-reported for years, not just during the campaign, so I think I wanted to hear it out. But, really, it went nowhere and it was apparent that wasnt what the meeting was about.

Donald Trump Jr., left, is interviewed by host Sean Hannity on his Fox News Channel television program, in New York Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (Photo: Richard Drew/AP)

Hannity proved a comfortable setting for Trump Jr., as its host has served as an informal adviser to the Trump campaign. Trump Jr. was not, for instance, pressed on what exactly he would have done differently.

Ive probably met with other people from Russia but certainly not in the context of actual formalized meetings or anything, Trump Jr. said when asked if he had ever had other undisclosed meetings with Russians. He also added that in June 2016 he was still way in a learning curve on all of this and confirmed that he was still willing to testify about his dealings with Russia under oath.

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Hannity asked Trump Jr. if he was surprised by the fact the email mentioned Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump, and Trump Jr. said it didnt set off any particular alarms and he set up the meeting so as to hear them out. The subject line of the e-mail read Russia-Clinton-Private and Confidential and was forwarded to Trumps then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and top adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Hannity did not ask why Trump Jr., Manafort and Kushner all attended a meeting with an unnamed lawyer. Kushner, now a top White House counselor, neglected to disclose a series of meetings with Russian representatives when applying for his security clearance.

Trump Jr. did not dispute Veselnitskayas depiction of the events, which described Trump campaign officials as wanting the information against Clinton so badly. The New York Times reported that Veselnitskaya had connections to the Russian government, a link the Kremlin has denied.

Lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya speaks to journalists in Moscow on July 11. (Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

I imagine I did, said Trump Jr. when asked if he pressed for information.

Trump Jr. also said that he did not tell his father about the meeting because it did not rise to that level of importance.

It was just a nothing, Trump Jr. said. There was nothing to tell. I mean, I wouldnt have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame.

Hannity opened his show by saying he planned to show journalists the scandals they should be covering. The Fox News and talk radio host has spent much of his programming focusing on how other outlets are covering the Trump presidency. Hannity has also promoted right-wing conspiracy theories surrounding last summers murder of Democratic National Committee employee Seth Rich, to the point Richs family asked him to stop after Fox News retracted a report on the death.

But by the time Trump Jr. appeared on Hannitys show Tuesday, other conservatives had started to come out against his actions. Earlier Tuesday Fox News commentator Charles Krauthammer called the actions incompetence and said that the Trump campaign was swindled, calling the excuses made for Trump. Jr. pathetic. The conservative New York Posts editorial board ran a headline that read Donald Trump Jr. is an idiot.

(Cover tile photo: Richard Drew/AP)

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
The Russian lawyer at the centre of mounting controversy after she met with Donald Trump Jr has denied she ever possessed "damaging or sensitive" information about Hillary Clinton.

Natalia Veselnitskaya said "all I knew [was] that Mr Donald Trump Jr was willing to meet with me" and that she intended to discuss US sanctions on Russia under the Magnitsky Act.

Asked how Mr Trump had the impression she might have information on Ms Clinton, she told NBC News: "It's quite possible that maybe they were looking for such information. They wanted it so badly.

Media & Dems are extremely invested in the Russia story. If this nonsense meeting is all they have after a yr, I understand the desperation!  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

"I never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton. It was never my intention to have that."

Mr Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, attended the meeting last summer but left after a few minutes, while then campaign manager Paul Manafort looked at his phone and played no active part, she added.

Ms Veselnitskaya denied that she worked for, or had connections with, the Russian government. Asked if she had ever done so, she replied: "Nyet."

Yet, much about Ms Veselnitskaya remains unclear. The Associated Press said Ms Veselnitskaya, who was once married to a deputy transportation minister of the Moscow region, was a largely unknown figure until she began to represent the son of a Russian official in a major money-laundering trial.

It said her company, Kamerton Consulting, defended Denis Katsyv, the son of a vice-president of state-owned Russian Railways who was charged with money-laundering in the United States over a case tied to a massive Russian tax-fraud scheme. The case against Mr Katsyvs company, Prevezon, was settled in New York in May for some $6m, three days before it was to go to trial.

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The news agency said US investigators suspect the Cyprus-registered company, bought New York City property with some of the proceeds from a $230m Russian tax-fraud scheme brought to light by a Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyer with investment advisory Hermitage Capital, who later died in prison. The US passed the Magnitsky Act in 2012 to target those Russians allegedly behind Mr Magnitskys death.

The act has reportedly been a source of deep concern to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who responded by ending American adoptions of Russian children, and Ms Veselnitskaya has been leading the effort in the US to have the act overturned. As part of those efforts, she reportedly hired investigators from GPS Fusion, a consultancy firm that helped dig up opposition research on Donald Trump.

Initially, the firm was paid for by Mr Trump's Republican rivals, but after he secured the Republican nomination, financial backers of Ms Clinton carried out paying for its services.

In the summer of 2016, GPS Fusion retained the services of former British spy, Christopher Steele, who left MI6's Russia desk to establish his own consulting firm, Orbis. Mr Steele helped collect a large amount of unverified and wild allegations about Mr Trump. Among that information, which was later shared with US intelligence and senior politicians, among them then President Barack Obama, was the suggestion Mr Trump had been compromised by Russias FSB spy agency during a trip to Moscow in 2013.

The dossier, which was published by BuzzFeed and denounced by Mr Trump as fake news, claimed Mr Trump was secretly filed with Russian prostitutes in a sting operation in Moscows Ritz-Carlton hotel.

In a statement sent to The Independent, GPS Fusion said: Fusion GPS learned about this meeting from news reports and had no prior knowledge of it. Any claim that Fusion GPS arranged or facilitated this meeting in any way is absolutely false."

Senate investigators have said they want to talk to Mr Trump Jr about the meeting. The 39-year-old, who recently retained a criminal defence lawyer to hep him, has said is prepared to cooperate with the committee.

The developments come as special prosecutor Robert Mueller heads a federal probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia's alleged efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.
Donald Trump Jr fiercely defended himself last night after being lambasted by Democrats and Republicans for agreeing to meet with a "Russian government lawyer" in an attempt to get "dirt" on Hillary Clinton during the US presidential election.

The president's eldest son told Fox News's Sean Hannity: "In retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently. I probably know more now. Hindsight's always 20/20."

But he added: "There is nothing I would ever do to endanger this country. We would do anything for this country. We would never put that in jeopardy."

Donald Trump Jr is interviewed by host Sean Hannity on his Fox News Channel television programme Credit: AP

Asked if he would "testify under oath, all of that," Mr Trump Jr said: "all of it."

The 39-year-old said if, during the meeting, he had encountered information that would undermine US interests then "100 per cent I would have taken it to the FBI".

Release of emails

Mr Trump Jr is at the centre of a political firestorm after being forced to release emails, published in full here, that detail the setting up of the meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in New York on June 9, 2016.

It was set up by Rob Goldstone, a British-born music publicist, who was an acquaintance of Mr Trump Jr through his father's Miss Universe pageant, which was held in Moscow in 2013.

Rob Goldstone Credit: Facebook

In an email Mr Goldstone told Mr Trump Jr there was "ultra sensitive" information which was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump".

Mr Trump Jr replied: "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."

Explaining why he agreed to the meeting with Ms Veselnitskaya, Mr Trump Jr said: "My takeaway (from the email) was someone has information on our opponent. Things are going a million miles an hour again and, hey, wait a minute, Ive heard about all these things, but maybe this is something, I should hear them out.

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'This was opposition research'

"This was, again, just basic information that was going to be possibly there. I didnt know these guys well enough to understand that if this talent manager from Miss Universe had this kind of thing. So I wanted to hear him out and play it out. To me this was opposition research."

Mr Trump Jr said the meeting had led "nowhere" and he never told his father about it.

.@DonaldJTrumpJr on meeting with Russian attorney: "It was such a nothing, I wouldn't have remembered the meeting." #Hannitypic.twitter.com/K072AvmKKQ  Fox News (@FoxNews) July 12, 2017

He said: "There was nothing to tell. It was a nothing. Someone sent me an email. I can't help what someone sends me. I read it, I responded accordingly. I wouldnt have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame."

He added: "This was pre-Russia fever, pre-Russia mania, I don't think my antenna went up, so there is an element of context to this."

Ms Veselnitskaya, who has denied any connections to the Russian government, campaigns for the repeal of the Magnitsky Act which imposed sanctions on senior associates of President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump Jr said he had never heard of the Magnitsky Act at that time.

Donald Trump and the Russian connections

He said Ms Veselnitskaya herself described their meeting "fairly accurately". She had earlier told how Jared Kushner was there but left after several minutes and Paul Manafort, then the Trump campaign manager, spent it on his phone.

Mr Trump Jr said he gave the Russian lawyer some time to speak as a courtesy to his acquaintance Mr Goldstone and she used it to talk about the Russian ban on American adoptions, which was a response to the Magnitsky Act.

He said Mr Goldstone apologised on the way out of the meeting for wasting his time.

Mr Trump Jr said: "There was some puffery to the email and there was some bait and switch as to what the meeting was supposed to be about probably."

He was "more than happy to cooperate with everyone" pursuing investigations into the meeting.

.@DonaldJTrumpJr on media coverage: The mainstream media has probably done themselves a pretty big disservice. #Hannitypic.twitter.com/S2flNTRwOS  Fox News (@FoxNews) July 12, 2017

Mr Trump Jr said he had "scoured" his records and the emails with Mr Goldstone that he released was "all of it". He had not had meetings in a formal setting with any other Russians, he told Fox News.

Before Mr Trump Jr's television appearance his father sent a tweet calling him a "great person who loves our country!"

Meeting to be examined by investigations

The emails between Mr Trump Jr and Mr Goldstone will become central to Congress-led and special counsel investigations into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

It is probable that Mr Trump Jr, Mr Kushner and Mr Manafort will be required to reveal what was said at the meeting under oath.

"The American people need to know that our president is acting on their behalf and not acting because he has a fear that the Russians could disclose things that would harm him or his family," said Adam Schiff, the top Democrat in the House Intelligence Committee.

Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator, said: "That email is disturbing. I know Donald Trump Jr is new to politics, I know that Jared Kushner is new to politics, but this is going to require a lot of questions to be asked and answered.

"Any time you're in a campaign and you get offered from a foreign government to help your campaign, the answer is no. So I dont know what Mr Trump Jr's version of the facts are. Definitely he has to testify."

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Moscow sought to help Trump win the election, in part by releasing private emails from Democratic Party officials.

"The conversation will now turn to whether President Trump was personally involved or not. But the question of the campaign's involvement appears settled now," Cornell Law School professor Jens David Ohlintold Reuters. "The answer is yes."

Moscow has denied any interference, and Trump says his campaign did not collude with Russia.

Donald Trump Jnr emails related content

This is 'potentially treason'

Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's running mate in the election, said: "This is moving into perjury, false statements and even potentially treason.

"This should have set off alarm bells and red lights and instead, what it seemed to do is it activated their salivary glands.They should have turned this over to law enforcement immediately."

While experts have said his actions could not be categorised as treason, some attorneys say that the events described in the emails could amount to a conspiracy to break campaign finance law.

Foreign nationals are prohibited from providing "anything of value" to campaigns, and that same law also bars solicitation of such assistance.

Larry Noble, a former general counsel to the Federal Election Commission, said the newly released emails "put meat on the bones" of a possible criminal campaign finance violation.

Spotlight on 'Donald Trump of Russia'

Mr Goldstone represented a Russian pop singer, Emin Agalarov, whose father Aras Agalarov is a property developer sometimes called the "Donald Trump of Russia".

My son, Donald, will be interviewed by @seanhannity tonight at 10:00 P.M. He is a great person who loves our country!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

Mr Agalarov runs Crocus Group, a company that owns a vast Moscow exhibition complex that hosted Mr Trump's Miss Universe pageant in 2013.

Both spent significant time with Mr Trump when he brought the Miss Universe contest to Moscow four years ago, as attested to by party photos and Instagram posts.

"I had a great weekend with you and your family. You have done a FANTASTIC job. TRUMP TOWER-MOSCOW is next. EMIN was WOW!" Trump, back in the U.S., tweeted to Aras on Nov. 11, 2013.

Chuck Grassley, chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee, demanded to know how Ms Veselnitskaya was allowed to enter the United States.

Mr Grassley said that, according to court documents, she was denied a visa to stay past January 2016, six months before the New York meeting.
Each night on KMVT Local 11 News, I report the daily high temperatures as well as the current temperatures. Most of those temperatures for Twin Falls, Burley, Jerome and Hailey are reported at their local airport. Because those sites are observed by the National Weather Service as being the official temperature for those towns, Twin Falls and Burley have yet to hit 100 since 2015. But why is the airport the official source for weather data in southern Idaho?

To be perfectly honest with you, I was asked this question after the Fourth of July and I couldnt answer it definitively. On Monday, I visited the National Weather Service office in Boise and spoke with meteorologist Elizabeth Padian.

She informed me that it all started with aviation safety. As the aviation industry started to boom at the turn of the twentieth century and more airports were being built across the country, weather stations were added at these airports to help give pilots the best weather information for these locations. With a network of weather stations already in place at local airports across the United States, the National Weather Service decided to use these locations as their official reporting stations for local communities.

It is also important to note that most airports, like those here in southern Idaho, are located away from city centers and developed urban areas. This allows for less influence from buildings and roads as concrete and asphalt hold on and release more heat than natural rural surroundings.

It really comes down to convenience and infrastructure that is already in place for the National Weather Service to get accurate weather data from well maintained observations stations at local airports across the United States.
Amid the growing tensions between America and North Korea over who has the biggest missiles, British comedy and talk show The Last Leg imagined what it might take to reach peace between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Of course, what the writers imagined is a bit of a long shot, partially because its all but unheard of in one of the countries. What they proposed: marriage.

Fake Kim Jong Un about to fake-marry a fake Donald Trump on The Last Leg. (Photo: Channel 4)

They had a fake Kim wearing a veil meet a fake Trump at an alter. The priest asked Trump if hed take Kim as his partner in peace and global harmony, and fake Trump said those magical words, I do.

This, of course, was followed with a kiss and a celebration. As absurd as this idea may be, host Adam Hills had some really good reasons as to why a marriage between Trump and Kim could work.

Theyve both convinced their own people theyre under attack, and that they need to join around their charismatic leader who sends childish taunts, gives jobs to his own family, and has bonkers hair, Hills said.

Watch this British cooking show segment go hilariously off the rails:

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, Khail Anonymous, on Twitter.
President Donald Trump has praised the transparency shown by his eldest son, Donald Jr, in releasing emails where he said "I love it" to what he had been told was an attempt by the Russian government to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential election campaign.

Mr Trump's defence of his son comes despite the fact that the emails increase the pressure on the White House over a number of investigations into potential ties between the Trump team and Russia. The release of the emails, via Mr Trump Jr's Twitter account, appear to have been forced by the fact that reporters were lining up a story disclosing the contents of the messages, amid a mounting controversy about his previously undisclosed meeting last summer with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who has been linked to the Kremlin.

While President Trump called his son a "high quality person" in a statement read out by White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Democrats jumped on the revelation, calling the emails "explosive". A number of Democrats also claimed that the messages prove there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia as part of attempts by Moscow to meddle in the 2016 presidential election - something the White House has repeatedly denied.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday evening, Mr Trump Jr insisted his father had not been made aware of the meeting. "I wouldnt have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff, he said. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame."

But he added that with hindsight, he probably would have done things a little differently".

Accusations of potential co-operation between the Trump campaign team and Russia, over what a number of US intelligence services have said was hacking of the election with the aim of helping Mr Trump into the White House, have dogged the President's first few months in office. A number of Congressional and FBI investigations into the hacking and any potential links to team Trump are underway - with the latest revelations sure to pile more pressure onto the President.

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Both the Senate and House intelligence committees have said they want to speak to Mr Trump Jr, and examine the emails, while the team of Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who has taken over the FBI investigation, is also planning to study both the meeting and the emails, according to a report by CNN.

Investigators have been searching for a "smoking gun" over the contacts between the Trump team and Russia, with many of the President's opponents quick to cast the new emails in that light. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said it showed "open, knowing collusion".

"This is a pattern of lies that is deeply deeply disturbing. I think for a long time, we saw a lot of smoke but no fire. Youre seeing the fire today, he added.

The meeting between Mr Trump and Ms Veselnitskaya took place on 9 June 2016, with the new emails detailing an exchange between Mr Trump Jr and Rob Goldstone, a former British tabloid journalist who works as in New York as a music publicist and helped facilitate the meeting, ahead of that date.

The emails show that Mr Goldstone told Mr Trump Jr that the crown prosecutor of Russia had offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. Mr Goldstone manages Russian pop star Emin Agalarov, whose father, Aras, a Moscow-based property developer, was President Trump's business partner in taking the Miss Universe competition to Moscow in 2013

This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its governments support for Mr Trump, Mr Goldstome added

Seventeen minutes later, Mr Trump Jr replied: If its what you say, I love it, especially later in the summer.

In a later email, Mr Goldstone described Ms Veselnitskaya as a Russian government attorney. Mr Goldstone told The Wall Street Journal his reference to the crown prosecutor was also meant to mean Ms Veselnitskaya.

The email chain suggests Mr Trump Jr was forwarding the messages to Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and now White House adviser, and Mr Trump's then campaign manager Paul Manafort. Both Mr Kushner and Mr Manafort attended the meeting with Ms Veselnitskaya.

Ms Clinton's former running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, said the emails "were explosive" and contained wheelbarrows full of new evidence for the special prosecutor, referencing Mr Mueller.

Leading Democrat Nancy Pelosi was one of the first to point out what she saw as the serious nature of what the new emails mean. Theres no escaping it: the Trump Campaigns inner circle met with an agent of a hostile foreign power to influence the outcome of an American election, she said.

Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon and member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, went further. "The question is how far the coordination goes. It is now up to elected officials of both parties to stand up and do their duty: protect and defend the constitution, he said.

Some Republicans urged caution, saying that the investigations should run their course, but others were more forthright. Any time you're in a campaign and you get an offer from a foreign government to help your campaign, the answer is 'no', Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a frequent President Trump critic, said.

When news of the meeting was broken by The New York Times on Saturday, Mr Trump Jr initially did not mention the potential information about Ms Clinton. He said: It was a short introductory meeting...we primarily discussed a programme about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, but it was not a campaign issue at the time and there was no follow up.

A new statement on Sunday said that the meeting involved a woman who Mr Trump Jr was told "might have information useful for the campaign". In a statement accompanying the emails on Tuesday, Mr Trump Jr said the Kremlin-connected lawyer was not a government official, and that she did not provide any information regarding Ms Clinton.

Ms Veselnitskaya also insisted on Tuesday that she had no compromising information on Ms Clinton to offer. Asked if she had compromising information on Ms Clinton, Ms Veselnitskaya said it was not true and Mr Trump Jr was told so. However, she previously told NBC that Trump officials "were looking for such information... They wanted it so badly".

I never had compromising information and could not have had, Ms Veselnitskaya said, adding that she did not represent anyone other than myself.

The lawyer insisted she was offered to meet with Trump Jr in a private setting not connected to the fact that he is the son of the presidential candidate".
President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his son Donald Trump Jr, describing him as "innocent" and portraying him as the victim of a witch hunt.

His intervention followed revelations in emails that showed his eldest son welcomed Russian help against his father's rival in last year's presidential election.

"My son Donald did a good job last night," Mr Trump wrote on Twitter, referring to a Fox News television interview by his son on Tuesday night.

"He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!"

But it came as the New York Times reported that Mr Trump Jr's initial comments on the story, published by the paper on Sunday, were drafted on board Air Force One and were signed off by the president.

That statement was vague and inconclusive, and did not draw a line under the story. Instead, it led to days of further damaging revelations.

My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

Remember, when you hear the words "sources say" from the Fake Media, often times those sources are made up and do not exist.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

It comes after Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's running mate in the election, said: "This is moving into perjury, false statements and even potentially treason.

"This should have set off alarm bells and red lights and instead, what it seemed to do is it activated their salivary glands. They should have turned this over to law enforcement immediately."

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House

While experts have said his actions could not be categorised as treason, some attorneys say that the events described in the emails could amount to a conspiracy to break campaign finance law.

Story continues

British music producer helped set up Trump-Russia meeting

The emails have thrust Mr Trump Jr into the centre of a growing scandal over whether Trump's associates colluded with Moscow in its efforts to tilt the 2016 election in the Republican's favour.

Released on Tuesday, an email from British music producer Rob Goldstone to Mr Trump Jr claims an offer was allegedly made by Russia's general prosecutor to provide the Trump campaign with "official documents" on Mrs Clinton during a meeting with real estate mogul Aras Agalarov.

Rob Goldstone

Mr Goldstone said the Russian prosecutor "offered to provide the Trump campaign" with "very high level and sensitive information" as "part of Russia and its government's support" for his father.

Mr Goldstone claimed to have been told by Mr Agalarov's pop star son Emin, whom he managed, to try and pass on the information. He later helped organise a meeting on June 9, 2016 between a Russian lawyer and Mr Trump Jr to discuss the alleged information.

The Agalarov family has established ties to the Trumps and brought the future US leader to Moscow for the 2013 Miss Universe beauty competition.

Russia: These claims are 'wild'

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said on Wednesday it was "wild" that Mr Trump's eldest son was in hot water for the meeting.

"I learned with surprise that a Russian lawyer, a women, is being blamed and Trump's son is being blamed for meeting. For me, this is wild," said Mr Lavrov, during a visit to Brussels.

"Because when any person speaks to a lawyer, what problem or threat could be there? I didn't know about this, I learned about it from television."

Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya

Mr Agalarov, the Russian businessman, has also denied his involvement.

"Emin is acquainted with him [Donald Trump Jr.], I am not," he said.

"The contacts took place at Miss Universe.

"They [Emin and Donald Trump Jr.] are about the same age, I have no idea what they talked about.

"So, they talked about something, I don't know."

Natalia Veselnitskaya, the lawyer who met Mr Trump Jr, said she did not know at the time that it was Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort who had attended the same meeting.

I didnt know who was going to be at that meeting, aside from being told that Donald Trump Jr. was ready to meet me," she said on Wednesday.

"I compared my recollections of the meeting with media reports and photographs and assume that the young man who left the meeting 7-10 minutes after it started was Mr Kushner [he never came back to the conference room by the way], and the man who was constantly reading something on his phone and I couldnt quite understand why he was in the meeting at all, was Mr Manafort.

Donald Trump and the Russian connections
Candice Jackson of the U.S. Dept. of Education, center, stands with Kellyanne Conway and Ben Carson prior to the second presidential debate with Hillary Clinton at Washington University in St. Louis, Oct. 9, 2016. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

A top civil rights official in the U.S. Department of Education characterized 90 percent of campus sexual assault accusations that rise to the level of a federal Title IX investigation as amounting to We were both drunk in an interview with the New York Times.

Candice L. Jackson, the acting head of the DOEs Office of Civil Rights, told the Times that she believes Title IX investigative process needs to be reexamined.

The accusations  90 percent of them  fall into the category of We were both drunk, We broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right, Jackson said.

Appointed by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in April, Jackson currently runs the part of the agency that handles investigations into schools for discrimination based on race, disability and gender. She will remain the acting head until the Senate confirms a permanent assistant secretary.

Jackson, who described herself as a survivor of sexual assault, said that campus sexual assault investigations are not fairly balanced between the accusing victim and the accused student. Students are labeled as rapists even when the facts just dont back that up, she said.

Accused students rights are often ignored in Title IX cases, Jackson said. She noted that hundreds of cases are still pending because investigators are told to continue probing until they can find some sort of violation, a claim that former civil rights head Catherine Lhamon called patently, demonstrably untrue.

While its difficult to measure the prevalence of false accusations, the National Center for the Prosecution of Violence Against Women found that several rigorous studies estimate that between 2 to 10 percent of sexual assault reports turn out to be false.

Jackson issued a statement late Wednesday apologizing for her remarks, characterizing them as flippant.

As a survivor of rape myself, I would never seek to diminish anyones experience, Jackson wrote. My words in the New York Times poorly characterized the conversations Ive had with countless groups of advocates  All sexual harassment and sexual assault must be taken seriously  which has always been my position and will always be the position of this Department.

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At the civil rights office, Jackson could play a key role in helping DeVos assess Obama-era policies promoting a more aggressive approach to campus sexual assault investigations. While Democrats lauded the previous administrations emphasis on campus sexual assault investigations, Republicans have said the policies demonstrated federal overreach.

Jackson was a staunch defender of the women who accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment, but previously called those who have accused President Trump of sexual harassment as fake victims, according to BuzzFeed News.

DeVos is scheduled to meet Thursday with campus sexual assault survivors, those accused of sexual assault and higher education administrators to discuss Title IX and how institutions handle sexual assault.

Update (7/13/17 at 8:10 a.m.): This story has been updated to include Jacksons apology.

Read more from Yahoo News:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief is challenging scientists to engage in a televised debate in which they defend climate change as a serious threat to the planet.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt tells Reuters the government agency is planning to host a climate change debate for broadcast on TV, saying the American people deserve to have their questions and doubts about global warmings effects answered. Pruitt doubled down on the courage the Trump Administration had in pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement in June and said scientists should not scoff at the idea of having televised debates.

He noted that if scientists are so certain about it, then they shouldnt be scared of the debate and the discussion.

Read: Environmental Protection Agency Head Does Not Believe C02 Causes Global Warming

"There are lots of questions that have not been asked and answered (about climate change)," Pruitt told Reuters in a Monday interview. "Who better to do that than a group of scientists... getting together and having a robust discussion for all the world to see.

When asked if Pruitt thought it prudent to televise the scientists climate change debate, he said transparency is the ultimate goal and he wants it on full display. I think the American people would be very interested in consuming that. I think they deserve it, he added.

The move comes as President Donald Trump, who appointed Pruitt as EPA head from his post as Oklahomas attorney general, is set to roll back a series of Obama Administration regulations regarding carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. On June 27, Pruitt signed proposed legislation to rescind the Obama administrations Clean Water Rule intended to clarify which lakes, wetlands and other bodies of water fall under Clean Water Act protection.

Pruitt acknowledged scientific data showing Earth is warming, but he argues that the seriousness and practicality of the problem should be weighed when companies are being forced to take expensive measures to reduce their carbon footprints.

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"It is a question about how much we contribute to it, he told Reuters. How do we measure that with precision? And by the way, are we on an unsustainable path? And is it causing an existential threat?"

Pruitt explained that his wish for the EPA to host a climate change debate was inspired by theoretical physicist Steve Koonins article in the Wall Street Journal on April 20 and Bret Stephens April 28 New York Times column. He said the red team, blue team competition dynamic between the two is the kind of methodology the national security community uses to test theories  and the science community should follow suit.

Pruitt noted that while he has no intentions of dismantling the 2009 endangerment finding that carbon dioxide harms human health, he said Congress should look into any legal basis to challenge the scientific determination. He also added that he plans to deal very aggressively with automakers who cheat emissions tests.

Related Articles
If you ask nearly all the world's climate scientists, there's simply no debate: The planet is warming as amounts of greenhouse gases rise in the air  and human activity is primarily to blame.

But Scott Pruitt, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, insists on debating climate change. And that debate, apparently, might be televised, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

SEE ALSO: Antarctic ice shelf crack is moving at record speeds, poised to cleave off massive iceberg any minute

Doubters of mainstream climate science, including Pruitt, argue that dissenting views haven't been heard by the scientific community. They falsely claim that plenty of questions still remain about the scientific evidence for human-caused global warming.

In reality, however, while there is uncertainty about how quickly and severely rising temperatures will affect the planet, there's virtually no doubt among climate scientists that climate change is happening  and that it's happening because of us.

Image: NASA GISS

By calling for a debate, Pruitt creates a false narrative that casts his critics as stubborn, inflexible bullies who are hell-bent on destroying the fossil fuel industry. In this scenario, climate scientists and their allies are jealously guarding the climate discussion. Why don't other folks, like coal company executives, get to have a say?

Rather than inform the public, all this does is cast clouds of distrust and disbelief over the scientific community. That's why climate scientists say calls for such debates are disconcerting: According to the Trump administration, satellite observations, ground measurements, field research, and deeply scrutinized results  gathered over decades and from across the globe  simply aren't sufficiently convincing.

In the interview with Reuters, Pruitt called for a "robust discussion" about climate change, though he didn't explain how the scientists participating in that discussion would be chosen.

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Asked if the debate should be televised, Pruitt told Reuters: "I think so. I think so. I mean, I dont know yet, but you want this to be open to the world. You want this to be on full display. I think the American people would be very interested in consuming that. I think they deserve it."

Image: Ed Hawkins

The TV debate would likely build on or coincide with the Trump administration's plans to host so-called "red team, blue team" debates on climate science.

Pruitt, who denies that carbon dioxide is the main cause of global warming (it is), would reportedly help pick the experts. He's floated the idea in recent weeks, saying such discussions would be modeled on processes used for evaluating military battle plans and ways that spacecraft engineers test critical systems or investigate accidents.

Many climate scientists said they see this plan as a direct assault on the scientific process. Looping in non-experts to debate climate science would be like asking a person who likes looking at the stars to go head-to-head with actual astronomers and physicists.

"It's one thing to respond to legitimate scientific criticism, quite another to refute unconstrained nonsense," Kate Marvel, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, previously told Mashable.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's nominee to head the FBI earned $9.2 million last year as a partner in an international law firm, where he worked for clients ranging from Credit Suisse Group and Wells Fargo to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Disclosure forms produced for the Office of Government Ethics show Christopher Wray is also expected to receive millions more in payments when he leaves the King & Spalding law firm on his confirmation as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The forms and a letter from Assistant Attorney General Lee Lofthus, a designated ethics official for the Justice Department, were made public ahead of Wray's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Wray would succeed James Comey, whom Trump fired in May. Lofthus said in his letter that Wray would not receive a bonus, severance or contingency fees on leaving his firm but would receive a refund of his money in the firm's capital account and a final partnership share distribution, unless he decided to forfeit it. To satisfy ethics concerns, Wray will not participate for one year in FBI matters that involve companies or people represented by his former law firm, Lofthus said in his letter. He also will not participate in matters involving his former clients for a year, unless he obtains a prior authorization. Wray's financial disclosure forms show he provided legal services to a number of large international corporations, including Johnson & Johnson, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Georgia-Pacific and SunTrust Banks He also provided legal services to Christie during the "Bridgegate" scandal in which two of the Republican governor's former associates were convicted of plotting to close down access lanes at the George Washington Bridge for nearly a week in 2013 in an act of political retribution. If he is confirmed, Wray will have 90 days to dispose of millions of dollars worth of stock he owns in firms ranging from Apple Inc and American Airlines to Wal-Mart and Exxon Mobil, Lofthus said. Wray served at the U.S. Justice Department from 2003 to 2005 under Republican President George W. Bush as an assistant attorney general in charge of its criminal division and oversaw the department's Enron task force. (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Christopher Wray, President Trumps nominee for FBI director, vowed in his confirmation hearing Wednesday to be fully independent from the executive branch if confirmed and said he had not discussed the firing of his predecessor, James Comey, with the White House.

If I am given the honor of leading this agency, I will never allow the FBIs work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period. Full stop, Wray said in his opening statement.

Wray was picked in June to succeed Comey, who was fired by Trump in May for pursuing an investigation into ties between the Russian government and Trumps 2016 presidential campaign.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee pressed Wray on whether he would maintain the independence of the agency, in light of Comeys earlier testimony that Trump had pressured him for a pledge of personal loyalty. Wray said he had given no such pledge to the White House and would not if asked.

No one asked me for any kind of loyalty oath at any point during this process, and I sure as heck didnt offer one, Wray told Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Leahy followed up, questioning Wray on what he would do if the president asked him to commit an unlawful act.

First I would try and talk him out of it and, if that failed, I would resign, Wray responded.

Wray said he had not discussed Comeys firing with the White House and discussed it only briefly with Assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein shortly after being selected for the position.

He added that he is very committed to maintaining special prosecutor Robert Muellers investigation into Trumps ties to Russia.

I would consider an effort to tamper with Director Muellers investigation to be unacceptable and inappropriate, and it would need to be dealt with very sternly and appropriately, indeed, Wray told Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Wray has a long background in criminal justice, having served as an assistant attorney general, leading the Department of Justices criminal division, under President George W. Bush. More recently he has practiced law and acted as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christies personal attorney during the Bridgegate scandal.
Trump Jr probably believes the talking points he trotted out in his interview with Sean Hannity. The Republican party, however, cannot claim similar ignorance

Maybe they should just change the name of Trump Tower to Russia House. And place a plaque in the room on the 25th floor where the Axis of Moral Blindness of Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort met in June 2016 with a Russian attorney in hopes of getting the Kremlins help in bringing down Hillary Clinton.

What was stunning about Trump Jrs Fox News interview with Sean Hannity Tuesday night was the fast-talking self-confidence of the presidents oldest son. It was as if Trump Jr had entered the No Embarrassment Zone.

While he conceded a twinge of retrospective regret, even now Trump Jr failed to radiate any sign that he understands that presidential campaigns do not go trolling for opposition research from hostile foreign powers. Its what we do in business, he said with innocence of Little Bo Peep. If there is information out there, you want it.

By his own admission, Trump Jr pressed the Russian attorney to dish the dirt. It was a different era, the presidents son stressed, since it was pre-Russia mania. It was as if the nature of Vladimir Putins regime had changed overnight from Jeffersonian democracy to thuggish authoritarianism.

Trump Jr probably believes his own talking points, a trait that he has inherited from his father. Without pre-judging the investigation by Robert Mueller, it is a fair assessment that if political stupidity were an indictable offence, Trump Jr would be facing a lengthy sentence.

The leaders of the Republican party, however, cannot claim similar ignorance about the nature of the Trump regime. The Republicans paralysis involves more than the partys collective 2016 decision to put its integrity in a locked vault in Mar-a-Lago.

Aided by cheerleaders like Hannity, Donald Trumps support among Republicans continues to hold firm at levels above 80%. But the same bitter mood that elected Trump has left Republicans in Congress vulnerable to voter retribution, as internal polls for 2018 candidates often tilt in alarming directions.

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Thus the Trump version of Catch-22: the more that Republicans in Congress become skittish about their own political futures, the more they are wedded to the guttersnipe president and his bumbling family. Even as the tumult in the White House jeopardizes the Republicans ability to govern, these Republican incumbents lack the courage to defy Trumps base.

How does it end? That was the question I kept hearing all day in Washington. If there is to be a satisfying answer (from a constrained, impotent president ranting at the TV set to, yes, impeachment), it depends on enough Republican incumbents deciding that their reputations, their historical legacy and the future of their party are more important than short-term political calculus.

Enough with the furrowed brows and expressions of deep concern. A single prominent Republican in Congress saying flatly: This is unconscionable and forever unsupportable is more important than 873 liberal law professors chattering about a textbook case of collusion and obstruction of justice.

In a sense, the Republicans fit Colin Powells Pottery Barn rule about Iraq: You break it, you own it. Republican leaders, from Paul Ryan to Reince Priebus, allowed Trump to break the Republican party and now they own the consequences.

Where have you gone, Howard Baker? Our nation lifts its lonely eyes to you.

Baker, who died in 2014, was the senior Republican on the Senate Watergate committee. His oft-repeated question (What did the president know and when did he know it?) is suddenly as apt today as it was in 1973.

Even if you put the most charitable Fox News interpretation on everything (the Trump Tower meeting was a dud; the oppo research was worthless; and no one bothered to inform the candidate), Trump Jrs emails raise another problem for the White House.

The original email to the presidents oldest son from the publicist Rob Goldstone passed along high-level gossip from the Russian oligarch Aras Agalarov that this assistance is part of Russia and its governments support for Mr Trump.

That, in itself, was news that cried out to be passed along to stroke Trumps ego. Wouldnt Trump Jr or Kushner have mentioned during some family gathering during the campaign that the former communist Vladimir Putin had become a card-carrying Republican willing to do anything to help his favored candidate humiliate Clinton?

Donald Trump Jr may have thought that he was devilishly clever by voluntarily releasing the email chain just ahead of a New York Times story. But by putting it out himself, he made it impossible for Republicans with any grasp of reality to denounce the bombshell as fake news. The best that they can now muster  and it was the underlying theme of Hannitys fawning interview  is to shout: fake interpretation.

Somehow that doesnt have the same ring.
In 2015, British entrepreneurand current Stanford junior Joshua Browderlaunched DoNotPay, a site offering consumers free help fighting parking tickets. DoNotPay is a chatbot and, using artificial intelligence, asks its pro-bono clients a series of questions and plugs those answers into a form letter template. Then, a pdf is available to save, email, or print.

In the two-plus years of operation, Browder estimates the chatbot has beaten 375,000 tickets in the U.K., New York, and Seattle.

DoNotPays parking ticket success led Browder to an ambitious goal to provide legal help of all kinds  for free  and on Wednesday, DoNotPay is adding about 1,000 consumer categories to its portfolio for all 50 states.

Some of the matters relate to legal claims, but much of the help is simply with writing strongly-worded lawyerly letters for things like formulating requests for compensation from airlines, requests to landlords, reporting discrimination, filing for maternity leave, dealing with defective products, or disputing a credit report entry or credit card charge.

The bots surge forward took about a year. Around eight months ago, Browder managed to automate the creation of bots by creating a code-less backend he could use. I could go from building a bot in a month to building it in an hour, he told Yahoo Finance. With a tech-free way to make bots, Browder managed to recruit four lawyers on a volunteer and part-time basis, via Twitter, to lend a hand.

Even with the lawyers and two friends helping, the process of jumping from handling a few tasks to 1,000 was delayed due to Browders student status. I try to do this on the side, so it took a year when it should have taken two months, he said.

How bots can handle legal issues

Browder and his lawyers found that two categories of situations were ripe for DoNotPays bots. The first category is just filling in documents to ensure you can send something offfilling in a PDF or automating a letter, he said. The second thing is getting people to the right document and ensuring theyre eligible. Whenever theres a thing when theres a huge decision tree, then a document, that works particularly well.

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Of course, there are significant limitations of the platform currently, like going to court. We tried to go with things that are both legally accurate and needed, said Browder. Obviously, we didnt try to do everything. The bot doesnt help you get divorced, for instance.

Disrupting the legal industry

As an entrepreneur looking to disrupt the legal industry, Browder is very critical of lawyers and legal services that too are often cost-prohibitive, shutting out those who cant afford to pay fees necessary to escalate a small consumer complaint.

I think [DoNotPay] shows that the law in terms of legal tech is really broken. Im so surprised this hasnt been done, he said. Theres a huge stagnation in legal technology.

There are a few factors that have made DoNotPay the first of its kind. Partners at law firms may not have significant incentive to innovate, and raising venture capital is challenging due to the structure of law firms, said Browder. Not to mention there are regulations that carefully control the sale of legal advice. But since DoNotPay is free, it manages to sidestep the issue.

However, this does make monetization a challenge, limited to revenue from sources other than subscriptions or feesads for instance. To date Browder has not monetized his service, but wouldnt be against it so long as it stays free.

After the rollout of the new functionality, Browder plans on tackling other issues like declaring bankruptcy. Its actually really expensive to go bankrupt, he said. Browder also noted that wills are really interesting, but that he was holding off as some friends of his had already begun reinventing estate planning with an app called FreeWill, which supplies totally legal wills.

Browder may be abutting the limits of a simple fill-in-the-blank Mad Libs-style approach at dealing with the law, but with machine learning and ascendancy of artificial intelligence, it seems like a foregone conclusion that legal services from robots will have a large effect on the industry, and in a big way. If a simple bot in just three cities beat 375,000 parking ticketslikely saving over $10 millioneven Browders rollout to all 50 states should make a splash.

Correction: An earlier version identified an incorrect FreeWill app. The one in question pertains to the U.S., not England and Wales.

Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, tech, and personal finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Got a tip? Send it to tips@yahoo-inc.com.

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PARIS (Reuters) - A retired French judge has been found dead at his home with his head in a plastic bag, a prosecutor said on Wednesday, in a new twist to a child murder case that has haunted France for three decades. A judicial source said first indications suggested that Jean-Michel Lambert, 65, who was found dead at his home near Le Mans by emergency services late on Tuesday, had committed suicide. "There was no trace of violence...(and) no trace of a break-in," said the Le Mans prosecutor in a statement. Lambert had been the first magistrate in charge of the investigation into the 1984 killing of four-year-old Gregory Villemin, whose body was discovered, bound hand and foot, in a river. The murder, which remains unsolved, was followed by a revenge killing, and other highly-publicized twists and turns where relatives were one after the other accused of being guilty amid a series of anonymous letters. The case was opened and closed again several times over the decades. Then, in June this year, it was back in the headlines as a couple in their 70s and a 48-year old woman, all relatives of the child, were placed under investigation. Judge Lambert, who was 32 at the time, was often criticized for the way he handled the case between 1984 and 1987. On Tuesday, a French news channel published what it said were notes from another judge who investigated the case and had severely criticized Lambert's work. A month after Gregory's death, Bernard Laroche, a cousin of the child's father, was charged based on evidence provided by his sister-in-law, Muriel Bolle - the youngest of the trio put under investigation last month. Laroche was freed after evidence against him was thrown out by prosecutors. But convinced that he was the murderer, Gregory's father Jean-Marie Villemin shot and killed him in 1985, and served four years in jail for the act. Gregory's mother, Christine Villemin, also fell under suspicion because witnesses said they had seen her at the post office on the day that one of the mysterious letters was sent. She was later cleared. (Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry and Dominique Vidalon in Paris and Guilaume Frouin in Nantes; Editing by Ingrid Melander, Andrew Callus and Richard Balmforth)
Leo Adonis committed suicide by jumping 250 feet into the crater of Kilauea volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Monday. His backpack contained a suicide note and was discovered Saturday night by two hikers who alerted park rangers. The rangers began to search for his body the night he died, but after dangerous conditions suspended their search they found the body in the crater the following day.

His father, whose name was not disclosed, said he was heartbroken. Adonis lived in Petaluma, California, but had previously resided in Pahoa .

Leo Adonis picture,commits suicide by jumping 250 feet https://t.co/76rGKgoBvi pic.twitter.com/LkpTqjlRbc  infowe (@infowe) July 11, 2017

Adonis was 38 years old and born Gregory Michael Ure, according to a report by the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.

Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said it is believed the man died from a fall, but an investigation is ongoing.

The volcano does not have an active lava flow, though the volcano itself, Kilauea, is erupting. Since 1990, four people have died from falls around the crater rim, according to the Sun.

READ: Can Volcano Eruptions Be Predicted? Volcanic 'Whispers' Can Alert Scientists

In November 1790, the Hawaiian volcano Kilauea had a legendary eruption, which killed over 400 people. It was the most deadly volcanic explosion in the United States, and the cause of so many deaths has been debated by geologists ever since.

"There have been more powerful eruptions here, but none more deadly," said Don Swanson, a geologist with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, according to Live Science in an article in 2011. "We think that we've identified the very eruption, by its deposit, that was responsible for the deaths of so many people."

Story continues

This is not the first time that someone has died falling into the crater of a volcano. In 2010, Joseph Bohlig, 52, fell down St. Helen's in Washington when he was trying to snap a picture of himself on the rim of a dormant volcano. The snow overhang gave way beneath him, resulting in his untimely death.

Hawaii volcano continues to spill lava out into the ocean.

Photo: REUTERS/USGS/Handout via Reuters

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A trillion-tonne iceberg - one of the largest on record - has broken away from an ice shelf in Antarctica.

Researchers have been monitoring a huge crack in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, which had left a vast iceberg more than four times the size of London or a quarter the size of Wales "hanging by a thread".

Scientists announced on Wednesday that the rift had finally completed its path through the ice, causing the 2,200 square mile (5,800 square kilometre) iceberg to snap off.

A massive section of Larsen-C ice shelf calving off the glacier in a satellite image released by the European Space Agency Credit: ESA

The calving of the iceberg reduces the size of the Larsen C Ice Shelf by around 12 per cent and will change the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula forever, the team from the Swansea University-led Midas project said.

The iceberg, which is now likely to be named A68, broke away at some time between Monday and Wednesday.

The final breakthrough was detected in data from Nasa's Aqua MODIS satellite instrument.

Professor Adrian Luckman, of Swansea University, said: "We have been anticipating this event for months, and have been surprised how long it took for the rift to break through the final few kilometres of ice.

An image from NASA shows the Antarctic Peninsula's rift in the Larsen C ice shelf Credit: AFP

"We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, and the fate of this huge iceberg.

"The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict. It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments.

From 6 July to 12 July, #Sentinel1 caught the final days and eventual full break-off of the berg. #LarsenCpic.twitter.com/2kVVjx4Syk  ESA EarthObservation (@ESA_EO) 12 July 2017

"Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters."

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Although the iceberg weighs a trillion tonnes, it was already floating before it calved away so will have no immediate impact on sea level.

While the researchers said the calving was a "natural event", it put the ice shelf in a vulnerable position.

A huge crack had left the Larsen C Ice Shelf 'hanging by a thread', scientists said Credit: JOHN SONNTAG/AFP

There are concerns that Larsen C could follow the example of its neighbouring ice shelf Larsen B, which disintegrated in 2002 after a similar event.

Dr Martin O'Leary, a Swansea University glaciologist and member of the Midas project team, said: "Although this is a natural event, and we're not aware of any link to human-induced climate change, this puts the ice shelf in a very vulnerable position.

Nasa Suomi VIIRS panchromatic image from July 12 2017, confirming the calving Credit: Nasa

"This is the furthest back that the ice front has been in recorded history. We're going to be watching very carefully for signs that the rest of the shelf is becoming unstable."

Prof Luckman added: "In the ensuing months and years, the ice shelf could either gradually regrow, or may suffer further calving events which may eventually lead to collapse - opinions in the scientific community are divided.

"Our models say it will be less stable, but any future collapse remains years or decades away."

If the shelf loses much more area, it could result in glaciers which flow off the land behind speeding up their path to the ocean, which could have an eventual impact on sea levels - though at a very modest rate, the scientists said.

Larsen C Ice Break

Growth of Larsen C's rift size




A large portion of an ice shelf that was said to be hanging by a thread last month has broken off from the Antarctic mainland, creating one of the worlds largest icebergs, according to a Wednesday report by British Antarctic research group Project Midas.

The iceberg, which is estimated to have separated from the Larsen C ice shelf between Monday and Wednesday, will be named A68. It weighs 1 trillion tons and contains twice the volume of water held in Lake Erie, the report said. It is measured at 5,800 square kilometers, making it nearly twice the size of Rhode Island.

The ice shelfs calving has been expected for some time. Project Midas wrote that it was watching with bated breath after the rift separating the iceberg from the main shelf grew 11 miles in six days in late May. At the time, Adrian Luckman, lead investigator of Project Midas, wrote that the separation of the ice shelf would fundamentally change the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The initial rift branched off several times, but only one iceberg can be seen at this time, Luckman told the Guardian.

An iceberg nearly twice the size of Rhode Island breaks off Antarctica. (Project Midas /Reuters/Yahoo News)

The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict, Luckman said in a statement on the groups website. It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments. Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters.

Dr. Martin OLeary, a glaciologist at Swansea University and a Midas member, said though the calving was not apparently tied to manmade climate change, it was nevertheless concerning.

Although this is a natural event, and were not aware of any link to human-induced climate change, this puts the ice shelf in a very vulnerable position, he said on the website. This is the furthest back that the ice front has been in recorded history. Were going to be watching very carefully for signs that the rest of the shelf is becoming unstable.

Story continues

Aerial photo showing a rift in the Antarctic Peninsulas Larsen C ice shelf, Nov. 10, 2016. According to NASA, IceBridge scientists measured the Larsen C fracture to be about 70 miles long, more than 300 feet wide and about a third of a mile deep. (John Sonntag/NASA via AP)

Rising sea levels endanger heavily populated cities such as New York, San Francisco, New Orleans and Miami, and are predicted to cause 13.1 million Americans to relocate from coastal areas by 2100.

This iceberg will not immediately influence sea levels, according to Project Midas, but if Larsen C continues to disintegrate, sea levels could be affected by glaciers flowing off the land behind the ice shelf into the ocean.

The scientific community first became concerned about the possibility of the Larsen C disintegrating after two nearby ice shelves  Larsen A and Larsen B  disappeared in 1995 and 2002, respectively.

In the ensuing months and years, the ice shelf could either gradually regrow, or may suffer further calving events which may eventually lead to collapse  opinions in the scientific community are divided, Luckman said. Our models say it will be less stable, but any future collapse remains years or decades away.

An iceberg section measuring about 6,000 sq. km. broke away as part of the natural cycle of iceberg calving off the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica in this satellite image released by the European Space Agency on July 12, 2017. (Photo courtesy ESA/Handout via Reuters)

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This story was originally published by ProPublica.

The head of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit in charge of deportations has directed his officers to take action against all undocumented immigrants they may cross paths with, regardless of criminal histories. The guidance appears to go beyond the Trump administration's publicly stated aims, and some advocates say may explain a marked increase in immigration arrests.

In a February memo, Matthew Albence, a career official who heads the Enforcement and Removal Operations division of ICE, informed his 5,700 deportation officers that, "effective immediately, ERO officers will take enforcement action against all removable aliens encountered in the course of their duties."

The Trump administration, including Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, has been clear in promising to ramp up immigration enforcement, but has so far emphasized that its priority was deporting immigrants who posed a public safety threat. Indeed, Kelly, to whom Albence ultimately reports, had seemed to suggest a degree of discretion when he told the agencies under his command earlier this year that immigration officers "may" initiate enforcement actions against any undocumented person they encountered. That guidance was issued just a day before Albence sent the memo to his staff.

A spokesman with ICE said Albence's directive did not represent a break with Kelly's stated aims, and was consistent with current agency policies.

"The memo directly supports the directions handed down in the executive orders and mirrors the language ICE consistently uses to describe its enforcement posture," the spokeswoman, Sarah Rodriguez, said in a statement. "As Secretary Kelly and Acting Director [of ICE] Homan have stated repeatedly, ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of national security and public safety threats; however, no class or category of alien in the United States is exempt from arrest or removal."

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However, Sarah Saldana, who retired in January as head of ICE for the Obama administration, said the wording in the memo would have real consequences for undocumented immigrants.

"When you use the word will' instead of may' you are taking it a step further," said Saldana. "This is an important directive and people at ERO are bound by this directive unless someone above Matt Albence comes back and says, You went too far.' I don't think you are going to find that person in this administration."

David Bier, an immigration policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the fallout from the memo has been evident for months. "The memo explains what we have actually been seeing on the ground," Bier said, asserting that immigrants without criminal backgrounds were routinely being arrested and ordered deported.

Since 2008, Congress had traditionally used its annual spending bill to instruct the secretary of homeland security to prioritize the deportation of convicted immigrants based on the severity of their crimes, but that language was left out of this year's bill, helping to pave the way for broader enforcement.

In recent months, the number of undocumented immigrants arrested who are considered to be non-criminals has risen. (Under the law, merely being here illegally is not a crime. Rather, it's a civil violation.) Between February and May, the Trump administration arrested, on average, 108 undocumented immigrants a day with no criminal record, an uptick of some 150 percent from the same time period a year ago.

For example, an Ecuadorean high schooler was detained by ICE agents who showed up at his home in upstate New York hours before his senior prom in June. Three restaurant workers targeted for immigration violations were arrested in May in Michigan after ICE agents ate breakfast where they worked. A Salvadoran man is facing deportation in Houston after voluntarily showing up to an ICE office for a routine check-in.

The ICE memo acknowledges that space in detention facilities limits the number of undocumented immigrants who can be detained upon apprehension. Still, it says ICE officials are mandated to begin deportation proceedings against all undocumented immigrants with whom they cross paths  even if those apprehended remain free as they face an immigration judge, a process that can take years.

Others may be swiftly deported if they are found to already have final deportation orders signed by an immigration judge. As of May 2016, there were 930,000 undocumented immigrants who had been ordered deported but remained freely in the country, according to ICE statistics.

"My concern is that what you end up doing is siphoning away resources that should go to the public safety threats," said John Sandweg, who preceded Saldana as acting ICE director.

Under Obama-era guidelines, undocumented immigrants with no criminal record  but perhaps with a pending deportation order  could only be arrested if an agent's supervisor determined their deportation "would serve an important federal interest."

Homan has appeared to acknowledge the impact of the agency's more aggressive approach even if he did not mention Albence's explicit direction.

"There has been a significant increase in non-criminal arrests because we weren't allowed to arrest them in the past administration," Homan told a House committee. "You see more of an uptick in non-criminals because we're going from zero to 100 under a new administration."

Both Homan and Albence are career employees who have worked for decades helping the government enforce immigration laws. Before Homan was promoted to lead ICE, he led ERO, with Albence as his assistant director.

"I expect that the agency believes that there is no one in the White House or DHS that is going to tell them No. Don't do this,'" Bier said. "And without an effective check in the administration we are going to see arrests being made without any regard to prioritization."

Trump has yet to nominate a political director to lead ICE. In fact, all three immigration agencies under Homeland Security  ICE, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services  are currently implementing Trump's agenda while being led by career staff.

Homan has so far served as a vocal supporter of Trump's ramped up immigration enforcement. Last week, he even made an appearance at a White House press briefing.

"Why do you think we got 11 million to 12 million people in this country [illegally] now?" Homan asked White House reporters. "Because there has been this notion that if you get by the Border Patrol, if you get in the United States, if you have a U.S. citizen kid, then no one is looking for you. But those days are over."

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Tehran (AFP) - Iran and Oman will work to boost their ties, the Islamic republic's President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, as a diplomatic crisis persists in the Gulf.

"Iran and Oman have for years had fraternal relations and the best must be made of these good relations to reinforce them," Rouhani said as he met Oman's foreign minister.

The Iranian government's website reported Foreign Minister Yussef Bin Alawi as replying: "Omani leaders believe our ties should be developed."

The remarks come after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt last month severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing extremism and being too close to Riyadh's arch-rival Tehran.

They imposed a series of isolation measures on Qatar including cutting air, land and maritime links to the small gas-rich emirate.

Oman, which has maintained ties with Qatar, took part this week in a string of Kuwaiti and US-led talks towards resolving the crisis.

Rouhani slammed the sanctions imposed by the Riyadh-led group on Doha, which Qatar has called a "blockade".

"Threatening, pressuring and imposing a blockade against neighbours, including Qatar, is an erroneous method and everyone must try to reduce the tensions in the region," he said.

He also criticised "the policies of certain countries in the region against Syria, Yemen and Bahrain", in what appeared to be a reference to Saudi Arabia.

Iran regularly denounces bombings of Iran-backed Huthi rebels by a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, where is has accused the coalition of blockading ports.

Tehran also accuses Riyadh and its allies of supporting rebels and jihadists in Syria and Iraq, where it backs Damascus and Baghdad.

Iran increased its food imports to Qatar after its Gulf neighbours cut transport links to the emirate.
Jalamah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz made a rare appearance by a high-ranking Israeli official in the occupied West Bank on Monday to sign an agreement on electricity with the Palestinian Authority.

Steinitz attended the ceremony in Jalamah near the northern West Bank city of Jenin alongside Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah.

They announced a boost in electricity supply in the area that comes with a payment guarantee from the Palestinians and unveiled a new substation.

The ceremony was held with a top adviser to US President Donald Trump, Jason Greenblatt, set to hold another round of meetings in Israel and the Palestinian territories in the coming days.

Trump's administration has urged Israel to take measures to improve the Palestinian economy as he seeks ways to restart peace talks.

"Of course we hope to achieve peace and security; it is important for all nations -- but meanwhile it is important also to improve the infrastructure," Steinitz said.

Hamdallah said "we do not want to depend on Israel forever".

"We are about to build a power plant in Jenin that will generate 450 megawatts in the Jenin area. I hope this power plant will start operating in 2020."

But the ceremony came in stark contrast to a severe electricity shortage in the Gaza Strip, the other Palestinian territory run by Islamist movement Hamas.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose Fatah party is based in the West Bank, has sought to pressure his rivals from Hamas in recent months notably by withholding payments for electricity.

Israel recently reduced its supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip after Abbas slashed the payments.

The cut left the impoverished territory of more than two million people with as little as two hours of mains electricity a day.

As an interim measure, Egypt stepped in to deliver fuel to Gaza's sole power plant, but Hamas at the weekend accused Abbas's Palestinian Authority of blocking fuel payments to Egypt.

Story continues

- 'Like a nightclub' -

Hamdallah on Monday said "in 10 years, we have spent more than $15 billion from the Palestinian state's treasury on Gaza while Hamas collects the revenues and spends it on itself and not on the people".

Israeli Major General Yoav Mordechai, head of the defence ministry unit that coordinates civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said Gazan leaders had electricity "at home, like a nightclub, but why don't they put the people (before themselves)?".

Those who can afford it have generators to power their homes and businesses in the Gaza Strip.

Israel coordinates with the Palestinian Authority, but not Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organisation and has fought three wars since 2008 with Palestinian militants in Gaza.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade, badly damaging the enclave's economy, and its crossing with Egypt has also remained largely closed in recent years.

UN officials have called for the blockade to be lifted, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions, but Israel says it is necessary to prevent Hamas from importing weapons or materials that could be used to make them.

Monday's agreement will lead to an increase in electricity supply to the West Bank's Jenin area by 60 megawatts, officials said.

The West Bank relies almost completely on Israel for its electricity supply and payment disputes have led to blackouts in the past.

Such visits by an Israeli minister are extremely rare.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon met Hamdallah in Ramallah.

Before that, no Israeli member of the internal security cabinet had met a Palestinian official in a West Bank city since 2000, an Israeli official said.
Jaden Smith turned 19 this weekend. Since fans couldnt be with him on his special day, he treated them to a concert a day prior. Spotted in the crowd of his live show was none other than his girlfriend, Odessa Adlon.

Last Friday, Smith booked the Sagesbrush Cantina in Calabasas, California to serve as the venue for his special concert for his fans. The Karate Kid star, who is obviously following the footsteps of his father Will Smith, rapped for the audience. He reportedly gave it his all as he was seen passionately performing while shirtless in the Instagram posts of his fans.

During Smiths numbers, Adlon was spotted cheering wildly with the crowd and shouting the lyrics of her beaus tracks, as per E! News. Adlon appeared to be very proud of her lovers concert as she was all-smiles after the show when she and Smith reunited.

READ: Why Jada Pinkett Smith does not miss her kids

Also present at Smiths mini-concert was his family. Proud parents Will and Jada Pinkett were reportedly present at the event. Smiths 16-year-old sister Willow was also there, and she even performed an acoustic song for the crowd, according to ET Online.

On Saturday, when it was officially Smiths birthday, Jada took to Instagram to post a photo of her and her son. She also greeted the teenager a happy birthday in the caption. Then, she took to Twitter to state that the young man took after her sense of style as proven by the photo of a very young Jaden she included in her tweet.

Will also greeted the celebrant via social media. The Suicide Squad actor took to Facebook to share a cute photo taken years ago when his son was still very young. The tyke is seen sitting on the Hollywood actors lap in the snap. Poking fun at his son, Will captioned the post: Ima have to sit on your lap from here on out.

On the other hand, Willow kept it simple by just posting a close-up pic of her brother on Instagram and captioning it: Happy Birthday Big-Bro.

Story continues

Smith has been pretty busy these days despite the cancellation of his Netflix series, The Get Down. He is currently committed to filming a movie with Cara Delevingne and Cuba Gooding Jr. called Life in a Year. The movie is set for release next year, as reported by People.

Jaden Smith

Photo: Getty Images/Dia Dipasupil

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On The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the conservative voice of "Morning Joe" and former Republican Congressman of Florida, Joe Scarborough made a big announcement. "I am a Republican but I'm not going to be a Republican anymore. I've got to become an independent." Scarborough's announcement of departure from the GOP comes from being fed up with the Republican party's multitude of excuses for the behavior of a Donald Trump and the deafening silence regarding Donald Trump Junior's admission of collusion with the Russians. "What have you heard from the Republican party today? Nothing. There's always silence," he said. He went on to say, "That's not a party Ronald Reagan could associate with, certainly not a party that I can associate with." Scarborough has been appalled by the blatant disrespect to basic American protections including religious freedom saying, "I remember in December of 2015 when Donald Trump supported a Muslim ban. I said on the air, it's very simple, it's black and white, I said, I can never vote for anybody Though Scarborough had some strong opinions he said he doesn't want to run for public office, and it seems he has another career he's dipping his toes into: Rock n' roll.
On The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the conservative voice of Morning Joe  and former Republican congressman from Florida  Joe Scarborough made a big announcement. I am a Republican, but Im not going to be a Republican anymore. Ive got to become an independent, he said.

Scarborough said his departure from the GOP is a result of being fed up with the Republican partys excuses for the behavior of a Donald Trump, and the deafening silence regarding Donald Trump Jr.s admission of meeting with the Russians.

What have you heard from the Republican party today? Nothing. Theres always silence, he said. He added, Thats not a party Ronald Reagan could associate with  certainly not a party that I can associate with.

Scarborough has been appalled by the blatant disrespect for basic American protections, including religious freedom, saying, I remember in December of 2015 when Donald Trump supported a Muslim ban. I said on the air: Its very simple; its black and white. I said: I can never vote for anybody in my party that would say they were going to ban people because of the god they worshiped.

Though Scarborough has some strong opinions, he said he doesnt want to run for public office, and it seems hes dipping his toes into another career  rock n roll musician.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS.

Check out Stephen Colbert mocking Kellyanne Conway about Donald Trump Jr.:

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Senator John McCain sharply criticized Donald Trump Jr. for taking a meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya during the 2016 campaign, claiming such an interaction would have been unacceptable when he was the Presidential nominee in 2008.

I can assure you the people around me would not be inclined to do that kind of thing, especially not one of my sons. Cause my sonstheyre in the military. You know, theyd probably be court-martialed, McCain said Tuesday, the Weekly Standard reports.

Trump Jr. finds himself at the center of a political controversy after the New York Times reported his meeting with Veselnitskaya. While he originally said the meeting was centered around adoption policies, the Times subsequently reported that he met with Veselnitskaya because he was promised compromising information on Hillary Clinton. On Tuesday, Trump Jr. released an email chain confirming he had been promised very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump.

After he released the emails, McCain was one of several Republican Senators who said Trump Jr. needed to testify before Congress. Weve got a lot more to learn about the whole issue.  Another shoe drops from the centipede every few days, he said, according to the Standard.
North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un hosted a banquet featuring pop music Sunday to celebrate the countrys first successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

North Korea claimed on July 4, 2017 to have successfully fired an ICBM. These claims were later confirmed by the Trump Administration. The successful launch of the ICBM potentially moved North Korea closer to its goal of striking the United States. Kim Jong Un oversaw the test of a Hwasong-14 missile, according to a July 4 announcement by state Korean Central Television.

Read: North Korea Warns Of Nuclear War If US, South Korea Continue Joint Military Drills

The North Korean leader held a celebratory concert Sunday that featured pop music and a dancing crowd. The concert aired on North Koreas state broadcaster KRT.

A girl band called Moranbong Band headlined the concert, performing songs such as Song of Hwasong Rocket and Make Others Envy Us, according to North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency. State and army officials were also present.

Other performers included the pop group Chongbong Band, the State Merited Chorus and the Wangjaesan Art Troupe. Employees and students who also contribute to national defense science and helped with the missile launch were also in attendance, reported KRT.

kim

Photo: KNS/AFP/Getty Images

At the banquet, Kim Jong Un promoted Jang Chang Ha, the president of the Academy of National Defense Science, from Lieutenant General to Colonel General. Footage of the concert showed the crowd cheering and applauding for Kim Jong Un.

The American bastards must be quite unhappy after closely watching our strategic decision. I guess they are not too happy with the gift package we sent them for the occasion of their independence Day, the Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim Jong Un saying July 4. We should often send them gift packages so they wont be too bored.

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Read: Understanding Kim Jong Un And What Makes North Koreas Leader Tick

The missile was launched from the Banghyon airfield in Kusong, North Korea. It flew 578 miles before it landed in the Sea of Japan, the waters between North Korea and Japan, as confirmed by South Korean military officials. It reportedly flew for 37 minutes, according to U.S. Pacific Command.

North Korean media said the Hwasong-14 missile is able to strike the heart of the United States, with experts estimating the missile may reach as far as Alaska. The Trump administration said to Pyongyang that the United States would use the full range of capabilities at our disposal against the growing threat of North Korea.

No confirmation was reported that the missile re-entered Earth's atmosphere intact. This was North Koreas eleventh missile launch of 2017.

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Charlottesville (United States) (AFP) - Even if the US extreme right and white nationalism are enjoying a revival under President Donald Trump, the Ku Klux Klan -- which rallied in Virginia last weekend -- is a mere shadow of its once-powerful former self.

"Today the Klan is mostly a collection of small, disjointed groups, with no central leadership, very little stability," Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, told AFP.

"These Klan groups tend to form and dissolve very quickly, there are very few groups that have a long history of existence, and in general the Klan is not a particularly healthy white supremacist movement," he said.

The images of men in traditional white robes at Saturday's rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, dredged up fearsome memories of the burning crosses, public lynchings and vast torchlit parades of the Klan's heyday.

In fact, only around 40 members of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan actually showed up for the gathering, vastly outnumbered by hundreds of anti-racist counter-protesters.

The "Knights" wanted to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E Lee, the commander of the pro-slavery Confederate forces in the US Civil War, from a municipal park. But their speeches and denunciations were drowned out by the boos and jeers of protesters.

Still, experts insist the extreme right is on the rise in the United States, emboldened by Trump's victorious president campaign.

- Race debate-

The far-right's resurgence comes at a time "when we are having important conversations about race," said Robin Lenhardt, director of the Center on Race, Law and Justice at Fordham Law School.

She points to the mass incarceration of African-Americans in the country's prisons, the abuse of minorities by police, including frequent high-profile shootings, as among the sensitive issues that some conservative white Americans would rather sweep under the carpet.

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And there is also the issue of the Confederate flags and monuments still scattered across the South, which have been increasingly challenged since a self-declared white supremacist went on a killing rampage in an African American church in South Carolina two years ago.

"These monuments stand as markers or efforts to memorialize a period when white supremacy reigned," she said.

At the end of June, a group of white nationalists even organized a public gathering in the heart of Washington, close to the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King once made his celebrated "I have a dream" speech.

There has been an awakening, Richard Spencer, a sworn enemy of multiculturalism and a leader of the self-proclaimed "alt-right" movement told the assembly there.

- KKK gnawed away by 'alt-right'-

The "alt-right" has the wind in its sails right now, and is trying to draw together under its flag all the disparate elements of the white American nationalist identity, which it says is under threat from globalization and immigration.

Against that backdrop, the KKK is seen as a much more archaic organization.

"Klans are very much seen as sort of an older generation white supremacy, so they are not attracting young members to the degree that they were many years ago," said Segal. "They suffer from a lack of cohesion."

"Much of their activity is putting fliers on people's lawn, which in many ways is a sign of weakness, not a sign of strength," he said.

At its peak in the 1920s, the Klan had some four million members, was well organized and wielded considerable political clout, with its tendrils even reaching at times into law enforcement agencies.

These days, it can muster only about 5,000 to 8,000 members, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors extremist groups
Internal emails from Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab published by Bloomberg Businessweek suggest the company has much closer ties to the Russian government and intelligence agencies than it has previously claimed.

A number of emails, dated October 2009, show a conversation between Kaspersky Lab founder and CEO Eugene Kaspersky and senior staff at the company. Within the messages, Kaspersky details a project the company undertook at the apparent request of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation.

Read: CEO Of Kaspersky Agrees To Give U.S. Government Source Code To Security Products

In the emails, Kaspersky describes the project, done in secret during the year prior, as a big request on the Lubyanka side. Lubyanka is the name of the building that houses part of the FSB and was once the headquarters of the KGBthe security agency for the Soviet Union prior to its dissolution.

According to Bloomberg, Kaspersky was referencing a piece of software developed by his security company designed to protect against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. The software was used by a number of clients including Russian government organizations.

In additional to creating the security tool, Kaspersky reportedly agreed to work with internet hosting companies to spot had actors and work to block their attacks. Kaspersky advised his staff to keep secret the active countermeasures taken by the security firm.

The project includes both technology to protect against attacks (filters) as well as interaction with the hosters (spreading of sacrifice) and active countermeasures (about which, we keep quiet) and so on, Kaspersky wrote, while also stating the company planned to turn the DDoS protection into a product sold to businesseswhich it has since started to do.

Read: Russian Spying: U.S. Officials Concerned Kaspersky Lab May Be Compromised By Russian Government

The countermeasures in question reportedly go beyond the type of service a cybersecurity company would provide. According to Bloomberg, Kasperskys anti-DDoS software provided the FSB with real-time intelligence monitoring on the location of an attacker. The firm also sent experts with FSB agents to conduct raids at the homes of the supposed attackers.

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The project lead on the DDoS service was Kaspersky Lab chief legal officer Igor Chekunov, who once served as a member of law enforcement and worked for the KGB. He is also believed to be in charge of offering support to the FSB and other Russian agencies, including helping gather data and identify attackers.

Another Kaspersky Lab employee, Ruslan Stoyanov, supposedly helped develop the technology that was used in the anti-DDoS software. Stoyanov also reportedly rode along with Russian agents on raids and previously worked for the Russias Interior Ministrys cybercrime unit.

Stoyanov and a senior FSB cyber investigator were arrested earlier this year by the Russian government and charged with treason for supposedly cooperating with the U.S. government.

When statements are taken out of context, anything can be manipulated to serve an agenda, the company told Bloomberg. Kaspersky Lab has always acknowledged that it provides appropriate products and services to governments around the world to protect those organizations from cyberthreats, but it does not have any unethical ties or affiliations with any government, including Russia.

Earlier this month, Kaspersky Lab said it would allow the United States government examine the source code of his companys products to prove Kaspersky Lab has no ties to the Russian government. The company has come under fire from a number of U.S. officials who have suggested the products should not be trusted.

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Tom Dawe of Kent, Ohio voted for Donald Trump last year for a familiar reason: He didnt feel he could vote for Hillary Clinton. But now that he has seen Trump in action, Dawe, 61, feels he made a mistake.

Trump has endorsed a Senate healthcare plan that, if enacted, would cut back Medicaid benefits for Dawes wife, Catherine. And Dawe, the retired manager of print operations for a container company, feels that instead of strengthening Americas standing around the world, Trumps leadership style has weakened it. If I knew what I know now, I wouldnt have voted for him, because I think hes a quack, Dawe says. His talk about how everybody was going to prosperI fell for it.

Donald Trumps approval rating has remained low but steady at around 40% during his embattled presidency. But new research by Yahoo Finance has identified a key subset of Trump voters who are turned off by his actions as president, including some who would change their votes if they could. In a Yahoo Finance online survey conducted in late June, 12.6% of Trump voters said they were dissatisfied with his performance as president, and 11.1% said they wouldnt vote for him again. Thats a much larger portion than Trumps margin of victory in key states that put him over the top last November, including Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan and Wisconsinwhich Trump won by less than 2% of the vote. The poll results suggest Trump has lost the voters who provided his margin of victory in 2016and would be needed again were he to run for reelection in 2020.

Trump voter Tom Dawe of Kent, Ohio: If I knew what I know now, I wouldnt have voted for him, because I think hes a quack.

The Yahoo Finance survey included 25,271 people who said they voted for Trump for president. About 83% of them said they were satisfied with Trumps performance so far, and 73% said they felt theyd be helped by policies Trump has backed as president. So Trumps so-called base remains more or less intact. But a meaningful minority of Trump voters said theyd be hurt by his healthcare policy, along with a rollback of environmental regulations, changes to trade agreements, tax cuts perceived to help the wealthy more than the middle class, and other Trump priorities. (See the full survey results.)

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Source: Yahoo Finance online survey conducted via Survey Monkey.

Trump voters have confounded pundits who consider them oblivious to Trump policies that would leave some of his own supporters worse off. But in follow-up interviews with Trump regretters, we found thoughtful voters very aware of the likely impact Trumps policies would have on them. Some are disappointed that Trump didnt moderate his combative views and behavior once elected. Others feel he has abandoned campaign promises while obsessing over negative news coverage. And some simply feel they made a mistake. Here are a few vignettes on topics that came up most frequently in interviews with Trump regretters.

Competence. Trump impressed many voters with his success as a businessman, which they hoped would translate into success as a political leader. For many, it hasnt. I expected competence, says Fred Wedel, 74, a retired petroleum engineer who lives outside Sacramento. The only thing Ive seen is gross incompetence. It started his first week in office, when he put out the immigration edict. Im not a lawyer, but I read it and I knew its unconstitutional. I realized, he may know how to run his Trump business but he has no clue how to run a government.

[Related: Read about the contrarians who didnt vote for Trump, but would now]

Wedel says Trump reminds him of the worst boss he ever had, a man named Roger who took credit when things went right and blamed others when things went wrong. We got another Roger, he says of Trump. Im sure Trump, in his business, surrounded himself with what we used to call the nodders. People are afraid to tell him the truth. I am so disappointed in the arrogance hes running the office with. What Ive seen so far is incompetence and Im sorry I voted for him.

Favoring the wealthy. During the campaign, Trump undoubtedly connected with working-class voters and others who feel traditional politicians have lost touch with middle America. But that connection is fraying. Hes an embarrassment. I dont know how else to say it, says Cynthia Shearer, 67, a retired counselor and parole agent in Norristown, Pa. She began losing confidence in Trump when he started appointing his Cabinet. All these bankers, she says. He needed to hire people, like maybe economists, but not these rich billionaires who are just going to help themselves. I think hes going to hurt the working and middle class. Look at the money he wants to spend on defense, while he wants to cut out the estate tax. Why should a rich billionaire not have to pay estate taxes when theyve already gotten these big tax breaks?

Dishonesty. Some Trump supporters dont mind his lies and exaggerations, since they feel hes simply jousting with corrupt media outlets. But others feel Trump has squandered his credibility. I get tired of the lies, says William Fenn, 57, a machinist in Washington, Maine. You cant believe any word he says. Who in the world is going to believe him? Do you think Angela Merkel is believing him? Xi over in China? How this makes America great is beyond me. I had hoped that he would become more presidential. Im disappointed he has not become presidential. He thinks hes still on The Apprenticeand if he were on his own show, Trump would fire him.

Trump voter William Fenn of Washington, Maine: I get tired of the lies. How this makes America great is beyond me.

The environment. Jim McDonald, 62, of Westport, Conn., is a former Wall Street trader who voted for Trump because he agreed with Trumps calls for better trade deals, lower taxes, deregulating banks and bringing down drug prices. Hes seen little action on those issues, however, and is appalled Trump pulled out of the Paris climate agreement. His environmental policies might harm me or my two offspring, who are in their 20s, he says. The guys a nutcase and nothing can get done because hes too busy talking about Joe Scarborough or insulting the prime minister of Germany. Hes constantly on the back foot trying to recover. If it were possible to impeach the guy by popular vote, I would sign on the dotted line right now.

Trump voter Jim McDonald of Westport, Conn.: The guys a nutcase and nothing can get done because hes too busy talking about Joe Scarborough or insulting the prime minister of Germany. Hes constantly on the back foot trying to recover.

Healthcare. The most contentious issue in Washington, without a doubt, is the Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with something that might slash funding for Medicaid or otherwise limit coverage for lower-income Americans. Trump regretters express frustration that the president doesnt seem to have a plan of his own, as he promised during the campaign, and hasnt backed anything likely to make the US healthcare system better, overall. Healthcare is of particular importance to me as I age, says Mike Comrie, 60, a technology management consultant who lives in Orlando. I have not seen anything come out of the Trump administration that I think solves the problem with healthcare. You dont just go and repeal Obamacare, because then what? Youre removing something but you dont have anything to replace it with. Thats where I have a problem with this line of thinking. He tends to shoot first and ask questions later.

Yahoo Finance contacted one Trump voter who estimates the GOP cutbacks to Medicaid would cost his family several thousand dollars per yearand doesnt mind. Im pretty darn sure Ill be harmed, but I dont think thats a bad thing. I think thats a good thing, says Doug Krotzer, 75, an entrepreneur from Jacksonville, Fla., whose daughter has special needs and qualifies for Medicaid. I think all this socialized medicine has been a disaster for the country, and anything I can sacrifice to help get past that, Im happy to do.

Trump voter Mike Comrie of Orlando: I have not seen anything come out of the Trump administration that I think solves the problem with health care.

While some Trump regretters say theyd change their vote if they could do it over, others say it would depend on who Trump were running againstand if Hillary Clinton were the opponent again, they might still choose Trump. My support has tapered off, but not enough to become a Hillary supporter, says Fenn. Jim McDonald wouldnt vote for Clinton, either. The two choices were the worst Ive ever seen, he says. If I had it to do over again, I wouldnt have voted or I would have written in whoever.

Can Trump turn his presidency around? Some disillusioned Trump voters say yesif he could stop the manic tweeting, focus on pragmatic solutions to problems and maybe court compromise with Democrats on an issue or two. Others think Trump will never change, and they gird for another three-plus years of disappointment. It takes a humble person to change, says Shearer. Hes an arrogant person and will never change. Her disappointment is so profound, she says, that to tell you the truth, sometimes I wish I ended up voting for her.

Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com. Encrypted communication available.

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Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman
Dispatches from Mosul A women cries hopelessly on the streets of Mosul. July 2, 2017. (Photograph by Diego Ibarra Sanchez / MeMo)

Text and Photography by Diego Ibarra Sanchez / MeMo

MOSUL, Iraq  Mohammed looks out the dirty back window of the Civil Defense ambulance. He holds firmly to the gate, eager to get outside in order to start his quest. Like most of Mosuls citizens, he wants to take back the dead bodies of his relatives. He didnt have the chance to carry them with him  he ran away before an airstrike hit his neighborhood. They deserve to rest in peace even while more bombs rain down.

As the battle for Mosul nears its end, it gets more violent and access becomes more dangerous. Watch your steps  thousands of invisible booby traps lie in wait. The sounds of mortars and bombs echo a path of destruction. A river of civilians fleeing from the ashes and devastation evokes the last moments of the caliphates terror. There are dead bodies of ISIS fighters on every corner, and the streets are littered with the dust-covered belongings left behind by those who fled or were killed. Traumatized and confused faces, skinny and naked bodies, survivors of famine, isolation and hate Its almost 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The air seems to melt hope and life. Prove that you are not part of ISIS, then enjoy your long-awaited, so-called freedom inside a refugee camp. Fail to prove your innocence to the satisfaction of your interrogators, and you will embrace your freedom from the inside of a cell.

A broken ISIS watch found on a body seems to evoke the long-awaited end of the operation started on Oct. 17. Its almost there, but the nightmare is not finished. The city is devastated and its wounds may never heal. Hundreds of prisoners still wait to be interrogated, thousands remain displaced: The war doesnt end with the last bullet, or when the flag is raised.

It took just days for ISIS to take Mosul in June 2014 but more than eight months for it to be retaken by Iraqi forces backed by militias and a U.S.-led coalition. Sectarian tension has increased as war has left Mosul in ruins. Iraq faces a terrible humanitarian crisis, with more than 1 million civilians displaced. The spectre of a new civil war is knocking on doors, while the spotlight points to Raqqa as the medias next meeting point. Could Iraq be forgotten soon? The future of millions is written in the blood that streams from the unhealed wounds of years of warfare.

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Although Nina Dobrev and Glen Powell have denied that they are dating, the two fueled dating rumors over the weekend while attending Julianne Hough and Brooks Laichs wedding.

Photos of the two getting cozy in the photo booth during the couples wedding reception were posted on Twitter and the two seemed to be enjoying each others company. The photo hinting that the two may be in a relationship featured Dobrev sticking her tongue out while Powell placed his lips on it looking as if he were giving it a kiss.

READ: Nina Dobrev reacts to Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalders pregnancy announcement

The other photos consisted of the two smiling and hugging, however, in the final photo, the two joked around. Powell used Dobrevs hair to give himself a fake mustache as the actress pointed to the hair dilemma taking place behind her.

The pair, who was previously romantically linked together earlier this year, denied that they were dating. Although the reps for the stars have said they are good friends, in January, sources close to the stars told E! News that the two were in a relationship.

They have a similar group of friends and have been seeing each other on the low for a little while, an insider told the media outlet.

Glen really likes Nina. She is completely his type of gal. They know and have met each others families. Glen is a very family oriented guy and Nina loves that about him, the source added.

An insider revealed that the couples famous friends like Hough and former Gossip Girl star Jessica Szohr approved of the romance. All of their friends like them together, the source said.

They both feel pretty comfortable around each other, the insider continued.

From the looks of the pictures taken in the photo booth, Dobrev and Powell seemed to be at ease with one another while attending Hough and Laichs wedding in Coeur dAlene, Idaho, near the Dancing With the Stars judges family home.

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The now married couple first announced their engagement in August 2015 following a year and a half of dating. I never really believed in the saying when you know, you know, but my whole world turned around the minute I met Brooks, Hough told People.

Ive never seen a man look at a woman like that when they said I Do, Dobrev told the media outlet while commenting on the ceremony. It took my breath away, she added.

Dobrev has had her fair share of romances, the actress dated actor Austin Stowell for seven months from 2015 to 2016. Prior to that, she dated her Vampire Diaries co-star Ian Somerhalder from 2010 to 2013, ending the romance after more than three years together.

Dobrevs split with Somerhalder was rumored to be the reason why she left The CW series, however, she insisted that it was simply her time to move on from the show.

READ: Nina Dobrev confirms shes off the market

I want to be the first to tell you that it wasnt just a holiday celebration, it was a goodbye party. I always knew I wanted Elenas story to be a six season adventure, and within those six years I got the journey of a lifetime, she wrote in 2015 announcing her exit from the show.

Dobrev was also rumored to have had flings with Liam Hemsworth and Derek Hough. Meanwhile, Powells love life had been kept low-key with little information available about his past partners.

Nina Dobrev and Glen Powell

Photo: Getty Images

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President Donald Trump on Wednesday stepped up his defense of his son amid revelations that Donald Trump Jr. went to a meeting during the 2016 campaign on the pretense of gathering damaging information about Hillary Clinton from the Russian government.

My son Donald did a good job last night, Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning, referring to Trump Jr.s Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on Tuesday. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!

On Tuesday, Trump Jr. published an email chain that showed he was promised very high level and sensitive information about Clinton as part of the Russian governments support for Mr. Trump. Trump Jr. has repeatedly said nothing substantive came from the meeting, though the emails show Trump Jr. expressed interest in receiving the information.

In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently, Trump Jr., told Hannity, while downplaying the meeting and saying he never told his father about it.

It was just a nothing. There was nothing to tell, Trump Jr. said.  I wouldnt have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff.

The President previously defended Trump Jr. on Tuesday. He is a great person who loves our country! he wrote on Twitter.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders also read a brief statement from the President at a press briefing Tuesday, in which he called Trump Jr., a a high-quality person.

My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency, the statement said. Sanders referred all further questions about Trump Jr. to his lawyers.
Jenin (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Two Palestinians were shot dead during clashes with the Israeli army in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinian medical and security sources said.

One of the two had been evacuated in serious condition and later succumbed to his wounds, medical sources said.

Official Palestinian news agency Wafa identified the Palestinians shot dead as Saad Salah, 21, from the city of Jenin, and Aws Salame, 17, from the Jenin refugee camp.

A third Palestinian who was shot in the leg was in moderate condition, the medical sources said.

The Israeli army said soldiers shot toward "attackers" after "Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the forces and assailants hurled explosive devices at the forces" operating in the camp.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said none of their forces were wounded in the incident.

A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 277 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP toll.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

Others were shot dead in protests and clashes, while some were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The violence has greatly subsided in recent months.
After losing their two young children in a car accident two years ago, a North Carolina pastors wife has given birth to twins this week.

On Monday, Gentry Eddings  the pastor at Forest Hill Church  and his wife Hadley, welcomed twin boys Isaiah Dobbs and Amos Reed.

Read: Heart Transplant Survivor Dies Just Hours After Giving Birth to Baby Girl

The twins middle names are a tribute to the couples deceased sons, Dobbs and Amos.

"We are thrilled for Gentry and Hadley and are continually amazed at how God continues to redeem their story," Stacey Martin, family friend and Director of Communications at Forest Hill Church, told People. "From the tragic loss of their sons, Dobbs and Reed to the remarkable birth of their twins, Isaiah and Amos  God is creating beauty from ashes."

The family was reportedly on their way back home from Gentrys sisters wedding in May 2015 when Matthew Deans truck rear-ended Hadleys car on Highway 17.

The couples 2-year-old son, Dobbs, was killed at the scene.

Hadley, who was 37 weeks pregnant at the time, had an emergency C-section to deliver the couples son, Reed, but he died two days later, according to reports.

The couple publicly forgave Deans at a court hearing in September 2015.

Matthew Deans, 28, of Wilmington, was sentenced to one to three years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the wreck.

Read: Mom-to-Be Shares Photo of 2 Onesies Surrounded by Hundreds of Needles After Struggling to Conceive

"The Lord has not left us for one second in our grief of losing our two boys almost 2 years ago," the family said in a statement earlier this year. "God is a redeemer and a restorer! God blesses us beyond what we deserve or could ever imagine. We are excited that Dobbs and Reed are going to be big brothers to TWINS!

We are so thankful for our family and so many friends who have prayed for us and cheered us on our way. We're rejoicing, and thank Jesus for these two precious little ones.

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Watch: Moms Pose With Rainbow Babies to Give Ray of Hope to Women Suffering Loss

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Photographer uncovers Italys most extraordinary abandoned buildings An amateur photographer has spent the last four years scouring Italy for its most remarkable abandoned buildings. (Photo: Roman Robroek/Caters News)

An amateur photographer has spent the last four years scouring Italy for its most remarkable abandoned buildings.

During holidays from his home in the Netherlands, Roman Robroek, 30, took these eerie shots of deserted castles and churches up and down Italy.

Roman, a manager at an ICT service provider, has explored the Mediterranean area for spectacular architecture which has been left to rot.

Roman said: In these photos Ive tried to capture the beauty and the architecture of abandoned places in Italy.

Places like these can be very old, carrying lots of history with them, and often a lot of craftsmanship went into constructing or decorating the building. (Caters News)

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Police said they suspected foul play after four young men went missing from Bucks County, Pennsylvania in a single week. Authorities continued their search Tuesday and said they were investigating incredibly hot leads.

The leads are incredibly hot, theyre very fruitful, Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said Monday during a press conference. Were making great progress, but theres so much more work to do.

Read: Missing Texas Teen Kaytlynn Cargills Body Found In Landfill

Dean Finocchiaro, 18, and Jimi Tar Patrick, 19, were both reported missing last week, according to Bucks County Police. Mark Sturgis, 22, and Tom Meo, 21, were reported missing late Sunday. It remained unclear how the four were connected.

Authorities arrested a man Monday on unrelated charges though they called him a person of interest in the disappearance of the four men. Cosmo DiNardo, 20, was taken into custody Monday but police said he was not a suspect.

Sometimes the chasm between a person of interest and being a person that is actually accused or arrested and certainly convicted of a crime is so wide that we never cross it, said Weintraub.

The parents of one of the men, Mark Sturgis, confirmed that his car was found at Peddlers Village in the County Monday, according to WVPI. They also said his son was last seen with another one of the men, Tom Meo and confirmed to the Associated Press that they were longtime friends who worked together in construction and that Finocchiaro was also a mutual friend.

Read: Holly Bobo Murder Trial Delayed After New Evidence Uncovered

In addition to five local law enforcement agencies, the FBI and Pennsylvania state police also joined in the investigation.

I dont know how this is going to end up, unfortunately, said Weintraub. But I am confident that we are going to get to the bottom of this.

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A pair of police officers have caught themselves on camera, struggling to explain why they had pulled over Floridas first and only black state attorney.

Aramis Ayala, who serves as state attorney in the Sunshine State's 9th Judicial Circuit, was pulled over on 19 June.

As the officer approaches her window, she can be seen grabbing her licence from her wallet, which she then hands over to him.

When he asks what agency she works for, she responds: Im the state attorney.

The officer immediately launches into an explanation for the stop, explaining that he ran the tags on her car and received no result.

Ms Ayala asked: What was the tag run for?

The officer then begins to stumble, saying: Oh we run tags through all the time, whether it's a traffic light and that sort of stuff; That's how we figure out if cars are stolen and that sort of thing.

He added: Also, the windows are really dark. I don't have a tint measure but that's another reason for the stop.

The State Attorney, visibly annoyed, asks for the officers cards. Neither have them available, so they write their contact information on a piece of paper.

Orlando police department said that it "allows the running of tags for official business only, and this is done routinely on patrol".

"In regards to the video, which was released by the Orlando Police Department last month, the officers stated the tag did not come back as registered to any vehicle. As you can see in the video, the window tint was dark, and officers would not have been able to tell who, or how many people, were in the vehicle," a statement said.

No complaint has been filed over the stop, police said.

Ms Ayala, a career public defender, ran for state attorney on a platform of transparency and a promise to bridge gaps with communities of colour.

In a statement to The Independent, Ms Ayala said she has "violated no laws".

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"The license plate, while confidential was and remains properly registered... The tint was in no way a violation of Florida law... Although the traffic stop appears to be consistent with Florida law," the statement said.

"My goal is to have a constructive and mutually respectful relationship between law enforcement and the community, Ms Ayala added. "I look forward to sitting down to have an open dialogue with the Chief of Orlando Police Department regarding how this incident impacts that goal".

Ms Ayala recently made headlines for refusing to pursue the death penalty in the murder trial of Markeith Loyd, who is accused of killing Orlando Police Lieutenant Debra Clayton and his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon.

Florida Governor Rick Scott removed her from the case for what he called her refusal to fight for justice.

Ms Ayala has asked the state Supreme Court to block Mr Scotts decision.

In April, the State Attorneys office reported she had received a noose in the mail, accompanied by a disturbing letter. The office said Ms Ayala frequently receives hate mail, often expressing racist sentiments.

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Donald Trump Jr. (Yahoo News photo illustration; photos: Mark J. Terrill/AP, Donald J. Trump via Twitter)

President Trump says his son Donald Trump Jr. did a good job defending himself on Fox News on Tuesday amid the growing firestorm over emails showing he had sought incriminating information on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government.

My son Donald did a good job last night, Trump tweeted early Wednesday. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!

My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

Trump then complained that there is a double standard when it comes to his family and Clinton.

Why aren't the same standards placed on the Democrats. Look what Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with. Disgraceful!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

The president also retweeted a Fox News tweet quoting host Jesse Watters, who argued that Trump Jr. is being unfairly targeted.

I believe Don Jr. is the victim here, Watters said.

In an interview with Foxs Sean Hannity, Trump Jr. said that in retrospect, he would have probably done things a little differently with regard to a June 2016 meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a lawyer with alleged ties to the Kremlin and its spy agency. Trump Jr., Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and top adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner also attended the meeting at Trump Tower.

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The meeting was initiated by Bob Goldstone, a music publicist who had previously helped broker a business deal between Donald Trump and a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin. Goldstone approached Trump Jr. last June offering to put him in touch with someone who could provide dirt on the Clinton campaign.

Again this is before the Russia mania, this is before they were building this up in the press, Trump Jr. told Hannity. For me this was opposition research, they had something, you know, maybe concrete evidence to all the stories Id been hearing about, probably underreported for years, not just during the campaign, so I think I wanted to hear it out. But really it went nowhere, and it was apparent that wasnt what the meeting was about.

The younger Trump said that the email did not raise concerns despite its mention of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. Trump Jr. also did not dispute Veselnitskayas account of the meeting, in which she described Trump campaign officials as wanting the information against Clinton so badly.

I imagine I did, said Trump Jr. when asked if he pressed for information.

Trump Jr. also said that he did not tell his father about the meeting because it did not rise to that level of importance.

It was just a nothing, Trump Jr. said. There was nothing to tell. I mean, I wouldnt have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame.

Related: Trump Jr.s meeting with Russian lawyer: A timeline

On ABCs Good Morning America, Jay Sekulow, an attorney for President Trump, said his client wasnt aware of the meeting, did not participate in the meeting [and] did not attend the meeting.

When pressed by anchor George Stephanopoulos about whether the elder Trump thought the meeting was appropriate, Sekulow said, I havent had the conversation with the president whether he thought it was appropriate or not. Heres what I will tell you: The meeting that took place is not illegal; these kind of meetings take place.

In an interview with CNNs New Day Monday, Sekulow said his client is certainly in the clear.

Lets focus on what the president was aware of: nothing, Sekulow said.

In a separate interview on CNN, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said that if hed been offered a meeting like the one Don Jr. took, he wouldve given it to his own son to delegate.

Back at the White House, the fallout from Trump Jr.s preelection meeting is reverberating throughout the West Wing.

Rancor at White House as Russia Story Refuses to Let the Page Turn, read a headline in the New York Times.

Category 5 hurricane: White House under siege by Trump Jr.s Russia revelations, said a banner in the Washington Post.

White House aides feeling helpless as Trump Jr. scandal explodes, a Politico headline read.

According to the Associated Press, the snowballing revelations about Donald Trump Jr.s meeting with a Russian lawyer during last years presidential campaign have broadsided the White House, distracting from its agenda as aides grapple with a crisis involving the presidents family.

In private, Trump has raged against the latest Russia development, with most of his ire directed at the media, not his son, according to people who have spoken to him in recent days, the AP said.

On Twitter, Trump tried to shift attention away from Trump Jr., tweeting a claim about U.S. progress in the fight against ISIS and sharing a Washington Times article that claims Democrats spread false Russian information on Trump and his campaign aides.

Why aren't the same standards placed on the Democrats. Look what Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with. Disgraceful!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

.@WashTimes states "Democrats have willfully used Moscow disinformation to influence the presidential election against Donald Trump."  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

The president, though, did not share a New York Post editorial that offered a scathing assessment of his son.

We see one truly solid takeaway from the story of the day, the paper concluded. Donald Trump Jr. is an idiot.

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U.S. President Donald Trump is traveling to France Wednesday evening to meet new French President Emmanuel Macron and to celebrate Bastille Day. The two leaders are expected to discuss issues like counter-terrorism and the war in Syria, but may skip topics where they disagree, like climate change and trade.

This years Bastille Day will be particularly poignant for the French people, as it marks exactly one year since a deadly terrorist attack that left 86 people dead and hundreds wounded in the city of Nice.

Heres what to know about Bastille Day and President Trumps trip to France.

What is Bastille Day?

Known to the French simply as as 14 juillet, Bastille Day is a national holiday celebrating the 1789 Storming of the Bastille, an event widely regarded to have kickstarted the French Revolution.

The Bastille was a fortress that was used by the Kings of France as a state prison. Over the years, it became seen by many as a symbol of monarchical tyranny. Armed crowds attacked the Bastille at dawn on July 14, 1789. Prison general Rene Jordan de Launay surrendered, but was later murdered by an angry mob despite attempts to try him in court. All seven prisoners being held at the Bastille at the time were freed. The dramatic event inspired a wave of revolutionary fever among Frances lower socioeconomic classes.

Exactly one year after the Storming of the Bastille, the French celebrated the Fete de la Federation, which aimed to symbolize peace and unity during the French revolution. In the space of a year, the state had abolished feudalism and adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen, a constitution intended to protect French citizens equality, freedom of speech, and political representation.

When is Bastille Day?

Bastille day is always celebrated on July 14. It has been a French national holiday since 1880, when the chairman of the French Senate addressed the chamber to say: Do not forget that behind this 14 July, where victory of the new era over the ancien regime was bought by fighting, do not forget that after the day of 14 July 1789, there was the day of 14 July 1790.

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What happens on Bastille Day?

Similar to Americas Fourth of July, Bastille Day is seen as a celebration of being French. France starts the day with the worlds oldest and largest military parade. Held in Paris since 1880, the massively attended event involves around 4,000 military personnel and police marching down the iconic Champs-Elysees.

Bastille Day is also a public holiday in France, meaning businesses and schools are closed. Cities around the country also host parties, concerts and fireworks displays. Francophiles in countries across the world also celebrate the event.

Why are Trump and Macron meeting on Bastille Day?

Macron invited Trump to visit France for the Bastille Day celebrations during a June phone call between the two leaders in preparation for the recent G20 summit.

Its for France a unique opportunity to show French military power . . . and thats very important for Trump, Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, director of the German Marshall Funds Paris office, told Reuters.

The President will arrive in Paris early on Thursday morning. He will be welcomed by a ceremony at Les Invalides, view Napoleons tomb and visit a French war museum. Trump and Macron will then have a meeting, followed by a joint press conference.

NBC News reported that activists from a group calling itself Paris Against Trump are planning to protest Trumps visit to Paris. On Thursday, they will set-up a No Trump Zone in the Place de la Republique, and will then lead a Bastille Day march through the city center.
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said Wednesday that Congress should pad the budget for President Trumps border wall by cutting funding for Planned Parenthood and food stamps.

On CNNs New Day, King was asked if he was comfortable with $1.6 billion of taxpayer money being allocated to fund the border wall, particularly in light of Trumps signature campaign promise that Mexico would pay for 100 percent of it.

Id throw another $5 billion on the pile, and I would find a half of a billion dollars of that right out of Planned Parenthoods budget, and the rest of it could come out of food stamps and the entitlements that are being spread out for people that havent worked in three generations, he said.

Cutting federal funding for Planned Parenthood has long been a Republican talking point, but pressed on diminishing access to food for poor Americans, King conjured a unique defense. He invoked former first lady Michelle Obamas healthy school lunch initiative and implied that the issue of malnutrition has been overcorrected, as evidenced by obesity rates.

When asked why he wouldnt feel conflicted cutting food stamps, King said, For a couple of reasons one of em would be that, you know, we will create the kind the security that would bring about 10 million new jobs in America just by enforcing immigration law.

Second thing is, I wouldnt impose anything more strict on anybody in America than what Michelle Obama did with her school lunch program.

Asked if he felt too many Americans were reliant on entitlements, King mentioned obesity rates as proof the issue should be looked at.

We built a program to solve the problem of malnutrition in America, and now we have a problem of obesity, King said. When you match up the EBT card with what the scales say on some of the folks, I think its worth looking at. Michelle Obama looked at it. Republicans should be able to look at it too.

_____

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Top GOP senator calls concerns about meeting with Russian lawyer overblown while Democrats attack forcefully

Tim Kaine told CNN: We are now beyond obstruction of justice. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP

Republicans were reluctant to condemn Donald Trump Jr over the revelation that he met a Russian lawyer whom he was told was part of a Kremlin attempt to undermine Hillary Clinton.



One senior Senate Republican said on Tuesday that outrage over the issue  which led Clintons running mate, Tim Kaine, to ruminate about potential treason  was overblown. Others deferred to the investigation being run by the special counsel Robert Mueller or to the procedures of congressional committees.

Democrats attacked forcefully, one senator saying that though for a long time, we saw a lot of smoke but no fire on investigations into links between Trump aides and Russia, youre seeing the fire today.

In a 2016 email exchange with an intermediary, the music publicist Rob Goldstone, the oldest son of Donald Trump was told: The crown prosecutor of Russia  offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.

This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its governments support for Mr Trump.

Trump Jr responded: If its what you say, I love it, especially later in the summer.

Within a week of the email exchange, Trump Jr, the then campaign manager Paul Manafort and Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner met Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in New York.

On Tuesday, Republicans on Capitol Hill said it was premature to cast the emails as evidence of collusion. Some pleaded ignorance when asked about the revelations, saying they had not read the emails and were focused on other issues.

Others acknowledged that the emails raised concerns, but said they would reserve judgment until Trump Jr and others had an opportunity to testify before relevant congressional committees.

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Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate intelligence committee, said the possibility of any criminal element to Trump campaign dealings with Russia was being handled by special counsel Bob Mueller.

Asked by the Guardian if Trump Jrs emails demonstrated a willingness to collude with the Russians, Rubio demurred.

Thats something Mr Mueller and them will have to determine, he said. Our job is to issue a report on how the Russians interfered in our elections and the tactics they used. This could very well be insightful in that regard.

Susan Collins, another Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, called on Trump Jr and all those involved in attending or facilitating the meeting to testify before the panel. Asked by the Guardian if the emails showed the Trump campaign was receptive to being aided by the Russian government, she said it was really dangerous to jump to a conclusion.

Were still in the pretty early stages of this investigation, Collins said. But certainly the emails raise concerns that need to be thoroughly investigated.

Orrin Hatch, chair of the Senate finance committee, came to Donald Trump Jrs defense.

I think this is overblown, said Hatch. Donald Trump Jr is a very fine young guy. Hes smart. Hes decent. Hes honorable.

The Utah Republican also expressed shock at Kaines statement that the investigation included potentially treason.

You got to be kidding, he said. That kind of language should never be used.

Asked however if he would ever agree to meet a representative of a foreign government who had incriminating information on an election opponent, Hatch quickly and strongly replied: No. No.

The Arizona senator Jeff Flake, a Republican who will face a tough re-election battle next year, declined to weigh in at all.

Theres a bipartisan committee looking into that, and theres a special counsel looking into it too, he said.

There was at least one crack in the pro-Trump facade. Lee Zeldin, a representative from New York who called Trump Jrs meeting a nothingburger in a tweet on Monday, changed his tune.

The two-term Republican from Long Island tweeted on Tuesday: I voted for @POTUS last Nov & want him & USA to succeed, but that meeting, given that email chain just released, is a big no-no.

Democrats saw the revelation as an escalation of a continuing drama. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters: At the beginning of today, I thought the Russia story was a distraction from healthcare but things have moved quickly.

This is a pattern of lies that is deeply, deeply disturbing. For a long time, we saw a lot of smoke but no fire. Youre seeing the fire today.

Mark Warner of Virginia, vice-chair of the Senate intelligence committee, told reporters there are no excuses for what weve seen in the past 24 hours and said the emails from Donald Trump Jr were the acknowledgment in black and white that this was the crown prosecutor of Russia and part of a Russian government effort to try to discredit Clinton and help Trump.

Warner added: So all of these denials we have heard in the campaign in the transition, in the administration, that there were no contacts with Russia, no discussions about the campaign, were all patently false.

Warner went on to raise questions about Trump Jrs comments in the emails hoping for help later in the summer.

Interestingly enough, the senator noted, the information started to be released in late summer.

Warner also dismissed the excuse that Trump Jrs actions were the result of inexperience. Lying is not a rookie mistake, he said.

Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said the approach to Trump Jr certainly appears to have been a play by Russian intelligence. Schiff also expressed anxiety that the Russians possess compromising information, what they call kompromat, that can influence this presidents conduct of American policy.

The Russians know about this meeting, he said. They were behind organizing the meeting. If there were other meetings that the Russians know about, if there were other interactions that Russians were aware of, that is something they can hold over head of the president.

The American people need to know that the president is acting on their behalf and not acting because he has a fear that the Russians could disclose things that could harm him or his family.

The Oregon senator Ron Wyden, who sits on the Senate intelligence committee, said it was clear from Trump Jrs emails there was an attempt at collusion.

Based on the emails, Wyden told reporters, the highest levels of the Trump campaign walked, eyes open, into a meeting that was designed to advance the Russian governments support for Donald Trump.

Perhaps the strongest statement came from Kaine, Hillary Clintons running mate. He told CNN: We are now beyond obstruction of justice. This is moving into perjury, false statements and even potentially treason. Though he preceded that statement by saying that nothing is proven yet.

Kaine wasnt the only Democrat to use the word treason. Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, a veteran of the Iraq war, tweeted: If this isnt treasonous, Im not sure what is.
Moscow (AFP) - A Russian billionaire on Wednesday blasted claims in emails released by Donald Trump Jr that he was a potential middleman for alleged incriminating Kremlin material on Hillary Clinton, as Moscow again denied any role in the scandal.

The emails have thrust US leader Donald Trump's eldest son into the centre of a growing firestorm over whether the president's allies colluded with Moscow in its alleged efforts to tilt last year's election in the Republican's favour.

A June 2016 email from British music promoter Rob Goldstone to Trump Jr released on Tuesday claims an offer was allegedly made by Russia's general prosecutor to provide the Trump campaign with "official documents" on Clinton during a meeting with real estate mogul Aras Agalarov.

Goldstone says the Russian prosecutor "offered to provide the Trump campaign" with "very high level and sensitive information" as "part of Russia and its government's support" for his father.

Goldstone claimed to have been tipped off by Agalarov's pop star son Emin, whom he managed, and went on to help organise a meeting between a lawyer he said was a "Russian government attorney" and Trump Jr.

The Agalarov family has established ties to the Trumps and brought the future US leader to Moscow for the 2013 Miss Universe beauty competition.

- 'Making it up' -

But Agalarov rubbished the emails touting him as a possible go-between for the Trumps and the Kremlin and said he only vaguely knew Goldstone.

"I think this is some sort of fiction. I don't know who is making it up," Agalarov told Russia's Business FM radio station, according to a transcript posted online.

"What has Hillary Clinton got to do with anything? I don't know. I really don't know Rob Goldstone well."

In the email exchange which was released by Trump Jr, the president's eldest son suggested he would "love" to get any dirt on Clinton.

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US intelligence agencies have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of approving a hacking and influence campaign to sway the vote, claims fiercely denied in Moscow.

- Lobbyist lawyer -

Trump Jr and two other top campaign officials eventually met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016 but both sides insist she provided no information on Clinton.

A publicist for Emin Agalarov directed all questions on the issue to his lawyer. The Russian prosecutors office did not respond to questions.

Trump Jr has said that rather than discussing Clinton, lawyer Veselnitskaya focused on a 2012 US law called the Magnitsky Act that targeted Russian officials and drew fury from the Kremlin.

The legislation slapped sanctions on Russian officials allegedly involved in the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who had tried to fight a major fraud scheme against US-British investor Bill Browder.

The Russian government then banned the adoption of Russian children by Americans in retaliation.

Veselnitskaya -- who made her name litigating murky property disputes in the region around Moscow -- has long lobbied for the Magnitsky Act to be repealed and defended a firm accused in the US of money laundering over the case.

Veselnitskaya has denied she has any contacts to the Russian government and the Kremlin on Wednesday once again insisted it had no ties to her or her meeting with Trump Jr.

"We have already said that we are absolutely not familiar with this whole story," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"We never had any contact with this lawyer, that is why we are not in the loop and have nothing to say. She doesn't have even the slightest relation to us."
Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian attorney who met with the son of President Donald Trump during the 2016 election campaign, said she never worked for and has no connections with the Russian government.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with NBC News, Veselnitskaya said she was told to come to Trump Tower to meet with members of the Trump presidential campaign, including Donald Trump Jr., last year.

I never knew who else would be attending the meeting, she said in the translated interview. All I knew was Mr Donald Trump Jr. was willing to meet with me. I could recognize the young gentleman who was only present in the meeting for probably the first seven to ten minutes and then he stood up and left the room. It was Mr Jared Kushner and he never came back by the way.

According to Veselnitskaya, then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort was also in attendance, but he was always looking at his phone [and] never took any active part in the conversation.

EXCLUSIVE: Russian lawyer who met with Trump Jr. tells @KeirSimmons: "I did not have Clinton info they wanted" https://t.co/6r1SGlFy01  NBC News (@NBCNews) July 11, 2017

When asked why Trumps team had the impression that they were going to be told some compromising information on then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, the Russian lawyer simply said: Its quite possible that maybe they were looking for such information. They wanted it so badly. Veselnitskaya also said she never had damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton. It was never my intention to have that.

Trump Jr appeared to defend the meeting in a tweet Monday, saying: Obviously Im the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear info about an opponent  went nowhere but had to listen.

In a previous statement, Trump Jr. said he was told Veselnitskaya could have information helpful to the [Trump] campaign. Trump Jr. characterized her statements as vague and ambiguous, and said she quickly changed the discussion to international adoption policy.

Veselnitskaya insists she met with Trump Jr. to press her clients interest in the Magnitsky Act. Veselnitskaya is a leading opponent of the Magnitsky Act, which the U.S. Congress passed in 2012. The law was named after Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested in Russia after accusing officials of $230 million in tax fraud. He was reportedly beaten and not provided with proper medical treatment before dying in prison in 2009. The law imposes sanctions on anyone implicated in his torture.
Sam Querrey has shocked the world. Again.

The lone American man to reach the quarterfinal this year is now the first American male to make a Wimbledon semifinal since Andy Roddick eight years ago. Querrey defeated world No. 1 Andy Murray 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-1 on Wednesday.

After a poor first set, the hard-hitting American took over the match in stunning fashion, dominating while on serve as Murray struggled with his own serve. Querrey racked up 27 aces while the Scottish star registered just eight. With Murray struggling with his first serve, Querrey feasted on the reigning champs second serve, winning an astounding 60 percent of Murrays second-serve points.

The match took a sharp turn in the second set after a mundane first set. At 3-3, Murray broke Querrey to take a 4-3 lead and seemingly took control of the set. But the No. 24 seed responded emphatically, breaking Murray, holding, and then breaking again for the set.

In the third, Querrey recovered from an early breakdown to get the set on level terms. He struggled in the tiebreak, though, as Murray took control of the match once again.

But Querrey came right back with a shockingly dominant fourth set, using an overpowering serve to his advantage. He broke Murray three times in the set  and lost just three service points  needing just 22 minutes to force a decisive fifth set.

In the fifth it was once again all Querrey as Murray continued to look sluggish, walking gingerly on an aching hip. The Americans serve was untouchable, and he broke Murray twice more en route to a victory that absolutely stunned the pro-Murray Centre Court crowd. The final-set romp took just 27 minutes. Wednesdays win was Querreys third straight five-set victory this tournament.

Its a fantastic result for the American, who is making his first slam semifinal appearance, but certainly not an unprecedented one. He defeated then-world No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the All England Club last year. Still, having defeated the world No. 1 where he is perhaps most popular takes the crown of best career win given the situation in which it came. Hell face the Marin Cilic in the semifinal on Friday.
Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, announced Tuesday that he plans to leave the GOP to become an independent.

I am a Republican, but Im not going to be a Republican anymore. Ive got to become an independent, Scarborough said on CBS The Late Show.

Scarborough blasted the GOPs complacency for its reluctance to challenge President Trump. The Morning Joe host announced the news in a Tuesday night Late Show appearance with his co-host, Mika Brzezinski.

On Morning Joe Wednesday, the conservative pundit elaborated on his decision to leave the GOP, noting, I think a lot of Republicans are feeling the same way.

You apologize for your party for so long, and you hope that Republicans, when they get into power  [are] going to do the things that they promised to do, Scarborough said on Morning Joe.

Scarborough had a warm relationship at times with Trump during the campaign, and Trump once even praised the two Morning Joe hosts as supporters. But Trump, an avid watcher of morning shows on cable news, has bristled at their coverage of his administration and lashed out at Scarborough and Brzezinski in particular.

At the end of last month, Trump faced sharp blowback when tweeted an attack on Brzezinskis appearance. Even some Republicans said he went too far.

I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (dont watch anymore), Trump wrote on Twitter. Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Years Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!

The two hosts responded in a Washington Post op-ed. Donald Trump is not well, they wrote.

Scarborough said Wednesday that he had wanted Republican lawmakers, upon their return to power, to balance the federal budget and reform Medicare, Social Security and the education system. But he said they failed to do that.

Theyre kowtowing to somebody who  inexplicably shows them no loyalty whatsoever. I just  I dont know how people continue to be supportive of this president or this party until they return to first principles, Scarborough concluded.

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The longtime Republican also said on CBS that he believed the GOP had betrayed [its] core values long before the election of Trump.

Scarborough cited Trumps support for a Muslim ban during the campaign, stating that he could not vote for someone who banned people because of the god that they worshipped. He also pointed to Trump initially declining to rebuke support from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

And you have to ask yourself, what exactly is the Republican party willing to do? How far are they willing to go? How much of this country and our values are they willing to sell out? Scarborough said on CBS.

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Jay Clayton, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) speaks to the Economic Club of New York in New York City, U.S., July 12, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Jay Clayton, a former Wall Street lawyer, wants Main Street America to partake in the financial markets.

Clayton, who gave his first public remarks as SEC chairman at the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday, outlined eight guiding principles for his model of leadership at the agency, with one of those being looking out for the interests of the Main Street investor.

How does the SEC assess whether we are being true to our three-part mission? The answer: the long-term interests of the Main Street investor, Clayton said. Or, as I say when I walk the halls of the agency, how does what we propose to do affect the long-term interests of Mr. and Ms. 401(k)? Are these investors benefitting from our efforts? Do they have appropriate investment opportunities? Are they well informed? Speaking more granularly: what can the Commission do to cultivate markets where Mr. and Ms. 401(k) are able to invest in a better future?

To carry out this mission, Clayton said the agency plans to continue to root out fraud and shady practices and other sinister behaviors in the market that target Main Street investors.

In this regard, we are taking further steps to find and eliminate from our system pump-and-dump scammers, those who prey on retirees, and increasingly those who use new technologies to lie, cheat, and steal, he said.

Clayton reminded the room that they should abide by the rules too.

I know market professionals are critical to, and enhance, the operation of our markets. I also know they know the rules and principles, and I expect them to adhere to and be guided by them. Let me put it this way: you have a special place in our economy, do not take unfair advantage of it.

Making public markets attractive

Clayton reiterated that he would like to see every American participate in investment opportunities and the public markets.

He noted that thered been a 50% decline in the number of U.S.-listed public companies over the last two decades. Part of this has to do with the increased disclosure and other burdens that make private markets more attractive.

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I also want American businesses to be able to raise the money they need to grow and create jobs. As I mentioned earlier, evidence shows that a large number of companies, including many of our countrys most innovative businesses, are opting to remain privately held, he said.

On Tuesday, Clayton met with nine different companies and heard about some of the issues that are factoring into their decision to remain private. Going off script, he said that if he could invest, he would have wanted to invest in every one of these companies and that he would want the American public to have the same chance.

One message was loud and clear: private markets operate well in many sectors and, in these areas, they offer a very attractive alternative to the public markets. I believe we need to increase the attractiveness of our public capital markets, this is key, without adversely affecting the availability of capital from our private markets, which function quite well.



Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance.
Photo credit: Tesla Motors

From Popular Mechanics

When Tesla chief Elon Musk wanted to reveal the design of the Model 3 to the world, he called the press to the company's California headquarters for a big media event. But to show off the first production model to roll off the line, he took to his favorite avenue: odd-hours Twitter:

First Production Model 3 pic.twitter.com/TCa2NSUNI3 - Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 9, 2017

What Mr. Musk did not do was reveal any images of the sparse, touchscreen-dominated interior. Let's hope that's coming soon.

During last week's Twitter storm, Musk said Tesla is hoping to get to a production level of 20,000 cars per month by December. The company has a long way to go to reach demand, and about 400,000 plunked down their cash to get on the waiting list for a 3.

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Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, left, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas. (Photos: J. Scott Applewhite/AP, Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)

As conservative GOP senators issue ultimatums about health care legislation, moderates have begun to work on a backup plan should a repeal-and-replace of Obamacare fail.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said during a news conference Tuesday that he cannot support the Senate bill in its current form, but has supported an amendment proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that, if adopted, would earn his vote. The amendment would allow health care companies to offer plans that dont cover the essential benefits provided by Obamacare in a state as long as they offer one plan that does in that same state. The proposal has been criticized by the conservative National Review and would be unlikely to bring aboard some Republican critics of the Better Care Reconciliation Act, such as Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Dean Heller of Nevada.

On Wednesday morning, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., published an op-ed on Breitbart explaining why he wouldnt vote for the Senates current plan, sounding even further away from a yes vote than Lee. Paul wrote that the current Republican legislation does not do enough to repeal Obamacare and, in his opinion, expands and codifies parts of the law that his party has campaigned against in four election cycles.

Doesnt sound much like repeal to me, wrote Paul. One might even argue its worse than Obamacare-lite because it actually creates a giant superfund to bail out the insurance companies  something even the Democrats feared to do.

The new bill is the same as the old bill, except it leaves in place more taxes, Paul added later Wednesday on a media call.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., can afford to lose only two votes from his 52-person caucus, which would allow Vice President Pence to break a 50-50 tie.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip, said Tuesday that the Senate plan would likely maintain the surtax imposed to fund Obamacare  on investment income above a $250,000 threshold  and would also provide additional funding for opioid treatment. But critics have said the increased addiction-treatment funding would not offset the measures cuts to Medicaid, which covers addiction help for low-income Americans.

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Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, center, is pursued by reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 11, 2017. (Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Cornyn has said there will be a Congressional Budget Office score Thursday and a vote next week. But there is still no obvious way for McConnell to thread the needle between the conservative bloc of Lee, Cruz and Paul and others who have expressed reservations about the bill, and the other side, including Collins, Heller, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Rob Portman of Ohio, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

Should the legislation fail, a bipartisan backup plan to stabilize Obamacare markets is starting to form. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that a group including Collins and Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Tom Carpers, D-Del., have been discussing a plan that would involve payments for insurers to keep premiums from rising drastically for high-risk pools. Senators said they would be seeking support from governors, many of whom have been critical of proposed Republican health care plans.

We dont agree with Obamacare, but recognize the fact that these markets are collapsing; insurance companies need it to provide the certainty of how theyre going to price the 2018 premiums, said Johnson. (A study released by Kaiser in June found that the markets were not collapsing at the rate suggested by Republicans and that insurer financial results show no sign of a market collapse.)

A bill that won at least some Democratic support could pass even if Cruz, Lee and Paul hold out against it. But the issue would then go back to the House, whose own version of health care reform, the American Health Care Act, was very different.

_____

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It was not safe to go back in the water after a group of friends were faced with a persistent serpent that slithered into their boat.

Read: Man Arrested for Allegedly Housing Dangerous Reptiles, Including Alligators and Venomous Snakes

Anthony Baciocco, 19, was out on the water of Folsom Lake in California with some pals when they noticed a rattlesnake in the water.

After they got its attention, the venomous reptile decided it wanted to come aboard, forcing the group to scream in horror.

They pushed the throttle to make their getaway, but the snake would not be deterred.

As they all screamed, the relentless reptile tried to stay on board, but eventually slipped off and back into the water after a few minutes.

Read: A Venomous Snake Was Found in a Child's Bed at a Daycare Center

It was a big rattlesnake and it was being pretty aggressive, Baciocco told Inside Edition.

Baciocco said that he did not want to get back in the water after the incident, adding: I was done for the day.

Watch: Snakes on a Plane! Passengers Watch as 3-Foot Snake Slithers Into Cabin Mid-Flight

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By Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - Spain's King Felipe said on Wednesday he was confident that an acceptable arrangement could be worked out with Britain over the future of Gibraltar, a British territory that Spain wants back. The future of Gibraltar, a rocky enclave on the southern tip of Spain captured by Britain in 1704, and its 30,000 inhabitants is set to be a major point of contention in Brexit negotiations. Addressing members of both houses of parliament during the first Spanish state visit to Britain in 31 years, Felipe said both countries had overcome "estrangements, rivalries and disputes" in the past. "I am certain this resolve to overcome our differences will be even greater in the case of Gibraltar, and I am confident that through the necessary dialogue and effort, our two governments will be able to work toward arrangements that are acceptable to all involved," he said. The EU annoyed Britain and Gibraltar in April by suggesting Spain has a right of veto over the territory's post-Brexit relationship with the bloc. Gibraltar voted strongly in favor of remaining in the EU at last year's Brexit referendum but remains committed to staying part of Britain and has said it is preparing to lose its preferential access to the EU markets. The subject is likely to come up when Felipe, who used a speech to the United Nations last year to invite Britain "to end the colonial anachronism of Gibraltar", holds a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday. The pair, who will meet at May's Downing Street residence on the second day of the three-day, pomp-laden state visit, are also likely to discuss the issue of EU citizen's rights post-Brexit. The EU and Britain have yet to agree on guarantees for EU citizens living in Britain and British expats living in other EU countries. More than 300,000 Britons live in Spain, while more than 130,000 Spaniards live in Britain. Felipe told members of parliament on these citizens had "a legitimate expectation of decent and stable living conditions". "I therefore urge our two governments to continue working to ensure that the agreement on the UK's withdrawal from the EU provides sufficient assurance and certainty," he said. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - American technology companies are bringing automation and robotics to the age-old task of battling mosquitoes in a bid to halt the spread of Zika and other mosquito-borne maladies worldwide. Firms including Microsoft Corp and California life sciences company Verily are forming partnerships with public health officials in several U.S. states to test new high-tech tools. In Texas, Microsoft is testing a smart trap to isolate and capture Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, known Zika carriers, for study by entomologists to give them a jump on predicting outbreaks. Verily, Alphabet's life sciences division based in Mountain View, California, is speeding the process for creating sterile male mosquitoes to mate with females in the wild, offering a form of birth control for the species. While it may take years for these advances to become widely available, public health experts say new players brings fresh thinking to vector control, which still relies heavily on traditional defenses such as larvicides and insecticides. "It's exciting when technology companies come on board," said Anandasankar Ray, an associate professor of entomology at the University of California, Riverside. "Their approach to a biological challenge is to engineer a solution." SMART TRAPS The Zika epidemic that emerged in Brazil in 2015 and left thousands of babies suffering from birth defects has added urgency to the effort. While cases there have slowed markedly, mosquitoes capable of carrying the virus - Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus - are spreading in the Americas, including large swaths of the southern United States. (For a map of U.S. mosquito territory, see http://tmsnrt.rs/2tqlJHa) The vast majority of the 5,365 Zika cases reported in the United States so far are from travelers who contracted the virus elsewhere. Still, two states  Texas and Florida  have recorded cases transmitted by local mosquitoes, making them prime testing grounds for new technology. In Texas, 10 mosquito traps made by Microsoft are operating in Harris County, which includes the city of Houston. Roughly the size of large birdhouses, the devices use robotics, infrared sensors, machine learning and cloud computing to help health officials keep tabs on potential disease carriers. Texas recorded six cases of local mosquito transmission of Zika in November and December of last year. Experts believe the actual number is likely higher because most infected people do not develop symptoms. Pregnant women are at high risk because they can pass the virus to their fetuses, resulting in a variety of birth defects. Those include microcephaly, a condition in which infants are born with undersized skulls and brains. The World Health Organization declared Zika a global health emergency in February 2016. Most conventional mosquito traps capture all comers - moths, flies, other mosquito varieties - leaving a pile of specimens for entomologists to sort through. The Microsoft machines differentiate insects by measuring a feature unique to each species: the shadows cast by their beating wings. When a trap detects an Aedes aegypti in one of its 64 chambers, the door slams shut. The machine "makes a decision about whether to trap it," said Ethan Jackson, a Microsoft engineer who is developing the device. The Houston tests, begun last summer, showed the traps could detect Aedes aegypti and other medically important mosquitoes with 85 percent accuracy, Jackson said. The machines also record shadows made by other insects as well as environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. The data can be used to build models to predict where and when mosquitoes are active. Mustapha Debboun, director of Harris Countys mosquito and vector control division, said the traps save time and give researchers more insight into mosquito behavior. "For science and research, this is a dream come true," he said. The traps are prototypes now. But Microsoft's Jackson said the company eventually hopes to sell them for a few hundred dollars each, roughly the price of conventional traps. The goal is to spur wide adoption, particularly in developing countries, to detect potential epidemics before they start. "What we hope is (the traps) will allow us to bring more precision to public health," Jackson said. SORTING MOSQUITOES WITH ROBOTS Other companies, meanwhile, are developing technology to shrink mosquito populations by rendering male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes sterile. When these sterile males mate with females in the wild, their eggs don't hatch. The strategy offers an alternative to chemical pesticides. But it requires the release of millions of laboratory-bred mosquitoes into the outdoors. Males don't bite, which has made this an easier sell to places now hosting tests. Oxitec, an Oxford, England-based division of Germantown, Maryland-based Intrexon Corp, is creating male mosquitoes genetically modified to be sterile. It has already deployed them in Brazil, and is seeking regulatory approval for tests in Florida and Texas. MosquitoMate Inc, a startup formed by researchers at the University of Kentucky, is using a naturally occurring bacterium called Wolbachia to render male mosquitoes sterile. One of the biggest challenges is sorting the sexes. At MosquitoMate's labs in Lexington, immature mosquitoes are forced through a sieve-like mechanism that separates the smaller males from the females. These mosquitoes are then hand sorted to weed out any stray females that slip through. "That's basically done using eyeballs," said Stephen Dobson, MosquitoMate's chief executive. Enter Verily. The company is automating mosquito sorting with robots to make it faster and more affordable. Company officials declined to be interviewed. But on its website, Verily says it's combining sensors, algorithms and "novel engineering" to speed the process. Verily and MosquitoMate have teamed up to test their technology in Fresno, California, where Aedes aegypti arrived in 2013. Officials worry that residents who contract Zika elsewhere could spread it in Fresno if they're bitten by local mosquitoes that could pass the virus to others. That is very much of a concern because it is the primary vector for diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and obviously Zika, said Steve Mulligan, manager of the Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District in Fresno County. The study, which still needs state and federal approval, is slated for later this summer. (Editing by Marla Dickerson)
Thailand's military government on Tuesday approved $5.2 billion to build the first stretch of a high-speed railway that will ultimately link Bangkok to southern China, a massive joint infrastructure project with Beijing that has been dogged by delays.

The project is part of China's huge regional infrastructure plan to build a high-speed rail network connecting the southern city of Kunming with Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Construction has already begun in Laos but the Thai segment of rail has been stymied for years by tussles over financing, loan terms and protective labour regulations in the Southeast Asian kingdom.

The funding approval from Thailand's cabinet came after junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha invoked his absolute powers last month to clear a series of legal and technical hurdles standing in the way of the deal.

"The Cabinet has approved phase one of the high speed railway... from Bangkok to Korat with 179 billion baht ($5.2 billion) budget for a four-year plan," said Kobsak Pootrakool from the Prime Minister's office.

The first stage of the high-speed line will run 250 kilometres (150 miles) between Bangkok and the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat.

The plan is to then extend the track to Nong Khai on the border with Laos.

Thailand will cover the construction costs but the vast majority of technical expertise will come from Chinese engineers -- something that has disgruntled local firms who were angered by Prayut's decision to loosen restrictions placed on foreign engineers.

"Thailand will be responsible for the construction, while China will be responsible for design," Thai Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said Tuesday.

The rail deal is one of the biggest foreign investment projects in Thailand in years and is part of Beijing's 'One Belt, One Road' infrastructure drive which aims to revive ancient Silk Road trading routes.

China's largesse and increased investment presence in Asia comes as rival power the United States becomes more isolationist under President Donald Trump.

Thailand's junta has cosied up to Beijing since its 2014 power grab, shelling out billions on Chinese arms and welcoming investment from the regional superpower.




Donald Trump Jr.s shifting explanation of an undisclosed preelection meeting with a Russian lawyer who he was told had incriminating information on Hillary Clinton is rankling lawmakers already struggling to pass any part of President Trumps agenda.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said on Fox News Tuesday night that he is troubled by the amnesia of people that are in the Trump orbit.

Here we are beginning another week, this one in July, with a new revelation about Russia, Gowdy said. Someone close to the president needs to get everyone connected with that campaign in a room and say: From the time you saw Doctor Zhivago until the moment you drank vodka with a guy named Boris, you list every single one of those, and we are going to turn them over to the special counsel. Because this drip, drip, drip is undermining the credibility of this administration.

Gowdy  who led a two-year congressional investigation into Clintons handling of the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya  recently took over for outgoing Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The committee is set to investigate Trumps firing of FBI Director James Comey in the middle of the bureaus investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Trump campaigns possible ties to Russia. (Gowdy already sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which is conducting its own Russia probe.)

His comments come amid a growing firestorm over emails showing that Trump Jr. took the June 9, 2016, meeting at Trump Tower with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a lawyer with alleged ties to the Kremlin and its spy agency. Trump Jr., campaign chief Paul Manafort and top adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner also attended the meeting, which was brokered by Robert Goldstone, a music publicist who had previously helped ink a business deal between President Trump and a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin.

Story continues

Related: Trump Jr.s meeting with Russian lawyer: A timeline

In his initial email to Trump Jr., Goldstone claimed a Russian government lawyer had very high level and sensitive information that was part of the Russian governments support for the elder Trumps candidacy.

Thanks Rob, I appreciate that, Trump Jr. replied. If its what you say I love it, especially later in the summer.

Trump Jr. posted the emails on his Twitter feed Tuesday morning after the New York Times had informed him they were set to publish them.

In an interview with Fox News Sean Hannity, Trump Jr. said that in retrospect, he would have probably done things a little differently in setting up the sit-down with Veselnitskaya.

Again, this is before the Russia mania, this is before they were building this up in the press, Trump Jr. told Hannity. For me this was opposition research, they had something, you know, maybe concrete evidence to all the stories Id been hearing about, probably underreported for years, not just during the campaign, so I think I wanted to hear it out. But really it went nowhere, and it was apparent that wasnt what the meeting was about.

Trump Jr. was asked if he ever had other undisclosed meetings with Russians.

Ive probably met with other people from Russia, but certainly not in the context of actual formalized meetings or anything, the presidents son replied, adding that he was still willing to testify about his dealings with Russia under oath.

In a tweet Wednesday morning, President Trump said his son did a good job defending himself on Hannitys show.

He was open, transparent and innocent, Trump tweeted. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!

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Two weeks after the White House threatened to impose a heavy price on Syrian President Bashar Assad if it launched a new chemical attack, President Donald Trumps first attempt at peacemaking looks set to keep the autocrat in power for the foreseeable future.

A regional ceasefire took hold in Syrias southwest on Sunday, following negotiations with Russia and Jordan. Its the newest curveball in the Trump administrations evolving policy on Syria, which has gone from bombing Assads military in April and shooting a Syrian warplane from the sky in June, to the new ceasefire deal and renewed calls for cooperation with Assads chief outside supporter, Russia.

Observers and former U.S. officials say the ceasefire deal effectively guarantees Assads regime remains in place, in spite of Trump administration rhetoric to the contrary. Trump discussed the Syrian truce during his first face-to-face meeting as president with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany on Friday.

My sense is that the Trump administration is resigned to the fact that the Assad regime has been secured by Iran and Russia for the indefinite future, Fred Hof, a former U.S. special envoy on Syria under President Barack Obama, told TIME in an email. They are forced  in large measure due to five plus years of Obama administration policy paralysis  to put Syrian political transition on the back burner.

The ceasefire deal illustrates a new political reality as diplomatic attempts to resolve the six-year-old Syrian crisis as a whole give way to piecemeal efforts to deescalate the conflict in different parts of the country. Following more than a year of Russian-supported military gains by the government of President Bashar Assad, few now expect a broad national peace agreement between the regime and the rebel groups arrayed against it.

There is no integrated solution for Syria anymore, at least for the time being in Washington, says Joseph Bahout, a visiting fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, speaking to TIME from Paris. The core of the problem, the political question, the Assad aspect, the transition; today its off the hook. Today this is on the shelf, he adds.

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International diplomacy has focussed lately on containing, rather than resolving the conflict as a whole. In May, Russia, Iran, and Turkey (a key supporter of the Syrian opposition) agreed to a plan to establish a series of four de-escalation zones in sections of the country held by the opposition. It achieved limited success in calming fighting between rebels and the regime.

The new ceasefire calls for Jordan and Russia to restrain Syrian rebels and the regime, respectively, along the existing front line in Syrias southwest, according to an senior State Department official who briefed reporters on Friday. Russia, the United States and Jordan released few other specifics of the agreement. No text of the deal was made public, and it was not clear how the truce would be enforced or monitored.

The new truce could yet provide relief to people living in three provinces in southwestern Syria, if it holds: Daraa, Suwayda, and Quneitra. The southwest has long been a redoubt of mainstream rebel groups who oppose both Assad and extremist groups, owing in part to support from the United States and Jordan, Syrias neighbor to the south. Assad and allied forces have intensified attacks on rebel-held areas in the south since February. Past national ceasefires have unravelled within days or weeks. Human rights monitors and President Trump claimed that the ceasefire held, at least in its opening hours.

Syrian ceasefire seems to be holding. Many lives can be saved. Came out of meeting. Good!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017

Others werent certain it would be durable. Is the ceasefire actually going to lead to a reduction in hostilities and violence in the south? That remains to be seen, said Charmain Mohamed, a Jordan-based Advocacy Advisor for the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Past diplomatic efforts to end Syrias civil war have sought to broker a peace deal between Assad and a spectrum of rebel groups who demand his removal from power. Those talks collapsed last year as Assads forces, backed by Russia and Iran, launched a ferocious offensive that reclaimed territory lost to the rebels, including the insurgent stronghold of Aleppo. The loss of the northwestern city was a historic blow to the rebellion that all but ended maximalist hopes of future military success against Assad.

More than six years on from the mass uprising against Assad that spawned Syrias civil war, the contours of the conflict are shifting. After years in which the United States supported armed opposition groups but avoided direct conflict with Assad, the U.S. military struck Assads forces and allied troops at least four times since April, beginning with a cruise missile strike in response to a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 70 people. In June, hostilities escalated again when American forces shot down a Syrian government warplane that attacked U.S.-allied militias on the ground eastern Syria.

The U.S. posture toward Assad is now difficult to gauge. Over the weekend, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reiterated a call for a transition away from the Assad family, but also acknowledged that there was no plan in place to replace the current regime. Speaking to reporters in Hamburg, Tillerson said of Russian policy in Syria, Maybe theyve got the right approach and weve got the wrong approach.

Under Trump, the U.S. has focused its efforts in Syria on fighting ISIS, sending additional troops to support Kurdish-led militias now battling their way into the jihadists stronghold in the eastern city of Raqqa. The ISIS-focused approach has placed diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict as a whole on the backburner.

The ceasefire agreement overshadowed a new round of United Nations-brokered peace talks taking place in Geneva on Monday. Bahout, the analyst, said few expected any progress. No one is betting one dollar on that, he said.
Donald Trump Jr. set off a media frenzy Tuesday by releasing emails that linked a meeting he had with a Russian lawyer to the Kremlins effort to help his father, President Donald Trump, get elected. During the 2016 election, Trump Jr. was enticed when an acquaintance emailed him about documents that would incriminate Hillary (Clinton) and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.

This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump, read the June 2016 email to Trump Jr. from Rob Goldstone, a former British tabloid writer and publicist.

READ: Trump Jr Russia Email Scandal: Attempt To Get Clinton Dirt Part Of Kremlin Effort To Help Father, Report Says

Trump Jr. replied with enthusiasm, writing, If its what you say I love it especially later in the summer.

Republicans have stayed mostly quiet, but Sen. Lindsey Graham spoke to reporters Tuesday.

Anytime youre in a campaign and you get an offer from a foreign government to help your campaign, the answer is no, said Graham.

Right-wing Twitter, however, reacted with defense, not much concern and Clinton condemnation.

Liberal media in a frenzy because Donald Trump Jr released all his emails. Should've just deleted them. We know that's fine with them!  Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) July 11, 2017

And just like that, another blockbuster from the NYTimes (Don Jr Story) ends up being pure bullsh*t. It never ends.  Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) July 11, 2017

Is this Hillary Collusion?? https://t.co/JMX4kqIbt7  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) July 11, 2017

If the media wants answers on "Russia" I am fine with that. Let's get answers Why has the media ignored this? Fake News, Selective outrage! https://t.co/ifHyh2MbNg  Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) July 11, 2017

.@nytimes clownishly exposes @DonaldJTrumpJr Russia meeting as if merely talking to a Russian is somehow illegal https://t.co/LSjJbGEHQa  Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) July 11, 2017

On MSNBC, Rep Barbara Lee carps @ Don Jr's Russia emails. She & Rep Dellums collaborated w/ Russia WHEN IT WAS USSR. https://t.co/LEMdAZhSLV  Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) July 11, 2017

Trump, Jr. smart to release emails. Tabloid guy set him up w Russian lawyer who promised Hillary dirt. She didn't deliver. That's the story.  Bill O'Reilly (@billoreilly) July 11, 2017

Actual footage of CNN covering Donald Trump Jr emails today pic.twitter.com/2m7WEG0m8v  Jack Posobiec __ (@JackPosobiec) July 11, 2017

Hillary's shirts SHOULD read, 'GOT AWAY WITH IT'!https://t.co/G6CtRfOP3Z  Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) July 11, 2017

We've gone from "Russia hacked the election".







To 'Don Jr met with a crackpot not connected to Russian govt' who wasted his time'.







Meh.  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) July 11, 2017

We've gone from "Russia hacked the election".







To 'Don Jr met with a crackpot not connected to Russian govt' who wasted his time'.







Meh.  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) July 11, 2017

The Clinton method:







1) bleach-bit emails



2) hammer phone to pieces



3) deny







The Trump method:







1) Tweet emails for transparency#MAGA __ https://t.co/OORbnlDExE  Harlan Z. Hill (@Harlan) July 11, 2017

Trump Jr. took the meeting in June 2016 and was accompanied by Paul Manafort, who at the time was a campaign manager for his father, as well as his brother-in-law Jared Kushner, now an adviser to the president. Though the meeting was eventually fruitless, the revelation of its existence and pretext has put a serious spotlight on the ongoing investigations of connections between Trump and Russia. Democratic politicians expressed concern. The revelation was spurred on by reporting by the New York Times.

Story continues

READ: Who Is Donald Trump Jrs Wife, Vanessa Haydon? Former Model Married At Mar-A-Lago

Theres no escaping it: the Trump Campaigns inner circle met with an agent of a hostile foreign power to influence the outcome of the American election, said Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The American people face a White House riddled with shadowy Russian connections and desperate to hide the truth.

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Lawsuit argues Trumps personal account is public forum and barring users is a violation of first amendment, after Sean Spicer called tweets official statements

Since Twitter users who have been blocked cannot read or respond to Trumps tweets, the suit argues, blocking users for their political beliefs imposes a viewpoint-based restriction on ... participation in a public forum. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

A group of Twitter users has sued Donald Trump and two White House communication aides for violating their constitutional rights by blocking them from Trumps personal Twitter account after they criticized the president.

The suit, which was was filed in federal court in New York on Tuesday, argues that Trumps Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, constitutes a public forum for speech by, to, and about the President. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction requiring Trump to unblock their accounts and cease blocking others on the basis of their opinions.

Since Twitter users who have been blocked cannot read or respond to Trumps tweets, the suit argues, blocking users for their political beliefs imposes a viewpoint-based restriction on ... participation in a public forum and violates the first amendment.

Its like barring people at the door of a city council meeting because they criticized your policy, said Katie Fallow, a senior attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute, which is representing the blocked Twitter users.

The lawsuit advances novel legal theories about speech and civic participation at a time when Twitter is arguably the primary means of public communication employed by the president of the United States. Trumps personal account has more than 33 million followers, and his tweets generally garner thousands of replies, dominate the news cycle and set the agenda for public debate.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who is named as a defendant in the suit along with White House director of social media Dan Scavino, said in June that Trumps tweets should be considered official statements.

My use of social media is not Presidential - its MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL. Make America Great Again!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2017

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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One Twitter user who used to reply to Trumps tweets is Eugene Gu, a surgery resident from Nashville and one of the plaintiffs in the case.

I found that I was able to be heard by many people, and that my voice mattered even if I wasnt a celebrity or politician, Gu said in a statement of sending tweets in reply to Trump. Gu was blocked by Trump on 18 June, the suit alleges, shortly after Gu questioned Trumps fitness for the presidency.

Trump just now blocked me for this tweet. Please protect his ego and don't RT it. https://t.co/LatUpnEcjy #BlockedByTrump pic.twitter.com/ZABxZuk0gF  Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) June 18, 2017

Now I have extremely limited access to the public forum where I once could be heard, Gu said. I feel cut off and as though Im being treated like an outsider in my own country.

This isnt just about Trump, and its not just about Twitter, another plaintiff, Holly Figueroa, wrote in the Washington Post. Figueroa tweets using the handle @AynRandPaulRyan. Its about ensuring that as new platforms of communication are developed, and more and more politicians use social media as a primary way to communicate with constituents, we dont lose our ability to participate in our democracy or exercise our First Amendment rights.

Some legal experts were skeptical of the argument that Twitter should be considered a public forum when the Knight Institute first raised the prospect of a lawsuit in June.

But Fallow said that her confidence in the case was bolstered by a 19 June supreme court ruling unanimously striking down a North Carolina law that prohibited registered sex offenders from accessing social media sites. In his opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy described social media as the modern public square and mentioned the usefulness of Twitter for Americans to petition their elected representatives and otherwise engage with them in a direct manner.

While in the past there may have been difficulty in identifying the most important places (in a spatial sense) for the exchange of views, today the answer is clear, Kennedy wrote. It is cyberspace  the vast democratic forums of the Internet in general ... and social media in particular.
Washington (AFP) - The US State Department said Tuesday it is ready to approve the sale of Patriot air defense systems to Romania, a $3.9 billion deal likely to infuriate Russia.

"The State Department has made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale to Romania for Patriot air defense systems, related support and equipment," the State Department said.

Congress has 30 days to raise objections to the sale, though this is unlikely given that Romania is a NATO partner with important geo-strategic access to the Black Sea, where Russia-seized Crimea is located.

"Romania will use the Patriot missile system to strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats," the State Department said.

"The proposed sale will increase the defensive capabilities of the Romanian military to guard against aggression and shield the NATO allies who often train and operate within Romania's borders."

The Patriot is a mobile air-defense system made by Raytheon and designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, low-flying cruise missiles and aircraft.

The possible sale comes as the US military temporarily deployed a Patriot battery in Lithuania as part of multinational NATO exercises in the Baltic country.

Moscow last year deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles into its Kaliningrad exclave, which borders Lithuania and Poland, rattling nearby NATO members.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, left, and Keith Hall, director of the Congressional Budget Office. (Photos: Zach Gibson/Getty Images-Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Awaiting a new Congressional Budget Office score on the latest rewrite of the Republican health care bill expected next week, the White House has launched an attack on the nonpartisan group.

In a video published to its social media accounts, the White House claims that the CBO uses faulty numbers. It disputed projections that 22 million more Americans would be without health insurance by 2026, compared with keeping Obamacare. The video came in conjunction with a press release citing critiques of the CBO from the Council of Economic Advisers, a group of political appointees.

The Congressional Budget Office's math doesn't add up. Faulty Numbers = Faulty Results pic.twitter.com/zdf4bZ01ma  The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2017

The White House deleted and then reposted the video after initially misspelling the word inaccurately in its story about the importance of accuracy. The video was then retweeted on the @POTUS account.

The original video posted by the White House.

As the White House video states, CBO projections for coverage under Obamacare were wrong, in part because the agency didnt foresee a Supreme Court ruling allowing states to opt out of the Medicaid expansion in the bill. The agency also forecast that more employers would drop their own health insurance plans than actually did. After the Supreme Court ruling, which led to 19 states dropping the Medicaid expansion, the offices revised prediction projected that 89 percent of Americans below age 65 would have insurance in 2016. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number was 89.7 percent.

Republicans have spent the past few months attempting to discredit the CBO for a series of negative reports analyzing their proposed Obamacare replacements. Some, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., have said that the millions of people expected to lose coverage would merely be exercising their freedom to go without health insurance.

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The CBO was created in 1974 as a nonpartisan analyst of proposed legislation, providing independent reports on the potential economic impact of new bills. The current CBO director is Keith Hall, who was appointed in 2015 by Republican leadership in Congress. Hall served on President George W. Bushs Council of Economic Advisers. His selection rankled some Democrats who were upset by a 2013 op-ed in which he criticized Obamacare and proposals to raise the minimum wage.

Related slideshow: Protesters across the country oppose GOPs health care plan >>>

One of the leading Republicans in selecting Hall was Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who was a congressman and chair of the House Budget Committee at the time.

Keith Hall will bring an impressive level of economic expertise and experience to the Congressional Budget Office, said Price in a February 2015 statement. Throughout his career, he has served in both the public and private sector, under presidents of both parties, and in roles that make him well-suited to lead the CBO. In particular, during his time at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Dr. Hall has worked on providing Congress with non-partisan economic analyses  a role similar to the responsibilities he will now assume as CBO director. His vast understanding of economic and labor market policy will be invaluable to the work of CBO and the important role it will continue to play as Congress seeks to enact policies that support a healthy and growing economy.

Price has been one of the most outspoken critics of the organization in his new Cabinet post, calling the CBOs Obamacare replacement projections not accurate and contending that the White House [disagreed] strenuously with its findings.

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A screenshot of the White House's video criticising the Congressional Budget Office for alleged inaccuracies: YouTube

The White House has deleted and reissued a video that misspelled the word "inaccurately" in an attack on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for being inaccurate.

The 45-second spot, which the White House issued via their YouTube channel, was meant to cast doubt on the independent agencys health care projections.

In one frame, the video read: CBO inaccurately estimates health coverage.

Seconds later, another screen declared: CBO innaccurately [sic] estimated 25 million would be covered under Obamacare.

The White House quickly deleted the video and uploaded a version with the correct spelling.

The video comes as Republicans in the Senate struggle to pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. The GOP leadership has yet to get moderates and strict conservatives to agree on the largely unpopular proposal.

tfw when you attack the CBOs allegedly inaccurate estimates but cant even spell inaccurately accurately pic.twitter.com/oa2JCHxbWM  Matt O'Brien (@ObsoleteDogma) July 12, 2017

A major sticking points is the CBOs projection that the bill will leave an estimated 22 million more people uninsured by 2026. The population most affected would be those covered by Medicaid  a popular government-funded insurance program that some Republicans are hesitant to attack.

"I'm very concerned about the cost of insurance for older people with serious chronic illnesses and the impact of the Medicaid cuts on our state governments; the most vulnerable people in our society," Republican Senator Susan Collins said recently on ABC's "This Week".

The White House video attempts to cast doubt on the CBOs projections, claiming they were made with faulty numbers.

CBOs claim that 22 million would be uninsured by 2026 is based on bad numbers, the video said.

Former CBO Director Doug Holtz-Eakin told The Independent that the White House's ad reveals a deep misunderstanding of exactly whats going on.

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The CBOs job is not to predict the future, he explained.

The organization  created in 1975 as a check on executive budgetary power  uses relative numbers in order to rank various policy proposals. According to Mr Holtz-Eakin, the numbers are never expected to be an exact projection of what will occur.

The former Director added that this kind of attack on the CBO is, if not unprecedented, extremely rare.

It just doesn't happen, he said. The people I worked for in the White House would never have done this.
Snr and Jnr: there is not enough meat on this scandal to bring the two Donalds down: Reuters

Oh, this teasing game. With each new shock revelation in the probe into alleged collusion last year between the Trump campaign and Russia to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House we yell smoking gun only to discover the gun is still a water pistol and the smoke is steam.

Nothing about the latest bombshell regarding a meeting that Donald Trump Jr held at Trump Tower last year with a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin is good. Indeed, this is the most damning tidbit to have come to light so far. It stinks for a variety of reasons and the stink seems to get worse by the hour as new details emerge. But is this the big one that will blow up the entire Trump administration? Doubtful. Is it the last one that will drop? Even more doubtful.

It is a tidbit because nothing actually came of that encounter  best we know  that changed the course of the election. The lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, was billed as having information that might harm Clinton, but in the end, as Trump Jr himself recounts it, she offered nothing of the kind. She wanted to discuss a Kremlin ban on Americans adopting Russian orphans and related US sanctions on Russia.

Imagine if this meeting  also attended by the President Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his campaign manager at the time, Paul Manafort  had in fact delivered the promised dirt and it had thereafter been weaponised against Clinton. How much simpler to understand all this would be and how much easier would be the job of Robert Mueller, the special counsel who is tasked with deciding eventually what laws, if any, were actually broken.

Dirt, at this meeting at least, seemingly was not forthcoming. But this is clearly an important moment in the investigation. Why? Above all because it reveals that senior members of the Trump campaign, including Trump Jr, knew very well that Russia was attempting to corrupt the electoral process and damage the Democratic candidate as long ago as June of last year and that every time they said otherwise when questioned by the media or others they were lying.

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Media & Dems are extremely invested in the Russia story. If this nonsense meeting is all they have after a yr, I understand the desperation!  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

Its disgusting, its so phony. I cant think of bigger lies, Trump Jr said last July when asked about allegations that Russia had hacked into the Democratic National Committees computer servers. That statement looks laughable now, though its not funny to contemplate the baldness of his fib. Now we know that at least he, Kushner and Manafort knew of the Russian intention to meddle months before even the US intelligence agencies came to the same conclusion.

In an important sense, it doesnt matter that Veselnitskaya in the end didnt have dirt. Trump Jr agreed to see her expecting she would. He did not do what he surely should have done  contact the FBI or the Federal Election Commission and say he was being asked to consort with a foreign power in a way that threatened to violate US law. Instead, he cried, I love it.

Those are the three words now ricocheting around the political echo-chamber of Washington. I love it. This was the answer given by Trump Jr after receiving a first email from an intermediary revealing that a former business associate of his father in Moscow had been contacted by a Russian government official who had information that could hurt Clintons election chances.

That we know all this is thanks to Trump Jr himself who saw fit to release the whole email chain between himself and the intermediary, identified as Rob Goldstone, a British music publicist. Two things popped out. What Trump Jr was allegedly being offered was explicitly coming from the Russian government. And second, the prospect of receiving it thrilled him.

Goldstone told Trump Jr that documents existed that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. In his first email, he went on: This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its governments support for Mr Trump. Repeat after me: part of its governments support of Mr Trump.

The reply from Trump Jr came minutes later and it was similarly unambiguous. If its what you say I love it especially later in the summer, he wrote. (Why later in the summer? Because by then his father would be in full battle dress against Clinton.) It was a few days after that that Goldstone wrote back and proposed the meeting between Trump Jr and Veselnitskaya.

What is the best spin the White House can put on this? That Trump Jr was inexperienced and didnt grasp the legal perils he was confronting? (But Manafort surely should have done.) They could paint him as being just too eager to help his father. That brings us to the White House assertion that President Trump had never heard of the meeting with Veselnitskaya until reading about it in the New York Times. The only explanation for that would seem to be that Trump Jr is terrified of his father  as the collusion investigation mushroomed so admitting to having met with Veselnitskaya became more difficult, because papa would hit the roof.

Which is what is happening in the Oval Office right now. How does the White House explain away all those times it said contacts with Russians didnt happen when clearly they did? As Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, put it, the pattern of convenient forgetfulness on all their parts  hello, Vice President Mike Pence, are you listening to this?  is wearing awfully thin. Were up to 20-plus examples of senior-level officials  and even you could argue the president himself, continues to deny theyve had any contacts with Russians until the proof comes out that there were contacts, multiple contacts, Warner said.

How does this White House expect to continue to insist that Trump himself knew nothing about Russia actively working to help him become president? Come along now.

Some argue that Trump Jr violated an election law that forbids any campaign from accepting anything of value from citizens of a foreign country. Note, it doesnt have to be even from foreign governments. But what value do you put on dirt on Clinton if the dirt never materialised?

This is a big shoe that has dropped, for sure, but my guess is that for now it will join the footwear repository that is the office of Mr Mueller. That he and his team of expert lawyers will scrutinise the circumstances of the Veselnitskaya meeting extremely closely goes without saying. Other questions lurking include: were the documents referred to by Goldstone real? Where are they now, what did they say? Did they ever get into Trump campaign hands?

You see how this scandal is. Like the best cable series, it teases with seeming crescendos before reminding us it has actually hardly begun. Robert Mueller is the arbiter who will tell us when the end has finally arrived and what it means. Are we getting close to that moment? No. The prediction that his investigation could take months if not years still stands. Sorry.
Heidi McKinney on a previous flight

An Oregon woman who licked, groped and verbally harassed a female passenger during a flight from Las Vegas to Portland has been sentenced to eight months of home detention.

Heidi McKinney, 27, of Banks, declined to make a statement during Monday's sentencing at the federal courthouse in Portland, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Heidi McKinney (Multnomah County Jail)

McKinney, who wrote a letter of apology to the victim, pleaded guilty in March to assault with intent to commit a felony.

In addition to home detention, McKinney was sentenced to three years on probation. She must also pay $3,000 restitution and abstain from alcohol.

McKinney was arrested 8 May, 2016, after the Alaska Airlines flight landed at Portland International Airport.

The 19-year-old victim told authorities she had been touched without consent.

Assistant US Attorney Ravi Sinha wrote in a sentencing memo last week that the abuse started before the plane departed.

Mr Sinha said McKinney, who appeared to have been drinking, tried to speak with the young woman, but the victim was reluctant.

The prosecutor said it was "partly because the way in which Ms McKinney had inappropriately touched the victim's chest, and partly because Ms McKinney's 'small talk' consisted of repeatedly insulting the victim's perceived economic status and bragging of her own purported wealth."

When the plane took off, things got worse, with the victim at one point putting a hat over her face to avoid McKinney. But McKinney persisted.

Mr Sinha said McKinney tried to pressure the woman into drinking alcohol she had smuggled on the plane, and subjected her to lewd taunts and physical aggression.

He said McKinney licked the victim's ear, forced her to touch her breasts and repeatedly placed her hand on the victim's crotch.

"Eventually  and in spite of the victim's repeated pleas for Ms McKinney to stop  the abuse culminated with Ms McKinney climbing on top of the victim and telling the victim she wanted to (expletive)," Mr Sinha wrote.

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At that point, the victim asked the flight crew to be seated elsewhere.

Though Mr Sinha described McKinney's behaviour as shocking, he recommended a sentence with a focus on treatment.

McKinney admitted herself to an inpatient treatment centre in April after she was found unconscious at a local bar, the sentencing memo states.

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Associated Press
Delicate jewelry can make a bold statement, and The Brave Collection proves it. Conceived by Team Zoe friend and Forbes-recognized entrepreneur Jessica Hendricks Yee, the modern label consists of dainty, made-to-layer pieces from pendant necklaces to friendship bracelets. Handcrafted in Cambodia, the empowering assortment simultaneously raises up a team of artisans who are compensated with above-average wages, health insurance and stipends for their childrens education. It doesnt get chicer than that. All things considered, we were ecstatic to include The Brave Collection in our summer Box of Style. Read on to learn more about a brand that gives back, and how you help fight human trafficking when you wear it.
Amazon fans no longer have to wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday to get access to dozens of online discounts.

The Seattle-based retail giant is holding its Prime Day sales event again this year starting July 10 at 9 p.m. ET. That means those who subscribe to Amazons $99-per-year Prime service will be able to shop for discounted items ranging from household supplies to furniture, electronics, clothing, and more.

Amazon device owners who shop via Alexa, the companys voice-activated personal assistant, will be able to snag those discounts two hours earlier, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

Prime Day is often a commercial success for Amazon, despite the fact that some customers have criticized and mocked the company for offering deals on oddly random products  past deals have included a set of nail clippers made specifically for large dogs, a gigantic wine glass, and beard growing kit. Regardless, Amazon said last years Prime Day was its biggest sales day ever.

Get the latest deals, reviews and recommendations from the editors of TIME: sign up for The Goods newsletter here

Heres a look at some of the most compelling gadget deals that will be available when the sale kicks off Monday night.

Amazon will have plenty to offer when it comes to deals on its own products. Thats particularly true when it comes to the Echo lineup: the standard Echo will sell for $89.99, a 50% discount off its regular price, while the smaller Echo Dot will cost $34.99 instead of $49.99.

A few bundle deals will be available as well, with Amazon offering a $75 discount when purchasing an Echo Show and Arlo Security camera. The Echo Show usually costs $229.99, while a single Arlo camera is priced at $169.99.

Shoppers will also be able to get an Echo Dot (usually $49.99) and Sony XB10 portable Bluetooth speaker (regularly $58 on Amazon) for under $70. A bundle that includes the Echo Dot and a TP-Link Smart Plug will also be discounted by 30%.

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This Android phone, which comes with a 5.9-inch screen, a Leica dual-lens camera, and Amazons Alexa assistant will be on sale for $449.99, a 25% discount off its regular price of $599.99.

Googles Wi-Fi system, which uses three devices to blanket up to 4,500 square feet in wireless signals, cost $249 on Prime Day for a three-pack. Amazon usually sells this bundle for $269.99, which is still cheaper than the $299 price listed on Googles website.

The August Smart Lock will get a $50 discount on Prime Day. Amazon has not specified which model in particular will be on sale, but the online retailer usually charges around $200 for a second-generation model and between $139-$179 for the standard version.

Those mountable little buttons for reordering items from Amazon are getting a sizable discount on Prime Day. Each one will only cost $0.99 (down from $4.99), and Amazon is throwing in a $4.99 credit towards shoppers first order placed through a Dash button.

The Kindle Paperwhite will only cost $89.99 on Prime Day, a discount of $30 from its $119.99 regular price.

Amazon is cutting a huge chunk off the price of the Bluetooth speakers included in its Amazon Basics program: Regularly priced at $59.99, Amazon will only charge $24.77 for the red version, $24.20 for the blue model, and $22.32 for the black edition.

Samsungs 28-inch UHD LED monitor will only cost $279.99 on Prime Day, a discount of 29%. The monitor has a resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 and supports AMD Free Sync, which should sync the screens refresh rate with the frame rate of the content being displayed.

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Microsoft chief legal officer Brad Smith has two requests that could cut down on ransomware.

Microsoft (MSFT) has had quite enough of ransomware attacks like WannaCry and Petya. But if the company is going to get a handle on the problem, it needs the help of customers, businesses and governments around the globe.

When it comes to individuals and business, Microsoft has a simple request: Stop using Windows XP. As for the worlds governments, Microsofts ask is even easier, but may be a tougher sell: If you see something vulnerable in our software, tell us instead of using it to hack our customers.

Neither task will be easy, but the alternative will result in continued waves of malware attacks that steal or destroy data and leave millions of computers immobilized.

Dont expect smarter users

You might not know this from coverage that treats each new malware attack as something that magically happens out of nowhere, but when a computer gets infected you can usually pin the problem on two preexisting conditions.

One is the person using the computer, who may be uninformed, gullible or distracted enough to open the wrong file or click on the wrong link. The other is the software running on the computer, which too often is obsolete and missing the latest security patches.

Microsoft and other companies cant do much about the first problem beyond enhancing their systems to scan links and attachments in emails for signs of malicious content, something Microsoft recently did with its Office 365 software. But that sort of reactive defense can fall short when a previously unknown threat  usually called zero-day exploits, for the lack of warning experts have about them  starts to spread.

Every company has at least one employee who will click on anything, Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith said in a keynote Wednesday at the companys Inspire conference in Washington. That is pretty hard to protect against.

Windows XP must die

But companies can and should switch to more secure software that can better resist malware that sneaks in through email. And from Microsofts perspective, that starts with retiring the ancient Windows XP. Despite Microsoft ending support for the operating system in 2014, the 2001-vintage OS still powered 4.86% of Windows PCs in June, according to StatCounter; another research firm, NetMarketShare, found it on 6.94% of PCs.

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XP is an easy mark for malware because it allows even strange programs complete access to the system once installed.

Windows XP is enormously vulnerable in ways that are impossible to change, Smith said Wednesday. He noted that XP debuted two months before the Apple (AAPL) iPod, then asked Is there anybody in this arena who is carrying around an iPod?

But many companies will find that swapping out XP for the far-more-secure Windows 10 is a little more complicated than moving music from an MP3 player to a smartphone. Theyll first have to upgrade their own specialized internal software to run properly on Win 10 or replaced it with Win 10-compatible equivalents.

Companies and individual users also need to let go of the idea that they should be able to judge each security update on its merits. Doing so could mean important security gaps could go unplugged. So sorry, but youre going to have to trust Microsoft  and Apple, Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and others  to download and install security fixes automatically.

A digital Geneva Convention

But Microsoft biggest challenge lies in trying to stop governments from uncovering and hoarding Windows vulnerabilities for offensive uses  a practice of the National Security Agency that went awry when attackers posted a set of the agencys hacking tools online, which was then used to build the WannaCry ransomware.

In February, Smith told a security conference that nations should adopt a Digital Geneva Convention that would commit them to avoiding malware attacks on civilian targets and require the prompt disclosure of vulnerabilities to the companies that need to fix them.

Smith renewed his call on Wednesday, asking for collective action by nations to reduce the malware threat. He denounced hacking attempts that target political candidates and election systems  such as Russias extensive meddling in last years presidential election  as attacking the fundamental infrastructures of our time.

Smith pledged that Microsoft would have no part in any such aggressive conduct.

We will not help any government attack any customer anywhere, he said. We will help defend any customer anywhere.

That stance may not get Microsoft any more business out of the Kremlin, but the Redmond, Washington firm is right to put principles over profits here. Unfortunately, there are too many software firms without such hangups.

More from Rob:

Email Rob at rob@robpegoraro.com; follow him on Twitter at @robpegoraro.
It appears the United States military isnt taking any chances when it comes to the growing threat of unpredictable actions from North Korea and the US Missile Defense Agency just demonstrated a proactive approach by testing its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (or THAAD for short) in Alaska. The system successfully shot down a test projectile over the US state. However, the government is insisting that this demonstration has nothing to do with North Koreas recent missile launches.

Don't Miss: Prime Day 2017 has begun, and these 28 Amazon device deals are just crazy

I couldnt be more proud of the government and contractor team who executed this flight test today, MDA Director Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves noted in a release declaring the test a success. This test further demonstrates the capabilities of the THAAD weapon system and its ability to intercept and destroy ballistic missile threats.

The THAAD system is an advanced, multi-part missile defense and mitigation strategy which utilizes a ground-based radar to detect a projectile, determine its location and path, and then counter it with an interceptor which collides with, and destroys, the incoming threat before it has a chance to reach its target. THAAD is designed to work against ballistic missiles with short, medium, and intermediate range capabilities. It was designed and build by longtime defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

THAAD systems are versatile in that they can be deployed pretty much anywhere, with vehicle-based launchers and mobile radar that can be positioned wherever it is needed. That said, the decision to test it over Alaska  which is potentially within range of North Korean missile technology  seems to be a pretty clear warning to the troubled nation, even if the US government isnt explicitly saying so.

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See the original version of this article on BGR.com
Tahani Qanbar, 22, sits dejectedly in her in-laws small concrete home in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Jebel Mukaber. Outside, her four children chase each other despite the heat. They seem too young to understand that their father, Fadi, isnt coming home, or that they may owe the Israeli government a large sum of money.

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In January, her husband Fadi al-Qanbar, drove a white truck into a group of Israeli soldiers who had just gotten off a bus at a nearby popular promenade that has sweeping views of the Old City of Jerusalem. According to video from the scene, Fadi hit the soldiers, killing three female cadets and one man, and then began driving in reverse, apparently trying to kill more soldiers. He was shot and killed by both soldiers in the area and civilians.

Fadi al-Qanbar's children (Photo: Dima Abumaira/The Media Line)

The attack resonated among the Israeli public for several reasons. The soldiers killed were not combat soldiers, but officer cadets. One, Erez Orbach, 20, was autistic and had volunteered for the army. And the site is popular with many Israelis.

Moment of the attack

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Now the state has filed suit against Fadis family, seeking $2.3 million in damages from the widow and her four children. It is the first time that Israel has sued the families of attackers. The prosecution is demanding compensation for the costs of the burials of the soldiers, as well as the payments it makes to the bereaved families. In addition the prosecutor mentioned loss of earnings for the lost years, loss of pension and pension rightsand compensation for the pain and suffering that reflects the cruelty of the acts and the great suffering of the murder victims.

The primary claim behind the lawsuit filed, following the terrorist attack that resulted in the death of Israeli soldiers, is meant to reimburse the states coffers for any expenses incurred following such incidents. Efrat Oren, the spokesperson of Jerusalems District Attorneys Office told The Media Line.

If the family does not pay this sum, the debt will be passed on to Fadis children.

Fadi al-Qanbar

I am in shock when I think about all that is happening, Tahani Qanbar told The Media Line in an exclusive interview. Fadi loved his children and was very attached to his family. If he only knew that his children would pay the price, he would have never done what he did.

The family lawyer, Muhammad Khalil, explained that the Israeli government is experimenting with different tactics to push the boundaries and measure the reactions of the international community; with the intent of cementing such procedures in the judicial system.

The suit filed is one of great significance, it is out of the ability and jurisdiction of a private lawyer. These cases require a number of lawyers that specialize in international and Israeli law, Khalil told The Media Line.

The site of the attack

Money is already tight. After Israeli police demolished the familys small home, as is common after an attack, Tahani and her children Ezz, 7, Jana, 6, Ghazal, 3, and Muhammad, 1, moved in next door with her in-laws.

The only income for the family is from Fadis father Ahmed, who gets a pension of just over $700 per month. When The Media Line visited the home, Ahmed appeared unwell, staring into space. While most of the family was born in Jerusalem, and have the blue Jerusalem ID card that gives them access to Israeli health care and social security, Fadis mother Manwah was originally from the West Bank. She said that Israel forced her to return her blue ID card.

They took my Israeli I.D. and twelve others from our family, she told The Media Line. That means I now have zero rights and the pension I was going to receive in my old age has been canceled. It is the first time Israel has ever demanded that a family pay such an enormous amount. Not one international organization or human rights association has attempted to make contact and help us; we dont know what to do.

Soldiers comforting one another at the scene of the attack (Photo: AFP)

She also said that she does not support her sons actions

I had no idea that Fadi was going to do this, she said. In the last conversation we had, he told me to get lunch ready. Then a few minutes later I heard he had carried out an attack. If I had known what he was going to do, I would have tied him down."

Article written by Dima Abumaria
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.
Chinese telecommunications and networking equipment giant, Huawei Technologies, on Monday signed a contract with the Cape Verdean government for the development of the first phase of the Safe City project, a statement said.

According to the Archipelago government, the contract includes the construction of an Operational Command Centre, the installation of a video surveillance system and a system of alerts and integrated operational communication (voice, SMS and data). The project is due to start operating in January 2018.

Estimated at $20 million, the project will endow the archipelago with a modern urban security management system with video surveillance cameras in the countrys main urban centres, a command centre and a control centre for all entities that operate in the area of security.

Cape Verde and China are looking to further deepen bilateral ties in various sector, including tourism, infrastructure and human resource development.

The two countries in May agreed to work towards developing the Islands marine economy through the construction of a special marine economic zone in Sao Vicente.

Chinese investments in the Island nation have grown over the years. The China-Africa Development Fund (CADF) is funding a minimum of $25 million worth of projects in the country.
The United States has extended its economic sanctions against Sudan by three months, the State Department said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the US acknowledges the significant progress made by the conflict-stricken nation but needs more time.

The United States will revoke the sanctions if the (government of Sudan) is assessed to have sustained progress in these areas at the end of the extended review period, the State Department said.

US Former president Barack Obamas administration had given Sudan 180 days to improve its human rights record and resolve its political and military conflicts before Washington lifts some major economic sanctions stepped up in 2006.

The roadmaps conditions included cooperating with Washington in fighting terrorism, halting interference in South Sudans affairs and allowing humanitarian aid to reach safely conflict zones in the region.

Sudan this month extended a unilateral ceasefire until the end of October with rebels it has been at war with in the southern Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur regions.

Fighting between the army and rebels in Kordofan and Blue Nile regions broke out again in 2011, when South Sudan declared independence.
Struggling national flag carrier Air Zimbabwe (AirZim) has lurched into a new crisis on Tuesday as the management of the carrier announced plans to cut half of its 400 jobs.

The restructuring plan of Airzim is meant to revive the ailing national carrier, Chairwoman Chipo Dyanda said on Wednesday.

In her words, Air Zimbabwe would cut 200 jobs in its fourth round of lay-offs in eight years.

We were overstaffed by a lot and we are also trying to weed out people without the right qualifications, Dyanda told Reuters.

The retrenchment is meant to give space to the airline so that we can redeploy the money saved back into the company.

AirZim, which at Independence in 1980 boasted a fleet of 18 planes, is technically insolvent and operating at less than a third of that capacity.

The airline is reeling under a debt in excess of $330 million that has hampered efforts to engage strategic partners in a bid to retain and grow market share.

According to the Chairwoman, Air Zimbabwe required a ratio of 45 workers per aircraft.

As part of the strategic plan, we would like to get more reliable planes and expand our routes, Dyanda said.

The national carrier has cut 300 jobs in August 2015 following cuts in 2009 and 2013.
"There are also pockets with high death rates in many other parts of the country as well," Ruhm said

And the overdose death rates are highest for people ages 25 to 64 in the Rust Belt, in Appalachia and some western states.

"Fatal overdose rates are higher for males than females, for whites than blacks or other non-whites," Ruhm said.

Ruhm's research also buttresses earlier studies that identified the primary victims of this plague.

Unchanged in Ruhm's report is West Virginia's woeful ranking as the state with the highest rate of deadly opioid cases. But even there Ruhm concluded the death rate for opioids should have been 30.3 per 100,000 in 2014 instead of 29.9. And the state's fatal heroin overdose rate should have been 9 per 100,000 rather than 8.8.

Ohio also has the nation's highest rate of fatal heroin overdoses with 10.4 per 100,000. By Ruhm's reckoning, the rate is 11.2 per 100,000, which is also the highest in the country.

Hard-hit Ohio's opioid death rate went from 18.2 per 100,000 (fifth highest in the country) to 20.5 per 100,000 (fourth highest in the country) in Ruhm's report.

"The average family gets 20 copies of a death certificate of their loved one," she wrote. "These are used to close out bank accounts, transfer loan accounts, transfer titles to vehicles, claim insurance and the like. Not every family member wants the public to know what drugs were all found in the deceased."

Susan Shanaman of the Pennsylvania State Coroners Association, in an email to NBC News, said "there are many reasons that a Coroner may not list all the drugs on a death certificate," including federal and state privacy rules.

The Keystone state was ranked 32nd by the CDC for opioid deaths for 2014, with 8.5 per 100,000. But Ruhm concluded the Keystone State actually has the seventh highest rate of opioid deaths that year with 17.8 per 100,000. And, based on Ruhm's calculations, it went from being the state with the 20th highest fatal heroin overdose rate to fourth.

Based on Ruhm's research, the drug problem in Pennsylvania is a lot worse than the CDC figures indicate.

His results? The national rate of fatal opioid overdoses jumped in 2014 from 9 per 100,000 people to 11.2  and rate of fatal heroin overdoses climbed form 3.3 per 100,00 to 4.

Armed with that info, Ruhm estimated how many of those deaths could be blamed on heroin and how many on opioids.

States like Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire specified the exact drug on death certificates 99 percent of the time "but only around half the time in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama," Ruhm reported in his study.

He discovered that in 2014, a specific drug was not identified in 19.5 percent of fatal overdoses. And in 2008, that figure was even higher  25.4 percent.

So Ruhm, a professor of public policy and economics, began poring over death certificate data from the federal Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

"This occurs when no specific drug is identified on the death certificates," he said in the study.

Ruhm contends that one of the reasons U.S. officials have been unable to win this war "is the lack of reliable information on the drugs causing fatal overdoses."

"My message to members of a Presidential commission would be that getting the most accurate statistics possible is a crucial first step towards developing policies aimed at stemming the fatal drug epidemic," Ruhm told NBC News. "This is particularly important when we have scarce funds to allocate and so would want to target them at the hardest hit areas."

Nearly 35,000 people across America have died of heroin or opioid overdoses in 2015, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse

Ruhm's awful arithmetic emerged just days after the presidential opioid commission , led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, urged President Donald Trump to "declare a national emergency" to deal with the crisis.

"Opioid mortality rate changes were considerably understated in Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Jersey and Arizona," the study states. "Increases in heroin death rates were understated in most states, and by large amounts in Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Jersey, Louisiana and Alabama."

Dr. Christopher Ruhm revisited thousands of death certificates from 2008 through 2014 and concluded the mortality rates were 24 percent higher for opioids and 22 percent higher for heroin than had been previously reported.

A new University of Virginia study says the numbers of deaths due to heroin and opioid overdoses have actually been severely underreported.

The deadly drug overdose epidemic that has been ravaging the nation may be even worse than we realize.

 Mike, a heroin addict who wants to get help, prepares to inject himself in the Kensington section of...

 Mike, a heroin addict who wants to get help, prepares to inject himself in the Kensington section of... Image: Mike, a heroin addict who wants to get help, prepares to inject himself in the Kensington section of

Opioid Overdoses May Have Been 24% Higher Than First Thought

The impact of US opioid epidemic on foster care and social services

The epidemic of opioid addiction in the US, which has reached never before seen heights in the past two years, has put an immense strain on the already resource-starved US health care system.These children have flooded the foster care system, and their cases have exhausted social services.

Among the most devastating consequences of this crisis has been the thousands of children who lose their parents to addiction every day.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 2012, 397,000 U.S. children were in foster care. By 2015, that number had risen 8 percent, to 428,000. There is no concrete data yet for 2016; however, experts predict that the past two yearsthe height of the opioid epidemic so farhas increased that number dramatically.

A recent study published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that in 14 states the number of foster kids rose by more than a quarter between 2011 and 2015.

States that are experiencing a massive influx of children into protective custody all face similar problems, with varying degrees of severity. None are equipped with the resources to adequately deal with the crisis. Three of the hardest hit states have been Maine, Florida, and Ohio.

More than 1,800 children were reported to be in foster care across the state of Maine in 2016a nearly 45 percent increase in foster children since 2011.

Last year, 376 people died from drug overdoses in Maine. This is the highest number ever recorded for the state and marks a 114 percent increase over a period of just four years, coinciding with the rise of the opioid crisis. Moreover, more than 1,000 children were born addicted to drugs in Maine last year, with the majority of the cases involving some form of opioid.

Bette Hoxie, executive director of Adoptive and Foster Families for Maine, a non-profit organization that works to provide support services for adoptive and foster parents, as well as kinship providers, recently spoke to the WSWS about the immense scope of the opioid epidemic.

We work with about 3,100 families. Of these, 1,600 are utilizing our resources from more intensive services than just basic services. This means that they need things like clothes, they need help working through the system, they need bedding, they need much more active involvement.

The homes where these children are going are just not prepared with everything they need to house a child, Hoxie noted.

I would say nearly every single one of those cases is due to drug addiction. Of the kinship calls [when children are placed with extended family members instead of with foster families] that we get, at least 85-90 percent have been due to drug addiction, with the majority being opioids.

Hoxie explained the effect of the spike in opioid use on the child care services: Up until about 8 or 10 years ago, when children were coming into protective services, they were placing kids with foster care families until they could reunite them with their families or place them in permanent homes.

Over the last few yearsin a large way, to deal with the sudden influx of such high numbers of childrenthere is more and more use of family members. There is definitely a strain on the system. We have 1,900 children in care, and we have 1,200 licensed foster homes. Hoxie expressed concerns that some of these children end up in homes where the caregivers, often grandparents, are on fixed incomes and struggle to provide for the children.

Speaking on the opioid crisis more generally Hoxie added, The biggest thing we are struggling with here in Maine is recovery options. ... When a family with addiction problems reaches out for help and they hear Well, it will be three months before we can get you into a place, these people lose a lot of hope.

The state of Ohio has one of the nations highest overdose rates. In 2016, 4,149 deaths from drug overdose were reported, showing a 36 percent jump from the year before. In 2015, an astounding one in nine heroin deaths nationwide occurred in Ohio, a number that has likely jumped even higher since.

Ohios foster population has gone up nearly 10 percent, with more than 60 percent of children in the system because of parental drug abuse. The situation in Ohio is unique, not only because the opioid epidemic is so severe, but also because it is possibly the most resource-starved state in terms of child care services. The state ranks 50th for state share of children services total expenditures. In fact, Ohio state expenditures for child services are so low that if the number doubled, it would still remain 50th in the country.

Scott Britton, who works for Public Children Services Association of Ohio, told the WSWS: The drug epidemic really has caused a crisis across the board. We have 11 percent increase of children in custody and 19 percent increase in retention rate. We have some 2015 data that showed that 28 percent of the parents of kids who were taken from their homes were using some type of opioid. So that means more than one in four and almost one in three. This is not counting kinship care or other ways a child might come in. We suspect that number has only gone up in 2016, considering that back in 2015 we were not seeing near the same volume of opioid use as we had in 2016 and which continues today.

It is affecting just about every facet of the foster care system. Some come into our care because they were born with addiction, others because they have experienced severe neglect. They very often come in with a lot of trauma from their experiences, which complicates things. Sometimes placing them with a typical foster family is not whats best due to the severity of their issues.

Another major problem, mentioned by every charity group, nonprofit, and social service worker who spoke to our reporters, is the effect the pressure has had on social workers. Britton explained that Ohio is no different: These workers are emotionally exhausted. They are often the ones who are left with tasks like telling a child that one of their parents, or sometimes both of their parents, have died from overdose, for example.

Our caseworkers are really committed to reunifying children with their parents. That is our number-one goal. They work really hard to get parents into treatment. Unfortunately, they are seeing less and less of that, which is really tough on their morale. We did a survey in 2016 and found that one out of every four caseworkers left their positions. I suspect they just become exhausted from taking that emotional stress home.

The worst manifestation of the opioid epidemic in Florida is in the states 12th Judicial Circuit Court, which includes Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. One figure that sheds light on the severity of the situation in this area is the number of doses of Narcan (Naloxone), the drug that reverses the effects of an overdose, being administered. In July 2015, emergency responders in this area administered a record 281 doses of the miracle drug. By July 2016, that number had more than doubled to 749. Officials in the area remain unable to stem the epidemic.

Kathryn Shea is the president and CEO of the Florida Center for Early Childhood, which is an early childhood mental health provider. Shea works in the heart of the Florida epidemic.

Shea told the WSWS: The numbers we are seeing in Sarasota of kids in care we have never seen before. There is no question that the biggest cause is substance abuse, and the primary drug is opioids. Our children have been dramatically impacted, as have our babies. To give you an idea of how severe it is, consider that 90 percent of babies in the NICU at Sarasota Memorial Hospital are there from opioid substances.

When asked about reports that Florida and other states such as Oregon and Texas have been forced to have children sleep in state buildings because there were no foster homes available, Shea responded, Yes, that has happened here. Not as often, because they are constantly recruiting foster parents. Instead, here they often have to go over their waiver of five kids per parent.

Shea also commented on the effect this crisis has had on those who work in the field, Our turnover rate for social workers is just horrible. Its very hard to keep cases managers and investigators. A lot of these workers are very young and have just gotten out of college or just have high school degrees and dont have a lot of life experience to help buffer the intense situations that they have to deal with. Let me put it this wayI have been in this industry 37 years and it is still difficult for me. Often they are traumatized by what they go through on the job. They end up with secondary trauma from what they see and do. Honestly, from all my years in the field, Ive never seen the situation this bad.

When asked about what sort of impact the Trump health care plan, which would end Medicaid as an entitlement program, might have on the children affected by the opioid epidemic Shea said it would be a disaster. Most of our families are on Medicaid. This covers over 90 percent of our kids. The services for them would be dropped. What we are talking about is the difference between life and death for children. I am not saying that lightly. I am very serious. We will be hurting the most vulnerable population. I think its an absolute crime.

Asked to explain what she thought was driving the opioid epidemic Shea told the WSWS: Well, I think the real root cause of this is poverty. Many of these people were raised in poverty and dont see a way out of it. Many of them have experienced serious trauma and have never been treated properly because they dont have the money and they use drugs to self-medicate, and to deal with the pain.

Have you notice Democrat Party politicians always keep their fat mouths closed tight on the topic of the Mexican drug cartels operating across America???

The death toll translates into an average of one fatal overdose every 12 hours in the state of West Virginia.

Whites had the highest rate of overdose deaths of any ethnicity, more than double the combined death rate for blacks and Latinos.

The Republican proposal builds on the core features of Obamacare, designed to boost the profits of the private insurers and slash health care costs for the government and big business.

HERITAGE FOUNDATION : Amnesty would add 100 million more illegals and cost Legals trillions!













Plenty of money for ILLEGALSAMERICAS OPEN BORDERS



HOMELESS ELDERLY in AMERICA UNDER MEX OCCUPATION A Nation dies young, poor, addicted and homeless. Its the American dream as the rich get super rich! http://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2017/04/elderly-go-homeless-in-america-as.html According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the number of elderly persons who are homeless in the US will have doubled by 2050.





Starve the Opioids, Build the Wall



By Kenric Ward



ImmigrationReform.com, July 6, 2017

. . .

Mexico is the worlds third largest producer of heroin  an opioid drug  and Mexican heroin now controls over 50 percent of the market share. Additionally, most of the heroin from Colombia and South East Asia comes to the U.S. via Mexican drug cartels.



A border wall would choke that flow.



House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., points out that the opioid epidemic stems not only from abuse (of prescription drugs), but from the illicit drug trade. America, he said, is consistently a step behind in stopping trafficking of opioids and other illegal drugs.



The U.S. lags behind, in part, because Washington continues to slow-walk construction of a wall along strategic areas of the 2,000-mile-long, drug-infested border.

. . .

http://immigrationreform.com/2017/07/06/starve-opioids-build-wall/

Ohio politician proposes letting overdose victims die

The policy of social murder behind the US health care debate

By Barry Grey

5 July 2017

At a June 20 meeting of the Middletown, Ohio City Council, Dan Picard, a council member, offered a novel proposal to contain surging costs associated with a worsening epidemic of opioid overdoses in the town. Like cities across the United States, this southwestern Ohio town of some 49,000 people is being ravaged by the explosive spread of drug addiction linked to opioid pain killers. This year it has already recorded nearly 600 overdoses, more than in all of 2016.

Picard, who is not planning to run for reelection, proposed that the City Council adopt a three strikes policy, under which those who make use of emergency services two times to deal with an overdose will be denied help the third time. As he told the Washington Post, When we get a call, the [emergency services] dispatcher will ask who is the person who has overdosed. And if its someone who has already been provided services twice, well advise them that were not going to provide further servicesand we will not send out an ambulance.

Defending his proposal, Picard said, I want to send a message to the world that you dont want to come to Middletown to overdose We need to put a fear about overdosing in Middletown.

This call for what amounts to state-sanctioned murder evoked an angry response from the public in Middletown and wherever else people became aware of it. Numerous health care organizations and advocacy groups involved in dealing with the drug abuse epidemic denounced Picard and his proposal.

Alexis Pleus, the founder of Truth Pharm, a nonprofit that seeks to raise awareness of the issues surrounding substance abuse, did not mince words in an open letter to Picard: To suggest that you withhold emergency medical response to overdose patients is manslaughter at best and premeditated murder at worst.

Most of the American population, however, never learned of the incident. This is because the establishment media, fixated on its campaign against Russia and saber-rattling against North Korea, China, Iran and Syria, along with the political warfare in Washington between the Trump administration and its ruling class opponents, did not widely report the story.

There are other political reasons for the downplaying of the story by the corporate-controlled media. Picards brazen suggestion that drug abuse victims be allowed to die comes uncomfortably close to lifting the lid on a basic policy question underlying the current official debate on health care reform.

Behind the proposals in the Republicans bills to cut costs and boost profits by gutting Medicaid, the government insurance program for the poor, and lifting the current requirement that insurance companies cover certain essential benefits, lies a deliberate and calculated effort to reduce life expectancy for working people overall and send many of the old, infirm and mentally or socially disabled to an early grave.

The effort, moreover, is bipartisan. The Democrats are pleading for negotiations on a compromise bill to fix Obamacare, a euphemism for incorporating the demands of the insurance monopolies for even higher premiums, copays and deductibles and fewer restrictions on their ability to gouge the public. Obamacare itself is a mechanism for cutting costs for corporations and the government, weakening the system of employer-provided health insurance and rationing access to health care on a more openly class basis. The Republican plans build on Obamacare to accelerate the health care counterrevolution it initiated.

The corporations, banks and hedge funds that are pushing health care reform and the politicians and policy experts who are doing their bidding are well aware that many thousands will die needlessly as a result of the measures being proposed. Medicaid, slated to be cut under the Republican bills by some $800 billion over ten years and terminated as an open-ended entitlement program with guaranteed benefits, provides about 80 percent of funding to treat drug abuse, which overwhelmingly affects working class and poor people.

In 2015, some 1.35 million low-income Americans had an opioid use disorder. As it is, only 25 percent of those people get treated in a year.

Last year some 60,000 people in the US died from drug overdoses, 60 percent of them from opioids. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans under 50. There is no starker barometer of the failure of the capitalist system and the descent of broad masses of the population into conditions of desperate social crisis.

Of the 22 million people who will lose medical coverage under the Senate health care bill, Medicaid cuts will account for 15 million of them. Moreover, both the House and Senate bills allow insurance companies to drop coverage of care for mental health and substance abuse, among other basic services.

Can there be any doubt that many will die as a result of these cuts? Lynn Cooper, director of the Drug and Alcohol Division at Pennsylvanias Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association, told National Public Radio last month: It is a death epidemic all over the country. The loss of Medicaid expansion will be like the bottom dropping out for thousands of Pennsylvania citizens and their families.

The impact is so self-evident, and public opposition so pervasive, that government officials are obliged to resort to the most brazen lying when defending their proposals. Typical was the performance of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, a notorious and longstanding opponent of basic social program such as Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security, in an appearance Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press program. Of the Republican plan to dismantle Medicaid, he said, We want to make certain that Medicaid is a program that can survive.

While claiming to be committed to addressing the opioid epidemic, he declared, We dont need to be throwing money at the crisis.

World Socialist Web Site drew attention to Ruling class strategists speak more frankly on specialized think tank web sites meant for corporate and state officials and their academic advisers. In 2013, thedrew attention to two policy papers published by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) on the negative consequences for American imperialism and the national security apparatus of lengthening life spans for ordinary people resulting from advances in medical science and treatment and government health programs.

As the CSIS experts explained, the human and social achievement of better health and longer life for many millions of Americans spells disaster for the American ruling class and the capitalist system. The authors of the studies insisted that action had to be taken to deal with the crisis, including increasing the eligibility age for Medicare and Social Security to force the young elderly, those aged 60-69, to forgo retirement and keep working.

One of the papers, titled The Budget Crisis and the Civil-Military Challenge to National Security Spending, was written by Anthony H. Cordesman, a longtime CSIS strategist who acts as a consultant for the US State and Defense departments. Denouncing the siphoning of money away from the military to pay for medical care for the elderly, Cordesman wrote, The US does not face any foreign threat as serious as its failure to come to grips with the rise in the cost of entitlement spending.

Behind such discussion papers are systematic studies and actuarial tables calculating the likely effectiveness in shortening life expectancy for workersa process that is already underwayof various proposals to reform the health care system.

In his immortal 1845 work The Condition of the Working Class in England, Friedrich Engels accurately characterized as social murder the horrific conditions imposed on workers by the capitalist class, which placed hundreds of proletarians in such as position that they inevitably meet a too early and unnatural death

The present crisis-ridden and bankrupt state of American and world capitalism is once again bringing to the fore the incompatibility of the profit system and the rule of a financial aristocracy with the satisfaction of human needs such as health and longevity. The health care counterrevolution in the US is a case of social murder at the hands of the capitalist class.





AMERICA THE ADDICTED!

How America surrendered to Mexicos invasion, occupation and looting.









The Mexican drug cartels now control most of Americas southern borders as LA RAZA The Race fascist party expands Mexicos anchor baby welfare state from border to open border.





More significant still, a former Mexican official, Jorge Castaneda, threatened to unleash Mexican cartels onto the U.S. to retaliate for deportations of illegal immigrants and the construction of a border wall .





When we get a call, the [emergency services] dispatcher will ask





who is the person who has overdosed. And if its someone who





has already been provided services twice, well advise them that





were not going to provide further servicesand we will not send





out an ambulance.





Picard states openly the widespread sentiment in the American ruling class and among its political flunkeysthat the life of a working class person has a price tag, which is dropping every day.





Ohio councilman proposes three strike policy to let opioid overdosers die





By Genevieve Leigh

3 July 2017

A city councilman in Middletown, Ohio, Dan Picard, has proposed a three strike policy for people who overdose on opioids, under which those reported to have overdosed on more than two occasions would be denied emergency treatment the third time. He made the proposal at a City Council meeting on June 20.

In what would amount to state-sanctioned murder, emergency responders would not be dispatched and the opioid user would be left to die . As Picard told the Washington Post on Wednesday: When we get a call, the [emergency services] dispatcher will ask who is the person who has overdosed. And if its someone who has already been provided services twice, well advise them that were not going to provide further servicesand we will not send out an ambulance.

Like hundreds of cities and towns across the US, Middletown, located in southwestern Ohio, has been wracked by the opioid epidemic. The town, which has a population of 48,791, has already seen nearly 600 overdoses this year, which is more than it saw in all of 2016.

Defending his proposal, Picard told the press, Its not a proposal to solve the drug problem. My proposal is in regard to the financial survivability of our city. He continued, If were spending $2 million this year and $4 million next year and $6 million after that, were in trouble. Were going to have to start laying off. Were going to have to raise taxes.

Picard states openly the widespread sentiment in the American ruling class and among its political flunkeysthat the life of a working class person has a price tag, which is dropping every day.

The giant pharmaceutical companies played a central role in creating the opioid epidemic. They made billions of dollars in profits by systematically and knowingly pushing highly addictive opioid medications on the population throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

Now the epidemic has become a concern for the ruling class, not out of any compassion for those who suffer, but because it is creating a financial burden for the state. The proposals currently working their way through Congress to drastically reduce the availability of medical care for the working class, particularly by gutting Medicaid, the primary source of funding for the treatment of drug addiction, are calculated to accomplish on a national scale what Picard is proposing for Middletown.

Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical companies continue to profit from the crisis. Part of the reason emergency care for those who overdose on opioids is so expensive is that the price of the miracle drug Naloxone (trade name Narcan), used to revive users from overdoses, has skyrocketed over the past decade. The popular injectable version of the drug has gone from $0.92 a dose to more than $15 since 2007. An auto-injector version is now up to more than $2,000 a dose.

The pharmaceutical companies price-gouging, combined with the increase in demand, has caused revenues from the sale of Naloxone to jump from $21.3 million in 2011 to $81.9 million last year, according to data from the prescription-tracking company IMS Health. It is now costing state and local governments much more money to save lives.

Picard pointed to this in a statement defending his proposal, saying, I want to send a message to the world that you dont want to come to Middletown to overdose because someone might not come with Narcan and save your life. We need to put a fear about overdosing in Middletown. He continued, John Smith obviously doesnt care much about his life, but hes expending a lot of resources and we cant afford it.

As with all social problems, the opioid epidemic is treated by the political establishment as the result of the personal failings of individuals. In fact, it, and drug abuse more generally, are the result of the increasingly dire social conditions facing broad masses of the people, under conditions of unprecedented and growing levels of social inequality. These conditions are themselves rooted in the rapacious drive of the pharmaceutical corporations and the corporate-financial elite in general for profit, intensified by the worsening crisis of the capitalist system.

Picards homicidal proposal has evoked an angry response from the public. Middletown City Manager Douglas Adkins wrote in a blog post Wednesday about the overwhelming backlash. Weve received hate mail, national news coverage and overloaded voice mail and email in-boxes, he said.

Many health care organizations, recovery centers and advocacy groups have spoken out against Picards plan. Truth Pharm, a nonprofit organization that seeks to raise awareness of the issues surrounding substance abuse, released an open letter to Picard denouncing his proposal.

Alexis Pleus, the founder of Truth Pharm, wrote in the letter: In short, our goal is to save lives, so, needless to say, we were more than appalled by your recent proposition to refuse medical treatment to overdose patients. It pains and infuriates us to see how easily you have turned human lives into dollar signs and an impact on your budget To suggest that you withhold emergency medical response to overdose patients is manslaughter at best and premeditated murder at worst.

Pleus spoke to the World Socialist Web Site about the issues raised by Picards proposal. On the use of Naloxone as a solution, Pleus explained: At first, Naloxone and Narcan seemed like a pretty fast and cheap solution to save lives. And that was true to a point. It is still a very important tool we have to help people.

The problem is that they have never dedicated the follow-up... There is no governmental body that has given the proper resources necessary to complement the use of Naloxone. It is not a fix in itself, is not a cure to the epidemic. We set ourselves up for frustration because we keep using this life-saving device but dont ever get to the root causes of addiction. I think ultimately the fault goes right back to each state government and the federal government as a whole.

Pleus told reporters she wasnt surprised that lawmakers would propose a measure not aimed at addressing the epidemic but rather at saving money. Look at how easy it is to get legislation to pass when there is money to be made, she said. But try and get something through that simply helps people--it just wont happenthis problem does not have a quick cheap fix. But still, all the while, the pharmaceutical companies are profiting, profiting, profiting.

When asked how President Trumps new health care plan might affect the opioid problem, Pleus said, It will be absolutely devastating. She continued: At our organization we try and help people find treatment. About 80 percent of those we help have Medicaid. If they repeal it, I cannot even fathom what we will do. The new plan also will not mandate addiction treatment as part of insurance coverage. I cant imagine turning away eight of ten people and telling them there is nothing we can do.





HEROIN: are you addicted yet?





1 in 7 Legals are!





HEROIN! Mexicos Gift to Occupied Aztlan America!









The LA RAZA drug cartels haul back $100 BILLION from heroin sales.

More significant still, a former Mexican official, Jorge Castaneda, threatened to unleash Mexican cartels onto the U.S. to retaliate for deportations of illegal immigrants and the construction of a border wall .

AMERICA THE ADDICTED: 1 in 7 are addicted CAUTION: GRAPHIC IMAGES! MEXICOS BIGGEST EXPORTS TO U.S.: Heroin, Criminals, Anchor baby breeders for 18 years of gringo-paid welfare. http://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2016/11/addicted-america-1-of-7-addicted.html

AMERICAS BLUDGEONED YOUTH: Homeless, Hopeless and Addicted. Will they start the revolution?

http://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2017/04/self-serving-betsy-de-vos-ups-obama.html

"Public education as a whole came under brutal attack as part of the Obama administrations effort to shift the burden of the financial crisis onto the backs of the working class."



AMERICA THE ADDICTED: 1 in 7 are addicted

CAUTION: GRAPHIC IMAGES!

MEXICOS BIGGEST EXPORTS TO U.S.: Heroin, Criminals, Anchor baby breeders for 18 years of gringo-paid welfare.

Congress Wades Into Sanctuary Cities, Again

By Kenric Ward

ImmigrationReform.com, July 5, 2017

. . .

Washingtons latest foray against sanctuary cities raises the stakes by threatening to withhold federal funding from non-compliant cities and states. One analysis estimates that the sanctuary jurisdictions of New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle could lose a combined $4.448 billion under HR 3003.

But any fiscal hit presupposes: 1) the Senate will pass the House bill and, 2) the law survives inevitable court challenges. With judges blocking President Donald Trumps earlier effort to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities, does HR 3003 provide enough legal ammunition? Though Congress has clear constitutional authority over appropriation of funds, such facts have not always deterred activist judges.

Unwilling to wait around, Texas enacted Senate Bill 4 to strip sanctuary cities of state law-enforcement funds

hold local officials liable for non-compliance. SB 4 does not recognize localities right to flout state law.

. . .

'Largest medical fraud takedown in American history': More than 400 doctors, nurses and pharmacists are arrested for heathcare and opioid scams worth $1.3bn in false billing





US attorneys announce they will prosecute over 400 in medical fraud case

Attorney General Jeff Sessions calls the action the 'largest medical fraud takedown in American history'





More than 52,000 Americans died of overdoses in 2015





Nearly 300 health care providers are being suspended or banned from participating in federal health care programs





e-mail

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday that federal prosecutors have charged more than 400 people in taking part in medical fraud and opioid scams that totaled $1.3 billion in fraudulent billing. Sessions said that 412 individuals will be prosecuted by his office in what he called the 'largest health care fraud takedown operation in American history' during a press conference in Washington. Sessions noted that the case involves doctors, nurses and pharmacists that 'have chosen to violate their oaths and put greed ahead of their patients.'

Video playing bottom right . . .

Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% 0:04 Pause Unmute Current Time 0:04 / Duration Time 1:30 Fullscreen Expand Close Among those charged are six Michigan doctors accused of a scheme to prescribe unnecessary opioids. A Florida rehab facility is alleged to have recruited addicts with gift cards and visits to strip clubs, leading to $58 million in false treatments and tests. Officials said those charged in the schemes include more than 120 people involved in illegally prescribing and distributing narcotic painkillers. Such prescription opioids are behind the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in US history. More than 52,000 Americans died of overdoses in 2015 - a record - and experts believe the numbers have continued to rise. 'In some cases, we had addicts packed into standing-room-only waiting rooms waiting for these prescriptions,' acting FBI director Andrew McCabe said. 'They are a death sentence, plain and simple.'

+1 More than 52,000 Americans died of overdoses in 2015 (stock photo of prescription painkillers) RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Justice department releases the form where attorney general... Trump: Son's Russia meeting 'standard campaign practice' SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Nearly 300 health care providers are being suspended or banned from participating in federal health care programs, Sessions said. 'They seem oblivious to the disastrous consequences of their greed. Their actions not only enrich themselves, often at the expense of taxpayers, but also feed addictions and cause addictions to start,' Sessions said. Health care fraud sweeps like Thursday's happen each year across the country, but law enforcement officials continue to grapple over the best way to fight the problem. The people charged were illegally billing Medicare, Medicaid and the health insurance program that serves members of the armed forces, retired service members and their families, the Justice Department said. The allegations include claims that those charged billed the programs for unnecessary drugs that were never purchased or given to the patients. EXCLUSIVE: Cartel Violence



Spills into Texas as Gunmen



Storm Past U.S. Border Security



http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/07/14/exclusive-cartel-violence-spills-texas-gunmen-storm-past-u-s-border-security/

3

Fuerza Coahuila

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Coahuila  Two cartel gunmen fleeing from a raging gun battle with Mexican authorities ran through U.S. border security measures twice as they crossed into Texas and back; using their vehicle to ram barriers. The cartel gunmen were able to cross into Eagle Pass through International Bridge #2 by running the security checkpoints. Shortly after they crossed back through a second bridge that was closed at the time. The gunmen used their vehicle to ram security barriers and later ditched it escape on foot. The violence began overnight near the rural community of Nava, Coahuila, when authorities received information about two gunmen riding in a late model white Toyota Tundra, information provided to Breitbart Texas by Coahuila law enforcement revealed. State police officers with a special investigative unit spotted the vehicle along Boulevard Carranza near the intersection with Airport Boulevard in the border city of Piedras Negras. Officers tried to pull over the gunmen but were met with gunfire as they sped offsetting off a high-speed chase. The gunmen were able to reach the main plaza in Piedras Negras, Plaza de Las Culturas, where they once again engaged law enforcement in a short firefight. As they made their way to the International Bridge #2, gunmen rammed their way through other vehicles and barriers as they used the inbound lanes through Mexican Customs to reach the U.S. side of the bridge. Coahuila state police officers contacted their counterparts in Texas. Before American authorities were able to apprehend the shooters, they made their way to another international bridge, locally known as Bridge 1. While the crossing was closed at the time, the gunmen were able to ram through the security barriers and make their way back into Mexico. The Mexican Army, Fuerza Coahuila, and local police officers had been combing the area however, they were able to make their way to a nearby neighborhood called Mundo Nuevo where they abonded the vehicle and fled on foot. Authorities were able to locate the white SUV that had multiple bullet holes and extensive body damage. During the initial gun battle and chase, two Coahuila police officers from the investigative unit and six officers with Fuerza Coahuila were injured. The six officers with Fuerza Coahuila appear to have been injured in a crash during the high-speed chase. Authorities have not revealed how the two other officers were injured. Breitbart Texas reached out to CBP for comment and the agency did not respond in any manner. Editors Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish . This article was written by Coahuilas J.M. Martinez and Breitbart Texas Ildefonso Ortiz.

............. you really want the borders wide open?









Barrio 18: Meet the terrifying gang with 50,000 foot-soldiers across the US and so unashamedly violent it rivals MS-13

US has vowed to crack down on ultra-violent transnational gang MS-13





But MS-13's arch-rival gang Barrio 18 has a sickening reputation





Founded in Los Angeles and spread throughout Mexico and Central America

Believed to have 30,000 to 50,000 members across 20 US states





Allied with the Mexican Mafia gang but sworn rivals to MS-13

MS-13 isn't the only gang sowing violence and terror from Central America to the US: meet Barrio 18. Arch-rivals to MS-13, Barrio 18 has an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 members across 20 US states and is linked to drugs, murder, kidnappings and other violent crime from Central America to Canada. 'With thousands of members across hundreds of kilometers, and interests in a number of different illicit activities, Barrio 18 is one of the more significant emerging criminal threats in the region,' write analysts for the think-tank InSight Crime. Last week, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions visited his counterpart in El Salvador to discuss ways to crack down on transnational gangs - MS-13 and Barrio 18 chief among them. But if history is any guide, eradicating Barrio 18 will be easier said than done.

+11 Barrio 18 is a terrifying gang that spreads from the US to Central America, rivals to MS-13

+11 A Barrio 18 member displays his tattoos, including 'Brown Pride' and XVIII, on the gang's turf in Los Angeles. The gang has a reported presence in 20 US states

+11 The gang is also known as the 18th Street Gang. Pictured: Members in the Quezaltepeque jail outside of San Salvador in El Salvador RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Chicago Mayor who used to be Obama's old chief of staff will... Two teens kidnapped and murdered in Colorado Springs were... SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Also known as 18th Street, the gang has its roots in Los Angeles of the 1960s, where it was originally composed of Mexican immigrants. WHAT IS BARRIO 18? The gang was founded in Los Angeles decades ago, and has spread across the US and Central America. Members: Estimated 30,000 to 50,000 in the US Colors: Blue and black Allied with: Mexican Mafia Enemies of: MS-13 Activities: Drug dealing, burglary, assault, extortion, prostitution, human trafficking, homicide Over the decades, though, Barrio 18 threw open its recruitment to members from Central America as well, often targeting the elementary and middle-school children of immigrants. As the gang's ranks grew, it became the target of FBI and police crackdowns, sending many of its veteran members to prison. But time behind bars just gave Barrio 18's shot-callers a fertile new recruiting ground, and it quickly swelled its ranks in federal prisons. Stepped up deportations also had an unintended effect, spreading the gang's reach to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras as hardened members were shipped back to their native countries, where they have battled brutally with MS-13.

+11 A Barrio 18 member is seen in the 'gang cage' in El Salvador. His tattoos include BEST (for 'Barrio Eighteenth Street'), 666 (for 6+6+6=18) and X8, which stands for absolute gang loyalty

+11 The Barrio 18 gang was founded in Los Angeles and was initially ethnically Mexican, but has grown enormously in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatamala. Pictured: Members in El Salvador

+11 The gang is notorious for enforcing strict rules and absolute obedience among its ranks

+11 Barrio 18 members are seen in a transfer to the San Francisco Gotera penitentiary in 2015. The El Salvadoran government transferred 1,177 members to the US in an effort to curb the gang

+11 Loosely coordinated between cells or 'cliques' even at the local level, Barrio 18 isn't believed to have a 'godfather'-style leader Loosely coordinated between cells or 'cliques' even at the local level, Barrio 18 isn't believed to have a 'godfather'-style leader. That's made it difficult to target under racketeering laws, the tactic that brought down many Mafia families. BARRIO 18 TATTOOS 18, XVIII or XV3 666 or 99 (for 6+6+6=18 or 9+9=18) BEST (for 'Barrio Eighteenth Street') 8P (for having killed a police officer) X8 (total loyalty to the gang) The gang is nevertheless notorious for enforcing strict rules and absolute obedience among its ranks, and failure to show proper respect can bring severe punishment, including execution. Barrio 18 cliques have been linked to the international drug trade, and the gang is closely allied with the Mexican Mafia, another Hispanic organized crime ring with its origins in US prisons. Their colors, blue and black, even pay tribute to the Mexican Mafia: blue for the allied gang, and black for Barrio 18's original color. Barrio 18 tattoos can include: 18, XVIII, XV3, BEST (for 'Barrio Eighteenth Street) and 8P (stands for killing a police officer). Another tattoo, X8, stands for absolute loyalty to the gang.

+11 Members of the Barrio 18 gang are presented to the media after a police raid in San Salvador

+11 The gang has sown terror from its origin in Los Angeles throughout Central America. Pictured: A grandmother and her grandson walk past Barrio 18 graffiti in San Salvador

+11 Barrio 18 and MS-13 have waged a bloody gang war with each other spanning several countries Barrio 18 members are the sworn enemies of MS-13, another gang with its origins in California that has since spread in Central American countries with weakened governments. 'These two gangs have turned the Central American northern triangle into the area with the highest homicide rate in the world,' the US Justice Department wrote in a 2013 report. Like MS-13, the decentralized structure of Barrio 18 has made it incredibly resistant to decades of efforts to eradicate it. 'They're worse than a cancer,' gang expert Gabriel Kovnator told the Los Angeles Times all the way back in 1996. 'A cancer you can kill. These guys keep growing.'

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Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% 0:03 Pause Unmute Current Time 0:03 / Duration Time 1:58 Fullscreen Expand Close BARRIO 18 GANG RULES For its members, Barrio 18 enforces absolute obedience to the following rules: Respect and attend meetings Speak the truth at the meetings Respect the 'palabreros' (veteran members at the top of the gang hierarchy) Be a good example to the recently initiated members Don't walk around drunk or sleep in the streets Respect relatives of the gang members, including their girlfriends No crack, including the type coated in paint thinner Fight with the enemy, not amongst yourselves Don't mention 'the letters' (rival gang MS-13) Don't use a red bandanna or red hat (rival gang colors) Search out weapons for the gang Take revenge for the members who have died for the cause Don't leave any members behind Don't graffiti in red Don't talk about gang business around outsiders Ask permission before tattooing your face You must carry out a 'mission' before getting initiated (getting beaten up for 18 seconds by four members while another counts) No women in the gang No rape No snitching Source: InSight Crime




via @craigtimes

The U.S. Air Force agrees with Florida politicians that an existing moratorium on offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico should be extended, according to a letter that Sen. Bill Nelson released to reporters Tuesday.

The current moratorium on drilling in the eastern Gulf ends in 2022, A bipartisan group of Florida lawmakers backs proposed legislation extending it another five years, to 2027 -- despite President Donald J. Trump's executive order pushing for an expansion of offshore drilling.

General David L. Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, wrote to Nelson on June 27 to say that the Air Force "needs the certainty of the proposed extension" to guarantee that it can continue testing and training flights in that area. The largest air force base in the world, Eglin Air Force Base, is located in the Florida Panhandle, covering three counties and more than 724 square miles of land as well as 123,000 square miles into the Gulf..

Goldfein's letter comes less than two months after the Pentagon's acting under secretary of defense for defense and readiness sent a similar letter to Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz supporting an extension.

The Department of Defense "cannot overstate the vital importance of maintaining this moratorium, Anthony M. Kurta wrote in the letter to Gaetz.

In 2006, Nelson and then-Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican, successfully brokered a deal to ban oil drilling off much of Floridas Gulf Coast through most of 2022. As a result, there is currently a no-drilling zone that extends 125 miles off much of Floridas Gulf Coast and as far as 235 miles at some points to protect vital military training areas in the eastern Gulf until June 30, 2022.

Florida's long-held opposition to offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf was bolstered by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. Although the explosion and subsequent spewing of oil occurred off the coast of Louisiana, eight Florida counties wound up with oil washing up on their beaches -- in some cases, for years afterward.
Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones was visiting Graceville Correctional Facility, the private prison in North Florida run by The Geo Group, when she spotted a paperweight with a picture of handcuffs imprinted on it and the words Continuum of Care.

She was startled, and a bit angry, to learn that the company had started branding an idea developed by a member of her staff, Abe Uccello, and was using it to promote a new line of business.

I said, You son-of-a-guns,  Jones recalled of the meeting in late 2015. They had taken a white paper of Abes and stolen the entire thing  the content  and claimed to have patented it.

Jones was determined not to share anything again with the private prison vendor because I dont want them to profit off of what were trying to do, she told the Herald/Times in an April 2017 interview. But Florida legislative leaders had a different idea.

In March 2016, legislators approved $330,000 for The Geo Group to operate a pilot program to be run at Blackwater Correctional, using the ideas Jones said Uccello had developed for Floridas state-run prison system. This year, lawmakers expanded the program to $3 million, with the money going exclusively to four of The Geo Groups five private prisons in Florida  Bay, Moore Haven, South Bay, and Blackwater  for the provision of enhanced in-prison and post-release recidivism reduction programs. Read more here.
@amysherman1

A mailer in a Miami senate race says that Donald Trump has only backed one of the candidates, but voters will have to read the fine print to figure out when Trump supported state Rep. Jose Felix Diaz.

It appears that Trump supported Diaz in his previous bids for state house years before Trump's successful bid for president.

"Only one candidate in Senate District 40 has been endorsed twice by Donald Trump," states one side of the mailer, showing a photo of Trump and Diaz smiling together giving the thumbs up sign.

The other side of the mailer states "Jose Felix Diaz supports Donald Trump" and shows a photo of Diaz, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. The mailer displays a note written by Trump on an invoice: "Jose -- Good Luck -- we are all proud of you -- you will win!"

If you read the fine print of the invoice, it shows a date of June 2012. State campaign finance records show that Trump donated $500 to Diaz's house race in July 2012 (as well as an earlier race in March 2009.)

Note that the mailer doesn't say President Donald Trump but only says Donald Trump -- another sign that as president, Trump isn't supporting any candidates in the Miami senate race.

The White House didn't want to weigh in on this mailer, but it would be unusual for a president to endorse in a state legislative race even though Diaz and Trump know each other.

Diaz was once a contestant on Trump's "The Apprentice" reality show. Also, Diaz was interviewed as a potential Miami U.S. attorney candidate for Trump's administration. Earlier in the race, Diaz deleted a twitter photo of himself with President Trump after he was aggressively trolled online.

Diaz faces former state Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla and attorney Lorenzo Palomares-Starbuck in the special July 25 Republican primary election to replace State Sen. Frank Artiles. If Diaz wins, Democrats will emphasize his ties to Trump in the Democratic-leaning Senate District 40.

Diaz could not be immediately reached to answer questions about when Trump supported him and if he officially endorsed him when he gave him money in state house races.
@alextdaugherty

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart voted against a long-approved ban on federal funds for horse slaughter inspectors on Wednesday, opening the door for horse slaughter to resume in the United States if the measure passes Congress.

The final vote tally was 25 in favor of the ban and 27 against. Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, previously voted in favor of the ban, meaning his switch was critical in sinking the ban this time around.

The ban was an amendment tacked on to the annual Department of Agriculture funding bill, and a tie vote would have resulted in the ban failing. Diaz-Balart voted in favor of the ban in 2014 but said the ban did not yield the positive results that many envisioned and I had hoped for and voted against the ban the last three years.

The ban on horse slaughter inspector funding passed the House committee in 2014 and 2016 but failed in 2015. The Senate overruled the Houses decision that year.

Horses raised in the United States are not intended to be eaten by humans, but U.S. horses can be transported to other countries and slaughtered for meat according to European Union standards. Horse meat is considered taboo in the United States, but it is eaten in parts of Europe and Asia.

Diaz-Balart argued that U.S. horses are still slaughtered outside the country, where they are not subject to inspections and oversight by the Department of Agriculture.

The reality is, if these horses are not dealt with in USDA certified and inspected facilities, they will be hauled off to a foreign market where the conditions are much more cruel and less humane, Diaz-Balart said in a statement. The Government Accountability Office found that the ban shifted slaughter facilities to other countries, including Mexico, where humane methods and responsible oversight are not as rigorous as those in the U.S. GAO has also observed that there is not enough space in rescue facilities in the U.S. to handle abandoned horses.

The GAO report said horse exports for slaughter to Mexico increased by 680 percent from 2006 to 2010, after Congress stopped funding slaughter inspections.

Since domestic horse slaughter ceased in 2007, the slaughter horse market has shifted to Canada and Mexico, the report said. As a result, nearly the same number of U.S. horses was transported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter in 2010  nearly 138,000  as was slaughtered before domestic slaughter ceased.

Republicans from western states with large populations of wild horses were the primary opponents of the ban, arguing that current methods of controlling wild horses arent enough. Wild horses, which have no natural predators, can disrupt food sources for other animals, but horse advocates say allowing horse slaughter is a handout to ranchers who dislike the horses because they compete with their cattle for food on public range land.

Four Republicans, including Florida Rep. Tom Rooney, voted in favor of the ban, while Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar was the only Democrat to vote with the Republican majority. The bipartisan amendment was cosponsored by California Democratic Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard and Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Charlie Dent.

Appropriations Committee member Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, spoke in favor of the ban during Wednesday's markup, arguing that population-control problems for wild horses is not a reason to open the door for horse slaughter.

The inability to deal with that challenge does not make it okay to leave the door open for the possibility of horse slaughter in the United States of America, Wasserman Schultz said.

Wasserman Schultz compared the slaughtering of horses to the slaughtering of greyhounds in Florida, which she said was banned while she worked in the Florida Legislature. Even though adoption programs for greyhounds didn't work, the state continued to find solutions that didnt involve killing greyhounds.

Those are the steps that we should be taking, not literally holding a machete to the neck of a horse in order to make sure that we can solve a problem that Im sure in the states where it is an issue needs solving, Wasserman Schultz said. We should not do something that most Americans find abhorrent and allow even a step toward the slaughter of horses.

Roybal-Allard argued that funding horse-slaughter inspectors doesn't have anything to do with controlling wild horses and only serves to benefit ranchers who want to slaughter horse meat for consumption abroad.

Let me reiterate the fact that this bill does not address the issue of wild horses, Roybal-Allard said. It deals only with domestic horses slaughtered for human consumption. Let us not fall victim to the notion that horse slaughter would be humane if somehow done in the United States because no amount of regulation will change the essential nature of a horse and make it a humane practice.

The Department of Agriculture funding bill still needs pass the House, so there is still a chance the ban on horse slaughter inspections could be reinserted.
@samanthajgross

Before he played trombone at Juilliard, defended mobsters and became Donald Trump Jr.s newly hired criminal defense attorney, Alan Futerfas was a kid from Westchester.

He rode his bike to Key Biscayne and ate the most amazing Cuban food prepared by his best friend Fernandos mother. He played trombone in the Greater Miami Youth Symphony and spent weekends with friends fishing for his dinner off Whale Harbor in the Florida Keys.

It was beautiful, the 1979 Miami Coral Park Senior High School graduate said. I have extremely fond memories in many ways.

On Monday, Futerfas, 55, confirmed he had been hired to represent Donald Trump Jr. after The New York Times broke the story detailing how he met with a Russian lawyer with Kremlin ties during the presidential campaign. The lawyer offered Trump Jr. damaging information about Hillary Clinton, to which he replied in an email: If its what you say I love it

Futerfas said the Trump family has been very professional, very cordial, very responsible, but admits that its been a little intense these last few days.

The family hired Futerfas based on recommendations from friends, he said, and they solicited him like you get into any other matter.

After graduating from Coral Park, Futerfas attended the Juilliard School in Manhattan, where he studied bass trombone. After Juilliard, he broke into the criminal defense field while attending Yeshiva Universitys Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Juilliard was one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. But the education is a limited education, he said. My dad said you could always go to law school. You dont have to be a lawyer, but you can decide what you want to do.

When it comes to Futerfas law career, his family was tight-lipped. Its his business up there, said his sister, Judy Futerfas, who lives in Kendall. We wish him good luck. Hes getting a lot of heat.

He worked through law school, interning with New York criminal defense attorney Gerald Shargel, transcribing tapes for big Mafia cases. He graduated in 1987, became Shargels partner and opened his own firm in 1994.

Read more here.
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For picture posts from 2010 and earlier, see the Earlier Picture Posts Page
How would you describe your job to other people?

Im working with the Hispanic Legal Documents Collection that the Law Library acquired in 1941. The collection is an assortment of law related texts from Spanish-speaking countries from the 15th to 19th centuries. In total, there are 96 boxes of unbound legal manuscripts that include criminal suits, customs documents, public notices and official correspondences, among other subject areas. There arent many common threads between the documents, but there are clusters of documents from Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Peru, and Spain.



My work this summer has been to collect data points for each document in the collectionsuch as jurisdiction, time period, names of parties to proceedings and othersin order to create a finding aid for the collection, which would make it more accessible.



What is the most interesting fact youve learned about the Law Library?

I had no idea that the Law Librarys collections were so focused on jurisdictions outside the United States. More than half of the collection items are in languages other than English. The collections for foreign jurisdictions here are sometimes more complete than any collection in the countries that the documents come from, so the Library is able to serve as a reference to those governments.

, the blog of the Law Library of Congress in Washington, has been running an interview series featuring members of the library staff . The series started in late October 2010.The most recent interview is with Dasha Kolyaskina, Junior Fellow The Law Library of Congress is the worlds largest law library, with a collection from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.

Labels: comparative and foreign law, government_USA, law libraries, profiles
Kris Hawkins, 35, waited to donate a pint of her AB-positive blood at an American Red Cross Bloodmobile on Tuesday.

Its my good deed for the day, Hawkins said.

The bloodmobile was parked on South Reserve Street and was invited to set up there by Liquid Planet.

Last week, the Red Cross announced it was facing a national blood shortage, something that it sees often during the summer when fewer people are around to donate, and offices and churches tend to hold fewer blood drives.

According to the Associated Press, Montana, Utah, Nevada and Idaho have received 2,200 fewer donations than they needed over the last two months. For the Red Cross to maintain the blood supply it would like in the four-state area, 670 donations are needed daily.

It helps people, people who need blood and it is something simple I can do to help others, Hawkins said.

Laurie Darnell, 37, also made a donation after seeing the bloodmobile. Darnell has O-positive blood, the most common blood type, which can be donated to about 84 percent of the population, according to the Red Cross.

By the time the mobile was wrapping up for the day, about 16 people had made a donation, said Fred Hall, a Red Cross staff member. The majority of the blood collected in Montana stays in the state, Hall said.

There is a nationwide shortage, Hall said. It would be great for people to donate what they can.

Nationally, the Red Cross has reported 61,000 fewer donations than needed. The shortfall is the equivalent of the Red Cross not collecting any blood donations for more than four days, the organization said in a news release.

About a third of eligible blood donors make regular blood donations, according to the Red Cross.

Whole blood donations and red blood cell collections went down by 12.5 percent in 2015 compared to 2013, according to the 2015 National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey. The United States has also seen fewer transfusions, with the whole blood and red blood cell transfusions declining by 15.3 percent in 2015 compared to 2013.

The American Red Cross is reimbursed by hospitals for the costs associated with collecting, screening, storing and distributing the blood. Hospitals also may have their own additional charges related to the administration of blood and may pass on these costs to their patients.
Missoula County is suing the out-of-state corporation that owns the former Smurfit-Stone mill in Frenchtown for more than $1.2 million in delinquent taxes.

The county alleges that the company, M2GREEN Redevelopment, is maintaining community decay, a public nuisance and health code violations by accumulating demolition waste and garbage.

The Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. ran a paper mill on the bank of the Clark Fork River for more than 50 years, using a variety of hazardous chemicals left in unlined ponds. The mill permanently closed in 2010, and the 3,200-acre industrial site has sat vacant ever since.

M2GREEN, an Illinois-based company, purchased the property in 2011 with the intent of demolishing it and selling the steel for scrap. However, steel prices then fell dramatically, and M2GREEN stopped all demolition work. The site is in the review and testing process for being named a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency, but no cleanup efforts have begun.

In the meantime, the Frenchtown School District and the Frenchtown Fire Department havent seen a dime in property taxes from M2GREEN from two of the site's 15 parcels for the past three years. The total amount the county seeks is $1,203,339.01.

On Wednesday, the Missoula County Attorneys Office filed a civil complaint in Missoula County District Court on behalf of the county that seeks a judgment in that amount.

That is made possible by House Bill 516, sponsored by state Rep. Kim Dudik (D-Missoula). It's a law that enables a taxing jurisdiction to sue to collect delinquent property taxes once the bill surpasses $250,000 or more.

The county is also asking the court to pay the county all proceeds from an auction of equipment on the mill site scheduled for Aug. 10. In addition, the county filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent transfers of real property or other assets by M2GREEN pending the litigation.

Also on Wednesday, the Missoula City-County Health Department filed a civil complaint asserting that M2GREEN has violated health code regulations regarding solid waste and community decay by leaving industrial debris and garbage in big piles on the site for years.

"While any concrete asset recovery from these actions is an uphill battle, these actions are part of an attempt by Missoula County commissioners to use all tools available to address M2GREENs long-standing tax delinquencies and the damage done to Missoula County and the Frenchtown community, said Missoula County communications coordinator Katie Klietz.

According to Anna Conley, the countys senior civil deputy county attorney, the reason that special legislation was required to allow the county to sue M2GREEN is because of the polluted nature of the site. Essentially, the county didnt want to assume a tax lien on the property because it would then be responsible for cleanup of the site. This way, the company that owns the site is ostensibly still responsible for cleanup.

There was no way, under the previous law, to collect these delinquent taxes, Conley explained. Its a huge detriment to the fire department and the school district. Its significant tax revenue. What HB516 did was allow counties to attempt to obtain a civil judgment using other assets for tax delinquencies.

Its not clear whether M2GREEN thought it could recoup its cleanup costs before scrap steel prices dropped. The company, which now calls itself Green Investment Group on its website, still lists the Smurfit site as a unique opportunity for industrial manufacturers on its website. President Ray Stillwell did not return an email seeking comment.

The fate of the Smurfit-Stone site, owned by an out-of-state corporation, stands in stark contrast to the former Stimson lumber mill in Bonner, which closed in 2008. That site was purchased by local owners Mike Boehme and Steve Nelson, who have helped transform the site into a beehive of economic activity including a new brewery, manufacturing businesses and a new music amphitheater. Both sites are located next to a river near Missoula, but the business development couldnt be more different.

Missoula County will also be applying for funding from the State of Montana under the Natural Resource Damage Program to support restoration work at the Smurfit site, Klietz said. All three of Missoulas County Commissioners, Jean Curtiss, Nicole Rowley and Dave Strohmaier, signed a letter to Gov. Steve Bullock asking for the money.

Restoring this site is a vital community need that will require additional funding sources than what Missoula County can currently contribute, they said in the letter.
HELENA  A 64-year-old Lincoln man is accused of hurting three troopers after causing a head-on collision. Authorities say he kicked officers and threatened them.

Michael Lewis Korman is jailed on felony charges of assault on a peace officer and criminal endangerment. Authorities say Korman was drunk when he crossed over into oncoming traffic on Highway 200 on Saturday.

Court documents say an adult and child were in the other vehicle and the crash resulted in injury. The documents do not say who was injured and to what extent.

Troopers determined Korman was intoxicated and went to arrest him for driving under the influence when he became belligerent. Court documents say it took a trooper, medical personnel and a tow truck driver to get Korman into handcuffs.

During his transport to jail, Korman is accused of threatening an officer. When he was taken out of the car, he allegedly kicked a trooper several times.

Court documents say three trooper received injuries but the type of injuries is not noted.
KALISPELL  A spokeswoman says Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has canceled plans by Glacier National Park to ease restrictions on the use of motorized boats from outside the park.

Boating has been restricted at Glacier since invasive mussels were found last fall in a Montana reservoir about 100 miles away.

Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift said Tuesday that the park had mistakenly moved to ease restrictions for all boats after Zinke urged lifting them for the boats of private landowners within the park's boundaries.

After Swift spoke, Glacier issued a press release retracting its Monday announcement that restrictions would be eased on all boats in coming weeks.

The release said the original announcement had been premature.

Conservationists, among them former Glacier Superintendent Chas Cartwright, criticized the reversal as risky.

"They had a plan to minimize the risk, and the plan was to close all park waters to all motorized craft for this field season," Cartwright said when Zinke's original plan was announced. "... I am flabbergasted that we would consider opening park waters now."

Glacier closed park waters to all boating last November, when invasive mussel larvae were found in Tiber Reservoir on the Marias River southwest of Chester.

The tiny, striped shellfish multiply rapidly and can be spread to other bodies of water by latching onto boats, wading boots and other objects. Mussels can damage beaches, clog boat motors, harm fish and block irrigation equipment and water intakes.

As a result of the positive test, Montana added more boat inspection and contamination stations, and out-of-state watercraft will have to be inspected prior to launching in any Montana waterway.

With the inspection sites in place, some bodies of water that had been closed have re-opened.

In March, Glacier park opened its waters to non-motorized craft and later allowed rental or chartered motorized boats that had remained in the park.

The park said Monday it had begun allowing landowners around Lake McDonald to launch motorized boats and that it would soon announce an inspection and 30-day quarantine procedure that would allow other motorized boats in the park.

"Our objective is to provide an appropriate level of user access to the extent that we can, and ensure that those motorboats do not pose a risk to park waters," Superintendent Jeff Mow said Monday.

Swift called it "a common-sense measure that is consistent with Montana's values of recreation and multiple use of public lands."

David Brooks, executive director of Montana Trout Unlimited, called that initial decision irresponsible.

"It's an open door to the Columbia River Basin that shouldn't be opened unless Glacier is fully staffed and has the resources necessary to inspect and decontaminate every boat," Brooks said.
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., on Wednesday announced that the Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department will be receiving $569,060 to hire four new additional firefighters.

Tester, ranking member of the subcommittee that appropriates firefighting grants, has toured the Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department and been advocating for resources for them.

The fine folks at the Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department do great work every day keeping our community safe, said Tester. These additional resources will help them increase the number of folks who are serving on the frontlines every day.

The grant comes from FEMAs Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program, which provides money directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighters to help increase and maintain the number of trained firefighters in rural communities.

The Butte Silver Bow Fire Department appreciates the support of the Butte Chief Executive and Council of Commissioners for allowing us to pursue this grant, said Butte-Silver Bow Fire Chief Jeff Miller. We truly appreciate Senator Testers long-standing support of fire services throughout Montana and his strong understanding of public safety. This funding will truly strengthen the community of Butte.

In addition to securing these firefighting grants, Tester has introduced the bipartisan AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act to reauthorize the SAFER grants, which are set to expire in January 2018. That bill, cosponsored by Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), has passed out of the Homeland Security Committee and is waiting a vote on the Senate floor.
Wednesday, July 12

LIGHT FEST LECTURE

The Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives will continue its Brown Bag Lunch series at noon with a presentation by Dolores Cooney and Jeanette Kopf on the upcoming Butte Light and Color Festival. The festival is a collaboration between science, art, and education, where artists and scientists will join for a day of playful investigations and hands-on learning.

WESTERN AT RIALTO

The Rialto Community Theatre in Deer Lodge will host the 1952 classic High Noon with Grace Kelly and Montanas own Gary Cooper. At 7 p.m. a National Park Service ranger will give a brief introduction to the film, explaining where it was accurate historically and pointing out parts where it was less true to western history. The movie begins at 7:30. Admission is free for all the films. Details: 406-846-7900.

SALVAGE SALE

Butte Citizens for Preservation and Revitalization will host its next Salvage Sale from 4 to 6 p.m. in the alley behind the Picadilly Museum, 20 W. Broadway. Other sales are Aug. 10, Sept. 20 and Oct. 19. Proceeds support the Historic Improvement Program grants, and go directly back into the community. Volunteers can just drop in at the sale site. Bring a tape measure and work gloves. Donations? Email us at info@buttecpr.org.

CLUBS AND MEETINGS

BUTTE

Butte Sunrise Kiwanis Club meets at 7 a.m. at Perkins. Guest speaker will be Paul Babb, community relations manager for NorthWestern Energy.

Warped Weavers meet 6 to 8 p.m. at the Butte-Silver Bow Public Library, third floor, 226 W. Broadway St. Curious about weaving? Come watch, ask questions; there may be a loom for you to try. Details: 406-782-5784.

United Veterans Council meeting takes place at 7 p.m. at the American Legion Building, 1750 Motor View Road.

Overeaters Anonymous meets at 6:15 p.m. at the Gold Hill Lutheran Church, 934 Placer St. Details: 406-533-5454.

Al-Anon meetings: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Gold Hill Lutheran Church; 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Sharing and Caring, 2100 Farragut (rear entrance).

ANACONDA

The Anaconda AOH and LAOH will have their July steak fry at 6 p.m. at the Washoe Park pavilion.

Anaconda Central High School class of 1965 will meet for lunch at 11:30 a.m. at Peppermint Patty's.

DILLON

The Kiwanis Club of Dillon will meet at noon at the Beaverhead Brewery, 218 S. Montana St., Dillon. Mandy Maass, executive director of the Southwest Montana Arts Council, will talk about the Dinner in the Park series and upcoming SMAC sponsored events.
Los Angeles, CA - A former nursing assistant at a San Fernando Valley hospital who fled the country as sexual assault charges were mounting against him was located in Guatemala after an 11-year search, officials announced Wednesday.

Eduardo Ramon Rodas Gaspar was previously arrested in 2006 and was out on bail when he disappeared with his wife and son after additional charges were announced against him that same year, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

A decade-long manhunt ensued, and on June 26 he was arrested again after being transported back to Los Angeles from his native Guatemala, police said.

Gaspar had been working as a certified nursing assistant at Tarzana Hospital about two years when, in June 2006, LAPD detectives began investigating allegations by former patients that he had sexually assaulted them.

Three alleged victims, whose ages ranged from 29 to 64 years old, all claimed he assaulted them while they were recovering from surgery in their hospital rooms, according to a press release issued by police at the time. Some described still being under the influence of anesthesia as they were molested, police said Wednesday.

Gaspar, then 37, went with his lawyer to turn himself in at the Van Nuys courthouse on June 15, 2006, after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The L.A. County District Attorneys Office subsequently charged him with three counts of sexual assault, but the next month, on July 7, detectives announced they were seeking additional victims in the case.

Several additional former Tarzana Hospital patients then came forward claiming they had been sexually assaulted by Gaspar and described similar experiences to the existing victims, police said.

District Attorneys officials filed seven additional felony counts, at which point Gaspar skipped bail and disappeared with his wife and son, who was 6 years old at the time.

A high-profile manhunt that was featured on Americas Most Wanted ensued, and detectives learned the former hospital employe had fled to Guatemala, where he was born, investigators said.

But pinpointing Gaspar within the country would take years. Its not clear exactly how or when officials caught up with him, but District Attorneys officials issued a foreign extradition warrant for Gaspar once he was located.

Investigators were expected to release additional details about the case on Thursday.
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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 []
Kenyas top male socialites Prezzo and Colonel Mustafa are at it once again.

Barely a month after Colonel Mustafa took the first shots, Prezzo has responded in kind saying his rival is struggling to find a breakthrough in his music career.

In May, Colonel Mustafa claimed that Prezzos ex-girlfriends end up with him because his bedroom skills are wanting. He made the claims while hinting at a liaison with Prezzos ex Michelle Yola.

Basically, lets say his game is down. When they come to me, they say that he has not been satisfying them sexually. I take up the job as a brother and make them happy, said Mustafa who was also dating Prezzos other exes Joy and Huddah.

Speaking to Radio Citizens Mambo Mseto host, Willy M Tuva, recently, Prezzo claimed Mustafa is a primitive man whose music career has sunk into oblivion.

That guy is a primitive man, who has a short memory. I am never inclined toward battling him. Though, I understand his troubles. He wants to get back on his feet musically, but he is finding it to be very difficult. No one listens to his music, no one understands his music. Instead of politely approaching and requesting me  the king  to help him revive his career, which is headed for the abyss, he resorts to beefing.

He should not beef with me to gain popularity. At my age, the music that I produce is top quality. I do not release songs such as Dodoma Singida. If he learns some manners, I will certainly boost him in his career. Moustapha is not a man I would fight; I would only undo my belt and whip him seriously. After he learns some manners, I would offer to help him find his feet, said CMB Prezzo.
Residents of Gilgil town are still reeling in shock after a 33-year-old woman stabbed and killed her newborn baby three times on Saturday.

The woman, thought to be suffering from depression, then turned the kitchen knife on herself in a failed suicide attempt.

According to Gilgil police boss Sarah Koki, the woman was rescued by neighbors and rushed to St Marys hospital.

She was bleeding profusely from her hands and chest.

According to a witness identified as Samuel Njeru, the woman was stressed and always under the watch of a relative.

He said the relative had just stepped outside when the woman turned on the six-month-old baby.

On returning to the house the relative realised what had happened and started screaming attracting neighbours who moved in to assist, said Njeru.

According to Sarah Koki, initial investigations indicated that the birth had affected the woman psychologically.

Some women on giving birth suffer from post-natal depression and this could be one of the cases but investigations are going on, she said.

We have been briefed on the history, but we will rely on the medical report from medics to establish whether the woman will be arraigned in court.
Atheists in Kenya (AIK) are back at it again.

The association, known for making sensational headlines, have now challenged Prophet Owuor to resurrect the late Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery.

This comes after the popular preacher allegedly resurrected a dead woman in West Pokot County.

Mama Rosa Rotirakori, who had allegedly died on 22nd June, was allegedly brought back to life after the miracle worker sent a text message to the deceaseds husband.

Also Read: West Pokot Woman Resurrected by Prophet Owuor Speaks Up

Following the reports, AIK now want Owuor to substantiate his alleged miracles by resurrecting Nkaissery who passed on Saturday morning.

We are asking Prophet Owuor to resurrect Nkaissery from the dead or forever shut up about his miracles! the association posted.
A businesswoman in Meru Town on Monday stabbed and killed a street boy for stealing a sh10 avocado.

Rose Gakii, 32, a fruits vendor, is said to have stabbed the boy with a knife she was using to cut fruits at Soko Mjinga market near the towns main matatu terminus.

The street boy identified as Kaburu is said to have picked an avocado from the womans stall and started eating it.

An enraged Gakii turned on him and stabbed him in the chest.

She then went to record a statement at Meru police station but left out did not reveal that the boy had died.

When recording the statement, she did not tell us that the boy had died. So she recorded the statement and went home. The OCS later confirmed that the boy had died, that is when we arrested the woman and she will be arraigned in court today (Tuesday), said the area OCPD Samuel Kosgey.

The police boss warned residents against taking the law into their own hands.

I am warning residents that anyone found taking the law into their hands will be punished accordingly, he said.
Performing artists from five continents and 24 cities are gathering this week in the Napa Valley.

Count among them Joshua Bell of Bloomington, Indiana, Aldo Lopez-Gavilan for Havana, Cuba, and Helgi Tomasson of Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. Also Bill Murray of Evanston, Illinois, Andre Watts from Nuremberg, Germany, Nikoay Khozyainov of Blagoveshchensk, Russia. Danielle de Niese of Melbourne, Australia is coming to Napa, so is Vanessa Perez of Caracas, Venezuela, Jiji from Seoul, South Korea, and Laura Hamilton of Livermore, Calif.

Festival Napa Valley, which began 12 years ago as Festival del Sole, has become the 10 dazzling days of summer.

The festival opens on Friday, July 14, with a gala at Meadowood Resort, featuring the celebrated Brazilian baritone Paulo Szot performing with de Niese, an Australian-American lyric soprano.

What follows are nine days filled with performances by international classical, jazz, ballet and opera stars, paired with parties, lunches and dinners at wineries and restaurants, displaying the best of the valley.

Among the highlights this year are performances by the Havana Chamber Orchestra and the festival debut by actor/comedian Bill Murray who, with cellist Jan Vogler, will perform the U.S. debut of New Worlds from Hemingway to Bach, described as an evening of music and words.

While most of the tickets and passes are sold out, Festival Napa Valley has held back a limited number of prime tickets for Napa residents.

Tickets are available for:

Taste of Napa, Saturday, July 15, 11 a.m. $99. More than 70 local restaurants, wineries and food artisans provide fare for a walk-around tasting. This event features live music by three local bands who won the festivals Battle of the Bands contest (chosen by popular vote): Serf & James (first place), Drop Dead Dangerous (second place) and The Deadlies (third place). To purchase tickets visit festivalnapavalley.org/calendar-and-passes/taste-of-napa/

Some two-for-one Festival Quattro Allegro passes are available for locals. Locals can buy one pair of two-for-one Allegro Passes for July 19, 20, 21 and 22 concerts. Use the code local to get the 2-for-1 offer.

These concerts include:

American Masters Watts, Bernstein & Getty, Wednesday, July 19, 6 p.m., at the Lincoln Theater.

Legendary pianist Andre Watts, celebrated for his lyricism and mastery of classical and Romantic repertoire, joins conductor Joel Revzen, the Festival Orchestra Napa, and the Festival Napa Valley Volti Chorale for an all-American night of music.

Watts gained international fame when he stepped in at 16 for an ailing Glenn Gould to play Liszt with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Accompanied by maestro Revzen and an orchestra of musicians from New Yorks Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony and other top ensembles, Watts will perform Edward McDowells 1885 Piano Concerto No. 2.

The program also features the Napa premiere of Gordon Gettys powerful choral work, Young America and two Bernstein pieces, On the Town and the Candide Overture.

Tickets may be purchased just for the concert, from $45, or for the concert and after party at Napa Distillery ($169) festivalnapavalley.org/calendar-and-passes/full-calendar/july-19/

Dance Gala: San Francisco Ballet, Friday, July 21, 6 p.m. at Lincoln Theater:

Americas oldest professional ballet company, San Francisco Ballet, created the first American productions of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, and has commissioned and premiered works by leading contemporary choreographers including Mark Morris, William Forsythe, and Christopher Wheeldon. Helgi Tomasson is artistic director and principal choreographer.

Porgy & Bess George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin are in concert starring Angel Blue and Lester Lynch, conducted by Joel Revzen, 5:30 p.m., Lincoln Theater.

Considered by many to be Americas greatest opera, Gershwins Porgy and Bess, a 1935 work based on librettist DuBose Heywards novel about a disabled beggar in a poor African-American section of Charleston, includes classic songs as Summertime, It Aint Necessarily So, I Loves You, Porgy and Bess, and You Is My Woman Now. This concert version features baritone Lester Lynch, who recently sang the role of Crown at Opera de Montreal and with the Berlin Philharmonic, and soprano Angel Blue, a protege of Placido Domingo recognized for her beautiful timbre, who will star as Bess in an upcoming production at the Metropolitan Opera.

Choose from just the concert, beginning at $59, or for the concert and after party at Eleven Eleven ($249). festivalnapavalley.org/calendar-and-passes/full-calendar/july-22/

Napa Valley Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Theater is at 100 California Drive in Yountville.

Arts for All

Beneath the glamour of the annual arts extravaganza, and the pleasure of eating, drinking and listening to the Havana Chamber Orchestro, lies a lesser-known purpose: a year-round program of arts for all in Napa Valley. Central to the Festivals mission is supporting arts in the Napa Countys public schools, with the proceeds from events, like the Arts for All Gala. Since 2012, the Festival has awarded more than $850,000 in grants for visual and performing arts education programs, including materials for classrooms, tickets to concerts for students, and scholarships for young musicians.

Napa County Superintendent of Schools Barbara Nemko has said the Festival is transforming education in Napa County.

Under the leadership of general manager Sonia Tolbert, a resident of Napa, the festival continues to expand its Arts for All mission. She said they have been able to make one in every four seats for festival concerts free for low-income families, veterans and seniors.

Napa Countys demographic is diverse, Tolbert said. We always wanted the festival to be for everybody, and for benefits to be felt beyond two weeks in July.

The Music Academy

New this year is a Festival Napa Valley Music Academy, a tuition-free summer conservatory, hosted by Napa Valley College, for 70 up-and-coming young musicians, who will form the Academy Orchestra and perform at the festival.

Festival Napa Valley has presents hundreds of internationally renowned musicians and artists over the past 12 years, said festival president Rick Walker. Offering a formal training opportunity for the next generation of musicians is a natural evolution for the festival.

For updated information about Festival Napa Valley, check www.festivalnapavalley.org.
Pastor Bob Grove was born in Frederick, Maryland. When he was very young his family moved to Walnut Creek, CA. He spent his school years at Acalanes High School in Walnut Creek.

After he graduated from high school he attended Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington. From there he

came to California and attended San Francisco Theological Seminary located in San Anselmo, CA. In later years he earned his Ph.D at SFTS.

Pastor Bob enjoyed a career that spanned 64 years in ministry. He served in a variety of churches in Washington, Portland Oregon and California. He spent the last of his years serving Stinson Beach Community Church and Calvary Presbyterian Church in Bolinas.

Bob is survived by his sister Marilyn Booth of Ridgecrest, CA and his brother Tom (Gayle) of Georgia.

Bob is survived by his wife of 42 years, Paige Kinsman Grove and her 3 children. He is also survived by his first wife, Patricia Grove and their children Greg Grove (Karen) of Brentwood, Tennessee and Carrie Callaway (Dave) of Los Gatos, California. Bob also had 9 grandchildren.

A service will be held July 29, 2017 at 11:00am at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1226 Salvador Ave., Napa CA, 94558. A reception will follow in the church hall. Memories and notes of sympathy may be shared at claffeyandrota.com.
ST. HELENA  Phil and Nancy have been married for 25 years, just about the length of time that Phils son, Matthew, has been in and out of mental hospitals.

Early this year, for whatever reason, the state told Matthew, now in his mid-40s, that he was being released from Atascadero State Hospital, a maximum security facility that houses mentally ill convicts. He was told he had to get out of the hospital within a matter of hours.

Matthews story is a one of tragedy, redemption and now hope.

Names have been changed to protect the identities of Phil, Nancy and Matthew. Phil, who told the story at a home in St. Helena, said he is a former business owner and St. Helena resident. Many years ago, he was a Cub Scout leader. Matthew is a St. Helena High School graduate.

Today, Matthew lives in Napa and has received tremendous help from agencies in Napa. Hes making a life for himself, taking his medications for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and is receiving a living income from Social Security.

His father remembers when it wasnt that way.

After graduating from St. Helena High School, Matthew was living in San Diego with roommates when his symptoms began. He went from a person who thought life was fair and people were going to be nice to him to a person who was paranoid about everything, Phil said.

He thought the overhead wires were pulling electricity out of his body and he was hearing things through the wires. We knew there was a problem. I describe it as an old-fashioned wind-up clock. Somebody had turned his alarm clock on and it was slowly unwinding, Phil said. That was his persona; we recognized he needed hospitalization.

Phil called Matthews roommates in San Diego, who confirmed that Matthew was doing strange stuff, his father said.

Phil went to San Diego to pick up his son, but when he arrived, Matthew was gone. He walked out and that went on for a week. And then I left and went home myself, Phil said.

I needed to get him somehow and I called the police, who tracked him down. Phil forwarded money for an airline ticket.

After picking Matthew up at the San Francisco airport, Phil called St. Helena Hospital and St. Helena police and arranged for Matthew to be held at St. Helena Hospital for a 72-hour evaluation. Hospital staff determined he needed to go to Napa State Hospital.

Matthew did well there for a couple of years and he moved into a new program, where he was released, with Mental Health officials making sure he was taking his medication. After he was released, Phil said his son immediately stopped taking his medication and shortly after that, he was found naked in the streets of Napa, shouting at buildings.

Somewhere along the line, Matthew became a ward of the state following a violent incident in Napa, where he was threatening police.

He was desperately ill and needed to be in a hospital situation, Phil said. He went to a lockdown facility in Angwin, where he immediately broke out and escaped. He was captured, but the staff at the facility in Angwin said they couldnt handle him and recommended he be sent back to Napa State. He was then transferred to Atascadero State Hospital.

At Atascadero

It was 1995. Matthew would stay at Atascadero State Hospital for more than a dozen years. After that, he was released, but his struggles continued. He was living in an apartment with his girlfriend, and after getting into an argument with her, he left and disappeared. Phil said he lived on the street for two weeks, was taken to Napa State and again was sent to Atascadero.

He immediately got into trouble, refused to take his medications and bit a female guard, which is a felony, Phil said. So his one-month stay turned into six years. Matthew spent an additional six weeks in prison and in January was discharged.

Thats when Matthew called his father, who drove five and a half hours to pick him up. Phil said he was told that Atascadero officials were not going to provide any further services or counseling for his son, nor would they provide Matthews records, which were sealed.

Before leaving Atascadero, Phil said Matthew had taken a few classes on how to be out in the world on his own, classes on how to balance a checkbook, for example, and how to control his anger.

Phil said his son is very intelligent, a musician, an expert with a computer and smartphones, very well read, and studies a lot about religions. He has a memory like nobody Ive ever met, his father said. He can remember things going back to when he was an infant.

Disaster, then hope

After leaving Atascadero, Phil brought his son to the home he shares with Nancy. Matthew would stay overnight in their guestroom.

We sent him in there and wished him a good night. The next morning, Matthew was downstairs making coffee. He hadnt slept but instead had spent the night snooping through the house, searching for anything that had his name on it, including mail he had sent to us, Phil said. He had also gone through Phil and Nancys files.

Phil and Nancy were aghast. Matthew would not spend another night in their house.

Phil took Matthew to Napa and used his nest egg to put his son up in a motel room on Soscol Avenue for four nights. I didnt have any means to keep him (in Napa) beyond that, he said. Phil didnt want his son to become homeless.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 20 to 25 percent of the homeless population in the U.S. suffers from some form of severe mental illness. Only 6 percent of Americans are severely mentally ill, according to 2009 figures from the National Institute of Mental Health.

During those four days, Phil used phone books and the Internet to research the resources available in Napa. He found quite a few.

Available resources

First, was the Hope Resource Center, 1301 Fourth St. in Napa, which is open seven days a week. It is a drop-in facility that provides basic services to those who are homeless. It is truly a center for hope for someone seeking shelter and a start at a new life, Phil said.

The Hope Resource Center also serves as an entrance point for all three homeless shelters: the South Napa Shelter, the Samaritan Family Center and the Winter Shelter, which is open from mid-November through mid-April. Individuals seeking shelter must register with the Hope Resource Center.

For a month, Matthew lived at the Napa Winter Shelter. He ate meals provided by the Salvation Army and at The Table, which is in its 30th year of providing free, hot and nutritious meals every weekday to anyone in need.

Living in the Napa Winter Shelter, Matthew did well enough. He followed the rules and graduated to the South Napa Shelter, which is a clean and sober shelter for those 18 and older. He also applied with the Hope Center to get permanent housing.

They considered him stable enough that they thought he could manage in a household of other people with mental health problems that were independent, where he now pays rent, Phil said.

In order to pay for that, he applied for and received Social Security because he is disabled. Hes got enough for his rent, for his food and a clothing allowance is in there, Phil said. He lives in a house with five others, two women and three men. Each pays $15 a month for incidentals and is responsible for one part of the house. Matthew is responsible for the kitchen.

As a condition of living in the house, Matthew has to volunteer for 20 hours each week. Hes working at the library and plans to apply to work at The Table or the Salvation Army.

Phil said a second tier of services, including medical care, job development, housing assistance and mental health outreach and assessment also are provided through Community Action Napa Valley and other participating agencies.

Proud of his son

Phil is proud of his son, because hes doing so well only a few months after having lived for so many years in a state mental facility. Matthew receives regular mental health services.

Phil reflects on the last few months, It was an awful feeling (in January) to know that he couldnt stay another day with us. I couldnt afford to keep him in a motel room and I sort of had to convince myself that I was going to have to throw him to the wolves. Hes 43 years old, hes not 16. Hes a child of mine, but hes an adult.

He added, Its been a rough 25 years for my wife and me. Shes been a huge support for me and for him.

Whats next?

The next step is for my son to look for a job, Phil said. The 20 hours that hes performing are a godsend. He gets up, goes out to fulfill the requirements of the house and that will be good training ground for him getting a job.

Ideally, Matthew would get off Social Security and have an income. Hes physically strong, hes bright and hes obsessed with numbers, his father said.

He used to keep track of everything he spends in notebooks but now keeps track of it on his smartphone. Its something to keep him occupied. He has a lot of hours in the day where hes not doing anything.
AMERICAN CANYON  The city of American Canyon and the developer of Watson Ranch have begun meeting with the help of a mediator to resolve issues that have brought the ambitious project to a standstill.

The two sides met last Thursday for the first time with attorney Michael Durkee, according to Community Development Director Brent Cooper.

Cooper said the mediation was attended by City Manager Dana Shigley and Terrence McGrath of McGrath Properties, which is seeking to build 1,253 residential units plus a large commercial center and luxury hotel at or near the old cement factory.

Neither Shigley nor McGrath responded to queries seeking a comment on how the meeting went. Durkee also did not respond to calls and emails. His website says he specializes in land use and local government, and has represented developers as well as cities.

Durkee was brought in with the consent of both parties, Cooper said, after months of negotiations failed to produce agreements on key matters surrounding Watson Ranch.

There really hasnt been a lot of progress, said Cooper.

For whatever the reason, we werent able to bridge the gap, he said, holding his hands far apart to demonstrate the gulf between the two sides.

Cooper said at one point in recent months that McGrath produced a term sheet that discussed the developers priorities. The city reviewed it, and made several changes before sending it back to McGrath.

They werent all that happy with the citys response, said Cooper. It didnt really advance the effort to find common ground.

The need for a mediator followed a public meeting in January that saw McGrath make several requests of the City Council, including building more homes than planned. McGrath left that meeting empty-handed.

A council workshop in April on transportation issues saw Shigley and McGrath argue over the developers efforts to hire a private consultant to communicate with Caltrans officials regarding possible roadway expansions. The city manager accused the developer of trying to represent American Canyon in private talks with Caltrans, an accusation McGrath denied.

Cooper said the impasse between the two sides has caused delays for the Watson Ranch environmental impact report, which was publicly released in July 2016. The environmental impact report generated a large volume of comments from various groups and citizens  comments that the city must review and publicly answer.

But officials stopped working on the comments once the project got bogged down amid numerous concerns, such as how to pay for infrastructure that will be needed to accommodate the thousands of new residents generated by Watson Ranch.

Shigley declined to answer questions regarding the mediator, and instead forwarded them to City Attorney William Ross.

Ross did not provide answers for how much the city is spending on the mediation, or when the City Council approved it.

Instead, Ross response indicated the City Council agreed privately to hire a mediator during a closed session, and that there are legal limitations on what can be said about it.

The Brown Act provides that local government decision-makers, including the City Council, are entitled to, and do meet, in Closed Session to consider confidentially matters authorized by the Brown Act, Ross wrote in an email.

Matters considered in Closed Session may or may not be subject to being reported upon, he wrote.

Councilmember Mark Joseph acknowledged that the decision to hire a mediator was made in closed session. He declined to say more about it.

Its all under the category of potential litigation, said Joseph, so Im going to be ambiguous even though I know the answer. Im not so sure I should go into too many details.

Joseph, a self-described fan of Watson Ranch, said transportation is the most significant concern still to be resolved between the city and the developer.

Traffic is the last big headache for Watson Ranch, said Joseph.

Specifically, he said there are disagreements between the two sides over how to fund the extension of Newell Drive so it connects with Highway 29, creating a direct way for traffic to reach the highway from the new subdivisions.

Watson Ranch, if fully built out, would add about 5,000 new residents to American Canyon, according to the draft environmental impact report, and generate thousands of new motorists for the citys already clogged roadways, including the highway, during rush hour.

Newell extension has to be part of the project in some fashion, said Joseph, whether they [the developer] have to pay all of it, or just their fair share or something else.

I dont believe we can say were going to approve this project and cross our fingers that the road gets built, he added, before offering a warning that there is a limit to his support for the project.

We almost have to say theres a point at which the road is built, or we stop with approving Watson Ranch, Joseph said.
Starting this month, glyphosate, better known as Roundup, has been added to the list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer for purposes of Proposition 65 by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the Napa County Agricultural Commissioners office said.

The addition of glyphosate, a commonly used ingredient in many weed killers or herbicides commonly used in agricultural, industrial and residential settings, means any product containing the chemical that is sold or used in California must include a Proposition 65 warning on the label.

The warning language will generally state the product contains glyphosate, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.

Currently, there are over 900 chemicals or things on the Proposition 65 list, including acetaminophen (Tylenol), alcoholic beverages, aloe vera, Alprazolam (Xanax), aspirin, boric acid, caffeine, diazepam (Valium), gasoline and diesel engine exhaust, estrogen, lead, marijuana and tobacco smoke, ultraviolet light, as well as home-use, industrial and agricultural compounds, the ag commissioner said.

In Napa, the citys parks department is reducing the use of glyphosate in parks and public areas after residents raised concerns.

Voters approved Proposition 65, also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, to help Californians make informed decisions about protecting themselves from chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. The addition of glyphosate to the list, therefore, does not imply the chemical should not be used or banned.

The greatest risk of any pesticide is to the person who is mixing, loading, or applying the material. Users of glyphosate herbicides may mitigate their exposure to the chemical by following the product labeling, including the wearing of any required personal protective equipment, such as chemical resistant gloves.

In addition, California has the most comprehensive pesticide regulatory program in the world designed to mitigate potential hazards posed by pesticides and protect human health and the environment. The Napa County Agricultural Commissioners Office is responsible for implementing the state regulatory program at the local level, ensuring the safe use of pesticides in all settings in the county.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established safe levels for glyphosate in more than 150 foods and beverages. Experts say tiny levels in wine, if present, pose no risk to wine drinkers. An adult would have to drink 2,500 glasses of wine a day containing the highest glyphosate residue measured, every day for 70 years to reach the EPAs threshold for health concern, the countys news release said.

Glyphosate has been marketed and used for approximately 40 years. The herbicide has very low acute toxicity to humans and other mammals and the environment. In addition to agriculture, the material is widely sold at home improvement centers, landscape supply and plant nursery businesses and many other retail outlets. Estimates are that sales and use of the herbicide statewide are split evenly between agriculture and non-agriculture (i.e., home use, landscaping, etc.).

According to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, glyphosate is relatively nonleachable, has a low tendency to runoff, and is readily broken down by microbial action. Glyphosate is relatively immobile in most soil environments as a result of its strong adsorption to soil particles and therefore unlikely to enter ground or surface water, the county news release said.

Any off-site movement of the glyphosate can be reduced by following use requirements and safeguards listed on product labeling. Napa Countys Conservation Regulations and the Erosion Control plans that implement the regulations further protect surface water by reducing sediment movement and by intercepting sediment before it reaches watercourses.

Landowner participation in environmental stewardship programs, such as Napa Green, LandSmart, and Fish Friendly Farming, further reduce the potential for erosion and off-site movement of pesticides and any related residues.
ST. HELENA -- The St. Helena City Council agreed Tuesday to disband the citys Tree Committee due to a lack of members.

The council will authorize city staff to take action on tree permits that previously came before the committee, which was established in 1995. Staffs decisions may be appealed to the council.

As of July 1, only two out of the Tree Committees seven seats were filled, so it was unable to muster a quorum necessary to hold a meeting. With several tree removal permits pending and no applicants responding to the citys recruitment efforts, city staff recommended that the committee be disbanded.

As recently as April, the committee had three regular members and two alternates. Since then, Joan Westgate resigned and Edie Kausch and Scott Freeland did not apply for reappointment when their terms ended in June, leaving only Susan Smith-Allen and Matthew Strouss.
12:00

India continues to modernise its atomic arsenal with an eye on China and the country's nuclear strategy which traditionally focused on Pakistan now appears to place increased emphasis on the Communist giant, two top American nuclear experts have said.





An article published in the July-August issue of the digital journal - After Midnight -- has also claimed that India is now developing a missile which can target all of China from its bases in South India. India is estimated to have produced enough plutonium for 150-200 nuclear warheads but has likely produced only 120 to 130, wrote Hans M Kristensen and Robert S Norris in the article -- "Indian nuclear forces 2017".





India's nuclear strategy, which has traditionally focused on Pakistan, now appears to place increased emphasis on China, the two experts claimed.





While India has traditionally been focused on deterring Pakistan, its nuclear modernisation indicates that it is putting increased emphasis on its future strategic relationship with China," they wrote.





"That adjustment will result in significantly new capabilities being deployed over the next decade that may influence how India views nuclear weapons' role against Pakistan," they said.





Noting that India continues to modernise its nuclear arsenal with development of several new nuclear weapon systems, the two experts estimate that New Delhi currently operates seven nuclear-capable systems: two aircraft, four land-based ballistic missiles, and one sea-based ballistic missile.





"At least four more systems are in development. The development program is in a dynamic phase, with long-range land- and sea-based missiles emerging for possible deployment within the next decade," it said.





India is estimated to have produced approximately 600 kilograms of weapon-grade plutonium, sufficient for 150 to 200 nuclear warheads; however, not all the material has been converted into nuclear warheads, it said.





Based on available information about its nuclear-capable delivery force structure and strategy, we estimate that India has produced 120 to 130 nuclear warheads, the article said adding that the country will need more warheads to arm the new missiles it is currently developing.





Kristensen and Norris said that the two-stage, solid- fuel, rail-mobile Agni-2, an improvement on the Agni-1, which can deliver a nuclear or conventional warhead more than 2,000 kilometres is probably targeted on western, central, and southern China.





Although the Agni-4 will be capable of striking targets in nearly all of China from northeastern India (including Beijing and Shanghai), India is also developing the longer- range Agni-5, a three-stage, solid-fuel, rail-mobile, near- intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of delivering a warhead more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100-plus miles), it said.





"The extra range will allow the Indian military to establish Agni-5 bases in central and southern India, further away from China," the research article said.





Representational image.


Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 02:52:09|Editor: huaxia

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KIGALI, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda has been ranked among top 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that are on progress towards attaining the UN-backed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, according to SDG Index and Dashboards report released here on Tuesday.

The second edition of the SDGs and Dashboards report on Africa, released by the Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa (SDGC/A) and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) provides a report card for tracking SDG progress and ensuring accountability.

The survey that assesses the capacity of 157 economies across the globe ranks Rwanda top in East Africa, 7th in sub-Saharan Africa and 117th at the global level.

In sub-Saharan Africa, Gabon ranks first with 85th globally, followed by Mauritius, 103rd in the World and South Africa on third position and 108th globally.

According to the index, Sweden comes first in the world followed by Denmark and Finland ranks third.

Speaking at the launch, Belay Begashaw, director General of SDGC/A, said sub-Saharan African economies still face challenges across almost all SDGs, with poverty, hunger and health as major concerns.

"Developing countries are struggling to meet basic social services and infrastructure access to their populations. There is hope the SDI will help African economies identify gaps that must be closed in order to achieve SDGS by 2030," he said.

The SDGs are composed of 17 goals and 169 targets to wipe out poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change by 2030. They also aim to build on the work of the historic Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of eight anti-poverty targets to be reached by the end of 2015.

The report stresses that many high-income countries perform well in areas such as economic development but still fall short of achieving a good all-round SDG performance.

The countries closest to fulfilling the SDGs are not the biggest economies but small developed countries. Poor and developing countries score lowest on the SDG Index as they have little resources at their disposal, according to the index.

SDGC/A is an autonomous non-profit international organization, the policies of which are formulated and carried out by a high level board of directors representing African and global leaders in government, business, academia and civil society. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 03:07:17|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ROME, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The Italian senate on Tuesday began discussing a controversial decree by cabinet making vaccines mandatory for school children, partly softening the rules provided by the provision.

Mandatory vaccinations would be cut down from 12 to 10, according to the new version of the bill, which was modified and approved by the Senate Health Commission on Monday night.

The decree had been approved by Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni's cabinet on May 19, and needs to be passed by Parliament within 60 days in order to become law.

The mandatory vaccinations would now be those against polio, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis B, haemophilia B, and whooping cough.

These will be required in order for all children to be eligible for nursery school, affecting children from infancy to three years of age, and for those attending kindergarten (three to six-year-olds).

Four other vaccines, against meningitis B and C (previously mandatory), pneumonia, and rotavirus, will be "recommended."

All 14 vaccines will be provided free of charge by the national health system.

The law would also foresee financial sanctions for parents of non-vaccinated pupils between the ages of seven and 16, when school attendance is compulsory in the country.

However, the new text lessens such measures. With the original decree, non-complying parents would have faced fines up to 7,500 euros (some 8,500 U.S. dollars), and even risked losing their parental custody.

The current version would reduce fines to up to 3,500 euros (about 4,000 U.S. dollars), and contain no risk that parents who chose not to follow the rules would be reported to the health authorities or lose their parental rights.

The amendment would also make the 10 vaccines compulsory for health, social, and school professionals.

Once approved by the Senate -- where the cabinet was ready to call a confidence vote on the bill -- it must go to the lower house to be definitively approved.

The provision is being discussed amid strong controversy in Italy over the utility of vaccines, and their safety.

A decrease in vaccinations has been reported lately, which health authorities say has contributed to the spike in the number of new infections such as measles.

Last week, the Italian National Health Institute (ISS) reported 3,346 cases of measles, two of which resulted in death, between Jan. 1 and July 2.

The ISS had reported 2,258 measles cases in 2013, 1,696 in 2014, 258 in 2015, and 862 in 2016.

Some 80 percent of the infections in 2017 involved non-vaccinated people, and 40 percent of them required hospitalization, according to the institute.

Italy changed its laws surrounding infant vaccinations from compulsory to voluntary in 1999.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 03:22:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A top UN peacekeeping official said Tuesday that it is "more necessary than ever for the national political parties" in Democratic Republic of Congo and international partners to be mobilized in order to put the 31 December 2016 Agreement back on track.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, made the remarks while briefing the Security Council on the Democratic Republic of Congo Tuesday.

On the security front, he noted that instability persists in a number of areas of the country, with the violence in Kasai Province reaching disturbing levels.

In response to these developments in Kasai Province, the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) has established small and mobile presences in various locations to help protect civilians.

However, despite these efforts, disturbing reports of human rights violations and abuses continue to be received on a daily basis.

The agreement, popularly referred to as the "31 December agreement", represented a significant step towards a peacefully managed transition in the African country. However, its implementation has since seen considerable difficulties.
Photo taken on July 6, 2017 shows a view of the International Media Center of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. The 12th Group of 20 (G20) Summit is to be held from Friday to Saturday here in the northern German city of Hamburg. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)

BERLIN, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China made major contributions to the Group of 20 (G20) summit held last week in Hamburg, a Chinese diplomat has said.

The G20 Hamburg summit, held on July 7-8, was themed "Shaping an Interconnected World" and carried forward the principles rooted in last year's summit in Hangzhou, China, which highlighted innovation, vitality, interconnectivity and inclusiveness, Wang Weidong, commercial counselor of the Chinese embassy in Germany, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Wang said the Hamburg summit continued the discussions of the Hangzhou summit on issues such as the digital economy, sustainable development, deepening partnership with Africa and promoting international anti-corruption cooperation.

This ensures the coherence and sustainability of the G20 agenda, Wang added.

At the Hamburg summit, the G20 leaders agreed to support free trade, globalization and open markets, and oppose protectionism. They pledged to further strengthen cooperation to seek a collective solution to the problems of global overcapacity.

Except the United States, the other 19 members agreed that the Paris climate accord was irreversible and remained committed to it.

"(The summit) on the one hand maintains the G20 as an important platform for global economic governance to ensure that the G20 continues to play an active role. On the other hand, it shows the unity of the G20 in the face of crisis and difficulties and sends a positive message," Wang noted.

The diplomat added that bilateral meetings held on the sidelines further emphasized the need for free trade and globalization.

China has taken an active part in the transformation of the G20 group. After successfully hosting the Hangzhou summit last year, China worked together with this year's host Germany to ensure a continuation of the consensus reached last year, Wang said.

"China has worked hard to promote the transformation of the G20 to ensure its long-term governance. This is one of China's contributions to the global governance system," he said.

China has insisted on openness and inclusiveness in resolving the problem of world economic imbalance. This has helped increase the confidence of countries about future economic development, Wang said.

During the summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech calling on all parties to stay committed to building an open global economy, foster new points of growth, work together for more inclusive growth, and continue improving global economic governance.

Wang said China is committed to implementing the G20 consensus. While maintaining its own growth to remain a "stabilizer" and "ballast stone" of the world economy, China has worked hard on the Belt and Road Initiative to ensure that dozens of countries around the world reap its benefits.

Wang said the initiative is a public product China has provided for the world, and for countries to work together to promote strong, sustainable, and inclusive growth.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 04:08:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TEHRAN, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan on Tuesday dismissed the recent anti-Iran remarks made by his U.S. counterpart, describing them as "meddlesome", Press TV reported.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday that the United States and Iran can have positive relations only after regime change in Iran.

Such remarks deviate from all the principles of the international law, Dehqan said, adding that "such delirious comments are made by an ill person."

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi on Tuesday also criticized Mattis' remarks, calling them as "thoughtless and unfounded".

Mattis has repeated accused Iran of supporting terrorism while "the U.S. establishment and its current defense secretary, himself, are the symbols of terrorism and violation of human rights," Qasemi added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 04:13:15|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, July 11 (Xinhua) -- There is need for aspirants for various political seats to tone down inflammatory rhetoric in order to prevent civil disruptions as Kenya gears up for August 8 general elections, a lobby group said on Tuesday.

Senior officials from the Kenyan Chapter of African Bar Association said at a press briefing in Nairobi the East African nation's stability hinges on civil political discourse that unites instead of dividing citizens along ethnic and sectarian lines.

Alex Gatundu, the Secretary General of African Bar Association, Kenyan affiliate stressed that respect to the rule of law, non-interference with independent institutions and issues-based campaigns were key to facilitating smooth political transition during the August polls.

"Every citizen in this country has a constitutional right to participate in an electoral process. However, the quest for elective seats should not jeopardize peace and stability in the country," Gatundu said.

He urged aspirants for political seats and their supporters to engage in peaceful campaigns to avoid electoral related violence like the one Kenya witnessed in 2007 to 2008.

The campaign season has entered homestretch as Kenya gears up for hotly contested elections of a new president, lawmakers, county executives and ward representatives.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his rival in the opposition National Super Alliance (NASA), Raila Odinga are running well-oiled campaigns in an attempt to grab a higher number of votes.

Heated rhetoric during this campaign season has raised concern from Kenya's bilateral partners and rights advocates.

The European Union recently warned against possible eruption of poll-related chaos in the absence of deterrent measures.

At the same time, rights groups have raised alarm over growing inter-tribal tensions in the Rift Valley region linked to incitement by local politicians.

Gatundu said that leading political parties, the polls agency and security personnel have a responsibility to ensure peace and stability prevails during the August polls.

"Every arm of government and contestants for elective posts should agree on modalities of maintaining peace during the entire election cycle," said Gatundu, adding that peaceful elections will strengthen Kenya's economic and diplomatic clout. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 04:33:35|Editor: huaxia

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WINDHOEK, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Telecom Namibia has opposed the proposal to revise its tariffs and reduce prices, citing that reduced prices will have major implications on the company's operations.

Telecom Namibia's chief commercial officer, Calvin Muniswaswa said that the implementation of the proposed regulations may result in job loses if the company is to operate unprofitably.

"If the proposed prices levels are enforced, we might have to retrench. The prices will also cripple our services and business, and as a result there will be no incentive to invest in the network," he said.

Muniswaswa's remarks comes after Communication Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) called on Telecom Namibia to revise its tariff model and reduce charges to affordable levels to majority in accordance with proposed regulations.

The proposed regulations were as a result of a study carried out by CRAN on Telecom Namibia service charges, which found that Telecom Namibia has the highest tariffs compared to countries such South Africa and Botswana, revealed Festus Mbandeka, chief executive officer of CRAN at the second public hearing on the proposed regulations, Tuesday in Windhoek.

The regulations mainly applies to the Telecom lines leased out to the other service providers.

"The regulations come a long way. In the process we consulted Telecom Namibia, which provided CRAN with the information for the study. This is the second public hearing on this regulations. We believe that this regulation will help increase competition and efficiency amongst operations," Mbandeka said.

Meanwhile, Muniswaswa called on the regulatory authority to retract the regulations to avoid possible bankruptcy of the company (Telecom).

"Let's retract this regulations because this will leave Telecom in a difficult position. If not, we might have to seek legal assistance in this regard," he said.

If the proposed regulations come to effect by January 2018 as planned, Telecom Namibia is set to lose 170 million Namibia dollars (13 million U.S. dollars) annually. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 04:38:40|Editor: huaxia

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BANJUL, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank on Tuesday signed a 56 million U.S. dollars funding for The Gambia, aimed at strengthening the country's fiscal position and restoring the provision of essential public services.

Lousie J. Cord, the World Bank Country Director said the assistance came to fulfill their promise to support the Gambia's transitional economic rebuilding process.

"I think the promise has been fulfilled since our board of executive directors has approved on June 30th this 56 million U.S. dollars Emergency Development Policy Financing we are pleased to sign today," she said.

She said the package is divided into two parts with 55 percent being a credit which is payable within 40 years, while 45 percent is a grant to the small West African state.

Amadou Sanneh, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs said the macroeconomic developments in 2016 have been impacted considerably by the economic mismanagement or fraudulent practices of the previous regime and external shocks.

According to him, the economic growth in 2016 is now estimated to have reached 2.2 percent, markedly lower than the 4.3 percent growth in 2015, due to limited availability of foreign exchange, weak agricultural output and the effect of the political impasse on tourism during high season.

The new Gambian authorities has since bemoaned inheriting empty state coffers which is challenging them on its daily operation. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 04:48:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KIGALI, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials from Rwanda's Ministry of Justice, National Electoral Commission and Rwanda National Police (RNP) on Tuesday met here to discuss and harmonize measures to ensure that the upcoming presidential campaigns are incident-free throughout the country.

The meeting held at the RNP General Headquarters was chaired by Minister of Justice and Attorney General Johnston Busingye. It was also attended by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) Executive Secretary Charles Munyaneza, Inspector General of Police Emmanuel Gasana and other officials.

Busingye called for all actors to ensure the calm and peaceful elections scheduled for August 4. "For election to run smoothly, everyone must come on board and work together as a team. In the last 23 years, elections have been conducted in a smooth, calm and peaceful manner, we expect the same spirit in August the polls."

He said with diverse opinions interactions and openness there is no climate of fear as some organizations have insinuated.

"The elections preparations are meant to ensure each one's rights are respected and maintained," said the minister.

He advised media to avoid publicizing divisive information, notably division is not among the choices Rwanda is ever going to make again.

Gasana said that the measures have been in place to ensure election run smoothly, he will ensure all Rwandans are secure before, during and after elections.

"I will provide security at polling stations and campaign rally sites across the country," he said.

He also appealed to the public to avoid and report rumours intended to undermine peace and security during the elections.

Munyaneza said NEC will set up a media center which will be providing the news to the journalists at any time. "We are going to set up a team to ensure you get credible and reliable news about elections on time," he added.

Campaigns for three qualified presidential candidates will officially begin on July 14 and end on August 3, just a day before the elections.

About 6.8 million people will participate in this year's presidential elections, up from 5.7 million who participated in 2010 presidential elections, according to the NEC.

Incumbent President Paul Kagame will seek re-election in the election. Kagame has been president since 2000 when he was elected transitional president by ministers and members of parliament following the resignation of then President Pasteur Bizimungu. Kagame was then reelected in 2003 and 2010.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 06:04:35|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he hoped Congress could vote to raise the debt limit before lawmakers leave for the August recess.

"Ideally, we would deal with the debt ceiling before the August recess," McConnell told reporters, but declining to say whether a vote on the debt ceiling would be tied to spending cuts.

"We'll see, but the debt ceiling must be raised," he said.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer warned on Tuesday that it would be very hard for Democrats to back the increase of the debt limit if it was tied to tax cuts for high-income individuals.

The timeline for a vote on the debt limit comes after McConnell announced that the Senate's August recess would be delayed by two weeks, which would give lawmakers more time to work on important legislative items, including repealing and replacing Obamacare.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has also urged Congress to raise the debt limit before its August recess, but the Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that the federal government would not run out of cash until mid-October.

The debt limit is the maximum amount of debt that the Treasury can issue to the public and to the other federal agencies. The amount of outstanding debt subject to limit has now risen to about 19.9 trillion U.S. dollars.

The U.S. Treasury has begun using bookkeeping maneuvers to continue to finance the government's activities since the federal government's outstanding debt reached its statutory limit on March 15.
Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 9, 2017 shows the test-fire of a new type of ground-to-sea cruise missile. (Xinhua/KCNA)

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Diplomatic negotiation is the only way out for the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said here recently.

Speaking at the 7th U.S.-China Civil Strategic Dialogue last Wednesday, Cui said the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is in essence an issue of security and the key to escape the "security dilemma" is to start with addressing legitimate security concerns of all sides.

"Sanctions are necessary, but sanctions only cannot solve the problem. The impact of sanctions would be maximized only when it is combined with more robust efforts for the resumption of negotiations," said Cui.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had in the past months repeatedly claimed that "the policy of strategic patience has ended."

"We hope it will lead to proactive actions on the diplomatic front, not strategic impatience instead," said Cui.

"There are now calls for military actions. China's position on this is firm and clear. We would never allow war or chaos breaking out on the Korean peninsula. The cost would be too high for anyone, including the U.S.," he added.

Stressing that China is committed to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and no one should deny China's persistent efforts toward that goal, Cui dismissed some media reports as "distorted" which indicated that trade between China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) increased in the first quarter of this year.

"In fact, trade between China and the DPRK has been declining in 2015 and 2016. In February this year, China suspended coal import from the DPRK. As a result import from DPRK has dropped 41 percent in April and 32 percent in May year-on-year," said Cui, adding that UN Security Council sanctions against the DPRK do not constitute an embargo.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 07:29:29|Editor: Liangyu

Syrian soldiers pose with gestures during a military operation in the desert of Sweida province, on July 11, 2017. The Syrian forces unleashed a wide-scale offensive against Islamic State (IS) in the northeastern countryside of Sweida province in southern Syria on Monday. The Syrian army said Tuesday the military operation launched in Sweida targeted IS militants only, which didn't violate truce deal in southern Syria. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
Source:Xinhua| 2017-07-12 07:21:15|Editor: Mengjie

Tourists participated in the "fish catching underwater" in a water park in Chongqing, July 11, 2017. An orange level high temperature warning is issued by the meteorological observatory of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 08:48:52|Editor: Liangyu

Photo taken on July 5 shows Italian artist Paolo Ghezzi among the works he has created with Nadia Antonello at the exhibition "All the Stars, All the Seas" in Athens, Greece. Two years into the crisis which has tested Europe, Italian art collective Antonello Ghezzi chose Greece, a country at the forefront of the mass influx of refugees and migrants, to launch their new project aimed to convey the message of unity and solidarity. "The exhibition 'All the Stars, All the Seas' is dedicated to the migrants and refugees, to all people adrift and to the fact that we are all united by the sea and the sky which have no borders, no walls," Paolo Ghezzi, 37, member of the duo, told Xinhua recently giving reporter a tour of the art installations. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 08:30:15|Editor: Liangyu

People reunite as they returned to their homes in the al-Waer neighborhood in the central city of Homs, Syria, on July 11, 2017. About 630 people returned to their homes in al-Waer on Tuesday, from the rebel-held northern city of Jarablus, to which they were evacuated in May, due to a deal concluded between them and the government under the supervision and mediation of Russia. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 08:20:58|Editor: Mengjie

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NEW DELHI, July 12 (Xinhua) -- India's Federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh has taken stock of the security situation in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir in the wake of a militant attack that killed seven Hindu pilgrims and wounded 19 others, officials said.

The review meeting was held Tuesday in New Delhi and attended by India's national security advisor Ajit Doval, intelligence chiefs and other senior Home Ministry officials.

"The home minister directed officials to ensure foolproof security of the pilgrims," an official said.

Singh said it was heartening to see that every section of the society has condemned the cowardly attack.

On Monday evening, seven Hindu pilgrims were killed and 19 others wounded after a busload of Hindu pilgrims came under a militant attack at village Botengoo in Anantnag town, about 47 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

A government spokesman said Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat visited Srinagar on Tuesday and met the region's governor and chief minister to discuss issues related to the attack.

Meanwhile, authorities have beefed up security across the restive region to ward off further attacks on the pilgrims. The police and paramilitary troopers were seen deployed on roads and frisking vehicles as part of heightened security measure.

Civil society groups in the region organized a sit in protest at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Tuesday evening against the killing of innocent pilgrims.

A shrine board official said the pilgrimage was going on uninterrupted and thousands of pilgrims Tuesday visited the cave.

A guerrilla war has been going on between militants and the Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. Gun fightings between militants and Indian army troops in Indian-controlled Kashmir take place intermittently.

The pilgrimage has previously been targeted by militant groups fighting New Delhi's rule in the region.

In 2002, nine Hindu pilgrims were killed and many wounded after militants entered their highly fortified base camp in region's Pahalgam.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 10:14:56|Editor: Mengjie

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa speaks at the inauguration ceremony for the first direct flight route between Portugal and China in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 11, 2017. The first direct flight route between Portugal and China was inaugurated in Lisbon on Tuesday, linking Hangzhou to Lisbon via Beijing. The first direct flight route starting from Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province, with a stopover in Beijing before heading for the destination in Lisbon will be carried out by an A330-20 on July 25. There are three flights between Portugal and China per week. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

LISBON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The first direct flight route between Portugal and China was inaugurated in Lisbon on Tuesday, linking Hangzhou to Lisbon via Beijing.

The first direct flight route starting from Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province, with a stopover in Beijing before heading for the destination in Lisbon will be carried out by an A330-20 on July 25. There are three flights between Portugal and China per week.

Meanwhile, the new flight route from Beijing to Macao will also be opened by Beijing Capital Airlines.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said that the opening of the first direct flight route between Portugal and China is significant for the two countries as it is part of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013.

It will promote tourism and trade between Portugal and China and the cultural communication between the two peoples, he added.

Costa said that the new flight route will also strengthen the role of the bridge Portugal plays in the connection with China and the Portuguese-speaking countries. It will make the travel between China and Brazil and also Africa much easier.

The opening of such a flight route is the result of the efforts made by the two governments and will further promote tourism of the two countries. Some 200,000 Chinese tourist arrivals in Portugal were recorded last year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 10:14:57|Editor: Liangyu

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YANGON, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar and Cambodia have vowed to enhance bilateral relations and cooperation in multi-sectors, the Myanmar News Agency reported Wednesday.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between Myanmar President U Htin Kyaw and visiting Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday.

The two sides discussed bilateral cooperation in education, culture, tourism and trade as well as people-to-people contact.

On the same day, Prak also met with State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on restoration of Mon-Khmer culture and increase of export of agricultural produce to Cambodia.

Sokhonn arrived in the Myanmar capital Monday for the first time since taking office last year.

His visit was aimed at further strengthening bilateral ties and explore more mechanism to promote the existing cooperation in bilateral and multilateral frameworks between the two countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 10:25:09|Editor: An

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Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan (L) meets with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi (R) in Maputo, Mozambique, July 11, 2017. Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said his country hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields, including defense and security. Nyusi made the remarks while meeting with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, in the presidential palace in Maputo on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Li Xiaowei)

MAPUTO, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said his country hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields, including defense and security.

Nyusi made the remarks while meeting with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, in the presidential palace in Maputo on Tuesday.

The president said both sides are now working together to carry forward Mozambique-China traditional friendship into a new stage.

He said Mozambique highly values its ties with China, consistently adheres to the one-China principle, and stands ready to enhance communication and cooperation with China on international and regional affairs.

Nyusi added that his country is always grateful for China's disinterested assistance and ready to deepen the pragmatic cooperation with China in various fields, so as to benefit the two peoples, Africa and the world at large.

The two countries decided to lift bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership during Nyusi's state visit to China last year.

Chang said his visit aims to materialize the important consensus reached by the leaders of both countries, to consolidate bilateral ties, as well as to enrich cooperation.

Chang said China attaches importance to relations between two countries and two militaries and is willing to build a community with a shared future together with Mozambique to benefit the two peoples.

During his visit in Maputo, Chang also held talks with his counterpart, Minister of National Defence Atanasio M'tumuke.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 10:50:20|Editor: Mengjie

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HOHHOT, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Eight people were killed and two others injured after a collapse at a construction site in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Tuesday.

The accident, which happened at 5:20 p.m. in Ejin Horo Banner, Ordos city, initially left eight severely injured and two slightly injured. They were all sent to a local hospital, but the eight severely injured died Wednesday morning, according to the emergency rescue headquarters.

An investigation is underway.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 10:55:23|Editor: Liangyu

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MELBOURNE, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Zones established to protect Victoria's endangered Leadbeater's possum will cost the state's forestry industry millions of dollars, a report released on Wednesday found.

The report, compiled by Victoria's Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), found that the zones had been effective in slowing the extinction of the possum which is Victoria's official state animal.

However, the report also found that the zones would result in 11.2 million U.S. dollars in lost revenue for the forestry industry by 2030.

"While the Leadbeater's possum remains at a high risk of extinction until 2050-70, that risk has been reduced within the Leadbeater's possum reserve by 34 percent, thus demonstrating the effectiveness and efficiency of this action in contributing to conservation outcomes," the report said.

Forestry companies have led a campaign in recent months to reduce the protection zones, claiming they were responsible for timber shortages in the state.

Workers who were set to lose their job when the Heyfield timber mill announced it would be closing due to a lack of timber supply took it into their own hands to count the possums in an attempt to prove they were not endangered.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has since announced that the government had reached an agreement to keep the mill open.

Under current laws, a confirmed sighting of a Leadbeater's possum in the central highlands of Victoria prompts the creation of a 200-meter exclusion zone for all timber harvesting.

Lily D'Ambrosio, Victoria's minister for the environment, said the government would review the report before taking any action.

"The government will continue to consult with all parties as we work towards long-term solutions which balance job protection with the protection of our unique natural environment," D'Ambrosio said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 11:05:26|Editor: Liangyu

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by Evan Duggan

VANCOUVER, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The town of Williams Lake in British Columbia's Cariboo region was put on evacuation alert Tuesday as wildfires burned across the heart of the Western Canadian province, Canada's public broadcaster CBC reported.

Residents were instructed to gather their belongings and make arrangements to leave at a moment's notice, said the broadcaster.

Williams Lake is the largest city so far under threat from fires that mostly started on Friday during a lightning storm that sparked fires in the tinder dry forests.

No deaths were reported, but more than 10,000 residents had been forced from their homes by Tuesday morning as roughly 220 wildfires scorched tinder dry forests with about 17 of the blazes abutting several villages, towns and cities in the British Columbia (B.C.) Interior.

The B.C. government has enacted a province-wide state of emergency.

This wildfire season has surprised many, after ample snowfall this past winter and a very wet spring suggested that a mild forest fire season was in store, said Lori Daniels, a forest and conservation sciences professor with the University of British Columbia.

"We're going on two weeks now of this high-pressure system, with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures, but with that comes this drying trend," she told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday.

It used to be rare for the entire province to face such extreme wild fire threats this early in the summer, she said. "But since 2010, we've seen this multiple times. That's disconcerting to me," she added.

On Sunday, residents of the small town of 100 Mile House were given an evacuation order as forest fires swept close to the village of about 1,800 people. 100 Mile House is located about 70 km south of Williams Lake.

Several other separate evacuation orders and alerts are now in effect throughout the central and southern interior of the mountainous province carpeted by forests that have become extremely combustible after weeks of hot, dry and windy weather.

About 1,000 firefighters from B.C. have been fighting the fires, Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported. Some another 300 firefighters have started to arrive from elsewhere in Canada to assist the B.C. crews.

One wild fire destroyed about 30 homes and two airport hangars near the town of Cache Creek 354 km northeast of Vancouver. That fire also burned down several buildings and homes on the Ashcroft Indian Band reserve. Another 30 homes were burned to the ground in a fire at the small nearby community of Boston Flats.

The full extent of the damage is not yet known in many of the major fire zones.

Multiple highway routes around B.C. have been shut due to the fires, complicating and extending evacuation routes amid the turmoil.

"The majority of the fires that are burning with such intensity are in and around the Williams Lake area and up in the Cariboo; those were lightning strikes that happened on Friday afternoon during a dry lightning storm," Daniels said.

More than 100 fires erupted that day. "That's our worst-case scenario," she said, adding: "It was very windy at the time, so those lightning strikes became forest fires very rapidly."

One of the reasons wild fires seem to be getting worse in B.C. is that fire crews have become so efficient at extinguishing the blazes over the past years, Daniels said.

"We put out all fires, including low-intensity fires that would have burned off fuels," she explained. "They have been suppressed for so many decades and now that we have built up those fuels."

As crews continue to battle the fires across the province, mother nature doesn't appear to be offering any help, with another week-to-ten-day of hot, dry weather expected through much of the B.C. Interior, the coastal areas and the southern section of the province.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 11:15:32|Editor: Liangyu

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RIO DE JANEIRO, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's federal police launched a large operation on Tuesday to dismantle a ring that had defrauded the country's social security system out of at least 14 million reais (4.3 million U.S. dollars), although the amount could be up to 10 times higher.

Named "Ostrich," the operation came as part of an investigation which identified fraud based around social benefits for pensioners or severely ill people.

Police officers carried out six arrest warrants and detained three others for interrogation in Sao Paulo.

The investigation is also targeting a law firm accused of carrying out at least 150 social security petitions containing false information.

According to the police report, this law firm enjoyed a legal injunction allowing it to make unlimited social security petitions, when the law stipulated only one a day may be made per person or company to avoid fraud.

The arrest will be charged with fraud against the country and organized crime, which could be punished with sentences of one to five years in prison.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 11:15:34|Editor: Liangyu

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BAGHDAD, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has announced a victory of military operations to liberate Mosul, three years after the Islamic State (IS) group seized the city and built a so-called caliphate spreading extremism and chaos to the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, a London-based monitoring group said Tuesday that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed. If confirmed, the death of al-Baghdadi would be the latest in a string of fatal blows dealt to the terrorist group.

The extremists captured Mosul, the second biggest city in the country, in weeks in 2014, while the joint forces retook it after a nine-month campaign which has left thousands killed, much of the city ruined and almost 1 million people displaced.

However, the reconciliation may take even more time as sectarian conflicts in Iraq, the civil war in the neighboring Syria, and political struggle in the region created ungoverned spaces which is an ideal breeding ground for terrorism.

SPREAD OF TERRORISM

"After the group lost Mosul and Raqqa, it will pursue a different kind of warfare. They will depend on their bomb makers, suicide car bombs and explosive vests which are very effective and really make the enemy afraid," Iraqi army officer Major Abdullah al-Jubouri said.

"The group can get people prepared to be suicide bombers in Europe and they can cause much more damage. So the fight is moving to the enemy land, including the West," he added.

The establishment of the so-called caliphate by al-Baghdadi in 2014opened a Pandora's box, spreading extremist ideologies worldwide which led to increasing terrorist attacks in several countries.

After the landmark victory in Mosul, the Iraqi government and its U.S.-led coalition against the IS feared that instability in the region could give birth to "IS 2.0."

However, many observers said "IS 2.0" was created after extremists in South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa pledged allegiance to al-Baghdadi in 2014, making the IS the second terrorist group after al-Qaida in recent decades with ability to launch attacks across the world.

They said despite a disastrous defeat in Mosul or even the death of al-Baghdadi, the IS group could extend its global reach.

For example, the al-Qaida group became even more active after its leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in 2011. Its branch in Yemen, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, seized almost the whole Abyan province in March 2011 and declared it an Emirate. It also attacked French newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris in January 2015, killing 11 people.

Sometimes, the attacks were carried out by terrorists of the IS group, or by individuals who are inspired by jihad, according to IS ideologies, Jubouri said.

"The individuals affected by jihad are very dangerous and difficult to identify. There is no group decision-making process, so they are basically free to take actions," he said.

"Some of the deadly attacks in the West were planned in Europe or in America...They were not asking for instructions," Jubouri said.

"In fact, the IS group's operational technique aimed at giving the IS networks and self-motivated individuals tools and techniques to act independently," he added.

LONG-TERM SOLUTION

Since the military campaign to retake Mosul began on Oct. 17, 2016, some 920,000 civilians had fled their homes, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Although the Iraqi government promised a safe and dignified return, nearly 700,000 people are still displaced. They said they are tired of sectarian conflicts, and called for a lasting peace among the Shiite and Sunni Arabs, the Kurds and other minorities.

However, concerns of power struggle are rising. The liberation of Mosul and an imminent win in Raqqa involved a variety of forces from regional and world powers, in addition to armed groups, which are bitterly at odds. Despite that they consider the IS group as an enemy, most of them are hostile to each other.

"The IS group created profound wounds in the society, which means the situation in post-IS era will not be rosy," Iraqi political analyst Ibrahim al-Ameri said.

"There would be a power struggle among the Iraqi factions, mainly including the Shiite-dominated government, Kurds and Sunni Arabs. They will claim the lands they seized in the past three years from the IS, which risks bringing them into conflicts," he said.

Iraq's autonomous region of Kurdistan has declared to hold a referendum on independence in September, a move opposed by Iraq's central government, Turkey, Iran and Syria which believe it threatens their territorial integrity as most of the 30-million Kurds in the Middle East live in the four countries.

Meanwhile, the United States has been arming the Kurdish forces in Syria, which angered its Nato ally Turkey as Ankara believed the Kurdish forces are linked to separatists in its country.

"There is an unfortunate option. We may have a war of all against all, a very unstable situation and continued state crisis. All concerned player fight against each other... a fighting inside the Arab world, and also between the Arab world and outside powers, would engage external players which are trying to make tactical gains," Andrey Kortunov, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council, said at a forum held in Beijing at the end of June.

"It (intervention) will do damage to the long-term solutions. It is the worst possible scenario but unfortunately very likely. If we do not act now, in a couple of years, I think this scenario will become likely," Kortunov said.

"The best solution to me, which you may consider unrealistic at this stage, is to develop a collective security system with enforcement mechanism. Something that is guaranteed by the United Nations Security Council, with mechanism of sanctions in place...I understand it is difficult, but I don't think there is a better solution," he added.

The Iraqi government, the international coalition and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq have the duty to pursue long-term engagement strategy with a greater focus on national reconciliation that could consolidate peace among Iraqi factions, Ameri said.

"What is often missed from the picture is that we cannot separate issues of security and issues of development... You can fix something, but if the unemployment rate is as high as it is right now among the younger generation...the low level of urbanization...our attempts to fight terrorism will not have lasting impact. It is only temporary," Kortunov said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 12:30:29|Editor: Liangyu

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WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Donald Trump Jr., son of U.S. President Donald Trump, on Tuesday released email records that preceded his meeting with a Russian lawyer last year, adding to suspicion that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia.

Trump Jr. published the email records in four scanned documents on twitter, saying: "In order to be totally transparent, I am releasing the entire email chain of my emails with Rob Goldstone about the meeting on June 9, 2016."

The records started with an email sent out on June 6, from Rob Goldstone, a publicist, to Trump Jr. The message was titled "Russia-Clinton-private and confidential."

In the email, Goldstone asked Trump Jr. when he was free to speak to someone "about this Hillary info," to which Trump Jr. said: "I love it."

Goldstone then asked when Trump Jr. would meet with a "Russian government attorney."

In later exchanges, the two men eventually hammered out the details of the June 9 meeting that would include Trump Jr., Goldstone, then Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and the Russia lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya.

In an interview with U.S. media, Veselnitskaya denied any links with the Russian government.

Trump Jr. reportedly released the emails after the New York Times claimed to have obtained them.

Critics of the Trump administration said the emails were hard proof that Trump Jr. was knowingly seeking the assistance of the Russian government to hurt the Hillary campaign, and the action constitutes colluding with the Russian government, which Trump has repeatedly denied.

In a daily press briefing, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders declined to answer any questions related to the emails, but read a statement from Trump, saying that Trump Jr. was a man "of high quality" and that he applaud his son's transparency.

Trump later tweeted that his son "is a great person who loves our country!"

The controversy around the emails and the meeting between Trump Jr. and the Russian lawyer are the latest episode in a long-running fight between the Trump administration and its opponents over whether the Trump campaign had colluded with the Russian government during last year's presidential campaign.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 12:45:35|Editor: Yamei

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WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that August recess would be delayed for two weeks to allow more time for discussing issues including healthcare reform.

"The Senate will delay the start of August recess until the third week of August," McConnell said in a statement.

The delay is "to provide more time to complete action on important legislative items and process nominees that have been stalled by a lack of cooperation from our friends across the aisle," the Kentucky Republican said.

McConnell said the Senate would use the additional time to tackle issues such as healthcare, defense budget, debt ceiling and nominations for high-level government posts.

The White House has openly blamed Congress for lagging behind on several major actions, including repealing and replacing Obamacare, a major promise of the Trump campaign, and voting on nominations for high-level government positions.

"I cannot imagine that Congress would dare to leave Washington without a beautiful new HealthCare bill fully approved and ready to go!" Trump tweeted recently.

Senators normally were given a break from legislative affairs for the entire month of August.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 12:50:36|Editor: Yamei

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WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The United States said on Tuesday that it has extended the review period by three months to decide whether to permanently lift trade sanctions against Sudan.

Recognizing the "significant, substantial progress" made by Sudan, the U.S. government still needs "some more time" to establish that the African country has fully addressed its concerns, a statement released by the State Department said.

The positive actions expected by the United States include resolving internal armed conflicts in Sudan, improving humanitarian access and maintaining cooperation on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism.

The Trump administration faced a July 12 deadline to decide if sanctions relief initiated by the Obama administration six months ago would become permanent.

Under a directive signed by former President Barack Obama in January, the United States moved to lift a trade embargo and unblock Sudanese government assets that were frozen in earlier sanctions. Sudan has been on the U.S. list of "state sponsors of terrorism" since 1993.

The Trump administration's decision could be a blow to Sudan which yearned for a revocation of the 21-year-long sanctions.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said on Monday that his country has met all commitments towards Washington, and any decision other than a permanent lifting of the sanctions is "illogical and unacceptable."

The United Nations also said on Monday that there has been a marked improvement in Sudan's humanitarian access over the past six months, and it was looking forward to a positive decision made by the United States.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 13:15:43|Editor: Liangyu

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ASADABAD, Afghanistan, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Nine Islamic State (IS) militants were killed after the Afghan air force struck an IS hideout in eastern Kunar province late Tuesday, provincial police chief said on Wednesday.

"The strike took place in Gamber locality of Wata Poor District at around 6:00 p.m. local time (1330 GMT). And an IS hideout was also destroyed by the attack," Gen. Juma Gul Hemat told Xinhua.

Among those killed in the strike was two local IS leaders Nora and Zia-ul-Haq in addition to an IS weapon and cash facilitator named Rahim Ullah, the police official noted.

The IS militant group has yet to make comment.

The mountainous province, 180 km east of Kabul, has been the scene of clashes between security forces and IS militants since the emergence of IS in eastern Afghan region in early 2015.

Afghan security forces have beefed up security operations against militants recently as the war-weary Afghans have been witnessing a surge in attacks by Taliban fighters and IS affiliates across the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 14:11:05|Editor: Liangyu

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TEHRAN, July 12 (Xinhua) -- As a growing number of Iranian women refuse to wear a hijab -- a veil traditionally worn by Muslim women -- while driving, whether a car is a private space has sparked controversy in the Islamic republic.

Many in Iran believe that private space includes the inside of a car, but judicial authorities and police disagree, British newspaper The Guardian reported Tuesday.

"The invisible part of the car, such as the trunk, is a private space, but this does not apply to the visible parts of the car," Hadi Sadeghi, deputy head of Iran's judiciary chief, was quoted by the paper as saying.

"What is visible to the public eye is not private space and norms and rules should be respected within cars," said Saeid Montazeralmahdi, a spokesperson for the Iranian police.

He also warned car owners against using tinted glass to prevent onlookers from seeing into the car.

But others have voiced strong opposition.

"The law says that the space within a car is a private space," Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Hossein Ahmadiniaz, a lawyer, as saying. "The government's Citizens' Rights Charter (launched by Iran's moderate President Hassan Rouhani) also considers a car to be a private space and it is incumbent upon enforcers to respect that."

Yahya Kamalpour, a member of the Iranian parliament, said the space within people's cars is a private space and the police have no right to enter that space without a judicial order.

The debate comes amid a growing rift between the government and the hard-line judiciary that acts independently of Rouhani's government, The Guardian's report said.

Clashes between women and Iran's morality police particularly increase in the summer when temperatures rise, according to the report.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 14:36:18|Editor: Liu

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Hi, here is what you need to know about China for the past 24 hours.

BEIJING -- A draft plan to turn the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao greater bay area into the world's largest bay area in terms of GDP by 2030 has been filed with the national economic planner, according to an official.

The plan for the development of a city cluster in the greater bay area, covering the majority of China's Cantonese-speaking regions, was forwarded to the National Development and Reform Commission at the end of June, said Wu Weibao, deputy head of Guangdong's development and reform commission.

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CHENGDU -- There seems to be no end to the Chinese police's creativity in teaching motorists and pedestrians to obey traffic rules. After facial scans, the latest is the "3D" zebra crossing.

At two busy urban intersections in the southwest city of Chengdu, police drew the usually flat zebra strips with shading and perspective to make them "rise" from the road. The stripes were also painted in blue, yellow, and white, instead of the traditional white color.

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BENI SUEF, Egypt -- The first gas regulator station operated by a Chinese company in Egypt will be operational in September, a company representative said Tuesday.

The Beni Suef station, operated by China Petroleum Technology & Development Corporation (CPTDC), a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), will start pumping natural gas in September, Qitang Li, a CPTDC representative in Cairo told Xinhua.

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TIANJIN -- Volkswagen Group China made record sales in the first half of 2017 in China, driven by strong SUV sales, the company said Tuesday.

Volkswagen delivered nearly 1.4 million vehicles to the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong from January to June this year. In June alone, Volkswagen's year-on-year sales rose by 5.4 percent, according to Stephan Wollenstein, CEO of Volkswagen China Passenger Cars Brand.

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HOHHOT -- Eight people were killed and two others injured after a collapse at a construction site in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Tuesday.

The accident, which happened at 5:20 p.m. in Ejin Horo Banner, Ordos city, initially left eight severely injured and two slightly injured. They were all sent to a local hospital, but the eight severely injured died Wednesday morning, according to the emergency rescue headquarters.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 14:46:25|Editor: Song Lifang

Kashmiri people shout slogans as they carry the body of a militant belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) during his funeral procession in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 12, 2017. Three militants belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militant outfit were killed Wednesday in a fierce gunfight with troops in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Three militants belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militant outfit were killed Wednesday in a fierce gunfight with troops in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The gunfight between militants and government forces broke out Tuesday night at village Radbugh of Budgam, about 32 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Three militants were killed in gunfight in at Radbugh village early today," a senior police official posted in Budgam told Xinhua. "Three weapons have been recovered from the spot."

According to police, the village was cordoned off Tuesday late evening on specific intelligence inputs about presence of militants.

"The militants tried to break the cordon but their efforts were frustrated and they were killed outside the house," the official said. "The gunfight in the village triggered during night after contingents of army and police zeroed on the suspected house.

The stand-off ended early Wednesday morning, police said.

The slain militants were identified as local cadres of HM, the region's indigenous militant outfit.

Reports said while the area was being cordoned, villagers hit the roads and tried to clash with government forces to help militants escape but they were chased by police.

Earlier this month three militants of HM were killed in a 24-hour-long gun battle at Banoo-Keller in a similar stand-off.

A guerrilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. Gunfights often take place between the two sides.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 15:31:45|Editor: Song Lifang

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FARAH, Afghanistan, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Seven civilians were killed by militants along a main roadway in Afghanistan's western province of Farah late Tuesday, a provincial government spokesman said on Wednesday.

"The incident occurred in Bala Buluk District after armed militants intercepted a long-distance bus, and unknown gunmen singled out seven civilians and shot them dead at the roadside before releasing the vehicle together with the remaining passengers," spokesman Mohammad Nasir Mehri told Xinhua.

According to the official, the bus was travelling from Farah to neighboring Herat province.

The reason for the bloody incident has yet to be known. However, some locals on condition of anonymity put the attack on the Taliban outfit, saying that the armed group had "blamed the ill-fated men for working for the government."

In addition, local TV channel Tolo News reported Wednesday that the militants seized control of the road in Bala Buluk, and set up checkpoints to intercept and check vehicles running along the road.

More than 10 Taliban militants were killed and seven others wounded after Afghan security forces arrived at the area and engaged with the militants, according to the report.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since late April when the militant group launched its annual rebel offensive in different places of the country.

Local observers believe that the Taliban would intensify activities to gain more territory ahead of winter and snowfall in the mountainous country.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 16:17:45|Editor: An

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LHASA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Yandao, 35, had never been to Qinghai-Tibet Plateau before he joined an observation team on China's second scientific expedition to the plateau in June.

Yandao, a member of the Blang ethnic minority, comes from a small village in Xishuangbana, in southwest China's Yunnan Province. After graduating with a degree in zoology from Southwest Forestry University in 2013, he began work as a ornithologist at Kunming Institute of Zoology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China's first large-scale scientific expedition on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was conducted in the 1970s. The second expedition will last five to 10 years, covering more than 50 disciplines including geology, prehistoric life, geophysics, climate, zoology and botany.

Dozens of scientists specializing in different fields have been divided into groups to research the biological diversity of the plateau and draw up a habitat map to be used for preservation and tourism purposes.

When Yandao first arrived in Shuanghu County, Tibet Autonomous Region, with an average altitude of 5,000 meters, he suffered severe altitude sickness.

Despite feeling unwell, Yandao was excited to begin working with his colleagues to collect data on local bird species.

"I am so lucky to have the chance to join this expedition," said Yandao.

After years of research, Yandao commands an extensive knowledge of birds, he can identify some 500 species just from their songs.

"The unique alpine environment with thin oxygen and intense ultraviolet light is a habitat for several distinct species, some of which I have never seen before," Yandao said.

The bird population can be seen as barometer for the region's environmental changes and will attract more bird-watchers to visit, he said.

Yandao's parents were initially not supportive of his choice of work.

"They hoped I would get a stable job in an office, but I just want to have freedom like the birds I study," he said.

In recent years, Yandao's research has taken him to almost every prefecture and city in Yunnan tracking bird populations by means of regular surveys. In 2015, he joined an international team conducting a bird survey in Kenya.

Yandao is always in the field looking for new information and changes, said Yang Xiaojun, his colleague on the expedition team.

"The appeal of scientific expeditions is to explore new things, which has become my life long pursuit," Yandao said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 16:22:46|Editor: Song Lifang

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WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Donald Trump Jr., the son of U.S. President Donald Trump, on Tuesday released email records related to his meeting with a Russian lawyer last year, adding suspicion that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia during the election.

Trump Jr. published the email records in four scanned documents on Twitter, saying "in order to be totally transparent, I am releasing the entire email chain of my emails with Rob Goldstone about the meeting on June 9, 2016."

The record started with an email exchange on June 6 between Goldstone, a music publicist, and Trump Jr. The message was titled "Russia-Clinton-private and confidential."

In the email, Goldstone asked Trump Jr. when he was free to speak to someone "about this Hillary info," to which Trump Jr. said "I love it."

Goldstone then asked when Trump Jr. would meet with a "Russian government attorney," who represents a businessman with links to the Russian government and possesses "official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealing with Russia and would be very useful" to Trump.

In later exchanges, the two men eventually hammered out the details of the June 9 meeting that would include Trump Jr., Goldstone, then Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

In an interview with U.S. media on Tuesday, Veselnitskaya denied any links with the Russian government and said she didn't have any damaging information on Hillary.

Trump Jr. reportedly released the emails after the New York Times claimed to have obtained them.

Trump has no knowledge of the meeting until days ago, according to the White House, while a spokesperson for Vice President Mike Pence stressed that the meeting took place before Pence was tapped as Trump's running mate.

At a daily press briefing, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders declined to answer any questions related to the emails, but read a statement from Trump saying that Trump Jr. was a man "of high quality" and that he applauded his son's transparency.

Trump later tweeted that his son "is a great person who loves our country!"

Critics of the Trump administration said the emails were hard proof that Trump Jr. was knowingly seeking the assistance of the Russian government to hurt the Hillary campaign, and the action constitutes collusion with the Russian government, which Trump has repeatedly denied.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said everyone involved in the meeting should be "immediately summoned" to testify under oath in front of Congress.

"The American people face a White House riddled with shadowy Russian connections and desperate to hide the truth," she said.

Even some Republicans are finding the emails hard to defend. Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters that "anytime you're in a campaign and you get an offer from a foreign government to help your campaign, the answer is no."

Robert Mueller, a special counsel tasked with probing possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, reportedly will look into the emails and the meeting between Trump Jr. and the Russian lawyer.

According to U.S. media, the unraveling events have greatly frustrated Trump, who has been defiant that his campaign has no wrongdoing and he is the subject of a "political witch hunt."

A shakeup in the White House is also said to be imminent as its top leadership seeks to stop damaging information from being leaked to the press.

The controversy around the emails and the meeting between Trump Jr. and the Russian lawyer is the latest episode in a long running battle between the Trump administration and its opponents over whether the Trump campaign had colluded with the Russian government during last year's race for the White House.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 16:37:53|Editor: Song Lifang

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JAKARTA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government has boosted efforts to prevent radicalism from operating in the archipelagic nation following a spate of suicide bombings.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has inked a decree which gives the government the power to terminate activities of the radical groups.

Chief Security Minister Wiranto on Wednesday announced the measure, saying that the new decree allows the state institutions which issue a license for the establishment of the radical organizations to lift the permit.

"Under the new decree, the institutions issuing the license and legalizing the establishment of an organization are given the right to revoke the license when the organization violates rules stipulated in the permit," he said.

Minister Wiranto said the decree is aimed at upholding the unity of Indonesia as a nation rather than discrediting Islamic groups.

He revealed that President Widodo signed the decree on Monday.

Military Commander General Gatot Nurmantyo has said that the presence of IS cells is found in almost every province in the country in the form of clandestine "sleeper cells."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 16:42:55|Editor: Lu Hui

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by Xinhua writer Lu Rui

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Washington and Tokyo have ramped up pressure on China to do more on curbing Pyongyang's nuclear and missile weaponry after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) test-fired a newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile last week.

In fact, accusing China of not living up to its responsibility in efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula is totally groundless. The United States, while pointing fingers at others, should realize it cannot escape its own duty for stabilizing the situation.

For whatever reason it might be, the United States and Japan have reignited the "China responsibility theory" for their failure on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, but refused to fulfill their duties to negotiate a peaceful resolution.

As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang noted on Tuesday, the core of this issue is the conflicts between the DPRK and the United States and it is in essence an issue of security. China does not hold the keys to the issue.

China is neither the focus of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue nor the one that escalates the tension, Geng said in response to U.S. and Japan's repeated call for China to exert more leverage on the DPRK.

In fact, China has as always been playing a constructive role in seeking a solution and has done its share to promote peace talks and support nuclear non-proliferation as a responsible country.

Beijing has proposed a dual-track approach of advancing denuclearization and establishing a peace mechanism in parallel, which meets both the ultimate goal of denuclearizing the peninsula and the security need from Pyongyang.

Meanwhile, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China is carrying out the Security Council's resolutions as regards the DPRK in a comprehensive and complete manner.

However, while China is busy talking the stakeholders into sitting down and returning to negotiations, the Trump administration in contrast announced all options are on the table, military included, offsetting endeavors to pursue a peaceful solution.

Last month, the DPRK again brought up the possibility of holding bilateral talks with Washington, saying it would agree to a temporary stop of its nuclear tests if the United States and South Korea suspend their annual joint military exercises, which Pyongyang has seen as a rehearsal for war invasion.

Similar to Pyongyang's offer, China has also advocated a "double suspension" concept, which requires Pyongyang to suspend its missile and nuclear tests in exchange for the halt to U.S.-South Korean military drills.

Although Washington has said it is not seeking the subversion of the DPRK and expressed interest in a peaceful solution to the issue through dialogue, concrete steps are needed to turn the words into policy and action.

It is at least worth a try to resume the peace talks as sanctions and pressure alone obviously went bust.

Keeping mounting pressure without any engagement would be dangerous. If truly wishing for sustained regional stability, all should understand each other's concerns, pool their wisdom and bring this issue back to the track of dialogue as soon as possible.

Shunning responsibilities of their own and diverting attention to others is not helping remedy the situation, if not worsening it. It is time to stop confusing public opinion and join coordinated efforts toward the common end.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 16:58:10|Editor: Mengjie

Chinese giant panda "Le Bao" eats its "birthday meal" at the zoo of Everland in the city of Yongin, South Korea, on July 12, 2017. The birthday for one of a pair of giant pandas, leased by China, was celebrated Wednesday at the zoo of Everland, South Korea's largest theme park located in Yongin, 40 km south of capital Seoul. (Xinhua/Newsis)

YONGIN, South Korea, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The birthday for one of a pair of giant pandas, leased by China, was celebrated Wednesday at the zoo of Everland, South Korea's largest theme park located in Yongin, 40 km south of capital Seoul.

Le Bao, a five-year-old male, and Ai Bao, a four-year-old female, arrived in South Korea in March last year on a 15-year lease. Their names mean pleasant and lovely treasures.

Everland built a 3,300-square-meter Panda World to accommodate the endangered species. The panda species was under threat of extinction but gained great popularity for lovely looks and rarity in the world.

According to Everland data, the number of giant pandas in the wild increased to 1,864 in 2014 from 1,596 10 years ago thanks to much effort to conserve the bear species.

To congratulate Ai Bao's birthday, the theme park operator displayed a birthday cake, made up of bunches of bamboo, flowers and candle-shaped carrots, at the center of the female panda's pen.

Scores of local and foreign media journalists participated in the celebratory event to photograph and film the lovely pandas.

Ai Bao, which Everland said is gentle and shy, lied on her belly at the cooled rock, which is specially produced to mechanically lower its temperature and is located at the corner of the pen.

Just on the opposite of the pen, Le Bao actively went here and there throughout his pen. The male panda, one-year older than the female one, climbed the trees and ran from place to place.

The outgoing Le Bao caught the eyes of female students visiting the Panda World, who said he was "cute and lovely." Many of mothers wheeling a baby carriage stopped in front of the male panda to allow their children to watch the lovely panda.

The pandas were leased to South Korea for joint research purpose. China had previously loaned a pair of pandas to South Korea in 1994.

This time around, Everland aimed to reproduce the panda pair. Male pandas usually become sexually mature one year later than females. Le Bao is five years old, and Ai Bao is four years old.

"About one and a half (years) has passed since the pandas came to their new home," said Kang Cherwon, a keeper of the Everland zoo.

"They put on some 25 kilograms in weight since they came here, and became an adult capable of reproducing," said the keeper.

Female pandas aged 5-6 are able to start reproducing. Le Bao and Ai Bao are selected as a good genetic match, but the reproduction is usually hard as the breeding season of pandas lasts just for days per year.

"The breeding season only lasts for two to three days in a year," said Youn Soonghee, an Everland zoo breeder of the pandas.

Youn anticipated the reproduction next year, but he said getting pregnant could be hard. He added that the pandas should pass this summer well as being healthy is important to reproduce.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 17:03:14|Editor: Lu Hui

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KAIFENG, Henan, July 12 (Xinhua) -- A trial opened Wednesday in central China's Henan Province on the suspected crimes of Henan Yuda Real Estate Company and three of its employees.

The company and its employees Zhang Xincheng, Guo Lijie and Xiao Yanling are charged with two crimes of fraud, according to Kaifeng City Intermediate People's Court.

They said they committed the crimes under direction from Guo Wengui, one of China's most-wanted fugitives.

Guo, the "actual controlling shareholder" of the company, fled China under suspicion of multiple crimes in August 2014 and is currently listed under an Interpol "red notice" for wanted fugitives.

The procuratorate in Henan said that from May 2008 to April 2015, Guo instructed Ma Cheng, then deputy general manager of the company, and the three to set up 10 shell companies and fabricate contracts and projects to fraudulently obtain loans and for banks to accept financial bills, worth a total of 1.435 billion yuan (about 211.05 million U.S. dollars).

Part of the money was used to clear Yuda's debts, while the rest was transferred overseas or to Beijing Pangu Investment. More than 212 million yuan is yet to be recovered.

During the trial, evidence including witness statements and opinion was presented, with defendants not objecting to the charges. They expressed regret and pleaded guilty, thanking the judiciary for lawfully handling the case.

The defendants asked for leniency, saying their actions were made at the instruction or suggestion of Guo.

"Since being investigated, I have often stayed awake all night, questioning myself," said Zhang in his final statement.

Zhang blamed his predicament on being unaware of the law and blind compliance with Guo and Ma's instructions.

"I feel extremely regretful and grieved about my crimes," Zhang said.

Wednesday's trial is the second court proceeding in a series of cases involving Guo.

Over 60 people attended, including families of the defendants, legislators, political advisors, journalists from home and abroad, as well as members of the public.

Transcripts and footage of the session were broadcast by the court's official account on Weibo, a Twitter-like service. The verdict will be announced at a later date.

To protect the defendants' rights and interests, a pre-trial conference was held, attended by the prosecution, defendants and their lawyers.

According to a court ruling last month, Guo, also the actual controlling shareholder of Pangu, directed three individuals of Pangu to apply for loans from banks using fake documents.

They received prison terms for fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign exchange. Pangu was also fined 245 million yuan.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 17:08:20|Editor: Lu Hui

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HANGZHOU, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China are welcoming and capitalizing on the e-commerce boom to restructure the way of doing business.

"The Internet should empower SMEs in the industrial chain," said Jack Ma, chairman of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba at a meeting in Hangzhou Tuesday.

Besides being a platform for millions of buyers and sellers, Alibaba has initiated a Tao Factory program to pair up business partners.

Tao Factory has amassed 10,000 factories and promoted custom designs. Most of factories are based in manufacturing strongholds such as Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, said Yuan Wei, head of Tao Factory.

Factories put up details of products online, including size, technological standard, quality and samples. They also register details that attest to their credit.

"Tao Factory focuses on improving efficiency on the production side, through partnering up Internet sellers and SMEs," said Yuan.

Chuansheng Knitting Co. Ltd, based in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, used to churn out sweaters and other garments. Now about 80 percent of their business comes from online sellers.

"Under the traditional mode, it took us a long time to get payment, which frequently affected our capital chain," said manager Li Bing.

"Now we cater our production according to different clients and different orders," he said.

Most of the orders are not large volumes, Li said, but clients require goods to be ready in a short period of time, and profits are usually very high.

"We recently had an order of 100 pieces, and they had to be ready in a week. The profit per piece was 2,000 yuan (295 U.S. dollars)," said Li.

Tao Factory works well for traditional manufacturers like the garment industry, Yuan said.

"Factories may have large inventory, but on the other side, certain demands are really high. Based on big data, demand in a certain period of time can be calculated, and we can give advice to buyers and sellers. We also offer information on designers and raw materials for the factories," said Yuan.

"Integrating online and offline business is the future," he said.

Guangzhou Blue Leaves Garment Factory used to supply for wholesalers in nearby cities. "A few years back, our salesmen had to go door to door to get orders, now everything relies on the Internet. We even have orders from foreign buyers now," said manager Jiang Zaijian.

Online sales of consumer goods in China soared 26.2 percent from the previous year to 5.16 trillion yuan in 2016.

China's Ministry of Commerce has forecast strong growth in consumption this year with deepening supply-side structural reform.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 17:13:24|Editor: Lu Hui

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MANILA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Philippine troops and guerrillas clashed on Wednesday in Compostela Valley province in the southern Philippines, killing eight rebels and a soldier.

In a statement, the Philippine army said the troops clashed with around 40 New People's Army (NPA) rebels around 8:30 a.m. in Laak town. The troops also recovered at least five M-16 assault rifles and an M60 machine gun.

The NPA rebels reportedly fled after the clash leaving behind their dead comrades and firearms.

The rebels were reportedly part of the guerrillas that also clashed with the troops in another town on Monday.

Talks to end the decades-long communist insurgency have been temporary suspended following a series of rebel attacks against the government forces.

Negotiators from both sides are now conducting back channel talks to resume the stalled talks. They are hoping to return to the negotiating table next month.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 17:13:26|Editor: Lu Hui

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COLOMBO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said on Wednesday that the island nation will ban plastic shopping bags while it is facing a dengue epidemic and garbage crisis.

Following a proposal by President Maithripala Sirisena who is also the minister of environment, the cabinet agreed to ban the use of polythene and Styrofoam which is used by local shops to wrap lunch and polythene shopping bags which is widely used in supermarkets and shops with immediate effect.

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) also stated that the use, production, import and sale of lunch sheets would be banned under the new regulation.

The CEA added that burning of plastic bags in open areas was also prohibited, from Wednesday.

Shopping bags will be replaced with reusable cloth bags under the new law, the CEA said.

Local media reports said the new law was introduced in an effort to reduce environmental damage brought about by the use of non-biodegradable plastic polythene items.

Sri Lanka has been facing a garbage crisis after a central garbage dump collapsed in April, killing over 30 people and burying an entire neighbourhood.

Local residents have complained that piles of garbage have been left uncollected in the capital with the government vowing that it would clean up Colombo and its outskirts soon.

Sri Lanka is also facing its worst ever dengue epidemic with over 225 patients killed and over 80,000 infected.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 17:33:29|Editor: Lu Hui

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BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui will visit China from July 17 to 21 at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday.

Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing that China-Tunisia relations have enjoyed healthy and stable development since their establishment 53 years ago.

China supports Tunisia's efforts of safeguarding the national stability and promoting its development, he said, adding that China stands ready to work with the country to deepen political mutual trust, enhance cooperation on various fields, and promote the continuous growth of bilateral ties.

Geng said it will be Jhinaoui's first visit to China since taking office, which is significant for both countries. During his visit, Jhinaoui will meet with Chinese leaders, and hold talks with Wang.

"We hope both sides will exchange in-depth views on international and regional issues of common concern, consolidate the consensus, deepen the cooperation, and promote the friendship," Geng said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 17:38:35|Editor: Lu Hui

A girl cools herself off at a fountain in Los Angeles, the United States, July 7, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhao Hanrong)

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- This July extends the spell of "extreme weather" across the globe that continues to rage as summer sets in.

High temperatures in Northern Hemisphere have heated up this summer. In addition to that, other extreme forms of weather have also affected many different parts of the world in June and early July. Heatwaves and heavy rains have tested this planet in turns.

HEAT GRIPS NORTHERN HEMISPHERE

June 21 marked the summer solstice -- the longest day of the year -- when temperatures in many parts of Europe hit 35 degrees centigrade, and the Alps witnessed 30 degrees centigrade.

The hot, dry weather is a major factor behind forest fires that killed 62 people in Portugal even before June solstice, while temperatures are also much above average and high in east Siberia and far east regions.

In North America, extreme heat is scorching the American West and western Canada. U.S. city Phoenix in Arizona has seen multiple record-breaking heatwaves produce temperatures of nearly 50 degrees centigrade. A high temperature record that stood for 131 years in Los Angeles was broken by the blistering heatwave.

People have to hold hot steering wheels with gloves and dogs even wear coverings to protect their paws from the scorching pavement.

The high temperatures have contributed to other extreme weather events. Almost 200 wildfire broke out and quickly spread in U.S. California and Canadian province of British Columbia (BC), leaving thousands of homes at risk and forcing evacuations. BC is under a province-wide state of emergency as it battles over 180 wildfires.

HEAVY DOWNPOURS

A storm on Sunday night lashed Paris with the highest rainfall ever recorded in the French capital, flooding streets and briefly forcing the shut-down of metro stations.

A rain of 4.9 centimeters fell in one hour, equivalent to three weeks' rainfall in an average July. The national weather service Meteo France placed 12 departments, including those in great Paris region, on a 24-hour "orange alert" for heavy rains and electrical storms.

In the south of Japan, the death toll from heavy rains and flooding has risen to 20 while more than 20 remain missing, local media reported on July 9. Japan's weather agency Monday warned of continued heavy rains and mudslides in north Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a press briefing on the matter that a quick decision will be made as to whether the government will designate the calamity a "severe disaster" in which case government subsidies for reconstruction and restoration will be made available.

The monsoon season brings 80 percent of its annual rainfall as well as extreme weather to India, which runs between June and September. At least 19 people were killed in separate lightning strikes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh while mudslides claimed 27 lives in northeastern India.

Flooding and landslides in India's northeastern state of Assam have affected over 13,000 people, state-run broadcaster All India Radio said Wednesday. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority said 1,096 villages were inundated and more than 41,000 hectares of crop area have been damaged in the floods.

EXCEPTIONALLY WARM 2017

Rounding up the record temperatures set in the past two months, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the Earth was experiencing "another exceptionally warm year" and the heatwaves were unusually early.

According to the WMO, the trend seen during the past two months has put average monthly global temperatures among the highest ever recorded since data began to be collated in 1880.

"Parts of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the United States of America have seen extremely high May and June temperatures, with a number of records broken," the WMO said.

Half a degree centigrade of global warming has been enough to increase heatwaves and heavy rains in many regions of the planet, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. Comparing two 20-year periods between which average global temperatures jumped 0.5 degree centigrade, scientists found that several kinds of extreme weather gained in duration and intensity.

The study found that nearly one in three of the world's people were already exposed to potentially deadly heatwaves and predicted that number would rise to nearly half by the end of the century unless governments take steps to aggressively reduce climate-changing emissions.

"People are talking about the future when it comes to climate change, but what we found from this paper is that this is already happening," said Camilo Mora, geography professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and lead author of the study, "and this is obviously going to get a lot worse."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 17:53:53|Editor: Lu Hui

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NINGBO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Ningbo-Zhoushan port in east China's Zhejiang Province saw its cargo throughput grow 11.3 percent year on year to 515 million tonnes, still the world's busiest, in the first half of 2017.

It handled 120 million tonnes of iron ore, 55 million tonnes of crude oil and 40 million tonnes of coal, the port operator said Wednesday.

The port handled 12.4 million standard containers, up 14.6 percent year on year.

It stepped up cooperation with neighboring ports in Zhejiang to increase the container throughput.

During the period, the port deepened cooperation with major shipping companies and countries along the Maritime Silk Road. It added three sea routes to raise its total to 236.

It also launched sea-rail transport services linking with inland cities of Nanchang in Jiangxi Province and Zhumadian in Henan Province.

Currently, its sea-rail transport services link 11 Chinese cities, helping drive its container handling volume up 82.2 percent to 182,000 standard containers in the first six months of this year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 17:58:56|Editor: Lu Hui

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ANKARA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Turkey issued detention warrants for 34 former staff of the state-owned broadcaster TRT in links with last July's failed coup, Dogan news agency said.

In a separate operation, police detained 14 non-commissioned army officers early on Wednesday in six provinces in an investigation into the coup attempt, it added.

So far, about 50,000 people have been jailed pending trial and some 150,000 state workers including teachers, judges and soldiers have been suspended in the crackdown.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 17:58:58|Editor: Lu Hui

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ADDIS ABABA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The following are news highlights in Ethiopia's major media outlets on Wednesday.

-- The government (of Ethiopia) will further intensify its efforts to bring back undocumented citizens living in Saudi Arabia safely, according to Ethiopia's Embassy in Riyadh.

This was disclosed in a report the embassy presented on the activities it has been carrying out to return citizens from Saudi Arabia to development association leaders and volunteers. (Ethiopian News Agency/ENA)

-- Coffee export has earned Ethiopia 866 million U.S. dollars in the just concluded fiscal year, according to the Ethiopian Herald. (Fana Broadcasting Corporate/FBC)

-- Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome has asked the outgoing Swedish Ambassador to Ethiopia, Jan Sadek, to encourage his country's businesspersons to invest in agriculture and education sectors.

The Swedish ambassador bid farewell Tuesday to the president at the National Palace. (Ethiopian News Agency/ENA)

-- Britian's Department for International Development announced 90 million pounds of support for family planning in Ethiopia. (Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation/EBC)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 18:04:01|Editor: Lu Hui

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FARAH, Afghanistan -- Seven civilians were killed by militants along a main roadway in Afghanistan's western province of Farah late Tuesday, a provincial government spokesman said on Wednesday.

"The incident occurred in Bala Buluk District after armed militants intercepted a long-distance bus, and unknown gunmen singled out seven civilians and shot them dead at the roadside before releasing the vehicle together with the remaining passengers," spokesman Mohammad Nasir Mehri told Xinhua. (Afghanistan-Militants-Attack)

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ASADABAD, Afghanistan -- Nine Islamic State (IS) militants were killed after the Afghan air force struck an IS hideout in eastern Kunar province late Tuesday, provincial police chief said on Wednesday.

"The strike took place in Gamber locality of Wata Poor District at around 6:00 p.m. local time (1330 GMT). And an IS hideout was also destroyed by the attack," Gen. Juma Gul Hemat told Xinhua. (Afghanistan-IS-Airstrike)

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NEW DELHI -- India's Supreme Court suspended a government law that would ban the trade of cattle for slaughter across the country, officials said.

The law mooted by Indian government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May ordered that cattle trade should be restricted for agricultural purposes (ploughing and dairy production) and not for slaughtering.

For the first time the cattle trade for slaughter cows (which Hindus consider holy), buffaloes and camels would be illegal. (India-Cattle-Ban)

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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir -- Three militants belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militant outfit were killed Wednesday in a fierce gunfight with troops in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.

The gunfight between militants and government forces broke out Tuesday night at village Radbugh of Budgam, about 32 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. (India-Kashmir-Militants)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 18:19:12|Editor: Lu Hui

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by Denis Elamu

JUBA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said Wednesday that the latest fierce fighting between government troops and rebels has forced 5,000 people from north Pagak area of Upper Nile to flee to Ethiopia.

UNMISS head David Shearer told journalist that reports of government forces (SPLA) moving towards the town of Maiwut, some 25 km northwest of the rebel headquarters of Pagak near the Ethiopian border, have forced relocation of 25 aid workers, hence worsening the humanitarian situation.

"At least 25 aid workers have been forced to relocate from Pagak and the surrounding areas due to the growing insecurity in the (Upper Nile) region," Shearer said.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) disclosed that 5,000 people from the area north of Pagak have been registered in the town before they pass into Ethiopia as refugees.

"There has been an active military engagement over the past week with heavy fighting around Mathiang north of Pagak on July 2," Shearer said.

He added that the latest military advance by the SPLA on the rebel stronghold is not in the spirit of the unilateral ceasefire declared by President Salva Kiir in May.

Meanwhile, Shearer also said ongoing fighting around Torit town of Eastern Equatoria state has put at risk the lives of 250 children at an orphanage where both sides are now camped.

"I am particularly concerned by the current situation in Torit, where government and opposition forces have taken up battle positions on either side of an orphanage just outside the town," he said.

He urged the warring parties to heed to Kiir's Independence Day message of peace and withdraw from around the facility.

The UN official disclosed that UNMISS has responded to this escalation in tensions in Torit by sending a contingent of Nepalese peacekeepers from Juba to protect civilians and the UN base.

Shearer also said that efforts were underway on the release of the three abducted UNICEF sub-contractors in Pagak.

"We are doing what we can to obtain their release. We are appealing to authorities not to harm them," he said.

South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political dispute between President Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar led to fighting that pitied mostly Dinka ethnic soldiers loyal to Kiir against Machar's Nuer ethnic group.

The 2015 peace agreement to end the violence was again violated in July 2016 when the rival factions resumed fighting in the capital forcing Machar to flee into exile.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions that have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 18:34:27|Editor: Song Lifang

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LONDON, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Researchers have engineered a super stretchy, strong and sustainable material that mimics the qualities of spider silk without high energy procedures or extensive use of harmful solvents.

The fibers designed by a team from the University of Cambridge are spun from a soupy material called hydrogel, which is 98 percent water and another two percent silica and cellulose, according to a recent report on the journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The chemical interactions between the different components enable long fibers to be pulled from the gel after roughly 30 seconds as the water evaporates, the report said on Monday.

The synthesized silk can "support stresses in the range of 100 to 150 megapascals," said Dr Darshil Shah of the University, co-author of the report.

In addition to its strength, the fibers also show very high damping capacity, meaning that they can absorb large amounts of energy like "a bungee cord," the University reported.

Spider silk is one of nature's strongest materials and scientists have been attempting to mimic its properties for a range of applications.

The new fibers can be used to make special textiles or sensors, the report said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 18:49:39|Editor: Song Lifang

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ADDIS ABABA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has announced a record 866-million-U.S.-dollar earning from coffee export during the just concluded fiscal year.

The announcement by the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Development and Marketing Authority on Wednesday said Ethiopia has secured the revenue from the export of 221,000 tonnes of coffee to the global market.

According to the authority, the country has managed to achieve 92 percent of its targets in coffee export sector during the 2016/2017 fiscal year.

The authority further hailed the performance as "a very great achievement" compared to the previous years as the quantity of coffee product exported grew by 11.5 percent while the income generated from coffee export increased by 20 percent.

Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Belgium, Sudan and South Korea are among the top importers of the Ethiopian coffee, accounting for close to 86 percent of the total coffee exported from Ethiopia, according to the authority.

Ethiopia is one of Africa's largest producers of Arabica coffee. Coffee production is dubbed as the backbone of the country's agriculture-led economy.

The East African country also announced 74 million dollars earning from gold exports during the same fiscal year.

The revenue was reduced by half from the previous period, when Ethiopia earned 150 million dollars from gold exports.

The Ethiopian Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas has blamed primarily the contraband gold trading for the decrease in gold exports revenue.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 18:59:46|Editor: Song Lifang

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LAGOS, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Ailing Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is in good spirit and recovering very fast, the country's acting president Yemi Osinbajo said Wednesday.

Osinbajo disclosed this to reporters in Abuja, the nation's capital, before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

Osinbajo, who left Nigeria on Tuesday to meet Buhari in Britain, returned to the country on Wednesday morning.

Buhari left Nigeria on May 7 for follow-up consultation with his doctors.

Osinbajo on Wednesday assured that Buhari will soon return to Nigeria.

On Monday, Aisha Buhari, wife of the president, reassured to Nigerians of their leader's imminent return from London where he is currently recuperating.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 19:19:58|Editor: Song Lifang

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ANKARA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Over 7,600 military personnel have been dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces over suspected links to the followers of Gulen Movement since the failed coup attempt, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported Wednesday.

According to Turkish Defense Ministry, a total of 7,655 military personnel, including 150 generals and admirals and 4,287 commissioned officers, have been discharged from their posts since the defeated coup.

Moreover, some 786 personnel have also been suspended from the armed forces.

Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based preacher, is blamed by Ankara for orchestrating a failed coup attempt on July 15. Nearly 250 people were killed and over 2,000 people were injured in the coup attempt.

The Turkish government declared a state of emergency and launched a massive crackdown on Gulen's supporters in the aftermath of the coup attempt.

Turkey has arrested tens of thousands of suspected supporters of Gulen and dismissed more than 100,000 public servants from the government since the coup.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 19:19:59|Editor: Song Lifang

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HARARE, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe said Wednesday it is expecting more women who were trafficked to Kuwait to come back home.

Zimbabwe learnt last year that an estimated 200 Zimbabwean women were stranded in Kuwait after falling victim into human trafficking schemes.

Since then, 128 women have been returned to Zimbabwe. They had been lured to the Arab country after being promised lucrative jobs only to be turned into slaves by their employers.

The Zimbabwean government said the women were recruited by friends and relatives. While in Kuwait, the women were subjected to harsh working environments and suffered physical abuse.

The first group of 32 women was repatriated in April 2016 while the latest group arrived back in the country in May.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare Ngoni Masoka said more women were still expected back in the country from Kuwait.

"It is worth mentioning that more women are still expected to come as more awareness is raised with the support of the Zimbabwean Embassy in Kuwait," the permanent secretary said while addressing a parliamentary committee Wednesday.

To reduce vulnerabilities that may push victims back into being trafficked, the International Organization of Migration in partnership with the ministry had sourced funding for provision of medical and psycho-social support to the identified victims, Masoka said.

"The first hundred returnees have submitted project proposals that will be funded to a maximum of 1,500 dollars each to start income generating projects," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 19:20:00|Editor: An

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BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday said the establishment of a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) support base in Djibouti is a decision made by the two countries after friendly negotiations and will be conducive to China's performance of international obligations.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks at a daily press briefing.

He said that in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions, China has deployed vessels to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast on escort missions since 2008. During the process of escorting, Chinese officers and men encountered difficulties in replenishing food and fuel, and Djibouti offered logistical support in multiple instances.

Geng said the support base will better serve Chinese troops when they escort ships in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast, perform humanitarian rescue, and carry out other international obligations.

Moreover, the base will be conducive to driving Djibouti's economic and social development, and assist China's contribution to peace and stability both in Africa and worldwide.

Ships carrying Chinese military personnel departed from Zhanjiang in southern China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday, heading for the support base in Djibouti.

Shen Jinlong, commander of the PLA Navy, read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti, and bestowed the military flag on the fleet.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 19:25:03|Editor: Song Lifang

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ANKARA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- At least five Islamic State (IS) terrorists were killed in an anti-terror operation in Turkey's central province of Konya on Wednesday, local Dogan News Agency reported.

Police launched the raid on ten different addresses in Konya's Meram district after receiving intelligence that the militant cell was planning an attack, said a statement released by the Konya Governor's office on Wednesday.

Four police officers were injured in clashes with IS terrorists. And five Kalashnikov rifles and one pistol were seized during the raid on the house.

According to the statement, preventive security measures were taken on roads leading to a military base in the district.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 19:25:04|Editor: Song Lifang

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LONDON, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Manchester Airport, Britain's biggest airport outside of London handled a record 27 million passengers in the last financial year it was reported Wednesday.

Bosses at Manchester Airport, the country's biggest airport after Heathrow and Gatwick, said the performance bolstered its position as Britain's global gateway to and from the North of England.

Parent company, Manchester Airports group (MAG), said its passenger numbers during the year were a 12 percent year-on-year increase.

During the year, the best in its 79-year history, Manchester entered the list of Europe's top 20 busiest airports, with 200,000 planes landing or taking off.

Last month alone more than 2.75 million passengers flew in and out of Manchester, an increase of 9 percent on June 2016. June also saw the one year anniversary of the Hainan Airlines service to Beijing and it also saw Cathay Pacific increase its flights to Hong Kong to five per week.

In its report, MAG cited the direct flight to Beijing that was launched in June last year as a good example of its success, saying the new route very quickly experienced load factors that surpassed expectations and its frequency has been increased from four flights a week to six, with Boeing 787 Dreamliners coming onto the route from this summer.

Similarly, the Manchester-Hong Kong route has been so successful its frequency has been expanded to a daily flight.

MAG said Manchester and the other three airports within the group, London Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth, carried 55.9 million passengers in 2016-2017, a 7.7 percent increase.

Collette Roche, acting managing director for Manchester Airport, said: "Passing 27 million passengers is another significant milestone for the airport.

"Our continued growth of passengers and destinations clearly highlights the role we play in UK aviation and as the global entry and exit point of the Northern Powerhouse."

Manchester has also seen higher volumes of cargo carried, equating to a 12 percent year on year increase with the annual rolling tonnage now at 118,849.

The annual report reveals that MAG airports contributed 8 billion U.S. dollars to Britain's economic activity during the year.

Charlie Cornish, MAG's CEO said: "It is critical that all European airlines retain liberal access to the continent's skies and we are urging the government to prioritize an interim deal on aviation as part of our Brexit negotiations. Tickets will soon go on sale for flights in the post-Brexit period and both airlines and passengers need to be confident about their ability to fly to and from the UK."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 19:50:21|Editor: Song Lifang

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ANKARA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Turkey issued detention warrants on Wednesday for 34 former staff of state-owned broadcaster TRT, Anadolu Agency reported.

The arrest warrants were issued by the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office, as part of an investigation into the followers of Fetullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric accused by the Turkish government of orchestrating a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

The suspects are believed to have used the ByLock, an encrypted messaging app what the government said was used by Gulenists.

In another operation, Turkish authorities ordered the arrest of 105 people working in information technology, including former staff from Turkey's scientific research council and a telecommunications authority, over their links with the coup attempt last year.

The Turkish government declared a state of emergency and launched a massive crackdown on Gulen's supporters in the aftermath of the coup attempt.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 20:00:31|Editor: Song Lifang

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YANGON, July 12 (Xinhua) -- A Myanmar girl who previously suffered from congenital heart disease has sent a letter of thanks to Chinese president after she underwent a successful surgery in Beijing making possible the recovery of her health status.

Wut Yee Tun, one of the Myanmar child patients who received heart surgery in Beijing and is living in Yangon's Dala, said in her letter of thanks that she is getting better, promising to work hard in playing her role in strengthening Myanmar-China friendship in the future.

On May 10, Myanmar children from less privileged households, received free congenital heart surgery in the Chinese capital. The treatment on humanitarian ground was organized by the China Charity Federation.

A total of 54 children with congenital heart disease, ranging from two to 16, would receive the free treatment.
Protestors gather in the street of Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Jan. 3, 2008. Due to a rally planned by the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to protest presidential election results announced Sunday was cancelled by Kenyan authorities, clashes between protestors and the police happened in many places of Nairobi on Thursday. (Xinhua)

NAIROBI, July 12 (Xinhua) -- There is need for aspirants for various political seats to tone down inflammatory rhetoric in order to prevent civil disruptions as Kenya gears up for August 8 general elections, a lobby group has said.

Senior officials from the Kenyan Chapter of African Bar Association said at a press briefing in Nairobi Tuesday the East African nation's stability hinges on civil political discourse that unites instead of dividing citizens along ethnic and sectarian lines.

Alex Gatundu, the Secretary General of African Bar Association, Kenyan affiliate stressed that respect to the rule of law, non-interference with independent institutions and issues-based campaigns were key to facilitating smooth political transition during the August polls.

"Every citizen in this country has a constitutional right to participate in an electoral process. However, the quest for elective seats should not jeopardize peace and stability in the country," Gatundu said.

He urged aspirants for political seats and their supporters to engage in peaceful campaigns to avoid electoral related violence like the one Kenya witnessed in 2007 to 2008.

The campaign season has entered homestretch as Kenya gears up for hotly contested elections of a new president, lawmakers, county executives and ward representatives.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his rival in the opposition National Super Alliance (NASA), Raila Odinga are running well-oiled campaigns in an attempt to grab a higher number of votes.

Heated rhetoric during this campaign season has raised concern from Kenya's bilateral partners and rights advocates.

The European Union recently warned against possible eruption of poll-related chaos in the absence of deterrent measures.

At the same time, rights groups have raised alarm over growing inter-tribal tensions in the Rift Valley region linked to incitement by local politicians.

Gatundu said that leading political parties, the polls agency and security personnel have a responsibility to ensure peace and stability prevails during the August polls.

"Every arm of government and contestants for elective posts should agree on modalities of maintaining peace during the entire election cycle," said Gatundu, adding that peaceful elections will strengthen Kenya's economic and diplomatic clout.
Aerial photo taken on May 12, 2017 shows the Mazeras Bridge of the Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway in Kenya. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)

NAIROBI, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The Nairobi-Naivasha Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project that was officially launched last year will pave way for robust economic activities along its route, a senior Kenyan official has said.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure James Macharia said Tuesday in a commentary published by the Star Newspaper that the 120-kilometer modern railway will open Kenyan hinterland to new investments.

"The economic benefits of the Standard Gauge Railway are set to soar with the ongoing extension from Nairobi to Naivasha and eventually to Kisumu and Malaba," Macharia said.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on October 19 2016 launched the construction of the Nairobi-Naivasha second phase of the SGR project financed by China to the tune of 1.5 billion dollars.

It is an extension of Mombasa-Nairobi railway whose operation commenced at the beginning of June this year.

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) is involved in the implementation of Nairobi-Naivasha SGR project that will take 54 months to complete.

Macharia noted that that Nairobi-Naivasha SGR project will herald a new era of industrial revival in Kenyan mainland.

"A center piece of the Nairobi-Naivasha line is the proposed mega industrial park that will be established near the Mai-Mahiu Freight Exchange Centre," Macharia said.

Kenya plans to establish a dry port in Naivasha and other towns along the SGR corridor in a bid to ease movement of bulk cargo from the port of Mombasa to the hinterland.

Macharia said both the dry port and Mai Mahiu Freight Exchange Centre are part of an ambitious agenda by the government to stimulate economic activities in rural Kenya.

Kenya has proposed establishment of special economic zones in Naivasha to maximize the benefits of a modern railway track.

Macharia said Naivasha will become a magnet for investors in advanced manufacturing thanks to efficient and cheaper transport of raw materials through SGR.

He added that the Nairobi-Naivasha SGR project has created many jobs for local youth since its construction kicked off late last year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 20:35:56|Editor: Song Lifang

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by Ronald Ssekandi and Yuan Qing

KAMPALA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Uganda is in its second phase of implementing the South to South Cooperation program aimed at boosting agricultural production in the East African country.

Alhaji Jallow, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Country Representative to Uganda, told Xinhua in an interview that there is evidence that the model of farming, featuring sending Chinese experts to work and impart knowledge in the African fields, is boosting production.

The 2-million-U.S.-dollar program is a result of a request by Uganda to China through FAO.

China through a tripartite agreement with Uganda and FAO has been sending agriculture experts to Uganda to share experiences on improving agriculture production in a bid to fight poverty.

Jallow and other experts argue that since agriculture is the mainstay of many African economies, this model of farming, borrowing from the Chinese experience, is critical to the continent's development.

Compared with sending African officials abroad for training, he said the Chinese practice of working in the field together with local African farmers is a better way, as farmers can always ask questions and share their experiences directly.

Since the program was started in Uganda back in 2012, there are indications that farmers have been adopting new farming techniques and technologies from the Chinese.

The agronomists have also introduced high-yielding crops that are fast growing and do not require a lot of acreage.

Results from the trials of the growth of Chinese hybrid rice show that it yields three or four times more than the local breed. Similarly the yield of the Chinese fox-tail millet is two times more than the local breed, finger millet, in the same acreage.

Also as a result of this South to South cooperation, a 220-million-dollar Chinese agri-industrial park is being constructed in the central part of the country.

The 2,500-acre industrial park will be dedicated to rice farming, poultry, horticulture, and fish farming. It will also include agribusiness, value addition, use of renewable energy and agro-machinery.

According to the Ugandan government, the facility will be a model agricultural industrial park where people can learn from and know more about Chinese technologies.

Jallow argued that the success of the South to South cooperation program in Uganda shows that it can be replicated elsewhere in Africa.

According to FAO, the aim of the South to South cooperation is to boost sustainable agricultural and rural development, tackling food insecurity and poverty, and improving resilience of agriculture to natural disaster around the Global South.

James Tumwine, a ministry of agriculture official, told Xinhua in a recent interview that Africa needs to make policies and implement them to achieve the desired results.

He said this discipline has been instrumental in fast tracking China's development over the last 30 years, while urging agriculture officials who have trained in China to share their experiences when they come back home so that appropriate policies are developed.

"We can not continue to talk about how China has developed in the last 30 years without us having a clear road map on how we can do it. We don't have to reinvent the wheel, the wheel is already running, you just have to hasten the opportunities," he said.

Tumwine said from his various training in China and elsewhere, there must be a deliberate effort to develop agriculture especially if a country derives its livelihood from it.

He said like China, many African countries must master the importance of value chain development.

"When we visited China, we realized that when you talk of any commodity, the government addresses the entire value chain, they will know where the seed comes from, who will produce it, how they will add value and where it will be marketed," he said.

"If we can adopt that idea of promoting the entire value chain of a given commodity, we shall go very far in utilizing Chinese agricultural technology," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 20:46:02|Editor: An

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BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- A mainland spokesperson on Wednesday said that any attempt to change the fact that Taiwan is part of China will be in vain.

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks following reports that the Cairo Declaration will no longer be part of the curriculum in Taiwan's high schools, and official websites have already removed related content.

The Cairo Declaration clearly stipulated that Chinese territory taken by Japan, such as Manchuria, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, should be returned to China.

The Potsdam Proclamation, signed by China, the United States and Britain (later acceded to by the Soviet Union), stipulated that "the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out." It was the international legal ground for Japan to surrender, Ma said.

Ma reiterated that there is only one China and Taiwan is an integral part of China, which is a legal basis recognized by the international community.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 20:56:05|Editor: Song Lifang

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NAIROBI, July 12 (Xinhua) -- At least five people including three journalists were injured on Wednesday after a light aircraft crashed a few minutes after take-off from Wilson Airport in Nairobi.

Police Airwing Commandant Rodgers Mbithi said the Cesna 206 plane was ferrying three journalists- two reporters and a cameraman- to a political rally by the opposition leaders in Baringo when it crashed in Kibera in the city.

"We have rushed the injured to the hospital," said Mbithi, noting that the victims are in stable condition. Eye witnesses said the plane was badly damaged.

"Experts are on the ground to establish the cause of the crash. The victims including the pilot were rushed to hospital," said Mbithi.

The journalists were injured and later rushed to Nairobi Hospital in a stable condition. The pilot was seriously injured, witnesses said.

"They are in stable condition and we have talked to them in hospital," said one of their colleagues who saw them. Witnesses said they heard the plane coming down with a funny sound.

"It roared funnily before it crashed and rolled disintegrating moments after take off," said a witness. The scene of the crash is about two kilometers from the airport.

The Kenya Red Cross Society said it was it was responding to the scene. The opposition, the National Super Alliance (NASA) leaders were holding a series of rallies in Baringo County.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 20:56:06|Editor: An

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CHANGSHA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- A man has been arrested in central China's Hunan province for alleged rape and murder of children and teenagers, said local police.

Yao Changfeng, the suspect, was caught on Saturday while attempting to rape an 11-year-old girl by a road in Yuanling county.

By comparing him with images in the database, police found Yao was wanted for allegedly killing two children in December 2011, and a 15-year-old girl in February 2013.

After investigation, police learned that between 2013 and 2017, Yao raped ten others, three of whom were minors.

Yao also confessed to 42 thefts involving more than 17,000 yuan (about 2,500 U.S. dollars).

To avoid the police, he allegedly travelled by bike and lived in caves, under bridges or tents in the wilderness.

The Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of the adjacent Hubei province issued a notice in February, offering 200,000 yuan for information which may lead to Yao's arrest.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 21:06:18|Editor: Song Lifang

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by Denis Elamu

NAIROBI, July 12 (Xinhua) -- A senior South Sudanese official on Wednesday lauded China's constructive engagement approach to bringing lasting peace to the war-torn country.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Mawien Makol told Xinhua in Juba that China was playing an active and constructive role in peace making by engaging the leadership and supporting the national dialogue initiated in December last year by President Salva Kiir.

"The Chinese government is really playing a very great role in national dialogue and we are happy with this effort as a government," Makol revealed.

He added that they expect China to help the oil-rich country to recover from the more than three years of conflict with development assistance and reconstruction.

"If peace comes to South Sudan, the Chinese will help us with diversification of our economy. They are working to make sure that we recover from the mistakes of 2013," he disclosed.

"We see it from the bottom of the heart that China wants us to recover," he added.

Makol added that besides China helping to push with peace process and development, it has not used threats of sanctions as solution to ending the violence in the country.

"China has not sanctioned us and sanctions will not help," he said.

A recent report by the International Crisis Group lauded China's evolving constructive engagement approach to the South Sudan crisis in seeking solution to the violence that has threatened regional security and caused the highest refugee influx across in East Africa.

South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political dispute between President Kiir and his former deputy Machar led to fighting that pitted mostly Dinka ethnic soldiers loyal to Kiir against Machar's Nuer ethnic group.

The 2015 peace agreement to end the violence was again violated in July 2016 when the rival factions resumed fighting in the capital forcing the rebel leader Machar to flee into exile.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 21:11:29|Editor: Song Lifang

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MANILA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- An airstrike on Islamist militants holed up in the southern Philippine city of Marawi mistakenly killed two soldiers and wounded 11 others on Wednesday, a military spokesman said.

This has been the second accident involving a military aircraft hitting soldiers on the ground since the conflict in Marawi started in May.

The air force's public affairs chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said in a statement that a military bomber missed its target during an airstrike around noontime Wednesday and the ordnance hit buildings near the soldiers' position.

Citing initial report from ground commanders in Marawi City, Arevalo said "the bomb was 250 meters off target."

"The impact of the explosion caused the collapse of nearby structures. Large debris from heavily reinforced buildings accidentally hit the two of our personnel who succumbed to death in the process," he said.

Arevalo said the 11 wounded "are ambulatory" and are recuperating in the hospital.

He said the military is "saddened by this unfortunate incident," the second accident involving a military aircraft hitting soldiers on the ground.

On May 31, a rocket bomb fired by an SF-260 plane conducting an airstrike also accidentally hit troops on ground, killing 10 soldiers and wounded seven others.

More than 500 people have so far been killed in the 51-day war to defeat the militants allied with the Islamic State (IS) that occupied Marawi City.

Before the latest report came in, Arevalo said the number of casualty in the ongoing Marawi conflict has reached 518, including 389 extremists, 90 security forces and 39 civilians.

Meanwhile, the battle to retake the city continues.

President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed hope that the conflict will end in 10 to 15 days.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 21:11:31|Editor: Song Lifang

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CAIRO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The Egypt cabinet approved Wednesday a presidential decree to establish a New Mansoura city to host 500,000 citizens, the state-run MENA news agency reported.

Egypt's Housing Minister Moustafa Madbouli said the new city will be established over an area of 5,100 feddans (about 1.038 acres) to the west of Gamasa city on the northern coast.

The city is planned to accommodate some 500,000 citizens and will have a regional university, technology and logistics zone, water desalination plants and an integrated utility network, Madbouli said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 21:21:35|Editor: Lu Hui

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Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong (C) meets with a delegation of female lawmakers from Japan, headed by senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Seiko Noda, in Beijing, capital of China, July 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Gao Jie)

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- China and Japan should protect the political foundation of bilateral relations and restore the normal development of their relationship at an early date, Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong said Wednesday.

Liu made the remarks when meeting with a delegation of female lawmakers from Japan, headed by senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Seiko Noda.

China-Japan relations stand at a crucial historical point as the two countries celebrate the 45th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic relations, and next year sees the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Liu said.

Liu called on both sides to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries during the G20 summit in Hamburg, protect the political foundation of bilateral ties and deal with sensitive issues properly.

Both sides should steadily push forward exchanges and cooperation in various areas, Liu said.

Noda said Japan will make efforts to enhance mutual understanding and trust and is committed to building a stable Japan-China relationship.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 21:41:42|Editor: Song Lifang

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NAIROBI, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to diversify its exports products in order to reduce its trade imbalance, a government official said on Wednesday.

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Dr Chris Kiptoo told a media briefing in Nairobi that the country's export product base remains narrow with the top five products accounting for 52 percent of total exports in 2016.

"Kenya needs to increase the number of products its sells globally in order to reduce its trade deficit and enhance its foreign exchange earnings," Kiptoo said during the launch of the National Export Development and Promotion Strategy for Kenya 2017-2022.

The strategy aims to spur growth and transform the performance of the trade sector significantly.

The country's main exports include tea, horticulture, coffee, titanium, textile and apparels while major imports include petroleum products, capital goods and chemical fertilizers.

Although the value of Kenya's exports has increased from four billion U.S. dollars in 2010 to 5.78 billion dollars, it has been marked by major oscillations in the last five years.

Government data indicates that the value of imports has increased from 7.8 billion dollars in 2010 to 14.3 billion dollar last year.

Kiptoo noted that the balance of trade has continually registered a deficit that has on average widened by an annual average of 11.4 percent.

He said that the country's export markets are also relatively concentrated and in need of diversification.

"In fact ten countries accounted for 61 percent of exports, while five out of the top ten markets were in Africa," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 22:11:54|Editor: An

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PHNOM PENH, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The Lower Sesan II Hydropower Plant, which is Cambodia's biggest hydropower dam, will begin testing its first-phase operation on July 15 after more than three years of construction, the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) said on Wednesday.

The 400-megawatt hydropower dam, situated in northern Cambodia's Stung Treng province, is a joint venture between China's Hydrolancang International Energy holding 51 percent of the stake, and Cambodia's Royal Group and Vietnamese EVN International Joint Stock Company possessing 39 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

The project's investment worth is about 928 million U.S. dollars.

"This is a huge achievement of the Cambodian government in developing a stable, qualitative electricity sector," the EAC said in a Facebook post.

The project is a concessional contract of a 45-year build-operate-transfer (BOT), of which, five years are for construction and 40 years for operations.

When the dam is operational, the electricity will be sold to the Electricity of Cambodia at the fixed price of 6.95 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour.

China is the largest investor in building hydroelectric dams in this Southeast Asian nation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 22:22:04|Editor: Song Lifang

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TEHRAN, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said that the Islamic republic is against the pressures by the Saudi-led bloc on Qatar, Tehran Times daily reported.

"Threats, pressures and imposing sanctions on a neighboring country like Qatar is a wrong approach and all should make efforts to end tension in the region," Rouhani said during a meeting with the visiting Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah.

The bloc, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, has severed diplomatic ties with gas-rich Qatar, accusing it of supporting and financing extremism and terrorism, which Doha has repeatedly denied.

Certain countries' "wrong decisions" have also caused crises in Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Rouhani said, adding that such a situation is harmful to the entire regional countries.

The Iranian president stressed that Tehran welcomes any attempt to end conflicts in the Middle East, and negotiation is the only way to settle crises in Yemen and Bahrain.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has given positive response to the governments which asked for help in fighting terrorism," he was quoted as saying.

"All countries' cooperation and help are required to eradicate terrorism as a contagious disease," he stressed.

Rouhani went on by adding that Iran stood beside the Iraqi people in fighting the terrorists and will continue to support them in this respect in the future.

For his part, the Omani minister highlighted the importance of putting an immediate end to crises in the region through diplomatic ways.

Bin Alawi added Iran has played an "effective" role in fighting terrorism.

Omani foreign minister arrived in Iran's capital Tehran on Wednesday for talks with Iranian senior officials.

He is also scheduled to meet his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on bilateral and regional issues.

The Omani top diplomat's visit to Iran comes amid a diplomatic standoff between Qatar and the Saudi-led bloc.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 22:32:09|Editor: ying

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ZAGREB, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde has praised Croatia's economic outlook, but also warned against lagging behind advanced Europe, daily paper "Vecernji list" reported on Wednesday.

While attending a conference organized by the Croatian National Bank (HNB) and IMF in Dubrovnik on Tuesday, Lagarde welcomed Croatia's growth for the third consecutive year, its strong fiscal outcome in 2016, and its exit from the EU's excessive deficit procedure in June 2017, but she noted that slow economic progress in the country and the entire region is primarily due to poor governance and weak institutions.

The IMF chief said strong, stable and independent institutions were key to progress and faster growth.

"The region transformed successfully from centrally planned economies to market-based systems in less than a generation, but the progress has slowed down since the global financial crisis. I believe that good governance and strong institutions can play a crucial role in speeding up the convergence process with advanced Europe and making growth more durable and inclusive," said Lagarde.

She recommended strengthening Croatia's economic defenses, including through further reducing debt and also emphasized the importance of fiscal and structural reforms to improve competitiveness and boost private sector growth and employment opportunities, especially for women and the youth.

Asked about Croatia's joining the Eurozone, Lagarde said it was up to Croatia to make that decision, adding that the country could only benefit from that process.

"Meeting the European Monetary Union membership criteria would certainly be good for a country aspiring to introduce the euro," said Lagarde.

During the visit to Croatia, Lagarde met with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalic, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric and HNB Governor Boris Vujcic.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 22:57:34|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BERLIN, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The German federal government announced on Wednesday that it would compensate for half the damaged property on the sidelines of the past G20 summit in northern German city of Hamburg.

"The goal is to provide speedy help to the victims of the violence in their effort to repair the damage," the Federal Ministry of Finance was cited as saying by German news agency dpa.

According to the ministry, the federal government is working with officials in Hamburg to reach an agreement on the relief fund.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had promised help and compensation. She said that it is not a question whether to help, but how to help.

However, the federal government could not say how much would have to be paid for damaged property.

Hamburg Mayor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday also apologized that the security measures imposed were inadequate in terms of protecting residents.

Windows were smashed and cars set ablaze at various locations throughout the city, injuring more than 200 police officers, during the Hamburg summit.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 23:22:48|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ROME, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Italy's former prime minister Matteo Renzi said Wednesday the only way for Italy to grow would be to scrap the current European Union (EU) deficit rules for at least five years.

In televised remarks at the presentation of his ninth book, titled Avanti (Forward), the leader of the ruling center-left Democratic Party said his proposed return to a 2.9-percent deficit to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio was "the only way to boost growth and create jobs."

Renzi, who led a reformist government from 2014 to 2016, first outlined this position in a July 9 article in the business and financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.

In the article, Renzi called the 2012 EU Fiscal Compact "reckless" and said it made the Maastricht rules look like a "progressive manifesto."

"We think Italy should veto the introduction of the Fiscal Compact," Renzi wrote.

Signed in 1992, the Maastricht Treaty defines two criteria for budget discipline: the deficit-to-GDP ratio of no more than 3.0 percent, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of no more than 60 percent.

The so-called "Fiscal Compact" was signed in March 2012 and imposes penalties on countries that fail to keep their budget deficits below 3.0 percent of GDP.

Renzi also called for "a return to the Maastricht criteria for at least five years." This would free up "at least 30 billion euros (34.22 billion U.S. dollars) over the next five years" for Italian coffers, and this money should go "entirely and solely to tax reduction," Renzi wrote.

This redefinition of Italy's economic relationship with the EU forms the basis of the Democratic Party campaign platform ahead of the next general election in early 2018, according to the party's website.

Renzi also said he wanted to "get as many people as possible involved" in his Democratic Party, which he said was the only viable alternative to what he called Italy's "two populisms" -- represented by the euro-skeptic Five Star Movement and the right-wing, anti-immigrant Northern League party.

The 25-year-old Maastricht Treaty established the EU as we know it, including the single currency (the euro), the common market, European citizenship, and EU institutions -- its parliament, council, commission, courts, and central bank.

The Fiscal Compact was a treaty signed by 25 EU member states. Britain and the Czech Republic did not sign.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says that the Islamic republic is against the pressures by the Saudi-led bloc on Qatar. (AFP photo)

TEHRAN, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said that the Islamic republic is against the pressures by the Saudi-led bloc on Qatar, Tehran Times daily reported.

"Threats, pressures and imposing sanctions on a neighboring country like Qatar is a wrong approach and all should make efforts to end tension in the region," Rouhani said during a meeting with the visiting Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah.

The bloc, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, has severed diplomatic ties with gas-rich Qatar, accusing it of supporting and financing extremism and terrorism, which Doha has repeatedly denied.

Certain countries' "wrong decisions" have also caused crises in Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Rouhani said, adding that such a situation is harmful to the entire regional countries.

The Iranian president stressed that Tehran welcomes any attempt to end conflicts in the Middle East, and negotiation is the only way to settle crises in Yemen and Bahrain.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has given positive response to the governments which asked for help in fighting terrorism," he was quoted as saying.

"All countries' cooperation and help are required to eradicate terrorism as a contagious disease," he stressed.

Rouhani went on by adding that Iran stood beside the Iraqi people in fighting the terrorists and will continue to support them in this respect in the future.

For his part, the Omani minister highlighted the importance of putting an immediate end to crises in the region through diplomatic ways.

Bin Alawi added Iran has played an "effective" role in fighting terrorism.

Omani foreign minister arrived in Iran's capital Tehran on Wednesday for talks with Iranian senior officials.

He is also scheduled to meet his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on bilateral and regional issues.

The Omani top diplomat's visit to Iran comes amid a diplomatic standoff between Qatar and the Saudi-led bloc.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 23:32:53|Editor: ying

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PHNOM PENH, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) promoted the "Beautiful China" campaign here on Wednesday evening, aimed at attracting more Cambodian tourists to China, officials said.

Head of the Chinese tourism delegation Zhang Xilong said 2017 is the year of tourism cooperation between China and the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and China hopes to welcome more tourists from ASEAN including Cambodia.

"The event aims at showing the richness of China's tourism resources and products to Cambodian people," he said at the ceremony, which was attended by some 150 Cambodian tour operators and officials.

He said China is renowned for its cultural properties and natural heritage in combination with good hospitality and accommodation as well as delicious food.

Meanwhile, Zhang was confident that the tourism relations between China and Cambodia would be further deepened in the future under the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China.

Charge d' affairs of the Chinese embassy to Cambodia Tan Qingsheng said tourism is a bridge to increase people-to-people bond and cultural exchange, and that China is ready to closely cooperate with ASEAN and Cambodia to further broaden tourism ties.

The "Beautiful China" campaign was held in Phnom Penh after it was successfully introduced in Bangkok, Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

"I believe that the event today will enable all of you to better understand China and to explore further opportunities for cooperation and investment in tourism between the two countries," he said.

Tan said tourism has been playing a vital role in contributing to deepening the strategic relations between China and ASEAN in general and between China and Cambodia in particular.

Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the event was very useful to further enhance tourism cooperation between China and Cambodia.

He said China was the biggest source of foreign tourists to Cambodia. In the first five months of 2017, some 441,000 Chinese tourists visited Cambodia, up 35.6 percent over the same period last year.

The minister added that the country is expected to greet about one million Chinese tourists in 2017 and up to two million in 2020.

In his speech, Thong Khon praised the Belt and Road Initiative, saying it would boost the development of tourism in countries along the silk road, including ASEAN and Cambodia.

Chhay Sivlin, president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, said the event opened a new chapter for tour operators in Cambodia to better understand China's culture and new attractive tourist destinations in addition to the Great Wall.

"Besides interesting tourist sites, China is famous for delicious food, effective traditional medicines, and good infrastructure for tourists' travel," she said.

She believed that through this event, Cambodian tour operators would organize more tour packages to China to contribute to the development of tourism cooperation between the two countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 23:38:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADEN, Yemen, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Rival Yemeni armed groups loyal to the Saudi-backed government clashed in the troubled southern province of Taiz on Wednesday, a government official told Xinhua.

The intra-faction fighting erupted between two Islamist groups over the control of key government institutions in downtown Taiz, the province's capital city that bears the same name, the local government source said on condition of anonymity.

The fighting was concentrated in Jamal Street and areas controlled by the Yemeni government forces and continued throughout the day, causing panic among civilians, according to local residents.

They said plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the fighting scene as some masked gunmen torched stores and cars.

About six gunmen were killed from both warring factions and several civilians left injured at the scene, a local medical source said.

Taiz Province under a total blockade has long witnessed indiscriminate shellings by the Shiite Houthis who control most parts of the province.

Yemen has been suffering from a civil war and a Saudi-led military intervention for about two years.

The civil war began after the Houthi militants, with support of forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, ousted the UN-backed transitional government and occupied capital Sanaa in September 2014.

The legitimate government controls the south and some eastern parts, while the Houthi/Saleh alliance controls the other parts including the capital Sanaa.

The UN has sponsored peace talks between the warring factions several times, but they failed to reach any common ground.

The civil war has so far killed more than 10,000 people, half of them civilians, injured more than 35,000 others and displaced over two million, according to humanitarian agencies.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 23:53:13|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BUJUMBURA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Four policemen were injured, two of them seriously, in a grenade explosion that targeted a police post in the Burundian capital Bujumbura Tuesday night, police said Wednesday.

"An unidentified person last night exploded a grenade in a police post at Bwiza around 21:00. The criminal was aboard a pick-up that drove away after the grenade blast. Four policemen were injured, but one of them had very small injuries and did not need to go to the hospital," Burundian Police Spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said.

According to him, two policemen seriously injured on their legs were rushed to hospital, another policeman left the hospital after treatment.

He blamed the attack which occurred in central Bujumbura on bandits who had been stealing cars or committing other crimes, but who were "unfortunately" released by jurisdictions.

"This grenade attack was a sort of retaliation against policemen based at Bwiza police post because they have been mercilessly arresting them," Nkurikiye said.

Tuesday's attack was just two days after another grenade attack in Kayanza of northern Burundi, which caused at least eight deaths and 50 injuries.

The central Africa country has a series of grenade attacks in recent months, while perpetrators of the attacks have not yet been identified or arrested.

Burundi has suffered turmoil since April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would seek a third term, which he later won.

Opponents said the president's move violates the constitution, and mounted waves of protests.

Since April 2015, more than 500 people in Burundi have been killed and some 410,000 people fled to neighboring countries, mostly Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo since the outbreak of the crisis.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-12 23:58:16|Editor: Liangyu

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Mohammed Barkindo, secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), delivers a speech during a session of the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 12, 2017. Mohammed Barkindo, secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Wednesday that he is optimistic about oil stocks declining further to heighten the prices at the second half of this year. (Xinhua/He Canling)

ISTANBUL, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Mohammed Barkindo, secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Wednesday that he is optimistic about oil stocks declining further to heighten the prices at the second half of this year.

"It's been a very challenging first half of the year, but we are on course going forward and we are solid in our decisions on the implementation," Barkindo said at a session of the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul.

He said the producers have faced "headwinds" due to a cyclical drop in demand as well as a resurgence in supplies from non-OPEC producers, in particular the United States that produces shale.

"This combination has impacted heavily on the world oil market," he added.

The OPEC chief expressed a firm commitment to key deals made last year by OPEC and non-block producers to cut their outputs by 1.2 million and 558,000 barrels per day respectively to boost plummeting oil prices.

"You have seen the very high level of conformity by both OPEC and non-OPEC members that is also unprecedented, as more than hundred percent of conformity is taking both groups forward," he said.

Despite the cut in output, oil prices have been fluctuating at a low level of 45 U.S. dollars per barrel.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 00:48:59|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KHARTOUM, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday issued a decree to freeze the negotiation committee with the United States until Oct. 12 this year, official SUNA news agency reported.

The decision came after the United States on Tuesday postponed the deadline for making decisions on lifting the sanctions on Sudan by three months.

Sudanese government earlier on Wednesday expressed regret over the U.S. announcement on the delay of sanction lifting period, describing it as "unjustified."

"We regret the issuance of the American decision to extend the period by three months to permanently lift the U.S. unilateral and unjust sanctions on Sudan," Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told reporters in Khartoum.

"We have not seen any reason for this unjustified extension, and we are still looking forward to the lifting of these sanctions on Sudan," he added.

Sudan and the United States approved a five-track plan last year that included conditions set by the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama. The United States agreed to lift the sanctions against Sudan as long as Sudan meets a series of demands including improving human rights issues, assisting in the peace process in the South as well as cooperating with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in combating terrorism.

At the beginning of this year, Obama has decided to cancel two executive orders imposing economic sanctions on Sudan.

The executive orders gave 180 days for review before fully and permanently lifting the sanctions if Sudan government maintained its efforts regarding human rights and combating terrorism.

The decision then allowed resumption of all banking transactions and trade exchange between the two countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 00:49:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian security forces on Wednesday killed a member of Hasm terrorist group who was accused of involvement in several terror operations including killing five policemen, official MENA news agency reported.

An Interior Ministry statement indicated that the move came within the framework of efforts for hunting down elements of the armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood group and protecting the homeland.

The security apparatus received a tip-off that Ahmed Mohamed Omar Swelim, who was involved in several terrorist attacks including the murder of non-commissioned police officer Diab Mohamed last year, was hiding in a hired apartment in Cairo's al Marg district.

The security forces stormed the hideout and the terrorist started to fire at the force. He was killed in the shootout, according to the statement.

The deceased was also accused of involvement in killing several other policemen, added the statement.

The force found in the apartment an automatic rifle, a gun and large quantities of ammunition.

Egypt has been facing a rising wave of terrorist activities following the military removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Terror attacks had been centered in restive North Sinai before they prevailed nationwide, killing hundreds of policemen and soldiers over the past few years.

Security raids in Egypt killed hundreds of militants and arrested a similar number of suspects as part of the country's anti-terror war declared by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 00:54:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOGADISHU, July 12 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and seven others injured when a car loaded with explosives went off at a checkpoint south of Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, on Wednesday evening.

Benadir Police Commissioner Hassan Malim said the casualties in the incident which took place at Siinka-dheer were all civilians.

"The attack left three people dead and injured seven others after a vehicle exploded at Siink-dheer location outside Mogadishu this evening," Malim said.

Malim told Xinhua the vehicle which was heading to the capital was carrying the charcoal when it exploded at the checkpoint which is manned by government soldiers.

The police commissioner said more security officers have been deployed to the scene as investigations into the possible cause of the blast got underway.

Despite being forced out of the capital and other major urban areas in Somalia by national and African Union peacekeeping forces, Somali Al-Shabaab militants have continued to carry out deadly bombings and attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere.

Their main targets have included hotels, military checkpoints, and the presidential palace including social gatherings.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 01:49:27|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MADRID, July 12 (Xinhua) -- British Ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, expressed his optimism that the visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain to Britain, which began on Wednesday, will help deepen two-way ties, according to the Spanish digital newspaper The Diplomat.

The first state visit to Britain by a Spanish Monarch, since King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia made an official visit in 1986, saw Felipe and Letizia welcomed by Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles at the start of a busy agenda.

Felipe and Letizia will be guests at an official reception with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, as well as holding talks with British Prime Minister, Theresa May.

The Spanish King also makes an intervention at a joint session (House of Commons and House of Lords) of the British Parliament and be the guest of honor at a gala dinner with the Lord Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

However, despite Manley's optimism that the visit will lead to "even deeper" links in areas such as "trade, tourism, science, education, defense and security", the visit comes at a difficult time due to the possible effect of the Brexit.

Around 300,000 British citizens are currently residents in Spain and 130,000 Spaniards live and work in Britain. Meanwhile Britain is a major market for Spanish products and 2016 year saw "18 million UK visitors" to Spain.

The Ambassador expressed his desire that Brexit will not affect the lives of Britons in Spain and Spaniards living in Britain. "We want them to stay, just like the UK nationals that have settled in Spain," he said.

Another thorny issue is the status of the British Crown Colony of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar, located on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean, was ceded to Britain as part of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Spain has persistently sought to regain the tiny southern territory.

A row has erupted after draft Brexit negotiating guidelines drawn up by the European Council identified future arrangements for Gibraltar as one of its 26 core principles.

Manley's communique also highlights that "Spain and the United Kingdom are close allies and partners in the NATO, the UN, the G7 and the G20, amongst many other international organizations."

He adds that Britain is the "top destination for Spanish investment in Europe". Around 400 Spanish companies are registered in Britain, whilst 700 British companies are investing in Spain.

"I hope that the images of the coming days... are the best symbols possible of two countries that are friends and partners, that share joint values and challenges, and that look to the future with hope," Manley concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 01:49:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades held a phone talk on Wednesday to discuss ways of fostering bilateral relations in different fields.

Sisi highlighted the importance of pushing forward economic and investment relations between the two countries, state-run MENA news agency quoted Presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef as saying.

During the phone conversation, Sisi expressed his appreciation for Cyprus' support to Egypt's efforts to establish the pillars of security and stability in the Middle East and the Mediterranean, according to MENA.

Furthermore, the two leaders discussed ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation in a number of domains. They also touched on a number of other issues, including the latest regional developments.

The Cypriot president briefed Sisi on his country's efforts to reach a peaceful settlement to the Cypriot crisis, Youssef said.

For his part, Sisi reaffirmed Egypt's firm stance on reunifying Cypriot territories based on the relevant decisions of UN Security Council and the resolutions of international legitimacy.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 02:09:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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By Stefania Fumo

ROME, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The Italian, French and German heads of government held a meeting on migration Wednesday in Italy's northeastern city of Trieste.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni invited French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the talks on board an Italian Navy schooner anchored in Trieste's port.

On the mainland, a summit on integration between the European Union and six Western Balkan countries was underway.

Gentiloni was seeking consensus over a joint European migration policy, as Italy currently bears most of the burden of rescuing, processing, and hosting thousands of men, women and children who try to cross the Mediterranean on unseaworthy boats run by human traffickers.

"We need a common European migration policy," Gentiloni told reporters at a joint press conference after the meeting with Macron and Merkel.

"Italy is fighting for migration policy to no longer be the task of some countries only, but for it to become shared by the European Union as a whole."

The Italian chief said the EU should work together to invest in Africa, where millions of people are on the brink of famine.

He also called for the EU to work together on stabilizing Libya, where most of the human traffickers' boats depart from, and for "joint efforts to guide the activities of non-governmental organizations" who rescue people from vessels in distress in the Mediterranean.

Merkel agreed on the need for cooperation with migrant countries of origin and with Libya.

"The three of us agreed we must fight illegal immigration, so therefore our cooperation with Niger and other African countries is particularly important," Merkel said.

"We would like to stabilize the political situation in Libya and to work with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) so that people in Libya can be treated with dignity," the German chancellor said.

She added that the EU must help "improve the economic outlook" of African countries "so that this trade in humans -- there is no other word for it -- can be dealt with".

For his part, Macron admitted that "France has not always pulled its weight on refugees".

"We are speeding up (asylum) procedures and we will continue to do so for every person identified as a refugee," Macron said.

However, he said, there is a difference between asylum seekers and economic migrants. "I will not give in to the dominant spirit of confusion (between the two)," Macron said.

"It is our humanitarian duty to welcome people whose lives are at risk in their own countries," he explained. "But we cannot accept men and women who try to come and live in our countries for economic reasons."

Macron said that in his view, the migration crisis requires a combination of "humanitarianism and efficiency". Efficiency means "speeding up development policies to halt economic migrations", Macron said.

It also means coordinated action against the traffickers of "arms, drugs, and humans" who "exploit misery and weaknesses and collude with terrorists", the French president said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 02:14:59|Editor: Liangyu

Francois Ngarambe, secretary general of Rwanda's ruling party Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), addresses the media in Kigali, captial of Rwanda, on July 12, 2017. RPF on Wednesday announced that it will launch its presidential campaign this Friday.(Xinhua/Gabriel Dusabe)

KIGALI, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's ruling party Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) on Wednesday announced here that it will launch its presidential campaign this Friday in Southern Province.

Last month, RPF elected the country's incumbent President Paul Kagame as the party's presidential candidate for the upcoming elections.

Kagame will be battling with Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent candidate for the highest office in the landlocked central African country.

Addressing a news conference about preparations for the polls, secretary general of RPF Francois Ngarambe said that the ruling party's presidential campaigns will kick off on Friday in Ruhango District, Southern Province.

"Our candidate will get to every district of the country and depending on topography, twice in some districts. We have our manifesto ready and we shall explain to Rwandans in detail what we intend to bring to them in the next 7 years," he added.

According to Ngarambe, much has been achieved by the current government in various sectors of the economy most especially in key areas like security, infrastructure and unity.

The ruling party has also appointed its spokesperson during the presidential campaigns.

Campaigns for three qualified presidential candidates will officially begin on July 14 and end on August 3, just a day before the elections.

About 6.8 million people will participate in this year's presidential elections, up from 5.7 million who participated in 2010 presidential elections, according to the NEC.

Incumbent President Paul Kagame will seek re-election in the election. Kagame has been president since 2000 when he was elected transitional president by ministers and members of parliament following the resignation of then President Pasteur Bizimungu. Kagame was then reelected in 2003 and 2010.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 02:15:06|Editor: Mengjie

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GENEVA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma is to team up with the United Nations (UN) trade and development agency head Mukhisa Kituyi in co-hosting meetings in East Africa to promote entrepreneurship and small business among young people.

Ma is the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, China's e-commerce giant. Ma is also special advisor of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for youth entrepreneurship and small businesses.

He will land in Africa for the first time later this month on his new mission, UNCTAD said in a statement on Wednesday.

UNCTAD Secretary-General Kituyi and Ma are to share entrepreneurial insights with African youth and small businesses during a visit to the region between July 19 and 21 that will include stopovers in Kenya and Rwanda.

The UN agency said the goal of the tour was to "empower young African young entrepreneurs and small businesses."

Ma was appointed UNCTAD special advisor in 2016.

The first meeting will take place at the University of Nairobi where Ma and Kituyi will hold a "conversation" with 500 young business leaders to be followed by a meeting with the local press.

On July 21, they will talk to young people in the Rwandan capital of Kigali before meeting with political leaders.
Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba and special advisor of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on youth entrepreneurship and small business, attends a high level e-commerce dialogue in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)

GENEVA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma is to team up with the United Nations (UN) trade and development agency head Mukhisa Kituyi in co-hosting meetings in East Africa to promote entrepreneurship and small business among young people.

Ma is the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, China's e-commerce giant. Ma is also special advisor of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for youth entrepreneurship and small businesses.

He will land in Africa for the first time later this month on his new mission, UNCTAD said in a statement on Wednesday.

UNCTAD Secretary-General Kituyi and Ma are to share entrepreneurial insights with African youth and small businesses during a visit to the region between July 19 and 21 that will include stopovers in Kenya and Rwanda.

The UN agency said the goal of the tour was to "empower young African young entrepreneurs and small businesses."

Ma was appointed UNCTAD special advisor in 2016.

The first meeting will take place at the University of Nairobi where Ma and Kituyi will hold a "conversation" with 500 young business leaders to be followed by a meeting with the local press.

On July 21, they will talk to young people in the Rwandan capital of Kigali before meeting with political leaders.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 03:10:40|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KUWAIT, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait's Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh held talks Wednesday with a visiting Chinese delegation to discuss boosting strategic cooperation on various domains.

The meeting was also attended by Central Bank Governor Mohammad Al-Hashel and Kuwait Investment Authority Managing Director Farouq Bastaki alongside representatives of China Development Bank, China Telecom and China International Energy Group Co., the official news agency KUNA reported.

The Chinese delegation, which arrived in Kuwait on Monday, is currently on a four-day visit.

Kuwaiti Minister of Public Works Abdurrahman Al-Mutawa already held a meeting with the delegation on Tuesday to explore ways of promoting cooperation in various areas, especially in the sphere of infrastructure construction.

The two sides have discussed matters related to Kuwait's national development plan "Kuwait 2035" and China's Belt and Road initiative, KUNA reported.

China intends to strengthen cooperation with Kuwait through the construction of strategic projects, including Kuwait's planned Silk City project, a free trade zone in the northern Subbiyya region, and Kuwait's five islands.

On Tuesday, a Chinese firm signed a 709-million-dollar contract with the Kuwaiti government to build infrastructure and roads for a new 18,000-unit housing project in Kuwait's South Matlaa, located west of the capital.

Kuwaiti officials also announced that Chinese technology and smartphone giant Huawei will execute the second phase of a fiber optics project after signing a 72-million-dollar contract.

"Kuwait 2035," or Kuwait National Development Plan, is a newly-unveiled grand economic plan aimed at transforming the country into a regional financial and cultural hub by 2035 via 164 strategic development projects. It also aims to increase foreign direct investment by 300 percent.

The Belt and Road Initiative, first put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, is aimed at building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road through concerted efforts of all related countries and benefiting all participants by promoting unimpeded trade, financial integration, connectivity of infrastructure and closer people-to-people exchanges.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 03:25:49|Editor: huaxia

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DAR ES SALAAM, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tanzania on Wednesday announced new employment for 10,184 public servants to fill the gap left by servants sacked last April over fake academic credentials.

Angela Kairuki, the Minister of State in the President's Office responsible for Public Service Management and Good Governance, said the government has issued permits to district councils and other public institutions across the country to employ the new servants.

"The new employees should report to their working stations by August 1 this year," the minister told a news conference in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

In April this year, Tanzanian President John Magufuli sacked 9,932 public servants found with fake academic certificates after verification of their academic qualifications.

The President sacked the public servants shortly after he had received a report on public servants' verification of their academic qualifications.

He ordered that April salaries for the 9,932 sacked servants should be withheld.

Magufuli directed Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa that posts which were held by the 9,000-plus unqualified public servants should be advertised immediately.

"They are thieves like any other thieves. You cannot perform if you don't have deserving academic qualifications," fumed President Magufuli.

The President ordered that other civil servants whose certificates have been found with discrepancies should be prosecuted in courts of law.

He said the crackdown on fake academic certificates for public servants will complement an earlier exercise by the government to identify phantom employees.

In May last year Tanzania removed more than 10,000 phantom public servants from its public sector payroll after a nationwide audit. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 04:36:37|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Robert Manyara

BUSIA, Kenya, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Failure by Kenya, Uganda and Burundi to append signature to a pact on sharing of Nile water resources will compromise sustainable development, peace and stability in the region, an expert warned.

Emmanuel Chonza, a Senior Economist at the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP) said that dithering by the three East African Community (EAC) States to ratify the pact will undermine efforts to promote equitable utilization of the vast Nile resources.

"The delay to sign the Nile Cooperative Framework by Kenya, Uganda and Burundi will ultimately hinder formation of a Commission whose mandate is to oversee equitable sharing of a resource that underpins regional development and stability," Chonza remarked.

He spoke told Xinhua in a recent interview during a consultative forum attended by regional experts in Western Kenyan town of Busia.

East African States have mulled formation of a Nile River Basin Commission (NRBC) that will transform utilization of the world's second longest river.

The commission will be established once all the Nile riparian states sign the cooperative framework agreement.

Geopolitics, incoherent policies and legislation have nevertheless undermined a collective approach to utilization of the abundant Nile resources to benefit local communities.

Chonza urged Kenya, Uganda and Burundi to fast-track ratification of a regional pact on sharing of Nile basin resources for the sake of peace and prosperity.

He at the same time commended Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia for ratifying the agreement that would pave way for investments in livelihood transforming projects along the Nile basin.

"We hope that countries that are yet to ratify the cooperative framework will expedite the process in order to facilitate equitable sharing of Nile waters to spur development," Chonzo told Xinhua.

The Nile Basin Commission has both political and technical tracks. According to Chonza, the political track is headed by ministers responsible for water affairs from the member states charged with the responsibility of fast-tracking the ratification process of the agreement.

He added that institutions affiliated to the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) have invested in technical capacity to enable them generate concrete data on benefits to be realized once all riparian states ratify the cooperative framework.

"As centres we assist in generating benefits for the member countries to enable them realize the importance of the existing cooperation with the hope that the countries involved will also actively participate in fast tracking the ratification of the process so that the permanent commission is actualized soon," Chonzo told Xinhua.

When asked why Kenya has delayed to ratify the cooperative framework agreement, Chonza said they were in Nairobi recently where they were informed that the ratification process is at an advanced stage.

"We hope the next government will fast track the ratification of the Cooperative Framework Agreement in order to pave way for the formation of the Nile Basin Commission," said the economist.

He at the same time noted the Nile River Basin Commission (NRBC) will be vested with legal personality as well as enhancing the Nile cooperation.

"The Nile River Basin Commission will ensure that national development projects are coordinated with basin-wide development to achieve optimal use of the Basin's resources and increase national benefits of regional cooperation," Chonzo said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 04:46:41|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Egypt and France concluded on Wednesday the joint naval military exercises code-named "Cleopatra 2017," state-owned Ahram Online reported.

The joint exercises have run for several days in Egyptian territorial waters in the Mediterranean and Red Sea, the Egyptian army announced in a statement.

The exercises included planning and management of joint offensive and defensive combat operations, inspection of suspicious vessels, transportation exercises, helicopter manoeuvres, air defence and the maritime landing of personnel and equipment on coasts.

The drills saw the participation of the amphibious assault ships of the French Mistral class, including Egypt's newly-purchased Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar El-Sadat.

A number of frigates, rocket launchers, F-16 fighter jets and anti-submanires aircrafts also participated in the exercises.

Come in light of the two sides' keenness to continue boosting bilateral relations at the military level, the drills aimed at honing skills and combat capabilities of naval forces of both sides, the Egyptian army said.

In 2016, Egypt carried out 30 joint military exercises with 20 Arab and African countries, as well as European countries including France and Russia.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 04:51:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

File photo taken on May 5, 2017 shows Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attending the Workers Party's Congress opening ceremony in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Former President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison for his involvement in the plot corruption that diverted thousands of millions of U.S. dollars from the state oil company Petrobras, official sources said on July 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Rahel Patrasso)

BRASILIA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison for his involvement in a corruption ring that embezzled billions of U.S. dollars from state oil company Petrobras Brasileiro, official sources said on Wednesday.

Federal Judge Sergio Moro found Lula guilty of accepting 3.7 million reais (1.2 million U.S. dollars) worth of bribes from engineering firm OAS SA. The company spent the money refurbishing a beach apartment for Lula in return for his help in winning contracts with Petroleo Brasileiro.

Brazil's prosecutor-general had earlier charged Lula on the grounds that the apartment was bought and remodelled for him by OAS S.A. in exchange for political favors.

However, while Moro found the former president guilty in the case of the apartment, he absolved him of blame in the storage of his belongings.

"The condemned received an illicit benefit due to his position as president of the Republic...the responsibility of a president is enormous and therefore, so is his guilt in the practice of crimes," wrote Moro in his decision.

However, the judge avoided sentencing Lula to immediate prison, allowing him to remain free while his appeal is heard.

In a testimony given to Moro in May, Lula said that he "never had the intention of buying" the apartment and that his wife, Marisa Leticia, had at one time been interested in buying a small apartment in the same building.

At the end of May, the Workers' Party stated that any condemnation of Lula would be an attempt to stop him from running for president in the 2018 elections.

For months now, Lula, who served as Brazilian president from 2003 to 2011, has been the clear favorite among Brazilians to become the next president under all scenarios.

However, as part of the sentence, Moro also banned Lula from running for or occupying any public office for 19 years. This decision will only stand if Lula is found guilty on appeal to a higher court.

The reactions to Lula's sentencing were varied. By 4 p.m., the Brazilian stock exchange had risen by 1.5 percent as markets seemed to be buoyed by the news. Lula and his Workers' Party, while in government, sought to improve salaries, workers' rights and labor regulations.

However, social organizations and labor unions quickly called for a march to gather on Sao Paulo's central Avenida Paulista. Workers' Party President, Gleisi Hoffman, also slammed the decision in a statement, saying that "this is an eminently political decision, without evidence, based only and exclusively on judge Sergio Moro answering to public opinion."

In a live address on social media, Workers' Party Senator Lindbergh Farias called the sentence a scandal and invited supporters to take to the streets.

"We are not living in a normal democratic situation, this is not democracy. This is a state of emergency. Our response must be very strong, we must hold protests in the cities. We will organize events across Brazil, we cannot stay silent faced with this," he vowed.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 04:56:46|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Residents of Ethiopia's capital city Addis Ababa have been cautioned to keep vigilant against outbreak of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD).

The statement was made on Wednesday by Addis Ababa Mayor Diriba Kuma at a ceremony highlighting the city administration's efforts against AWD.

With Ethiopia's rainy season stretching from late June to early September already underway, Addis Ababa city Administration is hoping with community's participation to avoid the diarrhea outbreak.

Last year, an outbreak of AWD in Addis Ababa and other regions in Ethiopia caused a health scare and lead to the deaths of several people before a government supported health campaign eradicated it.

The city administration in particular is undertaking activities to clean up the highly polluted waters of Addis Ababa, preparing AWD recovery centers and undertaking extensive dry waste management schemes.

Though the Ethiopian ministry of Health says so far the disease outbreak has been restricted largely to Somali regional state, it has warned if the population doesn't take health precautions it can move to other areas including the capital Addis Ababa. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 05:16:59|Editor: huaxia

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ACCRA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Ghana is facing a shortage of polio and measles vaccines in some districts across the country, local media reported on Wednesday.

The reports say some health facilities in Ghana have run short of the vaccines which are among a list of drugs used for protecting children against some of the world's most deadly diseases.

According to the reports, Ghana's inability to pay for last year's supplies procured from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) necessitated the shortage which is expected to affect the health of under-five children if it lingers.

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Anthony Nsiah-Asare, who confirmed the shortage, however said his outfit was expecting the arrival of the vaccines in the country from next week after the government parted with 10 million U.S. dollars to procure a one-year consignment from UNICEF.

"The one that we are transferring is about 10 million dollars which we are going to use to get all the consignment we need for the next year or so and we will then schedule and clear all the outstanding bills," he told Citifm, a local radio in Accra.

Ghana has made giant strides in the fight against childhood killer diseases, especially polio, which kills or cripples children for life.

Since the outbreak of polio in 2008, no case of polio has been recorded in Ghana as of 2015 because of the high coverage of polio vaccinations.

In Ghana, measles vaccinations have contributed to dramatic reductions in measles incidence from tens of thousands of cases in the 1990s to few hundreds in the last five years.

Ghana has not documented measles mortality for over a decade.

But stakeholders fear that the shortage could spell doom for the country and erode gains made over the period.

However, Nsiah-Asare said the GHS had put measures in place to mitigate the situation. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 05:42:06|Editor: huaxia

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KIGALI, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) Wednesday unveiled its manifesto, a policy document the party hopes to convince the electorate to give incumbent President Paul Kagame another elective seven-year term.

The manifesto puts emphasis on economic development, social welfare, and good governance as well as justice with an aim of transforming Rwanda into a knowledge based economy.

Unveiling the manifesto in Kigali, the RPF Secretary General Francois Ngarambe said the manifesto is mainly about consolidating achievements of the past 23 years in the different areas once given the mandate.

"In the RPF's new manifesto, we want to continue working with all Rwandans in finding quick solutions. Activities to promote our candidate will reach everyone," Ngarambe said in a statement.

A pocket size booklet outlines promotion of well-being of Rwandans, quality education, promotion of women's and children rights and strengthening of social protection programs for vulnerable Rwandans, and strengthening unity of Rwandans, urbanization, increasing agricultural production among other areas of focus.

"We have our manifesto ready and we shall explain to Rwandans in detail what we intend to bring to them in the next seven years," said Ngarambe.

Campaigns for three qualified presidential candidates will officially begin on July 14 and end on August 3, just a day before the elections.

About 6.8 million people will participate in this year's presidential elections, up from 5.7 million who participated in 2010 presidential elections, according to the NEC.

Incumbent President Kagame has been president since 2000 when he was elected transitional president by ministers and members of parliament following the resignation of then President Pasteur Bizimungu. Kagame was then reelected in 2003 and 2010. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 06:32:20|Editor: Yamei

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Photo taken on July 1, 2017 shows a poster about Yingying Zhang in the place where she was kidnapped by the suspect in Champaign, Illinois, the United States. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) visiting Chinese scholar Zhang Yingying, who was kidnapped on June 9, is feared dead. FBI arrested 28-year-old Brendt Christensen Friday on criminal complaint that charges him for kidnapping Zhang on June 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

CHICAGO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- A federal grand jury Wednesday returned the indictment that charges 28-year-old Brendt Christensen with kidnapping UIUC Chinese visiting scholar Yingying Zhang.

Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Hansen and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Cox of Springfield Division announced the indictment return Wednesday on the website of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The preliminary hearing that had been scheduled on July 14 for the case has been cancelled. And the date for arraignment for Christensen will be scheduled by the U.S. Clerk of the Court in Urbana, where the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is located.

The indictment alleges that Christensen kidnapped and held Yingying Zhang on June 9. The penalty for kidnapping is up to life in prison if convicted.

Christensen was previously arrested and charged by criminal complaint on June 30. On July 5, U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric Long ordered that Christensen remain detained in custody pending trial.

Zhang was last seen entering a black Saturn Astra on June 9. According to an affidavit previously filed with the court, the car allegedly driven by Christensen had stopped next to Zhang at an intersection in Champaign, and then pulled away.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), University of Illinois Police Department and the Illinois State Police are continuing the investigation.

U.S. law enforcement investigating Zhang's case believe Zhang is deceased, based on facts presented in court and court documents and other facts uncovered during the ongoing investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Freres and Eugene Miller are representing the government on behalf of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Urbana Division, in this case.

The U.S. Attorney's Office, Urbana Division, reminds the public that an indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Man ordered to compensate victim

Julien Bocus, 30, appeared before senior magistrate Cheryl Ann Antoine in the San Fernando First Magistrates Court to answer the charge of maliciously wounding Sean Duncan on July 7. He pleaded guilty to the charge laud by PC Beckles.

Prosecutor Cleyon Sedan told the court that at about 9.37pm, Duncan was at upper High Street, San Fernando when he was approached by Bocus. The two men had an argument during which Bocus struck Duncan with a bottle to his head causing him to lose consciousness. He was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was treated and discharged. A medical report was also produced which showed injuries Duncan sustained to the back of his head. Duncan was in court with a bandage to the back of his head.

Attorney Ainsley Lucky who represented Bocus said his client fell prey to his temper and he was sorry. Lucky said he was told by Bocus that Duncan was interfering with his (Bocus) wife. However, Duncan told Antoine that Bocus was making up excuses for hitting him.

Your honour, I dont know this man or his wife, Duncan said. I have never seen them before until at the bar we was liming at. He recalled that on that night he went to a bar in San Fernando for drinks with his wife and while leaving Bocus wife approached him and began cursing.

Again your honour I have never seen this woman and she just kept cursing me even when I left the bar, he said. Duncan told the magistrate that while walking along High Street, the woman confronted him and Bocus hit him with the bottle. Bocus was ordered to pay $1,000 as compensation to Duncan and $1,800 in fines.
SISTERS DIE IN CRASH

Relatives of the women, who only on Sunday came together to celebrate La Barries son Johnathans nuptials were yesterday in tears too shocked to comprehend the fact they must now plan the sisters funerals.

La Barrie, 54, died at the scene of the accident while Daniel, 43, died minutes later while en route to hospital. Warded, both in serious condition, are police officers WPC Williams-Harden and Cpl Lloyd Brown.

According to a police report, at about 10.30 pm, La Barrie was driving her car along Antigua Road with Daniel as the front seat passenger. They had just left Sangre Grande after dropping off wares that were rented for the wedding on Sunday.

Both women were heading to their respective homes in La Horquetta.

Without warning, police reported, La Barrie lost control of the car which swerved onto the opposite lane and struck an oncoming Toyota Corolla car before ramming into a pick-up truck containing the two police officers. A report was made to police and ambulances were despatched to the scene.

La Barries car was so badly mangled that firemen had to cut through the twisted metal to extricate the sisters. Weeping relatives told Newsday that the sisters were devout Jehovahs Witness followers and attended service at the Kingdom Halls in Arima and La Horquetta.

They touched a lot of lives and made many friends in this life, said a relative. My aunt (Daniel) learned sign language and taught it to other members of the church. She also preached our religion to the deaf using her knowledge of sign language.

The family is rocked hard by this.

There are others in our family who suffered heart attacks and other medical problems but are still here. We never expected these strong, vibrant women leave us and in such a manner. Funeral arrangements are ongoing with relatives living overseas expected to return by the end of this week to attend the service.
Baby in fridge  doctor still in custody

Up to press time, the 60-yearold doctor whose office is in Cocoyea Village remained in police custody. The babys mother Cindy Gail Sooknanan, 22, gave birth on July 1, at the home of relatives in Fyzabad. On Monday, officers from the Homicide Investigations Bureau (Region III) and Mon Repos CID, acting on information, executed a search warrant at doctors office and found the babys body stuffed in the freezer compartment of a refrigerator.

Yesterday, Dr Alexandrov performed an autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre in St James and concluded that the newborn died of natural causes due to complications arising out of a lack of medical care after premature birth. There were no abnormalities.

The lungs are still covered with a special substance peculiar to immature babies. The substance is not developed properly so on being born, premature babies are immediately placed in an incubator so the surfactant (the substance coating the lungs) can mature. At the age of 28 weeks, there is a 75 percent chance of survival, Alexandrov said.

Sooknanan, who is unemployed, lives with her father Rajesh Sooknanan, 42, and twoyear- old daughter Chloe at Sewlal Trace in Fyzabad. Her step-uncle Crious Titus, 38, recalled that he thought the baby was being taken to hospital after the birth. Titus who last year delivered his own child based on instructions from EHS personnel, delivered Sooknanans child. The newborns father Kimraj Joria was present at the time.

The cord was around his neck and I unwrapped it and cleaned him. I tied the navel string with a ribbon and told her (Sooknanan) to go to the hospital. The baby had hair on his head, all his fingers and toes. He looked healthy.

I sent her to the hospital, Titus said.

Minutes later, Titus said, the young mother returned home saying she opted to go by a private doctor instead. Cindys mother called to enquire about her newborn grandson and was told the doctor had taken the baby to hospital. All that time, we thought the was still alive, Titus said.

Public Relations Officer of the TT Medical Association Dr Austin Trinidade said that based on reports, he found it strange a doctor would keep a newborn at his office shortly after the babys birth. I find it is a strange thing.

No doctor keeps a baby unless he has some kind of nursing home or something. But no doctor will keep a baby at his office. I find that is a very very strange report. Trinidade added that the association itself does not have specific rules in relation to the time frame in which a death must be reported. There are no specific time frames. However, all human deaths have to be reported, as soon as possible. I cannot say if the doctor in question is a member of the association. I dont think he is but I do not know all the names of our members, Trinidade said adding, he did not have all the facts of the matter and would want to be circumspect in his comments.
Gadsby-Dolly: Creative industry can turn economy around

This was expressed yesterday by Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly at the formal opening of a handicraft symposium titled Craft and the Economy - Towards Diversification and Development at Hilton, Port-of- Spain.

Gadsby-Dolly said the creative industry can change the current economic situation on both a micro and macro level.

Since mid-2014 our country continues to be challenged with the effects of the sharp fall in oil and gas prices, as well as the decline in the production of both crude oil and natural gas, she said.

This not-so-new paradigm is therefore forcing Trinidad and Tobago to examine alternate sources of income. She said in the coming months the ministry intends to launch a craft market at its office in St Anns and will invite the corporate sector to partner with them as they push the industry further by providing a consistent, dependable space for artisans to showcase their work to the national public.

Gadsby-Dolly said it is a substantial medium which preserves rich traditional art, heritage and culture, traditional skills and talents which are associated with this countrys lifestyle and history.

She said the handicraft sector can provide employment opportunities and enhance living standards; thereby making a positive impact on economic development of the State, and it can also be a viable medium for foreign earning.

The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts is providing a platform to brainstorm, and to discuss the best ways to improve the business environment in an integrated manner.

As partners with the artisans, we need to examine the creation of markets for handicraft made in Trinidad and Tobago; we must discuss how to encourage and foster entrepreneurship in this industry as well as what should be the ministrys and by extension the Governments role in facilitating this success. Gadsby-Dolly said the ultimate output from the two-day symposium should be a list of priorities to commercialise this countrys traditional handicraft, and the basis of a strategic plan to move forward.
Reginald Dumas still pursuing claim concerning PSC

This was the position of attorneys representing Dumas when they appeared before High Court judge, Justice Robin Mohammed in the Port of Spain High Court yesterday.

Dumas attorney Elaine Greene, who held for Senior Counsel Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, informed the judge they had written to the State last year seeking information on the status of commission members Dr James Armstrong and Romar Achat-Saney.

She said there was no substantive response but the issue of the interpretation of the Constitution as sought by Dumas was still to be determined.

Whether these people are sitting, the issue as sought by the claimant still stands, Greene said.

Attorney Carlene Seenath, who represents the Attorney General, said she had no official response from the PSC on the status of the commissioners.

Directions were given for the AG to file a response to Dumas lawsuit by October 12 and the matter has been adjourned to November 23.

Nominations for the two were approved by affirmative resolution of the House of Representatives on November 13, 2013, and the appointment by the President for a term of three years, took effect from November 19, 2013.

The appointments met with Dumas disapproval on the basis that they did not possess the requisite qualifications, and he asked the High Court to declare that the President has no power and or authority to nominate and or appoint, to the PSC, any person who is not qualified and experienced in the disciplines of law, sociology, management or finance.

Mohammed, in a ruling on a preliminary issue, initially held that the interpretation application filed by Dumas pursuant to Part 62.2 of the Civil Proceedings Rules (CPR) was not properly instituted.

Dumas appealed and the court held the procedure of filing the claim could be remedied under the CPR and held that Dumas concern was a legitimate query of the composition of the PSC.

The State appealed to the Privy Council, submitting that Dumas must have a legitimate interest in the composition of the PSC and could prove that he was directly affected by the Presidents decision to appoint Armstrong and Achat-Saney.

In their ruling earlier this year, five Law Lords held the Court of Appeal - which comprised of Justices Peter Jamadar, Nolan Bereaux and Gregory Smith - were correct to rule that Dumas had an arguable case on a matter of public importance and was not a busybody acting for a collateral purpose.

In their ruling, the British Law Lords also held that the question raised by Dumas, who has asked for a legal interpretation of the Constitution was one for the court to decide and not the House of Representatives.

They also noted that the matter before them raised an important question about the jurisdiction of the High Court to hear an application by a citizen for the Court to interpret a provision of the Constitution.
Former diplomat granted leave to challenge revocation

Justice Frank Seepersad yesterday granted Charles leave to pursue his judicial review claim. In a 15-page written decision, Seepersad held that Charles raised arguable grounds that had a realistic prospect of success at trial.

The judge also held that Charles argument that the prime minister did not possess a prerogative power in relation to the appointment and removal of an ambassador, was an argument not devoid of merit and one which he considered arguable with a realistic prospect of success.

The nature and gravity of the issues raised in this matter are serious and can have an impact on the way in which all career Ambassadors are treated, Seepersad said.

In his lawsuit filed in January, Charles of Union Hall, Cross Crossing, argued that the decision of the prime minister to revoke his appointment was illegal, made in bad faith and was contrary to fundamental human rights provided for under the Constitution. He contended that he was not provided equality of treatment and that he had a legitimate expectation to maintain his rank and position as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary upon returning to Trinidad and Tobago and the decision of the prime minister to revoke his appointment was a deprivation of his legitimate expectation that he would have retained his position.

According to Charles, he was appointed Ambassador in March 2012.

Charles said at the end of 2015, he was asked by the acting permanent secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry to submit his resume which he did although this was not the norm. He said that on September 20, 2016, he received an instrument of revocation of his appointment.

The matter has been adjourned to December 4.

Charles is represented by attorney Devesh Maharaj while Senior Counsel Reginald Armour, Vanessa Gopaul and Nadine Nabbie appear for the prime minister and the Cabinet.
Hosein: PNM to decide on local government bye-election

Hosein told Newsday, Nothing yet on the bye-election. The party will decide. He also said Brunos funeral service should take place tomorrow but this is still to be confirmed.

On Monday, Prime Minister and PNM political leader Dr Keith Rowley extended his condolences to Brunos family. In a statement yesterday, the PNMs St Josephs Womens League expressed its condolences.

His passing comes as a shock to the fraternity and we mourn the great loss of such a humble man who served his burgesses with great dedication, said Sharon Felix, the leagues public relations officer.

Felix also extended condolences on behalf of St Joseph MP Health Minister Terrance Deyalsingh and the constituencys executive
Diplomats hail Juvenile Court project

Speaking at the launch of the project at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain on Monday, Blewitt said, It is our hope at the UN that the outputs of the project will serve as beacons of hope and light to juvenile offenders of the region and their families. He added, Moreover, it is our fervent hope that the restorative justice approach will contribute to their own development and that of their communities and societies. Blewitt also reiterated the UNDPs commitment to the opening of Childrens Courts.

He said the project is in keeping with the objectives of Sustainable Development Goal 16, which involves the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels.

United States Embassy Charge dAffaires John McIntyre agreed with Blewitts views.

McIntyre said the project represented one of many ways in which the US government collaborates with TT under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative
Government signs environmental agreements

The project is being funded by the Global Environmental Facility in the sum of US $1.2 million from the period September 2017 to August 2020.

Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis and United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator Richard Blewitt signed the agreement prior to the start of a meeting on the multi-country Sustainable Development Framework Country Implementation Plan (CIP) for TT 2017  2021 at the Eric Williams Financial Complex in Port-of-Spain.

The goal of the project is to strengthen Governments ability to create, leverage and maintain synergies for the national implementation of MEAs and strengthen integrated approaches to environmental management.

The project will address cross-cutting capacity needs identified through the National Capacity Self-Assessment (NCSA) process and other assessments with a focus on facilitating the implementation of MEAs, including a better alignment of the Green Fund with the implementation of MEAs obligations in this country.

Robinson-Regis said the meeting was timely coming on the heels of UN main streaming, acceleration and policy support mission in April.

She said the focus of that mission was assessing this countrys readiness to implement the Sustainable Development Goals otherwise known as Action 2030.

Robinson-Regis said this highlighted the ministrys awareness of the need to consolidate the various national development initiatives into a coherent whole which optimises the achievement of the Vision 2030 and SDG targets. She added the current economic realities and the unavoidable tightening of the public purse, require such consolidation to happen as quickly and efficiently as possible.
I will tell him of TTs ruinous state

Speaking at the UNCs Monday Night Forum at the Bamboo Presbyterian Primary School, she told supporters, I will meet with him because theres so much I want to tell him. I want to tell him that he has brought this country to a ruinous state. She lamented the high crime-rate and added that the prime minister had not fulfilled a single undertaking he had given her at that first meeting.

Not one thing they said they would do, has been done. She hit Government for many pupils failing the SEA exam and for their decision that those under age 13, must repeat the SEA if they scored below 30 percent instead of advancing to secondary school. As then education minister in the Basdeo Panday government, Persad-Bissessar said she worked to ensure all pupils moved on to secondary school notwithstanding some hiccups. Under the Panday Government we had a policy, Not a child left behind. Persad-Bissessar said in the past pupils had been excluded from secondary school not because they failed the SEA but because not enough school places were available and at Pandays behest she caused schools to be built quickly and new teachers hired to alleviate this shortage.

She accused Government of ignoring childrens needs in education and health.

Lamenting recent cases where two ill children could not access the Childrens Life Fund, Persad-Bissessar said legal action is being taken on Shannen Luke, four, and five-year-old Terrance Chandoos behalf.

She hit Government for failing to buy $80 million worth of laptops for students but allowing State-owned TSTT to spend $200 million to buy Massy Communications.

She urged Rowley to set up a tribunal to probe the case of Marcia Ayers-Caesar and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission under Chief Justice Ivor Archies tenure.
Parliament holds outreach activities

Sittings of the House and Senate are expected to resume in September unless a special parliamentary sitting is called during the break to deal with an urgent matter.

A release from the Parliament yesterday said one of the main activities will be Chamber Open House tours every hour from Monday to Friday next week between 9am and 3pm.

The Chamber Open House was introduced last August to mark the tenth anniversary of the Parliament Channel.

There will be scheduled Chamber tours from July 12 to August 4.

There will also be Waterfront outreach activities outside of Tower D of the Portof- Spain International Waterfront Centre, where the Parliament is located, from July 19 to 21.

Tents will be set up where people can access free international materials on the Parliament and take part in activities such as mini-quizzes and interviews.
Moonilal queries delay in providing army report on AGs children

Moonilal was addressing a United National Congress Monday Night Forum at Bamboo Presbyterian Primary School. The investigation centres on allegations that the authorisation came from Maharaj but he has denied this and has called for a retraction and a copy of the report.

Moonilal said two officials linked to the probe are beneficiaries of Housing Development Corporation (HDC) units. He said HDC units are not meant for any person who already owns properties. How come you give them access to HDC housing? Was that also part of an inducement? Moonilal also accused Stuart Young, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, of going beyond his powers to recommend to the Public Service Transport Corporation (PTSC) to pay four contractors who, Moonilal alleged, had not tendered for their jobs.

In reply yesterday, Young, an attorney, told Newsday, My legal advice, dated April 25 to the chairman of the PTSC is straightforward and self-explanatory.

Anyone reading the legal advice would appreciate the content of same and immediately discern that to suggest that there is anything untoward with the advice is misleading. I have nothing further to add.
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Faithful to its south-south cooperation approach, Morocco signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to cooperate in fields relating to sustainable water-resource development and management, underscored the Eurasia review in an article.

The agreement was signed by Mrooccos Ambassador to Thailand Abdelilah El Housni and MRC chief executive officer Pham Tuan Phan in the Laotian capital Vientiane on June 29.

This partnership will foster exchanges and cooperation in water-resource development and management through the sharing of available technical expertise and lessons learned by both parties. Some of the common interests of both parties range from energy to agriculture and food security to water quality, Eurasia review quoted a statement of the MRC as saying.

The article, by the Jakarta-based veteran journalist Veeramalla Anjaiah, underscored that the agreement to cooperate on water management between Morocco and the MRC is a first of its kind that will help the two parties ultimately promote and enhance public safety and community welfare by fostering research; promote, encourage, and advance safer, more economical, efficient, and environmentally sound system for water-resource development and management.

With this agreement, surprisingly, Morocco has become the first Arab or African partner of the MRC, an inter-governmental organization established in 1995 by Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos to jointly manage the shared water resources of Mekong River.

The author of the article deems that Moroccos quest to broaden its south-south cooperation model to the Mekong region is triggered by the vision of King Mohammed VI who successfully spearheaded the Kingdoms return to its institutional African family, the African Union.

Morocco is not focusing only on Africa or the Middle East, it is increasingly looking toward the East, especially Southeast Asia, the journalist said, noting that Moroccos growing interest in south east Asia was reflected last year in the signing of a Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
PSA Group has signed a partnership agreement with leading Moroccan universities and engineering and business schools to establish an OpenLab dedicated to boosting sustainable mobility for Africa.

The agreement was signed by the leading French automotive manufacturer and five Moroccan universities, two American universities with campuses in Morocco, an engineering school of Ecoles Centrales based in Morocco, and a technological center at the International University of Rabat, PSA Group said in a statement.

The OpenLab has committed to a four-year research program to explore sustainable mobility systems focused on electronic mobility adapted to the African market, renewable energy and logistics with the future, the statement said.

The company added that the OpenLab will draw on PSAs scientific expertise and its university partners, as well as on the technology platforms in Morocco.

The OpenLab partners are: the International University of Rabat, Mohammed V University (Rabat), Ibn Tofail University (Kenitra), Cadi Ayyad University (Marrakesh), Euro-Mediterranean University of Fes (INSA EuroMediterranee), Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Mississippi State University, Ecole Centrale Casablanca and Lafayette Institute.

The agreement is part of PSAs commitment to promote innovation, involving building and managing relationships with different ecosystems: individuals, businesses, academia and institutions.

The Moroccan OpenLab boosts the lab network of PSA with the aim to respond better to the social, environmental and economic challenges presented by the car of the future.

This network of OpenLabs is spread across locations around the world. This allows it to share research teams and experimental resources from PSA and partner laboratories.
US bound passengers flying from Morocco will be exempted from the US restrictions on carrying laptops and other large electronic devices in aircraft cabins as of July 13, Moroccos flag carrier, Royal Air Maroc said.

The lift of the laptop ban on the Moroccan airline, which is the only carrier to operate direct flights from Morocco to the US, comes after several Middle East airlines benefited from the same exemption by the US Department of Homeland Security.

The US maintained the electronics ban for Saudi Arabias two main international airports, Riyadh and Jeddah as well as Egypts Cairo.

The ban was imposed last March amid fears that Islamic State is developing a bomb concealed in personal electronics. The electronics restrictions were imposed on nine airlines at 10 overseas airports. The devices had to be placed in checked luggage.

Since then, DHS Secretary John Kelly said airlines could be released from the ban if they comply with newly imposed security directives calling for more extensive passenger screening, increased use of bomb-sniffing dogs, and improved security measures.

Teams of inspectors from the US Transportation Security Administration are to verify that the airlines are complying with the new American security directives before the electronics restrictions are lifted.

In addition to RAM, six airlines were deemed to be following the new directives, and therefore no longer subject to the electronics ban. These are: Qatar airlines operating from Doha, Emirates Air from Dubai, Turkish Airlines from Istanbul, Kuwait Airways from Kuwait City, Royal Jordanian from Amman, and Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi

Teams of inspectors from the US Transportation Security Administration had traveled to the exempted airports to verify that the airlines are complying with the new American security directives before the electronics restrictions were lifted.
Moroccos Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) Group has become the largest banking group in Niger, after it finalized Tuesday the acquisition of the International Bank for Africa, so far the second-largest banking institution in the African country.

With the completion of this transaction, the BCP Group holds, through its subsidiary ABI, 69.51% of the capital.

BCP group also controls Banque Atlantique Niger (BANE), whose capital is held at 78% by Atlantic financial group, controlled by the Moroccan mutual banking group.

BCP Group becomes, through these two subsidiaries, the first banking player in Niger.

With the completion of this acquisition, BIA-Niger will benefit from the expertise and support of its key shareholder, BCP Group.

BCP group, along with Attijariwafa Bank and Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur (BMCE) are the three largest banks in Morocco, holding about two-thirds of total bank assets.

They all have a systemic presence in several Sub-Saharan African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Djibouti, Gabon, Cote dIvoire, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, and Senegal.

The financial expansion of Moroccan banks in the region went in parallel with increasing trade flows and the expansion of Moroccan companies operating in the sectors of telecommunications, public works, housing, insurance etc.
David Wildstein. Photo: Peter Foley/Bloomberg via Getty Images

David Wildstein, a former Chris Christie ally at the Port Authority and alleged mastermind of Bridgegate, will dodge a prison term for his role in architecting in the 2013 political payback plot. On Wednesday, a judge sentenced Wildstein to three years probation and 500 hours of community service, a show of leniency for a political trickster turned star witness for the prosecution.

Wildstein pled guilty in 2015 for his role in Bridgegate and agreed to cooperate with authorities, testifying against his former conspirators in the scheme to shut down access lanes to the George Washington Bridge to get revenge on the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey. Wildstein could have faced up to 27 months in prison, but federal prosecutors had requested that the judge consider probation because his cooperation led directly to the indictment and convictions of two others involved in the ploy, Bill Baroni, a Christie appointee at the Port Authority, and Bridget Anne Kelly, Christies former deputy chief of staff.

Wildstein apologized at his sentencing. It was a callous decision. It was stupid. It was wrong. I violated the law and I am profoundly sorry, he said in court Wednesday. He also had some things to say about his old pal Chis Christie: We put our trust in a man who did not earn or deserve it. I willingly drank the Kool-Aid of a man I knew since I was 15.

Wildsteins accomplices were found guilty last year. Baroni was sentenced to two years in prison, and Kelly received an 18-month term. Christie has denied any wrongdoing in the Bridgegate plot and faces no criminal charges, but instead of being president he gets to do stuff like this now.
Donalds Trump Jr. and Sr. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

As evidence of collusion between Russia and Trumps campaign has piled up, the line of defense has retreated. Maybe Donald Trump Jr. is a wide-eyed kid who made some bad choices, the administrations allies concede, but his now-undeniable desire to collude with Russia never materialized. When the meeting happened on June 9, no anti-Hillary information was forthcoming. Veselnitskaya only wanted to discuss a sanctions law called the Magnitsky Act, and claims she never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton, argues James Robbins in USA Today. Byron York (Trump-Russia investigation takes sharp turn toward the dumb) and The Wall Street Journal editorial page (Keystone Kops Collusion), among others, offer up the comedy-of-errors fallback.

Before delving into these rationalizations, it is worth reviewing just how much ground has already been surrendered. A week after the Russian collusion meeting in Trump Tower, Trump publicly accused the Democrats of faking the hack of its own emails. (Trump: We believe it was the DNC that did the hacking as a way to distract from the many issues facing their deeply flawed candidate and failed party leader.) Trump denied that Russia interfered in the election at all (I think maybe the Democrats are putting that out, he said on RT last September. Who knows, but I think its pretty unlikely.) Trump has denied throughout that Russia was behind the email hacks.

Trump and his advisers and spokespeople have repeatedly made false denials of any contact with Russia. When reports first surfaced of the June 9 meeting, Donald Trump Jr. gave a series of evasive accounts  first portraying it as an adoption meeting  until an email finally surfaced destroying any doubt that he took it with the intent of colluding on the campaign.

There was no hacking, Russia didnt do the hacking, we didnt meet with any Russians, when we met with the Russians we didnt discuss hacking. The position of Trumps conservative apologists is that this time they are probably telling the truth. Its the law of averages. Its like a coin came up heads 99 times in a row  the next one just has to be tails, right?

What a mess for the White House. And all for nothing, argues York, who then presents the Trump teams most recent account of the meeting as definitively correct:

When the meeting actually happened, at Trump Tower on June 9, there was a reason Jared Kushner left after a few minutes and Paul Manafort spent the whole time staring at his phone. The Crown prosecutor of Russia  there is no such position  was actually a shady lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, who had no official documents to offer but wanted to harangue Trump Jr. about U.S. sanctions on Russia. Trump Jr. quite reasonably saw there was nothing there and cut the meeting off after about 20 minutes.

The Wall Street Journal laughs off the episode as a case where some Russians took advantage of a political naif named Trump in an unsuccessful bid to undermine the Magnitsky law they hated.

It is possible that Trump is now telling the truth about this meeting after lying about every other detail related to this episode. It is not, however, correct to say that Veselnitskayas bid to undermine the Magnitsky law, which allows sanctions of Russian human-rights violators, was unsuccessful. Veselnitskaya had a particular loathing for U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara, who was prosecuting a Russian mafia case in which Veselnitskaya had a strong interest. Once in office, Trump quickly fired Bharara, after which the U.S. Attorney offered a lenient settlement that the Russian firm called too good to refuse.

So Trump has already delivered one concession closely related to Veselnitskayas agenda. He has not eliminated the sanctions regime  which is Putins highest diplomatic priority vis-a-vis the United States  but Trump is currently battling tooth and nail to weaken a bill to lock in the sanctions, a bill that the Senate passed 972.

The Journal mocks the possibility [t]hat Don Jr. was canny enough to coordinate a global plot to rig the election but not canny enough to notice that this plot was detailed in his personal emails. At every stage, the Journal and other Trump apologists have leaned heavily on the uncertainty of the facts not yet revealed, while disregarding the importance of every previous defense that has been disproven. Now faced with evidence more damning than anybody could have imagined  a promise of Russian interference on Trumps behalf, in writing!  the Journal is treating the clarity of the evidence as more reason to give Trump the benefit of the doubt. But maybe, just maybe, theres a reason for all these lies.
Donald Trump, Trump Jr., and Jared Kushner before they were cast in House of Cards. Photo: Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. released emails in which an acquaintance tells him the Russian government wants to swing the U.S. presidential election in his fathers favor and would like to present him with some incriminating information about Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr.s response: I love it.

This digital smoking gun raises complex legal questions about potential violations of federal election law and criminal conspiracy law, and what that means for the ongoing probe into Russias election meddling. But if youre just here for juicy tales of White House backstabbing, it was still a pretty monumental day. One outside Trump ally told the Washington Post that the situation in the White House is like a Category 5 hurricane right now, and last night yielded about a weeks worth of leaks about the turmoil within the White House (or what might be a years worth of gossip in a previous administration). Here are the most intriguing reports.

President Trump Signed Off on Trump Jr.s Initial Statement

When the New York Times broke the story about Trump Jr.s meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer on Saturday, he responded with a short statement saying they primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children. On Tuesday night, the Times revealed that this statement  which was so incomplete that it required day after day of follow-up statements, each more revealing than the last  was crafted by a group of Trump advisers on Air Force One as they returned to Europe.

Sources said President Trump personally signed off on the statement. They were divided on whether Trump Jr. was for or against offering a more thorough disclosure:

Inside Mr. Trumps team, the response to the developments has become a subject of intense dispute. Three people familiar with his sons account said he pushed to offer a full explanation on Saturday when first contacted by The Times about the meeting, and said he agitated to be allowed to defend himself publicly. But three other people involved in the discussions offered a completely contrary version of events, insisting that the younger Mr. Trump adamantly resisted an expansive disclosure.

Kushners Team Might Have Leaked Don Jr.s Emails

Previous reports in the Times said journalists learned about the contents of Trump Jr.s correspondence from three people with knowledge of the email.

Theres only a few names on those emails, one person close to the White House told Politico. And it would have to be someone out to get the presidents son.

Some speculated that either Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and adviser, or Paul Manafort, Trumps former campaign manager, were throwing Trump Jr. under the bus. While the focus is currently on Trump Jr., Kushner and Manafort attended the meeting with the Russian lawyer, too, and they may be in more serious legal jeopardy. On Tuesday, the Times added more fuel to those theories:

The emails were discovered in recent weeks by Mr. Kushners legal team as it reviewed documents, and they amended his clearance forms to disclose it, according to people briefed on the developments, who like others declined to be identified because of the sensitive political and legal issues involved.

 Similarly, Mr. Manafort recently mentioned the meeting to congressional investigators looking into possible collusion, according to the people briefed on the matter.

The President Has a Lot of Time on His Hands, and Hes Using It to Fume About the Russia Scandal

Trump has not had any public events in recent days, apparently because he needed a long break between the G20 and his trip to France on Wednesday. According to Politico, that means his schedule is unusually light, and hes been watching TV news and venting about the investigation. Sources say the president is upset about the headlines, not his sons behavior  but there is someone who has sparked his ire. In May, Trump hired his longtime attorney Marc Kasowitz to act as his personal attorney in matters related to the Russia probe. Now the Times reports that Trump has grown disillusioned with Kasowitzs strategy.

Trumps Lawyer Is Fed Up With Kushner and May Resign

It appears the disillusionment goes both ways. According to the Times, Kasowitz and his team feel Kushner is only out for himself, and while theyre supposed to be coordinating the Trump teams Russia response, they only learned of Trump Jr.s initial statement from media reports. The situation has grown so tense that theres talk of Kasowitz resigning.

Mr. Kasowitz and his colleagues have complained that Mr. Kushner has been whispering in the presidents ear about the Russia investigations and stories while keeping the lawyers out of the loop, according to another person familiar with the legal team. The presidents lawyers view Mr. Kushner as an obstacle and freelancer more concerned about protecting himself than his father-in-law, the person said. While no ultimatum has been delivered, the lawyers have told colleagues that they cannot keep operating that way, raising the prospect that Mr. Kasowitz may resign.

Kasowitz may actually be forced to step down for reasons that have nothing to do with Trump. He said on Tuesday that he isnt seeking a security clearance, though other attorneys say that would be absolutely essential for handling a case involving so much classified information. ProPublica reported on Tuesday night that Kasowitz may not be able to obtain one due to his issues with alcoholism:

In recent weeks, ProPublica spoke with more than two dozen current and former employees of Kasowitzs firm, Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, as well as his friends and acquaintances. Past and present employees of the firm said in interviews that Kasowitz has struggled intermittently with alcohol abuse, leading to a stint in rehab in the winter of 2014-15.

Several people told ProPublica that Kasowitz has been drinking in recent months. (The vast majority of those who spoke to ProPublica for this article declined to be quoted by name, citing Kasowitzs penchant for threatening lawsuits.)

The site said federal investigators commonly raise concerns when behaviors might make someone vulnerable to blackmail or suggest poor judgment.

White House Staffers Feel Helpless, Hurt by Pences Attempts to Save Himself

In times of trouble, a story often appears in which White House aides cast themselves as victims in their bosss latest drama. This time one Trump adviser told Politico that the White House is essentially helpless because the matter at hand occurred during the anything goes campaign. The adviser said theyd talked to people in the White House and none of them knew anything about Donald Trump Jr.s meetings  though obviously Kushner knew something because he was in the meeting.

As previously reported, many Trump aides are trying to avoid involvement in Russia-related matters because they cant afford to hire a lawyer if they get swept up in the probe. Yet theyre said to be miffed about Vice-President Mike Pences apparent attempt to separate himself from the current controversy. His statement on the matter said hes not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket.

The Trumps Want to Fire Reince Priebus

The Post reports that Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and even First Lady Melania Trump are pushing the president to shake up his team  and specifically to fire White House chief of staff Reince Priebus:

The three family members are especially concerned about the steady stream of unauthorized leaks to journalists that have plagued the administration over the nearly six months that President Trump has been in office, from sensitive national security information to embarrassing details about the inner-workings of the White House, the officials said.

A deputy White House press secretary and the First Ladys communications director both denied this, and it seems like a bizarre reaction to a flare-up in the ongoing Russia scandal. On the other hand, leaking about how Priebus may soon be out of a job does seem to bring Trump staffers together.
His email creates a new front for liability. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

First things first: No, Donald Trump Jr. wont get charged with treason, and not even the most damning act of doing the Kremlins bidding will ever amount to treason because Russia is neither a declared enemy nor in a declared war with the United States. Full stop. Please dont make treason a thing, and shame on you if you ever tried.

With that out of the way, it is worth pondering what other lesser crimes, legal or political, might have been committed by Trump Jr. Until last week he had not been a leading figure in the criminal and congressional probes into Russian meddling in the presidential election, including the possibility that the Trump campaign, or those close to it, may have been in cahoots with Vladimir Putins government to bring down their mutual nemesis, Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr.s fortunes and future changed dramatically last weekend, as a series of slowly developing yet brutal stories in the New York Times revealed that he played a central role in setting up a meeting with a Russian lawyer said to have dirt on Clinton that could be useful for his fathers campaign, which at the time had all but seized the Republican nomination and was setting its sights on the final stretch of the race. I love it, replied Trump Jr. when assured that the promised incriminating materials on the Democratic candidate amounted to obviously very high level and sensitive information that were part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump.

Theres little doubt that the lead Department of Justice official looking into Russia, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, will want to examine these email exchanges and the resulting meeting with Kremlin-connected lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, whom the communications with Trump describe as a Russian government attorney eager to take a flight from Moscow to discuss with him official documents the Russians had assembled to sink Clinton. The reason these buzzwords and quoted tidbits matter is their relevance to a question that has vexed investigators: whether there was a concerted effort by the Trump campaign to work hand-in-hand with Russia to tip the scales of the election.

American intelligence agencies told us some time ago that Putins goal was to get Trump in the White House, but this is the first time weve seen clear evidence  a smoking gun, if you will  that there may have been an untoward connection between someone in the presidents inner circle and the Russian government, and that the two may have worked in tandem to help the elder Trump in November. The word you keep hearing to describe this claimed alliance  right up there with treason in the parlance de #resistance  is collusion, an amorphous word that has very little value and meaning in federal criminal law. Thats why its common to hear Trump apologists assert with a high degree of confidence that collusion isnt illegal or that its only forbidden in the antitrust context. Or that campaigns team up with others to procure opposition research on their political adversaries all the time, and thus you cant go after someone for simply doing the stuff of politics. Thats all true.

But even before the Trump Jr. story broke, Bob Bauer, an election-law expert and former White House counsel for President Obama, had been quietly making a more nuanced and intriguing case, under existing campaign-finance laws and regulations, for the kind of quote-unquote collusion that Mueller and congressional investigators might be interested in. His analysis is extensive, and courts havent yet had a chance to test it, but it goes something like this: The law very clearly forbids American political actors from providing substantial assistance to a foreign government seeking to influence an election. If this assistance led the foreign government to provide a thing of value to the campaign, then the law was broken.

Bauer made this case back in June, going solely on publicly available evidence, such as when then-candidate Trump famously called on the Russians to help locate deleted emails from Clintons home-brew server  a call that, curiously, came only weeks after Trump Jr.s disappointing meeting with Veselnitskaya, which was also attended by his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and thencampaign manager Paul Manafort. Under a broad reading of the ban on substantial assistance to a foreign power, the Trump campaign did all it could to egg on the Russians to keep doing what they were doing. And the campaign benefitted mightily from it.

This opens up a new front for liability. Not only may Trump Jr.s procurement of a get-together with a Russia-linked lawyer for the purpose of obtaining incriminating dirt on Clinton meet the bar for substantial assistance to a foreign national seeking to influence the election, but under a different set of campaign-finance regulations, the procurement itself may break the law as a type of illicit coordination with Russia. How? If the Trump campaign actively worked with Kremlin associates so that they spent their resources to aid the campaign, then the Russians effectively made a campaign contribution forbidden by law.

Trump Jr.s interest in the damaging Clinton materials could certainly meet that criteria. Now, in a meeting scheduled with a Russian national with ties to the Putin regime, the campaign made clear that it was actively interested in having this kind of information, Bauer wrote in a follow-up analysis posted on the national-security blog Just Security.

But theres more: Trump Jr. may have also violated the laws prohibition on soliciting something of value from a foreign power. And on this point, the agency that promulgated the prohibition, the Federal Election Commission, left enough room to cover even implicit solicitations:

To solicit means to ask, request, or recommend, explicitly or implicitly, that another person make a contribution, donation, transfer of funds, or otherwise provide anything of value. A solicitation is an oral or written communication that, construed as reasonably understood in the context in which it is made, contains a clear message asking, requesting, or recommending that another person make a contribution, donation, transfer of funds, or otherwise provide anything of value. A solicitation may be made directly or indirectly. The context includes the conduct of persons involved in the communication.

Unlike federal criminal laws, FEC regulations are often construed expansively, so its possible that Mueller and others will have a field day with the latest bombshells. Of course, none of these potential violations would land the younger Trump in prison, nor should they. But thats not the crux of the new revelations. The point of it all is to establish something Donald Trump Sr. has denied vehemently: that his campaign indeed had much to gain from Russian involvement in the presidential election, and that those close to him were willing to go to great lengths to get it.

Then again, Trump Jr. has since lawyered up, and the journalists who first broke the story are still reporting. The Times reported on Tuesday night that Trump personally signed off on his sons initial statement about the meeting. For all we know, this may be the beginning of a new chapter that could very well reach the president himself. After all, he expressed a deep interest in Clintons deleted emails on the very same day his son, in a Trump Tower meeting, may have been looking for just that.
No one knows what went through Donald Trumps mind as supporters laid hands on him and prayed, though he probably was longing for some Purell. Photo: Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne/Facebook

A photograph that is getting some buzz today shows President Trump being prayed over  with the laying on of hands  by a group of conservative Evangelical leaders. For both non-Christians and Christians who are not accustomed to this particular mode of prayer, it is probably an arresting sight to see this going on right there in the Oval Office.

I found it interesting in a different way. Most conservative Christian leaders have made their peace with Donald Trump via a totally transactional relationship in which they dont much care what he believes or how he leads his life, so long as he gives them the policies and appointments they want. And so far, they believe he has delivered to a greater extent than more pious and virtuous presidents like George W. Bush  or the liberal Jimmy Carter  ever did. Thus, while they might pray for the president just like they pray for, well, everybody, the personal touch in the Oval Office prayer feels a little odd. It seems both excessive and unnecessary when it comes to a heathenish pol being used by God, as one common Christian-right rationalization about Trump would have it.

Now, its worth noting the people in the prayer clinch with the 45th president arent just any old conservative Evangelicals:

About 30 leaders were invited to the White House around a week and a half ago and included many of Trumps faith advisory council from his campaign, including Florida megachurch pastor Paula White, South Carolina megachurch pastor Mark Burns, former Republican representative Michele Bachmann and Southern Baptist pastors Jack Graham, Ronnie Floyd and Robert Jeffress.

In other words, these are people who really do have a personal relationship with Trump and/or tend to think of him as semi-godly, or perhaps (to use James Dobsons term) a baby Christian who has recently been saved from a debased and selfish life, but hasnt quite figured out how to behave.

It is also quite likely that these prayer warriors believe the burdens and sorrows of serving as president might bring Trump closer to God. He did, after all, recently say to a Christian-right audience: Were under siege, suggesting that he felt persecuted by the Fake News Media and the deep state and Joe n Mika and all his other enemies, much like the prophets and martyrs of holy scripture.

God only knows what Trump really thinks of his devout fans, and whether he regards them as good friends and allies, a mere constituency group, or fools and losers whose own weaknesses he is willing to exploit. The odds are high that after they laid hands on him and left, he reached for the Purell. But hes not in the best position right now to turn down any offers of support, human or divine.
According to a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey, Trump supporters are divided down the middle on advisability of Obamacare repeal. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

We are often informed that the dangerously self-destructive GOP-only process of repealing and replacing Obamacare is mandatory for congressional Republicans because the base demands it. Earlier this week a primarily anecdotal McLatchy report from Representative Mark Meadowss district in North Carolina was headlined: Republican base howls at prospect of congressional failure on Obamacare. Heres a sample:

Fed up with what they see as timidity to take action in Washington, many voters in Meadows district say they had hoped Donald Trumps election in November would mean congressional Republicans would start to deliver.

We sent Trump there to rattle their cages and its ridiculous its not happening, said Katherine Allen, 65, who lives near the Pisgah National Forest. I understand some of the senators are worried, but didnt they make a promise?

Anecdotes aside, there is empirical evidence that the base that is allegedly howling for an immediate partisan Obamacare repeal measure may be a bit of an exaggeration. The Kaiser Family Foundations health-care tracking poll is showing that given the choice of pursuing a repeal and replace strategy or of working with Democrats to improve ACA, 41 percent of self-identified Republicans want their caucus in Congress to take the latter approach, with a spare majority  54 percent  favoring the former approach (the one the Republican Congress has been taking all this year). More amazing yet, self-identified Trump supporters split right down the middle, with 47 percent favoring repeal and replace and 46 percent the very different option of bipartisan action to fix Obamacare.

It is somewhat less surprising but equally important that independents overwhelmingly favor the bipartisan fix option  nearly as much as Democrats.

So in continuing down their current track, congressional Republicans are defying swing voters and dividing their own base. Thats generally not a recipe for political success.
Donald Trump Jr. with his dad during a rally on the final night of the 2016 U.S. presidential election in Manchester, New Hampshire. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. released a set of emails between himself and music publicist Rob Goldstone proving he knew the Russian government was working to help elect his father. It was the climax in a series of reports from the New York Times about a meeting in June of last year between Trump Jr. and a Kremlin-affiliated attorney, organized to discuss the transfer of damaging information about Hillary Clinton to the Trump camp.

The fallout from these revelations  as close to a smoking gun as weve gotten so far in the Trump-Russia scandal  is still unknown. But the public appearance of Trump Jr.s email chain definitely raises a lot of questions. Legally, did he do anything wrong? Is there any historical precedent for his actions? And what does this mean for Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation?

To answer these queries and more, Daily Intelligencer spoke with election law expert Robert Bauer, who served as White House counsel to former President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011.

Campaigns seek out damaging information about their opponents all the time. What makes this Donald Trump Jr. situation unique?

The law specifically prohibits soliciting or accepting anything of value from a foreign national. When we talk about information, which is a very general term  we could be talking about research reports, polling data, a cache of emails  they have value. The election laws pick up, for this particular prohibition, and in other provisions as well, contributions that consist of something in kind. Something that is not acquired with cash, something that is received in the form that somebody else procured and paid for it.

The word collusion has been thrown around a lot to describe the Trump campaigns possible relationship to Russia. Legally, what does that mean?

Collusion, I think, is a shorthand. It means some sort of conspiracy, conniving, collaboration. In election law theres a term called coordination and that essentially captures circumstances in which a campaign has found somebody to spend money on its behalf. The campaign is a beneficiary of an arrangement by which somebody might, for example, advertise on behalf of the campaign, or purchase goods and services to be delivered to the campaign. If a candidate is a party to that understanding, then in effect its really no different than the campaign getting money directly from the donor. Its benefiting with its understanding, its consent, and its request. Its benefiting from the expenditure of the fund. And so its treated as a contribution like any other because the spending was coordinated. And thats where the term coordination comes from.

Do you think coordination is potentially an appropriate term for what were seeing with the Trump Jr. meeting?

It seems so. Im not suggesting that all the evidence is in or where its ultimately going to lead, but we have email evidence today that somebody with ties to the Russian government, and known by Donald Trump Jr. to have ties to the Russian government, advised that the Russian government was looking to help his father, told him that somebody close to the Russian government  described in an email as a Russian government lawyer  was coming to a meeting to provide some benefit to the campaign. So I dont see how that isnt coordinated activity. Theres a party who wants to be helpful to the campaign  in this case, a foreign government  and the campaign ascends to the help and sort of collaborates around, or communicates around, what that help might be.

There are two categories of laws that may apply not just to Trump Jr., but to the Trump campaign and Russias relationship as a whole: federal election laws and criminal conspiracy laws. Is that correct?

Yeah, and the conspiracy laws connect to the election laws. Because you would have a conspiracy, presumably, should the evidence ultimately support it, to violate the campaign-finance laws. So, the conspiracy would not be free-floating and independent, it would tie directly into the violation of the campaign laws.

With conspiracy laws, the crime is the agreement itself to commit a crime. It doesnt matter whether that effort succeeds or is ever carried out.

Thats correct.

Okay. Federal election laws say that foreign nationals or foreign governments cant contribute a thing of value to a presidential campaign. What does that actually mean?

Thing of value, anything of value, also applies to contributions across the board, not just contributions from foreign nationals. And the theory behind it is fairly straightforward, which is you can, for example, pay for a hall to hold a rally in. Find the cash, pay the rental. Or the owner of the hall can just provide it to you. And if the owner of the hall provides it to you, the owner of the halls not providing you with cash, the owner of the hall is providing you with a venue for an event and its fundamentally the same thing to you. Its the same value to you as if, in fact, you had purchased it yourself.

So, the thing of value limitation is designed to pick up so-called in-kind contributions. Not just contributions as cash. Without it, the elections laws would basically be made somewhat nonsensical. There would be no reason to have a contribution limit if the easy way around it was to simply avoid paying cash and to simply provide, in concrete form, whatever it was that the campaign wanted.

So far, there is no evidence that the Trump campaign had anything to do with the DNC hacks or John Podestas leaked emails from last year  but are those things we can consider things of value during a campaign?

The hacking of the material and then its release into the public sphere?

Yes.

I think you absolutely can confirm that as a thing of value. President Trump at one point, as a candidate, called upon the Russians to locate the so-called deleted Secretary Clinton emails and said, I hope you find them. Later it was said, Well, maybe he was joking. Well, now it turns out that the campaign was actively looking for this and believed it was very important. I would stress in particular that today the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, said the campaign wanted that material, or wanted negative information on Hillary Clinton very badly.

An important part of the Trump campaigns strategy was to create major doubts about Hillary Clinton. You recall the chants of lock her up, and President Trump at one point said he was going to appoint a prosecutor, he was going to do a direct prosecution of Clinton. And so any material that somebody could acquire that would dramatically support those claims was of exceptional value to the campaign. Whatever this lawyer promised might have been one thing, the stolen emails might have been another. But one way or the other, they were looking for negative product they thought would be helpful to them on a matter of central strategic significance to the campaign.

How difficult would it be to litigate a thing of value in court?

Theres a complicated line of cases and law that have to do with what does it mean to coordinate with an organization thats spending money. Sometimes, the candidate says, Well, Im engaged in free speech. The organization is engaged in free speech. There has to be some limit to how far you can regulate communication between allies. So, I go to see somebody who I think is a supporter and I tell that person something about my campaign that Im trying to accomplish. Three months later the supporter puts advertising on the air. The supporter is going to say, Well, thats my free speech. Im just taking informed speech and putting it on the air. I dont know that you can see that free-speech defense applying here. It seems to me  and I think theres law on this point  the foreign-national prohibition is for a very different purpose and the free-speech interests here are significantly attenuated.

The purpose of the foreign-national prohibition is to defend the larger political community, as a court recently said. This goes to a fundamental question of defining and protecting what we consider to be the political community entitled to participate in the choice of our elected leaders, and so the breadth of the governments interest, the scope of the governments interest, is very broad and very strong, and for that reason some of the free-speech defenses in the coordination world, or in the cases of coordination that you oftentimes see in the domestic sphere, dont have nearly that force. And I dont think it ultimately would be upheld in the case where were talking about involving a foreign government coordinating with a campaign to win an election in the United States.

And federal election laws also prohibit U.S. nationals from providing substantial assistance to a foreign national?

Thats correct. It prohibits U.S. nationals from assisting foreign nationals in trying to influence an election.

Does that cover trying  but not necessarily succeeding  to provide substantial assistance?

I dont know that its clear what constitutes substantial assistance or whether it would be a liability to merely attempt to provide substantial assistance. Its certainly a conspiracy to violate the election laws, as you pointed out. It doesnt have to end in a successful attempt. It can be an attempt, in and of itself, to bring about the fulfillment of a foreign nationals goals.

If you assume that the Putin regime wants to affect the outcome of the election and the Trump campaign wants to help them do it, the Trump campaign believes it would be destabilizing to the Clinton campaign. It would demoralize the Democrats. The Putin government is delighted to do it because it wants to create a bit of chaos in the course of our election. And if the Trump campaign goes about actively aiding the Russians in doing this, denying that theyre involved, refusing to condemn them, reading the WikiLeaks emails, you can read all of that as a form of providing substantial assistance to an effort that, we now know from the emails, they understood that the Russian government was undertaking.

Robert Bauer, left, with former Vice-President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

So it seems that there are two types of criminal conspiracy laws that would apply here: to defraud the United States or to make an offense against the United States.

Yes, thats generally correct.

And defrauding the United States has a broad meaning here, right?

Thats correct, impeding, for example, as one commentator suggested, the lawful administration of a federal election.

How might these recent revelations surrounding Trump Jr. relate to Robert Muellers special investigation?

Without a doubt, it raises a whole series of questions that hes going to be looking into. These emails dont answer all of the questions. Theyre highly suggestive about intent and about specific activities, the intent of working with the Russians on this campaign to try to win the election for Donald Trump. I think it totally underscores the seriousness of this aspect of whatever else  there may be other issues  that Special Counsel Mueller is looking into.

How does being president shield Donald Trump from whatever the fallout of this is?

Understand that the Office of Legal Counsels opinion on this subject  and there have been two, one in 1973, and one in 2000  those opinions are not uncontested. That is to say, this is an executive-branch judgment about the presidents immunity from prosecution while in office. I, for one, dont share it. I dont think its correct. There are other scholars who do think its correct. But its certainly not a settled issue at all. And theres good reason to believe that if called upon to judge the question, a court might conclude, in fact, that the president can be indicted while in office. Im not saying that would happen to this president, Im not speaking about the current case, but I wanted to address the general proposition.

Is there any historical precedent for what were seeing right now? In terms of what we now know Trump Jr. did, or about Trumps campaign and Russia in general?

Nothing like what were seeing right now has ever occurred  certainly in the modern era  in an American presidential or congressional election. As far as a campaign that is explicitly or actively cooperating with a foreign government in the mutual goal of winning an election, I cannot think of anything like it. Obviously in 96 and 97, Republicans alleged that Bill Clintons presidential campaign had received significant foreign funding from Chinese government sources. The suggestion was, for example, that there were particular contributors to the campaign who were, as I recall, treated as proxies or agents for foreign-government interests. But that investigation never led to any such conclusion.

Is there anything you think the public should know about Trump Jr.s emails, Trumps campaign, and Russia going forward?

People tend to view this as an individual issue for Donald Trump Jr. Theres a question of his own personal liability or the liability of Mr. [Jared] Kushner and [former campaign chair Paul] Manafort. Theyre agents of the campaign: Theyre speaking for the campaign, theyre holding a meeting at Trump Tower. I think that one of the things to keep in mind about the exchange of emails today is that it opens up the question of campaign organization liability. That is to say, the campaign as an entity. That, of course, brings it a lot closer to President Trump.

That issue of campaign liability exposes Trump more?

Well, the one question it raises is if this is a campaign venture  and it certainly appears from the emails that it is  rather than some foolish gambit on the part of Donald Trump Jr. Is it plausible that after learning the Russian government is committed to helping Trump and believes it may have information that is damaging to Hillary Clinton, Trumps campaign manager, much less his son, never informed Trump himself?

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Al-Baghdadi in 2014. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Russia claimed last month that an air strike in Syria may have taken out Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the elusive leader of the Islamic State. The May 28 strike on the outskirts of Raqqa  the capital of ISISs so-called caliphate  allegedly targeted a meeting of ISIS military commanders. Al-Baghdadi, the Kremlin said, was among them.

The U.S. military and other analysts made clear their skepticism. The U.S. confirmed that Russia did conduct a strike in that area on that date, but as to al-Baghdadis fate, a Pentagon spokesman said: We have no information to corroborate those reports. The circumstances surrounding his alleged death were also questionable. It struck experts as unlikely that so many high-level ISIS leaders would all meet together in the middle of a military hot zone, making themselves vulnerable to a targeted strike. And, of course, al-Baghdadi has a reputation for getting killed or critically injured, over and over again.

Syrian State TV claims Baghdadi has been killed. Baghdadi has died more times than anyone in history.  Leith Aboufadel (@leithfadel) June 11, 2017

And now theres a new report. On Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an independent and well-regarded agency that monitors the civil war in Syria from London, claimed that al-Bahgdadis had been killed. The group said it received reliable information from a first-line commander of the Islamic State organization and second-line commanders of the organization, descended from the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor who confirmed that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead. Deir Ezzor is a region in eastern Syrian near the Iraqi border where ISIS is under siege. Those sources indicated that al-Baghdadi had, within the last three months, been in a village in that area. But it was unclear, based on the Observatorys information, when or how, exactly, al-Baghdadi may have died.

Al-Baghdadis latest rumored death still hasnt been confirmed by U.S. officials, but it appears the Pentagon is giving more respect to this report. I really dont know, Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, who commands the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, said. I dont have reason to believe that hes alive. I dont have proof of life.

A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition also told reporters that while it couldnt confirm the Syrian Observatorys report, they hope it was true. He also warned: We strongly advise ISIS to implement a strong line of succession, it will be needed.

With more rumors of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi's death, I decided to see if @CJTFOIR had any indications. This response made me LOL. pic.twitter.com/wb7lFu4EFD  Chad Garland (@chadgarland) July 11, 2017

Yet ISIS has not made any announcement about its leader, though as experts have pointed out, it might not be eager to affirm such a huge symbolic defeat.

2) As of yet, *NO official statement* from #ISIS & heavy skepticism from its online community (tho unlikely to believe media regardless)  Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) July 11, 2017

4) As Ive stated before, hard to say when #ISIS would confirm such a major death (if it was to actually happen in the first place) pic.twitter.com/KbFu7rYiw6  Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) July 11, 2017

Chatter on the ISIS channels appear to be borrowing from the playbook of the American president, calling any such reports of al-Baghdadi death a brand of fake news:

2. Here is a post from an ISIS channel essentially calling the story in al-Sumeira about death of Baghdadi to be fake news by a Shia outlet: pic.twitter.com/LVYiGtwSw4  Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) July 11, 2017

But al-Baghdadis possible death probably matters little in the larger battle against ISIS. Little is known about the ghostlike commander, an Iraqi who first dabbled with Al Qaeda there before busting onto the scene in 2014 to declare ISIS a caliphate from the pulpit of the al-Nuri Grand Mosque in Mosul (which was recently destroyed by ISIS fighters). He hasnt been heard from since November, when he allegedly issued an audio recording. In the months since, the U.S. has managed to knock out many of ISISs top operatives. Its also unclear what, if any, strategic role al-Baghdadi has had in the battles for Mosul and Raqqa. But the ideology he espouses is still thriving  even as ISIS has suffered territorial losses and battlefield defeats, it continues to inspire adherents, and has launched attacks around the world in recent weeks. Al-Baghdadi may be dead, or he may be alive, but either way, a replacement is waiting.
Photo: Charles Ommanney/The Washington Post/Getty Images

This week, to accompany our cover story on worst-case climate scenarios, were publishing a series of extended interviews with climatologists on the subject  most of them from the godfather generation of scientists who first raised the alarm about global warming several decades ago.

James Hansen is the former head of climate research for NASA, the author of the legendary early zero model for climate change, and is now the lead scientific figure in a lawsuit being brought against the federal government alleging complicity on climate change, which Hansen and his fellow litigants argue is a violation of the equal protection clause  since the costs of change will fall unequally on future generations.*

Tell me, how did you get involved in this lawsuit?

That was interesting. I wrote this article, The Threat to the Planet, in 2006, in The New York Review of Books. It started out, Animals are on the run.

It was read by Mary Wood, a legal scholar at the University of Oregon whos most responsible for developing the Atmospheric Trust idea  that the planet is held in trust by the current generation for future generations. A student or postdoc of hers sent an email to me  I was a government employee, involved in a lot of stuff, so I never responded until finally we set up a teleconference in 2010. I agreed to write a paper to provide the scientific basis for a lawsuit. Then I decided, rather than writing the paper myself, I should get a bunch of international experts to be co-authors. It took forever.

Why?

We submitted the paper to PNAS, and Im an Academy member, so if I submit a review, I should be able to publish. But the editor decided it was an unusual paper, with normative statements, and he gave it to an anonymous editorial board member, and he said I had to take out these normative statements criticizing the government. So we iterated back and forth two or three times. Finally, when he said the word dangerous was normative  thats when I withdrew the paper and submitted it to PLOS One. And eventually finally in 2013 it was published.

The paper was used for the first lawsuit, which got as far as the D.C. District Court, just below the Supreme Court. And we lost at that level.

What happened?

The D.C. District Court judge essentially said that we hadnt shown a constitutional basis for the lawsuit. Public trust is a common-law thing, so while you can argue it is protected by the Constitution, it isnt explicitly in the Constitution.

But even before meeting Mary, I had started in my talks to discuss equal rights and equal protection of the law for young people. And now, in going back and doing it again, they are still using the public trust argument but also, explicitly, the idea of equal protection of the law and due process, that young people are being deprived of life, liberty, and property. I think  Im 99.99 percent certain were going to win in Oregon. As you know, its

A friendly circuit!

The West Coast is more liberal. But I think the constitutional basis is clear. I think that even with the very conservative Supreme Court, that we have a very good chance.

Why?

I always felt the negative ruling in D.C. was stated in such a way that almost invited resubmission with a clearer constitutional argument. And this is a case where you have to rely on the courts, because the other branches of government are just too short-sighted. This long time constant is the problem. Its very difficult, especially when, its because of the power of money in the government. And that  well, I think the court is less affected than the other branches.

Its interesting to hear you talk about it, because in reading about the suit Ive processed it as a work of protest and advocacy, not something that was aimed at really winning.

I think its analogous to a civil-rights case, where the courts have to get involved, but they did not get involved until the public was involved, too. And thats why you have to simultaneously get the public behind climate action, because the courts dont tend to get out in front. Courts are slow, but on the other hand its all been very slow.

Thats one way of looking at it  that its slow. Theres another way of looking at it that its all quite fast. So much of the change weve already built into the climate is a result of activity over the last couple of decades, and when you think about the scale of change thats being brought about thats pretty astonishing.

Yeah. Most of the emissions are in the last few decades.

Especially if youre thinking at the geological timescale, its astonishing we could be engineering that much change in such a short period of time.

In 1982, Taro Takahashi* and I organized a workshop at Palisades, New York, at the Lamont Observatory. And it was funded by Exxon Research and Engineering. The president of Exxon Research and Engineering made the observation that, all this was a very difficult climate system, that it presents a very difficult problem because of the delayed response. And his conclusion was, to try and deal with the system with a delayed response, you have to have anticipation. And that was exactly right! But then the anticipation should lead to  Oh, we better start now moving toward carbon-free energy. Instead, the industry developed fracking, which doubled down on the fossil-fuel approach.

Why do people have so much trouble seeing whats happening and understanding the costs of inaction?

The fundamental difficulty is the delayed response  the inertia of the climate system. The ocean is deep and the ice sheets are three kilometers thick, and they dont respond quickly to what is really a weak forcing. And so the system has only partially responded to the forcing weve put up already. Theres more in the pipeline. Youre talking about a system that responds on the timescale of decades to centuries  thats a different time constant than the political constant.

It seems the political attention span is getting shorter and shorter. But theres the question of how politics responds, but also the separate question of how the culture responds.

The complication with the culture is with the short-term variability in temperature.

While trend lines are going up, actual temperatures bounce around a lot.

And the regional variability is so large, too, compared with the mean change. But the mean change of a couple of degrees is going to translate eventually into many meters of sea-level rise. To the person on the street, couple of degrees doesnt sound so bad.

It can sound kind of nice.

Right. So its a problem which is inherently difficult to deal with, especially when there are financial special interests that dont want you to make progress because theyre making a lot of money off fossil fuels.

It seems like a lot of your advocacy over the last few years has been focused on focusing our attention on the future financial costs of not doing anything  on meeting that financial argument head-on.

Well, the tragic thing is that the solution actually doesnt cost anything, if you do it sensibly. What the economic studies show  the Citizens Climate Lobby supported it  a carbon price going up ten dollars a ton each year reduces emissions 30 percent in ten years.

If you made the price of fossil fuels honest by including a gradually rising carbon fee, then it actually spurs the economy and increases the GNP as you shift toward clean energies and energy efficiency. It creates potentially millions of jobs. But you cant get either political party to propose that.

Now theres this group of conservative elders  James Baker III, George P. Schultz, and some economists, Ted Halstead is the one whos trying to organize them  trying to draw attention to the fact that it actually makes sense from a conservative perspective to make the price of fossil fuels honest, gradually. And in the case of Democrats, they want  we persuaded Barbara Boxer and Bernie Sanders that a carbon fee makes sense, but they want 40 percent of the money for social programs.

You dont think thats how it should work?

The way to spur the economy  to modernize the economy and modernize the energy infrastructure  would be to give the money back to the public. Because a carbon fee is a progressive tax, in the sense that rich people have bigger carbon footprints. So if you do give 100 percent of the money to the public, 70 percent of the public comes out ahead.

Sounds like a political winner.

Yeah. So why cant we get it done? I wrote a letter to Obama after he was elected in 2008, and tried to explain this.

What happened?

I couldnt get John Holdren to deliver the letter  he was chosen to be the science adviser. He said he couldnt do anything until he was confirmed. And finally, near the end of the Obama administration, I tried to get Obama to settle our lawsuit. Which would have made sense. Actually the judge in Oregon was puzzled as to why Obama was fighting us. Because Obama, when he talked about the planet, he sounded like us.

He uses the phrases existential threat, though I think some people dont quite understand what he means by that.

I think what Holdren thought was that what we were asking was unrealistic. We were asking the government to commit to reducing emissions by 6 percent a year. Six percent a year over 30 years is about an 80 percent reduction. And then it turns out that John Kerry went to Morocco in 2016 with the U.S. plan, which was 80 percent reduction by 2050. So its virtually the same as what we were asking.

Then, as soon as Trump was elected, I said, this is now really a time the Obama administration should settle the case.

It would have been a sneaky way to lock in some climate policies 

So I sent an email to John Podesta, and surprisingly got a response almost immediately, asking me to use a different email address  Id used the one that was hacked.

Wow.

And he did try to help. Eventually, though, Obama rejected the idea, because his lawyers preferred his plan, his Clean Power Plan, which is being challenged in various courts.

You didnt like that plan?

That was a screwy thing right from the beginning. Once Kerry failed to get congress to pass cap-and-trade, Obama took the route of trying to reduce emissions by regulations. It was a lawyer approach  the National Resource Defense Council, a huge, Big Green organization, is all lawyers. But its not very effective.

Yeah, we got a reduction of 7 percent emissions, but thats because gas became cheap. The reduction was for economic reasons  a number of utilities shifted from coal to gas. But that just locked in fracking. Which is exactly the wrong path, to lock in fracking. It doesnt reduce emissions very much.

I think we need a third party. And I would organize it around this issue. I think its going to be up to young people.

You know I had testified before Congress in the early 80s talking about this, and then I bailed out of things  I didnt want to be involved in the public aspect. It was not until the middle of the Bush era that I decided to give a public talk. I gave a talk at Virginia Tech in 2008, during the presidential campaign. All the young people were out knocking on doors for Obama. In Iowa, where Im from, the young people were the biggest support which allowed Obama to upset Hillary in the primary. And when Obama won the election, they just assumed that because hed said we have a planet in peril, that hed do something. But I think they have to also pay attention to whats actually being proposed because it was not a real solution.

You mean cap-and-trade?

Two-thousand pages of giveaways to everybody. That year I went to John Kerrys office, and had a long discussion with him. And in principle he seemed persuaded a carbon fee made more sense than cap-and-trade, but he said, I cant get one vote for it. In order to get a senator or representative to vote for it, you have to give them something, for their district.

Its interesting, theres this whole little school in political science which argues the ending of earmarks was actually disastrous for the working of American politics, because now we dont even have that to bargain with any more. And so the only thing politicians can strategize about is how close they are to party leadership. Obviously partisan cooperation was declining well before that, but the end of earmarks have made compromise even harder.

Thats interesting.

In your view, why is a fee so much more effective than a cap-and-trade system?

Whats the cap on India? You have to have a system that can go international. You only need, frankly, the U.S. to have a carbon fee, and then you have border duties on products from countries that dont have a carbon fee, and thats incentive for other countries to have their own carbon fee. When you try to cap something  unless its across the board, on everything, it just reduces the demand. A successful cap that reduces the demand makes it cheaper. And how would you put a cap across coal, oil, and gas? Thats not the way it works. And also the public is simply not going to let it happen. They see the price at the pump going up, and theyre not going to get the money  It doesnt even have to go up very far.

You know, over the weekend, I was trying to finish this paper  its called Young Peoples Burden.

Yeah, you sent it to me.

I think its about to be accepted. People have been so reluctant to accept these papers.

Why do you think that is?

Because  its what I call scientific reticence. I wrote a paper in 2007 called Scientific Reticence and Sea Level Rise. Youre rewarded in science for not stepping out too rapidly.

But I was working on a video over the weekend with my oldest grandchild, to try to get people to understand this. The narrative that is out there is completely wrong. The narrative is, Al Gore says weve turned a corner. Its actually getting worse! The annual addition is increasing  its not only that were not going down, were increasing the forcing.

One of the few areas where encouraging news is coming from is green energy  that seems to be coming a bit faster than most people expected, and more cheaply than most people expected.

But it also seems like the news were receiving from the Arctic in particular is just much worse. You also think carbon removal is important, right?

At the time of our 2013 paper, for the first lawsuit, we argued that you could get carbon down to 350 parts per million by the end of the century without technological extraction. But now, in our new paper  which I hope will be accepted this week  we are saying until 2020 emissions are going to be more or less similar than they are now. To start reduction at that time, in order to get back to 350 ppm by the end of the century, well have extract 50 gigatons of carbon technologically, in addition to 100 gigatons wed need to extract in these quasi-natural agricultural and forestry ways. Fifty gigatons is a lot. The cost of that is in the trillions of dollars.

And I know a lot of scientists are really worried about how to do that. It doesnt seem like a consensus that we know how to do it even if we had the will and the money.

And it is going to cost to money, because it takes energy. So I just dont think thats very plausible.

When I read the IPCC stuff, but also other academic papers, it seems like that two-degree threshold is really quite optimistic, and that were on track for something more like four or five degrees. Youve mostly focused on the danger of that optimistic outcome  1.5 to 2 degrees. Im curious why youve focused on that level, that end of the spectrum, and also what worries you have about things getting somewhat significantly worse than that.

What I focused on is, what is the carbon that you should aim for, if you want to avoid some strong feedbacks and large consequences. In 2006 I think it was  Bill McKibben asked me what should be the target for CO2. He was going to form this organization, 450.org, and thats when I told him, hold on, what Im finding is thats actually a pretty dangerous level. So he did hold on for a while. So what should humanity aim for? Its not any larger than 350 ppm, and it might be less. It just turns out that if you look at the paleoclimate, its really very sensitive.

I just think about all those greenhouse extinctions, and how dramatically those changes unfolded.

The natural climate changes move much slower. The one that looks like a spike, like a delta function, the biggest one, is the PETM  and that took a couple thousand years. Were talking about a couple of centuries.

The rapidity with which were going through it makes it all that much harder for ecosystems to adapt, and species to adapt.

Yeah.

To think for a minute at the scarier end of the spectrum. If we do end up four or five degrees warmer, within a relatively short period of time  thats the IPCCs RCP8.5 scenario, by the end of the century, and thats not counting some of these dramatic feedback mechanisms, what would that do to the planet, in your mind?

I dont think were going to get four or five degrees this century, because we get a cooling effect from the melting ice. But the biggest effect will be that melting ice. In my opinion thats the big thing  sea-level rise. Because we have such a large fraction of people on coastlines  more than half of the large cities in the world are on coastlines. The economic implications of that, and the migrations and the social effects of migrations  the planet could become practically ungovernable, it seems to me. But if youre really talking about four or five degrees, that means the tropics and the subtropics are going to be practically uninhabitable. Its already becoming uncomfortable in the summers, in the subtropics  you cant work outdoors. And agriculture  more than half of the jobs are outdoors.

Food production seems a real worry.

Population is a problem. Thats why you want to have energy thats needed for people to eliminate poverty, because countries that have become wealthy have the population under control. But if you do begin to lose major cities than the planet becomes ungovernable.

And what level of sea-level rise would precipitate that? What worries you?

Once sea levels go up significantly, you wont have stable shorelines. Just parts of the city will go under water, but then it doesnt make sense to continue to build there. So, I dont know. By the time you get to even one-meter rise, youre going to be losing more land. We argue in our paper Ice Melt, Sea Level Rise, and Superstorms, which we published in 2016, that you could get multi-meter sea-level rise in 50 to 150 years.

To switch subjects for a moment, can you tell me about the end of your time at NASA?

It became I was getting involved in more and more of these outside activities. I mean, suing the government is not something you can do on government time! And getting arrested five different times  NASA was not very happy about this. Plus, I needed more time for my other work.

When was that?

Early 2013.

And how do you think the new administration changes things?Now we have an easy target, because what theyre doing is so crazy. I dont see how we can lose. Because what theyre doing is so dangerous. Obama he was continuing to approve offshore drilling and the things which, we would argue, dont make sense, since we have to phase out fossil fuels. But now, its just so extreme, I think that makes it a much easier case. Theyre willingly doing things that are certain to cause great harm to young people and future generations.

It seems almost out of spite. The Obama record is obviously mixed on these issues, but you at least got the sense there was some intellectual sympathy, even if they were compromised in what they were able to do. But the motivations of this entire administration just seem so  nasty.

But theyre consistent with what the fossil-fuel industry wants, and theyre providing a lot of funding to Republicans especially.

Although some of the reporting Ive seen is that the people in the fossil-fuel industry have been shocked at how much theyre getting from the new administration.

Yeah.

Like they were asking for a hundred bucks and getting a thousand and going, Okay, well take it! What do you think is going to happen to Paris?

I doubt that Paris withdrawal makes much difference. Countries that only promised to do what they felt was in their best interest anyhow, so I dont think countries will back off. And I think this will be a short-lived reversal by the U.S., whether its from the courts or the next election.

And are you encouraged by the news out of India and China?

Yeah, although its misstated by the environmental community as if theyre solving the problem. Theyre not closing their coal plants, and as I mentioned globally the rate of greenhouse-gas growth is actually accelerating. So you do have to have some carbon-free alternative energies to complement the renewables. I dont know of any alternatives  you have hydropower, for a certain amount, in certain countries, but I think we should have been working with China to develop safe nuclear power. Thats the only way that they will get rapidly off of coal. That has been a mistake. We should have put a price on carbon rather than trying to have regulations that choose specific technologies.

Do you think people are too scared about the risks of nuclear power?

I think theres a lot of misinformation. Its incredible. More than 10,000 people are dying each day from the small particles coming out from fossil-fuel burning, which is more than have been killed in history from the radiation from nuclear-power plants. Its an irrational fear of low-level radiation. You have to avoid high levels of radiation, but we know ways to do nuclear which are much safer  that will not explode, that wont produce a meltdown. But the real thing thats needed is a simple, honest carbon price.

I know you started your career working on Venus, and some of the fringier people Ive talked to point to Venus as a scary allegory for how climate change can really transform a planet.

Well, yeah, but it took a very long time. One flaw in my book Storms of My Grandchildren is my inference you can get runaway climate change on a relatively short timescale. You have to get rid of the ocean before you get to a Venus situation, and that requires you getting the water to escape. That took hundreds of millions of years for that to occur on Venus. You could certainly get to a disastrous situation without getting rid of the ocean, but if you want to go to a Venus-type situation, then you have to lose the ocean. Venus did. Hydrogen isotopes on Venus do indicate that it once had a lot of water, but doesnt now.

Do you think thats possible on a many-millions-of-years timescale?

It cant be done with fossil-fuel burning. It can and will be done as the sun becomes a red giant. But thats going to be billions of years.

Is there anything youd say about the shorter-term disaster scenario?

I think on the shorter term, the planet becomes much less habitable  low latitudes become less habitable, and if we lose coastal cities everything starts going backwards. The progress weve had over the last centuries, more people having a higher standard of living  thats going to go in the other direction. So we really have to stabilize it at a level that allows ice sheets to remain on Greenland and Antarctica with sizes comparable to what they have now. And that requires that the warming be not more than a degree or so. But the business community really doesnt understand that.

I remember when we wrote our first paper on this, in 1981, and the New York Times reported it on the front page. I remember saying to one of my co-authors, This is going to be very interesting, sometime during our careers, were going to see these things beginning to happen.

You probably thought youd see the world responding.

Yeah! And it worked with the ozone.

Is that just because it was a smaller problem?

DuPont told Reagan it was okay, because they were working on alternative chemicals and could make just as much money at that. Thats what the whole fossil-fuel industry should be working on  alternative energies. But they chose instead to double down on fossil fuels.

* This interview has been condensed and edited. It has also been updated to properly identify Taro Takahashi, and to clarify the precise nature of the argument of the lawsuit.
Build the wall. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Donald Trumps lawyers think its about time that the president stopped taking advice on the Russia investigation from his son-in-law. On Tuesday night, the New York Times reported that Trumps attorneys have complained that Mr. Kushner has been whispering in the presidents ear about the Russia investigations and stories while keeping the lawyers out of the loop.

Now, Axios reports that the legal team is preparing to turn those complaints into policy:

President Trumps outside legal team wants to wall off Jared Kushner from discussing the Russia investigation with his father-in-law, according to sources with direct knowledge of the discussionsThe team contends that it isnt out to get Kushner, but just wants to protect the president because his son-in-law is so wrapped up in the investigation. He had three meetings with Russians that special counsel Bob Mueller is sure to investigate.

Donald Trump doesnt have the best lawyers. His primary attorney in the Russia matter, Marc Kasowitz, recently told ProPublica that he has no plans to acquire a security clearance, despite the fact that the case against his client could very well hinge on sensitive materials that he will be unable to view without one. This handicap may be less voluntary than Kasowitz lets on  according to ProPublica, the lawyer has struggled with alcoholism in the past, which is the kind of pre-existing condition that can get you barred from accessing government secrets. Trumps other lawyer, Jay Sekulow, appears to have taken money from charity.

But with regard to Jared Kushner, these fellows probably have a point. For now, Trumps son-in-law appears to be in deeper water than he is. Already, we know that Kushner was willing, at the very least, to consider accepting aid from the Kremlin during the 2016 campaign. And we know that, shortly after Trumps election, Kushner spoke with the Russian ambassador about setting up a secret communications channel with Moscow  one safe from the prying eyes of American intelligence agencies  and then, days later, met with the head of the Russian state-owned bank Vnesheconombank.

And we know that Kushner declined to disclose any of those meetings when seeking a top secret clearance, omissions that would seem to amount to perjury.

Generally speaking, criminal attorneys do not want their clients taking legal advice from their more legally vulnerable (alleged) co-conspirators. And Kushners advice on the Russia investigation, thus far, has been less than prudent: The presidents son-in-law was one of the few White House advisors who strongly encouraged Trump to fire James Comey, a move that kicked off waves of politically damaging leaks, and, eventually, the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Of course, just because the lawyers advice is wise doesnt mean it will be well-received. The Trump White House is already on edge, as everyone wonders who leaked word of Don Jr.s now infamous emails to the press. A formal attempt to restrict Kushners communications with his father-in-law surely wont promote a stronger sense of solidarity or goodwill.
Blocked. Photo: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Being blocked by President Trump on Twitter might sound like a blessing, but seven people who can claim that badge of honor dont see it that way. So on Tuesday, in a move the litigation-loving president has to respect, they sued.

The users, who were blocked for calling Trump a #fakeleader among other things, say he is violating their First Amendment rights by preventing them from reading and replying to his tweets.

Represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, they argue that Trumps Twitter account is the equivalent of a digital town hall and barring citizens from interacting with him is like banning them from a public park or city council meeting. Sean Spicer and Trumps social-media director Dan Scavino are also named as defendants in the suit.

The plaintiffs are asking the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York to rule that Trumps blocking is unconstitutional, to force him to unblock them, and to forbid him from blocking anyone in the future.

The issue that figures to be at the center of the case is whether Trumps Twitter account is personal or more of a tool of the federal government. The Knight Institute has argued that Trump has made it an official account by making government announcements with it, such as his choice of Christopher Wray to lead the FBI.

I will be nominating Christopher A. Wray, a man of impeccable credentials, to be the new Director of the FBI. Details to follow.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2017

Bolstering the groups claim is a statement Spicer made last month. The president is the president of the United States, so theyre considered official statements by the president of the United States, he said when asked about Trumps tweets.
Donald Trump Jr. at the Republican National Convention on July 19, 2016, at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Most weeks, New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich speaks with contributor Alex Carp about the biggest stories in politics and culture. Today: Donald Trump Jr.s emails, Republican silence, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells last attempts to get a health-care bill passed.

After Donald Trump Jr.s constantly shifting explanations for his meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer, we now know that he, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort were eager to receive incriminating information about Hillary Clinton that was offered as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. Is this the smoking gun investigators have been waiting for?

There will be no single smoking gun that will bring down this White House. It will be death by firing squad  or perhaps a sequence of firing squads  as the whole story inexorably pours out of the administrations smoldering ruins. This weeks bombshell has the feel of gallows humor. Trump Jr.s panicked release of the self-incriminating emails is tantamount to picking up a loaded gun and shooting himself in the head. Why did Little Donald not do what the Trumps always do in these situations  let the press (in this case the Times) go ahead and report its incriminating findings, rail against leakers, and then dismiss the latest incontrovertible evidence of wrongdoing as fake news? Was Little Donald trying to protect his father from even worse revelations? To take down his brother-in-law even as his brother-in-law (a possible source of the emails) tried to take down him? To deliver a message from or to the Kremlin?

Some politicians, lawyers, and pundits are characterizing the emails as legal proof of perjury, the felonious solicitation of a campaign contribution from a foreign national, or even treason. But these are opinions, not the findings of judges or investigators. Even if the opinions are sound, they may hardly be the sum of the matter. For all we know, the released email chain may be only a small and relatively minor part of a much larger criminal web that stretches from Donald Trumps tax returns to his and the Kushner familys respective real-estate dealings in Russia and beyond. The authorities who matter  the investigators at the special counsels office and the FBI  are not telling us what they are up to. They may already know  or may soon know  of evidence far more incriminating than the revelations of the past 72 hours. Even this morning we are learning via McClatchys estimable Washington bureau that investigators are looking into possible coordination between the Jared Kushnerrun Trump campaign digital operation and Russias sophisticated voter targeting and fake-news attacks on Hillary Clinton in 2016.

The good news for those who want to see justice done is that this scandal not only resembles Watergate but also The Godfather  albeit a Godfather where every Corleone is a Fredo and not a single lawyer is as crafty as Tom Hagen, despite the fact that Little Donalds private attorney has a history of defending clients from mob families. The level of stupidity of the conspirators is staggering: Not the least of the weeks news is that Kushner thought he could get away with omitting this Trump Tower meeting on the government questionnaire he filed to get his security clearance. (The $2.5 million that Charles Kushner donated to Harvard to gain his son admission was not money well spent.) My other favorite detail of the week (so far) is that Rob Goldstone, the former British tabloid writer and Miss Universe entrepreneur who served as the Trump campaigns Russian middleman, posted on Facebook that he was preparing for meeting at Trump Tower on the day it took place.

Now its every man (and his lawyer) for himself as the president, having hidden from the press and the public ever since he returned home from his Yalta-themed tete-a-tete with Vladimir Putin, escapes to France, of all places. His press secretary is also in hiding, as is his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, who as recently as Sunday dismissed the Donald Jr. story as a nothingburger  Trumpspeak for the Nixon press secretary Ron Zieglers designation of Watergate as a third-rate burglary. About the only administration stalwart not remaining silent is the vice-president, whose statement following the release of the Donald Jr. emails let it be known that he was not aware of the Trump Tower meeting and that it had taken place before he joined the campaign. Mike Pence has clearly been boning up on Gerald Ford, and may already be brooding about the risks entailed if he should eventually be in the position to pardon the 45th president.

Republicans in Congress have been slow to respond to this story, if theyve commented at all. Is silence an effective strategy?

Its not a strategy. Its desperation. Much like their predecessors in the Nixon era, they keep hoping somehow it will all go away so they can get back to business as usual. After all, it was less than a month ago that David Brooks, writing in the Times, reassured them that there was little evidence of any actual collusion between the Donald Trump campaign and the Russians and that most voters dont really care anyway. Prominent Republicans continued to use this script after the release of the Trump Jr. emails, with Orrin Hatch calling the story overblown, Peter King characterizing the campaign-hierarchy meeting with the Kremlin-connected lawyer as a one-off, inadvertent mistake, and Bob Corker dismissing the whole affair as politics. Even the occasional Republican eminence who tried to take a stand this week could muster only the usual bland utterances that the latest revelations were disturbing and problematic, as Lindsey Graham put it. A furrowed brow is still what passes for bravery among Republican politicians these days.

They can run from reality and reporters, but they cant hide indefinitely. As Ive written before, the closer we get to the 2018 midterms, the faster Republicans in the House  and some of those up for reelection in the Senate  will scramble for the lifeboats. But by the time they wake up and see the looming iceberg, it may be too late to save their careers.

Also yesterday, Mitch McConnell delayed the Senates August recess by two weeks and announced that a new version of the Senates health-care bill will be revealed on Thursday, with a new Congressional Budget Office score to follow. Will he eke out a legislative accomplishment by the end of the summer?

Wasnt it only yesterday that we were reading those pieces about the wily legislative genius of Mitch McConnell? Trapping the Senate in Washington is not going to lead to the passage of the latest rewrite of the Senate health-care bill (whatever is in it). What we are likely to get instead is two weeks worth of television shots of Republican senators scurrying down the halls or shutting their office doors to escape reporters. Other things not happening this summer: tax reform, an infrastructure initiative, or the raising of the federal debt ceiling. The vacuum will be filled by the steady drip, if not flood, of White House revelations that neither the president nor his Capitol Hill enablers, apologists, and collaborators can stop.

If McConnell were really canny, what hed be doing right now is gaming out how his party will respond to the next looming constitutional crisis: Trumps inevitable version of the Saturday Night Massacre, in which Robert Mueller is fired, and Rod Rosenstein along with him. For all of us, a little perspective is in order. Little Donald is not the story here any more than G. Gordon Liddy and those third-rate burglars were the story in Watergate. We are likely to reach a point when this weeks firestorm will be remembered mainly as a warm-up for conflagrations yet to come.
But my emails? Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Its one of the oldest messaging challenges in politics, one that has bedeviled countless administrations, Republican and Democratic alike: What do you say when the presidents son publishes emails on Twitter that prove the highest-ranking members of your campaign  including a current senior White House adviser  eagerly accepted an invitation to participate in a Kremlin-orchestrated effort to swing the American election, after virtually everyone in the White House spent months mocking that idea as a defamatory crock cooked up by sore-loser Democrats?

Its quite the sticky wicket. And yet the public-relations geniuses at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have already settled on a rock-solid rebuttal: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are bad. Per Axios:

Theres an emerging strategy to turn this back around on the Democrats.

An extreme example of this approach is Roger Stone, who texted Axios: The president can turn the tables and dominate the dialogue by ordering the indictment of [James] Clapper, [John] Brennan, [Susan] Rice and [former president Barack] Obama for the wholesale unconstitutional surveillance of Americans I would seriously arrest [and] perp walk every one of these criminals, making as big a show of it as possible.

Although Stone is a longtime confidant of Trump, this in no way reflects the strategy preferred by current White House staffers. With that said, there are already internal conversations about turning this into a conversation about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and the way they handled sensitive intelligence.

To Stones credit, sending the entire Obama administration to Guantanamo Bay would go a long way toward burying this Trump Jr. story. But assuming the president declines to go full authoritarian, this is some pretty thin gruel  and old, stale, leftover thin gruel at that.

Its unclear exactly what the connection between Don Jr.s emails and Obamas handling of sensitive intelligence is supposed to be. Ostensibly, the only way the email exchange could function as evidence of Obamas mishandling of intelligence and/or surveillance is as a sign that he should have been much more aggressive about spying on the Trump campaign. (Perhaps, President Trump plans to drop Obama wire-tapped my team as part of fake Russia WITCH HUNT for weak Obama didnt even bother to wiretap my team while they were colluding with RUSSIAN HACKERS  total incompetence, no wonder Putin didnt respect!)

More likely, the Trump team plans to breathe new life into its (wholly unsubstantiated) claim that the Obama administration excessively used its (legitimate) authority to unmask the names of American citizens caught up in routine surveillance so as to better understand the content of intelligence reports. Even before we learned this scandal was a fraud manufactured by the White House, it was a snoozer  a controversy over bureaucratic protocols that was somehow supposed to attract public attention away from the real-life, tragicomic spy novel that is the Russia story.

Officially, the president has said little beyond denying that he had any knowledge of the meeting, and insisting, My son is a high quality person and I applaud his transparency.

The administrations defenders in the media and Congress arent having much better luck putting lipstick on this warthog. The Washington Posts Ed Rogers had to rewrite his column decrying the medias hysteria about imaginary collusion multiple times on Tuesday.

Updated: Hard to see how this ends well. @PostOpinionshttps://t.co/IdjkRD5wkk  Ed Rogers (@EdRogersDC) July 11, 2017

Meanwhile, Sean Hannity argued that the emails actually prove Trump didnt collude with the Russians  because if he wanted to engage in a criminal conspiracy then why would he have tried to put some distance between himself and the crime?

Hannity: "If Donald trump himself were colluding with Vladimir Putin and the Russians, why would he need his son to act as an intermediary?"  Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) July 11, 2017

Rush Limbaugh took a similar tack.

Rush: Actually, Don Jrs meeting sort of proves that Trump *wasnt* colluding https://t.co/RpSYF9DlVD  Allahpundit (@allahpundit) July 11, 2017

Utah senator Orrin Hatch argued that the story was being overblown, since Trump Jr. is not part of the administration, he doesnt carry any banner, he doesnt have any particular job in the administration  an argument that (bizarrely) ignores the fact that Jared Kushner attended the same meeting as Trump Jr. and was forwarded the same emails that informed the presidents son that agreeing to that meeting would mean cooperating with the Kremlin.

Many GOP lawmakers declined to comment, offering variations on the sentiment lets wait to see what the investigation finds. Which would be a halfway reasonable response if Kushner wasnt still working in the White House with a top-secret security clearance.

Ohio senator Rob Portman decided to go out on a limb and express the opinion that accepting an invitation to benefit from a Russian-government conspiracy to manipulate the American electorate was not appropriate.

But Ted Cruz, for one, found virtue in the administrations game plan, contending that Donald Trump Jr.s emails are just one more piece of evidence than the Obama-Clinton policy of constant weakness and appeasement of Putin was a total failure that facilitated Russian aggression.

The Texas senator said that he was, therefore, glad that the Trump administration is returning to a commonsense defense of our allies against our adversaries.

This is true enough  if one stipulates that Vladimir Putin is now one of the GOPs allies, and a well-functioning American democracy the partys mortal enemy.
If youve been paying diligent attention to the ongoing effort by the Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission to roll back consumer protections relating to internet access, then you might know that today is the so-called Net Neutrality Day of Action. Across the web, thousands of sites are banding together to inform their users of whats at stake if the FCC unravels Title II regulations on internet-service providers, and encouraging them to take action by leaving a comment before July 17.

But chances are you havent been paying diligent attention. Net neutrality  the principle that all traffic on a network, from Netflix streaming video to homemade text websites, be treated equally by service providers like Verizon and Comcast  has always been a tough sell, in part because its implications feel very minor. The analogy commonly trotted out, that eliminating net neutrality would allow ISPs to create fast lanes and slow lanes, is entirely uninspiring, making the issue seem like a five-minute traffic delay, and not regulatory repeal that could reshape the internet, allowing large corporations to consolidate power and influence on the most important communications infrastructure on the planet, shutting out competitors, and making the web worse for everyday users.

In the past, the difficulty of getting people to care about internet policy issues has always been counterbalanced by the dedicated effort of a handful of big platforms and hundreds of thousands of mobilized internet users  redditors, Tumblr bloggers, and the like. But compared to similar regulatory battles in which the internet layman triumphed, todays fight for net neutrality is anemic at best. In early 2012, a concerted effort against SOPA, a poorly constructed bill that wouldve effectively afforded censorship powers to copyright holders, was defeated after widespread public outcry. The 2015 Open Internet Order that the FCC now seeks to undue came about in part because of millions of public comments that flooded the system in support of it.

Todays Day of Action, sponsored by an internet-advocacy group called Fight for the Future, is supplying users with the ability to comment to the FCC, and supplying websites with assets to use to inform their readers. Good! Among the thousands of companies participating are heavy hitters like Reddit, GitHub, Amazon, Mozilla, and PornHub  dont discount how much people care about access to porn. Also, tucked in there is the Internet Association, a trade group that represents many of the largest platforms, including Facebook and Google.

For the most part, unfortunately, the action being taken today is to run a banner on a sites homepage that says something like internet freedom is at stake! (Reddit has a lengthy, informative post front and center on its much-trafficked homepage, while Amazons bland module just says Net Neutrality? Learn more, ensuring that nobody is going to click on it.) Many of these link to the Internet Associations action page, a flaccid call to action that feels like it was constructed in 2013  a listicle of reaction GIFs. Its a rhetorical tactic that might be as effective for protecting net neutrality as it was for getting Hillary Clinton elected president.

It shouldnt be this way! Net neutrality and a free, open internet are important principles that are truly bipartisan, principles that free-speech advocates from leftist Twitter to right-wing subreddits can get behind. Why arent we doing better? Why is the fight for net neutrality so anemic?

Sadly, the clearest and most obvious reason is that the rollback is essentially a done deal. Republicans control the federal government, and even if you could bring pressure to bear on your elected representatives, the FCC isnt democratically elected and doesnt have to answer so directly to voters. The primary mechanism that people have for action on this issue is useless. Public comments to the FCC are helpful in some ways, but the FCC has already indicated that it doesnt really care  the comment system isnt ballot; its a way of collecting data. Ajit Pai, the FCC chairman and former Verizon lawyer whose arguments on this issue have been at best specious and at worst dishonest, has signaled clearly his intent to end net-neutrality rules. Before he was even appointed under the Trump administration, he had said that net neutralitys days are numbered. (On top of this, the system for filing electronic comments has been flooded with identical comments, signed with the names of real people without their knowledge, likely the result of an automated program harnessing publicly available data. These bot comments give the FCC an out to disregard the millions of legitimate comments entirely.)

Its also worth noting that in a political climate that seeks to instate or reinstate racist, discriminatory, xenophobic, homophobic, and environmentally catastrophic policies, the issue of a video of a guy getting hit in the nuts might take a few more seconds to load is difficult to prioritize. Ironically, we just might not have the bandwidth to advocate for net neutrality.

The fact of the matter is that, in a perfect world, the fight for internet freedom would be a grassroots movement from hundreds of thousands of smaller sites. But in this reality, against an FCC pushing the Title II rollback as an economic boon, the most effective companies for rallying against it are arguably the ones with the most economic weight. That means companies like Facebook and Google and Microsoft and Netflix  companies with market shares so large that they dont really need net neutrality to survive.

Most of these large companies are remaining silent, or at most, speaking in whispers. Netflix has a banner on its homepage today, but that may be partially due to CEO Reed Hastings overly candid and subsequently criticized remarks in May, when he said that net neutrality is not narrowly important to us because were big enough to get the deals we want. The site quickly made a vocal commitment to todays effort a few weeks afterward.

Facebook and Google, which see billions of users every day, are doing next to nothing, represented by proxy through the Internet Association. Instead of displaying any sort of message for its millions of search-engine users today, Google is sending [an] email to Take Action, our community focused on issues that are important to the future of the internet. In other words, an email to the precise audience that doesnt need further information about this issue. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has written a post for his personal page. Neither company responded to softball inquiries last month about whether they were planning anything for today, a perfect opportunity for them to crow about how much their users matter.

When I inquired about their absence last month, Fight the Futures Evan Greer wrote back, We won the net-neutrality rules that we have now without major participation from some of the companies youre curious about, and we often see that its not always the largest companies that drive the most participation in these efforts. An online gaming community, start-up, or popular image-sharing site can sometimes drive more traffic, comments, emails, and phone calls than a Fortune 500 company. To me, thats the real story: the internet has changed the rules for what is and isnt possible in Washington, D.C., and has given more people a voice than ever before.

A couple of years ago, I would have agreed, but the paradigm has shifted, especially as the current FCC seeks to delegitimize its comment system that gives the average user a voice. If those voices are discredited, then were in the unenviable position of relying on benevolent corporate behemoths to advocate on our behalf.

This also underscores exactly why we need net neutrality. Without it, only the largest, most incumbent, players get a seat at the table, Greer continued in her message last month. Title II net-neutrality protections foster the competition, innovation, and creativity that has made the internet what it is today. I guess the truth we now have to accept is that the largest internet companies are perfectly fine with the internet we have today. Whats the point of giving the little guy a hand when they can eventually unseat you?

There are encouraging glimmers of hope, however. In the last four years, most congressmen have been very scared to weigh in on internet-related stuff, one D.C. consultant told Vice, a sign that the grassroots effort to protect the internet on behalf of consumers is a growing political consideration. Congress and the FCC might have little interest in listening to net-neutrality advocates in the current political climate, but political winds can change rapidly, and with any luck, they will.
The only store around was the parks gift shop, which had lost power overnight and was running off a generator. No ponchos, said the woman behind the counter, but among the postcards and laminated maps I found, miraculously, a poncho. Packaged in a tiny Ziploc bag, it unfurled magnificently  basically a giant Hefty bag with holes, plus a hood. I wore it all day, and then again the next day, and both times it kept me very dry and extremely happy. It turned out to be ideal for hiking and clambering around a riverbank, since it kept my hands free for steadying myself  and for taking pictures. During heavy rain, it provided more coverage than an umbrella (the thighs are the giveaway, and mine were bone dry). When my friends were cowering under a rock, I was frisking about in a downpour; when they were damp and flagging, I was still raring to go.

Since returning to New York, Ive called on the power of the poncho a few times. (Ive been very satisfied with these clear Travelon ones, but right now I have my eye on MCR Medical Supplys Emergency Ponchos, which come sealed in little plastic bags, just like my first poncho love.) Unlike even the tiniest umbrellas, theyre handy to keep in your bag (theyre also hands-free), and they transform a stormy trek to the subway into what can only be described as a cakewalk. Their utilitarian appeal has also grown on me, in the manner of comfortable clogs. A poncho makes an adult out of anyone who wears one: I feel as competent and practical as a teacher leading a field trip, and in my poncho I am competent and practical, at least temporarily. Im up to the challenge of any chore  whatever the weather, however long the walk. Its like a superheros cape, except you can only wear it a couple times before it tears and you have to throw it out.
its july and i still cant believe trump is our president. help us



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America is a lost cause, someone needs to put us out of our misery.

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Same. I can't wrap my head around it.

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I was just thinking of this yesterday ... my brain still can't compute it.

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honestly i forget most time then i watch the news and it's just like "this is real life huh"

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This whole thing makes me appreciate Canadas system of govt. it's not perfect by Any means but here, his own party would have voted him out at this point.

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I'm so fuckin' mad he was in there during Pride. I really hoped he wouldn't be around to taint it.

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WaPo: Hackers have been stealing credit card numbers from Trumps hotels for months. https://t.co/Avd3cf5o0d  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 11, 2017

anyone who gives them business kind of deserves it tbh

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The skill level I want to be on tbh

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I kinda love it

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Direct action

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lmao why is this gif so goddamn relevant in 2017

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good 

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BUT WHEN WILL HACKERS DO SOMETHING USEFUL LIKE CANCEL LOAN DEBT

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DONNY BETTER

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I've been looking for this post lol

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at your service!

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who thinks this STILL won't bring Trump down?



idk idk

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I honestly couldn't care less about Republicans deflecting on camera. I've stopped expecting anything from them a long time ago. It doesn't change Mueller's investigation whatsoever. It's a pretty huge thing that just came out today.

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It won't tbh

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I hope so but I really doubt it

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man, the Trumps just keep on upping up the stupid.

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there's no limit

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oh man I miss this show

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Love me some McMillz! I want to feel this way, but I can't yet - hopefully soon!!!

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I miss Steve & Sarah Newlin.

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..that Frank Grimes tweet omg. I never thought of it that way but yes

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Finally, a new bio pic.twitter.com/K1CEPMbuyu  christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) July 11, 2017



for context Jr's friends are calling him a "high-quality person" for context Jr's friends are calling him a "high-quality person"

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Wasn't his friends, Trump (president) called him that in his official statement about the released Russia emails. LMAO.

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oh yeah, I confused it with another person's comment

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No, I think Trump senior said that.

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lol don't be silly, he doesn't have friends!

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EVERYWHERE LIKE SUCH AS

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No lie but I've been in a bubble lately as far as T**mp goes. It's easy to do in NYC bc most people collectively hate him. When I go home to Alabama tho...

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Exactly...I love my city New Yorkkkkk

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going to NYC again in september!

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sometimes i laugh about how djt didn't even win his home state.

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lmao i love how you can FEEL the utter hatred for trump in the new york air. so good.

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WATCH: Trump in June 2016: "I love emails! You can't erase emails! You can't erase them. I love them!" pic.twitter.com/Pfva6dGMOo  Yashar Ali (@yashar) July 11, 2017

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LoL. He was projecting the whole damn campaign.

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lettuce pray

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There's something about watching this without the sound that makes it look like a comedic sketch

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time to retire the term "nothingburger"

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I'm tired of hearing it. where the fuck did it come from.

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I have such a visceral hatred for that expression. I wish people would stop using it.

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I only heard that term yesterday. Is it an American thing? It's so weird to watch these elected officials be like "It's a nothingburger" it sounds weird and childish coming out of their mouths.

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It's just so... American lol

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I've never heard of that term





(and i'm American)

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lol same? very confused on this phrasing.

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I'm always embarrassed for anyone who says it on the news.

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I just heard it a couple of days ago and I nearly punched my monitor. I hate it irrationally.

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Mte

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ugh exactly how I feel

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lmao I seriously thought that access hollywood vid was a fatal blow



so yeah it's hard for me to trust anything atm

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It's going to be one of many things.

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I still won't hold my breath. All branches of government are currently controlled by the Republicans.

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Mueller's team will investigate everything - from phone records to servers to meetings.



Just in: #SpecialCounsel Mueller's investigators will examine Donald Trump Jr's June 2016 meeting w/Russian lawyer & related emails - #CNN  Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) July 11, 2017

Well this is the first time (at least publicly) that there's physical evidence and concrete proof. Keep in mind we have no idea what Mueller knows and is investigating. His investigative team probably knows far more/far worse imo. And as others pointed out on Twitter - these aren't leaks from his office, these are leaks from the WH itself. So Mueller likely has even more damaging info and this is just the tip of the ice berg.Mueller's team will investigate everything - from phone records to servers to meetings.

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I think this may be it. I saw how Fox News wasn't even able to spin this, and i mean this is black and white evidence. All the experts I've heard speak say this is more than enough to bring charges.



Of course I have also heard many supporters still pretending like its no big deal bc they didn't even get that damaging of information. I hate people.

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Just remember how long Watergate took from start to finish and realize that this is both a much bigger & more complex scandal, but at the same time, with all of the leaks & bombs dropping daily, it's practically unraveling at light speed. So it's not going to be over as soon as we would like, but a lot of people are going to go down by the end. Dozens, at least.

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Watergate took forever but they also didn't have social media and the fervor around every new goddamn thing making it feel like "this is it!!!"

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I really hope so. I was soooo elated and optimistic when Comey testified but then it seemed like nothing happened (although I was kind of chomping at the bit for some instant gratification with this motherfucker and half his cronies being taken down and out) so I hope this is the nail in the coffin.



Still, I'm holding out for the Pee Tape.

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Oblig Red Forman Dumbass gif

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omg I'm listening to the man right now lol

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It's my fav song of the summer! I listen to it daily when I get in my car.

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your senator is a shmuck

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This is great. Damn, the judge really thought the orphanage would be better than having an actual home? Jeeze.



Edited at 2017-07-12 12:53 pm (UTC)

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Mte

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Agreed, and considering the fact that she's incredibly rich and famous she had an "easy" time adopting... Adoption processes in general are horrible. It takes more money and time than it takes love to be able to adopt a child. It's really depressing that children have to grow up in orphanages even though there are millions of wanting people who are financially and emotionally capable to take care of children. Of course a vetting process is very important, but it's way too long and the process of actually getting a child is also way too long. It shouldn't take several years for a baby (and then child) to get to the parents, if that even ever happens.



Sorry for rant. It just frustrates me so much that the way adoption processes work now is basically human trafficking by buying children if you're rich/famous enough, which makes children some kind of auctioned off product (and then leaves most children in orphanages until they're adult).

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This is amazing and she looks amazing!

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is that her kid in the last gif or just a random person

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Isn't it David? He's had a massive growth spurt, he's practically taller than she is now

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is David, he's just taller now

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He is beautiful.

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Wonderful news. And her kids are so cuuuuuuute

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https://www.facebook.com/raisingmalawi/photos/a.300515634236.147648.137500469236/10156134074454237/?type=3



Help us thank Miley Cyrus & The Happy Hippie Foundation for providing Home of Hope with enough beans, soya, maize and chickens to feed their 700 kids through the summer. Their generous donation of supplies will also help HOH start planting for the next harvest.



@raisingmalawi Love you!  @happyhippiefdn A post shared by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus) on Jul 5, 2017 at 2:52pm PDT



Edited at 2017-07-12 01:06 pm (UTC) Also related to Raising Malawi, Miley's Happy Hippie Foundation helped to provide food to feed children in Malawi and to grow future crops.

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Amazing, this is a beautiful gift to the country.

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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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You have set the bar so low

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LOL

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Finally, Rocco look like a normal person.





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Gay teas

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I've had my doubts about her involvement in her adopted kids' lives, but that is the face of a kid thinking, "you're sooooo embarrassing mom, omg."





I really have no love for Madonna but she does good things sometimes.

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That's David in the gif? He's so big now, wow



Good for her for this.

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omg i remember when david was just adopted!!! he's so tall now ;-;

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Damn, that's really amazing! I've never been the biggest fan of Madonna's music (with exceptions of course), but I'll always respect her for all the charity she does. This is gonna help a lot of children and women!

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the good sis has been using fillers for a good long while, some times it looks better than others. her body is beyond goals tho - never in my life could my lazy ass even attempt to go as hard as she does in the gym.

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I suppose it would be mean to point out Madonna's history of racism, eh?

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this makes me think of his exact quote and cracks me tf up

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When people are giving up their kids to an orphanage, most of the time they'll leave them there hoping better times will come, but at the end kids are just ending up there forever. So there's no excuse for that, if it wasn't Madonna - his kids would still be there. So fuck to whatever he is saying. He put them there, they found a better family. End of story.

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My dad and his brothers and sisters had to live in the orphanage for a while when their mom died. My grandpa wasn't allowed to take care of them as a single man, back in the day. Once he remarried they went back with him, except the youngest as she was too young to go to the orphanage and actually had to be adopted by another family in the same village.

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I completely agree. Left an awful taste in my mouth, but I you always see people with U.S. centrism and no concept of transracial adoption always are the first to defend her and bash the father.

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mte

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What about his ex tho.......is he sorry for that?

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He use to beat her up.

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Yeah Michel'le wasn't even mentioned in the doc. It made it seem like Dee was the first women he had ever beaten.

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and his baby mama

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I had no clue he beat his ex and apparently he has hit other women as well. Im sure he has never apologized to any of them and thus remains trash.



Edited at 2017-07-12 07:16 pm (UTC)

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I'm glad he owned up to it and he didn't deflect blame from himself the way Chris Brown did. Even so, a day late and a buck short. Fuck him still.

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I will give him credit for saying this. Most abusive men will never, ever take responsibility for their actions.

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so if all the other fucking idiots making excuses for him could stop now that would be cool

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physical assault is like hitting someone? Sorry I know this sounds like a stupid question but assault sounds too much like the word for mugged in Portuguese that I always got confused, like arent all assaults physical?

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you could assault someone verbally as well

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Yes. He picked her up and smashed her repeatedly against a wall.

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I think legally, in the US, the term assault means the threat of injuring or harming a person so you can assault someone by saying you're going to hit them or raising a fist/weapon at them. Usually people are charged with assault and battery where the battery is the actual physical violence against the victim.



But just by the every day definition of the word it can mean an attack.

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Ooh, this makes sense, I always wondered why it was assault & battery, never got it but thanks for explaining!

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He punched Tairrie B because she called him out for hitting women in her track Ruthless Bitch. Class fucking act.

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mfte what does he want for admitting that at one point he thought it was ok to physically pick someone up and assault her? no credit, no cookies.

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that's where im at lmao. like this apology isn't even good?? but it's newsworthy even still because wow someone actually apologized

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Too lazy to google, but I'm pretty sure she was blacklisted afterwards.. so not only did he beat her up and humiliate her, but he also ruined her career.



also,ummm.. this sounds super contradictory Its a major blemish on who I am as a man.



Edited at 2017-07-12 06:02 pm (UTC)

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It might be just me, but I think the wording is very poor. Blemish is an insignificant flaw, rather unnoticeable.

I wouldn't use it in that context.

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Because it makes it sound like an inconvenience to him. Poor Dre with his ~blemished reputation. Makes it all about him and how it only bothers him because it makes him look bad.

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I was screamed when Dee Barnes first appeared in the doc. I kept wondering if they were going to address that... She was featured in the earlier part talking about NWA's rise. I was SHOCKED they actually went into detail of what he did. Before he talking about it him/his people were always like:



"he didn't do anything" or "he just slapped her" or "It was a youthful indiscretion"



He's still a POS.

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Lol at apologizing 30 years later go to hell

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Anything that starts with calling a human woman a "female" probably isn't going to end well, and this is a good example. Like, thanks a lot for apologizing, but then you kinda ruin it by ending with "and it's ruined MY life and it's all about me~~~" Fucking men.

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damn, just 25 years later ok

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was gonna say, he def has a type lol

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Seriously, he likes them muscular!

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Uhu

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...why would you call this random stunt woman trashy?

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Mte

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that one child he dated was different lmao

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25 apparently

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in what timeline

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wait Henry Cavill is from New Jersey?

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jersey the island in the uk lmao

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.. I'm making this connection just now 

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tho the Channel Islands are technically Crown Dependencies and not part of the United Kingdom



because we like to keep things confusing like that

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Old Jersey.

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loooooooool

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he was an extra in Jersey Shore

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lmao I was very confused for a few seconds too

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LMAO

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Lol mte I was so confused.

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i'm glad someone else said this lmao I was confused too

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He's from the part of New Jersey in the Valley, past the freeway

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I guess I'm the only one here surprised to learn that he's not American! I thought he was.

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only the best from the garden state

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henry cavill is from jersey????

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jersey the island y'all

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lmfao

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What are you two, Lucy & Ethel? Ive never even been to Hollywood! Im from Napa, thats Northern California, and I live next door to a vineyard.

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At least she's over 19, lol



LOL @ the Jersey comments too



Edited at 2017-07-12 08:14 pm (UTC)

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ventriloquist dummy chic

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ICONIC



honestly this bitch was so relatable, who cares if it was for PR? i would've been climbing that man like a tree if i had the chance and say i was "contractually obligated" to do so



NOT TO MENTION, he was right at his peak



Edited at 2017-07-12 08:20 pm (UTC)

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I am not a fan of hers but she did EVERYTHING she could to sell this. It was legitimately awe-inspiring, and made even more impressive by the block of wood she was working with. He's lifeless onscreen and off. Props to her for giving it her all.

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the worst PR-mance that ever was.

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true 2 week love

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yesterday was the 4-year anniversary of their breakup. love died that day </3

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the greatest showmance of all time

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lmao this oscar worthy performance

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Never forget!!!!

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girl knew it was going to be temp

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Iconic

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Oh River, bless. Still miss him.

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this still hurts

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THIS is what true love looks like

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One of my clients was telling me to visit Jersey when I do my (hopeful) London trip. Any thoughts, English or well traveled ONTDers?

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If you have a couple of days I'd do it. I've never been there but I've heard it's gorgeous

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i'm from there and only go in the summer when its sunny and if you love beaches. otherwise save it, there's not much to do

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How old is she? 14, 15?

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automatic upgrade because she's not an 18 yr old at uni

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he has the personality of white toast that hasnt even yet been put in the toaster

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accurate

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If only there were a word for untoasted toast...

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this entire comment thread of replies suggests to me that some of y'all basic fuckers actually consider eating toast just as is without a toaster. that is so gross and mushy ew

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dehydrated lemon water

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i'm dying

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boneless toast

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no, sist. that's sidney crosby.

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Last time people complained he was without personality, he suddenly grew one and it was a douchebro who made awkward sex jokes on TV. Be careful what you wish for.

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I hope this ones at least been out of high school for more than a year and a half

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These Jersey questions...



My home was in Plymouth

Lets call it New Plymouth

I got an idea let's call this New Hampshire

Wait I'm from Newcastle

Can we call it New Newcastle?

Nah!

It's a new world.









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Nuclear power experts have proposed taking the disposal and storage of nuclear wastes out of the hands of the Federal government and placing it with a new corporate entity.

The federal government has for decades received in essence nuclear "tipping fees" amounting billions of dollars from nuclear power generators but still has no waste storage facility in place.

Technically the government has several high level nuclear waste disposal sites: Hanford (WA) with its recently well publicized difficulties; the relatively new salt cavern facility in Carlsbad, New Mexico which in 2014 experienced a fire caused in part by kitty litter (yes, that kitty litter); and the planned but dormant site for commercial nuclear spent fuel at Yucca Mountain (NV).

In recent weeks, Energy Secretary Perry and other administration officials have discussed the need to push on with the development of the Yucca Mountain site as the nation's principal repository for commercial nuclear waste.

As an aside we should point out that in its initial assessment of the Yucca Mountain site, the Depart-ment of Energy (DOE) determined a 70,000-metric ton capacity for the proposed site. There already exists about 70-80,000 tons of spent fuel on sites around the U.S.--not counting wastes accruing due to federal enrichment efforts related to defense--a modest portion of which were designated for burial at Yucca Mountain.

If actually completed, Yucca Mountain could be filled to capacity with accumulated nuclear waste with no room for nuclear waste currently being generated. The DOE published a completion cost estimate for this project of $97 billion.

The present administration in Washington has fairly consistently expressed a preference for public-private partnerships. Perhaps this is an idea whose time has come.

How did the U.S. manage to promote nuclear power, put 99 nuclear power stations (at present) into service yet have no place to permanently store the nuclear waste? Related: Worlds Biggest Oil Traders Zero In On Shale Hot Spots

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 put the Federal government in charge of nuclear waste storage. U.S. utilities, the owners of these nuclear generating stations agreed to pay a per kilowatt-hour fee to the federal government in return for which the government would take responsibility for and dispose of nuclear waste, particularly high level nuclear waste generated in the reactor's core such as the fuel rods.

The funds presently in federal coffers exceed $25 billion. Spent nuclear fuel remains at nuclear gener-ating sites across the nation (largely above ground in so called dry cask storage and in storage pools inside the reactor buildings.)

For a while after 9/11, there was some fear of a terrorist hijacking a plane and aiming it at a nuclear site with all that above ground waste, but anti-terror concerns seem to have subsided, or been redirected.

The federal governments unsuccessful nuclear waste disposal efforts reflect the political problem of NIMBYism writ large. As a result, our present policy by default is for spent fuel to remain indefinitely on multiple, separate sites around country.

The Yucca Flats site at present is dormant. One exploratory tunnel has been dug, presumably the ver-tical mine shaft and perhaps part of a lateral. Nuclear waste repositories have the same basic under-ground structure as a mine: vertical shaft with various laterals plus an elaborate ventilation system to ensure irradiated air and other gases remain safely contained. In addition, the project would require construction of a new rail line to bring spent fuel to the site. Our best guess is this project is at least ten years from accepting its first load of nuclear waste--assuming near immediate restart.

Now, even if the budget- conscious Trump administration wanted to act, it cannot spend the monies already collected without running afoul of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which would count the ex-penditure as an addition to the deficit

The Obama administration organized a Blue Ribbon commission to study the nuclear waste storage impasse. The panel concluded that the government should charter a corporation for the sole purpose of taking responsibility for nuclear waste disposal and storage. Presumably a new entity could cut through so called "red tape", operate with a budget beyond Congressional oversight which might re-strict spending and simply get the job done with private sector efficiency. Thus far nothing has hap-pened.

Late in June, geologists Allison Macfarlane (formerly head of the NRC) and Rod Ewing (chair of the Nu-clear Waste Technical Review Board) published a proposal to revisit the Blue Ribbon panels findings. They proposed a utility-owned, non-profit corporation to take on the nuclear waste project, citing similar ventures in Canada, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden. Related: Saudis Poised To Make Largest Crude Export Cut This Year

They argue that a new corporate entity would not have to deal with the issues that have dogged the federal government's effort. That key decisions would be made on the basis of technical, not political, requirements. This new entity would supposedly operate under federal regulatory supervision and would function somewhat like a regulated public utility. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would share regulatory oversight.

Perhaps this proposal, designed to limit nuclear waste NIMBYism, can launch a much-needed infra-structure project. It might also provide modest encouragement for the nuclear power industry  both supposed goals of the Trump administration.

But this will not eliminate the federal government's role with respect to nuclear waste. No privately chartered agency can be expected have the wherewithal to take on liabilities of this magnitude--or guarantee safety in increments of geologic time. The EPA's regulations in this regard speak in terms of 10,000 years. Some of the waste, however, will remain radioactive for 100,000 years and not even governments last that long. The Macfarlane-Ewing proposals, if enacted, might go a long way in deal-ing with the current state of nuclear storage but do they go far enough to diffuse the energies of anti-nuclear activists? Probably not.

by Leonard Hyman and Bill Tilles for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
In its just released latest market report for the month of July, OPEC admitted it has a problem: more than six months after the Vienna deal that was supposed to bring supply and demand in balance, the oil cartel confirmed it is pumping too much, not only in 2017, but that it was also set to produce too much oil in 2018, blaming shale production as the primary reason behind the oversupply.

First, looking at historical data, according to secondary sources, production among the 14 OPEC member states rose by a whopping +394k b/d in June to 32.611mb/d. The biggest monthly increases took place in those nations that had previously been supply constrained and which are exempt from the output cut accord: Libya +127k b/d, and Nigeria +97k, although even Saudi Arabia saw a substantial pick up in production, which rose by +51k b/d m/m to 9.95m b/d, the highest since the start of the year. More ominously, in direct communications to OPEC, Saudi reported a monthly increase of +190k b/d m/m, up to 10.07m b/d, suggesting that as discussed yesterday, Saudi commitment to production cuts may be "waning."

In total, OPEC admitted that output exceeded demand in 1H this year and was set for overproduction in 2018: the total output of 32.6m b/d in June was more than the 32.2m b/d it expects will be needed in 2018.

Just as striking was the reports suggestion that OPEC and non-OPECs accord to cut production was not deep enough according to Bloomberg calculations: despite reducing production, the organizations data show it oversupplied markets by ~700k b/d in 1H this yr. Still, surplus oil stockpiles in developed nations fell in May to 234m bbl; if OPEC maintains June output levels, it will reduce global surplus by ~70m bbl in 2H, although as we reported previously much of this is due to US oil exports which artificially depressed US commercial inventory stocks.

And the punchline: OPEC expects to oversupply global markets markets by ~900k b/d in 1Q next year, with US shale scapegoated as the culprit for OPEC's failure to bring the market back into equilibrium: Non-OPEC supply to grow by 1.14m b/d in 2018, up from 800k b/d in 2017. Related: Strong Demand Expectations To Lift Oil Prices

We wish OPEC the best of luck in getting US shale to produce less not more.

On the demand side, OPEC sees global oil demand rising 1.26m b/d, or 1.3% in 2018 to 97.65m b/d; its first estimate of 2018 demand growth was little changed from its unrevised forecast for 2017.

Discussing the demand side, the OPEC chief said the current oil-price cycle is driven by supply. OPEC's unwillingness to discuss the demand side may suggest to skeptics that it is not so much the supply side, which everyone knew would be in excess thanks to shale, but indeed the demand aspect, where OPEC is facing problems, especially in India and China, whose demand growth is now projected to decline, especially if as some have suggested China's SPR needs have declined sharply in recent months.

Meanwhile, as a first step to controlling what OPEC can control, namely supply, OPEC chief Barkindo said Libya and Nigeria are expected to send representatives to OPEC, non-OPEC Joint Technical Committee meeting in Russia on July 22, where according to some, they will be asked to also enforce production caps on their output, joining the rest of OPEC in limiting supply.

By Zerohedge.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Saudi Arabia plans to cut its August crude oil exports by 600,000 bpd, according to an industry source from the Kingdom who spoke to Reuters. The projected August cut would be the biggest since the start of this year, and comes as a result of peak domestic consumption during the summer. The reduction is also in line with Saudi Arabias production cut commitment under the international agreement sealed last November in a bid to rebalance the oil market.

The United States will get less than 800,000 bpd of Saudi crude next month, the source said, down from an average 1.154 million bpd in April  the last month for which there is official data from the EIA.

Shipments of Saudi crude to Asia will be around 3.5 million bpd, down by 200,000 bpd from July, and exports to Europe will be cut by 70,000 bpd to 520,000 bpd. Oil trading companies will receive 780,000 bpd, down by 200,000 bpd.

Overall, Saudi Arabias crude exports in August will be 6.6 million barrels daily.

Saudi Arabia pumped 10.07 million bpd last month, above its quota. The rise, the source said, was a result of higher domestic demand during the summer season. Under the OPEC/non-OPEC deal to cut production, Saudi Arabia pledged to take 486,000 bpd off its October 2016 level output and keep production at 10.058 million bpd. This is the first time since the agreement was signed that Saudi Arabia exceeded its allocated production quota. Related: Oil Rises Despite Gloomy Outlook

OPECs Monthly Oil Market Report with data for Junereleased todayshowed that Saudi Arabia produced 9.95 million bpd, according to secondary sourcesbelow its production quota. Total production according to figures directly reported to OPEC from the Kingdom, the report showed, came in at 10.07, confirming the earlier Reuters report.

The market will carefully scrutinize OPECs Monthly Oil Report, but this report focuses on production numbers, not exports. According to ClipperData, OPECs exportsincluding those of Saudi Arabiajumped in June, and the cartel exported more crude in June than it did in October, while total global crude exports are over 10 percent higher than year-ago levels.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Lots of news this week on energy companies from one particular spot on Earth.

India.

In Lebanon  where reports suggest Indian state oil firm ONGC will bid for offshore blocks. In Canada  where Indian officials are said to be negotiating coking coal supplies. And even in Venezuela, where the cash-strapped government is seeking to sell ONGC a 9 percent stake in the key San Cristobal oil field.

And a new study released this week suggests its not coincidence were hearing so much about Indian companies on the energy stage.

In fact, India has quietly become one of the worlds biggest energy investors.

That revelation came from the International Energy Agency (IEA)  which released a report yesterday on energy investment trends for 2016. Showing that Indias investment in energy projects surged during the past year.

All told, Indias spending on electricity, oil and gas, coal and renewables jumped by 7 percent in 2016, as compared to the previous year. Reaching nearly $100 billion.

As the chart below shows, that rise was enough to vault India into third place globally for energy investment. Edging out oil giant Russia.

India moved into third place globally for energy spending in 2016.

(Click to enlarge)

Of course, Indias energy spending is still a long way off second-place U.S. and top investor China. But the rapid rise of energy investment here shows this is an up-and-coming spot for project funding in oil and gas, and beyond. Related: The Biggest Obstacles For Chinas $900 Billion Silk Road

IEA attributed Indias ascent to new government policies helping to modernize and expand the economy. Further evidence the country is getting its act together in becoming a true natural resource superpower.

Thats an important point of note for project developers globally. Especially given Indian firms seem to have appetite for places further out on the risk spectrum  evidenced by this weeks action in places like Lebanon and Venezuela.

As a final point of interest, the IEA study also showed that  for the first time ever  electricity passed oil and gas as the top energy sector for investment in 2016. Coming as capital spending in the global petroleum space plunged 38 percent between 2014 and 2016.

The group says however, that petro-spending should jump in 2017. Watch for Indian companies to be a big part of those deals and new projects.

Heres to a star rising.

By Dave Forest

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Theres no holding Poland back. A little over a month after it began to divest itself of reliance on Russian gas by taking ownership of the first U.S. shipment, the countrys president has declared that he wants to make Poland an energy hub capable of distributing gas across the EU.

Speaking after a meeting with the U.S. president, Andrzej Duda told reporters: Can we become a hub through which American LNG gas will flow to central Europe? I am convinced the answer is yes.

Since 1996 Poland has been getting the vast majority of its gas from Gazprom. But with that contract expiring in 2022, Poland is keen to diversify. The agreement sees the state-run gas firm PGNiG buy up to 10.2 bcm of gas per year. The total consumption is around 15 bcm. But in anticipation of a change Poland built its own liquefied natural gas terminal and plans to build a pipeline to the North Sea. In June, the first shipment of LNG arrived from Cheniere Energy Inc.s Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana.

Poland is part of the Three Seas Initiative, a collection of a dozen eastern and central European nations around the Black, Baltic and Adriatic seas. They are highly dependent on Russian gas and therefore at its mercy. In 2008 Russia cut supplies of LNG to Europe over the Ukrainian dispute. Duda says the initiatives long-term aim is to formally diversify energy supplies to reduce that dependence on Russian oil and gas. He said: This (first shipment) opens a path to more contracts I hope that in the near future there will be a long-term contact entered into for LNG gas deliveries from the U.S. and through this, we will diversify sources of supply of this hugely important raw material to Poland. Related: Goldman: Oil Prices To Fall Below $40 If Shale Doesnt Slow

The Trump administration is keen to move into this space. Prior to the G20 when President Trump stayed in a room for meetings and didnt ask his daughter to fill in, he discussed increasing trade, infrastructure and energy ties with representatives from the Three Seas Initiative. He told them: "Let me be clear about one crucial point. The United States will never use energy to coerce your nations, and we cannot allow others to do so. Naming no names, he went on: You don't want to have a monopoly or a monopolistic situation."

Supplies of natural gas is something the U.S. is not short of. The Cheniere Energy Sabine Pass terminal is currently the only terminal in the lower 48 states which can export but the country is now building new ones. Trump is eager to find his place on the world stage and provider of U.S.-sourced energy would fulfil not only that need but also meet his demand that the US reduces its trade deficit.

A strong tie with the US would also be beneficial to Poland which is keen to have its support to block the Nord Stream gas link which runs from Russia to Germany. There are fears in Warsaw that Gazprom could turn off the taps to Poland without impacting other west European customers.

However having learned from the past, Poland does not plan to run headlong into another long-term contract with a foreign power. We will be aiming at a situation where a long-term contract becomes a thing of the past, said Polands energy official Piotr Naimski. If the price of Russian gas is competitive enough we do not rule out buying it, but definitely not as part of a long-term contract.



By Precise Consultants

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The sentiment in the oil market has soured so much over the past two months that investors seem to be reacting to every piece of bearish news, and largely ignoring bullish signs from the industry.

According to analysts, bullish news is on the horizon, but the market will continue to be biased toward news that is negative for crude prices until we see significant global inventory reductions, slower production, and greater demand.

Case in point: last weeks EIA report of a massive 6.3-million-barrel draw in U.S. commercial oil stockpiles spurred a short-lived rally in oil prices. That day, prices settled only slightly higher, despite the fact that the draw reduced crude inventories to 502.9 million barrels, the lowest since January.



The next day, oil prices plunged nearly 3 percent as the number of active oil and gas rigs in the United States rose again in the week to July 7, this time by 12, resuming what was the US shale patchs impressive run of 23 weeks of steady gains, prior to a decrease of a single rig in the week prior. In addition, OPECs exports surged in June, adding further bearishness to the market.

Hedge funds and other money managers increased their net long position in WTI contracts as of July 3, but mostly because of lower shorts, rather than a sharp increase in long positions.



According to data by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission from last Friday, money managers increased their long positions on WTI on NYMEX by 2,356 in the week to July 3, to 316,447, but short positions declined by 13,988 to 166,496, so the net long position increased.



Money managers increased their net long position in Brent and WTI-linked futures and options by 46 million barrels in the week to July 3, Reuters market analyst John Kemp says.

Money managers had piled up a record number of short positions, amassing 510 million barrels in the major contracts on Brent, WTI, U.S. gasoline, and U.S. heating oil on June 27, John Kemp said last week. That amount of short positions set the stage for a short-covering rally at the end of June.

Related: Corpus Christi Set To Become The Next Oil Export Hotspot

In the week leading to July 4, the short positions dropped to 463 million barrels, according to Kemps calculations based on regulatory data.

You didnt see a lot of long accumulation. It may be an indication that we reached a level where those traders are just willing to take profits, Citigroup Global Markets analyst Tim Evans told Bloomberg in a phone interview on Friday.

Sentiment still seems extremely bearish. Were responding to every bit of bearish news, but were ignoring or seeing a limited reaction to any bullish news, the analyst noted.

Still, analysts are not utter pessimists regarding the oil market.

Although the fundamentals still arent great, most of the possible news is likely to be bullish, Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts, told Bloomberg. He cited the summer driving season in the U.S., the hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico approaching, and geopolitical tensions over North Korea, as well as the Qatar-Saudi standoff, as potential upside catalysts.



According to Citigroups Evans: The most common cycle is that major rallies start with short-covering from an oversold condition. Thats an early stage in a bull market.

However, the market needs to see proof of significantly reduced inventories, higher demand growth, and a production slowdown in order to shake off the negative bias toward bearish reports and shrugging off bullish signs, Rob Haworth, a senior investment strategist at Seattle-based U.S. Bank Wealth Management, told Bloomberg.



Currently, oil price projections are as varied as there are analysts out there. Citigroups senior energy analyst Eric Lee expects that crude oil prices could jump to US$60 a barrel by this years end thanks to growing demand and lower OPEC supply. Goldman Sachs sees oil prices soon falling below US$40 if there isnt a sustained drawdown in U.S. crude inventories and rig counts, or without bold action from OPEC.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Oil futures trading in China is set to finally start later this year after several delays, providing one of the worlds top consumers with a bigger say in Asian oil pricing, not to mention an entry into a trade thats worth trillions of dollars daily.

The International Energy Exchange, based in Shanghai where the contract will trade, said that it is at the moment working on the finalization of some technical issues, Reuters quoted officials from the bourse as saying. This comes after years of delays.

More than 6,000 trading accounts have already been opened, almost 75 percent of which are individual trader accounts. Globally, the oil futures trading market is dominated by institutional investors, Reuters notes. In China, however, individual traders, also called sometimes pajama traders, are a force to be reckoned with because of their sheer numbersto date probably about 100 million. These traders account for 80 percent of the turnover in the Chinese equity market, which is worth about US$8 trillion.

Besides individual traders, however, the big local energy companies and teapot refiners have also opened accounts. PetroChina has opened two and Sinopec has even set up a special trading unit. These two, and other major companies, will provide liquidity for the Chinese oil futures trade, except for local banks, which are barred from trading in futures.



Related: Oil Under Pressure As Saudis Break Key Promise

Some 150 brokerages have also registered for the oil futures contracts, among them the local divisions of UBS and JPMorgan, but INEthe exchangesaid that it is hoping to attract other foreign investors as well.

According to Reuters, however, some potential foreign traders have reservations because the Shanghai futures will be priced in yuan. Foreign traders are also concerned with the daily price fluctuation limit, which has been set at 4 percent. There is no mechanism in place to reset price limits after a major international movement, so the Chinese futures contract could, as Reuters says, freeze while prices elsewhere continue moving.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Mexicos opening of its energy sector to private oil drilling in 2013 is starting to pay off, as a joint venture of private international companies struck oil in excess of 1 billion barrels in the shallow waters in the southern Gulf of Mexico.

London-listed Premier Oil Plc said on Wednesday that, together with its joint venture partners Talos Energy (Operator) and Sierra Oil & Gas, it had made a world class oil discovery in the Zama-1 exploration well in Block 7, the first offshore exploration well drilled by the private sector in Mexicos history.

According to preliminary analysis, Initial gross original oil in place estimates for the Zama-1 well are in excess of 1 billion barrels, which could extend into a neighbouring block, said Premier, which holds 25 percent in the block.

Following the announcement, Premiers shares were surging nearly 30 percent on the London stock exchange at noon local time.

The operator of the block, Talos Energy, which has 35 percent, was even more optimistic about the find. Initial gross original oil in place estimates for the Zama-1 well range from 1.4 to 2.0 billion barrels, exceeding pre-drill estimates, some of which could extend into a neighboring block.

Talos, Premier Oil, and Sierra Oil & Gas signed production sharing contracts for the block with Mexicos upstream regulator, the National Hydrocarbons Commission, in 2015.

According to the Sierra Oil & Gas press release, Mexico will receive 68.99 percent of the operating profit from each barrel produced.



Related: The Biggest Obstacles For Chinas $900 Billion Silk Road

The Zama discovery is the most important achievement so far of Mexicos energy reform, Pablo Medina, the senior upstream analyst for Latin America at Wood Mackenzie, told Bloomberg by email. It is one of the 15 largest shallow-water fields discovered globally in the past 20 years, he noted.

In March this year, Italys oil major Eni drilled the first well by an international oil company in Mexican waters, and said the well indicated a meaningful volume of oil.

Oil majors are snatching up offshore blocks in Mexico, with the latest auction exceeding expectations. Mexico is also planning to hold four more oil and gas block tenders by November 2018 as part of efforts to ensure the sustainability of its energy industry and make better use of its hydrocarbon reserves.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Kazakhstan is standing by its commitment to stick to the OPEC/non-OPEC agreement for production cuts, Kazakhstans Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said on Wednesday, reiterating the official Kazakh position that the country does not want out of the deal despite media reports to the contrary.

Kazakhstan is part of the 11 non-OPEC nations that joined OPECs collective production cuts deal, pledging to collectively cut a total 558,000 bpd of crude oil production, which includes a commitment from Russia to cut 300,000 bpd.

Kazakhstanwhich vowed to take 20,000 bpd off its outputmay not have been the most willing country before the cuts were extended, but its energy minister said in May that it was important for the country that Brent prices do not drop below US$50, so they would discuss the possibilities.

Kazakhstan is still seeking to increase production at its giant fields, especially Kashagan, which after years of delays and setbacks, resumed commercial-scale production in October 2016 at a rate of 90,000 bpd. In January, the company operating the field said that it was ramping up production to 180,000 bpd.

This past weekend, Russias TASS agency reported that Kazakhstan was preparing for a gradual withdrawal from the production cut pact.

But today, Minister Bozumbayev said, after dismissing the reports of withdrawal, as quoted by the Kazakh telegraph agency KazTAG:

Due to these agreements we were exporting our oil for $52 price per barrel in the first quarter. For comparison: prior to these agreements, in 2016, first quarter, oil price was $32.

Kazakhstans Energy Ministry issued a statement late on Monday, saying that the country once again confirms its commitment to stick to the agreement, and will continue to stick to the deal. There has not been any proposal for further extension or change to partners quotas, the ministry said, adding that this question is not under consideration right now.

Referring to the upcoming Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting in Russia on July 24, Algerias Energy Minister Mustapha Guitouni said that no decisions would be made at the meeting, which will only discuss the state of the oil market.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
In retrospect, India should not have been caught by surprise by China's incursions on various borders or its steps to needle us at every possible opportunity. The Chinese geopolitical ambitions were never hidden. The fact that China wanted to be recognised as a super power was apparent even in the era of Chairman Mao. However, the middle kingdom was hardly in a position - economically or militarily - to play any such role. The initial focus of Deng Xiaoping when he got control was to fix the economy. The steps he took saw China grow and grow until it became an economic powerhouse. But even though his focus was on the economy, China was working parallelly to build its armed forces, developing weapons and modernising its forces way beyond what was required to just defend its borders.

When Xi took over, the Chinese economy had started slowing down and that was perhaps one of the triggers to turn the focus on geopolitical ambitions. Only the most naive would not recognise that China wishes to take up the position that USSR once occupied in the bipolar world. In the past few years, it has sought to do this through a combination of economic treaties, diplomatic initiatives and sabre-rattling by its armed forces.

It is also no secret that China sees India as a potential hurdle in the path to realising its ambitions. The Indian economy and its influence has also grown rapidly, and while we are still way behind China in both economic and military size, we have grown enough to be seen by a lot of countries as a natural counterweight to China in the Asian region.

China's recent initiatives - whether on OBOR or in its aggressive posture - and border disputes with almost all its neighbours need to be seen in this context. With its economy slowing down, Xi needs to demonstrate to his domestic audience that an economic slowdown does not necessarily stop its geopolitical march. The Doklam push is hardly isolated - in the past, China has pushed hard in its border disputes with Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Taiwan and Japan. It has created an island base in the South China Sea, ostensibly as an R&R centre for its troops.

China has reserved its biggest push against India. It is building a road in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which it knows is a clear irritant to India. China has made frequent border incursions in the recent past - in Arunachal Pradesh, in Uttarakhand and now, via Doklam in Bhutan. These are the reported ones - there might be others that have not been reported. It has persistently blocked India's candidature for both the Nuclear Suppliers Group club as well as its bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Under Xi, it made far more noise on the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh than any time in the past.

So far, India has pushed back gently but firmly. China is hoping that the US under Trump will overlook the Asian disputes, though that may be an erroneous hope. What India needs to understand is that China will keep pushing hard at every possible opportunity. What it is trying in India is the salami slice tactic that was once favoured by the erstwhile USSR - that is, push to take small slices of territory until you are in a position to swallow a much larger one, and see how far you can succeed before you are pushed back.

India needs to play its cards well and firmly. It needs to call on its alliances - from Japan to the US - to show China that it is no pushover. The first opportunity will arise during the joint US-India-Japan naval exercise that starts on July 10. It will need delicate handling, but if anyone is in a position to push China back, it is probably India.



@ProsaicView
DEBATING TAXATION





WHAT: International Taxation in Asia: Issues and the Way Forward

WHEN: July 12-13, Jakarta

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The International Monetary Fund in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, Indonesia, will hold a high-level conference on international taxation in Asia. The event will provide a forum to engage policymakers in the region on issues related to domestic resource mobilisation, including through international tax reforms. It is recognised now that international tax reforms are integral to domestic tax system development.

THE LOGISTICS CHALLENGE

WHAT: India - On the Cusp of a Logistics Revolution

WHEN: July 13, New Delhi

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: India requires a National Integrated Logistics Policy (NILP). The policy will need to establish dedicated rail freight corridors, coastal freight corridors, national expressways, last-mile roads, last-mile rail, multi-modal logistics parks, road maintenance, technology adoption, skills development and equipment and service standards. The Assocham conference aims to promote a NILP to reduce recurring losses to the economy and improve capital efficiency.

BRAINSTORMING M&As

WHAT: Mergers, Acquisitions and Restructuring Summit 2017

WHEN: July 14, Mumbai

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: M&As have a key role to play in boosting the countrys economic growth. The summit, organised by CII, would aim to identify the main trends in the market place and major obstacles in pursuit of inorganic growth. The discussions would focus on regulatory and commercial issues. Also on the agenda is a debate on the pitfalls for global investors while doing M&As in India.

PROMOTING AGRI REFORMS

WHAT: National Agricultural Marketing Summit

WHEN: July 14, New Delhi

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The summit is an effort to promote awareness about ongoing reforms in agriculture marketing taking place at the centre and in states and to identify specific areas for investment and support for private sector companies, start-ups and other players in this sector. The summit, being organised by FICCI jointly with Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, will discuss a concrete roadmap towards achieving the vision of a unified national agriculture market.

DECODING GST





WHAT: Interactive Workshop on "GST : Post Roll Out"

WHEN: July 14, New Delhi

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is now a reality, replacing the complex structure of multiple indirect taxes. However, post the roll out of GST, the industry would need guidance on return filing, wading through legal compliances and solving some practical challenges - technical and sector specific. With this in mind, CII is organising an interactive GST workshop in the capital.

THE FUTURE OF GLOBALISATION

WHAT: Globalisation in the Aftermath of the Crisis

WHEN: July 25-26, Kuala Lumpur

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The Bank Negara Malaysia, the IMF, and the IMF Economic Review are inviting papers. The conference will seek research on: (i) the recent past and medium-term future of trade; (ii) the impact of protectionism and financial market turbulence on trade; and (iii) the labour market impact of both international trade and migration.
Quote

"I-square-plus-T-square - India and Israel plus Israeli technology and Indian talent, is India-Israel ties for tomorrow."

Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu while welcoming Prime Narendra Modi to his country

2 billion





This is the number of monthly Facebook users. It took the social network less than five years to go from one billion to two billion users

Amazons India investments cross $2 bn





Online retailer Amazons India investments have gone past $2 billion. The company is reported to have injected `1,680 crore in its main local unit, Amazon Seller Services. This takes the total capital invested to more than Rs 13,800 crore or close to $2.1 billion.

Bengal Governor Hits Back at State Government

The fight between Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi over communal violence in North 24 Parganas has intensified. Banerjee was quoted as calling Tripathi a "block president of the BJP"who threatened and insulted her over the phone. A statement by the governor called this an "attempt to cover the lapses of the state government and divert the attention from the main issue of law and order."

Foxconn Investment

Foxconn is reportedly planning to invest up to $5 billion (`32,000 crore) in India to set up facilities to make mobile phones. It will use the factories to export to other markets too.

MS Plans Huge Layoffs





Microsoft is planning a reorganisation of sales and marketing teams. The plan may result in several layoffs, say media reports. The company is reported to be planning to refocus its sales staff to become a key part of businesses that rely on cloud computing.
In the last week of June, a 24-year-old, soon-to-be law graduate from Nagpur (his name is irrelevant) tried applying for a post in the Territorial Army. He couldn't. As it turned out, his Aadhaar (taken several years ago) was cancelled, and nobody - Aadhaar customer care or the Centre - could explain why. Since he is not the type to take to social media to express outrage, he went about getting his Aadhaar reinstated; but the damage was done. It is just a matter of time enough people realise that they have been hard done by just because their Aadhaar wasn't working when it was supposed to, and for no fault of theirs.

But in the Supreme Court, in May, the government painted a different picture. Linking Aadhaar with PAN will give the taxman a better grip on tax evasion, it argued, since a person will not be able to distribute his income among different accounts through different PANs - a deceptively attractive argument. And before it is denounced, it must be accepted that the move has jolted many professionals such as lawyers and accountants who could hitherto receive money in different accounts. However, the quantum of such jugglery is still limited (how many PAN cards will an accountant have to create?). Instead, clients will now be asked to deposit money in their mothers' accounts, or companies/trusts set up for the purpose. That apart, should it not be asked how does it matter which account money resides in, because as long as it is through the bank, somebody is paying tax (though you could argue that minimum exemption limits and lower tax slabs give a slight advantage).?

Once that argument is demolished, the folly of the government's argument becomes apparent. Or perhaps, their ulterior motive. Most honest (or, if you will, lazy) taxpayers don't mind the tax department tracking their bank accounts closely, if that was the only purpose for which Aadhaar was used. But when that same tracking system can also be used to monitor the jobs one applies to, the travel one undertakes, or the people one meets, then there is a serious violation in privacy.

But wait a minute, cautions the sceptic. The government has not made any of those mandatory (even though, like we saw in the case of applications to the army, that is only a half-truth). Should we use a crude hypothetical scarecrow to defang the government's crackdown on tax evasion?

If only it was a scarecrow. Back in 1994, the Haryana government introduced a law that any person who had more than two children could not contest Panchayat elections. The arguments were sturdy. Family planning was government policy and it would not do to have elected leaders who defied the ideal. Moreover, the government was permitted by the Constitution to make such a law for Panchayats - both arguments which were accepted by the Supreme Court. Twenty years later, the state government, in a display of brazen adventurism, upped the requirements to mandate that, among other things, any person without a functional toilet in his house could not contest Panchayat elections - bizarre in that toilets at home did not have anything to do with one's ability to function as a Panchayat member.

However, this law was upheld in the Supreme Court on the grounds that (to put it simply) since the earlier judgment had established that it was within the power of the government to pass such legislation, the only question that remained was whether the specific provision was expressly prohibited by the Constitution; which, as a matter of fact, it wasn't. An incremental encroachment into a basic right, if not nipped in the bud, can leave the citizen stripped of defence against bigger future incursions.

The routine response to this is the familiar bogeyman: why should you worry if you have nothing to fear? Why should you worry about the government knowing who you visit in a jail if you aren't meeting a terrorist? Requiring Aadhaar for rail travel only makes everybody's travel safer. Fair points, till you really think about it. Are aliens (legalese for undocumented people) the only risks to our safety? Take any recent terror attack in the developed world, and the perpetrator would be a legal citizen - so that is an insufficient argument to defend violating privacy.

Then again, the sceptic asks, how is this different from any other identity? So far, if you could be made to show one among your PAN, driving licence, passport or voter's ID, is it really beyond the government's powers to narrow that down to just one option - Aadhaar? Again, a specious argument. The difference is that Aadhaar is a dynamic identity. Every time an Aadhaar verification is completed, somewhere on the government's servers is stored a veritable trove of information about a person's entire life.

To counter that, the Attorney General pointed out in court that today enough of other agencies - your credit card provider, or Facebook for that matter - accumulate similar data about you. Except, a citizen has the choice of not using a private agency's service, while you cannot choose not to engage with the government. But isn't that how an identity should be? If it weeds out fake identities, then why oppose a good-intentioned move? To return to the army aspirant, it can be that one's Aadhaar is rejected for reasons other than genuineness. But also, any check on a citizen's functioning should be proportional to what it intends to achieve. In the case of Aadhaar, there is no proportionality or reasonableness in what it purports to accomplish.

The risk is that any time the government wants to cut any person (let's say, an annoying journalist) down to size, all it needs to do is to get his Aadhaar to be disabled (instead of, let's say, putting them on a no-fly list, which then has to be defended in court). [A technological solution to this could be a way to mask the interaction with the Aadhaar database at the time of verification, so that no record exists of the request with any agency - an idea worth pursuing].

What about the law? The government argued in the Supreme Court that a fresh law could over-ride any undertaking given to the court, which, strictly speaking, is correct. However, in the present case, the undertaking (that Aadhaar will not be made mandatory) was to permit the government to continue to use Aadhaar pending the court's decision on whether it violated one's Right to Privacy. That has still not been decided, and in fact, even the approval given by the Supreme Court for Aadhaar-PAN linkage was subject to its passing the test of Article 21 (right to life, including privacy) of the Constitution.

Much of the discourse around Aadhaar has revolved around whether the government can, for the greater good of national security, encroach upon a citizen's privacy. It can, there is no doubt. But it might also be worthwhile to remember Justice H.R. Khanna's caution in his legendary dissenting opinion in the Habeus Corpus case (which ruled on a citizen's rights during Emergency). He said, "Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the governments purposes are beneficent". Words that still ring true.



(The writer is an advocate practising in the Supreme Court)
Panamagate JIT report has several flaws: Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said the report of Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) would remain incomplete until the tenth volume was made public, and that he would present money trail in court for funds used to purchase items ranging from a needle to a Mercedes car.



Dar addressed a press conference in Islamabad to respond to the growing pressure and levelling of accusation against him following the JIT report that was made public and filed in the top court the other day. Dar said that he had made his children self-sufficient in businesses back in 2003.



He urged the political opponents of the ruling party to let the system work, claiming that they were hindering the progress of Pakistan. He denounced the alleged court hearings being held in the public following submission of the JIT report. Dar claimed that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had hauled documents from his house after martial law was imposed in 1999.



He said that JIT had told him on July 3 during his appearance that his tax returns were not filed. The minister said that he forwarded the record to the probe committee on July 7, whatever he could gather from NAB.



He said that he gave at least Rs 80.61 million in charity to his entity known as Hajveri Trust. He said that he had earned at least 4.9 million in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He further laid out that according to his will, whatever he had earned would go to orphans.



The finance minister urged patience over final report submitted by the Panama case JIT in the Supreme Court, claiming that a narrative was being shaped against the prime minister since the submission of the report.



Dar claimed that the Panamagate JIT report has several flaws, consisted of unsigned documents and even copies. He urged opposition parties to demonstrate patience for they also did so at the time of Dharna-I and Dharna-II.



The minister noted that no offshore company had the name of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as its owner, lamenting that efforts were being made to shape a narrative (against the PM) since the submission of the report in the SC. Dar said the system should be allowed to function, adding, There have been courts functioning outside the courts.



The JIT said on July 3 that I didnt send tax returns from 1981 and 2003. I told them that I will take action against Federal Board of Revenue and ask them to inform me if they were not provided record by the FBR, he said. The minister said his tax filer, Zia Babri, told him the NAB had taken away all record in Musharrafs tenure.



Similarly, I was told that my returns from 2003 to 2008 were not received, but I have the receipt of tax returns submitted to the probe team. The record, I received from NAB on July 7, was also submitted to the JIT, of which too I have the receipt.



Dar said he would submit record and offer to get it audited from an international firm. Neither I was asked anything, nor a reply was sought from me, and a finding was written in the report.



Speaking on the occasion, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique called the report of JIT biased and said it appeared to have been made in 2.5 years and not 60 days. He said Imran Khan was the main conspirator against PML-N while several directors were outside Pakistan. He also poured criticism on other opposition parties, including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), advising them to examine their own corruption in previous regime.
Trump to replace US troops in Afghanistan with private military contractors

WASHINGTON: Key Trump aides are exploring the possibility of replacing US troops in Afghanistan with private military contractors, the US media reported on Tuesday.



Raymond Davis, who killed two Pakistani citizens in Lahore in 2011 and recently published his version of that incident, was also a private military contractor and had worked in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.



The New York Times, which first reported the news, said that at least two top advisers of US President Donald Trump, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, were discussing the idea with other senior members of the Trump administration.



The report claimed that on Saturday, another top adviser, Stephen Bannon, sought out US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis at the Pentagon to try to get a hearing for their ideas.



Mr Mattis listened politely but declined to include the outside strategies in a review of Afghanistan policy that he is leading along with the national security adviser, Lt Gen H.R. McMaster, the report added.



The idea was the brainchild of two men who have made millions of dollars sending private soldiers to Americas wars. One of them is Erik Prince, who founded the private security firm Blackwater, which also reportedly had a major presence in Pakistan.



The other person behind the idea, Stephen Feinberg, is a financier who owns mega military contractor DynCorp International, another private company that provides security and operational support to the US military and also specialises in intelligence training and contingency operations.



The US media reported that Mr Kushner and Mr Bannon had recruited the two private defence contractors to suggest plans for Afghanistan that could minimise US losses in that war-torn country.



The media suggested that since President Trump has authorised his defence secretary to determine the size and nature of US military deployment in Afghanistan, Mr Bannon approached him to see if he would be interested in sending private contractors.



Secretary Mattis said at a news briefing last month that the Pentagon was finalising its plan for stabilising Afghanistan and would soon present it to the White House. US generals have said that Washington will have to substantially enhance its military presence in Afghanistan if it wants to win the war against the Taliban and other militant groups.



The US media, however, reported that the White House was unhappy with what it has heard so far from the Pentagon and the White House and Pentagon continue to spar over what to do in Americas longest war.



The proposal has raised eyebrows among critics, who say the incident reveals a divide between President Trumps top generals and his advisers, and raises questions about a potential conflict of interest, a popular news site, The Daily Beast, reported.



The New York Times noted that the highly unusual meeting (between Mr Bannon and Secretary Mattis) dramatises the divide between Mr Trumps generals and his political staff over Afghanistan.



The meeting also highlighted the lengths to which his aides will go to give their boss more options for dealing with it and the readiness of this White House to turn to businesspeople for help with diplomatic and military problems, NYT added.



However, a 2016 report by the Congressional Research Service showed that private military contractors in Afghanistan outnumbered US troops by a 3-to-1 margin, raising questions again about the role those workers played in the ongoing wars overseas and the oversight they received.



The data shows contractor numbers in both Iraq and Afghanistan dating back to fiscal 2007. Combined, the US Defence Department spent more than $220 billion on contractors in the two war zones for a variety of services and support.
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...


"challenging fun"

- Entertainment Weekly

Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy offor seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren's fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchildren. Thanks! Tom
Campaign Manager for the late President John Evans Atta-Mills; Rojo Mettle Nunoo has questioned the rationale behind the Presidents numerous foreign trips since his assumption of official duties. According to him, the President is acting as though he still were occupying the position of a Foreign Minister.



Speaking in an interview with Joy News, Mr. Mettle Nunoo indicated that the trips are unnecessary except in instances where there are other heads of states involved and its essential for the President to be present. Rather he says, the Foreign Minister who has been appointed by the office of the President to handle such tasks should be in a position to do exactly that whenever the situation arises.



I think the President is still thinking he is a Foreign Minister. There are a lot of trips that he has undertaken so far that I think the Foreign Minister should have undertaken. Where there are platforms for heads of states, I dont have a problem with him attending those, he stated.



Mr. Nunoo maintained that there are several governance issues facing the country that have been unresolved and he finds it puzzling that the President would rather focus on taking trips that could be handled by an equally capable person than focus on resolving the issues facing the country.



I think to a very large extent, the governance challenges of the first six months have not been sufficiently addressed. Many boards and councils are not in place, if these are very strategic institutions of government, its totally unacceptable that the universities, the polytechnics and several other institutions dont have their boards and councils in place and yet they are expected to take fundamental decisions of governance, he maintained.



Speaking on the performance of the New Patriotic Party since it took over power, Mettle Nunoo stated that he had no expectations from the government and hence cannot be judgmental. He however indicated that he would have been disappointed if he had expectations of this new government adding that he believes the NPP has nothing different to offer.

I have no expectations of the NPP, so I can only see it unfold and then Ill comment. If I had expectations of the NPP, Id be disappointed but I dont believe that anything different will happen.



President Nana Addo has visited many countries in the sub-region since he took over the helm of affairs.

In the past few months, he has paid working visits to Sierra Leone, Togo, Liberia, Mali and recently Liberia and Mali. Some have argued that these travels are unnecessary because they have not yielded positive results for Ghana.



President Akufo-Addo previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007 under the erstwhile Kufour administration.

Source: ghanaweb.com









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FORT ANN  A Fort Ann man was charged with murder early Wednesday after police determined he strangled and killed his grandmother in what may have been a mercy killing, police said.

Kevin L. Gonyea, 50, of Twiss Road, was charged with second-degree murder for the Sunday night death of 95-year-old Leona Twiss in the home the family shared. He and his wife reported finding her dead in the home, apparently of natural causes.

The death was determined to have been a homicide during an autopsy on Tuesday, and Washington County sheriffs officers and State Police determined Gonyea was responsible and his wife aided in attempting to cover up the killing, police said.

Washington County sheriffs Capt. Tony LeClaire said Melissa Gonyea, 35, was charged with felony counts of hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence for her alleged role in hiding unspecified evidence in the case. Kevin Gonyea was also charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence.

Court records show a towel was used to kill Leona Twiss, and that Mrs. Gonyea disposed of it at her husbands request. Police would not say whether it was recovered.

Washington County Sheriff Jeff Murphy said deputies who responded to the 911 call Sunday night requested an autopsy after they questioned whether the death was possibly suspicious. Neither he nor Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan would elaborate on what they saw that made them question what was being reported to police.

It was observations of the victim and their sense at the scene, Jordan said.

Murphy called the killing a sad case where a person who was supposed to care for an elderly relative instead ended her life.

Mr. Gonyea also has a criminal record of domestic violence in Florida, and police had been called to the Twiss Road home on two occasions in recent months for complaints of domestic strife between the Gonyeas, Murphy said. No charges were filed either time, and no injuries were reported.

Both Gonyeas were arraigned early Wednesday in Kingsbury Town Court and sent to Washington County Jail, pending further court action.

No bail was set for Mr. Gonyea, who was also brought to court later Wednesday to inform Justice Michael Keenan as to whether he wanted a preliminary hearing in the next week. On the advice of his counsel, Washington County Public Defender Michael Mercure, he waived the hearing and his case was adjourned until Aug. 2.

Mr. Gonyea had no comment as he was led to and from Kingsbury Town Court.

Mrs. Gonyea is being represented by lawyer Robert Gregor, who said he had no comment on the case Wednesday. Her bail was set at $30,000 cash or $60,000 bail bond.

Police said the investigation was ongoing as of Wednesday afternoon.

LeClaire said the death of Leona Twiss was not initially considered suspicious, as she had no apparent injuries, until evidence found during an autopsy performed at Albany Medical Center led to the conclusion she was choked to death.

The autopsy showed she was strangled, LeClaire said. They were the only two present in the home and living with her.

Police would not say whether the Gonyeas made admissions when they were questioned.

Our theory is it was a mercy killing. She had forms of dementia and was supposed to go into a nursing home, LeClaire said.

Jordan praised the thoroughness of the police investigation, which involved sheriffs patrol officers, investigators, State Police investigators and the agencys Forensic Identification Unit.

The Gonyeas came to Fort Ann from Florida last year to care for Leona Twiss and her elderly husband, Walter Twiss, his maternal grandparents, in their home. Walter Twiss died last fall at the age of 95, and the couple had been married for 74 years.

Neither of the Gonyeas had been working locally in recent months.

He was taken to Glens Falls Hospital for treatment of a medical problem in November and died there several days later. LeClaire said it had not been determined whether that death would be reviewed in light of Leona Twiss death.

Twiss Road is a short road in West Fort Ann near the west side of Hadlock Pond, named after Walter and Leona Twiss. The last name is a fairly common one in the West Fort Ann area.

Its a large Washington County family, Murphy said.

Relatives of Twiss were in shock Wednesday, two saying the family had no comment as news broke of the arrest.

The small, white single-story home where Leona Twiss lived for decades had a van parked in front of it with Florida license plates, beer cans strewn around the driveway and an empty cardboard 18-pack container next to them.

Neighbors described Leona Twiss as a friendly woman who was beloved in the neighborhood but hadnt been seen out of the home much in recent years as her illness progressed.

She was a really nice lady, said neighbor Nick Strainer.

One man, though, said he instantly suspected Gonyea of harming her when he saw police cars at the home Tuesday night. He said he did not have a good feeling when seeing Gonyea around the neighborhood.

We would see him tooling around and wonder what he was up to, he said, declining to give his name.

Twiss was a fixture at Grumbellies Eatery on Catherine Street in Fort Ann, where a memorial for her was being organized for Thursday night during the establishments open mic night. Twiss frequently attended open mic events at the restaurant.

Jeff (Hamblin) and I adored Leona and will miss her so much!!!, Grumbellies owner Irma Hamblin wrote in a Facebook post.

Police said Gonyea had a criminal record in Florida that included at least one violent offense, though details were not immediately available.

He faces up to 25 years to life if convicted of second-degree murder, while hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence can each bring 4-year sentences.
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CEDAR RAPIDS  Harvey Ross was excited to see John Norris enter the race for the Democratic nomination for governor as the person with the best resume of the bunch.

But he told Norris on Tuesday evening that resumes dont win races.

No doubt Hillary (Clinton) had a far better resume than Donald Trump and Al Gore had a far better understanding of the issues than (George) W. Bush, the Democratic activist from Cedar Rapids said.

Norris, making his first visit to Cedar Rapids as a candidate, agreed we learned in November 2016 you cant win on experience alone.

But experience should matter  not just for getting to govern and knowing how to get stuff done, but how to get there in a campaign.

Norris, 58, a fifth-generation Iowan, grew up on a farm near Red Oak where he learned hard work wasnt an option, according to his wife, Jackie, who introduced him to 30-some people at the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 110, which represents workers at Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids.

After earning degrees at Simpson College and the University of Iowa Law School, Norris worked for U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin; ran then-presidential candidate Jesse Jacksons Iowa caucus campaign; chaired the Iowa Democratic Party; served as Gov. Tom Vilsacks chief of staff; worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture; served as a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member; and represented U.S. agricultural policy at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Program in Rome during the Obama administration. He returned to Iowa as co-owner of the State Public Policy Group in Des Moines.

Now hes on a six-day, 22-event tour of Iowa to kick off his campaign for the Democratic nomination. He joins an already crowded field: former Iowa City Mayor Ross Wilburn, Sen. Nate Boulton of Des Moines, former Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire, former Des Moines school board President Jon Neiderbach, Rep. Todd Prichard of Charles City, Coralville nurse and union president Cathy Glasson and Des Moines businessman Fred Hubbell are running or contemplating a bid for the Democratic nomination.

On the GOP side, Gov. Kim Reynolds and Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett say theyre running.

At the heart of his campaign, Norris said, is caring passionately about the things that I believe Iowans care about, including clean water, changing the culture of farming to protect the environment, supporting education, undoing the state privatization of Medicaid and making the judicial system the default provider of mental health services, he said in a speech.

More than any one issue, however, Norris said his campaign is about contesting the power of a few with the power of many.

Our future is eroding because we have a government today that is more interested in serving a few (with) sweetheart deals and special tax cuts for wealthy corporations instead of working for the people. he said, Thats whats going to define our future  reclaiming our government, one that reflects the values we hold dear as Iowans and are willing to fight for.
David Woods sat at a table at the Davenport American Legion, leafing through a copy of a new commemorative book on the war in Vietnam.

"It reminds you of a lot of things," he said quietly. "Like that soldier carrying M16 rounds," he said of one of the photos. "That's how we carried them."

Woods is director of veterans affairs for Scott County and a Vietnam veteran who was wounded.

On Friday and Saturday, he and others will distribute 2,400 free copies of the book titled "Vietnam War 50th Commemoration: A Time to Honor: Stories of Service, Duty and Sacrifice" to any Scott County Vietnam veteran who served "in country."

The 155-page hardcover book is a publication of Remember My Service, a company that creates commemorative military books, soliciting sponsors to underwrite costs.

Hours of distribution will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the American Legion, 702 W. 35th St., Davenport. Vets should bring proof of Scott County residency, a DD 214 (or orders that show you were in country) and a nonperishable food item for the veterans' outreach food pantry.

The Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs committed $400,000 for 40,000 copies of the book and is making them available to counties based on the number of Vietnam-era veterans living in each.

But because the number of books allocated to Scott County isn't enough for everyone who served during the era, Woods is restricting initial distribution to those who were stationed in the Southeast Asian country.

The first nine pages of the book were written specifically for Iowa audiences, with the remainder containing stories from people across the country. Books published for other states have their own introduction.

Money for the Iowa books came from the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund that receives money mostly from the sale of veterans car license plates, Dan Gannon, chairman of the Commission of Veterans Affairs, said.

But the commission still needs to raise another $200,000 and is seeking donations from corporations as well as individuals, Gannon said.

The Iowa edition is not yet available for sale to the public, but Gannon said he expects it will be some time in the future. The Utah edition, for example, is sold by amazon.com for about $50, he said.

Stories in the book are arranged in chronological order, providing a history of the war. Chapters are Early War, The Buildup, Year of the Offensive, Peak Strength and Coming to an End.

Within those chapters are timelines of other events occurring in the world at the same time: On June 6, 1968, U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated while campaigning for president; on July 20, 1969, the crew of Apollo 11 landed on the moon and astronaut Neil Armstrong took "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"; and on March 29, 1971, the U.S. Army court-martialed Lt. William Calley for his part in the My Lai massacre.

For many, the war engendered what Marine Maj. Robert "Bud" McFarlane once called "a searing sense of national loss." But "A Time to Honor" reminds everyone of the service, duty and sacrifice of those who fought.
BELLE FOURCHE-The biggest and best 4th of July parade to be seen in Belle Fourche has taken place and is a memory now for the over 15,000 people who lined the streets to watch.

The hot weather didnt seem to keep the kids from scurrying after the candy thrown from the passing floats, but they did welcome the water guns fired off by the reunion floats and the fire department.

The mile long parade started off with the spectacular fly over of a B1from Ellsworth Air Force Base. With a shout Heads up! heads turned skyward to see the massive plane streak past.

Parade Marshals John and Genevieve Skogberg were joined by granddaughters Taya and Abbie Eastman as they led the procession in a classic convertible.

Horse drawn wagons, motorcycles, dare devil motocross, and marching bands were all part of the parade this year. Political candidates and representatives shook hands and passed out stickers. Clowns made some smile and some laugh out loud. The list of entries was as long as the parade it seemed-reunion floats, vintage cars, go-carts, and horses-they were all there. Semi-trucks and queens, there was definitely something for everyone to see.

This year five bands delighted the crowd.

The US Air Force Academy Band was one of the features this year. The 40plus member band does a variety of music from John Philip Sousa to popular march music. It is made up of professional full-time band players who represent the USAF Academy throughout the nation. They do 700 concerts a year.

The marching high school marching band from Cotter High School in Winona, Minn. marched their way along the parade route entertaining the crowd with lively music.

With their bright red shirts and white cowboy hats, the Belle Fourche Cowboy band was near the front of the parade playing energetic patriotic tunes. But they came back through on a flatbed to regale the crowd again.

The Rapid City Ranger Band stepped out with a quick drum beat and animated music, joining the parade again this year as they have for many years.

Who could miss the sounds of bagpipes as the Wyoming Bagpipe and Drum Corp used their talents as they marched through the parade route? The hum of the bagpipe was new to some of the crowd, but enjoyed by all.

Johnny Crawford from The Rifleman along with 15 movies and 12 plays, was there showing off his roping skills. He grew up riding and roping and spent two years on the rodeo circuit. Then he spent some time in the army before taking up a singing career and continuing his acting career.

Parade chairman Mark Leverington was enthusiastic after the parade as he talked about the 2017 parade. The B1 flyover was incredible, he said.

With 175 entries, he said, it was the biggest ever!

He concluded by saying the BH Roundup Committee will start all over again in August to plan the 99th Annual Black Hills Roundup.
BELLE FOURCHE-It made national news, according to Councilwoman Katie Satzinger as she read an article in USA TODAY at the regular Belle Fourche Common Council meeting. The article she referred to was one written in the July 7, 2017 edition of USA TODAY that noted the upheaval caused by the public response to the fountain sculpture at the Hespe Memorial Fountain at the Belle Fourche Museum and Visitors Center. The Hespe Memorial Fountain was built in honor of former mayor Henry Hespe.

After the big celebration and all the positive energy this is what hits national news. Its sad. The public display of disrespect to the City on social media is a disgrace, she pointed out. She added that she respected the Hespe family.

Satzinger had moved to refer the water fountain feature decision to Public Works. The motion opened the floor for further discussion.

Satzinger also said that she wanted to see a document or an agreement set up in the Legal and Finance Committee that would outline the process of doing something with anything that was donated to the city. She said that there needs to be a way to stop this from going on any more.

We need to take this back to ground zero, she said.

Her comments were met by Oz Hespe, a descendant of Henry Hespe, who was adamant in what he thought about the hat sculpture and what should be done. He said the Hespe family did not start this [the argument], it was the city when they placed the hat without contacting family members.

The Hespe family had a preliminary meeting with the Public Works Director, Public Works Chairman, Museum Director and Mayor Landphere. The result of that meeting brought a suggestion that the discussion should go to the Public Works Committee.

Mayor Gloria Landphere interjected that after the social media storm, there had been discussion surrounding the sculpture and that there now was a plan. Discussion will take place at the July 24 Public Works Committee meeting.

That date will give us some time to hammer out details, said Councilman James Ager.

He went on to add, Lets do it right this time.

The topic was also placed on the Legal and Finance Committee agenda for July 10. It will be added to the Public Works Committee agenda for July 24.

A public meeting was set for Wednesday, July 12 for public input for the 8th Avenue utility and roadway improvements project. The meeting will take place beginning at 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. at City Hall. Flyers were included in water bills and more information can be found on the citys website and Facebook.

The issue of a four-way stop at 7th Ave and State Street garnered discussion from councilmembers and the public. Several councilmembers said that constituents have notified them and complain that it is a safety issue at the intersection.

Satzinger said that it had been brought to her attention and that she feels it is a public safety issue especially on Thursday nights during Hometown Thursdays.

Its a free-for-all on State Street, she said.

BFPD Chief Marlyn Pomrenke said that it had definitely been a safety hazard at times. It is difficult to use radar, though, since the distance is so short.

It would be a real pain in the rear to have to stop, said Councilman Fred Ager. At that point in the conversation, he was against putting a four-way stop at that corner, however, after hearing from the public and other opinions of council members, he changed his vote and said he would cast an aye for the signs.

Several members of the public commented that it was pretty simple to decide-it was a matter of public safety. One person brought out the idea that many drivers need to be cognizant of the handicapped. It takes a little more time to cross the intersection, he said.

Chief Pomrenke indicated that there should be stop signs at that corner.

It reflects public safety, Councilwoman Kayla Kinard said.

Councilman Monte Talkington told the council members that he had done an impromptu interview with several businesses downtown and the people shopping in the businesses.

Not one of them gave a yes, he said.

The council voted with seven ayes and 1 nay from Talkington.

A temporary sign will be placed in the middle of the intersection until permanent stop signs can be placed.

In other council business, kudos were given to the Belle Fourche police department for the great work that was done during the 4th of July celebration. Councilwoman Jessica Carmichael gave a thank you to the fire department volunteers who helped during the BH Roundup fireworks.

Her thanks were echoed by all the council members.

Police Chief Pomrenke said he was proud of the guys at the police department. He said they bring a lot of energy and practice good restraint. There were 212 calls from Friday to midnight Tuesday. He pointed out that there were probably 2000 people on 5th Street alone following the Monday night fireworks.

Kinard said, we have a very kind group in the police department.

*There was an approval of the American Wests Special Liquor license to serve the Museums Find Your Cowboy Spirit Fundraiser BBQ to be held July 22.

*805 Aurora Street was declared a nuisance.

*Henry Nore shared some insight with the council members during the Community Input. He cautioned citizens to not criticize the city or employees. The 8th Street construction project will be well worth the wait, he said. Respect the mayor, he said, someone needs to step up and help each one to work together.
TIMBER LAKE In their new novel, The Road Back to Thunder Hawk, George Gilland and Sharon Rasmussen take you along with Bob / Red Eagle as he travels from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation to the battlefields of Europe and into the lawless days of Prohibition.

Bobs father was a US Army sergeant serving in Dakota Territory, and his mother was a member of the Lakota tribe. As Bob grew up ranching on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, he was called Bob by some and Wanbli Luta, or Red Eagle, by others.

Though still haunted by the ghost of a crime he didnt commit, Bob decides that dollar-a-day army pay and a chance to fight for an America where he could not even vote was better than going broke ranching on his own. When the United States joins the Allies in World War I, he and his new friend Slim Summers sign up for the ambulance corps.

On a ship full of seasick doughboys crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 1917, Bob / Red Eagle meets up with others from Standing Rock. Then in the midst of trench warfare, he realizes his Lakota heritage gives him a unique skill. Bob and his friends from Indian boarding school improvise a secret code that the Kaisers German army has no hope of breaking on the battlefields of Verdun and Belleau Wood!

Will it be enough to keep them safe? Will the charming young Belgian doctor ease Bobs pain over a letter from home?

The Great War isnt the only challenge Bob faces in this thrilling sequel to Along the Trail to Thunder Hawk. This half-Lakota cowboy sets his sights on becoming a rancher once again, but banks were failing, cattle prices were low, and Prohibition hit the northern plains early and hard. Bob uses his WWI ambulance driving skills to outrun and outsmart federal Prohibition agents, especially one calling himself Two-Gun Hart. He also makes some questionable friends in Deadwood and Chicago, even a beautiful new friend who convinces him that maybe its time to make plans for the future.

While Bob looks to the future, writers George Gilland and Sharon Rasmussen also use him to examine the sins of the past. They chronicle the scars the governments appalling treatment of native tribes has left on native culture. The government tried to force the Lakota into following their civilized ways. But as Bob learns through WWI and his other experiences, theres nothing civilized about the world beyond the reservation.

We were privileged to be able to tell this authentic story with its unique Native American perspective on World War I and its aftermath in the 1920s, says George Gilland.
RAPID CITY Cadet Second Lieutenant Julia Lair, a member of the Sioux Falls Composite Squadron of the South Dakota Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, is working toward earning a private pilots license. In addition to many hours of study on the ground she is also required to complete numerous hours of in-the-air flight instruction. Her flying instructor is a also member of the Sioux Falls Composite Squadron, CAP Lieutenant Colonel Lair, who just also happens to be her dad, Colonel Greg Lair, Operations Group Commander of the 114th Fighter Wing of the South Dakota Air National Guard.
July 12, 1917

H. Quarnberg of Belle Fourche was in Newell between trains Saturday on a tour of inspection of the Tri-State Milling Companys interests here. He was well pleased with the showing made by the local men and is anxious for the opening of the new mill, for which everything is in readiness as soon as the power is brought in.

Clear Cypress, one and one-half inch thick, stock water tanks, six seams; 8 ft, 10 ft and 12 ft in diameter. See all at J. F. Anderson Lumber Company. They also carry the heaviest and smoothest galvanizing in American Fence.

July 14, 1927

An epidemic of robbing area dental offices, stealing material used for gold fillings, has now reached Deadwood, according to police officials who report Dr. W. L. Neil was robbed of $50 worth of materials.

Mrs. Rex Smith of the Redig vicinity had a narrow escape from death in an encounter with an enraged bull. Her eleven-year old son is credited with saving his mothers life, although she suffered numerous bruises and contusions. Mr. Smith, who was shearing at the Doud pens east of Newell near Fairpoint, was summoned home and immediately pronounced the death penalty on his bullship.

July 15, 1937

A meeting to consider ways and means for the acquisition of electric service in the Horse Creek neighborhood will be held at the Horse Creek School, July16 at 8:00. If a sufficient number from the Horse Creek community are interested in securing electric facilities, it is believed the Federal Rural Electrification Association (REA) will consider financing the project.

The Black Widow spider of the insect world is one of the nastiest of all creepy-crawlers, a murderous and dangerous female. Not only does she kill her husband when she has no further use for him, but she can kill a man  in fact, drop for drop, the Black Widows venom is more deadly than that of the rattlesnake. The Black Widow causes more human deaths than does the rattlesnake.

July 10, 1947

Harold Lauder, of Draper and Mrs. Maxine Lauder of Rapid City were air callers at the home of Mr. & Mrs. George Lickingteller northeast of Newell. It had been a number of years since the former had visited here, but he recognized the Lickingteller place from the air and set his plane down in the field west of the homestead.

The Cove Man at the COVE says an ice cream Sundae is the modern trend; come in and try their peanut butter blend. They also have packaged ice cream, lunches and fountain service. The hours are 7 AM to 11 PM for accommodations.

July 11, 1957

Joy Getty, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Robert Getty, suffered a dislocated shoulder in Belle Fourche on July 4th where she had gone to play with the Newell City Band in the Round-Up parade. She attempted to hang her band uniform on the backseat of the car, when she dislocated her right shoulder. She was taken to the hospital for treatment and kept overnight for observation. She has to carry her arm in a sling for 10 days.

Spraying weeds in corn fields after periods of extreme hot weather can damage the corn yield, says County Agent Leslie. Damage to corn occurs when in the silk stage, is sprayed after several days of 8590 degree heat; however corn sprayed after a period of cooler weather 6570 degrees suffers little or no damage.

July 13, 1977

George Harr took 2nd Place in the Pee-Wee Division boys and girls Sixth grade and under, of the one-half mile race July 3. Seventy five runners competed in the Thumb Hill Road Race held at New Castle, Wyo. They ran on a hilly county road in 85 degree heat while others ran 5 miles.

Policing public dances and enforcing curfew were items of discussion when Newell Commission met Monday evening. PolicemanTokley needs help during these dances, these people are very destructive and every year seems to get worse. Tokley needs some help or quit giving dances, you dont make that much when the hall is rented anyway was the consensus from the public. It was also noted the use of CBs is used to keep ahead of law enforcement.

July 15, 1987

Faith Stock Show & Rodeo Queen Contest is scheduled for August 79. Young women between the ages of 1522, single (and never married) are invited to participate. Newell has had their share of beauty queens at Faiths annual show, title holders were Dee Dee (Jensen) Page 1966 and Susan (White) Fettig 1970.

Marge Reder played in the Belle Fourche Cowboy Band July 4 and helped with the Cowbelles Beef Promotion Carcass Cut-up. Guests at the Reder home over the 4th weekend were Amy Larsons brothers and families; Bill & Thelma Kent of Kansas

City, MO; Jack & Mollie Kent of Denver, CO and Frank Kent, Sioux Falls.

July 9, 1997

The Newell School District buses have been barred from the highways and barred from hauling passengers until they meet state specifications, School Board Chairman Brad Brunner announced last week. Six buses have a sticker on the windshield reading Out of Service: this vehicle was inspected and placed out of service because of unsafe conditions. Vehicle is not to be used until all the defects are repaired. The buses failed because of the emergency brakes were not working properly, the exhaust systems were out of compliance and other assorted violations.
For 45 years, Nebraskas Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) have been protecting lives, property and future of this beautiful state. July 1 marked the 45th anniversary of the creation of the NRD system in Nebraska. With the local public participation, Nebraska has made monumental progress in all 23 NRDs with soil and water conservation and protection efforts.

Nebraskas natural resources are precious and need to be protected, said Jim Bendfeldt, president of the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts. We commend the public for working with their local NRD to protect the natural resources for future generations. They need clean water to drink, nutrient-rich soil to grow food to sustain Nebraskas economic viability.

The Nebraska Legislature enacted Legislative Bill (LB) 1357 in 1969 to combine Nebraskas 154 special purpose entities into the Natural Resources Districts by July 1972. The 23 NRDs were organized based on the states major river basins. Each District has a publicly-elected board that makes local management decisions to help conserve our valuable natural resources and groundwater. Throughout the decades, the NRDs have worked with landowners to protect natural resources, provided and protected public water supplies, assisted urban and rural areas with flood control, provided recreation opportunities and have planted more than 95 million trees throughout Nebraska.

The Natural Resources Districts are celebrating this amazing milestone, said Bendfeldt. Other states are struggling with water and soil management because they do not have a local NRD system to provide opportunities for local citizens to protect natural resources. Without the NRDs, Nebraska would be in the extremely tough situation we see so many other states dealing with right now. With the NRD system, we have clean water, good soil and wonderful, hardworking people who believe in this states success and future.

Here are several facts about the Nebraskas natural resources as we look back on the last 45 years of success:

Groundwater

Nebraska is #1 in irrigated acres while maintaining groundwater levels at pre-developed levels.

Nebraskas center pivot manufacturers work closely with the NRDs and help lead the charge by creating and manufacturing more efficient irrigation systems.

Nebraska farmers and ranchers work with the NRD on water quality and quantity management to protect this valuable resource for future generations.

Wise management of the water resources also helps Nebraska agriculture lead the nation in several categories. We are #1 in cattle on feed and commercial red meat production, #2 in ethanol production, #3 in corn production, #5 in soybean production and # 6 in swine production.

Nebraskas Natural Resources Districts work with private landowners to monitor thousands of wells across the state each year for groundwater quality and quantity.

Flood Control

There are hundreds of effective NRD flood control programs and activities across Nebraska directed at keeping our floodplains safer and reducing the potential for loss of life and property.

Districts construct and maintain watershed structures or dams to help reduce the effects of flood damage during large rain events.

Levee systems are also operated and maintained by the districts to protect property and lives.

By installing this structures, thousands of homes and businesses have been removed from the federal floodplain maps saving those millions in federal flood insurance premiums and liability.

Forestry

NRDs have planted more than 95 million trees since 1972.

Trees shade and shelter homes, reduce energy costs, protect and increase crop yields, reduce soil erosion caused by water and wind, improve water quality, control snow and preserve winter moisture, protect livestock, provide food and cover for wildlife, control noise, capture atmospheric carbon, raise property values, and add beauty to our landscape.

Check out http://www.nrdtrees.org for more information on tree planting and species available for purchase by each NRD.

Soil

NRDs assist landowners to make implement conservation practices to reduce soil erosion, improve soil health and improve surface water quality.

NRDs work with state and federal agencies to modify programs to fit local resources needs.

Best management practices, terraces, waterways, filter strips, and buffer strips all help to improve the quality of surface water in a watershed.

Recreation

There are over 80 recreation areas across the state run by the NRDs. These areas include public access lakes, trails, and wildlife areas. Theres something for every outdoor enthusiast to enjoy!

Please visit http://www.nrdrec.org for more information on the amenities and recreation opportunities in your area!

Education

The NRDs work closely with the University of Nebraska Research and Extension to help improve farming and ranching practices that save soil, protect grass lands and protect water resources.

The NRDs work with local schools, 4-H, FFA and local natural resources science clubs to provide additional natural resources education and information programs.

Visit https://www.nrdnet.org/nrds for more information about local NRDs and programs to protect natural resources.

Visit http://www.nrdstories.org for more information on important individuals critical to the history and formation of the NRDs.
Dawes County Treasurer Barb Sebesta was found guilty Tuesday of three counts of official misconduct as part of a plea deal she struck with the states Attorney General Office. Now she needs to take it one step farther and resign from her elected position. If she doesnt, the Dawes County Commissioners need to take action.

Sebestas conviction stems from altering a taxpayers check without permission, and failing to collect sales tax and sales tax forms

The problems were all uncovered in a surprise audit conducted by the state after they were tipped off to the forgery of the taxpayers check. During the audit process, Sebesta admitted to the improper actions and to knowing they were a violation of state law, a key component of an official misconduct conviction. The audit also uncovered other problems, including failing to maintain trust balances in a timely fashion and depositing bond forfeitures into the improper fund.

Ive heard several comments since the audit was released that Sebestas actions should be overlooked because shes a nice woman who was trying to help taxpayers and who didnt cause any real harm with her actions.

I couldnt disagree more. The taxpayer who was expecting to have $85 withdrawn from his account certainly was harmed when $850 was removed instead. School districts were harmed when money they were entitled to by law was instead deposited into the countys general fund. And every single taxpayer in Dawes County has been harmed financially by the three state audits that have been required since Sebesta took office in 2010.

The Dawes County Commissioners requested the first state audit for the FY 2011-12 because it became apparent that Sebestas office was making numerous mistakes; the countys regular auditor made the suggestion after seeing several red flags. The issues uncovered during that initial state audit were enough to prompt the Auditors Office to require the county to submit to a second audit the next year, after which the county returned to its regular process of soliciting bids for the annual audit. Without state oversight, errors and improper actions in Sebestas office spiked again.

Those three state audits cost county taxpayers nearly $50,600. Had the county been able to hire a private firm selected through a bid process, it would have paid roughly $33,000 based on the cost for the last county audit by a private firm.

While she may, indeed, be a nice woman who was trying to help select taxpayers, that is beside the point. As an elected official, the public placed their trust in Sebesta. Her job is not to give a chosen few taxpayers a break by bending or overlooking the rules, its to uphold that trust and enforce the rules equally. She, like all public officials, should be held to a higher standard of conduct.

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Dawes County Treasurer Barb Sebesta was found guilty on three counts of official misconduct Tuesday as part of a plea bargain with the state. Four other counts, including one of forgery and three others of official misconduct, were dismissed.

Sebesta will be sentenced Sept. 8 at 9 a.m. While there was no agreement to sentencing in the plea bargain, it does stipulate that Sebesta must pay $546.27 in restitution to the City of Chadron for vehicle sales tax related to one of the official misconduct counts that was dismissed. The deal also says the facts of all seven counts will be provided to the judge to consider during sentencing.

Sebesta entered no contest pleas to the three counts of official misconduct, and Judge Randin Roland found her guilty based upon the facts of the case after Sebesta took a brief moment to consult with her attorney, Amanda Vogl, before affirming her no contest pleas. Each official misconduct charge is a Class II misdemeanor and can carry a penalty of up to six months in jail and up to $1,000 in fines.

The factual basis presented in Dawes County Court Tuesday provided additional insight into some of the incidents uncovered during a state audit last year. According to the court document, the forgery was uncovered when First National Bank North Platte discovered that the countys deposit slip, prepared by Sebesta was $766 less than the amount of the checks in the deposit. The bank adjusted the deposit slip and notified Sebesta, who in turn informed a teller at the bank that she had altered the check without the customers permission. The bank reversed the deposit, allowing the customer to recover the $766 incorrectly taken from his account.

The banks assistant branch manager, Brenda Morford, informed Sebesta altering checks is considered forgery; Sebesta responded that she was trying to help the customer and said she had done the same thing on previous occasions.

Another bank employee, Delores Ray, told investigators that Sebesta came to the bank after the charge to the customers account had been reversed and asked FNB to place the funds back in the treasurers account because she couldnt balance her books. According to the court document, Sebesta told Ray, This guy came in and he made a payment and when I was going through the checks it looked like $851, so I changed it. Then I found it wasnt $851 and it should have been $85.

When told again that she is not allowed by law to alter checks, Sebesta said, Well, I only do that for  well, an example would be if someone came in and wrote a check for $10 to pay their taxes and it shouldve been $100, so Ill change a customers check because I dont want them to get penalized.

The two other counts Sebesta was found guilty of dealt with vehicle sales tax and sales tax forms. In one instance Sebesta didnt collect sales tax until two months after the vehicle was registered, and in another she allowed the owner of an ATV to delay filing a sales and use tax statement. A staff member in the Dawes County Treasurers office told investigators she remembered the incident and said that on more than one occasion Sebesta allowed taxpayers to either not pay sales tax or pay it late.

Last years state audit was the third such audit since 2011.

The Dawes County Commissioners requested and paid for a state audit for the fiscal year 2011-12 after it became clear that errors were likely occurring in the Treasurers Office. The results of that first audit forced the county to make $38,000 in line item corrections because monies had been coded incorrectly to the wrong funds. A follow-up state audit the next year, required by the Auditors Office because of the results of the first audit, showed no significant concerns, but last years investigation turned up the multiple instances of official misconduct.

Sebesta was elected as the Dawes County Treasurer in November 2010. Previously, she worked in the office as a clerk. County records show she was hired in April 2004 and indicate her date of termination as June 4, 2010. She appeared on the general election ballot that fall by petition and defeated Lois Chizek by 64 votes.
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. | Its no secret that the military can ask a lot from service members as well as their families.

It is not uncommon for a military family to experience a permanent change of station, a temporary duty assignment or even a deployment during an Airmans time in service.

Airmen are trained and equipped with the proper resources to handle what can be a stressful life change for some, but what about their spouses? Their children?

This is where the Airman and Family Readiness Center comes in to play.

(Here at the Airman and Family Readiness Center) our mission is to be available for the needs of the service member, but in doing so also we have the greater mission of supporting their loved ones, said Shawn Belk, AFRC work and life specialist.

According to Belk, the AFRC is available and ready to welcome newcomers, provide information and be an all-around resource to service members and spouses.

The AFRC welcomes both new spouses to the base as well as spouses who are already at Malmstrom. The length of time on station does not contribute to whether or not an individual can receive a helping hand from Malmstroms supporting agencies.

We offer employment assistance, resume writing, life consultations and budgeting assistance to name a few, Belk said. We want to help those who are new to the (military), and remain a constant in the lives of our community.

For Vanessa Tramill, a California native and military spouse, the toughest challenge she faced in becoming a new military spouse was leaving her family and friends back home.

When we first moved here, I was a little scared of what to expect, she said. This was the first time I had ever been this far away from my family, but I was excited to start the next chapter with my husband.

The AFRC, as well as other helping agencies on base, are familiar with the struggles newcomers to the military lifestyle can have. At the AFRC, there are several individuals who are specifically trained in multiple areas of expertise to help families deal with the sudden change and to act as a support system for the spouses who may be separated from their active-duty member due to duty requirements.

According to Belk, the best advice he thinks spouses need to hear is to get involved early and often in different things going on around base.

I have gotten out, made friends and experienced things I would have never experienced if I were still in California, Tramill said. My husbands co-workers have been really helpful and supportive as well.

Reaching out, providing avenues and employing the right people in the right places to guide and mentor newcomers and their families is a priority for Malmstrom. With the help of the AFRC, the wing is able to uphold the home front mission as well as the nuclear enterprise mission.

For more ways to get involved or to stay abreast with daily Malmstrom activities and groups, visit the Malmstrom Air Force Base Facebook page, visit the AFRC in Building 800 or call 731-4900.
HOT SPRINGS  At the suggestion of County Commissioner Paul Nabholz, Fall River County Commissioners unanimously approved adding verbiage to the countys banking policy that would allow the county to add any properly insured bank to the countys list of official banks it might use.

Nabholz pitched the idea to the commissioners that since Senate Bill 86 (SB86), which allowed the county to invest its funds anywhere, so long as those funds are in accounts insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, and only in the amount covered by this insurance, unless the institution qualifies as a depository, the county should open itself up to take advantage of higher earning rates in banks other than those in Fall River County.

Nabholz made the motion to change the verbiage, and Commissioner Joe Falkenburg seconded this, to open discussion on it, he said.

Falkenburg asked County Treasurer Kelli Rhoe if she was comfortable with doing this.

Rhoe said yes.

Commissioner Deb Russell said Rhoe convinced her this was a good thing, and noted that if the state passed a law that it believed wouldnt jeopardize the countys funds, she was for it, and she liked the idea.

Commissioner Ann Abbott also agreed, but she wanted to be sure the money would be available if the county needed it.

Nabholz said he viewed SB 86 as allowing the county to invest its funds in any collateralized bank operating in South Dakota, and suggested the county consider the First National Bank of Lead, owned by a former Governors family, Insured Cash Sweep (ISC) account for public funds, to deposit some county checking funds into. Nabholz said money in this account can be withdrawn at any time with no penalty and since the account is earning 1 percent interest, this would top the .45 percent interest paid by First Interstate Bank and the .05 percent interest paid by Bank of the West, two current county banks, both in Hot Springs.

He also pitched investing some of the $2.76 million the county has in checking and money markets accounts, transferring some of this from First Interstate Bank to the Lead banks ISC to create less hassle for Rhoe in juggling accounts which would earn the most interest. In addition, he suggested drawing down the countys checking account to $700,000, the approximate amount used between April and September tax collections to run the countys business, and investing this in the ICS to earn more money.

The commissioners unanimously approved the changes in the county banking policy, and adding First National Bank of Lead to the countys list of official banks, but didnt specify any amount of transfer of funds.

In other business, the commissioners heard from several organizations and States Attorney Jim Swords office on budget considerations:

Sword noted a 120 percent increase in the number of cases the states attorneys office was handling, yet the office was able to be more efficient thanks to new computer software for handling case files and ankle bracelet monitoring systems that save money on prison costs. Still, Sword said, his office is at the breaking point, due to the extra case load. He noted a murder trial coming up this year, which will cost the county quite a bit of money, and the influx of meth and Mexican marijuana coming up from Denver adding to the caseload and the expenses of his office.

Sword also pointed out how the county is cutting some potential criminal problems off at the pass thanks to its efforts in helping kids. He mentioned the diversion program for juvenile offenders; after school programs offered by the Boys & girls Club; and school-level efforts to turn troubled teens around, like welding programs at Hot Springs and Oelrichs, and the principals efforts at Edgemont. In that same light, he talked about how a recent adoption put an at-risk child from a broken home in a good adoptive home, potentially short-circuiting future problems for this child. The child will never know what the county did for him, Sword said, but this is a step in the right direction. When juvenile detention costs $200 per day, and general jail costs are $80 per day, keeping people out of jail makes sense.

Brad Keizer of South Dakota State Universitys Extension office and 4-H leader, said he was basically looking for the same amount from the county in 2018, with maybe $500 extra for travel. As his program grows, his travel increases, Keizer said.

Michelle Brock, of Battle Mountain Humane Society, pitched two things to the commissioners: One was a $2,500 immediate request to fund a Portacool air conditioner for the animal shelters main kennel building. Brock said this was recommended as the cheapest way to cool the 40 x 99 foot building. The unit works by running water through a large, radiator-like cooling tower, behind which a fan blows the cooled air out. She said shed tried swamp coolers at the shelter but these didnt work and rusted the fencing. The second item she pitched was to become the countys animal control for dogs and cats in Fall River County for a flat fee of $800 per month.

The commissioners also heard from representatives of: the Empower Coalition, an anti-drug and alcohol effort; Women Escaping A Violent Environment (WEAVE), a domestic violence shelter for families.

The commissioners took no action on these items but will consider them at future meetings.

Also, the commissioners:

Worried about $717,000 federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) monies coming to county in 2017, $650,000 were received last year. This money is a federal payment for government lands, like national forests or grasslands, that are not taxed by the county. If lost  and this could take place given federal budget cuts  county would be out a substantial chunk of change. The county used this money in the past to fund Boys & Girls Club efforts in Hot Springs on Fridays during the school year and programs during summer, also Edgemont YMCA funding. While U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke notified the county that it should be receiving the $717.000, there was concern this wouldnt take place. A hearing for this has been set for July 18 at 10:30 a.m.

Discussed on the Chilson Bridge issue  the bridge was closed on old Hwy. 18, now County Road 18  after chunks of concrete fell from the bridge on to the Mickelson Trail while the bridge was being inspected. Falkenburg said the bridge being closed presented a problem if people became trapped behind it during a fire, or if another rock tumbled onto the roadway from Gull Hill. Falkenburg suggested a letter to the state from the county noting that the county was not responsible for closing the road to alleviate some responsibility, should anything happen. Nabholz wondered if the barriers across the bridge couldnt be moved in the event of an emergency.

Emergency Manager Frank Maynard reported on 15 lighting strike fires that took place between June 21 and July 3. Maynard said the county really needs a Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) plane stationed locally in order to fight these fires. He also noted that a lack of volunteer firefighters has resulted in sometimes on four to five people in the county who can respond to a fire. We have lots of engines, he said, but sometimes no one to run them.
Just over two years ago, while walking on a pier in San Francisco with her dad, Kate Steinle was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant with a criminal past and a record of deportations.

I firmly believe the federal government has limited constitutional responsibilities, but establishing justice and insuring domestic tranquility are among the few authorities that were engraved into our founding documents first sentence. In recent decades, however, the federal government has fallen through on these responsibilities when it comes to enforcing our immigration laws, and the loss of Kate is just one example of the consequences for that.

Kates killer had already been deported five times when he opened fire on July 1, 2015. Certainly, more must be done to secure our border, including building a more robust wall and giving border patrol agents the resources and technologies needed to create a more impenetrable barrier. And without question, the laws already on the books need to be better enforced.

But I also believe our laws could be stronger too.

Shortly before the two-year anniversary of Kates murder, I joined the House in passing Kates Law, which would significantly toughen the punishment for illegal immigrants who re-enter the country. While I believe we could go even farther with these punishments, Kates Law is a good first step.

San Francisco, where Kates murder took place, is also one of more than 300 so-called sanctuary cities that openly refuse to turn over criminal illegal immigrants to federal law enforcement.

Kates killer had seven felony convictions at the time of the murder. Less than four months before Kates death, he was turned over to San Francisco authorities for an outstanding drug warrant. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked that he be kept in custody until immigration agents could get there, but because San Francisco is a sanctuary city, he was released. This should never have happened. So, in addition to Kates Law, I helped pass the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, which cracks down on sanctuary cities like San Francisco by withholding valuable federal grants from them.

While the Senate will debate the legislation next, President Trump has already announced his support for both bills.

This is just the beginning. Ive also cosponsored the SMART Act, which would authorize additional personnel and new technologies to help secure the border, and Ive backed legislation to help stop the drug trafficking thats contributed to South Dakotas drug abuse and violent crime increases.

Kate should have never lost her life on that pier in 2015. Her killer should have never been in this country  let alone, running free within it. We have to be stronger when it comes to enforcing the laws on the books, but we also have a constitutional responsibility to make sure the laws on the books are strong enough to keep our families and communities safe
CACTUS FLAT | A high-ranking U.S. Air Force officer who formerly served as a missileer in western South Dakota said Tuesday that the leader of North Korea is not irrational.

Im not so certain Kim Jong Un is crazy, Maj. Gen. Fred Stoss said to the Journal. Hes calculating.

Hopefully, Stoss is right. Because he repeatedly suggested to an audience of about 50 at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site near Wall that the nations immunity from a nuclear attack depends partly on sound decisions by enemy leaders.

Stoss delivered a slideshow review of the history of nuclear weapons and the current status of the nations nuclear arsenal. That arsenal consists of a triad of nuclear weaponry that can be launched from the land, sea and air.

Stoss said each leg of the triad has strengths and limitations, but the limitations of one are mitigated by strengths of the others. He said enemy leaders know it would be impossible to take out all three legs at once, and that knowledge  along with the fear of a retaliatory strike  prevents them from launching a nuclear attack.

The adversaries know: dont take this force on, Stoss said during his presentation. Because if you do, youre not going to like it.

Of course, that theory depends on enemy leaders thinking rationally, at least in regard to nuclear war. Many in the world question whether Kim meets that description, especially since July 4, when he conducted his first test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The test stoked fears that Kim will eventually develop nuclear missiles that could reach the United States.

While Stoss was in South Dakota on Tuesday saying Kim is not irrational, U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., was on the Senate floor saying, Kim Jong-Un has not shown much of an inclination toward rationality." That's according to the prepared text of Thunes remarks, which his office sent to the media.

Thune added that the United States needs to keep emphatically reminding the North Korean leader that his regime would not survive a war on the Korean Peninsula.

Among the retaliatory options for the United States are 450 Minuteman missiles split among underground silos in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska. Missiles were removed from South Dakota silos during the early 1990s, following the signing of an arms-reduction treaty by the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

A formerly active silo and launch-control facility near Wall have been preserved as historic sites. Tours of the silo  which contains an unarmed missile  and the launch facility can be arranged at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Sites visitor center, about 20 miles east of Wall at Interstate 90 exit 131. The visitor center also contains interactive displays about the history of nuclear arms and the Cold War.

After his presentation at the visitor center, Stoss planned to visit the launch facility for the first time since he was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City from 1988 to 1992. He was one of the missileers who regularly drove out from the base to man the facilities and await a launch command from the president.

Stoss is now stationed at the headquarters of the Air Force Global Strike Command at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, where he is director of operations and communications. The Global Strike Command is responsible for the nations three remaining Minuteman missile wings and all of the Air Forces bomber planes, including the B-1s stationed at Ellsworth.
Rancher Tim Amdahl knows its going to rain. He just doesnt know when. But rather than wait it out, Amdahl is asking God for help.

Amdahl Angus Ranch is one of six sponsors of the Pray for Rain Campaign taking place today at John Witherspoon College. The event comes in response to ongoing drought conditions across Pennington County and other regions of the state. Event sponsors are asking everyone to pause at 7 p.m. and pray for rain.

The idea came when Amdahl, whose ranch is located 12 miles north of Rapid City, shared his desperation over the drought with BigHorn Canyon Community Church Pastor Scott Craig.

The two contacted friends, organizations and Amy Wagner, the state coordinator for the National Day of Prayer, for support. Were praying for rain and that our parched land would be relieved and watch it come alive again, Amdahl said.

According to Great Plains Fire Information, there have been 156 wildland fires in the Black Hills area and nearby prairies so far this year. Forty-six of those fires occurred in June and 54 happened within the first 11 days of July.

Amdahl said that without rain, ranchers like himself cant produce enough feed for cattle and will be forced to buy it at high prices. This is the second year in a row South Dakota has faced drought conditions, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.

By mid-August of last year, about 50 percent of the state was in at least moderate drought. This July, the percentage has risen to almost 60.

In response to the drought conditions, the Pennington County Commission on Tuesday unanimously adopted a declaration of a local emergency.

The agricultural producers in Pennington County are taking a really huge hit in their industry, said Pennington County Emergency Management Director Dustin Willet.

The emergency declaration is intended primarily to help farmers who are experiencing losses, Willet said. By approving the measure, the commissioners jump-started a process that begins with Gov. Dennis Daugaard notifying federal authorities of the need in Pennington County and ends with some sort of relief, likely from a program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In other words, were sending a message that we need help, said Pennington County Commissioner Mark DiSanto.

Pennington County has sought a declaration of a local emergency related to drought conditions at least three times in the last five years, according to Willet.

The USDA authorized counties within a 150-mile radius of drought-affected areas for additional grazing at the beginning of July. SDSU Extension is providing resources and information on their site, iGrow.org, to aid those affected by drought. Resources include water conservation tips and drought updates.

Craig says this isnt the first time people have asked God for rain. A majority number of people still believe theres a God and the answer is prayer.

The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance, first commissioned by Congress, to encourage people to pray on the first Thursday in May. Wagner contacted leaders from the national observance to try and raise awareness for the local campaign.

Maybe well have the whole nation praying, which is good, Wagner said.

But for Amdahl, prayer isnt a special occasion. He said hell be praying after today, too.

No matter when the rain comes, Amdahl said, we continue to pray.
MOSCOW, July 12 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov)  A prosecutor has requested to sentence defendants in the case over the murder of prominent Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov to prison terms varying from 17 years to life, RAPSI reports from the Moscow District Military Court on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Maria Semenenko asked the court to sentence alleged killer of Nemtsov, Zaur Dadayev, to life. She also demanded a 23-year prison term for Anzor Gubashev, a 21-year prison sentence for Shadid Gubashev, 19 years in prison for Temirlan Eskerkhanov and 17 years for Khamzat Bakhayev. The prosecutor believes that all defendants, except for Zaur Dadayev, must serve their time in a high-security penal colony.

Semenenko also asked the court to fine each defendant 200,000 rubles (about $3,300) and to restrict freedom of Eskerkhanov, Bakhayev and Gubashev brothers for additional two years.

During the hearings, the prosecutor noted that there are mitigating factors for certain defendants, such as positive characteristics and young children.

Bakhayevs lawyer Zaurbek Sadakhanov asked the judge to pardon his client. A lawyer representing Nemtsovs family also reinforced previously stated opinion that there is not enough evidence to prove Bakhayevs guilt.

Dadayevs lawyer asked to disband the jury panel to remove all doubt about his clients guilt. Other lawyers asked to pardon their clients or mitigate their sentences.

Ruling in the case is expected to be announced on July 13.

In late June, jurors found all the defendants guilty of involvement in the politicians murder and illegal trafficking in firearms and ammunition. According to the verdict, they did not deserve leniency.

The jury panel stated that one of defendants, Dadayev, conspired with others, was stalking and collecting data on Nemtsov, prepared murder and killed the politician himself, shooting his victim at least six times from an unidentified gun.

Boris Nemtsov, 55, a prominent opposition politician, who held a number of high-ranking posts in the Russian government in the 1990s and in the 2000s joined the opposition, was shot down in the center of Moscow as he walked across a bridge near the Kremlin on the night of February 28, 2015.

Investigators believe that the conspirators in the murder had thoroughly prepared to commit this crime and spied on the victim.

Five men have been charged with contract murder, illegal acquisition, carrying and keeping of weapons.

Ruslan Mukhudinov, a former officer in Chechen Interior Ministry, is believed to be a mastermind of the murder. He was placed on the international wanted list in November 2015. Beslan Shavanov, who allegedly was also implicated in the crime, reportedly killed himself when police tried to arrest him.

Criminal prosecution of Shavanov was dismissed because of his death. Investigation into Mukhudinov is underway.
HELENA  The Montana Historical Society released a plan on Wednesday to potentially meet a 16 percent budget cut.

The amount slashed from the budget is determined by a bill passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Steve Bullock to trigger certain cuts if state tax revenues arent met. The Historical Society is one of several agencies that could face cuts if Montana doesnt reach $2.18 billion by June 30, the end of fiscal year 2018.

The $600,000 in cuts triggered by a shortage of revenue is in addition to cuts already established by the Legislature for $400,000.

Bruce Whittenberg, executive director of the Montana Historical Society, has said the agency is preparing for the worst case scenario. In the plan, which would go into effect August 18, 24 staff members would see reduced hours, be asked to retire or have a change in responsibilities. A total of eight full or part-time employees will be laid off.

In addition to staff reductions, certain programs will be scaled back including:

No guided tours of the Capitol Building

Altered and shorter museum hours

Thursday evening public programs will be discontinued

Some fee increases for services, fewer staff to process requests resulting in delays

No public hours to view photo archives. Services by appointment only.

Reduction in public relations and marketing efforts

All services and programs outside of Helena involving travel expenses will be reduced



Other agencies facing reductions include the Montana State Library which will likely lose services for people with vision impairment and physical disabilities, mental health services, delay of payments to schools and rates paid to providers for low-income healthcare.
STEVENSVILLE  A new temporary boat launch on the Bitterroot River could be open to the public in about two weeks, barring unforeseen complications.

On Monday night, the town council authorized Mayor Jim Crews to proceed with the project, which will replace the boat launch on private property that was closed earlier this summer. The approval had a couple of caveats. The town attorney and the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority need to review the project to ensure the town isnt liable in case of an accident, and they need to have a permit from the Ravalli County Floodplain Manager.

The town also needs to continue working with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to build a permanent fishing access site to the Bitterroot, council members noted. FWP previously earmarked $250,000 for the work, but that will be a much lengthier effort than the temporary access.

Crews said they dont need a permit from the Army Corp of Engineers, which often also can be a lengthy process. Nathan Green with the Corps wrote in a July 7 email that if the project is constructed as designed, avoiding all fill in the Bitterroot River and the nearby wetlands, the project can be constructed without a Department of the Army (DA) 404 Permit.

A comment period on the proposal ends July 23, and if Ravalli County Floodplain Manager Brian Wilkinson decides that no new issues are raised, his conditional approval could result in a county floodplain permit being issued.

After that, Crews said it will take the city streets and alleys crew about two days to widen the existing foot path at Stevensvilles River Park enough that a vehicle and boat trailer can pull in and back into the water. Parking would be in the existing parking area.

Its nothing elaborate, Crews said on Tuesday. We are trying to have a minimal impact on the park and users there. But it is a public park, and the public is everybody.

During Mondays meeting, about a dozen people spoke in favor of moving the popular boat launch about 300 yards downstream. The area where the boat launch previously had been located is private property, and the owner was concerned about liability if someone was injured.

Alec Underwood with the Montana Wildlife Federation brought a letter to the council signed by about 70 citizens from the Bitterroot and beyond, voicing their concerns over the closed access site. He noted that people are still either trying to use the closed launch on the east side of the river, or are going up or down the steep embankment on the west.

Having this site shut down completely not only causes a shift in pressure to other parts of the river, it presents a major safety concern for those floaters trying to launch their boats on the west side of the river with no appropriate access site, Underwood said.

Crews added that he saw one man try to pull his boat up the west side embankment, only to have a rope snap and come close to injuring him.

Its a 5-foot bank at 90 degrees, Crews said. He had to reposition his boat, it got snagged and pulled the boat nose off, and the cable went flying back to the truck. If he was standing closer he would have been injured.

Others mentioned that the lack of access was having an economic impact on area businesses, and urged the council to move forward with the temporary access for this summer.

That access provides an economic windfall for this entire community, said Sean OBrien, owner of Osprey Outfitters and Flyshop in Hamilton. Fishing tourists, he said, "spend money in restaurants, buy ice  you cant swing a cat in this town without hitting a business thats greatly related to that access.

More information regarding the proposal is available at the Ravalli County Planning Department at 215 So. 4th St. in Hamilton. Comments can be mailed, hand-delivered or emailed to planning@rc.mt.gov by 5 p.m. July 23.
BUTTE  More than 48 years after his plane was shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War, the uncertainty about Air Force Capt. Robert Edwin Holton of Butte is over.

Holtons remains, which were excavated from the crash site earlier this year and verified recently, are in a sealed casket in Honolulu and will soon be on their way to Butte, Holtons brother, Bill, confirmed Tuesday.

After 48 years, Capt. Holton is finally coming home to Butte, Bill Holton, who still lives in Butte, told The Montana Standard.

Holton was Buttes lone service member missing in action from Vietnam. People across the country have worn MIA bracelets in his honor, some dating back to 1969  the year his plane went down.

Bill said his brothers casket would be flown from Honolulu to Atlanta to Minneapolis and arrive in Bozeman on Friday, July 21. It will be driven from there to Butte later that day.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 22, at Wayrynen-Richards Funeral Home, with burial to follow at Sunset Memorial Park 13 miles west of Butte.

There will be a captain from the Air Force accompanying his casket all the way here, Bill said. The Air Force has been wonderful to us all these years. They never stopped looking.

He said someone from the Air Force called in January to say a tooth identified as belonging to Air Force Maj. William Campbell had been discovered in Laos, and they were trying to locate the precise spot his plane crashed.

Campbell and Holton were in a F4 Phantom, a fighter-bomber and interceptor, when they were shot down on Jan. 29, 1969, near the Ho Chi Minh Trail near the border of Laos and Vietnam.

The crash site was pinpointed earlier this year and after excavation work, some teeth were found and later identified as Holtons. One of his dog tags also was found at the site, Bill said.

The Air Force called again in June and said it was definitely Bobs remains, he said.

The call came the day before Bill and his wife, Judy, flew to Washington, D.C. in June for an annual meeting of the National League of POW/MIA Families. The organization is dedicated to obtaining the release of all POWs and finding and repatriating the remains of anyone who died in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

Campbell and Holton were returning from North Vietnam aside another fighter plane when they peeled off near the Mu Gia Pass, one of several passageways through mountainous terrain leading to the Ho Chi Minh Trail, to bomb a truck convoy.

Their plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and went down. The pilot of the other fighter, himself under heavy enemy fire, later reported that he did not detect any radio signals from Holtons plane or parachutes, but he did see an explosion.

Holton and Williams were initially classified as Missing in Action, since it was possible they survived the crash and were captured. In 1973, when U.S. soldiers started returning home, his status varied  from MIA to Killed in Action, Bill Holton said two years ago.

On Jan. 9, 1974, the Secretary of the Air Force approved a presumptive finding of death and changed Holtons status to Died while Missing/Body not Recovered.

It is a relief to finally know that his brother died in the crash and did not suffer, Bill said Tuesday.

It was a happy thing they found him, but it still brings up all these things we went through in the past 48 years, he said.

But it came too late for their father, Ed Holton.

He had always hoped to get definitive answers about his sons death, but never did. The elder Holton, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, died on June 9, 2015, at age 97.

Robert Bob Holton was born April 8, 1941. He was a natural born musician who played saxophone, piano and clarinet, and he and his band Aces of Rhythm played area school dances and youth centers in the late 1950s.

He graduated from Butte High School in 1959 and received his private pilots license while attending the University of Montana, where he was an ROTC Outstanding Military Cadet who graduated with a full commission. He earned a business degree in 1965.

Bob married Diane Eck, one of Bills 1962 Butte High classmates. The couple did not have children.

Bob, Bill, and Bills wife Judy were especially close. As fate would have it, all three shared the same birthday: April 8. They celebrated together every chance they got, the last time on their birthday in 1968, Bill said.

His brother was supposed to be home for Christmas later that year, but didnt make it. He was killed a month later.

Bill said family members planned to be at the service in Butte and there likely would be lots of Bobs lifelong friends, too. He has been told that an Honor Guard from an Air Force base in Great Falls will be there, and there might be a military flyover.

Besides that, Bill said, We dont know what to expect. This is all new to us, too.

Bill said his brothers remains are in the casket, along with his full uniform and medals. The Air Force allows family to have the casket unsealed so they can put additional items in, he said, but there are no plans to do that.
Warren Buffett is known to have said Someones sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. Benjamin Franklin once said, If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Those are two of my favorite quotes about the value of planning for the future. As citizens of a still young nation, we owe it to future generations to think about what kind of country we will pass on to them. Will we plant a tree so that they have some shade to sit under when they need it, or will there be no tree at all because we said we cant afford it, its too hard, or because we cant agree on what kind of tree to plant?

That is what came to mind when I recently visited the Bitterroot River. At the Stevensville Bridge, I saw for the first time signs announcing that the area between the River Park road and the river will be closed to the public on June 15. The riverside area, where people from all over the county, state, and probably the nation have played for decades, will no longer be available as a place to enjoy with family and friends on a hot summer day. While there, a stranger asked me what I knew about the situation. I told him the facts, as best I know them. However, I didnt say what I was thinking: Instead of facing even less access to the river, why arent we preparing for the grand opening of an even bigger park there instead?

The unnecessary conflict around this area could be a great case study of what happens when an area increases in population and our government has not planned ahead to provide the needed services and facilities a larger population requires. As citizens, we have not demanded that the state or the county do the planning needed to ensure the kind of valley we enjoy today will be there for our children tomorrow. We think that just because we have access to certain lands today or that we think the valley is a great place to live because its scenic, or its quiet, or that its dark; it will always be this way.

To my knowledge the county is not planning to ensure that the valley we all love today will resemble anything like it in the future. Is there any transportation planning occurring in our valley? Is anyone thinking about available and clean water for the next 100,000 residents? Will our children be able to bicycle safely to and from school?

Unless we plan a different future, we are on the same trajectory to become just like all those other places from which many valley residents escaped to live here.

In my opinion, the controversy surrounding the Stevensville Fishing Access site stems from the fact that the recreation needs of the Bitterroot Valley are not being met by either the county or the state. Public property, above the high-water mark that can be accessed and enjoyed for activities other than fishing, is almost non-existent in the Bitterroot Valley. Although we are fortunate the state has a source of funding to develop fishing access sites for launching a boat into the river; fishing access sites are not parks. They do not fulfill the space or facilities needs required by more intense or other recreational uses. Fishing access sites are only part of the solution of providing sufficient recreation facilities for the public.

Unfortunately, our county does not have adequate resources nor the political will to participate in comprehensive recreation planning for the future - nor should it shoulder the entire job since our rivers are state resources and people from all over the state, nation, and world come to Montana to recreate. From my perspective, one way to plant a tree for shade in the future would be to enable and strengthen our States Parks Division. As evidenced by the discussions during this last legislative session, not only is the Parks Division not able to maintain the parks we have, but they also do not have the capacity and resources necessary to provide the professional recreation services needed at the state level to prepare for or respond to future recreation needs. The Montana State Parks Division needs our help. Our State Parks Division could be the leader in bringing all levels of government together to develop a strategy to ensure that we have adequate recreation facilities to meet everyones future needs on the Bitterroot River.

In the face of ever competing demands on our water resources and an increasing demand for recreation access to our rivers, shouldnt we be working together to improve the future and overall availability of recreation opportunities along the Bitterroot River and around the valley?

If we want a park where families can play along the Bitterroot River, we have to plan for it today.

 Margaret Gorski,

Stevensville
In our work with the Montana Food Bank Network, we have the privilege of working with nearly 150 food pantries and other partner agencies throughout the state. We see firsthand the important role that donated food plays in keeping tens of thousands of Montanans from going hungry. We are constantly reminded how important a can of soup, a carton of milk, or a box of cereal can be to those who have fallen on hard times. We are humbled by the important work done every day by our network of partners.

However, we also understand that Montanas charitable food system cannot meet the need by itself  nor is it intended to. SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is our states most important anti-hunger program. SNAP helps 120,000 Montanans put food on the table every month. Almost 70 percent of participants are in families with children, 30 percent are in households with seniors or individuals with disabilities, and 41 percent are in working households.

We hear frequently from people like Karen, who is working hard to provide for her son but struggling to make ends meet. Karen works for the school, which means she loses her main source of income when school is out. Over the summer, Karen utilizes SNAP to make sure that her son has the food he needs to grow, learn, and thrive. Karen shares that The impact of SNAP is huge, but it isnt easy to ask for help. Being on SNAP and coming to the pantry are two of the hardest things Ive ever had to do. But I wont let my son go without.

The benefits of SNAP reach far beyond Karens family and other participants to also support our local economy. Montana businesses, from grocery stores to farmers, see over $170 million pumped into our economy every year thanks to SNAP, creating jobs and opportunity for our neighbors.

As Congress works to draft the federal budget, we hope that Senator Tester, Senator Daines, and Representative Gianforte understand how important SNAP is to our communities and our state. President Trumps budget, released in late May, proposes cutting $193 billion (more than 25 percent) from SNAP over the next 10 years. Cuts of this magnitude would be devastating, leaving a gap that our charitable food system could not begin to fill. As Congress moves forward, we call on each of our Congressional members to reject any budget that includes deep cuts or structural changes to SNAP.

We are proud of the role that food pantries play when Montanans hit hard times. Together with SNAP and our other anti-hunger programs, we have helped to provide food to our neighbors when they need it most. Cuts to SNAP would reverse the progress we have made, leaving more children, seniors, veterans, low-wage workers, individuals with disabilities, and many other Montanans hungry. Please urge Montanas Congressional members to take a stand for their constituents by protecting SNAP and other poverty-reduction programs from cuts or structural changes in the federal budget.

 Gayle Carlson, CEO, Montana Food Bank Network

Luke Jackson, MFBN Board Chair, Missoula

Minkie Medora, MFBN Board Member, Missoula

Tracy Worley, MFBN Board Member, Missoula

Paul Miller, MFBN Board Member, Missoula

Carol Allen, MFBN Board Member, Missoula

Mark Dvarishkis, MFBN Board Member, Missoula

Ross Tillman, Former MFBN Board Chair, Missoula

Mary Lehman, MFBN Board Member, Great Falls

Hank Hudson, MFBN Board Member, Helena
America must return to conservative principles of less government,reduced taxes, less spending and a balanced budget! Cut,cap and balance!
Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS)

12 July 2017

Press Release

Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism condemns the killing of Amarnath pilgrims near Anantnag in Kashmir valley. This heinous crime has come at especially sensitive time for Kashmir and the rest of India. There is a real danger that in the aftermath of this attack both Kashmir and the rest of India get sucked into a vicious cycle of violence against innocent citizens.

A number of Indians have been lynched by mobs recently. it is essential that the state authorities in the rest of India do not allow communal elements to use this incidence to attack minorities and Kashmiris living in different parts of the country. There are still a number of pilgrims, migrant workers and tourists in Kashmir. It is necessary that they receive no harm. The small number of Pandit famiiies still living in the valley are especially vulnerable to sectarian violence. They must be provided special protection. Indian state must ensure that security forces in Kashmir do not use this incident to target ordinary Kashmiris.

For some time now both Kashmir and the rest of India are passing through a phase of heightened public violence. Much of this violence is politically motivated and perpetrated by forces which believe that terror against unarmed civilians is justified and will go unpunished. P.A.D.S. appeals to the public to be vigilant and defeat nefarious designs of all communal forces.
 

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The Alamo fire doubled in size during Friday night and is now sharing attention from area firefighters with the Whittier fire burning in the S
Well users in municipal areas of unincorporated parts of Santa Barbara County who are served by water districts will have to apply for discret
" " This massive rift in the Larsen C ice shelf, pictured here in November 2016, created a historically large iceberg that calved off from the ice shelf around July 11, 2017. The area to the right of the crack is now afloat in the sea. John Sonntag/NASA

A massive iceberg has broken off from Antarctica, according to scientists from the University of Swansea and the British Antarctic Survey. One of the largest observed in the history of satellite imaging, the new iceberg weighs about 1.1 trillion tons (1 trillion metric tons) and measures approximately 2,240 square miles (5,800 square kilometers). The iceberg is about half the size of Jamaica, or twice the size of Hong Kong.

It's the product of a crack that spread across the Larsen C ice shelf over the past decade, but really picked up speed in the past year, taking a sharp 90-degree turn toward the water in May 2017. Scientists have been waiting for this incident, a breaking-off process called calving, which occurred sometime between July 10 and July 12. The calving was first detected in data from NASA's thermal infrared Aqua MODIS satellite and then confirmed by the space agency's Suomi VIIRS instrument.

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" " This map of Larsen C has been overlaid with a thermal image from July 12, 2017, generated by NASA MODIS satellite data showing the iceberg has calved MIDAS Project/A. Luckman/Swansea University

In January 2017 scientists from Great Britain's Project MIDAS monitoring the crack predicted the ice shelf would lose about 10 percent of its area when the massive iceberg calved  current measurements of the new iceberg place it at slightly larger than what had been predicted, as around 12 percent. Additionally, the new iceberg was already afloat before breaking off from the shelf, so scientists expect no immediate impact on sea levels.

"We have been anticipating this event for months, and have been surprised how long it took for the rift to break through the final few kilometres of ice," said glaciologist Adrian Luckman, lead investigator of the MIDAS Project, in an announcement of the calving. "We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, and the fate of this huge iceberg."

This isn't the first time in recent history we've seen massive Antarctic ice shelves change. The ice shelves named Larsen A and B collapsed in 1995 and 2002, respectively. They were located further north on the Antarctic Peninsula. Following their collapses, glacial flow from inland Antarctica, which otherwise would have deposited ice on the shelves, instead added directly into the ocean, contributing to the rise of sea levels.

"Calving from all Antarctic ice shelves occurs periodically," H. Jay Zwally, a senior research scientist at NASA, told HowStuffWorks in January before the current calving incident. "Some calving is in small icebergs and less frequently is in large tabular icebergs as the one about to calve from Larsen C. This calving occurs to balance the continuous flow of ice into the shelves over the grounding line  i.e. the ground ice sheet on upstream side and floating ice shelf on the ocean-ward side."

Some scientists are concerned this newly broken-off iceberg could presage the collapse of Larsen C, though predictions are mixed. According to a 2015 study, the calving would likely present "significant risk to stability" of the entire shelf. But a later study conducted by European researchers in 2016 and published in the journal Nature Climate Change concluded at the time that even calving of a vast iceberg from Larsen C "will be unlikely to produce much dynamic change."

As science, like our environment itself, is an ever-evolving field, researchers will need to reassess the situation now that iceberg is no longer connected to the ice shelf. Regardless, an iceberg the size of an island will present issues not just for environmentalists, but also for shipping concerns, especially if it breaks into smaller pieces.

David Vaughan, a glaciologist and director of science at British Antarctic Survey, told Reuters that scientists will need to monitor the ice shelf to see what happens  and whether glacial flow issues similar to those of Larsen A and B in the past will occur.

"If Larsen C now starts to retreat significantly and eventually collapses," he said, "then we will see another contribution to sea level rise."

According to Project Midas' Adrian Luckman, several outcomes are possible for the iceberg, which will likely be named A38. "The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict," he said. "It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments. Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters."

Now That's Interesting The new iceberg contains enough water to fill Lake Erie two times over.
I had the privilege to watch Lady Macbeth at this year's New Directors/New Films Series in the spring and got a chance to talk to its director William Oldroyd about his very accomplished first feature.

The riveting, radical film was definitely the highlight of the series and is no doubt an early entry for one of the best films of the year.

Friendly and humble, Oldroyd talked about his transition from theater to film, his influences, his directing method and so on. But what struck me the most about him was his insistence to pay utmost respect to where it is due- his cast and crew, for the success of the film. Lady Macbeth signals the arrival of a major British directing talent since Andrea Arnold.

Lady Macbeth hits theaters July 14 in New York and Los Angeles.

Screen Anarchy: When I watched the film I couldnt believe that this is your first film! Its so strong and accomplished. I know you were in theater and I want to know about your transition from theater director to a film director.

William Oldroyd: Before I was working in theaters, I was in Art College and part of that program was to doing some multi-media. So I used an old VHS camera. But the things I was filming was something more abstract, non-narrative stuff. Id project things on to difference surfaces and film it and so on.

But it did give me access to some simple editing facility. So I was able to learn how things come together. But then that got sort of lost for a decade when I got into theater and worked with actors and writers. That part of education I received was put aside and laid dormant. It was something I wanted to come back to eventually.

So when I found a script that I had quite an interest in, I wanted to see if I can film it. And so I got a little bit of money together and camera and some actors who I knew from theater, we just went for it. I wanted to see why that is different than theater. This is sort of how I began my education in cinema. I was relying too much on spoken words and had focused more or less on one direction. Then I started to watch films and broken them down, read some books and talked to filmmakers. Then I made a second short film, Best. Its three minutes long.

Ive seen it. Its great.

I was more satisfied with it that I achieved something more cinematic. And then, when I was at Sundance, people told me; Youve made a short, so now you have to make a feature. I thought to myself, how do I go about it? As you know for some people, the (Sundance) Lab helps you to do that. Similarly, in the UK, theres I Features that supports independent filmmakers making features.

I see.

But you know, they still need, even the risk is pretty small - they produce 3 features for a million pounds each a year, you still need to prove to them, convince them that you will make a good film. So for me it was a further study. It was more like preparing a dissertation. Even if I was going to make a film alone, this is how Id do it- providing all the supportive materials, test shooting, getting some actors together to show them. Actually, Ive made a film before I shot it. (laughs)

But it was good. It was very useful. So when I got to do a real pre-production, I was already on the right path.

Lady Macbeth was based on a novel by Nicolai Leskov, a Russian writer. How is your film different than the source material?

The book for me was very plot heavy. Its a novella so its pure plot really. What we had to do apart from Katherine is to flesh out the characters, because they are quite stereotypical. What Alice (Birch) did so brilliantly in writing a screenplay for Lady Macbeth was to make them live and breathe: Katherine is the same but Alexander and Boris are amalgamation of two other characters, Sebastian doesnt exist in the book.

The ending we changed because it would be more satisfying from Katherines point of view that shed get away with what she did rather than like all those women of that periodsuffer. (laughs)

Like Mme. Bovary or

Yes, exactly. I really supported that. It was great to allow her to get away with it even if that victory felt a little bit hollow.

Obviously we move it from Russia to England, so we had to be very careful about how to adapt it to reflect the class society and its penal system coming across the pond. We felt like we did just enough to get it right.

You mentioned Alice Birch, who is also a playwright. Have you worked together before?

No. It was the first time.

How was the collaboration with her?

Great. We were very honest with each other. We both did theater. We both wanted to work on film. So we would go, Is what Im writing too theatrical?, Is what Im filming too theatrical? We would be constantlywe were just so super aware. I think what Alice wrote was very cinematic on the page.

There are two scenes Im particularly pleased with, that they feel like as they were written which is when Katherine comes in drunk and theres a confrontation with Boris, making her crawl on her hands and knees and the scene where Alexander comes in and says, You have to remain indoors. and she humiliates him before the assault.

And thats literally what she wrote. We just presented it and filmed it as it was written. I knew when I read it that these are going to be remarkable. She uses these words like weapons. She is so precise. Her language is just amazing.

I cant stress enough how visually striking the film is. Its so accomplished with how its framed and so forth. There is a visual symmetry in the film I found very interesting. How did you come about this visual language?

Well, I watched film and I saw what I like. I like Haneke very much but I didnt want to just rip off Haneke. I wanted to see what I liked about his films - the composition and the stillness and simplicity of the camera positions and how he presents a character in the framing.

Then Ari (Wegner, cinematographer) pointed me to Last Days, which she liked very much. Night Moves, also. Kelly Reichardt and Gus Van Sant then became the directors we watched a lot of.

Thats interesting.

Because if you like Haneke, you like simplicity and that moved us into American minimalists or whatever you call them. Obviously when we mentioned Last Days, our editor didnt jump for joy- when we suggested sort of slow single takes. He said, well you are going to be in trouble because when you go into edit, you are stuck.

Then he encouraged us to get coverage because we were pushing for times, but shoot it, not to use it as he used to say. When you dont have time and no money it doesnt make sense to get coverage but I completely got it when we were there in the edit. Because had one of our longer takes wouldnt have worked, wed be in trouble.

Anyway, we had a system set up - trying to get the whole scene in one shot and think about two or three maximum set ups to get what we need to tell the story. We did three or four setups each scene, which makes sense if we had three hours for each scene.

Oomph, that's pretty short.

And that sort of defined our aesthetics. [We both laugh.]

Which is experience, i suppose. We then, for example, we didnt shoot coverage. We didnt get reverse, we didnt get close ups and we didnt get pickups. And that was the decision Ari and I made everyday. We were not going to set up for close up because we know what to use in one take. If we get coverage, there will be always a temptation to --

To use it.

I realized that Id never have this opportunity again. We will never be allowed to do such things. People will say. You need to ensure that you get the scene.

The coverage in that crawl scene wouldn't have been necessary. It's perfect as is.

I think I took my lead from Ari who were more experience than I am. She would say, We dont do things like film our rehearsals because it always ends up in the film."

Everyone will get upset because it will look like what it will look like, and performance wont be right and thats waste of time. I learned a lot from her that we make sure we have everything, as we want to be.

Gotcha.

Film is quite different. You have to break it down and its quite precise. And Im used to running a scene 10-15 minutes just for the actors getting into it. Well you never do that in film, which is quite odd. Its a little too mathematical, you know?

Is being a filmmaker just an extension of your artistic endeavor? Are you going back to theater after this?

Right now Id like to do film. I cant see doing both at the same time. It just takes so much time doing film. But there is something I love about being in a room with actors working out a scene. Its really satisfying. I like that.

Speaking of actors. Florence Pugh is amazing in this.

Shes incredible.

How did she get involved?

Shaheen Baig, the casting director for The Falling, Carol Morleys film, did the casting for our film and she knew Florence from that film. Brought her in because she thought Florence would be tremendous. So yes. We worked with her and she did few scenes and she came back. Shes just great.

Amazing, amazing performance. She is going somewhere because of this film.

Can you talk about those beautiful locations?

I was really lucky. There is a real love and support in UK for independent filmmakers. We were lucky because they are backed by government money. Each region has its own film agency. So it was Northern Film and Media in Newcastle -- they look after Northeast near the Scottish border. You go in and say, we need a local crew and we need a location. And they say, well here is our location book, we know all of these people and here are the crew who are available.

And they introduced us to a person who runs the estate of all of Durham and they have this castle, which is empty. Probably because its too expensive to run. So when we walk around this empty castle, which is perfect, then you can have it for six weeks. So we moved in. We didnt live there but we had our production office there, all of it- the equipment, wardrobe, everything was in there. It was kind of mini-studio.

And the outdoor scenes?

A lot of them are around the castle and we could afford two days in the moors. We were lucky because our location was 15-20 minutes from Newcastle. The locals who were involved in it could commute in the morning. Had we found a house out of nowhere, people wouldve had to travel two hours each way to get there. So we shot the moor scenes on separate days.

It works. They match seemlessly.

As you said before and you changed the ending from the source material. Even though Katherine is a murderess, I cant stop rooting for her. Does it make me a bad person?

No, because you understand what her predicament is. The stakes are pretty high. I dont think we necessarily need to comprehend the consequences of her actions. But we understand how desperate her situation is. No I mean, Alice loves this character.

We got few notes in early days of the production, well shes not likable. Well, yeah. And? [Laughs]. It isnt about making a film that young woman should be likable.

Thats the thing about this film, though. She gets away with it precisely because she is a woman.

A woman of position.

Thats right.

Thats something that possibly in the States, there is a slight distinction that the class is very important in England. And it is very useful that your words are worth more if you are a woman of position than your servants. And its not to do with race. This is the thing that works in the UK and probably Russia because of those class distinctions.

Thats why the scene at the end makes the character Anna, much more tragic as you can see it in her face. What a great scene!

Naomi Ackie. Shes amazing.

Yes.

Its not a criticism at all, but how do you feel about carrying the torch on behalf of women who are involved in the project - you have Alice Birch who wrote the script, you have Ari Wegman who was your DP, you have your producer, actresses making a film about a defiant young woman in a very patriarchal world?

Im delighted. I think its fantastic. I was very lucky to have Alice as a writer and Ari who shot the film as well. Shaheen who casted all the great talent, Jacqueline (Abrahams), who was a production designer, Holly (Waddington) who did costumes, Sarah Golding who was our script editor there are so many I want to name them all. Over 50 percent of cast and crew were women. And thats the way it should be.

Dustin Chang is a freelance writer. His musings and opinions on everything cinema and beyond can be found at www.dustinchang.com
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Some clouds. Low 39F. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 39F. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
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 "Punishment and the Burden of Proof" | Main | "Its time to refocus the punishment paradigm" 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke today at the 30th DARE Training Conference, and the setting not surprisingly prompted him to talk about drug issues and federal prosecutorial policies. His official remarks are available at this link, and here are excerpts:

Drug abuse has become an epidemic in this country today, taking an unprecedented number of American lives. For Americans under the age of 50, drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death. In 2015, more than 52,000 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses  1,000 every week. More died of drug overdoses in 2015 than died from car crashes or died at the height of the AIDS epidemic.

And the numbers we have for 2016 show another increase  a big increase. Based on preliminary data, nearly 60,000 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses last year. That will be the highest drug death toll and the fastest increase in the death toll in American history. And every day, more than 5,000 Americans abuse painkillers for the first time.

This epidemic is only growing. Its only getting worse. Its being driven primarily by opioids  prescription drugs, heroin, and synthetic drugs like fentanyl. Last year, there were 1.3 million hospital visits in the United States because of these drugs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heroin use has doubled in the last decade among young people 18 to 25....

Now, this is not this countrys first drug abuse crisis. In the 1980s, when I was a federal prosecutor, we confronted skyrocketing drug abuse rates across the country and we were successful. In 1980, half of our high school seniors admitted they had used an illegal drug sometime in that year. But through enforcing our laws and by developing effective prevention strategies, we steadily brought those rates down.

We were in the beginning of this fight, in 1983, when DARE was founded in Los Angeles. I believe that DARE was instrumental to our success by educating children on the dangers of drug use. I firmly believe that you have saved lives. And I want to say thank you for that. Whenever I ask adults around age 30 about prevention, they always mention the DARE program. Your efforts work. Lives and futures are saved.

Now, some people today say that the solution to the problem of drug abuse is to be more accepting of the problem of drug abuse. They say marijuana use can prevent addiction. They say the answer is only treatment. They say dont talk about enforcement. To me, that just doesnt make any sense. In fact, I would argue that one reason that we are in such a crisis right now is that we have subscribed to this mistaken idea that drug abuse is no big deal.

Ignoring the problem  or the seriousness of the problem  wont make it go away. Prevention  through educating people about the danger of drugs  is ultimately how were going to end the drug epidemic for the long term. Treatment is important, but treatment often comes too late. By then, people have already suffered from the effects of drugs. Then their struggle to overcome addiction can be a long process  and it can fail. I have seen families spend all their savings and retirement money on treatment programs for their children  just to see these programs fail.

Now, law enforcement is prevention. And at the Department of Justice, we are working keep drugs out of our country to reduce availability, to drive up its price, and to reduce its purity and addictiveness. We know drug trafficking is an inherently violent business. If you want to collect a drug debt, you cant, and dont, file a lawsuit in court. You collect it by the barrel of a gun. There is no doubt that violence tends to rise with increased drug dealing.

Under the previous administration, the Department of Justice told federal prosecutors not to include in charging documents the full amount of drugs being dealt when the actual amount would trigger a mandatory minimum sentence. Prosecutors were required to leave out true facts in order to achieve sentences lighter than required by law. This was billed as an effort to curb mass incarceration of low-level offenders, but in reality it covered offenders apprehended with large quantities of dangerous drugs.

What was the result? It was exactly what you would think: sentences went down and crime went up. Sentences for federal drug crimes dropped by 18 percent from 2009 to 2016. Violent crime  which had been decreasing for two decades  suddenly went up again. Two years after this policy change, the United States suffered the largest single-year increase in the overall violent crime rate since 1991.

In May, after study and discussion with criminal justice experts, I issued a memorandum to all federal prosecutors regarding charging and sentencing policy that said we were going to trust our prosecutors again and allow them to honestly charge offenses as Congress intended. This simple two-page guidance instructs prosecutors to apply the laws on the books to the facts of the case, and allows them to exercise discretion where a strict application of the law would result in an injustice. Instead of barring prosecutors from faithfully enforcing the law, this policy empowers trusted professionals to apply the law fairly and exercise discretion when appropriate. That is the way good law enforcement has always worked.

But you know its not our privileged communities that suffer the most from crime and violence. Minority communities are disproportionately impacted by violent drug trafficking and addiction. Poor neighborhoods are too often ignored in these conversations.

Regardless of their level of wealth or their race, every American has the right to live in a safe neighborhood. Those of us who are responsible for promoting public safety cannot sit back while any American community is ravaged by crime and violence at the hands of drug traffickers. We can never yield sovereignty over a single neighborhood, city block, or street corner to drug traffickers....

Experience has shown, sadly, that it is not enough that dangerous drugs are illegal. We also have to make them unacceptable. We have to create a cultural climate that is hostile to drug abuse. In recent years, government officials were sending mixed messages about drugs. We need to send a clear message. We must have Drug Abuse Resistance Education. DARE is the best remembered anti-drug program. I am proud of your work. It has played a key role in saving thousands of lives and futures.

So please  continue to let your voices be heard. I promise you that I will let my voice be heard. Our young people must understand that drugs are dangerous; that drugs will destroy their lives, or worse yet, end them. Lets get the truth out there and prevent new addictions and new tragedies  and make all of our communities safer. Thank you.
 US Sentencing Commission releases new overview of mandatory minimums in federal system | Main | Missouri Supreme Court extends Miller to juvenile sentenced to mandatory life without parole eligibility for 50 years 

Brandon Garrett has this new Slate commentary under the full headline "Why Jurors Are Rejecting the Death Penalty: There used to be 300 death sentences each year in the United States. Last year, there were just 30." Here are excerpts:

Prosecutors in Wake County, North Carolina, have sought the death penalty in eight cases over the past decade. Each time, jurors have rejected the sentence, most recently in March. The most recent time Wake County jurors imposed a death sentence was a decade ago....

Capital punishment has now been outlawed in 19 states. In the places where it remains legal, jurors are increasingly reluctant to impose it. Just 30 people were sentenced to death in the United States last year, and only 27 counties out of more than 3,000 nationwide sent anyone to death row. In the mid-1990s, by contrast, more than 300 people were sentenced to death, with capital punishment being undertaken in as many as 200 counties each year.

Jurors have even started to reject the death penalty in Texas, which has sentenced more people to death than any other state in modern times. Texas prosecutors are seeking the death penalty less often, and when they do, theyre frequently failing to persuade juries to impose it. In 15 capital trials in the state since 2015, just eight have resulted in death sentences.

So, what has changed the minds of jurors? Its not that theyre morally opposed to the death penalty. In fact, jurors who object on principle can be disqualified from serving in capital trials. These are people who are open to imposing the ultimate punishment but decide to reject it after hearing a convicted murderers life story, including evidence of mental health issues, childhood abuse, and other mitigating circumstances....

Another reason for the decline in death sentences is that murders have steadily declined across the country, beginning in the mid-90s. (There has, however, been a recent spike in the murder rate in certain large cities.) When my co-authors and I analyzed death sentencing data by county from 1990 through 2016, we found that a drop in the murder rate was strongly associated with the decline in death sentencing.

But death sentences have fallen far faster than murders. One reason may be the growth in adequately resourced defense lawyers. In general, states that have statewide offices to represent defendants at capital trials, as opposed to locally appointed lawyers, have experienced far greater declines in death sentencing. Those offices have the resources to hire experts who can present mental health evidence and explain the defendants social history....

Our research also shows there is a strong muscle memory effect in death sentencing. Counties that have issued a death sentence in the past are far more likely to obtain more. What explains this substantial effect? Prosecutors may get in the habit of seeking the death penalty, even when neighboring counties do not. Perhaps losing a capital trial can put a damper on that enthusiasm. Generally, once that muscle memory fades, counties do not get it back. Indeed, the counties that started out with the most death sentences have experienced the biggest declines over the past 15 years. For example, in Harris County, Texas, where in the mid-1990s prosecutors led the country by securing 15 or more death sentences per year, there were no death sentences at all in 2015 or 2016.

As the death penalty fades, jurors may become more and more skeptical of its utility. Last year, psychologists Daniel Krauss and Nicholas Scurich joined me in surveying nearly 500 people summoned for jury duty in Orange County, California, an area that regularly imposes death sentences. We found that one-third of jurors  a surprisingly high share in that fairly conservative county  would not qualify to serve on a capital jury because they opposed the death penalty on principle. About one-quarter  a separate group from the one-third of jurors described above  said they would not convict someone of capital murder if that meant the defendant would be executed. Most strikingly, two-thirds of all jurors we surveyed said the fact that there had not been an execution in California in a decade made them less likely to sentence a person to death.
 "Its time to refocus the punishment paradigm" | Main | Spotlighting and unpacking the modern decline in death sentences 

July 11, 2017

US Sentencing Commission releases new overview of mandatory minimums in federal system

As reported in this official press release, the "United States Sentencing Commission today released a new publication  An Overview of Mandatory Minimum Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System (2017 Overview)  that examines the use of federal mandatory minimum penalties and the impact of those penalties on the federal prison population." Here is more from the press release about this new publication and its findings:

The new publication updates much of the data contained in its 2011 Report to the Congress: Mandatory Minimum Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System and compiles data through 2016, the most recent full fiscal year for which federal sentencing data is available. Judge William H. Pryor, Jr., Acting Chair of the Commission stated, "This publication examines the latest data about the use of mandatory minimum sentences in the federal criminal justice system. When Congress created the Commission, Congress empowered it to serve 'as a clearinghouse and information center' about federal sentencing and to assist Congress, the federal courts, and federal departments in the development of sound sentencing policies. See 28 U.S.C.  995(a)(12)(A). The Commission has published this report to fulfill that Congressional mandate." Among the key data findings in the publication are: The average sentence length for federal offenders convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty in fiscal year 2016 was 110 months of prison, nearly four times the average sentence (28 months) for offenders whose offense did not carry a mandatory minimum.

Slightly more than half (55.7%) of federal inmates in custody as of September 30, 2016 were convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum.

Over one-third (38.7%) of federal offenders convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty in fiscal year 2016 received relief from the mandatory minimum at sentencing, which is a decrease from 46.7 percent in fiscal year 2010.

Hispanic offenders continued to represent the largest group of federal offenders (40.4%) convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty in fiscal year 2016.

White offenders had the longest average sentence (127 months) among federal offenders convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty in fiscal year 2016, which is a shift from fiscal year 2010 when Black offenders convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty had the longest average sentence (127 months).

While Black offenders convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty continued to receive relief from the mandatory minimum penalty least often, the gap between Black offenders and White offenders has narrowed from a difference of 11.6 percent in fiscal year 2010 to 3.2 percent in fiscal year 2016. The 2017 Overview is part of a multi-year study included in the Commissions policy priorities over the past several amendment cycles and is intended to be the first in a series of reports on mandatory minimum penalties. Continuation of the study is listed as a tentative policy priority for the amendment year ending May 1, 2018. The Commission will accept public comment on proposed priorities through July 31, 2017.

The full USSC report, which runs 89 pages, is available at this link. I hope to find some time in the coming weeks to highlights some additional data from this latest review of the latest mandatory minimum realities.

July 11, 2017 at 06:54 PM | Permalink

Comments

I would like to know the purpose of numerous "Counts" added to an indictment by a prosecutor? Why are so many years accumulated when there is either guilt or innocence? Is it not supposed to be a deterrent for a criminal act and not a severe punishment? Why do some prosecutors put every case on 10 year probation - is it about revenue or benefits?

Posted by: LC in Texas | Jul 12, 2017 1:22:21 PM

Lc, from what Ive seen the judge determines probation by looking up the charges in a graph and adding all of them together.

I agree with you 100% on the enhancements that are dished out like its nothing.

Calling them enhancements is arrogant I think.

Federal system wS designed to add up everything youve done in your life, (history points) and going downwRd on the levels with the relevant conduct plus enhancements.

Pretty gross.



Posted by: MidWestGuy | Jul 12, 2017 9:42:16 PM

Post a comment
I-80 is closed in both directions due to a growing fire near Farad in the Sierra. Video courtesy of Kevin Quinn. pic.twitter.com/JntIiSG977  Brian Hickey (@kcraBrianHickey) July 10, 2017

by Jessica Lachenal

Fire season is underway, everybody.

Firefighters are currently battling seven wildfires throughout Northern California, including the newly ignited Farad Fire near Truckee which shut down I-80 in both directions Tuesday. While several of these fires are working their way to full containment, a few continue to rage on, likely well into this week. Keep an eye out for traffic reports if youre planning on traveling, especially toward Tahoe or up around Oroville, and be safe out there!

Truckee ( Farad Fire )

Currently, the Farad Fire rages along the California/Nevada border near Truckee. It has consumed over 600 acres and sits at only about 5% containment. The fire's grown so bad that I-80 was shut down in both directions earlier today, and the video above shows how close the fire is to the freeway. There are no estimates as to when the highway will be opened back up, as firefighters are battling just to keep the fire from jumping over the freeway.

Oroville ( Wall Fire )

This 5,800-acre blaze has prompted Governor Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency north of Bangor (Butte County) on Monday. It's at about 45% containment, and has destroyed at least 37 buildings while damaging five others.

Eagle Lake, Lassen National Forest ( Antelope Fire )

Early morning estimates place this fire at about 10,000 acres set ablaze and counting. It was sparked by a lightning strike, and due to high winds, quickly spread across the area. Highway 93 and 24 were closed in response but have since re-opened.



Morgan Hill ( Felipe Fire )

What started as a brush fire late Monday evening along San Felipe Road yesterday has, as of this morning, spread to consume 70 acres in Santa Clara County. Firefighters believe it to be CalFire's last estimate.

Klamath National Forest ( Island Fire )

Interestingly enough, a lightning bolt triggered this blaze back in June. It's being closely monitored, though it appears to be in full containment. According to a report on InciWeb , the online database of incidents occurring in and around many parks and public areas on the west coast, the fire is expected to be extinguished by October (though that is likely a placeholder).

Winters ( Winters Fire )

This blaze in Yolo County has been going since last Thursday, and as of this morning, has consumed 2,269 acres. Firefighters believe that it is about 90% contained.



Related: Day Around The Bay: Wildfire Near Oroville Burns 17 Structures


A man who was carjacked Tuesday afternoon tried to thwart the theft by hopping on his vehicle, but his robbers were not dissuaded.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the crime went down at 4:07 p.m. Tuesday, at a gas station on the 300 block of Bayshore Boulevard, which is near Oakdale Avenue. (If you're looking for a convenient landmark, the Silver Crest Doughnut Shop is on that block.)

Police say that the victim, a 25-year-old man driving an SUV, "was filling his vehicle with gas." When he entered the gas station to pay, to men believed to be in their 30s "jumped in his vehicle and drove away."

Unwilling to let his SUV go without a fight, the victim chased the fleeing men "and climbed on the vehicle."

That's when, police say, one of the suspects "pulled out a handgun and forced [the victim] off the vehicle."

Police confirm that the suspects made off with the man's SUV, and remain at large as of Wednesday morning.The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the fray, and was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
A few Facebook bigwigs and executives are rolled up in the totally legal California cannabis industry, including former Facebook president Sean Parker who donated to the California recreational marijuana ballot measure. But Facebook itself is still rather paranoid about promoting ganja on its platform, and as the Associated Press reports several fully legal recreational marijuana businesses have had their Facebook pages shut down in recent weeks.

While the latest crop of trimmings have all been marijuana dispensary pages in Alaska (which is a recreational use state), NBC News reported earlier this year that dispensaries Facebook pages have been getting shut down in at least six other legal-cannabis states. Facebook has cited violations of community standards. but it is somewhat ironic that the Alaska dispensary pages were shut down precisely during Mark Zuckerbergs recent visit to Alaska on his Definitely Not Running for President tour.

"That's what kills me," executive director of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association Cary Carrigan told the Alaska Dispatch News. "Zuckerberg shows up and Facebook pages are down."

Facebooks community standards guidelines do specifically call out marijuana sales as a no-no. We prohibit any attempts by private individuals to purchase, sell, or trade prescription drugs, marijuana, firearms or ammunition, the guidelines say. Operating a dispensary page on Facebook could ostensibly be classified as an attempt to sell marijuana on the platform, though a cursory Facebook search shows that several San Francisco dispensaries do still have active Facebook pages.

Facebook is not obliged to give pages to dispensaries, and they do have legal exposure since marijuana is still federally illegal. Publishing ads for an illegal item might expose Facebook to liability, Santa Clara law professor Eric Goldman told Law.com. Facebook is the publisher and they can decide what to publish.

Still, you wish Facebook cared as much about weeding out fake news as they do about weeding out weed dispensaries.

Related: Two Pot Dispensaries On One Block Grows Grassroots Opposition In Visitacion Valley
It's a comment news orgs get on nearly every story about San Francisco's rent control laws  something like,"I'm a property owner, but I refuse to rent out my vacant apartment(s) because rent control is so onerous." But those wide-open-space loving landlords might soon want to hide their light under a (non-rent-controlled) bushel, as SF officials are looking into ways to impose financial penalties onto folks that choose to keep their units vacant.

To be fair, it's not just commenters (you guys know I love you, right?). After all, who can forget the 2013 New York Times op-ed from local writer Scott James, which admitted that "The City by the Bay is going through one of its worst housing shortages in memory...One reason for the shortage? Me," explaining that after years of renting out a one-bedroom apartment in the building he owns with his partner, a bad tenant soured them on landlordery.

And now, perhaps, even sourer news for the tenant-burnt, as the Ex reports today that Supervisor Aaron Peskin has asked the City Attorneys Office to explore legislation that would allow the city and county San Francisco to impose a vacancy tax on property owners to help mitigate the impacts of the widespread practice of warehousing valuable residential and commercial units.

According to Peskin, I continue to receive emails and requests from constituents to address the overwhelming number of vacancies both commercial and residential that continue to contribute to our housing crisis as well as the displacement and struggles of our small businesses.

It's worth noting here that San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection has since 2009 required owners of empty buildings (commercial and residential) to register their property as vacant with the city, including an explanation of "what future plans they have for the property." They must also pay a $765 annual fee.

In 2014, SF's building code was amended (you can see the amendment here) to say that vacant commercial storefront spaces fall under the vacant building code unless they're currently under renovation or construction.

According to the Ex, the vacancy tax first came up at a Planning Commission meeting last month, during a discussion on San Francisco's housing supply. "The commissioners said there was a lack of city data on the number of units sitting vacant, but worried that vacancies were contributing to the shortage of housing in the city" they write.

It's tempting to interject with here with a "no s**t, Sherlock." Even landlord-no-more Scott James admits as much, saying in 2013 that SF's had "about [vacant] 10,600 rental units. Thats about five percent of the citys total  or enough space to house up to 30,000 people in a city that barely tops 800,000."

And that number has risen sharply, as according to a 2014 census data analysis from SPUR, SF at that time had "30,000 vacant units, which included 8,900 units in the process of being rented, 2,400 ownership units in the process being sold or sold and not yet occupied, vacation or seasonal use at about 9,100 units, and 9,700 units not in any of those categories," the Ex reports.

More anecdotally, Planning Commissioner Kathrin Moore said at the meeting that she believes vacant housing units are on the rise, as I walk my neighborhood frequently...On the outside, they all look very nice but there is nobody home.

So from Planning, the idea went to Peskin, who is presumably seeking to push those laws further and impose greater fines, as $765 a year is to many landlords likely an acceptable cost of not doing business, as it were.

Keep an eye on this one, folks, as it could make for some interesting bedfellows  while Peskin is arguably the most "progressive" member of the Board, it's comparatively conservative Outer Sunset Supe Katy Tang who made 2014's empty storefront crackdown happen. Will the often-at-odds supes join forces to quash San Francisco's plague of vacancies? Guess we'll soon see.
A skateboarding event adjacent to Dolores Park turned ugly Tuesday night, when police officers seeking to end the proceedings and event participants faced off.

KTVU reports that "hundreds" of people were watching skateboarders as they rode down Dolores Street between 18th and 21st Streets at around 7:11 p.m. Tuesday night.

"The skateboarders were being towed up the hill by vehicles and then riding down the hill on the boards, some performing tricks on the way down," NBC Bay Area reports.

The event echoed a similar one a year ago, dubbed The Hill Bomb, although police did not involve themselves in that one.

Crazy skateboarding scene at Dolores Park right now https://t.co/gUbnRGncbP  Ev Williams (@ev) July 12, 2017

 A post shared by @lauriemurr on Jul 11, 2017 at 8:24pm PDT

According to San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Grace Gatpandan, who spoke with the LA Times, police were called to the area to aid a skateboarder injured during the event. However, "the crowd did not allow the officers to tend to a person in the street with a head injury," NBC Bay Area reports.

Gatpandan tells the Chron that in addition to the injury, area "residents were calling in to complain of disruption and an inability to use all of the street."

"While the rider was being treated," the LA Times writes, "another skateboarder raced down the pavement and collided with a police sergeant before striking and flying over a patrol car parked toward the bottom of the hill."

You can see video of that fall here, which was characterized by some witnesses as the skateboarder being shoved by a police officer into the vehicle:

Police drove into a skateboarder while trying to block the hill at Dolores Park pic.twitter.com/Mg3eU67PhC  Barry O'Reilly (@barryoreilly) July 12, 2017

The LA Times reports that following that crash, onlookers "became hostile and more officers were called to the scene to gain control of the crowd spilling into the street."

(Note re the tweet above: That's not a shotgun -- the red butt and barrel is an indication that it's a so-called "bean bag gun.")

A witness tells KTVU that "he saw 'dozens and dozens' of cops, some of whom were using bean bag guns to disperse the crowd. There was a lot of 'chanting' and "jeering," he said. 'And skateboarders were everywhere.'"

According to NBC, the melee continued for at least an hour, as "skaters shouted and threw objects such as bottles."

Dolores Park tuesdays - guy smashes police car window with a skateboard, police shooting beanbags pic.twitter.com/oIMbog9g2e  Lance Martin (@RLanceMartin) July 12, 2017

"Police described the scene as a hostile environment," they write, "but one skateboarder who didn't want to be identified claims officers overreacted."

Mission Local reports that "some in the crowd began chanting 'f**k the police' and acted aggressively, said witnesses. At one point, a witness reported that a skateboarder ran into a parked police car and that the window of another police vehicle had been broken. Another person said a skater had 'shoulder-checked' an officer, pushing him into the patrol car."

According to the LA Times, "Vandals tagged two police cruisers with graffiti and smashed one of their windows."

No arrests were made during the incident, Gatpandan says.

Reports on the number of people injured vary, with the Chron reporting that two skateboarders  a man and a woman  as well as the police officer involved in the collision with the skateboarder were hurt at the scene. According to NBC Bay Area, "multiple skateboarders were taken to hospitals with head injuries" and the injured officer was also hospitalized.

According to Mission Local and ABC 7, the injured male skateboarder was Jake Phelps, the editor of Thrasher magazine.

As noted by Hoodline, Tuesday's event was likely "the second annual running of The Hill Bomb" skating event. Last year's went off without incident, as you can see here.

Mission Local described the event as one "which skaters ride down the hill at Dolores Street, and later partake in a race for a cash prize." However, "one skater at the scene said the race itself never happened," they report.

Cops came for obvious reasons" and thwarted the race, a bystanding skater told Mission Local. Look at how dangerous it is. 

We literally shut down Dolores Street, a 22-year-old skater from San Francisco named Pete told the Chron. They (police) were doing their job. That doesnt mean we always agree with it."

It got very very serious very fast. Then the cops got involved and the skaters got mad.
At the discussion, the leaders agreed on particular directions and solutions to deepen further friendly and cooperative relationships between the two countries.



PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc strongly affirmed that Vietnam always respects consolidation and multifaceted cooperation with Netherlands, which is one of the Vietnams key partners in European Union.



In parallel, the partner also desired to tighten cooperation relations with Vietnam, which is considered as an important partner as well as potential market of Netherlands in the Southeast Asia.

The government and enterprise community have supported EU to early sign and approve the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) because it will open new cooperation and business opportunities with Vietnam, added PM Mark Rutte..



After the discussion, the two leaders and the World Bank Country Director for Vietnam co-signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) about food safety cooperation.



The prime ministers signed a letter of intent about large- scale conversion projects in the Mekong Delta region; and witnessed leaders of relevant ministries and departments to sign cooperation agreements on infrastructure and maritime port development, responding to natural disaster 











BY VIET LE- Translated by Huyen Huong
The Gallery of Wisconsin Art (GOWA) rises from the remains of a former West Bend tire shop. The 6,000-square-foot space opened June 3 and has tony neighbors, for instance, the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA), directly to the north. Soon, theyll be connected by a strip of land enhanced by Jim Shields of HGA Architects. Their proximity is a win-win.

Milwaukee artist Daniel Flemings big, bodacious paintings are in GOWAs lower levelgutsy, experimental and the opposite of serene landscapes like the Gibson Byrd painting one floor above. A Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) graduate, and a former Shepherd Express designer and illustrator, Fleming changed course when he switched his major from painting to design. The change taught him to be analytical.

Graphic designers are usually pretty structured arent they? That said, you greatly admire the paintings of Anselm Kiefer whose work is darkly political.

I grew up looking at modern and post-modern work, so Ive never felt restricted by materials or styles. I start out with a concept, but I paint and repaint and end up far from where I thought I was headed.

Are your paintings political?

Well, I get more out of art, far more, if it has a message beyond just being attractive or interesting. Of course, artists dont need to be political, but why, when you can push culture forward, would you choose not to?

OK, so youve chosen to push culture forward. In what way does your work reflect that choice?

My messaging is more aimed at exploring differences rather than reinforcing them. From that standpoint, Im not so much purely political as I am socially minded.

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When you arent painting in your home/studio on Milwaukees East Side, what occupies your time?

I have a job as an artist and designer in Glendale for Black Forest, LLC, a Mercedes-Benz restoration firm. Have you heard of Disc Gulp? Thats a game I designed. Its produced here. As a kid in Rochester, Minnesota, I drew cartoons with my dad. A doctor, he often drew images, in order to better explain things to a patient. My cartoons were dinosaurs and goofy stuff. At one time, though, I did want to be a cartoonist or graphic novelist.

To learn more about Flemings work, visit danielflemingart.tumblr.com.
With urban farming growing in popularity in Milwaukee, about a dozen commercial urban farmers have joined together to form the Milwaukee Farmers Union. Founded in 2014, the group is seeking ways to make urban farming more efficient, sustainable and profitable. This year, Groundwork Milwaukee became the lead stakeholder, with Outpost Natural Foods hosting and sponsoring the group.

Buy Local is on the Rise

A study by industry research firm Packaged Facts reports that local food sales in the U.S. grew from $5 billion in 2008 to $12 billion in 2014 and predicts that local food sales will reach $20 billion in 2019, outperforming growth of the total food and beverage sales in the U.S. Since 2008, the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin grant program has generated more than $8.4 million in new local food sales, according to the Wisconsin Local Food Network. In organic farming, Wisconsin ranks second in the nation, after California, with more than 1,200 organic farms, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The purpose of the Milwaukee Farmers Union is to remove barriers for urban farmers and any small local farmer that wants support to help grow their business, says Nick DeMarsh, food system developer at Groundwork Milwaukee.

According to DeMarsh, the groups goals include helping farmers develop an infrastructure to share growing, packaging and processing space and tools, as well as education in business, hands-on farming skills and food safety. He says efficiencies in marketing could be realized through enhanced access to a customer base. The group also might be able to realize economies through bulk purchasing of seeds and packaging material.

Outpost supports the Farmers Union because of its broad mission to support local farmers. Our mission is to have a sustainable, diverse and healthy community for our owners, says Jessy Servi Ortiz, sustainability manager at Outpost Natural Foods. If the Union continues to grow and expand, Outpost might eventually purchase food from the farmers. We think it is a potential viable livelihood for members of our community. We hope it is successful, Ortiz says.

In DeMarshs view, Milwaukees urban farmers provide increased access to healthy food and reduce CO2 emissions and fossil fuel use because of reduced transportation. Along with many urban farmers in the Union, DeMarsh uses rainwater harvesting systems to water his crops, a practice with environmental benefits.

How much cleaner could our lake be if we had more urban farms? DeMarsh asks. Typically, we dont associate farming and clean water. But if youre doing it on a small scale, and youre doing it the right way, and youre doing it in a city, where we have to treat that water because it would be runoff otherwise, then thats a huge benefit. Policymakers really need to consider how much they want urban farming to proliferate, for the jobs, sure, but not just for the jobs alone.

DeMarsh believes that a growing market exists for locally grown and organic food.

The challenge is that we as taxpayers, as a society, have subsidized through the federal government, large-scale mono-cropping agribusiness, he says. We have very strong competition that were up against. But a lot of people recognize that, so I think theres a market for locally grown food.

DeMarsh, an urban grower of organic herbs who sells chiefly to local restaurants, says that since 2011, his crop production capacity has tripled.
 Expand Photo credit: Gage Skidmore

How did the idea that everyone living in America, whether theyre U.S. citizens or not, should be protected by the police ever become controversial? That has always been the job description of police in democracies. Our police dont require victims of crimes to show their papers before they provide assistance or open an investigation.

So why do Milwaukee activists suddenly fear local officials may be caving in to the anti-immigrant policies of Donald Trump and his racially tone-deaf U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions to sic local police on minority residents suspected of violating federal immigration laws?

The source of the current anxiety over policing is some very bad people who have gained power nationally.

At a time when major urban police departments, including Milwaukees, are finally taking steps to improve police accountability with body cameras and better training, Trump and Sessions are doing everything possible to sabotage reforms and preserve the unequal, racially biased policing of the past.

But local officials including Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Police Chief Ed Flynn really do know better. They publicly oppose the Trump administrations hateful policies of harassing and intimidating immigrants because they know their job is to make life in their city safer for every resident.

The citys policy has been and will continue to be that it does not enforce immigration laws, said Jeff Fleming, Mayor Barrett's spokesman. Milwaukee police officers will not ask for documentation that may reveal immigration status during police operations.

Flynn explained why before several hundred people at a meeting of the immigration rights group Voces de la Frontera in January. It is our opinion, our strongly held belief that our responsibility is to protect the residents of our city, he said. To protect them, they must trust us. They must be willing to report crimes. They must be willing to be witnesses.

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Flynn was even more graphic in criticizing Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke for volunteering his county deputies for federal training in tracking and detaining undocumented immigrants when Clarke was sucking up to Trump for a job. Flynn said the job of law enforcement is to protect and serve the residents of our community. And you can't do that if you're terrifying them and trying to round them up.

Subtle Changes in Milwaukees Response?

So if Barrett and Flynn believe what they say, whats the controversy over some subtle changes in the wording of police policy? The kindest explanation is they were just some cowardly, bureaucratic, weasel words written by a lawyer to fend off a baseless threat to federal funding.

Theres nothing like threatening to cut off federal funds to panic already hard-pressed, under-funded urban governments, especially in Wisconsin where the Milwaukee areas portion of shared state revenue continues to evaporate into the Walker ether.

Days after his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order threatening to strip federal funding from cities that refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. A federal judge has since issued a temporary injunction against withholding funds already appropriated by Congress.

But in April Sessions demanded from 10 state and local governmentssanctuary cities and urban areas protective of diverse racial populations including Milwaukee Countyproof that they would share immigration-related information with the federal government.

Sessions letter suggested the county and city could lose more than $900,000 in Justice Department funds they share. County Corporation Counsel Margaret Daun responded that the county was in full compliance with federal law and would vigorously legally challenge any attempt to halt federal funds.

The citys response was wimpier. The City Attorney met privately with the Fire and Police Commission to suggest rewording policy to reduce any threat to federal funding. Then somehow without the Commission ever holding a public hearing or taking a vote, those changes were made.

Such a sketchy, questionable procedure understandably raised suspicions in the community and a strong objection from Marisabel Cabrera, an immigration attorney on the Commission, who called the changes both undemocratic and unnecessary because the city was already in compliance with federal law.

Local officials around the country maintain theres nothing in federal law that requires police to collect the citizenship status of those they encounter. And why should there ever be? The only people who might think otherwise are misinformed right-wing ditto heads whove been led to believe people living in the country who arent citizens dont deserve police protection.

Thats never been true. America is just like other civilized nations. If we become victims of a crime in another country, we expect to be able to go the police and receive help. If we cant, we know we are in a very bad, very corrupt country. Believe it or not, our laws, legal protections and nearly all of the rights and freedoms in our Constitution apply to everyone living in this country whether they are citizens or not.

Thats the way its always been in decent, civilized countries.
Wisconsin STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) jobs will increase at double the rate of other occupations over the course of the next decade, offering higher incomes and lower unemployment than other occupations, according to Change the Equations 2017 Vital Signs report. But there remains apprehension among some Wisconsin employers as to whether the Wisconsin workforce can meet the need.

What were hearing from businesses primarily is that they are concerned about the amount of STEM talent and the future pipeline of workers theyll need, says Rich Merkel, executive director of STEM Forward, an independent Milwaukee-based nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging children and teens in STEM programming. Businesses are in a very competitive environment, the pace of technology has changed, the marketplace is increasing. I think businesses are under more pressure than ever to keep up not only with their competitors but with their customers.

Guided by a board of directors comprised of local education and business leaders, STEM Forward has focused on STEM education and outreach since the early 1990s. Programs and events include but are not limited to the Future City Competition, the Day of Engineering, the Engineers Week Banquet, the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest and MPS STEM Partners, a program devoted to providing MPS students with access to Milwaukees business community through projects and activities.

In response to the demands of STEM employers there has been a proliferation of STEM programming in Wisconsin schools. Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), for instance, has made great strides in STEM education. A collaborator of STEM Forward, MPS now has STEM programs in 37 schools and reports great STEM interest among students despite national trends.

We see a lot of interest in STEM at the elementary schools, middle schools and high schools, says Eric Radomski, senior manager of career and technical education at Milwaukee Public Schools. We have people asking all the time to put Project Lead The Way, our biggest program, in their schools. And interest among girls is high; 47% of students in our STEM programs are female.

Unfortunately, there can be a disconnect between what students aspire to and what they are prepared to achieve. For instance, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction 2015-2016 Accountability Report Card for the district of Milwaukee, MPS received a 35.9/100 in student achievement and 16.8/50 for mathematics achievement. The statewide average, however, met expectations, with 67.5/100 in student achievement and 33.9/50 in mathematics achievement.

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Moving forward, both Merkel and Radomski believe that access and education is the right path for students. Looking to our neighboring states Iowa or Michigan where they have a formal state agenda and organization to facilitate STEM learning across the state, including appropriations from the state budget, we are really behind, says Merkel. For example, in Iowa a Governors STEM Advisory Council has divided the state into six quadrants through their universities; each of these regions is implementing a dozen or more STEM programs. They evaluate these STEM programs on an annual basis and as a result, through ACT testing, theyve seen marked gains in terms of student participation and performance in STEM. In Wisconsin, the state agenda or organization dedicated to coordinating STEM is less structured. Were really bringing about the next generation of engineers and scientists. We have to get this right.
 Expand Photo Credit: James (Flickr CC)

Issue of the Week reflects the Shepherd Express opinions on important issues in the news. It is usually written by the Shepherds editor, but at times we invite individuals outside of the paper who are either working in the field or have some other level of expertise.

Free speech on Wisconsins college campuses has been getting a lot of attention at the State Capitol recently.

Lost amid the manufactured furor over a handful of protests of right-wing provocateurs appearing on campuses in other statesand whether Wisconsin students ought to be threatened with expulsion if their activism offends older, white GOP politiciansare the challenges students of color face, and have faced for generations.

Right now there are 664 African Americans out of 31,407 undergraduates at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the entire UW system, there are 4,640 African Americans out of 151,895 undergraduate students.

Yet rather than asking why the percent of African American students is so alarmingly low, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, is fast-tracking a bill to create safe spaces on Wisconsin campuses for right wing purveyors of racism, misogyny and xenophobia.

As a person of color studying at the overwhelmingly white UW-Madison, I believe policymakers also ought to hear my story and consider my experience, and the stories and experience of other students of color, before telling us whose voices are and arent being heard.

I am a scholar in UW-Madisons PEOPLE program, a scholarship for historically disenfranchised communities in Wisconsin. Ever since my first summer on campus in seventh grade, I have been told to be on my best behavior, lest we make white people uncomfortable with our brown voices.

As a UW-Madison student, I have been told I am only here because I am black, and in a discussion section, someone even said I am an affirmative action enrollee, implying I took a more qualified white persons seat and therefore should not speak.

It is a reality many African American students have to live with on campus. Most African American students never forget their first time walking into a lecture hall filled with hundreds of students and being the only black face. It is a chilling and isolating feeling. The voices of people of color on campus are often discouraged, overlooked and silenced.

The conservatives campus speech bill would make it worse. If, after a disciplinary hearing, a students behavior has been found to interfere with the expressive rights of others, he or she can be suspended; a third violation results in expulsion. That means students of color speaking up for ourselves making fellow white students uncomfortable could face retaliation in the form of facing suspension or expulsion.

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And for extreme cases, for every protest of right-wing speakers Vos points to, I can point to a hate crime perpetrated against a student of color on a college campus. In May, Bowie State University graduate and Army Lieutenant Richard W. Collins III was stabbed to death by a person who pledged to white supremacy on social media. In 2017, colleges and universities have reported increases in white supremacy groups and hate crimes on campuses nationwide. Even at UW-Madison, a student was found recruiting for a white supremacy group.

If someone like Charles Murray comes to town, promoting his academic research alleging a black student like me is genetically inferior to my white peers, I would hope that the university to which I pay tuition and the government of the state in which I live and pay taxes would support my right to speak up and defend myself.

Vos has done nothing to fully understand why students of color have protested speakers, nor at any time has he addressed the hate crimes, inspired by these hateful ideas, students of color have endured. Instead Vos is attempting to pass a law so that students will be suspended or expelled for speaking up for themselves.

Savion Castro is a UW-Madison student and One Wisconsin Now research associate.
SOUTH SIOUX CITY | Acoustic artist Bruce Mandel will perform July 27 at the South Sioux City Public Library.

Mandel is a nationally touring artist who has recorded three full-length albums.

He also maintains a musical presence in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. Mandel will perform 6:30 p.m. July 27 at the library, 2121 Dakota Ave.

A $10 per person suggested donation will be received at the door.
STORM LAKE, Iowa | A Storm Lake man was arrested Tuesday after police say he inappropriately touched a 10-year-old girl on two occasions in 2012.

Gilbert Palomares Sr., 42, has been charged with two counts of indecent contact with a child. He was booked into the Buena Vista County Jail Tuesday on $2,000 bond.

The arrest followed an investigation by the Storm Lake Police Department into a sexual assault report received in May, according to a news release. Police were told Palomares had inappropriately touched a 10-year-old girl back in July 2012.

Police were assisted in the investigation by the Minnehaha County (S.D.) Sheriff's Department and the Mercy Child Advocacy Center.
SIOUX CITY | A local attorney filed nomination papers Tuesday for a seat on the Sioux City School Board.

Jeremy Saint, in an interview, said he's considered running for the last few years, and has received encouragement this year to do so. Saint said he's long been interested in sound education, as a son of now-retired public school teachers as parents.

Saint, who will turn 39 this week, is an attorney with the Crary Huff Ringgenberg Hartnett and Storm law firm. He has lived in Sioux City since 2007. He and his wife have two young children, which Saint said is a reason he wants to ensure the school district has good programs.

"Maintaining the strength of our district's schools will require strong leadership, good stewardship of resources, while maintaining a focus on the district's core mission," Saint said.

Saint said he's heard of a few other possible candidates who may ultimately run for the school board seats.

Of the three incumbents with expiring terms, only one board member, Perla Alarcon-Flory, plans to run again. Board members Paul Gorski and John Meyers said Tuesday they will not run for re-election.

Monday marked the opening day for local residents to file for the Sept. 12 election. Nomination papers can be turned into the school board secretary, Cyndi Lloyd, at the downtown district office, 627 Fourth St., through 5 p.m. Aug. 3.
SIOUX CITY | There will be new faces on the Sioux City School Board.

Paul Gorski and John Meyers said Tuesday they do not plan on running for reelection to fill their expiring board positions.

Perla Alarcon-Flory, the other soon-to-be-open seat, said she will be vying for another four-year-term.

Gorski said he is not running again because he is moving to South Carolina to be closer to his family.

"It's time to retire," he said. He was first elected in September 2013.

Meyers said he will not be seeking reelection as well. He was appointed to a spot in September 2015 vacated by former board member Paul Speidel. He also served on the board from 2007 to 2013.

"I've been in five elections and won some and lost some," Meyers said. "I served eight years on the board and I think that's probably enough for me."

The other four school board members are serving terms that run into 2019.

Monday marked the opening day for people to file papers for the spots. Candidates have until 5 p.m. August 3 to file.

People can submit nomination papers with the school board secretary, Cyndi Lloyd, at the downtown district office, 627 Fourth St.

The school board election will take place on Sept. 12, although the voting hours have not been set. Interested candidates should visit the Iowa Secretary of State website for a candidates guide.
SIOUX CITY | Several Woodbury County officials said the only way to resolve an impasse on the functioning of a broadened gun rights law is for a test case somewhere in the state challenging whether the Iowa court system has authority to keep guns out of courthouses or if people with legal-carry permits can have them in the buildings.

In a two-hour discussion on two gun-related agenda items during the County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, Sheriff Dave Drew announced he had gotten legal representation from a city attorney.

Additionally, county Human Resources Department Director Ed Gilliland said he had used a city law firm, after consulting with Board Chairman Matthew Ung, for questions concerning a new piece in the county employee handbook that gives them the go-ahead to bring guns into the Woodbury County Courthouse on Wednesday. The supervisors voted 3-1 to approve that part of the employee handbook.

These were among the moves that were aired in the meeting, amid the confusing time since the new gun law arrived on July 1. There was spirited carping back and forth by Ung and Drew, including charges that they were sharing unprofessional posts about the gun topic on their personal Facebook accounts.

Ung and Drew are on opposite sides of the issue on whether the sheriff should continue to enforce a county security plan designed to keep weapons out of the courthouse in downtown Sioux City. Two weeks ago, a majority of the supervisors voted to rescind a ban on weapons on county property, including the county courthouse. The supervisors said that was necessary to comply with the new state law expanding gun rights.

However, Drew said he plans to keep enforcing the security program in the courthouse, which includes personnel staffing metal detectors. Two workers were scanning people on Tuesday.

The big question is whether the gun law passed in April conflicted with a June 19 judicial branch supervisory order by the Iowa Supreme Court to ban weapons in courthouses.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors voted to post a notice that "we will comply with the judicial order," Plymouth County Supervisor Don Kass said in an evening interview.

Kass also said a legal court battle will ultimately be needed to decide the issue.

The Iowa Supreme Court in June issued a statewide order banning weapons in all courthouses and court-controlled areas by people other than law enforcement.

The new law, among other things, broadens the states so-called stand-your-ground provision, so a law-abiding citizen does not have a duty to retreat in a public place before using deadly force when confronted with danger to life or property.

Supervisor Jeremy Taylor for the second meeting in a row said that if some aggrieved resident brings legal action that gun rights under the new law aren't recognized in the courthouse, that lawsuit would be brought not against the county supervisors but the Sheriff's Office. Taylor said law-abiding citizens who have a permit for a gun should be able to bring one into the courthouse.

Drew said he pursued legal counsel since Woodbury County Attorney P.J. Jennings declared a conflict in providing legal services to the sheriff and the county board. Jennings at several points in the meeting said he would not provide legal interpretations of the many questions aired Tuesday.

Drew said he got personal legal counsel not to sue the county, but to ensure he was on solid ground for his position on acting contrary to the county supervisors' stance. It took the county supervisors two vote attempts to agree to pay up to $10,000 in Drew's legal fees, as Ung said, "There is no absolute right to outside legal counsel."

Ung said the county supervisors' stance is to ensure that laws passed by the Legislature are followed, to avoid threats of lawsuits by gun owners.

Drew said Iowa sheriffs are required to help carry out rulings by courts. The Supreme Court supervisory order said that "all weapons are prohibited from courtrooms, court-controlled spaces and public areas of courthouses."

"I'm a Second Amendment sheriff. This has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. It has to do with the integrity of the courthouse," Drew said.

Drew said the security crew workers provide such good service that there is no reason for a member of the public to need a gun to defend selves in the courthouse.

Drew also told the supervisors he would not prevent county workers with legal-carry permits from bringing guns into the building starting Wednesday, but would halt all other people from bringing them in. Beyond court rooms, the Woodbury County Courthouse also houses several departments.

A dozen people came in support of Drew's position on keeping guns out of the courthouse. Some intended to speak, but left in two waves after the discussion moved well beyond one hour.

Jackie Stellish, of Sioux City, said she comes from a long history of gun owners but said it was misguided to not follow the Iowa Supreme Court order.

"I will steer clear of this building," Stellish said.

Taylor spoke of his "ire" against Iowa Chief Justice Mark Cady, stating he was a "Supreme Court justice pretending to be a legislator."

"(Cady) ignored the Constitution. He ignored the law. He should run for the Legislature," Taylor said.
SIOUX CITY | Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor on Tuesday aired concerns that more than $250,000 in taxpayer money is going through a regional governmental entity to the Sanford Community Center for mental health programs.

During the weekly Woodbury County Board of Supervisors meeting, Taylor said he isn't sure the outreach specialists of the Sanford Center, a nonprofit social agency located in Sioux City, are the right people to help teens with mental health needs. Taylor pointed to uncertainty about the skill set and educational background of Sanford's outreach specialists.

In a Journal interview outside the meeting, Sanford Center Director Fitz Grant said, "We have the people, the experience in place, to provide the service that we are providing."

Grant added that Taylor hadn't spoken to him about his concerns prior to the meeting.

"If he had concerns, what better way to find out than to come here and see our programs and talk," Grant said.

Taylor is seeking to ensure that taxpayer money given to support mental health services is well spent by the Sioux Rivers Regional Mental Health and Disability Services entity. Sioux Rivers gets state and county money to deliver mental health services to low-income people in Woodbury, Plymouth and Sioux counties, after a state-mandated reorganization in 2014 that moved away from individual counties overseeing services.

Taylor shared the most recent sharing agreement between Sioux Rivers, the Sioux City School District and the Sanford Center, which is dated June 12, 2017, for the school year ahead. That agreement covers $290,600 for five outreach specialists to be placed through the combined decisions of Sanford and school district officials. Of that money, $30,000 comes from the school district and $260,600 from Sioux Rivers. Additional money of $215,000 goes to Siouxland Mental Health Center in Sioux City.

The agreement says services for five outreach specialists and up to 85 hours per week on therapy services can be provided to the school district by Siouxland Mental Health Center.

Prior to working with Sioux Rivers, back to 2001 the school district had received federal funds in the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative. Those grant funds expired and Sioux Rivers has annually provided funds for the continuing programming related to the mental health pieces contained in that grant, the agreement summarizes.

Grant said all work by Sanford employees is recapped in regular reports related to the program. He said many school children have anger, resentment and distrust issues, and that Sanford programs can proactively "help their mental health in a positive way, by helping them develop strategies for coping with difficult situations and work toward a positive future for themselves."

Grant added that Sanford staff have the ability to recognize kids with mental health issues, and those children get referred to therapists at Siouxland Mental Health Center.

Taylor raised several questions, including, "what mechanisms are in place to ensure services are being rendered as a region in the way that the Legislature originally intended?"

Taylor is a member of not only the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors, but also the board of the Sioux Rivers Regional entity. He shared his concerns in a July 6 letter to Shane Walter, of Sioux County, who serves as the leader of the Sioux Rivers group.

The issue was on the county board meeting agenda item as a discussion item, so no action was taken. Taylor said he hoped Sioux Rivers officials educate themselves on the issues he raised, toward future decisions on whether funding should continue to go to Sanford.

Walter was not at the meeting Tuesday, but Patty Erickson-Puttmann, the Woodbury County service coordinator for Sioux Rivers, was there. Erickson-Puttmann said the Sanford personnel have broad educational backgrounds that were helpful in their expertise.

School district officials were not at the meeting. A statement from the communications department to the Journal said, "We value this partnership and see the Sanford Center as a valuable community partner. Proper management of taxpayer money is very important and in recognizing that, we also understand the need for the supervisors to discuss their portion of the funding."
SIOUX CITY  A longtime Sioux City commercial real estate agent is being sued by his former employer.

Last month, Dick Salem left NAI United, his employer of 16 years, to launch his own firm, Salem Real Estate.

Before Salem joined NAI United, the commercial division of United Real Estate Solutions, he owned Salem Commercial, which he sold to United in October 2001. Salem opted to strike out on his own again upon hearing that NAI United was moving its main offices to Dakota Dunes.

In a June 21 filing in Woodbury County District Court, United filed suit against the 77-year-old for breach of contract. In the suit, United alleges his new business is a direct violation of the contract he signed with the firm when he sold the business.

According to terms of a non-compete provision, Salem agreed to not engage in any activity, including, but not limited to, association in any capacity whatsoever, whether as promoter, owner, officer, director, employee, partner, lessee, lessor, lender, agent or otherwise, considered to be in competition" with United within 80 miles of Sioux City for at least three years.

Additionally, United alleges that Salem solicited NAI United's clients while still employed with the company and told them not to wait to list properties until his new office opened on June 15.

United is seeking damages from Salems alleged breach of contract and neglect of his fiduciary duties resulting in lost profits for the firm as well as the cost of its legal fees.

A hearing is set for 1 p.m. July 24 in Woodbury County District Court.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa  Harvey Ross was excited to see John Norris enter the race for the Democratic nomination for governor as the person with the best resume of the bunch.

But he told Norris on Tuesday evening that resumes dont win races.

No doubt Hillary (Clinton) had a far better resume than Donald Trump and Al Gore had a far better understanding of the issues than (George) W. Bush, the Cedar Rapids Democratic activist said.

Norris, making his first visit to Cedar Rapids as a candidate, agreed we learned in November 2016 you cant win on experience alone.

But experience should matter  not just for getting to govern and knowing how to get stuff done, but how to get there in a campaign.

Norris, 58, a fifth-generation Iowan, grew up on a farm near Red Oak where he learned hard work wasnt an option, according to his wife, Jackie, who introduced him to 30-some people at the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 110, which represents workers at Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids.

After earning degrees at Simpson College and at the University of Iowa Law School, Norris worked for U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin; ran then-presidential candidate Jesse Jacksons Iowa caucus campaign; chaired the Iowa Democratic Party; served as Gov. Tom Vilsacks chief of staff; worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture; served as a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member; and represented U.S. agricultural policy at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Program in Rome during the Obama administration. He returned to Iowa as co-owner of the State Public Policy Group in Des Moines.

Now hes on a six-day, 22-event tour of Iowa to kick off his campaign for the Democratic nomination. He joins an already crowded field: Former Iowa City Mayor Ross Wilburn, state Sen. Nate Boulton of Des Moines, former Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire, former Des Moines school board President Jon Neiderbach, state Rep. Todd Prichard of Charles City, Coralville nurse and union president Cathy Glasson and Des Moines businessman Fred Hubbell are running or contemplating a bid for the Democratic nomination.

On the GOP side, Gov. Kim Reynolds and Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett say theyre running.

At the heart of his campaign, Norris said, is caring passionately about the things that I believe Iowans care about, including clean water, changing the culture of farming to protect the environment, supporting education, undoing the state privatization of Medicaid and making the judicial system the default provider of mental health services, he said in a speech.

More than any one issue, however, Norris said his campaign is about contesting the power of a few with the power of many.

Our future is eroding because we have a government today that is more interested in serving a few (with) sweetheart deals and special tax cuts for wealthy corporations instead of working for the people. he said, Thats whats going to define our future  reclaiming our government, one that reflects the values we hold dear as Iowans and are willing to fight for.
DES MOINES  Some of Iowas 14 judicial districts do not have enough judges to handle the cases in their workload efficiently, while a couple of districts have more judges or judicial staff than they need, according to a state report.

Other states facing similar issues are considering judicial redistricting: redrawing the boundaries by which judges and their staff are divided to determine resources and deliver services.

Opinions vary as to whether judicial redistricting would benefit Iowas court system. And in other states that have tried, those efforts have run into political hurdles.

There are definitely imbalances, not just within districts but within (individual) judges workloads as well, said Rep. Chip Baltimore, R-Boone, who chairs the Iowa Houses committee on the courts. It definitely needs to be addressed.

In the state report, the Iowa Judicial Officer Workload Assessment Study, a formula to determine workload and ideal judicial staffing was applied to each of Iowas 14 judicial districts.

According to the report, District 4, which includes nine counties in Iowas southwestern corner, should have three more district judges and two more associate judges. Thats a judicial staffing shortage of 30 percent.

District 8A, which includes 10 counties in southeast Iowa, should have two more judges and another associate, a total shortage of 25 percent, the report determined.

Meantime, District 5B, which includes nine counties in south central Iowa, has one more judge than it needs. And a few other districts have one more associate judge than they need, according to the report.

The report shows District 3A, which includes 10 Northwest Iowa counties near the Minnesota border, and District 3B, which covers six other Northwest Iowa counties, including Plymouth and Woodbury, each should have about the equivalent of a half judge more than they have. District 3A has the equivalent of 7.8 district and associate judges and District 3B has 13 judges combined.

Judicial redistricting  redrawing the boundaries that encompass those districts  could help even some of those workloads. But not everyone agrees whether that is needed in Iowa or whether it would work.

I think, going forward, that its definitely something that, given budget concerns, we have to look at, Baltimore said. We cant have judges sitting around with a relatively light workload and other judges being completely overburdened, and theyre all getting paid the same.

Baltimore pointed to a bill that was passed by the Iowa House in 2016 that would have given the state's chief justice more flexibility in how judicial vacancies were filled. The aim of the legislation was to allow the chief justice to shift resources to other districts if there was a need. The bill received no action in the Iowa Senate.

The Iowa Supreme Court supported the proposal, online state lobbying records show. No group registered against the bill.

Iowa does have a mechanism that allows some flexibility for the chief justice, who in the case of a vacancy can allocate a judicial assignment to another district where a substantial disparity exists. Such action also requires approval of a judicial council.

Such action was taken when judges retired in 2003 and 2005, a spokesman for the Iowa Supreme Court said.

In part because of that flexibility and because no district is deemed by the workload report to be more than one judge or one associate judge over-staffed, Iowa Chief Justice Mark Cady has no plan to recommend judicial redistricting, the spokesman said.

Similarly, judicial redistricting is not one of the five recommendations made in the 41-page judicial workload report, which was conducted by the National Center for State Courts and the Judicial Workload Formula Committee. Instead, the report recommends updating the workload data annually and making a few tweaks to the formula used to develop the report.

The Iowa State Bar Association, which represents 8,000 attorneys in Iowa, does not take a formal position on judicial redistricting as a means to even workloads, a spokeswoman for the group said. The group did support the House-passed bill in 2016, online state lobbying records show.

States that have tried to redraw judicial district boundaries as a means to leveling judges workloads have encountered significant political opposition. Often, lawmakers are hesitant to support any plan that would reduce the number of judges in the areas they represent.

Thats what Kentucky Chief Justice John Minton Jr. knew he was in for when state legislators asked him to develop a judicial redistricting plan for the state, according to a report on the website for Governing magazine, which covers issues pertinent to state and local governments.

I went into this as a reluctant participant, Minton said. No community wants to be told its got to give up a judgeship. There are going to be some who gain and some who lose. And those who lose, they speak up.

Minton and his colleagues spent two years designing and developing a redistricting system that was careful to maintain the same number of judges, shift judges to the areas they were needed most and not upset the system by not moving judges before their terms ended and not starting until 2022, according to Governing. But despite single-party control of the Kentucky Statehouse and legislative leadership making judicial redistricting a priority, the proposal stalled this year.

An effort to redraw judicial boundaries in North Carolina this year stalled amid accusations that the new boundaries showed partisan bias, making it easier for conservative judges to win election, according to the Greensboro News and Record.
CHICAGO -- Two years ago, anxiety was keeping me up at night, threatening to spiral out of control. Meanwhile, my husband with his easy confidence -- never seeing a raincloud without a silver lining, always constructing the best possible scenario when confronted with a set of hazy details -- slept like a baby. I decided I wanted that kind of peace in my life.

So, I decided to brainwash myself.

I pulled out all the stops: I meditated daily (a crazy hard practice). I programmed my iPhone to send me automated texts throughout the day reminding me to not worry. I rewrote my personal history, casting it in a fortunate light. I started holding a pencil with my teeth because I read somewhere it mimics the act of smiling and lifts your mood (this really works, by the way).

Then Janice Kaplan's book "The Gratitude Diaries: How a Year Looking on the Bright Side Can Transform Your Life" came out, promising that by just being thankful one could crowd out negative thoughts.

I started keeping -- and it pains me to say this because it's soooo "Oprah Winfrey Show" and completely out of character -- a gratitude journal. The idea was that just jotting down a few very quick, context-free thoughts every day to engage in the physical act of being thankful would accumulate over time and keep me focused on the positive.

The brainwashing worked.

The silver bullet was the act of writing. Looking back at two years of these notes, I can feel the relief and gratitude wash over me. For instance, an entry from November 2015: "I'm so, so thankful for not having to get another root canal."

I like this one, too, from a cold December 2016 day when my fuel gauge told me I had zero miles left on my tank: "I'm so thankful I made it to the gas station."

Other days, I was just thrilled that my son had a good day at school or that my puppy hadn't chewed up my shoes or that I'd found a dollar bill on my walk -- all good stuff that's easy to forget unless you actively recall and transcribe it at the end of the day.

Today, I'm at least 10 times happier than I was when I started. And while all the little hacks helped to some degree, it was the tangibility of writing out good things that made the magic.

This magic is replicable and demonstrably works.

Building upon prior research concluding that psychological interventions like self-affirmation can improve academic performance in vulnerable groups, researchers from Stanford University gave positive writing exercises to Latino and African-American middle-school students in two geographically different areas of the U.S.

The students were asked to choose two to three core values that were personally important -- such as relationships, creativity or humor -- and then write a few sentences about why they were important. The exercises took place during stressful times over the course of a year in middle school, including at the beginning of the year and right before exams. (Students in a control group did a neutral writing assignment.)

Researchers then tracked the students (African-Americans through college enrollment and Latinos through high school enrollment), using official school records.

The results, which were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that of the students who participated in writing about their values, Latino students were more likely to enter a college readiness track than a remedial one near the transition to high school. They also took more challenging courses, such as a college readiness elective, and were also less likely to be placed in remediation.

African-American students were more likely to enroll in college seven to nine years later, including relatively more selective colleges.

The authors make clear that the intervention was specifically designed for students feeling under threat because of stereotypes but who were at middle-class schools, not at schools with low levels of infrastructure and resources. So, positive writing probably is not a cure-all for what ails students at the lowest end of the spectrum of need.

That said, when it comes to overcoming challenges that have root in our insecurities, the power that we have to lift ourselves up is strong. It's a power we should harness for ourselves and teach to our kids so it can be deployed when we most need it.
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. | Along the banks of the Missouri River, across from Sergeant Floyd Monument, 55 acres of land are dedicated to those who have sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom.

Siouxland Freedom Park stands to ensure that those whove sacrificed will never be forgotten. The idea for the park came in Oct. 2007 after the traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall replica "The Wall That Heals" drew more than 11,000 visitors. The positive reception inspired Freedom Park and gifted Sioux City with another special attraction.

Sioux City's Veterans Memorial Wall is the only replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall located in Washington, D.C. The 250-foot black granite half-scale wall is inscribed with over 58,000 names of soldiers who died in the Vietnam War. The wall was dedicated on May 28, 2014.

Soon visitors will be able to explore memorabilia illustrating the role of each branch of the military inside the pentagon-shaped Interpretive Center, designed by Matt Barstad. The center will also provide space for ceremonies and other traveling exhibits.

The John Douangdara Memorial War Dog Park opened in 2013 and has welcomed four-legged companions and their owners since. The park is named after U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class John Douangdara, who died on Aug. 6, 2011, when their helicopter crashed in Afghanistan. Douangdara handled a dog named Bart, who died with his master in the crash.

A clay statue of Douangdara and Bart, created by California sculptor Susan Bahary, watches over those who play on the park's five acres.

Future plans for the park include a laser light amphitheater, a family-friendly leisure space and walking trails.

Siouxland Freedom Park is located at 1101 Foundry Road, South Sioux City, Nebraska.
SIOUX CITY | If you're looking for one of the best views Sioux City has to offer, make your way up to War Eagle Monument at sundown. Remembered as a lifelong advocate of harmony and camaraderie, War Eagle was buried at the top of the bluff overlooking the Missouri River Valley.
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.
Vindicated by a federal court ruling, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is now pursing prosecution against three ex-employees.

In an exclusive interview with SFGN, Michael Kahane, Bureau Chief for AHFs Southern Region, said confidential patient information was stolen by the threesome. The ex-employees were part of a lawsuit involving kickbacks, bonuses and referrals that was dismissed by a federal judge in a decision unsealed last month.

They stole confidential information and we now have pending litigation against them, Kahane said. That did not become an issue until the resolution of this case. We couldnt move forward with that until this case was resolved.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams ruled bonus payments to bona fide AHF employees for referring HIV/AIDS patients to AHF providers fell within the Anti-Kickback Statues employee exception, because such patient referrals are covered services under the Ryan White Program.

Jason King, Legislative Affairs Manager for AHFs Southern Bureau, said the decision vindicates AHF.

This program was vetted by the foremost health legal team in the country, King said. Its a proven model.

Kahane said the three ex-employees  identified in court documents as Jack Carrel, Mauricio Ferrer and Shawn Loftis are obviously disgruntled employees. Kahane said the trio worked at AHFs Fort Lauderdale offices.

Basically what happened is these three employees who are former employees of AHF went to Medicaid and went to AHCA (Agency for Healthcare Administration) which is Medicare for Florida and said this is happening and we believe this to be illegal and we are asking you to join in on this lawsuit so that we can correct this wrong. And both Medicare and AHCA said we disagree and were not going to join in.

AHF, a Los Angeles-based global nonprofit organization, provides medicine and advocacy to more 700,000 people in 39 countries. In South Florida, AHF recently expanded services with the opening of a new health care center in Miamis Liberty City. Similar centers are scheduled to open this month in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.

I'm not surprised AHF is suing the employees, considering they punitively sue anyone in their way, said Mark S. King, a frequent critic of AHF and author of the HIV blog My Fabulous Disease. I'm glad AHF is so aggressive about HIV testing because I believe it is primary to ending the epidemic. I'm just sorry they are so litigious and hell-bent on dominating the HIV service arena without regard to local agencies in the cities AHF enters. AHF continues its empire-building and its legal intimidation of other organizations -- such as suing when they don't get the funding they want, as they have done in city after city.
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According to WHO, Untreatable Gonorrhea 'Superbug' Spreading Around Globe

(EDGE) According to a release by the World Health Organization (WHO), cases of untreatable gonorrhea are rising around the globe. In the U.S., no untreatable cases have yet been detected.

"The bacteria that cause gonorrhea are particularly smart. Every time we use a new class of antibiotics to treat the infection, the bacteria evolve to resist them," said Dr Teodora Wi, Medical Officer, Human Reproduction, at WHO.

"We call upon Congress to increase federal STD prevention funding to prevent gonorrhea and to treat those infected," says David C. Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD). "If we don't prevent cases now, rising STD rates will cost the health care system millions of dollars in treatment down the road and potentially fail to prevent drug-resistant cases," Harvey adds.

In the US, gonorrhea constitutes a public health emergency, with 395,216 cases identified in 2015. It is the second most common reportable infectious disease in America. Gonorrhea is a major cause of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), which can cause serious outcomes in women such as infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain. There is also evidence that gonorrhea infection facilitates the transmission of HIV infection.

Federal STD funding is at a 20-year low and the U.S. currently has a 20 year high for STDs rates. Last year, federal STD prevention funding was cut by $5 million to $152 million. President Trump's proposed budget would cut the budget by another $22 million. If enacted, CDC would no longer be able to fund STD prevention programs in all states, territories, or directly funded cities, thereby decimating the nation's ability to fight a raging STD epidemic and the ability to fight drug-resistant gonorrhea in the US.

Church of England Approves Ban on Gay Conversion Therapy, Moves to Embrace Transgender Members

(EDGE) The Church of England voted in favor of a motion calling for the practice of "gay conversion therapy" to be banned by the government. The motion occurred during the organization's Synod where much of the focus was placed on updating the church's approach to sexuality, Christian.

"As the world listens to us, the world needs to hear us say that LGBT orientation and identity is not a crime," said the Archbishop of York, the Most Rev. John Sentamu according to BBC News.

Sentamu is one of the most senior officials in the Church of England.

"LGBT orientation and identity is not a sickness. And LGBT orientation and identity is not a sin," he added.

"People may be able to alter their behavior, but they can never alter their innate desire," said Christian gay rights campaigner Jayne Ozanne. "Conversion therapy is harmful, dangerous and just doesn't work."

The Synod also saw a welcome move to embrace transgender members of the church. BBC News reports that the Church of England's governing body voted to look into special services for transgender people.

"I hope that we can make a powerful statement that we believe trans people are cherished and loved by God, who created them," said Chris Newlands, the vicar of Lancaster Priory Church.

Despite its progressive gains, current the Church of England rules ban same-sex marriage.

Legal Fight Continues Over Mississippi Gay Marriage Law

(AP) Wrangling continues over a Mississippi law that lets merchants and government officials cite religious beliefs to deny services to same-sex couples.

Attorneys filed papers Thursday asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block the law.

Legal experts say it's the broadest religious-objections law enacted by any state.

It protects three beliefs: that marriage is only between a man and a woman, sex should only take place in such a marriage, and a person's gender is determined at birth and cannot be altered.

A federal district judge blocked the law from taking effect in July 2016, ruling it unconstitutionally establishes preferred beliefs and creates

unequal treatment for LGBT people.

An appeals court panel lifted the hold on the law June 22. Plaintiffs want the whole appeals court to reverse that decision.

Puerto Rico Governor Creates Island's 1st LGBT Advisory Body

(AP) Puerto Rico's governor has created the island's first government advisory board to champion LGBT issues and protect the rights of that community.

Gov. Ricardo Rossello said Wednesday that he's striving to make the U.S. territory more diverse and inclusive. He is leader of a party known for being socially conservative.

Currently transgender students and people who work in the island's Senate are not allowed to use the bathroom or clothing that corresponds to the gender with which they identify.

However same-sex marriage is legal in Puerto Rico and transgender people are allowed to change their gender on their driver's license, although not on their birth certificates.

Rossello said the board will submit a progress report every six months.
Check out the latest in lesbian, bisexual and transgender news!

Lesbian - Supreme Court Declines to Rehear Gay Discrimination Case

(AP) The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Thursday denied a full-court rehearing of the case of Jameka Evans, who had sued Georgia Regional Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, saying she faced discrimination and was effectively forced out of her security guard job because shes a lesbian.



Greg Nevins, a lawyer for the LGBTQ rights group Lambda Legal who represents Evans, said the group plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. But there is no guarantee the court will take on the issue.



A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit ruled 2-1 in March that the 1964 Civil Rights Act doesnt protect against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. That ruling was in line with decisions by other federal appeals courts over the past four decades.



A few weeks later, in early April, the full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago reached the opposite conclusion in a case filed by a former part-time instructor who said an Indiana community college didnt hire her full time because she is a lesbian. The court stated decisively that the 53-year-old laws protections apply to gay and lesbian workers just as they prohibit discrimination based on race, religion or national origin.

Bisexual - Tyler the Creator Came Out (Again) on New Album

(SFGN) Tyler the Creators latest album Scum Fuck Flower Boy is sparking headlines that the rapper, came out as bisexual or gay in the albums lyrics.

On I Aint Got Time Tyler raps,

Next line I'll have em' like woah, / I've been kissing white boys since 2004.

In 2011, the LA rapper and cofounder of Odd Future used the word faggot' a total of 213 times on his debut album Goblin, prompting some to call the artist homophobic.

But the Independent reported the artist has come out before, tweeting in April of 2015:

I TRIED TO COME OUT THE DAMN CLOSET LIKE FOUR DAYS AGO AND NO ONE CARED HAHAHHAHAHA  Tyler, The Creator (@tylerthecreator) April 13, 2015

And that may just be the response Tyler is looking for, for his sexuality to be a non issue.

GQ reported Tyler put out his own gay pride clothing line in 2015, appropriating white supremacist symbolism in the logo. He even featured himself, holding hands with a white boy in the promo photo on Tumblr.

In July of 2016 after a restless night, Tyler tweeted out some artwork to fans, including the rainbow silhouette of a man peeking out of a closet, with a speech bubble asking is it safe?

And in a 2014 interview with Larry King, when asked whether he thought there could be an openly gay rapper Tyler answered King "Maybe one day...but why does that shit matter? Like, if he wanna fuck dudes or whatever, why does that matter? Why do we care? That's so crazy right?"

Transgender - 4th Circuit Will Hear Gavin Grimm Case in September

(SFGN) The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced it will hear arguments in Gavin Grimm vs. Gloucester County School Board on Sept. 12. Grimm is suing the School Board for its policy banning transgender students from using restrooms that match their gender identity, Metro Weekly reported.

Grimm posted the article on Facebook saying Update on my case! The 4th Circuit has announced the date for oral arguments: September 12. #crossyourfingers #StandWithGavin,

According to the report, because Grimm graduated from Gloucester High School last month, the court will consider whether to dismiss the lawsuit on the basis that, as a former student, Grimm is no longer experiencing any injury. The court will also hear arguments revolving around whether Grimm has the right to sue for sex discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972.

The case was scheduled to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court March, but was sent back to the lower court after the Trump administration rescinded Obama-era protections for transgender students in February. Lawyers attempted to convince the 4th District panel to hear the case in May before Grimm graduated but the request was denied in April.
The famous French Impressionist painter Edgar Degas once opined, Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.

On July 20, playwright and director Michael Leeds will provide the backstory for the intriguing snapshots of everyday life captured by Degas and his contemporaries on canvas in Impressions, a world premiere from Pigs Do Fly Productions at the Abyss Theatre in Wilton Manors.

Ellen Wachers Pigs Do Fly Productions got its start as a vehicle for plays that feature mature actors. In film and television, those roles are hard to come by as Hollywood increasingly idolizes youth and beauty. The playwright asked Wacher if he could create a play for her pioneering company.

Leeds, a former Broadway dancer, initially conceived a drama about three middle-aged women who were also former dancers, but quickly realized that A Chorus Line, Turning Point and Follies had already broached that subject.

He then recalled one of the many iconic paintings of ballet dancers by Degas, all studies in character and captured in a particular moment in time.

Ive always loved the Impressionist paintings and the women that were in the portraits, explained Leeds.

He began researching the works of other Impressionist painters, including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, to see what women spoke to me. He also sought out works by female painters of the period and artists working in Amsterdam and Germany.

One of the things the Impressionists did that hadnt been done before was painting people from all walks of life and, in their milieu, they were capturing a fleeting image in time, said the multiple Carbonell Award-winner and Tony nominee.

Leeds quickly realized that most of the most appealing women shared a common predicament: a lack of options in life. All were dependent on their men or trapped in working class jobs.

Following Degas advice, he began to develop characters and contemplate their situations, both in the moment and in life. Leeds created a series of vignettes, monologues, two- and three-character scenes.

When we look at paintings, in general, we supply a story. We may not be conscious of it. I was just taking the impulse of what I saw and going on from there, he said of the process he began four months ago.

Some of the stories are serious and other funny. Leeds also promises a murder mystery in the mix. One has no dialogue at all.

While most of the stories are period pieces, Leeds and his design team did not shy away from contemporary theater technology. In between scenes, an intriguing animated series of Impressionist works designed by Ardean Landhuis will be projected on Jody Dellaventuras set, concluding with the painting that inspired each act. Costume designer Jerry Sturdefant and wig designer Kevin Hammond will transform each of the actresses into their many roles.

When Impressions opens next week for a limited run, Leeds, like Degas, will give his audiences a similar opportunity to examine a piece of art and let it speak to them.

Pigs Do Fly Productions presents the world premiere of Impressions by Michael Leeds, July 20  Aug. 6, at the Abyss Theatre, 2304 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. Tickets are $35 at PigsDoFlyProductions.com.
Fed up with a reportedly insincere investigation on gay persecutions in Chechnya, a Russian newspaper has revealed a list of men who were allegedly killed in a gay purge.

Novaya Gazeta, the Russian publication that first broke the Chechnya story, published the names of 27 perceived gay and bisexual men they believe were killed in Grozny on January 26. They were reportedly arrested in December 2016 and killed without any formal charges.

"According to our information, the detainees were shot that night and were taken to various cemeteries, including Christian, and buried in hastily dug graves," the publication wrote, translated from Russian to English. The information comes from a source in the Interior Ministry.

The murdered Chechens were reportedly shot in the night between January 25 and 26. Journalists were not able to locate any of the persons, stating that anyone they questioned responded with incredible fear.

They published the names out of concern for the investigation, believing it was not carried out with sincerity.

We are publishing these facts because the state represented by authorized law enforcement agencies did not leave us any choice, they wrote. That is why we publish the list of those who, according to our information, were victims of the worst possible extrajudicial executions in Grozny.

Not all of the men are necessarily gay, The Russian LGBT Network told International Business Times. The network has been working on evacuating gay and bisexual Chechens from the country, helping at least 40 so far.

As far as we know, the information in the Novaya Gazeta regarding 27 people being killed is true, they said. With regards to the sexual orientation of those killed, as far as we know there are homosexual people in this list, but not all of them at all.

The Gazeta gave the Investigative Committee of Russia evidence of the victims personal data and pointed to forensic evidence, insisting that their facts must be verified.

Chechen police and officials have denied the persecutions, including Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. His spokesperson said, you cant detain and harass someone who doesnt exist in the republic.

See the list of names in Russian on Novaya Gazetas website NovayaGazeta.ru.
Vera Rubin Ridge NASA

The car-size NASA rover on a Martian mountain, Curiosity, has begun its long-anticipated study of an iron-bearing ridge forming a distinctive layer on the mountains slope.

Since before Curiositys landing five years ago next month, this feature has been recognized as one of four unique terrains on lower Mount Sharp and therefore a key mission destination. Curiositys science team informally named it Vera Rubin Ridge this year, commemorating astronomer Vera Cooper Rubin (1928-2016).

Our Vera Rubin Ridge campaign has begun, said Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. Curiosity is driving parallel to the ridge, below it, observing it from different angles as we work our way toward a safe route to the top of the ridge.

A major appeal of the ridge is an iron-oxide mineral, hematite, which can form under wet conditions and reveal information about ancient environments. Hematite-bearing rocks elsewhere on Mars were the scientific basis for choosing the 2004 landing site of an older and still-active rover, Opportunity. Studies of Mount Sharp with the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, on NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, identified hematite in the ridge and also mapped water-related clay and sulfate minerals in layers just above it.

Vera Rubin Ridge stands about eight stories tall, with a trough behind it where clay minerals await. Curiosity is now near the downhill face, which forms an impressive wall for much of the ridges length of about 4 miles (6.5 kilometers).

In this first phase of the campaign, were studying the sedimentary structures in the wall, said JPLs Abigail Fraeman, a Curiosity science-team member who helped plan these observations.

This summers investigations also seek information about the boundary zone between the material that makes up the ridge and the geological unit that Curiosity has been studying since late 2014: the Murray formation of lower Mount Sharp, which holds evidence of ancient lakes. The Murray formation has variable levels of hematite, but whether the hematite in it and in the ridge accumulated under similar environmental conditions is unknown. The planned ascent route will provide access to closer inspection of the hematite-bearing rocks.

We want to determine the relationship between the conditions that produced the hematite and the conditions under which the rock layers of the ridge were deposited, Fraeman said. Were they deposited by wind, or in a lake, or some other setting? Did the hematite form while the sediments accumulated, or later, from fluids moving through the rock?

Deciphering the history of the ridges hematite may shed light on whether the freshwater environments that deposited the layers of the older Murray formation were turning more acidic by the time the layers of the ridge formed. The mission also will be watching for clues about whether a gradient in oxidation levels was present, as that could have provided a potential energy source for microbial life.

Terrain near the base of the ridge is rife with boulders and sand, creating challenging conditions for navigation, as well as opportunities to add to the missions studies of sand dunes and ripples. The largest sand dunes were at lower elevations, including a linear dune informally named Nathan Bridges Dune in memory of Nathan Bridges (1966-2017), a Curiosity team member who helped lead the missions dune studies.

During the first year after its landing on Aug. 5, 2012, PDT (Aug. 6, EDT and Universal Time), the Curiosity mission accomplished a major goal by determining that billions of years ago, a Martian lake offered conditions that would have been favorable for microbial life. Curiosity has since traversed through a diversity of environments where both water and wind have left their imprint. The upcoming exploration of Vera Rubin Ridge and the higher clay and sulfate layers provides opportunities to learn even more about the history and habitability of ancient Mars. For more about Curiosity, visit: https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl

Status of Curiositys Drill

The rover team will not have Curiositys rock sampling drill available in the first phase of studying Vera Rubin Ridge. The drill feed mechanism, which moves the bit forward or back, faulted on Dec. 1, 2016, and no rocks have been drilled since then. While continuing to test possible ways to move the bit with the drill feed mechanism, rover engineers are also now studying alternative ways to drill. For the 15 rocks that Curiosity has sampled with its drill so far, two stabilizer posts, one to each side of the bit, were placed against the rock before the bit was extended with the feed mechanism.

We are investigating methods to drill without using the stabilizers, said Curiosity Deputy Project Manager Steve Lee, of JPL. Instead of using the feed mechanism to drive the bit into the rock, we may be able to use motion of the arm to drive the bit into the rock. Adaptation in delivering the resulting rock powder to laboratory instruments is also under study, such as use of the arms soil scoop.
New Jerseys horse industry will get a boost from legislation introduced by Assemblyman Ron Dancer facilitating boarding stables on preserved farms. The bill (A4829) allows the construction on protected land to house workers.

Boarding horses is an important business in New Jerseys agriculture sector, said Dancer (R-Ocean). The unique labour demands of boarding require the presence of round-the-clock workers. These labourers need a place to live close by so they can tend to the health and safety of the horses.

Currently, owners of preserved farmland (excluding horses) can build housing for labourers employed on the property if approved by the State Agriculture Development Committee. However, the SADC has rarely approved construction for housing horse boarding workers, often requiring that the horses be defined as production rather than livestock farm animals.

It is a simple equation, Dancer said. The horses need farmhands, and farmhands need housing. This bill ensures housing for agricultural workers needed for supervising and tending to the horses.

Under the bill, the SADC will retain the authority to approve proposed construction on preserved farmland, and ensure the dwelling is sized for worker occupancy and farm employees only.

(New Jersey Assembly Republicans)
The publicity department for the Grand Circuit has sent out its weekly recap and preview of Grand Circuit races.

This Week: Meadowlands Pace, Hambletonian Maturity, W.R. Haughton Memorial, Mistletoe Shalee, Stanley Dancer Memorial, Delvin Miller Memorial, Golden Girls, Miss Versatility and Kindergarten Series, Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, N.J.; and Lawrence B. Sheppard Memorial, Yonkers Raceway, Yonkers, N.Y.

Schedule of events: The Grand Circuit week begins on Friday (July 14) at Meadowlands Racetrack with two $10,000 divisions in the Kindergarten Series for two-year-old colt pacers and a pair of $10,000 divisions in the Kindergarten Series for two-year-old filly pacers.

The stakes heavy Saturday (July 15) Grand Circuit card at the Meadowlands features the $738,550 Meadowlands Pace for three-year-olds, the $458,750 Hambletonian Maturity for four-year-old trotters, the $427,400 W.R. Haughton Memorial for free for all pacers, two divisions in the $320,500 Stanley Dancer Memorial for three-year-old male trotters, two divisions in the $250,500 Delvin Miller Memorial for three-year-old filly trotters, the $201,000 Golden Girls for older pacing mares, the $165,700 Mistletoe Shalee for three-year-old filly pacers, and a pair of $30,000 divisions of the Miss Versatility for older trotting mares.

Saturday Grand Circuit action also includes the $110,500 Lawrence B. Sheppard for two-year-old colt pacers at Yonkers Raceway.

Last time: Marion Marauder returned to the winners circle at the Meadowlands Racetrack, site of his Hambletonian victory last August, on Saturday night (July 8) thanks to a 1:51.2 triumph in the $240,000 Graduate Series final for four-year-old trotters. Warrawee Roo, sent off at 59-1, finished second, beaten by three-quarters of a length and Dayson was third.

For Marion Marauder, who became the first Trotting Triple Crown winner to compete at the Meadowlands as a four-year-old, it was his second win in three starts this season. Last year Marion Marauder swept the Triple Crown  the Hambletonian, Yonkers Trot and Kentucky Futurity  on his way to being named Trotter of the Year.

Marion Marauder, the 4-5 favourite in the Graduate, and driver Scott Zeron started from Post 9 and were fifth through the opening half-mile, but started a first-over march on the backstretch to overcome fraction-setting Trolley at the top of the stretch. Marion Marauder, who lowered his career mark by one-fifth of a second, paid $3.80 to win.

Marion Marauder, a son of Muscle Hill out of the mare Spellbound Hanover, has won 13 of 31 career races and earned $1.9 million in purses for owners Marion Jean Wellwood and Devin Keeling.

In the $240,000 Graduate Series final for four-year-old pacers, 6-5 favourite Sintra followed the cover of Check Six around the last turn before bursting through the stretch to win by four and a half lengths over Boston Red Rocks in 1:47.2. Western Fame finished third.

Western Fame, Lyons Snyder and Dr J Hanover all took turns on the front as the field reached the first quarter in :26.3, half in :53.2 and three-quarters in 1:20.4. Check Six battled with Dr J Hanover for the lead on the last turn, but Sintra was in striking position.

Sintra, who paid $4.60 to win, is trained by Dave Menary for owners Brad Gray, Michael Guerriero and Menary Racing. He has won six of eight races this year and earned $209,202. For his career, the son of Mach Three out of Dancin Barefoot has won 14 of 27 starts and banked $445,762.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2017, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2017 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders through and including the races on July 8.

Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras  308; 2. David Miller  257; 3. Scott Zeron  238; 4. Jason Bartlett  226; 5. Jordan Stratton - 196.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke  332; 2. Rene Allard  159; 3. Jimmy Takter  143; 4. Peter Tritton  132; 5. Ray Schnittker - 127.

Owners: 1. Harry von Knoblauch Stable  103.5; 2. Burke Racing Stable  72.9; 3. Jeff Snyder  70; 4. J&T Silva Stables  68.5; 5. Weaver Bruscemi  59.5.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will be taking place next weekend at Saratoga Harness, the Meadows and the Meadowlands. Saratoga will have the Joe Gerrity for older pacers; the Meadows will have eliminations for the Delvin Miller Adios for three-year-old colt pacers; and the Meadowlands will host the second leg of the Kindergarten Series for two-year-old colt and filly pacers and trotters and Tompkins-Geers events for three-year-old colt and filly trotters.

(Grand Circuit)
Standardbred Canada members and racing fans were busy and innovative in celebrating the 250th annniversary of Canadian Horse Racing and the 150th birthday of Canada during the July 1st weekend! From coast to coast, at tracks, stables and training centres, there was a ton going on to honour these special milestones.

Wed like to thank everyone who took time to add the #cdnhorseracing250 and the #canada150 hashtags to photos taken that day which automatically entered them into our photo contest.

From all of the entries that we received via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, weve selected the following as our three contest winners!

Congratulations to:

Sam Cormier of Riverview, N.B. for his photo (and videos) taken at the races in Saint John, NB on July 1. The horse on the left is Haunto and the one on the right is Cecils Express. Sam refers to the pair as brothers from another mother and best friends. If one leaves the barn the other one is not happy and lets you know about it until they return. They even put their hay between the 2 stalls (in the hallway) and they share it. In this photo, it was time to put them both away so instead of going one behind the other the owners said lets put them face to face. They had fun smelling each other for a bit and then Randy (Cecils owner) gave them both some carrots to enjoy while being put away.

Jackie McManus, of Komoka, Ont., for this great shot of Doug McNair driving 13-year old Standardbred mare, A Promise Made in a high-wheeled sulky at Clinton Raceway on Sunday, July 2 for a commemorative mile.

And Tony Alagnas Stable who took a New Image photo from June 3 of Dr J Hanover after his 1:46.4 mile at Mohawk, and added some 250 branding to their shot.

Sam, Jackie and the Alagna Stable have each won a $50 gift card to the racetrack of their choice, and a fabulous swag package that includes 250 merchandise, swag from the I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club and Trot Magazine.

Here's a short video featuring many of the shots submitted.
New York States three-year-old pacing colts and geldings went at it earlier this week, and now Yonkers Raceway will host the New York Sire Stakes Art Watson Pace for the three-year-old pacing fillies on Friday night (July 14).

The lasses dealt themselves blackjack, as 21 of them have been neatly organized into a trio of $56,833 divisions. The splits have been carded as Races 5, 6 and 7 on Yonkers 12-dash card, which will get underway with the usual first post of 7:10 p.m.

Friday nights opening NYSS event will be highlighted by the return of Lismore champ Tequila Monday (Brian Sears, PP6). Last seasons put up (after a disqualification) NYSS frosh filly champ is 4-for-8 thus far this season ($159,337), including wins in elims for both the Fan Hanover (Mohawk Racetrack) and James Lynch Memorial (Pocono Downs).

She does enter here off a rare poor effort, as she backpedalled to eighth (as the 6-5 choice) in the $300,000 final of the Lynch. The daughter of American Ideal is trained by Chris Oakes for co-owners Susan Oakes and Chuck Pompey.

World Apart (Jason Bartlett, PP4) is back with statebreds after winning her division of the Geers at Tioga, while Artrageous (Brett Miller, PP7) owns a NYSS win at Saratoga.

The second Watson event obviously goes through pole-sitting Obvious Blue Chip (Bartlett) as she goes for a third consecutive NYSS victory. The Roll With Joe lass, co-owned by NLG Racing & Stephen Klunowski and trained by Mark Steacy, has won three of her four 17 tries.

Playing Favorites (Brett Miller, PP6) cant be glossed over since she, too, has a pair of NYSS wins. Meanwhile, Planet Rock (Dan Dube, PP7), twice second in MYSS competition this season, will be looking to regain some of her $200,000 frosh form.

Friday nights statebred finale finds Roaring To Go (Miller, PP3) in essentially the same boat as Planet Rock, as in trying to recapture her youth. The Art Major maam, who crossed the line first in last seasons divisional title but was set down (to second) for a pylon violation, is winless in seven starts this season. She chased home Tequila Monday in her lone 2017 NYSS appearance to date.

New York Sire Stakes will continue at Yonkers on Tuesday night (July 18) with the Bruce Hamilton Trot for two-year-old fillies.

(Yonkers Raceway)
New Evidence Supporting Charlie Gard Treatment to be Presented; Terri Schiavo's Brother Visited Charlie and is Available for Comment

Contact: Tom Shakely, Executive Director, Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network , 855-300-4673 ext 1, tshakely@lifeandhope.com CINCINNATI, July 12, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- At 10:30a.m. Thursday in London(5:30a.m. in New York) the Royal Court of Justice will consider new evidence in the Charlie Gard case determining whether he will be permitted to receive an experimental treatment being offered by U.S. physicians. If he is denied access to this treatment, the hospital where he is staying would initiate proceedings to remove him from life support resulting in his death.Bobby Schindler, brother of Terri Schiavo, visited Charlie in Great Ormond Street Hospital, London on Saturday at the invitation of Charlie's parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates. Bobby Schindler will be available following the London hearing for interview and comment."Chris and Connie are regular parents who want to offer their son what would be normal treatment in the United States," said Bobby Schindler, President of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network. "They are heroic advocates for their son, but face impossible odds due to the nature of the British healthcare and legal systems. After having met with them, and having visited little Charlie, I can speak to how remarkable their fight is and how important it is for everyone who cares about the sort of healthcare that's considered basic and ordinary in our changing medical landscape."The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network has advocated for more than 2,500 medically vulnerable patients and families.
Play at the new site will be free and first come, first served through the...
When Meri Beth Senns leg became red and swollen a few weeks ago, she suspected a blood clot. The 63-year-old Longview resident, who uses a wheelchair, has had multiple surgeries over the past several years including an operation that fused her spine from her neck to her tailbone.

But instead of asking a family member to drive her to the doctor, Senn made an appointment online to speak with Dr. Jennifer Bard, her primary care physician at the Kaiser Permanente clinic in Longview. Then she sat back and waited for a pre-scheduled consultation on her iPhone 7.

Its nice when I dont have to get a ride down there because Im kind of laid up, she said.

Senns telehealth visit with Bard was just one of more than 160,000 that Kaiser Permanente Northwest has conducted with patients so far this year. The non-profit managed care agency is on track to dwarf the roughly 189,000 scheduled phone visits it did last year as a growing number of patients choose to meet with physicians using a smartphone, tablet or computer instead  or in addition to  physically traveling to a doctors office.

Telehealth has been heralded for years now as a way to increase access to health care while also improving outcomes and lowering costs. In 2015, Washington passed a law requiring health plans to cover telehealth services if the plan covers the same service delivered in person. The law recognizes any location determined by a patient receiving the health service as an acceptable originating site for coverage.

The Veterans Health Administration, which functions as the largest integrated health care system in the United States, was an early adopter of telemedicine. In 2012 the VHA estimated that it saved $6,500 annually for each patient participating in its telehealth system, which translated to nearly $1 billion in systemwide savings, according to a recent report by the American Hospital Association. Savings are achieved by reducing a patients number of hospital visits, which is the most expensive place to receive care.

Overall, a large majority of Americans are interested in using telehealth services, but only a relative few have done so. An April survey by The Advisory Board Company found that more than 75 percent of nearly 5,000 respondents said they would see a doctor virtually while less than one-fifth have actually participated in a telehealth visit.

Over the past nine months, Kaiser has ramped up its telehealth programs to meet its patients interest in virtual care, said Hyatt Yu, Longview-Kelso service area director for Kaiser Permanente Northwest.

Were still in the infancy of video visits in this country, and weve got a ways to go as a nation, he said. But in a lot of ways its been Kaiser Permanente Northwest thats been groundbreaking.

So far this year, 18 percent of Kaisers telehealth visits have been conducted by video, up from 14.3 percent in 2016. And with the year only half-over, video visits are on pace to nearly triple the more than 3,800 conducted in 2016.

The idea is to make those as numerous as the telephone visit, Yu said.

Dr. Heidi Hodge, a family medicine clinician who practices at Kaisers Longview clinic, said she prefers video over phone visits and expects video to continue its rapid growth in popularity.

I enjoy the video visits the most because I can get a lot from peoples expressions and how theyre holding themselves, what theyre saying and how theyre looking at me, she said. Theres a lot more that can be gleaned there.

Hodge said she now has at least one afternoon per week blocked out for 15-minute telehealth visits, which allows her to cover more ground and see more patients.

They dont have to go anywhere. They dont have to dress up, and they dont have a co-pay, she said.

Kaiser also has a group of nurses on staff to handle calls that are not scheduled. With a physician overseeing the operation, the idea is to address patients health concerns on the fly and avoid transferring them.

In 2016, Kaiser conducted more than 8,000 virtual dermatology visits. Patients can use iPads to photograph skin problems, which are then transmitted electronically to a dermatologist. From there the patient is given instructions for home care or advised to come in for a face-to-face visit. More than 5,600 have done virtual dermatology visits this year.

Despite its promise, its still not clear whether widespread adoption of telehealth will actually reduce health care costs. According to a March article in the journal Health Affairs, cheap telehealth appointments can actually drive up health care spending by encouraging patients to use services more frequently  thereby cancelling out any savings.

Still, for patients like Meri Beth Senn, the convenience is undeniable. After speaking with her primary care physician, Senn was able to bypass a formal, same-day visit with a doctor who would not be familiar her medical history and went straight in for an ultrasound. The test results revealed that she had an infection  not a blood clot  and she was treated accordingly.

I didnt have to wait to get in and out of the exam room, Senn said. And its a more efficient use of my doctors time.
Matrix Cellular, the largest country specific SIM card provider offering voice, data and SMS services under the brand Matrix to travellers outbound from India, with a majority market share (Source: Frost & Sullivan Report on Assessment of the India Outbound International Roaming market) has announced first of its kind international SIM Card packages for students travelling to the US and the UK this summer for studies. The new prepaid plans from Matrix will help students save enormously on their communication expenses while studying abroad. The prepaid plans are available for as low as Rs. 1999 for USA and the UK. The prepaid plans offer bundled benefits and freebies such as free incoming calls, free local calls, free calls to India, free data usage and free texts. A copy of the student visa is a mandatory KYC requirement for buying these SIM cards.

Speaking about the new offering, Gagan Dugal, Director said, Matrix has been at the forefront when it comes to understanding customers requirements and have always believed in providing best of the offers to our customers. This year we wanted to offer something unique and special to students and the launch of student packages is another example reiterating our commitment of providing cost effective telecom solutions. As students prepare to leave for higher studies this summer they need to have the right service provider with them that can provide sufficient data and talk time to connect with their family and friends back in India.
How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time. Kindness is a gateway for all of us to connect and care for each other.  Morgan Freeman Whether its a supporting...

MAKING CONNECTIONS Editors note: The following random acts of kindness were emailed or called into County Press editor Jeff Hogan at jhogan@mihomepaper.com. The following acts of kindness experienced by County Press readers...

Ed-Tech students connect with community ATTICA TWP.  The Lapeer County Education and Technology Center (Ed-Tech) is a place where students can get a taste of the career opportunities that exist in their field of...
[UPDATE: The levee board has asked SCOTUS to revive its lawsuit. Read more here.]

Photo by Robin May

[UPDATE: The levee board has asked SCOTUS to revive its lawsuit. Read more here.]

A Louisiana flood board is nearing a deadline for asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review its lawsuit seeking to make oil and gas companies pay for decades of damage to coastal wetlands, the Associated Press reports.

Federal district and appeals courts have rejected the lawsuit, which was met by fierce opposition from the energy industry and many in state government when it was filed in 2013. The suit by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East said drilling and dredging activity contributed to loss of wetlands that form a hurricane buffer for New Orleans. Oil industry supporters have labeled the lawsuit an attack on a vital industry. Tuesday marks the deadline for the flood board attorneys to seek Supreme Court review after their last defeat in April. A federal district judges 2015 ruling held that federal and state law provided no avenue by which the board could bring the suit.

Read the full story here.
After four years at the helm of the regional business and economic development group, Jason El Koubi will assume the No. 2 job at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

Photo by Robin May

Jason El Koubi, who joined One Acadianas predecessor, the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, four years ago and successfully navigated its transformation into a powerful regional business and economic development organization, has resigned as president and CEO to accept a job in Virginia. He has been named executive vice president of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the state economic development authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The new job, the No. 2 position in the organization, reunites El Koubi with Stephen Moret, his former boss at Louisiana Economic Development and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber. Moret, who left LED to head the LSU Foundation in mid-2015, joined VEDP in January.

Jim Bourgeois, One Acadianas executive director of business development, will serve as interim CEO effective immediately; El Koubi will remain with One Acadiana through the end of July.

Jim has been with One Acadiana since its inception. His leadership over the last 2.5 years gives us every confidence in his ability to guide our organization through this transition, One Acadiana Chairman Frank Neuner, managing partner of NeunerPate, said in a press release announcing El Koubis departure.

Since joining One Acadiana in September 2013, El Koubi worked with top business and civic leaders to develop and launch The Campaign for One Acadiana, a five-year, $15 million initiative to deliver a new, nationally competitive regional economic development program for the nine-parish region.

Under El Koubis leadership, the organization established a platform for regional leadership and cohesion across nine parishes and helped secure public support for major infrastructure projects, including the new Lafayette Regional Airport terminal and the I-49 Lafayette Connector. It also launched a business-focused regional workforce development strategy that has supported rapid retraining and re-employment for hundreds of displaced oilfield workers.

Additionally, One Acadiana launched a business attraction, expansion and retention programs and created a site development program that has dramatically increased the inventory of Acadianas certified industrial sites.

Leading One Acadiana has been one of the greatest privileges of my career, uniting my passion for our state and region with my professional interests, El Koubi says in the release. Im particularly grateful to the leaders who had the courage and vision to create One Acadiana, the group of investors whose leadership and commitment turned the One Acadiana vision into reality, and the tremendously capable One Acadiana staff for their commitment to passionately advance our mission every day. ... One Acadiana is a catalyst for unlocking our areas tremendous potential through business and civic leadership, he continues. Sustaining these efforts will have a direct and positive impact on the long-term economic trajectory of our community, region, and state.

Prior to joining One Acadiana, El Koubi served as assistant secretary of LED under then-Secretary Moret and had previously worked with him as policy director of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, which Moret headed from November 2004 to January 2008. El Koubi also has experience as a performance auditor with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor and as a project consultant/environmental engineer with Trinity Consultants.

1A will conduct a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.
GRAND TOWER  The body of a 50-year-old man, missing since Sunday when he and a 13-year-old went swimming in the Mississippi River and apparently got caught in a current, was recovered around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The body of David Totten of Du Quoin was found about 12 miles south of Grand Tower in Union County, shortly after midnight Wednesday morning, according to a news release from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. The search is continuing for Paul Johnson, the 13-year-old who was also swimming with Totten.

Around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, a Southern Skyz Aviation helicopter pilot, who was assisting in the search, reported that he saw what appeared to be a floating body in the Mississippi River at that location.

Recovery boat staff from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and the Cape Girardeau Fire Department went to the scene, arriving at about 10:20 p.m.; they recovered Totten's body about two hours later, according to the news release.

Crews from the Jackson and Union county sheriff's offices, the Illinois Department of Conservation Police and Southern Skyz Aviation are continuing to search for Johnson.
CARBONDALE  An independent living center has announced that it must eliminate a program that serves elderly blind people after the Illinois Department of Human Services failed to renew a grant that funded the services.

The Southern Illinois Center for Independent Living, which serves nine of the southernmost counties in Illinois, will no longer be able to provide free equipment, training and low-vision assessments for individuals 55 and older who are blind or visually impaired.

SICIL Executive Director Bonnie Vaughn said the loss of the program will leave elderly blind people in the region without any options.

There are no blind services in Southern Illinois. You can go to an optometrist, but I dont think theyre actually going to help you with the accommodations that you might need, Vaughn said.

Vaughn said the $91,000-a-year grant  federal dollars that flow through DHS  was revoked this year without an explanation. It has been awarded to SICIL since 1997.

Through the program, SICIL provided home visits to people with severe visual loss, said Program Administrator Elizabeth Reinhardt-Miller.

Oftentimes we get referrals from optometrists who have diagnosed their older patients with either macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, inoperable cataracts, and they send them to us to assess what we can do as far as getting them equipment that would let them remain in their homes or to be independent, Reinhardt-Miller said.

That equipment might consist of magnification or talking devices, such as talking thermostats and talking bath scales.

The first thing we do when we walk in the door is say, What is it that youre missing? What is it that you want to do? Vaughn said.  Some people its crocheting. Some people its reading a Bible. Some people its cooking. You know, everybodys different, and we try and meet that need.

The center also hosts a monthly peer group meeting for participants in the Older Blind Program.

They love getting together and talking about their issues, what they have in common, how some have overcome the issue, they talk about places that they traveled and whether or not they had problems with mobility, getting there, getting to where they were going. And that once-a-month meeting seems to really help them out emotionally and gives them some dignity, Reinhardt-Miller said.

82-year-old Marilyn Sanders, a former schoolteacher, has had bad eyes since she was 3 years old. She said that the program has helped her for the past 15 years by providing her with pieces of special equipment that keep her independent  things like a talking clock and measuring cups that are easier to read.

Different people want different things, and theyll look it up, and sometimes they have the things here. Theyll just give it to you right now, you know, Sanders said.

Joyce Fornes, 70, is totally blind due to a genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa. She has been attending the program meetings for 27 years.

Its helped me become more independent  I live independently. Im all by myself, Fornes said. "This program has helped me to have the confidence to do the things that I do. I have even traveled by myself."

Coleman Tri-County Services, an agency based in Harrisburg and serving Gallatin, Saline and White counties, also had its Older Blind Program shut down, said Program Director Debbie Oglesby.

The nearest place to obtain those free services would now be Belleville, Vaughn said.

Its a very powerful program.  This has been our bumper year. Weve served 137 people. That means 137 people are more independent today, Vaughn said.

Reinhardt-Miller said SICIL was never notified that the center would not be receiving the grant  the funding simply didnt come in. After administrators made numerous calls, they were finally told that their contract would not be renewed.

Weve tried to get everyone to give us an answer: Why? We cant get anyone to tell us who made the final decision  we just cant get anyone to give us the information, Reinhardt-Miller said.

Meghan Powers, a spokeswoman for the DHS said the "Independent Living Services for Older Individuals Who are Blind Grant has been competitively bid for the past two years. The Division of Rehabilitation Services performed a merit-based review of each application on the basis of the need, capacity, and quality demonstrated in the application. The highest scoring providers were granted an award."

She said notifications for state awards were released at the end of June and a list of those who were awarded can be found at the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act website.

Without the $91,000 for the Older Blind Program, which comprises a significant portion of the SICILs funding, the centers future looks uncertain. Reinhardt-Miller, who has worked at the center for 27 years, will leave her position this week; her salary was included in those funds.

Reinhardt-Miller said she has been encouraging people to call state and federal legislators to try to have the funding restored.

Ive had individuals who have continued being a part of their church or their community because of the equipment that we have gotten them  theyre able to stay useful in their communities, and its going to mean, you know, that theyre not going to get that anymore, Reinhardt-Miller said.
Ruiz Foods to add 700 jobs in Florence

COLUMBIA  Ruiz Food Products, Inc., a producer of frozen food and snack products, is expanding its existing Florence County operations, the S.C. Department of Commerce announced Tuesday.

The $79 million investment is expected to create 705 new jobs over the next several years.

El Monterey is the flagship frozen Mexican food brand for Ruiz Foods and the top-selling brand of frozen Mexican food in the United States. Its products include burritos, tamales, breakfast burritos, empanadas, quesadillas, taquitos and more.

Tornados, also distributed nationally, is the companys snack brand and a leader on convenience store roller grills. Ruiz Foods produces these items at facilities in California, South Carolina and Texas, employing nearly 3,600 team members nationwide.

Located in Florence, the company will be adding another production line to its South Carolina manufacturing facility immediately. And there are plans to add additional lines in the next seven years.

--

Forest products firm chooses Chester

Roseburg Forest Products, a privately owned, integrated forest products company based in the Pacific Northwest, is locating a new engineered wood products plant in Chester County. The development is projected to lead to the creation of more than 145 new jobs.

Employing more than 3,000 people in the United States, Roseburg Forest Products features a portfolio of products that includes lumber, softwood plywood, composite panels, engineered wood, wood chips and more. With a strong focus on environmental stewardship and sustainability, the company markets products to customers throughout North America. It also owns and sustainably manages more than 630,000 acres of timberland in Oregon and California.

Located off Highway 9, six miles east of Chester, Roseburgs new Chester County plant will manufacture structural beams used in residential and commercial construction. Hiring for the new positions is projected to begin in spring 2018.

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Galvanizing company coming to Cherokee

Steel Creek Galvanizing Company LLC, a fabricated steel products galvanizer, is launching a new facility in Cherokee County. The development is projected to bring $14.1 million of new capital investment and lead to the initial creation of 72 jobs.

Located at 576 Tribal Road in Blacksburg, the company will be constructing a new, 82,000-square-foot building. Designed to protect steel against rust and other corrosion, the hot-dip galvanizing operation will be an environmentally friendly, zero-emission operation.

Hiring for the new positions is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018. Interested applicants should visit the job site for more information.

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Going up? Otis manager says elevator plant likely to expand

FLORENCE (AP)  The manager of the Otis Elevator plant in South Carolina says his facility probably needs to expand beyond 700 employees.

Otis Florence plant manager Brad Selleck did not give specifics when he spoke Monday to the Florence Rotary Club, but said the company is looking to move escalator production to South Carolina.

The Morning News of Florence reports that Selleck told the group the diversity and culture in Florence is a major selling point, with 14 different languages spoken in the plant.

The Otis plant bought its current facility from Maytag five years ago.
An Orangeburg charter school is scheduled to open for business this August.

The 17,000-square-foot High School for Health Professions is scheduled to receive its final inspection on July 24, Piedmont Company Project Developer Andrew Silver said.

"There is very little that needs to be done," he said. Inspections and property checks are being done to ensure the building is fully prepared for the opening.

The new school cost a little over $5 million to build. The contractors were David E. Looper and Company and O'Cain Construction.

The school sits on 34 acres on St. Matthews Road. It has 22 classrooms, four office spaces, a library and a cafeteria.

About 400 students will attend the newly constructed facility.

The school was tentatively scheduled to open Dec. 1, 2016, but construction was delayed by the October 2015 floods.

The charter school is currently operating out of the former Nix Elementary School building on Stilton Road. It has been at the location for the past three years.

The school opened with just one hallway, seven classrooms and 73 children at the Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 Technology Center. It now has five hallways and 21 classrooms.

The school is near capacity and often has waiting lists for grades 9-11.

The new facility will provide the school with space for a science lab and will be closer to the Regional Medical Center, Family Health Centers and Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College. All are school partners.

Charter schools are independent public schools. They receive a portion of the state funding that would otherwise go to local districts for their students.

The High School for Health Professions is sponsored by District 5 and operates under its own seven-member board. The school district provides it with negotiated services, but operating funds do not directly come from the district.

In addition to OCtech and Claflin, the charter school has partnerships with South Carolina State University, the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston Southern University, College of Charleston and Cornell University.
Payless ShoeSource at the Prince of Orange Mall closed on Monday.

The Orangeburg store was closed as a part of a companywide restructuring following Payless ShoeSource Inc.s decision in April to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

"We intend to use the Chapter 11 process to implement a comprehensive path forward to meaningfully enhance our growth profile and profitability, positioning us to continue to thrive as a sustainable business in the face of the retail industrys radical, unprecedented transformation," the company said in a statement.

The company says its seeking to reduce debt, lower annual cash interest costs and access additional capital.

As part of its plan, the company is closing about 800 stores nationally. The Payless in Florence is currently under negotiation.

The remaining Payless stores as well as payless.com will continue to operate as normal.

Payless ShoeSource was founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1956. It continues to be headquartered in Topeka.

In April, Payless reported having more than 4,400 brick-and-mortar stores in more than 30 countries.

Moodys Investor Service said earlier this year that the number of distressed retailers those with cash problems and lots of debt that are facing strong competition  is at the highest rate since 2009. It named Payless as one of the retailers.

Several retailers have closed stores or gone out of business in 2017. The Limited closed all 250 of its remaining stores early this year. It had operated nearly 400 stores at the end of 2000. Teen retailer Wet Seal in January said it would close its 171 stores.

More than twice as many stores have closed this year than at the same point last year and bankruptcies are way up over last year's pace.
DENMARK -- Voorhees College recently hosted local middle and high school students at the Consortium Enabling Cybersecurity Opportunities and Research Cyber Security Camp.

The two-week overnight camp was designed for students interested in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

The first week was attended by high school students who worked in collaborative teams learning about computer programming and coding, using situations to create computer games and programming with Lego raspberry pi, a mini computer programming device.

In addition, they learned computer safety techniques.

This was my first experience involving a STEM-related camp and I learned so much about cybersecurity and how important it is to stop hackers from invading peoples private information. I have now grown a new interest for cybersecurity and Voorhees provided an enriching experience, said Daybreoana Robinson, a rising junior at Denmark-Olar High School.

The last week of the program featured middle-school students for the first time.

Jaylun Parker, a rising freshman at Blackville-Hilda High School, said he would like to major in computer science when he gets to college.

I enjoyed working with the drones and meeting new people learning about programming and coding, Parker said.

Each session concluded with an official Consortium Cyber Security Science Fair. During this science fair, students had the opportunity to display their research projects that they worked on throughout the camp.

This has been an educational journey for the students, interns, and staff and in the end the students proved they obtained academic enrichment within the STEM field. I believe that many students now will consider pursuing STEM majors and some enrolling in Voorhees College, said Barbara Nimmons, camp director.
SPRINGFIELD  Springfield's police chief will stay on the job until he has his day in court on a charge of misconduct in office.

Police Chief LaCra Jenkins is accused of withholding money from fellow deputies when they performed off-duty assignments while he was serving as a captain with the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office.

The OCSO terminated Jenkins in October 2015 after Sheriff Leroy Ravenell learned of allegations involving the law enforcement veteran. The State Law Enforcement Division investigated the case.

Jenkins has served as police chief in Springfield since March 2017 and prior to that had served as a part-time Springfield officer since November 2016.

He appeared in bond court in late June on the charge of misconduct in office.

Jenkins pending case was not discussed during the regular Springfield Town Council meeting Monday night.

However, asked prior to the meeting what Jenkins' employment status was with the town, Mayor Edward Furtick said Jenkins would be kept on as chief pending the result of his court case.

Jenkins, who performed his usual duties during Monday's meeting, said that he could not comment on the misconduct in office charge and that all questions would have to be directed to his lawyer. Jenkins attorney was unavailable to comment Monday.

Furtick commended Jenkins for his performance in Springfield during the meeting, noting that only 116 traffic stops were made in Springfield in 2016 and Jenkins had already issued 84 speeding tickets so far this year.

In other business, council approved second reading of a hunting ordinance banning hunting inside the town limits and unleashing any hunting dogs inside the town limits. The ordinance stipulates that violators will be fined $200 or sentenced to 10 to 15 days in jail for a first offense; a $500 fine or 15 to 20 days in jail for second offense and a $1,000 fine for third offense.

Also, Furtick reported the town received $7,578.98 in shared local funds in June. He said the town paid $2,800 to the Internal Revenue Service for back taxes it owes and $1,770 to Livingston and Co. for work done for the town.

Councilwoman Lydia Lackey asked if the town had received any information from the local traffic flow study that was conducted. Jenkins told her he had not heard anything but had sent the South Carolina Department of Transportation an email inquiring about the study two weeks ago.
Orangeburg County Council is making the wrong choice for Orangeburgs future.

The business license tax, under consideration by the Council, is not only burdensome for businesses to comply with because of the process but is also bad because it taxes gross revenue whether you make a profit or not.

County Council should reverse course before it imposes a business licensing tax on the people of Orangeburg.

Orangeburg is on the cusp of an economic boom, but adding a new tax on business is sure to have a negative impact. If Orangeburg County Council goes through with implementing a new tax on businesses, it will hurt growth of new industry as well as Orangeburgs family-owned small businesses.

At least 36 of our states 46 counties DO NOT charge a business license tax. In fact, most of the counties in the region that Orangeburg competes with for jobs and investment do not charge a county business license tax, putting Orangeburg at a competitive disadvantage. If you were a business owner and could locate in Calhoun, Lexington or Berkeley County, which all do not charge the business license tax, or Orangeburg which does, where would you put your investment and jobs?

The business license tax is an economic development poison pill for counties that seek to implement it. This tax directly targets small, family-owned businesses, already struggling to make ends meet. Orangeburg County Council should be looking for measures to make Orangeburg more business friendly, not less.
A new report concludes the United States is failing to meet its goals in reducing tobacco use.

Action on Smoking and Health bills itself as Americas oldest anti-tobacco organization. Founded in 1967, it is dedicated to a world with zero tobacco deaths. Its new report is titled, Tobacco in America: Leaving the Vulnerable Behind.

While national smoking prevalence has been driven down over the past two decades, the most vulnerable Americans bear a disproportionate share of the costs of tobacco, ASH states. Partly as a result, the United States ranks 43rd in the world in life expectancy, despite spending more than any other country per capita on health.

The new report compares U.S. progress toward implementing measures and reaching global health goals targeting tobacco use. Overall, tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death in America, accounting for one in five deaths, and costs the U.S. economy more than $300 billion per year.

Nationally, about 15 percent of U.S. adults smoke, down from nearly 50 percent in the 1960s. However, progress has been far from uniform. ASH states that the following demographics smoke at much higher rates:

 Racial minorities like Native Americans.

 Marginalized groups like the LGBT community.

 Those who are less educated or living in poverty.

 Southern and Midwestern states.

The United States is falling behind other countries and is not fully implementing the measures and recommendations included in global health governance mechanisms, the ASH states. As a result, many Americans are not enjoying an equal level of protection experienced by citizens of other countries and will continue to die prematurely because of tobacco related diseases.

Many tobacco-control regulations have been hit or miss. Most regulation is done at the state or local level, and while some states have made it a priority, many have done little or nothing to reduce smoking, according to ASH.

ASHs report urges the country, states, cities and counties to increase their efforts to fight tobacco.

Where the ASH and government, from the national level to local, should not be directing the fight is electronic cigarettes.

Lindsey Stroud, government relations coordinator at The Heartland Institute, notes that not only is the Food and Drug Administration shortsightedly battling e-cigarettes, county health departments around the country are joining in the battle to demonize devices that can help improve public health.

Stroud points out that research increasingly indicates e-cigarettes and vaping devices are far less harmful than traditional tobacco cigarettes. In 2015, Public Health England found e-cigarettes to be 95 percent safer than cigarettes. The Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians urges that it is in the interest of public health to promote the usage of electronic cigarettes as alternatives to smoking.

It is of the utmost importance e-cigarettes be treated differently than traditional tobacco products, Stroud said. Though they mimic the sensations of cigarettes, e-cigarettes are tobacco-harm-reduction tools that have proven to be successful in aiding millions of people in their quest to quit smoking.

A study by the Reason Foundation found between 6.1 million and 9.2 million people in the European Union have quit tobacco cigarettes through the use of electronic cigarettes.

Thus in measuring the U.S. commitment to ending tobacco use, the campaign in this country against e-cigarettes cannot be ignored as factor in not meeting goals.
A letter of response by Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to London Tahir Taghizade has been published by The Economist magazine.

The letter says: I appreciate that your article highlighted the suffering of those affected by the bloody conflict in Syria and also mentioned attempts by the Armenian government to resettle ethnic Syrian Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and other military occupied territories of Azerbaijan (Syrias Armenians are fleeing to their ancestral homeland, June 26th). It goes without saying that this policy runs contrary to the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Conventions.

Clearly, the Armenian government, under the pretext of rendering humanitarian assistance to those affected by the conflict in Syria, pursues its well-documented policy of the resettlement of Azerbaijans occupied territories. This policy aims at deliberately changing the demographic landscape of the territories under Armenian military occupation and sadly does nothing but huge harm to the international efforts to settle peacefully the long-standing conflict in the South Caucasus.

According to the letter: One would expect the Armenian government to show the same attitude to the hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons who have been forced to flee their homeland as a result of the Armenian aggression. It is regretful that while showing sympathy towards Syrian Armenians, Armenia continues to deny Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons their natural right to return to their homes.

No one doubts humanitarian dimension of the conflict in Syria, yet it is regretful that sometimes it is used to advance narrow-minded political purposes, The letter concludes.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

The Minsk Group, the activities of which have become known as the Minsk Process, spearheads the OSCE's efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It is co-chaired by France, the Russian Federation, and the United States. Although the OSCE Minsk Group deals with the issue for over two decades, its activities have brought no breakthrough results so far.
By Trend





Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President-elect of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga.

Dear Mr President, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on your election as President of Mongolia, Ilham Aliyev said in his letter. I hope that we will make joint efforts to develop friendship and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Mongolia in the best interests of our peoples.

Taking this pleasant opportunity, on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my most sincere congratulations to you and all the people of Mongolia on the occasion of the national holiday of your country, the letter said. I wish you robust health, success in your endeavors, and the friendly people of Mongolia peace and prosperity.
By Azernews





By Rashid Shirinov

Armenian militarys killing of two Azerbaijani civilians in provocation on the frontline and the necessity of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were once again stressed at the international arena.

Members of the European Parliament and independent Azerbaijani and Armenian experts discussed the issues at the meeting of the European Parliaments Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on July 11.

During the discussions, member of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, Slovenian MP Ivo Vajgl criticized Armenias military-political regime for the death of Azerbaijani civilians as a result of the shelling of Alkhanli village of Azerbaijans Fuzuli region on July 4.

In the evening of that day, the Armenian armed forces using mortars and grenade launchers shelled the village. As a result of this provocation, a resident of the village and her two-year-old granddaughter were killed. Another resident, who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on.

Vajgl brought to the attention of the participants that Azerbaijans territories were occupied by Armenia, adding that Azerbaijani people were forced to leave their houses.

He further stressed the necessity of making serious efforts to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is important from the security point of view of the European Union. Vajgl added that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved only within the international law.

European Parliament rapporteur on Azerbaijan, member of Euronest PA, Romanian MP Norica Nicolai also condemned Armenia for the death of the Azerbaijani civilians.

She noted that the incident occurred in the area adjacent to Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region, where Azerbaijani civilians live, rather than in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region itself.

Member of the European Parliament, Lithuanian MP Petras Austrevicius also said that shelling of Alkhanli village of Azerbaijans Fuzuli region by Armenia is a wrong action and there is a big threat of the resumption of the conflict.

MEP, Croatian MP Zeljana Zovko, in turn, stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved only peacefully, and the war is unacceptable. She added that such tension on the line of contact of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops is causing the death of civilians and it must be prevented.

Other MEPs also delivered speech and expressed concern about the events on the Nagorno-Karabakh frontline.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. As a result of the war, more than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced. Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal. Today, 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands are under Armenian occupation.

Azerbaijan has long ago stated it is ready to settle the prolonged Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through direct negotiations with Armenia with mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group. However, the Armenian side is constantly trying to make up reasons to avoid a constructive dialogue and preserve the unacceptable status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh.
By Azernews





By Kamila Aliyeva

Central Asian states, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which traditionally enjoy fruitful and successful cooperation, voiced commitment to deepen the ties.

Uzbekistans President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, who arrived in Tashkent on a two-day working visit, discussed the expansion of practical Uzbek-Turkmen cooperation on July 11.

The sides discussed the expansion of cooperation between the countries, as well as new areas of partnership, the National News Agency of Uzbekistan (UzA) reported.

Currently, companies and enterprises of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are implementing agreements worth over $200 million.

A new batch of cotton harvesting machines, cultivators and other modern equipment was delivered to Turkmenistan. This month, the trade and service center of Uzbekistan will start operating in Ashgabat.

The repair and modernization of rolling stock of Turkmen railways is carried out on the base of Uzbekistan Temir Yollari JSC.

The volumes of transit traffic between the two countries recorded an increase with the opening of the automobile and railway bridges of Turkmenabad-Farab.

The transit of Uzbek cargo by rail through the territory of Turkmenistan increased by 25 percent.

Mirziyoyev and Meredov exchanged views on topical issues of regional and international policy.

The Turkmen FM confirmed his country's readiness for further development of full-scale cooperation.

In 2015, the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to about $320 million, in January-August of 2016 - $177 million.

Uzbekistan exports fertilizers, construction materials, fruits and vegetables, electrical and mechanical equipment, vehicles, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, services to Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan supplies oil products, propylene polymers, sulfuric acid to Uzbekistan.

In Uzbekistan, 7 enterprises operate with the participation of the Turkmen side. In Turkmenistan, there are 6 enterprises with participation of residents of Uzbekistan.
Qatar Airways celebrates winning a host of recent awards by offering fare discounts of up to 40 per cent.

Passengers can take advantage of discounts on flights to popular holiday destinations across the airlines rapidly-expanding network.

Qatar Airways was named Worlds Best Airline, Worlds Best Business Class, Best Airline in the Middle East, and Worlds Best First Class Airline Lounge by Skytrax

Qatar Airways is celebrating winning the Skytrax Worlds Best Airline award by offering passengers up to 40 per cent off on flights to popular holiday destinations across its growing global network, as part of its Fly with the Worlds Best Airline global sales campaign launched this week.

This special promotion follows a string of major recent wins for Qatar Airways at the prestigious 2017 Skytrax World Airline Awards held during the Paris Air Show last month, where it was named Worlds Best Airline, Worlds Best Business Class, Best Airline in the Middle East, and Worlds Best First Class Airline Lounge.

Passengers can now take advantage of special discounts on fares to a host of popular holiday destinations, including its recently launched routes to Nice, France and Dublin, Republic of Ireland, as well as many other destinations on the airlines growing global network that now spans six continents.

Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Ehab Amin said: We are tremendously proud to have been named Worlds Best Airline, in addition to having been awarded the titles of Worlds Best Business Class, Best Airline in the Middle East, and Worlds Best First Class Airline Lounge. We are delighted to celebrate these great wins with our passengers from all over the world, and we hope this unique offer will allow them to experience our renowned, world-class service on our rapidly-expanding global network.

From 10-19 July, passengers will enjoy discounts of 40 per cent on flights for travel until 10 December 2017. Further discounts are also on offer for our recently announced destinations including Nice, France; Skopje, Republic of Macedonia; Sohar, Oman and Prague, Czech Republic. Additionally, Qatar Airways Privilege Club members will enjoy double Qmiles when they book on qatarairways.com.

The airline has maintained its position at the forefront of international air travel with the introduction of a game-changing, patented new Business Class seat, set to transform the face of aviation and Business Class travel: Qsuite. Qsuite features the industrys first-ever double bed available in Business Class, with privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room.

Adjustable panels and movable TV monitors on the centre four seats allow colleagues, friends or families travelling together to transform their space into a private suite, allowing them to work, dine and socialise together. These new features provide the ultimate customisable travel experience that enables passengers to create an environment that suits their own unique needs.

With a rapidly growing network and a modern fleet of 200 aircraft, the airline will expand its global destinations in 2017-18, adding Skopje, Republic of Macedonia; Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Kiev, Ukraine and many more exciting new destinations.

To learn more about Qatar Airways destinations and promotions, please visit qatarairways.com/az
US-based Dow Chemical Company has announced plans to construct a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to produce a range of polymers for coatings and water-treatment applications in Saudi Arabia at an investment of over $100 million.



Located in the PlasChem Park in Jubail, the coatings facility will service the needs of the Saudi market with an innovative range of acrylic-based polymers for industrial and architectural coatings and water-treatment and detergent applications.



The investment will create approximately 1,000 jobs during peak construction and approximately 100 high-skilled, full-time operations jobs in the kingdom, ultimately growing local manufacturing and sustainable economic growth.



The new coatings facility will complement Dows existing coatings capabilities in the Middle East, which include an existing facility at Jebel Ali, in Dubai, UAE.



Apart from the waterborne polymer facility, the company has also signed an agreement for a feasibility study related to a proposed investment in the companys Performance Silicones franchise.



Dow has been a long-term strategic partner in Saudi Arabia for nearly four decades and is the largest foreign investor in the country, remarked Andrew Liveris, Dows chairman and chief executive officer, after signing the agreements at a recent event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.



Through our global and regional experience and expertise, we have unmatched capabilities to deliver high value, innovative solutions that support the kingdom in key growth areas that help advance the Saudis Vision 2030 plan designed to create a vibrant society and a thriving diversified economy, he added.



According to him, the proposed silicones investment will include constructing a fully-integrated, world-scale siloxanes and high-performance silicones complex geared towards markets and industries such as home and personal care, automotive, high-performance building and construction, solar energy, medical devices, and oil and gas.



When complete the complex will support the economic impact of Saudi Arabia through the creation of approximately 350 full-time, technology-skilled jobs.-TradeArabia News Service
Thyssenkrupp, one of the world's leading elevator companies, has unveiled its revolutionary rope-less and sideways-moving elevator system, Multi, a first-of-its-kind in the world.



One of the industry's most forward-thinking innovations created since the 19th century: the worlds first rope-less and sideways-moving elevator system, Multi, was unveiled at the 246-m tall test tower in Rottweil, Germany.



Instead of one cabin per shaft moving up and down, the Multi offers multiple cabins operating in loop, like a metro system inside a building. Without the use of cables, the system runs on a safe multi-level brake system and redundant wireless data and energy management on the cars, said the German industrial giant.



The much anticipated concept today becomes a reality, as thyssenkrupp launches the first fully functional unit at its purpose-built innovation test tower in Rottweil, Germany, it added.



More than 160 years after the invention of the conventional elevator, the top German multinational conglomerate disrupts the industry by unveiling the first functional horizontal-vertical elevator system Multi at the 246-m tall tower, said a top official.



Commenting on the launch, Andreas Schierenbeck, the chief executive of thyssenkrupp Elevator, said: "We believe Multi is a genuine gamechanger that will truly transform the way people move, work and live in our built environment. It will reduce waiting times for passengers and take up significantly less space within the building."



"Multi is a key offering that truly represents a landmark revolution in the elevator industry," he noted.



Multi requires fewer and smaller shafts than conventional elevators and can increase the buildings usable area by up to 25 per cent, representing extra revenues from the additional rentable/leasable space, explained Schierenbeck.



This is particularly important considering current elevator-escalator footprints can occupy up to 40 per cent of a high-rise buildings floor space, depending on the building height, he noted.



According to him, the world premiere will also announce the leading European real estate business OVG Real Estate as Multis very first customer. In partnership with thyssenkrupp, various Multi systems will be installed in the new East Side Tower building in Berlin, he added.



The building is set to become a pole of attraction and known around the world as one of the references of the German capital.



Almost 200 representatives of the building industry are due to convene at the event, including high

profile developers, architects and engineers from around the globe.



Besides Schierenbeck, top industry players including Coen van Oostrom, CEO of OVG Real Estate, and Antony Wood, the executive director of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) will be present.



"We are absolutely delighted to partner with thyssenkrupp and to have the very first Multi installed in our latest project, The East Side Tower in Berlin," remarked Coen van Oostrom.



"The building  adjacent to the Mercedes-Benz Arena and neighbour to Warschauer Strasse  is set to become a new landmark on the Berlin skyline. What drives OVG is continuous innovation in smart technology, sustainability and well-being, which keeps our company one step ahead of the rest," he stated.



"The forward-thinking new technology that Multi brings to our flagship project, is a perfect fit for us," he added.



Experts pointed out that with the cities continuing to grow and buildings getting larger and taller to accommodate more people, planners and architects are facing significant challenges around moving people comfortably and quickly to their destinations.



Multi can achieve up to 50 per cent higher transport capacity and reduce peak power demand by as much as 60 per cent when compared to conventional elevator systems, these two factors mean a dramatic improvement for high-rise buildings, they stated.



Additionally, since Multi can move sideways as well as vertically, and without any height limitations, it enables unprecedented possibilities in the architecture and design of buildings, they added.



According to experts, the Multi requires dramatically lower peak power permitting a better management of the buildings energy needs, consequently reducing the investment costs in the power supply infrastructure.



On the novel system, Wood said: "This is perhaps the biggest development in the elevator industry since the invention of the safety elevator some 165 years ago. The holy grail for elevators has been to move beyond being pulled vertically by a rope under tension  towards a system that allows movement in inclined or horizontal directions."



"Multi, more than any other product delivered to date, really shows the way forward for that potential. This has the capacity to transform the industry at large, changing the way tall buildings are designed, and allowing for much more efficient core designs, as well as better connectivity in buildings," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Six Construct, a subsidiary of the Besix Group, and one of the largest Belgian construction companies operating in the Middle East, introduced a Safe Summer Working Campaign which includes providing cooling towels for all their onsite construction and security staff.



The cooling towels are provided to ensure that onsite staff are not only kept cool, but experience little or no obstruction in performing their day-to-day tasks.



The cooling towels' thermoregulating technology works by absorbing moisture and perspiration into the fabric where the unique radiator-like fibre circulates water molecules and regulates the rate of evaporation to create a prolonged cooling effect.



Once soaked in water and wrapped around the neck, the relatively unobtrusive and wearable cooling towel immediately reduces the wearers core body temperature. The cooling towels remain active for up to three hours before they are soaked in cold water once more.



In the Middle East, even with the mandatory summer noon break for construction workers, labourers still encounter high temperatures and humidity, explained Lyndon Davies, the business unit (Middle East Corporate) and HSE director of Six Construct.



The cooling towels were, therefore, introduced to add a little extra protection against the extreme heat, and also provide additional comfort to their day, he added.



In addition to the cooling towels and the mandatory mid-day summer breaks, Six Construct also implements heat-stress campaigns in order to raise awareness amongst the staff about the symptoms of heat stress, and the ways to avoid it by always keeping themselves hydrated.



As part of the campaign, rehydration drinks are also provided to replace nutrients lost due to sweating, and during the summer the working hours are planned during the coolest periods of the day - starting early morning with the aim of finishing before the hottest part of the day, said Davies.



Our staff are very pleased with the extra relief provided by the cooling vests, and we are continuously looking for new and innovative ways to improve circumstances for all our staff, especially during the regions extreme heat in the summer months, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Dubai-based global marine terminal operator DP Worlds Global Education Programme has won Gold for Best Evaluation at the UKs Corporate Engagement Awards, recognising its measurement of the initiative to ensure maximum impact.



Launched in 2016, the programme involves employees delivering lessons in local schools across its network around the world to boost the skills, aspirations and confidence of young people by teaching them about trade, logistics and the maritime sector and related career opportunities, said a statement.



The award highlights the successful evaluation and analysis of the programme, which includes tailored monitoring and an evaluation dashboard developed by DP World and EdComs, the UKs leading marketing and communications agency specialising in education. The programme aims to reach 34,000 young people by 2020 and more than 250 employees have been involved to date, engaging over 5,500 students, across 14 countries.



DP World Group chairman and chief executive Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said: Our programme is having genuine impact around the world and I am delighted to have our efforts recognised by this prestigious award.



As a leader in global trade and logistics, we want our people and our resources to support education, and to raise awareness of trade and its crucial role in everyones lives, he said.



Our extensive measurement and evaluation of the programme helps ensure that it is constantly meeting the needs of students, teachers and employees, and ensures that we can create lasting change, adding value in the communities where we operate, he added.



Feedback is gathered from teachers, students and employers after every session and fed into London Benchmarking Groups (LBG) measurement framework, the global standard for tracking sustainability investment.



The initiative has been hugely popular with schools, with 96 per cent of teachers saying it provided pupils with something new their school could not, and 94 per cent saying they would recommend DP World as an employer.



The programme also helps create a talent pipeline of future employees, increases job prospects for local communities, and provides a rewarding way for employees to use their volunteering leave while developing skills.



Of employees that have taken part, 96 per cent said they are more likely to speak positively about DP World, and 93 per cent increased their job satisfaction, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group has entered a partnership with US shipbuilder Metal Shark for the construction of up to 13 Damen SPa 2606 patrol boats.



The US Navy recently selected Louisiana-based Metal Shark to build near coastal patrol vessels (NCPVs) for US partner nations through the Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Programme, said a statement.



Under the terms of the contract Metal Shark will build up to 13, 85-foot Defiant-class welded aluminium cutters for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and other US partner nations, it said.



Additionally, Metal Shark will supply electro-optical infrared sensors, diagnostic equipment, in-country reactivation, crew familiarisation and test support to NCPV operators, it added.



The new vessels are based on Damens Stan Patrol 2606 Foreign Military Sale (FMS) design, which will be tailored by Metal Shark to suit the requirements of the NCPV mission. The cutter can carry out a wide range of mission profiles including search and rescue, border patrol, police and customs duties, counter-narcotics operations, and securing waters of economic importance.



Jan van Hogerwou, vice president new construction Damen Shipyards North America, said: We are very pleased to be able to confirm this important partnership.



We are convinced that Metal Shark is probably the best and most efficient aluminium yard in North America today and this is a perfect design for them, he said.



Carl Wegener, commercial director Metal Shark, said: We have been promoting the Damen Patrol Boat designs for the last three years and are very excited with this first order.



We expect a lot of great things from our partnership with Damen and we are convinced that this is the first of many more joint projects, he said.



Key attributes of Damens Stan Patrol 2606 include excellent performance, large payload capacity, economical operating cost and proven durability.



Metal Shark has applied its own enhancements to Damens patrol platform to provide the crew-friendly functionality found on other Metal Shark patrol craft.



Metal Shark CEO Chris Allard said: The Damen team has consistently provided us with outstanding technical support, their designs are thoroughly proven in service across a range of markets, and their global service network has proven to be a very powerful selling feature.



Metal Shark is eager to begin NCPV construction and showcase our capabilities as we quickly and efficiently build and deliver these state-of-the-art patrol cutters, he said.



Van Hogerwou added: Metal Shark has long impressed us with their ambitious growth and their considerable engineering resources.



We are proud to now become a part of the Metal Shark growth story as we work together to deliver this newest fleet of Stan Patrol vessels to military operators worldwide, he said.



The NCPV fleet will be built at Metal Sharks Franklin, Louisiana waterfront shipyard. Established in 1986, Gravois Aluminum Boats LLC, and its government/commercial boat entity Metal Shark Boats are leading suppliers of custom boats for defence, law enforcement, and commercial entities.



Under the direction of its owner/operator Allard and Gravois families, Metal Shark has produced over 500 vessels in the past three years. Metal Shark produces a wide range of custom monohull and catamaran vessels up to 250, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Oman Gas Company, a unit of Oman Oil Company, has signed key agreements related to Salalah LPG project, said a report.



An agreement was signed with the Ministry of Oil and Gas on the right to build, own and operate the LPG extraction facilities, said the Times of Oman report.



The agreement was signed by Eng Salim bin Nasser Al Oufi, undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, and Eng Isam bin Saud Al Zadjali, CEO of Oman Oil Company, owner of Oman Gas Company, it said.



An agreement has also been signed with Oman Trading International Company to market the LPG.



It has also entered into an agreement with Salalah Free Zone Company on the sub usufruct of about 20 hectares for the project at Salalah Free Zone.



A lease agreement was signed with Salalah Port Services to allocate about 8 hectares for the LPG export facilities at Salalah Port.



About $640 worth credit facilities agreements were also signed with a number of local, regional and international financial companies.



Al Oufi said that the estimated cost of the project is about $820 million and that it will produce about 300,000 tonnes of liquefied gas.



He added that the project will create 140 job opportunities at the operation state. The annual income of the project is expected to be $200 million.



While about 10 per cent will be utilised at the local market, 80 to 90 per cent will be exported through International Marketing Company, added the report.
More than half a billion people across Sub-Saharan Africa will be subscribed to a mobile service by the end of a decade, according to a new GSMA study.

The new report, The Mobile Economy: Sub-Saharan Africa 2017, was published today at the GSMA Mobile 360  Africa event in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

It forecasts that the number of unique mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa will grow from 420 million (43 per cent of the population) at the end of 2016 to 535 million (50 per cent of the population) in 2020, making it the fastest growing region in the world over this period. The report also highlights the Sub-Saharan Africa mobile ecosystems growing contribution to regional GDP, jobs, innovation and socio-economic development.

Sub-Saharan Africa will be a key engine of subscriber growth for the worlds mobile industry over the next few years as we connect millions of previously unconnected men, women and young people across the continent, said Mats Granryd, director general of the GSMA. Mobile is also offering sustainable solutions that address the lack of access to services such as health, education, electricity, clean water and financial services, which still affect large swathes of the population.

Subscriber growth is expected to be concentrated in large, underpenetrated markets such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania, which together will account for half of the 115 million new subscribers expected in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2020. Growth will also focus on currently under-represented segments such as the under-16 age group, which accounts for more than 40 per cent of the population in many countries, and women, who are currently 17 per cent less likely to have a mobile phone subscription than their male counterparts.

Mobile is also a vital tool in delivering digital and financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa. Around 270 million people in the region now access the internet through mobile devices, while the number of registered mobile money accounts has reached 280 million. Mobile operators and others are also leveraging the ubiquity of mobile networks across the region to deliver services that are working towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in areas such as energy, water and sanitation, healthcare, and education. TradeArabia News Service
Cisco has unveiled intent-based networking solutions that represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in enterprise networking.



The launch is the culmination of Ciscos vision to create an intuitive system that anticipates actions, stops security threats in their tracks, and continues to evolve and learn, the company said.



It will help businesses to unlock new opportunities and solve previously unsolvable challenges in an era of increasing connectivity and distributed technology, it said.



This new network is the result of years of research and development by Cisco to reinvent networking for an age where network engineers managing hundreds of devices today will be expected to manage 1 million by 2020.



The network has never been more critical to business success, but its also never been under more pressure, said Chuck Robbins, chief executive officer for Cisco. By building a more intuitive network, we are creating an intelligent platform with unmatched security for today and for the future that propels businesses forward and creates new opportunities for people and organizations everywhere.



Today companies are managing their networks through traditional IT processes that are not sustainable in this new age. Ciscos approach creates an intuitive system that constantly learns, adapts, automates and protects, to optimise network operations and defend against todays evolving threat landscape.



Ciscos Encrypted Traffic Analytics solves a network security challenge previously thought to be unsolvable, said David Goeckeler, senior vice president and general manager of networking and security. ETA uses Ciscos Talos cyber intelligence to detect known attack signatures even in encrypted traffic, helping to ensure security while maintaining privacy.



With the vast majority of the worlds internet traffic running on Cisco networks, the company has used its unique position to capture and analyze this immensely valuable data by providing IT with insights to spot anomalies and anticipate issues in real time, without compromising privacy. By automating the edge of the network and embedding machine learning and analytics at a foundational level, Cisco is making the unmanageable manageable and allowing IT to focus on strategic business needs.



Already, 75 leading global enterprises and organisations are conducting early field trials with these next-generation networking solutions, including DB Systel GmbH, Jade University of Applied Sciences, NASA, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Scentsy, UZ Leuven and Wipro.



Informed by context

With this new approach, Cisco is changing the fundamental blueprint for networking with reimagined hardware and the most advanced software. This shift from hardware-centric to software-driven networking will enable customers to experience a quantum leap in agility, productivity and performance. The intuitive network is an intelligent, highly secure platform  powered by intent and informed by context:

 Intent: Intent-based networking allows IT to move from tedious traditional processes to automating intent, making it possible to manage millions of devices in minutes  a crucial development to help organizations navigate todays ever expanding technology landscape.

 Context: Interpreting data in context is what enables the network to provide new insights. Its not just the data thats important, its the context that surrounds it  the who, what, when, where and how. The intuitive network interprets all of this, resulting in better security, more customized experiences and faster operations.

 Intuition: The new network provides machine-learning at scale. Cisco is using the vast data that flows through its networks around the world, with machine learning built in, and unleashing that data to provide actionable, predictive insights.



Cisco Digital Network Architecture (DNA) provides customers with a portfolio of innovative hardware and software to bring the new era of networking to life. Today Cisco is introducing a suite of Cisco DNA technologies and services designed to work together as a single system and empower customers to move at digital speed. They include:

 DNA Center: An intuitive, centralised management dashboard providing IT teams with an intent-based approach spanning design, provisioning, policy and assurance. With full visibility and context across the entire network, DNA Center allows IT to centralise management all network functions;

 Software-Defined Access (SD-Access): SD-Access uses automated policy enforcement and network segmentation over a single network fabric to dramatically simplify network access for users, devices and things. By automating day-to-day tasks such as configuration, provisioning and troubleshooting, SD-Access slashes the time it takes to adapt the network, improves issue resolution from weeks and months to hours, and dramatically reduces security breach impact. Initial analysis with field trial customers and internal testing have shown a reduction in network provisioning time by 67%, improved issue resolution by 80%, reduced security breach impact by 48%, and opex savings of 61%;

 Network Data Platform and Assurance: This powerful new analytics platform efficiently categorizes and correlates the vast amount of data running on the network and uses machine learning to turn it into predictive analytics, business intelligence and actionable insights delivered through the DNA Center Assurance service;

 Encrypted Traffic Analytics: Today, almost half of cyber-attacks are hidden in encrypted traffic and this number keeps growing. By utilising Ciscos Talos cyber intelligence and machine learning to analyze metadata traffic patterns, the network can identify the fingerprints of known threats even in encrypted traffic, without decrypting it and impacting data privacy. Only Cisco can enable IT to detect threats in encrypted traffic with up to 99% accuracy, with less than 0.01% false positives. As a result, the new network provides security while maintaining privacy;

 Catalyst 9000 Switching Portfolio: Cisco is introducing a new family of switches built from the ground up for the new realities of the digital era, centered on the demands of mobility, cloud, IoT and security. The Cisco Catalyst 9000 delivers unmatched security, programmability and performance by innovating at the hardware (ASIC) and software (IOS XE) layers;

 Software Subscription: Cisco is now making software subscription an essential element of its flagship campus switching portfolio. When purchasing the new Catalyst 9000 family of switches, customers will access the DNA software capabilities by subscription, either via pre-bundled Cisco ONE software suites or a-la-carte components. Available across the entire enterprise networking portfolio, Cisco ONE software provides businesses with access to ongoing innovation, budget predictability, and a more agile way to consume the technology.

 DNA Services: To help customers embrace intuitive networking with speed and confidence, Cisco has created a new portfolio of services that leverage our proven experience, best practices and innovative tools. Whether customers are looking to transform their entire network or integrate new security and automation capabilities into their existing network, Cisco has a comprehensive lifecycle of advisory, implementation, optimization and technical services to help them on their journey. Cisco channel partners can also resell these services and build networking practices that incorporate software, security, automation and analytics for their customers.

 Developer Center: Cisco is releasing a new DevNet DNA Developer Center with resources to help developers and IT professionals create network-powered applications and integrate them within their IT systems and workflows. This includes new learning tracks, sandboxes, and developer support resources for using APIs and building skills.



Availability

The new products will be available from the following months:

 June 2017  Catalyst 9300 & 9500 Series (orderable);

 July 2017  Catalyst 9400 Series (orderable);

 August 2017  DNA Center, SD Access (controlled availability);

 September 2017  Encrypted Traffic Analytics (scheduled to be available);

 November 2017  Network Data Platform (orderable), Assurance (scheduled to be available), SD-Access (scheduled for full availability) TradeArabia News Service


Formula 1 will organise today (July 12) the F1 Live London, a spectacular show in the heart of London, UK, featuring Formula 1 teams, drivers and cars, alongside a host of stars and headline music acts.



Formula 1 is hosting the event to celebrate a new era, focused on bringing fans closer to the sport. The live stage show in Trafalgar Square and car parade on Whitehall will also mark the first time in Formula 1 history that all 10 teams have come together outside of a race weekend to put on a show for the public, said a statement.



There are 40,000 UK-based engineers currently working in Formula 1. To reflect and expand on this, the event will provide a broad outline of the exciting opportunities and careers open to children of all ages interested in being the next generation of leaders who want to work in the sport.



An F1 Schools and Innovation Showcase in Trafalgar Square will take place from 12pm to 4pm, helping children of all ages, young adults, teachers and parents to learn about careers linked to Formula 1 and skills in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem).



For children aged 11 to 18 there is F1 in Schools Ltd, a not-for-profit company established in the UK in 2000. Its remit is to give an opportunity for students to learn all about Stem-related subjects, with the aim of helping them into a career in engineering and motor sport specifically.



For those looking at higher education, they can turn to Formula Student, Europe's most established educational motorsport competition. Its aim is to develop young engineers and encourage more young people to take up a career in engineering. There will also be fun activities for younger children, including racing simulators, pit stop challenges and remote-control racetracks.



Emphasising the importance of all children feeling empowered to follow a career in motorsport, Dare To Be Different (D2BD), a UK-based group started by ex-driver Susie Wolff in 2016, will also give talks to female schoolchildren.



D2BD will offer time with some of motorsports leading women such as Williams team principal Claire Williams, with the goal of inspiring, connecting and celebrating women in the sport.



From 5.30pm to 9:00pm, Trafalgar Square will host the biggest live show in its history, including appearances from Formula 1 stars and legends as well as a number of celebrity guests.



Show cars will be lined up outside the National Gallery while others will form a spectacular moving display, going from Whitehall up to Trafalgar Square and back again. There will be music as well as a number of interviews with F1 drivers as well as leading figures in the sport.



Sean Bratches, managing director, commercial operations at Formula 1, said: F1 Live London is the most striking example yet of Formula 1s evolution this year.



We feel there is no better way to celebrate the exciting season we have had so far than to have this landmark event in London on the eve of the British Grand Prix. This is all about giving our fans the opportunity to get closer to the teams, cars and drivers they love, he said.



Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: F1 Live London is a brilliant opportunity to show young people in our city that learning about science and engineering can provide them with fantastic careers, and can be great fun.



It will also bring fans of all ages and backgrounds together to celebrate a sport they are passionate about and in which Britain is a world leader, he added.



Cllr Robert Davis, deputy leader of Westminster City Council, said: The council has been working closely with the F1 teams and the Mayor of London to ensure that school children in central London will benefit from this exciting event.



We hope that they will leave Trafalgar Square awed and inspired, with an eye on any one of the myriad of career opportunities in British Motorsport and beyond, he added.



Westminster is fully supportive of this type of event and we have worked with all authorities to keep disruption to an absolute minimum, he concluded.  TradeArabia News Service
UAE-based Masdar Institute of Science and Technology said its CubeSat development programme (Mysat-1) has completed its critical design review (CDR), marking a key milestone for the Universitys space systems and technology programme.



The programme has been designed with support from Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, Yahsat, and global aerospace manufacturer and defence industry leader Orbital ATK.



Mysat-1 will be the first research satellite built by students and faculty at Masdar Institute, a part of Khalifa University of Science and Technology.



The small satellite will measure 10 cm on each side and will be built with two payloads, including a camera for Earth observation and an experimental battery developed at Masdar Institute to be tested and demonstrated, said a statement from Masdar Institute.



More importantly, Mysat-1 serves as a platform to train and engage students in all phases of satellite development, operation and exploitation through real-world, hands-on research and development experience.



The CDR provided a final look at the design and development of Mysat-1 before full-scale fabrication of the CubeSat begins, it stated.



Dr Behjat Al Yousuf, Interim Provost, Masdar Institute, said: "The hard work and determination of our faculty, students and collaborators from Yahsat and Orbital ATK has been demonstrated with the completion of the CDR. We are confident that we will continue to meet the remaining program deadlines and look forward to launching Mysat-1 into space next year."



"We are pleased that Masdar Institutes research and development efforts have supported Khalifa Universitys ongoing partnership with the UAEs space sector. Through the space systems and technology concentration, Khalifa University is fostering future generations of Emirati engineers equipped with the skills and real-world experiences needed to develop the kind of breakthrough technologies required to ensure the UAE achieves its space exploration goals," he added.



Mona Al Muhairi, the chief human capital officer at Yahsat said: "We are very proud of our engineers as they get us closer to launching the Mysat-1 Satellite."



"With every step we make through the CubeSat programme we demonstrate our commitment to the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. Yahsat is delighted to be part of this extraordinary journey by developing local talent and providing innovative satellite communications solutions whilst creating jobs across the region," stated Al Muhairi.



"We look forward to the next steps of the programme and the launch of Mysat-1 next year," she added.



Dr Saif Almheiri from the Universitys Mechanical Engineering Department said: "With the CDR cleared, we reached a major milestone for our first project and the efforts of the students are commendable. The students have developed some excellent documentation, which clearly demonstrates their competence."



"The experience of Mysat-1 is greatly helping us define a baseline for our future projects. We have now created the right infrastructure to develop small satellite missions at the Masdar Institute," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Middle Eastern debt issuance reached $57.4 billion during the first half of 2017, an increase of 53 per cent year-on-year, according to a Thomson Reuters report.



The value of announced M&A transactions with Middle Eastern involvement reached $20.1 billion in H1 2017, an 8 per cent increase from H1 2016, Thomson Reuters said in its quarterly investment banking analysis for the Middle East.



Middle Eastern investment banking fees totalled an estimated $462.1 million during the first six months of 2017, 15 per cent less than the value of fees recorded during the same period in 2016, according to estimates from Thomson Reuters.



Debt capital markets underwriting fees totalled $136.9 million, up 88 per cent year-on-year and the highest first half total in the region since Thomson Reuters records began in 2000, it said.



Nadim Najjar, managing director, Middle East and North Africa, Thomson Reuters, said: Equity capital markets fees increased 36 per cent to $39.7 million. Fees generated from completed M&A transactions totalled $98.0 million, a 20 per cent decrease from last year and the lowest first six month total since 2012. Syndicated lending fees declined 41 per cent year-on-year to $187.6 million, a three-year low.



Debt capital markets fees accounted for 30 per cent of the overall Middle Eastern investment banking fee pool, the highest first half share since 2001. Syndicated lending fees accounted for 41 per cent, while completed M&A advisory fees and equity capital markets underwriting fees accounted for 21 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, he added.



HSBC earned the most investment banking fees in the Middle East during the first six months of 2017, a total of $29.2 million for a 6.3 per cent share of the total fee pool. UBS topped the completed M&A fee rankings with 20 per cent of advisory fees, while JP Morgan was first for DCM underwriting. ECM underwriting was led by EFG Hermes with $12.4 million in ECM fees, or a 31 per cent share. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China took the top spot in the Middle Eastern syndicated loans fee ranking.



The value of announced M&A transactions with any Middle Eastern involvement reached $20.1 billion during the first six months of 2017, 8 per cent more than the value recorded during the first half of 2016.



US chemical maker Tronoxs $2.2 billion acquisition of a Saudi Arabian titanium dioxide business is the largest deal to be announced so far during 2017, boosting inbound M&A to $6.6 billion, the highest first half total in 11 years.



Domestic and inter-Middle Eastern M&A declined 46 per cent year-on-year to $2.8 billion, while outbound M&A activity dropped 13 per cent to $8.3 billion.



Energy & Power deals accounted for 41 per cent of Middle Eastern involvement in M&A by value, while the financial sector dominated by number of deals.



Six of the largest 10 deals announced in the region so far during 2017 were energy deals, the largest being Saudi Aramcos Saudi Refining units $2.2 billion payment to Royal Dutch Shell in the breakup of their oil refining joint venture Motiva Enterprises.



Middle Eastern equity and equity-related issuance totalled $1 billion during the six months of 2017, a 72 per cent decline year-on-year and the lowest annual start for issuance in the region since 2004. Five initial public offerings raised $603.3 million and accounted for 60 per cent of first half ECM activity in the region.



Dubai-based oil and gas production services firm ADES International Holding raised $243.5 million on the London Stock Exchange in May, the largest IPO in the region so far this year. Follow-on offerings accounted for the remaining 40 per cent of activity. The National Bank of Kuwait took first place in the H1 2017 Middle Eastern ECM ranking with a 24 per cent market share.



Bolstered by Saudi Arabias $9.0 billion international Islamic bond in April and Kuwaits $8.0 billion debut international bond sale in March, Middle Eastern debt issuance reached $57.4 billion during the first half of 2017, 53 per cent more than the proceeds raised during the same period last year and by far the best annual start in the region since records began in 1980.



Saudi Arabia was the most active nation in the Middle East accounting for 21 per cent of activity by value, followed by Kuwait with 18 per cent. International Islamic debt issuance increased 50 per cent year-on-year to reach $31.4 billion so far during 2017.



JP Morgan took the top spot in the Middle Eastern bond ranking during the first half of 2017 with a 13.4 per cent share of the market, while HSBC took the top spot for Islamic DCM issuance with a 12.3 per cent share. -TradeArabia News Service


The UAE has completed preparations for its candidacy to become a member of the Executive Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the international agency responsible for shipping laws, maritime safety and navigation conventions.



The UAE has prepared for the competition in category B along with 11 leading countries in the field of international sea trade such as Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, France and Australia. The decision to run for the second category falls in line with the UAEs role as a major player in the international maritime sector, backed by its leading position on ports management and global position as among the top three countries in terms of quality in port infrastructure.



Dr. Abdullah Bin Mohammed Balheif Al Nuaimi, minister of Infrastructure Development and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Transport Authority for Land and Maritime, said that the UAE has strong competitive advantages to compete with the developed countries in the marine industry and to become a member of the International Maritime Organization in the second category which comprises 10 countries with major interests in international maritime trade. He pointed out that the country aspires to become a member of the second category to be able to continue its influential role in upgrading the international maritime system and enhance the growth of international maritime trade by leveraging on its experience as incubator for 20 of the world's major ports.



He pointed out that advanced infrastructure is at the forefront of the factors that make the country a strong competitor, stressing that it is the result of the unlimited support given by the countrys wise leaders to translate the objectives of the UAE Vision 2021 of building an integrated infrastructure to guarantee the continuity of sustainable development. Al Nuaimi pointed out that the UAE leads the sector among the Arab countries and ranks within the top three worldwide in the quality of ports and sixth in international port infrastructure, according to the World Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum for 2016.



The Minister added, "The UAE has built itself a position within the maritime transport sector, based on its ambitious plans to develop world-class seaports and berths, and to ensure the operation, maintenance and construction of vessels, dry basins, finance and insurance in line with the highest global safety standards. The relentless national efforts have resulted in outstanding results in terms of compliance with the principles of maritime management, and exceeding the standards of the world's leading shipping centers."



Al Nuaimi concluded: "It is not surprising for the UAE to become a member of the search process of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), especially as it has a long-standing maritime heritage that is an important addition to its competitive advantages, which is being strengthened today in light of the comprehensive socioeconomic revamp. With the completion of the file, mechanisms and procedures required, the UAE today strongly enters the bid for membership in category (b), with the determination to continue to contribute to support the Organization's efforts to develop, and implement the provisions of maritime transport policy in line with the requirements of the 21st century. "



A team has been set up to support the nomination of the UAE to the IMO Executive Council, comprising representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Energy, Ports and Free Zones Authority, Federal Customs Authority and the Dubai Maritime City Authority, ADNOC, DP World, Abu Dhabi Ports, Sharjah Ports and Customs Department, SAQR Port Authority in Ras Al Khaimah and Emirates Rating Authority. The members are scheduled to be elected at the 30th Ordinary General Meeting between November 24 and December 5. - TradeArabia News Service


Park Inn by Radisson Hotel & Residence Duqm, Oman has been awarded the 2017 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence.



The Certificate of Excellence honours accommodations, restaurants and attractions that repeatedly receive great reviews from travelers on TripAdvisor.



The Certificate of Excellence accounts for the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.



This recognition helps travellers identify and book properties that regularly deliver great service. TripAdvisor is proud to play this integral role in helping travelers feel more confident in their booking decisions, said Heather Leisman, vice president of Industry Marketing at Tripadvisor.



We would also like to thank our staff and guests for making it all possible. We will definitely continue to provide better services to all our guests, said Nuno Neves, cluster general manager for Park Inn Muscat and Park Inn Duqm.



This award demonstrates the trust of the guests show in the services the hotel provide as well as their willingness to engage in sharing their travel experiences online. The hotel strives to make sure that the property is a happy place to be for the guests. The aim is to always provide the best service and make sure staying with the hotel becomes a pleasant guest experience.



Ahmad Daghmash, hotel manager for Park Inn Duqm said: Its an honour to be awarded the Tripadvisor award. On behalf of the team, we are thankful to all our guests who shared their experiences during their stay with us. It makes us improve and provide the best service - TradeArabia News Service
Meet award-winning artisans and buy their products at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village
Northwest of Rock Springs, a project proposed by Jonah Energy could tap 5.25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The project is large by any measuring stick. Jonah could drill more than 3,000 wells rolled out over a 10-year period, potentially bringing $1.1 billion in revenue and 700 jobs to a vulnerable state economy, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

Last week, the BLM put out a draft environmental impact study on NPL, measuring how development would affect the area, including air quality and local wildlife. The agency is soliciting public comment and critique until Aug. 21 about four potential strategies moving forward as it edges toward a final draft and likely final approval of the proposal in some form.

But there are significant considerations for the NPL gas project in Sublette County. There always are in Wyoming.

The proposed projects boundary surrounds the only known concentrated winter habitat for Wyomings sage grouse  an imperiled Western bird that two years ago was considered for an endangered species listing.

The project area also includes a portion of the birds breeding turf that the state and federal agencies have designated as crucial habitat, meaning added protections against development. And the proposed gas field lies in the middle of one of the longest migration corridors left in the U.S.: the Path of the Pronghorn.

Right now we are at the proposal stage, and there is still time to make fundamental changes in the way the project is designed, said Erik Molvar, executive director of Western Watersheds Project, who wants greater protections for wildlife before NPL moves forward.

For its part, Jonah Energy voluntarily suspended the project in 2015 to reconsider its impact on sage grouse and is using modern drilling techniques that mean fewer wells on the landscape. The feds, meanwhile, have proposed not allowing construction and drilling in the wintering habitat from December to March and staggering production.

Unique assets

It is perhaps unsurprising that the 3,000-well project, first suggested by Encana Corp. in 2011, lies where it does, adjacent to the two largest gas producing fields in Wyoming, Jonah and Pinedale. Its proponent, Jonah Energy, is the third-largest producer of natural gas in the state, dominating production in southwest Wyoming throughout the price downturn that decimated the states revenue streams.

The project was first put before the BLM when the spot price for natural gas was averaging more than $4. The price has bounced back and forth in the years since but has yet to return to the $10 or even $6 prices of years past.

Jonah says it can thrive despite moderate prices and bring a significant economic benefit to the county and the state. It has weathered the past years downturn by cutting costs, bartering price contracts and enhancing efficiencies.

Finicky neighbors

While the prolific gas fields of southwest Wyoming are a unique benefit in the state, the area is also distinctive for its wildlife resources, particularly sage grouse and pronghorn. Sage grouse behavior and mating habitats have been studied extensively, but why and where the birds migrate in the coldest months of the year is not as well understood. The NPL project would share space with the only known winter range for the grouse.

For some the NPL project is risky simply because it is not clear how the wintering birds will respond to the well pads, roads and human activity that go along with a field of this size. They are notoriously finicky, and management plans focus on breeding habitat, not wintering grounds.

Most of the big flocks that are seen in the winter occur in the area that is now slated to become the [Jonah Energy] project, which means that this is an area of really high value for winter habitat, said Molvar, of Western Watersheds.

Given the concentration of birds in the region, a danger to this habitat is a danger to the entire population, most of which is in Wyoming, he said. The BLM has proposed drilling and construction limitations from January to March to protect the grouse, but Molvar believes thats not enough.

It really doesnt matter that much when you do the construction and drilling... if you turn it into an industrialized landscape, Molvar said. If we start destroying the strongest (habitats) in Wyoming, the survival of the species as a whole becomes very tenuous indeed.

Though pronghorn do not face the risk of an endangered species listing, some believe they are equally vulnerable to development in the area.

There doesnt seem to be any plan at all to provide protections for the pronghorn, Molvar said. That is really striking given the worldwide significance of this migration route.

A recent study from the University of Wyoming showed portions of a mule deer herd that wintered on the Pinedale Anticline dropped by about 40 percent as the animals sought to avoid wells.

Molvar said the same could be true of pronghorn.

We frankly dont have a good understanding of where the threshold is, Molvar said. Those antelope might have to stop short. They may not be able to survive the winter as a result.

A balancing act

Conservationists, industry groups and states scrambled to create management plans that staved off an endangered listing for the sage grouse just two years ago. How effective those plans are at conserving the grouse will take time to gauge as sage grouse populations cycle through highs and lows over decades.

But its in industrys interest to drill with the birds conservation in mind, and companies like Jonah were involved in developing the management plans put in place by the federal agency and the state of Wyoming.

We are always concerned about impact to wildlife and have looked for ways to reduce impact to all wildlife, said Paul Ulrich, director of government affairs for Jonah Energy.

The companys plan reduces road infrastructure, limits drilling locations by using directional wells  ones that shoot out horizontally beneath the surface  and decreases boots on the ground after drilling and completion.

The project will also be an opportunity to understand winter habitats and development, he said.

We have a need for better science and better science will result in better management of those winter conservation areas, he said.

For Brian Rutledge, director of the Rocky Mountain Region Audubon Society, the birds winter area is important, but in this case Jonah deserves credit for attempting to avoid damaging it, he said.

They probably could have legally gone ahead and developed this (without mitigating for sage grouse), Rutledge said. Do we have to treat positively those things that are done positively? In my opinion, yes.

Rutledges main concern is that Wyoming and the federal agency that oversees a major share of Wyoming land obey their own rules regarding industry development near or in sage grouse habitat. The rulebook was carved out to balance energy and conservation, and it should be followed, he said.

Large projects like NPL are being watched closely, as political changes have cast doubt on whether agencies will adhere to the federal and state management guidelines that limit energy development in some areas.

Ulrich, of Jonah Energy, said concern for wildlife is a significant part of developing the NPL project, with expertise offered by the BLM and other agencies.

We believe when we have the [final decision] its going to have a strong suite of mitigation efforts for sage grouse, but certainly for pronghorn and other species, Ulrich said.

Despite the magnitude of the NPL project, its an example of how drilling has changed in recent years, said Douglas Linn, assistant field manager of minerals and lands at the Pinedale BLM office.

From cutting drilling time by as much as three-fourths to reduced emissions from rigs, the way companies approach a field has changed, he said.

The overall disturbance is very different than the total scale of the project area, he said of NPL. That reflects the way development has improved over the years.

Though it spans 141,000 acres, NPLs short-term surface disturbance will be a fraction of that  closer to 6,000 acres, he said.

At this stage of the project, there are four potential avenues laid out by the BLM. In the BLMs preferred route, the project is broken into three distinct areas, with different degrees of activity depending on the environmental impacts and the availability of the gas resources in each area. The northwest section of the project would have the least development given the concentration of wildlife and environmental concerns.

As NPL is considered, its important to note that the specific placement of roads, of drilling pads and wells will come later in the development phase, Linn said.

Whats happening now is a birds-eye view of the project.

An (approved) project of this scale doesnt authorize anything, he said. It gives the analysis framework to do authorizations as they come in, whether it is an individual drilling permit or a right of way.
Sarah Peek-Elston waved to her daughter as the girl kept pace with a parade float and tossed candy toward the sidewalk. Peek-Elston and her husband sat with some friends in their usual spot Tuesday morning on Center Street during the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo Parade.

The mother let out a cheer for 10-year-old Madeline, who smiled briefly and turned back to her candy basket.

Shes mortified, Peek-Elston said.

Her husband, Andy Elston, arrived early in the morning to save their place, while she joined after a 5K race.

I think its such a good time for the family to come together, Peek-Elston said.

The parade is a local holiday  city offices closed for the day  fair and rodeo celebration and a tradition for many families like Peek-Elstons.

She and Andy have watched the annual parade since before they were old enough to remember. And they always arrive before the crowds. They used to take a spot just down the street. Now they sit in front of the law office where Peek-Elstons father works, and he came out and joined them for a while.

Children cheered as floats passed tossing candy and popsicles or spraying water from squirt guns. Business floats joined horse-drawn carriages and an artist painted a large canvas on one float while calling, Happy Parade Day! About 50 members of the Casper Municipal Band performed on the bed of a honking semi as alpacas, National Pony Express Association riders, back-flipping gymnasts, tractors and more wended through the downtown route.

As they waited on a side street to start the parade, local DeMolay and Jobs Daughters members practiced a cheer. Ryan Means, 14, said he looked forward to handing out candy and representing the mens youth organization that teaches skills like citizenship and public speaking. DeMolay had faded for several years but now is back and growing in Wyoming, he added.

Cancer survivor Sarah Miller, 35, joined her Relay for Life team with its float, named the Purple Cancer Eater. A purple box resembling a monster with orange feathers rode on the top of a lawn mower. The float will also be the teams entry for the Box Car Rally during the Relay for Life event July 28 to 29 at Natrona County High School.

Lexie McCalla, 13, grinned as she watched, waved at friends she hasnt seen all summer and pointed out highlights to her older sister.

I like how everyone has fun, she said. Sure, theyre scorching in the heat, but its fun.

The Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps trailed the rest for the finale, performing America the Beautiful to more cheers from the crowd.

This years parade winners

Grand Prize: Democratic Party

Float: Platte Valley Bank

Decorated Vehicle: Sinclair

Antique Vehicle: Gruner Brothers Brewing

Group: Ka-Larks

Band: Troopers

Equestrian: Central Wyoming Skin Care
The state Department of Education will release district and statewide testing results Thursday, marking the official end of the previous testing system.

Kari Eakins, spokeswoman for the department, declined to comment on the results or any other information related to the results, siting an embargo until Thursdays 1 p.m. teleconference by state superintendent Jillian Balow and other department officials. She said school districts across the state still dont know their aggregated results.

The statewide assessment, known as Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students, or PAWS, which is given to third- through eighth-grades, will be replaced by the Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress, or WY-TOPP. It will also replace the ACT-Aspire for grades 9 and 10, though the ACT will still be administered to 11th grade students.

The Wyoming State Board of Education voted in February to replace PAWS with WY-TOPP, which will be administered online. Walt Wilcox, a Natrona County associate superintendent and recently elected chairman of the board, said in February that the change was a recommendation from an assessment task force.

He added that PAWS was administered once a year, near the end of the second semester, and thus made it difficult for districts to adjust, because students were about to advance to a new grade. The new assessment will be given to districts more often during the year and will produce the results as early as a day later.

A department press release said the content standards for reading and math were changed in 2014, thus making comparisons to previous years irrelevant. But Eakins noted that science results can be compared to test scores going back to 2011.

The test results have potentially far-reaching effects. Several lawmakers  including Sen. Eli Bebout  have criticized Wyoming students performance relative to the roughly $16,000 spent per student here. As lawmakers begin an examination of the funding model  including the education standards that must be provided to each student  the results could validate or debunk skeptical lawmakers concerns.

The teleconference is available online, by dialing 888-670-9530 or 207-428-9905. The pin to enter the call is 38533.
The new attorneys brought in by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes held few punches in their appeal of the Tenth Circuit Court decision over the boundaries of the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming.

In February, a three-judge panel of the court ruled that the reservation had been permanently reduced in size by a 1905 law. The tribes have maintained that the law merely opened up land north of the Wind River, including what is now Riverton, to settlement by non-Indians but did not change the boundaries for the reservation.

However, Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich ruled in a 2-1 decision that the language of the 1905 Act makes clear that Congress intended to shrink the reservation.

Congresss use of the word cede can only mean one thing  a diminished reservation, Tymkovich wrote.

But Paul Clement, a former federal solicitor general hired by the Northern Arapaho, mocked Tymkovichs reasoning in a brief filed Monday requesting that a panel of all 12 judges on the Tenth Circuit rehear the case.

The U.S. Supreme Court has established a three-pronged test for determining whether Congress intended to shrink, or diminish, a reservation, and Clement argued that Tymkovich and Judge Paul Kelly relied too much on particular language in the act and failed to show that the 1905 Act met all three aspects of the test.

Clement wrote that Tymkovich attached talismanic significance to the word cede, and added that, Only a novel and undue focus on cede allow the majority to reach its conclusion.

Shoshone attorney Seth Waxman, another former solicitor general, likewise took issue with the focus on the Acts language in a brief also filed Monday.

The panels core holding, that cede alone proves diminishment, disregards the Supreme Courts repeated insistence that all relevant evidence be weighed together, Waxman wrote.

Both Clement and Waxman note that many other tribes around the nation entered agreements to cede land that remains part of their reservations. If the three-judge panels ruling stands, the reservation boundaries of those tribes might be forced to change.

Dispute dates back years

The case began in 2008, when the two tribes asked the Environmental Protection Agency for permission to set their own environmental regulations on the reservation. The tribes described the boundaries of the Wind River Reservation as including the land opened for settlement by non-Indians in 1905 and the Department of Interior agreed with their assessment.

Fremont County awaits reservation boundary resolution RIVERTON  Pickups and the odd tanker-truck pound along Federal Boulevard on the way out of 

But the state of Wyoming and a group representing farmers in the area disagreed, arguing that the 1905 Act had not just allowed non-Indians to purchase land on the reservation but had converted it to public land.

The Arapaho and Shoshone argue that because there was no lump-sum payment included as part of the 1905 agreement, the federal government was granted only the right to sell the land on behalf of the tribes  but that the land would remain within the bounds of the reservation. The tribes were to receive payment as plots of the land in question was sold, with the unsold land eventually being returned to tribal ownership.

The tribes drew a contrast to two previous sales of reservation land, in 1874 and 1897, where land was exchanged for a single monetary payment. All parties agree those two sales removed the land from the reservation.

Clement argued that it was illogical for the Arapaho and Shoshone to have agreed to remove the land north of the Wind River without a specific payment.

Unless the Tribes sacrificed nearly two-thirds of their reservation in exchange for a guarantee of nothing, (the 1905) language is precisely suited to opening up the reservation, and at odds with an unequivocal intent to diminish, Clement wrote.

Courts have previously held that a combination of language describing the sale of reservation land and a lump-sum payment made clear that Congress had intended to change the boundaries of a reservation. But Tymkovich ruled that while the combination of those two elements confirm the diminishment of the reservation, the absence of one of them  in this case, the lack of a single payment for the land  did not rule out the possibility the boundaries had still been changed.

He cited past efforts by Congress to purchase the reservation land north of the Wind River and quotes the comments of tribal leaders during negotiations with the federal government as evidence that the 1905 Act was intended to change reservation borders.

One representative for the Eastern Shoshone (said) that his Tribe understood it was parting with [its lands] forever and [could] never recover [them] again, Tymkovich wrote.

Tymkovich, who made President Donald Trumps list of potential Supreme Court appointees earlier this year, is a conservative described as being especially sympathetic to states rights.

Hes a real giant among judges who want more deference to states, and thats in tension with a progressive sense that there should be a federal check on states, particularly rogue states, University of Denver law professor Justin Marceau told the Denver Post in January.

The tribes counter that the fact they rejected those previous offers from the federal government to purchase the reservation land north of the Wind River is evidence the 1905 Act was meant merely to open the land for settlement, rather than remove it from the reservation.

The Shoshone argue that by ruling that the land in question is not part of the reservation, the three-judge panel has weakened the tribes taxation and criminal justice authority as well as its water rights.

The impact of diminishment on affected tribes is hard to overstate, Waxman wrote.

The federal government declined to join the request for a rehearing in the case, despite requesting more time to file an appeal several months ago. The Arapaho and Shoshones have standing to continue the case without assistance from the government and their hiring of Clement, Waxman and several other high-profile attorneys suggest they expect that the case may eventually be heard by the Supreme Court.
A word of caution for Marana and Sahuarita residents taking a lost or sick animal to the Pima Animal Care Center  dont forget your wallet.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors signed off Tuesday on a new set of fees for the center, requiring Marana and Sahuarita residents to pay additional fees for animal sheltering and veterinary care.

The revisions came after both towns chose to break away from long-standing intergovernmental agreements with the county-run shelter in favor of handling their own animal-control calls.

Residents from either jurisdiction who visit PACC for animal-care services will initially be referred to their towns animal-control services. If they decide to use PACC, they will be charged a $60-a-day animal sheltering fee, a $120-an-hour veterinary-care fee, and a $120 euthanasia fee.

There is no additional fee to adopt an animal from PACC.

In the last few months, both towns opted against renewing intergovernmental agreements with the PACC, citing concerns over service levels and costs.

Both towns contracted with the Humane Society of Southern Arizona to handle some aspects of their animal-control needs, including boarding of animals.

The county Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on the revised fees, with Supervisor Steve Christy voting against the measure.

Marana Mayor Ed Honea said he was disappointed by the boards decision, noting that Marana taxpayers pay the same taxes as those living in unincorporated areas of Pima County but will be charged additional fees.

He added that residents in Marana are also paying taxes related to the voter-approved expansion of the animal-care center.

The Sahuarita Town Council sent a letter to the county last month, making a similar argument about additional taxes.

Residents should not be expected to pay for PACC through property taxes and an additional fee to gain access to the facility and services. This is, in its simplest form, double taxation of the residents, the letter read.

Honea predicted that what he sees as a two-tiered pricing model  one for Marana and Sahuarita residents and one for everybody else  will be challenged, but wouldnt elaborate.

The Marana mayor said he believes the town can do a superior job regarding animal control. On the first day that the town began taking calls, he said, out of the five dogs for which it received calls, four were immediately driven home to their owners.
U.S. Rep. Martha McSally honored local first responders during a ceremony in Tucson on Tuesday.

The second annual Congressional First Responder of Distinction Award Ceremony recognized local, state and federal emergency personnel who go above and beyond to serve Southern Arizona, according to a news release from McSallys office.

First responders make enormous sacrifices for our community here in Southern Arizona, putting their lives on the line and working day and night to keep us safe, said McSally, a Tucson Republican.

A panel of judges from the Southern Arizona first-responder community selected the winners:

 First Place: Mertie Stompro, patrol lieutenant with the Sierra Vista Police Department, is a 20-year veteran who has worked in the tactical unit and helped to start SVPDs special response team. Stompro recently worked as the sergeant overseeing the departments firearms training.

Team Award: Davis-Monthan Fire and Emergency Services hosted more than 500 firefighters from 12 neighboring departments, three local fire academies and local law enforcement agencies in joint SWAT/Rescue Task Force Training last year. The team has also been honored by the Commission of Fire Accreditation International.

Honorable Mention: Roberto Vasquez, a Tucson Fire Department captain, has been with the department for 13 years and created a public education program about the small things that can be done to keep children safe.

Honorable Mention: David Bruster, Tombstone fire chief, has been responsible for major changes in the department and works with local schools to provide fire education. Bruster also helped raise money and apply for grants to replace protective equipment for department members and helped negotiate the purchase of a newer firetruck to replace a truck that was unsafe.
PHOENIX  A former state senator says hes giving Attorney General Mark Brnovich 60 days to sue the Board of Regents over letting dreamers pay resident tuition or hell go to court himself.

Russell Pearce, who was prime architect of some of Arizonas strongest laws against illegal immigration, is backed by the conservative legal advocacy group Judicial Watch on the tuition issue.

Pearce claims that a 2006 voter-approved law requires students without lawful immigration status to pay full out-of-state tuition to attend state universities. He said a recent ruling by the Court of Appeals striking down discounted tuition for dreamers in the Maricopa community colleges buttresses that argument.

Students enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are known as dreamers. The program, enacted by the Obama administration in 2012, allows those who came here illegally as children to remain if they meet other conditions.

In a letter Tuesday to Brnovich, Judicial Watch attorney James Peterson says the regents policy is in open defiance of the law and controlling legal precedent. Peterson wants the attorney general to seek a court order to immediately bar the regents from allowing students in DACA to pay the same tuition as legal Arizona residents.

There was no immediate response from Brnovich, who already is challenging the Maricopa colleges policy.

But it may not matter if the attorney general doesnt open a new legal front against the university system: Petersons letter points out that Arizona law specifically allows for citizen lawsuits to enforce laws if state officials do not.

The 2006 voter-approved law says someone without lawful immigration status is not entitled to in-state tuition at any state university or community college. It also makes off-limits any tuition or fee waivers, scholarships or financial assistance subsidized or paid in whole or in part with state monies.

It was approved by a 3-1 margin.

At issue is the legal status of DACA recipients. The Governing Board of Maricopa community colleges concluded theyre entitled to in-state tuition if they meet other residency requirements.

Tom Horne, who was attorney general at the time, sued.

In 2015, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Arthur Anderson concluded these students are lawfully present. Days later, the regents voted to allow in-state tuition for dreamers at the states three universities.

Pearce said that was a mistake. It was an illegal Superior Court ruling by a liberal judge who decided the law doesnt matter, he said. You cant have a legal residency if youre not legally in this country.

As it turned out, the Court of Appeals agreed. But the regents, in a 7-1 vote last month, decided to keep the current tuition policy until the Supreme Court weighs in.

Regent Jay Heiler, the lone dissenter, said Tuesday the threat of the regents being dragged into court should come as no surprise.

Thats exactly what I was warning everyone else, he said, noting he told his colleagues that ignoring the appellate court ruling carried a legal risk.

Heiler, who is an attorney, said if Brnovich or Judicial Watch sue, the regents are on very tenuous ground.

Pearce, first elected to the Legislature in 2000 from Mesa, built a reputation on pushing legislation aimed at curbing illegal immigration, including SB 1070, a 2010 measure designed to give police more power to detain those not in this country legally. While some sections of SB 1070 were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, several remain.

Pearce was ousted a year later in a recall election.

Judicial Watch is best-known for its litigation and public information requests, usually against liberals and Democrats. It has derided the independent probe of ties between the Trump campaign and Russia and continues to seek access to emails that Democrat Hillary Clinton had on her personal server while she was secretary of state.
Newly released video shows just how close an Air Canada Airbus A320 came to mistakenly landing on a crowded taxiway at San Francisco International Airport last year.

In the nighttime video, the Air Canada plane appears to be on a collision course with aircraft that were waiting on the taxiway, when air traffic controllers urgently demanded the pilots abort the landing.

The Air Canada airliner can be seen descending as it travels along the top of the frame. About 67 seconds into the video, the plane rises quickly, barely missing a passenger jet on the runway that has just turned on its lights.

The video was released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board as part of the official opening of the public docket as the investigation into the incident continues -- an incident that some aviation experts say only narrowly avoided being one of the worst in aviation history.

Air Canada Flight 759 had been cleared to land on runway 28L but instead mistakenly lined up for the parallel taxiway C, which was occupied by four airliners awaiting clearance to take off.

NTSB data revealed that as the Air Canada plane overflew the first waiting aircraft on the taxiway -- a United Airlines Boeing 787 -- the crew applied full power to the engines to initiate a go-around and abort its landing. However, the plane continued to descend while waiting for the throttle to respond and at its lowest point was only 59 feet above the ground. For comparison, the height of a Boeing 787 tail is 56 feet.

The second airliner on the taxiway -- a Philippine Airlines Airbus A340 -- reportedly turned on its landing lights, sensing something wasn't right and hoping to make itself visible to the incoming Air Canada airliner, according to the NTSB.

The investigation has revealed that the flight crew of the Air Canada flight informed the NTSB that there was confusion over the runway configuration and landing lights at SFO, and the crew can even be heard querying the control tower to ensure that they were cleared to land.

The Air Canada crew explained to the NTSB "that something did not look right to them," which caused them to initiate the go-around just before being told to do so by the air traffic controllers.

The air traffic control recordings reveal the United Airlines crew commenting on the apparent attempt to land on the taxiway by the Air Canada flight, asking "where's this guy going?"

The NTSB has also said that a system designed to monitor ground traffic at San Francisco International Airport lost the inbound Air Canada flight for approximately 12 seconds, only subsequently reacquiring it as the plane overflew the first waiting airliner on the taxiway.
For the past six years Zayna has been the go-to spot for Mediterranean food in midtown Tucson. The small space at 4122 E. Speedway always seems to be full, and on weekends you can expect a wait.

That's one of the reasons the restaurant is moving to a significantly larger space just down the street. You'll soon find the Lebanese and Syrian specialties at Molina's Midway, 1138 N. Belvedere Ave., which closed in May after 64 years in business.

The Star reported that the Molina siblings had sold the space in April. The sign is still on the door, but Zayna's is expected to open in about a month and a half, said manager Amer Said.

With four large dining rooms and enough seating for 200 people, the Molina's space is significantly larger than Zayna's current location inside what used to be Feast. The new spot also has no street visibility from Speedway, since it's tucked back in a neighborhood off Belvedere Avenue.

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Said isn't worried ... "We just have to have a different system," he said. "We have regular customers who will follow us."

The new spot will have better parking, as well as space for larger parties that were previously turned away. There will also be more room in the kitchen to put out the fresh colorful plates that Zayna is known for. But don't expect changes in the menu. It's going to be the same.

Plans have not been worked out for the current space. "We're not going to close it completely," he said. But there may be a different concept in the future.
Help India!

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter

Former Kerala police chiefs T P Senkumars statement regarding Muslim population in Kerala drew ire from various corners, and now a senior IPS officer has come up with a different and encouraging tale about Muslim population in the state. K Sethuraman, who served as district police chief in the Muslim-majority district Malappuram, said in his Facebook post that increase in Muslim population will make the state better place to live in.

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What would happen if the population of Muslims increases in Kerala? As an IPS officer who served as the District Police Chief for four years in Malappuram District, I can say it will make Kerala a better place to live in every respect, his Facebook post said.

In a recent interview given to a Malayalam periodical, Senkumar targeted Muslims commented on growing Muslim population in Kerala. Of 100 births in the state, 42 are from Muslim community, which constitutes 27% of the population. The birth rate of Hindus, which constitutes 54% of the population is below 48.5%. The birth rate of Christians, who constitute 19% of the states population is 15%, he said expressing his apprehension over demography changes.

Continuing his post, Sethuraman said communalism and casteism will be reduced if Muslim population goes up in the state.

As police officers, we have travelled throughout the state and know people from every corner of the state. Everywhere I have come across only Hindu, Muslim, Nair, Ezhava, Christian, Dalit etc. But in Malappuram, one can find paccha Malayali (a genuine Malayali). Everyone is ready to help another. People are extremely law abiding, cordial and helpful, his Facebook post reads.

Making reference to the eminent personalities in the community he hailed actor Mammootty, director Fazil and author Vaikom Muhammad Basheer.

Kerala is going to be enriched culturally. We need more people like Basheer, he said.

He also hailed Kerala Muslim political leaders and said that the political culture of Muslims is a model for other minorities. There are more than five crore Muslims in UP. It is undemocratic that not a single MP is there to represent themIn Kerala, Muslims are part of state building, thanks to mainstream politics. It is encompassing and liberal, he said.

IUML leaders were given a special mention in the post. Anyone can go to Panakkad (residence of IUML state president), to Thangal(Hyderali Shihab Thangal) or Kunhalikutty Sahib (IUML national secretary) and feel at home, he said. Learn from Minister K.T Jaleel about best of Islam and get guided by his simplicity and commitment. Is there any non-Muslim more secular than former minister Aryadan Mohammed? I doubt. Young Muslim MLAs and politicians are highly promising. They are going to make not just Kerala, but India better. More Muslims means more Indians, more Malayalis, more investors and more consumers. Hence more development. Yusuf Ali has done more than any bureaucrat or diplomat in bringing investment and development in Kerala. The number of Muslim investors is too long to mention here. Without remittances from Islamic countries, Kerala would have been a basket case, the post continues.

Meanwhile, Senkumar has drawn criticism from political leaders in the state. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who had come in support of the police officer while he was ousted from DGPs post, said he cant accept such views of Senkumar. Muslim Youth League has submitted a complaint to police chief Loknath Behera demanding action against Senkumar.
Help India!

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter

In another addition to the Not in my Name protests against mob lynching, protests were organised in Ahmedabad and saw the participation of members of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind and several other people promoting Dalit-Muslim unity.

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The protest which was chiefly organised under not in my name at Sardar Baugh in Lal Darwaja area of the city.

The protesters, which included children and young ones, wore a cap marked I am Junaid. Hafiz Junaid was lynched in Delhi-Mathura bound EMU train on June 22, while he was returning from Eid shopping.

Mufti Abdul Qayyum Mansuri of Jamiat Ulma-i-Hind said, Protest was not about ensuring safety to one particular community but it was an attempt to save the Indian constitution in a situation where law and order are deteriorating each passing day.

Today Muslims are being targeted. Perhaps some other community will be targeted another day. Given this state affairs, the violence may even plunge the country into civil war. Efforts are being made to trigger clashes between various communities in the name of caste, creed, community and now also in the name of the cow, added Mansuri.

Dr Jayanti Makadia, a Dalit rights activist, said that Dalits had participated in the protest because they were also becoming victims of gau rakshaks. We have been protesting from July 11 last year when Una flogging happened. This is not the issue of a particular community but a question of ensuring justice to everybody, Makadia said.
"In my opinion"

Concerning to whom the fault of oppression belongs;

"We are not all equally guilty but we are all equally responsible" - Rabbi Abraham Hescel



Concerning blaming others for the problem;

"...And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?... - Matthew: 7 1-5



Concerning how to fix the problems concerning oppression;

"Someone once said that the word 'motivation' should never be used in the singular. Some combination of motives always exist and it's impossible for anyone to qualify the proportion of each that is involved in any given act" - Warren Buffet (in an interview in the USA Today)



Please take into account that the views expressed on my blog are prefaced with; in my opinion, in my experience or even (sometimes) random observations and/or thoughts.

Please make your statements without the endless litany of cross referenced materials. Source information is fine but I'll just assume that you've done due diligence and that your statements are correct or an accepted editorial.

Thank you, UBJ


Days ago I was on an international flight when I struck up a conversation with a woman who was wearing a hijab with full face covering. We were chatting down the back of the plane when she removed her face covering and smiled. I told her what a lovely smile she had and it was a pity to have it covered up. She replied she covered her face when she was with the men. I know full well why she covered her face, she was travelling in a small group of women dressed the same along with a group of men. She explained they were from Indonesia and on their way to New Zealand for a visit.

I laughed and said no man is worth covering up for. She smiled and agreed with me.

The religion is the jailer

Seeing those women dressed like they were with their men acting as chaperones, or as I tend to think of it, their jailers, made me feel sad. I loathe seeing women trussed up in religious and social oppression trying to get through their daily lives. Lives wasted being guarded by a misogynist doctrine. I thought when I was growing up in the 60s that I was heading for a time of freedom and modern life. We were all going to be racing around space in our spaceships free to do whatever we liked. Of course, it hasnt worked like that, but I had no idea back then how much oppression woman would still face now.

It was supposed to get better, so what happened?

The Middle East exposed its religious dogma for all the world to experience. Seeing women covered from head to toe is commonplace, the reasons why they are is also known, and I like to think at least people understand how dangerous and repulsive this is, but sadly I fear very few really understand.

Unwittingly placing themselves on the side of the female oppressors

Recently Julie Burchell wrote an article in the Daily Mail condemning the modesty dressing by celebrities. She explained why she found this abhorrent,  its not in any way brave to cover up. These Western modesty dressers are unwittingly placing themselves on the side of the female oppressors; the imams telling women that not to cover themselves makes them a dirty sweet on the floor rather than an unwrapped delicacy for men to devour, obviously.

What was disappointing was when I read the comments attached to her article it was clear none of the readers understood what she was saying.

Most were just upset about the style of the modest dresses such celebs as Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow were wearing in the accompanying photos. They look like nightdresses", said one, Thank goodness for a bit of a cover up. Done properly, it looks much nicer & more seductive than flashing everything said another.

This is not freedom

Burchill also points out the hypocrisy of womens magazines such as Cosmo devoting pages to the voices of brave hijabi women, talking about how they see this ultimate modesty dressing as a symbol of feminism.

Some call them brave for speaking out against the discrimination they face daily by abiding by their freedom to cover themselves.

I find it hard to accept that our so called modern free culture is accommodating this, but unfortunately, it appears this is the case. This is not freedom, this is oppression, it is not modern, it is not fashionable.
Donald Trump, Jr. is in a lot of trouble. While his father was campaigning for the US Presidential election last year, he had a shady meeting with a Russian lawyer to try and get information he could use against Hillary Clintons rival campaign, which was a bad idea indeed. He didnt even get the information he wanted, so the plot didnt work exactly in Trump, Jr.s favour. However, a few days after the meeting, Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee and leaked thousands of potentially incriminating emails, which some say swung the result of the election, so thats being looked into.

Trump, Jr. forced to release emails

Trump, Jr. has been forced to post the emails in question, which reveal how enthusiastic he was to work with the Russian government to use illegitimate means to smear Hillary Clintons campaign to give his dad a boost in the election race. Laws of campaigning may have been broken here, so its being investigated by the Senate Intelligence Committee in order to get to the bottom of it. See, this is known as a hostile act by a foreign power, so senior Trump officials shouldve said something before it came to light.

According to Trump, Jr. himself, he couldve handled the Russia meeting better (i.e. not done it at all in the first place). He said he did not disclose information about his meeting with the Russian lawyer to his dad because, in his words, it was a nothing. The emails show that the purpose of this nothing meeting with the crown prosecutor of Russia was to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to the Trump campaign.

The US political world responds

Pundits and politicians from all walks of the American political arena have been speaking out about the Trump, Jr. Russia situation. The Republicans have remained mostly silent, perhaps hoping the situation will just go away. But some of them have spoken out, still, and the Democrats most certainly have made their opinions known.

Senator Marco Rubio, whos on the Senate Intelligence Committee and ran against Trump in last years Republican primaries, has pretty much pinned everything with a criminal element re: the Russia meeting on Trumps counsel Bob Mueller. He also said that Mueller will have to determine himself whether or not Trump, Jr. wanted to collude with the Russian government.

He added that hes working on a report for the Senate Intelligence Committee that will determine the extent to which the Russians interfered in our elections and the tactics they used and that this situation with the Trump, Jr. emails will be insightful in that regard.

Hillary Clintons running mate has also responded

Tim Kaine had the strongest response to the Trump, Jr. emails. This is unsurprising as Kaine was Hillary Clintons running mate in last years Presidential election, so the campaign that Trump, Jr. hoped to use Russian intelligence to smear was just as much Kaines and it was Clintons. If Hillary Clinton is the anti-Donald Trump, then Tim Kaine is the anti-Mike Pence. He told CNN that the Trump, Jr.

situation is beyond obstruction of justice.

Obstruction of justice, of course, is the unconstitutional act that Democrats in Congress have been hanging on to in the hopes of using it to get President Trump impeached, since he fired FBI Director James Comey for investigating the potential Trump/Russia collusion. But Kaine said that this is going beyond that, and instead moving into perjury, false statements, and even potentially treason. Treason! Thats the big one. Kaine did say that nothing is proven yet, but well see. Its a good step forward in the right direction. Democratic Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, who fought in the war in Iraq, has also accused Trump of treason. He tweeted, If this isnt treasonous, Im not sure what is.
Following yesterday's exciting news involving one major credit card processing firm buying another for billions of dollars, the same thing has now happened in the action-packed world of televised home shopping involving QVC and the Home Shopping Network. Also, arts & crafts materials store chain Hobby Lobby has been fined millions because of smuggled artifacts from Iraq.

QVC acquires rival HSN for $2.1 billion

The company that owns shopping channel QVC, Liberty Interactive, has just gone on its own shopping spree by purchasing all of its rival the Home Shopping Network (HSN) for a total of $2.1 billion dollars.

This price was to buy out the 61.8% off HSN that it did not already own in an all-stock transaction. This deal now gives Liberty Interactive control of five shopping channel on television and online, QVC, QVC2, BeautyiQ, HSN, and HSN2.

QVC CEO and President Mike George will oversee the combined networks once the deal is finalized later this year. He also stated that this buyout will make business more efficient, which will eventually mean better deals for customers of all five shopping channels in the future. Both QVC and HSN will continue to run as separate individual brands. The combined networks are now expected to make $14 million in revenue this year and have a combined worldwide audience of 23 million, with around 11 million being American shoppers.

Hobby Lobby fined $3 million for role in smuggling

Hobby Lobby has come to an agreement with federal prosecutors to pay a $3 million dollar federal fine and hand over thousands of ancient artifacts from Iraq that were smuggled out of the Middle East from dealers in the UAE, Israel, and other countries. These artifacts include mostly bricks and tablets written in one of the earliest writing systems, cuneiform, as well as other artifacts.

The U.S. government has said that these artifacts were intentionally mislabeled and shipped without any kind of proper identification.

Back in December 2010, Hobby Lobby agreed to buy more than 5,500 artifacts for $5.5 million from a dealer in the UAE. Federal prosecutors revealed that the deal was filled with red flags. The shipping labels showed that the contents were "ceramic tiles" and falsely said that Turkey was their country of origin. In September 2011, a similar deal was made with a dealer in Israel for around 1,000 clay bullae. The shipping label on these falsely stated Israel as the country of origin.
It is a strange situation where America wants to put up a border wall to check entry of immigrants into the country but, Los Algodones is a Mexican city on the border with California where Americans flock in large numbers. They want to avail of the cheap and affordable Dental Care available there. Teeth are a vital part of our anatomy and as age sets in, these need care but this is gradually becoming an expensive affair. People are in search for cheaper alternatives and this Mexican city is an answer.

During winter months, the number of people who arrive daily is believed to be around 6,000 and they travel from as far away as Alaska, Canada and all over the United States and many of them put up in the local casino.

They come by fair or drive down because, in spite of such expenses, it is cheaper than going to a dentist in America.

What the Mexican city offers

Sky News reports that there are many dentists in the city of Los Algodones and they thrive on the Americans who rush there for dental care that is within their financial range. The city has earned the nickname of Molar City and has flourished because of the rich-poor divide. The rich spend billions on their teeth and the pricing levels leave the less fortunate ones out on a limb. They have no other alternative but to go to charity clinics and hospital emergency rooms because, when one suffers an intolerable toothache, he has to visit the dentist.

The broad picture vis-a-vis dental care in America does not appear to be too healthy.

Statistics of the National Association of Dental Plans reveal that more than 110 million Americans do not have any dental insurance and nearly half of them are in the age group of 65 or more. The costs are also prohibitive  replacement of a full set of teeth in the United States would come to nearly $16,000 but in Los Algodones, it is $2,000.

Dental care in America

From the policies of the government, it may appear that universal dental care and cutting costs are not on the priority list of any of the political parties  they treat dentistry as more of a luxury. Obviously, the poorer sections of society feel neglected.

Incidentally, those who travel to Los Algodones are all praises for the care they receive and for the affordable charges.

For comparison - crown and implant charges in Mexico are $190 while in the United States, it is $600. Similarly for implants  in Mexico, it is around $1,100 but in the US, it would cost $4,000. One of the dentists has admitted that 98 percent of her patients come from America and she also sources her materials from there. Another interesting part is the role of deportees. Many of them are employed in this Mexican city and dentistry is a boon to them.
It was just one year ago that the city of Orlando, Florida was rocked by the worse mass shooting in American history. After Donald Trump decided to acknowledge anniversary of the tragedy on Twitter, social media users were quick to fire back.

Trump on Orlando

It was June 12, 2016 when 26-year-old Omar Mateen opened fire inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. The target were members of the LGBT community as Mateen carried out his act of terror resulting in the deaths of 49 innocent people, while leaving many others injured. In the aftermath of the shooting, Mateen was revealed to be an Islamic terrorist, inspired by extreme religious groups in the Middle East like the Islamic State (ISIS), while being raised in a strict Muslim family in the United States.

The shooting took place during the heat of the 2016 presidential election, which Donald Trump used to continue his push for a ban on Muslim immigration in the United States. Fast forward a year later and the city is still reeling from the aftermath, while coming together in an emotional show of unity. As the one-year anniversary of the shooting arrived, the city and nation looked back at the innocent lives lost at the hands of a terrorist. On his Twitter account on Monday, Trump decided to give his thoughts.

We will NEVER FORGET the victims who lost their lives one year ago today in the horrific #PulseNightClub shooting. #OrlandoUnitedDay pic.twitter.com/OFFUVAFBJM  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2017

Taking to his personal Twitter feed, Donald Trump acknowledged the Orlando shooting at the Pulse nightclub.

"We will NEVER FORGET the victims who lost their lives one year ago today in the horrific #PulseNightClub shooting," Trump tweeted, while using the hashtag, "#OrlandoUnitedDay." Trump's tweet comes as his so-called "Muslim ban" continues to remain in the spotlight, while taking place just two weeks after a similar Islamic terrorist attack occurred in London.

Twitter reacts

Not long after Donald Trump sent out his tweet about the Pulse nightclub shooting, critics hit back hard in response.

"You *JUST* passed an executive order allowing discrimination against gay people by businesses under the guise of religious freedom!" Jules Suzdaltsev tweeted out.

Honor the LGBTQ  community who want safe spaces to exist by protecting trans kids and protect the equal rights of the LGBTQ community.  Kristina Wong  (@mskristinawong) June 12, 2017

Remembering the victims of this senseless and hateful crime is IMPORTANT but it is MORE IMPORTANT to protect them in the first place!  Jules Suzdaltsev (@jules_su) June 12, 2017

"We will also never forget how you made the shooting about you one year ago today," Upworthy editor Adam Mordecai wrote on his Twitter account. "this ALL CAPS tweet does not absolve u from throwing the entire LGBTQ comm.

under the bus after your election. Liar!" Dennis Herring added.

We will also never forget how you made the shooting about you one year ago today. https://t.co/TYAhNUVn4h  Adam Mordecai (@advodude) June 12, 2017

this ALL CAPS tweet does not absolve u frm throwing the entire LGBTQ comm. under the bus after your election. Liar!  Dennis Herring (@dcherring) June 12, 2017

If you want to remember the victims of the #PulseNightclub shooting, you should protect LGBT rights #OrlandoUnitedDay  Edward Hardy (@EdwardTHardy) June 12, 2017

You have some nerve tweeting this after how you reacted last year. And given how poorly you treat latinx Americans it's even more grotesque  Calvin (@calvinstowell) June 12, 2017

"If you want to remember the victims of the #PulseNightclub shooting, you should protect LGBT rights," Edward Hardy wrote on his Twitter feed.

"Honor the LGBTQ community who want safe spaces to exist by protecting trans kids and protect the equal rights of the LGBTQ community," comedian Kristina Wong wrote. The negative backlash to the president continued as it was clear that his stance on the Pulse nightclub shooting would not go without push back.
Ever since announcing that he was running for president, Donald Trump has complained that he has received unfair treatment from the media and his critics. After his daughter Ivanka Trump doubled down during a recent interview on Fox News, the social media reaction wasn't as positive as the White House was hoping for.

Ivanka's view

It didn't take long before Donald Trump rose to the top during the Republican primary. Initially thought of as a joke candidate who was looking to increase the ratings of his reality show, Trump quickly gained popularity and rode that momentum to the GOP nomination.

Just a few months later and the former host of "The Apprentice" would go on to pull of the shocking upset over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and become the 45th President of the United States. During that time, Ivanka Trump was slowly finding herself in the spotlight, as she was viewed as the one child of the president who had the most influence over him. Following the election, questions were raised as to what impact Trump's family would have on his administration. Son-in-law Jared Kushner found himself as a top adviser, with Ivanka being hired as a special assistant to her father. On June 12, Ivanka was interviewed on "Fox & Friends" and elaborated on the current political climate.

"There is a level of viciousness that I was not expecting...but this isn't supposed to be easy." -@IvankaTrump pic.twitter.com/viiMQ2ij1d  FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) June 12, 2017

While joining the hosts of "Fox & Friends" on Monday, Ivanka Trump explained that she was surprised by how people have treated Donald Trump during his campaign and time in office.

"It is hard and there is a level of viciousness that I was not expecting," she said, while adding, "but this isn't supposed to be easy."

Twitter reacts

Not long after Ivanka Trump was interviewed on Fox News, social media users fired back with thoughts of their own. "Ivanka Trump's father-in-law once hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law and mailed the tape to his sister," reporter Mark Berman tweeted out.

There are poor Americans who today saw @IvankaTrump make her family out to be the victims of cruelty, and nodded their heads in agreement.  Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) June 12, 2017

@IvankaTrump how naive R U? Didn't expect ferocity? Really? Your father attacked Obama's legitamacy, & U didn't understand that? #MSNBC  Nancy (@NanC_Nelson) June 12, 2017

Ivanka Trump's father-in-law once hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law and mailed the tape to his sister https://t.co/m0PoMAHKXh  Mark Berman (@markberman) June 12, 2017

"Imagine how hard it must have been for Sasha and Malia when your dad was leading the birther movement," another tweet noted.

"To @IvankaTrump: there was a level of viciousness coming from your father aimed at @POTUS44 that we did not expect. #birtherism #liar," an additional tweet read.

To @IvankaTrump: there was a level of viciousness coming from your father aimed at @POTUS44 that we did not expect. #birtherism #liar  Pepper (@JulieFromNC) June 12, 2017

@IvankaTrump Girl Bye! Didn't yo pappy accuse Obama of not being a citizen?  highsteppin (@highsteppin) June 12, 2017

"There are poor Americans who today saw @IvankaTrump make her family out to be the victims of cruelty, and nodded their heads in agreement," corespondent Jamil Smith added. "@IvankaTrump how naive R U? Didn't expect ferocity? Really? Your father attacked Obama's legitimacy, & U didn't understand that? #MSNBC," another message pointed out. The backlash against Ivanka Trump continued as it was clear the partisan divide in the United States was not going to end anytime soon.
Joe Scarborough, a former GOP representative from Florida, announced his departure from the Republican Party during his guest appearance on "Late Show" on Tuesday. His statements came after he and his "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski came under fire for being critical of Donald Trump on their morning talk show. In fact, the POTUS slammed the two hosts for allegedly making him a regular subject of their personal attacks.

I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came..  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017

...to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017

The U.S.

president, however, drew backlash for his comments about Brzezinski which were deemed sexist by his detractors and supporters. Even members of the Republican Party expressed their concern about his behavior on social media.

Trump versus Media

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in a press briefing, explained that the POTUS was merely defending himself from his critics who have been hitting him below the belt. The Principal Deputy said that the leader is not someone who will let his detractors criticize him and his administration. "When the president gets hit, he's going to hit harder," she told the media.

Scarborough and Brzezinski, on the other hand, refused to back down and continued to target the president and even questioned his mental state and competency in leading the American people.

"We have our doubts, but we are both certain that the man is not mentally equipped to continue watching our show," the two said.

Before his controversial tirade against the "Morning Joe" hosts could even die down, Trump turned to target other news outlets. He specifically slammed CNN for their "fake news" and "dishonesty." His online rage went on with an edited video of a WWE fight where the U.S.

president was seen punching a man with CNN's logo on his face.

The video clip has caused alarm among the members of the press who believed that the leader was promoting violence against journalists through the anti-media post. Several GOP members called out the POTUS to watch his language on social media.

Scarborough leaves GOP after online feud

A few weeks after their exchange of harsh words with the U.S. president, the male "Morning Joe" host announced that he is leaving the Republican Party after seeing how the GOP members failed to reprimand Trump over his racist remarks when he promoted Muslim ban during the 2016 presidential election.

Time and time again, they look the other way. And theyre doing the same now, Scarborough told Stephen Colbert. I am a Republican, but Im not going to be a Republican anymore; Ive got to become an independent."

The MNSBC host joined the Republican Party in 1994. He was a congressman for the first district of Florida from 1995 to 2001.
Over the past few days, a ton of controversy has surrounded Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with Russian national lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, during the summer of last year's presidential campaign. Yesterday, The New York Times reported that they obtained leaked emails of Donald Trump Jr.'s conversations with Rob Goldstone (the point person in connecting Trump Jr. with Veselnitskaya). This morning, after The New York Times informed the younger Donald Trump they would be publishing his conversations with Goldstone, Trump Jr. chose to tweet out pictures of his entire email thread with Goldstone prior to the Times publishing their leaked copies.

Now it appears that Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder who currently maintains asylum in Ecuador, contacted the younger Donald Trump to encourage him to release his emails ahead of the New York Times.

Julian Assange contacts Donald Trump Jr.

Earlier this morning, Assange took to Twitter to tell the public he had contacted the Younger Donald Trump In Assange's tweet, he said, "Contacted Trump Jr this morning on why he should publish his emails (i.e with us). Two hours later, does it himself."

Contacted Trump Jr this morning on why he should publish his emails (i.e with us). Two hours later, does it himself: https://t.co/FzCttGSyr6  Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) July 11, 2017

Assange Twitter follower, @EliasExperience, asked him whether it was "a positive or negative maneuver in [his] opinion and why?" Assange replied by saying it was positive maneuver provided it is better to be transparent with the public given his circumstances.

Assange also reasoned it was positive for Trump Jr to get the emails out in the public eye prior to the Times given that it would allow him the opportunity to put his own positive spin on the story at hand.

(1/3) I argued that his enemies have it--so why not the public? His enemies will just milk isolated phrases for weeks or months...  Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) July 11, 2017

(2/3) with their own context, spin and according to their own strategic timetable. Better to be transparent and have the full context..  Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) July 11, 2017

Assange ended his Twitter thread by saying "even the innocent need Wikileaks."

(3/3) but would have been safer for us to publish it anonymously sourced. By publishing it himself it is easier to submit as evidence.  Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) July 11, 2017

He's surely had advice and/or is confident on the facts. I'd argue that even the completely innocent need @WikiLeaks https://t.co/i2jMQ2fR7j  Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) July 11, 2017

Assange's role in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election

Julian Assange played a large role in influencing last year's Presidential Election after Wikileaks published emails stolen from both the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton Campaign Manager, John Podesta.

Many believe the leaking of these emails negatively impacted both Hillary Clinton and the Democrats during the 2016 U.S. Elections provided these leaks helped swing public opinion further in Trump's favor during a highly competitive election. During the campaign, then, Presidential Candidate Donald Trump stated, "I love WikiLeaks!

" During the 2016 Presidential Campaign, Donald Trump's campaign advisor, Roger Stone, allegedly set up a back channel with Julian Assange during the campaign. Since the campaign, this March Stone claimed he had "a perfectly legal back channel" with Assange. Nonetheless, according to reports from CNN, Assange himself denies the existence of having cooperated with any back-channel involving Stone or the Trump Campaign.
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, is worth just north of $66 billion. He did not get that wealthy by doing things for frivolous reasons. So, when he visited north dakota recently to find out about fracking, eyebrows across the country were raised, and people started to wonder what he's up to.

Hes decided to make some investments in fracking

Zuckerberg, as a Silicon Valley liberal, is pretty sure that climate change is a real threat and that the only answer for it is renewable energy, the sooner the better. However, some sophisticated environmentalists note that natural gas burns far cleaner than coal, and with flare gas capture solutions being developed by companies like Pioneer Energy, it might serve as a bridge energy source until the grand, new future of renewables comes to be.

He also might be thinking about fuel cell-powered cars that would use natural gas and would be cleaner than gasoline or diesel. So, it might make sense that Zuckerberg went to North Dakota with the intention of making a fracking play.

On one hand, the spectacle of a Silicon Valley mogul investing in an industry that most of his neighbors regard as evil would be politically explosive. On the other hand, does the $66 billion man have to care what people think?

Hes running for president?

The other reason people bring up for Zuckerberg visiting North Dakota is that he is running for president. It would make sense, therefore, for him to learn about an important industry he is not familiar. Meeting frackers and wildcat oil workers -- the sort of people Zuckerberg has likely never encountered before -- would also be useful politically.

Zuckerberg shows a lot more political street smarts than Hillary Clinton did in his description of the people he met in North Dakota. He notes how they are hard-working people who are proud to provide the nation with a much-needed service. He even tells the story of a spontaneous parade with fireworks when the Dakota Access Pipeline was approved.

Zuckerberg shows far more empathy with ordinary people who support Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton, who sneered at them as deplorables and promised to throw coal miners out of work.

On the other hand, Zuckerberg denies vehemently that he is running for president. Two answers suggest themselves. The first one is that of course he is going to say that.

No one announces this far away from the primary season. The second one is to realize that President of the United States is a step down to Zuckerberg, who can do a lot more good with his wealth as is rather than dealing with the Washington D.C. deep state.
"Bachelor in Paradise" is in the midst of a major investigation surrounding a possible sexual assault after it was alleged that Corinne Olympios was too drunk to consent to have sexual relations with DeMario Jackson. The entire cast was sent home from Mexico on Sunday after word came out that a producer was upset about the incident that took place between Corinne and DeMario. Since then, several versions of the story have hit the media with different witness accounts. One source trusted by "Bachelor" fans is sharing what he knows about what happened.

Reality Steve is a reliable source who clearly has well-placed insiders giving him the dirt on almost anything related to the franchise.

What Reality Steve's sources say

Reality Steve shared on his blog on Tuesday what he knows about the "Bachelor in Paradise" scandal. A lot of what he knows matches up with reports, while some of it settles a few of the unknowns. Steve admits he doesn't know every aspect of what went down in Mexico and no one probably ever will.

Corinne and DeMario hooked up at the pool on Sunday, which was the first day of taping. Apparently, a lot of people saw what happened and neither one of the contestants cared that they were being watched. In fact, they wanted to keep the attention on them.

DeMario had a whistle around his neck he'd blow on and Corinne was laughing the whole time.

No sex happened, but every other imaginable act was going on between the two. Steve adds that both were at the same level of intoxication. Corinne was instigating everything, and had even made out with four other contestants before DeMario; those guys were Nick, Alex, Iggy, and Derek.

She was the one who came on to them, much in the same way she did with Nick Viall on his season of "The Bachelor."

Reality Steve's sources who knew what unfolded on the "Bachelor in Paradise" filming said Corinne was hammered, but was never "blackout drunk." His sources continue that it's untrue Corinne had no idea what was happening because she remarked about how upset her boyfriend back home would be over the hookups.

Corinne and DeMario talked about their encounter in the personal interviews while filming the show. It was going to be a storyline in the show until a producer's legal action made everything come to a screeching halt. Had that not occurred, the show would still be filming.

The producer who filed the complaint is Shelby Adams, said to be a close friend of Corinnes -- she was also her producer on Nick's season. Those who were present during the encounter with Corinne and DeMario are shocked that things have resulted in the shutdown of "Bachelor in Paradise." Others believe the two would have become a couple even if Corinne already has a man.

"BiP" canceled for good?

There's been no formal announcement that "Bachelor in Paradise" has been canceled for good, but all signs point to that being likely. If the franchise launches another spin-off, it'll have a different title or they may renew "Bachelor Pad," according to Reality Steve.
Things have begun to turn for former 'Dance Moms' star Abby Lee Miller. She was scheduled to report to prison on June 30, but she is not going to jail just yet. The same day she was scheduled to report, her start time was pushed back for another few days.

It was not revealed why there was a delay or why it came on the exact day she was supposed to report to prison. This was just another delay among other delays that caused the case to go on for two years.

On Wednesday, just two days before Miller was scheduled to report to prison, she posted on Instagram a picture of an x-ray of a knee injury she is being treated for.

It is unknown if that was the reason for the delay. Whatever the reason, she was able to be free during the Fourth of July holiday.

Prison sentence

In June 2016, Miller pleaded guilty to felony bankruptcy fraud. She was sentenced in May 2017 to one year and a day in federal prison. As of now, Miller is required to report to a Southern California prison sometimes around July 12. Even that day is not definite for her to start her prison sentence for 20 counts of fraud.

After Miller was sentenced, she appeared on some of the daytime talk shows to talk about her fear of going to prison. However, she concluded that she wanted to get it over with. According to reports, Miller could get out of prison much sooner than one year and a day if she demonstrates good behavior while behind bars.

Lifetime special

Since her sentencing, Miller has been traveling and promoting her company even though she knew she was headed to prison. It seems that she and her team are taking lemons and making lemonade. That's because a Lifetime special is being filmed about the former 'Dance Moms' star. It will feature how she is preparing for her time in prison.

Miller might be in prison, but she will still be on the upcoming season of 'Dance Moms' that was filmed before she quit last March. Her exit from the show will also be part of the upcoming season of 'Dance Moms' with Cheryl Burke as the instructor. Miller's exit is needed to show the transition from Miller to Burke in the second half of Season 7.

The 50-year-old dance instructor had been with the long-running reality show since it began on Lifetime on July 13, 2011. Miller said she quit because she was mistreated and not given credit for her creativity and contribution to the show. She approves of Cheryl Burke taking over as the new dance instructor, and she believes Cheryl will be treated much better than she was treated.
A new episode of the popular sci-fi series, 'Orphan Black', aired this past weekend. In said chapter, the show finally answered some of the mysteries featured this season.

This last episode was titled "Let the Children & Childbearers Toil", and it marked the fourth episode of the fifth and final season of the acclaimed tv series.

(Spoiler Warning: #Season 5 spoilers ahead.)

Sarah gets a surprise

This week we got to see Siobhan and Sarah go undercover in order to find more information on Westmoreland and Neolution.

Disguised as a psychologist and her assistant respectively, the mother-daughter duo entered a mental hospital to question a former Neolution defector.

Viewers of the show received a surprise (along with our protagonist Sarah Manning), when it was revealed that the defector was none other than Dr. Virginia Coady, who was thought to be dead. As the duo questions Virginia, we find out that she was hidden at the hospital by Susan Duncan.

The story is that Duncan and Westmoreland recruited Coady to work with them. Although they all shared the same mission regarding issues of evolution, genetics and human cloning, they never agreed on the mediums to be used (like Susan later tells Ira). Before they found Kendall Malone (Siobhan's mom and "The Original"), they had found a boy with the "perfect genome." Coady and Westmoreland, never ones to be "soft," went too far with their experiments and ended up turning the boy into a monster.

However, Susan, who has shown she cares far too much about her subjects, was never happy about what had been done to him, so when she had the chance she took Dr. Coady, drugged her, and sent her to a mental hospital so that Westmoreland could never find her.

Back on the island

Later in the episode, we see Cosima sneaking around the island and discovering that the boy who was experimented on is now the creature that lives in the woods terrorizing the members of Revival.

In this episode, we also see Susan Duncan making progress on her recovery, and once again making an alliance with Westmoreland so they can continue their experiments. The catch this time is that Rachel is the one in charge, and Westmoreland has no idea that Dr.

Coady is alive.

The rest of the gang

One of the best scenes of this week's episode features fan favorite Helena sharing a heartwarming moment with her twin sister.

Before Sarah goes on her hospital mission, she and her mom take a detour to visit Helena at the convent where she is hiding. The sestras talk about Kira and Sarah gets to air her worries. This scene shows us great character development from both sides, as for the first time we see Manning getting her feelings and worries off her chest, while Helena consoles her and gives her advice.

On the other hand, we see Kira being goaded by her mom, who's asking questions about what Rachel has been doing to her.

After Sarah sees her hurt arm, Kira confesses to cutting herself in order to find out more about her healing abilities.

While Sarah and Siobhan are sleuthing about at the hospital, Felix takes care of Kira, warning her not to trust Rachel too much. Kira, who is turning into a smart and tough pre-teen, reveals that all she wants is to get information to help her mom and her aunts.

This past chapter we get to see Felix's biological sister, Adele, once again. This time she finally knows what's going on (thanks to Mrs. S), and she's ready to help her brother out. The plan is that the pair of siblings will travel to Europe to "follow the money" left by Neolution's trail, something Adele is good at.

It seems that 'Orphan Black' is sending some of its most popular characters away little by little. First Alison and now Felix. Fans are left to wonder, is this a way to leave some players out of harm's way? Or is it simply the method being used to focus the plot on the clones and the mysteries surrounding them? One thing is for sure, we'll find out more as the final season develops.

The following episode will air next weekend, July 8th, on BBC America and Netflix. Episode five is titled "Ease for Idle Millionaires."
Electric-car maker shelves site in Nevada, to look for another facility

A Faraday Future FF 91 electric car takes off across the stage in an exhibition of speed during an unveiling event at CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 3, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Last year, Nevada Treasurer Dan Schwartz questioned plans by LeEco founder Jia Yueting to build a $1 billion, 1 million-square-foot electric-car plant there. He called the billionaire's strategy of borrowing to finance many new businesses so quickly unsustainable.

"This is all Fantasyland," he said at the time. "The best analogy is the Emperor's New Clothes. There's nothing there."

And in an interview with China Daily in November 2016, Schwartz said: "It's clear Mr Jia doesn't have any money."

On Monday, Faraday Future halted plans to build the Nevada factory for its 1,050-horsepower FF 91, which Faraday earlier this year claimed would be the world's fastest electric car, beating Tesla Inc.'s Model S sedan. Its expected sticker price was $200,000.

"We are in the process of identifying a manufacturing facility that presents a faster path to start-of-production and aligns with future strategic options," Faraday said in a statement on Monday.

The announcement came one week after a Shanghai court froze $182 million in assets belonging to Jia because he failed to pay interest due on bank loans taken out to fund his smartphone business.

Faraday had dismissed suggestions that its operations might be affected by the troubles at LeEco. Jia personally invested $300 million in Faraday and was to lead the company as chairman.

Business Insider reported on Monday that it has learned that the company also is significantly pulling back on operations at its Los Angeles-area headquarters amid a deepening cash crunch.

"We are in a precarious situation right now," Business Insider quoted what it said was a senior-level Faraday employee. "The generous funding we had in the past is no longer here."

Faraday said that it would keep all rights to its site in North Las Vegas and still planned to build a vehicle production facility there in the long term.

Qiong Liu, North Las Vegas city manager, told Reuters that the company will build a 60,390-square-meter plant beginning later this year.

Thousands of jobs had been anticipated with the construction and launch of the plant on a 900-acre site at the Apex Industrial Park in North Las Vegas.

The state had pledged $335 million in incentives to the company, but had not yet spent any taxpayer money on the project, according to Steve Hill, director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development.

Hill said the state, recognizing both the opportunity and risk of the endeavor, required the company to invest at least $1 billion before it received the tax breaks and infrastructure improvements approved by state lawmakers in 2015.
Hilton Hotels & Resorts, a flagship brand of the global hospitality provider Hilton, will open 100 more hotels in China within the next three years, according to a senior company executive.

"Hilton is strengthening its footprint across China in locations that appeal to both business and leisure travelers, as the country has become a hot destination for business and tourism," said Martin Rinck, president of Asia Pacific for Hilton.

Rinck made the announcement at an opening ceremony for the Nanhai Wing at Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Sunday.

The new wing, located in the booming Shekou area, incorporates the former Nanhai Hotel, one of Shenzhen's earliest and most renowned hotels.

According to Rinck, Hilton already operates six brands across its 100 hotels currently in China.

"We will introduce more Hilton brands to the Chinese market and construction of more hotels is underway," said Rinck.

Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai is part of Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton's 14 distinct hotel brands worldwide.

"The introduction of the Nanhai Wing at Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai elevates our commitment to deliver world-class service to travelers visiting Shenzhen, one of China's most important and fastest growing cities," said Rinck.
A woman demonstrates a head decoration at the Taobao Maker Festival 2017, which opened on Saturday in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province. [Photo by Li Zhong/For China Daily]

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced on Tuesday the establishment of a special committee to integrate resources and oversee the emerging consumption trends of new retail, new manufacturing, new finance, new technology and new energy.

The new committee, which the company said "has pulled in unprecedented forces", underlies its ambition to address the growth rate slowdown in pure online shopping, take bolder steps to revolutionize the retail landscape, and secure the gigantic eco-system it has built thus far.

The committee will include top-tier executives from Alibaba, with CEO Daniel Zhang leading, and Eric Jing, head of payment affiliate Ant Financial Services Group, as vice-chair. Other members include key figures across its logistics arm Cainiao, cloud computing unit AliCloud, and the Tmall and Taobao marketplaces.

In a news release, the company said it would pour massive resources into harnessing what Alibaba founder Jack Ma has called the "Five Big New Trends", which are set to sweep all industries.

"The 'Five Big New Trends' will give impetus to all aspects of the company and promote China's consumption upgrade," Ma said in an open letter to his employees.

The decision reflects a concerted effort to revamp retail after Alibaba completed a string of buyouts of physical stores, including InTime Retail Group and Bailian Group. It aims to preserve the fun and feel of shopping for buyers, while letting retailers collate the big data that enable them to sell more goods, more quickly and more profitably.

Its latest endeavor to introduce increasingly immersive and digitally-enhanced shopping experiences is exemplified in a cashier-less coffee shop unveiled over the weekend in Hangzhou, where facial recognition, QR code scanning and digital payment technologies allow for the removal of the human element from the store.

The prototype opens up the opportunity for small business owners to run AI-backed offline shops and help shoppers avoid the mundane process of queuing up to pay, CEO Zhang said.

Customers wanting to use unmanned stores have to register their mobile phones and payment accounts, and that means every transaction can be recorded and the data can be used for marketing and advertising purposes, said Matthew Crabbe, Asia-Pacific research director of consultancy Mintel.

"While this type of store will take some time for any technical glitches to be ironed out, it is likely to be part of the future of retailing," he said.

The trend of new manufacturing, focusing on customization and production on demand, was also exhibited at the Taobao Maker Festival which started on Sunday, with vendors born in the 1990s selling a wide range of unique products, such as bags made out of recycled packing materials.
Vice-Admiral Shen Jinlong, commander of the PLA Navy, presents a flag to the Djibouti Logistics Support Base garrison at their departure ceremony at a naval port in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, on Wednesday. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

The CNS Liaoning, which docked in Hong Kong on Friday marking the 20th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Garrison in the special administrative region, was open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, which not only allowed Hong Kong residents to get a first glimpse of the aircraft carrier but also helped instill in them a deeper sense of patriotism.

More than a week ago, on June 28, the PLA Navy launched its latest and first domestically destroyer in Shanghai. The 10,000-metric-ton vessel will be equipped with cutting-edge air defense, missile defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine missiles. As the first of China's new generation guided-missile destroyer class, or Type 055 class as experts call it, the new vessel will soon conduct mooring and sailing tests.

The vessel is a milestone in China's efforts to build a modern navy and improve its armament system. In order to build a stronger navy to protect its maritime and sovereign interests, China needs large guided-missile destroyers now that it has commissioned two aircraft carriers.

The new destroyer's colossal tonnage means it can travel farther and have stronger air defense capability, because it can be equipped with as many as 100 vertical launching unitsmore than what most US destroyers have. That will give extra protection to China's aircraft carriers during open sea missions. The sophisticated phased array radar system and more ship-based helicopters, too, can be used on the new destroyer.

The improvements are not just in size but also in combat readiness, telecommunications and command capabilities. The new vessel is also expected to have enhanced anti-missile capabilities, including detecting, intercepting and destroying ballistic missiles fired at it.

On July 2, the United States' missile destroyer USS Stethem trespassed in China's territorial waters off the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea in what Beijing called a "serious political and military provocation". China's latest destroyer and other large vessels in the making should act as a bigger deterrent against such pugnacious intrusions.

The July 2 trespassing, however, was not Washington's first attempt to exercise "freedom of navigation" in the waters nor will it be the last. And a sophisticated combination of countermeasures, particularly more advanced, versatile warships such as the 10,000-ton destroyer, are needed to warn off the trespassing US vessels.

An article published in The National Interest, a US bimonthly international affairs magazine, early last month ranked China second on the list of "the five biggest navies sailing the seas today", with the US in the first place. But the rankings did not tell the whole story. The US Navy has by far the largest number of ships of any navy, the greatest diversity of missions and the farthest global reach. Its 10 aircraft carriersmore than those of rest of the countries put together and bigger than their foreign counterparts'greatly contribute to its formidable naval power and presence worldwide.

In terms of the number of newly built vessels, China could be high on the list. But it has no reason to stop honing its naval prowess, including but not limited to combat capability and personnel training, because the PLA Navy has a long way to go to catch up with its US counterpart in terms of the number of large warships, intelligence gathering and training. The US Navy is also more combat ready because it has been actively participating in joint drills and regional wars for decades. This means China has to work harder to become a major naval power that can better defend its territorial rights and sovereignty.

The author is a senior researcher at the Naval Military Studies Research Institute of the People's Liberation Army. The article is an excerpt from his interview with China Daily's Cui Shoufeng.
Healthcare activist is detained after a protest to stop the Republican health care bill at Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, July 10, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

WASHINGTON - US Capitol police on Monday arrested 80 protesters who demonstrated against a Republican-backed healthcare bill.

Officers arrested 21 people at House office buildings and 59 people at the Senate side of the Capitol building, according to a police statement.

The demonstrations started in the afternoon, and police were called to 13 locations inside the compound in response to calls.

Video images showed the demonstrators chanting slogans and holding up boards that denounced the new healthcare bill.

The police who arrived on the site asked the demonstrators to cease, and those who refused to comply were arrested and will be charged with "crowding, obstructing, or incommoding".

The target of the demonstrations is a healthcare reform bill unveiled by Senate Republicans in June in a step to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

The Republican bill has faced opposition from both Democrats and fellow Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was forced to postpone a vote on the bill in late June to seek more support.
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Paris 2024 Olympic bid co-president Tony Estanguet hold a press conference after the presentation of the Paris 2024 Candidate City Briefing for International Olympic Committee (IOC) members at the SwissTech Convention Centre, in Lausanne, Switzerland, July 11, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

LAUSANNE, Switzerland  Finally, Los Angeles and Paris have their Olympic hosting destiny in their own hands.

If they can agree who goes first, each city will be awarded either the 2024 or 2028 Summer Games in September.

International Olympic Committee members voted unanimously on Tuesday to seek a consensus three-way deal between the two bid cities and the IOC executive board. Talks will open with Paris widely seen as the favorite for 2024.

If a deal falls through, only the 2024 hosting rights will be voted on when the IOC next meets, on Sept 13 in Lima, Peru.

However, an agreement seemed assured, judging by the reaction of the two mayors.

"I have full confidence that we will get there," LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said at a celebratory news conference for both candidates and IOC President Thomas Bach.

Garcetti and Anne Hidalgo, his friend and counterpart from Paris, had emerged on stage seconds after the vote, holding hands, to welcome the decision. They were joined by Bach, who raised an arm of each in a shared gesture of triumph.

The mood looked set to continue over dinner at the IOC's favored five-star hotel, the Lausanne Palace.

The Franco-American alliance continues later this week. US President Donald Trump is due in Paris to join President Emmanuel Macron for Bastille Day on Friday, the national holiday.

Macron was in the Olympic capital city Tuesday to promoting the Parisian cause  in a closed-door session with IOC members to explain how they would host the 2024 Olympics, and a subsequent news conference.

The presidential push was judged necessary by Paris, which has failed with three Olympic bids over the past 25 years.

"We lost three times, we don't want to lose a fourth one," Macron said at the news conference. "I'm here to convey the message that there's a strong unity to back this candidacy."Minutes after Macron spoke, Trump wrote on Twitter: "Working hard to get the Olympics for the United States (L.A.). Stay tuned!"
State of the Blog

I'm not keeping up the blog like I used to. Posts will be here and there, as the mood strikes. Most of what I have to say is in my book. Thank you for reading.


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HA NOI  Russian automobile maker Sollers plans to start assembling UAZ cars in Viet Nam in 2018, said Vadim Shvetsov, director general of Sollers, at the International Industrial Trade Fair INNOPROM 2017 in Russia.

Sputniknews quoted Shvetsov as saying that Viet Nams Ministry of Industry and Trade is reviewing Sollers business plan, and that as soon as it gets the go-ahead, the company will initiate the first phase, which involves the use of import quotas for automobiles.

In addition, they have their own industrial assembly policy, so obviously, we will move in that direction. I think the first phase of the project is to export automobiles assembled in Russia to Viet Nam, then transfer technology, he said.

In May 2015, the Eurasian Economic Union and Viet Nam signed a free trade agreement to develop a number of joint projects, which includes the automobile industry.

Following this, Russian automakers Gaz, Kamaz and Sollers have drawn up proposals to establish factories to assemble and produce cars in Viet Nam.

Under the plan, the Vietnamese plants will produce buses, trucks, specialised vehicles, light commercial vehicles and passenger cars.

Russias Ministry of Industry and Trade said their automakers would get a duty-free import quota for automobiles and car parts. This will allow us to increase the export of vehicles and open up new markets for Russian products, with the prospect of entering the ASEAN market, the ministry said.  VNS
HCM CITY  Quadria Capital, Asias leading private healthcare investor, has successfully completed its investment in the Franco-Vietnamese Hospital (FV Hospital) in HCM City.

This represents Quadria Capitals latest investment out of its third investment vehicle, Quadria Capital Fund L.P, and is the funds third investment in Southeast Asia since 2015.

FV Hospital on Tuesday announced that the investment will be used to facilitate the establishment of centres of excellence for selected specialties and to provide access to advanced care and treatment in Viet Nams central and southern region via an integrated network across the regions.

In December this year FV Hospital will open a general medical clinic in Can Tho so that patients there do not have to go to HCM City proper or Ha Noi for diagnosis and treatment.

The hospital also intends to open eight to 10 general medical clinics in other cities and provinces in the next five years.

At a function held to announce the investment on July 11, Amit Verma, founder and managing partner of Quadria Capital, declined to reveal the amount invested in FV Hospital or the stake acquired by the fund.

But he said the fund usually invests US$40-100 million in a project and buys a 25-26 per cent stake.

In the next 6-12 months, FV Hospital will invest at least $10 million in the first phase of a plan to expand its scale and network.

Founded in 2012, Quadria Capital, which now claims the title as the largest health care focused private equity firm in Asia, has US$1.5 billion in assets under management and 18 investments across 7 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

FV was founded by Dr Jean-Marcel Guillon in 2003 with a group of French physicians who shared the vision of bringing world class healthcare into Viet Nam. The only JCI-accredited hospital in South Vietnam, located in the burgeoning District 7 of HCM City, FV has evolved into a full-service, one-stop provider of quality care for the local population in and around HCM City. In addition to catering for the local Vietnamese population, FV also receives patients from neighbouring Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

Abrar Mir, managing partner and co-founder of Quadria Capital, said FV Hospital is well positioned to transform into a leading tertiary care provider in Viet Nam, which will help improve access to quality care and treatment in the country and the neighbouring region, a mission that is also integral to Quadrias investment philosophy.

The Quadria partnership will enable FV to leverage Quadrias experience in growing hospitals across the region, as well as other synergistic opportunities via Quadrias portfolio and network, he said.

Jean-Marcel Guillon, founder of FV Hospital, also believed that Quadria, with its demonstrated track record in building some of the largest healthcare businesses in Asia, is the right partner for FV to embark on the next phase of its journey.

A number of collaboration opportunities have been identified and we look forward to an exciting partnership with Quadria, he said.

Viet Nam is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia, with per capita income experiencing double-digit growth in recent years. Riding on demographic changes, including a rapidly expanding middle income class and higher incidence of life-style induced diseases, demand for healthcare is on the rise.

In partnering with Quadria, FV seeks to continue capturing the increasing demand for advanced care and become the go-to hospital for the middle to high income population segment, FV Hospital noted.  VNS
HCM CITY  The 19th International Shoes and Leather Exhibition opens today in HCM City, offering local and foreign firms in the leather industry a chance to explore business opportunities.

The 2017 Shoes and Leather Vietnam has attracted more than 700 exhibitors from 30 countries and territories, including Brazil, China, Germany, the US, India, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey besides host Viet Nam.

They will display chemicals, shoe making and tanning machinery and technologies, leather and other materials, shoe components and accessories, finished products and more.

The Council for Leather Exports of India is participating with 34 member companies to introduce as well as promote their products.

There are 29 Italian producers of machinery and equipment and chemicals used in tanning and shoe production.

According to the Viet Nam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso), the event is aimed at enhancing export promotion, soliciting investment and promoting the image of the countrys leather and footwear industry.

It also seeks to help local companies acquire modern technologies, it said.

The expo will be held together with the 19th International Footwear and Leather Products Exhibition, which will showcase trendy and fashionable footwear and leather products and accessories.

Several seminars on the latest technologies and fashion trends in the shoe and leather industries will be held on the sidelines of the expos.

Leather and footwear are among the countrys key export items, fetching US$16.2 billion last year. They are expected to rise to $18 billion this year.

Organised by Lefaso and Top Repute Co., Ltd, the three-day exhibitions at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7 are expected to receive more than 15,000 visitors.  VNS
HOI AN  The international community will face many challenges in implementing finance in the future, necessitating a solution that balances the goals of finance, integration and consumer protection in the context of global development.

Deputy governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV), Nguyen Thi Hong expressed the sentiment during a speech at the Asia Pacific Forum on Financial Inclusion in Hoi An on July 11-12, stressing that financial inclusion had achieved success in the past, but there were still many problems.

The international community is still seeking ways to deal with several challenges. The ratio of poor people approaching financial services was still low, while gender inequality and the gap between the rich and the poor is still evident, Hong said.

She said awareness and education on finance among people needed to be improved, while the legal framework on supervision and protection of consumers was not yet strong enough.

She also added that financial infrastructure and service development lacked investment, especially in the context of booming information technology and global digitalisation.

Hong said the forum, which has been held for seven consecutive years, offered co-operation opportunities, policy dialogues and experience sharing among APEC members in boosting sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

Financial inclusion has been a major focus of many economic and financial forums, including APEC, the United Nations, ASEAN, G20, the World Bank, Asia Development Bank, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and others.

As a host of APEC this year, the State Bank of Viet Nam and international partners have selected the topic: Finance for Agriculture and Rural Development for this years co-operation programme.

The programme will help developing members approach financial inclusion, and seek a sustainable finance solution to narrow the development gap among countries.

The forum will prelude the Financial Ministers Meeting of the 2017 APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation) Summit in Hoi An city this October. Also on this occasion, SBV in co-operation with the World Bank and International Finance Corporation will host the 4th meeting on Finance Infrastructure reform in Hoi An today. VNS
HA NOI  Military telecom group Viettel said it has spent US$50 million to connect the AAE-1 international submarine cable network with its station in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The 23,000km system, stretching across Asia, Africa and Europe, costs an accumulated US$820 million, financed by 20 partners from 18 countries, including Viet Nams Viettel and VNPT.

In late June, the AAE-1 cable project management board announced that the fibre optic cable system was officially completed and ready for service.

With various branch points, the system connects Hong Kong (China), Viet Nam, Cambodia and Thailand, as well as Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar and Pakistan, along with India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. It also connects Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti and Egypt, as well as Greece, Italy and France.

The AAE-1 uses 100Gbps DWDM-based wavelength technology with design capacity of over 40 terabits (equivalent to 80 100Gbps wavelengths) and can be upgraded to latest wavelength-matching technologies in the future.

AAE-1 is the fourth submarine cable system to be invested by Viettel, besides AAG, IA, APG, and AAE-1. The telecom network is the only local partner to host the cable landing station in Viet Nam with capacity of 2.5Tbps.

AAE-1 project is expected to contribute to meet the increasing demand for international transmission capacity of Viettel, while enhancing safety and capacity in case of incidents for Viettels international transmission network (sharing the load with other submarine cable systems owned by Viettel such as AAG, IA, APG).  VNS
HA NOI  The General Department of Taxation recently sent a document requesting the HCM City Department of Taxation to inspect the tax payments of Uber B.V Netherlands Co Ltd and GrabTaxi Co Ltd.

Traditional taxi firms claim that they have been subject to a variety of taxes and charges while Uber and Grab were only subject to a tax of 4 to 5 per cent of revenue.

With about 30,000 taxis in Ha Noi and HCM City, traditional taxi firms must pay an average tax of VN2 trillion (US$91.7 million) annually, while the tax agencies have collected only VN20 billion per year from 31,000 contracted cars using Uber and Grab applications, online newspaper VnExpress reports.

Nguyen Thi Hanh, director of department of personal income tax management, said that it is necessary to introduce a suitable tax policy for foreign enterprises doing business in Viet Nam without legal entity and accounting books to fulfill tax obligations.

However, representatives of the taxi apps have claimed that they did not evade taxes.

The online newspaper quoted Jerry Jim, director of Grab Viet Nam, as saying that Grab is a technology company and does not own any means of transport. Instead, they co-operate with transportation service providers to exploit their registered idle cars.

Jim also emphasised that the company understands the concerns of Vietnamese Government over traffic jam reduction, and they are working actively with the authorities to complete compliance with Vietnamese law.

The Ministry of Transport will provide information to the tax agencies to clarify Uber and Grab taxes soon.

Nguyen Hong Truong, deputy minister of transport, said the ministry will work with the Ministry of Finance, especially the General Department of Taxation, to share documents and calculate tax management options more tightly to avoid inequality in tax collection.

According to the General Department of Taxation, not only Uber and Grab, but also more than half of traditional taxi businesses reported losses in the past and did not pay corporate income tax. Other traditional taxi businesses payed taxes, but the paid amount was very low.  VNS
ROTTERDAM  The Netherlands port city of Rotterdam is keen on expanding multifaceted co-operation with Vietnamese localities, particularly HCM City, Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb told Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday.

PM Phuc concluded a four-day (July 8-11) visit to the Netherlands today.

He said areas with high potential for greater co-operation included urban planning, building and management of port infrastructure, navigation training, logistics services, and flood prevention.

Aboutaleb also promised to encourage Rotterdam businesses to invest in Viet Nam in the fields of their strengths.

The Mayor of Rotterdam told the PM that he visited Viet Nam several times and was impressed by the countrys dynamism and development efforts.

"Rotterdam is willing to support HCM City in coping with climate change impacts," he said.

Prime Minister Phuc said he highly valued the close coordination between the two cities over the past few years in climate change adaptation, and recognised the Mayors contributions and support for this.

He said the Vietnamese Government paid great attention to boosting comprehensive co-operation with the Netherlands and encouraged localities of both nations to strengthen partnerships in trade and investment and exchange management experiences in urban planning, waste treatment and drainage.

The PM asked the Mayor to call on Rotterdam businesses to increase their presence in Viet Nam and hoped the city would also aid the countrys central and Mekong Delta regions in preventing further erosion, saltwater intrusion, and in dealing with rising sea levels.

Delta Programme

The PM also lauded the Netherlands Delta Programme, which was launched in 2010 to prevent flooding, ensure water supply for agriculture and industry, and cope with climate change in urban areas.

At a meeting with Director of the Staff of the Delta Programme Commissioner Hermen Borst, he thanked the Netherlands for supporting Viet Nam in implementing the strategic partnership agreements on climate change adaptation, water management, sustainable agriculture and food security in recent years.

He said Viet Nam was particularly interested in measures to cope with climate change impacts and hoped the Netherlands would provide more assistance with this.

Hermen Borst said he was ready to share his individual experience and support Vietnam in water management and climate change adaptation.

The same day, PM Phuc visited the Rotterdam port  the biggest of its kind in Europe, stretching about 40 kilometres.  VNS
THE HAGUE  Viet Nam wants to enhance all-around cooperation with the Netherlands, especially in climate change adaptation, water management, high-tech and sustainable agriculture, oil and gas industry, logistics and seaport services, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The Vietnamese Government leader made the statement at a meeting with President of the Senate Ankie Broekers-Knol and Speaker of the House of Representatives Khadija Arib of the Netherlands in The Hague on Tuesday.

He spoke highly of experience and strength of the Netherlands in the above-mentioned fields and hoped the Dutch legislative bodies continue supporting and promoting the implementation of cooperative programmes between the two nations in the framework of the strategic partnership agreements on climate change adaptation and water management; and on sustainable agriculture and food security.

The PM informed that Viet Nam was giving priority to reforming and perfecting its economic institution, renovating growth model, promoting scientific and technological applications, and improving both human resources and competitiveness of the national economy.

He asked the Dutch law-making bodies to work to strengthen and support trade and investment links between the two countries, push for the early signing and approval of the EU  Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement, and consider establishing the Netherlands  Viet Nam Friendship Parliamentarian Group towards expanding legislative cooperation.

The Dutch parliamentarians described PM Phucs visit to their country as an important milestone in the cooperative ties between the two nations, and highlighted comprehensive results in the Viet Nam-Netherlands multi-faceted relations in recent time.

Khadija Arib stressed the great potential to further boost the bilateral ties, saying that the two nations needed to create more favourable conditions for their enterprises to promote links, thus fully tapping strengths of the two economies.

She affirmed that the Netherlands was willing to share experience and foster cooperation with Viet Nam in the fields of its strengths such as water management, sea level rise and climate change adaptation, dyke construction, shipbuilding, logistics and seaport services.

The two sides agreed to enhance exchange of visits, especially between parliament committees, to foster experience sharing in law making and supervision.

They expressed their belief that the cooperation between the Vietnamese NA and the Dutch legislative bodies would be stronger in the future, contributing to stepping up the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between the two nations.

Later the same day, PM Phuc left Amsterdam for Viet Nam, wrapping up his four-day official visit to the Netherlands from July 8.  VNS
HA NOI  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wednesday afternoon confirmed that a Vietnamese citizen was killed following the Philippines governments strikes against the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.

A foreign ministry press release said that the Philippines military has recovered the body of Vietnamese national Tran Viet Van after having carried out attacks against the jihadists in Sulu province.

I am grief-stricken to confirm that Vietnamese national Tran Viet Van has lost his life. We want to send our deepest condolences to Tran Viet Vans family, wishing that they soon overcome such a great loss, said the foreign ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang.

She also said that the Vietnamese embassy in the Philippines was working with both the Vietnamese and Filipino authorities to complete forensic and legal procedures, preparing documents to bring Vans body back to his family.

Van was the third Vietnamese killed in related to Abu Sayyaf, after another two Vietnamese nationals Hoang Trung Thong and Hoang Van Hai were beheaded by the terrorists on July 4. The three of them were among six sailors of the Royal 16 ship kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf in November last year.

Only one of them was rescued and brought back to Viet Nam, which means another two Vietnamese are still held captive by the jihadist group.

The foreign ministry on Tuesday morning summoned the charge daffaires of the Philippines embassy in Ha Noi, asking the country to offer urgent assistance in the case and to ensure safety of the remaining kidnapped Vietnamese citizens.  VNS
HCM CITY  Doctors at Trung Vuong Hospital have successfully performed their first endovascular intervention on a patient with renal infarct, a rare condition with nonspecific symptoms.

The procedure was done last month on a 51-year-old man from HCM Citys District 8 who, after experiencing acute abdominal pain for two days, bought medicine at a pharmacy to reduce the pain. After the pain became worse, the man was admitted to the hospital for emergency aid.

A CAT scan at the hospital showed that blood clots were blocking the patients blood supply to his left kidney, said Ngo Minh Tuan, head of the hospitals digital subtraction angiography department.

The infarction had lasted 36 hours, which can lead to necrosis of 20 per cent of kidney tissue.

Endovascular intervention, a minimally invasive procedure, was used by doctors to remove the blood clot.

They used a 2-mm tube threaded into an artery in a thigh and a renal artery to remove the blood clot, and placed a balloon device inside the artery to help blood flow easily to the kidney.

This was the first time the hospital had used endovascular intervention to treat renal infarct, Tuan said.

Patients with renal infarct previously had been treated with antithrombotic medicines or medicine that breaks down blood clots.

"But such medicine cannot completely remove clots, leaving a high risk of kidney tissue necrosis," Tuan said.

If the condition is not treated in a timely fashion, kidney tissue could die from kidney failure. The kidney would no longer be able to filter water and toxins from blood.

The conditions symptoms are often only abdominal pain, which can be mistaken for a stomachache. VNS
CAN THO  The Can Tho City Peoples Committee in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta will launch a programme later this month to help farmers increase sales of their unsold products.

The programme, called Support Farmers  Price Subsidy for Consumers will be held at the citys employment services centre from July 21-23 and from July 28-30.

Products offered at subsidised prices will be sold at around 30 booths selling pork and other locally farm-raised products.

Participants at the event will demonstrate effective business and agricultural production models now being used by local residents.

Last month, a similar programme in the city attracted more than 5,000 visitors and buyers.VNS
HCM CITY  The Ministry of Health has instructed health departments nationwide to strictly inspect private health clinics to ensure they are offering safe and high quality treatment.

Local health departments will be required to disseminate information about health examination and treatment to all private health facilities and ensure that local private practitioners have certificates to practise in their field.

The departments will also be required to publicise on their respective websites lists of licensed private health facilities that have violated regulations on health examinations and treatment.

The ministry said that more effective inspections at private health facilities would also help to identify and correct violations in a timely manner.

The country has 206 private hospitals and more than 30,000 health clinics, according to the Ministry of Health.

Some of the violations that have occurred include: employing foreign doctors without a licence to practise from the Vietnamese government; using medicine without origin or medicine not allowed in Viet Nam; and doctors promoting expertise in fields which they do not have licence to operate.

HCM Citys Department of Health said that it would follow the ministrys instruction and would require its district health offices to enhance supervision at all clinics.

The city would offer its third training course for general health clinics next month, and investors in the clinics who have yet to attend must register for the course as well.

In June, the city department conducted its fourth assessment this year of the quality of 24 general health clinics.

Of the 24 clinics, 15 of them failed to meet most of the departments quality standards.

The names of the 15 clinics have been published on the departments website.

Inspectors found that the clinics had not publicised prices of technical services or had not carried out activities for management of tests and biological safety in testing rooms. Some had used medical techniques that had not been approved by the health department.  VNS
Authorities inspect fruits at a supermarket in HCM City.  VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai

HA NOI  The implementation of regulations related to food advertisement has improved, but managing advertising on social networks like Facebook and YouTube has faced a number of difficulties.

Experts spoke at a conference of the national steering committee on food safety and hygiene held yesterday in Ha Noi. The conference aimed to summarise the work of the first half of this year, and set out the plan for the next six months.

Representatives at the conference also agreed that the abuse of banned substances, chemicals, antibiotics and preservatives in processed foods were becoming more complex.

Food poisoning due to poor quality liquor led to a significant number of fatalities. Meanwhile, poisoning in industrial and processing zones had been reduced, but was still a risk.

During the first six months of the year, the country set up more than 23,400 delegations of inspectors to check more than 443,100 enterprises and discovered more than 81,000 violations.

The inspectors handed out administrative fines of more than VN38 billion (US$1.7 million) to more than 12,900 enterprises. As many as 300 enterprises were forced to temporarily suspend operations and 300 kinds of food were banned from circulation.

More than 4,000 kinds of substandard food were destroyed.

The rate of agricultural, forestry and aquatic product enterprises meeting food safety and hygiene standards increased from 91 per cent in 2016 to 96.7 per cent this year.

The rate of agricultural material trading enterprises reaching standards increased from 89.9 per cent last year to 95.6 per cent this year.

By the end of June, the country saw 73 cases of food poisoning with 1,592 victims. As many as 1,483 of them had to be hospitalised and 16 died.

Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong said that since the beginning of this year, the national steering committee on food safety and hygiene issued guidance documents on preventing food poisoning and infectious diseases.

Education on food safety on was improved through a range of media channels, he said.

Concluding the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Vu uc am asked the Ministry of Health to cooperate with concerned agencies to make adjustments to Decree 178/2013/N-CP, issued in November 14, 2013, regulating administrative fines for violations related to food safety and hygiene.

Circulars and national norms on food safety must be promulgated regularly.

Deputy PM am asked the national steering committee on food safety and hygiene to strengthen its inspections all over the country, with a particular focus on the use of chemicals and plant protection substances, and ensuring safety during the slaughter of livestock and poultry, especially in big cities.

Ministries and concerned agencies must have specialty inspectors on food safety in Ha Noi and HCM City, and consider expanding to several main cities and provinces, said the Deputy PM.

Food safety management agencies in different localities should receive more training, and use the media to increase public knowledge on the issue, said am.  VNS
QUANG NAM  Residents of ien Ban Township in Quang Nam Province have set up protest camps outside Viet Phap Steel Factory, objecting to the pollution it is causing, online newspaper Dan Tri reported.

The factory began operations in 2009, and locals have been complaining that since then, they have had to deal with severe noise, air and water pollution. People said the factory recently added a 10pm to 4am daily work shift, so the noise was unceasing now. A local named Thang said: Of late, the factory has been operating day and night. We have to cope with loud noise and dark, stinky smoke all the time now.

For a week now, locals have put up barriers and stopped lorries from going in and out of the factory. They hope to pressurise the factory into shifting out of the residential area.

Nguyen Thi Ha, one of the residents at the protest camp, said provincial leaders and factory officials had promised to move the factory out of the area by June, but so far the plant has been operating as usual.

Nguyen uc Tai, deputy director of ien Ban Townships Industrial Zone Development Centre, told the newspaper that the province had not yet found another location for the factory, so local authorities were persuading people to stop protests, which were causing losses to the factory and putting security in the area at risk.

This is not the first time that locals have protested against the pollution caused by Viet Phap Steel Factory, which is located in the central provinces Thuong Tin Industrial Zone.

Initially, local authorities had asked the factory to reduce its production capacity and put in place measures to reduce pollution. Then, officials had proposed the plan to move it, and a new location in Nam Giang Districts Thanh My Township was chosen after an environment impact evaluation was conducted. However, the site has not yet got consensus from all concerned parties.

Also, the factory has demanded financial assistance of VN130 billion (US$5.7 million) for moving premises.  VNS
HA NOI  National carrier Vietnam Airlines has asked all its passengers to do check-in procedures two hours before the departure time of their domestic flights at the Ha Nois Noi Bai International Airport.

The airline sent out instructions after upgradation work began at the airports Terminal 1 (which serves domestic flights) on Tuesday. The carrier is concerned that the ongoing work might delay passengers, reported online newspaper Infonet.

Additionally, data of the carrier shows that in the first 10 days of this month, around 6,000 passengers presented themselves at boarding gates later than permitted for a wide range of reasons. The rise in the number of people travelling this summer was said to be one of the reasons, the carrier said.

The airline is also encouraging people to do online check-in so as to avoid long queues and waits, especially when the airport is overcrowded because of high travel.

The airport upgradation work is scheduled to go on for eight months, until March 2018.

Terminal 1 became operational in 2001, and its passenger traffic capacity is six million per year. Once the terminal gets upgraded, it will be able to serve 15 million passengers per year.  VN
HCM CITY  Officials and experts have called on the HCM City Peoples Committee to adopt smart traffic systems to reduce the congestion around Cat Lai Port in District 2.

The secretary of the municipal Party Committee, Nguyen Thien Nhan, held a meeting with city officials, experts from the HCM City International University and relevant agencies on Tuesday to discuss the problem.

He had earlier visited the My Thuy intersection to survey the traffic situation near the port.

At the meeting a Department of Transport official said his agency has been co-ordinating with the port management and other agencies to find solutions to the congestion, which is badly affecting both businesses and residents in the area.

But their efforts have been useless so far, he admitted.

Some 17,000 vehicles enter the port daily, occasionally going up to even 19,000 - 22,000, while the capacity of the main street leading to it, Nguyen Thi inh, is not more than 15,000, according to the department.

According to the Viet Nam Seaport Development Master Plan, the cargo transported through the port is expected to reach 36 million tonnes per year by 2020.

But the volume has exploded, crossing 53 million tonnes last year.

The transport official said many infrastructure works are under construction in the vicinity, worsening a bad situation.

Solutions

An official from Sai Gon New Port Corporation, the port operator, called for speeding up infrastructure works around the port to ease the congestion.

Besides, authorities should crack down on illegal parking lots and traffic violations, the official said.

Assoc Prof Ho Thanh Phong, the principal of the university, urged city authorities to install a smart traffic system around Cat Lai Port.

Smart systems gather traffic data, check traffic routes, monitor vehicles and take over traffic lights in case of congestion, he said.

Such systems are in place in the Sai Gon River Tunnel and on Vo Van Kiet Boulevard, he said.

Nhan said: "A smart traffic system is essential and should be installed as soon as possible. Based on traffic data provided by the system, city authorities can find solutions more efficiently and faster.

He said the transport department should deploy it at traffic hotspots like Cat Lai Port and Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The university should estimate its cost and co-ordinate with relevant agencies to install the system soon near the port, he said.

He also urged the city to speed up construction of Ring Road 2 and other works to complete them on schedule.

He said the Peoples Committee should have smart traffic systems in place all over the city by 2020.  VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued an urgent message ordering the northern localities to urgently take remedial action in the wake of the recent torrential rains that killed at least 13 people and left another missing.

The message was issued after prolonged heavy rains, triggering both flashfloods and landslides, battered the northern localities since early this month and led to initial damage of VN28.9 billion (US$1.2 million).

Phuc tasked Peoples Committees of the northern localities, especially Thai Nguyen, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, ien Bien and Hoa Binh  the localities that suffered the most from the torrential rains -- to provide essential necessities to families whose homes were damaged by landslides and flashfloods.

Search and rescue operations to find the missing person should be conducted quickly and continuously, he added.

The committees were told to review all areas with a high risk of landslides and flashfloods and then evacuate people from these areas, he said.

He also asked the committees to send traffic police to the flooded areas to instruct people to travel safely.

Health sectors in the localities should be ready to prevent diseases once the rains ended, he added.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, torrential rains would hit the north region until Sunday (July 16).

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development was ordered to ensure the safety of reservoirs and dykes during the rains, he said.

In a related movement, Agricultural Minister-cum-head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Nguyen Xuan Cuong on Tuesday also asked the Viet Nam Television and the Voice of Viet Nam to increase their broadcasts of weather forecasts and provide instructions for people to deal with heavy rains and floods.

This was aimed at minimisng damage to both humans and property when torrential rains and floods occurred, he added.

Cuong said instructions could be found the centres website -- www.phongchongthientai.vn.

According to the latest forecast issused by the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting on Wesnesday morning, water levels of the rivers of Thao, Chay and Lo were rapidly rising. Floods were predicted to occur in lowland areas near Thao River in Phu Tho Province during the next 24 hours.

Mountainous areas in Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Lai Chau and ien Bien, as well as Son La, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang and Cao Bang, along with Thai Nguyen and Bac Kan, were put on high alert for landslides and flashfloods, the centre said.

Heavy rains and floods are expected to continue showing complicated developments because this is the start of the rainy season in the region.  VNS
WASHINGTON  US President Donald Trump on Tuesday opted to extend by three months the deadline on whether to lift decades-old sanctions against Sudan, saying "more time is needed" for review.

Trump was to decide by Wednesday whether to permanently lift Washingtons sanctions on Sudan after his predecessor Barack Obama eased the embargo in January but kept Khartoum on a six-month review period.

In his executive order Trump amended the deadline to October 12, 2017.Obama made the permanent lifting of sanctions dependent on Khartoums progress on five areas of concern at the end of the review period.

"I have decided more time is needed for this review to establish that the Government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action across all of those areas," Trumps order said, adding that "the Government of Sudan has made some progress."

Washington imposed a complex set of economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its alleged backing of Islamist militant groups.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011, was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

Washington also justified the embargo with accusations of scorched-earth tactics by Khartoum against ethnic minority rebels in war-torn Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since a brutal conflict erupted in Darfur in 2003, the United Nations says.

Prior to Trumps measure the UN said it hoped the US would make a "positive decision" on sanctions against Sudan for allowing more humanitarian aid access across war zones as sought.

Giving more access to humanitarian workers was one of the five conditions Obama insisted Sudan must meet before the sanctions can be lifted permanently.  AFP
Waterloo

Fire Log

July 6: 6 ambulance runs

12:53 a.m., intersection of Knox and Palmer drives, Dumpster fire.

5:20 a.m., intersection of West 11th and Washington streets, dispatched and canceled.

8:49 a.m., West Commercial Street, steam, vapor or fog.

11:33 a.m., 1041 Sheffield Avenue (Chase Auto Parts), passenger vehicle fire.

2:26 p.m., intersection of Mitchell and Sheffield avenues, motor vehicle accident.

4:32 p.m., 2127 La Porte Road (Holiday Inn Express), smoke detector.

4:40 p.m., 3421 West Ninth St. (Covenant Medical Center), central station.

4:49 p.m., Washington Street, motor vehicle accident.

10:56 p.m., 850 Park Road (Riverfront Stadium), motor vehicle accident.

July 7: 6 ambulance runs

1:10 a.m., 1539 Oriole Ave. (Hair Biz Salons), odor of smoke.

8:25 a.m., intersection of Interstate 380 and East San Marnan Drive, motor vehicle accident.

2:41 p.m., 1210 Flammang Drive (Stuff Etc.), motor vehicle accident.

3:07 p.m., 205 Adams St., unintentional.

4:40 p.m., 623 West Second St., building fire.

7:42 p.m., 205 West Fourth St. (Ramada Hotel), alarm system.

10:23 p.m., 909 Bayard St., CO2 detector activation.

July 8: 2 ambulance runs

9:57 a.m., intersection of West 11th and North Washington streets, motor vehicle accident.

Police Log

Gabriel Travon Bailey, 19, of 1561 Woodmayr Drive, was arrested July 6 at 1542 Woodmayr Drive and charged with indecent exposure, trespassing causing injury or damage and possession of marijuana.

Josephina Angelina Cisneros, 20, of 4915 Weiden Road, was arrested July 6 at home on a warrant for assault.

Dachiaune Marquell Fuhrman, 18, of 536 Cutler St., was arrested July 6 in the 1400 block of Baltimore Street and charged with third-degree burglary. He was allegedly located a short distance away from a Mazda CX-5 that Daniel Butler had reported burglarized.

Patrick J. McMickle, 39, of 233 Dixie Circle, Evansdale, was arrested July 6 at the intersection of East Mitchell and Sheffield avenues and charged with first-offense operating while intoxicated and driving while license revoked.

Taefon Ladale Anderson, 37, of 832 Logan Ave., #1, and Marissa Marie Johnson, 23, of 707 West Seventh St., were arrested July 5 at Johnsons home and charged with second-degree burglary. Johnson was also charged with interference with official acts, as well as on a warrant for criminal trespass. Thorsha Gary reported the pair burglarized her home at 817 Logan Ave.

George Robert Cole-Duvall, 24, of 314 East Sixth St., was arrested July 5 at home and charged with furnishing a controlled substance to inmates.

Shauna Maree Hacker, 42, of 1128 Newell St., was arrested July 4 at 1828 Newell St. for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and violation of the drug tax stamp act. Police found marijuana while searching a home at 1828 Newell St.

Jesse Tyrone Davis, 33, of 742 Newton St., was arrested July 3 on East Third Street for second-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

Cieance Samone Harris, 26, of 731 W. Third St., was arrested July 3 on West Ninth Street for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

Shanelle Winter Madlock, 19, of 1226 N. Barclay St., was arrested July 3 at 1501 E. San Marnan Drive for third-degree theft. She allegedly took items from Target.

Trashon Devontez Montgomery, 26, of 1039 Kern St., was arrested July 2 at 2325 Crossroads Blvd. for willful injury causing serious injury. He allegedly assaulted Tiara Jackson, and she suffered a broken jaw.

Nga Reh, 21, of 821 W. Sixth St., was arrested July 1 on West Sixth Street for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

Maryan Hassan Ali, 30, of 125 Western Ave., was arrested June 30 at her home for two counts of child endangerment. She allegedly left a 2 and 3 year old at home alone.

Nicholas Jay Bell, 34, of Independence, was arrested June 30 on Cedar Bend Street for burglary to a vehicle and possession of meth. He allegedly entered a parked vehicle on Cedar Bend Street.

Burglaries: Michael Joseph Kettman reported the theft of a 9 mm handgun, a .44-caliber revolver, a bike, a TV, a compound bow, a gaming system and a portable fire safe during a burglary to his home at 1215 W. Sixth St. on June 30. Dora Weatherly reported the theft of two TVs during a burglary to her home at 305 Broadway St. on July 2.

Black Hawk County Sheriffs Log

Jason Michael Backens, 47, of 1312 Forest Ave., Waterloo, was arrested July 5 at the jail for child endangerment. He was allegedly caring for a 7-year-old daughter while intoxicated June 25 at 300 Lillian Lane.

Ryan Patrick Brennan, 39, of 816 Cedar Bend St., was arrested July 5 for dissemination of obscene material to a minor. He allegedly sent a text photo to a 14-year-old boy of himself performing oral sex on a female, and in the message he told the teen the female was the teens mother, court records state.

Jaquan Maurice Grays, 19, of Waterloo, was arrested July 3 for distribution of marijuana to a minor. He allegedly sold marijuana to a 16-year-old girl on June 23.
CEDAR FALLS  On a warm July afternoon the rattan chairs look inviting on the broad green lawn beneath towering trees. One can almost visualize Victorian ladies in white cotton lawn dresses drifting down the hill from the 1895 Queen Anne Victorian home to sit and fan themselves in the shade and sip lemonade, grateful for a cooling breeze that drifts across the Cedar River.

Restored to its early glory, the Daniel and Margaret Wild house on West First Street in Cedar Falls, not far from the Ice House Museum, Little Red School House and Behrens Rapp Filling Station, is a graceful presence and indelible reminder of the citys history.

Now, after months of diligent research and painstaking attention to detail in completing seemingly endless forms and inventories, homeowner Susan Card has finally won her prize.

The home is now designated on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, Card has earned a preservation project of merit award from the State Historical Society of Iowa. She received the Judith A. McClure award for outstanding preservation of a residential property.

Im living the dream. Im so lucky, Card says, smiling. For years, Ive been looking for a Victorian-era house, and I knew Id found it when I walked into this house.

Card grew up in Cedar Falls and returned home from Colorado. She remembers walking past the house with her friends on the way downtown for a movie, banging a stick against the wrought iron fence.

It reminded me of the Munsters house on TV, Card recalls, laughing. Little did she know one day she should become its owner. She purchased the home from Audrey Smith and moved in five years ago.

Card credits Smith, who owned it for 35 years, with saving what once was a dilapidated old house from being torn down for progress.

When Smith decided to sell, Card says, We had a meeting of the minds. Card was undeterred by the homes proximity to Illinois Central Railroad tracks. I thought it was super cool.

The Highway 57 project spurred Card into seeking status on the National Register of Historic Places for her home. Ive always wanted to do this kind of research and get more involved with preservation. I loved it  the research was so interesting. I was determined to do it, no matter what it took, she explains.

She appreciated help from the State Historical Preservation Office staff and received state historic tax credits for her preservation and rehabilitation efforts.

Daniel Wild was a first-generation German immigrant who arrived in Cedar Falls in 1853. At the time, the settlement boasted 13 log cabins. He married Margaret in 1853 as well, and they had 10 children. By 1868, Wild was a successful businessman and entrepreneur, owning a brick company and later expanding into lumber, coal, farming and rest estate.

The home was designed by architect William A. Robinson. Although the abstract doesnt give the exact year it was built, markings and a signature underneath the staircase are dated 1895. Wild used the finest materials available, including a pink granite foundation and exotic woods such as circassian walnut and Georgia curly pine. The house also features a rooftop porch turret.

Card tackled the second-floor bathroom as the first place to get her feet wet in renovation. She removed previous updates such as the fiberglass shower, restoring it to a Victorian look with marble floor tile and marble tiled shower. That done, she was ready to start on the kitchen.

It was all untouched, she says, including the uneven floors, limited counterspace and low sink. Im glad the kitchen hadnt been done because I wanted to do it myself. Ive always had an idea for a kitchen.

She sat down with her friend and kitchen designer Sandra Luttchens-Van Allen, who works for Omega, and over a period of months formulated a plan. The kitchens footprint could not be altered.

It was meticulously planned to maintain the homes character and integrity, Luttchens-Van Allen explains.

The project included removing a nonfunctioning chimney and adding a window for a river view. Original pine cabinetry was kept and other original woodwork repurposed or restained, including rosettes, beadboard paneling and trim.

Super white marble was used on the center island, providing much-needed working and serving space. The soapstone apron sink came from Vermont. The already-enclosed four-seasons porch is open to the kitchen and provides a banquette and table for casual meals. A fireplace was installed for a hearth-room effect.

Card had the home repainted in a period-inspired color scheme with the main body in yellow, the homes original color.

The experience of living in the Wild family home has further ignited Cards passion for preservation, both of old homes and historic communities. Anything Ive learned about it, Ive thought I could use helping other people through the process, she says.
WATERLOO  A change of scenery changed the outlook for a previously rejected gas station in the Crossroads Center Mall parking lot.

Members of the Waterloo Planning, Programming and Zoning Commission voted 7-1 Tuesday to endorse a site plan amendment allowing a UFuel gas station to locate on a the east side of the mall lot near the intersection of Crossroads Boulevard and Bopp Street.

Commissioners last month had rejected a request from AMS Energy Ventures Inc., of Rockville Centre, N.Y., to install the 10,000-gallon above-ground fuel tank, pumps and a kiosk in the highly visible northeast corner of the malls parking lot.

While commissioners still voiced concerns about the appearance of the project, they found the new site was more suitable.

Its not any prettier but it is in a better location, said commissioner Tavis Hall.

UFuels Ethan Henderson said he was willing to work with the city to dress up or screen the tanks to look more like a building. But the draw of the project is its ability to offer cheaper prices due to low overhead costs.

UFuel will work with the mall to provide discounts to its retailers for those buying gas. The idea is to drive more traffic into the mall which has a dozen vacant storefronts now.

While commissioners supported the project, they did encourage Henderson to work with city staff on landscaping or fencing.

To me, this doesnt look like it fits in with the strip malls and the shopping atmosphere of Crossroads, said commissioner Marcia Buttgen. I basically think its ugly. Im sorry.

John Harshbarger is the general manager of the mall, which is leasing the parking lot location to UFuel.

Its not like Im painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa, he said. Its not an aesthetically pleasing part of the mall as is.

Harshbarger said he hopes the discount program at the station will help keep the mall viable given the difficult time retail stores are seeing nationally.

I dont think this tank is going to detract from the community, but in return I think it is going to help me and my retailers, he said. I cant watch another company go bankrupt and walk out of the mall.

The site plan, which drew no public opposition during the commission hearing, now heads to the City Council for final approval.
CEDAR RAPIDS  Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday he may subpoena the one-time chairman of Donald Trumps campaign committee to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee what he knows about a meeting last year between Trumps son and a Russian lawyer said to be offering dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Paul Manafort already has volunteered to talk to congressional intelligence committees investigating whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government attempting to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

But that offer came before the latest revelation that Donald Trump Jr., the elder Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Manafort met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

Manafort also has been called before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Grassley chairs, to testify about enforcement of the Foreign Agent Registration Act. Passed in 1938, the act requires agents representing foreign countries in a political or quasi-political capacity to disclose that relationship and information about related activities and finances.

Grassley said Wednesday hes asked the departments of Homeland Security and State how Veselnitskaya could be in the United States without registering under the foreign agents act or on a valid visa.

The Iowa Republican told reporters he thinks there has been lackadaisical enforcement by the Trump and Obama administrations.

Its likely the questioning of Manafort might extend beyond the foreign agent act to probe the more recent allegations.

If he comes before our committee  and well subpoena him if necessary  then it would be appropriate for anybody to get into anything that went on at that meeting, Grassley said.

Grassley declined to comment on whether he thought there was anything criminal in Trump Jr.s meeting with Veselnitskaya. He said he will leave that to Robert Muller, the special counsel investigating the presidents campaign ties to Russia.
WATERLOO  The city took steps this week to improve three of its more dangerous traffic intersections.

Waterloo City Council members on Monday approved an ordinance adding temporary traffic signals at Greenhill Road and Progress Avenue, while approving an engineering contract to design permanent signals.

They also applied for a $500,000 state grant to improve the crash-prone intersection of Ansborough Avenue and Martin Road and set an Aug. 3 bid opening for an estimated $180,000 signal installation at Osage and Dubuque roads.

Ward 1 Councilman Tom Powers said residents in the area around Greenhill and Progress have been calling for stoplights for some time.

Im in constant contact with the neighbors in that area wanting the signals, he said. People are having a difficult time with speed on Greenhill and trying to get out there, especially at sunrise and sunset.

Interim Public Works Director Sandie Greco said traffic operations decided to put up the temporary signals, which should be activated next week, after hearing about some near misses.

People in the community in that area were having trouble getting to the park from the north or crossing Greenhill from the Sager (Avenue) side to the bike trail, she said. It was a big safety issue.

Ament Design of Waterloo was retained for $4,575 to design permanent signals, which would require left-turn lanes, pavement and sewer work and utility relocation. It also will require cash.

Im still looking for funding, Greco said.

Waterloo has made significant improvements to intersections in recent years and no longer has any crossings in the top 70 candidates for safety improvements  also called the most dangerous intersections list  based on crash data compiled by the Iowa Department of Transportation.

But the city is seeking $500,000 in traffic safety funds from the IDOT for left-turn lanes and signal phasing improvements at Ansborough and Martin, which was number 84 on the most dangerous list last year due to accidents mostly involving left-turning vehicles on Ansborough.

A previously awarded traffic safety grant is covering the cost of the Osage and Dubuque road signals, which also experienced T-bone crashes due to a very sharp crossing angle.
Hydrant flush set in Waterloo

WATERLOO -- The Waterloo Water Works will flush hydrants Thursday in the area from Burton Avenue to Cedar Bend Street and from Donald to Conger streets.

Customers could experience water discoloration, but the discolored water is bacterially safe.

Un-garage sale set for Thursday

WATERLOO-- Eye of the Needle will have its next "Un-Garage" sale from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday in Lincoln Park, Fourth and Mulberry.

All items will be at no cost.

Sheriff to hold town meeting

WATERLOO -- Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson will host a town hall meeting Thursday.

The meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. at the Waterloo Center for the Arts, 225 Commercial St.

Sweet corn at farmers market

CEDAR FALLS -- The Cedar Falls Farmers Market will have its July customer appreciation day from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at West Third and Clay streets.

The market will furnish doughnut holes, coffee, lemonade and ice water while supplies last.

Sweet corn is here now, and there also will be tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, onions, radishes, summer squash, broccoli, rhubarb, raspberries and more.

The market is open every Saturday through October.

Deadline for grants Oct. 1

CEDAR FALLS -- Grant applications can now be submitted to the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa for its Black Hawk County 2017 fall grant cycle. The deadline to submit applications is midnight Oct. 1. Grants are awarded to projects in the following areas: art and culture, community betterment, education, environment, health, historic preservation and human service.

The online grant application may be found on CFNEIAs website at www.cfneia.org. Grants recipients will be announced in December 2017.

First-time grant applicants should contact Tom Wickersham, program director, at 243-1356 prior to submitting an application. Grant applicants must be a 501(c)(3) designated organization (or government entity) serving Black Hawk County in order to be considered for funding.
Many of Donald Trumps tweets are impulsive and repulsive, inaccurate and incendiary. But one of his recent blasts on social media was correct: My use of social media is not Presidential  its MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL.

Trump has shrewdly and successfully used social media to spread his message directly to his supporters without the messy and annoying scrutiny of mainstream journalists. In effect, hes created the TBN, the Trump Broadcasting Network. And with more than 30 million followers on Twitter alone  who can then retweet his missives to their own connections  his reach is enormous.

Trumps probably right when he says without social media, he would not be president. The FAKE & FRAUDULENT NEWS MEDIA is working hard to convince Republicans and others I should not use social media, he tweeted, but remember, I won the 2016 election with interviews, speeches and social media. I had to beat #FakeNews, and did. We will continue to WIN!

But the larger and more critical question is what he actually says on social media now that hes president. How does he use this powerful platform to convey his policies and values?

To his core followers, hes still a hero. But to many Americans, including a growing number of Republicans, hes not winning on social media. Hes losing. Instead of elevating public discourse, hes lowering it; instead of dignifying his office, hes demeaning it.

In a recent NPR/Marist poll, seven out of 10 Americans, with little partisan difference, agree the level of civility in Washington has gotten worse since President Trump was elected, while just 6 percent say the overall tone has improved. And Trumps vitriolic diatribes on Twitter contribute heavily to that climate of contentiousness.

In a Politico poll, 69 percent said Trump tweets too much. Fifty-nine percent called his Twitter habit a bad thing and only 23 percent called it a good thing. Even Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, concedes hes not a great fan of Trumps tweets. The presidents repeated outbursts dominate news coverage and drain energy and attention away from his own legislative agenda.

The news media has long been a favorite target of Trumps social media machine, and lately his obsession has gotten worse. Hes pursued an inane vendetta against morning talk show hosts Joe Scarborough (Psycho Joe) and Mika Brzezinski (low I.Q. Crazy Mika). And hes repeatedly labeled CNN fake news and garbage journalism.

Trump reached a new low, even for him, when he posted an old video of himself, made to promote pro wrestling, pummeling an opponent to the ground. The foes head, however, is replaced with the distinctive CNN logo.

In the current climate, where a deranged shooter feels free to attack Republican congressmen just because of their politics, journalists rightly fear for their safety. But the presidents real goal is not to endanger journalists security  its to undermine their credibility. His tweets might seem unhinged, but theres a careful strategy behind them.

Hes trying to convince voters they should not believe his critics. In Trumps Twitter world, there are no independent provable facts, only fake news. The president alone knows the truth. Anyone who contradicts him is psycho and crazy and speaking garbage.

This is profoundly dangerous. The president is deliberately trying to cripple an essential element of democracy, the ability of a free press to hold the leaders of the country accountable.

Other presidents have despised the press  Richard Nixon comes to mind  but Nixon didnt have Twitter.

Nixon didnt air his grievances as publically as Trump does, historian H.W. Brands said in the Washington Post. Weve never seen anything like the ongoing performance of President Trump.

No, we havent, and hes having an effect, at least on his most partisan supporters. A recent Pew poll found 70 percent of Americans feel the media keeps political leaders from doing things that shouldnt be done. But while 89 percent of Democrats share that view, only 42 percent of Republicans embrace the medias watchdog role.

Between the two of us, weve spent almost 100 years as professional journalists, devoted to the principles Trump denigrates every day. We believe deeply journalists must protect the public by preventing their leaders from doing things that shouldnt be done.

But we also believe journalists must perform that role accurately and ethically. No cheap shots or flimsy stories. Resist the pressure to be first and wrong. The media can be fair to the president and still be fearless.
The Iowa Supreme Courts weapons ban makes court-system areas safer.

Courtrooms and the associated areas where judicial matters are handled can be places where emotions run high. People accused of wrongdoing or convicted of lawbreaking, their friends and relatives and victims of crimes sometimes react strongly to the potentially life-changing events that occur in courts. When these individuals possess guns or other weapons, the possibility they will be used is a serious concern.

Thats why in the interests of public safety, the Iowa Supreme Court has issued a ban on weapons in such areas except for those possessed by law enforcement personnel. On June 19, Chief Justice Mark Cady issued an order on behalf of the court that reads in part:

Under our constitutional authority and responsibility to supervise and administer Iowas district courts, the supreme court now orders that all weapons are prohibited from courtrooms, court-controlled spaces, and public areas of courthouses and other justice centers occupied by the court system.

Given the danger of violence in such an emotionally charged environment, this order is prudent and deserves the support of all Iowans. Its hard to see why any reasonable person would oppose it.

The courts action brings about policy uniformity statewide. Until this action, bans and restrictions varied from county to county. In some counties there were no policies regarding weapons in court areas. Having a sensible, consistent weapons policy in all court areas across Iowa is logical.

When Iowans believe their courthouses and court facilities are not safe, the integrity of the entire justice process is compromised and undermined. Courthouse security is inseparable from the concept of justice itself, Cady wrote in his order.

The Messenger strongly agrees with that sentiment. We applaud this weapons ban. It will help make our courts safer places than they would be otherwise. Cady and the other members of the court deserve praise for taking this action.
Q. Why is the CDC recommending baby boomers be tested for hepatitis C?

A. Here's an explanation from the Centers for Disease Control: "There is a high prevalence of hepatitis C in people born during 1945-1965, with 75 percent of people with hepatitis C born during these years. There is increasing HCV-associated morbidity and mortality, as annual HCV-associated mortality in the U.S. increased more than 50 percent from 1999 to 2007. People born 1945-1965 with hepatitis C face increasing hepatitis C-associated morbidity and mortality." Treatment and therapy can help improve health and prevent deaths.

Q. Can you name the provinces of Russia?

A. There are 46 oblasts, or provinces: Amur, Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Oryol, Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan, Sakhalin, Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk, Tambov, Tomsk, Tver, Tula, Tyumen, Ulyanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh and Yaroslavl.

Q. Does Iowa still have a safe haven law? If, so, where are the havens? What age of child qualifies?

A. According to the Iowa Department of Human Services, "The Safe Haven Act is a law that allows parents -- or another person who has the parent's authorization -- to leave an infant up to 14 days old at a hospital or health care facility without fear of prosecution for abandonment."

Q. How often do they elect the president of the Friends of the Library board?

A. Bylaws for the Friends of the Waterloo Public Library show the board's officers are elected annually at a meeting in November or early December.

Q. From Jan. 3 to May 3, how many days was Congress in session?

A. According to the Congressional calendar, the House was in session for 68 days and the Senate for 63 days.

Q. How far was the Titanic away from land when it hit the iceberg?

A. The ship was about 350 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

Q. What is happening with the ball fields on Summit Avenue?

A. Since the Summit ball diamonds are no longer programmed by Waterloo Leisure Services the outfield fences have been removed for ease of mowing.

Q. What is the origin of the term "Indian giver?"

A. It goes back to the days of the early settlers, who often accused native Americans of giving gifts and then asking for them back. Most historians agree settlers frequently misinterpreted offers of loans or trade as gifts, though. The phrase is now generally considered offensive.

Q. What is the current year in the Chinese calendar?

A. It's the Year of the Rooster.

Q. When will "This is Us" be back on TV?

A. NBC has renewed the show, but it looks as if a start date for the new season hasn't been announced yet.

Questions are taken on a special Courier phone line at 234-3566. Questions are answered by Courier staff and staff at the Waterloo Public Library.
The laptop died in the Tiny Russian Village. It was a good workhorse and actually still works, but the monitor has shelled out completely. I could hook up the external monitor, but that is space consuming and I like more area to work in. And the keyboard is different, but that I will work around

Therefore, I was lucky I brought the Estonia Yoga Tablet/Laptop and Windows to Russia is back in business

Strange how life works

# # # #

Rough night. Boza and I both were up at 2 a.m. and walking, then back to bed and up at 4 a.m. as normal. It is 5 a.m. right now. Like I said, Things as always

# # # #

Sammy the Volga should be painted today and or at least started. They have the car back together, they have applied rock proof undercoating and sealant to the underside and it is primed and sanded. It is ready to paint and then ready to reinstall the windows and external lights and such

We are looking at this upcoming Sunday to leave for Moscow and then we can get Boza and his eyes done. Lets hope and pray that all falls into place correctly. Boza needs to get some help, because the drops are starting to fade with influence on his left eye. It looks like the left eye needs to be removed, but we will see

# # # # #

Boza needed to walk again and when he needs to go, I take him. We only walk four or five times a day now, instead of eight plus times. Thus, he wants to go, I take him. He needs it. Mornings are the best time for him and I to walk. The Tiny Russian Village sleeps as we walk

# # # # #

I woke last night with a wild dream

I woke in a sweat and my dream was still running before my eyes. I was being asked by ?, Why do we keep killing ourselves off?

I was dreaming about how many times the human race has been allowed to rise in power and then when we should know better, allow ourselves to destroy each other. This is something that I believe in. I think in 4 billion years, that humans have cycled around and around on this planet. And every time we reach a certain attainment of technology and abilities, we self destruct and start from scratch again

Too much is unexplained about things that have survived from the past. Many of these things are slid under the radar and not expounded upon. Even something as simple as the Egyptian Pyramids is still beyond our abilities to build exactly like they are built and much less try to do it with tech they had in those days. Life is still full of mysteries and we just scratch the surface of what has happened on this planet. We like to spout and beat our chests, but we are babes in the woods compared to the lifespan of the Earth

Somewhere in the universe something and or someone has made it to maturity, definitely not us. We are still children and as such we cannot see the forest for the trees. A mature society would not war, not waste resources, not populate themselves to death, would not curse the gods and definitely would not be in chaos

Being a science major, I can not fathom that we are alone in the universe. I can fathom that we are being watched, but being the only humans, entities and or humanoids is not even possible. The stars are plentiful beyond any imagination and every star has planets to some extent

We are an arrogant intelligence, that is so immature that we act like children in a playground fighting over the only ball around, fighting over the swings, fighting over who is first and fighting over whose father is toughest

Someone, something somewhere is laughing at us. Maybe placing bets on how long we last?

# # # # #

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and Im not sure about the former. = Albert Einstein

We have a long ways to go people, we have just scratched the surface of what can be. Can we make it?

# # # # #

Oh and Boza and I walked again before I finished this article. Now he has finally settled and is at peace. Lots of food, all his medicine is done and he lays on the couch next to me as I write this. His head is on my lap and he is snoring. Life is good, the sun is shining and it will be about + 20 today

Have a nice day

WtR

PS.

[contentcards url=http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article160647974.html]
A startup needs to test an idea quickly. For this, an MVP is created. MVP, Minimal Viable Product  a test version of a product or service with a minimum set of functions (up to one or two), which allows you to see the product's value for consumers and the market. MVP is created to test hypotheses and check the viability of the intended product: is it worth developing the project further, what changes should be made? The sooner a startup brings its MVP to market and tests the idea, the better. This article will look at how no-code technology can help founders achieve their business goals.

This article will try to cover everything that a founder needs to know about no-code at the initial stage of creating a startup.

What is no-code?

No-code, zero-code platform is a tool for creating websites, applications, chatbots, and other programs without the need for direct code writing by programmers. No-code is a valuable alternative to traditional development.

No-code is confused with low-code, but there is a difference in these terms. Low-code includes no-code and the ability to "finish code", add parts of code and the functionality.

A user of a no-code platform usually does not need to know layout, programming languages, or hire a team of programmers. The user of the no-code tool creates an application using a visual block constructor, which he fills with the necessary content and functions, and the no-code platform itself does the processing of requests, compiling the application and other "magic." It generates code using AI and/or contains blocks of code pre-written by programmers.

No-code allows the startup founder to create an MVP himself, entrust it to his employee with basic technical literacy and understanding of the project, or hire a no-code developer. Even in the case of hiring a no-code developer, the cost of creating an MVP will be significantly lower than with classical development with programmers. For example, you can read the interview of a startup and no-code developer on our website, who initially worked as a Product Manager and was able to master no-code for his project himself.

Benefits of no-code for a startup founder

There are the following key advantages for a startup founder in using no-code technology:

a large selection of no-code tools, platforms, and their integrations at the moment  already in 2022, there are many tools and platforms for creating an MVP, a larger project, or even a finished product on no-code, but few people still know about them, and others are far from all startups and founders use their potential;

cost  no-code development saves the money by speeding up the development process, not hiring professional programmers or no need to maintain a developer department, monitoring functions and quick bug fixes, avoiding or reducing the growth of technical debt;

speed is the main advantage over classical development  no-code allows you to build a simple application in a weekend, and a more complex one can be built in a month. In this way, you can test an MVP and even several versions of an MVP very quickly;

low entry threshold  to master a no-code platform, you often do not need technical education at all, but only an understanding of a company's business processes or product from the inside. In the case of pro-level no-code platforms, technical education is required, but you can get used to it hundreds of times faster than with any programming language. This makes no-code available to almost everyone who wants to work with technology;

ease of use  no need to write hundreds of code lines  just move the blocks and assign links between them. Work on a project can be entrusted to your employee without communicating with a team of third-party developers. You can speak "in your language" without the need to understand the "inner kitchen" of developers;

flexibility  with the help of no-code, it is easy for a startup founder to add new functionality and new features right during a project or a MVP testing without a significant increase in development costs.

Possible disadvantages of no-code for a startup founder

As often, any property can be, under certain conditions, both a disadvantage and an advantage. In no-code, many of the benefits with the wrong choice of tool can turn into disadvantages:

no-code is not always a budget solution for a project. Sometimes in a no-code development package, you get unnecessary functions and additions (on AppMaster.io you can separately connect the frontend and pay only for the backend or only for those functions that you are using); if you do not understand the needs of your project, then you can make a mistake with the choice of a no-code tool and not be able to implement the necessary functions on it, or it will be too difficult to implement them; often, no-code tools fail to ensure proper data security and contribute to data leakage (but AppMaster.io allows you to host a finished application on any server); no-code tools often do not provide the ability to upload source code or provide uploading in an inconvenient format, which makes it difficult to move to another tool or to your development. You have to choose a no-code tool "once and forever immediately" (AppMaster. io gives you the ability to download the source code. Also, we generate human-readable code and you will not have any difficulties with its transportation); most no-code tools on the market are not suitable for creating a finished product, and there are significant difficulties with scaling the project if the MVP is successful (AppMaster.io is a professional no-code platform and our capabilities allow us to implement and support the finished product and scale it in the future).

Forewarned is forearmed. Choose your no-code tool wisely and take full advantage of your choice.

Types of no-code platforms

Conventionally, all no-code tools can be divided into several types: no-code devices with a low entry threshold (you can create frontend and not very powerful backend on them), integrators that help connect applications and services, and professional no-code platforms (they strive to replace the code completely, provide the ability to create a robust backend and high bandwidth).

The basic principle of operation of your MVP and the choice of a no-code platform depend on such a conditional division into types. For example, if you make a simple application like a diary, you can limit yourself to a no-code tool with a low entry threshold and a beautiful design.

If your application has powerful potential, high bandwidth, multi-user interface, and works with large amounts of data or real-time data, it is better to choose a professional no-code platform like AppMaster.io or Direcual.

If you use several services at once, link them on integrators like Integromat and Zapier.

Adalo

An easy-to-learn designer with a relatively user-friendly interface. The free version is helpful for learning. The free version contains Adalo watermarks and does not allow you to upload your applications to GooglePlayMarket and AppStore. Beginners often choose this no-code platform to create their first applications with simple logic.

Bubble

It will take more time to learn Bubble , but the platform allows you to work with the backend, databases, business processes, and layout. There are many plugins. The free plan allows you to master the tool, and you can start developing at the middle rate. The price increase is due to the rise in the number of users.

Integromat

It is an integrator. Experts talk about it as a simple and affordable platform for linking applications and services. Scenarios can be created personally, or you can use templates. If you need to connect an application with a service not from the Integromat database, fill out the form and connect to its API via HTTP.

Zapier

This is an integrator for linking applications with each other or with other external services. You can transfer data between thousands of applications. There is a script constructor (one event starts a chain of necessary actions).

Directual

The no-code platform positions itself for creating MVP applications (Minimal Viable Product, minimum viable product) and full-fledged applications of finished products. Scenarios are the backbone of the platform. Using scripts, you can automate the backend logic of the application, create and combine workflows. The Directual catalog includes out-of-the-box connectors, HTTP requests, webhooks, database listeners, and integration with popular services.

AppMaster.io

No-code next-generation platform for creating native and web applications on a real backend. Visual drag-and-drop designer, user-friendly business process designer, one-click app publishing to AppMaster Cloud, or integration with any cloud platform. Push notifications, authorization using social networks. Networks, email, and more. Connect applications to hundreds of services or programmatically access them using APIs. The ability to upload source code and documentation in a human-readable format and transfer it to your servers. Documentation auto-generation. Modern and fast language GoLang at the core.

No-code perspectives for startups

No-code development is gradually gaining popularity around the world. There are already more than 500 no-code tools for creating websites and various types of applications.

According to the forecasts of IT world experts, no-code will develop more and more actively and capture parts of the market responsible for medicine, small online business, small business, and all niches where it is possibly necessary to optimize and automate development processes.

The mass shift of businesses and their customers online and to gadgets has increased the demand for the fast and inexpensive creation of mobile applications that would work according to a single quality standard and have a simple, understandable, user-friendly interface.

Conclusion

No-code is visual programming in the form of a constructor without directly writing code. Usually, basic knowledge in development is enough to build applications on no-code.

The logic of no-code constructors is intuitive: the application interface is assembled from blocks, icons, buttons, and text which are connected to the database. Usually, you can choose a suitable template or do everything from scratch. Speed and economy are the main advantages of no-code tools.

No-code is suitable for creating an MVP, testing an idea or new features in a product, saving time for solving standard tasks. PRO level no-code platforms can provide you with a finished product, an application.

If you don't have an account on AppMaster.io yet, join us. After registration, you will be given a free trial period for 14 days, in which all the basic functionality of the platform is available. It will allow you to learn the intricacies of working with a professional-level no-code platform and understand its potential.
Jul 12, 2017 | By Benedict

Denis Manturov, Russias Minister of Industry and Trade, says the Russian government will support the production of 3D printed aluminum wheels for the automotive industry. The move could boost the national aluminum industry.

3D printed 500 aluminum alloy water pump wheels for cars. Source: BMW

Its no secret that the 3D printed car business is racing ahead at full speed, but would you drive a vehicle with 3D printed wheels? According to Russias Minister of Industry and Trade, Russians might soon find themselves doing exactly that, as the Russian government looks to accelerate the production of aluminum 3D printed wheels for the automotive industry.

In an interview with Russian news agency TASS, Minister Denis Manturov said the country can boost its flagging aluminum trade by turning the metal into powders, which can then be 3D printed into useful components like car wheels using advanced laser melting 3D printers. We are interested in production of aluminum wheels in Russia, Manturov said.

The idea seems simple: Russia imports most of its aluminum automotive wheels from outside of its own borders, yet its aluminum trade is struggling. The solution for everyone? Keep the Russian aluminum in the country, and use it to make something everybody needs.

According to Manturov, the government wants to get behind businesses that can carry out this 3D printing objective. We will develop production of aluminum powders near aluminum giants, the minister said. We will focus on supporting companies creating the added value in the first instance.

But the government purportedly has other plans to improve trade too. For one, it wants to introduce compulsory certification for aluminum wheels in order to cut down on the number of counterfeit items being introduced to the Russian market. This assurance will hopefully provide extra incentive for the producers of new 3D printed wheels.

The question that the Russian government is most likely to face over this plan is surely Why wheels?

At present, virtually no automotive company is using additive manufacturing to fabricate wheels for its vehicles.

Racing giant McLaren added a few 3D printed components to its 2017 MCL32 race car, but these included hidden-away (and, crucially, not round) parts like a hydraulic line bracket and brake cooling ducts.

Even radical innovators like Divergent 3D have avoided wheels: Kevin Czingers much-hyped startup uses 3D printed aluminum nodes which connect the carbon fiber tubes of the Blade supercars chassis.

Fortunately for Russia, there is at least some precedent for the development of 3D printed wheelsin 3D printed RC cars. How different can it be?

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Jul 12, 2017 | By Tess

The Fridman Gallery in Manhattan, New York will soon be hosting what is arguably one of the most provocative 3D printed art exhibitions of recent times. Called A Becoming Resemblance, the exhibit will consist of roughly 30 3D printed portraits of Chelsea Manning, the transgender U.S. Army soldier who was imprisoned for leaking classified data in 2013.

Manning, who was released just over a month ago on May 29, was imprisoned for several years at a U.S. military prison in Kansas. During that time, no photos of Manning were allowed save for a mugshot, a reality which inspired artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg to create a number of technologically generated portraits of her based on DNA from the former intelligence analyst.

The project, which our readers might know from its previous name Radical Love, began about two years ago, when Dewey-Hagborg was asked by a media outlet to create an image of Chelsea Manning from her DNA for a feature. When asked for DNA samples from her hair and cheek swabs, Manning got on board, as she believed Dewey-Hagborg would give her more visibility through her art, both as a prisoner and as a trans person.

Prisons try very hard to make us inhuman and unreal by denying our image, and thus our existence, to the rest of the world," reads a statement by Manning on the gallery's website. "Imagery has become a kind of proof of existence. The use of DNA in art provides a cutting edge and a very post-modernalmost post-post-modernanalysis of thought, identity, and expression. It combines chemistry, biology, information, and our ideas of beauty and identity.

Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg with 3D printed Chelsea Manning portraits

With Mannings DNA samples, Dewey-Hagborg was able to generate a number of facial variations using a DNA analysis software. The thirty 3D printed portraits of Manning that will be exhibited therefore all possess different features, such as different eye and skin colors. Some even look more feminine, while others have more neutral or masculine features.

The idea behind the exhibition is to create a connection between Manning and the visitors. "I'm hoping people will walk in and see a portrait that resonates with them and feel kind of that connection with her, said Dewey-Hagborg. We are all Chelsea Manning and we all stand there with her.

From another perspective, the A Becoming Resemblance exhibition also works to demonstrate that DNA-based imaging is not a foolproof method, as thirty variations of Mannings face were generated from a single DNA sample. Importantly, DNA does not even necessarily indicate what gender a person might be.

(Images: Mike Segar / Reuters)

The 3D printed masks, which have previously been on exhibition in Davos, Switzerland, will soon be on display at the Fridman Gallery in Manhattan. A Becoming Resemblance will officially open on August 2, 2017.

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Joe D wrote at 7/12/2017 6:05:32 PM:If using DNA to Model a subject were viable, it would be great to get a photo of a criminal suspect from just using the DNA sample. But, in reality is is not useful. We just don't know enough about the language of DNA. Also, I was under the impression that the presence or absence of that Y-chromosome had EVERYTHING to do with gender. But, it seems we live in an age that wants to redefine everything. I briefly corresponded with a guy who felt he was a wolf. Apparent even the species can't be determined by DNA.




Jul 12, 2017 | By Tess

Notaroberto-Boldrini, a design studio based in Lyon, France, is bringing some color back into timekeeping with its new line of 3D printed watches. The collection, called Watch.step, features a number of wonderfully colorful and bright watches made using a combination of 3D printing and crafting techniques.

Designers Simon Boldrini and Loic Notaroberto founded the studio on their shared love for pop culture. As they state on their design studios website, Notaroberto-Boldrini is the result of two different but complementary personalities. Inspired by pop culture they aim to reinvestigate its philosophy and aesthetics with a pure spirit, using new fields and mixing materials.

The designers latest project is certainly one for the times, as it brings together fashion, fun, technology, and watchmaking. Their unisex watches consist of a nylon strap, a quartz movement, and a number of 3D printed parts which, when combined, make for a casual but eye-grabbing wristwatch.

Notaroberto-Boldrini has designed two versions of its 3D printed watch, the Watch.step Pop and the Watch.step Fancy, the latter defined by its more conservative color palette. The 3D printed parts of the watch, made out of ABS plastic, were manufactured on a Zortrax M200 3D printer.

STEP is a self-published project that was born following the acquisition of a 3D printer for the studio," the designers say of their 3D printed watches. "The project is a cross between new technology and craft process. We use the 3D printer to create the different components that we assemble ourselves. The final product is the result of a work exclusively carried out in the studio."

Boldrini and Notaroberto, both Italian-born, met in Brussels while both were working at the Sylvain Willenz Design Office, an industrial design studio known for its lighting and interior designs. After one year at the Belgian design firm, both Boldrini and Notaroberto moved on to La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland (a center for watchmaking), where they worked for two years at Atelier Oi.

The studios fun and fashionable Watch.step products are available for order through its online shop. There, customers can choose from a variety of different colors, including black, pink, yellow, green, taupe, bordeau, kaki, and ivory. The best part? At 35 euros a piece, the 3D printed watches wont break the bank.

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Jul 12, 2017 | By Tess

The Mitsubishi Corporation, Japans largest trading company, recently signed two cooperation agreements that will see it invest in the city of Zhuhais metal 3D printing industry. The agreements were signed at the Zhuhai Service Trade Innovation and Development International Exchange Matchmaking Conference, which recently took place in China at the Zhuhai International Convention and Exhibition Center.

The conference saw the signing of a total of six cooperation agreements, one of which was between the Mitsubishi Corporation and the Xiangzhou District Government and Zhuhai Abbey Mould Design Co., Ltd., a molding company based in the region.

As stipulated in the 50 million yuan (US $7,366,482) contract, Mitsubishi will investigate Zhuhais medical, aerospace, and overall metal 3D printing industry, and will work together with Zhuhai Abbey Mould Design Co., Ltd to establish a new company that will, in turn, establish a layout for the Chinese citys metal 3D printing industry.

Keiji Somada, the Mitsubishi Corporation's Industrial Equipment Division Chief, explained why the Japanese company is investing in Zhuhais metal 3D printing industry specifically. In terms of metal 3D printing applicationsfor example, the medical industry, car industry, or aerospacethere are a lot of these type of enterprises in Zhuhai. Additionally, Zhuhai has a great human and natural environment as well as a positive investment environment.

While the cooperation agreement has been signed, the final details, such as the total investment amount by the Mitsubishi Corporation and Zhuhai Abbey Mould Design Co., Ltd., are still being negotiated. No other details about the agreement have been divulged yet.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, the Mitsubishi Corporation currently has more than 200 branches and has offices in roughly 80 countries around the globe. The company has already invested in 3D printing technologies, as it owns filament manufacturing company Verbatim, and has explored various 3D printing technologies through its various international research and development divisions.

Zhuhai Abbey Mould Design Co., Ltd., for its part, is a Chinese company that specializes in designing and manufacturing molds for a number of different applications. The company also specializes in 3D molding composite processing, plastic molding manufacturing, and product design.

The city of Zhuhai, located in Chinas southern Guangdong province, is the home of several 3D printing ventures, including Zhuhai CTC Electronic, Chinas leading 3D printing manufacturer. Were eager to see what other exciting 3D printing projects come out of the Chinese city with Mitsubishis investment.

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Jul 11, 2017 | By Julia

French chemical and advanced materials company Arkema has just announced plans for a serious upgrade to its Sartomer subsidiary. Based in Nansha, China, the Sartomer facility will see the launch of a new production line for UV, LED, and EB (Electronic Beam) photocure resins, with the plants overall production capacity set to expand by 30 percent.

The new line of resins will be particularly geared towards the Asian 3D printing market, in addition to electronics and inkjet printing, three areas that are continuing to surge. Arkema representatives have announced the production expansion should be complete and consumer-ready by early 2019.

The Sartomer facility in Nansha

The news comes hot on the heels of Sartomers N3xtDimension brand, the companys new range of solutions for UV-curable 3D printing that was launched late last year. Now, with the French subsidiary officially carving a place for itself in Asias 3D printing market, the new production line comes as no surprise. The N3xtDimension-branded photocure resins, beyond additive manufacturing, will target the production of printed circuits and screens for smartphones, tablets, and televisions.

Thanks to production sites and R&D facilities in Europe, Asia and the United States, [our] customers benefit from high quality technical support for tailor-made developments as well as responsive local logistics service, said Sartomer representatives in a statement. The company believes that its strategic local presence in these three key regions sends a clear message that it is a reliable partner with unique-know how, ready to fulfill consumer demands in high-performance resins.

Selling points of the just-announced line of solvent-free specialty resins include environmental friendliness and full compliance with the global standards on volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. In other words, the line of resins is expected to bolster Sartomers (and Arkemas) strategic position in the development of so-called new eco-sustainable materials, enabling Sartomer to capitalize on what is expected to be a growth of 10 percent per year in the electronics and 3D printing high added value niche markets.

Overall, the Nansha-based project remains in line with the Arkema Groups goals to accelerate development of its advanced materials. The new line of photocure resins should eventually account for over 25 percent of company sales, and if successful, will continue consolidating its presence in Asia.

With the launch date not until early 2019, the French subsidiary has a decent amount of time to make it happen. On the other hand, that year and a half could also see an influx of competition with this fast-growing niche market. Whether Sartomer will be able to effectively secure a leading position in Asias photocured resin industry will certainly be a story worth keeping on eye on.

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We all love our beautiful city, but sometimes we just need to get the hell out and breathe fresh air. Take a hikebut pack an awesome picnic first. First stop: Larkspur.

Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey

The newest addition to Marin Country Mart, Fisher's Cheese & Wine is basically an ode to the picnic, from Kiri Fisher, owner of The Cheese School of San Francisco. This small cafe, wine bar, and cheese shop has the whole package. The patio is a perfect spot to enjoy a glass of rose and a cheese-centric dish such as pimento spread, a melty grilled cheese sandwich, or a charcuterie board. But, we'll save that for another visitwe are here for picnic supplies.

The grab-and-go case is stocked with picnic essentials, or you can ask Fisher and her team to help you select a few items from the cheese and meat cases. Tell them your wishbuttery, soft, sharp, goat, cow, you name itand they'll put together a tantalizing spread for you to take away. Don't skimp on the accoutrements: There are plenty of jams, honey, crackers, and wines to complete your al fresco feast.

Previous Next This bench has views of the entire Bay Area. (Photography by Sarah Chorey) Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey Previous Next Photography by Sarah Chorey

Picnic Time: Ring Mountain Open Space

Now that you've got your goodies, head south about 10 minutes to Ring Mountain. Drive to the end of Taylor Street, off of Paradise Drive, and park in front of the fancy houses in the cul-de-sac. (From here, you could creep up in the private landscape to take a selfie with a viewnot that we've ever done that before, we swearbut hold your camera. There's better to come.)

Enter through the gate and head down the trail toward the giant stone formation known as Turtle Rock (popular for bouldering!), and hike past it and around the edge of the park hillside until you come across a picturesque bench beneath the welcoming shade of a large tree. You've made it to picnic nirvana.

Bust out your blanket and noms to enjoy while taking in the viewsfrom here, you'll be able to see the city skylines of Oakland and San Francisco, the top of Twin Peaks, and even the Golden Gate Bridge peeking out from behind the hills.

Have extra energy? Spend the afternoon wandering around the various leisurely trails on Ring Mountain, taking in the different views from atop the Tiburon Peninsula.

// Fisher's Cheese + Wine, 2201 Larkspur Landing Circle (Marin Country Mart), fisherscheese.com
The mental health needs of refugees may be substantial and are likely to present in the primary care setting.4547 The specific types of mental health conditions are strongly influenced by the migration history and the type and duration of exposure to adversity encountered before, during, and after a refugee's flight.48 Compared with the general population, refugees have higher rates of mood disorders, anxiety, and PTSD. They may present with somatic symptoms, sleep disorders, fatigue, paranoia, or suicidal thoughts.45 Resettled refugees are 10 times more likely than the rest of the population to have PTSD, and depression is a common comorbidity.40,4951 PTSD may present years after arrival, even long after resettlement.51,52 There are multiple instruments and tools to screen for depression, anxiety, and PTSD.15,53 Two well-known tools that are validated in several languages and used in refugee populations are the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (http://hprt-cambridge.org/screening/harvard-trauma-questionnaire/) and the Refugee Health Screener (http://refugeehealthta.org/2012/02/08/refugee-health-screener-15-rhs-15/). Some of these specialized questionnaires may require a fee to use (see websites for information on purchasing), but routinely used primary care screening tools for PTSD, anxiety, and depression may be sufficient (although not necessarily validated in refugee populations or in different languages).
Because refugees' health care needs can be extensive, reimbursement for these initial visits is often higher than established primary care visits. Doing this initial work, though difficult, may allow for additional funding to help support staff and other services. Staff training in cultural humility(i.e., a willingness to explore your own biases and respect other cultures) is essential, as is scheduling flexibility. Due to language and other cultural barriers, newly resettled refugees may have difficulty understanding the patient appointment process and arrive late. In one of our refugee clinics, we solved this problem by assigning a single front-office staff member to coordinate patient visits with our local Volags. Having this dedicated point person can relieve other staff of these duties and help sell them on the idea of working with refugees. Although this requires an investment of staff and time, the intervention can pay off by reducing no-show rates and increasing revenue in value-based health systems.
The quality category, in general, requires physicians or physician groups to report data for at least six quality measures, including one outcomes measure, if reporting using claims, registries, or an electronic health record (EHR). Note that physicians can report much less for 2017 depending on how aggressively they plan to comply with MIPS in the first year. Groups that report using a web interface (a secure Internet-based data submission option for groups of 25 or more eligible clinicians) must report data for 15 measures for the full 12 months of 2017. Groups may contract with a survey vendor to report Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) in place of one quality measure. Groups with at least 16 clinicians and at least 200 cases will also have a readmission population measure calculated for them. (See Maximum possible points in quality category.)
House, garage damaged in fire Friday morning in Bath

A house and attached garage are a total loss Friday after a fire.
Greg and Kristi would see these women coming to the church and filling out our visitors cards for prayer request, but they noticed most of them only attended church for a short time. They found out the reason was because these women would complete a pro

The Hope Movement, a non-profit organization, has finally opened its new shelter for women seeking to have a place to call home and recover from their addictions.

The Hope Movement was formed to assist women in Hot Springs, Arkansas who have had or have troubles with drug addiction. It caters to women having who are struggling to break free from their addictions. They are open to cater most of the most common addictions around.

The Christian, non-profit organization held an open house event on June 25 at the newly opened facility. According to the Sentinel-Record group, women who need their services can stay for up to a year inside the facilities while they are recovering from their personal addictions.

It was reported that each occupant of the home has the choice of having her own room and private bath, with one room available to hold up to two occupants for newly recovering women who might need someone to be with them during their recovery.

We dont have enough places to put men and women in a transitional-type environment that will allow them to make slow progress toward living life on their own terms. Thats why I find the Hope Movement so unique, County District Court Judge Meredith Switzer Rebsamen said.

Its such an amazing mission and such a success for Garland County, because it does give us an opportunity to place women in a safe environment where they are going to be given programming they need for success and learn life skills, the judge added.

The groups objective is to help women recover from the addiction that has ruined their lives. They also hope to help the women become devoted Christians. The Hope Movement believes that teaching the way of Christ can help addicts get free from their addictions. However, they say everybody is welcome no matter what religion the patient belongs in.

The problem focuses on women who have already undergone prior rehabilitation programs. The service is limited to helping women extend their recovery process and not help patients recover from point zero.

Shalom helped me build the foundations that all my life is built on now and this place will help me reintegrate into society, shared a current resident of the house. Im not having to transition from a very structured program to the freedom of the world. I really needed something to help me in this intermediate period, and that is what the Hope Movement does.

The Hope Movement began was founded by Christian Couple for years ago. Greg Bearss, pastor at LakePointe Community Church, and his wife, Kristi Bearss, believed that they need to cater to a problem that their community is not addressing enough.

Greg and Kristi would see these women coming to the church and filling out our visitors cards for prayer request, but they noticed most of them only attended church for a short time. They found out the reason was because these women would complete a program and have nowhere to go after that. This is that after that,' said the director of the Hope Movement Desiree Skeya.

The Community Church members started taking recovering women into their personal homes to help the women transition back into society. From there on the Hope Movement grew into a fully fledged organization.

Media Contact

Company Name: The Nation Today

Contact Person: Michael R. Thrasher

Email: michael@thenation.today

Phone: (866) 954-1189

City: Las Vegas

State: NV

Country: United States

Website: https://www.thenation.today/
Worldline (EPA:WLN) is the European leader in the payments and transactional services industry. Worldline delivers new-generation services, enabling its customers to offer smooth and innovative solutions to the end consumer. Key actor for B2B2C industries, with nearly 45 years of experience, Worldline supports and contributes to the success of all businesses and administrative services in a perpetually evolving market. Worldline offers a unique and flexible business model built around a global and growing portfolio, thus enabling end-to-end support. Worldline activities are organized around three axes: Merchant Services, Mobility & e-Transactional Services, Financial Services including equensWorldline. Worldline employs more than 8,700 people worldwide, with an estimated pro forma revenue of more than 1.5 billion euros on a yearly basis. Worldline is an Atos company.

Read more about the company here: http://www.worldline.com


Worldline Partnership Enhances Paydentity Services Across EU

Melbourne, July 12, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australian Securities and Frankfurt Stock Exchange listed iSignthis Ltd ( ASX:ISX ) ( TA8:FRA ) is pleased to announce that its subsidiary iSignthis eMoney Ltd ("ISXPay") has entered into a partnership agreement with Worldline.



Headlines:



- iSignthis eMoney Ltd, a subsidiary of the leading RegTech payment and identity verification provider iSignthis Ltd, enters into an agreement with Worldline to provide eCommerce merchants the advanced capabilities of Paydentity(TM) with the acquiring1 experience and strength of Worldline ( EPA:WLN ).



- Worldline is the largest pan European card acquirer and e-payment services company, with 45 years of experience.



- Merchants to benefit from access to Worldline large scale card acquiring coupled with iSignthis RegTech



- The service is set to go live across Europe circa late September 2017



Worldline, a Euronext listed ( EPA:WLN ), multi-billion market capitalization company has over 45 years of experience in the industry and is Europe's leading payment and transactional payment service provider. Worldline is able to process billions of electronic transactions per year with their strong industrial processing capabilities and highly secure data centers.



European eCommerce merchants, including FinTech firms, will shortly have access to an exciting new service that combines the RegTech capabilities of iSignthis, with the acquiring capabilities and expertise of Worldline delivered via ISXPay.



Merchant's contracting directly to the service via iSignthis will have access to the full Paydentity(TM) suite of services. Paydentity(TM) services include identity verification, payment acceptation and authentication solutions, coupled with the Worldline Visa and Mastercard acquiring, settlement and clearing services.



Paydentity(TM) addresses the critical aspects of due diligence, monitoring and authentication requirements of the 4th Anti Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD) and Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2), and is currently being deployed to major FinTech services companies and ecommerce merchants in Europe. The Worldline agreement allows for a faster and more expansive go to market strategy, and allows iSignthis to leverage the balance sheet, cash settlement and clearing capabilities of Worldline to provide surety to even the largest merchants.



John Karantzis, CEO of iSignthis said "iSignthis' partnership with Worldline allows us to target the largest ecommerce merchants and FinTechs in Europe. We can now offer Paydentity in conjunction with large scale card payment facilitation services through ISXPay. This partnership provides our customers with the benefits and assurance that they are contracting with the industry leaders in Europe."



iSignthis eMoney Ltd ("ISXPay") will be operating under its own eMoney Monetary Financial Institution license to directly contract European merchants. It will offer merchants the end to end Paydentity(TM) service, including identity verification, authentication together with the strength and assurance of the Worldline card acquiring services delivered via ISXPay. ISXPay services include JCB card acceptance, and alternative payment methods such as Yeepay, Sofort and others within Europe. iSignthis will also offer its Australian and New Zealand ISXPay card acquiring services to its multinational merchants via its agreement with the National Australian Bank ( ASX:NAB ).



About Worldline ( EPA:WLN )



Worldline ( EPA:WLN ) is the European leader in the payments and transactional services industry. Worldline delivers new-generation services, enabling its customers to offer smooth and innovative solutions to the end consumer. Key actor for B2B2C industries, with nearly 45 years of experience, Worldline supports and contributes to the success of all businesses and administrative services in a perpetually evolving market. Worldline offers a unique and flexible business model built around a global and growing portfolio, thus enabling end-to-end support. Worldline activities are organized around three axes: Merchant Services, Mobility & e-Transactional Services, Financial Services including equensWorldline. Worldline employs more than 8,700 people worldwide, with an estimated pro forma revenue of more than 1.5 billion euros on a yearly basis. Worldline is an Atos company.



Read more about the company here: http://www.worldline.com



To view the release in German, please visit:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/AEG4N1B7





About iSignthis Ltd





iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) (FRA:TA8) is a hybrid monetary financial institution and also a RegTech leader in remote identity verification, payment authentication with deposit taking, transactional banking and payment processing capability. iSignthis provides an end-to-end on-boarding service for merchants, with a unified payment, electronic money and identity service via our Paydentity(TM) and ISXPay(R) solutions.

By converging payments and identity, iSignthis delivers regulatory compliance to an enhanced customer due diligence standard, offering global reach to any of the world's 4.2Bn 'bank verified' card or account holders, that can be remotely on-boarded to meet the Customer Due Diligence requirements of AML regulated merchants in as little as 3 to 5 minutes. Paydentity(TM) has now onboarded and verified more than 1.5m persons to an AML KYC standard.

iSignthis Paydentity(TM) service is the trusted back office solution for regulated entities, allowing merchants to stay ahead of the regulatory curve, and focus on growing their core business. iSignthis' subsidiary, iSignthis eMoney Ltd, trades as ISXPay(R), and is an EEA authorised eMoney Monetary Financial Institution, offering card acquiring in the EEA, and Australia.

ISXPay(R) is a principal member of Mastercard Inc, Diners, Discover, (China) Union Pay International and JCB International, an American Express aggregator, and provides merchants with access to payments via alternative methods including SEPA, Poli Payments, Sofort, PRZ24 and others.

Probanx Solutions Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of iSignthis Ltd, provides API based access to CORE Banking solutions, SEPA Core, SEPA Instant and SEPA business scheme, for neobanks, banks, credit unions and emoney institutions, and provides a bridge to the Eurosystem's Central Bank of Lithuania's CENTROLink service.
WARREN, Michigan, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Victor Edozien, CEO and President of SET Enterprises, Inc. (an Asaba Group Holdings Company) has been selected by the Michigan Chronicle to its 2017 and 10th anniversary class of "Men of Excellence." This the 10th year that the publication has celebrated African-American men who inspire others through vision, leadership, exceptional achievements, and participation in community service.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/534696/SET_Enterprises_Inc_2017_Men_of_Excellence_Award.jpg

Mr. Edozien was chosen from among 400 nominations, based on his success as an entrepreneur, business executive, and SET Enterprises corporate social responsibility initiatives and community involvement. The Men of Excellence awards took place on June 30, 2017 at the Motor City Casino in Detroit, MI.

"I am beyond honored to receive this recognition," said Victor Edozien. Accolades may come my way but when such recognition comes from our own community it is inestimable. I am humbled and appreciative in ways words cannot adequately express. This recognition from the Michigan Chronicle, a leading African American newspaper, and being inducted into a group with many individuals that I have admired and respected their professional and civic accomplishments is quite awe-inspiring. I am thrilled to be part of this group  The Men of Excellence."

For a decade, the Michigan Chronicle has celebrated African American men who inspire others through professional accomplishments and dedication to improving life in the community. Honorees were chosen from over 400 hundred of nominations and join an elite group influential African American men. "These distinguished men not only have professional success to their credit, but they are beacons for the African American community through-out the region," said Hiram Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media and publisher of Michigan Chronicle.

Community involvement and corporate social responsibility is a core value among the Asaba Group companies. SET Enterprises is actively involved with advocacy and supports community organizations like Real Life 101 Scholarship Fund, Rhonda Walker Foundation, Athletes Unlimited and Winning Futures. Cintron World, an Asaba Group company, is demonstrating its commitment to the eradication of breast cancer in communities of color by holding in July 2018 the first USA Cintron Pink Polo event in Detroit. This event will raise funds and increase awareness for breast cancer detection and treatment.

About Victor Edozien

Victor Edozien is the President and CEO of SET Enterprises, Inc. and the Founder/Managing Principal of The Asaba Group, Inc. - a private equity holding company (www.asabagroupholdings.com). He has been in principal investing since 2004 primarily in manufacturing and consumer goods sectors. He is a board member of Real Life 101 Scholarship and Mentoring Program with a mission to improving the higher education opportunities of at-risk inner-city males and Athletes Unlimited a non-profit that provides opportunities for young aspiring athletes with disabilities. He is an investor in IMPACT3 that deploys time, treasure, and talent in social enterprises to make an impact in Detroit, Michigan. He is in the Wharton Fellows Program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), and CEO Connection.

About SET Enterprises, Inc.

SET Enterprises is a Leading Metals Processor and Value Chain Partner delivering innovative solutions which addresses the dynamic supply base challenges of the steel and aluminum mills, OEMs and Tier 1 automotive and non-automotive customers. SET's suite of Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) technologies include Blanking Without Dies (BWD), Additive Manufacturing, and Free Form Fabrication. SET has plants in Michigan, Alabama, Indiana, and Illinois. SET's annual revenues exceeded $400 Million in 2016. For more information contact or visit www.setenterprises.com Tel: +1 586 573 3600

About Michigan Chronicle

The Michigan Chronicle is a weekly newspaper based in Detroit, Michigan, serving the African-American community. It is owned by Detroit-based Real Times LLC which owns, along with the Chicago Defender, five other reginal weeklies that cater to the African American community. The Michigan Chronicle was founded in 1936. For more information visit www.michronicleonline.com

For additional information on related companies, please contact or visit websites below:

CINTRON WORLD  www.cintronworld.com 1 Woodward Avenue, Suite 2020 Detroit, MI 48226 USA Tel: +1 313 264 0066

AG MANUFACTURING  www.agmanufacturing.com 319 Industrial Parkway, Harbor Beach MI 48441 USA Tel: +1 989 479 9590

SET DUCT MANUFACTURING  www.setduct.com; 7800 Intervale, Detroit, MI 48238 USA

Tel +1 313 491 4380

THE ASABA GROUP  www.asabagroupholdings.com 220 North Main Street, Suite 102 Natick MA 01760 USA Tel: +1 508 655 8100
NDAs presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind will visit Mumbai on Saturday 15th July but he is likely to skip Matoshree, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackerays residence. Often BJP leaders arriving in the city visits Matoshree a practice which have been followed since the reign of late Balasaheb Thackeray. However, there is no mention about Matoshree in the scheduled time table of Kovinds visit. Thus speculations are rife in political circles about Kovinds Mumbai visit and whether he will visit Matoshree.

Shiv Sena was initially reluctant to support Kovinds nomination for the presidential election. Most of the political parties had supported Kovind except Sena. Sena had said that by proposing Kovinds name the NDA is trying to garner Dalit votes which is unacceptable to it. Sena had earlier proposed the names of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and veteran agriculturist M S Swaminathan. Both Bhagwat and Swaminathan did show any interest. Sena also did not send its representative to support Kovind. The saffron party had skipped the filing of nomination papers by Kovind for presidential poll

Later the party changed its decision after BJP president Amit Shah had visited Matoshree to garner support for Kovinds nomination. Shah took Uddhav into confidence as he finally agreed to support Kovind as presidential candidate.

BJP leader Mohan Bhandari said, After reaching Mumbai Kovind will head towards Garware Club in Marine Drive. He will meet the senior office bearers of BJP and constituent partners of NDA.

He nonetheless refused to comment about Kovinds visit to Matoshree.

Of late, relation between Shiv Sena and BJP had strained after gained a major foothold in the state. Sena is unhappy with the BJP playing big brother after its victory in Lok Sabha and assembly polls.

Sena had ditched the BJP-led NDA during the 2007 and 2012 Presidential poll by backing Pratibha Patil and later Pranab Mukherjee, both UPA nominees for the coveted office. Significantly, Pranab Mukherjee and Pratibha Patil, as presidential candidates of the UPA, had visited the then Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray at his residence Matoshree in suburban Bandra as the party had broken ranks with the NDA in the past two elections for the highest constitutional office.

The voting for the presidential election is scheduled on July 17 and the counting will take place on July 20, four days before President Pranab Mukherjees term ends.
Speculations are rife in political circles that NDAs presidential nominee, Ram Nath Kovind will avoid meeting Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray at his residence when he visits Mumbai on Saturday. In the recent past Uddhav has attacked BJP over various issues including NDA proposed candidate Kovind. When Balasaheb Thackeray was alive almost every presidential candidate greeted him with due respect. Notably, Pranab Mukherjee and Pratibha Patil, as presidential candidates of the UPA, had visited the then Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray at his residence Matoshree as the party had broken ranks with the NDA in the past two elections for the highest constitutional office. Uddhav had announced his partys support for Kovind after a meeting of the Shiv Sena leaders last month. The Senas announcement to support Kovind had come amid sever strains in the relations of the party with the BJP over a host of issues. The party had earlier pitched for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat as its first preference for the top office.

After Bhagwat ruled himself out of the race, Sena suggested agricultural scientist M S Swaminathans name for the post, saying he will be able to provide solutions to the deepening agrarian crisis in several parts of the country. BJP president Amit Shah had met Thackeray last month at Matoshree to enlist the partys support for the NDAs presidential candidate. Sena has 18 MPs and 63 MLAs.

The voting for the presidential election is scheduled on July 17 and the counting will take place on July 20, four days before President Pranab Mukherjees term ends. Ram Nath Kovind, is B.Com, LLB from Kanpur University (Uttar Pradesh) has been a very successful lawyer. He was the Central Government Advocate in Delhi High Court from 1977 to 1979 and Central Government Standing Counsel in Supreme Court from 1980 to 1993. Dalit leader by caste, a Hindutva ideologue by thinking and a dedicated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker by political affiliation  Kovind was born on October 1, 1945 at Kanpur Dehat. He belongs to the Dalit community Koli and had worked extensively in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and also has the backing of BJPs ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The reason for BJP proposing his name is to put on-going Dalit unrest and Dalit politics a full stop. In the recent past, BJP was tagged as upper caste political party which is anti-minority and anti-Dalit. Moreover Modi needed someone of RSS and at the same time someone who can remain a puppet in Modis hand. By all means he is at this moment a very appropriate candidate for BJP to serve multiple goals. Though, he is most non-controversial and no nonsense minister, in Parliament, Kovind served as member of several important Parliamentary Committees such as: Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs, Parliamentary Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas, Parliamentary Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment, Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice, Chairman of Rajya Sabha House Committee. Kovind had also been BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha chief from 1998 to 2002 and President of the All-India Koli Samaj.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of Bihar felt very happy as it was a matter of personal happiness for him that Bihar Governor has been nominated as the Presidential candidate. On his partys stand, Kumar said it was not right to answer such questions now. But let it be RJD or JDU both rendered their yes to the candidate chosen by NDA. There will not be much opposition to this selection.

Kovind has served as the national spokesperson of the party. BJP even tried to project him as an alternative to Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh. On 8th of August 2015, the President of India appointed him as the Governor of Bihar. He was elected to Rajya Sabha from state of Uttar Pradesh during the two terms of 1994-2000 and 2000-2006.

Kovind is also known as a pioneer in spreading education. During his parliamentary tenure of 12 years, Kovind emphasized on the development of basic infrastructure for education in rural areas by helping in construction of school buildings in Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand under MPLAD scheme. As an advocate, Kovind took a lead in providing free legal aid to weaker sections of society, especially SC/ST women, needy and the poor under the aegis of Free Legal Aid Society in Delhi.

Kovind served as member of the board of management of BR Ambedkar University, Lucknow. He also served as member of board of governors of Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata. He also represented India in United Nations (New York) and addressed the UN General Assembly in October, 2002. Kovind is being credited of grooming several leaders for the BJP and the RSS. He is known for his proximity with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, but has also been a hard-core supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modis demonetisation drive.

However, the BJP is yet to decide on a name for the post of vice-president. The BJP Parliamentary Board had met to decide the presidential candidate at party headquarters with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders present. The Board members were briefed about the consultation undertaken by a three-member party committee with allies and opposition parties. The committee members included Union ministers Rajnath Singh, M Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley, who were also the members of the Board.

The presidential polls will be held on July 17.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com)
Taking a dig at the BJP over the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has asked the senior ally to send gau rakshaks to fight terrorists in the Valley.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmirs Anantnag district on Monday evening.

While five of the deceased hailed from neighbouring Gujarat, two were from Maharashtra.

They (the BJP) used to say that do not bring sports, culture etc. in political issues. Today, religion and politics came together in the form of the terror attack. Should we understand that none of those terrorists would have been alive today if they had cow meat in their bags and not weapons? Thackeray asked yesterday.

The issue of gau rakshaks is raging today. Why dont you send these vigilantes to fight terrorists? he asked while addressing representatives of various Ganesh mandals for the upcoming festival here.

Thackeray, whose party shares an uneasy relationship with the BJP, further said, If the BJP government can talk to separatists in the Kashmir Valley to resolve their issues, they can certainly talk with those wishing to celebrate the Ganesh festival amidst fanfare.

He requested the Devendra Fadnavis government to bring in an ordinance against restrictions imposed by the Bombay High Court on noise level during the festivals.

Earlier, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the attack on Amarnath pilgrims is an assault on the entire nation and the government, and it is high time that such dastardly incidents are given a befitting reply.

This attack was not only on pilgrims going for the Amarnath yatra but on the entire country and the government in Delhi (Centre), he said.

Merely condemning the incident will not suffice. It is now high time that this (terrorist attack) is given a befitting reply, he said.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low around 60F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low around 60F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
July 11, 2017

Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that the government is obliged to provide unemployment benefits under the constitution.

The July 3 ruling obligates the state, represented by the Cabinet, to make unemployment payments sufficient to provide a decent life for the unemployed. Citizens who are not already covered by the social insurance system will have the right to such payments if they are unable to support themselves and their families because they are unable to find work or if they are unable to work because of old age or incapacity.

The local media said the government is currently reviewing the court ruling.

The ruling offers hope in an economically struggling country with an unemployment rate of 12%.

I hope it [the ruling] will be applied soon, Mohamed Gamal, a graduate in commerce from Helwan University, told Al-Monitor. I looked for suitable job opportunities for nearly two years, but my efforts were in vain.

Amr Gomaa, who has been unemployed for eight years, told Al-Monitor that although providing benefits is but a palliative remedy, its a step in the right direction.

I think providing a job is much better, said the Cairo University arts graduate. However, it is a good start that lets us feel that the decision-makers are trying to solve our problems.

Salaheddin Fahmy, a professor and former head of economics in the commerce school at Al-Azhar University, told Al-Monitor that the courts historic, long-awaited decision is a victory for the idea of social solidarity and achieving interdependence between the citizens. It is a confirmation of the constitution's provisions with respect to the need to provide a decent life for the citizens.

Fahmy said the state will not grant all unemployed citizens unemployment benefits; there will be requirements and standards in selecting who receives the money.

There are people who like sitting in cafes and don't want to work  of course they will not be [covered] by the state," he said. But for those who look eagerly for jobs but don't find them, the state will provide them with unemployment benefits for some months until they find a job.

He added that during those months, the state should provide the unemployed with data on all the vacant jobs according to their specialties.

Abdel-Fattah Mohamed, a member of parliament's Manpower Committee, said previous administrations and their lack of development spending are responsible for the unemployment crises. He said that, in part, this is what led citizens to flock to the streets in 2011 to demonstrate in the January 25 Revolution.

"But the current states recently adopted policy of insisting on a role for young people in development makes us feel that the state has begun to behave in the right way to eliminate unemployment, he told Al-Monitor.

Egypts unemployment rate decreased to 12% in the first quarter of 2017, compared with 12.7% in the same period a year ago. The 12% jobless rate is the lowest since the third quarter of 2012.

During the first quarter of this year, the number of unemployed people fell by 118,000 to 3.5 million, and the number of employed rose by 828,000 to 25.6 million.

Mohamed said he has presented a draft law, based on the court's ruling, to press the government to provide the money for jobless benefits. Parliament will discuss the draft law in October.

He said numerous projects are in the works that soon will pump money into the state budget. He cited the Zohr natural gas field, one of the world's largest, and projects that will be established in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, in addition to gold production, which can be a future source of growth for the countrys economy.

Meanwhile, economic expert Wael El Nahas said the government has the right to object to the ruling. The government has the final say in this matter. If applying this decision will add [too much of a] burden on its budget, it can reject it," Nahas told Al-Monitor.

He said that if the government does apply the ruling, it will need a mechanism for accurately documenting the number of unemployed citizens and gathering more information about them.
July 12, 2017

CAIRO  After the Egyptian parliament approved an agreement on June 14 to transfer ownership of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, member of parliament Nadia Henry and her colleagues in the leftist 25-30 bloc threatened to resign. Now, in an interview with Al-Monitor at the Egyptian parliament in Cairo, she says that she and her colleagues believe their resignation from parliament is no longer useful.

Henry, who joined the leftist 25-30 bloc after resigning from the Free Egyptians Party in August 2016 over infighting within the party, says that instead of resigning, a larger opposition coalition will be formed and will include more than a hundred members of parliament.

The Coptic parliamentarian was among those Egyptians displaced from Ismailia to Cairo in the wake of the attrition war in 1969-70, during which Egypt defended its ownership of the Tiran and Sanafir islands. She says that Egyptian martyrs watered the soil of the islands with their blood.

The text of the interview follows:

Al-Monitor: Whats next, after parliament approved the agreement to transfer ownership of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia, despite the 25-30 blocs opposition? Your bloc demanded a roll call vote, whereby the speaker of parliament calls out the names of each parliamentarian to vote. Why was this request refused?

Henry: We are waiting for the ruling of the Supreme Constitutional Court on July 30. The Court of Urgent Matters decided to hold the objection presented by several lawyers to the verdict of the Court of First Instance. The verdict does not take into account the nullification provisions of the Tiran and Sanafir agreement issued by the administrative judiciary and the Higher Administrative Court to rule in the July 30 session. I repeat that I am convinced that the islands belong to Egypt.

Al-Monitor: You threatened to resign from parliament along with the 25-30 bloc to object to passing the agreement amid a lack of transparency. You also announced your decision to resign during the discussion session of the agreement. Although Al-Wafd Party member of parliament Mohamed Fouad already resigned June 15, you have not gone through with the resignation.

Henry: Our bloc has a unified opinion and we decided to postpone the resignation and to wait and see the number of parliamentarians refusing the resignation and the possibility of forming a larger opposition bloc. This might happen soon. Everything is possible, but we are still pondering the matter. After discussions among us, we realized our resignation will no longer be useful.

To confirm our stance  which was not a mere media show  we [as the 25-30 bloc] sent President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi an official letter with the names of 120 members of parliament [out of about 400] refusing the agreement.

If the public believes the resignation will not lead to a revote on the agreement, then it is useless to go through with this step. We are not trying to evade our decision.

After the approval of the agreement, we had to abide by the majoritys stance resulting from a democratic process. But we will continue defending the islands belonging to Egypt.

Al-Monitor: You were among the displaced from the Sinai Peninsula following the 1967 war. You have already mentioned this during the hearing and you cried during the agreement approval sessions. You wore black, especially as members of your family died defending the islands. Do you have special memories relating to these islands?

Henry: Yes, I have special memories there. My family and I were displaced to Cairo after men from my family died defending the Egyptian ownership of Tiran and Sanafir. I heard stories in my entourage about Tiran and Sanafir and how Egyptians fought for them during the Tripartite Aggression on Egypt [in 1956 when Egypt fought against Britain, France and Israel over the Suez Canal] and during the war of attrition, which killed several of my family members.

I believe in the Egyptian character of the islands. The land has a strategic location on the Egyptian borders and before passing the agreement, we should have noted this strategic importance. Is this the right time to transfer the ownership of the islands to Saudi Arabia, given the regional conflicts? I know from my family about the wars and the Egyptian bloodshed, and I remember that Israel detained Egyptians on these islands. Egypt demanded Saudi Arabia save those detainees, but the kingdom did not lift a finger, according to a family member who was an eyewitness.

Al-Monitor: Why do you think many parties in parliament approve of the agreement?

Henry: Those who think the islands belong to Saudi Arabia did not offer enough evidence. We, on the other hand, gave enough proof of their Egyptian ownership. Nothing proves they are Saudi.

Al-Monitor: Parliamentarian Ghada Ajami from the Support Egypt bloc has already accused you of receiving US funding to cause a buzz during the agreement discussion and your defending the Egyptian ownership of the islands. Will you take any legal measures against her?

Henry: I took an immediate measure and lodged a complaint to parliamentary speaker Ali Abdel Aal including her offensive language about me. Ajami does not know who my family is and she should not make such accusations. She knows nothing about my patriotism. If she has any proof, she can be my guest. The parliament did not investigate the incident. I will have a legal stance outside parliament. Slander against the opposition is not acceptable.

She accused me of collaboration, but she does not know what I have done since Jan. 28, 2011. When I was in the Muslim Brotherhoods parliament, I wore a scarf on which was written Wanted: Mohammed Morsi. I donated my full salary to the Tamarod movement to have flyers printed against the Brotherhood regime.

On June 26, 2013, I submitted my resignation from the Muslim Brotherhood's parliament openly during Tamarods conference, although my neck was on the line. That resignation  unlike this one  was timely.

Al-Monitor: Do the members of your constituencies appreciate your stance, or do they want more?

Henry: Our constituency members have different questions and we are answering all voters. I would like to ask about my performance in parliament rather than the result.

Some people in our constituencies refuse the agreement and were disappointed in us. They think we squandered their money and honor in preserving the Egyptian lands. We understand their feelings and we are always in touch to improve the situation.

Many members of my constituency want me to stay in my position and to keep trying to get my voice through in parliament. They believe the agreement tightened the bond between more than a hundred members of parliament, which is a positive thing that might lead to a larger opposition bloc.
July 12, 2017

Iranian officials have condemned US Secretary of Defense James Mattis for calling for regime change in Iran. During an interview with a high school newspaper, Mattis said US relations with Tehran will have to wait until the Iranian people can get rid of this theocracy. He also referred to Iran as the most destabilizing influence in the Middle East. The interview, published June 20, went viral July 10 and was picked up by a number of English-language media outlets.

Iranian officials responded on July 11. Instead of making decisions for other countries, the secretary of defense and the American ruling party better think about their own domestic issues and review the causes of the collapse of its administration in the not too distant future, said Irans Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan. He added that Mattis comments ignore the strengths of other countries and feign not knowing the historical reality of the consequences of such comments.

Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi also condemned Mattis comments, saying, Terrorism and extremism in the region and the world have roots in Americas ill-considered policies. He rejected Mattis accusation that Iran supports terrorism and said that the people of the region will not forget the bombings of Fallujah and massacre in Haditha. Ghassemi also criticized Mattis for saying that Irans government is unpopular among its own population, saying that Irans recent presidential election saw a turnout above 70% while the United States' regional allies do not enjoy anything close to democracy.

Irans former ambassador to Ukraine and Egypt, Akbar Ghassemi, commented about Mattis' words in an article for IR Diplomacy. Ghassemi wrote that given his two decades of experience, especially with respect to Iraq and Afghanistan, Mattis statements carry much more weight in the US administration, especially in comparison to someone like Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Ghassemi wrote that the majority of Mattis comments are designed to impact public opinion against Iran.

The suggestion of regime change is not the first by a Donald Trump administration official. In June, Tillerson stated that the United States would support those wanting to bring about regime change in Iran.

Regardless of the political rhetoric about regime change, the comprehensive nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers is still an ongoing issue in Iran. European Union diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow July 11. In regard to the US decision to review whether to continue abiding by the deal and removing sanctions on Iran, Mogherini said that the international agreement was endorsed by the United Nations.

The nuclear deal does not belong to one country, she said. In a July 11 interview with Tasnim News Agency, Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused the United States of not only not abiding by the terms of the nuclear deal but acting in contradiction to its requirements.
July 12, 2017

TEHRAN, Iran  Iran is among the top wheat consumers in the world. Consumption per capita in the country is estimated at 167.6 kilograms (369 pounds) per year, almost three times the global average of some 67 kilograms (148 pounds). At the same time, Iran is one of the driest countries in the world, with an average rainfall of only 250 mm (10 inches) a year, causing huge water shortages across the country. This has turned the supply of wheat to meet domestic needs into one of the main concerns of successive governments, forcing reliance on imports at major costs.

A review of imports shows that Iran over the past 15 years spent some $12.6 billion on buying more than 42 million tons of wheat. Meanwhile, the country has simultaneously sought to attain self-sufficiency, which on occasion has led to success in either reducing or almost halting imports. However, these achievements were not sustainable, mainly due to mismanagement and climate conditions.

In 2004, under the presidency of Reformist Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), Iran marked self-sufficiency in wheat production for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Khatami administration also formulated a 10-year plan that outlined initial steps to reduce imports, and envisioned strategies aimed at sustaining production in times of drought. The plan, however, was put aside under the administration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013) and the country once again became reliant on imports to meet domestic needs, buying over 25.7 million tons of wheat during his two terms in power.

But things began to change when President Hassan Rouhani took office in August 2013. His government has been taking a series of measures over the past four years to not only reduce imports significantly, but also to boost production to a level that has enabled Iran to achieve self-sufficiency once again. With a record high output of 14 million tons last year, Iran has become an exporter of the strategic product; in June, the country sold wheat abroad for the first time in years.

The first cargo weighing 35,000 tons of wheat has been shipped to Oman, Mohammad Reza Mortazavi, the head of the Federation of Iranian Food Industry Association, was quoted as saying June 11 by local media, expressing optimism that the country could engage in exports at a high level to Persian Gulf littoral states. According to Mortazavi, wheat export capacity in the current Iranian year (ending March 20, 2018) stands at 2 million tons, which shows that there is no need to import wheat, and Iran can turn into a major exporter of wheat and flour through proper planning.

As a first step toward self-sufficiency, Rouhani appointed Mohammad Hojjati as his minister of agriculture. Hojjati, who held the same position under Khatami, had overseen the achievement in 2004.

The first full year of Rouhanis first term saw imports of a record high volume of more than 7.2 million tons of wheat at a cost of $2.379 billion. Still, the among paid was lower than the $2.58 billion spent on importing 6.7 million tons of wheat the previous year, under Ahmadinejad. Money spent on imports gradually declined in subsequent years and reached its lowest level, $367 million, in the last Iranian calendar year, which ended March 20, 2017.

Under Rouhani, multiple steps have been taken to increase production and reduce imports. These include a guaranteed price for the purchase of agricultural products, increases in purchase prices, the reduction of cultivated land and the allocation of funds to help supply seeds, fertilizers and pesticides to farmers. Measures have also been taken to help producers develop their irrigation systems and update their machinery. Moreover, the authorities have conducted training courses for farmers, employing 8,000 experts to supervise agricultural activities along with an expansion of cooperation with institutes such as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. In addition, new types of seeds that are more resistant to drought are being used.

Some experts believe another important measure was the establishment of the National Foundation of Wheat Farmers Empowerment. The foundation was formed in the Iranian calendar year 2015-16 with the aim of boosting wheat production. It announced in December 2015 a five-year plan aimed at attaining sustainable annual production of 13 million tons, without the need for additional water resources and increasing areas under cultivation.

Ali Khan-Mohammadi, the executive secretary of the foundation, told Al-Monitor, To achieve sustainability in wheat production, we need to create infrastructure and it must be sustainable as well. Making production dependent on climate conditions will not result in sustainability. Everything, including machinery and cultivation methods, must be moved toward sustainability.

Khan-Mohammadi, who is also the managing director of the National Association of Agriculture Elites, said, Other bodies whose activities are related to agriculture must direct their activities in line with the goals set by the Ministry of Agriculture to help achieve sustainability in domestic wheat production.

Under Rouhani, the agriculture sector has played an important role in economic growth. Official figures show that the sectors share of gross domestic product has increased to 12-13%, up from 9-10% in the years up to 2013.

Many experts believe that due to its strategic importance for food security and also the role of agriculture in the Iranian economy, the sector will continue to be among the main focal points of Rouhanis second-term Cabinet. This is particularly the case since it could play a vital role in the presidents promise to create more jobs as well as the implementation of the resistance economy, which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly insisted on. Based on plans previously announced by government officials, Iran not only plans to maintain its current self-sufficiency in wheat production, but also seeks in the coming years to achieve the same status for other important products such as rice, corn, barley, sugar, cotton, palm oil and several types of beans.
July 11, 2017

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei provided a range of advice during a recent meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Khamenei advised Iraqis to be vigilant and not trust the United States, and called for standing against the involvement of US forces under the pretext of training or other matters.

In the June 20 meeting, he also warned of the danger of the United States and its allies' waging a campaign against the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), an Iraqi coalition of mostly Shiite militias backed by Iran, saying the United States seeks to compromise one of Iraq's key power components.

That advice, however, doesn't align with the Iraqi governments agenda and its wish to pursue and sustain US cooperation, according to Iraqi government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi. The contradiction has affected the relationship between Abadi, who is also commander in chief of the Iraqi armed forces, and senior PMU leaders, some of whom have close ties with Iran and consider themselves an important part of the Iran-led Axis of Resistance alongside the militant group Hezbollah and the Syrian regime.

In a recent dispute between those PMU leaders and Abadi, the latter said June 18 that the PMU has sometimes refused to follow his orders.

Following Abadis statements, Hadi al-Amiri, the secretary-general of the Badr Organization, strongly criticized Abadi in a June 26 TV statement, accusing him of having double standards and disrupting PMU operations. Amiri said, "We have grown tired of working with the prime minister. We have to convince and even beg him before we can launch any operation, and I dont understand why.

It seems that PMU leaders close to Iran don't back Abadi's non-escalation policy. This is why they don't comply with all of his orders. They openly criticize him, which contradicts military regulations.

In his weekly press conference July 4, Abadi expressed further frustration with some PMU members who are not carrying out his commands. The PMU wants to enter Syria, but according to Abadi, some of these requests are linked to regional [conflicts] and not Iraq's stance. I want to distance Iraq from regional struggles.  Among the PMU, we have fighters and we have politicians; these requests are coming from the politicians."

Although a law regarding the PMU  signed by Iraq's president in December but not enacted  stresses the link between PMU forces and the commander in chief, the group in reality answers to political leaders, some of whom are Abadi rivals and abide by the Iranian leaderships orders. For instance, PMU leader Jamal Jafaar Mohammed Ali Ebrahimi, better known by his alias, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, shows pride in being a loyal soldier of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force, the special forces unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Although PMU leaders close to Iran say they respect Abadi's orders, many of them admit that they follow Iran's Khamenei as a religious leader. This connection to a non-Iraqi religious political leader undermines Iraqi state institutions. The connection's significance is clear when those leaders are inclined to comply with religious orders at the expense of government orders, believing that following their religious leader is a duty. Qais al-Khazali, the secretary-general of Asaib Ahl al-Haq  a PMU military faction funded by Iran  said in a June 8 interview, When religious law is in contradiction with state law, the former prevails.

Abadi said that when it comes to religious law, Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has not told anyone to fight in Syria. Furthermore, the law passed but not enacted by the Iraqi government considers the PMU to be under the control of the commander in chief of the armed forces, which is Abadi.

The ideological and political relationship that some PMU factions maintain with leaders from other countries, and their involvement in Iran-led transnational projects that do not always align with Iraq's state policy, prevent the PMU from becoming a national military force with a purely Iraqi political leadership. That was the intent of the PMU law that has not been enacted.

Nussaibah Younis, an associate fellow at Chatham House and executive director of the Task Force on the Future of Iraq, told Al-Monitor, The PMU can only become a legitimate part of the Iraqi security forces if their existing command and control structures are dissolved, and if they join existing government security structures as individuals rather than as units. They should be individually interviewed to make sure they are qualified and properly trained, and their past behavior should be vetted to ensure the quality of the Iraqi security forces.
July 12, 2017

Avi Gabbays election as chairman of the Labor Party on July 10 has renewed the battle for the leadership of the center-left bloc with Yair Lapid, the chairman of Yesh Atid. While Gabbay declared on the night of his surprising election that his win is the start of the journey to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the road there is very long, and it passes through Lapids parliamentary seats.

Gabbays first success in this journey is returning Labor to the top of the center-left camp in polls conducted immediately after the primaries. His party shot up past Yesh Atid and theoretically would "win back" several of the seats that have gradually shifted in polls to Yesh Atid since the 2015 election. As for voters from the right-wing bloc, so far Gabbay has succeeded in moving just a few of them, mostly from his former patron Moshe Kahlon, the chairman of the Kulanu Party.

The polls were published on the leading news channels a day after Gabbays victory, and they got dramatic headlines. But if you factor in the enthusiasm for the new and relatively anonymous player who took over the Labor Party with hardly any political experience, you see that theres no significant change in the division of the right-wing and left-wing blocs. Netanyahu, despite a slight decline in the polls, is still the man expected to lead the largest party in Israel in the next election, and the only one who could put together a coalition.

According to Channel 2s poll, the Likud would win 25 seats, the Zionist Union (composed of the Labor Party and the Hatnua Party) headed by Gabbay would win 20 seats and Yesh Atid 18. In Channel 10s poll, the Likud would win 29 seats, the Zionist Union 24, and Yesh Atid only 16. In response to the question of who is best suited to be prime minister, Netanyahu ranked significantly ahead of Gabbay and Lapid, who came in about even.

In both polls, the Zionist Union and Yesh Atid put together would get almost a similar number of seats: 38 according to Channel 2 and 40 according to Channel 10. Thus the drama is currently happening within the center-left bloc, and it seems Lapid has a big challenge here. The chairman of Yesh Atid had climbed up to 26 seats in a Channel 2 poll conducted in March, overtaking Netanyahu and threatening his position as prime minister.

Also notable in this weeks polls is Netanyahus durability, at least for now, in face of the implications of the criminal investigations of him. The investigation of the episode of the purchase of submarines from Germany, labeled Case 3000, moved another serious step forward on the day the poll was conducted. Netanyahus associate and confidant since the 1990s, attorney David Shimron, was questioned under warning on suspicion of involvement in the affair, in which submarines were allegedly purchased against the recommendation of the Ministry of Defense, for ulterior motives of commissions and brokerage fees. Netanyahu is not a suspect in this affair, but he is expected to testify.

The Labor Party, which has led the center-left bloc since the establishment of the state, has been challenged since the early 2000s by changing centrist parties that have come and gone. This is one of the reasons that the last election (2015) was the first time it surpassed 20 seats since the 1999 election  to a great extent thanks to the union with Tzipi Livnis Hatnua Party  where votes moved mostly from Yesh Atid.

The center-left bloc behaves like a closed market. Seats shift between a changing center party and the Labor Party (or the Zionist Camp), and hardly any votes come from the soft right. Most of the votes won by the center party are called shifting sands in the political system, since they are not loyal to one party. Thus these parties could easily fall apart when the wind of public opinion blows in a different direction. The best example is Kadima, which in 2009 won 28 seats but crashed in 2013 with only two seats. The new centrist party, Yesh Atid, got 19 seats that year.

For the past two years, Lapid has run an exacting campaign that has winked to the right in order to break through the blocs boundaries and win new votes. He understood, correctly, that the road to the prime ministers office passes through the Likuds seats, but according to the polls, he has had little success so far. Now, to his dismay, he will have to return to battle within the center-left bloc.

This is precisely Gabbays huge challenge: On one side hell fight a very strong and popular prime minister from the Likud, and on the other side a stubborn opponent from his own camp.

The Gabbay Effect (Gabbay's defeat of incumbent and former Labor Party chairmen), as it is called by the pollsters, was expected. Fresh candidates usually get good results in the polls. Polls gave Gabbays rival in the runoff for Labor leadership, Amir Peretz, a predicted 30 seats after he was surprisingly elected to head the Labor Party in 2005, but the party won only 19 seats in the ensuing election. Most likely, in the next few days Gabbay will discover that the picture is much more complicated and grim than the flattering polls published this week. Within his party, known for internal battles, there will be those who will wait for him to stumble. Lapid will return fire and fight for the shifting seats. Kahlon wont sit back, either, and he will hit Gabbay if he sees a significant bleeding of votes from Kulanu. There has been a complete break between the two men since Gabbay abandoned Kulanu to join the Labor Party. Kahlon is a cunning opponent, and he is still popular with the public.

Since he is not a member of Knesset, Gabbay cant serve as the chairman of the opposition  an important position for someone shaping himself as an alternative to the prime minister. He will have to invent a new model as the head of the opposition among the public and the media, and overcome his lack of diplomatic, security and political experience.

Gabbays achievement in the Labor Party shows an ambitious and sophisticated man, hungry for success. Now his big test begins. He will have to fulfill his promise and win his party 30 seats, among other things, by taking in a significant number of votes from the Likud. Anything less would be a failure for him.
July 12, 2017

Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer Marom, the former commander of the Israeli navy, has the reputation of being one of the most daring officers in the history of the Israel Defense Forces. On July 11, he earned another, more questionable honor. He is now the first major general to be interrogated by the police for serious crimes, including graft, and to be placed under house arrest. These actions are part of the police investigation of the German submarines purchased by Israel.

Just one day before Marom, who commanded the Israeli navy from 2007 to 2011, was interrogated, police detained the person closest to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attorney David Shimron, who was later placed under house arrest. They also detained Brig. Gen. Avriel Bar Yosef, Netanyahu's former appointee as head of the National Security Council, and businessman Miki Ganor, who negotiated Israel's acquisition of the submarines and other naval vessels from German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp.

Al-Monitor reported on the "Submarine Affair" several months ago. The current wave of arrests, which jolted Israel July 10-11, drew public attention to the scandal after a lengthy undercover investigation. The arrests in Israel came one week after Germany's National Security Council approved the naval deal between Israel and German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp, having been convinced that there was no graft on the German side of the deal. The move by the Israeli police was a slap in the face to the Germans, since the deal itself, valued at about $10 billion, now has a very serious question mark hanging over it.

A statement released by the State Attorney's Office in February said that the prime minister was not a suspect in the affair. Now it is obvious that he will have to be interrogated in order to get his version of the series of events and suspicions, as they are now being revealed. The entire episode has caused former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and Knesset member Erel Margalit (Zionist Camp) to call it the biggest corruption scandal since the founding of the state. Ya'alon even took it a step further in an interview with CNN on July 11, saying that he is convinced that Netanyahu himself will also be indicted as a result of the affair.

The question now is whether Netanyahu knew about the involvement of his close confidante, Shimron, in mediating and promoting these deals between the German shipbuilder and Israel's defense establishment. If he did know, it would pose a very serious conflict of interest, even before the possibility that the prime minister was promised financial compensation is investigated. The basis for this conflict of interest is the fact that Netanyahu actively promoted huge deals involving the German shipbuilder. He pushed to acquire three new Dolphin-class submarines, against the advice of the Israeli navy and the defense establishment at large, while attempting to retract an international tender to provide Israel with four patrol boats to protect Israel's gas platforms in the Mediterranean.

Throughout this entire time, Shimron acted on behalf of businessman Ganor, who represents the German shipbuilder in Israel. To complicate matters even further, the person who removed Shaike Bareket, the previous mediator between ThyssenKrupp and Israel, was then Israeli navy chief Marom. Bareket was replaced by Ganor, who had no prior experience negotiating naval deals. What he did have was the backing of the attorney closest to Netanyahu. At the same time, there was an enormous increase in the volume of deals planned between the shipbuilders and Israel, and in the commissions demanded by the mediator of those deals.

Police are now investigating all of these suspicions. Shimron was interrogated for a third consecutive day, for a total of almost 30 hours. Al-Monitor has learned that the police had employed an extensive network of bugging devices against many of the suspects over the past few months and collected considerable information also in various banks. They identified significant sums of money, which were transferred from Maroms account in Israel to overseas accounts, and they collected other evidence as well. Netanyahu has yet to be interrogated, and the official position is that he is not under suspicion. Nevertheless, no one involved in Israeli politics has the slightest doubt that the flames are getting closer to the prime minister himself.

The scandal could send shockwaves across many other fronts as well. The very legitimacy of the process by which Israel conducts its arms deals could suffer repercussions on deals with other countries. This could include the relationship between the Israeli and American defense establishments, with Israel being a major client of the US arms market. Fortunately, US law makes it almost impossible to pay commissions to agents and mediators with US aid money or other funds. However, it is not especially difficult to get around these laws and find alternatives to make such payments. The last thing that the Israeli arms industry (when it comes to exports) or the Israeli defense establishment (when it comes to imports) needs right now is the spotlight of a police investigation on these very sensitive dealings.

As for Netanyahu, even if he somehow manages to steer clear of being linked directly to the affair, there can be no doubt that the prime minister's image is suffering a serious blow as a result of it. It will be hard to find any Israeli who believes that the prime minister would promote deals worth billions of dollars without him knowing that the deal was being mediated by his cousin and close confidante (Shimron and Netanyahu are related), who also represented one of the parties.

The entire incident is yet another blow on the Teflon-coated steel lining that has protected Netanyahu over the last eight years as Israel's sole prime minister. At the same time, there has been progress in the other investigations into Netanyahu's affairs, including "File 1000" (Netanyahu allegedly receiving gifts) and "File 2000" (his dealings with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes). A major investigation into the Israeli communications firm Bezeq is also developing, with another of Netanyahu's close confidantes, the director general of the Ministry of Communications Shlomo Filber, also summoned for police interrogation.

These blows have been landing with increasing regularity over the last year and could cause serious harm to the immune system of Israel's most powerful prime minister of the past several decades. The most current assessment is that elections will not be held as scheduled, but will have to be moved up to the start of next year.
July 11, 2017

The July 7 resolution by the UNESCO Heritage Committee recognizing the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron as an endangered world heritage site was just what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needed. After everyone saw him strolling barefoot along the Mediterranean coast with his new pal, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Netanyahu was granted an opportunity to remind the people of Israel that the entire world is still against us. A display of friendship on the part of a world power like India could cast doubt on this perspective, anchored as it is in the biblical phrase by the Prophet Balaam about the Israelites: A people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. In any case, after Modis gooey visit to the Holy Land, the Israeli public needs its regular fix of fear, xenophobia and muscle flexing.

US envoy Jason Greenblatt is once again shuttling between Jerusalem and Ramallah in an attempt to restart stalled negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and freeze Israels settlements in the West Bank. How can one rely on the Americans to defend Israel when they are unable to convince a handful of countries to vote against what Netanyahu called yet another delusional decision by UNESCO? The UNESCO Heritage Committee decision, adopted by 12 member states with three opposing and six abstaining, concerns the perfect place at the perfect time for Netanyahu. For Jews of all religious shades, their affinity to the West Bank city of Hebron and the Machpelah Cave where their patriarchs are said to be buried are central to their state, religion and nationhood.

When anyone casts doubt about the affinity of the people of Israel to the inalienable historic and cultural assets of their homeland, Netanyahu can be assured that his bitter political foe, President Reuven Rivlin, the most unifying figure in Israel, will stand by his side. Indeed, Rivlin took off his gloves and accused UNESCO of spreading anti-Jewish lies even as the organization ignores the destruction of regional heritage sites by brutal extremists. Education Minister Naftali Bennett, whose office (together with the Foreign Ministry) is tasked with managing Israels ties to UNESCO, missed no opportunity to grab a headline. He claimed that the organization was intent to do no less than wipe the Jewish state off the map. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman even accused UNESCO of anti-Semitism.

The politicians appear not to have read the text of the resolution, trusting that the public will not examine its content. First, the resolution does not refer in any way to the affinity or lack thereof of any people or religion to Hebron. Second, a statement issued by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry underscores that Hebron and the Cave of the Patriarchs are holy sites to a billion believers in the three Abrahamic faiths. Contrary to Netanyahus claim that only in places in which Israel has a presence, like Hebron, there is freedom of religion for everyone, Israel strictly limits the entry of Palestinians from the West Bank into the Old City of Hebron, also called the Jewish Quarter.

Israels ambassador to UNESCO, Carmel Shama-Hacohen, said after the Hebron vote that the call he received from his plumber during his address to participants in the debate was more important than the resolution. A senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Netanyahu had stirred up a media storm over a resolution of no practical importance and noted that the organization itself has openly declared it has no intention of implementing such decisions. According to the official, who is well-versed in the Israeli relationship with UNESCO, Israel is the main if not the only loser in the crisis it created, since UNESCO serves as a pipeline for resolutions that work in Israel's interests. He cited, for example, several recent UNESCO moves to recognize Israeli venues as world heritage sites.

Naturally, the Palestinians welcomed the decision. Foreign Minister Riyad Malki said, The world has recognized our right to register Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi [the Tomb of the Patriarchs] under Palestinian sovereignty. So what? Six years ago, the Palestinian Authority (PA) was already a full-fledged member of UNESCO and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was accorded the honor of raising the Palestinian flag at the organizations Paris headquarters. The world has long viewed the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territory. The world has never recognized Israels unilateral annexation of Jerusalem nor the legality of its settlement enterprise in the West Bank, where the Palestinians seek to establish an independent state.

Shama-Hacohen was right in saying that the Palestinians will not get to place their name on a sign at the newly recognized Hebron heritage site. UNESCO resolutions will not hasten the end of the 50-year Israeli occupation, just as UN Security Council resolutions do not stop construction in the settlements. Doesn't anyone remember Resolution 2334 adopted last year, condemning all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem?

A diplomatic intifada will not get any closer to turning the PA into a Palestinian state than did the two violent Palestinian intifadas against Israel. The Muslim states do enjoy an automatic majority in most international forums, but Israel has the benefit of automatic US support. President Donald Trump spoke out against Resolution 2334 after he was elected, and his UN envoy Nikki Haley was quick to condemn UNESCO for its vote on Hebron. The way to end the occupation and establish a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem is through the ballot boxes in Israel. Few issues help the Israeli right consolidate its hold on power better than damage to Israels standing at Jewish holy sites. Even a semblance of a swipe at the tombs of Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs sends the presses of nationalist propaganda into action.

The status of the sites revered by adherents of three major religions is too explosive an issue to be used as a pawn in a high stakes game by politicians and international organizations. The place to deal with it  if and when the citizens of Israel replace their current government  is around the negotiating table on a regional peace arrangement. It would be worth reserving a seat for religious leaders who believe that the lives of the sons are more precious than the tombs of the fathers.
July 12, 2017

Since the founding of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964, the group's main objective has been the unity and defense of Palestinian refugees. Diaspora Palestinians were invigorated and given a purpose by an organization dedicated to liberating Palestine and allowing them to return to their homeland.

With the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and the return of the Palestinian revolutionary leaders to Palestine, the relationship between the PLO and the Palestinian diaspora began to suffer. The establishment of the Palestinian Authority, the election of a president and a legislative council, and the creation of quasi-governmental bodies reflected a change in the PLO's priorities. Going forward, its priorities would focus more on state building than raising awareness of diaspora Palestinians.

The change has been strongly felt in Latin America, home to one of the largest Palestinian communities. Hanna Safieh, the secretary-general of the Confederation of Palestinian Communities in Latin America and the Caribbean (COPLAC), told Al-Monitor, Generation after generation, our people are proud of their Palestinian origin and have never ceased to be a full part of our people in Palestine, their pains and aspirations.

According to official Palestinian statistics, some 450,000 Palestinians live in Latin America, including in Chile (250,000), Honduras (100,000), El Salvador (50,000) and Brazil (30,000). COPLAC, an independent civil society organization, has been the regional body unifying these communities and helping to coordinate activities there between the diaspora community and the homeland.

Despite the change in priorities in Palestine, the Latin American diaspora, through COPLAC, planned to hold a major conference on Aug. 11. All delegates from Latin American diaspora communities as well as the Palestinian leadership were informed of the event. We were hoping that this event would invigorate the community and at the same time, we, the older Palestinians, can use it to pass the baton to the new generation of Palestinians in the diaspora, said Safieh.

According to Safieh, the issues to be discussed included how to strengthen ties to Palestine and how to respond to anti-Islamic and anti-Arab, including anti-Palestinian, hate speech, which has been on the increase in Latin America. The plan for the gathering, however, ran into trouble. The PLOs diaspora department, headed by Executive Committee member Tayseer Khaled, wanted to be involved and began making requests that Safieh and his colleagues felt crossed a line.

They began asking us to change the date, to change the speakers roster and the topics of discussion, Safieh said by phone from Brasilia, the Brazilian capital. Safieh and Khaled held two phone calls, but they failed to reach agreement on how to move forward to iron out their differences.

The disagreement between the PLO and COPLAC deteriorated even more when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on May 24 adding and Expatriates Affairs to the name of the Palestinian Foreign Ministry. The decree became law after its publication in the official gazette June 18. The move made the Foreign Ministry responsible for all follow-up with Palestinian diaspora communities.

Safieh said he was surprised when he heard from heads of the different diaspora groups in Latin America that Foreign Minister Riyad Malki had written asking them to side with the PLO against Hamas, to hold new elections for their communities and to postpone the COPLAC conference until the end of 2017. Safieh then received his own missive from Malki on June 22. He said that was the last straw.

In a response to Malki, Safieh wrote that the August conference could have been held had it not been for the undermining of COPLAC's work, and that he would be submitting his resignation to the local communities, citing the "many interferences in our internal affairs. The serious level of intervention in our affairs was too much to take, and therefore, the conference was scrapped, and I submitted my resignation to the COPLAC secretariat, he said. Hassan Amleh, COPLAC's president, is extremely ill, however, and that has further complicated the situation. Thus, Safieh's resignation has not been accepted or rejected.

Malki and senior officials did not respond to queries by Al-Monitor about the charges of excessive interference. A source at the Foreign Ministry, however, explained on the condition of anonymity that the reason behind the intervention was to avoid a hostile takeover by radical Islamists close to Hamas. A diaspora conference had been held in Istanbul in February and featured many Islamists and anti-Abbas representatives, according to the names and backgrounds of the main speakers and guests. At the time, the PLO described the conference as partisan and urged people not to attend, but that failed to stop it from being held.

The Foreign Ministry's name change has produced bad blood between the official in charge of the PLO's diaspora department, Khaled, and the ministry. Khaled took to the media in a scathing attack against the move, charging that the issue had not even been discussed in the PLO and that the majority of diaspora Palestinians reject the idea of having the Foreign Ministry as their point of contact. He has refused to relinquish his post, claiming that Abbas has no authority to cancel an important PLO department and arguing that a PLO department is under less pressure than a governmental ministry.

A ministry that is under the Israeli thumb, like the Foreign Ministry, for example, cant make a public call to Palestinians around the world to boycott or divest from Israel, Khaled told the Gaza-based daily Felesteen July 5. He argued that the PLO, with offices around the world, has more flexibility and is under less direct pressure than a ministry operating under Israeli occupation.

Ahmad Deek, Malkis chief of staff, issued a statement July 7 criticizing Khaled's emotional outburst and calling on him to stop living in denial. Deek noted that the Palestinian diaspora community needs a much more serious effort to unify it and to build a strong case for solidarity with Palestine. In other words, what is needed is more than what had been emanating from the PLOs department.

A senior PLO source in Ramallah who asked to remain anonymous told Al-Monitor that the budget of the PLOs department of expatriate affairs is a mere $2,000 a month, which barely covers Khaleds expenses, leaving little to be spent on a serious effort to unify Palestinian diasporas and stay in contact with them around the world.

The situation in general between the PLO and the Palestinian government is in need of serious review. Retrenching the organization and its departments in this manner could prove troublesome if things do not work out well in Palestine. The situation could be extremely difficult if the Palestinian Foreign Ministry is unable to work freely as a result of the occupation.

Moving expatriate affairs from the PLO to the Foreign Ministry is also bound to be seen as a partisan act aimed at consolidating power for the Fatah movement and the Palestinian president, who also leads Fatah, rather than a unifying act.
July 11, 2017

The US general leading the multinational coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria expects the militant group to begin relying on irregular tactics after its defeat in Mosul, Iraq.

Briefing reporters via satellite link from Baghdad at the Pentagon today, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said IS has primarily fought coalition troops by taking and holding ground in armed combat, with the assistance of improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers. With the fall of Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city and a major base of military operations for the self-declared caliphate, US military officials are bracing for a change in tactics.

I think that what we'll see is, as [IS] comes under greater and greater pressure, they will devolve into a more insurgent-like method of operation, Townsend said in response to a question from Al-Monitor. They'll try to hide with the population. Their cells will get smaller. Instead of companies and platoons, they'll go to squads and cells, much smaller elements hiding in the population. They'll disperse. They'll be smaller. They'll be more covert.

The coalition has gotten a glimpse of those tactics in the days since the fall of Mosul, as IS fighters who remain in the city  numbering perhaps as many as 200  have refused requests for unconditional surrender. Instead, Iraqi forces are bracing for a new wave of suicide attacks.

Townsend said the use of insurgent tactics could indicate a tough fight ahead where militants are mixed in with Iraqi and Syrian civilians. Even as the coalition has surrounded IS in Raqqa, Syria, for instance, the militant group has placed mines and IEDs into gaps in the Rafiqah Wall surrounding their defensive position in the Old City.

Yet Townsend denied that the potential shift in military tactics would lead the United States to embark on counterinsurgency campaigns such as those in Iraq in 2006-2007 and in Afghanistan that required higher troop levels to secure wider swaths of territory and build political institutions. The Pentagon has said that many American troops that are deployed to the region are there primarily to train and equip fledgling Iraqi and Syrian units.

Even as Russian and Syrian forces have threatened to intrude on the "deconfliction" zone meant to cordon US forces off from the wider Syrian civil war, the Defense Department lacks a broader congressional authorization for use of military force for the region that might allow for a wider military campaign. Townsend indicated that troop levels would likely remain around 6,000 in Iraq and Syria for the foreseeable future.

What will happen after the defeat of [IS] rides not on whether there's a coalition presence or not, Townsend said, but predominantly rides on whether there's a political reconciliation.

In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Mosul, he said, coalition forces will focus on clearing IS strongholds in Ninevah province, such as Tal Afar on the banks of the Tigris River, as well as in Hawija, where an isolated pocket of militants remains in the city of about 100,000.
July 12, 2017

As the first anniversary of the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey draws near, one of the main characters in the bloody events that unfolded that night has reached out to the Western media to air his side of the mysterious affair.

Fethullah Gulen, the secretive Sunni cleric who is accused by Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of masterminding the coup, spoke to NPRs Robert Siegel on July 10 at his sprawling yet Spartan compound in the Pocono Mountains in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.

The 76-year-old Gulen flatly denied any responsibility in the failed putsch that left 265 people dead, saying, If any one among those soldiers had called me and told me of their plan, I would tell them, You are committing murder.

Gulen went on, The perception that I control all of this  that I tell people to do things and that they are doing them  there is no such thing. He insisted that he had stood against all coups.

But those who are familiar with the inner workings of his once powerful movement argue that the notion that Gulenists were not involved is simply not credible.

Rusen Cakir, a prominent commentator on Islamic tarikats (fraternities), wrote in the independent online news portal Medyascope.tv, I believe the main body of the putschists and their leadership were officers connected to the Gulen movement.

That theory has been corroborated by the testimonies of various alleged coup plotters currently on trial, though the circumstances under which their confessions were extracted remain a matter of controversy, as human rights watchdogs point to torture during pretrial detention. So does the fact that Erdogan himself claimed to have learned about the coup through his brother-in-law seven hours after the national intelligence agency MIT was tipped off about it. This and other inconsistencies have fueled the claim voiced by the main opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, that once the government caught wind of the putsch it was allowed to unfold to smoke out Erdogans enemies.

The prevailing consensus is that many Gulen loyalists, who were set to be kicked out of the Turkish armed forces in an annual Supreme Military Council meeting in August, did take part in the coup. Assorted nationalists, Kemalists and others who were disgruntled with the increasingly authoritarian Erdogan participated as well.

But the Turkish government has yet to provide compelling evidence  a smoking gun, as it were  proving that Gulen personally ordered the coup, which is why the United States has refused to extradite him to Turkey.

Howard Eissenstat is an associate professor at St. Lawrence University. The Turkish history expert told Al-Monitor in an interview, It's unlikely, though possible, that Gulen himself had foreknowledge or even ordered Gulenist participation. He added, "There are certainly examples of Gulen taking personal control of initiatives. But I think there is a tendency to attribute to the Gulenists a level of organizational coherence that it doesnt actually have.

In any case, the government has used the coup as cover to carry out massive purges in the security forces, the judiciary, assorted government ministries and academia. From the theater to fertility clinics, baklava manufacturers and the media, no area of Turkish life has been left untouched by the crackdown. A tally compiled by Bloomberg shows that over 100,000 state employees have been fired so far in anti-Gulenist actions. Turkish Justice Ministry data reveals that 50,546 suspected members of Gulens network were in prison on July 3. They include over 150 journalists and thousands of Kurds. Yet Erdogan breezily claimed in an interview with the BBC to be aired later this week that there are only two journalists in prison.

The evidence presented against those accused of Gulenist and other "terror" links has reached Orwellian proportions. The opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper reported that a female university student was detained in the Black Sea port city of Samsun after locals tipped off police about books by Gulen spotted in a rubbish bin. Forensic examiners apparently determined that some of the fingerprints on the books belonged to the student, though it remains unclear why they would have had them on file or if she had a prior criminal record. The affair illustrates the culture of snitching and opportunism that is pervading the country. Burnishing ones anti-Gulen credentials has become the key to survival and success.

Its hard to believe that Gulen and Erdogan were once allies. They made common cause against the hardcore secularists who had dominated the armed forces when Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) first came to power in 2002. Thousands of Gulenist sympathizers began to rise in the bureaucracy and more critically in the security services, where at least some began gathering incriminating information on myriad officers, politicians, businessmen, journalists and others to be used against them if needed. This culminated in the now quashed December 2013 corruption probe into leading AKP figures, including Erdogan and his family. Gulen and Erdogan more than likely fell out over power and the division of spoils, not a clash of ideals.

No love was ever lost between the fellow imams  Erdogan was formally trained as a Muslim cleric as well, hence his oratory skills. But both were reviled by the secularist establishment, which unsuccessfully sought to overthrow Erdogan by getting sympathetic prosecutors to open a 2008 court case to ban the AKP. Gulen reminded Siegel of his AKP connections, saying, Thousands of people have come here to the retreat to visit, among them 50 members of parliament, former President Abdullah Gul, former Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu 

Gulen, who cloaks himself in an aura of false humility, denies any material ambitions. Yet a harsh core shone through in the NPR interview: If they ask me what my final wish is I would say the person who caused all this suffering and oppressed thousands of innocents, I want to spit in his face. Did he mean Erdogan? It cant be anyone else. He is the oppressor."
July 12, 2017

The era of Turkey partnering with Russia on mega projects in Turkey has begun with the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which is expected to cost $20 billion. The Cengiz-Kalyon-Kolin (CKK) consortium will hold a 49% stake in the project, according to a preliminary agreement recently signed in Moscow. The final deal is expected to be signed in August or September.

No one was surprised when CKK was reported as a likely major shareholder in such a huge project. CKK companies have been contractors in several major projects in Turkey and abroad, primarily in the energy sector. The CKK businesses, which grew rapidly under Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule, are currently partners in the consortium that is building Istanbul's third airport at a cost of 22 billion euros ($25.1 billion). Zirve Holding, the parent company of Kalyon Construction, also owns the media group of Sabah-ATV, the media outfit closest to the government.

With the involvement of politically powerful Turkish partners, the Akkuyu project is going to speed up, especially in regard to the necessary paperwork, such as permits, which the Russians are expecting to conclude by the end of the year. When it became certain that Turkish partners would sign on, Turkeys Energy Market Regulatory Authority issued an energy production license until 2066. Now land utilization permits will be provided by the Ministry of Forestry, and the Ministry of Finance and the Atomic Energy Agency will issue the construction permit for the station. These are expected to be concluded in short order, and the start date for construction of the plant will be moved up to September 2017 from 2018. The Turkish consortium will be actively involved in the construction, management, and credit financing.

Energy Minister Berat Albayrak said in November that power production at Akkuyu could begin by 2023, the centennial of the Turkish Republic. According to the latest projections, the first unit will start production in 2023 and the second one in 2024 with a total capacity of 24,000 megawatts. Energy experts agree that a magicians hand has touched the Akkuyu project. No obstacles are expected in the construction and production stages going forward.

In return for accelerating the construction process, Turkish partners have an important demand: an equal share in management although their equity share will be 49%. Murtaza Ata, the head of the Kalyon Energy Group, told the Anadolu Agency, We think it is a reasonable request to have an equal share in management. We believe that as soon as the final accord is signed, as the CKK, we will contribute substantially to further expedite the process.

Next in line is the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline, which seems to be following the same course as the Akkuyu project. A couple of years ago, Russias Nuclear Energy Agency (Rosatom) had announced that it would take on partners for the project. Now Alexey Miller, the CEO of Gazprom, which is constructing the Turkish Stream pipeline under the Black Sea from Russia to Europe, has announced that his company might also open the doors to foreign partners.

There are already indications that European-based gas operators are interested in buying shares in Turkish Stream. Turkish investors, who have generally ignored the energy market, are said to have been motivated by the Europeans' interest. BOTAS, Turkeys state-owned pipeline company, is expected to be the primary partner.

Will it be profitable? Al-Monitor asked Gokhan Yardim, the former CEO of BOTAS, who recalled that in the case of the Blue Stream gas pipeline project, the Russians had proposed a 50% partnership to Turkey, but Ankara had found that unprofitable. Yardim said, The gas was not ours.  To be solely a partner to the pipeline is costly and risky. That is why we didnt agree to a partnership in Blue Stream. Ankara elected instead to receive rent for the pipeline to traverse its territory.

Interest in Turkish Stream could skyrocket if European Union countries decide to buy gas from Turkish Stream. Depending on European demand, the four-line operation could deliver up to 6 billion cubic meters. So far the Europeans have not cited any numbers, but there are reports of bilateral agreements having been reached between some of them and Russia.

The Russians are still planning to construct two pipes in the first phase. One of them will supply Turkey, and 16 billion cubic meters of gas from the other will be sold to Europe, Yardim said, however, that if the EU doesnt become a good customer, gas from the second pipe could be sold to the Balkan states through bilateral deals.

It is not possible to determine how lucrative the Turkish Stream will be as long as European demand remains unspecified. Experts say Turkey, to become an actor in the global gas market, must take some risks. Next year, it will be entering the European arena as a producer and carrier when the TANAP, Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, becomes operational.

The general feeling now is for Turkish companies to take part in Turkish Stream with the governments support as with the Akkuyu station.
July 11, 2017

After a prolonged period of sharp tensions between NATO partners Turkey and the United States, there is budding if cautious optimism shared by officials on both sides that frayed relations may be on the mend.

Hopes of a thaw emerged this week when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Turkish leaders in Istanbul on the sidelines of a World Petroleum Congress, where the former ExxonMobil chairman was awarded a lifetime achievement prize for his career in the energy business.

Stopping on his way home from the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Tillerson held separate meetings with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

An American official who briefed Al-Monitor on the meetings said that Cavusoglu and Tillerson spoke for an hour at the Dolmabahce Palace before heading off together to the congress. Tillerson then met with Erdogan at his summer residence in Tarabya.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that attendance at both meetings was very limited and that the atmospherics were slightly more relaxed than in previous meetings between Tillerson and the Turkish leaders. The talks with Erdogan lasted two hours longer than either side expected, the official said.

Tillersons chief of staff, Margaret Peterlin, communications adviser R.C. Hammond and US Ambassador to Turkey John Bass accompanied Tillerson on his rendezvous with the Turkish president.

Tillerson made his desire to fix the troubled alliance crystal clear in unprepared remarks delivered during a meet and greet with American diplomats in Istanbul. This is an extraordinarily important relationship to the United States for many, many reasons that you would well understand, from a security standpoint to future economic opportunities as well  which is why we must put the relationship on the mend. He acknowledged that trust had been eroded on both sides, saying, I think we are beginning to rebuild some of that trust that we lost in one another.

The official briefing Al-Monitor said, Tillerson would like us to have a fresh, positive, mutually beneficial working relationship based on mutual goals.

The Donald Trump administrations overriding foreign policy goal remains to defeat the Islamic State and its decision to continue the previous administrations policy of partnering with the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) against the jihadis in Syria is the main source of friction between the two countries. The YPG is closely affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the rebel group that is fighting for Kurdish self-rule inside Turkey. The other big thorn is Washingtons refusal to extradite Fethullah Gulen, the power-hungry Turkish imam who is accused of engineering last summers botched coup.

Relations took a nosedive in April when Trump authorized the Pentagon to directly arm the YPG in preparation for the campaign to liberate Raqqa, the so-called capital of the Islamic State.

Subsequent exchanges between Tillerson and Cavusoglu were unusually heated with the secretary of state reportedly telling his Turkish counterpart that Turkey and the United States could go their separate ways.

Tillerson is believed, however, to be firmly opposed to expanding the US campaign beyond Raqqa to Deir ez-Zor, the strategic outpost near the Iraqi border where IS militants fleeing Raqqa are thought to be embedded. In any case, the YPG and its affiliates would likely resist freeing the mainly Arab city from the jihadis without ironclad guarantees that their sacrifices would be rewarded with US recognition of their political status. So far, the United States has turned a deaf ear to Kurdish demands, in part because of the further damage it would inflict on relations with Turkey.

In his comments to US diplomats in Istanbul, Tillerson suggested that differences with Turkey over Syria might be narrowing. Were making some progress down in Syria. We are hopeful that we can replicate that with Turkey on some areas in the northern part of Syria  and that will also form a basis for improving the trust, as well.

Erdogan will have been pleased by what The Washington Post called in a blistering editorial today Tillerson's "dispiriting silence" over Turkey's "blatant assault on dissent."

A Turkish official speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity reported hearing that Tillerson wants out after Raqqa, adding, If [the United States] dont go to Deir ez-Zor with the YPG, that would be a nice gesture to Turkey. We scent a desire to reset relations and also a measure of guilt among some administration officials. The official warned, however, that many hurdles remain and expressed deep skepticism over US pledges to reclaim weapons given to the YPG once the war against IS is over.

Much depends on where Secretary of Defense James Mattis stands with regard to the strategy to be charted after Raqqa. The retired general has made hawkish noises about Iran and Turkeys support would be critical to any effort to further isolate Irans clerical regime.

And when Tillerson and Mattis agree, that generally becomes the policy, a second US official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

James F. Jeffrey is a former US ambassador to Turkey and currently a Philip Solondz distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He observed in comments emailed to Al-Monitor, Once Raqqa is taken the US will have a decision  does it pull out of northern and southern Syria (and Iraq) and thus turn the region (and those who have fought with us) over to, as Erdogan terms it, Persian expansionism or do we find a way to stay on and put together a set of no-fly zones to pressure for a compromise political solution to Syria rather than a total victory for Assad?

Jeffrey went on, Turkey and its [Euphrates Shield] zone in Syria would be essential to this so the US might be more flexible on the YPG. But then Turkey has to decide whether it wants a YPG monitored by the US on its southern border or Assad, Iranians and Hezbollah (who are capable of using the Kurds against Turkey as we have seen Iran do with the PKK). He concluded, Big decisions are coming up and the Tillerson visit will help facilitate thinking.
A $300,000 grant will help Mar-Jac Poultry expand in a big way in Franklin County.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the Community Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The infrastructure funds will assist Mar-Jac's efforts to create a $35 million feed mill that will employ 30 people in Spruce Pine, a small, unincorporated community off U.S. 43 near Phil Campbell.

Mar-Jac, which is also building a nearby $23 million hatchery, is a poultry supplier for the U.S. and several foreign countries.

"Agriculture feeds America and that is especially true in rural Alabama where the poultry industry is a major employer," Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement announcing the award. "This project will put food on the tables for numerous families in Franklin County and northwest Alabama and will have a large economic impact on the area well beyond the 30 people employed at the mill."

ADECA said the grant will provide improvements at a railroad crossing at the main road leading to the plant and new safety signals. The project will also receive $60,000 in local funds.

This isn't the first time Mar-Jac has received assistance through ADECA. In late 2015, the Appalachian Regional Commission awarded $200,000 to help the city of Jasper update the Town Creek wastewater treatment system to assist Mar-Jac Poultry's facility expansion.
Venture capitalist and author Alex Banayan will be the keynote speaker at Thursday's This Is Alabama 2017 Young Professional Summit.

The event begins at 11 a.m. at Regions Field. Tickets are $75 and are available here. Alabama Media Group is one of the event sponsors.

Banayan, who was appointed at age 19 to Alsop Louie Partners venture capital firm, is the author of the upcoming book "The Third Door." It is the story of his five years spent asking some of the world's most successful people - Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Mark Zuckerberg, Steven Spielberg - how they started their careers. Banayan is the youngest business author ever signed to Crown/Random House in its 80-year history.

He was named to Forbes "Top 30 Under 30" and was identified as one of the "Most Powerful People in Finance" by Business Insider.

The summit will feature breakout sessions with leaders in business, non-profits, the arts and technology. Among topics covered will be building business organizations, fostering innovation, career services and building a social brand.

BBVA Compass Bank will host a presentation on "Creating the Bank of the Future," while the Birmingham Bar Foundation will present a panel on legal professionals who use their talents to foster social change. Click here for a list of speakers.

Participants can also sample food from Cantina Laredo, Chicken Salad Chick, East 59 Vintage & Cafe, Post Office Pies, O'Henry's Coffee, Texas de Brazil and Zoe's Kitchen.

For more information and the event agenda, visit the website.
Charlotte-based Belk will close its Brookwood Village location in January, the retailer confirms to AL.com.

"Belk enjoys a strong connection to the Birmingham market," Belk Spokesman Andy Izquierdo wrote in an email. "We determined that we could most efficiently serve the customers in that community with the remaining four local stores that are within a 19-mile radius from the Brookwood Village location. In fact, we have two stores that are within seven miles of that store."

The closure is a major blow to Brookwood Village, with Belk being a major anchor in indoor mall. The mall recently underwent a massive $20 million renovation after Cypress Equities bought the 816,000-square-foot mall from the former Colonial Properties Trust in 2015.

Belk bought Birmingham-headquartered Parisian in 2006. The Brookwood store was once a Parisian, but it rebranded as Belk in 2007. Belk was sold in 2015 to New York private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $3 billion, and then-CEO Tim Belk said at the time there were no plans for layoffs or store closings.

Retailers nationwide have been closing brick and mortar locations en masse as they're faced with competition from online shopping. JC Penney is shuttering 138 stores; Macy's has announced it will close as many as 100 locations. However, Macy's is unlikely to close its two Alabama locations - just last month, it opened new outlet concepts in its Brookwood Village and Riverchase Galleria stores.
Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

Top business headlines: July 11, 2017

From the opening of a long-anticipated Birmingham luxury hotel to free Chick-fil-A across the state to a Union vote in a Mississippi auto plant, here are the top business headlines for AL.com for Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com).

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

First Look at the Elyton

The team behind the long-anticipated luxury Elyton Hotel is putting the finishing touches on the hotel before its opening Wednesday. From the best bar to go to for the drink you're in the mood for, to the story behind the busts on the building's roof, check out five things to know about the hotel in the Empire Building. (Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com).

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Kelly Poe | kpoe@al.com

Sloss Tech speaker shares wisdom

Elizabeth Pharo knows about raising money. She's the chair of Momentum Telecom, where she's helped raise about $90 million in capital investment, about half of that is private equity.

She recently spoke with AL.com about the creative tech festival, about raising money in Birmingham, and about the lack of female executives in the C-suite. Pharo is giving a local keynote speech at 2:40 p.m. Friday at Sloss Tech, the Southeastern creative technology festival affiliated with Sloss Music Fest, at the Lyric Theatre.

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Lyft driving to Huntsville Airport

Huntsville International Airport passengers can now use Lyft as ground transportation on airport property.

It's the first time the popular ride-sharing service has been available at HSV, which announced this morning it has signed an agreement with Lyft to create a designated pick-up area along the hotel shuttles in front of baggage claim for travelers who would like to use the service.

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Rogelio V. Solis

Union vote at Nissan

The United Auto Workers filed petitions Monday to force a unionization election at a Nissan plant in Mississippi after a yearslong campaign to build support in a region typically unwelcoming to organized labor.

The UAW declined comment but has scheduled an event Tuesday at its office near the plant in Canton, just north of Jackson. Sandra Hightower of the National Labor Relations Board confirmed that the board received the UAW's election petition in its New Orleans office.

(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

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Free Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A will give away free food today at restaurants across the U.S. in celebration of its 13th-annual Cow Appreciation Day.

Wear anything "cow like" and score a free breakfast, lunch or dinner entree at Chick-fil-A. Children who participate will receive a complimentary Kid's Meal.

(File/Matt Wake/mwake@al.com)

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Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com

Carrigan's owner to open new restaurant

The owner of Carrigan's Public House plans to open a new restaurant in the former location of Plant Odyssey at 2910 Six Avenue South (pictured here) in Lakeview.

The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved giving the developer of the restaurant property a sales tax abatement, amounting to 40 percent of actual sales tax revenue generated by the new restaurant, which will be paid annually for four years.

(Google Maps)

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Lee Roop | lroop@al.com

Super Guppy visits Huntsville

NASA's Super Guppy airplane was at Redstone Arsenal's airfield Tuesday loading a key piece of test hardware for NASA's Space Launch System. The part is a test version of the 18-foot-wide adapter ring that will attach the Orion capsule to SLS for its first flight.

After testing in Huntsville at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, where it was built, the ring was bound for Denver, where Lockheed Martin will test it with the Orion capsule.

(Lee Roop/lroop@al.com)

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

Golden Dragon Copper jobs

A series of job readiness workshops and job fairs will be held later this month in Butler and Thomasville for open positions at Golden Dragon Copper in Pine Hill.

The Alabama Career Center System, partnering with other area agencies, will host the events. Golden Dragon is currently hiring for dozens of positions at its Pine Hill plant.

(Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com).

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Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com

Jim 'N Nick's sold

The Atlanta-based private equity firm Roark Capital Group is buying Birmingham's Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q, according to a report Monday afternoon by the Nation's Restaurant News.

In an interview with AL.com Monday night, Brian Lyman of Jim 'N Nick's said the acquisition by Roark will allow the company to continue to grow its brand while also bringing about 32 support jobs to Jim 'N Nick's home offices in Birmingham.

(Ben Flanagan/bflanagan@al.com)

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Fighting Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

Southeast Gastro has committed to donating and raising $18,000 this year in the fight against Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.

The practice, based in the Birmingham area, is sponsoring the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Alabama/NW Florida Chapter. Southeast Gastro has locations at Brookwood Medical Plaza, St. Vincent's East, Shelby Physician's Center, Grandview, Blount County, Gardendale and Prattville.

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Lawrence Specker | lspecker@al.com

Free steaks in Daphne

A new Dream Dinners location in Daphne plans to give out 100 free flank steaks at its grand opening on Thursday. For industry observers, the real news may be that this is the company's first new franchise to open since 2008.

Heather Chopin, the operator of the Daphne store, says the company is sticking to a business model that made Dream Dinners the leading player in a business it pioneered and led through an early wave of explosive growth more than a decade ago. At scheduled sessions, patrons come in and assemble an assortment of ready-to-cook meals, bagging up cuts of meat and related ingredients for entrees, as well as a selection of side dishes. Then they take them home and freeze them for later use.

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Kelly Poe | kpoe@al.com

Hanna Andersson announces opening date

Swedish retailer Hanna Andersson will open its first Alabama store on Friday. The store at the Summit, which is near the Anthropologie, will open at 10 a.m. The first 500 customers Friday will get a free $20 Hanna gift card. The first 100 customers the next two days will get a free $20 gift card.

The Swedish brand began in 1983 and it will occupy 2,000 square feet and open this summer. It sells clothing for babies through women's, bedding and homeware. Hanna Andersson has 67 retail stores and 13 outlet retail stores in 26 states.

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Two Maids & A Mop

Two Maids & A Mop is continuing an ambitious national expansion, and CEO Ron Holt said he believes the company is ready.

Headquartered in Birmingham, the company has sold 15 franchises this year, and plans to sell about 10 more before the end of 2017. The goal is to open 20 to 25 new stores a year over the next five years, he said.

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Carlos Osorio

Takata Airbags adds 2.7 million to recall

Airbag maker has added another 2.7 million cars to its air bag inflator recall, including Ford, Nissan and Mazda cars, the Associated Press reports. Cars from 2005 through 2012 are affected.

Takata inflators can explode with too much force and send shrapnel into drivers and passengers.

(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

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Cheryl Wray | cwray@al.com

Twitter has new CFO

Twitter has hired Ned Segal as its new Chief Financial Officer on Tuesday. Segal most recently was the vice president of finance for Intuit's small business group, CNBC reports. Anthony Noto, who was the CFO and Chief Operating Officer, will remain in place as COO.
Former detainees, most of whom are Hamas affiliates, rally against move by Ramallah authorities to cut their salaries.

Ramallah, occupied West Bank  At the southern end of Clock Square in Ramallah, a hub for political protest in the de facto Palestinian capital, a small crowd of supporters and local news teams had gathered to hear a former prisoner speak.

Flanked by fellow ex-detainees, as their wives and children watched on from under a green tarpaulin, Mansour Shamasneh railed against the Palestinian Authoritys (PA) decision to stop paying monthly salaries to the families of about 260 current and former prisoners.

This decision will affect mothers, children and fathers sitting in the street, he cried, his arm sweeping across the crowd.

Shamasneh is one of a dozen former detainees who have decided to publicly protest against the salary cuts by camping out in downtown Ramallah. The set-up is rudimentary. A white tent has been pitched over a stretch of dirt where a few single mattresses are spread on a canvas sheet. The main reception area is more exposed to the elements, with two dozen plastic chairs shielded from the summer sun by a flimsy tarpaulin roof. There are no bathrooms, so the men cross the street to a nearby mall to wash.

They moved to the central square after they were removed from their initial protest site, outside the office of the prime minister, by PA security forces in late June. They say they were told at the time that the prime minister had got the message and that the protest was not appropriate, but three weeks after they began the sit-in, they had yet to receive any information from the PA about the sudden salary cut.

FEATURE: Gaza pay cuts deepen rift between PA and Hamas

I went to the bank to cash my salary and they told me I had no money, Shamasneh told Al Jazeera. When I checked, I found that the payment had not been made and that my account was minus 3,500 shekels ($980). I have monthly payments going out of my accounts and they continued as normal. They cannot be stopped.

Shamasneh, who studies at Al Quds university and has a young family, told Al Jazeera that the monthly 5,000 shekel ($1,400) payment was their only source of income.

Even when I cash the salary it is not enough for my family, he said. We spend it all within two, three weeks. I have loans. I bought furniture which I have to pay for in installments. I have to pay for my studies and I have two kids, a wife and a house as well, he said.

Im really worried because I have to pay off loans in installments, and now I cannot pay the cheques. It is difficult to even survive. If they take me to court, they will arrest me for a criminal reason because my cheques will be rejected, Shamasneh added.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, a local non-governmental organisation that advocated for prisoners rights, a total of 277 ex-prisoners did not receive their monthly salaries in May. The vast majority of those affected were affiliated with the Gaza-based Islamic resistance movement Hamas at the time of their arrest and were released during the 2011 prisoner exchange for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

As of July, salary payments had resumed to those who were affiliated with other factions, leaving around 260 former and current Hamas-affiliated prisoners and their families without an income source.

For Leila Shalash, a mother of four whose husband Ibrahim is currently in prison, the 6,000-shekel monthly salary was her only source of income. Ibrahim was released in the 2011 exchange but was then re-arrested in 2014 during a widespread Israeli crackdown on Hamas supporters in the West Bank.

I was shocked when I heard the payment had been stopped, said the mother of four.

I have many responsibilities. Firstly, there is the house, which is not finished yet. My children are studying and need money to continue their work. And then there is daily life. The family needs money for normal things  food, electricity, water. All of this costs money, she said.

I am asking the PA to begin repaying the salaries because my husband has sacrificed his life for the homeland, for Palestine, and we cannot continue our lives without this salary.

OPINION: How factionalism is killing the Palestinian struggle

The decision to suspend the payments also surprised the head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Qadura Fares, who has begun negotiations on behalf of the affected prisoners in jail and those based in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, but not on behalf of those residing in the besieged Gaza Strip or outside the Palestinian territories.

We tried to find out who was responsible for this decision and until this moment we do not know who is responsible, Fares told Al Jazeera, adding that payments for ex-prisoners are guaranteed by Palestinian law.

They have to give them back their rights because this is a right under the law, he said. Its a law like any other law.

The decision taken in early June coincided with explorations by US President Donald Trumps administration of the possibility of reviving talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships. The Israeli side has called publicly for the PA to halt payments to Palestinian prisoners and former detainees, arguing that the system encourages Palestinians to commit violent attacks.

A number of the ex-prisoners camping out in the square believe that the decision to cut the salaries came as a result of US and Israeli pressure on the PA, but Fares told Al Jazeera that it was part of the intra-Palestinian dispute between Hamas and Fatah, which dominates the PA.

Its not part of any political process, he said. Its an internal decision. Its a part of the pressure they [the PA] tried to create on Hamas in Gaza, said Fares.

In recent months, the PA has escalated punitive measures against Hamas in an effort to force the movement to cede control of the Gaza Strip to a consensus government.

Among the measures taken against the group, the PA has slashed the wages of its Gaza-based civil servants and has stopped paying for some of the electricity supplied to Gaza via Israel, reducing the number of hours of electricity in the coastal territory to three to four hours per day.
How international migration, income groups and fertility rate is affecting the distribution of global population.

About one billion inhabitants were added to the world over the past 12 years, bringing the total population to 7.6 billion as of mid-2017, according to a new report published by the United Nations.

The world population is currently growing by 1.10 percent every year, yielding an additional 83 million people annually.

About 60 percent of the worlds people live in Asia, 17 percent in Africa, 10 percent in Europe, 9 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the remaining 6 percent in Northern America and Oceania. China (1.4 billion) and India (1.3 billion) remain the two most populous countries in the world, comprising 19 and 18 percent of the global total respectively.

The report said that international migration remains an important distribution pattern of global population.

The UNs 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises that international migration can be a positive force for economic and social development by balancing labour between areas of origin and destination, and increasing the global productivity of labour.

According to the report, populations in many regions of the world are still comparatively young. In Africa, children under age 15 account for 41 percent of the population in 2017, and young persons aged 15 to 24 account for an additional 19 percent.

Low-income countries tend to have a greater proportion of young people because of high fertility rates.
No matter where you are in the world, you are likely to stumble upon the US border-without-borders.

Earlier this summer, an American friend of mine was returning home from Tunisia, where he had been conducting PhD research.

Checking in for his connecting flight in Paris, he was put on the phone with a representative of US Customs and Border Protection for questioning  since we all know France shares a border with the United States.

Upon reaching America proper, my friend was hauled off for interrogation at the airport in New York on subjects ranging from the details of his Twitter account to the issue of whether or not anyone had suggested he join an armed group in Libya.

You can pick your own moral of the story. One possibility, perhaps, is that academics that insist on showing an interest in certain parts of the world should build detention time into their travel itineraries.

Another  more broadly applicable to the general global population  is that, no matter where you are, the US border can be brought to you.

Evolving frontier





While it might be tempting to blame US President Donald Trump and his special brand of counter-reality for the frenzied expansion of the US border into international spaces, the concept of the border itself evolved some time ago into something encompassing much more than physical territorial limits.

Just ask the victims of the post-9/11 war on terror, which has eliminated countless human lives for the ostensible purpose of securing the US homeland.

Indeed, the US habit of interrupting wedding festivities in Afghanistan and elsewhere with drone strikes long predated the current head of state  though Trump has adopted the drone obsession with predictable zeal.

Closer to home, meanwhile, US-bound Central American migrants regularly run afoul of the amplified US border and find themselves being deported from Mexico  a country roped into serving as a first line of defence against often-defenceless folks, many of them fleeing violent conditions that the US itself has played no small part in stoking.

Mexico, for its part, gets to enjoy the additional perks of being literally located on the US frontier, including imposed drug wars and economic devastation  not to mention the essential criminalisation of Mexican-ness via border fortification schemes and mass deportations.

Now, as Trump continues to plot his expanded wall on the US-Mexico border, the subtler but no less sinister expansion of the very idea of the US border  and all that it entails  proceeds apace.

While the US has over the decades repeatedly been up in arms over perceived enemy intrusions into its own 'backyard' - see, for example, the Soviets in Cuba or the more recent ruckus over Iran's supposed infiltration of Latin America - the country persists in trampling over other backyards at will. by

Champions of empire

Beyond the matter of forcing international airlines to get on board with every US whim in terms of security measures and other life-complicating activities, theres nothing like ubiquitous military bases to reinforce the notion that the world in fact belongs to America.

In his 2015 book Base Nation: How US Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World, American Universitys David Vine reported that, as of that year, the US controlled approximately 800 bases outside the country.

This had resulted in a situation in which, he said, we probably have more bases in other peoples lands than any other people, nation, or empire in world history.

Vine went on aptly to note that, for most Americans, the idea of even the nicest, most benign foreign troops arriving with their tanks, planes, and high-powered weaponry and making themselves at home in our country  occupying and fencing off hundreds or thousands of acres of our land  is unthinkable.

Thanks to imperialisms gloriously hypocritical logic, of course, Americas disproportionate global footprint hasnt stopped the US political establishment from regularly accusing selected nemeses of meddling in the internal affairs of other nations.

And while the US has over the decades repeatedly been up in arms over perceived enemy intrusions into its own backyard  see, for example, the Soviets in Cuba or the more recent ruckus over Irans supposed infiltration of Latin America  the country persists in trampling over other backyards at will.

Border without borders

When earlier this year the Gulf played host to close encounters between the Iranian navy and US ships, the Iranians were shamelessly portrayed as the aggressors despite the proximity of the incidents to Iranian territorial waters.

An ever-expanding border makes for an ever-bigger backyard, it seems.

Africa, too, is as good a backyard as any, judging from an April 2017 report from investigative journalist Nick Turse, managing editor of the TomDispatch website.

American military officials have consistently downplayed their presence in Africa, Turse writes, but a set of previously secret documents, obtained by TomDispatch via the Freedom of Information Act, offers clear evidence of a remarkable, far-ranging, and expanding network of outposts strung across the continent.

Turse goes on to predict that, with the Trump administration escalating its wars in Africa and the Middle East, and the potential for more crises  on the horizon, the US military footprint will continue to grow outpost by outpost and base by base.

And a US border-without-borders is, you might say, a crisis in itself.

Belen Fernandez is the author of The Imperial Messenger: Thomas Friedman at Work, published by Verso. She is a contributing editor at Jacobin Magazine.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
On June 29, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) published a comprehensive report confirming that the nerve agent used in the Syrian regimes April 4 attack on Khan Sheikhoun that killed 92 was sarin. The conclusion was no surprise. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Doctors Without Borders (known by its French initials, MSF) had already found the symptoms of the victims consistent with exposure to a nerve agent. In a separate analysis, the French government had matched sarin samples from the site to regime stock. A Human Rights Watch investigation also found the regime responsible for this and three other chemical attacks since December, and said the latest attack was part of a broader pattern of Syrian government forces use of chemical weapons.





However, the response from the regime and its supporters followed a familiar pattern. There was denial, deflection and deception. There were conspiracy theories. There was whataboutery. But effluvia from this dung heap merely fouled the air until it was ignited into a noxious fire by an inveterate pyromaniac. Enter Seymour Hersh.

Seymour Hersh, a once celebrated journalist, has been reluctant to cede the limelight. But the pride of place that he earned through hard work he now wants to keep by trading on his legacy alone. Hersh, who once did the legwork for his stories  finding sources, corroborating claims, verifying evidence  is now relying on the uncorroborated claims of anonymous sources to tell tall tales that contradict available evidence. The man who broke world-changing stories from My Lai to Abu Ghraib now hops from publication to publication, writing sensational drivel, sullying his reputation and diminishing his publishers.

His latest story, published in the German daily Die Welt, was a colourful rendition of an extant conspiracy theory: that the deaths in Khan Sheikhoun did not result from a chemical attack but were caused by toxic discharge from a conventional attack on a jihadi facility. Based on the baroque testimony of an anonymous source, Hersh concludes that there was no sarin involved.

OPINION: Seymour Hershs OBL fantasy

The OPCW report put an end to this nonsense. But more embarrassingly, Hershs claims were contradicted even by the regime and Russia. His publisher, Die Welt, was left with egg on its face  much like the London Review of Books before, which had published his earlier forays into conspiracism (To its credit, the LRB declined to publish Hershs latest).

This opprobrium is richly merited  but is it sufficient to discourage others from yielding to the click bait temptation?

For Die Welt to prove that it wasn't deliberately deceiving its audience, it will have to not just retract the story and apologise, it will also have to identify Hersh's anonymous source. by

Every publisher knows that conspiracism pays. Some of the internets most visited sites traffic in conspiracy theories. Conspiracism flatters anti-establishment cynics by providing them with an adversarial posture, diluted of content but full of sound and fury. With the rise of populism, there is a vast reservoir of anti-establishment sentiment to be exploited. And with ad revenues increasingly tied to clicks, even respectable publications appear eager to tap into this pool. Hersh is useful because, regardless of the quality of his work, his oversized reputation allows them to access this resource without suffering much in the way of reputation.

A diligent editor could not have missed all the red flags raised by Hershs recent stories. Both publications allowed Hersh to bring his own fact checkers, which is astonishingly cavalier considering the incendiary nature of his claims. But the notion was reduced to farce when Hersh used Scott Ritter as his fact-checker.

A one time UN weapons inspector whose reputation was built on his opposition to the Iraq war, Ritter has tried to deal with his recent loss of reputation (over personal indiscretions) by trying to build an audience on the conspiracist fringe. Since his release from prison, Ritter has shown a peculiar set of concerns, marking his return with an attack on the Syrian White Helmets. The attack was shoddy, much of it echoing extant conspiracy theories published on the alt-right conspiracy site 21stCenturyWire (an offshoot of Infowars). But it coincided with the Russian medias relentless campaign against the White Helmets aimed at denying them the Nobel Peace Prize. In subsequent articles, Ritter praised Trump for his overtures to Russia; cast doubt on intelligence reports about Russian hacking of the DNC; and credited Trumps claim that he was being wiretapped by the Obama administration.

But its what came next that provides clues as to Hershs source for his latest story and Die Welts dereliction.

On April 9, Ritter wrote an article based on Russian claims that debuted the conspiracy theory that would later be embellished into the Die Welt article. After repeating the accusation that the deaths in Khan Sheikhoun were caused by the regimes targeting of an al-Qaeda facility, Ritter went on to casually blame the August 2013 Ghouta chemical attack on al-Qaeda and declared the White Helmets their accomplices. Two days later, Ritter signed an open letter to Trump with a group calling itself Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) repeating the allegation, but citing as their source Our US Army contacts. There is reason to doubt the existence of these Army contacts.





In 2013, VIPS had written a similar open letter to Obama claiming that according to numerous sources in the Middle East the regime was innocent of the Ghouta chemical attack. Except, the article  including the reference to numerous sources in the Middle East  was plagiarised from the Canadian conspiracy site Globalresearch.ca. One signatory to this 2013 letter, former CIA officer Larry Johnson, is widely believed to be Hershs source for his three LRB articles on Syria and bin Laden. Hersh has often relied on the VIPS for his stories. The group, made up of disgruntled former employees of the government, is also the likely source for his current article. In other words: the likely source for Hershs facts was also his fact checker.

Wittingly or not, it is by now clear that Hersh  and by extension Die Welt  served as a conduit for disinformation. For Die Welt to prove that it wasnt deliberately deceiving its audience, it will have to not just retract the story and apologise, it will also have to identify Hershs anonymous source. There is no ethical justification for granting anonymity to someone who has deliberately tried to deceive.

Only by exposing such sources to public scrutiny will the press be able to discourage malicious parties from abusing confidentiality principles to advance dubious agendas.

Muhammad Idrees Ahmad is Lecturer in Digital Journalism at the University of Stirling. He is a contributing editor at the Los Angeles Review of Books.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Mohamed Fawzi provided Egypts security agencies with details of Al Jazeera programmes while working for the network.

Hacked emails obtained by the Turkish-based Anadolu news agency showed that a former Al Jazeera cameraman, who is suing the network, collaborated with Egyptian security agencies while working with the Doha-based television channel.

In an article published on Wednesday, Anadolu reported that Mohamed Fawzy had been providing Egyptian security agencies details of Al Jazeera programmes.

In one incident, he reportedly spoke about an event held by the Muslim Brotherhoods Freedom and Justice Party at Harvard University that would be aired on Al Jazeera television.

Fawzy also reportedly coordinated with security agencies regarding his lawsuit against the network.

READ MORE: New York Times reports UAE ambassador funded journalist to sue Al Jazeera

Fawzy is suing Al Jazeera for $7.4m for neglect and endangering the lives of journalists working in Egypt. He said Al Jazeera sent him to Cairo knowing that it was guaranteed he would be arrested.

Fawzy, along with a group of journalists, was detained in Egypt in 2013 on charges of stoking unrest and publishing false news.

After he was released from prison, he sought refuge in the United States, where he filed the complaint against Al Jazeera in September 2016.

In one of the emails obtained by Anadolu, Fawzy reportedly complained to an Egyptian security agent named Temo Kamal, for destroying his life by getting him work with the Qatari television.

Loyalist

He reportedly asked Kamal to intervene to reverse a government decision to ban him from entering Egypt, wondering how the regime was keen on destroying his loyalists.

Kamal responded in another mail that he had helped free Fawzy from prison, after being detained along with other Al Jazeera journalists in 2013.

He also blamed Fawzi for working with Al Jazeera, saying that Fawzy had sought to cooperate with the security agencies in the first place.





Anadolu Agency had sought comments from Fawzy and Kamal, but both refused to give comment.

The emails also revealed that Fawzy had contracted with the same law firm of his former Al Jazeera colleague Mohamed Fahmy, who is also suing the network, the report said.

It also shows that the same agency that provided media coverage for the lawsuits of both Fahmy and Fawzy is the same.

Fahmy is currently taking legal action against Al Jazeera and is suing for over $100m, saying the network knowingly endangered his life.

The New York Times reported that Fahmy received funding from the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, to cover his legal expenses against Al Jazeera after his release.

Fahmy spent 437 days in jail before being released in 2015.

Al Jazeera is the focus of a dispute between Qatar and four Arab states, who severed all trade and diplomatic ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism  an allegation the country denies.

The four states  Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain  presented Qatar a list of 13 demands, which include the closure of Al Jazeera, or face further sanctions.
Move passed despite attempt by opposition senators to block the vote with a six-hour sit-in at the presidents rostrum.

The Senate passed an unpopular overhaul of Brazils labour laws on Tuesday night, a move that was crucial for embattled President Michel Temer to show he has political support while trying to survive damaging corruption allegations.

Opposition senators had tried to block the vote with a sit-in at the presidents rostrum, but the session resumed after a six-hour delay and in a vote on the measures initial reading the body voted 50-26 in favour.

The bill is part of a programme being pushed by Temer that he says will get the economy going again.

Senators allied with the president did not take the opportunity to speak in favour of loosening work rules and other changes in the overhaul, which opinion polls indicate is widely unpopular with Brazilians.

The Brazilian people know that this reform will not bring jobs, said Humberto Costa, leader of the opposition Workers Party.

READ MORE: Brazil austerity move slammed as disaster for the poor

After a tense day, Senate President Eunicio Oliveira was able to resume the session from his chair in the early hours of the evening.

Rebellious senators commandeered the leaders table on the rostrum early in the day and prevented Oliveira and some of his allies from taking their seats.

Oliveira responded by ordering the power and microphones cut off and he adjourned the session, leading to hours of negotiations behind the scenes while the opposition senators remained in the chamber.

After six hours, Oliveira took a seat at a smaller chair and restarted the session while having to shout to fellow senators and the rebels soon gave up the sit-in.

Brazils acrimonious politics

The spectacle underscored how acrimonious Brazilian politics have become in recent months as Temers popularity has plummeted and a corruption charge against him has emboldened members of the opposition who believe he should never have become president. Temer took power last year after his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached and removed as president.

Given that Temer was only voted in as vice president in the last election, many Brazilians have bristled at his push to pass a series of unpopular economic measures, including a cap on government spending, an overhaul of the pension system and the loosening of work rules.





The most significant measure in the labour changes would allow agreements negotiated between employers and workers on a range of issues to override current labour law. The bill would also make it easier to hire temporary workers, even for extended periods of time.

Senators still had to debate whether any amendments should be made.

Oliveira and his allies hoped to get the measure passed in the Senate without any changes to the legislation that already was approved in the lower house. If passed by the Senate without changes, the bill would go directly to the president for signature. The opposition was demanding an amendment, which would send it back to the Chamber of Deputies for another vote.

Brazilian media have been predicting the bill would pass despite its low standing in polls. But the dramatic protest by opposition senators on Tuesday was a blow to Temer that raised further questions about his ability to govern.

Allies of the president are counting on a victory on the labour law to give the president a boost before the Chamber of Deputies votes on whether to suspended him from office and put him on trial for corruption.

That vote is not yet scheduled, but the speaker of the lower house of Brazils Congress on Tuesday urged that it be held this week.

OPINION: What next for Brazils decaying kleptocracy?

Speaker Rodrigo Maia of the Democrats Party said Brazil cannot wait for resolution of the first charge among several expected to be brought against Temer.

We need to make a decision, to give a response to the prosecutor generals charge, so that we can continue voting on our agenda, and our agenda is the (economic) reforms, Maia told journalists.

If two-thirds of deputies vote against Temer, Maia would take over presidential duties while Brazils Supreme Federal Court decided whether to remove the president or find him not guilty.

The prosecutor general has accused Temer of accepting bribes from a meatpacking executive in exchange for helping the company obtain favourable government decisions. He denies wrongdoing.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is convicted for graft and money laundering and is sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in jail.

Brazils former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been convicted and sentenced to nine years and six months in prison for corruption and money laundering.

The term was handed down on Wednesday against Lula over a giant embezzlement and kickbacks scheme centred on state-owned oil group Petrobras, at the heart of a sprawling corruption probe known as Car Wash.

Judge Sergio Moro announced the decision in the Brazilian city of Curitiba.

READ MORE: What next for Brazils decaying kleptocracy?

Lula  an iconic leftist politician who ruled Brazil from 2003 to 2010  remained free pending a possible appeal. Lula is also facing four other corruption charges.

With Brazil in the grip of prolonged political and economic uncertainty, the sentence risked scuttling a potential comeback bid by Lula in the next presidential elections due in October 2018.

An apartment bribe?

Lula has repeatedly denied taking any bribes during or after his presidency. He has described the investigation against him by Judge Sergio Moro as a campaign to prevent his return to power.

That part of the probe focused on allegations that Lula received a luxury seaside apartment as a bribe from one of Brazils biggest construction companies, OAS.

Judge Moro said Lula had illegally received $1.1m.

Between the crimes of corruption and money laundering, there are sufficient grounds for sentences totalling nine years and six months of incarceration, Moro said in his verdict.

The sentence by Moro, whose wide popularity in Brazil for his anti-corruption work has prompted some to see him as a possible presidential candidate, fed into broader political ructions in Brazil.

Lulas chosen successor, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached and removed from office last year, with her vice president, Michel Temer, taking over the reins.

READ MORE: The Brazilian hangover  When the party ends

Temer himself is battling for his own political survival after being charged with taking bribes.

Two weeks ago, Moro sentenced an influential minister in the governments of Lula and Rousseff, Antonio Palocci, to 12 years in prison for corruption.

Palocci played a central role in the Car Wash scheme, most of which unfolded when Lulas Workers Party was in power from 2003 to 2016.

Prosecutors said Palocci was a point man in the flow of bribes between the Odebrecht construction group and intermediaries of the Workers Party, laundering more than $10m used for party campaign finances.

Odebrecht, an industrial conglomerate with projects around the world, named Palocci the Italian in its list of code names for politicians regularly taking bribes in exchange for lucrative contracts with Petrobras and other favours.
Chinas deal with Djibouti allows the presence of up to 10,000 soldiers in the country until 2026.

Ships carrying personnel for Chinas first overseas military base have set sail to begin setting up the facility in Djibouti, as the countrys rapidly modernising military extends its global reach.

The warships departed from Zhanjiang in southern China to set up a support base in the Horn of Africa nation, state media reported late on Tuesday.

Chinas agreement with Djibouti ensures its military presence in the country up until 2026, with a contingent of up to 10,000 soldiers, according to international current affairs magazine The Diplomat.

WATCH: INSIDE STORY  China in Africa: investment or exploitation?

Djiboutis position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worry in India that it would become another of Chinas string of pearls of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

China began construction of a base in Djibouti last year. It will be used to resupply navy ships taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular.

It will be Chinas first overseas naval base, though Beijing officially describes it as a logistics facility.

State news agency Xinhua did not say when the base would begin operations.

Xinhua said the establishment of the base was a decision made by the two countries after friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides.

The base will ensure Chinas performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia, it said.

Landmark achievement

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing the base would enable China to make new and greater contributions to peace in Africa and the world and would benefit Djiboutis economic development.

Djibouti, which is about the size of Wales, is at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal.





The tiny, barren nation sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts US, Japanese and French bases.

The Peoples Liberation Army Daily said in a front-page commentary that the facility was a landmark that would increase Chinas ability to ensure global peace, especially because it had so many UN peacekeepers in Africa and was so involved in anti-piracy patrols.

The state-run Global Times said in an editorial that there could be no mistake that this was in fact a military base.

Certainly this is the Peoples Liberation Armys first overseas base and we will base troops there. Its not a commercial resupply point. It makes sense there is attention on this from foreign public opinion, said the paper, which is published by the official Peoples Daily.
At least 15 people were killed and 21 wounded when four female suicide bombers attacked four areas in Maiduguri.

Suicide bombers have killed at least 15 people and injured 21 in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, police officials confirmed.

Tuesday nights incident is the latest in a spate of suicide bomb attacks on the city in the past few weeks. Borno, of which Maiduguri is the capital, is the Nigerian state worst affected by eight years of attacks by the Boko Haram group.

Borno state police commissioner Damian Chukwu told reporters that most of the victims were civilians manning security posts.

READ MORE: Alarming rise in Boko Haram child suicide bombers

The bombers detonated IEDs (improvised explosive devices) strapped to their bodies at different locations of the area, killing 19 people, including the bombers, he said.

A total of 23 people were injured.

Bello Danbatta, a spokesman for the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) group and chief security officer at the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said it appeared his men were the targets.

Two of the bombers blew themselves up at checkpoints manned by JTF members, who assist the military with security and sometimes accompany soldiers on operations against Boko Haram jihadists.

In all we lost 12 of our gallant JTF, he said.

Waiting for burial

SEMA operatives in face-masks and white overalls were on Wednesday seen removing body parts from the scene of the attacks. Victims were covered with rugs awaiting burial as local people looked on.

At least 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million made homeless in northeast Nigeria since the start of Boko Harams armed campaign in 2009.

Nigerias government and military maintain that Boko Haram is a spent force, but intermittent attacks and suicide bombings pose a constant threat, particularly in remote areas.

INTERACTIVE: Explore our map to examine the violent attacks in and around Nigeria from 2009 to 2016.

Young women and girls have frequently been used to attack security checkpoints, as well as civilian soft targets such as mosques, markets and bus stations.

Nine people were killed in a string of suicide bomb attacks in the city last month around the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The University of Maiduguri, which lies on the edge of the city, has become a frequent target since the start of the year, as it teaches the Western education despised by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) affiliate Boko Haram.

Boko Haram this week released a video showing executions and amputations, suggesting it still holds territory in some areas.
Google honours trailblazing art director and graphic designer Eiko Ishioka who made it big in Hollywood.

Trained as a graphic designer, Eiko Ishioka was once considered Japans best art director and was later also recognised as one of the worlds best in her field.

During her life, she earned an Oscar, a Grammy and two Tony nominations.

In 1992, she won an Academy Award for costumes she designed for the 1992 film Bram Stokers Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Dracula was my first big Hollywood film, and Francis gave me complete freedom by expecting never-before-seen, unique, timeless, and revolutionary design, she told the V Magazine in 2011.

On July 12, she would have celebrated her 79th birthday, and today Google honoured her with a doodle on its page. It was featured across North and South America, Europe and Australia.

The designer worked closely with director Tarsem Singh, for movies such as The Fall, Immortals, Mirror Mirror and The Cell, starring Jennifer Lopez, in 2000.

In the film her costume resembled a cross between a neck brace and a bird cage.

Jennifer asked me if I could make it more comfortable, I said, No, youre supposed to be tortured.' Ishioka told The Ottawa Citizen.

For the designer, every costume had to say something about the character wearing it.

Tarsem as a director has given me guidance , she said in an interview. Hollywood is a good example of dictatorship  Luckily, Tarsem and I find a consensus.

Later in her life, she was also widely recognised for her work as director of costume design for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

From print ads to costumes and the Olympics, the Japanese designer did it all during her decades-long career.

Surreal and unexpected

Ishioka was born and raised in Tokyo, and she pursued a career in graphic design at a time when the world of advertising was a mans game.

Her career was initially encouraged by her father, a graphic designer himself. But when she decided to pursue her career in the field he warned that she would struggle in a male-dominated culture.

Despite the challenges, she pushed through boundaries.

She worked her way into the industry via the cosmetics company Shiseido.

Her big break came when working for the Japanese department store Parco. She became famous for adverts that had little relation to the company; her work there was defined as open and surreal art.

She became its chief art director in 1971 and in that time she designed several campaigns featuring actress Faye Dunaway.

In 1983 she ended her association with Parco and opened her own design firm.

Her early art evoked many of the themes that would define her costume design: surreal, and consistently unexpected.

Ishioka won a Grammy award for an album cover, the 1986 record Tutu by the musician Miles Davis. The image is dominated by a black and white close-up of his face. It was photographed by Irving Penn.

In other work, she also designed uniforms for selected members of the Swiss, Japanese, Spanish and Canadian teams at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Ishioka died of pancreatic cancer in Tokyo when she was 73.
US secretary of state meets Saudi king and foreign ministers of UAE, Bahrain and Egypt in effort to solve Gulf dispute.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has held talks with Saudi Arabias King Salman before meeting with his counterparts from the kingdom and the other three Arab states that have imposed a blockade on Qatar.





The meeting on Wednesday brings together foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt with Tillerson in the Saudi Arabian coastal city of Jeddah, according to the Saudi-owned TV network Al Arabiya.

The visit to Jeddah follows meetings in Doha with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

I think Qatar has been quite clear in its positions, and I think those have been very reasonable, Tillerson said on Tuesday.

Tillerson and the Qatari foreign minister also announced that the US and Qatar made an agreement on combating terrorism and its financing during the visit.

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said the memorandum of understanding has nothing to do with the current dispute.

But Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called the agreement insufficient.

They added that the memorandum is the result of pressure and repeated calls over the past years by the four states and their partners upon Qatar to stop supporting terrorism, an allegation Qatar denies.

READ MORE: All the latest updates about the Gulf crisis

Wednesdays trip to Saudi Arabia is the third leg of Tillersons four-day trip to the Gulf aimed at helping find a solution to the ongoing dispute in the region.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5 and imposed a land, air and sea blockade on the country.

The quartet accuse Qatar of funding terrorism, an accusation Qatar rejects as baseless.

On Monday, Tillerson held talks with the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, and other senior officials.

We are trying to resolve an issue that concerns not just us but the whole world, Sheikh Sabah told Tillerson.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis  Your questions answered

US officials said Tillerson does not expect an immediate breakthrough, which they warned could be months away.

Rather, they said, he wants to explore possibilities for prompting negotiations.

On June 22, the Saudi-led group issued a 13-point list of demands, including the shutdown of Al Jazeera, limiting ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country, as a prerequisite to lift the sanctions.

Doha rejected the demands and the countries now consider the list null and void.

Kuwait is trying to mediate the dispute.





Take the temperature

The US has been supporting Kuwaits mediation efforts, but Tillersons trip marks a new level of US involvement.

Al Jazeeras Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Kuwait City, said Tillerson was basically visiting each side to take the temperature in this dispute.

After some initial missteps from the White House, in which the president seemed to take sides with the Saudis and their allegations, the US position now is to try to shore up the Kuwait efforts to mediate the crisis and to try to bring some presure from Washington, if its appropiate, she said.

Senior Tillerson adviser RC Hammond said the package of demands, as issued by Qatars neighbours, was not viable, but said there were individual items on the list that could work.

Hammond would not elaborate on which demands Qatar could meet, but said concessions from the others would be required.

This is a two-way street, he said of a dispute among parties who each have been accused of funding extremists in some way. There are no clean hands.

On Thursday, the state department warned that the crisis could potentially drag on for weeks or even months and possibly even intensify.

Weve become increasingly concerned that that dispute is at an impasse at this point. We believe that this could potentially drag on for weeks; it could drag on for months; it could possibly even intensify, state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

She did not specify what type of escalation the US fears. But she said Tillerson has been in close contact with the countries involved.

READ MORE  Latest Gulf Twitter war conjures up genies

Last month, Tillerson urged the Saudi-led group 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, also known as ISIS) group.

Our expectation is that these countries will immediately take steps to de-escalate the situation and put forth a good-faith effort to resolve the grievances they have with each other, Tillerson said.

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.
Washington, DC  A complaint alleging gross theft of Iraqs cultural heritage filed against Hobby Lobby, a US-based arts and craft retailer, highlights the United Arab Emirates (UAE) rise as a global centre for illegal antiquities traffic and cooperation between UAE and Israeli dealers on the black market.





Last week, Hobby Lobby agreed to pay a $3m fine to settle a federal lawsuit that accused it of buying smuggled ancient Iraqi artefacts that were shipped under false documentation.

According to the complaint filed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in New York, Hobby Lobby President Steven Green and a consultant travelled to the UAE in July 2010 to view more than 5,500 artefacts, largely from Iraq, for purchase.

Four people whose names were withheld  three from Israel and one from the UAE  were the vendors.

Theres a lot of business that flows between the UAE and Israel in terms of illicit trade of cultural heritage, Dr Amr al-Azm, an archaeologist, professor at Shawnee State University, told Al Jazeera.

Israel has long been a gateway for illegal artefacts sold to the West, Azm explained. The country has lax laws on the sale of antiquities and its favourability in Europe and the US gives it ease of access to markets.

The UAE has recently become a hub for black market artefacts because of increased demand in the Gulf and a well-established class of activity in the state, including smuggling and contraband, Azm said.

Thats probably why these connections exist.

Among the 5,500 items examined, there were more than 1,500 tablets and 500 bricks adorned with cuneiform, the earliest known writing system, which was invented by Sumerians who lived in modern-day southern Iraq.

These objects were intended for the Greens Museum of the Bible, a private museum in Washington, DC that is set to open in November.

READ MORE: The antiquities looting crisis in the Middle East

Imports from Iraq have been under various limitations since the 1990s. The US invasion in 2003 heightened international concerns of looted items, and the US government has issued several import restrictions on Iraqi archaeological goods.

The two Israeli dealers claimed the artefacts were from a third Israelis private collection and had been purchased in local markets in the 1960s. But an expert hired by Hobby Lobby informed the buyers that these objects were likely from Iraq, the complaint says.

In spite of the laws and warnings, Green signed off on a $1.6m purchase of the artefacts in December 2010. Payments were made to the Israeli dealers, including the third from whose private collection the artefacts came, the UAE dealer and two others.

About 3,000 clay bullae, small balls of clay pressed with seals as an ancient form of documentation, and 450 tablets covered in cuneiform were shipped by express post from the UAE and Israel to Hobby Lobbys headquarters in Oklahoma over a number of years, the complaint states.

Israels lax laws

Morag Kersel, an archaeologist who focuses on the eastern Levant region and traces artefacts from the Dead Sea plans of present-day Israel and occupied Palestine, told Al Jazeera that many aspects of the deal between Hobby Lobby and the UAE-Israeli dealers suggested the items werent legal, they had to somehow be laundered.

Israels laws regarding the sale of ancient items made it easy to find the cultural heritage of the Middle East for sale in shops across the country. Licensed dealers could sell artefacts unearthed before Israels 1978 antiquities law with no trouble.

Kersel said Mesopotamian items could be found in any of the licensed shops before the Israel Antiquities Authority cracked down on the goods in 2015.

At the time, it seemed strange. But also, who knew? Maybe it had more to do with this case than we knew at the time, Kersel said.

Hobby Lobby has been under investigation in this case since 2011, according to reports. The complaint details that in September 2011, the retailer received a package of 1,000 bullae from the Israeli dealers with an Israeli export licence that falsely declared the items country of origin as Israel.

WATCH: TALK TO AL JAZEERA: Iraq and the art of war

The export licence was another cause of concern for Kersel, as it must have been issued by an Israeli [government official], she said.

Deborah Lehr, the chairwoman of the Capitol Archaeological Institute at DCs George Washington University, further stressed that Israels laws and stance towards antiquities dealing make Israeli vendors good partners for illicit dealers.

Items can easily be laundered through the countrys legal market and then legally exported, Lehr told Al Jazeera. These pieces can then travel anywhere in the world, with a paper trail that appears to be legitimate.

No one believes that

For Hobby Lobby President Green, legitimacy is important. The company has long based its business model around what is says are Christian values, including closing on Sundays so employees can attend church. It also won a Supreme Court case in which it refused to provide birth control in its healthcare plans.

The Greens are Evangelicals, a sect of Christianity that serves as a bastion of support for Israel in the US. Greens Museum of the Bible has even developed a Bible curriculum for Israeli schools.

Hobby Lobby released a statement saying it had made some regrettable mistakes but never bought goods from dealers in Iraq or from anyone who indicated that they acquired items from that country.

Azm, the archaeologist and Shawnee university professor, said Hobby Lobbys claims that it was a mistake are spurious. No one believes that.

OPINION: ISIL and the history of destroying history

Hobby Lobby has given hundreds of high-value historic items to the museum.

According to tax filings from 2013, 526 historical artefacts at a fair market value of $52,294,000 were donated to the museum. A 2012 filing shows a single artefact valued at more than $23m was donated.

The fact that the corporation has acquired so much cultural heritage and has a history of using illicit means to do so worries Azm.

That, coupled with the fact that the US government chose to impose a $3m fine in a civil case and withheld the identities of the smugglers, calls into question attempts to stop the trade.

Despite the efforts of academics and organisations, theres almost nothing in terms of criminal cases going to court, Azm said.

Al Jazeera asked the DOJ if it planned to pursue criminal charges in the case, whether against Hobby Lobby or the black-market antiquities dealers.

The DOJ declined to comment.
Indonesias President Joko Widodo has issued a decree allowing authorities to disband organisations deemed threatening to national unity, the countrys top security minister said.

The order, signed on Monday and announced on Wednesday, follows months of sectarian tensions and protests in the country, which saw Jakartas Christian governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama sentenced to two years in prison for blasphemy against Islam.

It amends an existing law regulating mass organisations and allows the government to sidestep a potentially lengthy court process to implement a ban.

READ MORE: Indonesia  Kaesang Pangarep investigated for blasphemy

The decree is simply aimed at maintaining national unity and the existence of the Indonesian nation, said Wiranto, the coordinating minister for security, legal and political affairs, who goes by one name.

Its not an act of government arbitrariness or an attack on Islamic mass organisations, he said.

The decree does not specify which organisations will be disbanded, but the justice ministry has the power to act based on it, the minister said.

New York-based Human Rights Watch condemned the move, calling it a troubling violation of the rights to freedom of association and expression despite it being supported by moderate groups such as Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesias largest Muslim organisation.

Phelim Kine, the groups deputy Asia director, said the government already has the power to take legal action against any group suspected of violating the law.

Banning any organisation strictly on ideological grounds is a draconian action that undermines rights of freedom of association and expression, Kine said.

READ MORE: Jakarta governor Ahok found guilty of blasphemy

If enforced, the decree could ban Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir that campaigns for Indonesia to adopt Islamic law and become a caliphate.

The government announced in May that it planned to ban the group because its activities were not in line with the states secular ideology and were causing friction in society.





The group condemned the newly signed presidential decree and vowed to seek a judicial review in a constitutional court.

This is tyranny, Ismail Yusanto, a spokesman for the group in Indonesia, said.

The move just shows an arbitrary action aimed at disbanding Hizbut Tahrir.

HTI is a legal religious organisation and has been spreading its messages peacefully, in an orderly manner, in accordance with the law, he said.

Leaders of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia were among the proponents of last years massive rallies seeking the prosecution of Jakartas then governor Ahok, for remarks about the Koran that some Muslims deemed blasphemous.

Purnama  a key ally of Widodo and the first Christian to lead the capital in 50 years  is now serving a two-year jail term after a court found him guilty of blasphemy in May.

Indonesia is the worlds most populous Muslim-majority country, but Christians make up about 10 percent of the countrys 250 million people.
The move comes after Saudia Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt last month cut ties with Qatar.

Iran and Oman have agreed to work on boosting bilateral ties as a diplomatic crisis persists in the Gulf.

Iran and Oman have for years had fraternal relations and the best must be made of these good relations to reinforce them, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday as he met Omans foreign minister.

The Iranian governments website reported Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi as replying: Omani leaders believe our ties should be developed.

The meeting comes as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing terrorism and being too close to Riyadhs rival Tehran.

READ MORE: Iran  Hassan Rouhani condemns siege of Qatar

Rouhani slammed the sanctions imposed by the Riyadh-led group on Doha, which Qatar has called a blockade.

Threatening, pressuring and imposing a blockade against neighbours, including Qatar, is an erroneous method and everyone must try to reduce the tensions in the region, he said.

READ MORE: Iran sends warships to Oman amid Gulf dispute

He also criticised the policies of certain countries in the region against Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, in what appeared to be a reference to Saudi Arabia.

Iran increased its food imports to Qatar after its Gulf neighbours cut transport links to the emirate.

Oman, which is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), has maintained ties with Qatar and took part this week in a string of Kuwaiti and US-led talks towards resolving the crisis.
Report says threshold of unlivability passed with decreasing electricity supply and 60 percent youth unemployment.

A report by the United Nations says living conditions in the Gaza Strip have worsened in the 10 years since the territory was blockaded by Israel.

The report, which was published on Tuesday and titled Gaza  10 years later, says that key indicators identified in an earlier 2012 UN report, such as declining incomes, healthcare, education and electricity have deteriorated yet further.

The UN said that real GDP per capita in Gaza has decreased while the provision of urgently needed health services has continued to decline.

The report also finds that Gazas only water source is predicted to be irreversibly-depleted by 2020, unless immediate action is taken.

READ MORE: Will Mohammed Dahlan return to lead Gaza?

Gaza has continued on its trajectory of de-development, in many cases even faster than we had originally projected, said Robert Piper, the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities.

When youre down to two hours of power a day and you have 60 percent youth unemployment rates  that unlivability threshold has been passed quite a long time ago.

Piper said that while continuous humanitarian assistance, particularly through UN services, is helping to slow this descent, the downward direction remains clear.

I see this extraordinarily inhuman and unjust process of strangling gradually two million civilians in Gaza that really pose a threat to nobody, he added.

Commenting in an interview with a Palestinian news agency, Piper said that it is still possible to avoid a humanitarian crisis only if the international community acted fast.





We need first to put these people a bit higher up, if not at the top of the agenda, he said.

Were 100 percent optimistic that its doable if theres a willingness on the part of the key actors to make it happen.

Robert Vallent, the spokesperson for the UN Development Program in Gaza, said that Gazas residents should not be relegated to a humanitarian case.

People are not necessarily in a condition of starvation but they are in a critical situation, he said. This is a man-made political situation that requires political action.

Vallent went on to say that it is not sufficient enough for the international community to push for a relaxation of the blockade, but for a complete lifting of it.

What is required is to provide people with the critical capital investment for them to be able to sustain themselves in a dignified manner, he said, which means there needs to be a long-term plan and strategy to ensure the economic and institutional rehabilitation of the economy of Gaza.

In 2007, the Palestinian movement Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, after a failed US-backed pre-emptive coup by its rival faction Fatah.

Immediately after, Israel moved to isolate the group by restricting the flow of goods and people in and out of Gaza, limiting access to the sea and working with Egypt to enforce a blockade.

The coastal enclave is home to around two million Palestinians and has a median age of 18.

Israel has launched three offensives on Gaza since 2008, in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.

Severe damage to Gazas already weak infrastructure has contributed to the current humanitarian crisis.

On July 7, Israels intelligence and transport minister announced plans to build an island port along the coast of the Gaza Strip, to help ease the humanitarian situation there, though the project has not been officially approved yet.
UN special envoy wants to restart talks as humanitarian chief warns that seven million are on the cusp of famine.

United Nations officials have warned that the conflict in the Arab worlds poorest nation, Yemen, is intensifying daily, with armed groups expanding, thousands facing a cholera epidemic, and seven million on the cusp of famine.

Speaking before the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, UN special envoy to Yemen, called on all parties to act for the sake of peace, saying excuses are unacceptableespecially when the solutions are in plain sight.

The opportunity to reach peace is not yet lost, he said, urging political leaders to recognise that the continuation of the war can only lead to more human and physical loss.

READ MORE: Yemen  The worlds largest humanitarian crisis

In the same meeting, UN humanitarian chief Stephen OBrien said the warring parties and their outside backers should feel deeply guilty at driving a worsening conflict that has exposed millions of Yemeni civilians to unfathomable pain and suffering, including seven million people now on the cusp of famine.

He urged the Security Council to lean much more heavily and effectively on the parties, and those outside Yemen who are leading this policy and action.

OBrien said suspected cholera cases have been reported in nearly all the countrys districts and at least 1,740 people have already died.

The $2.1bn humanitarian appeal for Yemen is only 33 percent funded, and the response to the cholera epidemic requires an additional $250m, of which just $47m has been received, he said.

This cholera scandal is entirely man-made by the conflicting parties and those beyond Yemens borders who are leading, supplying, fighting and perpetuating the fear and fighting, OBrien said.

On Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported that suspected cholera cases have now surpassed 300,000.

Restarting talks

Yemen has been engulfed in civil war since September 2014, when Houthi rebels swept into the capital, Sanaa, and overthrew the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition, which is supporting the Hadi government, began a campaign against Houthi forces allied with ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh.





Since then, the Houthis have been dislodged from most of the south, but remain in control of Sanaa and much of the north.

In the southern part of the country the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the Saudi-led coalition, has set up its own security forces, running virtually a state-within-a-state and heightening the souths independence movement.

Cheikh Ahmed said he plans to invite the parties to restart discussions as soon as possible on agreements he proposed several months ago.

The proposal calls for continuing the flow of commercial and humanitarian supplies through the Red Sea port of Hodeida, where there has been a threat of fighting, and ending the diversion of customs revenues and taxes.

Those funds would be used to pay the salaries of government workers who have not been paid for many months and to preserve essential government services in all areas of the country.

Cheikh Ahmed also said the Hadi government has reacted positively and has agreed to negotiate on the basis of his proposals.

He said China played an instrumental role over the past few days in putting him in direct contact with the Houthis, who had refused to meet him on his last trip to Sanaa. He said this is cause for optimism.
Clashes broke out as the Israeli army raided Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank.

Two Palestinian men were shot dead during clashes with the Israeli army in the Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank, Palestinian medical and security sources said.

Saad Salah, 21, was shot in the head and killed on the spot, according to a source in a Jenin hospital, while 17-year-old Aws Salameh succumbed to his wounds at the hospital early on Wednesday.

They were the 38th and 39th Palestinians to be killed by Israeli forces this year.

Salahs uncle told local media that the Israeli army executed him in cold blood.

Mujahid al-Saadi, a journalist and resident of Jenin refugee camp, said that after shooting Salah in the head, Israeli soldiers then fired ten bullets in his chest.

The army was in the city of Jenin arresting a number of Palestinians  most of whom were former prisoners  before they raided the camp, al-Saadi said.

No arrests were made in the camp, he added.

A third Palestinian was shot in the leg and is in moderate condition.

READ MORE: A Palestinian family divided

The Israeli army said soldiers shot at attackers after Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the forces and assailants hurled explosive devices at the forces who entered the camp.

None of their forces were wounded in the incident, the army added. Stun grenades and tear gas were also fired at Palestinians in the camp.

Twenty-one Palestinians across the West Bank were arrested by the Israeli army during early-morning raids, mostly for rock-throwing and taking part in protests.

A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 277 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP news agency toll.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

Others were shot dead in protests and clashes, while some were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
A statement by four Arab states said their embargo against Qatar would continue until Doha agrees to their demands.

An agreement between Qatar and the United States to help combat terrorism financing is insufficient, the four Arab states that imposed a blockade on Doha said in a joint statement on Tuesday.





The memorandum of understanding announced in Doha during a visit by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is the result of pressure and repeated calls over the past years by the four states and their partners upon Qatar to stop supporting terrorism, claimed Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates  allegations that Qatar strongly denies.

This step is insufficient, said the statement carried by Saudi state news agency SPA, adding that the four states would carefully monitor the seriousness of Qatari authorities in combating all forms of financing, supporting and harbouring terrorism.

The statement by the four states said the embargo against Qatar would continue until Doha commits to comprehensively implement the just demands, including confronting terrorism and establishing stability and security in the region.

It called for strict monitoring controls to ensure its (Dohas) seriousness in getting back to the natural and right path.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis  Your questions answered

The four countries on June 5 severed all diplomatic ties and suspended transport links with Qatar over accusations Doha supported terrorism and was too close to Iran  accusations Qatar strongly rejects.

Qatar refused to comply with a list of 13 demands issued by the Saudi-led group on June 22, including closing Al Jazeera, downgrading ties to Iran, and shutting a Turkish military base in Doha.

US and Qatars deal

After talks with senior officials in Doha on Tuesday, Tillerson and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced a deal targeting terrorist financing.

At a joint news conference in Doha, Tillerson said the agreement was built on decisions made at a Riyadh summit in May to wipe terrorism from the face of the Earth.

Together the United States and Qatar will do more to track down funding sources, will do more to collaborate and share information, and will do more to keep the region and our homeland safe.

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said Qatar was the first country in the region to sign an agreement with Washington to counter terror funding and called on what he called upon the siege nations to follow suit and sign their own agreements with the US.

READ MORE: Can Qatar-Gulf rift be repaired?

Giorgio Cafiero, chief executive of Gulf State Analytics, told Al Jazeera that the deal signed by Qatar and the US had been a boost for Doha.

It puts Qatar in a position where they can say that the accusations about sponsorship of terrorism and extremism are coming from some states which have yet to sign such an agreement with Washington, he said.

This is going to add momentum to Qatars argument that it is complicit with the Wests standards for combating the financing of terrorism and also military operations against terrorist organisations. This will certainly put more pressure on Saudi and the other members of the Riyadh-Abu Dhabi [group] to make similar moves on their part.
A severe shortage of fuel leaves the besieged Palestinian territory in a complete blackout, say local officials.

The Gaza Strips only operating power plant was turned off late on Wednesday due to a severe shortage of fuel, leaving the coastal enclave in a complete blackout, local officials said.

Officials at the Hamas-run power corporation said they had turned off the last operating turbine at the plant in southern Gaza city.

The besieged Palestinian territory, where more than two million people live, has been suffering from an energy crisis since mid-April due to a dispute over taxes between Hamas, which rules the enclave, and West Bank-based Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Gaza has been under a tight Israeli blockade for a decade and residents have been subjected to persistent blackouts.

INTERACTIVE: Gaza left in the dark

Residents of the besieged enclave generally receive three to four hours of mains electricity a day, delivered by the territorys own power station and others in Israel and Egypt.





The Gaza Strip requires 450 megawatts daily, but by last month was only receiving around 150 megawatts daily.

Gazas sole power plant, which supplied 60 megawatts, had previously shut down in April after it ran out of fuel. Prior to its shutdown, the Palestinian Authority removed a tax exemption on diesel fuel, doubling the price as a result.

Two weeks ago, Egypt shipped approximately 4 million litres of fuel to operate the power plant  but it was not enough to resolve the worsening crisis. Power lines built to supply electricity from Egypt have been damaged amid heavy fighting in the Sinai region.

Israel, which supplies 125 megawatts, or 30 percent of the total electricity needs of the Gaza Strip, decided last month to reduce the amount of electricity it supplies to Gaza by at least 40 percent after Abbas cut electricity funding by the Palestinian Authority.

The move was widely seen as an attempt by Abbas to step up pressure on the rival Hamas movement.

Looming humanitarian catastrophe

The UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied territories, Robert Piper, warned last month that the power cuts would have a disastrous effect.

A further increase in the length of blackouts is likely to lead to a total collapse of basic services, including critical functions in the health, water and sanitation sectors, Piper said in a statement.

The people in Gaza should not be held hostage to this long-standing internal Palestinian dispute, he said.

Israeli and global NGOs, including Amnesty International, joined the world body in condemning the longer hours of blackout.

A joint statement of 16 groups, among them Israels BTselem, Peace Now and Rabbis for Human Rights, said they had asked Israels attorney general to intervene.

They said further cuts would contravene a 2008 Israeli supreme court ruling that years of Israeli control over the strip had created near-total dependence on the power supply from Israel and it must, therefore, continue to provide sufficient electricity to meet humanitarian needs.

READ MORE: Gaza power cuts  This is the worst its ever been

Amnesty warned in a separate statement last month of a looming humanitarian catastrophe.

It said additional reductions in power will have a disastrous impact on Gazas battered infrastructure and cause a public health disaster.

The move will also endanger thousands of lives including those of hospital patients with chronic conditions or in intensive care, including babies on life support.

Hamas has run Gaza since 2007 when it seized the territory from Abbas Fatah movement in a dispute over parliamentary elections won by Hamas the previous year.

Multiple attempts at reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah have failed, but the Palestinian Authority has continued to pay Israel for some of the electricity delivered to Gaza.
President Omar al-Bashir announced the decision with regret after Trump delayed easing trade embargo with Sudan.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has suspended negotiations with Washington aimed at ending sanctions against Khartoum after the United States extended its embargo for another three months, state media reports

US President Donald Trump prolonged a review period to October 12 before his administration decides whether or not to permanently lift the decades-old sanctions.

His predecessor Barack Obama had eased the sanctions in January, but kept Sudan on review for six months, a period that ended on Wednesday.

Obama had made the permanent lifting of the sanctions dependent on the East African countrys progress in five areas of concern at the end of the review period.

In his executive order issued on Tuesday, Trump extended the deadline, saying more time is needed for the review.

On Wednesday, Bashir decided to suspend the talks between Washington and Khartoum.

Bashir issued a presidential decree ordering the suspension of the committee that was negotiating (the lifting of the sanctions) with the United States until October 12, the official news agency SUNA said, quoting a presidential decree.

READ MORE: UN agrees to cut down Darfur peacekeeping force

The committee has been negotiating for more than a year with US officials on lifting the American trade embargo in force against Khartoum since 1997.

Five tracks

Prior to Bashirs decree, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour voiced Khartoums disappointment over Trumps order.

We regret such a decision that came out after long negotiations between Sudan and the United States, he said.

The United States, Europe, Africa and the international community admit that Sudan has fulfilled its commitments when it comes to the five tracks, which is why we dont see any reason for extending the review period, he told reporters.

But we are still hoping that the sanctions will be lifted permanently.

The areas of concern  or five tracks  include giving more access to humanitarian workers in war zones, counterterrorism cooperation with the US, an end to hostilities against armed groups in Sudan and halting support for insurgents in neighbouring South Sudan.

READ MORE: ICC  S Africa broke rules by failing to arrest Bashir

I have decided more time is needed for this review to establish that the government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action across all of those areas, Trumps order said, noting that the government of Sudan has made some progress.

Smart sanctions recommended

Washington imposed a complex set of economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its alleged backing of banned groups.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011, was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

Washington also justified the embargo with accusations of scorched-earth tactics by Khartoum against ethnic minority rebels in war-torn Darfur.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes related to the conflict, charges he steadfastly denies.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since the Darfur conflict erupted in 2003, the UN says.
There is no immediate word of breakthrough after Tillersons meetings with Saudi, UAE, Bahraini and Egyptian officials.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has ended talks with ministers from Saudi Arabia and three Arab allies over how to end a month-long rift with Qatar, but there was no immediate word of a breakthrough.

Tillerson met the foreign ministers in Saudi Arabias Red Sea city of Jeddah on Wednesday in pursuit of an end to the worst dispute in decades among the US-allied Gulf Arab states.

Tillerson also met separately with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss cooperation in combating terrorism and its financing.





At that meeting, the Saudi crown prince praised the continuous cooperation between his country and the US.

Al Jazeeras Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Kuwait, said Tillerson had left Jeddah and returned to Kuwait for another round of talks with the countrys emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

Kuwait is trying to mediate the dispute.

Tillerson is scheduled to return to the US on Thursday, our correspondent said.

Aside from the details about who Tillerson met in Jeddah, there is no information about what was discussed or agreed upon during those meetings, she said.

The visit to Jeddah follows meetings in Doha with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

During that meeting, Tillerson and the Qatari foreign minister announced that the US and Qatar made an agreement on combating terrorism and its financing.

But Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates called the agreement insufficient.

Any resolution of the impasse must address all the key issues demanded by Saudi Arabia and its allies, a senior UAE official told Reuters before the Jeddah talks.

US officials had earlier said Tillerson does not expect an immediate breakthrough, which they warned could be months away.

Rather, they said, he wants to explore possibilities for more negotiations.

But in another sign of the dispute continuing to simmer, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash sent a formal complaint to the UN high commissioner for human rights on Wednesday alleging that the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network supported terrorism, sectarianism and anti-Semitism.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan also told reporters during a visit to Slovakia that Tillersons visit was unlikely to resolve the dispute.

I think it will ease tensions but its just postponing the problem, which will grow in the future.

The four countries slapped sanctions on Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing extremist groups and allying with the Gulf Arab states regional rival Iran  allegations that Doha has repeatedly denied.
Donald Trumps son says in retrospect he wouldve done things differently on a meeting over Clinton information.

The son of US President Donald Trump has insisted that his father knew nothing about a meeting with a Russian lawyer who allegedly said she had compromising information on Hillary Clinton that could help with Trumps 2016 election campaign.

There was nothing to tell, Donald Trump Jr told Fox News late on Tuesday when asked if he had told his father anything about the meeting.

He added that meeting was a wasted 20 minutes and in retrospect he would have done things a little different.

The White House has maintained that President Trump only found out about the June 2016 meeting between Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort and Russian Lawyer Natalia Vesernitskaya in the last few days.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump Jr released an email chain that shows him discussing plans to hear damaging information on Clinton, which was described as part of a Russian government effort to help Tump in the 2016 election.

This is obviously very high level and sensitive information, but is part of Russia and its government support for Mr Trump, read an email, dated June 3, 2016, from music publicist Rob Goldstone who helped arrange the meeting.

Trump Jr responded, saying if its what you say, I love it.

Here is page 4 (which did not post due to space constraints). pic.twitter.com/z1Xi4nr2gq  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

Trump Jr released the emails after a New York Times report revealed that he knew that the source of the compromising information being offered to him was the Russian government.

Versernityskya has said she was not working for the Russian government and never had information on Clinton.

Disturbing

On Tuesday, the US president released a statement calling his son a high-quality person and praising his transparency.





But Democrats have been highly critical of the meeting, with some calling it proof that the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin.

The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential campaign, said the emails are very significant.

I think [the emails] made quite clear that the Russian government had possession of damaging information, Adam Schiff told reporters on Tuesday.

Trump Jr has already said he is willing to work with the committee, which is expected to conduct its first interviews with Trump campaign officials this week.

Another senior member of the committee, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, said the emails show Trumps campaign sought to collude with a hostile foreign power to subvert Americas democracy.

Wyden added that the question is how far the coordination goes.

READ MORE: US Senate begins hearing on Russia involvement in US elections

While many Republicans have remained quiet on the subject, Senator Lindsey Graham called the emails disturbing.

I dont know what Mr Trumps version of the facts are. [He] definitely has to testify. That email is disturbing, Graham told reporters on Tuesday.

The Senate Judiciary Committee requested information from the Departments of State and Homeland Security about the Russian lawyer who met the Trump campaign.

Allegations of the Trump campaigns ties to Russia have cast a shadow over the presidents first five months in office.

READ MORE: Russias booming Trumpomania

This weeks revelations come after President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the allegations of election meddling during the summit of leaders from the Group of 20 major economies in Hamburg, Germany.

The Kremlin has denied US intelligence agencies conclusion that Moscow tried to tilt the election in Trumps favour, using such means as hacking into the emails of senior Democrats.
Home Secretary cites national security reasons for decision, but critics say it is trying to protect Saudi Arabia.

The British government has announced that it would not publish in full its report on the sources of funding of extremism in Britain, prompting opposition charges it was trying to protect its ally Saudi Arabia.

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on Wednesday that though some extremist organisations were receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars, she had decided against publishing the review in full.

This is because of the volume of personal information it contains and for national security reasons, she said in a written statement to parliament.

READ MORE: Report says Saudis are leading backers of extremism in UK

The report, commissioned by former Prime Minister David Cameron in November 2015, was handed to the government last year, and ministers have been under pressure to release its findings following three deadly attacks in Britain since March, which have been blamed on violent armed groups.

The review found the most common source of support for these organisations was from small, anonymous donations from people based in Britain, Rudd said.

But it also found overseas funding was a significant source of income for a small number of organisations.

Overseas support has allowed individuals to study at institutions that teach deeply conservative forms of Islam and provide highly socially conservative literature and preachers to the UKs Islamic institutions, Rudds statement said.

Some of these individuals have since become of extremist concern.

Critics were quick to see a cover-up to shield Saudi Arabia, a powerful Gulf ally of Britain.

Saudi money

MP Caroline Lucas, coleader of the Green Party who has been pressing the government to release the full report, said the statement from Rudd was unacceptable.

The statement gives absolutely no clue as to which countries foreign funding for extremism originates from  leaving the government open to further allegations of refusing to expose the role of Saudi Arabian money in terrorism in the UK, she said.

On July 5, a report by the Henry Jackson Society think-tank said Saudis are the leading backers of extremism in the UK.





While entities from across the Gulf and Iran have been guilty of advancing extremism, those in Saudi Arabia are undoubtedly at the top of the list, Tom Wilson, a fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said in the report.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia operates several large charities that fund education involved with their ideologies worldwide, including in Britain, spending at least $87bn on the programmes over the past 50 years.

Saudi Arabia denounced that report as categorically false.

After an attack on London Bridge in June, which killed at least seven people, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also said Britain needed to have some difficult conversations with its ally Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
How a Moroccan surfer, rape survivors in India and a student activist in Mozambique are fighting for womens rights.

Making Waves

Oumaima Erhali is a young Moroccan woman determined to become a full-time surfer.

She is part of a generation pushing boundaries in a country, where some believe the beach is no place for a young Muslim woman. But the teenager wont let stereotypes hold her back from the sport she loves or the life she wants to lead.

Surfing is like going for therapy, says Erhali, who learned to surf by herself. I love how you fly in the air like Spider-Man. She contends surfing doesnt contradict with Islam. Being a Muslim comes from the heart. I like surfing because it makes me happy.

Indias Power Girls

Afreen Khan is a 17-year-old girl who is part of a generation of Indian women fighting rape and sexual harassment.

Along with other young rape survivors, Afreen has formed a vigilante group called The Red Brigade. Together, they march along the streets in their red and black uniform, drag young men out of their homes and publically humiliate them for harassing women.

They also teach self-defence to the girls of their community and organise protests.

Whenever there is a case of sexual abuse we take charge. We go, meet the victims and help them overcome the trauma, she says.

Suzetes Battle

True gender equality might seem a remote dream.

However, in Mozambique, small steps are being made in the fight for womens rights thanks to the passion and determination of women like Suzete Sangula.

The 18-year-old student activist has made it her mission to educate girls and young women about their rights, and teach them strategies to defend themselves.

My parents had a traditional mentality and I have changed their minds, explains Sangula. Now, they grant me my space in society and at home. So other people will also end up granting me that space. That is what motivates me to continue.
About the show

Al Jazeera Selects celebrates the rise of the short documentary. It brings short films that combine dynamic storytelling and fresh perspectives to your screen. Each episode curates films from independent directors around the world to provide diverse lenses on a pressing global issue. This six part series covers: sports, girls, resistance, drugs, refugees and journalism.
 IMF staff welcomes the authorities continued commitments to policy and reform implementation despite daunting challenges, including a humanitarian crisis.  IMF staff encourages the authorities to avoid new domestic arrears and to implement the reform measures envisaged under the StaffMonitored Program.  IMF staff welcomes the authorities continued progress on currency reform and plans []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
Renewable energy is the way of the future, we are told. It is inevitable. Some renewable energy advocates boldly claim that the world could be powered by renewable energy as early as 2030  with enough government subsidies, that is. And of course, the mainstream media play their part, hyping up the virtues of solar and wind energy as the solution to climate change.

In one regard, they are quite right: in terms of generational capacity, wind and solar have grown by leaps and bounds in the last three decades (wind by 24.3% per year since 1990, solar by 46.2% per year since 1990). However, there are two questions worth asking: (i) are renewable energies making a difference, and (ii) are they sustainable?

To answer the first question: No, wind and solar energy have not made a dent in global energy consumption, despite their rapid growth. In fact, after thirty years of beefy government subsidies, wind power still meets just 0.46% of earth's total energy demands, according to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The data include not only electrical energy, but also energy consumed via liquid fuels for transportation, heating, cooking, etc. Solar generates even less energy. Even combined, the figures are minuscule: wind and solar energy together contribute less than 1% of Earth's energy output.

Bottom line: Renewables are not making a difference. It would be far more cost-effective and reasonable to simply invest in more energy-efficient technology. But of course, doing so would not line the pockets of billionaires like Elon Musk.

To answer the second question: Is renewable energy sustainable? Is the future wind- and solar-powered?

No.

Looking first at wind energy: Between 2013 and 2014, again using IEA data, global energy demand grew by 2,000 terawatt-hours. In order to meet this demand, we would need to build 350,000 new 2-megawatt wind turbines  enough to entirely blanket the British Isles. For context, that is 50% more turbines than have been built globally since the year 2000. Wind power is not the future; there is simply not enough extraditable energy. Unfortunately, better technology cannot overcome this problem: turbines can become only so efficient due to the Betz limit, which specifies how much energy can be extracted from a moving fluid. Wind turbines are very close to that physical limit.

The state of solar energy is only slightly more promising. Recent findings suggest that humanity would need to cover an equatorial region the size of Spain with solar panels in order to generate enough electricity to meet global demand by 2030. Not only is this an enormous amount of land that could otherwise be used for agriculture, or left pristine, but it also underestimates the size of the ecological footprint, since only 20% of mankind's energy consumption takes the form of electricity. Were we to switch to electric vehicles, the area needed would be five times as large.

Even if the world agreed to take this project on, it would not be possible due to resource limitations. For example, each 1.8-square meter solar panel requires 20 grams of silver to build. Since there are 1 million square meters in a square kilometer, 11.1 tons of silver is needed per square kilometer of solar panels. Spain is 506,000 square kilometers. Covering this much space with solar panels would require 5,616,600 tons of silver. As it turns out, that is 7.2 times as much silver as is estimated to exist in Earth's crust. Granted, new technology could mitigate the need for silver, but this same logic applies to dozens of other minerals present in solar panels. They are simply not feasible on a large scale because they are resource-hungry.

One must also remember that such massive investments in solar panels would inevitably contribute to resource scarcity: modern electronics require many of the same minerals as do solar panels. Increased competition for a finite supply of minerals would raise the prices of our electronic goods, as well as the price of electricity. Of course, this analysis wholly ignores the many other problems with solar and wind energy, such as the problem of intermittency and the hidden systemic risks it entails.

This is not to say wind and solar energy have no uses. In some cases, they may be preferable to other types of energy. For example, in remote locations townships and homesteads can benefit greatly from local electricity production, especially since renewable energy does not require fuel. However, wind and solar energy are unlikely to underpin the global energy supply, so long as more cost-effective and efficient options remain on the table.
The Massachusetts conviction last month of Michelle Carter for involuntary manslaughter in the suicide death of boyfriend Conrad Roy raises a host of legal questions and related speculations about what precedents it has set. After repeated urgings via texts by Carter, Roy, having outfitted his own vehicle with a device to channel its exhaust, died by carbon monoxide poisoning on July 14, 2014. Carter was not present at the scene. Roy was eighteen years old at the time, and Carter seventeen and classified as a juvenile under Massachusetts law.

Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of a human being directly caused by some act done recklessly. The Massachusetts law is a fairly standard representative of the law of all the states. It can be committed by wanton or reckless conduct or by wanton or reckless failure to act. The conduct that kills is intentional, but the killing is not. Death is not intended. By contrast, in first and second-degree murder and in voluntary manslaughter, there is an intent to kill.

A clear example of involuntary manslaughter is vehicular homicide where a driver speeds or otherwise drives recklessly and causes an accident that kills someone. The reckless driver does not intend to kill. (In most states, death caused by drunken driving is second-degree murder.) An example of failure to act is the fire that killed 36 people in the warehouse used as an artists collective in Oakland, California, in December 2016. Two proprietors of the building have now been charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter for failing to properly outfit and maintain the building -- that is, they recklessly failed to act.

A major problem in the Massachusetts case concerns the everyday definition of words. The numerous news stories about the incident have gone into lengthy detail about Michelle Carters emails urging Conrad Roy to kill himself. That is, she voluntarily intended his death. But in directly causing his death, she is convicted of involuntary manslaughter. With that contradiction, the average citizen may find it difficult to comprehend what actually happened in the case.

In a car accident, it is the car that kills. In a fire caused by recklessness, it is the burning building that kills. In this case, the court has ruled that Michelle Carters words killed Conrad Roy. In point of fact, what killed Roy was carbon monoxide from an apparatus Roy himself placed in his own vehicle. The judge who decided the case found that Carter was guilty of the required wanton and reckless conduct necessary for involuntary manslaughter when she instructed Roy to get back into his truck after Roy had expressed reluctance to follow through on his suicide. So, the legal conclusion is, Carters words killed Roy.

Words can certainly be evidence of any crime, but this appears to be the first case in which the words themselves are the instrument of death. Words can be the prime evidence of a criminal threat but almost always in the context of a victim experiencing fear of an immediate or plausible danger. Words can be charged as an incitement of an imminent criminal act. Words can be evidence of a conspiracy, that is, an agreement to commit a crime, or of aiding-and-abetting a crime, but the conspiracy or other crime must exist on its own. There was no conspiracy here in that Roy was not guilty of a crime, suicide not being criminalized by any statute in Massachusetts. And Massachusetts, unlike the majority of states, has no law criminalizing the encouragement of suicide.

Finally, the judge in the case extended the law in an additional way. Our legal tradition is that the law obligates no one to be a Good Samaritan. But the Massachusetts judge also found that Carter had a duty to attempt to stop Roy by calling the police or notifying Roys family.

After she is sentenced on August 3, Michelle Carter is certain to appeal both her conviction and her sentence. In our Anglo-American system of law, every decision of a court, civil or criminal, unavoidably sets a precedent. But this widely discussed case, even without its final resolution, has already set its own precedent.

Thomas Ascik retired as a federal prosecutor after nearly three decades.
Over the last two weeks, we've been talking a lot about climate change  i.e., President Trump pulling out of the Paris Accords.

We're even hearing that President Macron is going to lead the way and carry the accords forward. I don't know whether Mr. Macron will be successful. Time will tell, but huge youth unemployment in France and divisions over reforming an overtaxed economy may interfere with his plans.

We've also heard about Europe's childless leaders, or the amazing story of a continent where no one has children. It started with a post from the middle of May titled "Emmanuel Macron and the barren elite of a changing continent."

Who would have believed this 25 years ago?

Let me be clear and say some people choose not to have children, and others can't. I understand that. However, I am talking about a continental case of demographic suicide. Sooner or later, babies become young men and women and carry the culture forward. You can't have a future if you are not reproducing.

As a Catholic, I enjoy reading George Weigel. His writings about Pope John Paul II were great. His notes about Europe today and the lack of babies should be a wakeup call for a continent consumed with climate change:

(1) Europe is committing demographic suicide, systematically depopulating itself in what British historian Niall Ferguson has called "the greatest sustained reduction in European population since the Black Death in the fourteenth century." (2) This unwillingness to create the future in the most elemental sense, by creating new generations, is at the root of many of Europe's problems, including its difficulties assimilating immigrants and its fiscal distress. (3) When an entire continent  healthier, wealthier, and more secure than ever before  deliberately chooses sterility, the most basic cause for that must lie in the realm of the human spirit, in a certain souring about the very mystery of being. The response to this analysis that has stuck in my mind ever since came from an Italian Euro-parliamentarian, who said, in so many words, "Look, we know we're finished. We're trying to arrange things so that we can die comfortably in our beds. Don't you Yanks come over here and start stirring things up."

As for me, I am not planning to stir anything up or tell the Europeans to change their ways. I just want to politely remind Europeans that there won't be enough of them around to see if the temperatures went up or didn't.

We teach our children to remember past generations, such as the soldiers who fought and died to preserve our freedoms and way of life. This is what future generations do. They look back and find role models in the great sacrifice of a soldier at D-Day or patriot in the Revolutionary War. We name our schools, streets, and parks after them.

What a terrible shame to invest so much on "climate change" and then not have the children to remember your sacrifice. At today's pace, there won't be Europeans around to gather at a future "Macron Park" to remember how President Macron stood up to President Trump over climate change in 2017.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk), (YouTube) and follow me on Twitter.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.

As the leader of ISIS, he represented one of the most important leaders of genocide in the 21st century. Since his ascendancy in Iraq, created by the power vacuum endorsed by the election of President Obama, Baghdadi led a genocidal movement against Yazidis, Christians, Muslims, Kurds, and every conceivable dissident to his Islamic supremacist ideology that sought to create a global caliphate. In the primary realms of his control  Syria and Iraq  he was responsible for the killing of more than 30,000 people. His sadistic, genocidal ways displaced millions of people across the region and provided an important impetus to the current immigration crisis.

The city where Baghdadi announced his emerging caliphate, Mosul, is now under Iraqi government control. The Mosul Dam that was once controlled by ISIS can now be maintained in a way that should prevent a disaster that could have killed tens of thousands of Iraqis. The death of Baghdadi, the victory in Mosul, and the rapid decline of ISIS control across Syria and Iraq ought to be a point of American and international celebration.

If our intellectual elite truly had genuine empathy for Muslims, this would be a moment of great celebration. Nothing to this point has done more to solve and reduce the immigration crisis as the current military successes. To what do we owe this incredible reversal of fortunes against one of the West's worst adversaries?

A reversal of U.S. military policy in Iraq. President Obama led the war on terror with strict limits on U.S. military ground activity. Withdrawal of American ground forces from Iraq was an important premise of his foreign policy success reinforced by a sycophantic media. President Obama conducted more than 20,000 aerial bombardments across the region, but those did little to stop the expansion of ISIS. President Trump's decision to increase ground troops access to ISIS by U.S. forces and defer control of those forces to American commanders produced a sharp and dramatic reversal of ISIS success. The United States challenged Russian hegemony in the region. Despite the pathological fascination with "collusion" between President Trump and Vladimir Putin, the United States struck a proxy Russian military base in Syria to signal the return of the U.S. hegemony to the region. The missile strikes diminished the military stature of Russia and sent a signal long overdue for Assad's violation of the American red line drawn by President Obama. President Trump used the force against Syria that President Obama refused. American leadership in the region was re-established. American allies in the region such as the Kurds are re-established as credible proxies of American ambitions for stability in the region. This has exposed the ISIS sympathetic government of Turkey for the failed ally that has been for years. Saudi funders find themselves facing a more vigorous public challenge issued by President Trump and backed by an economic mechanism of domestic fossil fuel production in the United States. Exposing the weaknesses of Iranian hegemony in the region. Shia preferences acting as a proxy for Iran stimulated the formation of the Sunni backlash embodied in ISIS. The United States now has the leverage to press Baghdad for more equity in Sunni relations. Without this equity, Sunni terrorism will take new forms going forward.

President Trump's promise to destroy ISIS was widely mocked in the campaign. His promise is coming true, and our intellectual culture should celebrate this success. If they fail to do so, they should be pilloried with charges of "Islamophobia." The importance of this success provides principles going forward to defeat similar forces in Nigeria and the Philippines.

The return to a strong American military presence in Iraq has repudiated the central premises of an intellectual culture that rejected the Iraq war of 2003. Anti-Americanism in the Vietnam war laid the political pre-texts for the Cambodian genocide and the premature evacuation from Iraq in 2009 led to the genocidal efforts led by Baghdadi. Congratulations to American, Iraqi, Kurdish, and allied troops who defeated the evil governance and Islamic supremacism of Baghdadi. President Trump's vision for destroying ISIS is coming true.

Dr. Ben Voth is an associate professor of corporate communication and public affairs and director of debate at Southern Methodist University. He is the author of three books, including The Rhetoric of Genocide, and co-author with Robert Denton of Social Fragmentation and the Decline of American Democracy.
Facebook has become the dominant force in the distribution of news in the United States, making it powerful beyond the dreams of Edward Bernays. If Facebook determines that a source of news is to be shunned, the results can be catastrophic, effectively silencing the voice involved just as surely as cutting off the loudspeakers at a large rally would silence a speaker. That makes this dispatch from The Gulf Today, which seems to have been ignored by our media, very disturbing:

ISLAMABAD: The Facebook management has assured Pakistan that it will remove fake accounts and explicit, hateful and provocative material that incites violence and terrorism.



The commitment was given by Vice President of Facebook Joel Kaplan who called on Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday. ... The interior minister, the spokesperson said, has been playing a proactive role in engaging the internet service providers and finding solution to the issue of misuse of social media.



This also included convening of a special meeting of the ambassadors of the Muslim countries in March on a single-point agenda to discuss blasphemous content on social media and how to effectively raise voice of the entire Muslim world against the madness unleashed against Islam and holy personalities in the name of freedom of expression.

"Blasphemous content" means anything remotely critical or questioning of Islam, Mohammed, or any Muslim doctrine. Sharia forbids it on penalty of death. Even among Muslims, accusations can fly of blasphemy for even implying something negative, and the holier-than-thou crowd can always resort to violence because holy violence is sanctified in Isalm. "Turn the other cheek" plays no role at all in sharia-compliant zones.

"Nothing is more sacred to us than our religion and our holy personalities," the minister observed.



He said that the government of Pakistan firmly believes in freedom of expression but cannot allow anyone to misuse social media for hurting religious sentiments or undertaking unlawful activities. Nisar said that Pakistan appreciates the understanding shown by the Facebook administration and the cooperation being extended on these issues.

These sharia-compliant policies are not new at Facebook, and they have already taken a toll on freedom of speech. As Pamela Geller knows all too well:

My feed is blocked from my millions of followers on Facebook, and I have seen my circulation drop precipitously in the past three months. For news publishers, Facebook is the motherboard of link traffic. No news site can survive without them. None of us are immune, which is why my traffic is down upwards of 70% since the block. My Facebook page has a million followers; add my organizations to that, and it is roughly 1.5 million people. Now imagine their sharing capability, and their friends and their friends  you get the picture. It's how we fight fake news. All of my FB followers experience similar issues with their posts and shares. I receive scores of emails everyday from readers telling me of new blocks, bans and Facebook jail sentences. It's why I am suing. Why the block? Because under Islamic law, you cannot criticize Islam. Facebook adhering to the most extreme and brutal ideology on the face of the earth should trouble all of us, because Mark Zuckerberg has immense power. He controls the flow of information. He controls what you see and don't see on Facebook. We did not give him the power to abridge our unalienable freedoms.

Pamela believes that the Sherman Antitrust Act ought to be used to break up Facebook. But because social networks require the broadest possible extent, I am not sure that that breakup would work. The resulting half-networks would be crippled. How would users be allocated to one or another of the new networks resulting from the breakup, for instance? People would reconfigure their memberships anyway.

I would much prefer legislation that requires social media to censor only direct threats, making it illegal to delete content on any other basis. That threat is necessary to counter the pressure Facebook obviously faces from Muslim governments like Pakistan's. Losing a billion-plus-strong market like the 57 Muslim countries is obviously undesirable for Facebook, so its management is responding to pressure.

The value of that market would have to be balanced against the value of markets like the United States that could stand up for free speech. By seeming to cave in to the demand that Islam be the only subject that cannot be discussed openly and honestly, anywhere in the world, Facebook is in the process of handing the first global triumph of sharia, enforcing its ban on blasphemy.
A curious announcement from the host of MSNBC's Morning Joe show: Joe Scarborough says he's leaving the Republican Party.

What makes the announcement curious is that virtually no one considered Scarborough a Republican in the first place. The former Florida congressman hasn't liked anything Republicans have done for years, which makes his announcement anti-climactic, to say the least.

The Hill:

"I am a Republican, but I'm not going to be a Republican anymore," Scarborough said during an appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." The former Florida GOP congressman said he was going to become an Independent. His announcement comes after President Trump launched an attackon Scarborough and "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski in late June. Trump went after Brzezinski's looks, saying that she was "bleeding badly from a face-lift" when she and Scarborough visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago club on New Year's Eve. The "Morning Joe" duo fought back, saying that White House staff told them that Trump would have a tabloid story run about them unless they "begged" for it to be killed. Scarborough said he had evidence to back these claims but that he wouldn't release it. Trump was once a regular guest on "Morning Joe," when the co-hosts were accused of having a cozy relationship with the candidate during the GOP primary. But the relationship soured, and Trump began feuding with the MSNBC hosts. The Republican National Committee also targeted the show in May, calling it "the worst case of Trump Derangement Syndrome."

Scarborough had a reputation in Congress of being a fiscal hawk and a social conservative. Since he resigned his seat five months into his fourth term, his views have gradually moderated, although as recently as 2010, he wrote a book advocating big cuts in federal spending and tax relief for the middle class.

I think the opposition to Scarborough for his criticisms of President Trump sometimes reflect an ultra-sensitivity on the part of Trump supporters  and of the president himself. You can't blame Scarborough for what his co-host Mika Brzezinski says about the president, but he is sometimes identified with her positions.

Nevertheless, there is a good point to be made that you can't be a party man without supporting the leader of the party most of the time. For Scarborough, he crossed that bridge long ago. He is simply acknowledging a reality that almost everyone else recognized already.
The massive disrespect shown by New York city mayor Bill de Blasio for the city policemen and women came back to bite hizzoner during the funeral for assassinated officer Miosotis Familia.

Familia was gunned down while sitting in her police car last week. Instead of attending the officer's wake, de Blasio jetted off to Hamburg, where he was the keynote speaker at an anti-capitalist, anti-American protest.

Yesterday, while thousands of police officers paid their final respects to Familia, Mayor de Blasio delivered a eulogy. During his speech, hundreds of cops turned their backs on the mayor to protest his lack of respect for the police department.

It wasn't the first time New York City's finest made such a protest. Two years ago, at the funeral of slain officer Wenjian Liu, hundreds of police also made their feelings known.

New York Daily News:

The blue rage was spurred by the mayor's excursion to Germany to join protesters at the G20 summit one day after last Wednesday's execution of 12-year NYPD vet Familia. Photos showed hundreds of police officers standing on the Grand Concourse with their backs to the World Changers Church as the mayor's speech was heard via the public address system. "The mayor is the compass for the City of New York," Patrick Lynch, head of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said before the funeral. "And unfortunately, when a police officer got killed, his compass led him to Germany rather than here on the Grand Concourse.

The protest two years ago was over remarks de Blasio made in solidarity with Black Lives Matter:

De Blasio has taken heat from police officers for his ambivalence over Black Lives Matter protests, as well as remarks he made in the wake of the Eric Garner incident. At the time, de Blasio said he warned his multi-racial son, Dante, about how to deal with police if confronted. Two years after cops ignored de Blasio's speech during the funeral of slain Officer Wenjian Liu, the police again silently made their feelings known.

This is a mayor who has taken away some critical law enforcement tools that kept the violent crime rate down in the city and helped protect the lives of officers. He has shown by his words and actions that he doesn't value the work of city police as most of his predecessors have.

But is a funeral really the place to make a statement opposing the mayor? I think the disrespect he showed the Familia family by flying to Hamburg while they mourned their loss deserved some sort of response from the police. In that sense, de Blasio richly deserved the disrespect of officers.

Opposition to de Blasio's re-election is fragmented and weak. And de Blasio has been busy these last four years in tending to his far-left coalition of activists, minority groups, and rich liberals. With no viable opposition candidate from any party stepping forward, it appears that de Blasio will coast to victory in November.


Obama speechwriting staffer Jon Favreau manhandling the merchandise.

So it comes to light in the latest Obama tell-all book that President Obama ran a very, very undiversified Animal House in his speechwriting operation. And all those soaring speeches that made the New York Times swoon were actually the work of a cynical leftist white-boy frat house operation, tailoring their soaring Obama lines for the elites between swigs of beer and gropes of women.

Such is the atmosphere described by David Litt, an Obama speechwriter who joined the frathouse at age 24 and then wrote his tell-all book, naively thinking the public wouldn't be disgusted. From the Daily Mail:

Inside the White House, Litt depicts a scene that is less House of Cards, and more of a fraternity house, particularly within his team. Working alongside speechwriters Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Jeff Nussbaum, he tells how they called each other 'bro' and showed off their status in and outside of the White House. 'I studied the West Wing with my anthropological intensity, and had learned to translate my boss's unique dialect: the curt, one-line message,' he writes. 'The final category of email, and by far the most precious, was any message containing the words "boom!" or "bro," he adds. 'These were special. They meant you were totally killing it and had established yourself as a valued member of the team.' As far as the dating scene in Washington, Litt describes, seduction was 'almost painfully easy,' as colleagues used their White House credentials to pick up women.

What he's describing, in fact, is something typical of the hypocrisy of the left. They foist their diversity "narrative" on all of us Little People but refuse to enforce it for themselves  OK for the White House speechwriting staff to comprise all white male Ivy-Leaguers, but not the board of Exxon.

A few weeks ago, American Thinker got a note from some government bureaucrat using her Washington office email, maybe to intimidate us, advising us she wouldn't be reading our publication due to the absence of female editors, based on her reading of the masthead (I had not updated it with my own entry, so she assumed incorrectly). But her broader objection suggests that the content would somehow be different, or better, or more relatable or something, if our written words, recording the content of our minds, were somehow written by a female instead of a male. It's absurd, but I bring this up to show that liberals really believe this.

This is their justification for non-merit-based affirmative action, for quotas, for diversity counselors. They really think "diversity" in superficial coats of paint such as skin color can outweigh a person's class origin in content, or that more color tones in the chocolate box necessarily make for a "richer" experience. Diversity of thought, the real proof of the pudding, counts for nothing with these people, because they believe that women and minorities think as groups rather than individuals  and they all think alike. That's why they want "women's" voices, but not Margaret Thatcher's, or "black" voices, just not Thomas Sowell's. The only exception might be if a lily-white racist who's spent her life oppressing dark-skinned Mexican Indians in her homeland comes up here to the states and can claim the title of oppressed "Latina." Or if someone wants to claim American Indian ancestry, no matter how pink and gold and blonde, to fill a quota at Harvard.

The solidly white-boy leftist team at Team Obama, as you recall, was the group that was caught photographing its denizens groping Hillary Clinton in some of its basic piggery before hotfooting it off to Hollywood, where such behavior in the power slots, based on items in the news, appears to be perfectly normal.

Sure, the Obama frat boys were embarrassed when they were found out, but with this going on  in that place of political correctness known as the White House  is it any wonder that Team Obama was so confident in always assuming that all whites who belong to fraternities are somehow just as piggish as they are? Their hostility toward frats may well have been projecting, given what went on in the White House.

And to consider the speechwriting operation itself, is it possible that Obama wanted their non-diverse, solidly white elitist operation for his speeches to ensure that the "I've got mine" intelligentsia and Beltway elites would react favorably to each and every line he uttered? The frat boys obviously spoke their language and knew which buttons to push to please the elites. A black kid from Obama's own claimed South Side of Chicago wouldn't make the speech team for that alone.

Don't forget also that Ben Rhodes was part of this speechwriting team before becoming Obama's "mind meld" claiming the title of deputy national security adviser without a security clearance, and going on to deceive the American public with his phony Benghazi talking points, his false Iran deal "narrative," and his no-strings opening to Castro's Cuba.

As a final note, I can say I remember these people, punkish hipsters, who dotted the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver, which, Styrofoam pillars and all, nominated Obama for president. In their black t-shirts and jeans, they were smug, self-satisfied, addicted to the latest technology, always at the local Starbucks, and utterly convinced they knew more than the others. They were the ones closest to the Obama circle, and some probably got spots on that speechwriting team. They stood in stark contrast to the far humbler and more recognizably normal Democratic delegates  far nicer people  who supported Hillary Clinton from places like Colorado, Texas, and upstate New York whom I found pleasant to talk with.

The bottom line is that Obama's voice never was the work of a team of diverse voices, but purely the work of the white elite frat boys, who stapled their black president on as their voice and thrilled the left. And word is now out.

Are these people proud of themselves?
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has issued its annual rankings of the best run state governments and to no one's surprise, almost all the top ranked states are Republican-run, while almost all the lowest ranked states are Democratic.

What makes this list so intriguing is that the factors that make the Republican states work well aren't much of a secret and could easily be adopted by blue states.

IBD:

The rankings in the fourth-annual "Ranking of the States by Fiscal Condition" report, which was released this morning, are based on a review of audited financial statements for 2015 covering five measures that gauge the states' ability to pay bills, avoid budget deficits, and meet long-term spending needs and cover pension liabilities. Cash solvency, for example, measures a state's ability to pay immediate bills. Budget solvency focuses on whether states will end the year with a surplus or deficit. Service-level solvency gauges a state's ability to meet a demand for increased spending. Long-run solvency looks at a state's ability to meet longer-term spending commitments. Trust-fund solvency looks at the states' unfunded pension liabilities and state debt. There were several changes in the rankings from last year. Florida moved from sixth place to first, while Alaska dropped from first place last year to 17th this year, driven mainly by the fall in oil prices. Idaho moved into the top 10. At the bottom of the heap, Louisiana and West Virginia both dropped down in the 10-worst list, while Hawaii greatly improved, going from 45th place last year 27th this year. Connecticut, Maine and New York also climbed out of the bottom 10 list. But New Jersey fell to dead last from last year's 48th place. The report also includes rankings for each individual measure of fiscal solvency, in addition to the overall ranking. Some states do well on some measures, and bad on others. New Jersey, for example, is last on long-run solvency and second to last on budget solvency, but ranks 24 on service-level solvency. Nearly bankrupt Illinois is in the bottom in all but one of the five individual measures  service-level solvency. The Mercatus report doesn't include data on the states' political leanings or tax burdens, but the implication is clear. Of the 25 most-solvent states, all but four are solidly Republican. Of the bottom 25 states, all but five are solidly Democratic.

Do red states have a greater care and concern for how taxpayer dollars are spent? I think the figures published in the report tend to validate that hypothesis.

The report does not catalogue some important criteria like the power of public unions, quality of schools, or the state of infrastructure. But looking at the fiscal health of states gives us a clue to the quality of life for residents. Are red-state citizens happier than blue-state citizens?

Blue state-defenders will point out that most of those top states are rural in character and thus don't have to deal with urban problems that require huge expenditures of tax dollars. That's a false argument when you consider that this assumption rests on the blue-state model that requires a certain level of dependency on the part of poor, urban residents. Needless to say, it's hard to keep a state's fiscal house in order when so much cash disappears down a rabbit hole.

The superiority of the red-state model doesn't matter. Blue-state politicians must satisfy constituencies that have come to depend on them over the years. What happened in Illinois is instructive. GOP governor Bruce Rauner attempted a wholesale makeover of the state's finances and ended up being stymied at every turn by teacher unions, public unions, social service groups, and other special interest groups who had been sucking on the government teat for decades. Rauner failed and will likely lose re-election because of it.

So perhaps the solution to blue-state troubles is simple. Enacting those solutions is what's difficult.
President Donald Trump is expected to appoint several hundred new federal judges. Nothing he does will have a greater impact on the future of America. But which judges should be appointed? How can originalists be identified? This will not be easy since most law professors, and many lawyers, are no longer originalists  i.e., those who base their judgments on the meaning of the words in the Constitution and in laws passed by Congress. Today, many think the Constitution is a living document that allows judges to make interpretations that in their minds bring law up to date.

As Trump's nominated judges are considered by the Senate, what happened to Robert Bork (whose name has been immortalized by the verb "borking") should be revisited. In 1987, President Reagan nominated Bork to the Supreme Court. He was a law professor at Yale, an expert in anti-trust law, and a judge. During his tenure as solicitor general, Bork obeyed Nixon's order to fire a special prosecutor who was investigating the Watergate break-in. There were many arguments against Bork  some of them exceedingly vicious, such as Ted Kennedy's infamous Senate floor oration:

Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of the Government, and the doors of the Federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens for whom the judiciary is  and is often the only  protector of the individual rights that are the heart of our democracy ... President Reagan is still our president. But he should not be able to reach out from the muck of Irangate, reach into the muck of Watergate and impose his reactionary vision of the Constitution on the Supreme Court and the next generation of Americans. No justice would be better than this injustice.

But the intellectual key to the opposition against him was his strong support for the Doctrine of Natural Law  which is part of the Declaration of Independence, but rejected by those influenced by postmodern (progressive) thought. The U.S. Senate rejected Bork's nomination.

It is suggested that all judges nominated by President Trump be required to state that that they support, and will make judgments in accordance with, the Doctrine of Natural Law as stated in the Declaration of Independence. For centuries, Natural Law has justified the moral basis of law and been a check on man-made law that is not just. To be a Natural Law, a rule, regulation, or law must be consistent, "natural" in accord with the norms of voluntary behavior, and just. In other words, it must be both right (endowed by God) and legal (man-made), and it must serve the public good rather than the interests of any faction. It would block laws resulting from identity politics.
In 2012, Obama met with Russia and said he would be more flexible if he was re-elected. The media and Democrats had no problem. There were no investigations and no spying on Obama looking for collusion.

The Clintons, the Clinton Foundation, and their close associates got huge amounts of money from foreign governments including Russia. In return, Russia got uranium, some of which it transferred to Iran. There were no investigations by the FBI; Democrats and the media didn't care. Kickbacks for uranium to the enemy looks like actual treason.

Russia attacked Ukraine, Ukraine requested defensive weapons from Obama, and Russia welcomed the fact that Obama turned Ukraine down. Of course, the media and Democrats didn't lecture Obama about the need to be tough on Russia. After all, the tough Obama had told Russia he would be flexible.

But Donald Jr. had a ten-minute meeting where he thought he might get dirt on Hillary in which he got nothing and gave nothing in return, and he and his father are essentially accused of treason.

Of course, it was OK for a fake dossier to come out on Trump that was also supposedly from Russia. The Clintons were known for digging up dirt, and no one investigated the source.

In summary, Democrats can do whatever they want with foreign countries, including enemies like Iran and Russia, including giving them uranium. But any Republican, especially someone connected with Trump, had better not ever talk to these people, even when he gets nothing in return, or there will be continuous investigations and wall-to-wall reporting.

We should all remember that this really has nothing to do with Russia. Democrats, with the help of the media, are seeking to block anything that restrains the power of government. Where are the stories of Democrats obstructing Trump? We saw constant reports on Republicans obstructing Obama.
A retired military judge questioned why the Army allowed a soldier to continue on active duty despite his statements in support of ISIS.

Col. Gregory Gross said there were similarities between the case of Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Kang, who was arrested on terrorism charges, and the case of Major Nidal Hasan, who opened fire on soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, killing 13 14 (including one soldier's unborn baby ed.).

Hasan's views on Islamic extremism were well known to his colleagues and superiors. The same was apparently true of Sgt. Kang.

Fox News:

Noel Tipon, an attorney in military and civilian courts, said there's nothing in the Army manual on removing soldiers from the service that would address allegations like speaking favorably about a group like Islamic State. He suspects the FBI wanted to Kang to stay in the Army while they investigated whether he had collaborators. "They probably said `let's monitor it and see if we can get a real terrorist cell,' " said Tipon, who served in the Marine Corps. The Army took away Kang's security clearance for a while. But he stayed in the service, deploying to Afghanistan in 2013. Then, last weekend, the FBI arrested the 34-year-old on terrorism charges following a yearlong investigation, shortly after Kang declared his loyalty to the terrorist group and exclaimed that he wanted to "kill a bunch of people," according to authorities. The case highlights the challenges investigators face with protecting the public from a potentially dangerous actor on one hand and gathering sufficient evidence to enable prosecution on the other. Kang is on record making pro-Islamic State comments and threatening to hurt or kill other service members back in 2011, according to an FBI affidavit filed Monday in federal court. The Army revoked his security clearance in 2012, but gave it back to him the following year. Last year, the Army called the FBI when it "appeared that Kang was becoming radicalized," the affidavit said. Lt. Col. Curtis J. Kellogg, a spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division, declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation. Kang's court-appointed lawyer, Birney Bervar, said his client may suffer from service-related mental health issues of which the government was aware but neglected to treat. He declined to elaborate. The FBI said its investigation showed Kang was acting on his own. Spokesman Arnold Laanui said the probe took nearly a year given the evidence that needed to be collected and the constitutional rights that needed to be protected.

Free speech rights in the military can be limited. You can't criticize superiors, including political leaders. But there is little restraint when it comes to political views, and because of that, the FBI must tread carefully when investigating.

Still, we may have dodged a bullet in this case. Sgt. Kang sounded as though he was about ready to act on his beliefs, which could have resulted in a mass casualty attack similar to the one we experienced at Fort Hood in 2009. How many more Sgt. Kangs are out there? And will we be able to act in time to prevent a massacre?

The military should take a more practical approach to dealing with soldiers like Sgt. Kang. While they may not be able to remove him from the service, they could certainly put him in a position where he can be monitored more closely. What possessed his superiors to send him to Afghanistan? That was a mistake that, thankfully, didn't cost us.

Kang's attorney appears to be maneuvering for some kind of mental health defense. It seems crazy to support terrorists like ISIS, but a soldier doesn't have to be mentally ill to swear allegiance to terrorists. Kang belongs in prison for the rest of his life regardless of his state of mind.
Samir Hussein/Getty ImagesFamed British distance runner Mo Farah made the ultimate Oasis faux pas: he mistook Noel Gallagher for his estranged brother and former band mate, Liam.

Farah took a photo with Noel at U2's concert in London over the weekend, but when he posted a link to the photo on Twitter, the Olympic gold medalist wrote, "Chilling with my boy liamgallagher." Liam gamely played along, responding, "Good to see u2 mo as you were."

While the Twitter mistake still stands, Farah correctly tagged Noel's handle on his Instagram.

Noel is currently touring Europe opening for U2 with his band Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Meanwhile, Liam, who says he'd "rather eat my own s***" than go to a U2 concert, is gearing up to release his debut solo album As You Were, which will arrive October 6.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
The Strait of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa isnt the only waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. A thousand kilometer north lies another connecting route. This route connects the French city of Bordeaux, near the Atlantic ocean, to the Mediterranean port of Sete through a series of canals collectively called Canal des Deux Mers, or the canal of the two seas. Lying entirely in Southern France this man-made canal is one of the most remarkable feats of civil engineering carried out in the 17th century.

Photo credit: Gemma Llorensi Torrent/Flickr

Canal des Deux Mers consist of two canals. From the Mediterranean port of Sete to Toulouse, a distance of 240 km, runs Canal du Midi. From Toulouse to the town of Castets-en-Dorthe, 193 km away, the canal is called Canal de Garonne. The remainder of the route to Bordeaux uses the Garonne River. The two canalsCanal du Midi and Canal de Garonne together with the Garonne River form the Canal des Deux Mers which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Often, the entire canal is called Canal du Midi.

Before the canal was constructed, the month-long sea voyage through the Straits of Gibraltar was fraught with dangers, mostly from pirates and intense storms the strait was subjected to because of its shape and physical geography.

The possibility of building an alternative route through France was first discussed by the ancient Romans. Later, many French kings expressed interest in constructing a canal which could avoid the passage around Spain, but the technological challenges were too great to overcome. The primary difficulty was in supplying sufficient water at the watershed, which is at a much higher elevation between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

It wasnt until the 17th century that the first realistic project for the canal was drafted. In 1662, an engineer named Pierre-Paul Riquet proposed bringing water down from the Black Mountain to a watershed near Seuil de Naurouze, the highest point in the canal, from where the water could flow both to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The logistics were immense and complex, and the project itself looked precarious. Despite this, King Louis XIV was keen to proceed because of the increasing cost and danger of transporting cargo and trade around southern Spain where pirates were common. Construction of the canal began in 1667 and ended in 1681, and the canal opened as Canal Royal du Languedoc. In these fourteen years, Pierre-Paul Riquet solved many engineering problems that still challenges river transport today.

Pierre-Paul Riquets canalrenamed Canal du Midi during the French Revolution of late 18th century reached only as far as Toulouse. Riquet wanted to continue the canal closer to the Atlantic but poor finances of Louis XIV emptied the kingdom's coffers and the project never materialized. Riquet himself died a year before Canal du Midi was completed. It took another two centuries before Canal de Garonne could be dug connecting Canal du Midi with the Atlantic.

For two hundred years after the completion of Canal du Midi wheat and wine growers in the Languedoc region relied heavily on the canal for their trade. Wheat, wine, and alcohol were exported from Lauragais to Toulouse, Bordeaux, and Marseille, and produces from other regions such as Marseille soap, rice, starch, dried fish, spices and dyes were import to Languedoc.

Canal traffic reached its peak in the middle of the 19th century. After that, railways became the preferred mode of transport and boat traffic on the canal declined. Although the canal never became the grand international route envisaged by the kings of France, it continued to cater to the local tradesmen carrying barges of wine and grain as late as the 1980s.

Today, Canal du Midi is used primarily for recreation boating and other water sports, and is a major tourist attraction. It is also possible to cycle and hike along the banks for the entire length of Canal des Deux Mers from Sete to Bordeaux as it twists and turns through the countryside, through vineyards and sunflower fields, and through delightful little villages and past cafes.

In 1996 the channel and a buffer zone of 2,000 square km were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Photo credit: tourisme tarn et garonne/Flickr

Photo credit: Tourisme en Occitanie/Flickr

Photo credit: jp.37/Flickr

Photo credit: Marcel Musil/Flickr

Photo credit: Marcel Musil/Flickr

Photo credit: Marcel Musil/Flickr

Photo credit: Marcel Musil/Flickr

Photo credit: Marcel Musil/Flickr

Photo credit: Marcel Musil/Flickr

Photo credit: Marcel Musil/Flickr

Photo credit: David McKelvey/Flickr

Photo credit: Andrew Gustar/Flickr

Photo credit: max guitare/Flickr

Sources: Wikipedia / www.french-waterways.com
Jeremy Corbyn only wants a little peace (of pizza) and genocide denial

Jeremy Corbyn has been enjoying pizza with a man who supports Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. The Sun has spotted Corbyn eating, nay scoffing with pro-Russian journalist Marcus Papadopoulos. One Washington newspaper calls Papadopoulos a Russian agent.

Most of us have no idea who Papadopoulos is lest what his opinions are. Helpfully, the Sun has searched Google and can tell us that last year Papadopoulos tweeted: There was no siege of #Sarajevo, there was no genocide at #Srebrenica and there was no massacre at #Aleppo. Discard what Western media says. This year he opined: President Assad, the guardian of Christians in #Syria, celebrating Easter. I stand with him 100%

So much for the Sarajevo Roses. A Guardian leader article called Srebrenica a place of horror that ranks alongside Auschwitz. The one deed the dead can perform on behalf of the living is allowing us to bear witness to their suffering and the consequences of our freedom. Would you deny them that honour?

But no matter. Corbyn can explain. The Labour leader who was simply reaching out when he invited friends at jihad-endorsing, Jew-hating Hamas to take tea in Parliament (Hamass charter declares: The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!) and has a proclivity for sharing platforms with anti-Semites is yet again an innocent.

The Sun quotes a Labour spokesman who says Mr Corbyn had been joined briefly by Mr Papadopolous [sic], who asked to be photographed with Jeremy. Photographs of Jeremy with members of the public do not mean he endorses their views, as is the case on this occasion too.

Do the two men know each other? The Times adds that Mr Papadopoulos is editor of Politics First, a bi-monthly magazine with a circulation of just over 1,000. Mr Corbyn wrote for its last issue.

So much for the right-wing Presss view on the pizza date. What say the Mirror and Guardian on the matter? Nothing. Not a word. Is it a sign of information denial? Is news about feeling good and moralising journalists attaching themselves to pet causes, or is it about presenting the facts and trusting your readers?

Things are taking a nasty turn. Its not politics that supports Corbyn; its a personality cult. And its dangerous.

Anorak

Posted: 12th, July 2017 | In: Broadsheets, News, Politicians, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Strasbourg, July 12 - Frontex Director Fabrice Leggeri said Wednesday that other EU member States were not willing to agree to Italy's request for asylum seekers saved in the southern Mediterranean to be taken to ports in other countries. "I heard an Italian request, but I did not hear willingness from other member States," Leggeri said regarding a meeting in Warsaw on Tuesday and Rome's request that Triton operation ships disembark in other countries. "It's a complex issue, above all for political reasons. "It is not up to Frontex to resolve political issues". Leggeri told the European Parliament on Wednesday that Italy was under "extraordinary pressure" due to the Mediterranean asylum-seeker crisis. "Yesterday there was a meeting in Warsaw to see how the operative plan (of Triton) can be improved and strengthened," he said, "to see how the solidarity to support Italy can be improved so that it can face this extraordinary pressure".

Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi, meanwhile, said Wednesday that his 2014-16 government was not to blame for the European Union mechanism that sees all asylum seekers rescued in the southern Mediterranean taken to Italy. "The 2003 Dublin Regulation, (with the Silvio) Berlusconi government, imposed that reception should be at the first country the migrant arrives," Renzi said as he presented his new book, Avanti. "In 2015 Italy confirmed this principle because it couldn't change it. We proposed changing it but they said No".

- Lower House Deputy Speaker Luigi Di Maio, a senior member of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, said Wednesday that Italy had been "sold out" in relation to the Triton operation in the Mediterranean. "We are meeting Frontex Director Fabrice Leggeri. After clarifying in a European Parliament session, he confirmed that Triton, wanted by (ex-premier Matteo) Renzi, foresees that all migrants are taken to Italy," he said on Facebook. "This is the truth. They sold us out for 80 euros, transforming us into the biggest port in Europe, thinking they could treat us like idiots, convinced we would stay silent". Renzi's government introduced an 80-euros-a-month tax bonus for low earners.

That government also successfully campaigned to have flexibility in the application of EU budget rules. Di Maio added that it was necessary to close Italy's ports to ships belonging to "those who do not respect the rules".


(ANSA) - New York, July 12 - United States Defense Secretary James Mattis did not ask Italy to lead a military mission in Libya during talks with Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti Tuesday, Pinotti said Wednesday, denying press reports. "Nor did the Americans ask us to do more in the country," she said.

La Repubblica daily, among others, reported Wednesday that the US wanted Italy to step up action in Libya in view of possibly leading a military mission to help pacify and unite the country.

Pinotti went on: "Certainly with Mattis we discussed the fragmentation that there is still in Libya and how to reduce the distances that exist to make sure there is an inclusive government in which all sides see themselves.

"But there was no request to do more, indeed great recognition was expressed for what Italy is doing in the Mediterranean in general for the crises present there.

"The US recognises that Italy has great knowledge of the country and from this standpoint it trusts our indications on what the movements to be implemented in the field should be".


(ANSAMED) - ROME, 12 LUG - Two authors, Emiliana Baldoni and Monia Giovannetti, have written a book to fight stereotypes against migrants in cooperation with the foundation Cittalia and SPRAR project, the Italian protection system for asylum seekers and refugees. The book vies to look into the identity of asylum seekers and refugees, allowing the public to get to know their personal stories, what they are fleeing from, what they have endured and their hopes for the future.



The objective of the work, the authors wrote in the introduction, is to ''move the focus of attention from a sweeping analysis of the phenomenon of forced migrations to micro stories''.



Life stories against stereotypes The research is based on the analysis of 137 interviews with migrants hosted at SPRAR centers who were chosen based on how much time they spent at the centers. The material was then analyzed for statistical purposes and to get an insight into their personal experiences.



The aim of the work was to get a ''qualitative analysis on the experience of asylum'', the authors wrote. The work is divided into four sections: the first looks at the socio-demographic profiles of those interviewed, the second at the reason why they left their country, the third describes migration routes and the experience of the trip and the fourth analyses how they were welcomed in Italy from different perspectives: minors who had no one, adults with a family network, farmers and city residents, migrants with a project and human trafficking victims.



The result is a description that gives an ''image of asylum seekers that is far from the stereotype of the desperate war refugee''.



Data and life stories for a different take on migration Statistical data and interviews in the book contribute to get a different take on migration. Wars and conflicts were the main reason why those interviewed left their country (17.2% of those polled), as stated by an Ivory Coast migrant identified as M., 27, who said he had to leave due to the 2002 civil war.



''My father died under the bombs and my mother was reported missing'', he was quoted as saying in the book. Critical parts of the experience of migration highlighted by those interviewed were arrest and detention (16.4%) and seeing other people die or endure violence (14.8%). ''This last experience was among the worst in my life'', said M., 17, from Bangladesh. On the boat, ''I saw the cruelty with which those in charge threw into the sea people who said they didn't feel well or asked for water'', said M.



Such experiences ''enrich the perspective necessary to understand our times and can provide different 'lenses' to look at the phenomenon of migrations'', the authors said.


Libya:Sarraj requests airstrikes against migrant traffickers In president's request to Armed Forces

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, JULY 12 - The prime minister of Libya's national unity government, Fayez al-Sarraj, has requested the the "use of aviation" by the country's armed forces against "illegal emigration", in a statement from the country's "Office of the Supreme Command of the Libyan Army to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force", obtained by ANSA.



The brief text states: "You are asked to immediately and urgently take up participation measures in the fight against illegal emigration and the trafficking of fuel and its derivatives through the use of Aviation and using force where necessary to impede, in cooperation with Navy Command, these crimes".



In addition to his role as prime minister, Sarraj also serves as chief commander of the militias that make up a "Libyan army" opposed to the one commanded by General Khalifa Haftar.(ANSAmed).




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Commencing October 1, 2017, the double daily Airbus A380 service will significantly boost seat capacity to and from Russia in order to meet customer demand.

Emirates has also made amends to its winter schedule to and from St Petersburg, giving passengers even easier connections to many Emirates destinations including Maldives, Thailand and Sri Lanka with just a short stop in Dubai. From October 29, 2017 until March 24, 2018 EK176 will depart from Pulkovo International Airport at 23:55hrs and land at Dubai International Airport the next day at 07:05hrs. From Dubai EK175 flight will depart at 15:30hrs and land in Saint Petersburg at 20:45hrs.
The event was hosted by Gulf Airs Country Manager in Abu Dhabi, Ms. Madina Abdulla Albalushi.

Recently, Gulf Air launched passenger facilities including: prepaid seat selection, excess baggage and lounge access  all aimed at making travel even more comfortable for passengers while giving them greater control to manage various add-ons pre-travel. Additionally, the airline recently rolled out online flight status and online group bookings facilities aimed at giving passengers more access to relevant and time-critical information and to facilitating travel across the Gulf Air network for group travellers  respectively.

Among its upcoming initiatives, Gulf Air will soon be rolling out its dedicated holidays unit Gulf Air Holidays offering travellers a wide range of holiday packages and tailor-made travel solutions to destinations worldwide  both across the Gulf Air network and beyond. The airline is also preparing to launch an online visa facility this summer that will support its longstanding efforts to promote the Kingdom of Bahrain as a destination to a broad spectrum of travellers while making the process of obtaining a short term visit visa to Bahrain easier and more convenient.
The inaugural flight (Airbus A320) landed at the Baku airport Monday afternoon and was received by the customary water arch.



Hailed as a favorite destination for summer visitors and the Arab explorer, Baku is a tourist destination, offering holidaymakers an array of attractions and experiences, consisting of family adventure, sport and leisure tourism and also health & wellness





Nahid Bagirov, Head of Azerbaijan Tourism Association (AZTA) said: Baku is emerging as an attractive destination and the beginning of double weekly flights is a significant milestone for both Baku and Jazeera Airways. This step will lead our nations closer with greater commercial and industry relations and promote the discovery of Azerbaijans brilliant culture. We are grateful to Jazeera for including Baku as their destination of choice and as we advance, we look forward to receiving the people of Kuwait who visit Baku to build lifelong memories with their family and friends."
Fathi added that the ministry has been working in coordination with the Entities and bodies at Cairo international airport to implement new security measures on flights to New York.



Safwat Musallam, chairman, and CEO of EgyptAir Holding said that the ban lift will be effective on Wednesday, July 12, however it will continue on EgyptAir flights to London.



The US had, in March, imposed an in-cabin ban on laptops and other large electronic devices on US-bound flights originating at ten international airports in eight countries for security reasons.
Conspiratorial experts like Jay Weidner assert that the airports murals and capstone prove the existence of a secret government plan for a New World Order. Others implicate the airport in the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. One local Evangelical Christian group, Cephas Ministries, claimed that the DIA was built as part of a plot to murder the people that Lucifer hates.
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Two-wheelers not only provide blistering performance but also have a reputation that nothing else can possibly match.

Rich people generally buy luxury cars or invest in property. There are very few who invest a large chunk of money in a two-wheeler. These two-wheelers not only provide blistering performance but also have a reputation that nothing else can possibly match. Let's take a look at the top five most expensive bikes ever to be sold in India.

Ducati Panigale S Anniversario - Price: Rs 47.17 lakh

Ducati celebrated its 90th anniversary by creating a one-of-a-kind limited edition (500 units only) superbike called the Panigale S Anniversario in 2016. Its been a long journey for the brand which once used to make radio components in the pre-World War II era, and look how far it has come. Coming back to the bike, it is powered by a 1285cc Superquadro L-Twin liquid-cooled engine which punches out 205PS of power at 10500rpm and 144.6Nm of torque at 8750rpm. The powerplant nestles inside the monocoque aluminium chassis, which is suspended by 43mm Ohlins NIX30 semi-active, fully adjustable inverted forks up front and a semi-active, fully adjustable Ohlins TTX36 monoshock linked to the single-sided aluminium swingarm. The bikes braking responsibilities are handled by dual 330mm discs with Brembo M50 Monobloc calipers at the front and a single 245mm disc at the rear. Also read: Rs 60 Lakh Ducati Delivered In India

The bike is loaded with all sorts of electronic wizardry like riding and power modes, cornering ABS, Ducati Traction Control (DTC), Ducati quick-shifter (DQS) up/down, Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC), and Engine Brake Control (EBC). The Panigale S Anniversario commands an ex-showroom, Delhi, price of Rs 47.17 lakh, and the on-road price comes to approximately Rs 60 lakh.

Harley-Davidson CVO Limited - Price: Rs 51.35 lakh

If youre looking for an all-American, chrome and freedom-laden tourer that screams Murica!, look no further. This behemoth is as special as it can get when it comes to tourers. The CVO Limited is powered by Harleys latest 1868cc twin-cooled Milwaukee-Eight engine which belts out an earth-moving 165Nm of torque at just 3250rpm! The engine is mated to a 6-speed transmission and the power is transferred to the rear by a chain drive. Other noteworthy features of this motorcycle include a tyre pressure monitoring system, touchscreen infotainment system, an intelligent Boom! audio system thats speed-sensitive, voice recognition for phone functions, USB, and Bluetooth support.

The fuel tank capacity stands at 22.7 litres, which should allow ample range for touring, and the bike tips the scales at a hefty 431kg in running order. Unfortunately, theres only a reverse light and no reverse gear like the Honda Goldwing has. So, think twice before parking this luxo-barge of a motorcycle! All that fancy features command a fancy price tag and this one will cost you about Rs 51.35 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi.

Big Dog K9 Red Chopper-111 - Price: Rs 59 lakh

Choppers are one of the swankiest attention-grabbing two-wheelers and the Big Dog K9 Red Chopper-111 is as bold as its ridiculously long name. The K9 is powered by an 1807cc V-twin motor mated to a 6-speed transmission. The bike uses a belt drive to transmit the power from the engine, and the rear wheel uses a massive 250mm wide tyre, which is just 15mm thinner than the Toyota Fortuners rubber.

The bike also comes with a host of optional exotic extras like premium seats, exhausts, sissy bars, handlebars, stator and rotor kits, etc. Such extreme exuberance comes at an equally extreme cost. This unique two-wheeled art costs Rs 59 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi, and thats the price you pay to look and feel like the Ghost Rider.

Kawasaki Ninja H2R - Price: Rs 69.80 lakh

Kawasakis ultimate track tamer, the Ninja H2 R redefines the superbike segment not only with its killer looks, but also with its unique supercharged heart. The Ninja H2 R is designed and developed in conjunction with Kawasakis numerous other industrial divisions. Powering this beauty is a 998cc supercharged, liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder engine which generates an insane 312PS, and this isnt even its final form. In ram-air mode, it develops a mind-bending 330PS of power! The torque figure stands at a healthy 156Nm. The supercharger, developed with the help of multiple divisions within the Kawasaki Heavy Industries group, was so efficient that it eliminated the need for an intercooler.

The frame is a trellis unit made up of high-tensile steel with a single-sided swingarm. Kawasaki has spared no expense in equipping the bike with top cycle parts. The front suspension is an adjustable KYB AOS-II 43mm inverted fork while the rear wheel is damped by a fully adjustable Ohlins TTX monoshock. With great power comes great stopping force. And thats taken care by a pair of 330mm Brembo discs up front and a 250mm rear disc.

The mechanical working of the bike is controlled by a plethora of electronics. The bike comes with Bosch six-axis inertial measurement unit, Kawasaki Corner Management Function (KCMF), Kawasaki Traction Control (KTRC), Kawasaki Launch Control Mode (KLCM), Kawasaki Intelligent anti-lock Brake System (KIBS), Kawasaki Engine Brake Control, and Ohlins electronic steering damper. It takes that much of electronic doo-daahs to work in unison to keep this monster under control. Priced at Rs 69.80 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi, this maddening motorcycle is only restricted to the track as it is not road-legal. Safe to say, the bike is truly built beyond belief.

Ducati 1299 Superleggera - Price: Rs 1.12 Crore

The Ducati 1299 Superleggera is currently the brands most expensive offering and was recently sold to an Indian businessman. Only 500 have been made and all of them are sold out! So what makes this particular bike so expensive? For starters, the bike employs the most powerful factory-built twin-cylinder engine ever. It is also the first production motorcycle to have a carbon-fibre monocoque, single-sided swingarm, rear subframe, fairing and carbon-fibre wheels with aluminium hubs. Thanks to all those exotic parts, the bike tips the scales at just 156kg dry. The 1285cc liquid-cooled Superquadro Desmodromic L-twin engine punches out a massive 215PS of power at 11000rpm and 146.5Nm of torque at 9000rpm. The engine is mated to a slip-assisted 6-speed gearbox with Ducati Quick Shift (DQS) for both clutchless upshifts and downshifts. Also read: This Is The Most Expensive Bike Sold In India

The wheels are held to the monocoque frame by a pair of fully adjustable lightweight 43mm USD Ohlins FL 936 front forks and a fully adjustable Ohlins TTX36 rear monoshock with titanium spring, connected to the single-sided carbon-fibre swingarm. Braking duties are taken care by dual 330mm discs with Brembo Monobloc Evo M50 calipers and a single 245mm rear disc. The bike is fully loaded with race-bred technologies like Ducati Traction Control Evo (DTC EVO), Ducati Slide Control (DSC), Ducati Power Launch (DPL), and Engine Brake Control (EBC). No wonder it costs Rs 1.12 crore, ex-showroom, Delhi!

Source: ZIgWheels.com
For IMPS, charge will be Rs 5 alongwith GST for fund transfer in range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

SBI has waived charges for fund transfer of up to Rs 1,000 through IMPS. (Representational Image)

New Delhi: Country's largest bank SBI has waived charges for fund transfer of up to Rs 1,000 through its IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) to promote small transactions.

State Bank of India had been charging Rs 5 along with the applicable service tax for IMPS fund transfer of up to Rs 1,000. IMPS is an instant interbank electronic fund transfer service through mobile phones as well as internet banking.

"In order to promote small ticket size transactions, SBI has waived off IMPS charges for transfer up to Rs 1,000," the bank said while informing about the revised IMPS transfer charges under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

For IMPS, charge will be Rs 5 alongwith GST for fund transfer in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The charge will go up to Rs 15 for transactions of Rs 1-2 lakh. GST at the rate of 18 per cent is applicable on all financial transactions.
ShipRockedThe 2018 ShipRocked concert cruise has invited a few more bands to come aboard its lineup. P.O.D., Like a Storm, Otherwise and Adelitas Way have been added to the floating festival, which sets sail January 21 from Port Canaveral, Florida.

Additionally, the list of musicians playing in The Stowaways, ShipRocked's resident all-star band featuring a revolving cast of artists, has been revealed. Among those participating include Sevendust's Lajon Witherspoon, Disturbed bassist John Moyer, Papa Roach drummer Tony Palermo and Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin.

ShipRocked 2018 will feature headlining sets from Stone Sour and Seether, plus performances by In This Moment, Black Label Society, Nothing More, Starset and Beartooth, among others.

For more info, visit ShipRocked.com.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
The actress was abducted and molested by unidentified men when she was returning home from a shoot in Ernakulam district in Kerala.

Kochi: Superstar Dileep was dragged to court in a police van from Aluva jail in his hometown, which is about 25 kilometres from Kochi. A fleet of police vehicles escorted the van amidst reports that an angry mob could cause chaos.

When Dileep's lawyer filed for bail, the court said that it would hear Dileeps bail request only after two days, allowing the police to interrogate him in the meantime. The police wanted his custody for three days but the court granted them two.

Police sources said they are investigating allegations made on Dileep that he offered a man 1.5 crore rupees in 2013 to attack the actress and wanted the assault recorded on video and nude photographs clicked.

The actor bore grudge against the actress, as she revealed his affair with Kavya Madhavan to Dileeps ex-wife Manju Warrior, which led to them falling apart.

As he sought bail on Wednesday, Dileeps lawyer told the court that his client has been trapped in a conspiracy scripted by "a very fertile imagination."

"Dileep has acted in many movies, but this is the best script and highly imaginative," lawyer K Ramkumar said, calling it "an indiscriminate arrest without any evidence in the remand report to prove his crime at all."

On Monday, Dileep, 48, was arrested in the abduction case, after long hours of interrogation session by police officials.

He was sent to police custody for 14 days on Tuesday.

On February 17, the actress was abducted and molested by unidentified men when she was returning home from a shoot in Ernakulam district in Kerala.

The incident took place when the men stopped and hijacked her car near Athani in Angamaly. She was molested in a moving car till they reached Palarivattom, which is roughly 25 kms away. The accused men got down at Palarivattom and fled in another car.

The gang also took videos and photos of her and threatened her of dire consequences.

Six people were arrested earlier this year, including the main accused Pulsar Suni, a driver she had sacked and the man the police allege Dileep contracted to attack her.

While the actor has said he does not know Pulsar Suni, the police has found out that Dileep had known Suni for many years and that the latter was present at many of his film shooting venues.

The actor's lawyer challenged this argument in the court saying, "Dileep is a superstar and many come to meet him during his film shoots. He doesn't know everyone."

In the next two days police are expected to take the actor to places where the conspiracy to attack the actress was allegedly hatched. The police could also summon others from the film industry for questioning.

After he was sent to prison on Tuesday, the Association of Malayalam Movies Artistes sacked Dileep, after top actors met at mega star Mammootty's Kochi home.
The mobile internet services have been snapped and train services partially suspended 'as a precautionary measure'.

Srinagar: Reinforcements from Jammu and Kashmir police and central paramilitary forces are enforcing a security lockdown in parts of Srinagar including the old town as tensions rose on Wednesday after the killing of three Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants in a fire fight with the troops in central district of Budgam.

The mobile internet services have been snapped and train services partially suspended as a precautionary measure. Irate crowds have taken to streets in a few areas of Srinagar and Budgam districts whereas large number of people turned up at the funeral of one of the slain militants in Srinagars Gooripora locality.

The gunfight between the gunmen and the security forces broke out in Radbugh village of Bunmakhama area of Magam (Budgam) on Tuesday evening and ended with the elimination of all the three holed up militants on Wednesday morning, the officials said.

The trio was hiding in a private house owned by one Mohammad Ramzan Dar at Radbug when the security forces including the Armys Rashtriya Rifles, the J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) laid siege to the village following intelligence inputs about the presence of militants, the officials said. A gunfight started between the two sides soon.

The holed up terrorists opened fire on the security forces as they zeroed in on the house. The fire was returned, triggering the encounter, said a police spokesman here.

An Army official added that the cordon-and-search operation was launched at around 6 pm on Tuesday and contact with militants was established at about 8:30 pm. However, the operation was halted for the night to avoid collateral damage. Yet the security forces maintained the cordon of the area using searching lights and other equipment to stop the militants from escaping.

He also said that the militants were gunned down when they tried to break the security dragnet and escape on the Wednesday morning. They came out of the house firing indiscriminately in their attempt to break the cordon and escape but the security forces in swift action gunned them down outside the house, the Army official said.

The slain militants have been identified as Javed Sheikh, a resident of Churpora, Narbal, Dawood from Mustafa Abad, Zainakote and Aaquib Gul from Srinagar. Three weapons were found on the slain militants, the officials said.

The clash comes two days after seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed and nineteen others were injured, three of them critically, when the bus they were travelling in was caught in crossfire between militants and the J&K police along the Botengo-Khanabal stretch of the Srinagar-Jammu highway.

The police has blamed the Amarnath attack on Lashkar-e-Taiba but the terror group has denied its involvement and said that the attack on pilgrims was carried out at the behest of Indian intelligence agencies.

The gory incident evoked widespread condemnations in Jammu and Kashmir, rest of the country and by various human rights groups including Amnesty International, the United States and several other countries.

Official sources said that the curfew or curfew-like restrictions will not only continue in Srinagar areas but some other parts of the summer capital and rest of the Valley may also be brought under similar curbs from midnight in view of the Kashmir martyrs' day.

The separatists have planned rallies and also called for a state-wide shutdown to mark the occasion.

July 13 is observed as martyrs day in both parts of divided Jammu and Kashmir as on this day 66 years ago as many as 22 Kashmiris were shot dead by the troops of autocratic Dogra Maharaja outside Srinagars central prison where an in-camera trial of a rebel Abdul Qadeer was being held. The bloody incident heralded an uprising against the Maharajas rule and for independence of the Muslim majority state.

While July 13 is observed as martyrs day by both mainstream and separatist political parties and is an official holiday, the latter insist that the struggle for independence is still on as India forcibly occupied part of the State in 1947.
The BJP is surprised to see a 28-year-old to not just rule the state, but also govern it efficiently, Tejaswi said.

Further denying the charges made against him, Tejaswi said that the charges date back to 2004-2006, when he was 14-years-old and a teenager couldn't be committing crimes. (Photo: PTI)

Patna: I will not resign my post, a defiant Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Lalu Prasad Yadavs son Tejaswi said Wednesday, accusing the BJP of spearheading what he called political vendetta against him and his family.

Tejaswi faces corruption charges by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allgedly accepting bribes for misallocation of IRCTC hotels when his father was the Railways Minister in UPA I.

He made a case for himself by stating that the anomalies date back to 2004-06 when he "was just 14 years old. How could a kid do all this? he asked.

Tejaswi said he did not find it surprising that the saffron party had a problem with his father, but that it also feared him.

The main leaders behind this political vendetta are Amit Shah and Narendra Modi. They have always feared my father, but it seems like they are scared of me too. Right from the beginning, they have tried to break the 'mahagathbandhan', and accused us in all possible ways. Not just us, they are always ready to malign Bihar for all possible crimes," he said, after a meeting held by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with all MPs and MLAs to discuss the political impact of CBI raids on alliance partner Lalu Yadav and family.

"The BJP is surprised to see a 28-year-old govern Bihar and that too efficiently. We will take action against them. They don't deserve a place here," he added.

Tejaswi further said their government in the state has always followed a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption and hence, no one could point fingers at him.

"Since the day I joined office, I had made it clear that I would not tolerate corruption. During my reign as Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister, I have not done anything against the government and its functions. All three departments under my control have flourished and helped the state progress," he said.

Though they are maintaining a united front, there is trouble between the two alliance partners Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar over the CBI action.

After a meeting of all JD(U) MLAs Tuesday evening, JD(U) official spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said: We hope the accused comes forward and provide evidence to the public to prove his innocence so that people can be assured these allegations are incorrect. It is their responsibility to provide proof." While JD(U) leaders were not immediately gunning for Tejaswis resignation, this remark hinted that it would be better if he steps down.

Kumar said the JD(U) understood the importance of an alliance and would work till the end with the RJD.

Earlier last week, the CBI registered a corruption case against Lalu Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejaswi Yadav; former Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Managing Director P K Goyal; and the wife of Lalu's confidante Prem Chand Gupta, Sujata on allegations of awarding the tender for development, maintenance and operation of hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006.

The CBI later questioned Rabri Devi and Tejaswi Yadav.

The case was registered on allegations that tenders for development, maintenance and operation of hotels in Ranchi and Puri were unfairly given to a private company in 2006.

The investigating agency also conducted searches at 12 places across Patna, Delhi, Gurugram and elsewhere.

The RJD supremo, however, refuted allegations against him and called it a political conspiracy hatched by the BJP.
Statement issued by the police in Srinagar said Sajad Ahmed Gilkar played a key role in the murder of DSP Muhammad Ayub Pandith.

Three militants were killed in a fire fight with the security forces in central district of Budgam earlier on Wednesday (Photo: File | PTI)

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir police on Wednesday claimed that one of the three Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed in a fire fight with the security forces in central district of Budgam earlier on Wednesday was involved in the lynching of deputy superintendent of police, Muhammad Ayub Pandith.

Pandith was stripped and beaten to death by a mob outside Srinagars Grand Mosque on the night of June 22. He was among three police officials on surveillance and anti sabotage duty and was reportedly clicking pictures of people emerging from the historic Jamia Masjid with his mobile phone when attacked.

A statement issued by the police in Srinagar said Sajad Ahmed Gilkar, son of Nazir Ahmad and resident of Srinagars Malaratha (Nowhatta) locality, played key role in the murder of Pandith.

It added, After the incident, he went underground and joined Hizbul Mujahedin militant ranks.

The statement also said the slain militant was also involved in grenade attacks on CRPF at Nowhatta on April 2, at CRPF camp at Safa Kadal on June 11 and on a police party at Khanyar on April 30, in the attack on one Abdul Qayoom in Barzulla on May 24 and Army convoy near SKIMS Bemina on April 1.

The statement is not clear on the question that if Gilkar joined militant ranks after the lynching of the police officer and how was he involved in these incidents which took place before Pandith was murdered on June 22.

The other two militants who died in the encounter with the security forces in Budgams Redbug area have been identified as Aaqib Gul, a resident of Gooripora and Javaid Ahmedd Sheikh of Churpora Beerwah of Budgam district.
Prime Minister Modi's party alliance with the PDP has cost India massively, Rahul Gandhi said.

Earlier too, in a series of tweets condemning the attack, Rahul had called upon Prime Minister Modi to take responsibility for the Amarnath terror attack. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Blaming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-People's Democratic Party (PDP) Government in Jammu and Kashmir for the recent terror attack on the Amarnath Pilgrims, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy has created space for terrorists in the Valley.

Rahul took to Twitter to condemn the recent terror attack.

"Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India," he tweeted.

Modis policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India#AmarnathTerrorAttack  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

He said Prime Minister Modi's party alliance with the PDP has cost India massively.

"Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively. Modi's personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood," he added.

Modis personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

Earlier too, in a series of tweets condemning the attack, Rahul had called upon Prime Minister Modi to take responsibility for the same, adding that the attack was the result of a 'grave and unacceptable security lapse'.

The BJP, then, lashed out at Rahul's 'lack of maturity' over his attempts to politicise the Anantnag terror attack that killed seven pilgrims.

"While the whole country is united at this dark hour, there are some discordance voices like Rahul Gandhi's. Right now, we need to go after the enemy, not place blame and politicise the matter. This is something that people who are not mature don't understand," BJP leader RK Singh said.

"Whatever corrective action is necessary, it will be taken in due course of time," he added.

As many as seven people were killed and fifteen others injured after a group of terrorists opened fire on a bus carrying 17 pilgrims from Baltal to Mir Bazar around 8.20 p.m. on Monday night.

Meanwhile, three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed by security forces near Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday night.

Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was launched by troops of the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Radbug village of Budgam.

The troops recovered one self-loading rifle along with three magazines and one pistol with one magazine.

Two terrorists have been identified as Javed, a resident of Churpur and Aabid, a resident of Badgam. The identity of the third one is yet to be ascertained.
Three militants killed in encounter, 1 of whom was involved in deputy SP lynching.

New Delhi/Srinagar: The Centre on Wednesday put Jammu & Kashmir on the highest state of alert and directed all security agencies to pursue, with greater vigour and aggression, militants active in the region.

Top security sources in Delhi said the state of alert was upgraded to the highest level following intelligence inputs that there could be more terror attacks.

Early on Wednesday, J&K state police claimed to have killed three Hizbul Mujahideen militants in a firefight, one of whom was involved in the lynching of deputy superintendent of police, Muhammad Ayub Pandith.

A statement issued by J&K police said that Sajad Ahmed Gilkar, son of Nazir Ahmad and resident of Srinagar, had played key role in the murder of Pandith. It added, After the incident, he went underground and joined Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant ranks.

The other two militants who died on Wednesday morning in the encounter which began Tuesday night in the central district of Budgam have been identified as Aaqib Gul, a resident of Gooripora, and Javaid Ahmedd Sheikh of Churpora Beerwah of Budgam.

Following the news of the militants killing, irate crowds took to the streets in some areas of Srinagar and Budgam and a large number of people turned up at the funeral of the slain militants. About half-a-dozen people, including a press photographer, were injured when security forces fired teargas canisters and shotgun pellets to break the procession of mourners.

Read: J&K: 2 Army jawans killed in firing by Pakistan troops along LoC in Kupwara

As tensions rose, reinforcements from J&K police and central paramilitary forces enforced a security lockdown in parts of Srinagar, including the old town. Mobile Internet services were snapped and train services partially suspended as a precautionary measure.

In Delhi, the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, was focused primarily on the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in which seven were killed and 19 injured, and to ensure that the pilgrimage could continue without incident. So far, more than 1.5 lakh pilgrims have visited the cave shrine located in the Himalayas. The 40-day long pilgrimage began on June 29.

Top security sources said the state of alert was upgraded to the highest level following intelligence inputs that there could be more terror attacks. Considering the unfortunate loss of life and injuries suffered by the yatris (pilgrims) in the recent terror attack, the entire security apparatus has been put on the highest alert by the ministers, a home ministry official said.

Read: Protests after Hizbul-Mujahideen militants killed

The CCS, sources added, also reviewed deployment of security forces in the Valley, which was found to be adequate. However, it was agreed to change the deployment pattern of security forces in wake of the Amarnath incident. For instance, the timing of Road Opening Party (ROP) would be extended beyond 7 pm, while presence of mobile bunkers and police posts along the yatra route would be increased.

This would be done in discussion with commanders of Army and para-military forces operating on the ground, a senior security official said. Security deployment for Amarnath Yatra this year was almost doubled compared to previous years.

Initial investigations have revealed that Sundays attack was carried out by a group of four Lashkar militants and at least two of them, including Abu Ismail, were Pakistani nationals. Security agencies are also investigating the possibility of local support to this terror module.

Senior officials from the home ministry, Army, para-military along with two Union ministers, Hansraj Ahir and Jitendra Singh, have already visited the Valley to review the situation. They held extensive discussions with senior security officials in Srinagar, governor N.N. Vohra and chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.

The ministers have given their feedback to home minister Rajnath Singh and Prime Ministers Office on changes required in the existing security apparatus in the Valley.

Meanwhile, home ministry has also asked security agencies in other states to remain alert for any possible backlash against Kashmiris living there in wake of the Amarnath killings.
India and Israel signed seven agreements to step-up cooperation in key sectors like space, agriculture and water conservation.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart from Israel Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during their visit to the Israel Museum to witness an exhibition on India-Jewish Heritage in Jerusalem recently. (Photo: PTI)

Aapka swaagat hai, mere dost (welcome, my friend), said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. Breaking protocol, he personally received the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel at Tel Avivs Ben Gurion Airport, an honour previously accorded only to the US President and the Pope and that too with Israels entire Cabinet present at the airport.

It is truly a historic visit, said Mr Netanyahu, who termed the friendship between their two countries as natural. Soon after he announced that a $40 million innovation fund was being set up for cooperation between India and Israel. In his comments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India counts Israel as an important partner in its path to development and a strong resilient partnership with it will be his focus.

You said when it comes to India-Israel relationship, sky is the limit. But actually my friend, the sky isnt the limit because today our space programmes are working towards reaching even greater heights, Mr Netanyahu said with a smile. The tie between our talented, innovative people is natural. It is so natural that we can ask what took so long for them to blossom We love India We have been waiting for the last 70 years for a visit by an Indian Prime Minister, the Israeli PM affirmed and hailed Mr Modi as a great leader of India and a great world leader.

The significance of these statements is borne by the fact that the Jewish people, often persecuted in history, found India a friendly country to be in and the many synagogues they built stand as a testament to the Indian spirit of inclusiveness. Maharashtra has 16 synagogues, including six in Mumbai itself and two in Pune. Gujarat has one in Ahmedabad, New Delhi has one and Kerala has at least five in three of its districts. The earliest synagogue in Kerala dates back to as early as 1130, while almost all others were built in 1800s to early 1900s.

Following in-depth talks Mr Modi and Mr Netanyahu, India and Israel signed seven agreements to step-up cooperation in key sectors like space, agriculture and water conservation. A memorandum of understanding was signed between department of science and technology and Israels National Technological Innovation Authority for setting up of $40 million worth India-Israel Industrial Research and Development and Technical Innovation Fund. Mr Modi said, We are of one view that together our scientists and researchers would develop, build and implement mutually beneficial solutions in the field.

B. Bala Bhaskar, joint secretary (West Asia and North Africa) in the ministry of external affairs, is reported to have stated prior to this visit that Israel has expressed its great willingness over the last three years to participate in Indias flagship initiatives, like Make in India, Clean Ganga, Smart Cities and Digital India. Stating that there has been ongoing cooperation in the agriculture sector, he said: With the help of Israel we have established centres of excellence in various states aimed at increasing productivity, crop management and water management.

Inviting Israeli youth to visit India in large numbers, Mr Modi announced that Delhi-Mumbai-Tel Aviv flights will start soon. To the Indian diaspora in Israel, he informed that India will soon open an Indian cultural centre in Israel and assured that Indians in Israel will never face difficulty in obtaining OCI and PIO cards, clarifying that even those who have completed compulsory service in the Israeli Army will not face any trouble in obtaining an OCI card.

During a recent pre-Modis visit seminar at Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), retired ambassador Shyam Saran expressed hope that the visit would have a significant impact on taking forward the diplomatic and strategic ties between the two nations.

The earliest signs of unannounced India-Israel military collaboration were during the 1962 Sino-Indian war, and later in both the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan wars. India reciprocated during the six-day war in 1967 by providing Israel with spare parts for French-made Mystere and Ouragan aircrafts as well as AMX-13 tanks (also French-made). However, when Israel offered to refurbish Indian Armys World War II vintage British made Centurion tanks, whose crews had destroyed disproportionately large numbers of Pakistan Armys relatively newer Patton and its other tanks in both the 1965 and 1971 wars, India declined the offer, much to the disappointment of personnel of regiments equipped with them. By 1974, the Centurions were sold off to some African nation and were replaced with the then new indigenous tank, which hardly saw any battle and was eventually replaced.

Former Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, Indias first defence attache to Israel after the start of India-Israel diplomatic relations in 1992, disclosed during the IDSA seminar, that missile pods timely provided by Israel in 1999, were of great help in capturing Tiger Hill from the Pakistan Army during the heightened confrontation in Kargil area. In the same confrontation, Israel also supplied the Indian Army with artillery shells, which there was a shortage of.

In the late 1990s, a crucial defence deal was the Indian purchase of Barak 1, a very versatile air-defence missile, capable of intercepting the US-made Harpoon missiles deployed by Pakistan.

Minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamre is reported to have stated that over the past two years, contracts signed by India for the procurement of weapons and military platforms with Israel, make it Indias second largest source for weapons after the United States.

Three months before Mr Modis Israel visit, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) was awarded a $2 billion contract of military hardware to India, considered to be the largest defence contract in Israels defence industries history. IAI announced that it has signed a mega-contract worth more than $1.6 billion to provide advanced medium-range surface-to-air missiles (MRSAMs) to the Indian Army. The balance of about $400 million in contracts has been awarded to Rafael Advanced Defence Systems.

Israeli weapon systems and equipment acquired by India are the Barak 1 surface to air missiles (SAMs), medium range SAM, Spyder surface to air mobile air defence system, smart, precise, impact, cost effective (Spice) precision bombs, Phalcon airborne warning and control system (AWACS), Heron armed drones, Spike anti-tank guided missiles, Galil sniper rifles, Aerostat radars and the IWI Tavor assault rifles.

The combo of Mr Modis visits to the US and Israel, one after the other, has caused severe indigestion to both China and Pakistan. While China is freaking out with transgressions in many locations along the Line of Actual Control, Pakistan has been smarting as much of its terrorists movements across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir that have been detected by Israeli surveillance devices.

The writer, a retired Army officer, is a defence and security analyst based in New Delhi
It will be the first such international centre in eastern India and will play a major role in sustaining rice production in the region.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modis Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi will soon have an international centre on rice research, after the Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal to set up an International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) there. It will work to develop special rice varieties.

Highly-placed sources said that the agriculture ministry expedited the Cabinet note on the proposal within record time to get the Cabinet clearance.

In fact, so fast things moved that the note, which was initially supposed to be discussed in next weeks Cabinet meeting, was sent for clearance on the evening of Tuesday (July 11) itself.

Sources in the know informed this newspaper that with the Cabinet reshuffle scheduled for next month, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh was keen to improve his report card and therefore is learnt to have ensured that the centre comes up in Varanasi.

Incidentally the new centre, which will be an extension office of the internationally renowned IRRI situated in Philippines, already has an office in New Delhi, situated in Pusa campus of IARI. The Delhi centre though is funded by IRRI, while the proposed one in Varanasi will be Centrally funded.

It will be the first such international centre in eastern India and will play a major role in sustaining rice production in the region.

The ISARC will be established on the campus of the National Seed Research and Training Centre (NSRTC) in Varanasi, official sources said.

The Centre will help in utilising the rich biodiversity of India to develop special rice varieties. This will help India to achieve higher per hectare yields and improved nutritional contents. Indias food and nutritional security issues will also be addressed. The Centre will support in adopting value chain based production system in the country.

ISARC will operate under the governance of the IRRI (Philippines) Board of Trustees who will appoint an appropriate IRRI staff member as Director. A Coordination Committee will be headed by Director General, IRRI as Chair and Secretary in the Government of India, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DACFW) as Co-Chair.
The RSS top brass has been camping here and would be leaving for Jammu and Kashmir to attend a key meeting of senior pracharaks.

New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah is likely to meet the RSS top brass, including Bha-iyya Joshi, on Thursday to discuss issues including the NDAs vice-president.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who released a coffee-table book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday is unlikley to attend the meeting. The Opposition parties have already declared Mahatama Gandhis grandson and former West Bengal governor, Gopal Krishna Gandhi as their candidate for the vice-president post. After the meeting of Mr Shah and the RSS top brass, the BJP is also expected to hold the meeting of its parliamentary board to announce the NDAs vice presidential candidate.

The RSS top brass has been camping here and would be leaving for Jammu and Kashmir to attend a key meeting of senior pracharaks.

In the wake of terror attack on Amarnath yatris and the ongoing situation in the Kashmir Valley ever since Hizbul terrorist Burhan Wani was shot dead, the RSS could also send a strong message to the Mehbooba Mufti-led state government and the Modi government from this Akhil Bhartiya Pracharak Sabha.

This meeting is being held for the first time in the state and the RSS, sources said, will hold a special session on how to expand its base in the state, including in the Valley and Leh-Laddakh. BJP leaders, including its general secretary (organisation), joint general secretaries (organisation) and national general secretary and incharge of Jammu and Kashmir affairs, Ram Madhav are likley to attend. Sources said Mr Shah could also attend the meeting, which will begin from July 15 till 21. Ahead of the meeting, the RSS top brass could also meet on July 14 to finalise the agenda of the meeting as well as delieberate on some political issues.
Tejashwi Yadav is being groomed to succeed his father Lalu Yadav in Bihar politics and charges leveled against him may hamper his ambitions.

Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav talking to media at the old secretariat before the cabinet meeting in Patna. (Photo: PTI)

Patna: Bihars deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday rejected corruption charges against him and termed it a conspiracy by the BJP to break the alliance in Bihar.

Talking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting in Patna, Mr Yadav said that he had pledged zero tolerance on corruption the day he had joined office and always went out of his way to help poor and backward people.

Tejashwi Yadav is being groomed to succeed his father Lalu Yadav in Bihar politics and charges leveled against him may hamper his ambitions.

FIR against me is a part of political vendetta. Its a conspiracy by BJP chief Amit Shah and the Prime Minister to break the alliance in Bihar, deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said in Patna on Wednesday.

This was Tejashwi Yadavs first public appearance after raids were conducted at his residence in Patna and other places.

Mr Yadav also interacted with the chief minister for the first time on Wednesday during a Cabinet meeting.

I am not resigning from the post and why should I resign when I know that cases registered against me are wrong? Mr. Yadav said. He claimed that the CBI had registered the FIR against him in cases from 2004 when he was 14-year-old kid with no moustache and had no proper knowledge of scam and corruption.

Can you imagine a child of 14 years of age whose moustache had not even come out getting involved in corruption and land scam? Cases against me are wrong, Mr Yadav said.

He added, The BJP was always scared of my father Lalu Yadav but now I know that they are also nervous to see my growth as a political leader.

Mr Yadavs attendance at the Cabinet meeting is also being considered significant because Nitish Kumar during a four-hour long JD (U) meeting on Tuesday had said he wanted a public clarification by RJD top leaders over the allegations and indicated that he expected Tejashwi Yadav to resign from the post.

The rift within the grand secular alliance deepened last Friday after CBI raided the premises of RJD chief Lalu and his family based on an FIR against him for allegedly acquiring a plot in Patna at cheaper rates by using his position as railway minister in 2006. Tejashwi Yadav is one of the owners of the plot on which a mall is being constructed.
Intent alone suffices to cause neural changes

Washington: People concerned about the well being of others are happier than those who focus only on their own advancement. Generosity makes people happier, even if they are only a little generous. People who act solely out of self-interest are less happy. Merely promising to be more generous is enough to trigger a change in our brains that makes us happier. This is what UZH neuroeconomists found in a recent study.

Doing something nice for another person gives many people a pleasant feeling that behavioral economists call a warm glow. In collaboration with international researchers, Philippe Tobler and Ernst Fehr from the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich investigated how brain areas communicate to produce this feeling. The results provide insight into the interplay between altruism and happiness.

-Even a little generosity makes people happier

In their experiments, the researchers found that people who behaved generously were happier afterwards than those who behaved more selfishly. However, the amount of generosity did not influence the increase in contentment. "You don't need to become a self-sacrificing martyr to feel happier. Just being a little more generous will suffice," says Philippe Tobler.

Before the experiment started, some of the study participants had verbally committed to behaving generously towards other people. This group was willing to accept higher costs in order to do something nice for someone else. They also considered themselves happier after their generous behavior (but not beforehand) than the control group, who had committed to behaving generously toward themselves.

-Intent alone suffices to cause neural changes

While the study participants were making their decision to behave or not to behave generously, the researchers examined activity in three areas of the participants' brains: in the temporoparietal junction (where prosocial behavior and generosity are processed), in the ventral striatum (which is associated with happiness), and in the orbitofrontal cortex (where we weigh the pros and cons during decision-making processes). These three brain areas interacted differently, depending on whether the study participants had committed to generosity or selfishness.

Simply promising to behave generously activated the altruistic area of the brain and intensified the interaction between this area and the area associated with happiness. "It is remarkable that intent alone generates a neural change before the action is actually implemented," says Tobler.

-Benefit from the promise to behave generously

"Promising to behave generously could be used as a strategy to reinforce the desired behavior, on the one hand, and to feel happier, on the other," says Tobler. His co-author Soyoung Park adds: "There are still some open questions, such as: Can communication between these brain regions be trained and strengthened? If so, how? And, does the effect last when it is used deliberately, that is, if a person only behaves generously in order to feel happier?"

-About the experiment

At the beginning of the experiment, the 50 participants were promised a sum of money that they would receive in the next few weeks and were supposed to spend. Half of the study participants committed to spending the money on someone they knew (experimental group, promise of generosity), while the other half committed to spending the money on themselves (control group).

Subsequently, all of the study participants made a series of decisions concerning generous behavior, namely, whether to giving somebody who is close to them a gift of money. The size of the gift and the cost thereof varied: One could, for example, give the other person five francs at a cost of two francs. Or give twenty francs at a cost of fifteen.

While the study participants were making these decisions, the researchers measured activity in three brain areas: in the temporoparietal junction, where prosocial behavior and generosity are processed; in the ventral striatum, which is associated with happiness; and in the orbitofrontal cortex, where we weigh the pros and cons during decision-making processes. The participants were asked about their happiness before and after the experiment.
Everything was going smoothly until the topic of India's economic decline came up for which the girl blamed PM Modi.

Marriages are said to made in heaven but sometimes all hell can break lose over unexpected reasons that end up breaking this bond even before its formed. Not long ago a woman changed her mind about tying the knot with a guy who thought doing the nagin dance at his wedding would be cool, and its just one among many such incidents.

In an unfortunate turn of events in Uttar Pradesh, a government employee and her to be husband decided to abandon plans of a marriage just because they had a disagreement over PM Narendra Modi. While heated arguments and trolling that can also lead to a volley of abuses is a common sight on the social media, cancelling a wedding over it seems to be taking things too far.

According to a leading daily, everything was reportedly going fine until the topic of economic slowdown in India came up during the conversation. The woman, a government employee blamed Modi for it, while the man refused to buy it since he is a Modi supporter.

Like many others around Modis policies, this argument too wasnt going anywhere but the duo seemed to agree when it came to the decision to call off the wedding. While this isnt the first time an unusual reason got a union cancelled, this one comes across as the most puzzling one.
Sen, who is presently at his hometown in Santiniketan, in Birbhum, refused to be dragged into the controversy.

Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit out at the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for red flagging a documentary shot on Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and alleged that every single voice of the Opposition was being muzzled.

Director Suman Ghosh was told on Tuesday night to mute the words Gujarat, Cow, Hindutva view of India and Hindu India for getting a U/A certificate for the documentary.

Every single voice of Opposition is being muzzled. Now it is Dr Amartya Sen. If someone of his stature cannot express himself freely, what hope does the common citizen have? Ms Banerjee tweeted. Dr Sen, who is presently at his hometown in Santiniketan, in Birbhum, refused to be dragged into the controversy.

What can I say about this? This film is not made by me. I am the subject of the film and the subject should not be talking about these things. Director Suman Ghosh will say whatever needs to be said. It does not look good for me to say something on this matter, Dr Sen said when reporters sought his reaction on An Argumentative Indian failing to get the nod of the censor board. He however suggested that the government should speak to the shareholders about its disapproval.

Dr Ghosh asserted that he would not exclude any words from his film. I expressed my inability to them. Taking out certain words from the discussion between Dr Sen and the interviewer, economist Kaushik Basu, would rob the soul of the documentary, he argued. He added that he awaited a written communication from the CBFC on whether it would send the film to the review committee in Mumbai.

The film is very topical in todays scenario. These days films get online certifications. So I hope the issue gets resolved quickly. But no question of taking out some words. In fact, this episode has convinced me that I have portrayed the true picture through this documentary, Mr Ghosh said.

The film had a special screening in Kolkata on Monday and was scheduled for release in a number of theatres on Friday. It has already been screened in New York and London.

Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee slammed the move. Why will we say that we are living in a democratic country when somebody is not allowed freedom of speech and that too of a person who is acknowledged and honoured in the whole world. This is fascism and I am sorry to say that here even what a people should eat is being dictated, he said.
The SC was hearing four petitions challenging the Madras HC decision.

Mumbai: Beef and cattle dealers in the state have welcomed the Supreme Courts move to uphold the Madras high courts stay on implementation of the May 23 central government notification barring buying of cattle for slaughter. The dealers said that while they had stopped buying and slaughtering of schedule 1 animals like cows and bulls, the May 23 notification restraining them from buying and slaughtering buffaloes had badly affected them and the Supreme Court decision had saved them.

On Tuesday, the apex court said the Madras high courts stay on implementation of the notification would continue for another three months and would be effective for the rest of the country. The SC was hearing four petitions challenging the Madras HC decision. The apex courts dismissal of the petitions was based on the fact that the Centre said it had withdrawn the notification and would be coming out with a new one with changes.

Umar Ansari, president of Al Quraysh Human Watch, who is also member of a beef dealers association, said the apex court decision brought a major relief and confirmed their faith in the judiciary. We have been in the business of buying cattle for beef for decades and were grievously affected by the May 23 notification as barred us from buying water buffaloes that were slaughtered for beef after the government restricted slaughter of schedule I animals that included cows, bulls and bullocks, said Mr Ansari.

He added that the notification would have made lakhs of people dependent on the business jobless.

A number of beef dealers in the city said the apex court order would ensure that their business was safeguarded and the poor got nourishment too. Jamal Qureshi, a dealer from Bandra, said, Beef is a major source of nourishment for the poor as they cannot afford goat or chicken meat. The apex court order has not only saved us but also the poor.
According to police, the accused, identified as Sanjay Verma, works in a hotel as a waiter.

The incident took place on Monday night when the victim, who is in her thirties, was going towards Vile Parle railway station after visiting a relative. (Photo: Representational/PTI)

Mumbai: An 18-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly molesting a woman journalist working in an English daily in suburban Vile Parle, a senior police official said on Wednesday.

The incident took place on Monday night when the victim, who is in her thirties, was going towards Vile Parle railway station after visiting a relative.

According to police, the accused, identified as Sanjay Verma, works in a hotel as a waiter.

The woman told the police that when she was walking on M G Road, the accused hit her from behind and tried to molest her. However, the woman dragged Verma to a nearby police chowki, he said.

"The constables posted there called a police van and the woman as well as the accused were brought to Vile Parle police station," he said.

According to police, although the journalist was initially not keen about filing a complaint, she decided to do so after consulting a senior police official.

A case under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) was registered against Verma.

The accused was arrested and produced in a local court on Tuesday, which remanded him in police custody, the official added.
We are also working to make a positive impact in the world, said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Microsoft is not only building IT solutions solely to support conspicuous consumption, it is also working to make a positive impact in the world, Indian American CEO Satya Nadella has said.

"Whether it's helping a 50-year-old insurance business modernise their line-of-business application, or growing a new business from scratch, Microsoft is betting on the future for our collective customers," Nadella told an annual meeting of Microsoft's partners gathered here from across the globe, including 176 from India.

"While there is tremendous growth opportunity, we are not building solutions solely to support conspicuous consumption. We are also working to make a positive impact in the world and continue to be encouraged by the enormous potential for partners to have local impact that ultimately has a profound global impact," Nadella said in his key note address, kicking off the 14-day annual meet in the American Capital.

Microsoft partners employ 17 million people around the world. Microsoft has 64,000 partners working in cloud services.

"While our mission and our commitment to partners is steadfast, technology and technology paradigms come and go.

One such evolution is the move from a mobile-first, cloud- first world, to one that is rooted in the intelligent edge and intelligent cloud," the 49-year-old said.

This shift will bring about more digital technology in more mainstream ways into every life and every organisation, he said.

Observing that digital transformation represents a massive opportunity, Nadella said he sees this trend playing out as every company is impacted by technology in completely new, and sometimes unexpected, ways.

"And together we must push ourselves to rethink the opportunity in front of us and our customers," he told the partners.

Business leaders are looking at how they can apply digital technology and build systems of intelligence to rethink how to empower employees, engage customers, optimise operations and transform products, he said.

We are making progress, but future growth depends on our collective ability to transcend current product category definitions and business models," he added.

The Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge, where every product and every service will have built-in digital cogs, offers an opportunity of USD 4.5 trillion.

At Microsoft, we want to democratise this notion of digital transformation so that every business can truly harness the power of this digital era.

We must also change how we go to market and better serve customers with core solution areas to enable this digital transformation, Nadella said.

Announcing the launch of Microsoft 365, Nadella said this along with LinkedIn Business Solutions, they have opportunity to redefine what customers can expect from their business applications.

"Organisations of all sizes can now digitise business-critical functions, including relationship sales, talent and people processes, operations, customer service, field service and more," he said.

"Together with our partners, we can lead in this new paradigm of business applications, and we will prioritise our efforts across both product and go-to-market strategies," he said.

"Instead of sales management, it's social selling; instead of people administration, it's employee engagement.

It's about reframing what you want to achieve and having the tools and the infrastructure to help you achieve this new outcome," Nadella said.

Asserting that cloud is foundational to enabling digital transformation, the Indian American CEO said they are now moving beyond big data and even machine learning capabilities to be able to infuse cognitive capabilities, like computer vision and understanding natural language, into the applications one builds.

"The cloud fuelling AI can help every company in every corner of the globe transform, from Lieberr, which is building an intelligent refrigerator, to Boeing, which is now delivering aircrafts with a digital twin, to using commodity cameras with deep neural networks to turn any place into a search engine, and many more," Nadella said.
Earlier this week, Indias telecom operator Reliance Jio allegedly experienced a data breach after personal details of some of the Jio subscribers were leaked on a website, Magicapk.com. The breach was first reported by technology website Fonarena.com. Following which, a Jio spokeswoman said that they had informed the law enforcement agencies about the claims of the website, and are going to follow through to ensure strict action is taken against the perpetrator. Now, a new report suggests that the police have apparently cracked the case.

As reported by Midday, the Navi Mumbai investigation team has zeroed in on the 25-year-old Pintoo Chimpa in Rajasthan as being the primary link to the given data-breach. The man has reportedly been detained and a team of five police personnel has already left for Churu  a village 300km away from Jaipur, to take custody of the accused. Additional SP from Churu, Yogendra Faujdar has confirmed the news information, the report added.

"The prime suspect of the data theft case is in our custody. The detained person has been kept under vigil within the additional SP office premises and we are waiting for Navi Mumbai police team to reach here so that he can be handed over to them," Faujdar told Midday.

Users have been registered on the Reliance Jio network using a 12-digit Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) provided number, commonly known as the 'Aadhaar' number. The 'Aadhaar' number, which works on the similar lines as Social Security numbers in the US, is unique to every Indian citizen and stores biometric and demographic data of the user at a centralised database.

The data breach pose a large setback for the Indian telecom entrant's aggressive push led by Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani, which added 3.9 million subscribers to its network in April. Many users on Monday, 10th July complained on Twitter about personal information of millions of Jio users being publicly available on Magicapk.com, in what appears to be the first of its kind large-scale data breach of an Indian telecom operator. Reliance Jio hasnt provided any comments on this matter as yet.
Islamic extremist group's insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people, abducted thousands and spilled over into neighboring countries.

Maiduguri (Nigeria): Four Boko Haram suicide bombers killed 19 people in a series of attacks that targeted a civilian self-defense force and the people who gathered to mourn their deaths, police in northeastern Nigeria said on Wednesday.

Borno state police commissioner Damian Chukwu said 23 others were wounded in Tuesday night's attacks in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram's eight-year insurgency.

The police commissioner said 12 of the dead were members of a civilian self-defense force and the other seven people were killed when they gathered to mourn them.

At least one of the suicide bombers was female, said a spokesman for the self-defense force, Danbatta Bello. The bombers specifically targeted his colleagues while they were on duty, he said.

"A teenage female suicide bomber actually crept to the sandbag post of our boys at Molai and before they could realize what was happening she detonated herself and killed three of our boys," Bello said.

"That happened simultaneously with the one that occurred at the tea vendor's, where seven of our members who took their time off to eat their dinner were killed," he said.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw mourning residents preparing the bodies of the victims for burial. Nigeria's government late last year declared that Boko Haram had been "crushed" but deadly attacks continue.

The Islamic extremist group's insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people, abducted thousands of others and spilled over into neighboring countries.

Northeastern Nigeria is part of what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis in more than 70 years, with the World Food Program estimating that more than 4.5 million people in the region need emergency food assistance.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash.

Umamaheswara Kalapatapu, 63, and his wife Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu, 61, both of Logansport, were killed in the crash, according to a media release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. (Photo: Facebook)

Houston: An Indian-origin psychiatrist couple was killed when their private plane crashed in the US state of Ohio, police officials said on Wednesday.

Umamaheswara Kalapatapu, 63, and his wife Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu, 61, both of Logansport, were killed in the crash, according to a media release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The Piper Archer PA-28 piloted by Umamaheswara is believed to have crashed sometime between 10:36 am and 12:30 pm on Saturday, July 8, the release said.

Read: 46-yr-old Indian-American lawyer dies after being hit by train in US

The Ohio State Highway Patrol Aviation with the assistance of the Civil Air Patrol located the crash scene in an abandoned retention pond near the village of Beverly in southeastern Ohio.

Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt Garic Warner said the crash occurred about 3 miles northwest of Beverly. Searchers found the wreckage on Saturday afternoon.

There was no word on what caused the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

The Bowen Centre replied to a NewsChannel 15 tweet to offer condolences to the Kalapatapu family- It is with great sadness we have been informed about the loss of Dr Kalapatapu and his wife. We offer our condolences to friends & family.

The Kalapatapus were psychiatrists and owned Raj Clinics, with offices in Logansport, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Lafayette and Kokomo.

Heather Geisler, Logansport, said shes done data entry, scanning and a little bit of everything for the Logansport clinic for the past eight years.

Read: 26-year-old Indian-American missing in Boston; police say investigation is on

They were generous to a fault, extremely hardworking and dedicated to their patients, Geisler said of the Kalapatapus.

Umamaheswara Kalapatapu was a talented photographer while Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu was a gifted musician and fantastic cook, Geisler said.

Umamaheswara Kalapatapu received multiple state, national and international awards and recognitions for his photography and had been a certified professional photographer by the Professional Photographers of America since 2005, according to Pharos-Tribune archives.

They were just two people that were so full of life. Its hard to imagine that theyre not there anymore. They were wonderful people, absolutely wonderful. Two of the kindest people Ive ever known and Im going to miss them, Geisler said.

Raj Clinics Logansport location opened in 1995, she added.
Madison Coe, 14 and from Lubbock, died at her father's home in New Mexico over the weekend while taking a bath.

Austin: A Texas teenager was killed after she grasped a plugged-in cell phone while taking a bath, prompting her family to spread word of the incident to prevent another electrocution death.

Madison Coe, 14 and from Lubbock, died at her father's home in New Mexico over the weekend while taking a bath, the Hobbs News-Sun reported citing emergency officials.

Police in Lovington, New Mexico, said the victim appears to have been electrocuted and they found a cellphone, charger cord and extension cord in the bathroom.

Coe's grandmother said in an interview that the girl had a burn mark on her hand from where she held the phone.

"This is such a tragedy that doesn't need to happen to anyone else," Donna O'Guinn, the teen's grandmother said.

"We want something good to come out of this as awareness of not using your cell phone in the bathroom as it is plugged in and charging," O'Guinn added. "She was just sweet to everybody and everybody loved her." O'Guinn did not immediately return a call from Reuters.

The teen's mother Angela O'Guinn Downs put a post on her Facebook page showing pictures of her daughter that ran with the message: "Please, please let her voice be heard and protect and educate your children on the fatal dangers of electrocution." She did not respond to a message through Facebook for comment.

A memorial is planned for the teen on Saturday in Lubbock, a local church said.
Pence said in statement that he knew nothing of meeting -- which took place well before he became Trump's running mate in the election.

Washington: US Vice President Mike Pence sought Tuesday to distance himself from the snowballing scandal over possible collusion with Russian election interference that increasingly threatens President Donald Trump.

After Trump's son Donald Jr. admitted to meeting a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton last June, Pence declared in a statement that he knew nothing of the meeting -- which took place well before he became Trump's running mate in the election.

Read: Trump Jr tweets email chain showing Russian aid for 2016 US polls campaign

"The vice president is working every day to advance the president's agenda, which is what the American people sent us here to do," his office said in a statement.

"The vice president was not aware of the meeting. He is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket."

Earlier Tuesday Trump Jr. released emails showing he had arranged to meet with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya over her offer of "incriminating" material on Clinton ostensibly sourced from the Russian government. Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner also attended the meeting.

Read: Trump Jr met Kremlin lawyer during US Prez polls campaign: report

Trump Jr. said Veselnitskaya ultimately had "no meaningful" information on Clinton and instead wanted to talk about US sanctions on Russia. He labelled it a "nonsense meeting."

But critics say the meeting suggests the Trump campaign was prepared to collude with Russian efforts, not clearly understood at the time, to undermine Clinton's run for president.

The meeting took place on June 9, five weeks before Pence was officially chosen as Trump's vice presidential running mate.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer offered condolences to the victims and families of Monday's assault.

Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel interact with Salim Sheikh, driver of the bus, and survivors of the Amarnath attack at the airport in Surat. (Photo: PTI)

Washington: The White House on Wednesday condemned a deadly terrorist attack on Amarnath pilgrims stating it as "cowardly" act.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said an attack on religious freedom is an attack on the "most fundamental right of liberty."

Spicer is offering condolences to the victims and families of Monday's assault. He said the US and India will fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world.

President Donald Trump recently hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (nah-REN'-drah MOH'-dee) for talks and dinner at the White House.

During Monday's attack, gunmen sprayed bullets on a passenger bus as it returned Hindu pilgrims from a cave shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Authorities said at least seven people were killed, and more than a dozen others were wounded.

Earlier on Tuesday, the US ambassador to New Delhi deplored the attack on Amarnath pilgrims and said it condemned all acts of terrorism. It also extended its "deepest" condolences to the families and "all those affected".

"We deplore the attack on #Amarnath pilgrims & condemn all acts of terrorism. Deepest condolences to the families & all those affected," the US ambassador to New Delhi's official Twitter post said.

The US has appointed Kenneth I Juster as its ambassador to India but he is yet to take office.

Meanwhile, condemning the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir, a top Hindu-American body in the US has urged the Trump admin to clampdown on Pakistan for supporting terrorist groups carrying out attacks in India.

"This was an unconscionable attack on innocent pilgrims exercising their most fundamental and basic rights to freedom of religion," said Hindu American Foundation (HAF) board member Rajiv Pandit.
The ships will next take part in the 'Joint Sea 2017' exercises in waters off the Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad.

China's navy is the world's second-largest behind the US and is increasingly operating in the Mediterranean. (Photo: Representational/File)

Beijing: In a demonstration of the Chinese navy's expanding global reach, the country's latest-generation warships conducted live-firing drills in the Mediterranean Sea this week while en route to joint exercises with the Russian navy, the defense ministry said Wednesday.

The destroyer Hefei, frigate Yuncheng and support ship Luomahu took part in Monday's drills involving the ship's deck guns and small arms, the ministry said in a notice on its website.

"Maintaining a strict schedule of targeted exercises accomplishes transit, training and improvement en route, raising the flotilla's training levels and capabilities," it quote flotilla commander Liu Hui as saying.

The ships will next take part in the "Joint Sea 2017" exercises in waters off the Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, part of growing cooperation between the countries' militaries.

China's navy is the world's second-largest behind the US and is increasingly operating in the Mediterranean, aided by the construction of a naval logistics base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti.

Two naval ships departed Tuesday from the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang with personnel to man the facility, China's first overseas military base.

While China says the base is needed to support peacekeeping, anti-piracy and other missions in the region, Beijing's rivalry with the US is considered a key driving force behind the country's military expansion.

"The US Navy is also more combat ready because it has been actively participating in joint drills and regional wars for decades," the official China Daily newspaper said in an editorial Wednesday.

"This means China has to work harder to become a major naval power that can better defend its territorial rights and sovereignty," it said.

On Tuesday, China's sole operating aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, departed Hong Kong after a visit aimed at inspiring patriotism among citizens of the former British colony that reverted to Chinese rule 20 years ago.

Taiwan's defense ministry said it was monitoring the progress of the carrier and its escorts as they traveled northward along the western portion of the Taiwan Strait.
Comedian Pikotaro gave Foreign Minister Kishida a posing lesson, with hand gestures showing 17 development project areas.

The PPAP star beamed at the invitation to accompany the diplomat to New York and pledged to do his utmost for the awareness campaign. (Photo: AP)

Tokyo: "Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen" and the UN are rhyming. Japanese comedian Pikotaro has adapted his catchy song to promote the United Nations' sustainable development goals. The original went viral last year after pop star Justin Bieber tweeted that it was his favourite video.

Pikotaro, in his trademark leopard-lizard design outfit, was a bit reserved at an appearance Wednesday alongside the more conservatively dressed Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

The PPAP star beamed at the invitation to accompany the diplomat to New York and pledged to do his utmost for the awareness campaign. They'll debut the UN version, "SDGs," on Monday.

At first, Pikotaro seemed unconvinced. "Do you mean the UN, one that is in New York? Me? Are you sure?" he asks half-jokingly. Kishida reassured him that it is a Japan-hosted reception at the UN headquarters where he will be performing.

The UN action plan sets goals in fighting poverty, climate change and other global challenges. Kishida says he needs to boost awareness for the project in which every citizen needs to help. "Pikotaro-san's popularity would be extremely effective to boost public recognition," Kishida told him.

Pikotaro says it would be a challenge to achieve all the goals, but he is happy to accept the Foreign Ministry's appointment to the promotional role and to help by doing what he does best. "Something easy that encourages people to watch and follow example."

He also gave Kishida a brief posing lesson, demonstrating hand gestures showing 17 development project areas as the minister struggled to copy Pikotaro.

There was no dancing lesson, however. In the PPAP song, Pikotaro mimics stabbing a pen into an apple and a pineapple while singing simple English lyrics and dancing to a catchy beat.
The members decided to take the coalition parties into confidence before making a proper strategy for the legal war.

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday that he would neither quit nor dissolve the National Assembly.

Amid the Oppositions pressure to resign, the PM said he had done nothing wrong and would not succumb to the demands.

Speaking in a meeting on Tuesday night, Mr Sharif said he will challenge the final Panamagate report submitted by Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in the Supreme Court.

This week, the JIT probing the Panama case submitted its report to the Supreme Court, highlighting glaring disparities between the Sharif familys known sources of income and their actual wealth.

The premier presided over a meeting at the PM House on Tuesday night to discuss course-of-action of the ruling party following submission of the JIT report. The members decided to take the coalition parties into confidence before making a proper strategy for the legal war.

The PM also ordered to constitute a legal team under the supervision of advocate Khawaja Harris whereas the already formed legal team that includes barrister Zafarullah Khan and Anousha Rehman will assist Mr Harris.

They also discussed strong reactions coming in from the Opposition parties, especially the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which has demanded PMs resignation.

An official statement said the representatives of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) reiterated their confidence in the party leadership and branded the JIT report a compilation of documents based on hypotheses and lies. They said the probe team relied upon media coverage and accusations only, which makes it a political report.

They also said that PMs hands were clean as he was not having any offshore company, therefore, he will not resign, adding Panama Leaks was a conspiracy whose directors are abroad and actors are in the country.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar rejected as baseless the allegations leveled against him about his finance matters. He said all the record of his tax returns and financial matters is available, and will be presented to the court.

He said a narrative was being tried to be built since the report was submitted to the court. He said patience should be observed till the decision, and the democratic process should be allowed to be continued.

Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said the allegations leveled by the JIT will be replied in Supreme Court. He said JIT did not ask any question about the documents submitted to the court and that the JIT acted partially, and its report is based on ill-intentions.
Peskov ridiculed claims that Veselnitskaya was working for the Russian government as 'inappropriate and absurd'.

Moscow: The Kremlin on Wednesday insisted it was in no way linked to a meeting between US President Donald Trump's son and a Russian lawyer at the heart of a political firestorm.

"We have already said that we are absolutely not familiar with this whole story," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"We never had any contact with this lawyer, that is why we are not in the loop and have nothing to say. She doesn't have even the slightest relation to us."

The Kremlin had on Monday denied links to the lawyer.

The June 2016 meeting with lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya has thrust Donald Trump Jr into the centre of a growing scandal over whether Trump's associates colluded with Moscow to tilt the 2016 election in the Republican's favour.

A string of emails Trump Jr released Tuesday showed he agreed to the meeting after claims from a British music promoter that a senior official in Moscow had offered to pass on dirt on Hillary Clinton and Veselnitskaya was a "Russian government attorney".

Peskov ridiculed claims that Veselnitskaya was working for the Russian government as "inappropriate and absurd".

Veselnitskaya herself has also denied she had any damaging information on Hillary Clinton or that she is tied to the Russian authorities.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denounced accusations it meddled in the US election to help get Donald Trump to the White House and Peskov said the allegations resembled a "drawn-out TV series."

US intelligence agencies have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of approving a hacking and influence campaign to sway the vote.
The agreement addresses one of the core allegations made against Qatar by the Arab states, who accused Doha of supporting extremists.

Tillerson also gave besieged Qatar some political backing ahead of talks with officials from the Arab quartet in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. (Photo: AP)

Doha: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took his mission to break the deadlock between Qatar and four Arab states to the tiny energy-rich nation Tuesday, securing a commitment from Qatar to intensify its counterterrorism efforts as he looks to end the squabbling among key Middle Eastern allies.

Qatar was Tillersons second stop on a shuttle-diplomacy circuit that will also take him to Saudi Arabia, which shares Qatars only land border and is the most powerful of the four countries lined up against it.

Describing himself as a friend to the region, Tillerson expressed hope for progress in ending the standoff in brief remarks following a meeting with 37-year-old Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the sweltering Qatari capital, Doha.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding during his visit outlining future efforts Qatar can take to fortify its fight against terrorism and actively address terrorism funding issues, said senior Tillerson adviser R.C. Hammond.

That agreement addresses one of the core allegations made against Qatar by the quartet, which has accused Doha of supporting extremists. Qatar denies the charge. Tillerson also gave besieged Qatar some political backing ahead of talks with officials from the Arab quartet in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

I think Qatar has been quite clear in its positions and I think very reasonable, he said.

Tillerson, a former oilman with years of experience in the oil-rich region, began his Gulf visit Monday by meeting Kuwaits ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah. The Kuwaiti leader has been acting as a mediator between Qatar and the quartet of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

The four nations broke off relations with Qatar and cut air, sea and land routes with it in early June. They later issued a 13-point list of demands to restore relations and gave Doha 10 days to comply.

The demands include Qatar shutting down news outlets, including the media network Al-Jazeera, cutting ties with Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, limiting ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country.

Qatar strenuously denies supporting extremist groups and has rejected the demands, saying that agreeing to them wholesale would undermine its sovereignty.

It does, however, at least indirectly support Islamist groups labeled as terrorist organisations, such as the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Qatar has hosted senior Hamas officials on its soil and is the largest financial patron to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

It argues its aid is for the Palestinian people rather than Hamas. Qatari envoy Mohammed al-Amadi signed a new agreement with a Palestinian contractor to build eight residential buildings in Gaza on Tuesday.

He said his country would continue to support development projects in the seaside territory, which Hamas seized from forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.

Tillersons arrival in the Gulf coincided with the release by CNN on Monday of allegedly leaked agreements between Qatar and its neighbors dating from 2013 and 2014. CNN said it received the documents from a source in the region.

They include a handwritten 2013 deal between the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar to not interfere directly or indirectly in the internal affairs of fellow members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which also includes Bahrain, Oman and the UAE.

That agreement specifically ruled out support for the Muslim Brotherhood and other unnamed groups that could threaten the blocs members. Qatar sees the Brotherhood as a legitimate political force and has for years hosted its spiritual guide, Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi.

That puts it squarely at odds with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, which see the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation.

The four anti-Qatar countries lent credibility to the leaked agreements in a statement issued early Tuesday. They asserted that the documents confirm beyond any doubt Qatars failure to meet its commitments and its full violation of its pledges.

Their 13-point list of demands in June was tied to those earlier deals and was fully in line with the spirit of what was agreed upon, they said.

The head of Qatars government communication office, Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, disputed that, saying the June demands bore no relation to the Riyadh agreements, according to a statement carried by the official Qatar News Agency. He called the siege by the four states a violation of the GCC charter.

US officials have said Tillerson does not expect an immediate breakthrough in the dispute and cautioned that a resolution could take months. A senior adviser to Tillerson, R.C. Hammond, has said the demands on Qatar were not viable but that there were individual items on the list that could work. He did not elaborate.

Qatar is not new territory for Tillerson. Before being tapped to be President Donald Trumps top diplomat, he served for years as CEO of Exxon Mobil. The Irving, Texas-based oil giant is one of the most dominant players in OPEC member Qatars energy industry, and played a major role in turning it into the worlds largest producer of liquefied natural gas.
India has maintained that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter with Pakistan, and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.

Beijing: China on Wednesday said that it was willing to play a "constructive role" in improving relations between India and Pakistan, especially after the increased hostility along the LoC, saying the situation in Kashmir has attracted "international" attention.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said India and Pakistan are important South Asian countries but the "situation in Kashmir has attracted the attention of the international community."

India has maintained that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter with Pakistan, and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.

The Chinese comments aimed at getting involved in Indo- Pak tensions come at a time the armies of India and China are locked in a standoff in Doklam area in the Sikkim section.

Expressing concern over the tension between India and Pakistan, Geng said "the conflict occurred near the Line of Control of Kashmir. This will not only harm the peace and stability of the two countries but also the peace and tranquillity of the region."

"We hope the relevant sides can do more things that are conducive for peace and stability in the region and avoiding escalating the tensions and China is willing to play constructive role in improving relations between India and Pakistan," he told reporters.

The comments also come two days after a Chinese analyst wrote in the state-run Global Times that a "third country's" Army could enter Kashmir at Pakistan's request, using the "logic" the Indian Army used to stop the Chinese military from constructing the road in Doklam area.

Geng's comments were in reply to a question on the tension between India and Pakistan, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressing concern over the situation in Kashmir, and whether China can play role to defuse the hostility between the two countries.

According to Pakistan Foreign Ministry, the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, who met in Abidjan, Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, passed a resolution on Kashmir.

Indian security forces have been carrying out combing operations in parts of Kashmir to clear the areas of militants supported by Pakistan who launch attacks against them.

On Monday evening, militants targeted a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims and killed seven of them, including six women, in Kashmir's Anantnag district. Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and Pakistani national Abu Ismail has emerged as the mastermind of the audacious attack.
The political view of Islamist movements contradicts the Pancasila's values. The groups are responsible for months of political tensions. Hizbut Tahir Indonesia (HTI) is one of the main goals of the decree. Minister Wiranto says the resolution seeks to protect the unity and the coexistence of Indonesia as a nation. In the country there are increasing episodes of intolerance and sectarianism.

Jakarta (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Indonesia's president has signed a decree (called Perppu) that gives the government the power to ban radical Islamist organizations. According to analysts, the move aims to ban the groups that in recent months have caused a sharp rise in the political weight of extreme Islam.

The measure, announced today by the security minister, follows months of sectarian tensions in the most populous Muslim nation in the world. They have shaken the government and undermined its reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam.

The approved measure modifies an existing law that governs mass organizations, allowing the government to avoid a long process for enforcing the ban. Analysts say Hizbut Tahir Indonesia (HTI), a group that promotes the adoption of sharia and the establishment of a caliphate in Indonesia, is among the goals of the decree.

Last May, the government had announced the ban on the group. At the beginning of March, the Ministry for the Coordination of Political, Legal and Security Affairs announced that the government would prevent HTI from operating in the country, as its political vision contradicts the Pancasila's values [political doctrine, foundation of the Indonesian State], which promotes diversity and pluralism. Wiranto, the coordinating minister, says the resolution seeks to protect the unity and the coexistence of Indonesia as a nation, and not to discredit Islamic groups. The minister announced that the decree was signed by President Joko Widodo on 10 July.

The decision to ban the HTI was taken by the government following the rise sectarianism in during the elections for the Jakarta Governorate, which saw the Chinese-born Christian Basuki Tjahaja "Ahok" Purnama defy the former Minister of Culture and Education Anies Baswedan. HTI, along with other radical groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (Idf), is behind the numerous and violent mass protests against then-governor of the city, Widod's ally. They marked the months of the electoral campaign, fueling controversy and tension throughout the country.

Ahok's re-election was also hindered by an infamous allegation of blasphemy, which, according to analysts, has influenced the outcome of the electoral turnout. Surprisingly, the Christian candidate lost to his rival and was sentenced to two years in prison, despite prosecutors requesting a milder penalty for the judges as he was not guilty of the offense involved. Following the controversial verdict, Indonesian civil society reacted with spontaneous demonstrations of support for Ahok, who has become a symbol of democracy and good governance.

Hizbut, a global organization, is believed to have tens of thousands of members in Indonesia. If HTI were dissolved, it would be the first Islamic body to be banned since the fall of the New Order's authoritarian regime in 1998. During the three decades of the regime, President Soeharto banned numerous Islamic organizations whose activities and ideas were considered a threat to Pancasila.
Tajik president says that the veil and black dresses are not in line with the countrys culture, and the beard is not a sign of religiosity. Tajiks should "love God with their hearts" and not seek to show their "righteousness" through external attributes.

Dushanbe (AsiaNews/RFE)  Tajik President Emomali Rahmon is calling on the people in the predominantly Muslim country not to wear beards or hijabs.

Speaking yesterday, Rahmon praised ten-year-old legislation governing rituals and traditions in the Central Asian state he has ruled since 1992. Tajikistan has a population of some 8.5 million people, mostly Muslims.

Rahmon said that hijabs (veils) and black dresses for women are not in line with Tajikistan's traditions, and that beards are not necessarily a reflection of religiosity.

He called on Tajiks to "love God with their hearts" and not seek to show their "righteousness" through external attributes.

Tajiks should preserve what he called the "true culture of Tajiks" and resist "alien cultures and traditions" he said were being propagated on the Internet.

Tajikistan has banned head scarves for schoolgirls, barred minors from mosques, and forced thousands of students to return home from Islamic schools abroad in recent months amid reports that many Tajiks have joined militants in Iraq and Syria.

Moreover, Tajik authorities have banned the pilgrimage to Makkah for people under 40.

In 1999, Tajikistan was the first and only country in the former Soviet Union to officially register an Islamic political party.

However, in 2015, the Islamic Revolutionary Party of Tajikistan was banned and declared a terrorist organisation by the Supreme Court of the country.
An Alaska-based interceptor hit a missile test launched by an Air Force Cargo plane near Hawaii. In the wake of North Korean missile tests, the United States is pushing South Korea to equip itself with Thaad. The construction of the Thaad system with the permission of former President Park Geun-hye had already begun earlier this year. But the reactions of China, Russia and, above all, the advent of the new South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, have returned the project to Seoul's parliament for debate.

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) system hit a a mid-range ballistic missile headed for Alaska. The news was reported in a press release of the US Missile Defense Agency.

Specifically, a Pacific Spaceport Complex based interceptor in Kodiak, Alaska, hit a missile test launched by an Air Force Cargo plane near Hawaii. "I could not be more proud of the government and the team of contractors who conducted this flight test today," says General Sam Greaves. "This test demonstrates the ability of the Thaad system to intercept and destroy missile threats." A US Department of Defense official told Cnn that the test is not related to the launch of the North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (Icbm).

Each Thaad system consists of five major components: interceptors, launchers, radar, fire control units and support equipment, said Lockheed Martin, the aerospace company that is implementing the project.

Following North Korea's intercontinental missile test, the United States is pushing South Korea to adopt an anti-missile system. The construction of the Thaad system with the permission of former President Park Geun-hye had already begun earlier this year. But the reactions of China, Russia and, above all, the advent of the new South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, who does not want to fuel the arms race, have returned the project to Seoul's parliament for debate.

The Pentagon has called today's test a success. But some experts warn that the 40 billion dollar missile defense project still has a long way to go before it can be considered fully developed.
In 1992, three missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary arrived. Since then, the number of Catholics has risen to 1,500. The first Mongolian was ordained priest in 2016. Currently, a second is studying in a seminary. The "faith of these people is as courageous as the bands of grass that shyly emerge from the rocky ground" of the of Gobi Desert.

Ulaanbaatar (AsiaNews)  The Catholic Church of Mongolia celebrated its 25th birthday on Sunday. In 1992, three missionaries arrived in the "Land of the Blue Sky" and set out to re-establish a Church founded, according to tradition, in the 6th century but crushed by centuries and 70 years of Soviet rule.

The three religious of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM) began their mission from a rented apartment. The future prefect, Mgr Wenceslao Padilla, was among them.

Since then, more than 1,500 people have converted to Catholicism in six new parishes. The Catholic community has also set up health and education facilities that are appreciated in the country.

Since 28 August 2016, the Church has also had its first local priest, Joseph Enkh-Baatar. Ordained deacon in 2014, he went to a seminary in South Korea. Once he returned, before he was ordained, he visited all local parishes, spending at least a month in each.

At present, another Mongolian student is studying at a seminary whilst baptisms continue in the predominantly Buddhist country.

Father Giorgio Marengo, a Consolata missionary who has lived in the country since 2003, told AsiaNews that in a place like Mongolia, "where the majority of the population is Buddhist and Shamanic, there is a strong overlap between religious and cultural affiliation. The only way to evangelise is to reach the heart of people by whispering Christianity."

Father Lusuka Mende, pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Ulaanbaatar, in an interview with Vatican Radio said: "There are many kindergartens. With Caritas Mongolia, we have realised farming projects in the Gobi Desert. We also help Mongolians returning from abroad to be socially reintegrated."

Some obstacles placed by the authorities hinder the growth of the young Mongolian Church. One is the fact that only Mongolians can own property, which does not help a Church of mainly of foreign missionaries. Another is the obligation for foreign institutions to hire staff that is 75 to 95 per cent Mongolian.

Still, at Easter this year, Father Marengo said that "the faith of these people is as courageous as the bands of grass that shyly emerge from the rocky ground" of the of Gobi Desert.
The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada) has announced a new partnership with Hong Kong Airlines, which launched its first North American service today with direct daily flights between Vancouver and Hong Kong.

Through the partnership, Hong Kong Airlines will provide 20 airline tickets over two years to support APF Canadas Asia Connect program, which sends Canadian post-secondary students to Asia to study or participate in work internships.

To capitalize on the remarkable growth in the Asia Pacific, young Canadians need to be Asia competent, they need the Asia-related skills and knowledge to help them better engage with this dynamic region, said APF Canada President and CEO, Stewart Beck.

Hong Kong Airlines generous support of our Asia Connect program will help us help young Canadians connect with Asia, a region of the world that will play a vital role in Canadas future.

Hong Kong Airlines celebrated its 10th anniversary in November and has received a four-star rating from Skytrax, an independent airline review site, for six consecutive years. Its destination network covers more than 30 major cities across the Asia Pacific, including Gold Coast, Auckland, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, Sapporo, Seoul, Bangkok, Bali, and Okinawa.

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is dedicated to strengthening ties between Canada and Asia with a focus on expanding economic relations through trade, investment and innovation; promoting Canadas expertise in offering solutions to Asias climate change, energy, food security and natural resource management challenges; building Asia skills and competencies among Canadians, including young Canadians; and, improving Canadians general understanding of Asia and its growing global influence.

The Foundation is well known for its annual national opinion polls of Canadian attitudes regarding relations with Asia, including Asian foreign investment in Canada and Canadas trade with Asia. The Foundation places an emphasis on China, India, Japan and South Korea while also developing expertise in emerging markets in the region, particularly economies within ASEAN.
Canadian beauty queen Siera Bearchell is set to return to the Philippines once again, this time to help in the countrys tourism efforts.

Bearchell, who represented Canada in the 2016 Miss Universe pageant held in Manila early this year, said she is out to test if its truly more fun in the Philippines.

I am partnering with @philippinestourism + @cebupacificair and some of the BEST resorts and hotels, she wrote in an Instagram post.

Maybe Ill see you there, she added, not giving further details.

Bearchell last visited the Philippines in February for the launch of Tim Hortons, Canadas iconic coffee and donuts chain, in Manila.

She finished in the Top 9 of the 65th Miss Universe pageant.
Filipino and Vietnamese citizens reportedly have the strongest confidence in US President Donald Trump in the world, a new survey by the Pew Research Centre has found.

While the report showed Americas brand has been tarnished by the Trump presidency, 69 percent of the Philippines and 58 percent of people in Vietnam reported that they have confidence in the US leader to do the right thing regarding world affairs.

Israel, Nigeria and Russia also exhibited high levels of confidence in Trump. Of the 37 countries surveyed by Pew in 2017, a median of only 22 percent report having at least some confidence. Almost three quarters have little to no confidence in the president.

While a recent survey found that Americas image in Southeast Asia had been damaged by Trumps support for Philippines president Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs, Filipinos demonstrate amongst the highest levels of support for the American leader.

A significant majority (67 percent) of the Philippines said that Trump is well-qualified to be president, while 71 percent of people in Vietnam gave him the thumbs up.

By comparison, only 15 percent of Japanese citizens and 22 percent of Indonesians expressed confidence in Trumps qualifications. Political leaders in Muslim-majority Indonesia have responded with ambivalence to the presidents controversial Muslim ban.

A majority of the world saw Trumps defining characteristics as being arrogant, intolerant and dangerous. A majority of Australians (89 percent), South Koreans (85 percent), Japanese (80 percent), Indonesians (70 percent) see the president as arrogant.

More than half (54 percent) of Vietnam and the Philippines said that Trump was caring about ordinary people, while less than one in five Indonesians or Koreans said the same.

Rating Trumps charisma, 68 percent of people in Vietnam gave the president good marks, compared with 62 percent in South Korea and 54 percent in Japan.

Only 22 percent of Indians, meanwhile, thought of Trump as charismatic.

In Mexico, only five percent have confidence in Trump.

Fifty-five percent of Filipinos surveyed believe the relationship between the Philippines and U.S. will stay the same, while 26 percent think it will improve.

Majority of those surveyed worldwide said Trump is a strong leader, but few describe him as qualified and caring.

Sixty-nine percent of Filipinos described Trump as a "strong leader," while 67 percent said he is "well-qualified to be president."

Fifty-one percent said he is charismatic and 54 percent said he is caring about ordinary people.

However, nearly half of Filipinos interviewed for the survey believe Trump is arrogant (49 percent), intolerant (46 percent), and dangerous (41 percent).

President Rodrigo Duterte and Trump have cordial relations and have spoken by phone at least twice. The first in December 2016 when Duterte called Trump to congratulate him on winning the US presidency.

In a leaked transcript of an April 29 phone call between the two leaders, Trump praised Duterte's "unbelievable job on the drug problem," referring to the Philippine government's war on drugs, entering its second year in July.

The U.S. leader has invited his Philippine counterpart to visit the White House. Duterte has yet to accept.

Trump is expected in the Philippines in November 2017 for the ASEAN leaders' summit and related meetings in November 2017.
Morning News Brief For July 12, 2017

Morning Minute: Nevada Low On Legal Weed + Twitter Users Sue Trump

As you start your day, it can be overwhelming to try to make sense of everything you missed while you were getting on with your life. Morning Minute is here to bring you the news you need to know to start your day, all broken down into tidbits you can consume before you finish your morning constitution. Here are this morning's headlines.

Nevada Dispensaries Already Running Low On Legal Marijuana

Recreational weed was legalized on July 1, but the states 47 dispensaries are already depleted. The problem is that Nevada's regulations only allow alcohol distributors to legally transport the pot, and none of them have licenses. An emergency measure, to be voted on tomorrow, could allow dispensaries to obtain their own licenses. [NBC News]

Twitter Users File Suit Against President Trump For Blocking Them

In an interesting (if not dramatic) move, a group of twitter users blocked by Trump argue that his account amounts to a sort of townhall forum, and that blocking them is a violation of their 1st amendment rights  even if they're mocking him or saying things he disagrees with. Press Secretary Sean Spicer and social media director Dan Scavino were also named as defendants. [New York Times]

Enormous Iceberg Breaks Off From Antarctica

An iceberg covering roughly 6,000 sq km broke off from Antarctica's Larsen C Ice Shelf on Wednesday, according to U.S. satellite images. While experts were expecting it to happen sooner or later, it's still large enough that maps may need to be redrawn. It likely ranks in the top 10 of the largest icebergs ever observed. [BBC News]

China To Block VPN Access By 2018

China tightly controls what its citizens can access on the internet, but lately users have been getting around the firewall by installing VPN services. That's scheduled to come to an end by February of next year, when the government will require all state-run ISPs to block access to the services. If successful, sites like Twitter, Facebook, Google and many more will once again off-limits. [PCMag]

Former Anheuser-Busch CEO May Have Tried To Fly His Helicopter Under The Influence

A bizarre story out of St. Louis involves former Anheuser-Busch CEO Augustus Busch IV, a helicopter and a bunch of guns. Police were called when a helicopter landed in an office park in Swansea, Illinois. The pilot was gone by the time officers arrived, but witnesses called again about 8 hours later saying the pilot had returned and appeared "too intoxicated to take off." Busch has not been formally identified as the pilot, nor was alcohol intoxication mentioned in the field report. But they did find several guns and prescription drugs in the cockpit, so who knows what's going on. [CNBC]
Suspected Panama disease found on another QLD banana plant





A suspected case of Panama fungal disease has been found at a Queensland banana plant.

Panama is a disease affecting banana plants, is resistant to pesticide and affects their ability to produce fruit.

After Queensland Biosecurity took samples from a property in the Tully Valley, positive results for the disease have been returned.

The potentially devastating disease was previously found on a Queensland banana plant I March 2015.

Biosecurity Queensland Chief Biosecurity Officer, Dr Jim Thompson said a range of diagnostic tests still need to be completed and a conclusive positive result cannot be given until then.

The suite of tests will take up to 4-6 weeks to complete, Dr Thompson said.

The property owners are working with Biosecurity Queensland to control and contain any disease and mitigate the risk of further spread. Theyre exceptionally proactive and already have strict on-farm biosecurity measures in place on their property, he said.

The property owners are erecting exclusion fencing around the area to minimise the potential risk of disease spread while diagnostic testing is completed, Dr Thompson said.

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By Toby Walsh, Professor of AI at UNSW, Research Group Leader, Data61

Osugi/shutterstock

While much of the worlds attention was focused last week on the G20 meeting in Hamburg, and Donald Trumps first face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin, a historic decision took place at the United Nations (UN) in New York.

On Friday, 122 countries voted in favour of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Nuclear weapons were the only weapons of mass destruction without a treaty banning them, despite the fact that they are potentially the most

potent of all weapons. Biological weapons were banned in 1975 and

chemical weapons in 1992.

This new treaty sets the international norm that nuclear weapons are no longer morally acceptable. This is the first step along the road to their eventual elimination from our planet, although the issue of North Koreas nuclear ambitions remains unresolved.

Earlier this year, thousands of scientists including 30 Nobel Prize winners signed an open letter calling for nuclear weapons to be banned. I was one of the signees, and am pleased to see an outcome linked to this call so swiftly and resolutely answered.

More broadly, the nuclear weapon treaty offers hope for formal negotiations about lethal autonomous weapons (otherwise known as killer robots) due to start in the UN in November. Nineteen countries have already called for a pre-emptive ban on such weapons, fearing they will be the next weapon of mass destruction that man will invent.

An arms race is underway to develop autonomous weapons, in every theatre of war. In the air, for instance, BAE Systems is prototyping their Taranis drone. On the sea, the US Navy has launched their first autonomnous ship, the Sea Hunter. And under the sea, Boeing has a working version of a 15 metre long Echo Voyager autonomous submarine.

New treaty, new hope

The nuclear weapons treaty is an important step towards delegitimising nuclear weapons, and puts strong moral pressure on the nuclear states like the US, the UK and Russia to reduce and eventually to eliminate such weapons from their arsenals. The treaty also obliges states to support victims of the use and testing of nuclear weapons, and to address environmental damage caused by nuclear weapons.

It has to be noted that the talks at the UN and subsequent vote on the treaty were boycotted by all the nuclear states, as well as by a number of other countries. Australia has played a leading role in the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and other disarmament talks. Disappointingly Australia was one of these countries boycotting last weeks talks. In contrast, New Zealand played a leading role with their ambassador being one of the Vice-Presidents of the talks.

Whilst 122 countries voted for the treaty, one country (the Netherlands) voted against, and one (Singapore) abstained from the vote.

The treaty will open for signature by states at the United Nations in New York on September 20, 2017. It will then come into force once 50 states have signed.

Even though major states have boycotted previous disarmament treaties, this has not prevented the treaties having effect. The US, for instance, has never signed the 1999 accord on anti-personnel landmines, wishing to support South Koreas use of such mines in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) with North Korea. Nevertheless, the US follows the accord outside of the DMZ.

Given that 122 countries voted for the nuclear prohibition treaty, it is likely that 50 states will sign the treaty in short order, and that it will then come into force. And, as seen with the landmine accord, this will increase pressure on nuclear states like the US and Russia to reduce and perhaps even eliminate their nuclear stockpiles.

When the chemical weapons convention came into effect in 1993, eight countries declared stockpiles, which are now partially or completely eliminated.

Public pressure

The vote also raises hope on the issue of killer robots. Two years ago, I and thousands of my colleagues signed an open letter calling for a ban on killer robots. This pushed the issue up the agenda at the UN and helped get 123 nations to vote last December at the UN in Geneva for the commencement of formal talks.

The UN moves a little slowly at times. Nuclear disarmament is the longest sought objective of the UN, dating back to the very first resolution adopted by the General Assembly in January 1946 shortly after nuclear bombs had been used by the US for the first time. Nevertheless, this is a hopeful moment in a time when hope is in short supply.

The UN does move in the right direction and countries can come together and act in our common interest. Bravo.

Toby Walsh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

Originally published in The Conversation.


(grigorenko/Bigstock.com) (grigorenko/Bigstock.com)

The profile of the average Australian consumer is rapidly changing with people coming from Asia are becoming the biggest group of spenders, new research has found.It means that there will be a shift as companies and businesses look to target Asian born customers as they are growing at a faster rate that their Australian born counterparts, according to the latest data from market research company Nielsen.The changing demographic means that what Asians want to buy will become increasingly available both in shops in Australia and online, particularly when it comes to food and groceries.The ethnic-Australian consumer report suggests that this important consumer group will spend a total of $18.7 billion, or 28%, on grocery items in the next five years, an increase of $4.4 billion in incremental revenue, with Asian born consumers making up 57% of this growth.'Asian born Australians are the biggest growing demographic in Australia today and represent more than 10% of the overall population, more than doubling in 20 years and showing no signs of slowing,' said Justin Sargent, chief executive officer of Pacific at Nielsen.He pointed out that Asians' food preferences, for example, are very different compared to the rest of the consumer population. 'They want more fresh produce, more seafood and healthier food options,' he said.The research found that Asian born consumers devote almost a third of their grocery spend to fresh food and three quarters would shop more at mainstream supermarkets if there was a greater international selection.Asian born Australian consumers tend to be well informed with almost half being influenced by retailer catalogues and brochures. This group are highly price sensitive and are most likely to compare prices online before purchasing.They are also more likely to read product labels, are influenced by comments and reviews online and are willing to pay extra for well-known brands. They are also twice as likely to be influenced by their children when shopping.'Meeting the needs of Asian born Australians is key to maximising these growth opportunities. Marketers need to re-examine their short and longer term strategies to engage with this growing consumer group,' added Sargent.He also pointed out that the changing Australian demographic impacts on the whole population and Australians as a whole are buying more international foods and flavours.
Photo of Honda Odyssey courtesy of Honda.

Honda is recalling 3,927 2018-model year Odyssey minivans because the seat belt in the third-row center seat may malfunction, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In these vehicles, the seat belt tongue for the third-row center seating position may not be compatible with the latch, preventing the seat belt from latching securely, NHTSA said. This condition isnt compliant with all federal safety standards.

Honda dealers will inspect the third-row center seat belt to make sure it has the correct tongue. If needed, the seat belt will be replaced. There will be no charge for this service, NHTSA said.

The recall is expected to begin July 24. Vehicle owners can reach Honda customer service at (888) 234-2138. Hondas number for this recall is KF7.
Logo courtesy of HyreCar

HyreCar, a peer-to-peer carsharing marketplace that connects vehicle owners with potential drivers, is now fully operational in Florida and Louisiana.

"We're very excited about this expansion and have been looking forward to this opportunity to expand our platform since the company's inception, said Joe Furnari, CEO of HyreCar. HyreCar's ultimate goal is to empower and connect communities through the creation of a vibrant sharing economy and on-demand opportunities."

HyreCar is an online platform that integrates the sharing economy with on-demand services. The dual-sided marketplace allows vehicle owners to earn money on their idle vehicle assets while providing access to options for drivers looking to rent cars for ride-hailing companies.

Based in Los Angeles, HyreCar currently operates in 28 U.S. states.
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A resort-style hotel is making its way to Anna Maria Island. The hotel is set to open next month and its a first for the island.

Resort-style hotel to open on Anna Maria Island

The full-service hotel a first on the island

Waterline Marina Resort & Beach Club set for soft open in August

The Waterline Marina Resort & Beach Club has been in the works for eight years and is now in its final stages of construction.

Its very different! Anna Maria Island is definitely old Florida charm, Sandy Zinck, Waterline Resort General Manager, said.

Anna Maria Island, known for its island-vibes, is filled with bed and breakfast style lodging and locally owned shops.

Just that beach feel. The little small restaurants and family-owned restaurants, vacationer Noah Clayton said.

However, the Waterline Resort is different. The full service resort, right at the entrance to Holmes Beach, includes 37 two-bedroom suites, a ballroom, and restaurant.

Its not only the largest hotel, but the first of its kind on the island.

Not everyone is looking for something thats a little bit smaller. They want full service, they want valet, and a full-service restaurant. They want to order room service, Zinck said.

Employees at the islands visitor center said they field a lot of calls for people asking for a mainstream hotel experience.

We get a lot of people who contact us asking aboutDo you have full service? Is there a restaurant on site? Terri Kinder, with the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, said.

Waterline, partnered with Marriott, is also the first hotel on the island to accommodate rewards members from larger chains.

I am actually for that, with the exception of course of the traffic, because it keeps the taxes down, Holmes Beach resident Hank Nehilla said.

The hotel will be staffed 24/7, bringing about 50 jobs to the island.

Waterline Resort is set for a soft opening in the middle of August and will be fully operational by the fall.
A Bay area 12-year-old who has fought more battles than many of us could ever imagine is preparing to take part in the health care debate on Capitol Hill, and using her voice to prompt change.

Natalia Ricabal diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma at age 8

Ricabal's family continues to count on Medicaid

Family joins St. Joseph's staff to talk to lawmakers

Natalia Ricabal was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, when she was eight years old.



"When they said it was cancer I was terrorized, in shock, I couldn't believe it," said Natalias mom. Amy Ricabal.



Natalia successfully fought back her condition, and is now cancer-free. Her journey in regards to health care, however, is far from over.



"After you have cancer you do have to have multiple follow-ups and procedures and Medicaid covers all of it," said Amy. "It's been a lifeline."



The Ricabal family has counted on Medicaid funding for countless surgeries and procedures, and will continue to rely on it for future treatments. They are heading to Washington D.C. to urge Congress to protect Medicaid funding.



"If I didn't have it, I wouldn't be here," Natalia said. "I wouldn't be able to walk, I wouldn't be able to do the things I do."



In addition, the family will be joined by staff from St. Josephs Childrens Hospital to meet with Bay Area lawmakers to talk about the importance of health care funding.



"The stakes couldn't be higher to understand what Medicaid does and what it doesn't," said St. Josephs Childrens Hospitals Director of Government Relations Keri Eisenbeis. "There are lots of opportunities to improve and refine the Affordable Care Act. We don't want to go backwards and certainly not with our most vulnerable populations."



Eisenbeis said 60-70 percent of patients at St. Josephs Childrens Hospital are covered by Medicaid and cuts could affect millions of kids.



The group hopes lawmakers will see Natalias face and remember her story when making potentially life-changing decisions. Natalia will be one of 50 pediatric patients from across the country that are heading to D.C. as part of the Childrens Hospital Associations annual Family Advocacy Day.



"It's very life-changing to have a diagnosis of cancer, not only emotionally but financially and physically for her, because your child will change forever," Amy said.
A Beaumont woman who left Waffle House without paying her bill was arrested for drug possession after leading an officer on an early morning chase on Texas 105.

Teresa Jade Davis, 31, was indicted Wednesday by a Jefferson County grand jury on a charge of evading arrest.

Beaumont PD Officer Cody Foote was on a break at Waffle House on Texas 105 at 4:30 a.m. on March 17 when employees told him Davis was leaving without paying for her meal.

Davis told Foote she had paid, and ignored orders from him to stop before speeding out of the parking lot, he wrote in a probable cause affidavit.

Foote chased Davis for about a mile before she stopped in the 7200 block of Texas 105, where she was placed under arrest.

While searching Davis' purse before bringing her to jail, Foote found 33 loose pills in a makeup bag.

Poison Control later identified those as prescription drugs Olanzapine and Buproprion Hydrochloride. Davis "did not have a valid prescription for these drugs on her person" when she was arrested, the affidavit said.

David faces two misdemeanor charges for possessing the pills, and a third-degree felony charge for evading arrest or detention with the use of a vehicle.
The Bryan school district will not be held responsible for the release of court-sealed documents to media about Kirbyville Superintendent Tommy Wallis's forced resignation from Bryan ISD, a Travis County district judge ruled on Wednesday.

District Judge Orlinda Naranjo signed a one-page order denying Wallis' motion to hold Bryan ISD in contempt of court and to pay him almost $20,000 in legal fees.
A Port Arthur man was sentenced to prison Tuesday for his role in a nationwide scheme that took more than $4 million from the families of federal inmates.

Larry Lee Stephenson, 44, was sentenced to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay a portion of $3,456,780 in restitution to the victim's families, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office. In January, Stephenson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
ABC News(PHILADELPHIA) -- Investigators have uncovered what they call key clues at a property in southeast Pennsylvania as the search continues for four young men who have been mysteriously missing for days.



At a press conference Wednesday morning, Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said authorities have "not yet recovered any human remains" that he can report to the media, but they have found "several important pieces of evidence" on the property in Bucks County, which is about 40 miles northeast of Philadelphia.



"We have recovered several important pieces of evidence at this site that were currently working very hard on with the majority of our manpower and at other locations," Weintraub told reporters. "This is just really, really rough on everybody involved because of the heat, the magnitude, the scope. And the stakes are incredibly high -- life and death."



Weintraub couldn't provide any further details on the evidence they uncovered at the property, only adding, "We are encouraged by it, and we are going to keep going."



"We're going to keep digging and searching that property until we're satisfied that they are not there," he told reporters.



Jimi Tar Patrick, 19, of Newtown Township, has been missing since Wednesday, while Mark Sturgis, 22, of Pennsburg; Dean Finocchiaro, 19, of Middletown; and Tom Meo, 21, of Plumstead, all disappeared Friday.



Weintraub has said the relationship between the four young men is not clear.



Cosmo DiNardo, 20, was taken into custody on Monday on a charge stemming from illegally possessing a shotgun and ammunition in February. On Tuesday, he was named a person of interest in the men's disappearance.



Although investigators have been combing through all of Bucks County in connection to the men's disappearances, the main site being searched is a vast stretch of property owned by the DiNardo family. Sources told ABC News a cellphone alert is what led authorities the property, though Weintraub has said he can't say what directed authorities there.



Weintraub has said the search at the DiNardo property is massive and involves major construction equipment, sifting equipment and cadaver dogs.



DiNardo was in jail being held on a $1 million bond in connection to the firearms possession allegation because he is considered a flight risk, not due to the mens disappearances, according to Weintraub. The Bucks County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday night that he was released on bail, 10 percent of which was paid in cash.



" 'Person of interest,' I think, is actually a media term, and I've adopted it at least for convenience's sake. But this investigation is still wide open. We're going to go where it leads us," Weintraub said at the press conference Wednesday. "As of this moment, he remains a person of interest, but if others arise and we can name them, we will."



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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Nashville, Tenn.-based Saint Thomas Health submitted a certificate-of-need to invest in a new ASC in Murfreesboro, Tenn., according to Daily News Journal.

Here are four key notes:

1. Saint Thomas is proposing to invest $16.2 million in the surgery center.

2. The proposal falls in line with the health system's goal of meeting current and future outpatient demand.

3. Saint Thomas also submitted a CON to add 72 inpatient beds and additional outpatient services capacity at its Saint Thomas Rutherford hospital in Murfreesboro. The project's estimated cost surpasses $55 million.

4. The health system will present its plans to Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency in October.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general is initiating system-wide changes after determining the Roseburg (Ore.) Veterans Affairs Medical Center performed colonoscopies using outdated methods, The News-Review reports.

Here's what you should know:

1. U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., sought the investigation after a constituent alerted him to sub-standard colonoscopies performed at the medical center.

2. After releasing his findings, the inspector general recommended the Veterans Health Administration revise its colorectal cancer screening guidelines.

3. The constituent also informed Mr. DeFazio of long wait times at the center, but the VA addressed those issues with the addition of a new clinic in Eugene, Ore.

4. While the inspector general's report noted the center's colonoscopies had no documented adverse events, the former chief of surgery at Roseburg VA was using outdated practices like burning polyps.

Center physicians also recommended surveillance colonoscopies without pathology results and recommended longer wait times than what is clinically suggested.

The center's surgery chief stopped performing colonoscopies in August 2014.
Green Valley (Ariz.) Hospital, which filed for bankruptcy in April, is urging the Arizona Supreme Court to terminate a hospital levy that generates $265 million a year from hospitals to finance Medicaid expansion, according to the Arizona Daily Sun.

The hospital is siding with the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation to ask the court to designate the levy as a tax rather than an assessment placed on hospitals.

If the Arizona Supreme Court rules that the levy is a tax rather than an assessment, the legislation would have been illegally enacted because Arizona law mandates that taxes can only be approved with a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate. The 2013 measure did not receive enough votes if it is classified as a tax.

A change in terminology would end the levy on all hospitals in the state and exempt Green Valley from paying its share. It would also create solvency issues for the Medicaid expansion program in Arizona as the state would need to find funding elsewhere, according to the report.

John Matuska, CEO of Green Valley Hospital, argues that his facility pays more money toward the levy than they receive back from Medicaid expansion. This places the hospital at odds with the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association who wants to preserve the levy.

State officials intended for the expanded Medicaid program to lower hospitals' bad debt levels, which would partially offset the assessment on hospitals. However, less than 10 percent of Green Valley Hospital's patients are on Medicaid, making the fee a financial burden, according to the report.
Hospitals across the nation have seen operating margins shrink as they face dwindling reimbursement, regulatory uncertainty and new alternative payment models. Many hospital CEOs are taking the fall for their organization's financial challenges, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Thirty medium- to large-sized hospitals across the country have lost their CEOs in the last six months, Janis Orlowski, MD, chief healthcare officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges, told the Houston Chronicle. Some CEOs voluntarily departed to take on a new position or retire, but many were ousted.

"That's an increase in turnover, probably a reflection of the current volatility of the healthcare market," Dr. Orlowski told the Houston Chronicle. "Many hospitals are losing money now and the future only looks rockier, with more uninsured and less Medicaid support. Boards want the right person to lead them into such turbulent times."

To succeed in today's healthcare market, hospital CEOs need to not only ensure the organization is financially stable but also stay ahead of change and remain engaged in their work, according to the report.

More articles on healthcare finance:

North Carolina hospital files for bankruptcy

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Florida county faces $300M in hospital bills after court ruling
Iowa City-based University of Iowa Health Care notified patients June 22 after it discovered protected health information for roughly 5,300 had been available online for almost two years, the hospital confirmed to Becker's.

The hospital said a limited dataset was unintentionally saved in unencrypted files and posted online through an application development site May 2015. A security expert discovered the privacy issue April 29, 2017, and reported it to the hospital, according to The Gazette. The hospital deleted all files May 1, 2017, shortly after it learned about the incident.

Hospital officials said there is no indication any information  which included patient names, dates of admission and medical record numbers  was misused or "further disclosed."

"UI Health Care understands the serious nature of any potential breach  no matter how limited  so it has conducted a thorough investigation, identified and mitigated the risks, and strengthened its training and information oversight efforts to prevent a similar occurrence," hospital officials told Becker's in an emailed statement.

Click here to read UI Health Care's public notice.

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Microsoft, other tech companies use robotics to address Zika

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95% of healthcare organizations do not use software for information security governance: 5 survey insights
The former CEO of Pine Ridge (S.D.) Indian Health Service Hospital has been indicted on charges of making a false statement to HHS, according to the Argus Leader.

Wehnona Stabler, who served as Pine Ridge's CEO from 2011 to 2013, said she had not received a gift of more than $350 from any one source, according to a report submitted to HHS in January 2014. However, prior to making the disclosure, Ms. Stabler accepted $5,000 from Stanley Patrick Weber, MD, according to the indictment.

Dr. Weber, a former pediatrician at Pine Ridge, is facing 10 counts of sexual abuse. He was arrested in February and accused of sexually abusing children he treated at the hospital from 1998 to 2011. He has pleaded not guilty in the case, according to the report.

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8 latest lawsuits involving hospitals

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New Mexico's attorney general sued Albuquerque, N.M.-based Presbyterian Health Plan and two affiliated organizations for allegedly underpaying premium taxes.

New Mexico law requires insurers pay a premium tax and surcharge for operating in the state. The New Mexico Office of the Attorney General claimed Presbyterian submitted false Medicaid claims for deductions and credits, "thereby evading tens of millions of dollars" in taxes.

Attorney General Hector Balderas filed the lawsuit in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, N.M., July 11. The lawsuit claims Presbyterian Health Plan, Presbyterian Network and Presbyterian Insurance Co. routinely falsified its Medicaid deductions and credits between 2001 and 2015.

Presbyterian "vehemently" rejected the allegations. Prebyterian said it is "genuinely alarmed and surprised by the timing and nature of these allegations. The premium taxes paid by Presbyterian Health Plan have been audited multiple times by independent firms and state agencies. We have consistently and fully participated in the review of our financial records, including the audit currently underway by the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance."



The health plan paid more than $52.6 million in premium taxes to New Mexico in 2016, Presbyterian said.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart has agreed to pay the federal government $1.65 million to resolve allegations it submitted false claims to California's Medi-Cal program, according to the Department of Justice.

The government accused Walmart pharmacies of failing to confirm and document the necessary diagnoses for "Code 1" drugs and then billing the Medi-Cal program for the prescriptions. Medi-Cal provides reimbursement for certain "Code 1" drugs only for approved diagnoses, and pharmacies serve as gatekeepers in this process.

"These Medi-Cal regulations are essential to protect both patients and limited healthcare funding," said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert. "My office will continue to hold pharmacies accountable when they fail to comply with regulations like these."

The allegations against Walmart were originally brought under the qui tam, or whistle-blower, provisions of the False Claims Act by a Walmart pharmacist.

More articles on legal and regulatory issues:

8 latest lawsuits involving hospitals

Reliant Care Group to pay $8.3M to resolve false claims allegations

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A recent study by Student Loan Hero, a debt management solutions provider, suggests the average medical student may accrue approximately $164,800 in debt. However, attending one of the following 10 institutions may allow students to reduce their debt by $42,231, on average, according to a USA Today College report.

To identify the most affordable medical schools in the country, Student Loan Hero surveyed 110 medical schools according to three factors: annual tuition costs, average indebtedness at graduation and the percentage of borrowers receiving institutional aid.

Here are the top 10 most affordable medical schools, according to Student Loan Hero.

1. East Carolina Brody School of Medicine (Greenville, N.C.)

2. University of New Mexico School of Medicine (Albuquerque)

3. Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)

4. Texas A&M College of Medicine (Bryan)

5. Mayo Clinic School of Medicine (Rochester, Minn.)

6. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine (Lubbock)

7. University of Central Florida College of Medicine (Orlando)

8. David Geffen School of Medicine at UC Los Angeles

9. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas)

10. University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
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Apple has announced plans for a second Danish data centre as its flagship Irish scheme in Co Galway remains locked in legal and planning limbo.

The US technology giant said that it will spend DKK6bn (700m) on a new data centre in Denmark, its second in the country to run entirely on renewable energy.

Apple said its latest Danish data centre would begin operations in the second quarter of 2019 in Aabenraa in southern Denmark, near the German border.

At that rate it could have two operational sites in Denmark before its long-planned Athenry project is up and running.

In February 2015 Apple unveiled plans for an 850m (752m) data centre campus in Athenry - the same time as its original data centre in Denmark was announced.

The first centre in Denmark is at an advanced stage of construction and expected to be operational this year.

But the Athenry project, to be built on land provided by State-owned forestry business Coillte, is not yet under construction. The Irish project has been bogged down by planning appeals and court proceedings, leading the tech giant to express concerns over the delays to agencies in the Republic.

"We're thrilled to be expanding our data centre operations in Denmark, and investing in new sources of clean power," Erik Stannow, Nordic manager for Apple, told Reuters in an email.

"The planned facility in Aabenraa, like all of our data centres, will run on 100% renewable energy from day one thanks to new clean energy sources we're adding," he said.

Apple said access to wind power helped seal the investment. "The reliability of the Danish grid is one of the main reasons we will operate two sites in Denmark," Mr Stannow said.
HSBC is planning to move around 1000 jobs out of Britain after Brexit

The boss of HSBC has applauded the French president's push for labour reforms amid plans to relocate 1,000 staff to Paris after Brexit.

Stuart Gulliver said that while the bank had already made its decision to shift select operations to the French capital, these changes will be particularly important for banks that are still looking for an EU hub for their operations.

"The package of reforms that was suggested last week is very, very positive for France if they're enacted," the HSBC chief executive said during a panel discussion at the Paris Europlace International Financial Forum on Tuesday.

"The banking industry is quite cyclical. It does have actually less stable employment than other sectors - the ability to be able to manage a cost base through a cycle is quite important.

"In places like London, Hong Kong, New York, there is tremendous flexibility around that ... I think France is marching towards it but, again, people will want to see this stick for a period of time."

His comments come after Emmanuel Macron put forward a package of proposals earlier this summer that include measures that cap the financial penalty for companies sued for firing employees, and allow businesses more flexibility to define internal working rules.

But Mr Gulliver stressed that big companies need to be confident that the new regulations will survive "at least two presidential cycles" before committing to moving to France.

"You're obviously going to consider whether or not that package of reforms will stay ... It's very early in the new presidency and people will still have very fresh in their minds that Mr (Francois) Hollande declared that finance is the enemy."

However, the HSBC boss said he was "optimistic" that the reforms would be upheld.

Mr Gulliver has suggested that there is no rush to shift HSBC's own operations away from Britain, given that the bank already has a full service universal bank within the EU after buying up Credit Commercial de France in the early 2000s.

HSBC, which currently has 43,000 employees in the UK, revealed in January that it was planning to move "activities covered specifically by European financial regulation" to the EU, resulting in about 1,000 jobs being shifted to the continent.

"But I would stress again that if Brexit turns out to be soft Brexit it may not be 1,000. At the moment we actually don't know the shape it (Brexit) would be.

"We've very strictly done our analytics on the worst case (scenario), Mr Gulliver said.

"Remember, banks only exit if they have clients, so we need to organise ourselves in such a way that we can provide continuity to European companies."
Senior Tory MPs have backed Britain retaining membership of Euratom , with one warning against "cutting off your economic and scientific nose to spite your political face".

MPs from across the political divide used a parliamentary debate to raise concerns over the risks to high-paid, high-skilled jobs, cancer treatment and the nuclear fusion supply chain as a result of withdrawal from the European civil nuclear regulator.

Arch-eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash was also among those suggesting the UK seeks a form of associate membership of Euratom (European Atomic Energy Community) post-Brexit.

Prime Minister Theresa May has opted to pull out of Euratom, w hich is not formally part of the EU but is under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

She has signalled Britain will seek a close post-Brexit relationship with the regulator, similar to those enjoyed by other non-EU countries, amid reports of growing Tory disquiet over her plan to leave it.

Tory former minister Bob Neill said Euratom brings "very great benefits" to the UK, telling a Westminster Hall debate: " We should do all that is possible legally to maintain those benefits, by whatever means it takes, we should not allow any thoughts of ideological purity to get in the way of achieving that.

"My judgment is that if we can legally remain within Euratom, we should do so."

Mr N eill also said associate membership would be the "next best thing", adding: "I think it should be the Swiss model because I think the small amount of jurisdiction of the ECJ is a minor price to pay for the benefits.

"I can't think anyone would object to the very modest movement of skilled nuclear scientists who only benefit this country, that again would be cutting off your economic and scientific nose to spite your political face, and we shouldn't do such a thing.

"I think that would be a good compromise.

"But we should stay in until such time as that is in place because we can't have any risks in the interim."

Tory former minister Ed Vaizey asked for legal advice which has influenced the Government's position on Euratom to be published in a "distilled" version.

He also said those who wish the UK to remain in Euratom will be "seeking our own legal advice", adding: "There has been no impact assessment of the impact of leaving Euratom, or rather what the Government's position currently is which is to leave Euratom and then rejoin it.

"What is being offered to the Government is a time-saving opportunity."

Tory MP Alex Chalk (Cheltenham), intervening on Mr Vaizey, also said: "Continuing membership of Euratom does not in any way preclude the striking of free trade deals or controlling our borders, which are the stated aims of Brexit."

Sir Bill, chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee in the last parliament, backed the UK's legal position on the need to leave Euratom as part of the Brexit process.

He suggested a "constructive" approach to find answers, adding he believes there is "common ground" between the UK and EU as the international rules for the industry appear already to be converging.

Sir Bill went on: "If that is the case, as I think it probably is, then there is a basis on which we can move forward to some form of cooperation.

"I very much take up the view of the honourable member regarding a working group, I think that'd be an interesting idea and I also think it'd be consistent with the idea of moving towards something like, perhaps, associate membership."

Tory backbencher Antoinette Sandbach (Eddisbury) earlier said the UK had been awarded 500 million of contracts in the nuclear fusion supply chain, adding: "All of that is put at risk, is it not, if we leave Euratom."

Labour's Rachel Reeves (Leeds West) said: "If we leave Euratom and the uncertainty, in the meantime, risks high-paid, high-skilled jobs going overseas which we can't afford right now and our membership of Euratom is key for the future of our civil nuclear defence industry."

Shadow Brexit minister Paul Blomfield urged the Government to note the "clear consensus" in the debate, adding: "If she (the Prime Minister) doesn't shift her position on Euratom, Parliament will shift it for her."

Business and energy minister Richard Harrington said the primary aim in negotiations was to maintain the UK's mutually successful civil nuclear cooperation with Euratom and the rest of the world.

The first phase of negotiations, he said, would start on July 17 following the publication of the Commission's position paper on Euratom and the UK's own position paper would be published "imminently", he added.

Mr Harrington said the UK would "avoid the cliff edge", adding: "We're ready and we're confident that we can find common ground."

He said the UK Government is keen to ensure there was minimum disruption to civil nuclear trade and cooperation with non-European partners, so the UK was negotiating with the US, Canada, Australia and Japan to have the "appropriate cooperation agreements" in place.

Mr Harrington added: "The Government's determined that the nuclear industry in this country should continue to flourish in trade, regulation and innovative nuclear research and we're determined to have a constructive, collaborative relationship with Euratom.

"The UK is a great supporter of it and will continue to be so."

On the safety and health concerns, he added: "I must make it clear that we remain committed to the highest standards of nuclear safety and support for the industry.

"We will continue to apply international standards on nuclear safeguards.

"We do not believe that leaving Euratom will have any adverse effects on the supply of medical radio isotopes."
Rockpool announced that it would begin trading on the London Stock Exchange

A company that previously said it planned to invest in Northern Ireland businesses has been listed on the London stock market. Rockpool announced that it had issued more than 12 million shares and would begin trading on the main market on the London Stock Exchange.

The business raised a total of 1.235m before coming to the market.

Mike Irvine, the co-founder and non-executive director at the company, welcomed the move. "The successful admission of Rockpool to the standard list represents a great opportunity to bring much-needed expansion capital to the Northern Ireland market," he said.

"Now that the company is trading on the London Stock Exchange, the board will refine its list of potential Northern Ireland-based businesses suitable for acquisition. It intends to conclude its initial transaction within 12 months."
Sean Mannion outside the Somerville Theatre at the Boston Film Festival earlier this year.

A film directed and produced by a Belfast based production company is set to be released in the US and will qualify for the 2018 Academy Awards.

Rocky Ros Muc tells the story of Galway man Sean Mannion, a world-class boxer who left the Irish-speaking village of Ros Muc in Galway for Boston in the 1970s.

The film examines Mannions fighting spirit inside the ring as a professional boxer, and his life outside the ring where his sparring partners and friends at the time were at the heart of Whitey Bulgers notorious Winter Hill gang and the South Boston criminal underworld.

The documentary was made by Belfast's Below The Radar production company and was funded by TG4, the Broadcasting Authority in Ireland, the Irish Film Board, Northern Ireland Screens Irish Language Broadcast Fund and MG Alba.

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It premiered in Boston in March and will have its Irish premiere at the prestigious Galway Film Fleadh on Wednesday.

The film will then go on release in cinemas in New York and Los Angeles in the Autumn, meaning it will qualify for the chance to be shortlisted for an Oscar at the 2018 Academy Awards  a first for an Irish language feature length documentary.

Director of Rocky Ros Muc, Michael Fanning, said: I first came across the story of Sean Mannion through Ronan Mac Con Iomaires book, Rocky Ros Muc and it fascinated me. Mannion is a humble man despite the fact he was a world class boxer and his story is one that audiences will find gripping.

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To think that his story is going to reach audiences across the USA is thrilling for everyone involved. The fact that itll also qualify for the Oscar next year is a boost for everyone on the team. Were particularly excited to hear the response to the film on Irish soil in Galway this week.

Aine Walsh of the Irish Language Broadcast Fund Northern Ireland Screen added: We are delighted that Rocky Ros Muc will air to a US audience, it is a beautifully produced documentary dealing with the universal theme of emigration that deserves a wide audience.

"This opportunity will raise the profile of Below the Radar, a company with an excellent track record in Irish language production, as well as raise the profile of Irish language production in general. This also aligns with Northern Ireland Screen's strategy of promoting local content to an international audience
Police are attending a security alert in north Belfast on the Twelfth of July

A security alert in north Belfast on Wednesday morning was a hoax, police have said.

A number of homes were evacuated in Glenbyrn Parade after the discovery of a suspicious object.

Local roads were also closed.

Police investigating have declared that the device was a hoax.

All roads have been re-opened.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State James Brokenshire has said he will set out the budget for Northern Ireland next week.

He said, following the advice from the head of the Northern Ireland civil service, he will set out how much each Stormont department will have to spend.

It's thought around 116m will allocated for spending. Civil servants have control of 75% of the 10bn block grant which rises to 95% in July.

In a written statment to the Commons, the Conservative minister said: "In my Statement to the House on July 3, I made clear that the UK Government will always uphold its ultimate responsibilities for political stability and good governance in Northern Ireland. With that in mind, I have been keeping under review the financial situation in Northern Ireland absent an Executive.

"Having reflected on the situation, and following further advice from the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, I have concluded that it will be necessary for me to provide additional clarity ahead of the summer recess to support Northern Ireland Permanent Secretaries in addressing financial pressures and maintaining public services.

"Following the public holidays in Northern Ireland this week, I therefore, intend to lay a further Written Statement before the House next week with adjusted indicative Budget positions and departmental allocations.

"This will take account of the Barnett consequentials arising from the Spring Budget, and funding as may be available from budget transfers and updated forecasts."
Louise Nash, from Derry, who was evicted from a homeless shelter and now lives in a B&B

A grandmother whose home was lost in a fire as she lay ill in hospital has spoken of her distress after being evicted from the homeless shelter she has lived in for the past year following a dispute with management.

Louise Nash (50) had been living in Clarendon Women's Shelter (Ashmore House) in Londonderry since September after her Springtown bungalow burnt down as she recuperated from illness in hospital.

On June 29, Ms Nash said she was handed a letter of eviction and given an hour to vacate the premises she has called home since her property was destroyed.

She said she was asked to leave after refusing to sign a revised code of conduct that had been drawn up by new management, and after she raised concerns over the introduction of male staff into a shelter that houses vulnerable women, including those who have suffered domestic abuse.

"There had been some issues over the course of a number of days," Ms Nash said.

"I had voiced my concern about the new male manager who was appointed. The shelter is exempt from having to employ males, and boys over the age of 12 years old are not allowed in. There were meetings and I spoke up about these issues.

"Then a new code of conduct was brought in for us all to sign. I had signed a code of conduct when I arrived at the home last year.

"I felt that the issues I was raising were not being dealt with so I said I wasn't signing a new code of conduct.

"I went down to get my breakfast at 11am on June 29 and was handed a letter that said I had to get out before noon.

"I had to go and pack my bags with absolutely nowhere to go. I was scared and devastated. I had a mental breakdown last year and have to watch my mental health.

"I packed my belongings and just sat in my room distraught. I was told by management that the police would be coming to escort me out if I didn't leave."

Ms Nash said the code of conduct issued by Ashmore House states that gross misconduct in terms of violent or inappropriate behaviour towards residents or staff, damage to property or theft will mean immediate expulsion.

She said she was neither guilty or accused of any of this type of behaviour.

"The letter they gave me to ask me to leave says that I failed to co-operate with staff in not signing the code of conduct and that I actively encouraged others not to sign it," she said. "They have simply made an example of me. I am disgusted by how they have treated me."

Ms Nash was assisted in gathering together her belongings by other residents, a taxi was arranged and she was taken to a local B&B which had been organised by the Housing Executive, and that is where she is now staying.

Ashmore House said: "We are working with the individual to find alternative temporary accommodation. We are happy to do so and are continuing to do so. We are working to safeguard clients and to assist her and support her in every way to find alternative suitable accommodation for her needs."
A Northern Ireland man infected by contaminated blood that killed at least 2,400 people has welcomed an inquiry into the scandal.

Brian Carberry from Downpatrick, who is in his early 50s, grew up with haemophilia, which prevents blood from clotting properly.

Requiring regular transfusions, he was infected with hepatitis C, which has had a devastating effect on his health ever since.

During the 1970s and 1980s the UK imported supplies of the clotting agent Factor VIII from the US.

Some of the samples were infected, with much of the plasma used to make it coming from prison inmates in America who sold their blood.

As a result thousands of patients contracted hepatitis C and HIV.

Yesterday Prime Minister Theresa May announced a wide-ranging inquiry into the NHS scandal, calling it an "appalling tragedy".

Responding to the news, Mr Carberry said: "I think it's excellent. It will answer a lot of questions for so many people.

"I was notified by my consultant in 1991 that I had hepatitis C. I was infected in the early 1980s and wasn't told until my consultant retired and another took over.

"In my case they told me it was something I would live with, but not die from. Now that's changed, as people are dying from it."

Mr Carberry said he believed those responsible for infecting him knew about the risks for years. "They knew in 1980 there were high risks with the blood and yet they were still using it till 1986," he said.

"Hepatitis C destroys the liver, you live with joint pain, fatigue and very low concentration."

As a result he he was also diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2011 and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2015. "I have haemophilia, so I get transfusions on a regular basis," he said.

"You always assume all the tests and safety checks are done before they use any product.

"With this inquiry we're hoping for accountability; there's over 2,400 deaths so far. In total, 7,400 people were infected, a good third of them are dead already."

He said he was certain there had been a deliberate attempt to conceal the truth.

"We're looking for justice and proof there's been a cover-up for the last 30 years," he added.

"I requested my medical records and I got the years up to 1979, then from 1991, so they're missing."

Former South Down MP Margaret Ritchie previously campaigned on the issue as part of an all-party group at Westminster.

"It's an absolute scandal that nobody was held to account. I hope that this inquiry will bring some relief to people like Brian, providing some information, truth, justice and adequate levels of compensation so they and their families can live the rest of their lives in peace and harmony," she said.

"But also, if there has been any wilful neglect or crime committed, the individuals or bodies responsible are subject to the full process of the law."

She added: "I'm sorry I'm not in Parliament now as part of the all-party group including my colleague Mark Durkan and the current mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham.

"We kept that pressure on, as we all had constituents who were directly affected."

The announcement came just two days after six party leaders in the Commons - including Labour's Jeremy Corbyn and the DUP parliamentary group leader Nigel Dodds - signed a joint letter calling for an inquiry.

Welcoming the move, Mr Corbyn said that the investigation could lead to prosecutions. "It was obviously a serious systemic failure," he said.

"I think we need the strongest possible inquiry that can, if necessary, lead to prosecution actions as a result, but above all get to the bottom of it."

Downing Street has said it will begin a consultation to decide exactly what form the announced probe will take, such as a Hillsborough-style independent panel or a judge-led statutory inquiry.

In April last year DUP MP Jim Shannon told the House of Commons: "On such a sensitive matter, we need to be able to give our full empathy and sympathy to those affected.

"I really believe that the Government needs to deliver."
Loyalists who put an effigy of Martin McGuinness in his coffin and a racist banner about a Celtic striker on bonfires should be prosecuted for hate crimes, politicians have demanded.

A black coffin adorned with the face of the late Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister and the slogan 'F*** the IRA' was placed on a bonfire near the Castlereagh Road in east Belfast.

A racist banner about Celtic striker Scott Sinclair was hung on another pyre in the area.

It came despite a warning from DUP leader Arlene Foster, who urged bonfire builders not to "play into the hands" of critics who want to demonise their culture.

Sinn Fein and SDLP election posters, and Irish tricolours, were placed on bonfires across Northern Ireland. Naomi Long's posters went up in flames on the controversial Bloomfield Walkway bonfire in east Belfast.

Bonfires across Belfast were significantly bigger than in previous years. Homes beside the Bloomfield Walkway bonfire were boarded up yesterday to protect them from heat damage.

The PSNI said it was investigating complaints about "distasteful" materials placed on some bonfires.

Sinn Fein's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill called for an end to what she called the "annual display of hate".

She said: "Once again, we have witnessed bonfires across the North being festooned with stolen Sinn Fein election posters, Irish national flags and other emblems.

"The theft and burning of posters from any party, as well as flags, effigies and other symbols is not culture, it is a hate crime.

"I have written to the PSNI Chief Constable and told him it should be treated as such by the PSNI and appropriate steps taken.

"There is also a responsibility on unionist political parties and the loyal orders to show some leadership on this issue and end this annual display of hate once and for all."

Martin McGuinness' son Emmett tweeted: "I am very thankful that I was raised by parents never to hate anyone or anything. Michelle O'Neill is right, the annual display of hate must end."

Sinn Fein chairman Declan Kearney said the bonfire builders' behaviour stood "in stark contrast to the work that Martin McGuiness did to build reconciliation and reach out the hand of friendship".

He said the effigy was "grossly insulting" to McGuinness's family and he added that it was "unacceptable" that unionist politicians refused to condemn "this kind of hate crime".

Sinn Fein's Westminster candidate in North Belfast, John Finucane, contacted police after learning that some of his campaign posters had been attached to a bonfire.

The solicitor son of murdered lawyer Pat Finucane tweeted a picture of the bonfire and said: "I have reported this hate crime & theft to PSNI to allow them to act urgently."

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said: "Burning images of politicians, the Irish national flag & tyres. What a warped interpretation of Ulster Protestant/unionist culture."

Yesterday, DUP leader Mrs Foster urged bonfire builders to show respect to others.

"Bonfires on the Eleventh Night have long been part of the unionist culture," she said.

"Those who have waged a campaign of demonisation against such celebrations should dial down the rhetoric.

"To those who build bonfires, I urge them to not play into the hands of those who want to demonise the culture. They should be respectful of their neighbours," she said.

"Endangering property and lives should not be a concern for residents on the Eleventh Night. These should be events that all the family can enjoy. We will work constructively with communities to achieve this."

Mrs Foster said she wanted Northern Ireland to move forward to a place where Orange culture was supported and respected by all.

"I do not want any culture to threaten or dominate any other," she said.

"A shared society in Northern Ireland must have room for all but without elevating or promoting one section of society above another.

"Despite the image sometimes portrayed, it is not politics that dominates the Twelfth July, however. It is the families who come together, as they have done for generations. It is the acquaintances that are refreshed in the field or on the street."

Mrs Foster said that the "celebration of civil and religious liberty" was central to the Twelfth.

"Hopefully we can all help build a Northern Ireland where there is respect, tolerance and support for all our cultures and traditions, celebrated equally with one another," she added.

The Fire Service said last night that between 6pm and 9pm it had received a total of 97 emergency calls and mobilised to 65 operational incidents. It said that 13 confirmed bonfire incidents were resolved during this time.

As of 11pm, the Fire Service had 32 appliances dealing with 24 incidents, "a significant number" of which were bonfire related.

A PSNI spokeswoman said: "We take hate crime very seriously and actively investigate all incidents reported to us."
A woman lays flowers outside the apartment where the child died

Police in the Republic are waiting to question an Iraqi doctor in connection with the fatal stabbing of her three-year-old son.

Toddler Omar Omran, who was discovered with several knife wounds to his body and legs, lay dead at a south Dublin apartment for more than two hours, the Garda believes.

He was discovered shortly after 6.30pm on Monday after emergency services broke down the door of the home in the Riverside complex at Poddle Park in Kimmage.

Detectives have established that the child was killed at around 4pm that afternoon in what has been described as a frenzied attack.

His mother Maha Al-Adheem, who is in her 40s, was last night continuing to be treated at St James' Hospital after suffering stab wounds to the side of her torso.

Detectives are anxious to interview Ms Al-Adheem to establish what occurred at their home on Monday afternoon.

The alarm was raised by the toddler's mother after she told emergency service personnel that young Omar had gone into cardiac arrest.

When members of Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) arrived at the property they were forced to break down the door to gain entry.

Paramedics entered the apartment and discovered the toddler lying on his bed with several stab wounds to his body and legs.

DFB members attempted to resuscitate the child for around 40 minutes, but despite their best efforts he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Senior sources last night said that the wounds on the three-year-old indicated that he was subjected to a "frenzied attack".

Maha Al-Adheem was found lying on the floor of the adjacent living room with what have been described as "superficial wounds".

She was immediately transferred to St James' Hospital, where she was last night continuing to be treated.

The Garda suspects that young Omar lay dead in the Dublin flat for approximately two hours.

"Gardai at the moment believe that the young victim was attacked at around 4pm on Monday afternoon," a source said last night.

"The investigation aspect has proved difficult because the mother and son did not have immediate family in the country." A kitchen knife, which investigating officers believe was used in the attack, has been recovered and is being examined by forensic officers. A post-mortem was carried out on the boy yesterday.

It is understood Ms Al-Adheem's estranged husband Khalid Omran was notified of the tragedy yesterday.
Fire crews battle to protect a 10 storey apartment block as flames from an Eleventh bonfire encroach in Wellwood Street on Tuesday night. [Photo: Arthur Allison, Pacemaker]

The fire service was stretched to its limits on Tuesday night, as crews fought valiantly in "very difficult conditions" to stop a bonfire reaching a 10-storey apartment block in Belfast.

Assistant chief fire officer Alan Walmsley told the Belfast Telegraph: "We had an exceptionally busy night, receiving over 230 calls in the five hours between 6pm and 1am, and mobilising to more than 130 incidents, including 40 bonfires.

He described the two most challenging blazes.

"We six appliances at Bloomfield Walkway because of the size of the bonfire there and the risk it posed to neighbouring properties," he explained.

Press Association reporter Deborah McAleese filmed fencing around houses at Bloomfield Avenue after they were caught up by the bonfire there and posted the footage on Twitter.

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The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service also spent hours struggling to prevent a bonfire reaching a 10-storey apartment block at Wellwood Street, between Sandy Row and Great Victoria Street.

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Mr Walmsley said: "We had firefighters on the roof of the apartment block, using a deluge system down the front of the building, trying to cool it down.

"The windows on the front of the building cracked from the heat. If it wasn't for the hard work of our crews in very difficult conditions, there's no doubt the damage would have been much worse," he said.

Lucy Ryan, who lives in the Victoria Place apartment complex, posted videos of the fire and the fire crews in action on Twitter.
Two fire crews came under attack in Northern Ireland while attending bonfires on Tuesday night in Belfast and Larne.

Assistant chief fire officer Alan Walmsley told the Belfast Telegraph that exhausted crews had been battling fires in "very punishing conditions" for hours when they were attacked.

"We had four appliances trying to protect property in Wellwood street, off Sandy Row. They'd been there for a number of hours and, towards the end of the incident, when they were leaving, one of the appliances was attacked when a number of bottles were thrown at it.

"Similarly, in Larne, crews were dealing with a bonfire related incident and, as they were leaving, bottles were thrown at one of the appliances."

He said the attacks are "very disappointing" because there had been no attacks on fire crews for the last five years.

"We are there to protect property. We engage with the community and this sort of thing had stopped. We're not saying that the people who did this are from those areas.

"It's very disappointing that it happened last night all the same.

"Thankfully, there were no injuries."

The assistant chief said that the two most challenging fires crews deal with on Tuesday night were the bonfire at Wellwood Street, where flames threatened a 10 storey apartment block, and at Bloomfield Walkway, where the size of the bonfire also posed a risk to neighbouring properties.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close William Young used a drone to take this remarkable photo of the bonfire at Sandy Row. 11/07/2017 Sandy Row Photo: William Young Sandy Row Photo: William Young Roden Street Photo: William Young Shankill Photo: William Young The scene on Love Lane in Carrickfergus as the local community rebuild a bonfire after the original bonfire they build was burnt on Monday evening. Picture by Matt Mackey / presseye.com 10/07/2017 The scene on Love Lane in Carrickfergus as the local community rebuild a bonfire after the original bonfire they build was burnt on Monday evening. Picture by Matt Mackey / presseye.com 10/07/2017 The scene on Love Lane in Carrickfergus as the local community rebuild a bonfire after the original bonfire they build was burnt on Monday evening. Picture by Matt Mackey / presseye.com 10/07/2017 Pacemaker Press Belfast 11-07-2017: Final preparations takes place for the Bonfire on Sandy Row in Belfast .The bonfires will be lit in loyalist areas as part of Eleventh Night celebrations on Tuesday night. Picture By: Arthur Allison. Pacemaker Press Belfast 11-07-2017: Final preparations takes place for the Bonfire on Sandy Row in Belfast .The bonfires will be lit in loyalist areas as part of Eleventh Night celebrations on Tuesday night. Picture By: Arthur Allison. Pacemaker Press Belfast 11-07-2017: Final preparations take place for the Bonfire on Sandy Row in Belfast .The bonfires will be lit in loyalist areas as part of Eleventh Night celebrations on Tuesday night. Picture By: Arthur Allison. SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan posted this photo of one of his election posters on a bonfire and said he considers the action a hate crime. Workmen board up windows of property beside a bonfire at the end of the Comber Greenway off Ravenscroft Avenue in east Belfast. [Photo: Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com] Workmen board up windows of property beside a bonfire at the end of the Comber Greenway off Ravenscroft Avenue in east Belfast. [Photo: Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com] Masked men continue to build a bonfire at Inverary Playing Fields in Belfast. Police in Northern Ireland have warned their resources could be stretched amid growing fears of tension around the burning of Eleventh night bonfires. [Photo credit: Liam McBurney/PA Wire] PA Masked men continue to build a bonfire at Inverary Playing Fields in Belfast. [Photo: PA Wire 10/07/2017] PA A bonfire constructed across the road from a petrol station in Carrickfergus was set alight in the early hours of Tuesday morning. / Facebook

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The Twelfth may be a pageant of colour and music but two snow white dogs from Limavady have become a favourite with visitors.

Japanese Akitas Angel and Ghost - also known fondly as Ulster's Marching Dogs - are the only canines known to have become an annual attraction at Orange parades.

They have become so popular that owner Sam Dickson is taking them to two different demonstrations today to satisfy demand.

They will take part in the morning parade in Belfast, starting out from Templemore Avenue in the east of the city, before travelling to Coleraine for the afternoon parade there.

Sam and the dogs have already featured in 36 parades this year and were due to take part in another last night before the festivities today. They will also be going to Scarva for the traditional July 13 demonstration.

They will each get a burger in the Field as a treat following the long walk.

Sam said he gets up to three requests each day via his Facebook page for the dogs to attend events, and has taken part in parades in Scotland and England too. Next year, they're set to travel to France, Belgium and Wales.

"I was up at a parade in Belfast the other night, we were standing with a friend and she just couldn't believe how many people knew us, me a man from Limavady," he laughed. "So many were walking past and saying 'Hi Sam' or more like 'Hi Ghost and Angel'. It's all about them. It's crazy that two dogs can mean so much to people - we have grown men coming over asking for a photograph with them."

Sam, who's not a member of the Orange Order or a marching band, explained it all began by chance: "It all started one night when I was taking her (Angel) for a walk and a parade was going along. Someone said you should join in, then a few days later I got a phone call and it all snowballed from there."
A viscount who offered money on Facebook for someone to kill Brexit campaigner Gina Miller faces jail after being convicted of sending menacing messages.

Rhodri Philipps (50), the 4th Viscount St Davids, wrote a message just four days after Ms Miller won a landmark High Court challenge against the Government last year.

He posted: "5,000 for the first person to 'accidentally' run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant."

He described her as a "boat jumper" and added: "If this is what we should expect from immigrants, send them back to their stinking jungles."

Philipps, of Knightsbridge, central London, was convicted of two counts of sending menacing messages on a public electronic communications network and cleared of one count after a trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Senior district judge Emma Arbuthnot said: "I had no doubt that the first post was menacing ... You were offering money to have her killed."

She continued: "Looking at the language you use to Ms Miller ... 'f****** jumper'. That is not political debate."

The judge added: "To some who don't know you they would perceive the offers of bounty as menacing."

Ms Arbuthnot found the post about Ms Miller to be racially aggravated and told Philipps he faces a prison sentence.

Ms Miller (52) said she found his comments about her "genuinely shocking" and she felt "violated".

She said she was "very scared for the safety of herself and her family" in a statement read to the court on Monday.

"In addition to finding it offensive, racist and hateful, she was extremely concerned that someone would threaten to have her run over for a bounty," prosecutor Philip Stott said in opening.

"She took the threat seriously, and it contributed to her employing professional security for her protection."

Ms Miller was subjected to a torrent of abuse and threats after spearheading the legal challenge which forced Theresa May to consult Parliament before beginning the formal process of leaving the EU.

The Guyana-born mother-of-three was seen arriving at court as a witness but did not give evidence as her statement was agreed.

The other post Philipps was convicted for was in response to a news article about an immigrant. He wrote: "I will open the bidding. 2,000 in cash for the first person to carve Arnold Sube into pieces. Piece of s***."

Ms Arbuthnot said the posts would "cause apprehension in a reasonable person reading them in this multi-racial country we live in".

Philipps will be sentenced tomorrow.
The EUs chief Brexit negotiator has slapped down Boris Johnson over his claim that Brussels could go whistle if it expected large sums from Britain as part of the withdrawal agreement.

Asked about the Foreign Secretarys comment, Michel Barnier pointedly referred to the tight deadline to reach a trade agreement ahead of the March 2019 date for Brexit, telling a Brussels press conference: Im not hearing any whistling, just the clock ticking.

Mr Barnier said Britain must offer more clarity on its position on the divorce bill financial settlement with the EU  as well as the status of expat citizens and the nature of the future border with the Republic of Ireland  if it is to make progress towards a deal on trade arrangements after Brexit.

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His comments came as credit ratings agency Moodys warned that the UKs creditworthiness was under pressure due to uncertainty over the result of Brexit negotiations and that Britain would face materially weaker growth if it failed to secure a good deal on trade.

Speaking after briefing European Commissioners in Brussels, Mr Barnier said the first round of negotiations with Brexit Secretary David Davis last month had been useful, but warned: The hard work starts now.

With the second round of talks opening on Monday in Brussels, Mr Barnier said the UK needs to engage substantially on issues of citizens rights, the financial settlement and borders, as well as future membership of Euratom and the treatment of goods placed on the market before Brexit.

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The EU positions are clear, said Mr Barnier. We now need to know the UKs position on each of these issues in order to make progress. We need to know on which points we agree and which points we disagree so that we can negotiate in earnest.

My aim is to make good progress next week and at our next session in August on all issues. We cannot remain idle as the clock is ticking.

The UK must accept that it has financial obligations relating to previous commitments to pay into EU budgets, Mr Barnier said.

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No figure has yet been put on the payment, but European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker suggested it could come in at around 60 billion euro (53 billion), while unconfirmed reports have put it as high as 100 billion euro (89bn).

On the financial settlement, it is essential that the UK recognises the existence of financial obligations, which are simply the result of the period during which they were members of the EU, in particular in the current multi-annual financial framework, said Mr Barnier.

Then we will be able to work on the methodology and agreeing the first phase of the negotiations.

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Mr Barnier said the offer made by Prime Minister Theresa May on EU citizens living in the UK after Brexit doesnt enable those persons concerned to continue to live their lives as they do today.

Mrs Mays package would not deliver reciprocal rights to those enjoyed by British expats in the other 27 EU nations on issues including the ability to keep families together, he said.

And he said Britains refusal to accept the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice creates uncertainty.

He added: On subjects of such importance, it is essential to make sure that we and our partners are on the same political line before we seek technical solutions.
Photo taken from the Twitter feed of @MattLeisegang of emergency services at the scene after a fire tore through Weybridge Health Centre in Surrey (MattLeisegang/PA)

Scores of people have been evacuated from their homes in the middle of the night after a fire tore through a hospital building.

Residents near the Weybridge Health Centre in Surrey were given refuge inside St James Parish Church after being told to leave their homes for safety reasons.

Nearly a dozen fire crews are tackling the blaze at the building, a multi-purpose medical centre.

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The blaze, which witnesses said took hold extremely quickly, started at around 11.45pm on Tuesday  several hours after the building closed for the day.

Matt Leisegang, who was evacuated from his home around 100 metres from the blaze, said he heard a loud bang and saw the top floor of the building engulfed.

The 28-year-old told the Press Association: It was about 11.45pm when my wife woke me up and said there was a fire at the hospital.

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We heard people shouting outside and went to look through the window. We saw what was happening and ran down to see if we could help.

Thats when I saw the left side of the roof was in flames already. Within about 15 minutes, the whole of the roof was alight.

The building is only three storeys, and the top floor was completely engulfed in flames within a short time  that was the remarkable thing, how quickly the fire spread.

Within about 40 minutes of the fire, the whole of the top floor was gone. I could only see flames.

Expand Close Residents near the hospital building were given refuge inside St James' Parish Church (@MattLeisegang/PA) PA / Facebook

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The personal chef added: We were asked by the emergency services to move back  there was a loud bang, an explosion from the gas canisters.

The firefighters have been brilliant, and I said to my wife that we should make some tea and sandwiches for them but we were told to evacuate before we could do anything.

Everyone seems to be safe. There are about 30 people in the church, there were some children earlier but they have been sent to stay with relatives. Were just thankful nobody seems to have been hurt.

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A Surrey Police statement confirmed there were no injuries. It added: A large number of residents have been evacuated. Roads around the building, including Weybridge High Street, have been closed and are likely to remain so for some time.

A large number of resources from Surrey Fire and Rescue Service are continuing to tackle the blaze, which is now under control.

An investigation is under way to establish the cause of the fire which remains unknown at this time.
The King of Spain has expressed his confidence that his country and Britain will overcome their differences over Gibraltar and find a solution acceptable to all involved.

King Felipe raised the thorny issue as he addressed MPs and peers at the Royal Gallery in the Houses of Parliament, outside which the flag of Gibraltar was on display in Parliament Square.

The flags presence was welcomed earlier at Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons by Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell, who urged Prime Minister Theresa May to remind the King that Gibraltar is British, despite long-standing Spanish claims on the territory.

Mr Rosindell looked on as King Felipe said in the traditional address to both Houses of Parliament that Britain and Spain have a long-shared history and have frequently stood shoulder to shoulder as friends, partners and allies, in the best interests of both nations.

The monarch went on: It is just as true, however, that during our rich and fruitful history there have also been estrangements, rivalries and disputes, but the work and determination of our governments, authorities and citizens have relegated such events to the past.

I am certain that this resolve to overcome our differences will be even greater in the case of Gibraltar and I am confident that through the necessary dialogue and effort, our two governments will be able to work towards arrangements that are acceptable to all involved.

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Flags of the overseas territories and dependencies are regularly raised outside Parliament for state occasions such as the Kings visit, and Gibraltars flag is placed in the middle because they are in alphabetical order.

Flags of Commonwealth nations were displayed at Horse Guards Parade.
Thousands of Orange Order members will take part in parades across Northern Ireland today as part of the Twelfth of July celebrations.

The events mark King William of Oranges victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland in 1690.

Overnight, huge Eleventh night bonfires ushered in the main date in the Protestant loyal order calendar.

Firefighters in the region dealt with 40 bonfire related incidents  up 21% on last year  on a night when they received 213 emergency calls in total and mobilised to 133 incidents overall  a 49% hike on 2016.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) described the night as exceptionally busy, with crews dealing with 95 operational incidents between 10pm and 1am. During the most intense period, the NIFRSs regional control centre handled an emergency 999 call every minute.

Homes were boarded up at a number of bonfire sites amid concerns around safety and risk to property.

Firefighters doused at-risk buildings with water in an effort to keep them cool as the fires raged nearby.

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The NIFRS said its two most significant bonfire incidents were in the greater Belfast area. The service also reported one attack on a fire appliance during the night  though no one was injured.

The towering bonfires, most built with stacks of wooden pallets, drew thousands of onlookers into the early hours of Wednesday.

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The bonfires often prove contentious and this year was no different.

Sinn Fein reacted angrily to a coffin bearing an image of the late Martin McGuinness being attached to one in east Belfast, while Irish flags and posters of Sinn Fein and other non-unionist politicians were a common sight on many fires.

Expand Close An effigy of former Sinn Fein deupty first minister Martin McGuinness on a bonfire on Clonduff Road (PA) / Facebook

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As the embers from the Eleventh night fires smoulder, loyalists are looking ahead to Wednesdays Twelfth festivities.

While the vast majority of the almost 600 Protestant loyal order parades on the day are free of trouble, the threat of disorder at a small number of flashpoints always has the potential to mar proceedings.

There is cautious optimism this years Twelfth will pass off without major incident.

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Orangemen and nationalist residents at the most contentious parade  at Woodvale/Ardoyne in north Belfast  have struck a deal that aims to reduce tensions in the area. That community interface has been the scene of violence in recent years.

A total of 18 venues will be hosting parades across the region.

The Co Armagh village of Richhill will host the largest Twelfth parade. Eleven district lodges with 154 private lodges and 70 bands from the historic county, where the Orange Order was formed in 1795, will provide a highly colourful spectacle for the expected influx of 25,000 people.

A large Scottish contingent is expected in Belfast, as the city holds the longest Twelfth parade on the day, with participants walking over six miles to the field. Alongside Ballymena, the capital stages a Twelfth demonstration every year.

Other demonstrations will be held in Lisbellaw, Cookstown, Beragh, Clogher, Coleraine, Kilrea, Banbridge, Bangor, Ballynahinch, Annalong, Hillsborough, Cloughfern, Broughshane, Ballymena, Cloughmills and Cullybackey.
The UK will offer 40 million in humanitarian aid to rebuild war-torn Mosul after Iraqi forces declared victory over Islamic State in the city, International Development Secretary Priti Patel has said.

Ms Patel told MPs they must be realistic about the challenges ahead in the region as she hailed efforts to halt the unimaginable oppression by IS, also known as Daesh, on thousands of civilians in the city in Northern Iraq.

Iraqi security forces are clearing the final pockets of resistance from the terror group in Mosul after nearly nine months of fighting.

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Ms Patel, delivering an urgent statement in the Commons on the humanitarian situation in Mosul, said: Im pleased to confirm the UK will provide 40 million of humanitarian funding this year, taking our total commitment just in Iraq to 209 million since 2014.

This funding will help to ensure that the displaced communities, the displaced people, will receive the much-needed shelter, food and medical support and will provide protection services for the most vulnerable, including the minorities, and women and girls.

She condemned the terror groups brutal tactics including use of suicide bombers and human shields against Iraqi forces during the conflict and described the victory as a great step forward for global security.

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Praising the bravery of security forces, Ms Patel added: We should also recognise the bravery of the people of Mosul.

Children who have been out of school for years who are now back in the classroom and sitting exams, doctors who have had to stop working under Daesh are giving life-saving treatment once again to fellow citizens who are injured in the fighting, volunteers are clearing the rubble from the streets and public buildings.

We must though be realistic about the challenges ahead. Almost 50,000 homes have been destroyed.

While almost 200,000 people have returned to their homes in eastern Mosul, over 700,000 people are still displaced and in need of continued humanitarian assistance.

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Explosive remnants will be a problem in the city for many months to come, she said.

She said the UK had been at the forefront of efforts to offer aid in Mosul, adding: After winning the battle for Mosul, it is important to win for peace and now starts that painstaking if rebuilding and reconciling so that families can return home as quickly as possible.
The Duke of Cambridge met veterans of the Second World War as he attended an air display to mark the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

William is patron of the Flight, which was formed to honour the British planes involved in the Battle of Britain.

The Duke arrived at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire by helicopter, then spoke to veterans before watching the air display of three Spitfires and a Hurricane, as well as a Lancaster bomber, flown by serving RAF aircrew.

Veteran Rusty Waughman (94), who was a Lancaster pilot from 1943 to 1944, chatted to former rescue helicopter pilot William.

"He was so easy to talk to, so pleasant," he said. "Being here brings back so many memories."
.Alban Maginness (Comment, July 5) argues there is no such thing as a human right to abortion.

Someone ought to tell the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which found that Ireland's law prohibiting and criminalising abortion violated the human rights of Amanda Mellet, a woman who had a diagnosis of fatal foetal impairment.

The Committee found the law subjected her to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and discrimination, in violation of Articles 7 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It also found a violation of Article 17 on the right to privacy.

Of course, a similar ban on termination of pregnancy is in force here.

Last year's UN ruling underlines what we have said to the Executive and Assembly - our archaic abortion law must change.

Every government in the UK has pledged to help address the healthcare injustice facing women and girls from Northern Ireland, except the failed administration at Stormont.

The public wants change. The recent Life and Times Survey found that more than seven in 10 people want to see major reform of our abortion laws. Those findings echo the Citizens' Assembly in the Republic, which recently recommended far-reaching change.

Choosing to ignore the UN and public opinion, Mr Maginness refers to the views of someone called Dr Alveda King, apparently a niece of the late, great Dr Martin Luther King.

Not being familiar with her, I resorted to an online search. I discovered she is a member of what is called the religious right, an activist against gay rights, and campaigned for Donald Trump to become president.

That's the same Trump whom Mr Maginness's party leader, Colum Eastwood, referred to as "a grotesque example of a man with a dangerous worldview based on misogyny and unimaginable intolerance", whose win was "a victory of fanatical, fantasy absolutism".

Rather than look for direction from Mr Trump's cheerleaders, I hope all the main parties in Northern Ireland will reflect on their current positions on abortion and legislate in line with international standards and the views of those who elect them.

PATRICK CORRIGAN

NI programme director

Amnesty International
Communist New Peoples Army guerrillas gather at an undisclosed village in the southern Philippines, Dec. 26, 2014.

Eight New Peoples Army (NPA) guerrillas and a soldier were killed in an early morning clash in the southern Philippines on Wednesday, days after President Rodrigo Duterte hinted at a possible resumption of stalled peace negotiations with the communist insurgents.

Patrolling troops encountered the rebels near the town of Laak in Compostela Valley province, 1,400 km (875 miles) south of Manila, the Philippine capital, Army Capt. Alexander Cabales said. The guerrillas later fled and left behind the bodies of eight of their comrades, while a soldier died, he said.

The rebel outfit was the same group the soldiers engaged in a firefight two days earlier in the adjacent town of Monkayo, Cabales said. The group apparently was on a mission to conduct tactical offensives ahead of Dutertes annual address to Congress.

The clash is not linked to ongoing battles with Islamic State-linked rebels in Marawi city on Mindanao island.

State of the nation

Duterte is to deliver his annual state of the nation report on July 24, during which he is expected to speak about his governments accomplishments since he took office last year.

The NPA is the armed unit of the banned Communist Party of the Philippines, touted as the longest-running insurgency in Asia.

The rebels have been waging a guerrilla war to establish a Maoist government since 1969. An estimated 43,000 soldiers, rebels and civilians have been killed in the fighting.

Duterte, who once was a student of self-exiled communist party founder Jose Maria Sison, reopened peace talks with the rebels after years of being suspended. But the negotiations were later stalled amid a series of attacks by the rebels.

Dutertes government also arrested at least two ranking communist rebels this year, even as both sides were working to jumpstart a resumption of negotiations by August.

The president last week said he was prepared to again sit down with the rebels, but called on the guerrilla leaders to be sincere.

It was not clear how Wednesdays violence would affect the resumption of negotiations.
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Opinion | 04 November 2022 | Interviews

India needs to connect OPD with the cashless insurance network to bring them into the digital economy

After having raised $1.2 million from Entrepreneur First and GrowX Ventures in 2021, how do you see the perfor...Read more
Public health officials in the state said they decided to go public with the detection as soon as they detected the disease to create awareness about the disease.

Zika virus has reappeared once again in India, this time in the state of Tamil Nadu. This is the second case in India after the first cases of Zika were confirmed in Ahmedabad, Gujarat earlier in May 2017.

The government of Tamil Nadu has confirmed the case of case within 11 days of detection. On June 26, the 28-year old patient developed symptoms such as fever, redness of eyes, headache, photophobia, pain behind the eyes, myalgia and weakness.

According to the news posted by the Times of India, senior officials including health secretary J Radhakrishnan visited the patient at his home over the weekend. Vector control measures were carried out in the area. Public health officials in the state said they decided to go public with the detection as soon as they detected the disease to create awareness about the disease. "The disease is here. There is no point in keeping it a secret. We want doctors to keep their eyes open to this disease and we want patients to meet a doctor as soon as they see the symptom," said state health secretary Radhakrishnan to Times of India.

As per the WHO statement, immediately after the cases were reported, the Health ministry had shared the national guidelines and action plan on Zika virus disease which have been shared with the states to prevent an outbreak of the disease and facilitate containment of spread in case of any outbreak. It also constituted an inter-ministerial task force

Meanwhile, a technical group tasked to monitor emerging and re-emerging diseases regularly reviewed the global situation on Zika virus

All the international airports and ports have displayed information for travellers on Zika virus disease while the airport health officers along with airport organisations, the National Centre for Disease Control and the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme are monitoring appropriate vector control measures in airport premises.
Importantly, the Epic app can measure insulin resistance levels, a key way of determining whether someone is pre-diabetic.

British scientists have developed a new smartphone app that can help measure and monitor blood glucose levels without using a drop of blood, a finding that can transform lives of millions of people with diabetes.

The app called as Epic Health replaces the need for diabetics to prick their fingers several times a day.

The app, suitable for both Type 1 and 2 diabetics, works by placing a fingertip over the camera lens of a smartphone and capturing a series of close-up images that convey information about the user's heart rate, temperature and blood pressure to respiration rate and blood oxygen saturation.

Importantly, the Epic app can measure insulin resistance levels, a key way of determining whether someone is pre-diabetic.

It does this by measuring the variation in the patient's pulse which is related to blood glucose concentration.

The app, which has been in development for three years, will undergo clinical trials in the coming months.
The days of being transported in self-driving cars and having our phones suggest what we ought to eat for lunch are upon us: this is the age of big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Never before have industries had the power to use information to enhance their products and services as they do today.

Since the rise of big data, analytics has become a powerful tool which is used by companies across industries to understand what to do, when to do it, and how to do it in order to enhance efficiency, minimise cost, and maximise profitability.

Jacobus Eksteen

Recent years have seen greater availability of highly sophisticated software packages and algorithms, an increase in processing power, as well as a decrease in processing cost. As a result, analysts, businesses, and industries, on the whole, have become ever-more empowered given that more data can be processed and stronger models can be built in shorter periods of time.

Statistical modelling  a facet of data analytics which is rooted in mathematics and deals with finding relationships between variables to predict an outcome  is commonly used in financial services companies and consumer-facing businesses as they are required to make a high number of decisions within limited time periods, and these are relatively easy to standardise.

Within the credit industry, analytics has enabled credit providers to make informed decisions on the creditworthiness of prospective borrowers within split seconds. Calculations and decisions are increasingly being made in the cloud and analytics aren't only being used to predict repayment and response behaviour but also to understand customer behaviour, fraud and brand affiliation; to do benchmarking, profit and provision modelling and to optimise call centres.

The power of machine learning

Given the evolution of data generation, storage and analysis coupled with the introduction of cloud computing, the realm of data analysis has expanded and machine learning is now is equipping a variety of industries where a great amount of data is generated to make quicker and better decisions. Machine learning is an evolutionary by-product of artificial intelligence and computer science which has enabled computers to learn without being explicitly programmed to perform certain tasks.

A number of articles describing how the implementation of machine learning is shaping industries have been published in the past few months. One, in particular, indicates how disease assessment, diagnostics and treatment plans are being enhanced via machine learning. This technology also allows the monitoring and prediction of epidemic outbreaks based on satellite data, web information and social media updates, among other sources.1

Another focusses on machine learning in the aerospace industry and how this may become be applied in the form of data-driven adaptive training to optimise the time taken for each trainee to become a proficient, thus meeting the need to increase the global training capacity of pilots without jeopardising flight safety.2

Need to equip

In essence, machine learning automates repetitive tasks thus allowing employees the leeway to challenge themselves to a larger extent. Of course, its not likely that machines will take over the world as some may fear, but a focus on equipping oneself and growing ones skillsets may be necessary in the near future to avoid the risk of unemployment or redundancy in the workplace.

Indeed, some job roles wont exist in ten years time, but there are also jobs now that didnt exist ten years ago. In fact, technologies such as machine learning have opened up new doors for employment opportunities and have drastically changed the way business is done.

Merely a tool

It must further be said that machine learning is merely a tool: one of many that needs to be understood and used properly.

Nonetheless, the powerful combination of machine learning and human learning, the rapidly changing world of analytics and the resultant opportunities and efficiencies within various industries is tremendously exciting.

[1] Techemergence

[2] Cognitionx
With South Africa's economy seeing consecutive negative growth that has placed it in the grips of a technical - but very real - recession, it will come as no surprise that there are adverse implications for business growth as customers keep on cutting their spending and tightening that much-written-about belt.

Illia Uriadnikov via 123RF

One industry that has successfully fought these headwinds is franchising. It has proven in many countries, to be resilient even in the face of extensive macroeconomic difficulties. This is borne out by the fact that the sector - which grew by 10% even at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 - has continued to grow every year.

Year-to-date, Absas franchise book has shown 15% growth on loans over the same period last year. This illustrates a remarkably healthy appetite for franchising and pursuing opportunities in the various industries that comprise the overall sector.

What typically safeguards these types of businesses from broader economic challenges is the established trust they have with consumers. This stands franchises in good stead when consumers are watching their spending more carefully. It is a natural shift as they look for absolute certainty from the brands and companies they support  and franchises, with their well-known and trustworthy brands, offer that security.

There are 17 business sectors that fall under the franchising umbrella in South Africa. The four largest contributors to the growth of the franchising  and, by association, the where the greatest opportunities lie  are the services sector, which encompasses health and beauty, auto and funeral services, among others. This burgeoning sector makes up 27% of the franchising market. Restaurants and Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) account for 24%, while Retail out-muscles Fuel with 16% versus Fuels 11%.

Interested in franchising? Consider this.

The services sector remains the fastest growing within the larger ecosystem and is set to continue to offer promising business prospects. However, even with a positive forecast, the industry is at the mercy of an increasingly competitive business landscape and there are certain tips that prospective franchisees should heed if they are hoping to make the move into franchising:

 Look for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) opportunities to find the balance between value and good quality: With substantial pressure being exerted on the countrys economy and a challenging operating environment leading to many of the bigger, more secure players buying out the smaller companies, those looking to enter the franchising sector need to find the sweet spot between value, quality and price  particularly in the cost-sensitive retail and QSR spaces.

 Take into account the entire franchising value chain: A franchise with a robust brand reputation, integrity and equity that is able to excite customers is a must. But so is an agreement between franchisors and franchisees that is fair, sustainable and protects the rights of both parties. Franchising is a codified business, so potential franchisees need to ensure that there is a comprehensive and elaborate franchising manual in place.

 Consider the operations process: Interested parties should look at the quality and consistency of training programmes in order to ensure that they are able to stay at the forefront of their chosen industry.

 Dont forget the importance of sales and marketing: A strong sales and marketing strategy is priceless, so it is critical to make sure upfront that the sales and marketing strategy is strong.

 Look to implement a service model that is robust and places customers at its heart: High-intensity strategies that enhance service delivery are the markers of successful franchises. Anyone looking to make the move into any sphere of the franchising world needs to make sure that they place efficient service delivery on top of their list of priorities.

 Prioritise a streamlined supply chain: A well-run franchise relies on bulk buying, centralised distribution and well-organised logistics systems. If a franchisee is able to tick those boxes, they will benefit from an efficient supply chain and it will be that much easier to focus on guaranteeing customer satisfaction.

 Make sure that you are following a passion: Even with the extra layer of protection that comes from buying into a trusted brand, opening a franchise takes a lot of hard work, time and commitment. So it makes sense to choose a field that there is some connection with and passion for in order to make the inevitable sacrifices that come with starting a business worthwhile.

Franchising ultimately comes with multiple benefits - not least of which is the safety blanket of the business owner knowing that there is a partner to hold their hand and guide them through the pitfalls and challenges of opening their own business. Banks tend to look at funding applications more favourably because of the added security of a franchises established customer base in the market.

Undoubtedly, however bleak the economic outlook may seem, there are always those who find the gap in the market. Typically, franchising offers more gaps than other industries.
Up-and-coming fashion designer Lukhanyo Mdingi has joined the Smirnoff Change Makers campaign, which highlights local and international creatives who are bringing attention to issues plaguing society and are making a positive change around them.

His communal label, ATIFY (Africa This Is For You), uses ethically sourced and locally-produced textiles to create soulful pieces that celebrate the spirit of African design and heritage as well as the hands of those who craft the apparel.

For his use of fashion as a medium, that not only creates fantasies but also acts as a tool for activism, the Change Makers campaign is shining a light on Mdingi on Smirnoffs social media platforms. The aim is to encourage all South Africans to take up the trend, says Smirnoff marketing manager, Kyle Lesch.

Community impact

Although Mdingi has only been in the fashion industry for four years, he is swiftly rising to the top and bringing other talented locals with him. While working with a small community of ladies to produce the cross-cultural inspired collections, he learnt about the impact that opening trade with China has had on the local textile and clothing industry, with close to 500,000 people losing their jobs.

He also realised that the majority of the women he and other designers employed were over 50, meaning that the craft of sewing and the skills used to create ornate garments would be lost, once these women retire.

Wanting to ensure a sustainable South African textile and clothing industry, Mdingi has collaborated with Learn to Earn. The organisation has a special division in Khayelitsha dedicated to developing unemployed people by providing them with training that enables them to gain sewing skills and an understanding of the production line process. Graduates are employed by the division and manufacture handmade high-quality corporate gifts, conference bags and promotional items, helping them to become self-sustaining.

He has also partnered with Krafthaus, a small textile business that specialises in locally produced and ethically-sourced wool fibres, to create his unique garments.

Empower, promote, nourish

"Our ATIFY movement aims to empower, promote and nourish our African creative landscape. We believe in the significance of using our African resources and fellow artisans as a means of retelling the intention of our communal label, which values the imperative benefits of paving a promising and richer industry through the use of storytelling and collaboration, says Mdingi.

Mdingi has represented South Africas ethical fashion industry in countries such as Italy and England and was featured in the award-winning series, ETHETICS, which explores and celebrates ethical and socially responsible brands around the world.

Mdingi is making a contribution not only to our countrys clothing and textile industry, but also to the futures of our young, emerging fashion designers  a true Change Maker, concludes Lesch.
AngloGold Ashanti chairman Sipho Pityana has warned of further job cuts in mining, saying the country's macroeconomic policies made it impossible to sustain jobs.

Sipho Pityana, AngloGold Ashanti chairman, Photo: Black Opinion

Pityana's comments come after AngloGold announced it planned to retrench 8,500 of its workforce, presenting a further blow to the sector and contributing to what analysts have called a "jobs bloodbath".

The situation in mining was complex and local conditions had not made it easier to continue with business as usual, said Pityana.

He was speaking at the Gordon Institute of Business Studies forum on ethical leadership. Trevor Manuel and Nedbank CE Mike Brown also addressed the forum.

Pityana said the firm had tried everything to avert the situation. He called on business to assess its role in how black professionals were being treated.

Manuel said one of the challenges worsening the country's high inequality and unemployment rates was that the social pact between the government, business and labour at the National Economic Development and Labour Council was no longer effective.

He called on partners to have difficult conversations about how to move SA forward.

Brown said there was little business could do to ensure inclusivity if the economy did not grow.
Following a R11m, four-month renovation project to improve the overall guest experience, Premier Hotel Cape Town will be re-opening before the end of August 2017.

The project, carried out by NV Properties and project managed by Betts Townsend Construction, has enhanced the luxury and comfort for which the hotel is known. When guests step through the hotel doors and into the revamped reception and lounge areas - adorned with new furniture, fittings, and decor - they will instantly feel at home.



The Promenade Restaurant and the Promenade Cocktail Bar have also undergone refurbishments, with a new layout design, bar, and contemporary earthy feel which creates an elegant environment in which diners can enjoy wholesome, fresh and affordable fare. In addition, the main kitchen has been remodelled and a kosher kitchen, with separate dairy and meat sections, has been introduced.

Whats more, the hotels 130 rooms, which command spectacular views of either the Atlantic Ocean or world-famous Table Mountain, have been treated to an aesthetic upgrade that reflects the overall contemporary earthy theme and complements the ambience of the hotel. The intimate Sofies Lounge and the hotels three conference venues have all been refreshed with new furnishings too.

As the renovations are still underway, the main hotel wing will remain closed until the end of July. However, the renovated East Wing is still available for bookings on a room-only basis and a temporary reception desk has been set up in this section of the hotel for guests convenience. Access to certain areas of the hotel continues to be periodically restricted in order to complete the various stages of the project. Food and beverage services remain suspended and the conference rooms, business centre and library are still temporarily inaccessible.

Certain facilities such as on-site parking, free Wi-Fi and complimentary shuttle to the V&A Waterfront, are all still on offer but may be limited at certain times.

We cant wait to show off the new-look Premier Hotel Cape Town come August, says Sigal Nassimov-Geva, chief operating officer of Premier Hotels & Resorts.
Underscoring Cape Town's consistent favour with travellers from around the world, the city has been named Best City in Africa and the Middle East in the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards for 2017

There has been ongoing growth in tourism to the city throughout 2017 following on from a respectable high season, and the forecast for the immediate future is that this trend is set to continue through the latter half of the year, particularly with the much-anticipated opening of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.

Earlier in 2017, Cape Town was named the number one city in Africa for business tourism events by the International Congress and Convention Association, highlighting the diversity of whats on offer in the city, from business to luxury travel, as well as affordable options for the leisure traveller.

Executive Mayor, City of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille comments: We are ecstatic about the award affirming our status as a consistent destination of choice for travellers from all over the world. The City of Cape Town will continue to do all we can to promote Cape Town as the ideal place to live, work, play and invest in. Our tourism offering must be constantly refreshed so that we can keep people coming back for more. We will be getting on with the work along with our partners in the tourism and business tourism sectors to ensure that we put together innovative packages to keep the planes landing in Cape Town packed to capacity. Let us continue getting on with building a world class city so that we can grow our tourism economy and create even more jobs for the people of our beautiful city.

Enver Duminy, CEO, Cape Town Tourism says: We applaud the efforts of every tourism professional and every local who has worked tirelessly to make Cape Town a welcoming destination, renowned the world over as providing a fantastic travel experience. Lets continue to add value to excellence, ensuring an ongoing boost to the economy and sustainability in employment in the sector for more Capetonians.
The rules and best practice for employing a foreign national in South Africa are significantly different for them than normal employees.

Marisa Jacobs

One can fit foreign nationals into an existing human resource structure but there can be significant and unnecessary costs thereto or much administration. Here are some pointers on the process.

Selection and preparation

The journey starts with sourcing the correct resource for the job, which is of critical importance and must be given the necessary thought. These considerations would include the emotional and psychological effects on expatriate employees and whether their family is accompanying the expatriate on the assignment or remaining behind.

Psychometric assessment that focuses specifically on a candidates ability to adapt to different people and situations as well as his or her ability to cope with pressures and setbacks can offer significant and useful insight to employers as to the suitability of a candidate and the likelihood of being successful on the assignment.

Immigration and work visas

The work visa process needs to be tackled as soon as possible after a suitable candidate has been chosen. There are several steps to follow, which include identifying the correct category of visa for both the expatriate and the family, determining whether the applicant must apply in his or her home or host country and then, most importantly, the process of collecting the necessary documents from both the employee and the employer.

This can be quite a lengthy process, especially where poorly managed and the sooner it gets underway the better. Work visas are easy to understand if you know what you need and how to go about it, but near impossible when you are inexperienced.

Tax planning and compliance

When employing expatriates, specific tax planning is required to ensure that, amongst other things, a non-residency tax status is secured and solely South African source (as opposed to world-wide) income is taxable and employee benefits such as housing exemptions are optimally structured.

Likewise, applying for SARS waivers on items such as home leave exemptions on rotational home leave trips can save companies large amounts of money. Obviously, of utmost importance is to ensure home and host country compliance at all times.

Expatriate remuneration

Expatriate remuneration can be a highly sensitive and contentious issue. It is therefore crucial that an objective and consistent methodology is used when adjusting an expatriates salary to the specific assignment for which he or she has been selected.

Employment contracts or secondment agreements must be setup to ensure correct wording from a work visa perspective, optimal tax planning and compliance as well as addressing standard expatriate items, ie aligning your agreement to leading market practice.

It is vital that an international mobility policy is formulated, taking into account market best practice, local laws and current business affordability. Companies would often make use of an Assignment Cost Calculator, calculating the total assignment costs, including home and host country taxes.

Outsourced employment

Where employers bring in a group of expatriates for a fixed term period project, they often utilise an outsourced vehicle through which to employ professionals. Should it be a business consideration, one of the main benefits of this type of structure is to ensure complete confidentiality of remuneration. It also lessens the administrative burden of, for example, setting up a split payroll and administering offshore payments and Reserve Bank approval processes.

Other benefits ensure the correct bank account setup with exchange control, social security clearances and expatriate specific benefits. No expatriate should be forced to contribute to a South African based retirement scheme, as the or she does not plan to retire in South Africa (if done, we are in breach of tax and exchange control).

Expatriates, who are correctly selected and integrated, deliver exceptional value to an organisation. However, end up with unhappy employees and there will be layers of frustration, as any human resource administrator who has been through this process can vouch.
Mzansi Magic's Xhosa drama series Igazi has displaced Our Perfect Wedding as the most watched programme on DStv, ending the reality show's dominance at the top of pay-TV's most-watched list.

According to the Broadcast Research Council's latest television audience measurement survey figures, Igazi raked in over 1.1 million viewers for a single episode last month.

Our Perfect Wedding came in a close second, with only 10,000 viewers less tuning in for its most popular episode. Igazi also beat out Mzansi Magic's flagship soapie Isibaya by over 200,000 viewers.

The drama, which focuses on a Xhosa royal family whose members are not only fighting for the throne, but also their own demons, was an instant hit.

"I think it is because of how different it is. So many shows are similar, but Igazi is refreshing because it takes the Xhosa setting and gives it a real twist. You leave each episode questioning whether what you saw was possible," Igazi star Zikhona Sodlaka said.
Sustainable wine farming isn't just about the grapes - it's about all elements involved in making wine, from lighter bottles and composting to protecting air quality and giving back to the community. We spoke to Roland Peens, Director of Wine Cellar: Fine Wine Merchants & Cellarers and winemaker Johan Reyneke of Reyneke Wines about the true meaning of sustainability in winemaking.

Roland Peens, Director of Wine Cellar

Peens, what constitutes true sustainability in winemaking for you?

I believe that true sustainability in winemaking includes a whole range of more natural practices in the vineyard, winery, environment, and ecosystem. I think there is certainly a shift - wine drinkers are increasingly interested in real stories, environmentally sound practices and understanding how their wine is made. Of course, the wines need to taste good too! Sustainability does, however, mean a long-term view and few wineries are able to undertake this.

Interesting! Peens, can you give us an example of an SA winery making waves in terms of sustainability?

I think Reyneke Wines are an interesting example of a winery that implements sustainability efficiently, so Ive brought Johan Reyneke with me to answer some of your more detailed questions. Reyneke has been a leader in this field for more than a decade. Not only do his wines receive critical international and local acclaim, but Reyneke has gone a step beyond organic and created South Africas very first biodynamic vineyard and winery.

We really appreciate the work he has done to achieve a more balanced and environmentally sustainable winery, and we love the wines. We stock all the Reyneke Wines on Wine Cellar, release some of his new wines as well as partner up for events. Reyneke will be presenting an exciting tasting for Wine Cellar on 20 September in Cape Town and on 21 September in Johannesburg.

Great to have you with us, Reyneke. What are some of the practices you implement at Reyneke Wines to keep land and community healthy for generations of wine lovers to come?

The three key areas to focus on in terms of long term sustainability of any venture are nature, people, and money. Theyre almost like the legs of a three-legged chair if one is absent the chair falls over. We believe our adherence to organic and biodynamic principles allows us to do just that: make good quality wines on a profitable basis without exploiting nature or labour in the process.

It must be challenging to implement this efficiently  is it more challenging than conventional winemaking?

We face the same challenges as anyone does in conventional agriculture such as weeds, pests, and fungal disease but remedy them in a different way. We dont use herbicides, pesticides or fungicides to do so. This alternative approach to agriculture seems more risky and costly in the short term but plays out differently over time if done correctly. Doing things correctly is an important point as one can be organic or biodynamic by neglect or by design. Essentially, were moving away from a compromise situation where our gain comes at a cost to nature and people to a synergistic relationship where all three variables - nature, people and money - support each other.

We heard through the grapevine that you were honoured by news network CNN for your cornerstone programme to encourage home ownership and education for farm workers and their families?

My entry into the wonderful world of wine was as a farm labourer. I was astonished by how hard we had to work, how little we received in return, and how ironic it was given how crucial our contribution was to the making of fine wine. I dreamed of starting a wine company with my fellow workers but for very legitimate reasons they politely declined. This opened the door for other suggestions that started with home ownership and education and have now matured into on-farm business ownership. Having said that, it is, like everything else, a work in progress and part of a continuous process of refinement. Our business is growing and so is our labour force and this brings some interesting dynamics to the table.

Could you please explain the difference between an organic and a biodynamic farming?

All biodynamic farms are also organic but not all organic farms are biodynamic. Organics is about sustainability and biodynamics is about self-sufficiency. The organic farmer buys organic fertiliser to feed his vines. The biodynamic farmer buys a cow, collect her manure to feed the vines and in return feeds the pips, stems, and skins from the winery back to the cow. This system has ecological benefits such as a lower carbon footprint and economic benefits such as control over production costs amongst others.

Johan Reyneke of Reyneke Wines

Interesting! What are further benefits of biodynamic farming?

Biodynamics puts a greater emphasis on the inherent value of things as opposed to just their material worth. Cows, therefore, have names, as opposed to just numbers in their ears, and are appreciated for all the additional benefits they bring to the farm as well, as opposed to just seeing them in terms of meat or milk production units. Biodynamics makes use of sets of herbal preparations and field sprays to foster plant and animal health and well-being. Biodynamics follows a specific planting calendar that suggests that certain parts of plants (fruits, flowers, leaves, and roots) are affected by lunar cycles and phases. One would, therefore, harvest lettuce on a leaf day, carrots on a root day and grapes on a fruit day for example.

So, could biodynamic farming be seen as a return to old farming practices?

Yes indeed. Both the use of herbal preparations and a planting calendar are often frowned upon by skeptics. The key to softening the blow somewhat is indeed to understand than biodynamics is a very old form of organic farming. It originated at a time when people had a spiritual understanding of life in general and farming in particular, and today we live in an age where we prefer a scientific understanding of both. In this context, a lot of the biodynamic methodology can come across as being of an un-scientific or esoteric nature. While this can be the case, it doesnt have to be the case and is often borne out of a superficial understanding of the biodynamic process.

And of course, wed love to know whats next at Reyneke Wines?

Probably a good surf this afternoon! On a more serious note, our biggest current challenge is growth. Demand for the wines outstrip supply and were also inundated with neighbours and fellow farmers looking for assistance in converting their farms and vineyards to biodynamic agriculture. With all this going on, it's key that we keep our focus on what we set out to do: make good quality wines on a profitable basis without exploiting nature or labour in the process.

Thanks so much Reyneke, this has been so insightful. Peens, to conclude  what excites you about SAs wine industry? You mentioned that we may indeed be experiencing a Fine Wine Revolution?

There is a huge excitement in the South African wine industry and what has happened over the last five to ten years can be described as revolutionary. New and interesting wines are entering the market constantly and international press views South Africa as the most exciting wine producer at the moment. The new generation of winemakers is realising that great wine cant be made in the winery, the focus needs to be in the vineyard. Therefore, there is a bigger appreciation for the farmer and winegrower. Not only are old vines now being farmed better and more sustainably, but new vineyards are being farmed better and, therefore, producing better wines.
Approximately 70% of Africa's population depends on its agriculture-based economy for their livelihoods, underscoring the importance of soil to the sector. Fertile soils across the continent are under threat, however, due in large part to climate change and poor land management which leads to the depletion of nutrients and soil organic matter and increased soil erosion.

StockSnap via pixabay

During the recent European Development Days held on 7-8 June 2017 in Brussels, Belgium, the Joint Research Commission of the European Commission led a session on sustainable soil management in Africa. Panelists drew from different organisations including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and University of Leuven. Their discussion focused on solutions to large-scale adoption, both at policy and practical levels, of key land restoration options including integrated soil fertility management alongside practices such as intercropping and agroforestry. Scientists from ICRAF presented compelling evidence on how soil restoration can contribute to improved food security and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sustainable soil management key to improving food security and climate change challenges

Many soils in Africa are naturally fertile and productive, said Arwyn Jones of the European Commissions Joint Research Centre. However, many exhibit significant constraints related to inappropriate management and climate fluctuation. Human activity and natural disasters such as floods accelerate soil degradation, negatively affecting natural ecosystems which, in turn, can negatively impact sectors of the economy such as agriculture, environmental services, and tourism. As such, soil is a key component to solving Africas challenges to ensure food security and address climate change. Jones recognised the importance of incorporating existing indigenous knowledge on soil management effective soil management.

Land degradation in the drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa continues to threaten food security and livelihoods, said Leigh Winowiecki, a soil scientist at ICRAF. To that end, sustainable soil management is key to restoration of degraded land to transform lives and landscapes. Her presentation looked at the role of sustainable soil management for restoration of degraded land in East Africa and the Sahel, highlighting activities from the IFAD/EC-funded project Restoration of degraded land for food security and poverty reduction in East Africa and the Sahel: taking successes in land restoration to scale.

Land restoration: What works where for whom

When considering options for land restoration initiatives, it is important to understand what works where for whom. Variability in social, cultural, economic and biophysical environments greatly influence the results of such initiatives. ICRAF has developed tools that map soil organic carbon and soil erosion prevalence to provide relevant soil information aimed at land restoration interventions.

We are working with development partners in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali and Niger to implement and monitor on-farm land restoration interventions such as farmer-managed natural regeneration, soil and water conservation, micro-dosing of fertilisers, tree planting and agroforestry, use of Zai pits (small water harvesting pits) on farms and pest control, added Winowiecki.

We need to understand the systems we work in to design effective interventions to restore land health and reverse land degradation, said Tor-Gunnar Vagen, who leads ICRAFs GeoScience Lab. There are different ways to understand how the soil properties and their spatial distribution determine sensitivity to land degradation using tools such as tools such as the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework and earth observation. Assessments need to be spatially explicit and at scales relevant to farmers and land managers.

Soil health assessments

Vagen discussed the importance of the soil health assessments for evidence-based decision using examples from Ethiopia and Kenya. He noted that to effectively assess soil health at scale, indicators of soil need to be consistent and supported by analytical frameworks for modeling and mapping with high levels of rigor. They should also integrate biophysical and socio-economic indicators in landscapes. Diagnostics can be used to assess interactions between social and ecological systems, including their resilience and their role as socioeconomic drivers of changes in soil health.

The SHARED approach

Vagen further explained ICRAFs use of the SHARED approach to providing the government of Turkana County in Kenya with information on land degradation and land/ecosystem health to support their planning and decision-making process. The Resilience Diagnostic and Decision Support Tool provides data an information for a wide-range of sectors including nutrition, education, security, livestock, land health, energy, irrigation, health, tourism and water, sanitation and hygiene.

The SHARED approach is demand driven, tailored and an interactive engagement process for collaborative learning and co-negotiation of decisions to achieve mutually agreed upon development outcomes. Three other counties in Kenya, as well as counties Zambia, Ethiopia, and Tanzania, have expressed interest in using the same processes and tools.

Joining Winowieki and Vagen on the panel were Arwyn Jones of the European Commissions Joint Research Centre, Liesl Wiese of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and Karen van Campenhout and Seppe Deckers both of the University of Leuven in Belgium. All agreed that soil management is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring food security and rural development, and providing increased resilience to climate change in Africa.

The session titled Sustainable soil management: the foundation for Africas future?, was organized by the European Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Agroforestry Centre and the University of Leuven at the European Development Days 2017.
Prime Minister Theresa May unveiled an ambitious package of support to create new wealth in Africa - reducing the continent's reliance upon aid and improving global security.

 Matthias Ziegler via 123RF

Speaking to G20 leaders in Hamburg, the Prime Minister called for global action to unlock the huge untapped economic potential of Africa, as a more prosperous Africa would lift millions of people out of poverty, while also offering the UK greater security at home and significant future trading opportunities.

The new long term approach set out by the Prime Minister is based on three key principles:

Building a modern partnership with Africa which is focussed much more strongly on supporting African aspirations for trade, investment and growth.

Creating millions of new jobs.

A commitment to work with others including the private sector to stimulate trillions of pounds/dollars investment into Africa.

Some 20 million jobs need to be created in Africa every year until 2035 just to absorb new entrants into the labour force.

The Prime Minister indicated to the G20 that if young people remain permanently excluded with jobs and opportunities always out of reach then destabilising migratory patterns will persist  with extremist causes and criminality more likely to thrive.

Some 20 million jobs need to be created in Africa every year until 2035 just to absorb new entrants into the labour force.

But the Prime Minister will say that, with the right approach, if we get this right, our efforts will make it less likely that people migrate to Europe, turn to extremism or join criminal networks.

The Prime Minister will announce a package of new measures designed to help Africa reduce its reliance on aid and boost its prosperity and stability over the long-term, including:

Announcing a new London Centre for Global Disaster Protection, which will use world-leading UK expertise and innovation to help developing countries strengthen disaster planning and use insurance to provide more cost-effective, rapid and reliable finance in emergencies, such as the severe drought in East Africa. This will reduce the need for expensive humanitarian aid, reassure private investors and help people rebuild their lives. Insurance protection built through this centre could provide 2 billion when crises hit to ensure that the high costs of disasters arent borne by people or businesses trapping them in cycles of poverty, and its work to build insurance markets in developing countries could generate billions of pounds each year in additional national investment to boost economic development.

New support (60 million) to help Africa integrate into global financial markets, by building a robust and transparent financial sector that will attract more investment and financial innovation; help its banking sector stand on its own two feet and direct finance where it is most needed. This paves the way for a strong partnership with the City of London, creating more opportunities for London to become the finance hub for Africa.

Providing 61 million to boost trade infrastructure in Tanzania  including working with the World Bank to nearly double the capacity of Dar es Salaam port; 30 million dedicated to helping Somalias state and economy recover from conflict by building a functioning civil service for sound economic management and helping up to a million people benefit from better roads and water supply; and 35 million UK support to Ethiopia, and 11.8 million to Rwanda to help attract private investment so these countries can be less dependent on aid.

The Prime Minister will call on other G20 leaders to prove similar assistance to other African countries to help create millions of new jobs, stimulate trillions of investment and harness the power of trade.

This will enable African refugees to be supported in the first safe country they reach and reduce their need for risky onward journeys.

Germany, the G20 hosts, are already championing this approach, including through a Compact with Africa initiative to promote private investment. The Prime Minister is urging others to now follow the UK and German lead on this vital issue.

Speaking in the margins of the G20 summit, the Prime Minister said: We must not forget that progress in Africa benefits the UK at home.

Our international aid work is helping to build Britains trading partners of the future, creating real alternatives to mass migration, and enhancing our security, while simultaneously ensuring we abide by our moral responsibility to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of some of the poorest people on earth. This is the future of aid, delivering value for money for the taxpayer.
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The White House(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump defended his son Wednesday morning amidst the swirling controversy surrounding Donald Trump Jr.'s emails regarding a meeting with a Russian lawyer, praising him for being open and transparent."



My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent," the president tweeted, referencing his son's appearance Tuesday night on Fox News in the wake of Trump Jr. releasing the emails. "This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!

My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

Minutes later, he followed up in a second tweet, writing: Remember, when you hear the word sources say from the Fake Media, often times those sources are made up and do not exist.

Remember, when you hear the words "sources say" from the Fake Media, often times those sources are made up and do not exist.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

On Tuesday, Trump Jr. tweeted four pages of what he said is an email chain with music producer Rob Goldstone. The messages appear to show Trump Jr. being offered damning information on Hillary Clinton in the heat of the 2016 race. In response, he wrote "I love it."



The emails preceded a meeting with the lawyer, as well as then-campaign chair Paul Manafort and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.



In his interview on Fox with Sean Hannity, Trump Jr. said his father knew nothing about the meeting and said in a statement Tuesday the lawyer had "no information to provide."



In a statement Tuesday, the president said, My son is a high-quality person, and I applaud his transparency.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Heil to the chief -- Gen. Museveni



[Open Letter]

I salute you General Yoweri Museveni.

My name is Mugabe Robert. My late father, Mzee Amitayo Okeny Lugwero, named me after your fellow revolutionary leader, Mr. Robert Gabriel Mugabe. I was born at the time when Southern Rhodesia, current day Zimbabwe, was gaining its independence.

Robert Gabriel Mugabe, like you back then, presented the people of Zimbabwe with new hope and aspiration for a better future. His articulation of the liberation program and economic prosperity for Zimbabweans was nearly equal to none on the continent at that time. Indeed, for the first 10 years, he did very well for Zimbabwe, but later, like you, got consummated with the power retention idea.

General Museveni, on May 18th this year, I turned 37. I have spent 31 out the 37 years of my entire adult life on earth under your rule. I know no other president but you. You have short-changed us on the "fundamental change" that you promised had been delivered when you seized power. It was a "mere change of guards" after all.

You seem to have completely lost any sense of shame and have the least regard for integrity of word and action. But let me remind you that in January 1986, while swearing-in on the steps of the Ugandan parliament, you said that one of Africas main problems, is the long stay of leaders in power.

When you made that statement, gullible Ugandans believed you and thought that finally, the country had got a leader and a new era had dawned. In the Western world, you became a darling and, together with your peers, Paul Kagame, the late Meles Zenawi, Isias Aferweki, were branded, a "new breed" of African leaders.

Little did we know that you were actually duping the entire world. You had a completely different plan up your sleeves. You were involved in crafting a constitution that you didnt believe in one bit even though the opinions and contributions of hundreds of thousands of Ugandans was solicited.

A few years down the road, before the most important articles in that constitution could be tested, you initiated a scheme to rape it. Armed with $2,000 for each Member of Parliament, you bribed nearly all of them to amend Article 105 (2) that would have barred you to contest for the countrys presidency again. Now there is no presidential term limit; a gaping hole in the constitution.

While you were orchestrating your plan to hang onto power, there was a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the northern and northeastern parts of Uganda. Your government herded nearly two million Ugandans into camps; with squalid, inhuman conditions. The World Health Organization survey found over 1,000 "excess" deaths above normal mortality per week; people dying every day as a result of hunger and disease. If you multiply this every year, more than a half-million people must have perished over 10 years and well over one million over two decades.

Many others were being killed by your soldiers and those of Joseph Konys Lords Resistance Army (LRA).

As your plan to hang on to power got further entrenched, your government was busy running down Ugandan schools that incidentally made you and your ilk the rulers of this country by providing you with superb education when you were growing up.

You replaced the Ugandan education system, with the Universal Primary Education (UPE), which sounded good on paper; but, because you were not prepared or willing to give young Ugandans quality education, it only ran down public education.

General Museveni, you did not stop there. Your government commoditized education and made it only affordable to rich Ugandans. I know for a fact that if the colonial government had constructed an education system similar to what we have today, you and your ilk would not be here in those positions of power. Your parents, including Mzee Kaguta, would not have afforded to give you the requisite education.

General Museveni, the biggest resource of any nation is its citizens. However, you and your government have given young Ugandans something akin to education, not education in its true sense. You have given young Ugandans an education that does not prepare them for the challenges of their times. I am sure you have heard several reports that say young Ugandans in upper primary cannot do basic literacy and arithmetic work of lower primary classes. This a big shame to your government.

General Museveni, while you were busy illegitimately prolonging your stay in power, the health sector was being run down. I remember, that you had to fly your expectant daughter to deliver her baby from in Germany with the $50 million Gulf Stream jet purchased with Ugandan tax payers and foreign aid money; funds that should have gone towards building our schools and hospitals. You swore that your children can never be attended to by Ugandan medics.

In fact, it is not just your children. Your ministers, permanent secretaries, under-secretaries, and even our Members of Parliament do not dare go to Ugandan hospitals. If they did, it would be for minor health problems such as colds, headaches, and coughs.

This is because Ugandan hospitals are not functional. Your government has broken down the entire health system. Ugandan hospitals have become mortuaries.

General Museveni, poverty, unemployment, corruption and all other governance vices have characterized your 31 years in power. Ugandans are so impoverished that in some case people eat wild leaves and insects to survive. Youth unemployment is nearly 85%. The country loses nearly $300 million to graft every year.

General Museveni, we now hear that you have hatched a plan to remove the 75 years old age limit clause from the Ugandan constitution so you can run again and be president for life. What this means is that you are prepared to throw Uganda into another spate of mayhem, destruction and bloodletting. We had hoped that that constitutional provision would finally stop you, but alas, we hoped against hope.

General Museveni, you are supposed to derive power from the Ugandan people to stay there. Now that you have chosen to circumvent that legitimate path, we, the people, will do all within our power to stop you.

Enough is enough.




The officials  all of whom represent groups that have signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement  are taking part in a four-part leadership training held by the peace-building centre.

Pdoh Saw Hla, joint secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), said the training is aimed at helping overcome challenges in Myanmars peace process.

The training helps provide qualifications for the peace process, including the dos and donts for overcoming challenges, he said.

Twenty officials from the liaison offices of the eight ethnic armed groups and military officials attended the Siem Reap training, which was the second part of four modules that will be taught in sections to the same participants. The most recent training included lessons as well as excursions to nearby places such as the War Museum.

We will share what we have learned by teaching these lessons to our subordinates, said Pdoh Saw Flo Soe Win, head of the KNUs Myeik-Dawei District Liaison Office.

The centre started the modules with Myanmar peace leaders in May. The third and fourth modules will be taught in September and November.
As the UNFPA points out, thanks to voluntary family planning, millions of women in Myanmar are empowered to make a choice in the number of children they want, and to start their families later in life. This gives them an opportunity to complete their schooling, earn a better living, and escape the trap of poverty. Investments in family planning create a reinforcing cycle of empowerment, which supports healthy, educated and economically productive women and families, propelling development forward.

The theme for World Population Day, 11 July 2017, is Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations. The Day coincides with the London Family Planning Summit, which will be attended by Dr Myint Htwe, Union Minister for Health and Sports. The Government of Myanmar and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, are organizing a Summit satellite event in Nay Pyi Taw under the umbrella of World Population Day.

The London Summit brings together the stakeholders of the FP2020 initiative which aims to expand access to voluntary family planning to 120 million more women globally by 2020. In Myanmar, the Governments commitment to FP2020 is to reach a modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) of 60 per cent, and to reduce unmet need for family planning to below 10 per cent by 2020.

Today, half of married women (52 per cent) in Myanmar practice family planning. One in six women (16 per cent) have an unmet need for contraceptives. This means that although they would like to, they cannot access modern methods of contraception. This leads to unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal and infant death, and it limits women in their work and career choices.

From 2014 to 2016, UNFPA provided family planning, and life-saving maternal and reproductive health commodities worth US$9.6 million, and invested US$1.4 million into a new logistics system to track where supplies are being used and how they are being used. This contributed significantly to the national achievement where, in 2016 alone, access to modern contraceptives and the availability of lifesaving medicines for mothers helped avert:1,340,000 unintended pregnancies, 466,000 unsafe abortions, and 1,000 maternal deaths

The right to exercise voluntary family planning is an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals, including target 3.7 to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health services.
According to Shalea, a resident in Nai Soi, also known as Karenni Refugee Camp (1), the fire broke out at about 10pm on July 5. He said that he didnt know the cause of the fire.

It may have been from a candle, he told Shan Herald by telephone. It happened at night when most people were already asleep. Thirty-three houses burnt down and about 300 residents left without shelter.

Thai police are investigating the cause of the blaze, he added.

Nai Soi was original established on the Karenni State side of the border in 1989 to house villagers fleeing conflict in eastern Burma. The camp was relocated several times before it was finally settled at its present location in March 1996. Currently, Nai Soi refugee camp houses about 8,000 people, most of whom are ethnic Karenni.

Nai Soi has been the victim of several fires in recent years; more than 40 people were killed in a blaze in 2013 and about 400 left homeless.

It is lucky this time that no one got hurt, said Maw Mya, a Nai Soi refugee who witnessed last weeks fire. However, this type of incident affects everyone psychologically.
Sai Ba Nyan, the vice-chairman of the local aid committee in Namtu, told Shan Herald today that the accident occurred at about 10.30am in Pang Marn village, Zai Khao village tract, in Namtu Township. The victim, Sai Pan Aung, aged 20-30, was walking on a track to his farm.

Both of his legs were wounded, said Sai Ba Nyan. He is now being treated at Namtu hospital.

He said there were a lot of landmines all over the area due to the ongoing conflict and that local villagers had been warned about walking outside their communities. Sai Pan Aung was injured because he didnt heed the order, he said.

As armed clashes keep happening, they [Burmese armed force and ethnic armed groups] will not clear their landmines, the Shan aid worker said. Many of the villagers in these areas are afraid to return to their own homes.

Clashes have been regularly reported between Burmese government forces, the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) and the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in the Namtu area.

On July 6, Shan Herald reported that over 300 villagers in Namtu Township had reportedly fled their homes due to fighting involving the RCSS/SSA, which is one of eight armed groups to sign a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the government, and the TNLA, which was largely excluded by Naypyidaw from the peace process.

According to the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, a research and monitoring arm of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), Burma was ranked third most dangerous country in the world for landmines in 2014 behind only Colombia and Afghanistan.

The ICBL report on 25 November 2015 also highlighted the numbers of landmine victims between 1999 and 2014. The report said that there were a total of 3,745 people affected by landmines in Burma, which included 396 killed; 3,145 injured; and 204 unknown. However, it noted that the real figure could be much higher.

In May this year, eight novice monks in Namtu were seriously injured after a landmine exploded while they were playing with it. The next day another 23 mines were discovered near the temple compound.

Among several other incidents in Shan State, a man was killed after stepping on a landmine in Mong Kyat tract in Lashio Township.
While the KIO did officially tendered its resignation and also got approval for its exit from the UNFC, during its second congress meeting from June 20 to 29, the SSPP has chosen to stay on, which creates a situation that it is involved in both the UNFC and FPNCC.

Let us look into it, if the SSPP is really in a dilemma of choice to which it wants to belong to or whether it has an unspoken consent, to act as member in both the ethnic umbrella organizations.

Background of SSPP/SSA

In order to be clear it is important to understand the formation or have the birds eye view of Shan armed organizations. But first the name Shan State Army (SSA) that is being used by both the northern and southern Shan armies need to be explained.

SSPP/SSA is the northern Shan army and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) is the southern Shan army.

SSPP/SSA has its headquarters in Wan Hai, Kehsi Township, northern Shan State, with its operational areas covering Namkham, Langkho, Hsipaw, Kyaukme, Monghsu, Tangyan, Mongyai, Kehsi, Lashio Township. It has an estimated strength of some 8,000 soldiers.

It was born out of the original Shan resistance on May 21 1958. On April 25, 1960 the Shan State Independence Army (SSIA) was formed in Loi Lang, Mong Yawn, Kengtung state with Hkun Maha as chairman and Sao Hso Hkarn as secretary general. On April 24, 1964 Shan resistance forces formed the Shan State Army (SSA) with Sao Nang Hearn Kham (Mahadevi of Yawnghwe) as chairman. In 1971, the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) was established and its first congress was held on August 16, 1971. The SSPP signed a ceasefire agreement with Myanmar government in 1989.

Due to the Burma Armys pressure to transform into Border Guard Force (BGF) in 2010, the SSPP/SSA brigade 3 and 7 were transformed into BGF in the following year but the strongest brigade 1 led by Lt. General Pang Fa rejuvenated the SSPP/SSA and refused to become BGF.

Even though it continued to honor the ceasefire agreement of 1989, the Burma Army harassed and attacked the SSPP/SSA on and off, in order to force it to either surrender or become a BGF like the others.

SSPP/SSA is also a member of the Committee for Shan State Unity (CSSU) which is comprised of the following organizations.

Shan State Joint Action Committee (a coalition of Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army, and Shan State Militia Force)

Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP)

Restoration Council of Shan State/ Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA)

Shan Community Based Organizations

Tai Youth Organization

Shan Lawyers Network

New Generation Shan State

Tai National Association Thailand

Eastern Shan State Development and Democratic Party (ESSDDP)

Tai Youth Network (TYN)

SSPP previously was involved in National Democratic Front (NDF) and Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC), the two predecessor ethnic umbrella organizations of the UNFC.

SSPPs unique position

SSPPs controversial political position, in relation to its membership in UNFC and FPNCC, has been criticized among the keen Burma watchers, observers and also the stakeholders, which ranges from opinion like being a fence-sitter, opportunist to a smart tactician with political acumen.

According to one SSPP top functionary, who doesnt want to be named, Sao Sai Htoo, top peace negotiator of the organization, is that there is no clause by either side  UNFC and FPNCC  which says that the SSPP should leave one to join the other. But there is a bit unclear political stance on whether if the SSPP joining of the northern group or FPNCC is a military expediency or a political alliance, as the United Wa State Army (UWSA) that leads the group has often insisted to be the latter.

The SSPP on the other hand seems to be saying that joining the UNFC is political, while involving in the FPNCC is for military purpose, to fend off the Burma Army offensives together as a necessity.

Geographically, the SSPP is located right in the middle, with the UWSA in the east, RCSS in the south and to the north, the Northern-Alliance  Burma (NA-B) made up of Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Arakan Army (AA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) or Kokang.

In addition, to its north, RCSS also has pockets of operational areas, which has led to occasional armed clashes between the TNLA and itself. The SSPP has last year offered its good office to be a mediator to end the armed conflict between the two, but so far nothing has been undertaken.

Analysis

SSPP doesnt seem to have the dilemma of KIO in having to choose one alliance group from the two. But has positioned itself to be a bridge between the two alliances, apart from projecting to become an ethnic nationalities political platform embracing the whole spectrum through UNFCs basic founding principles.

In addition to its basic commitment, the UNFCs eight-point amendment proposal for the NCA was, at an earlier stage, endorsed by the NA-B. And only after the formation of the Panghsang alliance or FPNCC had the NA-B members started to reject the NCA line of approach, arguing for a new game plan that is entirely different.

FPNCC advocacy was to stop the war nationwide first and enter the peace negotiation process within the agreed time-span, after which would the agreement become ineffective if negotiation failed to start within the appointed time-frame.

But following the 21st Century Panglong Conference (21CPC), held from May 24 until 29, where the Panghsang alliance members were invited as special guests, due to the Chinese pressure on the Burmese government, but were not given fully fledged participation status, changed their demand from total rejection of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) to the amendment of it so that they could also sign it and enter political dialogue as full negotiation members in the 21CPC.

However it is not clear if the FPNCC is ready to accept UNFC bargaining position that is based on its eight-point proposal that previously had been approved by the NA-B.

The UNFC eight point proposal that should be added to the NCA are:

Bilateral ceasefire agreement between the government-military and the UNFC; To build a federal union with result achieved from 21CPC; Agreement of tripartite dialogue composition; Drafting and promulgation of constitutional law based on the outcome of 21CPC; Advance agreement on Military Codes of Conduct (CoC) and monitoring on Terms of Reference (ToR); Formation of military Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) with representatives from government, EAOs and international figures acceptable to both parties; Formation of a neutral, enforcement tribunal for NCA involving domestic and international law experts and judges that are acceptable to both parties; and Developmental projects to be tackled according to Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), in cooperation with the public and the EAOs. (Source: UNFC Documentation)

Meanwhile, there has been no movement on whether the UNFCs Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN) and governments Peace Commission (PC) would talk over and make decisions accordingly on the eight-point proposal. At the same time, governments PC overtures through the Chinese has not progress to the actual meeting, as the PCs insistence to meet the FPNCC members separately were duly rejected.

According to recent interview on July 8 with the media, the TNLA vice chairman Tar Jode Jar said: During last month 14 (June) and 15 (June), they (the governments PC) told the Chinese that they wanted to meet us. We heard that U Thein Zaw initiated he proposal through the Chinese.

He added that since the last month rejection of all the members of the FPNCC to meet the government PCs proposed separate meeting in two groups, one with the NA-B and the other with the rest of three members, nothing has happened.

In sum, it could be said that the SSPP sees itself as a mediator and a bridge between the two non-signatory EAOs ethnic umbrella groups of UNFC and FPNCC, while through empowering the UNFC by its continued membership to promote the ethnic solidarity also with those who have already signed the NCA and are involved in the ongoing peace negotiation process with the government. Reportedly, it was said that the UNFC would hold an all ethnic conference, similar to the Mai Ja Yang and Law Khee Lah, where ethnic leadership meetings were held, to work out common policies in the ongoing struggle for the establishment of a genuine federal union.

Thus, it seems the SSPPs participation in both UNFC and FPNCC has the approval or consent of both the alliance groups, if not an agreed arrangement.
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Botswana Mine Workers Union (BMWU) is said to be on the verge of dumping Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU).

BMWU is said to have already written a letter to the federation about its decision to leave the federation. Information gathered by this publication indicates that BMWU fell out with the federation after the latter failed to lead in the fight against government during the shut down of BCL mine last year.

BFTU General Secretary Gadzani Mhotsha confirmed to Botswana Guardian in an interview that his office has received a correspondence from its affiliate. He said they have since communicated with the union leadership through a letter requesting a meeting to understand what prompted the union to withdraw its membership.





Well it is not good to lose one member or affiliate because it affects your numbers. But this has not deterred us from striving and representing our members in all forums and fighting for their rights, said Mhotsha. He would not be drawn into believing their lack of persuasion on the government regarding the shutdown of BCL could have triggered the withdrawal. He said the federation is still to meet the union to discuss the matter.

BMWU President Jack Tlhagale would not be drawn into discussing the matter referring questions to general secretary Mbiganyi Ramokate who is the custodian of all Ramokate was not available for comment as his mobile phone was off. BMWU withdrawal comes hardly three months after another BFTU affiliate University of Botswana Academic and Senior Support Staff Union (UBASSU) announced its withdrawal.

UBASSU President Kaelo Molefhe revealed that they have since joined Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU). Molefhe explained that they have discovered that BFTU of today is no longer active and progressive. The president said during the trying times of BCL mineworkers BFTU was nowhere to be seen.

During the times when Botswana Mine Workers Union needed the federation the most BFTU did not assist. The federation never stood in solidarity with BCL workers. This was disturbing because BMWU is an affiliate of the federation. We however only noticed the presence of BOFEPUSU who were always present in Selibe-Phikwe, said Molefhe at the time of the withdrawal in April this year.

In an interview this week Mhotsha said as the federation they have not received any communication from UBASSU. He said as far as they are concerned UBASSU is still their affiliate. He accused Molefhe of having taken the membership of UBASSU to BOFEPUSU without the knowledge or consent of the union members or executive committee.

Dr Molefhe is a known activist of one of our opposition parties. He knows our stand as the federation in as far as politics is concerned. He took the union to the other federation, which everyone knows its stance on politics because he is a staunch supporter of one of the parties. We know our detractors to advance their claims that the federation is dying would use this. The federation is however still intact, losing the two affiliates should not be used to gauge our strength viability, said Mhotsha confidently.

BMWU in January this year decampaigned the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) during a by-election in Palapye allegedly for ignoring interests of the workers. BMWU revealed during a political rally to launch Botswana Congress Party (BCP) council candidate. BCP would later win the council seat through Area Gabathuse who contested the council seat for Boikago-Madiba Ward in Palapye against BDPs Thabo Dimeku.

BMWU General Secretary Mbiganyi Ramokate indicated that the decision was taken after government decided to liquidate BCL and Tati Nickel mines last year where close to 6000 employees lost their jobs.
With tensions high at Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), it is time for leadership of the coalition to intervene, observers have argued.

Things have now taken a nasty turn after the BMD Disciplinary Committee last week called for the expulsion of party President Ndaba Gaolathe with his Vice, Wynter Mmolotsi, Womens League President, Joyce Mothudi, former BMDYL leader, Phenyo Segokgo, Chairperson of Elders Committee, Pako Keogilwe and Harriet Rampa.

The expulsion came after they were found guilty for not appearing before disciplinary hearing on two occasions. They have once again indicated that they do not recognise the expulsions as much as they did not recognise their suspensions. Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) leadership has revealed that it would not interfere with the internal squabbles at its contracting partner. However political observers believe that for the sake of the coalition movement, UDC leadership must somersault on its stance.





Political Science Lecturer at University of Botswana Batlang Seabo told Botswana Guardian that the issue of the BMD has escalated to another level. This level according to Seabo prompts the UDC leadership to intervene in order to bring normalcy to one of its important constituent members.

Political Commentator Anthony Morima explained that even though it might be thought that it is too late for reconciliation, it has to be explored. One wonders if it would work but it is not too late. They could have even intervened at the time of the alleged unlawful youth congress before things got out of hand, said Morima.

BMD Secretary General Gilbert Mangole stated that they have tried the reconciliation process but could not bear fruit as the party President has made it clear that he would not be part of the process. We engaged the UDC leadership, elders within BMD and even churches to reconcile us but our comrades would not move, Mangole said.

He added that the committee has been divided since the 2015 Ghanzi Congress because the president was not ready to work with the current National Executive Committee. During their tours around the country Gaolathe-led faction has stated that they would not reconcile with Mangole, party Chairman Nehemiah Modubule and Policy Director Dr Tlamelo Mmatli. They made it clear that what they want is for the trio to come and apologise to them for the suspension before the congress. They indicated that the congress billed for next week would resolve the standoff within the NEC members.

Seabo indicated that previously the UDC decided not to intervene opting to respect the BMDs internal structures to resolve the matter. But in light of the recent expulsions of certain members and the president, it necessitates prompt intervention from UDC. It cannot be simply left to the BMDs upcoming congress to decide the fate of the party. There has to be reconciliation of some kind to forge peace and unity because instability within BMD or any other partner to UDC has far destructive spillover effects unto UDC project, Seabo explained.

Seabo indicated that the matter has to be approached with respect, sensitivity and in a conciliatory spirit to broker peace between the two factions. Morima believes that UDC President Duma Boko might have earlier feared to intervene with the thinking that he would be deemed to be taking sides with either of the factions.

He feels an independent person should be brought on board. UDC can use their international friends or local friends and even churches. I doubt the congress could solve the problem. The congress might fail to resolve the matter because it would depend on who is having a controlling hand on those who attend the congress. It might be chaotic or even worse than what we experienced when Botswana National Front split and we saw the formation of Botswana Congress Party. It is a disaster waiting to happen, argued Morima.

UDC Chairman Motlatsi Molapisi told this publication that they are willing to assist but the problem is that the two factions have not approached them. He admitted that the wars at BMD have far reaching consequences. Molapisi who is also President of Botswana Peoples Party revealed that Modubule and Mangole once approached him. But the thing is when they came to me they were just briefing me about the problems and not necessarily asking for help. Even at our last UDC National Executive Council we raised the matter but could not agree on how to go about approaching it because those involved have not approached us, said Molapisi.

He explained that when BNF was having its own squabbles in 2012/13 the UDC intervened and helped resolve the problem because Boko approached them.

The issue at hand at BMD is not such a big problem as people may want to make it look like. It is just minor differences that could be resolved even in a day. But since we respect their internal structures we would only intervene when they want us to, explained Molapisi.
Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Secretary General Botsalo Ntuane has reiterated that his relationship with party Chairman Mokgweetsi Masisi is as healthy as before they were voted into office in 2015.

There have been allegations that the relationship between the two has soured over the years ever since Mmadinare where they were both voted into their current positions for the first time. The alleged sour relationship according to sources is one of the reasons why most of Ntuanes responsibilities were taken from him and assigned other people. Ntuane no longer held the steering wheel in the recruitment drive, which has since been taken over by Masisi.

Another assignment that fell under Ntuanes office was that of party structures where he would visit branches and regions with the aim of reviving them. This assignment has since been given to a subcommittee of the central committee - the Political Education and Elections Committee (PEEC), which is headed by central committee additional member Gaothaetse Matlhabaphiri.





This week Ntuane said he has nothing against Masisi who is also the Vice President. He said they share a life even outside politics. I have even been to VPs place for three times this year where we discussed political issues and issues not related to politics. We have a good relationship and we have been working very well closely, said Ntuane when defending his non-inclusion in Masisi camp.

The BDP will this weekend vote into office a new central committee in Tonota. Masisi will be defending his seat against Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development Nonofo Molefhi. Ntuane is the only member of the current central committee not in Masisis lobby list. Ntuane defended this arrangement saying he does not believe in lobby lists. He explained that he decided to go solo because lobby lists do not unite the party but rather divides the party.

I am not for lobby lists. They have not done any good for the party. I decided to go solo just two years back because I want to appeal to all democrats. But this does not mean I have anything with those in lobby lists I just want to be the secretary general of all democrats. I want after the congress to work with everyone not having to face other people from another lobby list that I was decampaigning, he revealed.

Ntuane however stated that he gets along with all those he is competing against. We do meet occasionally with Molefhi where we share a cup of coffee. Balopi our offices are next to each others so we always meet and chat while Nkate we do converse over the phone. He said lobby lists divide them because eligible voters would choose to associate with a certain lobby list ignoring other people who are not in that particular list.
Over 166 companies have applied or expressed interest for the multibillion Pula joint ventures with Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) for both a 100 MW industrial scale solar plant and the setting up of hybrid networks in 20 rural areas.

The process to start awarding the tender will start in a months time. BPC issued documents reference 2157/17 calling for Expression of Interest (EOI) for joint ventures on 22nd May 2017 with the closing date set for 14th June 2017. BG News has it in good authority that over 160 companies, among them European, South African and Chinese entities have accordingly responded and are waiting to be shortlisted and be invited to submit bids at the Request for Proposal (RfP) stage.

In a bid to address the power supply challenges and to meet the future electricity demand, the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) in conjunction with the Ministry Of Minerals, Green Technology and Energy Security (MMGE) have embarked on a comprehensive electrical power system development strategy which includes among others, the development of a 100MW solar power plant two years from appointment of the preferred Independent Power Producer (IPP) joint venture partner.





The additional power generated will be from a new solar power plant constructed, commissioned, owned and operated, by the IPP joint venture company. This initiative is in line with National Energy Policy goal of providing affordable, reliable and adequate supply of energy for sustainable development, as well as improving access to and efficient use of energy resources.

BPC would therefore like to engage companies or firms into a Joint Venture for the development, implementation and operation of a 100 MW Solar Power Plant with suitable storage capacity. The plant will be located in Botswana, and the newly formed Joint Venture will sell its power to BPC through a Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA). Therefore, Expression of Interest is invited from power generation companies /Independent Power Producers (IPPs) /power plant developers / Captive Power Producers for developing a solar power plant in a joint venture with BPC.

Chief Executive Officer of BPC, Dr Stefan Peter Schwartzfischer and Edward Rugoyi- the officer in charge of the process confirmed that both EOIs have received a good response, an indication that Botswana is an attractive destination for energy investors. Speaking to BG News Schwartzfischer confirmed that offers will be made in the next four weeks.

He said the next stage will be to go to the selective tender process which will lead to the-short-listing of six companies. The six companies shortlisted will be asked to provide and or show that they have the knowledge of implementing, installation and maintenance of such project .That will be followed by the negotiations stage which will happen around October 2017.

Swartzfischer said there is an ongoing advert concerning the setting up of the hybrid of the electrification. This hybrid is not connected to the national grid and the invitation closes on 25th July, 2017.

He revealed that the construction of Morupule A will start at the end of the month, while Morupule B is currently operating with all its four units. For the first time BPC is exporting power to the sub region- of the Southern African Power Pool.

Does BPC have the capacity to evaluate the Bids?

In recent past questions have been asked about BPCs capacity to evaluate the bids submitted. BG News has been reliably informed that early this year a delegation from the Development Bank of Southern Africa visited and attended a conference organised by the Ministry Of Minerals, Green Technology and Energy Security (MMGE), where they allegedly offered to assist to fund and build capacity to allow BPC and MMGE to effectively run the procurement of energy from independent power producers (IPPs).

This new unit will have the capacity similar to the Renewable Energy Independent Power Programme run by an IPP office under the Department of Energy in South Africa. This programme has been internationally applauded for its transparency and efficiency and has given international investors the confidence to invest in the numerous projects that have been developed to date.

BG News made several attempts to solicit a comment from the Department of Energy Affairs, to confirm their meeting with DBSA, but so far the request for a meeting and, or response has hit a snag.

The Marubeni issue

Recently a Japanese Independent Power Producer (IPP), Marubeni Corporation who was awarded tender to build the multimillion Pula Morupule B Unit 5 and 6 power plants which will produce an additional 300MW into the national grid shelved production raising concerns that BPC will not be able to purchase power from them as it is not bankable and wanted government to provide support guarantee.

However, the refusal by government to provide support guarantee on the Morupule B plant does not seem to have deterred investors. In resolving the issue of government guarantees to Independent Power Producers, according to the expression of interest, government recommends Public Private Partnerships.

This means that since BPC will be a shareholder in the project, it becomes easier for the government to issue a guarantee as it would in effect be issuing the guarantee to a company it either controls or in which it owns a significant minority.

Government turns to Public Private Partnerships In line with the significant decline in the governments capacity to finance mega-projects, government has turned to public private partnerships. A Public-private partnership (PPP) is described as a legally constituted relationship between the state or its agencies with private sector firm(s) in which the private sector firms substitute the state in the provision of public goods and services over a specified or indefinite period, for mutual benefit.

The private sector would assist with the financing of the projects and the state would sign or guarantee the offtake contracts to make the project financeable by banks and investors. However, financial experts say the principal concern in Botswana going this route is that currently there is no PPP legislation.

Case for Solar Energy

Solar power is booming in popularity all around the world, across all sectors, from household to utility scale, and both on and off the grid. Historically solar energy has been prohibitively expensive to produce on an industrial scale. However, for the past 10 years, prices of the major component in solar plants, being the solar panels, have consistently fallen, some experts say by as much as 80%. This has resulted in this energy source becoming more affordable.

The current problem with solar energy is that at night there is limited or no energy produced. The solution has been to build CSP plants to store the solar energy for use at night. However, these technologies have proven to be prohibitively expensive.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/07/2017 (1948 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon couple who had their legal medicinal marijuana grow-op mistakenly raided by RCMP have accused the force of shoddy investigating.

The allegation is made in a lawsuit recently filed by Brandon residents Jerry Pomehichuk and Brenda Wakefield against the RCMP, Health Canada and others.

Essentially, they claim that RCMP officers obtained a warrant, searched their property and seized plants without confirmation of whether they had valid licences to produce and have medicinal marijuana  as it turned out, they did.

As a result, the warrant was obtained and the charges were laid upon information that was incomplete, inaccurate and/or showed a wanton disregard for proper or reasonable investigation protocols, techniques or procedure, claims the lawsuit, which was filed last month in Winnipeg Court of Queens Bench.

The RCMP and three of its officers, the Attorney General of Canada, Health Canada and the federal minister of health are named as defendants.

The lawsuit comes after charges against Pomehichuk were dropped, and the court ordered RCMP to give back the marijuana they seized. Wakefield wasnt arrested or charged.

The lawsuit claims damages in an amount to be determined by the court if the couple wins their case.

Pomehichuk and Wakefield are common-law partners.

Health Canada had issued each valid personal-use production licences and authorizations to possess dried marijuana for medical purposes, the claim states.

Combined, they were entitled to produce up to 292 plants at their warehouse just near the citys edge.

The couple asserts that RCMP contacted Health Canada to determine whether the warehouse operation was licensed, but were only told that there were no business operators in the area.

In addition, the claim states, when RCMP provided the plaintiffs names to Health Canada to confirm if they had valid licences, the department didnt immediately respond.

Despite that incomplete information and a limited investigation, RCMP hastily and negligently obtained a warrant anyway and raided the warehouse on June 21, 2015, states the claim.

It also claims that an RCMP officer misleadingly told the couple that the licences were expired and the number of plants at the site were over the legal limit.

Its claimed that police seized 206 marijuana plants and five kilograms of dried marijuana, which was far below the amount the couple was allowed to have.

Pomehichuk was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Both charges were later dropped.

It was only after the search and arrest that Health Canada advised the RCMP that the plaintiffs held valid licences for the production and possession of medical marijuana.

While the court ordered the return of the marijuana when the charges against Pomehichuk were later dropped, the claim states that all the plants had already been destroyed and most of the dried marijuana was ruined by mould.

Also, the claim states that even though Pomehichuk had offered to let police into the building and to show them the licences, officers did $400 damage to a steel door as they entered the warehouse.

They were also charged $2,695 for a safety inspection firefighters did prior to the search.

In conclusion, the claim argues that police didnt have reasonable and probable grounds to get a warrant so the search and seizure was illegal, and Pomehichuks arrest was unlawful.

The couple blames Health Canada for failing to maintain proper means for notifying police and other authorities about legitimate licences.

Health Canada and RCMP didnt respond to requests for comment by press time on Tuesday.

Generally, defendants have 20 days to respond to a lawsuit, but as of Tuesday no statements of defence had been filed.

Reached by phone on Tuesday, while vacationing in the United States, Pomehichuk declined further comment until he had spoken with his lawyer.

However, hed previously explained that he uses marijuana to treat pain for vertebrae that were crushed in a motorcycle accident. His wife uses it to treat back and knee pain.

They rarely smoke marijuana, he said, preferring to use a refined oil extract.

After the charges against him were dropped, Pomehichuk said the incident showed that law enforcement hasnt kept up with medical marijuana laws. Police dont see marijuana as medicine, but as a thing to be controlled, he said.

At that time, RCMP disagreed that the raid was a reflection of a bad attitude toward medicinal marijuana on the part of police. Rather, it was described as an honest mistake based on miscommunication with Health Canada.

 ihitchen@brandonsun.com
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/07/2017 (1948 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon nursing home has brought in fans and portable air conditioners to keep residents and staff cool as it deals with a partial breakdown of its air conditioning system.

A spokesperson with Prairie Mountain Health said staff at Fairview Personal Care Home first noticed a problem on July 5, and a request was sent to have it looked at immediately.

It was determined that we had lost a refrigeration compressor for the heating/ventilation system, which cut out 50 per cent of our cooling capacity to A tower, stated CEO Penny Gilson via email correspondence with The Brandon Sun on Tuesday. A Fairview official was not available for comment.

Jillian Austin/The Brandon Sun Fairview Personal Care Home is dealing with a partial breakdown to its air conditioning system. Portable units and additional fans have been brought in as a temporary measure.

Fairview is a long-term care facility with 248 residents. The area impacted by the breakdown, Tower A, is the portion of the facility with five floors that runs in an east-west direction.

The regions Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Department was notified on July 5 of the situation and have brought in additional fans and portable A/C units, Gilson said. We have also established cooling stations on each floor for staff and residents and are encouraging them to use them frequently.

The cooling stations consist of portable A/C units in the north lounge on each floor. According to PMH, the door remains closed to keep the cool air in the room, which has resulted in a comfortable temperature.

When asked when they expect the compressor to be fixed, Gilson said they dont have an exact date, as it is dependent on receiving and installing the necessary replacement parts.

Facility Engineering Services is working to expedite the replacement compressor unit and it will be installed as soon as it arrives, she said. We are, however, putting pressure on to have everything done as soon as possible.

The temperature in Brandon has been consistently in the high 20s over the past several days, and according to Environment Canada, will be hovering around 30 C later this week.

As the temperature and humidity rises outside, PMH says it is ensuring that residents and staff have adequate fluids and that windows and blinds are kept closed.

The situation is a concern we take seriously and PMH is instituting all possible measures to try and keep staff and residents as comfortable as possible, Gilson said. We continue to prioritize the remedial work necessary.

 jaustin@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @jillianaustin
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/07/2017 (1949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The math may look good, but leaders at local places of worship arent keen on evaluating their institutions value using dollars and cents.

A recent study from a Toronto think tank, which often investigates matters of faith and society, claimed Brandons places of worship are worth $90 million to the city.

Ive never really thought of it in those terms, said Vern Kratz, one of four pastors at Calvary Temple, a Pentecostal church in Brandon.

Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun Calvary Temple executive pastor Vern Kratz says a financial figure alone does not determine the worth of parishioners' good deeds.

Sometimes its difficult to attach dollar figures to what we see, the benefits to our community, whether that be towards families, towards individuals  or opportunities for people to grow in their faith journey that theyre on.

Last year, Cardus examined 10 congregations in Toronto in an attempt to put a price on the value of faith-based organizations.

The study found that for every dollar a place of worship spends, they create $4.77 of value in return. The researchers phrased this financial calculation as the halo effect, which tries to gauge the impact of all activities a congregation does, ranging from running soup kitchens, supporting refugees and hosting classes in parenting and anger management.

The $4.77 valuation from that study has since been used to determine the halo effect for thousands of Canadian communities.

The Halo Project multiplies the total budget for all religious institutions in a community  using Canadian Revenue Agency data  by $4.77 to provide an estimate.

Other Westman communities are referenced in the Halo Project calculator, which is available online. This includes $13 million in economic benefit for Dauphin, $6.2 million in Killarney, $6 million in Neepawa, $5.6 million in Virden, $2.8 million in Minnedosa and $2.4 million in Souris.

The calculator churned out these estimates using the $4.77 multiplier, but it does not take into account community-specific differences to Toronto, which established the multiplier, such as size of the population or congregation.

Milton Friesen, the Social Cities program director for Cardus, hopes their initial research  though certainly not an exact science  will spark further discussion.

Wed like to see this conversation more enriched, more informed, not so much anecdotal, Friesen said of questioning the value of faith-based organizations.

These financial estimates may also show the importance of maintaining tax exemptions for synagogues, mosques, churches and temples  a debate raging in Montreal.

This report doesnt suggest they should or shouldnt be taxed, its an argument to say we need to better understand what the effects might be of those types of moves.

Friesen said a key takeaway from the Halo Project is to avoid equating the $90 million value of Brandons religious institutions as the same economic driver of a major manufacturer.

This is not a case where its contributing to GDP at that amount, he said of religious institutions. Its contributing to quality of life such that if they disappeared, and someone had to pick up the slack, thats kind of the size of the slack that would need to be picked up.

In the case of Calvary Temple, parishioners take part in monthly challenges  such as collecting food for the soup kitchen or donating to the diaper drive  which help those in need, Kratz said.

On a relational level, they have an active childrens ministry with 150 kids, and witness positive changes in the lives of people who take their faith seriously, he added.

A financial figure alone does not determine their worth, Kratz believes.

We would feel that weve reached a level of success when we see that were providing something to the community that obviously the community itself is seeing as important.

Brian McNarry, lead pastor at Grand Valley Community Church in Brandon, feels the same way.

I think you measure success by how churches are able to help communities grow, how churches are able to help people in times of need, he said.

Directly, his churchs main local project is donating their time and money to Youth for Christs UTurn project, which houses people aged 29 and under in affordable living arrangements. McNarry, who serves as co-chair of the Brandon Ministerial Association, said members of his congregation also donate to Youth for Christ and Samaritan House.

Like other faith-based groups, they dont do any of it for the recognition.

We (do charitable work) because its good and its the right thing to do, he said. We arent doing it to gain recognition.

The Halo Project calculator can be found at haloproject.ca.

 ifroese@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ianfroese
Coca-Cola is doubling the amount of recycled plastic in its British drinks bottles to 50%, the company has announced.

All 20 of Coca-Cola drinks brands in the UK (including Sprite, Fanta, Smartwater and Schweppes) will move from 25% recycled plastic in their bottles to 50% by 2020.

The increase will involve a new deal with Clean Tech, which operates Europe's largest plastic bottle reprocessing plant, in Lincolnshire, and see Coca-Cola sourcing all of the recycled plastic it uses from within Britain.

Once bottles have been collected and recycled they will return to shop shelves as part of new packs in as little as six weeks, the company said.

But further changes are needed to the UK recycling system to boost the availability of high quality recycled plastic, it said.

The move to boost the recycled content of plastic bottles is part of a new sustainable packaging strategy by the company.

It also includes investing in marketing and advertising to promote recycling, supporting well-designed measures such as deposit-return schemes and testing an on-the-go bottle recovery and reward programme.

The soft drinks giant has been the target of a global campaign by Greenpeace urging it to ditch "throwaway plastic", as part of the environmental group's push against plastic pollution in the ocean.

Millions of tonnes of plastics are ending up in the ocean every year, harming marine wildlife, taking centuries to break down and spreading toxic chemicals, Greenpeace says.

Jon Woods, general manager of Coca-Cola Great Britain, said: "Our packaging is valuable to us and we don't want to see any of it end up where it shouldn't.

"All of our bottles and cans have been 100% recyclable for some time now, so in theory none should be littered. But we know that isn't happening and that's why we are going to do more.

"Doubling the amount of recycled material in all of our plastic bottles is a significant investment and sends a clear signal that we want to play a positive role in supporting the circular economy here in Great Britain.

"In the strategy we have focused on the actions we can take as a business - such as our ability to communicate to consumers the importance of recycling - as well as the areas where we want to work in close collaboration with others to reduce litter and increase the recovery and recycling of plastic bottles."

Marcus Gover, chief executive of waste reduction body Wrap, said: "To have a brand as well-known and with the reach of Coca-Cola actively encouraging more people to recycle is a really positive step which we welcome.

"A commitment that half of all the plastic bottles they use will be recycled plastic, understanding that this will cost the business more, shows real leadership in the industry and provides the essential market for recovered materials."

Louise Edge, Greenpeace UK oceans campaigner, said people expected companies such as Coca-Cola to make their bottles out of 100% recycled plastic.

She questioned how the drinks giant would reduce the "sheer scale" of plastic it was pumping out globally.
Cobh harbour in Cork is in full swing this summer season, welcoming nationalities all over the world to our shores.

Yesterday, the small town had an arrival from Australian Cruise Liner, The Sea Princess.
Update: The General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Patricia King, has said that Budget 2018 should be an opportunity to shift the direction of fiscal policy towards building a fairer society, prioritising higher living standards and quality of life.

Responding to the Summer Economic Statement announced today she said that a shared concern of most people is the serious under-investment in key economic and social infrastructure which needs to be rectified in the coming years.

From the information in the Statement, Congress would question the scale of ambition it reflects. A commitment to spending more must be seen against the context of an exceptionally low level of public capital spending by European and international standards as well as a backlog of infrastructural problems and bottlenecks not least in the areas of social housing, public transport, early childhood care and primary health care.

Congress believes that public spending, particularly in infrastructure, should take precedence over tax cuts. We also contend that the time is right for the Government to use the proceeds of the sale of AIB shares to invest in infrastructure with long-term economic and social benefit.

Against a background of exceptionally low interest rates on long-term loans as well as a need to fireproof Ireland against the economic damage likely to result from Brexit, we strongly urge Government to commit to public capital spending in the region of 4% of national output instead of 2.5% by 2021 as indicated in the Statement.

The cumulative shortfall over a five-year period in public capital spending as a result of not reaching 4% by 2021 is estimated to be in the region of 15 billion. This sum of money could have been, and still should be, spent on upgrading our economic and social infrastructure.

For those without homes the rainy day is here, and all available money should be spent to address this emergency which is due entirely to a catastrophic policy failure, Patricia King said.

Earlier: Opposition politicians have warned that the Government will have to bin any potential tax cuts.

As Paschal Donohoe, minister for finance and public expenditure and reform, outlined targets for spending and rainy day savings over the next four years both Sinn Fein and Labour rounded on him.

The ministers Summer Economic Statement set out ambitions for the Government to fund about 500 million euro of projects next year but it did not go into specifics.

It also earmarked an additional spending package of 1.5 billion euro in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and the setting up of a rainy day fund in 2019 which will take in 500 million euro a year to cover a future economic crisis.

But Sinn Feins finance spokesman Pearse Doherty claimed the long-term budget plans showed no scope for tax cuts.

"If you are raising your family in a hotel, it is raining today. If you or a loved one are waiting in pain for a medical procedure, it is raining today," he said.

"It is beyond belief that the Government would put this kind of money aside when we have such serious crises in our public services.

"And it shows that this government, nor one led by Fianna Fail, who have suggested that one billion euro should be put aside per year in this fund, can be trusted to fix these crises and deliver quality public services for all our people."

Labour leader Brendan Howlin said the economic statement promised little and would deliver even less.

And he predicted that the Government would shelve plans for tax cuts as it found money to meet the cost of the new public sector pay deal under the Lansdowne Road Agreement and pay for investment in education and health.

"It remains to be seen whether the figures published today will bear any resemblance to reality on budget day, but for now, the odds of this Government passing a budget at all seem slim," he said.

"Minister Donohoe is of course right to talk about the size of the overall budget. But in truth, unless he is willing to axe entire spending programmes, he wont find much in the way of savings in a system that has been stretched to breaking point over recent years."

Labours finance spokeswoman and former tanaiste Joan Burton said: "The Summer Economic Statement had nothing to say on tax justice, nor does it go far enough on increasing capital expenditure.

"We cant take our recovery for granted and the only way we can ensure continued prosperity is investing in people, in services and in infrastructure."

Mr Donohoe declined to discuss any prospective infrastructure projects like Metro North or the M20 Cork to Limerick motorway.

As part of his statement, he said the Excehequer books would be balanced next year and that 55,000 jobs would be created next year.

Economic growth is being forecast at 3.7% next year and 3.1% in 2019 but the report warned that Brexit meant these projections were subject to "considerable uncertainty".

Mr Donohoe also claimed that seven out of 10 jobs lost in the years since the recession had been recouped.

"The economy is growing at a healthy pace and generating jobs-rich growth," he said.

"Indeed, we are now approaching a situation in which jobs are available for all those who want them.

"Now is the time to build on the gains of recent years, to improve the resilience of the economy and to address the capacity constraints that are emerging."

The Construction Industry Federation criticised Mr Donohoes agenda and warned that deferring investment would slow economic growth over the next decade.

Director general Tom Parlon said: "If its a good idea to invest in 2019 to improve the economy and address the housing issue, lack of broadband and creaking road and rail infrastructure, why not start today?"

- Reporting by Ed Carty, Press Association
There is a warning that taking legal action against Eygpt over its treatment of Ibrahim Halawa could hurt his chances of being released.

The 21-year-old Dubliner has been held in jail for almost four years with his mass trial postponed 26 times.
Gardai are appealing for help in tracing a missing 29-year-old woman from Dublin.

Linda Christian, who is missing from Blanchardstown, was last seen on Saturday, June 24.

She is described as being five foot three inches tall, of slim build and with long brown hair and green eyes.

She was last seen wearing a green bomber jacket, blue jeans and carrying a pink gym bag.

Anyone who may have seen Linda or who can help in finding her is asked to contact Blanchardstown Garda Station on 01 - 6667000, The Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
A 48-year-old man from Belfast will go on trial in two weeks on allegations he took part in an IRA attack on a British barracks in Germany more than 20 years ago, a German court said.

Ireland extradited James Anthony Oliver Corry, a British citizen, in December to face attempted murder charges.

The dpa news agency reported on Wednesday that the Osnabrueck state court said he would go on trial on July 26.

Prosecutors allege Corry was in an IRA unit that fired three mortar shells onto the grounds of the Quebec Barracks in Osnabrueck on June 28, 1996.

Only one of the shells detonated on the property, damaging buildings and vehicles but injuring nobody.

The Provisional IRA killed nearly 1,800 people from 1970 to July 2005, when it formally renounced violence.
A Fair City star has been given seven months to pay compensation before he is sentenced for attacking his former partner.

Patrick Fitzpatrick, 33, who played Carrigstown villain Zumo Bishop for six years in the RTE prime-time television soap, was excused from attending his latest hearing at Dublin District Court today.

He had pleaded guilty in February to assault causing harm to Theresa Gannon at his home at Hollytree Terrace, Ballymun, on Sept. 4, 2015. The charge is under Section Three of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. The offence, at district court level, can carry a sentence of up to one year.

Garda Niall Carolan had told Judge John Lindsay that Fitzpatrick bit the womans upper arm but did not break skin. He has also said the actor then punched her twice on the side of her jaw. Photos of her injuries were shown to the court.

She suffered bruising and a medical report on her was furnished to Judge Lindsay today.

Garda Carolan told Judge Lindsay the victim has made a full recovery.

The issue of compensation was also clarified today. Garda Carolan said that in February the judge had suggested the sum of 2,000 should be paid to Ms Gannon.

Defence solicitor Philip Hannon said so far 1,000 has been handed over by his client but he does not yet have the full amount and would not have the balance until February next year.

The court also heard that there was a positive probation report on Fitzpatrick. The defence solicitor said it was a comprehensive report which has made a specific recommendation.

Mr Hannon asked for the case to be adjourned until a date in November for more money to be paid. Judge Lindsay agreed and remanded Fitzpatrick on continuing bail in his absence.

At the next hearing the case will have to be further adjourned for his attention, he ordered.

Fitzpatrick played Fair City gangster Zumo Bishop for six years, from 2007-2013 and briefly reprised the role last year.

His fictional on-screen hard-man alter ego was at the centre of some of the programme's biggest stories in recent years.

Fitzpatricks other acting credits includes a role in 2013 horror film City of Hate.
Update - 2.09pm:The Finance Minister has defended plans to halve the money set aside for the rainy day fund.

Paschal Donohoe has confirmed that half of the 1bn which was being put away from 2019, will now be spent on capital projects instead.

Minister Donohoe said it is important to strike a balance.

He said: "This is a different level of contribution than was originally planned and we are making this different level of contribution in an understanding of some of the additional needs that we are now facing.

"We have to ensure that as we allocate funding, it is going into projects that make long-term economic value for our country."

Update - 1.50pm:The Finance Minister, Paschal Donohoe, has published the Governments Summer Economic Statement which will see capital spending rise by 500m every year between 2019 and 2021.

This will result in gross capital spending of nearly 7.8bn in 2021, 85% higher than the 4.2bn spending last year.

The statement also estimates the fiscal space for next year will be 1.2bn.

It also allows for around 500m available for discretionary measures for next year.

Minister Donohoe said: "The economy is growing at a healthy pace and generating jobs-rich growth. Indeed, we are now approaching a situation in which jobs are available for all those who want them. Now is the time to build on the gains of recent years, to improve the resilience of the economy and to address the capacity constraints that are emerging.

We live in an increasingly uncertain world and must plan accordingly. To this end, the Government will maintain a rainy day fund while at the same time increasing public investment. We will continue to reduce public debt in order to build up fiscal buffers. It is also important to make the taxation system more growth-friendly and the Government will continue to work in this area.

The Summer Economic Statement sets out that the Government will:

Balance the books next year;

Implement sensible budgetary policies designed to ensure stability and continued improvements in living standards;

Establish a rainy day fund from 2019 onwards, to be capitalised with annual contributions of 500 million from the Exchequer;

Increase capital investment by an additional 500 million in each of the years 2019-2021 to further develop our economic and social infrastructure so that we can better meet the needs of our people as our economy, and society, grows. This increase, which will enhance the competitiveness and resilience of the Irish economy, will result in gross voted capital of nearly 7.8 billion in 2021. This will be 85% higher than the outturn of 4.2 billion in 2016.

Focus on the totality of expenditure  which amounts to around 60 billion  in order to ensure maximum value-for-money;



Continue to reduce the debt to GDP ratio until the 60% legal threshold is achieved. Thereafter work will begin on reducing the ratio to 55% of GPD and, once major capital projects have been completed, the reduced rate of 45% will be targeted.

Update - 12.10pm: The Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has warned there will always be constraints on the Irish economy, no matter how well the recovery is going.

Mr Donohoes Summer Economic Statement is expected to contain details of possible tax cuts and spending increases.

However, it is feared that promises to upgrade our infrastructure could lead to the Government dipping into our savings.

The crucial part is the so-called "fiscal space" - the amount which Minister Donohoe will have to spend on new measures. That will come in at around 1.2bn.

He told Pat Kenny on Newstalk the Government is keeping plans for its rainy day fund.

He said: "You will see two areas that are new: you will see its committing to a different debt target for our economy in the coming years to allow us to invest more in roads, in schools, and public transport.

"And you will see a decision in relation to the setting up of the so-called rainy day fund: we are going to set one up, but at a different level."

"What you wont see a change in, is next year Im committing to balancing our books".

But Mr Donohoe admitted this will not mean we can do what we like.

He said: "There will also be constraint - there will be constraint for two reasons: the first one is were in a new Euro now that has a number of rules that (we) didnt have a number of years go.

"The second one we have to be sensible about our finances".

He also said he will have an additional 1.5bn to play with over the next three years for capital projects.

"By next year, our capital expenditure will go above 5bn, by 2021 it will be 7.8bn - which will be an 85% increase versus where we were at the depth of our difficulty".

Asked what projects are earmarked for this money, he said: "Im not announcing that today".

"The reason for that is every project has to go through a cost-benefit analysis, and we want to do a 10-year capital plan later on in the year, tying in with a better planning framework for the country".

On the issue of fiscal space, the minister said a big amount of that has already been committed to measures announced last year.

"We have a number of full year commitments that we have to honour for next year... When those are paid for it means theres 500m available for discretionary measures.

"If the Lansdowne Road Two Agreement is ratified later on in the year that will reduce that figure further... (to) approximately 300m".

Earlier: Finance Minister, Paschal Donohoe, will release the first details of next years Budget later today.

The Summer Economic Statement will outline the general state of play in that Budget, including the projections for growth in the economy, and the numbers of people at work.

The crucial part to be announced is the so-called "fiscal space" - the amount which Paschal Donohoe will have to spend on new measures.

That will come in at around 1.2bn, but over half of that has already been committed to measures announced last year.

That leaves just 500m available, some of which will already have to be set aside for the proposed new public pay deal.

It is expected cutbacks will be needed elsewhere to fund new spending or any tax cuts.
The TD behind moves to legalise medicinal cannabis has said he will force a Dail vote to stop his bill from being abandoned.

It comes after the Oireachtas Health Committee threw out the bill from People Before Profit's Gino Kenny, because it has too many legal flaws.

According to the committee report released today, the bill poses major legal issues, unintended policy consequences and a lack of safeguards against harmful use of cannabis by patients.

It also warns that the bill could pave the way for all cannabis to be legalised, something denied by the Dublin Mid-West TD.

He said he is determined to make sure his bill does not just fall by the wayside.

Mr Kenny said: "Ultimately it's up to the Dail to make the decision on this document and that will probably be some time in September.

"So it's not dead by any means. We're up against it in some ways, but that decision has to be done by the Dail itself."

He also said he is outraged at the decision, adding that it is totally unacceptable that the first he heard of it was on Newstalk today.

"It shows a huge amount of disrespect from the committee and from Kate OConnell that the findings of their report should be leaked on national radio like this," he said.

He warned that the legislation was never aimed at the full legalisation of cannabis  and took issue with the timing of the reports release.

There was pre-legislative scrutiny, he said. That finished in April and since then I have been asking the Health Committee can they produce the report.

Now they produce it two days before the Dail finishes  and that is deliberate, that is really deliberate.

The bill originally passed the Dail in December  but has been stalled at the Health Committee ever since.
A yacht has exploded in a port in the western German town of Minden, injuring 15 firefighters and a police officer.

The German news agency dpa reported on Wednesday that the firefighters were on the yacht to extinguish a smouldering fire when the boat exploded.
Donald Trump has sent out an encouraging message to his son, who had a harrowing day after releasing a chain of emails about his meeting with a Russian lawyer.

The US president tweeted that Donald Trump Jr was "a great person who loves our country!"

An email exchange posted to Twitter by Mr Trump Jr showed him conversing with a music publicist who wanted him to meet with a "Russian government attorney" who supposedly had dirt on Mrs Clinton as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump".

The messages reveal that Mr Trump Jr was told the Russian government had information that could "incriminate" Mrs Clinton and her dealings with Russia.

"I love it," Mr Trump Jr said in one email response.

As the emails reverberated across the political world, Mr Trump Jr defended his actions in an interview with Fox News, blaming the decision to take the meeting on the "million miles per hour" pace of a presidential campaign and his suspicion that the lawyer might have information about "under-reported" scandals involving Mrs Clinton.

Mr Trump Jr said the meeting "really went nowhere" and that he never told his father about it because there was "nothing to tell".

"In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently," Mr Trump Jr said.

Democrats in Congress voiced outrage and insisted the messages showed clear collusion, with California Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, declaring that "all of the campaign's previous denials obviously now have to be viewed in a different context".

Yet Republicans - who stand the most to lose politically from Mr Trump's Russia ordeal - did not join in the condemnation.

Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

Here is page 4 (which did not post due to space constraints). pic.twitter.com/z1Xi4nr2gq  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was confident Senate investigators would "get to the bottom of whatever happened". And Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican on the intelligence committee, cautioned that the emails were "only part of the picture".

Mr Trump Jr, who was deeply involved in his father's presidential campaign, portrayed his decision to release the emails as an effort "to be totally transparent". In fact, they had already been obtained by The New York Times.

Hours after the son posted the emails, the father rose to his defence.

"My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," the president said in a statement read to reporters by White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Although Ms Sanders declined to answer questions about the emails, she stood by the White House's long-standing insistence that no-one in Trump's campaign colluded to influence the election.

As congressional committees and Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigate, the emails will almost certainly be reviewed for any signs of coordination with the Kremlin, which the White House and Mr Trump Jr have repeatedly said did not take place.

In the emails - dated early June 2016, soon after Mr Trump secured the Republican nomination - music publicist Rob Goldstone wrote to Mr Trump Jr to connect him to Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya. Mr Goldstone wrote that the information "would be very useful to your father".

"If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," Mr Trump Jr replied in one of the emails.

Days later, Ms Veselnitskaya met with Mr Trump Jr on June 9 at Trump Tower in New York. Ms Veselnitskaya has denied ever working for the Russian government.

- PA
The family of a US teenager who was found dead in the bath believe she was electrocuted while charging her mobile phone.

The devasted family have issued a heartfelt appeal for others to be wary of using electrical equipment near the tub.

It is believed that Madison Coe, a 14-year-old Texas girl, was taking a bath at her fathers home over the weekend when she either plugged her phone into a bathroom outlet or grabbed the already-plugged-in device, her mother told the American magazine People.

[Her father] found her. He had knocked on the door to tell her it was time to get out [of the tub] and she said, Okay, Madisons mother, Angela OGuinn-Downs, told the magazine.

He went back 20 minutes later, she didnt respond and he went in.

The magazine reported that Maddisons father, an emergency medical technician, did everything he could to save his daughter.

Madisons grandmother, Donna OGuinn, told KCBD that officials found burn marks on the teen.

There was a burn mark on her hand, the hand that would have grabbed the phone, she told local TV station KCBD.

The station reports how the local medical examiner has yet to rule on an official cause of death but cite local authorities as saying initial evidence shows signs consistent with electrocution.

She was such a bright, vibrant, very intelligent, loving, caring young lady, Mrs OGuinn-Downs said of her daughter. She had such a huge heart. Always willing to help others.

The family said they were speaking out about the tragic accident in order to raise awareness about the dangers of using electrical items in the bath.

Mr OGuinn told KCBD that this kind of tragedy should not happen to anyone else.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to try to raise money to cover the costs "to ensure all their expenses are covered so they may worry about coping with the loss and not the money."

Watch the video below to see Maddison's grandmother speaking about the incident.
Lone child refugees stranded in Europe have been left vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking after being failed by the British government, a new report claims.

British ministers were accused of doing "as little as legally possible" to help minors who are unaccompanied or separated from relatives.

The assessment is based on an inquiry led by former Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart and Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, who were co-chairs of the all party parliamentary group on trafficking and modern slavery before it was dissolved when the election was called.

In the forward, they write: "The United Kingdom rightly regards itself as a country which takes care of children.

"But these children, who are not yet here, are facing daily risks and dangers which simply would not be tolerated if they were visible to us all.

"Many put themselves in harm's way because they see no alternative, without trusted adults around them they are vulnerable to exploitation and without access to any legal system and safe routes to come to the UK where many have close relatives, they, instead, depend on criminals and smugglers to make the journey."

Since the clearance of the Jungle camp in Calais in October, the situation for children has become "intolerable", the report warns.

It says the failure of the British and French governments to deliver an efficient, safe transfer to the UK is "unquestionably" fuelling both trafficking and smuggling.

The report claims migrant children in France are subject to tear gassing by police and have to sleep in the woods, while depending on volunteers for food and clothing.

Ministers have repeatedly faced calls to do more to help under-18s who have reached Europe amid the wider international migration crisis.

Earlier this year it emerged that the Dubs scheme, which required the Government to resettle an unspecified number of unaccompanied minors from Europe, would close after 480 were brought to the UK - well below the 3,000 campaigners had called for.

The paper says it had received no evidence to support the assertion that continuing the programme indefinitely will act as a pull factor and encourage traffickers.

"On the contrary, the inquiry concluded that in the chaotic manner in which it was handled on the ground and then abruptly stopped, the Government's own administration of the Dubs scheme has created such a lack of trust in official pathways to safety that it feeds directly into the hands of traffickers," it says.

The inquiry also pointed to evidence that the system of assessing children's eligibility to be reunited with family under a European regulation known as Dublin III rule is being hampered by the "chaotic" situation in areas of Europe with high numbers of migrant arrivals.

Ms Mactaggart said many of the children they met have relatives in Britain.

She said: "The Government needs to make it possible for them to know how to come here legally and get the support and care they need.

"The UK government has failed these children, while claiming it cares about child welfare".

The British Home Office said it was "completely untrue" to say the Dubs scheme was closed unexpectedly.

"The Government remains committed to resettling 480 children already in European countries - a number which was reached following extensive consultation," a spokeswoman added.

She said: "We are committed to supporting vulnerable children who are caught up in conflict and danger. Last year we provided 8,000 vulnerable children with refuge or other forms of leave and by 2020 we will have resettled 23,000 people from Syria, the Middle East and North Africa - half of whom will be children.

"Our strategy is clear, we believe that the most vulnerable children are in the conflict zone around Syria and best way to help them is by resettling refugees directly from the region.

"This is how we can stop traffickers and smugglers from exploiting vulnerable people and children and prevent them from embarking on perilous journeys across the Mediterranean."

A spokeswoman for the French Embassy in the UK said: "The French government has offered a large number of places in the 161 reception and guidance centres throughout the country following the dismantling of the Calais camp and has encouraged and supported the migrants in their process of applying for asylum in France.

"France has co-operated with the UK to reunite nearly 100 of unaccompanied minors with family members in the UK. Those who were not eligible for this scheme are being taken care of in France under the regulatory provisions."

She said "wholesale reform" of the asylum system will enable the processing of asylum applications to be significantly speeded up.
The ACT government will not have to release a swathe of documents about sites considered for future public housing after a decision by an independent legal arbiter.

Speaker Joy Burch referred a request by the Canberra Liberals to produce almost two years' worth of meeting notes from the Public Housing Renewal Steering Committee to an external reviewer after Opposition MLAs cried foul.

The ACT government will not have to release a swathe of documents about where future public housing will be built after a decision by an independent legal arbiter. Credit:Rohan Thomson

The Liberals had asked for the documents under freedom of information laws, after an outcry over plans to build new public housing on land zoned for community use, but the notes that were released were heavily redacted.

The documents contained information about alternative sites considered for public housing the government plans to build in suburbs like Chapman and Mawson.
However Angela Rintoul, a research fellow at the Australian Gambling Research Centre and the Australian institute of Family Studies in Melbourne, says staff are hamstrung by an expectation from management to please paying customers.

Opponents of the ban have said the need for staff to process the eftpos cash out acts as a deterrent for problem gamblers.

The ACT government is looking to ban eftpos cash outs in clubs to stop problem gamblers from feeding unlimited amounts of money through poker machines.

Whatever level of deterrence pokies venue staff had as a middleman in eftpos cash transactions has now "evaporated", the co-author of a new report on gambling codes of conduct says.

In the paper she co-wrote, based on interactions in Melbourne pubs and clubs and published in the Addiction Research and Theory journal, researchers found the deterrent effect of staff contact on problem gambling had in fact subsided.

They found retaining eftpos without a daily limit had done little to curb access to cash for at-risk gamblers and may have caused more harm to some.

Dr Rintoul welcomed the ACT government's bid to ban eftpos cash outs in clubs but said there was scope for more legislative action, particularly around how staff should respond to signs of problem gambling.

"We spoke to a staff member from a gambling venue [in Melbourne] who said he was quite excited after having done his responsible service of gambling training and starting a new job at a venue and when he tried to implement what he'd been taught in that training his manager stopped him," Dr Rintoul said.

"This was an instance where a staff member had a gambler repeatedly returning to withdraw cash from an eftpos machine and the staff member had said to his manager 'this is the third time this gambler has come up, should I refuse him another cash withdrawal from the eftpos machine' and his manager effectively said 'don't do that, keep giving him the money'.
Doctors expect that a sharp surge in flu cases this week is only the start of a rise in people falling ill to the virus this winter.

ACT Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Andrew Pengilley has urged Canberrans to stop its spread by staying home from work and keeping their families at home from childcare and school if they are sick.

A surge in flu cases will only get worse in Canberra, health experts say. Credit:Getty Images

Of the 186 reported cases between January and July 11 this year, one-fifth of patients fell ill from the flu in the last week.

"This spike in reported cases is signalling the start of the flu season here locally with the number of cases expected to continue to rise in the coming weeks," Dr Pengilley said.
Having cut his teeth at JB Were and Goldman Sachs in research, then investment bank advisory, before taking a break to reconnect with his family, property supremo Simon Wheatley has returned in a new role with Fat Prophets' Angus Geddes, to manage a new real estate investment company. Fat Prophets' Angus Geddes. Credit:Rob Homer Known as Fat Prophets Global Property Fund, it will provide investors with exposure to a portfolio of global real estate listed companies, primarily REITs, with the aim of raising up to $220 million. LIC's are back in favour, even James Packer's Contango Asset Management forged ahead with a LIC focusing on global stocks. And clients can be assured there will be no fear or favour by the managers when it comes to investing, as Wheatley, who once famously put a sell on Frank Lowy's Westfield, has also hired ex Perennial Investment Partners and former Macquarie Funds Management executive David Kivell, known as "killer" for his tough scrutiny on REIT managers, as the independent chairman of the LIC's investment committee. It's online people.

Now CBD would not want anyone to think that our attendance record at university was spotless. This is no doubt ... pretty obvious to our regular readers. However as an arts student the whole wide world is one's classroom, including the pub. We did think though that the kids heading single file in matching jumpers to the business school were much better at the nuts and bolts elements of university like turning up to class. Lecturer Adrian Raftery posted this picture of his classroom. How times have changed, at least if an exasperated LinkedIn post from a Deakin Business School lecturer is any guide. The complaint from associate professor Adrian Raftery led in with the question: "Should I use the ole size 16s?"

The post went mildly viral  it is LinkedIn after all  with most people sympathetic to his plight. "I don't know about you but my generation always showed up for lectures and seminars, particularly at the start of semester. Here is my first class for 2nd semester which was supposed to have started 15 mins ago," he said. "After being pumped up to give a great class, I am deflated that they couldn't bother their arse to show up." In the comments section of the post, he notes that the class was not available online and would not be recorded. He points out that estate planning is pretty tricky territory and one of the hardest in a course the students presumably wish to pass.

"Students don't realise that their lecturers could be their best advocates for getting a job. What would you do if you were in my shoes?" Well that question sparked a lot of response with other lecturers suggesting the experience is not all that novel and maybe universities need to change to recognise how the young 'uns want to be taught these days  gasp! What would Simon Birmingham say? Among the supporters is Telstra's chief spinner Jason Laird who replied: "We don't know each other but I just want to give you an "attaboy" and hope you don't worry that it reflects something about you." Peter Borbiro, who is 14 years deep at the Australian Tax Office as director risk and intelligence management, says he has had similar experience when he teaches. "I had one student turn up to an online tutorial where I discussed the final exam  told them I would discuss it but no interest shown  sigh. The subject was Superannuation Law. The one student who did turn up did very well," he replied.
In various city towers, bureaucrats are pondering to whom and when they should gift hundreds of millions of dollars, perhaps even billions, by the stroke of a rezoning pen. Meanwhile, ex-bureaucrats in developers' offices are focused on how to become the main recipients of their former colleagues' gifts, trying to second-guess the public servants and subtly - or not-so-subtly - guide their decisions.

The prizes  and therefore the efforts  are greatest in our major cities. Just the most recent example: the NSW government considering rezoning the Canterbury Park Racecourse in anticipation of its eventual sale.

"Anticipation"? Rezoning the 35-hectare site would dangle several hundred million dollars under the nose of the racecourse's owner, the Australian Turf Club. As Lisa Visentin reports, the 2010 sale of the 11-hectare Harold Park Paceway netted NSW Harness Racing Club $187 million and Mirvac a 1250-unit, billion-dollar development. If it's rezoned, it will be sold.

This dubious rezoning game is estimated to be worth some $11 billion a year to developers. What makes it worse is that it is carried out in a piecemeal fashion, where insiders have or make the running, instead of within a publicly available, publicly-developed, long-range master plan.
As a sixty-six-year-old with senior industry qualifications, Alister Robertson has met some employers who have not wanted to hire someone his age, despite his experience.

When he applied for one job a couple of years ago, a young university graduate was hired instead.

"I just felt they didn't want to take someone on at 64 years of age because they knew I would be retiring fairly soon," Mr Robertson said.

"My wife has had the same experiences. We found the workplace management did not want to take on people of our age despite the skills that we might have."
Federal Greens MPs have backed down on their decision to exclude Lee Rhiannon from contentious party room debates, but the NSW senator may still be barred from discussions when the party is in a position to block or pass legislation.

The Greens hope the compromise position, agreed to on the weekend, will calm the unprecedented infighting that has engulfed the party since it split over whether to support the Turnbull government's "Gonski 2.0" school funding changes.

Greens senator Lee Rhiannon was last month excluded from decisions on contentious policies for the foreseeable future. Credit:Eddie Jim

The Greens party room last month resolved to exclude Senator Rhiannon from "discussions and decisions on contentious government legislation" until the NSW branch of the party gives up its power to bind its MPs to vote against the will of their colleagues.
Australians will die because of high power bills driven by renewable energy, the chair of the Coalition's climate committee is warning.

Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly believes some people cannot afford to heat their homes this winter.

"People will die," he told ABC Radio on Thursday.
Better training of department bosses and line managers is key to helping people with mental and physical health problems back to work, a noted expert has told public service leaders in Canberra.

Health and well being expert Dame Carol Black - champion of the "fit note" concept to replace the traditional doctor's note for sick workers - has brought her message of good health in good workplaces to departments and agencies in Canberra this week, calling for the private and public sectors to learn more about effective mental health responses.

Dame Carol Black said it was time for public service leadership on mental health. Credit:Rohan Thomson

An adviser on workplace health to former British prime ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron, Dame Carol is a guest of public service insurer Comcare and will address officials from the departments of Human Services, Prime Minister and Cabinet, Defence, the Tax Office and Employment.

She praised Australia's progress on adopting holistic approaches to workplace health, but called on the government to encourage organisations to seek better training on returning employees after periods of sick leave.
The Australian Tax Office will waive some fines for late or incomplete lodgement of tax information, days after the latest failure of its online systems caused uncertainty at the start of tax season.

Last week outages hit the agency's IT systems, forcing some tax return websites offline at short notice and leaving users unable to lodge information.

Outage notices from the ATO last week. Credit:Screenshot

The failure, which came after a horror few months for the Tax Office, was caused by applications running incorrectly and requiring an immediate reboot.

In a statement released on Wednesday, officials sought to talk up stability and certainty in ATO systems, but acknowledged more disruption could take place in the future.
The former lover of Seven West Media boss Tim Worner has taken aim at the company for waging a "brutal" and "protracted" legal battle against her and said its pursuit of her for costs will "drive me into bankruptcy".

Amber Harrison, a former executive assistant at Seven, has been at the centre of an ugly court battle with the media company since she went public in December with embarrassing details of her affair with Mr Worner.

In a dramatic hearing in the Supreme Court in Sydney on Wednesday, Ms Harrison delivered a written statement via telephone from Melbourne as Seven pursues her for potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs.
The board of the Australian Turf Club has wholeheartedly endorsed the rezoning of Canterbury Park Racecourse for high-rise apartment blocks, describing it as a "one-off opportunity" to shore up the club's future.

In the strongest sign yet Canterbury will one day be sold to developers, club chairman Laurie Macri confirmed on Wednesday the club would work with the NSW government on its plans to rezone the racecourse.

The Australian Turf Club has confirmed it will work with the NSW government on its plans to rezone the Canterbury racecourse site.

"The plan is to make the most of our racing asset and the club remains committed to racing at Canterbury, but also we have a chance to future-proof our investment by rezoning," Mr Macri said.

"We are a race club, but Canterbury is an asset, which we want to make the most of."
Macquarie Group's proposal to build two towers above a new train station at Martin Place in Sydney's CBD has been lambasted for "cutting process corners" and leading to a "poor urban outcome".

In opposing the bid for the buildings, the City of Sydney and the Australian Institute of Architects have taken exception to the ability of the investment bank to bypass regular planning processes.

Macquarie's unsolicited proposal above a new station for Sydney's $20 billion-plus metro train line moved to the third and final stage of the state government's assessment process in March.

The bank's bid for the two towers  one more than 40 storeys and the other at least 28 floors  on Australia's prime financial strip was lodged in February last year.
One of the state government's strongest supporters of council mergers is preparing to apply for a partial reversal of its own amalgamation.

Hornsby Shire Council was on Wednesday night due to endorse a proposal to formally request the government return a portion of council territory handed to the new City of Parramatta Council last year.

The Greens are calling for NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton to bring an end to council amalgamations. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The move is a reflection of the frustration felt by Hornsby Council, which has been an enthusiastic supporter of council amalgamations, about the government's failure to implement its policy. In particular, the government was defeated in the Court of Appeal by Ku-Ring-Gai Council, which was to have been merged with Hornsby.

The mayor of Hornsby, Steve Russell, said the result of the "whole sorry saga" of council mergers had been that Hornsby had reduced in size, and in financial capacity.
An Eastern Suburbs financial adviser allegedly ripped off his clients to the tune of $1.8 million, including their superannuation and life savings.

Hamish McLaren, who has operated under at least five aliases in the past, was arrested in Bondi on Tuesday after a six-month investigation. Since his arrest more alleged victims have come forward to police, including renowned fashion designer Lisa Ho.

Hamish McLaren has been charged with 31 fraud offences after allegedly ripping $1.8 million from clients.

The man also known as Hamish Watson is accused of defrauding five clients out of $1.8 million.

Mr McLaren, who almost 15 years ago was temporarily banned from providing financial advice, allegedly took his clients' money under the guise of investing in a high-return superannuation scheme.
Almost half a million IDs have been scanned at licensed venues in Queensland's Safe Night Precincts since the laws came into effect on July 1, but less than one in 20,000 raised any red flags for security.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said 481,758 IDs had scanned in less than a fortnight since the new regulations came into force.

Almost half a million IDs have been scanned at licensed venues since July 1. Credit:File

Out of those IDs scanned, banning orders were contravened 23 times by people attempting to enter more than 200 licensed venues in Safe Night Precincts.

That was one in 20,933, or 0.0048 per cent, of the IDs scanned this month.
Police believe a man's body spent 11 hours in a coal wagon travelling from an inland mine before it was found at Brisbane's port some 350 kilometres away.

Detectives investigating the discovery at the Port of Brisbane described the death as "unusual to say the least" but it was being treated as non-suspicious.

A body has been discovered in a coal train at the Port of Brisbane. Credit:Nine News Queensland/Twitter

Detective Inspector Owen Elloy said Queensland Rail workers found the man's body in the doors of a coal wagon about midday on Wednesday, after the train delivered its load of coal from Chinchilla, about four hours north-west of the city.

He added the investigation would go to the coroner, but it was clearly a case of misadventure and there was nothing to suggest anything untoward had happened.
The search for the weapon used to kill a Gladstone father has widened as police investigations continue.

Divers from Brisbane water police arrived in Gladstone on Wednesday to help search for the weapon used to kill father-of-two Andrew Vesey-Brown, who was stabbed at an Auckland Street unit on Monday night and later died in hospital.

Andrew Vesey-Brown died after he was stabbed on Monday. Credit:Facebook

A 29-year-old man was charged with his murder the following day and appeared in Gladstone Magistrates court on Wednesday. He was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on September 4.

Detective Inspector Paul Elliot said investigations were continuing as the search area for the still missing weapon extended beyond nearby bushland to parkland in west Gladstone.
Google emerged as the victor in its latest legal battle in Europe on Wednesday, after a French court said the technology behemoth did not have to pay $US1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) in back taxes.

At issue was whether Google avoided taxes in France by routing sales in the country through an Irish-based subsidiary over a five-year period ending in 2010. But an administrative court in Paris ruled that the Irish subsidiary was not taxable in France.

Google has been facing a steady stream of legal challenges across Europe, with many of the disputes focusing on the company's tax and competitive practices.

Last month, European regulators levied a record $US2.7 billion fine against Google for favouring its own products over those of its competitors on its powerful search engine.
Collingwood was never known for its glamour, or for having too many "icons", besides its footy club and the late Lou Richards.

Millionaire property developer Tim Gurner, though, says his 14-level proposal for Wellington Street will become  you guessed it  "iconic".

A councillor representing the area is more prosaic about the 383-apartment plan, which will cost $67 million to build.

"It's a bogan, sparkling white, Las Vegas building Photoshopped onto a map of Collingwood," says Yarra Council's Steve Jolly.
A 28-year-old driver who didn't tell police he accidentally ran over his girlfriend's leg as she sat drunk on the side of a dark road has dodged an immediate jail term by the "barest of margins".

Mark Thomas Nelder and the heavily intoxicated woman had been arguing as they drove away from a party where she had been physically fighting with another female in the early hours of January 17 last year.

Mark Thomas Nelder tried to pay his girlfriend $5000 to prevent her from reporting the accident.

The District Court of WA heard friends had told Nelder "just take her away" and she had been punching the dashboard, "just not seeing reason", so he pulled over on the side of the road in Eglinton and drove off after she got out of the car.

He soon returned to collect her as neither of them were carrying mobile phones and shone a spot light into bushland to look for her but didn't realise she was on the ground.
A new $9.3 million "affordable" Rockingham housing development will only address the "tip of the iceberg", according to one of WA's most prominent housing advocacy groups.

The Haven Park development offers affordable accommodation for seniors, families and couples on the social housing waiting list, and its apartments are up for sale on the open market.

The Department of Communities has delivered 550 dwellings to Access Housing, worth $158 million. Credit:Access Housing

The development was undertaken in partnership with community housing organisation Access Housing and consists of 32 properties over two complexes and four townhouses.

However Shelter WA said while the development was helpful, it would not scratch the surface of the public housing affordability crisis in our state.
A prominent Western Australian businessman has fallen to his death while parasailing on the Thai resort island of Phuket.

Roger John Hussey's wife was filming the flight on Kata beach when he plunged into the sea.

Australian Roger Hussey before the fall on Kata beach, Thailand. Credit:Facebook

A video of the flight posted on Facebook showed Mr Hussey being strapped into safety gear on the beach, but that straps between his legs were left undone.

He was relaxed and smiling.
Jakarta: Indonesia has introduced new powers enabling the government to ban mass organisations considered to threaten the unity of the country without going through the courts.

The new regulation paves the way for a ban on hardline Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), which promotes a global caliphate governed by sharia.

The government announced plans in May to disband HTI, arguing its activities violated the principles of Pancasila, Indonesia's pluralist state ideology, and the 1945 Constitution.

However under the existing law this was an onerous process that could take up to four years. The 2013 law on mass organisations required three warnings before the decision to dissolve an organisation was made by a court.
A one trillion tonne iceberg has broken off from an Antarctic ice shelf, changing the shape of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The much-anticipated calving from the Larsen C Ice Shelf reduces its area by more than 12 per cent, though the 5800 square kilometre iceberg won't have an impact on sea levels as it was already floating before breaking away completely.

But it will require the map of the Antarctic to be redrawn.

Researchers have previously shown the rift could increase the risk of instability of the wider ice shelf, leading to its collapse - a fate that befell its neighbour Larsen A, seven years after it experienced its own calving event in 1995.
The relationship of ING Australia (trading under ING Direct ) with its brokers has positioned the bank well in the current economic environment, according to analysts from ratings agency S&P Global.A note written by S&P analysts affirmed the current A- issuer rating given to the bank and said that the outlook on the long-term rating remains stable.As a subsidiary of the wider ING Group, ING Direct was likely to be supported by its parent company in almost all foreseeable circumstances if required, they wrote.Growth in ING Bank puts it on the same level as Suncorp, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank , and Bank of Queensland , the analysts added, with a cost-to-income ratio of around 38%  one of the lowest in the Australian banking sector.The analysts also pointed to INGs continued success in the third party channel despite some heavy competition.We believe the bank's approach to third-party brokers  primarily one premised on simple and consistent product structures and ease-of-engagement  positions the bank well to maintain its momentum within this channel, even though it leaves the bank susceptible to business disruption akin to outsourcing risk.In the past this reliance on the third party has played to the lenders strengths. Whether this continues in the future will depend on the degree to which borrowers want to use mortgage brokers versus approaching ING directly through its digital platforms, Michael Puli, associate director of financial institutions ratings and co-author of the note, told Australian Broker.Where we do see brokers as a part of ING Australias ability to manage at the moment is the speed of their systems, their consistency, and the ease of interaction. Also brokers have offered ING a degree of diversification across the country which is supportive of their creditworthiness.ING Direct has been better at leveraging the broker distribution network than some of its peers and new market players such as the mutuals despite recent regulatory changes, Puli added.One risk to ING Direct related to the third party channel has to do with commission and broker incentives, Puli said.A company with a branch network has complete responsibility over their bank staff. However, ING Direct is reliant on brokers sourcing business so if there are any instances of unscrupulous brokers  and I think that there would be very few in this instance  then that may impact their business model.Plans to move into non-mortgage lending would also diversify ING Directs revenues and solidify its business profile over the next few years.Despite these strengths however, S&Ps analysts noted that ING Directs long-term issuer rating would be unlikely to change in the coming two years. A downgrade would occur if the creditworthiness of ING Group deteriorated, they said, while an upgrade would occur if ING Group increased its ability to support ING Direct or if ING Direct itself grew to take up a stronger role within its parent company.In this case, ING Australia as a standalone institution is BBB+. However we expect its status within the wider group and the groups financial strength which is an A to essentially mean that the group would step in to support ING Australia to a level thats commensurate to an A-, Puli said.
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78th Precinct

Park Slope

Dudley do right

A thief stole a security guards phone during a scuffle inside a Fifth Avenue pharmacy on June 28.

The rent-a-cop told police he was inside the drugstore between Sixth and Seventh avenues at 7:40 pm when he spotted the thief taking his pick of the shops merchandise.

As the guard tried to intercept the crook, though, he dropped his cellphone, which the thief promptly snatched before running off, cops said.

Beer trap

Cops busted an alleged thief who they say tried to make off with $25 worth of beer from an Atlantic Avenue supermarket on June 26.

An employee told police the suspect was inside the market near Flatbush Avenue at 12:25 pm when he was spotted attempting to slip past the register with a few ill-gotten 12 packs.

Citi-thief

Someone never returned a Citi Bike to its 14th Street docking station on June 23.

An employee called police to report one of the rental bikes at the station between Second and Third avenues was nabbed at 10:30 pm, without offering further details on the crime.

Drive-by harassment

Cops are hunting the jerk who hurled insults and foreign objects at a 51-year-old man from the seat of his 06 Ford van on Flatbush Avenue on June 27.

The victim told police he was near Seventh Avenue at 10:20 am when the suspect launched into his drive-by tirade.

Fortunately, the creeps aim was off, and the middle-aged gentleman didnt suffer any injuries as a result of the unpleasantness, cops said.

Sweet-smelling crook

Cops busted a man suspected of nabbing a small fortune in perfume from a Flatbush Avenue lingerie store on June 18.

An employee told police the back door of the store near Atlantic Avenue was locked up for the night, but the suspect violently yanked at the door until the lock snapped off at around 10:28 pm.

Inside, he snatched 80 vials of perfume, cops said.

Bad fare

A fare beater shoved a taxi driver on Second Avenue on June 26.

The victim told police that she dropped her lowlife fare at his destination at 1:15 am, but the sleaze refused to pay and, when the cabbie got out to complain, the man gave her a shove before stomping off.

 Colin Mixson
Counterpoint, hosted by Scott Harris, is heard every Monday night on WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT between 8:00  9:30 pm ET. Webstreaming and audio archive at http://wpkn.org 1) Professor Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky professor of philosophy at Yale University and author of How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, talks about the Republican Party's embrace of "white replacement theory," WRTs fascist origins, why Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has become a role model for much of the GOP -- and the dangerous rise of rightwing extremist political violence in the US.2) Cody Hounanian, Executive Director of the Student Debt Crisis Center discusses his group's response to President Biden's announced plan to address student loan debt, which includes forgiving up to $20,000 for millions of borrowers and extending the payment freeze one final time until the end of the year.3) Jenna Grande, Press Secretary with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) discuss CREW's recent article, "Big Oil Has Given $1 Million to Fuel Seditionists," and related issues of Big Oil's influence on US energy, environment and climate policy.4) Liz Dupont-Diehl, Associate Director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group discusses her group's recent reporting on CT based health insurance companies that are requesting double-digit premium increases for individuals and small businesses, as they spend billions on stock buybacks and excessive executive salaries, and lobbying.Some segments featured on Counterpoint are edited for re-broadcast on the syndicated Between The Lines radio news magazine. Visit their web site at http://www.btlonline.org for free subscriptions to mp3 - podcast audio files, program summaries and interview transcripts. An archive of current and past Counterpoint interviews are accessible for free at our Counterpoint Radio web site: http://counterpointradio.org The full 2-hour unedited program can be accessed for a 2 week period after the show, at the WPKN Radio archives: http://archives.wpkn.org/bookmarks/search/counterpoint
Over 1,200 mail-in votes added to Montco totals; Bucks still in limbo

Two of Montgomery County's three commissioners said they did not support disenfranchising more than 1,200 voters because of a handful of rule breakers
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...
Students travel to Tanzania for social innovation course

UB students visiting Tanzania will have an opportunity to participate in a guided safari through the Serengeti Game Preserve. (Photo: Cliff Kemper, via Wikimedia Commons)

We never know what will happen; what we will see; how the students will react; and how they will integrate and leverage their experiences within their broader plans and goals.

BUFFALO, N.Y.  A small group of University at Buffalo undergraduates committed to acquiring the knowledge and understanding necessary for discovering and developing new avenues of social change will travel to Eastern Africa on July 15 as part of an intensive, experiential, social innovation and marketing course in the United Republic of Tanzania.

Immersed in a different culture and surrounded with the opportunities provided by place-based learning, the seven UB students will spend two weeks in Tanzanias Mara region, along Lake Victoria on the edge of Serengeti National Park. The course will challenge students assumptions, clarify their own sense of purpose and develop within them profound learning experiences, says Mara Huber, UB associate dean of undergraduate research and experiential learning.

Social innovation, the courses overarching theme, is an evolving term that considers the problems faced by entire societies and explores the multiple factors that might contribute to pioneering solutions. It is a novel and transforming method of responding to long-standing struggles by engineering positive, comprehensive and sustainable social change built from a foundation of ingenuity, originality and creativity.

Upon their return from Tanzania, the students will reflect on their experiences and will work in teams or independently on marketing/social innovation projects that will seek to make a meaningful contribution to the universitys Tanzanian partners, based on what they learned and experienced during their time there.

We never know what will happen; what we will see; how the students will react; and how they will integrate and leverage their experiences within their broader plans and goals, says Huber, who will accompany the students on the trip along with Empire State College associate professor Dan Nyaronga and Debora Grossman, clinical assistant professor of marketing in the UB School of Management.

This is the promise of experiential learning  and when you look at UB through the lens of vast experiences and connections that our faculty and staff offer  there are infinite opportunities to help students touch the world in a way that will benefit all involved.

Bak USA, a social enterprise that builds mobile computers in Buffalo, New York, donated 25 new computers to the group. The Atlas 10, Bak USAs 2-in-1 laptop built specifically for use in education, will be used to explore and engage high-tech learning opportunities in Tanzania.

Enhancing education and activating social change are in our DNA, says Bak USA President Ulla Bak. Were also a proud partner of the University at Buffalo, and so we are extremely excited to provide the technology that will support the university's efforts to create sustainability for deserving communities around the world.

The course is part of the universitys new curriculum for undergraduate students, UB Curriculum, focused on preparing students for life, career and citizenship in a diverse and dynamic world.

Through their readings, discussions, activities and meetings with local villagers, community leaders and educators, the students will expand their knowledge of Tanzanian culture and history. Theyll gain new insights into the ethical, social and environmental challenges within global systems and sharpen their awareness of how Western perspectives differ from those of other cultures.

There is also a guided safari through the Serengeti Game Preserve included in the course.

I have dreams to become a doctor someday and would love the chance to work for Doctors without Borders, says Danielle Nerber, an anthropology major with a pre-medical concentration from Buffalo, who is among the students enrolled in the course. This trip will push me out of my comfort zone and allow me to be fully open to helping those in need and making an impact as a young global leader.

I am so thankful UB has given me this chance, she says.

Applying a marketing lens to the challenges the students will see in Africa is part of UBs growing focus on social innovation.

During this trip, we will observe, listen and study the partners businesses, says Grossman of the UB School of Management. As the students learn about the challenges faced by our partners, I will encourage them to think about how to apply marketing skills to make meaningful social changes.

UBs School of Management and School of Social Work have launched an initiative to bring entrepreneurial and socially minded students together with faculty from both schools to learn from one another, broaden their skillsets and perspectives, and help mission-driven organizations. So far, the partnership has yielded the sold-out Leading Innovation in the Social Sector conference, a series of workshops and a co-taught class, and the Social Impact Fellows, an eight-week internship program offered in partnership with the Blackstone LaunchPad at UB.

Members of the UB community have been traveling to the Mara Region since 2009 to engage in learning, support and collaboration. Beginning in 2014, that project, known informally as the Buffalo Tanzania Education Project, became a study abroad opportunity for UB students to explore community development through the interconnected lenses of education, health, economics and infrastructure.

These frequent trips over the last seven years have fostered relationships between the UB community and a number of partners in the region, including the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Africa, who first invited Huber to Tanzania, and the Nyamete Womens Group.

I connected the [Nyamete Womens Group] with American Women for International Understanding, an organization Im affiliated with, says Huber. They have since secured two mini-grants to support their efforts around a poultry project. This is an example of small-scale social innovation having the potential to make real change.

Its impossible to know what will come up since every trip is different, she says. Reflecting on last years trip I can say that every student had some pivotal experiences that really touched them in profound ways. Many are struck by how happy the children and people are despite having so little. This seems to be a major theme that comes across and causes the students to question their own lives and choices.
Teen visits South Jersey in 50-state Flowers and Flags tribute to vets

Preston Sharp of Calif. visits veterans graves in Cinnaminson cemetery in South Jersey on 50-state Flowers and Flags tribute to their sacrifices
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The boss of a post office targeted twice by a prolific armed robber has told of his anger after the thug was given bail by the courts despite facing THREE other robbery charges when he carried out a second terrifying raid at his business near Burton.

Michael Ahearne, 33, from Burton, robbed the Tesco Express store in Stapenhill on April 12 last year. The very next day he robbed Draycott in the Clay post office. Incredibly when he appeared in court charged with these two serious offences he was granted bail by magistrates. He went on to rob Overseal Post office in May 2017 while awaiting trial. Again he was arrested by police and hauled before the courts and again he was granted bail.

And within weeks he carried out the second raid at Draycott post office, terrifying shoppers as he brandished a knife.

But this time staff and customers were able to stop the crack addict and he was arrested at the scene by police. Ahearne, of Blakeholme Court, was last week sentenced to 14 years behind bars.

Judge Michael Chambers remarked at the trail that said Sarah Powlson and one of the witnesses who helped catch Ahearne after the last Draycott raid should be nominated for an award by the High Sheriff for their courage and bravery.

Now joint Draycott post office owner Nigel Powlson has slammed the original courts decision to grant Ahearne bail after given Ahearne's previous crimes.

Mr Powlson told the Burton Mail: "We believe that Michael Ahearne should not have been at liberty to commit the second robbery on our post office.

"The decision to allow him bail, despite his previous convictions for armed robberies, despite awaiting trial for two more armed robberies and after being charged with another robbery at Overseal meant that Ahearne has been unnecessarily allowed to carry on his criminal activities.

"We have already written to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the police and crime commissioner and our MP on this issue as we believe that lessons in the court system have to be learned.

"It beggars belief that magistrates, after the Overseal robbery charge, could still allow Ahearne out on bail and, indeed, Judge Chambers in sentencing pointed out that for reasons less than clear to him Ahearne was allowed out on bail. They certainly arent clear to us and we shouldnt have had to face a second robbery.

However, Mr Powlson says he is grateful for the support he has received from his post office customers and the police.

He said: "We would like to say a big thank-you to our brilliant customers whose bravery and determination helped the police solve the first case and aided us in arresting and detaining Ahearne at the second robbery.

"The support and good wishes we have received from our customers demonstrates that community spirit wins out over crime in the end.

"We would also like to thank the police for their support through both cases, and their fine work in ensuring these men were brought before court and convicted."

A CPS spokesman said: "The CPS did oppose the bail when the defendant appeared before Derby Magistrates' Court on the May 29, 2017 when he was charged with the robbery of the post office at Overseal.

"However, the magistrates granted him conditional bail, notwithstanding his previous convictions for armed robbery and despite the fact that he was already on bail to the crown court for armed robbery."

A spokesman for the Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, which is responsible for magistrates courts, said: "Whether or not to grant bail is a decision of the courts to make within the statutory framework provided by Parliament in the Bail Act 1976 taking account of relevant case law.

"The Bail Act provides for a general presumption that bail will be granted in all cases, except in specific circumstances."

Ahearne was one of three armed robbers locked up at Stafford Crown Court last week.

The other two were Robert Duffey, 28, of Woodlands Drive, Foston, and Kyle Allison, 24, of Belvedere Road, Burton.

Another offender, James Harvey, 29, of Fabis Close, Swadlincote, had already been sentenced for his part in a string of raids. He was Ahearne's accomplice during the first hold-up at Draycott in the Clay Post Office.

Victim impact statements

Postmistress Sarah Powlson who was threatened by Duffey, Ahearne and Harvey during the first armed robbery at Draycott post office provided a victim impact statement, which read:

This has had a distressing impact on me. We have run the post office for three years. I am nervous with people coming in when I dont recognise them especially if they are wearing black clothing."

The court heard that the post office was closed for about five or six days due to the two robberies. While insurance paid out, the owners had to pay out 250 in excess per robbery which has been a detriment to them.

Following Ahearnes second raid at Draycott when he had been bailed again after his Overseal robbery, another victim impact statement was made by one of the owners of the post office:

Mr Powlson said: I can barely contain my feelings of anger that he not once but twice put us in danger. We are terrified.

We have lost money, damage to the property and we are struggling to survive."

His wife Sarah said: We are so terrified. It is hard to describe properly, seeing them in hoods.

We are thinking of selling.

A long list of previous convictions

Ahearne, 33: He has 13 convictions for 38 offences. Six of these convictions are for armed robberies in 2010, all with knives, all post offices around Burton, all with an accomplice and with dark clothing.

Duffey, 28: He has 28 convictions for 78 offences. In his youth he committed burglary, violence and arson. As an adult it was vehicle taking, commercial burglary, dangerous driving, fraud and shoplifting.

Allison, 24: He has 11 convictions for nine offences, such as dishonesty, carrying a knife, assault, and burglary. He was on licence at time of the robbery.
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Two cousins who were widowed young have set up a club aimed helping other younger people whose partners have died in honour of their loved ones.

The club TimSar was set up after cousins Lesley Blockley and Richard Scotney found when their partners died that there were no local support groups for young widows in the area.

The group was named after their partners, Tim Blockley and Sarah Scotney, and will offer help and support for people as they grieve for love ones.

The first meeting will be held on Thursday, August 3, in the bar in Riverside Hotel, in Branston, starting at 7.30pm.

Lesley, 52, said the event is a way for others to meet people going through the same experience as themselves.

I know its going to be a really big step for some people dependant on where they are in their process of bereavement, she said.

I just want other people to know that there is life after this, although this is a really difficult thing to be going through.

Lesley and Richard, both from Burton, lost their partners within nine months of each other to cancer.

During the challenging time, the cousins were able to comfort each other through friendship and support when things werent so good.

Lesley, who is a teaching assistant from Burton, met her husband, Tim Blockley, in 1992.

The pair were married for 21 years and before Tim was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2015.

Tim, who was a robotics engineer, battled the disease for two years before he died aged 50.

He desperately battled 'till the end, he had so much to live for and so much that he wanted to do, Lesley recalled.

I know its cliche, but he was a great dad and a great husband. It was terrible for him.

Richard, 45, lost his wife Sarah, 44, to cancer at the end of March last year.

They met when they were four years old in primary school when they were placed in the same class.

The pair started dating when they turned 21 and were happily married for 20 years, eventually giving birth to their son, now aged 16.

Richard, who is the director at RS Flavour Ingredients, Nicholson Way, Burton, said: We supported each other because we were going through the same sort of grieving and emotions.

We spoke to each other and being able to do that has really helped because the other person just gets it.

Other people try to sympathise with you and try to understand how you feel, and as good as their intentions are, they cant really say the right things or understand because they havent been through it.

We just thought it would be good if we all got together, and not like a medical or sociological support group, but to just literally listen and understand each other.

Lesley and I are only half way through our lives, and there must be other widows out there with their lives ahead of them.

Richard went on to say he often feels awkward when going out with friends as he doesnt want to burden people if he ever starts to feel down during the evening.

Both Lesley and Richard believe the group would be a great way for widows to get out of the house and away from their difficult situations for a while.

Although the group is aimed at young widows and widowers, the gathering is open to people of all ages.

Anyone who feels they cannot attend the group alone, the pair say people can be assured a welcome and invites people to bring someone else along with them for support.

If the meeting is a success, the pair hope the group can become a permanent fixture.

The group will meet in the bar in Riverside Hotel, Branston, on Thursday, August 3, starting at 7.30pm.

How to cope with bereavement

Bereavement affects people in different ways  theres no right or wrong way to feel. Although the death of a loved one can be devastating, there are a number of coping mechanisms that could help ease the pain felt during grief.

Talking and sharing feelings

Its important to not go through grief alone. For some people, relying on family and friends is the best way to cope. If you feel as though you cant talk to them, you can contact your local hospice, GP or the national Cruse helpline on 0808 808 1677.

Write

It may be worth starting a diary where you can reflect on things that have happened and how it changed your life. A diary allows you to release pent-up feelings and helps you begin the healing process.

Exercise

Stretching or doing a few easy yoga poses can help release tension  and it doesnt have to be anything strenuous. Even something as simple as a 20-minute walk may help lift your spirits.

Go to bed around the same time every night

A regular routine helps to create a feeling of stability. If sleep is difficult for you, a soothing bath or a cup of chamomile tea early in the evening will help you to settle down and prepare for sleep.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday told the Gujarat High Court that Essar Steels claim of nearly completing its restructuring and being unaware of insolvency proceedings was false.
After the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its in-principle approval for considering the "strategic disinvestment of Air India" and its "five subsidiaries", Airlines founder Rahul Bhatia was the first off the block to make an offer. Bhatias statement at the airlines investors' meet had three key takeaways. He wants to buy Express, the national carriers low-cost airline that serves both domestic and Gulf destinations. He wants to take over Air Indias global operations after carving the international business out. Additionally, this reverse-engineering of the 2006 merger between and Indian Airlines that fused international and domestic operations should come at minimal cost to IndiGos future. Bhatia said, "We simply do not have the ability or for that matter, the desire to take on debts or liabilities that could not be supported by a standalone restructured international operation of ."



ALSO READ: will strike gold if Air India's global business is sold separately
Infocomm, which is looking into reports of a major leak of user data, has filed a police complaint alleging "unlawful access to its systems," a police officer involved in the investigation said on Wednesday.

The complaint, made on Monday in Navi Mumbai, where Jio is headquartered, would be the telecom firm's first official acknowledgement of a system breach. Jio has so far denied media reports and user accounts of a leak.

Jio, part of conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL), did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on Wednesday.

Several local news websites reported late on Sunday that names, telephone numbers and email addresses of Jio users were visible on a site called 'Magicapk,' which was subsequently taken down.

Jio, however, said its user data was safe and maintained with the highest security, and that the data on the Magicapk website appeared "unauthentic".

News outlets such as Indian Express and MediaNama reported being able to cross-reference and confirm the veracity of the data on numerous Jio customers known to them.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that police in the western state of Rajasthan detained a man on suspicion of involvement in the breach, which cyber security analysts said could be the first large-scale leak from an Indian telecoms firm.

The officer involved in the matter declined to give further detail on the investigation, but said preliminary evidence indicated the widely-used Aadhaar numbers of Jio customers were not compromised in the leak.

Jio, which launched last September, already boasts over 100 million subscribers after drawing in users with months of free service and now cut-price deals. It is not clear whether data on all 100 million plus customers was compromised.

Many users registered for Jio using their 12-digit Unique Identification Authority of India UIDAI number, known as the Aadhaar number.

The government is pushing for Aadhaar numbers to be used in everything from opening a bank account to filing tax returns. The number, which works in a similar way to US Social Security numbers, is unique to each Indian citizen and stores users biometric data in a centralised database.

The case was registered under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, which deals with any unauthorised access to a computer network, and Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with theft.
The share prices of Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular gained on Wednesday, on the expectation of the new rate plans announced by Reliance Industries (RIL) telecom subsidiary, Reliance Jio (Jio), leading to improvement in their operating metrics. The price plan announced by Jio on Tuesday is estimated to be 30-57 per cent higher than earlier promotional offers. Brokerages say this is positive and a clear indication of rationalisation of pricing.

Analysts at UBS say the first Jio price increase in almost 12 months supports the brokerage view that sector revenues are close to bottoming out, with the top three operators and Jio expected to incrementally take share from smaller entities. Credit Suisse in a note said the new Jio rates would start the process of normalising these from the current discounted levels. Also indicating that RIL is looking at monetising its investment in the telecom subsidiary.

Harsh Jagnani, vice-president of corporate ratings at ICRA, says the new plans point to improvement in average revenue per user (ARPU) and that Jio, after grossing 100 million subscribers, is focussing on pushing this up to improve its profitability. Not surprising, then, that the RIL stock has been on an uptrend (15 per cent gain in a month), both on expectation of an improvement in financials of its telecom subsidiary and on better performance from its core oil and gas vertical, as most of the capital expenditure plans have come to an end or are in the last leg.

Analysts estimate Jio will make additional revenue of Rs 8,000 crore annually as a result of its decision to hike the rates on its popular Rs 309 plan. With about 115 million customers, of which 80 per cent are active users, Jio, according to sources, expects 90 per cent of these over 74 million (90 per cent of the consumers were on Rs 309) will shift from the Rs 309 rate to Rs 399 a month. For, those consumers who wish to stick to the older rate will have to effectively fork out 48 per cent more for usage each day.

While Jios modified plan is similar to earlier ones (Summer Surprise and Dhan Dhana Dhan) in terms of benefits, it comes with a reduced validity period, translating to higher Arpu. Naveen Kulkarni and Manoj Behera of PhillipCapital say the effective Arpu under the new plan is largely in line with the industrys.

Jios, based on the Rs 399 plan, stands at Rs 121, higher than the current industry Arpu but still about 25 per cent lower than the top telecom entities estimated Arpu (Rs 138-154) in the June quarter.

Though the effective rates have gone up, these are still discounted. And, it will be a couple of quarters before the sector can boast of a sequential increase in revenue. While the June quarter will see operating metrics fall over the March quarter, given weak realisations, the September quarter is a seasonally weak one. Expect sequential gains in revenue to come for the sector in the December quarter.

The key headwind that incumbents would have to contend with is the launch of fourth-generation technology (4G) feature phones by Jio. This, said Morgan Stanley, could prove to be disruptive for the large 2G GSM subscribers, 65 per cent of the revenues of top incumbents. Jios strategy in the 4G feature phone market emanates from the fact that it is currently seeing a net increase in new customers to the tune of around four million a month, slower than when it started at eight to 10 million customers a month.

By entering the 4G feature phone market with a bundled offering which could be between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, Jio is looking at converting the 400-plus million feature phone customers (who use 2G or 3G) across the country to 4G services. Currently, the company has net additions of 4 million a month compared to the initial 8-10 million. However, this slowdown will get corrected as it expects to target about 100 million customers to shift within 12 months through the offer. The move will also help Jio to boost its net additional customers once again to older levels. The real challenge would be at what rate offering do they bundle the phones.
The Gujarat high court on Wednesday heard Essar Steels plea against insolvency proceedings initiated against it at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by its lenders after being directed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).



During an elaborate hearing today, Essar Steel said the company was in final stage of talks with JLF to restructure debt and is on a recovery path.



It defended its case saying, the company may come to a halt if management replaced with interim insolvency professional.



While arguing its case, Essar said, "SBI was close to finalising contours of debt restructuring on June 13, hence RBI cannot direct immediate proceedings under IBC.
Indias largest digital payments startup has acquired a majority stake in online ticket booking platform Insider.in as it looks to take on the countrys largest events and movie ticket booking service, BookMyShow.
Ogilvy Indias national creative director Rajiv Rao has stepped down from his position, ending his 18-year association with the company, a statement from the advertising agency said.
Police in Rajasthan on Tuesday detained a man suspected of involvement in what may be a major leak of user data from India's newest telecoms company Jio, a police official said.

Jio, run by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani and his conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, said on Monday it was investigating whether personal data of more than 100 million of its customers had been leaked to a website named "Magicapk.com".

The company said it was working with law enforcement agencies to investigate the alleged leak, which cyber security analysts say could be the first large-scale data leak from an Indian telecoms firm.

The local police official, who asked not to be named, said Imran Chhimpa was detained on Tuesday in connection with the investigation. He said investigators from Mumbai were due to arrive in the area shortly.

The proprietor of a local internet service provider in Sujangarh, where Chhimpa was a customer, confirmed Chhimpa had been detained, adding he had received a query from the police about Chhimpa earlier on Tuesday.

In a July 5 post on Frendz4m, an online message board, a person with Chhimpa's Internet Protocol (IP) address and using the handle "imranchhimpa", posted a link to "magicapk.com" saying the site could provide personal user details of anyone with a Jio connection. The post said the data was obtained from original documents.

The proprietor of the local internet service provider told Reuters that police asked him for the installation address of that particular IP address, and made him accompany them to Chhimpa's home, where he was later detained.

Chhimpa was not immediately reachable for comment, and his phone was switched off. Police declined to comment on whether there were any other suspects in the case at this time.

A spokesman for Jio said there was no immediate comment on the company's own investigation into the alleged leak.

Major breach

On Monday, Jio said the data leak appeared to be "unauthentic", and the company's subscriber data was safe and maintained with the highest security.

Some Jio users, though, took to Twitter to say they were concerned that personal information on Magicapk.com could be accurate. Some Indian media said their own checks suggested some leaked data were authentic. The Indian Express newspaper said it was able to cross-verify details on a number of Jio customers it knows.

The Magicapk.com website showed as "suspended" since late Sunday.

Jio launched last September and already boasts over 100 million subscribers after drawing in users with months of free service and now cut-price deals.

Analysts said that if the names, contact numbers, email addresses and Aadhaar numbers of all Jio customers were compromised, it would be a major setback for the telecoms industry's new entrant.

Many users registered for Jio using a 12-digit Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number, commonly known as the Aadhaar number.

The government is pushing for Aadhaar numbers to be used in everything from opening a bank account to filing tax returns. The number, which works in a similar way to US Social Security numbers, is unique to each Indian citizen and stores users' biometric data in a centralized database.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis cabinet has signed off on a plan to sell all or part of Air India, a debt-ridden, state-run carrier with the most unusual baggage.
As 15 entities including Reliance file their expressions of interest for Future Retail, here's all you need to know about the company and ...
Rubrik, a Palo Alto-based cloud data management firm, plans to hire up to 500 people over the next three years in Bengaluru as it looks to transform its India unit into a global product development centre.
Tyre are planning to work with the Rubber Board to increase rubber production and quality. This will be aided by the government's Look East Policy, say representatives.
The Cabinet Committee on Security met in New Delhi on Wednesday to take stock of the security situation in the wake of the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims and the stand-off with China along the border.

According to government sources, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the meet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CCS was held prior to the Cabinet meeting.

Seven persons were killed and 19 others injured on Monday night when militants opened fire at a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat rushed to the valley to review the security on Tuesday, while two central ministers - Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir and Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh were sent by the Centre to assess the situation.

A stand-off continues between Indian and Chinese troops since the middle of June on the border in the Sikkim sector.

(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.)
The widely condemned attack on Amarnath pilgrims by militants in Kashmir has left many questions unanswered including why security forces failed to secure the route to the pilgrimage site despite specific intelligence inputs that terrorists planned a "sensational" strike to kill 100-150 Hindus and stoke communal unrest in the country.

Muneer Khan, the police chief in the Kashmir Valley long hailed for battling militancy, had in a June 25 note shared an intelligence input received from a south Kashmir police officer that "terrorists have been directed to eliminate 100 to 150 yatris and 100 police officers... which they believe will result in flaring of communal tensions throughout the country".

Khan had said the input was to be corroborated but did not rule out "the possibility of some sensational attack by terrorist outfits" at a time when thousands of pilgrims daily trek to the cave shrine situated deep in the Himalayas of south Kashmir.

The input was not specific but it warned of exactly what happened in Botengoo village on Monday night. The security forces still failed to act. Why?

The unescorted bus carrying the pilgrims, who came under attack, breached security protocol and moved on the Jammu-Srinagar highway at a time when it was not supposed to.

The attack occurred around 8.30 p.m. As per the security norms, no vehicle carrying Amarnath pilgrims should be allowed to move after 7 in the evening when Quick Response Teams of the security forces withdraw from the highway. The movement at the wrong time made the Gujarat-registered vehicle vulnerable to attack.

How did the bus carrying around 60 pilgrims manage to cross multiple security check-points on the highway without being noticed and stopped from moving on?

All pilgrims and vehicles have to register with the Amarnath shrine board. But the board, which manages the shrine, has denied that the 60 pilgrims and the vehicle they were travelling in were registered for the pilgrimage.

How is it possible that some 60 unregistered pilgrims stay at the north Kashmir Baltal base camp, take the arduous trek to visit the shrine and no one notices them?

According to police, the people who were in the bus had performed the pilgrimage on Saturday and were in Srinagar on Sunday and Monday for sightseeing.

A senior Kashmir police officer told IANS on phone that travel agents usually carry tourists on pilgrimage trips and club it with sightseeing and visits to other resorts in the valley.

"This is not allowed for pilgrims but somehow some people manage to do this. This group appears to be one of them. They returned from the shrine on July 8 and were in Srinagar on July 9 and 10. On Monday evening, they decided to move to Jammu as tourists," the officer said.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has admitted to security lapses. Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh on Tuesday said the attack needed to be probed.

"Yes, definitely this is a big lapse. We have to enquire why the bus left at 5 p.m., why it was allowed after sunset. We were told there was a tyre burst and the driver took time to replace it," he said.

(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.)
Gujarat on Tuesday erupted in anger over the death of seven Amarnath pilgrims, majority of whom hailed from the state, in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, with people taking to streets to condemn 'Pakistan- sponsored terror' and demanding reprisal.

People in several cities and towns burned effigies of 'terror' demanding that the Narendra Modi-led Central government "avenge" the killings and punish Pakistan for propagating terror.

Protests were held in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Valsad, Mandvi (in Kutch), Modasa, Surendranagar and Jamnagar, besides other towns.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district last evening.

While five of the deceased hailed from Gujarat, two were from neighbouring Maharashtra.

Effigies of 'terror' were set on fire in Gandhidham and Mandvi towns in Kutch district and Surat.

In Valsad, from where the ill-fated bus was headed to Amarnath carrying over 50 pilgrims, a black-coloured 'effigy of terror' was hanged by protesters at Azad Chaowk.

Various organisations and trade bodies have given a call for Valsad bandh tomorrow.

In Ahmedabad, the local unit of Shiv Sena set afire Pakistan's flag near RTO Circle and demanded stern action against terrorists.

In an act of solidarity, a large number of Muslims from Jamalpur and Lal Darwaja areas of the city turned up to pay homage to the deceased and called for decisive action against Pakistan and terrorists in the Valley.

In Valsad, garment shop owners resorted to a unique protest wherein they dressed mannequins put outside their shops with black clothes. They also hanged placards on these mannequins, asking the government to do something concrete to eliminate the menace of terror.

(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.)
Religious leaders of different communities today organised a protest at the Eidgah gate here against the terror attack on Amarnath yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir.

They demanded that the Centre should ensure security to the pilgrims and take strict action against terrorists.

Leaders of Islamic Centre of India, Darool Uloom Firangi Mahal, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and All India Sunni Board participated in the protest.

They held placards reading "we condemn attack on Amarnath pilgrims", "Government should take strict action against those involved in the act" and "Its our responsibility to protect Ganga-Jamuni tradition of the country".

Eidgah Imam, Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali said the attack, which claimed seven lives, was condemnable and appealed to Muslims to come forward to help the Amarnath pilgrims.

On this occasion Father Donald D'zouza, an officebearer of the Catholic Diocese, Lucknow, said this was an attack on humanity and cannot be tolerated in any civil society.

"Those involved in the attacks cannot be termed as humans. Christ has termed attack on others as a crime and advocated brotherhood with people of all religions," he said.

Representatives of Sikh, Jain and other communities also participated in the protest.

(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.)
The CBI today recovered Rs 3.5 crore cash and 5 kg gold during searches at the Kolkata residence of Jharkhand's Principal Commissioner of Income Tax in a corruption case, the agency said.

The CBI searched 23 locations in Kolkata and Ranchi including the residential premises of Tapas Kumar Dutta and others, spokesperson R K Gaur said here.

The searches were conducted in 18 locations in Kolkata and five in Ranchi after filing an FIR under corruption charges against Dutta and others, he said.

During the searches, the agency recovered Rs 3.5 crore cash and over 5 kg of gold (about Rs 1.4 crore according to current bullion rate) from the residence of Dutta, Gaur said, adding several incriminating documents were also seized.

It is alleged that Dutta during 2016-17 entered into criminal conspiracy with three other officials of the Income Tax department and Kolkata-based businessmen and entry operators, he said.

Text messages sent to Dutta seeking his reaction remained unanswered.

In pursuance of the conspiracy, Dutta allegedly took huge illegal gratification from the businessmen through a chartered accountant to get the income tax assessment files of different assesses transfered from Kolkata/Hazaribagh to Ranchi, Gaur said.

It was allegedly done to provide undue favours to these tax assessees who were charged with heavy tax liabilities in return for illegal gratification, he said.

Abusing his official position, Dutta had already issued orders abusing his official position, the spokesperson said.

The CBI recently registered a case against Dutta, Arvind Kumar, Additional Commissioner Income Tax, Income Tax Officer (Tech) Ranjit Kumar Lal, one more Income Tax officer, and chartered accountant Pawan Maurya.

Bishwanath Agarwal, Kolkata-based businessman and director of Anchal Vyapar, private persons Santosh Chaudhary, Santosh Shah, Akash Agarwal, Arvind Agarwal have also been booked in the FIR filed under charges of criminal conspiracy and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

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Pro-Gorkhaland supporters on Wednesday set ablaze a panchayat office and damaged a few government vehicles on the 28th day of the indefinite shutdown.

The agitation spearheaded by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) took out a rally at Chowkbazar in Darjeeling with the body of Ashok Tamang, who died last night in a hospital where he was admitted after being allegedly injured in Saturday's clashes between the police and GJM supporters.

The GJM claimed that Tamang received serious head injuries during a baton charge by the police.

The police, however, said it was not clear whether he died of injuries or some other reason.

"We are waiting for the post-mortem report. We can only comment after seeing it," a senior police officer said.

The panchayat office in Mirik sub-division was set on fire by the activists, who also damaged a few government vehicles in the hills, the police said.

Internet services remained suspended for the 25th day.

While an Army column, comprising around 50 personnel, has been deployed in Kalimpong since Monday night, two columns have been positioned at Darjeeling and Sonada from Saturday after large-scale violence and arson took place in those areas.

The GJM has claimed that eight of its supporters have been killed in police firing, including four on Saturday.

But the police have said two persons have been killed in the hills, including a truck driver whose vehicle was set ablaze during the over month-long agitation that turned violent on June 17.

A meeting of the hill parties in Mirik had on Tuesday decided to go on with the indefinite shutdown and start a hunger strike to press the demand for a separate state of 'Gorkhaland' from July 15.

The police and the security forces maintained a tight vigil at all entry and exit points.

(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.)
China on Wednesday said troop withdrawal by India from Doklam remained the precondition to resolve the border crisis in the Sikkim sector.

Beijing also dismissed Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar's remarks that differences over the border between India and China occurred in the past also and were resolved.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the trespass by Indian troops in Doklam was different from the "frictions in the undefined sections of the boundary" between India and China.

Geng said what happened in Doklam was a dispute.

Jaishankar, who on Tuesday was at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore to deliver a lecture, said "differences should not become disputes".

Gang said: "China has pointed out many times that the illegal trespass of Indian border troops of the mutually recognised border line is different in nature from the frictions in the undefined sections of the boundary.

"The Sikkim section has a special historical background and this is only defined boundary between India and China. And this is totally different from the undefined boundary in the east, middle and west part.

"According to the 1890 convention, the Sikkim section has been recognised by both China and India and this convention is effective for both countries.

"We again request India to withdraw the border troops to the Indian side of the boundary and properly settle this dispute at an early date."

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Security forces have launched a massive hunt to track down Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander and Pakistani Abu Ismail, who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly attack on Amarnath pilgrims.

Proactive operations have been launched, mainly in south Kashmir, to track down Ismail as investigations including communication intercepts have pointed out to his involvement in the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, a senior police official said.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday evening.

The official said the attack in Anantnag appears to be a reprisal for killing of several Lashkar militants including Bashir Lashkari in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.

"The terrorists are frustrated at the back to back losses suffered by them during counter-insurgency operations over the past month or so and have now resorted to attacking civilians and tourists," he said.

According to the official, Ismail has been active in Kashmir for several years and had moved base to south Kashmir more than a year ago.

The Anantnag attack on Amarnath pilgrims came the same day when police announced arrest of a module of LeT including a Hindu terrorist hailing from Muzaffaranagar area of Uttar Pradesh.

Lashkar has not only distanced itself from the attack on Amarnath pilgrims but also condemned the attack.

LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi, while condemning the attack on pilgrims, has said, "It is against Islamic teachings".

"The attack on the pilgrims is highly reprehensible act. Islam does not allow violence against any faith," he said.
One of Kolkata's iconic trams, a symbol of the city's metropolitan history that is being pushed out of service as more modern means of transport take over, appears to have found a new home far from the busy streets of the City of Joy.
Moutaz Al Khayyat, chairman of Power International Holding, bought cows in the US and Australia. (Photo: iSTOCK)

The on Tuesday extended across the country the Madras High Court order putting on hold the Central government's notification banning the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter from the cattle market.

As a bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud extended the operation of the Madras High Court order, the government told the court that it would be renotifying the Rules after considering objections from the stakeholders.

"the interim order passed by the Madera bench of Madras High Court would extend to rest of the country", the bench said in its order.

Even as Additional Solicitor General P.S.Narasimha told the bench not to pass any order as Central government was amenable to the High Court jurisdiction, the bench clarified that High Court order would extend to entire country.

Narasimha informed the bench that the government would not implement for three months the Rules banning the sale of cattle at livestock markets for slaughtering.

Meat sellers have complained of the adverse impact on their trade including experts that is to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore.

The Central government had on May 25 brought a notification by which sale and purchase of cattle in the cattle market for slaughter was banned. Several states refused to implement it.

The court order on Tuesday came on a plea by All India Jamitul Quresh Action Committee, which has challenged notification banning the sale of cattle for slaughtering and regulating the transporting of livestock.

After passing the order, the court disposed of the petition by All India Jamitul Quresh Action Committee and others.

All India Jamitul Quresh Action Committee had challenged the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, banning sale of cattle for slaughtering and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017 which provides for the seizures, recovery of the cost of transportation, maintenance and treatment of seized animals.

It was contended by the organisation that both the rules banning sale of cattle for slaughtering and the other regulating the transporting of livestock were arbitrary, illegal, and unconstitutional.

It also argued the rule that the purchaser of cattle "shall not sacrifice the animal for any religious purpose" was contrary to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, whose Section 28 says it is not an offence to "kill any animal in a manner required by the religion of any community".

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Continuing their opposition to the ONGC's oil exploration project in their village near in Kathiramangalam village, residents resorted to a novel protest by setting up a community kitchen and used firewood for the same.

Around 200 residents of Kathiramangalam village had on Tuesday set up a community kitchen and used firewood instead of LPG in a bid to rebuff ONGC's statement that it had to drill wells to supply LPG to households, police said.

Women gathered in the open yard of an Ayyanaar temple in the village and prepared food from the morning using firewood.

The protesters said they could manage with firewood as they had been doing so before the advent of LPG.

The villagers have been up in arms against crude oil exploration by ONGC and a protest by them had turned violent on June 30, leading to use of "minimum force" by police, which was criticised by opposition parties in the state.

Also, shops remained shut for several days in the village to express solidarity with the protesting residents.

(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.)
In the wake of the terror attack on a bus full of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag, the on Wednesday, while backing their chief Uddhav Thackeray's stance, said the 'gau rakshaks' taking to vandalism in the name of protecting Hindutva should be sent to Kashmir to fight terrorists.

"Those creating a ruckus in the name of cow vigilantism and Hindutva should be sent to Kashmir to fight terrorists," leader told ANI here.

Lauding the efforts of Salim, the driver of the bus that was attacked, Raut asserted that such people are being targetted and killed by the 'self-proclaimed gau rakshaks', adding that stringent measures need to be taken to end this.

"I applaud Salim for his bravery. Such 'Salims' are the ones losing their lives in the name of cow vigilantism and Hindutva. The Centre must take strict measures to end this atrocity," he said.

As many as seven people were killed and fifteen others injured after a group of terrorists opened fire on a bus carrying 17 pilgrims from Baltal to Mir Bazar around 8.20 p.m. on Monday night.

Meanwhile, three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed by security forces near Budgam district in yesterday night.

Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was launched by troops of the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Radbug village of Budgam.

The troops recovered one self-loading rifle along with three magazines and one pistol with one magazine.

Two terrorists have been identified as Javed, a resident of Churpur and Aabid, a resident of Badgam. The identity of the third one is yet to be ascertained.

(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.)
The apex consumer commission has upheld a state panel's order asking a recreational club in to pay Rs 18 lakh as compensation to the kin of a man who collapsed at the club and subsequently died due to inadequate help from the staff.

The Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) asked the City Gymkhana to pay the sum to its member Tarun Sharma's family and said "there was no help whatsoever from the club" which "amounted to callousness and thus severe deficiency in service".

"The very fact that they failed to produce any evidence at all, even by way of affidavits of their officials who were present and who provided first aid and who helped take the deceased to the hospital, speaks volumes and is self- incriminating," the bench, headed by presiding member Anup K Thakur, said.

The commission also held that since the club provides certain facilities to its members against payment of a consideration comprising one time and recurrent fees, it is a service provider and the deceased was its consumer.

According to the complaint filed by Amritaben, wife of Sharma, he collapsed inside the club premises during morning walk on December 16, 2005.

Since there was no staff available, another member took him to a nearby hospital where he died the next day.

The club claimed that it was a natural death and under no circumstances, was it attributable to any other factor than "an act of God". The club also contested that the death could not be related to any deficiency in service on the part of the Club.

The Gujarat state consumer commission had asked the club, its president and secretary to pay the amount jointly and severally to the kin of Sharma.

Later the club approached the apex commission which uphled the state commission's decision.

(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.)
Call it Salim Sheikh Gafoor's sheer presence of mind or quick thinking, but it saved over 50 Amarnath Yatra pilgrims from certain death during a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, though he himself attributes his heroism to the Almighty.

"The moments I heard the gunshots, I bent down a bit while holding the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator. It seems God gave me a lot of physical and mental strength and I began driving at around 70-80 km per hour," Sheikh told media persons here on Tuesday while recalling his brush with death along with 50-odd passengers.

"Harshbhai, who was sitting next to me in the bus, was hit by a bullet. The passengers were screaming and asking me to stop the bus. But I didn't, as had I applied the brakes even for a minute, I knew for sure that nobody in the bus, including me, would survive the attack," said the Muslim driver, who has been hailed for saving the 50-odd Amarnath pilgrims.

Expressing sadness over the death of seven pilgrims and injuries to 19 others in the attack on Monday night in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, he recalled that each one of the 60-odd pilgrims in the bus was happy after a 'darshan' of Lord Shiva and their visit to Srinagar.

"Unfortunately, it all turned into a tragedy," Sheikh said.

He said he kept on driving for 2-3 km before halting at the nearest military camp. Thereafter, the Army men took over and helped move the victims inside the camp and rushing the injured to nearby hospitals.

It was only after 9.30 p.m., more than an hour after the attack, that Salim called up his own family.

His cousin Javed Mirza told a local Gujarati television channel: "I am proud of him. Though it is sad he could not save seven pilgrims, but he was able to save more than 50 others."

As for getting separated from the security convoy before the attack, Sheikh said: "We started from Srinagar around 4 p.m. in the evening but had to take a two-hour stopover as a bus tyre got punctured. We had otherwise decided to halt at a camp for pilgrims near the military camp."

"Since we got delayed while getting the flat tyre mended, three-four other buses from Uttar Pradesh which were with us drove away with the security while we were left behind," he said.

Sheikh, who spoke to several television channels on arrival in Surat by a special Indian Air Force aircraft along with bodies of the attack victims and survivors, said he could not see how many terrorists attacked the bus since it was already dark.

Condemning the attack, he said he would be happy if the terrorists involved were killed.

"They must be killed. The security forces personnel told us they will kill the terrorists. We are now waiting for the good news. I will be able to experience peace, sleep well and eat only on receiving the good news (of the killing of terrorists)," he said.

He said it was not the first time but his fifth trip to the holy cave of Amarnath, driving pilgrims on behalf of Om Travels of Valsad in south Gujarat.

The tour began on July 2 and the pilgrims were scheduled to travel to Amarnath and the shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi in Trikuta hills of Jammu and Kashmir, before returning to Valsad.

He said he had ferried the passengers for 'darshan' at the Amarnath cave on July 8 and was driving towards Katra on the fateful evening.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who reached Surat airport to receive the bodies of the victims in the afternoon, was all praise for Sheikh and said his government would recommend his name for a bavery award to the Centre.

"I don't know about that (bravery award) but driving is the only thing I know and only source of income for me. What else can I do? I will continue driving the bus. But for now, the scene (of the attack) keeps playing in front of my eyes," he said.

(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.)
The Intelligence Bureau has raised serious concerns over the government's proposal to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment in local airlines citing security issues, a source said.

Concerns were raised during a meeting chaired by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi which was attended by senior officials from the civil aviation ministry and the IB. The meeting, held last month, was convened to discuss issues related to proposed amendments to the Aircraft Rules, 1937.

The amendments are required to operationalise the framework for allowing foreign non-airline players to own up to 100 per cent stake in domestic carriers. While the liberalised FDI policy was announced last year, it can be implemented only after putting in place the relevant rules.

According to the source, who is not authorised to speak to the media, the IB is of the view that foreign players should not be allowed to have 100 per cent stake in domestic airlines as aviation is a "highly sensitive sector".

During the meeting, the IB also submitted that even developed countries like the US and Canada have permitted foreign entities to have only up to 25 per cent stake in their respective domestic carriers.

Another concern raised was on the grounds that many airports having commercial operations are with the defence establishment. Allowing foreign players to fully own domestic carriers might pose threat to national security, especially during the times of conflict, the source said.

The IB has also suggested that the existing substantial ownership and effective control requirement should be retained. Under this norm, substantial ownership and effective control of domestic airlines should be vested only with Indian nationals.

A query sent to a civil aviation ministry spokesperson seeking comments for the story did not elicit any response.

Another meeting on making amendments to the rules to operationalise the framework for 100 per cent FDI in local airlines is likely to be held this week, the source said.

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has been opposing the move to permit overseas players to establish carriers in the country. Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir are part of the FIA.

At present, at least three domestic carriers have foreign airlines as partners. They are Jet Airways, Vistara and AirAsia India.

In Jet Airways, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has 24 per cent stake, while in Vistara, Singapore Airlines holds 49 per cent shareholding. Malaysia's AirAsia Berhad has 49 per cent ownership in AirAsia India.

(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.)
Differing interpretations by the government and the industry on the interoperability of the Indian Patent Act and the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act have caused uncertainty over future technology investments that could cause damage to cotton farmers across the country.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval for the signing a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between India and Germany on cooperation in the field of health. The was signed on June 1, 2017.

The Joint Declaration of Intent will cover the following areas of cooperation:

1) Post-graduate education

2) Training of medical personnel

3) Pharmaceuticals and pharmacoeconomics

4) Health economics.

(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.)
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Israel, the Union Cabinet chaired by him approved on Wednesday the signing of two agreements between India and Palestine on cooperation in the fields of health and medicine, and information technology and electronics. The two agreements were signed during Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbass state visit to India in May.
As consumers, we are hardly aware of the components included in the restaurant bills. Next time do check your bill to see if the proper GST or goods or services tax rate has been levied. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Tuesday clarified on rates of GST for restaurants.
Today, the National Council of Research and Training (NCERT) is set to announce the results of Common Entrance Examination 2017 on its official website ncert-cee.kar.nic.in. The NCERT CEE 2017 exam conducted held on June 11, 2017 (Sunday) in 35 cities across the country. The exam was held for admissions in various technical streams such as B.sc, B.Ed., B.A. B.Ed., M.Sc., B.Ed., M.Ed. and B.Ed. M.Ed. (Integrated) offered in regional institutes. Note that the results for B.ED. / B.ED. - M.ED. (Integrated)/ M.ED. Programs will be declared on July 24 (Monday). The students who took the exam can check their score on the official website. The online registration for the CEE 2017 was stared from April 10 to April 15 till 6 pm.
Cabinet approves Development of Four Laning of Solapur-Bijapur Section of New NH-52 in Maharashtra and Karnataka

Impact

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for 4 Laning of Solapur-Bijapur Section of New NH-52 (formerly NH-13) in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The development of 4 Laning of about 110 km. is estimated to cost approximately Rs.1889 crore including the cost of land acquisition and pre-construction activities.At present, the existing road is two- lane and passes through congested towns of Solapur, Takli and Nandani in Maharashtra and Zalki, Horti and Bijapur in Karnataka. It connects Southern India with Northern India and its development will serve as an alternative route to North South Corridor of the National Highways Development Programme. The development to four- lane of this road with bypasses at Solapur, Bijapur and construction of six flyovers would greatly reduce travel time and Vehicle Operating Costs as well as help in expediting the improvement of infrastructure in Maharashtra and Karnataka states. This road is part of the high-density traffic corridor Banglore-Chitradurga-Bijapur-Solapur-Aurangabad-Dhule-lndore-Gwalior.The provision for two by-passes will ensure decongestion of the urban areas of Solapur and Bijapur. Similarly, the six flyovers would facilitate fast movement of traffic in Solapur, Mandrup, Zalki and Bijapur towns while simultaneously decongesting the areas. The two trucks lay- bys will facilitate smooth movement of freight traffic.
Here is a good rule of thumb for dealing with Donald Trump: Everyone who gives him the benefit of the doubt eventually regrets it.
Expectant mothers are typically advised to avoid flying in their final trimester. But job candidates at one Spanish airline were required to take a pregnancy test before they were even hired.
With the image of the vulnerable refugee dominating media coverage, Syrian painter Abdalla Al Omari wished to flip the script and show the world how powerful politicians would look like if they weren't so lucky.
China must pursue economic integration with countries like Bangladesh to promote "a string of active economic development zones surrounding India", a Chinese newspaper has reported.

"China should keep a close eye on economic cooperation with some South Asian countries like Bangladesh to promote economic integration," a report in the state-run Global Times said on Tuesday.

"This could promote the formation of a string of active economic development zones surrounding India, which would not be a bad thing if it could place pressure on New Delhi to deepen its economic cooperation with neighbouring countries."

The daily added that hopefully India could make a greater contribution to improving infrastructure in Myanmar under the framework of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor.

"This would help to connect the markets in India, China and Southeast Asia, the world's three most active economic regions."

The report said that as a key strategic location connecting China and India, Myanmar was reportedly ramping up efforts to make itself a new offshore trading hub in Asia.

As Myanmar's largest trade partner and largest source of investment, China was crucial for Myanmar's external-policy strategy.

It said that India was going all out to make the visit by Myanmar's military chief a resounding success following tensions on the border between India and China, "but there is no reason for China to feel any anxiety".

"Myanmar is unlikely to do a stupid thing like supporting India's stand on the tensions in the border area as that would risk cutting its economic ties with China.

"There is tremendous potential for further economic and trade cooperation between China and Myanmar," it added.

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US internet giant Google on Wednesday won a court challenge against demands by French authorities that it pay 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in back taxes.

The Paris administrative court ruled that Google Ireland was not subject to corporate and value-added taxes (VAT) for the period 2005-2010, striking down the tax administration's demands for back payments.

The ruling in favour of Google, now part of Alphabet Inc, followed a court adviser's recommendation that Google did not have a "permanent establishment" or sufficient taxable presence to justify the bill.
From the common barn swallow to the exotic giraffe, thousands of animal species are in precipitous decline, a sign that an irreversible era of mass extinction is underway, new research finds.
Makers of cardiac defibrillators, insulin pumps, breast implants and other medical devices might be able to delay reporting dangerous malfunctions to the Food and Drug Administration under an agreement heading for a vote in Congress.
Chinas ethnic problems get a lot of attention from the outside world. Whatever their political leanings, Westerners can find something interesting to read about Chinas treatment of its ethnic minorities, whether on the plight of the Tibetans or rising tensions between the Chinese state and the Uighurs of Xinjiang. China is increasingly being talked about as part of the global war against Islamist extremism, or as an anti-multicultural regime that mistreats its ethnic minorities.
That phrase  viewers around the world  hasnt applied to television premieres before. For most of its history, television has been a profoundly national medium. While shows like Dallas, Baywatch and The Simpsons all drew large global audiences, television trade required delays: A television series could air in different countries, but it often happened months  even years  after it would air in its country of origin.
The Kremlin today insisted it was in no way linked to a meeting between US President Donald Trump's son and a Russian lawyer at the heart of a political firestorm.

"We have already said that we are absolutely not familiar with this whole story," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"We never had any contact with this lawyer, that is why we are not in the loop and have nothing to say. She doesn't have even the slightest relation to us."



The Kremlin had on Monday denied links to the lawyer.

The June 2016 meeting with lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya has thrust Donald Trump Jr into the centre of a growing scandal over whether Trump's associates colluded with Moscow to tilt the 2016 election in the Republican's favour.

A string of emails Trump Jr released yesterday showed he agreed to the meeting after claims from a British music promoter that a senior official in Moscow had offered to pass on dirt on Hillary Clinton and Veselnitskaya was a "Russian government attorney".

Peskov ridiculed claims that Veselnitskaya was working for the Russian government as "inappropriate and absurd".

Veselnitskaya herself has also denied she had any damaging information on Hillary Clinton or that she is tied to the Russian authorities.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denounced accusations it meddled in the US election to help get Donald Trump to the White House and Peskov said the allegations resembled a "drawn-out TV series."



US intelligence agencies have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of approving a hacking and influence campaign to sway the vote.

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China will downsize its 2.3 million-strong military, the world's largest, to under one million in the biggest troop reduction in its history as part of a restructuring process, an official Chinese daily said.
Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement is certainly a blow for the global climate regime. But it is primarily a bad deal for the US. It is bad for Americas economy, its global leadership, and its non-climate policy goals. The good news is this: global efforts to tackle climate change will survive without the US.
The ongoing investigations into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia involve reams of classified material. Yet Marc Kasowitz, the New York lawyer whom President Donald Trump has hired to defend him in these inquiries, told ProPublica through a spokesman that he does not have a security clearance  the prerequisite for access to government secrets. Nor does he expect to seek one.
President Donald Trump listens during his meeting with US Mayors and Governors for a Infrastructure Summit in the State Dinning Room of the White House in Washington
A US appeals court on Wednesday blocked the release of a report discussing HSBC Holdings Plc's progress in improving its controls against money laundering, reversing a judge's order that the report be made public.

By a 3-0 vote, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said US District Judge John Gleeson abused his discretion in finding that the public had a constitutional right of access to the report under the First Amendment.

HSBC agreed to a monitor in December 2012, when it accepted a $1.92 billion fine and five-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) to resolve a US Department of Justice probe.

The department said HSBC had become a preferred bank for Mexican drug cartels and other money launderers and conducted transactions in several countries barred by US sanctions.

Wednesday's decision was a victory for HSBC and the Justice Department, which have said releasing the report could compromise efforts to fight money laundering, including for terrorism, and discourage cooperation with law enforcement.

It was a defeat for Hubert Dean Moore, a Pennsylvania man who was an HSBC mortgage customer before filing for bankruptcy and sought the report's release to identify whether there remained problems in HSBC's business practices.

The report was kept under seal during the appeal.

HSBC, the Justice Department, Moore and Moore's lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a January 2016 ruling, Gleeson said the HSBC report by Michael Cherkasky, a former New York prosecutor and now executive chairman of compliance company Exiger, implicated "matters of great public concern" and justified its release.

But in Wednesday's decision, Chief Judge Robert Katzmann said it is the Justice Department's responsibility to oversee how DPAs are implemented, while judges lack "freestanding supervisory power" to do so even if they suspect problems.

"In resting its exercise of supervisory authority on hypothesised scenarios of egregious misconduct, the district court turned this presumption on its head," Katzmann wrote.

The court concluded that Cherkasky's report was not a "judicial document" deserving of public access.

Gleeson, who sat in Brooklyn and is now a partner at law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, had no immediate comment.

Twenty-five media outlets also urged the release of the HSBC report. They said the release of such documents, especially if fraud or executive branch conduct are at issue, helps the public hold the government accountable and understand how courts work.

The case is US et al v. Moore, 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 16-308.
Shares of surged as much as 11% to Rs 360 in intraday ahead of the USFDA meet to discuss its breast cancer drug filing.
In a momentous occasion, 242 societies led by the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) came together with 3 lakh doctors of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to raise awareness about the paradigm shift in contraception methods available today.

In line with the World Population Day theme of 2017, the motto was to empower people with novel ways of family planning for the development of the nation.

According to 'Vision FP 2020', access to family planning can avert 2.39 crore births and 42,000 maternal deaths by 2020. About 21.3 percent of eligible couples in India have unmet need for family planning.

Although the Indian national family planning programme began in the early 1950s and has seen success over the period, there are still challenges such as those of access, choice, gender, equity, and quality.

Speaking on the occasion, Padma Shri Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal, National President Indian Medical Association and President Heart Care Foundation of India and Dr RN Tandon - Honorary Secretary General IMA in a joint statement, said, "People need to be aware about the varied and effective contraception choices that are at their disposal today. These include an irreversible tubectomy, reversible long-acting spacing methods of contraception such as the intrauterine device (effective for 3-10 years) and implants. Recently, many new contraceptive choices have been added such as injectable contraceptives. These are now available under the national family planning programme. We are happy to join hands with FOGSI and together, we shall educate people towards allaying myths and misconceptions about contraceptives as also create awareness on safe family planning methods."

Dr Rishma Dhillon Pai - President and Dr Hrishikesh D Pai - Secretary General, Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) in a joint statement shared, "In 2015, over 7 lakh abortions were recorded, which resulted from unwanted pregnancies - as an outcome of the unmet need of contraceptives. According to NFHS IV, current use of family planning methods among married women (15 to 49 years) is 47.8 percent. Therefore, we believe that the impetus for reproductive health services specifically family planning services would come from a more community-based approach which further has a huge potential under Public-Private partnership."

Adding, "We at FOGSI are running a postpartum IUCD programme funded by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) under which we have been successful in the insertion of IUCD among 15,781 patients. With the support of IMA, we aim to expand the programme to all the 242 societies under FOGSI."

Dr SK Sikdar, Deputy Commissioner and HOD, Family planning division of Union Health Ministry, explained, "According to NFHS IV, about 5.7 percent of married women (15-49 years) in India have unmet need for spacing. Our aim is to keep the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of the Indian population to 2.1. Out of 36 states and Union territories of India, 24 of them have already achieved the TFR of 2.1 or less. There is only 1 state in India - Bihar - whose TFR is more than 3. The Government is undertaking a lot of initiatives in the field of family planning. In the rural areas we have ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers who visit the women in the villages and educate them about the new age contraceptives, provide them pregnancy kits etc."

Continuing, "Today we are proud to announce that we have implemented injectable contraceptives in the country. On World Population Day, we need to raise awareness on the efficacy of new-age contraceptives and voluntary access to safe family planning methods."

There are two kinds of family planning options: temporary and permanent. Oral contraceptive pills, male and female condoms, IUCDS, contraceptive injections are some of the temporary methods. Among the permanent methods, both male and female sterilization options are available in India.

While male sterilization is not as popular, it is recommended over female sterilisation.

Emergency contraception is another important option that young adults should be aware of and the right way to use it to prevent an unplanned pregnancy. It is important that they know about Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), so that if they have unprotected sex and find themselves facing the possibility of an unplanned pregnancy and its health and social consequences, they know that they can still act to prevent it.

Instead of the doctor taking a decision on behalf of the couple, the two should together decide on what would be the best method of contraception taking into consideration the personal preferences, and social and cultural factors along with the efficacy, safety, and side effects of different contraceptives.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Afghanistan on Tuesday strongly condemned the terror attack targetting a bus of the Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag District of Jammu and Kashmir.

Condemning the terror attack, President Ghani said, "Being enemies of civilisation and humanity, terrorists don't respect any religion and law but in order to disseminate terror and hate, they target sacred locations and civilians including women and children."

"Afghanistan, which is at the front-line in the fight against terrorism, has always evinced its honesty and valor in counter-terrorism efforts, once again stressing on putting up a collective and earnest fight against terrorism through a unified strategy," a statement from the Afghan ministry said.

"The Government and people of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan offer their condolences and sympathies to the government of Republic of India, its people and victims of this terror attack," it added.

France also condemned the attack and conveyed its condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

"France assures the people and authorities of India of its solidarity in face of terrorism. During their meeting in Paris on 3rd June this year, the President of the French Republic and the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, had declared counter-terrorism to be a priority of our strategic partnership," a statement said.

Earlier, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and condemn the dastardly Amarnath terror attack.

According to a tweet by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Gopal Baglay, Prime Minister Hasina wrote to Prime Minister Modi and condemned the attack and conveyed "condolences of Govt. and people of Bangladesh."

Baglay also informed, through his tweets, that Mauritius and Nepal have also condemned the attack.

He tweeted, "Mauritius strongly condemns the attack on Indian pilgrims returning from Amarnath, says that it stands with India at its moment of grief."

"Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba strongly condemns the attack on innocent pilgrims, expresses deep condolences & sympathies to GOI & Indian pple."

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena also took to Twitter to show solidarity with India.

"I condemn the brutal terrorist attack on innocent pilgrims in Amarnath. Sri Lanka stands in solidarity with India in his hour of grief."

Earlier in the day, the United States also condemned the Monday attack on the bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag District.

U.S. Charge d'Affaires Mary Kay Loss Carlson tweeted, "We deplore the attack on #Amarnath pilgrims & condemn all acts of terrorism. Deepest condolences to the families & all those affected."

Several other allies of India including Russia, Sri Lanka and Germany also criticised the attack.

Pavel Dorokhin, Member of State Duma and Deputy Chairman of India-Russia Inter-Parliamentary Commission said in a statement, "Russia stands united against terrorism and terrorism cannot be justified. We pay condolences to the families of the victims and wish speedy recovery to the injured."

German Ambassador Dr. Martin Ney also issued a statement criticising the attacks and paid condolences to the families of the deceased and injured.

He said, "On behalf of the Government of Germany, I strongly condemn yesterday's terrorist attack in Jammu & Kashmir. Seven Amarnath Yatris lost their lives and more than a dozen were wounded. I convey our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Germany resolutely stands by India in the fight against terrorism and extremism."

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a series of tweets, also criticised the terror incident.

He tweeted, "The attack on pilgrims in Amarnath Yatris is devastating. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families affected and our friends in India. Sri Lanka condemns the attack on peaceful pilgrims - Amarnath Yatris. Thoughts & prayers are with the families and your nation @narendramodi."

Bhutan Foreign Minister Lyonpo Damcho Dorji said, "Bhutan strongly condemns the terrorist attacks on Amarnath Yatris."

Meanwhile, mortal remains of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims who lost their lives were brought to Surat, Gujarat.

Seven people lost their lives and 15 others were injured yesterday when a group of terrorists attacked a bus in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag.

The incident occurred at around 8.20 p.m. on Monday between Baltal and Mir Bazar. Reportedly, the bus was neither a part of a convoy nor registered with the shrine board.

The 90th and 40th battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed at the spot to prevent further untoward incidents.

People all across the country are condemning the incident, with some even staging protests against Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee have also strongly condemned the incident.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said that the Amarnath terror attack was an attack on their brotherhood and it has been "unequivocally condemned".

"The Amarnath terror attack has been unequivocally condemned. It was an attack on our brotherhood. After many years everyone in Kashmir is on the same page on something. We all believe this is not what Kashmir stands for," Mehbooba told ANI.

Earlier in the day, Minister of State (MoS) in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh and Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir briefed the media about the security arrangements in Jammu and Kashmir post the Amarnath Yatra terror attack.

Addressing the media, Jitendra Singh congratulated the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the kind of resilience they have shown in the last 25 years.

"Anything that happens in Kashmir finds echo across the country. People of the Valley want the guilty to be punished. We are here on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express our solidarity. The common youth of Kashmir is keen to be a part of the development journey led by Prime Minister Modi," he added.

Singh said the militancy is going to outlive its life soon and that India is in the last phase of militancy.

Echoing similar sentiment, Hansraj Ahir said that even after the attack, Amarnath Yatris are unfazed and enthusiastic.

As many as seven people were killed and fifteen others injured after a group of terrorists opened fire on a bus carrying 17 pilgrims from Baltal to Mir Bazar around 8.20 p.m. on Monday night.

Meanwhile, three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed by security forces near Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday night.

Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was launched by troops of the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Radbug village of Budgam.

The troops recovered one self-loading rifle along with three magazines and one pistol with one magazine.

Two terrorists have been identified as Javed, a resident of Churpur and Aabid, a resident of Badgam. The identity of the third one is yet to be ascertained.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday said that Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav should stop playing the victim card and prove his innocence.

Tejashwi has alleged that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family members are the victims of the BJP's political vendetta. The Yadavs are facing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Income Tax probe over the corruption charges.

Bihar's BJP leader Sushil Modi told ANI, "Tejashwi Yadav should stop playing the 'victim card' and provide evidence of his innocence."

Reacting on Tejashwi's denial on the accusations against him, citing that the charges dates back to 2004-2006, when he was a 14-year-old and a teenage couldn't be committing crimes, the BJP leader said that he had read the F.I.R registered against Yadav and there was no mention of any F.I.R against him at the age of 14.

Modi questioned Tejashwi Yadav on his properties and said, "How did he become the owner of so many properties at the age of 26? He should answer it."

Modi said that the Janata Dal United (JDU) and specifically Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should examine the case and set a timeline for it.

He further asserted that the BJP is awaiting the suspension of Tejashwi Yadav and if, the same doesn't happen, then they would have to discuss the issue with the parliamentary board.

Commenting on media personnel being manhandled by the security officials of Tejashwi Yadav at the Bihar Secretariat, earlier on Wednesday, Sushil said that a F.I.R should be registered on those who attacked the media.

"Proper actions should be taken against Lalu Yadav and his family, who are trying to silent the media", added Modi.

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China has reiterated that the standoff in the Sikkim sector is "different" and to "settle disputes" India should recall troops who crossed over the China-India boundary as it played down Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar's remark that New Delhi and Beijing can manage their differences since the two countries have faced similar situations in the past.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang has urged India to unconditionally withdraw its troops to the Indian side of the boundary and stressed that the Sikkim section has a history and is a defined section of the China-India border.

The standoff can be resolved, the foreign ministry said, if India withdraws its troops from Donglang or Doklam region. The area at the strategic tri-junction of India, Bhutan and China, which is under Chinese control but claimed by Thimphu, has been the scene of a standoff since June 16.

"China has repeatedly pointed out that the illegal trespass of Indian border troops of the mutually recognized border is different in nature from the frictions in the undefined sections of the boundary," Geng added.

"The Sikkim section of the China-India boundary was defined by the Convention between Great Britain and China Relating to Sikkim and Tibet in 1890. The section has been recognized by both China and India and this convention holds true for both countries," Geng told at a regular press conference.

The Sikkim section is the only defined boundary between India and China, and is totally different from the undefined boundary in the east, middle and west parts, Geng said.

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar on Tuesday said that both sides should not allow their differences to become disputes, and cautioned that the debate over the rise of these two powers should not be skewed.

He further acknowledged the two countries can handle the disputes like they did so many times before, as "no part of the border has been agreed upon.

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China will for the first time downsize its Army to under one million and evenly proportion the army and other services, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) said.

According to a report by the Global Times, Jun Zhengping Studio, a WeChat account run by the PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military, published an article on structural reform in the military on Tuesday, saying that "the old military structure, where the Army accounts for the vast majority, will be replaced after the reform."

"This is the first time that the active PLA Army personnel would be reduced to below one million," said the article.

It added that the number of troops in the PLA Navy, the PLA Strategic Support Force and the PLA Rocket Force will be increased, while the PLA Air Force's active service personnel will remain the same.

The Ministry of Defence data in 2013 stated the number of PLA combat troops at 8,50,000. No official numbers of the total population of the PLA Army were released.

The total PLA personnel was about 2.3 million before the country announced a cut of 300,000 troops in 2015.

"The reform is based on China's strategic goals and security requirements. In the past, the PLA focused on ground battle and homeland defense, which will undergo fundamental changes," said the WeChat article.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chinese military personnel on Tuesday departed for African nation Djibouti to set up a support base.

The establishment of the People's Liberation Army Djibouti base comes after negotiations and accords between the two countries, Xinhua quoted Shen Jinlong, commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, as saying.

According to the PLA Navy, the base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia.

It will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways.

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The opposition Congress Party in Arunachal Pradesh has accused the Centre of giving "lip service" to the state in spite of knowing that it has been ravaged by floods.

In a statement issued here, the president of the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee, Takam Sanjoy, described the situation in the hilly state as very tragic and unfortunate.

"The state has been experiencing never before seen natural calamities triggered by incessant rains, land and mud slides, and floods. Eight houses adjacent to a Baptist church in Laptup village in Papum Pare district came under huge landslides on Tuesday afternoon," Sanjoy said.

"Regrettably, the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is least bothered about the people of this state. Prime Minister Modi had a telephonic conversation with Assam Chief Minister Sarbananada Sonowal on Monday, but never bothered to inquire about the untold sufferings of Arunachalees," he added.

"The NDA Government has been more worried about Jammu and Kashmir and pumping in thousands of crores, while giving only lip service to Arunachal Pradesh, and too, intermittently," Sanjoy stated further.

Describing Arunachalees as "true sentinels" of the country's borders in the north east, as they inhabited areas located ahead of army and or ITBP establishments along the international border, the APCC president said, "If any enemy bullet comes, it would hit an Arunachalee first, not any army or ITBP personnel."

He also accused Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju for being in a state of "deep slumber".

"Despite being in-charge of disaster management in the Ministry of Home Affairs, he has neither bothered nor inquired about the situation in the state, nor has he extended any help to Arunachalees, especially at a time when they are in distress caused by nature," Sanjoy said.

He also asked the Centre why there has been a delay in deploying a permanent NDRF unit when funds for the same have been sanctioned.

Sajoy issued a fervent appeal to the state government to rush rescue teams to the flood affected areas, and also grant ex-gratia to the next of kin of all deceased.

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The defence experts on Wednesday heaped praises on the Jammu and Kashmir police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) after it neutralised three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists near Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir last night.

Speaking to ANI, defence expert Rahul Jalali said, "It's an ongoing victory for the Army where three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed by security forces near Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir last night. But the main concern comes following the attack on the Amarnath pilgrims. It's not just Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is concerned about the security, but any Indian citizen over the issue. The biggest task security forces in Kashmir are planning new strategies to apprehend those terrorists as soon as possible. It is time that we use this anger and really talk about the terrorism sponsored by Pakistan in India. Many Indians have lost their lives just because Pakistan will not leave its policy of perpetrating terrorism against India. Let the world know that India has been suffering."

Another defence expert Qamar Agha said, "The Government is determined to eliminate the militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. If you go to see, from the last few months not only militants, but commander and top officers were killed in this process. Pakistan always has been sending terrorists to India illegally that is why you see regular ceasefire violations on the LoC. Whatever be the reason, the security needs to be reviewed."

Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was launched by troops of Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Radbug village of Budgam.

Col. Ashok P. Achuthan of Rashtriya Rifles on Wednesday stated that they gave the terrorists chances to surrender, but they refused and retaliated with heavy gun fire.

Speaking to reporters here, Col. Achuthan said, "Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was undertaken by 2nd battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the CRPF in Radbug village of Budgam. We gave them chances to surrender, but they refused and retaliated with heavy gun fire."

"In the ensuing gun fight, the internal areas of the house caught fire and finally the terrorist were force to come out firing. In that attempt, all the three terrorists were eliminated. They are identified as Javed Sheikh, Adil of Budgam and Sajjad of Srinagar. In the search that continued, we have managed to recover one Self Loading Rifle (SLR) and a pistol," he added.

The joint operation was launched at around 6:30 p.m. yesterday and at about 8.30 p.m. contact was established with terrorists. The security forces also recovered arms and ammunition and war like stores.

This came a day after militants attacked a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

At least seven people were killed and more than 15 were injured in the attack.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amidst the ongoing tension over leaks coming from the White House, three influential figures of the White House have privately suggested United States President Donald Trump to oust his Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.

According to the Washington Post, the controversy around Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting last year with a lawyer with ties to Russia has led to First Lady Melania Trump, senior advisor Ivanka Trump and the president's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, privately push Trump to replace Priebus.

Deputy White House Press Secretary Lindsay Walters, however, shut down the reports and asserted that the sources claiming such decisions are absolutely wrong.

Melania Trump's communications director Stephanie Grisham said that the first lady was concerned about the leaks coming from the White House, but rejected the notion that she was forcing her husband to replace Priebus or anyone else.

Following the controversial meeting of Donald Trump Jr. and Russian lawyer in 2016 getting linked to Russia's meddling in U.S. elections, the former released an email chain that shows him discussing plans to hear damaging information on Hillary Clinton that were described as "part of Russia and its government's support for Donald Trump."

Trump Jr. tweeted that he was releasing the emails to be "totally transparent" quelling reports that cited that he was told before his meeting with a Russian lawyer that he would be offered compromising information about Hillary Clinton.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress Party on Wednesday condemned the terror attack on Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district and called for unity to combat the threat of terrorism.

"The attack was condemnable and barbaric. The terrorists who did this were cowards. I don't want to play blame game on this attack. Terrorism is a big threat and challenge for India and we can combat this together," Congress leader Anand Sharma told ANI.

Sharma also conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family while saying that the state and central government should ensure security for the pilgrims.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge dubbed the attack as shameful act and said that Pakistan will get befitting reply for it.

"I pay homage to the deceased. It is cowardly act to attack the pilgrims. We will work together to fight this. The state and central government should ensure safety," Kharge told ANI.

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Dr. Jitendra Singh yesterday urged various political parties not to politicise the terror attack.

"This is the situation where all the political parties have to rise above the political lines regardless of political affiliations, ideology, beliefs because this is an assault on Kashmir's composite culture. This Yatra itself is a symbol of Kashmir's composite culture," said Singh after meeting the injured.

Earlier in the day, Singh and Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir met the injured at SKIMS Hospital.

The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet ,under the leadership of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 6 lakh to the next of kin killed in the attack.

Apart from this, Rs 2 lakh will be given to the grievously injured and Rs. 1 lakh to the one who sustained minor injury.

Separately, Governor, N N Vohra, chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board has announced relief of Rs. 5 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the incident, Rs. 1.5 lakh with grievous injuries and Rs. 75,000 minor injuries pilgrims.

The Governor also announced a special reward of Rs. 2 lakh to the driver of the bus.

Seven people lost their lives and 15 others were injured on Monday evening after terrorists attacked a bus in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag.

(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.)
Badshah of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan, who earlier condemned the Amarnath terror attack, believes that faith makes a person brave.

The 51-year-old actor took to Twitter and shared a tweet on the courage of the pilgrims, who are continuing the Amarnath Yatra despite the terrorist attack that happened on Monday.

He tweeted, "Saw Pilgrims determined 2 continue Yatra inspite of the dastardly attack. Faith makes u Brave & will always win over cowardice & terrorism."

Saw Pilgrims determined 2 continue Yatra inspite of the dastardly attack. Faith makes u Brave & will always win over cowardice & terrorism.  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) July 11, 2017

The 'Raees' star was one of the many B-town celebrities who condemned the attacks and wrote, "Saddening to see innocent lives being taken. Prayers for the victims & may God give strength to the families of the #AmarnathYatra pilgrims."

For the unversed, seven pilgrims - six women, one man - were killed and 12 others injured when militants attacked an unescorted bus at Khanabal in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag.

On the professional front, Shah Rukh Khan is currently busy promoting his forthcoming film 'Jab Harry Met Sejal'.

Helmed by Imtiaz Ali, the film also stars Anushka Sharma.

The flick is scheduled to hit the screens on August 4.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi High Court has adjourned the hearing of the Sunanda Pushkar death case on a plea by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy till July 20.

Swamy on July 6 had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court seeking a court-monitored enquiry into the mysterious death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar.

During the hearing, the Delhi High Court observed that there is delay in the case and asked Swamy as to why he had come at such a later stage.

The Delhi HC also stated that during the time of the case, Tharoor may have been in power, but asks what influence he wields now.

To this, Swamy submitted a statement that said: "I've come after exhausting all other possibilities. Tharoor is still an MP and belongs to the largest Opposition party."

The Delhi High Court has asked the Home Ministry, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the police to file their stand on the current status in the matter.

Sunanda Pushkar was found dead at a suite in a five star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Looks like veteran actor Kamal Haasan is under fire.

Recently, the Hindu Makkal Katchi, a nationalistic Hindu party in Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday, demanded ban on the Tamil version of reality show 'Bigg Boss' and wanted its host Ulaganayagan Haasan to be arrested for tarnishing Tamil culture.

The HMK also complained that the contestants' portrayal in the show is a statement of disrespect towards the Tamil values.

'Big Boss Tamil,' Season One, is a reality show based on the Hindi show 'Big Boss.'

The complaint, filed with the Chennai Commissioner, seeks arrest of the 'Chachi 420' actor, followed by an arrest of all the 14 participants of the show, for tarnishing the reputation of the State and its culture.

According to the HMK, this show is responsible for segregating the Indian people and deteriorating the sense of cultural values among the Indians. They claim that the show depicts obscene content and the contestants roam around in the house in an indecent way, leading to profanity.

Their accusation further stated that for the Tamil people, 'Tamil Thai Vazhthu' (Invocation to Mother Tamil) is the most crucial thing and is more precious than the inner spirit, Hence, such a program mocks the state and its people.

The petition demands an immediate ban on the show and the arrest of everyone involved- actor Kamal Hassan and all the contestants.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maple Village continues to morph from local and regional businesses to something more like Arborland West, with an expanding array of nationally recognized big-box stores behind looming spick-and-span facades. Most recently added to the mix are Carters/OshKosh, Five Below, and Sierra Trading Post.

Carters/OshKosh, selling cute and rugged childrens clothing, occupies more or less the same spot as Value World, where those same clothes often turned up used. Five Below next door is a dollar store on steroids, replacing Dollar Tree. The price limit is a fiver, and the inventory is heavy on the ornamental and the fanciful: scented candles, water speakers (built-in water fountain and light show), some rather flimsy-looking but colorful hammocks (for ages fourteen and up, but you probably dont want to put granny in one). Not everythings a bargain: Clif bars go for $1.99, about twice what they cost at Trader Joes and Target.

Sierra Trading Post is both a venerable name and a new concept. Only about a dozen brick-and-mortar Sierras exist at the moment, but owner TJX (which owns Maple Village neighbor HomeGoods and TJ Maxx in Westgate) seems intent on rolling them out across the mall sphere. It looks a bit like a cross between an Eddie Bauer and an REI, but, while the prices are good, they lack the thrill of those insane deals that pop up all the time on your browser once Sierra gets hold of your email address: Keen sandals for only $9! (size five and eleven only); Neon Buddha jacket $5! (in a color no live human could ever wear, but still ).

Both Arborland and Maple Village are owned by Brixmor Property Group, and its leasing department works closely with TJX and other large discount retailers. Last August, the Wall Street Journal ran an upbeat article about How TJXs Success Continues to Defy Traditional Brick-and-Mortar Retail  Customers who were shunning traditional malls were flocking to these discount outlets that offer the same stuff at much lower prices by snapping up remainders and discontinued lines. Oops, said the Wall Street Journal in May: If Macys and other suppliers go under, TJX loses its supply chain, which was starting to happen as TJX failed to fulfill its rosy 2017 projections. That headline read, TJX Is Dinged by Department Store Crash.

Carters/OshKosh, 343 N. Maple Rd. (Maple Village), 769-1280. Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. carters.com

Five Below, 345 N. Maple Rd. (Maple Village), 222-0024. Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. fivebelow.com

Sierra Trading Post, 215 N. Maple Rd. (Maple Village), 222-5010. Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. sierratradingpost.com
Two soldiers killed after Pakistan violated ceasefire in Kupwara sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

The incident took place around 2:20 PM in the afternoon.

Details of the brave hearts yet to be confirmed.

Three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed by security forces near Budgam district of the state last night.

Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was launched by troops of Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Radbug village of Budgam.

Col. Ashok P. Achuthan of Rashtriya Rifles on Wednesday stated that they gave the terrorists chances to surrender, but they refused and retaliated with heavy gun fire.

Speaking to reporters here, Col. Achuthan said, "Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was undertaken by 2nd battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the CRPF in Radbug village of Budgam. We gave them chances to surrender, but they refused and retaliated with heavy gun fire."

"In the ensuing gun fight, the internal areas of the house caught fire and finally the terrorist were force to come out firing. In that attempt, all the three terrorists were eliminated. They are identified as Javed Sheikh, Adil of Budgam and Sajjad of Srinagar. In the search that continued, we have managed to recover one Self Loading Rifle (SLR) and a pistol," he added.

The joint operation was launched at around 6:30 p.m. yesterday and at about 8.30 p.m. contact was established with terrorists. The security forces also recovered arms and ammunition and war like stores.

This came a day after militants attacked a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

At least seven people were killed and more than 15 were injured in the attack.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After visiting two refugee camps in Cox's Bazar on the south-east coast, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims are living in camps, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi has observed that granting citizenship to Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar is a lasting solution to the Rohingya crisis.

"The solution to the Rohingya crisis is granting them citizenship in Myanmar,"said the UNHCR chief on Monday in a press briefing, while elaborating on his observations after the conclusion of his visit to Myanmar, Thailand and Bangladesh.

Grandi met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and thanked the government and the people of Bangladesh for hosting the refugees for more than three decades. Praising Bangladesh's humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugees, Grandi urged the international community to continue providing support to Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue, Dhaka Tribune reported.

The high commissioner has urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to treat all Rohingya refugees equally.

"There should not be categories such as documented, undocumented or new arrivals. All the refugees are coming to Bangladesh with the same problem and for the same reason. So we need to address their problem equally as well," he said, while citing the dire human rights situation of the Muslim minority in Myanmar.

The UNHCR chief said that his agency will further discuss ways with the Myanmar government in which it can support the process by providing its technical expertise in verifying citizenship. He stressed that refugees should be relocated voluntarily instead of through force.

In Myanmar, he travelled to Yangon and Naypyitaw as well as Sittwe and Maungdaw in Rakhine State.

He met Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Min Myat Aye, Minister of Labour, Immigration and Population U Thein Swe and Minister of Border Affairs Lt Gen Ye Aung.

He termed his meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi as "very constructive and useful,"he said: "Suu Kyi has assured that she will do whatever possible to implement the recommendations of the advisory commission.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the latest addition to its product portfolio, Motorola Mobility LLC believes that its customers go for user-friendly experience and trustworthiness, rather than merely on product specifications and pricing.

This is reflected in the features of the all new Moto E4 and E4 Plus, the two new devices under the flagship, which were launched earlier today.

"Our customers look for more trustworthy brands that can enhance their experience, as this supersedes the weightage given to product features and pricing. With the two new phones, we have tried to cover most categories of buyer," Sudhin Mathur - Managing Director India, Motorola Mobility told ANI.

While battery and crystal-clear display remain at the crux of their products, the two new variants come with a fingerprint sensor for easy access and enhanced security.

Both phones have also been upgraded to a metal finish, thus giving it a sleeker look. Additionally, the two models also support Android 7.1.1, Nougat.

The Moto E4 is built in with a 12.7cm (5") HD display. It supports 16 GB internal memory and expandable storage of upto 128GB. The phone is powered by a 2,800 mAH battery, which helps the device function for a whole day with a single charge.

The Moto E4 features an 8MP autofocus camera, and a 5 MP front camera, built in with flash, which allows low-light photography.

Priced at Rs. 8,999, this phone is available in two colours -Black and Blush Gold.

On the other hand, the Moto E4 Plus comes with 13.97 cm (5.5") HD display. Powered by a 5000 mAh battery, users can operate the phone for up to 48 hours. It also comes with a 10W rapid charger, which powers up the device within minutes of charging. Also, with the Moto Display feature, users can check and respond to notifications from the screen itself, without unlocking the phone.

The phone is built in with a MT6737 quad-core processor (1.3GHz) and supports 2GB RAM and 32 GB internal memory, expandable via a dedicated MicroSD Card slot to 128GB.

This dual SIM phone features a 13MP autofocus rear camera and a 5MP front camera with flash, once again enabling low-light photography.

Priced at Rs. 9,999, the Moto E4 Plus will be available in Gray and Gold, with a new 'Indigo Blue' limited edition device slated to be launched later in the year.

The marketing channels for the two phones are distinct, with an objective of catering to all categories of buyers. While the Moto E4 is available across retail stores, the Moto E4 Plus will be available exclusively on Flipkart from 11.59 p.m. onwards on Wednesday.

"We are looking at both channels of distribution so that we can cater to a wide variety of audiences. This would further help in strengthening our distribution channels. Also, consumers can have both a look and feel, as well as directly order the device, depending on the price band and specifications they are looking for," Anuj Sharma, Product Marketing Head, Motorola Mobility, told ANI.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir on Wednesday said that the country's armed forces are preparing to give a befitting reply to those behind the terror attack on Amarnath Yatra pilgrims.

Asserting that such attacks should never be repeated, Ahir who visited the valley said security has been beefed up and existing arrangements improvised.

"Jitendra Singh and I visited the valley and conducted a review meeting with the authorities in the state. We have beefed up the security and improved the security arrangements. The attack on 10th July is highly condemnable. Our forces are preparing to give a befitting reply to this attack," said.

"Such incidents should not be repeated. Governor is reviewing this situation; CM Mehbooba is also supervising this. Whatever flaws were highlighted, will be worked upon. Pilgrims have faith in the security measures for their yatra. The intentions of terrorists should not be fulfilled," he added.

Addressing the media, Jitendra Singh congratulated the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the kind of resilience they have shown in the last 25 years.

"Anything that happens in Kashmir finds echo across the country. People of the Valley want the guilty to be punished. We are here on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express our solidarity. The common youth of Kashmir is keen to be a part of the development journey led by Prime Minister Modi," he added.

Singh said the militancy is going to outlive its life soon and that India is in the last phase of militancy.

Responding to Home Minister Rajnath Singh's assertion that "every Kashmiri is not a terrorist", Jitendra Singh said, "Yes, Home Minister Rajnath ji is absolutely right - every Kashmiri is not a terrorist."

"We should not look at this as a Kashmir vs rest of India issue. It's not the popular sentiment," he added.

As many as seven people were killed and fifteen others injured after a group of terrorists opened fire on a bus carrying 17 pilgrims from Baltal to Mir Bazar around 8.20 p.m. on Monday night.

Meanwhile, three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed by security forces near Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday night.

Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was launched by troops of the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Radbug village of Budgam.

The troops recovered one self-loading rifle along with three magazines and one pistol with one magazine.

Two terrorists have been identified as Javed, a resident of Churpur and Aabid, a resident of Badgam. The identity of the third one is yet to be ascertained.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Playtonia India's leading e-gaming start-up has today launched India's biggest e-gaming tournament "Conqueror's Insignia". Chennai based Playtonia, a recent startup has unique offering for the esports lovers where they host online dedicated servers for competitive games.

"Conqueror's Insignia" the mega E-sporting event has been split into two phases, phase 1 has already seen huge traction where 174 teams have enrolled from India Pakistan and Bangladesh. In phase II over all 500 teams are expected to participate. These teams will largely be from cities like; Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkota, Chennai, Hyderabad and Cuttack. The finals of the tournament will be held on November 4th & 5th at Phoenix Market City Bangalore. The total prize money on offer a whopping Rs.20 Lakhs. The official game titles for the tournament are Counter-Strike : Global Offensive, Dota 2, FIFA 17, Just Dance and a cosplay competition.

Speaking about the aim of this event, Mr. Abhijit Pattanaik, co-founder of Playtonia said that, "This initiative by Playtonia is aimed at developing e-sports industry on a grand scale rather than focusing on the competitive sector. eSports has become a cultural phenomenon in the last few year.Asia-Pacific accounts for 44 percent of the audience and is the fastest growing region globally. Given, improving internet connectivity in India today, launching an eSports league seemed the perfect way to reach out to the large group of eSports enthusiasts in India."

This event has been catered primarily to cafe players. The registrations will be done through the Playtonia site for both online Season 1 and 2. Lounge Warz participants can register at the local partnered cafes or through the Playtonia site. Teams will battle out against other local cafe based teams in a bid to emerge victorious in their respective city. The winners of each city will then compete in an intercity tournament and a total of 8 teams (4 teams of CS GO and DOTA 2 each) will qualify. The locations for Lounge Warz Season 1 are Delhi (Havoc Nation), Cuttack(AR Gaming Asylum), Bengaluru(Blitz Gaming) and Pune( Intensity Gaming). Lounge Warz Season 2 will take place in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai featuring TBA.

FIFA 17 will also be played at these events and a total of 8 winners will qualify for too honours. The registrations will be done through the Playtonia site for both online Seasons 1&2. Lounge Warz participants can register at the local partnered cafes or through the Playtonia site. The grand finale will take place in Bengaluru for 4 days. In the first phase, the qualified teams and players will compete against each other in a double elimination based qualifier to reach the top three positions in both DotA and CS: GO in the Cafe.

Online gaming industry in India to hit $1 billion by 2021 the gaming community has seen a lot of growth and this has been due to the active participation of gamers and quality events. Playtonia's focus is to develop more and more opportunities for gamers and making India a global leader in esports. It's an initiative for all esports enthusiasts to not only play but also get rewarded.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The German pharmaceutical and medical technology group B. Braun melsungen has lost a patent dispute with the Indian competitor Polymedicure since 2009.

This involves intravenous safety catheters, which had protected B. Braun with several European patents.

When a physician applies such a catheter to a patient, a needle guard automatically protrudes over the tip when the needle is withdrawn from the arm. This protects the doctor and nursing staff. Conventional catheters lack such a needle guard. Polymedicure also sells intravenous safety catheters, but their needle protection is somewhat different.

In May, the eight-year patent dispute between the two medical device manufacturers ended, as the European Patent Office (EPO) finally also rejected the last of the three patents. Thus, B. Braun has ultimately lost all three patents, and Polymedicure can freely use the European market. In addition to Germany, the dispute also concerned the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, informed Himanshu Baid, MD- Polymedicure.

The patent dispute between the two companies began at the Medica 2009 trade fair. At that time, B. Braun filed a provisional injunction against Polymedicure against the patent EP 1911486, thus dispensing with their measurements.

However, the injunction was revoked in February 2010 by the Regional Court of Appeals (District Court) Dusseldorf (District Court of Appeals 4b O 227/09) and in the second instance by the Oberl and esgericht (Higher Regional Court, Dusseldorf) (District Court I - 2 U 37/10) In parallel opposition proceedings, the European Patent Office (EPO) completely annulled the patent in September 2014. This led to a parallel discussion in Italy.

In addition, the Dusseldorf court had suspended the proceedings for the other two patents until their legal position had been clarified (Section 4b O 157/10).

The EPO had revoked EP 1604700 in 2014, and lastly, EP 1911487. Now only the publication of the decision of the regional court on the last patent has been published (line 4b O 115/13). At the same time, B. Braun had obtained an injunction in Spain and applied an interim injunction in the Netherlands.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Pakistani newspaper has urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step aside, fight whatever charges are brought against him or his children in court and, if he is eventually cleared of the charges, he can seek a return to office as the law permits as the toll on democracy would be too great.

But the JIT report has laid down a number of very serious and specific allegations against Prime Minister Sharif and his children.

Simply, no democratic order ought to have a Prime Minister operating under such a dark cloud of suspicion," The Dawn editorial stated.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who have escaped indictment in the joint investigation team (JIT) report, attended a 'very important' meeting of the party stalwarts chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss if the court rules out an adverse decision in the Panamagate.

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would be forced to quit if he did not resign voluntarily as Sharif had no moral or legal ground to stay in power.

"Our message for the PM is very clear. Stop hurling threats and quit the post. There is no other option for him," the PPP leader said.

Shahbaz has now emerged as an important player of the Sharif family in case the premier is asked to step down by the court in connection with the Panama Papers case.

"Shahbaz Sharif is playing his cards very carefully. He is standing by his brother in this hour of crisis and at the same time, he has been in contact with those who matter," The Dawn quoted the PML-N leader, as saying.

"There has been a lot of talk in the party about the possibility of Shahbaz replacing Nawaz in case the latter is disqualified. Who will then take charge of Punjab if Shahbaz is moved to the Centre? In fact, Shahbaz will never let Punjab slip out, even when he is destined for greater heights at the Centre. But, of course, he will have to do a lot of manoeuvering to secure and keep Punjab -- say under his son Hamza Shahbaz," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Blaming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-People's Democratic Party (PDP) Government in Jammu and Kashmir for the recent terror attack on the Amarnath Pilgrims, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy has created space for terrorists in the Valley.

Rahul took to his Twitter to condemn the recent terror attack.

"Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India," he tweeted.

He said Prime Minister Modi's party alliance with the PDP has cost India massively.

"Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively. Modi's personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood," he added.

Earlier too, in a series of tweets condemning the attack, Rahul had called upon Prime Minister Modi to take responsibility for the same, adding that the attack was the result of a 'grave and unacceptable security lapse'.

The BJP, then, lashed out at Rahul's 'lack of maturity' over his attempts to politicise the Anantnag terror attack that killed seven pilgrims.

"While the whole country is united at this dark hour, there are some discordance voices like Rahul Gandhi's. Right now, we need to go after the enemy, not place blame and politicise the matter. This is something that people who are not mature don't understand," BJP leader RK Singh told ANI.

"Whatever corrective action is necessary, it will be taken in due course of time," he added.

As many as seven people were killed and fifteen others injured after a group of terrorists opened fire on a bus carrying 17 pilgrims from Baltal to Mir Bazar around 8.20 p.m. on Monday night.

Meanwhile, three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed by security forces near Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday night.

Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was launched by troops of the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Radbug village of Budgam.

The troops recovered one self-loading rifle along with three magazines and one pistol with one magazine.

Two terrorists have been identified as Javed, a resident of Churpur and Aabid, a resident of Badgam. The identity of the third one is yet to be ascertained.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After the success of Bollywood debut, 'Hindi Medium', Pakistani actress Saba Qamar will be starring in a drama serial based on social media sensation late Qandeel Baloch's life.

A new TV serial, titled 'Baaghi' to be broadcasted on 'Urdu1,' is based on the real life incidences of the late model and actress.

Saba will be seen playing as Baloch against film and TV actor Ali Kazi. The story is written by Umera Ahmed.

The drama is known to depict the murder of Qandeel Baloch in the name of honour killing.

The show would be portraying the early life history of Balooch along with her marital phase as she was known to be in an abusive relationship. Her journey from being an ordinary girl to achieving stardom would also be a prominent focus in the show.

The actress and model Qandeel Baloch was brutally murdered by her brother after his friend taunted him.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of actor Vikram Chatterjee in connection with model Sonika Chauhan death case.

On July 7, Vikarm was sent to police custody till July 10 by the Alipore Court. He was arrested from his Kasba residence late night the previous day.

Sonika passed away in a car crash in April 29.

Chatterjee has been carrying charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder on his head.

The charges against Chatterjee come under non-bailable offence of the IPC. He was also charged with dangerous driving.

Chatterjee was found inebriated while driving a car that led to the death of Sonika.

However, Chatterjee said he was deeply sorry for Sonika's family's loss, adding that he was not driving in an inebriated state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sir Michael said each shipment was valued at around $US220 million and he questioned why the government kept borrowing. He also stated that prime minister Peter O'Neill should tell the people the truth about the economic situation affecting the country.

On 22 July last year, the founding father of Papua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare, said in the Post-Courier newspaper that despite 250 shipments of oil and gas so far, there is nothing to show for [it].

The three markets for the gas are China, Taiwan and primarily Japan; the project sending 6.9 million tons of LNG to these three Asian markets each year.

THE first liquefied natural gas cargo of the PNG LNG project was loaded onto the Spirit of Hela on 14 May 2014.

Through Kumul Petroleum Holding Limited, the PNG government holds a 16.575% stake in the Exxon Mobil PNG LNG project. Exxon Mobil, which invested $US20 billion, has the biggest stake and receives the largest portion of the income.

In October 2016 the PNG government began receiving its share of revenue from the project.

In The National newspaper on 18 April 2017, petroleum and energy minister Nixon Duban reported that PNG earns $US50 million (K160 million) from every shipment of liquefied natural gas exported.

Then on 18 May, ExxonMobil managing director Andrew Barry said Just 10 days ago we celebrated our 300th cargo-almost three years to the date that our first cargo set sail for the first customer in Asia.

In the same Post-Courier he revealed more good news - the company had been told that the PNG LNG project fields resource base was 25% larger than previously assessed.

As of 1 July this year, at least 310 LNG shipments had been delivered. If you do the math you will find that PNG, which invested about $US3.34 billion (K8.35B) in the PNG LNG project, has received around $US9 billion (K27 billion) in revenue  an excellent return on a K8.35 billion investment.

Last year, the PNG government received at least K15 billion. (Readers should note that the annual budget of the PNG government is about K12K15 billion a year.)

The question is: What happened to the money?

Only prime minister Peter ONeill and a select few know the answer to that, and they arent talking. The LNG money from Japan, China and Taiwan does not flow into PNG banks. Instead it has been channelled into a bank in Singapore.

No one except the prime minister and a few others know what happens to the money after that.

Every member of parliament  including those in the prime ministers party  ought to be jumping up and down demanding answers on the destination of those PNG LNG funds.

The Post-Courier and The National should be shouting their questions from the rooftops.

The truth is that these funds should go directly from Japan to a PNG bank. The people and economy of Papua New Guinea are suffering while a lucrative revenue source doesnt seem to be delivering.

If Peter ONeill is re-elected and forms the next government, will another K500 million or K1 billion disappear. PNG is being plundered.

* Joe Fernhout is the pseudonym of a person who has legitimate fears that if their real identity was disclosed, their PNG work permit could be terminated and expulsion from the country would follow
Asserting that Lalu Prasad's son and Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswhi Yadav needs to come out clean with regards to a corruption case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday said that the party wouldn't compromise with its principles and a decision would be taken accordingly.

"We are in a mahagathbandhan, but to maintain the coalition, the responsibility falls on everyone. Hence, he needs to come out clean on the FIR filed by the CBI. We cannot sit silently and the JDU will cannot comprise its principles. We will take our decision accordingly," JD(U) leader Ajay Alok told ANI.

The 'mahagathbandhan' of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the JD(U) is going through rough waters after the CBI filed corruption charges against Tejashwi Yadav in hotel tender case. There has been an increasing demand over his resignation.

In lieu of this, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had called the and state lawmakers of his party for a meeting in Patna on Tuesday.

After the meeting, sources said that the party decided to give more time to Tejashwi Yadav.

The RJD supremo, however, refuted the allegations against him and called it a political conspiracy hatched by the BJP.

Earlier on Friday, the CBI registered a corruption case against Lalu Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav; former Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Managing Director P.K. Goyal; and the wife of Lalu's confidante Prem Chand Gupta, Sujata on allegations of awarding the tender for development, maintenance and operation of hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006.

The case was registered on the allegations of awarding the tender for development, maintenance and operation of hotels at Ranchi and Puri to a private company dealing with hotels in the year 2006.

The investigative agency also conducted searches at 12 locations across Patna, Delhi, Gurugram and other places.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
in a bid to resolve the Gulf diplomatic crisis, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held talks with Foreign Ministers from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, after meeting first with Saudi Arabia's King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The meeting, which took place on Wednesday, came a day after the United States and Qatar signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on combating financing terrorism collectively.

"We have signed a memorandum of understanding on combating financing terrorism," said Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani during a press conference on Tuesday.

He added that this comes in the context of bilateral cooperation between the U.S. and Qatar, and as a result of the joint efforts to develop mechanisms to combat financing terrorism and exchange information and expertise to develop this mechanism and to develop the institutions between different countries.

Tillerson, who visited Qatar in a bid to end a month-long rift between the Gulf countries of the region, said the memorandum lays out a series of steps the two countries will take over the coming months and years to interrupt and disable terror financing flows and intensify counterterrorism activities globally.

"The agreement includes milestones to ensure both countries are accountable to their commitments," he said.

"Together, the United States and Qatar will do more to track down funding sources, will do more to collaborate and share information, and will do more to keep the region and our homeland safe," he added.

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt issued a joint statement hailing the efforts of US in fighting terrorism.

Last month, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt had snapped its diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of financing extremist groups.

However, Qatar rejected these allegations and termed the actions by Gulf member countries of isolating it diplomatically as "unjustified".

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United States President Donald Trump has praised the heroism of the Iraqi and American soldiers following the defeat of ISIS in the war-torn city of Mosul.

Trump spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday and congratulated him on the liberation of Mosul by Iraqi Security Forces, which marks a major milestone in the fight against ISIS.

"The President (Trump) praised the heroism of the Iraqi and American soldiers and underscored his commitment to the total defeat of ISIS," the White House said in a statement.

Trump stressed on the need to consolidate gains to prevent ISIS or any other terrorist group from returning to liberated areas.

Earlier he said that Iraq's victory over ISIS in Mosul signals that the days of the terror outfit in the region are nearly over. "The victory in Mosul, a city where ISIS once proclaimed its so-called "caliphate," signals that its days in Iraq and Syria are numbered."

"The victory in Mosul, a city where ISIS once proclaimed its so-called "caliphate," signals that its days in Iraq and Syria are numbered," Trump said.

Hailing the Iraqi Security Forces, supported by the United States and the Global Coalition for liberating Mosul from the rule of ISIS, Trump said tremendous progress has been made against the terror group in the past six months it became a major threat.

"We mourn the thousands of Iraqis brutally killed by ISIS and the millions of Iraqis who suffered at the hands of ISIS," he said.

"We grieve with the Iraqi people for the loss of the heroic soldiers and Peshmerga who gave their lives to restore life to their country, and we honor their sacrifice," he added.

Trump further said that the United States and the Global Coalition were proud to stand with the Iraqi Security Forces and all those who made this liberation possible.

Echoing similar sentiments, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson termed Iraq's victory in Mosul as a critical milestone in the global fight against ISIS.

He said it underscores the success of the international effort led by the Iraqi Security Forces.

"Under Iraqi leadership, the United States and our Coalition partners will continue to work closely with the UN to stabilize liberated areas throughout Mosul, supporting the return of displaced civilians to their homes," he said.

Tillerson noted that there is still much work to be done to defeat ISIS and assured that the Global Coalition will continue to stand with Iraqi partners to ensure the defeat of ISIS wherever it remains in Iraq.

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday announced that Mosul has been completely liberated from the ISIS terrorist group. "From here, from the heart of the liberated and free Mosul, by the sacrifices of the Iraqis from all the provinces, we declare the great victory for all of Iraq and Iraqis," CNN quoted al-Abadi as saying.

Iraq's national flag was planted on the banks of the Tigris River in Mosul's Old City by the security forces to declare their victory.

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister al-Abadi arrived in Mosul to declare victory over the ISIS.

According to reports, about 1,000 ISIS terrorists were killed in more than two months of fighting in Mosul's Old City.

The ISIS had captured Mosul in 2014 along vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq.

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Uttar Pradesh Anti- Terrorist Squad (ATS) along with other security agencies on Wednesday interrogated a Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT) militant Sandeep Sharma here to find out his involvement in various terror activities.

Sharma was arrested by the J&K Police from Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district on June 10.

According to the UP ATS team, "Sandeep Sharma alias Adil underwent weapon training with LeT terrorists and also used to drive vehicles for LeT terrorists. He used to show his fake ID card with Sandeep name on it whenever he was interrupted by the Police."

Meanwhile, Sharma has accepted his involvement in attack on Army convoy in Qazigund which took place on June 3, weapon loot in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag on June 13 and attack on Police party in Achabal on June 16 this year.

As per reports, Lashkar militants took help of Sandeep to loot the ATMs and indulge in immoral activities in the villages.

According to Muneer Khan, Inspector General of Police, J&K, Sandeep was a criminal who later got in touch with Lashkar

He added that Sandeep alias Adil was living in Jammu and Kashmir with two identities.

"Sandeep was in the same house where dreaded Lashkar militant, Bashir Lashkar took shelter. He was in the valley since 2012," Khan said.

On further interrogation, it was revealed that Sandeep along with other individuals hatched a criminal conspiracy leading to providing shelter, ferrying of terrorists from one place to other for terror strikes and actively participating in terrorist activities.

He also concealed weapons looted from police guards in a vehicle and shifted them to different locations on the directions of the LeT.

The police are now checking Sandeep's criminal history and trying to find out whether he was jailed in UP before. One of the ATS teams has gone to Jammu and the other team is inquiring Sandeep's friends and family in Muzzafarnagar.

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The United States has lifted the ban on passengers carrying laptops and other electronics on EgyptAir flights with immediate effects, said the airlines in a statement.

However, the airlines said that the ban continues on its flights to London.

This comes a week after the U.S has lifted electronic ban on passengers carrying laptops and other electronics on Emirates Airways flights from its base in Dubai

"Effective immediately, the electronics ban has been lifted for Emirates' flights from Dubai International Airport to the United States," an Emirates spokesperson had said in a statement.

The spokesperson informed that Emirates has been working hard in coordination with various aviation stakeholders and the local authorities to implement heightened security measures and protocols that meet the requirements of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's new security guidelines for all U.S. bound flights.

"We would like to express our gratitude to the US and local authorities for their support and thank our customers for their understanding and patience during the last few months when the ban was in place," the statement said.

Earlier, the United States had exempted Etihad Airways flights from the ban as well.

The decision was taken three months after the Trump administration banned the people from carrying laptops on such flights that were directly coming from eight Muslim-majority countries.

The Trump administration in March announced that passengers traveling from 10 airports would be prohibited from bringing laptops and certain personal electronic devices on board with them. The other cities are Amman, Cairo, Casablanca, Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, Jeddah, Kuwait City and Riyadh.

Authorities at the time had said that the initial ban was put considering a previously undisclosed terrorists' plot, involving explosives hidden in an electronic device.

Following the U.S., Britain also imposed a similar ban, applying to inbound flights from six countries that are Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey.

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Venus Williams added another chapter of achievement to her professional history as she became the oldest Wimbledon semi-finalist for 23 years after fending off French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday.

In the 100th singles match of her Wimbledon career, Williams defeated Ostapenko 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 13 minutes, to become the oldest semi-finalist here since Martina Navratilova.

"I love this game," said the five-time champion when asked to explain her longevity not just as a player but a winner.

"There's no other explanation. That's why I put in the effort and the time. I try really hard. You do your best while you can. That's what I'm doing. It's a beautiful game, and it's been really good to me," she added.

Ostapenko, the Latvian No.13 seed, saw her 11-match winning streak at Grand Slams brought to a conclusive halt by the American.

Williams will now face Johanna Konta who defeated Simona Halep to become the first British woman to reach the Wimbledon singles semi-finals in 39 years.

Konta came from behind to claim a hard-earned 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory over Halep.

Meanwhile, Garbine Muguruza powered past Svetlana Kuznetsova to make it back to the last four.

Muguruza beat Russian seventh seed Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4 in the last-eight contest.

The Russian will lock horns with Magdalena Rybarikova in the last four.

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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the creation of three posts of Directors in the pre-revised scale of Rs.80,000 (fixed) {plus NPA Ceiling limit 85000} for the three new AIIMS at Mangalagiri near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, Kalyani in West Bengal and Nagpur in Maharashtra.

As per the AIIMS Act 1956 Amended vide AIIMS (Amendment) Act, 2012, there shall be a Chief Executive Officer of the Institute. He shall be designated as the Director of the Institute and shall be appointed by the Institute provided that the first Director of the Institute shall be appointed by the Central Government. The Director shall act as the Secretary to the Institute as well as the Governing Body and support proper functioning and governance of the three AIIMS.

The post will be immediately filled up following due procedures. The post of Director is in the pre-revised scale of Rs 80,000(fixed) {plus NPA Ceiling limit 85000}. The annual financial implication for each of the post of the Director will be around Rs.25 Lakhs, as per the 6th CPC.

Background

The Union Finance Minister in his Budget speech for the Year 2014-15 had announced for setting up of four new AIIMS in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Cabinet had approved establishment of new AIIMS at Mangalagiri near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, Kalyani in West Bengal and Nagpur in Maharashtra at a cost of Rs. 4949 Crore on 07.10.2015. The three AIIMS are being set up as a part of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) was announced in 2003 with objectives of correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/ reliable tertiary healthcare services and also to augment facilities for quality medical education in the country. PMSSY has two components: (i) Setting up of AIIMS like institutions (ii) Upgradation of Government Medical Colleges/Institutions.

Under this scheme AIIMS have been established in Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Raipur, Jodhpur, Rishikesh and Patna while work of AIIMS Rae Bareli is in progress. Also, three AIIMS in Nagpur(Maharashtra), Kalyani (West Bengal) and Mangalagiri in Guntur (A. P) have been sanctioned in 2015 and two AIIMS have been sanctioned in Bathinda and Gorakhpur in 2016 and Assam in 2017. All necessary steps are being taken for creation of the physical infrastructure and creation of faculty and non-faculty position required for operationalization of these three new AIIMS in Nagpur(Maharashtra), Kalyani(West Bengal) and Mangalagiri in Guntur (A. P). Design Consultant have been appointed for all the three AIIMS on the basis of Global bid as per mandate of the Cabinet. The Master plan for these AIIMS has also been finalized. Detailed designs are under preparation. Proposal for creation of faculty and non-faculty position is under consideration/discussion with Department of Expenditure.

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for 4 Laning of Solapur-Bijapur Section of New NH-52 (formerly NH-13) in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The development of 4 Laning of about 110 km. is estimated to cost approximately Rs.1889 crore including the cost of land acquisition and pre-construction activities.

Impact

At present, the existing road is two- lane and passes through congested towns of Solapur, Takli and Nandani in Maharashtra and Zalki, Horti and Bijapur in Karnataka. It connects Southern India with Northern India and its development will serve as an alternative route to North South Corridor of the National Highways Development Programme. The development to four- lane of this road with bypasses at Solapur, Bijapur and construction of six flyovers would greatly reduce travel time and Vehicle Operating Costs as well as help in expediting the improvement of infrastructure in Maharashtra and Karnataka states. This road is part of the high-density traffic corridor Banglore-Chitradurga-Bijapur-Solapur-Aurangabad-Dhule-lndore-Gwalior.

The provision for two by-passes will ensure decongestion of the urban areas of Solapur and Bijapur. Similarly, the six flyovers would facilitate fast movement of traffic in Solapur, Mandrup, Zalki and Bijapur towns while simultaneously decongesting the areas. The two trucks lay- bys will facilitate smooth movement of freight traffic.

The truck drivers would also benefit from the amenities in the two rest areas being developed. On both sides, provision for service roads in 14 km of the project stretch, slip roads in about 40 km and bus shelters at 24 locations will benefit safe, comfortable and smooth movement of long distance commercial traffic as well as movement of local traffic in inhabited/urbanized areas. Tourists will also get benefit of better connectivity to nearby important tourist places of Bijapur, Hampi and Chitradurga.

The project would also increase employment potential for local labourers from project activities. It has been estimated that a total number of 4076 mandays are required for construction of one kilometer of highway. As such, employment potential of 448360 (approx.) mandays will be generated locally during the construction period of this stretch. Consequent self-employment due to improved traffic conditions would be in addition to the above.

Enhanced Connectivity

The important tourist places of Bijapur, Hampi near Hospet and Chitradurga will get enhanced connectivity, while Solapur being a Textile centre will also benefit from the increased economic opportunities. The existing traffic on this stretch is about 20000 PCUs. Keeping in view the expected traffic growth in the near future, the expansion to four Lanes is a very timely step taken by the Government of India.

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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the establishment of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), South Asia Regional Center (ISARC) at campus of National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC) in Varanasi.

Under the proposal, a Centre of Excellence in Rice Value Addition (CERVA) will be set up in Varanasi. This will include a modern and sophisticated laboratory with capacity to determine quality and status of heavy metals in grain and straw. The Centre will also undertake capacity building exercises for stakeholders across the rice value chain.

This Center will be the first international Center in the eastern India and it will play a major role in harnessing and sustaining rice production in the region. It is expected to be a boon for food production and skill development in the eastern India and similar ecologies in other South Asian and African countries.

Benefits from ISARC

The Centre will help in utilizing the rich biodiversity of India to develop special rice varieties. This will help India to achieve higher per hectare yields and improved nutritional contents. India's food and nutritional security issues will also be addressed.

The Centre will support in adopting value chain based production system in the country. This will reduce wastage, add value and generate higher income for the farmers. The farmers in Eastern India will benefit in particular, besides those in South Asian and African countries.

Management of ISARC

ISARC will operate under the governance of the IRRI Board of Trustees who will appoint an appropriate IRRI staff member as Director. A Coordination Committee will be headed by Director General, IRRI as Chair and Secretary, Government of India, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DACFW) as Co-Chair. The other members of Coordination Committee are Deputy Director General (Crop Sciences), ICAR; Director, NSRTC; IRRI representative in India, representative of Government of UP and representatives of Governments of Nepal & Bangladesh and Private Sector.

For setting up of the Centre, A Memorandum of Agreement, will be signed between DAC&FW and IRRI, Philippines. The Department of DAC&FW will provide physical space for laboratories, offices, training classes, etc. with associated infrastructure and land at NSRTC, Varanasi. The Centre will be commissioned within six months.

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for upgradation and widening of 65 kms of Imphal-Moreh Section of NH-39 in Manipur at a cost of Rs. 1630.29 crores.

Manipur being a landlocked state with almost 90% of the area under difficult terrain presently has only road transport as a means of mass transport system within the state. Hence development of the road infrastructure is of paramount importance to improve connectivity and progress of the State and to ensure that the administrative set up reaches the isolated and remote habitats. The project will improve connectivity between Imphal with the eastern part of the state. Based on the existing and projected traffic requirements the NH-39 will be widened to 4 lane between Lilong village and Wanginj village, while the stretch between Wanginj village to Khongkhang will be upgraded to 2 lane with paved shoulder.

The project is being developed with ADB's loan assistance under the South Asian Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Road Connectivity Investment Program which aims at upgradation of road infrastructure in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India (BBIN) in order to improve the regional connectivity among BBIN nations. The project corridor is also a part of the Asian Highway No. 01 (AH01) and acts as India's Gateway to the East.

Thus trade, commerce and tourism in the region will get a boost.

Background

For fulfilling India's "Look East" Policy and to promote and enhance trade link with South East Asia, the Government of India has notified an Integrated Custom Post (ICP) at Moreh. The development of this project is essential in order to support the increased traffic volume due to coming up of ICP. The workers of Manipur who specialize in creating bamboo and wood based handicraft items and uniquely designed hand woven textile items will get a new market among the Myanmar's customers. Small scale industries such as those making farm implements and tools, stationery, plastic extrusion items, carpentry units, could also develop markets beyond the border.

Besides socio-economic development the project will also lead to reduction in average travel time along the project road by nearly 40%. In addition, the new features of road safety namely vehicular underpasses, crash barriers, road signs & markings, service roads for segregation of slow and high moving traffic, truck lay-by, bus-bays etc. will help in greatly reducing accidents. Improved highway and lesser travel time will lead to savings in terms of fuel cost.

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The US Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the Arc de Triomphe during a rehearsal of the traditional Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France, July 11, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

PARIS - France will mobilize thousands of servicemen to boost security during Bastille Day ceremony on July 14, the Paris prefecture said on Tuesday.

About 11,000 policemen and military police will be deployed in Paris and surrounding areas on the eve of the French national holiday. In addition, 2,000 firefighters will be mobilized for rescue operations, it added.

US President Donald Trump will attend the annual Bastille Day military parade.

Speaking to local media, Paris police chief Michel Delpuech called Trump's participation "a major challenge in the context of high-terror risk," adding that French and US security teams were working on ways to protect the US president.

Delpuech added access to the Champs Elysees will be protected by barriers to thwart vehicle attacks.

In 2016, a man drove a heavy truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in Nice. His truck ploughed 2 km through a mass of revelers before being stopped by police units. According to official data, 84 people were killed, including 10 kids, with 300 others wounded.

Over the past two years, France has been hit by a series of terror attacks.
The Bassmaster Elite Series is coming back to New York in 2018, but the tour's schedule doesn't include a stop in Cayuga County.

The 2018 slate will conclude with a tournament in Waddington, a northern New York village along the St. Lawrence River. It will be the fourth time the village has hosted a Bassmaster Elite Series tournament over a six-year period.

Waddington is one of two New York sites that will host Elite Series tournaments this year. The village will host the HUK Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence presented by Go RVing from July 20 to July 23.

One week later, the pro anglers will compete on Lake Champlain. Plattsburgh will be the host city for the event.

Cayuga Lake and the village of Union Springs hosted Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments in 2014 and 2016. There was never a guarantee that the series would continue to return every other year.

Michael Mulone, director of event and tourism partnerships at B.A.S.S., said Cayuga County is under consideration to host future tournaments.

"We'd be honored to be able to return," he said.

The decision not to hold a tournament on Cayuga Lake in 2018 was due to logistics and a desire to return to Waddington, which set an Elite Series attendance record in 2013.

Mulone praised the state's tourism arm, I Love New York, and Union Springs officials for their past efforts. He said the southern Cayuga County village is one of the smallest locations they've visited on the Elite Series.

"The entire community really rallies around us and does a great event of rolling out the red carpet for us," he said.

Andy Rindfleisch, president of the Union Springs/Springport Chamber of Commerce, said hosting the tournaments paid dividends for the village. Local businesses benefited from the immediate impact of the tournament. And the village, along with Cayuga Lake, received national attention later when the tournament was televised on ESPN.

The ESPN coverage was not only a showcase for the anglers, but a promotional opportunity for Union Springs.

"You could not buy this kind of television exposure," Rindfleisch said.

The lake also received rave reviews from many of the fishermen. Greg Hackney, who won the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on Cayuga Lake in 2014, called it one of the best largemouth bass fisheries in New York state.

The success of past tournaments will keep Cayuga Lake in the discussion. Even if the Elite Series won't return in 2018, it's possible Union Springs won't have to wait long for the tour to return to the village.

"They understand the benefits of us being there and we completely are appreciative of all their efforts to bring us there," Mulone said. "And I'm sure we'll be going back there in the future."
The Minister of Communications Shri Manoj Sinha said that his Ministry is working on a new Telecom Policy which will be application driven as compared to National Telecom Policy, 2012 which was connectivity driven. He said that the new policy has to be focussed on the end users and should look at the newer opportunities for expanding the availability of Telecom services. He said, the advent of high speed data services and enhanced expectations of the users to get real time on-demand bandwidth to run near real time live applications enjoins us to prepare new policies and he underlined that for the first time, the Ministry has decided to involve a large pool of experts from outside the department to get more inputs from the citizens and stakeholders for the new policy.

The Minister said that communications Sector has assumed the position of an essential infrastructure for socio-economic development in an increasingly knowledge-intensive world. He said that as of April 2017, the country has close to 1.2 billion telephone connections, including 1.17 billion wireless telephone connections and similarly witnessed the rapid growth of the broadband connections that now stands at 276.52 million. He said, more than the number, it is heartening to see the six-fold increase in Data traffic in India rom 561 million GB in the first quarter to 2988 million GB in the third quarter of 2016-17, which is a whopping 400 % jump.

Shri Sinha said that while our service providers are rapidly deploying the 4 G technology, his focus is on two important aspects- the need to expand the connectivity to all parts including the north-eastern and Left Wing Extremism affected areas and Secondly to keep an eye on future generation that is 5 G technology and ensure that India plays a key role in standards development and get a healthy share of the innovations and patents in the 5G technology pool. He also said that the FDI equity inflow in telecom sector from April, 2016 to March, 2017 was US $ 5564 million, which is more than four times the average inflow of about 1.3 billion dollars every year since 2013-14.

The Minister said that the digital India program and the digital economy requires underlying connectivity as a pre-requisite and added that as road infrastructure used to be a necessity for development in 19th and 20th century, the information superhighways are a must for growth in the 21st century.

He said that the Indian Telegraph Right of Way Rules, 2016 was notified that further ease the cable laying approval process and helps in Ease of Doing Business for Telecom Service Providers. He also informed that the Department of Telecom has announced the 'Central Equipment Identity Register' last week, which paves the way for setting up of International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) based device registration and authentication that will settle the cases of Mobile Phone Theft to a great extent. The department is also actively considering the TRAI recommendations on addressing Telecom Consumer Grievances and urged the officers to propose a state-of-the-art technology driven solution that records, monitors and provides end-to-end monitoring of every grievance.

Calling for a revisit of the current HR policies of the Government, the Minister said that there has been a recognition that specialized skills have to be drawn from both within the Government system and also from outside wherever possible as the Centre and the States are woefully short of such skilled resources.

Secretary, Telecom Ms Aruna Sundararajan said that world is looking at India as the next growth engine to grow from 7.6 percent to above 10 percent and it requires huge effort by both the government and the private sector. She urged the Department of Telecom to become an Engine of Transformation and to act as infrastructure builder rather than a regulator. Referring to the customer delight as a hallmark of business success, she urged the officials to achieve the target of 700 to 800 million internet penetration in the next five years for achieving the vision of the Prime Minister for a New India. The Secretary also underlined the need for Standard Development in new technology areas and referred to the case of digital payment, where India leapfrogged in setting the next standard.

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At least 11 people, including two suicide bombers, were killed and five others injured in multiple explosions that rocked Nigeria's Maiduguri city.

Four suspected suicide blasts hit the Mulaikalmari and Sabon Gari areas of the city in quick successions late on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Eight people died in the first and second bombings while three others were killed in the subsequent attacks.

Head of the government emergency agency, Satomi Ahmed, confirmed the attacks and said that rescue operations were ongoing in the areas.

A senior security agent suspected that the attacks were carried out by Boko Haram which had been blamed for the deaths of over 20,000 people and displacing of 2.3 million others in Nigeria since their insurgency started in 2009.

The security officer said Boko Haram had attempted to infiltrate Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, after they were chased out of the city.

--IANS

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Two Palestinians were shot dead and another was injured during clashes with Israel's armed forces in Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) tweeted on Wednesday that the incident occurred overnight during an operation in Jenin after "Palestinian assailants opened fire & hurled explosives" at its troops.

"In response, forces shot towards attackers," the IDF was cited by Efe news as saying.

Palestinian news agency Wafa identified the victims as Saad Naser Salah, 21, who was shot in the head and died immediately, and Aous Mohammad Salameh, 17, who died later in hospital.

Medical and local sources reported that another person was injured in the clashes, while online daily Ynet said no injuries were reported among Israeli soldiers.

--IANS

soni/bg

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Up in arms against the CBFC's move to red flag a documentary on Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen because of some words uttered by him in the film, West Bengal's civil society on Wednesday minced no words in terming it "fascism" and a "shameful example of audacity" of the powers that be.

Writers, thespians, historians, film makers were univocal in their condemnation after the Central Board of Film Certification raised objections to four words and expressions - "Gujarat", "Hindu India", "Hindutva" and "cow" - used by the renowned economist and writer in the course of an interview that was part of an hour long documentary by Suman Ghosh.

With Ghosh refusing to mute even a single word, the documentary "An Argumentative Indian" has not been cleared by the censor authorities.

"It is utter foolishness. If people can't express their views, then how can India be called democratic? And the person saying these words in the documentary is globally acclaimed and respected," said thespian Soumitra Chatterjee who was present at a special screening of the documentary on Monday.

"It is not grief, its anger. What else can you expect from those who are dictating what food to eat? This is a form of fascism," he said.

Octogenarian writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay urged the director to move the highest judiciary on the issue.

"There is no question of muting those words as they are not at all objectionable. I feel the director should challenge the CBFC's move in the Supreme Court to teach them a lesson," said Mukhopadhyay, a Sahitya Akedemi awardee.

"The people who cannot take the words of a world famous person like Amartya Sen are not just idiotic but also the flag bearers of a certain political ideology. Everyone should condemn it," he said.

Jnanpith awardee poet Sankha Ghosh was equally severe in his criticism.

"This is a shameful example of the extent to which their audacity has gone," said Ghosh.

Claiming that none of the four words in the film that has triggered the dispute are "obscene", veteran Bengali writer Nananita Deb Sen said by censoring these words the Centre is trying to censor the freedom of speech of Amartya Sen.

"These four words are not obscene or objectionable from any angle. They are used in common conversations all the time. The CBFC is trying to curb freedom of speech without bothering about the logic. Through this censorship they are actually trying to censor Amartya," claimed Deb Sen, also the first wife of the economist.

Historian and academician Sugata Bose said such form of censorship was "undesirable".

"In the present disturbing times, we need to attentively listen to every word that Amartya Sen says. He always gives the message of unity and amity.

"I heard objection was raised about his use of the word 'Gujarat'. But it is a historic truth. Why only Amartya Sen, we all have the right to mention it and criticise it."

Bose, a parliamentarian and Harvard university teacher, also rubbished the CBFC view that use of the words would sully the country's image.

"People are being killed now. I feel people who are orchestrating such incidents are damaging India's image worldwide. But if a message goes out that there are protests and resistance against these vile acts, this will prove that there is still freedom of expression in our country. This will in turn enhance our image worldwide".

The documentary has been structured as a free flowing conversation between Sen and his student and Cornell economics professor Kaushik Basu.

--IANS

mgr/ssp/rn

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Actor Sanjay Dutt-starrer "Torbaaz" is in pre-production and rest of the cast is yet to finalised, says its director Girish Malik.

According to reports, TV actress Ankita Lokhande has been signed for the film.

Asked about it, Malik told IANS: "We are currently doing our pre-production. I don't know Ankita, and apart from Sanjay Dutt, no one else has been signed or even approached."

"Torbaaz", set in Afghanistan, is a story about child suicide bombers who have been trained to believe that killing is a virtue and glory is in the afterlife.

The film is to go on floors in December.

Malik is known for making the 2013 film "Jal", which won the National Award for best special effects.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has claimed that he contacted US President Donald Trump's son to publish via WikiLeaks the emails about setting up a meeting with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Instead, the US President's eldest son did so via Twitter, igniting a firestorm of criticism around his apparent willingness to work with the Russian government against his father's Democratic rival, the Guardian reported.

"Contacted Trump Jr this morning on why he should publish his emails (i.e with us)," tweeted Assange, who is based at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. "Two hours later, does it himself."

Trump Jr released the emails on Tuesday after The New York Times told him they had the documents and would be reporting on them.

Assange said he told Trump Jr to release the documents "because his enemies have it -- so why not the public?"

"Better to be transparent and have the full context," he continued, "but would have been safer for us to publish it anonymously sourced. By publishing it himself it is easier to submit as evidence."

It was not clear whether Assange's use of the word "enemies" was the reference to the media or political rivals, the report said.

The emails reveal correspondence between Trump Jr and his acquaintance Rob Goldstone as they set up a meeting with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who promised to share incriminating evidence on Clinton to help the Trump campaign.

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Trump," Goldstone wrote in one email.

"If it's what you say I love it," Trump Jr said in one reply, referring to the information about Clinton.

Trump Jr said that nothing came out of the meeting and that Veselnitskaya only wanted to talk about a US policy on Russian adoptions.

He denied any wrongdoing in taking the meeting, but lawmakers were vying to get him to testify before House and Senate committees.

US President Trump said in a statement that Trump Jr "is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lavishing praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said the Indian leadership should follow 'dharm' as only then the nation can prosper.

"Bharat ke netritava me dharm aayega tabhi desh ka kalyan hoga," Bhagwat said and defined "dharm" as "truth, compassion and inner conscience which can be attained only through dedication".

Releasing a book on Modi, "The Making of a Legend", in the presence of BJP President Amit Shah, he said Modi has become the Prime Minister and has been able to do a lot but a time may come when one who wants to do something may not become the Prime Minister.

"This can happen. What will we do then? Whether one becomes a Prime Minister or not, we will continue to work with dedication," he said in a speech that was repeatedly cheered by the audience that included Union Ministers Manoj Sinha, Arjun Meghwal, Vijay Sampla, BJP Vice President Om Mathur and Puducherry LG Kiran Bedi and some diplomats.

Complimenting Modi's work as the Prime Minister, Bhagwat said the Indian society has a vice.

"It always needs a contractor. They have got a contractor for society's welfare. But the danger is if you put all the responsibilities on the contractor's head and we sleep... this should not happen."

He said characters of charismatic leaders are written and it is natural that this inspires others.

"Such characters need to be studied thoroughly. Narendra bhai's journey of becoming Chief Minister of Gujarat was for karyakartas and swayamsevaks. If his journey had continued only up to that stage, then we would not have known about it."

He said Modi's journey from Gujarat Chief Minister to Prime Minister is being discussed in the world. "Many people want to know about this journey, and this is worth knowing. But if you think over it, you will realise that his unknown journey till becoming the Gujarat Chief Minister has actually made his journey as Chief Minister and later as Prime Minister so successful."

Praising the Prime Minister, he said despite basking in popularity, Modi is doing his duty and is still the same as he used to be as a person, as a swayamsevak and worker before he became the Chief Minister.

"He is earning name across the world, fame is following him, but it has not changed his personality, actions or leadership."

Bhagwat stressed that he usually doesn't go for book releases but came to release "The Making of a Legend", written by Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak, because of Modi.

The RSS chief said that in the last 1,000-1,500 years, India has slid. "We have to take it to past glory of 2,000 years back and even beyond it. But the government cannot do everything. Every person of the society has to prepare himself."

"Thanks to the traits of his personality, actions and leadership that we are looking at Narendra bhai. It is thanks to the recognition given by you people.

--IANS

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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved upgradation of a 65-km-long National Highway in to boost the state's connectivity with south and southeast Asia via Myanmar.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told reporters that NH-39 from Imphal to Moreh near the Myanmar border would reduce travel time from three-and-a-half hours to one hour and 45 minutes.

"The project is of international importance as it would make it possible to travel from India to Myanmar and even Bangkok by road," Gadkari said.

The Imphal-Moreh Highway would not only boost international trade and business, but would also be important from security point of view, he said.

It is also crucial for socio-economic development in the northeast region which currently has a poor road network, he said.

He said the project would create employment opportunities in and is part of the Asian Highway project.

It is estimated to cost around Rs 1,630 crore.

Gadkari said the northeast region has been a priority for the BJP government which has already started road infrastructure projects worth Rs 50,000 crore in the region.

"Our target is to have projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore by the time we complete our five years," the minister said.

(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.)
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the creation of three posts of directors for three new AIIMS in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra.

The Cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The Cabinet has approved the creation of three posts of directors in the pre-revised scale of Rs 80,000 (fixed) (plus NPA ceiling limit Rs 85,000) for the three new All India Institutes Of Medical Science (AIIMS) at Mangalagiri near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, Kalyani in West Bengal and Nagpur in Maharashtra," said an official statement.

The annual financial implication for each of the posts of the director will be around Rs 25 lakh, as per the Sixth Central Pay Commission.

"As per the AIIMS Act 1956 amended vide AIIMS (Amendment) Act, 2012, there shall be a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the institute," it added.

He shall be designated as the director of the institute and shall be appointed by the institute provided that the institute's first director shall be appointed by the Central government, it said.

"The director shall act as the secretary to the institute as well as the Governing Body and support proper functioning and governance of the three AIIMS," it added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand will answer questions from constituents during a wide-ranging town hall meeting in central New York Friday.

The town hall meeting will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Schine Student Center's Goldstein Auditorium on the Syracuse University campus. The event will be moderated by Bea Gonzalez, vice president for community engagement and special assistant to the chancellor at Syracuse University.

The public is invited to attend, but an RSVP is required. To RSVP, go to gillibrand.senate.gov/test/town-hall-rsvp.

Seating is available on first-come, first-served basis.

It will be first of several town halls Gillibrand plans to hold across the state. The forum won't be limited to a certain subject. A news release said the senator will take questions "on issues ranging from health care to jobs and the economy."

Gillibrand was appointed New York's junior U.S. senator in 2009. She succeeded Hillary Clinton, who became secretary of state in President Barack Obama's administration.

In 2010, Gillibrand won a special election to serve out the final two years of the six-year term in the Senate. She was re-elected to the Senate in 2012.

In the town hall meeting announcement, Gillibrand's office touted her travel across New York and her visits to each of the state's 62 counties. In May, she traveled to Auburn for her first appearance at the newly established Harriet Tubman National Historical Park.

Gillibrand has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, although she's repeatedly said that her focus is on re-election in 2018.

Town hall meetings have become a hot-button issue across the country, including central New York.

U.S. Rep. John Katko, whose district includes Cayuga and Onondaga counties, was challenged by activists to hold open forums after not holding a town hall meeting during his first term in office.

In March, he held a listening session on the opioid and synthetic drug epidemics in Oswego. He participated in a televised town hall meeting in May.

This will be the first town hall meeting Gillibrand has held as a senator. When she was a member of the House of Representatives, she held several forums in her congressional district.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Delhi Police Sub-Inspector on charges of accepting Rs 20,000 bribe to provide the complainant relief in a criminal case being investigated by him, an official said on Wednesday.

Sub-Inspector Deepak Vashist, posted at the Vasant Kunj police station in south Delhi, was booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act after a CBI team caught him red-handed on Tuesday while accepting the bribe through a constable at the police station, the CBI official said.

The CBI team conducted searches at the office and residence of Vashist, who was sent to judicial custody till July 24 on Wednesday by a local court.

--IANS

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China on Wednesday said it was ready to play a "constructive role" in improving India-Pakistan ties over Kashmir, where the "situation has attracted the attention of the international community".

Beijing, which said conflict along the Line of Control (LoC) was not conducive to the South Asia region, however did not say anything on Monday's terror attack on Amaranth Yatra pilgrims in Kashmir.

"Situation in Kashmir has attracted a lot of attention (of the) international community," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said here.

"The conflict near the Line of Control (LoC) of Kashmir will not only harm the peace and stability of both the countries but also the peace and tranquillity of the region," he added.

"China is willing to play a constructive role in improving relations between India and Pakistan."

"We hope that relevant sides can do more things that are conducive to peace and stability in the region and avoid escalating the tensions."

China has publicly maintained neutrality over the Kashmir issue and talked about its "constructive role" earlier too.

However, the state-run media and Chinese think tank experts have suggested that Beijing could help its ally Pakistan in disputes with India over Kashmir.

This week a Chinese expert said the way India was helping Bhutan in Doklam, China too can help Pakistan by sending its army in Kashmir.

Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in a stand-off in Doklam in Sikkim sector which has led to rise in tensions between both sides.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Refusing to be drawn into the controversy triggered by the Censor Board red-flagging a documentary on him due to some words he uttered in the film, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen on Wednesday suggested that the government speak to the shareholders about its disapproval.

"What can I say about this? This film is not made by me. I am the subject of the film and the subject should not be talking about these things. The director Suman Ghosh would say whatever needs to be said," Sen said when reporters sought his reaction on the documentary "An Argumentative Indian" failing to get the nod from the censor authorities.

The hour-long documentary by Ghosh met with objections from the censor board due to words like "cow", "Gujarat", "Hindu" as well as "Hindutva" used by the renowned economist in an interview that is part of the film. The censor board asked the director to mute the words on the plea their usage would "damage the country's image" but Ghosh, however, refused to mute "even a single word".

"I do not want to start a discussion on this. If the government has any disapproval about the film made on me, it has to be discussed with the concerned stakeholders.

"It does not look good for me to say something on this matter," Sen added.

The documentary, structured as a free flowing conversation between Sen and his student and Cornell Economics Professor Kaushik Basu, has already been screened in New York and London. It had a special screening in Kolkata on Monday and was scheduled for release in a number of theatres on Friday.

--IANS

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday questioned RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son-in-law Shailesh Kumar in connection with its probe into over Rs 8,000 crore money laundering case against him and his wife Misa Bharti.

Shailesh Kumar reached the ED headquarters at Khan Market in central Delhi around 10 a.m., following the agency's summons on Tuesday, and was questioned for around eight hours.

Sources in the ED said that he faced questions mostly similar to what his wife was asked on Tuesday during her nine-hour quizzing.

Shailesh Kumar is likely to appear before the ED investigators again on Thursday for further questioning, the sources said.

The ED had earlier on Monday issued summons against Kumar but he skipped it at the time.

The ED officials had on Tuesday questioned Kumar's wife and Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti for over nine hours in the case to find out about her role in relation to the Mishail Printers and Packers Private Ltd, her other finances and her links with arrested Chartered Accountant Rajesh Kumar Agarwal.

Misa Bharti's questioning was related to the Rs 8,000 crore money laundering probe being conducted by the ED against Delhi-based businessmen brothers -- Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain, and others who were alleged to have laundered several thousand crore rupees, using over 90 shell companies.

The firms of Jain brothers, who were arrested by the ED in March on charges of money laundering, dealt with Mishail Printers and Packers Pvt. Ltd., of which Misa Bharti and her husband are alleged to be directors.

The ED said that during investigation it was found that 1,20,000 shares of Mishail Printers and Packers Pvt Ltd were bought during 2007-08 at a rate of Rs 100 per share by four shell companies -- Shalini Holdings Ltd, Ad-Fin Capital Services (India) Pvt. Ltd, Mani Mala Delhi Properties Pvt. Ltd., and Diamond Vinimay Pvt. Ltd.

These shares were then allegedly bought back by Misa Bharti at Rs 10 per share.

According to the ED official, same money was used to purchase a farmhouse in Bijwasan at a low price of Rs 1.41 crore in 2008-09, whereas its actual value was above Rs 50 crore.

The agency's action comes in the wake of the raids it carried out on Saturday at three premises of Misa Bharti, her husband and Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt. Ltd. in connection with the alleged money laundering.

The ED had raided Misa Bharti's premises a day after the CBI raided multiple premises of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo, his wife Rabri Devi and two sons -- Tejashwi and Tej Pratap Yadav -- who are Ministers in the Bihar government.

They were alleged to have received a three-acre plot of land as a quid pro quo for the railways leasing out two of its hotels to a private company when Lalu Prasad was the Railway Minister in the UPA government.

In June, the Income Tax Department had attached over 12 properties of her relatives, including her husband, and brothers under the Benami Act.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Egypt's national carrier announced on Wednesday that the US has lifted the in-cabin ban imposed on the airline regarding carrying of electronic devices larger than a smartphone onboard the aircraft for flights from Cairo to the US.

In recent weeks, the US also lifted the ban imposed on airlines from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, Efe news reported.

EgyptAir explained in a statement that the lifting of the ban is to come into effect immediately for its flights to New York, while it will remain in force for London-bound flights.

In March, the US department of homeland security imposed the in-cabin ban on carrying electronic devices that are larger than a smartphone on flights from majority-Muslim nations in the Middle East and North Africa.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Eight men who robbed people on the streets have been arrested in Ghaziabad, police said on Wednesday.

Five robbers who used to snatch mobiles and other belongings at gun point in Indirapuram area were arrested, Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar said.

Police recovered 11 mobile phones, two motorcycles and a pistol from them.

Separately, police arrested three robbers who were travelling on motorcycles which they had stolen from Vijaynagar area. They were identified as Monu alias Mohan Singh, Sandeep and Rinku.

Police recovered three motorcycles, a pistol, an Aadhar card and valuables they had snatched from a trader on July 8.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Meibomian gland dysfunction -- also known as dry eye syndrome -- is on the rise among women due to excess make-up of the eyes. Though not taken seriously, the condition leads to blepharitis, extreme blurred vision, said doctors.

Latest medical cases revealed that though MGD until now was seen due to ageing, now the trend has changed and it is occurring among young women as well.

"The changing trend of make-ups causing MGD is dangerous. Eyeliner and other make-up usually clog the meibomian glands leading to formation of painless lumps in the eyelids hence obstructing the vision," said Mahipal Sachdev, Director, Centre for Sight, a chain of eye centres in North India.

Elaborating on the condition, Sachadev, who often sees young women with MGD says that the meibomian produce oils that prevent the tears from evaporating quickly. Whenever the glands do not function properly, the blockage in the gland restricts it from producing oil.

"The oil may sometimes thicken leading to cause benign lumps in the eyelids known as chalazion. MGD is the most known and leading cause of dry eye syndrome, blepharitis and in extreme cases loss of vision," said Sachdev.

Medical Sciences says that there are around 40 such glands that produce oil that flows out of the eyes as tears to keep the eyes moistened. Thickening of this oil restricts its flow causing accumulation and blockage, forming a lump in the eyelid. A blocked oil gland causes this condition of red swollen eyelids.

"Around 40 per cent of the women with high usage of eye make-up products tend to get affected with oil gland blockages. Parabens and yellow wax used in mascara and eyeliners to stiffen them to make it waterproof are the same chemicals that also clog the oil glands leading to MGD, chalazion, dry eye syndrome and blepharitis," Parul Sony, senior consultant and director of Gurgram's Complete Eye Care.

Stating that anti-ageing eye creams contain retinoids that has also been linked to thickening and degeneration, Sony said that such make-ups kill the blood cells in the meibomian gland ducts.

A study by Canada's University of Waterloo said people who apply eyeliner on the inner eyelid run the risk of contaminating the eye and causing vision trouble.

--IANS

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Police in the German capital on Wednesday carried out a series of searches and arrests in relation to the recent theft of a Canadian gold coin valued at $4 million, the largest ever minted in the world.

The huge disc, named "Big Maple Leaf" and weighing about 100 kg (221 pounds), was stolen from Berlin's Bode Museum on March 27, Efe news reported.

"We are at the moment conducting searches and executing arrest warrants in several places in Berlin concerning the break-in at the Bode Museum in March," Berlin police said on Twitter.

The coin, minted in 2007 within a very limited series, is made of 99.999 per cent pure gold and has a portrait of British Queen Elizabeth II on one side and a Canadian maple leaf on the other.

It was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest gold coin in 2008.

While the gold's material value is about $4 million, the coin's face value is set at only around $1 million. It was produced by the Royal Canadian Mint.

The robbers are believed to have used a ladder to get into the museum and a wheelbarrow to carry the coin. Last week, police released CCTV footage of suspects at a local train station.

The suspects could be seen crossing the empty train tracks towards Monbijou Park and the James Simon Park, which were connected by a land bridge to the Island of Museums.

The theft was discovered when the ladder as well as the wheelbarrow apparently used to transport the loot were found next to the train tracks.

Police at the time offered a reward of 5,000 euros ($5,743) to anyone providing any clue to help solve the case.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a fresh impetus to its artificial intelligence dreams, Google has acquired Bengaluru-based start-up Halli Labs.

Halli, which means 'village' in Kannada, announced the news in a blog post which was later confirmed by Google.

"Welcome @Pankaj and the team at @halli_labs to Google. Looking forward to building some cool stuff together," tweeted Google's Vice President, Product Managment, Caesar Sengupta on Wednesday.

Founded by Pankaj Gupta, the start-up is focused on building deep learning and machine learning systems.

"We are thrilled to share the news that the Halli Labs team is joining Google," the firm said in a blog post.

"Halli Labs was founded with the goal of applying modern AI and ML techniques to old problems and domains in order to help technology enable people to do whatever it is that they want to do, easier and better," the post added.

According to TechCrunch, Gupta is a data scientist with an interesting history that includes running recommendation and personalisation at Twitter, and a role as CTO at now-defunct Indian Airbnb rival Stayzilla, among other entrepreneurial ventures.

"Well, what better place than Google to help us achieve this goal. We will be joining Google's 'Next Billion Users' team to help get more technology and information into more people's hands around the world. We couldn't be more excited!" wrote the Halli Labs team.

Halli Labs is applying modern machine learning (ML) techniques to old problems and domains to help technology march on in its timeless purpose - "that of giving superhuman powers to all of us humans in letting us do whatever we want to do, better".

"We are excited that the Halli Labs team is joining Google. They'll be joining our team that is focused on building products that are designed for the next billion users coming online, particularly in India," Google said in a statement given to TechCrunch.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who stars as Jaime Lannister in "Game of Thrones", says its cast might get tattoos to celebrate the end of the series.

In an interview to Haute Living magazine, the 46-year-old actor discussed "Game of Thrones", and admitted that he didn't think the series would be such a success, reports dailymail.co.uk.

"Kit Harrington suggested that all who survive from the original cast should get tattoos," Coster-Waldau said referring to the actor who plays Jon Snow.

"I'm sure some will get them - I know Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) already have matching tattoos from the day they got the job," he added.

Coster-Waldau is tight lipped about the upcoming seventh season, which will debut on July 16 in the US. It will premiere in India on Star World and Star World HD on July 18.

--IANS

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RJD leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday said the state's ruling Grand Alliance is intact and will remain so, after attending his first cabinet meeting since the CBI raids against him.

Tejashwi, the younger son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, said allegations of corruption against him were lies and a conspiracy of the BJP led by Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Mere upar lage arop jhuthe hain. Yeh aarop nahi, yeh sajish hai BJP ka," Tejashwi told the media after attending a Bihar cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here. With this statement, Tejaswi has made it clear that he will not resign.

Tejaswi also said he strongly believes in zero tolerance for corruption.

Yadav said he will go to the people to explain how and why the BJP, led by Shah and Modi, has conspired against him. "This allegation is of 2004 when I was merely 14 years old, and my moustache and beard had not begun to sprout on my face. Do you think a minor like me would have committed a scam?"

"Kya 14 saal ka bachcha ghotala kar sakta ya karega? Us samay mere darhi ya much bhi nahi nikla tha," he said.

Tejashwi said: "Mahagathbandhan atut (intact) hai, rahega aur chalta rahega. Some people including a section of media are disappointed over no reports of a break up in the alliance."

The ruling Grand Alliance, comprising Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress, is headed by Nitish Kumar.

Tejashwi said that since he became Deputy Chief Minister there have been no corruption allegations against him.

He said "Earlier the BJP was afraid of Laluji but now they are afraid of me, a 28-year-old man."

His statement to the media came a day after the JD-U, headed by Nitish Kumar, put pressure on Tejashwi, named accused in a CBI case in connection with benami property, to step down.

JD-U's major ally RJD, which has 80 legislators, is adamant that Tejashwi will not resign.

"After JD-U's stand, the RJD has decided that Tejashwi will not resign," RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav said on Wednesday.

However, JD-U spokesperson Ajay Alok on Wednesday said: "FIR darj hone ke baad court aur janta dono ko jawab dena hota hai. Mahagathbandhan chalane ki jimmedari sabki hai (After an FIR is filed, one has to reply to the court and the public. Running the Mahagathbandhan is the responsibility of everyone)."

According to sources in the RJD, after Lalu Prasad returned from Ranchi on Tuesday, an emergency meeting of senior RJD leaders including ministers and MLAs was held late in the night at his official 10, Circular Road residence, in which it was decided that Tejashwi will not resign. "In view of the JD-U's stand, we have decided that Tejashwi will not step down," another RJD leader said.

On Tuesday, the JD-U made it clear that it will not compromise with corruption and crime

Nitish Kumar said his government will do its own work and the law will do its own.

"Main apne sidhanto se samjhauta nahi karunga, main corruption ke khilaf zero tolerance par kayam hun (I will not compromise with my principles of zero tolerance against corruption)," Nitish Kumar told his party leaders and workers at his official residence here.

Lalu Prasad, his wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi have been named as accused in a CBI case relating to transfer of three acres of prime land in Patna to the family by two businessmen allegedly in return for licences to run two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri when the RJD chief was Railways Minister.

(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.)
Greenpeace East Asia on Wednesday said that illegal mining and road construction is going on in the Konglong River Nature Reserve in Chinas south-western Yunnan province.

It said that it uncovered this through satellite imagery analysis and fieldwork.

The Konglong River Nature Reserve forms part of China's last remaining habitat of the endangered green peafowl.

"The green peafowl's numbers in China have fallen to less than 500, and it is listed as a class one protected animal," Greenpeace said in a statement.

It called for an immediate assessment of the green peafowl's habitat and asked the Yunnan provincial government to delineate ecological protection zones accordingly.

"The mining activity in this area is in flagrant disregard of the law, endangering a protected habitat and contributing to the threat of extinction of one of the world's rarest birds," Greenpeace East Asia forests campaigner Yi Lan said.

"The Yunnan provincial government needs to urgently draw up its ecological red lines to protect this internationally important bird. China and the world are watching."

Greenpeace said it also found that two roads servicing a hydropower project had been built in Konglong River Nature Reserve, one of which extends into the reserve's core area.

According to the statement, Greenpeace used data from Global Forest Watch and high-resolution remote-sensing images from satellites Quick Bird and SPOT 6, in addition to conducting on-site fieldwork, to monitor and analyse the green peafowl's habitat.

"Under China's guidelines on 'ecological red lines' issued in February 2017 by the state council, all provinces must draw up ecological protection boundaries by 2018.

"Ecological functions within these boundaries must be protected from exploitation and damaging development," it said.

Greenpeace called upon Yunnan's government to initiate an immediate assessment of the green peafowl numbers and habitat in Shuangbai and Xinping counties and "for ecological red lines to be drawn up to prevent any further threat to the endangered green peafowl".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) on Wednesday said it has set a revenue target of Rs 17,900 crore for 2017-18, projecting a mere 2.8 per cent year-on-year growth over Rs 17,406 crore posted in the last fiscal.

"We have signed an agreement with the Defence Ministry, with a revenue target of Rs 17,900 crore for 2017-18 from operations," said the company in a statement here.

The annual pact, signed by HAL Chairman and Managing Director T. Suvarna Raju and Defence Production Secretary Ashok Kumar Gupta in New Delhi on Tuesday, has also set targets for performance parametres by the company's various divisions.

"The capital expenditure will be Rs 1,300 crore for capacity building, modernisation and setting up of solar power plants," said the statement.

As part of the government's 'Make in India' initiative, the company will roll out Hindustan Turboprop Trainer-40 (HTT-40), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Light Utility Helicopter (LUH).

"Clearance by the aviation regulator DGCA for the civil version of Dornier (Do-228) aircraft, Jaguar upgrade and Mirage 2000 upgrade are targetted this year," added the statement.

The company began the year with orders valued at Rs 21,000 crore, that includes 12 Do-228 aircraft and 32 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) for the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard and AL-31 FP engines for the Indian Air Force's Su 30 MKI fighters.

--IANS

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Amid the stand-off on the border with China, Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said that India is today better equipped to meet challenges than it was in 1962.

To a question on the situation on the border with China, where troops of both countries are engaged in a stand-off, Singh said that "India today is not the India of 1962", when it lost the war.

India today is much different and much better equipped to meet any challenge, he said.

His comments reiterate what Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said a few days ago that the India of 2017 is different from the India of 1962.

Jitender Singh's comments come as China on Wednesday demanded that India withdraw its troops from Doklam in the Sikkin sector as a precondition for dialogue.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said in Beijing that the trespass by Indian troops in Doklam was different from the "frictions in the undefined sections of the boundary" between India and China.

Geng said what has happened in Doklam is a dispute. He dismissed Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar's remarks that differences over the border between India and China had occurred in the past also and were resolved.

--IANS

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An Indian-origin boy with an allergy to dairy products has died after suffering a severe reaction to a piece of cheese allegedly forced on him in his school, prompting an investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

Karanbir Cheema, 13, died on Sunday after he suffered a severe reaction to the piece of cheese at his school in Greenford, west London, last month during a break, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

It has been claimed the boy was "forced to eat" the cheese but others said it was "flicked at his face" while his mother claimed the food was "rubbed against his neck", according to reports.

Cheema's mother demanded answers about whether her son was bullied.

A 13-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and was released on bail pending further inquiries and the case was passed to homicide officers.

Cheema's father, Amarjeet, told the Evening Standard newspaper that he was heartbroken. "We were in hospital I had to watch him die, no parent should have to go through that," he said.

"My son had allergies but he was very careful. He had an allergy to dairy products but was good at avoiding them. I don't see how a piece of cheese hitting him could have killed him. We have been told very little."

A postmortem was scheduled for Wednesday to establish the cause of what the Met described as "an unexplained death".

The head of William Perkin C of E high school, where Karanbir was a pupil, said he was treated immediately in the school before paramedics arrived.

However, the deceased boy's mother Rina demanded answers as to how her son, who led a normal life despite his allergies, had managed to become exposed to the cheese.

She claimed police and the school kept her in the dark about the events which led to Cheema's death.

"I want answers, I want to get to the bottom of what happened, I will be asking the school if he was bullied but my son was very popular, you could not help but like that child, he never made enemies."

Cheema was allergic to wheat, gluten, all dairy products, eggs and all nuts and his condition was well-known at school, said the report.

Alice Hudson, executive headteacher of the school, told the Evening Standard that the boy on June 28 had come to the school office to tell staff that he was having a bad reaction to some cheese and staff gave him medication kept specially for him.

But his condition quickly worsened and he was rushed to hospital, she said.

Hudson said: "He had many friends who are devastated at his death, as are the staff. He was a bright and keen student who excelled in maths. Our thoughts and prayers are with Karan's family."

--IANS

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When it comes to international destination, Bali and Krabi find top spot in the list for Indian travellers, say experts.

In India, they prefer to go to Havelock and Kasol.

Experts at online travel companies MakeMyTrip, Gofro and Abhijit Mishra, Country Director India at KAYAK, have listed out the trends catching up this year during the rainy season.

* 27 per cent more trips are being made by Indians this monsoon compared to last year. This year 60 per cent more Indians are or have travelled to international destinations during monsoon.

* Top leisure destinations during this period are Goa, Manali, Mysore, Ooty, Shimla, Munnar, Kochi, Mahabaleshwar and Nainital while Havelock, Kasol, Neemrana, Silvassa and Lansdowne are few fastest growing destination this season.

Top international destinations continue to be the short haul destinations like Dubai, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia while the fastest growing international destinations during the monsoon period are a mix of short and long haul destinations. With highest growth seen for Bali, Krabi, Toronto, Seychelles and Seoul.

* Kerala remains the preferred location for Indian travellers planning their domestic holidays. Roughly 30 per cent of the travellers search for Kerala bookings. This can be derived from the serenity and vastness offered by the beaches of Kovalam and Varkala and the lush hill retreats of Munnar and Vagamon.

* Goa remains pretty stable during the entire season with approximately 25 per cent searches for this all year round destination.

* The general searches for domestic destinations have increased at an average of 30 per cent month on month.--IANS

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A senior IAS official in Jharkhand, who was appointed Commissioner of the North Chhotanagpur Division, has been served with a final warning for not accepting the new post.

According to a letter issued by the Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Rajbhasha, as per its notification on June 13, the then Panchayati Raj Secretary Vandana Dadel was transferred as the Commissioner of North Chhotanagpur division. But despite being notified 28 days ago, she is yet to assume charge.

After the notification, Dadel on June 15 had applied for cancellation of her transfer, citing child care as the reason. After review, the government rejected her application on June 24.

The department said that as the officer was not interested in taking charge, she was making an excuse in the name of child care, adding that she had already availed 56 days of leave for child care.

The department said that as Dadel failed to assume her office, law and order problems were witnessed in Hazaribagh and Ramgarh districts.

"In wake of the reasons of not obeying orders of the government, it has been decided to cancel her leave and give her a last chance to assume office as the Commissioner of the division as soon as possible or else she would be facing disciplinary action," it said.

Interestingly, the 1996 batch officer had questioned Chief Minister Raghubar Das' statement on religious conversion of tribals in October last year.

--IANS

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The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA)'s Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind will arrive here on Saturday on a brief campaign visit for the ensuing July 17 presidential elections, an official said on Wednesday.

Kovind will reach Mumbai airport by 10 a.m. where he will be welcomed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Raosaheb Danve.

Later, he will go to the Garware Club at Churchgate, where top BJP leaders and other NDA leaders will receive him. He will address a meeting of legislators and parliamentarians there.

He will depart from Mumbai in the afternoon.

In Maharashtra, the NDA constituents, comprising BJP, Shiv Sena, Republican Party of India (A) and other smaller parties, have announced support for Kovind.

Polling for the Presidential election -- in which Kovind is challenged by the united opposition candidate Meira Kumar -- will be held on July 17 and the results will be announced on July 20.

--IANS

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Two Auburn High School students missed their graduation last month, but for what some would call a good reason: They were performing at Carnegie Hall that night.

Rose Morabito and Sheelan Mirza played with the Syracuse Youth Orchestras at the world-famous New York City venue for the 2017 Viennese Master Invitational, in which the group and four other select orchestras  including ones from California and Indiana  played the work of composers from Vienna.

The 16-year-old Mirza who plays the violin, an instrument she's been working with since she was 4  said the entire experience was surreal.

"I thought only people like Yo-Yo Ma got to perform (at Carnegie Hall), not random youth orchestras from Syracuse," Mirza said with a laugh.

The opportunity to perform on the same stage once graced by Mark Twain and The Beatles also wasn't lost on Morabito, 18.

"You just kind of can't believe it when you walk out on stage," she said.

Other Cayuga County-area residents in the orchestra who performed at the hall include percussionist Jessi Menotti, who graduated from Port Byron's school district last month; violinist and Skaneateles junior Nolan Meier; and Skaneateles High School orchestra conductor Karen Veverka, who served as the conductor for the Syracuse Youth String Orchestra for younger students.

Despite the stress of the situation, Mirza said Syracuse Youth Orchestras conductor Dr. James Tapia's confidence in the performers kept her buoyed, as they had rehearsed for months. She figured if Tapia didn't think anything would go awry, none of the orchestra members had reason to be worried either.

Mirza got involved with the orchestra partially because her older brother, Shadman, who played cello, joined the group when he was old enough. She originally joined the youth string orchestra.

The graduate is off to New York University to major in biology, though she specifically chose a school that has a top-notch orchestra so she could continue playing. The work ethic demonstrated by everyone in the Syracuse group impressed her, she said.

"I think for me, especially being in an ensemble like that, it was nice to finally be in a space where everyone cares about the same thing and has the same goal," Mirza said.

All in all, Mirza felt good about her 25 minutes under those stage lights.

"I think that performance (contained) the least amount of mistakes I've ever made," she said. "I think we were so determined to be the best that we could be that we actually were."

Unlike Mirza, Morabito became involved in music a bit later, acquiring a violin at a garage sale when she was 13. She learned it through YouTube tutorials before joining her school's orchestra in ninth grade. Still, she had no idea where one purchase would lead her.

"I never would have thought (I would go to Carnegie Hall) five years ago when I first picked it up, never in a million years," she said.

Morabito said she didn't have problems recalling how to perform the pieces once she took her seat, attributing it to muscle memory after practicing the songs so much. She experienced some nerves at the time because she was on "the biggest stage ever," but she felt she did fine.

Directing all of those young minds on stage was conductor James Tapia, who said he didn't work with Mirza and Morabito individually, but was more than happy to speak to their professionalism and hard work as parts of the ensemble. He said he felt each student was personally invested in the performance, as they rehearsed each Sunday. He added that "individual preparation is imperative" in such an environment.

Morabito, who's heading to SUNY Geneseo to study early childhood and elementary education, doesn't regret performing that night instead of moving her graduation cap's tassel from right to left.

"Because it's Carnegie hall," she said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Accusing the Centre of trying to muzzle every opposition voice in the country, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday condemned the CBFC's proposal to mute certain words from the documentary on Nobel Laureate and Economist Amartya Sen.

"Every single voice of the opposition is being muzzled. Now, Dr Amartya Sen," Banerjee wrote on Twitter. "If somebody of his stature cannot express himself freely, what hope does the common citizen have."

The Chief Minister's comments came in the wake of a recent controversy centring on director Suman Ghosh's documentary "The Argumentative Indian" based on Sen.

According to the filmmaker, the Central Board of Film Certification officials in Kolkata verbally asked him to mute at least four words including 'cow' and 'Gujarat' from Sen's interview in the film.

--IANS

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Accusing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of following of repression and appeasement, the BJP on Wednesday said innocent citizens are being targeted and compelled to flee.

"There is a clear conspiracy by the ruling TMC (Trinamool Congress) to terrorise a section of the society of the area, to chase them out, and to attack and batter into silence supporters and workers of opposite political parties," Bharatiya Janata Party Spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said at a press conference here.

Lekhi was part of the three-member delegation, formed by party President Amit Shah, which was stopped en route to the troubled area in North 24 Parganas's Basirhat. The BJP leaders were detained by police.

"The of repression and appeasement is being followed by Mamata Banerjee. TMC unleashed a cycle of violence in the state in which innocent citizens are being targeted with their homes and hearths being destroyed, their shops and markets gutted, their places of worship vandalised, compelling them to flee," she said.

Violence erupted between two communities at Baduria on the night of July 3 over a Facebook post by a youth.

Lekhi said the recent event at Basirhat was the latest in a series of incidents of violence in which the ruling TMC and its leaders are complicit.

"The TMC leaders have abetted, ignored or actively fanned the flames of violence. Basirhat is not an isolated incident, it is the latest in a series of such violent mob attacks that have taken place, in regular intervals over the last two years and the list is getting longer by the day.

"From the Kharagarh blasts in Burdwan in 2014, to the Nadia clashes in 2015, to Kaliachak and Dhulagarh in 2016 to Basirhat in 2017, a pall of violence and of repression has descended across the state of West Bengal and in all of these conflagrations the connivance of the ruling dispensation in the state and of its leaders is clearly visible," she said.

Slamming Banerjee for dragging central forces into the controversy, Lekhi said that the Chief Minister asked for deployment of central forces and later refused when they arrived.

"It is deplorable that she even chose to drag our central law enforcing and others agencies into her by blaming them for the situation in Basirhat while it is a clear case of the state government's ineptitude, its inability to enforce law and order that points to a complete collapse of governance in various regions of the state," she said.

--IANS

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A man returning to Delhi from a Ghaziabad court after attending a case involving a parking lot was shot dead by seven men, police said on Wednesday.

The shooting took place near Hindon barrage when Mintu, a resident of Ghazipur in Delhi, was returning home with a friend in his van.

As the vehicle reached the spot, the criminals riding three motorcycles forced the driver to halt and opened indiscriminate fire.

A severely bleeding Mintu and his driver Nagendra Singh were rushed to a hospital where doctors declared Mintu dead. The driver is reportedly in critical condition.

Mintu has been in dispute with a Dharamvir Sethi over a parking lot in Indirapuram here. "We are investigating the case," said Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar.

--IANS

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A massive manhunt has been launched in Jammu and for Pakistani LeT terrorist Muhammad Abu Ismail, who, according to police sources, headed the group that attacked a bus carrying Amarnath yatris, killing seven pilgrims.

Police sources here said the 26-year old Ismail infiltrated into the Valley two years back and has since been carrying on terror activities in south area.

"Abu Ismail with at least one foreign terrorist and two to three local terrorists of LeT carried out the attack on the Yatra bus on Monday," said a source, adding information based on intercepts indicates that the attack was planned by him too.

"The terrorists came on two motorcycles and fired at least a hundred rounds from their automatic weapons at the bus at two places.

"After the first attack, the terrorists chased the bus and fired at it for the second time," said a source, noting that although investigations into the terror attack were in the initial stages, yet the involvement of Abu Ismail had been established beyond any doubt.

Police believe the attack was carried out in revenge against the arrest of LeT terrorist Sandeep Kumar Sharma who had been produced before the media by the police.

Sharma, according to police, was involved in the killing of an SHO and five policemen in Achabal area of Anantnag district last month.

--IANS

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The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, gave its approval to raise the retirement age of medical officers working with paramilitary forces under the Union Home Ministry.

The age limit for the general duty and specialist medical officers of the paramilitary forces has been increased from 60 to 65 years, a Home Ministry statement said.

"It would help in retention of officers in specialist and general duty medical cadre and thereby help in better patient care, proper academic activities in medical colleges and also in effective implementation of national health programmes for delivery of health care services," the statement said.

The paramilitary forces are Assam Rifles (AR), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security Guard (NSG) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

--IANS

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To take Internet services to rural America, Microsoft is reportedly planning to harness the unused channels or bandwidth between television broadcasts, known as "white spaces".

The software giant intends to start a white spaces broadband service in 12 states, including Arizona, Kansas, New York and Virginia, to connect two million rural Americans in the next five years who have limited or no access to high-speed Internet," The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Microsoft President Brad Smith hailed "white spaces" as "the best solution for reaching over 80 per cent of people in rural America who lack broadband today".

The white spaces technology is also called "Super Wi-Fi," owing to its similarity to regular Wi-Fi except that it provides far longer range using low-powered television channels.

To support its plan, Microsoft is reportedly appealing to federal and state regulators to guarantee the use of unused television channels and investments in promoting the technology in rural areas.

"The company is not planning to get into telecom service providing business directly, but will work with local Internet service providers like Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities in Virginia and Axiom Technologies in Maine by investing in them," the report noted.

However, the company will have to overcome some challenges such as economic viability of the project owing to the cost of devices and infrastructure.

Several television broadcasters have also opposed this move, fearing interference with the broadcasts run on neighbouring channels.

--IANS

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Bahujan Samaj Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday accused the central government of 'politically blackmailing' the opposition parties.

Giving examples of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and ministers of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Mayawati said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is misusing government machinery like the CBI, the Income Tax Department, the Enforcement Directorate, etc.

"The NDA government at the Centre is using various tactics to break the unity of the opposition parties and politically blackmail them. It is also openly misusing government machinery like the CBI, Income Tax Department, ED, etc," she said in a statement.

"Malicious action against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and ministers of the Rashtriya Janata Dal is solid evidence of this. The leaders and supporters of BJP have been given full freedom to indulge in all types of crime, and no noose is tightening on them. This is a matter of worry for the country and democracy," she said.

--IANS

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Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "policies created the space for terrorists" in the Kashmir Valley and called it a strategic blow for India.

"Modi's policies have created the space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India," Gandhi said on Twitter.

He also said that the short-term political gain for Modi from the alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir had cost India dear.

"Short-term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively. Modi's personal gain equals India's strategic loss plus sacrifice of innocent Indian blood."

Gandhi's latest salvo against the Prime Minister came two days after seven pilgrims were killed when militants opened fire at a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

--IANS

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Nagaland Minister Yitachu on Wednesday hit out Governor P.B.Acharya for asking Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu to prove his majority, holding that resolving the current turbulence within the ruling NPF on the floor of the assembly is not in accordance with democratic and parliamentary practices.

His statement came a day after the Governor directed Liezietsu to prove his majority by July 15 in wake of demands from within the ruling Naga People's Front (NPF) to step down and the claim submitted by former Chief Minister T.R Zeliang to form the new government, stating that he commands support of 34 legislators and seven Independent legislators in the 60-member assembly, where one seat is vacant.

"The present crisis is purely internal party affair. The issue of leadership in the NPF Party is different from the leadership in the government i.e Chief Minister. When it comes to leadership in the party, it has to be decided in the party forum, and the issue cannot be taken to the Governor's office, or in the Assembly," said Yitachu, who is also the government spokesman.

".. If there is a legislature party leadership issue among the four BJP legislators in the state, will the governor summon the House to resolve the BJP legislature party leadership issue?.

"If the answer is 'No', then in that case, no matter what the number of dissident NPF legislators may be, the legislature party leadership issue in the NPF cannot be decided by the Governor's office, or on the floor of the assembly."

Moreover, Yitachu said that if Zeliang claims to have the support of a majority, he should take up the issue with the party first, instead of approaching the Governor.

The rebellion within the legislature party erupted as some members accused Liezietsu of indulging in "nepotism" by appointing his son Khriehu Liezietsu as his advisor with cabinet status and pay. However, Khriehu, who had resigned from the Northern Angami-I assembly seat last month to enable his father to enter the assembly in order to continue as Chief Minister, had on Monday declined the appointment.

Meanwhile Zeliang said that he is prepared for the floor test.

--IANS

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With digitisation gaining pace, there is a dire need to invest in new-age data centre and networking technology and Intels new 'Xeon Scalable' processors can help the country undergo digital transformation faster, a top Intel executive said here on Wednesday.

Terming it the company's "biggest innovation in a decade in data centre space," Prakash Mallya, Managing Director, Sales and Marketing Group at Intel India, launched Intel 'Xeon Scalable' processors in India, stressing that with this technology, the country can capitalise on the global trends and leapfrog other mature markets in becoming a leader in technology adoption.

"As India Inc increases its investment in technology, the country's data centre and network infrastructure will undergo a massive transformation. Emerging use cases in the financial, healthcare and academic sectors will necessitate agile networks that can interpret and implement decisions based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), High Performance Computing (HPC) and soon, 5G," Mallya told IANS.

"Intel 'Xeon Scalable' processors will address the increasingly complex and varied needs of the data centre, enabling customers deliver next-generation business and consumer experiences through unparalleled performance, security and agility," he added.

Intel 'Xeon Scalable' processors are uniquely architected for the evolving data centre and network infrastructure.

These processors are designed to support an expanding range of existing and emerging data centre and network workloads, including cloud computing, 5G-ready networks, HPC and AI, delivering 2.2 times the performance over its predecessor.

According to the company, it has already sold more than 500,000 'Xeon Scalable' processors to its several customers with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and cloud service provider NxtGen being early adopters in India.

The new line-up that include Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze processors, offers different levels of performance capabilities and supports various needs of the computer-hungry tasks, including real-time analytics and virtualised infrastructure.

Mallya said Intel's new portfolio of data centre processors will provide businesses with the richest suite of platform feature innovations that deliver significant performance increases across key workloads.

The new processors offer 138 times deep learning performance gains and 113 times inference gains, meaning customers can do more inference on general-purpose hardware without the need for specialised accelerators.

With faster virtual reality (VR) content rendering, the processors also help creators create more rich content in less time.

The 'Xeon Scalable' processors provide security without compromise. With near-zero overhead for data at rest encryption, a user does not have to choose between security and performance.

Talking about the security, Vikram K, Senior Director of Data Centre and Hybrid Cloud at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) India, said: "Powered by new Intel 'Xeon Scalable' processors, our 'ProLiant Gen10' server portfolio features an innovative firmware security mechanism that we call the 'silicon root of trust,' which enables detection of malware and creates a resilient industry-standard server infrastructure."

According to Vivek Sharma, Director of Data Center Group at Lenovo India, with Intel's new processors, the company's new 'ThinkSystem' and 'ThinkAgile' brands will empower the customers with reliable, agile and best performing data centre solutions.

Intel also introduced "Intel Select Solutions" aimed at simplifying and speeding the deployment of data centre and network infrastructure.

--IANS

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AUBURN  The fate of the Cayuga County Office Building in downtown Auburn is once again on the minds of legislators, and one proposal has come forward to examine constructing a new building in the current building's parking lot.

Legislator Ben Vitale passed along a letter to legislators at the Public Works Committee from C&S Companies after he requested them to study the potential for a new building at the county parcels of 160 and 168 Genesee St. At the committee meeting Tuesday night, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds Gary Duckett said the 168 Genesee St. parcel was the center parking lot.

Legislators expressed some confusion over which parcel was intended for the study, but C&S said for $4,600 it would do the following: determine zoning and development regulations for the two lots, prepare a site sketch with a new building on the vacant parcel including proposed parking and consider future uses of the existing county office building on 160 Genesee St.

The building has been the center of various discussions for years, but more recently after Wendel Energy Services completed an energy audit of all of the county's buildings. In an unofficial estimate, Duckett said, the firm had suggested that the cost of renovating the current building would be in the $11 million range, and building a new building would cost in the $25-$26 million range.

Renovation costs are estimated to be high due to asbestos throughout the building. Even something such as replacing windows cannot be done without going through an abatement process.

Legislators had been considering putting a new county office building on the Sennett campus on County House Road, among several other options, and Legislator Andy Dennison was perplexed Tuesday night about the sudden new proposal for them to consider. Dennison said he'd been asked to be on a committee to examine the various county buildings, but as far as he knew, the committee had never met, or he had been uninvited.

"Who's making these decisions?" he said. "We seem to be going in the direction of the $25 million (new building). I'm not going to my taxpayers and telling them that in my district, and it seems that's the direction we're pushing hard for."

Legislator Grant Kyle said the proposal was meant to give a fuller picture of one of the options the county had been considering.

"It's $4,600 for a $25 million problem," he said. "Sounds like a good trade off to get some information."

Legislator Tucker Whitman took issue with C&S Services, saying that he didn't like previous work the company had done for the county. He asked if any other companies had been approached to conduct the study, but it was not clear Tuesday night if any others had.

Committee Chair Terry Baxter said it was his intention that the committee propose the contract as a resolution, but no one would offer it up. The proposal is expected to be discussed at the upcoming Ways and Means Committee meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 18.

In other news:

 Jeanine Wilson, director of the Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority, said the organization is ready to map out the county's water and sewer systems and search for a second source of drinking water, but delays from the state keep the project from moving forward.

Legislator Tim Lattimore said considering the toxic blue-green algae blooms in Owasco Lake, it's critical that the county have a back-up system to get drinking water. The water and sewer authority had received a $100,000 grant from the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council to complete that study, but Wilson said the plan is still waiting to be signed by the state comptroller's office.
Nine leading crusaders working in the field of water conservation were honoured at the day-long Rin Lokmat Water Summit 2017, an official said here on Wednesday.

Vijay Kumar Honmute and Ankush Padwale, both hailing from Solapur, were among those honoured at the event on Tuesday.

Honmute launched a water saving initiative with public participation, and Padwale made valuable efforts towards water conservation.

Also honoured were Rahul Jivani for his contribution in water conservation in Yavatmal, 'Jaldoot' Anil Chougule who has launched a campaign for 'Avoid Water Wastage, Reuse Water, Use Water Wisely', and Hemant Patil of Jalgaon who invested his own money to save 15 crore litres of water.

Priyadarshan Bhatewara, who harvests more than one lakh litres of water every monsoon in Nashik and built a water pond in Ahmednagar, Suresh Kharawan for his water conservation works in Washim, Dyandev Pachpute for water harvesting in 100 homes in Kolhapur, and Suresh Patil who cleared silt from Khadakwasla dam in Pune doubling its capacity, were among the other prominent crusaders honoured at the event.

The summit was organised by Lokmat Group of newspapers along with Rin, a well-known detergent brand, and culminated in a water conservation movement called 'Jalsamruddh Maharashtra'.

Prominent personalities including Rajendra Singh -- the Water Man of India, Lokmat Media Editor-in-Chief Rajendra Darda, Maharashtra Ministers Girish Mahajan, Ram Shinde and Babanrao Lonikar, and Hindustan Unilever Ltd CEO Sanjiv Mehta spoke at the summit.

The summit had three major sessions to discuss in-depth "Maharashtra's Innovative Approaches to Water Management and Conservation", "Clean and Safe Drinking Water: A Must for a Healthy Population" and "Finding Practical Solutions to Meet the Water Challenges", a spokesperson said.

The summit, intended to create mass awareness of conserving the valuable water resources in the state, was supported by the Maharashtra government's Water Resources Department and Knowledge Partner H2Life.

--IANS

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Nine Islamic State (IS) militants were killed when the Afghan air force struck their hideout in Kunar province, the police said on Wednesday.

"The strike took place in Gamber locality of Watapur district on Tuesday," Xinhua news agency quoted police chief Juma Gul Hemat as saying.

Among those killed in the strike were two local IS leaders Nora and Zia-ul-Haq in addition to IS weapons and cash facilitator Rahim Ullah, he said.

The mountainous province, 180 km east of Kabul, has been the scene of clashes between security forces and the IS since the emergence of the extremist group in eastern Afghan region in early 2015.

Afghan forces have beefed up security operations against militants recently as the war-weary Afghans have been witnessing a surge in attacks by Taliban and the IS across the country.

--IANS

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The Odisha government on Wednesday increased the financial assistance or pension given to the war veterans, who fought in the Second World War, and for their widows from Rs 1,000 to Rs 6,000 per month.

"Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved a proposal to increase the pension amount from Rs 1,000 a month to Rs 6,000 a month," said a release from Chief Minister's Office on Wednesday.

"About 483 persons will be benefited by the government's decision. The state will now bear Rs 29 lakh per annum in this regard," said sources in the finance department.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A leading Pakistani newspaper on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to "do the right thing (in) democracy and step aside, at least temporarily" in view of the corruption charges he faces.

The Dawn admitted in an editorial that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report submitted to the Supreme Court on the Sharif family's assets held abroad as revealed by the Panama Papers was not a perfect document.

"But the JIT report has laid out a number of very serious and specific allegations against Prime Minister Sharif and his children. Simply, no democratic order ought to have a Prime Minister operating under such a dark cloud of suspicion," it said.

It said the ruling PML-N party may urge Sharif to stay on in office and Sharif may be tempted to do so, "but the toll on democracy would be too great.

"The Prime Minister has a clear alternative: step aside, fight whatever charges are brought against him or his children in court and, if he is eventually cleared of the charges, he can seek a return to office as the law permits."

The Dawn admitted that stepping aside now would not be an admission of guilt.

But Pakistan "does not need and cannot afford the distraction of an incumbent Prime Minister fighting corruption charges in the courts".

The editorial found fault with the Sharif family in not going the extra mile to provide evidence and explanations to the satisfaction of the investigators.

"Sharif may have his doubts about the fairness of the system, but the system has doubts about him. The system must prevail over the personal."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Palmeiras have struck a deal with Spain's Levante to sign forward Deyverson on a five-year contract, the reigning Brazilian Serie A champions.

The 26-year-old, who is still in Spain, will undergo a medical and complete paperwork in Sao Paulo later this week, Xinhua news agency quoted Palmeiras as saying on their official website on Tuesday.

The club did not reveal the financial details of the transfer.

Deyverson scored seven goals in 32 La Liga appearances last season for Alaves, where he was on a season-long loan.

His career has also included spells at Germany's FC Koln and Portugal's Benfica.

Palmeiras are currently fifth in Brazil's Serie A standings, 13 points behind leaders Corinthians.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor Randeep Hooda on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop construction of roads and encroachment in tiger reserves as this will destroy the animal's natural habitat.

Randeep took to Twitter: "Making roads and encroachment in tiger reserves will destroy them overtime. Narendra Modi, Nitin Gadkari (Union Transport Minister), please."

The "Highway" star also warned of fights over water in the future.

"(A total of) 750 rivers originate from our tiger reserves. If not taken care of, we will be fighting over drinking water, not caste and religion in the future," Randeep wrote.

Randeep is now busy with "Battle of Saragarhi", which is directed by Rajkumar Santoshi.

The battle of Saragarhi took place in 1897 between the British Indian Army and Afghan Orakzai tribesmen in the then North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan).

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Saudi Embassy in the UK has welcomed the decision of the British High Court that ruled to continue weapon sales to the Saudi-led Arab coalition in order to restore legitimacy in Yemen.

London's High Court earlier this week rejected a bid by Campaign Against Arms Trade, a UK-based organisation, on halting Britain's arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

In a statement released on Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday, the Saudi Embassy in the UK hailed the court's decision and reiterated Saudi Arabia's firm commitment to comply with international humanitarian laws.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UK work together in various fields, the most important of which is joint cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the desire to establish peace and stability in Yemen and the region as well," the statement said.

"The two kingdoms are also capable of conducting a frank and transparent dialogue, in an atmosphere of mutual respect," it added.

Following the court decision on Monday, British Prime Minister Theresa May told Parliament that she welcomed the judgement.

"It shows that we do in this country operate one of the most robust export-control regimes in the world," she said.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition is working with the unanimous support of the UN Security Council to thwart the Houthi-backed rebellion in Yemen against the internationally-recognised government of President Abdrabbou Mansour Hadi.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday chided the Election Commission for retracting its earlier position supporting a plea for lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers from contesting elections.

"It is within the domain of the Election Commission... if you don't want to be independent, (and remain) constrained by the legislature, (then) say so," said a bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Navin Sinha as counsel for the poll panel told the court it was supporting the cause of the petitioner to decriminalise politics.

"When a citizen comes to the EC seeking lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers, is silence an option? Either you can say 'yes' or 'no'. Can you afford to be silent?" the bench said as it read a paragraph from the response of the EC which supported the plea for lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers on contesting elections.

However, counsel told the bench that the said paragraph should not be read in isolation and should be read as a part of the entire response of the Commission.

"We are supporting the cause of the petitioner for decriminalisation of politics and there should be framework for decriminalisation of politics," counsel said, but the court retorted hat the EC wanted the court to read in between the lines, and there was no reason why they should do so.

The court's response came in the course of the hearing of a PIL by BJP leader Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay seeking lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers and setting up of special courts for trying lawmakers accused of criminal offences.

Earlier appearing for one of the interveners, senior counsel Siddharth Luthra said that the principal point is when a lawmaker is disqualified following his conviction, then can the disqualification be limited to a point of time.

The court directed further hearing on August 18.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"Game of Thrones" star Sophie Turner is terrified of the show's upcoming end. She says she will be "an emotional wreck for a year".

The 21-year-old British actress, who plays Sansa Stark in the HBO hit, opened up in an interview with W Magazine about how she is bracing herself for life after the fantasy drama, reports dailymail.co.uk.

She said: "I've been trying to wrap my head around it. It's not like I'm brushing it under the carpet; I am fully aware that it is coming to an end, but I don't think I'll be ready until I shoot my final scene, and then I think I will be completely an emotional wreck for the next year or so of my life. I'm really not looking forward to it. It is terrifying."

"Game of Thrones" is about to enter its seventh season, which will be its second to last. The show is scheduled to end after eight seasons in total.

The seventh season will debut on July 16 in the US. It will premiere in India on Star World and Star World HD on July 18.

Turner was a teenager when she auditioned for the role of Sansa, and since then, she said, she has spent years developing two identities: her own, and her character's.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked him to come clean, RJD leader and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday dubbed the corruption charges against him a "conspiracy" hatched by the BJP brass.

Tejashwi Yadav, facing an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), also made light of the allegations against him, saying they relate to a period when he was 14 years old.

As for the ruling Grand Alliance of the JD-U, RJD and Congress, he declared that it was intact and would remain so.

After attending his first cabinet meeting since the CBI raids against him, Tejashwi Yadav, the younger son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, said the corruption allegations against him were a pack of lies.

They were a conspiracy hatched by BJP President Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he told the media.

He said he too strongly believed in zero tolerance vis-a-vis corruption. He added he would go to the people to explain how and why the BJP had conspired against him.

"This allegation relates to 2004 when I was merely 14 years old, when my moustache and beard had not begun to sprout. Do you think a minor would have committed a scam?"

Tejashwi Yadav said the Grand Alliance won't break. "Some people including a section of the media are disappointed that there is no break up in the alliance."

He said that since he became the Deputy Chief Minister, there had been no corruption allegations against him.

"Earlier the BJP was afraid of Laluji but now they are afraid of me, a 28-year-old man."

Tejashwi Yadav's statement came a day after Nitish Kumar asked the RJD to come with a detailed rebuttal of the charges against the RJD leader in connection with benami property.

The RJD, which has 80 legislators, is adamant that Tejashwi Yadav will not resign.

JD-U spokesperson Ajay Alok said on Wednesday: "After an FIR is filed, one has to reply to the court and the public. Running the Mahagathbandhan is the responsibility of everyone."

Nitish Kumar has said he won't compromise on the issue of corruption.

Lalu Prasad, his wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and their son Tejashwi Yadav have been named accused in a CBI case related to the transfer of three acres of prime land in Patna to the family by two businessmen allegedly in return for licences granted to run IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri when the RJD chief was the Railway Minister.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
SIDNEY, Neb. (AP)  Cabela's shareholders are giving a nod to the sale of the outdoor outfitter to rival Bass Pro Shops for roughly $4 billion.

The Nebraska chain said Tuesday that shareholders approved a deal, announced in October, which will pay them $61.50 per share.

Sporting goods retailers, like the rest of the retail sector, has been under pressure because of changing shopping patterns.

Company officials have said they expect the sale to close later this year, but banking regulators must still approve the sale of Cabela's credit card unit, which is part of the deal.

After the buyout, the company will be based in Bass Pro's hometown of Springfield, Missouri. It's not yet clear how many of the roughly 2,000 workers at Cabela's headquarters of Sidney, Nebraska will be kept on.
Three Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed on Wednesday after a gunfight with security forces in a Jammu and Kashmir village that began the previous day, officials said.

The battle started on Tuesday evening after security forces, following inputs about the presence of some militants, laid a cordon around Radbug village of Budgam district, some 30 km from here.

The militants opened fire at the security forces when the cordon around the house in which they were hiding was tightened, a police officer said.

The operation, carried out jointly by the police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Army, was halted after it got dark. The exchange of fire resumed on Wednesday morning.

The officer said the holed up militants rushed out from their hideout firing indiscriminately in a bid to break the cordon.

The security forces returned the fire and killed all the three militants, he said.

The slain militants were identified as Javed Sheikh, Dawood and Aquib. Sheikh was the Hizbul district commander, the police officer said.

Sheikh and Dawood were residents of Budgam district, CRPF DIG M. Dinakaran said.

He said an AK-56 assault rifle, an SLR, a pistol and seven magazines were recovered from the shootout site.

Dinakaran said security forces suffered no injuries.

"Villagers resorted to heavy stone pelting at the security forces to disrupt our operation. However, they were chased away," he told IANS.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Saudi King Salman bin Abdel Aziz received US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday, ahead of a meeting with Foreign Ministers of the four Arab countries that have established a blockade against Qatar.

At the meeting, which took place in the al-Salam palace in the city of Jeddah, Aziz and Tillerson spoke of efforts to combat terrorism and its financing and the development of the regional diplomatic crisis, Efe news cited a statement from the Saudi official press agency SPA.

Tillerson visited Qatar on Tuesday and is scheduled to meet later on Wednesday with the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with the aim of exploring possible ways to end the diplomatic crisis that started on June 5.

During his visit to Doha, the US and Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding against the financing of terrorism.

That agreement, according to the Qatari government, is unrelated to the diplomatic crisis, which was triggered by accusations by the Arab quartet against Doha over its alleged support for extremist groups.

Earlier, as part of the same tour, Tillerson visited Kuwait, the main mediating country in the crisis, to seek a formula accepted by both Qatar and the quartet, that has submitted a list of 13 demands to Doha to normalize relations with the small Persian Gulf country.

The US has pushed for the break of ties to be resolved as quickly as possible, and warned that it hampers operations against the millitant outfit Islamic State.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An enormous iceberg has broken off from a key floating ice shelf in Antarctica, scientists have announced.

The iceberg weighs a staggering trillion tonnes and has an area of 5,800 sq km. It was found to have split off from the Larsen C segment of the ice shelf on Wednesday after scientists examined the satellite data from the area, the Daily Mail reported.

Scientists at the University of Swansea in Britain said they were expecting it. They had been following the development of a large crack in Larsen's ice for more than a decade.

The final break happened between Monday and Wednesday and the calving of the iceberg, which is likely to be named A68, reduces the size of the ice Shelf by around 12 per cent, said researchers.

They said it will change the landscape of the Antarctic peninsula forever, ITV News reported.

"We have been anticipating this event for months, and have been surprised how long it took for the rift to break through the final few kilometres of ice," said Professor Adrian Luckman of Swansea University, lead investigator of the project.

"We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, and the fate of this huge iceberg.

"The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict. It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments," Professor Luckman said.

Although the iceberg weighs a trillion tonnes, it was already floating before it calved away so will have no immediate impact on sea level, the researchers said.

While the researchers said the calving was a "natural event", it put the ice shelf in a vulnerable position.

There are concerns that Larsen C could follow the example of its neighbouring ice shelf Larsen B, which disintegrated in 2002 after a similar event.

Dr Martin O'Leary, a Swansea University glaciologist and member of the Midas project team, said: "Although this is a natural event, and we're not aware of any link to human-induced climate change, this puts the ice shelf in a very vulnerable position."

"This is the furthest back that the ice front has been in recorded history. We're going to be watching very carefully for signs that the rest of the shelf is becoming unstable."

Luckman said, "In the ensuing months and years, the ice shelf could either gradually regrow, or may suffer further calving events which may eventually lead to collapse -- opinions in the scientific community are divided."

"Our models say it will be less stable, but any future collapse remains years or decades away."

If the shelf loses much more area, it could result in glaciers which flow off the land behind speeding up their path to the ocean, which could have an eventual impact on sea levels -- though at a very modest rate, the scientists said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump congratulated Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on the liberation of Mosul by Iraqi Security Forces in a phone call on Tuesday.

The White House called the victory in Iraq was a major milestone in the fight against the Islamic States group, Xinhua reported.

During their talk, Trump also underscored his commitment to the total defeat of the IS and stressed the need to consolidate gains, the White House said.

Abadi declared Monday that Mosul was liberated from the IS after nine months of fierce fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in northern Iraq.

Mosul, 400 km north of Iraq's capital city of Baghdad, had been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled.

The IS militants had used the city as its base and occupied some areas in Iraq's northern and western regions.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump's son has said that he did not inform his father about the meeting with a Russian lawyer who said she could help his election campaign.

Donald Trump Jr told Fox News that his meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in June last year was "just a nothing", but in retrospect, he would have done things differently.

Asked by Fox News if he had told his father about the meeting, Trump Jr said: "No. It was just a nothing. There was nothing to tell."

The President's son, defending his actions and the allegations that Russia tried to sabotage Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign, said he did not have any knowledge of this.

Russia has also repeatedly denied interfering in the November 8 US presidential election.

Trump Jr on Tuesday released emails showing that he welcomed an offer to meet the lawyer, who was allegedly linked to the Kremlin and had material damaging to Clinton.

"I mean, I wouldn't have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame."

Trump Jr, his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort met Natalia Veselnitskaya after he received an email from an intermediary, British publicist Rob Goldstone, promising documents from Russia that would incriminate Clinton.

At that time, Donald Trump was the presumptive Republican nominee and heading towards an election fight against Clinton.

One email from Goldstone said the information they had been promised was "obviously very high-level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Trump".

Trump Jr's response email read: "If it's what you say I love it."

He said the meeting went nowhere, the woman provided them with nothing of use and it only lasted 20 minutes.

"This is before the Russia mania, this is before they were building this up in the press. For me this was opposition research, they had something you know, maybe concrete evidence to all the stories I'd been hearing about."

"Someone sent me an email. I can't help what someone sends me. I read it, I responded accordingly, and if there was something interesting there, I think that's pretty common."

Trump in a brief statement supported his son, describing him as "a high-quality person" and applauding his transparency.

Veselnitskaya has said she was never in possession of information that could have damaged Clinton, and has no links to the Kremlin.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the emails were "very disturbing".

The highest-ranked Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, said he wanted Trump Jr and all participants in the meeting to testify before the panel.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson left Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after talks with Foreign Ministers of the four anti-Qatar countries on the month-long dispute among Gulf states, with no announcement released so far.

He met the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain - the four countries boycotting Qatar - in Jeddah to discuss the escalating issues, Xinhua reported.

The meetings came after Tillerson visited Kuwait and Qatar, during which he signed an agreement with the Qatari government aiming at combating the financing of terrorism.

The four countries responded to the US-Qatari agreement by releasing a joint statement on Tuesday stating: "We believe that the Memorandum of Understanding between the US and the Qatari authorities is a result of repeated pressures and demands over the past years to Qatar to stop supporting terrorism."

"But that such a step is not sufficient and we will closely monitor the seriousness of Qatar in combating all forms of funding, supporting and fostering terrorism," the statement said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Coimbatores market provides a plethora of options for homebuyers and investors to choose from, with various localities developing as catchment areas for housing and commercial . One of these is Peelamedu, which is among the fastest-growing locations and a very favourable destination for property buyers.
For the upcoming travel season in October, its a good time for travellers to start looking for flight tickets if they are going abroad. Planning in advance can help you get the best rates and the current offers on credit cards can further lower your prices.

The current offers on credit cards offer the best deals for those who plan to fly in the September-October holiday season, says Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C) at Yatra.com. Several online travel agencies (OTAs) have partnered card issuers to offer cashback on bookings. Cleartrip is running an offer with HSBC. HDFC Bank has tied up with Goibibo, Makemytrip, Yatra and Musafir.

Check the discounts offered with OTAs. Opt for transacting through their apps. They offer loyalty points when you sign up with them and download the app. These loyalty points or virtual cash can help bring down the ticket cost further.

While OTAs offer the best deal, they dont offer the concessions that airlines run. If you are a senior citizen, defence personnel or a student, many airlines offer discounts on base fares. This is not available with the OTAs. A flier should, therefore, compare whether the tickets are cheaper after discounts with an OTA or with a travel concession from an airline.

If the discounts offered on the OTAs are not applicable to you, book directly with the airline. It saves the additional convenience fees that online websites charge. Also, when cancelling the ticket, you pay double the cancellation fees  to the airline as well as to the portal if you book with an OTA.

If you are booking return tickets, you get higher discounts. But many dont allow travellers to take such discounts more than once during the promotion. If you are taking a multi-destination trip, use multiple OTAs to book on different routes to avail their offers.

The fares in travel season are always higher no matter how early you book. If you are flying from Mumbai to Kolkata in October, the average fare is between Rs 5,500 and Rs 6,000. But you can fly the same route for Rs 3,300 in August. Airlines use historical data to understand demand during peak travel season. If the historical data shows constant higher demand on certain routes, airlines price those higher, says Chetan Kapoor, research analystAsia Pacific, Phocuswright.

Travellers are always confused about when to book tickets. It is a function of the routes. But for international flights, they should book at least 45 days in advance to get the best rates. For domestic travel, the fares trend only upwards three weeks before a flight, says Berty Thomas, a business analyst with a multinational bank, who also runs Unfare.in. The website predicts airfare movements.

In the domestic sector, it makes sense to book tickets between four to six weeks in advance. Many travellers end up paying higher fares if they book too much in advance on high demand sectors such as Mumbai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Chennai, and so on, says Aloke Bajpai, co-founder and CEO Ixigo.com. One can, therefore, use flight rates alerts available on many websites.

For international flights, Bajpai suggests that travellers use websites that show results from airlines websites and OTAs. The trend internationally is that airlines are selling cheaper tickets than travel portals. The latter also doesnt show results from low-cost airlines, which can save a lot, Bajpai suggests.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday praised Prime Minister as an able 'thekedar', or contractor, of welfare but cautioned people not to leave everything to him and go off to sleep.
At a time when questions are being asked about the longevity of the 'grand alliance' in Bihar, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi have moved swiftly in the last two days to reach out to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. This comes despite the criticism of Nitish Kumar by senior Congress leaders.

The Congress president phoned Kumar on Wednesday morning and thanked him for Janata Dal (United) or JD(U)'s support to the Opposition's common candidate for the vice-presidential polls. Kumar heads the JD(U).

According to JD(U) sources, Rahul Gandhi had also phoned the Bihar CM on Tuesday evening, after the meeting of the 18 Opposition parties that decided to field former diplomat Gopalkrishna Gandhi as their vice-presidential nominee.

The Congress vice-president had also suggested to Kumar that they should meet. Kumar is slated to be in New Delhi on July 22 and 23 to attend his party's executive meeting and is likely to meet Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi.

In New Delhi, Congress as well as JD(U) leaders also attempted to dismiss speculation that the JD(U) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alliance in Bihar was on the brink after Kumar and his party had asked RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son and Bihar Deputy CM Tejaswi Yadav to come clean on the corruption charges against him and to put his case in front of the public.

Tejaswi Yadav dubbed the corruption case against him as "farzi (fake)" and cried "political vendetta".

The JD(U), however, is not satisfied with the response and said that it "expects more" from the young RJD scion.

"I didn't even have a moustache in 2004. How can a 13-14 years kid do all this? The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) FIR (First Information Report) is farzi (fake) and part of a political vendetta. BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) President Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have hatched a conspiracy against me and family members out of political reasons," Tejaswi told reporters after coming out of a cabinet meeting.

The young RJD leader also highlighted his achievements as a minister in the state and insisted that he always practised a policy of "zero tolerance towards corruption". Yadav holds charge of road construction, building construction and Backward and Extremely Backward Castes welfare in the Nitish cabinet.

"No one can raise fingers on my tenure as the minister in [the] state. During my term, the maximum number of roads have been built. I have not done anything wrong in dispensing the responsibility. From the first day I entered office, I have been adhering to zero tolerance to corruption. Due to my work for the weaker and deprived section of the society, I am being targeted," said the Deputy CM.

He also added that grand alliance will remain intact in Bihar. "They (BJP) are trying to break us, but we would not let them succeed. Mahagathbandhan will continue to remain intact," he added.

However, his boss, Nitish Kumar wasn't seen as impressed by the young leader's explanations. His party, the JD(U), has clearly stated it expects "more".

"At best, it was a political answer," party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told Business Standard. ,"The CBI has filed a personal FIR on him. Therefore, we expect that he would present a point-wise response on the case."

"We would respect coalition dharma till our last breath. We, at the same time, will not compromise with our policy of zero tolerance on corruption. Woh bhasha nahi, bhaw par dhayan de (They should understand the meaning, not just read the lines)," the senior JD (U) leader said.

The CM also reportedly gave Tejaswi a cold shoulder during the cabinet meeting, which lasted almost half an hour. It was the first time Tejaswi met Nitish Kumar after the CBI raid at his home in Patna on Friday.

"It was all gloomy. Tejaswi did greet the CM as Kumar entered the room and he responded by nodding his head. But that was it. They didn't speak to each other for the rest of the meeting. CM left as soon as the meeting ended. Normally, he stays for 4-5 minutes after the meeting for an informal chit-chat with us," said a minister present in the meeting.

The CBI has lodged FIR against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, Tejaswi Prasad and five others in connection with a private party allegedly giving three acres of land in Patna at a throwaway price to the Lalu family in return for getting a license to run two IRCTC hotels at Ranchi and Puri.

The JD(U) gave Tejaswi a terse message on Tuesday in which the young leader was asked to "come out with facts in public against the accusations."
SCIPIO CENTER  It's not easy to be a large dairy farm in the Owasco Lake watershed. Duane and Gary Allen know that firsthand.

Allen Farms, a large concentrated animal feeding operation in Scipio Center, has experienced its share of both successes and challenges. Due to its many best management practices to protect water quality, the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District often highlights the farm as an example.

But the Allen brothers said they're still recovering from a publicity nightmare in the spring of 2014 when a large amount of manure runoff contaminated an Owasco Lake tributary and a nearby private drinking well. Despite bolstering their farm's initiatives to protect water quality, years later they said they still have people who slowly drive by, looking for any reason to report their farm to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

While the Allens understand the concern around water quality, it's frustrating, they said, to have citizen vigilantes surveying their every move. They don't want their manure to run off in the lake, Duane Allen added. They need the organic fertilizer for their crops and having it wash off hurts the farm. He said they drink the water, too, and no farmer ever intends for a manure spill to happen.

The unwanted spotlight started to shine on the Allens again the last couple of months after they decided to build a new rotary milking parlor adjacent to the old one.

It's nearly impossible to miss the construction on the hillside. Leslie Baxter, a Scipio town board member, had discussed the farm expansion at a couple of Owasco Lake Watershed Management Council meetings. There had been confusion about what permits a farm, or anyone, needs to build in the watershed and what precautions should be taken to prevent runoff during the build and after.

Following a tour of the project, Baxter said she understood it better. The Allens added that they were glad to be able to tell Baxter directly about what they were doing. With a town building permit and a DEC storm water prevention permit for the build, the project is underway.

The 177-by-1,500-feet structure will replace the Allen's 1976 milking barn, which has become out of date and inefficient. The new structure will connect to the main cow barn so cows can be brought to a new holding area. Like a carousel, the cows will hop on the rotary for milking. About seven to eight minutes later, they hop off and the next set of cows get on. The rotation will allow the Allens to milk more often, likely from two times per day to three times per day.

"It'll make us be more efficient, and hopefully (it will) be more comfortable for the cows," Duane Allen said. "They kind of ride around on a merry-go-round. They really like it."

While the parlor is under construction, the Allens have put up silt fences to keep runoff from flowing down the hill, and an engineer helps them remain in compliance with their permits. The farm hopes to have the structure completed and online by the end of the year.

Since the project is under a certain size, the DEC does not require the farm to have a permit for storm water runoff after the building is finished. That doesn't mean, the Allen brothers said, that they won't do what's best for the environment and their farm. With a ditch at the bottom of the hill, Duane Allen said he's consulted with his engineer to see different ways they can capture the water first.

They plan to use drip lines, he said. Those are areas of larger stones placed underneath a roof line that draw the water in and drain it into the farm's field tiles underneath. He's considering, too, collecting and storing some of the water if it can be reused, though those plans are not quite flushed out yet.

With the farm being on a hillside, the Allens said they already have multiple precautions in place to filter out the water including grass waterways and buffer strips. They're best management practices the Allens' grandfather had been doing when he operated the farm, and the brothers continue to do them today.

They acknowledged that farming has changed since then with operations skyrocketing to hundreds of animals from the days of a couple dozen. According to Allen Farms' Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation Annual Compliance Report for 2015, the farm had about 1,800 cows with about 1,500 of those dairy heifers. Gary Allen said they deliver their milk to Dairy Farmers of America, a cooperative, where the milk could become just about anything from yogurt to coffee creamer.

"We have to be efficient, too," Duane Allen said. "We can't have 24 cows anymore and make a living, and that's just the way it is now. That's all why we do this here. We need to stay efficient and stay competitive."
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an able and competent contractor of social welfare.

He was addressing a function after releasing a coffee table book on the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi titled The Making of a Legend along with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah.

Bhagwat said,There is a drawback in our society that it always look for a contractor for its welfare. Now, our society has found an able and competent contractor (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) for social welfare. But the danger is that we might put the entire onus on the contractors head and sleep. This shouldnt happen.

Lauding the life and work of Prime Minister Modi, the RSS chief further said, The people who work for public welfare have a feeling of worship for the country. They feel that whatever is good for country is actually good for them.

Without mentioning the landmark formation of a majority non- Congress government in 2014, Bhagwat said the country was taken out of gloominess because there were people who believed this country could not be finished.

Destiny has not permitted India to die, the RSS chief said.

Exhorting the people to work for the welfare of the country, Bhagwat said, Today, Narendrabhai has become prime minister and is able to do many things. Tomorrow a situation may come that one who has to do something may not become prime minister. Then, the thought should and would be whether I become prime minister or not, I will do my work with full devotion and discretion.

Bhagwat appealed everyone to read the book and aspire to follow the qualities of Narendra Modi.

In his address, Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a nature of moving ahead while working like a normal party worker.

He outlined the achievements of Prime Minister Modi when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat for 12 years.

The works done during Narendrabhais tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister created a buzz. He resolved many problems in Gujarat that were decades old.

Shah further said that Prime Minister Modi had proved that there is no difference between developing a city and a village and that both could prosper if right policies are introduced and followed with transparency," Shah said.

He said that there are critics who question job creation during Prime Minister Modi rule, but the Mudra Yojna has provided self employment opportunities to 7 crore 28 lakh poor unemployed youth.

If the definition of employment is limited to only jobs, then it wont benefit country, Shah said.

The BJP president also highlighted other achievements of Narendra Modi government and also outlined the future plans of it.

The book has been produced by Sulabh International Social Service Organisation under direction of Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, a Padma Bhushan recipient. The biography has been compiled and written by Colonel (retired) Jaibans Singh.

While speaking about the book, Colonel (Retired) Jaibans Singh said, It was with a sense of great humility and responsibility that I accepted the project to illustrate the legendary life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The book was conceived with the objective of acquainting the reader with the life journey of an extraordinary leader. It is designed to help understand his thoughts, his ideology and his vision for his country and his people.

The book is also meant to serve as a motivation for the younger generation of the country to emulate their Prime Minister and strive to attain their true potential, he added.

(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.)
Three men have been arrested for allegedly hatching robbing a man of Rs 52.50 lakh in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar.

The three accused -- Naresh Chand (43), Vikram Singh (44) and Mukesh Trivedi (46) were arrested yesterday from a Saket mall, the police said.

Rs 41.76 lakh in cash was recovered from the accused and raids are being conducted to nab other accused, they said.

The incident took place on Monday evening.

The victim, Rajesh Kumar, had informed police that he and three of his associates were robbed at gunpoint.

Kumar told police that he and his associates had come to buy a plot from a property dealer and had brought Rs 52.50 lakh in cash.

They were taken to a plot from their they all went to the property dealer's office, the police said.

When Kumar and his associates were leaving the office around eight armed men barged in the office and started abusing them.

One of the persons, who was already present in the office, took out demonetised notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination and accused Kumar of coming there to exchange old currency, the police said.

Kumar was threatened by the men, who had barged in the office with pistols. They also claimed that they would file a case against him, the police said.

Kumar and his associates fled from there but their bag containing the cash was snatched from them, the police said.

Acting on a tip-off, the accused were arrested while the police are conducting raids in Bulandshahr, Meerut, Faridabad, to nab the remaining accused, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Around 300 refugees returned to their hometown in Syria today from northeast Lebanon, where tensions have been high following army raids and suicide attacks on camps in the area.

Lebanon is home to more than a million refugees fleeing the six-year conflict in neighbouring Syria, but Lebanese ministers say they must go home to safe territory as soon as possible.

The refugees returned today under a deal negotiated by Syrian rebels in the camps and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is fighting in Syria on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

A security source told AFP that the convoy carried between 250 to 300 refugees.

"They included armed fighters and civilians, and left in two waves from camps around Arsal to the town of Assal al-Ward in Syria," the source added.

It was the second organised return for displaced families in Arsal to Assal al-Ward, after Lebanon's army announced a similar operation in early June.

Assal al-Ward, about 40 kilometres southeast of Arsal, has been relatively stable since it was recaptured from rebels by Syrian regime forces and Hezbollah.

The UN refugee agency in Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent both told AFP they were not involved in the operations.

An AFP correspondent saw refugees aboard 24 vehicles, including cars, tractors, and pick-up trucks, crossing the rocky no-man's land that forms the border between Lebanon and Syria.

They were accompanied by Lebanese army soldiers and the General Security agency, which controls Lebanon's borders, between Arsal and the Lebanon-Syria frontier.

Once in Syria, the group was met by local government officials and members of Hezbollah, AFP's correspondent said.

A local source from Hezbollah said the operation took place "after negotiations between Hezbollah and armed men in the camp."



The atmosphere in Arsal has been particularly tense after army raids on two refugee settlements in the area on June 30.

The raids were met with suicide attacks and grenades, and security forces subsequently arrested dozens of people from the camps.

Days later, the army announced that four of the Syrian detainees had died of pre-existing medical conditions, sparking accusations of torture.

It comes nearly three years after deadly clashes around Arsal between the army and jihadists who kidnapped 30 Lebanese security forces.

Sixteen were released in December 2015 in exchange for Islamist prisoners held in Lebanese jails, while four were executed and a fifth died of wounds suffered during the fighting.

Nine remain held by jihadists.

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As many as 35 Japanese nationals have been detained on suspicion of telecom fraud in China's southeastern Fujian province, the Foreign Ministry said here today.

"The 35 Japanese nationals were detained by local police for alleged involvement in fraud on June 30," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a regular briefing.

China has notified Japan in accordance with the consular agreement between the two countries, Geng said.

While he did not specify why the suspects were arrested, state media reported that the detention was linked to a telecom fraud.

Media reports said the suspects were detained in Fujian and were allegedly involved in telephone scams targeting residents in Japan, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

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Four Rajasthan Roadways buses were set on fire in Kuchaman city of Nagaur district, which has been tense since a gangster was killed last month, police said today.

The incident took place yesterday at a bus stand, where the buses were parked for the night. Nobody was hurt, investigating officer and head constable Hukma Ram said.

A hunt was on to nab the accused who are yet to be identified, he added.

Nagaur district has been tense since June 24 when gangster Anandpal Singh, on the run since September 2015, was gunned down by the police in Malasar village in Churu.

The gangster's family, backed by the Rajput community, is yet to cremate the body. They are demanding a CBI inquiry into the encounter and permission for Anandpal Singh's brothers, who are in judicial custody, to attend the funeral.

The SP of Nagaur said the body was kept in a deep freezer at his house where elaborate security arrangement was made. Police were allowing people to enter the village only after verifying their identity.

The Rajasthan government has offered a SIT probe but Anandpal's family is sticking to its demands. The Rajput community is organising a 'shrandhanjali' rally in the slain gangster's native village Sanvrad today.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"Economic pundits" may be criticising the Modi government for a "jobless growth", but India cannot tackle unemployment only with jobs, BJP president Amit Shah has said, noting that 7.28 crore people have become self-employed under the Centre's Mudra loan scheme in three years.

"Economic pundits talk about a jobless growth and try to tear out the few hair that I have on my head by asking where the jobs are?" Shah said, tongue firmly in cheek.

He was speaking at the launch of a coffee table book, 'The Making of a Legend', on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here today. The function was attended by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and several Union ministers and BJP leaders.

A country with a population of 125 crore cannot deal with the problem of unemployment by only creating jobs and the Modi government has provided self-employment to 7.28 crore youths, he said.

Highlighting Modi's schemes aimed at the poor strata of society, a segment he has been assiduously cultivating, Shah said that the government's biggest success was that it had provided opportunities to "the last man in the queue" to lift himself out of poverty.

The government ensured that every household had a bank account and had built over 4.38 crore toilets to give dignity to poor women who were otherwise forced to defecate in open, he said.

Taking a swipe at previous governments, Shah said many prime ministers who spoke about development and the poor had come and gone but it was left to Modi to build toilets, open bank accounts and provide the poor other basic facilities.

The government has set a target of giving five crore LPG connections to poor women by 2019 and to every household by 2024.

Past debates on whether a government should focus on urban or rural India, on industry or agriculture and on reform or welfare schemes had been ended with the government striking a balance between them, he said.

On the occasion, Shah also expressed his disagreement with the use of the word "legend" in the book's title for Modi, and said it was not an appropriate choice for a man who had worked in a "natural and simple manner" like a 'karyakarta'.

The book has been authored by Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of Sulabh International. Pathak said no Indian leader after Gandhi focused as much on cleanliness as Modi.

Shah traced Modi's focus on self-employment and skill development to his rule in Gujarat where he was chief minister for over 12 years.

Between 2006 and 2012, Modi had focused on solving the crisis of Gujarat's falling water table and many regions came out of the "dark zone" due to his efforts.

In north Gujarat, most places fell under the dark zone, he said, adding that the state was now free of the "dark zone".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today caught a junior engineer of the Rajasthan Watershed department red-handed while she was accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from a contractor, an official said.

Along with the engineer, the secretary of the department and a gram panchyat sarpanch were allegedly involved in demanding a bribe of Rs 45,000 from the contractor, ACB Additional Superintendent of Police Thakur Chandrasheel said.

The trio was arrested during a raid carried out at the Watershed department office in the city's Zila Parishad by an ACB sleuth, Chandrasheel said.

Engineer Priti Sain, secretary Suresh Mali and Mawasa sarpanch Suresh had demanded a bribe of Rs 45,000 from contractor Farukh for sanctioning the pending bill of Rs 2.40 lakh for the construction of anicuts under a water shade programme in Mawasa gram panchayat.

While Sain was arrested when she was accepting the bribe, Mali was arrested with Rs 18,000, which was to be shared with Suresh, he said.

Suresh was later arrested from his village. He was one of the signatories for sanctioning the pending bill of the contractor.

The raid was conducted by the ACB following a complaint by Farukh.

"The first instalment of the bribe amount was to be paid today. A trap was laid to nab the accused," the ASP said.

The three accused will be produced before the ACB court tomorrow, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Parliamentary panel today raised concerns over Air India's decision to stop serving non- vegetarian food to economy class passengers on domestic flights and would seek an explanation from the airline on the measure.

The matter was discussed at the meeting of the department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture today.

"The issue of Air India deciding not to serve non- vegetarian food for economy class passengers on its domestic flights was raised during the meeting today," panel member and Congress leader K C Venugopal said.

"The panel will seek an explanation from Air India as to on what basis such a decision was taken," he told PTI after the meeting.

Venugopal had also served as minister of state for civil aviation in the previous UPA regime.

As part of cost cutting measures, loss-making Air India has stopped serving non-vegetarian food to passengers travelling in the economy class on its domestic flights.

The panel which was also to discuss the Air India disinvestment matter today did not take up the issue as government officials concerned did not turn up. Senior officials from civil aviation and finance ministries as well as from the airline were asked by the panel to explain the decision to sell stake in Air India. Two panel members said the officials of the ministries informed that they would not be able to attend the meeting.

One of the members said the panel would now call the officials for explanation on the Air India disinvestment decision next week, possibly on July 19. The 31-member panel is headed by Trinamool Congress member Mukul Roy and has 21 MPs from the Lok Sabha. The members include those from the Congress, the BJP, the BJD, the SP, the CPI (M) and the TDP.

On June 28, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its in-principle approval for considering strategic disinvestment of Air India and five of its subsidiaries. A group of ministers, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, would be looking into various aspects of Air India.

It would look into the treatment of unsustainable debts of the national carrier, hiving off certain assets to a shell company and de-merger and strategic disinvestment of three profit-making subsidiaries, among others. Air India, which has a debt burden of more than Rs 52,000 crore, is staying afloat on taxpayers' money. The previous UPA government had extended bailout package worth little over Rs 30,000 crore to the national carrier for a ten-year period starting from 2012.

(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.)
An Albanian court has jailed the grandson of the country's late communist dictator and eight associates for trafficking cocaine from Latin America to Western Europe.

The Tirana Serious Crime Court today jailed Ermal Hoxha for 10 years and the others, including two Colombians, for between 10 and 13 years.

Hoxha, 42, and the group were arrested in January 2015 after police seized about 120 kilograms (265 pounds) of cocaine, cash and weapons at their base not far from the capital, Tirana.

Hoxha is the eldest grandson of Enver Hoxha, who governed Albania with an iron fist from 1944 until his death in 1985 -- five years before a student revolt overthrew the isolationist communist regime.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Do you have some treasured old photographs tucked into a drawer or boxed in the attic? Any photos that show Flagstaff-area commerce and community around the turn of the last century up to the beginning of World War II?

This is a chance to dust o those images and be part of a special Flagstaff-area history book that the Arizona Daily Sun is planning for the fall. Flagstaffs history, although relatively short, is so rich and the city's evolution so dramatic that we thought it was time to ask readers to help us show it through their photos and those of family members.

Our hardcover coee table picture book, "Flagstaff Memories: The Early Years," will focus on life in Flagstaff and Coconino County from the late 1800s through 1939. Were partnering with the Museum of Northern Arizona and Lowell Observatory to tap their cultural and scientific images. But we're also opening this book up to submissions from the community.

And that will make it even more special.

"It is the hidden gems submitted by readers that will make this book a unique treasure," said Brad Fenison, whose publishing company, Pediment Group Inc., has produced hundreds of history books such as this one in markets across the United States.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll stage four photo scanning sessions at community locations. You're encouraged to bring photos to be scanned that meet the criteria. You'll get full credit in the book for providing the pictures, if they are selected.

We think this is a terric way to involve the community and extend the reach of a book beyond the photos of newsworthy events that have appeared for more than a century in the pages of the Arizona Daily Sun and Coconino Sun.

Here's the kind of photos that will interest us:

--General interest photos taken in the Flagstaff region of commerce, transportation, architecture, industry or public service. (Photos of relatives in the back yard aren't exactly what we're looking for. But pictures of people gathered at civic or community events or at work would be most welcome.)

--Black and white photos taken between the late-1800s and 1939. (Please, no newspaper clippings or photocopies.) Real photo postcards are also welcome.

--A limit of 10 photos per family.

The rst scanning session will be held Saturday, July 22, from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the main Flagstaff library in, fittingly, the Jan Romero Stevens Community Room, dedicated in memory of the Daily Suns late community editor and childrens book author.

We'll follow that up with three scanning sessions the next week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday  please see the schedule below.

The photos will never leave your possession. They will be scanned and logged while you wait.

Fenison says the scanning sessions are "lots of fun." To keep things speedy, people can download caption forms from Flagstaff.PictorialBook.com in advance, then bring the pictures. Pediment will hold onto the caption forms (one for every picture) and return the photos to you on the spot. If you are a private collector, please call 360-723-5800 to set up an appointment.

"It's like Old Home Week with everyone having a common interest in greater Flagstaff history," Fenison said. "The caption sheets need not be perfect. We are just looking for basic information like names, location, and circa date. We will craft the captions later.

Pediment scanned more than 600 photos for one recent history book in Bualo, where nearly half of the 300 photos that ended up in a history book there came from reader submissions.

"We always make an eort to get at least one image into the book from each person that takes the time to come in to a scanning session," Fenison said.

It's a great opportunity to be a part of history.
The Mission for Overall Improvement of Thana for Responsive Image (MOITRI) today decided that all 346 police stations in Assam will be restructured in order to make them centres for citizen friendly policing.

The decision was taken by the first governing body meeting of MOITRI. It was chaired by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

The meeting also took stock of the status of implementation of MOITRI launched in 2016 and advocated for reorienting policing in the state by rebuilding and strengthening the relationship between police and citizens.

MOITRI has envisaged changing the police stations with facilities such as reception and waiting lounge, video-conference system, separate women and children cell, separate entry for them, toilets, adequate drinking water facility and boundary wall.

The chief minister also emphasised on the need for providing soft-skill training to the police personnel to promote their humane face.

Sonowal also advised to make the police stations more eco-friendly and to deck them up with appropriate landscaping and trees.

Under MOITRI police stations in the state have been categorised into Metro, Town and Rural.

They will be restructured and refurbished in two phases.

In the first phase 73 police stations have been shortlisted to make them citizen friendly and an exhaustive plan has been drawn for implementing the system.

In the second phase all the remaining police stations would be covered.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The terror attack that killed seven Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir is reprehensible, the Trump Administration has said as several lawmakers joined in to condemn the dastardly act.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 19 others were injured in a terrorist attack in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday night.

The bus, bearing Gujarat registration number, was on way from Baltal to Jammu when the attack took place.

"We consider it to have been a terrorist attack in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in which seven religious pilgrims were killed. That's of great concern to us," the State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at a conference.

"These were civilians, they were killed as they were exercising their right to worship and that is, in large part, what makes this so reprehensible. That is a great concern to us and our thoughts and prayers go out to those people and to their families as well. Our prayers are with the victims and those who were affected," she said.

Meanwhile several US lawmakers condemned the terrorist attack. "My thoughts and prayers to all of the Amarnath Yatra terror attack victims and their families. The attack is reprehensible and must be condemned," said Congressman Will Hurd.

"The terrorist attack on Amarnath Pilgrims is outrageous," said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. "Religion is a fundamental right and human right #AmarnathYatra #ReligiousFreedom," she tweeted.

Congressman John Ratcliffe in his tweet, sent his prayers to the families of those killed in the "horrific terrorist" attack. Congressman Jim Costa said he is "Deeply saddened at the cowardly attack" on innocent Amarnath Yatra pilgrims. "My thoughts and prayers are with you," he said.

"The terrorist attack on AmarnathYatra is reprehensible and must be condemned," tweeted Congressman Ted Poe. "Our hearts go out to the victims of the terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra. We must stand united against these deplorable acts of terror," said Congressman John Culberson.

Hindus and pilgrims of every religion should be able to visit their holy places without fear of attacks by terrorists, said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Accusing the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal of practising "politics of appeasement", the BJP today said it would take out a "Save Bengal" march from Raj Ghat here tomorrow.

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi attacked the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in Bengal over the recent communal clashes in Basirhat in the North 24 Parganas district, alleging that Banerjee was practising the "two-fold politics of appeasement and repression" in the state.

The saffron party had earlier claimed that Hindus were targeted in the Basirhat violence.

Lekhi claimed that the Basirhat incident was not an isolated one and referred to similar incidents of communal clashes at Kaliachak and Dhulagarh in West Bengal earlier.

The New Delhi MP alleged that the TMC government had also not allowed the immersion of Durga idols in the state on the scheduled day.

"What we see in Bengal is a very twisted manner of implementing secularism," she said at a press meet here.

Lekhi alleged that the Bengal government was not providing the land to the security forces, which was required to seal the border with Bangladesh at a certain place.

She said that while the Bengal government "sent back" four of the eight companies of central forces sent by the Union government, claiming that the situation was normal in Basirhat, it did not allow a BJP delegation, which included her, to visit the area.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg and the governor of California announced today a plan to quantify efforts by US states, cities and businesses to drive down greenhouse gas emissions.

Bloomberg, the world's tenth richest person, leads more than 1,000 companies, organizations, state and local authorities who pledged to honor the Paris climate accord, after Donald Trump announced a US exit from the 190-plus nation pact.

Bloomberg and Governor Jerry Brown today announced an initiative to aggregate those commitments in a report on climate-related activities across US society, in order to build on that momentum.

The initiative will outline a roadmap for increased climate action and show the international community how they can help the United States deliver on the Paris pledge regardless of the Trump exit, they said.

"The American government may have pulled out of the Paris Agreement, but American society remains committed to it -- and we will redouble our efforts to achieve its goals. We're already halfway there," said Bloomberg, a former New York mayor.

The United States -- the world's second largest greenhouse gas emitter after China -- pledged in the Paris climate deal to reduce emissions that contribute to global warming by 26 per cent in a 20-year period by 2025.

Experts say the groundswell of support for emissions- curbing commitments might now help the United States reach its goals earlier than planned.

Bloomberg, 75, last month announced a USD 200 million plan to help cities solve problems in key areas including education, climate change and public health to circumvent what he called "partisan paralysis" in Washington.

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A Delhi Police sub-inspector has been caught red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000, the CBI said today.

Deepak Vashisht, posted in Vasant Kunj police station, had allegedly demanded a bribe from the complainant for giving relief in a dowry case being investigated by him.

"CBI laid a trap and caught the sub-inspector for accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 through a constable posted at Police Station Vasant Kunj (South), from the complainant," CBI spokesperson R K Gaur said here.

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The government today said it has cleared the widening and upgradation of 65 km Imphal-Moreh stretch in Manipur which is part of the Asian Highway project, providing road connectivity to eastern nations like Thailand.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave the approval for the stretch that will cost Rs 1,630.29 crore, on NH 39.

It also approved 4-laning of Solapur-Bijapur Section of New NH-52 in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Four Laning of about 110 km road is estimated to cost Rs 1,889 crore including the cost of land acquisition and pre-construction activities.

"It (Imphal-Moreh) is connecting India to Myanmar. Then we can go to Bangkok and then to Indonesia to Malaysia. So it is the length which is connecting internationally," Road Transport, Shipping and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told reporters.

"It is going to create more employment and business in that area particularly in Manipur. It will be a growth engine for North-East region of the country," he said.

Landlocked Manipur, with almost 90 per cent of the area under difficult terrain, has only road transport as a means of mass transport system.

Gadkari said the project is being developed with ADB's loan assistance under the South Asian Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Road Connectivity Investment Program.

It aims at upgradation of road infrastructure in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India (BBIN) in order to improve the regional connectivity among BBIN nations.

The Imphal-Moreh corridor is also a part of the Asian Highway No 1 and acts as India's Gateway to the East.

Thus, trade, commerce and tourism in the region will get a boost, Gadkari said, adding that the project will create 2.67 lakh man days of employment in Manipur.

After the completion of 4-laning, the travel time will reduce from the current three-and-a-half hours to one-and-half hours.

For fulfilling India's 'Look East Policy' and to promote and enhance trade link with South East Asia, the government has notified an Integrated Custom Post (ICP) at Moreh.

The development of this project is essential in order to support the increased traffic volume due to coming up of ICP, an official release said.

The workers of Manipur who specialise in creating bamboo and wood based handicraft items and uniquely designed hand woven textile items will get a new market among the Myanmar's customers, it said.

Small scale industries such as those making farm implements and tools, stationery, plastic extrusion items, carpentry units, could also develop markets beyond the border, the release added.

Gadkari said the work on Solapur-Bijapur stretch will create 4.35 lakh man days of employment.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Average are expected to rise by 6 per cent y-o-y and 7 per cent on q-o-q basis across the country despite volume decline in the southern and central regions, a report said on Wednesday.

However, the eastern region is likely to see a strong growth in demand for the key building material, it said.

"Average pan-India are likely to be up 6 per cent YoY and 7 per cent QoQ, led by the western region where prices are likely to be up 10 per cent YoY and 15 per cent QoQ. Prices across other regions are likely to be up 3-7 per cent both YoY and QoQ," said the report by ICICI Securities.

The average stood at Rs 283 per 50 kg bag in the north Indian market in Q4FY17. Among other markets, cement prices per bag were Rs 292 in east, Rs 268 in west, Rs 298 in central, Rs 322 in the southern market in Q4 of the last fiscal, the report said.

"We estimate industry volumes to be up 1 per cent YoY as strong demand growth in the eastern region is expected to be offset by volume declines in the southern and central regions," the brokerage said.

The report pointed out that the raw material cost is also likely to go up this year. Total costs per tonne are expected to be up by 7 per cent YoY led by price increase in pet coke, diesel, slag and packing material, among others. With the onset of monsoon, volume flow and prices are likely to remain muted, it said.

The cement volumes in the southern and central regions are likely to be down YoY, owing to weak off-take in Tamil Nadu due to political matters and Uttar Pradesh, where sand mining issue continue to impact off-take, the report said.

Volumes in the eastern region are likely to grow sharply by 20 per cent YoY, led by strong demand in Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha and backed by increased government spending on road, housing and hospitals, ICICI Securities said.

(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.)
China said today that it was willing to play a "constructive role" in improving relations between India and Pakistan, especially after the increased hostility along the LoC, saying the situation in Kashmir has attracted "international" attention.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said India and Pakistan are important South Asian countries but the "situation in Kashmir has attracted the attention of the international community."



India has maintained that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter with Pakistan, and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.

The Chinese comments aimed at getting involved in Indo- Pak tensions come at a time the armies of India and China are locked in a standoff in Doklam area in the Sikkim section.

Expressing concern over the tension between India and Pakistan, Geng said "the conflict occurred near the Line of Control of Kashmir. This will not only harm the peace and stability of the two countries but also the peace and tranquillity of the region."



"We hope the relevant sides can do more things that are conducive for peace and stability in the region and avoiding escalating the tensions and China is willing to play constructive role in improving relations between India and Pakistan," he told reporters.

The comments also come two days after a Chinese analyst wrote in the state-run Global Times that a "third country's" Army could enter Kashmir at Pakistan's request, using the "logic" the Indian Army used to stop the Chinese military from constructing the road in Doklam area.

Geng's comments were in reply to a question on the tension between India and Pakistan, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressing concern over the situation in Kashmir, and whether China can play role to defuse the hostility between the two countries.

According to Pakistan Foreign Ministry, the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, who met in Abidjan, Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, passed a resolution on Kashmir.

Indian security forces have been carrying out combing operations in parts of Kashmir to clear the areas of militants supported by Pakistan who launch attacks against them.

On Monday evening, militants targeted a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims and killed seven of them, including six women, in Kashmir's Anantnag district. Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and Pakistani national Abu Ismail has emerged as the mastermind of the audacious attack.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The citizens of the national capital need to learn to keep their city clean, the Delhi High Court today said while asking the civic bodies to fix a schedule for collection and disposal of garbage.

"The citizens of the national capital should also have some responsibility. They should also learn about keeping their city clean," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar observed.

It said the residents should know how to store the garbage till the scheduled time for depositing it at the designated area.

"In foreign countries, the garbage vans come once a week. There the residents are patient enough to hold back the garbage," it said, adding that the issue of garbage disposal and collection should be taken care of on "war footing".

It asked all the three municipal corporations to start a pilot project of collecting and depositing of garbage as per a fixed time schedule.

"If the time is fixed, the people will also have to abide by it," the bench remarked and said "we want to see that the citizens, who are the sufferers, also learn about keeping their own city clean".

It had earlier issued directions regarding creation of public awareness regarding collection and disposal of waste, saying no long-term plan for making and keeping the city clean would work without the participation of the citizens.

The bench also suggested that the people violating the norms should be challaned.

It said the MCDs should put technologies in place so that the safai karamchaaris perform their duty.

This was suggested by the bench, which has been regularly monitoring the issue of garbage removal and disposal from the city after it was told that lack of cleanliness also leads to spread of vector-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria.

The issue of garbage cropped up during the hearing of two PILs by lawyers Arpit Bhargava and Gauri Grover who have sought directions to the municipal bodies and other authorities to take steps to prevent spread of vector borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria.

During the hearing, the bench again directed the civic bodies that the location and time-wise work roster as well as the identity of each cleaning staff or 'safai karamchaari' should be put up on the websites of the three corporations.

On this, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, who had appeared for one of the municipal corporation, submitted that the ward-wise particulars of the regular safai karamchaaris will be uploaded by August 31.

The bench then said the authorities should put an end to this issue forever and prepare a road map so that the court need not interfere in the functioning of the civic bodies and other agencies.

The court sought a report, including a plan to resolve the garbage issue, from the authorities and fixed the matter for further hearing on August 2.

Earlier, the bench had directed the Commissioners of the three municipal corporations of Delhi (MCDs) to monitor the attendance of the cleaning staff and to frame a proposal for ensuring they discharge their duties.

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The US-led coalition attacking the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria killed as many as 744 civilians in June, an independent monitor said today.

Airwars -- a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that uses social media, eyewitness reports and other sources to compile its data -- said the concurrent assaults on Raqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq were often "devastating."



The number is completely at odds with that of the US military, which so far has acknowledged the accidental deaths of 603 civilians since anti-IS operations began in late 2014.

Airwars director Chris Woods said the increased tempo of strikes in Mosul and Raqa accounted for some of the increase, but suggested the Pentagon's goal of "annihilation" of the jihadists had placed civilians at greater risk of harm.

"While it was always predicted that high civilian casualties would occur during the assaults on Raqa and Mosul, this alone cannot explain the very high fatalities we and other monitors, NGOs and international agencies are tracking," Woods said.

Airwars said it assessed that between 529 and 744 non- combatants were killed in June, more than 50 per cent above the prior month's tally.

Amnesty International yesterday called for a commission to investigate crimes against civilians in Mosul by all sides in the battle to liberate the Iraqi city from jihadists.

The charity said Iraqi and coalition forces had failed to take adequate measures to protect civilians.

Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, who leads the anti- IS coalition, rejected such claims.

"This is, I believe, the most precise campaign in the history of warfare," Townsend said.

"I would challenge the people from Amnesty International, or anyone else out there who makes these charges, to first research their facts and make sure they're speaking from a position of authority."



The US military's Central Command is currently wading through a backlog of old Airwars claims and so far has assessed most of these to be "non-credible.

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PHOENIX  Breaking ranks, an Arizona hospital built with financing from Chinese immigrant investors is urging the state Supreme Court to quash the levy that finances health care for about 400,000 needy.

In a new court filing, attorneys for Green Valley Hospital are siding with the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation to ask the high court to declare that what state officials call an assessment is actually a tax.

That distinction is important.

If the justices agree, it means the legislation authorizing the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System to collect about $265 million a year from hospitals to finance Medicaid expansion and restoration was illegally enacted, as the state constitution requires a two-thirds vote for tax increases from both the House and Senate. The 2013 legislation did not get that margin.

That would not only absolve Green Valley from paying its share but end the levy on all hospitals. And without the money to pay for the state's share, the federal dollars will dry up and all the people added to the rolls in 2013 will once again be without insurance.

The filing also puts Green Valley, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors, at odds with the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association whose members pay the levy. But the position of that organization is that the cost to its members is less than the benefit they receive from having fewer patients show up at their doors without insurance whose bills have to be written off as bad debt.

But John Matuska, hospital administrator in Green Valley, said the numbers don't work for his facility. He said the hospital, which largely serves patients with Medicare, is paying far more in its assessment than it gets back.

They're asking me to treat Medicaid patients for free, he said.

Prior to 2013, AHCCCS provided free care for most people below the federal poverty level, with the federal government picking up about two thirds of the cost.

The federal Affordable Care Act, however, offered an incentive to states to expand eligibility to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, about $28,200 a year for a family of three. In essence, Washington would pick up virtually all of the expansion's cost.

But to qualify, the state had to once again provide coverage for single adults who were below the poverty level. Enrollment in that program had previously been frozen in a budget-saving move.

To pay for that, however, then-Gov. Jan Brewer crafted a plan to have the cost paid through an assessment on hospitals. With the benefits outstripping the costs, the hospitals did not object.

Brewer cobbled together a coalition of Democrat lawmakers and a few Republicans to push it through. But the majority of GOP lawmakers who opposed it filed suit, contending the assessment is a tax and that their opposition was enough to deny that two-thirds vote.

In a ruling earlier this year, the Court of Appeals disagreed.

The judges acknowledged that the purpose of the whole expansion was to provide health care to more of Arizona's indigent population.

But they said the purpose of the assessment itself was to help hospitals provide care by leveraging more federal dollars. And because they are the beneficiaries  and not the general public  the judges said that makes the levy a legal assessment.

Attorney Jeff McCoy of the Pacific Legal Foundation said Green Valley's financial situation shoots a big hole in that legal conclusion.

In the new legal filings, he said the arrangement has not worked out the way it was promised. Specifically, the $773,520 assessment it paid for the fiscal year that ended June 30 is five times more than the benefits the facility says it gets from fewer patients showing up at its doors without insurance.

Put another way, McCoy said the money being paid by Green Valley is going to others, something he said is the classic definition of a tax.

When the government raises taxes, they're spreading it around, and they're not necessarily giving back what everybody puts in, he said.

Matuska, brought in the past October, said the losses from the assessment are not anticipated to be quite as large this current budget year, perhaps only about $48,000. But he said the facility still is not making money on the Medicaid expansion.

And everybody else is, he said.

A spokesman for the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, which has asked the Supreme Court to uphold the levy, said there would be no comment on Green Valley's decision to oppose it.

The 2013 legislation was set up to allow AHCCCS Director Tom Betlach to grant exemptions.

He did that for Mayo Clinic based on that hospital's argument that it sees very few medically needy patients. And Phoenix Children's Hospital, whose needy patients are covered by a different program, also pays nothing.

Green Valley, with 80 percent of its patients covered by Medicare, didn't get a chance to ask for one because it didn't open its doors until 2015. And Matuska said AHCCCS rejected his request for one now.

While the assessment is not the sole reason for the hospital's problems, Matuska said it is a factor. More to the point, if a judge grants relief from debt, he said it should wipe out about $700,000 the hospital owed the state on April 3 when it filed for bankruptcy.

But anything owed since that date remains a legal obligation of the financially strapped 49-bed facility.

The hospital got off to a bad start, Matuska said.

It was overbuilt, under-capitalized, poorly managed, he continued. It got to a point where we had close to $110 million in debt.

Most of the $70 million raised for the facility came from Chinese investors through the EB-5 program. It allows those who create jobs in the United States to get an expedited green card, giving them legal presence in this country.
Closure of 43 McDonald's outlets in Delhi is a local issue and it has not hurt the brand in other parts of India, according to Hardcastle Restaurants, the licensee of the US fast food chain for West and South India.

Terming the closure of stores as "a local issue in Delhi" Hardcastle Restaurants Vice Chairman Amit Jatia said that the impact is just a blip in short term.

On being asked whether the brand McDonald's has got a hit because of this, Jatia told PTI:"I do not think so. From West and South point of view, we are firing from all cylinders and things are good for us."



"The customers do not care as who owns the restaurants. The customer is visiting a McDonald's from McDonald's and not necessarily knowing as who they are (franchise)," he added.

This would "obviously going" to have an impact on Delhi as the number of McDonald's store has gone down, Jatia said.

"So obviously, they would use other brand instead," he added.

According to Jatia: "We (McDonald's) have 420 restaurants in India and is opening 30 new restaurants a year. From a brand point of view to cover 43 restaurants is just a matter of year. I my view, its a blip in the short term".

Last month, McDonald's had decided to shut down 43 of the total 55 outlets in Delhi due to failure to renew eating house licences.

As the dispute between Vikram Bakshi, an equal joint venture partner of McDonald's India Pvt Ltd (MIPL) in Connaught Plaza Restaurants Ltd (CPRL) that is the licensee for North and East India regions is over, the US fast food chain must have plans to bring their brand on track, Jatia said.

"As they resolve it, I am sure McDonald's has plans to do what they need to do to get the brand right again in North and East," he added.

However, on being asked whether he would go for Bakshi's stake in CRPL, if he is given a chance, he declined to comment.

"When the time comes, its for us to discuss that. At this point of time, we are hoping that McDoanld's and CPRL quickly resolved their issues so that we can move forward. Its not my place to comment on that," he added.

Hardcastle Restaurants has plans to invest Rs 700 crore in next 3-5 years to double the outlets of the fast food chain to 500 in the two regions from the present 260.

"We would invest around Rs 700 crore by doubling our restaurants. The Idea is to double the base of restaurants in next 3 to five years but also along with that is to re-image and McCafe," Jatia said.

In last three years, Hardcastle Restaurants has opened over 100 restaurants with an investment of around Rs 300 crore, he added.

Besides, the company is also adding McCafe stores in its existing McDonald's on store-in-a-store format and changing the look of its restaurants to sync with the future and the new generation.

(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.)
Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces Senior General Min Aung Hlaing along with a 15 member high-level delegation is on a three-day visit to the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) here.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is accompanied by his wife Kyu Kyu Hla on the three day visit, a defence release said.

The Senior General, who arrived yesterday, interacted with the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, ENC Vice Admiral HCS Bisht and held discussions today.

The delegation was briefed on the role and function of the Command. Later, the delegation visited INS Satpura, a submarine and important establishments of the Command and was briefed on various naval training facilities at Vizag, it said.

The Senior General also visited Coast Guard Ship Samudra Pehredar and witnessed the pollution control demonstration, said the release.

Kyu Kyu Hla interacted with the Committee Members and ladies of the Navy Wives Welfare Association(NWWA) (Eastern Region) and visited the NWWA facilities, it added.

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A Congress legislator today had an altercation with security personnel over entry at the state secretariat here



Congress legislator from Kotpad, Chandrasekhar Majhi was embroiled in a controversy after he attempted to the enter the state secretariat through gate number one in a scooter.

The security personnel alleged that Majhi forcibly tried to enter the state secretariat through gate number one on a scooter flouting the security norms laid down for entry into the premises.

As per the security norms, pedestrians and two wheeler riders are not allowed to enter the secretariat through gate number one during day time. There are other gates earmarked for the two wheelers, a security man said.

Majhi, however, said that he was not aware of the rules.

"I felt insulted when intercepted by security personnel. I didn't misbehave with them, it was just a verbal tiff," said the legislator.

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In a setback to the Enforcement Directorate, a court in Mumbai today granted bail to Aamir Gazdar, an alleged close aide of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, in a money laundering case..

Judge A N Sirsikar of the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court granted bail to Gazdar on a bond of Rs 5 lakh.

He shall not leave the country without the court's permission, and shall cooperate with the investigation, the judge said, laying down conditions while granting him relief.

During the hearing on the bail plea, Gazdar's lawyers Taraq Sayyed and Mubin Solkar had argued that he be released as investigation was over and charge sheet filed.

Unlike Zakir Naik, Gazdar had not been booked in any other case by the NIA or other government agencies, the lawyers said.

The ED had arrested Gazdar in February this year. Naik had allegedly established some 'dummy' companies in India and abroad which were used to camouflage diversion of funds received by him through his illegal activities, and he had named Gazdar as a director of at least six such companies, the agency said.

Gazdar was a close confidante of Naik, it claimed.

The ED had registered a criminal case against Naik and others last December after the National Investigation Agency booked him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The ED also summoned Naik for questioning, but he has not appeared before the agency.

Naik, who was already abroad when the case was filed, has not returned to India fearing arrest since some perpetrators of the Dhaka terror strike of 2016 claimed they were inspired by his speeches.

The NIA registered a case against him and 'unnamed officials' of his Islamic Research Foundation under section 153-A of IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and the UAPA.

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A magistrate court today granted two-day police custody of popular actor Dileep, arrested in connection with the alleged abduction and assault of a South Indian actress here in February.

Considering the application seeking three-day custody of the actor, the court at nearby Angamaly granted his police custody till Friday.

It posted the bail application moved by Dileep's counsel to that day.

Police later took the actor to the Aluva Police Club for questioning.

The 48-year-old actor, charged with criminal conspiracy in the sensational case, was brought to the court amid tight security.

Hundreds of people who gathered outside the court, booed Dileep, who till now used to be hailed as a popular actor.

Police alleged that the conspiracy to abduct and assault the actress and film the dastardly act was hatched by Dileep and 'Pulsar' Suni, the prime accused in the case.

The actor has been charged under several sections of the IPC, including 120(B) (conspiracy).

Dileep's counsel and noted lawyer K Ramkumar has claimed that he had been framed in the case.

The actor, arrested on Monday evening, was remanded to 14-day judicial custody yesterday.

He was later expelled from AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes).An emergency meeting of AMMA yesterday had removed Dileep from its primary membership.

He was treasurer of the AMMA, which also pledged its support to the actress.

Dileep was arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy in executing the abduction and assault of the actress, who has worked in Tamil and Telugu films also.

She was allegedly abducted and molested inside her car for two hours by the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on February 17 night and later escaped in a busy area here.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had yesterday asserted that those committing any offence, whoever they may be, would be brought to book.

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A US national, who accused a man of raping her in a city hotel after drugging her with a laced-drink, has been summoned as a witness by a Delhi court to depose about her misery.

The court summoned the woman as a prosecution witness for November 10 after the prosecutor said she was a foreigner and as per the guidelines of the central government, at least four months time is needed to facilitate serving of the summons to such witnesses.

Additional Sessions Judge Ramesh Kumar-II framed charges against accused Raghuvanshi, who is in his 40s and is out on bail, for the alleged offences of rape and causing hurt by means of poison under the IPC.

The court framed charges against the accused after he pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

If convicted, the offences entail a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

The woman had lodged a complaint at the Paharganj police station alleging that she had come to Delhi in May 2013, and booked a room in a hotel there. The accused, to whom she had met earlier in Rishikesh, came to her room with food and cake to celebrate her birthday.

She went to his room and had a piece of cake after which he also offered her alcoholic drinks. After taking the drink, she fell asleep and when she woke up, she noticed several marks on her body and found that she was raped.

The woman, who wanted to engage in social work, had met the man in Rishikesh as he was running an NGO.

The counsel for the accused had argued that no offence of rape after administering stupefying substance was prima facie made against the man.

He said there was no medical or forensic evidence to prove that the woman was raped by the man and there was a delay of two years in reporting the matter to the police.

The court, however, said the arguments of the defence counsel that there is no medical evidence to show that the victim was administered stupefying substance pale into insignificance.

"The court cannot conduct a roving and fishing inquiry into the evidence or a meticulous consideration thereof at this stage. Marshalling and appreciation of evidence and going into the probative value of the material on record, is not in the domain of the court at the time of framing of charges," it said.

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Armed criminals today looted Rs 5 lakh from a private financial office in Bihar's Vaishali district.

Three criminals arrived at the office on a motorcycle and looted Rs 5 lakh after locking up its manager in a room at gun point, Officer In-charge of Jandaha police station Rajib Ranjan said.

The manager later on managed to come out of the room by breaking the glass of a window and informed the police, he said.

Investigation is on in the case, the OC said.

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Darjeeling was incident- free today as the indefinite strike for a separate state of Gorkhaland entered its 28th day.

Police and security forces patrolled the streets of the hills and kept a tight vigil at entry and exit points.

Internet service remained suspended for the 25th day.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) will hold rallies in various parts of the hills later in the day, party sources said.

An Army column, comprising around 50 personnel, was deployed in Kalimpong on Monday night, defence sources said.

Two columns of the Army have already been positioned in Darjeeling and Sonada on Saturday after large-scale violence and arson took place in those areas.

In an all-party meeting in Mirik yesterday, it was decided to continue with the indefinite strike and start an indefinite hunger strike to press the demand for 'Gorkhaland' from July 15.

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Air Zimbabwe has laid off 200 employees -- nearly half its workforce -- to try to stay in the air, Zimbabwe state media reported today, as the country's economic troubles deepen.

Under long-time leader President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe has suffered mass unemployment, a collapse of many public services and banknote shortages as foreign investors have fled.

According to Bloomberg News, the southern African country's economy has halved since 2000.

"We have retrenched 200 employees out of the 424," Air Zimbabwe chairman Chipo Dyanda was quoted as saying in the Herald newspaper.

"The organisation is over-bloated."



This is the latest bad to hit the troubled national carrier, which in May was added to a list of airlines banned from EU airspace over safety concerns.

The airline, which flies to South Africa and Tanzania as well as on domestic routes between Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, has over USD 300 million in debts.

According to a letter seen by AFP, the state-owned company said it was acting "to contain operational costs and save the national airline's viability as a going concern."



Affected workers were sent on paid leave yesterday and will receive three months' salary and compensation for loss of employment, the letter said.

The 93-year-old Mugabe, currently on a medical trip to Singapore, has sometimes chartered Air Zimbabwe planes, forcing the cancellation of scheduled flights.

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Leader of Opposition M K Stalin today opposed in the Assembly a proposal mooted by the Centre for an entrance examination on the lines of NEET to recruit judges for the lower judiciary.

Secretary in-charge of justice in the union law ministry had written to the Supreme Court suggesting recruitment of district level judges on the basis of an all-India examination, the DMK leader pointed out.

Stating that the Centre's proposal went against principles of federalism, he said seven States including BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh had reportedly "filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court against it."



He wanted Tamil Nadu to take a similar stand and pass a resolution in the House against the proposed move and send it to the Centre.

Citing Constitutional provisions governing appointments to lower judiciary, he said so far the State Public Service Commission was making such appointments.

Arguing that the proposed move would deprive States of their rights in the matter, he said it would take away the rights of the High Court and the Public Service Commission as well.

On GST, the Leader of Opposition referring to messages on 'WhatsApp,' said some traders felt taxation was on the higher side under the GST regime.

Finance Minister D Jayakumar said the grievances, views of the industry would be put forward to the GST Council and such issues would be addressed.

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Newly released video shows just how close an Air Canada Airbus A320 came to mistakenly landing on a crowded taxiway at San Francisco International Airport last year.

In the nighttime video, the Air Canada plane appears to be on a collision course with aircraft that were waiting on the taxiway, when air traffic controllers urgently demanded the pilots abort the landing.

The Air Canada airliner can be seen descending as it travels along the top of the frame. About 67 seconds into the video, the plane rises quickly, barely missing a passenger jet on the runway that has just turned on its lights.

The video was released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board as part of the official opening of the public docket as the investigation into the incident continues -- an incident that some aviation experts say only narrowly avoided being one of the worst in aviation history.

Air Canada Flight 759 had been cleared to land on runway 28L but instead mistakenly lined up for the parallel taxiway C, which was occupied by four airliners awaiting clearance to take off.

NTSB data revealed that as the Air Canada plane overflew the first waiting aircraft on the taxiway -- a United Airlines Boeing 787 -- the crew applied full power to the engines to initiate a go-around and abort its landing. However, the plane continued to descend while waiting for the throttle to respond and at its lowest point was only 59 feet above the ground. For comparison, the height of a Boeing 787 tail is 56 feet.

The second airliner on the taxiway -- a Philippine Airlines Airbus A340 -- reportedly turned on its landing lights, sensing something wasn't right and hoping to make itself visible to the incoming Air Canada airliner, according to the NTSB.

The investigation has revealed that the flight crew of the Air Canada flight informed the NTSB that there was confusion over the runway configuration and landing lights at SFO, and the crew can even be heard querying the control tower to ensure that they were cleared to land.

The Air Canada crew explained to the NTSB "that something did not look right to them," which caused them to initiate the go-around just before being told to do so by the air traffic controllers.

The air traffic control recordings reveal the United Airlines crew commenting on the apparent attempt to land on the taxiway by the Air Canada flight, asking "where's this guy going?"

The NTSB has also said that a system designed to monitor ground traffic at San Francisco International Airport lost the inbound Air Canada flight for approximately 12 seconds, only subsequently reacquiring it as the plane overflew the first waiting airliner on the taxiway.

The Air Canada captain has more than 20,000 flight hours and almost 4,800 as a captain of an Airbus A320. The first officer has 10,000 flight hours, according to the NTSB.
The French magistrate who first investigated the still unsolved 1984 murder of a four- year old-boy has been found dead just weeks after a dramatic development in the case.

Jean-Michel Lambert was found dead late Tuesday in his apartment in Le Mans with a plastic bag over his head, according to the local prosecutor. He was 65.

"There were no signs of violence," said the prosecutor, Fabrice Belargent, adding that no note had been left behind.

A source close to the case said there was "little reason to doubt" a suicide.

Lambert was 32 years old and the only investigating magistrate in the district when he took up -- and critics say bungled -- the investigation of the murder of Gregory Villemin.

"Little Gregory", as he became known, was found drowned in the cold waters of the Vologne river in eastern France in October 1984, his hands and feet bound.

His murder led to one of France's most notorious post-war murder mysteries, as police sought to untangle a web of family hatred and local jealousies.

But last month, nearly 33 years after the murder, police arrested Marcel Jacob, an uncle of Gregory's father, and Jacob's wife in the Vosges mountains of eastern France.

A neighbour alerted police after discovering Lambert's body Tuesday, media reports said. There were no signs of a break-in.

Reacting to of Lambert's death, Thierry Moser, the lawyer acting for the dead boy's parents, told AFP: "I'm devastated. It's infinitely sad ... I have no animosity towards him.

"I criticise the conclusions he drew from his investigation but I won't ever criticise the man," he added.

Lambert is remembered for his willingness to speak to the press during his investigation.

In particular, he revealed the accusations of Murielle Bolle, a 15-year-old girl, against her brother-in-law, Bernard Laroche.

Laroche, a cousin of the child's father, was charged with the murder a month after the boy's death, based on her evidence.

He was released after she withdrew her claims, only to be shot dead in March 1985 by Gregory's father Jean-Marie Villemin, who spent two and a half years in prison for the crime.

Investigators involved in the case today want in particular to find out why Bolle went back on her original accusations, and last month she herself was placed under investigation in the case.

Bolle's lawyer, Jean-Paul Teissonniere, told AFP he was concerned by Lambert's death. He had intended to call him as a witness.

At one point Lambert even charged Gregory's mother with his murder, but the country's supreme court finally dismissed the charges.

The case was eventually put in the hands of another investigating judge, Maurice Simon.

His work contradicted Lambert's early theories, and the latest investigation is based on Simon's conclusions.

In a 2014 memoir, "How many injustices am I guilty of?" Lambert acknowledged that his early work had not been perfect.

"When I started my career as an investigating judge ... I suffered for some time from a feeling of superiority," he said.

But in comments to AFP the same year, he said that whatever went wrong in the Gregory affair was not just his responsibility but that of the justice system as a whole.

"Everyone played a part in this drama," he insisted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It was another day of monsoon misery in the Northeast with five more people losing their lives in the deluge in Assam, while several places in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, including state capital Itanagar, were cut off by floods and landslides.

With all the districts of Manipur too reeling under rains and floods, the Centre today dispatched a team led by Union minister Kiren Rijiju to oversee rescue and relief operations in affected areas in the entire region.

The south-west monsoon, meanwhile, continued its advance, as it entered Punjab and parts of Haryana -- a week later than its expected arrival -- bringing moderate to heavy rains in the region.

The maximum temperature dropped sharply after showers lashed the region.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a high of 30.5 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal, after receiving a heavy downpour (153 mm). Ludhiana, too, was lashed by heavy showers (48 mm) and the maximum temperature in the industrial town settled at 30.3 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal.

In Haryana, Karnal recorded a maximum of 28.2 deg C, down five notches, after being lashed by showers. Ambala, which received heavy rain, recorded a high of 27.6 deg C, down seven notches.

Yamunanagar, Panipat, Jhajjar, Faridabad, Rewari, Rohtak, Panchkula, Bhiwani, Gurugram and Kurukshetra were among the other areas in Haryana that saw rains.

Back in Assam, the mighty Brahmaputra and its tributaries submerged 2,500 villages, destroyed 1.06 lakh hectares of cropland, damaged infrastructure by breaching embankments and overrunning roads and bridges -- disrupting surface communication, an Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) official said.

With the fresh deaths, the toll in the state caused by the floods -- a yearly recurrence -- has gone up to 44. Nearly one lakh people have been forced to take shelter in 231 relief camps.

Nearly 75 per cent of World Heritage site Kaziranga National Park has been inundated leading to the drowning of two female hog deer and one male swamp deer in its Northern Range.

Manipur, meanwhile, has suffered a loss of around Rs 131 crore in the floods since cyclone Mora hit the state in late May, leading to floods and related incidents like landslides.

More than 20 per cent of its total paddy fields in five districts of the Imphal valley have been hit by the deluge.

In Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Pema Khandu has directed the administration to issue orders for evacuation of people living in vulnerable areas of Itanagar to safer areas and appealed to people in such places to shift to relief camps.

The state capital was virtually cut off with its lifeline NH 415 getting totally eroded at the entry point, while the alternate road via Jullang remained blocked, leaving only one road -- through Hollongi enroute Lakhimpur district in Assam.

Yesterday, five persons had been killed and nine went missing as a massive landslide triggered by incessant rains hit eight dwellings in Papum Pare district.

Across Bihar, temperatures rose marginally as rains receded today but major towns of the state continued to face waterlogging due to previous downpours.

Though the rains subsided in Uttar Pradesh, several areas in Allahabad were flooded after showers today.

Heavy to very heavy rains continued to lash several parts of Himachal Pradesh as the monsoon remained active in the region. Water entered some low-lying residential areas in Una which received more than 140 mm of rains in past two days. The local Met office has predicted a wet spell in the region till July 17.

It was a typically humid day in the national capital as the maximum and minimum temperatures settled at 33.2 degrees Celsius 26 degrees Celsius -- both below the normal levels.

While 24.7 mm rainfall was recorded till 8.30 AM, no rain was received in the city during the day.

The local Met office has forecast overcast skies along with the possibility of light and moderate rains and thundershowers tomorrow.

In Rajasthan, light to moderate rainfall occurred at a few isolated places in Udaipur, Jaipur, Bharatpur, Jodhpur and Bikaner divisions in last 24 hours.

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A Serbian court today sentenced a former government minister to three and a half years in prison for abuse of power, the first verdict of its kind since President Aleksandar Vucic's party came to power in 2012.

Oliver Dulic, Serbia's minister of environment and urban development in the previous Democratic Party-led government, was found guilty of having favoured a company when issuing licences for an optical cable network.

Two of his aides were sentenced, to terms of one and three years, the Tanjug agency reported, quoting the verdict of Serbia's special court for organised crime.

Dulic has denied the accusations and claimed that the case is politically motivated.

The Democratic Party said in a statement that Dulic was the victim of persecution aimed at "destroying main political opponents of the incumbent regime."



Since his nationalist Serbian Progressive Party came in power in 2012, Vucic has pledged to root out high-level corruption, which is believed to be widespread in Serbia.

Several ministers and top officials from the Democratic Party-led government from 2008 to 2012 were arrested soon after the new administration took charge, but Dulic is the first to be sentenced.

All three defendants said they would appeal to the verdict, Tanjug reported.

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The government has zero tolerance for corruption and strict action will be taken if any NHAI official is found guilty of taking bribe from US- based CDM Smith Inc, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.

The National Highway Authority of India has initiated an internal inquiry following reports that CDM Smith had admitted having paid bribe to NHAI officials between 2011 and 2015.

The Criminal Division of the US Justice Department had said that Boston based company through its employees and agents, and those of its wholly-owned subsidiary in India (CDM India) paid approximately USD 1.18 million in bribes to government officials in India.

The bribes were paid in exchange for highway construction supervision and design contracts and a water project contract, resulting in approximately USD four million in net profit.

"Strict action will taken against those found guilty," Road Transport, Shipping and Highways Minister Gadkari said in reply to a question in this regard.

Observing that the case belonged to the tenure of the previous government, the minister said he ordered the inquiry the moment he came to know about the case.

"We have zero tolerance for corruption...," he said, adding projects worth Rs 6 lakh crore have been awarded by his ministry and no contractor had to visit his office.

"We are committed to corruption free, transparent, time bound and result oriented (administration)," he added.

Gadkari further said efforts by his ministry to clear long pending projects has helped in containing NPAs in banking sector, which otherwise would be soared by additional Rs 3 lakh crore.

Between 2011 and 2015, employees of CDM Smith's division responsible for India operations and CDM India illegally paid bribes to NHAI officials in order to receive contracts from them, the Justice Department said in the letter to CDM Smith.

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The BJP today hit out at Rahul Gandhi for attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and "not terrorism", after his return from "vacation", hours after the Congress vice president said Modi's policies had created space for terrorists in Kashmir.

Union minister Smriti Irani said the challenges around Kashmir were a legacy of the Nehru-Gandhi family and that "the country knows it".

"After his return from vacation, Rahul attacks Modi, and not terrorists. I want to ask when Mani Shankar Aiyar (Congress leader) sought Pakistan's help in removing Modi from power and bring in the Congress, was it Rahul's personal agenda or political agenda?" she asked.

When the Army chief was called a "goonda", she said referring to remarks of Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit, was it Rahul's personal agenda or political?



BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi, at a press conference, asked the Congress vice president to read the history of his family, saying that they were responsible for problems in Kashmir.

She also raked up the 1984 anti-Sikh riots to attack Gandhi over his accusation of "personal gain" at Modi, and said only those behind such riots would consider drawing "personal gain from the blood of innocents".

Gandhi's attack on Modi showed his "immature" mind, she said.

If one person was responsible for what was happening in Kashmir, it was Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister, the Lok Sabha MP from New Delhi claimed.

"He will do well to get a correct briefing from his advisers," she said.

Gandhi had earlier accused Modi of pursuing policies that created space for terrorists in Kashmir.

"Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India.

"Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively," he said in a series of tweets.

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Generosity makes people happier, say scientists who have found that even promising to be more generous is enough to trigger a change in our brains that gives us a pleasant feeling.

Researchers said that those who are concerned about the well-being of their fellow human beings are happier than those who focus only on their own advancement.

Doing something nice for another person gives many people a pleasant feeling that behavioural economists call a warm glow.

Researchers, including those from the University of Zurich in Switzerland, investigated how brain areas communicate to produce this feeling.

In their experiments, the researchers found that people who behaved generously were happier afterwards than those who behaved more selfishly.

However, the amount of generosity did not influence the increase in contentment, researchers said.

"You do not need to become a self-sacrificing martyr to feel happier. Just being a little more generous will suffice," said Philippe Tobler from the University of Zurich.

Before the experiment started, some of the study participants had verbally committed to behaving generously towards other people.

This group was willing to accept higher costs in order to do something nice for someone else.

They also considered themselves happier after their generous behaviour (but not beforehand) than the control group, who had committed to behaving generously towards themselves.

The researchers examined activity in three areas of the participants' brains: in the temporoparietal junction (where pro-social behaviour and generosity are processed), in the ventral striatum (associated with happiness), and in the orbitofrontal cortex (where we weigh the pros and cons during decision-making processes).

These three brain areas interacted differently, depending on whether the study participants had committed to generosity or selfishness.

Simply promising to behave generously activated the altruistic area of the brain and intensified the interaction between this area and the area associated with happiness.

"It is remarkable that intent alone generates a neural change before the action is actually implemented," said Tobler.

"Promising to behave generously could be used as a strategy to reinforce the desired behaviour, on the one hand, and to feel happier, on the other," he said.

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

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Germany said today it was ready to treat terminally ill Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, and urged Beijing to let him leave the country.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert voiced "the very greatest concern" over reports that Liu's health had further deteriorated, calling the family's situation "dramatic".

The democracy advocate's hospital said Wednesday that 61 -year-old Liu had suffered respiratory failure after it earlier reported he had organ failure.

"Germany stands ready to host and medically treat" the Chinese activist, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2009 for "subversion" after calling for democratic reforms, Seibert said.

"The German government appeals to the Chinese leadership to prioritise the humanitarian aspects of this case and allow Mr Liu and his family to immediately leave the country."



Liu was released on medical parole after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer last month.

One of his family friends told AFP that he had sent a letter from Liu's wife to the US and German governments expressing the couple's wish to leave China.

The Chinese government has rebuffed international appeals to let Liu seek treatment abroad, saying he is getting the best possible care from top domestic doctors.

Liu risks becoming the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to die in custody since German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who passed away in a hospital while held by the Nazis in 1938.

Seibert said the latest reports on the dissident's state of health "raise the question of whether Mr Liu's cancer should have been diagnosed and treated far earlier".

Liu was arrested in 2008 after co-writing Charter 08, a bold petition that called for the protection of basic human rights and reform of China's one-party Communist system.

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Google is not liable for 1.115 billion euros ( $1.272 billion) in unpaid taxes claimed by the French state, a French court ruled on Wednesday saying the internet giant's Irish subsidiary is not taxable in France.

"The French company Google Ireland Limited (GIL) is not taxable in France for the 2005 to 2010 period," the court ruled.

Google paid just 6.7 million euros in corporate taxes in 2015 in France by booking revenues for its online empire at its European subsidiary in low-tax Ireland, a legal loophole prized by multinationals.

The group employs 700 people in France but advertising contracts for its search engine or video-sharing website YouTube are signed with its Irish subsidiary.

The French claim was the latest in a series against the California-based group, which faces mounting legal problems in the EU.

European action has become increasingly aggressive against US technology giants Amazon, Facebook and Apple as well as Google.

The EU hit Google with a record 2.4 billion euro fine on June 27 for abusing its dominant position in the search engine business and illegally favouring its own shopping service over rivals.

In 2016, European competition chief Margrethe Vestager shocked Washington and the world by ordering iPhone manufacturer Apple to repay 13 billion euros in back taxes in Ireland after paying a near-zero rate of tax some years.

Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron promised to get tough on US internet giants during his campaign, seeing their low tax rates as a source of resentment about globalisation and unfair on European .

"It is time Europe got a grip and defended its interests, making Google, Amazon and Facebook pay the taxes they owe European taxpayers," French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday.

The French claim was significantly higher than the amount Google agreed to pay Italian and British tax authorities over its tax arrangements with its Irish subsidiary.

In May, the group agreed to pay 306 million euros to Italian authorities. Last year, it struck a deal with Britain to pay 130 million pounds (170 million euros) for a decade of business, which was criticised at the time by opposition MPs as being too low.

The French claim was a fraction of the company's annual profits: In April, Alphabet, Google's parent company, declared a 29 per cent jump in profit to $5.4 billion in the first quarter of 2017.

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Union minister Mahesh Sharma today said that his visit to China was for an international event and not for a bilateral meeting, days after Rahul Gandhi raised questions over union ministers going to that country amid the border tension.

The Union culture and tourism minister, addressing a press conference during which announced about the 8th Theatre Olympics in India, also said that he had gone to China with the government's approval.

"It was an international forum of BRICS countries. It was not a bilateral meeting and all five countries which participated did so with the approval of their respective governments as did India. They (the Chinese) welcomed us warmly," he said when asked about his reaction on Rahul's allegations that union ministers were enjoying Chinese hospitality at a time when border skirmishes continued.

"The issue (at the border) that you are raising concerns the ministry of home affairs, defence and external affairs. I can assure him (Rahul) that I had gone to China with the approval of the government," Sharma added.

Rahul, who had come under fire after his meeting with Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui had asked through tweets why three union ministers were availing Chinese hospitality while tension along the border was on.

"If government is so concerned about me meeting an Ambassador, they should explain why three ministers are availing Chinese hospitality while the border issue is on," the Congress vice president had tweeted.

Rahul was referring to the visits of three union ministers to China amid escalation of the standoff around Dokalam area in Sikkim - Union Human Resource Minister Prakash Javdekar who was in Beijing to attend the 5th meeting of BRICS education ministers, Health Minister J P Nadda who participated in BRICS Health Ministers' conference and Sharma who was there to participate in the second BRICS Culture Ministers' Conference.

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The Calcutta High Court today disposed of as infructuous an anticipatory bail prayer by actor Vikram Chatterjee, arrested in connection with the death of model Sonika Chauhan.

A division bench of justices Dipankar Dutta and D P Dey observed that the state has done its duty in accordance with the law in arresting the accused and said that it was not an exceptional case.

It disposed of as infructuous the bail of Vikram, who has been slapped with culpable homicide charge, since he has already been arrested.

The court also cautioned against media trial in connection with the case, which has received wide publicity.

The bail prayer, filed in early June, was mentioned by Vikram's lawyers before the division bench on July 7, when the court fixed the date of hearing on July 13.

Charges against the actor had been changed from that of causing death by negligence, a bailable charge, to that of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which is a non- bailable charge offence, following which the anticipatory bail prayer was filed before the high court.

Kolkata Police officials, however, arrested Vikram on the night of July 6 from a place near his residence at Kasba in the southern part of the city.

Vikram's counsels had moved the division bench the day after, complaining that the police arrested him during pendency of his anticipatory bail prayer.

Vikram was driving Sonika home after a party on April 29 when the car crashed into a pillar on the footpath of Rash Behari Avenue in south Kolkata.

The actor is at present in judicial custody following a three-day police remand.

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July 10, 2017

Iranian officials congratulated the Iraqi government, the senior clergy, military officials and the Iraqi people for the liberation of the city of Mosul, which was occupied by the Islamic State (IS) three years ago.

Quds Force commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who had traveled to the front lines a number of times among Iraqi forces, said the victory over IS in Mosul is not only for the people of Iraq but for the world and all of humanity. Soleimani said that Irans Defense Ministry provided weapons to Iraq around the clock.

Soleimani gave special credit to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraqs most senior Shiite cleric, who he said is respected by all sects in Iraq. Soleimani said that Sistanis fatwa calling on all Iraqis to defend themselves against IS, which eventually led to the formation of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), known as Hashid Shaabi, was instrumental in the battle against IS and brought together a unity in the history of Iraq that is rare. Soleimani said that in the meetings between Iraqi and Iranian officials, it was stressed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sent the message that Iran would fully support the Iraqi government and clergy and that Khamenei views Sistani as a treasure whose importance should be known by all Iraqis.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted July 9, Congratulations to brave people & government of Iraq upon liberation of Mosul. When Iraqis join hands, no limits to what they can achieve. The Twitter account associated with Khamenei tweeted an older quote on July 9 by Khamenei: Youths of the Islamic world must know that if they stand firm & resist, their victory over all equipment of arrogance is absolute. The tweet contained the hashtag "Mosul" and was accompanied by a picture of Iraqi soldiers celebrating. As Iraqi soldiers were encircling IS on the last days, President Hassan Rouhani tweeted June 30 that the defeat of IS promises better and brighter days for Iraqi people, as for all the region.

Given the strong links between Iran and Iraq, especially militarily and with the PMU, some Iranian officials also congratulated specific commanders, particularly those close to Tehran. Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan wrote two separate letters, one addressed to Iraqi Defense Minister Erfan al-Hiyali and the other to Hadi al-Amiri, a commander within the PMU, congratulating them on the victory. Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri wrote four separate letters congratulating Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Amiri, Hiyali and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of the PMU.

The secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, congratulated both Abadi and Sistani. Shamkhani viewed the victory as a joint effort between the Iraqi administration under Abadi, the senior clergy, the Iraqi army and the PMU. He said despite some regional governments hopes that IS would entangle Iraq in the long term, Iraqi forces were able to rely on their own forces and take back Mosul.

Iranian media widely covered the liberation of Mosul. The Iraqi prime ministers statement after the liberation was the top story on a number of news agencies in the Iranian press. A number of articles also focused on the day after the fight against IS. A number of websites published an article by a Lebanese journalist warning that the ideology behind IS will remain strong and that the group will likely regroup in northern Africa. The article stressed that the key for Iraq and Syria now is to close the gap between the two countrys borders.

The territorial defeat of IS is a big relief to Iran. Given the shared 900-mile border, Iranian officials were very concerned in July 2014 when the group suddenly took large parts of Iraq. At the time, Irans Interior Ministry said that if IS came within 25 miles of Irans borders, they would engage militarily. Iran was one of the first countries to offer weapons and assistance to both Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Iraq is also home to a number of religious sites that are important to Iranian Shiite Muslims.
WASHINGTON (AP)  How's that "blazing" economy?

At home and abroad over the past week, President Donald Trump described an America where everyone's getting rich off the stock market, money has started gushing into NATO and practically everything's on the upswing since he took office. On Russian meddling in the U.S. election, he expressed an enduring uncertainty that his U.N. ambassador  convinced of Moscow mischief  doesn't share.

A look at some of his statements:

TRUMP, on whether Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections: "Nobody really knows." He added: "So, it was Russia, and I think it was probably others also."  news conference in Poland on Thursday.

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. ambassador to the U.N.: "Everybody knows that Russia meddled in our elections."  on CNN's "State of the Union."

THE FACTS: The weight of evidence supports Haley's certainty more than her boss' equivocation. Multiple U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia meddled in the campaign, and for the purpose of giving Trump an advantage over Democrat Hillary Clinton. The full scope of the interference has not been established, nor whether Russian officials colluded with Trump associates in the campaign.

White House officials said Trump confronted Putin about the interference in their private meeting Friday. Kremlin officials had a different account, saying Trump appeared accepting of Putin's denials that Moscow did anything untoward to shape the election.

In Poland, Trump argued alternately that it could have been Russia, probably was Russia and indeed was Russia, while insisting it could have been other countries, too, and adding, "I won't be specific."

TRUMP: "No matter where you look, the economy is blazing. And on every front we're doing well. And we do have challenges, but we will handle those challenges  believe me."  remarks at Fourth of July event at White House.

TRUMP: "Really great numbers on jobs & the economy! Things are starting to kick in now, and we have just begun! Don't like steel & aluminum dumping!"  tweet July 3.

Really great numbers on jobs & the economy! Things are starting to kick in now, and we have just begun! Don't like steel & aluminum dumping!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2017

THE FACTS: The economy is not blazing. At best, it's at a controlled burn.

The performance under Trump has been remarkably close to the relatively tepid growth under President Barack Obama, a record Trump criticized as a candidate. Most economists agree that any president is unlikely to suddenly transform an economy in a matter of months.

The economy grew at a sluggish annual pace of 1.4 percent during the first three months of the year. Growth can be uneven on a quarterly basis. But Federal Reserve officials estimate the economy will grow 2.2 percent this year, 2.1 percent in 2018 and 1.9 percent in 2019. That is pretty close to growth of roughly 2 percent during the recovery under Obama.

Trump can celebrate a 4.4 percent unemployment rate, but that builds on progress made during Obama's tenure. The lower unemployment rate has also translated into smaller job gains under Trump.

Monthly job growth has averaged 180,000 during the first six months of 2017, compared with an average of more than 186,000 last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

TRUMP: "Dow hit a new intraday all-time high! I wonder whether or not the Fake News Media will so report?"  tweet July 3.

Dow hit a new intraday all-time high! I wonder whether or not the Fake News Media will so report?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2017

THE FACTS: Peaks and valleys during the day generally don't make for screaming headlines. Investors generally pay more attention to where stock market indexes stand when trading ends at 4 p.m. Because those markets have been setting records for months, Monday's intraday peak wasn't that notable, though the financial media reported on it. The stock market has been rising under Trump's watch, as it rose under Obama's since 2013.

TRUMP: "When I say that the stock market is at an all-time high, we've picked up in market value almost $4 trillion since Nov. 8, which was the election. Four trillion dollars  it's a lot of money. Personally, I picked up nothing, but that's all right. Everyone else is getting rich. That's OK. I'm very happy. "  Energy meeting with European leaders in Warsaw on Thursday.

THE FACTS: Everyone else is not getting rich. Most Americans lack meaningful stock market investments. Research by New York University economist Edward Wolff found that just 10 percent of the U.S. population owns 80 percent of stock market wealth.

Also, it's likely the rising stock market has indeed benefited him personally. Financial disclosures show the president has multiple brokerage accounts and extensive stock holdings. He owns shares in Apple Inc. (up 24 percent year-to-date), Caterpillar Inc. (up 15 percent) and Microsoft Corp. (up nearly 12 percent) among other companies. Even if Trump didn't buy into the recent stock market gains, his existing shares probably received a boost.

TRUMP, on NATO's core pledge: "To those who would criticize our tough stance, I would point out that the United States has demonstrated not merely with words but with its actions that we stand firmly behind Article 5, the mutual defense commitment."  speech in Warsaw on Thursday.

THE FACTS: Rather than showing a commitment with his actions, Trump has sown confusion with his words. Article 5 has only been used once  by other NATO members, to come to the defense of the U.S. after the 2001 attacks on American soil.

Trump suggested during the campaign that NATO members lagging on their own military spending might not be able to count on the U.S. to come to their aid if attacked. And he pointedly did not endorse Article 5 at a NATO meeting in May, unnerving some allies. In June, though, he said: "I'm committing the United States to Article 5." Those words won't be tested with action until or unless a NATO member is attacked.

TRUMP: "We just approved a big pipeline also  the Keystone Pipeline. It was under consideration for many, many years, and it was dead, and I approved it in my first day of office."  Warsaw energy meeting.

THE FACTS: He did not approve it on his first day in office. During his first week, on Jan. 24, Trump signed an order asking TransCanada to re-submit its application to build Keystone XL, which had been blocked by Obama. Trump suggested at the time that more negotiations would be required with TransCanada before he would approve the project. The project actually got the go-ahead in late March.

TRUMP: "Americans know that a strong alliance of free, sovereign and independent nations is the best defense for our freedoms and for our interests. That is why my administration has demanded that all members of NATO finally meet their full and fair financial obligation. As a result of this insistence, billions of dollars more have begun to pour into NATO. In fact, people are shocked. But billions and billions of dollars more coming in from countries that, in my opinion, would not have been paying so quickly."  Warsaw speech.

THE FACTS: The notion of money pouring into NATO because of his tough talk is one of Trump's most frequent fictions. The actual issue is how much NATO countries spend on their own military budgets. They agreed in 2014, well before he became president, to stop cutting military spending, and have honored that. They also agreed then to a goal of moving "toward" spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on their own defense by 2024. Most are short of that and the target is not ironclad. His tough talk is aimed at nudging them toward that goal.
: A farmer's body in Tamil Nadu today urged the Centre to expedite implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations to alleviate the plight of farmers, who have been facing serious economic crisis for the last few years.

Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi had time and again assured that the right Maximum Support Price would be fixed for farmers' produce on the lines of the recommendations, the NDA government had so far failed to act, Federation of Tamil Nadu Agriculturists Associations secretary, S Nallasamy said here in a statement.

With farmers in Tamil Nadu struggling for survival due to three consecutive droughts, bringing agricultural activities at a standstill, implementation of the recommendations would give them much needed succour, he said.

Nallasamy said though farmers had requested successive governments to implement the Swaminathan Commission report, submitted in 2005, the BJP-led government had implemented the seventh Pay Commission to government employees, thus again neglecting farmers, who are the backbone of the nation.

The then Manmohan Singh government also had put the n report on the backburner and implemented the sixth pay Commission, Nallasamy said.

Considering the plight of farmers across the country,the Modi government should implement the Commission's recommendations at the earliest, he said.

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India's digitisation programme has taken a big jump following but the country has a "long way to go" before all its citizens are fully connected to banks, a noted entrepreneur said on Wednesday.

Expressing confidence in India's ongoing reforms and the government's efforts to improve the "ease of doing business", billionaire and founder of Global Citizen Forum (GCF), B K Modi said, "The digitisation in the banking system is very strong".

Modi, however, said there was "a long way to go as not all Indians are fully connected to banks digitally".

Noting the "remarkedly well" performance of the Indian stock market post-demonetisation, Modi said the Indian rupee had improved recently from a high of 68.5 to the US dollar back to 64.50 rate.

"These are some of the results of the monetary policy for replacing 1,000 and 500 Rupee notes since November last year," he said while announcing two National Day celebration plans starting on August 9 for Singapore and culminating with Indian National Day on August 15.

GCF is joining the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) in celebrating the Singapore and Indian National Days, the first such celebration between the two countries.

The Singapore-headquartered GCF and SICCI will host a day-long conference on "New India - Emerging Global Leader" where presentations will include Singapore's and India's perspectives on Smart City programme in India. It will be held on August 10.

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Arcatron Mobility, a tech start- up, has raised an undisclosed funding led by Sudhir Mehta, Harish Mehta and Ketan Dalal from the Indian Angel Network (IAN).

The company manufactures next generation devices to make assisted-living more dignified and safe.

Founded in 2015 by four NIT Calicut alumni, Arcatron will use the funds raised for the production launch of Frido, an innovative self-driven shower and commode wheelchair, which fits in a suitcase, IAN said in a statement here.

In addition, funds will be utilised to set up online and offline sales channels across major cities in India and filing of IP for future products like the Frido Lite, it said.

***************************



GoDaddy names Nikhil Arora as new VC and MD for India



GoDaddy, a cloud platform dedicated to small independent ventures, today announced the appointment of Nikhil Arora as Vice-President and Managing Director for India.

Arora is expected to lead corporate strategy, business development and customer experience for GoDaddy in India.

Prior to joining GoDaddy, Arora led the Asia and India operations for WeWork and was also former VP and MD of Intuit India, GoDaddy said in a statement here.

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A 13-year-old Indian-origin boy with a dairy allergy died here in the UK after suffering a severe reaction to a piece of cheese allegedly forced on him by a schoolmate, prompting the Scotland Yard to launch a probe.

Karanbir Cheema died on Sunday after suffering a severe reaction to a piece of cheese allegedly forced upon him at school last month during a school break.

Another 13-year-old boy, a school-mate of Cheema, was arrested and questioned over the death which is being treated as a criminal matter.

"The boy, aged 13, was taken to a west London hospital in a life-threatening condition. Police were subsequently called when it became apparent that an incident had occurred which led to the boy coming into contact with the allergen. Those events remain under investigation," Metropolitan Police said in a statement this week.

"A 13-year-old boy, a pupil at the same school, was arrested on June 28 and interviewed in connection with the incident - he has been bailed to return on a date in late July pending further enquiries.

"The incident was initially investigated by officers from Ealing Borough but has since been passed to the Homicide and Major Crime Command," the Met Police statement added.

Karanbir, known as Karan, was allergic to wheat, gluten and dairy, eggs, and nuts and his condition was well-known at school.

On June 28, he went to the school office to inform them of a reaction to some cheese and staff gave him medication kept specially for him but his condition quickly worsened and he was rushed to hospital.

Doctors at Great Ormond Street hospital in London struggled to save his life but he died on Sunday.

His parents, who were by his bedside, are now demanding answers from the William Perkin High Church of England High School in Greenford and questioning exactly what caused their son's sudden death.

"I want answers, I want to get to the bottom of what happened. I will be asking the school if he was bullied but my son was very popular, you could not help but like that child, he never made enemies," said his mother Rina, who described Karan as an "angel" and a "selfless boy".

"My son had allergies but he was very careful. He had an allergy to dairy products but was good at avoiding them. He had a very bright future. There are a million things he could have done with his life. He was a bright, bright boy, kind and gentle. We are just devastated," said his father Amarjeet.

"I am speaking out because maybe lessons can be learnt. I do not want another family to suffer like this," he added.

The executive head teacher of William Perkin High Church of England High School, Alice Hudson, said staff were fully aware of Karan's allergies and gave him his special medication before paramedics arrived.

"He was able to come to the school office to indicate that he thought he was having an extreme reaction and they were able to immediately administer the normal treatment," she said.

"In light of this tragic incident, a review of the procedures will be carried out to ensure that the highest level of standards is maintained."



A statement on the school's website said: "The school community is deeply saddened at the loss of a Year 8 student who died on Sunday July 9 at hospital following a severe allergic reaction.

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Two Indian-origin women in the United States have been sentenced to two years in prison each for making false declarations before a grand jury.

Harjit Kaur Johal, 50, and Jasvir Kaur, 47, were sentenced by US District Judge Garland Burrell.

According to evidence presented at trial in March 2017, the two participated in a series of unemployment and disability fraud schemes in Yuba City. The organisers of the schemes were Mohammad Nawaz Khan, Mohammad Adnan Khan, Mohammad Shahbaz Khan, and Mohammad Riaz Khan.

The organisers set up a series of farm labour contracting businesses that purported to provide labour to harvest crops in Sutter and Yuba counties.

The organisers then sold fraudulent paystubs to other people, including the defendants, and reported false wages to the Employment Development Department (EDD). The purchasers of the paystubs would subsequently file for unemployment or disability benefits with the EDD based upon the fictitious wages.

Because the amount of the benefits that the EDD pays is based upon the claimant's prior earnings, the participants would pay the Khans to report high wages to the EDD.

In 2014, Johal and Kaur were subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the fraud scheme. During their testimony, when questioned about their wages, they falsely stated under oath that they picked peaches for Ray Khan and that they did not commit fraud.

Testimony from individuals with knowledge of Ray Khan's real employees established that he did not employ the defendants.

Evidence presented at the trial showed the defendants had reported chronic back and knee problems in prior disability claims with the EDD and were not capable of doing the physically intensive work required by peach picking.

The evidence established that the defendants purchased paystubs from Ray Khan so that he would report falsely inflated wages to the EDD, which the defendants could then use to claim the maximum possible amount of unemployment benefits.

Both defendants had participated in previous fraud schemes with other Khan family members and had already claimed benefits in excess of USD 30,000 each.

This case is part of a series of cases involving the Khan family's fraud schemes. Over the course of these related conspiracies, the Khans reported wages for over 400 separate individuals that resulted in more than 2,000 fraudulent claims for unemployment and disability benefits.

The fraud schemes defrauded the California Employment Development Department of more than USD 14 million. To date, 26 individuals have been convicted of various offences related to the schemes.

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Indians were among 11 foreign workers who were killed today in Saudi Arabia when a fire ripped through a windowless house they shared, media reports said.

The 11 workers killed and six injured in the blaze in southern Najran city were all from India and Bangladesh, the Saudi civil defence was quoted as saying by the Arab .

"Firefighters put out a blaze in an old house lacking windows for ventilation. Eleven people died of asphyxiation, and six others were injured," in the southern province of Najran, the civil defence said in a tweet.

The workers, who belonged to a construction company, were living near a gold market area in Faisaliah district.

The fire broke out due to short circuit in an old air- conditioning unit, according to primary information.

Among the six injured workers, four were from India, Saudi Gazette reported.

When contacted, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh told PTI that it has no details about the incident.

Najran Governor Prince Jluwi bin Abdelaziz ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the fire incident. His office will be supervising the committee, which will include representatives from the Civil Defence, Municipality and the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, the report said.

Prince Jluwi expressed concern at the absence of control over foreign workers' residences and the role of field teams of the Civil Defence and the Municipality, reported the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

He said that these entities must stop companies from renting out buildings which are unfit for living.

The oil-rich kingdom is home to nine million foreign workers, many of them from South Asia.

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A day after it arrested a computer science dropout in the Reliance Jio (RJio) data breach case, the police today said it was a case of "unauthorised access" into the company's database and "not a theft."



"It is not a theft, even though while filing the complaint they (RJio) had stated it as a theft. Now it is almost sure that he (the arrested person) was actually accessing the data in an unauthorised manner," Navi Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police Tushar Doshi told PTI.

The Rabale (Navi Mumbai) MIDC Police had on Monday registered a case against unidentified persons. RJio is headquartered at the satellite city.

Doshi explained as part of its regular operations, RJio -- whose subscriber base had crossed 100 million within six months of the launch -- makes certain data available to its retailers which was made available through the website and the arrested person gained unauthorised access to the company's servers.

"He got hold of a user ID and password and he could manage to access this data," Doshi, who is one of the investigating officers in the case, said referring to the accused Imran Chippa who was arrested from Rajasthan yesterday.

Asserting that this excludes sensitive details like Aadhar details or PAN numbers, Doshi said one was able to get a RJio subscriber's name, email ID, SIM activation date, telecom circle and alternate number by putting the RJio number in the search command.

Reliance was one of the first operators to add customers solely on the basis of Aadhaar details as address and identity proof. Later the government made it mandatory for all new connections to be activated against Aadhaar details.

"It is not that data is entirely visible there. You will get details only on the RJio number. There is a search engine on the website," Doshi explained.

The presence of Aadhar details, which includes biometrics, had raised concern in certain quarters after the data breach came to light over the weekend.

When asked about the difference between a data theft which was being feared initially and an unauthorised access to data servers, Doshi said, "theft means you have to download the data from a server. But in the present case that is not what happened. This is not data theft."



Accordingly, he said police will drop the first FIR filed under Section 379 of IPC (theft) but the charges under sections 43(c) read with Section 66 of the IT Act will remain.

The case is being probed jointly by the Navi Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra Cyber Cell. Investigators today said RJio filed a complaint with the Rabale MIDC police after it came across the website offering user details.

The police have recovered 50 SIM cards from the 35-year- old computer science dropout from Rajasthan arrested in this connection.

The cards were recovered in Rajasthan's Churu district, from the house of one Imran Chippa, a police official told PTI.

The police had earlier recovered a computer, mobile phone and other devices from Chippa, the official said. "Most of the SIM cards recovered are of RJio," Balsingh Rajput, SP (Maharashtra Cyber) said. "We are interrogating him to ascertain the purpose for which he had obtained these cards."



Chippa was produced in a local Jaipur court and was sent to the custody of the Cyber Police on transit remand.

However, the exact quantum of the subscribers whose data was made available was not immediately known.

"It will take some time to know Chippa's modus operandi and the number of people involved in the data leak,"the official said.

A resident of Sujangarh town in Rajasthan, Chhipa had made the website Magicapk. He claimed to provide Jio user data through his website, police said.

When contacted, an RJio spokesperson declined comments. In a statement on late Sunday evening, the company had said claims of the website were "unverified" and "unsubstantiated".

"Prima facie, data appears to be unauthentic. We want to assure our subscribers that their data is safe and maintained with highest security. Data is only shared with authorities as per their requirement," it had said.

Jio further said it has "informed law enforcement agencies about the claims of the website and will follow through to ensure strict action is taken".

After the police complaint was lodged, the Mumbai Police reached Churu after tracking the IP address and took Chhipa into custody last night.

Following the data leak, the domain of the website has been suspended.

An analysis by the Maharashtra Cyber Police headed by IG Brijesh Singh led investigators to zero in on the location from where the suspected data breach had happened, he said.

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Union minister Jitendra Singh today contended that the militancy in Kashmir was in its "final phase" with "decisive headway" being made in the last few weeks and months to combat it.

His statement came two days after the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag district of south Kashmir in which seven people were killed.

Singh along with Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir is part of a central delegation visiting Jammu and Kashmir to assess security measures for Amarnath pilgrims.

"This is a common observation that there has been a decisive headway made in combating it (militancy) in the last few weeks and months," the minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

Singh said that the youth of Kashmir is keen to be a part of the "developmental journey" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi because there has been a "dawn of a new era" of development in the last three years.

"I am very optimistic that this militancy is also going to outlive its life as we have seen happening in other parts of the country. I think we are now in the last phase of the militancy," he told reporters here.

He said Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country and ending the militancy in the state was what Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh meant when he referred to a "final solution" of the Kashmir issue recently.

"I think the final solution is being interpreted in different ways by different sections. It means that this protracted phase of militancy, terrorism and violence would finally meet its end," he said.

Singh also said the civil society in Kashmir and the security forces have to cooperate with each other so that the situation gets better.

"The civil society cannot survive without the security forces as are the circumstances today. The security forces also know that they have to restrain themselves and more than ever before in the last 25 years, this has been a great learning experience even for them...The kind of restraint that they are exercising, sometimes even at the risk of their own lives and jobs," he said.

SIngh also took a dig at the separatists, saying those who were instigating the youth to take up violence had "lodged their own children in safe havens."



"The society has to get together and give a call to the youth to not get instigated or provoked," he said.

Asked about the situation at the borders with China, Singh said India is today much different and much better equipped to meet any challenge than it was in 1962.

"Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has already stated that we are very comfortably placed as far as the China issue is concerned. And please, always keep in mind that 1962 is not 2017. India today is much different and much better equipped to meet any challenge," he said.

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A knife which was used to stab teenager Junaid Khan to death on a train last month has been found from a pond in Jatola village, Haryana Railway Police said today.

The shoes and a 'gamchha' worn by accused, Naresh Kumar, at the time of the killing have also been found from his house in Palwal, police said.

"We have recovered the knife used in stabbing," Haryana, Government Railway Police SP Kamaldeep Goyal said.

Junaid (17) was stabbed to death onboard the Mathura- bound train when he and his brothers were returning home to Khandawli village after shopping for Eid in Delhi. His body was dumped close to Asaoti village in Faridabad district.

The 30-year-old accused was arrested from Maharashtra's Dhule district on July 8, about a fortnight after the June 22 incident which had triggered a nationwide outrage.

During investigation, Kumar told police that he had bought the knife from Delhi on the same day. After the crime, he put it in a bag and dumped it in a pond in Jatola village, police said.

The accused works as a security guard in a Delhi firm.

Goyal said police was yet to recover the T-shirt which he was wearing at the time of incident. He will be taken to Maharashtra for its recovery.

The knife and other items recovered by the police would be sent to a forensic lab in Bhondsi in Gurugram for examination, police said.

Goyal said accused was sent to police remand for five days by a court here yesterday.

Kumar, a prime accused in the killing of Junaid, had "confessed" to having stabbed the victim.

Junaid was stabbed to death while his brothers, Hashim and Sakir, were injured by a mob which also allegedly hurled communal slurs against them.

His brothers had claimed the attackers had taunted and repeatedly called them "anti-nationals" and "beef eaters".

A reward of Rs two lakh had been announced for information on identity of those involved in the killing.

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A special investigation team (SIT) probing the July 4 rape-and-murder of a school girl in Kotkhai area of Shimla district detained five people for questioning today.

Those detained were residents of Kotkhai and nearby areas, sources in the police department said, without giving further details.

Meanwhile, various social organisations continued to stage protest and a youth group took out a candlelight march from Sanjauli to The Ridge today.

Pawan Khimta, who led the march, said that such a crime had never been heard of before in 'Dev Bhoomi' Himachal Pradesh and demanded justice for the victim.

He demanded that the matter be heard in a fast-track court.

The Students' Federation of India (SFI) today said it would gherao the office of the chief minister if the police failed to arrest the culprits at the earliest.

The Class X girl was raped and murdered on July 4 and her body was recovered from a nearby forest two days later.

BJP's chief spokesperson Rajiv Bindal said the law and order situation had deteriorated in the state and the Kotkhai incident was a glaring example. The governor should intervene and President's Rule should be imposed in the state, he added.

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The arrest of Malayalam actor Dileep, for his alleged involvement in the abduction and rape of an actress, has turned the spotlight once again on the legal wrangles of Bollywood celebrities. Among those who have courted trouble are:



Sanjay Dutt: The actor served a five-year sentence for possessing an AK-56 rifle and for his connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts. He walked out a free man in February last year.

Salman Khan: The Bollywood hero was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in a 2002 hit-and-run case but is an accused in a 1998 case related to blackbuck poaching.

Saif Ali Khan: The Omkara star is also one of the accused in the poaching incident, along with Salman, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam. Saif was also booked for allegedly hitting a businessmen in 2012.

Monica Bedi: The starlet was jailed for two and half years for using a fake passport while she was in Portugal with gangster Abu Salem.

Mamta Kulkarni: The '90s star, who once worked with Shah Rukh and Aamir Khan, has been declared a "proclaimed offender". The actress, who disappeared in 2002, is being investigated for her role in an international drug racket with her partner, alleged druglord Vicky Goswami.

Fardeen Khan: The actor was a promising star kid on the block when he was busted while trying to buy cocaine in May 2001. He was let off with a warning.

Govinda: The '90s dancing star landed in legal trouble when he slapped an onlooker on the sets of 'Money Hai Toh Honey Hai'. The victim filed an assault and criminal intimidation case against the actor. The 2008 case was finally closed today after the actor apologised to the victim.

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A local politician from Gujarat's Narmada district was yesterday booked for rape on a complaint lodged by an Anganwadi worker, the police said today.

Following the complaint, the local BJP unit has made the accused, identified as Jayantibhai Tadvi, who is in his 50's, resign from his position as the general secretary of the Narmada district.

He is yet to be arrested.

In her complaint lodged with the Garudeshwar Police Station, the complainant alleged she had been raped for 11 months by the accused who threatened to sack her from her job, said police sub-inspector Ajay Gadhvi.

The woman, currently posted in a village in Garudeshwar taluka, claimed Tadvi first forced himself on her around 11 months ago at her Anganwadi centre under the pretext of discussing some matter.

"She alleged Tadvi raped her on several occasions thereafter for 11 months by threatening her to dismiss from her job," Gadhvi said.

According to the complainant, Tadvi also threatened the woman to frame her husband in a police case if she disclosed the matter to anyone.

"We have registered the complaint and are conducting investigation," the sub-inspector said.

Meanwhile, Narmada district BJP president Ghanshyam Desai today said they have made Tadvi resign.

"We have made Tadvi resign as the general secretary as well as a primary member of the party," he said.

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An 18-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly molesting a woman journalist working in an English daily in suburban Vile Parle, a senior police official said today.

The incident took place on Monday night when the victim, who is in her thirties, was going towards Vile Parle railway station after visiting a relative.

According to police, the accused, identified as Sanjay Verma, works in a hotel as a waiter.

The woman told the police that when she was walking on M G Road, the accused hit her from behind and tried to molest her. However, the woman dragged Verma to a nearby police chowki, he said.

"The constables posted there called a police van and the woman as well as the accused were brought to Vile Parle police station," he said.

According to police, although the journalist was initially not keen about filing a complaint, she decided to do so after consulting a senior police official.

A case under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) was registered against Verma.

The accused was arrested and produced in a local court yesterday, which remanded him in police custody, the official added.

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Security forces have launched a massive hunt for Pakistani national and Lashkar-e- Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Ismail who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, a senior police official said here today.

The government has also sounded the "highest alert" across Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of Monday's attack in Anantnag district of Kashmir in which seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed.

Officials in Delhi, quoting intelligence inputs, said four terrorists, two of them Pakistanis, are suspected to have been involved in the attack.

Ismail was the mastermind of the attack and he was assisted by another Pakistani and two local militants, they said.

Ismail has been active in Valley for several years and had moved base to south Kashmir more than a year ago, the police official said in Srinagar.

Proactive operations have been launched, mainly in south Kashmir, to track down Ismail as investigations including communication intercepts have pointed to his involvement in the attack on the pilgrims, he said.

The official said the attack in Anantnag appears to be reprisal for killing of several LeT terrorists including top commander Bashir Lashkari in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.

"The terrorists are frustrated at the back-to-back losses suffered by them during counter-insurgency operations over the past month or so and have now resorted to attacking civilians and tourists," he said.

A home ministry offical indicated in New Delhi that the anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir would be intensified as he said the security agencies have been told to implement security plans with full vigour.

The Anantnag attack on the pilgrims came on the same day when police announced arrest of a module of LeT including a Hindu terrorist hailing from Muzaffaranagar in Uttar Pradesh.

Targeting of the pilgrims has led to a massive outrage in Kashmir, with people of the Valley saying that such incidents go against the concept of composite culture and Kashmiriyat.

Meanwhile, as the annual pilgrimage continues, the central government issued the "highest alert" in Jammu and Kashmir.

The alert was issued after a central ministerial team comprising Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh and Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir visited Kashmir and held extensive discussions with the top brass of the security establishment, Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the prevailing situation.

"Considering the unfortunate loss of life and injuries suffered by the yatris (pilgrims) in the recent terror attack, the entire security apparatus has been put on the highest alert by the ministers," a home ministry statement said.

The ministers visited Srinagar following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

They discussed the security situation in detail with the chief minister and the governor, before holding an in-depth security review with the local army commander, the chief secretary, the police chief and senior officers of the state government, the DG of the CRPF, and senior officers of BSF and other security agencies, the statement said.

The central ministers stressed that the entire country was with the Kashmiris and the pilgrims and that all arrangements for a safe and secure pilgrimage would continue with renewed vigour.

So far, more than 1.5 lakh pilgrims have visited the cave shrine located in the mountainous region of south Kashmir. The 40-day long pilgrimage will conclude on August 7.

The home minister yesterday took stock of the situation in Kashmir Valley, particularly on the routes to the shrine located in the Himalayas at an altitude of 12,756 feet, during an hour-long meeting.

As many as 21,000 paramilitary personnel in addition to state police forces have been deployed for security of the pilgrimage routes.

The number of paramilitary personnel deployed this year is 9,500 more than last year.

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Stepping up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice president today accused him of pursuing policies that created space for terrorists in Kashmir.

He also said that the prime minister's pursuit of short- term political gains from the BJP-PDP alliance in the state has cost the country dear and resulted in sacrifices of innocent Indians.

"Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India.

"Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively," he said in a series of tweets.

Gandhi also tweeted, "Modi's personal gain = India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood."



The Congress vice president had yesterday termed the attack on Amarnath pilgrims as a "grave and unacceptable security lapse" and asked the prime minister to accept responsibility.

He had also said that India will never be intimidated by terrorists.

Opposition parties had also asked the government to introspect on its failure to prevent the "cowardly and ghastly" terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims despite reports of advance intelligence inputs.

"The government needs to introspect as to why, despite advanced intelligence inputs, was there a failure to prevent this attack?" a resolution passed by 18 opposition parties yesterday said.

The BJP, however, asked Gandhi to "rise to the occasion" and not do politics over the Amarnath terror strike after he attacked the PM.

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The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has verbally communicated to a film maker to mute four words including 'cow' in his documentary on Amartya Sen, the director said.

The four words CBFC's regional office here wanted to be muted are 'Gujarat', 'Cow', 'Hindutva view of India' and 'Hindu India', Suman Ghosh, director of the documentary 'The Argumentative Indian', told PTI.

"After sitting for three hours at the Censor Board office in Kolkata, during which my documentary was screened and the members scrutinised every single shot, I was verbally told last night to mute four words 'Gujarat', 'Cow', 'Hindutva view of India' and 'Hindu India' for getting U/A certificate," Gosh said.

"I expressed my inability to them," he said.

Taking out certain words from the discussion between Sen and the interviewer, economist Kaushik Basu, would remove the soul of the documentary, Ghosh said.

"I am waiting for their written communicaton and whether they will send the film to review committee in Mumbai. In any situation my response will be the same," He said.

"These days fillms get online certification. So I hope the issue gets resolved quickly. But no question of taking out some words," he added.

Contacted, a member of the CBFC here said, "Nothing to comment to the media on what the director said.

In the documentary, Sen speaks of social choice theory, development economics, philosophy and the rise of right-wing nationalism across the world including India.

It has been made over a span of 15 years from 2002 and is structured as a conversation between Sen and his student economist Kaushik Basu.

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Ujjwal Chatterjee, who is set to direct bi-lingual film "Nalini" based on the platonic relationship between teenage Rabindranath Tagore and Marathi girl Annapurna Turkhud, today said he was ready to delete one scene from the final script.

Visva Bharati University had over a week ago set up a committee to examine the script of "Nalini", a Marathi-Bengali biopic which is being produced by Priyanka Chopra's Purple Pebble Pictures.

"We have decided to delete one scene in which Annapurna, affectionately named as Nalini by Tagore, kisses him on the cheek. We are aware about the sentiments involving Tagore and the sanctity of his dream place Visva Bharati where we intend to shoot some sequences," Chatterjee, who earlier directed "Escape from Taliban", told PTI from Mumbai.

"However, we have not thought about removing the other scene where Nalini kisses her fiance in the presence of Tagore. Actually we had worked on the script based on research and documentary references and we have evidences about such a situation," he said.

Chatterjee had earlier said the scenes in the film will be based on written documents and will be platonic and that extensive research had been done on the then 17-year-old Tagore's relationship with Annapurna Turkhad in 1878-79.

Annapurna was the daughter of a family friend of the Tagore family living in Maharashtra. She had introduced young Rabindranath to western culture before his trip to the UK.

When contacted, Visva Bharati Vice-chancellor Swapan Kumar Datta said, "We have asked for a final script from the producers and they have agreed. Whatever decision we will take will take into consideration the public sentiment about Tagore and ashramites (at Santiniketan)."



The Visva Bharati eight-member committee is headed by the VC and has Jnanpith award winning poet Sankha Ghosh, who is an authority on Tagore, among its members.

"I will appreciate if there is no effort to sensationalise and fictionalise certain period of Tagore's life in isolation. Rather, there should be a bid to explore Gurudev and his gamut of works, philosophy in its entirety," the VC had said.

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Scientists have developed a new eco-friendly, reusable biosensor that can rapidly detect dengue viruses from blood samples, an advance that may lead to low cost paper-based tests to diagnose the deadly disease at an early stage.

Dengue is endemic in all states and union territories (UTs) of India, according to World Health Organization (WHO). In 2015, a total of 99,913 dengue cases and 220 deaths were reported from across the country.

Dengue fever is a severe, flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults, and can even lead to deaths.

It is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito infected with one of the four dengue virus serotypes.

Existing detection methods cannot identify all the four types of dengue viruses.

To make an efficient and versatile sensor, scientists from the Amity University in Noida, and Maharshi Dayanand University in Haryana synthesised the biosensor by depositing nanoparticles of zinc oxide, palladium, and platinum on a fluorine-doped tin oxide electrode.

They then coated the electrode with a probe DNA of dengue virus and tested its efficiency in detecting dengue viruses.

"Two and a half years ago, the northern India - mostly Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh - was hit by dengue infections. Hospitals, clinics, pathology labs were overloaded with patients," Jagriti Narang, assistant professor at Amity University, told PTI.

"Since there are no vaccines for the infection, the detection at an early stage is necessary to take precautions," Narang said.

"DNA is double stranded - that is they have two strands that are complementary to each other," Narang said.

"We have deposited single stranded DNA (ssDNA) of dengue virus on the electrode. If the patient is suffering from dengue, then its complementary strand will be able to bind the ssDNA on to the surface of electrode," she said.

The electrode is connected to a device that can measure current value. These measurements can tell whether the patient has dengue or not.

The biosensor can be regenerated by dipping it in a sodium hydroxide solution for five minutes.

After regeneration, it retained its ability to show similar current response when exposed to a target DNA.

This device can be used as a lab-on-chip disease diagnosis platform at a point of care for detecting all individual serotypes of dengue virus on a paper-based substrate, researchers said.

"We are further working on the development of disposable paper based sensor for the detection of dengue virus," Narang said.

Dengue is the fastest growing mosquito-borne disease across the world today, causing nearly 400 million infections every year.

In the last 50 years, dengue has spread from being present in a handful of countries to being endemic in 128 countries; dengue incidence has increased 30-fold in this time period, according to WHO.

The research was published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

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The National Green Tribunal today rapped the Assam government for the death of several animals in road accidents in the Kaziranga National Park and directed it to ensure their safety, especially during monsoons.

Concerned over growing wildlife deaths in road accidents near the home of the famous one-horned rhinos, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed the Assam government to take urgent steps to protect animals during the floods.

"The animals are dying in road accidents on a daily basis. What are your traffic sensors doing? Tell us, why the sensors are not able to protect these animals," the bench said.

The green panel was informed by the Sarbananda Sonowal government that it has carried out 1,010 challans on National Highway-37 that passes along the southern boundaries of Kaziranga National Park for over-speeding and over-loading till July 10.

The Assam government counsel told the NGT that not even a single animal has died on the stretch where sensor-operated automated traffic barriers have been installed.

The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by wildlife activist Rohit Choudhury opposing the widening of NH-37 which passes from Jakhalabandha to Bokakhat along the reserve.

Advocate Ritwick Dutta, appearing for the petitioner, alleged that nine hog deers have been killed in road accidents in the last 10 days and said urgent steps are needed for the safety of these animals.

The tribunal directed the counsel for the petitioner to identify the stretches where sensor barriers have not been installed so that it can be replicated in other areas.

The matter was fixed for next hearing on July 14.

The tribunal had earlier said that any vehicle found crossing the 40-km speed limit on the NH-37 will have to pay an environment compensation of Rs 5,000, besides a fine under the Motor Vehicles Act.

The national park director had earlier told the bench that sensor-operated automatic barriers on NH-37 near the Malini Camp of the rhino habitat have been installed.

He had submitted that a total of four animals -- two hog deer, one capped langur and one python -- have been killed till April 30 after being hit by vehicles.

Three interceptor vehicles are at present in operation round-the-clock in the 66-km stretch of the highway running along the park to check that vehicle speed does not exceed the 40-km limit, he had added.

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Japanese auto major Nissan has appointed former Skoda Auto India brand head, Thomas Kuehl as president of its Indian operations, Nissan said in a statement today.

He will replace Guillaume Sicard, who stepped down recently to take up a new post with Alliance partner Renault as Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Asia Pacific and MD, South Asia.

Kuehl will take charge of his new assignment from October one, 2017 and will be responsible for both Nissan and Datsun brands, it said.

In his new role, Kuehl will head all operations in India, including marketing and sales, manufacturing, and research and development.

"Thanks to his diverse and deep global auto industry experience, Thomas will help drive our business forward with a focus on delivering the best products and satisfaction for our customers, dealers and employees in India," said Peyman Kargar, Chairman of Nissan's Africa, Middle East and India region.

Nissan India is an increasingly important part of Nissan's future growth plans, he added.

Kuehl, who joins Nissan from Volkswagen, has more than 22 years of automotive experience in different countries and different areas of value chain, the statement said.

He has a deep knowledge of the Indian market gained during his time as Brand Head of Skoda Auto India and Executive Director Corporate Strategy for Volkswagen Group, India, it added.

On his new assignment, Kuehl said:"I am excited to be returning to India with Nissan. I have first-hand experience of the dynamism and great potential of India, which is on track to become one of the top three auto markets worldwide."



Kuehl will be based in the headquarters of Nissan India Motors at Gurugram and report directly to Kargar.

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A man was today shot dead and his driver injured when unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants fired at them here, on the outskirts of Delhi, police said.

The incident took place when Mintoo Gurjar was on his way back to Delhi after attending a date in the district court near Hindon barrage on Vasundhara road here, SP city Akash Tomar said.

"Seven assailants on three motor cycles fired upon the car indiscriminately in which both of them received serious injuries," Tomar said.

A constable, who was near the spot, rushed them to a nearby hospital.

"Mintoo was declared brought dead at the hospital while Nagendra is still undergoing treatment," the SP said.

Mintoo was a resident of Ghazipur and his driver was a resident of Hasanpur in East Delhi.

Police are suspecting Mintoo's old enmity with Dharamvir Sethi over a car parking dispute behind the attack.

An FIR has been lodged against Sethi and six unknown assailants for the shootout.

Police are raiding the possible hideouts of the criminals, he said.

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The Delhi High Court today asked a trial court here to commence recording of evidence in a Rs one crore defamation case against lawyer activist Vrinda Grover and another woman by former TERI chief R K Pachauri from August 1.

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked the trial court to conclude the cross-examination of Pachauri and other witnesses on or before September 30 on the petition filed by Grover opposing the district judge's July 7 order directing day-to- day hearing between July 13 and 26.

"Let the trial court begin the cross-examination of plaintiff (Pachauri amd witnesses) on August 1 and conclude it on or before September 30," the court said.

The high court had on June 16 set aside the trial court order fixing the recording of evidence in the case during the summer vacation and asked it to fix a fresh schedule.

Grover, in her fresh plea, said that on July 7, the trial court heard the matter for rescheduling but Pachauri failed to file the list of evidences or number of witnesses.

She claimed that the rescheduled dates --July 13 to 26 -- for recording of evidence was conveyed to her counsel on July 10.

"It was brought to the notice of the trial court that on account of the failure of the plaintiff (Pachauri) to file the evidence by way of affidavits, it was no longer possible for the petitioner to be ready with any effective cross- examination of the plaintiff and his witnesses from July 13," the court said.

Pachauri's counsel Ashish Dixit sought a fixed schedule for recording evidence in the matter while submitting that Grover had sought adjournment twice earlier.

In April 2016, few months after the charge sheet against him was filed in the alleged sexual harassment case lodged by an ex-colleague, Pachauri had slapped a civil suit against Grover and the other woman for allegedly making defamatory statements against him outside the court room to the media in connection with the case.

The other woman had also made similar accusations against him after filing of the original complaint.

Pachauri has sought damages of Rs 1 crore for "false and frivolous allegations" which, he argues, could prejudice his case.

He also made three media houses and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry parties to the suit filed before a Patiala House court here and sought a permanent injunction against any reporting of statements of the two women.

On February 26, Pachauri had secured an order from another city court making it mandatory that the media houses publish or telecast the coverage of the case with a title that "in any court the allegations have not been proved and they may not be correct".

The interim order had further said "When such information is published in any page of a magazine or report, then it should be in middle of the page in bold letters and it should be five times larger than the font in which the article is being published.

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The Parliamentary panel on finance will present its report on in the upcoming Monsoon Session and RBI Governor will not be called again on the note ban issue, the committee's chairman M Veerappa Moily said today.

During the more than three-hour long meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance here today, RBI Governor Urjit Patel took a lot of questions but many members said the central bank chief did not provide any "specific number" on the amount of money that came back to the system post .

"We had a lengthy discussion (on and various other issues) today... The panel will not be calling RBI Governor again on the issue of demonetisation," Moily told PTI.

The panel would submit its report on demonetisation during the Monsoon Session of Parliament starting on July 17, Moily said. The session is to conclude on August 11.

Patel appeared before the panel for the second time today after cancellation of old Rs 500 and 1,000 currency notes on November 8 - a government decision which had attracted a lot of criticism from the Opposition.

In January too, the RBI governor had appeared before the committee and had told the members that he would submit a statement on the amount of money that came back into the system after demonetisation.

Along with Patel, RBI Deputy Governor S S Mundra was also present at the meeting today.

With Patel not providing any particular figure, saying that counting of the notes was still in progress, many panel members expressed dissatisfaction with the RBI chief's replies.

After the meeting, a senior member said the governor did not provide any figure but gave details on remonetisation.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was present at the meeting, did not ask any question to the governor, according to three panel members.

Incidentally, it was Singh who had rescued Patel from a tough grilling during the January meeting when he intervened to say that the central bank and the governor's position as an institution should be respected.

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A Madurai resident today moved the Madras High Court challenging the Tamil Nadu government's decision to hold "public examination" at class XI level too akin to the CBSE-held class X & XII-level board examinations.

A Madurai bench of the high court posted the matter for detailed hearing on July 19 after a brief hearing on the issue.

Petitioner K K Ramesh submitted to the bench of justices S S Sasidharan and G R Swaminathan that the government's move to bring class XI students under the ambit of public exams, would put an additional burden on the pupils who work hard to score high marks in class 10 and, then again, in class 12.

The students as well as the parents would be put to hardship for three years successively from class ten onwards and experience sleepless nights and frustration, he said while pleading with the court to quash the government order.

To this, the government counsel submitted that under the present system of examination, the students end up focusing only on Plus Two syllabus (Class XII) in order to secure engineering and medical seats in reputed institutes, ignoring the Plus One (Class XI) syllabus.

By not paying attention to the Plus One syllabus, they feel the burden after getting admitted into engineering colleges like Anna University, he said.

He argued that an experts committee set up to analyse the performance of the students during the first year of engineering courses also came to gthe same findings.

Accordingly, the government has decided to hold "public examination" at Class XI level.

The Tamil Nadu government had in May this year issued orders for conducting public examination for students of class XI, and proposed to revise school education syllabus "on par with CBSE standards" in the coming years.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed anguish over the flood situation in various parts of the Northeast and promised all possible help from the Centre.

He said he had asked Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju to personally supervise the rescue and relief operations and facilitate all possible help needed.

The prime minister said he had spoken to Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and officials, both in Delhi and the states, on the flood situation.

Five persons were killed and nine went missing yesterday as a massive landslide triggered by incessant rains hit eight dwellings in Arunachal Pradesh's Papum Pare district.

"I am anguished by the situation arising due to floods in various parts of the Northeast. I share the pain of all those affected by floods," Modi tweeted.

"The entire nation stands with the people of Northeast during this time. Centre assures all possible help to normalise the situation," he added in another tweet.

In Assam, the flood situation deteriorated further yesterday, with six more people losing their lives and over 15 lakh people across 23 districts affected by the deluge.

With this, the toll in this year's flood related cases has gone up to 39, including eight in Guwahati, a Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) report said.

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The state police commandos arrested one militant of the banned outfit Kangleipak Communist Party (Noyon) from the Sawombung Forest Gate area in Imphal East district, police said today.

The area is under the jurisdiction of Lamlai police station.

The militant was arrested yesterday evening by a team of high ranking police officers comprising Imphal East Additional SP (L&O) W Kasar and others, said a senior police officer.

The cadre has been identified as 24-year-old Hidam Aboy.

He reportedly received basic military training at an area in Myanmar.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the cadre had joined the banned outfit in 2012 and currently assumes the position of self-styled lance corporal of the outfit, and works under the deputy army chief of that outfit - "Langam".

One mobile phone along with a SIM was recovered from his possession, said the senior police officer.

A case has been registered and investigation is in underway, the officer said.

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The Puducherry government has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Director General of Supplies and Disposal in New Delhi to implement the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for procurement of goods and services in the Union Territory.

A release here today said the Chief Secretary to the Puducherry government, Manoj Parida had signed the MOU in the presence of the Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently.

The implementation of GeM would ensure expeditious procurement and saving of considerable amount of taxpayers' money.

During his recent visit to Delhi to attend the All India Conference of Chief Secretaries of various States and Union Territories, Parida had gave a presentation on the best practices followed in Puducherry to implement 'direct benefit transfer scheme,' 'digital economy' and the facilities to offer specialised heart surgeries in government hospitals, the release said.

It further said, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had lauded the efforts of territorial government at the conference and wanted other States and Union Territories to emulate the model in place in Puducherry.

The Chief Secretary assured the Prime Minister at the meet that universalization of LED lights and procurement through GeM portal would be implemented expeditiously here.

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Tech major Lenovo today said it will slash prices of handsets sold through offline retail channels in the coming days, following the GST implementation.

Motorola handsets sold through brick-and-mortar stores too will see the downward price revision.

"We will cut the prices of handsets sold through retail stores. We are still evaluating the quantum of price cut. This would come into effect soon," Lenovo MBG India Executive Director Sudhin Mathur told PTI.

He added that the revision follows the rollout of GST.

However, prices of the new devices being introduced in the market factor in the impact of the new tax regime, Mathur said.

Players like Apple and Asus have already reduced prices of their smartphones after July 1 when the GST regime came into effect.

Under GST, mobile handsets are being taxed at 12 per cent as compared to an earlier range of 8-18 per cent depending on the states.

The government had also introduced a 10 per cent basic customs duty on mobile phones and certain parts, in a bid to promote domestic manufacturing.

Lenovo (along with Motorola) manufacture their handsets in India through contract manufacturing.

India is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets globally. Players like Samsung, Micromax and Lava have had a significant hold of the market, Chinese players like Lenovo, Vivo and Oppo are aggressively eating into their market share.

The competition among these players is fierce, especially in the affordable (Rs 12,000 and below) and mid-range (Rs 12,000-20,000) handsets.

Motorola today also launched the fourth generation of its affordable 'E' series. The Moto E4 will be available in two versions -- Moto E4 for Rs 8,999 (offline retail only) and E4 Plus priced at Rs 9,999 (Flipkart).

"Over 52 million devices were sold in the last 4 quarters in the USD 100-200 category, making it the largest segment. Interestingly, online and offline account for similar proportion of this segment," he said.

Motorola has the 'E' series and the recently launched 'C' series in the USD 100-200 price category.

"This segment is witnessing growth, driven by demand from first-time buyers as well as people upgrading from their first smartphones to a better device," he said.

Mathur added that Lenovo has a market share of around 28 per cent in the said price segment.

The E4 features a 5-inch display, 2GB RAM, 1.3 Ghz quad- core processor, 16GB internal memory (expandable up to 128GB), 8MP rear and 5MP front camera and 2,800 mAh battery.

The E4 Plus has a bigger 5.5-inch display, 3GB RAM, 32 GB internal memory (expandable upto 128GB), 13MP rear and 5MP front camera and 5,000 mAh battery.

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Share of India's total exports to top 10 destinations worldwide has increased to 51.6 per cent in 2016-17, compared to 49 per cent in 2013-14, industry body PHDCCI today said.

India's main export destinations include the US, Japan, Hong Kong, UAE, China, Singapore, UK and Germany.

The country's merchandise exports to the US grew from USD 39.14 billion in 2013-14 to USD 42.33 billion in 2016-17, PHDCCI President Gopal Jiwarajka said in a statement.

Nearly 53 per cent of exports to America are in the form of consumer goods, followed by intermediates, capital goods and raw materials.

Similarly, India's exports to Hong Kong grew 11.2 per cent to USD 14.2 billion in 2016-17.

"Going ahead, we are hopeful that our exports will touch USD 325 billion mark in the current financial year," Jiwarajka added.

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Shell Pakistan is facing suspension of its licence in the country for failing to pay about Rs 260 million compensation to the victims of the devastating oil tanker fire that killed 220 people, according to a media report.

Pakistan's Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had ordered the local subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell to pay a penalty of Rs 10 million for June 25 oil tanker fire tragedy near Ahmedpur East.

In addition, the regulator ordered the company to pay Rs one million in compensation to the families of each of those killed and half a million for each person injured.

The firm yesterday paid Rs 10 million penalty. However, the payment was immediately rejected by the regulator, saying it was partial compliance of its order that also required the company to pay compensation to families of the victims.

"This is only a partial compliance and we reject it," a spokesperson to the regulator, Imran Ghaznavi, was quoted as saying by the Dawn.

He said the payment of penalty would not be considered full compliance with its orders unless the oil company made full compensation to affected families within the stipulated deadline which expires today.

"OGRA will proceed under the rules and laws in case the company fails to ensure full compensation to affected families. In case of non-compliance, OGRA may impose Rs 1 million per day or revoke the marketing licence," he said.

Earlier, the company said it would pay the fine imposed by OGRA to comply with the regulator's directive, but it has right to contest it.

It said the matter was under investigation, and the company would decide on the appropriate course of action once more information was known and investigations concluded.

"We are discussing with Ogra the appropriate means by which this financial assistance can appropriately reach the injured and the families who have lost their loved ones," Shell said.

On July 7, OGRA held Shell Pakistan squarely responsible for gross violation of laws, rules and standards in oil transportation resulting in June 25 tragic accident.

The regulator claims the tanker was not fit to transport oil and that the driver's license was invalid.

The Lahore High Court has also taken up this matter and directed the government to suggest penalty on the Shell Pakistan.

In its reply last week the government had suggested Rs 500 million on it.

The oil tanker carrying some 50,000 litres of fuel from Karachi to Lahore had crashed on a highway in central Punjab province.

After the fuel tanker crashed and started leaking, hundreds of villagers from a nearby village rushed to collect the spilled fuel, despite warnings by the driver and police to stay away.

The tanker exploded minutes later, killing 220 people, in one of the worst accidents in Pakistan's history.

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Karnataka has sought a meeting with its two other riparian states Goa and Maharashtra for an amicable resolution of the Mahadayi Waterdispute among them.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to his Goa counterpart Manohar Parrikar seeking tentative dates of his availability for the meeting after Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis expressed his willingness for the meeting on his request for it.

In his letter to Parrikar, Siddaramaiah said the chief minister of Maharashtra, the third riparian state, has sought tentative dates to organise the meeting.

"Hon'ble chief minister of Maharashtra appreciating the need to have a meeting amongst us (Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra) to resolve the Mahadayi Water dispute amicably ina friendly environment has been kind enough to respond to myletter and has sought tentative dates to organise the meeting," he said in his letter to Parrikar.

"Therefore, I request you to indicate your convenience, so that a meeting could be organised amongst us at a mutually convenient date/time," he added.

Taking the initiative, Siddaramaiah on May 30 hadwritten to his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis for organising a meeting of the three chief ministers.

This is the second such attempt to bring the chief ministers of three riparian states on the same table for discussion. The first similar meeting in October last year did not succeed.

The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal had last September asked the states concerned to resolve the waterdispute amicably by holding discussions.

The Karnataka government, which has locked horns with theneighboring Goa on the larger issue of sharing Mahadayi Riverwater between both the states, had earlier petitioned thetribunal seeking the release of 7.56 tmcft of water for theKalasa-Banduri Nala project.

But it was rejected in an interimorder on July 27, resulting in violent protests in NorthKarnataka.

The Kalasa-Banduri project is being undertaken by Karnataka to improve drinking water supply to the twin citiesof Hubballi-Dharwad and the districts of Belagavi and Gadag.

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South African Tourism today said it is looking at over 1 lakh tourist arrivals from India this year as it undertakes a slew of initiatives including travel trade training sessions to promote the country as a preferred destination.

The country had around 95,000 tourist arrivals from India in 2016 that was 21.7 per cent higher from the previous year.

"We are aiming at over 1 lakh tourist arrivals from India to South Africa in 2017 and we are working towards achieving this target," South African Tourism Country Manager India Hanneli Slabber told PTI.

India is the 8th largest source market for South Africa globally, she added.

When asked about the main segments of the arrivals from India, Slabber said :"It is mix of around 50 per cent leisure and 50 per cent business. Out of the business segment, it is 30 per cent Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) and around 20 per cent individual business travellers".

The average length of stay for the leisure travellers is 11 days and for business travellers the average length of stay is 19 days, she added.

On being asked about the steps the South African Tourism is undertaking to promote the country as a destination of choice in India, Slabber said: " We are taking a number of initiatives such as travel trade training sessions. It is a 17 cities training programme".

Apart from the metros, the tier II and tier III cities are also being targeted, she added.

"For the consumers, we are doing lot of videos, television advertisements, digital campaigns and magazine supplements to promote South Africa," Slabber said.

South African Tourism is the tourism marketing arm of the South African government. It promotes the country domestically and internationally, whether for leisure, business or events tourism.

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Opposition SP and BSP members today staged a walkout from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council expressing dissatisfaction over the government's reply over the law-and-order situation in the state.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Leader of the Opposition Ahmed Hasan said, "In the 100 days of the BJP's rule, 1,229 cases of murder, 1,321 incidents of rape and 1,201 incidents of dacoity have been reported."



"Crime has increased almost four-fold in the state. Uttar Pradesh at this point of time has become Crime Pradesh," he said.

Countering his allegation, Leader of the House and Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said, "During the Samajwadi Party rule, no cases were registered. When the cases were not registered, it boosted the morale of the criminals.

"The BJP government has made provision of online registration of complaints. When cases are being registered, the number will go up," he said.

The legislators also protested levying of electricity charges to government schools at commercial rate.

To this, state Energy Minister Shrikant Sharma assured the House that the government will look into the matter seriously.

"The government will seriously deliberate over the proposal that electricity bill of secondary schools should not be levied at commercial rates.

"There are over 1.5 lakh primary schools, of which there is no provision of electricity in 60,000 such schools. The effort of the government is to make available electricity in all the government schools by October 2017," the minister said.

Some members also raised the issue of "bad behaviour" they reportedly face at various toll plazas in the state.

Earlier in the day, members condoled the death of seven Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag district and observed two- minutes silence.

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The Punjab Congress today lashed out at the SAD leadership alleging they were trying to "befool people by taking a sham high moral ground" on the SYL issue.

"Had the Badals, who misruled Punjab for a decade, taken proper legal recourse, matters would not have come to such a sorry pass," a joint statement by Punjab cabinet ministers Manpreet Singh Badal, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Rana Gurjit Singh said.

The statement alleged that both former CM Parkash Singh Badal and ex-deputy CM Sukhbir Badal were now trying to provoke Chief Minister captain Amarinder Singh to defy the Supreme Court, clearly exposing their utter lack of faith in the judiciary.

The Badals have never believed in the rule of law and took no meaningful steps to fight Punjab's SYL case while they were in power, alleged the ministers.

The statement alleged that Punjab's case had been "messed up" during Badal's chief ministership.

"The Punjab government, under Badal, appointed as their AG, a Haryanvi advocate who was, at one time, also the AG of Haryana (under the Chautala government), and the said officer never went to the court for hearing on the SYL issue," the PPCC leaders claimed in the statement.

Further, they said, the main reason for bringing in the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, which was enacted during the earlier chief ministerial tenure of Amarinder, was never presented before the judiciary.

"What is more, AK Ganguly, the main architect of the Act, was removed by Badal from the legal team appointed to take the case forward in the court," they added.

Amarinder, said the PPCC leaders, had been steadfast on his stand against the SYL all through and was committed to protecting the water rights of the people of Punjab in view of the critical water shortage in the state.

Yesterday, Badal had said the riparian principle was "totally un-negotiable" as the basis of river water distribution among states and any solution outside its purview would never be acceptable to Punjabis while SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal had hit out at Amarinder Singh for "being ready to negotiate with Haryana" to resolve contentious Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) issue.

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Maharashtra police, probing the case of alleged leak of customer data from India's newest telecom entrant - Reliance Jio, have recovered 50 SIM cards from the 35-year-old computer science dropout from Rajasthan, arrested in this connection.

The cards were recovered in Rajasthan's Churu district, from the house of Imran Chippa, a dropout of the Bachelor of Computer Science, a police official told PTI.

Police had earlier recovered a computer, mobile phone and other devices from Chippa, the official said.

"Most of the SIM cards recovered are of Reliance-Jio," Balsingh Rajput, SP (Maharashtra Cyber) said.

"We are interrogating Imran to ascertain the purpose for which he had obtained these cards", he said.

Chippa was produced in a local court in Jaipur, and was sent to custody of Cyber Police on transit remand, he said.

The quantum of data allegedly leaked will be known only when the computer hard disk, pen drive and other devices seized are analysed by the Forensic Science Laboratory, he said.

"It will take some time to know Chippa's modus operandi and the number of people involved in the data leak," the official said.

A resident of Sujangarh town, Chhipa had made the website Magicapk. He claimed to provide Jio user data through his website, police said.

However, Jio has said that the claims of the website were "unverified" and "unsubstantiated".

After the police complaint was lodged in Mumbai, Mumbai Police reached Churu after tracking the IP address and took Chhipa into custody last night.

Following the data leak, the domain of the website has been suspended.

A Mumbai Police team, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Deepak Dhole, had reached Churu district after tracking the IP address, police said.

An analysis by the Maharashtra Cyber Police headed by Inspector General of Police Brijesh Singh led investigators to zero in on the location from where the suspected data breach had happened, he said.

Jio had said its subscriber data "is safe and maintained with highest level of security".

The company is one of fastest in the world to touch the 100 million subscriber mark within months of its launch in September 2016.

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Tata Motors today reported 1.71 per cent decline in global sales in June at 90,966 units, including that of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles.

The company had sold 92,551 units in June 2016, Tata Motors said in a statement.

In the passenger vehicles category, global sales stood at 60,725 units last month as against 59,831 units during the same period in 2016, a growth of 1.5 per cent.

Sales of luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover were up 4.7 per cent to 49,422 units in June as compared to 47,197 units in the same month of 2016.

Tata Motors said sales of its commercial vehicles declined by 7.57 per cent to 30,241 units as against 32,720 units in the year-ago month.

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A day after JD(U) asked him to come clean, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav today virtually ruled out his resignation, while dubbing the FIR registered against him under various anti-graft provisions as "political vendetta."



"The FIR (in land-for-hotels case) is part of a political vendetta. BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are conspiring against me and family members out of political reasons," Yadav told reporters after coming out of a cabinet meeting.

He said "everybody knows that they (BJP) are afraid of Laluji. But, it was not known that they are afraid of even a youth of 28 years of age.

"Can you believe that a child of 14 years of age whose moustache has even not come will indulge in corruption?" he said and dubbed the FIR as "farzi" (fake).

The FIR was lodged in connection with a private party allegedly giving three acres of land in 2004 in Patna to them in return of getting license to run two IRCTC hotels at Ranchi and Puri when Lalu Prasad was Railway minister.

Highlighting his good work and clean image as minister, he said "from the first day I entered office I have been adhering to zero tolerance to corruption and has not done anything wrong in dispensing the responsibility. When a man at an age of 28 is not indulging in any corruption, how can he indulge in corrupt practises at an age of 14."



Yadav said BJP was after him because he had highlighted the prime minister's "broken promises" to youths, farmers and workers and asserted that the RJD would not rest till they ousted the saffron party not only from Bihar but from the entire country.

Yadav, who holds charge of Road Construction, Building Construction and Backward and Extremely Backward Castes Welfare, said "We'll go to the people of Bihar and tell them everything."



Yadav, who is also the leader of 80-member RJD legislature party, said "the Grand Alliance is intact and will continue to run."



He vented anger on a section of media and called them "goonda" who "on tune of BJP" was out to break the Grand Alliance government in the state.

While Tejaswi Yadav was speaking to media persons at the state secretariat, his Health Minister brother Tej Pratap Yadav was standing behind him.

In the cabinet meeting, Yadav met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the first time after his party in a terse message to him yesterday had asked to "come out with facts in public against the accusations."



Yesterday after a prolonged meeting chaired by Nitish Kumar, JD(U) had delivered a tough message to him to "come clean on accusations by explaining with facts against charges," but had stopped short of demanding his resignation.

The message had come amid signal of widening rift between the JD(U) and the RJD and through which JD(U) made it clear that it could in no case make any compromise with Nitish Kumar's clean image.

Meanwhile, a group of people claiming themselves as member of "Krishna Sena" squatted on the rail tracks at Hajipur protesting the registration of FIR against Yadav.

"The agitators protested from 11.15 AM to 11.50 AM at Hajipur station. They were removed by Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel," East Central Railway (ECR) spokesman Rajesh Kumar said.

He said movement of two trains were effected due to the agitation for a brief period.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The NDA's presidential nominee, Ram Nath Kovind, is not scheduled to meet Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray at his residence when he visits Mumbai on Saturday, BJP sources said today.

As per Kovind's itinerary, he will reach Mumbai at 10 am on July 15 and will go to the Garware Club in south Mumbai, where he is scheduled to address a meeting of NDA MPs and legislators in the state.

"He will proceed to the airport after the programme," a BJP leader said.

Significantly, Pranab Mukherjee and Pratibha Patil, as presidential candidates of the UPA, had visited the then Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra as the party had broken ranks with the NDA in the past two elections for the highest constitutional office.

Uddhav had announced his party's support for Kovind after a meeting of the Shiv Sena leaders here last month.

"Kovind is a good candidate, a straight-forward person from a simple family and has the potential to work for the country's benefit," he had said, after dithering for a day following the announcement of Kovind's candidature by the BJP, followed by its endorsement by most other NDA partners.

The Sena's announcement to support Kovind had come amid sever strains in the relations of the party with the BJP over a host of issues.

The party had earlier pitched for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat as its first preference for the top office.

Sena MP Sanjay Raut had said, "If India has to be made a 'Hindu Rashtra', Bhagwat will be a good choice for President."



After Bhagwat ruled himself out of the race, the Sena suggested agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan's name for the post, saying he will be able to provide solutions to the deepening agrarian crisis in several parts of the country.

BJP president Amit Shah had met Thackeray last month at 'Matoshree' to enlist the party's support for the NDA's presidential candidate. Sena has 18 MPs and 63 MLAs.

The voting for the presidential election is scheduled on July 17 and the counting will take place on July 20, four days before President Pranab Mukherjee's term ends.

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Uddhav Thackeray today hit back at the senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar for terming the Shiv Sena as an "earthworm", saying the latter is actually the best friend of farmers.

"Agreed that we are like earthworms, but don't forget that an earthworm is the best friend of farmers," Thackeray said while addressing farmers in Jalgaon in north Maharashtra.

Thackeray's remarks came days after Pawar equated Sena with a "two-mouth earthworm" insinuating that the saffron party, which is a junior ally of the BJP in the Centre and state governments, speaks in many voices on various issues at variance with the BJP.

In a dig, the Sena chief said the Congress and NCP leaders have started showing concern for farmers only "of late".

Thackeray said he was not aware about "how many mouths" does Pawar have as he has not heard the former deputy chief minister speak against the BJP-led government.

"He (Pawar) has nothing to speak about the government. If Ajit Pawar had just one mouth then he would not have insulted the farmers. Remember what he had said to a farmer on the banks of a dry dam in Solapur?. Did he not say that if there is no water in the dam then should he urinate in the dry dam?" Thackeray said referring to Pawar's controversial statement in 2013, which had drawn flak from various quarters.

"Isn't the same Ajit Pawar quiet today as if a cotton ball of corruption is stuffed into his mouth? If we fight for the cause of farmers while in power then does that mean we are playing the role of the opposition?" he said while seeking to dismiss the criticism that the Sena is behaving like an opposition party despite being a partner in power.

Thackeray said his party would never forget the promises it had made to farmers before the elections and would strive to fulfil them.

"This (not keeping promises) may happen in the Congress and NCP, but it does not happen in the Sena. What we say we do it and if it does not happen then we shall ask as to why the work is not happening. When we seek your votes, we assure you that we will wipe your grief. Shouldn't we wipe your sorrow?" he asked.

He said the Sena will continue its opposition stance while remaining in power until farmers get justice. "The Sena will not merge itself with the government," Thackeray added.

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Three persons were arrested today for allegedly trespassing into the Central Reserve Police Force camp on the outskirts of the city.

The police said the trio were found moving suspiciously near the shooting range of the camp at Thudiyalur last night when the CRPF personnel on duty nabbed them.

The preliminary inquiry into the matter revealed that they hailed from Kerala and did petty jobs while staying at a temporary shed near the Thudiyalur railway station.

The trio, all aged 21 years, were identified as Arshad, Banees (both from Malappuram) and Telson Thomas (Kochi), they said.

They told police that they had lost their way while coming down from a hilly area in the night and landed in the camp by mistake.

The CRPF personnel handed them over to police which registered a case under IPC section 447 (criminal trespass).

They have been remanded to judicial custody, the police said.

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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held talks today with four Arab states boycotting Qatar as part of a round of intense shuttle diplomacy aimed at resolving the regional crisis.

Tillerson flew into Saudi Arabia where he met King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose country leads a four-state alliance that has cut ties with Qatar over accusations it supports extremism.

The United States, a longtime ally of Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, has given mixed signals about its policy on the Gulf crisis.

While President Donald Trump welcomed the Arab states' decision to sever air and land links to their gas-rich neighbour, the State Department has taken a more neutral position and Tillerson is seeking to broker a diplomatic solution.

The crisis has presented Tillerson, well known in the Gulf from his former role as chief of energy giant ExxonMobil, with his first big challenge as Washington's top diplomat.

In a setback to his efforts, the four Arab states yesterday dismissed a counter-terrorism deal signed between Qatar and the United States that day as "insufficient".

But today Tillerson underscored the shared mutual interests between the United States and Saudi Arabia notably in the areas of "security, stability... And economic prosperity".

Speaking after meeting with the Saudi crown prince, the king's son and a highly influential figure in regional politics, Tillerson stressed the two countries shared a "strong partnership".

The secretary of state also met the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in an attempt to mend fences between the crucial US allies.

The United States and its Western allies have vast economic and political interests in the Gulf, which pumps one fifth of the world's oil supplies.

While Saudi Arabia is a key US ally, Qatar is home to the US military's largest air base in the region, Al-Udeid. Rival Bahrain houses the US Navy Fifth Fleet.

Yesterday, after a stop in regional mediator Kuwait, Tillerson travelled to Doha where he described Qatar as being "reasonable" in its dispute with the four states.

He also signed a deal which he said "lays out a series of steps the two countries will take over the coming months and years to interrupt and disable terror financing flows and intensify counter-terrorism activities globally."



The deal meant Qatar was "the first to respond" to Trump's call at a summit in Riyadh in May "to stop the funding of terrorism", Tillerson said, suggesting such deals could be signed with the other Arab states as a step toward ending the crisis. But yesterday's initiative was dismissed as "insufficient" by the Saudi-led bloc.

Commitments made by Qatari authorities "cannot be trusted," said a joint statement published by Saudi state agency SPA.

The bloc has issued a list of 13 demands for Qatar including closing broadcast giant Al-Jazeera, downgrading ties to Iran and shutting a Turkish military base in the emirate.

Iran, Saudi Arabia's main arch-rival, has offered to export food to Qatar and today announced it was boosting ties with the Gulf state of Oman.

Oman has maintained ties with Qatar and joined the Kuwaiti and US-led crisis talks this week.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain on June 5 announced sanctions, effective immediately, against Qatar over accusations Doha supported Islamist extremism and was too close to Iran.

They severed all diplomatic ties, suspended transport links with Doha and ordered all Qataris to return home within 14 days.

Qatar refused to comply with the ultimatum and has consistently denied accusations of ties to Islamist groups.

UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on June 30 said the demand to close Al-Jazeera represented "an unacceptable attack on the right to freedom of expression and opinion," prompting a harsh response from the United Arab Emirates.

In a letter to the rights chief, UAE state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash accused Al-Jazeera of anti- Semitism and inciting viewers to discrimination and violence.

The letter lists the broadcasting of "sermons by the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, in which he praised Hitler, described the Holocaust as 'divine punishment'" and the regular airing of the speeches of slain Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and others as examples of hatred.

Tillerson's visit is the latest in a series by officials to the region, including UN diplomats and the foreign ministers of Germany and Britain, to try to resolve the row.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit the Gulf this weekend, with stops in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait.

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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, touring the crisis-hit Gulf for a round of intense shuttle diplomacy, arrived in Saudi Arabia today for talks with four Arab states boycotting Qatar.

Tillerson will meet with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in Jeddah in an attempt to mend fences between the crucial US allies.

But in a setback to his efforts, the four Arab states - which accuse Doha of supporting extremism - yesterday quickly dismissed a counter-terrorism deal signed between Qatar and the United States as "insufficient".

The crisis has presented Tillerson, well known in the Gulf from his former role as chief of energy giant ExxonMobil, with his first big challenge as Washington's top diplomat.

While President Donald Trump welcomed the Arab states' air and land blockade of their gas-rich neighbour, the US State Department has taken a more neutral position and Tillerson is seeking to broker a diplomatic solution.

Tillerson, who is spending much of this week in the Gulf seeking to end the dispute, had an audience with Saudi King Salman at the royal court today after arriving in Jeddah.

He passed on "greetings from President Trump".

"He wanted to ensure that I extend to you his warmest regards," Tillerson told the Saudi ruler.

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami today presented a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh to Rifath Sharook and his team who had developed 'KalamSat,' a 64 gram micro satellite that was launched by NASA last month.

The team members, including Sharook, met the Chief Minister at the Secretariat here, a government release said.

Palaniswami had last month announced in the state Assembly that "to further encourage," Sharook and his team who brought laurels to India and in particular to Tamil Nadu, Rs 10 lakh will be given by the government to them.

'KalamSat,' launched on June 22 by NASA, won the first prize from among 80,000 models in a competition held by the American space agency.

It is a 3.8 cm cube satellite of 'Femto category' and its structure is fully 3D printed with reinforced carbon fiber polymer.

Replete with a temperature and humidity sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, the tiny and "world's lightest," satellite also has a "Nano Geiger Muller counter", to measure the radiation in outer space.

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Top stories from the southern region at 1730 hrs today.

MDS1 TN-DEATH-VIOLENCE



Rameswaram (TN): Twenty persons, including passengers of a bus and two drivers injured, when a crowd pelted stones at state transport buses after a fisherman was fatally knocked down by a state bus in Thangachimadam area late last night.

MDS2 PD-SPEAKER-BJP



Puducherry: Around 150 BJP workers are taken into custody when they tried to lay siege to the Assembly against Speaker V Vaithilingam's move of rejecting the nomination of three party functionaries as members of the House.

LGM1 KL-COURT-DILEEP



Kochi: A magistrate court grants two-day police custody of popular actor Dileep, arrested in connection with the alleged abduction and assault of a South Indian actress here in February.

MES7 KL-JAITLEY-NAPKINS



Thiruvananthapuram: Activists of a Left students union in Kerala posts sanitary napkins to union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as a mark of protest for imposing GST on women's hygiene product.

MCM1 BIZ-WIPRO



Bengaluru: Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting says it has shut down its lighting manufacturing unit at Mysuru due to a sharp decline in the demand for CFL products and increasing preference for LED products.

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US President Donald Trump will travel to Paris later this week to attend the annual Bastille Day celebrations and hold discussions with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on issues like Syria and counter- terrorism, the White House says.

"The president will arrive in Paris midmorning on Thursday, July 13th to conduct meetings with President Macron of France, and to participate the next day in the annual Bastille Day celebrations, at the invitation of President Macron. The First Lady will also accompany," a senior White House official told reporters yesterday.

Trump who returned from Europe last week after attending the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany would be making his third foreign trip after becoming the US President in January this year.

The Trump-Macron meeting "will focus on Syria and counter-terrorism topics," the official said who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"We also anticipate the two presidents, in the introductory one-on-one meeting, will also share perspectives from the recent G20 meeting," the official said, adding that the two presidents will address a joint press conference after that.

On Friday, July 14, the president and first lady will participate as guests of honour in the French National Day ceremonies on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the entry of American troops onto French soil, and into World War I.

This year will also feature participation by US soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines from the Army's 1st Infantry Division.

1st Infantry Div. Was the first US unit to enter France, the official said adding that it actually participated in the Bastille Day ceremonies in 1917. It was also the first US unit to go into combat, he added.

The US Air Force demonstration team, the Thunderbirds will also participate and conduct a flyover during the ceremony. A US Navy aviator will pilot a French Rafale fighter plane as part of the festivities.

Three US veterans of the Normandy invasion will also be present.

Responding to a question, the official said Trump is ready to engage on climate change issue if it is raised by Macron during the meeting that is scheduled for an hour and 15 minutes.

While this would be their first formal bilateral meeting, the two leaders have spoken multiple times. They also met on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Germany last week.

"The relationship between the two of them as being very positive...There are some issues, where we see the world a little bit differently, but many issues where we see the world more or less the same.

"The French are and have been and will be very close security partners of ours who cooperate in many different domains and on many different issues.

"And I think the relationship, still in its early stages, is a very, very good one," said the official.

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Nearly 100 homes in Uttar Pradesh's Sarvantara village have been electrified, thanks to an initiative by a student from the UK's prestigious Imperial College.

Clementine Chambon, a final year PhD student, has helped connect the homes with a mini eight-kWh solar energy grid via her social enterprise start-up company - Oorja - last month.

The mini solar grid provides around 1,000 people with energy for affordable lighting, phone charging and fans to cool homes.

"We are delighted to see the smiles on the faces of our happy customers, to hear their reports of how electricity is allowing their children to study longer, and their hopes that a computer centre will be opened in the school so that students can learn how to use a computer," said Chambon.

Like most hinterlands in India, majority of the population in Sarvantara are farmers. Chambon reckons her project will help fuel the farmers' productivity.

"The renewable energy generated will also power pumps to provide irrigation services to farmers, providing significant cost savings compared to diesel-powered pumps," said Chambon.

Since less than average rainfall has been predicted for this year, the Briton said, the demand for electricity to pump water for irrigation has surged.

"Villagers are particularly keen to sign up to receive energy from our system for affordable irrigation services," she said.

"They are very relieved that an alternative to expensive diesel pumps will be available, especially as the diesel price in India is expected to get much more expensive, following recent deregulation of the market," she added.

Chambon intends to expand her project and fit the 100 households with smart meters to enable remote monitoring of energy generation and consumption in real-time.

"The data will help Oorja to analyse the performance of the system and improve the services they provide," she said.

Oorja was founded in 2015 by Chambon and a colleague, Indian social entrepreneur Amit Saraogi.

The company provides affordable and reliable power to rural communities in India that are currently not connected to the country's national energy grid network.

According to Imperial College London, the next stage of their project will involve a pilot of a hybrid mini-grid that will generate electricity from solar energy and biomass.

"This could provide a bigger supply of electricity to power small enterprises, such as grain mills, sewing cooperatives and water purification stations in the village," a statement by the college read.

The Oorja team then plan to raise more funding to enable them to roll out dozens more mini-grids to other villages in 2018.

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The United Nations today urged Singapore to halt the execution of a Malaysian drug trafficker, saying it should not go ahead while an appeal was pending in his home country.

Prabagaran Srivijayan was sentenced to death in 2012 for trafficking 22.24 grams (0.8 ounces) of heroin, but has consistently maintained his innocence.

He is expected to be hanged Friday, according to the UN's human rights body which cited family members.

Trafficking certain volumes of illegal drugs carries the mandatory death penalty in Singapore, unless certain conditions are met for it to be commuted to a life sentence.

The UN rights body's Southeast Asia office "calls on the Singaporean government to halt the imminent execution of Malaysian national Prabagaran Srivijayan for a drugs-related offence, and urges the government to immediately instate a moratorium on the use of the death penalty", it said in a statement.

"We are gravely concerned that the execution will proceed despite a pending appeal," the statement said.

Prabagaran's lawyers have filed a case in Malaysia where the Court of Appeal is considering an application to refer Singapore to the International Court of Justice over concerns about the trial, according to activists.

His legal team has also raised concerns about the fairness of his trial. Amnesty International said this included the alleged failure of the authorities "to follow up leads and call on key witnesses that would corroborate his version of events".

James Gomez, Amnesty International's Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, added: "The Singaporean authorities must immediately halt his execution before another person suffers this inhumane and irreversible punishment."



Both Malaysia and Singapore execute murderers and drug traffickers by hanging, a system which dates back to British colonial rule.

Singapore, however, has consistently maintained that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime and has rejected calls to abolish capital punishment.

The city-state last November hanged two foreigners - a Malaysian and a Nigerian - for drug trafficking after their last-minute appeals were rejected.

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UN officials said today that plans to ship as many as 1 million doses of cholera vaccine to Yemen are likely to be shelved over security, access and logistical challenges, even as the deadly caseload continues to balloon in parts of the war-torn country.

The UN aid coordination agency said Yemen's suspected cholera caseload has surged past 3,13,000 and caused over 1,700 deaths, making it the world's largest outbreak.

War has crippled Yemen's health system, depleted access to safe drinking water and put millions on the brink of famine.

Citing such complexities, spokesman Christian Lindmeier of the World Health Organization said that shipping vaccines "has to make sense," and that they could be re-routed to places that "might need them more urgently," such as some African countries.

The announcement from the UN officials comes a day before the WHO's new director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is expected to address the UN Security Council by videoconference about Yemen's cholera crisis.

Last month, following a request from Yemen's internationally recognized government, the WHO and several key partners agreed to send 1 million doses of vaccine, the largest of its kind since 1 million doses were sent to Haiti after Hurricane Matthew last fall.

Lindmeier said 5,00,000 cholera vaccine doses are currently waiting in Djibouti for possible delivery to Yemen, and that Yemen's government has final say whether they actually are sent.

The Yemeni government is allied with a Saudi-led coalition that is battling Shiite Houthi rebels, who control the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen.

Cholera vaccine rollouts are not easy even in more peaceful situations. The vaccines have to be kept in cold storage, and patients should receive a follow-up vaccination after the first one.

In Yemen, where cholera has now reached all 21 governorates, the vaccines have to be targeted to those areas most susceptible to new outbreaks. That's hard in Yemen, which has remote areas and conflict zones that have sliced up the country.

Jamie McGoldrick, the Yemen chief for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the plan to ship vaccines was designed as a "preventive intervention," but in some cases, the impact would be "less than optimal" by the time the vaccines would arrive.

Speaking by phone to reporters in Geneva, McGoldrick said the trend line of cases in areas that have gotten help fighting cholera has been "stable, or (has) shown signs of decline.

However, there are many areas in the country where the trend line is moving up, and those areas are, as you would imagine, the most remote," or behind conflict lines.

He said Yemen now has 3,13,538 suspected cases and 1,732 deaths caused by cholera in an outbreak that was first recorded in late March.

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The US and Qatar have signed a deal to combat terror financing as the oil-rich Gulf nation faces sanctions from its neighbouring countries for allegedly supporting extremism.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson travelled to the Middle East to try to resolve the stand-off between Qatar and other Persian Gulf nations, which have accused their oil-rich neighbour of supporting terrorism.

"We worked out an arrangement with the Qataris separate from the Qatar feud. And this is something we're pretty proud of. That is the Qataris and the United States have signed a memo of understanding between the United States and Qatar on counter terrorism financing," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at a daily conference.

This she hoped would pave the way for Qatar to go back into the good stead of the other four countries -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates -- that cut off relations with them on the issue of terror financing.

"We know that all of those countries, as we talked about in Riyadh, share the concern about ISIS, the global terror network, and they recognise that we are all stronger when we are working together and coordinating in the fight against ISIS.

"So we believe that this memo of agreement between the United States and Qatar is a good first start to get that underway," Nauert said.

This new counter-terrorism financing and funding initiative that Tillerson announced yesterday in the region with his Qatari counterpart is a good first place to start, she said.

"I think to highlight that the United States and Qatar have this agreement on terror financing sends a really good message to all of the nations that we can get to this agreement on this.

"We can get to an agreement that terror financing is a major issue and a major concern.

"So, I think that helps set a good example for the other nations that we hope that they will come to the table with us as well," Nauert said.

The State Department spokesperson said she is not sure, at this point of time, if this could be extended to other countries as well.

"I'm not certain if this memorandum is going to be extended to the other nations. There could potentially be but I don't want to get ahead of the Secretary. I suppose there could be separate memorandums that would come of these conversations," she said.

"I'm hopeful we can make some progress to bring this to a point of resolution," Tillerson said during a joint conference in Doha with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Thani.

The Saudis along with three other nations moved last month to isolate Qatar for its alleged ties with terrorist organisations. They also hit the peninsula nation with a 13- point list of steep demands.

Qatar has rejected the allegations and has refused to comply with the ultimatum.

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In the midst of a firestorm over Russian meddling in last year's US election, senior diplomats from both countries will meet next week to consider a number of disputes, the State Department has said.

Career diplomat Thomas Shannon, the US State Department's third-in-command, will host Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov in Washington on July 17, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said yesterday.

Moscow had cancelled a previously scheduled late-June meeting in St. Petersburg between the counterparts, citing new US sanctions linked to the conflict in Ukraine.

"Shannon has been hard at work as we have been trying to find areas that we could deal with some of these so-called irritants," Nauert said, without elaborating.

Diplomats quoted by Russian agencies stressed that Shannon and Ryabkov would discuss sanctions imposed last December at the tail end of Barack Obama's presidency, which led to the expulsion of some 30 Russian diplomats and spies, as well as the closure of two stateside Russian residential complexes.

The two officials will also likely take on issues concerning Ukraine and Syria, according to US diplomats.

Upon returning last weekend from a jaunt to Europe during which he met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that it was "time to move forward in working constructively with Russia!"



But Trump's aspirations will likely come up against US lawmakers who are demanding more sanctions over Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 vote that brought him to power -- accusations Moscow has denied.

that the president's eldest son Donald Trump Jr met with a Kremlin-linked lawyer during the campaign has ramped up the tension.

The real estate scion in June 2016 admitted to meeting the Russian lawyer in a bid to get damaging material on his father's presidential rival Hillary Clinton.

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By David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's ambassador to the United States has said reports of trade growth between his country and North Korea, in spite of international efforts to press Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and missile programs, give "a distorted picture."

Last week U.S. President Donald Trump denounced China's trade with North Korea, saying it had grown almost 40 percent in the first quarter, and cast doubt on whether Beijing was helping to counter the threat from North Korea.

Data released in April showed China's trade with North Korea grew 37.4 percent year on year in the first quarter, in spite of a ban on coal imports China announced in February.

"This is a distorted picture," China's ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, said in a speech to a Washington think tank on Monday.

Cui said bilateral trade declined in 2015 and 2016, and by 41 percent in April and 32 percent in May as a result of the coal import ban.

At the same time, Cui stressed that U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea did not constitute an embargo. "Normal trade ... is not banned by these sanctions," he said.

The Chinese embassy released a copy of Cui's speech, originally delivered in an off-the-record setting, on Tuesday.

Cui said China backed further U.N. action against North Korea for violations of U.N. resolutions such as nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

He did not though make clear whether China believed North Korea's latest missile test last week, which the United States described as a first ICBM test, was of that type of missile.

Diplomats say the United States is aiming for a vote within weeks to strengthen U.N. sanctions on North Korea over the test, but Russia has objected to a Security Council condemnation of the launch as a U.S.-drafted statement labelled it an ICBM.

Cui said sanctions were necessary, but could not solve the North Korean problem alone. He repeated a call for Washington to back a Chinese "suspension for suspension" proposal under which North Korea would freeze weapons testing in return for suspension of U.S.-South Korean military exercises.

Washington says the exercises are needed to maintain defences against North Korea and U.S. officials say Beijing could face U.S. economic and trade pressure unless it does more to rein in North Korea.

Washington is expected to press the issue when senior U.S. and Chinese officials meet on July 19 to discuss bilateral economic issues.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by James Dalgleish)

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MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) will start trading in chickpea futures from Friday, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told on Wednesday.

The exchange will initially launch three contracts of chickpea, known locally as chana, said a source, who declined to be named.

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India had suspended futures trading in June 2016 after chana prices spiked due to a drop in the production.

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

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ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A joint meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC nations in Russia later this month will only discuss the oil market but will take no decisions, Algerian Energy Minister Mustapha Guitouni said on Wednesday.

"The (global oil output cut) decision had already been taken until March 2018," he said during an international energy forum. "Algeria's current crude production is 1.7 million barrels per day. This is our quota and it is respected."

(Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Katya Golubkova)

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A week after the government cleared the revised allowances under the 7th Pay Commission for central government employees, the cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be taking another decisive step.



The Narendra Modi Government is likely to give its nod to the code on wages which proposes making minimum wages mandatory for all of its employess, reported Financial Express.

Quoting a labour ministry source, FE in its report said that the code afterwards would be tabled in the monsoon session of the house.

However, it is not clear if the industrial relations code that seeks to ease the labour market will be tabled in the coming session, the report stated.

At present, minimum wages is applicable to 51 "scheduled employments".

What is the new code?

The new code on wages combined the provisions of four extant Acts - the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, The Payment of Wages Act, 1936, The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, with a goal of reducing the wide difference among minimum wages across the different states.



Why the Government wants the Minimum Wage Act in action?

The Government is keen to bring the Minimum Wage Act in action because it would empower the Centre to fix a national minimum wage, below which no state can fix their wages.

However, the amount would be revised in every two years. In a case, where Dearness Allowance (DA) becomes part of the minimum wage, then the amount would be revised in every five years.

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Ships carrying Chinese military personnel for Beijing's first overseas military base, in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, have left China to begin setting up the facility as China's rapidly modernising military hones its global reach.

Djibouti's position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worries in India that it would become another of China's "string of pearls" of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

China began construction of a logistics base in strategically located Djibouti last year that will resupply naval vessels taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular.

This will be China's first overseas naval base, although Beijing officially describes it as a logistics facility.

State news agency Xinhua said in a short report late on Tuesday the ships had departed from Zhanjiang in southern China "to set up a support base in Djibouti".

Navy commander Shen Jinlong "read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti" but the report did not say when the base might formally begin operations.

Xinhua said the establishment of the base was a decision made by both countries after "friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides".

"The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia," it said.

"The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways," the Xinhua report.

"Not military expansionism"

The People's Liberation Army Daily said in a front-page commentary this was a landmark move that would increase China's ability to ensure global peace, especially because it has so many United Nations peacekeepers in Africa and is so involved in anti-piracy patrols.

China would not seek military expansionism or get into arms races no matter what happened, it said.

"These promises will not change because of the construction of the overseas logistics base," it said.

The state-run Global Times said in an editorial on Wednesday there could be no mistake that this was in fact a military base.

"Certainly this is the People's Liberation Army's first overseas base and we will base troops there. It's not a commercial resupply point. It makes sense there is attention on this from foreign public opinion," said the paper, which is published by the official People's Daily, said.

However, China's military development was about protecting its own security, it said. "It's not about seeking to control the world."

Djibouti, which is about the size of Wales, is located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal. The tiny, barren nation sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts U.S., Japanese and French bases.

There has been persistent speculation in diplomatic circles that China would build other such bases, in Pakistan for example, but the government has dismissed this.


Residents of Mahagun Moderne, a residential housing society in Noida's Sector 78, witnessed a unruly scenes on Wednesday morning when a domestic help was allegedly beaten up by one of the residents.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, the mob which included maids from the neighbourhood gathered outside the main gate of the society at 7 am and tried to breach the security. Some even entered the premises of the society and started pelting stones.

They also blocked a main Dadri-Surajpur-Chhalera (DSC)road at Barola, halting traffic towards Noida Phase 2 Industrial Area, the report said.

After learning about the incident, the Superintendent of police (city) Arun Kumar Singh visited the spot.

"Most of the protesters are domestic helps, who are angry that a maid has been allegedly beaten up. We are trying to contain the protest," the report quoted Singh as saying.

However, speaking about the incident, a resident claimed that a maid was caught stealing from one of the apartments and was handed over to police.

Due to scuffle, the residents of the society remained indoors and students were not able to go to school on time.




The central government employees may not be paid arrears on new allowances under the Seventh Pay Commission as the official notification on the matter makes no mention of the issue.



The reforms in allowance structure were under the pay panel were notified in the Gazette of India on July 6 without any mention of the arrears. The changes in allowances were approved by the Union Cabinet with 43 modifications on June 28 after recommendations in this regard were reviewed twice by two different committees.

While most of the allowances have been hiked under the 7th Pay Commission, central government employees had to wait for a year to get them. The central government employees had received arrears on hiked basic pay under the pay panel in August 2016, effective from January 1, 2016. But no arrears were notified for the increased allowances which come into effect from July 1, 2017.

Around 48 lakh central government employees will see their salaries for July rise as Ministry of Finance has notified the allowances under Seventh Central Pay Commission with 34 modifications. Around 34 lakh civilian employees and 14 lakh defence personnel will be receive their salaries with modified allowance rates.

The pay hike will begin to reflect in the salaries and pensions of central government employees they receive for the month of July.

The recommendations on allowances by 7th Pay Commission would have put an additional burden of Rs 29,300 crores on the exchequer. In its new form, however, the Pay Commission allowance will translate into additional burden of Rs 30,748 crore on the exchequer every year.

House Rent Allowance shall not be less than 5,400 per month, 3,600 per month and 1,800 per month calculated at 30 per cent of minimum pay for X (population of 50 lakh & above), 20 per cent for Y (5 to 50 lakh) and 10 per cent for Z (below 5 lakh) category of cities.

In the official notification in Gazetter of India, HRA shall be revised to 27 per cent, 18 per cent & 9 per cent of Basic Pay in X, Y and Z cities when Dearness Allowance (DA) crosses 25 per cent and further to 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent of Basic Pay in X, Y and Z cities when DA crosses 50 per cent.

The Union government has also decided to do away with the provision of free ration to be discontinued for defence force personnel in peaceful areas. However, Ration Money Allowance (RMA) will be credited directly to their bank accounts.

Fixed Medical Allowance for central government allowance has also been bumped up to Rs 1000 from Rs 500. Ministerial staff will continue to get Hospital Patient Care Allowance/ Patient Care Allowance at Rs 4100 for level 8 and below and Rs 5300 for level 9 and above.

Coming under pressure from central government employees over drastic chnages in the allowance structure under 7th Pay Commission, the Cabinet formed a Committee on Allowances under Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa last year in June. The Committee was tasked to appraise the extensive changes suggested by the 7th Pay Commission.

The Lavasa Committee handed over its review report to the Finance Minister in April after consulting representations from various government departments. The report, post approval, was forwarded to Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) for their consideration and consolidation.

After receiving the final proposals from the Empowered Committee on June 1, the Cabinet approved the recommendations on allowance on June 28.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that a five-judge Constitution bench will hear matters related to the Aadhaar on 18 and 19 July. The hearing would also include the much-talked about breach of the fundamental right of privacy.

Attorney General K K Venugopal and senior advocate Shyam Divan would make the case for petitions that have challenged Modi led government's move to make Aadhaar mandatory for various public welfare schemes.

It was in August 2015 that the Supreme Court (SC) referred to a Constitution Bench a batch of petitions challenging the Centre's ambitious scheme to provide Aadhaar card to all citizens and decide whether right to privacy is a fundamental right.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, had said that the matter requires elaborate debate and an authoritative pronouncement in view of the fact that there have been inconsistent decisions as to whether right to privacy is a fundamental right.

He had cited two judgements, pronounced by six and eight- judge benches, which had held that right to privacy is not a fundamental right.

Subsequently, smaller benches had held contrary view and, hence this matter needed to be decided by a larger bench, the attorney general had said.

Meanwhile, a new book on Aadhaar seeks to answer several questions associated with the 12-digit identification number and its impact on the citizen-state relationship.

Authored by political-economy analyst Shankkar Aiyar, the book by Westland Publishing, offers a linear history on the "ups, downs and turnarounds of Aadhaar under two governments with diametrically differing ideologies".

Aadhaar was created on July 6, 2009, by the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who, sharing his insights on Aadhaar in the book has said, "I was not satisfied with merely letting it happen. I was determined to make it happen."

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The government is likely to push for passage of the bill which seeks to double the tax-free gratuity ceiling to Rs 20 lakh, in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament, beginning July 17, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has said.

Besides, the bill to amend the Payment of Gratuity Act also seeks to enable the central government to change the ceiling for tax-free gratuity after factoring in rise in income levels by an executive order bypassing Parliament route to amend the law.

The draft bill, however, is yet to be scrutinised and approved by the Union Cabinet.

"This is on our agenda. It may come in this session (Monsoon). It will soon go to the Cabinet for approval," Dattatreya said when asked about the status of Payment of Gratuity Amendment Bill.

After the amendment in the Act, formal sector workers would be eligible for up to Rs 20 lakh tax-free gratuity. Earlier in February, the central trade unions had agreed on the proposal in a tripartite consultation with the labour ministry.

However, the unions had demanded the removal of conditions asking to have at least 10 employees in an establishment and minimum five years of service for payment of gratuity.

At present, as per the Payment of Gratuity Act, an employee is required to do minimum service of five years to become eligible for gratuity amount. Moreover, the Act applies to those establishments where the number of employees is not less than 10.

Trade unions had demanded that the amended provision regarding maximum amount should be made effective from January 1, 2016, as done in the case of central government employees.

Besides, that rate of 15 days wages for each completed year of service be raised to 30 days wages, the unions had said during the tripartite meeting.

The proposed amendment to the Payment of Gratuity Act as circulated by the government only deals with enhancing the ceiling of maximum amount under Section 4(3) of the Act from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

The proposed amendment is being brought to bring the maximum ceiling amount to Rs 20 lakh in line with the 7th Central Pay Commission's recommendations as accepted by the government.


The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday presented its first Budget for the state. CM Yogi Adityanath's Rs 3,84,659 crore maiden Budget was 11 per cent more than the previous Akhilesh Yadav's government.



The Budget allotted Rs 36,000 crore to the farm loans waiver and Rs 55,781 crore for new schemes. However, the UP government also had discontinued funds for some welfare and freebie schemes launched by the Samajwadi government.



Presented by Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal, the Budget showed a deficit of Rs 7,468 crore for the year 2017-2018 after deduction of the total expenditure from receipts of the consolidated fund.



Agarwal said the focus is on the poor, unemployed and farmers. The government has set a target of 10 per cent growth rate in this budget.



Education department has been awarded the biggest allocation of Rs 66,599 crore followed by Rs 15,760 crore for construction of roads and Rs 6,123 crore for irrigation. Much focus was laid on allocating funds for Central schemes launched by PM Modi.



Wif-Fi would be provided in all government colleges and universities with Rs 50 crore.



Adityanath said the Budget is dedicated to "village, poor, farmer and women", adding that over Rs 240 crore has been set aside for development and promotion of "cultural heritage" and religious tourism.
The US government's latest move to delay the 'startup visa' programme until next March could impact Indian entrepreneurs. The Trump administration also said it plans to rescind the Obama-era program

The programme known as the International Entrepreneur Rule and favoured by many in the technology industry, would allow foreign entrepreneurs who launched companies that won $100,000 in government grants or received $250,000 in venture capital investment to stay in the US for a renewable 30-month term.

Finalized in January by the Obama administration, it was set to take effect July 17.

The step is the latest example of the Donald Trump administration to restrain immigration to the US despite objections from business groups.

According to a 2016 study by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), a US-based non-profit nonpartisan public policy think tank, immigrants have become founders of more than half of US startups valued at $1 billion dollars or more, and are key members of either management or product development teams in more than 70% of these companies. Of these, people of Indian origin have founded almost 30 percent, reported The Economic Times.

The policy is "brain-dead" and a "lose-lose" for the US, Indian-American technology entrepreneur and academic Vivek Wadhwa told ET.

Wadhwa said bringing in entrepreneurs creates American jobs and expands the economy,

Commenting on the move, Wadhwa said countries such as India and the rest of the world could gain from this.

The Trump administration is pandering to anti-immigrant groups rather than focusing on US competitiveness and economic growth, said Wadhwa.

Co- founder of AOL Steve Case opposed the decision in a tweet.



Trump officially delays startup visa rule https://t.co/qQTn7YhYle Big mistake. Immigrant entrepreneurs are job makers, not job takers. pic.twitter.com/k0CbTyPXBs Steve Case (@SteveCase) July 10, 2017

and 14 Indian origin entrepreneurs have started billion dollar firms in the US valued at $19.6 billion, according to a NFAP study.



As per the NFAP study, 14 Indian-origin entrepreneurs have started billion dollar companies in the US which are collectively valued at $19.6 billion.

The Obama administration's aim was to keep high-calibre talent who visits US for studies but returns to their countries and start businesses that become huge successes.


The film, Argumentative Indian, has been flagged by Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for its use of the words 'Gujarat', 'Hindu India', 'Cow' and 'Hindutva view of India'.

Protesting the ban, filmmaker and economist Suman Ghosh will not release his documentary in Kolkata this weekend as scheduled.

The Central Board had objected to the use of certain words in the film that is based on the life of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen.

The one hour long documentary 'The Argumentative Indian' was shot in two parts in 2002 and 2017 respectively. The film was scheduled for release this Friday.

However, after the screening of the documentary at CBFC's regional office in Kolkata on Tuesday, Ghosh was told the documentary could only be released with a UA certificate if the words like 'Gujarat', 'cow', 'Hindutva view of India' and 'Hindu India' were muted.

Ghosh refused to do so and taking a stance against the CBFX has now decided not to release the film.

Slamming the board, he said, "It asked me to beep the word Gujarat as Sen was speaking about Gujarat riots in the documentary. Then it asked me to beep the word cow which in my opinion was very funny. We were also asked to beep words like Hindu and Hindutva. We objected to it. We know how films like Udta Punjab and Lipstick under My Burkha went into controversies following its dispute with CBFC regarding film certification. I don't agree with what happened with these films and rightfully the opposition voice was raised. But I never thought such parameters would be followed in documentaries which is not a scripted movie and when it is about a person with such international stature. I was a bit shocked to experience this".

Amartya Sen, who currently is in Santiniketan in Birbhum district, said, "I have nothing to say on this as I have not directed this documentary. I am the subject of the documentary and being a subject of the movie I should not comment on this. The director will give his opinion on this. I don't want to be a part of this discussion."

He, however, added, "If the government has reservation about the documentary then there could be discussion on such reservation where others would place their opinion. I should not speak on this."
Police in Rajasthan on Tuesday detained a man suspected of involvement in what may be a major leak of user data from India's newest telecoms company Jio, a police official said.

Jio, run by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani and his conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, said on Monday it was investigating whether personal data of more than 100 million of its customers had been leaked to a website named "Magicapk.com".

The company said it was working with law enforcement agencies to investigate the alleged leak, which cyber security analysts say could be the first large-scale data leak from an Indian telecoms firm.

The local police official, who asked not to be named, said Imran Chhimpa was detained on Tuesday in connection with the investigation. He said investigators from Mumbai were due to arrive in the area shortly.

The proprietor of a local internet service provider in Sujangarh, where Chhimpa was a customer, confirmed Chhimpa had been detained, adding he had received a query from the police about Chhimpa earlier on Tuesday.

In a July 5 post on Frendz4m, an online message board, a person with Chhimpa's Internet Protocol (IP) address and using the handle "imranchhimpa", posted a link to "magicapk.com" saying the site could provide personal user details of anyone with a Jio connection. The post said the data was obtained from original documents.

The proprietor of the local internet service provider told Reuters that police asked him for the installation address of that particular IP address, and made him accompany them to Chhimpa's home, where he was later detained.

Chhimpa was not immediately reachable for comment, and his phone was switched off. Police declined to comment on whether there were any other suspects in the case at this time.

A spokesman for Jio said there was no immediate comment on the company's own investigation into the alleged leak.

Major Breach

On Monday, Jio said the data leak appeared to be "unauthentic", and the company's subscriber data was safe and maintained with the highest security.

Some Jio users, though, took to Twitter to say they were concerned that personal information on Magicapk.com could be accurate. The Indian Express newspaper said it was able to cross-verify details on a number of Jio customers it knows.

The Magicapk.com website showed as "suspended" since late Sunday.

Jio launched last September and already boasts over 100 million subscribers after drawing in users with months of free service and now cut-price deals.

Analysts said that if the names, contact numbers, email addresses and Aadhaar numbers of all Jio customers were compromised, it would be a major setback for the telecoms industry's new entrant.

Many users registered for Jio using a 12-digit Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number, commonly known as the Aadhaar number.

The government is pushing for Aadhaar numbers to be used in everything from opening a bank account to filing tax returns. The number, which works in a similar way to U.S. Social Security numbers, is unique to each Indian citizen and stores users' biometric data in a centralized database.


As Apple faces new hurdles with its much-awaited iPhone 8, other players are pulling up their socks to occupy the vacant space in premium smartphone segment. Reports suggest that its competitor, Samsung is likely to launch one of its premium devices before the scheduled date to cash in on the opportunity.

The South Korean consumer electronics giant is planning to release Samsung Galaxy Note 8 sometime between August end and early September, reported The Bell .

Samsung employees have been working overtime since past two weeks to start producing parts of Samsung Galaxy Note 8, the report said while quoting industry sources.

"Samsung Electronics employees have been in the head office for about two weeks. The production schedule is tight, but we are forcing to meet the expected release date in early September," the report quoted an unidentified Samsung personnel.

Meanwhile, another report by The Investor claims that Samsung will launch the Galaxy Note 8 on August 23. The phone will be available in the global market within a month from the release. However, Samsung has not officially confirmed these reports yet.

Taking convention into consideration, Samsung usually unveils the latest version of the phablet during the IFA held in Berlin in September. This puts Samsung Galaxy Note 8 on the cards, as Samsung Galaxy S8 was launched in April this year.

The probable reasons behind Samsung pushing the release date of its premium phablet have been attributed to two factors - early slowdown in sales of Samsung Galaxy S8 and delays by Apple in releasing its new flagship, the iPhone 8 .

Meant to be the 10th anniversary edition of the premium smartphones by the Cupertino giant, iPhone 8 recently ran into trouble. Expected to be launched in September and available in open markets by November, iPhone 8 is facing several software problems related to key functionalities. Reports suggest that developers are still facing trouble with 3D front sensor and wireless charging on the much-awaited device. Even the employees are believed to be in a 'state of panic'.

Despite the recent price cuts, Apple devices have undergone in India and abroad, iPhone 8 seems to have the undivided attention of company fans. Samsung might be looking to capture the premium smartphone market with Samsung Galxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 and other high-end devices in absence any new device from Apple.

Another reason could be sales of Samsung Galaxy S8 slowing down before its time. According to The Bell report, Samsung sold only 9.8 million units in first two months from its release, 20 per cent less than what its predecessor did in the same period of time. The company seems to be expecting Samsung Galaxy Note 8 to help boost the sales of the flagship device.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has to look after the shortcomings of its predecessor too. The company had to discontinue Samsung Galaxy Note 7 after several units exploded due to a faulty battery. The fiasco greatly eroded company's market reputation.

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Cache County School District Superintendent Steve Norton speaks in favor of the Our Schools Now initiative at a public meeting held on July 11, 2017 at Hillcrest Elementary School in Logan.

LOGANCoordinators of the <a href=https://ourschoolsnow.com/>Our Schools Now</a> initiative held seven public meetings throughout the state on Tuesday evening. One of these meetings took place at Hillcrest Elementary School in Logan, where an active dialogue took place about Utahs public education funding.

Austin Cox, campaign manager of Our Schools Now, said the town hall discussions were designed to introduce communities representing each of Utahs 41 school districts to a proposal developed by business leaders and educators to increase the state income tax as an investment in educational performance improvement.

We feel they went very well, Cox said of the meetings. We had over 400 attendees (in total) at the seven meetings throughout the state, and a majority of comments that were made were in support of Our Schools Now.

The Our Schools Now initiative calls for a  of 1 percent (.005) increase to the state sales tax and a  of 1 percent increase to the state personal income tax, which would boost funding for publication education by $700 million. The added revenue would provide each Utah school with nearly $1,000 per enrolled student to be administered locally and allocated in ways that increase student learning.

Cox said the meeting in Logan, representing Utahs Bear River region, was the second highest attended meeting in the state. The region includes the Cache County, Logan City, Box Elder County and Rich County school districts.

We really feel that the community there is supportive of public education, Cox said. In fact, one gentleman up in Logan attended the meeting as being not supportive, and once he heard the aspects of the Our Schools Now plan, he left as a supporter. We had people at that meeting that left having volunteered to gather signatures later this summer as we try to qualify this initiative for the (November 2018) ballot.

Our Schools Now must gather 113,143 signatures from at least 26 of Utahs 29 state Senate districts to put the initiative before voters next year. Steve Norton, superintendent of the <a href=https://www.ccsdut.org/>Cache County School District</a>, said he supports the initiative and spoke in its favor on Tuesday.

Its just really gratifying to, I think, all of us in education, to know that there were people out there in the business community who saw the need to try and increase the amount of money going into the public school system in the state of Utah, and so I was just delighted to be able to tell teachers that there are people out therewho had looked at the situation and decided it was time to make an investment.

Norton said hes also thankful for a system that allows the public to vote when the Legislature has not accepted that responsibility of funding public ed to the level that I think it should be funded.

Im grateful that the initiative provision is in our Constitution, and it will be interesting to see it play out and see what happens when the people of the state of Utah are given the opportunity to vote, he said. Now, Im a real firm believer that throwing money at public education is not the answer, but investing money in education in the areas that we know will make a difference is a wise investment.

One concern expressed by the <a href=https://www.utahtaxpayers.org/>Utah Taxpayers Association</a> on its website is that Our Schools Now does not clearly demonstrate the wisdom of which Norton speaks.

Utah taxpayers already provide more than $4 billion annually to our public education system, and an increase of this magnitude without a sound, detailed proposal to help Utahs students achieve the best outcomes will not be the most effective utilization of taxpayer dollars, the associations response reads. To ask taxpayers for additional money without this type of comprehensive plan in place, and say, trust us with such a significant amount of increased money is dangerous. More controls need to be in place to ensure that desired student outcomes are achieved and that all Utah students receive a quality education.

Billy Hesterman, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, said Our Schools Now is simply too ambiguous.

What were concerned about is this is adding additional money to the status quo. If the public education system is going to come to taxpayers asking for a 700 to 865 million dollar tax increase, it needs to come with a plan thats going to shake things up and bring about higher student outcomes, better results for our teachers, things that are going to make a difference. As the plan is right now, it appears to us that its simply moving the money down the chain, continuing what were doing, but adding more money into it.

Curtis Benjamin, director of <a href=http://www.myuea.org/about_uea/uniservlocal_affiliates/northern_uniserv.aspx>Northern Utah UniServ</a>, an affiliate of the <a href=http://www.myuea.org/>Utah Education Association</a>, sees the proposal differently.

For me, I think this could be a game changer, he said. Because weve adjusted the tax structure the way we have over the last couple of decades, weve not seen the money that could be flowing to educationand I think, What could it do if we could have the necessary, adequate funding students deserve and that our teachers need? It could move the needle at least a little bit to pull Utah off the bottom.

Dr. Sylvia Read, a member of the School of Teacher Education and Leadership department in the College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University, shares a similar perspective. Speaking as a parent and former elementary school teacher, Read said she has an understanding of education and the pressures on teachers and school districts. Read is most concerned about large class sizes in Utah, the de-professionalization of teachers and the impact on students when teaching to standardized testing reduces opportunities for a well-rounded education. She appreciates efforts to make improvements.

We have good goals, she said, but we cant do them on a shoestring. Im very much for whatever we can do to have our schools be better funded and to have teachers work be more respected. I think its great when theres agitation in favor of improving life for children and teachers, but especially children. Theyre the most vulnerable.

Having studied successes in other districts, states and even countries, Norton said the things that need to be done to raise achievement in public education are simple but profoundhaving high standards for students, paying teachers well, investing in professional development and investing in students who are struggling.

If the money that would come in from this proposal would be spent by schools and districts to meet those criteria, then I think it would be an investment that people would look back at in the future and say, That was the best money ever spent in the state of Utah, he said. If they dont spend the money in those areas, then I think well get through the whole process and well look back and say, Wow, that didnt seem to make much difference at all.

<hr />

jennifer@cvradio.com
NIBLEY  Trudy Knight believes in giving back to the community, and she has spent countless hours doing it herself.

She spent 12 years as the Nibley City Youth Council adviser, more than a decade helping with the Miss Nibley Pageant, volunteered for years in the PTA  both as president and in other roles  and spent many summers running the citys booth at the county fair.

She said serving the community is in her DNA, and now that she is an empty nester, she wants to do more of it. Her name will be one of two on the ballot for mayor this fall.

I have been fortunate enough to be able to stay at home, raise my children and volunteer and serve, she said. I just feel like now Im at a standstill going what should I do with all my time and effort and I feel like this is where I want to put it, right here in Nibley City, because I love it.

About two decades ago Knight received a phone call asking if she would like to take charge of the citys annual Heritage Days celebration  that was before she even lived in Nibley. She didnt take over the event that year, but she did help out. She moved to Nibley soon after and eventually became the chair of the annual celebration.

I think I did a good job of expanding the small thing it was into a larger venue, she said, which hopefully brought more of the community together to have a united effort. That was my goal.

Knight said she has a way of getting others to volunteer. She feels she has a good rapport with the community and wants to use it to continue to help others donate their time.

I feel like (volunteerism in Nibley) has kind of slowed down a little bit, she said. Im not sure I know why, but I just know Ive seen that regress. I would like to put a little more effort into that.

Knight said she wants to help all Nibley citizens enjoy their community, especially as the population rapidly expands.

As far as Im concerned its a matter of having an interest in guiding the growth in a manner that is smooth, she said, instead of just those people who develop.

Knights husband Gerald Knight served as the mayor before Shaun Dustin was elected. Trudy said that she and her husband both believe in putting time into the community.

This is where we raised our children, she said. This is where we call home and well probably just die right here. We want to make sure were going to be in a really nice place that is a happy place to be and a good place to be.
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Wednesday, July 12, 2017 at 6:51AM

You can think of it as the end of an era but we just lost one of the major operating systems as Microsoft announced it has terminated support for Windows Phone 8.1. This version was the last iteration of Windows Phone before Microsoft made a switch to Windows 10 Mobile. Users who still use these devices will no longer get updates or technical support. Microsoft tried to bring the battle to Google and Apple but couldnt seem to gain traction for its mobile OS. Now, were not sure about the future of Windows 10 Mobile either. Hopefully it doesnt meet the same tragic fate so soon.

Source: Apple Insider
Wednesday, July 12, 2017 at 2:14AM

If youre like us who has been waiting for the second season of Stranger Things to finally hit the service, youll be excited to find out that the show is coming back earlier than anticipatedat least by a few days. Netflix just announced that the ashow is coming back on October 27th instead of the Halloween debut. We get to see a new poster for the new season, too. As The Verges Kwame Opam points out, the poster, which features the four boys and a scary looking monster from the first trailer, pays homage to classic Stephen King.

In the past the sci-fi horror has paid tribute to the likes of E.T., Firestarter, and Poltergiest. This time, it looks like theyre turning their attention to King. At least the artwork on the poster looks like artwork from Kings The Stand, Stand By Me, and The Mist. And that makes us extra excited for it.
Jessica Bovee and her husband, Erik Clevenger moved back to Albuquerque last January after three years in Austin, Texas. Despite the flurry of relocation and the work that comes with settling into a new place, the two wasted no time in getting their next endeavor off the ground. Curio, a highly-curated boutique in the North Valley opened up its doors the first week of May. (Yes, that means it only took about five months for the duo to organize and open a store.) It helps that Bovee had been mentally preparing to run a store like this for about as long as she can remember. I've wanted to do this forever. Always, she said, standing in the center of the airy, attractive space she and her partner have created.

Bovee grew up in Albuquerque, but moved to LA after high school graduation to attend the Art Institute. She interned at Vogue while on the West Coast and soaked in the fashion scene, eventually moving to New York to continue honing her eye. I realized  New York just wasn't for me, she said of her later decision to leave the big city and begin work in retail. She had gained eight years of experience in that field before returning to Albuquerque to expand her expertise through curating and running her own shop.

Curio itself is awash in light. The peach walls of the small boutique are lined with angular, handmade shelves by the local artists and carpenters of Skeleton Key. Painted in white cursive across the north wall of the boutique are the words hello there, a fittingly warm welcome. Several racks of clothing are arranged on the opposite side of the space. Each item of clothing is carefully selected with special consideration for how it is made, not just how it looks. Fast fashion is such a killer, Bovee explained, but its really hard to shop ethically on a budget. A big part of our ethics is carrying local or small businesses, and sustainable designs. It just so happens that this honestly made garb looks good as wellshoppers can thank Bovee's astute fashion sense for that.

Today, Bovee is decked out in goods from her storea sky blue jumper that is colored with plant-based dye, and a pair of large gold earrings whose smooth organic shapes hang down toward her chin. She is welcoming and sincere, and that is exactly how she aims to make Curio feel. I don't want anyone to walk in here and feel uncomfortable, she said. To that end, she tries to keep her price points as low as possible and offer up cool clothes for all body types; she plans to add even more to the plus-sized inventory of the store in the fall, as well. I want this to be a very inclusive shopping experience. I don't want anyone to feel like they can't shop here. Everyone wants cute stuff! Bovee herself appreciates and understands the importance of feeling good in what you put on your body.

Personal style is so important. It's super fun, and it can make people feel so happy, she underscored. I think the way you dress is how you present yourself to the world. It visually speaks what you want to convey. I also think that, in a way, it can be armor. You feel powerful when you're in your favorite outfit. Especially under the current administration and with everything that is happening, I feel like it is important to have a safe space to express yourself, and I hope that I provide that here. Yet, Bovee manages to take a longview on changing the world. I think fashion is great and fun, but it doesn't always change someone's life, she said. As such, Curio very much intends to invest back in the community.

Albuquerque is so important to me. I love it here. I want to support it as much as I can, she said. That guides me as far as how I run the business. One day, as Curio grows, Bovee hopes that they can donate a portion of all profits to local charities, but for starters, the store is holding a tampon drivethat is, through June and July, anyone who brings in a donation of feminine hygiene products will receive a 10 percent discount on any purchases. Everything collected will be donated to Barrett House at the end of the month.

In my opinion, that discount would be well-used to snatch up some of Curio's jewelry selectionthe sort of amassment of designers, both local and from throughout the states, that you're unlikely to find in one place anywhere else in the city. Seaworthy Accessories from Portland, Lily Dawson Designs from Kansas City, Mo., and Sonambulo, Chela Gurnee, and Genuine and Ginger from Albuquerque all grace the display case at Curio. The collection of jewelry is just one example that evidences the thoughtfulness with which Curio is curated.

But what's more, the space has a heart that extends beyond the clothes and the jewelry within the walls of the small shop (PSthere's also candles, soaps, accessories, essential oils, etc.). What really animates the space is the good vibes and positive energy that Bovee and company are intent on creating. With that, Curio draws in customers and keeps them by spreading the love locally.

Follow Curio on Facebook (@curiollc) and Instagram (@shop_curio); their website will be up soon, so keep checking at curioonline.store.
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The brand, better known for moleskin trousers and being the deputy Prime Minister's preferred boot maker, has released a metallic version of its bestselling style that can only be purchased online for $545. Prospective buyers will then have to wait about eight weeks before they are delivered.
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Wondered about those tiny little organisms that live inside your body, and live out their lives by getting their food through you? No? Well, they do. Believe it or not, there can be around 100 kinds of parasites that can cause parasitic diseases in the human body. Not just humans, parasites finds its host in almost every other organism, and derive the nutrients that they require. Scary isn't it?

Well, there are people doing something about it, and their profession revolves around the same field.

Parasitology is a field of biology which involves the study of organisms that feed on other organisms, in which they live. Professionals, who take up this interesting area of study and occupation are called Parasitologists.

What is Parasitology?

Parasitology is best suited to a person with inquisitive mind and interest in research. There are virtually unlimited research opportunities. The variety in basic and in applied research areas of parasitology exist in fields from the molecular level to the global level is unsurpassed in another field of biology.Parasitology is a field of biology which involves the study of organisms that feed on other organisms, in which they live many opportunities for a parasitologist to contribute to the betterment of the human condition.

What does a Parasitologist do?

A Parasitologist scientifically studies parasites and their relation to their host environment. They look into how this sort of a relationship will affect the humans. Parasitologists work in many fields including medicine, agriculture and focus on academics, where they can study many branches of biology like microbiology and biochemistry. Thus there are many layers to their jobs. With the ever rising technology and science, there are numerous possibilities for a parasitologist, to be at the forefront of advancing scientific ventures and find new opportunities.

Scope in Parasitology

A parasitologist doesn't just have to find out new parasites and tell the whole wide world about it. There are layers and variations to the occupation, and that depends on the position that one is at, and the area they have specialized in. There are several diversions in the opportunities that are available, these are-

Medical Parasitology

Parasites are best known to be the reason why many suffer illnesses and ailments. Insect parasites such as fleas and lice cause annoyance, and as vectors of diseases such as the bubonic plague and typhus, they have carried along the diseases to cause death to a quite a number in the human population.

Medical parasitology involves epidemiology, chemotherapy which is the using of chemicals to treat ailments, immunology which is the study of immune system and pathology which is the study of finding out diseases that aren't easily unidentified, and thus requires processes to be found.

The field of public health is considered as very close with that of medical parasitology.

Health care professionals are employed by national, state and local governments and can work for international agencies such as the World Health Organization.

In terms of the medical arena, the parasitologists are at continuous struggle and work to understand diseases that are caused by the parasites.

Once this part is done, it becomes easier to corporate treatments and methods to prevent the development and spreading.

Agricultural Parasitology

Agricultural parasitologist study about parasites in plants and animals, research and understand about those who end up in the food sources for the humans.

Parasites can be harmful not just by directly making the human bodies as hosts, but by following their food resources, like plants and animals, and spreading diseases.

Parasitologists concerned with the veterinary field look after the domesticated animals (such as cattle, horses, fowls) as well as for companion animals (dogs and cats) and the animals that are used by humans for sport and recreational activities.

Plants can carry parasites, and therefore they can be used as biological control agents against crop insects, which can help curb a lot of loss.

Wildlife Parasitology

Wildlife Parasitology deals with understanding the natural habitats of the animals who live in the wild and finding out threats by parasites, that can disrupt the normal lives of.

They work towards finding out the parasites that cause harm to these animals and develop strategies to prevent such cases.

These parasitologists usually find work among the government agencies, private industry or university surveys.

Those who are involved with research and monitoring parasites in endangered species are called conservation biologists.

The division of parasitologist who deal with parasites that are common among the fisheries and the aquatic population are called, fishery biologist.

Parasitology in pharmaceutics.

Pharmaceutical firms provide a lot of career opportunities for parasitologists. They can work in the area of developing chemotherapeutic substances, and understand the better uses of them. Developing such drugs can be used to diminish the spread of parasites in animals, plants, and humans as well.

Parasitology as an academic career

A career in academics when it comes to Parasitology can be a golden opportunity for an aspiring researcher. With the presence of parasites in almost all living organisms, parasitologists have a wide knowledge about the biological systems and are capable biologists.

A position as a professor in a university would provide many challenging opportunities for the aspirant as an educator and a researcher. The research opportunities are various, because of the nature of parasites, which is to find a host in any living being. Generally unknown to the public, the field of parasitology has immense potential in the future.

How to become a Parasitologist?

Students who are planning to follow a career in parasitology will have to choose the science stream and qualify the 10+2 examination or its equivalent, with the focus on biology, chemistry, and physics.

For Bachelors course, one can either take up an undergraduate course in parasitology or continue their B.Sc in biology or chemistry.

Master's degree in parasitology will include cellular biology, entomology and other related health and biology fields of study. A major in subjects in zoology, botany or agricultural studies will provide the student with a strong academic background.

Those who aspire to continue their Doctoral programs will be studying the host systems and potential diseases caused by parasitic organisms. Treatment of the ailments and control of parasites as well as the history of human parasites and contraction through genetics will be studied. These students will be working in a laboratory and take up academic positions.

While choosing these courses one must make sure that their choice of programs will help them to gain experience in their area of interest.

Online Course On Introduction to Statistical Methods for Gene Mapping

How much will you be earning?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that parasitologists earned an annual income of $75,150 in that same year. In the medical arena, pay may ascend. According to the BLS, medical scientists earned a median salary of $82,240 annually in 2015.

Top Institutes offering a course in Parasitology in India

Top Institutes offering a course in Parasitology around the world

Yale University, USA

University of Pennsylvania, USA

Johns Hopkins University, USA

University of Salford, Manchester

University of Copenhagen, Netherlands

Utrecht University, Netherlands

Also Read: What is Stem Cell Research? Scope and Career Opportunities
Just as Toyota Motor Philippines updated the specs of the Hilux pickup truck , theyve done the same for the Fortuner as well.
Connecticut residents whose home foundations are crumbling face a perplexing problem with their insurance policies: The damage wont be covered unless their homes collapse.

More than two dozen insurance companies being sued in federal court by 40 homeowners recently filed court documents asking a judge to dismiss the class-action lawsuit for a variety of reasons, including that the plaintiffs are only covered if their houses fall down.

The motions to dismiss the lawsuit filed June 2 are adding to the dismay of the homeowners, who face living in potentially unsafe homes with plummeting values that cant be sold and would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix.

A house has to fall down before its covered for anything? Thats just preposterous, said Jeannette Lesperance, a plaintiff in the lawsuit whose Manchester homes foundation has large cracks. Theres nothing you can say to that.

State officials say possibly 30,000 or more homes and condominiums built in central and northeastern Connecticut from the mid-1980s to 2016 could be affected by the problem, which has been linked to the mineral pyrrhotite. The mineral naturally reacts with oxygen and water, causing concrete foundations to crack and crumble.

The problem, first discovered in the mid-1990s, has been traced to a Willington quarry that provided materials to a concrete maker whose product was used in thousands of homes.

Lesperance and her husband, Alfred, are retirees. They say they cant afford the estimated $400,000 it would cost to repair their home.

Many other homeowners besides those in the class-action lawsuit also have been told their policies only cover collapse and not cracking or crumbling, said Ryan Barry, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

These houses are all in a state of collapse, Barry said. You shouldnt have to wait for the house to fall into rubble, to cave into itself, to qualify for coverage.

Barry said the average cost of repairs was around $200,000 per home.

One of Barrys arguments in the lawsuit involves a 1987 decision by the state Supreme Court, which ruled that the word collapse in homeowners insurance policies did not just mean a home falling down but also substantial impairment in the structural integrity of a building.

Insurance companies later amended their homeowners policies across the country in response to that ruling and other court decisions, changing the definition of collapse to mean an abrupt or sudden falling down, Barry said. He also alleged the insurance companies made those changes without properly notifying homeowners as required by state lawa claim the insurance companies deny.

Representatives from several insurance companies being sued in the class-action lawsuit, including Travelers and Allstate, declined to comment.

While insurers have sympathy for the homeowners, they have to follow the letter of insurance policies, said Eric George, president of the Insurance Association of Connecticut, a trade organization that represents insurance companies that do business in the state.

Policies are envisioned to cover accidents, George said. Things that take place over time because of defective products are not covered. My heart goes out to the homeowners. Its an absolutely devastating situation.

Homeowners had hoped that the legislature and Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy would step in and help them, but a bill that would have set aside $15 million in assistance died during this years legislative session. Theyre now hoping lawmakers take up the issue again during a special session expected this summer.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Where to Find Oregon Coast Rooms, Lodging for the Eclipse

Published 07/11/2017 at 11:34 PM PDT - Updated 07/11/2017 at 11:38 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Oregon Coast)  Believe it or not, not everything is completely sold out on the central Oregon coast when it comes to lodgings for the great eclipse on August 21. It's true that it's a bit on the spendy side, with many rooms going for extra high prices and two- or three-night minimums. You're not going to find a place to stay on the cheap for this interstellar event.

Moreover, there are some nasty gougings going on, where some Oregon coast hotels have been busted by regional media for taking reservations a year or more ahead of time, then cancelling them, only to repost the room as available but for $1000 or more.

Most are actually in the $400 - $600 range at this time, especially those that are playing by the rules.

For those looking for places to stay, you may have some better luck below. You won't get gouged, but again  it won't be cheap.

The path of totality essentially runs from just north of Pacific City, down through Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, Newport, Seal Rock and Waldport.

For the Pacific City area, see the lodging alerts on the Pacific City lodging page for room availability.

For Lincoln City, see the Lincoln City lodging page for those alerts, and keep checking back because some change and some are added.

For Depoe Bay and Gleneden Beach, the Depoe Bay lodging page shows alerts for hotels and vacation rentals that have openings.

The Newport lodging page has a surprisingly decent amount still listed, but again check back as things change and are added periodically.

The Yachats / Waldport lodging page is useful for alerts as there are definitely still some openings there, and it is a quick drive up to the edge of totality. However, you may find traffic at a standstill on the way into the path.

For those want to be right in the middle of the path of totality and in the lap of some serious luxury, Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition is auctioning off a week-long stay (Aug. 18-25) at an oceanfront resort, in a condo donated by a member. The resort is located at Otter Crest, between Newport and Depoe Bay, right about where the total eclipse hits the United States for the very first time, almost to the second.

The fully furnished condo sleeps up to six. The weeks rental will go to the highest bidder as of August 1. The auction has begun, and bidding is up to $1,050 at this time. Given that the market value of the weeks lodging is $2,000 in an ordinary week, the leading bid thus far is a modest price indeed for a front-row seat at the celestial event of the century.

Funds gained through the auction go to Oregon Shores to support the organizations work to protect Oregons public shoreline and coastal resources.

For more information about the auction, and a link to the auction site, go to https://oregonshores.org/.

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About $2 million damage has been done to a Vernon apartment complex by a fire that roared through the building Monday night.

Vernon Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Scott Hemstad described the long and difficult struggle firefighters had to put out the blaze in the old structure.

All the residents escaped safely and 29, including 11 families, are under the care of Emergency Support Services, with some staying with family or friends and others at the Vernon Lodge.

Hemstad refused to speculate on the cause of the blaze at the Arbor Lee apartments on the 3800 block of 40th Avenue although he confirmed it started on the balcony of one unit.

He said four firefighters were first dispatched at 6:52 p.m., established a water supply and made their way to the balcony.

They extinguished the fire very quicky, said Hemstad. Unfortunately, by that time it had already travelled upwards and into the attic space and was in the roof structure of the condominium.

At that point it became a long and difficult struggle based on the years of construction of that building. It was a difficult fire. The fire was in the void spaces of the attic and travelled horizontally and made its way throughout the structure.

Later, crews were told to pull out from the inside of the 16-unit structure as it was deemed too dangerous.

We tried attacking it above as well as below.

Hemstad thanked BX/Swan Lake and Coldstream firefighters who joined in the lengthy nighttime battle to relieve some of the VFRS crew.

In all, 30 firefighters were at the scene.

There is approximately $2 million in damage to this structure and probably $2-to-$2.5 million dollars saved because of the important and quick actions of all of the firefighters on scene.

Hemstad said there was one positive note as crews wrapped up at the scene when three family pets were located hiding inside.

He said the building code is different to what is in place now for buildings of that size, which would have required a sprinkler system inside as well as one on the balcony. He believed the damaged structure was built in the 1970s.

Eight suites are extensively damaged and residents will be out for quite some time, he said.

Those living in the other units will have to depend on restoration work and must consult with the strata and property management team.

Asked about the smoke from the building, Hemstad indicated he did not have the facts but warned structure fires' smoke was deadly.

Structure fires (smoke), with the plastics and the polyurethane and other things that burn inside of a structure is extremely toxic."
Photo: File photo As of June 30, the city had spent $97,388 on flooding.

While the focus shifts from floods to fires, the city of Vernon is tallying the cost of keeping the water at bay.

For several weeks earlier this year, all eyes were on Okanagan Lake and local creeks as rainfall and melting snow swelled both to the point of overflow.

Tanya Laing Gahr said as of June 30, the city had spent $97,388 on flooding.

We are hoping to recoup a majority of these costs from EMBC (Emergency Management BC), said Laing Gahr. Please note that there are some outstanding costs that have not been included, and we are unable to speculate what the total cost to the City or to EMBC will be at this time.
Photo: The Canadian Press Hanock Afowerk

A woman and a man found dead in a burned-out car at a Calgary construction site have been identified.

Police say the bodies of Glynnis Fox, who was 36, and 25-year-old Cody Pfeiffer were discovered after firefighters extinguished an early-morning blaze on Monday.

Police say they have tentatively identified a third victim  a woman believed to be in her 30s  and are seeking the public's help to determine where a photo she posted on social media early Monday was taken.

Investigators are also looking for information about the whereabouts of the registered owner of the black 2011 Chevrolet Cruze that was engulfed in flames.

They say they are concerned for 26-year-old Hanock Afowerk's safety.

Acting Insp. Paul Wozney has said that the owner of the Cruze had a criminal history in Calgary, but he declined to elaborate.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Medical health officers in the Vancouver area are aiming to quickly warn drug users about clusters of overdoses and batches of contaminated drugs based on reports from people who use illegal substances.

Sara Young, the regional leader of mental health and substance use for Vancouver Coastal Health, said the data would help staff decide what action needs to be taken to prevent fatal overdoses in the midst of an opioid overdose crisis.

The pilot project started Tuesday with an online web form and a texting service that can be used by people who have registered to receive alerts, said Young, who worked with substance users to create the alert process.

"We talked to people who are currently using substances, and the feedback that we got was that we really needed to make this a simple system that could be used with a flip phone."

Young said service providers who may witness an overdose and call 911 could also report information including the date it occurred, the town or neighbourhood where a substance was bought, and its physical description.

Participants can also upload a photo of the drug and its packaging and do not need to provide their names as part of the project called Real-time Drug Alert and Response, or RADAR.
Photo: Canadian Forces

Three Canadian Armed Forces CH-146 Griffon helicopters, along with two larger aircraft have been pre-positioned in Kelowna to assist with the province's wildfire battle.

A number of aircraft have been stationed in Kelowna since Sunday, but are expecting to take off within the next 24 hours.

Quite a few of our aircraft are sitting right now in Kelowna, and they will be moving further north to Kamloops sometime later in the day, if not tomorrow, said Sub-Lt. Melissa Kia with Joint Rescue Co-ordination.

Two CH-147F Chinook helicopters, which are very large helicopters that conduct heavy lifts, as well as three CH-146 Griffon helicopters are stationed at the Shell Aerocentre at YLW.

Canadian Armed Forces is ready to assist with the movement of personnel, equipment and assist with the evacuation of local populations, Kia said.

A CC-177 Globemaster III as well as a CC-130J Hercules aircraft are also flying from Canadian Forces Base Comox to assist in the fire fight.

More than 100 RCMP loaded onto one of the aircraft Tuesday and were transported to affected regions.

Our liaison officers on the ground are busy co-ordinating with Public Safety Canada and the province to determine how we can best support their efforts, said Kia.
Photo: Contributed

Firefighters from across the country are coming to the BC Interior to help crews battle numerous out-of-control fires.

The first of 310 firefighters from other Canadian agencies began arriving in British Columbia on Sunday, July 9, to help the BC Wildfire Service get the upper hand on the 225 wildfires that are burning in the province.

More than 1,600 B.C. firefighters and support staff are in place for the 2017 fire season, and the government can also call on about 2,500 private contractors when necessary.

However, the extraordinarily high number of wildfires that were sparked from July 7-8 (over 223 new fires in two days), their extremely volatile behaviour and their rapid spread prompted the BC Wildfire Service to bring in some much-needed help this week.

Once the hundreds of newly arrived fire crews, support staff, incident management teams and fire investigators have been briefed, they'll be deployed wherever they're needed in the province.

The 310 firefighters arriving this week will be coming from:

Alberta: 92

Saskatchewan: 37

Ontario: 147

New Brunswick: 22

Parks Canada: 12

The BC Wildfire Service is also bringing in additional air support for its fleet of 32 contracted aircraft and nearly 200 additional contracted helicopters that have already joined the fight.

Ten firefighting aircraft have been brought in from other Canadian provinces, including seven airtankers and three "birddog" aircraft, which help co-ordinate airtanker operations from the air.

Requests for out-of-province assistance are made through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which co-ordinates the sharing of firefighting resources within Canada. Under mutual aid-resource sharing agreements, the jurisdiction requesting the resources pays the costs.

The BC Wildfire Service also has arrangements with dozens of companies from all regions of the province to provide contract firefighters and support staff. As of July 11, the BC Wildfire Service had more than 200 contract personnel working on wildfires.

The Canadian military is also prepared to help and has Joint Task Force Pacific liaisons embedded at the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre in Victoria. Emergency Management BC worked with Public Safety Canada to pre-position transport aircraft and crews through a formal Request for Assistance. If the need arises, these aircraft would assist with emergency response operations such as evacuations.

To report a wildfire or open burning violation, call 1-800-663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone.
Photo: Twitter Christy Clark greets Canada Day crowds in West Kelowna.

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark has remodelled her senior staff in preparation for the Liberals' new role on the Opposition benches.

Nick Koolsbergen, a former senior staff member in former prime minister Stephen Harper's government, has been appointed chief of staff for the B.C. Liberal caucus.

Clark says in a news release that Koolsbergen is a strategic thinker and the party will benefit from his experience as a staff member in opposition in Ontario politics.

Jessica Wolford, who's been an adviser of two high-profile Liberal ministers in the last six years, will serve as caucus deputy chief of staff.

Clark's former press secretary Stephen Smart is now executive director of communications.

She says the appointments will help form an effective Opposition to hold the NDP-Green alliance to account on behalf of British Columbians.

The Liberal government fell in a confidence vote two weeks ago, and premier-designate John Horgan and his cabinet will be sworn in next week.
Homestead National Monument of America has announced the return of the summer campfire series beginning in July and running through mid-August 2017.

Programs take place at the Education Center and start at 7 p.m. The third program of the series will be held on July 15, 2017. Join energetic Beatrice historian Laureen Riedesel for a program on the History of Beatrice and learn everything there is to know about the great state of Nebraska, which is celebrating its sesquicentennial (150 years of statehood) in 2017.

This campfire presentation will include music by the Blueberry Boys, a local family band from Lincoln that also participated in the 2017 Tallgrass Prairie Fiddle Festival band competition.

Visitors are invited back each Saturday through August 12, 2017, for a weekly campfire program. Visit https://home.nps.gov/home/2017-summer-campfire-series.htm to learn more about the programs.

Homestead National Monument of America is a unit of the National Park Service located four miles west of Beatrice, Nebraska. Hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Labor Day. Admission is free of charge. For additional information, please call 402-223-3514 or visit www.nps.gov/home/index.htm.
Photo: COSAR

Central Okanagan Search and Rescue were called to action Monday night after an injured mountain biker needed help.

COSAR members used bikes and a side-by-side UTV to access the patient who was in a remote location in the Crawford trails.

Rescuers found the patient and carried him in a stretcher until they could reach the side-by-side UTV.

He was then transferred to hospital early Tuesday morning.

"The pair of mountain bikers was able to provide COSAR with GPS co-ordinates of their location using a popular mountain biking app called TrailForks," said Ephraim Nowak search manager. "This allowed our team to quickly reach the subject, assess his condition, and stabilize him for transport. The bikers were able to assist in their own rescue, simply because they took the time to familiarize themselves with the area and their equipment before heading out."

Due to the remote location, COSAR had to use a multi-staged approach to evacuate the patient - first carrying him on foot in a stretcher, then using the UTV, before handing the patient off to ambulance personnel. Weather conditions were favourable, and didn't interfere in the rescue.
Photo: Contributed An evacuation order for Little Fort has been rescinded.

Amid smoke, fire and evacuations, some good news  an evacuation order for the community of Little Fort has been rescinded.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District Emergency Operations Centre says the imminent risk of danger to life and properties in the area has diminished.

An evacuation alert remains in effect, however, and an evacuation order may be reissued if the danger should again warrant such action.
Photo: CTV

Several grass fires were sparked along a Vancouver island Highway Monday night when a tire flew off a tractor-trailer.

The incident happened near Courtenay, on Highway 19.

Fire crews found five separate grass fires along a two-kilometre stretch.

Passing motorists jumped in to help extinguish the flames.

The truck lost two tires, which rolled across the highway and into the opposite ditch.

 with files from CTV Vancouver island
Photo: Contributed

The ongoing wildfires in B.C.'s Cariboo region are a reminder natural disasters can strike anyone at anytime.

On Friday, RCMP Cpl. Chrona and his family were forced to evacuate their home near Williams Lake due to an encroaching wildfire.

They found out on Saturday their home was destroyed by the blaze.

Chrona did all he could to get his family situated so he could return to work and help everyone else as fires threaten others.

Enola Chrona wrote, "As you all know, our family lost our home on Friday to the wildfires sweeping the Cariboo, it has been a nightmare. Losing almost everything we have worked for has been a devastating blow, emotionally, mentally and of course financially. Thank you all so much, truly from the bottom of our grateful hearts, thank you."

The community has put together a Gofundme page to assist the family with expenses in the short term as they begin to rebuild.
Photo: Contributed Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson

There have been reports of people falsely posing as fire marshals in Quesnel and the surrounding areas, according to Quesnel Mayor, Bob Simpson.

The individuals apparently dress in uniforms and wear reflective vests, while they knock on doors and give people evacuation alerts.

"Please know that the RCMP or another clearly identifiable peace officer will only knock at your door when an actual order is issued for your area and they will have a signed copy of that order to show you," Simpson said in a Facebook post.

Police are asking the public to report anyone that is not a uniformed peace officer and has no official order, to report it to the RCMP immediately.
Photo: Contributed

Vernon RCMP are asking for the public's help in locating a missing Vernon resident.

Adam Nichols was last seen June 30, in the 2100 block of 32nd Street in Vernon.

Nichols is described as a Caucasion male, 34 years old, 5'10" tall, 141 pounds, with a slender build, light complexion, short, brown hair with a full beard and brown eyes.

Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said police are very concerned for Adam Nichol's health and well-being.

No picture of Nichols is available.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Adam Nichols is asked to contact RCMP at 250-545-7171 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
Photo: File photo Lightning has sparked numerous fires in Southeast B.C.

Lightning has sparked numerous fires in Southeast B.C.

BC Wildfire Service personnel are currently responding to 25 lightning-caused wildfires throughout the Southeast Fire Centre.

Although some of these fires are highly visible from surrounding communities, none of them are immediately threatening communities or structures.

These fires include the following:

Four separate fires are burning about five kilometres northwest of Nakusp in the Turner Creek and Dunn Creek area. These fires all cover fewer than 0.5 hectares. One helicopter and 13 firefighting personnel are currently on site.

One initial attack crew and one helicopter are responding to a 0.04-hectare fire about 15 kilometres northeast of Nelson in the Duhamel Creek area.

There are four fires burning on the east side of Arrow Lake, from five kilometres to 21 kilometres southeast of Burton. All of these fires cover less than one hectare and are burning in remote terrain. Firefighting crews are responding to all of them.

One 0.04-hectare fire is burning in the Mather Creek area about 15 kilometres north of Kimberley. Firefighting crews are responding.

The Southeast Fire Centre has responded to 86 fires since April 1, 28 of which were human-caused and therefore preventable.

By comparison, the total number of wildfires as of this date last year was 44.

Most of the smoke that is visible in many areas of the Southeast Fire Centre is coming from several large fires that are burning in the Cariboo Fire Centre, the Prince George Fire Centre and the Kamloops Fire Centre. That smoke is expected to continue moving through this region, so long as the prevailing winds come from the west.
Photo: CTV

No charges will be laid against an RCMP officer who tried to stop a pickup truck moments before it crashed into a marked police car in suburban Victoria, killing another Mountie.

British Columbia's prosecution service says there is not enough evidence to approve charges against the officer, who has not been named.

Const. Sarah Beckett was killed on April 5, 2016, when a truck driven by Kenneth Fenton sped through an intersection in Langford, B.C., and smashed into her cruiser.

The prosecution service says another officer tried to stop the truck seconds before the fatal collision.

The Independent Investigations Office looked into the crash, focusing on the actions of the other officer, and determined the officer may have committed an offence.

The police watchdog submitted a report to Crown counsel, but did not make a recommendation on whether charges should be approved.

The prosecution service says detailed reasons for why charges have not been approved will be made public following court proceedings.

Fenton has pleaded guilty to impaired and dangerous driving causing death and is expected to be sentenced on Friday.
Photo: CTV

Police in Regina say they are reviewing another incident where a police dog mistakenly bit someone.

Linus Kaysaywaysemat says he was outside smoking a cigarette last Thursday when he was bitten by a Regina Police Service dog.

He says the dog chewed on his arm for a few minutes before police were able to get the animal off him.

Earlier last week, another police dog that was leashed during a training exercise turned a corner and bit a 56-year-old man on the leg.

Superintendent Darcy Koch says police are collecting information on both cases and will forward it to the Use of Force board.

He says it's a concern whenever a citizen is wrongly bitten by a police dog.

"It's a mistake that was made and we're going to make sure that we're going to make any corrections that might need to come from that," Koch said.

Koch said the dog on Thursday was tracking a suspect in an active investigation and that police are looking into why it bit someone who wasn't a suspect.
Hastings, Neb.  The Kool-Aid Days Board is pleased to announce that plans for the 20th annual Kool-Aid Days festival are well underway.

Kool-Aid Days will be held Aug. 11-13 at various locations around Hastings, the birthplace of Nebraskas official soft drink. Festival events on Saturday will once again be held at Central Community College-Hastings, but will move to Brickyard Park for an evening concert and fireworks.

The 2017 festival theme is A Very Berry Kool-Aid Bash, and organizers are promising a party of epic proportions in honor of Kool-Aid Days 20th anniversary and Kool-Aids 90th birthday.

Attendees young and old will enjoy over 30 events and activities ranging from Fridays "Jammers Races" to Sundays "Kardboard Boat Races." In between, festival attendees will get to participate in favorites like Seniorfest, the Kool-Aid Days family parade, giant inflatables, "Kwickest Kool-Aid Drinking Contest," festival foods, the Kool-Aid 5K and mile fun run and, of course, the worlds largest Kool-Aid stand.

In honor of 20 years of Kool-Aid fun in Hastings, several popular events from past years will return, including the "Jammers Boat Races" at the Hastings Aquacourt Friday evening, waitress races on Saturday afternoon at CCC, "Koncert Kool-Aid," featuring Kahuna Beach Party at Brickyard Park and fireworks after the concert.

We are also excited to be partnering with the Galaxy of Stars Talent Search for the second year, said Pam Bohmfalk, Kool-Aid Days board president. This offers area performers of all ages the opportunity to live out their dreams on our stage and possibly advance to the semifinals to be held at the Nebraska State Fair in September. We are also pleased to announce that there will be arts and craft vendors showcasing their handmade items on the grounds at CCC on Saturday.

A full schedule of events and more details can be found on the Kool-Aid Days website at www.kool-aiddays.com, along with entry forms for events that require registration.
Photo: Contributed

A hiker was taken to hospital with possible compound fractures after falling on a hiking trail.

Emergency crews were called to McCulloch Road past Field Road at 7:25 p.m. Tuesday.

Witnesses tell Castanet emergency crews assisted the unidentified man near the old gravel pit.

There is no official word on the extent of his injuries.
Photo: The Canadian Press Ontario deputy NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.

NDP leadership contenders vying for the same job found some common ground Tuesday night in their vociferous opposition to Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister on carbon pricing.

Their fifth leadership debate, held in Saskatoon, marks the beginning of the last half of the race for a party hoping to rebuild and grow following the painful results of the 2015 election.

Candidates Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, Quebec MP Guy Caron, Ontario MP Charlie Angus and Ontario legislator Jagmeet Singh all took aim at Wall for his strident opposition of Ottawa's plan to put a price on carbon emissions.

The premier has vowed to go to court if the province is forced to adopt it.

Angus said Tuesday the Saskatchewan premier fails to acknowledge the 20th century is over, noting that as NDP leader he would personally favour adopting a legislated carbon budget to reduce emissions.

"The guy, no offence, but he is like the man violently defending the future of the typewriter when everyone else has moved to cell phones," Angus said, adding he will work with any government on the Prairies willing to diversify its economy.

"We have an enormous renewable potential in Saskatchewan and Alberta."

For her part, Ashton came out swinging against the conservative in the province next door  Pallister.

"Coming from Manitoba, I can say my premier, Brian Pallister, doesn't speak for me and I'm venturing to guess a lot of people here in this room don't feel that Brad Wall speaks for them," she said.

Pricing carbon is necessary to fight climate change but a one-size-fits-all approach won't work when it comes to implementing a carbon plan, Singh said.

"We need to also know that every province is different so we have to approach that," he said.
Photo: The Canadian Press Wildfire devastation in Boston Flats.

Firefighters on the front lines of British Columbia's raging wildfires are bracing for expected lightning and wind today, with all eyes on Williams Lake where more than 10,000 people are under an evacuation alert.

Residents of the Central Interior community have been told to be ready to leave at a moment's notice, with municipal officials warning that today's ominous weather forecast could push fires toward the city at a rapid pace.

More than 14,000 people have been displaced by about 200 fires burning across the province, and Bob Turner of Emergency Management BC says the province is preparing for the possibility of mass evacuations.

He says if an evacuation order goes into effect in Williams Lake, people will be sent north on Highway 97 to Prince George, but Canadian Armed Forces aircraft and helicopters are also standing by in case airlifts are necessary.

Turner says the province's priority is public safety and he encourages people to heed evacuation orders when they are issued.

But the chief of the Bonaparte Indian Band north of Ashcroft says they defied an evacuation order over the weekend and successfully stopped flames from overrunning their reserve.

"My community has some really skilled firefighters, like a lot of First Nations reserves, and they came together and they stopped that wildfire from wiping out that whole community," Chief Ryan Day said in an interview. "We actually didn't lose anything other than the guys who had livestock, they lost a bunch of range land."
Photo: CTV

An acrobat has been seriously injured after falling about five metres during a circus performance in Montreal.

Ambulance workers who responded to the scene say the performer was unconscious after a major blow to the head and that the injury is life-threatening.

The fall occurred Tuesday night as the artist was perfoming on a pole during a show that is part of the city's annual circus festival.

It is not clear what caused the fall.

The festival is confirming the incident in a post on its Facebook page and says its thoughts are with the injured performer.
Photo: Contributed Jared John Charles charged in child abduction.

Police say a Saskatchewan girl abducted from a playground last week was dropped off in a wooded area outside Prince Albert.

Insp. Jason Stonechild says the eight year old walked from the woods to a nearby farm.

"RCMP officers and members from our service immediately attended to this farmyard, where officers were able to confirm that we had located our subject of the Amber Alert," Stonechild said Wednesday. "The victim was immediately taken to Victoria Hospital by our members for proper assessment."

An Amber Alert was issued July 4 after the girl disappeared from a Prince Albert school playground.

Police said the girl was playing by herself when a man entered the park. He grabbed her and put her into the back seat of his car. She was found several hours later.

While police were at the farmyard, they received a call from a business in Prince Albert saying they had someone matching the suspect's description, Stonechild said. Officers arrested the suspect without incident.

Jared John Charles, 19, is facing numerous charges, including kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault and abandoning a child.
Photo: The Canadian Press Fire destruction at Boston Flats, near Cache Creek.

Fire officials say they're relieved by a slight reprieve in the weather forecast that had been calling for strong winds where dozens of fires are burning.

BC Wildfire Service chief information officer Kevin Skrepnek said forecasters have revised their prediction for an incoming weather system.

"We are expecting there to be some lightning with this system but it is likely to have some rain with it," he said, adding the overall pattern is for hot, dry conditions to continue.

"We were a little bit more concerned about today's wind, but the forecast has shifted a little bit and we expect it's going to be milder than first thought, but wind is a tricky thing to forecast so we are bracing for the worst and keeping a close eye on it." he said in an interview Wednesday.

Crews took advantage of calmer conditions to make progress on fire guards near Williams Lake, where 10,000 people remain on evacuation alert.

Twelve new fires were sparked Tuesday, just a fraction of the more than 100 that broke out each day last weekend, Skrepnek said. There are about 200 fires burning provincewide, he said.

Modest gains in fighting the fires mean an evacuation order was lifted for the community of Little Fort, north of Kamloops, although an alert remains in effect as three large fires burn nearby, he said.

More than 14,000 people have been displaced by wildfires from Princeton in the south to Quesnel in Central B.C.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The widow of an American soldier killed in Afghanistan has failed to show former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr is hiding money as a way to avoid paying people he might owe, new court filings show.

In urging Ontario Superior Court to dismiss a request for an injunction against Khadr, his lawyer argues Tabitha Speer and another former American soldier have not shown a strong case to back their demand for an urgent freeze on any money paid him by the federal government.

"The scant evidence offered in support of this pleading consists of double and triple hearsay statements drawn from media reports and Wikipedia," lawyer Nate Whitling writes in his factum ahead of Thursday's court hearing.

Speer, the widow of Sgt. Chris Speer, and Layne Morris, who was blinded in the 2002 firefight in which American forces captured the badly wounded 15-year-old Khadr, won a default US$134.1-million wrongful-death judgment against Khadr two years ago in Utah.

They are now trying to have the judgment enforced in Canada and want to go after Khadr's assets, including the widely reported $10.5 million sources have said the federal government paid him to settle his breach-of-rights suit against Ottawa.
Photo: CTV Police are looking for suspects in Vancouver's double murder Sunday.

Vancouver police are still searching for suspects in the double murder in Vancouver's West End and have now released the names of the two victims.

Sunday afternoon, 57-year-old Sandra McInnes and 51-year-old Neil Croker were found dead in an apartment at 1835 Morton Avenue, near English Bay Beach.

Two suspects were initially taken into custody, but they have since been released pending further investigation, according to Sgt. Jason Robillard of the Vancouver Police Department.

The information collected so far suggests that this was a targeted, isolated event and that the general public is not at risk, Robillard said in a statement.

Police are looking for any witnesses who may have noticed any suspicious activity near the building from the afternoon of July 8 to the early evening of July 9.
Photo: Steve Tobias

There are 183 wildfires burning across the province, according to the latest numbers released by the B.C. Wildfire Service on Wednesday afternoon.

Chief fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek said they had just a dozen new fire starts yesterday, thanks mostly to the weather, we haven't had a whole lot of lightning

Since April 1, 602 wildfires have scorched an estimated 78,000 hectares of land in B.C.

We are continuing to see aggressive fire behaviour out there. Especially for fires that are burning in fairly thick timber, Skrepnek said.

Fire crews are expecting more hot and dry weather across Southern B.C. with a possibility of some wet lightning across the Cariboo on Wednesday.

That unstable weather could also bring some wind, which prompted the City of Williams Lake to issue a city-wide evacuation alert. Weather forecasts have gotten slightly less menacing since the alert was issued, but winds still pose a major threat.

More than 7,800 evacuees have registered with local centres across the province, with more than 3,500 staying in Prince George alone. Another 3,500 have registered with the Red Cross.

Bob Turner of Emergency Management BC says they have received offers of support from 150 local fire departments, with 22 of them currently deployed.
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The Nebraska State Patrol (NSP), in conjunction with partners at the Nebraska Department of Transportation, is continuing efforts to educate youth on safe driving.

Troopers throughout Nebraska conducted 90 safety presentations from April through June, with a focus on seat belts and teen drivers. The presentations included driving and rollover simulators, reaching roughly 30,000 people with the message that seat belts save lives.

Beginning in July and running through September, NSP will continue educational efforts utilizing grant funding from the Nebraska Department of Transportation Highway Safety Office.

According to the Nebraska Strategic Highway Safety Plan, teen drivers ages 16-20 represent the highest number of unbelted fatalities. More than half of young drivers involved in a fatal crash were not wearing seat belts, with males representing 68% of young, unbelted drivers.

Were in the midst of the summer driving season, so continuing NSPs education efforts throughout the state is critical, said Major Russ Stanczyk, Acting Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. The programs run by our troopers show the importance of wearing your seat belt and encourage safe driving. That information, along with following traffic laws, could save lives.

Those interested in scheduling a safety presentation can visit the Community Policing/Safety Programs page of the NSP website for more information.
A Billings man who admitted illegally having six firearms after an investigation in which witnesses said he espoused conspiracy theories about the government will spend 30 months in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters on Tuesday sentenced John Edward Terry, 39, to the term, which was shorter than the guideline range of 37 to 46 months.

Terry pleaded guilty in February to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Terry was banned from having firearms after being convicted of a felony drug charge in Michigan in 1999, the prosecution said. There was no plea agreement.

Agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Terry in November after an investigation in which witnesses said he was illegally possessing guns, had participated in tactical training and shooting sessions at a local firearms business and had espoused conspiracy theories about the government.

Watters praised law enforcement agents for their cool heads in not shooting Terry when they tried to arrest him. Agents restraint despite Terry acting like he had a gun in his waistband should be commended, she told Terry.

The judge also noted that Terry took responsibility for his behavior and sent an apology letter to the arresting agent.

Law enforcement agents closed off a block of Howard Avenue on Nov. 29 to search his home, where they found six firearms of various models and calibers, three silencers and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

An ATF agent arrested Terry that day after he left his home and walked to a nearby convenience store. The agent attempted to contact Terry when he left the store, but Terry ran and led the agent on a chase through a residential neighborhood before getting caught.

When the agent confronted Terry at an intersection, Terry began reaching into the waistband of his pants and indicated he was reaching for gun, the prosecution said. Terry repeatedly asked the agent to shoot him because he didnt want to go to prison. More agents arrived and took Terry into custody. Officers did not find a gun on Terry.

At sentencing, Terry apologized for his actions, especially for his behavior when agents tried to arrest him. It was a moment of panic, he said.

Terry also said he would not break the law again.

Defense attorney Ashley Harada recommended a two-year sentence, saying that while Terry did illegally possess firearms he was not a home-grown terrorist or stockpiling guns.

Harada said Terry practices Islam and has been exposed to Islamophobia. There is a preoccupation in the mainstream media to portray Muslims negatively, she said.

Terry possessed firearms and participated in training to get a better understanding of guns and firearms safety and not to harm anyone, Harada said. Terry also did not have a history of violence, she added.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Sullivan recommended a mid-range sentence of about 40 months.

Sullivan said the pre-sentencing information provided two different pictures of Terry, one as someone who believed in conspiracy theories and was preparing for World War III and another as a person who was misguided and harmless.

Sullivan said he didnt know which was true but asked the judge to consider what Terry did, which was illegally possess firearms, and the manner of his arrest. He also noted Terrys acceptance of responsibility.
The Office of Public Instruction will ask schools to raise test scores significantly in a new education road map that will be submitted to the federal government later this year.

The plan aims to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced No Child Left Behind in December 2015. Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen pulled back a plan submitted by previous Superintendent Denise Juneau, saying the process had moved too fast. At a Wednesday press conference, Arntzen emphasized that changes are still being made to the plan and OPI is still accepting public input.

The test score improvements would call for at least four percent of non-proficient students to improve to proficient on state-required tests. ESSA requires the same goal to be applied to sub-groups, like students with disabilities. And because different sub-groups have different achievement levels, theyll be asked to improve at dramatically different rates.

More students with disabilities get non-proficient scores than an average student. They will be expected to improve math proficiency levels by 18.5 percent, compared to 11.6 percent for white students. Native American students will be expected to raise proficiency levels by 17.9 percent.

The plan calls for far more improvement than Juneaus plan. The federal Department of Education has issued sharp feedback to some states that already submitted plans, including criticism for goals that werent ambitious as the law requires.

Weve listened to the field and we believe that four percent is achievable, said Susie Hedalen, OPIs director of educational services.

ESSA requires states to blend several factors into an overall rating for schools: academic achievement, academic progress, graduation rates and English language learner proficiency progress, plus another category with factors picked by states.

The law also still requires that states administer standardized tests and requires them to identify and try to improve struggling schools.

Some rules for the law are still changing, as the Education Department transitions from the Obama Administration to Trump-appointee Betsy DeVos, who pushed back some initial deadlines for submitting plans.

Juneaus administration released a plan with input from a series of stakeholder meetings that Gov. Steve Bullock also signed off on. Plans are reviewed by governors, although they dont have the power to revise them.

Arntzens administration has held a series of meetings around the state and solicited online feedback for a new plan.

Another major change from the Juneau plan is the inclusion of college and career readiness as a state-picked indicator, along with attendance, school climate, behavior and student engagement.

High schools will be asked to have students meet one of the following criteria: passing an Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment class, meeting college-ready benchmark scores on the ACT test, or completing a designated series of Career and Technical Education courses.

Hedalen said OPI is considering adding other options, such as participation in programs like Future Farmers of America.
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!)
WATFORD CITY, N.D.  An Alaska man is recovering after being attacked by a bison while hiking in western North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Park official Eileen Andes said the 65-year-old hiker encountered the large animal on a trail after taking photos of a sunset. He tried to walk around the bison but didn't provide a wide enough berth.

The bison apparently threw the man into a bush, knocking him unconscious, Andes said. When the man regained consciousness, he was bleeding from a leg laceration but made his way to the trailhead. When he saw more bison, he climbed several feet up a butte.

"The guy kept yelling, 'help, help, and help,'" said Christopher Velazquez, one of three airmen from Minot Air Force Base who were camping nearby and heard the man's faint calls.

The airmen and another camper rushed to help when the bison moved to the back of the hill. Airman Jake Nixon said the hiker had stuffed his socks into his wound, but that the socks and his pants were covered in blood. Their fellow rescuer tied his shirt around the hiker's wound to stop the bleeding.

The hiker was treated at a hospital and released Saturday.

The airmen, who also included Justin Valentine, are members of the 705th Munitions Squadron at the base in Minot, about 140 miles northeast of the national park.

"We wanted to help because we had the ability to. When you hear a cry for help, you've got that on your mind 'what if that was you on the butte?" Valentine said.
Patrick Mitchell was beaten to death behind a Poplar convenience store, according to charging documents filed against four suspects in Fort Peck Tribal Court.

Tribal prosecutors charged four people in the death  three of whom are accused of punching and kicking the man numerous times.

Errol Longee, 34, Angela Longee, 18, and Darren Simons, 67, all face felony counts of murder. Tamara Red Eagle, 30, was charged with criminal complicity and solicitation involving murder, a felony.

The assault took place on July 1 behind TJ's Quik Stop at about 2:21 a.m., court documents state. Angela Longee was talking to Mitchell about a prior sexual assault and began punching him, charges state. She was later found with blood on her shoes.

Errol Longee admitted to law enforcement that he punched Mitchell 10 to 12 times, according to charges.

Police found Simons outside of a nearby house. A witness said Simons initially said "they stomped on someone's head and killed him," charges state. He later said, "I killed him" to law enforcement, according to court documents.

Simons told officers to "ask Tamara Red Eagle about it," which led to her charges, the documents say.

The FBI, which is investigating the case alongside Fort Peck Tribal Police, released the names of the defendants on Tuesday.

Maximum sentences in Fort Peck Tribal Court are typically one year, even for felonies. But tribal law allows for "enhanced punishment" of up to three years for serious crimes.

Prosecutors have filed paperwork to seek enhanced sentences for Simons, Errol Longee and Angela Longee. Prosecutors at the U.S. District Court of Montana could also pick up the case if they choose.
HELENA  The three health insurance companies in Montana that offer individual plans through the Affordable Care Act are proposing wildly different rate increases next year, underlining the insurance market's uncertainty about the future of the federal law.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, the state's largest insurer, is proposing an average 23.1 percent rate increase in 2018 for its nearly 32,000 enrollees in the individual market, Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Matthew Rosendale's office said Tuesday.

The Montana Health Co-op and PacificSource, the state's two other insurers on the federal health exchange, are taking a different approach. The co-op is proposing to raise its rates just 4 percent for its 20,000 individual market enrollees, while PacificSource wants a 7.4 percent increase for its 12,000 individual policyholders.

Insurance companies must file their final plans for 2018 with the state in August, after which those rates will be locked in regardless of whether the Republican-led Congress successfully strikes a deal to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Senate Republicans plan to release revisions to their health care bill later this week after failing to muster enough support for their original proposal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell canceled the first two weeks of the Senate's August recess to work on the bill and other legislation.

Blue Cross is factoring in possible changes to the federal law into its 2018 proposal. Those changes include potential cuts in federal funding that lowers the cost of deductibles and payments, and lifting the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, said Blue Cross spokesman John Doran.

Even if a bill doesn't pass, Blue Cross still wants federal health officials to clarify whether they will continue to fund cost-sharing reductions and enforce the individual mandate, he said.

"We built into our rates the risk of the marketplace," Doran said. "Where we receive regulatory clarity, we will review and adjust our rates accordingly."

The proposed hike comes on top of Blue Cross' 58 percent increase last year and a 20 percent increase the year before that for individual plans mainly sold through the federal exchange.

The Montana Health Co-Op and PacificSource are taking the opposite approach from Blue Cross, and their lower rate increases assume that the Affordable Care Act will remain intact next year.

"We're really diligent in the rate increases we ask for," said Todd Lovshin, PacificSource's Montana regional director. "We put forward a fair and just proposal based on current law."

That approach carries the risk of setting a rate that could be too low if a bill passes that cuts cost-share reductions and lifts the individual mandate without any offsetting funding.

If that were to happen, the Montana Health Co-op would have to drop out of the exchange, President and CEO Jerry Dworak said.

"We would just say we're done," he said.

On Tuesday the Montana Budget and Policy Center, which has been tracking the effects of the House and Senate bills, released a report about how the current Senate bill would change the cost of buying health care on the exchange for people who live in rural Montana.

The report says the bill, which is expected to be overhauled dramatically in coming days, would lower the amount of tax credits available to offset buying insurance on the exchange dramatically. A person who is 60 years old and living in Chouteau County, where the county seat is Fort Benton, could see their premiums increase up to $6,350 a year after 2020, while a person the same age in more-urban Yellowstone County would see an increase of $4,890.

The rate increases don't affect people with health coverage through their employers. Rosendale has set two public hearings on the rate proposals, one on July 24 in Billings and the other on July 26 in Helena.

Holly Michels of Lee Newspapers contributed reporting to this story.
The new attorneys brought in by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes held few punches in their appeal of the Tenth Circuit Court decision over the boundaries of the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming.

In February, a three-judge panel of the court ruled that the reservation had been permanently reduced in size by a 1905 law. The tribes have maintained that the law merely opened up land north of the Wind River, including what is now Riverton, to settlement by non-Indians but did not change the boundaries for the reservation.

However, Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich ruled in a 2-1 decision that the language of the 1905 Act makes clear that Congress intended to shrink the reservation.

Congresss use of the word cede can only mean one thing  a diminished reservation, Tymkovich wrote.

But Paul Clement, a former federal solicitor general hired by the Northern Arapaho, mocked Tymkovichs reasoning in a brief filed Monday requesting that a panel of all 12 judges on the Tenth Circuit rehear the case.

The U.S. Supreme Court has established a three-pronged test for determining whether Congress intended to shrink, or diminish, a reservation, and Clement argued that Tymkovich and Judge Paul Kelly relied too much on particular language in the act and failed to show that the 1905 act met all three aspects of the test.

Clement wrote that Tymkovich attached talismanic significance to the word cede, and added that, Only a novel and undue focus on cede allow the majority to reach its conclusion."

Shoshone attorney Seth Waxman, another former solicitor general, likewise took issue with the focus on the Acts language in a brief also filed Monday.

The panels core holding, that cede alone proves diminishment, disregards the Supreme Courts repeated insistence that all relevant evidence be weighed together, Waxman wrote.

Both Clement and Waxman note that many other tribes around the nation entered agreements to cede land that remains part of their reservations. If the three-judge panels ruling stands, the reservation boundaries of those tribes might be forced to change.

Dispute dates back years

The case began in 2008, when the two tribes asked the Environmental Protection Agency for permission to set their own environmental regulations on the reservation. The tribes described the boundaries of the Wind River Reservation as including the land opened for settlement by non-Indians in 1905 and the Department of Interior agreed with their assessment.

But the state of Wyoming and a group representing farmers in the area disagreed, arguing that the 1905 Act had not just allowed non-Indians to purchase land on the reservation but had converted it to public land.

The Arapaho and Shoshone argue that because there was no lump-sum payment included as part of the 1905 agreement, the federal government was granted only the right to sell the land on behalf of the tribes  but that the land would remain within the bounds of the reservation. The tribes were to receive payment as plots of the land in question was sold, with the unsold land eventually being returned to tribal ownership.

The tribes drew a contrast to two previous sales of reservation land, in 1874 and 1897, where land was exchanged for a single monetary payment. All parties agree those two sales removed the land from the reservation.

Clement argued that it was illogical for the Arapaho and Shoshone to have agreed to remove the land north of the Wind River without a specific payment.

Unless the Tribes sacrificed nearly two-thirds of their reservation in exchange for a guarantee of nothing, (the 1905) language is precisely suited to opening up the reservation, and at odds with an unequivocal intent to diminish, Clement wrote.

Courts have previously held that a combination of language describing the sale of reservation land and a lump-sum payment made clear that Congress had intended to change the boundaries of a reservation. But Tymkovich ruled that while the combination of those two elements confirm the diminishment of the reservation, the absence of one of them  in this case, the lack of a single payment for the land  did not rule out the possibility the boundaries had still been changed.

He cited past efforts by Congress to purchase the reservation land north of the Wind River and quotes the comments of tribal leaders during negotiations with the federal government as evidence that the 1905 Act was intended to change reservation borders.

One representative for the Eastern Shoshone (said) that his Tribe understood it was parting with [its lands] forever and [could] never recover [them] again, Tymkovich wrote.

Tymkovich, who made President Donald Trump's list of potential Supreme Court appointees earlier this year, is a conservative described as being especially sympathetic to states' rights.

Hes a real giant among judges who want more deference to states, and thats in tension with a progressive sense that there should be a federal check on states, particularly rogue states, University of Denver law professor Justin Marceau told the Denver Post in January.

The tribes counter that the fact they rejected those previous offers from the federal government to purchase the reservation land north of the Wind River is evidence the 1905 act was meant merely to open the land for settlement, rather than remove it from the reservation.

The Shoshone argue that by ruling that the land in question is not part of the reservation, the three-judge panel has weakened the tribes taxation and criminal justice authority as well as its water rights.

The impact of diminishment on affected tribes is hard to overstate, Waxman wrote.

The federal government declined to join the request for a rehearing in the case, despite requesting more time to file an appeal several months ago. The Arapaho and Shoshones have standing to continue the case without assistance from the government and their hiring of Clement, Waxman and several other high-profile attorneys suggest they expect that the case may eventually be heard by the Supreme Court.
JACKSON, Wyo.  A convicted rapist from Wyoming faces trial this fall for sexual assaults reported in Jackson in 1974 and 1975.

Teton County prosecutors want the judge to allow jurors to hear that when 66-year-old Donald Kenneth Pack Jr. confessed to the Jackson rapes, he confessed to other rapes. Charges have not been filed in the other cases.

The evidence needed to tie Pack to the Jackson sexual assaults wasn't tested until 2015.

Pack faces trial in October after pleading not guilty to rape, attempted rape and two burglary counts.

County prosecutor Steve Weichman says Pack used the same method in all of his rapes, which involved sitting outside a woman's house until she went to bed, then breaking in and raping her.

Pack was convicted of rape in nearby Sublette County in 1977.
Five Minutes With Damien Geter Audio Article Vocalist, composer and Richmond Symphony artist in residence Damien Geters musical roots sprouted when he was a boy in the Matoaca District of Chesterfield County, where he was raised and...
Americans once had a shared commitment to the traditional liberal democratic values: individual liberties, human rights, tolerance of dissent, free and fair elections, a free press, due process and separation of powers.

Or more concisely: liberty and justice for all.

Slowly but surely, we have been abandoning these shared values and drifting toward authoritarianism and mob rule.

Who's leading the charge (left or right) depends on where you sit. Both sides claim to be the true champions of liberal democracy, yet neither seems particularly intent on safeguarding it when doing so hurts their team.

Last week, for example, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found striking levels of hostility toward political and civil freedoms among Republicans:

A quarter of Republicans believe the country has gone too far in expanding the right to vote.

Worse, 4 in 10 believe the United States has too greatly expanded freedom of the press.

The same share also says that the "right to protest or criticize the government" has gotten out of hand.

This is astonishing coming from a party whose entire raison d'etre for eight years was to protest and criticize the White House.

The shares of Democrats agreeing that these rights (to vote, to a free press, to criticize the government) are too expansive were relatively tiny (5, 11 and 7 percent, respectively).

This partisan gulf is not some one-off result.

In February, a Pew Research Center survey found large gaps between Democrats and Republicans on civil and political liberties. Three-quarters of Democrats said that the freedom of news organizations to criticize political leaders is important for maintaining a strong democracy. Slightly less than half of Republicans agreed. Is anyone on the right actually reading those pocket Constitutions they've made into such a trendy fashion accessory?

In other surveys over recent years, conservatives have been more supportive of book-banning and other forms of censorship. At the state level, conservatives have used government power to gag speech and ideas they consider offensive, and even to mandate speech they deem politically pleasing (by requiring doctors to spout junk science about abortions, for instance).

Conservatives who've read this far will surely point out that plenty of lefties flaunt their own illiberal tendencies. As I've written before, long-term surveys of college freshmen indicate rising intolerance of controversial speech. More anecdotally, the past few years have provided lots of vivid examples of pitchfork-wielding lefty students and cowardly administrators shutting down speech with which they disagree. This has led to demands for resignations and, sometimes, threats of violence.

Now of course there are also equally vivid examples of pitchfork-wielding right-wing mobs, inflamed by Fox News and other conservative news organizations, attempting to shut down speech by left-leaning academics. With little sense of irony, these mobs descend on liberals with demands for resignations and, sometimes, threats of violence  often in the name of protecting free debate.

So the question is, what's changed? What or whom should we blame for this deteriorating commitment to dissent and other liberal values, whether on campuses or in statehouses?

To some extent, Americans  like citizens of other Western democracies experiencing similar backlashes  are actively rejecting democratic institutions and norms they believe failed them. The financial crisis and, before that, stagnating living standards left Americans angry, disillusioned and ready to burn it all down  with the "it" in this case including some of our shared values.

There's another obvious villain in this story, though: our increasingly corrosive and tribalist partisanship.

"This just shows the degree to which partisan identity and loyalty to a political leader go deeper than a commitment to any particular values," Yascha Mounk, a lecturer at Harvard University, argued last week by phone when I asked him about the Marist findings.

He notes that confidence in Russia's authoritarian president, Vladimir Putin, has doubled among Republicans since 2015, while declining slightly among Democrats. This is probably not so much due to any actual familiarity with Putin's murderous quashing of dissent as a perception that he's on the (Republican) president's team. The same perception may motivate Republicans' rising antipathy toward a free press.

Maybe Americans are not exactly hostile toward liberal democratic ideals, so much as indifferent. In today's partisan climate, that's just as dangerous.
Michelle Ritter, left, and Hollie Conroy hang out at West Fest in Chicago. Conroy and Ritter met via an app called Peanut that helps connect moms. (Kristan Lieb / Blue Sky)

Chicago moms in search of friendships with other mothers, your Tinder has arrived.

Peanut, an app that connects nearby users based on common interests and age of children, is ramping up efforts to sign up Chicago moms starting this week. Users show interest by swiping up to virtually "wave" at a mom. If she waves back, it's a match.

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It's the brainchild of London-based co-founder Michelle Kennedy  a 34-year-old mom who's a veteran of the dating app industry  with tech led by a Chicagoan who co-founded of one of Europe's biggest food delivery startups.

The app's been available to download on iOS since early this year, but the company says it's rolling out marketing starting Wednesday to help draw a critical mass of Chicago users.

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Kennedy said she came up with the idea more than three years ago while up late one night with her newborn son. As she saw her social media feeds filled with pictures of her friends out about town, Kennedy knew she needed to link with women who could better relate to her as a young career woman with a child.

"At 2 o'clock in the afternoon when girlfriends are at work, or the night feeds when you feel like you're the only one in your group who's doing that  that's quite a lonely period," said Kennedy, 34. "Those moments are just so isolated. I didn't expect it."

The matching concept might have been natural to Kennedy, former deputy CEO at European dating app Badoo and a former director at Bumble (which was backed by Badoo).

But she didn't move on the mama connect idea until last year, when her son, Finlay, was in preschool.

Looking for a chief technology officer, Kennedy reached out to Chicagoan Greg Orlowski, the co-founder and ex-CTO at London-based Deliveroo, for suggestions. Orlowski, who had left his company shortly after the birth of his daughter in 2016, wanted the spot himself, and joined Peanut as co-founder and CTO.

Kennedy and Orlowski began working on their app, which takes its name from Finlay's nickname, in 2016 and launched it in February 2017 with a focus on London and New York. The company is currently headquartered in London.

Accounts can be created only through Facebook  a precaution to keep guys off the platform, as well as for safety and security checks.

So far, more than 100,000 users have swiped 10 million times, Kennedy said  and she thinks it's helping moms build a community.

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That was the case for Allison Brown, 22, a resident of Chicago's Riverdale neighborhood who signed on earlier this year. The human resources professional and mother of 6-month-old Poppy works from home and was taking college courses online, so had little chance to make new friends or connect with other moms.

"My friends that don't have children don't always understand having to cancel plans at the last minute because your kid has a runny nose," she said. "It's nice having a network of friends and moms to be friends with, even if you don't meet up with them. It's nice to have support just texting back and forth, offering advice to each other."

Hollie Conroy, 32, turned to the app not because she had a problem making mom friends, but because they were always leaving her, she said.

"A lot of my friends with kids were either moving to the suburbs as soon as they had their babies or they were planning to move to the suburbs," said Conroy, a copywriter who lives in Ukrainian Village and signed up for Peanut in February. "The kids were all the same age  but they left me so soon after they had their babies. I was constantly looking for new friends."

Conroy, said she's been pretty selective in her swiping since signing on.

"I was looking for someone who could split a babysitter with me," she said. "I was only swiping on women if they lived in my neighborhood or in the vicinity. I just don't have time after work or on the weekends to take two buses and a train to meet up with somebody and only see them once a week. I want to be able to run out and grab coffee with somebody who lives down the street."

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Badoo, Bumble and Tinder have friend-finder features as well, though they're not marketed to moms. Kennedy said Peanut will likely eventually use a business model similar to many dating apps  free to use generally, with some premium features.

But now, she said the company is focused on building community.

"The basic premise of connecting women will always be free," she said.

Peanut said it raised money from New Enterprise Associates, Partech Ventures and Felix Capital last year; the company would not disclose how much.

Cheryl V. Jackson is a freelance writer.

Twitter @CherylVJackson
A state crackdown on two Chicago lawyers for their efforts to reduce clients' property tax bills calls into question how real estate assessments are often challenged.

The state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation filed complaints in April against the lawyers for allegedly violating state law by performing what the agency says amounted to unlicensed real estate appraisals. Arguing that their clients' assessments should be lowered, the lawyers submitted legal briefs to property tax appeal boards that presented information on comparable properties.

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Property owners frequently hire attorneys to challenge assessments in an effort to get their tax bills lowered. Challenging an assessment doesn't require an appraisal, but it does require the property owner to submit information on three comparable properties.

That's what the lawyers in question  G. Terence Nader and David Bass  did for their clients, according to a lawsuit the Illinois State Bar Association filed against the state agency this week in Cook County Circuit Court.

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The bar association argues in its lawsuit that such activities are common for property tax lawyers, don't constitute the actions of an appraiser and don't violate the state law dealing with licensing for appraisers.

"All the lawyers did was advocate on behalf of their clients" by presenting relevant information, "much of it publicly available, urging a government body to reduce the assessed value of their clients' properties," the lawsuit says. "Advocacy by lawyers on behalf of their clients does not constitute the development or rendering of an appraisal."

Through the lawsuit, the bar association says it's trying to prevent the department from prosecuting licensed attorneys for similar activities.

The association has 30,000 members, of which about 400 belong to a state and local tax section.

Nader, who isn't a party to the lawsuit, wrote in an email Tuesday that "state laws ... expressly allow property owners to prove the true value of their property."

"As their lawyer, I am just speaking for them," he wrote. "I am doing the same work that hundreds of other lawyers are doing right now and that generations of lawyers have done before me."

Craig Capilla, an attorney representing Nader and Bass, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Capilla wrote in an email that the state bar association, the Chicago Bar Association and other legal groups "are keeping a watchful eye on a state agency's attempt to regulate the practice of law," which is the responsibility of the Illinois Supreme Court.

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The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has the authority to investigate and prosecute violations of state laws governing appraisers and dozens of other licensed professions and occupations. Alleged criminal violations, including practicing without a license, can be referred to the local state's attorney or the Illinois attorney general's office.

The department is reviewing the matter, spokesman Terry Horstman said.

byerak@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @beckyyerak
People walk by the children's clothing retailer Gymboree, which has filed for bankruptcy protection on June 13, 2017 in New York City. As retailers across the country continue to struggle, Gymboree said it plans to remain in business but will close 375 to 450 of its 1,281 stores while filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

Kids' clothing retailer Gymboree will close about 350 stores, including 16 in Illinois, after filing for bankruptcy last month.

Closing sales are expected to begin Tuesday, the San Francisco-based company said. Most of the closures are at the company's Gymboree and Crazy 8 brands.

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Fox Valley Mall in Aurora and Algonquin Commons are losing both Gymboree and Crazy 8 stores.

The company also is closing Gymboree stores in Bolingbrook, Vernon Hills, West Dundee, Bloomingdale, Springfield, Champaign, Peoria and Fairview Heights.

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A Gymboree outlet store in Tuscola and Crazy 8 stores in Lombard, North Riverside and Lincolnwood also are slated to close.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 17 In this Nov. 25, 2016, file photo, customers shop in a Toys R Us store on Black Friday in Miami. The toy chain has filed for bankruptcy protection, but plans on keeping its stores open. (Alan Diaz / AP)

"Right-sizing our store footprint is a central part of our efforts to ensure Gymboree emerges from this restructuring process as a stronger and more competitive organization, with greater financial flexibility to invest in our future," Daniel Griesemer, Gymboree's president and CEO, said in a news release.

When filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month, Gymboree said it planned to continue operating the majority of its stores while restructuring and cutting its debt by more than $900 million.

As of April 29, the company had about 1,281 stores across its Gymboree, Gymboree Outlet, Janie and Jack, and Crazy 8 brands. The company sold Gymboree Play & Music, a chain of play centers for young children, to a Singapore-based investment group in 2016.

lzumbach@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @laurenzumbach
Irene Rosenfeld is one of the most powerful women in business as chairman and CEO of Deerfield-based Mondelez International, the $26 billion global snack and candy company known for brands like Oreo cookies, Ritz crackers and Sour Patch Kids candy. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

Long before she became chief executive of Oreo cookies, Irene Rosenfeld wanted to be commander in chief of the United States.

"I felt very strongly that girls should have the same opportunities as boys," said Rosenfeld, 64, of her childhood dream while growing up on New York's Long Island.

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That particular glass ceiling remains intact. But today, Rosenfeld is one of the most powerful women in business as chairman and CEO of Deerfield-based Mondelez International, the $26 billion global snack and candy company known for brands like Oreo cookies, Ritz crackers and Sour Patch Kids candy. Under her watch, the company has invested in its top-selling brands, cut costs and expanded profit margins.

At a recent luncheon, Rosenfeld was named International Executive of the Year by the Executives' Club of Chicago, the first woman to be honored in the award's 22-year history.

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Mondelez International CEO Irene Rosenfeld talks about her company decisions during a June 28, 2017, interview conducted after an Executives Club of Chicago event at the Fairmont Chicago where she was honored as the 2017 International Executive of the Year. ( Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune )

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Do you feel, as one of the relatively few female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, that you're treated differently or held to a different standard than a male CEO?

A: I do think there's a need, because there's fewer of us  we really have to distinguish ourselves. So in that sense, yes. But I would say that I'm delighted by the fact that it is not the main topic of conversation. ... Our results have to speak for themselves.

Q: Is that something that's changed over time?

A: I think so. Years ago, the whole topic was about being a woman. I think some of the coverage of Madeleine Albright, for example, in her early days as Secretary of State just felt a little bit skewed and a little bit inappropriate. ... It was far more focused on the fact that she was a woman than perhaps the role that she held and the accomplishments that she delivered. I'm delighted to see female leaders like Angela Merkel and certainly Hillary Clinton treated in a much more evenhanded way.

Q: You are also the CEO who laid off hundreds of workers at the Nabisco plant in Chicago when Mondelez shifted some of its operations to Mexico. Why was that necessary?

A: We compete in a global economy. Particularly in these last couple of years, as we have seen a significant economic downturn in the form of slower GDP growth in all of our markets around the world, the volatility we've seen in currency, the strength of the U.S. dollar against just about every foreign currency, the incredible volatility we've seen in commodity costs, inputs like cocoa that reached 20-year highs, as well as some of the geopolitical unrest that we've seen around the world  in that context, ensuring that our cost structure and our margin structure is robust is imperative.

Our assets in our Nabisco factories were 50, 60 years old. They're slow, they are not state of the art, they didn't have the flexibility to make a variety of the packaging formats that our consumers are looking for today.

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So we engaged in a massive undertaking. We invested about $2.5 billion in our supply chain around the world to bring it up to speed and to be able to invest in state-of-the-art assets that could run faster, run more efficiently and take up less floor space.

Q: Will the Nabisco facility in Chicago eventually be shut down completely?

A: We have no plans to shut this facility down. It's very much the cornerstone of our network here in the U.S.

Q: Shouldn't a company also bear some responsibility to the communities that it operates in, communities that sorely need good-paying jobs?

A: The best thing we can do for the communities in which we operate is to have a vibrant and sustainable business.

Q: How is the political climate in the U.S. under the Trump administration affecting Mondelez?

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A: I think it's too early to say it has affected us because there really have been no firm changes in policy. Our hope (is) that this administration will respect the need for us to be competitive in a global economy, will respect the value of business in that regard and will formulate their policies accordingly.

Q: The rumor that Kraft Heinz could acquire Mondelez continues to pop up every now and again. Any thoughts you can share on the likelihood of that happening?

A: I read the same press that you do and see the speculation. If you look at their playbook, the odds are they will buy something. But our focus remains on driving our business. ... I think we're poised to start to see these emerging markets start to come back. First quarter, our emerging markets were up 3.5 percent (in organic revenue growth). We feel very good about our performance in India and Russia. China's starting to come back. The only emerging market that continues to be a little weak is Brazil. So I think we're really poised to break out (in revenue as well as profits).

Q: What impact will Amazon's planned acquisition of Whole Foods have on Mondelez and the rest of the food industry?

A: I think the immediate reaction both in terms of expected impact and the speed of that impact was a little bit overstated. But I think it clearly is a very concrete signal about the fact that consumers are shopping in a broader array of channels today than ever before. ... We have built up an e-commerce organization and our commitment is to get to a $1 billion business by 2020.

Q: You've said the search for your eventual replacement is a matter of best practice for the board of directors. How much longer do you want to do this?

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A: As you might imagine, it's something we've talked about for a number of years. As the chair of the board, I've been actively engaged in those conversations and will continue to be going forward. If and when we have something to report, we'll talk about it.

Q: When you do eventually retire, what is it you want to do?

A: I've been quite busy with my day job. I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it. When the time comes, it's something that I'll give a little bit more thought to.

Q: No travel plans?

A: We're in 165 countries. I've done more travel than I need to in my lifetime.

gtrotter@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @GregTrotterTrib
Montana has seen a 100-percent increase in felony drug arrests since 2009. The number of criminal cases filed in District Courts statewide has exploded, with half of the growth the result of felony drug possession.

Those findings presented to the Montana Commission on Sentencing helped inform court officials, lawmakers and other Montanans about reforms needed to reduce the crowding in state prisons and local jails by curbing the number of people who keep using drugs (and committing new crimes) while on probation or parole.

This years changes in state law and the Department of Corrections budget aim at reform, but may do little to lessen the addiction epidemic driving much of the crime in our state and keeping offenders in the system longer than they would be without their chemical dependencies.

If we could remove individuals addicted to alcohol and drugs and those with mental illnesses, we would see a huge reduction, DOC interim director Loraine Wodnik said. Were hopeful that in the long run, probation and parole changes will decrease the caseload.

Wodnik sounded optimistic in a recent telephone interview with The Gazette. She pointed to a new recovery program in Boulder for female offenders that treats the traumatic disorders deeply involved in their repeated criminal behaviors.

The 2017 Legislature authorized DOC to end the boot camp program for young male adult offenders, a program that was under-utilized and not completely based on evidence that it worked. Wodnik said the department plans to use the facility for treating up to 60 drug addicts from the nearby Montana State Prison.

At the start of a new biennium, the challenge for DOC is great while the resources available are less than two years ago.

The biennial budget included $3 million to provide support services, such as help with transitional living, to people on probation and parole. But DOC soon may be required to cut nearly $3 million out of its biennial budget if state revenues continue to fall short of projections made this spring.

In the biennium just ended, DOC was required by the state budget to avoid spending 2 percent of its personnel budget. This biennium, it must achieve a 6 percent vacancy savings. That means, the DOC is allowed to hire only 94 percent of the staff its budget authorized.

The Billings probation and parole office recently had about 30 officers to supervise 2,180 offenders in our community. While the number of offenders on supervision has ballooned, the number of probation and parole officers actually decreased, and will shrink further in the next two years for vacancy savings.

The Justice Center of the Council of State Governments studied Montanas justice system for the interim commission and concluded that the states prison population will keep growing  unless effective reforms are made. The Justice Center estimated that the state will have to spend an additional $51 million by 2023 to deal with a larger number of inmates and parolees.

Wodnik is hopeful that this years repeal of a state law that limited competition in chemical dependency treatment may prompt additional providers to start serving Montana communities. Unfortunately, the main payer for people on probation and parole is Medicaid, and that program is expected to undergo rate cuts in Montana. Its doubtful that new services will start if payment is being cut.

Medicaid expansion that started in January 2016 was a godsend for Montanans on probation and parole and most rely on it as they work low-wage jobs to start rebuilding their lives.

The first thing Republican and Democratic leaders must do for Montana is to work with the states mental health and addiction treatment providers to ensure that services will still be available for low-come Montanans, including those who are in the criminal justice system.

Montanas congressional delegation needs to stand up for their constituents who need Medicaid. If enacted, the current U.S. House and Senate bills would decimate this program in Montana. That would hurt all of us: the folks who couldnt get treatment and the taxpayers who will have to build more prison cells and live with more drug-related crime.

Reginald Michael is starting his new job as DOC director this week. Michael, who is coming to Montana from Florida, has a tough job ahead. He will need all the probation and parole expertise he can muster.
Andi Appel describes what it's like to live at State & Chestnut with her dog Bella, with scenes from the building's "Yappy Hour" for dog owners on June 29, 2017, in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) (Armando L. Sanchez)

When Andi Appel adopted Bella from a shelter nine years ago, she knew the dog, an Australian cattle dog and Labrador mix, had been abused. So Appel committed to spending the rest of Bella's life keeping her as comfortable as possible.

Enter the dog spa and bright green dog run at State & Chestnut, the Gold Coast apartment building where she and Bella moved in 2015.

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"It's awesome," said Appel, 57, as Bella lapped up greetings and neck rubs from other residents on a recent afternoon.

State & Chestnut is one of many apartment buildings boasting increasingly competitive amenities geared away from humans  and toward pets.

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More than simply being pet-friendly, these buildings treat dogs and cats as valued residents who deserve their own perks  spas, room to run, grooming, toys.

"You need to build amenities not only for the human, you need to build them for the family members too," said Elizabeth Williams, vice president of marketing for real estate investment firm Newcastle Limited and its apartment branch Reside Living, whose 39 multifamily buildings range from four to 367 units. Five buildings have dog runs, she said.

Amenities for furry friends vary, but many buildings recently installed dog runs. For example, at State & Chestnut, the gated green space occupies a seventh-floor corner near lounge chairs. At Loop building 73 East Lake, which has 332 units, amenities include a pet spa and dog run, complete with red fire hydrants. Near the West Loop, Circa 922 has a dog run on its fourth floor as well as a partnership with a grooming company to pamper building pups.

Smaller buildings, too, cater to animals  at 8 East Huron, the 102 units will be accompanied by an outdoor dog run and indoor grooming station when it opens in October. At 75-unit 515 W. Briar  one of Planned Property Management's Lakeview-area buildings  a dog park just for residents is visible from the sidewalk. Amenities at five Planned Property Management buildings, including the one on Briar, include visits from doggie-treat food trucks and free pictures with the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.

"We believe if you are dog-friendly you should not just tolerate dogs but love them," said PPM marketing director Dan McDonough.

Jon Jugo feeds his dog a Puppuccino from Starbucks during a Yappy Hour at State & Chestnut on June 29, 2017, in Chicagos Gold Coast neighborhood. ( Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune )

At Reside, Williams said they realized dog perks worked after people asked during lease conversations, "What about my dog?" Concierges for the company also shared that many residents had pets or wanted them. In fact, about 1 in 5 residents who rent through Reside are dog owners, Williams said.

Dog runs seem most popular  people who might not have a dog but are considering pet ownership are encouraged by the thought of avoiding street-level dog walks during an epic Chicago snowstorm.

But amenities go beyond a place to run. Amy Galvin, managing partner at Luxury Living Chicago Realty, has heard of everything from an agility course to "Yappy Hours" with a pet photographer in attendance.

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"When our clients are looking at apartments, they're definitely keeping their pets' needs top of mind," Galvin said. "The pets are definitely something that the developers have become pretty savvy to."

Dozens of Chicago buildings partner with Baroo, a pet concierge company that walks, pet-sits and grooms. Uniformed workers come in to get dogs and cats, and the consistency of one company in and out of the building is comforting to residents, Galvin said.

And buildings aren't just adding dog perks, they're improving existing amenities.

At Moment apartments near Streeterville, where a grooming spa goes by the name the Wagging Tale, the building recently installed artificial grass designed for canines near a pre-existing dog run. This outdoor space benefits pets and their owners, giving the latter a place to bond. "They're socializing with other residents, with other dogs in the building," said Steve Sise, senior vice president at real estate investment firm Golub, which manages Moment.

Recently, Moment added a nature-themed mural along the wall leading to the pet area. "We really want to dress it up, really want to make it welcoming," Sise said.

Even among older buildings, Sise added, Golub renovated or created pet spots, adding sinks or finagling a dog run within an outdoor area. Chestnut Place apartments in the Gold Coast, for example, installed a pet-washing room.

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Katrina Bravo kisses her dog during a Yappy Hour at State & Chestnut on June 29, 2017, in Chicagos Gold Coast neighborhood. ( Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune )

Pet-friendly is one thing, but this trend is more than that. "We don't have a phrase for it," he said. "It's engaging the pets, treating pets, giving them the amenities."

Yet adding perks for pets includes unique challenges. What happens when snow blankets a dog run, for example? State & Chestnut's year-round run has a melting system for snow as well as drainage  no one wants smelly spaces.

And then there are human concerns about the prominence of pets.

Janice Stewart, 70, used to have a cat, and she grew up with dogs. Now, she lives near dogs in a five-unit condo building in West Ridge, and she said the furry neighbors are not her favorite. For one, they poop in the yard, which their humans don't always clean up.

"They just bark forever," she added.

Addressing concerns about noise, smells and waste are key for buildings attracting residents, said Galvin, of Luxury Living Chicago Realty.

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"We definitely get clients who are saying, 'How many dogs are in this building? I don't like dogs,'" she said. Residents might not want to share an elevator with an animal or find dog feces outside the front door.

She said some buildings utilize PooPrints, a company that added5 analyzes DNA in animal droppings. By requiring a DNA sample from pet owners, the buildings can track the culprit.

"To know the buildings are cracking down on that behavior is helpful," she said.

Pet perks, it seems, are here to stay. Detailing future projects being developed in the West Loop and Lincoln Park, Williams, of Reside, said, "We talk more about pet amenities than we talk about human amenities."

At State & Chestnut, where Appel and Bella live in a one-bedroom apartment, about 20 percent of the residents own pets, from French bulldogs to goldendoodles. Residents recognize dog walkers and joke about avoiding nearby pet-treat store Tails in the City, which pups recognize. Reside's rewards program includes discounts with dog walkers and veterinarians. Pet parents attend monthly Yappy Hours.

Bellais used to climbing the stairwell from dog run to spa, nails clacking on the steps. A nearby vending machine sells treats and $10 organic oatmeal dog shampoo.

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Especially as Bella ages, Appel said, she wants everything for this "old broad" to be easy.

"The last thing I want to do is take her out for two blocks while it's raining," she said, adding, "This was really important to me."

abowen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @byalisonbowen

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One of Chicago's top bars is closing up shop, but don't be too sad: It's only temporary.

Casual cocktail den Bar DeVille, operated by Heisler Hospitality, is closing in its current location after nine years, but according to managing partner Brad Bolt, changes are afoot.

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The Ukrainian Village bar is best known for being one of the first to take the high-falutin' cocktail movement down a peg, mixing up high-quality, thoughtful drinks in a casual setting. It redefined the idea of Chicago corner bars, where crafted cocktails and low-key charm aren't mutually exclusive.

In a Facebook post shared Monday night, Bolt announced that Bar DeVille would be shuttering on July 29. "The conversation began a couple of months ago, as we were planning to begin making repairs to the building," said Bolt over the phone. "We started asking ourselves 'if we could do things all over again, what would we do differently?'"

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According to Bolt, when the bar first opened, "there was less thought given to bar design. We were opening a neighborhood bar, so making craft cocktails was an afterthought."

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By moving to a yet undisclosed location  Bolt says a location and plan is already in place  the team hopes for lightning to strike twice, but with tweaks. "As a bartender, I want to set up a more efficient bar space, so it's easier for staff to make drinks," said Bolt. "Something else we've longed for is a backyard. But also, what if we had a food component? These are all questions we're asking."

Bolt hopes to offer existing staff guest bartending opportunities at other Heisler properties (which include Sportsman's Club, Queen Mary, Trench and Lone Wolf, among others). "We'd like to work with some of our friends to create Bar DeVille pop-ups, too, to test new drinks and keep things fresh," says Bolt.

With only three weeks left of Bar DeVille, Bolt says he's moved on from the heartbreak of closing the original location. "I'm excited now. It gives us an opportunity to do it all again."

The last week will feature events from DJs to guest bartenders from around town, culminating in what is sure to be a buzzy Saturday night closing party. "We want to celebrate what we have now," says Bolt.

"The future is a continuing discussion. Our immediate concern is celebrating what we've done at Bar DeVille for the last nine years."

701 N. Damen Ave., 312-929-2349

jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com

Twitter: @joeybear85
The two wine questions I get asked most are "What is your favorite wine?" and some version of "Where do I start?"

The former question comes from people well into their wine journey, and considering I don't have any kids, asking me to name my favorite wine is like asking me to name my favorite Rush or Todd Rundgren song. Don't make me choose! The latter question comes from people who are curious about wine and so overwhelmed by it they don't know where to begin, or how to proceed once they've begun. They expect to hear that there is some formula wine folks know and follow. I guess you could say there is, but it's never the same for two people.

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Years ago, when I worked at a magazine, I learned about the concept of multiple points of entry for longer feature stories. It's a design thing. Instead of offering you only a giant gray block of text, a designer makes sure that a page has several other elements on it. A title in an interesting font. A "deck"  a phrase that sums up the story  below it. A photograph with a caption under it. A little box with some statistics or other at-a-glance information in it.

The idea was that your eye could go to any of it, and it would be fine. Everything would send you on your way: the title, the deck, the photo, the caption, the information box, the text itself. Like watching the world's most ambitious documentary film project ever, "The Up Series" (which, in eight films separated by seven years each, has followed the lives of a handful of British people from childhood to middle age), you could enter anywhere and very soon be up to speed.

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So when people ask what the best way to start learning about wine is, it's kind of like asking how to read a magazine article  or at least how to read the kind I just described. The answer always is: "You start at the spot that draws you in."

In wine, this could mean walking the aisles of a store and picking out a bottle that fits your budget. Any bottle, any style of wine. Gotta start somewhere. It could also mean reading an article about syrah, and then tracking down a bottle of it. Or taking a wine tasting class. You could also drink a dozen bottles without reading or uttering a single word about them. Eventually, if you are truly interested in the topic, it will all dovetail together.

Do all of this and don't think about the order in which you're doing it. Don't feel like you need to read all about Australian shiraz before you host a tasting of it. Sometimes it's better to go in the opposite direction: taste knowing nothing and then go back and read up on what you just tasted. And then taste the same stuff again. Or read everything you can find about the Edna Valley of California before you visit the place to taste through its chardonnays. Or don't read a single word, and just go there and taste first. Or taste through four different Chianti Classicos in your living room, and then go have a conversation about Chianti with a wine store clerk.

All too often  and here is the key to all of this  people think that knowledge must precede enjoyment. Knowledge can increase enjoyment, sure, but it is not a prerequisite in wine appreciation. There are pursuits that require the acquisition of knowledge and skill in a very specific, linear order. Airline pilot, for one. Medical doctor. With wine, there's no threshold of knowledge you need to cross before you can begin your practice. You don't have to know everything, and you don't even have to know anything. It seems like an obvious point, but there's something about wine that makes people think they cannot enjoy it unless they know what they are enjoying. Yet most of us make authoritative judgments about movies all the time without ever having taken a single film class.

While wine learning is linear and circular in some ways, you could never accurately depict it with a straight line or even a circle. A more accurate depiction would look more like a Jackson Pollock drip painting. All of those squiggles and blobs add up to your final, symmetrical composition. But unlike a painting, which is complete and dry at some point, the quest for wine knowledge has no end, and never dries up.

The only nonnegotiable in your wine journey: To really learn about wine, you have to get a lot of it into your mouth. Another popular question from novices is: "What should I read to start learning about wine?" And the best answer to that is: "The label of the bottle you're drinking." Taste and spit if you must. Or open a bottle with dinner and drink every drop thoughtfully, making note of how it improves or drags down the food you're eating. Make your wine education as academic as you like, but make sure that it always involves more bottles than pages.

For reasons you can imagine, a meteorologist can sit in a beach chair and look out at a sunset and see things you can't. His technical knowledge gives him the upper hand when it comes to appreciating exactly what is causing all of those blazing colors and 3-D textures. But you can still enjoy the beauty of it the moment you see it. It's just a sunset. And it's just wine, which exists solely for your pleasure. Unless you are studying wine for work purposes, and need to have flash cards taped all over your home just to maintain your sanity, make sure to keep your learning fun, and organic, and as unchained, frenetic and wildly beautiful as a Pollock.






Locofo Chaps, an imprint of Moria Books, has been sending politically-oriented poetry, in the form of chapbooks, to the White House. Some of the poets will be reading from their work on Saturday, July 15, 2017, at Myopic Books in Chicago. (Moria Books )

Protest can take many forms, from scaling a tower or hanging a banner to blocking streets. But leave it to poets to take a more literary approach.

Poetry can't change the world, but a group of poets is trying to express displeasure and make a mark with chapbooks, booklets that use artful, soul-baring language to take on President Donald Trump, whose preferred form of discourse is via 140-character Twitter blasts.

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This effort takes verbal form Saturday, when Myopic Books in Wicker Park will host a reading of some of these anti-Trump chapbooks.

These small volumes are part of a project by Locofo Chaps, an imprint of Moria Books, based in northwest Indiana and dedicated to publishing politically-oriented poetry. The goal of Locofo Chaps was to publish a chapbook for each of the first 100 days of Trump's term, and that each chapbook would be mailed to the White House. The number of published entries is up to 116 (at www.moriapoetry.com/locofo.html), which surpassed the expectation of Moria editor William Allegrezza.

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"(The project) puts a wide range of voices in conversation. It's interesting to see poets who are working in all different kinds of veins and rethinking the impact of the Trump presidency and how it's changed national discourse," said poet Garin Cycholl, who mixes political rhetoric with country music and excerpts of Franz Kafka's writing in his chapbook "Country Music 20/20."

The poets see Locofo Chaps as a protest art project that facilitates catharsis and galvanizes action.

"It feels like a lot of people in this political climate take their voice to social media," said Haley Lasche, author of the chapbook "Blood and Survivor." "You stop listening to people. But if you step into a reading, you might be able to do something more."

Allegrezza adds, "People have been reading these (chapbooks) all over the country and world  Morocco and Paris, California, New York, Louisiana, Texas. It gives a voice to what other people are feeling and galvanizes a protest of the administration."

The White House has provided no feedback in response to the chapbooks that have been mailed, according to Allegrezza.

"I thought they would send one of those standard form letters, but they haven't even done that."

The chapbooks are personal accounts from poets exploring how they perceived and reacted to the beginning of Trump's presidency. Many of the writers delve into themes of otherness and immigration.

Janine Harrison, a visiting instructor of creative writing and composition at Purdue University Northwest, wrote a chapbook about the uncertain future of so-called Dreamers, immigrants who entered the U.S. as children and have been protected under Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program since 2012. Though Trump has left DACA intact for the time being, he spoke of its elimination during his campaign.

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"For the first time ever, I became aware that I was teaching an undocumented student, and he wrote about coming the U.S. I was really looking forward to being able to write on the bottom of his paper when Hillary won about the pathway to citizenship with an exclamation point after it and a smiley face," recalled Harrison. "When Trump won instead, I was so disappointed and scared on his behalf and what it meant for him and his family." Consequently, Harrison interviewed her Dreamer students and wrote her chapbook "If We Were Birds." She is also working on an accompanying novel.

Francesco Levato's "A Continuum of Force" draws on the text of the "Use of Force Policy, Guidelines and Procedures Handbook" created by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Levato says that he mined the document for language that perpetuates the criminalization of migrants and Latin American bodies.

Geneva Chao says "Post Hope" takes a confessional tone from her experience as a child of immigrants and mixed race. "My chapbook is a response to the (precariousness) of being an American who doesn't fit some model of Trump's homogeneity and power," she says.

Bill Yarrow, an English professor at Joliet Junior College, ends his chapbook "We All Saw It Coming" on an optimistic note.

"To hold him down but nothing/human can prevent his rise"

"Those last two lines are signals of notes of hope and possibility in terms of the future, for me and for us and for the country. It's really all a matter of the way we see something that allows that possibility of hope to emerge."

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7 p.m. Saturday, Myopic Books, 1564 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Free; www.myopicbookstore.com.

raydin@tronc.com

Twitter @chitribent

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One of Chicago's intrepid colorists in a style clearly responsive to the late Ed Paschke and his Fauvist forebears but distinctively his own, William Conger has remained in dialogue with the organizing musicality of shape, form and what influences these exert on how we think about ourselves as humans and as a society for the greater part of a century. Comfortable in the solitude of his Lakeview studio where he toils daily, we sat down recently to discuss the evolution of his lifelong love of painting, the cataracts that intervened on his eyesight and how it altered the fine-tuning of his hues and tones.

Chicago Tribune: It's been almost 15 years since I was in your studio last. Your work is always familiar, but with little shifts each time I see it. Tiny increments. Now, there's more range to see.

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William Conger: My paintings have evolved gradually over a long period of time. From the late '60s until now, one could see the development of a theoretic abstract geometric, quasi-organic or quasi-illusionist abstraction developing. So, I don't tend to make radical shifts in my work, though, looking back at it, it's clear to see there are directions I've gone. Color for me is really conceptual. Of course, all of it comes form nature. But when I'm thinking of color in a painting, I'm thinking, "What's the right color for this shape right here?" almost like, "What's the right (musical) note or what's the right instrument or little adjustment you might want to make?" A lot of times, I'm driven by that, by color  whenever I'm making changes in a painting, it's almost always color. That sometimes affects the composition, where I have to choose the composition, too, but that's a good question, I hadn't thought of that, but it is color. That's what I really move along with, whatever happens to the color is what affects the composition rather than the other way around. It's an interesting point because I don't start with diagrams and fill it in, even though it looks that way, that there's an outline and I fill it in. It doesn't work that way. Even though the shapes are very distinctive often, usually. It's really the color that drives the composition.

Q: Right, and so when you experienced this malady, when you developed cataracts and your vision began to deteriorate  you'd mentioned this was a process that happened and that you painted through over the better part of a decade  did you think it was going to become permanent? Did that worry you, or change your perception of color?

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A: I've gone to the eye doctor year to year, I've needed glasses since I was in my 20s. Even though I started off with very good eyesight. Gradually, I realized I needed to wear glasses. But the doctor I've gone to over the past 10 years, he said "Well, you have cataracts," and they like to wait until the right moment to do it. And I kept saying, "Look. I'm an artist. I can't wait for some point in the future when it might be better, can't you do it as soon as possible?" So that's what happened about six, seven years ago, I did have both eyes done, one after the other, cataract surgery, it was simple.

Q: And it wasn't like you lost that power of perception or a drop-off in your acuity.

A: You don't really know how bad it is until you have the surgery. People told me, "After you have the surgery, color and everything is going to come back different. Fresher. Bluer, instead of yellower." And boy, was it dramatic. As soon as I opened my eyes  you do one eye, and then two weeks later you do the other eye  it was just BANG  brilliant blues, whites and pinks. I was dazzled! For a few days and what happens is you adjust to it and the excitement and the alarm, or the exaltation that you feel wears off because it becomes normal. So right now, I couldn't tell you how it used to be because I don't remember how it was, although my eyesight did improve both in terms of the color and sharpness  although I did something different from most people. I didn't have my eyes corrected so one would be for nearsighted and farsightedness  they usually do one for each way because you no longer have the ability to focus. Apparently, they can do that correctly, but it's a lot more expensive, and it's not a sure thing. I had both eyes corrected so I see things in a distance very clearly, but close-up I still use lenses I buy at Walgreens.

Q: Why did you prefer that?

A: Well, because when I work close, drawing or painting, I want a sharp focus, I don't want it with one eye. I want bifocal vision up close, so I elected to do that and the price you pay for that is you have to use reading glasses when you're up close. I tend to break them a lot so I'm a pretty good customer at Walgreens. But the clarity and the color, it was a dramatic change. Before I even had the surgery, I was still doing paintings with bright colors, but I may be exploring painting with more cool colors since then, more blues, cold greens and pinks than I did in the past when I tended to use the more yellow and brown and things. But again, I think my choice of color is more conceptual. I'm not saying I'm looking at something on the other side of the studio and thinking, "OK, imitate that color," when I'm thinking of a color it's more like thinking of a musical note than a particular color as such.

Q: It's more a sense of space and movement in the piece.

A: Yes, it's more how colors affect each other.

Q: Yes, still painting throughout all these changes in your body, in the society around you, all of these different manifestations of modernity and its movements in your work.

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A: Sometimes you have to have a color in front of you for a while before you can notice how the tiniest little alteration of a hue can affect the whole thing. In the '70s and '80s, my work was very dramatic, strong contrasts of reds and blacks, deep greens. At that time, I was interested in vulgarity. I knew that the paintings weren't vulgar, they just were bordering on bad taste, that's what I tried to make. Works of art, they sort of wobble on that edge between complete crap and something that just keeps digging at you. Vulgarity, violence, a kind of ignorance, brutish. To me, it was the urban experience. I grew up in the city and, actually, by sheer coincidence I've been living in the same neighborhood I grew up in  and so I do remember, I have a long memory of the city now. How it is, how it was when I was a kid and if we were to locate a subject for my work, it would probably tend toward that urban childhood experience. We lived east, closer to the lake, and so on one side there was the park, very serene and in the morning we could hear these foghorns. It was during the war. Shipping on the lake was very heavy, and then, on the other side, the factories and sounds of the city. Streetcars grinding up in the morning. This (studio) was an old factory. So the city was just littered with all kinds of smaller manufacturing outfits, and they were just pumping out coal dirt and grinding and the bells and the whistles and just that sound of the city cranked up during the war, and at night you could see the sky was just red from the coal dust that was reflecting the city lights. It was a rich, deep red. It was a weird experience  but so, the contrast between that, the park and the city. That's probably still the cusp that my work is on.

Through Aug. 16, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, 325 W. Huron St. Free; 312.944.1990 or www.zollaliebermangallery.com

Michael Workman is a freelance writer.

ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @chitribent

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Today's Chicago Symphony Orchestra residencies at Ravinia are far more about glittery guests than they are about moving the orchestral repertory in new directions that have become anathema to a big-money summer music festival now dominated by pop attractions.

Management came up with two such guest artists to begin the CSO's six-week term on Tuesday night. Both the French conductor Lionel Bringuier and the Chinese piano superstar Yuja Wang were making their Ravinia debuts. Both turned in strong performances several degrees above the summer fest norm. And so, for its part, did the orchestra, even if the humidity at times took a minor toll on intonation and ensemble polish.

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Bringuier and Wang share the same age (30) and are frequent collaborators. By now they've achieved a close working relationship that came in handy given the limited rehearsal time available to newcomers to the CSO's hot-weather retreat. Together they have recorded sparkling performances of the Ravel piano concertos, either of which would have made a more suitable coupling for the Mussorgsky-Ravel "Pictures at an Exhibition" than the Brahms First Piano Concerto they presented instead.

The fast-rising Bringuier, who serves through next season as chief conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, Switzerland, has been widely hailed in the musical press, especially for his work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Insofar as it's possible to judge on the basis of a single performance under imperfect outdoor conditions, he's the real deal  clear of beat and gesture, attentive to detail, quick to pick up on, and run with, the orchestra's vibe. I'd love to hear what he could achieve with the CSO during the downtown subscription season.

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Since her downtown Chicago debut, at 19, in 2006, Wang has been conquering the concert and digital world with her superhuman technique, flying fingers, dexterity, power  and flair for fashion. Her Orchestra Hall performances so far have been devoted mainly to flashy 20th century showpieces such as the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2. Clearly her choice of the Brahms as her Ravinia calling card was calculated to display Wang the musician, as opposed to Wang the showboater. Apart from some self-regarding touches, her playing achieved just that.

The glitter was confined mainly to her outfit: a clingy, iridescent, off-the-shoulder mini-dress that won her stunned applause before she had even taken her seat at the piano.

She attacked Brahms' torrential chordal passages and fistfuls of double octaves as unflappably as before, and at top speed, but this time you felt she was using her technical prowess more as a means to an end than the end itself. Rather than being daunted by the score's heroic demands, she appeared to be redoubling her capabilities as those demands grew more strenuous.

The central Adagio brought pages of lyrical deliberation that, to my ears, felt a bit studied alongside the more spontaneous drive of the outer movements, although the pianist's poetic dialogue with the woodwinds was beautifully achieved. Bringuier drew particularly sensitive playing from the CSO in the slow movement, maintaining a big-boned yet singing symphonic framework throughout.

Naturally the crowd was up on its feet in an instant, roaring its appreciation, refusing to let Wang leave the stage until she had played an encore. In fact, she delivered two: a blistering Variations on a Theme from Bizet's "Carmen," as arranged by Vladimir Horowitz; and a slyly jazzy version of Mozart's "Turkish Rondo," in conflated arrangements by Arcadi Volodos and Fazil Say.

If Ravinia has lost one Chinese keyboard supernova (Lang Lang) this summer, Wang proved herself to be far more than an adequate substitute.

Just before a late-evening thunderstorm rolled in, Bringuier and the orchestra gave attendees a "Pictures at an Exhibition" that was coherent, sensibly paced, mindful of color and lucid definition of textural niceties in the Ravel orchestration. The CSO players may not have been in optimal fighting trim following their brief vacation but all the solos had their wonted effect.

Tuesday also marked Ravinia's launch of Virtual Orchestra, an audiovisual installation, free for ticketholders, running through July 23 in the festival tent on the North Lawn. Viewers can strap on headsets that allow them to sit inside London's Philharmonia Orchestra as it performs excerpts from Sibelius' Fifth Symphony under Esa-Pekka Salonen. I have yet to experience the thing but I'm told the sensation of onstage immediacy is uncanny.

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Ticketholders may choose five-minute or 15-minute versions of Virtual Orchestra but must reserve specific time slots in advance by going to www.ravinia.org.

John von Rhein is a Tribune critic.

jvonrhein@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @jvonrhein

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Stephen breaks down the implications of Donald Trump's emails with his weapon of mass clarification.

The late-night comedians who love roasting President Donald Trump's administration had a field day on Tuesday night, just hours after Donald Trump Jr. tweeted his chain of emails with a music publicist who offered to set up a meeting with a "Russian government attorney" who had potentially damaging information about Hillary Clinton before the election.

"People, at this point, it's not a high-level conspiracy," Trevor Noah said on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," mocking the fact that the publicist later checked in at Trump Tower on Facebook when he went to meet with Trump Jr. "This isn't 'House of Cards.' This isn't even 'Veep.' It wouldn't even qualify for 'Blue's Clues.'"

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While Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon and James Corden were in repeats on Tuesday night, the others (Noah, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O'Brien) didn't hold back. Here were the common themes during the monologues:

1) The fact that Trump Jr. tweeted out his own emails to show "transparency."

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Colbert: "What are you doing? Who told him to do this? Does he even have a lawyer? Because you rarely see a cop show where the lawyer bursts into the interrogation room and shouts, 'Keep talking! In fact, tweet out everything you know!'"

Noah: "This two-legged brain foreclosure thought the best way to get out of this mess would be to jump into it himself. He was basically the guy in the movie cornered at the edge of the cliff and everybody's like, 'We've got you surrounded!' He says, 'That's what you think,' and he then just fell. And you're like, 'Hey, you're falling to your death!' And he's like, 'It's not a death if it's suicide!'"

2) The name connection.

O'Brien: "Donald Trump Jr. released a series of emails showing he actively tried to collaborate with the Russians before the election. When he heard this, Donald Trump said, 'Good luck trying to connect me to Donald Trump Jr.'"

Noah: "Donald Jr. is now the first thing Trump regrets putting his name on."

3) The fact that this is all about emails.

Noah: "Oh, cursed irony! The emails giveth the presidency and the emails shall taketh it away!"

Kimmel: "It is funny, though, that after Donald spent a year hammering Hillary about emails he may finally get brought down by an email. 'It's like rain on your wedding day' - you know what I'm saying?"

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4) The (not subtle) content of the emails from publicist Rob Goldstone.

Colbert: "Remember, it's going to take careful parsing to prove that the Trump campaign was privately colluding with Russia to get damaging confidential information about Hillary Clinton. This is the first email: 'Subject: Russia - Clinton - private and confidential.' Let's stop right there. . . . We are five words in, and four of them are 'Russia, Clinton, private, confidential." The only one that's innocent is 'and.' "

Noah: "You could not write a clearer, more narc-y email than that. It was like getting an email saying, 'Would you like, by your choice, to smoke some illegal weed marijuana drugs in violation of local statute 22 section 3?'"

Colbert: "Goldstone could not be clearer that this was going to be shady stuff: 'This is obviously very high-level and sensitive information.' Yes, obviously. That's why he encrypted his communique with an algorithm that cybersecurity experts call 'email.' "

5) Trump Jr.'s email response that stated "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."

Noah: "You would think as a patriot you would say, 'I may not like Hillary, but I'm an American first.' Not 'I love it!' And maybe Don Jr. just doesn't know how to use the word 'love' appropriately because he's never heard it growing up."

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Colbert: "Naturally, when Don Jr. learned that a hostile foreign power was trying to undermine our democracy, he immediately reported it to the FBI. Just kidding! . . . That's a weird way to say it: 'I love it, especially in the summer?' You're not describing a sparkling rose with some toasted figs and soft brie."

6) Trump Jr.'s lawyer.

Kimmel: "This lawyer in the past represented members of the Mafia. . . . The Trumps are like the Corleone family if all of them were Fredo."

O'Brien: "Donald Trump Jr. is being represented by a Mafia lawyer who has defended four New York crime families. So now the lawyer has updated his resume to say 'defended five New York crime families.'"

Colbert: "Don Jr. has now hired an attorney that he's clearly not listening to, named Alan Futerfas . . . besides being a mob lawyer, Futerfas is also a Juilliard-trained trombonist. That's going to come in real handy at the end of the trial when they need someone to play 'mwah mwah waaah.'"

7) President Trump's statement: "My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency."

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Noah: "'My son is a high-quality person?' I'm sorry, that is not a statement of support. In fact, that's not even a compliment."

Kimmel: "Right. As soon as the New York Times told him they were going to release his emails, he released his emails. He's about as transparent as a pumpkin."

Colbert: (in Trump voice) "High-quality person. Top-shelf son, okay? Thinking of having him gold leafed, paid for the under-coating. Tremendous."

8) Rob Goldstone's social media presence.

Kimmel: "Maybe the most interesting thing about the Trumps is anytime there's a weird story, if you dig just a little bit deeper, it gets weirder. The guy on the other end of the email chain, Rob Goldstone, this is a guy the Trumps know from the Miss Universe pageant. He posts a lot of pictures of himself on Facebook wearing hats and leaves in his head. . . . This is the guy setting up the meeting for Trump's top campaign staff. And they took that meeting!"

Noah: "I have a serious question: Does the Trump family know anybody normal? Because everyone around them is a cartoon. . . . Is there anybody who is, like, 'Hi, my name is Bill. I'm just a guy'? Even their Russian contact who should be super low-key spends all his time - and this is real - posting ridiculous selfies of himself."

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9) Reince Priebus and "nothing burger."

O'Brien: "White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus has dismissed the latest Trump-Russia story as a nothing burger. When questioned about his really strange choice of words, he explained, 'My name in Reince Priebus.' "

Colbert: "Reince Priebus said this whole story is a nothing burger. These emails turned it into an all-you-can-prosecute buffet."

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Methylenedioxymethamphetamine MDMA is a psychoactive drug of the substituted methylenedioxyphenethylamine and substituted amphetamine classes of drugs that is consumed primarily for its euphoric and empathogenic effects. (Universal History Archive / UIG / Getty Images)

Scientists, public health experts and volunteers working with them have started to show up at music festivals, concerts, raves and other public gatherings where illicit drugs are frequently used. Equipped with special chemical testing kits, they help attendees test pills and powder for purity in real time so people can make better informed decisions about whether to take them.

The practice - more common in Europe than in the United States - is controversial, and the debate has been similar to the early days of needle-exchange programs in the 1980s. Proponents argue harm reduction. They say people are more likely to reject taking drugs to get high if the substances do not contain what they think they do, which reduces the risk of overdose and other harmful effects. Critics say such programs implicitly encourage the use of illegal drugs.

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There hasn't been a lot of hard data about pill testing until this month when a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found some surprising things about one of the most popular street drugs being used today.

Called Molly, the drug is a form of Ecstasy or MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine) and sought after for its ability to create euphoria and heightened sensations in users. It typically sells for $10-$20 a dose. As of 2014, a government survey estimated, 7 percent of the U.S. population had tried Ecstasy at least once. Molly's appeal is that it's supposed to be purer and safer.

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So why then has there been an increase in hospital emergency room visits and deaths related to the drugs since Molly's introduction in the 2000s?

Researchers looked at data collected by volunteers for the nonprofit DanceSafe, who tested samples of pills or powder at gatherings throughout the United States between July 2010 and July 2015. The testers would scrape a small amount of a pill or use part of the inside of a capsule.

The first thing the volunteers found was that MDMA was present in only 60 percent of the 529 ostensible Molly samples collected. The others contained a mix of all sorts of other ingredients. Most of the chemicals couldn't be identified through the tests at the sites. But 13 samples contained methamphetamine, a strong nervous system drug. And three samples even had a very potent form of amphetamine known as PMA, which is more likely than many other drugs to kill with one dose.

The researchers concluded that Molly is no safer than Ecstasy.

The study also contained some important findings from a public policy perspective. After attendees at these events got the test results for their pills or powder, they were asked whether they still intended to ingest them. With individuals whose drugs did contain MDMA, 46 percent said they would go ahead and use them. That compared with 26 percent of people who were told their drugs did not contain MDMA.

Such testing programs are catching on in more countries. For the first time in Britain, the more than 200,000 attendees at last year's outdoor music festival Kendal Calling had access to a tent where their pills could be tested, according to NPR. And Australia may conduct a trial at the Spilt Milk music dance event in December.

The "government wants to carefully go through all the details of the arrangements before allowing pill testing to take place," Alex Wodak, president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, and his colleagues wrote in an opinion piece in the Guardian. "Most public health advocates will welcome this decision, although inevitably some will argue that seven months of preparation is unnecessary. We are relieved that, at last, pill testing is finally moving from debate to policy to practical on-the-ground interventions."

Matthew W. Johnson, one of the authors of the recent U.S. testing study and an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, acknowledged in a statement that there is ongoing debate over the legality and value of pill-testing services but that they deserve a closer look.

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"People would be safest not taking any street drugs at all, but if free, no-fault testing can reduce deaths and other catastrophic consequences, it may be a service worth having," Johnson said.

RELATED STORIES:

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One of the pieces on this wall is actually a television. (Hint: it's the television-shaped one.) Samsung's The Frame is the latest attempt to get your TV to blend in. (Samsung)

Televisions are the design world's version of a Rorschach test. To take it, just ask yourself this question: Does a television hung above a fireplace mantel make you want to settle in with a bowl of popcorn  or scream?

If you fall in with the primal screamers, you might be a woman (designers find that men tend to focus on TVs and electronics in the home, while women focus on how to hide them) or a design nerd, or you might just be someone who isn't attuned to the nuances of "The Great British Baking Show." The reason's not important. What is important is making sure you're not looking at a shiny black box in the middle of your living room that makes you want to scream.

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Weirdly, one form of relief comes from Samsung, the people who are responsible for a lot of the giant black boxes hanging on living room walls. Earlier this year, the company announced The Frame, a television designed specifically to not look like a television. Instead, it masquerades as framed artwork.

Recently released in the U.S., The Frame has a charcoal black edge that looks like a sleek, modern frame for artwork. (Frames in walnut, "beige wood" or white are sold separately.) And it comes with an "art mode" that allows you to program artwork or photos (choose from a free offering of 100 pieces, ranging from nature photos to modern drawings, or purchase additional options, or use your own image) to remain on the screen when you're not watching TV.

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You can even choose a matte color and layout to give your artwork that custom framing look. Sure, it's expensive (about $2,000 for the 55-inch model, www.samsung.com) but it's all in the name of fooling the eye, and soothing that savage design beast  while not giving up "Game of Thrones."

cdampier@chicagotribune.com

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Many visitors to Alaska see the state from the deck of a huge cruise ship with a mix of port calls. AdventureSmith Explorations takes a different approach with its Glacier Bay Backcountry Explorer package. This is a lodge-based itinerary, where guests take day trips that offer a variety of options. For example, after a helicopter ride over the Juneau Icefield there's an opportunity to go glacier trekking with professional guides or to try dog sledding with a veteran of the famed Iditarod race. On other days, there are outings that are challenging, such as a six-hour sea kayaking excursion, or more laid-back, like whale watching and cruising in Glacier Bay National Park. The weeklong package is priced from $3,880 per person, double occupancy. Airfare to and from Alaska is extra. This trip can still be done yet this year through September or will be available in 2018. Info: 877-620-2875, http://tinyurl.com/ycuuxmhg

Where to hit the road

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If road trips are your jam, take a look at a ranking of best and worst states for motor adventures compiled by WalletHub, a financial services website. To come up with the rankings, WalletHub considered 22 metrics divided among the areas of costs, safety and activities. Oregon ended up in the No. 1 spot, and Connecticut landed at the bottom. California has the highest average gas prices, the study says, and also the most car thefts per capita, but on the plus side it ties for most scenic byways. You can peruse the rankings and data at http://tinyurl.com/shcza47.

Motorcycle in Madagascar

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Madagascar, an island east of Africa in the Indian Ocean, is probably best known for its lemurs, but it isn't high on a lot of tourists' radar. Extreme Bike Tours, which specializes in motorcycle tours in remote locales, has added the jungle nation to its list of offerings in 2018. The 15-day/14-night tour departs June 23, 2018, and covers roughly 1,200 miles across the world's fourth-largest island. The itinerary calls for riding six to eight hours a day on Africa Twin or Honda Transalp cycles. The landscape includes rice paddies, coffee and vanilla plantations, seaside hamlets and traditional hilltop villages where hand-pulled rickshaws are still used. There also is a night at the Lemur Forest Camp with a nocturnal tour of the park. Extreme Bike Tours is discounting the price of this and all of its 2018 tours by 10 percent for bookings made by Aug. 15. That puts the price of this trip at $4,725 for riders and $3,915 for passengers. That includes lodging, meals, fuel, motorcycle hire and an internal flight. International airfare to Madagascar is extra. The company's other tours for 2018 are in Cuba, the Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Mongolia and India. Info: www.extremebiketours.com

Phil Marty is a freelance reporter.
Connie Yates and Chris Gard, right, parents of 11-month-old Charlie Gard, who has a rare genetic illness, are battling with British officials for the right to bring him to the U.S. for a chance at experimental medicine. ( Connie Yates and Chris Gard / Nick Ansell/Press Association )

In the story of Charlie Gard  the seriously ill 11-month-old boy whom British health care is compelled to let die over his parent's wishes  there is something important that is missing.

And the thing that is missing, whether it is missing by ignorance, fear or cold design, is sometimes the most important thing.

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In the case of Charlie Gard, and the future of American health care, it is certainly the most important thing.

You've probably heard of Gard's rare illness and the British health care bureaucrats who think it best that he die. And you also may have heard about his parents' battle in the hopes of saving their son, and the latest court hearing where a last-ditch effort was scheduled in the hopes of bringing him to the U.S. for experimental treatment.

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If you're a parent, if you've ever spent time praying at a hospital with your child ill, you know about Charlie Gard.

But there is something about the story up to recent days that hasn't been there. And what isn't there also tells a story, one about what is being avoided.

Sometimes the reason for avoiding a thing involves ignorance, or fear; and sometimes it is about agendas that threaten political inertia.

But it is this avoidance, this not mentioning, that makes up the negative narrative space around Charlie Gard. And that's where the story is, too.

Because what's missing are American reporters, sent out by American editors and network news executives, demanding answers of American Democratic politicians who support single-payer government health care.

It may have been asked, but not nearly enough, or loudly enough. And the question is this: If America adopts such a government health care system, could what has happened to Charlie Gard and his parents happen here?

Yet I haven't seen microphones in the faces of Democratic proponents of a single-payer health system, like the kind in the United Kingdom or Canada.

Because if national health bureaucrats can do this kind of thing in the United Kingdom, won't American bureaucrats do the same thing, here, someday?

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There is an answer. There's always an answer, but this one has dropped into the negative space.

Those in favor of government health care might not want to answer it, and journalists in favor of such a system might not want to know. Or they might not want to appear rude.

But the answer is yes.

Conservatives have asked about it, but generally, what is considered to be the progressive "mainstream" or establishment media is focused elsewhere, on sexy stories about Russians and meetings and President Donald Trump and the legitimacy of the Trump administration.

All news competes for attention. But while the presidential soap opera of the Russians may reinforce our tribal political passions, the Charlie Gard story also reveals something about us.

Because this isn't merely some story about science or a story about dreams of a miracle. There won't likely be a miracle. Little Charlie suffers from a rare genetic illness. Blind and deaf, he endures painful epileptic seizures. His doctors in London insist that his illness can't be treated, and that he will die when life-support is withdrawn. And health care bureaucrats in London want it withdrawn.

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But his parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, are fighting to bring him to the U.S. for a chance at experimental medicine. They've raised almost $2 million.

Yet British doctors say prolonging Charlie's life will only cause him pain. They won't even allow the parents to take their son home to die in their arms, at home.

Think of that. The bureaucrats won't even let the child leave government care, where they've already decided, coldly, rationally, the way bureaucracies decide things, that they will end it.

So the Charlie Gard story is a political story, where a government and its bureaucrats, not the parents, decide whether a baby lives or dies.

Some governments might be seen as progressive, others as conservative, but to the people who pull the levers, one thing is understood.

Government is about force. It always has been about force.

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They might be driven by what some call scientific reason, and by others as the end product of cost-benefit analytics. But with a bureaucracy, it always ends up being about the same thing.

Force.

And so what this story has been missing  putting political proponents of single-payer government health care on the spot  is perhaps even more important than ever.

Someday it might be your child whose fate is being decided by others. Someday it might be you.

This is an extremely difficult case. And, are there times when human beings should let go, or be allowed to let go, in the hopes of finding a final release from pain and suffering? Of course.

There are limits to medicine and to life span.

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But who should make that decision? The government or the parents?

How far would you go to save your child's life? Would you jump into a wild river in the hopes of grabbing her hand? Would you put your body between him and bullets if you could?

Or would you sit quietly, and allow bureaucrats to tell you what must be done?

So you might want to think of Charlie Gard, and what's not being asked, what's not being said, and why.

Listen to "The Chicago Way" podcast with John Kass and Jeff Carlin at wgnradio.com/category/wgn-plus/thechicagoway.

jskass@chicagotribune.com
Purdue University Northwest Chancellor Thomas Keon has been tapped to join the new fiscal management board for the Gary Community School Corp.

The four-member volunteer board is tasked by law with advising a prospective emergency manager who will be responsible for returning the district to financial solvency.

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Keon, who was appointed Wednesday by the State Board of Education, said he had a "broad understanding" of the district's woes.

"It will be important to gather as much data as possible about the structure of the schools and the school system," he said, "and then overlay that with what's happening financially within the central administration."

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Keon has worked as the first head of the unified PNW system since 2011.

He will join former state Sen. Earline Rogers, Calumet Township Trustee Clorius Lay and Indiana Department of Education official Lee Ann Kwiatkowski. Kwiatkowski is State School Superintendent Jennifer McCormick's chief of staff

Each member will serve a four-year term, which starts when the person is appointed. The appointees do not receive a salary. Members of the school board are not eligible to serve on the advisory board.

The yet-to-be-named emergency manager will have fiscal and academic responsibility over the school district that's mired in around $110 million of debt and is challenged by a shrinking enrollment base.

The Distressed Unit Appeals Board will hold a public meeting at Wirt-Emerson at 6 p.m. Thursday where firms believed to be in serious running for that role will make presentations.

DUAB will not take public comments, but will accept written ones following the meeting. State officials have declined to name the firms or give the number presenting to the public Thursday.

"At the meeting (Thursday), we will answer all of these questions," commissioner Courtney Schaafsma said via email Wednesday. "The procurement process has its own set of rules that we are following."

In May, the Robert Bobb Group, LLC, which managed the troubled Detroit schools from 2011 to 2014, told the Post-Tribune it is at least one of the applicants being evaluated by the state Distressed Unit Appeals Board.

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That application is joined by Indianapolis-based Phalen Leadership Academies that manages the charter for Gary's Thea Bowman Leadership Academy.

The Gary public school district has functioned for nearly two years with an emergency manager, Jack Martin, selected by the school board in 2015 from a list provided by the state.

Martin and the board have often butted heads over budget cuts that impacted staff and programs.

When appointed, Gary's emergency manager will oversee both finances and academics. The Gary School Board, which still meets once a month, will have no control over either. The superintendent would also be reduced to an advisory role.

mcolias@post-trib.com

Twitter @meredithcolias
An attorney for Miguel Perez Jr., shown during his time in the Army, says he will file for a stay of removal Wednesday. Perez was convicted of a drug offense after his military service. ( Family photo )

An appeal to halt the deportation of a decorated Army veteran to his native Mexico has been denied, according to a letter delivered to him and his lawyer Tuesday.

An order for removal has been issued for Miguel Perez Jr., a veteran with a green card who served time in a state prison for a felony drug conviction after two tours in Afghanistan. Perez, 39, had requested relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, an agreement by the U.S. not to deport people who are not American citizens or nationals to another country where they could be tortured.

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His attorney Chris Bergin said he will file for a stay of removal Wednesday. He has 30 days to appeal.

"I will file a stay of removal tomorrow so we have more time to think," he said.

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The request for relief under the U.N. torture provision is one of three efforts to keep Perez in the U.S. He is one of many legal permanent residents who have served in the U.S. military, then confronted the possibility of deportation to their native countries after committing a crime.

In April, his attorney and mother appeared before the state's clemency board to ask Gov. Bruce Rauner to grant a pardon.

Bergin also has petitioned U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to grant citizenship to Perez, 39, retroactively to when he joined the military in 2001  a third option that could void the deportation order, the attorney said.

In an interview from a Wisconsin detention center Tuesday, Perez said he's still hopeful that senators who support his case will intervene on his behalf and halt his deportation to Mexico, where he hasn't lived since he was 8.

According to human rights activists and advocates for deported veterans, drug cartels target former U.S. residents, especially veterans with combat experience, to work on their behalf, and those who don't comply are at risk.

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Perez said he struggled to hold down jobs after returning to Chicago after his military service. He sought treatment at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Maywood, where doctors diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder. He was supposed to return for more tests to determine whether he also had a traumatic brain injury.

In the meantime, he reconnected with a childhood friend who provided free drugs and alcohol. On the night of Nov. 26, 2008, while with that friend, Perez handed a laptop case full of cocaine to an undercover officer. Perez pleaded guilty to delivering less than 100 grams of cocaine and served half of a 15-year sentence.

As is the case with many other green card veterans, Perez, a father of two U.S. citizen children, mistakenly thought he became a U.S. citizen when he took an oath to protect the nation. Military superiors never offered to help him expedite his citizenship, he said.

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He discovered the oversight when he was summoned to immigration court shortly before his release from Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg last year. Instead of heading home to Chicago from prison, Perez was placed in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and transferred to a Wisconsin detention center for immigrants awaiting deportation.

When legal residents or people who are here illegally commit crimes, ICE's standard procedure is to let them serve most of their sentence for the crime in the U.S., then deport them.

mbrachear@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @TribSeeker
This video posted on social media shows Dr. David Dao being dragged from a United Airlines flight from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Louisville, Ky., on April 9, 2017. (Jayse D. Anspach) (Jayse D. Anspach)

From now on, the Chicago Police Department will be the lead responder on disturbance calls at the airport and on planes, not aviation security officers, according to a new city directive issued in response to the infamous dragging incident on a United Airlines flight at O'Hare International Airport .

The department also will remove the word "police" from the uniforms and vehicles of aviation security officers. The directives build on plans already discussed by the city's Aviation Department, which also is updating procedures and training for airport security.

The move drew a strong rebuke from the union representing the aviation officers.

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"Security is security  they are not police," Aviation Commission Ginger Evans said in an interview.

The review came as a result of an April incident in which airport officers dragged passenger Dr. David Dao off of a flight to make way for airline employees. Video of the incident got worldwide attention as it was shared on social media, resulting in an apology from United's CEO and changes to company procedures.

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The directive, outlined in the Aviation Department's 12-page report released Wednesday, called the United incident "regrettable" and said the department is doubling efforts to strengthen policies, procedures and training to make sure it does not happen again.

Evans consulted with representatives of the Israel Airports Authority, an Israeli airport security organization, and also reviewed procedures at other U.S. airports. She said the duties of security officers have been clear for some time, but the department is rescinding old procedures that improperly refer to them as "police."

She said not much will change in terms of the security team's daily duties at the airport. The unarmed security officers monitor access to restricted and secure areas of the airport, do traffic control and support the Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Fire Department , she said.

"What they do is very valued," Evans said. The Aviation Department said it will provide the security division with a "more clear and concise understanding of terminology, duties and training" for aviation security officers that will better distinguish their role from law enforcement.

There are about 290 officers and supervisors on the security team, and there are no current plans to change that level, Evans said. "Evaluating staffing levels is something we do continuously."

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The Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents the aviation officers, said members are currently taking a vote of "no confidence" in Commissioner Evans.

"The actions of Commissioner Evans have tarnished the long standing good reputation which the Aviation Police maintained with the traveling public," said in a statement from union trustee Dian Palmer.

The union noted that for 30 years, aviation officers have been performing the job of police officers, have been required to have police training, and have had the word "police" on badges, uniforms and cars.

"Commissioner Evans wants to scapegoat the Airport Police Officers rather than take a look at her own failed policies and mismanagement," Palmer said.

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Three aviation officers and a supervisor involved in the April 9 incident were suspended.

mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @marywizchicago
Chicago police said this gun was taken from a boy July 11, 2017, in a Lawndale alley on the West Side. (Chicago Police Department)

Chicago police took a 12-year-old boy into custody Tuesday night after finding him with a handgun in a West Side alley.

Anthony Guglielmi, the top police spokesman, said officers responding to a call of a person with a gun in the Lawndale neighborhood arrived about 8 p.m. to the 1800 block of South Kostner Avenue and found the boy with a weapon.

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They located his mother about 30 minutes later, and he was charged as a juvenile with unlawful use of a weapon, he said.

A few days ago, police were alerted about a video on social media showing a group of boys, one of whom pulled out a weapon as he was talking to at least one man in a passing vehicle. Guglielmi said the 12-year-old boy arrested Tuesday was not the boy depicted in the social media video, a case which as of Wednesday, Guglielmi said was "closed.''

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The video surfaced over the weekend and featured a young boy holding what appeared to be a gun near a daycare center. Police identified three kids involved, including an 11-year-old who was holding the "gun'' which turned out to be a fake, with an "orange rubber tip,'' Guglielmi said.

Two other boys, 10 and 9, were also involved.

One of the boys' mothers was tagged in the video, which surfaced on Facebook and made its way to the public. Englewood District police began an investigation and officers found their parents.

"Anybody who watched this video would have made the assumption it was a real gun,'' according to Guglielmi

Charges are not expected, however, he added.

The boy arrested Tuesday night told officers he was a gang member, police said.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said he was upset when he learned about the age of the suspect with the gun.



"We are failing our children and, as a result, street gangs are taking the place where parents should be," he said in a statement.






Encouraged by good ridership, the CTA board on Wednesday agreed to continue its pilot run of new bus service on 31st Street for another six months, through March of next year.

The bus route, which goes through Chinatown and Bridgeport, has been averaging about 75 percent of its goal of 830 riders per day, CTA Chief Planning Officer Carole Morey told board members at their regular monthly meeting.

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The bus runs between the Ashland Orange Line "L" station and the Lake Meadows Shopping Center at 33rd Street and King Drive on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., at 30-minute intervals.

The move to extend the life of the 31st Street route follows a 90-day extension CTA officials approved last month for the No. 11 bus on Lincoln Avenue. Service on the routes, which had been discontinued in 1997 for 31st Street and 2012 for Lincoln Avenue, was reintroduced last year.

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The test run of the No. 31 bus began last September to much fanfare and praise from residents of the South Side neighborhoods it serves, following years of lobbying for the route's return by the community and grass-roots organizations.

CTA officials have said that they can better evaluate these temporary bus routes through all four seasons before determining whether they have enough riders to make the routes permanent. The CTA previously extended a test run for the No. 35 bus in 2013. That route later was made permanent.

CTA spokesman Brian Steele said the agency will continue its efforts marketing the bus route, which has included promotional material in English, Spanish and Mandarin.

Ridership on the Lincoln Avenue bus has been growing more slowly, CTA officials said last month. The agency wants about 1,500 riders per day on the route, but it has been averaging only about 500 since it began a test run. Area residents have complained that the bus would do better if hours were expanded.

CTA spokeswoman Irene Ferradaz said the agency expects to decide whether to extend, modify or conclude the pilot of the Lincoln bus sometime this summer. It will continue to run the service until the fall bus schedule goes into effect, no matter what decision is made.

mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @marywizchicago
A man robbed a Darien bank at gunpoint Wednesday morning, according to the FBI and police.

The man robbed a West Suburban Bank branch at 1005 75th St. in Darien just after 9 a.m., according to the FBI's BanditTracker website. The man showed a gun in what's known as a takeover robbery, according to an FBI spokesman.

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Darien police report the man jumped over the teller counter after taking an undetermined amount of cash. Police recovered the handgun and determined it was not real, but a replica.

The man fled south from the bank following the robbery, according to Darien police.

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The man was described as black, about 25 to 30, and about 5-foot-7 with a thin build. He was wearing a dark-colored zip-up jacket and a black-and-white bandana, according to the FBI. Police said he was wearing black.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Chicago office of the FBI at 312-421-6700 or Darien police at 630-971-3999.
School boards in Bismarck and Mandan have reorganized and reappointed members.

The Bismarck School Board also is looking to replace seven-year incumbent board member Scott Halvorson, who announced Monday he's resigning at the end of the month due to "personal circumstances."

Lawrence King, former Bismarck School Board president, said Tuesday that he's interested in filing for Halvorson's spot.

Board members who are unable to complete their terms of office are required to present a letter of resignation to BPS superintendent, according to policy. The board will now appoint a new member, though it's not clear when. The public must be informed of board vacancies at least two weeks prior to appointment.

King said he was already weighing whether to run for an opening on the Bismarck School Board next summer. The terms for Matt Sagsveen, Karl Lembke and Scott Halvorson will expire next year. King said he plans to apply for Halvorson's position then run again next year.

King served on the board for nine years before he was unseated in 2016 by current board member Rick Geloff. He served as board president from 2010-12, as well as 2015-16.

King, who is a managing partner at Zuger Kirmis & Smith, a law firm specializing in civil litigation, said he believes his prior experience on the board will be helpful as school district officials grapple with elementary school growth and redrawing boundary lines.

"I've missed the work and being a part of the process," King said.

The board will discuss the application procedure at a workshop next week.

On Monday, Karl Lembke was selected to serve as president. Heide Delorme will be vice president.

Mandan School Board

The Mandan School Board has reappointed three board members following a June 13 election.

The board reappointed Kama Hoovestol, Bob Klemisch and Marnie Piehl to three-year terms on Monday.

Board President Tim Rector was also reappointed in his role on the board, and Sheldon Wolf was re-selected as vice president.
A flood warning is in effect for parts of the Chicago area until 5 p.m. following torrential rain in parts of northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.

An earlier flash flood warning was allowed to expire, but the flood warning is in effect until 5 p.m. Wednesday for northwest Cook, southern Lake, northwestern Kane and southeastern McHenry, according to the National Weather Service's Chicago-area office.

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"Localized flash flooding may still be occurring, but generally the concerns have shifted to standing water," according to the warning.

"Conditions should gradually improve through the afternoon."

Thunderstorms had left most of the area by about 11 a.m., dumping 1.7 inches of rain in Hoffman Estates in 45 minutes, an inch in Lincolnshire in an hour, and nearly an inch in Bannockburn in just over an hour, according to the weather service. Lake County was especially hard-hit.

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Forecasters are predicting flooding along portions of the Des Plaines River in Lake County.

Law enforcement in Elgin reported significant flooding just before midnight, making some roads impassable, according to the weather service.

Check the Tribune's weather page for updates.
Former Chicago police Cmdr. Glenn Evans leaves after talking to the media at St. Columbanus Church in Chicago on Sept. 8, 2016. Evans filed a discrimination lawsuit against the city on July 11, 2017. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

A high-ranking Chicago police officer who was acquitted of criminal charges after being accused of shoving his gun down a suspect's throat sued the city Tuesday, claiming he was discriminated against because he is black.

Glenn Evans, a former South Side police commander, says in the lawsuit that the city of Chicago and its human resources director perpetuated "a hostile and abusive work environment" and treated Evans "less favorably" based on his race.

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"The discrimination experienced by (former) Commander Evans under color of law based on race was severe, pervasive and ongoing," the lawsuit says.

Evans is seeking to be reinstated to his position as commander and earlier sued the city's Independent Police Review Authority, alleging the agency retaliated against him and set him up for criminal charges. A federal judge threw out that lawsuit in May.

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In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Evans asks to be compensated for lost wages stemming from his lost seniority and for the time he was placed on no-pay status, in addition to punitive damages.

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The lawsuit states that Evans was "inexplicably indicted" in September 2014 and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and official misconduct. As a result, his firearm owners identification card was revoked and he was stripped of pay the following month.

Evans was found not guilty on all charges in December 2015. When he returned to work, he was demoted to lieutenant, assigned a desk job "against his wishes," and his superiors pressured him to retire using threats of additional investigations and possible prosecution.

The lawsuit claims Evans was victimized financially and emotionally. He was also denied back pay and "suffered emotional distress, embarrassment and humiliation."

Evans' previous lawsuit claimed IPRA investigator Matrice Campbell still harbored a grudge 15 years after Evans wrote her up for insubordination while they both worked at the Wentworth District police station. Because of that, she leaked the DNA results from the gun Evans allegedly shoved down a suspect's throat to a reporter.

The subsequent news story, Evans said, prompted Cook County prosecutors, who were under political pressure to look tough on cops, to charge him. A federal judge, however, said Evans' accusation "was not credible."

tbriscoe@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @_tonybriscoe
Chicago police investigate a homicide in the 8100 block of South Paulina Street on July 10, 2017, in the Gresham neighborhood. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune)

A man who was fatally shot in the Gresham neighborhood this week has been identified, officials said.

Cedron Doles, 21, was shot about 9:30 a.m. Monday in the 8100 block of South Paulina Street, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner's office.

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Doles was getting out of his vehicle when three gunmen got out of a white vehicle and opened fire, hitting him, police at the scene said.

Doles, of the 900 block of North Hamlin Avenue, was pronounced dead on the scene at 9:40 a.m., according to the medical examiner's office

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A neighbor, who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation, said she saw multiple shooters. Photos showed police gathered around the victim's body, which was covered with a cloth, as it lay in the street.

Other neighbors said they did not hear gunshots, despite a large number of shell casings found in the area.
Some Red Line trains came to a halt late Tuesday when someone fired a BB gun at a man getting off a train at the 79th Street station, authorities said.

The 48-year-old man was hit and taken to Advocate Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn about 11:10 p.m. from the 7900 block of South State Street in the Chatham neighborhood, police said. He was treated for a minor wound to his neck and released.

The police investigation caused delays for the Howard-bound Red Line trains, and 29 State buses were rerouted.
Silas Williams, 20, of Bellwood, is charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and robbery in the June 21 assault of the 17-year-old girl on Chicago's Northwest Side, prosecutors said at a bond hearing Wednesday.

The victim and Williams were friends on Facebook but had never met in person. On the day of the attack, a friend of the girl had invited the girl and Williams over to her home to meet. Prosecutors said the girl had no idea Williams would be there.

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The three eventually met up and walked to Portage Park, where they smoked marijuana before going to a fast-food restaurant to eat and hang out, prosecutors said.

Twice while they were hanging out, Williams pulled the victim on top of him so she could sit on his lap, prosecutors said. The victim jumped off and told him to stop. About 11 p.m., Williams and the victim walked the friend back home and Williams offered to walk the victim to her bus stop, prosecutors said.

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During the walk to the bus stop, Williams bit the girl on the neck five or six times and grabbed her, prosecutors said. When she pulled away, he put his hands down her pants and in her underwear, prosecutors said. The attack took place about 11:30 p.m. in the 4500 block of West Cornelia Avenue in the Kilbourn Park neighborhood, according to police and court records.

He tried to touch her sexually, and the victim pulled his hand away and told him no. Williams then took her glasses, making it almost impossible for her to see, and took her iPhone. He then told her the only way she would get her belongings back was if she followed him, prosecutors said.

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Williams grabbed her left arm and pulled her into an alley, returned her glasses, turned her around, pulled her pants down and tried to have sex with the victim, but he was unsuccessful in his attempt, prosecutors said.

She screamed for help, and someone drove by the alley but did not stop or offer help, prosecutors said.

Williams told her he would break her glasses if she screamed for help again. He then pulled her deeper into the alley and sexually assaulted the girl, prosecutors said.

Afterward, the girl told a family member. She was taken to a hospital, and a rape evidence kit was done and photos of her injures were taken, prosecutors said.

Later, detectives found surveillance video from most of the places the three went. The victim and her friend also helped police find Williams on Facebook and identified him in a photo array.

Williams turned himself in Tuesday and appeared at a bond hearing Wednesday, and he was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bail.

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His next court date was scheduled for Aug. 1.
The average driver spends about 56 hours per year in downtown Chicago looking for parking, and pays more for a metered spot than in other major cities in the country, according to a new study.

Almost 10 years after the controversial deal to privatize Chicago's parking meters, parking for two hours in the downtown area is $13, according to the study released on Wednesday by Kirkland, Wash.-based data company INRIX. San Francisco comes in second at $12, while the cost in pricey New York City is just $7.

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Chicago ranked third most expensive in the nation for the cost of off-street parking, in garages or lots, at an average of $22 for two hours within a mile of the city center, after New York at $33 and Boston at $26.

"When parking fines, congestion and the difficulty of finding parking are added together, being a motorist in Chicago is costly indeed," said Joe Schwieterman, a transportation expert with DePaul University who reviewed the study. "Chicago's unusually high fees for parking no doubt encourages people to switch to transit, but they also are a drag on downtown retail and tourism when supply doesn't meet demand."

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Chicago sold its parking franchise to Chicago Parking Meters, LLC, a consortium of private investors, in 2008.

The INRIX report surveyed 6,000 U.S. drivers and another 12,000 in the United Kingdom and Germany. INRIX, which provides real-time traffic and parking information to companies and governments, also used rate data from parking locations and city parking meters.

The report found that Americans spend about $73 billion a year in lost time, emissions and fuel searching for parking, or an average of $345 per person. In Chicago, the cost was $1,174 per year per person.

Chicago ranked sixth in the amount of time drivers spent searching for parking, with New York coming out on top at a whopping 107 hours per year  almost twice as much as Chicago  followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.

The report also found that U.S. drivers overpay for parking by about $20 billion annually, of which $400 million is spent in Chicago. To overpay means paying more for parking than one actually needs, such as paying for two hours in a parking garage when your doctor appointment only takes 45 minutes.

In Chicago, the average driver overpays by $353 a year for parking time he or she does not need. The study shows how careful people are to avoid fines, since the average Chicago driver pays only about $35 a year for parking tickets.

The parking problem has consequences for regional economies, the report found. Of all U.S. drivers, 63 percent said they avoided driving to a destination if it was hard to find parking, including 39 percent who said they avoided shopping destinations.

"This is not just a problem for drivers, it's also a problem for business owners and especially small, local business owners," said Bob Pishue, INRIX senior economist. People driving around looking for parking also adds to congestion and pollution, the study noted.

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INRIX, which is in the business of selling data, sees solutions in more education about parking options and better use of technology, so people know what parking is available and only pay for what is needed, Pishue said.

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One way to use technology to avoid the search for parking is through parking reservation services like SpotHero. INRIX has partnerships with SpotHero, Parking Panda and the navigation company Waze and other companies to provide parking information.

Another way to use technology to lower costs is to use a smartphone app to add time to a meter if an appointment is running late, instead of putting the maximum time on the meter when you first park. This can be done at Chicago meters through the free app ParkChicago, said Chicago Parking Meters spokesman Scott Burnham.

"Tech-based solutions will alleviate some of the pain in five years," Schwieterman said. "We're all going to have SpotHero or Parking Panda on our phones."

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Investing in more public transit is another way to reduce congestion and parking scarcity, Pishue said.

A worker for LAZ Parking changes a sign April 3, 2017, in the 3300 block of North Clark Street to reflect the new game day surge pricing around Wrigley Field. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

The INRIX study looked at the personal pain of parking as well as the economic, finding that 61 percent of American drivers say they feel stressed trying to find a spot, 42 percent have missed an appointment, 34 percent have abandoned a trip because of a parking problem and 23 percent have gotten into an argument with another driver over parking.

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Almost half of U.S. drivers regarded taking up two parking spaces as the worst parking "sin," twice as many as regarded the incorrect use of a handicapped restricted spot as the worst parking transgression, the study found.

The study also found gender differences in parking, with 64 percent of female drivers preferring off-street parking compared with 51 percent of males. Women were influenced by ease and security, while men were more sensitive to cost and proximity, the study found.

Chicago Tribune's James Steinbauer contributed.

mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @marywizchicago
Chicago police are searching for a man wanted in a criminal sexual abuse case after he grabbed the buttocks of a 9-year-old girl, police said Tuesday.

According to a community alert, a man assaulted the pre-teen girl about 3:45 p.m. Monday, in the 3600 block of West Fullerton Avenue in the Logan Square neighborhood, authorities said. Police said the girl was in a grocery store when the man, who appeared to be 30 to 40 years old, approached her and squeezed her buttocks with his hand, the alert said.

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The man, described as Hispanic with a heavy build and standing about 5-foot-6, was confronted by a family member of the minor girl. The man then took off on foot, the community alert said.

The alert went on to say the man has black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a T-shirt with the words "A better world," along with dark pants and white shoes, the alert said.

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The alert advised that residents can:

Report any suspicious people by calling 911

Caution children to be alert and aware of their surroundings

Ensure children are escorted by adults when possible and

Tell kids to report any suspicious activity right away

Anyone with information about the incident should call detectives at 312-492-3810.
Police officers gather outside Stroger Hospital after Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson spoke to the news media about the shooting of two officers in the 4300 block of South Ashland Avenue in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on May 2, 2017. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune)

Federal prosecutors seeking to revoke bond for a man tied to the recent rifle shooting of two Chicago police officers got what they wanted Wednesday.

But not for the reason they requested.

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In a dramatic turn of events, U.S. Magistrate Judge Young Kim ordered Charles Williams held without bond after a heated hearing sought by prosecutors who wanted Williams jailed as a danger to the community.

While revoking Williams' bond, though, Kim scolded prosecutors for their filing asking him to reconsider his decision last week to release Williams on home confinement. Kim said he was denying their motion but ordering Williams held without bond to protect him and his family from danger.

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Among other allegations, prosecutors had alleged in the filing last week that Williams had admitted providing two military-style assault rifles to the La Raza gang because members of the rival Latin Saints had been wreaking havoc in his neighborhood.

"You placed Mr. Williams and his family in danger," Kim said.

Kim also pointed out that Williams had given the two rifles to a government informant who had passed them onto the gang, but the informant escaped prosecution. Kim appeared incredulous that prosecutors wanted Williams in custody but not the informant. He asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kavitha Babu how prosecutors justified that distinction.

At different times in the hearing, Kim returned to that same point, pressing prosecutors to explain why Williams  and not the informant  posed a danger to the community.

"Explain to me why that's not inconsistent," Kim said.

Babu replied that Williams knew the guns would be used to commit violence.

But that did not sway Kim.

As Kim explained his reasoning, Williams' live-in girlfriend doubled over in the courtroom gallery, weeping.

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After the ruling, Williams' attorney said he would attempt to find alternative housing outside the neighborhood for Williams in hopes the judge would reconsider his release.

Charles Williams was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. (Chicago Police Department)

Williams, 37, was charged last week with one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. The charge stemmed from a June 16 deal in which he allegedly sold a 9 mm pistol to an undercover informant in La Grange, court records show.

Prosecutors have alleged Williams admitted to providing two semi-automatic rifles to members of the La Raza gang to use in its ongoing war with rival Hispanic gangs on the city's South and West sides  a menacing development that has been highlighted by the Tribune.

Police have said two plainclothes Chicago police officers were riding in a covert van May 2 when they were wounded by fire from one of the rifles at 43rd Street and Ashland Avenue in the South Side's Back of the Yards neighborhood.

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One officer suffered gunshot wounds to his left hip, his left upper arm and his right flank, while the second officer suffered lacerations and cuts to his upper back. Both were released from Stroger Hospital a day after the shooting.

Cook County prosecutors said the suspects, both members of La Raza, thought they were shooting at rival gang members, not police officers.

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The man suspected of being the getaway driver, 18-year-old Angel Gomez, was arrested and charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm in the shooting. Meanwhile, the alleged gunman, Edgar Barron, is believed to have fled to Mexico, police sources said. Barron, who allegedly fired 25 rounds at the cops' van, has been charged in an arrest warrant with aggravated battery, court records show.

At last week's hearing, Williams' attorney, Robert Rascia, noted it was the government's own informant  a drug addict and gang associate  who had actually given the assault weapon to the gang.

According to the complaint, authorities stopped using the informant after several problems arose during the investigation of Williams. First, the informant admitted using cocaine he'd purchased from Williams during one of their meetings. Then, on June 23, he showed up drunk to a meeting with ATF agents, admitting he'd "consumed 6 ounces of vodka," the complaint alleged.

gpratt@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @royalpratt
Residents of Chicago's Buena Park neighborhood express differing opinions when it comes to the potential sober-living facility proposed for the 900 block of West Cullom Avenue. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune)

A proposal to bring a sober-living home for men recovering from addiction to the Buena Park neighborhood is facing opposition from some residents who say the Uptown community is inundated with social service providers and fear the home's residents could have a negative impact on the neighborhood.

The proposed sober-living facility would be located in what was once a single-family home at 928 W. Cullom Ave. and operated by Texas-based Eudaimonia Recovery Homes.

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This week the operator plans to file an application for a special-use permit that would be considered by the city's Zoning Board of Appeals at a future meeting. Ald. James Cappleman of the 46th Ward is conducting an online survey through Thursday asking residents who live within 250 feet of the home whether they support the proposal.

The plan already has been met with opposition.

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The majority of residents at a community meeting last week spoke out against the project, pointing to how the neighborhood is already home for plenty of halfway houses, homeless shelters and other mental health treatment facilities. They also questioned the benefit a sober-living home would have on the neighborhood and expressed concern about the possibility of residents relapsing.

"They bring problems and their addictions to our nice family neighborhood," said David Callahan, who has lived about 500 feet from the proposed home for about 31/2 years. "We don't need any more of this type of clientele."

The neighborhood has made progress over the past few years including rehabbing the CTA's Wilson station and demolishing the vacant Maryville Academy to make way for luxury apartments and a grocery store, but bringing a sober-living home to the area would be taking a dozen steps back, Callahan said.

His concerns mainly center on whether such a house would increase crime and noise, attract drug dealers to the neighborhood and result in a decrease in property value.

"Nobody is going to want to live next door to a bunch of junkies," he said.

But the operator maintains that the home is not a detoxification center, but a place for men to transition from inpatient treatment to independent living.

"It's a place where people who are struggling with addiction go so that once they've gone through detox, once they've gone through the inpatient, they can live in a place with other people who are having the same struggle and reached the same point in their recovery process," said Steve Patterson, attorney for the company seeking the special-use permit.

"We're trying to have a nonjudgmental, safe place for people that continue their treatment so they can move back into the real world with new habits and new skills and a new lifestyle."

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Some neighbors support the sober-living home.

Asher Mayerson said he moved into the neighborhood in March because he found it to be a welcoming place.

"I think a community that values supporting one another should create every opportunity for folks struggling to get back on their feet and succeed," he said. "It's important that our community take them in, not slam the door on folks trying to better their lives."

At the home in Buena Park, which is under a lease agreement with the option to purchase , up to 15 residents would be subjected to a curfew and random drug tests. They would be evicted from the home and referred to other treatment providers if they test positive under the zero-tolerance policy, said Raul Nunez, chief marketing officer for Nova Recovery Center, which owns Eudaimonia Recovery Homes. The facility would have a house manager but would mainly provide peer-to-peer recovery support.

The residents would have to be sober for at least 30 continuous days before moving in and stay at the home for a minimum of three months at a cost of $3,000 per month, according to Nunez. Residents would have to work or volunteer full time between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. and be prohibited from parking or loitering on neighborhood streets.

Eudaimonia Recovery Homes owner Mathew Gorman said he considered about 15 locations throughout Chicago before selecting the home in Buena Park, which is accessible to public transportation and offers nearby employment opportunities and recovery support services. The home would be Eudaimonia's first venture into Illinois. It has sober living homes in Texas and Colorado.

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"At the end of the day we want individuals to reintegrate into society and be a positive citizen in the community they live in," Gorman said.

The proposed facility plans to follow industry standards to get certified by the National Alliance for Recovery Residences, he said. No medical or clinical services would be provided on-site such as detoxification, outpatient services or counseling.

Sober-living homes often are controversial because of the stigma related to drug addiction and neighbors' unsubstantiated fear that residents living there will negatively impact the community, addiction experts said.

Securing stable housing can be difficult for people in recovery because they may be disconnected from their families, not have stable work history or have been incarcerated, said Kelly O'Brien, executive director of The Kennedy Forum Illinois, a nonprofit advocating to end the stigma of mental health and substance abuse disorders.

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"Those barriers can make it hard to recover. Every human wants to have a purpose, job and house. Without those things, everyone struggles," O'Brien said.

The concerns raised by Buena Park residents are similar to those voiced by Lakeview neighbors when the private behavioral health organization Rosecrance sought to set up a recovery home for young adults above an outpatient facility in 2015.

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Lakeview residents argued the recovery home would have an adverse effect on the neighborhood. The project received a special-use permit and moved forward, despite an unsuccessful legal effort to block it by nine residents.

Since it opened last summer at Ashland and Waveland avenues, Ald. Tom Tunney's office had received two complaints about smoking.

"I hope people's fears have been put to rest," said David Gomel, president of Rosecrance Inc. "Recovery home residents met the intended focus of what we wanted to do. We wanted to help people transition back into the community."

lvivanco@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lvivanco
A man was arrested after engaging in a standoff with Chicago Police Department SWAT team members for more than four hours on Tuesday evening on the South Side, police said.

Police were called to the home around 7 p.m. because of a order of protection, officials said. The man had a gun and barricaded himself in a home in the 8400 block of South Luella Avenue in the South Chicago neighborhood, police said.

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He was taken into custody about 11:35 p.m. No injuries were reported.

No other information was immediately being released.
A 37-year veteran of the Mandan Police Department died Tuesday, the department said in a news release.

Deputy Chief Paul Leingang, 54, was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer earlier this year. Funeral arrangements have not yet been set.

"It's hard to put in words what he meant to the agency," said Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler. "We lost a great police officer."

Ziegler said Leingang was a source of stability and knowledge for him and others in the department.

"When I came in, he was right there by my side. He was helping me doing things to keep the agency moving forward," said Ziegler, who joined the police department from Florida in early 2016. "He was the guy that would tell me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear."

He said that, during the time Leingang was receiving treatment, the department held his office and position for him, and a new deputy chief has not yet been chosen.

"He was really optimistic about beating this thing for a long time," Ziegler said.

A Mandan native, Leingang started by washing cars and dispatching officers for the department and worked his way up through patrol and investigations. He was the department's first drug investigator, where he sought out methamphetamine traffickers in the late 1980s and 1990s. He also led the Bismarck/Mandan Drug Task Force from 1997 to 2003.

For the past 10 years, Leingang has been deputy chief. Since a reorganization in May 2016, he supervised investigations, youth services, recruitment, school resources, training and community relations.

The police department held a silent auction in March to raise money for his medical expenses. More than 1,000 people attended the event at the Mandan Eagles Club.
Chicago-area residents trying to dry out from Wednesday's torrential downpours may get swamped with a second round of storms and flooding Thursday, extending beyond the initial areas, forecasters warned.

Another line of thunderstorms was heading in on Wednesday night, forecast to dump another inch on top of the 5 to 8 inches that fell already.

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Even if the storms don't materialize or pack the same wallop, collected floodwaters will surge downstream in area creeks and rivers, which prompted a new round of flood warnings Wednesday. Many have been put into effect for several coming days, including for the Chicago River's North Branch in Albany Park, the Fox River below the Algonquin dam and the Des Plaines River in Gurnee, Lincolnshire, Des Plaines, River Forest and Riverside. Most of northern Illinois remained under a flash flood watch until Thursday morning.

Some road closures were also expected to continue into Thursday.

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And Lake Forest Hospital announced late Wednesday that flood-related power outages were forcing the hospital to transfer patients to nearby facilities and "limit operations."

The initial round of floodwaters blocked roads and train lines, stranded cars and filled basements, forcing hundreds of people out of their homes, some of whom were rescued by boat, officials said. High winds and downed trees also knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes.

In response, the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago opened shelters at buildings in Round Lake Beach, Grayslake, North Chicago and on Chicago's Northwest Side, which may remain open for multiple days, depending on the need.

The Red Cross set up a flood hotline for people to get help at 847-220-7595, and local emergency workers said they often can help get people in contact with Red Cross services.

While the repeated rounds of thunderstorms are fairly typical of Chicago-area summers, the intensity of Wednesday's storms was unusual, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Bardou said.

In some cases, he said, 2 or 3 inches fell in an hour, enough to dangerously reduce driving visibility to car wash levels. The flooding was also severe enough to close Six Flags Great America and Marriott Theater in Lincolnshire Wednesday, though the amusement park was due to reopen Thursday. In anticipation of more flooding, Oakton Community College announced that it will close its Des Plaines campus Thursday, though its Skokie campus will remain open.

The exact impact of flooding Thursday depends on additional rains expected from a continuing pattern of upper atmosphere winds heading east over very moist air from the southwest, Bardou said.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 82 The home of Marty Evanson sustained extensive damage over the last several days as a result of flooding along West Anchorage Lane in Fox Lake on Thursday, July 20, 2017. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

"It's tough to say, because the waters are still rising," Bardou said. "We forecast pretty significant flooding, but that depends on the rains. There's certainly potential for rivers to get high, maybe near record levels on the Des Plaines."

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In Kane County, areas of Elgin and Carpentersville were hard hit by flooding on roads and in homes. Looking forward, emergency workers worry about chronic flood-prone areas like the Algonquin Shores subdivision in Algonquin, and Valley View north of St. Charles.

"Our big concern Thursday is the Fox River," said Kane County Office of Emergency Management Director Don Bryant. "We need to be ready if we need to evacuate people."

Additional rain is possible on Thursday, too, potentially adding to totals that topped 8 inches in some areas Tuesday night and Wednesday.

The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission's chief engineer, Kurt Woolford, was among those who had to telecommute Wednesday because of the weather. He was stopped by 3-feet-deep water on nearby roads that forced drivers to abandon their cars.

Metra's Milwaukee North Line service also was suspended between Fox Lake and Libertyville because of flooding, and Route 41 was shut down through much of Lake County.

In McHenry County, typical, isolated flooding occurred in parts of Crystal Lake and other areas, but "nothing insurmountable," Emergency Management Agency Director David Christensen said.

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The worst might not be over, even if there's no more rain, he said. Rainfall in Wisconsin takes time to flow downstream, often causing flooding on the Fox River days after heavy downpours, he said.

"If it smooths out, the river can adjust," he said, "but if it keeps hammering us like last night, there's no recovery time."

In Lincolnshire, the older neighborhood south of Illinois Highway 22 and east of the Des Plaines River is often the local trouble spot when it comes to flooding, and Wednesday was no exception. Village Manager Brad Burke said some houses in that area took in water again Wednesday morning.

Local officials are keeping a wary eye on the river, with a crest not expected until Thursday. So far, Burke said things don't appear to be as bad as during the two deluges of 2013.

In north and northwestern Cook County, particularly along the Des Plaines River but also in areas such as Barrington, communities were dealing with road closures and some localized flooding.

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In Lake Forest, Deputy Police Chief Rob Copeland said public works employees were called in at 3 a.m. to assist with closing down flooded roads.

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It was a busy morning at the Lake Forest True Value Hardware on Waukegan Road. As of 12:30 p.m., the store's business was four times its normal amount and any merchandise used to help combat flooding was quickly selling out, said store manager Chris Morgan.

"We're out of everything I can think of: floor fans, shop vacs, submersible pumps, sump pumps. I have a guy headed to my warehouse to refill my shelves. When it's treacherous for everyone else, it's good for hardware stores," Morgan said.

Anyone lacking electricity can text the word "OUT" to 26633. A prompt will ask customers for more information and offer updates on how the restoration process is going. ComEd also has a mobile app.

Tribune reporter Leonor Vivanco; Pioneer Press reporters Todd Shields, Mark Lawton and Ronnie Wachter; and freelance reporter Elizabeth Owens-Schiele contributed.

rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RobertMcCoppin
Teamsters Joint Council 25 President John Coli, left, listens to a speaker as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel jokes with Chicago Federation of Labor President Jorge Ramirez, right, at McCormick Place on Oct. 21, 2011, during an event announcing an agreed revival of 2010 work rule reforms at McCormick Place. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune)

A politically connected Teamsters union boss was indicted Wednesday on federal charges alleging he extorted $100,000 in cash from a local business.

John Coli Sr., considered one the union's most powerful figures nationally, was charged with threatening work stoppages and other labor unrest unless he was given cash payoffs of $25,000 every three months by the undisclosed business.

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The alleged extortion occurred when Coli was president of Teamsters Joint Council 25, a labor organization that represents more than 100,000 workers in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana.

Coli, 57, an early backer of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, was charged with one count of attempted extortion and five counts of demanding and accepting prohibited payment as a union official.

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In all, Coli accepted five payoffs, most recently a $25,000 sum on April 4, according to the indictment. Last year, he also accepted four cash payments totaling $75,000, according to the charges.

The indictment seeks forfeiture from Coli of at least $100,000.

An arraignment in federal court in Chicago had not been set as of Wednesday.

Coli could not be reached for comment, but a statement posted Wednesday on the Teamsters Local 727 website announced he planned to retire at the end of the month after 46 years in the union.

In the statement, Coli said he had decided it was time "to begin a new chapter" and that he wanted to spend more time with his family. He said he made the decision "with tremendous reflection and a big heart" but did not mention the investigation or charges.

Coli previously served as international vice president of the Central Region of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. His son John Coli Jr. is president of Teamsters Local 727.

The Coli family has been active in politics for years and is well-known for spreading around union cash to various candidates. Coli and his relatives have also been accused in civil lawsuits in both state and federal court of running the union like a racket  accusations they have vehemently denied.

In a 2011 deposition stemming from one suit, Coli was asked under oath why so many of his relatives were allowed to control the union's lucrative pension funds. "For the record, go f--- yourself," Coli answered, according to a transcript in court records.

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"So I take it you're refusing to answer that question?" the plaintiff's attorney asked. "I think the answer speaks for itself," the transcript quoted Coli as saying.

Coli backed Emanuel in his first run for mayor at a time when Emanuel, viewed as a centrist Democrat, had very little union backing.

The Teamsters contributed $35,000 to Emanuel's 2011 campaign, including $15,000 for polling. The union stepped up even more to back the mayor's bid for a second term, contributing $134,700, state campaign finance records show.

Once Emanuel was elected, a representative from the union was appointed to the mayoral transition team, and Coli was named to the exclusive group of campaign donors and community leaders in charge of planning the mayor's first inaugural.

Two months after Emanuel first took office, the Chicago Tribune detailed how the newly elected mayor had demanded greater accountability and financial sacrifice from Chicago's labor unions  except for the Teamsters. The story detailed how Coli's union spoke out in favor of the mayor's economic plans  even those that stood to send public jobs to private contractors.

Only one of Emanuel's nine proposed work-rule changes for unions at the time targeted the Teamsters, and most of the 625 union employees the mayor planned to lay off were members of other unions, the Tribune reported. The mayor's office countered that the fact that one of the work rules changes applied to the Teamsters showed Coli's union was not getting preferential treatment.

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Coli co-chaired a 2011 city-labor working group along with Emanuel Budget Director Alexandra Holt that worked on hammering out the union work rule changes.

Coli's strong early working relationship with Emanuel was on display in October 2011 when the mayor unveiled new work rules for union employees at McCormick Place with then-Gov. Pat Quinn. "Our members gave a lot  they gave until it hurt," Coli said of the changes, which helped lower costs at the convention center.

In a 2012 story in The Atlantic, Coli said his relationship with Emanuel helped get the deal done. Asked about the McCormick settlement in the same magazine article, Emanuel noted that the endorsement of Coli's union came on the most disappointing day of the campaign when the appellate court temporarily tossed Emanuel from the ballot.

"John's very pragmatic," Emanuel said. "The guy shows balls."

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But controversy has dogged Coli for years. In 2003, then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed Coli to the Illinois Tollway board, only to have Coli quickly withdraw his name amid questions about $100,000 in Teamsters campaign contributions to Blagojevich and potential conflicts of interest.

Within a few months, Blagojevich quietly named Coli to two other state boards with less direct impact on Teamsters affairs, the Tribune reported.

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In 2005, the Tribune reported the FBI was investigating whether the Coli-led Teamsters siphoned hundreds of thousands of dollars from a union benefit plan that provided dental care to Chicago-area undertakers and valets. That probe had been sparked by an internal union report raising concerns about payments from the plan going to organized crime figures.

No charges were ever filed.

In August 2015, Rauner appointed Coli to an unpaid seat on the Illinois Labor Advisory Board. The appointment came around the same time the Teamsters agreed to a new contract with the Rauner administration.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

bruthhart@chicagotribune.com
Brendt Christensen, 28, of Champaign was arrested June 30 and charged with the kidnapping of Yingying Zhang, 26, a Chinese scholar at the University of Illinois who disappeared June 9 and is now presumed dead by police. (Macon County sheriff's office and police provided photo)

A federal grand jury in Urbana indicted a former University of Illinois doctoral candidate on Wednesday in the disappearance of a Chinese visiting scholar last month, federal prosecutors said.

Brendt Christensen, 28, is charged with kidnapping Yingying Zhang from near a bus stop on the Urbana-Champaign campus the afternoon of June 9. Christensen was arrested June 30 and was previously charged via an affidavit filed with the federal court for the Central District of Illinois.

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Christensen, of Champaign, will now formally enter a plea to the charges at an arraignment scheduled for July 20, one of his attorneys, Thomas Bruno, said. If convicted, the penalty is up to life in prison.

Bruno declined further comment. A Chicago attorney who has been assisting Zhang's family throughout the court proceedings could not immediately be reached for comment.

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The one-page indictment Wednesday did not offer any new details into the investigation beyond what the FBI and prosecutors revealed in an affidavit and in court hearings.

Zhang, 26, had been on her way to sign an apartment lease the day she disappeared, police officials said. She had texted the apartment manager to say she was running late, then unsuccessfully tried to flag down a public bus to make her appointment, according to a federal affidavit filed when Christensen was arrested.

Zhang was standing at a bus stop near West Clark Street and North Goodwin Avenue on the north end of campus when authorities say Christensen, driving a black Saturn sedan, approached her.

Security video from a nearby parking garage showed Zhang speaking to the driver, who authorities contend was Christensen, for several moments before getting inside the car on the front passenger's side.

An associate professor reported Zhang missing that night after several of her colleagues tried and failed to contact her. She has not been seen since and is presumed dead, FBI officials said.

Within days of Zhang's disappearance, police concluded that the car seen in the widely released video matched the one registered to Christensen in Champaign County. In interviews, he first denied having left his apartment the day of the kidnapping, then said he had picked up "an Asian female" and offered her a ride, but dropped her off a few blocks away.

Authorities searched the car and found the passenger's side had been thoroughly cleaned, a potential sign of trying to conceal evidence, the affidavit stated. Police seized Christensen's phone and other electronics from his apartment, and found visits to a bondage and sadomasochism fetish website called FetLife and a forum called "Abduction 101."

Authorities began surveilling Christensen on June 16. On June 29, a recording captured him saying that he had kidnapped Zhang, prosecutors said; he was arrested the following day.

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Christensen, a former doctoral candidate in U. of I.'s physics department, appeared in two brief court hearings in Urbana last week.

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In arguing that Christensen should stay behind bars during the court case, federal prosecutors said Christensen attended a campus vigil in Zhang's honor while under federal surveillance, was caught on tape describing his "ideal victim," and pointed out people in the crowd who fit those characteristics.

He was also caught on tape describing how Zhang fought and resisted him during the alleged kidnapping prosecutors said. Officials have not revealed how the recordings were obtained.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long ordered Christensen held in custody pending trial.

Zhang, originally from southeast China, came to the university in late April as part of a one-year research appointment in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, a school spokeswoman said.

Chicago Tribune's Grace Wong contributed.

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drhodes@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @rhodes_dawn
Gov. Bruce Rauner, seen here on July 5, 2017, continued a staff shake-up on July 11, hiring two more people from the Illinois Policy Institute and an alum of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's administration. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

SPRINGFIELD  Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner continued a shakeup of his top staff on Tuesday, hiring two more people from the state's highest-profile conservative think tank and an alum of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's administration.

The changes could further signal a new, more aggressive tone from the first-term governor in the days after lawmakers voted to raise taxes and pass a budget, overriding his vetoes. On Monday, Rauner named Kristina Rasmussen, formerly president and chief operating officer of the Illinois Policy Institute, as his chief of staff.

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The Chicago-based nonprofit advocacy organization has been a key player in efforts to promote conservative ideology in state politics. It's also been a vocal critic of Rauner's chief political nemesis, House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Joining Rasmussen in the governor's office is Michael Lucci, who will serve as Rauner's deputy chief of staff for policy. He previously worked as the vice president of policy at the think tank, where his focus was on developing "innovative, market-based solutions that will lead to a more robust Illinois economy in terms of employment and economic growth," according to the institute's website.

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Jean Hutton will become Rasmussen's special assistant, after overseeing the institute's finances and payroll.

And Laurel Patrick will take on the role of director of communications. She previously worked as a spokeswoman for Walker.

The governor's office did not return requests for comment Tuesday. Spokeswoman Catherine Kelly left Rauner's staff Tuesday after being given the option to resign. She said she already was planning to leave the administration next month because her husband, an attorney, was taking a position out of state.

While the Illinois Policy Institute has been a major backer of Rauner's agenda to weaken the power of labor unions and make the state more friendly to businesses, it split with the governor when he announced that he could support a "compromise" budget plan proposed by Republican lawmakers that also included a tax hike.

The think tank, which does not have to disclose its donors, continued to aggressively oppose the tax and budget plan that was approved over Rauner's objections. Some lawmakers blamed the group's push for spawning angry and sometimes threatening comments that flooded their social media accounts and voicemail boxes. More than a dozen Republicans broke ranks with Rauner and joined Democrats to support the proposals and end the state's more-than-two-year-long budget impasse.

"By backing a tax hike budget plan, the governor risks alienating his supporters," Rasmussen wrote in a June article that was published on the institute's website.

By now embracing his former critics, Rauner might be attempting to shore up his conservative base ahead of next year's election, while also tapping into the anger over the tax hike that the group helped fan.

Meanwhile, though, Democrats have already tried to make the new hires an issue in the early stages of the campaign for governor. Candidate J.B. Pritzker's campaign said Rauner's staff shake-up "moves his administration even further in line with the extreme right" and signals that "stubborn Rauner is in no way ready to compromise."

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Rasmussen announced the new hires in an email that went out to the governor's staff on Tuesday. In the email, which was obtained by the Tribune, Rasmussen thanked staff for a "warm welcome." She solicited their best ideas for "transforming Illinois through better public policy and improved operations" and said the administration would share stories of "the men, women and children who deserve a revitalized Illinois." She asked for "excellence" and "mutual respect paired with radical candor."

"I am honored to join you as we position Illinois to become the most prosperous, compassionate, and free state in the nation," Rasmussen wrote.

She replaced former chief of staff Richard Goldberg, who previously worked for U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, and developed a reputation as a confrontational advocate for Rauner's agenda.

Patrick replaces former communications director Brad Hahn, who Rauner hired last December. Hahn earlier served as chief of staff to former Comptroller Leslie Munger, who lost her election bid last November. He took on that post following the death of Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, for whom he worked as a spokesman.

mcgarcia@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @MoniqueGarcia
Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, gives a speech following the Illinois House voting to override Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto and pass a budget for the first time in two years at the Illinois State Capitol on July 6, 2017. (Justin L. Fowler / AP)

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

With an Illinois budget in place and an income tax hike to help pay for it, the state Tuesday gave HR departments the information they need to start deducting more from workers' paychecks.

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The Illinois Department of Revenue announced: "New tax rates take effect" in a release that shared the nitty-gritty details of implementing the changes that accountants and employers need to know, even as the political war of words will continue. Tuesday's announcement steered clear of that fight.

"For most taxpayers, their employers will change withholding amounts based on rate tables provided by the department," the announcement reads in part.

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A summary of the tax changes can be found here, with more details here. Most people who have paying attention already know the big picture, though.

Under the budget plan, the personal income tax rate rose from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent, while the corporate income tax rate went from 5.25 percent to 7 percent. The new money helps pay for the first full state budget Illinois has had in more than two years.

What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel will speak at the reopening of the Thomas Hughes Children's Library at Harold Washington Library Center in the morning. Later, he'll unveil plans for artwork at the 95th Street Red Line station.

*Gov. Rauner's schedule was not available.

*The Chicago and Illinois transportation departments are holding a meeting at 3 p.m. at the DePaul University student center about potential changes to North Lake Shore Drive.

*The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate is scheduled to meet.

*The Cook County Board is scheduled to hold a preliminary budget hearing.

From the notebook

*Another Rauner staffer out: There's another staff departure from Gov. Rauner's administration, but this one is unrelated to hires that appear to take the office in a more conservative direction.

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Lance Trover, who served as Rauner's deputy chief of staff, will leave state government Friday. He began working for Rauner in 2014 during his election campaign and gave notice that he was leaving several weeks ago.

Trover said he is considering starting his own communications and public affairs firm but is open to other options. He said working in the governor's office "was a dream come true."

"It has been an honor serving the people of Illinois, and I just felt the time was right to search out new paths," said Trover, from downstate Vienna. "I wish the governor and his team nothing but the best." (Monique Garcia)

*Quick spins: Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster's former chief of staff has announced a run for Congress against Republican Rep. Peter Roskam. Carole Cheney's name had already floated around as a potential Roskam challenger, but she formally announced her bid Tuesday. Also in the Democratic primary race: Kelly Mazeski, Amanda Howland and Suzyn Price. ... A hearing over the liquor license of River North establishment Bottled Blonde has been continued to Aug. 1. The complaint focuses on claims the bar, at 504 N. Wells St., has violated the terms of its liquor license by operating not as a restaurant but as a nightclub "where the sale of alcoholic beverages was the primary business activity."

What we're writing

*More Rauner staff changes could signal a sharper tone.

*Inmate's supporters ask board to recommend clemency to Rauner in infamous 1993 Bucktown murder.

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*Soda pop tax hold extended until July 21 hearing.

*House panel to consider bill to preserve Great Lakes cleanup.

*Advocates worry GOP's health bill would cut Medicaid for low-income children: 'It's not good for kids.'

*Green card veteran denied appeal of deportation order.

What we're reading

*'Rogue importer' diverted shipment of Mexican cheese to pay off debt, lawsuit says.

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*Former "American Idol" contestant Haley Reinhart charged with punching Palatine bouncer.

*Wrigley Field in the mix for future All-Star game.

Follow the money

*Track Illinois campaign contributions in real time here and here.

Beyond Chicago



*Trump Jr. to a Russian campaign offer: "I love it."

*Politics, Russia and the Miss Universe pageant.

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*Senate Republicans plan another shot at repealing Obamacare.

*U.S. makes anti-terror deal with Qatar.
RIO DE JANEIRO  Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was convicted of corruption and money laundering on Wednesday, the most high-profile conviction yet in a sweeping graft investigation that has jailed dozens of the Latin American country's elite.



Federal Judge Sergio Moro sentenced Silva to nine and half years in jail, but the former leader will remain free while an appeal is heard.



The decision was widely expected, even by Silva's own defense team, but is still stunning: The charismatic leader left office with sky-high popularity and is credited with pulling millions of Brazilians out of poverty and turning Latin America's largest nation into an important player on the world stage.



In many quarters in Brazil, the man known simply as Lula remains revered  both for his economic policies and his role in fighting for democracy during the country's dictatorship  and the 71-year-old is a front-runner for next year's presidential elections.



The case is part of a massive corruption investigation centered on state-run oil giant Petrobras that has led to the conviction of dozens of business executives and politicians.



Silva was accused of receiving a beachfront apartment and repairs to the property as kickbacks from construction company OAS. Prosecutors also alleged OAS paid to store Silva's belongings, but Moro dismissed that part of the case.



The former president has said the charges are completely unfounded, and his defiant testimony in the case was billed as a showdown between himself and Moro. Both men are seen as national heroes by some parts of Brazilian society.



"The present conviction does not bring this judge any personal satisfaction. Quite the contrary, it is regrettable that a former president be criminally convicted," Moro wrote in his decision. "It doesn't matter how high you are, the law is still above you."



Moro said he did not order Silva's immediate arrest because the conviction of a president is such a serious matter that he felt an appeal should be heard first.



A former union leader who became the country's first working class president, Silva served from 2003 to 2010.



The case will now be heard by a group of magistrates. If they uphold the conviction, Brazilian law says that Silva would be barred from seeking office. Moro also ruled that Silva should be barred from public office for 19 years.



Lawyers for Silva did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but the chairwoman of his Workers' Party dismissed the conviction.



"Judge Moro did what the media and the anti-Lula public opinion wanted," said Sen. Gleisi Hoffmann. "This is an embarrassing conviction, without evidence."
Agalarov, 37, who is also a Russian pop star, helped broker a June 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a prominent Russian lawyer who promised to pass along information damaging to the Clinton campaign, according to emails Trump Jr. released Tuesday.

In April 2016, Agalarov and his father, Aras, told The Washington Post that they wanted Trump to be elected. Trump partnered with the father-and-son developers to bring the 2013 Miss Universe pageant to Moscow, where the duo promised to introduce Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin ultimately had to break the engagement, but the Kremlin passed its regrets to Trump through the Agalarovs.

"I think that's a very important sentiment, that for the first time in many years, that an American presidential potential candidate wants to be friends with another big empire," Emin Agalarov told The Post in an extensive interview that was part of a wide-ranging look at Trump's international business dealings.

"This could be an amazing breakthrough if he becomes president and actually becomes friends with Putin," Agalarov said. "We would avoid 10 wars every year, at least, because these guys really understand that war is not maybe the way to succeed in this."

Agalarov said he visited Trump's corner office every time he was in New York.

"I consider him a friend. We exchange correspondence. We see each other a few times a year," Agalarov said.

In the emails released Tuesday, Trump Jr. suggests a phone call with Agalarov to speak more about information that "is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump," according to an email to Trump Jr. from Rob Goldstone, a former British journalist who is one of Agalarov's public relations people.

Goldstone's message said that Aras Agalarov, 61, met with the "Crown prosecutor of Russia," who offered to provide damaging information about Clinton. Russia does not have a crown prosecutor  Britain does  but it does have a prosecutor general.

Trump "would be a very good president of America. It's not because I know him. That's my personal opinion," Aras Agalarov said in the joint interview with his son, which was conducted in a private dining room at a restaurant in their Crocus City mall and concert center, a sprawling complex on Moscow's outskirts.

At the time of the interview, Trump had nearly clinched the Republican nomination but seemed unlikely to win the November election.

Aras Agalarov has sometimes been called the "Donald Trump of Russia," and the two men talked about building a Trump Tower on a muddy field that is part of the Crocus City complex. The plans fizzled following Russia's economic crash after Western sanctions were imposed in 2014.

But Aras Agalarov does not speak English, and his canny Americanized son had a closer relationship with Trump. Emin went to high school in New Jersey and college in New York. He is a generation younger than Trump, but his life trajectory has some parallels to the president's.

Both spun their fathers' real estate empires into pop-culture fame: Agalarov through his playboy pop-music career and Trump through his hit television show "The Apprentice"  and through tabloid headlines for decades prior.

Both have had more than a passing flirtation with matters of state. Agalarov is divorced from Leyla Aliyeva, the daughter of the authoritarian president of Azerbaijan.

And the men stayed in touch after the Agalarovs hosted the 2013 Miss Universe competition in Moscow. While there for the pageant, Trump took part in one of the younger Agalarov's music videos. Later, Trump recorded a video message for Agalarov's 35th birthday. In the interview, the Agalarovs said they sent Trump notes and words of encouragement that he would sometimes send back to them with friendly responses scrawled across the top with his thick black markers.

In one November 2015 note they proudly displayed, Trump wrote: "Aras, you have done such a great job. You are an amazing man with a great family. Keep in touch and say hello to Emin."

The Agalarovs are among the most prominent Russians with whom Trump has done business. Aras Agalarov is an Azerbaijani-Russian property developer who got his start in the late Soviet years by selling bootleg copies of American hit movies on videocassette. In the chaotic and lawless post-communist 1990s, he emerged as a major developer in the Moscow region, building major housing developments, then Crocus City.

More recently, the Kremlin entrusted him with building a prestige university complex in Vladivostok, in Russia's far east. For getting the project done, Aras Agalarov was decorated by Putin with the prestigious Order of Honor. Such Kremlin-connected construction projects are sometimes completed at a loss to the developers, a price they pay in exchange for maintaining good relations with Russia's highly centralized authorities.

Emin Agalarov said Trump had long talked about his desire to improve relations with Russia. Agalarov said he hoped Trump won, saying that he had relatives who are U.S. citizens and that he himself felt tightly connected to American culture.

"Our family vote definitely goes to Mr. Trump. We hope he wins. We wish him luck. We're big fans," he said. "We think that he will be a very productive, prosperous president who is going to make America great."

"In the last conversation we had before he ran, he was criticizing the United States government for not being able to be friends with Russia," Agalarov said. "He keeps underlining that he thinks that President Putin is a strong leader and that he thinks America, instead of fighting Russia, should bond and be friends and have common goals with Russia."
If you have strong political opinions, you might prefer not to do business with a highly recommended plumber whose truck is festooned with bumper stickers promoting political views you detest. You might prefer that plumber, though, to one whose views are more agreeable but doesn't know how to use a wrench.

That's the problem with electing political novices to office: They may throw rousing rallies and then leave the country with an overflowing toilet. For many voters, the allure of Donald Trump was that he presented such a stark contrast to conventional politicians we're used to. Since the credentialed professionals weren't delivering everything desired, his supporters figured they couldn't do worse than installing a bold amateur.

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But there's a fine line between a bold amateur and a clumsy novice. And there's nothing like a clumsy novice to make you appreciate experience. Donald Trump Jr.'s eagerness to meet with a lawyer explicitly advertised as offering dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of the Kremlin's effort to help elect Trump is a good illustration.

It's possible Trump's eldest son was actively conspiring with Russian government operatives, with full knowledge of the implications. But it seems more likely he was just groping his way in territory that was much more treacherous, complicated and unpredictable than he realized. He didn't know what he didn't know, and it's not the Trump style to admit ignorance and seek information. It's the Trump style to brazen your way through.

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A professional campaign consultant or politician would probably have known better  and would have run the offer by lawyers or other advisers before sitting down with someone claiming to be working with a hostile foreign government. Almost every presidential campaign has people who serve to keep the candidate out of trouble.

The drawback, of course, is that such professionals, and the candidates they work for, can come across as cautious and predictable. But sometimes, being cautious and predictable is invaluable.

Knowledge and experience may not be exciting to voters intent on venting their dissatisfaction. But when those qualities are absent in your leaders and those around them, the excitement you get is not necessarily the kind you want.

Steve Chapman, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/chapman.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in 2010 that the companys policy is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 2008 )

In 2010, top Google executive Eric Schmidt told The Atlantic magazine, "Google policy is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it.  We know where you are. We know where you've been. We can more or less know what you're thinking about."

Whether it intended to or not, Google has now crossed the creepy line  with ominous implications for patients everywhere. It partnered in a British medical project involving more than 1 million patients that was effectively hidden from the public until recently. The project's lack of concern for privacy and informed consent was blatant exploitation of these patients, and unless greater attention is paid to digital companies entering the health care universe, the public will be at significant risk in the future.

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It began, as so many notorious medical experiments do, with ostensibly good intentions. In 2015, Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust, which operates a number of British hospitals, entered into a seemingly benign agreement with a Google subsidiary, DeepMind. In an effort to develop an app to monitor patients at risk of kidney disease, DeepMind was granted access to the health information of 1.6 million patients. The assumption was that this information would be limited to factors related to kidney disease, but there was no explicit mention in the agreement of the nature or amount of data to be collected. Within months, Google-contracted servers were amassing sensitive personal medical information with little relation to kidney disease, from emergency room treatments to details of personal drug abuse.

Until journalists prompted a government investigation, DeepMind accessed the personally identifiable medical records of a large number of patients  with no guarantee of confidentiality, formal research protocol, research approval or individual consent. Also, neither Royal Free nor Google chose to explain why DeepMind, with virtually no health care experience, was selected for this project. Apparently, neither British regulators nor physicians asked any substantive questions.

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Only this month did Elizabeth Denham of the United Kingdom Information Commissioner's Office, the ombudsman for Great Britian's medical data, release a statement regarding a probe of the secretive DeepMind deal: "Our investigation found a number of shortcomings in the way patient records were shared for this trial. Patients would not have reasonably expected their information to have been used in this way, and the trust could and should have been far more transparent with patients as to what was happening."

An admirable, albeit belated, first step by the organization that failed to anticipate the obvious dangers of an arrangement between one of Britain's largest health care providers and the world's dominant data mining and advertising corporation.

There is, of course, a larger issue at stake, one that Denham failed to address. Medical information is the last fragile redoubt of our rapidly eroding personal privacy.

While professing good intentions, Google has an unstated but obvious conflict of interest in data mining of large populations. Did Google have an ulterior motive in collecting medical information of such a huge patient cohort? And more important, when monolithic digital companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, that already control much of our personal and professional activity, enter the health care industry as they inevitably will, who will protect patients' interests?

Once these companies introduce artificial intelligence and proprietary algorithms into medical care, will there be transparency? If not, what recourse will the public have?

One author has likened Google to a one-way mirror  it knows much about us and is learning more every day, but we really know virtually nothing about it. The paramount concern of any medical research is to preserve the rights of patients and subjects, and this one-way mirror does little to ensure that.

After the U.K. Information Commissioner's investigation, DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman assured the public that new safeguards would be instituted and that the company's goal is to have a positive social impact. We expect him to say that, but the 20th century was replete with notorious studies that were kept secret or justified on the basis of their supposed societal benefit.

If the history of medical ethics has taught us anything, it is that patients do not exist to serve medical science, and that they must never be deprived of the right to control their medical treatment, regardless of researchers' stated beneficence.

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Big Data is coming to medicine, and it would be wrong to deny the potential benefits of machine learning and artificial intelligence. But no matter how valuable the promise of these new approaches and how well-intentioned the motives of those responsible, without transparency, safeguards and continual oversight, the seeds of abuse and tragedy are never far away. And here in the United States, will HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, offer sufficient protection?

Be forewarned, the story of Royal Free and Google DeepMind is a clarion call. It is the introductory chapter in a new marriage of health care and digital companies that seek to collect and control medical information.

One is reminded of the warning given to Charles Foster Kane in the film "Citizen Kane": "Only you're going to need more than one lesson, and you are going to get more than one lesson."

Cory Franklin is a Wilmette physician and author of "Cook County ICU: 30 Years of Unforgettable Patients and Odd Cases."
The Trump Years, as I call these first 170-plus days, have made the phrase "You've got to be kidding me" burdensome.

We say it too often and, quite frankly, it's eating up an enormous amount of time. Maybe we should shorten it to "YGK me."

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That certainly would've lifted the verbal load Tuesday, as Donald Trump Jr. tweeted out an email chain that showed, in surprisingly straightforward language, how he agreed to meet with a Russian attorney during the heat of last year's presidential campaign, believing she had dirt on Hillary Clinton that was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."

YGK me.

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The president's son  described Tuesday by the New York Post's generally pro-Trump editorial board as "an idiot"  responded to the meeting offer not with concern or a flat "no thanks" and a call to the FBI. Instead, he wrote: "Seems we have some time and if it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."

Later in the summer, of course, puts us closer to the election, a much better time for dirt, even, apparently, if that dirt comes from a hostile foreign power. I love it!

YGK me.

Trump Jr. tweeted the email chain because he knew the New York Times, which broke the story about the meeting over the weekend, had the emails and was about to publish them. Releasing the emails ahead of the newspaper prompted Daddy Trump to praise the "transparency" of his "high quality" son. Of course the Times later reported that daddy had signed off on the original statement sent to the newspaper over the weekend, a statement that was about as transparent as a brick.

By Tuesday night, in a cloying interview with Trump family wannabe Sean Hannity on Fox News, Trump Jr. was saying nothing bad happened while begrudgingly admitting he'd do things different if he had it to do over and clearly still not grasping the seriousness of the situation.

Donald Trump Jr. is interviewed by host Sean Hannity on his Fox News Channel television program, in New York Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) (Richard Drew / AP)

The emails show, without question, that Trump's eldest son was more than willing to receive potentially damaging information about a political candidate from the Russian government. That, as Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York understated in a tweet, "is a big no-no."

Copied into the email chain are Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign-manager Paul Manafort. Both attended the meeting, making this the third meeting with Russians that Kushner failed to disclose on his original top-secret security clearance form. (Failing to disclose such a thing is a felony, but that's small potatoes in today's "YGK me" world.)

Three of the top members of candidate Trump's campaign met with a woman described in the email chain as a "Russian government attorney" who, as the email clearly spelled out, had information that "would be very useful to your father."

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The original email was sent by Rob Goldstone, a British music publicist and former tabloid newspaper reporter who helped the Trumps with the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow. (YGK me!) It said, in part: "This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."

Trump Jr. is now attempting to wave the emails and the meeting off because, he claims, the Russian attorney didn't actually share any of the promised "sensitive information."

First off, that doesn't matter. Trump Jr. was clearly all-in, and it's difficult to imagine that Kushner and campaign veteran Manafort agreed to a meeting without knowing what it was about.

Second, and most important, Trump Jr. doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt. That's the fate with which dishonest, unsympathetic people must reckon.

Him saying that no information was shared during that meeting has as much worth as a degree from Trump University. Same with Trump Jr.'s claim that his father was never told about the meeting.

Could it all be true? Sure. Do we have reason to trust anything Trump Jr. says? Absolutely not.

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He is a spreader of conspiracy theories who tweets like an entitled frat boy in a drunken rage. He's a slick-haired charlatan who has lied repeatedly about Russian involvement in his father's presidential campaign.

In March, in an interview with the Times, Trump Jr. denied having any meetings with Russians relating to the campaign: "Did I meet with people that were Russian? I'm sure, I'm sure I did. But none that were set up. None that I can think of at the moment. And certainly none that I was representing the campaign in any way, shape or form."

On CNN last July, a month after meeting with a "Russian government attorney" he believed had "sensitive" dirt on Clinton, Trump Jr. said this about claims that Russia might be trying to interfere with the election: "It's disgusting, it's so phony. I can't think of bigger lies."

I can think of bigger lies! In fact, I can think of several, and they all came from the mouth of a guy  "an idiot," to borrow a phrase  who cares so little about America that he was willing to get in bed with the Russian government just to advance his family's interests.

It doesn't matter whether it worked out the way he had hoped. What matters is that he has shown, with great transparency, that his loyalty is to the Trumps, not to America.

I fear that's a trait that runs in the family.

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And I'm not kidding you.

rhuppke@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RexHuppke

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Donald Trump Jr.'s emails are far more damning than anyone could have imagined

Donald Trump Jr.'s Russia meeting may have been legal. But that's a low bar.
Antonio, 22, left, and Cilantra, 23, laugh while eating dinner at the Crib, a homeless shelter housed in the basement of LakeView Lutheran Church. The emergency homeless shelter for young adults ages 18 to 24 is a program of the Night Ministry. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

In 2016, 78.9 percent of Chicago's homeless population relied on assistance from a shelter, according to Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

That percentage may seem significant, but it leaves a 21.1 percent of homeless people unaccounted for, or unable to secure help.

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The Night Ministry in Chicago is hoping to allow every homeless person in the city a chance to access the help they need to get back on their feetor simply survive, in some cases.

The organization provides many types of help to Chicago's homeless. Outreach services are "on the ground" initiatives to build relationships with homeless communities and provide resources as needed within these groups. These efforts include a health outreach bus that offers medical exams and treatment, HIV testing and, of course, coffee. So far, the bus has created relationships with upwards of 50,000 homeless Chicagoans and provided medical assistance to more than 4,500.

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Youth outreach teams work with LGBT youth and offers support, food and shelter, as well as guidance to empower these teens to engage in healthy self-care activities. The Night Ministry also offers housing for homeless youth in Chicago, LGBT or otherwise, at The Crib, an overnight shelter for people 18-24 years old. Housing is also available in North Lawndale at Phoenix Hall.

The Night Ministry's "Open Door" program is the sole location in Chicago that works with pregnant teens or parents as young as 14 years old. In 2016, the organization provided housing to 452 homeless young people and 32 of their children.

There is no shortage of opportunities for Chicagoans to lend their hand to the Night Ministry and its various programs. Volunteers can work on the health outreach bus, serving coffee and cookies while those in need get the medical assistance they need.

Volunteers can also just hang out with the communities the Night Ministry assistswhether that means lending an ear to a teen in need or leading a small group on something you care about.

Late night and early morning volunteers are also always needed at The Crib to help with distributing supplies and offer support and hospitality to those coming to stay. These shifts operate from 7:30-10 a.m. or 8:30-11 p.m.

To begin volunteering, interested people must first attend a training session regardless of whether you're hoping to be on the ground assisting or in an office. Visit thenightministry.org for more information on setting up a training or finding an orientation meeting already in the works.

@shelbielbostedt | sbostedt@redeyechicago.com
Volunteers are sought for archaeological research at Garfield Farm Museum in Kane County. ( Garfield Farm Museum )

Garfield Farm Museum in Kane County is seeking volunteers for help with archeological research.

Volunteers will be under the direction of James R. Yingst, director and chief archeologist of Chicago-based Heartland Archeology Research Program and a research associate in archeology at Garfield Farm Museum. His work is focused on 19th century farm life in northern Illinois.

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Those who enroll for a minimum of 40 hours receive an orientation, training involving rotation through the activities of shovel excavation, screening excavated soil for artifact recovery and washing recovered artifacts. Participants will also receive certificates documenting hours of training and supervised experience in historical archeology, according to organizers.

Volunteers who cannot commit to 40 hours are also welcome to volunteer and will receive informal orientations and participate in archeology tasks, organizers said.

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The archeology team will work on the Culbertson log house and Garfield log tavern at the farm.

The Garfield Farm Museum Archeology Program accepts adult volunteers and volunteers 14 to 17 years old with written parental permission. Volunteers under 14 years old must be accompanied and supervised by an adult at all times.

To register as a participant or to visit the excavation site, contact the museum at 630-584-8485 or info@garfieldfarm.org.

The archeology opportunity is from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from July 19 to 23 and July 26 to 30 at Garfield Farm Museum in La Fox.

Lead safety training in Geneva

The Kane County Healthy Places Coalition will offer free lead safety training from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 18 in Geneva.

The coalition is formed by community participants of various backgrounds, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Kane County Health Department, municipal governments, hospitals, fire departments, community advocacy groups, nonprofits, private corporations and others.

Illinois has higher rates of childhood lead poisoning than any other state, coalition leaders said. Kane County has the fourth-highest county rate of childhood lead poisoning in the state, they said.

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Due to these facts, contractors and renovators that work on homes, schools or daycare centers built before 1978 are legally required to complete EPA Accredited Lead-Safe Training to continue working. Those who do not take the training can be fined up to $37,500 per day, event organizers said.

This free training is offered to contractors, renovators, painters, window installers, maintenance staff, electricians, HVAC specialists, plumbers, floor finishers and other professionals.

Those who take the training can post their business' name on the EPA website as a Lead-Safe Certified Renovation Firm.

Call 312-491-0081 to register for the program.

The training will be held at the Kane County Government Complex Building A, 719 S. Batavia Ave., Geneva.

Shakespeare art interpretations

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Water Street Studio in Batavia will open the new exhibit "Chicago Artists Interpret Shakespeare" Friday.

Friday will feature an opening night reception. Reception attendees can meet the artists while enjoying live music, free food by Gaetano's Batavia and a cash bar, studio officials said.

Those who cannot attend the opening can still enjoy the exhibit from 1 to 9 p.m. Fridays and from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays from July 14 to Aug. 5.

The opening night reception is from 6 to 9 p.m. at Water Street Studios, 160 S. Water St., Batavia.

Got Pulse? Columnist Joy Davis is looking for interesting, quirky and just plain funny stories about people and places in the Fox Valley. Email her at joydavis234@gmail.com.
Alfredo Pedraza Arias, the former Aurora priest charged with fondling two young girls, has been detained by immigration officials and faces deportation to his native Colombia, court records show.

Arias, 50, has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving the girls who were under the age of 6 at the time of the incidents at Sacred Heart Church in Aurora which occurred between 2012 and 2014, according to Kane County prosecutors.

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Arias was free on $50,000 bail until officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him into custody May 4. A month later, on June 14, he was ordered to be deported, court records show.

In light of that, prosecutors have asked Kane County Judge Linda Abrahamson to revoke or increase Arias' bail to ensure he remained in the country for his trial, which originally was scheduled to begin July 31, but has been continued to a yet-to-be-determined date.

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Abrahamson agreed to raise the bail amount by $100,000. Arias is currently being held by ICE at a facility in Kenosha, Wis., records show.

Charged in February 2016, Arias had been out the ministry since October 2014 while police and the Rockford Diocese investigated allegations against him. Arias also worked in Aurora at Our Lady of Good Counsel and with DeKalb's Hispanic Ministry, according to the diocese.

Prosecutors are seeking to introduce a previously uncharged incident involving Arias and a 3-year-old girl during his time in DeKalb, a recently filed motion states. The girl claimed Arias fondled her while her mother attended church, an encounter prosecutors believe is "substantially similar" to the charges against him In Kane County.

"The fact that the uncharged conduct involves a separate victim is not, in and of itself, prejudicial to the defendant," the motion states.

Arias' attorney has not yet filed a response to the request. Arias is scheduled to return to court Aug. 10.

Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
A Holiday Inn Express and Suites hotel is coming to Yorkville.

Lynn Dubajic, Yorkville economic development consultant, confirmed the brand for a multi-story hotel planned north of Route 34 on the west side of Route 47 at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

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She said the official ground-breaking will take place at 4 p.m. Aug. 15.

Kendall Hospitality, LLC is looking to build a four-story, 90-room hotel with a 12,000-square-foot banquet facility on a main lot within Kendall Crossing, which is anchored by NCG Yorkville Cinemas.

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Aldermen in May approved a resolution that allowed the developer to apply for tax increment financing funds. Kendall Crossing is within a tax increment district.

Under a TIF district, the property tax amount that is collected annually and distributed to various taxing bodies is essentially frozen when the district is created.

As property values increase over time with development, the additional tax dollars are placed into a village fund to help finance infrastructure and public improvements within the district.

According to the development agreement, Yorkville agrees to reimburse the developer $700,000 for a portion of the cost of acquisition of the property where the hotel will be built.

The developer will be responsible for acquiring the property and beginning construction before Dec. 31. The project would need to be completed before Dec. 31, 2019, according to the agreement.

Upon opening the facility, the city would be responsible for paying the developer $700,000 in TIF proceeds.

City officials have said the banquet hall would be modeled both in operation and size after the top banquet facilities in the Chicago region.

"We are meeting with the architect next week," Dubajic said.

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Sonny Shah, of Kendall Hospitality, has been in the hospitality business for about 30 years.

Shah said he owns an independent hotel in Gurnee and a Country Inn and Suites in Bensenville and is building a Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Bensenville that is in the final stages.

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
Irvin's hires: I am calling about these two people that (Aurora Mayor) Richard Irvin hired. This (Adrienne) Halloway, $132,496 a year and Michael Pegues, $129,646 a year. That's almost $300,000 a year. We don't need them people. He's the mayor, he should do the job. He doesn't need to hire a chief of innovation or chief technology officer. What the heck is that? That's taking a lot of taxpayers' money. If you don't have the need for money now, put it in savings so it can get interest. When you need the money for the city, you have it. Do not pay to these people for positions that are not necessary for Aurora. That is a waste of taxpayer money.

Why crime flourishes: Crime flourishes in Chicago because of fear. The fear of law enforcement to prosecute and incarcerate criminals. The legal tools to free criminals are so sharp that practically everyone who has committed a crime should be serving 25 years at this moment.

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Scum status: In response to the burglary and criminal damage to property report on Western Avenue in Aurora. Nowadays, where do these scummy people come from? How do you raise a child who has zero compassion and zero regard for anyone at all? How does this happen? The brazen behavior reduces these despicable so called people to scum status. How did these lowlifes get this way?

North Korea a hostile country: I would like to say, first of all, I think the kid is Mr. Warmbier, who came back in a coma from North Korea. My heart goes out to him and especially his family. I understand. I get it. But you have to understand also that you go into a hostile country like North Korea  which you couldn't pay me to go to  you do one thing, one mistake, this is what they will do with you if you are American. The only way America can do anything about this is start a war. Do you want to start a war over one person? I know I don't want one American to die. But, this was pure stupidity. You can be angry with me but it was pure stupidity. This is a ruthless dictator. He kills his own people. What do you think he will do to someone he hates? Someone who he tries to make nuclear weapons to kill them. Do you get what I'm saying?

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Leave streets alone: I don't know about the rest of the citizens of Aurora but in my opinion, they ought not to take that money to change the streets. Why did they stop the two way stops? One lane, two lanes. Make up your mind. Take that money you are going to invest in that and do something about controlling the noise level at River's Edge. The neighbors don't want to hear it. If we did, we would buy a ticket.

Copley building an eyesore: Look at the Copley building and all those broken windows. Why? You can see them from blocks around. It's a view that has destroyed the neighborhood and it is too bad what blatant incompetence passes for public service year after year in Aurora.

A brainstorm: The only brainstorm I have is there is much criticism of Trump but he still won the vote. So there.

Terrorist enjoyed life here: The Islamic terrorist from Canada slipped up in his attempt on the Michigan officer's life. He had the traditional terrorist opportunity, the long knife for the back stab, he had the oath right, "God is great." But when they showed his photo he looked out of shape sort of like he enjoyed the infidel lifestyle too long.

Russian investigation: According to the press, all this investigation into Russia's intervention in the 2016 election has proven that none of the intrusion affected the voter count. Obama was still our leader when this happened, before the election. Why the Democrats did not give it the proper attention is partly because of the access Hollywood tape when Trump made some crude remarks about women. The Democrats are experts from hiding materials from taxpayers. Finally, with the investigation it proves Trump won fair and square without help from Russia. Now it is time to accept him as your president.

Weening off services: Illinois is in the midst of its own Great Depression. A half century of hand out service has brought us to this. Weening the public off the services is like weening off drugs. Meanwhile, the infrastructure is falling apart.

Sending wrong message: I would like to say Mississippi is sending the wrong message. To the state of Mission and the rest of the world: legally discriminating against gay people is just wrong. We already have a president with racial overtones who is bringing all of the swamp people out of the swamp. The GOP like to push their religion. They say they are God's people. I don't see it. God loves everyone. This is not the way our country should be running.

Coffee, newspaper good start to day: The newspaper is very important to me. I have my first cup of coffee and then I go get the newspaper. It is really important to everyone in America. It's information. It's what is going to happen or what is happening. It's news. It's brand new news everyday so it is very important to me.

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Alternative history: Just think how better off North America would be if Europeans never arrived here. Native Americans would occupy all this land. There would not have been slavery and people from Mexico and South American would have no reason to come here.

Children and hunger: Once more, I think it's a sign of bad luck for America. You know, God works in mysterious ways. I can't see our American children not eating. I was poor. We didn't eat all the time too. But there was always tomorrow. I don't see tomorrow for them.

Can't fix stupidity: I wonder if (U.S. House Speaker) Paul Ryan, Sen.ator (Mitch) McConnell and all the Democrats realize that even duct tape can't fix stupidity like they are putting out there. When are they going to wake up? We give $2.3 million to someone's mom and dad because (their son) stole from a store, broke the law and burnt the town down. I can't believe there is so much stupidity in the swamp. Ryan needs to be out of there. McConnell needs to be out there. The Democrats are so far left, they think they are right. Please remind them when you are stuck on stupid, you can't fix stupid. Not even duct tape can fix stupid.

New Trump slogan: I have a new Donald Trump slogan, Let's Bring Love Back to America. The only way we are going to have a great America again is if we genuinely start to care and love one another regardless of what anyone says. As long as we are divided, our country will keep falling. It is the president's job to get us to join as one. I know some people think they are the only ones who should be in this country. But it belongs to every American. And if you want to get technical about it, we took this country. Yes, we took it. Since we have called it ours for so many centuries, let's act the apart and do what's right in this country by bringing it together and trying to live together in harmony instead of living divided and going for each other's throat.

Against God, church: I am calling about your "Church Festival Prompts Tax Talk" story. Do you really mean to tell me after 14 years of doing this, that they never had to get a permit and never had to charge taxes but because someone has a bee in their bonnet, you are going after the church? This is sad. I hope the big guy upstairs is watching you alderman. You are against God and against the church.

TIF costs: The schools are really concerned if there is a tax freeze how much money they will lose. Guess what? The schools, the cities and the counties are really being stupid. If you count up all the money the schools, the parks and all the rest of the taxing bodies are losing due to TIF districts, you will find it is a huge, substantial amount of money. Someone did a study in Chicago and it was millions of dollars. I think it was closer to billions the schools were losing in TIF money. Maybe you ought to do an article on that. In today's paper, article of city of Oswego buying up that Alexander Lumber. The city buys it for a substantial amount of money and it immediately takes the property off the tax rolls. They are buying it for over $1.5 million. Any increase in that value, as long as the city of Oswego owns the property, the money won't go to schools or parks. We spent over a million to buy the property and we won't get any tax money.

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Editor's note

Speak Out is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, call us at 312-222-2460 or email couriernews@tribpub.com. Please include "speak out" in the subject line.
Speaking at a Tuesday morning press conference to announce that Will County has ended veteran homelessness are (from left) County Executive Larry Walsh, Dr. Steven Braverman, director of Hines VA Hospital, Kris White, executive director of Will County Center for Community Concerns, Herb Brooks Jr., Democratic leader of the Will County board, and Randall Vann, an Army veteran who was previously homeless. (Susan DeMar Lafferty / Daily Southtown)

Ronald Vann, who was a homeless Army veteran for several years, will soon mark his first year anniversary in his Joliet apartment.

Vann said he now proudly makes his own coffee and enjoys the "peace and quiet" of having his own place.

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Vann presented his success story Tuesday during a news conference where officials announced that they ended homelessness in Will County for veterans.

The county became the 50th community in the nation to achieve that goal, as confirmed by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Vann, 60, is one of 107 homeless veterans who were able to get permanent housing since the beginning of 2016 through the Will County Continuum of Care. The Continuum provides outreach, emergency shelter, counseling, and supportive services to takes vets from homelessness to self-sufficiency.

The Continuum is led by the Will County Center for Community Concerns and is comprised of several agencies, including Will County's Veterans Assistance Commission and its Land Use Department, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet, Hines VA Hospital, Family and Friends Adult Day Center, Joliet Neighborhood Services, Joliet Police, Joliet Public Library, Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans, Morning Star Mission, Cornerstone Services, and Veterans Assistance Commissions in Grundy and Kendall Counties.

Together, they have a vision to end homelessness, and when it does occur, to make sure it is "rare, brief and non-recurring," officials said.

Officials said they have identified homeless veterans, and pooled their resources to quickly find them short term and permanent housing, and provide other needed services to assist them and prevent them from becoming homeless in the future.

"I truly believe the secret to our success is the continued commitment of working together," said Will County Executive Larry Walsh, declaring it a "great day" for the county during the news conference at the county office building in Joliet.

"Our veterans have made significant sacrifices to insure our country's freedom. Helping them find a permanent home is the least we can do to honor their service," Walsh said.

Kris White, executive director of the Center for Community Concerns, called the achievement a "wonderful milestone."

The Continuum was created in 1997 and with all these partners, it has created a comprehensive and "systematic response" to veterans who are homeless, she said.

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But representatives of the federal agencies also said their work is not done.

While acknowledging that becoming a community to end homelessness is a "big deal," Jennifer Rich, communications director for the US Interagency Council on Homelessness, said there is "plenty of work ahead of us."

"Because of you, we know what work we need to do, and who we need to bring together" to create a systematic response in every community, she said.

"We can end homelessness for veterans and all Americans," Rich said.

Jack Picciolo, director of Will County's VAC, said while they did "functionally end veteran homelessness," there are homeless vets still out there.

"We have housing available for all our known veterans, but some decline the housing available," he said.

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Vann said when he arrived at Hines he was determined not to turn back, but to do "whatever they tell me." He said he battled drug addiction of 20 years.

"I thank Hines for giving veterans the opportunity, if they want it," he said. Vann then went to Safe Haven in Chicago, which provides transitional housing for veterans, then came to Family and Friends in Joliet for four years and Morning Star Mission for nine months.

The VAC provided him with food and transportation vouchers.

"I used every opportunity that was applied on my behalf," he said.

Catherine Beavers, who worked with Vann while he was at Family and Friends in Joliet, said, "he is a totally different person."

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Not only has he been able to keep his own apartment, but he helps seniors in his area, she said.

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Her agency helps their clients get healthy, finds them housing and then follows up to make sure they continue to be self-sufficient.

Vann said he never wants to go back to his previous lifestyle, when he was living in garages and abandoned buildings and focusing on how to get drugs. His next goal is to get his driver's license  for the first time in 30 years  and get a vehicle. He currently travels by bike.

He would like to work, but is currently unable to for health reasons, he said. So, for now, he is able to live on his compensation from the Army and Supplemental Security Income for disabled adults.

"Veterans need to get their health together first, then they can take care of themselves," he said. "That was the first thing I did. You can think better when you're healthy."

slafferty@tribpub.com

Twitter @SusanLaff
The developer of the Ninety 7 Fifty on the Park apartments and Orland Park have agreed to an early termination of a financing arrangement used to build the project. (Mike Nolan/Daily Southtown) (Mike Nolan/Daily Southtown )

Orland Park trustees have accepted a $50.5 million buyout from the developer of the upscale Ninety 7 Fifty on the Park apartments, ending the village's ownership in the project.

Papers finalizing the agreement could be signed by Friday, according to Joe La Margo, interim village manager.

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In a move that was criticized at the time, Orland Park essentially served as lender for the 295-unit development, which was the first piece of the village's Main Street Triangle vision.

Directly northwest of the intersection of 143rd Street and Ravinia Avenue, Ninety 7 Fifty opened to tenants in the summer of 2014 and was 93 percent occupied by September of that year, according to Joseph Pilewski of Pilewski & Associates, a financial consultant hired by the village to study the buyout offer.

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The developer of the Ninety 7 Fifty on the Park apartments and Orland Park have agreed to an early termination of a financing arrangement used to build the project. (Mike Nolan/Daily Southtown) (Susan DeMar Lafferty/Daily Southtown )

Through a bank revolving line of credit, the village made available $38 million for the developer, Flaherty & Collins, to tap into to cover construction costs, and the village provided another $25 million in gap financing incentives. The developer's initial contribution as part of the public-private partnership was $2 million, with the financing agreement with the village calling for the company to make regular payments to the village.

Under terms of that agreement, the Indianapolis-based company would have repaid all of its financial obligations to the village no later than four years from now.

The village began talks last October with Flaherty & Collins about the early termination of the partnership. Those discussions didn't produce an offer acceptable to village officials, La Margo said Tuesday.

In May, before leaving office after losing April's mayoral election to Keith Pekau, then-Mayor Dan McLaughlin urged in a memo to the Village Board that the improved offer of $50.5 million from the developer be "seriously considered."

Ending the village's ownership position would "allow the village to reduce our debt load and enhance our cash flow, while also knowing that we participated in an extremely successful project," McLaughlin wrote in the memo.

During his run for mayor, Pekau had been critical of the village's debt burden, blaming the financing arrangements for Ninety 7 Fifty as a major contributor to the total.

In a news release from the village announcing the acceptance of the buyout offer, approved by trustees at a special Village Board meeting Monday, Pekau said that doing so reduces the village's debt, "improves our liquidity and removes the significant risk the village has as owners/investors in the property."

The village sold bonds to pay off the initial bank loan, and some of the money from the buyout by Flaherty & Collins will be set aside to pay off principal and interest on the bonds, La Margo said.

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The developer of the Ninety 7 Fifty on the Park apartments and Orland Park have agreed to an early termination of a financing arrangement used to build the project. (Mike Nolan/Daily Southtown) (Susan DeMar Lafferty/Daily Southtown )

In his analysis, Joseph Pilewski noted that the village's estimate of a net gain of $2.7 million from the project might be conservative, and could actually be closer to $6.8 million.

The apartments are part of the larger Main Street tax increment financing district, created in October 2004 and due to expire in October 2027. Incremental increases in property tax revenue from development in the triangle are earmarked for things, such as debt service and financing public improvements, such as new streets and utility lines, in the TIF.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Orland Park officials approved the financing deal with Flaherty & Collins in 2011 as part of a public-private partnership that leveraged the village's strong borrowing position.

Residents at the time were concerned that should the project not be as successful as hoped, taxpayers would be on the hook for repaying tens of millions of dollars in bond debt.

Given the still-shaky economy at the time the financing package was approved, village officials wanted Orland Park to be in a position of financial control to pick up the pieces should the developer falter, and to be in a position to decide what was built there. The thinking was that if a developer were to obtain financing on its own and run into trouble, the project could be half-finished and end up in the hands of a bank or other lender.

La Margo said the apartments are 96 percent occupied and there is a waiting list.

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"We know this is one of their (Flaherty & Collins') most successful developments of this kind," he said.

mnolan@tribpub.com

Twitter @mnolan_J
Bethany Church member Jan Heniff (left) and her daughter Melissa Heniff stand in front of a Compassion International truck that visited the Beverly church recently. Jan Heniff agreed to sponsor Elmer, the boy whose picture she is holding. (Patti Ahern/Daily Southtown )

Community members were given a glimpse into life in the Dominican Republic recently when Compassion International, an organization that rescues children from poverty, visited Bethany Union Church in the Beverly community of Chicago.

The result of the visit was that 65 children were sponsored, which means that about $30,000 was pledged to help children in need.

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Compassion workers travel around the country and set up a truck trailer bed to look very much like a typical home in an impoverished nation. The truck that stopped at Bethany Union gave a glimpse into the life of Yannely, a young girl in the Dominican Republic who had very little chance to attend school. An American sponsor, however, signed on to help Yannely, and today she is a successful doctor who gives back to her community.

Nora Beswick, the tour manager for Compassion International, said there are eight mobile teams that travel on a four weeks on, and one week off schedule. Established in 1952, Compassion International started when an American evangelist wanted to save children who were affected by the Korean conflict. According to the organization's website, since that time, nearly two million children in 25 countries have been helped by Compassion.

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Those who agree to help a child commit to sharing $38 per month. According to Beswick, 83 percent of the money collected goes to the children, with the rest going to the administrative and organization costs of Compassion International.

"The money donated goes to a project center in the country that receives funds," Beswick said. "After that, the project center sits down with the family and makes sure the money is spent responsibly."

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

According to the Compassion website, children average about 4,000 hours participating in the organization's programs, and each child is 50 percent more likely to graduate college, and 35 percent more likely to find white-collar employment as an adult.

Visitors to the truck trailer wore headphones that described the various settings that were made to look like Yannely's home in the Dominican Republic. Yannely's voice narrated the settings, and at the end, Yannely's was shown working with children in the Dominican Republic.

Beswick said people who sponsor a child can write letters and be in contact with the child for the entire time of the sponsorship. Generally, sponsors agree to stay with a child until the child is 22.

Bethany member Jan Heniff, a retired teacher from Alsip, agreed to sponsor a child named Elmer, and said she did not mind the long term commitment because she felt it was important to help people.

"I was impressed by what was presented about Elmer, and it is God's will to help others. I think I will write a letter this week to Elmer, and send a picture."

Compassion International is based in Colorado. More information about the organization is at www.compassion.com. Bethany Union Church is at 1750 W. 103rd St. More information about the church is on its Facebook page.

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Patti Ahern is a freelance columnist and can be emailed at PattiRMA@aol.com.
Normally, I don't agree with any liberal Democratic agenda. However, I agree with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer when he said, "if I were a Republican, I wouldn't want to go home either." It's got to be genetics. Whether federal or state, if their shirts didn't have starch, they couldn't stand upright. Federally, they've got complete majority in all branches but still can't decide on anything. In Illinois, 15 Republican politicians "caved." At least some, if not all, put either themselves or their districts over our state and our kids futures. Sickening. We're no longer the U.S.A. We now should be called, the Divided States of America.

Bob, Oak Forest

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Remember back in the 1980's when former President Ronald Reagan told a heckler to shut up. The cable news networks would have a field day with that one.

Oak Forest

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I was listening to Democrat Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle saying she would have to layoff many Cook County employees if soda tax doesn't go through. Well, Preckwinkle it's you and your party's over spend and taking care of your special interest groups that put crook county in this position. Easy solution, stop voting Democrat.

Why are people complaining about Democrats and other calls to resist the policies our current president? That's what the Republicans did for eight years with President Barack Obama. Whether a policy might have been good for the country or not, a big "no" was all they came up with  no discussion or trying to compromise. . . Last time I looked, Republicans control Congress and the White House. If they can't get anything done, they have no one to blame but themselves.

Chicago

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.
Volunteers from Hanover Township Emergency Services helped secure an area in Elgin that included St. Charles Avenue and Dwight Street, where power lines had fallen and trees were damage. (Handout / Caleb Hanson)

Elgin and the rest of the Chicago area was hit by a series of storms that produced heavy rains and strong wind Tuesday night into Wednesday and Algonquin officials are warning residents about flooding on the Fox River.

Storms moved in to the area about 10 p.m. Tuesday and continued through Wednesday morning, triggering reports of multiple lightning strikes and downed power lines.

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A power outage left an area near the Grand Victoria Casino downtown along the Fox River in the dark.

The National Weather Service predicts the Fox River cresting at 13.3 feet at noon on Saturday, according to a news release from the Village of Algonquin. As of 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, the river was at a 9.95 feet, which will begin to cause minor flooding in the floodplain.

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Algonquin officials issued a notice to residents in the floodplain that a flood with the potential to damage property is likely and that sandbagging is encouraged. Sandbags will be available for residents at various locations adjacent to the flood plain areas, according to the release.

The Elgin Fire Department responded to about 45 calls in an approximate 3-hour window Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. Most calls were about arcing or fallen power lines. According to the department, a normal 24-hour shift would see 28 to 37 calls for service.

The hardest hit area was south of Walnut Avenue/National Street and just south of Route 20 from approximately Wilcox Avenue to Liberty Street, according to a statement from the Elgin Fire Department. There were also multiple trees and power lines down south of Walnut and east of Wilcox, according to the Fire Department.

"For a period of time during the storm, we ran out of fire apparatus to send, so Fire Chief (Dave) Schmidt and Assistant Chief (Robb) Cagann responded to multiple wires down calls to assist," said Battalion Chief Terry Bruce.

According to Bruce there were no injuries and no building fires in Elgin during the storms.

"We requested assistance from Public Works for barricades as well as Hanover Township Emergency Services to stand by the live power lines down until Com Ed corrected the problem," he said.

One member of the Fire Department's Community Emergency Response Team assisted.

Caleb Hanson, facilities manager for YWCA Elgin and the volunteer Deputy Director of Hanover Township Emergency Services, said 10 members of the Hanover Township Emergency Services have been helping during the recent storms. He started himself last night as a weather spotter before 9:45 p.m., assisted with two flooded basements in Bartlett, then headed to help secure an area in Elgin at Bluff City Boulevard and St. Charles Avenue where falling tree limbs downed power lines. He has been at this spot as of midnight and was still there after 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

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As the peak of the bad weather, Hanover Township Emergency Services members were at five Elgin locations watching over downed power lines and were still at two spots after 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Another round of storms hit Elgin area Wednesday morning, with the weather expected to clear for a time this afternoon and more storms predicted for later in the afternoon and the evening.

mdanahey@tribpub.com
A 200-unit senior housing complex has been proposed for Oak Brook by a company that already has about 50 senior communities open in Illinois and operates more than 180 in 30 states.

Senior Lifestyle wants to develop a $77 million, high-end, five-story development at 2100 and 2122 York Road, which is along Clearwater Drive, between York Road and 22nd Street.

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The company's proposal includes 119 independent living units, with rents starting at $4,000 a month; 66 units licensed for assisted living, with monthly rents ranging from $5,800 to $6,500; and 15 licensed memory care units, with rents starting at $7,000 a month.

Plans call for 385 parking spaces, including the preservation of 173 existing spots for adjacent retail stores, along with new parking both underground and at grade level.

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Representatives of Senior Lifestyle presented their plan to the Oak Brook Village Board Tuesday as a first step. Board members asked only a couple of questions and provided no feedback about the development.

The Plan Commission likely will hear the company's proposal in August, followed by consideration by the Zoning Board of Appeals in September and back to the Village Board for final consideration.

"We'd love to start construction in 2018 if everything goes smoothly," said Bob Gawronski, vice president of development and acquisition for Senior Lifestyle. "We think this is a great location for what we want to develop. Oak Brook doesn't have anything like this for seniors."

The Sheridan at Oak Brook, as it has been named by Senior Lifestyle, would employ more than 100 people, Gawronski said, and generate an anticipated $540,000 annually in real estate taxes after achieving stabilized occupancy.

"I know the village does not collect property taxes, but most of this tax revenue would go to schools," Gawronski said.

Elmhurst Unit District 205 would be the recipient of nearly 84 percent of generated tax revenue from the development, according to information from Senior Lifestyle.

cfieldman@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @chuckwriting
A new mural on La Grange's West End depicts angel wings and an uplifting message.

"Everything we hear is so negative. It's nice to be positive," said Gayle Prior who, along with Zenia McBride, oversaw the creation of the mural on the side of a building at 703 W. Hillgrove Ave.

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McBride is a teacher at Park Junior High and Prior is a substitute teacher there.

The wall art features three pairs of angel wings and the words "Believe there is good in the world" and "Be the Good" against a striped background of white, pink, turquoise and gray.

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The wings are placed at different heights with the idea the people will stand against the wings and have their pictures taken.

The building is owned by Nancy Allodi, who also owns the Vintage Charm stores in La Grange and Clarendon Hills. She got the idea to create a mural while visiting Los Angeles, where she said a lot of walls are decorated with artwork.

She wanted to turn the brick wall into something that would prompt people to stop, take a photo and share it on social media.

"It brings joy to people and people like taking pictures," she said. "With the popularity of Instagram people are looking for interesting places to take pictures."

McBride and Prior got help from some of their students to complete the mural.

"It's out of school and it's something to do with your friends," said 14-year-old Catherine Fisher of La Grange.

"There aren't a lot of opportunities to do this. I like being able to do projects with friends," said Victoria Lozano, a 14-year-old from Brookfield.

McBride said the mural was also a way for students to learn about how art is created in the real world with conversations between the artist and the person who commissioned it, the exchange of ideas and the sun beating down as they worked outdoors.

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"It's real life. It's a lot of back and forth," McBride said.

The mural was originally designed with two sets of wings but a third was added so people of nearly any height can have their photo snapped looking as if they are a heavenly being.

"So now we've got everybody covered unless you're 6-foot-5," McBride said.

As photos are snapped against the mural as a backdrop and shared on social media, Allodi hopes it will bring more awareness of the West End.

"It's something that will bring more vibrancy to the community," she said.

amannion@chicagotribune.com

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The Illinois Tollway Authority is extending a barrier wall to an existing one on the Tri-State Tollway from westbound Grand Avenue in Gurnee. (Dan Moran / Lake County News-Sun )

Construction is set to begin next week on an extension of a barrier wall on the Tri-State Tollway at Grand Avenue in Gurnee to improve traffic flow and enhance safety, according to the Illinois Tollway Authority.

When the new project is finished in 2018, tollway officials say, anyone driving toward Wisconsin on the Tri-State who wants to exit to go either east on Grand toward Great America or west on Grand toward Gurnee Mills will be behind a barrier wall that presently only exists for people exiting to go east.

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The barrier wall will also extend further north along the tollway so that eastbound Grand Avenue traffic looking to go north to Wisconsin will have a longer acceleration lane and will be behind the new extension of the barrier wall.

Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik said the improvements are necessary.

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"We applaud them for recognizing the need to do something different out there," she said, adding that there are lots of fender benders as slow traffic meets tollway traffic operating at a higher speed.

"People are not respectful when exiting and entering the tollway," she said, adding that motorists planning to exit the tollway and go west on Grand "will have to plan sooner (because) both will be behind the barrier wall."

According to Kovarik, the other safety improvement is for traffic exiting the eastbound lanes of Grand Avenue to go north towards Wisconsin.

"If you are looking to go northbound, you will have a longer acceleration lane," she said, which will also be behind the new barrier wall.

"They just needed a better configuration," she said.

A tollway news release said that electronic message signs and construction signage will be put in place in advance to alert drivers to traffic shifts and closures needed throughout construction, including closure of the ramp connecting eastbound Grand to westbound I-94, with a posted detour scheduled to begin July 17.

In addition, construction will also include shoulder work, roadway lighting, drainage and signage improvements, ramp maintenance, pavement marking and landscaping. All work is scheduled to be complete in spring 2018.

"The decision point for all drivers exiting to Grand Avenue will occur well ahead of both the exit ramp to eastbound Grand Avenue and the exit ramp to westbound Grand Avenue, and the new lane will provide additional space for exiting traffic to queue on the ramp side of the barrier wall if needed," according to the tollway news release.

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The authority noted that long-term lane closures and traffic shifts will be needed on I-94, and there will be lane reductions on the ramp carrying westbound I-94 traffic to eastbound Grand Avenue toward Great America.

"Improvements on the Tri-State Tollway and Grand Avenue Interchange are necessary to provide safe and convenient travel for Tollway customers. The work is funded by the Illinois Tollway's 15-year, $14 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future," the news release said.

The Grand/Tri-State area has been the scene of numerous accidents, including serious ones like a collision last fall that occurred as traffic began to slow down while exiting onto eastbound Grand.

In the Sept. 19 incident, which occurred in the far right lane, a semitractor-trailer traveling on the tollway about 3:40 p.m. plowed into vehicles slowing for backed-up traffic to go east on Grand, according to Illinois State Police.

The truck didn't slow down before the crash, causing a violent chain reaction that sent one car airborne and overturned another, according to a state police news release at the time. Six vehicles were involved and eight people, including the truck driver, were taken to area hospitals, according to state police.

fabderholden@tribpub.com

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Torrential rains pounded Lake County overnight Tuesday into the Wednesday morning commute, with flash flooding closing major roadways, shutting down Six Flags Great America and the College of Lake County, swamping basements and forcing the evacuation of residences from Mundelein to Fox Lake.

Flooding continued as the first wave of overnight storms was compounded by another set of storms that moved through at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday followed by a third at noon.

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For some Lake County residents experiencing flooding, it wasa matter of waiting for the water to retreat, so they could take stock of the damage.

The National Weather Service maintained a flood warning during the day for southern Lake County and along the Des Plaines River, which, like the nearby Fox River, saw levels rise significantly during the rainfall.

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The Des Plaines River was projected to rise above record levels Thursday afternoon, according to the NWS. The Gurnee location reached 10.5 feet Wednesday afternoon and is projected to rise another 2 feet, topping the 11.9-foot record.

An alert to Gurnee residents sent at 8 a.m. Wednesday said the village was "in an emergency flood response."

The statement added that sandbagging supplies are available to residents at the Public Works Facility, 1151 Kilbourne Road.

Riverwoods officials also warned residents who live near the Des Plaines River that a significant amount of water was expected to travel downriver as evening approached.

Sandbags were set to be delivered to Riverwoods Village Hall, 300 Portwine Road, and instructions were sent to residents with directions on how to pick up the bags.

The early morning activity included trained spotters with the NWS reporting that flooding 8 to 10 inches deep was recorded at West Division Street and North Lincoln Avenue in Mundelein at 6 a.m., with "numerous houses flooded and people rescued by rafts."

By 9:15 a.m., about 40 were at the Mundelein police station in a makeshift shelter, said Eric Guenther, Mundelein's director of public safety.

Two apartment buildings had to be evacuated with the help of a raft that carried three to four at a time, Guenther said.

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An apartment building at 200 N. Lake St. that houses senior citizens was evacuated at 3:30 a.m., Guenther said, saying everyone was evacuated by raft.

Another apartment building at 361 S. Walnut St. was evacuated by 8:30 a.m., Guenther said. That building was flooded after an adjacent retention pond overflowed.

"Those people couldn't stay in their apartments because water had risen above electrical outlets and compromised the entire electrical system," Guenther said. "It created a serious safety risk."

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 82 The home of Marty Evanson sustained extensive damage over the last several days as a result of flooding along West Anchorage Lane in Fox Lake on Thursday, July 20, 2017. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

Nearly the entire Mundelein police and fire departments were on duty. He said the department held over overnight shifts and called in daytime shifts early.

One Mundelein firefighter was sent to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for exhaustion. No residents needed medical aid, Guenther said.

In Fox Lake, Deputy Fire Chief Ed Lescher said a man who thought he was struck by lightning called for help in the 33500 block of Route 12 Wednesday.

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"He was awake and talking. We're not sure if he was struck or it just struck near him and he felt the jolt," Lescher said, adding that the man did not have any burns.

Lescher said the lake and river levels in and around Fox Lake are at flood stage with more rain possibly on the way.

"We have gotten a lot of rain. We have sand and sand bags at the public works department, and volunteers are filling them now," he said Wednesday afternoon.

While Fox Lake reported no other injuries, first responders did rescue people from flooded homes on the north side of Long Lake and other areas. They were also assisting gas and electrical crews with shutting off power and gas to the homes where they rescued people.

Fox Lake Village Administrator Anne Marrin said while lake and river levels are rising, it's the surface water that posed a problem along Grand Avenue, Route 12 and Rollins Road.

"We are watching the lake and river levels," she said, adding that New Munster in southeast Wisconsin got 7.2 inches of rain upriver from the Chain O'Lakes. It usually can take a day or two for rainfall in Wisconsin to show up in Lake County's waterway levels.

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John Hartl of C.J. Smith Resort on Grass Lake, part of the Chain O'Lakes, had to close his business Wednesday morning because his docks and boat ramp were under water.

He said in a Facebook post that he had never seen the lake levels rise so fast, and it was starting to creep toward the resort cabins on his property. The business was first established in 1929.

According to the Fox Waterway Agency, the entire waterway system of lakes and the Fox River were in a no-wake phase Wednesday, and there is a debris advisory out.

Waterway officials reported there are submerged docks on the Chain, and there have been boats that pulled free from moorings and were drifting.

Waterlogged homes

Diane O'Brien, who lives a block from the Mundelein police station, was outside when the fire department had to use boats to rescue senior citizens from a nearby facility.

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"I saw them evacuated," she said. "The water came in from outside because it had nowhere to go. We tried to keep people from trying to drive through."

Her basement had 8 feet of water in it at one point y Wednesday, she said. She tried to reserve a pump at 3 a.m. from a local rental company, but when she arrived, they had rented them all.

"This is a record," said O'Brien, who has lived in Mundelein 35 years. "I've never seen this much water and rain. ... It just didn't stop. It was amazing."

She said she was thinking about going to a hotel, and her husband, out of town on business, was trying to get back home.

"Everything is gone from the basement  the furnace, hot water heater, washer and dryer. It really stinks," she said.

By 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, business at the Lake Forest True Value Hardware, 825 S. Waukegan Road, was four times what it normally is, and gear to help combat flooding was selling out, said the store's manager Chris Morgan.

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"We're out of everything I can think of," Morgan said. "Floor fans, shop vacs, submersible pumps, sump pumps. I have a guy headed to my warehouse to refill my shelves. When its treacherous for everyone else, it's good for hardware stores."

The village of Gurnee warned in a Wednesday statement that anyone with flooded basements to contact the village or ComEd to have the power disconnected before entering the basement.

Traffic swamped

Flooding also snarled Wednesday morning rush hour and kept roads backed up through the morning.

A portion of Route 45 near Division Street in Mundelein was closed during the early morning and was briefly reopened before a second wave of storms rolled in at 9 a.m and closed the road again, Guenther said.

Portions of Allanson Road in Mundelein were closed, and two blocks of Division Street were under water, Guenther said, adding that "we've got disabled vehicles all over town."

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In Lake Forest, Deputy Police Chief Rob Copeland said public works employees were called in at 3 a.m. to assist with closing down flooded roads.

"We're just trying to control traffic," Copeland said.

Among the most heavily flooded intersections in Lake Forest were Deerpath Road and Route 41, Owentsia Road and Poplar Court, and Westleigh Road near Woodlands Academy.

"Anywhere with low-lying areas is flooded out," Copeland said. "A lot of driveways on Waukegan Road are flooded, and people can't get back to their houses."

Two vehicles that attempted to drive through standing water flooded and stalled, Copeland said. The stalled vehicles were stuck on Route 41 near the Owentsia Road curve and Westleigh near Woodlands Academy, he said.

Farther south in Lake County, the city of Highland Park reported some roads in the Centennial Park neighborhood north of Half Day Road and just east of Route 41 were impassable as of 11 a.m.

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The city also warned against using Trailway Street from Half Day Road to Parkside Avenue and closed the southern end of Summit Avenue. The area lies near the Skokie River watershed.

Other roads closed Wednesday morning in Highland Park included Tanglewood Court north of Lake Cook Road, York Lane near Berkeley and Ridge roads, and Briargate Drive, which runs along the Middlefork of the North Branch of the Chicago River, according to an alert.

The Lake County Division of Transportation reported that major road closures during the morning included Route 41 at Westleigh Road in Lake Forest; sections of Route 45 including at Peterson Road in Libertyville and at Gages Lake Road in Gages Lake; Route 120 at Hunt Club Road in Gurnee; and several sections of Route 137 including between Route 21 and St. Mary's Road in Libertyville and Green Oaks.

Weather also shut down both inbound and outbound Metra trains on the Milwaukee District North line between Fox Lake and Libertyville temporarily, according to a Metra alert. Some shuttle service was provided between Lake Forest to Chicago.

At Six Flags Great America on the west side of Gurnee, officials posted a statement on park's website Wednesday afternoon that the park had closed for the day.

"Due to flooding in the surrounding area, we made the decision to close the park today at 1 p.m." park spokeswoman Tess Claussen said in a statement. "The park is not flooded, and we plan to reopen as normal for our guests (Thursday)."

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Regional flooding and the threat of more rain late Wednesday prompted College of Lake County officials to cancel afternoon and evening classes at all three campuses, Grayslake, Vernon Hills and Waukegan.

"The College of Lake County is canceling classes with a start time of 2:30 p.m. or later today at its three campuses," CLC officials said in a statement, adding that all campuses would close by 4 p.m.

Also closing its doors was the Warren Newport Library on O'Plaine Road in Gurnee, which announced that it would close at 5 p.m. Wednesday, remain closed all day Thursday and re-open on Friday at 9 a.m.

Pioneer Press reporters Karen Berkowitz, Rick Kambic and Mark Lawton contributed.

Twitter @NewsSun
Tow truck operators fetch out two vehicles that were stuck on a flooded McKinley Avenue in Libertyville, Wednesday, July 12. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune )

Although emergency officials were monitoring local rain levels by Tuesday, a revised weather report issued at 4 a.m. Wednesday by the National Weather Service spurred the full activation of the Lake County Emergency Management Agency.

With an operations headquarters located near downtown Libertyville, the agency  which includes the county, the Lake County Health Department and the Lake County Sheriff's Office among its partners  is a resource point for municipalities responding to flooded streets, stranded motorists and overwhelmed homeowners.

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Deputy County Administrator Amy McEwan, stationed at the emergency management operations center Wednesday, said that by Wednesday afternoon, the agency had distributed more than 45,000 sandbags across flooded areas of the county, and provided a boat for rescues in the Round Lake area.

Even as the sun was shining for a period Wednesday afternoon, McEwan said officials were aware more rain was likely and the agency would continue ramping up its services.

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Patryk, right, and Andy fill sandbags for a friends flooded house on Wednesday, July 12, in Libertyville. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune )

"We're going to keep filling sandbags," she said, referring to machines used by the agency which can fill the bags much more quickly than volunteers.

McEwan said the flash flooding across the county, caused by the quick accumulation of rain totals of up to 8 inches in northern areas, could diminish quickly when the rain stops. But then, she said, officials must turn their attention to the Des Plaines and other rivers that will be rising over the next several days.

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said Wednesday's flooding is some of the worst he has seen in Lake County, especially with regard to the number of areas affected.

"Problems are all over," Curran said. "Nobody's immune."

Curran added that his office received more than 100 calls on the flooding by mid-morning Wednesday, including issues such as "cars stuck in water, people stuck in water" and trees and power lines down.

"I don't want to make it sound like dramatic rescues, but we've had to pull some people from flooded areas," he said, adding that he was not aware of any significant injuries.

In addition to numerous side streets, Curran said portions of major routes such as 41, 43, 45 and 137 became impassable due to water Wednesday.

Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor said the Emergency Management Agency was running potential stormwater models involving actual and predicted rain patterns in southern Wisconsin and Lake County to aid in projecting when river flooding may occur. Early results point to Friday, he said.

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McEwan said the projection models were suggesting Des Plaines River flooding Friday and into the weekend depending on the location.

During the last extreme flood in Lake County in 2013, Lawlor said, emergency management personnel predicted the river's flood crest level within a quarter of an inch.

McEwan said areas requesting sandbags from the agency included Gurnee, Mundelein, the Round Lake areas and North Chicago. Sandbagging was also taking place Wednesday at the Des Plaines River levee in unincorporated North Libertyville Estates, she said.

While the flooding is likely to result in a request that Lake County be declared a disaster area, Lawlor said "a declaration is made as soon as we have estimated potential total damage and feel we will meet federal standards for reimbursement (from the Federal Emergency Management Agency)."

The emergency management operations center is expected to remain open throughout periods of both flash flooding and river flooding over the coming days.

jrnewton@tribpub.com

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A view in May 2017 shows a narrow strip of beach in the northern section of Illinois Beach State Park, where decades of erosion on the Lake Michigan shore have diminished sand and narrowed the beaches. Visible in the water art portions of an old pier, built by the U.S. Army when the site was part of Camp Logan during the first and second world wars. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune )

Seems Lake Michigan is back in vogue.

For a while there, I was worried we forgot about that bold blue body of water where a blaze-orange sun rises on most cloudless mornings.

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The Big Lake has been abused in so many ways over the centuries since Pere Marquette and Louis Jolliet first arrived on the western shore in the fall of 1673 at what would become Little Fort.

Lake Michigan for a time was used not only as a sewer, but a catch basin for a smorgasbord of industrial pollutants; its shoreline from North Chicago to Zion is a burial ground for asbestos and spent nuclear fuel. It has withstood an oil spill from a BP refinery in Indiana; it struggles against invasive species.

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That's the bad news. The good news is that in the early decades of the 21st century, we're paying attention to the consequences of not treating the lake like a member of the family.

Perhaps it's the Trump administration's all-out attack on environmental policies that were steadily strengthened over the decades since the federal Environmental Protection Agency was created by President Nixon. Maybe it's knowing that if you live inland in Lindenhurst or Round Lake Beach, your water comes via a long pipeline from Lake Michigan to the kitchen tap.

With lake water, you're now invested in keeping the icemaker filled with fresh cubes from a nice and clean body of water. Or, you like catching and eating salmonoids from Lake Michigan which haven't been swimming around in a soup of leftover polychlorinated biphenyls.

In the last month, there have been at least five front-page newspaper stories concerning Lake Michigan. They've ranged from the discovery of an exotic Asian carp mere miles from the lake; to how shifting sands along the shoreline clog not only the mouth of Waukegan Harbor, but the water pipe which supplies potable water to Zion, Winthrop Harbor and Illinois Beach State Park; to rising lake water levels.

One day, there were two front-page stories about issues affecting Lake Michigan: A nest of endangered common terns was found near Waukegan Municipal Beach; another detailed protests in Lake Bluff, Lake Forest and Waukegan calling for increased clean-water funding via the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

It is the future of the Restoration Initiative that has folks worried about what will happen to not only Lake Michigan but the other Great Lakes, which contain 95 percent of North America's freshwater surface. In its initial budget, the Trump administration wants to gut funding to the Restoration Initiative.

Lake County News Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Freshman U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, the top Democrat on a Senate subcommittee which deals with fisheries, wildlife and water, and U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Deerfield, both have said they will fight to fully fund the clean water initiative.

Duckworth's predecessor, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park, was a strong advocate of Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes. It appears Duckworth is following a similar path. She recently signed a bipartisan letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt calling for the full funding of the Restoration Initiative since the Trump administration's proposed budget cuts.

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Duckworth and Schneider are but two Illinois voices in Congress when it comes to protecting Lake Michigan. The state's entire congressional delegation needs to get on board and support fully funding the Restoration Initiative.

Even those Downstaters who already know all about Asian carp invading the Illinois River, which eventually feeds into the Big Lake. Despite geographic distances, we're all connected via water.

Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.

sellenews@gmail.com

Twitter @sellenews
I purchased a recliner from the La-Z-Boy store in Monmouth Junction, N.J., on July 31, 2013. When it was delivered in September, there was a problem with the way the fabric was put on the back of the chair so I called and complained. It was picked up and delivered again in October but they sent me the exact same chair with the exact same problems  nothing had been done! The chair also did not recline properly and kept making a loud thump when pulled up (which never went away). It was picked up again and returned. But then I had to schedule service on the mechanism. A technician came on Nov. 29, 2013, to repair the problem.

I am now having a problem again. When I recline the chair, it does not stay in position. So I had to call La-Z-Boy's Comfort Care department and they told me the parts and mechanism have a lifetime warranty, but I had to pay $116.49 to have the problem assessed and repaired. I had to give them payment right there, over the phone, for them to send someone out.

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I have been extremely unhappy from the start and I do not think I should have to pay $116.49 to have the chair repaired. I thought it would last for a very long time. I had one before (not a La-Z-Boy) that lasted for over 15 years. The quality of La-Z-Boy's product is not as they advertise

Do you have any suggestion for getting the service fee waived?

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Liz, Monroe Township, N.J.

My initial guess was that Liz's recliner has a limited lifetime warranty that covers parts for a longer period than labor. To confirm, I emailed Amy Hellebuyck, La-Z-Boy residential manager for brand content and public relations. She responded that yes, the cost of labor had expired from Liz's warranty and that was why she incurred a $116.49 charge.

Hellebuyck explained the warranty specific to Liz's recliner:

"La-Z-Boy offers a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects on the parts of the frame, mechanism and springs, for as long as the original purchaser owns the product and can supply their proof of purchase. Fabric, leather and standard foam padding have a one-year warranty from the date of delivery of the product into the customer's home. Labor to repair or replace any parts is covered for one year from the date of delivery."

She additionally offered to refund Liz her $116.49 labor fee "because customer service is very important to La-Z-Boy."

Liz responded, "Thank you so much for your help. It is nice to know there are people out there that still care."

As a result of Liz's inquiry, I decided to contact an expert on warranties: Anthony Giorgianni, Consumer Reports finance editor. Giorgianni was a fount of warranty information. Below are some of his best pointers.

 Per the Federal Trade Commission, all retailers must make warranties available to consumers prior to a product's purchase. Request it if you don't see it.

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 Just about every product purchase comes with an implied warranty  or warranty of merchantability  which means a product will do what a reasonable person would expect it to. This warranty is typically in effect for four years, and exists unless legally excluded. Several states, including Illinois, allow such exclusions, meaning a product can be labeled and sold "as is."

 An express warranty is one that is clearly stated orally or in writing (hence, it is expressed) and guarantees a level of quality and reliability that ensures a product will be fixed or replaced by the manufacturer for no additional charge.

 Many manufacturers will make good on an express warranty even if it has expired. But Giorgianni advises: "Don't go in with guns blazing. Tell the manufacturer how much you love the product and how disappointed you are that it didn't last."

 Conduct an internet search of your issue to see if there has been a recall on the product. If a recall exists, your repair/replacement will be free.

 If your internet search results in lots of product complaints similar to yours, document them for use in building a stronger case with the manufacturer.

Need help?

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Send your questions, complaints, injustices and column ideas to HelpSquad@pioneerlocal.com.

Cathy Cunningham is a freelance columnist.
While Donald Trump was giving a speech in Poland last week depicting a West whose values, heritage and freedoms are threatened by the weakening of borders and a loss of confidence within, I was reading about the last days when European empires ruled the globe.

Those years, the years of decolonization that followed World War II, are the subject of a book by anthropologist and historian Gary Wilder, Freedom Time: Negritude, Decolonization and the Future of the World. Wilder follows two black intellectuals and politicians, Aime Cesaire, of Martinique and Leopold Sedar Senghor, of Senegal, who shared a striking combination of anti-imperialist zeal and desire for continued political union with the French Republic.

Cesaires tiny Martinique did indeed become a French departement. But in Senegal and Africa and the once-colonized world writ large, their project never had a chance. Once the age of empire ended, political separation became inevitable.

Yet against critics who deemed both men sellouts and self-haters for desiring to remain in some sense French, Wilder argues that their vision was complex and potentially prophetic.

They were Western-educated Francophones who read deeply in the European canon, who believed in the miracle of Greek civilization, who drew on Plato and Virgil and Pascal and Goethe. At the same time, they argued for their own races civilizational genius, for a negritude that turned a derogatory label into a celebration of African cultural distinctiveness.

And finally they believed that part of the Wests tradition, the universalist ideals they associated with French republicanism and Marxism, could be used to create a political canopy  a transnational union  beneath which humanity could be (to quote Cesaire) more than ever united and diverse, multiple and harmonious.

This vision was rejected by both the colonized and the colonizers. But in certain ways it was revived by global elites after the Cold Wars end, with neoliberalism substituted for Marxism, and a different set of transnational projects  the European Union, the Pax Americana  taking the place of the pan-ethnic, multicultural French Union envisioned by Cesaire and Senghor.

Of late, though, this project has run into some of the same difficulties that made theirs an impossibility. The cultural reality that Cesaire and Senghor grasped  that civilizational difference is real and powerful and lasting  has a way of undoing the political unity for which they fondly hoped.

On the evidence of recent European controversies, it is hard enough for a political union to reconcile the different branches of the West  German and Mediterranean, French and Anglo-Saxon. It becomes harder when that same union is trying to manage a society so multicultural  as European nations under the pressure of mass migration may become  as to lack religious or linguistic or historical common ground. And it becomes harder still when your ruling elites cosmopolitanism is essentially superficial, more eating ethnic food and cheering for Obama than celebrating negritude while reading Goethe.

Thus the nationalist backlash against cosmopolitanism, embodied in its starkest form by Trump, is somewhat equivalent to the anti-colonial nationalism that rejected Senghor and Cesaires unionism as hopelessly naive.

Yesterdays African nationalists argued, reasonably, that you cannot develop an African civilization if your center of political authority is still in Europe.

Todays Western nationalists argue, also plausibly, that many European distinctives are unlikely to survive if nation-states are weak, mass immigration constant, Christianity and Judaism replaced by indifferentism and Islam, and young elites educated as global citizens without knowing their own home.

This nationalist argument comes in racist forms, but it need not be the white nationalism that Trumps liberal critics read into his speech. It can just be a species of conservatism, which prefers to conduct cultural exchange carefully and forge new societies slowly, lest stability suffer, memory fail and important things be lost.

As such, its a view I endorse. But in the European case I dont necessarily believe that it will prevail. I certainly dont believe in Trump as its paladin  not when his entire career makes a mockery of faith, family, tradition, virtue. Nor do I have much confidence that the present burst of European nationalism is more than a spasm, a reflex  not when religious practice is so weak, patriotism so attenuated, the continents birthrate so staggeringly low.

Whats more, I can read the population projections for Europe versus the Middle East and Africa, which make ideas like managed migration and careful cultural exchange seem like pretty conceits that 21st-century realities will eventually explode.

Which brings me back to Cesaire and Senghor, men who loved their African heritage and yet also knew European civilization better than most educated Europeans do today. Their fantasy of a post-imperial union between north and south, white and black, was in their times just that.

But as a striking sort of African-European hybrid, as prophets of a world where the colonized and the colonizers had no choice but to find a way to live together, the Wests future may belong to them in some altogether unexpected way.
After spending the past three years as a King Conservation Science Scholar with the Chicago Zoological Society, Elena Palka-Flores, 17, of Oak Park graduated high school this spring and took a job at Brookfield Zoo.

She recently attended the Chicago Zoological Society's Teen Conservation Leadership, which offers attendees an opportunity to learn about wildlife- and nature-focused jobs. Palka-Flores will attend the University of Illinois Springfield this fall, where she plans to major in environmental studies. On June 27, she answered a few questions for the Oak Leaves.

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Q: What has being a King Conservation Scholar meant to you?

A: What I've discovered is that I'd like to work with animals as a career, and I'm interested in habitat restoration. At the zoo, I'm now an assistant roving naturalist. Basically, we handle reptiles around the park and talk to guests about them. I'm interested in educating the public about animals.

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Q: What's your take on the zoo and the public's interaction with it?

A: I know people visit the zoo, but I don't think they know a lot about animals here.  I think the zoo's doing great in its mission to connect people with animals. Lots of people don't go outside anymore; they're on their phones. I have a collection of insects, and I take them to block parties to talk about them and encourage kids to explore their own backyards. The Oak Park Conservatory plants native species, and the library grows native plants outside, which I appreciate.

Q: What would you share with others interested in the scholar program?

A: I would tell other kids to join this program. It's a great opportunity to practice public speaking skills and learn about animals.

Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Customers approach the entrance Wednesday of the Highland Strack and Van Til food market at Cline Avenue and 45th Street. (Joe Puchek / Post-Tribune)

The two families that joined forces to found Strack and Van Til supermarkets almost 60 years ago will take over ownership of the area's largest independent grocery chain once again.

One local store will not be part of the sale, however.

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Jeff Strack, president and chief executive officer of the Highland-based grocery chain, said the Ultra Foods stores in Highland and Kankakee, Ill., will close.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court Northern District in Illinois on Tuesday declared that Indiana Grocery Group LLC was the successful bidder in a court-supervised auction of 20 stores and other assets owned by Central Grocers, of Joliet, Ill., and its debtor affiliates, including Strack and Van Til Super Market Inc.

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Central Grocers had acquired the Highland-based Strack and Van Til in 1997. It filed for bankruptcy in May.

Strack said Wednesday that the Strack and Van Til families and a few others comprise Indiana Grocery Group.

"As we went through the process of bankruptcy, Strack and Van Til was qualified as a bidder and on Tuesday we were declared the highest bidder," Strack said Wednesday.

He said the Strack and Van Til families saw the sale as an opportunity to continue to serve the people of Northwest Indiana as it has through the years.

Indiana Grocery Group outbid the sole other bidder, Jewel-Osco, which wanted to expand its presence in the region. Jewel-Osco, which operates stores in Dyer, Chesterton, Crown Point and Munster, had put in an initial bid of $100 million.

Strack would not disclose the amount of the winning bid, but said that would be revealed on July 18, along with other information, when the sale will be considered for approval during a hearing scheduled before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Pamela Hollis in Chicago.

Strack said the current management structure will remain the same under the new ownership.

Frank Van Til, president of the Van Til grocery store on 169th Street in Hammond, would not comment on the auction, deferring comments to Strack.

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The Van Til family own the one grocery store and leases on some of the Strack and Van Til stores.

Central Grocers had closed 14 Strack and Van Til and Ultra Foods stores in Northwest Indiana and Illinois this year, including the Strack and Van Til on 73rd Avenue in Merrillville. Some Merrillville board and council members had urged the grocer to reconsider closing that store, saying it was popular among residents, particularly seniors.

"We have had a lot of emails and phone calls, a lot from customers and employees," Strack said.

According to the company website, Strack and Van Til was started in 1959 when Ernie Strack and Nick Van Til, both of whom owned independent grocery stores, decided to combine forces.

They operated 38 grocery stores under the names Strack and Van Til, Ultra Foods and Town & Country Markets at one time.

According to court documents, remaining Strack and Van Til stores will include two each in Hobart, Valparaiso and Crown Point, and one each in Cedar Lake, Chesterton, East Chicago, Hammond, Highland, Lowell, Munster, Rennselaer, St. John, Schererville and Whiting, Town & Country Markets in Portage and Valparaiso, Commissary in Valparaiso, Ultra Foods in Merrillville and the company headquarters in Highland.

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Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
The Western Springs Village Board is looking to address the concerns of residents who have been complaining of tap water issues by drilling a new water well, and retrofitting the existing water plant as a backup for the well water system.

The board is seeking an engineering study on retrofitting its existing reverse osmosis water plant to pretreat water pumped from Well No. 1, which it cannot now do to meet guidelines. Officials also seek a preliminary engineering study to drill a new well, which officials are referring to as Well No. 5.

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The board is expected to vote on both contracts at its July 24 Village Board meeting. No trustees spoke out against those plans at the July 10 workshop meeting.

The village also announced they it be holding a question-and-answer session at 6 p.m. July 20 at Village Hall, 740 Hillgrove Ave., Western Springs.

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Since at least the fall of 2015, residents have complained about the poor quality of water after the village shut down Well No. 3 for maintenance that took longer than expected to complete, leading to water quality issues.

Because the village does not use Lake Michigan water, it relies on well water pumped from three deep wells, some close to 1,000 feet deep, that is treated at the water plant and then delivered to residents and businesses through a series of water mains.

Village officials said the water system could not meet demands when the well was down, which led to poor water quality, and that upgrades need to be made to the well system in order to provide a better backup plan to prevent a similar circumstance.

The same well was also shut down earlier this spring due to an electric problem with the pump, officials said.

Village Trustee Berry Allen, chairman of the village's Public Works and Water Committee, said the village is now in the position to look at options of both retrofitting to draw from an existing well, and taking the first steps in drilling a new well. Both would only be used if the two wells treated by the plant, No. 3 and No. 4, had to be bought down for maintenance again.

He said the village has already began the first phase of the contract to look at the costs, and the amount of time to retrofit the plant to draw water from Well No. 1 that meets all Illinois Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, and by spending an additional $6,000, the village can complete the study to get those answers.

Well No. 1 is more than 90 years old and does not meet IEPA guidelines, requiring modifications to the water plant, Allen said

"We need to find out the cost, and then decide if we wanted to move forward," Allen said. "This contract investment would allow us to do so."

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The village has also identified a location for the proposed Well No.5, located in a village right of way at Field Park near Clausen and Hillgrove avenues. Public Works Director Matthew Supert has indicated the price for the new well has been estimated between $3 million and $3.25 million, and could take upward of three years to complete, which would include the engineering work, the IEPA loan process and the actual constriction time.

"By approving an engineering contract for Well No. 5, it doesn't mean we have to go forward with construction, but it would be an approach in that direction," Allen said.

Allen said one of the reasons to also move forward with the Well No. 1 retrofit study is it could be done much sooner, is less expensive and would serve as a much-needed backup. The study, if approved July 24, would be completed by the end of summer, officials said.

"I think it's well worth it to finish the study to find out what our options are for Well No. 1," Trustee Edward Tymick said. "I think $6,000 is a reasonable investment."

The village already is paying on an $8 million loan from the IEPA for its new water plant, which opened in the summer of 2014. The Village Board raised water rates three times in the last two years to help raise money for those payments.

David Heitz is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
A Plainfield boy rides a horse at Ready Set Ride, a therapeutic facility in Plainfield. The facility is facing eviction. (Chris Bajner )

Despite a pall of uncertainty hovering over the therapeutic horse-riding program for kids with disabilities she oversees, Lisa Afshari still believes in giving back.

The Naperville woman, who is chairwoman of the Ready Set Ride program in Plainfield, donated a saddle, bridles and 650-pound bags of horse feed to a young woman who lost all her equipment and her 15-year-old horse, Ellie, in a fire last week at the Plainfield stable where she boarded her.

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Heather Bastas broke down in tears and hugged Afshari Tuesday afternoon as she surveyed the mother lode Afshari set aside for her surviving 17-year-old horse, Salida.

In high school, Bastas served as one of the volunteers at Ready Set Ride, and Afshari said it was her turn to give back to one of the program's own.

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Afshari is also hoping the good karma from the donation will come back as she and Ready Set Ride, a program that helps children and young adults with physical, emotional and developmental challenges, fight eviction from the property the nonprofit group has rented for 15 years.

Records show the 4-acre property at 13056 Essington Road was owned by Joseph Tages, 71, but it has since gone into foreclosure after the Plainfield man ran into legal and financial trouble a few years back.

In 2014, Tages, who operated the Aurora Health Center, lost his medical license and business after federal prosecutors charged him with improperly billing health care providers for patient post-surgical office visits that did not occur and filing false tax returns.

He pleaded guilty in 2013 to two counts of filing false tax returns in 2006 as part of a scheme between 2004 and 2008 in which he deposited cash payments from patients at Aurora Health Center into a personal bank account.

He admitted under-reporting how much money came into the office and to diverting or skimming about $1 million in payments for personal use over the multi-year span, records show.

Tages was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay approximately $590,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service relating to the taxes. Tages filed for bankruptcy in May.

Plainfield resident Lesley Caramusa, Ready Set Ride vice president, said the group will ask the judge to allow them extra time to negotiate with the mortgage holder, Nationstar, to purchase the land.

Afshari said the biggest problem has been the mortgage holders didn't realize the stable and adjoining covered riding ring are located on the property.

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Lily Cache Creek bisects the property so the therapy horse facility is on the north and a single-family home is to the south.

Afshari said in the past year both CitiMortgage Inc., the previous title holder, and Nationstar visited the property to shut off the water and electricity and were surprised Ready Set Ride was operating on part of the land.

"We've been lost in the paperwork," she said.

If the program can't get extra time to work out arrangements, Afshari said the group will have to scramble to move the horses and supplies by the July 17 deadline.

"A lot of miracles can happen in five days," she said.

In the meantime, it's business as usual for the program that helps kids and young adults with disabilities.

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Nanette Kurzydym, of Naperville, said she doesn't know what she'll do for her 22-year-old autistic son if the service ends.

"He just loves the program. He doesn't get too excited about too many things, but this he does," Kurzydym said.

What is special about Ready Set Ride, she said, is that most therapy riding programs end when riders turn age 21. The Plainfield program doesn't.

"I don't know of anything in a good driving distance where he's not aged out," Kurzydym said.

Other than swimming, Ready Set Ride is the only activity Meg Boyce's daughter can participate in because of a lapse in her gross motor skills.

"It is so heart-breaking," the Naperville woman said of the situation.

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Her daughter, who has epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder, has become attached to the horses and knows each one by name, Boyce said.

"She has such a deep connection with the horses," she said. "She walks from stall to stall and has to hug and pet every horse. ... It's her home away from home."

Boyce said she and her daughter stopped by Ready Set Ride earlier this week, and it was all she could do to hold back the tears knowing it might be the last time they visit.

She's also praying for a miracle.

"If (Ready Set Ride) goes away, I can't wrap my head around it.  It would be a huge hole," Boyce said. "There has got to be a God looking after us."

A Go Fund Me page (Save Ready Set Ride) has been established to help with legal fees, property needs and moving horses, if necessary.

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subaker@tribpub.com

Twitter @SBakerSun1
What to expect next in the Frisch vs. Boebert CD-3 race

Final results in the race won't be known until Friday, Nov. 18, after clerks in all 27 counties upload final counts. So what happens between now and then?
BUFFALO GAP -- A western North Dakota ranch is preparing for people to jam out to some country music for a good cause this weekend.

The third annual Real American Jam country music festival, a benefit for North Dakota military veterans, will be Friday and Saturday, July 14-15, at the Buffalo Gap Guest Ranch, which is 5 miles west of Medora.

Buffalo Gap Ranch owner Olie Goldberg, one of the event organizers, said the event raises money for a North Dakota soldier that is in need. He said last year they raised enough money to give away $25,000, which is their goal again this year.

Its my way of saying thank you and a way for Buffalo Gap to give back something, he said. ... Its a way for us to help somebody in need.

In its first two years, the festival has raised and awarded $125,000. Friday, July 14, music headliners include Trick Pony, Ned LeDoux and Royal Bliss. The Saturday, July 15, featured performers will be Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, and Tris Munsick and the Innocents. Statewide country music talent also will be featured both days, beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday.

The Real American Heroes of North Dakota award presentation ceremony will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. All events will be held outdoors in the North Dakota Badlands. However, due to the expected hot temperatures, organizers are trying to plan the event so people do not have to be in the heat all day.

Olie said putting the event together is no small task, but they are getting better each year.

The more I do it, the smarter Im getting, he said with a chuckle. I didnt think itd be this much work just for the event and getting the people lined up and the volunteers we depend on to get through the event.

Olie said he always wanted to have some sort of event at Buffalo Gap and is happy that theyve settled on something like the Real American Jam.

What weve got put together is a pretty nice little venue, he said. When I had that little bottom I always figured itd be a great place for a party in the pasture.

Mark Goldberg, Olies son and another organizer, said they spend nearly a year planning the event. For example, he said they began to plan this years event the Monday after last years wrapped up.

Theres so many different aspects that go into it, so you have to prepare for it the whole year round, he said.

While it takes a lot of work to get everything done, its nothing compared to what the soldiers have done for the United States.

These veterans put in all this work in for our country so we can stay free, so when you think of it in that regard were not sacrificing nearly as much as they do, he said.

Mark said he loves the looks on peoples faces when they arrive at the venue.

You just see the wow in their eyes, Mark said. Its such a one-of-a-kind venue. Its so beautiful and its for a great cause and its so fun.

Guests are encouraged to bring a chair with them as the event is held in a hay pasture. Food vendors will also be present.

To learn more about Real American Heroes of North Dakota and the veterans it supports, go to realamericanheroesofnd.org.
WILLISTON  The founder and CEO of Facebook spent Tuesday, July 11, in North Dakota, visiting Williston to learn more about the oil industry and taking a trip to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Mark Zuckerberg wrote a lengthy message on his Facebook page about the visit, encouraging followers to get out and learn about all perspectives on issues even while noting that stopping climate change is one of the most important challenges of our generation.

Zuckerberg shared some of his perspectives and insight from the visit in a Facebook message posted early Wednesday. It had garnered attention worldwide, collecting about 2,300 shares, 61,000 reactions and 3,800 comments after about seven hours.

The visit is part of Zuckerbergs Year of Travel challenge for 2017 to visit each state. A Fourth of July post, for instance, shows him gutting a fish near Homer, Alaska. In another post, Zuckerberg says he undertakes a new challenge each year to learn new things and grow outside of my work.

Zuckerberg visited a drilling rig before participating in a roundtable discussion with people involved in the oil and gas industry, said Shawn Wenko, executive director of the Williston Economic Development office. He said the visit came on very short notice.

He came across as a very nice guy, very open to conversation, Wenko said. We were excited that, of all the places in the world he could choose to go, he chose to come here and understand the oil and gas industry.

Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, joined Zuckerberg on his tour of the drilling rig Tuesday. He said the Facebook founder was extremely intrigued by the technology involved in drilling for oil and the stories of people who came from all over the country to find work in North Dakota.

He had more questions than we had time, Ness said.

This years travel challenge has fueled speculation that Zuckerberg plans to run for president in 2020. A May 2017 article in Vanity Fair called the challenge the most obvious sign of his potential ambitions  a vast undertaking that Zuckerberg approached with all the choreography and message discipline of a mature political campaign. An April 2017 Facebook SEC filing contains a clause that The Atlantic called another clue: Mr. Zuckerbergs leave of absence or resignation would not constitute a Voluntary Resignation if it were in connection with his serving in a government position or office.

Zuckerberg has made no official announcement that he is running for president.

Gov. Doug Burgum, the Fargo entrepreneur in his first year of office and who grew Great Plains Software as chairman and CEO before selling it to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion, did not meet with Zuckerberg, according to spokesman Mike Nowatzki.

Near the conclusion of Zuckerbergs post on Tuesday, Zuckerberg said he was grateful for the opportunity to see a community with such unique social dynamics. Near the conclusion of his personal post about the North Dakota visit, Zuckerberg said he was grateful for the opportunity to see a community with such unique social dynamics. In a response to a comment on the post by a person who offered to take Zuckerberg to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Zuckerberg said he had been there during the visit.

In his Facebook post, Zuckerberg said he learned more about fracking, man camps and how the population boom to the area changed the gender ratio while swelling size of the school district.

They come here because these are good jobs where people with a high school diploma can make $100,000 a year, he wrote. The women I met said they feel safe, but they had unique stories. Some told me about finding out their boyfriends had families back home. (They thanked me that Facebook has made it harder for these men to live double lives.) Another woman told me she has never paid for a drink her whole life.

This gender imbalance has led to crime though. It is well-documented across the world that societies with many more men than women have more crime.

Zuckerberg said a pastor told me about his challenge building community by encouraging people to set down actual roots in the area.

In addition, the Facebook CEO said the energy industry and politics are intertwined.

When the Dakota Access Pipeline was approved, that removed $6-7 per barrel of cost from producing oil in the region, which brought more investment and jobs here, he wrote. A number of people told me they had felt their livelihood was blocked by the government, but when (Donald) Trump approved the pipeline they felt a sense of hope again. That word hope came up many times around this. One person told me the night the pipeline was approved, people lit fireworks and rode trucks with American flags down Main Street to celebrate.

It's interesting to see this perspective when science overwhelmingly suggests fossil fuels contribute to climate change, which is one of the great challenges our generation will have to deal with.

The people Zuckerberg met feel a sense of pride that their work contributes to serving real needs we all have every day -- keeping our homes warm, getting to work, feeding us, and more. They believe competition from new sources of energy is good, but from their perspective, until renewables can provide most of our energy at scale, they are providing an important service we all rely on, and they wish they'd stop being demonized for it.

I believe we're closer to powering our society by renewables if we work at it, and doing so is extremely important for our future. For our part, Facebook has committed that every new data center we build will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy.
Members of Fort Berthold Protectors of Water & Earth Rights are challenging the U.S. Bureau of Land Managements decision to stay provisions of its regulation of methane flaring on federal and tribal lands.

Living in Mandaree, I can see at least 50 flares surrounding me, what is it am I breathing in? said Lisa DeVille, president of Fort Berthold POWER, a local affiliate of Dakota Resource Council.

The rule, which is intended to reduce flaring, went into effect in January; however, in June, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke stayed the rule, preventing its implementation for at least six months.

The pause in the rule came about a month after a repeal effort failed in the senate. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., was one of those no votes citing concerns over waste and tribal sovereignty. In a joint letter to Zinke with Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.V., she expressed favor in pausing enforcement and remanding the rule back for changes.

MHA Chairman Mark Fox said the Tribal Business Council did not support overturning the rule but had asked for revisions to the rule, allowing for more deference to tribal regulations.

Fort Berthold POWER is made up of a combination of tribal and non-tribal members, said DRC Executive Director Don Morrison.

Morrison said staying the rule had nothing to do with tribal sovereignty and that changes to include more tribal deference could have been made without pausing enforcement. He said, instead, by staying the rule, the improvements made under the rule dont go into effect.

And in this administration, it could get worse, he said.

Fort Berthold POWER's lawsuit was filed in the North District Court of California, alongside suits by the states of California and New Mexico, challenging the decision of the Trump Administration not to enforce the rule.
Op-Ed by Chet Scheltema

Gone are the days of China foreign direct investors simply choosing between an RO, WFOE, or JV. Now they are presented with a range of options and acronyms that even the most determined investor may become bewildered: PEO, EOR, VIE, HRO, ASO, BPO, etc., not to mention the traditional Dispatch and Secondment.

These alternatives have developed with the growth of the outsourcing industry in Western economies, yet they do not necessarily translate neatly into China, and they present risks to the unwary and ill-advised foreign investor.

Despite this, some consultants may heartily promote one or more of these options, and this may belie a true understanding of the local legal and business environment, and the risks each approach entails.

In this article, we review contemporary options available to foreign investors and highlight the advantages, disadvantages, and risks, specifically within the Chinese context. For discussion purposes, we divide the options into three: insourcing, selective outsourcing, and what we will call hosting.

Insourcing

Insourcing means the business performs most or all work internally. Few businesses rely exclusively on insourcing; they will from time-to-time supplement their resources with a professional accounting or law firm, temporary staffing, third-party logistics, and other services.

Insourcing offers investors the strongest level of control, and it offers the highest return on investment for high-performing management, as one needs not to pay outsourcing partners. However, organizations must invest early in developing the internal resources to grow. Situations where insourcing may be desirable are:

Where rapid, profitable growth is expected, and a robust, independent, scalable platform is needed soon

Where successful execution requires close supervision and coordination of consolidated operations

Where specialized knowledge, expertise, or resources can only be developed and managed internally

In highly competitive industries that require tight control of intellectual property (IP), trade secrets, and sensitive information

Technology firms with valuable IP or trade secrets will also prefer insourcing to avoid loss of proprietary assets. Additionally, high performing firms and publicly-traded firms will be attracted to insourcing.

There is another reason to consider insourcing. Although requiring a greater initial investment, it offers a more solid and stable foundation for growth and future profitability. It clearly communicates to employees and partners that the business is committed to China; entering China on the cheap often sends the wrong message, and it often ends up costing more later.

RELATED: Human Resources & Payroll in China 2017-2018

Selective outsourcing

Selective outsourcing ranges from limited use of outsourcing partners to near total reliance on outsourcing at the extreme. The business retains its own unique legal identity and brand, but its internal operations might be entirely outsourced.

Human resources outsourcing (HRO) should be considered an all-encompassing term referring to any one,or all, of a broad range of activities related to human resources (HR). Temporary staffing, recruitment, and payroll services represent commonly outsourced HR activities.

Administrative service outsourcing (ASO) includes outsourcing payroll and compensation elements, including public and private insurance. An ASOs offering would not normally be as all-encompassing as an HRO.

The Chinese state-owned FESCO is an example of a firm offering a wide array of HRO services. Many firms take the name FESCO, but they are just local companies borrowing the name.

Some HROs in China directly hire foreign workers to obtain a Chinese work visa and permit for them. In other words, they sponsor foreign workers for purposes of obtaining a work visa and permit. They may refer to this as HR outsourcing, but these firms likely are not authorized to engage in this activity. FESCO-Adecco may be one of the only HROs in China fully authorized to do so.

Situations where a firm might seriously consider selective outsourcing are:

Where speed of implementation is critical

Where internal recruitment, supervision and specialized training may take too long

In industries with rapidly changing, complex regulatory frameworks (tax, payroll)

For temporary, low-skill activities easily outsourced with minimal risk

Where such outsourcing may become problematic is when the firm offering the services does not have a qualifying business license to do so or the firm receiving the dispatched employees exceeds the 10 percent threshold under Chinese law.

e-Commerce as outsourcing

e-Commerce has grown dramatically in China, and presents an unusual outsourcing opportunity. Many or most of the Chinese e-commerce platforms (eg. Tmall, JD, etc.) offer a global e-commerce option whereby foreign companies need not establish a legal presence in China.

Instead, foreign companies outsource their China business operations to one of the e-commerce platforms  and a number of related e-commerce consulting firms (eg. logistics providers, marketing firms, etc.). While very appealing in theory, Chinese e-commerce platforms are now very crowded and have become highly selective about who may join their global platforms.

Hosting

The final option is hosting. While not a new option, it has recently regained popularity by being dressed up in new terms such as PEO, International PEO, HR Outsourcing, 4PL, or even VIE.

Hosting occurs when a business borrows the legal structure, and legal rights, of another company to operate a business on a temporary, or permanent, basis.

Hosting has long been a common, practical approach to investing in China. When a Chinese investor and a foreign partner wish to establish a business and avoid the complexity of establishing a Sino-foreign joint venture (JV), they instead set up a locally-invested corporation where the foreigner is an informal equity shareholder.

This structure is a natural choice in industries restricted to foreign investment because the foreign equity partner has no formal ownership. More than a few English schools, and other small and medium-sized businesses in China, take such a form.

PEO as hosting service

Professional Employer Outsourcing (PEO) is an industry that has come of age in the US. There is formal legislation in nearly 20 US States to regulate its activities. Not so in China.

No such industry exists and no such service may be lawfully offered to clients. Foreign investors encountering claims to provide POE services should approach with a critical mind.

A PEO provider works like this: it takes responsibility to hire and employ workers on behalf of the client, perhaps for the duration of their career. In other words, the PEO provider hosts the employees on behalf of another business. Such providers become the employer of record and ensure full compliance with all applicable employment laws.

Providers typically offer benefits to employees that might not otherwise be available to employees of smaller enterprises. Taking responsibility to navigate the complex regulatory environment of employment benefits, particularly in the US, can be a true godsend to smaller firms.

PEOs are not the same as staffing or dispatch agencies in the sense that they are not aiming to offer temporary staffing solutions. As mentioned, there is no legal basis for PEO services in China.

It is not permissible to hire workers on behalf of another business, unless a dispatch license has been secured. Yet, some consulting firms may advertise themselves as PEOor International PEO providers.

Full Outsource hosting model

Some consulting firms go further: they offer to host the entire operation of the foreign client in China for a period of years, thereby, it is claimed, dramatically reducing the start-up costs to enter the Chinese market.

They may offer their existing, experienced staff to manage the foreign investors operations, reducing the learning curve for new market entrants. Many call such an approach a full outsource.

Risks of PEO,full outsource models

PEO and full outsource hosting providers may place themselves and their clients at risk because:

There is no clear authorization to engage in such outsourcing within the Chinese regulatory context;

Outsourcers may be pressed to unlawfully engage in activities outside their licenses scope to satisfy many clients;

Conflicts of interest and resources arise within outsourcers that serve competing clients;

Difficulty returning legal rights back to client (IP, staff, etc.) upon separation of the outsourcer and client;

The clients only legal claims are by contract and resorting to a lawsuit despite the outsourcer functioning as a type of JV partner;

Employees and business partners of new foreign investors will sense a lack of commitment from the investors.

Among these many concerns, tax is an often-overlooked concern. As an example, this author was approached by a successful and profitable business in Beijing, locally incorporated and utilizing a hosting arrangement. The foreign investor who had provided the initial capital to start the business (set up a locally owned company through a Chinese friend) now wanted to normalize the business and become the true shareholder of record under a foreign-invested business structure.

RELATED: Payroll and Human Resource Services

Unfortunately, he realized that the proposed transfer of the assets, and/or equity, to himself would result in the imposition of a burdensome tax upon the then-current shareholder of record, his local Chinese friend  and this friends wife. If the business had been incorporated in the beginning as a foreign-invested entity, rather than through hosting, then this tax problem would never have arisen.

Beyond this, accountants and tax lawyers will quickly point out that, while foreign investors using a hosting model do not technically have ownership of an enterprise in China (only the host does), the Chinese tax bureau may take a substance over form approach. They could conceivably pursue the foreign investors for back taxes, which is the permanent establishment risk.

However, hosting remains a viable option given the following conditions:

In jurisdictions where it is legally permitted or at least tolerated under local practice;

Where other options, such as selective outsourcing, are inadequate;

Where speed of implementation is critical and delay means a completely lost opportunity;

In high risk business environments where PEO or full outsource risks are justified.

Under these conditions, a foreign investor should only enter into a hosting services agreement that has been very carefully reviewed and negotiated by good business lawyers.

The VIE as hosting

Hosting has become more sophisticated over time, and the variable interest entity (VIE) is now viewed as an option. A VIE is a combination of a locally invested corporate supervised controlled by a wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) through a series of legal contracts.

The locally owned corporation can obtain licenses in restricted industries; yet, the WFOE can, in theory, still control operations and receive the economic benefits of the arrangement. This is really nothing other than a sophisticated hosting.

The VIE terminology arises from US GAAP, and describes an affiliated enterprise effectively controlled by another enterprise, thereby allowing consolidation of financials. Many of the Chinese Internet-based businesses traded on US public exchanges are VIEs. However, the VIE structure has come under the scrutiny of Chinese regulatory authorities, and its future is uncertain.

Choosing the right option

The Chinese operating environment is a perilous one. Some level of dependence upon third party service providers is certainly justified. For this reason alone, one might easily argue for the benefits of outsourcing at least accounting, payroll, tax compliance, legal matters, third-party logistics, and some other functions. In such rapidly changing, tricky practice areas, outsourcing is a natural fit.

However, extending outsourcing to the extreme version of a complete hosting arrangement, where all business operations are managed by another entity under a contract outsourcing model, should be considered very critically.

One would be well advised to resist the temptation to jump into such arrangement to save money and invest in China on the cheap. Such an approach introduces a high level of risk and sets the new Chinese venture on a poor foundation for growth, profitability, and success. Costs saved now inevitably arise later when fixing the originally unstable structure.



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An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2017

This Dezan Shira & Associates 2017 China guide provides a comprehensive background and details of all aspects of setting up and operating an American business in China, including due diligence and compliance issues, IP protection, corporate establishment options, calculating tax liabilities, as well as discussing on-going operational issues such as managing bookkeeping, accounts, banking, HR, Payroll, annual license renewals, audit, FCPA compliance and consolidation with US standards and Head Office reporting.

Payroll Processing in China: Challenges and Solutions

In this issue of China Briefing magazine, we lay out the challenges presented by Chinas payroll landscape, including its peculiar Dang An and Hu Kou systems. We then explore how companies of all sizes are leveraging IT-enabled solutions to meet their HR and payroll needs, and why outsourcing payroll is the answer for certain company structures. Finally, we consider the potential for China to emerge as Asias premier payroll processing center.

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A steel sculpture consisting of the characters of more than 3,000 Chinese surnames in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province. XIAO SHENYANG/CHINA DAILY

In order to obtain a business card from a vendor with an extremely rare family nameXiang, the character for which means "fragrant" in ChineseYang Xiaotie spent 3,000 yuan ($440) on candy to gain the man's trust.

An enthusiast of Chinese family names as well as the stories and culture behind them, the 58-year-old native of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, goes out of his way to collect name cards and other items related to the surnames of his new friends and even people he has never met.

"I ask for business cards because they prove the existence of a person and their name," he said. "If I tell you about a name you have never heard, you may not believe me. But if I show you a name card with a person's information on it, you will know they really exist."

To date, Yang has collected more than 1,500 business cards of people with different Chinese surnames, and has been fascinated by the history behind each family nameeach one can be traced back to ancient China, when they were used as symbols of nobility.

Historically, there were more than 10,000 surnames recorded in China, though many are no longer used due to factors such as people taking the names of their rulers, orthographic simplifications, and the practice of not using characters from an emperor's name.

The most common family names on the Chinese mainland are single characters such as Wang, Li, Zhang and Liu. However, some people have rare surnames such as Situ, Duanmu and Aixinjueluo.

In addition to the Chinese mainland, Chinese family names are also widely used in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and among overseas Chinese communities.

Yang's interest in names started in 1970s, when the then-high school graduate responded to the call by authorities to work in Hubei's Zaoyang, along with tens of millions of educated urban youths encouraged to go and work in the countryside or mountainous areas.

When in the countryside, Yang often made fun of the names of other fellow students and local farmers.

He later joined the army and switched jobs several times, during which time he made many friends.

In 2005, Yang attended an art fair in Central China and was struck by what he considered to be a lack of name-related culture on display, which is what spurred him to start collecting artifacts and cards from different people.

"Everyone around me knows my hobby, and they give me cards whenever they obtain them from people with uncommon family names," he said.

Yang even registered himself on a website of ancient literature, asking its users across the country to help him in his mission. Yang said sincerity is how he persuades people to share their name cards, although a rapid rise in telecom fraud in recent years has made many wary of his intentions.

Over the years, Yang has used phone calls, text messages, social media platforms and hundreds of handwritten letters to contact people about his initiative.

In return for information, he has sent people the findings of his studies about the origin of their surname, helping people to learn more about their ancestry.

One man, with the rare surname Yue, which means "exceed" or "overstep" in Chinese, said he was touched that Yang was interested in his family name.

"I have been living in Beijing for many years but have never met a person who shares my surname," said Yue, who is self-employed.

He did not own a business card, but asked someone to print one out and deliver it to Yang to help him with his studies.

Yang has a websiteyangxiaotie.comto display the name cards of celebrities or people with rare family names, as well as information about their origin and other cultural information related to the surnames.
Accordion player Mao Junhao, 20, a junior student at the Central Conservatory of Music, performs concertos with an orchestra at the 54th Klingenthal International Accordion Competition held over May 15-21 in Germany. [Photo provided to China Daily]

When Cao Xiaoqing started learning the accordion at the age of 5 in 1970, the instrument was very popular in China.

"You can play everything on it, pop songs, folk tunes and chords, and the instrument is portable," says Cao, 52.

Cao's uncle and father were amateur accordion players, who played the instrument at home.

However, in the past decades, other Western instruments, such as the piano, the violin and the cello, have dominated the classical music scene. The accordion has a small following among music learners in China.

So, when the Central Conservatory of Music launched its accordion major in 2004, Cao was invited to take the position as the first director of the accordion department at the school.

"I took the job because I wish to revive the instrument," says Cao, who taught at the Hochschule fuer Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover (Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media) in Germany from 2001 to 2003.

Cao graduated from the Tianjin Conservatory of Music in 1988 and later obtained his PhD from the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media in 2001.

In May, four of his students stood out among 78 competitors from 22 countries and dominated the 54th Klingenthal International Accordion Competition, which was held from May 15 to 21 in Germany.

"It's the first time in this competition that four first prizes were awarded to students from one country, let alone from the same school," says Cao.

"Ever since the accordion performance major was launched in 2004, we have sent students to the Klingenthal International Accordion Competition. Some of them had won prizes previously, but this year is a milestone for us. It's like a dream come true for me."

The competition, an annual event, attracts accordion players from all over the world. It is open to soloists as well as duos and bands.

One of the winners is Mao Junhao, 20, who is in his third year at the Central Conservatory of Music.

His repertoire at the competition comprised Danish conductor and composer Ole Schmidt's Toccata No 1, Italian composer Dominico Scarlatti's Sonata in f minor and Russian composer Eferm Podgaits' Concerto No 1 for Bayan and Chamber Orchestra.

The winners in each category also performed at the Berliner Philharmonie after the competition. They recorded an album, in which Mao performed Finnish composer Paavo Korpijaakko's third movement of Sonata No 1, Ultra.

"I was the second to perform in the final round, and after my performance, I returned to my room which is near the competition venue. About three hours later, I was told that I had won," says Mao, who bagged the first prize at the contest in 2013. In May, he won the first prize again in the competition.

"I was excited about the prize but I also felt the pressure. The next time when I compete or perform, the audience expectation will be high."

Mao, who was born and raised in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, started learning the accordion at the age of 6 after a relative gave him the instrument.

The young man, who learned the instrument faster than his peers, says he never felt bored practicing.

He enrolled to study at the middle school affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing in 2010 under Cao.

Mao is also majoring in composing. Besides classical music, he is also interested in electronic music.

In 2012, he released his debut album, Song for Seasons, which comprises his accordion works. His own composition, called Children Suite: Song for Seasons, was also included in the album.

Meanwhile, Mao will pursue his master's degree at the Central Conservatory of Music after obtaining his bachelor's degree. In November, he will do two recitals in Serbia, and in early 2018, he will do one in the Czech Republic.

Cao says that the Klingenthal event's significance among accordion players is like that of the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition among pianists, which takes place in Poland's capital, Warsaw, every year.

"With their awards, these young musicians will have more opportunities to perform abroad. Their success will encourage more young Chinese to learn about the accordion," says Cao.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits the Yangling Area of China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone during an inspection trip in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, July 10, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

Premier Li Keqiang had underlined the importance of reform and innovation in promoting the economic development and upgrading in west China.

Li made the remarks during an inspection trip in northwest China's Shaanxi Province from Monday to Tuesday.

At the Yangling Area of China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Li spoke highly of the administrative reform carried out in the area, which allows people to apply for business licenses through WeChat, China's leading social media app.

He called for continued reform and opening-up to create a business environment where institutional transaction costs are low, both domestic and foreign businesses are willing to come, and high-quality human resources would stay, so as to help boost the development of west China.

The premier also visited the Yangling Agricultural Cloud Co., where he saw a cloud map of big data information helping farmers.

He said the agricultural sector depends on weather as well as "cloud," and it will help strengthen the sector by combining agriculture and modern technology such as the "Internet plus."

At a mass entrepreneurship and innovation park, the premier said mass entrepreneurship and innovation has great potential for development in rural areas, and asked local governments to create a good environment in this regard to help farmers increase their income.

Li also met families in need as he visited a poor village called Dawanhe, a rural area of Baoji city, inquiring about details of their incomes, children's education and social security system.

Saying there was great potential for poor villages in the region to develop tourism and distinctive agricultural undertakings, the premier said relocation of the poor from the mountainous region should take into consideration of both the villagers' resettlement and their new jobs.

At a state-owned machine tool manufacturing company in Shaanxi which customized its products, Li said the market today is quite different and individualized needs are becoming more and more important.

He urged state-owned enterprises, the big ones in particular, to push forward supply-side structural reform and promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation to upgrade the Chinese economy to medium-to-high end.

During the trip, Li also visited a rundown area in Baoji city, where he said China had moved 80 million people out of substandard housing in recent years, but there were still tens of millions left behind. The premier called upon local governments to step up efforts to improve people's living conditions.
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Ships carrying Chinese military personnel depart Zhanjiang, south China's Guangdong Province, July 11, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Ships carrying Chinese military personnel departed Zhanjiang in southern China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday to set up a support base in Djibouti.

Shen Jinlong, commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti, and conferred military flag on the fleets.

The establishment of the PLA Djibouti base was a decision made by the two countries after friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides, according to the PLA navy.

The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia.

The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways.
Xi Yanchun:

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference. The development of state-owned enterprises managed by the central government has drawn great public attention. Today, we are delighted to invite Ms. Shen Ying, chief accountant of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council, to introduce details of the performance of central SOEs in the first half of this year. She will also answer some of your questions.

Now, let's welcome Ms. Shen to give her briefing.

Shen Ying:

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the press conference. First, please allow me to extend my appreciation to you for your attention and support of the central SOEs and their reforms. Before answering your questions, I'd like to make a brief introduction of their performance in the first half of this year.

During the first half of this year, the central SOEs achieved stable performance and were able to move in a positive direction. Their revenues and profits both hit record highs. Their operational quality improved in an all-round way. Their structure also continued to show an improvement. New growth drivers have developed at a quicker pace. More contributions were made to society. Generally speaking, their performance showed the following features.

First, they maintained stable prduction and operation with good growth momentum,and those involved in key sectors saw stable production and salesin particular.

Facing a complex and fast-changing market, the central SOEs took proactive actions and enhanced their production management. Compared with the first half of last year, the production and sales of refined products in the petroleum and petrochemical sectors grew 0.8 percent and 2.1 percent respectively; the production of electricity by central SOEs in the power sector grew 4.4 percent; those in the grid sector saw their sales grow 6.7 percent; the production of raw coal and the sales of merchandized coal grew 9.1 percent and 16.6 percent; the total turnover of central SOEs in the air and water transportation sectors grew 9.9 percent and 5.3 percent respectively.

Second, central SOEs saw accelerated growth in terms of scale and profits, with monthly profits hitting a new high.

Compared with the first half of last year, revenues grew 16.8 percent to 12.5 trillion yuan this time round. The central SOEs enjoyed double-digit revenue growth for five straight months. Their total profits and net profits were 721.8 billion yuan and 535.32 billion yuan, respectively 15.8 percent and 18.6 percent higher year-on-year. Double-digit growth was also been seen every month this year. In particular, profits in June reached 159.67 billion yuan, a record high.

Of the 102 central SOEs, 99 enterprises made profits, 48 enterprises saw profit growth higher than 10 percent, and 29 profit growth higher than 20 percent.

Third, central SOEs were able to streamline their structure, focus more on quality and efficiency, and improve their performance in an all-round way. Since the beginning of this year, the SASAC and central SOEs took 58 measures to improve performance.

A special action was taken to control costs and enhance profits, a decisive issue in operations. In the first half of this year, the growth of revenues outpaced growth in costs. When comparing the second quarter with the first, costs fell 2.4 percentage points. Comparing on a year-by-year basis, , costs for every 100-yuan of revenue dropped 0.1 yuan.

Great efforts were made in structural streamlining and reducing the number of enterprises with legal person status. By the end of June, the number of central SOEs with legal person status dropped 11 percent compared with last year. Of all the streamlined enterprises, 87 percent reduced their management levels to three, four or five levels at most.

Enterprises were urged to clear up receivables and cut inventories. In the first half of this year, the growth of receivables and inventories was 10.5 percentage points lower than revenue growth. Assets turnover was thus improved.

Fourth, deepening supply-side structural reform and constantly enhancing the impetus for further development. SASAC and central SOEs have been adhering to the main line of deepening supply-side structural reform, accelerating structural adjustment, transformation and upgrading, and continuously boosting core competitiveness and sustainable development capacity. Firstly, earnestly implement the task of cutting overcapacity. In the first half of this year, 5.95 million metric tons of steel overcapacity has been removed, which means the target for the whole year has been accomplished already. In the coal industry, 6.59 million metric tons of coal overcapacity has been cut, and 13 million metric tons of production capacity reorganized. Secondly, redouble efforts to deal with the so-called "zombie enterprises and enterprises facing operational difficulties." Specific policies and working programs for individual enterprises have been worked out to deal with those "zombie enterprises" [virtually existing in name only] and subsidiaries facing operational difficulties, aiming to achieve tangible results. Thirdly, address issues left over by history at a faster pace. Over 50 percent of the work has been completed by central SOEs to spin off and transfer their obligations of "supplying water, electricity, heat (gas) and managing realty." Pilot programs in independent industrial and mining areas burdened with social responsibilities have been carried out smoothly. Fourthly, strengthen investment in strategic new industries. The investment has gone mainly to strategic new industries, advanced manufacturing, modern service industry, infrastructure and areas related to people's livelihood. Among these, the portion of investment going to new energy, machinery manufacturing, scientific research and modern service industry has increased by 4.4 percentage points. More than 500 platforms for mass entrepreneurship and innovation have been set up, 200-plus incubators for mass entrepreneurship and innovation and scientific industrial parks have been established and over 200 funds are now operational. All these aspects have laid a good foundation for future development.

Fifth, steady growth has been achieved in regard to tax contributions, with fees cut and part of the profits surrendered to lower costs for the whole society. In the first half of this year, central SOEs cumulatively handed over 1.1 trillion yuan of taxes and fees, with a year-on-year increase of 5.3 percent, which is 2.1 percentage points higher than the previous year. This has made a positive contribution to fiscal revenue growth. The taxes and fees handed over by central SOEs in industries like petroleum and petrochemicals, coal, commerce and trade increased by over 10 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, related central SOEs have actively fulfilled their social responsibilities, and strictly implemented relative national policies. As many as 74.71 billion yuan of fees have been reduced for the benefit of the whole society. Among them, telecommunications enterprises surrendered 11.78 billion yuan of profits by further "raising the speed and lowering fees," power enterprises contributed 17 billion yuan through the policy of cutting the price of electricity, petroleum and petrochemical enterprises provided 41 billion yuan by cutting the price of gas for non-residential purposes, and coal enterprises provided 4.93 billion yuan by applying a long-term contract price.

In the future, SASAC and central SOEs will closely unite around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as its core, and further implement the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. With a strong understanding of the new development philosophy, we will focus on deepening supply-side structural reform and promote the work of maintaining stable growth, making structural adjustments, promoting reform, reinforcing Party building, improving management, and guarding against risks, etc. We will consolidate the hard-earned operational achievements and endeavor to maintain stable performance with good momentum for growth. We will definitely meet the goals set for the whole year to make greater contributions to the steady and healthy growth of the national economy, and present the 19th National Party Congress with outstanding achievements.

Thank you!
China's University of International Business and Economics released the Global Value Chain Development Report 2017 in Beijing on Monday, identifying GVCs as providing new opportunities for developing countries.

"The Global Value Chain Development Report 2017: Measuring and Analyzing the Impact of GVCs on Economic Development" is released by the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, July 10, 2017. [Photo/China.org.cn]

"Global Value Chain Development Report 2017: Measuring and Analyzing the Impact of GVCs on Economic Development" is co-published by the World Bank Group, World Trade Organization (WTO), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Japan's Institute of Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO) and the Research Center of Global Value Chains of the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), providing comprehensive analysis of the global economy. Social Sciences Academic Press (China) will translate and publish a Chinese edition.

Global value chains (GVCs), breaking up production processes so that different steps can be carried out in different countries, have transformed world trade. The report says GVCs create new opportunities for developing countries, increasing their participation in global markets and enabling them to diversify exports.

Without them, a developing country would have to be able to produce a complete product in order to expand into a new line of business. While GVCs have helped many developing countries advance, the benefits are not even.

Witnessing the potential benefits, stakeholders in developing countries typically want to see their country more involved in value chains and moving to higher value-added activities over time. However, only a few developing economies, most notably China, are deeply involved in this approach.

The report released on Monday examines ways in which developing countries can deepen their involvement in GVCs and move up the value chain.

It suggests the key to expanding the concept lies in cutting trade costs. Although they have declined over the past decades, non-tariff trade costs related to infrastructure, transportation, and uncertainty remain a barrier to wider GVC participation. In some complex value chains, such as motor vehicles, computers or machinery, non-tariff trade costs are more than four times higher than tariffs.

Participating in deep trade and investment agreements can advance this agenda, and these will be most powerful if they encompass several neighboring countries. Preferential trade agreements are increasing in number and deepening in content, surging from 50 in 1990 to 279 in 2015. However, further growth depends on preservation of an open trading system.

Small firms and the informal sector also need to be included. Poor infrastructure, corruption, and red tape tend to hamstring smaller companies more than larger ones as the latter can often finance their own infrastructure and finds ways to operate in a complex environment. Much of job creation in the world is through small and medium-size firms and their involvement in GVCs is crucial for maximizing the positive impact from trade.

The report also says China provides some interesting lessons. It is known for having started its process of economic reform by establishing four special economic zones fitting the model of export processing zones, with favorable infrastructure and customs clearance.

What is less known is that, within a short time, China had expanded these benefits to more than other 30 cities nationwide. Competition then enabled quite a few to emerge as locations with low trade costs and deepened participation in GVCs.

Research into trade added value shows private domestic firms are biggest contributors. Foreign firms are often processing exporters from China, but the successful expansion of value chains to domestic firms within the country resulted in most of the added value coming from the domestic private sector, the report states.

It also finds that proximity to the world's three major production hubs -- the United States, Asia, and Europe -- is highly important. It also matters who a country's trading partners are, how far the country is from high-income markets, and the degree to which partners are integrated within regional global value chains.

"How economies are linked, specialize, and grow (or not) is captured in the way global value chains (GVCs) are put together," Michael Spence, Nobel Laureate in Economics, wrote in a foreword to the report. "This report is a huge contribution to our deepening understanding of what the global economy really means and how it is changing."

Professor Zhao Zhongxiu, vice president of the University of International Business and Economics, hosted the launch event in Beijing on Monday, declaring the report was a very significant flagship achievement for the university's GVCs research center.

Liu Shijin, former vice president of Development Research Center of the State Council and vice-chairman of China Development Research Foundation, said in his address that, in the new international situation, China should speed up the fundamental transformation in its economic growth mode, elevate comprehensively its industrial competitiveness, and accelerate the advance to the medium and even high end of global value chains.
Chinese President Xi Jinping received the credentials presented by eight new ambassadors to China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Wednesday.

The ambassadors are Selim Belortaja from Albania, Jose Bernal from Mexico, Usenov Azamat from Kyrgyzstan, Mothusi Palai from Botswana, Edward Boateng from Ghana, Terry Branstad from the United States, Jean-Maurice Ripert from France, and Patricia Rodriguez Holkemeyer from Costa Rica.

Xi welcomed the ambassadors to China and asked them to convey his sincere greetings and good wishes to the leaders and people of their countries.

The Chinese government will provide convenience and support for the work of the ambassadors and hopes that they will actively contribute to bilateral relations between China and their countries, Xi said.

Xi spoke positively of traditional friendship and sound relations with the eight countries, and said China will enhance mutual trust, promote pragmatic cooperation, and deepen people-to-people exchanges to boost bilateral ties.

The ambassadors conveyed greetings from their state leaders to Xi. They said their countries highly value the relations with China, as well as the friendship between the peoples, and expect to participate in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

They said they feel greatly honored to serve as ambassadors to China, and will devote their best efforts to promoting cooperation between their countries and China, as well as deepening mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples.
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Qatar recently announced that tourists from China will be able to get 30-day visas on arrival for roughly $30.

According to the official WeChat account of the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the Chinese foreign ministry on Monday, Chinese tourists only need a passport with at least six months of validity, a return ticket, proof of accommodation, as well as proof of financial support amounting to $1,500 in cash or equalivant credit. An online application is also available. Electronic visas can be obtained via email within 48 hours and visitors can track the progress of the application online.

The move comes as Qatar seeks to boost tourism amid a boycott by Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Regarding the diplomatic crisis, Chinas Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang on July 7 said that China hopes the relevant countries can properly solve their differences through dialogue and negotiation and that the situation will stabilize soon.
While misty weather and overcast skies likely helped crews battling the Magpie fire in the Little Missouri National Grassland on Wednesday, a Northern Rockies Incident Management Team from North Idaho is anticipating increasingly hotter temperatures that could give the blaze a boost.

Crews flew planes over McKenzie and Billings counties to collect GPS information, said Jennifer Russell, a spokeswoman for the team from Idaho which has taken over fire operations. The blaze, which started at a campground on Saturday, is located 12 miles west and 3 miles south of Grassy Butte and covers about 5,000 acres.

A temporary flight restriction remains in place for all aircraft not in direct support of fire suppression activities for the airspace over the active fire.

Rough terrain has inhibited efforts to battle the blaze, which is largely taking place in the U.S. Forest Service's inventoried roadless area. The fire is being fueled by grasses and forbs with a few juniper stands and woody draws.

There has been no growth in the size of the fire since Monday, when an evening thunderstorm deposited an inch of rain over portions of the fire.

The Maah Daah Hey Trail system remains closed from Bennett Campground located in the McKenzie Ranger District to the Elkhorn Campground located in the Medora Ranger District. The closure will include access to the Maah Daah Hey Trail from the Bennett Trail. Also closed to public use is the Whitetail day use campground and Magpie Campground.

We are working safely to support the firefighters and fire operations and address community concerns regarding rangeland and oil and gas," Shawn Pearson, incident commander, said.
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The 2017 China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Political Parties Dialogue will be convened in Bucharest, Romania, in mid-July. [Courtesy of the International Department of the Communist Party of China]



The 2017 China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Political Parties Dialogue will be convened in Bucharest, Romania, in mid-July.

Around 400 political party leaders and entrepreneurs from China and CEEC will gather and discuss issues related to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and explore further multilateral cooperation, especially after the Beijing Belt and Road Forum held in May.

The Dialogue, jointly held by the International Department of the Communist Party of China and Romania's Social Democrat Party, is the second of its kind after it was first held in Budapest last year, within the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism, dubbed as the 16+1 framework. It has become a platform for political parties to discuss development strategies regardless of ideological and geographical differences.

The 2017 China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Political Parties Dialogue will be convened in Bucharest, Romania, in mid-July. [Courtesy of the International Department of the Communist Party of China]

Three panel discussions will be held at the Dialogue which will focus on young people's responsibility in building Belt and Road Initiative, the Initiative's interaction with local growth drivers and the China-CEEC cooperation fair.

Delegations from China's six provinces including Hebei, Henan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shaanxi and Hubei will also attend the Dialogue.

In addition, a photo exhibition themed the Belt and Road Initiative and a folk art show of Romania will be held in Bucharest on the sidelines of the Dialogue.

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, known as the Belt and Road Initiative, was put forward by President Xi Jinping during visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013.

Over the past years, the Belt and Road Initiative has become a new driver of the global economy and a new bond for exchanges between Asian and European civilizations.
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The commission on international relations of the Cuban Parliament renewed its call on Tuesday for U.S. President Donald Trump to lift the embargo on the island.

"Nobody can set rules to the Cuban people. We will accept no imposition on our democracy and the operation of our economic, political and social system," said the commission in a statement, ahead of a plenary meeting of the Parliament scheduled on Thursday.

The statement said the U.S. government must not prevent American citizens from "free and direct" contact with Cuba.

The commission also supported the Cuban authorities to continue dialogue with the U.S., based on respect and equality.

Trump signed a directive on June 16, partly cancelling former Obama administration's agreement with Cuba by tightening restrictions of travel between the two countries.
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Egypt intends to finalize a deal with Russia to build four nuclear power stations in Egypt "soon," said Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Omar Marwan on Tuesday, state-run Ahram news reported.

"The government has no intention of backtracking the deal because it's very important to Egypt," said Marwan in a press conference.

"The government wanted to ensure that the safety measures will be in place before signing the deal, so the stations would cause no harmful radiation in the future," he added.

Egypt and Russia signed an agreement in 2015 to build four nuclear power stations in Egypt by 2022.

However, the final deal hasn't been signed yet between the two sides.

In May, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told the Russian minister of defense and foreign affairs that "Egypt welcomes Russia to build the nuclear power plants in the coming few years."

The final draft of the deal was ratified by the State Council.

The first plant would be built in Dabaa west of the North Coast City of Alexandria.
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An Iraqi soldier escorts some civilians to safe areas in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, on July 10, 2017. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday formally declared Mosul liberated from Islamic State (IS) militant group after nine months of fierce fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on the liberation of Mosul by Iraqi Security Forces in a phone call on Tuesday.

The White House called the victory in Iraq was a major milestone in the fight against the Islamic States (IS) group.

During their talk, Trump also underscored his commitment to the total defeat of the IS and stressed the need to consolidate gains, the White House said.

Abadi declared Monday that Mosul was liberated from the IS after nine months of fierce fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in northern Iraq.

Mosul, 400 km north of Iraq's capital city of Baghdad, had been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled.

The IS militants had used the city as its base and occupied some areas in Iraq's northern and western regions.
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Militias allied with Tripoli's UN-backed government of national accord on Tuesday announced taking control of Garabulli city, some 50 km east the capital Tripoli, after days of fierce fighting against rival militias.

The Tripoli Brigades said they took over the city on Tuesday afternoon, after three days of violent clashes that killed four people and injured 21 others, according to the ministry of health.

The clashes broke out on Sunday between Tripoli Brigades and militias loyal to the deposed government that has been attempting to take over the capital Tripoli since it was replaced by the UN-backed unity government in December 2015.

The fighting also forced residents to flee their homes to avoid violence. Local authorities warned civilians against approaching conflict areas.

Libya has been in turmoil following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime. The country is struggling to make democratic transition amid escalating violence and unrest.
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An Indian paramilitary trooper inspects a Kashmiri civilian at a temporary checkpoint near the pilgrim base camp in Pahalgam, about 100 km south of Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 11, 2017. Security has been beefed up in Indian-controlled Kashmir following Monday's terror attack that killed at least seven Hindu pilgrims and injured 19 others. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)

India's Federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh has taken stock of the security situation in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir in the wake of a militant attack that killed seven Hindu pilgrims and wounded 19 others, officials said.

The review meeting was held Tuesday in New Delhi and attended by India's national security advisor Ajit Doval, intelligence chiefs and other senior Home Ministry officials.

"The home minister directed officials to ensure foolproof security of the pilgrims," an official said.

Singh said it was heartening to see that every section of the society has condemned the cowardly attack.

On Monday evening, seven Hindu pilgrims were killed and 19 others wounded after a busload of Hindu pilgrims came under a militant attack at village Botengoo in Anantnag town, about 47 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

A government spokesman said Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat visited Srinagar on Tuesday and met the region's governor and chief minister to discuss issues related to the attack.

Meanwhile, authorities have beefed up security across the restive region to ward off further attacks on the pilgrims. The police and paramilitary troopers were seen deployed on roads and frisking vehicles as part of heightened security measure.

Civil society groups in the region organized a sit in protest at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Tuesday evening against the killing of innocent pilgrims.

A shrine board official said the pilgrimage was going on uninterrupted and thousands of pilgrims Tuesday visited the cave.

A guerrilla war has been going on between militants and the Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. Gun fightings between militants and Indian army troops in Indian-controlled Kashmir take place intermittently.

The pilgrimage has previously been targeted by militant groups fighting New Delhi's rule in the region.

In 2002, nine Hindu pilgrims were killed and many wounded after militants entered their highly fortified base camp in region's Pahalgam.
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Nine Islamic State (IS) militants were killed after the Afghan air force struck an IS hideout in eastern Kunar province late Tuesday, provincial police chief said on Wednesday.

"The strike took place in Gamber locality of Wata Poor District at around 6:00 p.m. local time (1330 GMT). And an IS hideout was also destroyed by the attack," Gen. Juma Gul Hemat told Xinhua.

Among those killed in the strike was two local IS leaders Nora and Zia-ul-Haq in addition to an IS weapon and cash facilitator named Rahim Ullah, the police official noted.

The IS militant group has yet to make comment.

The mountainous province, 180 km east of Kabul, has been the scene of clashes between security forces and IS militants since the emergence of IS in eastern Afghan region in early 2015.

Afghan security forces have beefed up security operations against militants recently as the war-weary Afghans have been witnessing a surge in attacks by Taliban fighters and IS affiliates across the country.
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Sri Lanka's Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said on Wednesday that the island nation will ban plastic shopping bags while it is facing a dengue epidemic and garbage crisis.

Following a proposal by President Maithripala Sirisena who is also the minister of environment, the cabinet agreed to ban the use of polythene and Styrofoam which is used by local shops to wrap lunch and polythene shopping bags which is widely used in supermarkets and shops with immediate effect.

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) also stated that the use, production, import and sale of lunch sheets would be banned under the new regulation.

The CEA added that burning of plastic bags in open areas was also prohibited, from Wednesday.

Shopping bags will be replaced with reusable cloth bags under the new law, the CEA said.

Local media reports said the new law was introduced in an effort to reduce environmental damage brought about by the use of non-biodegradable plastic polythene items.

Sri Lanka has been facing a garbage crisis after a central garbage dump collapsed in April, killing over 30 people and burying an entire neighbourhood.

Local residents have complained that piles of garbage have been left uncollected in the capital with the government vowing that it would clean up Colombo and its outskirts soon.

Sri Lanka is also facing its worst ever dengue epidemic with over 225 patients killed and over 80,000 infected.
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Philippine troops and guerrillas clashed on Wednesday in Compostela Valley province in the southern Philippines, killing eight rebels and a soldier.

In a statement, the Philippine army said the troops clashed with around 40 New People's Army (NPA) rebels around 8:30 a.m. in Laak town. The troops also recovered at least five M-16 assault rifles and an M60 machine gun.

The NPA rebels reportedly fled after the clash leaving behind their dead comrades and firearms.

The rebels were reportedly part of the guerrillas that also clashed with the troops in another town on Monday.

Talks to end the decades-long communist insurgency have been temporary suspended following a series of rebel attacks against the government forces.

Negotiators from both sides are now conducting back channel talks to resume the stalled talks. They are hoping to return to the negotiating table next month.
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Ships carrying Chinese military personnel depart Zhanjiang, south China's Guangdong Province, July 11, 2017. They are to set up a support base in Djibouti. The establishment of the People's Liberation Army Djibouti base was a decision made by the two countries after friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides, according to the PLA navy. [Photo/Xinhua]

China on Wednesday said the establishment of a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) support base in Djibouti is a decision made by the two countries after friendly negotiations and will be conducive to China's performance of international obligations.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks at a daily press briefing.

He said that in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions, China has deployed vessels to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast on escort missions since 2008. During the process of escorting, Chinese officers and men encountered difficulties in replenishing food and fuel, and Djibouti offered logistical support in multiple instances.

Geng said the support base will better serve Chinese troops when they escort ships in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast, perform humanitarian rescue, and carry out other international obligations.

Moreover, the base will be conducive to driving Djibouti's economic and social development, and assist China's contribution to peace and stability both in Africa and worldwide.

Ships carrying Chinese military personnel departed from Zhanjiang in southern China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday, heading for the support base in Djibouti.

Shen Jinlong, commander of the PLA Navy, read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti, and bestowed the military flag on the fleet.
FARGO  In the near future, North Dakota businesses and government agencies victimized by computer viruses and other cybersecurity threats may be able to turn to the National Guard, according to the states adjutant general.

The one thing we know about cyber is you cant just be worried about your network, Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann told a Chamber of Commerce audience Tuesday at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Moorhead, Minn. Anything that threatens one network can easily spread to another network, he said.

To that end, the Army National Guard has created two Bismarck-based units, he told The Forum, though he hopes someday there could be one in the Red River Valley to be closer to the two research universities and Microsofts second biggest campus, which is in Fargo.

The units wouldnt engage in cyberwarfare, he said. Were talking defense here, but sometimes you gotta be  you have to have what you call an active defense,  he said. Youre out there searching for the potential problems and trying to stop them before they become a problem.

North Dakota and much of the United States has so far avoided serious cyberattacks such as those that struck Europe earlier this year, though several American firms, including hospitals near Pittsburgh and Merck, the New Jersey-based drugmaker, were affected, according to media reports.

Dohrmann said he worries about North Dakota firms, including utilities, that use old Microsoft operating systems that may be more vulnerable to future attacks.

One of the Army Guard units hes working to establish is the Defensive Cyber Operations Element, which now has two members but will be a 10-member unit when fully staffed. Because it will not deploy like other Guard units, itll be constantly available as part of the states intelligence fusion center.

Dohrmann told The Forum the unit, which will focus primarily on the North Dakota National Guards network, will be able to help other state agencies and private businesses. This could mean communicating potential threats or providing technical support, such as offering advice on ways to plug vulnerabilities, he said.

State lawmakers passed a law in the most recent session that allowed certain records to remain confidential, he said, which will encourage private firms to contact the state for help if they face a cyber attack.

The other Army Guard unit Dohrmann mentioned is the 174th Cyber Protection Team, a 39-member unit shared with South Dakota, Colorado and Utah. North Dakota has recruited the seven members required to be part of the unit and they are now in training. The need is such that theyre already on alert to deploy in two years.

He expects that the 174th soldiers will return from deployment with an incredible amount of experience and expertise that they can share with the rest of the National Guard units.

These two units could just be the start.

The Air Force also has an interest in cybersecurity, which could result in a similar unit with the Air National Guard in Fargo, Dohrmann said. The state may require a full-time cyberdefense team, which could be a job for the Bismarck-based 81st Civil Support Team. The team now responds to weapons of mass destruction incidents.

The general also talked with Chamber members about the challenge of recruiting, noting that its especially difficult for the Army National Guard, which, unlike the Air Guard, usually must deploy to unpleasant locales.

We have never not answered the call, we have never failed a mission, he said. But what we end up having to to do is when a unit gets alerted for mobilization, we gotta go fill it with people from other units and now you've just broken this unit over here for the time being.

In the long run, that could convince the Pentagon to deactivate some units here and reactivate them in other states that have less trouble with recruitment, he said. Thats how the North Dakota National Guard was downsized by about 400 members a couple of years ago, he said. We need to be able to demonstrate that we can fill those units and be ready to go anytime.

So far, that hasnt been an issue with the two cybersecurity units, but he wondered what it will take to keep these highly trained soldiers if their experience allows them to easily earn six-figure salaries in the private sector without staying in the National Guards.
Pastor Huang Yizi, who was jailed for

his Christian faith, speaks to a loved

one while in prison.

(Photo: ChinaAid)

ChinaAid

(Dali, YunnanMay 19, 2017) The case of a Christian woman in Chinas southwestern Yunnan province was returned to the public security bureau for further investigation for the second time on Tuesday.

After reviewing the case of Tu Yan, a Christian woman incarcerated on charges of participating in a cult, a local procuratorate decided to send the case back to the public security bureau for further investigation, ostensibly due to insufficient evidence. Tus lawyer, Ren Quanniu, however, alleges that the real reason the case was returned was because the court had not received an order from higher authorities on whether or not to prosecute. This is the second time the court has returned the case.

Taking advantage of this delay prosecution, Ren plans to plead for his clients release on bail and visit her later this month, possibly taking her sister with him

On Oct. 23, 2016, officials took Tu into custody and accused her of participating in the Three Grades of Servants, a religious organization the Communist Party terms a cult. Both she and her family have steadily maintained that she is just an ordinary citizen and has no cult connections.

Another Christian woman named Su Min was taken with Tu, but there has been no news of her.
Yu Minhong, director of the Internet Education Committee of Internet Society of China, delivers a speech at the China Internet Conference in Beijing on July 11, 2017. [Photo by Song Jingli/chinadaily.com.cn]

Internet education will be the next big thing when it comes to attracting startups, said experts at the China Internet Conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

Yu Minhong, director of the Internet Education Committee of Internet Society of China, said he expects the internet education sector, excluding vocational education, will see 40 to 50 listed companies with a total capitalization of about one trillion yuan.

Yu, who is also founder of the New Oriental Education and Technology Group, a private education provider, said that unlike other subsectors of the internet-related economy, the education industry will not be dominated by one major player, like Alibaba in the e-commerce sector and Baidu in the search area.

Huang Huiwen, operating partner and CMO of Sinovation Ventures, said that private investment in China's education sector has exceeded that in the United States. She added that in 2016, China witnessed 13.99 billion yuan ($2.06 billion) investment in 340 enterprises while the US saw 7 billion yuan in 138 companies, citing data from ITJUZI, a business information service provider and Cyzone and EdSurge.

She said pursuit of good-quality education in China has spurred a boom in private education and international education, citing VIP Kid, which connects Chinese students with American English teachers, as an example, adding that without technologies such live streaming, this would be impossible.

She also shared sectors Sinovation Works believes as promising, including companies that could help Chinese students score high in tests and help blue-collar and white-collar workers gain more skills.

She said she highly values startup founders who know well about education and who also have strong technology capability and are willing to keep upgrading.
BEIJING - China's sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) said Tuesday that its overseas investment returned to profit in 2016 despite uncertainties in the global investment environment.

CIC posted a US dollar-denominated net return of 6.22 percent in overseas investment last year, compared with a loss of 2.96 percent in 2015.

The year 2016 was an extraordinary year for the fund, CIC Vice Chairman and President Tu Guangshao said in its annual report.

Facing a complex global landscape fraught with uncertainties, CIC achieved encouraging results through internationalized, market-oriented and professional operations, Tu said.

The fund has seen a net cumulative annualized return of 4.76 percent in overseas investment since its establishment, according to the report.

Its total assets had grown to $813.5 billion by the end of last year.

In CIC's overseas investment portfolio, public equity, fixed income, alternative assets and cash products accounted for 45.87 percent, 15.01 percent, 37.24 percent and 1.88 percent, respectively.

For 2017, Tu cautioned that the global investment environment presented high volatility, citing rising uncertainties in global politics and policies.

"Global growth for 2017 should pick up speed, but the downside risks cannot be overlooked," he said.

Headquartered in Beijing, CIC was established as a vehicle to diversify China's foreign exchange holdings and seek maximum returns for its shareholders within acceptable risk tolerance.

China's forex reserves stood at $3.057 trillion at the end of June.

CIC invests overseas through two subsidiaries: CIC International and CIC Capital.
China Investment Corp. [Photo by Wu ChangQing/For China Daily]

China's sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp on Tuesday posted a 6.22 percent return on its overseas investments last year, reversing a loss in the previous year.

The investment gain, compared with the negative 2.96 percent return in 2015, was boosted by a rally in the stock markets in the US and Europe, as well as active adjustment of CIC's investment portfolio, Li Wenping, managing director of CIC's department of finance, told reporters at a news conference.

The $813.5 billion sovereign wealth fund reported a total net profit of $75.3 billion last year, up from $73.9 billion in the previous year, according to its 2016 annual report released on Tuesday.

CIC is seeking to increase investments in international infrastructure projects, long-term assets such as property and private equity, and to tap into the opportunities generated by the Belt and Road Initiative, said CIC spokeswoman Liu Fangyu.

The fund is also looking at boosting its direct investments, including infrastructure and property projects in the US.

The US remained the biggest investment destination for the Chinese fund with investment values exceeding $90 billion, accounting for about 42 percent of its total overseas investment last year, according to Liu. The fund set up its New York office in 2015 to explore investment opportunities there.

"Our investment portfolio in the US is very unbalanced compared with our global portfolio as it is mostly invested in the US public markets," Liu said.

"We are upbeat about the China-US economic relations and hope the US government can create a more open and fair environment for foreign institutional investors like CIC," she added.

To diversify its global investment portfolio, CIC established a subsidiary in 2015 to carry out direct investments in overseas markets. In 2016, the fund signed 16 direct investment deals worth about $5 billion.

The sovereign wealth fund has also been active in the current year. Last month CIC agreed to buy European logistics property firm Logicor for $13.95 billion from Blackstone Group LP.

Commenting on the investment outlook for 2017, CIC President Tu Guangshao said in the report that potential risks were policy changes in foreign countries and increasing uncertainty in global politics.

Numerous rounds of policy easing by the major economies have led to greater capital competition, which will add pressure on investment returns, Tu said.

By the end of 2016, the fund allocated about 46 percent of its assets in public equities markets, 15 percent in fixed-income products, and the rest in other assetssuch as hedge funds and private equities and cash productsaccording to its annual report.
A consumer browses at refrigerators at a Haier store in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo by Yu Fangping/For China Daily]

Energy-efficient home appliances have become an industry trend as consumers pursue greener lifestyles.

Innovation has triggered research and development into more environmentally-friendly air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines and water heaters, as well as a host of other household products.

"Home appliance manufacturers have had to adjust to this new philosophy," said Liang Zhenpeng, an independent consumer electronics analyst. "This means an increase in R&D investment of energy-saving, low-carbon emission products.

"Only by doing this can they succeed against fierce competition," he added.

China's leading manufacturers such as Haier Group Corp have quickly picked up on this consumer craze.

The multinational electronics and home appliance giant has launched various energy-saving air conditioners.

Many are equipped with smart sensors, which detect body movements and temperature, and then adjust the settings automatically.

Haier's R290 "intelligent air conditioner" uses low-carbon R290 refrigerant fluid, which cuts down on dangerous gases that can destroy the ozone layer.

Already the company's Maglev air-conditioning system is used in government public buildings, commercial real estate developments, hotels and hospitals.

These units can substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions and energy costs, data released by Haier showed.

"The technologies used in these air conditioning units have the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption and improve air quality," said Liang Haishan, chief executive of Haier.

"We are looking forward to advancing our eco-innovation efforts to an even greater level," Liang added.

Data from Euromonitor, the global market research company based in London, showed Haier is the number one brand for air conditioners in the world with a market share of 23.6 percent in terms of sales last year.

Apart from air conditioners, Haier has also rolled out energy-saving refrigerators, washing machines and water heaters.

The group's latest refrigerators need 40 percent less electricity, while one of its water heater designs won an energy-saving award from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In April, Haier and e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Ltd linked up to launch a new project to look into a "home appliance green ecosystem".

By virtue of Haier's social networking platform, the company will collect data from customers about freezing and storing frozen foods.

It will then design high-tech refrigerators, which will utilize environmentally-friendly materials and fluorine-free refrigerant fluid.

Fiancial figures in the first quarter showed that Haier's operating income was 37.7 billion yuan ($5.54 billion), an increase of 69.7 percent compared to the same period in 2016. Net profit increased to 1.46 billion yuan during the same time frame.

The National Bureau of Statistics released data that showed domestic home appliance manufacturers reported profits of 119.69 billion yuan last year, a 20.4 percent increase compared to 2015.

Guangdong Midea Group, for example, has been working with upstream suppliers, such as leading steel material manufacturers, HBIS Group Chengsteel Co, to promote an array of "greener" products.

"We have sold 12 million sets of ECO series air conditioners, which will save more than 1.2 billion kwH (killowatt-hour) power consumption each year," said Wu Wenxin, president at Midea's air conditioning production department.

"This will help reduce the equivalent of 500,000 metric tons of coal, and could reduce carbon emissions by 1.21 million tons," he added.
The TX maintains the iconic look of the London black cab, with rectangular grille, circular headlights, strong roofline and curved luggage space. [Photo by Angus Mcneice/China Daily]

The London Taxi Co, owned by Chinese automaker Geely, announced it had rebranded as London EV Co on Tuesday at the unveiling of the final design of the TX electric taxi in the British capital.

Chris Gubbey, CEO of LEVC, also announced a contract with Dutch company RMC to deliver 225 of the vehicles to Amsterdam. Gubbey said the company's ambition is to move beyond the London market.

He said: "Today's announcement ... demonstrates the need for EV urban commercial vehicles across Europe and the world."

Gubbey told China Daily that LEVC is in talks to deliver cars to several other European cities. Geely is currently constructing a factory in China that will produce the TX and plans to roll out the vehicles in Chinese cities in the next few years.

Geely acquired the London Taxi Co in 2013 for 11 million pounds ($14.2 million) and has since invested 325 million pounds in the business, including a 300-million-pound factory in Coventry to build the TX.

Gubby said: "Four years ago people didn't anticipate this, the company was just out of receivership and going through tough times. But early on the message from Geely was clear, the company was going to invest in product."

The TX maintains the iconic look of a London black cab though the taxis will no longer run on diesel.

The new vehicle combines an electric powertrain and battery with a small petrol generator, giving the car a range of around 110 kilometers on pure electric and a combined range of more than 640 kilometers.

The TX is a series hybrid, with all four wheels always powered by electricity and the petrol engine charging the battery when needed, as opposed to a parallel hybrid where the petrol engine cuts in and drives two wheels.

Gubbey said the decision to go with a hybrid engine over an all-electric car was driven by buyer concerns over range.

He said: "One of the things that people worry about even with a private car is range anxiety. With a commercial vehicle that becomes a critical part of the business, you cannot afford to have that anxiety."

The TX order book opens on Aug 1, commencing with drivers who have registered an interest. A driver's weekly payment plan for a new vehicle will vary on any existing deal on previous black cab models. Drivers will benefit from an estimated 100 pounds a week in fuel savings.

Recent UK legislation stipulates that all new London black cabs must be battery powered starting Jan 1, 2018. London's transport authority TfL currently anticipates that, by the end of 2020, 9,000 London taxis will be zero-emission capable vehicles.
ISTANBUL  Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), on Tuesday lauded China's efforts to extract combustible ice from sea.

Referring to the fact that China leads the world in terms of its research and development efforts, Birol said "China takes once again the leadership."

"Today China is number one in terms of the wind, number one in terms of the solar and number one in terms of the energy-efficiency effort as well as in nuclear power," he told Xinhua.

On Sunday, China completed in the South China Sea a 60-day trial of mining gas hydrates, commonly known as combustible ice, marking a breakthrough in the search for alternative clean energy resources.

It was announced that the exploration produced over 300,000 cubic meters of gas, mainly methane, with an average daily extraction of more than 5,000 cubic meters of high-purity gas, and a highest daily output of 35,000 cubic meters.

"What we are seeing is that the natural gas industry is in transformation," Birol said. "We are seeing more and more unconventional gas being part of the total gas mix."

Speaking of the ongoing efforts on methane hydrate by China, Japan and others, as US is doing on shale gas and Australia on coalbed methane, the IEA chief commented "it is not a technology for today but maybe for tomorrow."

China began its research on combustible ice in 1998, as one cubic meter of combustible ice, a kind of natural gas hydrate, equals 164 cubic meters of regular natural gas.
A man pays via WeChat app on his mobile phone in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, Sep 23, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

Tencent Holdings has applied for a license in Malaysia to offer local payment services via its WeChat Pay, in what would be a first for the platform beyond Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, the director of WeChat Pay's global operation said.

If approved, users in Malaysia will be able to link their local bank accounts to WeChat Pay and pay for goods and services in ringgit.

"Malaysia has a large Chinese community," Grace Yin said on the sidelines of a Hong Kong technology conference, explaining Tencent's choice of test bed.

WeChat Pay and Alibaba Group Holding's affiliate Alipay are turning China cashless by enabling payments or money transfers at the convenience of a code scan.

The pair are also expanding internationally in tandem with outbound tourism, getting more businesses to accept their services which allow users to make payments using bank accounts in China without complications posed by currency exchange.

Licenses for such cross-border payments differ from those required for local payment services. Hong Kong is currently the only location outside Chinese mainland where WeChat Pay and Alipay offer payment services executed entirely in the local currency.

Alipay introduced a separate app for the Hong Kong market in May, its first non-yuan payment app.

Global expansion

Tencent is China's biggest gaming and social media firm by revenue. It said there are over 600 million monthly active users of its QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay, the latter of which is embedded in WeChat, China's most popular social media app with 938 million active users.

Alipay said it has over 450 million active users.

WeChat Pay and Alipay dominate China's mobile banking market, which totaled 18.8 trillion yuan ($2.76 trillion) worth of transactions in the first three months of 2017, according to consultancy Analysys.

On Monday, Silicon Valley startup Stripe said it had partnered the pair to allow merchants worldwide using Stripe to accept payments from Chinese consumers via WeChat Pay and Alipay.

At present, WeChat Pay can be used at over 130,000 shops in 13 foreign markets - including in the United States, Europe and Japan - and supports 10 currencies, Tencent said.

Yin, who declined to give target growth figures, said expanding WeChat Pay overseas required additional layers of regulatory approval, as well as efforts to explain the system to local businesses.

"We have a large user base in China. It is often the users compelling the vendors or financial institutions to adopt WeChat Pay, so that happens very fast," she said.

Yin said there is no timeline to offer local payment services to more overseas countries, but said "nothing is impossible".

"The short-term target is still Chinese tourists," she said. "The priority is nearby countries most frequented by them, such as those in Southeast Asia."

Reuters
BEIJING  Every evening, workers gather in the Shenzhen Industrial Park in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, waiting for buses to take them home.

Companies based in the park, including electronic components makers and clothing manufacturers, have hired more than 3,000 workers from nearby villages and towns, making the industrial park one of the most bustling areas in the region.

A large number of highly competitive companies from outside the region have set up factories or subsidiaries in Xinjiang under the "pairing assistance" program, helping local residents find jobs close to their homes.

The program has allowed 19 provinces and municipalities to offer financial and personnel support to remote Xinjiang, building new infrastructure and funding local industry.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, China's economic planner, since late 2012, the provinces and municipalities have allocated more than 13 billion yuan (about $1.91 billion) to promote local industries and created more than 500,000 jobs in Xinjiang.

Thanks to support from other parts of the country, Xinjiang has seen rapid economic growth in the past few years, with infrastructure projects bringing the region closer to the rest of China.

According to official data, Xinjiang's regional economy grew by 7.6 percent in 2016, 0.9 percentage points above the national average. Per capita disposable income grew 8.9 percent to 18,355 yuan, also faster than the national rate.

By the end of 2016, the incidence of poverty in the region had dropped to 10 percent or less, according to a white paper issued by China's State Council Information Office.

The fast growth was partly boosted by infrastructure upgrades, which the region's authorities deemed as crucial for tackling overcapacity, deepening supply-side reform, and supporting the Belt and Road Initiative.

Covering an area of 1.66 million square kilometers, or about one-sixth of China's land area, Xinjiang is huge and its infrastructure is still far from enough to support its development.

According to the provincial government work report issued earlier this year, Xinjiang plans to spend over 1.5 trillion yuan on infrastructure in 2017, including more than 200 billion yuan on new roads, 34.7 billion on the rail network, and 14.4 billion to upgrade the airport in the capital Urumqi.

The region also plans to invest over 227 billion yuan in projects including water diversion, power transmission, and cloud computing, according to the report.

Xinjiang already has 4,395 kilometers of expressway and 717 kilometers of high-speed railway, as well as 18 civil airports, according to the white paper.

The Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of Silk Road, has injected new impetus to Xinjiang's development.

Since the initiative was proposed in 2013, Horgos, an old port bordering Kazakhstan in Xinjiang, has seen "explosive development," local officials said.

Last year, more than 2,400 companies were registered in Horgos. The city's GDP was 5.12 billion yuan in 2016, up 278 percent from 2015.

At the core of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Xinjiang is also quickly building up strong industries, including chemicals, information technology, machinery manufacturing, and textiles.

In 2017, industrial investment is expected to hit 461 billion yuan, of which manufacturing totals 280 billion yuan, up 51 percent from last year.
What the hell are Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke, Nick Offerman, Adam Pally, Paul Reiser, Lauren Weedman, Paul Weitzseemingly half the comedians in Hollywooddoing in an indie film adaptation of Giovanni Boccaccios 14th century masterpiece of classical Italian prose The Decameron? Short answer: Being funny. Slightly longer answer: I have no idea, really.

The Little Hoursloosely adapted from day three, tale one of Boccaccios 100-story Arabian Nights/Canterbury Tales-esque collection of novellasis written and directed by Jeff Baena, who co-wrote I Heart Huckabees with David O. Russell, and then went off to write and direct the zombie rom-com Life After Beth with Aubrey Plaza (from Parks and Recreation). Baena and Plaza have been dating since 2011, and the duo continue their collaboration with The Little Hours.

At a convent in rural Italy, circa 1347, a collection of restless young nuns is running wild and crazy. Father Tommasso (Reilly) does little to stop them, and the Mother Superior (Shannon) turns a blind eye to their shenanigans. Our central troublemakers are Alessandra (Brie), Fernanda (Plaza) and Ginerva (Micucci). Alessandra is a depressed romantic stuck in the convent by her merchant father (Reiser) because hes too broke to pony up for her dowry. Fernanda is an acid-tongued mean girl who prefers paganism to Jesus. And Ginerva is a mousy gossip with a secret lust for lesbianism. Despite their nuns habits, the ladies steal sacrificial wine, curse a blue streak and generally terrorize everyone around them.

One day, while taking goods to market, poor, drunken Father Tommasso crosses paths with young Massetto (Franco). The former servant is on the run from his cruel and seriously Guelf-obsessed (look it up) master, Lord Bruno (Offerman)mostly because he was sleeping with Lord Brunos wife (Weedman). Tommasso offers Massetto a job as handyman at the convent (the sisters having chased off the last one). In order to avoid the attentions of the scandalous nuns, however, Massetto will have to pretend to be deaf and mute. The ruse doesnt last long, of course, before the nuns are doing their best to sate their curiosity and sample the pleasures of the flesh, courtesy of young, virile Massetto.

Right out of the gate, The Little Hours looks serious, straight-faced, professionally shot. But this is no BBC-approved historical drama. Its thoroughly raucous and more than a bit ribaldstarting with the surprisingly contemporary dialogue. The characters speak in a snarky, foul-mouthed, thoroughly modern manner. Its jarring. Its also explosively funny. At times, the film approaches the absurdly mocking tone of a Monty Python film (minus the animation and surreal digressions). At other times, it hits heights of depravity that 1953s Decameron Nights couldnt touch and that Pier Paolo Pasolinis 1971 The Decameron rather celebrated (in fact, Pasolini adapted the same randy tale in his anthology).

Oddly, Baena sidesteps the original tales punchline, crafting a somewhat less cynical story that is still a deadpan sex farcebut allows the characters a bit of depth beyond their carnal urges. Its not as pointed a satire, but it adds some unexpected heart to the proceedings. Despite all the bad behaviorthe sex, the drugs, the alcoholtheres no actual malice here. In fact, its even a little sweet in its moral. Obviously female sexuality isnt viewed quite so rapaciously as it was in the 1300s. At least not by those outside the Catholic church.

Most of the humor, of course, comes from the dissonant dialogue and the fact that these nuns curse like sailors on leave. But its a running joke that holds up surprisingly well. A lot of that is due to the fact that Baenas hand-picked collection of comic ringers know how to time their F-bombs for maximum impact. Much of the dialogue feels improvised, and many sequences leave viewers wanting more. (Brie and Reiser have a wonderful back-and-forth that deserves a return engagement, Offerman manages to illicit snickers at the mere mention of the word Guelf, and Armisen nearly steals the show as a quietly shocked bishop.) Baenas script doesnt aim for any particular critique of religion in general or the Catholic church in particular. Its more a send-up of the absurd idea of sin, the idea that human beingsnuns, priests or otherwisecan actually give up their sins of the flesh. A more in-depth examination of the topic could certainly be put forth, but Baenas attentions are focused elsewheremostly on the fact that cursing, drunken, fornicating nuns are funny as hell. And thats no sin.
BEIJING  As the development of clean energy hit new records, China, the world's largest energy investor and innovation center, has made stronger-than-expected efforts to accelerate the process.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), on Tuesday lauded China's efforts in the research and development of clean energy, saying "China takes once again the leadership."

China's contribution

On Sunday, China completed in the South China Sea a 60-day trial of mining gas hydrates, commonly known as combustible ice, marking a breakthrough in the search for alternative clean energy resources.

It was announced that the exploration produced over 300,000 cubic meters of gas, mainly methane, with an average daily extraction of more than 5,000 cubic meters of high-purity gas, and a highest daily output of 35,000 cubic meters.

China began its research on combustible ice in 1998, as one cubic meter of combustible ice, a kind of natural gas hydrate, equals 164 cubic meters of regular natural gas.

"What we are seeing is that the natural gas industry is in transformation," Birol said. "We are seeing more and more unconventional gas being part of the total gas mix."

The IEA said Tuesday in its report at the 22nd World Petroleum Congress held in Istanbul that as the world's largest energy investor, China saw a 25 percent decline in coal-fired power investment last year and is increasingly driven by clean electricity generation and networks, as well as energy efficiency investment.

The agency expects China to overtake Europe within a few years in terms of energy-efficiency investment, as the Asian country has replaced Japan as the world's top investor on energy research and development as a share of the GDP.

Meanwhile, a BP report said China has topped the world in renewable energy production.

"China continued to dominate renewables growth, contributing about 40 percent of global growth - more than the entire OECD (the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) - and surpassed the United States as the largest producer of renewable power last year," BP chief economist Spencer Dale said in the report.

Global hydro power rose 2.8 percent in 2016 from a year ago, with more than 40 percent of growth from China, according to the latest BP Statistical Review of World Energy released Monday.

In the meantime, global nuclear power went up by 1.3 percent, or 9.3 million tons of oil equivalent, with China contributing almost all the growth, the report said.

The BP data showed carbon emissions in the world rose slightly by 0.1 percent in 2016, while in China, the emissions fell 0.7 percent from a year ago.

"China's carbon emissions are estimated to have actually fallen over the past two years, after growing by more than 75 percent in the previous 10 years, and some of the improvements reflect structural factors that are likely to persist," Dale said.

"Today China is number one in terms of the wind, number one in terms of the solar and number one in terms of the energy-efficiency effort as well as in nuclear power," Birol told Xinhua.

Global development

Energy investment around the world amounted to $1.7 trillion in 2016, accounting for 2.2 percent of global GDP, the IEA report said, noting that spending on the electricity sector worldwide exceeded the combined spending on oil, gas and coal supply for the first time.

"The share of clean-energy spending reached 43 percent of total supply investment, a record high," the report said.

The spending on energy declined for the second year in a row, as increased spending on energy efficiency and electricity networks was more than offset by a continued drop in upstream oil and gas spending, it added.

"Our analysis shows that smart investment decisions are more critical than ever for maintaining energy security and meeting environmental goals," Birol said in the report.

"As the oil and gas industry refocuses on shorter-cycle projects, the need for policymakers to keep an eye on the long-term adequacy of supply is more important," he said.

The report expects global upstream oil and gas investment to stabilize in 2017. "However, an upswing in US shale spending contrasts with stagnation in the rest of the world, signaling a two-speed oil market," it noted.

"At the same time, the oil and gas industry overall is transforming itself by delivering large cost savings and focusing more on technology development and efficient project execution," the report said.
BEIJING  China's auto sales grew again in June after two months of decline, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed Tuesday.

Some 2.2 million vehicles were sold last month, up 4.5 percent year-on-year, compared with a 0.1 percent decline in May and a 2.2 percent drop in April.

Meanwhile, 2.2 million vehicles were produced in June, up 5.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the CAAM.

Sales of passenger cars climbed 2.3 percent to 1.8 million vehicles last month, 2.2 percentage points slower than the overall growth.

But both production and sales in new energy vehicles (NEVs) were particularly robust, with 59,000 NEVs sold in June, up 33 percent year-on-year, while 65,000 NEVs were produced, up 43.4 percent.

In the first six months, total auto output and sales increased by 4.6percent and 3.8 percent year-on-year to 13.5 million and 13.4 million vehicles, respectively, a slowdown from the the growth in the same period last year.

Some 195,000 NEVs were sold during the six-month period, up 14.4 percent from the first half of 2016, while 212,000 NEVs were produced, up 19.7 percent.

The tepid auto market was partly a result of a higher sales tax, which was raised to 7.5 percent this year.

In October 2015, China slashed the sales tax on cars with engines of 1.6 liters or below from 10 percent to 5 percent, helping increase total auto sales to a record high of 28.03 million last year.

The tax rate will return to 10 percent again in 2018, according to the government.

China has had the world's largest car market for eight consecutive years.
BENI SUEF, Egypt  The first gas regulator station operated by a Chinese company in Egypt will be operational in September, a company representative said Tuesday.

The Beni Suef station, operated by China Petroleum Technology & Development Corporation (CPTDC), a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), will start pumping natural gas in September, Qitang Li, a CPTDC representative in Cairo told Xinhua.

CPTDC signed a $20 million deal with Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO) in 2016 to establish three gas regulator stations in Egypt.

Under the deal, the Beni Suef station, 150 kilometers south to the Egyptian capital Cairo, will start operating in September, while the other two stations at Burullus city and the new administrative capital will start assembling work soon, Li said.

"The full capacity of Beni Suef station is 920,000 standard cubic feet per hour, making it one of the biggest gas regulator stations in Egypt," said Wenqing Li, project manager of the CPTDC team, adding that it will regulate gas to the 4.8 GW combined cycle power plant built by Siemens.

CPTDC offers cutting-edge technology and fine craftsmanship at competitive prices, he said.

"We hope this station will pave the road for laying foundation of more cooperation with other Egyptians companies," he added.

The three Chinese-made gas regulator stations will regulate the temperature, air pressure and flow speed of raw gas according to Siemens standard, said Ahmed Khalid, GASCO's combinations engineer in Beni Suef power plant.

"We have finished assembling the main machines. The control panel, control room, heaters and some other devices will be delivered by China in the coming few weeks," he said.

Winning the bid among 18 companies from around the world, CPTDC has provided GASCO with "the best and most affordable offer," said Assem al-Qabbany, another GASCO engineer, adding the Chinese team who work with GASCO is very cooperative and keen to provide all aids.

Explaining the technique of how the station works, al-Qabbany said the CPTDC's stations in Egypt will receive raw gas coming from GASCO, the country's main gas provider, and process it by three stages: filtering, metering and regulating.

Covering an area of 500,000 square meters, the Beni Suef Siemens plant will be capable of providing electricity to approximately 15 million Egyptians when it becomes full operation by the end of 2017.

In March, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel witnessed the symbolic inauguration of the first phase of Siemens' mega project in Egypt.

The mega project, comprising three combined cycle power plants and 12 wind parks, will generate a total output of 16.4 gigawatts, which are eight times as much as the output of the Aswan High Dam. The mega project is expected to boost the country's power generation by approximately 50 percent by May 2018.
The first batch of 1.2THP engines, produced by Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co Ltd, departed from the Yangluo Port in Wuhan, on July 6, 2017. [Photo/dpca.com.cn]

The first batch of 1.2THP engines, produced by Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co Ltd, have been shipped for the European market, the Chutian Metropolis Daily reported.

The containers, carrying 936 engines, departed from the Yangluo Port in Wuhan on July 6, and will arrive at the Antwerp Port, in Belgium, through the Marine Silk Road.

The 1.2THP engine has won the "International Engine of the Year" award by Engine Technology International magazine in the 1.0 liter to 1.4 liter category for three consecutive years.

The PSA Group has five engine factories worldwide, among which only two can produce the 1.2THP engine. The first factory is in France and the second is the Xiangyang factory of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile.

As cars equipped with the 1.2THP engine sell well in Europe, the French factory's capacity is insufficient and needs more imports from China.

In September, the Xiangyang factory received an order for 60,000 engines from the PSA Group. The factory assembled six sample engines in November and did not receive any complaint.

"It means Chinese engines have reached the same manufacturing level as Europe," Fu Weimin, Xiangyang factory director, said.

The 1.2THP engines have been equipped in Peugeot 2008, 308 and 408 models, as well as Citroen C4L models. After being exported to Europe, the engines will be put onto the European market and used in the European version 3008 and C4L models.
Miao Wei, industry and information technology minister. [Photo/VCG]

China has vowed to beef up the construction of a cybersecurity systemwhere government, enterprises and industry associations will strengthen their cooperation and laws and regulations related to cybersecurity will be improvedthe top industry regulator said on Tuesday.

The move will boost the deep integration of the real economy and the internet, the regulator added.

"We will step up efforts to promote the construction of information infrastructure, expand broadband network coverage, and build up the industrial internet platform," Industry and Information Technology Minister Miao Wei told the China Internet Conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

Miao emphasized the importance of international cooperation, protection of data security and improvement of the regulatory system.

"We should continuously make breakthroughs in a number of core and key technologies related to cybersecurity," he said.

Miao added that the ministry will build up the country's capability in cybersecurity to help the integration of manufacturing and internet advance in a stable and sustainable way.

Yang Xiaowei, deputy director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, said that with the rapid growth of the internet, cloud computing and big data, a lot of cybersecurity challenges had emerged.

"We should strengthen the governance of cybersecurity and make innovations in core intelligent hardware and the whole industrial chain," Yang said, adding that high-quality staff needed to be attracted to the construction of the internet infrastructure.

Qi Xiangdong, chairman of 360 Business Security Group, an internet security company affiliated to Qihoo 360 Technology Co, said that cyber security was of the utmost urgency, and there was a pressing need to build a brand new cybersecurity system in China.

He said data will likely be one of the major targets of hackers and online criminals in the coming decades.

"The recent WannaCry ransomware virus highlights hacker's rising intentions for cyber attacks aimed at governments, institutions and enterprises. Such cyberattacks will become even more rampant in the future."

According to Qi, there is still a large gap between China and the United States, as the input of cybersecurity in China accounts for less than one percent of total IT investment, while it takes up 15 percent in the US.

"We aim to work with the government and industry organizations, to create a better environment and bring vitality to the development of the booming internet sector," he added.

Zhang Tianqi, an expert with Tophant Security Co, an internet security solutions provider, said the cooperation among authorities, companies and industry associations showed the importance and urgency of cybersecurity.

"Along with the diversification of internet business, such as the popular audio-visual programs and live-streaming platforms, the risks of being attacked by a virus are also on the rise," Zhang said.

Zhang added that companies should play an active role in conducting tests to find security holes and promote the establishment of an industry standard and cybersecurity system.

The country released an emergency response plan for internet security incidents on June 27 to improve handling of cybersecurity incidents, and prevent and reduce damage.

The plan divides cybersecurity incidents into six categories, including pernicious procedural incidents, cyberattacks and information security incidents.

Contact the writers at fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn
Going shopping, even in a giant mall, can be a breeze, if you have a personal shopping assistant who takes all the pain awaygiving you advice on which clothes suit you, guiding you to the nearest toilet, letting you in on the best stores for discounts and even lugging around the shopping bags.

Forget boyfriends, who are usually impatient and easily get lost. The U05 robot can promptly and tirelessly meet all your shopping needs.

Step into a mall that you have never set foot in and the U05 can recognize "who you are" and take you effortlessly to the products you really want, based on data about your previous spending habits, according to Zhao Botao, director of the marketing department of Canbot Technology Co Ltd.

Produced by the Shenzhen-based Canbot, the U05 is said by its manufacturers to be only the second mass-produced robot launched globally-after the Japan's Pepper robot made by Soft-Bankthat can be fully engaged in commercial use.

Soft Bank reports Pepper was launched in pilot programs last year to help customers in Californian retail storesand the result was a significant increase in customers.

In July, the first 500 U05 are due to come off the assembly line, and all have been sold out, mostly reserved by shopping centers, museums and banks, Zhao said.

According to a report by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China's service robot market has entered a rapid growth phase, with annual sales expected to exceed 30 billion yuan ($4.4 billion) by 2020.

In the next few years, the annual growth rate of China's service robot sector will be around 17 percent, and the rate of market penetration will gradually increase, which means demand for service robots will grow, according to statistics from the Prospective Industrial Research Institute, an industry consulting company.

The market for service robots is larger than that of industrial robots, whose market is estimated by analysts to grow 6 percent annually.

Service robots help human beings, typically by doing a task that is repetitive, dull, or dirty like household cleaning. They typically are autonomous but can also be operated by a built-in control system, with manual override options.

According to the International Federation of Robotics, the essential difference with an industrial robot is that the latter's working environment is fixed and the service robot's working environment is unknown in the vast majority of cases.

The service robot has great development potential and a broad market appeal in China, because of soaring labor costs. Robots are expected to replace workers in more and more sectors, said a research note from the Prospective Industrial Research Institute.

"Suppose a company has to pay 120,000 yuan per year in wages for a staff member. If a company buys a U05 robot, it's only a one-off expense of 188,000 yuan, without other additional spending," Zhao said.

Last year, Shen Guoxin, vice-minister of industry and information technology, told a meeting that service robots could play a very important role and their development should be promoted.

The remarks were interpreted by industry insiders as an indication that service robots will see faster development in the coming years, supported by new policies and regulations.

The ministry is now organizing experts to study and formulate standards and certification conditions for catering service robots, so as to further standardize the industry and ensure product quality, according to a report by Shanghai Securities.

Some big companies have been involved in the service robot field, hoping to tap into demand from high growth industries.

However, small and medium-sized robot companies are still facing funding challenges. Analysts say research and development of a robot usually takes a long time, with the U05 robot for example having spent three years in the lab.

That's partly because the requirements for service robotsfor intelligence, safety and reliabilityare far higher than for other kinds of cyber products.

Zhao said many robots currently in the market fail to give customers a satisfying user experience, which has in turn weakened their enthusiasm to buy more products.
Premier Li Keqiang visits Qinchuan Machine Tool & Tool Group Co, Ltd, a leading company in Baoji, Shaanxi province, on July 10, 2017. [Photo by Wu Zhiyi/China Daily]

Premier Li Keqiang called on domestic manufacturers to make China's own robotsa vital part of the Made in China 2025 strategywith further technical and organizational innovation during his visit to Shaanxi province, which ended on Tuesday.

Equipment manufacturers should boost employees' enthusiasm and encourage them to develop new technologies for the robotics industry and to bring smart manufacturing to a higher level, Li said on Monday during a tour of Qinchuan Machine Tool & Tool Group Co, Ltd, a leading company in Baoji in the northwestern province.

Li's comment came after learning the company had developed and made industrial retarders, a key component in robots.

In the past, China had to import the components from foreign manufacturers. Li called on employees to make China's own robots with independently developed technologies.

Since Made in China 2025 was proposed in the annual Government Work Report that Li delivered in 2015, equipment manufacturing and the robotics industry have boomed in the world's second-largest economy. The stock price of Shenyang Machine Tools Co, the nation's largest machine tool maker, soared that year by six times to 42 yuan ($6.15).

Qinchuan, the third-largest company in the sector in terms of revenue, now is one of the few machine tool makers to show a profit, with a net profit of 14.9 million yuan last year. The company has kept a couple of records in Asia in high-precision machine tool making, said company Chairman Long Xingyuan.

Machine tools, which improve the quality of goods produced by their customer companies, are an essential part of equipment manufacturing, as China still has to import high-end machines for the manufacturing industry. Meanwhile, equipment manufacturing is undergoing profound changes.

Long said about 98 percent of large-scale machine tools are customized for each client. About three-fourths of his employees have built their teams to boost technological innovation and provide differentiated services to clients.

Li said traditional, standardized production no longer adapts to customized demands. Big companies should promote entrepreneurship and innovation to remain competitive, he added.

In addition to technological innovation, Qinchuan has developed a new model to serve clients by making clear how long a machine tool can earn enough profits to cover the cost, Long said.

For example, one of Qinchuan's machine tools produces wheel gears for new energy vehicles and can earn about 12,000 yuan in net income per day. Long said one such machine tool can pay for itself in about 13 months even though it sells for 4.56 million yuan.

Innovations have resulted in expanded business, as the company achieved a 31 percent increase in revenue, to 2 billion yuan, from January to May. And the company's products are exported to 15 countries, competing with German and Japanese manufacturers in the international market.
Xiamen University, one of China's most-prestigious schools, is predicting a bright future for its recently opened campus in Malaysia, as Zhao Xinying reports.

Haw Choon Yian teaches students in a laboratory. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

As a member of the first group of students to attend Xiamen University Malaysia, Ohg Sui Chang appreciates the feeling of having no predecessors.

"Very few students have such an experiencethere are no previous graduates and almost everything on campus is new and waiting to be explored," the 20-year-old Kuala Lumpur resident said, adding that he is excited about the opportunity because he is always willing to try something new and challenging.

In February last year, Xiamen University Malaysia, or XMUM, was officially opened, and 200 students enrolled. It is located 45 kilometers southwest of Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, and covers an area of 0.6 square kilometers. The total planned floor space is 470,000 square meters and the school is expected to attract investment of 1.3 billion ringgit($300 million).

In recent years, China has deepened international cooperation on education, and by the end of last year, five universities had set up branches or institutes overseas, including Soochow University(Laos), Beijing Language and Culture University (Japan), and Yunnan University of Finance and Economics (Thailand).

What makes XMUM different is that it is the first entirely new campus to be established overseas by a renowned Chinese university.

Historic reciprocation

The idea originated in March 2011, when a senior Malaysian education official met with Hao Ping, a vice-minister of education, and expressed the hope that a Chinese university would establish a campus in Malaysia.

Xiamen University, a leading school in the southeastern province of Fujian, was selected by the Ministry of Education to turn the dream into a reality. The province has a wealth of historical connections with Malaysia; the university was founded in 1921 by the late philanthropist Tan Kah Kee, a Chinese businessman who made a fortune in the rubber trade in what was then Malaya.

After almost a century, Xiamen University, having gained fame domestically and broadened its horizons in an attempt to become a world-renowned institution, expressed its gratitude to Malaysia, according to Zhu Chongshi, the president.

"We consider it historic reciprocation, and believe that the establishment of the campus will definitely boost further cooperation and educational exchanges between China and Malaysia," he said.

According to Zhu, the aim is to build XMUM into one of Malaysia's best schools, and provide its students with skills that will enable them to become internationally competitive. Moreover, the school intends to follow in Tan's footsteps and support education by ensuring that it remains a not for-profit establishment.

To that end, it charges some of the lowest tuition fees among private universities in Malaysia22,000 ringgit to 24,000 ringgit a yearand surplus funds will be invested in the development of the campus, rather than being brought back to China, according to Zhu.
A court in Kaifeng, Central China's Henan province, started the public hearing of a case on Wednesday morning, in which three former executives of fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui allegedly defrauded loans and bill acceptances.

Prosecutors accused the three, who worked for Henan Yuda Real Estate Company, controlled by Guo, of fraudulently obtaining loans and bill acceptances more than 40 times from seven banks by making fake contracts and investment projects. The involved money was nearly 1.5 billion yuan ($220 million).

The three defendants are Zhang Xincheng, the ex-financial director of the company, Guo Lijie, the company's former deputy manager, and Xiao Yanling, the former deputy head of the company's financial department. The company was also sued on the same charge.

It is the second trial of a series related with Guo Wengui, who fled abroad about three years ago.

In June, three ex-executives of Beijing Pangu Investment Inc, also controlled by Guo Wengui, were given prison terms for fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign currency of 3.2 billion yuan by using fake materials, seals and contracts in Dalian, Liaoning province.

In April, Interpol issued a "red notice", the closest thing to an international arrest warrant, for Guo Wengui, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
China urged parties involved to stop exaggerating what they cite as "China's responsibility" in addressing the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, saying this is driven by "ulterior motives".

China is neither the focal point of the issue, nor the force behind the increased tension in the peninsula, and it does not hold the key to solving the issue, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in Beijing on Tuesday.

The spokesman made the remarks as the United States and Japan are pressing China to play a bigger role and put more pressure on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The US has circulated a proposed resolution to the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, according to the Associated Press, looking for new sanctions on the DPRK, which claimed to have successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this month.

"The crux of the issue lies in the dispute between the US and the DPRK. The issue is essentially about security," Geng said.

"Recently, some people have been playing up and underlining the so-called China responsibility in the peninsula's nuclear issue," Geng said.

"They do this either because of a lack of comprehensive and accurate understanding of the issue or out of ulterior motives and attempts to shirk their responsibility," he said.

Reiterating the "unremitting effort" China has been making and the "important and constructive role" it has been playing, Geng said China's role is "indispensable" for solving the issue.

China's efforts will be undermined if other countries do not coordinate, Geng emphasized.

"If China is working hard to extinguish the fire, while some others are trying to fan the flames; if China is carrying out the UN Security Council resolutions to the full, while some others are infringing on China's legitimate rights and interests ... how can the issue be solved?"

China hopes all parties will take on their due roles and responsibilities, and work with it to pull the issue back to the negotiating table as soon as possible, Geng added.
China's most-wanted fugitive Guo Wengui was cheated out of 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) by two fraudsters, one of them pretending to be a relative of senior officials and posing as a senior military officer, police said.

The other fraudster used a shell company to do his cheating, police said.

The two suspects, Zhao Lixin and Ge Changzhong, were detained by police on fraud charges in June. Song Jun, the intermediary between Guo and the two men, also was arrested in June in a separate case involving suspected personal information infringement.

Guo, the "actual controlling shareholder" of Beijing Pangu Investment and Beijing Zenith Holdings, fled China under suspicion of multiple crimes in August 2014 and is listed under an Interpol "red notice" for wanted fugitives.

Zhao, 50, was living in the southern city of Shenzhen when he was contacted in May 2015 by Song, who formerly worked in civil aviation.

After claiming to have a connection with senior officials, Zhao was offered 20 million yuan in exchange for helping to free one of Guo's secretaries, surnamed Yang, who had been placed under residential surveillance.

Zhao could not resist such temptation and accepted the offer, along with Ge, vice-president of Zhongzhixiaokang Investment and Management, a shell company without any real business operation, according to police.

Representing Guo, Song first met Zhao and Ge in May 2016 in Shenzhen. Song was assured Zhao was a senior military officer through the meeting in Shenzhen.

According to police, Song said: "The true intention of Guo is to find people to help him reach high-level officials to look into the possibility of his return to China. The request to release the secretary will test Zhao's connection with senior officials."

By coincidence, Yang was freed on bail after her residential surveillance came to an end on May 18, 2016. Guo mistakenly thought that Zhao and Ge had organized the release, sending thanks in a WhatsApp message. "Brother Ge, I'm fully confident about you," Guo wrote.

"Guo was very happy about the result and asked me to meet him in Britain as soon as possible," Ge told police, adding that he contacted Guo's assistant to discuss the transfer of money later that day.

According to bank statements, Guo transferred 6 million yuan and 14 million yuan to the accounts of Zhongzhixiaokang and Hong Kong Wansui group, respectively, as Ge requested.

In June 2016, Ge flew to London to meet Guo and discuss business cooperation.

"Guo kept asking me about Zhao, such as his connection with senior officials and how he established the connection. When I said I was not familiar with Zhao's background, he burst into a fury," Ge told police. "Guo realized that we could not help him return home."

In a WhatsApp message to Song, Guo said: "I'm sure that Zhao was telling an out-and-out lie that he had connection with senior officials. They are all big swindlers. I'm ashamed that I was cheated. I've never seen such con-artists in my life."

Guo is suspected of colluding with Song and Hainan Airlines staff to obtain personal information of passengers, as well as fabricating and spreading information to mislead the public via overseas media outlets and online video platforms.

Xinhua
Workers deal with water lettuce on a refuse-removal boat in Chongqing on Sunday. [Photo by Ran Wen/For China Daily]

In recent days, a large quantity of invasive water lettuce has appeared on the surface of the Yangtze River in Chongqing, clogging waterways and threatening the safety of boats.

After heavy rains on the upper reaches of the river last week, the plants washed into Chongqing on Saturday at about noon. Large amounts soon gathered in the middle of the river and along the banks.

On Tuesday, the city's maritime department issued a warning and asked boats to avoid the floating plants.

The species, introduced from overseas, is among the world's most productive freshwater plants. It is found in nearly all tropical and subtropical freshwater areas.

As it often grows into dense mats that clog channels, China has listed it as one of its 100 most dangerous invasive species. In addition, water lettuce will also block the exchange of air, reducing oxygen in the water and killing fish. Large mats can also block light and alter underwater plant communities.

At present, the main way to control water lettuce is to physically remove it and transport it to onshore disposal areas.

This is "the second time this year" that water lettuce has been found in downtown Chongqing, said Di Hongwei, of Chongqing Water Environment Co, which cleans the city's waterways.

The company scoops out garbage and storm debris to make waterways more scenic and easier to navigate.

Flood season is the busiest time of year for river cleaners. Last month, the company removed more than 1,000 metric tons of water lettuce from the river. The work took a week.

"We didn't find water lettuce last year," Di said. "But there was a large quantity of it in 2015. In some backwater bays, the plants were so dense that a man could stand on them."

To speed up the cleaning, the company has sent three large refuse removal boats and hired another four to remove the plants around the clock. It expects to take a week to finish the work.

Chongqing, a megacity of 30 million people, is located on the upper reaches of the Yangtze, the world's third-longest river at 6,300 kilometers.

Since the Three Gorges Dam was built, the river's water level rises in winter and drops in summer, opposite the natural cycle.

Garbage on the river's surface creates unpleasant scenery and difficult navigation for ships. Trash can even affect the production of electricity at the dam. In recent years, Chongqing has removed more than 5 million tons of garbage from the river.




Floodwaters from the Liujiang River soak part of Liuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Tuesday. It was the third flood in the city since June 29. [Photo by Li Hanchi/For China Daily]

Heavy rain over the next 10 days may cause flooding in small and medium-size rivers in southern and northern China, and high winds could make the situation worse, according to flood control authorities.

Precipitation in parts of southern China is forecast to reach up to 150 millimeters between July 10 and 19. Northeast China will see rainfall from 50 to 100 mm, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said late on Monday.

"Floods happen faster in rivers in northern China, which have comparatively weak flood control facilities. It has been a problem that sometimes small rains can result in big disasters in the north," it said.

It also said many water conservancy projects along three major waterways in Northeast China, including the Heilong and Songhua rivers, are still under construction and have yet to be tested by major floods, which also increases the risks.

The recent rainfall has damaged some flood control facilities in southern China and raised most rivers there to the high water mark, leaving the region more vulnerable to flooding as a new round of rainfall approaches, the headquarters said.

At a news conference on Monday, Chen Lei, minister of water resources and deputy director of the headquarters, said a more specific plan for discharging water from reservoirs along the Yangtze River, including the Three Gorges Reservoir, will be drawn up to create space for potential floodwaters.

He also said patrols will be continued along the Yangtze, despite reduced water levels, as safety hazards may have developed in some sections of dams that have been soaked for days.

"There will obviously be stronger typhoon activity starting in mid-July. Two typhoons may come simultaneously with complex and variable moving tracks," the headquarter's statement said, adding that more consultations will be conducted with various departments so that areas likely to be affected can take precautionary measures.

While major rivers in China are generally well equipped with flood control facilities, more investment needs to be made to enhance control along the 166,000 kilometers of small and medium-size rivers, according to Zhang Xiangwei, deputy director of planning division at the Ministry of Water Resources.

Zhang told an earlier news conference that China had invested 94.7 billion yuan ($13.9 billion) from 2009 to the end of last year to enhance the flood control facilities on 55,000 km of small and medium-size rivers, which brought key sections of those rivers up to the required flood control standards.

He also said the central government had decided to invest 138 billion yuan to enhance flood control facilities on another 47,000 kilometers of rivers from 2016 to 2020, after floods last year inflicted great losses.




Chinese ships hone their combat skills in Mediterranean before exercise with Russia

A Chinese naval flotilla carried out a live-fire exercise in the Mediterranean Sea on Monday en route to the Baltic Sea for a joint drill with the Russian Navy, the People's Liberation Army Navy said on Tuesday.

The flotilla, comprising the CNS Hefei, CNS Yuncheng and CNS Luomahu, fired several rounds at sea targets. Sailors also used small arms to hit nearby targets during the exercise, according to a news release from the PLA Navy.

The operation was aimed at honing crew members' skills in attacking small targets, the news release quoted Zhao Yanquan, captain of the Hefei, as saying.

The Hefei is a Type 052D guided-missile destroyer, the Yuncheng is a Type 054A guided-missile frigate and the Luomahu is a Type 903A replenishment ship. All of them belong to the South Sea Fleet and are said to be the best class of their category.

After the exercise, the flotilla continued to sail toward its destination in Baltic Sea to take part in the "Joint Sea 2017" drill with the Russians in waters off St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad.

The Chinese ships set off for the drill from their home port in Sanya, Hainan province, on June 18.

The drill is expected to improve coordination between the two navies on joint defense operations at sea, the PLA Navy said, adding that it includes two stages - the first in the Baltic Sea in late July and the second in the seas of Japan and Okhotsk in mid-September.

In addition to the flotilla led by the Hefei, another Chinese naval flotilla - the CNS Changchun, a Type 052C guided-missile destroyer; CNS Jinzhou, a Type 054A frigate; and the CNS Chaohu, a Type 903A replenishment ship - is also in the Mediterranean Sea, making visits to various nations.

The flotilla left Shanghai on April 23, the date marking the 68th anniversary of the founding of the PLA Navy, and is in the middle of a goodwill voyage to more than 20 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania.

The ships entered the Mediterranean on Thursday through the Suez Canal following a four-day call in Djibouti that ended on July 1. They will visit Italy next.
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Wei Xiang and his mother. [Photo/Xinhua]

Wei Xiang, a disabled student from northwest China's Gansu province, has been officially accepted by the country's prestigious Tsinghua University, reports thepaper.cn.

He will study as a math major in the university's experimental classes for science disciplines.

The news was confirmed on a post on the official Sina Weibo account of the provincial education authority in Gansu on July 11, 2017.

It said that Wei's 648 points scored on the "Gaokao," China's college entrance exam, is good enough to qualify Wei Xiang for Tsinghua University, which plans to enroll 23 students for science and engineering from Gansu this year.

Wei Xiang suffers from a severe disability which requires full-time care, which the 19-year-old's mother provides.

A post on WeChat on June 26, 2017 includes a letter from Wei Xiang, requesting preferential help from Tsinghua.

The letter created a stir on the internet after being re-posted numerous times by WeChat users.

"I can't look after myself because of my body's condition," said Wei Xiang. "I'm excited that I have the possibility to be admitted to Tsinghua University, but am concerned about my life there. I hope that the university can provide me a dorm for me and my mother so that she can help me with my life."

Qiu Yong, President of Tsinghua University, later said the university had learned of Wei Xiang's situation, and would provide a free dorm for the student and his mother once his admission is confirmed.

The WeChat post also includes a letter from the university to Wei Xiang titled "life brings pain sometimes, but have faith," providing encouragement to the freshman-to-be.
KAIFENG, Henan -- A trial opened Wednesday in Central China's Henan province on the suspected crimes of Henan Yuda Real Estate Company and three of its employees.

The company and its employees Zhang Xincheng, Guo Lijie and Xiao Yanling are charged with two crimes of fraud, according to Kaifeng City Intermediate People's Court.

The "actual controlling shareholder" of the company, Guo Wengui, fled China under suspicion of multiple crimes in August 2014 and is currently listed under an Interpol "red notice" for wanted fugitives.

The procuratorate in Henan found that from May 2008 to April 2015, Guo told the three to set up shell companies and fabricate contracts and projects to fraudulently obtain loans and for banks to accept financial bills, worth a total of 1.44 billion yuan (about 211.05 million U.S. dollars).

Part of the money was used to clear Yuda's debts, while the rest was transferred overseas or to Beijing Pangu Investment. More than 212 million yuan is yet to be recovered.

According to a Chinese court ruling last month, Guo, also the actual controlling shareholder of Pangu, directed three individuals of Pangu to apply for loans from banks using fake contracts, stamps and financial statements.

The three received prison terms for fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign exchange. Pangu was also fined 245 million yuan.
The railway staff are preparing the 15 yuan ($2.2) meal boxes.[Photo/VCG]

Passengers travelling on 27 major high-speed rail stations will be able to pre-order meals online that will be delivered to their seats from July 17, according to Beijing-based China Youth Daily.

The move marks China's railway offering more food and beverage options to travelers for the first time.

Passengers taking G or D-bullet trains or electric multiple unit (EMU) trains will be able to order food through 12306.cn website and app and the meal will be delivered to their seats.

Travelers will be prompted about ordering meals when booking the ticket via 12306.cn. The web page will display multiple types of box lunches and snacks. Passengers can pay through Alipay and WeChat. The staff members will take the ordered food to the passengers during meal time.

The railway authorities scrapped the rule that passengers had to be provided the 15 yuan ($2.2) meal box on Jan 1. "The trains could sell the 15 yuan package or not, but it is no longer mandatory that the railway staff members have to provide the meal," said Huang Xin, deputy director of the operation department of the transportation bureau of China Railway Corp.

To meet the varied demands, the railway department has developed over 400 kinds of food, with the price as low as 10 yuan for dumplings, steamed buns and bread.

According to an official, all the food and beverage products could be sold at marked prices on 12306.cn. The railway will supervise qualifications of vendors, conditions of food producers in accordance with national laws and regulations to provide safe food for travelers.
Three defendants stand trial at the Kaifeng Intermediate People's Court in Henan province on Wednesday morning. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Three former executives related with fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui pleaded guilty on Wednesday to fraudulently securing loans and bankers' acceptances worth nearly 1.5 billion yuan ($225 million).

The defendants, who all worked for Henan Yuda Real Estate, have admitted making fake contracts and investment projects since 2008.

Zhang Xincheng, former financial director; Xiao Yanling, former deputy financial director; Guo Lijie, former deputy manager, are being tried at Kaifeng Intermediate People's Court in Henan province.

It is the second trial in a series related to Guo Wengui, who fled abroad about three years ago.

In June, three former executives of Beijing Pangu Investment, another of Guo Wengui's companies, were sent to prison for fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign currency worth a combined 3.2 billion yuan by using fake materials, seals and contracts in Dalian, Liaoning province.

Interpol issued a "red notice", the closest thing to an international arrest warrant, for the billionaire in April, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Police in Guangdong province have detained more than 100 suspects as part of a campaign to combat online fraud.

Investigators have frozen 190 bank accounts containing a total of more than 51 million yuan ($7.66 million) in illicit funds, according to Lu Feng, deputy director of the Guangdong Public Security Department.

A large number of computers, bank cards and mobile phones were also seized, he added.

Guangdong police set up a task force in April after Tencent reported a large number of people had been scammed after downloading a smartphone app. A crackdown code-named Anwang-6 was launched in June.

"Victims of online fraud should contact the police and cooperate with the authorities," Lu said.

In the first six months of this year, police across Guangdong investigated 1,709 cases and detained 6,400 suspects during six targeted campaigns.

Some 178 organized online fraud gangs were busted and more than 390 million pieces of stolen personal data were discovered.

Tang Jinhuai, deputy general manager of Tencent's security management department, said the tech company will further expand cooperation with the police to fight online fraud.
The story of how one man named a road after himself in Beijing has been widely circulated on the internet recently, the newspaper Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Some internet users said the man's move was funny, but others questioned whether the move violated relevant regulations.

According to the article, Ge Yulu found an unnamed road and set up a homemade road sign declaring it Ge Yu Lu at both ends.

Born in 1990 in Wuhan, Hubei province, Ge is a postgraduate student in China Central Academy of Fine Arts since 2014. Part of his name, Lu, means road in Chinese.

Ge's target was a short road between Baiziwan Road and Baiziwan South No 2 Road dividing a local community in Chaoyang district near the Fourth Ring Road of southeastern Beijing into northern and southern sections. It takes about 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other.

Ge's homemade Ge Yu Lu signs have gradually convinced people the name is real.

Ge Yu Lu first appeared as the road name in 2014 on Amap, China's leading provider of digital maps, navigation and location-based services. One year later, Baidu Maps also accepted the name.

A man who worked in the community for a long time said that the road existed when the community was established in 2007. In the beginning, the road had no name, but later, people called it Gu Yu Lu because of the road signs. He did not know when the road signs were set up.

A neighborhood committee worker said the road is registered as Baiziwan South No 1 Road.

According to relevant regulations, only a special government office can name roads and places, a worker at the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning said.

The worker said that while online maps have recorded the road name as Ge Yu Lu, it does not equal an official naming. Individuals are not allowed to make and set up road signs randomly, and the signs will be dismantled.

Ge said he never expected the name to be recorded by mapping software. As Ge Yu Lu is now widely known, he is happy, but also a little worried that it does not comply with relevant regulations.
The State Council, China's cabinet, announced the locations of 17 new nature reserves

in seven provinces and two autonomous regions on Wednesday.

The provinces of Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu will host the new reserves as will the Tibet and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions.

The acreage and functional divisions will later be promulgated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the announcement said.

Nature reserves are an important vehicle, the announcement added, to promote ecological protection and enhance and protect the country's stunning natural scenery.

The establishment and management of nature reserves establish a red line for environmental protection and the nation's ecological security. It is also an effective measure to protect biological diversity, ensure safety of all natural ecological systems and improve the quality of ecological settings, the announcement said.
Government wants doctors and medical workers to be protected

Security guards at large Chinese hospitals are now required to escort potentially dangerous patients during medical consultations, according to new measures aimed at preventing attacks on health professionals.

Patients who are intoxicated, have a mental illness or "act abnormally" should be accompanied when with doctors and nurses, according to a notice issued by the central government on Tuesday.

The new rules, drawn up by the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Ministry of Public Security, also state that hospitals should have emergency response teams and be equipped with an adequate surveillance network.

"Strong and timely control measures should be taken in response to security incidents to ensure safety," the document said.

China ranks hospitals in three categories, with small or grassroots clinics at Grade I. The new rules are aimed only at Grade II and Grade III facilities, which are mostly in cities, to raise awareness for staff safety.

Violence against medical professionals regularly makes headlines in China, including a case in February in which a top liver transplant surgeon in Jiangsu province was stabbed in the leg.

Deng Liqiang, director of legal affairs for the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, said attackers range from disgruntled patients and relatives to scalpers who sell hospital appointments.

"The document provides targeted intervention, like dealing with drunk patients, as violent cases involving drunk attackers against healthcare workers are not rare," he said, adding that the new measures highlight prevention, not just response.

One such example is the requirement that visitors to hospitalized patients must now show a valid ID to enter.

Senior security officials at two major Beijing hospitals declined to comment on the document or how the new rules will affect their facilities when contacted by China Daily on Wednesday.

However, Yu Zhenqiu, director of the hypertension department at Anzhen Hospital in Beijing, welcomed the new initiative and said he looked forward to more policies to improve strained doctor-patient relationships.

"That helps avert and substantially decrease violence against healthcare workers, which in the end hurts patients as well," he said.

Yu said current measures, like a tiered medical delivery system and a blanket halt to drug price markup, would help optimize medical resources, improve patients' access to proper care and improve their satisfaction.

A 2015 survey by the doctor association found 70 percent of doctors in China have suffered verbal abuse or physical violence at hospitals.

The document also instructs public security departments, if possible, to closely work with particularly large hospitals and send police staff patrolling or being stationed at hospitals.

In addition, hospitals were told to set up channels for patients to file complaints and vent their anger against some doctors or medical procedures that were not satisfactory.
Latin America's longest conflict had caused 250,000 deaths

UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council on Monday decided to establish a new mission in Colombia to focus on reintegrating rebels into society after more than 50 years of war a task the United Nations calls the most urgent challenge following the rebels' handover of their last weapons.

A British-drafted resolution establishes the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia for an initial period of one year starting on Sept 26, when the mandate of the current mission that has been monitoring the cease-fire and disarmament process ends. It asks Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to make detailed recommendations on the size, operational aspects, and mandate of the new mission within 45 days.

Guterres is confident the verification mission "will contribute to building trust and supporting the parties" during the reintegration phase, "which is critical to consolidating peace," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Liu Jieyi, China's ambassador to the UN, also president of the Security Council for July, told reporters that the peace agreement is an important milestone in Colombia and the Security Council gives its firm support at the critical stage of implementing the final agreement.

Latin America's longest-running conflict caused at least 250,000 deaths, left 60,000 people missing and displaced more than 7 million. After years of thorny negotiations, the rebels reached an agreement with the government last year to transition into a political party, but serious differences remain over the peace deal.

In January last year, before the agreement, the Colombian government and rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia known as the FARC jointly asked the UN to monitor any cease-fire and disarmament process, a rare request to the UN for help, which it accepted.

Last month, Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos again sent a letter to the council on behalf of the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebel group requesting a second political mission for three years, "renewable if necessary". The Security Council also visited Colombia in early May for a firsthand look at peace efforts and the UN mission.

Ten days ago, Jean Arnault, the UN special representative in Colombia, told the council the most urgent challenge is to reintegrate the 10,000 former combatants into society, a process that he said will be difficult.

Arnault said the FARC rebels have "a deep sense of uncertainty" about their physical security following their disarmament and their economic future.

Colombia's Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin said the peace process was developed by and for the Colombian people "so we can all have hope for a better future".

"However, it is surrounded by a dynamic debate, as happens in every strong democracy, but little by little, people are starting to notice the effects of peace and are willing to give it a chance," she told the council.

Britain's political counselor Stephen Hickey expressed delight that the Security Council responded swiftly to Santos' request for a new mission.

Hickey said the world has witnessed "an extraordinary journey in Colombia" that culminated in the end of the war. But Hickey said "experience from our own history in Northern Ireland has taught us that the hardest part remains ahead."

"A sustainable and lasting peace will depend on the FARC's successful reincorporation into civilian life," he said.

France's UN Ambassador Francois Delattre said the Colombian peace process "is a true success story" for the country but also for the UN and the Security Council.

Ap - Xinhua - Afp

Liu Jieyi, Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, also president of the UN Security Council for July, speaks at the UN headquarters on Monday. The Security Council has approved a resolution authorizing a new political mission in Colombia to focus on reintegrating rebels into society after decades of war.Mark Garten / Un Via Associated Press

(China Daily 07/12/2017 page11)
According to the Chinese solar terms, it's Minor Heat now, when most parts of China are going to experience the hottest days of the year. During the scorching summer, we modern people can enjoy cold drinks in an air-conditioned room to escape the heat. But how did ancient people cool down without these modern-day technologies?

Icehouse and ice ticket

Ancient people collect natural ice in winter. [File photo]

As early as Pre-Qin Dynasty (2100-221 BC), people used natural ice to keep food fresh and make cold drinks. According to the record in the Confucian classic Zhou Rites, the Zhou royal court had a specialized department called the "ice administration" which had 80 employees. The department collected natural ice blocks each December, and then transported them to the ice house for storage.

Some senior officials were awarded ice cubes by the Zhou royal court, which was a big honor during that time. The system of granting ice lasted until the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. During the Qing Dynasty, "ice tickets" were distributed to officials instead of sending the ice directly to them.
Accordion player Mao Junhao, 20, a junior student at the Central Conservatory of Music, performs concertos with an orchestra at the 54th Klingenthal International Accordion Competition held over May 15-21 in Germany. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The accordion is gaining popularity again after decades in obscurity, and Chinese students are even winning awards abroad. Chen Nan reports.

When Cao Xiaoqing started learning the accordion at the age of 5 in 1970, the instrument was very popular in China.

"You can play everything on it, pop songs, folk tunes and chords, and the instrument is portable," says Cao, 52.

Cao's uncle and father were amateur accordion players, who played the instrument at home.

However, in the past decades, other Western instruments, such as the piano, the violin and the cello, have dominated the classical music scene. The accordion has a small following among music learners in China.

So, when the Central Conservatory of Music launched its accordion major in 2004, Cao was invited to take the position as the first director of the accordion department at the school.

"I took the job because I wish to revive the instrument," says Cao, who taught at the Hochschule fuer Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover (Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media) in Germany from 2001 to 2003.

Cao graduated from the Tianjin Conservatory of Music in 1988 and later obtained his PhD from the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media in 2001.

In May, four of his students stood out among 78 competitors from 22 countries and dominated the 54th Klingenthal International Accordion Competition, which was held from May 15 to 21 in Germany.

"It's the first time in this competition that four first prizes were awarded to students from one country, let alone from the same school," says Cao.

"Ever since the accordion performance major was launched in 2004, we have sent students to the Klingenthal International Accordion Competition. Some of them had won prizes previously, but this year is a milestone for us. It's like a dream come true for me."
Curator Antonio De Vito inspects a replica of Angel behind Prophet Ezekiel by Michelangelo at the opening of the exhibit. [Photo/VCG]

After a successful debut in Shanghai, The Divine Michelangelo Art Exhibition, opens to the public in Beijing on July 15.

The exhibition, co-hosted by the Bird's Nest Culture Center and the Casa Buonarroti Museum, comprises 105 items, demonstrating Michelangelo's artistic achievements in drawing, sculpture, architecture, poetry and fresco.

It features several of his renowned statues including one of only three life-size replicas of David in the world.

Using VR technology, the exhibit recreates the medieval scene from hundreds of years ago allowing visitors to feel as if they are in the Sistine Chapel looking at the Genesis and The Last Judgment.

The event is curated by an Italian national-level muralist Antonio De Vito. The artist will also recreate Michelangelo's studio in the exhibition hall and paint a copy of his mural Lybian Sybil on site.

The exhibition is on until October 10.
Manila says sea dispute can be resolved with 'spirit of good neighbor ties' 2017-07-12 20:51:42 chinadaily.com.cn The Philippines said Wednesday it believes the ongoing dispute in the South China Sea should be resolved in a manner consistent with 'the spirit of good neighborly relations'.

The Philippines said Wednesday it believes the ongoing dispute in the South China Sea should be resolved in a manner consistent with 'the spirit of good neighborly relations'.

"The Philippines is further encouraged by the Agreement on a Framework on the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea that will help us move towards negotiating an effective Code of Conduct," the Philippine Foreign Ministry said in a "Statement on the first anniversary of the arbitral tribunal award".

July 12 marked the first anniversary of the Arbitral Tribunal of The Hague's ruling on the South China Sea dispute in a case against China that was unilaterally initiated by the Philippines under the administration of former president Benigno Aquino III.

China has reiterated that the ruling was illegal and said it will not accept any proposition or action based on the decision.

"Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter S. Cayetano reiterates that the Duterte Administration is committed to its strategy to strengthen old allies and engage new partner nations," the statement said.

"The Philippines shall remain an enemy to none and a friend to all in its pursuit of economic and political benefits for the country, including the long-term security and stability in the region," it said.
MA XUEJING/CHINA DAILY

Early this month an investigation by Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Fairfax Media into political donations in the country, not surprisingly, sparked speculations that donations by Chinese nationals are interfering in Australian politics.

At an event in Canberra later, China's ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye dismissed such "Chinese interference" claims as "groundless platitude", calling them an attempt to reheat old, tasteless allegations. People labeling and disseminating such allegations could put China-Australia cooperation at stake, he said.

The truth is, Australia's free media cannot justify the "China panic" hype. Although they claim the investigation is in the national interest, most of their allegations have not been endorsed by judicial or security authorities for lack of sound evidence. This means the media have made the allegations after cobbling up so-called probes into foreign influence on Australian politics.

So the questions of how far Australia's media outlets can go in making allegations and who will be responsible for the consequences must be answered. Political donations by Chinese or Chinese-Australian citizens, like those from other countries and ethnic communities, are legally registered and well documented. If the donors' ethnicity or the amounts they have donated was the issue, then those overseeing the donation system in Australia should be held accountable, not a particular group of donors.

Moreover, since the political parties are supposed to accept donations in a transparent and institutional manner, they should be asked whether illicit interest exchanges were involved. It is well known that Western interest groups try to influence the parties receiving their donations with their appeals, which is acceptable as long as they don't flout any law.

The reports targeting Chinese donations stopped short of mentioning any shady power-money exchange between the recipients and the donors. Nor is there evidence to suggest China-Australia ties enjoyed notable, instant improvement when the political donations from Chinese nationals were on the rise.

By alleging that the Chinese government was behind the donations and linking them to "espionage" and attempts to influence Australian politics, the two Australian media outlets are not only risking their credibility, but also could undermine bilateral relations.

The over-politicization of Chinese donations to Australian parties in recent years also offers a glimpse into Canberra's struggle to achieve political stability and economic prosperity. Until the 2008 global financial crisis Australia enjoyed decent growth and aspired to become a leading Western player within the next two decades.

The financial blows Australia suffered due to the crisis, however, have thwarted its efforts to enter the Western elite club, destabilizing its political leadershipfive governments in 10 years with two hung parliaments, which is unprecedented. The uncertainties have widened the public divide over what is in the best interest of their country.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's government also has to make difficult decisions on its engagement with China and the United States, Australia's largest trading partner and close ally, respectively, especially because the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative and Washington's "America First" strategy seem headed in different directions. As such, Canberra should focus on political stability instead of triggering debates on unfounded allegations of Chinese interference.

The author is a researcher at the National Institute of International Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
2200 meters above sea level, Chinese yoga teacher Miya demonstrating a sunset yoga position on Laojun Mountain, a sacred Taoist site in Luoyang city, Henan province on Friday, July 7, 2017. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

At a recent reception, we encountered a "mindfulness guru". Yes, that is the job title on his business card-one bearing the logo of a huge multinational software company. His job is to teach the company's stressed-out employees the "art of mindfulness", which has been described as "awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally" and "knowing what is on your mind".

Mindfulness seems to be everywhere nowadays. Companies like Apple, Sony, Ikea and Google now include mindfulness or meditation in their employee benefit packages, in the hope of cultivating a happier, healthier, more productive workforce. Even some hospitals offer mindfulness meditation sessions to patients and employees. And a Google search for the word yields about 67 million hits.

Extravagant claims for mindfulness have been made. Its advocates assert that it can improve a number of conditions, including anxiety depression, stress, and even drug addiction, while boosting productivity. But can mindfulness deliver on its many promises?

To be sure, there is a scientific basis for mindfulness. But the science does not vindicate any particular lifestyle or thought pattern, because the basis is breathing. Located deep within the brainstem is a tiny cluster of neurons, the pre-Botzinger complex, that links respiration to feelings of relaxation, attention, excitement and anxiety. Called the "pacemaker for breathing", it communicates the activity in the brain's respiratory control center to the structure responsible for generating arousal throughout the brain. Thanks to this region of the brain, slow, smooth, rhythmic breathing can induce a state of calm.

But today's prevailing version of mindfulness extends beyond breathing to guide the way practitioners think. Over the last 30 years, many studies, including meta-analyses, have claimed to show that when this type of mindfulness is practiced regularly, people experience positive changes in their sense of well-being, their relationships, their ability to concentrate, their experience of physical and emotional pain, and their capacity to enjoy life.

Yet many, perhaps even most, of these studies seem to be observational (that is, uncontrolled) or poorly controlled, and they are susceptible to publication bias-the tendency to publish only studies that support the hypothesis, also known as the "file drawer effect". We wonder how, in a randomized controlled study, mindfulness would compare to other stress-reducing interventions, such as adopting a pet, hiking regularly or practicing yoga, which incorporates mindful breathing.

In fact, mindfulness may carry a risk, compared to these other interventions. In some cases, mindfulness has taken on a kind of cult-like status, and some practitioners have reported feelings of depersonalization and detachment and even loss of identity. Others have had more extreme reactions, including psychosis, delusions, confusion, mania or depression. Maybe such outcomes should not be surprising, since the practice of mindfulness encourages exploration of experiences-whether negative, neutral or positive-with a nonjudgmental attitude.

The adoption of mindfulness by so many high-tech companies may be particularly problematic, because it could effectively paper over the real problem: chronically overworked, stressed-out employees. At a time when many companies are implementing cost-cutting measures and pushing employees to boost their productivity, mindfulness and meditation programs are a more management-friendly solution than raising wages or hiring more employees.

But there is more to it than that. Some corporate leaders in Silicon Valley view mindfulness as away to improve employees' "emotional intelligence", which helps people to understand others' motivations, thereby boosting competitiveness. Whether or not mindfulness really is the panacea its proponents claim it to be, there is no question about its appeal. While companies like the idea that mindfulness can improve their bottomline, individuals may be eager for away to escape their quotidian cares.

The past year brought numerous terror attacks, mass shootings, fetal deformities from Zika virus infections, and, last but not least, the US presidential election and its rancorous aftermath. If deep breathing and focusing on the here and now can help to alleviate the burden of some of these memories, sign us up.

Mia Zaharna is a psychiatrist specializing in sleep disorders. And Henry I.Miller, a physician and molecular biologist, is the Robert Wesson fellow in Scientific Philosophy and Public Policy at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Project Syndicate
Iraqi soldiers attend a celebration for liberation of Mosul in Mosul, Iraq, July 10, 2017. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday formally declared Mosul liberated from Islamic State (IS) militant group after nine months of fierce fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq. [Photo/Xinhua]

On Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory in the fight to reclaim Mosul from the Islamic State, after a nearly nine-month battle to retake the city, which was captured by the terrorist group three years ago.

After Mosul, Raqqa in Syria is the last major stronghold of the IS terrorists in the Middle East, and there is growing optimism that forces in Syria will soon regain control of that city.

But while these developments signal significant progress is being made in the international efforts to combat the extremist organization, there can be no room for complacency. IS may have lost Mosul and soon lose Raqqa, but it still controls areas in both countries in which it can regroup. Some of the jihadists may also flee to other countries, where they will pose a severe security threat.

Countries around the world, especially those that have been the victims of terrorist attacks before, should step up security measures to preempt revenge attacks by IS sympathizers and be on high alert to dispersed IS fighters trying to enter them.

Indeed, there is still a long way to go before the world can claim final victory against IS. Even when the group does finally fall, the world will need to be prepared for what will happen next, as internationally the threat of terrorism, although diminished, will still exist.

Iraq and Syria will have to restore stability and address the social and political divisions that have fueled the rise of IS, and countries outside the region need to reflect on the intervention that caused the chaos in which IS was able to take root.

After waging a war that toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein, the United States failed to foster an inclusive government in Iraq. As a result, the country plunged into factional war and chaos. Meanwhile, turmoil and anarchy have reigned in Syria since Western countries tried to instigate regime change in the country.

The IS group thrived by seizing the opportunity that the chaos presented in these two countries. Its success prompted other terrorist groups to pledge allegiance to it, extending its influence beyond the region, and it has posed the biggest security threat to the world in recent years.

As well as stability in region, the international community needs to forge closer security cooperation to win the fight against IS and other terrorist groups. It also needs to find a way to counter the jihadist ideology that has attracted young Muslims in many countries who have been left on the fringes of society.
New tailor-made bikes by Ofo Inc are seen in Beijing, June 30, 2017. Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn

Public opinion is split over the booming development of the short-time bike-hiring model, with some hailing it as a manifestation of the sharing economy and signaling a new direction for China's economy, while others have complained of the chaos caused by bikes left willy-nilly wherever the user feels like leaving them.

Likewise, the administrators of most big cities in China, seeing the popularity of the bikes, have adopted a receptive attitude toward the industry and sought to introduce measures to promote better management of it. But the authorities in some small cities are less tolerant of the burgeoning industry and are even trying to limit or suffocate its development.

However, as Premier Li Keqiang indicated, people should be tolerant toward new technologies and new things so that they have space to become new drivers of economic growth. And he got to the point when he said the authorities should hold an "inclusive and prudent" approach to the sector's regulation. The government should be cautious about intervening in a nascent industry in case it nips it in the bud with too much regulation.

Experience shows people usually have a conservative approach to new things and believe they are impractical or will be too disruptive to their way of life. For example, before the ride-hailing model proved successful many people held a skeptical and negative view of it. This was also the case with the short-term bike-hiring services.

It is expected that the digital era will give birth to more new business models that are unfamiliar to people. Without a tolerant approach to them, we would be unable to determine which might be beneficial. Any emerging technologies may bring us inconveniences in the beginning, and what we should do is work out ways to address them, rather than seek to stifle them in the cradle.

-IFENG.COM
Public dancing is a consequence of China's rapidly aging society, observers say. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

ON SUNDAY, the Xiaoyuan branch of Guangzhou University for the Elderly launched an online enrollment system for senior citizens. The number of applicants reached the limit of 5,000 within one hour. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

It is common misperception that senior citizens are fond of square dancing, which has created conflicts with other residents who complain that when they gather to dance in public places they make too much noise and a nuisance. But the number that rushed to apply to study at Guangzhou University for the Elderly challenges that impression.

So a question arises: Which activity do senior citizens prefer, studying or square dancing?

The answer to that question would appear to be both. They want to engage in social activities such as square dancing and also want to stimulate their minds. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Some senior citizens have found other ways to keep both their bodies and minds active, such as doing voluntary jobs. A report released earlier this year shows that the number of registered elderly volunteers in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, exceeded 100,000 and their average age is 68. Senior citizens have already become the second-largest group of volunteers in communities in Guangzhou.

At least two conclusions can be reached from the above. First, senior citizens want fulfilling lives. Second, the conflict between elderly square dancers and those who complain they are noisy could be solved in creative ways, such as giving senior citizens more chances to study on campus.
Students from Xi'an University of Science and Technology set up their 3D camera during the 2017 China-US Young Maker Competition. [Photo/cnwest.com]

THE GOVERNMENTS OF SECOND-AND THIRD-TIER CITIES are stepping up their efforts to attract new college graduates. Southern Metropolis Daily commented on Tuesday:

With around 7.95 million students expected to graduate this year, cities are competing to attract the best graduates by offering favorable policies from household registration to affordable housing.

Apart from top talents with glamorous educational backgrounds, innovative-minded graduates from across the country are being sought by more local governments.

In April, Wuhan, in Central China's Hubei province, proposed a talent recruitment plan that includes 3,600 apartments with a minimum monthly rent of just 200 yuan ($29). Changsha, in neighboring Hunan province, has promised to subsidize the housing of college graduates, who will receive 10,000 to 30,000 yuan to buy their first house in the city. Other provincial capitals such as Xi'an, Shaanxi province, even some first-tier cities, have followed suit.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, is expected to build some 400,000 apartments for graduates, 70 percent of which will be for rent. Guangzhou, also in Guangdong, has allotted 7,000 of the 12,000 newly built affordable houses to college graduates. They are right to draw a lesson from the departure of technology startups from Silicon Valley over the past few years due to rising costs.

Job opportunities and decent work environment in megacities have for a long time attracted job-seekers, but they have been losing their magic since most fresh graduates cannot afford to live in them. It makes perfect sense that local governments therefore are willing to subsidize fresh graduates' living expenses as a way to attract them.
China's first quantum communication network for commercial use is expected to come into service by the end of August in Jinan, capital of Shandong province.

Quantum communication uses the quantum entanglement of photons to ensure the security of communications, since the sender and receiver sharing an encryption key and any interference is detectable and would corrupt the signal.

According to Jinan Institute of Quantum Technology, a quantum communication network connecting government bodies in Jinan had been tested and performed well.

In the test, the network transmitted data with quantum encryption keys among nearly 200 terminals in the city. The success of the test is a landmark in the development of quantum communication technology worldwide, and paves the way for its commercial use.

China is playing a leading role in the development of quantum communication technology.

A quantum communication network, linking Beijing, Jinan, Shanghai and Hefei, in East China's Anhui province, is under construction, and quantum communication technology is expected to be introduced in finance, energy and other sectors in the near future.




China's Global Newspaper





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Young Chinese are picking travel destinations based on their interests, a new industry survey finds. Xu Lin reports.

It was a breathtaking moment. In her heavy scuba diving equipment, Li Jie was excited to see a school of fish swim toward her. Like a thick wall, they soon surrounded her.

This was in Sipadan, a popular diving destination in Malaysia, where such phenomenon in the Celebes Sea is a big attraction for divers.

"I felt free at that moment," recalls the 27-year-old amateur diver, who works at a tech company in Beijing.

"The deeper I went, the more curious I became and wanted to see the magic of the underwater worldfrom colorful fish and sharks to turtles."

Like her, many young Chinese are following their passions.

The domestic online tourism company mafengwo.cn recently unveiled a report about the traveling patterns of Chinese born in the 1990s, to delve into their consumption habits.

The survey, based on a questionnaire sent to 1,440 people aged from 18 to 27, shows that young travelers choose their destinations based on their interests. They also like to spend more time in one place to enjoy the local life.

Li fell in love with diving last May, and has since visited Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand for diving holidays due to their low prices and tourism infrastructure.
Some 200,000 Chinese tourist arrivals in Portugal were recorded last year.[Photo/Xinhua]

The first direct flight route between Portugal and China was inaugurated in Lisbon on Tuesday, linking Hangzhou to Lisbon via Beijing.

The first direct flight route starting from Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province, with a stopover in Beijing before heading for the destination in Lisbon will be carried out by an A330-20 on July 25. There are three flights between Portugal and China per week.

Meanwhile, the new flight route from Beijing to Macao will also be opened by Beijing Capital Airlines.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said that the opening of the first direct flight route between Portugal and China is significant for the two countries as it is part of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013.

It will promote tourism and trade between Portugal and China and the cultural communication between the two peoples, he added.

Costa said that the new flight route will also strengthen the role of the bridge Portugal plays in the connection with China and the Portuguese-speaking countries. It will make the travel between China and Brazil and also Africa much easier.

The opening of such a flight route is the result of the efforts made by the two governments and will further promote tourism of the two countries. Some 200,000 Chinese tourist arrivals in Portugal were recorded last year.
Footage from 1944 shows "comfort women" in Songshan, Yunnan province, after its liberation from Japanese troops. SCREEN SHOT OF VIDEO/US NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION

Newly uncovered footage of a group of "comfort women" provides filmed evidence of the Imperial Japanese Army's sexual enslavement of women from Asian countries during the World War II era.

The black-and-white footage shot in 1944 by a US Army private in Yunnan province shows the women standing outside a brick house. They were barefoot and looked nervous.

After a two-year search through US archives, researchers from Seoul University uncovered the footage at the US National Archives and Records Administration. The women were filmed after they were liberated by Chinese and United States allied forces as the troops reclaimed Songshan, in Yunnan, from the Japanese.

The Japanese military kept an estimated 200,000 women as sex slaves before and during World War II.

The researchers identified the women as Korean by matching their clothes and facial appearance with existing historical photosa set of photos taken by a private in the US Army Signal Corps' 164th Photographic Unit and rediscovered in 2000.

"The film clearly shows the fear and anxiety on the women's faces and body movements. As a woman, I can clearly identify with these women as they stood barefoot, so helpless and scared," said Lillian Sing, co-chair of the San Francisco-based Comfort Women Justice Coalition.

Calling the footage "the most powerful and persuasive evidence", Sing, a retired Superior Court judge in San Francisco, said, "In a court of law, this film is considered the best evidence and a smoking gun showing what happened in 1944."

Before the film clip surfaced, the only visual images had been still photographs and accounts from survivors.

"This is vivid, moving, proactive, and almost alive film, and what it showed cannot be denied," Sing said.

The discovery of the footage is significant as it refutes convincingly Japan's claim that there is no evidence of "comfort women", said Peipei Qiu, professor of Chinese and Japanese at Vassar College and author of the award-winning book Chinese Comfort Women: Testimonies from Imperial Japan's Sex Slaves.

"This footage tied in with wartime records. The area of Tengchong, Songshan and Longling in Yunnan province was an important fortress on the vital wartime supply line in China," said Qiu. Her book also records this history.

According to the West Yunnan NGO Research Association for the Unresolved Issues of the Anti-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army occupied Longling county in 1942, and within two weeks set up a military comfort station there.

Fighting among the soldiers took place frequently for the opportunity to use the station, so the Japanese Army transported about 100 "comfort women" from Taiwan and set up two more comfort stations at a temple and a church, said Qiu.

The Japanese solders also raped the captured local women and then detained them, setting up more comfort stations. Besides local women, local people also saw Japanese and Korean women confined in the comfort stations.

"What happened to the 'comfort women' in this station when the Japanese forces withdrew remains unknown, although there have been reports that, in nearby Lameng township and Tengchong county, Japanese troops forced Korean 'comfort women' to take mercuric chloride, while they shot and killed Chinese comfort women," Qiu said. Mercuric chloride is a poisonous substance found in some antiseptics and batteries.

"We have only 22 'comfort women' alive in China and 37 alive in South Korea. Justice cannot be delayed any longer," Sing said.
A man cries as he carries his daughter while walking from an Islamic State-controlled part of Mosul towards Iraqi special forces soldiers during a battle in Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

BAGHDAD - The Islamic State (IS) militant group has confirmed the death of its top leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a local news website reported on Tuesday.

"Daesh organization (IS group) circulated a brief statement through its media in the (IS-held) town of Tal Afar in the west of Mosul, confirming the killing of its leader al-Baghdadi without giving further details," Iraqi news agency al-Sumaria News said on its website.

"Daesh said in its statement that the name a new caliph (Islamic top leader) will be announced soon, calling on the (IS) militants to continue their steadfastness in the redoubts of the caliphate and not being dragged behind the sedition," al-Sumaria said, citing an anonymous source from Nineveh Province.

"The announcement caused widespread uproar among supporters of the organization," the website said.

The news report came a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared Mosul liberated from IS after nearly nine months of fierce fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq.

"I declare to the whole world the end, failure and collapse of Daesh state, the state of IS group terrorism, which they announced it here in Mosul three years ago," Abadi said in a speech in Mosul.

On Oct 17, 2016, Abadi announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq.

Mosul, 400 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, came under IS control in June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
DAMASCUS - Some 630 people have returned to their homes in Syria's central city of Homs on Tuesday from a northern rebel-held city they evacuated to last year, state news agency SANA reported.

The people were evacuated from the al-Waer neighborhood of Homs last May, along with armed militants, toward the rebel-held city of Jarablus in northern Syria, said SANA.

Last May, an evacuation deal between Syrian government and the rebels was reached in al-Waer, the last rebel-held area in Homs by then, under the mediation and supervision of Russia.

The deal agreed to send the rebels and their families as well as civilians to Jarablus, the northern countryside of Aleppo province in northern Syria, near the Turkish borders.

The 630 people chose to go back to their hometown due to the difficult conditions in Jarablus, where they were hosted in camps by the Turkey-backed rebels, according to the report.

Talal Barazi, Governor of Homs, told SANA that the return of Syrians to their homes is an ongoing process and the 630 people are the fifth batch of civilians that have returned to al-Waer.

He noted that these Syrians chose to live in their homes under the government's administration instead of the control of the rebels in Jarablus.

Al-Waer was declared as a rebel-free neighborhood last May, following the evacuation of the last rebel batch from that sprawling neighborhood.

Previous statistics indicated that al-Waer used to accommodate 300,000 people before the six-year war erupted in Syria. The number once decreased to 75,000, during which al-Waer was besieged by government forces between 2014 and 2017.

Retaking the neighborhood was a significant progress for Syrian government, as it enabled the government forces to regain full control of Homs, Syria's third largest city located in the heart of Syria.

Homs is also one of Syria's most important industrial centers, boasting the country's largest oil refinery and key oil and gas fields in its eastern countryside.

The city is also a hub connecting major Syrian cities, and gaining full control over the city will be an important step for the government to have full control over Syria's other major cities like Damascus, Latakia, Aleppo and Hama.
Donald Trump Jr. stands onstage with his father Donald Trump after Trump's debate against Hillary Clinton at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, Sept 26, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

NEW YORK - Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who had incriminating information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton that could help his father's presidential campaign could lead investigators to probe whether he violated US election law, experts said.

Trump Jr. met the woman, lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, on June 9, 2016, after an email exchange with an intermediary.

The emails, tweeted by Trump Jr. on Tuesday, could provide material for Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential election.

In one of the emails dated June 3, 2016, Trump Jr. wrote: "If it's what you say I love it." He released the tweets after the New York Times said it planned to write about their contents and sought his comment.

Trump Jr. said in his tweets that nothing came of the meeting. Veselnitskaya told NBC News early on Tuesday she was not affiliated with the Russian government and had passed no information.

"In retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently," Trump Jr. said in an interview on Fox News. "For me, this was opposition research."

Collusion itself is not an actual crime under the US criminal code, so prosecutors would look to see if Trump Jr.'s conduct ran afoul of a specific law, legal experts said.

Moscow has denied interference in the US election, and US President Donald Trump has said his campaign did not collude with Russia.

Alan Futerfas, Trump Jr.'s lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment.

FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT

One law that might come into play is the Federal Election Campaign Act, which makes it illegal for a foreign national to contribute to a US political campaign. The campaign is also prohibited from soliciting such contributions.

A contribution does not have to be monetary in nature, according to Paul S. Ryan, an attorney with watchdog group Common Cause. He said incriminating information about Clinton could be considered a contribution under the act.

Ryan said Trump Jr.'s "enthusiastic response" to the offer for information and particularly his proposal in his email to have a follow-up call the next week constituted "solicitation".

"That to me is an indication, a concession by Donald Trump Jr. that he wants and is requesting this information," Ryan said.

Joshua Douglas, a professor at the University of Kentucky College of Law, said Trump Jr.'s emails made it "more plausible" that there could be a criminal case against him.

James Gardner, an election law expert at the University of Buffalo Law School, said the election law was intended to target donations of cash or goods and services.

He said he did not believe Trump Jr. would have violated the law if he solicited damaging information about Clinton.

Reuters
BERLIN - At least 13 people were injured when a yacht exploded in northern Germany late Tuesday, German news agency dpa reported early Wednesday, citing police sources.

Most of the injured are firemen, as they had been called to put out a fire on the yacht in the north German port town of Minden, according to a police spokesman.

"Six of them suffered serious injuries. One of them is critical," the spokesman was quoted as saying.

The blast blew the yacht several meters into the air and completely destroyed a car parked nearby. Two other boats were also damaged in the powerful explosion.

The cause of the incident was unclear. Police suspect it was triggered by an explosion of the boat's battery.

The damage was estimated at about 500,000 euros ($574,000), said the spokesman.
This blog is looking for wisdom, to have and to share. It is also looking for other rare character traits like good humor, courage, and honor. It is not an easy road, because all of us fall short. But God is love, forgiveness and grace. Those who believe in Him and repent of their sins have the promise of His Holy Spirit to guide us and show us the Way.
Al Shabaab militia over the weekend killed 13 non-Muslims, mostly Christians, in coastal Kenya, sources said.



Village Muslims in the Pandanguo settlement of Lamu County helped Islamic extremists from the Somalia-based Al Shabaab identify locations where the Christians resided, a survivor of the attack told Morning Star News from a hospital in Mpeketoni. Several of the victims were beheaded.



The assailants killed four non-Muslims in Kipini (sometimes called Kadundu) on Sunday (July 9), not far from the Boni forest, a reputed hiding place of Al Shabaab rebels battling the government in Somalia. Early Saturday morning in Jima they killed nine non-Muslims in attacks that began at around 11 p.m. the previous night, shooting some and hacking others to death with machetes, including beheadings, area sources said.



The Christians were asked to recite the Islamic dogmas, which they could not, hence they were killed, a source said. We urged the government to investigate and bring to book these local Muslims who are harboring these Al Shabaab terrorists, because the Christians who were decapitated were farmers.



Those who managed to flee and survived have had their crops damaged by wild animals and are still in great shock, the source added.



The government has now beefed up security in the area, and we hope the victims who fled will soon return back, but they need some trauma counseling first, he said.



Area Christians have now left their villages.



We are now residing at the police station in Hindi for fear of possible attacks, one area resident told Morning Star News.



Many area people are still missing or unaccounted for, and there are fears the casualty toll may increase.



Two other sources in Lamu County said Christians in the coastal region of Kenya are in serious crisis as they face food shortages after fleeing their farms.



Acting Interior Secretary Fred Matiangi has imposed a three-month curfew in Lamu, Tana River, and Garissa counties in an effort to counter Al Shabaabs attacks. The curfew began on Sunday(July 9) and is in effect until Oct. 9.



Rebels from Al Shabaab, which is allied with Al Qaeda, have launched several attacks in northeast Kenya since Kenyan forces led an African coalition into Somalia against the rebels in October 2011 in response to terrorist attacks on tourists and others on Kenyas coast. Attacks on non-Muslims on Kenyas coast have also continued.



Kenya ranked 18th on Christian support organization Open Doors 2017 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.





If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.o rg/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.



If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at http://morningstarnews.org/don ate/ ?
A survivor of the Christian-targeted bus attack carried out by Islamic State militants in Egypt has said that the militants told the women to renounce Christ or they would be killed.

The jihadists targeted a bus full of Christians who were traveling to a desert monastery back in May. They opened fire on those in the bus with machine guns, then proceeded to shoot and kill any men still alive. Twenty-six people were killed.

According to Mariam Adel, a survivor of the attack, the jihadists then ordered the women to exit the bus and told them to convert to Islam.

"Renounce our faith? Of course not," Adel said the women responded. "If we had, they might have let us off the bus and treated us well. But we only want Jesus and we are confident he will not leave us."

When the women refused to convert, the jihadists stole their possessions, including jewelry and mobile phones.

The Christian Post reports that Egypts Christians are facing increased persecution.

In April, deadly twin Palm Sunday bombings killed 45 people. Other smaller attacks against Egypts Coptic Christian minority have also been carried out. According to the Financial Times, over 100 Egyptian Christians have been killed since last December.

Photo courtesy: Thinkstock/mouse_sonya

Publication date: July 12, 2017
Countless social issues are affecting the world today, and one issue that has been especially capturing the attention of the U.S. is the racial tension that has resurfaced due to the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray over the past several months. Since the first incident in August, Christian leaders in various contexts have been discussing the issue of racial reconciliation, but many Korean Americans have begged the question: Where are the Korean American Christian leaders in these discussions? For many, the lack of a voice from the Korean American church on such issues seemed to reflect a lack of engagement of the Korean American church with other cultures in general.

This issue was discussed at the recent Connect Conference, a gathering of some 40 mostly Korean American pastors and lay leaders that took place at Thanksgiving Church in Buena Park, CA.

The conference, which aims to empower and connect Korean American pastors for the further building up of Gods kingdom, particularly focused on social justice this year and the need for Korean American Christian leaders to engage in social issues.

Ever since the incident in Ferguson happened, this is something thats been on my heart, said Grace Cho from Las Vegas Full Gospel Church, who served as the head organizer of the conference.

We need to care about these issues, and ask Jesus to help us to see as he sees, and feel as he feels about these things, she said.

Steve Choi of Crossway Church; Susie Gamez from World Impact; and Aaron Cho from Quest Church, spoke on the first day of the two-day conference, during which the dialogue was mostly focused on community engagement.

Steve Choi began the conference by setting the foundation for acts of justice: the grace that God freely gives. He cautioned leaders against using good works--including those of social justice--as a way to somehow repay God for his grace, and instead reminded them that Gods grace is a gift freely given and one that can never be repaid. This truth frees the Christian to become grateful, gracious, and generous people to others, Choi said.

With grace as the foundation, Susie Gamez and Aaron Cho focused their attention on the need for Korean American Christians to engage in dialogue about social issues and racial reconciliation.

Korea is known to be one of the countries that sends the most missionaries overseas, said Gamez, a Korean American woman who married a Latino American man. Both Gamez and her husband serve in World Imapact.

But have Korean Americans taken the mission call seriously in our own backyards? Will the community around us recognize us for the love we have for our neighbors?

Discussing Koreans tendency to be exclusive, Gamez explained that this may arise from Koreas history of having to defend itself from numerous countries.

Defending our culture is a major part of our history, she said.

However, she added, Korean Americans who have grown up in the U.S. have a different call to their lives, and live in a different time and place from that of previous generations.

We [Korean Americans] have to be intentional in undoing the exclusive tendencies, Gamez said.

Aaron Cho agreed, and added that the upbringing of Korean Americans may also affect their engagement, or lack thereof, with the greater community.

I didnt talk about race and justice at the dinner table with my parents, Cho said. And having not grown up with these discussions, we probably wouldnt know how to engage in them as adults.

So I think a lot of times, we stop ourselves from publicly discussing these issues because were afraid well say something wrong. But saying nothing is also saying something, added Cho.

Does your ministry and/or church talk about injustices happening in the world, and is there room to pray for these issues? These issues of Ferguson and Baltimore are the points of main conversation in the country today. These incidents will be in the future history books.

Cho encouraged leaders to take steps toward greater engagement by discussing and praying about these issues in the ministry setting, building relationships with people of different backgrounds, and even studying Christian books by people of different backgrounds.

Connect Conference was started in 2007 by the Assemblies of God Korean District Council with the heart to bridge the gap between the first and second generation pastors. Eventually, the conference began to focus on empowering Korean American pastors to impact their communities, and give them opportunities to connect and build relationships with one another, to work together for Gods kingdom.
While the Iraqi government celebrated as its Prime Minister officially declared victory over ISIS in Mosul on Monday, many humanitarian groups expressed concern that much still remains to be done in addressing the human rights violations and displacement that occurred in the process.

From the Old City we announce the liberation of Mosul and remember the heroic sacrifices of our armed forces and their families, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi tweeted on Monday.

Early on Tuesday, al-Abadi added in another tweet: As we announce the liberation of Mosul we also acknowledge the challenges of reconstruction and stability and call on Iraqis to unite.

The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, declared Mosul as its territory in June of 2014. The battle to reclaim Mosul has caused more than 900,000 to flee from their homes.

Mosuls captivity under ISIS particularly affected the Christian community. Over 100,000 Christians have been displaced, and the extremist group had destroyed or taken captive all of Mosuls churches and religious institutions.

William Stark, the regional manager for International Christian Concern, said that while ISIS defeat in Mosul is a positive step, much remains to be done for Christians to feel safe in the city.

Although the liberation of Mosul is something to be celebrated, it doesnt change the fact that there is still a long road and difficult road ahead of Iraqs Christians, Stark said.

For over three years, ISIS was allowed to occupy Mosul and its surrounding towns, some of which were considered Christian safe havens. During this occupation, ISIS not only destroyed much of what these Christians considered the symbols of their community, such as churches and schools, but also the homes these Christians were forced to leave in 2014, Stark went on. There is much healing and rebuilding needed if Christians are to return to their communities in northern Iraq.

BBC reports that over 5,000 buildings have been damaged and 490 have been destroyed in the Old City.

Activists have also been calling on governments to remember the humanitarian needs that remain.

Many of the people who have fled have lost everything, Lise Grande, UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, told BBC. They need shelter, food, health care, water, sanitation and emergency kits. The levels of trauma we are seeing are some of the highest anywhere. What people have experienced is nearly unimaginable.

In a report published on Tuesday, Amnesty International said all parties involved in the battle to reclaim Mosul have carried out violations of international humanitarian law, including ISIS, Iraqi forces, and the US-led coalition.

Even in attacks that seem to have struck their intended military target, the use of unsuitable weapons or failure to take other necessary precautions resulted in needless loss of civilian lives and in some cases appears to have constituted disproportionate attacks, Amnesty International said in the report.

The root causes of violence and conflict in Iraq need to be addressed in terms of human rights violations suffered by all communities in the country over several decades, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, UN human rights chief, was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera. Only then can secure foundations be laid for the lasting peace that the Iraqi people deserve.
Illustrated Book Lovingly Demonstrates the Uniqueness That Every Adopted Child Brings to a Family



GREENVILLE, S.C., July 11, 2017 /



Drawing from her own experience as an adoptive mom to three children, Katie uses the questions her own children have asked her and her husband in order to draw them to the response that there never really was a choiceshe knew right away that they were hers.



Imagine how insecure an adopted or fostered child must feel at times, unsure why they were unwanted by their biological parents and wondering if there is ever the chance that their forever family will reject them as well. Every child needs to hear from their parents that they are loved and wanted, especially children from broken homes.



After searching for adoption storybooks to read to her children, Katie realized that there weren't a lot of simple picture books targeted at that age group. She decided that there was a need for more adoption books that parents could read at bedtime to connect with their adopted/fostered children. This book is a way to lovingly and gently answer those questions by showing them that there is no doubt that they were meant to be a part of their family.



"Why Did You Choose Me?" is beautifully illustrated by artist Sarah Strickling Jones.



Katie Cruice Smith is a freelance writer, journalist, and editor, and she resides in the Upstate of South Carolina with her husband and three adopted children. Katie is an adoption and foster care advocate, and she and husband are licensed foster parents and the founders of their church's orphan ministry. She is currently working on a devotional book to accompany "Why Did You Choose Me?"



To connect with the author or request a review copy of "Why Did You Choose Me?" please contact Keli Garrett at

Share Tweet Contact: Keli Garrett, 864-517-0666, media@emeraldhouse.com GREENVILLE, S.C., July 11, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Over 130 million children in the world don't have a loving and secure place to call their own. In "Why Did You Choose Me?" (Ambassador International; November 12, 2017, $17.99) Katie Cruice Smith strives to answer the question of "why" in a way that young children can understand.Drawing from her own experience as an adoptive mom to three children, Katie uses the questions her own children have asked her and her husband in order to draw them to the response that there never really was a choiceshe knew right away that they were hers.Imagine how insecure an adopted or fostered child must feel at times, unsure why they were unwanted by their biological parents and wondering if there is ever the chance that their forever family will reject them as well. Every child needs to hear from their parents that they are loved and wanted, especially children from broken homes.After searching for adoption storybooks to read to her children, Katie realized that there weren't a lot of simple picture books targeted at that age group. She decided that there was a need for more adoption books that parents could read at bedtime to connect with their adopted/fostered children. This book is a way to lovingly and gently answer those questions by showing them that there is no doubt that they were meant to be a part of their family."Why Did You Choose Me?" is beautifully illustrated by artist Sarah Strickling Jones.Katie Cruice Smith is a freelance writer, journalist, and editor, and she resides in the Upstate of South Carolina with her husband and three adopted children. Katie is an adoption and foster care advocate, and she and husband are licensed foster parents and the founders of their church's orphan ministry. She is currently working on a devotional book to accompany "Why Did You Choose Me?"To connect with the author or request a review copy of "Why Did You Choose Me?" please contact Keli Garrett at media@emeraldhouse.com
home US Christian baker involved in Supreme Court case says Jesus wouldn't make cake for gay wedding

A Christian baker, who is heading to the U.S. Supreme Court this year, recently appeared on "The View" with his attorney to discuss his why he chose not to make a same-sex wedding cake.

In late June, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who declined an order to bake a cake for same-sex couple Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig in 2012.

Phillips, who owns Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, told the hosts of "The View" on June 29 that he serves anyone who comes to his shop, but he does not make a cake for every event.

"It's a difficult thing to be in my position and know that somebody is requesting something that I can't in good conscience do," the baker said, as reported by The Christian Post.

During the discussion, "The View" co-host Paula Faris asked Phillips what he thought Jesus would do in his situation.

"Would he have made the cake? And I don't believe he would have because that would have contradicted the rest of biblical teaching," Phillips replied.

In response, co-host Joy Behar, who frequently shares her liberal beliefs on the show, insisted that Jesus would have baked the cake for the gay couple.

"Come on a Jesus would have made the cake. You can believe the Bible and everything, but Jesus a that's a deal breaker. Jesus is gonna make the cake," she remarked.

Philips went on to explain his theology and beliefs to the hosts of the show and revealed that his shop has stopped making all wedding cakes. The baker further noted that the decision has taken a great financial toll on his business.

In 2014, Philips was found guilty of violating Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act by the state's Civil Rights Commission. He was ordered to undergo sensitivity training and provide the commission with updates and explanations about any cake orders he refused to take.

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Civil Rights Commission in 2015, prompting the baker to file a petition for appeal with the state supreme court last October.

After the Colorado Supreme Court refused to hear his case, Phillips went on to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in July 2016.

On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court granted an appeal in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which sets the stage for a major legal struggle on the question of LGBT rights and religious freedom.
home US Christian clerics join other religious ministers in experimenting with 'magic mushrooms'

Christian priests are joining ministers from other religions to participate in a study into the effects of psychedelic drugs on religious experience.

Two dozen religious ministers, including Catholic, Orthodox and Presbyterian priests, as well as a Zen Buddhist and several rabbis, have signed up to take part in an experiment in which they will be given two powerful doses of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.

"With psilocybin these profound mystical experiences are quite common. It seemed like a no-brainer that they might be of interest, if not valuable, to clergy." said Dr. William Richards, a psychologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, who is involved in the study.

According to The Guardian, the experiment is aimed at assessing how a transcendental experience would alter the thinking of religious leaders and whether it would make them more confident and effective in their duties.

The participants have already been given two powerful doses of psilocybin in two sessions, one month apart, after undergoing preliminary screening, including medical and psychological tests.

The sessions take place in a living room-like setting at New York University and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, where the participants are watched over by two "guides." After taking the drug, the participants spend time lying on a couch and listening to religious music on headphones to augment their "inward spiritual journey."

"Their instruction is to go within and collect experiences," said Richards. "So far everyone incredibly values their experience. No one has been confused or upset or regrets doing it," he added.

There will be a one-year follow-up with the participants before a full analysis of the outcomes could take place.

"It is too early to talk about results, but generally people seem to be getting a deeper appreciation of their own religious heritage," Richards noted. "The dead dogma comes alive for them in a meaningful way. They discover they really believe this stuff they're talking about," he continued.

It has also been suggested that the leaders' notions of religion shifted away from the sectarian towards something more universal after they went through their psychedelic journey.

"They get a greater appreciation for other world religions. Other ways up the mountain, if you will," said Richards.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, psilocybin is illegal and is classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substance Act. The effects of consuming the drug include "nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, drowsiness, and lack of coordination ... hallucinations and an inability to discern fantasy from reality."

There have been reports that psilocybin has been effective in lifting acute anxiety in cancer patients at the end of life, and other current trials are looking at the use of psychoactive drugs in treating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism and severe depression.
home US Christian pregnancy centers challenge law that requires them to promote abortion

Christian crisis pregnancy centers in Chicago have filed a lawsuit to challenge a change in an Illinois law that now requires physicians and nurses to provide pregnant patients with information about all available options, including abortion.

The lawsuit, filed against state officials, including Gov. Bruce Rauner, contends that the changes to the law violate the constitutional free-speech rights of the pregnancy centers because they find giving advice for abortion to be morally wrong.

The law, which was originally intended to protect physicians opposed to performing abortions, was passed after the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion. The modifications to the law, which was said to be designed to protect patients who do not know about all their options, were signed into law by Rauner last year, according to The Chicago Tribune.

The modified law, which went into effect on Jan. 1, requires providers to offer a "standard of care," which includes informing patients of all their medical options such as abortion or contraception, even if the physician is opposed to it for moral or religious reasons.

"A pro-life physician cannot in good conscience do that," said Thomas Olp, an attorney for the Thomas More Society, a religious liberty law firm. He went on to explain that providing a referral to an abortion provider would be considered by pro-life physicians "material involvement in something that's inherently evil."

Olp further noted that the clinics involved in the lawsuit do not receive state or federal funding.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include 1st Way Pregnancy Support Services, Pregnancy Aid South Suburbs, and Dr. Ronald Schroeder, who works at various pregnancy centers.

The suit, which was filed in a federal court in Springfield earlier this year, has been transferred to a federal court in Chicago, and then to Rockford, where it will be consolidated with another lawsuit challenging the change to the law.

The state has been prevented by a circuit court judge in Winnebago County from enforcing the law against three health care providers that operate pregnancy centers in Rockford, Chicago and the suburbs while the case is being heard.

Under the modified legislation, patients who were not told about their options could sue their health care provider for malpractice, and Olp said that the doctors or nurses could be disciplined directly by the state's licensing board.

Catholic health care providers in the state have not joined the legal challenge to the law sponsored by Sen. Daniel Bliss, an Evanston Democrat. The Catholic Conference of Illinois remained neutral on the measure and stated that Catholic health care facilities are already adhering to the dictates of the new law.
home World Church of England calls on UK government to ban gay conversion therapy

The Church of England has called on the U.K. government to ban the practice of conversion therapy, which is aimed at altering a person's sexual orientation.

During the General Synod's annual July sessions in York, members of the national assembly voted to endorse a Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy, which describes the practice as unethical, potentially harmful and having "no place in the modern world."

"Conversion therapy is harmful, dangerous and just doesn't work. People may be able to alter their behaviour but they can never alter their innate desire," said Jayne Ozanne, who represents laity in the Diocese of Oxford.

Ozanne, who proposed the motion, reportedly underwent conversion therapy which resulted in two breakdowns and two spells in the hospital. She insisted that the practice was a form of "abuse from which vulnerable adults need protecting."

She further noted that conversion therapy has been "discredited by the government, the NHS, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Royal College of General Practitioners and many other senior health care bodies."

According to The Guardian, Ozanne pointed to an online survey she recently conducted in the LGBT community, in which under 40 percent of the respondents admitted that they went through some form of conversion therapy. Over two-thirds of the respondents said they chose to do so because they believed that their sexual orientation was "sinful."

The Bishop of Liverpool, Paul Bayes, contended that "LGBTI+ orientation and identity" is not a sickness.

"We must distinguish between an ascetic and a therapeutic approach. In the Church we are certainly called to help one another to conform their lives to Jesus Christ and to live lives of holiness, but we do not need to engage people in healing therapy if they are not sick," he added.

Some synod members feared that the motion would limit the church's ability to offer pastoral care and prayer for those who are coping with issues of sexual desire and orientation.

Prior to the debate, Ozanne stated that she wanted the Church to make a clear public statement, adding that the Church can also encourage other denominations and faiths to consider their positions regarding the issue.

The House of Bishops voted 36a1 in favor of the motion with no abstentions, Premier reported. The House of Clergy voted 135a25 with 13 abstentions, while the House of Laity voted 127a48 to support the motion with 13 abstentions.

On Sunday, the General Synod voted to support a motion to consider special services for transgender people to welcome them and mark their transition.
home World Church of England overwhelmingly approves motion to welcome transgenders

The General Synod of the Church of England has overwhelmingly voted in favor of a motion to welcome and affirm transgender individuals to the congregation.

On Sunday, the Synod voted to approve a motion that recognizes "the need for transgender people to be welcomed and affirmed in their parish church."

The motion also calls on the House of Bishops to consider whether special services can be prepared to mark a person's gender transition.

According to Christian News Network, the House of Bishops voted 30a2 in favor of the motion, with two abstentions, while the House of Clergy voted 127a28 to approve it, with 16 abstentions. In the House of Laity, 127 supported the measure, with 48 opposed and eight abstaining from the vote.

"I hope that we can make a powerful statement to say that we believe that trans people are cherished and loved by God, who created them, and is present through all the twists and turns of their lives." said the Rev. Christopher Newlands of the Blackburn Diocesan Synod at the beginning of the assembly.

Newlands, who proposed the motion, stated in 2015 that he came up with the idea after he was approached by a girl, who identifies as a boy and wants to be baptized again under a male name.

"I said, 'Let me have a think about it.' So we did, and then we created a service, which was an affirmation of baptismal vows where we could introduce him to God with his new name and his new identity," he recounted at the time.

The Synod reportedly rejected an amendment proposed by Nick Land of the Diocese of York, calling on the House of Bishops to consider the theological and pastor ramifications of gender transitions.

Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend John Sentamu, argued that the world needs to hear the Church say that LGBT orientation and identity is not a crime. "LGBT orientation and identity is not a sickness, and LGBT orientation and identity is not a sin," he said.

On Saturday, the Synod approved a motion calling on the U.K. government to ban gay "conversion therapy."

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Justin Welby, said that the Church will spend three years working on a document that would outline its view on sexuality.

He said he continues to uphold the definition of marriage as a union between man and woman. However, a number of church bodies within the Anglican Communion have challenged that view, including The Scottish Episcopal Church, which was the first mainstream denomination in the U.K. to approve gay marriage in June.
On Independence Day, one American decided to exercise his freedom to ride his motorcycle at speeds up to 147 miles per hour. That and several other freedoms were quickly taken away thanks a police plane which released aerial footage demonstrating an astonishing array of data overlaid.

Street names, object tracking, and even some kind of overlay of the local plat map highlighting boundaries of private residences. Via JustPoliceVideos:

Trooper Klayton Dresher first clocked a motorcyclist going around 82 miles per hour in a 60 mile per hour zone on I-5 northbound near the Boeing exit. When the driver failed to stop, Trooper Dresher called the WSP Aviation Unit who had a Cessna aircraft already monitoring the area. The aircraft quickly spotted the motorcyclist and followed him into a residential area in Everett. At one point during the 17 mile pursuit, the motorcyclist was clocked at 147 miles per hour! After stopping at a house that wasn't his, the motorist jumped out and attempted to hide behind a boat. However, thanks to the Cesena feeding location information to troopers on the ground, Trooper Christopher Houser arrived and was able to safely takedown the driver. The driver was arrested and booked without incident thanks to the collaboration between the WSP Aviation Unit, communications, and troopers on the ground; as well as assistance from the Everett Police Department.

The drone technology used to suppress insurgencies abroad is now available to your local police!

 145MPH Motorcycle Police Chase (YouTube / JustPoliceVideos)
home US Commissioner resists demands to stop reading Bible verses at public meetings

A city commissioner in Florida has been asked by a church-state separation group to stop reading Bible verses at public meetings, but he has refused to comply with the request.

According to News 6, the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AU) sent a letter to the city of Deltona, requesting Commissioner Christopher Alcantara to stop citing scriptures as it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

A Deltona resident reportedly complained to the group that the Bible readings have nothing to do with the city's agenda.

The organization argued that requiring Alcantara to stop reading the Bible would not violate his free speech rights as he is a city official speaking on behalf of the government.

In a brief response to AU's letter, Alcantara said that he will not stop reading Bible verses. "Didn't bother to read all of your letter. I am not going to stop. Have a great day. God bless," the commissioner wrote, according to Christian News Network.

Alcantara noted that reading the scripture has been part of his routine since he took office in November.

"When I see something that talks to my heart and I feel that others should hear it, I share it in meeting. I don't expound on it. I just read it and move on," he stated.

"I personally believe this was politically motivated because the same individual has criticized me since I got elected. I've been doing it since November but now he wants to complain about it because, in my opinion, the others things haven't really stuck," he added.

The city reportedly sided with Alcantara, telling AU in a letter that the commissioner was only exercising his First Amendment right and not asking for participation.

City Manager Jane Shang further noted that the AU has to establish that the commissioner's conduct "rises to the level of a 'pattern' of denigrating other religious practices or coercing secular participation."

Assistant Interim City Attorney B. Scott George stated that there is not the commission can do about the matter without formal charges.

Following Alcantara's response, Alex Luchenitser, associate legal director of Americans United, insisted that the commissioner's approach is a clear constitutional violation. He said that the organization would discuss the matter internally with the complainant.

Daytona Beach News-Journal noted that the city commission operating guidelines do not restrict the subjects commissioners may discuss during their time to offer comments.
home World Female ISIS fighter blows herself up while clutching a baby

A woman fighting for the Islamic State terror group has been seen in a photograph clutching a baby in her arms just a few seconds before she detonated her suicide vest.

In the photo, a Burka-clad woman carrying a child and at least two bags appeared to be fleeing from a newly liberated part of Mosul. Closer inspection of the photo suggested that the woman was also holding a detonator.

Just moments after the picture was taken, the woman reportedly blew herself up, with the baby in her arms.

According to a cameraman for local al-Mawsleya TV, the woman tried to detonate the explosives as she walked past Iraqi troops, but it failed to go off until she had walked some distance away.

"I never believed a woman detonating herself while cradling her child, but ISIS did all kinds bizarre and strange things," Ahmen Amouri, an officer for the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service, told Rudaw.

"Our forces were heading towards Old Mosul. Tens of families were running and approaching us. We noticed a woman holding a child in her arms having a strange demeanor. As we talked to her, she blew herself up immediately," he added.

Both the woman and the child died in the blast, and two soldiers were also killed, according to The Mirror.

On Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared Mosul "liberated," but a few areas in the Western part of the city have not been cleared of militants.

Data from Iraqi Federal Police and Rapid Response Force showed that as many as 38 ISIS female suicide bombers have detonated themselves in Mosul last month.

Salam Obaidi, a commander of the ICTS, said that seven suicide bombing attempts by female militants have been foiled by Iraqi armed forces. "The ISIS suicide bombers are forcing us to do everything to confront them," he explained.

More than 20 female suicide bombers are believed to have donated explosives in the past two weeks, and one general claimed that they were using their own children as human shields.

"The women are fighting with their children right beside them. It's making us hesitant to use air strikes, to advance. If it weren't for this we could be finished in just a few hours," said Lieutenant General Sami al-Aridi, according to Daily Mail.

Preventing the attacks have proved difficult as soldiers do not ask women to lift up their clothes to check for explosives.

Government forces, with the help of a U.S.-led coalition, have been trying to drive out ISIS from Mosul since October. It is believed that a few hundred militants still remain in a confined area overlooking the Tigris River, which divides the city's east and west.
home World Five Chinese Christians face long prison sentences after failed appeals

Five Christians are facing long prison sentences after a court in China's northwestern Xinjiang rejected their appeals.

In April, the Christians received sentences ranging between three to five years in prison after they hosted a private Christian meeting in a home last year, which the court ruled was "gathering a crowd to disturb public order."

According to China Aid, Yang Zhaocun and Wang Lulu were sentenced to five years, while Cheng Yajie received a four-year prison sentence. Liu Yan and Zheng Lan were each sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

The five Christians filed appeals to overturn the sentences, but a Chinese court rejected their pleas on June 27.

The verdict noted that there were more than 50 people who participated in activities that were deemed "illegal," including studying the Bible, during the gathering at Zheng's home on March 5, 2016.

Wang and Cheng had admitted that they planned the gathering, while Zheng said she had been providing accommodation to personnel from a Christian organization since 2011.

The five Christians were held in custody for more than a year before they were sentenced on April 18.

Zheng reportedly had no connection to the Christians who were gathering at her home. She had been prosecuted for agreeing to accommodate them and for organizing large-scale Bible studies.

In her appeal, she contended that she grew up in abject poverty and did not receive a high level of education, causing her to be unaware of stipulation about such gatherings.

Liu's appeal argued that the official charge was only meant to convict behaviors that disrupt the process of work, production, business teaching, and scientific research and is determined by the "seriousness" of the infraction.

She also noted that while Article 12 of the Regulations on Religious Affairs states that religious gatherings usually should be held in registered religious sites, it does not formally stipulate sanctions against small religious gatherings in private homes.

The court ruled that the arguments of the appeals did not match the details of the case, which accused the Christians of the crime. However, the verdict failed to elaborate on how the gathering had disturbed public order, making the arrests completely arbitrary.

The judge reportedly disclosed in private that Xinjiang's politics and law committee issued a document prohibiting house churches and ordering the punishment of the attendees. China Aid noted that the document has not yet been released to the public.
home World Four Coptic Christians in Egypt killed in suspected killing spree by extremists

Egypt's Coptic Christians are fearing that extremists have resumed its jihadist campaign against the Coptic community after four men were killed in the past few weeks.

According to World Watch Monitor, a Coptic Christian was killed in late May, and three more men were found dead in the space of eight days from the last week of June to the first week of July.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the killings, but Coptic Christians fear that the victims might have been murdered by extremists who are loyal to groups such as the Islamic State, which vowed to "wipe out" Egypt's Copts in February.

Albert Fekry, a 67-year-old urologist, was found dead with a single gash to his neck in his clinic in Tala, in the northern Monufia Governorate. His priest, Fr. Yousos Joseph, noted that nothing was taken from the clinic and suggested that the killer may have known that the doctor worked alone.

On the same day, Coptic jeweler Girgis Bushra was found dead in his home in Heliopolis outside Cairo. The police stated that the man had been shot, but no arrests have been made as yet.

Michael Nabil Bebawy, a 32-year-old Coptic artist, was found dead in the city of Minya, capital of Minya Governorate, eight days earlier.

According to his brother-in-law, Michael Adel, his body was dumped on railway tracks near the station, and his head was found next to his body.

"A train driver reported seeing three people dumping a body on a section of the tracks. But the police alleged it was a train accident that severed Michael's head from his body," Adel said. "But we found pools of blood some distance away from the tracks, not on the tracks themselves," he added.

The brother-in-law further claimed that the medical examiner who carried out the post-mortem had not visited the site where Bebawy's body was found.

Adel said the police wanted to portray Bebawy's death as a train accident, but he expressed his concern that his brother-in-law might have been killed by extremists, such as those who carried out the massacre of 28 Coptic Christians who were traveling on a bus through the desert in May.

Two days before the bus attack, Coptic building contractor Magdy Zekry Abdel Malak was found dead with a single gash to his neck in his workplace. The contractor's cousin, Malak Rizk, said he believed that he was murdered for his faith, adding that his wallet was found on his body, so he was not killed for money.

The Egyptian government has declared a state of emergency following the attacks on two Coptic Christian churches on Palm Sunday, but it has not prevented subsequent attacks against the Christians, who complain about the state of indifference among the police.

Earlier this month, the Egyptian parliament approved a presidential decision to extend the state of emergency for another three months, starting from July 10.
home US Group claims Google manipulated search results to reduce visits to pro-life website

A pro-life group has accused Google of manipulating the parameters of its search engine to dramatically reduce exposure to a website that contains extensive information on abortion.

According to Operation Rescue, the fact page "Abortions in America," was the most visited page on its website until six weeks ago.

The group claims that the page was among the top five hits on the search "Abortions in the US," and was the top referrer to the OperationRescue.org. The page no longer appears on the first results page, and it was also dropped off the first page of search results for the term "Abortion Statistics," the group noted.

The fact page contains extensive information on abortion, including a graph comparing the number of babies born against the number of babies aborted and reasons why women obtain abortions. It also includes graphs of abortion statistics based on the gestational age of the baby and the type of procedure, as well as statistics on the age, race, religion, annual income and educational level of the patient. The page also contains a link to images of aborted babies and an actual footage of an abortion.

The organization noted that the fact page steadily grew in popularity after it was created in October 2012.

Operation Rescue contended that the page had been receiving an average of about 16,000 views a month, with virtually no promotion.

The visits to the site reportedly peaked in January with 37,111 views, but in May, the numbers declined by more than half over the previous month. It only got 1,512 views in June, and there were only 307 views in the last seven days of that month, according to the organization.

Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, asserted that the decline is the result of censorship.

"Google's censorship of our popular 'Abortions in America' page has revealed Google's pro-abortion agenda that is determined to deprive the public from seeing the truth about abortion displayed in incontrovertible facts and statistics drawn from a number of sources, some of which are unique to Operation Rescue.org," he said.

"Why are they manipulating their powerful search engine to steer the public away from our popular website? We want people to know that targeted pro-life content is being buried Google's search engine, which cannot be trusted," he went on to say.
home US Hank Hanegraaff says his departure from evangelicalism was spurred by watching 'pastor-preneurs'

Hank Hanegraaff, popularly known as the "Bible Answer Man," said that watching pastors who act more like entrepreneurs were part of the reason for his departure from evangelicalism.

In an interview with NPR's Charlotte affiliate WFAE on Wednesday, Hanegraaff said that people jumped to the wrong conclusions when he joined the St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox church in south Charlotte in April, with some suggesting that he "walked away from the faith."

The radio host said that was not the case at all, and he spoke about the type of "pastor-preneur" church leadership that he says made him uncomfortable.

"Where the pastor is like an entrepreneur, branding, formulaically getting people into seats a that became troubling to me and I decided I was going to explore," he said.

Hanegraaff, who is undergoing chemotherapy for a rare form of cancer called mantle cell lymphoma, had stated that he felt drawn to the days of the early Church after he witnessed the simplicity and passion of Chinese Christians. He went on to study the concept of theosis, which was a teaching of the Eastern Orthodox Church regarding union with God. However, the radio host maintained his theological beliefs remain mostly unchanged.

Following his conversion, the Winston-Salem-based Truth Network and Bott Radio Network (BRN) pulled his radio broadcast from their stations.

"We want to make sure that our listeners know that the programming that we have on Bott Radio Network is thoroughly biblical," said BRN President Richard P. Bott II at the time.

The radio host said that he is not too concerned about the stations that have stopped broadcasting his show.

"I've seen over the years that God closes one door and He opens other doors. For example, we're now on the Orthodox Christian Network. For me this is not a popularity contest or the size of the platform; it is simply doing what God leads me to do. Let the chips fall where they may," he said.

Several prominent evangelical figures have expressed concerns about Hanegraaff's decision to join the Orthodox church.

R. Philip Roberts, director for international theological education with the Global Ministries Foundation in Tennessee, noted that the roots of Eastern Orthodox go back centuries. But he warned that there are problems with its teaching because there had been changes in its interpretations of biblical doctrines over the years.

He went on to explain that while it has roots in the ancient church, its ceremonies and theology have developed gradually throughout the centuries.

Roberts asserted that Hanegraaff likely accepted a Western version of Orthodoxy, interpreted through an evangelical lens. He added that he cannot understand how the radio host can endorse a denomination that currently teaches unbiblical doctrines and ceremonies, while also persecuting evangelicals in some places like Russia and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
home US Hobby Lobby agrees to pay $3M fine and forfeit 5,500 ancient artifacts from Iraq

Arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby has agreed to forfeit 5,500 ancient artifacts that have been smuggled out of Iraq and pay a $3 million fine in a settlement with the Justice Department.

In 2010, the Christian-owned company reportedly imported thousands of ancient artifacts from Iraq that were illegally smuggled through the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

Packages that have been falsely marked as "ceramic tiles" or "clay tiles" were shipped to three Hobby Lobby corporate addresses in Oklahoma City, according to Religion News Service.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Justice Department said that Hobby Lobby will forfeit the artifacts and pay $3 million to settle civil charges filed against the company.

Among the artifacts to be forfeited were cuneiform tablets and bricks, clay bullae and cylinder seals.

Hobby Lobby President Steve Green denied that the artifacts were purchased from dealers from Iraq or from anyone who indicated that the items came from the war-torn country.

"The Company was new to the world of acquiring these items, and did not fully appreciate the complexities of the acquisitions process. This resulted in some regrettable mistakes," Green said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, some experts have asserted that Hobby Lobby must have known that it was illegally importing artifacts.

"They have obviously created a track record of having a knowledge and at least an appreciation of the value of these things," said Matthew Canepa, a professor of art and archaeology of the ancient Near East at the University of Minnesota. "They're not just sort of a naive tourist kind of picking up a souvenir," he added.

Canepa further argued that anything from Iraq is considered "highly ethically suspect," unless it has a long history within a respected museum.

Hobby Lobby noted that it has now "implemented acquisition policies and procedures based on the industry's highest standards established by the Association of Art Museum Directors."

"We have accepted responsibility and learned a great deal," said Green, who also serves as the chairman of the Museum of the Bible, which is slated to open in Washington D.C. in November.

Steven Bickley, the Museum of the Bible's vice president of marketing, administration, and finance, said that the museum was not part of the Justice Department's investigation or the settlement.

He maintained that the department does not "have any concerns about our collection," adding that "the artifacts that were referred to were never in our collection."
home World Imam protests against distribution of Bibles to displaced families from Marawi

An Islamic preacher has decried the distribution of Bibles to families who fled from Marawi City, where the Philippine military is currently fighting against terrorist groups who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

Bibles that have been translated to the Maranao language were reportedly distributed as part of the relief goods to Marawi refugees.

Sunstar reported that the evacuees in Ceanuri Subdivision in Tubod village received the scriptures along with bath soap, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrush.

Ustadz Abdul Karim Ambor, former president of the Iligan League of Imams, urged Christian groups to avoid proselytizing to refugees from Marawi because he said it could result in more harm than good.

"Of course, the people want help and they need help, but what they don't need today is an insult to their sensibilities," Ambor stated, as reported by Inquirer. "The aim really is to convince Maranao Muslims to embrace the Christian faith," he added.

Ambor, who runs an Islamic school in Ceanuri Subdivision, said that the refugees did not immediately discover the Bibles until they opened the relief packs. He noted that the Maranao Bible had the phrase "So Sindaw," which translates to "The Light." Some of the relief packs included magazines on the Bible story of the fisherman, which was also translated to the Maranao language.

Hadji Amir Ali, a Marawi evacuee, said that members of the Christian group urged the refugees to read the Bibles, and told some of them that it was a history book.

Abelardo Moya of the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) stated that the group's attempt to proselytize "transgresses some cultural and religious sensibilities," noting that various Christian denominations have been doing humanitarian relief work in the area, "even earning the trust of Maranaos to prepare food for them."

"This must be dealt with soonest. Now that this has happened, it is best seen as an opportunity to dialogue," he said.

Ambor said that pious Muslims wanted to throw the Bibles in the garbage or burn them, but he urged them not to do it. He said that he will turn the scriptures over to an Islamic group in Iligan "for proper disposition," adding that he cannot return the Bibles to the Christian organization because no contact information was found in the kits they distributed.

He said that while evangelists do not find the distribution of Bibles to be offensive, the act of proselytization may be used by extremist groups like the Maute, which led the siege in Marawi on May 23, to persuade others to fight the government.

"We cannot tell what will happen. So I am appealing to our brothers in the Christian faith, please don't mix evangelization with your attempts to help the needy Maranao," the Islamic preacher pleaded.
home US Indiana pro-life group credits Mike Pence for reduction of abortions in the state

A pro-life group has credited Vice President Mike Pence for the reduction of abortions in Indiana while he served as governor in the state.

New data from the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) showed that the abortion rate in the state dropped by 17 percent during Pence's term as governor. There were 8,808 abortions in Indiana before Pence took office in 2012, compared to 7,277 abortions in his last year in office in 2016.

The annual ISDH abortion report also indicated that the state's 2016 abortion rate dropped 8.5 percent from 2015, when there were 7,957 abortions, according to Life News.

Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life, credited Pence's pro-life stance with the drop in the abortion rate in the state.

"The pro-life policies championed by Mike Pence while governor made a life over death difference for Hoosier women and children," Fichter said, according to a news release.

"We believe increased informed consent laws and the Real Alternatives program empowered women to choose life during Pence's term in office. Pence frequently said 'life is winning in Indiana' and the substantial drop in the abortion rate shows it. Now as Vice President, we're thrilled Pence is able to ensure life is also winning in America," he added.

During his term as governor, Pence signed several pro-life measures into law including, the 2016 Dignity for the Unborn law, which protected unborn babies from being aborted on the basis of their sex, race, national origin or a potential disability, like Down syndrome. While the courts have blocked the law from being enforced, it started a nationwide conversation regarding the humanity of the unborn.

Pence also approved a measure that required doctors to document their admitting privileges with the State Department of Health and established health and safety standards at chemical abortion facilities.

Additionally, he promoted adoption through the annual Governor's Adoption Fair and an adoption tax credit for parents.

Indiana Right to Life noted that despite the decline in abortions in the state, Planned Parenthood performed 1.3 more terminations in 2016 than in 2015. Seventy-three percent of the abortions in Indiana were reportedly performed by Planned Parenthood and it increased the abortions at its facility in Bloomington by 23.6 percent in 2016, compared with the abortion rate at the same facility in 2015.

The pro-life group further noted that the abortion rate in Indiana has decreased by more than 33 percent since 2008. The highest rate in Indiana was recorded in 1980, when there were 16,505 abortions.
home World Irish Catholic priests call for helpline as suicide rate among clergy surges

Catholic priests in Ireland are calling for a confidential helpline following reports of a surge in suicides among members of the clergy.

Recent reports given at meetings of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) have indicated that at least eight Irish priests have committed suicide in the past 10 years.

Many priests are voicing out their concerns over a severe dip in morale and mental health crisis among the clergy in Ireland.

"Our morale is affected because we are on a sinking ship. When will the 'counter-reformation' take place? We're like an All-Ireland team without a goalie. We need a national confidential priests' helpline. We're slow to look for help," an attendee at a recent ACP meeting said.

The issue has been raised by the 1,000-member clerical group in at least three separate meetings in the past few months, according to Catholic News Agency.

Fr. Roy Donovan, a spokesman for the ACP, told Irish Central in May that more elderly churchmen may be suffering in silence and do not know where to find help.

"We know that some priests with mental health issues have found support by attending GROW groups, but I think there are a lot of priests out there who either won't or don't know where to get help," he said at the time.

"So the hope is that there'll be more regional ACP meetings, which should help us address the problem better by reaching out to more priests," he added.

The number of priests in Ireland has dropped significantly over the past decade. In 2004, there were more than 3,100 priests in the country, but by 2014, the last year data is available, the number had been reduced to 2,627, though the number of active priests may be closer to just 1,900.

The shortage of priests has led to clustering, a phenomenon where several parishes are combined into one due to lack of leadership. The phenomenon results in the increase in priests' workload and subsequent stress, forcing many to work well beyond retirement years because of the lack of new vocations.

Additionally, the Catholic Church, beginning in the 1990s, was rocked by sex abuse scandals that led to a massive decline in the priesthood as well as in the faith of the laypeople.

During one of the meetings, the priests pointed to the negative press regarding the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, where mass graves of babies and children were found.

The priests stated that the nuns did a "disservice" by not clarifying exactly what happened at the home.

"They need to do so immediately. It makes our job impossible, especially as we face a storm on abortion next year," they said, referring to the ongoing debate whether to legalize abortion in Ireland.

The priests urged the Church to hire a media person who could speak clearly for the clergy and bishops in times of crisis. They also acknowledged that they need to be more vocal about asking for help when they need it.
In 2015, U.S. intelligence agencies monitoring the communications of Russian agents overheard them talking "about meetings held outside the U.S. involving Russian government officials and Trump business associates or advisers."

That was before Donald J. Trump's presidential campaign began.

The Wall Street Journal reports that "In light of the release of emails Tuesday by Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, investigators are going back to" early reports of chatter between Russians in the U.S. and members of Trump's inner circle, to see if they can better understand the intercepted conversations.



From the WSJ report:

U.S. intelligence agencies starting in the spring of 2015 detected conversations in which Russian government officials discussed associates of Donald Trump, several months before he declared his candidacy for president, according to current and former U.S. officials. In some cases, the Russians in the overheard conversations talked about meetings held outside the U.S. involving Russian government officials and Trump business associates or advisers, these people said.



It isn't clear which Trump associates or advisers the Russians were referring to, or whether they had any connection to his presidential aspirations.



The reports were gathered by intelligence agencies that routinely monitor Russian espionage against the U.S. Such efforts can include monitoring phone calls and emails as well as information from informants. The efforts weren't aimed at Mr. Trump or his associates, these people said.

The U.S. intelligence agencies weren't sure what to make of the vague and inconclusive information, given that Mr. Trump had done business in Russia and was a global celebrity well-known to prominent people there. The names of Americans do sometimes show up in conversations involving Russian officials that are overheard by U.S. intelligence.

The WSJ contacted a lawyer for Trump. He didn't return a call seeking comment on the overheard 2015 conversations.

IMAGE: Reuters
home World Israeli leaders decry U.N. resolution that declares Abraham's tomb as Palestinian heritage site

Israeli leaders have decried a UNESCO resolution that declared Hebron's Old City and the Tomb of the Patriarchs as endangered Palestinian heritage sites.

On Friday, 12 member states of the World Heritage Committee voted in favor of a UNESCO resolution that recognized Hebron's Old City and the Tomb of the Patriarchs as Palestinian heritage sites. The resolution would register the two sites in UNESCO's World Heritage List and would consider them as being in danger, which means that the committee will convene each year to discuss them.

According to Jewish tradition, the Tomb of the Patriarchs is where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, along with their wives, were buried. The site, also known as the Ibrahimi Mosque, is also revered by Muslims, who see Abraham as a patriarch through his son, Ishmael.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the resolution "delusional," and vowed to continue protecting the Tomb of Patriarchs.

In response to the vote, Netanyahu decided to cut $1 million from the membership fees paid by Israel to the U.N., Haaretz reported.

In May, Netanyahu had cut UN funding by $1 million following UNESCO's resolution that criticized Israeli policy in Jerusalem and Gaza. The prime minister also cut the fees by $2 million in April in response to a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution regarding Israeli settlements.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin also condemned the Friday's vote, saying the resolution "proves once again that the organization is determined to keep disseminating anti-Jewish lies while staying silent as the regional heritage is being erased by brutal extremists."

Naftali Bennett, Israel's education minister and chairman of the country's committee to UNESCO, insisted that the Jewish link to Hebron goes back a thousand years and will not be severed.

"It's disappointing and embarrassing to see UNESCO denying history and distorting reality time after time to knowingly serve those who try to wipe the Jewish state off the map," Bennett said.

"Israel won't renew cooperation with UNESCO as long as it continues to serve as a tool for political attacks instead of being a professional organization," he added.

Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the U.N., described the decision as an "ugly and aggressive step against the Jewish people," adding that the organization has lost any last remnant of reliability.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Reyad Al-Maliki, on the other hand, hailed the vote, saying it was proof of the "successful diplomatic battle Palestine has launched on all fronts in the face of Israeli and American pressure on (UNESCO) member countries."

Hebron, the largest Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank with a population of about 200,000, including 1,000 Israeli settlers, has long been a place of religious friction between Muslims and Jews. The settlers, who are being protected by about 800 Israeli troops, have been determined to expand the Jewish presence in the city because of its religious significance.
home World Kurdistan opens massive church for displaced Christians

Christians in the Kurdish town of Ainkawa will now be able to attend mass after the government opened a massive church that can seat more than 1,000 people at a time.

The Church of St. Petrous and Pols, one of the largest churches in the Middle East, was opened on Thursday after about eight years of construction.

While the church is not completely finished, and while only the prayer hall has been completed, it is expected to accommodate as many as 1,300 people.

"When finished this will be one of the biggest such projects in the Middle East. It can accommodate 1,300 parishioners at one time," said Khalid Jamal, head of Christian Affairs department at the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) religious affairs ministry.

According to Kurdish new site Rudaw, the opening ceremony was mostly attended by Christians from Ainkawa, but refugees from Mosul, Baghdad, Syria and other parts of Iraq were also present.

"I'm a Syrian refugee," said Miriam Sileman, a woman from Syria. "I now live here. I'm very happy about this church and I'll always come here to pray," she added.

The foundation stone for the church was laid in 2009, and the necessary funds for the construction of the church amounting to $4 million were released by the KRG religious affairs ministry in 2013.

"Building this church with support from the Kurdish government is a message that shows there is a link with and support for Christians," said Bishop Bashar Matti.

The new church reportedly has rooms for the sick, dressing room for bride and groom, cafeteria, offices, conference halls, training grounds and a baptism pool.

The advocacy group International Christian Concern commended the Kurdish government for opening the massive church.

"This church will be a place where Christians who have lost their homes and churches can feel welcomed," a statement on the group's webpage read.

"It also shows the Kurdish government's support for the Christian community. After so much pain, Christians with no place to go see a home in the Kurdistan region," it continued.

In May, Rudaw reported that there were 127 churches and 34 shrines in the Kurdistan Region, and there are plans to increase the number in the coming years to accommodate Christians from Baghdad and Nineveh Plains.

Kurdish authorities said that there could be as many as 200,000 Christian refugees in the Kurdistan Region, with the majority of them living in Ainkawa and Shaqlawa, north of Erbil.

There are also plans to complete the construction of the headquarters of the Assyrian Church, which was relocated from the U.S. to Erbil two years ago. The headquarters was moved to Chicago in 1940 due to political tensions and violence, and it has remained in the U.S. city since then.
home World London hospital asks for another court hearing to reconsider treatment of Charlie Gard

Charlie Gard, an 11-month-old baby who suffers from a rare genetic condition, is getting another chance to receive treatment after the London hospital where he was admitted asked for a new court hearing to reconsider his case.

On Friday, the Great Ormond Street Hospital announced that it has asked U.K.'s High Court for a new hearing to reconsider Charlie's case "in light of claims of new evidence relating to potential treatment for his condition."

Charlie's parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, have been fighting court battles to for the right to bring the baby to the U.S. for an experimental treatment. But English courts ruled in favor of the hospital, which argued that the treatment would not improve the baby's quality of life.

The couple filed an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, but in late June, the court declined to hear their case.

The London hospital stated that it made the decision to ask for another court hearing after researchers from two international hospitals contacted them to say that they have "fresh evidence about their proposed experimental treatment."

A Presbyterian hospital in New York and a Vatican-owned pediatric facility have offered to continue treatment for Charlie, who could only breathe through a ventilator and is fed through a tube. The hospital in New York also offered to ship the experimental treatment in the U.K. as another option.

According to The Telegraph, the London hospital has been forbidden from allowing the 11-month-old to travel elsewhere to receive nucleoside therapy because of a High Court ruling.

On Sunday, Gard and Yates joined members of "Charlie's Army," as the group handed over a petition to Great Ormond Street vowing: "If he's still fighting, we're still fighting."

The parents begged judges to allow Charlie to receive a "miracle" treatment, insisting "we don't want him in the ground, we want him riding a bike."

Yates noted that the potential cure known as nucleoside bypass therapy has been used to treat a little girl in Spain with a similar condition to Charlie.

"This medication has up to 10 per cent chance of working for Charlie," Yates told The Sun. "There's 18 children currently on this medication, they're all getting stronger, they're all getting better. It's a miracle what happens. One girl was on a ventilator and a year later she was riding a bike," she added.
home World London hospital refuses to let Charlie Gard travel to Rome to continue treatment

A hospital in London has denied permission to let a pediatric facility in Rome to provide care for Charlie Gard, a terminally-ill baby who suffers from a rare genetic disease.

Mariella Enoc, president of the Bambino GesA Hospital in Rome, said that she recently spoke to Charlie's mother, Connie Yates, who told her that London's Great Ormond Street Hospital would not allow the baby to travel to Rome.

"The hospital told us that, for legal reasons, the baby can't be transferred to us. That's one more sad note," Enoc said, according to Crux.

"In life, there are gray zones. In this case, it's very difficult to say if this is suffering by therapy or not. In this gray zone, I stand by the judgment and do the only thing I can, which is to say, we'll welcome the family and accompany them as the pope asked," she added.

Charlie, who suffers from a rare genetic condition that causes brain damage and muscle weakness, was scheduled to be taken off life support on Friday, but doctors at the London hospital extended the deadline at the parents' request.

Yates, and Charlie's father, Chris Gard, had lost legal battles in U.K. courts and the European Court of Human Rights to allow them to take the baby to the U.S. for an experimental treatment.

On Monday, the Bambino GesA Hospital stated that Enoc had asked the facility's health director to contact Great Ormond Street Hospital to verify if the baby can be transferred to Rome.

Vatican's Secretary of State, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said on Tuesday that the London hospital's refusal may be due to "a problem of nationality." The cardinal further noted that "the Holy See will do anything possible, and if it can help, it will."

Pope Francis had expressed hope that the parents' desire to "to accompany and care for their own child to the end" will be respected.

U.S President Donald Trump had stated that the U.S. would be "delighted" to help the baby, and White House officials have reportedly spoken with the family to offer support.

After Trump expressed his intention to help the family, an unnamed hospital in the U.S. reportedly offered to provide Charlie with a new experimental treatment at no cost if he is allowed to travel. Charlie's parents have raised more than 1.3 million (US $1.68 million) to take the baby to the U.S. for treatment.
home US Majority of evangelicals believe freedom of religion 'makes America great,' Barna poll reveals

A recent poll conducted by the Barna Group revealed that a majority of evangelicals believe that freedom of religion is what "makes America great."

The survey, which was based in part on President Donald Trump's slogan "make America great again," asked 1,015 American adults about what they love most about their country.

The poll results revealed that 24 percent of Americans appreciate the having the opportunity to "become who you want to be" or being able to live the "American dream." Twenty-one percent said they regard the Constitution, and another 21 percent said they appreciate free speech and free press. Twenty percent of the respondents say they value freedom of religion, while 20 percent said the same for democracy.

Freedom of religion is highly regarded among evangelicals at 53 percent, followed by America's Christian roots at 40 percent. However, only two percent of evangelicals expressed appreciation for the Bill of Rights, and just six percent said they value freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Among practicing Christians, 34 percent said they value religious freedom, while 23 percent expressed appreciation for the nation's Christian heritage.

The division between conservatives and liberals is evident in their responses to the poll. Thirty percent of conservatives expressed appreciation for the Constitution, compared to 15 percent of liberals.

The survey also showed that more conservatives esteemed the Christian values of America at 21 percent, compared to three percent of liberals.

However, more liberals were inclined to value the freedom of speech and freedom of the press at 27 percent, compared to 15 percent of conservatives. More liberals also expressed appreciation for diversity at 22 percent, compared to four percent of conservatives.

The survey, which was published by Barna on Monday, was conducted between June 5a9 of 2017, with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, at the 95 percent confidence level.

Meanwhile, a separate study conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) in October found that Americans are growing in pessimism about the direction of the U.S.

The PRRI poll indicated that as much as 74 percent of Americans believe that the nation is heading down the wrong track.

It also revealed that as many as 92 percent of Republicans said that the country was down the wrong track, compared to 57 percent of Democrats and 79 percent of independents.

The polling institution noted that the figure was considerably higher in October last year compared to the time during the 2012 presidential race when 57 percent of the American public said the country was off on the wrong track.
home World Majority of exorcisms in the UK are driven by mental health issues, says religious think tank

A religious think tank has asserted that the majority of exorcisms in the U.K. are driven by mental health problems that require psychiatric assistance.

A report from Christian think tank Theos noted that the number of exorcisms in the U.K. has risen significantly because of the growth of immigrant communities and Pentecostal churches. However, the vast majority of cases involve people who are suffering from mental health issues, which require psychiatric treatment instead of exorcisms.

The report titled "Christianity and Mental Health" warned against the dangers of "Christian over-spiritualising" which it defined as a "tendency to ascribe anything and everything to spiritual causes when other medical ones may exist." However, it does not discount the possibility of actual demonic possession.

"Certainly there is a biblical warrant for the dangers of demonic forces, and Jesus' great commission to the disciples includes the explicit command to 'cast out demons'. However, there is also need for serious caution," it stated, as reported by The Guardian.

The think tank noted that there is a danger of a possible overlap between demonic possession and mental health issues.

The report also pointed out that many exorcisms are conducted in defiance of rules and procedures set up by churches, including "The House of Bishops' Guidelines for Good Practice in the Deliverance Ministry 1975" (revised 2012), which was produced by the Church of England.

"One of the frustrations of medical professionals with Christians comes from accounts and anecdotes of people with medical health issues going off their medication because they've been told that prayer is enough, and relapsing as a result," the report further noted.

Ben Ryan, a researcher at Theos and the author of the report, said that the Church should be more involved in engaging with mental health problems because of Jesus' commandment to heal the sick. He contended that mental illness is a sickness that Christians should try to alleviate.

The think tank explained that Jesus' command to cast out demons and heal the sick were not synonymous. It argued that just as medical assistance is recommended for physical ailments, a proper treatment must be recommended for mental illness.

A spokesman for the Church of England said that it takes its deliverance ministry "very seriously and treats each case in a pastoral and private way."

The Church's spokesman further noted that its guidelines indicate that particular caution needs to be exercised when dealing with a person who is in a "distressed" or "disturbed" state.
home US Millennial Christians are more generous with money than older generations, survey shows

Millennial Christians are more generous with their money than older generations, and they are more likely to be bigger church givers, according to a new study.

A recent survey by the Barna Group found that Millennials are 31 percent more likely to prioritize providing for a family above other financial goals, compared to 13 percent of Elders and 18 percent of Gen-Xers and Boomers.

The study, titled "Christians' Financial Motivations Matter," examined motivations behind various causes, such as family needs, charitable giving and serving God.

To analyze the financial goal of Christians, Barna classified Americans into two groups: Givers and Keepers. Givers were defined as those with "others-focused" goals, while keepers are motivated by "self-focused" goals.

Leading in the Givers category are Millennials at 56 percent, followed by Elders at 55 percent. Boomers came in third at 50 percent, followed by Gen-Xers at 46 percent.

The survey found that 43 percent of Givers prioritize family needs, while 23 percent give to charity. Twenty percent want to serve God with their money, while 20 percent want to leave a legacy for others.

In the Keepers category, Gen-Xers came in first at 37 percent, followed by Millennials at 35 percent, Boomers at 33 percent and Elders at 25 percent.

Forty-two percent of Keepers said they want to support a lifestyle, while 37 percent said their goal is to be content. Sixteen percent said they want to be debt free, and five percent want to show others how hard they work.

Brian Kluth, a bestselling author and founder of State of the Plate Report, told Baptist News Global that younger generation of Christians tend to be more spontaneous when it comes to giving to the Church.

He noted that Millennials are well known for their openness in helping family members, friends, churches and numerous causes, although they do not do so with a financial plan.

Kluth, however, asserted that the unstructured giving of Millennials is often the result of poor planning by churches and other organizations that depend on contributions.

The author argued that asking for check or cash contributions leaves out younger generations because most of them do not carry checkbooks or cash.

"We have not made it easy for Millennials to be systematic givers. So they lean toward more spontaneous giving," he said.

Kluth's 2016 State of the Plate report found that some congregations are facing serious giving issues.

Between 2015 and 2016, nearly 60 percent of churches surveyed said giving had either flat-lined or decreased, and only 41 percent of congregations reported an increase of five percent in giving.
home US Ohio governor approves budget bill that allocates $1 million for pro-life pregnancy centers

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has approved a budget bill that would allocate $1 million for a program that would provide funding for pro-life pregnancy centers across the state.

The 2018a2019 State Budget, approved by Kasich last Friday, will allocate $1 million for Ohio Right to Life's Parenting and Pregnancy Support Program, which provides financial support to pro-life pregnancy centers as part of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Ohio Right to Life had invited pregnancy center directors, workers, volunteers, and clients to the Ohio Statehouse to testify in favor of the program.

Pat Todak, executive director of Heartbeat of Toledo, and Rosemary Prier, director of operations for Elizabeth's New Life Center in Dayton, were among those who testified that the program had already helped over 4,000 women.

The renewal of the program marks Ohio Right to Life's 19th legislative success since 2011, according to Life News. The pro-life group commended Kasich, Senate President Larry Obhof and Speaker of the House Cliff Rosenberger for approving the Parenting and Pregnancy Support Program for the third consecutive budget.

Prior to the approval of the 2018a2019 State Budget, some pro-abortion groups raised concerns about allocating funds to Ohio Right to Life's Parenting and Pregnancy Support Program.

"By giving funding to so-called 'crisis pregnancy centers,' the Parenting and Pregnancy Program is directing money to centers that coerce and mislead the people turning to them for help," said Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio.

"When women need urgent, legitimate medical advice, these facilities present inflammatory rhetoric and misleading information. These centers should not be getting state funding," she added.

There were also concerns that pro-life provisions would be attached to the budget bill as several abortion restrictions have reportedly been included the state budget in the past.

"The budget has been a tool that the Kasich administration has used to put in place abortion restrictions often with little or no opportunity for committee hearings. The medical community is shut out of this process when they write restrictions behind closed doors," said Gabriel Mann, spokesperson for NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio.

In the 2016-2017 state budget, $1 million was provided to 13 pro-life pregnancy centers across the state.

Other states such as Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania, also provide funding for alternatives to abortion programs.

Life News noted that Indiana expanded its program in 2015 to provide $3.5 million to pro-life organizations across the state. Michigan and Pennsylvania allocate money to programs that provide pregnancy and parenting support to families. Pro-life groups in these states credit the programs for helping to reduce abortion rates.
home World Over 700 Boko Haram militants surrender to government troops following bombardment of hideouts

The Nigerian Army has announced that over 700 members of Boko Haram have surrendered to government troops last week, following a series of bombardments of suspected hideouts of the terror group.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, stated on July 3 that the members of Boko Haram have surrendered to the troops of Operation Lafiya Dole in Borno, adding that more militants are in the process of surrendering to the government.

"It is a clear indication that the war on insurgency and terror is clearly being won. I want to congratulate not only our gallant troops and indeed the Navy and Airforce but all Nigerians," Buratai said, according to Vanguard.

"The terrorists are surrendering because of the concerted efforts of the Nigerian military. They are in total disarray, they are hungry and are looking for a way out," he added.

Several of the captives claimed that they were forced to fight for Boko Haram after the terrorist group stormed their villages and ordered them to join.

Brigadier General Sani Usman, director of Army Public Relations, said that 70 out of 700 militants who surrendered have agreed to come out of military protection and reveal significant intelligence.

"So far, the surrendered terrorists have been making useful statements, and it is expected that many more of them will surrender," Usman stated, as reported by Church Militant.

"Preliminary investigation has shown that among them were key commanders and influential members of the terrorist group, one of whom matches suspect number 225 on Boko Haram terrorists most wanted list released by the Nigerian Army," he added.

Nigerian officers said at a press briefing that they will not be allowed to have an extensive interview with the 70 militants because it could put them and their families in danger.

One of the 70 militants, speaking on the behalf of others, pleaded with journalists not to publish their names or their photos, as the militants are capable of trailing them or their family members.

On Friday, the Chief of Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar, assured that the government is winning the war against Boko Haram, noting that many of the terror group's cells in the north-east had already been decimated by security forces.

Since 2015, the army, under Operation Laafiya Dole, or Peace by all means, has reclaimed areas held by Boko Haram and has limited the group's ability to carry out its attacks in capital of Borno State and place of its birth, Maiduguri.
home US Painting of Jesus left on Islamic center sparks hate crime probe

New York Police have launched a hate crime investigation after a painting of Jesus was found hanging on the fence of an Islamic center in Nassau county.

An employee at the Hillside Islamic Center in North Hyde Park alerted the police after he discovered a large turquoise painting of Jesus Christ on the cross, hanging on the fence at the center on Friday.

A surveillance camera has captured a video of the man placing the painting on the fence, according to the police.

Mosque officials stated that they do not find Jesus to be offensive, but the police are still investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, News 12 Long Island reported.

The mosque issued a statement saying the incident was a "teaching moment" that served to underscore the similarities between Muslims and Christians.

The New York branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), America's largest Muslim civil rights group, also released a statement urging the individual or group behind the painting to learn more about the beliefs of Muslims.

"Bias may have motivated this incident, but it could serve as a teaching moment for the perpetrator and for the community if it leads to greater understanding of the love Muslims have for Jesus, peace be upon him," the group stated.

CAIR has listed several Quranic verses, which they say demonstrate "the spiritual unity of the Abrahamic faiths."

"The spiritual legacy of Jesus (peace be upon him) should be a unifying factor for Muslims and Christians, not a source of division or bigotry," the group went on to say.

Last month, CAIR launched a mobile application that allows people to report bias incidents in the hopes of getting an accurate count of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the U.S.

The application, called Making Democracy Work for Everyone, was launched after the group reported a 44 percent increase in the number of hate crimes reported by American Muslims last year, according to Reuters.

It will allow users to file a description of an alleged bias incident, which will then be investigated by CAIR staff. The group will include the incident in its reporting if it believes that it was the result of religious bias. Details will be shared with the police if the group believes that the incident was criminal.

The application also provides information about what rights are protected by the U.S. Constitution, and it contains contact information for CAIR's national headquarters in Washington and chapters nationwide.
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home US Perry Noble reveals he was close to committing suicide after he was fired from his church

Perry Noble, who was fired from his post as senior pastor of NewSpring Church last year because of his alcohol addiction, has confessed that he was close to committing suicide while he was in a rehabilitation facility.

In an emotional Facebook video posted on Sunday, Noble noted that suicide affects a lot of people in America, and he admitted that he was close to taking his own life after he got fired from NewSpring in July last year.

He revealed that he was diagnosed with PTSD while he was in rehab and that his condition stemmed from "some events that went all the way back to when I was molested when I was 6 years old."

The former pastor admitted that he was "absolutely drinking too much," and that the way he tried to cope with his issues led to further problems.

"I did it wrong. I totally messed up. I turned to alcohol as my source," he said, noting that it provided him with a temporary relief.

"When you are in pain, when something is broken, when something is hurting, temporary relief is better than no relief at all," he continued.

Noble noted that he was just offering insight into how he was hurting at the time and maintained that he was not trying to justify his alcohol use.

The former pastor further disclosed that after he was fired from NewSpring, his wife, Lucretia, decided to leave him and took their daughter, Charisse, with her.

"I lose my job, my wife leaves me, and I felt like those closest to me, whether true or not, abandoned me. I couldn't get a return phone all, I just felt alone," he said.

Noble said that after he spent four days in a rehabilitation facility in Arizona, he thought of leaving the clinic and take his own life.

He recounted that he had already picked a gun and the location where he would take his own life, but right before he was going to leave the clinic, he heard God speak to him.

"It was the clearest I've ever heard His voice. He told me 'I'm not finished with you yet,'" he said.

Noble said that it was just what he needed to hear at that moment. He admitted that there was no change in his feelings or his circumstances at the time, but he knew that he was not alone.

The former pastor noted that it has been a year since he thought about taking his own life. He said that while he is still not where he wishes to be in life, there have been some improvements.

He revealed that he is still separated from his wife and he has lost a lot of friends, but he said he learned that God is very faithful.

Noble recounted that even as he felt abandoned and betrayed, he knew that "God is still with me," and told the people who are watching his video that "He is still with you," as well.

In February, Noble preached at Elevation Church with the blessing of his friend and confidante, Steven Furtick. In his sermon, the former pastor said that spending time in rehab was "probably the closest to Hell I've ever been in my life."
home US Political and religious division regarding abortion persists among Americans, Pew poll reveals

A recent survey conducted by Pew Research Center has revealed that Americans remain divided along religious and political lines about the legality of abortion on the U.S.

The findings of the study, released on July 7, indicated that 57 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 40 percent think that it should be illegal in all or most cases. In 1995, 60 percent of Americans were in favor abortion being legal, while 38 percent said that it should be illegal.

The researchers noted that there is a "deep disagreement between and within" political parties over abortion.

Among Republicans, 65 percent believe that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, compared to 34 percent who say that it should be legal.

The GOP were evenly divided in 1995 when 49 percent said the procedure should be legal, compared to 48 percent who believed that it should be illegal.

In contrast, there has been little change in the views about abortion among Democrats in the past two decades. Seventy-five of Democrats today believe that abortion should be legal in at least most cases, compared to 64 percent in 1995. Liberal Democrats are more likely to favor legal abortion at 91 percent, compared to 61 percent of moderate and conservative Democrats.

White evangelical Protestants showed high opposition to abortion at 70 percent, while the religiously unaffiliated show the lowest opposition at just 17 percent.

The study, conducted on June 8a18, also found that 41 percent of black Protestants and 30 percent of white mainline Protestants are opposed to legal abortion.

Pew noted that only 29 percent of white evangelicals believe that abortion should be legal in most circumstances, compared to 55 percent of black Protestants, 67 percent of white mainline Protestants and 80 percent of the religiously unaffiliated.

The survey also showed that younger adults are more likely to support legal abortions. As many as 61 percent of respondents younger than 50, including those aged 18 to 29, favor legal abortions, and only 33 percent of those under 30 say they were opposed.

Those with higher levels of education were also found to be more likely to favor legal abortions. Seventy-five percent of the respondents with post-graduate degrees and 64 percent of those with bachelor's degrees say they support legal abortion, compared to 49 percent of adults with no more than a high school education.

Other findings showed that 55 percent of men and 59 percent of women believe that abortion should be legal in at least most cases. The results also showed modest racial and ethnic differences, with 58 percent of whites, 62 percent of blacks and 50 percent of Hispanics saying the procedure should be legal in all or most cases.
home World Scandal rocks Vatican as police discover drug-fuelled gay orgy at Cardinal's apartment

The Vatican has been rocked by a new scandal after police raided a Cardinal's apartment where a supposed drug-fuelled homosexual orgy was taking place.

The apartment was reportedly occupied by a priest who serves as a secretary to Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, who is the head of the Pontifical Council for Legislative texts and a personal adviser to Pope Francis.

The raid took place in June after neighbors complained about the unusual behavior of people visiting the apartment, International Business Times (IBT) reported, citing Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano.

The police reportedly found drugs and a group of men engaged in sexual activity when they entered the apartment. The priest was subsequently arrested, presumably on drug charges as it is not a crime to take part in same-sex activity in Vatican City.

The Daily Mail reported that the apartment belonged to the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is tasked with investigating clerical sexual abuse.

According to IBT, Coccopalmerio had recommended his aide for promotion to bishop, but the consideration may be stalled due to the latest incident as well as two previous alleged drug overdoses.

Il Fatto Quotidiano, which was the first to publish the news about the incident, suggested that Pope Francis was infuriated about the scandal and he may force Coccopalmerio to retire.

Coccopalmerio had reportedly spoken positively about homosexual relationships in the past. In a 2014 interview, the Cardinal stated that Catholic leaders must "emphasize" the "positive realities" that are present in homosexual relationships.

"If I meet a homosexual couple, I notice immediately that their relationship is illicit: the doctrine says this, which I reaffirm with absolute certainty. However, if I stop at the doctrine, I don't look anymore at the persons," the Cardinal said in an interview with Rossoporpora, according to Life Site News.

"But if I see that the two persons truly love each other, do acts of charity to those in need, for example ... then I can also say that, although the relationship remains illicit, positive elements also emerge in the two persons. Instead of closing our eyes to such positive realities, I emphasize them. It is to be objective and objectively recognize the positive of a certain relationship, of itself illicit," he added.

The latest scandal comes after Vatican's finance chief Cardinal George Pell was charged with historical sexual offenses.

Pell, who claimed to be innocent, said he is looking forward to his trial following a two-year investigation, "leaks to the media," and "relentless character assassination."

Critics have reportedly blamed Francis for picking the wrong people for key positions. Pell, who was appointed to clean up the Vatican's finances, has taken a leave of absence to face the charges against him in Australia.

The police have declined to reveal details about the charges against Pell, citing the need to preserve the "integrity of the judicial process."

In March, the Vatican was also hit with claims of priests being involved in orgies, prostitution and porn videos.

The pope has been trying to clamp down on unethical behavior ever since he was elected, and he has often spoken out against the pitfalls of "temptation."
home World Tanzania arrests three Christians for cooking food at home during Ramadan

Three Christians were reportedly arrested in their home in Tanzania last month for cooking food during the Muslim Ramadan fast.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Tanzanian police entered a private home in Zanzibar on June 16 and arrested Emmanuel Yohana, his wife Katherine Emmanuel and a woman identified only as Khadija.

The two women were reportedly frying fish in the kitchen when the authorities, led by the area district commissioner, forcefully entered the property of the couple.

The three Christians were told that they had violated the law by cooking food during Ramadan. One police officer reportedly abused them verbally and said, "Today you will know how to fast."

The authorities released the Christians three days later, following interventions from church local leaders.

CSW's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said that the arrests were "unjust and unwarranted" because the three Christians were cooking food in a private home, and as non-Muslims, they were under no obligation to observe Ramadan.

He contended that the arrests were "in violation of provisions within Tanzania's constitution that recognise the right to freedom of religion or belief and prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion."

"We urge the Government of Tanzania to intervene to ensure that constitutional provisions for the right to freedom of religion or belief are not only respected but also upheld by those tasked with enforcing the law," Thomas said.

Although the majority of Zanzibar's population are Muslims, the Constitution of Tanzania declares the nation as a secular state and protects freedom of religion and belief for all, according to CSW.

However, the Christian minority in Zanzibar experiences discrimination in various forms, including periodic attacks on churches and denial of permits for the construction of new houses of worship.

Local officials often impose extra-legal processes that are aimed at preventing the construction of churches. Christians are often required to obtain a permit from the community to build a new church, but their requests are usually denied due to the religious demographics.

While attacks on churches are regularly reported to the authorities, the local government rarely pursue charges against the perpetrators, even when they are identified.

Thomas urged the local government in Zanzibar to "review local planning decisions and to bring an end to the discriminatory practices" that prevent Christians from building churches.

"Mindful of Tanzania's religious diversity, we urge the Government of Tanzania to prioritise the respect, promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief throughout the nation for all its citizens, regardless of their creed," he said.

Tanzania is ranked in the Open Doors 2017 World Watch List as the 33rd country where Christians experience severe persecution.
home US Texas governor urges lawmakers to block state funding for Planned Parenthood

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has reportedly asked lawmakers to consider his proposal to defund Planned Parenthood and other abortion groups.

According to NPR Austin, Texas legislators have been urged to consider Abbott's proposal to block all taxpayer funds from being sent to abortion providers in the upcoming special legislative session.

While federal and state policies prohibit the use of taxpayer money for abortions, pro-life activists have argued that these measures are not adequate.

Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life, noted that cities and counties in the state are still allowed to make contracts with abortion groups using taxpayer dollars.

"It is possible under current law for certain cities or counties to make contracts with abortion providers a even for abortions themselves a and for affiliates of abortion providers," he said. "And we think that's essentially funding the abortion industry," he continued.

As an example, Pojman pointed to the city of Austin, which currently has a contract with Planned Parenthood to teach sex education and STD prevention.

He said he takes issue with taxpayer money going to Planned Parenthood in general even though the contracts were for services other than abortions.

"That means the taxpayers of Austin or anyone who comes to Austin and purchases any kind of item and pays sales tax is essentially funding Planned Parenthood, which is the largest provider of abortions in Texas," he said.

Texas has been stepping up its efforts to strip taxpayer funding from Planned Parenthood. On June 28, Abbott sent a waiver to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, asking the agency to approve federal funding for a state-administered family planning program that excludes abortion providers from participation.

John Seago, the legislative director for Texas Right to Life, believes that the request could set off a chain reaction of copycat programs in other Republican-leaning states across the nation if it is approved by the Trump administration.

"Republicans do want a strong network for women's health services, and the prospect that you can do that while protecting life is something that I think a lot of states would jump on board with," he said, according to The Washington Times.

In 2007, Texas launched the Women's Health Program, now called Healthy Texas Women, which was intended to reduce Medicaid costs. The program allocated funds to clinics that provide contraception, STI testing, cancer screenings and other health care services to low-income women. Abortion clinics were supposed to be prohibited from participating in the program, but the Texas Health and Human Services did not try to enforce the ban against Planned Parenthood until 2011.

When the state sought to enforce the ban, Planned Parenthood sued, arguing that the rules by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services prohibit the state from excluding clinics just because they perform abortions. However, the ban was upheld in a 2012 ruling by the Fifth U.S. Court of Appeals.

The program was initially a joint state-federal venture, but the Obama administration declined to pick it up when it came up for renewal. Texas continued to fund the Women's Health Program with state dollars in the ensuing years, and the state is now petitioning the President Donald Trump's administration for federal funding that could amount to $35 million per year.
home World United Church of Christ passes resolution denouncing Israel for allegedly mistreating Palestinian children

The United Church of Christ (UCC) has overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution that denounces Israel for its alleged mistreatment of underage Palestinians.

The resolution, which accuses Israel of defying international conventions in its treatment of Palestinian children who go through its military courts, was passed by the church's General Synod in Baltimore on Sunday.

"Languishing through generations of trauma under Israeli military rule which just marked its 50th year, Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank are subject to Israeli military law which fails to ensure and, in fact, denies basic and fundamental rights," the UCC Palestine/Israel Network, said in a statement, as reported by Religion News Service.

The UCC Palestine/Israel Network, which drafted the document, worked with many allies and interfaith partners, according to the church.

The resolution called on Israel to "exercise an absolute prohibition against torture and ill-treatment of detained children." It also urged the U.S. government to withhold military assistance from Israel for the alleged abuses against young Palestinians.

The abuses cited in the document include the detainment Palestinian children in Israeli prisons, strip searches, verbal abuse, physical violence, intimidation, solitary confinement, and interrogation of the minors without a lawyer or parent present, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The General Synod voted 79 percent in favor of the resolution, with nine percent abstentions and 13 percent opposed.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC), a national Jewish civil rights group, condemned the resolution, calling it "deeply disappointing."

"The UCC resolution ignores the facts that Palestinian leaders continue to support violence against Israelis, regularly demonize Israel, and encourage children through textbooks and paramilitary camps toward violence against Israelis," Rabbi Noam Marans, the AJC's director of interreligious and intergroup relations, said in a statement.

"Tellingly, the resolution fails to recognize Israel's right to defend itself against Palestinian terrorism and incitement of their children," the rabbi continued.

Sunday's vote comes two years after the UCC approved a resolution calling for divestment of companies that profit from Israel's control of the West Bank, as well as a boycott of products from Israeli settlements.

The UCC, which has about one million members nationwide, also voted on another resolution to declare Israel's relation to the Palestinians as apartheid during the last Synod. A slight majority voted in favor of the resolution, but it failed to garner the two-thirds vote needed to pass.
Bernar Venet: Ive never been one who likes to stop and stand still

Frances greatest living sculptor has three shows in the UK this summer. We catch up with him to talk about the Impressionists, mixing art with army life in Algeria, meeting Duchamp, and mixing with Rothko and co as a penniless artist in New York

Born 76 years ago in the small town of Chateau-Arnoux-Saint-Auban in southeastern France, Bernar Venet made his name as a conceptual artist in the late Sixties after moving to New York. Venet has exhibited worldwide  including at the Venice Biennale and Palace of Versailles  and in 2005 was made Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, Frances highest honour. We caught up with him at Blain Southern gallery in London, which is hosting Bernar Venet, Looking Forward: 1961-1984, tracing the development of the artists distinct conceptual mode, until 22 July.

Open a larger version of this image Bernar Venet, Looking Forward: 1961-1984, at Blain Southern in London. Courtesy the artist and BlainSouthern. Photo Peter Mallet

Your last solo exhibition in London was in 1976, at the ICA. As if to make up for lost time, this summer youre back with a trio of shows. Bernar Venet: Yes, Im exhibiting 10 new works in the grounds of Cliveden estate in Buckinghamshire; another new work in Regents Park, as part of the Frieze Sculpture programme; and I also have this solo show, featuring a number of my early pieces, at Blain Southern.

Open a larger version of this image Bernar Venet, 17 Acute Unequal Angles, 2016. Currently on show in Regents Park as part of Frieze Sculpture 2017. Courtesy Bernar Venet Archives, NY and BlainSouthern, Photo Peter Mallet

The earliest works at Blain Southern  the Dechet series, in which you dripped industrial paint onto cardboard  date back to 1961. Do you still recognise the artist who made them? BV: I do, but equally Ive never been someone to stand still and keep producing a certain type work  or slight variations on it  over and over for money. I constantly try to experiment and move forward. I like to think Ive travelled a long way artistically since the early days.

Open a larger version of this image Bernar Venet, Dechet, 1961. Courtesy Archives Bernar Venet, New York

Lets go back to the very early days. I understand Renoir was an inspiration... BV: I grew up in provincial France, in a family that mostly worked in the local plastics factory. They werent artistic, but I was a boy who really enjoyed art. I used to paint flowers and landscapes  principally because thats what I saw the local village painter do. As an 11-year-old, I asked my mother to take me to the nearby town, Digne, to buy some paints. I remember walking past a bookshop and being captivated by a cover in the window. It was a picture of a lady washing her feet. I asked the bookseller who it was by, and he said Renoir. Who? I asked. Renoir, he replied, the Impressionist. He then proceeded to show me more pictures, by Cezanne, Matisse and others  giving me a crash course in art history on the spot. I suddenly realised art could be a lot more than just copying what was in front of you, and also that it could be a career.

Open a larger version of this image One of ten new sculptures by Bernar Venet at Cliveden. Courtesy Archives Bernar Venet, New York and BlainSouthern. Photo Jonty Wilde

Is it correct that you carried on painting while serving in the army, when you were on National Service in Algeria? BV: Yes, I asked my colonel if I could use a small hut space as a studio and be allowed to paint in the downtime we had, while my peers were all out drinking. He agreed, and it was then that I produced the Dechet paintings. In those circumstances, it was a case of improvising materials, hence using industrial paints and discarded cardboard rather than oils and canvas. Why did you decide to move to the US in the mid-Sixties? BV: After the army, I moved to Nice. A number of artists, such as Arman and Martial Raysse, were also there, but the collectors to support us really werent. I was practically starving from hunger. New York was where it was at. I was young and followed a dream to try and pursue my career there  even though I didnt know a soul, nor a word of English, and had only a few dollars in my pocket. I also didnt know where Id be spending my first night. As it turned out, I ended up staying in a YMCA.

Open a larger version of this image Bernar Venet at Cliveden in Buckinghamshire. Courtesy Archives Bernar Venet, New York and BlainSouthern. Photo Jonty Wilde

It wasn't long, though, before you achieved success and you were mixing with the likes of Warhol and Lichtenstein. BV: Yes, Jasper Johns and Mark Rothko, too. Not that any of those guys understood my art or what I was doing. By then, I was making highly conceptual work, such as the mathematical diagrams on canvas, on view here at Blain Southern. The idea was to create work which wasnt like anything before it, and also which didnt mean anything beyond the artwork itself. It wasnt figurative and it wasnt abstract. I also had the pleasure of meeting my compatriot Marcel Duchamp, who was in New York at the time, in what turned out to be the year before he died. As the founding father of conceptual art, he appreciated my work and compared it, in his typically arcane way, to la vente de vent [the sale of wind]. Within a couple of years of arriving in New York, I was exhibiting in group shows at some of its top galleries, such as Leo Castelli and Virginia Dwan.

Open a larger version of this image Bernar Venet, Parabole de la fonction y = 2x2+3x  2, 1966. Courtesy Archives Bernar Venet, New York
From what to look for in a glaze to how to read hidden stamps  featuring upcoming works at Christies
An Instagram model from Santa Cruz faces multiple charges after she allegedly attacked police during a naked romp at a waterfront Florida hotel.

Police said 25-year-old Brissa Dominguez  who goes by "baybaddiebrie" on Instagram  wasn't wearing any clothes when she scuffled with officers at the Edge Hotel in Clearwater.

She was arrested on charges of trespassing, resisting an officer with violence, and battery on a law enforcement officer in the incident, which occurred early in the morning of July 5. The latter two counts are felonies.

According to the Smoking Gun, police responded to a complaint from the hotel's manager that Dominguez was causing a disturbance at 4:20 a.m. and refused to leave.

When Clearwater Officer Richard Edmonds arrived at the hotel, he "found the defendant to be nude." He handed her a towel to cover herself, only to have her use "said towel to strike me in the face by swinging it in a whipping motion."

It only got worse from that point. According to the police report, the 130-pound, 5-foot-4 Dominguez kicked, and attempted to bite and spit on another arresting officer, J. Leeman. While being handcuffed, Dominguez landed a "mule kick" into the body of Officer Edmonds.

Dominguez was freed from the county lockup after posting $10,000 bond.

Dominguez's Instagram account shows her mostly modeling swimsuits, lingerie and other revealing outfits in places like Lake Tahoe, Hawaii and Puerto Vallarta. She has 76,800 followers.
Ask the Fool

What to learn before investing

Q: What are some basic things to look for in the financial statements of a company I might invest in? - B.W., Opelika, Ala.

A: The more you learn about a company, the more confidence you can have in your assessment of it and your ultimate investment decision. Reviewing and crunching numbers from its financial statements is smart.

On the balance sheet, if inventory levels or accounts receivable are growing faster than sales, that's a worrisome sign. So is a rising debt level. Examine the statement of cash flows to see how cash is being generated. Generally, you want to see most cash coming from ongoing operations - products or services sold - and not from the issuance of debt or stock or the sale of property. Positive and growing free cash flow is good, too.

Review the company's profit margins (gross, operating and net). Robust margins can be a sign of a higher-quality company, reflecting proprietary brands or technology it can charge more for.

You might examine return on equity and return on assets, too, comparing the company with its competitors. Check previous years' numbers, too, to see whether the trends are positive.

Foolish Trivia

Name that company

I trace my roots back to 1953 and the Rocket Chemical Co., which tried several dozen times to make rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for the aerospace industry. They eventually had a water-displacing winner, which remains my flagship product. It was used by soldiers in Vietnam to prevent moisture damage in firearms, and by 1993, it was in 4 out of 5 American households. It's now used by businesses and consumers for thousands of purposes - even to remove a naked burglar trapped in an air conditioning vent. My other brands include 2000 Flushes, Lava and Carpet Fresh. Who am I?

Last week's trivia answer: Gannett

The Take

Death of mallshurting VF Corp.

The North Face jackets. Timberland boots. Vans shoes. What do all of these have in common? They are all products owned by VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC), and combined with other outdoor and action products, they brought in more than $7.5 billion in sales last year.

Impressively, VF Corp.'s stock has posted average annual gains in the double-digits over the past five, 10 and 15 years. And yet, over the past two years, the stock has fallen by double-digits - presenting a unique opportunity for long-term investors: the chance to buy a safe and growing dividend that recently yielded 2.8 percent.

What's to blame for the drop? The death of malls. As e-commerce gobbles up more and more of the retail pie, companies selling products via malls have suffered. The silver lining is that VF Corp.'s weakness comes from sales channels. Thus, VF needs to transform its business, building new sales channels. It has already been doing that: The company's direct-to-consumer, or DTC, channel includes both VF-operated stores and e-commerce, and it has been growing steadily.

Universal Uclick
The New York Daily Post reports an "unprovoked attack" in which one diner chomped down on another at Brooklyn's Peter Luger Steakhouse.

The chomping perp gnawed on the victim's right forearm at the prominent Williamsburg restaurant on Broadway near Driggs Ave. on Sunday at 4:10 p.m. before running off, officials said. The 50-year-old victim, who does not know her unstable attacker, was treated at the scene.

People talk about Deep State this, Deep State that, but how can they be so all-powerful if they can't even stop news of zombie outbreaks filtering to the press?
Houston Commercial Development

The Humble Independent School District has acquired an office building in Humble for a future administration and office complex.

The 54,539-square-foot building at 10203 Birchridge Drive is on 2.61 acres. The property was purchased in early June from Deerbrook Point, according to Humble ISD's real estate broker.
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Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday it will sell its leadership stake in a major natural gas play offshore of Ireland for about $1.2 billion.

The deal is part of Shell's overall plan to divest about $30 billion in three years after acquiring United Kingdom-based BG in a massive energy consolidation.
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A man who turned himself into police after saying he shot another man in self-defense on Wednesday in northeast Houston had been convicted of a felony and was forbidden from having a firearm.

Sean Evans, 34, has been charged with felon in possession of a firearm, which is also a felony, according to court records.

Evans turned himself in to officers early Wednesday. Police had headed about 2:05 a.m. to the 12000 block of Crystalwood where they found a 47-year-old man injured from at least one gunshot wound, said Lt. Larry Crowson with the Houston Police Department.

Moments later, Evans, who was in a wheelchair approached the officers and told them he was the shooter. He said he fired in self-defense during a dispute with the 47-year-old man.

He was arrested Wednesday and is being held in the Harris County jail with a $5,000 bail.

The injured man was taken to an area hospital where he was in critical but stable condition early Wednesday.

Evans has two prior felony charges in Harris County, dating to 2001. He pleaded guilty in 2001 to possession of a controlled substance weighing less than 1 gram.

In 2004, he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a weapon. He was sentenced to two years of community supervision.

Evans also has several misdemeanor convictions in Harris County dating back to 2006. Most recently, he pleaded guilty in October 2013 to possession of a controlled substance weighing less than 28 grams. He was sentenced to eight days in the Harris County jail.
Three robbers are on the run after shooting a man three times early Wednesday in north Houston while trying to steal his belongings.

The robbers approached the 32-year-old man about 1:10 a.m. in between two buildings of the Thicket apartments, in the 1300 block of Northborough, said Lt. Ronald Willkens with the Houston Police Department.
For the first time in more than two decades, the Houston Symphony will be launching a multi-country tour in Europe in an effort that aims to bolster both the symphony and the city as international cultural leaders.

The symphony announced Wednesday that it will embark on a four-country, eight-city performance tour from March 9-19, 2018, in a showcase of Shostakovich, Dvorak and Leonard Bernstein, featuring Music Director Andres Orozco-Estrada as conductor and Grammy-winning Hilary Hahn on the violin.
Andrew Wyeth's mysterious painting "Christina's World," an iconic work of American art that has intrigued viewers since 1948, measures a little more than 32 by 47 inches. Viewers have to travel to New York to see it in person: The canvas was snapped up soon after it was first exhibited for $1,800 by the Museum of Modern Art, which has owned it since and rarely loans it out.

But anyone who doesn't mind a slightly reduced version, with a few words overlaid on it, can "own" a copy now for 49 cents - the price of a U.S. Postal Service Forever Stamp. And share it with others.
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The University of Texas Systems regents will deliberate Chancellor William McRavens job and the systems future direction this week as UT regents begin a two-day retreat in Austin on Wednesday.

The retired Navy admirals vision for the states largest higher education system has been scrutinized publicly for nearly six months after Gov. Greg Abbott tapped two regents in January who criticized McRavens plan to expand the system further into Houston.

On Wednesday, regents will discuss personnel matters, including McRaven and members of the Board of Regents, in executive session. Later, in open session, they plan to assess the system's administrative functions.

Scheduled for open session on Thursday is a discussion of the system's vision and mission and past, current and future budgets.

Ranked: McRaven, Texas leaders top national executive pay charts

McRavens three-year contract  the first awarded to a UT chancellor  expires at the end of the year. The chancellor would not say in June whether he wants to remain at the helm of the system, acknowledging that he needs to determine whether his view on the best direction for UT aligns with the boards.

His vision for large-scale initiatives run out of UTs system once garnered overwhelming board approval when he first introduced it in November 2015.

But the composition of the board has shifted since then. Todays regents have been publicly split on whether the system should act solely as an administrative body for its universities and health institutions or if it should put forward its own initiatives, like the expansion into Houston.

Privately, that failed expansion cost McRaven political capital in Austin among several state lawmakers and the governors office, according to various state officials.

HoustonChronicle.com: Missteps on Houston land plan cost McRaven in Austin

UT has said that McRaven has no indication that he no longer has the boards support.

Regents and McRaven met for hours in executive session in June to discuss personnel and legal issues. In a brief open session meeting later in the afternoon, two regents called that conversation productive and urged their colleagues to unite around a shared vision.

If in the end were united in what we think our vision for the future is, our mission and our values, I think all of our work will stem from that, said Sara Martinez Tucker, who was appointed by Abbott in January 2015.

McRaven called that meeting the best hed attended as chancellor.
GALVESTON  The Galveston yacht captain caught living a double life under a secret alias was sentenced Wednesday to three years in federal prison, resolving one case but leaving unanswered questions about the mysterious deaths of her husband and young child nearly three decades ago.

Cynthia Knox  known for years to island residents as Capt. Christina White  choked up in court before the sentence was handed down over her use of a dead child's name in an effort to start over amid investigations at the time into the family members' deaths in California.

The 53-year-old League City woman mouthed desperate last words to her supporters as she was led away after offering a somber statement framing her arrest as a chance at a "clean slate."

But prosecutors described the motive in the case as "egregious" and the background as "perhaps even gruesome," citing ties to the two deaths, which together netted a hefty insurance payout.

"Your Honor, she changed her identity to hide from her relationship to these deaths, and the financial windfall she gained from this should not be ignored," Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Goldman said as he argued for a three-year prison term.

Knox's attorney, John T. Floyd III, heartily objected, pointing out there was "not a shred of evidence" connecting his client to the deaths.

"Honestly, I was disgusted by their attempts to allude that she had anything to do with the death of her daughter," he said in response to the prosecution's claims.

From HoustonChronicle.com: Captain's false identity held secret

The chain of events that sparked Knox's transition into the locally beloved "Captain Christina" started back in November 1988, when her then-husband, Harold "Skeeter" Lyerla, was found brutally stabbed to death in the couple's Lompoc home, about 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

The following year, a landscaping contractor named Victor Perea was convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying and sentenced to 56 years in prison. But a police investigator in the case remained convinced that Knox and another man  her lover, John Litchfield  were somehow involved.

For years, Perea maintained that he'd been "set up," but in a 2012 parole hearing he alleged that Litchfield had paid him $4,000 for the slaying.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that there's evidence Litchfield forked over at least $2,000. But they said Litchfield maintains that money was for landscaping work  not for murder.

Litchfield bought Knox a $12,500 diamond ring and they married on May 6, 1989, just as Perea's murder trial got underway. The pair divorced two months after the trial ended, but apparently stayed together.

"What happened next is a matter of court record," Goldman told the court. First, Knox's infant daughter Kajsa nearly died from swallowing too much Advil, the prosecutor said.

Then, the toddler  a beneficiary of her slain father's life insurance  almost died in a bathtub, prosecutors said.

"Then finally the child died in (Knox's) sole care in a fishing pond," Goldman said.

Harold Lyerla's mother sued Knox and Litchfield in 1992, accusing them of conspiring to kill Harold and the baby in order to get $279,000 from Lyerla's life insurance policy. The case eventually was dismissed after an appeals court ruled that Lyerla's mother did not have legal standing to sue.

The same year the civil lawsuit was filed, Knox obtained the birth certificate of a day-old infant named Christina White, who died in 1965, and used that document to establish a new identity. Using the dead baby's document, Knox snagged a Social Security number, state ID, a passport, a merchant mariner's license and transit worker identification credentials, prosecutors said. She even used the fake name to buy a firearm.

Slowly, Knox and Litchfield built a new life for themselves. In the mid-1990s, the pair moved to the Galveston area and launched a League City-based cruise business offering yacht charters and dinner cruises out of Kemah and Galveston.

Knox worked her way into the community, becoming a friendly and regular presence in the South Shore Harbor Marina.

It was initially thought that her years of deceit caught up with her when she went to renew her mariner's license.

But officials with the Diplomatic Security Service, a law enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of State, said Wednesday that her scheme began to unravel when she applied for a passport. Something on the application  authorities won't say what  ignited suspicion.

A Diplomatic Security Service investigation confirmed that the real Christina White was long dead. After searching investigative databases and cross-checking information on the falsified application against other records, authorities connected White to Knox, according to Michael Perkins, special agent-in-charge of the DSS Houston Field Office.

Then, agents spotted another red flag when they came across old news reports surrounding the 1988 killing.

To shore up the evidence that Knox and White were one and the same, DSS asked the U.S. Coast Guard for fingerprint records associated with her mariner's license application. And those prints turned out to match older ones taken in California at the time of the Lyerla murder investigation.

After uncovering Knox's hidden identity, authorities swarmed the South Shore Harbor Marina in March 2016 to arrest the party boat captain for identity theft.

While prosecutors allege the duplicitous mariner launched her new life to avoid connections to the deaths  and the ensuing life-insurance payouts  Knox has argued the motive was less sinister.

"I understand your explanation for why you did what you did, to start fresh," Judge George C. Hanks, Jr. told her in court. "But, respectfully, you just can't do that."

Hanks sentenced the former captain to 36 months in prison  12 months for making false statements in a passport application and 24 months for aggravated identity theft. Afterward, she'll have a year of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine.

Now, Knox has the option to file an appeal, but there's still a trail of damage to clean up.

In her duties as a party boat captain, Knox sometimes performed marriage ceremonies. "The problem is that there are approximately 20 couples in the Houston area that were married by a dead one-day-old child," Goldman told the court.

Hanks asked whether those marriages would still be legal  and Goldman said it's not clear.

"That's being litigated now."

But as the legal system deals with such technicalities, Lyerla's surviving relatives are celebrating.

"We're overjoyed," his niece, Tamara Pickarts, said Wednesday. "We've been waiting and waiting for this day to come."
Johnson Development reported a 27 percent spike in home sales at its Houston area communities so far in 2017 compared with the first half of 2016.

Builders sold 1,560 homes throughout 14 area communities in the first six months of 2017, according to the Houston-based developer. That compares with 1,225 homes sold during the corresponding period last year.


[[Update, July 13: After consultation with W3C CEO Jeff Jaffe on timing, we've temporarily withdrawn this appeal, for one week, for purely logistical purposes. I am teaching a workshop all next week at UC San Diego and will re-file the objection at the end of the week, so that I will be able to devote undivided attention to garnering the necessary support from other W3C members. -Cory]]

Five days ago, the World Wide Web Consortium announced that it would go ahead with its project of making DRM for web-video, and that the Director, Tim Berners-Lee had overruled or decided not to act further on all objections about the dangers this posed to legitimate and important activities including security audits, accessibility adaptation and competition.



The W3C has an appeals process, which has never been successfully used in W3C history. If 5 percent of the members appeal a decision by the Director, all members are entitled to vote, and if there's a majority in favor of overulling the Director, the decision is unmade.

Today, I formally initiated that appeal process in my capacity as W3C Advisory Committee representative for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.





Our appeal is based on two premises:

1. That the supposed benefits of standardizing DRM at the W3C can't be realized unless there's protections for people who engage in lawful activity that DRM gets in the way of; and

2. That the W3C's membership were never polled on whether they wished to institute such protections as part of the W3C's DRM standardization project.





This is uncharted territory for the W3C, so we're not sure what happens next. In our submission to W3C CEO Jeff Jaffe and W3C Director Tim Berners-Lee, we asked for their guidance on how to proceed. I'll keep you updated as we learn more.



1. The enhanced privacy protection of a sandbox is only as good as the sandbox, so we need to be able to audit the sandbox. The privacy-protecting constraints the sandbox imposes on code only work if the constraints can't be bypassed by malicious or defective software. Because security is a process, not a product and because there is no security through obscurity, the claimed benefits of EME's sandbox require continuous, independent verification in the form of adversarial peer review by outside parties who do not face liability when they reveal defects in members' products. This is the norm with every W3C recommendation: that security researchers are empowered to tell the truth about defects in implementations of our standards. EME is unique among all W3C standards past and present in that DRM laws confer upon W3C members the power to silence security researchers. EME is said to be respecting of user privacy on the basis of the integrity of its sandboxes. A covenant is absolutely essential to ensuring that integrity. 2. The accessibility considerations of EME omits any consideration of the automated generation of accessibility metadata, and without this, EME's accessibility benefits are constrained to the detriment of people with disabilities. It's true that EME goes further than other DRM systems in making space available for the addition of metadata that helps people with disabilities use video. However, as EME is intended to restrict the usage and playback of video at web-scale, we must also ask ourselves how metadata that fills that available space will be generated. For example, EME's metadata channels could be used to embed warnings about upcoming strobe effects in video, which may trigger photosensitive epileptic seizures. Applying such a filter to (say) the entire corpus of videos available to Netflix subscribers who rely on EME to watch their movies would safeguard people with epilepsy from risks ranging from discomfort to severe physical harm. There is no practical way in which a group of people concerned for those with photosensitive epilepsy could screen all those Netflix videos and annotate them with strobe warnings, or generate them on the fly as video is streamed. By contrast, such a feat could be accomplished with a trivial amount of code. For this code to act on EME-locked videos, EME's restrictions would have to be bypassed. It is legal to perform this kind of automated accessibility analysis on all the other media and transports that the W3C has ever standardized. Thus the traditional scope of accessibility compliance in a W3C standard  "is there somewhere to put the accessibility data when you have it?"  is insufficient here. We must also ask, "Has W3C taken steps to ensure that the generation of accessibility data is not imperiled by its standard?" There are many kinds of accessibility metadata that could be applied to EME-restricted videos: subtitles, descriptive tracks, translations. The demand for, and utility of, such data far outstrips our whole species' ability to generate it by hand. Even if we all labored for all our days to annotate the videos EME restricts, we would but scratch the surface. However, in the presence of a covenant, software can do this repetitive work for us, without much expense or effort. 3. The benefits of interoperability can only be realized if implementers are shielded from liability for legitimate activities. EME only works to render video with the addition of a nonstandard, proprietary component called a Content Decryption Module (CDM). CDM licenses are only available to those who promise not to engage in lawful conduct that incumbents in the market dislike. For a new market entrant to be competitive, it generally has to offer a new kind of product or service, a novel offering that overcomes the natural disadvantages that come from being an unknown upstart. For example, Apple was able to enter the music industry by engaging in lawful activity that other members of the industry had foresworn. Likewise Netflix still routinely engages in conduct (mailing out DVDs) that DRM advocates deplore, but are powerless to stop, because it is lawful. The entire cable industry  including Comcast  owes its existence to the willingness of new market entrants to break with the existing boundaries of "polite behavior." EME's existence turns on the assertion that premium video playback is essential to the success of any web player. It follows that new players will need premium video playback to succeed  but new players have never successfully entered a market by advertising a product that is "just like the ones everyone else has, but from someone you've never heard of." The W3C should not make standards that empower participants to break interoperability. By doing so, EME violates the norm set by every other W3C standard, past and present.

Notice to the W3C of EFF's appeal of the Director's decision on EME

[Cory Doctorow/EFF]
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Need some help planning your week?

We've gathered a list of activities going in Houston the week of July 12 through 19 for residents of all ages. The list includes concerts- Neil Diamond, Kendrick Lamar, and Third Eye Blind will be performing, museum happenings, animal-related activities, and boozy food events.

SEE THIS: Hip-hop superstar Kendrick Lamar is on the way to being one of the greatest

Have you ever tried yoga with cats? Now is your chance. El Gato Coffeehouse & Cathouse will have a class with the kitties on Saturday, July 15 at 12:30 p.m. Kids and parents can also do yoga together at the Houston Zoo.

And if you're a series foodie, be sure to get to the Black Food Truck Festival on Saturday, July 15 at the Shrine of The Black Madonna located on 5309 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Check out the gallery above for a list of activities and things to do in Houston for kids, young and old.
Kings Harbor announced its newest tenant coming soon to the Lake Houston waterfront development in Kingwood.

Dapper Darlings Boutique plans to open its 1,121-square-foot space in Kings Harbor on Saturday, Aug. 12.

Dapper Darlings, owned by Kingwood resident Felicia Cumby, is a children's boutique-style store selling clothing for children, from infants to 8 years old.

The boutique will also offer baby items, like bibs and swaddles.

Other features include a candy wall and age-appropriate books and toys.

Cumby is happy to make Kings Harbor the location of the first Dapper Darlings brick-and-mortar boutique. She said her family already frequents Kings Harbor to attend events and enjoy the community.

For more information, visit http://kings-harbor.com/tenants/detail/dapper-darlings-boutique.

This story has been updated to reflect the correct opening date for Dapper Darlings Boutique.
A suspect accused of posing as a Texas police captain and misleading elderly victims into wiring bail money for their grandchildren is on the run and Crime Stoppers is asking for your help.

Surveillance video caught the male suspect at a store in the 3100 block of Fry Road on March 2016 receiving funds from his elderly victims, according to Harris County Deputies.
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WASHINGTON  Houston Democrat Al Green, the first member of Congress to call for President Donald Trump's impeachment on the House floor, signed his name to a resolution Wednesday to do just that.

Green joined a longshot bid initiated by California Democrat Brad Sherman which accuses Trump of obstructing justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey over an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

"I don't see this as a long shot or a sure shot," Green told the Chronicle in an interview. "I see this as the right thing to do. I've always felt that if I'm doing the right thing, my conscience is clear, and I think history will vindicate me regardless of how the House votes."

RACIAL SLURS: Al Green targeted after calling for impeachment

Sherman said in a statement that the article of impeachment in a Republican-led Congress is "the first step on a very long road."

So far, the only sponsors of the impeachment resolution are Sherman and Green. Democratic leaders generally have distanced themselves from impeachment talk, fearing that it could be either premature or politically counterproductive.

Houston Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee has called for the House Judiciary Committee to launch an impeachment inquiry, but has stopped short so far of calling for impeachment. Separately, she also has called on Trump to resign on his own.

HANDS OFF AL GREEN: Activists demand action on threats to congressman

Green's prior calls for Trump's impeachment were met with racist death threats. Green said his motive is not political.

"This is not about the right or the left," he said. "It's not about Democrats, it's about democracy... It's not about Republicans, it's about the Republic."

He suggested that he and others in the House may eventually file additional impeachment resolutions, but that in any case he is committed to his course.

"I don't know what the vote will be if I bring this to the floor of the House," he said. "But I can assure you of this: There will be one vote for impeachment, because I will vote for the resolution."

The impeachment bid comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings on Christopher Wray to replace Comey as FBI director.

It also comes a day after reports that the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., met with a Russian lawyer during the campaign in the belief that she would have damaging information from the Russian government about Democrat Hillary Clinton.

But Green said it was Comey's firing, as well as Trump's threatening admonitions to Comey on Twitter, that form the basis of the impeachment case against the president. "When you combine those things, you have an impeachable act, and for that the president has to answer to Congress," he said.

___

Follow Kevin Diaz on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DiazChron
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Houston's victims advocate blasted the state's parole board Wednesday in the wake of revelations that a man accused in the brutal fatal stabbing of a 79-year-old woman in Hedwig Village was free on parole even after being convicted of a violent crime.

"Such a tragedy that is utterly preventable," said Andy Kahan, victims advocate for the city of Houston. "This has to do with the fact that someone on parole gets a new conviction and the parole board makes a decision not to send them back to prison."

Michael Glen Susberry is the third alleged killer arrested in the past year while on parole despite having ensuing convictions, said Kahan.

Susberry, 55, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of capital murder, accused of robbing and stabbing 79-year-old Janeil Bernard in her home earlier this month. Susberry knew Bernard well, investigators said. His mother is her former housekeeper.

Susberry is also a convicted armed robber who went to prison in June 1985 on a life sentence and was paroled in June 2004.

After being freed on parole, Susberry was arrested in 2015 for threatening a family member with a knife. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of assault but was not not sent back to prison for violating his parole, Kahan said.

Two other examples Kahan pointed out were Kiara Taylor, 27, and Leroy Stoots, 43.

Last year Taylor got out of jail on Feb. 18 and less than a week later allegedly gunned down a teenage employee during an armed robbery of a Bellaire pizzeria. He had just served three months for violating his parole, a sanction decided by the parole board.

That was the second time he had been jailed for parole violations after being released less than three years into a seven-year sentence he received for a felony firearms arrest in 2010.

Officials with the Board of Pardons and Paroles said Taylor was punished for breaking parole even though he was not sent back to prison for the remainder of the sentence.

A panel made the decision twice to sanction him with 90-day sentences in jail rather than sending him back to prison for the remaining sentence, officials said.

Stoots was arrested in July 2016, accused of killing 31-year-old Kumba Sesay, whose body was found in a ditch in south Houston.

Stoots was sent to prison in May 1994 on a murder conviction and paroled in December 2011.

He spent 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to possession of a small amount of methamphetamine in January 2016.

Kahan said a drug conviction shows that Stoots was "not interested in following the rules" and should have been sent back to prison.

In an emailed statement from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, a spokesman said there are over 86,000 offenders currently under supervision.

"When addressing parole violations, the Board often utilizes a graduated sanctions approach," said Raymond Estrada. "The legislature has provided the Board with options in lieu of revocation of an offender such as placement into an Intermediate Sanctions Facility, placement into a Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Program (SAFP) or the Board can continue an offender on parole under the same or modified conditions."

He said each violation reported to the Board is carefully evaluated before a decision is rendered.

Kahan stood by his assertion.

"This is the third one that I've uncovered in the past year in which we've had parolees who are now accused of murder who have (been convicted of) new offenses and not returned to prison," he said.

Kahan said he and other crime victim advocates introduced a bill during the last session to raise awareness of the problem. Their research turned up over 6,000 parolees in the past five years who have been convicted again and not sent back to prison.

"You're always going to need to have discretion because you have to look at each case on its own merits," he said. "We just have to all get on same plate on this. This was such a senseless tragedy."

brian.rogers@chron.com

twitter.com/brianjrogers
Authorities believe a convicted sex offender is still in the southwest Houston area as the search continues.

Carlos Lopez, 21, is wanted for failure to register as a sex offender and for a probation violation on the original charge of sexual assault of a child.
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Farmer's markets are popping up all over the region, as a response to a demand for local, fresh food.

The Jersey Village Farmers Market opened July 2. The market, which is held outside of City Hall at 16327 Lakeview Drive, will be held the first Sunday of each month from noon to 3 p.m.

The Farmer's Market at Bridgeland, located at 16902 Bridgeland Landing in Cypress, is open the second Sunday of each month.

The market's vendors sell items including fresh local produce, pastured meats, free range eggs, goat cheese, honey, jellies, pasta, pickles, live plants, natural home and pet products, soaps and lotions.

The Tomball Farmer's Market is held Saturdays year-round from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., located at 205 W. Main Street.

The Tomball Farmer's Market started in 2009, and continues to grow. There are now between 50 to 60 vendors at the market each week.

"We currently have a waiting list of vendors right now," said Michelle Bundy, president of the board of directors for the Tomball Farmer's Market.

The market, which is a nonprofit, has strong community support and many repeat customers who come each week for homegrown, fresh food and other hand-made goods.

"The growth in Tomball has contributed to the growth at the market," Bundy said. "Tomball seems to be heading toward a foodie destination."

The Tomball Farmer's Market sells items including vegetables, fruits, a variety of fresh meats, chicken and duck eggs, cheese, milk and crafts including handmade soap.

The board of directors caps the number of craft vendors at the market to 20 percent to ensure it remains a farmer's market.

"People are there for the produce first and foremost," said Bundy, who sells handmade soaps at the market.

Each vendor is thoroughly vetted, including a home visit to their farm or home by a member of the Tomball Farmer's Market board.

"Everything has to be hand-made, homegrown by that vendor within a 150 mile radius," Bundy said. "We're very strict with that."

Wunderlich Farm, located at 18218 Theiss Mail Road in Klein, also hosts a market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month. The nonprofit living history museum encourages families to shop and also spend the day exploring the past.

Organizer Steven Baird explained that creating the event was homage to the way early settlers would go to town to sell crops and handmade goods.

Baird said he wanted to keep it small, featuring only 15 to 20 vendors, with everything locally produced.

He also makes sure that the market only features one vendor for each type of product - whether it's dog treats, orchids, barbecue sauce or sausage - to keep competition at a minimum.

Baird said that the market's setting makes it unique-on grass, among oak trees.

Theiss Farms Market has been selling vegetables and other farm products at its location at 2008 Rayford Road for 20 years. They also have a location in Klein at 17045 Stuebner Airline Road. Among its products, Theiss Market sells squash, cucumbers, green beans, kale, carrots, tomatoes, okra, sweet corn and plants and flowers.

The Farmer's Market on Tamina in Magnolia is open every Saturday year-round from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with 50 local vendors. All items must be handcrafted, handmade or homegrown within 150 miles of Magnolia.

The Farmer's Market on Tamina is in a unique location, off FM 1488 and Tamina, in front of a tree farm. It is close to residents in The Woodlands, Tomball, Spring, Klein and Cy-Fair.

Farmer's Markets in northwest Houston

The Jersey Village Farmers Market opened July 2. The market, which is held outside of City Hall at 16327 Lakeview Drive, will be held the first Sunday of each month from noon to 3 p.m.

The Farmer's Market at Bridgeland, located at 16902 Bridgeland Landing in Cypress, is open the second Sunday of each month from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Tomball Farmer's Market is held Saturdays year-round from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., located at 205 W. Main Street.

Wunderlich Farm, located at 18218 Theiss Mail Road, also hosts a market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month.

The Farmer's Market on Tamina in Magnolia is open every Saturday year-round from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with 50 local vendors.

Theiss Farms Market is open at its Spring/Woodlands location from March to October at 2008 Rayford Road Mondays-Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Theiss Farms Market is open at its Spring/Klein location at 17045 Stuebner Airline from April to August Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Leon Jacob  the man at the center of an elaborate murder-for-hire plotis putting together a defense to argue entrapment, saying he was talked into the scheme by an undercover officer posing as a hitman.

"I believe we have something akin to entrapment when it comes to the content of the conversations between the undercover agent and Leon," defense attorney George Parnham said Wednesday. "I just see the progression, from the initial contact, being motivated by law enforcement."

Jacob, a 39-year-old failed Houston doctor, was arrested with his girlfriend, a prominent Montrose veterinarian in an alleged scheme to kill their exes in March.

He was in court briefly Wednesday in a bid to get the judge to set a bond of $50,000.

State District Jim Wallace declined to set bail during the brief hearing, citing a risk to public safety.

READ ALSO: Houston councilman alerted police to murder-for-hire plot

Wallace has said in earlier hearings that because Jacob was arrested for allegedly trying to hire a hitman to kill a former girlfriend while he was out on bail for stalking that girlfriend, the judge is not willing to risk public safety.

Jacob was arrested in March on a charge of solicitation of capital murder with veterinarian Dr. Valerie Busick McDaniel, who killed herself March 27.

During Wednesday's hearing, the court also weighed Jacob's motion for a speedy trial and set the case for a jury trial on Dec. 1.

Jacob, who was in court in an orange jail uniform, did not speak in court.

Afterward, Parnham said he has contacted linguistics experts in Atlanta to analyze the audio tapes of Jacob talking to the undercover officer. If they return their findings in time for the trial, and are able to testify, it could happen as soon as December.

Since Jacob's arrest, Parnham has repeatedly asked for bail to be set, arguing that he could be put under house arrest with a GPS monitor.

READ ALSO: Well-known attorney withdraws from murder-for-hire case

Now, Jacob, has filed an appeal, a writ of habeas corpus, demanding that a judge set bail on his case so he can aid in his own defense.

To support his argument, Parnham noted in court records that a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence against the girlfriend has been dismissed.

Court records show, however, that the case was dismissed because the allegations have been rolled into a felony charge of stalking, which is on the docket with the first-degree felony of solicitation of capital murder. Typical of Harris County, all the allegations against a suspect are wrapped into one case, the highest charge available, and when that case is resolved, the others end there as well.

READ ALSO: Judge hands down decision on Montrose murder-for-hire case

Because the judge refused to set bail Wednesday, the decision will be immediately appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals at an expedited rate.

If convicted, Jacob faces the possibility of life in prison.
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A Houston martial arts instructor hopes a new Texas law allowing people to carry large blades in public won't get abused.

Sword To Sword's lead instructor Dakao Do is optimistic about House Bill 1935, which was just signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott. The law goes into effect Sept. 1 and allows people over the age of 18 to carry blades longer than 5 1/2 inches in public.

"The most relevant lesson for the general public is that, as with any firearms or other weapons, proper training and mindset far outweigh the 'cool' factor of openly carrying a gun or sword in ignorance of its proper use," Do said.

CUTTING EDGE: Japanese swords carve out larger fanbase

Sword To Sword began as a training group for European martial arts 16 years ago. It offers martial arts classes on long sword, rapier, and other medieval and Renaissance weapons.

The knife bill was authored and filed by Rep. John Frullo, R-Lubbock, in February to bipartisan support. In May, the bill stalled momentarily after a University of Texas student stabbed multiple classmates on campus. Student Harrison Brown was killed in the stabbing and three others were injured. Student Kendrex White was arrested in connection to the attack.

White was charged with murder and is being held in the Travis County jail. His bail is set at $1 million, according to the jail's inmate search.

READ MORE: House delays debate on knife bill days after stabbing at UT

A week after the stabbing, Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston, introduced an amendment to the bill that restricted knives with a 5 1/2 inch blade from schools, bars, sporting events and churches, among other locations. The blade White used in his attack was a Bowie Knife, a large hunting knife that falls under the "location-restricted knife" category.

The amended bill was signed by Abbott on June 15.
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Two women have been arrested and charged with assaulting another woman with a hammer on Monday in southwest Houston, according to a news release from the Houston Police Department.

Jasmine Thomas, 27, and Regina Banks, 46, are both charged with aggravated assault using a deadly weapon after attacking Tonita Brooks on Monday night, police said.
Two Longview police officers went viral when their story of mowing a disabled veteran's lawn on the Fourth of July was posted on Facebook.

Officers Ron Duncan and Michael Preston's story helping Robert Upshaw with his lawn has been shared more than 600 times and garnered 1,400 reactions since being posted.
WASHINGTON  Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is getting support from the White House and Senate leaders in his bid to repeal the Affordable Care Act or thrust the GOP health care plan further to the right as the battle over Obamacare gears up again this week.

Facing a continued Republican impasse over an Obamacare replacement plan, President Donald Trump on Tuesday retweeted Cruz's statement on Fox & Friends earlier in the day saying that "it's crazy to go an August recess without having Obamacare repealed."

While full repeal continues to hang in the balance for conservatives, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell announced he will postpone the traditional August recess to buy time to reach the deal on health care that has eluded them since Trump's election.

The two-week delay represented a victory for Cruz and conservatives who have been pressing GOP leaders to stay in session and work to sweep away more of former President Barack Obama's health care law.

Trump has called on Republicans to unify behind a "beautiful new" Obamacare replacement plan, but he also has said that if they can't come to an agreement, they should repeal the current health care law and come up with a replacement plan later.

Trump's tweet, a recognition that he had watched or was aware of Cruz's remarks, came a day after Vice President Mike Pence endorsed Cruz's plan to relax insurance regulations for certain low-cost health plans sold alongside ones that fully comply with Obamacare benefits requirements.

"That's What Freedom Looks Like," Pence said on the Rush Limbaugh Show Monday, referring to Cruz's controversial "Consumer Freedom" amendment to the GOP health care proposal.

Cruz said Tuesday that his plan would achieve his central goal on health care: lower premiums. He said that would happen by allowing insurance companies to sell any health coverage plan they wish, so long as they also provide one plan that meets all the benefits mandated by the Affordable Care Act.

Critics say Cruz's plan would undermine the current law's protections for pre-existing conditions by effectively lopping older, frailer and sicker patients into more expensive Obamacare plans.

Some experts say that younger, healthier patients would gravitate toward the skimpy new low-cost "Freedom Option" plans with fewer benefits and higher deductibles.

Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, have called Cruz's plan "a hoax."

"Under the guise of lowering premiums," Schumer tweeted during last week's recess, "it makes health care more expensive."

Despite some GOP misgivings, Cruz's amendment appeared to have picked up some traction over the 10-day July 4 recess, with Republicans leaders deciding this week to submit the plan to the Congressional Budget Office for a formal cost estimate or "score."

"We're trying to work to get the information so we know what the budgetary impact is going to be," said fellow Texas Republican John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate. "I do favor competition and anything that will give people more choices. The question in this constrained process is whether it's feasible."

Cornyn and other Republican leaders say they are constrained by Senate rules that limit the scope of legislation that can be approved by a simple majority, thus avoiding the 60-vote threshold needed to break a certain Democratic filibuster.

Some observers say that GOP leaders, walking a tightrope between conservatives and Republican moderates, might be reluctant to actively oppose Cruz's plan, especially if it could still fall victim to procedural or budgetary considerations.

Republicans currently hold 52 seats in the Senate. With Pence able to vote to break a potential 50-50 tie, Republicans can only afford two dissenting GOP votes to pass a health care bill without help from Democrats.

The new CBO estimate of Cruz's proposal is expected by early next week, which is also when Cornyn said Republican leaders would like to start holding preliminary votes on a revised GOP health care plan.

Currently, about a half-dozen GOP moderates have expressed misgivings about a current Republican draft that would significantly roll back federal spending on Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for the poor, children, pregnant women and some elderly. The CBO has estimated it could result in an additional 22 million Americans without insurance.

Some Republicans have joined Democrats in opposing the GOP's proposed Medicaid cuts, particularly in states that expanded Medicaid under Obamacare. Cruz, however, has remained focused on rolling back or weakening the Affordable Care Acts' insurance requirements, sometimes known as "essential benefits."

On Tuesday, he cast his amendment as "the key to getting 50 votes and passing Obamacare repeal."

He also called the support for his amendment from Pence and other administration officials "very significant."

"I think the reason is that it is the necessary ingredient to getting the votes that we have to have to follow through on our commitment to repeal Obamacare," he said Tuesday after a closed-door lunch meeting of Republican senators, who were joined by Pence and Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway.

"I believe we can get there," Cruz continued. "It remains challenging. More work remains to be done, but there is a path forward and that path revolves around lowering premiums so that health insurance is more affordable for millions of families that are suffering under Obamacare."

Pence, in an interview Monday on Limbaugh's show, offered a full-throated defense of Cruz's plan.

"We're talking about people being able to go to a marketplace and to say, 'Look, if I want all the benefits that are listed here, some of which are certified by the state or even the federal government, I'll pay for that. If I don't want all of those benefits, I ought to be able to buy that as well,'" Pence said.

Some Senate moderates have given mixed signals on the amendment's prospects, seen by some as an effort by Cruz and his chief Republican ally, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, to make the bill more palatable to conservatives who want to see Obamacare scrapped altogether.

Republicans also are debating proposals to keep some of Obamacare's taxes on the wealthy in order to help more low-income people afford insurance, or to generate revenue to fight opioid addiction.

"Conversations continue between senators across the ideological spectrum," Cruz said. "I believe we can get to 'yes,' but it will take a continued commitment by members throughout the conference to work to come to common ground."
Business / Companies

by Agencies

NMB Bank is now offering school fees loans to working parents, no matter what school their children are attending, enabling them to ensure that school fees are paid in full and on time.The loan is available to both existing and new customers. Once approved, the bank pays the school fees directly to the school.To qualify for a school fees loan, a parent must be employed, capable of repaying the loan and not have any school fees arrears. His or her salary must be paid directly into an NMB current account. Alternatively, the loan repayment can be deducted by the parent's employer from his or her salary and be paid to the bank by the employer.The documents required when applying for the loan are a completed application form, a current payslip, proof of residence and an invoice from the school."The loan facility is intended to help parents ensure that their children have a smooth start to a school term," said NMB chief banking officer Lionel Chinyamutangira."This school fees loan facility is available to new as well as existing clients. Those who do not currently bank with NMB but would like to take advantage of this facility can open a current account with the bank" he said."We know that it can often be difficult for parents to raise the money for school fees in full at the beginning of every term. With NMB's school loan facility, the bank pays the fees to the school. The parents then repay the bank over a period of one to three months," he said.
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Houston's Public Works director will vacate his post temporarily following revelations that he made unlawful payments to a Houston Community College trustee who is now awaiting sentencing on federal bribery charges, Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Tuesday.

Karun Sreerama made $77,143 in unlawful payments to longtime HCC trustee Chris Oliver between late 2010 and mid-2013, when Sreerama owned a private engineering firm, according to court records and his attorney.

On the bribery charge, Oliver was accused of taking payments and promising to use his position to help secure contracts with the community college system.

Turner, who said he was unaware of the case prior to this week, said he has placed Sreerama on paid administrative leave while he reviews the situation.

"I am taking this action so that I may thoroughly review the information to make sure there are no further related implications for the city and him," Turner said in a written statement. "It is against everyone's best interest for a public servant to have to operate under a cloud, as Mr. Sreerama and I have discussed in a brief telephone call."

The mayor, who is travelling in Europe on city business, added, "I continue to have confidence in Karun and look forward to his return."

The revelations about Sreerama, who has led the city's Department of Public Works and Engineering for four months, stem from an extortion and bribery case against Oliver.

The extortion count lists an individual with the initials "K.S." -- now identified as Sreerama -- as a "victim" of "extortion under color of official right" by Oliver, meaning the trustee allegedly used his position as a public official to obtain an unlawful payment.

Sreerama's attorney has said his client was the target of a "shakedown" by Oliver and cooperated with investigators after they approached him.

The acting U.S. attorney has agreed to dismiss the extortion charge against Oliver in exchange for his guilty plea on the bribery indictment, court records show.

Turner said deputy Public Works director Carol Haddock will lead the department during Sreerama's leave, returning to the role she held in the weeks before Sreerama assumed the post earlier this year.
Music Interview

Taste the REIGHNBEAU!

Hamples work manipulates sound and emotion
Entertainment / Music

by Staff reporter

TOP South Africa DJ, Black Coffee, has been announced as one of the headline acts at this year's Victoria Falls Carnival taking place from December 29 to 31.Black Coffee, who appeals to a diverse audience, will be joined by electronic jazz group The Kiffness, Tresor - the Never Let Me Go hit-maker from Congo and former Big Brother Africa housemate - Zambian musician Mampi nicknamed 'The Vibrating Waist' for her insane live performances.Neverland founder and master of mixing Jason Le Roux and local Vic Falls afro-fusion act Flying Bantu have also been given slots with more artistes set to be unveiled as the year progresses.The annual end of year shutdown fete starts with a series of parties at various venues in the resort town with the famous Party Train and Bush Party taking centre stage on December 30. The final party on New Year's Eve wraps things up with electrifying live performances at Victoria Falls Farm School.Emmanuel Tivatyi, the event's spokesperson, said tickets were now on sale. Prices have once again been reviewed to cater for the local market."A three-day festival ticket is being sold for $90, two-day ticket for $65 and a one-day ticket for the New Year's concert is going for $50," said Tivatyi.He said Black Coffee would perform on December 30 with only those with two-day or three-day passes/tickets set to gain entry into the show.However, the event, which has been named the Jameson Vic Falls Carnival for the past three editions because of the Irish whiskey maker's sponsorship, has reverted to its initial name - Vic Falls Carnival, doing away with Jameson. This, Tivatyi said, was because Jameson wanted to push its sister brands like Ballantine's Scotch whiskey among others."Jameson is still fully involved in the carnival and they've maintained the same sponsorship deal. The team just highlighted to us that they wanted to promote other products as well other than Jameson hence why the name Jameson has been removed from the name of the carnival," he said.Other sponsors who have come on board thus far are Delta Beverages through its Zambezi Lager beverage, SA's Trace Africa and tourism service providers, Wild Horizons, Love For Africa and Tourism Zimbabwe.Since inception as Falls Fest in 2009, the carnival has become the premier New Year's event in Southern Africa, attracting thousands of revellers from around the world. Besides the festival, the resort town of Victoria Falls has so much to offer as one of the best tourist destinations in the world. From adrenaline junkie thrills like bungee jumping and crocodile cage diving to the exploration of the rainforest, boat cruises on the Zambezi and game drives, visitors are guaranteed of an experience of a lifetime.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A 66-YEAR-OLD man from Bulawayo was yesterday sentenced to 30 years in prison for raping his 15-year-old stepdaughter.The man, a former nurse at Ingutsheni Central Hospital who lives at a flat in Barbourfields suburb, appeared before senior regional magistrate Mr Trynos Utahwashe facing three counts of rape.He had pleaded not guilty but was convicted due to overwhelming evidence.Passing sentence, Mr Utahwashe said: "You are hereby sentenced to 30 years imprisonment of which 10 years is suspended for 5 years on condition that you are not convicted of having within this period committed an offence of a similar nature."Prosecutor Mr Robin Mukura said the accused had sexual intercourse with his stepdaughter on several occasions without her consent. He committed the offence each time her mother was away."On an unknown date in 2014 when the juvenile was in Grade 6, the accused sent the juvenile to his bedroom to look for his shoes while the complainant's mother was not at home. He followed the juvenile to the room, fondled her breasts three times and raped her," Mr Mukura said.He said the accused secured the minor's silence by telling her that her mother would commit suicide if she got to know about the incident.He added that he would be jailed leaving the minor to fend for herself.The accused raped the girl on December 26, 2015 before violating the minor for the second time without protection.He used the same threat to keep her silent, Mr Mukura said.On June 23 this year, the accused raped the minor for the third time when she arrived home from school and found him alone.Mr Mukura said: "On June 25, 2017 at around 5PM, the complainant's mother arrived home from church and the complainant decided to tell her about the abuse. The complainant's mother confronted the accused person. The accused instructed her to go to hospital and confirm if the girl was raped and report the matter to the police."Mother and daughter reported the matter at the Barbourfields Police Post and the juvenile was medically examined at Mpilo Central Hospital.
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.
News / National

by Staff reporter

CITY fathers have all but given in to pressure from residents as they are now reviewing the public transport policy with a view to legalising the activities of pirate taxis, popularly known as mushika-shika.A resolution to that effect was made last week in council chambers pursuant to a motion moved by Ward Four councillor, Silas Chigora, who is the caucus chair for councillors.The local authority has been facing serious challenges in trying to control pirate taxis that are operating illegally across the city.The taxis have become a menace in the central business district, where they pick and drop passengers at undesignated areas.To bring order in Zimbabwe's second largest city, council has now resolved to review the yet to be adopted public transport policy, to incorporate pirate taxis."The eastern areas have refused the kombi mode of transport and prefer small vehicles (Honda Fits), which are faster and are quick to fill."The policy therefore needs an overhaul to include all players and residents must be allowed to choose the service provider they want," reads part of the resolution passed by the city fathers."Small vehicles must be allowed to operate within the confines of the law."All must change to red plates, employ qualified and certified drivers and be insured and must be allocated bays to pick from not this chaotic cat and mouse game prevalent in the city."Council is of the view that the public transport policy, which seeks to ban operators that function outside the city's three associations - Bulawayo Public Transporters Association (Bupta), Tshova Mubaiwa Co-operative and Bulawayo City Transit - would improve the public transport situation in the City of Kings.Each of these associations will be allocated specific routes to operate.Contacted for comment, Chigora said there was need to strike a balance between the economic forces driving people into operating pirate taxis while at the same time maintaining order in the city."We find ourselves in a dilemma trying to enforce order. That is taking away their means of survival," he told the Daily News."Not so long ago, the Honda Fits were not pirating everywhere like this. What has caused this? These small cars are operating like vendors."They must not be condemned but managed and one way of managing them is to allocate them designated parking bays to operate from."We can't bury our heads in the sand and pretend all is well out there. It is better to manage them through a temporary arrangement than allow this chaos to continue unabated," Chigora said, adding that the public transport policy vision must fully embrace the current economic realities.While council is still in consultation with the stakeholders concerned, and having already conducted a pre-launch session of the transport policy, some councillors believe that associations must not be forced out of their routes and be made to operate routes they are not comfortable with."The issue of three companies being allocated routes and commuters being forced to service them must be investigated."Bupta cannot be forced onto routes that were previously operated by Tshova Mubaiwa against commuters' will," the resolution said.
Copiii cu nevoi speciale din Stefan Voda au conditii de reabilitare mai bune, datorita UE si Fundatiei Soros Moldova
Another person has been killed in the U.S. by an exploding Takata airbag inflator, but this death wasnt the result of a crash.

Ramon V. Kuffo, 81, of Hialeah, Florida, was working inside a 2001 Honda Accord using a hammer when the airbag inflator ruptured, on June 18, 2016. A medical examiner ruled his death accidental due to head trauma, according to a Hialeah police report.

Its the 12th U.S. death attributed to the faulty inflators and 17th worldwide, including five in Malaysia. Takata inflators can explode with too much force when exposed to prolonged airborne moisture and hot-and-cold temperature cycles. If that happens, the inflators can blow apart a metal canister and shoot out shrapnel which can kill or injure people. More than 180 people have been hurt in the U.S. alone.

The problem touched off the largest automotive recall in U.S. history involving up to 69 million inflators and 42 million vehicles. Honda was Takatas biggest customer before the problems surfaced. Last month Takata filed for bankruptcy protection in both Japan and the U.S. and most of its assets were bought by rival Key Safety Systems.

According to police, Kuffo was in the backyard of his home near Miami, working on a silver 2001 Honda Accord, when a neighbor heard a loud bang. The neighbor went outside and found Kuffo sitting in the passenger seat of the car unconscious and bleeding from his face. Kuffo was taken to a trauma center, where he died the next day. Both airbags had inflated.

Honda released some details of the death on Monday and said it only recently found out about it. The company has not been able to inspect the car and is relying on police photos to make its determination, Honda spokesman Chris Martin said.

The victim, who police said was not the cars owner, was working on the interior of the car with a hammer and had taken apart the cars center console, but it wasnt clear what he was trying to fix. Its also not clear why the airbag deployed, but police photos show the metal drivers side inflator ruptured and shot out fragments, Honda said. The cars ignition switch was on, so the airbag would have been ready in case of a crash, according to Honda. Martin noted that there is a deceleration sensor that activates the airbags mounted on the wall between the engine and passenger compartment.

The rupture most likely contributed to his death, Martin said.

The 2001 Accord has one of the most dangerous types of Takata drivers side airbag inflators. Laboratory tests show they have as high as a 50 percent chance of blowing apart in a crash.

Honda urged owners who have received recall notices to get repairs made as soon as possible, especially those with the most dangerous type of inflator. Those models are the 2001 and 2002 Accord and Civic, the 2002 CR-V and Odyssey, the 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL, the 2003 Acura 3.2 CL and the 2003 Pilot. Honda says it has sufficient supplies of replacement inflators available to fix all of its recalled vehicles.

Its essential to safety that high-risk inflators are replaced immediately, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement.

Honda says its service procedures recommend disconnecting the battery when working on the airbag system. Owners can go online and subscribe to Honda service manuals and find out proper procedures for many repairs. It costs about $10 per day, Martin said.

Multiple owners of the car were mailed 12 recall notices over seven years. Our records indicate that the recall repair was never completed on this vehicle, Honda said in a statement.

(Associated Press writer Jennifer Kay in Miami Beach, Florida, contributed to this story.)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News / National

by Staff reporter

RECENT resignations in the National People's Party (NPP) are a result of infiltration by Zanu-PF apparatchiks, as well as by members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), a senior party official claimed this week.The newly-formed NPP, led by former Vice President Joice Mujuru, has got off to a rocky start, having been hit by resignations of senior members in Bulawayo and Matabeleland South.Last month, the party's Matabeleland South provincial chairperson, Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo, and Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Geneva Sibanda resigned from the NPP along with many other disgruntled party members.Fuzwayo later re-joined the Welshman Ncube-led MDC.This followed hard on the heels of a string of resignations in the Bulawayo province where disaffected members complained of tribalism, factionalism and disharmony in the party.NPP vice president Samuel Sipepa-Nkomo who has been accused of leading one of the two factions in the party, said most of the resignations were a plot to dent their leader's profile. "NPP is infiltrated by Zanu-PF and CIOs; they are the ones behind all this (resignations)," Nkomo told the Daily News."They are all but stage-managing these so-called resignations and that's why I am saying it's infiltration. I recently read elsewhere in the papers that 50 people resigned from the party, honestly can someone stand there and point to me those people who are said to have resigned," he said.In an exclusive interview with the Daily News during her visit to Bulawayo last month, Mujuru cited unnamed infiltrators as the ones behind instability in her party's Bulawayo structures."We are trying to get them to understand the party policy, the values, the regulations and procedures. But because there are infiltrations, if you are not very careful, this will distort the approach, which the party wants to promote," Mujuru said then.Asked what the party was doing to deal with the infiltration, Sipepa-Nkomo said: "In any case, those who are resigning mean we are getting rid of infiltration."Further quizzed about the faction he is allegedly leading, Nkomo said there was no way he could lead a faction when he was vice president of the party."I am not bothered at all by such a claim because we don't have that factionalism you are talking about."I have heard about it. Call them camps or factions. I cannot be part of a faction when I am a vice president, how can I do that."
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio - Area residents can now buy personalized engraved bricks to commemorate the revitalization of the Front Street downtown business district in the Falls.

Since the plan was announced to return Front Street to two-way traffic, residents have expressed concern about the fate of thousands of existing personalized engraved bricks, which were primarily used to build the clock tower and the fountains.

In March, project developer Akron-based H.R. Gray, announced it had definitive plans to use the commemorative bricks Falls residents paid for in the 1970s in the new construction. Bricks purchased for the old spray fountain were inventoried and photographed. All existing bricks will be used or replicated, and incorporated into the area around the new fountain.

Newly purchased bricks will be used in a walkway near the new spray fountain, which will open in summer 2018. The bricks will be on sale until close of business on Friday, August 11. Proceeds from the sales of the bricks will pay for a community art installation in the reopened downtown.

"From the very beginning of the Downtown Transformation Project, it has been important to me that the residents and community members have a voice, sense of place, and ownership in our revitalized downtown," Mayor Don Walters said in a news release.

Bricks can only be ordered online here.

Front Street could be opened by January 1, and could create about 1,000 jobs downtown and generate more than $65 million per year in restaurant and retail sales, officials say.

For more information, visit the Cuyahoga Falls Development Department at 2310 Second St., call 330-971-8135 or email development@cityofcf.com.

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AKRON, Ohio - Akron Community Foundation officials have invited thousands of residents to a mealtime discussion.

At the foundation's annual meeting Monday, Akron Chief of Staff James Hardy and Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro, the chair of the foundation's community investment committee, announced On the Table Greater Akron, a national initiative supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The event will take place Tuesday, Oct. 3, in Summit and Medina counties.

The goal is to engage people in the places they live, work and play in meaningful discussions about community issues that impact them. People are encouraged to host conversations at home, work, school and cafes, inviting colleagues and friends to participate in small-group discussions.

"It connects the fabric of our community," Shapiro said in a statement. "There are 31 different entities in Summit County and for the opportunity for people from across that footprint to come together and talk about common issues, common opportunities and perhaps some common outcomes that they'd like to see is really an exciting opportunity I'd hate for anybody to miss."

John Garofalo, the community foundation's vice president of community investment, said topics that emerge in On the Table conversations will be gathered, and a report will be issued highlighting themes and outcomes. He said the data will help the foundation determine grant awards.

Most On the Table conversations will be small, Garofalo explained, but a number of large organizations, or "super hosts," will hold 15 or more conversations in the community.

Akron Community Foundation was one of 10 community foundations across the country awarded funds from Knight Foundation to implement the program. In addition to Knight Foundation, local sponsors include Huntington National Bank, Fifth Third Bank, KeyBank, PNC Bank and S&T Bank.

The Chicago Community Trust launched On the Table four years ago and convened 25,000 people across the metro area. This year, more than 100,000 individuals participated in their discussions.

To host or participate in a discussion locally, visit onthetableakron.com.

In other business, foundation treasurer Rick Fedorovich said the foundation had a record $201.7 million in assets and $11.4 million in grants and distributions for the year ending March 31.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a coalition of groups to participate in a case opposing the city of Cleveland's and Cuyahoga County's deal to give public money to renovate Quicken Loans Arena.

The justices ruled 6-1 that the coalition should have a say in a dispute over whether City Council Clerk Patricia Britt should be forced to accept 20,000 signatures collected to trigger a referendum election. The referendum would allow voters to decide whether public money should help pay for renovations at The Q.

The controversial deal -- which includes about $105 million in public money when factoring in bonds and interest -- was already approved by the city and county councils when the signatures were presented in May. The clerk refused to accept the petitions, saying a referendum would unconstitutionally interfere with a contract the city already entered into over The Q agreement with the county.

City law Director Barbara Langhenry in June filed a lawsuit against the council clerk to force the clerk to accept the coalition's referendum petitions.

The coalition -- made up of members of the Greater Cleveland Congregation, the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, Service Employees International Union Local 1199, AFSCME Ohio Council 8 and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26 -- argued the general public's interests would not be heard if it was not allowed to participate.

The coalition also asked the Ohio Supreme Court to dismiss the case, arguing that the law director and council clerk were pursuing the same interests. The court declined that request.

"Petitioners are relieved that they will not be excluded from these proceedings, and that they will have their say in court to help ensure that the peoples' right to vote on the Q deal is not thwarted," attorney Peter Pattakos, who represents the coalition, said in an emailed statement.

Langhenry and Britt opposed allowing the coalition to participate in the lawsuit. Todd Hunt, Britt's attorney, said Wednesday that the Ohio Supreme Court's decision may allow the case to move along a little more quickly.

"It's an extremely important public improvement project for the economic welfare of the city of Cleveland," Hunt said of The Q renovations.

Langhenry's attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Quicken Loans Arena project would dramatically alter the facility's appearance, creating more space for dining, bars and public gathering. The Cavaliers contend that the work will keep the 22-year-old arena competitive with facilities in other cities and extend the life of the arena into the 2030s.

The price tag for the work is about $140 million. The final bill, though, after paying off the bonds over several years, will top $200 million. Cleveland's portion of the project would direct admissions taxes collected at the arena from 2024 to 2034 -- estimated to be as much as $8 million a year for 11 years -- toward paying off the debt.

The coalition has argued that the city's and county's deal should leverage money for use in neighborhoods for job development, community improvement and for help addressing mental-health and addiction issues.

A group must gather about 6,000 signatures from city voters to place a referendum on a ballot.
News / National

by Staff reporter

National People's Party (NPP) leader Joice Mujuru is caught between joining a conglomeration of parties under Coalition of Democrats (Code) or concentrate on covering ground under a pact signed with MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai.Mujuru's spokesperson Gift Nyandoro said the NPP was still consulting, insisting she was committed to "collective leadership"."The party is still going on with consultative process, we are consulting the necessary party structures and at grassroots level."The process is underway, we are doing it as a coalition process which is bigger than Code signing," Nyandoro told the Daily News yesterday.Tsvangirai, 65, who was Zimbabwe's prime minister in an uneasy coalition government with Mugabe from 2009 until 2013, and Mujuru, who was the nonagenarian's vice president for a decade until she was fired in 2014, are engaged in talks to form a grand coalition which is expected to contest next year's elections as a single bloc.Analysts have said a united opposition stands the best chance of defeating Mugabe and Zanu-PF in the much-awaited polls due next year.Tsvangirai, a three-time "loser" to Mugabe, has also inked similar deals to the one with Mujuru with Welshman Ncube and Jacob Ngarivhume."A lot is taking place behind the scenes between us the NPP and MDC. We are aware of some conspiracy theories, which are aiming at poisoning our relationship with MDC."We were equally happy with Tsvangirai when he signed an agreement with (Welshman) Ncube."We need each other, we need Tsvangirai, Simba Makoni, Tendai Biti and others; we need to find each other," said Nyandoro.Mujuru was expected to sign a pact with Code last week but changed her mind at the last minute because she was not impressed with the venue of the signing ceremony.The signing ceremony was set for the Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe (RDZ) offices in Harare instead of the originally-planned Anglican Cathedral.Mujuru reportedly did not want to create an impression that she had been absorbed as a political outfit by RDZ as what happened to her when she signed the memorandum of understanding with Tsvangirai at his Highlands home.There is a consensus among the country's political observers that an electoral pact that involves Tsvangirai and Mujuru stands a chance of ending Mugabe's 37-year rule.Fitting smugly into the straitjacket philosophy - that is venerated by the country's influential military - Mujuru boasts of liberation war credentials that have thus far been Tsvangirai's Achilles heel, and is regarded as an alternative because of her historical ties and also links to key government departments.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Forrmer Cabinet minister and leader of the smaller MDC Welshman Ncube has hinted on his preferred choice for the mooted grand coalition - telling the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that former prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai was fit to represent Zimbabwe's opposition in next year's watershed elections.Ncube ended 12 years of frosty relations with Tsvangirai, after an acrimonious split in 2005, when he signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in April - weeks after the former labour union leader had penned a similar document with National People's Party (NPP) president Joice Mujuru.In an interview on HARDtalk with BBC's Zeinab Badawi which was aired yesterday, Ncube dismissed Tsvangirai's health concerns and suggested he was fit to run for the presidency in 2018."I am not a medical person to speak about president Tsvangirai's health, but I have met him several times over the last four, five months, we have had extensive and long discussions."I have not gotten the impression that he is in any medical state which will hinder him leading the opposition coalition if that is our collective view that he should be the candidate to lead the coalition."I do not, from my interactions with him, share the medical concerns that some may expect, but I am not a medical doctor," the former MDC secretary-general said.Tsvangirai was diagnosed with cancer of the colon and has been undergoing treatment in neighbouring South Africa."What is important is that we must recognise that up until now, president Tsvangirai is the only person who has previously defeated Mugabe in an election."We must recognise that in the previous election, he had secured the highest number of votes."It is important whatever coalition we built, ensure that those who have supported him all along are able to support the collective position that we will agree on."I have an opinion who should be (lead coalition), but discussions are going on, it will be inappropriate for me to express my opinion on HARDtalk," said Ncube.Tsvangirai, who has lost to President Robert Mugabe three times, came closest to becoming Zimbabwe's new leader in the 2008, March 29 elections in which he beat the veteran Zanu-PF leader but failed to gain the required votes for an outright victory.The results of those elections were withheld for six long weeks by stunned authorities, amid widespread allegations of ballot tampering and fraud which were later given wings by former Zanu-PF bigwigs who are now in opposition ranks.Tsvangirai pulled out of the planned run-off days before polling citing massive violence and intimidation against his supporters - leaving Mugabe to stage a one-man vote which was widely condemned by the international community.In run-up to the sham poll, Mashonaland East had witnessed horrific violence which left an estimated 200 MDC supporters dead, when Zanu-PF led by war veterans went on a retribution exercise to punish people suspected to have not voted for Mugabe.Ncube told the BBC that the opposition was yet to decide on who leads the coalition, saying they needed to agree on its leader."As to who will be the face of the opposition is yet to be determined and I hope when that question is determined, we will be realistic enough to present a candidate with the capacity and following to defeat Mugabe in a realistic way, rather than an idealistic way."What is critical at the end of the day is to come together, by consensus; we agree who is the person that should be our face as opposition in the forthcoming elections."I do not think it should be about pushing anybody off the stage. We are in a national crisis which requires our collective unity," said Ncube."I agree that we should be where we are, a year or two years ago, but it's better late than never."We deserve the criticism that we have not acted with the speed and with the urgency that is required, but we are acting and we are moving forward."We are talking to each other, there are negotiators across the board who are talking to each other on a daily basis with the view to conclude this as early as possible," he added.
Many states are investing in technology infrastructure with the hope of luring more entrepreneurs.

With technology firms in places like San Francisco and Silicon Valley grappling with the problem of housing that is too expensive for their employees, states where housing is more affordable are gaining an edge.

Low taxes is a lure for small business. Five states  Nevada, Texas, South Dakota, Wyoming and Washington  have no income or capital gains tax, either on individuals or corporations.

For 18 years Julie Albertson has tempted customers with her grandmother's pie recipes as chef and owner of Texas Pie Company. Well known for its pecan pie, the business in Kyle, Texas, started out as a wholesaler to restaurants in nearby Austin and now runs an eatery that is open to the public.

Julie Albertson, founder of the Texas Pie Company, says the environment in Texas has buoyed the growth of her business. Source: Texas Pie Company

Albertson, a former banker, says the environment in Texas has buoyed the growth of her business, which has 18 employees. "We've seen a rise of tourism and people moving to the state and the Central Texas region," says Albertson. "People from all over the world are moving here." Many tell her they are drawn by the promise of good jobs in the state, as well as reasonable housing costs. It's no accident that Albertson and many other small-business owners love doing business in Texas  which finished No. 4 in CNBC's 2017 Top States for Business rankings. Texas officials work hard to keep it that way, offering many programs to support entrepreneurs, such as one that provides grants to communities for educational programs targeting small-business owners. "Texas really focuses on having a business-friendly climate. A reasonable regulatory climate and a low tax burden make it attractive for entrepreneurs and small-business formation," says Adriana Cruz, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, a public-private partnership that serves as the regional economic development organization for the City of San Marcos and two counties. More from Top States for Business:

Top States for Business: Full List

The 10 best states in America to live in

The 10 best states in America to find a job But there's some debate about what makes states friendly to small business. Some states are trying to do what Texas does: keep taxes and regulations down. But in reality, it's a complex mix of factors that persuade entrepreneurs that a state is a good place to call home. High-tax, highly regulated states like California, home to Silicon Valley, and New York, with its Silicon Alley, offer other lures, like active venture investing communities, that keep entrepreneurs flocking. Here is a look at six key factors that make states attractive to small business, according to experts and entrepreneurs.

1. Low taxes

It's no surprise that President Donald Trump's proposal to cut individual and corporate taxes won many fans among small-business owners. "Taxes obviously are a big issue for small businesses in terms of the bottom line, profitability and having resources to invest and grow," says Raymond Keating, chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit small-business advocacy group. Many states are paying attention and actively trying to lessen the sting of taxes for small-business owners to lure them from higher-tax environments. In the SBE Council's new Small Business Tax Index, which ranks state tax systems based on how they benefit entrepreneurship and small business, the top five states  Nevada, Texas, South Dakota, Wyoming and Washington  have no income or capital gains tax, either on individuals or corporations, notes Keating. "That gives them a huge competitive advantage," he says. Many states are accelerating their tax-reform efforts to keep pace with states that are more competitive. North Carolina, No. 5 on CNBC's 2017 Top States for Business ranking, moved into the top 10 on the SBE Council's list this year after reducing taxes on both the individual and corporate side, notes Keating. Some states, such as Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, are actively promoting their strengths to lure business from California, says Jared Walczak, a senior policy analyst at the Center for State Policy at the Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Andrew Legge, founder and managing partner of Havelock Wool Source: Havelock Wool

Andrew Legge, founder and managing partner of Havelock Wool, which makes home insulation out of sheep's wool, produces it in a 50,000-square-foot factory in Sparks, Nevada. He found that the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada "rolled out the red carpet" as he was starting up and helped connect him to resources in the community. "My experience here has been it is extremely pro-business," says Legge, who formerly worked in private equity before starting the business in 2013.

2. A supportive regulatory environment

A high regulatory compliance burden can be a big deterrent for small business. "Regulatory costs fall much more heavily on the little guy," says Keating. In contrast, states that keep regulatory burdens low can have an edge in attracting entrepreneurs. Ask Garrett Burchett. He started Mississippi River Distilling in LeClaire, Iowa, with his brother in 2010 after the state changed laws that allow distillers to offer tours to the public  something he thought would help such a business take off quickly. Originally from Iowa  No. 15 on CNBC's Top States for Business  Burchett had been working as a transportation planner in Dallas, while his brother worked as a TV meteorologist. They traveled to Germany to learn their new craft. "Iowa was extremely proactive with its laws," Burchett says. "They have continued that process to make sure there are avenues for entrepreneurs to be successful. That is what brought us here." Today the business employs 16 people and has revenue in the low seven figures.

3. A rich talent pool

States with a strong network of colleges and universities often have an edge in attracting small business  especially technology start-ups. "The single biggest challenge to growing a technology company is talent," says Adam Enbar, CEO and co-founder of the Flatiron School in New York City, which offers coding boot camps and other technology education.

Cindy Whitehead, Pink Ceiling founder and former Sprout Pharmaceuticals CEO Allen G. Breed | AP

Serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist Cindy Whitehead chose to locate in North Carolina because of an ecosystem that includes easy access to talent from schools such as North Carolina State, University of North Carolina and Duke. She sold her company Sprout Pharmaceuticals, which made the drug Addyi  called the first female Viagra  to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $1 billion in 2015. "I'm not from Raleigh, but I picked locating here," she says. "There was a bioscience community already built. It would be easy to attract talent." To add to their talent pool, some states, such as New York, have heavily prioritized technology education. That extends to efforts outside of traditional university settings and filters down to local programs. The NYC Web Development Fellowship, for instance, offers free training in web development at coding schools such as General Assembly, Fullstack Design Academy and The New York Code + Design Academy to New Yorkers who are at least 18 years old and earn less than $50,000.

4. Overall livability

With technology firms in places like San Francisco and Silicon Valley grappling with the problem of housing that is too expensive for their employees, states where housing is more affordable are gaining an edge. Google recently bought land for a future data center near Reno, Nevada, for instance, and Apple is doubling its workforce at the Reno Technology Center.

An area view of the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. David Butow | Corbis | Getty Images

A lower cost of living helps smaller businesses, too. Iowa, for instance, has a low cost of doing business that many employers like, notes John Paul Engel, a lecturer on entrepreneurship at University of Iowa. "Commercial rents are inexpensive relative to other places in the county," says Engel. Amenities like a good public school system are also important to attracting and keeping employees, helping some higher-cost states lure small business.

5. Abundant financing

The first place many small businesses turn for credit is their local bank. States like California, New York and Texas, which have a high density of branches, have an edge in business-friendliness on this front, because most banks still do branch-based lending, according to Rohit Arora, CEO and co-founder of Biz2Credit, an online matchmaker between borrowers and lenders based in New York City. Having a vibrant ecosystem of angel investors and venture capitalists is important, too, and has made areas such as Silicon Valley, Boston and New York City and the states where they are located attractive to start-ups. But with crowdfunding leveling the playing field for many entrepreneurs when it comes to raising capital, states also need to offer opportunities for mentoring by former start-up founders and retired executives, says Richard Swart, chief strategy officer for NextGen Crowdfunding in the Los Angeles area.

"That's the secret sauce of Silicon Valley," says Swart. "You have thousands of people actively involved in building companies."

6. Infrastructure investment
Bodhi Leaf Coffee Traders is the rare, small business that didn't quite need the full Marcus Lemonis-magic touch to turn its fortunes around. Before it hit The Profit's radar, the California-based, specialty coffee purveyor was actually already in an enviable position: With its popular cafes and wholesale bean business booming, the company was poised for rapid growth. But without a solid inventory system, clear management structure or working capital, owner Steve Sims felt he and his fledgling company wouldn't survive its growing pains. Sims' humble nature and fear of confrontation was also at odds with the continued health of Bodhi -- disastrous family entanglements and a lack of staff meetings ensured communication at the company was in disarray. For Bodhi to continue to be in the black, it needed a captain capable of steering it to success. Fortunately for Sims and and his staff, Marcus saw the value in Bodhi's brand of specialty coffee and decided to invest. "I feel like I had grown the business as far as I could with my own resources and capital that I had," says Sims of his decision to work with Marcus. "And I feel like I had kinda hit a wall. And we were profitable.  And I knew we were scalable."

Coffee was uncharted territory for Sims, a former real estate flipper who fell on hard times when the market crashed in 2009. What began as a low stakes gamble on Sumatran "green" (or raw) beans slowly led Sims to morph Bodhi Leaf from a modest coffee importer to a specialty bean wholesaler with two popular California cafes. With sales in excess of six million per year and 2017 revenue projected to hit nearly $6.5 million, Bodhi's possibilities for expansion were promising -- and Marcus took notice. But a quick internal survey of the business revealed managerial and organizational cracks in Bodhi's facade. Jeff, Sims' sales manager (and also his wife's cousin), was not only masquerading as 'Vice President' to clients, but also overstepping his bounds and ordering Bodhi's employees around. The issue, brought forcibly to light and subsequently remedied by Marcus, wasn't enough to force Jeff from the company. That is until both Marcus and Sims realized Jeff had struck a disproportionately costly deal with a bean farm run by his girlfriend. "It had been something that had been brewing with myself and the team for years," says Sims of the difficult decision to fire Jeff. " It wasn't the right fit."

Once Marcus solved Bodhi's underwhelming sales issue, he turned his attention to the company's other glaring flaw: inventory. By modernizing the warehouse, properly tracking purchases electronically and, as one employee put it, "plugging in formulas to make sure that we were covering our costs," Marcus ensured that Bodhi could now meet the demand that had previously threatened to overwhelm the business and Sims. "In the past, I couldn't buy enough coffee," says Sims. "I sold more coffee than I could buy. Now with Marcus I'm able to buy enough coffee to grow and take this company to other levels.  Because of Marcus, we definitely have the proper inventory which was always a big struggle for us." With Bodhi's operations in order, Marcus made one final, but crucial (and somewhat controversial) change to the brand. Seizing on the local community allure of high-end coffee, The Profit's 'Turnaround King' sought to expand Bodhi's cafes and wholesale operations to Chicago under a new, more approachable brand that toted Sims, with his fiery, ZZ Top-ish beard, as its mascot: Redbeard. Sims initially bristled at the idea: "I want to be that humble guy. I don't want to be someone coming across as arrogant." But once he and the team got a glimpse of the design and marketing efforts Marcus had executed in Chicago, they quickly warmed to this new, regional brand banner.
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by Staff reporter

One of the country's decorated liberation war icons, retired Air Vice Marshal Henry Muchena, is entangled in an acrimonious divorce with his wife of 31 years, who is claiming in court papers that the ex-Zanla fighter has abandoned his family and moved in with a "mistress" who used to be his subordinate while he was still in service, the Daily News reported.According to the High Court papers, Muchena who retired from the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) in June 2010 to join the Zanu-PF commissariat department as principal director, effective January 2011, is the one who filed the application, claiming that the marriage with Mildred Muchena, nee Ndunduma, had irretrievably broken down.He told the court that the two customarily married in August 1986, before the marriage was solemnised in terms of the Marriage Act (Chapter 5:11) on December 19, 1987."The marriage between the parties has broken down irretrievably and there are no prospects of the restoration of a normal marriage relationship . . .," Muchena said, adding that they have not lived together as husband and wife since 1999.During the subsistence of their marriage, Muchena said that they acquired a Toyota Landcruiser, household goods, a residential property at number 51 Newstead Road, Marlborough, Harare and Seruwi Drift Farm.However, Mildred, in her summary of evidence said the challenges in their marriage began when Muchena started dating a subordinate, which she became aware of in 1999.During that time, she said Muchena started commuting between his matrimonial home and his mistress' residence, adding that the mistress would harass her through abusive phone calls.Her appeals to Muchena to censor his mistress failed to yield results, the court heard, before he totally moved out of the matrimonial home.She said she thought the affair was a passing phase but was shocked to receive divorce summons."She will testify that the affair coincided with the plaintiff (Muchena) starting to neglect his family to an extent that the parties' child who had been sent to Cyprus for tertiary education could not finish her course as plaintiff had not paid her fees, a development which stressed the child immensely."The child had to return to Zimbabwe and still owes the Cyprus institution some money and she has since registered herself for a degree through Zimbabwe Open University where she is self-funding," Mildred said.She further told the court that when Muchena left the matrimonial home, he took all the motor vehicles to an extent that she and the children started using public transport, while her husband's mistress and son were allowed free access to the cars."She will testify that the assets of the parties ought to be equally shared, particularly given the plaintiff's gross marital misconduct in embarking on an affair, ill-treating her and the children by making inadequate provision for their well-being, frittering away income that would have accrued to the family by renting northern suburb houses for the mistress' accommodation, failing to pay the children's fees and generally failing to treat the family with the love and compassion as is expected amongst family members," Mildred said.She said she retired from the City of Harare in September 2016, without receiving her terminal benefits and is diabetic, has high blood pressure and has also been diagnosed with breast cancer.When she retired, she said that she had not been paid for eight months and is currently relying on $180 that she receives from Nssa on a monthly basis, adding that the money is not adequate for her upkeep, medical fees and rates.She said she requires $500 as contribution towards her maintenance and $250 each for their two children."She will dispute the plaintiff's pleas of poverty and will point out that plaintiff operates a farm, which is supposed to be a commercial venture and that he gets income there from."In addition, he sits on various remunerative boards where he receives regular board fees in addition to receiving a salary from his employment with the ruling party. His pension is therefore a small part of his income," she said.She contested the list of property by Muchena, claiming the listed assets were not the only assets they acquired during the subsistence of their marriage.She demanded the Marlborough and Gweru properties, a Nissan Hardbody, Mercedes Benz E200, Mercedes Benz C200 and that they share equally the Glen Lorne property.The matter was brought for a pre-trial conference before High Court judge Erica Ndewere on Monday.Muchena is one of the ex-combatants who distinguished themselves during the war of liberation that ended with the attainment of independence from Britain in April 1980.He was a Zanla combatant, who joined the Zimbabwe National Army at independence, and later transferred to AFZ, where he served until his retirement in June 2010.One of his major highlights in his illustrious career in the force was his appointment as Air Vice Marshal in 2002.Upon retiring from active military service, Muchena was appointed principal director in the Zanu-PF commissariat department, with responsibility of revamping the ruling party's structures.Soon after the 2013 polls, unverified reports suggest that the old guard in the commissariat section were shunted aside, hence Muchena, along with other veterans, have been floating at the Zanu-PF headquarters with no specific mandate.Muchena currently serves on several boards, among them Zimpost and the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.He is the latest in a list of Zanu-PF bigwigs to be embroiled in an acrimonious divorce with their wives.Zanu-PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo and his wife, Sibonokuhle Getrude Moyo, had a nasty divorce that ended their 32-year marriage, which they agreed had irretrievably broken down.The decree of divorce was granted by Harare High Court judge Justice Ben Hlatshwayo after both parties accepted that their relationship had broken down to an extent that there were no prospects for the restoration of a normal marriage.Former deputy Finance minister David Chapfika is also divorcing his wife of over 32 years, Abina (nee Mutimusakwa), who is accusing Zanu-PF Mutoko South Member of Parliament of being a womaniser, who was threatening her with "bloodshed" if she went public with the issue.Home Affairs minister Ignatius Chombo also divorced his former wife Marian, who has since fallen on hard times and cannot afford to pay back a long-standing debt to CBZ Bank after she was declared "a person of no means".Other high-profile divorce cases that spilled into the public domain in recent years include that of Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander Constantino Chiwenga, who divorced his ex-wife Jocelyn (nee Mauchaza).Former Environment minister Francis Nhema also divorced his wife of 20 years, Louise Sehlule, who was daughter to revered liberation war hero, Joshua Nkomo.
Investors should not be put off by the price volatility for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum because these digital assets are still very new and offer nearly unparalleled returns, experts told CNBC.

On Tuesday, ethereum's price fell below $200 for the first time since May 30; the cryptocurrency has fallen more than 50 percent since hitting an all-time high of over $400 in early June. Meanwhile in May, a price correction for bitcoin wiped off nearly $4 billion in its market value.

Bobby Lee, CEO of Chinese bitcoin exchange BTCC, told CNBC the gyration in prices was normal as the true value for these assets have yet to be discovered.

"It's not a problem," he said on the sidelines of the Rise conference in Hong Kong. "If you think about it, the volatility is natural for an asset class that is so new. There's no price discovery for it (yet)."

He explained as people have yet to discover the true value of an asset like bitcoin, they tend to trade them at a certain, discounted level before the market realizes it could be worth more and then the price jumps.

Cryptocurrencies are partly becoming more popular because countries and companies are taking a closer look at the technology that underpins them: blockchain. Japan, for example, approved bitcoin as a legal payment method in April.

"We're now sort of at ... a tipping point, where people are now considering bitcoin or ethereum or digital assets as more mainstream," Dave Chapman, managing director of Hong Kong-based commodities and digital assets trading house Octagon Strategy, told CNBC. "A lot of the people that we service are actually very comfortable with having 1 percent of their net worth into bitcoin or ethereum."
Donald Trump Jr. (L) gives a thumbs up beside his father Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (R) after Trump's debate against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, September 26, 2016.

Donald Trump Jr. said Tuesday that he did not tell his father about a meeting with a Russian lawyer that now appears to be a major part of questions about whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election.

In an interview on Fox News' "Hannity," Trump Jr. denied telling his father about the June 2016 meeting with attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya.

"No. It was just a nothing. There was nothing to tell," Trump said. "I mean, I wouldn't have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame."

Trump Jr. on Tuesday released a chain of June 2016 emails offering "high level and sensitive information" that would "incriminate" his father's opponent Hillary Clinton. It was characterized as part of "Russia and its government's support" for his father's presidential campaign.

"If it's what you say I love it," Trump said in part of his response to the possible information.

The email exchange was with Rob Goldstone, a music publicist who worked with a Russian musician who has ties to President Donald Trump. The younger Trump said he released the emails "in order to be totally transparent," though The New York Times said it was about to report on details of the emails before Trump shared them.

The meeting matters because a special counsel and congressional committees are investigating Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin. The probe has dogged and frustrated the president since he took office, and he has denied colluding with Russia.

On Tuesday, Trump Jr. said that, "in retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently." He added that he wanted to "hear" the offer but it "went nowhere and it was apparent that wasn't what the meeting was actually about."

"Honestly, my take away when all of this was going on, is that someone has information on our opponent," he said on "Hannity." "Things are going a million miles per hour. You know what it's like to be on a campaign. We just won Indiana, but we're talking about a contested convention. Things are going a million miles per hour again and hey, wait a minute, I've heard about all these things, but maybe this is something, I should hear him out."

Trump Jr. previously said that Veselnitskaya really wanted to discuss the Magnitsky Act, an American law meant to punish Russian human rights violators that Russian President Vladimir Putin has opposed. He added Tuesday that he "shut it down" when he realized she would not offer useful information on Clinton.

President Trump's legal team has denied that he knew about the meeting or attended it.

Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign manager Paul Manafort also attended the meeting. The younger Trump has said they did not know anything about the "substance" of the meeting, but both were forwarded the email chain that Trump shared on Tuesday.

Trump Jr. said Tuesday that Kushner left the meeting "after a few minutes" and that Manafort was on his phone "pretty much" the entire time.

"In the end, there was probably some bait and switch" about the topic of the meeting, Trump said.

Trump added that there was no follow-up on the offer and added that he has said "everything" about the incident. He said that he has "probably" met with other people from Russia but not in a "formalized" setting.

Trump said he is "more than happy" to cooperate with investigators and aims to be transparent. His story has gradually evolved since the meeting was first reported, and he has acknowledged different parts of the story after they were revealed publicly.
Britain's exit from the European Union has not only revitalized current members but it has also inspired countries outside of the bloc to apply for membership, the International Monetary Fund's managing director, Christine Lagarde told CNBC Tuesday.

"It's quite fascinating to see this sort of parallel track of those existing members of the EU suddenly being revitalized, rejuvenated and re-encouraged in the face of what they regarded as the adversity of one member wanting to jump ship," Lagarde said on Tuesday.

Britain narrowly voted to leave the EU in a referendum on June 23 last year, an event that shocked financial markets as well as commentators across the globe. Meanwhile, formal talks between the U.K. and EU's negotiators kicked off in June this year shortly after British Prime Minister Theresa May failed to increase her parliamentary majority in a snap general election.

British and EU leaders now have just over a year and a half to negotiate and agree a deal, which will then go to a vote before the European Parliament.

When asked whether countries such as Serbia and Montenegro  both of whom are hoping to become members of the EU  could endanger the future of the bloc, Lagarde stressed the EU had been reinvigorated by the Brexit vote.
New York became the first state in the U.S. to offer its residents tuition-free attendance at public four-year colleges and universities and community college through the Excelsior Scholarship program.

Paul J. Richards | Getty Images

A growing group of states across the nation are offering to pay the tuition costs for college students. In April, New York became the first state in the United States to offer its residents tuition-free attendance at public four-year colleges and universities and community college when the state legislature approved the Excelsior Scholarship program. In May, Tennessee lawmakers gave final approval to Tennessee Reconnect, making community college across the state tuition-free for adults over 24  as it has been for high school graduates in state since 2014. could be the next to join the ranks: In April state lawmakers introduced the Degrees Not Debt scholarship. A $1.5 billion program to be phased in over five years, Degrees Not Debt would make money available to University of California and Cal State University undergraduates who already qualify for need-based aid but struggle paying non-tuition expenses, such as books, transportation and housing. The projected impact in the state, where roughly half of students graduate with student loan debt, was 392,000 students.

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The scholarship was one piece of a larger Degrees Not Debt budget package designed to make paying for college easier. But the budget act that the California State Assembly approved in mid-June did not include the scholarship  nor a proposal to make the first year of community colleges free for all full-time students. "The Degrees Not Debt scholarship is part of a multiyear plan," said Terry Schanz, spokesperson for Democratic Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, who chairs the state legislature's budget subcommittee on education finance. "There was never going to be a budget allocation this year." So what did California do? Set aside $96 million to preserve the Middle Class Scholarship, a program introduced in 2013 to help pay up to 40 percent of tuition and fees for UC and CSU students from families whose annual incomes do not exceed $156,000. It also made $50 million available in supplemental grant money for full-time community college students to help them pay non-tuition costs, like housing and transportation.

Lending a helping hand

"They're all, at least in theory, working toward a common goal: to move toward some level of free public college education. What they're doing are these little, incremental stabs at it," said Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor of higher-education policy and sociology at Temple University and someone who has argued that U.S. students should get two years' free college at any public college or university. Indeed, most of these programs are not so much free tuition programs as they are grants to cover last-dollar costs, or the remaining amount in tuition and fees not already paid for through other federal and state aid programs. The programs enacted by Tennessee and New York this spring are the most comprehensive but differ in several ways.

They're all, at least in theory, working toward a common goal: to move toward some level of free public college education. What they're doing are these little, incremental stabs at it. Sara Goldrick-Rab professor of higher-education policy and sociology at Temple University

While Tennessee's programs don't take income into consideration, the aid administered through New York's Excelsior Scholarship is restricted by income. In its first year, the scholarship program will be available to students with household incomes that don't exceed $100,000. By 2019, students from families that make up to $125,000 will be eligible to attend all State University of New York and City University of New York colleges tuition-free.

Critics speak out

New York has budgeted $87 million for the first year of the Excelsior Scholarship, or enough to cover tuition costs for 22,000 students. The office of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo estimates some 940,000 families with college-age students will be eligible for the scholarship program by 2019. There are caveats to receiving the scholarship: A student must be enrolled full-time, take at least 30 credits a year and live and work in the state for the same number of years they attended college. The work and residency requirement kicks in after students graduate, and if students leave the state too early, the scholarship grants they've received turn into loans they have to repay.

Blend Images | Agency Collection | Getty Images

The idea of states dipping into their own coffers to help residents pay for college has critics from both sides of the political spectrum. Mary Clare Reim, an education policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, has written that New York's Excelsior Scholarship "will likely lead to further increases in the cost of higher education," which are then shifted onto taxpayers instead of students. Goldrick-Rab has also been critical of key provisions of the Excelsior Scholarship. The requirement to take 30 credits a year, she said, puts low-income students at a disadvantage, since they oftentimes have to juggle academic and job responsibilities simultaneously. The live-work requirement is also troublesome, she said. What happens to a New York college graduate who can only find work in northern New Jersey or manages to find a job in New York City but can only afford to live in northern New Jersey?

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"Everybody in this country benefits when a student finishes college, because they pay taxes to the federal government. This is incentivizing unemployment," she said. For California, when it comes to higher education, the questions to consider are different from New York's. It's already one of the most generous states in the nation when it comes to picking up the cost of tuition and fees for college students. The state's Middle Class Scholarship has offered 190,000 grants in its three-year existence, and the larger, Cal Grant program, for lower-income students, has distributed close to $2 billion in aid to nearly 330,000 students since 2006.

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"Data is the new oil," claimed Mani Iyer, CEO of India auto manufacturing giant Mahindra at the recent SelectUSA Investment Summit. "We must explore and refine it," he said at the conference, hosted through a program of the Department of Commerce that focuses on foreign direct investment.

One of the biggest challenges in the site-selection process is researching which communities will best meet a company's requirements, now and into the future. In selecting locations for their expansions or relocations, companies examine a plethora of factors, including workforce, taxes, utility rates, transportation, logistics, supply chain and quality of life.

"Undeniably, ensuring the availability of a skilled workforce is the most important requirement for today's companies," said Frank Cuevas, vice president of real estate strategy and operations for IBM. The IBM executive often looks for a strong university pipeline to ensure the long-term viability of the communities he considers for the tech giant.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, asked the U.S. administration on Tuesday how the Russian lawyer who met President Donald Trump's son in New York in June 2016 was allowed to enter the United States.

Grassley, in a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, said U.S. permission for the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, to travel to the United States had been set to expire on Jan. 7, 2016, and her request for an extension had been denied, Grassley's office said in a statement.
Then-candidate Donald Trump made American jobs a hyper-politicized issue, and even though unemployment is low, it's still big news when Carrier lays off workers in Indiana or when Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn eyes Midwestern states to possibly create thousands of new jobs.

States and localities spend aggressively to lure private investment: one academic study estimated $70 billion per year  and that was before the Great Recession prompted some governors and mayors to double down on tax-break offers.

About half the states have enacted special tax breaks for data centers, also known as "server farms," where the cloud of computing data resides. When we examined 11 incentive packages given to data centers for some of the nation's most prominent internet companies (Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon Web Services), we found costs of almost $2 million per job.
Germany's Trivago is benefiting from a "talent drain" in the U.S., as Europe now appears to be a viable competitor for tech talent, according to company co-founder Rolf Schromgens.

Schromgens observed that perceptions of the U.S., including those potentially colored by President Donald Trump's ban on immigrants from some predominantly-Muslim countries, have helped his Europe-based business recruit.

"We see that we, as a company based in Europe, we are way more attractive now for talents from all over the world, including talents from the U.S., and so our numbers of applicants from the U.S. have doubled in the first quarter from the quarter in the year before," he said.
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If there is one thing Americans can agree on these days, it is that our infrastructure is a mess. Less clear is what to do about it. President Donald Trump has proposed using $200 billion in federal money to leverage $1 trillion in state and private spending on roads, bridges, airports and the like. But so far, the administration has sketched only a broad outline. Congress has shown little interest in the idea, and opponents call it woefully inadequate. Meanwhile, the states are hanging on every development, and our annual America's Top States for Business study finds some need more help than others. Our Infrastructure category, worth 400 of our 2,500 total points, uses government data to grade the roads, bridges, ports, airports, rail systems and utilities in all 50 states. These are the states that we find need the most work.

10. (tie) Massachusetts

Heavy traffic on a Thursday in Boston, Massachusetts. Jim Davis | The Boston Globe | Getty Images

Spend a morning trying to get to work in Boston and you will know exactly what we are talking about. Commuting times in the Bay State are among the longest in the country. All that traffic is taking a toll not just on drivers' nerves but also on Massachusetts' aging bridges, with 483 deemed "structurally deficient." Also aging: the state's water utilities. The price tag to fix them is not getting any smaller. Voters will decide next year on a constitutional amendment that would impose a 4 percent "millionaire's tax," with part of the proceeds going toward infrastructure. But opponents say the tax would make the state less competitive, returning it to its "Tax-achusetts" past. 2017 Infrastructure score: 150 out of 400 points

Roads in mediocre or poor condition: 42 percent

Deficient bridges: 9.3 percent

Average commute to work: 28.7 minutes

20-year water system needs: $7.7 billion

10. (tie) Mississippi

Gulfport Harbor with cargo containers on dock waiting for transport on a typical weekday in the evening. Getty Images

Among those hanging the most hope on the Trump administration's stalled infrastructure proposal is Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, who has submitted $7 billion worth of projects to be considered if the plan gets off the ground. They include improvements in and around the Port of Gulfport. It is already the third busiest container port on the Gulf of Mexico, but officials see even greater potential for the facility as a hub not only for shipments of goods, like liquefied natural gas, but also military troops and equipment from bases in the region. But beyond the port, the state will likely have to kick in a sizable chunk of its own money to address a growing list of needs. Roads and bridges are deteriorating, and airline service is limited. 2017 Infrastructure score: 150 out of 400 points

Roads in mediocre or poor condition: 51 percent

Deficient bridges: 12.3 percent

Average commute to work: 24.1 minutes

20-year water system needs: $3.7 billion

8. Maryland

Steam rises after a steam pipe explosion on Tuesday, June 20, 2017, in Baltimore, Md. Kenneth K. Lam | The Baltimore Sun | AP

Living in and around Baltimore means having to put up with almost daily disruptions, like a steam pipe explosion on June 20 that injured five people and snarled downtown traffic for days. Incidents like that and the sorry state of Maryland's roads help explain why the state ties with New York for America's longest commutes. The Port of Baltimore is in the midst of a boom, and the state has purchased additional land to expand it. But the state still finishes in the bottom half for the value of goods it ships. 2017 Infrastructure score: 145 out of 400 points

Roads in mediocre or poor condition: 55 percent

Deficient bridges: 5.8 percent

Average commute to work: 32.3

20-year water system needs: $6.9 billion

7. West Virginia

A section of road collapsed along State Route 4 on June 25, 2016 outside of Queen Scholls, West Virginia. Getty Images

Among the casualties of the Mountain State's bruising budget battle this summer was Gov. Jim Justice's plan to fund major infrastructure projects through increases in gasoline taxes and license fees. The legislature did approve some infrastructure funding, but nothing close to the governor's proposal, in an austerity budget aimed at solving the state's fiscal crisis. Whether or not it works, the bills to fix the crumbling state will continue to pile up. West Virginia has some of America's worst roads and bridges. And with the painful decline of the coal industry, the volume of goods shipped from the state has fallen sharply. 2017 Infrastructure score: 144 out of 200 points

Roads in mediocre or poor condition: 47 percent

Deficient bridges: 17.3 percent

Average commute to work: 25.6 minutes

20-year water system needs: $1.2 billion

6. New York

Traffic delays and construction at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York has resulted in massive inconvenience and missed flights for many airline passengers. Robert Cicchetti | Getty Images

There is bipartisan agreement on this: New York's LaGuardia Airport is like something out of a third-world country  words used by both President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden to cast the facility as a symbol of the nation's infrastructure crisis. These days, LaGuardia is more like something out of 1990s post-unification Berlin. It is a giant construction zone in the midst of a $4 billion redevelopment. It is one of several major infrastructure projects under way in New York State, touted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as tickets to revitalization. But big projects like these take time  LaGuardia's renovation won't be complete until 2020, for example. In the meantime, the Empire State remains plagued by crumbling roads and bridges, numbingly long commutes, water utilities in crisis and, yes, third-world airports. 2017 Infrastructure score: 140 out of 400 points

Roads in mediocre or poor condition: 60 percent

Deficient bridges: 11 percent

Average commute to work: 32.3 minutes

20-year water system needs: $22 billion

5. New Jersey

Evening commuters wait for New Jersey Transit trains at Penn Station April 4, 2017 in New York City. New Jersey Transit, Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road trains were all running on limited schedules Tuesday evening. Getty Images

New Yorkers can at least take solace in the fact that things are slightly worse in New Jersey. But the Garden State is also taking steps to address its infrastructure problems. Outgoing Gov. Chris Christie pushed through a gas tax increase to fund an additional $400 million a year in road repairs. It can't come a moment too soon, as the state deals with the consequences of previous underinvestment in infrastructure. Some New York City employers are telling their New Jersey employees to work from home over the summer while track repairs in the only rail tunnel under the Hudson River snarl traffic. Deteriorating roads are not much of an alternative. 2017 Infrastructure score: 139 out of 400 points

Roads in mediocre or poor condition: 66 percent

Deficient bridges: 9 percent

Average commute to work: 31 minutes

20-year water system needs: $7.9 billion

4. Connecticut

Traffic along southbound Interstate 95 in New Haven, Conn. Arnold Gold | New Haven Register | AP

And it's a clean sweep for the tri-state area. All three states in the New York City metropolitan area rank among the bottom for infrastructure, and Connecticut is worst of all. The Constitution State ties with Illinois for the worst roads in the nation. And unlike Connecticut's northeast neighbors, it does not have a viable plan to fix them. The legislature has funded only the first few years of "Let's GO CT!," a 30-year, $100 billion highway plan introduced by Gov. Dannel Malloy in 2015. And the prospects for lawmakers coming up with additional money don't look good, as the state deals with an onslaught of budget demands, including growing pension obligations. 2017 Infrastructure score: 132 out of 400 points

Roads in mediocre or poor condition: 73 percent

Deficient bridges: 8 percent

Average commute to work: 25.4 minutes

20-year water system needs: $3.6 billion

3. Maine

Signs direct motorists away from the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge in Portsmouth, N.H. Gregory Rec | Portland Press Herald | Getty Images

The state is finally replacing the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge, which carries Interstate 95 between Kittery, Maine; and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but not before the 77-year-old lift bridge became stuck several times  in the up position, the down position and various positions in between. The bridge is just one of many infrastructure issues plaguing Maine, the Pine Tree State. Roads and bridges by and large are in poor condition; the availability of air travel is limited; there is little rail service to speak of. If a Mainer tells you, "You can't get there from here," he may really mean it. 2017 Infrastructure score: 108 out of 400 points

Roads in mediocre or poor condition: 53 percent

Deficient bridges: 14.4 percent

Average commute to work: 23.6 minutes

20-year water system needs: $1.2 billion

2. New Hampshire

Traffic moves around road construction work on Interstate 93 in Hookset, N.H. Jim Cole | AP

Interstate 93, which connects Manchester to the northern suburbs of Boston, is a constant headache, plagued by bottlenecks. The idea of widening it dates back to the 1980s, when Gov. Chris Sununu's father John was in office. Back then, estimates put the project at around $200 million. Now that it is finally getting done, it is costing at least four times that amount. The highway is just one example of the massive cost to the Granite State of waiting to deal with its infrastructure. Gov. Sununu and the legislature have agreed to use part of New Hampshire's budget surplus to begin dealing with the roads, and to tap into a state reserve fund to begin fixing the water infrastructure. The state has a lot of catching up to do. 2017 Infrastructure score: 105 out of 400 points

Roads in mediocre or poor condition: 54 percent

Deficient bridges: 12.2 percent

Average commute to work: 26.9 minutes

20-year water system needs: $835 million

1. Rhode Island

Crews work at the scene of a train derailment Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Providence, R.I., where a tank car carrying several thousand gallons of ethanol left the tracks and ended up on an adjacent roadway. Matt O'Brien | AP
Colorado is another great example of state government, community colleges and local corporations working together to proactively address workforce changes. Colorado's statewide community college system is among the leaders in the idea of sector partnerships, creating the framework for industry-driven alignment across economic development, workforce development and education.

At WorkingNation we have found that when a local government-employer-educator relationship occurs to address a skills gap, great things can result in that community. Employers are the best source of real-time data on local, in-demand occupations. They have the ability  and we believe the responsibility  to partner with local community colleges to create and maintain a healthy talent pool.

The next step will be to scale and implement these programs in every state, at every community college, for every industry across the country.

The states that do this now will have more successful businesses and more successful workers.

 By Art Bilger, founder and CEO of WorkingNation

More from Top States:

Complete coverage of the states and the issues

10 best states in America to find a job

10 smartest states in America
In Indiana we're building a government that's designed to serve business. That's because in Indiana, businesses receive more than a location  they receive an ally and a partner in their mission to operate, add jobs and grow.

Travel across the Hoosier state, and you'll quickly discover incredible stories of companies growing because they can access the resources they need to thrive in our state.

A great example is the story of Infosys, an India-based tech firm. Earlier this year, Infosys set a vision to grow their global company into one of the United States' major players tech players. They needed a place that would serve as a strategic partner, providing an ample workforce and a collaborative environment to help train 2,000 new tech workers.

And after a little searching, they found exactly what they needed in Indiana.

Infosys chose Indiana for one of its new U.S. innovation hubs because we quickly responded to their needs. In fact, we were so quick, that our team was on a plane to Infosys' headquarters in India within one week of an invite to visit. We rallied our university and local government partners, and showcased one of the most affordable places in the nation for doing business.
Three-hundred days of sunshine per year certainly helps, but it's not just the beautiful weather and panoramic mountain views that convince companies to relocate. It's a combination of Arizona's top-shelf quality of life and the pro-growth environment we've fostered over the past few years to make our state a great place to do business.

Just to name three:

A highly trained workforce: We know what it takes to train the future. The newest rankings from U.S. News & World Report found that Arizona is home to the top three public high schools in the country . We're making major investments in our universities, too, including a $1 billion financing package that will allow them to make critical research infrastructure improvements to stay ahead of the competition.



We also announced an initiative last year to equip at least 60 percent of adults in our state with a certificate or degree by the year 2030 so Arizonans they have the tools they need to succeed in our quickly-changing economy. With Arizona State University being ranked the most innovative university in the U.S. for two years in a row now (beating out MIT and Stanford), you know we're on the right track and moving forward fast.





A 21st-century government: Some states have a regulatory system that reacts to innovation; in Arizona, we anticipate and embrace it so that new technologies have to catch up with legislation instead of the other way around. Whether that's an executive order paving the way for research into self-driving technology or a revamp of our revenue system to make home-sharing easier, we're always looking forward so that entrepreneurs can do what they do best without running into an unnecessary bureaucratic speed bump. It also means eliminating burdensome and outdated regulations already on the books, which is why we unveiled " Regulation Rollback " in January with the goal of soliciting input about which regulations to cut and then eliminating 500 by the end of this year.




Recently, we adopted an amendment to our Constitution which cements our status as a right to work state. By telling companies that they cannot deny employment to someone because of union membership, or because of a lack thereof, we are sending a strong message to businesses that we want to create an atmosphere in which they can be successful. This common-sense approach puts all workers on an even playing field and gives companies confidence that they can hire the best available workers. This policy has allowed us to attract automobile manufactures to a state once known for its steel industry.

More from Top States:

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Governors take a stand for their states

To be a top-state for businesses, we must attract top-businesses; that requires incentives. In Alabama, we understand that incentives encourage businesses to come to our state or to increase the investment they already have here. My first major legislative push as governor was the Alabama Jobs Act. This bill, which I have since signed into law, made it clear that our state would invest in businesses which are willing to invest in us and in our people. This is part of the process of building relationships, thereby attracting new economic investment because business leaders feel comfortable with our state and because they know we value them and want them in Alabama. Our state is becoming a hub of investment for the aerospace industry because of our approach.

Once a company comes to Alabama, it can rest assured that we are a top-state for business because we are committed to cutting unnecessary regulation which increases its costs to operate. This year, our legislature passed several pieces of legislation which easies the regulatory burden on those who seek to create jobs in our state. From clarifying workman's compensation laws, to making sure that small businesses don't have to pay licensing fees in multiple municipalities. My goal is to make it easier to operate a business in Alabama, not make it harder. A positive business environment limits government overreach, making it easier to run a company here.
Apple Inc on Wednesday said it is setting up its first data center in China, in partnership with a local internet services company, to comply with tougher cybersecurity laws introduced last month.

The U.S. technology company said it will build the center in the southern province of Guizhou with data management firm Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry Co Ltd (GCBD).

An Apple spokesman in Shanghai told Reuters the center is part of a planned $1 billion investment into the province.

"The addition of this data center will allow us to improve the speed and reliability of our products and services while also complying with newly passed regulations," Apple said in a statement to Reuters.

"These regulations require cloud services be operated by Chinese companies so we're partnering with GCBD to offer iCloud," it said, referring to its online data storage service.

Apple is the first foreign firm to announce amendments to its data storage for China following the implementation of a new cybersecurity law on June 1 that requires foreign firms to store data within the country.

Overseas business groups said the law's strict data surveillance and storage requirements are overly vague, burdening the firms with excessive compliance risks and threatening proprietary data.

Authorities say the law is not designed to put foreign firms at a disadvantage and was drafted in reaction to the threat of cyber attacks and terrorism.

Apple also said it had strong data privacy and security protections in place.

"No backdoors will be created into any of our systems," it said. In April, China also announced a law requiring businesses transferring over 1,000 gigabytes of data outside China to undergo yearly security reviews, with potential blocks on exporting economic, technological and scientific data.



Earlier this week, Apple said it planned to open a new data center in Denmark. An earlier center in the country, announced in 2015, will come online this year, it said.

The new laws come as Chinese cloud firms are expanding rapidly in foreign markets. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has 17 data centers across China, the United States, Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Other foreign firms that oversee cloud businesses, including Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp , already have data centers in China.

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What social class are you in?

If you are like most Americans, you will probably say "middle class." In a recent Pew survey, almost nine in 10 Americans did, and about half of Americans said they were "middle middle" class. Only 2 percent acknowledge that they're "upper class."

How is that possible? How far does the middle stretch?

If you have a household income above around $120,000, you are in the top fifth of the distribution. If you're above $200,000, you're in the top tenth. Would you still say you're in the middle?

It has long been this way. America's self-image is of a middle-class nation, unburdened by either a lumpen proletariat working class or an aristocratic upper class. Drawing class distinctions seems almost un-American. Racial divides have been more vivid, and with good reason.

Even George Orwell noted the lack of "servile tradition" in America. British historian David Cannadine described the U.S. as "the pioneering and prototypical classless society." Inspired, politicians in other countries have often urged the creation of a "classless" society.

But America's "classless" society is in danger, thanks in large part to the actions of the upper middle class, or top 20 percent.
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Despite recent volatility in the price of oil, the CEO of BP believes the market is currently balanced and production is meeting demand on a daily basis. "I think everyone uses the word balanced and they forget that it means different things to different people. To me, it means on a daily basis production and demand is equal. So on a daily basis, the market is balanced, it's just the inventory levels in the world that are so high," Bob Dudley, chief executive officer of BP told CNBC on Wednesday. related investing news We're buying more shares of this oil stock in the wake of sliding crude prices Oil prices were higher on Wednesday after a drop in U.S. fuel inventories and a cut in the U.S. government's forecast for output in 2018. The commodity moved lower on Tuesday after reports that Saudi Arabia had produced above its output gap. In June, oil reached a 7-month low on a bearish U.S. inventory report.

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The current flow of data has led to an ongoing volatility. According to Dudley, markets need to stop taking into account data on a weekly basis. "You can't do it weekly, which is what the market is doing, particularly focusing on the U.S. inventory levels," he added. Brent was up by 1.5 percent being sold at $48.27 and WTI jumped 1.7 percent being sold at $45.83. BP's Dudley told CNBC that the company will plan for an average of $50 a barrel in the next five years, but as it puts its books in order, it will only need a crude price of $30 a barrel to cover spending and dividends. "For us, we're going to plan around ($)50 for five years, get the discipline and the capital discipline in place, get our costs down and we will get our break-evens well into the 30s," he said. BP is trying to raise output and keeping capital spending at no more than $17 billion to shore up its position after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP shares were up by 1.9 percent on Wednesday morning.

Output cut extended?

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Dursun Aydemir | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The European Union has warned the U.K. government that it needs to accept an exit bill before Brexit talks can progress. It is a question of "trust" and "responsibility" to accept that the U.K. has to settle the accounts before it departs from the bloc, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Wednesday, just days before the second round of Brexit talks takes place. "I am not hearing any whistling, just a clock ticking," Barnier told journalists in Brussels, drawing the U.K.'s attention to the fact that it only has until March of 2019 to agree on a future relationship with the EU. His comments were also in direct response to words from the U.K.'s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. On Tuesday, Johnson said in the U.K. Parliament that European leaders could "go whistle" if they expect the U.K. to pay a large Brexit divorce bill. The exit bill has been one of the most controversial subjects following the U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union. Brussels wants the U.K. to pay for the financial commitments it made as a member of the EU, but in London, officials are reluctant to give any more to the EU as they want to claim financial and legislative independence from the member bloc.

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"Thousands of programs, thousands of commitments, a joint commitment, a neutral commitment between the U.K. and the 27 others  What happens with those agreements, they're throughout Europe; they're all over the place. What happens to them  That's a question of trust," Barnier explained, referring to the importance of closing the accounts. "It's not a punishment, it's not revenge  It's simply settling accounts. It's not easy and it might be expensive but any separation means settling accounts, no more, no less, we aren't asking the U.K. for a single euro or a single pound more than they have legally undertaken providing." London and Brussels have to agree on the terms for calculating the bill but early estimates have indicated that this could be between 60 billion euros ($68.92 billion) and 100 billion euros ($114 billion).

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But there's more at stake. The EU has complained that the U.K. government hasn't been clear about citizens' rights nor about the issue of the Irish border. All of these subjects are crucial and are to be agreed on at the same time, otherwise the EU will not discuss how both could work in the future. "The sooner we receive clarification on the British positions on the topics, that we haven't heard from them on, the better." Barnier said that his team is ready to work day and night, weekends and holidays if necessary, but it first needs to know where the U.K. government stands. The government led by Prime Minister Theresa May has made an initial proposal on citizens' rights but the EU has complained that it does not go far enough. It doesn't provide the same level of reciprocity to EU citizens' living in the U.K. compared to the British living in other European countries, Barnier said. "Quite frankly it's not really in my nature or in my philosophy to try and push our partners across the table to the edge. Particularly not on this specific topic of citizens' rights," Barnier said. "I hope we will find an intelligent solution to this at least on the principle of reciprocity," he added.

Moody's raises prospects of a no deal
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President Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI pledged independence during a high-stakes Senate hearing Wednesday that follows former FBI Director James Comey's accusation that Trump asked him for loyalty. "If I am given the honor of leading this agency, I will never allow the FBI's work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period. Full stop." FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Wray is a 50-year-old white-collar lawyer who served as assistant attorney general during the George W. Bush administration. If confirmed, he would take over the bureau at a politically charged time, following the White House's portrayals of the FBI as in disarray and Comey's assertion that the Trump administration lied about the bureau and its agents. Throughout the hearing, several senators stressed the importance of restoring public trust in the FBI. Wray was an assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division from 2003 to 2005. He is currently a litigation partner at King & Spaulding and represented New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the Bridgegate scandal. Trump terminated Comey in May amid a federal probe into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Moscow. Trump later said he ousted Comey while thinking about the "Russia thing."

Loyalty to Trump

Comey testified in June that Trump asked him for loyalty shortly after taking office and later made a statement that Comey interpreted as a request to "drop" an investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn. Trump has denied making those statements. After Comey's ouster, concerns were raised about Trump's potential efforts to interfere with the FBI's independence. An FBI director does not owe a president loyalty. "No one asked me for any kind of loyalty oath at any point during this process and I sure as heck didn't offer one," Wray said in response to a question from Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont. Wray added that he would not give a loyalty oath if asked. Leahy asked what Wray would do if Trump asked him to do anything illegal or unethical. "First, I would try to talk him out of it, and if it failed, I would resign," he said.

Special counsel investigation

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, a special counsel appointed by the Department of Justice, is currently overseeing the federal Russia probe. Wray said he did not talk about Comey's firing with anyone at the White House but did so with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who told him that Mueller was taking over the Russian investigation. Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel in May. Trump has repeatedly called the Russia investigation a "witch hunt" pushed by Democrats. "I do not consider Director Mueller to be on a witch hunt," Wray said in response to a question from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked if Wray would let the Judiciary Committee know if he witnessed or learned of "any efforts to interfere" with Mueller's work. "Assuming that I can do it legally and appropriately, absolutely. I'm very committed to supporting Director Mueller in the special counsel investigation in whatever way is appropriate for me to do that," Wray said. Pressed again by Feinstein, he said he "would consult with the appropriate officials to make sure that I'm not jeopardizing an investigation or anything like that. But I would consider an effort to tamper with Director Mueller's investigation to be unacceptable and inappropriate and it would need to be dealt with very sternly and appropriately, indeed."

Clinton email investigation

In a memo to Trump, Rosenstein criticized Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. The White House initially used Comey's conduct in the investigation as justification for firing the FBI director, but Trump later said he would have fired Comey "regardless." Wray declined repeated requests to say how he would have handled the Clinton case personally. However, he said he could not "imagine" holding a news conference on an individual who had not been prosecuted, as Comey did with Clinton. In July 2016, Comey publicly said that Clinton was "extremely careless" in handling classified information but added that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring charges against her.

Election interference
Gary Cohn as Federal Reserve chairman could add 5 percent to the , CNBC's Jim Cramer said Wednesday.

"He's a practical guy, and I think he's not a theoretical guy. I think he is a guy who understands the labor force better than any of the people I've heard describe it," Cramer said.

A Politico report, citing four sources, said Cohn is President Donald Trump's top choice to succeed Janet Yellen when her term expires in February. Cohn is Trump's National Economic Council director.

CNBC and other media outlets have also been buzzing for months about the possibility of a Cohn appointment.

Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street" that Cohn is not a "cheerleader" but has a quality that makes Wall Streeters feel far more optimistic. Cohn is a "five-hour energy drink" compared with Yellen, Cramer said, adding "he would be worth maybe 5 percent in the S&P."

Before joining the Trump administration, Cohn was the No. 2 executive at investment bank Goldman Sachs . A Cohn appointment would break with a tradition of having an economist as Fed chairman.

Cramer, also a former Goldman alum, said, "I know him from a previous life."

"The guy has had his whole career in finance, and that's what I want," Cramer said. "I would love to have a Fed chief that understood finance in reality."

For its part, the White House told CNBC that Cohn is focused on his responsibilities at the NEC, pointing to recent comments in which Cohn told MSNBC on June 29: "I love my job. Think of the opportunity I have. I have the opportunity to do something that hasn't been done in 30 years, which is reform the U.S. tax code. I have the opportunity to be involved in redoing the United States infrastructure, something that desperately needs to be done. I don't know how many people can sit here and tell you that they have that opportunity."

Cramer spoke about the Cohn speculation ahead of current Fed Chair Yellen's address to Congress on Wednesday.

In prepared remarks, Yellen said rates are close to a "neutral" level and not in need of a significant move higher.
Dubai looks like a weak link in the Arab coalition boycotting Qatar. The sheikhdom's real estate and export sectors are particularly exposed to disruptions which could arise from the bitter dispute in the Gulf region. Unlike other parts of the region, the city has much to lose if its investor-friendly credentials suffer.

Trade and financial transactions with its neighbor have been stopped and direct flights grounded since Saudi Arabia began its campaign to isolate the Qatari economy in June. For its part, Qatar has rejected claims it is funding terrorism, and refused to comply with the 13 demands made by Saudi and its close allies. More sanctions may now be imminent.

Dubai's economy is already on thin ice. Although the emirate  the second largest of seven sheikhdoms in a federation dominated by oil-rich Abu Dhabi  has recorded narrow budget surpluses over the last five years that run is coming to an end. Moody's expects Dubai to record a 2.2 percent budget deficit this year.

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This could be an underestimate, if government revenues are hit by the Qatari crisis. Dubai's main port of Jebel Ali  the largest in the region  has lost business to rivals in Oman because it is now prohibited from shipping goods to Qatar. International businesses which use Dubai as a regional hub are unable to get their workers into Doha. Real estate prices also look vulnerable. Qataris bought over $500 million of property in the emirate last year.

Qatar's best means of retaliation against its detractors is to shut off the undersea pipeline that supplies natural gas to Dubai. Such a move would cause blackouts, or force Dubai's main utility to import more expensive supplies from outside the region.

None of this is a severe blow. Dubai can always fall back on Abu Dhabi, or Saudi Arabia, for financial help  though with oil prices stubbornly below $50 a barrel, those oil-dependent states may be less than thrilled to help. Even so, as a city that has thrived by keeping its politics mostly neutral, and its doors open while neighbours kept theirs closed, Dubai is first in line to share Qatar's pain.



Commentary by Andy Critchlow, Middle East editor at Breakingviews. Follow him on Twitter @baldersdale.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

Harley-Davidson  Bernstein downgraded the motorcycle maker to "market perform" from "outperform," saying demographic studies point to a "long, uphill ride" to sustainable unit growth.

ABM Industries  ABM struck a deal to buy privately held janitorial services rival GCA Services for $1.25 billion in cash and stock. GCA is currently owned by Goldman Sachs and private-equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners.

GrubHub  The food delivery service was upgraded to "outperform" from "market perform" at Cowen, which also increased its price target to $54 per share from $45. Cowen said GrubHub's growth profile and leadership are underappreciated in an improving market.

Fastenal  The industrial and construction supplies maker reported quarterly profit of 52 cents per share, beating estimates by two cents a share. Revenue also topped forecasts and the company said it has been growing well in the face of market headwinds.

Nvidia  SunTrust upgraded the graphics chipmaker's stock to "buy" from "hold" and increased the price target to $177 from $124. SunTrust said the move comes despite a big run up in Nvidia shares over the last 18 months, noting growth opportunities in datacenter, gaming, and automotive markets.

Twitter  Twitter named former Intuit executive Ned Segal as chief financial officer. He'll replace Anthony Noto, who had been serving in that role on an interim basis in addition to his role as chief operating officer.

United Continental  The airline reported that its June revenue passenger miles increased by 3.4 percent.

Wells Fargo  Wells Fargo is selling its share registration business to Britain's Equiniti Group for $227 million. Separately, Reuters reports that the bank has cut back its quarterly auto loan originations by almost 30 percent in the nine months through March 31, and has also begun consolidating its collections operation.

Apple  Apple is setting up its first China data center in the southern province of Guizhou. It is partnering with a local internet services company in a move to comply with new cybersecurity laws introduced last month.

Amazon.com  Amazon said Prime Day was on track to be the biggest sales day in its history, according to the most recent figures.

Symantec  Symantec is mulling the sale of its web certificates business, according to a Reuters report. The maker of anti-virus and other security software could get more than $1 billion for the unit.

Western Digital  The hard disk drive maker won a court order allowing it to access Toshiba databases and semiconductor samples. That order is part of Western Digital's effort to stop its chipmaking partner from selling its chip unit without its permission. Western Digital is one of the bidders for that unit.

Dow Chemical  Dow will sell a portion of its Brazil corn seed business to China's CITIC for $1.1 billion. It's part of Dow's effort to gain the country's approval for its planned merger with DuPont .
British craft brewer BrewDog is likely to lose one of its premium products, with the company losing a lengthy legal battle with the estate of Elvis Presley over the name of one of its beers.

Craft beer is big business in the U.S., with around a fifth of the $107 billion brewing market being made up of independents in 2016. And quirky British company BrewDog has taken a sip of that market, with founders James Watt and Martin Dickie set to launch a brewery in Columbus, Ohio.

The founders also took inspiration from the U.S. by naming one of their beers "Elvis Juice" in 2016. But with Elvis Presley's estate being fiercely protective of anything associated with The King, it wasn't long before lawyers wrote to Watt and Dickie to demand they change its name. The two founders responded by changing their own names to Elvis by deed poll to try to show that the name Elvis is not exclusive to the star.
The FANG group of tech stocks is crushing expectations this year, and a new tech-based exchange traded fund is looking to capitalize on the momentum.

AdvisorShares on Wednesday debuted its New Tech and Media ETF under the ticker FNG . The fund will initially track 28 "disruptive innovators," the company said.

The acronym FANG was created by CNBC's Jim Cramer and refers to four high-growth technology stocks: Facebook , Amazon.com , Netflix and Google's parent, Alphabet .

While the four stocks have soared, Wall Street has been jittery about them, with analysts raising concerns about the valuations of large-cap technology bellwethers. Talk about a FANG bubble is growing louder, with all four stocks up 20 percent or more this year.

The fund holds 24 other "similar-type companies," AdvisorShares said in a statement, such as Nvidia , Microsoft , and Broadcom . The ETF opened trading at around $20 per share, seeded with $2.5 million.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged his support for net neutrality protections on Wednesday, offering to work with members of Congress on the law.

"If a service provider can block you from seeing certain content or can make you pay extra for it, that hurts all of us and we should have rules against it," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post. "Right now, the FCC has rules in place to make sure the internet continues to be an open platform for everyone. At Facebook, we strongly support those rules."
President Donald Trump thinks the Russia investigation is a "witch hunt"  but his possible FBI chief does not share that view.

"I do not consider Director Mueller to be on a witch hunt," FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, a special counsel appointed by the Justice Department, is overseeing the federal probe into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign and the Kremlin coordinated. Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey in May and later said he did so while thinking about the "Russia thing."

After revelations that Donald Trump Jr., Trump's eldest son, went to a meeting with someone portrayed as a "Russian government attorney" offering dirt on Hillary Clinton last year, the president fumed on Twitter on Wednesday morning. He called the Russia probe "the greatest Witch Hunt in political history."

Trump: My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!

Comey testified in June that Trump asked him for loyalty shortly after taking office and later made a statement that Comey interpreted as a request to "drop" an investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn. Trump has denied making those statements.

Wray said he did not give anyone a pledge of loyalty and would not do so if he was asked.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked Wray if he would let the Judiciary Committee know if he witnessed or learned of "any efforts to interfere" with Mueller's work.

"Assuming that I can do it legally and appropriately, absolutely. I'm very committed to supporting Director Mueller in the special counsel investigation in whatever way is appropriate for me to do that," Wray said.

Pressed again by Feinstein, he said he "would consult with the appropriate officials to make sure that I'm not jeopardizing an investigation or anything like that. But I would consider an effort to tamper with Director Mueller's investigation to be unacceptable and inappropriate, and it would need to be dealt with very sternly and appropriately, indeed."
More than 80,000 websites including giants such as Facebook , Amazon and Google , are taking part in an online protest on Wednesday against the U.S. telecoms regulator's plan to roll back net neutrality rules.

Under the Barack Obama administration in 2015, rules were put in place that meant internet service providers (ISPs) such as Comcast , Charter , and AT&T , had to treat all internet content equally. Essentially these ISPs are not allowed to block content or speed up or slow down data from certain websites.

This principle of net neutrality came under threat in May after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is headed up by Ajit Pai who was appointed by President Donald Trump, voted to reverse rules put in place under Obama.

The FCC argues that this will boost investment in new technology by removing regulation.

But internet companies have been vocal in their opposition to Pai's plans. That's why on Wednesday, many of these services are planning an online protest called the "Day of Action". Among the companies taking part are Twitter , Amazon, Facebook, Google, Reddit, Netflix , Airbnb, and Spotify.

"The FCC needs to listen to the voices of real people who will be affected by this attack on net neutrality protections  not just lobbyists from telecom companies in pursuit of more power," Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future, one of the organizations behind the protests said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The goal of the protest  is to ensure that ordinary people have a voice and are heard by decision makers in Washington, D.C. No one  regardless of their political affiliation  wants their cable company to control what they can see and do on the Internet, or to charge extra fees to access the content they want."

These sites are planning to show messages on their homepages speaking out against the FCC's plans. Signs like the one below will begin to appear on some websites urging people to send a letter to the FCC.

Twitter meanwhile has put out a blog post encouraging people to use the hashtag #NetNeutrality.

"The FCC should abandon its misguided effort to obviate all the work that has been done on behalf of all Internet users," Lauren Culbertson, public policy manager at Twitter, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.

Disclosure: Comcast is the owner of NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC and CNBC.com.
Children's clothing chain Gymboree has filed for bankruptcy protection, aiming to slash its debts and close hundreds of stores amid crushing pressure on retailers.

Gymboree said it plans to remain in business but will close 375 to 450 of its 1,281 stores in filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Gymboree employs more than 11,000 people, including 10,500 hourly workers.

The bankruptcy was widely expected after Gymboree refused to pay some of its bills in recent months, placing the retailer on a collision course with creditors. The retailer said in its filing late Sunday that it hopes to slash $1 billion of its $1.4 billion in debt and to win approval for its plan by Sept. 24.

"We expect to move through this process quickly and emerge as a stronger organization that is better positioned in today's evolving retail landscape, with the right size store footprint and greater financial flexibility to invest in Gymboree's long-term growth," the retailer'sCEO Daniel Griesemer said in a statement.

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Like other retailers, Gymboree buckled amid declining mall traffic, fixed rental costs and online competition. Other mall retailers that have recently succumbed to bankruptcy filings include Payless ShoeSource, Rue21 and The Limited.

Global financial services giant Credit Suisse predicted last week that up to 25% of nation's malls could close by 2022.

As shoppers flock to Amazon and other e-commerce options, online sales represent only 21% of Gymboree's revenue, and its web systems are "dated and unsupported," recently appointed Chief Restructuring Officer James Mesterharm said in a court filing.

Mesterharm also said Gymboree had "struggled against other established brick-and-mortar retailers," including Children's Place and GapKids.

Among other shortcomings, Gymboree failed to innovate quickly, having only recently introduced store email, analytics and tablet computers to help employees do their jobs.

The turmoil also resulted in recent leadership changes. The company's CEO since 2013, Mark Breitbard, resigned April 3. His permanent replacement, Daniel Griesemer, was appointed May 22. Upon filing for bankruptcy, the company announced the exit of Chief Financial Officer Andy North and the appointment of interim CFO Liyuan Woo, a consultant at restructuring firm AlixPartners.

The company declined to make executives available to comment and did not release a list of store closures.

The bankruptcy represents a bitter outcome for Gymboree owner Bain Capital Private Equity, which acquired the retailer for $1.8 billion in 2010 and launched a major global expansion.

Still, Gymboree posted a profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $71 million in 2016, down from $94 million in 2015.

Filing for bankruptcy while still profitable could give Gymboree a shot at finding a sustainable path forward. The company said it had secured a deal with certain secured lenders to restructure its debts and reemerge from bankruptcy, an accord that would require a federal bankruptcy judge's approval.

Founded in San Francisco in 1976 as a program devoted to nurturing child learning through playtime with parents, Gymboree started its first store in 1986 and now operates stores worldwide under three brands: Gymboree, upscale chain Janie & Jack and value-focused Crazy 8.

The company's fiscal distress is particularly problematic for mall owners Simon Property Group and GGP, formerly General Growth Properties, which collectively control 35% of Gymboree's U.S. real estate space.

Investor concern over Gymboree's future worsened when the company disclosed that it had missed a June 1 payment on senior notes due in 2018.

Gymboree also was among 22 companies that a June 7 report by rating giant Moody's Investors Service characterized as distressed retailers. The rating that Moody's assigned to Gymboree's debt is far below investment grade.

Similarly, a previous Moody's report on distressed retailers issued in March attributed Gymboree's low rating to "the company's high debt burden and weak credit metrics stemming from the 2010 acquisition of the company by affiliates of Bain Capital and subsequent weak operating performance."

Noting that Gymboree faced approaching maturities of an asset-based revolving loan in December 2017 and a secured term loan in February 2018, the report said refinancing the debts "could be challenging."

"Thus, the risk of default, including the potential for a distressed exchange-type restructuring, is very high," the March report said.
You may have sent an Outlook email to the wrong person or accidentally opened an embarrassing PowerPoint during a meeting, but for Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, one of Microsoft's products is becoming a real problem.

A legal battle is heating up thanks to Microsoft's Calibri font.

Trouble for Sharif began after the 2016 leak of millions of documents known as the Panama Papers. Information in the leak suggested several of Sharif's children used shell companies to purchase real estate without disclosing the details to authorities.

The Prime Minister was not mentioned directly, but there was an investigation into the sources of his family's finances. At first, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that Sharif could remain Prime Minister, due to a lack of evidence of corruption.

But that may soon change  all because of the Calibri clue.

New concerns have arisen that Sharif's daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, falsified documents, and Microsoft's default font was the tip off.

According to reports by the BBC and International Business Times, a property deed that recently came to light is dated 2006, but appears to be typed in Microsoft's Calibri font, which wasn't widely released until 2007.

Experts told the BBC that a beta version of Windows 2007 had been available since 2004, but the inventor of the Calibri font, Lucas de Groot, told the BBC, "that beta versions were generally only used by 'tech geeks' rather than normal companies or government officials."

The whole thing has prompted a tweet storm with the hastag #Fontgate.

A Microsoft spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the history of the font.

For their part, the Prime Minister, Maryam, and the other named siblings deny the allegations, according to the BBC, with PM Sharif saying the accusations are politically motivated.

The Pakistani Supreme Court is set to rule next week, says the BBC.

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The International Monetary Fund's Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, has said that she would not rule out another financial crisis in her lifetime, indicating that comments made recently by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen may have been premature.

"There may, one day, be another crisis," Lagarde told CNBC Tuesday on the sidelines of a joint conference with the IMF and the Croatian National Bank in Dubrovnik.

Lagarde's comments responded to a statement made by Yellen a fortnight earlier in which she said she does not expect to see another financial crisis in her lifetime.

"I plan on having a long life and I hope she (Yellen) does, too, so I wouldn't absolutely bet on that because there are cycles that we have seen over the past decade and I wouldn't exclude that," Lagarde said.

She, however, noted the unpredictability of financial crises and said that finance ministers and policymakers should act with caution to prepare for such eventualities.
KFC made the announcement about the partnership with Huawei in a post on its Weibo account on Friday. An accompanying video on KFC's Weibo account highlighted how far both brands had come since their humble beginnings when they first opened for business in 1987.

Kentucky Fried Chicken celebrated its 30th anniversary of operations in China by unveiling a limited edition smartphone it had collaborated on with Chinese smartphone maker Huawei.

KFC opened its first restaurant in China a short distance from the Tiananmen Square in Beijing in November 1987. Today, Yum China , which counts KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in its stable of brands, has more than 7,600 restaurants in the country.

Huawei  a telecommunications equipment company best known for its smartphones  was founded in 1987 in Shenzhen. The company ranked third in terms of market share in the global smartphone market in the last quarter of 2016, according to 2016.

Launched in tribute to KFC's thirty-year milestone in China, the commemorative version of the bright red KFC Huawei 7 Plus smartphone came complete with a logo of Colonel Sanders and plenty of pre-installed freebies.

The limited edition model included KFC's mobile app and 100,000 "K dollars" (virtual credits on the KFC app in China). The phone also provided access to K-music  KFC's new jukebox function available on the KFC app, trade magazine Campaign Asia said.

A total of 5,000 units of the limited edition phone will be released, KFC said on Weibo. The phones cost 1,099 yuan ($161.91) per unit and will be available for sale on the fast food company's Tmall store from July 13.

Quarterly sales at Yum China came in below analyst forecasts in the second quarter this year, with the poorer-than-expected performance of the company's Pizza Hut brand blamed.
"For defense, we see accelerating revenue growth on easier comps and strong outlays growth (up 11 percent [in] Q2)," said UBS defense analyst David Strauss in a research note Wednesday. He also sees a chance of "upside to 2018 defense EPS expectations."

Also driving optimism in the sector is the expectation for more foreign military sales. Wednesday's rally comes ahead of defense earnings season kicking off Tuesday with Lockheed's second-quarter results.

Some of the defense stocks in late-day trading Wednesday eased off earlier highs but still closed in positive territory.

Defense companies such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have been gaining amid chatter that the proposed defense funding will come in at 5 percent above the Trump administration's fiscal 2018 plan.

As the defense budget moves through Congress, shares of several major Pentagon contractors are setting all-time highs in intraday trade.

The SPDR S&P Aerospace and Defense ETF also hit an intraday high Wednesday. It is up more than 13 percent since President Donald Trump took office, while the broader S&P 500 index is up just under 8 percent during the same period.

Raytheon, maker of the Patriot missile defense system, set an all-time high in intraday trading Wednesday, along with Boeing , Rockwell Collins and United Technologies . On Tuesday, the State Department approved the sale of a $3.9 billion Patriot system to Romania.

Also, continuing danger from a nuclear-armed North Korea and NATO concerns about Russia are seen as a positive for the defense industry, particularly missile defense system makers such as Lockheed and Raytheon .

Jefferies analyst Howard Rubel said in an interview that investors look at North Korea "as a bit of an insurance policy. So if something untoward does happen, these [defense] stocks are more likely than not to see further funding."

On Wednesday, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to apply "maximum pressure" on Pyongyang to push the hermit regime to dialogue over its nuclear weapons and missile testing, according to a report from South Korea's Yonhap News Agency. It follows North Korea on July 4 test-firing what's believed to be an intercontinental ballistic.

In the Middle East, there's also continued tension from a Saudi Arabia-led rift with Qatar.

"The global tensions have shone a spotlight on a vast amount of deals that are not yet complete but are meaningful," said Rubel.

At the same time, he said there's also risk of a slowdown in weapon sales due to the Qatar situation.

Last month, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he would halt arms sales to Persian Gulf states in response to the current Saudi-led tensions with Qatar. That means large arms sales planned to the Saudis and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council could be blocked until the crisis is resolved.

In May, Trump announced a $110 billion arms deal with the Saudis as part of his trip to the kingdom. That same month the Trump administration approved a $2 billion arms sale to the United Arab Emirates.

"The secretary of State [Rex Tillerson] has to help resolve the dispute between the Persian Gulf council countries and Qatar," said Rubel. "Otherwise, [there's] the potential for there to be some slowdown in weapon sales. But I think the expectation is that it could be solved.

Back in Washington, the defense budget is moving through Congress and a House plan would include roughly a 5 percent increase above the White House's plan and about 10 percent above the fiscal 2017 levels.

On Wednesday, the White House issued its response to the bill and said it "contains many promising reforms" but criticized it for failing to authorize a new Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC, round. The administration wants the BRAC to free up around $2 billion in annual money for other defense programs.

Rubel said in a note issued Wednesday that the latest budget plan emphasizes "missile defense, readiness and restocking munitions."

According to Rubel's research note, Pentagon contract awards over the next 24 months could reach approximately $100 billion when all programs are included. "There are a number of awards that are expected to be announced near or soon after the end of 2017," he said.



For readiness, there's a proposed increase for both the Stryker carrier vehicle and M1 tank, both from General Dynamics. Ammunition also gets more attention, which Rubel said in an interview could be meaningful for suppliers such as Orbital ATK as well as General Dynamics.

On the missile defense front, he said the budget includes "plus-ups for tactical missiles, which helps move Lockheed and Raytheon." Both companies also are seeing demand for their missile and radar systems from U.S. allies.

Rubel also said there's "meaningful plus-ups for the F-35," the fifth-generation stealth fighter manufactured by Lockheed.

On Friday, Lockheed was awarded a $5.6 billion contract that modifies the 11th batch of its F-35 aircraft and includes a total of 74 planes. The aircraft are for domestic and foreign military sales.

Finally, Rubel stressed that even with the proposed Pentagon budget things are still fluid and there's still the larger budget to deal with. Also he noted there's also limits imposed by the Budget Control Act, which has held down defense spending in recent years.

"We still need to have a fiscal year 2018 budget that in some ways complies with the Budget Control Act," he said. "And some of the things that the administration proposes on the domestic side are nonstarters and have to be revised.
Moe's Southwest Grill is feeling saucy.

The fast casual Mexican chain called out Chipotle Mexican Grill after Chipotle began selling a queso dip at its test kitchen restaurant in New York City on Monday.

"These queso impersonators are claiming to serve the perfection that is smooth and delectable queso, attempting to fool consumers across the nation," the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Chipotle has long avoided serving queso at its chains because of its "food with integrity" pledge, which promises that its menu items will not contain artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. In a since deleted video, Chipotle said that queso is "made with artificial stabilizers to keep its shiny liquid form."

"Chipotle management has noted that queso has been the most requested item not currently on the Chipotle menu," Jeffrey Bernstein, a Barclays analyst, wrote in a research note Tuesday. "CEO [Steve] Ells noted in an internal memo to employees yesterday that 'all of our competitors sell queso, and we know some customers don't come to Chipotle because we don't offer it'."

Chipotle's queso is currently only available at its test kitchen in New York.
Scott Berlin, owner of Berlin Bail Bonds, who relies on writing bonds for the release of detained immigrants to bring in more business, in Newark, N.J., June 12, 2017.

Scott Berlin's father, the son of Russian immigrants, founded Berlin Bail Bonds in Newark in 1930, providing cash to release defendants in the state and federal courts in that gritty New Jersey city.

The family bond business is still going, but to survive, it is leaning on what used to be a small sideline: writing bonds for the release of detained immigrants.

"I do as many as I determine are secured," said Mr. Berlin, 64. "I would love to do more."

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In New Jersey, a change in the law in January largely did away with financial bail. As in other states, lawmakers in New Jersey wanted to reform a bail system that discriminated against the poor and contributed to prison overcrowding.

Under the new system, the New Jersey courts decide whether defendants should be detained or released pending their trial. The courts use an algorithm written to calculate the risk that a defendant will flee or commit another crime, as well as input from the police and prosecutors, to make their decisions.

Some of the more than 800 licensed bail agents in New Jersey are now looking to follow Mr. Berlin, by shifting from a business under threat, because its services are no longer needed by the state's courts, to a related one they see as a growth area under a new administration that has taken a hard line on immigration.

More than half of all immigrants subject to deportation proceedings are detained when the proceedings begin. About half the detainees will receive a custody hearing before an immigration judge; the other half remain detained pending a deportation proceeding. Only about half again of those who get a hearing will be released on bail, according to a report published last year by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

There are roughly 950 immigrants detained in six facilities in New Jersey, according to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

While there is no data on how many of the immigrants are now out on bail, New Jersey immigration lawyers and bail agents say detentions are on the rise.

New Jersey bail bond businesses want to tap that growth.

Antonio Roman, a bondsman in Camden, said he was studying for an insurance license that would allow him to write immigration bail bonds. In May, he wrote just $43,000 in bail bonds, compared with $2.9 million in the same month a year earlier.

Writing immigration bail bonds, he said, could help him make up some of that lost business.

Bail agents can charge a one-time fee, or premium, of 15 percent, for writing an immigration bond, compared with the 10 percent that most had charged for state criminal bail in New Jersey. (The average immigration bond in 2014 was $6,500.)

On the face of it, that might seem like a good deal: a 15 percent payout just to make sure that someone shows up at the government's request.

But it comes with some risks. It is not a short-term loan: United States immigration courts are dealing with a record backlog of cases and proceedings can draw out over many years.

In addition, bail agents can be on the hook for transportation charges if immigrants move for work or other reasons, and immigration cases are often shuffled to different courts. And while most immigrants want to remain in the country, the fear of deportation is enough to make some skip hearings. Then, if they do not have Social Security numbers, it can be harder for bail agents to find them.

"They're more risky than a regular bail bond," Mr. Roman said.

If someone released on bail fails to attend an immigration court hearing, the bail bond will be breached, meaning that the bail agent takes a loss.

Bail agents and the surety companies that jointly underwrite immigration bail bonds usually require them to be at least 80 percent secured by the immigrants and any co-signers. Still, it is an appealing business if you are selective about whom you write bail for, Mr. Roman said.

For some, like Mr. Berlin, immigration bail can be a lucrative niche, especially when the defendants already have lawyers. This is executive-style bail.

Clients might be employees of high-tech companies, for example, or immigrants who own their own businesses, he said. They might have overstayed their visas, or have some other residency status issue. Often, employers will co-sign for immigrant employees if they or their families cannot afford the price of bail.

"I evaluate risk," Mr. Berlin said. "I try to be a little compassionate but I try to be very selective, too. I have to be, otherwise I wouldn't exist, I just wouldn't make it."

Most of the people whom Mr. Berlin bails out of immigration detention centers in New Jersey, for example, have lawyers. That puts them in a different category of immigrant, since most detained immigrants do not.

Having access to legal representation also means the person is less likely to be deported, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which analyses immigration court data.

James Ryan McNeely, a New Jersey bondsman who specializes in immigration bail bonds at A. J. Dell'Omo in Neptune, N.J., said his company was also selective about the immigration bail bonds it writes.

He does not need to charge additional fees because his business has a low failure rate, he says. For clients recommended to him by lawyers, he might help pay some of the bail amount  say 20 percent  through an interest-free payment plan.

"If somebody fails to show up for an immigration bond, differently than a state bond, the feds don't give you the money back," he said. "That's it, conversation over."

Nationally, two big, privately held companies provide immigration bonds, Libre by Nexus and Action Immigration Bonds. Libre by Nexus, based in Verona, Va., has expanded rapidly since 2009 to offer a range of services to detained immigrants, including legal advice. Action Immigration Bonds, founded in 1974 and based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., focuses on immigration bonds.

Some customers have sued Libre by Nexus, accusing it of exploiting them by using deceptive practices. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, claims that Libre by Nexus abused customers' limited English and vulnerability by tracking them with GPS shackles and signing them up to high-interest-rate loans to pay for their bail.

In a statement, the company's chief executive, Mike Donovan, said the suit was without merit and represented "a tiny fraction of the thousands of clients we have helped that eagerly recommend Nexus to their loved ones in the event they need us."

Action Immigration Bonds did not respond to requests for comment.

In the past, bad practices among some in the criminal bond business, like a failure to collect sufficient collateral, along with high rates of incarceration of people who could not afford bail, helped spur the changes in New Jersey.

The state's bail agents were prepared for the 2014 law, which took effect in January and allows more people on minor crimes to go free after arrest with just a summons, and for more people arrested for serious crimes to be automatically detained. They expected to still write bail for the people between those extremes.

But as the law has been put into effect, the majority of people arrested and given a court date have been released without financial conditions.

Jeff Clayton, the executive director for the American Bail Coalition in Lakewood, Colo., said he expected that some New Jersey bail agents would seek to write immigration bail bonds as a way to make up for lost business. But he said he worried the future of that aspect of bail bond writing is also in doubt.

"The Justice Department largely controls immigration bail and whether that market is going to shrink or increase we don't know, because we don't know what the policies are going to be," he said.

The New Jersey attorney general's office last month changed guidelines to require detention for certain charges, such as gun crimes. The American Bail Coalition is optimistic that further fine-tuning of the reform will happen, but Mr. Clayton said he worried it might take time that the bail agents, who are small-business owners, do not have.

"Agents are going out of business," he said.
OPEC's oil production rose again in June, driven by increases in Libya and Nigeria and as top exporter Saudi Arabia reported it pumped more than it agreed to last year.

The producer group's total output jumped by about 393,500 barrels a day to a total of 32.6 million barrels a day last month, according to independent assessments cited by OPEC in a monthly report. The increases came despite the producer group extending a deal to limit production in May.

OPEC and other exporters including Russia have agreed to cut their output by 1.8 million barrels a day from October levels through the first quarter of 2018. The cuts are aimed at shrinking global stockpiles and boosting oil prices.

While the bump in OPEC's June output is just a fraction of global production, the group has struggled to drive stocks in the developed world down to the five-year average. The effort has pushed up oil prices, leading to a quicker-than-expected rise in production in the United States and elsewhere.

Libya and Nigeria, two OPEC members exempt from cutting output, once again led the increases. OPEC granted them exemptions because their supply had been reduced by internal conflicts, but the group is reportedly considering output caps now that they've restored much of their production.
Martin Shkreli, former chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals AG, right, exits federal court with his attorney Benjamin Brafman in the Brooklyn borough of New York, June 29, 2017.

Richardson insisted that the comment about touching Shkreli's skin referred to the fact that Shkreli had had "a very nasty-looking rash" on his neck and ears, which he had avoided treating medically.

During cross-examination by Shkreli's lawyer, an increasingly crimson-faced Richardson admitted that in a 2010 email to Shkreli he wrote, "only if I can touch your soft skin," and on another occasion encouraged him in an email to take a "bubble bath."

Former Retrophin Chairman Steve Richardson also testified that when he and other board members told Shkreli he needed to leave as CEO, Shkreli "said 'I'll beat you guys to build my own new company, and I'll get to a billion dollars before you can."

The ex-chairman of Martin Shkreli 's drug company testified Wednesday he "was absolutely stunned" that Shkreli "lied to my face" during a 2014 meeting, which soon afterward led to the ouster of the "Pharma bro" as CEO.

That money and the investment returns Shkreli claimed it was earning, Richardson testified, were rolled over into funding the start-up of Retrophin, which he joined as an independent member of the board of directors.

Richardson, 63, is a former top human resources executive at American Express. He had said that after meeting Shkreli at a cocktail party in 2009 at an apartment in New York City's East Village neighborhood, he ended up investing $400,000 in one of the hedge funds Shkreli ran, MSMB Capital.

Shkreli, 34, has pleaded not guilty. He first gained public notoriety in 2015 for raising the price of the drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent while running Turing Pharmaceuticals, which he founded after being kicked out of Retrophin.

Shkreli is accused of looting stock and cash from Retrophin , the company he started in 2011, to pay back investors he allegedly defrauded at two hedge funds he ran.

Shkreli's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, previously has suggested that Shkreli was the target of negative comments by colleagues who questioned his sexuality.

Richardson, who at the time was investing in Shkreli's hedge fund, said he felt like Shkreli was making the comments because he believed Richardson wanted to hear such things. Richardson said he ended up telling Shkreli to stop making such comments, and that Shkreli later talked about dating women.

In testimony Tuesday, Richardson, who is gay, said he had felt uncomfortable with Shkreli in 2010 suggesting that he, Shkreli, might have sex with a worker in his office, or with a waiter.

And Richardson said the comment about the bubble bath may have been in response to a prior call with Shkreli where they discussed Shkreli not feeling well.

A prosecutor, after that cross-examination, introduced an email from Shkreli to Richardson in April 2010 that had a subject line which said, "The skin around my neck is all better."

Richardson testified Wednesday that he learned only in March 2014, while being questioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which was investigating Shkreli, that Shkreli had been sued by Merrill Lynch years before over a debt MSMB Capital incurred from trading.

When he asked Shkreli afterward why he was only just then hearing about that lawsuit, Richardson said Shkreli responded, " 'I didn't tell you the specifics because I didn't want to come across as a failure on that.' "

Shkreli added, according to Richardson, that "I covered it, and I moved on, and you saw that in your investments.' "

In fact, other witnesses have said, the loss that MSMB Capital incurred from a short sale trade of Orexigen Therapeutics effectively wiped out the hedge fund's assets, and left the fund owing Merrill Lynch $7 million or more.

If that is true, then Richardson would have had no or relatively little money left from his stake in MSMB Capital because of that failed trade.

Richardson testified that as Retrophin was growing, he sought information from Shkreli to clarify how many shares Richardson had in the company as a result of the transfer of his MSMB Capital funds and from subsequent direct investments in Retrophin.

When Shkreli, after some delay, got back to him with a number, Richardson was unhappily surprised to learn that his stake in the company might leave him with a loss compared to what he had invested in MSMB Capital. That didn't make sense, Richardson said.

He emailed Shkreli, writing, "As a founding investor, how can there not be an accurate accounting of my accumulated investments? This is a huge disappointment to me and also a lesson in letting my friendship drive blind faith."

He said Shkreli promised along with another Retrophin executive to give Richardson shares to make up the different between what Richardson had in stock, and what he believed he should have given his actual investment.

Richardson said he never got those shares.

However, Richardson also testified about Shkreli's "excellent" performance growing Retrophin, and acquiring drugs for the company's portfolio, while "working long hours."

But by June 2014, "there were two or three things" that the small board of the company was "concerned" about, Richardson said.

One was Shkreli's strained working relationship with a top Retrophin executive, Richardson said. Another was the fact that "he wasn't following through on some of his commitments" regarding stock trading with investors' cash in Retrophin being done by company employees.

Richardson said he and other members of Retrophin's board became concerned about that trading, which he described as a "hedge fund" within Retrophin. They told Shkreli to scale back such activity, Richardson said.

The other directors and Richardson also were talking about speeding up the the process of moving Shkreli out as CEO and into another role at Retropin.

"We'd been discussing it for a while," Richardson said.

"The context ... was we saw Martin was excellent at the set-up stages, but he didn't have the experience, the leadership to run" a large, complex company, as Retrophin was becoming, Richardson said.

In September 2014, Richardson said, he arranged to having a meeting with Shkreli. At that sit-down, he said he told Shkreli "he was losing the support of the board ... he was not heeding the directions we had all set out all the way back in June."

Before the meeting, Richardson testified, he had learned that not only had Shkreli "ignored our instructions on trading" by the group of Retrophin employees acting as a hedge fund, but Shkreli had set up "a commission structure" for those workers.

Richadson said he asked Shkreli if there was such a commission system for trading by Retrophin employees. Shkreli said there was not, Richardson testified.

"I was stunned, absolutely stunned, because as a board member, at the time, he's lying to my face after I asked him point blank," Richardson testified.

Shkreli, during the same meeting, "basically said, 'it's a weak board [of directors] and I can get rid of you whenever I need to,' " Richardson testified.

That set in motion Shkreli being booted as CEO from Retrophin, according to the former chairman. He said another director, Stephen Aselage, agreed to serve as interim CEO.

When Richardson, Aselage and another director met with Shkreli, they told him, according to Richardson, that he was being removed as CEO.

The group cited their prior plan to have a more traditional CEO, along with "government breaches" by Shkreli. Those breaches, Richardson said, included his ignoring the board's direction to scale back trading by Retrophin workers, and personally trading Retrophin stock during time periods he was barred from doing so.

Also, Richardson testified that the board spoke to Shkreli when he was CEO about his use of Twitter, the social-media messaging service. The board was concerned that Shkreli had said things on Twitter that the company was not ready to announce at the time, and asked that in the future he clear such tweets with the board.

"He said, 'I'll beat you guys to build my own company, and I'll get to a billion dollars before you can,' " Richardson said.

Richardson said that Shkreli right afterward notified investors that the board was seeking to remove him, and, according to those investors, was telling them a different story about what led to his ouster.

Shkreli days later, on Sept. 30, informed Richardson "I'm not resigning," according to the former chairman.

He also came into Retrophin's offices "and started to go through our [computer] servers and started to take our servers and files out of the office."

"We made it clear that he was not allowed to come into the office," Richardson said. "We actually worked with our technology people to revoke his access to our servers."

By mid-October, Richardson said, Shkreli had agreed to resign as an executive of the company and its board of directors. In exchange, Retrophin agreed to sell him two drugs, "that weren't important to our company," to help Shkreli start up his new, planned firm.

Richardson said he heard from Shkreli one last time, after learning that Richardson was leaving Retrophin's board in 2015.

"It was an email [from Shkreli] saying that he was pleased I wasn't going to stay on the board, and now can we rekindle our friendship," Richardson recalled.

In response, Richardson said he wrote that "I really wanted to meet with him. I wanted to understand at that point why he had compromised our friendship, and why he had held so many things back from me as a board member."

The two never spoke again, Richardson said.
Dateline: New York

Construction workers renovating an office building in Manhattan earlier this month uncovered what looked like a World War II-era bomb, complete with metal casing and fins. According to NBC-4 News in New York, a portion of 21st Street near Fifth Avenue was shut down by police, and buildings were evacuated. However, the NYPD bomb squad quickly determined that the bomb was, in fact, a time capsule. John Argento, who once owned a famous nightclub called Danceteria on the property, told reporters he buried the metal time capsule 32 years ago at a party. We were just looking for a party to do, and we bought this shell of a bomb at an Army Navy store on Canal Street and 6th, he told CBS New York. We invited people to write cards and say hello to people in the future. Argento said the club closed in 1986, but he always hoped to return to the site one day and retrieve the time capsule. I was hoping the contents survived, and I want to get them back because a lot of people ask about it. Police confirmed that the shell casing was stuffed with papers. Although it is not department protocol to return the bomb shell, Argento will likely be permitted to reclaim the contents in a few days after they have been thoroughly searched.

Dateline: Washington

A misunderstanding involving a dead raccoon ended with a man getting shot by a stranger. Mason County sheriffs Lt. Travis Adams told Seattles KOMO-TV that a man was walking along a highway three miles north of tiny Allyn, Wash., dragging a dead raccoon on a rope. The man told police he found the raccoon, which had been hit by a car, earlier in the day and intended to use it as bait for some type of crab pot. The man did not want to smell the rather ripe roadkill, so he dragged it about 15 feet behind him as he walked. Some people in a white SUV spotted the man and evidently thought he was dragging a dead dog on a leash. The people pulled over and angrily confronted the man. At about the same time, one or more people in a black pickup drove by and also believed the man had a dead dog with him. According to police, the people in the truck joined the altercation before pulling out a gun and shooting the pedestrian twice in the leg. The occupants of the SUV and the pickup then left the scene. The pickup truck struck the pedestrian as it sped away. Deputies later tracked down the people in the white SUV, and they are reportedly cooperating with the investigation. Ive been doing this for 21-plus years, and Ive never quite heard the raccoon being dragged down the road story before, said Adams. Its a new one for all of us. The victim is expected to recover. Police are still searching for the people in the pickup truck.

Dateline: South Carolina

Police near Myrtle Beach are looking for a man who apologized after failing to rob a convenience store. The Sun News reports that Horry County police responded on June 18 to a Circle K in Little River after an unidentified man walked in and demanded money while brandishing a knife. According to the police report, the night clerk said the man entered the store around 1am, approached the counter and demanded money. Police described the clerk as unfazed. He reportedly refused to hand over the money and told the robber to leave. The robber apologized, put the knife back in his pocket and left.

Dateline: Florida

A couple hired to guard a tent full of fireworks told police they had no idea how the holiday explosives vanished under their watchful eye. The excuse workedat least until deputies in Lee County spotted the couple selling some suspiciously familiar fireworks on the internet. According to WBBH-2, Michael Naple and Ashley Lyall filed a burglary report the Thursday before Independence Day at a fireworks tent located in Lehigh Acres. Naple told detectives the pair had been asked to watch the tent by an employee at the business, presumably overnight. As they were guarding the business, the couple said they heard a noise. They woke up and discovered that thousands of dollars worth of fireworks had been stolen. The responding deputy took the report and turned it over to investigators. Soon after detectives noticed a listing on a local buy/sell website with unique fireworks that appeared to be from the tent. Detectives arranged to meet with the sellers, who turned out to be none other than Naple and Lyall. The huge haul of fireworks was recovered from the couples vehicle and a nearby storage unit. Lyall was charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property, Naple faces charges of grand theft, dealing in stolen property and filing a false statement.
Fintech app Revolut has raised $66 million in a venture capital investment in order to expand its operations further across Asia and North America.

The London-based business, which offers foreign currency to consumers abroad at the interbank rate available on the financial markets, raised the money in a Series B venture capital, bringing its total investments up to $83 million.

"Asia and North America are far from immune to hidden banking fees and dated technology," Nikolay Storonsky, the company's chief executive officer said in a statement on Wednesday. "The fintech revolution has been an astounding success across Europe, and now is the time to broaden our horizon and embark on our global mission."

Launched in 2015, the app allows customers to open a current account in under a minute, the firm claims. It includes a pre-paid contactless MasterCard debit card, currency exchange with 16 different currencies and a peer-to-peer payments service.
For years Rhode Island has been home to the nation's worst roads and bridges. Now, for the first time in at least a generation, we're finally making the necessary investments to fix our highways and bridges. For the first time in state history, we have a 10-year highway improvement plan that will rebuild and repair our roadways, putting hundreds of Rhode Islanders to work. We know in Rhode Island that infrastructure is more than just roads and highways. That's why we're also leading the way to encourage wireless providers to pilot their 5G technology in Rhode Island.

With support from the newly created Office of Innovation, Rhode Island is on track to be the first state in America to offer computer science in every school and in every community. Since I've taken office, we've made record investments in K12 education. In part because of that, U.S. News recently ranked Rhode Island as the nation's 8th-best state for college readiness.

More from Top States for Business:

America's Top States 2017: Inside the rankings

The 10 states with the most solid infrastructure

The 10 best states in America to get an education

Two years ago, we completed a comprehensive effort to reinvent Medicaid. Those reforms lowered state Medicaid spending by more than $100 million without cutting eligibility or reducing benefits. Because of those savings, we've been able to invest in job training initiatives and workforce development partnerships with major employers like Electric Boat.

We're creating good, high-paying jobs in Rhode Island. Seven out of 10 of them require a degree or credential past high school, which is why we are taking bold steps to ensure Rhode Islanders stay competitive. Beginning this fall, Rhode Island will be one of just five states  and the only state on the East Coast  to offer tuition-free access to community college for every student in the state. The Rhode Island Promise Scholarship program will level the playing field and ensure that Rhode Islanders are prepared to compete for the jobs Rhode Island companies are creating.

Like every state, Rhode Island has its challenges, but we are responding to them in a way that is creating opportunity. While other states have had to cut the school week to four days and others are dogged by stories of major global companies moving to new states, Rhode Island is on the move and we've given businesses reasons to take a fresh look at the Ocean State.

 By Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo

Editor's note: This commentary was written before the release of the Top States 2017 data. The governor did not have knowledge of the rankings or the comprehensive data.
Samsung 's venture capital arm announced Wednesday it is expanding into Europe to invest in the continent's start-up scene. Samsung NEXT will use a $150 million global fund raised in January to target early stage start-ups in Europe for investment or acquisition, focusing on tech companies working on artificial intelligence, the internet of things, augmented reality and virtual reality. This comes as venture capital in the continent reaches a multi-year high. The investment arm was founded in 2013 to discover, build and scale new enterprises by providing them with investment capital, expertise and other resources. Since launch, it has invested in more than 60 companies and made 15 acquisitions, and is now expanding into Europe starting with a headquarters in Berlin and plans to open other locations throughout the continent within the next year.

Felix Petersen, managing director of Samsung NEXT in Europe, says it is looking for companies building products that will transform how consumers connect with the world. "I'm excited to lead our expansion into Europe. The combination of deep tech talent and cultural diversity makes this market very attractive," he said in a press release. "It also gives us a great opportunity to become the place for European entrepreneurs looking to build and grow their start-ups and turn them into revolutionary companies." Nick McQuire, vice president of enterprise research at CCS Insight, said this was a good move by Samsung, as it allowed the company to gain new capabilities and expertise from the start-ups. "It wants to be at the forefront of tech discoveries," he told CNBC during a phone interview. "Setting up a fund allows them to buy into strategic products and develop skills." This news comes as venture capital investment in Europe reaches its highest level since 2007, according to a new report from Invest Europe released Tuesday. Fundraising in the continent reached 6.4 billion euros ($7.35 billion) in 2016, 10 percent of which came from North American investors.

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"Global investors are recognising that European venture capital offers a rich A-to-Z of investment opportunities: trailblazing tech innovation born in cities from Amsterdam to Zurich," said Nenad Marovac, Invest Europe vice-chair and founder and managing partner of venture capital firm DN Capital, in a press release. "Anyone who has ever played 'Angry Birds' or searched for flights via Skyscanner is benefiting from Europe's highly talented entrepreneurs." The announcement follows news from France-based investment firm Partech Ventures that is has raised 400 million euros to invest in U.S. and European start-ups. Over the past 18 months, Partech has raised nearly 1 billion euros to invest. The company said this will provide key support to Europe's start-up scene. "With this strong growth in investments, made possible by several generations of extraordinary entrepreneurs, dozens of tech and digital champions are emerging in Europe. The promising new tech companies are financed by venture funds which now have both the critical size and the means to support these entrepreneurs on a very operational level," the firm said in a press release.

Kyoungil Jeon | E+ | Getty Images
Switzerland's financial markets regulator has approved the first Swiss private bank for asset management, potentially paving the way for other global banks to offer digital currency products.

Zurich-based Falcon Private Bank announced Wednesday that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, gave the bank the green light on managing assets based on the blockchain technology behind bitcoin and other digital currencies.

"People here are thinking this is beyond bitcoin. This is a new chapter in how we exchange money. As a financial services partner, I think we have to become part of that strategy," Arthur Vayloyan, global head of products and services at Falcon, told CNBC in a phone interview.

He said the company began officially discussing bitcoin asset management in January, applied for regulator approval on June 23 and received it Tuesday. Falcon has 14.6 billion Swiss francs ($15.13 billion) in client assets and has offices in Zurich, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and London.

"As a rule, FINMA never comments on individual companies," the regulator's spokesman, Vincent Mathys, told CNBC.

Falcon will access bitcoin through Swiss-based digital currency broker Bitcoin Suisse.

The CEO of Bitcoin Suisse, Niklas Nikolajsen, told CNBC in a phone interview that contrary to many expectations, the Swiss regulator was more concerned about consumer protection than bitcoin's potential use for illegal activities.

"I would assume it would not be long before the rest of the banking sector will follow suit," Nikolajsen said. "The genie is out of the bottle and crypto assets bring a value proposition that you can't ignore."

The Bank of England declined to comment. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency declined to comment.

Switzerland is known for being a global leader in banking practices. The country is also one of the friendliest to digital currency enthusiasts. Its Zug region has already been dubbed "Crypto Valley" for the number of digital currency businesses located there.

Swiss firm MME was the legal advisor and PricewaterhouseCoopers was the auditor in the approval process.
Health care bill? What health care bill?

A strange line has trickled out from Senate Republicans in the past few days: We don't even have a health care plan.

Those 145 pages of detailed legislative text? The ones that were rigorously analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office?

What are you talking about?

More from Vox:

Remember health care? The Senate is voting next week

The president calls Trump Jr. a "high-quality person" for releasing his emails

Let Fox News explain the bright side of Don Jr.'s devastating emails

It's a Jedi mind trick for the ages. Vox's Sarah Kliff wrote last month about the remarkable lengths Republicans have gone to to mislead and obfuscate about their health care plans. It was no accident that Senate leadership decided to draft its bill entirely out of public view.

But denying the existence of a bill altogether is misdirection of a different kind. It started with this tweet from Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), who has often been the public face of the Obamacare repeal effort  like when he insisted in late June that Senate Republicans would vote on this nonexistent bill, right before McConnell pulled the plug.

Cornyn had a new line on Friday night.

@JohnCornyn: As we seek to save Americans from failures of Obamacare, reports of polls fail to acknowledge that no Senate bill yet exists #workingonit

Just to be clear: Yes, there is a Senate bill. Yes, it's technically an amendment in the nature of a substitute to the House bill  that's a distinction without meaning. Yes, it's technically a discussion draft that has not been filed for a vote. But it's a bill. It is 145 pages that the Senate could take up and pass, if Republican leaders had the votes. The CBO itself refers to it as "the Senate bill" in its analysis.

But this misdirection does serve a purpose.

First, it lays the groundwork for Senate leaders to claim that the revised legislation they are expected to release later this week is a brand new product. The current bill is devastatingly unpopular. It is projected to lead to 22 million fewer people having health insurance in 2026 than would if Obamacare remained in force, and only one-quarter of Americans approve of it, according to a Fox News poll released in late June.

That bill doesn't have the votes to pass. As many as a dozen Senate Republicans have said they oppose it  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can lose only two of the 52 members of his conference. Moderates oppose the bill's Medicaid cuts and projected coverage losses; conservatives are angry that the plan doesn't do more to roll back Obamacare's insurance regulations.

So Senate leaders have been working to tweak the existing bill to win over those holdouts. The underlying structure of the bill is unlikely to change, per early reports: It will probably still scale back Obamacare's financial aid, repeal many of the law's taxes, eventually end the generous funding for its Medicaid expansion, and place a hard cap on federal Medicaid spending.

@DavidNather: Sounds like the Senate bill isn't changing a ton, per @caitlinnowens: http://bit.ly/2tKothd @axios

The proposed changes  loosening the insurance regulations more, keeping some taxes on the wealthy, boosting financial assistance  might be politically important, but the outline of the existing bill seems almost certain to be preserved. There simply isn't enough leeway for McConnell to overhaul the plan.

But to give holdouts cover to come around and support the revised plan, it helps to pretend the first bill didn't even exist. Cornyn more or less ceded that this was his strategy when pressed on the above tweet by Dan Balz from the Washington Post.

@JohnCornyn: It is a work in progress

The GOP also seems to think these Peter-esque denials will help defuse the progressive protests against the Senate bill. As Vox's Jeff Stein has chronicled, the protests back in the states and here in Washington have helped stall the GOP's momentum. They have surely contributed to both the bill's unpopularity with the public and the reluctance of persuadable senators to support it.

So it seemed notable when an aide to Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) adopted Cornyn's strategy to dissuade protesters camped outside Burr's DC office on Monday.

@JStein_Vox: Activists now in Sen. Burr's office demanding a meeting. Art asks to see the chief of staff. "We just want to speak with someone. Plz."

Of course there is a Senate health care bill. But after months of painful legislating, with no promise that Republicans can deliver on their seven-year promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, this is apparently the best they can do.
Many retirees discover that saving for their golden years was the easy part. The challenge is making sure their spending rate avoids depleting their nest egg. A growing movement in the mutual fund world is working on solutions for that conundrum. While just a handful of so-called retirement income funds are currently available, financial advisors say the lineup of offerings is worth exploring. related investing news These mutual funds are planning to hit investors with capital gains distributions. How to decide the right move for you "They can be a good solution for do-it-yourself or [nonprofessional] investors," said Dana Anspach, a certified financial planner and CEO of Sensible Money.

Cathy Yeulet | Getty Images

"If you don't know how to allocate your mix of investments or don't have a distribution plan, these funds can put that on autopilot for you," she said. Basically, retirement income funds  also called managed payout funds  are actively managed portfolios of mutual funds. While their investment strategies differ, their goal is the same: to help you avoid spending down your assets too quickly. With expense ratios ranging from about 0.34 percent to more than 1 percent, these portfolios also automatically distribute income to shareholders at rates intended to assure sustainability over time. For instance, Vanguard's Managed Payout Fund aims to give investors a yearly withdrawal rate of 4 percent. They also are essentially offshoots of target-date funds, whose assets automatically shift to more conservative investments as you approach retirement. With $996 billion in assets, these set-it-and-forget-it funds have ballooned in popularity over the last decade.

They can be a good solution for do-it-yourself or [nonprofessional] investors. Dana Anspach CEO of Sensible Money

In contrast, the handful of retirement income funds on the market has remained in the shadows of their brethren. "The first wave of these came right around the market crisis [of 2008-2009] so they didn't gain a lot of traction," said Jeff Holt, associate director of manager research at Morningstar. "In the last two or three years there's been some renewed interest in retirement income." Most recently, T. Rowe Price started the Retirement Income 2020 Fund. As its name suggests, it is aimed at investors nearing the end of their working days. "There's a need out there for retirees to [manage] their income and it's a challenge we're addressing," said Sebastien Page, head of T. Rowe's asset allocation group.

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While interest in the company's new fund won't be available until its next quarterly report is filed with regulators, its competitors' assets are nothing to boast about. Collectively, the funds claim only a few billion of the $15.7 trillion invested in mutual funds. "I think fund managers are testing the water to see what will resonate with investors," Holt said. The problem of managing retirement income has become more acute as baby boomers retire at an estimated rate of 10,000 per day. The Insured Retirement Institute's latest report on the 74.9 million-strong generation shows that the number of Americans over the age of 65 has risen more than 18 percent since 2011. "Retirement income is a bigger deal than any other part of financial planning because at some point you no longer have the ability to earn more money," said Kathryn Hauer, a CFP with Wilson David Investment Advisors. "You have to manage what you have very carefully."

I think fund managers are testing the water to see what will resonate with investors. Jeff Holt associate director of manager research at Morningstar

Some retirees in search of guaranteed income end up purchasing annuities. These complex contracts tend to be more expensive than other investments and typically cannot be liquidated within preset times  lasting years, typically  without paying hefty surrender charges. Nevertheless, the income guarantee makes them worth the price for some investors. Although retirement income funds come with no guarantees like annuities do, they could serve as an alternative for other reasons. "People often will buy an annuity to minimize volatility in their investments, but it's an expensive way to do it," Hauer said. "So these funds could be an alternative." Retirement income funds have varying minimum investments. For example, T. Rowe's fund requires at least $25,000, as does Fidelity Investments' Income Replacement Funds. Charles Schwab's Monthly Income Funds have a $100 minimum.

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It's what we're all dying to know right now: Was it illegal for Donald Trump Jr. to meet with an alleged Kremlin-connected attorney who promised to give him dirt on then-candidate Hillary Clinton?

In an email chain that was published on Tuesday, publicist Rob Goldstone tells Trump Jr. that he can connect him with the attorney who has dirt on Clinton. Goldstone, who was known in Trump circles for managing a Russian pop-star, adds that the information comes from the highest levels of the Russian government.

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump" Goldstone's email says.

Trump Jr.'s reply: "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."

It sounds bad. Because it is against campaign finance law to "solicit, accept or receive" contributions or "anything of value" from a foreign national for a U.S. political campaign. And damaging information about a rival could be conceived as something of value.

But this scandal is also the latest example of partisan combatants trying to use the law as political weapon. And all of us, whether we're pro-Trump, anti-Trump, middle of the road, or indifferent, are worse off for it.

First and foremost, was it really illegal for Trump Jr. to meet with a woman purported to be a Kremlin-connected attorney, (a designation that attorney denies and so does the Kremlin), last year to discuss dirt on the Clinton campaign?

You can ask ten different legal experts and get ten different answers.

Some lawyers are quickly jumping on the guilty bandwagon.

Jeff Jacobovitz, a lawyer who has represented subjects of independent counsel investigations, including White House officials and employees, tells CNBC "it's as close as you can get to a smoking gun." Jacobovitz has company in former federal prosecutor Paul Butler who also uses the "smoking gun" analogy.

And then there are others. Democrats like Amy Jeffress, a former top Justice Department national security lawyer in the Obama administration says she's not even sure collusion is a crime. And Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz simply says the email chain itself does not prove that any crime was committed.

Dershowitz does believe however, that the matter should be investigated more thoroughly by the proper authorities, which will likely include Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Justice Department.

One thing is for sure: Proving this in court and getting a conviction is no easy task.

And while the political damage to Donald Trump and his administration is hard to calculate, Trump isn't the only one with a lot to lose.

Continued focus on the Russian collusion story is hindering the business of governing the country and hurting both the Trump administration and the Democrats.

The problems come in when the actual legal system is abused to score political points. As Dershowitz wrote on Tuesday, every American's legal protections are threatened by this kind of political takeover of the criminal justice process:

"When non-criminal conduct that is deserving of political criticism is investigated as criminal, both sides lose," Dershowitz wrote. "Even more importantly, all Americans lose important civil liberties protections guaranteed by our Constitution."

In my opinion, the knee jerk reaction of demanding prosecutions and itching to jail political opponents is like venturing into Third World banana republic territory. And it's not just Democrats. Trump supporters with their continued chants of "lock her up!" against Hillary Clinton, are guilty of this too.

Partisans simply must temper their reactions to these things and limit them to scoring political points, not conjuring "treason" or demanding prosecutions. And in this case, those points are considerable.

There are political battles to be won, and won rather easily, by keeping the focus on slimy campaign behavior, but not criminality that is hard to prove. The 2018 elections are just around the corner and every bill the Trump team presents is an election of sorts.

But opponents risk losing those battles when they come off as gleefully trying to pin their political opponents with crimes like treason.

In that sense, the behavior of President Trump, his family and his current and former campaign aides are like the La Brea tar pits of politics right now. It seems like it should be easy to keep the focus on the sleaze and let them drown in it.

Instead, the president's opponents just can't seem to stop from jumping with full force all over every new bit of prey that arises, and then getting hopelessly stuck in the muck themselves. It would be better for them and the country if they kept it about politics and left the legal prosecutions to the actual prosecutors. If they don't, that makes the American people the biggest losers of all.

Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
The ongoing investigations into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia involve reams of classified material. Yet Marc Kasowitz, the New York lawyer whom President Donald Trump has hired to defend him in these inquiries, told ProPublica through a spokesman that he does not have a security clearance  the prerequisite for access to government secrets. Nor does he expect to seek one.

Several lawyers who have represented presidents and senior government officials said they could not imagine handling a case so suffused with sensitive material without a clearance.

"No question in my mind  in order to represent President Trump in this matter you would have to get a very high level of clearance because of the allegations involving Russia," said Robert Bennett, who served as President Bill Clinton's personal lawyer. Like many Washington lawyers, Bennett has held security clearances throughout his career.

As the spotlight on Russia intensifies with new email disclosures that his son, son-in-law, and then-campaign manager met in June 2016 with a Russian attorney who promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton, Kasowitz's lack of a security clearance could hinder the president's legal and political response to the scandal.

One possible explanation for Kasowitz's decision not to pursue a clearance: He might have trouble getting one.

In recent weeks, ProPublica spoke with more than two dozen current and former employees of Kasowitz's firm, Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, as well as his friends and acquaintances. Past and present employees of the firm said in interviews that Kasowitz has struggled intermittently with alcohol abuse, leading to a stint in rehab in the winter of 2014-15.

Several people told ProPublica that Kasowitz has been drinking in recent months. (The vast majority of those who spoke to ProPublica for this article declined to be quoted by name, citing Kasowitz's penchant for threatening lawsuits.)

Experts on federal security reviews told ProPublica that recent episodes of alcohol abuse are a major barrier to receiving clearance, a process that involves government agents poring over a person's past and interviewing family, friends and colleagues. Investigators typically raise flags about behaviors that might make someone vulnerable to blackmail or suggest poor judgment.

Kasowitz's spokesman said he doesn't need a clearance. "No one has suggested he requires a security clearance, there has been no need for a security clearance, and we do not anticipate a need for a security clearance," the spokesman said. "If and when a security clearance is needed, Mr. Kasowitz will apply for one with the other members of the legal team."

Kasowitz's spokesman did not directly respond to questions about whether he has struggled with alcohol abuse, but said the attorney is able to drink in moderation without a problem.

While not a government employee, Kasowitz has become a public face of the administration on the Russia case. Last month, he went before the cameras to deliver the president's response to the landmark testimony of fired FBI Director James Comey. White House officials have regularly referred media inquiries about Russia-related matters, including queries about Jared Kushner and Michael Flynn, to Kasowitz.

In Washington, where every word and action of the president's lawyer is scrutinized, Kasowitz is a neophyte. Instead of negotiating deals among the capital's power brokers or fending off FBI investigations, Kasowitz, 65, built a lucrative practice in civil court suing banks and representing, among others, a leading tobacco company.

Kasowitz has been described by colleagues in the scrappy world of New York lawyers as the "toughest of the tough guys." Bloomberg News called him a "Pit Bull Loyal to The Boss" while The New York Times described him as "the Donald Trump of lawyering." His aggressive legal style has spurred rebukes from two judges.

For over 15 years, he represented Donald Trump, earning the president's loyalty through his eager pugilism. Kasowitz has defended him in the Trump University fraud lawsuit. He fought to keep records from Trump's 1990 divorce private, and threatened to sue The New York Times for publishing a story in which women accused Trump of unwanted touching and sexual assault. He also recently represented Fox News' Bill O'Reilly after multiple women accused O'Reilly of sexual harassment.

Before representing Trump in the Russia inquiry, Kasowitz was informally advising the president. He has told friends he recommended firing Preet Bharara because the crusading prosecutor posed a danger to the administration. He has told people Trump wanted him to be attorney general.

Trump reportedly sought a classic Washington lawyer to represent him on Russia before choosing Kasowitz. Initially Kasowitz was reluctant to take it on. "He didn't seek this," said Joseph Lieberman, the former senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate who is now senior counsel at the firm. "In the end, the president said, 'I need you. I know you and trust you.'"

Lieberman and Kasowitz grew up in the same neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut. The future senator used to see Kasowitz's father, who ran a scrap-metal business, walking through the neighborhood, greeting everyone as he went. Kasowitz went to Yale to study American history and then to Cornell Law School. After graduating in 1977, he started his law career in New York. In 1993, Kasowitz broke off from the prominent firm Mayer Brown to found his own firm.

As the firm met with early success, Kasowitz became wealthy. He brags to friends he makes anywhere from $10 million to $30 million per year. He owns an apartment in a white-glove building on Park Avenue and a mansion in Westchester County. He travels by private jet and, when in New York, is driven around in a black Cadillac SUV. He owns at least two horses, according to a lawsuit Kasowitz once filed against his daughter's equestrian stable.

From the start, Kasowitz Benson had a hard-drinking culture that its leaders epitomized.

"It's like a time warp," said one former employee, citing the firm's "macho, scotch-drinking, fist-fighting" ethos. Multiple former attorneys said they saw Kasowitz under the influence at the office, an accusation Kasowitz denies.

Associates would vie to join powerful partners in Kasowitz's inner circle during the day at the Palm West Side, the steakhouse just across the street from the firm's offices, and more recently, at another midtown steakhouse a couple of blocks away called Gallaghers. A framed magazine profile of Kasowitz hangs on the wall across from the bar at the Palm. Three former employees at the firm recall attorneys having to go across the street to the restaurant during the workday to consult Kasowitz on work matters, as he held court, drinking and eating. In response to questions, a spokesman for Kasowitz disputed that, saying he never had a drink during the day at the Palm outside of lunch and dinner and never handled firm business while at the restaurant.

Former employees pointed to reckless behavior by Kasowitz while drinking. ProPublica spoke with 10 people who attended the firm's holiday party on Dec. 10, 2013, at the Edison Ballroom in Manhattan. Spouses and significant others were not invited.

Kasowitz, according to an attendee, was visibly inebriated, appearing to have a hard time standing on his feet without support. During the festivities, Kasowitz and a much younger woman not employed by the firm hit the dance floor. According to multiple eyewitnesses, they danced intimately in a way many employees felt was inappropriate for a work event. One person described it as "dirty dancing." Some employees had seen Kasowitz's dancing partner before: the then-25-year-old woman had been a hostess at the Palm. "It made women feel uncomfortable," said one former female attorney who attended the party.

Kasowitz's spokesman, Michael Sitrick, initially said Kasowitz "does not recall whether he danced with her at a holiday party over 3.5 years ago." Later, he said that the descriptions of Kasowitz dancing at the party were "untrue." Kasowitz said in a statement he never had "a romantic relationship" with the woman, "who many of us came to know (as we have many others) because she worked at the Palm Restaurant across the street from our offices."

Kasowitz has been married for 25 years to Lori Kasowitz, a former Mayer Brown administrator and regular on the Manhattan charity circuit. The couple has one daughter.

Sitrick supplied eight statements from Kasowitz employees attesting to his character and behavior at the party and denying the allegations about the young woman. He said ProPublica could not quote the employees' statements by name without their permission. ProPublica reached out to all of them. Two declined to be named, and six did not respond to requests to use their names.

That was not the only dramatic incident involving Kasowitz and the Palm hostess. Late one Thursday night in March 2013, the same woman was arrested for felony assault at Beauty & Essex, a lower Manhattan restaurant and club, after allegedly throwing a bottle that hit another woman in the head, according to NYPD records. A former partner in the law firm said that Kasowitz was with her and sustained an injury. Afterwards, Kasowitz walked around the office with two black eyes looking "like a raccoon," according to the former partner.

Asked about that incident, Sitrick did not answer directly. He said Kasowitz attended a dinner at a restaurant where the woman was in attendance. As Kasowitz was leaving the restaurant, he was "assaulted by a total stranger," Sitrick wrote in a statement. The Palm hostess was not involved in that assault and Kasowitz's assailant was arrested, the spokesman said.

According to current and former attorneys at the firm, Kasowitz hit a low point in the winter of 2014-15. He abruptly left New York for Florida, where he owned a mansion at the Equestrian Club Estates in Wellington. Kasowitz sought alcohol treatment at the nearby Caron, a high-end rehab facility, according to two people who heard it from Kasowitz himself.

According to Sitrick, that winter had been difficult for Kasowitz because of the death of his father and that he had "sought out counseling" like "millions of Americans." The spokesman did not answer directly whether Kasowitz was in rehab that winter but said he was not "at Caron in January 2015."

Anyone whose job involves classified information, from White House officials to State Department diplomats to outside contractors, must get a security clearance. The applicant fills out paperwork disclosing where he or she has lived, worked and traveled abroad, as well as any contacts with foreign government officials. The form also asks about substance abuse, criminal history and mental health.

The government then undertakes an investigation that can take anywhere from weeks to over a year, depending on the position. In the case of White House positions, the FBI does the investigation. Agents comb through educational and financial records and speak to neighbors, former employers and associates. They then present a recommendation to the hiring agency, which makes the final call.

It's not clear who currently makes decisions on clearances for White House hires. Spokeswoman Hope Hicks told ProPublica that the Trump administration does not comment on security clearance issues.

Alcohol abuse is one of many issues examined as part of the security clearance process. The standard form that those seeking clearance must fill out asks whether in the last seven years "your use of alcohol had a negative impact on your work performance, professional or personal relationships, your finances, or resulted in intervention by law enforcement." According to the official security clearance guidelines, "Alcohol-related incidents at work, such as reporting for work in an intoxicated or impaired condition, [or] drinking on the job" can be a reason to withhold clearance.

While all clearance decisions are subjective, "You probably wouldn't get your clearance if you had serious drinking problems in the last five years," said Sheldon Cohen, a longtime Washington, D.C, security clearance lawyer.

The security clearance guidelines also flag personal conduct "that creates a vulnerability to exploitation, manipulation, or duress by a foreign intelligence entity."

In 2016, over 1,100 people appealed their denial of security clearance. Alcohol and drug use were common reasons for such denials.

Attorneys representing clients in Washington frequently are required to seek security clearances in matters ranging from Hillary Clinton's Benghazi hearings to employment disputes involving undercover CIA agents.

Already, there's ample evidence that many aspects of the Russia case involve classified material. When former FBI Director James Comey testified about his interactions with President Trump, he said that he took notes after one classified briefing. "I wrote that on a classified device," he said.

Adm. Michael Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, testified last month of his interactions with Trump that could relate to the obstruction of justice issue: "Those conversations were classified."

Meanwhile, congressional intelligence committees looking at the Russia issue have been scheduling hearings with key witnesses in classified sessions. A congressional meetingwith special counsel Robert Mueller also took place in a classified setting.

In a statement, Kasowitz said that "we are unaware of and not involved in  any investigation involving 'highly classified' (or even classified) information."

The firm has gone through multiple rounds of punishing layoffs. In the past six years, the number of lawyers has shrunk from around 370 to 260 today. Several major rainmakers have departed, including two of the most prominent women at the firm: Eleanor Alter, a well-known divorce lawyer, and Robin Cohen, who led Kasowitz's insurance group.

Now its founder's increasingly high-profile relationship with Trump has some partners worried that it could damage the firm's brand and future business prospects.

Last year, with Election Day weeks away, Kasowitz fired off a letter threatening to sue The New York Times for a story in which women accused Trump of unwanted touching and sexual assault.

Kasowitz's letter to the Times dismissed the women's accounts as "false and malicious allegations" and demanded a retraction.

"People were embarrassed by the letter," said one former attorney at Kasowitz's firm.

The Times stood by its story. No lawsuit has been filed.

In February, several lawyers were upset when Michael Cohen, the former personal injury lawyer and real estate investor who is best known as Trump's former in-house attorney, arrived at the office.

"I came to see him because we were working on several matters together after the inauguration," Cohen told ProPublica regarding his multiple visits to Kasowitz. Former employees say the firm briefly converted a conference room for Cohen to use as an office, with his nameplate on it.

Cohen said the "multitude of legal matters" he and Kasowitz were discussing included working as co-counsel for a client. Asked if anything came of those talks, Cohen said yes.

Sitrick, the Kasowitz spokesman, said, "Michael Cohen never worked for the firm or occupied any office at Kasowitz Benson." He added: "They were working together on one civil matter for President Trump." He didn't specify what it was.

During roughly the same period that Cohen was visiting the firm, The New York Times reported that he was under FBI scrutiny in the Russia case. Cohen has denied wrongdoing.

One Kasowitz Benson partner, Zachary Mazin, departed in May for another firm, McKool Smith. In a private Facebook post, Mazin praised many of his former colleagues, but said that he and his wife concluded their family could not be associated with the firm. "As the extent of the Firm's support for Trump's presidency became clear, Amanda and I concluded that we would not be living our values if I stayed," he wrote," adding: "Our most important consideration was the message that this choice sends to our daughters, both now and when they look back on this moment as adults."

When Kasowitz traveled to Washington to respond to the Comey testimony, he brought at least two other lawyers from the firm with him.

In the rush to respond to the former FBI director's testimony accusing President Trump of inappropriate meddling, a team of Kasowitz lawyers, along with another spokesman, Mark Corallo, drafted a statement that was riddled with errors. It started with the widely mocked misspelling, "Predisent Trump."

Corallo said in an email that the statement went out to reporters with typos because of a technical glitch.

The day after the June 8 Comey hearing, sources linked to the Kasowitz team toldreporters they would file a complaint against the former FBI director for giving what they described as "privileged information" to the press. Three weeks later, that plan fizzledentirely.

In recent weeks, employees say, Kasowitz has tried to calm fears within the firm, holding a series of town hall-style meetings.

"You can work toward steering this president toward the best possible decisions whether or not you agree with his politics," Kasowitz said at one such event, according to a person familiar with his remarks.

President Trump selected Kasowitz Benson to represent him despite high-profile instances in which judges criticized the firm for ethically questionable tactics.

In one particularly heated case, the firm sued investors on behalf of a Canadian insurer, Fairfax Financial Holdings. The company accused the hedge funds and others of conspiring to release information that would send the stock lower. Michael Bowe, Kasowitz's deputy on the Russia case, was the firm's lead lawyer.

In 2006, employees of Kasowitz's in-house investigative arm, KBTF Consulting, tried to ensnare employees of Morgan Keegan, a broker-dealer whose insurance analyst was publishing critical research on Fairfax, according to a court document. They wanted to find out if Morgan Keegan gave certain clients access to its analysis before making its reports public. Kasowitz employees, including two lawyers who worked for the investigative arm, created a fake hedge fund called Blackwood Group Capital Partners. Posing as investors, the Kasowitz private investigators met with the Morgan Keegan analyst who covered Fairfax, asking if they could have advance copies of his reports. He said no.

Years later, Morgan Keegan hired a Rutgers law professor, John Leubsdorf, to assess whether the Kasowitz employees violated New Jersey ethical standards. The state bars attorneys from misrepresenting themselves. Leubsdorf called the firm's conduct "inconsistent with the standards of professional responsibility."

The Morgan Keegan attorneys tried to get Kasowitz's firm thrown off the case, a request the judge rejected. But the judge said he was troubled by what the Kasowitz firm had done.

"I was brought up as a person and as an attorney to think you tell the truth, that that's the only way you can deal with life. You tell the truth and, right, wrong, or indifferent, the truth will prevail. I don't recall as an attorney ever participating in a deception such as [this] one," Stephan Hansbury, a judge for the Superior Court of New Jersey, said at a 2011 hearing. "I don't think that was an appropriate use of an investigator. I don't think you're supposed to go out and create evidence in order to justify a case. That's not what the law allows."

In 2007, Kasowitz had to defend his law firm from allegations of unethical conduct when another firm accused his team of violating a protective order in a legal proceeding. The order barred disclosure of bank records obtained during discovery in a federal shareholder lawsuit against Kasowitz's client, a Canadian pharmaceutical company then known as Biovail.

But when Kasowitz's law firm filed a separate complaint in New Jersey state court on behalf of Biovail, it used the bank records from the federal proceeding to bolster its case. Lawyers for the bank cried foul and in February 2007, Kasowitz had a testy conference call with Richard Owen, the U.S. district judge overseeing the federal case.

Owen was furious: "You get a whole bunch of the bank's records and you're sitting there drafting a complaint in New Jersey and you're saying nobody ever said, 'Where the hell did we get these records from, how come we have them?'" he asked Kasowitz, according to a court transcript of the call.

Kasowitz said his law firm did not know about the protective order and countered that the documents were not marked "confidential." Owen did not see that as a good enough excuse and the two men went back-and-forth. Finally, Owen lost his temper.

"The record may show I hung up on Mr. Kasowitz," said Owen, who has since died.

Kasowitz's spokesman said the firm did nothing wrong in either case.

Eventually, Biovail fired Kasowitz's legal team over the issue, only to rehire the firm a few months later. The firm was not sanctioned by Owen.

How Kasowitz's aggressive style will play during the Russia inquiry is unclear  especially without a security clearance. On Monday, President Trump tweeted, "James Comey leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION to the media. That is so illegal!"

If that allegation were true, Trump's own lawyer wouldn't be able to review the material.

Annie Waldman, Jessica Huseman and Cezary Podkul contributed reporting to this story.
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What the Trump tax plan does

Donald Trump issued no less than three tax plans on the campaign trail, each subtly different from the last. Then on Wednesday, April 26, National Economic Council Chair Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin introduced a slightly tweaked outline of a plan at a White House press briefing. The outline pledged to: Collapse the seven income tax brackets into three: 10, 25, and 35 percent

Double the standard deduction, e.g., from $12,000 to $24,000 for couples

Repeal the alternative minimum tax, the estate tax, and the 3.8 percent Obamacare tax on investment income for the rich

Add a new deduction for child care expenses

Cut the corporate rate to 15 percent

Treat "pass-through income" as corporate income taxed at 15 percent, rather than individual rates

Exempt foreign income from corporate tax

Impose a one-time "repatriation" tax on assets US companies hold overseas These are the provisions that, put together, cost $7.8 trillion over 10 years. The most costly elements, according to TPC, are the corporate rate cut ($2.3 trillion over 10 years), the individual rate cuts (also $2 trillion), and the new lower rate for pass-through income ($2 trillion). Pass-through companies  owner-operated businesses whose profits are taxed as individual income  are overwhelmingly owned by rich people, so cutting the top rate on income from them from 39.6 percent under current law to 15 percent under Trump's plan is a huge, regressive, cut. It would also encourage tax evasion by spurring high-income people to stop earning wages from their employers and instead form pass-through businesses that their employers can pay instead, to take advantage of the new low rate. But at least in theory, the Trump administration wants its tax reform package to pay for itself, perhaps after accounting for economic growth effects. Republicans in the House have proposed a few ways to do that, most notably by adding a new border adjustment tax, which in the long run doesn't raise any money but would be scored as raising money in the short term. The Trump administration, however, has been a little hot and cold about that idea.

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Mnuchin and Cohn's outline included a few vague hints at ways to raise revenue. It promised "targeted tax breaks" for individuals and "special interest" breaks for corporations. It promised to preserve the home mortgage interest and charitable deductions but implied that all other itemized deductions (such as for state and local taxes) were gone. In the 2016 campaign, the Trump campaign also floated a few other ways to raise revenue that didn't make it into the administration outline, like repealing "head of household" filing status for single parents, repealing personal exemptions for taxpayers and their dependents, still subjecting "large" pass-through businesses to individual tax rates, and imposing capital gains tax on certain wealthy estates upon death, so that valuable assets that were never taxed in a person's life could be taxed. The TPC paper takes all these together and tries its best to estimate what they'd raise. Put all together, they raise about $4.3 trillion over 10 years. That's no small amount  but it's also not nearly enough to pay for $7.8 trillion in cuts. Further, it's worth asking whether these are revenue raisers that the Trump administration is actually willing to countenance. Would Donald Trump, a wealthy person living in a high-tax liberal state, really do away with the state and local tax deduction, which predominantly helps people like him? Would he really raise taxes on wealthy estates like his own? Usually, when challenged on the numbers for its tax proposals, the Trump administration has insisted that they'll lead to large-scale economic growth, which can largely offset the cost. The TPC finds that this isn't the case. The total plan, incorporating both revenue raisers and tax cuts, would cost $3.5 trillion over 10 years before taking economic growth into account, and $3.4 trillion after you take it into account. You only raise $108.9 billion from growth effects. The revenue raisers also serve to make Trump's plan even more regressive. If you just look at the tax cuts he's proposing, 60.9 percent of the benefits go to the top 1 percent of Americans. That's a pretty astonishing tilt toward the rich. But if you look at the combined effects of the cuts and the revenue raisers, 76.3 percent of the benefits go to the top 1 percent, and 94.8 percent go to the top 5 percent. Getting rid of head of household filing status and personal exemptions are tax increases that overwhelmingly hit middle-class people and don't hurt the rich much at all, especially since the personal exemption currently phases out for rich taxpayers. "We emphasize that we are not analyzing the Trump administration's tax plan: the released outline contains too many unknowns to do so," TPC emphasizes. It had to fill in a lot of vague parts of Trump's plan to produce numbers. But the report does indicate that the Trump plan will likely be very regressive, and very expensive.

WATCH: Trump promises large tax cuts
Two major Wall Street banks think it might be time to take money out of the stock market: Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse.

"With central banks heading toward removing liquidity, and both lofty valuations and narrow market breadth in the US, we think investors would be prudent to lock in some gains, rebalance

equities to under-owned sectors and hold above average cash," said Cheryl Rowan, portfolio strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in a note Tuesday.

Stocks have posted stellar gains for the year already. In the time period, the S&P 500 has jumped 9 percent.

But the Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates at least once more this year, and it is prepared to shrink its $4.5 trillion bonds portfolio later in 2017.

The European Central Bank has also put out hawkish rhetoric recently. Last month, ECB president Mario Draghi said the European economy was "strengthening and broadening," adding "the threat of deflation is gone and reflationary forces are at play."

"We think the swing in global liquidity will weigh on the performance of stocks," Rowan said. She also said that a slowdown in earnings growth could be a drag for stocks this summer.
As early as 2015, U.S. intelligence agencies overheard Russian government officials discussing people associated with Donald Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing current and former U.S. officials.

Sources told the Journal that the reports weren't revealing or particularly concerning at the time. But one official told the newspaper that U.S. officials were wondering, "What's going on?"

The Journal also reported that investigators are combing through those reports again, in light of the emails released by Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday.

The president's son made public email exchanges that set up a meeting with a Russian attorney. This lawyer, according to an intermediary, claimed to have incriminating information on Hillary Clinton as part of "Russia and its government's support" for his father's presidential campaign.

The Journal's report comes amid a special counsel and congressional investigations into Moscow's meddling in the 2016 election. Those inquiries are also looking to determine whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin.

The White House and the president's outside counsel, Marc Kasowitz, did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Read the full report in The Wall Street Journal.
Verizon responded to a recent data breach that affected millions of customer accounts.

Data on "as many as 14 million" Verizon customers was readily available to download after an employee at Nice Systems left them on an unsecured Amazon server, ZDNet reported on Wednesday.

"As a media outlet recently reported, an employee of one of our vendors put information into a cloud storage area and incorrectly set the storage to allow external access," a Verizon spokesperson told CNBC on Wednesday. "We have been able to confirm that the only access to the cloud storage area by a person other than Verizon or its vendor was a researcher who brought this issue to our attention. In other words, there has been no loss or theft of Verizon or Verizon customer information."

Verizon said the subscribers affected was "overstated" and that the PINs that were available during the breach aren't actually linked to customer accounts but rather were numbers used to authenticate customers at call centers.

"We regret the incident and apologize to our customers," Verizon said.

Read the full report at ZDNet.
[The stream has ended.]

FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray appeared before the Senate on Wednesday, facing questions about how he would fill a role that President Donald Trump abruptly opened last month.

The Senate Judiciary Committee asked Wray, a 50-year-old white-collar lawyer and former assistant attorney general, about his independence from Trump and how he would treat a special counsel's investigation into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election.

Read more:

FBI Director nominee Wray: I don't think Russia probe is a 'witch hunt'

Christopher Wray, Trump's pick to lead the FBI, pledges politics won't affect his decisions

Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey in May amid a federal probe into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. Trump later said he ousted Comey over the "Russia thing."

Comey testified that Trump asked him for loyalty shortly after taking office and later made a statement that Comey interpreted as a request to "drop" an investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn. Trump has denied making those statements.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, a special counsel appointed by the Department of Justice, is currently overseeing the federal Russia probe.
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Britain should be willing to accept "a few tariffs" under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules in order to regain control of its borders and establish a new points-based immigration system akin to the U.S., the chairman of British pub chain J D Wetherspoon has said. Tim Martin, founder of the chain which employs some 37,000 people across the U.K., told CNBC Wednesday that paying international tariff rates would still leave British businesses in a better position than under a deal with the European Union. The U.K. is currently negotiating its split from the EU following the Brexit vote of June 23 last year. It is estimated that U.K. businesses could face tariffs of 5.2 billion ($6.6 billion) per year on exports to the EU if it fails to negotiate a deal, according to think tank Civitas. Under WTO rules, tariffs range from 32 percent on wine to 9.8 percent on cars. Though Martin admitted a free trade deal would be better, he said it was "quite possible" to pay "a few tariffs."

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"It doesn't amount to much under WTO rules  and still do better than deals with the EU," said Martin, who imports many of his drinks from exporters outside of the EU. By relinquishing the free trade deal the U.K. currently enjoys with the EU, Britain would also be able to manage its immigration policy  something that Prime Minister Theresa May has advocated in her hard Brexit agenda. "It's the great fallacy at the very, very heart of pro-Euro thinking, which is that to have high immigration you need to have an undemocratic EU. You don't. Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, for example, all have much higher levels of immigration than the U.K., but it's controlled by their own parliament. "(We need) a sensible American, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore one (policy), on a points-system.

'There are a lot of embarrassed economists'
Donald Trump, Jr., (L) places a hand on the shoulder of his father, then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, during in a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire on November 7, 2016.

The revelation that Donald Trump Jr. was offered incriminating information about Hillary Clinton as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump," and that Junior enthusiastically accepted and pursued the offer, is shocking. What Trump Jr. did could very well be a crime under federal campaign finance law.

But some politicians and commentators are raising the possibility that he committed an even graver offense: treason. "We're now beyond obstruction of justice," US Sen. and former Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine said. "This is moving into perjury, false statements, and even into potentially treason." Richard Painter, President George W. Bush's White House ethics lawyer, declared on MSNBC that Trump Jr.'s behavior "borders on treason" even before the worst revelations about the incidents came out. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) commented, "If this isn't treasonous, I'm not sure what is." According to Merriam-Webster, searches for the definition of "treason" are on the upswing.

@kylegriffin1: Tim Kaine: "We're now beyond obstruction of justice...this is moving into perjury, false statements, and even into potentially treason."

This is nonsense. Whatever Trump Jr. did, it's definitely not treason. Treason is a very specific crime with a definition set forth in the Constitution that Trump Jr's conduct doesn't come close to meeting, for one simple reason: The US is not at war with Russia.

@MerriamWebster: Top lookups in order: collusion, treason, collude, quid pro quo, kakistocracy

More from Vox:

Remember health care? The Senate is voting next week

The president calls Trump Jr. a "high-quality person" for releasing his emails

Let Fox News explain the bright side of Don Jr.'s devastating emails

The US has to be at war with a country for helping that country to be treason

Article 3, Section 3 of the Constitution lays out the definition of treason used in US criminal prosecutions: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

I looked into this issue a few years ago when Edward Snowden faced accusations of treason for disclosing highly classified NSA surveillance programs. UC Davis law professor Carlton Larson told me then that there are two broad categories of treason charges: "aid and comfort" prosecutions, and "levying War" prosecutions.

The latter is rare, and typically involves someone who's literally using an army to fight the government of the US or one of the 50 states. John Brown was convicted and hanged for treason against the commonwealth of Virginia in 1859 following his ill-fated attempt to launch a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry. Former Vice President Aaron Burr was prosecuted unsuccessfully in 1807 on charges that he conspired to levy war against the United States and create an independent country in the center of North America, combining what are now some Western states with Mexican land.

Obviously, Trump Jr. did not actively conspire to wage a literal war with armies and troops and stuff against the United States. I mean, with the flood of damning leaks about the Trump administration occurring on a daily basis, I'm nervous about ruling anything out at this point, but it seems pretty unlikely.

"Aid and comfort" prosecutions are also difficult. The typical defendant is someone like American-born al-Qaeda member Adam Gadahn (the first treason indictment since World War II and its aftermath), or Nazi propagandist Robert Henry Best, or Tomoya Kawakita, a joint US-Japanese citizen who abused American prisoners of war who were forced to do labor at a mining plant he worked at in Japan.

What unites these cases is that they concern countries or organizations with which the US was at war, or at least a de facto state of war. The US is at war with al-Qaeda, as authorized by Congress, and the US had explicitly declared war against Germany and Japan in World War II. An "aid and comfort" prosecution requires that a defendant "adhere to" an enemy entity with which the US is presently at war.

And the US is not at war with Russia. Not even close. Indeed, when Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were prosecuted for sharing atomic secrets with the Soviet Union, they were not charged with treason. The US may have been in a Cold War with the USSR at that point in time, but it was not in a literal war, and in lieu of a state of war, the Rosenbergs couldn't be accused of that specific crime.

That has nothing to do with the question of their guilt (which, in the case of Julius, even the couples' children now acknowledge). Indeed, other, uncontroversially guilty spies for the USSR/Russia, like Aldrich Ames at the CIA and Robert Hanssen at the FBI, were charged with espionage but not treason, for the same reasons. The meaning of "treason" excludes aid and comfort offered to a foreign country that's a mere geopolitical rival but not an enemy in an actual war. A country, in other words, like Russia.

What Trump Jr. did was outrageous. But that doesn't make it treason, and it's irresponsible to keep throwing the term around willy-nilly.
This move also contrasts sharply with the Obama administration's decision in 2009 to scrap missile-defense plans for Poland and the Czech Republic. Many Poles, including the heroic former president Lech Walesa, interpreted that as an abandonment.

Take Trump's recent trip to Poland, a nation that has on occasion seen Russian troops and never wants to see them again. Look past the noise surrounding Trump's excellent speech. Instead, focus on the air-defense memorandum signed on Thursday. "The U.S. government has agreed to sell Poland Patriot missiles in the most modern configuration," Poland's defense minister Antoni Macierewicz announced. This provides a real measure of Trump's support for Poland, which is understandably nervous about the Russian Iskander missile system to be deployed in Kaliningrad. More from National Review: Don Jr.'s disgraceful meeting The organic industry is in turmoil Charlie Gard's fate shouldn't be decided by the state

That omission is telling. Trump's comments might be suggestive, and his campaign team may well have sought and even used anti-Clinton information from Russian sources, but his policies have thus far been revealingand not of any particular softness on Russia. Just the opposite: Where Obama was weak, the Trump administration has pursued a tough-on-Russia foreign policy.

Anyone who knows anything about President Trump knows that there's something up with him and Russia. Yesterday, Donald Trump Jr. basically admitted to at least attempted collusion. And there is the long list of often embarrassingly positive statements Trump Sr. has made about the Russian president. Frank Bruni compiled them in a recent column for the New York Times. Yet there is something missing from Bruni's article, and often, from the larger narrative about the Trump campaign's alleged collusion with the Russians: a single mention of policy.

While Trump may try to leverage this personal relationship into Russian strategic compromises  he would not be the first or second president to try  American and Russian interests are simply not aligned.

Trump and Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland, also discussed American natural-gas shipments to Poland, the first of which arrived only last month. Trump is pushing American and Polish companies to sign a long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) deal, though he won't have to push very hard.

This is part of Trump's strategy to achieve "energy dominance," as he put it last week. "We will export American energy all around the world," Trump said. Rick Perry, the U.S. secretary of energy, explained that the plan seeks to counter Russian influence. The goal is to provide vulnerable European nations with an "alternative to Russia" so they can no longer be "held hostage." Trump echoed these comments in Poland.

This initial memorandum of understanding with Poland is only the plan's first step. More is planned. As Investors Business Daily notes:

Poland has just built a massive Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) terminal on the Baltic as an entry point for gas from the U.S. and other energy suppliers. What's more, that terminal is big enough, according to estimates, to replace as much as 80% of Russia's gas supplies to Poland. All of the Baltic nations  Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia  are likewise building LNG facilities. Croatia plans to open its own LNG terminal in 2019.

Already, Trump has offered to export American coal to Ukraine, which Russia has long bullied with actual or threatened cuts in natural-gas exports. The other nations at the recent Three Seas Initiative attended by Trump (Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria) would like U.S. energy too.



There is perhaps nothing the Russians fear more than American oil and gas production. It has the potential to supplant Russian gas exports, which are crucial to Russia's coffers as well as its strategic ambitions. The absence of a strong "oil weapon" functioning as both carrot and stick would substantially reduce Russia's ability to meddle in European affairs. Trump's initiative, therefore, is poised to protect Europe and weaken Russia.

This is part of why Walter Russell Mead suggested in February that "Trump isn't sounding like a Russian mole." If Trump were under Putin's influence, he would surely be doing everything he could to limit American natural-gas production, reject proposed pipelines, curtail fracking, and impose harsh emissions reduction targets. But Trump has done the opposite. He has withdrawn from the Paris agreement, approved the Keystone pipeline and set about repealing roadblocks to fracking on federal lands. In June, for instance, the Bureau of Land Management announced it would auction off 195,732 acres of federal land in Nevada for fossil-fuel development.

Flooding the market, American fossil fuels are not only reducing Russian market share, but also bringing down the global prices of oil and gas, creating a new normal that spells trouble for the oil-dependent Russian economy. In other words, by promoting American energy development, Trump is putting the screws to Russia.



In fact, Trump is placing pressure on Russia all across the world. In Syria, where the Obama administration ceded a great deal of ground to the Russians, Trump has escalated, upsetting the Russians. Though the two nations have signed a partial ceasefire covering southwest Syria, many fear that Trump has been too strident in combatting Russian efforts to dominate Syria. The Trump administration has also taken on Iranian-backed rebels in Syria and decisively sided with the Sunni Arab states over Iran, a Russian ally.

Furthermore, Trump has modestly increased military spending and successfully pressured our NATO allies into increasing their military spending as well. NATO's "enhanced Forward Presence" program has sent more troops to the Baltic states, where the alliance has also held extensive war games. Finally, Trump has just appointed Kurt Volker, former ambassador to NATO, as special envoy for Ukraine. On Russia, Volker is as tough as it gets. All together, these measures constitute a serious effort to pressure  not appease  an aggressive Russia.



Of course, none of this means that Putin did not interfere in the election. It certainly doesn't help anyone escape accusations of collusion. However, as Damir Marusic writes, "At a minimum, it means that Putin's interference doesn't appear to have given him a docile American President."



On Friday, Rex Tillerson acknowledged that Trump and Putin seem to have good "chemistry."

This, I predict, will prove temporary. While Trump may try to leverage this personal relationship into Russian strategic compromises  he would not be the first or second president to try  American and Russian interests are simply not aligned. As Trump continues to favor oil and gas extraction, a central plank of his "America First" strategy, and continues to stand with our Middle Eastern and Eastern European allies, Putin will discover that a Republican president was not in the Russian interest after all.

Then the smiles will disappear.

Commentary by Elliot Kaufman, an editorial intern at National Review. Follow him on Twitter @ @esterlingk.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.

2017 National Review. Used with permission.
U.S. stock markets aren't offering the best opportunity and investors should taking bets against them, a chief information officer at a London-based investment manager has told CNBC.

Patrick Armstrong, the CIO at Plurimi Investment Managers, believes that very high valuations, an expected tightening in monetary policy and too much optimism over tax cuts and new fiscal spending should leave investors cautious on the United States.

"Valuation doesn't matter in the short term but at current CAPE (cyclically adjusted price to earnings, which gives a more clear indication of a stock price in comparison to average earnings over the last 10 years) of 29 times, U.S. equities have historically delivered negative real returns over periods of two to five years," he said in an investment outlook published earlier this month.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has begun normalizing its policy in the wake of improved economic growth and low unemployment levels. According to Armstrong, the easy monetary policy of the past had boosted equities but this might change with the Fed's plans to hike rates and reduce its balance sheet.

"I think there was a clear warning in the last (meeting) minutes talking about risk premium, price earnings and investors haven't acknowledged it, but when the Fed starts worrying about equity markets, as an equity investor they've given you that warning," he told CNBC on Tuesday.

The third reason to be "short"  where a trader takes a bet that prices will fall - on U.S. equities is the government's plans on fiscal policy. President Donald Trump promised tax cuts and big infrastructure spending, which made U.S. equities rally since he took office last November. However, such policies are yet to reach the consultation stage and doubts have emerged over the president's ability to deliver.

In the Plurimi investment outlook, the company says that it has sold stock of Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft since last month. It also has a short position on the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000, but is bullish on U.S. biotech, health care and telecoms.
It's been a dark few weeks for the venture capital industry, which has been stung by repeated stories of sexual harassment.

A new fund by women and for women should come as a welcome development to female entrepreneurs.

XFactor Ventures, a $3 million fund backed by venture firm Flybridge Capital Partners, has been formed to invest in tech start-ups that include at least one female founder in their ranks. The fund's general partners are mostly women entrepreneurs, including top executives from Bow & Drape, The Muse, Bitnami and inDinero.

The effort to get XFactor off the ground began about six months ago, but the launch is timely following the latest allegations of sexual harassment that led founders of Binary Capital and 500 Startups to leave their firms.

Tech execs and investors such as LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman responded with well-meaning pledges to clean up the industry. But women VCs said the problem is much bigger. Claudia Iannazzo, a partner at AlphaPrime Ventures, wrote in a post that firms must get serious about setting diversity goals, hiring more women and supporting their development.

Flybridge, based in Boston, acted as XFactor's anchor partner, meaning it was the first investor and holds a big stake in the fund. Other limited partners are high net-worth individuals.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. KENNETH BURGHARDT, Defendant-Appellant. Nos. 16-949 (L) Decided: July 11, 2017

Present: ROBERT A. KATZMANN, Chief Judge, ROSEMARY S. POOLER, GERARD E. LYNCH, Circuit Judges. For Defendant-Appellant: Melissa A. Tuohey, Randi J. Bianco, Assistant Federal Public Defenders, for Lisa A. Peebles, Federal Public Defender, Syracuse, NY. For Appellee: Lisa M. Fletcher, Paul D. Silver, Steven David Clymer, Assistant United States Attorneys, for Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Albany, NY.

UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the matter is REMANDED to permit the sentencing judge to consider non-Guidelines sentences.

Defendant Kenneth Burghardt appeals from judgments of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York sentencing him principally to 262 months' imprisonment for distribution and receipt of child pornography, and 60 months' imprisonment for violating his supervised release by committing those offenses, with the two sentences to run consecutively, for a total of 322 months' imprisonment, upon his plea of guilty to the criminal charges and his admission of thereby violating his supervised release.

At sentencing, the district court calculated Burghardt's Sentencing Guidelines range as 262 to 327 months' imprisonment on the underlying indictment, and 12 to 18 months' imprisonment for the violation of supervised release. Because he was a registered sex offender, however, Burghardt was subject to a mandatory minimum term of 60 months' imprisonment for violating his supervised release. 18 U.S.C.  3583(k). We assume the parties' familiarity with the remaining facts, procedural history, and the issues on appeal.

Burghardt argues that his sentence was both procedurally and substantively unreasonable. We review a sentence for procedural reasonableness under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. United States v. Jesurum, 819 F.3d 667, 670 (2d Cir. 2016) (internal quotation marks omitted). A sentence is procedurally unreasonable if the district court fails to calculate (or improperly calculates) the Sentencing Guidelines range, treats the Sentencing Guidelines as mandatory, fails to consider the  3553(a) factors, selects a sentence based on clearly erroneous facts, or fails adequately to explain the chosen sentence. Id. (internal quotation marks and emphasis omitted). A sentence is substantively unreasonable if it is outside the range of permissible decisions, United States v. Park, 758 F.3d 193, 200 (2d Cir. 2014) (per curiam), such that the sentence is an outlier  that reflect[s] actual abuse of the district court's considerable sentencing discretion, United States v. Messina, 806 F.3d 55, 66 (2d Cir. 2015) (internal quotation marks omitted). The standard of review on the appeal of a sentence for violation of supervised release is now the same standard as for sentencing generally: whether the sentence imposed is reasonable. United States v. McNeil, 415 F.3d 273, 277 (2d Cir. 2005).

I. Procedural Reasonableness

Burghardt contends that his sentence was procedurally unreasonable because the district court imposed consecutive terms of imprisonment for the violation of supervised release and the underlying criminal conduct based on the mistaken belief that doing so was mandatory. Burghardt is correct that the consecutive terms of imprisonment were not mandated by statute. We find no procedural error, however, in the district court's imposition of consecutive terms. During the sentencing proceedings, both parties advised the district judge that he had discretion to impose the sentence concurrently. Moreover, in deciding not to do so, the judge stated that he would be remiss as a judge if [he] made it all concurrent, J.A. 168, thus clearly implying that he understood that he had the power to do so. Although the district judge also stated that, in imposing consecutive terms, he was following the statute and the spirit of that statute, id. at 169, there is no indication that he believed the statute mandated the imposition of consecutive sentences. Therefore, the district court did not impose consecutive terms of imprisonment as a result of legal error, and we reject Burghardt's challenge to his sentence as procedurally unreasonable.

II. Substantive Unreasonableness

Burghardt also argues that his total sentence of 322 months in prison was substantively unreasonable. On the present record, we lack sufficient information to assess that argument because it is not clear that the district court considered whether a non-Guidelines sentence was sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes of sentencing. 18 U.S.C.  3553(a). We have noted the serious flaws in the child pornography enhancements in U.S.S.G.  2G2.2, describing those provisions as fundamentally different from most Guidelines, since the enhancements, unless applied with great care, can lead to unreasonable sentences that are inconsistent with what  3553 requires. United States v. Dorvee, 616 F.3d 174, 183, 184 (2d Cir. 2010); see United States v. Jenkins, 854 F.3d 181, 188 (2d Cir. 2017). Similarly, in the context of the monetary loss table, we recently explained that, where the Sentencing Commission has assigned a rather low base offense level to a crime and then increased it significantly by a loss enhancement, that combination of circumstances entitles a sentencing judge to consider a non-Guidelines sentence. United States v. Algahaim, 842 F.3d 796, 800 (2d Cir. 2016).

Burghardt's extremely high Guidelines calculation, and the requirement of a mandatory 60-month sentence on his supervised release count, resulted from the confluence of several statutory and guideline sentencing rules that, as discussed in Dorvee, piled up a number of enhancements to the offense level, and then accounted at least three times for the fact that he committed his offense while on supervised release after release from an 87-month sentence for an earlier child pornography offense. First, Burghardt was subject to the typical cascade of Guidelines enhancements that apply to child pornography offenders, see U.S.S.G.  2G2.2, substantially increasing his offense level from 22 to 37. Next, his criminal history score increased by three points for his prior conviction, see U.S.S.G.  4A1.1(a), raising his criminal history category from I to II, and two more points because he committed the instant offense while on supervised release, see id.  4A1.1(d), further raising his criminal history category to III. These escalations of his offense level and criminal history score increased the Guidelines range for his criminal conviction from 41-51 months (offense level of 22, criminal history category of I), to 262-327 months (offense level of 37, criminal history category of III). Moreover, as a recidivist sex offender, Burghardt was subject under  3583(k) to a mandatory 60-month sentence for his supervised release violation, rather than the 12-18 month range for the supervised release violation that would otherwise apply. Finally, the supervised release Guidelines generally recommend that district courts impose sentences for supervised release consecutively to any other term of imprisonment, although those Guidelines do not mention the mandatory 60-month term that applied to Burghardt. See U.S.S.G.  7B1.3(f). In sum, the fact that Burghardt committed a child pornography offense, subject to its own severe enhancements, while on supervised release from an earlier offense of the same kind raised the bottom of his recommended guideline range dramatically. The district court did not discuss whether those overlapping enhancements accurately reflect the proper balancing of the  3553(a) factors in Burghardt's case, and we remand to give the district court an opportunity to consider whether the cumulative effect of those enhancements, in relation to the  base offense level, should result in a non-Guidelines sentence. Algahaim, 842 F.3d at 800.

We do not rule that the sentence was substantively unreasonable in this case, nor do we suggest that these guideline enhancements in themselves are excessive or irrational. Their cumulative impact, however, is enough to give us pause, absent a clearer account of the reasons for the consecutive sentence that the district court imposed as well as an indication that the court considered the impact of the enhancements. Although the district court provided some reasons why a severe punishment was necessary in Burghardt's caseand we do not question the legitimacy of those reasonswe think it appropriate to give the court an opportunity to consider whether the cumulative effect of overlapping enhancements, Algahaim, 842 F.3d at 800, rendered a non-Guidelines sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to serve the purposes of punishment, 18 U.S.C.  3553(a). See United States v. Aldeen, 792 F.3d 247, 255 (2d Cir. 2015) (the requirements of  3553(a) apply to sentence for violations of supervised release).

Accordingly, we REMAND the matter to the district court for further consideration as outlined in this order.

FOR THE COURT:

CATHERINE O'HAGAN WOLFE, CLERK

FOOTNOTES

. The offense level would have been 40 but for the three-point reduction that Burghardt received for timely acceptance of responsibility. See U.S.S.G.  3E1.1(a)-(b). The maximum possible offense level under the Guidelines is 43, for which the recommended sentence is life in prison irrespective of a person's criminal history category.

. Burghardt was subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 180 months' imprisonment, however, because he is a recidivist. See 18 U.S.C.  2252A(b)(1).
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. HELENA FAHERTY, Appellant v. SECRETARY UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY No. 16-4126 Decided: July 11, 2017

Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, FUENTES, Circuit Judge, and STARK, * Chief District Judge

OPINION**

Helena Faherty appeals an adverse summary judgment ruling on her Title VII suit. We will affirm.

Faherty, a Caucasian woman, worked for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as a Supervisory Transportation Security Officer at Philadelphia's international airport. Prompted by an anonymous letter, in 2007 the TSA began investigating allegations of widespread overtime and scheduling abuses by the supervisory staff. The initial stages of the investigation were conducted by a Federal Air Marshal, whose preliminary findingsthat Faherty was one of seven supervisors who had potentially falsified her time and attendance recordswere then handed off to TSA management.

When confronted, Faherty denied any wrongdoing and provided explanations for some of the alleged discrepancies. As she explained, her time and leave practices had been authorized by her former manager (since deceased), who signed off on her time sheets and allowed her to telework from home on occasion.

The final disciplinary decision was entrusted to George E. Clisby, the airport's Acting Deputy Federal Security Director, who thought Faherty's violations were serious enough to warrant her termination. According to his written Notice of Decision on Proposed Removal, Clisby identified inconsistencies in Faherty's account of the permission her deceased manager had allegedly grantedwhich Clisby could not, for obvious reasons, verify with the managerand in her underlying conduct. In Faherty's protestations of innocence, Clisby saw instead a failure to take responsibility for the misconduct, suggesting that her potential for rehabilitation [wa]s poor.

In the end, of the seven supervisors investigated, six saw their employment with the TSA come to an end. Two resigned before formal disciplinary proceedings began. Four others (including Faherty) were let go.

Faherty's lawsuit focuses on the odd one out: supervisor CH, who was demoted instead of fired despite a similaror, as Faherty asserts, more egregiouspattern of time and leave violations. Like Faherty, CH claimed during the disciplinary proceedings that some of his apparent violations had in fact been authorized by his manager. But while Clisby had not believed Faherty, he did credit CH's excuse, declining to sustain certain of the disciplinary charges against him. Because Clisby, like CH, is an African American man, Faherty charged that she had been the victim of race and gender discrimination and, as a result, had been fired in violation of the law.

Applying the familiar three-part McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework for Title VII claimsplaintiff's prima facie case, employer's legitimate reason, plaintiff's demonstration that the legitimate reason is pretextual the District Court granted summary judgment in favor of the TSA. Particularly salient to the District Court were two differences between CH's situation and Faherty's. First, unlike Faherty, CH was able to offer a sworn statement from his manager that backed up parts of his storyfor instance, that he sincerely thought he could go home 59 minutes early without claiming leave. Second, CH admitted his mistake and accepted responsibility, promising that, if retained as a TSA employee, he would not repeat the [mis]conduct. Clisby took this into account as a positive factor in CH's potential for rehabilitation. The District Court concluded that Faherty failed to make the required showing, through either direct or circumstantial evidence, that a reasonable factfinder could find impermissible racial or gender-based discrimination. Faherty appealed.

Having reviewed the record, we agree with the District Court that, assuming Faherty's success at the first step of McDonnell Douglas, she has failed to show that the TSA's proffered reason for terminating her was actually pretext for discrimination. Faherty dedicates more than ten pages of her brief to identifying what she describes as CH's extensive derelictions, which (by her calculation) far exceeded her own in scope and severity. But it appears undisputed that Clisby did not assess the raw data from which Faherty draws support, and instead based his analysis on his predecessors' audita technique he also appeared to use in Faherty's own review. And Faherty has not shown discriminatory animus by any TSA employees who curated the data for Clisby's use.

Faherty also contends that the District Court impermissibly made credibility determinations and otherwise resolved inferences against her, which it may not do at the summary judgment stage. Her discussion of credibility determinations, however, focuses on Clisby's decision to credit CH's excuses while disbelieving her own. It would indeed be impermissible for the District Court to disregard evidence suggesting that Clisby's decisions involved racial or gender animus, but that is not what the Court did. Rather, it acknowledged Clisby's stated reasons for demoting CH while firing Flaherty: CH fessed up and also provided a statement from his manager that partially backed up his excuse. We reject Faherty's assertion that the District Court misapplied the summary judgment standard.

For the reasons set forth above, we will affirm the District Court's judgment.

FOOTNOTES

. Faherty elsewhere identifies herself as Hispanic/Native American. We use the designation from her appellate brief; ultimately, the distinction is not material.

. App. 79.

. See Jones v. Se. Pa. Transp. Auth., 796 F.3d 323, 326 (3d Cir. 2015) (citing McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973)).

. See Faherty v. Johnson, 209 F. Supp. 3d 797, 802 (E.D. Pa. 2016). We note that CH's manager was also demoted.

. App. 99; see Faherty, 209 F. Supp. 3d at 802.

. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.  1291 and conduct plenary review of the District Court's summary judgment decision. Jones, 796 F.3d at 325.

. See Montone v. City of Jersey City, 709 F.3d 181, 191 (3d Cir. 2013).

. Faherty asserts also that the District Court improperly considered hearsay allegations and looked to factual allegations not identified in defendant's statement of material facts. Appellant's Br. at 6, 20. These arguments, made only in passing and not developed further, are waived. See Goldman v. Citigroup Global Mkts., Inc., 834 F.3d 242, 248 n.5 (3d Cir. 2016), cert. denied, 2017 WL 2216954 (May 22, 2017).

FUENTES, Circuit Judge.
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Vince Cable is wrong. Brexit will take place, because of the way in which the Article 50 process works. It is essentially a conveyer belt: once a state has given notice of withdrawal from the EU, it is travelling towards exit two years after this has been given  in this case, on March 31 2019. It is true that there is a get-out clause: the deadline can be extended if the European Council agree it with the member state concerned. But this is not going to happen unless Britain is seized by some extraordinary convulsion. The two main political parties stood on manifestos which commit them to honour last Junes referendum result. Lump in the minor parties, and roughly 85 per cent of MPs are formally committed to the principle of leaving the EU.

However, though the fact of Brexit is set, the form of it is not. Continued British membership of the Single Market, for example, would not breach the letter of last Junes result: Norway and two other EEA member countries  Iceland and Lichtenstein  are not EU member states. Nor would staying in the customs union: Turkey, for example, is a partial member, but not in the EU. This brings us to the Governments Repeal Bill, which would do the opposite of its title  in most respects, anyway. The purpose of the Bill is to give business and citizens certainty by transferring EU law into British law as it repeals the 1972 European Communities Act. It is set for its First Reading today.

But there is no date for Second Reading; the Bill is being pushed back. This is because opponents of Brexit in the Commons are looking for ways of keeping Britain as close to EU membership as possible. Anna Soubry and Chuka Umanna are leading an All-Party Group that favours Single Market membership. It is not clear whether the Bill could be amended to this end, or to confirm continued Customs Union membership, or whether the Government would bow to the will of the Commons in such circumstances, rather than seek a general election, but it is certain that such attempts will be made. Furthermore, some MPs are likely to seek to a long transition or implementation period as we leave the EU. Others dislike the so-called Henry VIII clauses which the Bill will contain. Finally, some of the most diehard opponents of Brexit may seek to oppose the repeal of the 1972 Act if they believe they have obtained enough political cover. Much will depend on what Jeremy Corbyn and Labour decide to do. These are murky legislative waters; the Government has no majority; Second Reading is postponed.

One of the questions that Conservative MPs should ask themselves over the summer, while preparing for the start of the new Parliamentary year, is whether Customs Union membership or Single Market membership or both is consistent not with the letter of the the referendum result, but the spirit. The former would blunt the logic of Brexit, as Shanker A. Singham argued on this site last week, by preventing Britain from striking new non-EU trade deals on its own  and doing so is important if we are to make the most of leaving the EU. The latter offers no proper means of controlling immigration, if any all, and Lord Ashcrofts research found that this was the second most important factor behind the referendum verdict.

The first was taking back control. This is not reconcilable with remaining a Single Market member. Besides, both the Remain and Leave campaigns agreed that a Brexit vote would mean quitting it: David Cameron was very clear on the point. So was Theresa May in her speech to Party Conference last year, her address in January setting out the Governments negotiating position, and the manifesto. So have been Cabinet Ministers since the election, including Philip Hammond. None of this is to rule out an implementation period, the creation of which is only common sense. But such a period is necessarily time-limited  as its name suggests  contrary to last weeks push by the CBI.

UKIP has imploded. But this does not mean that there would be no electoral penalty for the Conservative Party to pay were it to resile from its present approach to leaving the EU. This is neither to seek a Soft Brexit (i.e: continued Single Market or Customs Union membership) nor a Hard Brexit (i.e: a basic WTO deal alone, seeking legal certainty and no non-tariff barriers alone, with no agreement on tariffs). Rather, it wants what May called a bold and ambitious free trade agreement with the European Union as part of a new and equal partnership  between an independent, self-governing, Global Britain and our friends and allies in the EU.

Since that January speech in which she set out those aims, her political position has weakened. The Governments position on an important aspect of the negotiation is unclear  namely, the proposed length of any implementation period. But the negotiating cards are not all stacked in our interlocuters hands. We have a very powerful one: money, as the second biggest contributor to the EU budget. There is a strong basis for a deal here. To label is money-for-access would be a crude way of putting it, but to the point for all that.

Tory MPs will want to ask themselves if they really want to spurn the message that the voters sent them only last year by a narrow but clear majority, which was endorsed by the manifesto on which they stood, and which must be delivered if a further election in the near future is to be avoided. That combination offers them a high motive for sticking with Mays Brexit programme  alignment with the referendum and election results  as well as a lower one: self-preservation.
Duncan Sim is Policy and Projects Officer at ResPublica.

Brexit has thrown established thinking about Britains foreign policy and international diplomacy into doubt. The Government has outlined its vision of a Global Britain, described by the Prime Minister as a country that goes out into the world to build relationships with old friends and new allies alike  but there are different ways in which this can be done.

In particular, the focus on establishing new trading relationships will appear increasingly narrow and myopic as time goes on if it is not complemented with a strategy to develop Britains global profile in realms beyond the economic.

This is why in our recently released report, Britains Global Future, ResPublica argues that the Government should give focus to building the UKs soft power capacity abroad, to guarantee for the UK leverage in discussions of not just trade but also security, climate change, human rights, and other shared international agendas and challenges.

Soft power is often understood in terms of a global competition in nation-branding and familiarity with a countrys cultural exports. But we argue that such familiarity represents only a gateway for genuine soft power, which is instead based on the establishment of credibility and long-term relationships with both the elites and  increasingly, as a result of technological advances  the ordinary citizens of countries overseas

Understood in this way, the UKs soft power capacity is therefore a reflection of who we are, the values we believe in, and how successfully we can win respect for these values from the citizens of other nations.

Yet the soft power benefits of international attraction to British ideals  societal openness and tolerance, democracy, the transparency and accountability of our powerful or culturally significant institutions, and others  will be immediately lost if we are seen not to be upholding and defending those same values across the world wherever we have the opportunity.

Attempts to build Global Britains soft power must recognise that our influence ultimately derives from such consistency; this influence has been termed the power of example. As such. the UK must continue to take an active interest in the political and cultural prosperity of other nations, demonstrating our concern not merely for economic exchange, but also in the conditions under which society and government operate.

The question for government is therefore how the UK can best project abroad the values of transparency, accountability and trustworthiness  values for which research from the British Council suggests the UK is known and admired among foreign citizenries  and so build Britains influence on the global stage.

We argue that the UKs most powerful asset in this regard is its autonomous civil society, a network of institutions many of which undertake activity in other nations or which have extensive connections abroad. Such institutions include the British Council, outposts of the BBC World Service, charities, and the UKs cultural and higher education sectors.]

Despite their more informal presence than the various branches of British government, the actions of these institutions abroad and the principles they are seen to embody should be considered crucial to how Global Britain is perceived. Factors such as their independence from government and the credibility of their outputs make them living exemplars of the values discussed above, and their connection with Britain therefore reinforces the association of the UK itself with these values.

These institutions can therefore drive the UKs efforts to build its soft power capacity, channelling Britains international efforts to promote those values it sees as important in a way which  at a time of growing mistrust in governments around the world  the state alone cannot. Our report describes specific actions these institutions can take, and specific ways in which government can support them, to deliver the maximum soft power payoff while allowing these institutions to retain their crucial operational independence from government.

However, these institutions must be properly resourced if they are to step up to this task. Our paper welcomes the Prime Ministers commitment to the 0.7 per cent aid target, but recommends restructuring how aid funds are allocated to invest more in promoting civil society and access to education  particularly higher education  abroad.

We believe this will be of considerable benefit to the countries in receipt of this aid  a strong civil society is widely recognised as integral to a countrys security, prosperity, and protection of human rights, while access to higher education is included in the UNs Sustainable Development Goals  yet will also deliver real soft power benefits for the UK as a by-product of this activity.

Our future international engagement must showcase the best of Britains practices and values. Government can only do so much on this front; authority and resources must also be devolved to the UKs global institutional ambassadors to allow Global Britain to effectively broadcast its ideas and develop its influence.
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United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee v. SIMON CRUZ-PENA, Defendant - Appellant No. 16-30803 Decided: July 10, 2017

Before HIGGINBOTHAM, SMITH, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.

Simon Cruz-Pena pleaded guilty to illegal reentry into the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C.  1326(a) and was sentenced to a 48-month term of imprisonment. Cruz-Pena appeals his sentence, arguing that the district court improperly calculated his guidelines range. For the reasons explained below, we AFFIRM.

I. Background

At sentencing, the district court adopted the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR), which calculated Cruz-Pena's total offense level at 21 and his criminal history category at III. Cruz-Pena's criminal history category was raised from II to III because the PSR counted a 2005 Florida conviction for assault on a law enforcement officer (Florida assault) when determining his criminal history category. See U.S. SENTENCING GUIDELINES MANUAL (U.S.S.G.) Ch. 5, Pt. A (U.S. SENTENCING COMM'N 2015). Cruz-Pena committed the Florida assault at age 16, but he was convicted as an adult after he provided a false date of birth to the court. At the time he committed the instant reentry offense, there was an outstanding probation violation warrant for the Florida assault, which qualifies as a criminal justice sentence under U.S.S.G.  4A1.1(d). See U.S.S.G.  4A1.2(m). The PSR counted the Florida assault as one criminal history point under U.S.S.G.  4A1.1(c), and then added two additional criminal history points under  4A1.1(d) because Cruz-Pena committed the instant reentry offense while under a criminal justice sentence stemming from the Florida assault. Thus, when counting the Florida assault, the PSR assessed a total of three criminal history points to Cruz-Pena.

Adding the three criminal history points from the Florida assault to the three criminal history points for another assault conviction resulted in a criminal history category of III. See id. With an offense level of 21 and criminal history category of III, Cruz-Pena's guidelines range was 46-57 months of imprisonment. Counsel for Cruz-Pena requested a downward departure from the guidelines range and recommended that 41 months would be appropriate in this matter. The district court sentenced Cruz-Pena to a term of 48 months after emphasizing that both of his assault convictions were extremely serious. Cruz-Pena argues on appeal that his Florida assault should not have been counted in calculating his criminal history category. Without the Florida assault, Cruz-Pena's guidelines range would have been 41-51 months. See U.S.S.G. Ch. 5, Pt. A.

II. Standard of Review

We review for plain error because Cruz-Pena did not object to the calculation of his criminal history category. United States v. Avalos-Martinez, 700 F.3d 148, 153 (5th Cir. 2012) (per curiam). To show plain error, Cruz-Pena must show (1) an error (2) that was clear or obvious (3) that affected his substantial rights. Id. If Cruz-Pena establishes plain error, we have the discretion to correct the error if it seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.  Id. (quoting Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129, 135 (2009)). Even though the Government concedes that the first three factors of plain error are met, we are not bound by the Government's concessions of error and conduct our own independent review. United States v. Williams, 821 F.3d 656, 658 (5th Cir. 2016).

III. Discussion

Cruz-Pena argues that, pursuant to U.S.S.G.  4A1.2(d), his Florida assault should not have been counted because he was under the age of 18 when he committed the assault and the sentence was imposed more than five years before the instant reentry offense. Our review suggests that Cruz-Pena is correct, however, we pretermit further consideration of whether the first two prongs of plain error are met because we conclude that it would not change the result in this case.

Assuming arguendo that a clear error was committed, we would have to conclude that the third prong is met because the record is silent as to what the district court might have done had it considered the correct Guidelines range. See Molina-Martinez v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 1338, 1348 (2016). Although the district court considered and rejected a request for a downward variance, it did so without reference to the correct guidelines range. As the Supreme Court observed, [t]he Guidelines inform and instruct the district court's determination of an appropriate sentence. Id. at 1346.

The remaining question, then, is whether we should exercise our discretion to correct the error. [W]hether a sentencing error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings is dependent upon the degree of the error and the particular facts of the case. United States v. John, 597 F.3d 263, 288 (5th Cir. 2010). We will exercise our discretion in those circumstances in which a miscarriage of justice would otherwise result. United States v. Escalante-Reyes, 689 F.3d 415, 425 (5th Cir. 2012) (en banc) (quoting United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 736 (1993)). This assessment cannot be distilled into a single test or set of factors because the fourth prong of plain error review should be determined on a case-specific and fact-intensive basis.  [A] per se approach to plain-error review is flawed.  John, 597 F.3d at 286 (quoting Puckett, 556 U.S. at 142).

Nevertheless, our precedent has identified some guiding principles. We have repeatedly noted that [n]ot every error that increases a sentence need be corrected by a call upon plain error doctrine. United States v. Davis, 602 F.3d 643, 652 (5th Cir. 2010) (alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Ellis, 564 F.3d 370, 378 (5th Cir. 2009)); accord Avalos-Martinez, 700 F.3d at 154; see also Escalante-Reyes, 689 F.3d at 425 (We continue to adhere to our precedent declining to adopt a blanket rule that once prejudice is found under the [third plain error prong], the error invariably requires correction.  (alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Reyna, 358 F.3d 344, 352 (5th Cir. 2004) (en banc))). Furthermore, we have also repeatedly observed that it can be appropriate to exercise our discretion when the sentence is materially or substantially above the properly calculated range. John, 597 F.3d at 289; accord United States v. Torres, 856 F.3d 1095, 1100 (5th Cir. 2017); United States v. Rosales-Mireles, 850 F.3d 246, 250 (5th Cir. 2017).

Here, the sentence is not materially or substantially above the properly calculated range. To the contrary, the 48-month sentence falls within both the incorrect (46-57 months) and correct (41-51 months) guidelines ranges. Thus, as in Rosales-Mireles, there is no discrepancy between the sentence and the correctly calculated range. See 850 F.3d at 250. Although the district court imposed a sentence just two months above the bottom of the incorrect range, it was not the absolute bottom, making it more like Rosales-Mireleswhere the district court imposed a sentence that was one month above the bottom of the incorrect range and the difference between the bottom of both ranges was only seven monthsthan like cases with much greater variations. See 850 F.3d at 251.

Cruz-Pena's criminal history is also an important consideration when determining whether we exercise our discretion. See Avalos-Martinez, 700 F.3d at 154; cf. 18 U.S.C.  3553(a)(1). During sentencing, the judge emphasized that Cruz-Pena's two assaults were extremely serious and rejected a request for a sentence of 41 months, which would have been the bottom of the correctly calculated range. Moreover, Cruz-Pena violated his probation for the Florida assault by failing to report to the probation department, pay his monthly fee, and follow his probation officer's instructions provided in a warning card, a violation that apparently continues to this day and which is not otherwise accounted for in the guidelines determination.

Under these circumstanceswhere the sentence falls within the correct range, the difference between the correct and incorrect ranges is relatively small, the defendant committed multiple extremely serious assaults and subsequently violated his probation, and the district court declined a request to impose a sentence at the bottom of the correct rangewe cannot say that a miscarriage of justice would result if the presumed error is not corrected. See Rosales-Mireles, 850 F.3d at 250; Avalos-Martinez, 700 F.3d at 154. Accordingly, we decline to exercise our discretion to correct this alleged guidelines error.

AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

. Cruz-Pena argues in his reply brief for the first time that, when considering the degree of error, we should look to the percentage that the sentence imposed is above the corresponding sentence of the correct range rather than how many months the sentence exceeds the correct range. Because this issue was not raised in his initial brief, it is abandoned. See United States v. Bullock, 71 F.3d 171, 178 (5th Cir. 1995) (An appellant abandons all issues not raised and argued in [his] initial brief on appeal. (alteration in original)).

PER CURIAM:*
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. BRIAN EDWARD MALNES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. STATE OF ARIZONA; MICHELE REAGAN, Defendants-Appellees. No. 16-16208 Decided: June 30, 2017

Before: PAEZ, BEA, and MURGUIA, Circuit Judges.

MEMORANDUM*

Brian Edward Malnes appeals pro se from the district court's judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C.  1983 action alleging a violation of his rights under the Fifteenth Amendment. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.  1291. We review de novo the district court's dismissal for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 341 (9th Cir. 2010). We affirm.

The district court properly dismissed Malnes's Fifteenth Amendment claim for damages against defendant Reagan in her official capacity, and for damages and injunctive relief against the State of Arizona, because the claim is barred by Eleventh Amendment immunity. See Porter v. Jones, 319 F.3d 483, 491 (9th Cir. 2003) (The Eleventh Amendment erects a general bar against federal lawsuits brought against a state.). We reject as without merit Malnes's claim that defendants' settlement offer waived this immunity. See Edelman v. Jordan, 415 U.S. 651, 673 (1974) (In deciding whether a State has waived its constitutional protection under the Eleventh Amendment, we will find waiver only where stated by the most express language or by such overwhelming implications from the text as (will) leave no room for any other reasonable construction. (internal quotation marks omitted)).

The district court properly dismissed Malnes's Fifteenth Amendment claim for prospective injunctive relief against defendant Reagan in her official capacity because Malnes failed to allege facts sufficient to establish that Arizona's felon disenfranchisement statute reflects racial animus or discrimination, or deprives him of the right to vote due to his previous condition of servitude. U.S. Const. amend. XV,  1; Farrakhan v. Gregoire, 623 F.3d 990, 993 (9th Cir. 2010) (Felon disenfranchisement laws have a long history in the United States  predat[ing] the Jim Crow era and, with a few notable exceptions, have not been adopted based on racial considerations. (citations omitted)); see also U.S. Const. amend. XIII (Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. (emphasis added)).

The district court properly denied as moot Malnes's pending motions after dismissing the action with prejudice.

Contrary to Malnes's contentions, the district court was not required to hold a hearing and allow oral argument prior to ruling on Malnes's motions. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 78(b); D. Ariz. Civ. L.R. 7.2(f) (The Court may decide motions without oral argument.).

The district court did not err in failing to recuse itself sua sponte because Malnes failed to establish extrajudicial bias or prejudice. See 28 U.S.C.  455; Noli v. Comm'r, 860 F.2d 1521, 1527 (9th Cir. 1988) ([I]f no motion is made to the judge  a party will bear a greater burden on appeal in demonstrating that the judge  [erred] in failing to grant recusal under section 455. (alteration in original) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)).

We do not consider matters not specifically and distinctly raised and argued in the opening brief. See Padgett v. Wright, 587 F.3d 983, 985 n.2 (9th Cir. 2009).

AFFIRMED.
Yup; we're filling out the "brutal, dictatorial asshole" bingo card right off the top, today.

But ISIS is a Sunni organization. So when they first showed up on the scene, promising to protect Sunnis against a government that had often done the opposite, a lot of people took them at their word. Abu Kaes was one of them.

He worked as a chef for a TV station in Mosul, and when ISIS first took the city in 2014, he ran the fuck away, as you'd expect. But then, unwisely only in retrospect, he came back:

"After I made contact with my family, they said there was nothing dangerous. At first, it was strange seeing IS with their long hair and beards ... there were no police, there was no public transit. There was almost no school ... At first they wanted to gain people's trust. Prove they would not be dangerous."

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Though maybe ditching the full terrorist uniform to direct traffic might have helped that perception.

I met Abu Kaes at the Khazer refugee camp, outside of Mosul. He eventually fled ISIS control, and the many explosions that surround them. I met his friends, Abu Haider and Abu Ahmed, at the same camp. All of these names are mocking pseudonyms, picked by my sources. Abu means "father of," and it's a common nickname schema in the Arab world. But it was also adopted by many of the foreign fighters who joined ISIS. Like this Canadian convert who called himself "Abu Muslim:"
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Presidio Snags Ex-Dimension Data North America President For Regional Leadership Role

Michael Novinson

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Former Dimension Data North America President Waheed Choudhry has landed a job overseeing operations for $2.7 billion solution provider Presidio's 11-state Western region.

Choudhry started with New York-based Presidio, No. 21 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, in July, according to his LinkedIn page. He left Dimension Data in January 2017 as part of an exodus of high-ranking executives from the Johannesburg, South Africa-based company, No. 10 on the 2017 CRN SP 500, sources told CRN at the time.

"Waheed is widely recognized for building and mentoring high-performance teams centered on a customer-centric culture," Presidio wrote on its executive leadership team page.

[RELATED: Sources: Dimension Data Executive Exodus Continues, With North America President And SVP Of Human Resources Out]

Choudhry's hire comes two months after Presidio CEO Bob Cagnazzi said the company was examining white space areas on the West Coast for geographic expansion. Cagnazzi told Wall Street investors in May that Presidio has been very good at tuck-in acquisitions that really add value right out of the gate.

Presidio has acquired a handful of smaller solution providers in recent years, including Cisco networking specialist Netech and cloud consulting, engineering and integration firm Sequoia Worldwide. Presidio executives weren't immediately available to comment on Choudhry's hire.

West is one of Presidio's six geographic business units, and includes eight offices across Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington. Choudhry is one of five presidents to supervise a geographic region for Presidio, according to the company's website.

Choudhry had been with Dimension Data since the company's April 2014 acquisition of Valencia, Calif.-based Nexus, No. 78 on the 2013 CRN SP 500. He joined Nexus in 2004 as a regional sales manager and worked his way up to the president and COO role, which he held from 2011 until the company was acquired by Dimension Data.

At Dimension Data, Choudhry said he achieved a growth target of $2 billion for the company's U.S. and Canadian sales and solution organization, according to his LinkedIn page. There, he led a team of more than 400 sales professionals around various verticals, and managed strategic partner relationships with Cisco Systems, EMC, NetApp, Pure Storage, Palo Alto Networks, Juniper Networks and Deloitte.

Prior to that, Choudhry said he organically grew Nexus' revenue from $225 million to $600 million and boosted EBITDA from $9.6 million to $30 million during his tenure as president and COO, his LinkedIn page states. He achieved that largely by boosting Nexus' Cisco bookings from $162 million to $340 million during that period.

Choudhry said he launched Nexus' brand in the Northern California market at the start of his tenure with the company, growing revenue from zero to $50 million in just three years.

Choudhry departed Dimension Data around the same time as Denise Messineo, senior vice president of human resources. One month earlier, Dimension Data Americas CEO Mark Slaga and CFO Eric Gibson left the company, while global CEO Brett Dawson resigned suddenly in June 2016.

Presidio began trading as a public company in March 2017, making it the first major solution provider to launch an initial public offering since CDW in June 2013.

In its first quarter as a publicly traded company, Presidio saw cloud revenue grow 52 percent to $119 million, while security revenue jumped 85 percent to $89 million. But the company's largest revenue segment  digital infrastructure  declined 8.6 percent to $420 million.

The company's decrease in digital infrastructure revenue was due to lower sales from government customers, particularly in the federal government, as well as the shift toward software subscriptions. However, Cagnazzi said in May that digital infrastructure sales should bounce back in the current quarter, and be a low-single-digit growth area for Presidio over time.
Security News

Bill Passes That Could Block Kaspersky Lab From Selling To U.S. Department Of Defense

Sarah Kuranda

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Kaspersky Lab could be blocked from selling to some parts of the U.S. government, with a bill passed Wednesday by the Senate Armed Services Committee that could prohibit the U.S. Defense Department from using the security vendor's software over concerns that it "might be vulnerable to Russian government influence," according to the bill.

Kaspersky has global headquarters in Moscow and has North American headquarters in Woburn, Mass. The U.S. Department of Defense, including the U.S. military, would be prohibited from using the company's software under the bill.

The bill has not yet passed into law, still needing to pass both full houses of Congress and be signed by President Donald Trump.

[Related: Microsoft Fires Back At Kaspersky AV Antitrust Allegations]

In an email to CRN, a Kaspersky spokesperson denied any ties to the Russian government.

"Kaspersky Lab, and its founder and CEO, Eugene Kaspersky, do not have ties to any government, and the company has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with any cyber espionage efforts. The company has a 20-year history in the IT security industry of always abiding by the highest ethical business practices, and Kaspersky Lab believes it is completely unacceptable that the company is being unjustly accused without any hard evidence to back up these false allegations. Kaspersky Lab is available to assist all concerned government organizations with any ongoing investigations, and the company ardently believes a deeper examination of Kaspersky Lab will confirm that these allegations are unfounded," the spokesperson said.

The bill builds on a growing set of tensions between Kaspersky and the federal government about the security vendor's Russian roots. Reports said FBI officials visited Kaspersky employees homes earlier this week to question them for an FBI probe.

Kaspersky partners said it was too early to tell what the full implications of the current bill would be, but said they too are getting questions from customers about the company's Russian heritage. Jon Allen, owner of South Ogden, Utah-based Proponent IT, said he has seen customers turning away from the vendor for the past few years, but said concern has accelerated as more hacking events are attributed to Russia.

"With all the hacking going on and the fingers pointing, I think a lot of people's mind-set is better be safe than sorry. Unfortunately, I think Kaspersky is getting caught up in the middle of it all," Allen said.

Allen said while he thinks the Kaspersky technology is strong, his company has had to move away from recommending it to corporate customers and home users in part because of the allegations around Russian ties. Adding to that is the compatibility challenges Kaspersky has faced around the upgrade to Windows 10, which the company is currently filing an antitrust complaint over. Allen said he now primarily recommends another antivirus vendor.

"I started getting a lot of home users [concerned about] where they were based," Allen said. "I actually stopped recommending them for home users just because that concern became more prevalent as time went by."
Security News

Kaspersky Removed From GSA Schedule, Limiting Federal Sales For Its Security Software

Sarah Kuranda

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Kaspersky Lab has been removed from the GSA Schedule, a move that could severely limit the security vendor's ability to sell to the federal government.

The removal, made official late Tuesday, takes Kaspersky off the approved list of technology vendors for government departments on the GSA's Schedule 67 and Schedule 70 contracts. While it wont prevent the government from buying Kaspersky software entirely, purchases would have to be separate from the GSA contract process. That will likely vastly limit the companys sales to the U.S. government.

The removal comes after months of pushback against the security vendor over alleged ties to the Russian government, ties the security vendor has vehemently denied. Kaspersky has global headquarters in Moscow and has North American headquarters in Woburn, Mass.

[Related: Symantec To Boost Mobile Security Capabilities With Plan To Acquire Skycure]

ABC reported Tuesday that the government was eyeing a removal of Kaspersky from the GSA Schedule. The Senate Armed Services Committee last month also passed a bill to prohibit the U.S. Defense Department from using the security vendor's software over concerns that it "might be vulnerable to Russian government influence." The bill still needs to make its way through Congress before it could be signed by President Donald Trump.

In an email to CRN, a Kaspersky spokesperson denied any connection with the Russian government. The spokesperson said Kaspersky has offered significant evidence to the U.S. government to prove that it is not involved in any inappropriate relationships with Russian intelligence.

Kaspersky Lab has no ties to any government, and the company has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage efforts. The company has a 20-year history in the IT security industry of always abiding by the highest ethical business practices and trustworthy development of technologies, and Kaspersky Lab believes it is completely unacceptable that the company is being unjustly accused without any hard evidence to back up these false allegations. Kaspersky Lab, a private company, seems to be caught in the middle of a geopolitical fight where each side is attempting to use the company as a pawn in their political game. Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and founder of Kaspersky Lab, has repeatedly offered to meet with government officials, testify before the U.S. Congress and provide the companys source code for an official audit to help address any questions the U.S. government has about the company. Kaspersky Lab continues to be available to assist all concerned government organizations with any investigations, and the company ardently believes a deeper examination of Kaspersky Lab will confirm that these allegations are unfounded, the spokesperson said.

The federal government represents a significant portion of the IT cybersecurity market. According to Market Research Media, the U.S. federal cybersecurity market is expected to reach $22 billion by 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 12 percent. Kaspersky said it generated $619 million in global revenue in 2015, but it is not clear how much of that comes from the federal market. Kaspersky is a private company and does not have to disclose its financials.

A second report, in Bloomberg, also alleged that Kaspersky had been working with the Russian intelligence agency FSB, citing internal emails it had obtained. Kaspersky published a lengthy blog post slamming the report. Kaspersky said it "regularly" works with governments and law enforcement agencies around the world, but does "not have inappropriate ties with any government."

Some partners CRN spoke with said they have already felt the impact of allegations of Russian ties to Kaspersky. Jon Allen, owner of South Ogden, Utah-based Proponent IT, said he has had multiple customers express concern over the vendor's Russian roots, including one customer who did some contracting with the Department of Defense.

"I've always been a big fan of their software and the way it runs and performs, but I've kind of taken into consideration what my customers feel and if they're not comfortable with the product I've got to give them lots of options," Allen said in a recent interview with CRN. He said he has generally stopped recommending Kaspersky to home users for this reason.

Other partners called the allegations of Russian involvement a political play by the government, with Kaspersky caught in the middle.

"It appears to be mostly political jockeying and pressure between the U.S. and Russia," Michael Knight, president and CTO of Greenville, S.C.-based Encore Technology Group, said in an email. "It would be foolish to think that Kaspersky hasnt worked with the Russian Federal Police, but there is a major difference between working with them to solve state crimes versus cyberespionage."
Many people will recognize the next few words as a gross understatement: The number of cyberthreats and cyberattacks targeting organizations wont slow down anytime soon. In recent months, weve seen increasingly sophisticated attacks targeting specific organizations, compromised IoT devices used in DDoS attacks, and large-scale ransomware outbreaks spreading across the globe.

Many businesses struggle to keep up with the security threats they face, and they dont know how to take the next step to better protect their systems. Updating their IT systems and keeping up with security patches are basic steps, but organizations also need actionable, real-time threat intelligence.

So whats missing? Here are some suggestions for businesses that want better intelligence about the cyberthreats and cyberattacks targeting them:

Automate your security. Many organizations still use human workers to do security tasks that can be done better by automated, intelligent security systems. Automating many security functions have many advantages. Chief among the benefits: Automated systems can respond more quickly to sustained and intense attacks.

Automation can reduce costs, complexity, and errors. Networks can adapt to security demands in the blink of an eye. Automation can help your cybersecurity team build proactive security that can respond immediately to potential threats.

Intent-based security that can recognize threats or problems and can also understand the reason behind something will be critical to thwart automated attacks with automated security. When an intent-based system learns from past experience, it can take the proactive actions prescribed by your companys cybersecurity team without the need for direct human intervention.

While some organizations fear a loss of control when they move much of their security response to an automated system, good automation still gives your security employees visibility into the process. Without taking these trusted steps, we will never be able to move ahead and continuously fall behind an ever-growing attack curve. A portion of that trust lies in the quality and caliber of threat intelligence employed by automated systems.

Automated systems also give your security team more time to work on other issues. As my colleague, James Cabe, says, automated systems free your IT workers from babysitting technology to become data scientists. This especially helps in an era where we have a shortage of cybersecurity professionals.

Share cyberthreat information. Business organizations and governments have been talking about the need to better share more cyberthreat information for several years, and I know this can be easier said than done.

Sharing cyberthreat information with other organizations certainly requires a high level of trust, but the benefits are many. Timely information sharing between organizations can help them recognize future cyberattacks and improve their defenses. By sharing information, organizations can build proactive defenses by working together against cybercriminals.

In 2016, Fortinet witnessed the benefits of information sharing first hand as part of a joint operation that helped INTERPOL and the Nigerian Economic & Financial Crime Commission uncover the head of an international criminal network.

Many businesses can join an ISAO (Information Sharing and Analysis Organization) or ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Center), which are groups focused on sharing threat intelligence relevant to specific industries.

Other organizations like INTERPOL, the NATO Industry Cyber Partnership (NICP), and some regional organizations have active partnerships with vendors and industry leaders to collect and share threat data.

Finally, the Cyber Threat Alliance, for which Fortinet is a founding member, is a not for profit organization led by expert security organizations automating the exchange of real time indicators. This is a good example of how security experts can use automation to exchange threat information to translate into actionable security controls.

One of the keys to successful information sharing is the speed of the process. A common critique of many information-sharing services is that they are slow and unreliable. Organizations involved in information-sharing systems should work to ensure that cyberthreat data is quickly shared and immediately useful.

Dont just collect threat intelligence, use it. Information sharing is a great step forward, but organizations need to go beyond sharing information to the next step: acting on it.

Threat intelligence from other groups needs to be integrated with the data collected inside your own organization. Security tools are effective when they all work together to gather information from many sources, correlate it, and then give insight about your own threat environment.

This turns into actionable information that you should convert into policies that cover all your traditional networks, including public and private clouds, endpoint devices, and IoT systems. Businesses need a strategy for converting threat intelligence into action and they need to act quickly on the information received from other companies and from their own internal security systems.

Todays digital businesses need security tools designed to operate at the speed of business. These few steps are a good start to gauge your networks threat IQ and increase your capabilities to protect against the next lurking cyberattack.
In early May, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy stopped at the Jones Winery in Shelton to kick off the 2017 Passport to Connecticut Farm Wineries Program. While winery owner Jamie Jones acknowledged that his place was chosen to accommodate the governor's schedule  Malloy was slated to appear at another event in Stamford and this was the closest winery on his route  Jones appreciated the attention that the governor's stop generated for himself and the wine industry in Fairfield County.

"We are local businesses producing a product," said Jones. "This brings more attention to it than we've had in the past."

Compared with other states, Connecticut's wine industry is relatively young. The first licensed farm winery, Haight-Brown Vineyard in Litchfield, opened in 1975. More than four decades later, there are 37 licensed wineries in the state, including three in Fairfield County, that produced more than 160,000 gallons of wine last year, accounting for more than 800,000 bottles of Connecticut wine and approximately $1 million in direct sales, according to estimates by Malloy's office.

For Connecticut grape growers, "One of our biggest challenges is dealing with the unpredictability of the weather and how that affects your stock," Jones said. "Every year is different. The New England climate is extremely variable, so dealing with those challenges keeps a farmer on their toes."

"Since we are direct marketing our crop, with so many people coming here on weekends, it is also essential to have good weather on the weekends too." Jones said. "So, we are either the victims or the beneficiaries of the weather, both on the growing and the sales sides."

At DiGrazia Vineyards in Brookfield, business manager Mark Langford lamented being in an area away from the main tourist attractions. "We are in a residential area, as opposed to being next to a casino or the seashore," he said.

Location is also a challenge for White Silo Winery in Sherman, the outermost town in the northwestern corner of Fairfield County. Co-owner Eric Gorman credited both the state's Passport to Wine Connecticut Farm Wineries Program  where wine enthusiasts get a passport-style booklet that can be stamped at Connecticut wineries to qualify for several prizes  and the Connecticut Wine Trail promotion by the nonprofit Connecticut Vineyard and Wine Association  with calling attention to his operations. "This brings in a nice percent of customers, especially towards the fall," he said. "We sell out pretty much every year."

White Silo sells approximately 1,200 12-bottle cases a year, while DiGrazia sells 4,000 cases and Jones sells approximately 5,000. White Silo's sales are anchored at its tasting room, while DiGrazia and Jones sell from their wineries and also self-distribute to independent wine and spirits retailers across the state. Each winery accounts for less than one-fourth of their respective sales through retail channels.

"We needed to develop a wholesale market to bring in adequate sales through Connecticut," said Langford, whose winery also uses e-commerce to sell wines to buyers in New York, Florida and California.

Jones said he considered pursuing e-commerce, but felt the level of work required would distract from a focus on keeping in-store customers satisfied. "Shipping wine is complicated and each state has its own rules about how to deal with alcohol," he said, adding that his retail sales would be more lucrative if the Connecticut legislature lifted the longtime ban on wine sales in supermarkets.

In addition to their wines, all three of the county's farm wineries incorporate other activities related to the fruits and vegetables cultivated on their properties into their revenue streams. These include various events pegged to specific produce. White Silo, for example, has its annual Asparagus Festival in May, while the Jones location sells pumpkins in the early fall and Christmas trees in season.

Having a diversity of crops also helps a winery meet a key state regulatory requirement: at least 25 percent of the fruit in wines made by licensed farm wineries must be grown in Connecticut. Although the threshold is relatively low  major wine-producing states such as California, Oregon and Washington require 95 to 100 percent of a vineyard's wines to contain locally grown grapes  it has created problems. In 2012, state inspectors found evidence that some Connecticut vineyards were below the 25 percent threshold.

Since Connecticut's weather and soil do not enable cultivation of many of the wine grapes associated with Napa Valley or other wine industry centers, wineries here also sell imaginative fruit wine offerings from their farms. While some discriminating Merlot-sipping oenophiles might raise an eyebrow at, if not a glass, of White Silo's rhubarb wine or Jones' proprietary Harvest Time wine mix of apples and pears, buyers in the area enjoy the nongrape vintages.

At DiGrazia Vineyards, "Our most popular wine is made from blueberry, with a little brandy added to it," said Langford.

Vintners interviewed by the Business Journal all said their hiring practices for field labor will not spur visits by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. "We don't hire illegal immigrants," said Gorman at White Silo Winery, and Langford and Jones said the same.

Organic wine production is an industry trend that is just now starting to take root in Fairfield County. At DiGrazia, Langford said he is experimenting with a chemical-free approach, stressing both the ecological and economic value of providing organic products.

"It is daunting to give up synthetically grown fruit," said Langford, who also runs a landscape business accredited by the New England Organic Farming Association. "But I think that organic is the way to go and we are already seeing healthier leaves and better yields."

Phil Hall is a reporter for the Fairfield County Business Journal. For more of his work and that of the journal, please visit westfaironline.com.
ANSONIA  Having a heart attack is no laughing matter.

Just ask resident-turned-author Joe Mauro. But the 60-year-old managed to turn a terrifying trauma of living through his own health crisis into a recently published book, I am Joes Heart Attack, a lighthearted account through humor and humility.

Of course, all is not fun and games, Mauro said. As you will see, there are some sad moments in my life that I would love to forget, as well. But as they say, once you live through these things, you simply cannot un-live them. Some facts seem too wild to be true, but I swear they are. Some of the names may have been changed to protect the guilty. I am sure the medical community will not like much of what I say in the book, so I better remain healthy now, or else my next book just might be my obituary.

Mauro will share his personal experience during the launch of a book signing/discussion tour, kicking off at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Ansonia Public Library, 53 S. Cliff St., followed by an appearance July 30 at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison.

Mauro suffered a heart attack at just 43 years old back in 2000, and began putting pen to paper soon after. He quickly discovered writing about the horrible thing hed gone through proved to be quite therapeutic. Thanks to constant encouragement from his father, who thought the book was both funny and educational, Mauro eventually took a shot at getting the book published  which recently happened through Page Publishing, based in New York. The 96-page book is available at bookstores everywhere, as well as several online retailers, including Amazon.

Mauro said he wants to take readers on a journey in which they laugh through his whimsical and factual life experiences and events leading up to, during, and post-heart attack recovery. Yet he also hopes the book will show people that having a heart attack is not the end of the world.

Boasting a pair of bachelors degrees in physical education and meteorology, Mauro believed he was the picture of health, until the day he had a heart attack. Now retired, Mauro was a meteorologist for 15 years for a major corporate aviation company in New York, enduring a daily 100-mile commute in heavy traffic, which he believes contributed to his heart attack.

I dont want people to fear the words heart attack, Mauro said. I have always exercised and been in some sort of good shape. ... [I]t can affect anyone, this means even if you have the slightest whiff of a hint it may be a heart attack, get it checked out.

After having an internal cardiac defibrillator implanted and taking a barrage of pills daily, Mauro said he works hard to live a healthy lifestyle and most importantly listens to his body to see whether its telling him somethings not quite right.

I simply follow doctors orders and so far so good, I have made it to 60 now, Mauro added.
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His name was once bandied about for governor and U.S. Senate.

Flash back to Cleveland last July, and there was Joe Scarborough obligingly taking selfies with fellow Republicans from Connecticut.

But that was then, and this is now. The MSNBC Morning Joe host, former congressman and New Canaan resident is leaving the GOP, telling Stephen Colbert on his CBS late night show Tuesday that his party has sold its soul to Donald Trump.

Connecticuts top Republican tried Wednesday to tamp down Scarboroughs split with the party, despite it being the top trending topic on Twitter.

The state of Connecticut has so much more to be concerned about than Joe Scarborough, said J.R. Romano, the state GOP chairman. Right now on my list of priorities, it doesnt really rank. I understand that this is a about a personal beef.

Romano was referring to Trumps recent Twitter insults of Scarborough and his fiancee and co-host, Mika Brzezinski, whom the president referred to as Psycho Joe and Crazy Mika, in addition to mocking Brzezinskis appearance.

NBC said Wednesday that Scarborough was not available for interviews.

In a joint appearance with Brzezinski on Colberts show, Scarborough said Republicans have betrayed their core values and sat idly during the presidential race as Trump proposed a ban on Muslim immigrants, feigned knowledge of David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan and criticized a judge for his Mexican heritage.

Time and time and time again, they turned the other way, and its actually disgusting, Scarborough said. You have to ask yourself, what exactly is the Republican Party willing to do? How far are they willing to go? How much of this country and our values are they willing to sell out?

Thats when Colbert asked Scarborough if he still considered himself a Republican.

I am a Republican, but Im not gonna be a Republican anymore, Scarborough said. Ive got to become an independent.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Scarborough was still registered as a Republican, said Joan McLaughlin, the towns GOP registrar of voters. Its unclear whether Scarborough will join the ranks of unaffiliated voters  the largest voter bloc in Connecticut  or whether he will join the Independent Party.

Scarborough isnt the first prominent Republican with ties to the state to disavow Trump. Last year, former longtime Congressman Christopher Shays drew the ire of the Trump wing of the party by voting for Hillary Clinton. A faction of GOP leaders even proposed stripping Shays of the state partys highest honor, the Prescott Bush Award, named for the late Bush family patriarch and U.S. senator.

Are you asking me if Im putting a ban on (Scarborough)? Come on, now, Romano said.

On the floor of the Quicken Loans Arena last July, Scarborough schmoozed with Trump delegates from Connecticut during the Republican National Convention and posed for photos.

nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
BRIDGEPORT - At least Mayor Joe Ganim got to visit Denmark.

Ganims push to further bolster the citys green reputation  not to mention its economy and tax base  by completing predecessor Bill Finchs thermal heating loop ran Wednesday into a gubernatorial veto.

Governor Dannel Malloy in his veto letter claimed the project lacked proper over site and hurt utility ratepayers.

It was in late May that Ganim flew to Denmark to proudly tout the loop, common in Europe, which would utilize waste heat from multiple sources, including the Wheelabrator waste-to-energy plant and a proposed fuel cell.

The loop, a partnership between the city and NuPower LLC, would use a network of underground pipes downtown and in the South End to capture and utilize the otherwise wasted heat at, supposedly, a lower cost than natural gas. That would cut heating bills for existing businesses and those City Hall is trying to attract.

NuPower was also estimated to pay $2.8 million in sorely needed taxes to Bridgeport.

Despite intense lobbying this week by city lawmakers and, sources said, Finch himself, Gov. Dannel Malloy vetoed the bill letting NuPower construct its fuel cell and sell the electricity to state utilities to finance the thermal loop.

Av Harris, Ganims director of legislative affairs, said Wednesday Malloy missed the opportunity to with the stroke of a pen ... launch forward with the first of its kind district thermal heating project in the United States.

The governor in his veto letter wrote that the bills goal was commendable. But, he said, the fuel cell and thermal loop would be fully subsidized by all ratepayers of the local utility (United Illuminating) without proper consumer protections or appropriate regulatory oversight.

Connecticut utilities are required to purchase a certain amount of electricity from clean energy sources. NuPower competed in 2016 for its fuel cell to be one of those clean energy providers. But the proposal was rejected by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Malloy wrote, because it would have cost ratepayers much more than competing proposals  $8.6 million more each year and $173 million more over the 20 year contract term.

So NuPower, the Ganim administration and Bridgeports legislative delegation came up with a Plan B: Get the fuel cell and the thermal loop authorized by the legislature.

They did, and Ganim, who beat Finch in 2015s bitter Democratic primary but has come to embrace the ex-mayors successes in the green economy, had touted the thermal loop bill as a monumental achievement in the recently concluded legislative session.

But the governor was, according to sources, lobbied by DEEP and by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

Meanwhile Finch apparently personally phoned Malloy over the past few days and asked him to sign the legislation, despite the fact that Ganim rarely publicly acknowledges his predecessors work on the thermal loop.

Finch, currently director of the New York State Thruway Authority, could not be reached Wednesday.

Harris called it sad that Malloy heeded the flawed reasoning of officials with DEEP and PURA.

The district heating loop has both proper oversight and protections for Connecticut ratepayers. This was meant to be a pilot project that ... could be repeated in all Connecticut cities to the great benefit of all rate payers, Harris wrote. While today's veto is a setback, we are determined to work with our Democratic and Republican allies in the legislature, as well as regulatory partners at the state level to see the district thermal heating loop completed.
In partnership with the National Park Service, Eastern National would like to invite the public to meet author Aliene Shields at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center on Saturday. Ms. Shields will be available to sign her book "The Legacy of a Common Civil War Soldier: Private Thomas Marion" Shields from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Eastern National bookstore.The Legacy of a Common Civil War SoldierPrivate Thomas Marion Shields fought with the 3rd South Carolina Regiment during the Battle of Chickamauga and the Campaign for Chattanooga in 1863.His letters give insight into a soldiers real life experiences from overcoming illnesses to marching for days, engaging in battle, and longing to hear from his wife Amanda and to see his new born baby.About the author: Ms. Aliene Shields was born in Spartanburg, SC, but soon afterwards her family moved to Edgefield County. After graduating from Columbia College with degrees in Special Education and Public Speaking/Drama, Ms. Shields worked for the South Carolina Department of Education at the district level and earlier taught children and adults having special needs. After retiring from the formal education system, she continued her passion as an educator by promoting life-long learning.In 2007, Ms. Shields began transcribing dozens of letters written by her great-grandfather, private Thomas Marion Shields, during the Civil War. After several years of effort researching the events and places described in the letters, Shields realized the importance of preserving the historical information and legacy of her family. In 2010, Shields published the letters and research in a book titled, The Legacy of a Common Civil War Soldier.Purchase of the book support the national parks.
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BRIDGEPORT  Police charged a Bridgeport man with several drug and gun charges Tuesday evening following a heroin trafficking investigation, a press release from the Bridgeport Police Department said.

Ramon Rosado, 40, of Hawley Avenue, was charged with possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of a firearm, criminal possession of high-capacity magazines, criminal possession of ammunition, illegal gun transfer and risk of injury to minors, police said.
ORANGE Police are asking the public for help after they say a woman robbed the TD Bank on Old Post Road on Tuesday.

Around 6 p.m. a woman passed a demand note to the teller at the Boston Post Road bank, according to police, who described her as wearing jeans, a blue T-shirt, sunglasses and a wig.
Courtesy of the New Mexico State Land Office

US Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke issued an order last week, aimed at boosting oil and gas leasing on federal lands.

During a call with reporters, Zinke said the agency was specifically targeting for development places like the Permian Basin in New Mexico, Utahs Uintah Basin and the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Out of the 700 million acres administered by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), he said only about 27 million are currently under lease. He also called out the agency for the length of time it takes to approve permits for oil and gas projects.

The BLMs permitting process, he said, takes 257 days. Meanwhile, he said that under statute, permits are supposed to be processed in 30 days, and the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 calls for lease sales to be held at least quarterly, he said, and more frequently if the secretary of the interior determines such leases are necessary. The secretarial order he signed, Zinke said, holds the agency to the law.

In addition to streamlining the permitting process and holding quarterly lease sales, the order directs BLM officials to process pending permit applications and identify existing policies or guidance documents that impede the agencys efforts to enhance exploration and development of oil and gas resources on federal lands. It also gives BLM officials 45 days to provide a progress report on efforts to eliminate those policies and documents.

Our intent is to strengthen our regulatory environment by streamlining, providing stability where its not arbitrary and simplifying it, so if a company wants to operate commercially on federal land, that return on investment should be known in a short period, Zinke said.

Zinke also said the administration is giving a signal to the oil and gas industry that were going to be a fair and prudent partner, but were not going to be an adversary to creating wealth and opportunity on some of our public lands. The secretary, who called himself an unabashed admirer of [President Theodore] Roosevelt, said that some of the regulations currently in place for drilling on federal lands are punitive and dont allow industry to be innovating, and actually work against environmental concerns.

Last month, Zinke and the BLMs acting director both called for reducing the agencys workforce to meet targets set by the Trump administrations proposed budget cuts. Energy dominance is important for three reasons, Zinke said during the press call.

Its better to produce energy here under reasonable regulations, than overseas with no regulations, he said, adding that as a former commander in the military, he has seen environmental disasters in places like the Middle East and Africa that the United States does not want to replicate. He added that energy drives the economy, and contributes to national security. In particular, he mentioned that Asian allies desire energy produced in the US, which can also be used as leverage.

Much of what Zinke said during the press call today echoed what former New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn spoke about during a US House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing on oil and gas leasing on federal lands last week. Flynn is currently the executive director of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.

As New Mexico Political Report wrote in an earlier post, in his testimony, Flynn pointed out that with the leadership of Gov. Susana Martinez, New Mexico has since 2011 successfully implemented regulatory reforms on energy and the environment and drastically decreased the amount of time required to grant air quality permits and applications for permits to drill. He called for the BLM to similarly reduce the time it takes to approve permits and projects.
11/11/2022

The Georgia Giant, Shane Clinton of Locust Grove, was victorious Thursday night in the "Dual in the Desert" opener in Las Vegas, with the XR Super Late Model series. Clanton inherited the ... more
UN Human rights independent expert starts visit to Cuba

Submitted by: Juana

Havana

international

07 / 11 / 2017



Virginia Dandan, an independent expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity of the United Nations (UN), will make an official visit to Cuba today, in response to an invitation from the island government, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During her stay in Cuba, the UN representative will carry out a program of meetings and other activities that will allow her to confirm the broad and sustained work of the Caribbean country in the area of solidarity and international cooperation as a contribution to the promotion and protection of collective human rights at a global scale, the announcement reads.

Precisely this Tuesday, the distinguished visitor plans to meet with members of Cuban civil society, which includes social and mass organizations, and leaders of the Ministry of Higher Education and the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation.

The UN expert will remain until Thursday in Havana, and on Wednesday she will be received by Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and Investment ministers, Bruno Rodriguez and Rodrigo Malmierca, respectively, among other officials.

With a vast experience in teaching fine arts at the University of the Philippines, her country of birth, Dandan was a member and chair of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, an area where she is a recognized expert in international level.

Last April Cuba received the United Nations Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Trafficking Victims, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, which was the first visit to the island in 10 years by an independent expert of the Human Rights Council of that world body.

"I have witnessed the political will of the Cuban State to combat trafficking in persons; there is a strong focus on prevention that I congratulate. I observed good practices and the authorities' interest in strengthening them, she told reporters at the time.

"In Cuba, people have a high level of education, know their rights, have a health system that assists, with highly qualified professionals, anyone who has an illness, which reduces vulnerabilities to this crime, which no country is immune to, "said Giammarinaro.
NPRJuly 4, 2017Heard on All Things ConsideredLUKE VANDER PLOEGWhen people leave religious groups, they sometimes feel adrift. Some formerly faithful folks in Southern California are looking for ways to build community specifically for ex-believers.KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:When people leave religion behind, they sometimes feel stranded. They can lose communities, friends, even family. Some ex-believers are coming together in Southern California looking for a new sense of belonging. From member station KCRW, Luke Vander Ploeg reports.LUKE VANDER PLOEG, BYLINE: It's a windy Saturday at bowls the Bolsa Chica State Beach in Long Beach, Calif. The sun is out, the waves are lapping, the ribs are cooking. And if you listen hard, you might catch some light blasphemous humor. This is no ordinary beach party. It's the annual Southern California Interfaithless Summer Kickoff Beach Party. Since 2014, the ex-religious have been coming together to spend a day at the beach with other former believers. It started out as just a couple of ex-Mormons but now...UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: I'm an ex-Scientologist.UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Evangelical.UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Ex-Mormon.UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I'm an ex-Jehovah's Witness.UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Ultra-orthodox Judaism.MAHA AHMED: I'm an ex-Muslim.PLOEG: That last voice you heard belongs to Maha Ahmed. She left Islam about eight years ago, and it wasn't easy.AHMED: I was looking for this thing called faith, and everyone around me seemed to have it. And I just couldn't feel fulfilled with religion. It took me a long time to realize that it was OK and I could just walk away.PLOEG: Still, Ahmed wasn't quite able to walk away completely. It took her a long time before she told her siblings. And her parents?AHMED: They don't know. I think it would change our relationship to something that might be irrepairable.PLOEG: She discovered the beach party a few years after she left Islam and it was revelatory.AHMED: I didn't realize I still carried kind of that burden, that I felt lonely about it. And it lightened the load on my heart a lot.MORRIS BIRD: It's something that people can't get anywhere else.PLOEG: Morris Bird is the founder of the Interfaithless Beach Party. It goes back to a group that he pulled together back in 2011, when he left Mormonism. He felt isolated, so he reached out online and invited some other ex-Mormons to a meet-up.BIRD: At the end, they looked at me and said, you're in charge of the next one.PLOEG: As the group continued to grow, Bird got to thinking.BIRD: Mormons aren't so unique. There's a lot of other people from other backgrounds who have been through a lot of the same things, and I'd like to meet them.PLOEG: So he took to the Internet once again, reaching out on Reddit and messaging boards for the ex-religious with great success. People of all different former faiths flocked to the beach, Morris says, for a chance at meeting others in the same boat.BIRD: People come from Vegas or Bishop, Calif., or Camerino or Bakersfield because they know it's a place where they can have someone who understands them.BART CAMPOLO: What Morris is doing is identifying the hunger.PLOEG: That's Bart Campolo. He was at the beach party as well. I spoke with him a few days later. Bart, like his father Tony Campolo, was a pretty big evangelical leader for most of his life. He left Christianity in a very public way, and people immediately started to reach out to him.CAMPOLO: I hear from lots of people who say, I don't believe in God anymore but I miss it.PLOEG: They don't miss trying to make sense of horrible tragedies or parse through thorny theological problems.CAMPOLO: What they miss is the music and sitting down to talk about how we can be better people and how we can make other people's lives better. They miss the community.PLOEG: Campolo missed it too, and now he's trying to recreate it. He's the humanist chaplain at the University of Southern California. And although he doesn't think the secular world has quite figured out how to make this kind of community work, he has a lot of hope.CAMPOLO: There are all these people. They need a party, but they don't know how to throw one.PLOEG: For now, but fewer and fewer Americans identify with religious groups every year, and many still hunger for community. And as they continue to find each other, Campolo says, eventually they're going to figure out how to throw that party. For NPR News, I'm Luke Vander Ploeg in Long Beach, Calif.(SOUNDBITE OF DIRTY GOLD'S "QUIET LIFE")
The strict rules Helbrans imposed led Israelis to nickname the cult-like group the Jewish Taliban, because female members wear burka-like robes beginning at age three.National postGraeme HamiltonJuly 11, 2017MONTREAL  To the roughly 200 Lev Tahor adherents who followed their charismatic rabbi from country to country, Shlomo Helbrans knew the path to eternal truth. To his numerous detractors, he was a dangerous charlatan who deserved to be locked up.Now, after Helbrans drowned last week in Mexico at age 55, the future of the cult-like group has been cast into doubt, and a path that has jumped from Israel to the United States, Canada, Guatemala and Mexico looks less clear than ever.There is now a power vacuum, said Marci Hamilton, a professor of religion at the University of Pennsylvania who has been watching the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect for about a decade.She said it would be hard for anyone to replace Helbrans, particularly when his death was so sudden. The attachment to a charismatic leader in a very isolated group that engages in illegal practices is so strong, she said.Helbrans and his followers had arrived in Mexicos southern Chiapas province recently after spending three years in Guatemala. They had travelled to Guatemala from Canada, where child-protection authorities were moving to seize children allegedly suffering from neglect.Helbrans founded Lev Tahor  Hebrew for Pure Heart  in Israel in the mid-1980s. The group moved to New York in 1991, fleeing the Armageddon Helbrans believed would come with the first Gulf War.A criminal conviction for kidnapping a boy brought to him for religious instruction led to his deportation to Israel after he served a prison sentence, but in 2000 he arrived in Canada. He was eventually granted asylum from what he claimed was Israeli government persecution for his anti-Zionist views.The strict rules Helbrans imposed led Israelis to nickname the cult-like group the Jewish Taliban, because female members wear burka-like robes beginning at age three and are confined to household tasks.The group had been established on the outskirts of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, north of Montreal, for more than a decade before Quebec authorities began paying close attention. As they prepared to move in to protect children in the sect in late 2013, community members left en masse overnight for Chatham, Ont. Before the next summer, they had moved on to Guatemala.Court documents used by Quebec police to obtain warrants alleged that Lev Tahor girls as young as 13 and 14 in the community were routinely married off to much older men. The allegations in the documents, which became public after the sect had fled and were never proven in court, included sexual and physical abuse of children.La Presse revealed that based on a report of a former Lev Tahor member, provincial police had feared a mass suicide if authorities attempted to break up the community.Speaking from Israel Tuesday, Hannah Katsman, a child-protection advocate who has researched Lev Tahor, said there are fears of what could come next for a group with a strong persecution complex.We know that some cults end with suicide, she said. There has been so much turmoil and chaos in the last few years, ever since they left Quebec.Oded Twik, who rescued his sister and her children from Lev Tahor in 2015, said family members in Israel are very worried about what will happen to sect members. There are a lot of people who are really damaged, Twik said through an interpreter. He was like a pope. He was their spiritual father.Helbrans was reportedly taking part in a purification ritual last Friday when he was swept away by an unusually strong river current. A report in El Orbe said his body was carried a kilometre downstream before it was recovered.Lev Tahor members were in Mexico on a six-month visa. In June, group spokesman Uriel Goldman told El Sol de Mexico that the 40 families had moved to Mexico after facing religious intolerance in Guatemala.Hamilton noted that sect members include citizens of Canada, the United States and Israel, and she said Helbrans death could provide an opportunity for action.To the extent that there are children who are either American or Canadian citizens, at this point the authorities could swoop in and take them. Everything they are doing to those children, at least from the reports weve had, violate international standards, she said.The concern was while (Helbrans) was in power that if the government got too close, he would turn them all against themselves and perhaps have a suicide pact or something horrendous. Email: ghamilton@nationalpost.com |
11 Temmuz 2017 Sal, 14:40

CHP Adana MP Ibrahim Ozalis visited our newspapers columnists and managers who are detained in Silivri Prison. Our columnists, describing the hope with which they followed the Justice March and Justice Rally on televisions in prison, conveyed their thoughts about the Justice March to Ozalis.

Our detained columnists and managers thoughts are as follow:

Kadri Gursel: We followed the crowning of the justice march with the assembly in Maltepe with excitement and hope on the television in our cell at Silivri Prison. I thank CHP General Chair Kemal Klcdaroglu for once more raising the demand for the release of all journalists who have been imprisoned for carrying out their profession in front of the hundreds of thousands who had filled the ground. The Justice March and the Justice Rally in Maltepe came as proof that the culture of and thus demand for democracy has been adopted by the wide masses. Even if we are in jail, we continue to keep our hopes up about Turkey.

Musa Kart: We watched the Justice March and the huge, joyous Maltepe Rally held subsequently with emotion in our cell. We saw people at this rally from all walks who are longing for justice. I hope that those governing this country will correctly read the heartfelt messages from this meeting and take the necessary action without delay. They must accept that those who are longing for justice are more numerous than can be captured on newspaper pages and television screens. Growers who have to sell the apricots in their possession for three kurush want justice, as do students who are left in astonishment each year as the questions are stolen. Against such a stark backdrop, I think we must immediately dispense with superficial claims about one rally beating another. Our first hearing will be held at Caglayan on 24 July. I see myself among the millions who have lost their trust in justice, but we will stand tall that day in the courtroom and defend ourselves. Regardless of how the court rules, I have no doubt that we will be acquitted in the consciences of the millions.

Guray Oz: This march has boosted our spirits, too. For the hearing on 24 July, which at the same time is journalists day. We will go and discredit the contrived indictment that is bereft of proof and evidence. Let us also do our bit along with the millions marching for justice.

Hakan Kara: The millions who filled the rally ground in Maltepe created a new hope for Turkey. If only we had been on the outside and could have joined this march, too. It was a march that has gone down in history. I hope that 9 July will be a fresh start for Turkey.

Murat Sabuncu: The hundreds of thousands who came to Maltepe on Sunday gave an indication of the degree of hunger and longing for justice felt by society and we want and desire rights, law and justice not only for ourselves but for all of society. We must continue to think and create hand in hand and heart to heart to construct justice and a Turkey in which everyone with their thoughts that differ from one another can live together in peace. Society as a whole must be able to object if a problem crops up, not just ourselves or when a problem knocks at our door. We will demand accountability within the bounds of democracy. Let me also note that my heart and mind are with Nuriye and Semih.
Greg Galluzzo, founder and senior organizer of the Chicago-based Gamaliel Foundation, who assisted former President Barak Obama in community organizing will be the guest speaker at a community meeting of concerned clergy, parents, community residents and businesses.



The meeting will be held on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Eastdale Village Community United Methodist Church, 1403 Tunnel Boulevard in Chattanooga.


Dr. Mark L. Walker, veteran Atlanta area pastor, will join the Lee University family on Aug. 1 to lead the schools ministerial training programs.

In addition to his faculty role as chair of the Department of Christian Ministries, Dr. Walker will serve as a senior administrator, with a seat on the President's Cabinet as vice president for Ministerial Development.

In his combined roles, Dr. Walker will lead a new initiative in Lees goal of training young men and women for ministry. Using his skills and experience, he will help prepare aspiring pastors, missionaries, youth and family ministers, chaplains, and other students working toward a career in ministry.

Dr. Walkers accomplishments in pastoral ministry, combined with his academic background, provide a unique preparation for this important assignment, said Lee President Dr. Paul Conn.

Dr. Walker will be coming to Lee from his role as senior pastor of Mount Paran North Church of God, one of the denominations largest congregations, with campuses in Marietta and Canton, Ga. He has served as a pastor there for 25 years, and senior pastor since 1997. Prior to that he pastored First Assembly of God in Orlando, Fl.

Dr. Walker has been a member of the Lee University Board of Directors since 2010. With a national reputation as a popular teacher and preacher, Dr. Walker frequently appears in seminars and conferences across the country. He has been elected on multiple occasions by his ministerial peers in the Church of God to its highest deliberative bodies, the International Executive Council and the North Georgia State Council.

Dr. Walker earned his PhD in organizational leadership from Regent University and his masters and bachelors degrees in counseling and business administration from Georgia State University, respectively.
With more than 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day in the United States, the demographic landscape is changing. That is why Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. is holding the Embrace Aging forum: an all-day event for individuals, families, caregivers and leading service providers.

The forum will be held on Thursday, from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Embassy Suites at Hamilton Place, 2321 Lifestyle Way, Chattanooga, Tn. 37421.

Ashton Applewhite, Next Avenue's 2016 Aging Influencer of the Year, will kick off the forum as the keynote speaker. Ms. Applewhite is the author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism and received a standing ovation on the TED mainstage for her talk on ageism.

The forum is sold out, but community members interested in attending can be added to the event waitlist by visiting www.embraceagingforum.com.

The Embrace Aging forum aims to provide community members with resources to develop a plan for assets, benefits and health care early on in order to prevent future problems. Attendees will have the opportunity to share, network and learn about important topics in aging, such as benefits planning, health and wellness, estate and financial planning, and elder abuse.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has appointed Robbie Sims to the role of vice president and chief audit executive.

Mr. Sims will lead the corporate audit services division, which develops and administers internal audit and claims payment integrity to ensure operational effectiveness and efficiency, financial reporting reliability, and legal and regulatory compliance.

Part of the BlueCross finance team for more than 10 years, Mr.

During his time with the company, Mr. Sims has been instrumental in implementing a high-performance risk-based internal audit function which has been recognized by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association for exemplary strategies, techniques and practices.

Under Robbies management, the internal audit team has established strong partnerships and effective processes throughout the company, said John Giblin, chief financial officer for BlueCross. Robbies proven leadership and extensive knowledge of the organization will continue to enable BlueCross to meet its high standard of business ethics.



Mr. Sims earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Jacksonville State University. He is a certified public accountant, a chartered global management accountant and a certified internal auditor. Hes a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants.


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An intimate photograph has captured the beautiful moment of a young mother bursting into tears when she held her newborn for the first time shortly after giving birth.

High school sweethearts Tegan Bradley and her husband Will welcomed their baby son Billy on the night of July 6.

Building memories of the poignant scene, Sunshine Coast photographer Samantha Smith captured the doting parents meeting their son for the first time at the hospital.

With the newborn resting peacefully on her lap, the 25-year-old mother-of-three, from Brisbane, couldn't contain her tears as her husband tenderly kissed her forehead.

High school sweethearts Tegan Bradley and her husband Will welcomed their baby son Billy on the night of July 6. The young mother couldn't help but burst into tears when she held her newborn for the first time shortly after birth (pictured together)

'I felt amazing after the birth in disbelief that he was finally here just an overwhelming amount of emotions,' Ms Bradley told Daily Mail Australia.

'Looking back on the photo makes me emotional but a good kind. It's those little details that you miss during the moment.

'I remember sitting there sobbing when he was born but I don't remember Will kissing me on the forehead and even the little detail of him holding Billy's hand just makes my heart explode.'

Just moments after birth, the mother said she was on an emotional rollercoaster when she finally held her baby for the first time.

Happy family! The family of four (pictured from left to right: Little Charlotte, father Will, mother Tegan and daughter Bridget) who are eagerly waiting for their newest addition building memories together

Like mother, like daughters: The pregnant mother playing with her two daughters Charlotte and Bridget in a lake

Picture perfect! As the Brisbane family wait for the newest addition to arrive, they decided to create some memories together

High school sweethearts: Tegan met her now husband Will when she was 15 years old - and they since have three children

The 25-year-old mother-of-three said she and her husband Will took a year to conceive their third child - baby son Billy

'I couldn't believe I had just done it, during the last stages of labour, I felt like I lost all control, like I couldn't do it anymore, it all seemed too much and too far away,' she said.

'Holding Billy for the first time... I was proud that I had done it, he was here and he was perfect.

'I do remember I kept saying "I can't believe he's here". Even an hour after birth, I remember just bursting into tears again because I just couldn't believe he was actually here.

'It took us a year to conceive him. And then to finally have him just felt unbelievable.'

Making beautiful memories to last a lifetime: Little Charlotte smiling next to the mother as they swim in a lake together

Pregnancy love! Little Bridget kissing her mother's baby bump just weeks before her little brother Billy was born

Young father Will juggling his two loving daughters Charlotte and Bridget in his arms as they build memories together

Bridget smiling with excitement as she places her face hear her mother's stomach, which was carrying her little brother

Ms Bradley praised other half of 10 years for being by her side from her pregnancy to birth.

'Will was an incredible supportive person, even with our previous children,' she said.

'We had other family members present as well, and Will has always been supportive but I guess with the others there, it was shared between all of us.

'But this time, it was all him and it was perfect. Will was so amazing and encouraging. I could not have gone through it without him, his words of encouragement and support was unbelievable.'

For more details about photographer Samantha Smith, please visit her website Laine Pictures & Film.

Make room for five! The Brisbane family of four has welcomed their newest member after the birth of little Billy
A mother-of-two in Sydney faced a traumatic situation she won't forget when her 22 month old son was burnt by green tea.

Donna Truscott, 37, was sick at home with her ex husband, Brendan, when they heard an ear splitting scream from the kitchen.

'I remember seeing Braxton's chest in the check up and his skin was just black, I just turned around... because I didn't want him to see me cry,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

A mother-of-two faced a traumatic situation she won't forget when her 22 month old son (pictured) was burnt by green tea

Donna Truscott (right), 37, was sick at home with her ex husband when they heard an ear splitting scream from the kitchen

'I should have known that it was going to be worse than I imagined, you just don't know what to expect.'

Brendan was over to help out when Braxton reached for a freshly made cup of green tea off the counter in the kitchen.

'It was a scream I'd never heard before, he was so red but it didn't register as I didn't know Brendan had made the green tea,' she said.

'I could see his chest was red raw and the left side of his cheek was red. I knew he was in pain I just wanted him to stop crying, I didn't know what else to do.'

In a state of panic Donna yelled out to her mother to come help as Brendan removed the pyjama top, which peeled the skin with it, and hopped in the shower.

'I felt helpless, his dad climbed into the shower with Braxton crying.

'I just kept saying "it's not your fault, accidents happen, mistakes happen".'

She said that she is thankful that her other son Mason, who was 10 at the time, didn't hear the commotion as he was upstairs with headphones in.

They called triple zero and waited anxiously for the ambulance to arrive.

'I remember seeing Braxton's chest in the check up and his skin was just black, I just turned around... because I didn't want him to see me cry,' she said

'It took 16 minutes, it took forever. It didn't really but all I could hear was him screaming in agony, the triple zero operator told us to put him in a tepid bath,' Donna explained.

'I was asking how long the ambulance would be, it felt like forever as I watched him in pain,' she said.

The operator stayed on the phone until the paramedics reached the house which Donna was extremely grateful for.

'It was great because I was panicking and I couldn't breathe at one point, once the ambulance got there I felt calm as I knew that help was there, they were great.'

Braxton needed to have a skin graft done, which is where they removed skin from his left thigh and put it on his ches

Donna was anxious to get her baby boy to the hospital but the paramedics gave Braxton panadol and told them to keep him in the water for 20 minutes.

Following this they put a tea tree oil compress on his chest and hand and straight away he stopped crying as it relieved the pain.

Once this was done they took him to the hospital where the doctors and nurses tended to Braxton's burns.

Donna was told to take him to the Burns Centre at Westmead Hospital in three days for a check up.

Donne was told he would need to wear a pressure suit for six months to help with the healing

'I didn't know what to expect, you see kids who have been burnt on TV and in magazines but it's horrific,' she said of the ordeal which happened in 2015.

'I can still remember, I vicariously live it, what it was like walking in that burn hospital that day,' she explained.

The surgeons gave him Panadol, Oxycontin and happy gas before taking off the bandages and putting on fresh ones.

The first week and a half involved going back and forth to have the bandages changed.

'I can't fault them, they were caring and compassionate. If it wasn't for them and the social workers there I don't know how we would have gotten through that.'

The first week and a half involved going back and forth to have the bandages changed

The social workers were present to offer support for the parents as well as the child.

'He said to us "you're going to go through a period of stress and PTSD yourself.

'"You witnessed your child go through severe injury without being able to do anything about it. Braxton will forget about this one day but you will always remember".

'It's been almost two years now and I still remember it like it was yesterday but I don't think Braxton remembers.'

'It's been almost two years now and I still remember it like it was yesterday but I don't think Braxton remembers' Donna explained

On top of all of this Braxton also needed to have a skin graft done, which is where they removed skin from his left thigh and put it on his chest and wore a pressure suit for six months to help with the healing.

'The days after he was fine, you would have never have known, but Braxton suffered from night terrors for three months after the burn.

'He was non verbal so couldn't express what he was going through and he would wake up from naps during the day.'

'The days after he was fine, you would have never have known, but Braxton suffered from night terrors for three months after the burn'

The burns social worker said that this is common for burn victims and it didn't help that he was going back to the hospital three months after the burn incident for check ups.

'He was constantly being poked and prodded and we had to stop him from touching his chest and he didn't understand.

'You can only imagine how traumatic it was for a small child.

'People don't realise how much damage can be caused by a cup of hot water, or put an ice pack on their kids burn.

'Children's skin is so delicate and so soft still, I try to warn everyone that will listen to me the effects hot water has '.

'He was constantly being poked and prodded and we had to stop him from touching his chest and he didn't understand'

'The first few months were really horrible, it normally takes six years [for the skin] to return to a normal colour.'

The last time they saw the doctor was end of last year around the time Donna was diagnosed with heart failure, which has added to her stress.

The heart disease was caused by the bacteria from a common cold travelling to her heart and she hopes she will be able to watch her sons grow up.

The last time they saw the doctor was end of last year around the time Donna (pictured left with Braxton and right with her other son Mason) was diagnosed with heart failure

Braxton, who is now almost four, is recovering 'beautifully' and they see the specialist once every 12 months

WHAT DO DO IF YOUR CHILD IS BURNED Check to see if clothing is stuck to the skin

If not, remove clothing and jewellery straight away but if the clothes are stuck to the burn leave them

Call the ambulance and remain calm

Put them in tepid running water for 20 minutes, they don't want to be in further shock from cold water

Don't use ice, creams or lotions as they could make the burn worse Advertisement

Braxton, who is now almost four, is recovering 'beautifully' and they see the specialist once every 12 months.

'The only thing I want people to know is when people go through something traumatic, there isn't enough resources and not enough phone numbers for people to call.

'I want people to be able to not feel so alone. I want to raise awareness and what to do when a burn occurs, call 000 straight away, don't hesitate.

'I copped a lot of flack from people online but I want people to understand that accidents happen, it's not my fault. So many keyboard warriors are quick to judge.'

They have discussed the possibility of laser surgery for the scars but Donna wants to leave that decision for Braxton when he's older.
While stripes, polka dots, and gingham may be the prints you expect to see during the summer, this season's latest trend has us seeing stars - literally!

Stylish celebs are fans of the celestial inspired designs as well, with Kristen Dunst, 35, Miranda Kerr, 34, Jasmine Tookes, 26, and Kourtney Kardashian, 38, all stepping out in star printed fashions this week.

Here, FEMAIL rounds up 18 out-of-this-world pieces, so you, too, can shine bright!

Style stars: Miranda Kerr, 34, (left) and Kristen Dunst, 35, (right) looked out-of-this-world in celestial print dresses this week

Miranda Kerr, 34, looked poised and polished while filming a cooking demo in Tokyo, Japan on Monday.

The supermodel donned a pretty pink collared dress by P.A.R.O.S.H that was covered in a playful celestial print.

Kristen Dunst, 35, looked glam in a tulle Christian Dior frock that featured embellished stars and hearts, while attending the design house's fall 2017 Haute Couture show last week.

Flaunt it: Jasmine Tookes, 26, (left) and Kourtney Kardashian, 38, (right) both showed off their killer figures in star printed designs recently

Victoria's Secret model Jasmine Tookes, 26, looked stylishly patriotic in a blue and white star printed frock by Lovers + Friends, at a Fourth of July party last week.

Kourtney Kardashian, 38, took the galactic print to the beach last week in Saint Tropez, France.

The mother-of-three showed of her killer figure in a black sheer one-piece that featured silver stars positioned to cover up private areas.

Pretty ladies: Actresses Paula Patton, 41, (left) and Eva Longoria, 42, (right) are also fans of the out-of-this-world trend

Actresses Paula Patton, 41, and Eva Longoria, 42, took the trend into evening, wearing formal attire featuring star emebllishments.

Paula went the coordinated route and paired her black dress with Sandro strappy heels in the cool blue shade that matched half of the frock's embroidered stars.

Meanwhile, at a recent amfAR Gala in Cannes, Eva sizzled in a sequined Elie Saab gown that showcased pink and silver stars across her mid-section.

SHOP STAR PRINTED FASHIONS NOW
When the Charlie Gard case first came to light, I confess I took the side of the Great Ormond Street doctors.

These people know their onions, I reasoned. They would never let a child go if there were the slightest scintilla of hope.

Then I heard Charlies mother, Connie Yates, being interviewed on Mondays Today Programme. And I began to have doubts.

It wasnt just Connies calm eloquence. It was what she said about trusting the instincts of a parent. About how she, as his mother, knew Charlie better than anyone else. And that, when it came to what was best for their son, she was the true expert.

That really struck a chord. Not because I dont have faith in the medics treating Charlie, but because of something that happened when my own son, Will, was very small.

Chris Gard and Connie Yates with their terminally ill baby son Charlie Gard. An anonymous donor has given more than 27,000 to a fund for the terminally ill baby at the centre of a life-support treatment dispute even though a High Court judge has ruled the boy should be allowed to 'die with dignity'

Charlie Gard's parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard (right) stand outside the High Court in London as a statement is read by a family friend following the adjournment of a hearing in their latest bid to see him treated with an experimental therapy

Charlie Gard in bed with a cloth under his chin and flanked by two monkey soft toys and a tube up his nose

At around four months, his behaviour suddenly changed. Not in a way that most people would have noticed, but I did. Having been an enthusiastic feeder, his appetite decreased and he began waking often during the night.

His crying changed, too. Again, not anything obvious, but the pitch, to my maternal bat-ear, was just that little bit off.

This went on for several weeks. Each time I took him to see the midwife, she would look him over and tell me not to worry. He was just growing. Probably teething. Had I tried Calpol? But I was convinced something was wrong.

One morning, after a bad night, I woke early. He was lying next to me, sleeping at last, his long dark lashes flickering as he dreamed.

As I stroked his fat cheek, I noticed something strange. His right ear appeared to have moved. It was rigid to the touch, and sticking out at a slight angle.

This time I didnt bother the midwife. The GP had no appointments but I lurked until the end of morning surgery and then nabbed him on his way out.

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Could he please just take a look at my boy. Silly, I know, but one of his ears seems to have moved 

Carefully, quickly, he examined him. Then he picked up the phone and rang the hospital. He couldnt be certain, he explained, because he had never actually seen a case, only studied it at medical school; but he thought Will had something called mastoiditis.

Relatively common before the advent of antibiotics, it occurs when an infection spreads to the mastoid bone behind the ear  a honeycomb structure that amplifies sound.

If left untreated, an abscess forms between the bone and the brain, causing pressure and, ultimately, death.

That was why Wills ear had moved: the abscess that was pressing on his brain had pushed it out of place.

The infection was too advanced for intravenous antibiotics, so we were transferred to St Georges in Tooting.

A paediatric surgeon drilled a hole in the side of his head to drain the fluid, and packed it with antibiotics. Then it was just a question of waiting.

Those weeks at St Georges were some of the most difficult of my life  but I was one of the lucky ones.

Sure, it was agonising watching the nurses trying to fix a line in veins that were too small for even the finest needle, but they did it. And the medicine was working.

Once Will was better, they set about investigating the cause of the infection, with endless scans, blood tests and screenings.

They neednt have bothered. I knew precisely what had caused it: the health visitors insistence that Will was too young to have antibiotics for an ear infection.

An infection that I had spotted and, mindful of my own family history of serious ear infections, had wanted to treat aggressively.

But she wasnt having any of it. I was breastfeeding, he had my antibodies, so it would mend itself. After all, she was the expert  and I just a neurotic mother.

She meant no harm, of course, and I am sure she was only following best practice. As, no doubt, are the doctors at Great Ormond Street. But for all their expertise, they are not Charlies mother.

They will never know him  or love him  like she does.

That is why Charlie must be allowed his treatment, however unlikely (on paper) the chances of success.

Because if his mother thinks he can make it, then maybe  just maybe  he can.

Parents of Charlie Gard, Connie Yates and Chris Gard, deliver a petition with more than 350,000 signatures to Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, supporting their case that the terminally-ill baby should be allowed to travel to receive treatment

Nicholas Francis QC who was appointed a Justice of the High Court with effect from October 6 2016, assigned to the Family Division

Reading my colleague Robert Hardmans gripping report of the appearance of Charlie Gards parents at the High Court on Monday, I was struck by his account of the behaviour of Katie Gollop QC, acting for Great Ormond Street.

Pitching her razor-sharp barrister mind against two people clearly weak with grief and exhaustion, she accused them of inconsistencies in evidence and wasting hospital time, as though Charlies parents were on trial.

Presiding, Mr Justice Francis  who faces an impossible task  did his best to show sympathy for the couple.

But a courtroom is, by definition, an adversarial environment.

With cases such as Charlies, isnt it time we found a more humane way to debate the complex ethical questions involved?

Amber Davies from series three of Love Island

Im not sure its quite right to call ITVs Love Island Shakespearean in nature, as writer Elizabeth Day has. I would say its more Chaucerian, both in tone and content.

After all, Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343-1400) was instrumental in legitimising the use of vulgar English in his work  and the contestants of Love Island are nothing if not vulgar.

In fact, the entire premise brings to mind the most famous of his Canterbury Tales, that of the Wife of Bath, who narrates the story of a knight charged by Queen Guinevere with resolving the conundrum of what it is that women most desire.

The answer? Not money, fine possessions, flattery or sexual pleasure, but independence and sovereignty over their husbands.

If Love Island is anything to go by, looks like womens standards have fallen considerably since the 1390s.

What did you get up to with your kids at the weekend?

Family barbecue maybe? Liz Hurley's son Damian, 15, apparently spent his Sunday afternoon taking pictures of his 52-year-old mother striking yoga poses while wearing nothing but a miniscule red string bikini.

Of course, 15-year-old boys are known for their fascination with bikini-clad females.

But that doesn't generally include their own mothers. e

The Instagram picture uploaded by Liz Hurley, in which she credited her son Damian with taking the photograph

Almost every so-called clean eating guide or detox is adamant about one thing: coffee  and caffeine in general  is evil.

So how satisfying to see that, according to a huge study at Imperial College London, drinking three cups of the black nectar a day is actually the key to a longer life.

Combine that with studies about the therapeutic effects of red wine, and Im confidently expecting to live to around 150.

All credit to Theresa May for acting decisively and removing the whip from MP Anne Marie Morris after she foolishly let slip the n-word in a public meeting.

If only Jeremy Corbyn were equally robust in dealing with the vile anti-Semitism in his party.

Andy Murray wins Wimbledon on Centre Court last year

Is It sexist that Wimbledons Centre Court is dominated by the mens matches?

Of course  and for very good reason.

The mens game tends to be faster paced and more thrilling than the womens, so more fun to watch.

Its not a criticism, just a fact.

One way to resolve this would be to have a dedicated mens court and a dedicated womens court, and see which gets more spectators.

I think we all know the answer, but at least it might stop the femi-bores for a while.

The astonishing thing about Harper Beckhams party at Buckingham Palace is not so much that it took place, but that her parents are either too vain or too stupid to realise that there are some things you dont share with your 55 million Instagram followers.

Then again, I guess traffic is money in this internet age  and what are children if not an opportunity to boost ones net worth?
A former air hostess has shared her holy grail beauty products to help you look good on long haul flights.

Janan Jay, a former flight attendant who is based in New Zealand, said she was often asked how air hostesses manage to present themselves so immaculately on flights.

'Red lip was the rule at the airline I worked for,' she wrote for Stuff.

'This meant mastering the tricky art of the "bold statement lip", and for ten years nothing came close to the durability and high-impact allure of two of MAC's iconic sultry shades: retro matte Ruby Woo and Russian Red,' she wrote.

A former air hostess has shared her holy grail beauty products that help you last long haul flights (stock image)

She said that both lipsticks are blue based which means they are better suited for paler skin tones.

Her one major tip for lipstick application on flights was to instead of topping up the colour simply take it off and start again.

For any seasoned traveller it is no secret that we lose a lot of fluid when on flights thanks to the constant stream of air conditioning.

As well as drinking as much as possible Ms Jay recommended packing a facial spray in your carry bag.

Her one major tip for lipstick application on flights was to instead of topping up the colour simply take it off and start again

'This handy spray keeps your skin well-watered in a pressured cabin that's blasting air-con,' she said.

She also suggested avoiding drinking alcohol if you can as they are one of the top culprits of drying people out.

The final item she recommended was dry shampoo to spray in your hair, which also comes in handy when you skip washing your hair back down in reality.

'If your roots are getting a little oily, just rub this powder in for a boast of volume and a matte, sheen look,' she said.

'It's best to use it just before take-off though, as a bit of turbulence could result in getting it all over your uniform/clothes.'

As well as drinking as much as possible Ms Jay recommends packing a facial spray in your carry bag (stock image)

Ms Jay shared that crew members are taught the airlines specific beauty routine during a month long training process that also includes possible in-flight scenarios.

Since she was a flight attendant who was training to work out of one of the busiest airports in the world, London's Heathrow, her make up training session only lasted a morning.

Emirates cabin crew have also previously given a glimpse into how people can achieve looking fresh on flights.

he final item she recommended was dry shampoo to spray in your hair, which also comes in handy when you skip washing your hair back down in reality

They recommended wearing blemish base and colour correction creams and mineral-based make up.

Another suggestion was to continuously using lip balm and using exfoliator, moisturiser and eye gel before landing.

Emirates training manager Helen Roxburgh added: 'Eye gel helps to refresh the eyes during a long flight and can be used over make-up.'
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Queen Letizia and the Duchess of Cambridge both plumped for family heirlooms as they dazzled in diamonds at an extravagant state banquet at Buckingham Palace in King Felipe and Queen Letizia's honour on Wednesday night.

Kate, 35, donned the diamond and pearl Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara so beloved by William's late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales - which she also wore to her first state banquet last year. The Duchess looked resplendent in a dusky Marchesa pink dress offset with her favourite pearl and diamond earrings.

Queen Letizia also wore her husband's mother's tiara; the piece is called the Fleur de Lys Tiara or La Buena. Made in 1906 as a wedding gift from King Alfonso XIII to Queen Victoria Eugenia, the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, it was passed down the generations to Felipe's mother, Queen Sofia.

The Spanish Queen plumped for her country's national colour and stunned in a bejewelled red gown, which accentuated her curves.

The Spanish royals were hosted by the Queen and Prince Philip last night along with Duchess of Cambridge, Princes William and Harry, Prince Charles and Camilla, with Britain treating them to the full pomp and pageantry traditionally rolled out for visiting heads of state.

Queen Letizia and King Felipe were hosted by the Queen and Prince Philip, Duchess of Cambridge, Princes William and Harry, Prince Charles and Camilla, with Britain treating them to the full pomp and pageantry rolled out for visiting heads of state

The Duchess of Cambridge stunned in the diamond and pearl Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara so beloved by William's late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales; she wore the same one, made in 1914, to her first state banquet last year

Cheers to that! Queen Elizabeth and King Felipe VI of Spain share a toast during the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace

The Queen of Spain stunned in a beautiful red dress whilst the Queen of England looked resplendent in a white gown embroidered with soft blue florals

Kate looked chic in a custom made Marchesa gown with a plunging V-Neck in blush lace, bell sleeves and shirred ballgown skirt at tonight's state banquet. This is second time in the last few months that the Duchess has worn Marchesa to a public engagement

The Queen donned her Brazilian Aquamarine tiara, which is a favourite of the Queen's dresser, Angela Kelly, who describes it as 'majestic in appearance but cool and calming'. It was commissioned by the Queen from the then Crown jeweller Garrard in 1957, to match a necklace and earrings given by the President of Brazil to mark her coronation in 1953. She was so fond of the set that she wanted a matching tiara.

As for Camilla, the stand-out part of her outfit was the glittering Greville tiara, on loan from the Queen who was left the tiara by her late mother.

The Queen Mother was left the diamond tiara by the Hon. Mrs Greville from Boucheron, a well-known society maven.

The honeycomb-patterned jewellery piece was made by Boucheron jewellers for the Hon. Mrs. Greville in 1921 out of stones salvaged from another tiara. Having no heirs of her own, she left her considerable jewellery collection to Queen Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother) when she died in 1942.

In 1953 the Queen Mother asked for the height of the tiara to be increased by adding a number of brilliant cut diamonds and a single marquise cut diamond in 1953.

Guests at the Spanish state banquet dined on medallion of Scottish beef and truffles in a Madeira sauce as they gathered in the opulently decorated Buckingham Palace ballroom as the Countess of Wessex's String Orchestra provided the musical entertainment - including curious tunes such as the theme from the Bond film Skyfall and Coldplay's Viva La Vida.

While it's understood to be Prince Philip's last-ever state banquet before he retires this Autumn, it was Prince Harry's first as he moves into a more full-time royal position. The Duke of Cambridge attended his first Palace banquet last year, while Prince Charles was 20 at his first state banquet in the London residence.

The white tie Diplomatic Reception is the main social event of the year in London for the diplomatic community and reflects the Queen's importance in terms of the UK's international relations.

In his speech, King Felipe said: 'Spain stands united with the British people, who at this time of suffering have once again shown dignity and strength of character'

Queen Elizabeth, her husband Prince Philip, Spain's King Felipe and his wife Queen Letizia, pose for a group photograph before a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace

Queen Letizia stunned in her country's national colour, adorned with a blue and white sash, while Kate looked chic in pink as she chatted to Prince Harry in the background - offering a brief glimpse of her stunning Marchesa gown

The two monarchs dressed to impress at the event, which saw hundreds of dignitaries and royals gather to welcome the Spanish royal family

It is also the largest reception held at Buckingham Palace, requiring hours of intricate planning by the Master of the Household and the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, as well as the commandeering of almost every member of waiting staff.

More than 1,000 people from around 130 countries, including members of the British government, past Prime Ministers and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York attend the gathering.

In his banquet speech Felipe paid tribute to the close co-operation between Britain and Spain from economic partnerships to cultural links.

The King said there had also been co-operation over security and he offered his condolences to the victims of the recent UK terrorist attacks - highlighting how one of those killed trying to save others during the Borough Market atrocity, Ignacio Echeverria, was a Spanish citizen.

He said: 'Spain stands united with the British people, who at this time of suffering have once again shown dignity and strength of character.'

The state visit was the first time Harry, who is 32, had taken part in the major event and he looked dapper, as did all the royal men at the white-tie event. On Thursday, he will accompany the Spanish royal couple when they visit Westminster Abbey.

The Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara: Made by royal appointment in 194 The dazzling diamond and pearl Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara was once owned by Princess Diana. The tiara was made by Royal jewellers Garrard in 1914 to Queen Mary's personal design, from pearls and diamonds already in her family's possession. The dazzling diamond and pearl Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara was once owned by Princess Diana It was a copy of one owned by her grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, who married the first Duke of Cambridge, seventh son of King George III, in 1818. In her will Queen Mary left the tiara to to the Queen who wore it frequently, including at an evening event in 1955. In 1981 she gave it as a wedding present to Prince William's mother, Diana, who wore it for the first time at the state opening of parliament that November. Diana also wore the tiara in 1985 on an official visit to Washington with Prince Charles. The tiara has a strong French influence, made to a new-classical design on 19 open work diamond arches and enclosing an oriental pearl drop from a diamond lover's knot bow, surrounded by single diamonds and upright oval pearl spikes. The tiara is fairly heavy even by royal standards and was said to have given Diana headaches when she wore it. As for her necklace, this opulent collar, the Ruby and Diamond Floral Bandeau, was a wedding gift from the Queen's parents. Bought by Margaret Greville, a close friend of her mothers, from the jeweller Boucheron in 1907, it was bequeathed to the Queen Mother, along with several other jewels, on Grevilles death in 1942. The intricate piece is set in silver and gold, in an unusual V-shape and features several sizeable rubies. The Queen, who has remarkably slim shoulders, tends to shorten her necklaces to make them sit higher on her neck, and did so here by removing two small floral pieces from the sides. Advertisement

Queen Letizia (left) also wore her husband's mother's tiara; the piece is called the Fleur de Lys Tiara or La Buena. Made in 1906 as a wedding gift from King Alfonso XIII to Queen Victoria Eugenia, it was passed down the generations to Queen Sofia (right)

The royal couple were no doubt looking forward to spending the evening with the Spanish royals after enjoying their company throughout the day on Wednesday - overcoming an awkward moment that saw Camilla going in for two kisses

As for Camilla, the stand-out part of her outfit was the Greville tiara, on loan from the Queen who was left the tiara by her late mother. The Queen Mother, right, was given the diamond tiara by the Hon. Mrs Greville, a well-known society maven

The white tie Diplomatic Reception is the main social event of the year in London for the diplomatic community and reflects the Queen's importance in terms of the UK's international relations

While it's understood to be Prince Philip's last-ever state banquet before he retires this Autumn, it was Prince Harry's first as he moves into a more full-time royal position. The Duke of Cambridge attended his first Palace banquet last year

The Queen appeared to have acknowledged the thorny issue of Gibraltar in a speech at the King of Spain's state banque. In what is likely to be interpreted as a reference to the dispute between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar's sovereignty, the Queen said the two countries did not always see 'eye to eye'.

The monarch's comments came after King Felipe VI confidently told both Houses of Parliament his country and the UK will overcome their 'differences' over the British overseas territory and find a solution 'acceptable to all involved'.

A RIGHT ROYAL EVENT: THE STATE BANQUET The white tie Diplomatic Reception is the main social event of the year in London for the diplomatic community and reflects the Queen's importance in terms of the UK's international relations. It is also the largest reception held at Buckingham Palace, requiring hours of intricate planning by the Master of the Household and the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, as well as the commandeering of almost every member of waiting staff. More than 1,000 people from around 130 countries, including members of the British government, past Prime Ministers and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York attend the gathering. Most notable, however, are the many hundreds of ambassadors and embassy staff officially accredited to the Court of St James, often in brilliantly coloured and eye-catching national dress. Advertisement

But Felipe's words drew a stinging rebuke from Gibraltar's chief minister Fabian Picardo, who said his comments suggested he was treating the territory as one that could be 'traded from one monarch to another' like a 'pawn in a chess game'. Mr Picardo urged him to understand that Gibraltar 'will remain 100 per cent British'.

With all senior members of the British monarchy among the guests, along with Theresa May and prominent members of the Cabinet, the Queen said: 'A relationship like ours, founded on such great strengths and common interests, will ensure that both our nations prosper, now and in the future, whatever challenges arise.

'With such a remarkable shared history, it is inevitable that there are matters on which we have not always seen eye to eye. But the strength of our friendship has bred a resilient spirit of cooperation and goodwill.'

In his banquet speech Felipe paid tribute to the close co-operation between Britain and Spain from economic partnerships to cultural links.

The King said there had also been co-operation over security and he offered his condolences to the victims of the recent UK terrorist attacks - highlighting how one of those killed trying to save others during the Borough Market atrocity, Ignacio Echeverria, was a Spanish citizen.

He said: 'Spain stands united with the British people, who at this time of suffering have once again shown dignity and strength of character.'

The Duke of York, Earl and Countess of Wessex, Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence were also among the guests. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was unable to make the event for diary reasons, was represented by Emily Thornberry but had earlier chatted with the Spanish King when he visited Westminster.

According to protocol, female members of the royal family must dress in evening gowns for state banquets and wear tiaras - often loaned to them by the Queen.

They must also wear the Elizabeth II Family Order - a jewel encased image of the Queen on a chartreuse yellow ribbon which royal women wear pinned to their left shoulder. The Duchess of Cornwall, the Princess Royal and the Countess of Wessex have all been given the personal order.

Glamorous mother-of-two Letizia towered over the petite Queen as they attended a lavish state banquet at Buckingam Palace

The Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II is an honour bestowed on female members of the British Royal Family by the monarch and worn on formal occasions.

It depicts the Queen as a young woman in evening dress wearing the ribbon and star of the Order of the Garter.

The miniature, painted on ivory, is bordered by diamonds and surmounted by a Tudor Crown in diamonds and red enamel. Its reverse, in silver-gilt, is patterned with rays and depicts the royal cypher and St. Edward's Crown in gold and enamel.

According to tradition, the Order is worn pinned to the dress of the recipient on the left shoulder with a watered silk ribbon in chartreuse yellow, formed into a bow.

The women currently entitled to wear the order aside from the Queen are: Camilla, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Princess Anne, the Queen's cousin, Princess Alexandra, and the Duchess of Gloucester, married to her first cousin.

As befitting one of the most important dates in the royal calendar, the gentlemen present  Philip, Charles and William  are wearing knee breaches with the Garter of the Order of the Garter insignia  rarely seen in public  attached just below their left knees.

The Order of the Garter is the most senior and the oldest Order of British chivalry. Its 'companions' are personally chosen by the sovereign for their outstanding contribution to national life or the monarchy.

Spanish King Felipe called for a deal on the status of Gibraltar that would be 'acceptable to all' on Wednesday, raising a thorny dispute on the first day of his state visit to Britain

More than 1,000 people from around 130 countries, including members of the British government, past Prime Ministers and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York attend the gathering

'The relationship between our two nations is dynamic and modern': The Queen's speech in full 'Your Majesty, 'The Duke of Edinburgh and I are delighted to welcome you and Queen Letizia to Buckingham Palace this evening. 'This State Visit is an expression of the deep respect and friendship that describes relations between Spain and the United Kingdom. Just occasionally, a State Visit can provide an opportunity for great personal happiness also. So it was, more than a century ago, when your great-grandfather, King Alfonso the Thirteenth, met his future wife, Princess Victoria Eugenie, the grand-daughter of our Queen Victoria, in this very ballroom. 'The new Queen of Spain cemented strong ties between us, a link honoured by the service in the Royal Navy of your grandfather, Don Juan, Count of Barcelona. 'Prince Philip and I recall with affection the State Visit of 1986 made by your parents, during which King Juan Carlos addressed both Houses of Parliament. His Majesty was the first foreign monarch ever to do so, which was a tribute to his role in Spain's transition to democracy and acknowledgment that he was a King for all Spaniards. In her speech, the Queen said: 'This State Visit is an expression of the deep respect and friendship that describes relations between Spain and the United Kingdom. Just occasionally, a State Visit can provide an opportunity for great personal happiness also' 'Your father spoke proudly about Your Majesty that day. You had just come of age, swearing loyalty in your Parliament to the Spanish Constitution. These years later, those duties are now yours, supporting Spain's thriving democracy. It is therefore altogether fitting that Your Majesty, too, has addressed our Houses of Parliament today. 'The relationship between our two nations is dynamic and modern. We are NATO allies, striving together to improve security in Europe and across the globe. Our armed forces are currently working side by side in the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, led last year by Spain and now by the United Kingdom. We remain deeply committed to the common defence and freedom of our countries. 'There are so many facets to our shared experiences and close connections. Indeed, the lives of our peoples themselves are more intertwined than ever before. Thousands of Spanish students are studying at British universities, and Spanish scientists are working with British colleagues to tackle disease. We are also significant investors in each other's economies, with the United Kingdom being the principal European recipient of Spanish overseas investment. 'A relationship like ours, founded on such great strengths and common interests, will ensure that both our nations prosper, now and in the future, whatever challenges arise. With such a remarkable shared history, it is inevitable that there are matters on which we have not always seen eye to eye. But the strength of our friendship has bred a resilient spirit of cooperation and goodwill. 'Your Majesty, our countries are reliable partners and friends. We deeply appreciate the significant contribution that Spain continues to make to this country and assure you of our enduring friendship in the future. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I invite you all to rise and drink a toast to Their Majesties The King and Queen, and the people of Spain.' Advertisement

In his banquet speech Felipe paid tribute to the close co-operation between Britain and Spain from economic partnerships to cultural links

The King he offered his condolences to the victims of the recent UK terrorist attacks - highlighting how one of those killed trying to save others during the Borough Market atrocity, Ignacio Echeverria, was a Spanish citizen

WHAT'S ON THE MENU? Guests at the Spanish state banquet dined on medallion of Scottish beef and truffles in a Madeira sauce. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia gathered with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in the opulently decorated Buckingham Palace ballroom as the Countess of Wessex's String Orchestra provided the musical entertainment. The menu began with poached fillet of salmon trout with fennel in a white wine veloute sauce. This was followed with medallion of Scottish beef with bone marrow and truffles with a sauce made from Madeira, the full-bodied Portuguese wine, served with fondant potatoes, yellow and green courgettes, runner beans with sauteed radishes and a celeriac salad. Dessert was a dark chocolate and raspberry tart. The background music featured a nod to the Spanish guests, with tunes such as Lady Of Spain - a 1931 song which became popular in the late 1940s - and the Roi d'Espagne, the Royal Spanish Waltz. Other tunes were the theme from the Bond film Skyfall and Coldplay's Viva La Vida. The wines included a Henriques & Henriques 15-year-old Madeira wine Bual. Advertisement

Queen Letizia joins Prince Philip in the State Landau as the travel to the Palace. This week's visit is seen as a significant step in securing relations with Spain as the UK leaves the EU; the last incoming state visit by a Spanish king was 31 years ago in 1986

The reigning monarchs make their way to the Palace. Felipe, 49, is expected to raise the thorny issue of Gibraltar during his stay this week. He will deliver an address at Westminster from the Royal Gallery to parliamentarians on Wednesday

The Queen could also be seen with her insignia pinned to her dress. As for her husband, the impressive set of 17 medals Philip wore comprise his service medals from the Second World War and the various Jubilee and Coronation medals he has acquired through sheer longevity.

The red and blue cross worn on a red and blue ribbon around his neck was the Order of Merit, a dynastic order in the personal gift of the Queen and restricted to 24 members. Below his medals the prince was wearing his Order of the Garter star.

THE STORY BEHIND THE SASHES Queen Letizia's blue and white sash is Order of Charles III reflected in the Queen's tiara. The sash has been the most distinguished civil award that can be granted in Spain. The Queen herself wore a red order of Golden Fleece and King Felipe wore a blue sash of Garter During the lunchtime reception today, Felipe VI became what is known as a 'Stranger Knight' or 'Extra Knight Companion' of the prestigious Order of the Garter. Buckingham Palace said the last foreign royal to be invested as a Knight of the Garter was King Harald V of Norway in 2001. The decision demonstrates the cordial nature of the royals' relations with their Spanish counterparts. Felipe's father, King Juan Carlos, was made a Knight of the Garter in 1988. Knights of the Most Noble Order of the Garter are personally chosen by the monarch. Advertisement

Charles was also sporting his Order of the Garter star and garter and his medals from left to right, are: the Queen's Service Order, the Queen's Coronation Medal, the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Canadian Forces Decoration and the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.

William's medal collection is far smaller, with two medals - the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, awarded to all military personnel serving at the time of the jubilees, depending on length of service.

Like his father and grandfather, he wore his Order of the Garter insignia below his medals last night.

During the lunchtime reception today, Felipe VI became what is known as a 'Stranger Knight' or 'Extra Knight Companion' of the prestigious Order of the Garter.

Buckingham Palace said the last foreign royal to be invested as a Knight of the Garter was King Harald V of Norway in 2001. The decision demonstrates the cordial nature of the royals' relations with their Spanish counterparts.

Felipe's father, King Juan Carlos, was made a Knight of the Garter in 1988. Knights of the Most Noble Order of the Garter are personally chosen by the monarch.

The King will have been given a Garter star, which he wore at the state banquet. He will also now have a permanent stall in St George's Chapel at Windsor - the spiritual home of the Order. It will feature a plaque bearing his banner of arms, and have a wooden crown carved above it.

On Wednesday, the Spanish royals were met with sunshine and a spectacular gun salute as they kicked off their state visit to Britain with husband King Felipe VI.

The action-packed first day saw the King and Queen enjoy a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, afternoon tea at Clarence House - and culminated in the state banquet with senior members of the Royal family.

For yesterday's procession, the Captain of the Guard of Honour Major Charlie Gair, presented his Guard of Honour to Felipe in Spanish while Major General Ben Bathurst, Major General Commanding the Household Division, commanded the grand parade. A total of more than 1,000 troops are expected to take part in the state visit.

Letizia travelled to the Palace in the State Landau - the carriage which was built for the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 - alongside Prince Philip, while her husband travelled with the Queen.

The VIP visitors enjoy a military ceremonial welcome on Horse Guards Parade to mark the start of their visit to Britain. The Captain of the Guard of Honour Major Charlie Gair, Irish Guards, presented his Guard of Honour to the King of Spain in Spanish

The mother-of-two stunned in a vibrant yellow coat dress by go-to designer Felipe Varela, vertiginous 550 Prada stilettos and a bespoke headpiece by Maria Nieto - teamed with yellow and gold earrings which are believed to belong to her mother-in-law Queen Sofia.

The Queen opted for a magenta coat and flower-adorned hat that she wore just over two weeks ago at Royal Ascot as she introduced the Spanish couple to leading figures from UK national life, including Prime Minister Theresa May, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and a host of senior military figures.

Once inside the Palace, the King and Queen enjoyed a private lunch with the royal family where they were served Laureate's Choice, a sherry selected by poet Carol Ann Duffy. A poem inspired by the sherry appears on the label.

This week's visit is seen as an important step in securing relations with Spain as the UK leaves the EU; the last incoming state visit by a Spanish king - Felipe's father Juan Carlos I - was 31 years ago in 1986.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's trip had been postponed twice - firstly because of a political crisis in Spain in March 2016, and then again when the rescheduled date clashed with June's snap general election.

On Thursday, Felipe will attend a UK-Spain Business Forum at Mansion House with the Duke of York, the couple will visit Westminster Abbey accompanied by Prince Harry, and they will both meet Theresa May at No. 10 Downing Street.

Awkward: Earlier, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall didn't know where to look when they greeted their guests, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, at their hotel this morning ahead of the Ceremonial Welcome on Horse Guards Parade

Letizia (far right) wore a bright yellow coat over a matching dress and an elaborate headpiece ahead of today's meeting, while the Duchess of Cornwall opted for a white hat adorned with feathers

Her Majesty opted for a vibrant magenta coat dress ahead of Wednesday's ceremonial welcome. She and the Duke of Edinburgh (far right) will later greets their Spanish guests before Theresa May (second left) meets them later on in the week

The Queen greets Theresa May as they await the Spanish Royals at Horse Guards Parade. The Prime Minister appeared to have got into a spot of bother after her Liz Helix hat was blown off in the wind as she made her entrance

The monarch beamed broadly as she greeted King Felipe VI who travelled from ME Hotel. During the lunchtime reception that followed, she made Felipe a 'Stranger Knight' or 'Extra Knight Companion' of the prestigious Order of the Garter

Felipe greets the Queen on Horse Guards Parade. Ahead of the meticulously-planned ceremony, The Mall was decked out in Spanish flags this week and gun salutes were fired from Green Park and the Tower of London to welcome the Spanish royals

Pleased to meet you, Ma'am: Spain's King Felipe VI greets the monarch warmly during Wednesday's official welcome ceremony on Horse Guards Parade. The Royal party will now make their way to Buckingham Palace

The Prince of Wales shares a joke with Letizia as the royals exit their chauffeured Bentley at Horse Guards Parade before a ceremonial welcome - after which the party travelled to Buckingham Palace in style in a carriage procession

Glamorous Queen Letizia wore a vertiginous pair of heels with her dress, which featured a delicate lace trim. The stylish royal is a champion of homegrown talent, and today's ensemble is believed to be the handiwork of Spanish designer Felipe Varela

Big and little: Standing at 6ft 6in, the Spanish monarch dwarfed the 91-year-old Queen who stands at just 5ft 4in

The Spanish King, followed by the Duke of Edinburgh, inspects the Guard of Honour, the 1st Battalion Irish Guards. Afterwards, he joined the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh for a state carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Palace

King Felipe and the Duke of Edinburgh inspect the Guard of Honour on Horse Guards Parade before boarding the Royal carriages to travel to Buckingham Palace for a private lunch and a tour of the Royal Collection

The Queen was joined by King Felipe VI in a state carriage as the Royal procession made their way from Horse Guards Parade to Buckingham Palace. The action-packed tour will see the King and Queen enjoy a private lunch with the British royals

Letizia, 44, travelled to Buckingham Palace in the State Landau - the carriage which was built for the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 - alongside the Duke of Edinburgh. The sunny weather saw the royals travelling with the roof down

The Spanish Queen showed her sartorial credentials in an elegant pale yellow coat dress displaying just a hint of decolletage

Former anchorwoman Letizia is mother to 11-year-old Leonor, Princess of Asturias and 10-year-old Infanta Sofia of Spain - but the youngsters are not believed to have joined them on their trip this week

Letizia and Felipe's visit to London this week may be one of their last official engagements before the summer; the Spanish royals traditionally spend their lengthy holiday at the Marivent Palace, their official summer residence, on Mallorca

Crowds lined the street while the Royal procession were flanked by members of the Scots and Grenadier Guards. Later the Spanish royals are expected to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry at a State Banquet

Today's carriage procession marks the start of an action-packed first day. Later on, the royal couple are expected to meet Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when they are feted with the grand state banquet in Palace ballroom

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were also sat in a carriage as the procession travelled from Horse Guards Parade to Buckingham Palace where the party will enjoy a lunch reception ahead of an action-packed afternoon

Major General Ben Bathurst, Major General Commanding the Household Division, commanded all troops on the parade. A total of more than 1,000 troops are expected to take part in the state visit this week

The Life Guards, members of the household cavalry parade on The Mall as the royals make their way to Buckingham Palace

Letizia, Felipe, Charles and Camilla leave the ME Hotel, on the Strand, where they are believed to have stayed last night. Following their awkward encounter this morning, they headed to Horse Guards Parade for the welcome ceremony

The Duchess of Cornwall chats to Queen Letizia at their hotel in central London this morning, before heading to Buckingham Palace flanked by a grand military procession. They enjoyed tea together at Clarence House later this afternoon

Warm welcome: The Union flag hangs alongside the flag of Spain ahead of the visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, in the Mall in London on Tuesday. Security will be tight for today's ceremonial welcome and carriage procession

Members of the Scots Guards are seen marching along the Mall at the start of Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's three-day state visit to the UK where they will meet members of the Royal family - starting with the Queen and Prince Philip

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's trip was postponed twice - firstly because of a political crisis in Spain in March 2016 and then again when the rescheduled date clashed with June's snap general election

On Tuesday afternoon, the royal couple were given an official farewell with honours at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport as they set off for London, where they were later greeted on behalf of The Queen by The Viscount Brookeborough, Lord-in-Waiting.

Former anchorwoman Letizia - mother to 11-year-old Leonor, Princess of Asturias and 10-year-old Infanta Sofia of Spain - displayed her sartorial prowess in a chic white Hugo Boss ensemble, paired with oversized shades and towering snakeskin heels from Spanish label Magrit.

Security will be tight for today's ceremonial welcome and carriage procession, in what will be the first state visit to take place since the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London.

The Mall was decked out in Spanish flags ahead of the visit and gun salutes were fired from Green Park and the Tower of London to welcome the King and Queen of Spain.

The Royal Mews staff were decked out in their Full State Livery  a uniform that has changed little in over 200 years - ahead of the Ceremonial Welcome, while horses were hitched to their respective carriages, ready to be inspected by The Master of The Horse before departing.

The Queen and Prince Philip arrive at Buckingham Palace. Later this week, the King will attend a UK-Spain Business Forum at Mansion House with the Duke of York, visit Westminster Abbey accompanied, and meet Theresa May at Downing Street

After a gloomy arrival at Luton Airport on Tuesday night, the sun came out for King Felipe (pictured) and wife Letizia for today's Ceremonial Welcome. After arriving at Buckingham Palace they headed inside to enjoy a lunch reception

The pair share a laugh as they exit the carriage at Buckingham Palace. According to the Olive Press, Felipe is fluent in English because his mother spoke it to him - and he speaks only English at home so that his daughters will also grow up bilingual

What a gent! King Felipe helps the 91-year-old monarch out of the carriage as the arrive at Buckingham Palace for a reception

Once inside, the Spanish royals enjoyed a private lunch with the royal family where they were served Laureate's Choice, a sherry selected by poet Carol Ann Duffy. A poem inspired by the sherry appears on the label, according to Buckingham Palace

The elegant royal managed to avoid a fashion mishap as she disembarked the carriage this afternoon in her 550 Prada stilettos. She also wore a bespoke headpiece from by Maria Nieto to complete her look

Former journalist Letizia and Prince Philip were close behind the Queen and King Felipe in the impressive royal procession

The fashion-loving Spanish Queen's lace trim dress and coat are believed to be by Felipe Varela, her go-to designer for big occasions such as this. The subtle texture of the fabric gave her sophisticated look a thoroughly modern edge

Letizia beams as she arrives at Buckingham Palace alongside her husband Felipe, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

The group pose for a photo before heading inside. The royals' trip had been postponed twice - firstly because of a political crisis in Spain in March 2016, and then again when the rescheduled date clashed with June's snap general election

Just the beginning: The action-packed tour will see the King and Queen enjoy a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, afternoon tea at Clarence House and a State Banquet at the Palace with senior members of the Royal family

The royal visit began one day later than is usual, meaning Theresa May will miss Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons in order to attend the Horse Guards welcome.

This afternoon, the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will formally welcome The King and Queen on Horse Guards Parade where presentations will be made, the Guard of Honour will give a Royal Salute and the Spanish National Anthem will be played.

The Spanish King, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, inspected the Guard of Honour, which are the 1st Battalion Irish Guards. Afterwards, The King and Queen joined The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh for a state carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Palace.

Following a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, the monarch invited The King and Queen of Spain to view an exhibition in the Picture Gallery of items from the Royal Collection relating to Spain.

Following a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, given by The Queen, Her Majesty invited The King and Queen of Spain to view an exhibition in the Picture Gallery of items from the Royal Collection relating to Spain

The Spanish monarch looked fascinated as he was shown around the Royal Collection by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh

With the formal procession over, the Spanish Queen cast aside her headpiece while Her Majesty took off her magenta coat to reveal a colourful green and purple floral frock as they toured the Royal Collection

To mark this week's state visit, the Royal Collection put together an exhibition items celebrating the historic ties between the United Kingdom and Spain, presenting objects dating back to the sixteenth century and gifts from the 1988 State Visit

During their visit today, King Felipe learned about his great grandmother, Queen Ena of Spain - nee Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg - who was Queen Victoria's youngest granddaughter

Family affair: The Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of York also had chance to view the collection, which includes a pair of bronze lions presented by the Spanish Congress to the Queen during her visit in 1988

Letizia and Camilla had a quick outfit change for the engagement - the Queen into a red dress and the Duchess a summery floral number she previously wore in Italy earlier this year - while their husbands opted to stick to their navy suits

The King and the Prince of Wales chatted animatedly as the group posed for a photograph at Clarence House this afternoon

It's not the first time the group have met today; Charles and Camilla greeted their VIP visitors at ME Hotel this morning

Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia take a seat at the Palace of Westminster in London

Spanish King Felipe VI gives a speech as Queen Letizia (L) and Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow (2L) look on at the Palace of Westminster in central London

Spain's Queen Letizia sits and listens as Spain's King Felipe delivers a speech at the Palace of Westminster

In honour of this week's state visit, the Royal Collection put together an exhibition items celebrating the historic ties between the United Kingdom and Spain, presenting objects dating back to the sixteenth century and gifts from the 1988 State Visit, as well as examples of Spanish craftsmanship and artworks by British artists based in Spain.

King Felipe learned about his great grandmother, Queen Ena of Spain - nee Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg - who was Queen Victoria's youngest granddaughter.

The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of York also had chance to view the collection, which includes a pair of bronze lions presented by the Spanish Congress to the Queen during her visit in 1988 and examples of blades made in the Spanish city of Toledo.

The Countess of Wessex took a particular interest in the Constitucion Espanola, another gift from the Queen's State Visit to Madrid in 1988.

Now that's a welcome! The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery fire a 41 gun salute in Green Park this morning to kick off the state visit. Following a Ceremonial Welcome, the Royal party proceeded to Buckingham Palace for a private lunch

The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery make sure they are perfectly turned out before firing their 41 gun salute in Green Park. The much anticipated state visit is the first of its kind in 31 years - King Juan Carlos visited the UK in 1986 before addicating

The Household Cavalry make their way along Constitution Hill before The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired their salute

A mounted police officer goes ahead of the brass band down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace this afternoon

Watchful eye: Police officers are seen on the roof of Buckingham Palace before a procession along the Mall on Wednesday. The couple's trip to London is the first state visit to take place since the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London

A member of the Grenadier Guards is seen at the Mall at the start of Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's three-day state visit. Letizia, 44, wil travel to Buckingham Palace in the State Landau with her husband - the carriage which was built in 1902

The royals were given an official farewell on Tuesday afternoon with honours at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport as they set off for London - where they were greeted on behalf of The Queen by The Viscount Brookeborough, Lord-in-Waiting

Departing for Britain on Tuesday, Letizia - mother to Leonor, Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofia of Spain - displayed her sartorial prowess in a chic white Hugo Boss ensemble, paired with oversized shades and snakeskin heels from Magrit

In the afternoon the Spanish couple, who wed in Madrid 2004, met the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall for tea at nearby Clarence House.

Letizia and Camilla had a quick outfit change for the engagement - the Queen into a red dress and the Duchess a summery floral number - while their husbands opted to stick to their navy suits.

Afterwards, The King and Queen will visit the Palace of Westminster, where they will be welcomed by the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker. The King will deliver an Address in the Royal Gallery to Parliamentarians and other guests, followed by a reception with Members and invited guests ahead of tonight's State Banquet.

On Thursday, Prince Harry will accompany the royal visitors to Westminster Abbey. Felipe will lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior and Harry will join them on a short tour of the Abbey, including the Tomb of Eleanor 'Leonor' of Castile - the 13th century Spanish princess who married Edward I.

William and Harry have a shared history with the King. As youngsters, they holidayed with Felipe, his father King Juan Carlos and their family in Majorca several times throughout the 1980s. Felipe and Letizia were also guests at the Duke and Duchess's wedding in 2011.

The Cambridges are already viewed as the Royal family's unofficial Brexit ambassadors, and are setting off on another diplomacy tour next week - heading to Germany and Poland for five days with their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte in tow.

Between a rock and a hard place: The great Gibraltar debate King Felipe VI is expected to raise the thorny issue of Gibraltar during his stay. He will deliver an address at Westminster from the Royal Gallery to parliamentarians on Wednesday, and meet Mrs May for talks at Downing Street on Thursday. Last September, he used his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York to call for a negotiated handover of what Gibraltarians affectionately call 'the Rock'. 'I invite the UK, on this first occasion at the UN after Brexit, to end the the colonial anachronism of Gibraltar with an agreed solution between both countries to restore the territorial integrity of Spain,' he declared. When his father King Juan Carlos was monarch in 1986 and on a state visit to the UK, he raised Spain's claim over the Rock when addressing MPs and Lords. The future of Gibraltar, a rocky British enclave on Spain's southern tip, is set to be a major point of contention in the British EU exit talks with the EU offering Spain a right of veto over the relationship between Gibraltar and the EU. It comes after the European Union's top court ruled last month that Gibraltar and the United Kingdom can be treated as a single EU member for certain aspects of EU law, a finding that could complicate the territory's hopes of winning a special status after Brexit. The future of Gibraltar, a rocky British enclave on Spain's southern tip, is set to be a major point of contention in the British EU exit talks with the EU offering Spain a right of veto over the relationship between Gibraltar and the EU In April, leaked documents revealed that Spain is planning to use its Brexit veto over Gibraltar to tell the Rock how to run its economy. Madrid wants to end what it describes as the Rock's 'unjustified privileges', according to reports of a leaked Spanish foreign ministry document. Spanish officials said Gibraltar's low-tax status effectively means it enjoys 'unfair competition' and has vowed to crack down on the 'tax haven'. They will also demand a 'new accord' over flights into Gibraltar's international airport. Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar's chief minister, accused Spain of holding 'neo-colonial ambitions' over the territory, saying: 'The Spanish Government's mask is slipping.It is becoming abundantly clear that they want to try to use Brexit to take narrow advantage. Gibraltar will, as ever, continue to seek dialogue over Spanish vetoes and will seek co-operation and friendship over Spanish aggression and belligerence.' The document, entitled Negotiations About the Exit of Britain from the EU, states: 'Gibraltar has developed an extremely permissive regime ... which has practically converted it into a tax haven'. The revelations will enrage Theresa May, who has vowed to protect Gibraltar's interests in the negotiations to leave the EU. Advertisement

The rise of Letizia: How a nurse's daughter became Spain's first commoner queen

Like the Duchess of Cambridge, Queen Letizia was not born into royalty.

Her father, Jesus Jose Ortiz Alvarez, was a journalist and her mother, Maria de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodriguez, was a registered nurse.

Always hard-working, Letizia Oritz, as she was then, is believed to have taken shifts at Spanish newspapers La Nueva Espana and ABC while studying for a degree in journalism at the Complutense University of Madrid.

She went on to receive a a master's degree in audiovisual journalism at the Institute for Studies in Audiovisual Journalism.

On air: Letizia Oritz, as she was then, on camera for Spanish news magazine TVE1

Letizia moved to Mexico to work at the newspaper Siglo 21 before returning to Spain, where she worked for Bloomberg and later CNN+.

In 1998 Letizia married her long-term partner Alonso Guerrero Perez, a writer and high school literature teacher, in a simple civil ceremony in Badajoz, western Spain. However the marriage did not last and the couple divorced the following year.

During her career she reported on major international news, reporting on the 2000 Presidential Elections from Washington DC; recording live broadcasts from New York in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and filming reports from war-torn Iraq in 2003.

Shortly afterwards her journalism career came to an end when Prince Felipe, then Prince of Asturias, made a shock engagement announcement.

Unlike Kate Middleton, who first started dating Prince William seven years before he popped the question in 2010, Letizia enjoyed a relatively brief romance with her royal beau before he got down on one knee.

The couple are understood to have met in a dinner party in 2002 but their relationship was not made public until the engagement announcement in the gardens of his royal residence in November 2003 - marking another departure from William and Kate's relatively public courtship.

Felipe reportedly proposed to Letizia with a 16 Baguette diamond engagement ring with a white gold trim. She is said to have marked the occasion by gifting her husband-to-be with white gold and sapphire cufflinks and a classic book.

Surprise: Crown Prince Felipe and Letizia Ortiz announce their engagement in November 2003

The couple married just six months later in a lavish ceremony at the breathtaking Almudena Cathedral in Madrid. The bride wore a long-sleeved gown by Spanish designer Manuel Pertegaz and a Prussian Diamond Tiara on loan from Queen Sofia.

The King and Queen also gifted their future daughter-in-law a beautiful pair of diamond drop earrings to wear on the day.

Over the next decade, Letizia was by her husband's side as he carried out duties on behalf of his father, King Juan Carlos, and the royal family.

The couple welcomed their first daughter, Leonor, in October 2005 and their second daughter, Sofia, named after her paternal grandmother, in April 2007.

In 2014 King Juan Carlos announced his abdication and his son Felipe ascended the throne. Letizia became the first Queen born as a commoner.

Leonor was given the title Princess of Asturias and became the heir presumptive to the throne, although Spanish law means any son born to Felipe and Letizia would supersede her in the line of succession.

A number of sources have noted how Letizia's style has evolved throughout her marriage to Felipe, much as Kate's has since marrying William.

The 44-year-old once favoured dowdy suits and frumpy jackets but now favours tailored sheath dresses, sky-scraping court shoes, Hugo Boss suits and eye-catching jewels.

With a penchant for homegrown labels, such as Mango, Zara and Uterque, she keeps her Spanish fashion fans happy, much as Kate does with sporting British labels.
A mother-of-one who tried to mask her excessive sweating by taking five showers a day has revealed how she's now resorted to surgery in a bid to halt the problem.

Aremilda dos Santos, 31, from Mogi das Santos, south east Brazil, suffered from Hyperhidrosis - excessive body odour - for more than a decade.

The anti-social condition left her armpits drenched with sweat and emitting an offensive odour - and she would only agree to make love to her husband if they were in the shower.

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Aremilda dos Santos, from Mogi das Santos, south east Brazil, suffered from excessive body odour - known as Hyperhidrosis - and would be forced to shower at least five times a day to mask the condition

Aremilda with her son, Arthur, nine, and her husband Donisete. Arthur told his mother that she was 'stinky', which prompted her to seek out a surgical way to solve the condition

Now, the soul-destroying condition has been solved following surgery to cut away the nerves in her armpits, which in turn has deactivated the sweat glands.

Aremilda explained: 'I suffered with this problem for thirteen years and I did everything I could to mask it.'

She says that while deodorants would last most people 48 hours, the masking scent would fade away after just 48 minutes.

The married mother-of-one changed her clothes constantly but was still left with unsightly yellow stains on the fabric where she had sweated.

Every colour except black, navy and ruby red were off limits, with white garments often thrown away after being worn just once.

When she was in company, people would cover their noses with their hands, adding to her anxiety and increasing her perspiration, as they whispered 'loudly' about her 'obnoxious smell'.

'When I went to church and the pastor said "Raise your hands and give God the glory" everyone raised their arms but me,' recalls Aremilda, who works as a manicurist.

The turning point came when her son, who was just three at the time, said: 'Mummy is stinky,' as he cuddled her and screwed up his nose.

The scars: Aremilda reveals the small incision made beneath her armpit to cut away the nerves that control her sweat glands

The mother-of-one finally feels comfortable raising her arms, something that she would never do when her Hyperhidrosis was at its worst

Aremilda recalled: 'That was the day I almost died from embarrassment. I was so shocked by his reaction.

'But the shame was good because I decided to go to the dermatologist the same day and I told Arthur, 'Ok, mummy is going to fix this problem.'

Aremilda first discovered her predicament at the age of 13 when her mother dragged her into the bathroom, accusing her of not washing properly.

She said: 'My mum picked up a loofah and scrubbed it under my arm while shouting at me 'that's how you clean your armpits'.

When I couldn't get home to take a shower, I would roll up toilet paper and tuck it under my armpits to soak up the moisture... Aremilda dos Santos

'But the strong sweaty smell soon returned and my mother became so frustrated she decided to take me to a Catholic cathedral in Sao Paulo and told me to put my hand on the wall so I would be cured.

'It didn't make any sense since we weren't catholic and went to an evangelical church.

'All I knew is that it didn't work. My white clothes turned yellow, the black ones had to be bleached to take out the smell and I bought cheap disposable tops for 2 each.

'I tried every exfoliating cream under the sun, every deodorant available and only used the ones for men, as the women's ones were too weak.'

Aremilda developed a variety of techniques to mask her embarrassment.

Instead of raising her arms to greet friends with a customary hug, she would keep them pinned to her sides and hug around the waist.

The nail technician, who works from home, explained: 'When I couldn't get home to take one of my numerous showers, I would roll up toilet paper and tuck it under my armpits to soak up the moisture.'

Soul destroying: Aremilda had developed a series of techniques to try and mask the smell, including stuffing pads of tissue under her arms

Soon after surgery, she was 'dry enough' to embrace her husband and son without them having to hold their noses

When she started dating her husband, Donisete, at the age of 18, she hid her condition by showering before their dates.

'I managed to keep it hidden during our nine months courtship, as I avoided any intimacy. The problems started when we got married. At first, he was discreet when I raised my arms and he got a whiff of how awful the smell was.

'But after a while he would tease me saying "phew, you do smell don't you", which was always upsetting.

'I only felt comfortable making love in the shower, especially when I became pregnant as the smell got ten times worse.'

Donisete, 36, a lift maintenance technician, said: 'One day I opened Aremilda's wardrobe and the stench that hit me was so strong I was shocked.

'I asked if she was washing her clothes right and whether she should be using stronger cleaning products.

HYPERHIDROSIS: WHAT IS IT AND HOW CAN YOU STOP IT? Hyperhidrosis is the disease characterised by excessive sweating on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, nape of the neck and armpits - and more rarely in the groin, face and abdomen. It is caused by hyperactivity of the sympathetic nerve, which carries messages from the brain to the sweat glands, causing the body to perspire too much. Advertisement

'Although it was an issue, it was nothing I couldn't handle as I loved her so much. I had to support her and not criticise and destroy her confidence which was already low.'

After her young son complained about her bad odour, Aremilda went to a dermatologist who recommended using specially formulated anti-sweat creams.

For about a year, the products helped decrease the nerve activity causing sweating. But the lotions irritated her skin, triggering blistering and rawness.

Aremilda said: 'The dermatologist suggested going for either botox injections or surgery as a last resort.

'I chose surgery because botox was not covered by my health plan. It would hurt, it wasn't permanent, it would cost nearly 1,000 and I'd have to do it again in six months.'

Doctors carried out an endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy, making small incisions under Aremilda's armpits and cutting the nerves that normally activate the sweat glands.

The half hour procedure in 2012 was quick, painless and permanently solved the problem.

However, it's taken Aremilda until now to pluck up the courage to speak out about her treatment after realising her story can help other sufferers.

'After 15 days of recovery, I was dry for the first time in my life. It was an amazing feeling and the first time I could wrap my arms around my son and husband without them holding their breath,' she remembered.

'I threw my stinky clothes in the trash and finally brought different coloured items and my wardrobe smells of lavender.

'Now, when the pastor says to raise our arms, mine are the first to go up.'

The surgery does, however, come with side-effects. Doctors warned Aremilda by cutting the troublesome glands, compensatory sweating would occur in other parts of her body.

She revealed: 'I now get really wet around my tummy are 'But as it doesn't smell and soon dries off, it's a minor inconvenience compared to what I was used to.'
MurMaid Mattress and the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce will have a groundbreaking event for the new MurMaid Mattress flagship store at the corner of Lee Highway and Highway 153 on Wednesday, July 26, at 11 a.m.

MurMaid Mattress is a factory direct mattress manufacturer/retailer selling its own brand as well as national brand mattresses, boxsprings, adjustable power bases as well as top of bed accessories direct to the public.

MurMaid Mattress hopes to have this new store open in approximately six months. This will be the 12th MurMaid location with its original location being just two miles to the northeast, opened in 1979, which will soon be converted to a 14,000-square foot clearance center.

MurMaid Mattresss other locations are in Cleveland, Hixson, Red Bank, downtown Chattanooga on the North Shore, Ft. Oglethorpe and Dalton.
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According to the royal calendar the Duke of Edinburgh has but three engagements left until his retirement begins in autumn this year.

And with the arrival of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain rumoured to be the Duke's final ceremonial engagement he was sure to make it a memorable one.

Prince Philip, 96, joined a glamorous Letizia aboard a horse and cart as they made their way down Horse Guards Parade on Wednesday.

Today marks one of the Duke of Edinburgh's final engagements seeing him welcome King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain to London during their state visit

Philip joined Her Majesty the Queen to welcome the couple to the capital following their arrival in London on Tuesday evening.

Letizia, 44, was accompanied by the Duke as they travelled to Buckingham Palace in the State Landau - the carriage which was built for the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 - , while her husband travelled with the Queen.

The newfound friends could be seen enjoying the good weather as they waved to well-wishers who had gathered in the capital to witness the ceremonial procession.

Letizia, 44, travelled to Buckingham Palace in the State Landau - the carriage which was built for the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 - alongside the Duke of Edinburgh. The sunny weather saw the royals travelling with the roof down

The newfound royal pals could be seen sharing a joke as the Spanish royals were welcomed by various dignitaries on Horse Guards Parade

Famous for his good sense of humour the Duke could be seen turning on the charm offensive with the Queen of Spain who could be seen laughing as he cracked jokes.

Following his engagement today the Duke of Edinburgh is expected to carry two further official engagements, including the Annual Meeting, at the Royal Geographical Society next week, followed by a reception at Canada House the following day.

The 96-year-old Duke, who recently spent a short spell in hospital, is gearing up for his retirement from public duties after the summer following decades of royal service.

An official statement from the palace said: 'His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has decided that he will no longer carry out public engagements from the autumn of this year. In taking this decision, The Duke has the full support of The Queen.

Crowds lined the street while the Royal procession were flanked by members of the Scots and Grenadier Guards. Later the Spanish royals are expected to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry at a State Banquet

Warm welcome: The Union flag hangs alongside the flag of Spain ahead of the visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, in the Mall in London on Tuesday. Security will be tight for today's ceremonial welcome and carriage procession

'Prince Philip will attend previously scheduled engagements between now and August, both individually and accompanying The Queen. Thereafter, The Duke will not be accepting new invitations for visits and engagements, although he may still choose to attend certain public events from time to time.

'The Duke of Edinburgh is Patron, President or a member of over 780 organisations, with which he will continue to be associated, although he will no longer play an active role by attending engagements.

'Her Majesty will continue to carry out a full programme of official engagements with the support of members of the Royal Family.'

Spain's King Felipe VI greets the monarch warmly during Wednesday's official welcome ceremony on Horse Guards Parade. The Royal party will now make their way to Buckingham Palace

Felipe greets the Queen on Horse Guards Parade. Ahead of the meticulously-planned ceremony, The Mall was decked out in Spanish flags this week and gun salutes were fired from Green Park and the Tower of London to welcome the Spanish royals

This week's visit is seen as an important step in securing relations with Spain as the UK leaves the EU; the last incoming state visit by a Spanish king - Felipe's father Juan Carlos I - was 31 years ago in 1986.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's trip was postponed twice - firstly because of a political crisis in Spain in March 2016, and then again when the rescheduled date clashed with June's snap general election.

The action-packed tour will see the King and Queen enjoy a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, afternoon tea at Clarence House and a State Banquet at the Palace with senior members of the Royal family.

The King will also attend a UK-Spain Business Forum at Mansion House with the Duke of York, the couple will visit Westminster Abbey accompanied by Prince Harry, and they will both meet Theresa May at No. 10 Downing Street.

The royal couple are expected to meet Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when they are feted with the grand state banquet in the ballroom on Wednesday evening. It will be the first time full-time royal Harry, who is 32, has taken part in a state visit.

Felipe, 49, is expected to raise the thorny issue of Gibraltar during his stay this week. He will deliver an address at Westminster from the Royal Gallery to parliamentarians on Wednesday, and meet Mrs May for talks at Downing Street on Thursday.
King Felipe VI of Spain looked in danger of putting his back out today as he greeted the Queen during the official welcome for the Spanish royals.

The king, who's a lofty 6ft 4', frequently had to stoop and bow as he greeted the Queen, who's just 5ft 3' tall, on the first day of a three-day state visit.

During the regal welcome at Horse Guards Parade in Central London, 49-year-old Felipe, who was accompanied by his wife Queen Letizia, 44, even managed to make Prince Philip, who's an impressive 6ft, look considerably shorter.

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One is rather statuesque! The Queen raises her hand as 6ft 4' King Felipe VI of Spain stoops to greet her at Horse Guards Parade this afternoon

Leaning in: Felipe lowers considerably as he greets the Queen - who is just 5ft 3' - with a kiss

More than a foot separates the Queen and King Felipe in height, which observers on social media didn't miss

The Spanish royal couple, who landed on British soil yesterday evening, enjoyed a spectacular gun salute this morning as they were formally greeted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Horse Guards Parade.

While the Spanish couple looked comfortable and relaxed in the company of their hosts, the height difference was hard to miss, with King Felipe having to bend low to greet and chat with her majesty.

Observers enjoying the pomp and ceremony of the spectacle quickly took to social media to comment on just how statuesque King Felipe looked.

@MzCaledonia commented: 'Jeez, I thought Prince Philip was quite tall, but hes a midget compared to King Felipe.'

Meanwhile, Queen Letizia, who's just two inches taller than the British monarch at 5ft 5' enhanced her natural stature with a pair of nude heels.

Mind your back, Felipe: The smart-suited Spanish king bent over to kiss the Queen's gloved hand as the military looked on

High tower! The Queen, wearing an elegant purple ensemble, looked delighted to be welcoming the Spanish royals to the UK

The tall and short of it: Even 6ft Prince Philip looked a little shorter than usual in the company of Felipe and his wife Letizia, who's just a couple of inches taller than the Queen but donned a pair of heels

On Twitter, observers watching the royal welcome in central London commented on the Spanish kings height

@KyaMHill added: 'William is tall. But, Felipe is reaaaalllly tall!'

@weila65 penned: 'Tall man Felipe, isn't he?'

@ByDean noted: 'Erm, is the King of Spain about 7 feet tall?!'

This week's visit is seen as an important step in securing relations with Spain as the UK leaves the EU; the last incoming state visit by a Spanish king - Felipe's father Juan Carlos I - was 31 years ago in 1986.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's trip had been postponed twice - firstly because of a political crisis in Spain in March 2016, and then again when the rescheduled date clashed with June's snap general election.

The action-packed tour will see the King and Queen enjoy a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, afternoon tea at Clarence House and a State Banquet at the Palace tonight with senior members of the Royal family.
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Earlier today Prince Charles had an awkward greeting with Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia when he wasn't sure whether to go in for one or two kisses.

And it seems that the Prince didn't learn from his mistakes after getting a little too close to the Queen of Spain for comfort on Wednesday afternoon.

Charles somewhat bizarrely held Queen Letizia uncomfortably close when he welcomed her for afternoon tea at Clarence House.

The Prince held her hand as he drew her in close, whilst his wife Camilla and King Felipe look a little baffled by his behaviour.

Prince Charles enjoyed an intimate greeting with Queen Letizia as he drew her in close when he welcomed the Spanish royals to Clarence House for afternoon tea on Wednesday

The couple were formally greeted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Horse Guards Parade this afternoon in what is expected to be 96-year-old Philip's last state visit before he retires from public duties in the autumn.

The action-packed tour has so far seen the King and Queen enjoy a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, afternoon tea at Clarence House - and tonight they will attend a State Banquet at the Palace with senior members of the Royal family.

For today's procession, the Captain of the Guard of Honour Major Charlie Gair, presented his Guard of Honour to Felipe in Spanish while Major General Ben Bathurst, Major General Commanding the Household Division, commanded the grand parade. A total of more than 1,000 troops are expected to take part in the state visit.

Letizia, 44, travelled to the Palace in style in the State Landau - the carriage which was built for the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 - alongside Prince Philip, while her husband travelled with the Queen.

Spanish King Felipe VI (2nd L) and Queen Letizia (L) posed for a photograph with Prince Charles and Camilla on the first day of the Spanish King's three day state visit

The awkward greeting comes after the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall didn't know where to look when they greeted their guests, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, at their hotel this morning ahead of the Ceremonial Welcome on Horse Guards Parade

Letizia (far right) wore a bright yellow coat over a matching dress and an elaborate headpiece ahead of today's meeting, while the Duchess of Cornwall opted for a white hat adorned with feathers

Prince Charles and King Felipe appeared to be getting on famously as they enjoyed a day together at Clarence House

The Prince of Wales was certainly on fine form as he cracked jokes with the Spanish royals and had them in hysterics

The Prince gave the Spanish royals a tour as he led them into the drawing room for afternoon tea

Queen Letizia looked chic in a red coat and matching clutch, which she coordinated with her husband's tie

Queen Letizia joins Prince Philip in the State Landau as the travel to the Palace. This week's visit is seen as a significant step in securing relations with Spain as the UK leaves the EU; the last incoming state visit by a Spanish king was 31 years ago in 1986

The reigning monarchs make their way to the Palace. Felipe, 49, is expected to raise the thorny issue of Gibraltar during his stay this week. He will deliver an address at Westminster from the Royal Gallery to parliamentarians on Wednesday

The VIP visitors enjoy a military ceremonial welcome on Horse Guards Parade to mark the start of their visit to Britain. The Captain of the Guard of Honour Major Charlie Gair, Irish Guards, presented his Guard of Honour to the King of Spain in Spanish

The mother-of-two stunned in a vibrant yellow coat dress by go-to designer Felipe Varela, vertiginous 550 Prada stilettos and a bespoke headpiece by Maria Nieto - teamed with yellow and gold earrings which are believed to belong to her mother-in-law Queen Sofia.

The Queen opted for a magenta coat and flower-adorned hat that she wore just over two weeks ago at Royal Ascot as she introduced the Spanish couple to leading figures from UK national life, including Prime Minister Theresa May, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and a host of senior military figures.

Once inside the Palace, the King and Queen enjoyed a private lunch with the royal family where they were served Laureate's Choice, a sherry selected by poet Carol Ann Duffy. A poem inspired by the sherry appears on the label.

During the lunchtime reception, Felipe VI became what is known as a 'Stranger Knight' or 'Extra Knight Companion' of the prestigious Order of the Garter.

Buckingham Palace said the last foreign royal to be invested as a Knight of the Garter was King Harald V of Norway in 2001. The decision demonstrates the cordial nature of the royals' relations with their Spanish counterparts.

Felipe's father, King Juan Carlos, was made a Knight of the Garter in 1988. Knights of the Most Noble Order of the Garter are personally chosen by the monarch.

The King will have been given a Garter star, which he is likely to wear at the state banquet.He will also now have a permanent stall in St George's Chapel at Windsor - the spiritual home of the Order. It will feature a plaque bearing his banner of arms, and have a wooden crown carved above it.

This week's visit is seen as an important step in securing relations with Spain as the UK leaves the EU; the last incoming state visit by a Spanish king - Felipe's father Juan Carlos I - was 31 years ago in 1986.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's trip had been postponed twice - firstly because of a political crisis in Spain in March 2016, and then again when the rescheduled date clashed with June's snap general election.

Her Majesty opted for a vibrant magenta coat dress ahead of Wednesday's ceremonial welcome. She and the Duke of Edinburgh (far right) will later greets their Spanish guests before Theresa May (second left) meets them later on in the week

The Queen greets Theresa May as they await the Spanish Royals at Horse Guards Parade. The Prime Minister appeared to have got into a spot of bother after her Liz Helix hat was blown off in the wind as she made her entrance

The monarch beamed broadly as she greeted King Felipe VI who travelled from ME London. During the lunchtime reception that followed, she made Felipe a 'Stranger Knight' or 'Extra Knight Companion' of the prestigious Order of the Garter

Felipe greets the Queen on Horse Guards Parade. Ahead of the meticulously-planned ceremony, The Mall was decked out in Spanish flags this week and gun salutes were fired from Green Park and the Tower of London to welcome the Spanish royals

Pleased to meet you, Ma'am: Spain's King Felipe VI greets the monarch warmly during Wednesday's official welcome ceremony on Horse Guards Parade. The Royal party will now make their way to Buckingham Palace

The Prince of Wales shares a joke with Letizia as the royals exit their chauffeured Bentley at Horse Guards Parade before a ceremonial welcome - after which the party travelled to Buckingham Palace in style in a carriage procession

Glamorous Queen Letizia wore a vertiginous pair of heels with her dress, which featured a delicate lace trim. The stylish royal is a champion of homegrown talent, and today's ensemble is believed to be the handiwork of Spanish designer Felipe Varela

Big and little: Standing at 6ft 6in, the Spanish monarch dwarfed the 91-year-old Queen who stands at just 5ft 4in

Felipe, 49, will also attend a UK-Spain Business Forum at Mansion House with the Duke of York, the couple will visit Westminster Abbey accompanied by Prince Harry, and they will both meet Theresa May at No. 10 Downing Street.

The royal couple are expected to meet Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when they are feted with the grand state banquet in the ballroom tonight; the first time full-time royal Harry, who is 32, has taken part in a state visit.

The King is expected to raise the thorny issue of Gibraltar during his stay this week. He will deliver an address at Westminster from the Royal Gallery to parliamentarians on Wednesday, and meet Mrs May for talks at Downing Street on Thursday.

Last September, he used his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York to call for a negotiated handover of what Gibraltarians affectionately call 'the Rock'.

The Spanish King, followed by the Duke of Edinburgh, inspects the Guard of Honour, the 1st Battalion Irish Guards. Afterwards, he joined the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh for a state carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Palace

King Felipe and the Duke of Edinburgh inspect the Guard of Honour on Horse Guards Parade before boarding the Royal carriages to travel to Buckingham Palace for a private lunch and a tour of the Royal Collection

'I invite the UK, on this first occasion at the UN after Brexit, to end the the colonial anachronism of Gibraltar with an agreed solution between both countries to restore the territorial integrity of Spain,' he declared.

The future of Gibraltar, a rocky British enclave on Spain's southern tip, is set to be a major point of contention in the British EU exit talks with the EU offering Spain a right of veto over the relationship between Gibraltar and the EU.

It comes after the European Union's top court ruled last month that Gibraltar and the United Kingdom can be treated as a single EU member for certain aspects of EU law, a finding that could complicate the territory's hopes of winning a special status after Brexit.

On Tuesday afternoon, the royal couple were given an official farewell with honours at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport as they set off for London, where they were later greeted on behalf of The Queen by The Viscount Brookeborough, Lord-in-Waiting.

The Queen was joined by King Felipe VI in a state carriage as the Royal procession made their way from Horse Guards Parade to Buckingham Palace. The action-packed tour will see the King and Queen enjoy a private lunch with the British royals

Letizia, 44, travelled to Buckingham Palace in the State Landau - the carriage which was built for the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 - alongside the Duke of Edinburgh. The sunny weather saw the royals travelling with the roof down

The Spanish Queen showed her sartorial credentials in an elegant pale yellow coat dress displaying just a hint of decolletage

Former anchorwoman Letizia is mother to 11-year-old Leonor, Princess of Asturias and 10-year-old Infanta Sofia of Spain - but the youngsters are not believed to have joined them on their trip this week

Letizia and Felipe's visit to London this week may be one of their last official engagements before the summer; the Spanish royals traditionally spend their lengthy holiday at the Marivent Palace, their official summer residence, on Mallorca

Crowds lined the street while the Royal procession were flanked by members of the Scots and Grenadier Guards. Later the Spanish royals are expected to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry at a State Banquet

Today's carriage procession marks the start of an action-packed first day. Later on, the royal couple are expected to meet Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when they are feted with the grand state banquet in Palace ballroom

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were also sat in a carriage as the procession travelled from Horse Guards Parade to Buckingham Palace where the party will enjoy a lunch reception ahead of an action-packed afternoon

Major General Ben Bathurst, Major General Commanding the Household Division, commanded all troops on the parade. A total of more than 1,000 troops are expected to take part in the state visit this week

The Life Guards, members of the household cavalry parade on The Mall as the royals make their way to Buckingham Palace

Letizia, Felipe, Charles and Camilla leave the ME London, on the Strand, where they are believed to have stayed last night. Following their awkward encounter this morning, they headed to Horse Guards Parade for the welcome ceremony

The Duchess of Cornwall chats to Queen Letizia at their hotel in central London this morning, before heading to Buckingham Palace flanked by a grand military procession. They enjoyed tea together at Clarence House later this afternoon

Warm welcome: The Union flag hangs alongside the flag of Spain ahead of the visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, in the Mall in London on Tuesday. Security will be tight for today's ceremonial welcome and carriage procession

Members of the Scots Guards are seen marching along the Mall at the start of Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's three-day state visit to the UK where they will meet members of the Royal family - starting with the Queen and Prince Philip

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's trip was postponed twice - firstly because of a political crisis in Spain in March 2016 and then again when the rescheduled date clashed with June's snap general election

Former anchorwoman Letizia - mother to 11-year-old Leonor, Princess of Asturias and 10-year-old Infanta Sofia of Spain - displayed her sartorial prowess in a chic white Hugo Boss ensemble, paired with oversized shades and towering snakeskin heels from Spanish label Magrit.

Security will be tight for today's ceremonial welcome and carriage procession, in what will be the first state visit to take place since the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London.

The Mall was decked out in Spanish flags ahead of the visit and gun salutes were fired from Green Park and the Tower of London to welcome the King and Queen of Spain.

The Royal Mews staff were decked out in their Full State Livery  a uniform that has changed little in over 200 years - ahead of the Ceremonial Welcome, while horses were hitched to their respective carriages, ready to be inspected by The Master of The Horse before departing.

The Queen and Prince Philip arrive at Buckingham Palace. Later this week, the King will attend a UK-Spain Business Forum at Mansion House with the Duke of York, visit Westminster Abbey accompanied, and meet Theresa May at Downing Street

After a gloomy arrival at Luton Airport on Tuesday night, the sun came out for King Felipe (pictured) and wife Letizia for today's Ceremonial Welcome. After arriving at Buckingham Palace they headed inside to enjoy a lunch reception

The pair share a laugh as they exit the carriage at Buckingham Palace. According to the Olive Press, Felipe is fluent in English because his mother spoke it to him - and he speaks only English at home so that his daughters will also grow up bilingual

What a gent! King Felipe helps the 91-year-old monarch out of the carriage as the arrive at Buckingham Palace for a reception

Once inside, the Spanish royals enjoyed a private lunch with the royal family where they were served Laureate's Choice, a sherry selected by poet Carol Ann Duffy. A poem inspired by the sherry appears on the label, according to Buckingham Palace

The elegant royal managed to avoid a fashion mishap as she disembarked the carriage this afternoon in her 550 Prada stilettos. She also wore a bespoke headpiece from by Maria Nieto to complete her look

Former journalist Letizia and Prince Philip were close behind the Queen and King Felipe in the impressive royal procession

The fashion-loving Spanish Queen's lace trim dress and coat are believed to be by Felipe Varela, her go-to designer for big occasions such as this. The subtle texture of the fabric gave her sophisticated look a thoroughly modern edge

Letizia beams as she arrives at Buckingham Palace alongside her husband Felipe, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

The group pose for a photo before heading inside. The royals' trip had been postponed twice - firstly because of a political crisis in Spain in March 2016, and then again when the rescheduled date clashed with June's snap general election

Just the beginning: The action-packed tour will see the King and Queen enjoy a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, afternoon tea at Clarence House and a State Banquet at the Palace with senior members of the Royal family

The royal visit began one day later than is usual, meaning Theresa May will miss Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons in order to attend the Horse Guards welcome.

This afternoon, the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will formally welcome The King and Queen on Horse Guards Parade where presentations will be made, the Guard of Honour will give a Royal Salute and the Spanish National Anthem will be played.

The Spanish King, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, inspected the Guard of Honour, which are the 1st Battalion Irish Guards. Afterwards, The King and Queen joined The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh for a state carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Palace.

Following a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, the monarch invited The King and Queen of Spain to view an exhibition in the Picture Gallery of items from the Royal Collection relating to Spain.

Following a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, given by The Queen, Her Majesty invited The King and Queen of Spain to view an exhibition in the Picture Gallery of items from the Royal Collection relating to Spain

The Spanish monarch looked fascinated as he was shown around the Royal Collection by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh

With the formal procession over, the Spanish Queen cast aside her headpiece while Her Majesty took off her magenta coat to reveal a colourful green and purple floral frock as they toured the Royal Collection

To mark this week's state visit, the Royal Collection put together an exhibition items celebrating the historic ties between the United Kingdom and Spain, presenting objects dating back to the sixteenth century and gifts from the 1988 State Visit

During their visit today, King Felipe learned about his great grandmother, Queen Ena of Spain - nee Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg - who was Queen Victoria's youngest granddaughter

Family affair: The Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of York also had chance to view the collection, which includes a pair of bronze lions presented by the Spanish Congress to the Queen during her visit in 1988

Letizia and Camilla had a quick outfit change for the engagement - the Queen into a red dress and the Duchess a summery floral number she previously wore in Italy earlier this year - while their husbands opted to stick to their navy suits

The King and the Prince of Wales chatted animatedly as the group posed for a photograph at Clarence House this afternoon

In honour of this week's state visit, the Royal Collection put together an exhibition items celebrating the historic ties between the United Kingdom and Spain, presenting objects dating back to the sixteenth century and gifts from the 1988 State Visit, as well as examples of Spanish craftsmanship and artworks by British artists based in Spain.

King Felipe learned about his great grandmother, Queen Ena of Spain - nee Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg - who was Queen Victoria's youngest granddaughter.

The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of York also had chance to view the collection, which includes a pair of bronze lions presented by the Spanish Congress to the Queen during her visit in 1988 and examples of blades made in the Spanish city of Toledo.

The Countess of Wessex took a particular interest in the Constitucion Espanola, another gift from the Queen's State Visit to Madrid in 1988.

Now that's a welcome! The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery fire a 41 gun salute in Green Park this morning to kick off the state visit. Following a Ceremonial Welcome, the Royal party proceeded to Buckingham Palace for a private lunch

The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery make sure they are perfectly turned out before firing their 41 gun salute in Green Park. The much anticipated state visit is the first of its kind in 31 years - King Juan Carlos visited the UK in 1986 before addicating

The Household Cavalry make their way along Constitution Hill before The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired their salute

A mounted police officer goes ahead of the brass band down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace this afternoon

Watchful eye: Police officers are seen on the roof of Buckingham Palace before a procession along the Mall on Wednesday. The couple's trip to London is the first state visit to take place since the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London

A member of the Grenadier Guards is seen at the Mall at the start of Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's three-day state visit. Letizia, 44, wil travel to Buckingham Palace in the State Landau with her husband - the carriage which was built in 1902

The royals were given an official farewell on Tuesday afternoon with honours at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport as they set off for London - where they were greeted on behalf of The Queen by The Viscount Brookeborough, Lord-in-Waiting

Departing for Britain on Tuesday, Letizia - mother to Leonor, Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofia of Spain - displayed her sartorial prowess in a chic white Hugo Boss ensemble, paired with oversized shades and snakeskin heels from Magrit

In the afternoon the Spanish couple, who wed in Madrid 2004, met the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall for tea at nearby Clarence House.

Letizia and Camilla had a quick outfit change for the engagement - the Queen into a red dress and the Duchess a summery floral number - while their husbands opted to stick to their navy suits.

Afterwards, The King and Queen will visit the Palace of Westminster, where they will be welcomed by the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker. The King will deliver an Address in the Royal Gallery to Parliamentarians and other guests, followed by a reception with Members and invited guests ahead of tonight's State Banquet.

On Thursday, Prince Harry will accompany the royal visitors to Westminster Abbey. Felipe will lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior and Harry will join them on a short tour of the Abbey, including the Tomb of Eleanor 'Leonor' of Castile - the 13th century Spanish princess who married Edward I.

William and Harry have a shared history with the King. As youngsters, they holidayed with Felipe, his father King Juan Carlos and their family in Majorca several times throughout the 1980s. Felipe and Letizia were also guests at the Duke and Duchess's wedding in 2011.

The Cambridges are already viewed as the Royal family's unofficial Brexit ambassadors, and are setting off on another diplomacy tour next week - heading to Germany and Poland for five days with their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte in tow.

Between a rock and a hard place: The great Gibraltar debate King Felipe VI is expected to raise the thorny issue of Gibraltar during his stay. He will deliver an address at Westminster from the Royal Gallery to parliamentarians on Wednesday, and meet Mrs May for talks at Downing Street on Thursday. Last September, he used his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York to call for a negotiated handover of what Gibraltarians affectionately call 'the Rock'. 'I invite the UK, on this first occasion at the UN after Brexit, to end the the colonial anachronism of Gibraltar with an agreed solution between both countries to restore the territorial integrity of Spain,' he declared. When his father King Juan Carlos was monarch in 1986 and on a state visit to the UK, he raised Spain's claim over the Rock when addressing MPs and Lords. The future of Gibraltar, a rocky British enclave on Spain's southern tip, is set to be a major point of contention in the British EU exit talks with the EU offering Spain a right of veto over the relationship between Gibraltar and the EU. It comes after the European Union's top court ruled last month that Gibraltar and the United Kingdom can be treated as a single EU member for certain aspects of EU law, a finding that could complicate the territory's hopes of winning a special status after Brexit. The future of Gibraltar, a rocky British enclave on Spain's southern tip, is set to be a major point of contention in the British EU exit talks with the EU offering Spain a right of veto over the relationship between Gibraltar and the EU In April, leaked documents revealed that Spain is planning to use its Brexit veto over Gibraltar to tell the Rock how to run its economy. Madrid wants to end what it describes as the Rock's 'unjustified privileges', according to reports of a leaked Spanish foreign ministry document. Spanish officials said Gibraltar's low-tax status effectively means it enjoys 'unfair competition' and has vowed to crack down on the 'tax haven'. They will also demand a 'new accord' over flights into Gibraltar's international airport. Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar's chief minister, accused Spain of holding 'neo-colonial ambitions' over the territory, saying: 'The Spanish Government's mask is slipping.It is becoming abundantly clear that they want to try to use Brexit to take narrow advantage. Gibraltar will, as ever, continue to seek dialogue over Spanish vetoes and will seek co-operation and friendship over Spanish aggression and belligerence.' The document, entitled Negotiations About the Exit of Britain from the EU, states: 'Gibraltar has developed an extremely permissive regime ... which has practically converted it into a tax haven'. The revelations will enrage Theresa May, who has vowed to protect Gibraltar's interests in the negotiations to leave the EU. Advertisement
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh rolled out the red carpet to welcome the King and Queen of Spain as they kicked off their state visit to Britain today.

Both royal couples looked the picture of elegance as they greeted each other on Horse Guards Parade, and the lavish event appeared to go off without a hitch.

But just feet away a mounted soldier was left briefly struggling to regain control of his horse after it became spooked during the festivities.

Spooked: A steed was startled by the festivities during the welcome for the Spanish royals

Composed: The soldier from the Blues and Royals remained calm as he regained control

Spirited: The horse reared up but the soldier remained seated, although he did lose his helmet

The soldier from the Blues and Royals, part of the Household Cavalry, was photographed calming down his steed as it reared on to its back legs.

While he kept himself from being bucked off, he did lose his distinctive red feathered cap in the commotion.

The Captain of the Guard of Honour Major Charlie Gair, presented his Guard of Honour to King Felipe VI in Spanish while Major General Ben Bathurst, Major General Commanding the Household Division, commanded the grand parade.

A total of more than 1,000 troops are expected to take part in the state visit.

Easy there! The soldier displayed considerable skill as he calmed down the spirited steed

Back to business: The horse and rider are believed to have been taking part in the parade

Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI of Spain were formally greeted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in what is expected to be 96-year-old Philip's last state visit before he retires from public duties in the autumn.

The action-packed tour has so far seen the King and Queen enjoy a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, afternoon tea at Clarence House - and tonight they will attend a State Banquet at the Palace with senior members of the Royal family.

Letizia, 44, travelled to the Palace in style in the State Landau - the carriage which was built for the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 - alongside Prince Philip, while her husband travelled with the Queen.

Queen Letizia joins Prince Philip in the State Landau as the travel to the Palace. This week's visit is seen as a significant step in securing relations with Spain as the UK leaves the EU; the last incoming state visit by a Spanish king was 31 years ago in 1986

The reigning monarchs make their way to the Palace. Felipe, 49, is expected to raise the thorny issue of Gibraltar during his stay this week. He will deliver an address at Westminster from the Royal Gallery to parliamentarians on Wednesday
As she stared at the positive pregnancy test, Natalie Smith was overwhelmed by a sickening conviction that, at just 17 years old, her life was over.

Her hands wobbled as she picked up the phone to tell her mother the news. She knew she would be shaking with shock and fury, and with good reason.

Mum was only 16 when she had me and wanted me to enjoy the kind of future she hadnt, says Natalie. She was so cross she refused to speak to me for a week. I was so terrified I booked a termination.

It wasnt until the evening before Natalies scheduled abortion that her mother calmed down and promised to support her daughter if she wanted to proceed with the pregnancy. Natalie is now 32; her unplanned but much-loved daughter Ellie is 14.

Research in the past has shown that daughters of teenage mothers are much more likely to become teenage mothers themselves  so the tacit assumption would once have been that Ellie was destined for the same fate.

Yet she is adamant this will not happen. She will break the family cycle, she says, and no one doubts she means it.

A pregnancy would ruin my teenage years. I want to wait to have sex and definitely wouldnt do it without contraception, insists Ellie.

Natalie seems similarly convinced. Ellie is so sensible and attitudes have changed so much since she was born that I cant see history repeating itself, she says.

In fact, within this family and many others there has been a big shift in attitudes towards teenage pregnancy in the space of just one generation.

It has become anathema to countless thousands of youngsters  the sort of wondrous change of which the Seventies pioneers of the sex education movement could only have dreamt.

In two decades, teenage conception rates have halved. Yet recent reports on the causes of this decline are conflicting.

One view is that the success is down to the Department of Healths Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, launched in 1999, which led to better sex education and access to sexual health services.

It wasnt until the evening before Natalies scheduled abortion that her mother calmed down and promised to support her daughter if she wanted to proceed with the pregnancy. Natalie is now 32 (pictured left); her unplanned but much-loved daughter Ellie is 14 (pictured right)

Last year, a paper published in medical journal The Lancet found that areas of the country which had received more funding under the initiative had undergone the biggest reductions in under-18 conceptions.

The Government is so persuaded by the argument that children should be better informed about sex that this year it announced sex education for school pupils as young as four should be compulsory.

Research in the past has shown that daughters of teenage mothers are much more likely to become teenage mothers themselves  so the tacit assumption would once have been that Ellie was destined for the same fate

But not everyone is convinced. Another study, published last month in the Journal of Health Economics, refuted these findings, concluding that subsequent cutbacks were behind falling pregnancy rates.

This research found that the largest decreases in teenage pregnancy rates had been in areas where authorities had made the biggest cuts to their teenage pregnancy services between 2008 and 2014.

The explanation was that easier access to contraception encouraged youngsters to have sex, leading to more risks taken and more unplanned pregnancies.

This division in expert opinion is further complicated by the explanations teenagers themselves offer. Sexting, bullying, social media smears and body insecurity are all cited as reasons for the decline in conception rates by youngsters growing up in a febrile climate of anxiety and peer pressure.

A pregnancy would ruin my teenage years. I want to wait to have sex and definitely wouldnt do it without contraception, insists Ellie

Online shaming is making this generation more conservative, says child psychologist Emma Kenny. They are less likely to have promiscuous sex purely because they dont want everyone to know. Information spreads like wildfire on social media, amplifying the stigma associated with teenage pregnancy.

Meanwhile, it seems falling pregnancy rates are also linked to the rise in sexting  the sending of X-rated text messages  which means teenagers may enter into relationships of a sexual nature without actually meeting in the flesh.

While this may lead to sex being deferred, sparing girls the trials of teenage motherhood, it leaves a potentially explosive legacy of explicit pictures and messages.

Emma Kenny is upbeat about the general trend. Cyber-communication is replacing face-to-face relationships and a lot of young people find sexting satisfying, she says.

A pregnancy would ruin my teenage years. I want to wait to have sex and definitely wouldnt do it without contraception, insists Ellie

Statistics seem to support this shift to online sexual interaction. Recent U.S. research found the number of high school students who have never had sex has increased by more than 10 per cent in two years, while another study suggested 93 per cent of boys and 62 per cent of girls were exposed to online pornography as adolescents.

Such behaviour will shock older generations, the sum total of whose sex education was usually a one-off biology lesson.

We barely talked about sex when I was Ellies age, says Natalie, from Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, who is now married to Ellies father Harry, 35, and has two younger children, Jude, eight, and Oscar, five.

When I was 11, I saw one video in the school hall about sex. We all giggled and that was it.

Child psychologist Emma Kenny is upbeat about the general trend. Cyber-communication is replacing face-to-face relationships and a lot of young people find sexting satisfying, she says

One might have expected Natalies parents to have been more open about sex at home, given their accidental pregnancy. Natalies mother, now 49, had just left school when she found out she was pregnant and had been dating the father  whom she is still with  for a year.

But, says Natalie: Mum has never talked about how she fell pregnant or what it was like having me so young. I think shes embarrassed.

Natalie met Harry, three years her senior, when she was 13. They started having sex when Natalie was 16, by which time her understanding of pregnancy had come largely from playground gossip.

It seems falling pregnancy rates are also linked to the rise in sexting  the sending of X-rated text messages  which means teenagers may enter into relationships of a sexual nature without actually meeting in the flesh

Several of my friends had already lost their virginity, she says. Even though it wasnt openly discussed by adults, underage sex was normal.

Natalie discovered she was pregnant in January 2002, when she had just left school and begun working as a hairdresser.

Mum reminded me of the opportunities Id miss  the cruise ship Id planned to work on and the freedom Id lose. Id never realised she felt that way.

But a week later, during which time Natalie booked her abortion, her mum had a change of heart: She sat me down and said she would help me bring up my baby, just as her mother had helped her. But it wasnt easy.

My friends were shocked and it was hard watching their lives carry on without me, says Natalie. I comfort ate and gained 5st. I felt overwhelmed.

After Ellie was born, Natalie, who moved in with Harry when Ellie was three weeks old, struggled to adjust. It took months to properly bond with her, she says. I dont regret her for an instant but I wish she had arrived later.

Girls are more body-conscious nowadays, Ellie says. They worry boys will think theyre fat or that they dont have boobs. Being pregnant would be just awful'

Little wonder that she was anxious for her daughter to avoid making the same mistake. She discussed sex openly with Ellie in a way her own prudish mother didnt.

If sex is talked about on television, Ill bring it up so shes not embarrassed, says Natalie. And it seems to have worked.

Ellie, who hopes to become an interior designer after university and has been having sex education since the age of ten, adds: I dont feel awkward asking mum anything. She has explained that after she had me she couldnt go out, and she wants me to get a good job and relationship before I get pregnant.

Yet she also cites social media, and in particular skinny Instagram models, as a reason she is reluctant to have sex. Girls are more body-conscious nowadays, she says. They worry boys will think theyre fat or that they dont have boobs. Being pregnant would be just awful.

She prefers flirting with her classmates online on social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram.

Its called linking  where you act like a new couple but the flirtation is limited to online contact, explains Ellie, whose longest relationship, earlier this year, lasted a week and whose girlfriends are similarly abstinent. Talking online means less pressure.

Its also a fact that emergency contraception has never been easier to access.

You would get bullied for getting pregnant, says Brooke Ramsay, 15, from Croydon in South London. Everyone knows were too young to have babies (Pictured with mum Claire, 44)

Last month, Superdrug announced it was to sell a half- price version of the morning-after pill. And, adds Kenny: Lets be honest  abortions are really easy to get. You dont even have to go to your doctor. Teenagers can call the British Pregnancy Abortion Service with a caller identity code and be seen the same day.

And, Kenny says, other socio- political changes have helped.

Access to the internet has made all teenagers, no matter what their background, aspirational, she says. Teenage mums are hardly glamorised on Instagram, while popular reality television programmes such as Teen Mom and 16 And Pregnant provide car-crash accounts of teenage pregnancy. Girls know pregnancy will sap their ambition.

You would get bullied for getting pregnant, says Brooke Ramsay, 15, from Croydon in South London. Everyone knows were too young to have babies

Then there is the powerful tool of shame. You would get bullied for getting pregnant, says Brooke Ramsay, 15, from Croydon in South London. Everyone knows were too young to have babies.

A-grade student Brooke, who dreams of becoming a marine biologist, recalls a recent date with a boy who had asked her out on Snapchat.

An hour after they met, he moved in for a kiss and tried to touch her bottom. I said no because I knew that if I did kiss him, or more, hed tell everyone and I dont want people thinking Im a slag, she says. My generation is quick to judge.

It seems as if Brooke  who has had two boyfriends, each lasting about a month, and gone no further than a kiss with either  rebuffs advances on account of her reputation as much as her moral values. And who can blame her when rumours spread so quickly via smartphones?

Guys who have dated my friends have told everyone theyve had sex afterwards when they havent, says Brooke.

This has all come as something of a shock to Brookes mother Claire, 44, an accounts assistant married for 15 years to Grant, 48, a car dealer.

I didnt even know what periods were until secondary school, says Claire. But Brooke knows all about sex already. Free condoms are handed out at school. The embarrassment has gone out of it. But Brooke knows her own mind. She wont let boys touch her.

I didnt even know what periods were until secondary school, says Claire. But Brooke knows all about sex already. Free condoms are handed out at school. The embarrassment has gone out of it. But Brooke knows her own mind. She wont let boys touch her.

Having been introduced to sex education in school at the age of ten, with a cartoon video, Brooke was given a sex workshop this year in which she learnt how to put on a condom.

We practised on a banana, she recalls. The condom felt slippery and disgusting and sex just sounded painful. Plus I know if I got pregnant Id feel sick and would be constantly worrying about my school grades.

Nevertheless, Brooke and her friends  none of whom has yet had sex  come under intense pressure from boys, who seem as anxious to dispose of their virginity as the girls are to abstain.

Nowadays theres a thing called an F-boy, explains Brooke. Endearingly, she refuses to swear, but its plain what the F stands for: It means youre a player  one of the popular boys who get the most girls. F-boys make girls think they like them by saying they love them and theyre beautiful, so they can have sex and then leave afterwards.

The condom felt slippery and disgusting and sex just sounded painful. Plus I know if I got pregnant Id feel sick and would be constantly worrying about my school grades - Brooke

The girls they fool into physical relationships are dubbed Beat and Deletes  a term requiring little explanation.

Claire, who lost her own virginity at 16 to a boyfriend of six months, discusses sex openly with her daughter and lets Brooke watch 18-rated films and the reality TV series Love Island, in which contestants can be seen in bed with one another.

When I was a teenager the most risque thing on television was people kissing, Claire says. Love Island is very graphic but she knows everything anyway. Whats the point in hiding it from her?

While teenagers are increasingly clued up about sex, their social landscape rarely permits them to actually have it.

Increased health awareness and parental concerns over safety mean girls are less likely to sneak into pubs under age and are drinking less alcohol than ever  just 9 per cent of teenagers said theyd had alcohol in the past week in 2013, compared with 25 per cent in 2003.

The girls they fool into physical relationships are dubbed Beat and Deletes  a term requiring little explanation

It is harder to forget about contraception when youre sober  and harder still if you never meet in person at all.

Brooke conducts most of her relationships on social media.

Ill send boys I like emojis and videos of myself looking pretty and pouting on Snapchat  you can get away with flirting more online as its not as embarrassing, she says.

Brooke doesnt want to become a mum until her late 20s.

For older teenage girls, the prospect of getting pregnant is in some ways more daunting still. Now there would be more pressure on me to go through with a pregnancy, as Im technically an adult, says Eleanor Bailey, 18, an A-level student from Hereford who started having sex with her boyfriend Zachary, also 18, a year and two months ago. But I dont want a baby until Im in my mid-20s.

Eleanor has been on the Pill since she was 16  this is her second sexual relationship  but says her college, which has a sexual health counsellor, supplies condoms.

This is the age at which a lot of people are experimenting, she says. Our college knows were going to have sex and wants us to do it safely.

Nonetheless, she believes casual sex is less common for her generation because they are concentrating on their futures.

Were focused on getting into university and finding a job. We rarely go to parties. Sex is a distraction we can do without.

And Eleanor is all too aware that indiscretions can easily end up being flaunted to the world.

There is a real threat of boys posting naked photos of girls on social media  it happened to a girl in my school when I was 14 and she was mortified. It creates long-term trust issues.

Teenage pregnancy rates may continue to fall, but underage sex still causes worrying problems.
An obese woman who was humiliated by her college crush after he told her 'I'm not into fat girls' underwent an incredible transformation - and now he has expressed wishes to date her.

Amber Dickison, 24, ballooned to 250lbs by age 18 after years of gorging on pizza rolls, family-sized bags of potato chips and cookies.

Throughout school the of Burnside, Kentucky native was cruelly taunted by bullies who dubbed her 'lard a**' and mocked her for being the biggest in the class.

A big change: Amber Dickison, of Burnside, Kentucky, lost 110lbs after her college crush rejected her for her weight

Another life: Amber was bullied over her weight while at school, with cruel bullies calling her names like 'lard a**'

'I never thought I was that big but the teasing was so bad. It made me feel like I wasn't even human. Every day I would eat a lot of fatty food but I didn't do anything about it,' she said.

Even so, brave Amber tried to shake off their nasty jibes and plucked up the courage to ask her college crush out on a date.

'I asked a guy out in school in my freshman year,' she said. 'We were friends and we were hanging out, and I asked him if he wanted to go for coffee. I was trying to be flirtatious.'

'He frowned and said, "I'm just not interested. You've got a great personality but I'm not into fat girls. You're not my type."

That night, Amber went home and cried herself to sleep. 'I was hurt and humiliated. I tried to shake it off and I didn't cry in front of him, but I did cry later that night. I was really upset,' she said.

The spark: One day, she asked a friend she had a crush on out for coffee, but he responded by saying 'No, I'm not into fat girls'

The aftermath: Amber, pictured while in the middle of losing weight, cried herself to sleep that night, but was driven to change her lifestyle

Starting point: The teen's weight had ballooned after years of gorging on pizza rolls, family-sized bags of potato chips and cookies

But the comment drove her to transform her unhealthy lifestyle. She cut out junk food, switched burgers for salads, ditched sugary soda for water and started working out four times a week.

'I looked in the mirror and it hit me. I decided I needed to change,' she said.

Amber cut out fatty foods, stopped guzzling full-fat soda and banned herself from snacking, cutting her calorie intake from 5,000 a day to 1,400.

She ate granola for breakfast instead of chocolate cereal and ate salads for lunch and dinner instead of pizza and burgers.

Within three months of the rejection in 2012 she lost 40lbs and her friends began to notice.

The 5'2" economics graduate dropped from 250lbs to 140lbs, slimming down from a morbidly obese size 18 to a size eight.

Done and done: She traded in junk food and hamburgers for salads and ditched sugary drinks

On her way: She also began working out four time per week and cut calories from 5,000 per day to 1,400

And around two years later, when he saw how great Amber looked, the guy she was rejected by asked her out - but her response was 'no'.

Opening up about her journey for the first time, Amber said: 'I felt so much better. I carried on with my new lifestyle and within three years I had lost 100lbs.

'A lot of people couldn't even recognize me because my face changed so much,' she went on. 'The guy I asked out did actually come onto me a few times after I lost around 50lbs but I was no longer interested.

'I thought, "I look great and feel fantastic." I had higher self-esteem. It wasn't just me being petty, I told him, "Thank you for noticing, I worked hard."

'While I knew he liked me, I was still shocked to actually hear those words come from his mouth. It made me feel pretty good about myself.'

Happier days: In the end, Amber is grateful that her crush's hurtful words motivated her to lose the weight

A new love: About 70lbs into her weight loss, Amber met her now-boyfriend Jack Hansma

Hanging out: Amber and the 25-year-old health insurance worker are now planning their future together

'It did feel good to reject him. It felt like I completed a quest, as ridiculous as that sounds. What he did was horrible at the time but it helped me change my life.'

Around 70lbs into her weight loss, Amber met a new man, Jack Hansma.

She and the 25-year-old health insurance worker hit it off and started dating, and now they are planning a future together.

Amber added: 'If the guy I asked out had never said those things, I may have eventually lost the weight, but it might not have been until my late 20s or 30s.

'I'm actually in a new relationship now. It has given me a lot of confidence - I'm the happiest I've ever been.'
Law can be one of the best paid professions, with top silks earning up to 300,000 a year or even millions for prominent cases.

But proving that good wine doesn't have to be expensive, a magazine aimed at barristers has recommended wines that anyone could afford, as they are all under 8.

And they come from cheap-and-cheerful supermarkets Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons.

Lidl's 5.49 Confidence Cotes de Gascogne rose wine was rated 88 points out of 100 by wine experts and is also recommended by top barristers

Counsel magazine wine critics have selected three wines that they say 'blow away' more expensive wines - including one bottle that comes in at less than 6.

Critics Sean Jones QC and Professor Dominic Regan recommend that barristers pick up Lidl's 5.49 Confidence Cotes de Gascogne.

They were also impressed by Aldi's 7 Limoux Chardonnay.

And for just a pound more, they also recommend barristers pick up a bottle of Morrisons' award-winning own-label White Burgundy.

Jones and Regan said the Aldi Chardonnay 'blows away' a 9 Sainsbury's equivalent and added that the Morrisons Burgundy is 'delicious'.

Morrisons's 8 White Burgundy has won a silver award at the International Wine Challenge, while Aldi's 7 Limoux Chardonnay was also highly rated by barristers

Barristers have earned a reputation for lavish lifestyles as it is regarded as one of the highest paid professions

It quashes the commonly held stereotype that most barristers live a life of luxury, quaffing bottles that cost hundreds if not thousands of pounds.

In fact, a barrister's salary can vary widely depending on what type of law they practice and what chambers or organisation they work for.

Some silks, who are all self-employed, earn as little as 12,000 in the first year of qualifying.

But Bar Council research revealed that average barrister earnings equate to a 60,000 salary.
The new Great British Bake Off won't feature any soggy bottom jokes now it's on Channel 4, according to the TV executive behind the relaunch.

The much-loved baking show - which enjoyed eight series on the BBC - will have a 'new tone' and 'feel modern' on the new channel, it's said.

The new Bake Off will see hosts Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig take over from Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, who decided to quit the show when Channel 4 bought the rights from Love Productions for a reported 75 million.

The new Great British Bake Off line-up: returning judge Paul Hollywood, TV presenter Sandi Toksvig, comedian Noel Fielding, and culinary expert Prue Leith

Culinary expert Prue Leith will also take over from national treasure Mary Berry, who left the show with Mel and Sue out of loyalty to the BBC.

In a first look at the new show, which is to air in the autumn, a source said that in the first episode of the new series, there were none of the 'soggy bottom' jokes that Bake Off has been long-associated with.

Jay Hunt, Channel 4's chief creative officer and the force behind the broadcaster securing The Great British Bake Off, said that she was 'quietly confident' about the series.

She told 'sceptics' that the quality of the baking was 'jaw-dropping' and that the new show is looking 'absolutely fantastic'.

Paul Hollywood posted this snap of the new Great British Bake Off line-up enjoying Fab ice lollies outside the tent after getting too hot during filming

There had been reports that Paul Hollywood (left) and comedian Noel (right) were not getting along during filming of the new show but they have dismissed the claims

A clip, aired to the media today as Channel 4 unveiled its annual report, showed a brief glimpse of the new line-up in action.

The Mighty Boosh comedian and new host Noel Fielding told bakers as the results of the first episode were about to be revealed: 'Sadly I have to deliver the bad news... a horrible job.'

As Leith and Hollywood began their deliberations on who would be ejected from the tent, Toksvig jokingly told them: 'You could say Noel.'

Fielding added: 'I'll go. I'll go now. I'll take a hit for the team. It's been great...'

Planting a kiss on Toksvig's cheek, he added: 'See you later kids.'

Ms Hunt denied reports that relationships between the new team - judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood alongside hosts Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig - had soured.

Paul Hollywood and new judge Prue Leith during the filming of the new series of the Great British Bake Off

Mary Berry, Mel Giedroyc, Sue Perkins will not be joining Paul Hollywood on Channel 4 for the new series as they quit the show out of loyalty to the BBC

'I was in the tent a few weeks ago for the whole day. I was struck by completely the opposite.

'Chemistry is hard to achieve on television and the thing that I took away from it more than anything else is that there was natural warmth and that they got on really well and their humour worked incredibly effectively together,' Hunt said.

She added: 'Their chemistry is fantastic, the calibre of the baking is absolutely jaw dropping...

'I can reassure all the sceptics that it's looking absolutely fantastic.'

A source said that in the first episode there were absolutely no 'soggy bottom' jokes.

'With Noel, it's a slightly more surreal take. So far, episode one, there's no reference to soggy bottoms but it's got a freshness and it feels modern in terms of their comic take on it... It's got a slightly more surreal twist,' the source said.

'Noel's got a big, bright primary colours imagination and that's where his gags are mined from.'

Hunt said she hoped viewers would find that 'this is Bake Off but with an extraordinary, high calibre of contributors'.

She added: 'It's got a slight Channel 4 feel to it.

'We've got a new tone to it, it's got a new comic riff to it. I think that feels modern and future facing. I think it's a show that people will love with a Channel 4 spin.'
An aspiring beauty queen discovered a giant cyst was responsible for her stomach pains - despite blaming it on exam stress.

Codie Yau, 21, from Milton, Cambridgeshire, was told the five-inch long mass, the same size as a four-month-old foetus, had been with her since birth.

Despite being found to not be life-threatening, it caused the university student severe abdominal pains that saw her rushed to A&E twice.

Doctors initially gave her antacid medication to relieve her discomfort, before being shocked to discover the monumental cyst after various tests.

A four-hour operation to remove the mass proved successful, but left her running low on self-confidence, with a huge scar across her stomach.

But a year on, she decided to apply to a beauty pageant and finished second in Miss Cambridgeshire 2017. She will compete in the Miss England finals on Friday.

Codie Yau, 21, an aspiring beauty queen, from Milton, Cambridgeshire, was told the five-inch long mass, the same size as a four-month-old foetus, had been with her since birth (pictured on the runway at the Miss England semi-finals, in Nottinghamshire, last month)

Miss Yau, who studies international business at the University of Essex, said: 'I couldn't believe it.

'Doctors said I had probably had it since birth and it had grown and grown over the last 21 years.

'I can't believe how far I have come from a year ago. I was in bed, being fed by my mother [Lai, 45], unable to do very much at all.

'Despite the eight-inch scar across my stomach, from the operation, I am starting to get my confidence back. It's amazing what a difference a year makes.'

Miss Yau first started experiencing extreme stomach pain in January last year, but put it down to exam stress, or something she had eaten.

Unknown feeling

She added: 'The feeling was between my breasts and upper stomach. I'd never had a feeling like that before.

'But me and my family just put it down to a dodgy meal, or me feeling worried about my exam work.'

A month later, she was in her student flat in Southend with her boyfriend Charles Innocence, 23, when she suddenly felt extremely unwell.

Despite being found to not be life-threatening, it caused the university student severe abdominal pains that saw her rushed to A&E twice (pictured at the Miss Cambridgeshire contest, in May)

The couple were sat up watching a film in the middle of the night when she began retching and crying uncontrollably.

Mr Innocence rushed her to Southend Hospital, where doctors prescribed her with antacid medication and sent her home.

Despite the eight-inch scar across my stomach, from the operation, I am starting to get my confidence back. It's amazing what a difference a year makes. Codie Yau, 21

But the next night, the same thing happened again and Miss Yau was rushed back to A&E.

Blood tests were taken as doctors said it was clear something was wrong. She then was given an ultrasound scan.

Shocked doctors

Miss Yau, an international business student, added: 'As they were doing it, the doctor started saying "oh my god" and "wow".

'I had no idea what was in my stomach and I felt really frightened and desperate to know what was happening.

'Thoughts were spinning through my head. I was thinking, "Is it cancer or something really deadly?"'

Miss Yau was then told by doctors she had a type 1 B choledochal cyst between her liver and bile duct, caused when the bile duct, carrying bile from the liver to the gall bladder, then to the gut, becomes swollen and dilated.

Discharged after three days, she was referred to the Royal London Hospital and booked in for her operation two months later.

Doctors initially gave her antacid medication to relieve her discomfort, before being shocked to discover the monumental cyst after various tests

A four-hour operation to remove the mass proved successful, but left her running low on self-confidence, with a huge scar across her stomach

But during that wait, her life was turned upside down. She said: 'Those two months were really hard for me.

'I had to stop attending university, was at home a lot of the time feeling really unwell, and I went yellow with jaundice, too. I couldn't do anything as I got so exhausted.'

WHAT ARE THESE CYSTS? Choledochal cysts are a problem with the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder and intestine. As a result of the blockage, the ducts dilate, stopping bile - a liquid that helps the body digest fats - flowing. Normally, bile flows through tiny ducts within the liver into larger ones. Choledochal cysts are rare, with figures suggesting that one in 100,000 are affected. If left untreated, it can cause cirrhosis or pancreatitis - both of which can be deadly. Source: Seattle Children's Hospital Advertisement

Grueling operation

In April last year, Miss Yau had the four hour operation to remove the cyst, before being kept in hospital for another 10 days.

Doctors don't know the exact cause of a choledochal cyst, but one theory is the bile duct doesn't form properly when the baby is developing in the womb.

Miss Yau saw an advert for the Miss Cambridgeshire beauty pageant on social media seven months after the operation.

She informed her close friend, Melissa Kneale, 21, who said that she would only apply if Miss Yau did, too.

Low self-confidence

She said: 'My self-confidence was so low at that point, after the operation. I'd lost two dress sizes and had a massive scar across my stomach, but I thought I would have a go.'

Despite what she had been through, Miss Yau came second  a position referred to as first runner-up - in the May 2017 competition.

She has now qualified for a place in the Miss England finals after winning Miss Popularity England 2017, as well as Miss Charity for her fundraising efforts.

Since being involved with the beauty pageants, she has raised more than 1,000 for charities to help disadvantaged children across the world.

Miss Yau added: 'I consider myself really lucky to be well and competing, so I wanted to give something back by fundraising too.'
If you've ever wondered which country leads the way in terms of staying fit each day, your queries have been answered.

Smartphone data from more than 700,000 people has been collated by scientists to show just how active different parts of the world are.

And residents of Hong Kong can proudly claim to be the fittest, walking an average of 6,880 steps each day - the equivalent to around three-and-a-half miles (6km).

But those living in Indonesia appear to be the laziest, managing just 3,513, according to Stanford University researchers.

By comparison, Britons walk 5,444 steps on a daily basis, less than three miles (5km), tipping their US counterparts who manage just 4,774.

Smartphone data from 700,000 people has been collated to show how active different parts of the world are. Residents of Hong Kong can claim to be the fittest, walking an average of 6,880 steps each day. But those living in Indonesia appear to be the laziest, managing just 3,513

Scott Delp, a professor of bioengineeering behind the findings, told the BBC: 'The study is 1,000 times larger than any previous study on human movement.

'There have been wonderful health surveys done, but our new study provides data from more countries, many more subjects, and tracks people's activity on an ongoing basis.

'This opens the door to new ways of doing science at a much larger scale than we have been able to do before.'

On average, the number of daily steps taken was 4,961 - two-and-a-half miles (4km), according to the research published in the journal Nature.

But many countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, also fell below the standard estimated amount.

Experts say the overall findings, which delved into multiple factors such as 'activity inequality' and obesity rates in 46 countries, could help tackle bulging waistlines.

Contrary to popular belief, the main findings of average steps in each country had little impact on obesity levels. Instead, activity inequality - dubbed the vast difference between the active and the non-active - was a more accurate reflection

ANOTHER FINDING OF THE SAME STUDY Well designed pedestrian friendly cities can help combat obesity, the Stanford University team also found. By analysing the data from 69 cities in the researchers found that city design has health impacts. The cities that were best designed for walking had a better rate of activity among all its citizens. Jennifer Hicks, director of data science for the Mobilise Centre at Stanford, said: 'Looking at three California cities in close geographic proximity - San Francisco, San Jose and Fremont - we determined that San Francisco had both the highest walkability score and the lowest level of activity inequality. 'In cities that are more walkable everyone tends to take more daily steps, whether male or female, young or old, healthy weight or obese.' Advertisement

Contrary to popular belief, the main findings of average steps in each country had little impact on obesity levels.

Instead, activity inequality - dubbed the vast difference between the active and the non-active - was a more accurate reflection.

The researchers told the BBC the bigger the gap between the two sets of people, the more obese people who lived in the country.

Tim Althoff, a PhD candidate in computer science who was involved in the research, said: 'For instance, Sweden had one of the smallest gaps between activity rich and activity poor... it also had one of the lowest rates of obesity.'

His claims were backed by the findings, which showed the US and Mexico to have similar average step counts - but stark differences in activity inequality and obesity levels.

The findings were based on anonymous data from participants who used the Argus app on their phones, designed to track daily activity.
12-Year-Old Boy Arrested With Gun In Lawndale Alley

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jul 12, 2017 2:59PM

A 12-year-old boy was arrested with a gun in Lawndale after he told police he was a gang member.

The boy was apprehended on Tuesday evening at around 8 p.m. in the 1800 block of South Kostner, according to Chicago Police Department spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi. He was charged with unlawful use of a weapon as a juvenile.

Guglielmi told the Tribune that the boy was not the same one seen in a recent viral video that appears to show one young boy show off a gun to a motorist who recorded the scene.
Children who spend less time outdoors and do not play much sport are more likely to be near-sighted, new research suggests.

They also have lower levels of vitamin D and a higher body mass index, the large study found.

It's more evidence that points the finger at lifestyle changes for the alarming rise in short-sightedness.

Experts have previously said half the world's population will suffer from this in 30 years  with youngsters spending less time in natural light and more time looking at screens blamed.

To help prevent it, the new study recommends children should play outside for 15 hours a week.

Furthermore, the amount of 'work' close up to the face should be restricted to no longer than 45 continuous minutes.

Researchers say children spending less time outdoors is the underlying source of the problem

Study author Dr Caroline Klaver of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam told Reuters: 'Lifestyle in early youth is very much associated with onset of myopia [short-sightedness].

'Not being outside, and performing lots of near work will increase risk a lot.'

Myopia usually occurs when the eyes grow slightly too long, which means they're unable to produce a clear image of objects in the distance.

It's thought to currently affect up to one in three people in the UK.

It has not always been clear exactly why this happens, but it's thought to be the result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors disrupting the normal development of the eye.

Short-sightedness can range from mild, where treatment may not be required, to severe, where a person's vision is significantly affected.

The condition usually starts around puberty and gets gradually worse until the eye is fully grown, but it can also develop in very young children.

HALF THE WORLD'S POPULATION WILL BE SHORT-SIGHTED IN 30 YEARS Half the world's population will be short-sighted in 30 years, with a fifth at significant increased risk of blindness as a result, a study has found. The condition, which means people struggle to see distant objects clearly, is set to become a leading cause of permanent blindness worldwide, researchers warn. This is because severe forms of the condition raise the risk of eye problems which lead to permanent loss of vision. Researchers warned the number of people suffering vision loss as a result of severe short-sightedness will increase seven-fold from 2000 to 2050. Experts blame lifestyle changes for the alarming rise, such as children spending less time outdoors in natural light and more time reading books or looking at screens. They advise parents to have childrens eyes checked regularly, send them outdoors to play and limit the time they spend reading and using electronic devices. Advertisement

Key findings

The new study looked at 5,711 urban children in Rotterdam who have been participating since birth, along with their mothers, in a long-term study.

At age six, the children had a full medical examination and 2.4 percent were found to have nearsightedness.

The researchers used statistical techniques to analyze a wide variety of factors  including social and economic aspects, ethnicity, lifestyle, parents' education levels, children's' activities.

Factors like being highly educated and of non-European heritage have traditionally been linked to nearsightedness.

However, the findings suggests that how young children spend their time is likely to be the underlying source of the problem, the team wrote in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

What the experts say

Dr Jeremy Guggenheim, an optometry professor at Cardiff University, who was not involved in the research, told Reuters differences in ethnic groups could be due to differences in lifestyle.

'The new study and other recent work suggests that this preventative effect of time outdoors is beneficial even at very young ages, e.g. three to six years old,' he said.

'Too much close work, such as reading and using hand-held devices, may also be a risk  although the jury is still out on this question.'

The authors note that the study was limited by the low number of children with myopia and the lack of information about parents' nearsightedness  a well-known risk factor for the condition.
This is the horrific moment a doctor removed dozens of squirming live maggots from a boy's ear.

The young boy, from Kazakhstan, had gone to the doctor's surgery complaining of earache, local reports suggest.

But eyewitnesses, who were present for the procedure, could not believe their eyes when the doctor began removing live maggots.

He carefully pulled the grey maggots one-by-one with his tweezers and deposited them in a surgical dish.

By the time the doctor had finished there were dozens of maggots wriggling in the stainless steel container.

The young boy, from Kazakhstan, had gone to the doctor's surgery complaining of earache, local reports suggest. But eyewitnesses, who were present for the procedure, could not believe their eyes when the doctor began removing live maggots

An eyewitness filmed the gruesome operation - at a doctor's surgery in Kazakhstan - and shared it online where it is proving popular with viewers.

The maggots, each about one centimetre long, are believed to be the larvae of a bluebottle or blow fly (Calliphoridae).

Hatched into maggots

It's likely that after laying their larvae in his ear, they hatched into hundreds of maggots, which fed off his flesh.

If left untreated, they could have burrowed into his brain and killed him, medical literature states.

Aida Abdybekova, deputy director of the Kazakhstan Scientific Researching Veterinarian Institute, said the case was not unique.

She said: 'There are cases when insects lay their eggs or larvae inside the human ear canal.'

The infestation

WHAT IS AURAL MYASIS? Aural myiasis is an infestation of the nose or ears with the larvae of flies. The flies' larvae can feed on the host's living or dead tissue, liquid body substance, or ingested food. People with aural myasis might experience buzzing in their ear and notice smelly discharge. Infestations of the nose and ears are dangerous because of the possibility of penetration into the brain, the fatality rate is 8 per cent in such cases. Advertisement

The infestation is known as aural myasis - a common condition in the tropics and subtropics.

It is usually seen in children younger than 10 years of age or in debilitated individuals.

People with aural myasis might experience buzzing in their ear and notice smelly discharge, and it can cause deafness.

Clean homes

People in Kazakhstan are being advised to keep their homes clean and their rubbish bins firmly closed so as not to attract flies in the hot summer months.

It is not reported what happened with the boy, whose name and age were not reported, after the larvae were removed from his ear.

Netizen 'Rakhmet' said: 'This is the most disgusting thing I ever saw. Could they have eaten his brain if they were not taken out in time?'

And 'Anna' added: 'Poor boy, the larvae did not appear inside his ear in one day, his parents should have been better taken care of him.'

Kazkahstan is the world's largest landlocked country and the economic powerhouse of Central Asia because of its vast oil and gas reserves.

However, it is perhaps best know in the west for the 2006 comedy movie Borat in which Sacha Baron Coen played a fictitious Kazakh journalist.
A solution to reverse the worrying antibiotic resistance crisis may have been found by accident.

Deemed to be one of the biggest threats to humanity, the issue has previously been cited as severe as terrorism and global warming.

It is causing usually harmless infections to turn into deadly superbugs that don't respond to a range of medications.

But Salford University scientists claim they may have stumbled across a very simple way forward  even though they weren't looking for antibiotics.

And they have created several of the drugs already  many of which are as potent, or more so, than amoxicillin.

Salford University scientists claim they may have stumbled across a very simple way forward  even though they weren't looking for antibiotics

Study author Professor Michael Lisanti told MailOnline they were looking into ways of inhibiting mitochondria, the 'powerhouse' of cells which fuel fatal tumours, when they made the discovery.

'Like Alexander Fleming'

He said: 'Like Alexander Fleming, we weren't even looking for antibiotics, rather researching into new compounds that might be effective against cancer stem cells.

'This was under our nose. The bottleneck with antibiotic discovery has been that there was no obvious systematic starting point. We may now have one.

'These broad-spectrum antibiotics were discovered, by simply screening candidates first on mitochondria in cancer cells.

'Mitochondria and bacteria have a lot in common. We began thinking that if what we found inhibited mitochondria, it would also kill bacteria.'

He added: 'So, these new anti-cancer agents should also be potential antibiotics.'

WHAT IS ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE? For decades, antibiotics have been so overused by GPs and hospital staff that the bacteria have evolved to become resistant. Doctors claim medicines including penicillin no longer work on sore throats, skin infections and, more seriously, pneumonia. Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies claimed last year that the threat is as severe as terrorism  with patients dying from minor cuts after succumbing to drug-resistant bugs. As a result, it is estimated that the rise of superbugs will cause up to ten million deaths a year by 2050. Experts warn medicine will be taken back to the 'dark ages' if antibiotics are rendered ineffective, with even minor operations becoming impossible without drugs to turn to. Advertisement

How was the discovery made?

The team sorted through 45,000 compounds, using a three-dimensional structure of the mitochondria.

Using it, they identified 800 small molecules which may inhibit mitochondria based on their structural characteristics.

This was then whittled down into the most promising 10 compounds, according to the research published in the journal Oncotarget.

What did they find?

Their results showed that these synthetic compounds - without any additional chemical engineering - inhibited a broad spectrum of five types of common bacteria.

This included Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, E. coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). They also killed the pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans.

Dubbed as 'mito-riboscins', they are equally, if not more, potent than standard antibiotics, the researchers said.

Post-antibiotic era

The World Health Organization has previously warned that if nothing is done the world was headed for a 'post-antibiotic' era.

It said common infections and minor injuries become killers once again without answers to the growing crisis.

Bacteria can develop drug resistance when people take incorrect doses of antibiotics, or are given out unnecessarily.

When the most common antibiotics fail to work, more expensive types must be tried, resulting in longer illness and treatment, often in hospital.
The mother of a seriously ill three-year-old boy has described the agony of receiving insults and death threats after she tweeted their $231,115 medical bill.

Ali Chandra, 33, shared the photo on Twitter last month to show how the Affordable Care Act's ban on benefits caps has made it possible for her son to receive life-saving care.

Ethan was born with a congenital heart defect known as Heterotaxy syndrome. It means he has already undergone multiple open heart operations, and will likely need more to keep him alive.

Doctors have called his heart 'one of the most complex in the world'.

Urging President Trump not to scrap the current system with his new bill, New Jersey-based Chandra posted a photo of her son's bill. Her tweet went viral, and was even re-tweeted by Chelsea Clinton.

But within minutes, the overwhelmingly positive reactions turned ugly.

She was called a dumb b**** and a freeloader. Some said her child wasn't worth keeping alive, others attacked her for having faulty genetics, and someone offered her a .22 bullet. She's not sure if he meant it for her or her child.

Speaking to Daily Mail Online, Chandra said many sent her violent Islamophobic threats as they assumed she was Muslim, because of her nickname Ali and her surname, from her Canadian husband who is of Indian descent.

Chandra (pictured with Ethan) a registered nurse and mom-of-two, fears that if the caps are allowed to return, her three-year-old's life could be at stake

Ali Chandra's little boy Ethan (pictured) was born with a congenital heart defect known as heterotaxy

Chandra posted the staggering $231,115 healthcare bill for Ethan's open heart surgery, and recovery in the cardiac intensive care unit and on the cardiac floor

WHAT IS HETEROTAXY SYNDROME? Heterotaxy syndrome is a disorder that results in certain organs forming on the opposite side of the body. For example, instead of the heart normally forming on the left side of the chest, it will be located on the right side. It is equally common in boys and girls and can occur in all ethnic groups. For every 1,000,000 babies born, four of them will have Heterotaxy syndrome. Children with Heterotaxy syndrome and heart disease will need medications to help prevent heart failure in addition to surgery to correct the abnormalities. The type of heart surgery performed will be based on each child's particular heart problems. Without corrective surgery, most children with Heterotaxy syndrome and significant heart problems will not survive beyond the first year of life. Source: Heterotaxy Foundation Advertisement

'A very angry man tried to find out where I lived to see if I was working or bombing people,' Chandra, a registered nurse who lives in Middlesex with her husband and two children, explained.

'One guy said, "this is the internet, was she not expecting death threats?"

'How has this become an accepted part of this discourse?'

One user seemed to think Ethan was Mexican, which Chandra assumes is because of his skin tone. They wrote: 'He fought so hard to cross that border! It was all for nothing, because the [A]mericans didn't want [to] pay some border-crossing Mexican's med-bill.'

'They came at me swinging, picking fights I'd never asked for,' Chandra wrote in an essay for Vox on Friday.

'Strangers were telling me it would have been cheaper to make a new kid, as if anyone in the history of the world could ever replace this bright light of mine...'

Ethan was born with nine heart defects and two left lungs. His heart, liver and gallbladder are down the middle of his body and his stomach is on the right side of his body instead of the left.

He has undergone four heart surgeries - and will require more going forward.

They have also made regular visits to their cardiologist, immunologist, pediatrician, and an electrophysiologist for his pacemaker. He often has to visit ER for sepsis workups if his temperature rises above 100.4F.

The $231,115 bill, specifically, covered 10 hours in the Operation Room, one week in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, and one week in the cardiac ward to be monitored.

It arrived last week, the same day the Senate was debating President Trump's plans to change the Affordable Care Act.

Chandra tweeted it, with the caption: 'It seems fitting that, with the #TrumpCare debate raging, I got this bill in the mail today from Ethan's most recent open heart surgery,' she tweeted with a picture of the bill.

A very angry man tried to find out where I lived

She said she feared that if the caps were brought back, her three-year-old's life could be at stake.

'We're going to be adding pulmonology to his team after we give him a summer break. The longest he's ever gone between appointments: 5 weeks,' Chandra wrote. 'He takes 5 different prescription medications multiple times a day. All of this adds up. None of this would be possible without insurance.'

Chandra said her son 'blew past the million dollar mark' for his medical treatments a long time ago - unsurprising when the latest bill shows almost a quarter of a million dollars for one surgery and recovery.

She insisted that 'as long as we have (Ethan) with us (and I hope with everything in me that it's forever) we will need to pay for expensive medical care.'

'A lifetime cap on benefits is the same as saying, "Sorry, you're not worth keeping alive anymore. You're just too expensive."'

Chandra wrote that her son (pictured in hospital) had undergone four of these heart surgeries - and would require more going forward

Writing for Vox, Chandra said she tried to ignore the barrage of vengeful tweets, but she struggled to shrug off the ones that chastised her for her 'faulty DNA'.

'I dont think Ill ever come to terms with the fact that it was me who slipped the poison into his DNA, with knowing that his children (if he ever has them) will stand in front of this same 50-50 firing squad,' she wrote.

'Its been my own private heartbreak. Now strangers were tearing barely healed scabs off those old wounds and I was running out of hands to stanch the bleeding.'

As a nurse on a medical ship off the coast of West Africa for six years, Ali says she has seen firsthand what life looks without medical care.

'Now I'm looking at what's happening here and am I gonna be saying the same thing about kids born in my own country?' she told Daily Mail Online.

Strangers were tearing barely healed scabs off those old wounds and I was running out of hands to stanch the bleeding

Although her family is not under Obamacare, some of its key aspects such as a ban on lifetime caps and the guarantee of coverage of preexisting conditions have allowed Ethan to receive top notch medical attention.

His medical care is so expensive, she said, that one year he reached his out of pocket limit by February.

Ultimately, she hopes that the Republicans and Democrats can collaboratively repair the current system instead of throwing it out completely.

'We need to stop seeing it as black and white because it's not. There's very much a sense of it's black or white but the vast majority of us are living our lives quietly somewhere in the middle and we need a system that's going to work for all of us.

Ali Chandra with her son Ethan, and her Canadian husband as well as their daughter

Chandra said her son 'blew past the million dollar mark' for his medical treatments a long time ago - unsurprising when the latest bill shows almost a quarter of a million dollars for one surgery and recovery

'I would never say Obamacare is perfect because that's just not true but you will hear me say we need to fix it because throwing it out means there's gonna be some kind of a gap before whatever replacement really comes into effect.

'And you know what? Things fall into gaps and I'm not willing for that to be my child'.

Chandra isn't the first parent to make a desperate plea to the Republicans not to scrap all elements of the Affordable Health Care Act.

Last month, Jimmy Kimmel broke down as he revealed on air how he and his wife discovered their new son's dangerous heart conditions hours after his birth.

His son was born at Cedars-Sinai, but had to be rushed to Children's Hospital Los Angeles for emergency open heart surgery.

In an appeal to politicians not to do away with Obamacare, Kimmel said his family's ordeal made him all-too aware of the need for free healthcare for children.

She is hoping to remind the Senate that the bill they are voting on has life or death consequences for real people - people like her young son (pictured showing one of the scars from a former surgery)

'The statistics you read aren't just numbers,' Chandra said, 'They're names and faces and little boys who stay up late catching lightning bugs'

'I hope you never have to go there but if you do you'll see so many kids from so many financial backgrounds being cared for so well with so much compassion.

'If your baby is going to die it should't matter how much money you make,' he said.

The Senate cut some of its more controversial proposals when it went to the House of Representatives but there are still doubts whether it can pass with critics on both sides of the isle.

Meanwhile, thousands of parents like Chandra are waiting to hear whether they can still afford essential medical treatment for their sick children.

'The fear and anxiety surrounding this bill is palpable right now,' she told Buzzfeed, adding that if the bill does pass without the ban on caps, she and her family will have to uproot and move to Canada.

'Thankfully my husband is Canadian, so we have an 'out' if we absolutely need it, but it will mean leaving Ethan's entire team of doctors and the one surgeon in the world who really understands how his heart works now,' Chandra said.

But many of the friends they had met who had children with heterotaxy did not have the same luxury of an escape plan.

'I just want to share our story, to get people to realize that politics are always personal, that the statistics you read aren't just numbers,' Chandra said. 'They're names and faces and little boys who stay up late catching lightning bugs.'
Mothers who take antidepressants during pregnancy do not increase their child's risk of developing disabilities, a new study claims.

After controlling for other factors, researchers at Mount Sinai hospital in New York found no association between intellectual disabilities and antidepressant use during pregnancy.

Intellectual disability is defined by an IQ below 70 with deficits that impair everyday functioning. Examples include Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and fragile X syndrome.

The study, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, comes amid widespread confusion and disagreement in the medical community, with various studies simultaneously reaching different conclusions.

Mothers who take antidepressants during pregnancy do not increase their child's risk of developing a disability such as down syndrome, a new study claims (stock image)

In April, JAMA published a French study which found that antidepressants increase the risk of both autism and ADHD by 81 percent.

However, the researchers admitted their study was far too small to take that figure as fact.

Then, just hours later, JAMA published a contradictory Indiana University report which found no correlation between antidepressant use and developmental disorders - highlighting the fierce divide in opinion on the topic.

The controversy comes as a wider attempt to understand biological or chemical reasons behind intellectual disorders, such as Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and fragile X syndrome.

Down syndrome is defined by an extra 21 chromosome causing intellectual disability and characteristic facial appearance and weak muscle tone. Autism spectrum disorder, refers to a wide range of disorders characterized by social problems and difficulty communicating.

Fragile X syndrome is a genetic condition that causes a range of developmental problems including learning disabilities and cognitive impairment.

This new research, conducted by a team lead by Sven Sandin, PhD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, used Swedish national registers to conduct a population-based study of 179,007 children born between 2006 and 2007.

The researchers followed-up from birth until a diagnosis of intellectual disability, death or the end of the follow-up in 2014.

Of the children studied, intellectual disability was diagnosed in 0.9 percent of those exposed to antidepressants and in 0.5 percent who were not, according to the results.

These results, which came before adjusting for factors such as parents age or history of disorders, showed there was a slightly higher relative risk for the children of mothers who took antidepressants.

After researchers took those factors into account, however, they found the difference to be minor and statistically insignificant.

Dr Alexander Kolevzon, MD, who co-authored the study, said: 'The results are so important because we studied such a huge population base, so it was really a gold standard way to measure the impact of some of these risk factors.'

He explained that there are limitations to the study, mostly related to the fact that only one percent of the population has one of these disorders. He also said the study will need to be replicated, but that he expects the same results when they eventually are.

This new study is pertinent due to an increased rate of people diagnosed with depression, meaning an increased number of people taking the medication that goes along with it.

'I think the other take-home from this is that there needs to be the consideration about the mother with depression or with anxiety who doesn't take these medicines while they are pregnant, and how that will affect their unborn child,' he added.
Hospitals could be rated inadequate if they fail to ensure IT systems are protected against cyber-attacks.

Under new rules from the Government, the Care Quality Commission will check computer systems during routine inspections of hospitals.

If they have failed to update the ITs security, it will be deemed as important as not having enough staff or call beings being out of reach.

The measures have been introduced to avoid a repeat of the cyber-attack in May which crippled 47 NHS trusts and led to the cancellation of thousands of operations.

Hospitals will also be given a share of 71 million to invest in updating their IT systems and improving security.

The measures have been introduced to avoid a repeat of the cyber-attack in May

PATIENTS ARE BEING 'BELITTLED' AND 'BEWILDERED' BY AN NHS THAT 'RUNS ON FUMES' Patients are being 'belittled' and left 'bewildered' in struggling hospitals, a top doctor warned last month. Mark Porter, chair of the British Medical Association, said that 'too many' patients are being failed by the NHS 'too often'. He accused the Government of forcing the health service to 'run on fumes' because it has run out of fuel - or cash, as a survey showed the number of people unhappy with the NHS doubled in just a year. In a speech, he attacked ministers for 'wilfully ignoring' the warnings of doctors and the clear deterioration of patient care. In front of 500 doctors at the British Medical Association's annual conference in Bournemouth, Dr Porter warned that the NHS is at 'breaking point'. He told delegates: 'We have a Government trying to keep the health service running on nothing but fumes. Advertisement

Avoiding May's cyber-attack

Many of those trusts affected by the attack were using out-of-date systems including Windows XP, despite warnings from NHS officials that they were vulnerable.

Health minister Lord O'Shaughnessy said: The NHS has a long history of safeguarding confidential data, but with the growing threat of cyber-attacks including the WannaCry ransomware attack in May, this Government has acted to protect information across the NHS.

Data already saves thousands of lives every day across the NHS through direct patient care or research into cancer or rare conditions, but better use of information has the ability to further transform health and care for everyone.

By implementing strong security standards and giving patients clear choices, patients can be reassured that their privacy is safe while they are making a direct contribution to unlocking new treatments and improving patient care.

Patients can see who has accessed their data

As part of the new rules, patients will also be able to see who has accessed their data  in an unidentifiable form - for research.

They will also be able to opt out of sharing their data for research if they are concerned about security.

NHS officials want to encourage as many patients as possible to agree to their data being shared in the belief that it will help identify new trends and potential cures.

The data is only accessed in an unidentifiable form and researchers are only given patients dates of births and hospital numbers, not their names.

Dame Fiona Caldicott, National Data Guardian, said: New technological advances offer extraordinary opportunities for patient data to be used to improve people s individual care and to improve health, care and services through research and planning.

We will only be able to harness those opportunities if the public trusts that the health and care system is doing all it can to keep patient data secure, to meet their expectations on confidentiality and to be transparent.

I believe that the implementation of my recommendations will be an important step in this process and very much welcome the Government announcements today.
It could have been your daughter. It could have been anyone's daughter.

Police have finally caught a trafficker who lured girls over the phone only to kidnap them and sell them in brothels in Delhi, Agra, Haryana.

Using two mobile numbers that belonged to an 18-year-old girl from the Sundarbans, West Bengal Police police arrested Farah Ali Gayen alias Rakesh Haldar, 21, who is accused of being heavily involved in the business of human trafficking.

According to government data, almost 20,000 women and children were victims of trafficking in India in 2016, a rise of nearly 25 per cent from last year (Photo for representation only)

'It was learnt that Gayen used to spend a lot of time at mobile recharge shops in the tribal areas of West Bengal. Whenever a girl visited a shop for a mobile recharge, Gayen used to purchase her number from the shopkeeper for Rs 100-200 (1.20 - 2.40).

'He then used to call up his bosses to brief them the details of features and figure of the target. Gayen somehow also managed to convince the girls to come with him,' said a police officer close to the investigation.

The officer informed that Gayen is the one to ensure supply of girls from Kolkata to Delhi. He had also deployed young men, below the age of 21, to keep a tight vigil on the girls, who visited mobile recharge shops and to somehow collect their phone numbers.

It was learnt that Gayen used to pay these men Rs 500-1500. The payment depended on the appearances of the girl.

Gayen in turn was paid Rs 50,000 per girl by the main trafficker.

The girls, who fell into his trap were kept at rented accommodations in Delhi while deals for them in brothels of Delhi, Agra, Haryana or Punjab were finalised.

Sources said Gayen had very much been in touch with pimps, whom he used to send pictures of girls.

He always finalised deals with brothels that offered him the best price.

Men often coerce gullible schoolgirls into sharing their mobile numbers, then taking them out for a drink or snacks and mix sedatives in them. By the time the girls wake up, they are already on the way to Delhi or Mumbai

During interrogation, Gayen told the police that the girls were mostly kept at Lakshmi Nagar, Sangam Vihar and Jaitpur.

Police have told Mail Today that the girl, who was kidnapped from the Sundarbans had been carrying her phone along and that she made a call to his father informing him that she was being sold to a brothel in Agra.

Tracing her mobile locations, South 24 Parganas Police and Shakti Vahini - an NGO hat works to curb trafficking - conducted raids and ended up rescuing six girls.

Mail Today was the first to report about the rescue operation last month. The pimp operating the brother was arrested and after the court remand, West Bengal Police got a 10-day police remand.

The girl also helped the cops identify Gayen. Accordingly raids were carried out.

Gayen was held along with his associate Faraq Sk, 20, from Mathurapur.

Recently, Bengal Police have arrested 12 traffickers, most of whom were identified as mobile phone recharge shop employees.

'A lot of traffickers and the victims are found to have their roots in Bengal. Cops are leaving no stone unturned to get the traffickers behind bars in order to wipe off the evil,' said Rishikant, founder member of Shakti Vahini.

According to data available with the government, as much as 20,000 women and children have been victims of trafficking in India in 2016  showing a rise of nearly 25 per cent as compared to the previous year.

The highest number of cases were recorded in West Bengal.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee

It takes a lot of effort to make the Left look good. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has done just that.

The Left ruined West Bengal in a 34-year-long nightmare that drove industry from the state, allowed the India-Bangladesh border to become porous, and created deep social divisions.

Power

Mamata has topped that. When she stormed to power in 2011, she promised change. Her first and most sensible step was appointing economist Amit Mitra, a former secretary-general of FICCI, as West Bengal's finance minister.

Mitra has turned the state's finances around with major tax reforms and efficient revenue collection.

The rest of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has proved an unmitigated disaster.

Mamata's communal brand of politics has converted West Bengal into a tinderbox.

The week-long Basirhat riots were the culmination of years of Muslim appeasement which have emboldened radicalised Muslims to unleash violence on Hindus unhindered by a communalised and impotent police force.

Communal tensions have flared-up once again in the Basirhat district in Bengal

The Calcutta High Court has thrice upbraided the Mamata government for Muslim appeasement that damages the state's social fabric.

Consider this stinging order Justice Dipankar Dutta passed on October 6, 2016: 'There has been a clear endeavour on the part of the state government to pamper and appease the minority section of the public at the cost of the majority section without there being any plausible justification.

The reason is, however, not far to seek. To put it curtly, the state government has been irresponsibly brazen in its conduct of being partial to one community.'

Now consider the behaviour of Dipendu Biswas, the TMC MLA who represents the Basirhat Dakshin constituency.

One of the victims of the recent violence, Sutapa Dey, told a daily newspaper: 'Our MLA, Dipendu Biswas, accompanied the police, making sure that our boys were picked up.

Mamata's communal brand of politics has converted West Bengal into a tinderbox

'When the Muslims attack us, the police just sit quietly, and if we do anything, they come and arrest us. Mamata was insulted just because the Governor said something that is right what about us, are we not insulted?'

Biswas has denied his role in the communal violence but another witness Piyali Haldar claimed last week: 'For the last three days, we have been enduring attacks by Muslims Our shops have been looted.

'My family lost goods worth Rs 2.5 lakh The police are raiding our homes to look for arms. Let them raid Muslim homes and see the cache of arms they bring from across the border.'

Yet another local resident, Sumanto Sarkar, added: 'We have never ever seen anything like this before If it wasn't for us, Dipendu Biswas would never have become an MLA.

'And now he is picking up our boys, siding with the Muslims I voted for the Trinamool in the last election. But never again.'

Juggernaut

Mamata appears not to fear the law. She fears only electoral defeat. As long as she locks in the 28 per cent Muslim bloc vote and a small percentage of the floating Hindu vote, she is assured of a vote share of over 40 per cent.

In a multi-cornered fight that the 2021 assembly election will be, a 40 per cent vote share guarantees a landslide.

The Left, the Congress and the BJP will divide the rest of the vote, giving the TMC a disproportionate number of assembly seats as it did in 2016.

The BJP hopes to stop the TMC juggernaut in 2021 - but can it?

A pro- Muslim Mamata didn't swing enough Hindu votes towards the BJP in 2016 when it won just 10.3 per cent vote share and three seats.

The TMC received 44.9 per cent vote share and 211 seats in the 294-seat state assembly.

Eye witnesses said many were beaten up, cars were torched in Basirhat

But more Muslim-instigated riots like Basirhat and the growing fear that West Bengal is falling under the influence of Islamist radicalism could alter the electoral math in 2021.

The BJP's cynical strategy is reverse-polarisation. The BJP succeeded in reverse-polarising Hindus against Akhilesh Yadav's Muslim-Yadav coalition in Uttar Pradesh and won by a landslide.

The party knows West Bengal is very different. But its growing focus on eastern India - the Northeast, Odisha and Bengal - shows where its strategy is heading.

Inroads

The BJP is largely a party of the north and the west.

To make inroads in the east and the south it has to target a vulnerable Karnataka in 2018, plug away in Kerala and Telangana, back Rajinikanth in Tamil Nadu, use the NDA-backed North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) to embrace the rest of the Northeast, and challenge the BJD in Odisha.

The holdout? West Bengal.

Troops on patrol in the Basirhat district in West Bengal

However, Mamata could be walking into a mousetrap here. She can't rein in Muslim radicals because her electoral base might collapse.

But if she doesn't, and communal riots targeting Hindus spread, reverse-polarisation in favour of the BJP is inevitable. The losers? The Left and the Congress.

The former has little but Marxist obscurantism to offer Bengal's youth.

The latter has even less to offer under a dysfunctional dynasty. If West Bengal's electoral politics becomes semibinary with the TMC and the BJP at two opposite poles and the Left and the Congress relatively marginalised, Mamata's 45 per cent vote share could dip.

Given West Bengal's demographics and the Left's strong cadre-based presence, the change though may take place far more slowly than it has in, for example, Uttar Pradesh.

The long-term math, however, spells danger for the TMC. As the embers of Basirhat continue to smoulder, she may rue the electoral cost of her communal politics.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh at Parliament House

Many believe calling MA Jinnah, the Father of Pakistan, a 'secular' leader derailed LK Advani's career in politics.

A similar negative sentiment seems to be brewing against Union Home minister Rajnath Singh, at least, on social media for his 'All Kashmiris are not terrorists' comment while replying to a nasty comment from a twitterati.

The ire and the reaction of the Home minister need be placed in the context of public outrage over the attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir.

From being called a 'communist' to the 'weakest Home minister by far', Singh was trolled on Twitter when he wrote about how the people of Kashmir had condemned the attack which showed that 'the spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much alive'.

His 'kadi ninda' (strong condemnation) remark over the attack was also made a lot of fun of. Some dubbed him the 'ninda mama'.

User Rajnish Singh was peeved over just words of concern pouring in, sans any action. 'The last government used to condemn, this one strongly condemns. The common public is dying,' he posted.

Security experts as well as party leaders, who did not want to be named, defended Singh in the context of the attack on a Muslim cleric outside a mosque in Haryana's Hisar as a follow-up to the Amarnath yatra attack.

'He is a responsible minister and has the Home portfolio. He probably said this to assuage sentiments and deter fringe elements on the right-wing spectrum from perpetrating any untoward incident that lands the dispensation in a bad spot.

Look at the Hisar episode,' said an expert. His own party leader Balbir Punj, came to his rescue.

Many believe calling MA Jinnah (right) a 'secular' leader derailed LK Advani's (left) career

'Congratulations for separating common Kashmiris from black deed of cowardly Pak inspired terrorists. Entire country united against terror,' he wrote on Twitter.

But, his sagacity was dubbed as his weakness on social media, with calls to replace him.

User Nitin Tyagi wrote, 'Sir ur unnecessary tweets shows u r not serious abt ur job. Provide security 2 pilgrims 1st then talk abt peace.'

Security personnel keeping a vigil as sadhus gather to head towards Kashmir to pay obeisance at the Amarnath shrine cave, days after militant attack on pilgrims in Anantnag

His credentials as a Sangh man were also questioned. Returning to the provocation that made Singh respond in the first place, user Intolerant Infidel tweeted, 'Her language was foul but she used it to make a point which is justified.'

The point was a tweet saying 'Who gives a f**k about Kashmiriyat at this moment? Its not your job to placate. Just drag those cowards out and cull them.'

The handle was later deleted.
When Sandra Kemball finally got a refund from Extra Energy last July, she thought her troubles with the power firm were over.

The former flight attendant, 56, had spent four months trying to get back the 307 she was owed after she switched to British Gas.

In the end, it took the intervention of Money Mail letters editor Tony Hazell to force Extra Energy to cough up the credit left on her account and add a 50 goodwill gesture for poor service.

But then in May this year - more than ten months later - Sandra, from Bracknell, Berkshire, started getting phone calls and text messages from a debt agency representing Extra Energy.

Without explanation, it claimed she owed the power firm 50 and said her credit file could be damaged if she didn't pay up.

Months of worry: Sandra Kemball was pursued by a debt agency representing Extra Energy for 50 which had been paid to her by mistake

It was only when Sandra trawled through her old bank statements that she found Extra Energy had mistakenly paid her two lots of 50 compensation last summer.

'It's caused me so much stress and anxiety. I was worried they'd send the bailiffs round,' she says.

Tony Hazell once again stepped in and Extra Energy has now written off the 50 debt and apologised for taking so long to resolve the issue.

But Sandra isn't alone. Money Mail has received a spate of similar complaints from customers who have had trouble leaving Extra Energy.

Typically, the customers had been lured in by cheap energy prices, but have since found a better deal.

Many were disappointed with the service and switched to a new supplier  only to be hounded by debt collectors months or even years later.

Energy watchdog Ofgem has spent a year investigating the way Extra Energy treats its customers after Citizens Advice and the Energy Ombudsman reported the firm to regulator with a large number of complaints.

Extra misery: We have received a spate of complaints from Extra Energy customers

The consumer charity last month ranked Extra Energy, which has 400,000 customers, as the worst supplier for customer service.

It got one out of five stars for complaint handling between January and March, and two out for five for how easy it is for customers get in touch and the clarity of its bills.

Lyndsay Herd, 36, was chased for cash after a bodged switch to Extra Energy in October 2014. The firm said it would contact her within two weeks to confirm her account details. But a month later, she says, nothing had arrived.

Fed up with waiting, Lyndsay, a receptionist from Fife in Scotland, switched to npower instead, only to receive a welcome email from Extra Energy in December.

She explained she'd gone elsewhere and was told to pay a 50 exit fee for switching outside of the 14-day cooling-off window.

She refused and heard nothing for a year. Then Extra Energy sent another demand for the 50 and a further 100 for 19 days of gas and electricity supplied in 2014.

Lyndsay again argued her case and Extra Energy passed her to debt collectors, which claimed she owed 197. 'It just doesn't seem fair that my credit score could be ruined by this,' she says.

Extra Energy insists it did email Lyndsay just after she joined. But it has agreed to wipe the debt and pay her 30 as a goodwill gesture for the time taken to resolve the issue.

Clair Speakman also had a bad experience last December. After switching to Extra Energy, her smart meter stopped working. The 27-year-old businesswoman from Stockport says she wasn't told before signing up that her meter couldn't be supported.

She decided to go back to British Gas and in February was sent a final bill from Extra Energy for 80, which she paid over the phone. Since then, Clair has been chased by two debt agencies demanding the same 80.

On at least five occasions she has told Extra Energy and the debt firms that she's paid the bill, yet still the calls come.

'I've just had a baby and moved house so I could really do without this,' says Clair.

When Money Mail stepped in, the company confirmed Clair owed nothing and paid her 30 for the stress caused.

Meanwhile, Tyrone Sherwood, 57, hadn't heard from Extra Energy since switching away in April last year.

Then, last month, it tried to take 3,618 from his bank account. The payment bounced and when Extra Energy recalculated the bill using updated meter readings, it found Tyrone should have been charged only 45.

It has now waived the charge and will pay 50 as a goodwill gesture.

Tyrone, who runs a sandwich shop in Manchester, says: 'You think you have finally got rid of them and then they come back with more problems.'

Ofgem says its investigations are ongoing.

'I apologise unreservedly to any customer whose experience has not met the high level of service we expect of ourselves,' says Ben Jones, UK managing director of Extra Energy.

'We're working closely with Ofgem to overcome the challenges we faced, which stemmed from a period of rapid growth.'

He says no personal details for Sandra Kemball, Lyndsay Herd, Clair Speakman or Tyrone Sherwood have been passed to credit reference agencies.

l.milner@dailymail.co.uk
Gov. Rauner Moves Further Right With Latest Staff Shakeup

By aaroncynic in News on Jul 12, 2017 5:42PM

In the wake of losing his two-year battle to push his austerity pro business agenda through the state budget impasse, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has been shakin up his office.

The staff changes began with Rauner hiring the conservative Illinois Policy Institutes Kristina Rasmussen to replace Richard Goldberg as his chief of staff. In a statement given to NBC5s Ward Room, Rauner said that Goldberg was transitioning back to foreign policy, national security and consulting.

Rich is one of the most talented policy, political and communications advisors Ive ever met and I will forever be indebted to his faithful public service for the last three and a half years, said Rauner.

Since replacing Goldberg with Rasmussen, Rauners office has seen several more exits and firings. Brad Hahn, Rauners communications director was fired and Catherine Kelly, a spokesperson, was given the option to resign, according to the Chicago Tribune. Kelly was expected to resign in about a month. Also exiting is Lance Trover, Rauners deputy chief of staff, who told Capitol Fax he gave notice weeks ago, but stayed on through the special legislative assembly.

In addition to Rasmussen, two more employees of the Illinois Policy Institute - Jean Hutton and Michael Lucci - are coming on board Rauners staff, along with Laurel Patrick, a former spokesperson for Wisconsin Governor and Rauners self professed mentor Scott Walker.

The shakeup and subsequent hiring of several Institute employees signals a shift further rightward from the already Republican governor. The Institute has long advocated far right fiscal policies, and has generally blamed all of Illinois woes on a combination of House Speaker Michael Madigan and other legislative Democrats.

Several Rauners critics and opponents seized the opportunity presented by the shake ups to highlight the governor and the agenda of the new employees he hired.





We now go live to the governors office pic.twitter.com/MWy1iPeW7M  IL Working Together (@IllinoisWorking) July 11, 2017





Gov. Bruce Rauner is clearly losing his grip on the system he has propped up to benefit the billionaire class and corporate special interests after he lost the Illinois budget battle last week, Chicago Alderman and Democratic Primary candidate Ameya Pawar said. Now, hes trying to compensate for that loss by replacing his staff with even more conservative political ideologues who only seek to destroy our public institutions and preserve the system that only benefits the wealthy...Gov. Rauner clearly has no interest in governing. Instead he is doubling down on a failed agenda and waging war against working families, collective bargaining, livable wages and social services in Illinois.

The Pritzker campaign said Rauner booted loyal top advisors in favor of fresh faces with radical conservative views.

"Bruce Rauner is cleaning house and welcoming a who's who of radical right-wing extremists into the governor's office, Pritzker campaign spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh said in a statement emailed to Chicagoist. "This is the Donald Trump playbook of playing to the worst extremes of your base when you have nothing left to lose. It will have deep and damaging repercussions for the people of this state."

The Democratic Governors Association said that Rauners operation was in chaos.

Fresh off a stunning bipartisan rebuke of his uncompromising policies, Rauner has turned inward, firing seemingly everyone to be replaced by right-wing ideological staffers, said the DGA's Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. These moves should be concerning for Illinois families. Rauner has surrounded himself with the same uncompromising group of people who would rather see the state fall off a fiscal cliff than pass a bipartisan budget. Two and a half years in and Rauner has doubled-down on the same failed leadership style that earned him the nicknames Governor Junk and Most Vulnerable Incumbent.


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Incredible drone footage has captured the moment an enormous school of sharks swam beneath a group of children floating on bodyboards.

Photographer Sean Scott couldn't believe his eyes when he saw two three-metre Bronze Whalers stalking the youngsters at Western Australia's Red Bluff beach.

'I've never seen them come that close to people... It's probably as big as they get,' Mr Scott told Channel Nine's A Current Affair program.

Incredible drone footage has captured the moment an enormous school of sharks swam beneath a group of children floating on bodyboards

Photographer Sean Scott said he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw two three-metre Bronze Whalers stalking the youngsters then swimming through schools of baitfish (pictured) at Red Bluff beach on Quobba Station in Western Australia

The Bronze Whalers swam close to the children as they floated on their bodyboards in the waters just metres from shore before they surfed through large waves

'I flew [my drone] over and then saw these sharks sort of swimming across thinking, "what's going on here''?'

The Bronze Whalers came terrifyingly close to the children as they floated on their bodyboards in the water just metres from shore.

'They were obviously going over to have a little bit of a look and got pretty close and realised that wasn't their food chain and turned around,' Mr Scott said.

'But it was pretty incredible to see these boys just floating on their back.'

Mr Scott said he was was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to capture one of nature's rare moments.

'Watching these beautiful sharks flourish in their natural environment was a privilege to see,' he said.

'There was a huge bait ball that attracted hundreds of mainly Bronze Whaler sharks. What really impressed me was how people and the sharks were co existing side by side.

Mr Scott said: 'I've never seen them (the sharks) come that close to people... It's probably as big as they get'

'There were people diving and surfing very close to this event and the sharks showed no interest in them and were happy concentrating on the bait ball. What I saw really emphasised just how special the WA coastline is with such a flourishing healthy marine life.

'I was lucky enough to see Turtles, Humpback whales and all the sharks in the one location. I have also been out swimming with the Manta Rays, Whale Sharks and the ocean life here is second to none.'

The Queensland-based photographer also captured stunning footage of up to 150 Bronze Whalers circling a huge mass of baitfish at the popular beach.

Mr Scott said: 'They were obviously going over to have a little bit of a look and got pretty close and realised that wasn't their food chain and turned around'

Surfers, swimmers and snorkelers gathered to get a rare close-up look of the action.

Mr Scott, who travels the world in the hope of capturing such moments, described it as 'something special' that he'd 'never really seen before.'

'I constantly just kept flying the drone, bringing it back, changing SD cards, at the same time watching all these surfers,' he said.

'[They were] surfing further out the point and people were swimming up to the bait ball, looking into the bait ball.'

He added: 'I was in awe of these sharks, they were beautiful-looking sharks and there were so many of them, but they showed no interest [in people].'

The Queensland-based photographer also captured stunning footage of up to 150 Bronze Whalers circling a huge mass of baitfish (pictured) at the popular beach

'I constantly just kept flying the drone, bringing it back, changing SD cards, at the same time watching all these surfers,' Mr Scott said

Mr Scott said he hopes his photography can add some 'common sense' to the ongoing shark culling debate in Australia.

'I really hope it shows that, in a healthy environment like we had there, with so many fish and not over-fished places, that the sharks can live side by side with the people,' he said.

'You've just got to use a bit of common sense. Give them a wide berth and leave them to themselves, it seems to work great.'

Bronze Whaler sharks often come close to shore and are not typically known for acting aggressively towards humans.

Mr Scott, who travels the world in the hope of capturing such moments, described it as 'something special' that he'd 'never really seen before'
A Utah couple accused in the death of their toddler daughter taunted the malnourished child with food and attempted to cover her injuries with makeup, prosecutors said in charges filed on Tuesday.

Authorities say they found cellphone videos that show three-year-old Angelina Costello's condition growing progressively worse over the year and a half before her 'extremely malnourished' body was found at the family's Ogden, Utah, home.

Parents Brenda Emile, 22, and Miller Costello, 25, who have ties to the Romanian gypsy community, were both charged with aggravated murder, which carries the possibility of the death penalty.

Brenda Emile, left, and Miller Costello, were both charged with aggravated murder after police found the body of their 'extremely malnourished' three-year-old daughter at their Ogden, Utah, home on July 6

Their lawyer, James Retallick, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

The videos found on the parents' phones show Emile and Miller apparently presenting the girl with food, and then taking it away and disciplining her, police said in charging documents.

Angelina was found July 6 at the family home in Ogden after her parents called police to report she wasn't breathing.

Her body was covered with burns, cuts and bruises, some of which looked new and others that appeared to be in various stages of healing, police said.

'Officers on scene immediately recognized the child victim had bruising, contusions, lacerations, burns, open sores and abrasions all over her face, hands, legs, head and neck,' a probable cause statement reads.

Emile later told police she used a layer of makeup to conceal some of her daughter's injuries 'so they didn't look as bad,' charges state.

The girl's body was covered with burns, cuts and bruises, some of which looked new and others that appeared to be in various stages of healing when she was found dead in the home (pictured above), police said

Two other children were removed from the house and given to state child protective services, police said.

Officers searching the couple's cellphones later found pictures and videos taken between January 2016 and June 2017 that show the child obviously upset, police said.

In one video the girl's father used the feet of an infant to kick the girl in the face, prosecutors said.

Police say Costello acknowledged he knew Angelina was in danger of dying if she didn't get medical attention, but did not take her to the doctor.

He said his wife, who cared for their children during the day, told him Angelina's siblings had injured her but Emile didn't want to take her to a doctor because she feared a police investigation and her children being taken away.

Costello and Emile have self-proclaimed ties to the transient Romanian gypsy community, according to KOMO News.

Police found a significant amount of cash on the couple during their arrest.

'[Costello's] wallet had approximately $1,200 in cash and over $8,000 in a cashier's check. Brenda had $36,190 in a purse purchased from Nordstrom's on June 17, 2017 for approximately $2,000,' the probable cause statement reads.

The couple are being held in the Weber County Jail without bail. They are expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Four masked 'Sudanese' teenagers stormed a Melbourne shop in a brazen armed robbery Tuesday afternoon.

The four teenagers were armed with hammers and an axe when they raided the Cignall Thornbury store, 9km north of Melbourne, making it the second attack on the store in six months.

One 15-year-old and three 16-year-olds raided the store at about 2pm, stealing cigarettes and cash before leaving the scene in a car.

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Four armed masked teenagers (pictured) raided a Melbourne store armed with axes and hammers Tuesday afternoon

The thieves stole cigarettes and cash after a terrifying daylight robbery causing damage (pictured) to the Cignall Thornbury store

The owner told 7News he no longer felt safe at his store.

'This is the second time the thief come in my shop,' he said.

The owner said the government needed to do more to protect small businesses.

Local worker Anne told News Corp she heard an alarm blaring before a masked man fled the area.

'I saw a dark Sudanese guy with an axe in his hand ... he had a mask like a handkerchief on his face ... (and) was tall, very skinny,' she said.

Victoria Police spokesperson said they arrested the 15-year-old Truganina teenager, 16-year-old Reservoir teenager and two 16-year-old Tarneit teenagers shortly after the armed robbery in a nearby parkland.

This is the second armed robbery for the Cignall Thornbury store (pictured) in the last six months

The four young men were charged with armed robbery and associated offences Tuesday night and are waiting an out of sessions remand hearing.

The attack comes just six months after the Cignall Thornbury store was targeted in another daylight armed robbery where witnesses believed the four thieves were linked to the notorious Apex gang.

The four men stole cigarettes in a violent robbery late December where the store owner was attacked with a hammer and suffered facial injuries that required hospital treatment.

The teenage thieves described as 'Sudanese' raided the Melbourne store (pictured) Tuesday at about 2pm

The store owner said he didn't feel safe in his shop anymore after being the target of two violent armed robberies in the last siz

The December robbery was caught on camera, which showed the owner chasing the four thieves out of the store before they fled in a dark BMW.

Mr Zhu's son Kevin told the publication he thought the thieves had inside knowledge of the business and were possibly involved in a previous theft on the premises.

'They'd definitely been here before because they knew where everything was,' Mr Zhu said.

'Basically, they knew things they shouldn't have. We don't show people where our storehouse is.'

It is unknown if the two armed robberies were related.
The former CEO of the brewing company Anheuser-Busch spent the at a police station on Monday after being caught by police trying to fly his helicopter while appearing drunk.

August Adolphus Busch IV was with his wife, Dawna M. Wood an their eight dogs when they were stopped by authorities in the Bronze Pointe office complex parking lot in Swansea, Illinois, on Monday night.

According to an arrest affidavit, the helicopter landed in the parking lot of an office building at around 1pm. Seven hours later, police were called to reports that a drunk man was attempting to take off.

It is not clear who phoned authorities but when officers arrived, they found Busch in the pilot seat. His wife was next to him.

Officers described how he 'rambled' and struggled to speak. He admitted having a concealed weapons permit for one firearm which he was carrying.

Busch did not tell officers where he had been or where he was intending to fly to when they arrived at the scene to stop him.

The parking lot services banks and lawyers offices.

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August Busch IV is pictured leaving Swansea Police Station in lllinois on Tuesday afternoon where he spent the night on Monday after being caught by officers allegedly trying to fly his helicopter drunk

Busch was found trying to fly this helicopter out of the parking lot of Bronze Pointe office complex in Swansea, Illinois. He landed it there at around 1pm on Monday without incident but at 8pm, someone called police to report a drunk man attempting to take off

When police searched the aircraft, they found another three loaded weapons. It is not yet clear if he had licenses for those firearms.

A breathalyzer test found he had no alcohol in his system but when police asked him to submit to a blood test, he refused. They were later granted a search warrant and withdrew the blood which is now being tested.

The businessman also had a stash of prescription pills on him, some of which had been prescribed to his wife.

She is said to have told police that her husband was supposed to have been taking anxiety medication but that he had stopped to undergo fertility treatment.

Busch was taken by police to spend the night in jail but he was released without charge on Tuesday.

His lawyer, who was out of the country when the incident occurred, is on his way back to Busch's home state of Missouri.

When officers arrived at the parking lot of Bronze Pointe Office Complex on Monday, the helicopter's engine was on and the blades were already rotating, the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Busch agreed to shut the copter down as police went onto to perform basic field sobriety tests, although a breathalyzer test came back negative for alcohol.

'I observed August Adolphus Busch IV to be unable to keep a single train of thought,' officer Jason Frank wrote in a sworn affidavit.

'I noticed August Adolphus Busch IV appeared anxious.'

The 53-year-old was picked up by an unidentified woman on Tuesday. He was released without charge after submitting to a blood and urine sample

The businessman kept his head down as he spoke intensely on the phone after leaving the police station

Busch, who headed the brewing company from 2006 to 2008, was held at the Swansea Police Department until Tuesday afternoon, but has not been charged.

'This is not your normal case that a street police officer handles,' Swansea Police said in a statement.

'The safety and security of the community, the pilot and passenger were of the utmost concern.'

They added they had contacted family members to retrieve the helicopter which remained in the parking lot overnight.

Busch, who is the great-great-grandson of founder Adolphus Busch has had some close calls with the law on a number of occasions in recent years.

August was CEO of the company from 2006 (pictured left) until 2008 when he sold it off to InBev. He is the grandson of August A. Busch Jr. (right) and the great-grandson of Ansheur-Busch founder, August A. Busch

In 1983, Busch was the driver in a car crash which killed a female passenger. He suffered significant head injuries.

In 2012, Busch paid $1.75million to the family of his late girlfriend Nicole Martin in a wrongful death lawsuit. She died in his home of an accidental overdose in 2010

He tested negative for alcohol and drugs.

In 2010, he was questioned after his 27-year-old girlfriend was found dead at his home of an overdose.

Adrienne Nicole Martin was found with high levels of oxycodone and cocaine in her system at autopsy but her death was ruled as an accidental overdose and once again but no charges were filed.

Martin's family sued him in a wrongful death lawsuit which he settled for $1.75million in 2012.

Busch took over as the brewing company's CEO in 2006.

He spent two years in the position before selling the company - which had been in family hands for 156 years - to InBev for $52 billion.
A young mother was left humiliated after staff at a vegetarian cafe told her to breastfeed in the toilet because it was 'embarrassing.'

Gabriella Bond, 27, was breastfeeding her three-month-old daughter while at lunch with friends at the Water Drop Cafe in Christchurch, New Zealand when she says a waitress approached her.

'Are you embarrassed? You will need to go to the toilet if you're going to breastfeed,' the waitress said, Ms Bond told 1News Now.

Ms Bond said another waitress then came over to the table to 'support' the other, but didn't say anything to her.

Gabriella Bond (above) was left humiliated after staff at a vegetarian cafe told her to breastfeed in the toilet because it was 'embarrassing'

'I was shocked and stunned. I never thought anything like this would happen to me in this day and age,' she added.

She said the incident was 'highly traumatic and embarrassing' for her.

'We all left, it was a horrible end to what should have been a nice lunch out.'

Ms Bond's friend Sophie Prangnell, who was at lunch with her, then took to the cafe's Facebook page to complain about the incident.

Another friend also posted a negative review on the page, but both were deleted by the cafe.

In Ms Prangnell's post, she wrote: 'I was so excited to Waterdrop cafe as I loved the look of their menu and appreciate the effort put into making vegetarian food! My experience was probably one of my worst cafe experiences however.

Ms Bond's friend Sophie Prangnell posted a negative review on the cafe's Facebook page

A spokesman for the cafe said they deleted the post after issuing a reply (above) because it was affecting their rating

Ms Bond said the incident at the cafe (pictured) was 'highly traumatic and embarrassing'

'I went here today with friends to have lunch. One of our party was breastfeeding her 3 month old daughter and was asked by staff members to 'go to the toilet as it was embarrassing.'

'I found this so out of line. We cancelled our orders and left so my friend was able to finish feeding her baby.'

'Unsure if perhaps this was down to religious reasons being that the cafe is attached to a temple but in this day and age I was shocked to see such an archaic view point.'

Lihson Ding, from the cafe, told 1News Now that he had spoken with the waitress in question, who denied telling Ms Bond to move to the toilet.

When asked why Ms Pangell and the other friend's review was deleted, he said it was because the cafe's rating went down because of the two posts.

The cafe's Facebook page was inundated with numerous negative reviews from people blasting their treatment of Ms Bond

He said the posts were deleted because 'we think we have already done the right thing, we replied to them and we don't need to apologise anymore.'

Since then, the cafe's Facebook page has been inundated with one-star reviews from people blasting their treatment of Ms Bond.

On Friday, the cafe posted a statement apologising for the incident and their immediate reaction to it.

'We have been receiving a great deal of feedback in the past week, which we'd like to address with our Facebook followers.

'First of all, we would like to say how sorry we are both for the event and our immediate follow up.

'While we feel it is a case of genuine miscommunication, the fault lies with us both in our initial actions and our response.

After their Facebook page being inundated with negative reviews, the Water Drop Cafe issued a statement apologising for the incident and their immediate response

'The staff member involved is particularly distressed at the ill feeling this has caused and - although she is being supported by us - wants to personally express her apologies. This apology sincerely goes to Ms Gabby Bond and her family.'

It added: 'To be clear, breastfeeding mothers are always welcome in any part of our cafe. Since we opened, we have been a popular choice for many new Mums, and the last thing we would want to do is make them - or anyone - feel uncomfortable.'

The statement added that the cafe has a Mother's Room.

'Any Mum that would like to use it is welcome to do so, but our staff have been instructed to no longer offer it as an option, to avoid any further confusion.

'Again, we'd like to unreservedly apologise for this situation and any distress this has caused. This was never our intention.'
ANZ Bank has reached a settlement with the high profile trader who was fired after sending a 'sexist' email about the bank's new female chief financial officer.

Angus Aitken lost his position as head of institutional equities at Bell Potter, a broker firm employed by ANZ, after sending an email to clients in May of 2016 about the bank's new CFO Michelle Jablko.

In the email, Mr Aitken wrote: 'ANZ - that new CFO has to be one of the dumber appointments I have seen... another reason not to own this stock. Sell ANZ.'

Last year he launched legal action against the bank and its chief executive Shayne Elliott and communications general manager Paul Edwards.

ANZ Bank has reached a settlement with high profile trader Angus Aitken (pictured) who was fired after sending a 'sexist' email about the bank's new female chief financial officer.

Mr Aitken lost his position as head of institutional equities at Bell Potter, a broker firm employed by ANZ, after sending an email to clients in May of 2016 about the bank's new CFO Michelle Jablko (pictured)

On Tuesday, Mr Edwards tweeted an apology to Mr Aitken on behalf of himself and the bank.

'ANZ withdraws the allegation that Angus Aitken is sexist and apologises,' he said.

Mr Aitken also posted an apology note through social media, saying: 'I withdraw and apologise for my allegations against Shayne Elliott, Paul Edwards and the ANZ that they engaged in intimidatory conduct towards Bell Potter in order to have my employment terminated.'

The email, sent by Mr Aitken following Ms Jablko's appointment, went on to say investment bankers 'tend to be crap at most things,' but listed a few male exceptions, including Chris Mackay and Hamish at Magellan Financial Group.

Mr Edwards shared a screenshot of the email on social media, adding the caption: 'sexism alive and well in stockbroking'.

On Tuesday, Mr Edwards tweeted an apology to Mr Aitken on behalf of himself and the bank. 'ANZ withdraws the allegation that Angus Aitken is sexist and apologises,' he said. Mr Aitken also posted an apology note through social media, saying: 'I withdraw and apologise for my allegations against Shayne Elliott, Paul Edwards and the ANZ that they engaged in intimidatory conduct towards Bell Potter in order to have my employment terminated'

ANZ Bank's head of corporate affairs, Paul Edwards, tweeted the email with the caption 'sexism alive'

ANZ Bank has reached a settlement with the high profile trader who was fired after sending a 'sexist' email about the bank's new female chief financial officer

It comes after Mr Edwards said a male in the same role as Ms Jablko wouldn't be subjected to the same level of criticism, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

'I'm not saying that people ought not to raise questions about appointments but the nature of that article was surprisingly personal,' he told the newspaper.

Mr Aitken was employed as head of institutional equities at Bell Potter Financial Group in Sydney.

His controversial email went on to say: 'UK clients last night were completely amazed that they would appoint a CFO whose last major deal was advising Slater and Gordon to buy the Quindell assets form over $1bn last year that are now worth bugger all.'

'I would be surprised if you saw anything but selling of ANZ from UK investors let alone anywhere else.
The mother of a woman killed by a drug-driver says she forgives the man responsible for her death.

In an emotional victim impact statement, Megan King told Adam James Cocks that because of her faith, she did not hate him - but wanted him to always remember what he had done.

'I hate that my daughter Jasmine was taken so violently out this world,' she told the Adelaide District Court.

Megan King (pictured) mother of fatal car crash victim Jasmine White, told her daughter's killer Adam James Cocks that she forgives him in an emotional victim impact statement

'I hate that never again will I be able to hug Jasmine and say 'I love you' to her beautiful face.

'There are so many things that I hate now that have become part of my life.

'But Adam, I don't hate you and I forgive you.

'I pray that you will always remember what you have done when you got into that car, loaded to the eyeballs on meth.'

Cocks, 35, was 'loaded to the eyeballs' on methamphetamine when he killed Jasmine White, his former partner in a horrific road crash north of Adelaide in September last year.

Cocks pleaded guilty to aggravated causing death by dangerous driving and to driving unlicensed. The 35-year-old caused the horror crash that killed Jasmine White (pictured)

Ms White's mother said she hopes her daughter's killer 'always remembers' what he did

He pleaded guilty to aggravated causing death by dangerous driving and to driving unlicensed, and told the court the crash was 'the darkest moment in my life'.

'I don't blame anyone for hating me. I wouldn't expect to ever be forgiven,' he said in a letter he read to the court.

Prosecutor Nick Wong told the court in Tuesday's sentencing submissions that Cocks had a potentially lethal level of methamphetamine in his system.

Mr Wong also claimed Cocks had tested positive for meth four times while he had been out on bail for his offences. He urged the court to impose an immediate jail sentence.

Cocks was found to have a 'potentially lethal' level of methamphetamine in his system at the time of the crash, and has failed four drug tests since being released on bail, prosecutor Nick Wong told the court

Ms King's partner Matt King told the court he could not get it out of his head that Cocks should never have been driving that day.

'That car was a weapon in your hands every time you got in the driver's seat,' he said.

Mr King also criticised what he believed were delays in the sentencing process.

'The fact is you're guilty, you have always been guilty, so just take it on the chin,' he said.

Defence counsel conceded a custodial sentence was appropriate but asked Judge Sydney Tilmouth to be as merciful as possible.

Cocks will be sentenced next month.
A teenager has admitted to dragging an Asian tourist, 20, into a forest and raping her before trying to sexually assault another woman outside a Cairns shopping centre.

The Aurukun man, who was 18 at the time of the offences, pleaded guilty to 12 charges in the Cairns District Court and could face 18 years behind bars.

Police allege he strangled and sexually assaulted a 20-year-old Korean woman for two hours after dragging her into a park just after midnight in July last year.

He is then alleged to have grabbed a 28-year-old Japanese woman who was riding a bike just minutes after the previous woman fled from him, the Cairns Post reported.

A teenager has admitted to raping a Korean woman, 20, and attempting to rape a Japanese woman, 28, outside a Cairns shopping centre last year (stock image)

Police allege the horrific and violent sexual assaults took place outside Cairns Central Shopping Centre (pictured) just seven days after the boy was released on parole

The teenager, who is now 19, was allegedly released on parole just one week before the horrific and violent sexual assaults.

He pleaded guilty to five counts of rape, three counts of attempted rape, assault with intent to commit rape, deprivation of liberty, aggravated sexual assault and stealing.

Two other charges were dropped by police.

According to the Cairns Post, he was due to be sentenced on Tuesday, but the crown and defence prosecution agreed to adjourn matter to allow for a pre-sentence report to be made.

'This matter involves some significant charges on the crown submission the court is likely to be assisted by information (about) his background and the circumstances of the offending,' Crown prosecutor Rebecca Christensen said.

'Your honour will come to hear during the course of the sentence that these offences were committed seven days after (he) was released on parole.'

The teenager will return to court in August and remains behind bars.
Up Your Summer Grill Game With The Perfect Paella From A Local Chef

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jul 12, 2017 2:41PM



Photo courtesy of Salero.

It's July, which means some of the novelty of grilling might finally be wearing off. Tired of hamburgers and hot dogs? It's time to get adventurous. While one way might be branching off to different proteins (like some delicious salmon, perhaps?), the way to really up your grilling game is to venture into the world of paella.

Intimidated? Think that this awesome Spanish pseudo-casserole requires special equipment, experience or a fancy grill? We've got the tips, the tools and the recipe to make it easy, thanks to Chef Ashlee Aubin of Salero, a champion paella maker. Your next grill party will be the talk of the town.

Before we get to the recipe and the tips, let's talk a little about paella, for the uninitiated. It's basically a savory rice dish, cooked with broth and a variety of proteins, usually including some kind of shellfish. The signature ingredient (and the thing that turns it yellow) is saffron, the ultra-expensive spice with the funky flavor. The best part about paella, at least for an American grill party, is that while it's delicious and unique, it's not threateningjust about any audience will eat and enjoy it.

There's kind of a cult around paella. There are whole paella cookbooks, an entire universe of fancy paella pans, standalone paella grills, and a ton of other toys. These are fun, but as Chef Aubin tells us, they're not really necessary. So just how do you make the perfect paella?

1. Don't worry about your grill. "We just use a regular Weber grill with Kingsford charcoal," says Aubin. "I think the fancy equipment is a complete waste. You should be able to do this for under $20 in equipment." The only rule is to maintain an even heat, so create a nice flat bed of coals.

2. Do worry (a little) about your pan. If you just throw a regular pot on the grill, it won't make good paella. Do a little browsing for a paella-specific pan; they're usually round and with handles on the sides. What's special about a paella pan? "The bottom of a paella pan is thinyoure looking for the dish to crisp, and almost burn, at the bottom," says Aubin. That's one of the things that makes really good paellathat crisp, almost burned savory riceand if you use a thick-bottomed pan, it's just not gonna happen.

3. It's all about the rice. Paella is fundamentally a rice dish, and if you use random junk from your pantry, it's not going to be very good. "Use short grained Spanish rice, such as Bomba or Calasparra rice," instructs Aubin. "It soaks up all the flavor while staying nice and firm." In a pinch, you can use Arborio rice.

4. It's also all about the broth. You're cooking rice, and if you cook it in water, you're adding no flavor. But, at the same time, there's no perfect formula; just pack in some taste! "All the flavor comes from the broth," says Aubin. "Start with saffron and pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika), add some white wine, bacon scraps, shrimp shells, tomato, onion... whatever you've got!" Even if all you have is store bought chicken broth, at least throw in some extra ingredients.

5. Use whatever proteins you want (or have in the freezer). There's no rules. Great paella can be made with anything from clams to rabbit. "You can combine all different flavors and textures to keep in interesting," Aubin says. The only thing that matters is the order. If you're cooking shrimp and chicken, throw the chicken in first to make sure it's going to be almost done when you put in the fast-cooking shrimp.

6. Embrace the char. This can be hard for a conscientious home cook, since we're all trained to freak out when things start burning. "The absolute best part of the paella is the crispy-toasty rice that you scrape off the bottom of the pan," insists Aubin. "Don't stir too much, and leave it on one minute longer than you think you should." If you need to check to see if it's done, just push a little of the top rice to the side and see the bottom youre looking for a dark brown, not black. You can also tell by smell: "When youre making toast, the smell of toast is nice, but you know when it hits the burning point. Same thing with paella."

With a few tips, some decent rice, some flavorful broth and whatever protein you have around the house, you just turned a party from ho-hum into amazing. Next time you host a party, use the recipe below and wow your guests.

Paella Recipe

Courtesy of Ashlee Aubin

1 quart of stock

1 cup bomba rice

1/4 cup sofrito

1 pinch saffron

8 ounces chicken (cut into bite size pieces

2 ounces Spanish chorizo (or spicy salami)

8 ounces shrimp

1 pound mussels or clams

1/4 cup peas

1/4 cup piquillo peppers

lemon juice

olive oil

salt

Using a charcoal grill (or your regular stove), heat an 11-inch paella pan over medium high heat. Add a generous glug of olive oil and wait till it almost starts to smoke. Add the chicken (or any other long cooking proteins) and brown on all sides.

Add rice and sofrito, and allow it to toast in the olive oil for one minute. Add half the paella stock, the chorizo, a big pinch of salt and the saffron. Let cook on medium high heat until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir just occasionally, scraping any bits that stick to the bottom.

Add half of the remaining paella stock. Taste the rice occasionally. When the rice tastes almost cooked, add shrimp, clams, mussels, peas, piquillo peppers and a little more stock.

Cover with aluminum foil (or a second paella pan) until all the shellfish is cooked and open. Finish on medium heat until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked. Then leave it on the heat for another minute. You want the rice on the bottom to stick and caramelize (but not burn!). Let rest for a minute. Squeeze lemon juice on top. Enjoy straight out of the pan.
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NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill delivered an impassioned speech at the funeral for a slain NYPD officer during a day of high tensions in the Bronx.

Commissioner O'Neill, speaking during the funeral of NYPD Officer Miosotis Familia, touched the heart of what many officers are feeling who are in the line of duty by saying: 'Where are the demonstrations for this single mom...why is there no outrage?'

Taking aim at protesters and the media for what he sees as too much criticism of officers, O'Neill said Familia's death 'should remind everybody that the civility of our city rests on a knife's edge'.

Officer Miosotis was ambushed and fatally shot by self proclaimed cop hater while she was sitting in her patrol car in the Bronx.

Police Commissioner James O'Neill speaks to NYPD officers and mourners at Officer Miosotis Familia's funeral Tuesday

New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill prepares to take his seat at the front of the church

Mayor Bill de Blasio also spoke at the police officer's funeral. Some mourners later told how cops gathered outside turned their backs to screens showing him speaking in a sign of protest, still angry that he left the city last week immediately after her death to attend the G-20 summit in Germany

Meanwhile outside the funeral a Bronx teen blasted the NWA song F*** Tha Police on repeat from his apartment window on Tuesday as police were gathered below to mourn slain cop Miosotis Familia.

The teen defiantly blasted the song out his third-floor apartment window prompting a house call from about 20 officers. Julien Rodriguez, 16, said it was 'satisfying' to play the song from his apartment just above the funeral saying his brother and friend were unjustifiably killed by cops.

'Since they did not show respect for my brother and my friend, why should I show respect to them?' Rodriguez told the New York Post.

One officer even tried speaking Spanish to the teen explaining he understood growing up Latino in the city. The teen eventually apologized, but said it was only because his landlord threatened to toss him and his family out.

'I apologized because it was between the house and apologizing,' he said. Cops at the funeral were infuriated by the show of disrespect. 'This is the st we face every day,' a police source griped.

A man who identified himself as the apartment's owner said he was going to through the family out. 'I left my job, came to the apartment, and told them they have to get out of there,' said the man, who only gave the name Jesus and said he had been allowing the siblings to stay there for the week. 'I've got a deep respect for all the police  I didn't know they would do something like that.'

New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio greeted former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton before he took his seat at the front of the church

The women's three children struggled to contain their emotion as they emerged from the church after the service. 12-year-old Peter Vega burst in to tears, holding on to his older sister's arm for support

The siblings led thousands of mourners out of the church immediately after the service on Tuesday morning

Tensions were even higher during the ceremony as officer's turned their backs on Mayor Bill DeBlasio as he spoke in a show of protest over his decision to go to Germany last week in the immediate aftermath of the officer's death.

Familia, a 48-year-old single mother-of-three, was shot dead in The Bronx as she made notes in her patrol car in the early hours of July 5. Her killer, paranoid schizophrenic Anthony Bonds, 34, was gunned down by other police officers as he tried to flee.

On Tuesday, thousands packed World Changers Church in The Bronx to lay Familia, a single mother-of-three, to rest.

Outside, scores more stood beneath screens and speakers which broadcast the service. When de Blasio appeared on screen, some turned their backs on him in a show of protest over his decision to go to Hamburg last week in the immediate aftermath of the officer's death, The New York Post reported.

Twelve-year-old Peter held on to his sister as they followed their mother's casket out of the church

Other police officers presented Familia's 12-year-old son Peter with a flag as his older sister and twin sister watched

During his unannounced trip, De Blasio spoke at a protest against the then ongoing G-20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg. Bizarrely, he used his appearance at the anti-establishment demonstration to laud his own police force.

The trip meant that he missed a vigil for officer Familia on Saturday. It outraged New York City residents and caught the attention of President Trump who criticized it on Twitter.

On Tuesday, de Blasio, in an apparent attempt to redeem himself, gave an impassioned speech calling for increased support of police officers.

Oblivious to the protest outside, he said: 'We've watched with horror these attacks on our police here in New York City and all around our country. It sickens us, and we know they cannot be tolerated, and we know they must end.

'But in fact,' he added, 'we must end it. It's not a one-way street, my friends. We must help our police in every way, just as we ask them to help us in our moment of need. ... They need us to be their eyes and ears. They need our solidarity and support.

De Blasio went on to call the Familia a 'beautiful New York City story' and said she 'embodied the American spirit'.

'She embodied the American dream' de Blasio said Tuesday, calling Familia a hero who 'lived life the right way.'

The cops' protest was reminiscent of the 2015 funeral of Wenjian Liu who was also killed by a cop-hating gunman.

At the time, officers thought de Blasio was against them. On Tuesday, the mayor called for outrage over the Familia's death and said the public ought to support the force now more than ever.

The three children later held their composure as others around them broke down to mourn their mother

Genesis Villella, the 20-year-old daughter of slain police officer Miosotis Familia, hugs her younger half-siblings, 12-year-old twins Peter and Delilah Vega, at their mother's funeral at World Changers Church in The Bronx on Tuesday

The woman's children said they were 'so proud' she was a police officer and thanked their 'blue family' in the NYPD for supporting them since her death last week

The siblings were joined on stage by their grandmother Adriana Valloy and another relative

More family members joined them on afterwards and surrounded them in a hug as the congregation applauded

Familia's mother, Adriana Valoy, wept into a handkerchief after the service and had to be comforted by other relatives

The woman's elderly mother was at the front of the procession which filed out of the church after the service

He was followed by officer Familia's three children.

Recalling their final conversation, the woman's 20-year-old daughter Genesis said through tears: 'She said 'I love you, I'm going to work now.' And she gave me a really big, tight hug, and I said, 'I love you, mom.'  I asked her for one more hug. She said, 'of course, you can.''

Her 12-year-old brother Peter said: 'She was brave enough to do that knowing that there's consequences, like danger, but she loved us. 'She wanted to sacrifice for us, so she did it.'

Also on stage was Peter's twin sister Delilah.

Adding that she was 'so proud' her mother was a cop, Genesis thanked her own family and their 'bigger family of blue'. NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill choked back his own tears as he addressed the 48-year-old's family.

'Nothing I could say could bring your mom back. But I can make you this promise: your mom didn't die in vain.

'Your mom's legacy will never fade from the importance of memory. Your mom made it her mission to make your home, New York City, a better and safer place for everyone.

'And I vow to you, we will continue to find our way forward in her honor, because that's what cops do.'

Thousands packed the church in The Bronx on Tuesday morning to pay their respects to the single mother-of-three

NYPD officers carried the 48-year-old's flag-draped coffin out of the church on their shoulders

A sea of police officers line up on the Grand Concourse in The Bronx ahead of the Tuesday morning service

Thousands of officers in full uniform descended on the street. They were joined by plain clothes officers

Police officers wipe their tears as she listens to the funeral service outside the church on Tuesday

A police officer holds her hand to her head in grief as she mourns outside the church on Tuesday

Police lined the Grand Concourse as Familia's hearse was led away from the church on Tuesday morning

NYPD officers saluted outside the church as the hearse was driven past. Thousands attended the service

A sea of police officers line up outside the church ahead of the funeral on Tuesday

Police congregated on the Grand Concourse after the funeral to line the pathway for the hearse carrying Familia's coffin

Thousands descended on the Grand Concourse to pay their respects to Familia

Officers stood at attention to salute the hearse carrying the woman's coffin as it drove past

Police officers from Dubai were among those who attended the funeral to pay their respects on Tuesday

Others left tributes to the police officer outside the 46th Precinct in The Bronx, where she worked

A child and man hold a sign protesting against police deaths outside the funeral at World Changers Church in The Bronx

A sea of police in blue uniforms filled the landmark Bronx movie theater and the street outside to pay tribute to Familia, a 12-year officer, former health care worker and single mother of three who also cared for her 86-year-old mother. A child of immigrants who was the first person in her family to go to college, she had always wanted to be a police officer, her family said.

Familia was posthumously promoted Tuesday to detective. And to her family, she was also a 'protector, defender, guidance counselor, spiritual adviser ... philosopher, philanthropist, theorist and mother,' said her 20-year-old daughter, Genesis Vilella.

Familia, 48, was in an RV-like command post stationed in a crime-ridden Bronx precinct early Wednesday when 34-year-old Alexander Bonds walked up to the vehicle and fired once through the passenger window, striking Familia in the head. Bonds ran from the scene but police caught up to him and opened fire, killing him after they said he turned the gun on them. Bonds had sought psychiatric care just days earlier.

An ex-convict, he had railed about police and prison officers in a Facebook video last fall.

At the wake Monday, Bronx resident Bill Simpson, 56, said he felt the need to mourn the loss of Familia, even though he never met her.

'It hurt everybody. All of us feel it,' he said.

After joining the NYPD in 2005, Familia worked her entire career in The Bronx precinct where she was killed. Familia is the first female New York Police Department officer to die in the line of duty since 9/11.
MSNBC host and former GOP Congressman Joe Scarborough is leaving the Republican party because he is disgusted that 'time and time again it has 'turned a blind eye to racist Trump'.

Scarborough, 54, made the announcement during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as he was interviewed alongside his Morning Joe co-host and fiancee Mika Brzezinski.

Scarborough, who has come under tremendous criticism by The White House for turning on President Donald, said to rapturous applause from the audience: 'I am a Republican but I'm not gonna be a Republican anymore.

'I'm gonna become an Independent.'

During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Joe Scarborough announced that he is leaving the Republican Party

Morning Joe host and former Congressman Joe Scarborough has been explicit in his disapproval of President Trump

When Colbert asked the former congressman what he made of the Republican Party's seemingly unwavering support for the current president, Scarborough did not mince words.

'It's inexplicable,' he said. 'This is well before Donald Trump was elected president that my party betrayed their core values.

'In 2015 Donald Trump supported a Muslim Ban and I said I could never vote for somebody who was going to ban people based on the God they worshiped.

'Last February when he talked about David Duke and pretended that he didn't know who he was or what the Ku Klux Klan did, you didn't have Republicans coming out saying 'I can never support Donald Trump because he's racist!', they'd have a thousand other reasons why, but they always overlooked that.'

Scarborough who served as a Republican in Florida's 1st District from 1995 to 2001 said that he felt Trump's message was disturbing throughout the entire campaign.

'Time and time and time again, they (the Republican party) turned the other way and they're doing the same thing now. and it's actually disgusting,' he said.

Scarborough and Brzezinski, had been friendly toward President Trump during the 2016 election but have been increasingly critical of him since his inauguration.

'You have to ask yourself how far are the Republican party willing to go. How much of this country and our values are they willing to sell out?' Scarborough questioned, justifying his decision to make the move to become an Independent.

The former Republican congressman announced on The Late Show on Tuesday night that hes leaving the GOP

President Donald Trump openly attacked the MSNBC host on Twitter just a few days before the July 4 holiday weekend

In February, he and Brzezinski banned Kellyanne Conway from their show.

It sparked a back-and-forth war of words online between the President and the show hosts, including accusations that Morning Joe was failing in the ratings.

Colbert opened the interview by asking Scarborough why Republicans still support President Trump.

But it didn't end there - in recent weeks, Scarborough and Brzezinski have been on the receiving end of further withering insults from the President's Twitter account.

Trump lashed out at the pair in a series of tweets, referring to them as 'Psycho Joe' and 'low-I.Q. Crazy Mika,' and claiming Brzezinski 'was bleeding badly from a face-lift' when he saw her last year at a New Years Eve party at Mar-A-Lago.

Shortly after the attack, Scarborough and Brzezinski told of how they were then threatened by White House staffers who would blackmail them by having the National Enquirer publish a damaging story about their off-air relationship if they didn't apologize to Trump.

The hosts reached their biggest audience ever when they talked about President Trump's tweets about their show late last month.

Nielsen reproted that 1.66 million people watched the MSNBC morning show the day after the tweets.

That narrowly beat the show's previous record, which came the day after President Trump was elected last year.

Attack: President Trump previously went after the pair in August of last year, threatening to divulge secrets about their relationship and calling them 'two clowns'

Kind words: He also referred to Brzezisnki as Scarborough's 'very insecure long-time girlfriend' and a 'neurotic and not very bright mess' in those tweets

President Trump previously went after the pair in August of last year, threatening to divulge secrets about their relationship and calling them 'two clowns.'

He also referred to Brzezisnki as Scarborough's 'very insecure long-time girlfriend' and a 'neurotic and not very bright mess' in those tweets.

The couple confirmed reports that they were engaged in an interview with Vanity Fair back in May, revealing that Scarborough popped the question while the two were in the South of France for Brzezinski's 50th birthday.

'His glasses were fogging up he was so nervous. I kept thinking he really must not have felt well,' Brzezinski said of her groom-to-be just before he got down on one knee outside the Hotel du Cap in Antibes.

Katherine and Jack are Scarborough's two children with Susan Warren, a former aide to Florida Governor Jeb Bush who he divorced in early 2014 after 11 years of marriage.

The popular morning host also has two adult sons, Joey and Andrew, from his first marriage to Melanie Hinton, which ended in 1999 after 13 years.

Brzezinski has two adult daughters, Emilie and Carlie, from her marriage to Jim Hoffer, which ended in 2016 after 23 years.
A jealous top lawyer drunkenly chased his girlfriend around Mayfair and spat in her face.

Matt Owen, 33, from Buckinghamshire, became extremely angry when his lover Rachel Croft-Roberts left his birthday at the five-star Brown's Hotel in London.

The Deloitte solicitor was shouting at her about 'other men', before grabbing hold of her wrists, screaming abuse in her face and spitting on her twice.

Matt Owen, 33, from Buckinghamshire, became extremely angry when his lover Rachel Croft-Roberts left his birthday at the five-star Brown's Hotel in London

A jealous top lawyer drunkenly chased his girlfriend around Mayfair and spat in her face

The Deloitte solicitor was shouting at her about 'other men', before grabbing hold of her wrists, screaming abuse in her face and spitting on her twice

Miss Croft-Roberts told police she had been attacked by Owen on a number of ocassions

The office administrator said he dragged her out of bed by her ankles on holiday because he was angry about pictures she had uploaded on Facebook and Instagram

The ex-grammar school pupil said he could not remember spitting on Miss Croft-Roberts during the boozy row.

Westminster Magistrates' Court was told the Owen faces being struck off from his profession as the incident will be reported to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

The couple had been together for three months before the attack, according to The Sun.

Miss Croft-Roberts told police she had been attacked by Owen on a number of occasions.

The office administrator said he dragged her out of bed by her ankles on holiday because he was angry about pictures she had uploaded on Facebook and Instagram.

Magistrate Alexia Fetherstonhaugh said: 'This was a drawn-out and very abusive scenario and you were drunk at the time.

Pictured is Jessica Croft-Roberts, who was attacked by her boyfriend of three months

The ex-grammar school pupil said he could not remember spitting on Miss Croft-Roberts during the boozy row

Westminster Magistrates' Court was told the Owen faces being struck off from his profession as the incident will be reported to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal

Owen was sentenced to an 18-month community order, 40 hours of unpaid work and an 85 fine for attack Miss Croft-Roberts

Ms Fetherstonhaugh said he escaped a jail term because he had no previous convictions and pleaded guilty to the charges

'It must have been very distressing for the victim.'

Owen was sentenced to an 18-month community order, 40 hours of unpaid work and an 85 fine.

Ms Fetherstonhaugh said he escaped a jail term because he had no previous convictions and pleaded guilty to the charges.
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A medical centre has been destroyed in a huge fire after explosions were heard for miles around.

Dozens of firefighters are at Weybridge Health Centre in Surrey after the flames erupted through the building late last night.

Scores of people have been evacuated from their homes in the middle of the night after a fire tore through a hospital building.

Residents were given refuge inside St James' Parish Church after being told to leave their homes for safety reasons.

Nearly a dozen fire crews are tackling the blaze at the building, a multi-purpose medical centre.

Fire tore through the Weybridge Health Centre in Surrey and residents near the hospital building were given refuge inside a nearby church after explosions

A medical centre in Weybridge, Surrey, has been destroyed in a huge fire after explosions were heard for miles around

Dozens of firefighters are at Weybridge Health Centre in Surrey after the flames erupted through the building late last night

A huge fire has ripped through Weybridge Health Centre in Surrey, burning away the roof and top floor, pictured

Eight fire engines and dozens of firefighters are at the scene, pictured, battling the blaze

Explosions have been heard at the centre, pictured, with burning oxygen tanks believed to be the cause

Residents said they heard explosions from the centre, pictured, from 'miles away'

This is the medical centre in Surrey before fire ripped through its main building last night

The blaze, which witnesses said took hold 'extremely quickly', started at around 11.45pm on Tuesday - several hours after the building closed for the day.

Matt Leisegang, who was evacuated from his home around 100 metres from the blaze, said he heard a 'loud bang' and saw the top floor of the building 'engulfed'.

The 28-year-old told the Press Association: 'It was about 11.45pm when my wife woke me up and said there was a fire at the hospital.

'We heard people shouting outside and went to look through the window. We saw what was happening and ran down to see if we could help.

'That's when I saw the left side of the roof was in flames already.

'Within about 15 minutes, the whole of the roof was alight.

'The building is only three storeys, and the top floor was completely engulfed in flames within a short time - that was the remarkable thing, how quickly the fire spread.

'Within about 40 minutes of the fire, the whole of the top floor was gone. I could only see flames.'

The personal chef added: 'We were asked by the emergency services to move back - there was a loud bang, an explosion from the gas canisters.

'The firefighters have been brilliant, and I said to my wife that we should make some tea and sandwiches for them but we were told to evacuate before we could do anything.

'Everyone seems to be safe. There are about 30 people in the church, there were some children earlier but they have been sent to stay with relatives.

'We're just thankful nobody seems to have been hurt.'

Surrey Police have urged people to avoid the area while firefighters continue to battle the flames, pictured left and right

A local councillor tweeted that no one was in immediate danger at the site, and no injuries or casualties have been reported

Black smoke can be seen billowing out of the building, pictured, from miles away

The roof and top floor of the walk-in centre have been 'burned away', with several firefighters using hoses to douse the flames.

It sparked safety concerns on social media, with some locals claiming they heard explosions from miles away, with speculation mounting they were due to oxygen tanks being exposed to the fire.

Julia Mottram wrote on Twitter: Huge fire at #Weybridge walk in centre. Heard the explosion and we are 2 miles away.

@CoxeyLoxey added: Heard a boom a little while ago was wondering what it was....must've been Weybridge fire.

Local councillor Andrew Davis tweeted no one was in danger from the fire with no injuries reported.

Surrey Police has appealed for the public to avoid Weybridge High Street and the area near the centre.

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service said crews would be in place 'for some time'.

A Surrey Police statement confirmed there were no injuries.

It added: 'A large number of residents have been evacuated. Roads around the building, including Weybridge High Street, have been closed and are likely to remain so for some time.

'A large number of resources from Surrey Fire and Rescue Service are continuing to tackle the blaze, which is now under control.

'An investigation is under way to establish the cause of the fire which remains unknown at this time.'
A one-of-a-kind wine collection featuring bottles that are nearly as old as the country itself has been uncovered behind a boarded-up wall in a New Jersey museum that was previously the home of the state's first governor.

The stash of spirits was found hidden in plain sight at the Liberty Hall Museum, which was formerly the home of Governor William Livingston, who served in office from 1776 to 1790.

'It was an oh my God moment,' Bill Schroh, director of museum operations at Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University, told WCBS of the shocking discovery.

During a six-month renovation of the wine cellar at the historic building, the team found three cases of Madeira wine believed to be from 1796.

They also found an additional 42 demijohns covered in wicker that date back to the 1820s.

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A one-of-a-kind wine collection featuring bottles that are nearly as old as the country itself has been uncovered behind a boarded-up wall in a New Jersey museum that was previously the home of the state's first governor

The stash of spirits was found hidden in plain sight at the Liberty Hall Museum, which was formerly the home of Governor William Livingston, who served in office from 1776 to 1790

During a six-month renovation of the wine cellar at the historic building, the team found three cases of Madeira wine believed to be from 1796. They also found an additional 42 demijohns covered in wicker that date back to the 1820s

'It's a very large historic house museum originally from 1770 and over the last five to six years we decided to take the house room by room and make repairs and update and evaluate a lot of the structures,' Schroh told ABC News.

'We decided to restore the wine cellar, which hadn't been looked over since 1949 and we never could have imagined finding what we did.'

Schroh said the team found the wine in old wooden crates that were covered in dust. It appears as though they were shipped to John Kean in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

'It turned out there were three crates of it and inside were bottles labeled 'Robert Lenox of Philadelphia 1796,' when they were first bottled,' Schroh added.

'The wine had been re-bottled once it came over to America...

Bill Schroh, director of museum operations at Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University, said the team found the wine in old wooden crates that were covered in dust

The wine was tested by California-based premier wine merchant, The Rare Wine Co., which confirmed its authenticity and highlighted some of its historical features

'We had to do the research, but luckily for us it was all there so we didn't run against a dead end at all. We could go even further to find out about Lenox.'

New Jersey Governor William Livingston served in office from 1776 to 1790

The wine was tested by California-based premier wine merchant, The Rare Wine Co., which confirmed its authenticity and highlighted some of its historical features.

Madeira is one of the most distinguished wines in the British colony, Mannie Berk, the wine company's founder, wrote.

'By the time of the American Revolution, [Madeira] had become a fortified wine of compelling character, and it was this wine that achieved a place in American popular culture unique in its history,' Berk wrote.

Once the renovations in the wine cellar were completed, the original wooden shipping crates, the demijohns and full bottles of Madeira were put on display inside of the museum.

'We kept some of it in the antique wine cages, but it's also on display cabinets along with racks and other displays inside the wine cellar. People can come, see it and learn about the history from Colonial times,' Schroh said.

Once the renovations in the wine cellar were completed, the original wooden shipping crates, the demijohns and full bottles of Madeira were put on display inside of the museum

The Liberty Hall Museum (file above) is located on the campus of Kean University in Union, New Jersey, which was founded in 1855

According to the rare wine company, each bottle is estimated to be worth somewhere between $10,000 and $25,000.

The Liberty Hall Museum is located on the campus of Kean University in Union, New Jersey, which was founded in 1855.

The museum was once home of the Livingston, who also one of the people who signed the U.S. Constitution. The home was owned later on by the Kean family.

It was built in 1772 as a 14-room Georgian-style home before the American Revolution. It later grew into a Victorian-style 50-room mansion.
Jeremy Corbyn's PR guru 'was not a willing participant' in the hotel terrace kiss with a glamorous blonde lawyer, according to his friends.

Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, 36, was photographed cosying up to Seumas Milne, 59, in a five-star London hotel on Thursday night.

According to his friends, the Labour leader's director of communications did not relish the moment and insists there is nothing going on between the pair.

Terry Robinson says his daughter Jen (pictured together at the family's Australian stables with horse Ledger) is a 'good girl' and believes that she is just good friends with Seumas Milne

Labour's Seumas Milne was spotted with human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson at a hotel in Shoreditch, East London, pictured

A source told the Daily Telegraph: 'I know the pictures tell a different story.

'But I know there is nothing going on. I don't think it's a quick snog.

'There may have been a bit of nuzzling on her part but if you look at Seumas's face, you can see he is not a willing participant.'

Yesterday, the father of the blonde barrister told MailOnline his daughter was just enjoying a night out and a 'few drinks' with a friend.

Her father Terry, a horse trainer from New South Wales, insists his daughter is a 'good girl' who has been in a 'few relationships' but dismissed suggestions she is having an affair with the married father-of-two.





Mr Robinson admitted he had no idea who Mr Milne is but had seen the photographs of them nuzzling.

He told MailOnline: 'I know my daughter pretty well. She's probably just having a night out and I think it's more like a friendship than anything else - especially if she's had a few drinks.'

Ms Robinson (right) has worked on Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's legal team since October 2010 and is best friends with Amal Clooney - pictured right in the background

Ms Robinson, left, is a close friend of Amal Clooney and attended her wedding to George in 2014. She is pictured with fellow guest Bill Murray arriving in Venice via boat

Mr Robinson added that he has not spoken to her about the hotel meeting with Mr Milne, who lives in a 2million west London house with his wife of 25 years Cristina Montanari. The couple were not at home today.

Terry Robinson said his Rhodes Scholar and Oxford graduate daughter is 'someone I respect for what she's done' and said: 'I think it's just a storm in a teacup'.

Miss Robinson, from New South Wales, Australia, is described as Amal Clooney's best friend having worked together as human rights lawyers including at Julian Assange's extradition hearings.

Miss Robinson, from New South Wales, Australia, is described as Amal Clooney's best friend having worked together as human rights lawyers including at Julian Assange's extradition hearings

The 36-year-old was carried to the Clooneys' star-studded Venetian wedding in 2014 in a boat with Bill Murray and asked to carry out bridesmaid's duties.

A witness to the hotel liaison with Mr Milne, believed to be last Thursday evening, told the Guido Fawkes blog: 'They were there for a good hour or so. They were very hands on, full on heavy petting'.

Miss Robinson is best known for leading Julian Assange's attempts to avoid extradition to Sweden and works from the respected Doughty Chambers in London.

In 2011 she gave an interview about her private life and described herself as 'passionate' and 'infinitely curious', and said: 'My friends would probably add, 'the eternal optimist' or 'a bit bonkers'.'

She admitted that while being serious as a proud Australian she enjoys 'taking the p**s' and said she swears too much.

Miss Robinson also admits she 'partied' a lot when she was younger and has encouraged budding lawyers to avoid so-called magic circle firms because they work you too hard.

She said: 'London has too much fun on offer to be stuck at your desk all day and night'.

When asked about her favourite music she said: 'I still love Kylie Minogue - this began at age five and persists today'.

And responding to a question about the contents of her London fridge she said: 'Nothing but a few bottles of champagne (and maybe a mouldy piece of cheese)' because she so rarely eats at home.

She was also asked: 'What comes into your mind when you shut your eyes and think of the word 'law'?' and replied: 'Jude' - a reference to the British actor.

She told the Global Mail: 'I can be very serious but I was being flip, taking the p***. I take my work very seriously but me less so. I am Australian, after all, and proudly so.'

The barrister is part of the Robinson racing dynasty in New South Wales, pictured being nuzzled by horses at the stables

Miss Robinson is offered a glass of fizz by a member of the Clooney wedding party in 2014 - she previously said the only things in her fridge were bottles of Champagne and mouldy cheese

Her work has taken her all over the world, and she has concentrated on humanitarian work including freeing prisoners in West Papua

Jen Robinson works from the Doughty Street Chambers in London, pictured with mentor Geoffrey Robertson QC

Mr Milne is the strategy and communications director for Labour and Jeremy Corbyn (right)

She congratulated him on becoming Labour's to spin doctor with the message: 'This is brilliant news for @jeremycorbyn. Congrats @SeumasMilne!'

While one of her brothers lives in the UK working in horse racing, the rest of her family is largely in Australia, where she has returned to lecture on law and mentor students.

Miss Robinson, pictured with a friend, admits she 'partied' a lot when she was younger and encouraged budding lawyers to avoid magic circle firms so they can have fun out of work

Jill Appleton, her headteacher at Bomaderry High School, around two hours from Canberra, said that she was 'a lovely girl' who was named the Berry Showgirl in 2000.

Organisers insist it is not a beauty pageant and say it finds young women to act as an 'ambassador' for the area in state and national show.

Participants are asked to present prizes to wood chopping finalists, sash livestock, are interviewed and must present to judges and attend a formal lunch where they are judged on table manners, dress sense and conversational skills.

Mrs Appleton told the South Coast Register that her success showed 'the sky's the limit' for pupils.

She said: 'It shows you can attend a public high school, and go on to become a Rhodes Scholar and achieve great things in your life.'

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leaves court with Jennifer Robinson (right) and Amal Clooney (left) and Mark Stephens (centre) in 2011

Human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, pictured left and right, is understood to be the woman pictured with Mr Milne at the east London hotel

Before her recent intimate moment with Mr Milne, it appears she was already a fan and congratulated him on becoming Labour's top spin doctor with the message: 'This is brilliant news for @jeremycorbyn. Congrats @SeumasMilne!'.

Miss Robinson also hailed last month's 'thrilling' election result in a number of pro-Labour tweets and her barristers' chambers Doughty Street represented Mr Corbyn at the High Court during one of his leadership battles.

Miss Robinson joined Mr Assange's legal team in October 2010, two months after authorities in Sweden issued a European arrest warrant for the Wikileaks founder in relation to rape and sexual assault allegations.

Mr Milne, who worked for The Guardian before becoming Mr Corbyn's spin doctor, is married to private tutor Cristina Montanari, 60.

He and Ms Robinson were pictured yesterday at a table in a public area of the five-star Courthouse Hotel's balcony.

Ms Robinson has acted as Mr Assange's spokesperson during his failed battle against extradition, although the charges against him in Sweden were dropped this year.

According to The Times, Ms Robinson was stopped from boarding a flight at Heathrow Airport in April 2012 when she was 'told she was on a watchlist preventing her from travelling', although the Australian government denied any involvement.

She now works for Doughty Street Chambers in London, which represented Jeremy Corbyn last year in the High Court during his battle to ensure he was included on the ballot for a Labour leadership challenge.

It is unclear how the pair met, but an embassy source told The Times Mr Milne has visited Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy in London in the past 16 months.

Ms Robinson appears to be a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn according to her Twitter account, on which she praised the Labour leader for his performance in the general election last month and described the result as 'thrilling'.

She also served as a spokesperson for Mr Assange and previously worked in media defence, representing the New York Times and CNN

Ms Robinson is a close confidante of Amal Clooney and looked glamorous in a black dress at the glitzy event in 2014

She grew up in the small town of Berry, NSW, Australia and graduated with a double degree in law and Asian studies from the Australian National University.

Ms Robinson went on to become a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, attending Balliol College and graduating with a Bachelor of Civil Law with Distinction and a Master of Philosophy in International Public Law.

She previously worked at London law firm Finers Stephens Innocent LLP, where her practice was largely media defence, freedom of information and free speech litigation, acting for clients such as the New York Times, CNN, Associated Press and Bloomberg.

Her current firm was founded by another Australian-born ex-Rhodes Scholar Geoffrey Robertson QC, with whom she has worked with for more than six years and has tackled issues including arguing for an Australian Bill of Rights.

She also provided international human rights advice, including on humanitarian issues in post-conflict Iraq, extraordinary rendition and international criminal law.

It is through this line of work that she is understood to have become friends with Amal Clooney. Ms Robinson was photographed at the star couple's A-list wedding in Italy in 2014 alongside Hollywood legend Bill Murray.

Mr Milne - the Labour Party's strategy and communications director - headed back inside the hotel with Ms Robinson after they were pictured on the balcony.

A witness told The Sun: 'He was drinking a pink cocktail and she was in her early to mid-30s. We were at a work event that had half the terrace booked off.

Ms Robinson, pictured, appears to be a Labour supporter after praising the party and leader Jeremy Corbyn over its performance in the general election

Ms Robinson, pictured left and right with Assange, had a table to themselves in a public area of the five-star Courthouse Hotel's balcony and she nestled her head into his shoulder, one witness claimed

Her appearance at the Clooney wedding may have given her a taste for the celebrity lifestyle after she was pictured waving to people alongside Bill Murray

'They had a table to themselves in the public section of the balcony. At one point she had her head nestled into his shoulder.'

In the past, Miss Robinson has questioned whether an affair should prevent a senior political figure from keeping his job.

In 2013 she tweeted about General David Petraeus, who quit as CIA director: 'So an extramarital affair disqualifies a person from heading the CIA. Past support for torture, rendition and the kill list does not. Wow.'

Mr Milne lives in a 2million house in Richmond, South West London, and married Ms Montanari in 1992, with whom he has a now-adult son and daughter.

He left his role as senior Guardian journalist in October 2015 to become Labour's communications chief, although some moderate MPs criticised the appointment.

Oxford-educated Mr Milne was a keen supporter of Mr Corbyn and has written extensively on links between Western foreign policy and terrorism.

Ms Montanari works as a private tutor preparing children for selective school entrance exams in Richmond, as reported by Heat Street.

The couple controversially sent their children to the Tiffin grammar schools in Kingston rather than local comprehensives before they both went on to Oxbridge universities.

Mr Milne, 59, is married with two children

The Left-wing reporter has also previously written books about Margaret Thatcher's 'secret war' against the miners, global politics and economic policy

But the appointment was described by MP Simon Danczuk as 'totally bizarre' and leading Blairite John Woodcock said voters 'deserved better'.

Mr Milne worked for The Guardian for 32 years and was associate editor when he left.

He previously worked as a columnist, comment editor and labour correspondent for the paper but his appointment was criticised by some over comments he made in an article about the murder of Lee Rigby in 2013.

Mr Milne wrote that the attack was 'not terrorism in the normal sense' because of the soldier's service in Afghanistan, and said the public should not have been shocked by 'blowblack' with the 'surprise being there haven't been more atrocities'.

He was also questioned over his stance on Russia after he was pictured shaking Vladimir Putin's hand while at a 'propaganda summit' in Sochi.

But he appears to have won over many of his critics within the Labour Party following the success of the general election.

MailOnline has contacted Labour about the photos. Asked for comment by Sun reporters Stephen Moyes and Tess De La Mare, Mr Milne replied: 'I don't think so.'

The Times said it approached both Ms Robinson and Mr Milne for comment but neither responded.

The Courthouse Hotel, which has rooms costing up to 2,000 a night and a 4.5-star rating on TripAdvisor, is based in an old court and jail that held the Krays.

The 128-room hotel in the Grade II-listed building opened only last year at a cost of 40million, with the Edwardian courthouse closing in the late Nineties.

The Courthouse Hotel also has a 200 seat cinema, a bowling alley, an underground swimming pool and a social working space for local businesses.
This is the secret lair used by a sexual predator who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman.

New South Wales Police said the makeshift lair was used by the sex attacker as he attacked the 12-year-old girl while dressed in a leafy Ghillie suit.

The creepy lair is located between Reeves St and Carrington St, Narara on NSW Central Coast, and is hidden out of sight from a nearby walking path many students use to get to school.

This is the secret lair used by a sexual predator who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman

New South Wales Police said the makeshift lair was used by the sex attacker as he attacked the 12-year-old girl while dressed in a leafy Ghillie suit

The Narara predator's lair is located in dense bushland off a walking track (pictured) often used by school children to get to school

The man, dressed in a suit designed to be easily concealed, dragged a 12-year-old girl into bushland, bound her with cable ties and raped.

Police believe he may have been carrying out a 'hunter fantasy'.

Police are still looking for the man who carried out the attack on the NSW Central Coast and also suspect him of grabbing a teenager by the throat later on in the same area.

The hidden lair is shown to have a plastic orange chair, old tyres, a make-shift tent made out of a large draped sheet surrounded by rubbish.

He was wearing a leafy Ghillie suit (replica pictured) to conceal his identity in both attacks

The young girl said she was grabbed from behind and dragged into nearby bushland while walking to school on May 15 in Narara (bushland pictured)

Police are hunting a man in a camouflage suit who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl and later grabbed a teenager by the throat

Now forensic psychiatrist Julian Parmegiani claims the predator could have been carrying out a 'hunter fantasy'.

'It fits into that rich fantasy life,' Mr Parmegiani told A Current Affair.

'He could have hidden his identity in much easier ways, and having done this really shows that he's gone down a path which is quite odd and quite different.'

The young girl said she was grabbed from behind and dragged into nearby bushland while walking to school on May 15 in Narara.

There she was bound with cable ties and sexually assaulted until she escaped and ran to school where she raised the alarm and was taken to hospital.

Less than three weeks later on June 4, the same man grabbed an 18-year-old woman by the throat as she walked through a laneway near Narara Railway Station about 4.30pm.

Her attacker tried to drag her away but she kicked him and ran away while calling for help, but the man just walked away.

The man was aged in his mid-20s and 175-180 centimetres tall with a chubby build, greying blonde hair, and blue eyes.

The young girl said she was grabbed from behind and dragged into nearby bushland while walking to school on May 15 in Narara on the NSW Central Coast

He was wearing a Ghille suit including a top and pants with dark camouflage colouring and fake leaves attached to it

The outfit included matching gloves to prevent transfer of fingerprints or DNA during attack

After multiple interviews with both victims, police were able to describe the distinctive camouflage outfit he was wearing during the attacks.

It was a Ghillie suit including a top and pants with dark camouflage colouring and fake leaves attached to it, with matching mask, gloves and backpack.

Police said the clothing might not exactly match each other as they may not have been bought at the same time.

The gear is usually worn by military snipers trying to stay hidden for hours at a time, but is widely available through army surplus stores.

'It's only a matter of time before we arrest you,' sex crimes squad commander detective Superintendent Linda Howlett said on Sunday.

The attacker was also wearing a camouflage backpack during the two attacks

'There are a number of people we're actually looking at and speaking to as well.

'As you can imagine, it has been a difficult process, particularly for the younger girl, who has bravely relived the incident over and over to help us.'

Superintendent Howlett called on the public to contact police if they had seen the man or had any information about his whereabouts.

'The offender went to a fair amount of trouble to wear that particular outfit, obviously wanting to disguise his identity,' she said.

'You might not have knowledge about the sexual assault itself but if you're aware of anyone - a neighbour, a friend - who has an outfit like that and in particular the hat if they can contact police.

The young girl said she was bound with cable ties (pictured) and sexually assaulted until she escaped and ran to school where she raised the alarm and was taken to hospital

Superintendent Howlett said police were concerned the attacker might strike again.

'The incidents occurred in areas that are well-used by locals, and would require a certain amount of familiarity to be in the right place at the most opportunistic time,' she said.

'It would be difficult to get around suburbia wearing these clothes without drawing attention to yourself, so we believe he'd know the best routes to use to go unnoticed.'
Aldi has announced plans to create 4,000 jobs in Britain in its biggest ever recruitment drive.

The German discount grocer is stepping up its expansion plans to meet the demand of rising sales, it said this week.

Discounters Aldi and Lidl have grown rapidly in Britain in recent years, putting the squeeze on the major four supermarkets - market leader Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons.

Aldi has announced plans to create 4,000 jobs in Britain in its biggest ever recruitment drive (stock image)

Aldi currently has over 700 stores in Britain and said it remains on course to open 1,000 stores by 2022.

The grocer said the jobs would be as store assistants and deputy store managers, and would help to meet an increase in sales after the group attracted nearly a million new customers in the last year.

'The success of Aldi in the UK is due to the hard work and commitment of our employees, and they are crucial to our future expansion plans,' said Matthew Barnes, Chief Executive Officer for Aldi UK and Ireland.

Aldi has not only enjoyed success in Britain but overseas in the United States and more recently Australia (pictured above, a newly-opened store in Australia)

Aldi has not only enjoyed success in Britain but overseas in the United States and more recently Australia.

Alongside its fellow Germanic export Lidl, the chains have enjoyed an increasing slice of the market share as cash-aware spenders lean away from the traditional supermarket brands like Tesco and Sainsbury's.

According to recent data, Aldi had a UK market share of 6.9 per cent in the 12 weeks to 18 June. That still puts it far behind Tesco, at almost 28 per cent, Sainsbury at 16 per cent, Asda at 15.1 per cent and Morrisons at 10.6 per cent, but its rate of growth has been striking. In the period, spend at Aldi grew by 18.7 per cent, compared to Tesco where spend grew by 3.5 per cent. Lidl had a market share of 5 per cent.

Earlier this year bosses at Aldi pledged to spend an eye-watering 2.7billion over the next five years to open 900 supermarkets in the US, potentially heaping pressure on retailers like Walmart and Kroger to lower their prices.

Aldi was founded more than a century ago when Anna Albrecht opened a small store in Essen, Germany. Her sons, Karl and Theo, took over in 1948 and quickly expanded. In 1962, the name became Aldi, shortened from Albrecht Discount.
Freed drug smuggler Schapelle Corby has been slammed for promoting a brand of teeth whitening products, despite it being illegal for her to profit from her crime.

While she initially kept a low profile on her return to Australia in May, the 39-year-old has been a regularly face out in public and across social media in recent weeks.

And although it's believed neither Corby or her sister were paid to endorse the Bondi Pearly Whites brand, the pair have come under fire for using their notoriety to spruik the product on Facebook and Instagram.

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Drug smuggler Schapelle Corby (left) and her sister Mercedes (right) have been slammed for promoting a brand of teeth whitening products, despite not being able to profit from her crime

While Corby initially kept a low profile on her return to Australia in May, the 39-year-old has been a regularly face out in public and on social media over recent weeks

Corby, who was given a 20-year jail sentence after being found with 4.2 kilograms of cannabis at a Denpasar Airport in 2005, returned back home to Brisbane in late-May.

At the time, reports swirled that she was set to have a million dollar pay day, with TV networks desperate for an exclusive interview about her controversial life.

But with Corby unable to make any money because of her criminal notoriety, it's not clear how her and Mercedes' arrangement with Bondi Pearly Whites works.

In the Facebook ad, the Corby sisters can be seen sitting on a couch with the teeth whitening products in their mouth. Two smiling female friends sit in between them.

While the photo is being used by the Sydney-based brand to promote their product, it was initially posted to Mercedes' Instagram page - which has 27,000 followers.

Her post gave a shout out to the brand's founder Jesse Polock, with Mercedes since coming out to defend herself and her sister in the comments of the photo.

'This a a friend of mine company, not paid advertising at all. Nor was I asked to post,' Mercedes commented.

'I can support my friends and will tag them. Had a laugh at this pic so decided to post...'

The Corby sisters came under fire for promoting the product, with social media users hitting out at them about potentially earning money from spruiking the business to their followers

But despite there being no evidence that the Corby sisters were sponsored to use or promote the product, the photo still managed to cause a stir on social media.

'Not allowed to earn money from anything to do with her arrest so she's gotta (sic) make money somehow,' one man wrote on Facebook.

'After spending ten years in a Bali prison you're... going to need your teeth whitened baby,' another commented.

'Schapelle Corby to left, Mercedes to the right? What madness is this?' one wrote.

In a statement Bondi Pearly Whites told Daily Mail Australia its business dealings and use of social media influencers was 'confidential'.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was labelled an 'absolute disgrace' after disobeying orders in the Commons.

Deputy Speaker Lindsay Hoyle hit out after the Cabinet minister sneaked out of the chamber when asked to sit down.

Mr Hoyle was preparing to tell the Commons which MPs would be acting as tellers for a vote on the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing Bill.

Britain's Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt arrives for a Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in central London on July 4, 2017

Deputy Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, who told the Health Secretary off, calling him an 'absolute disgrace'

He shouted: 'Order! Sit! Just sit Jeremy, a minute.'

This prompted the Tory MP, who was seeking to exit the chamber, to take a seat on the Government frontbench furthest away from Mr Hoyle.

As Mr Hoyle resumed speaking, Mr Hunt got up and left.

The Deputy Speaker could be heard saying: 'That's an absolute disgrace.

'We'll try again and see if we can make progress.

'Somebody who has been in the House so long should know better.'
Nepal [File photo]

When Chinese President Xi Jinping first announced the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Kazakhstan in September 2013, he must have had it in mind to share prosperity with the neighbors, after China had already achieved mesmerizing economic development.

When neighbors are poor and reel from constant instability, it will also be difficult for China to sustain economic growth and good fortune.

Beggar-my-neighbor policies can never be palatable for a China engaged in building a truly socialist nation and trying to raise the bar for global governance.

The BRI reflects these aspirations. As President Xi unveiled his landmark initiative during his visit to central Asia, he set a grand goal to liberate the least developed/developing landlocked countries from their perennial bondage by facilitating trade and transition a wide scale.

For landlocked countries, it provides not only land connectivity, but also access to the sea. In view of Nepals high dependency on India for much of its trade and commerce, for example, Nepals accession to the BRI framework has been hailed as a giant step on the path to economic sovereignty and freedom.

As a typical landlocked nation, Nepal had suffered from huge economic losses as well as being humiliated when India used vulnerability to impose its vested geopolitical policies on its small neighbor. It had so far enforced three separate embargoes on Nepal at times when the latter defied its hegemonic attitude and behavior.

Given this bitter past, Nepals trade and transit treaty with China supplies much respite. The BRI brings double happiness to Nepal by offering it access by land and ultimately, by sea.

However, some detractors harbor misgivings about the prospects for the BRI. Misconceptions have arisen largely due to a skin-deep approach to the global initiative based on a win-win strategy.

They claim that the debt Nepal will incur in order to implement BRI projects will create a debt trap from which it will be hard to escape. This faulty assumption is the outcome of incomplete understanding of the BRI that is based on five pillars  policy and planning coordination, infrastructural connectivity, unhindered trade, financial integration and people to people contact.

Unlike usual neo-liberal policies, guided by the framework of a client-donor relationship, the Belt and Road is an open platform whereby its members reveal their genuine concerns and find a negotiated solution for mutual benefits.

For Nepal, the creation of cross-border economic and industrial zones is the best viable means to avoid any possible debt trap.

China has shown readiness to invest in such economic zones to manufacture and trade goods of comparative advantage. The cross-border economic zones will not only enable Nepal to reduce a ballooning trade deficit with China but also unfold sustainable projects with BRI funding.

It is only with such a creative and innovative approach that Nepal can reap benefits from the BRI. So, the idea of "sharing of natural resources," is highly practical in our context. This is popular in African nations where China has made massive investment in infrastructure development and technology transfers in return for natural resources.

Nepal is rich in hydropower, forests and minerals, while China has developed unique experiences in infrastructure building, and has sufficient finance and advanced technology. Thus, Nepal and China should create a mutually beneficial resource exchange mechanism within the BRI framework.

In addition to Nepals lack of financial strength, critics question its capability to carry out broader institutional reforms and implement multi-level and multi-channel cooperation under the BRI.

Dr. Upendra Gautam, general secretary of the China Study Center, argues that Nepal is able to deal with above challenges if it first fixes critical priorities from the BRI.

"If our priorities are a trans-Himalayan railway and cross-border power lines, then Nepal can take a long term integrated perspective of the sustainability factor. As these critical priorities have profound historical, social, psychological and geographical senses, Nepal will have to go for a sustainability perspective that is an economic plus," says Dr. Gautam.

He notes that adopting a cluster development approach along the transport hubs will help optimize benefits from project investment.

Nepal has floated the idea of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) issuing bonds in Nepalese rupees to finance BRI projects; however, Gautam suggests Nepals central bank can itself issue the bonds to create matching funds for BRI projects.

Once the five BRI pillars are set in motion, Nepal will be able to balance development planning, tap into its economic potential and diversify its trade and finance for mutual benefit. It will be better to give momentum to the BRI projects by setting aside the "scarecrow" of a debt trap.

Ritu Raj Subedi is an associate editor of The Rising Nepal.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
A New York Times columnist has been mocked after he described taking a friend with 'only a high school degree' to a Mexican restaurant after she was 'anxious' about his first choice, a gourmet eatery, because of the words on the menu.

David Brooks, 55, was made fun of for his column published on Tuesday titled, 'How We Are Ruining America'.

In his piece, Brooks used his restaurant story as an example of the informal social barrier that directs people away from opportunities enjoyed by upper-middle-class culture.

'Recently I took a friend with only a high school degree to lunch. Insensitively, I led her into a gourmet sandwich shop,' the piece read.

David Brooks, 55, was made fun of for his column published on Tuesday titled, 'How We Are Ruining America'

'Suddenly I saw her face freeze up as she was confronted with sandwiches named "Padrino" and "Pomodoro" and ingredients like soppressata, capicollo and a striata baguette.

'I quickly asked her if she wanted to go somewhere else and she anxiously nodded yes and we ate Mexican.'

The column made Brooks a trending topic on Twitter, with some users mocking the story as condescending.

'This is an utterly insane graf from david brooks's latest column,' Max Read wrote, referencing the above paragraph.

In his piece, Brooks used his restaurant story as an example of the informal social barrier that directs people away from opportunities enjoyed by upper-middle-class culture

'Recently I took a friend with only a high school degree to lunch. Insensitively, I led her into a gourmet sandwich shop,' Brooks wrote, before saying the item names on the menu made his friend nervous

Brooks was mocked on social media throughout the day on Tuesday for the bizarre column

'For any woman who has ever felt overwhelmed or scared by a sandwich menu, david brooks is here for you sweetie. He'll help,' writer Eve Peyser tweeted.

'Me: *takes friend to sandwich shop* Friend: *not sure what to order* Me: Ah, you're too stupid for sandwiches, we'll go somewhere else,' another person said.

'Another great morning for me, David Brooks' friend. Time to dig into my pedestrian Mexican lunch and read his latest column...,' Luke O'Neill added.

Fellow Times columnist Ross Douthat also chimed in, tweeting that he too was intimidated by Italian menus, despite having an elite education.
An Islamic preacher from Egypt told a conference in Melbourne Muslims have a compulsory duty to spread Islam in any nation where they are the minority to prevent sin.

Sheikh Ibrahim Zidan told a hardline Sunni forum it was compulsory for Muslims to engage in dawa, the term for politically promoting Islam.

'When Muslims are minorities, the dawa is either a mandatory thing for everyone or whoever does the work of dawa and it's efficient, then it's not mandatory for the rest,' he told the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah Association's annual conference.

'If it's not done in the most sufficient way, that means that everybody becomes sinful.'

Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi says Muslims are spreading Islam by exploiting political correctness

Somali-born Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali said Muslims in Australia had been able to spread Islam by exploiting 'prevailing politically-correct' attitudes.

'But they're very radical in their thinking. They promote Sharia law,' she told Daily Mail Australia from an undisclosed location in the United States.

'They promote the segregation of men and women.

'They're homophobic. They promote the idea that to leave Islam is to earn the death penalty and in general they promote this idea that Islam is superior to everything and so their followers are made to accept the idea to be hostile to the infidels, to Australian society, to all non-Muslim society.'

Sheikh Ibrahim Zidan told a Sunni group's annual conference it was mandatory to spread Islam

Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali said Muslims were encouraged to isolate themselves from society

Daily Mail Australia has witnessed the segregation of men and women at an ASWJ mosque at Auburn in Sydney's west.

It is upstairs from the Bukhari House Islamic Bookstore which sells books promoting Sharia law and explaining how the death penalty is applied for homosexuality and leaving Islam.

The bookshop is a separate entity to the ASWJ but it shares the same street entrance on Auburn Road.

However, the Sunni group in Sydney's west has hardline preachers who have described as sinful the idea of attending non-Muslim events like the Easter Show and having non-Muslim friends.

The Bukhari House Islamic Bookstore in Sydney sells titles on Muslim Sharia law punishments

Ayaan Hirsi Ali says Muslim activists want to convert more people to Islam

Ms Hirsi Ali said many mosques had manuals explaining how to spread Islam, and ultimately Sharia law, through political and legal means.

'The first thing they want to do is isolate Muslim communities from the rest of society, use the isolated community as a vanguard,' she said.

'They want to convert non-Muslims to Islam and they want to Islamise institutions and some of these demands have been successful that they are governed by a different set of rules.

'The Muslim communities, through immigration and their birth rates, they want to make way more effort to convert more people.'

Official Australian Bureau of Statistics figures from the 2016 Census revealed the Muslim population in Australia soared to more than 604,000 people, overtaking Buddhism as the most popular non-Christian religion.

The number of Muslims living in the country has almost doubled from 341,000 in the the 2006 census, making them 2.6 per cent of the Australian population.
McDonald's is reportedly shunning shopping centres, preferring to open restaurants in airports, train stations and along highways.

The fast food chain, the second biggest in Australia behind Subway, has 960 stores - but only around 10 per cent are in retail precincts.

That's because McDonald's is pulling back its presence at mall food courts, industry insiders told Fairfax Media.

They say McDonald's is concerned by the surge in food outlets creating huge competition for customers.

McDonald's recently introduced new fit-outs at its restaurants in Westfield Bondi Junction (pictured)

Most of the company's revenue comes from drive-thru customers, according to Joshua Bush, a leasing executive at Colliers International.

He says shopping centres want 'sexier looking tenants.'

'Maccas and Hungry Jacks is not seen as healthy or bespoke enough,' he told Fairfax.

The company has introduced new fit-outs at its restaurants in Westfield Bondi Junction and the Vicinity mall in Chadstone, Melbourne, in part because landlords want more upmarket stores.

Joshua Bannister, senior development director at McDonald's Australia, told Daily Mail Australia that the chain is focusing on freestanding restaurants over food courts.

Joshua Bannister, senior development director at McDonald's Australia, said the chain is focusing on freestanding restaurants. Above, the McDonald's at Sydney Airport

However, he said the 25 to 30 new restaurants planned to open in the next 12 months will be spread out across regional and metropolitan areas.

Mr Bannister did not comment on whether the fast food giant is rolling back its presence in shopping centres.

'We're currently investing in our restaurants to deliver out customers an experience that is really modern and relevant,' he said.

'Our development focus continues to be on freestanding restaurants, where customers can get a really great Big Mac or barista made coffee fast through drive-thru or choose to dine in the restaurant.

'However, retail sites continue to be an important part of our future plans and we're looking to bring some of the best elements of our free standing restaurants into this environment (as we have at restaurants like Bondi Junction and Chadstone).'

He added: 'At the end of the day it's about delivering on our customer expectations  and giving them a really good experience when they come into our restaurants.'
China's only aircraft carrier has sailed into Taiwan's territory this morning, the fourth time it has happened in recent months.

Beijing is determined to reassert its control over the island, which China claims as a breakaway province awaiting reunification.

The warship, The Liaoning, entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone early this morning, having departed Hong Kong yesterday.

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The Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone earlier this morning. It is pictured leaving Hong Kong yesterday

The warship sailed in Taiwanese waters on its way back from Hong Kong, and is being monitored by defence officials in Taiwan

It had featured in events marking the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China, having been ruled by Britain for more than 150 years.

Taiwan's defence ministry has claimed the breach was no cause for alarm, but said it was monitoring the situation.

The Soviet-built Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, has sailed near the self-ruling Taiwan four times in recent months during what Beijing describes as routine drills.

Chinese media report that it can carry 36 aircraft, including 24 Shenyang J-15 fighter jets and 12 helicopters.

Earlier this month Taiwan scrambled jets to shadow the carrier as it made its way to Hong Kong.

Earlier this month Taiwan scrambled jets to shadow the carrier as it made its way to Hong Kong

Earlier this week the US was forced to apologise after President Donald Trump mistakenly referred to Chinese president Xi as leader of the 'Republic of China'

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan, which China considers a wayward province, under its control.

The flashpoint comes after the US was forced to admit a gaffe in remarks made by President Donald Trump before a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping.

China said on Monday that the US had apologised after Beijing officially protested a White House statement that mistakenly described Xi as the president of the 'Republic of China'.

Xi is president of the People's Republic of China, while the Republic of China is the official name for Taiwan.

Xi is president of the People's Republic of China, while the Republic of China is the official name for Taiwan

The US President was heavily criticised in China in the early days of his presidency for accepting a call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured)

The error was made in an official readout of US President Trump's remarks before a bilateral meeting with Xi during last weekend's G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

The US President was heavily criticised in China in the early days of his presidency for accepting a call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

He later backed down on abandoning the 'One China' policy, which maintains there is only one China which Taiwan is part of.

Last month, the US administration further provoked the ire of Beijing when it approved $1.3 billion worth of arms sales to the self-ruling island.

America remains Taiwan's most powerful ally, despite having no official relations with capital Taipei for decades.

The warship, The Liaoning, entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone early this morning, having departed Hong Kong yesterday

'The US side has expressed that they are sorry for this technical error and they have made a correction,' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said of the gaffe during a regular press briefing.

Tensions over Taiwan mark yet another drawback for Sino-US relations, which have turned tense as Trump has stepped up pressure on the Asian powerhouse to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme.

In the last month, Washington has angered Beijing by imposing sanctions on a Chinese bank accused of laundering North Korean cash, voicing concern about freedom in semi-autonomous Hong Kong and sailing close to a disputed island in the South China Sea.
Michael Phelps is swimming for his life against a great white shark in what may be one of the most talked about races of his career.

Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White for Shark Week kicks off July 23 on Discovery.

The opening night special which was filmed last month, tests the 23 time Olympic gold medalist, Phelps, against a variety of sharks.

Technically such a race would be difficult, but Phelps explained just how these 'races' were done. 'We were off the tip of Cape Town in South Africa and set up, almost, a lane where I was able to swim in a straight line. We were in open water, but we did not have a shark literally next to me swimming,' he says.

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Phelps readies himself for jumping into the water to race sharks with a specially designed fin

Phelps bursts out of the water in the frightening Shark Week promo

Phelps was particularly nervous to make this dive into the Cape Town, South Africa waters

When it was time for the sharks to take one of the world's fastest swimmers it was calibrated a bit differently.

'The challenge of trying to get a white to swim in a straight line was difficult, because when a white attacks a seal on the surface they come from under the surface to build speed to be able to get that natural breach that we all see from great whites,' Phelps told Yahoo! TV.

'But I think with some of the tests that we were running out there on the boat, we were able to see what they can do.'

'It's a speed burst that they reach up to 25mph, so in a 100-meter race, they might be swimming at 16mph. Don't look at me to try to figure out formulas, but I know we have people that are smart enough to be able to figure the formulas out to then project the speed that they would swim over the course of 100 meters.'

'That's what we were able to do, and it was crazy  just watching them naturally breach and then watching them come down with the amount of force that they have when they are going to see what something is.'

A shark erupts out of the waters in the Shark Week promo for Great Gold vs. Great White

Phelps' journey to race sharks was meticulously recorded by camera crews

Phelps dove with a whale shark in the Maldives after the 2012 Olympics and had diving with great whites on his bucket list explains he wasn't nervous to get in the water in Cape Town because of the sharks.

'We had an abundance of divers underneath of me and camera guys all over the place, so I felt very safe and comfortable,' he says.

Yet, he was still nervous.

'As you see me getting ready for the race in Cape Town, you see focus on my face, and I think that was partially because I was trying to mentally prepare myself for the temperature of the water,' he says.

'The water was very cold. I knew it was going to be cold, but swimming in 55 degree water when normally it's about 80 when I swim in it, that's a significant difference.'

'I would say probably the worst part about it was the cold water.'

What stroke will he swim? Freestyle or his signature, butterfly?

Phelps wont give up on the stroke technique he used in his shark challenge. 'We'll leave that one a secret,' Phelps says. 'I wasn't fully expecting the temperature of the water, so you guys are going to have to tune in to watch.'

Phelps and family may just gather around to watch together as he and his wife Nicole Johnson threw his son Boomer an adorable one-year-old shark themed birthday party.

Seems like little Boomer is a fish to water in the family, getting into the spirit just in time for Shark Week, and dad's debut that will begin and close out the week.

Phelp's may have safely raced sharks, but he isn't the only one with something to celebrate, his adorable son Boomer also got to party with the sharks for his 1st birthday

Boomer's shark attack themed cake was devoured like shark chum

Shark Week closes July 30 with a second special featuring the GOAT, Shark School With Michael Phelps.

Doc Gruber and Tristan Guttridge of the Bimini Shark Lab give him a crash course that Discovery says will dispel misconceptions, get him up close to the power of a great white, and teach him how to safely dive with sharks  including how to stay calm when a hammerhead swims two feet above his face.

So what is the trick for that? Phelps laughs again. 'I think it was about six inches from my face. It was really close to me,' he says.

'I guess it's probably doing more common sense stuff than you think about. It's not freaking out, trying not to flail your arms all over the place. Not splashing into the water and making a gigantic wave, because that's obviously going to attract them to come up and see what's jumping in their environment and try and check it out.  We look at these animals as dangerous animals but they're not; they're out there trying to survive just like we are on land.'
Members of a shadowy group in Nigeria have killed dozens of people and sold their blood for use in black magic rituals.

In Owode Onirin, just outside Lagos, bloody clothes, drums, bibles and hymn books litter the bare floor in the Crystal Church of God.

Three days earlier, four worshippers were killed as they prayed, in the latest murders blamed on a shadowy gang dubbed the Badoo, believed to have killed 30 people since June last year.

So-called 'cult killings' - gang violence often fuelled by drugs and belief in black magic - are not a new phenomenon in Nigeria, which is nearly evenly split between a Muslim north and Christian south.

Crime often spikes during times of economic hardship.

Blood stained clothes of worshippers killed by shadowy gang dubbed the Badoo on the floor of the Crystal Church of God at Owode Onirin, in Lagos

Pictured: A man points to blood stained clothes, drums, bibles and hymn books on the bare floor in Lagos

Pictured: The pulpit is abandoned after shadowy gang dubbed the Badoo killed four worshippers in the Crystal Church of God at Owode Onirin in Lagos

But the murders by the Badoo are making headlines because of their increasing frequency and the manner in which victims are dispatched.

'They must have scaled the fence and hypnotised the victims before carrying out their deadly act,' Israel Ojobaro, an engineer who lives on the church premises, said.

'Two women and two children, including a nine-month-old baby, had their heads smashed with a grinding stone.'

The gang then moved to another church on the same street to steal money and mobile phones.

Pictured: A resident walk past bonfires lit by vigilante to watch over their communities, where shadowy gang dubbed the Badoo killed four worshippers in the Crystal Church of God at Owode Onirin in Lagos

Pictured: Taxi motorcyclists popularly called Okada drive past bonfires lit by vigilante to watch over their communities living in fear of the Badoo gang

'They must have used (magic) charms as no one noticed when they entered the church. By the time the worshippers were awake, their phones and money had been taken away,' said church head Taiwo Adesanya.

Fear and a lack of faith in the police to protect them has prompted residents to watch over their communities. Every night, bonfires are lit on the streets between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am.

Anyone caught on suspicion of being a member of the gang is immediately lynched, locals said.

Police say vigilantes have killed at least 10 suspects in the last month. Innocent people have been targeted.

Pictured: A Bible covered by blood stained clothes lies on the floor in the Lagos church

Pictured: Blood stained clothes on the floor in the church in Lagos

The Badoo saga started last year when a female schoolteacher was raped and killed in the Ibeshe area of Ikorodu, which lies 10 kilometres (six miles) from Lagos across the lagoon as the crow flies.

The woman's skull was smashed with a stone. Before leaving, the gang wrote 'Badoo' on the wall. Since then, there have been similar killings across the town.

Members of the gang are believed to have magical powers which they use to mysteriously appear and disappear during attacks.

'Initially, we thought (the Ibeshe case) was just a case of robbery,' said resident Olubare Ademola.

Pictured: Head of Celestrail Church of Christ Prophet Taiwo Adesanya looks through the window of the church after worshippers were killed

Pictured: People walking out of a church building after shadowy gang dubbed the Badoo killed four worshippers in the Crystal Church of God

'But we began to take them more seriously when we realised they have been using the same style.'

Last month, a man, his 28-year-old wife and two children, were killed in the Odogunyan area of Ikorodu. Other killings have occurred in quick succession.

The gang is said to drain the blood of their victims into a calabash or gourd, then soak it onto a white handkerchief.

'The rumour is that Badoo sells the blood-stained handkerchief to ritualists who use it for money and power charms,' said Babatunde Ogunyemi, a traditional chief in Ibeshe, in the south of Ikorodu.

'Each handkerchief costs 500,000 naira ($1,600, 1,400 euros). This explains why Badoo usually wipe out an entire family in order to make more money.'

Local people in Ibeshe have turned to traditional methods to fight the gang and claim to have driven them from the area after making animal sacrifices to local deities, according to Ogunyemi.

Pictured: Musical drums arranged in a corner beside the blood stained clothes of worshippers

Head of Celestrail Church of Christ at the neighbourhood Prophet Taiwo Adesanya stands in front of a church, where valuables were stolen by a shadowy gang dubbed the Badoo, in Lagos, on July 7, 2017

Despite the prevalence of Islam and Christianity in Nigeria, belief in black magic (juju) remains widespread, particularly outside the main cities.

A joint military operation has been launched to flush out a number of gangs from in and around Ikorodu, where schoolchildren have also been kidnapped.

'We received an intelligence report that some cultists (gang members) were trying to form an umbrella body called '777' and we quickly moved in to abort it,' a senior army officer told AFP on July 7.

As he spoke, soldiers jumped down from a convoy of pick-up trucks and ran towards the Ikorodu creeks in search of suspected Badoo members and other gangs.

'It's going to be a continuous exercise until we are able to make the communities safe and secure,' the officer said.

The police in Lagos state said they had arrested and were interrogating some 200 suspects over the Badoo killings.

'Those with no case to answer will be released,' said police spokesman Olarinde Famous-Cole.

Lagos state governor Akinwunmi Ambode met with traditional rulers in Ikorodu last week and urged them to collaborate with his government to 'arrest this situation as quickly as possible'.
A heartwarming picture taken in the middle of World War II shows a US soldier deployed to Australia holding hands with a joey.

It is part of a set of war-time photographs, including images of newly released prisoners of war, colourised by 26-year-old Wes De Mezieres.

The original black and white photograph was taken by John Earl McNeil in 1942, and was captioned: 'An American Soldier at an Advanced Allied base plays with his pet kangaroo'.

Little is known about the man in the photograph, but the joey appears at ease with his foreign friend, and is seen looking at the camera as he extends a paw towards the man.

A black and white photograph from 1942 shows an American soldier befriending a joey

The image of the unknown man and his 'pet kangaroo' was colourised by Wes de Mezieres

It is not known exactly where the photograph was taken.

Mr De Mezieres told Daily Mail Australia he had only recently started colourising photos as a means of expanding his skill set.

He said he chose war images because they carried a lot of meaning.

'I love war photos and because its a sad time but there are so many beautiful, candid real moments,' he said.

The Brisbane man, who shares his images on Facebook page Photo Fixer, explained one image could take between three and six hours.

'Youre literally painting a human, its not a Snapchat filter,' he said.

This image, taken in 1942, shows a Papua New Guinean local assisting an injured Australian soldier

Mr de Mezieres said it can take between three and six hours to colourise a picture, and described it as 'literally painting a human'

Other images show more confronting scenes from World War II.

An injured Australian soldier is seen wearing a bandage over his head, which covers one eye, and using a stick as a walking device while he is led by a Papua New Guinean man.

Another shows five newly released Australian prisoners of war enjoying tea and cigarettes as they crowd around a newspaper.

The men are emaciated, with their ribs clearly visible under their skin.

These images are in stark contrast to the photograph of the US solider. While they all have positive outcomes - the injured soldier is helped, the prisoners of war are freed - they show the darker side of war.

In Singapore, five emaciated men are seen chatting over tea and cigarettes after being released from Japanese captivity in 1945

Mr de Mezieres says he enjoys working on wartime photographs because it's a sad time, but littered with 'beautiful, candid moments'

Between 1941 and 1943, the Australian War Memorial reports 150,000 Americans had entered Australia, with most living in Queensland near Brisbane, Rockhampton and Townsville.

Naval forces also anchored in Sydney and Perth, and a base was set up in 1942 in Melbourne.

The native Australian animal was a sweet distraction for Australian soldiers in the midst of war, and the marsupials were often smuggled to foreign lands as a mascot.

Many kangaroos made their way alongside the soldiers to Europe and Malaysia during WWII.

One was taken to Malaysia in a box labelled 'medical supplies', reported National Geographic.

It was not a new practice, with old photographs showing kangaroos outside the pyramids in Egypt.

Peter Stanley, who worked as the principal historian at the Australian War Memorial, says the practice dated back even further, to the 1800s.

'We've got photographs from the Boer War [South Africa, 18991902] showing soldiers with a kangaroo,' he said.

A kangaroo mascot of the Siege Brigade is seen wearing a service dress jacket with a badge from the brigade on its collar. The kangaroo was taken to England and then France during WWII
Queensland Police are appealing for help finding a missing 12-year-old boy.

The boy has been missing since Sunday evening and was last seen in the Brisbane suburb of Zillmere.

He was last seen on Kolberg Street at 5pm and his family hold concerns for his safety because of his young age.

Queensland Police are appealing for help finding a missing 12-year-old boy

The boy is described as being around 160cm tall and being of Caucasian appearance.

He has blond hair, brown eyes and is of regular build.

The boy was last seen wearing a light blue shirt with dark writing, green shorts and dark blue Nike running shoes.

Anyone with information is being urged to contact Queensland Police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Police are searching for a woman who disappeared after leaving her home over the weekend.

Catherine Denvir, 45, left her home in Cootlesloe, WA, on Sunday and was last seen at a Caltex service station in Wellstead at 11am on Monday.

She is believed to be driving a white BMW sedan, registration 1CLE367.

Catherine Denvir (pictured) was last seen at a service station in Wellstead on Monday

Ms Denvir may be travelling to the Mt. Barker and Great Southern area, WA Police said.

She is described as fair skinned, approximately 172cms tall, with a slim build, long brown hair and blue eyes.

Police said there are concerns for her safety and welfare and she has not been in touch with her family, which is out of character.

Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts, or who has seen the vehicle, is urged to contact police on 131 444 immediately.
Eric Williams Photography

The upcoming Oct. 3 municipal ballot just got a little more complicated. Stuck between a citizen-driven, court mandated ballot initiativeproducers and workers if you willand some pissed off business owners representatives of the class that controls the means of productionAlbuquerque City Councilors approved a second sick leave question to appear on the crowded Oct. 3 municipal ballot. The additional ballot question will now ask voters if the City Council should work on drafting an alternative, transparent, wise and workable sick leave policy that would be adopted and in place no later than January 1, 2019.

What Happened?

A couple weeks ago Mayor Richard Berry vetoed an election resolution because of the ballot wording for the summary of the Albuquerque Healthy Workforce Ordinance, the latest in a series of setbacks for the legislation.

If approved the ordinance would require businesses with a physical presence in the city to provide paid sick leave for full-time, part-time and temporary workers. In April, a handful of local businesses filed a lawsuit against the city. These businesses argued against the measure appearing on the Oct. 3 ballot due to what they say is logrollingsupposedly a form of voter fraudalleging that the proposed law bundles different issues into one measure. A district judge ruled in favor of the measure, ruling that it will be placed on the ballot but the entire 7-page ordinance must also be on the ballot. The judge did not address having a summary of the lengthy legislation on the ballot as well.

Back Up

In addition to adding the second sick leave question, Councilors also reversed a prior amendment requiring a paper copy of the ordinance in each voting booth and for the summary of the Healthy Workforce Ordinance to be on the ballot in regular type size even if the text of the 7-page ordinance is in smaller type. Opponents of the Healthy Workforce Ordinance say the summary does not include all the provisions of the full ordinance and people may only read the summary and not the entire text. Proponents say voters are smarter than that. This means the entire 7-page question will be on the ballot, without a separate summary, in whatever size type the city clerk deems is necessary.

Hear Us

Several dozen folks turned out to the special meeting to mostly speak out against the Healthy Workforce Ordinance ballot initiative. Many wanted the question off the ballot altogether. Councilor Trudy Jones explained that the Council has no power to remove the Healthy Workforce Ordinance from the ballot because it is a citizen-driven question. They can however place voter questions of their own on the ballot.

Andrea Serrano from Ole New Mexico, a non-profit working on the passage of the Healthy Workforce Ordinance said, It is a bit insulting to insinuate that voters dont know what they are voting for and dont do research. Lets get away from this us versus them mentality and focus on the 107,000 workers in Albuquerque who dont have sick leave.

Several business organizations such as the Hispano Chamber of Commerce, Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, a roofing contractors association and many others said this measure will cause them undue hardship because of increased recordkeeping and costs, will kill jobs and drive businesses out of state. One business owner simply stated: No one is going to regulate me, we got enough regulations.

There were a handful of businesses speaking out to support the Healthy Workforce measure. The owner of Nexus Brewery said he already has paid sick leave for all of his employees. He said it is misinformation that this measure is not good for businesses. He said paid sick leave for all is good for his employees, his customers and good for his business.

The Mayors Whim

The amended election resolution now goes back to the mayor for his signature before the city clerk can work on designing the official ballot. The City Council could not override his veto because that can only be done during a regular meeting. The Council does not have any regular meetings scheduled in July, and therefore had to call a special meeting to amend the election resolution. The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting falls on the first Monday of August.
A protest banner in Hamburg: G20 Members: Respect the Rule of Law! [People.cn]

The G20 ended, as it began, with a whimper. Other than thousands of protesters burning and looting for three whole nights in Hamburg, showing how impotent German police have become, there wasnt much headway made at the summit itself -- at least nothing of immediate impact.

I have previously noted how patterns are emerging in world affairs along distinct ideological lines. Some of these were solidified in this particular G20. And, in hindsight, perhaps that will be how this summit will be remembered, as the defining moment when specific patterns of international relations emerged.

To start with, the U.K. and China seem to be forming a partnership for the future, based on economic principles, and its in both British and Chinese interests to ensure this is not hampered by geopolitics.

Post-Brexit, as separation talks continue with the EU, Britain is desperately looking for new economic partners, and a free trade deal with the U.S. seems only a matter of time, given the obvious personal chemistry between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May.

Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping revealed Chinas decision to invest billions to show its continued confidence and optimism in a post-Brexit Britain. He also maintained that its imperative that a good deal needs to be there between the EU and the U.K. to help smooth global economic jitters.

Important questions facing British officials concerned alleged dumping of steel as well as concerns over Hong Kongs future. However, British diplomats understood the hints being dropped, and didnt press the point. In regard to Hong Kong, the British side accepts that its an issue essentially within Chinese sovereignty, and not much can be said or done, nor should be, given the need for Chinese investment in Britain.

The Chinese side also made clear that the core interests and major concerns of each country must be respected, and shouldnt be interfered with. This is important as China is high on the list of British free trade deals post-Brexit, and cooperation in sectors like research, education, finance and energy is also steadily emerging.

While the massive investment planned in 2016 for start-ups havent panned out yet, perhaps due to Brexit uncertainties, it is still a project-in-process.

The second most important thing is the lament of Liberal internationalists both within and outside America regarding perceptions that the U.S. is no longer "leader of the international community."

During the Cold War, America was termed "leader of the free world," symbolizing the "Iron Curtain," an artificial border imposed by ideological differences between Soviet Eastern European and the rest of the European continent.

Those days are obviously long gone; hence, media now usually calls the U.S. leader of the international community. Unfortunately, since Trumps election, a few dynamics have changed, and it is China and Germany that seem to be leading on an array of free trade and climate issues.

That is not going down well with a certain section of ideologues, who insist on continued American hegemony.

That is understandable. Post-1991, a couple of generations have grown under a unipolar, stable form of international governance. It is a mystery why that was considered as marking the end of change in human history, but it was, nonetheless.

Such people have never understood what multi-polarity is all about and how it creates a need for compromise in international affairs, and are now riled that big powers have emerged to assume leadership in some areas.

Unfortunately, this will persist. However, if the international systems history is a teacher, powers dont always remain the same, poles change and hegemons rise and fall. It seems to resemble the end days of the British Empire, when this debate was also fought over within the British bureaucracy.

Post-1945, British diplomats were divided on whether they should accommodate the United States, given their diminished status in world affairs, or should continue acting as a global power. Ultimately after the 1956 Suez crisis, that question was resolved, when Britain finally accepted the imperial days were over, especially as it couldnt afford for economic and military reasons to continue behaving as before, and, anyway, the British people wanted a significantly diminished role in world affairs.

A similar dilemma now faces American policymakers. The American people want a diminished role, as well as less foreign adventures. Added to that is the emergence of other powers with commensurate interests. It is in American interests to actually accommodate other powers and follow a "Concert of Europe" model. Ideologues should give way to Realists.

Sumantra Maitra is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SumantraMaitra.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Human bones and a backpack with foreign currency was discovered by two horrified bushwalkers - and police believe the remains have been there for years.

Tasmania Police said they are investigating after the skeletal remains were found in an area of remote bushland in the Huon Valley on Sunday.

Two men from Hobart stumbled across them while bushwalking around 10 kilometres from the Tahune Airwalk.

Human bones (pictured) and a backpack with foreign currency was discovered by two horrified bushwalkers on Sunday

The remains appear to have been there for a number of years and the identity of the deceased is not yet known, police said.

They added that items located near the remains indicate the person may have been bushwalking at the time of their death, but was not prepared for an overnight journey.

A backpack was also located, containing a quantity of Swiss Francs and Hong Kong Dollars with receipts showing the currency was exchanged in Zurich, Switzerland, on December 21, 2010.

Investigations are ongoing, including the possibility the deceased was reported as a missing person interstate or overseas.

A report will be prepared for the Coroner.
Footage has emerged showing two white police officers struggling to explain why they pulled over Florida's only black state attorney.

Video posted online by the Orlando Police Department shows two officers approaching the car of State Attorney Aramis Ayala after the pulled her over on June 19 about 8.15pm.

One officer was seen standing at the passenger side window, as the other cop  whose bodycamera was recording  approaching the other side.

When he reached the window, Ayala is seen in the clip grabbing her license from her wallet and handing it to the cop.

Video has emerged of two officers struggling to explain why they pulled over Florida's only black state attorney, Aramis Ayala (pictured)

She then informed the cop she was the state attorney, which led to the officer attempting to explain why she had been stopped.

'Thank you, your tag didn't come back, never seen that before, but we're good now. We ran the tag, I've never seen it before with a Florida tag, it didn't come back to anything, so that's the reason for the stop.'

Ayala then asked, 'what was the tag run for?' which led to further attempts at explanation from the officer.

Footage was posted online by the Orlando Police Department and it shows Ayala in her car

The state attorney handed one of the officers her license, leading to an awkward exchange between then

Ayala appeared to be getting annoyed with the cops during the stop, which took place on the night of June 19

'Oh we run tags through all the time, whether it's a traffic light and that sort stuff, that's how we figure out if cars are stolen and that sort of thing,' he said, as the attorney could be seen getting noticeably annoyed in her seat.

'Also, the windows are really dark, I don't have a tint measure but that's another reason for the stop.'

Ayala then asks for the officers' names, saying: 'Do you guys have cards on you?'

'One second actually, this isn't my car but I can write my name down,' the cop said, before grabbing a notepad from his pocket.

He then writes his name down, as well as his partner's, before ripping the page from his book and handing it to Ayala.

'There you are, have a good day,' he is heard saying, as the attorney drives away.'
The lawyer representing victims of the 2014 downing of flight MH17 has written a powerful open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Jerome Skinner demanded a response from Mr Putin regarding the identities of those responsible for the crash and an explanation for Russian military presence in the letter, which was published in the Sydney Morning Herald.

He noted there were 80 children on board the doomed flight, and called their deaths 'evil'.

All 298 people on board doomed flight MH17 were killed, including 38 Australian residents and citizens. Pictured are Perth children Evie, 10, Mo, 12, and Otis, eight, who died on the flight

Pictured: The belongings of passengers on doomed flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine on July 17, 2014

Aviation lawyer Jerry Skinner penned a heartfelt letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, demanding he take some responsibility for the attack

'Do you really think that you have no responsibility to the families of the 80 children on board? What about all the others,' he wrote.

The flight, which was shot out of the sky on July 17 2014, by what is believed to be a BUK missile, killed 298 people.

Mr Skinner pointed out that 80 of those killed were 'innocent children'.

'Did you see the dolls, colouring books and toys among the blood and carnage,' he asked Mr Putin in his letter.

'Did you see the photo of the hardened rebel fighter holding the soiled teddy bear like a prize from a carnival?

'Did you feel the presence of evil when you saw these things? I did.'

Of the 298 killed on the flight, 80 were children, and their toys crashed to the ground with the rest of the plane

Mr Skinner said he felt the presence of 'evil' when he saw toys belonging to the passengers scattered around the scene (pictured: toys are left in memorial of the children who were killed)

Perth couple Anthony and Marite Maslin's children Mo, 12, Evie, 10, and Otis, eight, were among the 38 Australians who died when the Boeing 777 was downed over eastern Ukraine.

Their grandfather Nick Norris was also killed in the attack.

The family had been seeking damages from Malaysia Airlines for shock, which had left them with depressive and psychiatric illnesses and said they heard about the flight being shot down from news reports and people not associated with the airline.

They received a confidential settlement from the airline and withdrew the suit.

Parents of an Australian victim of the crash left a teddy bear and flowers at the scene of some wreckage

Anthony and Marite Maslin, who lost their three children (pictured) in the attack, discovered their children had died from television news, not authorities

Last week, Dutch officials announced the trials of any suspects arrested in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over war-torn eastern Ukraine will be held in the Netherlands.

A joint international investigation has determined that the Boeing 777 jet was hit by a Russian-made BUK missile fired from rebel-held territory, but a separate criminal probe has yet to arrest any suspects.

Now the countries leading the joint investigation team (JIT) - Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine - have agreed that any trials will be carried out within the Dutch legal system.

The countries 'decided that the suspects should be prosecuted in the Netherlands, a process that will be rooted in ongoing international cooperation and support,' Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said in a statement.

'This cooperation is vital, given the complexity of this case,' he added, noting that eastern Ukraine was a conflict zone, 'the scene of heavy fighting which is still difficult to access.'
The medical director of the American Red Cross killed his infant son, his girlfriend and their pet dog police in Nevada say.

The bodies of Dr. John Lunetta, 40, his girlfriend Karen Jackson, 35, and their son John Jr. who would have turned one-year-old Wednesday, and the family's dog were discovered Monday night in their Las Vegas home.

Police say they were called recently to the home over a custodial argument, but not a physical one. Lunetta owned a gun legally. They say he fatally killed his family before turning a gun on himself.

He worked as the medical director for the Nevada region with a focus on their blood services.

A family shattered. Left to right, their son John. Jr. mom Karen Jackson, and dad Dr. John Lunetta, their bodies were found Monday- police are calling it a murder suicide by Lunetta

Dr. John Lunetta holding his son, John Jr. who would have turned one-year-old Wednesday

Although neighbors said they could never imagine the tragedy that unfolded, some said that Lunetta was controlling and the couple argued frequently. Pictured: Jackson showing off her fitness progress to her Instagram followers

Relatives called police about 7.40pm Monday requesting a welfare check.

Neighbors said Lunetta had a reputation for having had many women over to the house before Jackson moved in about a year and a half ago.

They never saw the couple fight or argue and they never believed he was capable of murder according to News 3 Las Vegas.

However rumors had emerged that Lunetta was controlling and the couple argued a lot, said some neighbors.

They also saw a moving truck in front of the home over the weekend and wondered whether Jackson was leaving.

Las Vegas police reported they were called recently to the home that Lunetta and Jackson (pictured) shared over a custodial argument, but not a physical one

Tragic: Dr. John Lunetta holding son John Jr. (left), Karen Jackson holding son John Jr. (right)

Fit mom: Jackson (left) did Crossfit training and spent her spare time between classes at the gym. The mother often uploaded photos to her social media of her training progress

Jackson had just passed a certification test to become a family nurse practitioner.

He had a fellowship at Indiana University School of Medicine in blood banking and transfusions and received a medical degree from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences.

He studied genetics at Washington University in St. Louis and in Alaska.

Her SUV, still parked backward in front of the home, has a stack of nursing textbooks in the back seat next to a babys car seat.

Before she died, Jackson had passed a certification test to become a family nurse practitioner

Dr. Lunetta happily playing with son John Jr., Jr. would have turned one-year-old Wednesday

Neighbors said they never saw the woman between her job and her nursing classes according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Jackson was an Air Force veteran, neighbors said.

Police have said the womans 10-year-old daughter from a previous relationship was not home when her family was killed and is now with other family members.

Officers say the bodies may have been inside the home for a day.

The normally quiet neighborhood was flooded with cops on Monday who came upon the gruesome discovery

A picturesque home. A quiet neighborhood left shattered by the news Dr. Lunetta had killed his family and their family dog before turning the gun on himself in their home (pictured)

A makeshift memorial sat outside the Las Vegas, Nevada residence Tuesday
The mother of the murdered two-year-old whose body washed up on a Boston beach in 2015 has been sentenced to time served and parole for her part in the girl's death.

Rachelle Bond, 41, previously told the court that her boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, had killed baby Bella then threatened her until she helped dispose of the body.

The child was known as 'Baby Doe' early on in police investigations, as they sought to identify the child using a digital mock-up.

Bond admitted being an accessory after the fact as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, and was sentenced on Wednesday. She is expected to be released on Friday.

Rachelle Bond (right) was sentenced to two years time served plus parole for helping her ex-boyfriend dispose of the body of her daughter after he killed the two-year-old in 2015

Bella Bond (left) was beaten to death. After her body washed up in a trash bag on a Boston beach, police put together a computer image (right) to try to identify her. It went viral online

The mother was seen smiling in court as the sentence - commanding her to go to a residential substance abuse treatment facility for heroin addiction - was passed.

She has spent the last two years in jail for her part in her daughter's killing, which saw the child going unidentified for weeks.

Last month Bond's ex-boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in Bella's killing.

As part of her plea agreement, Bond testified against McCarthy at his trial, telling jurors she walked into a bedroom and saw the heroin addict punching her daughter hard in the abdomen.

She said she did not report her daughter's death to police because McCarthy threatened to kill her.

Bond admitted being an accessory after the fact in a plea deal for testifying against ex Michael McCarthy (pictured). He was sentenced to life in prison for the child's murder last month

Bella Bond's remains were found in a plastic bag that washed up on Deer Island in Boston Harbor in June 2015.

As authorities scrambled to identify her, she was dubbed Baby Doe.

A computer-generated image of the brown-eyed, chubby-cheeked girl was shared by millions on social media as police worked to solve the mystery of who she was.

Three months later, both Bond and McCarthy were arrested after Bond told a friend that McCarthy had killed her daughter.

McCarthy's lawyer spent days aggressively cross-examining Bond and told the jury she was the real killer.

But a friend testified that McCarthy would lock the girl in a closet to discipline the tiny girl.

He said McCarthy had been obsessed with the occult for years.

Bond will be released on Friday, where she will be taken to a drug rehabilitation center to overcome her addiction to heroin

Bond testified that on the night Bella died, she walked into the girl's bedroom and saw McCarthy leaning over her and punching her.

She said she saw McCarthy punch her in the abdomen so hard she bounced off the mattress.

'He said it was her time to die, she was a demon,' Bond said.

After Bond was sentenced, Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley defended the plea agreement, saying he would not have been able to prosecute McCarthy without making a deal with Bond.

Conley said there's no evidence Bond played a direct role in her daughter's death.

Bond's attorney, Janice Bassil, said Bond, a recovering heroin user, will head directly from jail to a drug rehabilitation facility.

'She has nothing,' Bassil said.
Media commentator Prue MacSween has joked she would have run over controversial Muslim youth activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied in vile remarks on live radio.

The public relations boss mocked the 26-year-old former ABC presenter for saying she was leaving for London because she felt betrayed by Australia.

'She said she's betrayed by Australia and she didn't feel safe in her own country,' Ms MacSween told Sydney radio 2GB.

'She might have been right there because if I had seen her, I would have been attempted to run her over, mate.'

Media commentator Prue MacSween told radio 2GB in Sydney she would have been attempted to run over Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Ms Abdel-Magied, a Sudanese-born former oil rig engineer, accused Australia of stripping her of her right to free speech.

This is despite the fact she was the host of an ABC program Australia Wide, has appeared as a guest on Q&A and last year went on an $11,000 taxpayer-funded tour of the Middle East.

'I feel a little bit betrayed by Australia, because it's my country and these are my country people and it's my home,' Ms Abdel-Magied told Buzzfeed UK.

'And to sort of fight for your right to exist in your home country, it's exhausting.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied was mocked for suggesting she was the 'most hated Muslim'

'Where do you go that's safe if not your home?'

Ms MacSween told 2GB radio host Chris Smith's weekly Deplorables segment it was unwise for Ms Abdel-Magied to suggest she was 'the most publicly hated Muslim'.

'She shouldn't flatter herself. What about all those Muslim terrorists parked in our jails?,' she said.

'We don't even give this flea a second thought since she slinked away from this country. She's quite irrelevant but she's dangerous.'

Ms MacSween was unrepentant afterwards, telling her critics on Twitter to 'get a life'.

Sydney radio presenter Chris Smith laughed at Prue MacSween's Yassmin Abdel-Magied joke but then issued an apology

Prue MacSween told her critics to 'get a life' after her Yassmin Abdel-Magied comments

'To all you festering, humourless Twitter ferals. Go tell someone who cares,' she said.

'Last time I looked this was a country of free speech.'

However, Chris Smith apologised to his listeners after the interview.

'I had a couple of emails after Prue's segment, indicating they were upset with what Prue MacSween said about ever coming across Yassmin Abdel-Magied,' he said.

'I laughed over the top of it at the time so I didn't hear exactly what she said.

'Suffice to say, it was meant in a light-hearted, non-literal fashion and we're hardly ever going to encourage people to run someone over.

'She was making the point through a light-hearted, embellishment of what she thought.

'However, it's upset people, we apologise that's not what I would intend for her.'

Yassmin Abdel-Magied says she feels betrayed by Australia and is 'exhausted' after a series of highly-publicised controversies

The 26-year-old said she felt stripped of her right to free speech in her home country. She recently announced she would be moving to London

Ms Abdel-Magied has spoken of her fiery discussion about Sharia law with Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie on Q&A earlier this year, when she claimed that Islam is the 'most feminist religion'.

'I had toed the line for 10 years in the public eye and for some reason I decided that at that point that if I didn't say anything, who would?' she said.

'If me as a young brown Muslim woman sitting there next to the politician, wasn't going to say to the politician, ''hey, check yourself,'' who was going to do it on my behalf?'

The polarising figure said she felt the Australian public was only accepting of those who 'toe the line'

Ms Abdel-Magied added: 'Freedom of speech doesn't really apply to the truth. For me that was my truth, but I wasn't really allowed to say it and people were very upset, so it's taught me a lot.'

Meanwhile, the former ABC presenter revealed last week she was 'deeply and personally' affected by the Anzac Day post controversy.

She sparked uproar in April with a Facebook message which read: 'Lest we forget (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine).'

It triggered a social media firestorm, with her comments widely condemned as 'disrespectful' and 'despicable'.

The former ABC presenter revealed last week she was 'deeply and personally' affected by the Anzac Day post controversy

'Given that I am now the most publicly hated Muslim in Australia, people have been asking me how I am,' Ms Abdel-Magied wrote for The Guardian last week.

'What do I say? That life has been great and I can't wait to start my new adventure in London? ... Or do I tell them that it's been thoroughly rubbish?

'That it is humiliating to have almost 90,000 twisted words written about me in the three months since Anzac Day, words that are largely laced with hate.'

She quickly deleted her Anzac Day post and said: 'It was brought to my attention that my last post was disrespectful, and for that, I apologise unreservedly.'

She sparked uproar in April with a Facebook message which read: 'Lest we forget (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine)'

Ms Abdel-Magied announced on Monday she was moving to London. The announcement divided users on social media

Ms Abdel-Magied announced on Monday she was leaving Australia and moving to London as part of the 'Aussie rite of passage'.

The announcement divided users on social media, with one man unable to hide his delight at her decision.

'Best news of 2017! Be sure to insult the Queen and the royal family whilst you're there as well,' he said.

But one woman was more supportive: 'Good on you, Yassmin. Go where the work and inspiration takes you,' she said.
Amber Harrison, the former mistress to the CEO of the Seven Network, has told a court having to pay the media giant's court costs will 'drive her into bankruptcy'.

Ms Harrison told the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday she is a foster mother and would never have the resources to pay for 'punitive and pointless costs'.

She pleaded with the judge to allow her to 'walk away' without the legal bill for the Tim Worner saga - which could stretch into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

'I am a foster parent. If I have costs awarded against me it will affect my future ability to support my family,' she said.

PICTURED: Amber Harrison, who lives in Melbourne, told a Sydney court if she had to pay Seven court costs it would 'drive her into bankruptcy'

Ms Harrison leaked lurid messages and emails from Seven West CEO Tim Worner

Ms Harrison said she chose to take 'another course of action to tell my story' after being financially exhausted by Seven by two years of 'lawfare'.

'I should not be punished by the court system for taking a stand,' Ms Harrison told the court over the phone.

But it was a long battle for Ms Harrison to read out her submission to the court.

Seven successfully blocked '90 per cent' of what she planned to say on Tuesday because it contained inadmissible details of confidential negotiations.

The court heard Seven had further issues with her statement on Wednesday, and she had revise it again.

Ms Harrison asked the court to dismiss her claim, grant Seven their permanent injunction but dismiss their claim for costs and order a 'walk away'.

She said: 'Seven's pockets for litigation run deep and their appetite for it is endless. Seven are getting everything they want in this process.'

'They are getting their injunction, their trial win and the orders they seek.'

Ms Harrison told the court she was a foster mother and a costs order would affect her family

Replying to the former executive assistant and lover of CEO Tim Worner's submissio., Seven's barrister, Dr Andrew Bell SC, told Justice John Sackar Ms Harrison had made a 'colourful' submission.

But he said it was 'unsupported by evidence and built on a series of false, wrong or misconceived statements.' He counted at least 12.

'What your honour has not heard is any justification for the multiple breaches of contract,' Dr Bell said.

He told the court Ms Harrison 'received over $400,000 from Channel Seven in return for the promises she breached'.

Ms Harrison twice interrupted Dr Bell while he was speaking.

The Seven Network said her claims were 'unsupported by evidence and built on a series of false, wrong or misconceived statements'

'Is it my turn?' she blared through the phone on one occasion.

The judge replied: 'No, Ms Harrison'.

There were also gasps in the courtroom when she described Dr Bell as 'very creative'.

Justice Sackar said he would deliver a judgment on costs either on Friday or next Monday.
A young autistic boy allegedly began self harming after he was repeatedly sent to 'time-out' by his teachers, who also proposed weeding grass and sweeping paths would help with his disability.

Gabriel Eyre has high-functioning autism, but with the aid of his dedicated parents and kindergarten, could read and write and was excited about going off to school.

But despite making some significant progress, the six-year-old suddenly took a turn for the worse when he was limited to four hour days and regularly sent out of class.

The primary school, an hour south-east of Melbourne, is now facing a Human Rights Commission complaint over the treatment of their now ex-student.

Autistic child Gabriel Eyre, 6, was repeatedly sent to 'time out' by teachers at his former school

Mirinda Eyre said she was left 'heartbroken' at the lack of help and understanding for her son, with the mother-of-two telling Daily Mail Australia they are taking the fight to the HRC to ensure 'no one else ever goes through this'.

Ms Eyre said that after Gabriel was diagnosed at age two, she and husband Ross had ensured that he would have early intervention help from an aid when at preschool.

But as their precious young boy prepared to begin primary school, they were told after scoring too highly on a speech assessment he did not qualify for an aid.

'We found out after swapping schools that they didn't even apply for an aid,' Ms Eyre told Daily Mail Australia.

'At his new school they are funding his aid via parent funding, trying to undo the damage and teach him that's not what teaching is.'

The damage that Ms Eyre is referring to, is the treatment she alleges he was subject to while at his first primary school.

Gabriel's mother Mindira claims her son became selectively mute, regressed two years on his school set and began self-harming as a result of his alleged treatment at the school

According to Ms Eyre, problems first arose when the length of his school days were reduced to as little as two hours, after the school claimed Gabriel 'wasn't coping'.

But what she didn't realise was that when he was at school, he was being kicked out of class and into 'time out' - actions the school claimed were helping him, but which proved to be much to his detriment.

'He now thinks he's naughty and we're trying to teach him that's not right,' Ms Eyre said.

'Gabriel became selectively mute because of what was going on, he regressed two years on his school set.

'He was wetting the bed, self harming, he was just traumatised, but the school would not listen.

'He was skilled at maths, but he won't do that. Now he can't speak. He can't write. He can't read  he had a love of reading, he was absolutely obsessed with Dr Seuss.'

But after finding out what was happening at school, the ultimate insult came when the school asked if Gabriel could sweep paths and pull weeds, in a hands on form of push-pull occupational therapy.

According to Ms Eyre, problems first arose when the length of his school days were reduced to two hours (Gabriel is pictured centre with mother Mirinda, left, and father Ross, right)

Ms Eyre said she believed the system was 'broken' and her and her husband's choice to complain to the Australian HRC was simply based on them wanting to help others.

'The emotional side of it is heartbreaking for us - it's beyond frustrating. We all want our kids to go to school with everyone else but he's never going to have that,' Ms Eyre said.

'We can't change his first experience of school and education we can only try to help others and him to move forward, to show not all the world will treat you this way.'

Ms Eyre said the issues that confronted Gabriel at the school were in stark contrast to the experience of their oldest son, who completed his primary schooling there.

She said her young son's treatment had also taken a toll on their oldest child, who is also autistic and who had planned to become a teacher after completing Year 12.

In a statement, the Victorian Department of Education and Training said they could not directly comment on the matter but confirmed they are investigating it.

'All allegations of discrimination are taken very seriously and we are investigating the matter,' the statement read.

'It is not appropriate that the Department comment on matters relating to individual students for privacy reasons or on matters that are under consideration by the Australian Human Rights Commission.'

While she hopes the Human Rights complaint will ensure her son has an aid next to him for the rest of his primary school life, Gabriel's well-being is Ms Eyre's priority.

'He was a beautiful, lovely, happy little boy who was just in love with life, but he's lost that spark,' she said.

'He doesn't trust the world anymore  he's six years old and he should still have that innocence. For him to think he has no place in the world is overwhelming.'
CIA Director Mike Pompeo has stated Russia 'clearly' meddled in the election last year.

Pompeo, who was appointed to serve as Trump's head of the CIA in January this year, made the comment during an Intelligence and National Security Alliance dinner on Tuesday night.

However, despite the admission, Pompeo made a point to state he believes Russia has done so for a long time and interference was not unique to the Trump campaign, CBS News reports.

'They've been at this a hell of a long time,' the former congressman from Kansas said at the event.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo has stated Russia 'clearly' meddled in the election last year

The 53-year-old made the remarks as the Trump administration was caught in yet another Russia controversy, this time Donald Jr's meeting with a Moscow-linked lawyer.

Trump Jr published emails detailing his conversations ahead of a meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya, in which he was seen discussing his desire to get 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton - despite being told the information potentially on offer to him from the attorney came from the Russian government.

Don Jr admitted he 'would have done things differently' during an interview with pro-Trump Fox News host, Sean Hannity.

Pompeo was a controversial choice to lead the CIA, with Democrats protesting against the confirmation.

The 53-year-old has previously defended waterboarding and other 'enhanced interrogation techniques' by declaring they are 'within the law', while he also was a vocal opponent of President Barack Obama's attempts to close the Guantanamo Bay prison.

'They've been at this a hell of a long time,' told those in attendance at an intelligence agency dinner on Tuesday
International Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali is urging the New South Wales government to reconsider allowing Muslim imams inside Australia's first special jail for terrorists.

Corrective Services NSW has confirmed Muslim imams are likely to be allowed inside the new wing of the Supermax jail when the new $47 million complex opens.

However, Ms Hirsi Ali said this would be a mistake and could turn already radicalised inmates into a maximum security militia nightmare at Supermax II.

'Individuals who are going to these prisons are already sufficiently radicalised but sending imams there with them makes matters worse,' she told Daily Mail Australia from a secret location in the United States.

'You turn them from just being prisoners who committed terrorist acts to militias that can train and remain inspired in these prisons.'

The Somali-born writer and former Dutch lawmaker, who requires 24-hour bodyguards for speaking out about Islam, supported the NSW government's plan for a separate wing for convicted terrorists.

But she said the new prison should be about making them renounce their extreme Islamist views.

'They've had enough religion really and if you're going to put them in a prison aside from everyone else, they should be taught... about other ideas and how awful their set of ideas are, whether they listen or not,' she said.

'But not to reward them by giving them imams that further radicalise them and reinforce the terrible ideas that they already have in their heads.'

A NSW Corrections spokeswoman said it was 'committed to supporting the practice of peaceful, mainstream Islam'.

The NSW government is building a new wing for terrorists at the Supermax jail in Goulburn

Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali has called on the NSW government to ban Muslim imams from jails

She added the new 'high-risk management correctional centre' for terrorists was likely to have the same Muslim imams as the existing Supermax prison at Goulburn, in the state's south.

'The same chaplaincy arrangements for HRMCC will apply at the new unit,' the spokeswoman said.

Supermax II will be Australia's first terrorist jail designed with soundproofing, audio and closed-circuit TV upgrades to help monitor visitors and prisoners to stop extremists influencing other inmates.

The plans were included in the Budget and also include boosting the number of prisoners in Supermax from 45 to 75 inmates, and offering a new deradicalisation program.

The new Supermax could house Khaled Cheikho, who was convicted over a major terror plot

Mohammed Omar Jamal is another convicted terror plotter who could be put in Supermax II

The NSW prisons system employs more than 40 full-time and part-time chaplains, along with religious instruction volunteers, but Ms Hirsi Ali says Muslim imams should be removed from all jails.

Supermax II is likely to house terror plot prisoners by the likes of Mohamed Ali Elomar, Abdul Rhakib Hasan, Khaled Cheikho, Moustafa Cheikho and Mohammed Omar Jamal.

They are among the 30 Muslim prisoners now locked up in the existing Supermax with the state's worst criminals, including serial backpacker killer Ivan Milat.

They were found guilty by a jury in 2009 of being part of a terror plot cell in Sydney and Melbourne four years earlier, which had planned an attack on Australian soil.

The men were arrested as part of Australia's biggest ever counter-terrorism operation.
 Flash

Ukraine's plans to tighten border crossing on Russian citizens is an attempt to set up a "new Berlin Wall", Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

"Kiev continues to persistently bend the vicious line towards severing contacts between millions of citizens of the two countries," the ministry's Information and Press Department said in a statement published on the website.

Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council on Monday proposed to introduce biometric passports for foreign citizens crossing its border, which would supposedly affect Russian citizens primarily.

In the statement, the Russian ministry accused Ukraine of intending to build a new "iron curtain" just to prevent normal human and related communication between the two countries.

"Culture and ties between people have remained bridges for establishing relations both at the state level and civil society level at all times. Attempts of Ukraine to fence itself off with the 'new Berlin Wall' are very unfortunate," it said.

"We will be watching closely how they will comply with the provisions of the current bilateral agreement of Jan. 16, 1997 on visa-free travel of citizens of Russia and Ukraine," it added.

According to Russian senator Franz Klintsevich, Russia will consider a retaliatory response to Ukraine's decision, which could affect up to 4 million Ukrainians working in Russia.

Relations between Moscow and Kiev have been exacerbated since 2014 when Crimea rejoined Russia following a referendum, but Ukraine insisted it was illegally annexed by Russia and remains a Ukrainian territory.
A Pakistani-Australian poet has spoken out of his anger after a security guard approached him because his presence at a food court had attracted complaints from 'paranoid ignorant xenophobes.'

Zohab Zee Khan, whose work  in which racism and xenophobia is a common theme  saw him crowned the Australian Poetry Slam champion in 2014, wrote about the incident in a Facebook post on Saturday.

Mr Khan, who had been eating a kebab and writing on his laptop in the food court inside Westfield Woden, in Phillip, a suburb of Canberra, when a 'sheepish' security guard approached him.

The spoken word poet, who describes himself as a fourth generation Australian of Pakistani heritage on his website, said that the female guard told him that he had attracted complaints for 'typing and looking around.'

Zohab Zee Khan was sitting at a food court in a suburban Canberra shopping centre when he was approached by a security guard

'I was in absolute flow with my writing and then a few minutes ago I was approached by a sheepish security guard, my initial thought was that she was a poetry fan who had recognised me,' he wrote.

'But that was far from the case, instead she said, 'this might sound funny, but quite a few people have been complaining about you typing and looking around. They think you might be up to something.'

'Last I checked typing and looking around is normal, legal and not a security threat.

'It took every ounce of self-control not to cause the biggest of scenes.'

He added: 'I genuinely cannot remember the last time I have been more upset at the utter rubbish that is paranoid ignorant xenophobes.

'Racism is an everyday battle for people who look like me, today it just happened to be a little more obvious.

In a Facebook post, Mr Khan said the guard told him he had attracted complaints for typing and looking around'

'I've convinced myself that I'm different, that I'm strong and that I can handle day to day racism, and mostly I can.

'But today was a kick in the guts. Today my state of being has been thrown from the high I love life extreme of writing poetry, to the terrible lows of being thought of as a scary bearded man that is out to hurt everyone.

'This unfortunately is the world that we live in and this unfortunately is the baggage that we carry.'

He concluded: 'The fire of why I write just got a little stronger.'

Mr Khan added that he had initially been hesitant to talk to the media about the incident, but has since decided to do so because 'it's important to document and speak up when things like this happen.'

He said he had no issue with the security guard who was 'doing her job as she thought she was supposed to.'

Mr Khan, a Pakistani-Australian, said that his issue was with placating 'paranoid xenophobes'

'When she told me that 'quite a few people' had raised a security concern about me 'typing frantically and looking around' the nicest response I managed was, 'well that's kinda f'd up don't you think?' he wrote in a follow-up post.

'She said yes and responded with 'I just had to come over here to make it look like I am talking to you.'

'She then patted me on my back and left me in a fuming, confused, and fragile state. I wanted to yell, cause a scene and kinda cry. I did none of those things.'

Mr Khan said his issue was with placating 'paranoid xenophobes.'

'We need to stop placating paranoid xenophobes,' he said.

'I was just a dude writing on his laptop, eating a beef kebab in a food court. This is not a security threat.'

He added: 'In the scheme of things, I'm fine. I wasn't physically hurt and my safety was never really in question.

'I've heard of half a dozen or so racist incidences from this week alone that are worse than what has happened to me.

'But this does not change the fact that it should not have happened in the first place.'

Following an interview with ABC Radio, Mr Khan said that the media's treatment of other Australian Muslims  a reference likely to Yassmin Abdel-Magied - made him reluctant to 'talk too loudly.'

'I may live in the same country as xenophobes who think big brown men on laptops are security threats, but I also live in the same country were the media actively seeks to shed light upon such incidents,' he wrote.

'Seeing what the media has done to other Muslims in Australia as of late I was slightly reluctant to talk too loudly, but I know it is important that we counter the narrative of hate and fear with one of knowledge and acceptance.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Westfield for comment.
An Uber driver is recovering in hospital after a gang of teenagers allegedly pushed him to the ground and stomped on his head while demanding his keys.

The 59-year-old man was smoking beside his car before the alleged attack in Springvale, Melbourne on Sunday, the Leader reports.

Police allege the man was repeatedly punched in the face and kicked in the head after refusing to give the teenagers the keys to his blue Honda Civic.

An Uber driver is recovering in hospital after he was allegedly bashed on Sunday

Dandenong Police detective Sergeant Dean Hayes said the level of violence demonstrated in the attack was concerning.

'He has a broken nose. His facial injuries are quite severe,' he said.

Police received a tip-off as to the location of the car when the alleged victim's daughter saw it the following night.

Two young men, aged 15 and 16 have been charged over the incident. A young woman, 16, will also face court following the alleged attack.
A bizarre water raft with scenic harbour views has stunned mariners and caused mayhem at the Northern Territory.

A raft equipped with a sofa bed, esky and shade cloth with the words 'shark girl' spray painted in black across the top was found washed up on rocks after floating around the Darwin Harbour vicinity.

Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services (NTPFES) acting superintendent James Gray-Spence said the floating bed was found washed up south-east of Charles Point, west of Darwin, and was a dangerous object.

A bizarre water raft was found off Darwin complete with a sofa bed, esky and shade cloth (pictured)

The raft was found on Wednesday washed up on rocks are spending the day drifting near the shipping channels near the Darwin Harbour (pictured)

'It is essential rafts are disposed of thoughtfully, not left behind to be a danger to others,' he said.

The raft was reported by several vessels on Wednesday before it drifted into the shipping channel near the entrance of Darwin Harbour, presenting a 'collision hazard' to other mariners.

NTPFES told Daily Mail the raft had been recovered and would be disposed of.

After the NTPFES posted the photo of the raft to their Facebook page, it received hundreds of light-hearted comments.

Facebook users took to social media to make light of the hazardous finding (pictured)

'Fit a pool fence around it to keep the crocs out,' one user posted.

Northern Territory water police are asking the public to clean up after themselves.

NTPFES said the person responsible for the water bed raft is unknown and the investigation is ongoing.
The UK's permanent representative to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow (pictured in Brussels earlier this year) is still said to spend most weekends in London

The UK's ambassador to Brussels has yet to move to the city full-time six months after taking the job, it was claimed today.

Sir Tim Barrow is still said to spend most weekends in London despite the intense negotiations taking place over Brexit.

The 53-year-old's wife and four children still live in Britain, rather than at the UK representative's official residence in Belgium.

Senior sources in Brussels told the Times that Sir Tim, who was appointed to the post in January, often works in Whitehall during the week.

EU ambassadors have reportedly noted Sir Tim's absence from meetings of Coreper, the committee of permanent representatives.

The paper highlighted claims that the Department for Exiting the EU (Dexeu) had sidelined Sir Tim, who works for the Foreign Office, in pre-Brexit negotiations.

However, the Foreign Office denied that was the case.

It insisted Sir Tim and Olly Robbins, the Dexeu permanent secretary, worked closely together.

The department also said Sir Tim lived at the residence in Brussels and spent the 'vast majority of his time' in the city.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'Tim lives in the residence, is in Brussels the majority of the time and returns to London for meetings, for example advising the Prime Minister alongside Olly Robbins.

'It is a gross distortion to suggest there are turf wars between departments.

'The work undertaken to negotiate the UK's exit from the EU has seen an unprecedented level of co-operation between the FCO,

'Dexeu and the UK Permanent Representation to the EU, while also drawing on the expertise of other government departments.'

Sir Tim (pictured far left) lined up alongside David Davis and Olly Robbins for the first round of Brexit talks last month
An informal skateboarding competition turned violent as police tried to break up the crowd of more than 400 skaters in San Francisco.

One officer was injured and two police cars damaged as hordes of furious fans threw objects during the showdown in Dolores Park on Tuesday.

An officer was accused of shoving a moving skateboarder after footage posted online showed the man wiping out, then seemingly hitting a police car.

'SF police purposely pushed skateboarder into car causing serious injury,' wrote Joel Hamill, who took the video.

An informal skateboarding contest turned violent as police tried to break up the crowd of more than 400 in San Francisco, with one piece of footage appearing to show an officer pushing a boarder

But Police Officer Robert Rueca said the officer and the skater, who were both taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, had just collided, according to SF Gate.

No one was arrested in the confrontation which brought a section of Dolores Street to a standstill for more than an hour, until police got the incident under control.

They are reported to have been called in after locals complained about the disruption and claimed they were unable to use the street.

For more than an hour, skaters shouted and threw objects. Two patrol cars were damaged during the confrontation.

And officer and the skateboarder who collided were taken to the hospital, while a female skateboarder who wiped out was also hospitalized.

Many of the skateboarders and onlookers scattered when police arrived at the annual competition called 'Hill Bombing', but some stayed to face them, SF Gate quoted police spokeswoman Grace Gatpandan. as saying.

No one was arrested in the confrontation which brought a section of Dolores Street to a standstill for more than an hour

Gatpadan added: 'The officers were just trying to keep them safe when this all happened.

The skaters were not happy with the police intervention with one 22-year-old saying: 'They were doing their job. That doesn't mean we always agree with it.

'It got very very serious very fast. Then the cops got involved and the skaters got mad.'
Major General Rupert Jones has slammed the report published by Amnesty International on Tuesday

A British commander has hit out after Iraqi and US coalition forces were accused of causing unnecessary civilian deaths during the battle to liberate Mosul from ISIS.

Human rights group Amnesty International said pro-government troops broke international laws by failing to adapt and protect innocent citizens during the campaign to drive jihadists out.

But a senior British commander has lashed out at the charity, branding its conclusion 'deeply irresponsible' and 'disrespectful'.

A scathing report published by Amnesty International said gung-ho tactics added to the high death toll in the city, which was overrun by the terror group in 2014.

It claims that between February 19 and June 19 this year, 3,706 civilians died as a result of attacks launched by Iraqi and coalition forces.

It said: 'They continued to rely upon imprecise, explosive weapons, ignoring the ever-growing toll of civilian death and injuries.

'In such a densely populated urban environment, military planners should have taken extra care in targeting and their choice of weapons to ensure that attacks were not unlawful.'

Amnesty International claims that between February 19 and June 19 this year, 3,706 civilians died as a result of attacks launched by Iraqi and coalition forces in Mosul

Pro-Iraqi forces have been accused of using unsuitable weapons and carrying out disproportionate attacks

Amnesty said Iraqi forces and the coalition have killed and injured thousands, and appear to have committed 'repeated violations of international humanitarian law', some of which 'may amount to war crimes'.

The report further accused pro-government forces of using 'unsuitable weapons' and carrying out 'disproportionate attacks'.

UK TO OFFER 40M TO HELP REBUILD MOSUL The UK will offer 40 million in humanitarian aid to rebuild war-torn Mosul after Iraqi forces declared victory over Islamic State in the city, International Development Secretary Priti Patel has said. Ms Patel told MPs they "must be realistic about the challenges ahead" in the region as she hailed efforts to halt the "unimaginable oppression" by IS, also known as Daesh, on thousands of civilians in the city in Northern Iraq. Iraqi security forces are clearing the final pockets of resistance from the terror group in Mosul after nearly nine months of fighting. Advertisement

But the allegation was given short shrift by Major General Rupert Jones, deputy commander of the international anti-IS coalition, who said: 'Firstly the Iraqi security forces have put the safety of civilians as the absolute centrepiece of the liberation of the city over the last nine months  that is beyond question.

'Does that mean there have been no violations? No, of course there have, but whenever those are presented to the government of Iraq, they are taken very, very seriously.

'The second thing would be to say that the coalition in providing support to the Iraqi security forces, we go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that when we strike we only kill the enemy.

'I would say it is the most sophisticated targeting and strike process in history.'

Amnesty said Iraqi forces and the coalition have killed and injured thousands, and appear to have committed 'repeated violations of international humanitarian law', some of which 'may amount to war crimes'.

Pressed on the claims, Gen Jones told the Press Association that the report is 'deeply irresponsible and frankly naive'.

'It is riddled with assertion, at no stage did they have the courtesy to engage the coalition to ask what our targeting process is,' he said.

Pro-Iraqi forces have celebrated forcing ISIS out of Mosul in Iraq after an intense battle. The terror group overran the city in 2014

A scathing report published by Amnesty International said gung-ho tactics added to the high death toll in the city, which was overrun by the terror group in 2014

Gen Jones said it is naive to think a city such as Mosul with a population of 1.75 million could be liberated without any civilian casualties while fighting an enemy that 'lacks all humanity'.

'It strikes me as being written by people who simply have no understanding of the brutality of warfare. But we should be absolutely clear who were deliberately killing civilians,' he added.

After IS seized control of Iraq's second biggest city in June 2014, Mosul became a stronghold for the extremist group.

Gen Jones said it is 'huge kudos' to Iraqi government forces that they have now liberated the city held by IS for more than three years.

'We should just briefly take stock, it was a nine-month battle  probably the most significant urban battle since the Second World War  and the Iraqi security forces prevailed, with the support of the coalition, and they did so with great style,' he added.

'I think the whole world should congratulate them for that.'

But he warned there will still be 'pockets which need to be tidied up' within Mosul, and that the recapturing of the city does not mean the end of IS in Iraq  with areas yet to be 'cleared'.

US-LED COALITION 'KILLED 744 CIVILIANS IN IRAQ AND SYRIA IN JUNE ALONE' The US-led coalition attacking the ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria killed as many as 744 civilians in June, an independent monitor said Wednesday. Airwars - a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that uses social media, eyewitness reports and other sources to compile its data - said the concurrent assaults on Raqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq were often 'devastating'. The number is completely at odds with that of the US military, which so far has acknowledged the accidental deaths of 603 civilians since anti-IS operations began in late 2014. Airwars said it assessed that between 529 and 744 non-combatants were killed in June, more than 50 percent above the prior month's tally Airwars director Chris Woods said the increased tempo of strikes in Mosul and Raqa accounted for some of the increase, but suggested the Pentagon's goal of "annihilation" of the jihadists had placed civilians at greater risk of harm. "While it was always predicted that high civilian casualties would occur during the assaults on Raqa and Mosul, this alone cannot explain the very high fatalities we and other monitors, NGOs and international agencies are tracking," Woods said. Airwars said it assessed that between 529 and 744 non-combatants were killed in June, more than 50 percent above the prior month's tally. Amnesty International on Tuesday called for a commission to investigate crimes against civilians in Mosul by all sides in the battle to liberate the Iraqi city from jihadists. The charity said Iraqi and coalition forces had failed to take adequate measures to protect civilians. Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, who leads the anti-IS coalition, rejected such claims. "This is, I believe, the most precise campaign in the history of warfare," Townsend said. "I would challenge the people from Amnesty International, or anyone else out there who makes these charges, to first research their facts and make sure they're speaking from a position of authority." The US military's Central Command is currently wading through a backlog of old Airwars claims and so far has assessed most of these to be 'non-credible'. Advertisement

Iraq's prime minister Haider al-Abadi raises the national flag in Mosul (AP)
Can a monkey own the copyright to its own selfies?

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard the bizarre case on Wednesday after a judge ruled against the monkey Naruto last year.

Naruto is a free-living crested macaque who snapped selfies with an unattended camera belonging to British nature photographer David Slater in Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2011.

After Slater published a book with the San Francisco-based company Blurb that included Naruto's selfies, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed a lawsuit on the monkey's behalf, claiming it was the rightful copyright owner.

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Naruto is a free-living crested macaque who snapped selfies with an unattended camera belonging to British nature photographer David Slater in 2011

After Slater published Naruto's selfies, PETA filed a lawsuit on the monkey's behalf claiming it was the rightful copyright owner (pictured, PETA's general counsel Jeff Kerr)

A three-judge panel appeared puzzled by PETA's role in the case, asking the group's attorney why it should be allowed to represent the monkey's interests.

Attorney David Schwarz said the question had not been raised in court previously, and he urged the panel to define authorship for copyright purposes.

After the hearing, the animal rights organization said it wants to administer all proceeds from the photos to benefit the monkey, protect monkey habitats and help people study the species.

'PETA is clearly representing Naruto's best interests,' according to the group's general counsel Jeff Kerr.

Slater's company holds the British copyright for the photos, and he says it should be honored worldwide.

In fact, Slater isn't even sure Naruto is the monkey in the disputed photograph. He told the Guardian: 'I know for a fact that [the monkey in the photograph] is a female and its the wrong age.

'Im bewildered at the American court system. Surely it matters that the right monkey is suing me.'

He added that his sweat and perseverance went into getting the monkeys to look directly into the camera when the pressed the shutter.

Slater is now struggling financially, and told the Guardian he is considering dog walking to make ends meet.

Angela Dunning, attorney for Blurb, said the self-publishing company was confident it would prevail but wondered at the possibility if it did not.

'Where does it end? If a monkey can sue for copyright infringement, what else can a monkey do?' she said.

Slater's company holds the British copyright for the photos, and he says it should be honored worldwide (pictured, attorneys for Slater and the company Blurb outside court on Wednesday)

Dunning said Naruto can't hold copyright in part because he cannot grant permission to others to use his photos and can't benefit financially from the pictures.

The monkey, she said, is 'blissfully unaware' of what's happening in court.

Outlets including Wikipedia claim no one owns the copyrights, and that the photo exists in the public domain.

The judges did not issue a ruling Wednesday.

A federal judge ruled against the monkey in 2016, saying there was no indication that Congress intended to extend copyright protection to animals.

David Post, a legal scholar who is regarded as an expert in intellectual property law, acknowledged in the Washington Post last year that the case was 'ridiculous'.

But he added: 'PETAs claim that the monkey owns the copyright to the photo touches on some pretty intriguing copyright issues that, in an age of robots and machine creation, are likely to have some wider significance down the road.'
A 15-year-old girl allegedly shot and killed her mother, then got her friend to help burn down the home in a bid to destroy the evidence.

Anna Schroeder armed herself with a .38 revolver and waited for her 53-year-old mother Peggy to get back to her home in Morrison, Illinois, from work, police say.

When Peggy got back, Anna reportedly told her to put a towel over her face before shooting her in the head in their living room, according to a police officer's testimony.

Before she was formally charged with the killing, Anna wrote a chilling Facebook post telling her mother she loved her and asked for forgiveness for 'not always being the best daughter'.

Illinois teenager Anna Schroeder is accused of shooting her mother to death then enlisting her friend's help in burning down the home to destroy the evidence

Anna Schroeder (right), 15, shot her mother with a .38 revolver before texting her friend Rachel Helm (left), also 15, to confess

Anna has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, concealment of homicidal death and arson. Her friend Rachel has not been formally charged.

Despite the severity of the charge, state law dictates she will appear in juvenile court because she is a minor.

If convicted, she could be jailed until she is 21.

The motive behind the alleged murder is unclear.

Anna is said to have texted her friend Rachel Helm, also 15, to confess that she had killed her mother on Thursday, Sauk Valley News reported.

Police said Anna sent Rachel a photo of her mother's body when she refused to believe she had shot her.

Rachel's mother is said to have given her a lift from Rock Falls to Anna's house, where both girls tried to clean the blood out of the carpet.

Firefighters found Peggy's (right, with Anna) body inside the charred remains of the house after putting out the flames

Police say the girls initially put the body under a sheet and bought cleaning supplies to mop up the blood, but then decided to burn the house down

The next day, they are reported to have moved Peggy's body from the living room to the bedroom and covered her with a sheet before going out to buy more cleaning supplies.

Ultimately they decided to burn the house down on Saturday, the police officer said.

Firefighters found Peggy's body inside the charred remains of the house after putting out the flames, KWQC reported.

Rachel then confessed everything to her mother, who took her to the Whiteside County Sheriff's Department for questioning.

At the same time, Anna posted a chilling message on her deceased mother's Facebook page telling her she loved her and would 'never forget her'.

She said in the post: 'I don't even know if you can see me right now but if you can I just want you to know you were my best friend.

Anna has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, concealment of homicidal death and arson

'I wasn't always the best daughter and I'm so sorry. I love you so much mom I just want you to know and I'll never forget you.'

Following Rachel's confession, Anna was brought to Bureau County Sheriff's Department where she broke down and admitted to the killing, a police officer said.

Both girls were taken into custody at Mary Davis Detention Home in Galesburg.

They are scheduled to appear in court August 8.
This is the moment evangelical leaders laid their hands on Donald Trump's back as they prayed over him in the Oval Office.

Evangelical pastor Rodney Howard-Browne led a prayer circle alongside his wife Adonica in the White House and then shared the image on Facebook.

President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence can be seen closing their eyes and bowing their heads in the solemn moment.

The group were invited to pray with Trump during a meeting with members of The Office of Public Liaison.

Others pictured included Jack Graham, the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, and Michele Bachmann, the former Republican congresswoman from Minnesota.

Evangelical pastor Rodney Howard-Browne posted this image of himself and wife Adonica leading prayers over President Trump on Monday as people laid their hands on him

Mr Howard-Browne, who came from South Africa to America in 1987 after a 'calling from God', called the moment 'surreal' and 'humbling'

Mr Howard-Browne, who is from South Africa but came to America in 1987 after a 'calling from God', described the moment as 'surreal' and 'humbling'.

He wrote: 'Yesterday I was asked by Pastor Paula White-Cain to pray over our 45th President - what a humbling moment standing in the Oval Office - laying hands and praying for our President - Supernatural Wisdom, Guidance and Protection - who could ever even imagine - wow - we are going to see another great spiritual awakening.

Mr Howard-Browne's teachings on the concept of 'holy laughter' - an outpouring of joy caused by the Holy Spirit - helped to inspire the Toronto Blessing, which many believe to be an instance of mass blessing which took place in 1994.

Johnnie Moore, a former senior vice president at Liberty University, a large evangelical university in Virginia, was also at the meeting.

He told CNN that they used to also pray with Obama, but with Trump it is different.

'When we are praying for President Trump, we are praying within the context of a real relationship, of true friendship,' he said.

'He was also in good spirits,' Moore said. 'He was as strong and focused as I have ever seen him. It was as if he was entirely above the fray.'

President Trump put his Christian faith at the front and center of his campaign for the presidency, and made a particular point of appealing to evangelicals.

At dozens of his rallies he proudly read out polls showing strong approval ratings from the evangelical community, and thanked them for their support.

It was Trump's positioning of himself as a defender of the faith - at one point vowing 'to protect Christianity' - that saw him ultimately defeat Ted Cruz to become the Republican nominee.

And this latest image attracted a lot of support on social media.

Mr Howard-Browne and his wife (left, standing behind Trump, and together right) predicated 'another great spiritual awakening' following the prayer session

The pair were invited to the White House to pray with President Trump by his spiritual adviser Paula White-Cain, seen here standing to the right of him

Writing on the Facebook post, Melinda S. Wiley wrote: 'Thank you Jesus! Cover Your President Lord! Anoint him and fill him with the Holy Spirit for Your will to be done! Hallelujah! Thank you Abba!'

Tammie Rogers added: 'Praise God fill him Jesus with your spirit keep your hands on him. It's time we have a president that puts America first and belief in the almighty God the one one that can change everything.

'Thank you pastors and for obeying God and surrounding our President with all your prayers, and thank you President Trump for allowing them to pray for you.

'I get goose bumps thinking what God is going to do.'

But not everyone was convinced by the show of faith. Kenneth Averell said: 'Lord help us all. How anyone sees Trump as the savior of the evangelicals is beyond me.

'Doesn't have a Christian bone in his body. Doesn't attend church. Multiple divorces. Adultery. Literally about every single commandment he's broken.

'We're all sinners, but c'mon, the evangelical right is choosing this guy to lead their 'spiritual awakening'?'
Children have revealed how they were forced by ISIS fanatics to mutilate prisoners in Iraq.

Militants in the war-torn city of Mosul, this week liberated from the terror group, ordered youngsters to carry out the punishment after threatening to kill their families.

One 11-year-old girl, Hadya, said she was forced, along with her two brothers, Shadi, five, and Fadi, nine, to attack a captive with a machete.

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Children have revealed how they were forced by ISIS fanatics to mutilate prisoners in Iraq. Iraqi women are pictured carrying yongsters to safety in Mosul's Old City last week

Horrific details of their ordeal were revealed on Dateline produced by Australia's news network SBS.

Describing her treatment at the hands of one jihadist, Hadya said: 'He came along and said, "You cut off a foot, you cut off an arm, and you slash his face with a knife. Otherwise I'll take you away from your mother and kill you all".

'We were scared to refuse, we were each given a machete. I had to cut his hand off. I did it.

'[Fadi] had to cut his feet off. Shadi had to cut his face with a knife.'

The man died after Shadi was forced to stab him in the eye, the children claimed.

Others revealed how they were taught to plant explosives and were beaten with electric cables or had shots fired near their feet if they made mistakes.

ISIS swept into Mosul in the summer of 2014 when it conquered much of northern and western Iraq.

Militants in the war-torn city of Mosul, this week liberated from the terror group, ordered youngsters to carry out the punishment after threatening to kill their families. Pictures show families fleeing from the city

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared 'total victory' in the city on Monday, but clashes along the edge of the Old City continued into the evening Tuesda

The extremists declared a caliphate and governed according to a harsh and violent interpretation of Islamic law.

The militants rounded up their opponents and killed them en masse, often documenting the massacres with video and photos.

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have gradually retaken much of that territory, but at a staggering cost, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble.

In all, 5,805 civilians may have been killed in the fight for western Mosul by coalition attacks, Amnesty said, citing data from Airwars, an organization monitoring civilian deaths caused by the anti-ISIS coalition in Iraq and Syria.

Amnesty said the fighting generated a 'civilian catastrophe.'

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared 'total victory' in the city on Monday, but clashes along the edge of the Old City continued into the evening on Tuesday.
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Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan on Tuesday dismissed the recent anti-Iran remarks made by his U.S. counterpart, describing them as "meddlesome", Press TV reported.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday that the United States and Iran can have positive relations only after regime change in Iran.

Such remarks deviate from all the principles of the international law, Dehqan said, adding that "such delirious comments are made by an ill person."

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi on Tuesday also criticized Mattis' remarks, calling them as "thoughtless and unfounded".

Mattis has repeated accused Iran of supporting terrorism while "the U.S. establishment and its current defense secretary, himself, are the symbols of terrorism and violation of human rights," Qasemi added.
A shocking video shows 'at least 30 or 40 men' climbing out of a lorry at an M25 service station as another person whips them with rope.

The gang can be seen lifting the roof of a truck and then fleeing at Cobham Services in Elmbridge, Surrey yesterday afternoon.

The video was filmed by electrical engineer Ryan Stanley who was driving from a job in Bromley, south London when he witnessed the men unloading themselves from the French lorry at about 2.30pm.

In the clip two men appear to be hurrying the suspected migrants along, one of them even lashed out at the stowaways with a makeshift whip.

A video shows the men lifting the roof of a truck and then fleeing at Cobham Services in Elmbridge, Surrey. A man appears to be hurrying the suspected migrants along and whipping them (right)

Mr Stanley, 21, told MailOnline: 'There were about 30 or 40 which came out. I started filming about 25 seconds after I first noticed them.

'There was three lorries and two of them seemed to no nothing about what was going on. The drivers seemed shocked.

'[The people] were coming out of a French lorry carrying industrial pipework. They just all ran away across the field and behind the little hotel. It was it bit surreal.'

Mr Stanley also claimed that police with sniffer dogs were at the station but he did not witness any arrests being made.

The large 75m service station is just a few miles from London and a 90 minute drive from Dover

In the clip two men (pictured) appear to be hurrying the suspected migrants along

MailOnline has contacted Surrey Police for comment.

The large 75m service station is just a few miles from London and a 90 minute drive from Dover.

In 2015 an Freedom of Information request by the Elmbridge Comet found that 117 people were arrested at Cobham services on suspicion of immigration offences in just one year.

Most had been fleeing war-torn countries where human rights abuses were rife.

A man arrested on suspicion of illegally driving 27 people into the UK after they were found in the back of a lorry has been released without charge.

The 50-year-old Italian was arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry on Friday, August 28, when 27 men were found in the back of his lorry at Cobhamservices on the M25.

The video was filmed by electrical engineer Ryan Stanley who said the men were coming out of a French lorry

Between August 2014 and August 2015, 106 men and 11 women were arrested on suspicion of illegal entry into the UK at the M25 services.

Of those people, 16 were children and teenagers, and 71 were under 30.

The arrested had travelled from as far as Afghanistan, Albania, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Syria. The majority came from Eritrea.

In 2015 an Italian lorry driver arrested on suspicion of illegally driving 27 people into the UK was released without charge.

The 50-year-old was detained on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry after the group of men were found in his truck at Cobham Services.

The Home Office confirmed his release was likely to have been the day after his arrest.
A senior member of Islamic State has declared himself the new caliph following reports of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death, a news agency in Iraq has reported.

Abu Haitham al-Obaidi, the terrorist group's deputy mayor in Hawija in northern Iraq, is said to have declared himself the new leader.

Yesterday the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had 'confirmed information' that Baghdadi had been killed after Russia claimed last month to have hit the self-proclaimed caliph in an airstrike on the outskirts of Raqqa, Syria.

According to Iraqi News, Jabbar al-Maamouri, a leader of the government-sanctioned militia group Popular Mobilization Forces, said: 'Abu Haitham al-Obaidi, deputy to the (Islamic State's) mayor of Hawija, dissented from the group and named himself a new Caliph after Baghdadi's death reports were confirmed.'

A senior member of Islamic State has declared himself the successor to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (pictured) as 'caliph' following reports of his death, according to an Iraqi news report

A photo shared by the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to show the site where ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed. The aerial image (left) of the ISIS headquarters is seen on May 13, 2017, and an aerial image taken on May 29 (right), shows the same site following the Russian airstrike on May 28 on the outskirts of Raqqa

He added that Obaidi, a senior military commander within the group, had withdrawn his dozens of loyal followers to the west of Hawija - which is in Kirkuk province - in preparation for a conflict with other IS members.

Maamouri explained: 'Hawija is bracing for a bloody infighting among IS members, the most violent since the group took over Hawija in June 2014.'

It has also been reported that IS has confirmed the death of Baghdadi in a statement as conflict between the group's senior figures broke out.

The prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, visited a military base in western Mosul where he congratulated the Iraqi Forces and its civilian population after reportedly defeating ISIS jihadists

Members of the Iraqi federal police forces celebrate in the Old City of Mosul after the long fight to liberate it was declared over by Iraq's prime minister

IS has carried out arrests and imposed a curfew in an attempt to suppress the fighting, Alsumaria News reported.

On Monday Iraq's prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, declared a final victory over IS in Mosul, the biggest city it held in the country and the place where Baghdadi first declared the caliphate in 2014.

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has not been seen since declaring the creation of the Islamic State in July 2014

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said yesterday that 'top tier commanders' from IS had confirmed Baghdadi's death.

'We learned of it today but we do not know when he died or how,' he said.

The Pentagon said that it had no information to corroborate the claims.

'We take any report of this nature with a large dose of salt,' Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, told Fox News.

'We will verify it. We will look at the intelligence available ... and we will give a statement when we have the requisite facts.'

Coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon added: 'We cannot confirm this report, but hope it is true.

'We strongly advise ISIS to implement a strong line of succession, it will be needed,' he added.
A couple who made a 'fundamentally dishonest' compensation claim after making up a stomach bug have been ordered to pay thousands to Thomas Cook.

Julie Lavelle, 33, and her partner Michael McIntyre, 34, demanded 10,000 after claiming they and their two children had vomiting and diarrhoea during their stay at the Parque Cristobal Hotel on Gran Canaria in 2013.

But Mr McIntyre allegedly had six pints of beer in Las Palmas Airport before flying back to the UK when he was meant to have gastroenteritis.

And a survey they filled out on the plane said the holiday had been either good or excellent in all areas.

They also did not mention their condition to hotel staff or tour representatives in the resort during their break, according to Thomas Cook's lawyers.

Julie Lavelle, 33, and her partner Michael McIntyre, 34, demanded 10,000 after falsely claiming they and their two children had vomiting and diarrhoea during their stay at the Parque Cristobal Hotel on Gran Canaria (pictured)

The couple have been taken to county court in their home city of Liverpool where Thomas Cook secured its first victory in a campaign against fake holiday sickness claims.

They must now pay the travel giant 3,744 compensation within 28 days after judge Juliet Herzog agreed the claim was dishonest.

Neighbours at their 90,000 terraced home in Liverpool were horrified by the family's scam.

Mike Mitchell, 51, said: 'I'm absolutely made up they've been caught out. It's wrong, dead wrong.

'I'm a baker by trade and I get up at 3 o clock in the morning to earn an honest living. There's lots of fraud going on.

'They must have thought it was easy money. Hopefully it will be a lesson to others who want to act fraudulently.'

Jan Gillespie added 'They've been there a while.

'We know some people on the road who don't like them. It's a lesson to all people who are putting in false claims.'

Travel trade organisation Abta launched a campaign last month to stop a huge spike in claims.

In the past year tens of thousands of UK holidaymakers have made claims - worth around 3,000 to 5,000 each - despite reported sickness levels in resorts remaining stable.

A judge at Liverpool County Court dismissed the case on Monday after concluding they were not sick, according to the firm.

Speaking after the hearing in Liverpool, Thomas Cook managing director Chris Mottershead said it is the first of a number of cases the company will challenge in court.

He said: 'We're pleased that the judge found in our favour. It's not comfortable for us to be in court questioning our customers' credibility, but the significant increase in unreported illness claims being received by the travel industry threatens holidays for all UK customers.

'This case follows an increasingly common pattern for these claims, with a previously unreported illness being raised years after the holiday with no medical or other evidence to support the illness having occurred.

'In these cases, we will not accept liability and we will take further action where we believe it is necessary to protect all of our customers.'

Thomas Cook said Julie Lavelle, 33, her partner Michael McIntyre, 34, and their two young children went on holiday with them in July 2013.

The family, from, Liverpool, argued that their symptoms continued until after their return to the UK.

On the return flight Mr McIntyre completed a holiday feedback questionnaire and left the section on illness unanswered but recorded that the service supplied was good or excellent in relation to the majority of questions, the firm said.

It reported that Mr McIntyre told the court he had drunk six pints of lager and put a favourable gloss on the trip in a bid to be more likely to benefit from a prize draw incentive for handing in the form.

No-one from the family's law firm, Bridger & Co of Carmarthenshire, was immediately available for comment.

Abta's Stop Sickness Scams campaign claims legislation designed to halt the surge in fraudulent whiplash claims - a cap on the legal fees that can be charged by solicitors pursuing personal injury cases - has fuelled the rise in travel sickness reports as it does not apply to incidents overseas.

It warns that holidaymakers pursuing fake or exaggerated claims risk ending up in prison either in the UK or abroad.
Police have been accused of poisoning migrants at Calais by contaminating water supplies with tear gas in a bid to stop a new build-up of asylum seekers.

The Auberge des Migrants (Migrant Shelter)  a leading charity in the French port town  sparked outrage after tweeting a photo of two jerrycans allegedly full of contaminated water.

Witnesses said officers had directed some of their tear gas supplies into a supply of water set aside for the migrants so as to prevent them gathering.

An investigation is underway but police have denied any wrong-doing.

The Auberge des Migrants (Migrant Shelter)  a leading charity in Calais  sparked outrage after tweeting a photo of two jerrycans allegedly full of contaminated water

The notorious 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais was destroyed last October, and some 8000 migrants dispersed to other parts of France

'The authorities are poisoning the migrants' water in Calais with tear gas,' reads L'Auberge's tweeted message alongside the picture, adding: 'The struggle against fixation points. That's it.'

'Fixation points' is police jargon for areas where migrants are building up, and their job is to try and stop them.

A spokesman for L'Auberge said the picture was taken on May 25 by a volunteer working for Utopia 56, another aid organisation.

Referred to only by her first name of Charlotte, she told Liberation newspaper: 'Two Afghans brought the empty cans to me.

'One of them had a sip, and suffered mild irritation. When they realised the water was not drinkable, they threw it away. Over three weeks, I heard three similar testimonies.'

Numerous volunteers said they saw the police poisoning the water which had been collected in the cans from stand pipes and friendly residents in Calais.

This evidence has already been passed on to an examining magistrate in nearby Lille, who is investigating claims of police brutality.

It is also claimed that the tear gas tactic was used to make supplies of charity food inedible, although there are no pictures of this.

In June, Jacques Toubon, France's Defender of Rights, agreed there has been 'exceptionally serious infringements of fundamental rights' carried out by the police in Calais

In June, Jacques Toubon, France's Defender of Rights, agreed there has been 'exceptionally serious infringements of fundamental rights' carried out by the police in Calais.

In turn, the police have denied any wrongdoing, with a senior National Police officer saying: 'On one hand we're meant to stop any build up of migrants, and on the other we have to act like humanitarians, making sure everybody is safe and well.

'Our present orders are very strict ones  there can be no more migrant camps in Calais. This is the reason we get so much criticism.

'All of use deny any brutality or violence of any kind. We are under huge pressure, and are just trying to do our job properly. We are massively overstretched.'

During an emergency meeting to Calais last month, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb took care to express 'absolute support' to the forces of law and order.

He said that police in Calais were displaying 'a lot of humanity' under conditions 'that are not always easy'.

Mr Collomb said he objected to those who presented 'the aggressive gendarmes' on one hand and 'on the other migrants of legendary sweetness'.

The notorious 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais was destroyed last October, and some 8000 migrants dispersed to other parts of France.

But some are slowly returning, with charities saying that up to 1000 are now trying to set up camps as they plan their illegal journeys to the coast of England in lorries, or trains.
A student on work experience with Southern Rail charmed miserable commuters after taking over its Twitter account for the day.

Eddie, 15, put smiles on travellers' faces with his hilarious answers to their questions while in charge of social media duties on Tuesday.

Manning the troubled rail operator's Twitter, he spent the afternoon replying to some of Southern's 160,000 followers with #AskEddie soon trending.

A student on work experience named Eddie (pictured), 15, took over Southern rail's Twitter account and kept grumpy commuters amused with his humorous replies to their queries

Manning the troubled rail operator's Twitter, he spent the afternoon replying to some of Southern's 160,000 followers with #AskEddie soon trending

The teen had his work cut out as he experienced what it was like to work in customer care for 'Britain's worst' rail company.

However, it seemed that most rail users were happy to see the funny side and sent him a series of dilemmas completely unrelated to trains.

Among them was: 'Why do English men always wear socks and sandals on holiday?' to 'Would you rather fight one horse sized duck or 100 duck sized horse?'

Luckily, Eddie took it in his stride and made otherwise grumpy rail users giggle with his comedic responses.

John Brown, who tweets under the name brownbare had a particularly funny conversation with Eddie about his placement.

Eddie's hilarious replies on social media today Q: Hi Eddie, If you had to lose one limb, what would it be and why? A: My left arm. If I lost one of my legs I'd fall over all the time and I can't get rid of my stronger arm so ;) ^Eddie Q: Hi Eddie, what should I have for dinner tonight? #AskEddie A: I would say that if there's an offer on for meatballs, you should grasp it. ^Eddie Q: Hi Eddie! Bacon or Steak! Which is tastier? #AskEddie A: Bacon, although a steak that's medium-rare is great also! ^Eddie Q: Hi Eddie, Would you rather be born with an elephant trunk or a giraffe neck? #askeddie A: A giraffe neck. Always been struggling with height  ^Eddie Q: #askeddie Hi Eddie, would you rather be a centipede with no legs or an Octupus with no tentacles? A: An octopus with no tenticles some can change colour, whilst a centipede would just fall of the side of the tree! You? ^Eddie Q: When are you going on Celebrity Big Brother? #askeddie A: Well, Love Island and called me but I had to decline unfortunately. CBB is the next one though. ^Eddie Advertisement

John said: 'Huge respect to you Eddie! Smashing it mate.'

After Eddie replied 'Thanks, John. How has your day been? Eddie', John said: 'It's been magnificent Eddie.

'Are you enjoying your work experience? Don't look directly into the eyes of senior management btw.'

But funny Eddie responded: 'Hi John, I am enjoying it very much, thanks. I couldn't look into their eyes because I can't reach! Eddie'

Another commuter, tweeting under the name Coddiwomples, was not so light hearted.

He said: 'And my what an experience it will no doubt be!

'Hope to God you don't have to rely on Southern Trains to get you to office in time?!'

But smart Eddie simply responded: 'Hi, thanks and I get Southern trains to and from my placement. Eddie'

The much-maligned rail operator has been mired with controversy over the past year, with commuters suffering cancellations, delays and understaffing.

A poll earlier this year revealed that just a fifth of passengers think Southern is capable of running a train service.

Employees have also gone on strike in a row over driver-only trains, which would leave services with just one member of staff aboard, and could pose safety risks.

Southern have also been criticised by disabled access groups after many passengers in wheelchairs have been stranded on trains or platforms because there has been no help available.

A Southern Rail spokesman said: 'We are pleased to have given Eddie an insight into working life in our social media team and are thrilled to see that he has won over so many of our customers this afternoon. We hope to have him back soon.'

Eddie, 15, put a smile on travellers' faces with his hilarious answers to their questions as he was placed in charge of social media duties at Southern
A US soldier who was arrested for ties to ISIS pledged allegiance to the terror group as early as 2011, authorities have said.

Ikaika Erik Kang, who reportedly won the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, is accused of giving US military documents and training to the terrorist group.

Kang, 34, continued to serve in the Army for years after expressing support for ISIS as the military and the FBI investigated to determine whether he posed a threat, authorities said.

Kang's father Clifford has since said his son, who was was deployed to Iraq in 2011 and Afghanistan in 2013, may have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ikaika Erik Kang (pictured), 34, continued to serve in the Army for years after expressing support for ISIS

Kang's father Clifford has since said his son, who was was deployed to Iraq in 2011 and Afghanistan in 2013, may have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder

Clifford Kang told Honolulu TV station KHON and the Star-Advertiser newspaper he became concerned after his son's return from Afghanistan - and that he had become 'withdrawn'.

He also said his son started studying the Islamic faith a couple of years ago during one of his deployments.

Sergeant First Class Kang was taken into custody over the weekend after declaring his loyalty to the terrorist group and admission that he wanted to 'kill a bunch of people', according to authorities.

Kang is on record making pro-Islamic State comments and threatening to hurt or kill other service members back in 2011, according to an FBI affidavit filed Monday in federal court.

The Army revoked his security clearance in 2012 but gave it back to him the following year.

Ikaika Erik Kang was with the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu

Kang is being held on terrorism charges after the FBI claims he tried to get secret military documents to ISIS. Pictured: The exterior of the condo complex in Hawaii where he lived

Kang is on record making pro-Islamic State comments and threatening to hurt or kill other service members back in 2011. Pictured: Red evidence tape covers part of the door leading to his condo

Last year, the Army called the FBI when it 'appeared that Kang was becoming radicalized', the affidavit said.

Retired Army judge and prosecutor Colonel Gregory Gross said he was perplexed that the Army allowed Kang to remain a soldier even after his favorable comments toward the Islamic State group.

Kang's father, Clifford Kang (pictured) said his son started studying Islam during one of his deployments, but didn't know of his son's ISIS ties

But Gross said the Army may have decided Kang was just mouthing off and was not a threat.

The senior Kang however was shocked to hear about his son's connection to ISIS.

'Nobody told me anything. This is the first time I heard about' it, said Clifford Kang when reached by telephone by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Monday. 'I'm kind of stunned to tell you the truth.'

'I never heard of him being with ISIS,' Kang said

Kang was arrested on Saturday and was expected in court Monday afternoon.

The FBI said Kang was the subject of a year-long, joint investigation by the FBI and the US Army.

Kang told an undercover federal agent Saturday that he wanted to kill 'a bunch of people'.

The soldier was with the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu, but released no other details.

Retired Army judge and prosecutor Colonel Gregory Gross said he was perplexed that the Army allowed Kang to remain a soldier. Pictured: Kang's attorney Birney Bervar, center, addresses reporters outside the federal courthouse in Honolulu on Monday

FBI spokesman Arnold Laanui said that SWAT team special agents arrested Ikaika Kang on Saturday.

According to the criminal complaint, Kang swore allegiance to ISIS.

The FBI said it believes Kang worked as a lone actor and was not associated with others who present a threat to Hawaii.
A gay man has today won a battle at Britain's highest court to secure his husband the same pension rights a wife would enjoy.

Ex-cavalry officer John Walker, 66, was present to hear five justices at the Supreme Court in London unanimously allow his appeal against an earlier ruling against him.

Mr Walker suffered a defeat at the Court of Appeal in 2015, when judges ruled that his claim failed because it applied to a period before gay civil partnerships were recognised by the law.

Ex-cavalry officer John Walker has won a Supreme Court battle to secure his husband the same pension rights a wife would enjoy

But this morning, the Supreme Court justices ruled that Mr Walker's husband is entitled on his death to a spouse's pension, provided they stay married.

Mr Walker launched legal action because he wanted to ensure that, should he die first, his husband, who is in his fifties, will be adequately provided for.

'Huge implications' for pension schemes, says former minister Pension schemes could eventually be facing a multi-billion pound bill following the Supreme Court's ruling into John Walker's case, according to a former pensions minister. Sir Steve Webb (pictured) said the cost could escalate as other groups may now come forward. Sir Steve, who is now director of policy at Royal London, told the Press Association: 'This has potentially huge implications. 'Pension schemes will have to respond to this judgment, but new groups will come forward and say: 'I'm being treated unfairly... we want the same rights as well' - the difference between widows and widowers - for example.' He said that, eventually, over time, with the potential for new cases: 'We could be talking a multi-billion pound bill.' Advertisement

Human rights organisation Liberty said before the ruling that a successful outcome could 'dramatically change the lives of thousands of same-sex couples'.

Liberty said Mr Walker's case had challenged 'an exemption in the Equality Act that lets employers exclude same-sex partners from spousal benefits paid into a pension fund before December 2005, when civil partnerships became legal'.

In their ruling the panel of Supreme Court justices, headed by the court's deputy president Lady Hale, made a declaration that the exemption under the 2010 Act was 'incompatible with EU law and must be disapplied'.

The decision means Mr Walker's husband will be entitled to a spouse's pension of around 45,000 a year, rather than about 1,000 which he would have received.

During the Supreme Court hearing in March, a QC for the Work and Pensions Secretary pointed out that the costs involved in 'requiring all pension schemes to equalise entitlements retrospectively' would be 100 million for private sector schemes and a further 20 million for public sector schemes.

Mr Walker retired from chemicals group Innospec Ltd in 2003 after working for the company for more than 20 years.

He had made the same contributions to the pension scheme as his heterosexual colleagues.

He and his husband, a former computer executive who prefers not to be named, have been together since 1993.

Mr Walker was present to hear five justices at the Supreme Court (file picture) in London unanimously allow his appeal against an earlier ruling against him

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force on December 5, 2005.

Mr Walker and his partner entered into a civil partnership in January 2006, which was later converted into a marriage.

Mr Walker said: 'I am absolutely thrilled at today's ruling, which is a victory for basic fairness and decency.

'Finally this absurd injustice has been consigned to the history books - and my husband and I can now get on with enjoying the rest of our lives together.

What could today's court ruling mean for Britain's gay couples? The outcome of today's case in the Supreme Court could 'dramatically change the lives of thousands of same-sex couples', according to human rights group Liberty. Before today's case John Walker's husband stood to receive a pension of only a few hundred pounds a year, but if Mr Walker was married to a woman, she would have been entitled to receive around 45,000 a year for life. He retired from chemicals group Innospec in 2003 after working for the company for more than 20 years. He made the same contributions to the pension scheme as his heterosexual colleagues. Mr Walker and his husband, a former computer executive, have been together since 1993. The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force on December 5, 2005. Mr Walker and his partner entered into a civil partnership in January 2006, which was later converted into a marriage. Liberty said the case challenged 'an exemption in the Equality Act that lets employers exclude same-sex partners from spousal benefits paid into a pension fund before December 2005, when civil partnerships became legal'. The Government said it was 'reviewing the implications of this judgement in detail and will respond in due course'. Advertisement

'But it is to our Government's great shame that it has taken so many years, huge amounts of taxpayers' money and the UK's highest court to drag them into the 21st century.

'In the years since we started this legal challenge, how many people have spent their final days uncertain about whether their loved one would be looked after?

'How many people have been left unprovided for, having already suffered the loss of their partner?

'What I would like from Theresa May and her ministers today is a formal commitment that this change will stay on the statute books after Brexit.'

A Government spokesman said: 'We are reviewing the implications of this judgement in detail and will respond in due course.

'The rights of same sex couples have been transformed for the better since 2010 including the introduction of same sex marriage and legislation to ensure that pensions are built up equally for all legal partnerships.'

Liberty said the ruling could change the lives of thousands of couples and would mean any company using the Equality Act to exclude same-sex partners from pension benefits in the same way would now be breaking the law.

Liberty lawyer Emma Norton said: 'We are delighted the Supreme Court recognised this pernicious little provision for what it was - discrimination against gay people, pure and simple.'

But she added: 'This ruling was made under EU law and is a direct consequence of the rights protection the EU gives us.

'We now risk losing that protection. The Government must promise that there will be no rollback on LGBT rights after Brexit - and commit to fully protecting them in UK law.

'How else can John be sure he and others like him have achieved lasting justice today?'

A Government spokesman said: 'We are reviewing the implications of this judgement in detail and will respond in due course.

'The rights of same sex couples have been transformed for the better since 2010 including the introduction of same sex marriage and legislation to ensure that pensions are built up equally for all legal partnerships.'
A riot broke out in a quiet country village when more than 200 protesters threw stones and lit fires outside the house of a woman they suspected of being a sex offender.

The angry mob shouting 'paedo' and 'nonce' were broken up by at about 4am when the 24-year-old woman and another person were escorted from the house by armed police.

The crowd had gathered in Monkton, Pembrokeshire just after 9pm on Tuesday night after a series of sex allegations against the woman were made on Facebook.

An angry mob gathered outside a woman's home in Monkton, Pembrokeshire after a series of sex allegations

The angry mob shouted 'paedo' and 'nonce' at the house and were not broken up by police until 4am

Hundreds of people threw stones at the council house and smashed windows before police with dogs finally managed to send them away.

The mob suspected that some five years ago the woman had lured a 16-year-old girl to a house party where she was plied with drink and drugs before being gang raped.

Before that the mob claimed she had been responsible for forcing two boys, aged nine and ten, to perform sex acts on each other in a park

She was allegedly jailed for a minimum of four years in 2012. But villagers said she was released and moved more than 200 miles away to Pembrokeshire under a new identity.

The mob suspected that in 2011 the woman had lured a 16-year-old girl to a house party where she was plied with drink and drugs before being gang raped

Police said two people were removed from the house for their own safety after the riot

One witness, who did not want to be named, said: 'It all kicked off with a post on Facebook that the woman was living there.

'There was a large crowd when I got there on both sides of the property. Police car tyres let down, screams of 'paedo' and 'nonce'.

'There was a large police presence about 40-50 - they tried to calm the situation and clear the crowd but failed.

'An Inspector told the crowd to disperse, then about 3am large group of police, some armed some with riot shields and a dog moved on the house and removed the occupants.

Villagers say the woman was released and moved more than 200 miles away to Pembrokeshire under a new identit

One witness, who did not want to be named, said: 'It all kicked with a post on Facebook that the woman was living there;'

'The crowd were screaming and it started to get out of hand - very angry scenes.'

One police car had its tyres let down and officers had to be kitted out with riot shields to control the crowds.

Police say two people were removed from the house for their own safety.

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokeswoman said: 'The disturbance at Gwilliam Court, Monkton, was brought to a conclusion at approximately 3am with support from South Wales Police and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Team.

'Two occupants from within a property were safely removed.

The mob gathered after Facebook users said a woman sex offender, who is now living under another name, was staying at the two-bedroom house

The online post was shared more than 1,000 times by people, who then organised a protest

One police car had its tyres let down and officers had to be kitted out with riot shields to control the crowds

'Members of the public that had gathered were issued with a Section 35 Dispersal Order, which assists in the movement of people within a designated area for a period of 48 hours.

'The incident concluded at around 3.40am with the crowd having dispersed and with no arrests made.'
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Artists from China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region dance in Alexandria, Egypt, on July 10, 2017. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which represents China as the guest of honor of the 15th International Summer Festival held from July 10 to August 26 in Egypt's seaside historical city of Alexandria, gave an enchanting performance on Monday. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)

The Chinese cultural event -- "2017 Experience China in Egypt," opened in Alexandria, Egypt on July 10, staging a cultural performance as well as exhibitions.

Lu Guangjin, director of the Department of Human Rights of the State Council Information Office, Consul General Xu Nanshan for the People's Republic of China in Alexandria, and Muhammad Sudan, governor of Alexandria, attended the opening ceremony and gave speeches.

In Lu's opening remarks, he said that Alexandria plays a vital role in the history of human civilization, and left many historical stories worth remembering.

He said Xinjiang-themed cultural shows could demonstrate Xinjiang's unique charm to Alexandria and even Egypt by presenting various performances of different ethnic cultures, in order to strengthen Egyptians' understanding of China and China's Xinjiang.

After the opening ceremony, Egyptian guests and envoys from other countries visited the photo gallery and the musical instruments exhibition with Xinjiang ethnic characteristics.

Artists from Xinjiang presented an enchanting performance that introduced its various ethnic cultures to Egyptian audience in the Library of Alexandria.

The event is jointly organized by the State Council Information Office of China, the government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Chinese Embassy in Egypt and the Consulate General of China in Alexandria.
A wake for a young man killed in a motorbike accident descended into chaos as drunken mourners brawled with police.

About 20 officers surrounded a pub in Port Kembla, near Wollongong, where friends and family of Jake Kinloch, 23, gathered to celebrate his memory on Saturday night.

Mr Kinloch died when he collided with a 53-year-old pedestrian, who was also killed, outside a shopping centre in Warrawong last month, sending him flying off the bike.

A wake descended into chaos as drunken mourners did burnouts and brawled with 20 police outside a pub in Wollongong

They had gathered to celebrate the life of Jake Kinloch, 23, (pictured) who was killed in a motorbike accident last month

Mourners filmed themselves filling the air with purple and orange smoke as they did burnouts with their cars and utes soon after the ceremony was over.

Dozens of attendees dressed in black shirts and orange ties, and still holding orders of service booklets, were seen cheering on the drivers.

Once inside the Commercial Hotel, guests drank heavily and were seen skolling pints of beer in unison as a tribute to Mr Kinloch.

'Downing them for Jack. One, two, three, yeah for Jack,' one man yelled to kick it off, before scanning his phone around the room to show everyone drinking.

Purple smoke filled the air in Port Kembla and numerous cars did burnout on the street

Mourners filmed themselves filling the air with purple and orange smoke as they did burnouts with their cars and utes soon after the ceremony was over

This driver revved bis ute's engine to create orange smoke while waving to the crowd

The burnouts drew a heavy police presence with officers trying to calm down the wake before it got out of hand.

'I walked outside and nearly fell over, there were cops and people everywhere,' a business owner told 9 News.

But guests clashed with police when they tried to arrest a 21-year-old man who refused to leave the pub, starting a brawl that spilled out on to the street.

Mr Kinloch died when he collided with a 53-year-old pedestrian, who was also killed

Dozens of attendees dressed in black shirts and orange ties, and still holding orders of service booklets, were seen cheering on the drivers

Once inside the Commercial Hotel, guests drank heavily and were seen skolling pints of beer in unison as a tribute to Mr Kinloch

One man was charged with hindering police, failing to leave a licensed premise and offensive behaviour.

The Commercial Hotel stays open until 6am and has a long history of violent incidents including glassings and one punch attacks.

Ico Trajanovski, 66, died after he was hit in the head outside the pub on Christmas Eve last year.
China has sent troops out to the Horn of Africa to establish its first international military base.

The ships set sail from the southern city of Zhanjiang, around 260 miles west of Hong Kong for the small African country of Djibouti on Tuesday.

That move has some in the US military concerned - not just because it's China's first step towards international military power, but because the new base is located just four miles from US Camp Lemonnier.

Ships (one pictured) carrying Chinese military personnel left for the country's first international military base in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, on Tuesday

The ships left from Zhanjiang in southern China after this ceremony; they are bound for a new military installation in the African county of Djibouti

The base gives China access to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean - but it's also located just four miles from an existing US military installation

Satellite photos from ImageSat International show buildings under construction at the massive base, including what appears to be an airstrip and hangars for planes.

They also show how the base has increased dramatically in size between the start of April and the end of June. Construction on the base began in February 2016.

The base was established under agreement between China and Djibouti after 'friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides,' Chinese state news agency Xinhua said.

'The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia,' it claimed.

It says the coastal base will be used to supply naval vessels taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia.

It's certainly ideally located for China's interests, giving them a foothold in both the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, putting them in easy reach of the Middle East.

Satellite photos show details on the base such as an airstrip and hangars for aircraft. There are concerns as it is close to Camp Lemonnier, which has 3,000 US personnel and contractors

Construction on the base began in early 2016, and it has since developed into a full installation

The Chinese base is only four miles from Camp Lemonnier (pictured) in Djibouti. China and the US have been at loggerheads recently over international waters in the South China Sea

The Chinese base is only four miles from Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, which has led to concerns by some. China and the US have also been at loggerheads over international waters in the South China Sea

But the location of the base has disturbed those at Camp Lemonnier, also located in Djibouti, four miles from the Chinese base.

One of the largest US military bases abroad, it is home to 3,000 military personnel and contractors.

Marine General Thomas Waldhauser, commander of AFRICOM, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March that he had concerns, Fox News reported.

He said that he had met with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh 'and expressed our concerns about some of the things that are important to us about what the Chinese should not do at that location.'

Waldhauser said he expected the base to be open in the summer; Xinhua has not said when it will become operational.

The move comes as the US and China have continued to butt heads over the South China Sea.

China claims the entire ocean - international waters and all - and has used artificial islands and military bases on naturally occurring islands to stake their claim.

The US has for the past few years been sailing its ships through waters claimed by China - including those close to the island bases - to dispute that.

Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh (left) and US Marine General Thomas Waldhauser (right) have had talks, Waldhauser said, about US concerns over the base and its use

Although Djibouti is only 200 square miles bigger than New Jersey, it is home not just US and Chinese bases, but also to French and Japanese bases.

It also agreed at the start of the year to allow Saudi Arabia to open a base on its land.

China and Saudi have both supplied the country with money in recent years, with China alone putting in $14.4 billion in infrastructure projects, AFK Insider reported.

The US, meanwhile, supplies around $3 million in food aid to the country each year.

Djibouti's position on the edge of the Indian Ocean has sparked concerns in India about the influence of military in the area.
A man has been charged over the alleged bloody bashing of a roof tiler by a gang of thugs wielding nail-studded bats.

Michael Nicholas was set upon by at least three armed men in the middle of the day off Bondi Beach's north end on February 16.

Police said a 32-year-old man was on Wednesday charged with a raft of offences, nearly five months after the brazen attack shocked the nation.

Michael Nicholas was left bloodied and stunned after being allegedly set upon by a gang of men wielding nail-studded bats

The man was charged with wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and use of offensive weapons in company with intent to commit indictable offence.

The man was refused bail appeared at Waverley Local Court to next appear at Central Local Court in September.

Footage showed the shirtless victim scrambling to avoid his attackers on the popular 'Grassy Knoll' spot.

It was reported by 9News that Mr Nicholas, a roof tiler, was carrying thousands of dollars in cash in his pockets at the time of the attack.

Detectives refused to reveal whether they spoke with a woman seen with Mr Nicholas before he was attacked.

Images from the scene show a shell-shocked Mr Nicholas being treated by paramedics before he was rushed to hospital with lacerations to his head.

A man has been charged with a raft of offences, nearly five months after the brazen attack

It was also reported at the time Mr Nicholas may have been assaulted over his relationship with a woman who holds bikie ties

Witnesses say the attackers allegedly fled the scene in a white Mercedes-Benz.

It was also reported at the time Mr Nicholas may have been assaulted over his relationship with a woman who holds bikie ties.

Investigators continue and police have urged anyone with information to come forward.


A programme to put electronic tags on criminals is running at least five years behind schedule after a catalogue of failings by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), a watchdog has found.

The MoJ said the new tagging system would be rolled out by 2013 and allow officials to make significant savings.

But a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found the scheme has been blighted by delays and failed to achieve value for money.

The service is expected to cost a staggering 470 million between 2017-18 and 2024-25, according to the report.

Critics hit out at the department for presiding over a 'disgraceful waste of money'.

Ken Clarke, then Justice Secretary, unveiled the plans to massively expand the use of electronic tagging for offenders in 2011.

A new scheme to role out new state of the art electronic tags for convicts has been blighted by delays and is not value for money, the National Audit Office has found

The project was supposed to be a cheaper and more efficient alternative to prison.

The MoJ boasted that it was going to develop 'world leading' ankle tags by combining GPS technology with radio frequency to keep tabs on criminals.

But it embarked on a complicated 'tower' delivery model which saw the department strike contracts with four separate suppliers who would provide four different elements of the service.

Their work was then pulled together by yet another contracted 'integrator'.

But in a damning report, the NAO found that the ministry failed to do enough to establish the case for location monitoring using GPS.

The report said there is still limited evidence on the effectiveness of electronic monitoring in the UK, with most experience of location monitoring based on small numbers of volunteers rather than mainstream offenders.

The review states: 'The Ministry assumed there would be high demand for location monitoring from those who sentence offenders but did not run a pilot to test this before launching the programme.

'It also did not understand the potential financial costs and benefits of expanding location monitoring.'

The MoJ is 'only now' running location monitoring pilots to test how the use of a GPS tag might affect the behaviour of offenders, the report noted.

According to the report, the plans for the tags were far too ambitious, needing some 900 prescriptive requirements evolving over time.

Officials drastically underestimated how long it would take to roll out the overly ambitious project.

It is not expected to be rolled out until next year now, which is running at least five years behind schedule.

Ken Clarke, pictured in the House of Commons earlier this year, launched the new electronic tagging system in 2011 when he was Justice Secretary under David Cameron

Original projections suggested that between 160,000 and 220,000 offenders would be tagged in 2016/17, but the number under the existing programme is expected to be under 65,000.

And auditors blasted the MoJ's governance arrangements which, they said, were weak.

Wracked by internal disagreements, decision making was slow, the report found.

Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: 'The case for a huge expansion of electronic monitoring using GPS was unproven, but the Ministry of Justice pursued an overly ambitious and high-risk strategy anyway. Ultimately, it has not delivered.

'After abandoning its original plans, the Ministry's new service will now, ironically, be much closer to its existing one. Even if it launches in 2018, it will still be five years late.'

Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Sir Ed Davey slammed the 'disgraceful waste of money' uncovered in the damning report

The NAO said that, following internal and external reviews, the department has taken action to address many of the issues, making changes to set a more achievable requirement and strengthen programme management.

Mr Morse said: 'The Ministry has learnt costly lessons from its failings but significant risks still remain.'

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Sir Ed Davey said: 'The disgraceful waste of public money throughout this saga has been appalling. It has been bungle after bungle and now we learn that very little will change after all.'

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: 'As the National Audit Office makes clear, there were challenges in the delivery of the electronic monitoring programme between 2010 and 2015.

'As a direct result, we fundamentally changed our approach in 2015, expanding and strengthening our commercial teams and bringing responsibility for oversight of the programme in-house.

'We are now in a strong position to continue improving confidence in the new service and providing better value for money for the taxpayer.'
This is the moment a couple were caught fondling each other on a rooftop during Spain's Pamplona bull running festival.

Onlookers filmed the pair before they dived under a blanket on a tiled roof at least four floors above street level in the northern Spanish town.

The house they picked - near Santo Domingo street along the route of the famous morning bull runs - was described as abandoned.

Pictures captured the moment a couple were caught fondling each other on a rooftop during Spain's Pamplona bull running festival

The house they picked - near Santo Domingo street along the route of the famous morning bull runs - was described as abandoned

Footage appeared to show the crumbling roof tiles could have given way at any moment.

It was not immediately clear at point in the nine-day festival, due to finish on Friday, the video was taken.

But it seemed to have been recorded early in the morning after the daily bull run had finished because of the street cleaners mingling with revellers dressed in red and white in the street below the rooftop.

The footage came to light after a homemade video taken near Barcelona's beach at the weekend showed a couple having sex in broad-daylight.

The pair were identified as holidaymakers by enraged locals in the neighbourhood of La Barceloneta who used the footage to have a new moan at the drunken tourists they claim are ruining their former fishing village.

Onlookers filmed the pair before they dived under a blanket on a tiled roof at least four floors above street level in the northern Spanish town

Meanwhile, the sixth running of the bulls at this year's San Fermin festival left six people injured, but no one was gored, officials said.

Five people sustained contusions and one had a head injury, said Jon Arizeta, a doctor at Navarra Hospital.

The run along the 930-yard cobbled-street course in Pamplona to the bullring lasted 2 minutes, 16 seconds, one of the fastest so far this year.

One runner had a close shave when a charging bull hooked a horn under his armpit and knocked him to the ground. There were several pileups as runners crashed into each other in a bid to stay clear of the beasts.

The sixth running of the bulls at this year's San Fermin festival left six people injured, but no one was gored, officials said

Five people sustained contusions and one had a head injury, said Jon Arizeta, a doctor at Navarra Hospital

The run along the 930-yard cobbled-street course in Pamplona to the bullring lasted 2 minutes, 16 seconds, one of the fastest so far this year

The nine-day fiesta in Pamplona became world famous with Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel 'The Sun Also Rises'

Four Americans and a Spaniard have been gored since the runs started Friday. Most people are injured in falls or by being trampled on by bulls.

In the runs, hundreds of people test their courage and speed by dashing with six fighting bulls without getting gored.

The nine-day fiesta in Pamplona became world famous with Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel 'The Sun Also Rises.' The city of around 200,000 inhabitants receives up to 1 million visitors, including many foreigners, for the festival.

The bulls face matadors and almost certain death in afternoon bullfights. Bull runs are a traditional part of summer festivals across the country.

Twelve people, including four Americans, were gored at last year's festival. In all, 15 people have been fatally gored at the festival since record-keeping began in 1924.
The moment a man pointed a gun in the face of a young Domino's worker because he did not get a discount on his pizza has been captured on CCTV.

Philip Raymond Willich, 53, ordered pizza from Domino's in Smithfield, in north Queensland, on October 21, 2015.

But after Willich was unable to get a discount when he ordered over the phone, he went to the store to confront young staff member Isaac Ramsay, The Cairns Post reported.

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The moment a man pointed a gun in the face of a young Domino's worker because he didn't get a discount on his pizza has been captured on CCTV

Philip Raymond Willich, 53, (pictured) ordered pizza from Domino's in Smithfield, Queensland on October 21, 2015

Willich was unable to get a discount when he ordered over the phone and went to the store to confront young staff member Isaac Ramsay (pictured)

Willich had wanted an apology, Police Prosecutor Senior Sergeant Lisa Buchanan said.

He asked Mr Ramsay to step outside to talk before pulling a shortened firearm out.

The chilling CCTV footage was shown on Wednesday in Cairns Magistrates Court.

It shows the men in a public corridor near the store.

When Willich did not get an apology he pulled out the weapon, which had been hidden under his clothes, and pointed it at Mr Ramsay's head.

With a pizza in one hand and a gun in the other Willich forces the young worker to his knees, before putting the weapon back in his pants and walking off with his takeaway.

The chilling CCTV footage was shown on Wednesday in Cairns Magistrates Court.

When Willich didn't get an apology he pulled out the weapon, which had been hidden under his clothes, and pointed it at Mr Ramsay's head

With a pizza in one hand and a gun in the other Willich forces the young worker to his knees

Mr Ramsay was 'begging for his life,' Senior Sergeant Lisa Buchanan said.

'It is the most serious common assault I have seen to obtain an apology for not getting a discount on a takeaway pizza,' she said.

There were no bullets in the firearms, but Mr Ramsay was not aware of that.

Willich pleaded guilty to common assault, deprivation of liberty and possessing a shortened firearm in a public place.

He was jailed for three years with a parole release date after 12 months.
This is the hilarious moment a young baby releases a guttural roar as she tastes her first ever solid food.

Aurora, who was eight-months-old at the time the video was shot, was sitting in her high chair at home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, when she was filmed eating her first meal.

According to the audio, a female voice said: 'Aurora is going to have some apple.'

Eight-month-old Aurora looked content until tasting the apple puree on her spoon

As soon as she tasted the fruit she released a guttural roar expressing her displeasure

The baby girl, wearing a protective plastic cover bearing the legend 'Feed Me' turns away when presented with the green spoon carrying the pureed apple.

The child closes her eyes as soon as she tastes the apple and twists around in her chair while releasing a strange guttural roar.

Aurora then looks up in disbelief.

The woman feeding Aurora starts giggling, then apologizes, claiming: 'I'm sorry for laughing at you.'

When offered a second bite, Aurora shakes her head.

The woman then said: 'It was a bit sour for the baby's palate,' before adding 'no babies were harmed in the making of this video.'
The IFS analysis sets out in stark terms the choices facing the Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured in Downing Street last month)

Ending austerity would mean borrowing an extra 33billion a year and leave the economy vulnerable to shocks from Brexit, a respected think-tank warned today.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said abandoning plans for further spending cuts and tax rises would mean missing the target of wiping out the deficit by the middle of the next decade.

It would also potentially leave the economy vulnerable to any shocks from Brexit.

However, keeping the deficit at its current level of 2.4 per cent would still bring debt down as a share of GDP over the 'long term' as long as UK plc kept growing as expected.

The IFS analysis sets out in stark terms the choices facing the Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond in the Budget this autumn.

It also raises questions for Labour, which proposed far higher spending in its election manifesto that the IFS warned would leave a 30billion black hole in government finances.

The PM and Mr Hammond are coming under intense pressure to ease restrictions on spending after a disastrous election result that robbed the Tories of their majority.

Tory MPs and even Cabinet members have openly joined calls to lift the 1 per cent cap on pay rises for public sector workers - which has been in force since 2013.

But the IFS pointed out that public sector employees were still earning on average 13 per cent more per hour than those in the private sector. Their earnings surged ahead as they escaped savage curbs in the wake of the credit crunch, but have since been reined in.

Even if the 1 per cent pay cap was to remain in place until 2020 as planned, the difference in average hourly earnings would still be just under 8 per cent.

The figures do not take into account the significantly more generous pensions on offer in the public sector.

The total wage bill for the public sector is 180billion a year, and allowing pay to rise at the same rate as the private sector would cost an extra 9billion a year by 2021-22.

Despite already having loosened the government's fiscal targets last autumn, Mr Hammond could have to make more major changes to his plans in order to permit bigger outlay on public services.

While recognising that abandoning austerity would require 'a very sharp change in direction', IFS deputy director Carl Emmerson said it was 'an option in a way that it was not an option back in 2010'.

Having soared to 9.9 per cent of national income in 2009/10 after the financial crisis, the deficit - the amount the Government spends more than it takes in taxes and other revenues each year - now stands below its pre-crisis level of 2.6 per cent of GDP and is the lowest it has been since 2003/04.

Even if the 1 per cent pay cap was to remain in place until 2020 as planned, the difference in average hourly earnings would still be just under 8 per cent, according to the IFS

But he warned that it would leave the Chancellor with 'less room for manoeuvre' if growth stalled as a result of Brexit or other factors.

'We could choose to continue to run deficits of around the current level over the longer term,' said Mr Emmerson, who unveiled his analysis at the Institute for Government in London.

'If the economy were to grow as expected this would be sufficient to see debt fall as a share of national income over the longer term.

'It would mean that over the next few years household incomes could be better supported and a greater quality and quantity of public services could be enjoyed. But it would also involve planning to live with elevated public sector debt for longer.

'It could give the Chancellor less room for manoeuvre if the economy were to suffer badly, for Brexit-related or other reasons, over the next few years. And it would almost certainly require the abandonment of the pledge to eliminate the deficit in the mid-2020s.'

The IFS said Mr Hammond could instead choose to increase taxes to shore up public service spending.

The IFS pointed out that taxes are already due to be their highest since 1986 and spending is at its lowest since 2003

Prime Minister Theresa May and Mr Hammond are facing pressure to ease tough restrictions on public spending

Some 5 billion a year could be raised without affecting the deficit by cancelling the planned cut in corporation tax from 19 per cent to 17 per cent.

Sticking to the 2025 target for eliminating the deficit, which has already slipped a decade from the 2015 deadline set by George Osborne, would mean a continuing squeeze on benefits and public spending and rising taxation, said Mr Emmerson.

On current plans, welfare spending is due to fall by 1 billion by 2021/22 and more in the longer term, while expenditure on services is due to decline as a share of national income by 17billion by 2021/22, he said.

The tax burden is due to rise by a further 5 billion by the same date, reaching its highest level since the mid-1980s,

Changes to the Government's programme following the snap election have not significantly altered its fiscal position, said Mr Emmerson.

The 1billion additional spending on Northern Ireland as part of the deal with the DUP to prop up Mrs May's minority administration was 'not a big deal' in the context of the overall budget, while dropping manifesto plans to end the pensions triple lock and means-test winter fuel payments would not have cut spending by much in the period to 2022.

'As ever, the Chancellor has choices and as ever there are trade-offs,' said Mr Emmerson.

'He could decide to spend and borrow more. He could decide to spend and tax more. Or he could decide to stick with his current plans and see spending continue to fall.

'He is not going to be able to give everyone everything they want and the sooner he makes plain what his choices are the better for all.'
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These striking images document the faces of the Buffalo Soldiers - some of the first African Americans to serve in the US military.

Initially the name was used for the men of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, which was formed by Congress in 1866, though was later expanded to include the 9th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry regiments which were created at the same time.

Their nickname was given to them by the Native American tribes they fought against during the Indian Wars, and supposedly came about because of a private by the name of John Randall who was attacked by dozens of Cheyenne warriors while escorting a hunting party.

Despite being shot in the shoulder and lanced 11 times, he held the Cheyenne off using only his pistol until help arrived.

Afterward, the warriors described a man 'who had fought like a cornered buffalo; who like a buffalo had suffered wound after wound, yet had not died; and who like a buffalo had a thick and shaggy mane of hair.'

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These are the faces of the original Buffalo Soldiers who served in four exclusively African American regiments created by Congress in 1866 as the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army. Their predecessors had served in several African American regiments in the Union Army during the Civil War

Men of the 25th Infantry regiment pose for a photograph in the late 1800s. The other three regiments were the 9th and 10th Cavalry, and the 24th Infantry, all of which fought during the Indian Wars

An African American corporal from the 9th Cavalry, pictured in 1890, against a snowy winter backdrop. The exact roots of the Buffalo Soldier nickname is disputed, but it was given to the soldiers by the Native American tribes they fought against

A solider of the 25th Infantry is photographed left, while another black solider of an unknown regiment is seen right, both in 1866. Some historians maintain the buffalo nickname was given because of the soldiers' hair, which to the Native Americans resembled buffalo fur, while others say it was a mark of respect for prowess in battle

An Infantry sergeant is photographed with young girl 1877 on the left, and a member of the 9th Cavalry, Company D, is pictured with a sharpshooter collar insignia in 1880, right. The men paved the way for the African American regiments which served in the First and Second World War, and ultimately to the integration of the US military

Buffalo Soldiers are seen in the 1860s. One legend on the origin of the name tells of how it originated after a private managed to hold off dozens of Cheyenne warriors with only his pistol despite being heavily wounded. Afterward, the Native Americans told of a man 'who had fought like a cornered buffalo; who like a buffalo had suffered wound after wound, yet had not died'

One of the original Buffalo Soldiers is seen left in 1866, while another member of the same unit is seen right in 1884. Both of these men would have served in the Indian Wars, which lasted until the 1890s. During that time the Buffalo Soldiers forged a distinguished fighting record, earning a total of 23 Medals of Honour over the course of the conflict

Two Buffalo Soldiers are seen in 1866, left, and in 1870, right. After the Indian Wars the regiments participated in the SpanishAmerican War and PhilippineAmerican War

The Buffalo Soldiers forged a path for more black regiments in the US military, including the 92nd Division whose insignia was a buffalo, in tribute to their predecessors. They are pictured in the trenches of the Argonne Forest, in France, in 1918

African American soldiers at Camp Gordon, in Georgia, in 1917 as one man reads a book to others who cannot read for themselves. The training base, which is today known as Fort Gordon, was established during the First World War. It is named afterJohn Brown Gordon, who was a major general in the Confederate army

An African American soldier reads a newspaper at a hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, having been wounded fighting in Europe in 1918. The Fourth Scottish General Hospital, where this man is being treated, had an entire ward set up specifically to treat African American soldiers from the US military

African American soldiers are dismissed from the Fourth Scottish General Hospital in Glasgow in November 1918. The Buffalo Soldiers did not fight in Europe during the First World War, though non-commissioned officers were deployed to other African American unit to help provide experience

Two African American soldiers are pictured in Columbus, Georgia, in December 1940. While the Second World War had already been raging in Europe for a year, it would be another year after this photograph was taken before America would join following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941

In Washington DC, two African American soldiers wait for a bus at the Greyhound terminal in December 1941. While the exact date of this photo is unknown, it was this month that America declared war on Japan, prompting Italy and Germany to declare war back, bringing America into the Second World War

A black soldier receives medical care at a base in New Guinea in 1943 in the Pacific theater of operations during the Second World War. In total 125,000 African Americans served overseas during the war, and it was their distinguished conduct that led to the desegregation of the US military in 1948
A group of far-right activists has hired a boat to patrol the Mediterranean and prevent would-be migrants from reaching Europe.

The 'Defend Europe' vigilante scheme was announced by anti-immigration campaigners from France, Italy and Germany after they managed to crowdfund the 76,000 euros ($87,000) needed to rent a vessel.

The plan aims 'to expose the true face of so-called humanitarian organisations, their collaboration with smuggling mafias, and the deadly consequences of their actions at sea,' according to organiser Clement Galant.

'When boats full of illegal migrants cross, our mission is to call the Libyan coastguard so that they can come and rescue them,' he said in a video posted on social media.

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Pictured: A ship hired by the 'Defend Europe' group as part of their plan to pick up migrants in the Mediterranean Sea and return them to Libya

Pictured: Migrants, most of them from Eritrea, jump into the water from a crowded wooden boat as they are helped by members of an NGO during a rescue operation in the Mediterranean sea, about 13 miles north of Sabratha, Libya

Pictured: The 40-metre vessel which the group, calling itself 'Generation Identity', has hired for its mission

'We will keep them safe in the meantime.'

The United Nations' migration body says that 100,000 people have arrived in Europe by sea this year, the vast majority Africans departing from Libya.

Despite their humanitarian mission, aid groups have come under fire, with some critics saying their presence encourages migrants to attempt the crossing.

Pictured: African refugees and migrants, mostly from Sudan and Senegal, wait aboard a rubber boat out of control to be assisted by an NGO 25 miles from Libya

The UN says more than 100,000 people have reached Europe by crossing the Mediterranean so far this year. Pictured: Migrants in the Mediterranean Sea

The far-right group, which calls itself 'Generation Identity', says the 40-metre (130-foot) vessel is en route to the Mediterranean after leaving Djibouti last week.

It will transport activists from the Sicilian port of Catania and patrol international waters off the coast of Libya.

The group managed to raise tens of thousands of euros by crowdfunding the initiative and rented the boat despite an online campaign by opposing activists who had demanded that PayPal freeze GI's account.

'By saving these peoples and providing an obstacle for trafficking groups, we can save Europe and save lives at the same time,' said a GI spokesman.
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China confirmed Wednesday that 35 Japanese nationals have been detained on suspicion of fraud.

"The 35 Japanese nationals were detained by local police for alleged involvement in fraud on June 30," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a regular news briefing.

China has notified Japan in accordance with the consular agreement between the two countries, Geng said.

Media reports said the suspects were detained in the southeast Chinese province of Fujian and were allegedly involved in telephone scams targeting residents in Japan.
This incredible footage of a gannet feeding frenzy looks like something out of a warplane movie, as hundreds of the swarming birds then rapidly shot into the waters below.

Filmed incredibly close to shore, the birds can be seen moving above the Notre Dame Bay, in Summerford, Newfoundland, Canada, before entering the water at incredible speed.

Summerford resident Lori Ann Goodyear, who captured the footage, compared the moment the birds reemerged with their share of herring to watching popcorn pop.

These are the incredible scenes of hundreds of gannets dive bombing the ocean

The birds were fishing for herring in Notre Dam Bay in Summerford, Newfoundland, Canada

Shocked Lori Ann, 45, said she had seen gannets in flocks of up to five before - but never as many as this flock, which easily measured in the hundreds.

Citizens in the town, which has a population of around 1,200, had never seen anything like the scenes that took place on June 8 this year, either, Lori Ann said.

The gannets are believed to have come so close to land because offshore, in the Atlantic Ocean, where they usually fee, a large amount of pack ice had moved down from the north, making it impossible for the birds to feed on the fish below the surface.

Lori Ann's clip of the natural phenomenon received more than 436,000 views on Facebook.

Lori Ann Goodyear and her husband initially thought the splashing was caused by a whale

Instead she witnessed the gannets dive bombing a school of herring who entered the bay

She said: 'We were very surprised when we saw the gannets in such a huge flock.

'Usually you'd see one to five flying together, but on this day there were hundreds.

'My husband at first thought it was whales, the spray coming from their blow hole as they broke the water, but the splashing we saw was actually the gannets diving down into the water.

'We pulled over in our vehicle, onto the side of the road, and started filming them.

'You never know what beauty you are going to see from day to day living in rural Newfoundland.'
A Canadian drugs trafficker wanted in the US was found hanged in his cell in Bangkok after Thai police began his extradition process.

They also seized a Lamborghini owned by Alexander Cazes, 26, who fled to Thailand to escape drug charges.

Cazes was arrested on July 5 and held in custody while extradition papers were prepared.

Canadian drugs trafficker Alexander Cazes (pictured on a stretcher), 26, was found hanged in his cell in Bangkok after Thai police began his extradition process and seized his Lamborghini

Officers visited his plush apartment and seized a grey Lamborghini, bought in Thailand

He was found dead at 7.35am today on the squalid toilet floor of his cell having hanged himself from the bathroom door with a towel.

Officers visited his plush apartment and seized a grey Lamborghini, bought in Thailand where cars are said to cost four times as much as in the west due to import taxes.

Narcotics squad chief Sommai Kongwisaisuk said Cazes was being held at the department's detention centre awaiting deportation when he was found dead.

He said he was a drugs trafficker who arrived in Thailand from the U.S. and officers had been working with American authorities after an arrest warrant was sent.

Lt Gen Sommai said: 'The accused with the name of Alexander Cazes was subject to extrajudicial arrest of the United States.

Cazes was found dead at 7.35am today on the squalid toilet floor of his cell having hanged himself from the bathroom door with a towel

arcotics squad chief Sommai Kongwisaisuk said Cazes was being held at the department's detention centre awaiting deportation when he was found dea

'Intelligence Division on July 5 arrested Alexander Cazes at house No. 514 Private House Phutthamonthon 3 Road, Thawi Watthana, Bangkok, under the warrant of Criminal Court No. 502/2560.

'The control room at 7am today saw a towel hanging on the edge of the bathroom door, but found no accused, so quickly unlocked the keys to open the open the door to his cell and found the body lying face down to the right.'

A source said police who arrested Cazes had impounded four Lamborghini cars and three houses worth about 400 million baht in total.
A daughter has spoken out about her outrage that her murderer father could be released from prison without ever revealing where he hid her mother's body.

Russell Causley has spent 21 years in prison for the 1985 murder of his wife Carole Packman, becoming the first killer in British legal history to be found guilty without his victim's body ever being found.

The 40-year-old disappeared in June 1985 from the family home in Bournemouth, Dorset. Causley was convicted 11 years after Carole's disappearance following confessions he made to cellmates about the 'perfect murder' of his 'bitch wife' while serving time in prison for fraud after trying to fake his own death.

In 2014 Carole's daughter Samantha Gillingham, 48, successfully pleaded with the Parole Board to keep her father incarcerated.

Russell Causley (left) has spent 21 years in prison for the 1985 murder of his wife Carole Packman (right). Her body has never been found

In 2014 Carole's daughter Samantha Gillingham (pictured), 48, successfully pleaded with the Parole Board to keep her father incarcerated

However, she is now braced for a fresh parole hearing that could be held as early as September.

Mrs Gillingham said it fills her with horror that her father could be free within months, while she will live forever wondering what happened to her mother.

Mrs Gillingham (pictured as a child with her parents) said it fills her with horror that her remorseless father could be free within months

'It feels like the justice system is seriously pushing now for his release regardless of the fact he has not let me know where my mother is,' she said.

'A big part of what prison is about is rehabilitation and the first part of that is admitting that what you have done is wrong. He has never done that.

'He is not remorseful or repentant. He should not be released back into society.

'I just want to be able to lay my mother to rest. While he refuses to tell us where my mother is my son and I can't move forward.

'I have to remain strong and do the best I can but it feels like I'm on the edge of a cliff and the land is slipping beneath my feet.'

The murder mystery of Carole Packman was featured last year on ITV's The Investigator: A British Crime Story.

The programme saw former detective Mark Williams-Thomas attempt to establish what had happened to the mother after her disappearance.

Mrs Gillingham recalled arriving home from school with her father in June 1985 to find her mother's wedding ring on the kitchen worktop.

A note with it said that she had had enough and was leaving.

Causley (left) was convicted 11 years after Carole's disappearance following confessions he made to cellmates while serving time in prison for fraud

Eight years after his wife (right) was murdered, Causley (left) was jailed for fraud after a lavish attempt to fake his own death as part of an insurance scam

The 40-year-old (pictured with her husband and daughter) disappeared without warning in June 1985 from the family home in Bournemouth, Dorset

The 16-year-old found her mother's clothes, jewellery and Rolex watch still in the bedroom and she was never seen again.

Former electronics engineer Causley was having an affair when his wife vanished.

He then moved his mistress, Patricia Causley, into the family home under the pretense that she needed somewhere to stay and his surname to the same as his lover by deed poll.

A TIMELINE OF THE MYSTERY 1985 Veronica Packman goes missing from her home in Bournemouth 1996 Causley is jailed for two years after trying to fake his own death in insurance scam 1996 Police then re-open case of his wife's murder and Causley is convicted at Winchester Crown Court 2003 His conviction was quashed on appeal 2004 He was found guilty again at a retrial and given a life sentence 2015 Causley's daughter Samantha Gillingham begged for him to reveal the whereabouts of her mother's body 2017 She receives a letter saying he is subject to a parole review Advertisement

Eleven years later Causley was jailed after he tried to fake his own death in a boating accident.

The million-pound insurance scam saw him incarcerated for two-years and prompted police to look into the disappearance of his wife.

He was subsequently charged with murder and the landmark case was tried at Winchester Crown Court in 1996.

His conviction was later quashed on appeal but he was found guilty again at a re-trial in 2004.

Causley, now aged 74, has been eligible for parole for the last five years.

Mrs Gillingham, who lives in Northampton, is a vocal supporter of the Helen's Law campaign which was launched by Marie McCourt, mother of Helen McCourt, who was killed by pub landlord Ian Simms in Billinge, Merseyside, in 1988.

Like Causley, Simms has still not told Mrs McCourt what he did with her daughter's body.

Under the law convicted murderers would not be released from prison unless they reveal where their victims are buried.

Despite attracting 400,000 signatures and being debated in Parliament, it was not included in last month's Queen's speech, but campaigners are determined to keep pushing until the law is passed.

When she was 16 years old Mrs Gillingham found her mother's clothes, jewellery and Rolex watch still in the bedroom and she was never seen again

Mrs Gillingham said: 'There needs to be a law brought in and applied at the point of sentence where the judge makes it abundantly clear if you don't disclose remains of the victim you will never be granted parole.

'There are many families unfortunately in the same position and we can't give up. We must keep on pushing until Helen's Law is passed.'

During the TV investigation, Causley 'played games' with Mr Williams-Thomas and his daughter.

Mrs Gillingham, who lives in Northampton, is a vocal supporter of the Helen's Law campaign. Under the law convicted murderers would not be released from prison unless they reveal where their victims are buried. Samantha Gillingham is pictured as a child with her mother

In a series of letter from his prison cell he first claimed he burnt Carole's body before changing his story to say he had buried her.

The four-part documentary series concluded with Causley retracting his earlier confessions.

Mr Williams-Thomas passed a file to police about Patricia Causley.

Patricia, who has admitted to using Carole's identity years after she was last seen while working in Canada, has never faced any charges in relation to Carole's disappearance. She denies any involvement.

Mr Williams-Thomas' investigation ultimately resulted in Dorset police to review the case.

Mrs Gillingham has spoken of her outrage that her murderer father could be released from jail without ever revealing what he did with her mother's body. Pictured: Mrs Gillingham and her son Neil

Mrs Gillingham said: 'He (Causley) has been playing games with us for three years. With his actions I believe he has committed further crimes.

'He told us he was going to help us and then he changed his mind.

'The parole board can take into account offences he has not been tried for. He has wasted police time, perverted the course of justice and prevented the lawful burial of my mother.

'If that is not somebody committing new crimes I don't know what is? Is it safe for the parole board to consider releasing somebody who has acted in this manner?'
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A 'beautiful but deadly' world has been brought to life in full colour for the first time, with stunning images giving insight into Captain Scott's final mission to the Antarctic.

The legendary explorer led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions - the famous Discovery Expedition between 1901 and 1904, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition between 1910 and 1913.

Captain Robert F. Scott and his team are shown in vivid colour during the two missions thanks to Welsh electrician Royston Leonard.

He said: 'I've seen the memorial to Captain Scott all my life in my local park. I then found out he left from Cardiff for the South Pole and I just wanted to find out more about him.

'I see a beautiful but deadly world in these images and men just trying to understand it but not really understanding fully what they were letting themselves in for.

'We like to think we are in control at all times but mother nature likes to remind us otherwise.'

Scott and his five-strong crew reached the South Pole in January 1912, only to discover that they had been beaten by rival explorers. All five would perish on their return.

Members of the Terra Nova expedition at the South Pole, during which Scott and his companions perished 150 miles from their base camp after a planned meeting with supporting dog teams failed, despite Scott's written instructions. Scott's group took this photograph of themselves using a string to operate the shutter

Captain Robert Falcon Scott led two expeditions to the Antarctic, and aimed to become the first explorer to reach the South Pole, a feat he narrowly missed. He died in March 1912 at the age of 43, and was celebrated as one of the country's finest adventurers, having contributed widely to the understanding of the difficult terrain

Pictured on the fatal expedition, a year before they perished, from left to right, are Edward Adrian Wilson, Scott, Lawrence Oates (seated), Henry Robertson Bowers and Edgar Evans

Scott set off on his second mission hoping to continue the scientific work which he had begun on the Discovery Expedition. He was also determined to be the first to reach the South Pole. Although they reached the pole on January 17 1912, they found that they had been beaten by a Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen, which got there 34 days earlier

Stunning pictures of Scott's final mission have been brought to life in full colour by Cardiff electrician Royston Leonard, who said: 'I see a beautiful but deadly world in these images and men just trying to understand it but not really understanding fully what they were letting themselves in for'

On their return journey after reaching the South Pole, Scott's party discovered plant fossils, proving Antarctica was once forested and joined to other continents. This picture was taken on March 7, 1911, and colour was added by Royston Leonard

Captain Scott is pictured writing in his den in October 1911, three months before he led the group which reached the South Pole only to discover they had been beaten. His body was discovered in November the following year, and he is thought to have been the last of his five-man team to have died

Scott's ship, the Terra Nova, is pictured behind a field of jagged ice in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica. The team of five reached the South Pole on January 1912, discovering plant fossils which broadened understanding of the icy continent. But all five were not to return after perishing on their return from the pole

The Terra Nova was described by Scott, who bought it in 1909 for 12,500, as 'a wonderfully fine ice ship'. And he wrote: 'As she bumped the floes with mighty shocks, crushing and grinding a way through some, twisting and turning to avoid others, she seemed like a living thing fighting a great fight'

After learning his team had been beaten to the pole, Scott wrote in his diary: 'I'm afraid the return journey is going to be dreadfully tiring and monotonous.' The bodies of Scott - who is thought to have been the last to die - and his companions were discovered by a search party on November 12 1912, when their records were retrieved

The stunning images were colourised by Royston Leonard, who said he had been inspired after seeing memorials to Scott in his native Cardiff, where the Terra Nova set off from in 1910

More than 8,000 people applied to be part of the ill-fated expedition, with a group of 65 selected to be part of the shore and ship parties, including replacement. In the end five of their number would reach the South Pole, but all were to perish on their way back, with Scott widely being viewed as a tragic figure and national hero
A mother has hit out at mental health authorities after her daughter took her own life after being told there was a six-month wait for therapy.

Sofia Legg, 14, hanged herself at her home in Cheddar, Somerset, on September 20 last year and was found dead by her mother Sandy, father Kevin and elder brother Daniel.

After a coroner recorded a verdict of suicide in the case, Mrs Legg has said her daughter had been 'failed by the system' and that no parent should have to 'beg' for professional help.

The inquest heard Sofia had told a professional she had 'an item that could have been used for self-harm' under her bed the day before her death.

But her parents were told only to take it away and to regularly check on their daughter, rather than supervise her round the clock.

Sofia Legg took her own life despite her mother having 'begged' for professional help for months before. Her mother has called for more support for troubled youngsters

The coroner was told Sofia's mother had taken her to her GP as long a go as March 2015 after becoming worried about her low mood and teachers reporting signs of self-harm.

The doctor referred her to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) but they decided she did not meet the criteria for specialist support.

In February 2016, Mrs Legg noticed patches on Sofia's head and suspected she was self-harming by pulling her own hair out.

Four months later Sofia's GP made an 'urgent referral' to CAMHS after the teenager confessed she had been having suicidal thoughts.

She was seen twice in July by care co-ordinator Camal Dhillon who told Mrs Legg there was a six-month waiting list for cognitive behaviour therapy. She also met the teenager the day before her death.

Mrs Legg said: 'Camal gave us a crisis plan, which included things like talking. There were instructions for Kevin and I to check on her regularly.

'No follow up appointment was made during this meeting but Camal said she would speak to a psychiatrist and review the case to see whether medication was a good option and that she would contact me as soon as she had an answer.'

However, the family were left heartbroken when they returned home from work as film extras and found her dead.

She died hours after an argument with another girl at the Kings of Wessex Academy over a boy, which had continued by text message, however, the inquest heard that this was not a 'key trigger' for her death.

The mother's plea came after a coroner at Taunton Coroners' Court (pictured) recorded a verdict of suicide. He said he would write to the mental health trust about his concerns

After the inquest, Mrs Legg said: 'As a family we will forever mourn the loss of our kind, bright, beautiful daughter. Sofia was failed by the system and we, as a family, feel badly let down.

'Tragedies like this have increased dramatically in recent years. Children like Sofia are being failed by the very agencies that have been set up to protect them.

'Something more needs to be done to protect our children, so that other families do not have to experience the pain, devastation and sense of loss that our family is going through.

'No mother should repeatedly beg for professional help for her child and no child in immediate need should be placed on a six-month waiting list.'

Mrs Legg said that following her daughter's death she had read investigation reports stating that she had been told by Mrs Dhillon to supervise her daughter at all times.

'I was angry with this because this is different from the words used by Camal to me personally which was to watch her and keep a close eye on her,' Mrs Legg said.

'This is also different from the crisis plan which says we were to 'check in regularly' on her. If constant supervision was necessary then this should have been stated directly to me.'

Somerset Coroner Tony Williams said Sofia had left an undated handwritten note in 'apologetic terms' but said he was satisfied the teenager had intended to take her own life.

He said he would be writing a preventing future deaths' report to the mental health Trust raising his concerns about what he had heard in evidence.

For confidential support on suicide matters in the UK, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here.
Gibraltar's chief minister today warned that territories cannot be traded 'like pawns in a chess game' after the Spanish King hinted at 'new arrangements' for the Rock.

King Felipe suggested the future of the UK's overseas territory could be up for debate in an audacious speech to Parliament.

But Fabian Picardo hit back saying the will of Gibraltarians must be respected and the territory remain '100 per cent British'.

Spain has long tried to stake a claim to the territory which lies on Spain's southern tip, but the territory has voted resoundingly to stay British.

Mr Picardo said Gibraltar wants friendly relations with its neighbours, but have 'no desire to form part of Spain or to come under Spanish sovereignty in any shape or form'.

Fabian Picardo insisted that Gibraltar must remain '100% British' after King Felipe hinted at 'new arrangements' over the Rock

King Felipe made a landmark address to MPs and Peers in the Royal Gallery this afternoon (pictured) in a key part of his state visit to Britain

King Felipe's speech was made in front of portraits of Queen Elizabeth (left) and her father George VI (right)

King Felipe made the landmark address to MPs and Peers in Parliament's grand Royal Gallery (pictured) this afternoon in a key part of his state visit to Britain

King Felipe and his wife Queen Letizia sat together before the King delivered his speech

Prime Minster Theresa May sat with Jeremy Corbyn and his wife Laura in the front row for the speech by King Felipe of Spain in Parliament today (pictured)

He added: 'In the times in which we live, territories cannot be traded from one monarch to another like pawns in a chess game.

'The concept of human rights and democracy means that the wishes of people must come first, as much of His Majesty the King of Spain's address to Westminster Hall rightly identified.

'But those principles are not just abstract ones; they apply to Gibraltar and its people too. In Gibraltar the people have spoken loud and clear.

'Our freely expressed democratic wishes must be respected and that means understanding Gibraltar will remain 100 per cent British.'

His intervention came after King Felipe risked the wrath of Tory MPs today as he hinted at 'new arrangements' for Gibraltar in a speech to Parliament.

Conservatives had threatened to walk out of the historic speech if he mentioned 'the Rock' - but there was no sign anyone actually did when the issue came up.

King Felipe made the landmark address to MPs and Peers in Parliament's grand Royal Gallery this afternoon in a key part of his state visit to Britain.

Speaking in English to the assembled Parliament, King Felipe first paid tribute to murdered MP Jo Cox and reflected on recent terror attacks in Britain.

KING'S SPEECH IN PERFECT ENGLISH The King of Spain delivered his speech to MPs and peers in near-perfect English today. Until King Felipe embarked on his speech it was not known which language he would use. While he concluded the remarks in Spanish, most of the speech was fluently delivered in English. The King perfected his immaculate linguistic skills at the Lakefield College School, a prestigious private boarding school in Ontario, Canada, which he attended as a child. And while he returned to Madrid for his undergraduate law degree, he later obtained a masters in foreign service at Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington DC. Advertisement

And in a hint at a push for changed relations on Gibraltar, the King said there have been 'estrangements, rivalries and disputes' between Britain and Spain in the past.

He added: 'I am confident that through the necessary dialogue and efforts our two governments will be able to work towards arrangements that are acceptable to all involved.'

The British territory has been persistently harassed by Spanish government ships and Madrid has long wanted it returned.

Turning to Brexit, King Felipe urged both Britain and Spain to ensure citizens on both side have a 'legitimate expectation of decent and stable living conditions'.

Senior Conservatives earlier told MailOnline a walkout could be triggered if King Felipe even mentions the Rock - let alone if he makes an incendiary demand for it to be returned.

In the event, no walk out took place as the King maintained a diplomatic line about ensuring an equitable solution.

The speech was delivered to the gathered joint Houses of Parliament and was introduced by Commons Speaker John Bercow.

Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sat together in the front row for the speech.

And in a highly unusual move, Mr Corbyn's wife, Laura Alvarez, accompanied him to wtach the speech.

She usually shuns public events and has not visited Parliament to watch her husband since he took over as Labour leader in 2015.

During the recent election campaign she turned down an invitation to appear alongside her husband on The BBC's One Show.

Queen Letizia leaves Parliament after hearing her husband speak to MPs and Lords

Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured arriving in the Royal Gallery ahead of the speech) and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sat together in the front row for the speech

The Labour leader (pictured today in the Royal Gallery) made small talks with the Prime Minister before the speech took place today

The speech was delivered to the gathered joint Houses of Parliament and was introduced by Commons Speaker John Bercow

Gibraltar has been a British territory for centuries but its future has been bound up into the Brexit talks by bureaucrats in Brussels insisting Spain gets a veto on whether the final deal applies to the territory.

At Prime Minster's Questions, senior Tory Andrew Rosindell demanded Damian Green remind King Felipe Gibraltar is British.

The First Secretary told him: 'The Government's position on Gibraltar and the primacy of the wishes of its inhabitants, which are overwhelmingly to stay British, will be respected by the Government.'

HOW THE ROW OVER THE ROCK HAS BREWED FOR CENTURIES The King of Spain's state visit is set to put the focus back on the future of Gibraltar. Here are some key questions about the British territory at the southern tip of Spain. Q: How long has it been British? A: It was captured during the War of the Spanish Succession and ceded to Great Britain 'in perpetuity' under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Q: Who lives there? A: Around 30,000 Gibraltarians and some Barbary macaques - the only wild monkey population in the European continent. Q: Why are there tensions between Spain and Britain over Gibraltar? A: While Gibraltarians voted overwhelmingly to stay being a British territory, Spain has long tried to assert claims to the territory. Recently, it has tried to use Britain's Brexit vote as an excuse to swoop in and push for joint sovereignty over the Rock. Thousands of Spaniards travel over the open border to Gibraltar daily to work and there are fears Spain could close the crossing after Brexit in a spiteful bid to put pressure on the territory to cede to their demands. Q: Did Gibraltarians get to vote in the EU referendum? A: Yes. And 96% voted to stay in. Q: So what difference will Brexit make to Spanish ambitions for the Rock? A: None, if Theresa May has her way. She has insisted that Gibraltar's status will not be up for discussion during exit talks. And the chief minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo has declared: 'Gibraltar is leaving the European Union with the United Kingdom.' Advertisement

Mr Rosindell earlier told The Sun: 'If such an august occasion was used by the Spanish to try re-open the non-negotiable issue of Gibraltar's sovereignty, I would expect there to be serious anger.'

He said last week: 'The people of Gibraltar are rightly nervous. They break the rules while we, in turn, welcome the King and Queen of Spain for a state visit.

'What kind of message is that for the people of Gibraltar?

'The people of Gibraltar are very unnerved, and rightly so. The Government needs to be much more robust.'

Tory MPs could walk out of an historic speech by the King of Spain (pictured with Queen Letizia today being greeted in London by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall) in Parliament today if he mentions Gibraltar

Any walk out of MPs over King Felipe's speech would be an acutely embarrassing moment fore Theresa May (pictured today at the official welcome on Horse Guards Parade) during the three day state visit

This afternoon's speech will come after a full state welcome and parade on The Mall, which is forcing Theresa May to miss Prime Minister's Questions

An official Royal welcome is being laid on for the Spanish monarchy on The Mall this afternoon before King Felipe's speech in Parliament

This afternoon's speech will come after a full state welcome and parade on The Mall, which is forcing Theresa May to miss Prime Minister's Questions.

Last September, King Felipe used a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York to call for a negotiated handover of what Gibraltarians affectionately call 'the Rock'.

'I invite the UK, on this first occasion at the UN after Brexit, to end the the colonial anachronism of Gibraltar with an agreed solution between both countries to restore the territorial integrity of Spain,' he declared.

When his father King Juan Carlos was monarch in 1986 and on a state visit to the UK, he raised Spain's claim over the Rock when addressing MPs and Lords.

The King will be honoured by a State Banquet with the Queen and other senior Royals as well as holding talks with Mrs May in Downing Street.

The elaborate visit is taking place this week after two postponements - in March 2016 amid a political crisis in Spain and in April this year because of the snap General Election.

Senior Conservatives told MailOnline a walkout could be triggered if King Felipe even mentions the Rock (pictured) - let alone if he makes an incendiary demand for it to be returned

Gibraltarians protesting against the State visit by the King of Spain said they will never be Spanish.

Three Gibraltarians protested outside the Governors residence as the King of Spain began his visit to the UK.

'We just wanted to show how unhappy we are at seeing him visiting the UK.

'We decided just this morning to come here and out up some flags in protest.

'We had to do something instead of just watching on TV,' Trevor Bickerstaff said.

Fellow protestor Simy Herbert said. 'We don't expect anyone to join us but we needed to show how we felt about his visit to Britain.

'When they speak of the Spanish claims over Gibraltar they forget us Gibraltarians will always have the last say.

'We decided we want to stay British and until the last Gibraltarian that is not changing because we will never be Spanish.'
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A baby rhino that was pictured standing next to his dead mother's carcass after she was slaughtered by poachers last week bravely paired up with another orphan to survive before being rescued, MailOnline can reveal.

The traumatised five-month-old calf, who witnessed his mother being brutally murdered for her horn, became a heartbreaking symbol of the rhino poaching crisis in South Africa after the photo was posted online.

Now, an exclusive photograph shows what became of the baby before it was rescued and taken to an orphanage.

The little bull was forced to team up with a nine-month-old orphaned calf whose mother was also killed at the same private farm during the massacre of nine rhinos on the first weekend of July.

The pair, who need their mothers' milk, were found severely dehydrated after surviving on sand and grass until they were rescued and moved to an orphanage last week.

By pairing up they managed to avoid being attacked by predators such as jackals and hyenas, which target babies that remain next to their dead mothers' carcasses.

Wandering together: The five-month-old rhino orphan joined up with a nine-month-old baby after both their mothers were killed for their horns on a farm which lost nine rhinos last week. They were spotted from a helicopter before being rescued. By teaming up they kept each other safe from predators at night. A lot of little babies are killed by predators because they stay next to their mother's carcass for days and her smell attracts predators such as jackals and hyenas

Orphaned for its mother's horn: This photo of the baby rhino left alone when poachers killed its mother at a private farm in South Africa shocked the world when it was shared online by anti-poaching campaigners last week. The infant has now been rescued and taken to an orphanage. It is pictured (right) with another orphan after they were both found severely dehydrated

They were spotted from a helicopter running together by wildlife television presenter and filmmaker Bonne de Bod and their farmer, who called the vet to come and take them to an orphanage.

'It was a relief to see the little bull calf from the helicopter. It was lovely to see the two of them safe and together in this big wide open space,' Ms de Bod told MailOnline.

Farmer Pieter Els showed Ms de Bod and filmmaker Susan Scott the scene of the massacre at his property where nine rhinos - including four pregnant mothers - were killed a few days after the attack.

'It was clear he was devastated walking from one rhino carcass to the next. He was receiving phone calls about the investigation and I could see that he did not want to stay long at each rhino carcass,' Ms de Bod said.

'We walked to another one of his dead rhinos and I could see a foetus lying just outside her body... a perfectly formed little rhino. He got quite emotional telling me that he had lost not only nine rhinos but actually 13 because four of them were pregnant.'

Both of the bulls who survived the attack are now 'together at the orphanage and stable, but not out of the woods just yet,' Ms de Bod explained.

Wildlife television presenter and filmmaker Bonne de Bod and farmer Pieter Els are pictured with one of the nine rhinos killed by poachers at his farm during the first weekend of July. The white substance on the carcass is vulture droppings. Predators like hyenas, jackals and vultures eat off of the rhino carcasses for days

Bonne de Bod and Pieter Els searched for the orphans from above in a helicopter (left) before spotting them running together

They are now the 'best of friends' after bonding during the traumatic experience.

Ordinarily, baby rhinos would stay close to their mothers until they are around three years old.

An investigation into the killing of the nine rhinos on Mr Els' private farm is ongoing. Its location in South Africa must remain secret, as must the orphanage where the two babies have been taken, in order to prevent further killings.

This is something world famous rhino orphan rehabilitator Karen Trendler knows only too well.

In February this year, the Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage where Ms Trendler ran operations was forced to close after it was attacked by a rhino poaching gang. Two babies were brutally killed, staff were violently beaten and one young female volunteer was sexually assaulted.

Ms Trendler warned that this recently orphaned rhino - who is yet to be named - still may not survive the trauma and faces a tough journey ahead.

This pregnant cow (left) was found with a foetus lying next to her after the massacre at Pieter Els' rhino farm. 'It was a perfectly formed little rhino. [Peter] got quite emotional telling me that he had lost not only nine rhinos but actually 13 because four of them were pregnant,' Ms de Bod said

World famous rhino orphan rehabilitator Karen Trendler is pictured feeding a two-day-old rhino calf. In February this year, the Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage where she worked was forced to close after it was attacked by a rhino poaching gang

Karen Trendler (left) is pictured here with Ms de Bod (centre) and Axel Tarifa (right) as they take a five-month-old rhino baby for daily exercise. Mr Tarifa was violently assaulted while trying to protect the rhinos from a poaching gang at the Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage

'At five-months he is the equivalent of a toddler. So as you can imagine, he is totally dependent on his mother. Not only would he need her milk, but it is winter in South Africa, so he would need her warmth at night as well as her protection from predators,' she said.

'One of the most stressful events for a toddler is to lose his mother, for a human baby or for any baby. And it is well documented that a rhino calf has an incredibly strong bond to his mother.

'It's a one on one bond, a mother with a single calf. That calf suckles for 18-months, and some calves do move away at age two but some actually only leave their mothers at age four.

'So for the calf to lose its mother is very stressful, very traumatic and in fact we can even lose a calf days after saving it due to the bond that calf has had with its mother.

'But for a calf to lose a mother during a poaching, where it is present, when its mother is shot and then her horn is hacked off is very brutal and we are dealing with intense trauma in these calves who do survive, in fact they suffer from PTSD.'

Sometimes rhinos are shot dead, in other cases they are brought down with a tranquiliser gun before having their horn hacked off - leaving the rhino to wake up and bleed to death painfully and slowly. Pictured is a poacher's bullet (left) found during a post-mortem investigation by the South African Police and a seized rhino horn (right) being analysed at the Veterinary Genetics Lab in Pretoria

Rhino horn is pictured being used in a traditional grinding bowl in Vietnam. During filming for a documentary on the rhino poaching crisis, wildlife presenter Ms de Bod was invited into the home of a rhino horn user who showed her how it's taken as 'medicine'. The horn is grinded into a powder or shaved down. It can also be dissolved in hot water. 'This user, a woman, had just managed to successfully fight cancer. She was clean and had used a combination of chemotherapy and rhino horn.'

Ms de Bod is pictured watching a Vietnamese cancer patient use rhino horn in Hanoi. As part of the Stroop documentary she has met with 'customers' in Southeast Asia to find out why they continue to use the rhino horn despite there being only 20,000 white rhino left in the wild

Sadly the case of this little bull is just a snapshot of the rhino poaching crisis facing South Africa.

Ms Scott said between 20 and 25 of the endangered animals are slain 'week in, week out' by highly organised crime syndicates in South Africa.

The filmmaker, alongside presenter Ms de Bod, has being working on a tell-all film about the crisis for two and a half years. The independent documentary, called Stroop, has taken them from South Africa to Southeast Asia where the demand for rhino horn is high.

'We knew that we couldn't make a film about the rhino poaching crisis without capturing the demand for the very thing they are being slaughtered for the horn, on camera,' Ms de Bod explained.

'I have to say that the massive demand for rhino horn really took me by surprise. Sure, we've all heard the Vietnamese and Chinese consume and acquire rhino horn but to actually see how it is used and the mythical, powerful properties they give itit's quite something to see and film.

'The desire for rhino horn is huge and I met people who quite honestly told me that if they had the wealth to get it, they would. So all levels of wealth in South East Asia want rhino horn.

'We saw and filmed rhino horn in all shapes and sizes. From off-cuts used in traditional medicine to jewelry worn as status symbols,' Ms de Bod said.

During filming, she was invited into the home of a rhino horn user who showed her how it's taken as 'medicine'. The horn is grinded into a powder or shaved down. It can also be dissolved in hot water.

'This user, a woman, had just managed to successfully fight cancer. She was clean and had used a combination of chemotherapy and rhino horn.

Rhino orphan expert Karen Trendler explained a rhino calf has an incredibly strong bond to his mother. 'It's a one on one bond, a mother with a single calf. That calf suckles for 18-months, and some calves do move away at age two but some actually only leave their mothers at age four,' she said. Pictured is a rhino orphan at one of the many facilities in South Africa

Ms Trendler said 'for a calf to lose a mother during a poaching, where it is present, when its mother is shot and then her horn is hacked off is very brutal and we are dealing with intense trauma in these calves who do survive.' Pictured: Rhino baby Makhosi (left) and milk provided for rhino orphans (right) after their mothers were killed

'She said her best friend had given it to her - rhino horn gifting is a big thing in Vietnam - and she said it was the most priceless gift she had ever received.

'She told me that she no longer used rhino horn but here's the thing... when I asked her when she last used the piece of rhino horn, she said "last Sunday for my grand-daughter's fever".'

Despite countries such as China, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia and even India believing rhino has medicinal values, repeated studies have not found any evidence to support the claims.

Rhino horns are made from a protein called keratin, the same substance that human fingernails and hair are made of. The horn is essentially just a compacted mass of hairs that continues to grow throughout the animal's lifetime, just like human hair and nails.

It is similar in structure to horses' hooves, turtle beaks, and cockatoo bills - however these animals are not hunted and slaughtered in the same way.

Tragically tradition and cultural beliefs in some Asian countries mean the demand for rhino horn has not waned despite just some 20,000 white rhino being left in the wild.

Poachers are now being supplied by international criminal gangs with sophisticated equipment to track and kill rhinos. A kilo of rhino horn is worth around $30,000 (23,000)  making it more valuable than a kilo of gold at $25,000 (19,000).

Sometimes the rhinos are shot dead, in other cases they are brought down with a tranquiliser gun before having their horn hacked off - leaving the rhino to wake up and bleed to death painfully and slowly.

Since 2007, more than 6,000 rhinos have been shot and butchered for their horns in South Africa alone. The majority of those have come in the last four years with around a thousand being killed every year since 2013.

Ms de Bod and a South African Police Service Investigating Officer are pictured at a rhino poaching crime scene (left). The filmmaker and presenter is pictured (right) with Dumisane Zwane with a rhino poaching survivor

Private security hired to protect the endangered animals is pictured on a farm in South Africa. Filmmaker Susan Scott said between 20 and 25 of the endangered animals are slain 'week in, week out' by highly organised crime syndicates in the country

The province of KwaZulu-Natal, which has the greatest density of rhino in South Africa, has seen 139 slaughtered already this year.

Located in the province is the HluhluweImfolozi Park which is home to an incredibly important populations of both white and black rhino.

The park is renowned worldwide for being the historical home of the Southern white rhino, after efforts dubbed 'Operation Rhino' in the 1950s brought back the white rhino from the brink of extinction. The park is now the source population of the world's Southern white rhino.

Meanwhile, the Kruger National Park, South Africa's first national park, were forced to increase their security measures even further in March. They said they had realised that poachers were accessing the park by posing as visitors at the gates.

A car would take three or four men into the reserve but would later exit with just the driver inside.

By 2019 they hope to have a wide area surveillance system in place, which will be able to detect and monitor humans in the park using radars and electro-optic sensors.

However, the fight to keep rhinos safe is not just a South African issue. They are at risk of being targeted around the world.

In March, in a horrifying new development, a rhino was shot dead by poachers at a zoo in Paris in what is believed to be the first such incident in Europe.

Keepers found Vince, a four-year-old white rhino, dead with one of his horns hacked off with a chainsaw in his enclosure at Thoiry Zoo.
The EU's chief negotiator today hit back at Boris Johnson's jibe that Brussels can 'go whistle' for its massive Brexit divorce bill as tensions flare over negotiations.

Michel Barnier pointedly said 'I'm not hearing any whistling, just the clock ticking' as he warned the March 2019 deadline for leaving the bloc is looming.

And he said Britain will still have to accept the interference of meddling EU judges even after we quit the Brexit club.

The Foreign Secretary yesterday said the EU can 'go whistle' as the UK will not pay 'extortionate' amounts in a divorce bill amid suggestions it could cost as much as 100 billion euros (89billion).

The war of words come as both sides prepare to sit round the table for the second round of Brexit talks on Monday.

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Michel Barnier, pictured in Brussels today, dismissed Boris Johnson's jibe that the EU will have to go whistle for a massive Brexit divorce bill

Speaking in Brussels, Mr Barnier said the first round of negotiations with David Davis had been useful, but warned: 'The hard work starts now.'

And he warned that the EU still wants to slap Britain with a hefty bill for walking away for the club.

He said: 'On the financial settlement, it is essential that the United Kingdom recognise the existence of financial obligations which are simply the result of the period during which they were members of the European Union.'

No figure has yet been put on the payment, but Jean-Claude Juncker suggested it could come in at around 60 billion euro (53bn).

And some reports have put it as high as 100 billion euro (89bn).

Mr Barnier also laid into Theresa May's 'generous' offer to protect the rights of the 3.2million EU nationals living in Britain after Brexit.

And he insisted that meddling EU judges must still have powers over the UK after Brexit - setting the stage for a major row with Mrs May who has insisted that finally freeing ourselves from the control of the meddling court is a red line in negotiations.

Mr Barnier said the offer made by the PM on EU citizens living in the UK after Brexit 'doesn't enable those persons concerned to continue to live their lives as they do today'.

And he said Britain's refusal to accept the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice 'creates uncertainty'.

He said: On the Court of Justice, there are discussions there possibly too.

'Im not talking about the ECJ for people arriving in the UK after Brexit, Im talking about acquired and accumulated rights that have been acquired over previous years and up until Brexit day.

And there I think it is legitimate to offer guarantees of those rights on both sides within a European framework.

He added: 'On subjects of such importance, it is essential to make sure that we and our partners are on the same political line before we seek technical solutions.'

Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon will both meet Michel Barnier tomorrow to discuss Brexit

With the second round of talks opening on Monday in Brussels, Mr Barnier said the UK must give greater detail about its plans for citizens rights, the Irish border and post Brexit trade.

He said: 'The EU positions are clear.

'We now need to know the UK's position on each of these issues in order to make progress. We need to know on which points we agree and which points we disagree so that we can negotiate in earnest.

'My aim is to make good progress next week and at our next session in August on all issues. We cannot remain idle as the clock is ticking.'

Mr Barnier is meeting with Jeremy Corbyn, Nicola Sturgeon and Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones tomorrow.
Ann Maguire's widower and her children are at the High Court today challenging an 'unlawful' decision not to call students who saw her murder as witnesses.

Her husband Don, daughters Emma and Kerry and her nephews say West Yorkshire coroner Kevin McLoughlin was wrong not to ask for evidence from pupils who had contact with her schoolboy killer Will Cornick immediately before the murder.

They have brought their judicial review to London and want Mr Justice Holroyde to overturn the decision.

An inquest into Mrs Maguire's death is due to take place before a jury at Wakefield Coroner's Court in November.

Ann Maguire's widower Don and their daughter Emma arrive at the High Court today to demand students who saw her murder or had contact wither her teenage killer are called to give evidence at her inquest

Will Cornick killed his 'inspirational' teacher Ann Maguire, who was the first teacher to be murdered in the classroom in British history

The 61-year-old teacher was stabbed in the back by 15-year-old Will Cornick as she taught a Spanish class at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds in April 2014.

Cornick was later sentenced to life by a judge, who ordered he must serve at least 20 years and warned that he may never be released.

On Wednesday in London, counsel Nick Armstrong told the judge that it was the only occasion on which a teacher had been killed by a pupil in a British classroom and the family were anxious 'that all the lessons that can be learned from this enormous tragedy are learned'.

'They want to understand precisely what happened, and to use that understanding to help ensure that all steps are taken to try to prevent it from ever happening again.'

Mr Armstrong said it was a matter 'of very substantial and current public interest' at a time when there were reports of a 'spike' in the number of knives in schools.

'This is our only lesson-learning opportunity in relation to that.'

Mr Armstrong said the coroner accepted that the inquest should address school rules and policies about weapons in school, reporting the presence of weapons in school, and how those rules and policies had been communicated to students.

This was because the undisputed evidence was that over the three hours before the murder, Cornick told other students what he intended to do, and showed a number of them the knife - yet no report to a member of staff was made, at least until it was too late.

Mourners cling to each other outside Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds - a coroner says that even though they are now adults they are vulnerable and should not be approached to give evidence again

The coroner said that all those students - now adults - were 'potentially vulnerable' and were not to be re-approached, with the result that only transcripts of their interviews with police at the time would be adduced.

'None of these interviews address school policies and rules and student knowledge of them.

'It follows that on the assistant coroner's ruling there will be no evidence before the inquest concerning the knowledge of policies from the student side.'

Mr Armstrong said the coroner made no inquiry on the individual circumstances of any former student, no student had been asked whether they wanted to give evidence and no consideration was given to using any of the range of vulnerable witness safeguards available.

'His decision was a blanket one based on limited and generic evidence about vulnerability generally.'

This approach was unlawful, said counsel.

All inquests were about full fact-finding and lesson-learning - but this inquest particularly so.

It was expressly resumed following Cornick's conviction and sentence because of the 'exceptional' nature of the case and the need for a 'public airing' which had not happened given his guilty plea.

'The assistant coroner was right to rule into scope the issue of school policies and how they were communicated to students.

'Once he did so, however, the law required him to explore that issue 'fully, fairly and fearlessly'.'
A second person has been charged over the alleged murder of a teenager who was gunned down while sleeping in his bed.

A woman, 30, was arrested at Blacktown, in Sydney's west, on Wednesday after her car was allegedly used as the getaway vehicle, reports Sydney Morning Herald.

She was charged with the murder over the shooting of Brayden Dillon, 15, and was refused bail to appear at Blacktown Local Court on Thursday.

The revelations come as friends and family members marked Brayden's 'sweet 16th' by candlelight at a well-known footbridge on Wednesday evening.

Brayden Dillon (pictured), 15, was shot as he slept in his home in Glenfield on Good Friday

A woman was charged with murder after her car was allegedly used as the getaway vehicle

During the solemn gathering, the group tied balloons, flowers and pictures of the 15-year-old to the East Hills bridge after organising the event on social media.

Rows of candles lined each side of the path as about 30 of Brayden's friends sang Happy Birthday and shared drinks to celebrate his short life.

'Happy Birthday Bray,' one woman said as a bunch of blue and purple helium balloons was released into the sky.

The bridge donned messages of support, including 'RIP Brayden' and 'I love you'.

It is becoming a meeting spot for the teen's friends who have struggled to come to terms with his sudden death.

The alleged execution has been described by senior detectives as callous and calculated.

Friends of Brayden Dillon pose for a group photograph during a memorial on what would have been Brayden's 16th birthday

Members marked Brayden's 'sweet 16th' by candlelight at a well-known footbridge on

Family and friends of Brayden Dillon hold a memorial on what would have been Brayden's 16th birthday, at East Hills, south west of Sydney

Rows of candles lined each side of the path as about 30 of Brayden's friends sang Happy Birthday and shared drinks to celebrate his short life

The bridge donned messages of support, including 'RIP Brayden' and 'I love you'

On Monday police made their first major breakthrough, arresting 26-year-old Conrad Craig and also charging him with Brayden's murder.

It came less than 24-hours after detectives made a public appeal for information about a suspected getaway car identified from CCTV footage.

The vehicle was found in an underground car park at Jamisontown on Tuesday afternoon and taken for forensic examination.

Craig, who converted to Islam during his time at Goulburn prison, had his matter adjourned and will next appear in Blacktown Local Court on August 23.

The breakthrough in the murder case came as Brayden (pictured) would have turned 16 this Wednesday

It is believed Brayden, who died in The Children's Hospital in Westmead hours after he was shot in April, may have been killed in retaliation for his brother's alleged involvement in a brawl and fatal stabbing at Panania in June 2016.

On Monday, police released CCTV images of a white Mazda 3 hatchback they wanted to identify.

'We believe that this vehicle is connected with the murder of Brayden Dillon,' Homicide Squad Detective Chief Inspector Mark Henney told reporters in Parramatta.

Detectives sifted through hours of CCTV, tracking the movements of people and vehicles in the Glenfield area at the time, but of the hundreds of movements they logged, the white Mazda was the only one that fitted the time frame.
Ralston Dodd, 25, from north London, was released from prison eight years too early

A prisoner who was released from jail nine months into a nine-year sentence after a court paperwork blunder, has been arrested in Birmingham.

Ralston Dodd, 25, from north London, was given the lengthy prison sentence after he stabbed Jerell Holland in the back three times in September last year.

At Blackfriars Crown Court, in November, he was jailed for nine years after admitting grievous bodily harm, but staff misheard the judge and wrote down nine months.

The blunder only became apparent when the victim saw Dodd wandering the streets of north London just a few weeks ago.

The Metropolitan Police has now announced that he was re-arrested last night.

A friend of Dodd, who has gone into hiding since the authorities were made aware of the mistake, said the thug couldn't believe his luck.

Dodd served seven months in HMP Thameside before his early release, before Mr Holland spotted him in the passenger seat of a car and informed the authorities.

A warrant for his arrest was issued, but Dodd went on the run before his arrest today.

The Ministry of Justice said the circumstances are 'extremely rare' and an investigation was immediately launched.

Dodd attack Mr Holland in Islington outside council offices on September 18, last year.

The victim was stabbed three times and was taken to hospital with a punctured lung.

He has since made a full recovery, but is said to have been lucky to stay alive.

After the incident, detectives from the Islington Gangs Unit identified Dodd as the suspect.

He was arrested on October 11, 2016, and pleaded guilty due to the 'weight of evidence against him'.

Dodd served seven months in HMP Thameside before his early release

After Dodd's sentencing, Det Insp Will Lexton-Jones, said: 'The professionalism and dedication of the officers led by Det Cons Ben Glinski who worked on this investigation was exceptional and has ultimately led to an extremely dangerous offender being jailed.

'This was an appalling act of violence that almost cost a man his life.

'The seriousness of this offence is reflected in the extensive prison sentence.'
A British Airways passenger was so drunk that she was escorted off a flight to Canada before it even took off, a court has heard.

Meghna Kumar, 30, is accused of hurling foul-mouthed abuse at a stewardess and refusing to put on her seatbelt after boarding the flight late.

Her behaviour after drinking vodka in a bar at Heathrow caused the BA flight to Montreal to be delayed for two hours, Uxbridge Magistrates Court heard.

Meghna Kumar, 30, is accused of hurling foul-mouthed abuse at a stewardess and refusing to put on her seatbelt after boarding the flight late

Kumar, who lives in Kensington, west London, is accused of telling a BA stewardess to 'f**k off' on board the aircraft on Sunday, April 9 this year.

She continued to kick up a fuss when she was asked to stand up and her behaviour saw the plane return to the gate where she was then arrested - causing a two hour delay, the court heard.

Kumar, who appeared in court, indicated a not guilty plea to a single charge of entering an aircraft while drunk.

Vijay Khuttan, prosecuting, said: 'Ms Kumar was late for boarding and she came along the corridor to the aircraft after she had been at one of the bars.

'She was shouting as it was taxiing, Ms Kumar had been asked by a stewardess to fasten her seatbelt and she said: "Now, really, I cannot believe you are f*****g asking me to stand up." '

Ahmet Rafiq, representing Kumar, gave no submissions but indicated that she would be pleading not guilty.

She is accused of telling a BA stewardess to 'f**k off' on board the aircraft on Sunday, April 9 this year

If convicted she faces an unlimited fine or imprisonment.

Mr Khuttan told the court that Kumar had said to the stewardess: 'I did not say anything to you, f**k off'.

He added: 'The stewardess then left her in her chair.

'She was still unfastened in her chair when the decision was made to go back to the gate and have her taken off and she was arrested by the police.

'She claims to have had two vodkas, but we suggest otherwise.

'The plane had started taxiing when it became disrupted, it was delayed for about two hours.

'Because of the effect it has had on the airport authorities we say it is not suitable for this court and needs to be sent up.'

She was bailed to appear at Isleworth Crown Court next month.
Amber Rudd was left red-faced after her hat was sent flying by a gust of wind moments before she met King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain.

The Home Secretary was forced to scurry along the gravel at Horse Guards Parade, as she walked with Prime Minister Theresa May to meet the Spanish royals.

The Conservative politicians were among many high profile figures invited by the Queen to mark the first state visit by a Spanish monarch since 1986.

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Amber Rudd was left red-faced after her hat went flying off her head by a gust of wind moments before she met King Felipe VI and Letizia of Spain

The Home Secretary was forced to scurry along the gravel at Horse Guards Parade, as she walked with Prime Minister Theresa May to meet the Spanish royals

While it was not quite the entrance Mrs Rudd would have hoped for - she was not the only MP left red-faced by her choice of head-wear.

The PM has faced criticism after people observed that her hat appeared to completely cover her eyes.

Eagle-eyed spectators commented that Mrs May, 60, looked 'silly' in her blue, wide rimmed hat, when she wore it to the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on Monday.

Stylist Kelly Hidge told FEMAIL: 'The hat is definitely too big for her. I actually quite like the hat itself, however it is doing her no favours by covering her entire face.

'Maybe she thinks it is cool look? Wants to be down with the kids? Stick to your day job and buy a hat that fits that's what I say.'

However, despite the negative comments Mrs May chose to wear the same hat for today's royal reception.

The Queen and Prince Philip warmly shook hands with King Felipe VI and his wife, Queen Letizia as they formally welcomed the couple today.

Pictured: Theresa May holds on to her hat as Amber Rudd rushes to pick up hers at Horse Guards Parade

Pictured: Mrs Rudd looks embarrassed as she walks over to pick up her navy hat

Pictured: Mrs Rudd smiles as she holds her navy headpiece after it was blown off her head

The four are all descended from Queen Victoria and shared a few words before the welcome ceremony began.

It is the first state visit by a Spanish monarch since King Juan Carlos toured Britain 31 years ago, when he raised the controversial issue of Gibraltar - as his son Felipe is expected to do when he addresses parliamentarians later.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall had escorted the king and his wife from their London hotel to Horse Guards Parade, arriving in chauffeur-driven limousines.

Following protocol the Queen introduced the Spanish couple to leading figures from UK national life, including Mrs May, Mrs Rudd, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and senior military figures.

Pictured: Amber Rudd and Theresa May walk together to meet the Spanish royals at Horse Guards Parade today

The Queen and Prince Philip with King Felipe VI and his wife, Queen Letizia at the Ceremonial Welcome at Horse Guards Parade

Pictured: The Queen and King Felipe of Spain wave to crowds as they travel along the Mall in central London

During their three-day visit Felipe and Letizia will dine at a Buckingham Palace state banquet, with Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge expected to attend; visit the Palace of Westminster, where the king will address parliamentarians; and on Thursday Felipe will meet Mrs May at Downing Street.

The backdrop to the visit is strained relations between Spain and the UK over the sovereignty of Gibraltar, which have come to the fore because of Brexit.

Simon Manley, Britains ambassador to Spain, was questioned by journalists in Madrid last week, and when asked if Felipe could talk about the British overseas territory in his Westminster speech, he replied it was a possibility.

Last September, Felipe used his address to the UN General Assembly in New York to call for a negotiated handover of The Rock.
This is not something you'd expect to go through a facial scan for, but in China toilet-goers now need to pass a facial recognition system in order to receive tissue paper.

These camera-equipped dispensers are designed to combat the so-called 'toilet paper thieves', who would hide several metres of communal toilet paper in their bags and sneak them home.

In Fuzhou, each toilet-goer would be given a piece of toilet paper measuring 70cm long (28 inches) once they have their face recognised.

Get your toilet paper here: A Chinese city has installed camera-equipped tissue dispensers (right) in public bathrooms. Each visitor is allowed 28 inches (left) after passing a facial scan

High-tech: To receive toilet paper, the visitor needs to stare into the camera for three seconds

The machines were first spotted in Beijing, but now around 30 of them have been installed in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province in south-eastern China.

To receive toilet paper, the toilet users are required to remove their glasses or hats and look into the camera for three seconds.

Once their identity is logged into the system, they wouldn't be able to get toilet paper again for another nine minutes.

If the toilet users wish to have more toilet paper, they would need to talk to a bathroom attendant, according to Kening Ecological Technology, which builds and manages public bathrooms in Fuzhou.

The company started setting up the smart dispensers in March, and apparently the machines had helped it cut the usage of toilet paper by around 75 per cent.

'In the past, each bathroom would need eight to nine rolls of toilet paper a day. Now it would only require two,' a spokesman from the Kening Ecological Technology told MailOnline.

The machines have been installed to stop people stealing toilet paper from public restrooms

Around 30 of these machines have been installed in the public bathrooms built by Kening Ecological Technology in Fuzhou. The restrooms are also equipped with air-conditioning

Apart from the facial recognition system, the bathrooms are also equipped with air conditioning. Many of them have Wi-Fi signals too.

All of the public lavatories are free to use and have been built near scenic spots, commercial districts and stadiums.

Six of these machines were installed in Beijing in March.

Workers at The Temple of Heaven, a popular park and scenic spot, said it was a pilot scheme to see if visitors were accepting of the new technology.
Thornberry's jibes came after May appealed for Opposition input on policies

May was across Whitehall on Horse Guards Parade instead of at Commons bout

Emily Thornberry lashed Theresa May for needing new ideas today as she took centre stage at a stand-in PMQs.

The shadow foreign secretary led for the Opposition in the Commons against Mrs May's understudy, the First Secretary of State Damian Green.

The Prime Minister was less than a mile away on Horse Guards Parade watching the official Royal welcome for the King and Queen of Spain at the start of a State Visit.

Ms Thornberry's blast at the PM came after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sent a personally signed copy of his manifesto to Downing Street.

Emily Thornberry lashed Theresa May for needing new ideas today as she took centre stage opposite Damian Green at a stand-in PMQs (pictured today)

The shadow foreign secretary led for the Opposition in the Commons against Mrs May's understudy, the First Secretary of State Mr Green

Mrs May yesterday appealed to opposition politicians to 'contribute not just criticise' in a much maligned speech intended to relaunch her beleaguered Government.

Mr Green hailed the Government's success in bringing unemployment down to record lows and getting the Brexit talks up and running.

Ms Thornberry had demanded Mr Green set out what a 'no deal' Brexit might look like and was told the Office for Budget Responsibility would set out a 'fiscal risks' report tomorrow.

She said: 'What a mess the Government has got itself into by threatening to walk away even before talks began.

'We've got a no deal option on the table... We've got a Foreign Secretary making it up as he goes along, we've got a Brexit Secretary so used to overruling his colleagues that he's started to overrule himself, and we've got a PM so bereft of ideas she's started putting suggestion boxes around Parliament.

'But as a country we've got 20 months until Brexit and we've absolutely got to get a grip.

'If the party opposite does not have the strength for the task, then we've got to get rid of them.'

The Prime Minister was less than a mile away on Horse Guards Parade (pictured) watching the official Royal welcome for the King and Queen of Spain at the start of a State Visit

This afternoon's speech will come after a full state welcome and parade on The Mall, which is forcing Theresa May to miss Prime Minister's Questions

Mrs May attended the reception for the Spanish monarch with her Home Secretary Amber Rudd (left today)

Mr Green hit back: 'So far I have counted nine different positions from the party opposite on Brexit.

'They want to be both in and out of the Single Market, in and out of the customs union, they said they wanted to Remain, they voted for Article 50, they split their party on that.'

Mr Green picked up on a slip from Ms Thornberry about how he should be the one asking the questions - prompting her to quip the pair should swap sides and let Labour form a Government.

He said: 'She made one point about whether she would prefer to be at this Despatch Box than that Despatch Box... I would also remind her of the other event where the Conservative party got more votes and more seats than the Labour party and won the election.'

Ms Thornberry's blast at the PM came after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sent a personally signed copy of his manifesto to Downing Street

Ms Thornberry also used the session to jibe at the Tories over Anne-Marie Morris, who was suspended by party this week in a race row.

She claimed the Newton Abbott MP had 'turned herself into Nick Griffin' before returning to her main attack over Brexit.

Mrs May condemned the 'completely unacceptable' remarks from the MP on Monday before ordering her chief whip to suspend her.
Pictured: Luc Ravel, who said Muslims 'know very well that their birth rate is such that' one day France will belong to them

The Archbishop of Strasbourg has said Muslims in his country are aware their high birth rate will soon lead to a 'Great Replacement' of the French population.

Roman Catholic Luc Ravel also spoke out against abortion, explaining he cannot accept the practice 'because I love France'.

The term 'Great Replacement' is often used by controversial French writer Renaud Camus, who believes that a combination of France's large Muslim population, its relatively high birth rate and migration will soon lead to the country's culture changing.

The archbishop said: 'Muslim believers know very well that their birth rate is such that today, they call it ... the Great Replacement, they tell you in a very calm, very positive way that, "one day all this, it will be ours"', Valeurs Actuelles reported.

The term 'Great Replacement' has also been used by members of the Front National in the past.

Roman Catholic Luc Ravel (pictured centre) spoke out against abortion, explaining he cannot accept the practice 'because I love France', as well as mentioning the 'Great Replacement' of the French population by Muslims

Pictured: Migrants waiting in the Calais 'jungle' in northern France. Controversial French writer Renaud Camus believes that a combination of France's large Muslim population, its relatively high birth rate and migration will soon lead to the country's culture changing

The former bishop for the French armed forces also said that 'abortion is not only conceded but promoted' in his country.

He added: 'It's a promotion and I cannot accept it, not just on a question of faith but because I love France.'

Ravel has previously described abortion as a 'weapon of mass destruction', comments which prompted the intervention of the French minister of defence.

It was estimated in 2016 that France had a Muslim population of 4.71 million, the second largest in Europe after Germany.

In 2030, the Muslim population of France will be 10.3 per cent and in Britain 8.2 per cent, according to Pew. Pictured: Paris at night

The Pew Research figures showed that this accounted for 7.5 per cent of the French population.

The average age of Europe's Muslims was 32 in 2010, eight years younger than for Europeans generally.

Pew predicts that the Muslim population in Europe will grow by about one-third over the next two decades, from 6 per cent of the overall population to 8 per cent in 2030.

That means a growth from 44.1 million to 58.2 million, with the greatest increase coming from migration rather than new births.

In 2030, the Muslim population of France will be 10.3 per cent and in Britain 8.2 per cent, according to Pew.
Laura Ramos, 31, was arraigned for second degree sexual assault on Tuesday

A married teacher was joined in court by her husband on Tuesday to face charges for having sex with a special education student in her car.

Laura Ramos, 31, from New Haven, Connecticut, is charged with second degree sexual assault.

Police say the mother-of-one admitted having sex with the 18-year-old student 'a handful of times' in her car between December and April.

He was one of the students in her special education class, The New Haven Register reports.

She was arrested after another student at the school reported her to staff.

He claimed she had begun texting him to complain that 'her guy' was no longer interested in having sex with her.

That student said he believed 'her guy' was a special needs student she'd been teaching. He claimed to have seen them together in the school and said they 'made eyes at each other' as if they were flirting.

On June 9, Ramos was arrested. She subsequently resigned.

At her arraignment hearing on Tuesday, her lawyer said she was 'presumed innocent'.

The woman has not yet entered a plea. She allegedly confessed to having sex with the boy during taped police interviews after her arrest.

Her plea hearing was scheduled for July 25.
Video footage has caught the dramatic moment a mountain collapses after heavy rain in China.

Officials risked their lives standing on the mountain close to the collapse in Guizhou province on July 10.

There were no casualties reported.

Officials risked their lives standing on the mountain close to the collapse in Guizhou province

The video was filmed in Qianxinan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture on July 10.

People can be heard shouting and screaming while another man tries to get closer to film the section of the mountain.

The men shout: 'Get away' and 'leave!'

People can be heard shouting and screaming while another man tries to get closer

According to local officials, the mountain was made fragile by heavy rains in recent weeks

All of a sudden the section of the mountain starts to tumble forwards. It takes just seconds for the section to crash down the side of the mountain.

According to local officials, the mountain was made fragile by heavy rains in recent weeks. They noticed a 16 foot wide and 65 foot long crack in the rock face.

10 households at the foot of the mountain had been evacuated three days earlier with authorities sealing off the roads below.
Theresa May's deputy today accused Remainers of 'scaremongering' by peddling false claims Britain's Brexit plans could hit cancer treatment.

Radiologists have voiced 'serious concern' that leaving Euratom - the European nuclear agency - could threaten the supply of vital isotopes used for cancer scans.

And the warning was picked up with gusto by Remainer politicians determined to pursue project fear.

But Damian Green said Brexit will have no impact on Britain's ability to buy the isotopes as he hit out at elements for trying to exploit the fears of cancer patients.

Mr Green, the First Secretary of State, tore into the misinformation as he stepped in to cover for Mrs May in today's session of PMQs.

Damian Green, pictured in the Commons today, said the UK's withdrawal from Euratom will have no impact on the ability to get vital isotopes used for cancer scans

He said: 'It is a very important issue and there has been some unnecessary worry caused to cancer patients by speculating on this. Let me set out the position.

The import or export of medical radio isotopes is not subject to any particular Euratom licencing requirements.

Euatom places no restrictions on the export of medical isotopes to countries outside the EU.

WHAT IS EURATOM? The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) was founded in 1957 to develop and share nuclear technology. It is legally separate from the EU, but most of the bloc are members. Other independent countries such as Switzerland are part of the group. Euratom is governed by many of the EU's institutions, including the European Court of Justice. Advertisement

So after leaving Euratom our ability to access medical isotopes produced in Europe will not be affected.'

He added: So I hope that reassures cancer patients around the country that the scaremongering that is going on is unnecessary.'

Mr Green spoke out after he was asked by Labour MP Pat McFadden if the government had made an assessment of the possible risks to care of leaving Euratom.

The Royal College of Radiologists has voiced 'serious concern' that leaving Euratom - the European nuclear agency - could threaten the supply of vital isotopes.

Euratom is separate from the EU, but the Prime Minister has insisted the UK needs to quit the body because of her 'red line' on post-Brexit meddling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Nicola Strickland, president of the Royal College, has said that around 500,000 scans are performed in Britain every year using imported radioisotopes.

While the Prime Minister has opted to pull out of Euratom, she has signalled Britain will seek a close post-Brexit relationship with the regulator.

Theresa May, pictured walking to horse Guards Parade today, missed PMQs so that she could welcome King Felipe VI of Spain and his wife Queen Letizia for his official state visit to Britain
A 55-year-old ex-con has confessed to the murder of his mother's former employer, who was found brutally beaten and stabbed to death in her home in a wealthy Houston suburb last week.

Janeil Bernard, 79, was found beaten and stabbed to death by her maid on July 3, around 1pm.

Hedwig Village police now say that the man responsible for her death is Michael Glenn Susberry, the son of her former housekeeper.

Police invited him to come to the station for a voluntary interview on Tuesday, after identifying him has a suspect and he confessed to the crime.

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Michael Susberry, 55 (right), has allegedly confessed to killing 79-year-old Janeil Bernard (left), the woman who his mother worked for as a housekeeper for nearly 60 years

They say he knew Bernard his entire life, since his mother Moteel, now 89, had served as Bernard's maid for nearly 60 years. The two remained close and sometimes took trips together.

In fact, Moteel promised to 'fix' the person who killed Bernard herself, if she ever found out, in an interview last week, before she learned police suspected her son.

'I hope they catch whoever did it and stab them, but before they die, before they send them to the pen or whatever, they need to be sent to the back of the pen by they self for life with no parole. That's what need to happen,' Moteel told KTRK on July 5. 'Or let me get ahold of 'em and I fix 'em.'

When he confessed to the crime, Susberry said he was concerned about how it would impact his mother.

After she learned of Bernard's murder last week, her former housekeeper, Moteel Susberry, said she would 'fix' whoever was responsible - not knowing that police suspected her son

'He said his mother didn't know anything about this,' Sgt. Marvin Collins said. 'He doesn't want the Bernard family to hold anything against his mother, and that was his main concern.'

Bernard is pictured above with her former housekeeper, Moteel, who she continued to pay a monthly stipend even after she retired

After Moteel retired five to six years ago, Bernard bought her a car and continued to pay her a monthly stipend, which her sons - including Michael - would often drop by to pick up in person.

That's how they believe Susberry gained entrance to the house on the day he killed Bernard, since there was no sign of a forced entry.

'She knew him,' Hedwig Police Chief David A. Gott said. 'She recognized him. She gave him something to drink. She allowed him to sit on the couch to rest.'

Police say Susberry came to the house with the express purpose of robbing Bernard.

At one point, Susberry went to use the restroom and then pretended to fall over.

Bernard came in to help him and that's when he head-butted her, knocking her to the ground - and proceeded to beat her up before stabbing her multiple times.

Bernard was found beat and stabbed to death by her current maid at her home on July 3

After she was dead, Susberry then ransacked the home, looking for valuables. Police say he took jewelry, her wallet and her red four-door Cadillac.

Her car was found a day after her body was discovered, abandoned in south Houston - the keys about 200 yards away.

Police were able to identify Susberry because he used his bus pass to get to Bernard's home, and there's video evidence placing him near the scene of the crime around the time she was murdered.

'They were able to track him using his bus pass Sunday, out to this side of town,' Hedwig Village Police Chief David Gott said. 'Then we started doing some canvassing, found some video on various buildings - it was really incredible the amount of police work, detective work, that led to this case being solved.'

Susberry is pictured above arriving at Harris County Jail on Tuesday, after his confession

Susberry needed help getting out of the police vehicle and was apparently using a walker

After confessing to the crime, Susberry was charged with capital murder and was booked into the Harris County Jail.

When he showed up at the jail, Susberry needed help to get out of the car and appeared to be using a walker.

The Harris Village police chief says he has no role in the decision, but he would like the district attorney's office to consider the death penalty in Susberry's case.

'He's been in and out of the penitentiary his entire life,' Gott said. 'It doesn't appear as though he has ever done anything worthwhile since he has been alive on this earth.'

Bernard, a former teacher, was an accomplished ballroom dancer in the community

Susberry had a violent criminal record. In 1985, he was sentenced to life in prison for aggravated robbery, but only served 20 years

Susberry reportedly struggled with drug abuse and had a violent criminal record. He was actually sentenced to life in prison in 1985 for aggravated robbery, but was released after serving just 20 years.

Meanwhile, Bernard lived in the community for 50 years and was beloved by many, who remembered her as an accomplished ballroom dancer. In her earlier career, she worked as a schoolteacher in the Spring Branch ISD, before becoming a stay-at-home mother. She later became an accountant.

She lived alone but is survived by two sons and two grandchildren.
This is the extraordinary moment an unconscious woman jolted awake after being revived with Narcan.

The woman from Orlando, Florida was on the verge of death after a drug overdose. She had no pulse, her face was turning purple and her lips were pale, but she became conscious, five minutes after a police officer, Corporal Bryan James, administered Narcan, the emergency treatment which reverses a drug overdose, News 6 reported.

'I'm very appreciative that I was Johnny on the spot and able to use the training that the great Orange County Sheriff's Office gave me and used these tools to help this citizen recover because, you know, every strong person has a weak moment, and that is what this is all about,' James told the local station.

The woman from Orlando, Florida, suddenly became conscious five minutes after she was given Narcan, the emergency treatment which reverses a drug overdose

Corporal Bryan James administered Narcan and performed CPR on the woman, who had been sent to the jail

A man had dropped the unconscious woman at the Orange County Jail on Monday, and called on James to help her.

The officer - the only deputy in the jail who had Narcan - quickly ran to his patrol car to get the emergency, which he administered through her nostrils.

He then performed CPR on the woman, who was now laying on the grass.

HOW DOES NARCAN WORK? Narcan works by blocking the brain receptors which fentanyl unlocks. Drug users experience their high from opioids because the substance seeks out receptors in the brain, attaches to them, and 'unlocks' them - like a key. Over the next few minutes and hours the drug repeatedly locks and unlocks those receptors, triggering a rush of joy, calm and pain relief. However, too much of a drug can overload those receptors and start to block the blood flow to the brain. This causes shortness of breath and a slow heart rate. Narcan can reverse this dangerous effects in a matter of seconds if it is administered early enough. Advertisement

'So we got her out of the car, we were able to give her CPR on the grass here on the ground,' James said.

'She totally flat-lined, we had no pulse. We just kept with it, kept with the CPR.'

Five minutes after he gave her the lifesaving treatment, the woman miraculously became conscious.

'Eventually [the fire department] arrived, the Narcan finally kicked in ... she made it. It was a good day in Orange County.'

Florida has not been immune to the opioid crisis that has killed close to 60,000 people in America last year alone.

The Orange County police officers have had to use Narcan 44 times so far and in 30 out of those cases, those affected have responded to the treatment, according to News 6.

'We have a community problem. We have a crisis here in Orange County, a heroin crisis,' James said. 'It's a community problem, we need community solutions.'

When the ambulance service arrived the woman was still unconscious - but only for a few minutes

Five minutes after she was given her the lifesaving treatment, she miraculously became conscious

James said:'Eventually [the fire department] arrived, the Narcan finally kicked in ... she made it. It was a good day in Orange County.'
A female doctor has been arrested in Ireland after her autistic toddler was found knifed to death in their apartment.

Maha Al Adheem, a doctor in her early 40s, was also found with knife injuries at her home in Dublin and taken to hospital for life-saving surgery.

Her three-year-old son, Omar, had suffered stab wounds to the abdomen, legs and chest and died before medics arrived at the flat.

Female doctor Maha Al Adheem has been arrested in Ireland after her autistic toddler was found knifed to death in their apartment

The child's body was removed from the apartment in the morning as forensic examinations took place. It was taken away in an ambulance for a post mortem to be carried out

Forensics were seen inside the apartment yesterday as they investigated the circumstances surrounding the death

Ms Al Adheem was last night being treated at St James's Hospital, Dublin, after she underwent life-saving surgery on Monday night.

The Iraqi doctor phoned the emergency services shortly before 7pm on Monday.

Neighbours yesterday told how the first ambulance crew to arrive at the Riverside flat complex in Poddle Park, Kimmage, believed the boy had suffered a heart attack.

They tried to get into the locked apartment and called gardai who broke the door down a short time later.

They then came on the horrific scene, discovering that Omar was already dead and his mother was suffering from stab wounds. It is believed the boy had been dead for a number of hours at this stage.

Ms Al Adheem's husband, with whom she is no longer in a relationship, was comforted by friends last night. He was told late on Monday night of the tragedy.

Flowers, toys and candles have been left at the scene of the stabbing in Dublin, Ireland

The three-year-old boy was found stabbed to death in an apartment in Dublin. Police and forensics were pictured at the scene yesterday

Gardai at Crumlin were last night trying to establish what led to the violent episode.

A spokesman said: 'Gardai investigating the homicide of an infant child that occurred on Monday evening, 10th July, 2017 have arrested a woman (early 40s) this morning in Dublin.

'The arrested woman is currently detained at Crumlin Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.'

Detectives were last night waiting for medics to give the okay to interview Ms Al Adheem.

It is understood she qualified as a doctor at home and previously worked in Syria. Omar was born in the Rotunda, Dublin, on January 9, 2014.

His father Khalid Omran, who registered the birth, was described as a student on the birth cert. Both parents lived at the one-bedroom flat in Poddle Park when Omar was born.

Gardai at Crumlin were last night trying to establish what led to the violent episode

Although Ms Al Adheem was named as a housewife on the birth certificate, she later described herself as a doctor when she met Nessa Childers MEP on the campaign trail in Kimmage.

The encounter was recorded by an Irish Independent journalist who was with Ms Childers at the time.

Ms Al Adheem told the MEP that she had moved to Ireland in 2011 but couldn't find work as a doctor in this country.

She also complained about not being able to find a larger flat for her family because landlords wouldn't accept tenants in receipt of rent supplement.

She told Ms Childers: 'I worked as a doctor in Syria but cannot do so here, and I really want to work.'

As flowers and tributes to Omar were placed outside the complex yesterday, neighbours spoke of their shock after learning about the tragedy.

Vivian Costello, who lives across from the Riverside flats, said: 'The woman next door used to walk to the shops with them. She said the mum was a lovely lady and the little fella was a lovely wee fella.'

Touching tributes have been left outside the Riverside Apartment complex in Poddle Park

She said that sometimes she saw the father with the little boy on his tricycle, going up and down the street, adding: 'Everything looked lovely; they looked like a lovely family. It's just heartbreaking.'

Pointing towards the Garda forensics team at work across the road, Ms Costello added: 'You don't expect to look out of your front window and see this. I can only say that we are really sorry for the family and we are all so stunned.'

Lorraine Leon, who also lives across the road described Omar as a 'very lively' boy who was 'mad about my dogs'.

She said: 'He was gorgeous, beautiful. Big brown eyes, very lively, chatted. He would talk to you all the time.'

She added that his mother had appeared settled in the neighbourhood, saying: 'She had her friends and mixed in with the community.'
Supermarkets have slashed the price of free range eggs by up to 40 per cent, opening another front in the ongoing price war.

Aldi is selling the eco-friendly eggs for just $3.69 with Coles and Woolworths dropping theirs to $3.80 as competition heats up.

Even the cheap supermarket branded free-range eggs recently sold for $5.50 to $6.50 and the huge cuts aim to make them competitive with caged alternatives.

Supermarkets have slashed the price of free range eggs by up to 40 per cent, opening another front in the ongoing price war

Even the cheap supermarket branded free-range eggs recently sold for $5.50 to $6.50 and the huge cuts aim to make them competitive with caged alternatives

Caged eggs are still cheaper about $3 across the major supermarkets but the difference is having an effect with 64 per cent of shoppers choosing free-range.

The supermarkets said cutting the price of free-range eggs was partly aimed at convincing consumers to make the switch.

'By reducing the prices of all our dozen cartons of Coles Brand free-range eggs, we believe we can make it easier for consumers to buy free-range eggs,' Coles said.

Aldi agreed, saying eggs were a staple family grocery item and it aimed to offer the best value in the market.

Aldi is selling the eco-friendly eggs for just $3.69 for a carton of a dozen

Coles is selling its homebrand free-range eggs for $3.80 each dozen

Woolworths followed suit and slashed the price of its eggs to $3.80 also

Coles also cut the price of more than 30 different loaves of bread - Tip Top down $1.90 and its own bakery products by 10c to 50c.

Woolworths responded by claiming its bread was already cheaper but it would match prices on cuts including those made to Tip Top.

Coles bakery general manager Jon Haggett said the price drops would help shoppers collectively save millions of dollars a year nationwide.

'We know bread is a household staple and always on the shopping list, so were working hard to lower the price because we know every bit of savings count,' she said.

Coles also cut the price of more than 30 different loaves of bread - Tip Top down $1.90 and its own bakery products by 10c to 50c

Woolworths responded by claiming its bread was already cheaper but it would match prices on cuts including those made to Tip Top

But egg producers said the aggressively cut prices barely covered their costs and were a repeat of the controversial move to $1-a-litre milk.

'Its happened in dairy with $1 milk, it happens routinely in the fruit and vegetable industry, and now its happening with egg products,' Victorian Farmers Federation egg president Tony Nesci said.

'We know from experience that once a supermarket cuts its prices and gets stuck into a price war, the farmer will be the loser.'

Farmers feared supermarkets, lobby groups and the government were pushing the industry to cease production of caged eggs before it was financially ready.

Egg producers said the aggressively cut prices barely covered their costs and were a repeat of the controversial move to $1-a-litre milk

Some free-range egg producers even claimed the drop was unnecessary as consumers were prepared to pay up to $9 a dozen.

Supermarkets insisted they themselves were taking the hit, but farmers were concerned the costs would eventually be passed on to them.

'I don't think they can sustain those prices forever, and if they do then the farmer will have to wear it,' Victorian Farmers Federation's Brian Ahmed told Seven News.

This would force many small operators out of business because they could not take the hit.
Diego Lioce, 26, claimed the woman said she wanted to be dominated when they went back to his flat after a night out

An Ikea worker accused of slapping and raping a young woman was cleared today after he told the court he thought he was satisfying her S&M fantasies.

Diego Lioce, 26, claimed the woman said she wanted to be dominated when they went back to his flat in Willesden, North West London, after a night out.

The alleged victim admitted telling the Italian about her sexual preferences but claimed she tried to leave after becoming concerned about his aggressive behaviour.

Jurors at the Old Bailey in London deliberated for more than a day before acquitting Lioce of two charges of rape and two of assault by penetration.

Lioce buried his head in his hands and wept as judge Paul Dodgson discharged him from the dock.

During the trial the alleged victim told the court she agreed to go back to Lioce's flat after meeting him at a bar in Soho in June 2015.

Giving evidence, Lioce explained how the alleged victim told him she liked to be 'dominated'.

He said: 'She said she really loved to be f***ed. I asked her what do you mean, do you like being slapped? She said she liked to be slapped.

The alleged victim told the court she agreed to go back to Lioce's flat on this road (pictured) in Willesden, North West London, after meeting him at a bar in Soho in June 2015

'She was telling me about her last boyfriend. She said he was good on sex but not dominating her and f***ing her as she wanted to. I was so excited.'

Lioce said he kissed her and touched her breasts on the tube back to his home in Willesden, until she told him 'wait, we will do it later.'

He added: 'We were both in a sexual mood, we were excited. We were talking about having sex all night but she said she wanted to take the last Tube home because she didn't have her contact lenses.'

Lioce said that when they got to his flat he told her about his fantasy of having a sex act performed on the stairs, to which she replied: 'We will see.'

The alleged victim admitted telling Italian Lioce (pictured) about her sexual preferences

They then started kissing on the sofa until she went to the toilet. Lioce admitted he then pulled down his trousers and walked into the bathroom unannounced.

He claimed she then performed a sex act on him willingly before they returned to the sofa. 'At that point we removed her shorts and we were kissing,' he said.

'We started to have sex. I remember slapping her during the penetration.'

Asked why he slapped her during sex, Lioce replied: 'Because she said she loved to be slapped and f***ed and I thought I was making like her fantasies.'

He said that she then told her she was 'feeling uncomfortable and wanted to go home.'

Lioce said he thought she was worried his flatmates might come back and suggested they move into the bedroom.

He said they continued kissing on the bed before he pushed her back, adding: 'We started to have sex again.'

Lioce said it only lasted 20 seconds and denied telling her to 'shut the f*** up'.

Lioce, who has been cleared of rape and assault by penetration, worked at Ikea (file picture)

He said the sex stopped when his penis started bleeding due to a medical condition. 'She started to dress up and said she wanted to go home.'

Lioce insisted that if she had told him to 'stop' at any time 'we would not carry on.'

After she left the flat, Lioce sent her an abusive text message calling her a 'b***h' and accusing her of sleeping with other men.

The woman claimed she began having reservations during the Tube journey after he aggressively groped her and made comments in front of other passengers.

She said that after they arrived at his flat she went to the bathroom only for Lioce to barge in and force her to perform a sex act.

The woman also claimed that she tried to leave but he pinned her to his bed, raped her, slapped her face and told her: 'Shut up b***h'.

Lioce denied two counts of rape and two counts of assault by penetration and was found not guilty of all charges.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd issued a summary of a study warning that small donations from UK-based individuals is the 'main source' of funding for such organisations

Extremist groups are posing as charities to get hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations from unwitting British muslims, a report has found.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd issued a summary of a study warning that small donations from UK-based individuals is the 'main source' of funding for such organisations.

It also says 'significant' money is being channeled from overseas to a few groups, funding controversial Islamist teachings and literature.

But the summary does not single out any countries as sources of funding, and Mrs Rudd has refused to release the full report for 'national security' reasons - sparking accusations that the government is trying to avoid criticising Saudi Arabia.

Theresa May, who visited Saudi Arabia earlier this year, has previously been accused of 'kowtowing' to the kingdom by 'suppressing' the study, which was ordered in 2015.

In a written statement to MPs today, Mrs Rudd said: 'Having taken advice, I have decided against publishing the classified report produced during the review in full.

'This is because of the volume of personal information it contains and for national security reasons. We will be inviting privy councillors from the opposition parties to the Home Office to have access to classified report on privy council terms.'

Green MP Caroline Lucas said: 'Govt refuse to publish review into funding of extremism + try to fob us off with vague statement. Not good enough.'

The summary given by Mrs Rudd states: 'The most common source of support for Islamist extremist organisations in the UK is from small, anonymous public donations, with the majority of these donations most likely coming from UK-based individuals.

Outrage over cash from Saudis and suppression of details about how it funds extremism in Great Britain Ministers were accused last night of suppressing details of how Saudi Arabia funds extremism in Britain. Before the election, reports suggested that the Home Office review of funding for Islamist extremist activity in the UK had been delayed to avoid embarrassing the Middle Eastern kingdom, a key strategic and economic ally. Yesterdays decision to publish only a brief summary of the report without naming any country sparked fury among opposition parties. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: It seems like the Government, yet again, is putting our so-called friendship with Saudi Arabia above our values. This shoddy decision is the latest in a long line where we have put profit over principle. Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said there was a strong suspicion the report is being suppressed to protect trade and diplomatic priorities, including in relation to Saudi Arabia. Saudi cash has been linked to extremist mosques and Islamic schools or madrassas. Advertisement

'In some cases these organisations receive hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

'This is the main source of their income. Those giving may not know or support the organisations' full agenda.'

The summary says some of the groups were posing as legitimate charities and taking advantage of the generosity of British muslims.

'Some Islamic organisations of extremist concern portray themselves as charities to increase their credibility and to take advantage of Islam's emphasis on charity.

'Some are purposefully vague about their activities and their charitable status.'

The report found that for the 'vast majority' of extremist organisations overseas funding was not a major issue.

'For a small number of organisations with which there are extremism concerns, overseas funding is a significant source of income,' it said.

Radical clerics such as Anjem Choudary (pictured preaching in London in 2013) have tried to spread extremist interpretations of Islam in Britain. He was jailed for supporting ISIS last year

'However, for the vast majority of extremist groups in the UK, overseas funding is not a significant source.'

The summary suggested that funding was being used to spread ultra-conservative Islamist teachings - an allegation that has been levelled at Saudis.

'Overseas support has allowed individuals to study at institutions that teach deeply conservative forms of Islam and provide highly socially conservative literature and preachers to the UK's Islamic institutions. Some of these individuals have since become of extremist concern,' the report said.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said further detail was needed.

'The bottom line is that this report still remains unpublished,' he said.

'The Government hoped to sneak out what it thinks are the top lines of a report no-one has seen on a busy day, hoping no-one would notice. This decision is utterly shameful.

'We cannot tackle the root causes of terrorism in the UK without full disclosure of the states and institutions that fund extremism in our country.

'Instead of supporting the perpetrators of these vile ideologies, the Government should be naming and shaming them - including so-called allies like Saudi Arabia and Qatar if need be.'
Tara Marie Solem is accused of impersonating an undercover federal agent to get a discount at Chick Fil A

A Georgia woman has been charged with impersonating a federal agent in order to get a discount, police say.

Tara Marie Solem is accused of telling a drive-thru worker and two managers at a Chick Fil A in Marietta that she was working undercover for the government.

Solem was arrested after the incident on July 5 and charged with impersonating an officer and disorderly conduct, before posting a $7,370 bond to be let out of jail.

The incident began as Solem was ordering at the drive-thru window, claimed to be a plainclothes federal agent, and asked for a discount.

When the server refused, saying Solem had to be in uniform, she went into the store and asked to see a manager, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

Solem insisted that their uniform policy would 'blow her cover' and 'possibly get her killed', police said.

She then allegedly flashed a silver badge contained in a black wallet at two managers as the discussion went on.

Eventually Solem began shouting and swearing as customers, some with children, watched on.

Solem allegedly told a drive-thru worker and two managers at this Georgia restaurant that she was an agent, and even flashed a fake badge at them before being arrested

At one point Solem changed her story, saying that she was with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, rather than a federal agency.

She even went so far as to call the bureau and identify herself as Agent Solem, though staff replied that they had no record of such an agent.

Solem was taken to Cobb County jail before bonding out 10 hours later. A court date has not been listed.

Each Chick Fil A restaurant sets its own discount policy. A request for comment by Mail Online at this outlet went unanswered.
A Wisconsin couple allegedly starved their five-year-old adopted son and tortured him by forcing him to wear a weighted backpack and keeping him locked in a crib.

Bradley Fahrenkrug, 40, and Kimberly Fahrenkrug, 38, of Wrightstown, were hit with a number of child abuse charges on Monday after the boy was found weighing just 29 pounds and suffering from severe malnutrition.

The married couple are accused of making the five-year-old wear a helmet, compression vest, flippers and a backpack filled with weights and ordering him to march and do other exercises.

He was also given only a small amount of food to eat while the couple's other children could eat as they pleased, according to criminal complaints.

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Bradley Fahrenkrug, 40, and Kimberly Fahrenkrug, 38, of Wisconsin, were charged Monday with child abuse after their son was found weighing 29 pounds and suffering from severe malnutrition

The boy was often allegedly 'swaddled' in a crib so he wouldn't be able to get out and get food.

Prosecutors said the couple's abuse of their son resulted in several hospital visits since October last year. His weight had dropped to just 29 pounds when he was admitted to Children's Hospital in Madison in April.

Barbara Knox, a physician and child abuse expert at Children's Hospital, told investigators that the boy had experienced the 'most egregious example of child starvation and torture' that she has seen, according to the criminal complaints.

Investigators said Kimberly grew angry at hospital staff when they gave her son food and told them she believed he was manipulating her and others to get a 'vacation' at the hospital.

Knox said the boy's current medical condition puts him at 'risk of great bodily harm and/or death.'

The couple are accused of making the boy wear a helmet, compression vest, flippers and a backpack filled with weights and ordering him to march and do other exercises at their home

The couple both faced Brown County Circuit Court via video link from prison on Monday where they were charged with five felonies over their son's abuse

Courtesy of WBAY

The hospital said he was being monitored for a condition known as refeeding syndrome, which is sparked by severe malnutrition, and ordered that he be given unrestricted access to food.

The complaints say the parents described their son as 'controlling, demanding and abnormal' in his refusal to eat and manipulate others.

The staff at Children's Hospital described the boy as 'sweet, polite and very normal.'

The Fahrenkrugs have claimed the helmet they made the boy wear protected him from banging his head and that the other gear helped him strengthen his legs.

They also denied withholding food from their son and claim he stopped eating.

The married couple faced Brown County Circuit Court via video link on Monday where they were charged with five felonies, including first-degree reckless injury, causing mental harm to a child, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, child neglect resulting in great bodily harm and false imprisonment.

Cash bond of $100,000 each has been ordered for the couple who are jailed in Green Bay.
Arafa Nassib has been jailed for two and half years for faking her own death to claim a life insurance pay out

A mother who faked her own death to claim a life insurance payout has been jailed for two and a half years.

Arafa Nassib, 48, racked up huge debts buying expensive furniture for her rented flat in Walsall, West Midlands from firms including website BrightHouse and PerfectHome.

But, unable to pay off the massive sums, she hatched a plot for her teenage son, Adil Kasim, to claim that she had been killed in a road accident in Zanzibar so he could claim a 140,000 life insurance payout.

Nassib secretly fled to Ottowa, Canada, but was rumbled after her insurers, Scottish Widows, grew suspicious of the claim and alerted police.

The mother and son later admitted conspiring to commit fraud at Birmingham Crown Court.

Jailing Nassib today, Recorder William Edis QC said: 'It was from beginning to end a pack of lies. This was an organised, sophisticated, carefully-designed plan that came close to working.

'Had Tanzania not been flagged as a high-risk country [for insurance fraud] it is reasonable to suppose you might have got away with it.

'Honesty in the insurance claims process is imperative, else the whole insurance system is at risk.'

Arafa Nassib and her son Adil Kasim face jail after she faked her own death in a bid to pay off huge debts she had built up on furniture

This was the fake death certificate sent to insurers by Nassib's son, even though she was alive and well and hiding out in Canada

The court heard that, as well as having 80,000 in credit debts, Nassib was also trying to find an additional 80,000 to pay for people smugglers to bring members of her family, living in a Tanzanian refugee camp, to the UK.

Nassib and her son claimed she had been killed in a road accident on the African island in April last year.

A family friend in Africa supplied fake documents relating to her death, and her son wrote to their insurer from the UK.

But insurers became highly suspicious of the fake documents Kasim provided and referred the case to City of London Police.

An investigation found Nassib was alive and had in fact flown to back to Birmingham in May 2016, where she made several phone calls to her son.

Nassib fled to Canada after getting her son to claim she had died

To avoid detection she then moved from their property in the West Midlands to Canada, where she hoped to build a new life for herself.

But her son was arrested last December and he admitted that he and his mother had planned the fraud. Officers arrested Nassib when she returned to the UK in February.

Nassib, originally from Somalia but a holder of a UK passport, admitted knowing her death had been fraudulently reported to the government in Zanzibar when she was there in April 2016.

Her son was given a 12-month community order.

The judge said that Kasim, then aged 17, had been a necessary 'pawn in this game' with his mother acting as the directing force of the fraud.

Judge Edis said he was not ashamed of the 'lenient' sentence being handed to the teenager, telling him: 'You could not complain were I to send you to a young offenders' institution.

'You were fed a script and parroted it. You were in effect certifying somebody dead who you knew to be alive.'

The two insurance policies, a life insurance and a critical illness policy, totalled 136,530.52, but no money was paid out in relation to the claim.

Adil Kasim sent this letter to Scottish Widows as part of his application for the payout

Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt said: 'Nassib and Kasim exploited the insurance industry for their own monetary gain, going to great lengths to try and avoid detection.

'Nassib moved her entire life abroad simply to try and avoid the possible consequences of faking her own death.

'Today's case shows that those who commit insurance fraud will be caught and put before the courts.

'Our extensive work with the insurers in this case has led us to a successful conviction and these unremorseful fraudsters have finally been brought to justice.'

A spokesperson for Scottish Widows said: 'We have robust fraud prevention measures which enabled us to identify this fraud quickly and refer it to the City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department.'
One of the last British survivors of Japan's notorious wartime Death Railway in Burma has died at the age of 102.

Former prisoner of war John Howes has died in hospital surrounded by his distraught family - 75 years after he was captured by the Japanese.

The proud old soldier's devastated son, also called John, said his father never talked about his time as a PoW until 10 years ago when he saw pictures of Burma his son took on holiday.

Mr Howes, 78, of Lowestoft, Suffolk, said that he had enjoyed a pint with his dad every Friday at the Cliff Hotel in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, right up until he died.

True love: John with his wife Irene, who died 12 years ago after 67 years of marriage

John Howes with his son John and daughter Pat on his 100th birthday, in August 2014

He said poignantly: 'Not only was he my father, he was my best friend.'

The late Mr Howes became one of 80,000 British Far East PoWs after he was taken captive when Singapore fell in February 1942 in one of the army's most devastating defeats of all time.

Already a married father, he spent three-and-a half-years of hell in captivity before being finally freed when the Japanese surrendered in August 1945.

Mr Howes, who died at his local James Paget University Hospital, was serving with D Company in the 4th Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment when he was shipped out to Singapore.

He was called up as soon as war broke out in September 1939 because he was already serving in the Territorial Army (TA) as a reservist.

Mr Howes had married his sweetheart Irene the year before and his beloved wife died 12 years ago after 67 years of marriage.

He was forced to work on the Japanese army's infamous Burma Railway - dubbed the Death Railway - in searing tropical temperatures and given hardly any food.

The stick-thin but gutsy serviceman said he cheated death four times during the war.

And the lifelong rebel told how he wanted Frank Sinatra's classic hit My Way played at his funeral to give him the perfect send-off.

Looking back on a life full of amazing colour and heart stopping drama, Mr Howes recalled on his 100th birthday in August 2014: 'I'm one of those people who takes things with a pinch of salt.

'I am a dedicated fatalist.

'Four times during the war I should have gone. Twice I had bombs and shells dropping within 10ft of me that turned out to be duds.

'Another time I was walking along a hedgerow when a stream of bullets came by.

'If my arm had been an inch to the left, I would have gone.

'But it wasn't my time.

Mr Howes raising the Commonwealth flag at the Cliff Hotel, Gorleston to mark Commonwealth Day in 2015

'I'm in no rush but I'm quite ready to go and see what's up there when it does happen.'

Educated at St George's Infants and Nelson School in Great Yarmouth, Mr Howes's first job was an errand boy at a tailor's.

At 16, he started work at a barrel factory near the gas works where he learned the meaning of hard graft.

He said: 'It was piece work - 10 hours a day, 60 hours a week for 30 shillings. It was hard work and it set me up for life.'

He worked at the factory for six years before war erupted when Nazi tyrant Adolf Hitler invaded Poland.

He recalled: 'I was called up just before the outbreak of war because I was in the TA.

Mr Howes pictured in uniform before he left the UK to fight in the Far East

'I did my training here and then we went to America.

'This was before they joined the war. We were on US troopships, which were liners that had been converted to carry troops, and we lived like lords.'

Even at 100, Mr Howes could still reel off his army serial number, the characters of the men he fought with and the hard years as a PoW at the infamous Changi prison.

Before reaching the Far East, Mr Howes's company served in Cape Town.

They left South Africa just as the attack on Pearl Harbor drew the US into the war in December 1941.

He said: 'They sent us to India and we spent two or three months waiting around before we got the message to go to Singapore. And you know what happened in Singapore.'

Mr Howes was one of 80,000 British Far East PoWs and saw first hand the horrors of the Japanese camp.

He said the hard work didn't affect him, but no medical treatment and a lack of food did.

He said: 'Eventually your body gets used to no food, and the work didn't bother me.

'I wasn't emotional about it.

'Maybe I'm a little more emotional now I'm older, but I wasn't an emotional person then.

'We always talked about going home. We didn't all make it, of course.

'I remember a Cockney, Alfie Higgins, who'd say after the war we'd all go to Tilloch Street in London and have a party.

'But he didn't come home.

'And there was my great mate Johnny Ayres who I'd grown up with.

'He lived at Yarmouth too. We somehow got separated after we were taken prisoner.

John, centre front, with his Norfolk Regiment pals in snowy Scotland before he was posted to the Far East

John in his army uniform in 1939 just after war broke out. He was a reservist in the TA so was called up straight away

'He was on one of the Japanese PoW ships to be taken to Japan and, of course, those ships weren't marked and it was torpedoed.

'He didn't come home either.'

Mr Howes met and married his sweetheart, Irene, before the conflict started.

He said: 'All the teenagers of Yarmouth used to parade down King Street, Regent Road, up the front and along St Peter's Road back then.

'I was going along the front with a group of my mates when she saw me.

'She used to tell me that she'd said, "That one's mine".'

The couple married in September 1938.

Son John arrived in 1939, followed by daughter Pat, now 77, in 1940.

'My only regret is that I wasn't there to watch the children grow up, to learn to walk and talk,' said Mr Howes.

During the war Mrs Howes had worked for the Boardman family at How Hill in Ludham and he went to work there too when he got home.

The family, reunited at last, soon moved to Gorleston where they settled.

The Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also called the Death Railway, was built between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Burma, put together with a ready supply of labour in the form of Prisoners-of-War (PoW). Japan had been cut off from vital war supplies and needed a route into southeast Asia. Taking Malaya was of great help to the war effort but it needed a direct line between Malaya and Burma. A route was devised between Ban Pong and Thanbyuzayat to join the already available line between Bangkok and Singapore. Plans for a railway had been shelved in peace time because of the cost. At least 180,000, possibly many more, forced workers toiled to bring the line together. They were made up of Allied PoWs and Southeast Asian civilians. The 258-mile line was completed in just one year, but the work killed 13,000 PoWs, and 100,000 native labourers. One man died for every sleeper laid. Many died of starvation and from being overworked. Cholera was also rife. Under a new compensation scheme in 2000, those who suffered received just 76 each. At the end of the war, 111 Japanese military officials were charged with war crimes in relation to the railway, with 32 receiving the death penalty. Advertisement

In need of a regular income, Mr Howes joined the electricity board 'becausethey could guarantee work for two years'.

'I ended up staying for 33 years. We didn't have anything after the war, you couldn't afford it.

'But I remember our holidays when the children were young, we used to go to Butlins and we'd have a great time.'

Up until 2013 John was a member of the Yarmouth FEPOW (Far East Prisoner of War) association.

But the group folded following the death of chairman Bert Major and joined the Royal British Legion.

Mr Howes said: 'Before I got too old I used to go every year to the serviceon the seafront on the Sunday closest to November 11. I laid a wreath one year.

'There can't be many of us left.'

While war has left a shadow on Mr Howes's life, it by no means defines it -and he's got plenty of stories too tell.

In 1939, he was on guard duty at Sandringham when he had a close encounter with a four-legged member of the Royal Family.

Mr Howes said: 'I was standing there when a little corgi came past with its lead trailing behind.

'So, as you would naturally, I picked up the lead.

'Then the Queen Mother comes past and I hand him back to her. Half an hour later a butler came out with a silver tray.

'She sent me a cup of tea to say thank you.'

Mr Howes wasn't keen on a big birthday party to mark his 100th.

'I didn't want a fuss,' he said.

It took two months for his son to convince him to attend a family meal at the Cliff Hotel, where Mr Howes went every week with his son for a meal and a few pints.

'It was one of the best days of my life,' said Mr Howes.

'It was wonderful.'

Mr Howes put the secret of his long life down to fate.

Son John said: 'He's always doing what he shouldn't, he smoked, he drank, and he still puts too much salt on his food.'

'I don't live by the rules,' admitted Mr Howes senior.

'You know Frank Sinatra's song My Way? That was written for me.

'It's my life - I do things my way. And when I do go I want them to play that song in the church.'
A nothing burger.

That was the Trump camps initial derisory reaction to New York Times allegations that Donald Trump Jr. secretly met with a Russian government lawyer to discuss acquiring dirt on Hillary Clinton.

The Urban Dictionary describes a nothing burger as something lame, dead-end, a dud, insignificant; especially something with high expectations that turns out to be average, pathetic or overhyped.

Hmm.

One thing I think we can now all agree on is that this story is most definitely not a nothing burger.

In fact, its a giant, flame-grilled, piping hot Triple Whopper leaking all over the place and packed with juicy extras.

Trump camps initial derisory reaction to allegations that Donald Trump Jr. secretly met with a Russian government lawyer called it a nothing burger' - but really its a giant, flame-grilled, piping hot Triple Whopper leaking all over the place and packed with juicy extras

And it could yet prove to be the smoking gun Trumps critics have been yearning for since the Russia connection first became an obsession for the US media.

It would be wise for the White House to take this development very, very seriously.

Until this week there has been zero hard evidence that either President Trump or any of his campaign team ever colluded with Russians in any way to help win the election.

Now, there is direct hard evidence that very strongly suggests some form of Russian collusion was at the very least considered.

And its come from a source that even the President would never describe as Fake News  his own son.

Donald Jr. pre-empted the NYT by publishing his own email chain surrounding the Russian meeting the paper had uncovered.

Dynamite: Donald Jr. pre-empted the NYT by publishing his own email chain surrounding the Russian meeting the paper had uncovered. They are damning

Like most people, I suspect, I read it and began to slowly whistle.

The emails are dynamite.

First, they reveal Donald Jr. set up a meeting last summer, at the height of the campaign, with someone he believed to be a Russian government attorney who was flying over from Moscow specifically to meet him.

Second, they reveal he knew the attorney was supposedly going to reveal some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia that would be very useful to your father.

Third, they reveal the material, which was stated to come directly from the Crown Prosecutor of Russia, was very high level and sensitive but was part of Russia and its governments support for Mr Trump.

They even reveal he copied Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner in on the whole exchange

Fourth, they reveal he copied his fathers two closest aides, Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner, into the email exchange and invited them to attend the meeting  which they duly did.

Wow, wow, wow, and wow again.

It is hard to imagine a more damning series of admissions  particularly coming from someone who until now has always emphatically denied such a meeting ever occurred.

In March, 2017, Donald Jr. told the NYT:

Did I meet with people that were Russian? he said. Im sure I did. But none that were set up and certainly none that I was representing the campaign in any way, shape or form.

Now we know from his own words that he DID set up a campaign-related meeting with someone he thought was a Kremlin lawyer offering him dirt on Hillary to help his father and influence the election.

In an interview with Fox Newss Sean Hannity last night, Donald Jr. attributed his failure to remember the meeting as the fog of frenzied campaign war, and insisted hed done nothing wrong.

But it is surely stretching credulity to say you forgot a meeting like that, especially when Russian collusion is the single biggest news story of your fathers presidency.

My son Donald did a good job last night, tweeted President Trump this morning. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in history. Sad!

This, to put it mildly, is protective nepotism running riot.

The open and transparent thing for Donald Jr. to have done was to have alerted the FBI the moment a foreign national tried to offer him damaging information on a US election candidate, as it breaches the strict laws forbidding such assistance or the acceptance of anything of value that might impact an election.

The open and transparent thing for Don Jr to do when he got the email from Rob Goldstone, left, offering information straight from the Crown Prosecutor of Russia, via what turned out to be lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, right, was call the FBI

Of course, there is no evidence Donald Jr. acted on any of the information, and he denies it.

It also muddies the waters that the information concerned was supposed to be proof that HILLARY colluded with Russians. Would it have been justified to break the law to expose alleged treasonable illegality by someone else? Its an interesting question.

Also, the attorney concerned has now said she doesnt work for the Russian government anyway.

So none of this is clear-cut.

But if there was genuinely nothing to hide, than why, when confronted by the NYT on July 8 about the existence of the meeting, did Donald Jr. fail to mention the real reason for it?

We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, he said in a statement.

That may well have been discussed, but that was not, as we now know from the emails, why he held the meeting.

The NYT, perhaps deliberately holding stuff back to trap Donald Jr. into making false or incomplete statements, then revealed they knew the meeting was to discuss dirt on Hillary.

Donald Jr. finally admitted this had been discussed but said the attorneys claims were vague, ambiguous and made no sense and said no details or supporting information were provided.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders added: I would certainly say Don Jr. did not collude with anybody to influence the election.

All of which may well be true.

But that doesnt make these emails any less significant or damaging.

What they prove is that Donald Jr. set up a meeting with someone he believed to be a Russian government lawyer to receive what he thought would be damaging information about his fathers election rival.

Whichever way you dress that up, it indicates at least a desire to collude with Vladimir Putins Kremlin in damaging Hillary.

Legal experts whose opinion I trust, like CNNs Jeffrey Toobin, do not believe what he did was necessarily criminal.

And cries from some senior Democrats of Treason! are absurd, at least based on what we know so far.

But Donald Trump Jr.  whom Ive known for a decade and always found very straightforward and likable - was indisputably shockingly naive and dumb for such a well-educated and street-smart guy.

Now the big question is what did the President know about any of this, and when did he know it?

Donald Trump Jr.  whom Ive known for a decade and always found very straightforward and likable - was naive and dumb. Now the big question is what did the President know about any of this, and when did he know it?

Donald Jr. is very close to his dad and has always been strident in his public defence of him.

When Donald Sr. won the election, Donald Jr. sent me an email thanking me for not joining the hysterical liberal mob in perpetually howling with outrage about his father.

I know its not easy to come out and say that Trump is anything but Satan, he wrote.

No, its not.

But what makes it even more difficult is when, after months of denials about any meetings or collusion between the Trump campaign team and Russian officials, I see irrefutable evidence that such a meeting did take place and collusion was considered.

Remember, when you hear the words sources say from the Fake Media, tweeted President Trump this morning, often times those sources are made up and dont exist.

Theres just one problem with that statement when considering this particular scandal: the source is his own flesh and blood.

The US media will now quadruple their efforts to nail the Trumps over Russian collusion, and they have every right to do so.

This is no longer the greatest Witch Hunt in history, as the President has repeatedly claimed.

Its a legitimate investigation that just saw a lot of smoke turn into furious fire.
The mother of two children has been left 'devastated' and on the verge of destitution after her husband of five years was shot and killed by her ex-spouse late last month in Houston, Texas.

'He was an incredible person. Its just destroyed us, my girls and I are just destroyed,' Amanda Harris told local Houston broadcaster KPRC following the deadly incident.

League City Police say that on the night of June 28, Shayantan Ghose showed up to a party the couple had thrown at their home as an uninvited guest.

Amanda Harris was attacked by her ex-spouse on June 28, leaving her husband Clarence Wayne Harris II dead (pictured)

Shayantan Ghose (right) was later captured at the New Mexico border trying to avoid arrest

Harris called to complain that Ghose, 41, was waiting at her front door and claimed she was being stalked by her ex-husband.

The event led to a heated argument between Ghose and the couple, according to police.

Moments later Clarence Wayne Harris II was left dead on the driveway after suffering multiple gunshot wounds to his body.

Ghose showed up to a party at the couple's home uninvited, leading to a heated argument

Ghose then turned the gun on his ex-wife, inflicting wounds on her legs and arms.

The incident was reported around 9.00pm (local time) at a house in the 700 block of Mayhill Ridge Lane.

Ghose was later arrested at a border checkpoint in New Mexico after attempting to flee capture. He has been charged with murder and bail has been set for $150,000.

Harris, 36, said that the two had been divorced over nine years, but that Ghose refused to move on and stayed a presence in her life.

Harris later told KPRC in an interview that the deadly incident has turned her life upside down, leaving her to care for for her 11-year-old and 3-year-old daughter - who was born without an esophagus and has special needs - with no job and no source of income.

'We're faced with losing our home and everything else,' Harris said.
An Iranian cancer researcher who was detained at Boston's Logan International Airport has been sent back to his home country along with his wife and children.

Mohsen Dehnavi, 32, and his family were put on a return flight to Iran shortly after 9pm Tuesday, after the US Customs and Border Patrol denied him entry at Boston's Logan Airport.

US Customs and Border Patrol spokeswoman Stephanie Malin said the Dehnavis family's detention was for 'reasons unrelated' to President Donald Trump's executive order on travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries.

Malin said the stop was based on information discovered during the agency's review. She didn't elaborate.

Dehnavi was arriving in the US to start work at a prominent Boston hospital.

Trita Parsi, an Iranian-American activist, said Mohsen Dehnavi had sent him this picture of his entry visa after being denied entry to the US and sent back to Iran on Tuesday

Boston Children's Hospital said in a statement earlier Tuesday that Dehnavi was prevented from entering the country with his wife and three young children despite holding a J-1 visa for visiting scholars.

They arrived at the airport Monday.

The hospital said the reasons for the detention were unclear.

'Boston Children's hopes that this situation will be quickly resolved and Dr. Dehnavi and his family will be released and allowed to enter the US,' hospital spokesman Rob Graham said in the statement.

'The hospital is committed to doing its utmost to support Dr. Dehnavi and his family.'

But CBP spokeswoman Malin noted that visa applicants 'bear the burden of proof' to meet all requirements and can be denied entry for a range of reasons, including health-related issues, criminality or security concerns.

Dehnavi was detained Monday at Boston's Logan Airport, seen in a file photo, for 'reasons unrelated' to Trump's travel ban on individuals from six countries, including Iran

The Supreme Court recently ruled the Trump administration could largely enforce its temporary ban on travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

But the court said the ban can't block people with a 'credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.'

Some advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Iranian American Council, suggested the detention might be a violation of the Supreme Court order.

'The family is very worried,' said Shayan Modarres, a lawyer for the DC-based council, which has been in contact with the family. 'If it is a minor paperwork issue, then something needs to be told to the family so they can resolve it.'

At the very least, the incident shows how the administration's political priorities are leading to 'overzealous enforcement' of immigration laws, said Gregory Romanovsky, chair of the New England chapter of the American Immigration Lawyer's Association.

Boston Children's Hospital is seen in a file photo. Dehnavi had a J-1 visa to work at the hospital, but border officials said he was detained due to information discovered during review

'Exercising discretion is not what they're comfortable doing anymore, especially if they're dealing with someone from one of the six banned countries,' he said of local customs officials.

'The travel ban and the whole anti-immigrant mood coming from the very top of this administration certainly affects their ability.'

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a Democrat, told reporters he was waiting to hear more about the Dehnavis' circumstances, but also suggested the case was an example of concerns with the travel ban.

'Many people, doctors and nurses and people who are students working in the world-class institutions that we have are going to be boxed out or left out of the country,' he said.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump had called for a 'complete and total shutdown' of Muslims entering the United States, a move he called necessary to protect national security in the wake of attacks at home and abroad by Islamist extremists.
Robert Frederick Nelson, 64, was arrested in Las Vegas last month, 25 years after he escaped from federal custody in Minnesota

A career criminal who escaped from prison 25 years ago has been recaptured after applying for a driver's licence under his real name.

Robert Frederick Nelson, 64, was jailed by federal authorities in Minnesota for counterfeiting in the late 1980s before escaping in 1992.

He went on to commit a series of violent felonies under a false identity but was caught again last month at a DMV office in Las Vegas.

Nelson gave himself away after applying to renew his driving licence under his real name on June 5, ABC 13 reports.

Facial recognition software used by the DMV found the same man appeared on another licence by the name of Craig James Pautler - Nelson's alias.

Records showed he adopted the identity shortly after his jailbreak in 1992 and obtained a commercial vehicle licence.

Under his new name, Nelson racked up a string of violent crimes including multiple robberies with a deadly weapon, burglaries, and another escape from a Nevada holding facility with the use of a weapon.

Nelson was arrested at this DMV office in Las Vegas on June 20 after he applied for a driving licence under his real name

At some point during the mid-2000s he switched back to using his old name, and was granted a Nevada state ID card in 2013.

After working out his criminal past, Nelson was arrested at the DMV office in north Las Vegas on June 20, before being handed over to federal authorities last week.

He will now serve the time remaining on the counterfeiting charge, plus punitive time for the escape attempt. All other charges were dropped to facilitate his extradition to federal authorities.
The quadruple amputee and former soldier who opened up his Maine summer home to injured veterans has met with President Donald Trump in the White House.

Travis Mills, who was injured by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2012, posted photos of the meeting with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on social media.

'Just making America great again for our veterans!' a beaming Mills wrote alongside the Facebook post.

Travis Mills, the quadruple amputee and former soldier who opened up his Maine summer home to injured veterans, has met with President Donald Trump in the White House

Mills, who was injured by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2012, posted photos of the meeting with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on social media

Mills, a former Staff Sergeant in the 82nd Airborne, went on: 'On a serious note, thank you Vice President Mike Pence for hosting me and our team at the White House today.

'It was an honor to share our mission of hosting re calibrated warriors at the Travis Mills Veterans Retreat.

'And, President Donald J Trump thank you for meeting with us impromptu as well.'

Mills recently transformed his estate in Rome, Maine, to allow 56 veteran families free holidays this summer.

The 16-bedroom mansion in Readfield, Maine was officially opened by the retired veteran last month.

'Just making America great again for our veterans!' a beaming Mills wrote alongside the Facebook post

Mills raised $2.75 million to transform the property while online retailer Wayfair provided almost 800 pieces of furniture and interior decor to complete the newly renovated mansion

The 30-year-old father of one underwent a 19-month rehabilitation programme after he was blown up in Afghanistan.

He is one of only five soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq who survived losing parts of all four limbs.

In 2014, he created the Travis Mills foundation to help fellow veterans and the project was made possible by an incredible fundraising drive.

He told People magazine he managed to raise the $2.75 million to restore the historic 11,000 square-foot house.

He said: 'The majority of our donations come from everyday proud Americans. We get letters from grandmas that are 87 that say, 'I don't have much. Hope this helps with something'.'

Mills runs the foundation along with his wife Kelsey, 28, who is expecting their second child.

He added: 'We understand what these families have been through. These vets don't have to live life on the sidelines and watch their families do things.'

Mills spent 19 months in rehab, but has managed to rebuild his life despite the injuries

As well as donations, businesses such as online retailer Wayfair completely kitted out the 800 pieces of furniture in the house and helped assemble it.

According to his Facebook page, Mills wrote: 'It is with great joy that we announce the Grand Opening of the Travis Mills Foundation Veterans Retreat.

'We are thrilled to welcome members of the community to join us to open the doors of our national veterans retreat from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday, June 25.

'Please join us for our opening as we welcome 56 veteran families to Maine at no cost to them this summer.'

Anyone seeking to donate to the Travis Mills Foundation and support the Veteran's Retreat can follow this link.
A son has been charged with murder after police said the man stabbed his mother to death because demons told him to do it.

On Monday, police entered the home of Maria Jocelyn Angula Goodwin, 55, after she had missed a blind date over the weekend and didn't show up for work.

After finding her dead, officials arrested her son Carl 'Brandon' Goodwin, 30, who shared the Hueytown, Alabama, home with his mother.

Brandon allegedly told police he repeatedly stabbed Jocelyn because the voices of demons encouraged him to do so, and he was charged with her murder on Tuesday.

Carl 'Brandon' Goodwin, 30, was charged for murdering his mother Maria Jocelyn Angula Goodwin, 55, in Hueytown, Alabama, on Tuesday

Brandon Goodwin allegedly told police he repeatedly stabbed his mother because demons encouraged him to kill her

Police of the suburban town outside of Birmingham, Alabama, characterized the killing as a 'brutal stabbing'.

Authorities made a wellness visit to the Goodwins' home on 25th Avenue after Jocelyn didn't show up for a blind date over the weekend and wasn't at work on Monday, AL.com reported.

When police arrived to the scene on Monday night, they found Jocelyn dead with several stab wounds, and officials later speculated that she had been dead since Saturday.

Police Chief Chuck Hagler said to the news outlet: 'She put up a struggle. She didn't die quickly.'

Brandon was also in the house but police found that he was unconscious because of prescription medication that he had taken.

When he came to, Brandon told investigators he heard demons telling him to kill his mother and he obeyed their request, AL.com reported.

Hagler said police previously had gone to the home on domestic violence issues between the son and his mother.

Police said the murder occurred at the home Brandon and his mother Jocelyn shared (pictured). Officials found her body on Monday but speculate she died on Saturday

Jocelyn Goodwin made a living by selling cemetery plots. Neighbors described her as being a loving mother and said she took care of her son

The police chief added that he considers Brandon a 'dangerous individual'.

He is currently being held at an undisclosed hospital for physical and psychiatric evaluation.

After being released, Goodwin will be sent to the Jefferson County Jail and be held on a $150,000 bond.

Friends and neighbors of the Goodwins are trying to make sense of what happened.

They describe Jocelyn as being an attentive and caring mother, who was always working to support her family.

Reggie McClinton, whose lived next to the family for more than 20 years, told CBS 42: 'The first thing I would want to know is why?

'Why, because his mother would do anything in the world to help him.'

Friends report that the rest of the Goodwins' family live outside of the country in the Philippines.
A man is clinging to life and another man is being treated in hospital after the pair were gunned down by a pair of masked men in a driveway.

Just after 8pm on Wednesday emergency services found a 34-year-old man with several gunshot wounds in the chest in a Peakhurst driveway in south Sydney.

The man is in hospital in a critical condition, while a second man, 35, has also been taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police treat a man after two men were gunned down by masked men in a driveway

A man is clinging to life and another man is being treated in hospital after the shooting

The 34-year-old man was rushed to St George Hospital where he underwent surgery and remains in a critical condition.

The second man, 35, only suffered minor injuries and was also taken to the hospital in a stable condition.

Witnesses say they saw a pair of masked men fleeing the scene after the suspected targeted attack, reports Daily Telegraph.

The suburban street where the shooting went down is less than 100m away from a primary school.

The street is being combed by forensic specialist police.

The publication is reporting the woman who made the emergency call is the sister of the man who was critically injured.

Witnesses say they saw a pair of masked men fleeing the scene after the suspected targeted attack

The suburban street where the shooting went down is less than 100m away from a primary school
This is the shocking moment a K9 mauled a handcuffed suspect's arm while a police officer unsuccessfully tried to pull it away.

The man arrested in San Diego, California, was left with a large open wound after the dog pounced on him and sank its teeth into its forearm.

Angel Nunez, captured the incident on his way to work, and posted the video to Facebook.

'This K-9 officer had no control of his K-9,' he captioned it.

'There is something definitely wrong with this picture. The officer doesn't seem to have the proper training. Also that dog is not well trained.'

Three police officers were present when a K9 bit and twisted a man's arm on the sidewalk in San Diego, California

The attack unfolded on Monday afternoon. While many believed the suspect may have provoked the dog, a commenter posted a video of how the incident initially unfolded seconds before Nunez's clip.

The handcuffed man appears to have been in conversation with the police officer. It's unclear what they talked about before the dog pounced on the man, forcing him to the ground. He then repeatedly says 'okay, okay' while the officer yells, 'give me your hand!'

Nunez's clip then shows the K9 biting the suspect, who is screaming in agony, while the officer unsuccessfully tries to get the animal off.

Within a few seconds, blood starts gushing out of the man's arm. The video then shows two officers who arrive at the scene to hold the suspect's legs down. Throughout the video the suspect repeatedly screams, 'I am comfortable!'

A bystander then asks: ' You have no control of your dog whatsoever? Are you kidding me?'

The incident occurred on Monday afternoon. The handcuffed man appears to have been in conversation with the officer before the dog pounced

The K9 dog bit the man's hand for about 30 seconds, while the officer unsuccessfully tried to get the animal off

Another adds: 'You guys have three versus one and you can't get the dog off?'

One of the officers then yells at the bystanders to get back. 'Shut up and get back!' he said.

The same officer then escorts the K9 dog away while the other two rummage through the suspect's pockets.

'My own dog is better trained than that,' one of the bystanders, who appeared to be walking his dog, said.

The video has been viewed more than two million times on Facebook and has instigated debates about whether the police officers or the suspect was in the wrong.

One commenter said: 'The video begins during the middle of the incident but I'm pretty sure he resisted for the dog to attack him....stay out of trouble if you don't want to get bit by a dog.'

Another posted: 'Instead of helping save this man's arm the other officers are more worried with holding down his legs!

'That dog should be put down and that police department should be held responsible in civil court the same as any other pet owner!'

Blood gushes out of the man's arm while two officers arrive at the scene to hold his legs down
The American college graduate allegedly beaten to death in Greece was running away from the mob which killed him, shocking CCTV footage reveals.

The film shows Bakari Henderson, 22, fleeing along the sidewalk when one of the men in the gang body-slammed him to the floor.

The men punched him and kicked him repeatedly for 20 seconds until a woman passer-by stepped in and told them to stop.

In his first comments, the security guard who has been charged with homicide over the attack said that some jealous Serbians objected to Henderson and his friends talking to a Serbian waitress.

The security guard also said that the Serbian asked the waitress: 'What are you doing hanging out with the Americans' just before the fight began.

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Tragic: Bakari Henderson, 22, (pictured left with a friend) was beaten to death on the island of Zakynthos last week, shocking CCTV footage shows the college grad being pummeled to death

Sickening: CCTV from a nearby bar where Henderson had been partying, shows the grad was fleeing from a mob

Henderson is quickly grabbed and body-slammed to the ground by one of the angry men before the rest are seen joining in, kicking and punching him repeatedly for 20 seconds

Left for dead: Henderson did not get up and the attackers milled around over his body, leaving him bleeding to death on the street. Coroners said the blows were so severe he did not have a chance to defend himself

Two people have been charged with homicide over the killing, the security guard, a 32-year-old Briton of Serbian origin, and a Greek barman, 34.

Six other Serbians are being questioned.

Police are investigating whether race played a part in the attack on Henderson, who is black, at the Bar Code bar in Laganas on the party island Zakynthos.

Henderson was from Austin, Texas, and in May graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson where he studied Business Finance and Entrepreneurship.

His family said he was in Greece with friends doing a photoshoot to launch his own fashion line.

According to the Greek Security Division the incident began at 3.15am on Friday at Bar Code.

The CCTV footage, obtained by Greek newspaper Protothema, is from a bar on the same street as Bar Code.

In the film Henderson is seen wearing a light colored t-shirt and pants running along the sidewalk as he tries to get away from the mob.

A man body slams him into the front of a car from the right hand side and Henderson begins to fall to the floor.

As he goes down one attacker kicks him in the back as he falls, another punches him in the face and the first man kicks him again before he reaches the floor.

A security guard who has been charged with homicide said the fight broke out after a group of jealous Serbians saw Henderson talking to a Serbian at Bar Code, in the town of Laganas

Homicide: Two men have been arrested and eight more are being questioned after the death of University of Arizona student Bakari Henderson (left and right, with a female friend) on the Greek island of Zakynthos

The mob crowd round and continue to kick him during the 20-second assault.

Henderson did not get up and the attackers milled around over his body, leaving him bleeding to death on the street.

Others in the group pushed the attackers away and a woman eventually stood over Henderson's body with her arms raised to stop them coming near him.

After five minutes paramedics arrived and Henderson was taken away on a stretcher.

Police are not seen in the footage; this is the first summer that Laganas does not have its own police station due to government cuts.

A Greek coroner ruled that Henderson died from severe injuries to the head and the blows were so severe he did not have a chance to defend himself.

Another CCTV clip from inside Bar Code shows patrons looking shocked as the fight starts just outside of view.

In his statement the security guard, who declined to give his name, said that he did not take part in the beating outside.

He told a Greek newspaper: 'There were lots of people in the bar that night. The girl that works as a PR in the bar, of Serbian heritage, who was on her day off, was hanging out with four Americans including the victim.

'The girl was talking with them, joking, and having fun. There were also lots of Serbians in the bar.

'One of them that got into a fight with the victim went up to the girl and told her: "What are you doing hanging out with the Americans" in a very angry way.

'Then the victim reacted verbally and the Serbian punched him in the face.

The suspects in his fatal beating, who have not yet been named, covered their faces as they were taken into court

Eight people (including six Serbians) have been since been arrested - including the bouncer, a 32-year-old British security guard of Serbian origin, and a Greek barman, 34

'Then the victim grabbed a bottle and smashed it on the Serbian guy's head. That's when it all started.

'The girl tried to intervene but the victim accidentally hit her with his elbow and she started bleeding. Then she came to me asking for help and I ran in to break them up.

'The victim must have been drinking, I don't know how much. He grabbed an ashtray and threw it at me, something that eyewitnesses can confirm.

'The victim got out of the bar and started running and the (group of) Serbs, me and the Greek bartender followed him.

'I remember punching him once in the face and two or three times in his body, not the head. When I left the spot a mob of Serbians was hitting him mercilessly in his body and head.'

Henderson was an aspiring entrepreneur and his family and friends said he was 'so determined in life' and that it was 'always a beautiful day' when was around.

On his Facebook page Henderson said he was a fan of Kobe Bryant and posted a picture of himself in a Los Angeles Lakers shirt.

He posted another photo with some friends where he wrote: 'Great weekend (with) the homies.'

His college friend Alyssa White said: 'He was the guy who walked around campus and knew everyone.

'He was so determined in life, I mean he had dreams of starting a clothing line and opening his own business and he inspired me to work harder.

Friends and family said Henderson was an aspiring entrepreneur and he was 'so determined in life' and that it was 'always a beautiful day' when was around

On his Facebook page Henderson said he was a fan of Kobe Bryant and posted a picture of himself in a Los Angeles Lakers shirt

Tyler Pittman, another of Henderson's friends, said: 'I guess I'll never meet someone as inspirational and influential as that man.

'He was always positive, always happy, always smiling, laughing, joking...it was always a beautiful day'.

In a statement Henderson's family said: 'Bakari loved spending time with family and friends, traveling and meeting new people.

'He was a big thinker and enjoyed coming up with new business ventures'.

Another friend, Jordan Zylberberg, said: 'Bakari was an amazing friend, one of my best and oldest friends, and one of the most genuine people I ever met'.

In a statement University of Arizona president Robert C. Robbins said: 'Our hearts and prayers are with his friends and family.

'I can only imagine the deep sense of loss they must be feeling at his untimely death. It is always a tragedy when a young life ends before it has really yet to begin'.

Beach attraction: The beach on the island is one of its draws for tourists but there is a dark side and in 2011 a 19-year-old British tourist was beaten to death by two Greek taxi drivers

A US State Department official said that an American citizen had been killed on Zakynthos and that it was providing consular services to his family.

The incident is not the first killing of foreigner on the island and in 2011 a 19-year-old British tourist was beaten to death by two Greek taxi drivers.

Henderson's death has led to calls for a clampdown on bars where foreigners drink cheap alcohol late into the night.

A shop owner from Laganas told Ionian TV, a local TV station: 'The policing is not enough for the area.

'There used to be a police station here, and they still weren't adequate. Now they moved it to the town (of Zakynthos). You can't imagine what's going on here at night'.

He added that 'it's a specific problem when Serbian groups come in'.

He said: 'The Serbians are a problem. They have a big problem with the British and the Americans, and sometimes even with Greeks. In those cases there's a lot of fighting'.

The authorities in Greece are now calling for a clampdown on party islands like Zakynthos, which are known for their cheap bars with rowdy tourists drinking until the early hours.
A family drove five hours to watch the State of Origin decider, only to be turned away when they discovered their tickets were fake.

Jodie Lee Pott, from the Queensland town of Roma 500 kilometres west of Brisbane, said her parents bought her four tickets to the match for her children's birthday.

Her parents bought the platinum tickets online for $1,060 through an online classifieds site from a man who said he did not need them anymore.

Jodi Lee Pott (pictured) and her family drove five hours to Brisbane to watch the State of Origin decider, only to find themselves turned away at the gate when their ticket's wouldn't scan

She said her parents bought the four platinum tickets (pictured) online for $1,060 through an online classifieds site as a present for her children

But the mother-of-three claimed when she and her family arrived at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday night the tickets they printed out themselves did not scan.

'We were so excited and now the kids are crying,' she said.

'It breaks my heart, where has the honesty gone these days?'

One of her friends commented an angry message of support and confessed she too was fleeced out of $450 for a concert ticket in a similar fashion.

'Sorry to hear what you and your children are going through. Lesson learnt from me to never ever buy tickets online or from anyone again,' she said.

The mother-of-three (pictured with ehr husband) claimed when she and her family arrived at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday night the tickets they printed out themselves did not scan

The ticket scam has become common since the rise of classified sites like Gumtree and e-tickets where ticket sites send customers an image of the ticket to print themselves

The man Ms Pott accused of selling her parents the ticket claimed he too was a victim of the scammers and he was innocent.

'Someone has stolen my ID and is using my details to sell all sorts of tickets not just Origin... it's making my life horrible,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'I tried buying Grooving the Moo tickets and sent my ID, and this is the result.'

The ticket scam has become common since the rise of classified sites like Gumtree and e-tickets where ticket sites send customers an image of the ticket to print themselves.

Tickets can usually be transferred between people, but scammers can easily use the tickets themselves by arriving before their victims or sell to multiple buyers.
The mother who gave a 'thumbs up' to the cameras as she was tried over the murder of her children and husband is to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Isabel Martinez, 33, is accused of stabbing her four children and husband to death at a home in Loganville, Georgia.

On Saturday, one day after the alleged killings, she smiled and gleefully posed for photographers as she appeared before Gwinnett County Magistrate Judge Michael Thorpe.

A wake is to be held in Lawrenceville for her husband Martin Romero, 33, and kids Isabela, ten, Dacota, seven, Dillan, four, and Axel, two.

Martinez is in the country illegally, according to US Customs and Immigration Enforcement spokesperson Bryan Cox, and

Immigration authorities have placed a hold on Martinez, who is from Mexico and entered the US illegally.

Cox said this is Martinez's first encounter with immigration authorities and it is not clear how long she has been in the US.

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Isabel Martinez, 33, smiled and posed for the cameras as she appeared at her first court hearing just one day after police said she stabbed four of her children and their father to death and seriously injured another child at their home outside Atlanta, Georgia

Martinez killed Martin Romero, 33, left, and four of the five children they had together, pictured. Diana Romero, nine, in front of Martin, survived. The other children, from left to right are: Axel Romero, two, (in the stroller), Isabela Martinez, 10, Dacota Romero, seven and Dillan Romero, four

Martinez appeared before Gwinnett County Magistrate Judge Michael Thorpe Friday and said she did not want an attorney. She is facing five counts of malice murder, five counts of murder and six counts of aggravated assault

The injured child, Diana Romero, nine, survived but remains hospitalized with injuries described by police as serious. Police said Thursday evening that she was in serious but stable condition.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for Diana's medical costs and the funeral costs for the deceased.

The four children killed were identified as Isabela Martinez, 10; Dacota Romero, seven; Dillan Romero, four; and Axel Romero, two. Their slain father was Martin Romero, 33.

According to the page, Diana has had surgery to repair damage from multiple stab wounds.

She is expected to be in the hospital for two to three weeks before starting physical therapy.

Before the hearing began, Martinez sat with other inmates and struck poses for news cameras - smiling, giving a double thumbs up, putting her hands in a prayer position and spreading her arms out wide.

As Judge Thorpe listed the charges she faces - five counts of malice murder, five counts of murder and six counts of aggravated assault - Martinez smiled, shook her head 'no' and wagged her finger at him.

The judge advised her sharply not to perform for the cameras.

When the judge informed her of her right to have an attorney, she said through a Spanish-language interpreter, that she doesn't want an attorney.

She later added that her attorney will always be the people and her faith.

Thorpe strongly advised Martinez to hire a lawyer or to allow one to be appointed for her.

'What prompts a person to take the life of such innocent children and her spouse is something we may never understand,' Gwinnett County police said in a statement.

'This is a horrendous crime not only for the victims but for the extended family, neighborhood and community.'

Diana Romero, pictured, was in serious but stable condition Thursday evening, police said in a brief update on the case

Before the hearing began, Martinez sat with other inmates and struck poses for news cameras - smiling, giving a double thumbs up, putting her hands in a prayer position and spreading her arms out wide

As Judge Thorpe listed the charges she faces, Martinez smiled, shook her head 'no' and wagged her finger at him

Martinez gestures towards news cameras during her first court appearance Friday. The judge told her not to perform for the cameras

Psychologists and others who study cases of mothers accused of killing their children say it's not as uncommon as people might believe.

But media coverage often focuses on dramatic cases, such as Andrea Yates who was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the 2001 drowning deaths of her five children.

Martinez, pictured, who has been charged in the stabbing deaths of four of her five children and their father in Loganville, Georgia, outside Atlanta

Other cases get less attention, as when a woman kills a newborn or in children's deaths blamed on neglect, said Cheryl Meyer, co-author of two books on mothers who have killed children based on about 1,000 cases during the 1990s.

That amounts to one death every three days. If anything, the total based on media reports at the time underestimates the reality, said Meyer, a psychology professor at Wright State University in Ohio.

In cases when mothers kill intentionally, Meyer said there is often another influence, such as mental health issues, postpartum depression or the loss of a close loved one.

Yates' attorneys, for instance, said she had severe postpartum psychosis at the time she drowned her children, including her 6-month-old daughter.

'We like to classify these women as pariahs, that they aren't at all like us,' Meyer said. 'I found that was not the case.'

Martinez was 'immediately' detained after the bodies were found inside the home in Loganville, about 30 miles east of Atlanta, Gwinnett County Police Cpl Michele Pihera told reporters at the scene Thursday morning.

Martinez was 'immediately' detained after the bodies of her victims were found inside their home in Loganville, Georgia

Police confirmed that the 911 call came from a woman who was inside the home at 4.47 am Thursday to report a stabbing. They believe Martinez made that call. She is pictured speaking to the judge through a Spanish language interpreter, left and standing to leave the courtroom, right, on Friday

Isabel Martinez, right, listens as a magistrate judge speaks during her first court appearance

Authorities haven't said if Martinez was injured or discussed a motive.

'Right now we believe we have everybody involved in this crime,' Pihera said.

Pihera confirmed that the 911 call came from a woman who was inside the home at 4.47 am Thursday to report a stabbing. Police believe Martinez made that call.

Pihera said the caller was speaking Spanish, which initially made it difficult for 911 operators to communicate with her.

Early indications are that a knife was used to attack the five, though a medical examiner will make the final determination about the cause of death, she said.

One 2014 analysis of FBI data found there are around 500 cases per year of parents arrested for killing their children.

The study found that contact weapons such as a bat or edged weapons such as knives were rarely used in the cases studied. Beating, choking and drowning were most common.

It's also unusual for a woman to kill an entire family rather than her children alone, Meyer said, adding that she couldn't think of a single comparable case.

Neighbor Pedro Ramirez, 15, said that he used to watch the family's daughters in the park and that they would ride bikes in the neighborhood (Pictured, Martinez with two of her children)

Neighbors say Martinez (pictured, left and right) may have been suffering from depression following the death of her father in Mexico. Authorities haven't said if Martinez was injured or discussed a motive

Authorities load a body into a crime scene vehicle on Thursday after police found four young children and their father apparently stabbed to death

Some neighbors in the small, largely Hispanic neighborhood said they had no clue anything was amiss in the home until police mobbed the scene Thursday morning.

The neighbors said the Spanish-speaking family had moved to the community recently, and their children seemed happy playing with other neighborhood kids.

Victoria Nievs said the children's mother had recently suffered the death of her father.

Jim Hollandsworth is spokesman at The Path Project, a nonprofit organization that runs an after-school program that the family's children participated in.

He said the family had been in the community for a few months. While the children spoke English as a second language, he said, they were fluent.

'It's awful. It's devastating. Everyone is in complete shock,' he said.

'The kids were engaged in what we're doing. They were happy. They were fantastic kids with a bright future.'

Neighbors stand outside near a home where police say multiple people were found dead. Some neighbors in the small, largely Hispanic neighborhood said they had no clue anything was amiss in the home until police mobbed the scene Thursday morning

Emergency personnel work at the scene where police found multiple people stabbed to death in Loganville, Georgia
A jealous husband whose wife was planning to divorce him kept her new man captive for 12 hours and beat him to death before dumping his body outside a Co-op, a court has heard.

Gnanachandran Balachandran, 38, is accused of recruiting Kiroraj Yogarajah, 30, Prashanth Thevarasa, 24, and a 17-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to help him snatch Suren Sivananthan, 32, from a Milton Keynes shopping centre and then beat him to death.

Prosecutor John Price QC told a jury at Luton Crown Court how at one point during Mr Sivananthan's ordeal, Balachandran's wife, Ragupathy Annalingham, phoned her new partner wanting to know where he was and telling him she would collect him.

Suren Sivananthan was found dead outside of a parade of shops in Great Linford, Milton Keynes, after being beaten to death, a court heard

His body was found by police outside a Co-op in the early hours of Saturday, January 21 this year

Mr Sivananthan, who was staying with Ms Annalingham in Milton Keynes, said: 'I don't know, maybe the city centre. I don't know.'

But then, said Price, the voice of her husband came on the phone telling her: 'Why do you want to pick him up? Why are you asking where he is? You can't live with your husband and so you take someone else. You are a bad person.'

The prosecutor said the husband accused his wife of going with other men before demanding: 'Who is this man? Tell me what relationship you have?'

The jury was told the Mr Balachandran then told Ms Annalingham: 'You will see what I do to him.'

The court was told Mr Sivananthan's body was later left by a parade of shops in Great Linford, Milton Keynes on Saturday, January 21 this year.

The defendants all pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Sivananthan.

The teenager also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Sivananthan.

The court heard Mr Sivananthan, who is originally from Sri Lanka, was due to fly home to Canada later that day.

Mr Price said the victim's body was discovered by police at around 4am.

'The body showed obvious signs of numerous blunt force injuries, particularly to the head and face,' said the prosecutor.

He said Mr Sivananthan had been held by the gang for around 12 hours before his death.

Mr Price added: 'In short, the prosecution alleges Suren was severely beaten by these four defendants during a prolonged violent assault sustained over a number of hours.'

The court heard the victim sustained 39 separate injuries to his head and neck and had bruises on his chest, back and all four limbs.

The top of his scalp had been split open by a blunt force impact, while another blow had split the skin open over his left eye brow and the eye socket had been badly damaged.

A pathologist gave the cause of death as a sustained blunt force trauma to the victim's head, which resulted in a brain injury and was exasperated by the high level of alcohol found in his body.

Police and divers were spotted searching a pond nearby for evidence after Mr Sivananthan was found

The court was told Ms Annalingham and Mr Sivananthan were school friends after meeting in their native Sri Lanka.

Mr Sivananthan's family later moved to Canada and he went with them, while Ms Annalingham moved to Germany.

The court was told Ms Annalingham met Mr Balachandran when she was 17 and, after they married, she came to live with him in the UK.

Mr Price said the couple had a son but the marriage wasn't a happy one as Ms Annalingham found her husband to be 'controlling and very possessive'.

He added Ms Annalingham decided to end the relationship and began divorce proceedings last Autumn, but Balachandran was unwilling to accept her decision to end the marriage.

He said: 'He continued to call her, to make contact with her and follow her around. The prosecution suggest that he was obsessed with her in an unhealthy way.'

The jury heard that in 2016 the wife decided to get in contact with Mr Sivananthan using Facebook and travelled to Canada to meet him. It was the first time they had seen each other in 18 years, the jury was told.

On her return to the UK the couple kept in contact with one another using Facebook.

When Mr Sivananthan visited his sister in Germany shortly before Christmas last year, he agreed to meet Ms Annalingham in the UK.

As a result he arrived in Milton Keynes in early January of this year.

Mr Price said the couple decided to keep their relationship private as she was still 'technically' married to her husband.

He said the 'traditional society' they came from wouldn't have approved of their relationship and Mr Sivananthan was anxious that his family would think badly of Ms Annalingham.

The jury heard Mr Sivananthan stayed Ms Annalingham at her home in Milton Keynes from January 10 to January 21.

The court was told it was on the afternoon of Friday January 20, when he was in the Secklow Gate shopping centre, that three of the defendants took him in a taxi to another area of Milton Keynes where they beat him up in an alleyway beside a fast food restaurant.

It was then Mr Sivananthan received the call from Ms Annalingham, who then heard her husband on the phone questioning her about her relationship with the man.

The court heard the three men then took Mr Sivananthan, who by now was bleeding heavily from his injuries, to an address on the Coffee Hall estate in Milton Keynes where the 17 year old and his older brother were staying at the time.

It was here said Mr Price that the teenager, who had been alone in the house and received a phone call earlier from Balachandran, became involved.

The prosecutor said a further beating took place at the address before the gang summoned a cab to take them and Mr Sivananthan to the parade of shops.

CCTV cameras captured Balachandran and Yogarajah 'manhandling' the victim past a Co-op store to a nearby pond as the teenager and Thevarasa followed.

Gnanachandran Balachandran, Kiroraj Yogarajah, Prashanth Thevarasa, and a 17-year-old are accused of murdering Suren Sivananthan, a charge they deny

He said a woman visiting a late night shop saw the victim and later told police he had a 'bashed up' face.

Two members of the gang, who bought cigarettes and alcohol from a shop, were heard speaking in Tamil about 'a problem' with an ex-wife of one of their group and referring to a 'womaniser.'

The prosecutor said by now the older brother of the teenager had learned his younger sibling had joined the husband and the other two defendants and was anxious to find him and take him home.

Speaking to one of the defendants on the phone, the brother was told: 'We have caught the guy who is sleeping with his (Balachandran's) wife.'

The jury heard the gang redressed Mr Sivananthan in clean clothes and put his bloodstained clothes in a carrier bag.

The older brother later arrived at the pond area and took his younger sibling back to Coffee Hall.

Mr Price said: 'In effect, they kidnapped Suren, they encouraged him to drink.

'They persuaded him to go along with them making, as might be said an offer he could not refuse.'

The hearing continues.
The president's son ripped the lid off his own scandal on Tuesday when he published an email chain proving his knowledge that Russia was the source of the damaging information he tried to obtain in the midst of the presidential campaign.

Don Jr published four pages of emails to his Twitter account Tuesday as the New York Times prepared to publish another bombshell report on his attempted collaboration with the Russian government to bring down Hillary Clinton.

Trump's lawyer, Alan Futerfas, told the New York Post late that evening that Don Jr came clean to avoid 'death by a thousand cuts.'

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Trump's lawyer, Alan Futerfas, says Don Jr came clean to avoid 'death by a thousand cuts'

The president had remained silent on the matter until the emails dropped. He defended him Tuesday and again today

Futerfas said it was known to them at that point that at least one news outlet had a copy of the unhelpful exchange and Don Jr wanted to control the story.

'Basically what they were doing, it was kind of like a drip, drip, drip, a death by a thousand cuts,' he told the Post. 'We were like, you know what, its silly. Were going to be totally transparent. Well get it all out there.'

In the interview, Futerfas more or less confirmed that Don Jr preempted the Times, after it gave him an 11 am deadline to comment on an upcoming report.

Two times already the news outlet had requested comment from the president's son on information it had, dragging out the narrative.

The tactic gave Don Jr plenty of rope to hang himself with.

First, he said the meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Kremlin-linked lawyer, was all about adoption. Then he admitted he invited her there not knowing who she was at the request of a mutual contact because he was led to believe she had helpful information.

On Tuesday, three days after the Times' first story, Don Jr published the email chain disclosing a British flak's promise of sensitive information that came from the highest levels of the Russian government.

'If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer,' the president's son responded.

The president had remained silent on the matter until the emails dropped.

He said through a spokeswoman on Tuesday afternoon: 'My son is a high-quality person, and I applaud his transparency.'

As Don Jr sat down with Fox News' Sean Hannity for his first interview since the scandal began, Trump sent out a tweet describing his son as a 'great person who loves our country!'

'My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!' the president said Wednesday am upon further reflection.

In the interview, Don Jr said he 'would have done things differently' if he'd understood the ramifications of his actions.

'Again this is before the Russia mania, this is before they were building this up in the press,' he said.

Trump's lawyer suggested to the New York Post in an interview just afterward that Don Jr made a mistake, in terms of the optics.

'People may look at the optics and say, "I wish that language wasnt in the email," 'Futerfas said.

That's a far cry from the charges of 'treason' the president's son has been hit with, though, he indicated.

'Law enforcement can do whatever they want to do, but the reality of what things are is theres nothing here,' the criminal defense attorney stated.




A thousand people escaped a fiery death by a mere 100 feet on Friday, it has emerged, as disturbing details about a five-plane incident at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) come to light.

Air Canada flight AC759 was supposed to land on Runway 28R at around midnight, but was in fact heading toward the parallel Taxiway C, which had four fully loaded jets waiting to take off.

Audio from the incident suggests that it was only when one of those planes' pilots spotted AC759 heading towards them that aircraft control realized that something had gone wrong.

AC759 was then given the order to pull away - and was was an estimated 175 feet from the ground and 100 feet from the tops of the planes below when the pilot pulled up, CNN reported.

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Dangerous lows: An Air Canada jet was just 175 feet above the ground when it was told to turn away or risk hitting four other jets beneath it at San Francisco's Airport (pictured) Friday

 Slide me  MOVE SLIDER TO CHANGE IMAGE: Runway 28L was closed with its lights off as the Air Canada plane approached with the intention of landing on 28R. It's believed the pilot may have mistaken 28R for 28L, and Taxiway C for 28R, causing him to try to land on the taxiway

Dangerous: The four planes on Taxiway C were wide-body jets, three of which were headed to Asia and Australia. In total, around a thousand people's lives were put at risk

Although the FAA's investigation is ongoing, early reports suggest a string of errors and mishaps contributed to the near-catastrophe, the Mercury News reported.

Waiting on Taxiway C were four 'wide body' jets - meaning each one was large enough to have two aisles running down its main cabin.

All were reportedly packed with passengers; at maximum capacity they would have held a total of 1,062 passengers, plus crew.

Then, at 11:56pm, the Air Canada plane came, carrying 140 passengers and crew from Toronto.

THE FIVE PLANES Air Canada - AC759 An Airbus 320 containing 140 people, flying from Toronto; it almost landed on Taxiway C, where the four other planes were waiting United - UA1 A Boeing 787-9 capable of holding up to 280 passengers that was scheduled to fly to Singapore Philippine Airlines - PR115 An Airbus A340-300, with a maximum capacity of 313 passengers, headed for Manila United - UA863 Another max-280-passenger Boeing 787-9 intending to fly to Sydney, Australia United - UA1118 A Boeing 737-900, with up to 189 passengers bound for Orlando, Florida In total, as many as 1,197 passengers plus crew could have been at risk in the incident. Advertisement

Typically, incoming international planes are directed to one of two runways: 28L or 28R, referred to verbally as '28-Left' or '28-Right', based on their position from the point of view of an incoming plane.

They are located parallel to each other. Further to the right from the pilot's perspective, and also parallel to 28R, is Taxiway C, where the other planes were waiting.

Here is where the first problem may have occurred: Runway 28L was closed and had its lights off.

That would have made it invisible to an incoming plane, in turn making 28R look like 28L, and Taxiway C look like 28R.

Worse, there may only have been one person overseeing both grounded and airborne planes in the control tower that night.

If so, that could explain why it was only a pilot on the ground who spotted the oncoming disaster.

In an audio recording, the Air Canada pilot can be heard asking SFO control if he's heading towards the right runway.

'Tower control, I just want to confirm that - this is Air Canada 759, I can see some lights on the runway there, across the runway, can you confirm we're good to land?'

He's referring to the lights of the planes he's mere minutes from striking.

'Canada 759, confirmed to land on runway 28-Right, there is no one on 28-Right but you,' the control tower says - apparently unaware that they are looking at different runways.

As the Air Canada jet thanks airport control, another pilot, audibly agitated, buzzes in: 'Where is this guy going? He's on the taxiway!'

Mistake: It's possible that the pilot was confused, as the lights on Runway 28L were off. That could have made it look like 28R and Taxiway C were 28L and 28TR, respectively

Diverted: The plane was diverted at the last minute when one of the pilots on the ground spotted it and told control

All alone? There appeared to be just one person in the tower communicating with all planes, both on the ground and in the air, which made one expert who heard the audio 'uncomfortable'

Control quickly tells the descending plane to 'go around' and it peels off, avoiding a massive collision by a mere 175 feet, according to FlightAware.

It then missed the first two planes by 100 feet, the third by 200 feet and the fourth by 300 feet as it pulled up a preliminary report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said, according to CNN.

'That pilot was what broke that chain of events,' retired United Airlines Captain Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, told Mercury News.

'He saw an airplane coming in toward his airplane, and he questioned it and got the attention of the air traffic controller.'

Aimer added that wide-body jets can be as much as 60 feet tall - in which case the Air Canada plane was a mere 100 feet from disaster when it flew off.

Ryan Jorgenson, senior aviation data analyst with FlightAware, said that because the runways are so close together at SFO - less than 750 feet - special procedures would have been advised.

They would have required the pilot to use their Instrument Landing System even in good weather; the system would have indicated the correct runway to land on.

Aimer also said that that the audio suggested just one man had been handling communications with both people on the ground and in the air - not ideal, even at night.

'It still was a pretty busy time, there was a lot of traffic taking off and landing,' Aimer said. 'That was something that I felt uncomfortable with.'

SFO spokesman Doug Yakel told the Mercury News that the FAA staffs the control towers.

The FAA declined to comment when asked to confirm if there was just one man operating both the grounded and airborne planes that night.

It said no comments would be made until the investigation was concluded.

Scary: The Air Canada plane was an Airbus A320 (one pictured in Toronto) containing 140 people. It may have passed as low as 100 feet over the top of the planes below

Passengers: Among the other planes was a Philippines Airlines Airbus A340-300 (one pictured in file photo), which can contain up to 313 passengers

Packed: Other planes included a United Boeing 737 (pictured, file photo). Three of the planes were set to fly to Asia and Australia; the fourth was to fly to Orlando; all were said to be packed

Anne Guzman, a passenger on the plane, said that she was oblivious to the danger that she and so many others were in.

'As far as I could remember, just before landing, the plane suddenly jerked up and was going up and circling again,' she said.

'The pilot only said that we would be making a turn around because we had to re-align once more  [I] don't remember any explanation or people asking for more details afterwards.

'I don't remember any concern from that announcement and maybe around 10 minutes after, we landed smoothly.'

She added: 'I thought the whole flight was very calm and normal, until learning about this news!'

On Monday, Aimer told the Mercury News that SFO 'probably came close to the greatest aviation disaster in history.'

'If you could imagine an Airbus colliding with four passenger aircraft wide bodies, full of fuel and passengers, then you can imagine how horrific this could have been,' he remarked.

'This is pretty huge,' he added. 'My buddies called and asked if I knew about it. They're a sitting duck on the taxiway. They can't go anywhere.'

In a statement, Air Canada said in part: 'We are still investigating the circumstances and therefore have no additional information to offer.'

It did not confirm whether any action has been taken against the pilot. Jorgensen said he would most likely be retrained.

A separate investigation by the FAA is also underway.
A woman who was eating at Denny's when a group of firefighters stopped by to dine after battling the La Cadena Fire, decided to pick up the $400 tab to show her appreciation for them over the weekend

A woman who was eating at a Denny's restaurant in Southern California ended up paying a $405 bill for a group of firefighters after they had tackled a massive blaze over the weekend.

The City of Colton Fire Department thanked the woman who picked up the tab for 25 firefighters who were hungry after putting out a fire in the La Loma Hills near San Bernadino.

While the crew chowed down on bacon, milkshakes and coffees, a fellow diner told staff she wanted to pay for the check.

'After all of the firefighters finished fighting the La Cadena Fire in La Loma Hills this evening, they were sent to Denny's for dinner. While eating, an anonymous woman told the Denny's staff that she wanted to buy all of the firefighter's meals,' a post on Facebook read. 'We are all honored to serve the citizens of our communities,' the department added.

In addition to picking up the tab, the woman also bought the hungry heroes $100 worth of desserts.

About 25 firefighters had just finished fighting a fire in the La Loma Hills area of Colton on Saturday night

The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, told staff at the restaurant that she wanted to pay for their meal and tip for a total of $405.22

Colton Fire Department spokesman Capt. Tom DeBellis told The San Bernardino County Sun that acts of kindness in the community are common and very much appreciated.

'It happens all the time, more so when we're on big fires. People just anonymously donate money to cover the bill. They want to do what they can to help. In a small community like Colton it happens quite frequently,' he said.

'We're out there doing our job,' DeBellis said, 'and we're grateful that people appreciate what we do.'

Unfortunately, the firefighters didn't get the name of the woman who made the generous gesture.

'I felt so bummed out,' said Margarita Hernandez, 28, of Colton, who waited on the men. 'I should have gotten her name.'

She said that she was surprised by the woman's gesture.

A car and house are engulfed in flames as fire burns through a residential area in Oroville, California. The first major wildfires after the end of a five-year drought raged across the state

After a day of braving 100-plus-degree temperatures, about 25 of the firefighters dropped by a Denny's for dinner

'I was like, 'Really? That's really sweet of you.' she said, 'No, these men are out there fighting for us and protecting our community.''

'The firefighters were really in shock to know someone was kind enough to do that for them,' she said.

Across the west, crews have been making progress against dozens of wildfires across California, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.

Authorities surveying the damage from a blaze in Northern California said Tuesday that at least 41 homes and 55 other buildings had been destroyed near the town of Oroville, about 150 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Residents had started to return home after fleeing a wildfire in the grassy foothills of the Sierra Nevada, about 60 miles north of Sacramento, but thousands were still evacuated. The blaze burned nearly 9 square miles and injured four firefighters. It was 55 percent contained.

Schori said this year's conditions were similar to California's 1979 wildfire season, which came on the heels of a two-year dry spell and saw blazes blackening a total of 386 square miles of grass, brush and timber and caused more than $30 million in damage.

The Whittier Fire burns through the night over the weekend near Santa Barbara, California. The Whittier Fire and the Alamo Fire together have blackened more than 30,000 acres of hillside

However that year's major fires didn't kick off until well into August, she said, as did the destructive 1992 blazes that followed a drought that started five years earlier.

Major downpours last winter pulled the state out of years of drought but also brought a layer of grass that early-summer fires are greedily feeding on.

'That creates faster moving fires, hotter fires, it carries fire much more readily,' said Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni, whose department was battling two large wildfires.

Older, dried out trees and vegetation are especially dangerous for wildland blazes, but enough new and drying grass can provide links between such tinderboxes.

With the dense grass as the 'carrier,' the firefight becomes much more challenging because 'you have to make sure the water is getting all the way down to the smoldering areas below,' Schori said. 'It takes a lot more effort to extinguish grass fires.'

Three new fires made trouble in the state Tuesday.

One of them, just east of San Jose, destroyed one home and damaged another before its growth was stopped. Eleven homes were under an evacuation order

Another blaze broke out in San Diego County about 2 p.m. and quickly surged to over half a square mile (1.5 square kilometers). It temporarily closed Interstate 8 and forced 15 families to evacuate homes in Alpine, a town of 15,000 people about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of San Diego.

In Northern California, the Placer County Sheriff's Office has issued mandatory evacuations along four roads near a 2-acre fire burning north of Auburn.

In Southern California's Santa Barbara County, at least 3,500 people remained out of their homes due to a pair of fires. The larger of the two charred more than 45 square miles (116 square kilometers) of dry brush and has burned 20 structures since it broke out. It was 60 percent contained. To the south an 18-square-mile (46-square-kilometer) wildfire that destroyed 20 structures is 48 percent contained.

In Colorado, crews were winding down the fight against a wildfire that temporarily forced the evacuation of hundreds of people near the resort town of Breckenridge. Firefighters built containment lines around at least 85 percent of the blaze.
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An eerie abandoned ghost town in Connecticut has been purchased by a Filipino church group for $1.85million.

Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) bought the entire 62-acre hamlet of Johnsonville, Connecticut in a swift transaction that closed on Friday, promising to bring new life to the abandoned town.

Johnsonville, a former mill town turned into a Victorian tourist attraction by an eccentric millionaire, had been on an off the market for years.

'We would like to see it brought back to life,' Joji Crisostomo, an Iglesia minister, told the Hartford Courant.

'We don't like the term 'ghost.' I don't think anybody likes that.'

Representatives of the Iglesia Ni Cristo church group tour the ground of Johnsonville, a ghost town in Connecticut, before buying the entire hamlet for $1.85million

The property includes an old post office, a schoolhouse, a general store, the original homestead of the mill owners, and an abandoned church.

An official with Iglesia Ni Cristo takes possession of the keys to Johnsonville's various buildings at the closing on Friday

Origins: Johnsonville started in the 19th century as a mill town built around an active twine mill operation on the Moodus River. Shown above is the original Neptune mill in 1832. It was struck by lightning in 1972 and burned

The church group, which is headquartered in Quezon City, Philippines but has branches throughout the Northeastern US, hasn't finalized plans for the town but hopes to preserve its historic buildings and renovate a chapel on the property, Crisostomo said.

Iglesia Ni Cristo was founded in 1914 and describes itself as 'the fulfillment of biblical prophesies on the true Church of Christ in these last days for man's salvation.'

Emissaries from the group first visited Johnsonville in late June, and the all-cash sale went through quickly, surprising local officials who had seen the property languish on the market for years.

'This happened awfully quick,' Emmett J. Lyman, the first selectmen of East Haddam, told the Courant.

'My thought was, it's going to take a week or two; they're going to look at stuff and evaluate what they've got. Not so.'

The property includes an old post office, a schoolhouse, a general store, the original homestead of the mill owners, and an abandoned church.

A lake on the property, seen above, once had a paddleboat brought in for tourists, which sank after years of disrepair

Emissaries from the group first visited Johnsonville in late June, and the all-cash sale went through quickly, surprising locals

The buildings include an old post office, schoolhouse, general store (pictured) and the original homestead of the mill owners

Empty for decades: Above, one of the properties in the village, which has been closed to visitors for decades before the sale

A church official is seen signing the closing documents in the all-cash sale of the abandoned hamlet on Friday

Members of the Philippines-based church group pose as they celebrate the purchase of the hamlet of Johnsonville

Johnsonville was part of a thriving mill community in the 1800s.

In 1972, millionaire industrialist Raymond Schmitt, owner of aerospace part firm AGC Inc, bought the property after a lightning strike destroyed the mill.

Schmitt decided to create a Victorian-era tourist attraction, so he traveled around the northeast, buying up entire buildings and shipping them to the town.

In addition to the vast array of properties he purchased, he also bought a paddleboat from the World's Fair in the 1960s.

He later transported it to Johnsonville, where he hoped to use it to ferry passengers around the lake in the middle of the property.

But although Schmitt allowed visitors onto the grounds, and weddings were occasionally held at the Swiss chalet-styled restaurant, the town never truly became a bustling hub for tourists.

After Schmitt got into a dispute with local officials in East Haddam, he shut down the village in 1994 and put the property up for sale.

Millionaire Raymond Schmitt decided to create a Victorian tourist attraction out of the hamlet. But the town never became a bustling hub for tourists, and he closed it after a dispute with local officials. Above, visitors explore Johnsonville in the 1970s

He died four years later, and the property fell into disrepair. Even the paddleboat began sinking into the lake.

For the past few decades, 'No Trespassing' signs have hung off the properties, warning curious travelers to stay away.

Connecticut-based hotel company Meyer Jabara Hotels was the seller in the Friday deal, and paid $2.5million dollars for the property back in 2001.

In October of 2015, Johnsonville was put up for auction, with the highest bid coming in at $1.9million, however the offer fell through.

At that time, Chicago-based writer and designer Dan Sinker led a campaign on Twitter to try and raise enough money to buy the deserted hamlet, convincing 108 people to contribute to the purchase.

That plan eventually fizzled out though.
Jon Boulton, the former adviser to Rob Wilson, when he was Minister for Civil Society

The former aide of a Government Minister has appeared in court charged with six counts of rape against the same woman.

Jon Boulton, 27, was a speechwriter and media adviser to former Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson.

Boulton allegedly raped a 25-year-old woman at a flat in South West London on April 15 last year. He was arrested the following day.

Wearing a grey suit and blue tie, he only spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address when he appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates Court.

The website of the former Conservative MP for Reading East, said Mr Boulton helped with research, drafting of questions, speech-writing and national media.

All references to Boulton were recently removed from the site.

Boulton, who went to Queen Mary University of London, had reportedly stopped working for Mr Wilson around the same time of the alleged offences.

Mr Wilson, who was made a minister in 2014, is no longer an MP, having lost his seat to Labours Matt Rodda last month.

Boulton, left, is charged with six counts of rape committed on April 15. He once worked as a media adviser and speechwriter for Rob Wilson, right

Releasing Boulton on bail Magistrate Laura Boyle said: These six charges cannot be dealt with in this court they can only be dealt with in the crown court so I am sending you to Kingston Crown Court for a preliminary hearing there on 8 August.

Boulton, from Stockwell, south London, is charged with six counts of rape.

He now faces a plea and trial preparation hearing at Kingston Crown Court on 8 August.
Aspiring model Resham Khan, 21, suffered 'life-changing' injuries in the acid attack

A brave acid attack victim today said she was 'patiently waiting for the return of my face' in a harrowing open letter telling of her 'unbearable pain'.

Aspiring model Resham Khan, 21, and her cousin Jameel Muhktar, 37, both suffered 'life-changing' burns in the attack in Beckton, East London.

Now Miss Khan has said she wants to ensure 'no one ever goes through the living nightmare I have endured' after being left with horrific face and neck injuries after the incident on June 21.

It comes as a campaign to change the law to make corrosive substances much harder to buy gained momentum as it hit more than 360,000 signatures online.

In her letter, Miss Khan wrote: 'I invite you all in once again to reflect upon my 21st birthday. A milestone age for many reasons, we must remember that any opportunity to mark or celebrate the occasion was stolen from me.

Miss Khan has said she wants to ensure 'no one ever goes through the living nightmare I have endured' after being left with horrific face and neck injuries after the incident

Miss Khan's cousin Jameel Muhktar also suffered 'life-changing' burns in the attack on June 21

'Stolen in one of the most painfully scarring ways I could ever imagine. My plans are in pieces; my pain is unbearable, and I write this letter in hospital whilst I patiently wait for the return of my face.

'Currently, I have two main priorities: to make a full recovery and to make sure no one ever goes through the living nightmare I have endured.

'Since the attack and the vast media coverage, the disturbing rise of attacks using corrosive substances as a weapon has been brought to the public's attention.'

She said that the number of incidents involving corrosive substances in London has risen from 186 in 2014/2015 to 397 in 2016/2017.

Miss Khan added: 'Street gangs are now using these life-changing substances instead of guns and knives. Why are acids the new street weapon?

'Because corrosive substances are readily available in-store and online for as little as 6.50 and the laws surrounding possession is loose.

Miss Khan (right) and Jameel Muhktar (left, together) are pictured before the horrific attack

'I cannot sit back whilst others remain indoors in fear of this happening to them. This problem needs to be eliminated. I refuse to allow the country I grew up in to simply get used to corrosive substance attacks. The fear is real. The crime is real.'

John Tomlin has been charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent

She has provided a five-point plan, including asking police to take a tougher approach on corrosive substances and retailers to consider regulation changes.

She also wants harsher punishments for acid attack perpetrators and the possession of corrosive substances without good reason to be punishable.

Finally, Miss Khan wants the Government to impose licensing regulations for the buying of corrosive substances, depending on the concentration levels.

John Tomlin appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court yesterday charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent over the alleged attack.

The 25-year-old from Canning Town handed himself in to police on Sunday. He was remanded in custody and told to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on August 8.
An armed and naked carjacker has been shot dead by police after leading them on a chase through two counties.

The man, who is not being identified by police, allegedly stole a vehicle at gunpoint shortly before 1pm at a Park and Ride lot in Waukesha County.

A witness said the man had arrived in a four-door maroon Buick before climbing out, stripping down, and then stealing another car at gunpoint. The victim was not hurt.

Two police officers shot a naked carjacker in Wisconsin after he led them on a 25 mile chase through two counties (scene, pictured)

The man called police who caught up with the carjacker on a nearby highway and gave chase.

Eventually he pulled up at an Arby's restaurant in Jefferson County after a 25 mile chase and climbed out of the vehicle.

Police say he ran toward the restaurant with the gun and was shot by two officers when he ignored their orders to stop.

The officers have 41 years of experience between them, Waukesha County Sheriff Eric Severson told Fox 6.

Life-saving procedures were performed on the man, but he died from his injuries.

Severson said neither of the Waukesha officers involved were wearing body cameras at the time, but he believes the use of force was justified.

Both officers have been put on paid administrative leave, as per department policy, while the carjacking and shooting are investigated.
The body of one of the four missing men was discovered in a 12.5 foot deep 'common grave' at Cosmo DiNardo's family farm.

Investigators have identified Dean Finocchiaro's remains but have not identified the others in the grave at this time.

District Attorney Matthew Weintraub told reporters at a midnight news conference Wednesday: 'We are not done yet. This is a homicide, make no mistake about it.'

DiNardo, the sole person of interest in the disappearance of the four young men, was sent off to jail on Wednesday for the second time since they vanished. He is pictured, handcuffed and grinning at a news chopper as he is led into police custody.

The 20-year-old, who the court heard has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was told he will have to come up with $5 million cash if he is to regain his freedom.

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Cosmo DiNardo was smiling at the news chopper as he was led into police custody for attempting to sell one of the missing men's car after he disappeared

The remains of Dean Finocchiaro were discovered at DiNardo's family $5 million farm on Wednesday. The other remains in the grave have not been identified

DiNardo was arrested earlier this week for 'unrelated gun charges' he was released after his parents posted 10 percent of his $1 million bail

He had earlier made a lower bail amount and was freed on Tuesday evening, the day after his arrest.

Authorities in Bucks County, Pennsylvania argued that DiNardo is a flight risk and a danger to the community as the reasons for the high bail.

Cops are continuing to search property belonging to DiNardo's parents in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania. Weintraub said evidence has been found there linked to the missing men, although no human remains have been discovered.

'We are going to find something. We have no doubt about that.' He said.

DiNardo has not been charged in connection with the men's disappearance. Instead he was charged with car theft, for allegedly trying to sell a vehicle belonging to one of the missing men.

His defense team said the DA's office was upset he had made bail and had only come up with the new charge now to get him back in jail.

Police spent Wednesday searching the farmland of Cosmo DiNardo's parents' farmland. He was arrested for the second time since the four young men's disappearance on Wednesday and is being held on a $5 million bond

District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said evidence has been found at the property near the main house and barn

Police used diggers and metal detectors to search a 90-acre farm in Solebury, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday in the hunt for four young men who have been missing since last week

Investigators blocked off the drive way leading to the DiNardos' farmland. They used cadaver dogs to search the premises on Wednesday

But magisterial district judge Maggie Snow, sitting in chambers in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, agreed with the higher level. She set a new hearing for DiNardo for July 31.

DiNardo allegedly tried to sell a champagne-colored 1996 Nissan Maxima belonging to Tom Meo  who has been missing since Friday  for $500. The car was found on his parents' $5 million property.

Inside cops found Meo's diabetic kit, which his parents say he never leaves behind.

DiNardo, wearing a gray tank top appeared on video from the police station in his hometown of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, where he was rearrested on Wednesday, less than a day after being released from jail.

On Tuesday DiNardo's wealthy parents posted a $100,000 cashier's check  10 percent of the bail amount he was being held on for an unrelated firearms charge  the district attorney leading the case told reporters Wednesday.

'This investigation is still wide open we are going to go where it leads us,' Matthew Weintraub said. 'We don't pick a person and then try to build a case around that person. That's not fair to anyone.

District attorney Matthew Weintraub told reporters Wednesday: 'We are going to keep digging and searching that property until we are satisfied they are not there'

Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, told reporters outside of the farm he feared the men were victims of foul play

'As of this moment he remains a person of interest. But if others arise and we can name them, we will, said Weintraub at a morning press conference.

Weintraub, DA for Bucks County, Pennsylvania, would not answer a question about whether he believes DiNardo, with all his problems, could have 'done this all by himself.'

'I don't even know what the 'this' is that we are talking about,' he replied. 'We are going to proceed very, very methodically.

Weintraub spoke in rural Solebury Township, an hour northwest of Philadelphia close to the New Jersey border, as helicopters whirred overhead.

Half a mile from where he was speaking, scores of officers were involved in a detailed search on property owned by DiNardo's parents for any sign of the four men who disappeared from the area last week.

'We are going to keep digging and searching that property until we are satisfied they are not there,' said Weintraub.

'This is just really, really rough on everybody involved because of the heat, the magnitude, the scope and the stakes are incredibly high  life and death.'

Arrested: 20-year-old Cosmo DiNardo, who police say has a history of mental illness, was taken in to custody on Sunday on gun charges. He was released after posting 10 percent of his $1 million bond but will have to post the full amount, now $5 million, after his Wednesday arrest. He is seen above in mugshots

When reporters asked if Cosmo DiNardo was at his home (pictured) after he was released on bail, the DA said: 'He better be.' DiNardo was re-arrested Wednesday

DiNardo's parents own several pieces of property in Solebury and the surrounding area in addition to their home, which is worth an estimated $500,000

Four young men went missing from towns in Pennsylvania on Wednesday and Friday last week. Police tracked one man's cell phone signal to the DiNardo property and one man's father said one of their cars had also been found there

Several law enforcement agencies including the FBI and local police are searching the huge 90-acre spot. The DiNardo family is listed on two different addresses at the site, circled above

He said he could not comment on reports from locals that they heard gunshots on the DiNardo property over the weekend or that there was a bonfire at the DiNardo house, 'I wish I could,' he said.

'We ask for your patience and we ask for your tips. We continue to receive tips hourly and some of them are bearing fruit, so please keep them coming.'

The four men, Jimi Tar Patrick, 19, Mark Sturgis, 22, Tom Meo, 21, and Dean Finocchiaio, 18, all went missing last week. Patrick was first to disappear on Wednesday. The other three  who are all friends  vanished on Friday.

Patrick appears to have no connection with the others but is a Facebook friend of DiNardo.

The families of the missing quartet have been at the scene in the hope of learning anything about their loved ones.

On Monday, police arrested DiNardo at his home in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, on a four-month-old gun charge.

Jimi Patrick, 19, (left) was the first to go missing and was last seen at 6pm on Wednesday. Dean Finocchiaro, 18, (right) vanished on Friday

Tom Meo (left) and Mark Sturgis (right) were the other two young men to go missing. They both worked for Sturgis' father's construction business and are friends

Sturgis and Meo have been friends for years and work for Sturgis's father's construction company. They were planning to meet up on Friday night when they both vanished

Sturgis and Meo are both friends with Dean Finocchiaio (above with his family)

Philly.com reported that Weintraub's Office sent a letter to police in Bensalem on June 21 reauthorizing the February charge against him. It had been dismissed in May by a magisterial district judge.

But he was not apprehended until after the four men had gone missing.

In February, DiNardo had bought a gun and ammunition despite having a history of mental illness which included a voluntary stint in hospital, court documents say.

Though the firearms case is unrelated to the men's disappearance, bail was set at $1 million and the frantic search began immediately.

Forensics teams descended on the 90-acre property in hazmat suits and were seen watching others turf up concrete with diggers. Other officers, including FBI agents, used metal detectors.

Police cars blocked the driveway into the property. Aerial images showed searchers using brooms, shovels, and buckets in their painstaking search for any possible sign of the men or evidence that could lead them to them.

Cops were led to the house on Saturday night after tracking the signal of one of the missing men's cell phones. Once on site, they found Meo's car parked in the garage, Sturgis's father, Mark Potash, told Philly.com.

Officers on Tuesday said they were following 'incredibly hot leads.' And on Wednesday DA Weintraub said tips keep pouring in.

Weintraub said he could not comment on reports from locals that they heard gunshots on the DiNardo property over the weekend

Police have not disclosed the nature of the evidence found on the DiNardo's property

Police have not recovered any human remains, but have recovered evidence. Weintraub did not disclose the specifics of the evidence

'We here are utilizing every resource at our disposal to try to find these four missing men and to solve this case.

'We have not yet recovered any human remains, but we have recovered several important pieces of evidence at this site that we are currently working very hard on, with the majority of our manpower and in other locations,' he added, refusing to say what that evidence was.

Weintraub said that as a condition of his bail on the firearms charge, DiNardo must live at his parents' home in Bensalem or tell police if he moves, and not intimidate and victims or witnesses in the missing persons case.

His parents, Antonio and Sandra DiNardo, own several businesses in the area, including a trucking and a concrete business. They also own several pieces of property in Solebury and the surrounding area. Neither have spoken publicly since his arrest.

When asked if he believes he is living at his home, Weintraub replied: 'He better be.'

DiNardo was arrested at his parents' four bedroom, 3,800 square-foot two story house on a quiet cul de sac in Bensalem.

Officials have not directly accused DiNardo of having any role in the men's disappearance but their presence at the property suggests they suspect him of involvement

The FBI was called in to help with the search, due to their expertise in recovery operations underway at a farm believed to be linked to the disappearances

On Tuesday Weintraub had said that the search was like 'looking for a needle in a haystack.'

Patrick, who is from Newtown Township, was last seen at 6pm on Wednesday. He was reported missing the following day after failing to show up for work.

On Friday, Meo, Finocchiaro and Sturgis from the neighboring towns of Plumstead, Middletown and Pennsburg, also all vanished.

Sturgis and Meo work together for Sturgis's father's construction business. On Friday night, Sturgis told his father he was going to meet up with his friend but that they would both be fit for work in the morning. Neither showed up.

Finocchiaro, was last seen in Middletown Township at 6.30pm on Friday night.

Sturgis's abandoned Nissan Altima (pictured) was found in a shopping complex five miles from the farm. Meo's Nissan Maxima (not pictured) was reportedly found parked in a garage on the DiNardo property

On Monday, Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said the agencies were pursuing 'incredibly hot leads' on the property

On Saturday, police tracked a signal from Finocchiaro's phone to Solebury Township and to the DiNardo farm.

Once on the property, they found Meo's champagne-colored Nissan Maxima parked in a garage.

They also discovered Sturgis's Nissan Altima at Peddler's Village in Lahaska, five miles from the DiNardo property.

On Sunday, they issued a search warrant for the entire farm and Cosmo DiNardo was arrested the following day.

Meo, Sturgis and Finocchiaio are all friends. Patrick, who seemingly has no other connection to the missing men, is Facebook friends with DiNardo.

No officials have directly accused DiNardo of having any role in the men's disappearance but their presence at the property suggests they suspect him of involvement.
Theresa May today ordered an investigation into the intimidation of parliamentary candidates after a string of MPs revealed they received death threats, racist and anti-Semitic abuse.

The Prime Minister said she had been left 'horrified' at the bullying and harassment politicians received during the recent campaign.

She has asked the Committee on Standards in Public Life to conduct a review into the problem as MPs told of the horrific attacks they have been subject during a parliamentary debate.

Her intervention comes after a cross-party report laid bare the horrifying abuse MPs have received - including death threats, anti-Semitic abuse and attacks on their offices.

And one MP said Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell were encouraging the abuse by using inflammatory language and addressing a demonstration where protesters carried a placard showing Mrs May's head impaled on a spike.

Theresa May, pictured giving a speech in London yesterday, said she is 'horrified' at the abuse candidates received in the last election and has ordered an inquiry into ot

It found that MP suffered an anti-Semitic attack while canvassing while racist graffiti about another candidate was daubed in a polling booth.

Other politicians were left in fear of their lives after being subjected to intimidation, including paedophile smears.

And a Conservative MP, whose car tyres were slashed outside her family home, reported three serious death threats to police.

TORY BLAMES CORBYN FOR UNLEASHING HARD LEFT ABUSE Jeremy Corbyn has been criticised for addressing rallies where protesters carries placards of Theresa May's head on a spike A Tory MP today blamed Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell for unleashing hard-left abuse of MPs. He slammed the Labour leader for addressing protests where demonstrators held a placard Mrs May's head impaled on a spike. And he hit out as Mr McDonnell for using inflammatory language by saying the Grenfell Tower victims had been 'murdered' by political decisions. He said the leftwingers are stoking a climate of intolerance and vitriolic hatred towards Tories which is spilling over into violence and threats. Mr Percy said: 'I have had death threats for a number of years, I've had panic buttons a restraining order against somebody. 'What is different about what is happening at this election, in which I was subjected to anti-Semitic abuse, my staff were spat at, my property was attacked, is that it has been politically motivated. 'And the elephant in the room here is that it has been motivated by the language of some of our political leaders. 'And when they accuse people of one political side of murder, when they dehumanise them in the way that is happening at the moment, there is something more sinister to this.' He added: 'When you address a rally with posters of the severed head of the Prime Minister and don't do anything about it, and when leaders say ditch the b**ch in relation to the Prime Minister, this is the problem we have at the moment with this dehumanisation of each other in politics.' Advertisement

Mrs May said: 'I have been horrified by stories from colleagues about the scale and nature of the intimidation, bullying and harassment they suffered during the general election campaign.

'Robust debate is a vital part of our democracy, but there can be no place for the shocking threats and abuse we have seen in recent months.

'We must all work together to banish this behaviour, and I would urge MPs and candidates from all parties to report their experiences to this review so we get the fullest possible picture - and can take the action required to stamp it out.'

The probe will assess the current protections in place and report back to the Prime Minister with recommendations on ways to tackle abuse in the future.

During the Westminster Hall debate on the abuse, Tory MP Andrew Percy blamed the hard-left for driving much of the abuse.

And he took a swipe at Mr McDonnell for inflaming tensions by saying the victims of Grenfell Tower were 'murdered' by political decisions.

And he hit out at Mr Corbyn for addressing a demonstration with gruesome pictures of Mrs May and her Cabinet colleagues on display.

He said: 'I have had death threats for a number of years, I've had panic buttons a restraining order against somebody.

'What is different about what is happening at this election, in which I was subjected to anti-Semitic abuse, my staff were spat at, my property was attacked, is that it has been politically motivated.

'And the elephant in the room here is that it has been motivated by the language of some of our political leaders.

'And when they accuse people of one political side of murder, when they dehumanise them in the way that is happening at the moment, there is something more sinister to this.'

Mr Percy, who represents Brigg and Goole, told how a Corbynista shouted 'Corbyn Corbyn Corbyn' at him before telling the Tory MP that he is 'Israeli Zionist scum'.

He said his election posters were torn down and posted on social media under the phrase 'f*** the Tories #Corbyn in'

Mr Percy said his staff had been spat at and called 'Tory f***ing scum' by people proclaiming their support for Mr Corbyn.

And he said the Labour leadership has helped dehumanise the Tories.

Tory MP Andrew Percy blamed Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell for stirring up aggression among their supporters who have gone on to abuse and assault him and other Tory MPs

Diane Abbott told of the vile racist and sexist abuse she has received as an MP

He said: 'I think what's different now is how some of this is being driven by the language of political leaders.

'When you address a rally with posters of the severed head of the Prime Minister and don't do anything about it, and when leaders say ditch the b**ch in relation to the Prime Minister this is the problem we have ta the moment with this dehumanisation of each other in politics.'

Tory MP Simon Hart (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire), who led the Westminster Hall debate, said he has been 'astonished' at the sheer level of vitriol thrown at politicians.

He said some have been left too scared to speak in Parliament about the attacks because they fear reprisals.

POLITICIANS SPEAK OUT ABOUT THE ABUSE THEY GET Diane Abbott (Lab): Has received a stream of sexist and racist abuse. She told hos she has been repeatedly called a 'n****r,' a 'black b***h and received rape and death threats. Andrew Percy (Tory): Told how he has bean spat at, called 'Tory scum' and had anti-Semitic abuse hurled at him by a Corbynista. Paula Sherriff (Labour): Has received abuse every single day since becoming an MP in 2015. She has received death threats, and had a picture mocked up of her as a used sanitary towel posted. Sheryll Murray (Tory): had her election posters daubed with swastikas, messages including 'burn the witch' sent to her, and had someone urinate on her office door. Ameet Jogia, an Indian-origin Tory who stood against Labour's Barry Gardiner in Brent North, reported finding a voting booth vandalised with graffiti, stating: 'Vote Labour Barry, not Jogia. Keep p**** out of politics'. Sarah Wollaston (Tory): A masked intruder broke into her office and daubed the words 'you dogs' onto the walls. Rehman Chishti (Tory): Said a Labour activist stood up and shouted 'F**k off back to country X' as he stood up to give his victory speech on election night. Advertisement

He said the Conservative Party has received 'at least three credible threats to colleagues a week including racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism' and general hate-filled abuse.

Mr Hart said he hoped the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox last year - who 'paid the ultimate price for this kind of stuff' - had 'sent a message' that 'people would listen to'.

He added: 'But it seems one year on that the problem is every bit as bad as it was back then, and unless we get joined up cooperative leadership from the Government...and opposition parties... then all of the extraordinary work that has been done in Jo Cox's memory will have been wasted.'

Tory MP Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) recalled events on election night, telling the debate: 'I have to say the culture in this election campaign was one of the most difficult I have experienced.

'So when I stand up to make my acceptance speech to thank all the electorate, to have an activist, in public, say 'F*** off back to country X', and the matter is then referred to Kent Police, and they are investigating it under public order and racism, so let them do their job.'

Mr Chishti said the person was a Labour activist.

The Hall heard how one Tory MP had the words 'Tory scum' scratched into her parent's car while others were spat at.

The rising tide of abuse is putting people off serving in politics, MPs said.

Labour shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said she has been the victim of vile racist and sexist abuse - with many calling her a 'n****r'.

She said she had received rape and death threats, and had been described as an 'ugly fat black bitch' and a 'n*****'.

Ms Abbott said: 'We are talking about mindless abuse and in my case the mindless abuse has been characteristically racist and sexist.

'And just to outline I've had death threats, I've had people tweeting that I should be hung if 'they could find a tree big enough to take the fat bitch's weight'.

'There was an EDL affiliated Twitter account BurnDianeAbbott, I've had rape threats, described as a pathetic, useless fat black, piece of s**t, ugly fat black b***h and n*****.

'N***** over and over again.'

Paula Sherriff, Labour MP for Dewsbury, said she 'can't remember a single day' without being abused since becoming an MP in 2015, with the last election the 'most brutal'.

She said the abuse has included death threats and a picture of her 'mocked up as a used sanitary towel' - an apparent attack on her campaigning to scrap the so-called 'tampon tax'.

Tory Sheryll Murray has previously told how she was left 'sickened' when her posters were daubed with swastikas.

While Ameet Jogia, an Indian-origin Conservative Party candidate who stood against Labour's Barry Gardiner in Brent North, reported finding a voting booth vandalised with graffiti, stating: 'Vote Labour Barry, not Jogia. Keep p**** out of politics'.

Labour accused the Conservative party of carrying out vitriolic personal attacks on election candidates on an industrial scale during the election.
Melbourne's heroin epidemic is showing no signs of easing, with a hit of the deadly drug now costing less than a six pack of beer.

With the drug selling for as low as $17 the city faces a crisis not experienced since the 1990s.

Fed-up residents in Richmond have slammed the lack of government assistance for the scourge.

Melbourne's heroin epidemic is showing no signs of easing, with a hit of the deadly drug now costing less than a six pack of beer (Melbourne pictured)

Heroin scourge: With the drug selling for as low as $17 the city faces a crisis not experienced since the 1990s (Melbourne pictured)

Outreach workers told the Herald Sun heroin would often sell for around $20 a hit, but could go for as low as $17.

This means people are getting their hands on the drug for less than a six-pack of beer or a pack of smokes.

It's is a stark difference from only a few years ago when heroin cost about $50 hit.

Figures show half of heroin overdoses occur in public places such as parks, public toilets and alleyways.

The shocking statistics have sparked renewed calls for safe injecting rooms in the city.

But Victorian premier Daniel Andrews previously said he went into the election with a 'no injecting room' stance.

Figures show half of heroin overdoses occur in public places such as parks, public toilets and alleyways (Melbourne pictured)

The shocking statistics have sparked renewed calls for safe injecting rooms in the city (Melbourne pictured)

'The government has no plans to introduce a safe injecting facility in Victoria,' a government spokesman told The Herald Sun.

In 2015 alone there were 173 deadly heroin overdoses across Victoria.

That's a dramatic increase from an average of between 127 to 137 deaths between 2009 and 2014.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday as his son continued to take flak for a secret meeting with a Russian lawyer that the Kremlin would have been better off with Hillary Clinton as president.

'Why would he want me?' Trump said of Vladimir Putin. 'If Hillary had won, our military would be decimated. Our energy would be much more expensive. That's what Putin doesn't like about me.'

Trump added, 'He would like Hillary where she wants to have windmills.'

'There are many things that I do that are the exact opposite of what he would want.'

President Donald Trump said Wednesday as his son continued to take flak for a secret meeting with a Russian lawyer that the Kremlin would have been better off with Hillary Clinton as president

'Why would he want me?' Trump said of Vladimir Putin (left). 'If Hillary (right) had won, our military would be decimated. Our energy would be much more expensive. That's what Putin doesn't like about me'

Trump sat down for an interview with Christian conservative broadcaster Pat Robertson on Wednesday amid a cascade of revelations about Russian election meddling that have rocked the White House.

Attempting to thwart the allegations of Russian collusion, Trump first praised and then distanced himself from Putin - a man he's repeatedly said he hopes to form a positive relationship with - in the Christian Broadcasting Network interview.

'Well he wants what's good for Russia, and I want what's, good for the United States' Trump said. 'Sometimes you're not going to get along on things and sometimes you will.'

He specifically cited Syria in the talk with Robertson as a potential area of cooperation.

'And there are many other cases where getting along can be a very positive thing, but always Putin is going to want Russia and Trump is going to want the United States and that's the way it is,' he said.

Trump and Putin met last Friday for the very first time on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

'I think we get along very well, and I think that's a good thing, that's not a bad thing,' Trump told Robertson. 'People said, "Oh they shouldn't get along." Well, who are the people that are saying that? I think we get along very, very well.'

The president has had next to nothing on his public schedule since he returned to the US last weekend from Germany. He heads back to Europe on a quick trip to France tonight.

It's not clear what the president has been doing with his time each day, aside from his tweeting and the Christian Broadcasting Network interview.

A report in Politico Wednesday said he'd been fuming at the TV over the heat his son, Don Jr is taking. The Associated Press noted that many of the president's tweets referenced the Fox News Channel.

Trump sat down for an interview with Christian conservative broadcaster Pat Robertson on Wednesday amid a a cascade of revelations about Russian election meddling that have rocked the White House

The White House pushed back Wednesday when a reporter asked about Trump's skinny public schedule.

At the top of Wednesday's off-camera press briefing, Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president's been involved in meetings  with his economic advisers, homeland security advisers, national security team, legislative affairs staffers and his Faith Advisory Board.

The Faith Advisory Board met at the White House Monday.

'There's nothing secret about having meetings which I read off to you earlier with members of his staff and members of the administration,' Huckabee Sanders said.

'The president had an incredibly robust schedule overseas in both Poland and Germany and he's preparing to leave this afternoon,' she added.

Trump will participate in a joint news conference Thursday in France two hours after the full interview airs.

'We're going to spending quite a bit of time with a lot of those of you who are traveling and we'll be taking questions from you guys tomorrow,' Huckabee Sanders advised reporters at the White House Wednesday.

Hitting on another topic of contention in Washington - the GOP's healthcare bill- Trump said he's just waiting for Republican lawmakers who've campaigned against Obamacare for years before he took office to send him something he can sign.

'I am sitting in the Oval Office with a pen in hand, waiting for our senators to give it to me,' he said. 'I'm sitting waiting for that bill to come to my desk. I hope that they do it.'

The network tweeted pictures of Robertson interviewing Trump at the White House on Wednesday and clips but said the interview would be air during Thursday's showing of 'The 700 Club,' CBN's flagship Christian-focused syndicated show.

The show, one of the longest-running programs in broadcast history, has served as an influential platform for the Christian conservative movement, an important part of Trump's political base.

Robertson, 87, is a former Southern Baptist minister who founded the network and ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988.

Trump has laid low since last weekend. But his son Donald Trump Jr has found himself at the center of a swirling controversy this week over his 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer

He currently is the chancellor and CEO of Regent University.

Trump has laid low since last weekend. But his son Donald Trump Jr has found himself at the center of a swirling controversy this week over his 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer.

The younger Trump arranged the meeting, which was also attended by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and then campaign manager Paul Manafort, on the promise of getting dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

A chain of emails about the meeting released Tuesday by Donald Jr show he had been told the information being offered was 'part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump.'

'If it's what you say, I love it,' the younger Trump responded in one of the emails.

Trump senior's comments about the meeting, assuming he is asked by Robertson, will be his first on camera. So far, he has only tweeted support for his son.

He said Wednesday morning in a message that is almost certain to come up that his son was 'open, transparent and innocent' about the exchange.

'This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!' he added.
Martin Shkreli (pictured arriving at his trial last month) is accused of securities and wire fraud

Martin Shkreli, the disgraced former drug executive known as Pharma Bro, chugged champagne and was mobbed by admirers at a party this week despite his ongoing fraud trial.

The 33-year-old, who is best known as the 'world's most hated man', a title he won after increasing the price of a life-saving AIDS drug from $13.50 to $750 a tablet, is currently on trial in Brooklyn, New York, for securities and wires fraud.

The trial has done little to slow down his social life, according to party guests at a book launch bash for the controversial, alt-right, pro-Trump media personality Milo Yiannopoulos, last week.

The debauched party was heavily promoted by Yiannopoulos, who is an outspoken former Breitbart News editor and writer, on Instagram.

The party featured 'jihadi strippers' and midgets in fancy dress. At one point, guests erupted into chants of 'f*** CNN'.

Guests told Page Six how Shkreli attended and was in no shortage of conversation partners despite his reputation and legal woes.

Social media photographs from Milo Yiannopoulos party illustrate the 'jihadi strippers' he hired for the night

The women began their routine dressed in burqas and tied to one another in chains

The host also hired midgets who were dressed as babies. One man posed with one of the' jihadi strippers' at the event

Milo Yiannopoulos (pictured with another party guest) is a pro-Trump, far right media personality. He invited Shkreli to attend the party which fell in the middle of his fraud trial

Prosecutors have accused Shkreli of dishonestly using investors' cash between 2009 and 2014 after having them invest in two hedge funds that he worked - MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare.

They say he inflated the two companies' profits and misappropriated cash. In 2011, when he started his pharmaceutical company Retrophin, he is claimed to have used money from its accounts to settle the concerns of MSMB investors.

Among the investors involved in the criminal case against him is 63-year-old Steven Richardson who poured $400,000 into the fund in 2009 and 2010.

Steven Richardson, 63, said Shkreli spoke to him about gay sex which made him 'uncomfortable'

Richardson, a retired American Express executive who later became a Retrophin chairman, testified on Monday that during the course of their business relationship, Shkreli made comments about having sex with male colleagues and waiters in restaurants they visited.

'I was gay and had a partner, and he was starting to say certain things of a gay nature that worried me a bit.

'I thought maybe he was saying things to me because he thought I would want to hear them.

'They just felt a bit uncomfortable to me. He was saying things to me, like, "Maybe Ill have sex with a guy in the office," or we'd be at a restaurant and thered be a waiter and he'd say, "Maybe I should hook up with him."'

One of the men Shkreli referred to was straight and had a girlfriend, Richardson said, according to CNBC which attended the trial.

But when he pointed that out, the controversial hedge-funder replied: 'Don't worry, I'll make it happen.'

The tension came to a head in 2010 when Richardson confronted him over his sexuality at his Chelsea apartment.

'I walked him into the bedroom and I sat him onto the bed with me...[and said]: "Here you are in a gay mans bedroom. Do you have any physical feelings for me?" 'He took a second and said, "No, I like you a lot but I dont"'.

From then on, Shkreli spoke about his attraction to women and joked that Richardson was his 'wingman' from time to time.

The pair met at a cocktail party in the East Village years earlier where he told a much younger Shkrreli: 'You're quite cocky and you're quite sure of yourself.'

He grew to think of himself like a mentor to Shkreli, he said, who he felt sorry for. Richardson told him to make new friends and said he was worried he was working so much.

Shkreli (pictured arriving at court with his lawyer last month) has defended his actions by pointing out that none of the investors he is accused of defrauding ever lost any money

'I understand that he was sleeping in a sleeping bag in his office,' he said.

His defense combated the strain of argument by claiming board directors at Retrophin considered him an 'odd duck' and questioned his sexuality behind his back.

Shkreli is on trial for eight counts of securities and wire frauds and was arrested by the FBI in late 2015. The criminal case is separate to an ongoing lawsuit by Retrophin, the company he started.

Its board of directors is suing him for $65million, alleging the same misuse of company cash as the United States District Attorney for East New York.

Shkreli, 33, shot to infamy in 2015 when he increased the price of a lifesaving AIDS drug from $13.50 to $750. He defended the decision at a House Oversight Committee in February 2016 (above)

Shkreli's lawyers are fighting back in court. They have pointed repeatedly to the fact that none of his investors lost money as a result of his actions.

The trial began at the end of June and has already seen its fair share of set backs, many of which have been instigated by the defendant.

Shkreli has already been scolded for speaking to reporters outside and inside the courthouse and for doing so within earshot of the jury.

He mocked a previous witness to reporters after she gave testimony. Susan Hassan gave Shkreli $300,000 to invest.

She was given a return of $400,000 cash and more than 50,000 shares in Retrophin which she later sold for $900,000.

After her testimony, he told reporters jokingly: 'We should all only be this victimized in life.' The trial in Brooklyn continues.

Exactly how much Shkreli, who comes from a working class family in Brooklyn, is worth remains unclear.

After his arrest, he posted a $5million bond from his e-trading account. That transaction revealed that he had $45million balance.

The amount is likely to have been higher in light of other assets and accounts. Since his arrest, it has dropped by $40million.
Is this the moment Vladimir Putin almost revealed his new woman to the world?

The Kremlin strongman - on a break in his favourite resort in the north of Russia - had driven himself to a sacred monastery in a black Mercedes ML.

He parked and emerged from the vehicle before opening the back door apparently for his mystery woman passenger so she could get out.

But at this point - perhaps having spotted a camera - the passenger, dubbed the lady with the red bag, seems to gestures to Putin to shut the door again.

He obediently does so and is then seen walking alone into the church.

A finger is pointed at the Russian President, ordering him to close the door to the Mercedes

Most state owned Russian TV channels cut out the sequence where the supposed woman - whose face is not seen - waves her fingers at the President to shut the door again.

But the footage led to immediate speculation that Putin was with a new woman in his life.

Independent TV Rain said of the incident: 'It looks like he or she is dressed in red. Supposedly the passenger is a woman.'

In fact, the face of this 'lady in red' is not seen and it appears the bag - rather than a dress - is red.

Divorced from Lyudmila Putin, the former Russian first lady and mother of his two adult daughters, he is obsessively secret about his private life, and while he has hinted that he is loved he has refused to shed any light on any new woman in his life.

Despite denials, speculation has been rife for almost a decade that he has a relationship with Olympic gold winning rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 34, and possibly that the pair have several children.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down the speculation, saying the passenger was a member of security.

Vladimir Putin slides out of the door after parking up outside a sacred Russian monastery

Putin makes his way to the back of the car where his mystery passenger is sitting

The Kremlin strongman puts his hand on the door handle as he prepares to open the door

The door flings open and reveals the passenger - dubbed the lady in red - although it appears the red in the car is a bag as opposed to a dress

After being told to close the door, the Russian leader obliges and quickly conceals the passenger again

At the cathedral in Spaso-Preobrazhensky monastery, on the lake island Valaam in the northern Karelia region, Putin was greeted by the Russian patriarch Kirill.

He was then seen inside crossing himself and kissing an icon.

He later left with the patriarch in another Mercedes, with both men on the back seat.

The only mainstream channel to show the sequence is Zvezda, owned by the Russian defence ministry.

Others edited out this moment, perhaps suggesting censorship.

Putin is rumoured to have a home near the monastery and it is said to be the place he goes for communions and confessions.
An elderly man in China has seen his two pet dogs captured and dragged out from his home before being beaten to death by officials, a source has told MailOnline.

The officials were said to be culling stray dogs in the city of Dongtai and they claimed the man's pets were stray dogs.

The local police, however, said the elderly man's two dogs were 'large' and 'vicious' and he requested the officers to have the animals killed after they explained to him why he should do so.

The elderly man from Dongtai, China, lost his two dogs on July 11, according to PETA Asia

PETA Asia told MailOnline that the elderly man lost his two dogs on July 11.

According to information provided by their volunteers, the elderly man is in his 70s. He works as a security guard in a garage and he lives in a room inside the garage.

The two dogs were stray dogs, but the man adopted them. Because the man's home is small, he would sometimes chain the dogs to trees and posts on the side of the streets.

An officer from PETA Asia said the two dogs had been kept inside the man's home on the day of the incident. The officials stormed the man's home, dragged both animals out and beat them with wooden sticks.

The PETA officer also said that after the dogs were killed, the elderly man was told to pick up their bodies and put them next to a lamp post, which they were regularly chained to.

The officials then took pictures of the dogs next to the post to prove they were stray dogs, said PETA Asia, which also supplied videos and a picture of the incident taken by onlookers.

The officials stormed the man's home, dragged both animals out and beat them with sticks

'Dongtai city started culling stray dogs because they wanted to be named a "clean and civilised city",' explained PETA Asia.

It's said that Dongtai had established a dedicated dog-catching team.

The dog-catching team is not a part of the police. It is managed by the urban management team.

According to PETA Asia, 'the team would receive 100 yuan (11) for every dog they beat, and they have a target'.

Posts about the incident quickly went viral on the Chinese social media, but they were immediately removed by the authority.

Animals Asia Foundation condemned the incident in a social media post today.

The organisation said the officials killed several dogs in Xinqiao New Estate in Dongtai on July 11 after receiving complaints from the public.

It also said the Dongtai Public Security Bureau admitted to them that they had been culling dogs.

The PETA officer also said that after the dogs were killed, the elderly man was told to pick up their bodies and put them next to a lamp post, which they were regularly chained to

Animals Asia Foundation said they hope relevant officials would use a humane - not a bloody - method to manage dogs.

They also said they would send a petition to the authority to help improve policies on stray animals and pets.

However, the Dongtai police told a different story.

According to China News, Dongtai Public Security Bureau said the elderly man is surnamed Chen.

In a statement released last night, the police said officers had received repeated complaints from the public, who requested them to capture and kill Chen's dogs, which had been kept on the street.

After the officers educated Chen, the man voluntarily asked them to have his dogs killed, according to the police.

Just a week ago, the officials of another Chinese city, Lanzhou, were forced to apologise after animal activists found dozens of homeless dogs beaten by officials and dumped in straw bags.

Relevant authority admitted that the stray dogs had been beaten to death by their officers after videos and pictures of the incident became viral on Chinese social media.
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A video has been released reportedly showing ISIS fighters crawling out of their tunnels to surrender to Counter Terrorism units in Mosul after the city was reclaimed from jihadists.

The clip, uploaded to Twitter on Wednesday, appears to show wounded fighters, one using a pair of crutches, walking away from a destroyed building.

The men can be seen with black hoods over their faces as they are led away by Counter Terrorism forces.

Video shows Islamic State militants sat on a pile of rubble after surrendering in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, this week

A video has been released reportedly showing ISIS fighters (pictured) crawling out of their tunnels to surrender to Counter Terrorism units in Mosul after the city was reclaimed from jihadists

The video uploader captioned the footage: 'More ISIS rats crawling out of their tunnels to surrender to Counter Terrorism units in Mosul Old city.'

The Twitter account added that many of the captured jihadists are foreign fighters and are being transferred to Baghdad.

Reacting to the video, some commenters suggested the fighters could be from Saudi Arabia.

Another commenter said: 'I hope they will be done for murder and given the correct punishment!'

Just yesterday, more pictures emerged of half-naked ISIS fighters being paraded through the streets while others were bundled out of an armoured vehicle.

The clip, uploaded to Twitter on Wednesday, appears to show wounded fighters, one using a pair of crutches, walking away from a destroyed building

Meanwhile, Iraqi forces clashed with Islamic State militants holding out in Mosul's Old City on Wednesday, more than 36 hours after Baghdad declared victory over the jihadists in what they had declared the de facto Iraqi capital of their 'caliphate'.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's victory announcement signalled the biggest defeat for the hardline Sunni group since its lightning sweep through northern Iraq three years ago. But pockets of Mosul remain insecure and the city has been heavily damaged by nearly nine months of gruelling urban combat.

About 900,000 people fled the fighting, with more than a third sheltered in camps outside Iraq's second largest city and the rest living with family and friends in other neighbourhoods.

Civilian activity has quickly returned to much of Mosul and work is underway to repair damaged homes and infrastructure, something the United Nations estimates will initially cost more than $1 billion.

The men can be seen with black hoods (pictured) over their faces as they are led away by Counter Terrorism forces

The video uploader added that many of the captured jihadists are foreign fighters and are being transferred to Baghdad

Reacting to the video, some commenters suggested the fighters could be from Saudi Arabia. Another commenter said: 'I hope they will be done for murder and given the correct punishment!'

Newly trained local police are deployed in Mosul alongside the military, but authorities have not prepared a post-battle plan for governance and security in the city, officials say.

Iraqi forces exchanged gunfire with the militants in their final Mosul redoubt just before midnight and through the day on Wednesday, three residents living just across the Tigris River from the area.

ISIS 'admits leader died in airstrike' ISIS has finally admitted its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, according to reports in Iraq. The terror group is said to have confirmed that the 45-year-old was killed in an air strike in the Iraqi province of Nineveh. Reports claim ISIS fanatics are scrambling to find a successor to the terror chief, who announced the formation of the group's so-called caliphate in Mosul in 2014. A ban on jihadis talking about the leader's death has now been lifted, according to a source who spoke to Iraqi media. If confirmed, his death would mark another devastating blow to the jihadist group after its loss of Mosul. Advertisement

Army helicopters strafed the Old City and columns of smoke rose into the air, though it was unclear if these came from controlled explosions or bombs set off by Islamic State, the residents said by phone.

'We still live in an atmosphere of war despite the victory announcement two days ago,' said Fahd Ghanim, 45. Another resident said the blasts shook the ground around half a kilometre away.

An Iraqi military official attributed the activity to 'clearing operations'.

'Daesh is hiding in different places,' he said, using an acronym for Islamic State. 'They disappear here and pop up there, then we target them.'

Media access to the area has been heavily restricted since Abadi claimed victory on Monday, hailing 'the collapse of the terrorist state'.

Footage released by Islamic State news agency Amaq entitled 'Fighting till the last gasp' and allegedly filmed in Mosul's Maydan district showed militants mixed in with civilians and unidentified corpses lying amid the rubble of an urban battlefield.

Thousands of civilians have been killed during the Mosul offensive. Many were targeted by Islamic State but rights groups have also accused Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition backing them of killings that violated international humanitarian law.

On Tuesday, Amnesty International cited a reliance on weapons it said had only crude targeting capabilities.

The coalition strongly rejected the charges, and Abadi, without mentioning Amnesty, said in a statement on Wednesday that rights groups should check their sources.

The Iraqi official declined to estimate the number of militants or civilians remaining in the Old City, but the top U.S. general in Iraq said on Tuesday that as many as a couple of hundred IS insurgents could still be in Mosul.

Just yesterday, more pictures emerged of half-naked ISIS fighters (pictured) being paraded through the streets while others were bundled out of an armoured vehicle

Government forces have been rounding up men they accuse of being part of ISIS (pictured, a suspected militant)

'There are bypassed holdouts. We haven't cleared every building in this city the size of Philadelphia. That's going to have to be done, and there are also hidden IEDs (improvised explosive devices),' Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend told reporters. 'There are still going to be losses from the Iraqi security forces as they continue to secure Mosul.'

The coalition said it had conducted three air strikes on IS in the Mosul area on Tuesday, targeting militants, machine-gun emplacements and rocket-propelled grenade systems.

South of the city, Iraqi security forces repelled an IS attack launched from western desert areas on the village of al-Jaran, a tribal fighter said.

Reinforcements also arrived to help government forces oust militants armed with machine guns and mortars from the village of Imam Gharbi, further to the south.

Airstrikes target Islamic State positions on the edge of the Old City yesterday (pictured) a day after Iraq's prime minister declared 'total victory' in Mosul

About 900,000 people fled the fighting, with more than a third sheltered in camps outside Iraq's second largest city and the rest living with family and friends in other neighbourhoods. Pictured, a displaced Iraqi child who fled home is seen at Khazer camp, Iraq, on Wednesday

Civilian activity has quickly returned to much of Mosul and work is underway to repair damaged homes and infrastructure, something the United Nations estimates will initially cost more than $1 billion. Pictured, children in the Khazer camp on Wednesday

The government's victory in Mosul may rekindle revenge attacks and fresh violence between Sunnis and Shi'ites, a sectarian divide that tipped Iraq into civil war after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. Pictured, children in the Khazer camp on Wednesday

A policeman was killed and two others wounded in clashes on Wednesday, a security official said. IS has taken more than 75 percent of the village since storming it last week.

These are the kind of asymmetric, guerrilla-style strikes Islamic State is expected to concentrate on now as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces regain control over cities the group captured during its shock 2014 offensive.

Another attack on a border guard convoy in western Anbar province, near the Syrian border, killed two soldiers and wounded four on Tuesday, military sources said.

Separately, 28 Sunni Muslim civilians were kidnapped in the Iskandariya district south of Baghdad this week and 20 of them were found dead later, a police officer said.

Suspects detained by the authorities said they belonged to the Shi'ite Muslim Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia. A Baghdad-based spokesman for the group, whose fighters are taking part in the Shi'ite-led government's campaign against Islamic State, said he had no knowledge of the incident.

The government's victory in Mosul may rekindle revenge attacks and fresh violence between Sunnis and Shi'ites, a sectarian divide that tipped Iraq into civil war after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Former Bond girl Lana Wood has revealed she is no longer living in a cramped motel room with her family after fans donated $30,000 when news broke she was homeless.

The 71-year-old, who was once Hollywood royalty alongside her movie star sister Natalie Wood, revealed three months ago that she didn't have anywhere to live after being evicted from her rental home.

She was sharing a motel room outside Los Angeles with her daughter Evan, her son-in-law, three grandchildren and their two dogs.

After hearing about her plight, friend Gregor Gillespie set up a GoFundMe page and her fans donated more than $30,000 to the struggling former actress.

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Former Bond girl Lana Wood has revealed she is no longer living in a cramped motel room with her family after fans donated $30,000 to her when news broke she was homeless

Former Bond girl Lana made a name for herself playing Plenty O'Toole across from Sean Connery (pictured)

'I still have my moments when it hits hard... But the relief overshadows a lot of that,' Wood told Fox News.

'I'm terribly overwhelmed with sincere gratitude. I don't know where I would be right now if it wasn't for everyone saying, 'Yes, I want to help.'

'They've given me a continuation of my life to which was rapidly falling apart. My gratitude is endless.

'We're still coming to terms with everything, so we're not pulled together by any stretch of the imagination, but we're trying. I'm trying very hard to make it a home.'

Wood told Inside Edition earlier this year that she was evicted in March from her long-time family home she rented in California, on a month-to-month basis.

'It's difficult (relocating) under good circumstances. So under really rotten ones, it's not really terrific I have basically fought all of my life to take care and to provide a home for my daughter, for myself, for my family,' she said.

The former actress blamed her family's rising medical costs for their current financial situation.

She said rising rents were compounded by her own medical issues, which includes arthritis, and those of her daughter who suffers from Hodgkin's lymphoma and lung disease.

Lana was once Hollywood royalty alongside her movie star sister Natalie Wood. Natalie drowned in 1981 while yachting with her husband Robert Wagner

The 71-year-old revealed in April that she had been evicted from her California home. She said she had lived in the house for seven years and rented it on a month-to-month basis

Wood said she had not received any help from her sister Natalie's family, including her Hollywood actor husband Robert Wagner.

She said she hasn't been in contact with Wagner or Natalie's daughters for several year.

Back in 2011, Wood had pressed her sister's husband for answers over her shock drowning death in 1981. She has long insisted that Wagner has more questions to answer over Natalie's death, which has driven a wedge between the two families.

At the peak of her international fame, following roles in West Side Story and Rebel Without A Cause, Natalie never returned from a yachting trip with Wagner and her co-star Christopher Walken.

Witnesses say all three were very intoxicated late at night when they piloted the dingy back to the yacht, which was anchored offshore.

Wood's body was found floating in the water about a mile from the yacht the following morning and the coroner determined that she had died of a combination of drowning and hypothermia.

Wood spent years demanding the Wagner talk to detectives investigating her sister's drowning even though authorities have said he is not a suspect.

Wood was sharing a motel room outside Los Angeles with her daughter Evan, her son-in-law, three grandchildren and their two dogs after being evicted from her home

Wood said she was able to move out of the hotel after receiving donations from fans

After hearing about her plight, friend Gregor Gillespie set up a GoFundMe page and her fans donated more than $30,000 to the struggling former actress

In the 1960s, Wood was and up-and-coming young actress who landed a role in popular soap Peyton Place, before her breakout role as Plenty O'Toole across from Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever.

Wood would go star in hit films such as The Fugitive, Bonanza, Mission Impossible, and Starsky and Hutch.

'It is true that the Bond role didn't open the doors I maybe thought it would,' she said in 2012. 'In fact, it didn't open any doors at all.

'All I was offered were sexpot roles, and you can't be doing those for ever. I did suffer from being stereotyped. I remember once saying to a producer: 'Think of me as the girl next door.'

'He said: 'Honey, if you are the girl next door you must live in a very racy neighborhood.'

In her personal life, Wood ended up marrying five times and also shared encounters with a number of high-profile men.

She had a fling with Sean Connery - he was Bond to her Plenty O'Toole in Diamonds Are Forever in 1971. Alain Delon, once described as the most beautiful man on the planet, was also a former squeeze. There was also Warren Beatty.
A seriously wounded father forced himself to stay conscious to tell rescuers his former son-in-law had shot him and killed his daughter because she divorced him.

The victim, who has not been named, managed to stay awake long enough to name the gunman as a police chief Sergey Kadatsky.

He is said to have opened fire on a busy road in the city of Rostov-on-Don in south-western Russia's Rostov Oblast region, injuring his ex-father-in-law and killing his former wife.

The shot out windows of the car with blood stains down the side and pools of blood on the street

The former police chief Sergey Kadatsky being arrested, left, and his father-in-law who he is said to have left for dead in a pool of his own blood

The gunman is arrested by police in the north Russian city of Rostov-on-Don

A shocking video shows the bloodied man lying in the road gasping to name the gunman, who is said to have downed a bottle of champagne before going on his rampage.

In it, the middle-aged man, struggling to stay awake, says hoarsely: 'Kadatsky. Kadatsky. He works in the police. He is the ex-husband of my daughter. He had a rifle.'

Sergey Kadatsky who is suspected of killing his ex wife

The victims, whose names have not been released, were in a car together with the father driving.

Kadatsky is said to have caught up with them and shot them with a hunting rifle before fleeing.

The woman, understood to be a 36-year-old court clerk, died from her wounds at the scene.

She leaves her 20-year-old son from a previous marriage.

She and Kadatsky had no children together.

Her father was rushed to hospital and is still in intensive care.

According to reports, Sergey Kadatsky wanted to get back at his ex-wife after she divorced him.

Reportedly the suspect drank a bottle of champagne before the attack and was arrested three hours later in the city where he confessed to the shootings.

He is in custody and has been fired from the police.

The investigation is ongoing.
Gabriel Dragut (pictured) was booted out of the country five years ago after being jailed for fraud

A Romanian criminal deported in 2012 sneaked back into the UK an incredible thirteen times, a court heard today.

Gabriel Dragut, 28, was booted out of the country five years ago after being jailed for fraud.

But the crook stole back into Britain a staggering 13 times before he was arrested for stealing an 81-year-old woman's purse in a supermarket car park.

Dragut was seized by security staff at Sainsbury's superstore at Warren Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk, on May 9, the town's crown court heard this afternoon.

The villain was nicked after he and another man were spotted onCCTV by sharp-eyed staff cruelly swiping the pensioner's purse after distracting her.

Dragut, of Colchester, Essex, admitted theft and was jailed for 10 months.

Michael Crimp, prosecuting, said he was locked up for two years in May 2012 at Teesside Crown Court over using card-skimming devices on cashpoints.

Dragut served just four months of his sentence before being sent back to Romania on September 11.

Mr Crimp said: 'Records suggest that since the deportation he has returned to the UK 13 times and Border Force can't say why that was allowed to happen.'

He said that as well as his conviction for fraud Dragut was convicted last November of having articles for use in fraud which also related to ATM card-skimming devices.

Mr Crimp said his victim in May was putting her shopping into her car at Sainsbury's when she was approached by Dragut.

Dragut was seized by security staff at Sainsbury's superstore at Warren Heath, Ipswich, Suffolk, on May 9, the town's crown court heard this afternoon

The former factory worker asked the OAP for directions to the nearest hospital.

While she was assisting him another man, who was never caught, stole her purse from her handbag.

The distraught woman said she only realised she'd been robbed when she got to another store.

In a victim impact statement read to the court the victim said she was left feeling 'dreadful' after the callous crime.

The devastated pensioner said the offence had left her feeling 'shattered' and smashed her confidence going out shopping on her own.
A judge slapped Gigi Hadid's stalker with up to three years in prison after the man spent months trying to break into the supermodel's New York City apartment.

Marcell Porter was finally sentenced on Tuesday after being arrested on a number of felony and misdemeanor charges for stalking and attempted burglary in 2015.

Porter, 37, believed he and the 22-year-old were 'soulmates' and would end up having children together.

Police reports claim the man relentlessly tried to get near the celebrity and at one point, seemingly made it as far as her front door.

A New York judge warned him to never go near Hadid again, saying: 'I'll lock you up so fast you wont know what hit you.'

Marcell Porter, 37, was sentenced with up to three years in prison on Tuesday after being arrested for stalking model Gigi Hadid in New York City in 2015

Porter was arrested after he tried to get into Gigi Hadid's New York City apartment five times

In the days before his arrest Porter wrote messages to Hadid on his Facebook account (above)

Porter was originally arrested in 2015 on eight counts of various charges, with the most serious being attempted burglary for trying to get into Hadid's apartment.

Although he did not succeed, a photo on his Facebook page seems to suggest that at one point he made it as far as her front door.

The picture showed an unmarked door with a privacy sign used at the nearby Bowery Hotel, and he made the photo his phone's background.

After Porter's arrest, Hadid sold her $2.45million two-bedroom apartment on Bowery, moving to another apartment building.

In the weeks before his arrest, Porter would frequently write messages to and about Hadid on his Facebook page.

'Gigi I'm at the hotel in queens. Trying to find the gym you went to while working,' read one post on June 18, 2015.

A New York judge warned Porter to never go near the supermodel again, saying: 'I'll lock you up so fast you wont know what hit you.' Pictured: Hadid leaving her new apartment building in April and June (left and right)

Porter (pictured in May) believed he and Hadid were 'soulmates' and used his social media to profess his love for her

He tracked the model's sightings and made posts that referred to paparazzi photos that showed her walking near her apartment with then-boyfriend Joe Jonas wearing a pair of purple leggings.

Porter said: 'Love you with the purple pants and shades my soulmate. Tell your friends I said hi. Especially taylor.'

He later wrote that same day: 'I love u I know everything now. Wait for me soulmate.'

Porter would also frequently use his Facebook wall to share his location with Hadid, saying he was staying at a nearby mission and the local YMCA.

He then tried to break into her apartment five times in the span of seven days according to the complaint, telling to doorman at one point: 'I'm paramilitary and I saved her life before. She wants to marry me and have my kids.'

Soon after Hadid was seen walking around New York City wearing purple leggings, Porter wrote about how much he liked her leggings

Porter also appeared to make it as far as Hadid's door based on a photo he posted that showed an unmarked door with a privacy sign used at the nearby Bowery Hotel (above)

After Porter's arrest, Hadid listed her two-bedroom $2.45million apartment for sale (pictured)

He had awaited sentencing ever since his arrest as there were questions regarding whether or not he was fit to stand trial.

Porter has remained in custody as a court psychologist has determined he is not mentally fit on numerous occasions.

He was committed to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene after his appearance in front of the judge back in October of last year.
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Dramatic photographs show the moment that police swooped on unsuspecting youths in London as part of an operation to rid the streets of knives.

As part of a huge crackdown in the capital, officers wearing stab-proof vests descended on Elephant and Castle in south London and carried out a series of stop-searches.

Several youths were arrested, handcuffed and driven away in police vans as part of the daytime raid, and now face charges of possession of a dangerous weapon.

It comes as part of a massive clampdown on knife crime in London called Operation Sceptre, which was launched by the Metropolitan Police in 2015 with the aim of reducing knife crime.

The initiative has been designed to coincide with new legislation that means those convicted of carrying a knife for the second time will face a mandatory prison sentence.

Suspect are detained and searched by police officers after being arrested for alleged possession of a dangerous weapon near Elephant and Castle station

A suspect is taken to a waiting police van shortly after his arrest by officers wearing stab-proof vests in south London (shown)

Several youths were arrested, handcuffed and driven away in police vans as part of the daytime raid, and now face charges of possession of a dangerous weapon

The dramatic photographs show the moment that police swooped on unsuspecting youths in London as part of an operation to rid the streets of knives

A knife found on one of the youths is seized and placed inside an evidence bag, with stricter laws now meaning those convicted of carrying a knife for the second time will face a mandatory custodial sentence

It comes as part of a massive clampdown on knife crime in London called Operation Sceptre, which was launched by the Metropolitan Police in 2015 with the aim of reducing knife crime

In the latest phase of Op Sceptre, this week Met Police said it would be carrying out 'intelligence-led stop and search operations' at key transport hubs across London during key times, such as the end of the school day

The initiative has been designed to coincide with new legislation that means those convicted of carrying a knife for the second time will face a mandatory prison sentence

Suspects are questioned by police officers near Elephant and Castle Station during the Met Police's Operation Sceptre

Despite the crackdown, the capital has seen a wave of knife attacks in recent weeks, with more than a dozen people killed or seriously injured.

A man was stabbed to death in a block of flats in Romford, east London on Tuesday, while a 16-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after being stabbed in a busy shopping arcade after school in Croydon.

In the latest phase of Op Sceptre, this week Met Police said it would be carrying out 'intelligence-led stop and search operations' at key transport hubs across London during key times, such as the end of the school day.

Acting Detective Chief Superintendent Sean Yates, Operation Sceptre, said: 'We know that the summer period can see an increase in knife offences, so are ensuring we take positive action to try and prevent offences by working with our fellow police colleagues to remove knives and offensive weapons before any harm is caused.

'But such proactive action is only part of the solution. The Commissioner recently met with a group of young people from across London at a community round table discussion to get a different perspective about why young people carry knives and how we can all come together to drive down knife crime.

'At the event, the Commissioner highlighted how enforcement can only get us so far. What we really need to focus on is reducing offences: by changing hearts and minds; attitudes and behaviours. The work of our schools officers and the various projects and conferences across the Met are helping to achieve this.'

Two police officers inspect evidence seized during the raid, the latest phase of Metropolitan Police's Operation Spectre

Police officers carefully empty the pockets of one youth, looking for dangerous weapons as part of a city-wide crackdown

Police search behind a bin after one of the suspects threw the blade away as officers approached in Elephant and Castle

Despite the crackdown, the capital has seen a wave of knife attacks in recent weeks, with more than a dozen people killed or seriously injured
The father of a Penn State student who died after a fraternity pledge night is outraged over the pace of a pre-trial hearing for students charged in connection with his son's death.

Tim Piazza's father Jim said late Tuesday that he had not seen much evidence of remorse from the defendants in the courtroom during the lengthy pre-trial hearing this week.

His son Tim was fatally injured during a pledge bid acceptance ceremony and party at the Beta Theta Pi house in February.

The hearing this week involved the now-shuttered chapter of Beta Theta Pi and 16 of the 18 young men facing charges related to the 19-year-old's death.

Evelyn and Jim Piazza were pictured arriving in court on Tuesday for the pre-trial hearing for the Penn State students charged in connection with their son Tim's death in February

The pre-trial hearing began last month and was only expected to last one day, but it had to be extended due to a lengthy video obtained by the district attorney that showed the final hours of Piazza's life.

A fourth day is now set to be scheduled at some point in August.

During the chaotic hearing, tempers have flared between prosecutors and the lawyers for each of the 16 defendants as they one by one focus on what their clients didn't do the night Piazza was injured.

Tim Piazza, 19, was fatally injured during a pledge bid acceptance ceremony and party at the Beta Theta Pi house back in February

Piazza's father, who has been in court with his wife Evelyn, said he was very disappointed that the pre-trial was still no closer to ending and defense attorneys had been trying to 'shift the focus, shift the blame, and shift the responsibility'.

'As we have now sat for three days uncomfortably and impatiently listening to the defense lawyers' hollow excuses and arguments, our thoughts have turned constantly to our son Tim, whose death was caused collectively by men who continue, through their lawyers, to show no remorse, perpetuating the misconduct which caused Tim's death,' Jim said in a lengthy statement.

'Tim's death was no accident. The facts show that there was a calculated plan carefully carried out by people who knew what they were doing and that it was wrong.

'For those parents of defendants who believe their son was improperly charged, I encourage you to talk to your son and to come forward with everything they have that is helpful. If they do, I will be extremely supportive.'

Authorities say Tim Piazza consumed a dangerous level of alcohol the night of a pledge bid acceptance ceremony and party at the Beta Theta Pi house, then suffered a series of falls, leaving him with a fractured skull and severe injuries to his brain and abdomen.

Security camera footage, which was shown during the first part of the preliminary hearing last month, depicted him in severe pain over the course of the evening, and showed fraternity members holding him down, pouring liquid on him and clumsily attempting to make him stand up and to dress him.

JIM PIAZZA'S FULL STATEMENT: 'I am very disappointed that after another two days of pre-trial hearings, it is still not close to coming to an end. These hearings have tried our patience as we listened to seven defense lawyers, each attempting to justify the unjustifiable and each attempting to shift the focus, shift the blame, and shift the responsibility from the men who they represent. As we have now sat for three days uncomfortably and impatiently listening to the defense lawyers' hollow excuses and arguments, our thoughts have turned constantly to our son Tim, whose death was caused collectively by men who continue, through their lawyers, to show no remorse, perpetuating the misconduct which caused Tim's death. We have heard lawyers suggesting that hazing is an acceptable norm, that no one previously died from hazing in this fraternity house (and that therefore made it ok), that Tim somehow was a volunteer in their plan to alcohol poison him, and that their clients should be excused from responsibility for calculated and collective actions which they all knew were wrong and illegal, as evidenced by their own text messages and attempts at cover up. Text messages by and among the Fraternity leadership presented in court admitted the obvious when they privately confided to each other and others that they 'could go to jail' for what they did. Yet their lawyers and other lawyers tried for two days to make it appear that our son's death was merely an accident, not the premeditated calculation by those who caused it. Tim's death was no accident. The facts show that there was a calculated plan carefully carried out by people who knew what they were doing and that it was wrong. Again, the Fraternity leaders admitted through their own text messages that they would be held accountable. I have yet to see any remorse from any of the defendants by their conduct in the courtroom or from the evidence presented about their conduct of February 2nd and 3rd of this year, except for possibly one defendant who I also learned in the courtroom knew Tim was seriously hurt and in need of help, and wanted to help, but was overruled by the Fraternity's leadership. It's very sad that their own desire for self-preservation, as evidenced by their own text messages (including the order and the plot to delete text messages and 'group me' chat rooms, which we will never see, and the clean up of all evidence), prevented Tim from getting the help he needed. For those parents of defendants who believe their son was improperly charged, I encourage you to talk to your son and to come forward with everything they have that is helpful. If they do, I will be extremely supportive. However, it must be now, not later when we resume for what undoubtedly will be two more grueling days of preliminary hearings in August. Again, I will be extremely supportive. One thing we know for certain - our beloved son Tim will not be coming home. We remain committed to this process, no matter what the rigors will be or what may lie ahead. We do it for Tim and for all those that come behind Tim as they enter their college years.' Advertisement

Brendan Young (left) and Daniel Casey (right), members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, arrive at the Centre County courthouse on Tuesday

Joe Sala, a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, arrives back at the Centre County courthouse for the continuation of the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Tuesday

Michael Bonatucci (left) and Craig Heimer (right) arrive at court on Tuesday

Piazza was found unconscious in the basement the next morning by fraternity members who then waited about 40 minutes to summon help.

He died the next day at a hospital as a result of a traumatic brain injury.

Eighteen members of the fraternity were charged with offenses related to the teen's death, including involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. Two of the defendants waived the hearing this week.

PENN STATE FRAT BROTHER CHARGES Craig Heimer(21): Fifty-two counts including reckless endangerment Joe Ems(20): One count of reckless endangerment Lucas Rockwell (21): One count of tampering with evidence Michael Bonatucci(19): Fifty-six counts including involuntary manslaughter Braxton Becker(20): One count of tampering with evidence Ryan Foster(21): One count of tampering with evidence Daniel Casey(19): Two-hundred-and-one counts including involuntary manslaughter Parker Yochim(19): Fifty-two counts including reckless endangerment Nick Kubera (19): Over 50 counts including involuntary manslaughter Brendan Young (21): Two hundred counts, including involuntary manslaughter Gary Dibileo (21): Over 50 counts including involuntary manslaughter Luke Visser(19): Over 50 counts including involuntary manslaughter Michael Schiavone (21): Fifty-two counts including reckless endangerment Lars Kenyon(19): Fifty-two counts including reckless endangerment Ryan McCann(22): One count of tampering with evidence Jonah Neuman(19): Seventy-nine counts including involuntary manslaughter Joe Sala(19): Fifty-seven counts including involuntary manslaughter Edward Gilmartin(20): One count of tampering with evidence Advertisement

The lawyers for the young men were able to cross-examine the prosecution's witness, State College Police Detective David Scicchitano, during the hearing on Tuesday.

Scicchitano was forced to answer questions aimed at negating the culpability of the young fraternity brothers.

On Monday, Detective Scicchitano revealed some of the texts sent by the brothers in the wake of Piazza's death.

Brendan Young, the president of the fraternity, texted his girlfriend that Piazza 'looked f***ing dead' and that he would be 'accountable' following the pledge's death testified Detective Scicchitano.

He also said on the stand that brother Ed Gilmartin sent a text to pledge master Daniel Casey to 'make sure pledges stay quiet.'

Casey meanwhile texted his own girlfriend in the aftermath of the incident saying: 'I think we're f***ed.'

He then added: 'I don't want to go to jail for this.'

Another fraternity member, Gary DiBileo, wrote in a text to another fraternity member: 'It's not the fact that he drank. He drank because we hazed him too. Main word being hazed.'

Detective Scicchitano also had to address this video of Piazza's final hours in court again on Tuesday. The parents of the teenager were forced to flee the room so as to avoid watching the last moments of their son's life.

Evelyn and Jim Piazza removed themselves to the third floor of the courthouse, and returned once the defense lawyers were done with the video.

Detective Scicchitano said Piazza seemed to become highly inebriated early in the evening, and was seen on video surveillance with a 'staggering walk, swaying stance, his head was bobbing around.'

A short time later he fell down steps for the first time at about 11pm and had to be carried up to the chapter's main first-floor hall.

The court heard Piazza may have fall again given members of the fraternity found him unconscious in the basement the next morning.

Video shows the men carrying a completely stiff Piazza to a couch a little after 10am.

Joseph Ems, a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, leaves the Centre County courthouse during a lunch break in the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Tuesday

Braxton Becker arrives back at the Centre County courthouse on Tuesday

Jim and Evelyn Piazza (above in May) were forced to flee the courtroom this week to avoid watching the last moments of their son's life when security footage was played

Despite the condition of Piazza's body and the fact that his eyes had almost completely closed, the fraternity brothers waited another 45 minutes to call for assistance.

He was rushed to the hospital on February 3 but died the following day.

The videos from inside the house were willingly handed over by fraternity members to officials almost immediately after the incident.

A brother who was present following Piazza's first fall revealed in a May interview that he was thrown against a wall when he tried to help the teenager, a claim that is supported by the footage shown from inside the fraternity.

Kordel Davis could be seen making animated gestures after seeing Piazza lying on the couch, at which point he is slammed into a wall by another member of the fraternity.

Another fraternity member watched him vomit on a couch in his sleep and texted a few friends about the incident, but did not call for medical assistance or alert authorities.

A number of members tried to conceal what happened that night, with one text message recovered by police urging pledges to get rid of evidence of alcohol.

There were also conversations discussing the need to delete conversations from a messaging app that were discovered by investigators.
Two Pennsylvania high school students have filed a federal lawsuit against their school district alleging discrimination and a violation of their free-speech rights after their failed attempt to start an anti-abortion club.

Chicago-based law firm Thomas More Society filed the lawsuit on behalf of students Elizabeth Castro and Grace Schairer Tuesday against the Parkland School District in Allentown.

The lawsuit alleges Parkland High School denied the students' proposal to start a Trojans for Life club in 2016 for being too 'political and controversial'.

'The school is treating us like second-class citizens because we want to create a culture of life and be a positive influence to our peers,' Schairer said in a statement on Tuesday.

'We want to educate our fellow students about abortion and at the same time be a visible resource for our peers facing unplanned pregnancies.

Lawyers representing Elizabeth Castro (right) and Grace Schairer left) from Allentown, Pennsylvania, filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday after the Parkland School District rejected their proposal to start an anti-abortion club

'The school has made it clear that it will not allow us to have this type of club, so we decided to file the lawsuit.

'We are hoping for a quick resolution so Trojans for Life can hit the ground running at the start of the fall semester, along with all the other clubs at Parkland High School.'

Castro (pictured)and Schairer sent in their proposal in March but the school administration said it was too 'political and controversial'

Castro - who is a recent graduate - and Schairer - part of the class of 2018 - initially tried forming the club in September and sent in their proposal in March, which the school rejected.

According to the law suit, the students' aim with the club is 'to educate their fellow students on the issue of abortion and to offer hope and resources to help in the cases of crisis pregnancies.'

The students then enlisted the help of lawyers who sent a letter on May 17 demanding that the school accept the student's proposal, Lehigh County News reported.

The next day the school district counsel set conditions the club would have to meet before it cold be accepted.

The school district solicitor said: 'We wholeheartedly believe that students have a First Amendment right. We're not saying they don't.

'But all rights have limitations and one of the limitations is that if their activities are potentially going to cause a material disruption of the educational process or environment or cause harm or a safety issue to them or others, at that point the First Amendment rights can be curtailed or limited, not eliminated, but checked.'

Castro spoke to Fox News's Tucker Carlson in June. She told the host even though she's graduated, her friend Schairer will take over

This is the document showing the lawsuit lawyers from the Thomas More Society filed
A Mississippi alligator wrangler is recovering at a Hancook county hospital after being mauled by a 12-foot alligator.

Craig Breland was attacked by the giant reptile on June 25 after being called to the scene of an accident by local officials from the Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks department.

State Alligator Program Director Ricky Flynt said that Breland, a licensed trapper, was summoned to the scene on Mississippi Highway 603 after a vehicle struck and injured the alligator, according to The Clarion-Ledger.

Craig Breland was called to the scene of an accident involving the creature

Breland apparently lost his footing, landing dangerously close to the reptile

While attempting to remove the animal from the highway, Breland apparently lost his footing and was unfortunately too close to the animal.

'When he was attempting to secure the alligator, his foot slipped,' Flynt said. 'He landed right next to the alligator's head.'

That's when the giant reptile, who was already suffering from painful injuries, grabbed and shook Berland, inflicting injuries to his chest, shoulder and arm.

'He had significant trauma to the pectoral part of his chest and the inside portion of his right arm,' Flynt told the Ledger, adding 'had the alligator rolled with him, it would have been much worse.'

Breland was luckily able to move away far enough after the animal released him.

Flynt told the Ledger that Berland was rushed to the hospital. He was released shortly after but was required return recently to undergo tissue removal surgery.

Flynt said that the initial trauma of the attack was not the only concern, telling the Ledger that bacteria was potentially just as deadly as the mauling.

'That was my first concern when I heard about it and talked to Craig,' Flynt said.

'There have been several people, for instance, in Florida where the person attacked died from bacteria even though they had insignificant trauma.

'That is a bacteria associated with many animals that live in wetland environments.'

Flynt said that although Berland suffered serious injuries from the mauling, he does not consider the episode an attack.

'We don't call this an attack,' Flynt said. 'An attack is unprovoked. This was provoked. The alligator was acting in a natural defense.'
President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner isn't allowing himself to be grounded by the Russia scandal, heading to an annual media and financial conference in Idaho where he and wife Ivanka Trump can rub elbows with billionaires and investors.

Kushner has found himself near the center of the latest Russia development to rock the Trump administration, after it was revealed that he attended a June meeting with a Russian lawyer to discuss Hillary Clinton dirt.

Donald Trump Jr. released the emails that set up the meeting, which explicitly mention Russian 'government' support for his father in law's campaign.

Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, confirmed that Kushner had amended a government disclosure form with 'updates' to add contacts with a 'Russian person,' who has been revealed to be Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner arrive for the G-20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany, Thursday, July 6, 2017. This week, they are heading to Sun Valley, Idaho for an annual conference

As controversy over the meeting swirls, Kushner and Ivanka Trump are jetting to Sun Valley Idaho for the annual conference, Bloomberg News reported.

The conference, hosted each year by Allen & Company, regularly features some of the biggest names in business.

Billionaires expected to attend this year are Robert Murdoch of Newscorp, Warren Buffett of Berkshire-Hathaway, Mark Zukerberg of Facebook, and Jeff Bezos, who owns Amazon.com and The Washington Post  an outlet President Trump has clashed with as he takes on what he calls 'fake news.'

Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman and co-founder of Weinstein Co., attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, attends the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, USA - 12 Jul 2017

Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman and co-founder of Weinstein Co., attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference

A picture taken on November 8, 2016 shows Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya speaking during an interview in Moscow.The bombshell revelation that President Donald Trump's oldest son Don Jr. met with a Kremlin-tied Russian lawyer hawking damaging material on Hillary Clinton has taken suspicions of election collusion with Moscow to a new level. Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner attended

The wealthy couple will pay their own way to the conference, a person familiar with the matter told the publication.

Both are U.S. government employees on the White House staff. Kushner is a senior advisor to the president, and Ivanka Trump is also an advisor.

President Trump defended the move at a G20 meeting in Hamburg when his daughter filled his seat when he got up to tend to other business.

President Trump blasted the latest news about Russia, calling it a 'witch hunt' and vouching for his son's innocence on Twitter.

Donald Trump Jr. defended himself in an appearance on Hannity on Fox News, although he acknowledged he might have done things 'differently.'

The little girl was dressed in a frilly white dress, a girly headband, and leopard flats

Donald Trump Jr is pictured after he arrived at his home in New York in a three car secret service convoy

A view of the entrance to the Sun Valley Resort on the first day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 11, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Every July, some of the world's most wealthy and powerful businesspeople from the media, finance, technology and political spheres converge at the Sun Valley Resort for the exclusive weeklong conference

Kushner's lawyer said in a statement that referenced the Russia meeting: '[D]uring the campaign and transition, he had over 100 calls or meetings with representatives of more than 20 countries, most of which were during transition.'

His lawyer, Gorelick, added: 'Mr. Kushner has submitted additional [federal disclosure] updates and included, out of an abundance of caution, this meeting with a Russian person, which he briefly attended at the request of his brother-in-law, Donald Trump Jr. As Mr. Kushner has consistently stated, he is eager to cooperate and share what he knows.'

Ivanka Trump seemed untroubled by the current scandal plaguing the White House as she left home to head there this morning.

Robert Kraft attends the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference

The 35-year-old flashes a big, toothy smile for photographers waiting outside her front door as she left for work, dressed in a pleated blue skirt and fitted black top.

Even five-year-old Arabella Kushner popped her head out, running after her mom in her own girly dress to say goodbye.

President Trump defended his son online Wednedsay. 'My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!' Trump wrote on Twitter.
What do Justin Timberlake, Jake Gyllenhaal and Meg Ryan all have in common? The same address.

An historic New York City book bindery converted into a 53-unit luxury apartment building is becoming increasingly popular with celebrity house-hunters - and it's easy to see why.

The residence at 443 Greenwich boasts several celebrity-friendly amenities, including a double-gated parking garage to keep paparazzi at bay and private elevators that eliminate the possibility of awkward conversations with neighbors.

Pitch Perfect star Rebel Wilson is the latest celebrity to move into the TriBeCa building, last month paying $2.95million for one of the building's smaller apartments - a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit.

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A former New York City book bindery that has been converted into a 53-unit apartment building is gathering quite the collection of celebrity tenants

443 Greenwich Street's famous residents appear to be drawn to the TriBeCa building's celebrity-friendly features, including a double-gated parking garage

The building (courtyard featured above) also features private elevators that eliminate the possibility of awkward conversations with the neighbors

Above, the building's lap pool, which is shared with the residents

'I just love New York and since Im filming a movie here this summer I thought I may as well buy a place,' the Australian actress told Women's Wear Daily last week.

In the last two months alone, the building has seen many a move-in day, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Harry Styles and Meg Ryan buying apartments.

Ryan paid the most of the lot at $9.4million for her 3,155-square-foot three-bedroom apartment.

Bachelors Styles and Gyllenhaal paid $8.71million and $8.63million respectively for their smaller three-bedroom units - both 2,868-square feet.

In the past two months, Rebel Wilson (left) and Jake Gyllenhaal (right) have snapped up apartments in the building

British heartthrob Harry Styles (left) and Meg Ryan (right) are also neighbors in the building

The building also boasts not one - but two - celebrity power couples: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds (right) and Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake (left)

The building also boasts not one - but two - celebrity power couples: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake - the latter paying $20million to live in one of the building's eight penthouses.

Jennifer Lawrence also shelled out $9million for a three-bedroom apartment in the building, but was last believed to be renting it out for a pretty $27,500 a month.

Of course, it's not a celebrity-exclusive building. Business and IT executives, young hedge fund managers and wealthy retired couples make up some of the other tenants.

Richard Cantor, whose Cantor Pecorella brokerage leads the building's sales and marketing, told Mansion Global that there are several features in the building that are attractive to celebrity clientele.

Amenities of the building include a lap pool, a shared roof deck, a wine cellar, a fitness center, a hammam and steam room, a children's playroom and a 4,000-square-foot central courtyard

The apartments in the building feature exposed beams, but the floors and walls have been converted to concrete to keep noise between apartments at a minimum

Of course, it's not a celebrity-exclusive building. Business and IT executives, young hedge fund managers and wealthy retired couples make up some of the other tenants

Richard Cantor, whose Cantor Pecorella brokerage leads the building's sales and marketing, told Mansion Global that there are several features in the building that are attractive to celebrity clientele

Cantor said that the developer, Nathan Berman, had details like the double-gated parking garage and private elevators in mind when he built the building

'The idea of privacy was very important to him. Buyers who were paying this kind of money and buying this kind of luxury would want to have a kind of anonymity that's hard to come by, as well as privacy for security and safety purposes. So he created a number of sort of privacy zones,' Cantor said

The private elevator service, which is still in the works, will eventually allow residents to call one of the building's eight elevators, and taken them straight to their apartment or out without having to stop at other floors to pick other residents up

Cantor said that the developer, Nathan Berman, had details like the double-gated parking garage and private elevators in mind when he converted the building back in 2014.

'The idea of privacy was very important to him. Buyers who were paying this kind of money and buying this kind of luxury would want to have a kind of anonymity that's hard to come by, as well as privacy for security and safety purposes. So he created a number of sort of privacy zones,' Cantor said.

The private elevator service, which is still in the works, will eventually allow residents to call one of the building's eight elevators, and take them straight to their apartment or out without having to stop at other floors to pick other residents up.

'A celebrity might be uncomfortable sharing an elevator so we have what's called "VIP service"' Cantor explained.

Above, a mock-up of the roof of the building. Most of the apartments do not have outdoor space but they have the shared roof. The eight penthouses have private outdoor space

Other amenities of the building include a lap pool, a shared roof deck, a wine cellar, a fitness center, a hammam and steam room, a children's playroom and a 4,000-square-foot central courtyard.

For a good night's sleep, the designers have most of the bedrooms with windows facing the courtyard, but for the street-side rooms they installed heavy glass to keep noise to a minimum.

Celebrities have been so satisfied with the building that they've been recruiting their famous friends to become neighbors.

'Theres no question that one of our celebrity buyers loved the place so much that they talked to their friend and they ended up buying,' Cantor said.
Emily Morin, 26, was arrested twice after asking for her drugs back on Tuesday in Salem, New Hampshire

A woman was arrested twice on the same day after returning to a police station to demand her drugs back.

Emily Morin, 26, was taken into custody after a shoplifting incident at a Macy's department store in Salem, New Hampshire, on Tuesday.

Police discovered Morin was in possession of the controlled prescription drug Suboxone, confiscating it before releasing her on a $2,500 bail.

However, Morin wasn't going to let her drugs go easily.

She returned to the police station, less than five hours after she was first arrested, to demand her drugs back.

After a struggle, Morin was arrested again, this time for driving after suspension, resisting arrest and breach of bail.

Police were called to the Macy's department store around 11am on Tuesday, responding to a call that Morin was shoplifting, reported NH1.com.

While investigating the incident, officers discovered Morin had Suboxone and arrested for her willful concealment and possession of a controlled drug.

Morin was first arrested after a shoplifting incident and police found she had Suboxone. After being released on bail, Morin returned to the station and asked for her prescription drug back

They also learned that her license and registrations were suspended.

Suboxone is an anti-opiate addiction drug but it can still cause addiction or overdose.

Morin was released on a $2,500 bail and signed that she wouldn't commit any crime while on bail and agreed to not drive while her license was suspended.

A few hours later, Morin returned to the police station to speak with the officer who arrested her, police said.

Morin demanded that her heroin substitute be returned but officers refused, and Morin went back to her car, according to reports.

An officer said he noticed that she climbed into the driver's seat, although she was not supposed to be driving.

He ran after her, ordering her to stop and Morin allegedly refused.

The officer then opened her car door and escorted Morin out of the vehicle but she resisted arrest, police said.

Morin struggled against the car while the officer was attempting to arrest her, the report added.

Morin was being arraigned Wednesday on charges of driving after suspension, breach of bail and resisting arrest, in addition to drug and willful concealment charges.

It wasnt clear if she had a lawyer.
Chloe King said she was left sleeping in her seat next to a masturbating man by American Airlines staff

A woman claims to have been left sleeping in her seat by American Airlines staff while the man next to her masturbated.

Chloe King, a New York-based PR & Social Media Manager for the upscale department store Bergdorf Goodman, described the horrifying experience in a post on Medium on July 9.

In the piece, the 30-year-old described how the man was sitting between her and another woman on the plane when they took off from New York at the end of May.

She fell asleep and the man, who was not identified, began masturbating, she said.

According to Ms King, airline staff moved the other woman in the row but left her asleep in the window seat, oblivious to the man's lewd behavior.

Shortly before landing, after she woke up, a flight attendant pulled her to the back of the plane to tell her about what had happened and to inform her that the man would be arrested at the airport in Paris.

Rather than allow her to sit elsewhere, the woman said she forced to return to their shared row and 'climb over' the man to return to the window seat until landing.

Ms King, a PR manager for Bergdorf Goodman, wrote about her experience online and encouraged others to read about it and boycott the airline

'The woman to his other side saw it happen and asked to be moved, and the French Police had been notified to arrest the man upon landing  they just wanted to let me know.

What they didnt do was wake me up and move me to a safe place. What they didnt do was accommodate my request  after informing me of the assault  to sit anywhere else on the plane for landing.

Ms King (pictured during the trip to Paris in June) said she would never fly AA again

'Instead, they made me climb back over the sex offender, trapped between him and the window for the rest of the flight. I was shaking and crying and trying not to get sick,' she wrote.

After landing, the woman said she approached American Airlines staff at the Paris airport but was met with blank stares.

When she contacted the airline's head office, she said she received nothing more than an email which acknowledged the 'disappointing service'.

'Ill never know what exactly happened on that flight, but I do know Ill never feel completely safe flying again. Add an American Airlines airplane to the long list of places where, as a woman, I will feel anxious and vulnerable,' she said.

'American Airlines, you knew what happened was criminal activity,  therefore you had the offender arrested  yet you did nothing to stop the mans actions or protect my safety in a horrifying situation. You chose to treat the man committing the crime with far more respect than the unconscious woman sitting beside him. As humans, we deserve more than that. So please, choose any other airline.'

American Airlines said it contacted French police to meet the man off of the plane after it landed in Paris. The city's Charles de Gaulle airport is pictured

Eager for people to hear her story, she shared it on Facebook, writing alongside it: 'Friends, please read. I was the victim of a sexual crime on a recent American Airlines flight. Please choose any other airline.'

The airline did answer questions about what was done to stop the man's lewd behavior while the flight was in progress.

It has not revealed where he was from, if he was arrested on the ground or where the flight took off from originally.

In statement, a spokesman said only: 'American always strives to maintain a safe and comfortable travel experience for all of our customers. We are reviewing how we handled the situation on this flight, and have reached out directly to Ms. King.

'During the flight, our crew requested that French law enforcement meet the aircraft in Paris. Upon arrival, French officials interviewed the male passenger regarding the allegations.'
A mother who was seven months pregnant lost her baby after suffering from cyanide poisoning in the Grenfell fire and told council bosses: 'You killed by son'

Andreia and Marcio Gomes lived on the 21st floor of the west London tower block which was devastated by the fire, which killed at least 80 people.

Andreia was pregnant with a little boy, who had already been named Logan, when the family, including Luana, 12, and Megan, 10, escaped the burning building.

Doctors put the mother, 37, into a medically-induced coma to recover from the incident.

But when she woke up the family were told that their unborn baby had died due to cyanide poisoning. It is unclear where the cyanide had come from, but tests showed that they all had it in their systems.

Andreia and Marcio Gomes lived on the 21st floor of the west London tower block which was devastated by the fire, which killed at least 80 people

The couple lost their unborn little boy, who had already been named Logan, when the family, including Luana, 12, and Megan, 10, (right) escaped the burning building

It is unclear where the cyanide had come from, but tests showed that they all had it in their systems. Pictured is Luana's doctor's notes

She, her husband Marcio, and their two daughters escaped from the 21st floor of the burning building.

Logan was delivered by caesarean section in hospital but did not have a heartbeat.

'They believed that the poisons went in and obviously everything goes to the baby,' Mrs Gomes told BBC's Newsnight.

'When you go ahead ignoring something like that I feel that you don't care. You just killed so many people and you just killed my son.

'Because in a normal situation I could have gone out and her could have survived. But because of the conditions, he passed away.

'They said that they believed as the poison went in and settled in my body everything goes to the baby. After seven months the lungs of the baby start to develop.

'The amount that he received was enough to stop his heart.

'I knew something was wrong as soon as they told me that they need to protect the mother as a priority. I broke down because I knew what they were saying without saying it. And later on they said that the baby had passed away.

'They can't say 100 per cent but they said the heart just couldn't cope with the lack of oxygen the baby couldn't get.'

Mrs Gomes and the couple's eldest daughter were both diagnosed with cyanide poisoning, the first to be recorded from the disaster.

There has been speculation that hydrogen cyanide gas could have been released from the tower block's insulation as it burned.

Richard Hull, professor of chemistry and fire science at the University of Central Lancashire, told the BBC: 'Plastic foam insulation is effectively made from crude oil and so it's going to combust in more or less the same way as any other petrochemical.

'It's got a lot of nitrogen in it and therefore when it burns it produces both carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide.'

Andreia was pregnant with their son, who had already been named Logan, when the family, including Luana, 12, and Megan, 10, escaped the burning building

Doctors put the mother, 37, into a medically-induced coma to recover from the incident

Doctors put the mother, 37, into a medically-induced coma to recover from the incident

Andreia and Marcio Gomes lived on the 21st floor of the west London tower block (pictured) where at least 80 people died

Exposure to the gas can prevent the body's cells from using oxygen properly, causing them to die. Hydrogen cyanide was used as a weapon by the Germans during the Second World War.

Heroic dad went back to find his lost daughter Marcio Gomes led his heavily pregnant wife and their two daughters to safety after flames began reaching the windows of their 21st floor flat. But after reaching the lower levels, Mr Gomes, 38, realised his elder daughter, 12-year-old Luana, had not made it all the way down. He left his wife Andreia and ten-year-old Megan and ran back up the stairs to find her. Mr Gomes told The Sun: 'She was halfway down. She had stopped. She couldn't move any more and had fallen unconscious.' Firefighters rushing up the stairwell were so disorientated that Mr Gomes had to tell them where they were in the building. Mrs Gomes, who is seven months pregnant, was put into a medically-induced coma to help her and her unborn child recover. Unfortunately Logan would not survive. Ofsted inspector Mr Gomes said he defied an emergency call handler's instructions to stay put and ushered his family to safety after waiting two hours for help. Mr Gomes said: 'I just wrapped them all up in wet towels and sheets and said, 'There's no turning back  we have to go'. We had to go down the stairs from the 21st floor. You couldn't see anything. We had to step over bodies.' Advertisement

The Kings College Hospital discharge papers showed that Mrs Gomes and her daughter were treated for cyanide poisoning along with severe smoke inhalation.

Mrs Gomes blamed 'cut corners' during the renovation for many deaths that could have been avoided.

'You just killed so many people and you just killed my son, because if it was a normal situation I could have got out.'

'And he was seven months, he could have survived.'

Marcio revealed that he knew by the way the doctors were talking that the baby had not survived. And he also had to break the devastating news to his daughters.

He said: 'We didnt use soft words. We didn't say her baby brother was sleeping with the angels. We used the real words and told her that Logan died and the reasons why Logan died.

'We were making plans - he can sleep with me. I'm gonna play with this and he can play with that.

Marcio, 38, added: I'm very angry with them because it could have all been avoided. Yes, it was an accident but it could have been avoided. It should never have happened like this.'

The family had obeyed instructions to stay in their room until nearly 4am before deciding to escape down the tower block's stairs. They made five 999 calls while still in their flat.

'My room was on fire. All my curtains were on fire, my Moses basket was on fire. All that side of the window was on fire,' Mr Gomes said.

'I looked at the window thinking it must have cracked or something but everything was shut.

'So I know the fire came in between the walls. And there were a lot of gaps between the walls because of the insulation they used.

'The only thing I could do at that moment was grab the door, shut the door and say 'we have to go now.'

'There's no turning back, we have to try and it's now or never.'

The family ran down the flight of stairs, with Mr Gomes at the rear, before they came across some fire fighters on their way up.

Mr Gomes added: 'When she got brought out of the comathe first thing she did was put her hand on her stomach and say 'I'm sorry'.'

'Mr Gomes said the first thing his wife did when she woke from the induced coma was put her hands on her stomach where her son would have been.

Investigating officer Matt Bonner was quizzed at St Clement's Church a short distance from where the blaze happened exactly four weeks ago

He was met with cries of 'arrest someone' as the crowd grew increasingly frustrated by his explanation

Grenfell Tower survivors have confronted the senior investigating officer of the police probe into the disaster during a heated public meeting

(Left to right) Dr Deborah Turbitt of Public Health England, Barry Quirk, interim chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea Council, and Elizabeth Campbell, who is to step in as leader of the council, attend a public meeting at St Clements Church in west London

Meanwhile, Grenfell Tower survivors have confronted the senior investigating officer of the police probe into the disaster during a heated public meeting.

A meeting in West London intended to give locals an opportunity to question key figures descended into chaos as residents became angry and upset.

Investigating officer Matt Bonner was quizzed at St Clement's Church a short distance from where the blaze happened exactly four weeks ago.

'I cannot tell you about the case as it would put the investigation at risk,' he told the audience.

He was met with cries of 'arrest someone' as the crowd grew increasingly frustrated by his explanation.

He said the police investigation would 'not be quick but it would be thorough'.

Also in attendance was incoming council leader Elizabeth Campbell, who was heckled by one audience member.

Hilary Patel, who is part of community engagement for the Grenfell Response Team, told the locals that they should not be worried about the building collapsing.

'The building has never been at risk of falling down,' she said.

The City of London skyline is seen behind the remains of Grenfell Tower this afternoon

Elizabeth Campbell (left), who is to step in as leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, Dr Deborah Turbitt (centre) of Public Health England and Rachael Wright-Turner (right), Tri-borough Director of Commissioning for Children's Services at the council

Residents were told that Grenfell Tower could not be covered yet because doing so could change the humidity and other factors inside, which could interfere with the investigation.

They were also told scaffolding was not yet an option, as it would need to be fixed to the middle of the building, which could also interfere.

Elizabeth Campbell, who is to step in as leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council

Residents were also assured that the air around the estate was safe enough to breathe.

'We've monitored for asbestos and found none in the vicinity,' said Dr Deborah Turbitt, from Public Health England.

One woman, whose questions to the panel were being translated, took the microphone as residents at the meeting began shouting over each other, and asked them: 'What truth are you looking for here?'

'They're just wasting time,' a translator told the room for her.

Last week, the retired judge leading the Grenfell Tower inquiry told heckling survivors 'you don't respect me' as he met them for the first time.

Sir Martin Moore-Bick was warned by former residents of the west London tower block not to 'get personal' as he addressed the frustrated crowd at a meeting last night.

Sir Martin said they had claimed he would carry out a 'hatchet job', while one campaigner accused him of leaving Grenfell families facing the same painful decades of uncertainty of those involved in Hillsborough.

However, he said he would look into the matter to the 'very best' of his ability at a meeting in a centre overlooked by the burnt-out high-rise block.

He said: 'I can't do more than assure you that I know what it is to be impartial.

'I've been a judge for 20 years, and I give you my word that I will look into this matter to the very best of my ability and find the facts as I see them from the evidence.

'That's my job, that's my training, and that's what I intend to do. Now if I can't satisfy you because you have some preconception about me as a person that's up to you.

Members of the crowd then told Sir Martin 'not to get personal', to which he replied: 'Well I'm not getting personal, you don't respect me because you say the Government has appointed me to do a hatchet job.'

Pictured: Sir Martin addresses the crowd as Joe Delaney, from the Grenfell Action Group, accuses him of leaving Grenfell families facing the same doubt as those involved in Hillsborough

Joe Delaney, from the Grenfell Action Group, said to the judge: 'Not a hatchet job, you're going to do a Taylor Report like for Hillsborough.

'Which was very technical but didn't deal with the wider issues and it took 30 years for people to be arrested.'

Sir Martin then replied: 'This is why it is so important to get the terms of reference right and for you to tell me what you think it should cover.

Mr Delaney shot back: 'We did and then you dismissed them on TV.'

The judge said: 'No I didn't. You have mis-remembered what I said.'

Sir Martin has already faced calls to resign amid criticism and frustration from survivors that the apparent remit of his inquiry may be too narrow.

Retired appeal court judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick arrived for the meeting in west London at around 7pm

After the meeting, local resident Melvyn Akins, 30, who was brought up in the area, said there was 'frustration, anger and confusion' in the meeting and people were left with 'a lot more questions' about their futures.

Concerns about the health of people living near the blaze, the air quality, evacuation procedures, the condition of the block and the inquiry's terms of reference were among the wide-ranging questions posed in the meeting.

Sir Martin told the residents that he was keen to have the terms of reference sorted before Parliament goes into recess saying he could not start his work until the terms of reference are in, according to Mr Akins.

He said: 'It is going to be an uphill struggle. People feel abandoned.

'Now you have got somebody coming in (Sir Martin) and saying 'I am going to look into it all thoroughly' and it is not good enough.

'People firmly believe that arrests should be made as a result of the outcome of all of this.

'If arrests are not made, people are going to feel justice may not be being done.'
Members of the US aviation industry have strongly condemned the comments of the head of Qatar Airways after he publicly ridiculed American carriers last week in Dublin, Ireland.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker described the American airline industry as 'crap' and demeaned flight attendants who work for them.

During a speech delivered in front of a small audience, Al Baker boasted about the average age of his flight crews, which he claimed was 26-years-old.

'So there is no need for you to travel on these crap American carriers, he quipped, eliciting laughter from the audience.

'You know youre always being served by grandmothers on American Airlines,' Al Baker added.

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) swiftly rebuked the remarks, writing in a statement that the Qatari airline leader had 'sunk to a new low.'

'Straight from Akbar Al Baker lips, he confirms what AFA has said all along: Qatar Airways thrives on misogyny and discrimination,' wrote Sara Nelson, president of the AFA.

'Qatar is not only seeking to choke out US Aviation, but also the 300,000 good jobs built through opportunity created on the principle of equality,' the statement continues.

'There is no room for a separation of humanity in air travel or in an emergency. Flight Attendants are onboard to save lives and every life counts. If you prop up Qatar Airways you are supporting sexism, racism, and ageism,' the statement adds.

Qatar Airways has previously been rebuked for 'discrimination'

The ALPA later responded to Al Bakers 'chauvinistic remarks,' reproaching the CEO for disparaging the hard-working US crew members and airlines of the US aviation industry, according to Fox News.

Al Baker was in Dublin last week to tout the new flight route from Ireland's capital city to Doha, Qatar.

This is not the first time the Qatari airliner has been accused of discrimination. Back in 2015, Qatar Airways was found to have been prejudice against female flight attendants who became pregnant while working for the airliner after a 12-month investigation conducted by the UN's International Labour Organization (ILO).

Al Baker rejected the conclusions of the findings, saying that the UN body had 'vendetta against Qatar Airways and my country,' according to the BBC.

Qatar Airways is a state-run company based out of Doha, with over 150 international hubs stationed across the world.

ALPA President Capt. Tim Canoll noted that 'there will likely be no economic ramifications for his insults' since Qatar Airways is subsidized by Qatars government and 'doesnt technically compete in the open market,' according to Fox News.
Activists Hold Press Conference and Prayer Vigil Thursday at Sen. McConnell's Office Calling for Defunding of Planned Parenthood in Health Care Bill

Contact: Mark Harrington, Created Equal, 614-419-9000, mark@createdequal.org



WASHINGTON, July 12, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- On Thursday, July 13, at 11:00 A.M. dozens of anti-abortion activists will hold a press conference in front of the Russell Senate Office Building followed by a prayer vigil at Sen. McConnell's office.



Additionally, Baby Hope will be delivered to Sen. Mitch McConnell containing a 12-week fetal model with a message to defund Planned Parenthood from Baby Hope.

Activists will be asking the Senate to not subsidize abortion and redirect abortion giant Planned Parenthood's taxpayer funding to community health centers.



Participants will stand in solidarity with the 329,000 innocent children that are aborted every year at Planned Parenthood abortion clinics across the nation.

Who: Created Equal, Christian Defense Coalition, and other anti-abortion groups/activists.



What: Press conference and prayer vigil calling for the defunding of America's abortion giant, Planned Parenthood.



Where: Sen. Mitch McConnell's office located at Constitution Ave. and 1st NE entrance to the Russell Senate Building in Washington, D.C.



When: Thursday, July 13, at 11:00 A.M.

Mark Harrington, National Director of Created Equal said;

"Funding for Planned Parenthood has been a perennial issue since Republicans won control of the House in 2010, and each time, Republican leaders have finessed it by saying the matter would be settled in a broader health care bill. Now, is the time to hold these pro-life representatives accountable for their campaign promises. We will deliver a strong message to every single US Senator to defund Planned Parenthood and end all funding streams for abortion in the health care bill."

Abortion is not healthcare and not one penny of taxpayer funding should go to an organization that takes the lives of 329,000 innocent children every year. We encourage the Senate to follow the lead of their colleagues in the House and not include the funding of Planned Parenthood in their healthcare legislation.
Animal rights activists wearing masks, covered in fake blood and clutching butcher knives have been caught on video swarming a Florida Chick-fil-A restaurant filled with children.

Footage shot by a customer showed some protesters wearing chicken and cow masks as they lied on the tiles while others pretended to stab them with bloody knives.

Other protesters carried signs and screamed 'animal killers' and 'it's not food' as they protested inside the fast food restaurant in Pinellas Park on Tuesday.

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Animal rights protesters wearing cow masks lied on the floor, while others held butcher knives (above) inside a Florida Chick-fil-A restaurant filled with children on Tuesday

The ordeal took place during Chick-fil-A's 'Cow Appreciation Day' promotion, which offered customers free food if they dressed like cows.

Angry customers could be seen trying to shield their children from the fracas, while others screamed for the protesters to leave.

Restaurant managers attempted to quell the disturbance.

One parent, Tina Leacock, filmed part of the protest and shared it on Facebook.

'I'm all for everyone having their own opinion, but when you come into a place full of children, with a knife in hand and proceed to cut the throats of a person dressed up as a chicken and a cow, all to get a point across, that's going to far,' she wrote.

Footage shot by a customer showed some protesters wearing chicken and cow masks as they lied on the tiles while others pretended to stab them with bloody knives

Angry customers tried to shield their children from the fracas as protesters dressed as animals lied across the restaurant's tiles

'Mind you the knife was fake and the throats of the persons dressed up were protesters. But there were young children there who saw everything happen and couldn't tell the difference between it being real or fake.

'If you have a strong opinion on something by all means you have the right to speak on it in a reasonable manner, but shame on you for your actions today.'

Pinellas Park police were eventually called but by the time they arrived all the protesters had fled. No arrests have been made.

The protesters were from Direct Action Everywhere Pinellas - a group that opposes eating meat or any animal products.
Melania Trump was spotted in a very unlikely place on Wednesday, with the First Lady seen exiting Trump Tower in Manhattan just hours before she is set to board Air Force One and head off to France.

The First Lady seemed eager to avoid being photographed she made her way to the airport, where she will fly down to DC and meet up with her husband ahead of their third overseas trip together since President Trump took office.

The 47-year-old was photographed by DailyMail.com as she hid herself away inside her SUV while wearing the same $4300 Giambattista Valli dress she wore back in April to visit the Children's National Medical Center in DC and her ever present pair of over-sized sunglasses.

Melania appeared to be joined by her longtime hairstylist Mordechai Alvow in the back of her vehicle on Wednesday, perhaps for a touch-up ahead of her big trip to Paris.

That trip cap off on Thursday with dinner at Jules Verne, the fine-dining restaurant located on the second level of the Eiffel Tower.

Made in the shade: Melania Trump was seen in an SUV (above) making her way through the streets of Manhattan after leaving Trump Tower on Wednesday

Away they go: The 47-year-old will be flying off to Paris with President Trump on Wednesday evening, with the pair expected to depart together from Washington DC

Hair today: She was wearing a $4300 Giambattista Valli dress and over-sized sunglasses, and appeared to be joined by her hair stylist Mordechai Alvow

MT phone home: is the second time that Melania has been photographed exiting Trump Tower in the past few weeks, despite moving to the White House back in June

May, December, May, December: President Trump and the First Lady had what looked to be an enjoyable chat with newly elected French leader Emmnauel Macron and his wife at the G20 summit last week (above)

Vanessa Trump was pictured using the back entrance to her apartment on Wednesday as the growing Russia scandal further engulfed her husband Don Jr

Melania's trip home came as her step-son Don Jr. has come under fire for a meeting he had with a shadowy lawyer who promised him dirt on Hillary Clinton which had allegedly been obtained by the Russian government.

Don Jr. was also in Trump Tower on Wednesday, as the President's oldest son has stayed on to run the family business while his father is in Washington DC.

He was photographed on Tuesday outside his Manhattan apartment complex looking unfazed and chatting into his cell phone as he made his way from his chauffeured SUV into the lobby of his building.

His wife Vanessa was all smiles earlier in the day as she walked across the city before jumping in a car several blocks away from the home she shares with Don Jr. and their five children all under the age of 11.

Also caught up in the Russian meeting is Jared Kushner, the husband of Melania's step-daughter Ivanka.

He attended alongside Don Jr. and former campaign manager Paul Manafort, though neither of the men engaged in the conversation according to the lawyer who called for the sit down.

The president has maintained that neither he nor members of his campaign colluded with the Russian government ahead of the 2016 election.

This is the second time in the past few weeks that Melania has been spotted at Trump Tower, having previously made an appearance in the Big Apple back on June 29.

The First Lady was once again photographed making her way out of Trump Tower and getting into an SUV while escorted by Secret Service members.

Melania also tried to keep a low profile on that outing by covering her face with over-sized sunglasses after noticing that she was being photographed and wearing a cashmere coat despite the 80 degree heat.

That trip home also came one day after President Trump was once again criticized for his treatment of woman after ordering a member of the Irish press to come stand by his side while on a call with that country's newly appointed prime minister, Leo Varadkar.

'Well, we have a lot of your Irish press watching us. They're just now leaving the room,' President Trump said to the openly gay Varadkar while calling over RTE reporter Caitriona Perry.

'And where are you from? Go ahead, come here. Where are you from? We have all of this beautiful Irish press. Where are you from?'

President Trump then told Perry she had a 'beautiful smile on her face' and said to Varadkar: 'I bet she treats you well.'

No worries: Don Trump Jr (left) and wife Vanessa (right) were seen out and about on Tuesday amidst the recent scandal involving the oldest trump son's meeting with a shadowy Russian lawyer

City of lights: The Paris trip will be capped off on Thursday with dinner at Jules Verne, the fine-dining restaurant located on the second level of the Eiffel Tower

Settling in: Despite her trips back to her Trump Tower digs, Melania raved about life in the nation's capital during an interview on 'Fox & Friends' last month

Back to the capital: Melania and Barron made the move to Washington DC soon after President Trump's youngest son finished school for the year in Manhattan

Despite her trips back to her Trump Tower digs, Melania raved about life in the nation's capital during an interview on 'Fox & Friends' last month.

'We are enjoying it very much,' Melania said of her time thus far at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

When asked how her 11-year-old son was handling the move, Melania said: 'He loves it, yes all settled. He loves it here.'

Melania and Barron made the move to Washington DC soon after President Trump's youngest son finished school for the year in Manhattan.

Barron will be attending St Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland come September.

Melania previously wore the Valli dress she was pictured in on Wednesday back in April

For now he is enjoying his summer break while his parents prepare to jet off across the Atlantic on their maiden state voyage to France.

President Trump and the First Lady will be meeting with that country's newly elected leader Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte.

The four were seen having what looked to be a pleasant conversation last week at the G20 summit, just before the opening night festivities at Elbphilharmonie concert hall.

And while the two world leaders do not share much common ground when it comes to politics, they do both enjoy a good May-December romance.

Their relationships are inverse however, with President Trump, 70, older than wife Melania by 23 years, and 39-year-old President Macron 25 years younger than his wife.

Brigitte, 64, taught her future husband at the Lycee la Providence when he was a teenager, instructing the young man in literature and theater.

He was just 15 when they first met and 18 when he began a relationship with his married former teacher.

The relationship did not sit well with his parents however, who sent him off to Paris in order to finish school when they learned about their son's new paramour.

It did not keep the couple apart for long however, and in 2007 they were wed.

President Macron described their love as 'clandestine,' 'hidden,' and 'misunderstood' in his memoir 'Revolution.'

Hisattention will be off his wife and on president Trump for the next few days, as the political odd couple meet up in the City of Lights.

The man strongly disagree when it comes to matters such as climate change and immigration, meaning that their talks will likely focus more on terrorism and defense.
Thousands of commuters were evacuated from Paddington Station tonight after a small fire.

Crews rushed to the scene after passengers reported 'the smell of electrical burning' at around 8pm.

The public was asked to leave the building and London Fire Brigade confirmed they dealt with a small electrical fire in the intake room.

But National Rail say trains could be delayed by up to an hour or cancelled altogether for the rest of the night.

Thousands of commuters have been evacuated from Paddington Station tonight, pictured, after a fire alarm was raised

It is thought more than 2,000 people were made to leave the station as fire crews arrived and dealt with a small electrical fire

Concerned passengers raised the alarm after noticing the 'smell of burning' at the station

London Fire Brigade confirmed it was at the scene on social media and said at least 2,000 commuters had already been evacuated.

Speculation on Twitter initially suggested the firefighters were investigating a blaze beneath platform 10.

Others said they could smell fumes that were 'making them cough'.

London Fire Brigade said: 'Firefighters investigating slight smell of electrical burning at Paddington Station. 2,000 people evacuated before we arrived.'

The service confirmed the fire was out shortly after 9.30pm.

Others said the fumes had left them 'coughing' as they fled outside and waited for the fire service to arrive

Many people raised concerns over the fire on social media, but London Fire Brigade confirmed the area was safe shortly after 9.30pm

In a statement, National Rail said: 'A fire alarm sounding at London Paddington is causing major disruption to trains to and from this station.

'Trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised. Heathrow Connect and Heathrow Express services are currently suspended.

'Disruption is expected to continue until the end of service.'

But many have complained on social media that they have been left without any information on when the station will reopen, with some claiming they have been left stranded.
A youth worker, who watched a six-year-old boy being raped online and urged the person filming to smack the child to prove it was live, has been jailed for 11 years.

Darren Williams, 44, from Newport in Wales, sent messages to the rapist instructing him to 'put the sound on' and 'prove it's live' by 'smacking' the victim and making him 'say hi'.

He sent messages telling chat room users that the rape, which took place in America, was about to be streamed and encouraged them to watch it.

Williams admitted encouraging or assisting the rape of a child and six charges of encouraging or assisting the showing of indecent images of children.

Judge Eleri Rees QC, the Recorder of Cardiff, jailed Williams for a total of 11 years at Cardiff Crown Court.

Judge Eleri Rees QC, the Recorder of Cardiff, jailed Williams for a total of 11 years at Cardiff Crown Court

He was the first of four men, including a primary school teacher, to be sentenced in relation to the online chat room where the rape was streamed.

Laura Tams, specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Darren Williams clearly took sadistic pleasure in the pain and horrendous sexual abuse being inflicted on very young children.

'The prosecution built a case which showed how by watching and encouraging the abuse from behind his computer screen, Williams was guilty of encouraging the rape thousands of miles away.

'This conviction was made possible through close partnership working with the authorities both in this country and around the world.'

Williams, who drove minibuses for children's charities in Gwent, was arrested in December 2015 and admitted seven offences.

The rapist who broadcast the attack, William Chandler Augusta from Pennsylvania, was detected by Canadian authorities and arrested in the US in February.

He was jailed for up to 30 years for a range of offences. Police officers in the US identified his victim and protective measures were taken.

The convictions of the four men follow an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Primary school teacher Wayne Brookes (pictured), 43, of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, will be sentenced for four offences at Bristol Crown Court on August 1

Primary school teacher Wayne Brookes, 43, of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, will be sentenced for four offences at Bristol Crown Court on August 1.

Philip Crabtree, 35, of Newcastle-Under-Lyme, will be sentenced for 12 offences on a date to be set at Stoke Crown Court.

Christian Johnson Lueking, 36, of Raynes Park, London, admitted one offence of encouraging the showing of indecent images of children.

He will be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on August 18.

Colin Radcliffe, operations manager at the NCA's child exploitation and online protection (CEOP) command, said: 'Darren Williams drove children to activities where they would play sport and have fun together.

'As it's clear that he believes children can be horrifically abused for his pleasure his arrest was a vital intervention.

'These men thought they'd found a corner of the internet where they could avoid the consequences of participating in abuse.

'They were wrong and others like them should know NCA officers have skills and tools that mean no one seeking to harm children is safe from the law.

'Protecting children is an integral part of the NCA's mission and our officers are dedicated to ensuring people like these are brought to justice.'
The White House brought up the partially-discredited 'dirty dossier' at an off-camera press briefing and said the only ones guilty of 'collusion' were Democrats.

Under fire for the president's son Donald Trump's Jr's meeting with a Russian lawyer after promises of dirt on Hillary Clinton, the White House on Wednesday pushed back on suggestions of 'collusion' with the Russians.

Instead, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders brought up Democratic fingerprints on the dossier, which compiled salacious as well as financial information about Trump, as compiled by a British former intelligence officer.

'The other big news was the foreign intelligence dossier that the president's political opponents funded and disseminated widely that was based on discredited opposition research from foreign intelligence sources,' Sanders said.

White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders brought up the partially discredited dirty dossier at an off-camera press briefing Wednesday

'The only collusion that's been seen, and it's been proven, has been between those people,' she said.

She was referencing the dossier compiled by Christopher Steele, who was doing work for opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which was itself funded in part by Democratic operatives. It was originally funded by GOP primary rivals of Trump.

The dossier, which was published by BuzzFeed, alleged that the Russians had compromising material on Trump.

Huckabee Sanders, who spoke off camera in keeping with how the White House has done briefing all week, also referenced a Politico story published in January that pointed out contacts between Ukrainian government officials and Democrats.

The White House sought to push back on the unraveling Russia story

Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort attended a meeting with a Russian lawyer allegedly promising Clinton dirt in June. A January report said Ukrainian officials tried to feed damaging information about his Russia ties

The story noted that a Ukrainian-American operative was consulting for the DNC, met with Ukrainian officials at the nation's embassy in Washington, and helped dig up documents related to Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort.

The Politico story noted distinctions with the unfolding Russia saga, including that the intelligence community concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind an official effort by the longtime adversary to meddle in the elections.

It noted that there was little evidence of such a top-down effort, as Ukrainians tried to push out information on Manafort, who had longstanding ties for an ousted pro-Kremlin president.

A picture taken on November 8, 2016 shows Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya speaking during an interview in Moscow.The bombshell revelation that President Donald Trump's oldest son Don Jr. met with a Kremlin-tied Russian lawyer hawking damaging material on Hillary Clinton has taken suspicions of election collusion with Moscow to a new level

'Look, I think we've been extremely clear and I know Don Jr was, and discussed it at length last night as did the president's personal counsel over the last couple of days and has walked through that very detail,' said Sanders. 'I think there has been any evidence of collusion in 2016 that's come out at all or been discussed that's actually happened between the DNC and the Ukrainian government,' she said.

She said 'Ukrainian actions to coordinate with the DNC were actually successful unlike anything shown by Don Jr's emails. Information passed to the DNC through the Ukrainian government directly targeted members of the Trump campaign in an attempt to undermine it.'

She spoke amid a continued uproar over Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016 during the height of the campaign, after getting an email referencing dirt on Hillary Clinton and the Russian government's support for his father's campaign.

In a twist, President Trump's lawyer has pointed to reports that Veselnitskaya is herself connected to Fusion GPS.

Said Mark Corallo in a statement: 'Specifically, we have learned that the person who sought the meeting is associated with Fusion GPS, a firm which according to public reports, was retained by Democratic operatives to develop opposition research on the President and which commissioned the phony Steele dossier.'

A section of the dirty dossier compiled on Trump. Salacious and unproven details have been discredited

Christopher Steele, the former MI6 agent who set-up Orbis Business Intelligence and compiled a dossier on Donald Trump, in London

He added: 'These developments raise serious issues as to exactly who authorized and participated in any effort by Russian nationals to influence our election in any manner.'

He immediately responded, and brought Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and Manafort to the meeting.

In another development, Huckabee Sanders said the White House 'not aware' whether the president signed off on Don Jr.'s Russia statement as it was crafted aboard Air Force One Saturday.

The statement did not mention that dirt on Hillary Clinton was the topic of the meeting. The New York Times reported that it was drafted on the government plane and that Trump signed off on it.
British taxpayers could be made to fork out up to 2million so the EU can set up a glamorous new base in Paris before Brexit, it has emerged.

Despite criticism of its spending, the European Parliament plans to plough millions into developing an existing building into a sprawling headquarters in an upmarket area of the French capital.

Documents reveal EU bosses want to spend around 5.2million every year to create a status symbol dubbed the House of Europe.

Officials said the huge rental cost and 10.4million on renovation were worthwhile because the location is highly prestigious.

British taxpayers could be made to fork out up to 2million so the EU can set up a glamorous new base in Paris (pictured) before Brexit, it has emerged

But the plans were immediately rubbished by influential MEPs.

The revelations follow criticism of the institutions expenditure on property, including recent proposals to spend 380million replacing its Brussels base which has been used for just 24 years.

Plans for the Paris building were revealed in documents sent to the European Parliaments bureau, a group of MEPs that oversees the body.

The lease on the current 1.5million-a-year Paris base, shared with the European Commission since 1990, is due to run out next April.

While presenting several options in Paris, the Parliaments secretary general Klaus Welle said the building on Boulevard Haussmann was the preferred option.

Its location on a street with some of the best known department stores in the city has raised eyebrows among MEPs.

But officials defended the costs by claiming the neoclassical building was needed to help create a visitor attraction alongside office space. They said it could help create an Experience Europe centre to promote the EU to tourists.

In one document, officials said the building would show the importance of European institutions in the national political system.

Plans for the Paris building were revealed in documents sent to the European Parliaments bureau, a group of MEPs that oversees the body

Leena Linus, the parliaments director-general for infrastructure, said the location would see 18,000 people pass by every hour.

This emblematic building block offers superior pedestrian flow and preeminence, she wrote, adding that the building would have direct visibility for users of a nearby metro station.

French MEP Jean Arthuis who chairs the parliaments budget committee, said tourists dont give a damn about Europe. He told the Politico website: Building a Parlamentarium in Paris wont solve the issue of how we get citizens closer to the EU  Europe must deal with their needs.

Conservative MEP David Bannerman said: Weve had the vacuous House of European History in Brussels, an expensive folly, and now this. The message is the great European project carries on spending until it hits a brick wall.

Spending plans are yet to be revealed but costs to the UK before Brexit could hit 2million if renovation and rental payments begin next year.
A Melbourne council could be moving its Australia Day citizenship ceremony from January 26 out of sensitivity to indigenous Australians.

Darebin Council may replace the ceremony with an event on that date that acknowledges the suffering of indigenous Australians, the Preston Leader reports.

But it comes just weeks after another Melbourne council, Moreland, failed to pass a similar motion.

A Melbourne council could be moving its Australia Day citizenship ceremony from January 26 out of sensitivity to indigenous Australians. File photo

The council is also considering changing the name of its Australia Day Awards, according to an internal survey reviewed by the newspaper.

The survey  which was given to a council advisory committee  asks questions in a bid to broaden the council's understanding of the issue.

It also asks whether the council should support the campaign to move Australia Day celebrations from January 26.

The date, on which the First Fleet arrived in 1788, marks the brutal colonisation of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders.
The shocking moment a police officer shot a man in the middle of a 'psychotic episode' in the back has been captured on camera.

Laroslav Mosiiuk, 25, was shot dead outside his sister's home in Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 8 this year. Mosiiuk's sister, Olesya Tabaka, called police to tell them her brother was unwell, 'had not slept in days and was retrieving a rifle'.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers Brian Walsh and Michael Dezenzo went to the house, and body camera footage released this week shows Tabaka was outside the property when they arrived.

The footage, which was released as police announced neither officer will be punished for the shooting, was compiled of bodycamera footage from both officers after they arrived on the scene.

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This is the moment Laroslav Mosiiuk, 25, was shot dead outside his sister's home in Charlotte in March this year

Officer Dezenzo's video shows him walking up to the door of the house and knocking. His reflection can be seen in the windows on the door, however no one can be seen inside the house.

A few seconds later he shouts 'gun, gun, gun' and runs down the steps and away from the property. 'Get back Brian, he had a long-gun,' Dezenzo is heard telling his partner, before he appears to run into the backyard of a house on the other side of the street and about two houses further down.

About that time, a voice on his radio is heard saying 'shots fired'. About 30 seconds later, Dezenso tells Walsh, 'Brian I'm not in a position to challenge him with you,' while still stood behind the house on the other property in the street.

However, by that time, Walsh had already shot Mosiiuk.

Laroslav Mosiiuk (left), 25, was shot dead outside his sister's home in Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 8 this year. Mosiiuk's sister, Olesya Tabaka (right), called police to tell them her brother was unwell, 'had not slept in days and was retrieving a rifle'

The body camera clips start by showing Officer Dezenzo knock on the front door of the house, before he runs away shouting 'gun'

Officer Walsh's body camera footage starts by showing the cop at the side of Tabaka's house, as Dezenzo runs away from the front door shouting 'gun'.

Walsh then runs about 25 yards down the street to the edge of the property, taking cover for a moment behind a car with Tabaka.

Seconds later, he steps out from behind the car and fires a single shot, hitting Mosiiuk in the back. The 25-year-old immediately falls to the ground.

'My brother! Please don't shoot him!' Tabaka was heard pleading with the cop, but her cries fell on deaf ears.

One of the two officers called to the scene ran for shelter behind a car as the 25-year-old came out of the house

The cop who shot Mosiiuk was standing with his sister, who desperately tried to tell the officer the gun was faulty and begged for him not to shoot her brother

The video continued for a few more minutes, showing other officers arriving on the scene and handcuffing Mosiiuk before trying to help stop the bleeding or examine his wound.

The team of officers then search the house, finding nothing, before they taped off the property.

Walsh later told investigators he did not have time to warn Mosiiuk or ask him to drop the gun before he shot him dead, saying he was 'afforded no time'.

Investigators later determined the 25-year-old's gun was not fireable as it was missing a part, which was locked up inside the house. Tabaka could be heard in Walsh's video saying, 'he doesn't have the part', before the cop opened fire.

Despite that, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief stated the killing was 'justified'.

Body camera footage shows the officers handcuffing the man after shooting him before trying to treat his wound

Police stated this week the shooting was 'justified' despite the gun being faulty and Mosiiuk being in the middle of a psychotic episode

'While the death of Iaroslav Mosiiuk is certainly a tragedy, it is not a crime,' the letter states.

'Officer Walsh was dealing with a mentally ill subject pointing a rifle at him, his partner and nearby civilians. The officer's decision to fire his weapon is justified under the law of self-defense. The evidence fully supports the conclusion that Officer Walsh was reasonable in his belief that deadly force was necessary.'

But a lawyer representing Mosiiuk said it was important the videos were released, because it shows why people are afraid to call the police during mental health episodes.

'At the end of the day, this was a mental health call, and if this is the way that mental health calls are handled, then people would be afraid to call the police,' Lauren Newton told WSOC.
Public sector wages are still significantly higher than those in the private sector despite several years of pay restraint, a major study found yesterday.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said workers employed by the State earned 13 per cent more on average than those in the private sector.

This is despite a one per cent cap on annual pay rises in the public sector for the past six years.

The IFS said that even if this cap continued for another three years, public sector staff would still be earning 7.5 per cent more than private sector workers by 2020.

Public sector wages are still significantly higher than those in the private sector despite austerity measures that have prompted large scale protests, pictured

Its analysis also said that spending on public services is still increasing and is on course to rise by 37billion in real terms by 2021/22.

Theresa May is under pressure to soften what Labour calls austerity by lifting the 1 per cent cap on public sector wages and committing to more spending.

The IFS said it would cost 9billion a year to do as Labour is arguing and link the annual rise in public sector wages to that in the private sector.

The think-tank added that the public-private pay disparity comes at a time when  despite cuts  both public spending and the tax burden were higher than before the financial crisis.

The tax burden is set to hit the highest level since 1986 within five years, it said.

The IFS warned that ending austerity would cost the economy 33billion a year, which may have to come from further tax rises.

The comparison of public sector versus private sector salaries is based on a crude measure of average hourly wages.

It compares the average hourly wage of the 5.1million working in the public sector with that of the 26million in the private sector.

It makes no allowance for skill levels in the two sectors. The public sector tends to be more highly educated, so surgeons salaries, for example, count towards the figure.

Meanwhile, there are more lower-paid workers on the minimum wage in the private sector.

The analysis, unveiled at a conference in London yesterday, cast doubt on claims that austerity is causing widespread hardship for State workers.

Mrs May has faced increased pressure since the election to put up public sector pay, with even members of her Cabinet calling for the cap to be lifted.

Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the IFS, said spending on public services was set to go up in real terms by 37billion by 2021/22, although as a share of national income this works out as a cut of 17billion.

Thousands of people have protested against austerity measures over the past decade

On public sector pay, he said it would cost 9billion a year to link wages to increases in the private sector  although this would fall over time as more tax came in.

The economist produced a graph showing how the differential in pay between the public and private sectors has fallen from a peak of 18 per cent just after the financial crisis.

Mr Emmerson said the 1 per cent pay cap had been justified so far because the disparity was now closer to the same level as before the financial crisis.

The squeeze so far on public sector pay could be justified by the fact we are just unwinding the increase in public sector pay relative to private sector pay that occurred after the recession, he added.

The relativities are now back to the level they were at the time the crisis hit. If we continue increasing pay scales by 1 per cent a year on average well see that the ratio will continue to decline and reach its worse level since the 1990s.

He also said Philip Hammond will have to continue tax rises and spending cuts beyond 2021/22 if he is to meet his target to balance the nations books by the middle of the next decade.

But the IFS report said the Chancellor could meet growing public demand for an end to austerity by ditching the target and leaving the deficit at its 2016/17 level of 2.4 per cent of GDP.
Income is shared more fairly in Britain than most other Western nations, according to figures from the World Bank.

They show that income inequality in the UK is less marked than in nations including France, Australia and Italy.

Out of 157 countries surveyed by the international organisation, Britain comes 39th.

But among the G7 club of wealthiest nations, only two fare better than Britain. These are Japan in 36th position and Germany in 22nd place.

Figures from the World Bank show wealth in Britain is shared more equally than many other Western countries including France and Italy (file picture)

The figures are at odds with the Left-wing argument that Britain is one of the most economically divided nations in the world.

Jeremy Corbyn has called for a maximum wage law to reduce inequality in the UK.

In January, the Labour leader said: We have the worst levels of income disparity of most of the OECD countries. It is getting worse.

And corporate taxation is a part of it. If we want to live in a more egalitarian society and fund our public services, we cannot go on creating worse levels of inequality.

In fact, the World Bank figures show the UK is one of the least divided countries in the world when it comes to wages.

Income inequality is measured using a system called the Gini coefficient. Under this system, a score of 0 represents perfect equality  or everyone earning the same amount of money. A score of 100 represents total inequality.

The World Bank statistics show that the UK has a Gini coefficient of 32.6  just between Ireland and Nepal. Japans score is 32.1 and Germanys 30.1.

This compares with France, which is marginally worse than Britain on 33.1  43rd position on the league table.

Despite often being held up as a bastion of fairness, Canada is 49th on the list, with a score of 33.7. Australia is even further down, with a score of 34.9.

The figures come despite calls by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for a maximum wage law to 'reduce inequality in the UK'

The World Bank league table shows that other countries faring far worse than the UK include India on 35.1, Italy on 35.2 and Indonesia on 35.6. Turkey stands at 40.2, Russia on 41.6, China on 42.2 and Argentina 42.7.

One of the worst performers is the US, which languishes at 108th on the league table with a Gini score of 46.1.

Mexico is even worse at 48.2, Brazil is 48.4 and South Africa is significantly further down the table on 63.4. The island state of Comoros has the worst score in the world.

The best-performing countries tend to be in Scandinavia and the Low Countries. Ukraine has the lowest inequality in the world, with a score of 24.6. It is followed by Slovenia, Norway, Belarus and the Czech Republic.
Award-winning Filmmaker Warns that Suicide Rates Will Soon Explode Contact: Jen Thompson,

800-437-1893,

jthompson@livingwaters.com



LOS ANGELES, July 12, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Experts report that suicide in the United States has already reached epidemic proportions, with more than 40,000 taking their lives each year. The rate for teens has tripled since the 1950s, and suicide is now the second leading cause of death among college students.



Filmmaker Ray Comfort, whose movies have been seen by millions, expects that trend to only increase. He identifies two major restraints in American culture that have kept past generations from suicide, which are lacking in society today. "In the 1950s more than 98% of Americans believed in the existence of God, so comparatively few chose suicide because of their religious convictions that it is morally wrong," Comfort says. "The second restraint was that those who believed in God had purpose for existence and the hope of eternal life."



Comfort notes that in recent years, more than ten million people have cast off the belief that they are morally accountable to God and that life has any meaning, which he attributes to a rise in atheism and belief in naturalistic evolution.



"Atheism not only offers freedom from moral responsibility, but it means that there is no restraint against suicide. Couple life's pains with a purposeless and hopeless worldview, and taking your life becomes a viable option."



A study on suicide by The American Journal of Psychiatry confirms this perspective. It reports, "Religiously unaffiliated subjects had significantly more lifetime suicide attempts...Furthermore, subjects with no religious affiliation perceived fewer reasons for living, particularly fewer moral objections to suicide."



To combat this epidemic, Comfort has produced a new film called "EXIT: The Appeal of Suicide," which he hopes will make a difference in the lives of many. "'EXIT' is a unique film, because it answers the big questions that the secular experts can't answer, and at the same time offers hope to the hopeless." He's also written a small companion book, How to Battle Depression and Suicidal Thoughts, that presents inspiring truths through a fictional encounter with a suicidal man.



The film's trailer and further details can be found at www.theEXITmovie.com.



For interviews contact: Jen Thompson jthompson@livingwaters.com



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A young New Zealand man has died in a psychiatric ward in Japan after his family claim his legs and waist had been strapped to a bed for 10 consecutive days.

Kelly Savage, 27, was hospitalised after suffering a heart attack and mental health issues. He died on May 17.

The Wellington resident was being treated at Yamato City Hospital, who deny claims they mistreated Mr Savage, as his family are fighting to get access to his medical records, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Kelly Savage (right) was hospitalised after suffering a heart attack and mental health issues. He died in a hospital in Japan

Mr Savage's family claim his legs and waist had been strapped to a bed for 10 consecutive days

The newspaper say they have seen medical records from Mr Savage's cardiologist, Dr Kei Miyagishima, that suggest his heart attack was the result of a pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis, which is common with patients restrained for a long period of time.

The autopsy was inconclusive, but his mother and brother say he was never fully unrestrained from his hospital bed.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Yamato City Hospital for a response to the Savage family's claims.

Mr Savage had a history of mental illness and had been treated in his home nation years earlier.

He had been living in Japan for nearly two years, where he was working as an English teacher.

Mr Savage had been living in Japan for nearly two years, where he was working as an English teacher

His brother, Pat, said a month or so before his death he had been acting paranoid and his family were concerned for his welfare.

'I was really worried that something was going to happen to him, so I was trying to protect him and do what was best for him,' he told the New Zealand Herald.

He suffered a heart attack on May 10, where his heart stopped beating for nearly an hour, and was rushed to hospital where he would die a week later.

His family believe his death could have been avoided, but the director of Yamato Hospital contacted the Savages denying they were at fault.

'The physical restraint was stopped at suitable times, and it was limited to the times when physical restraint was necessary,' the letter from Dr Kazuhiko Ishii read.
A fugitive was busted by villagers as he allegedly attempted to rape an 11-year-old girl in southern China.

The 26-year-old suspect, named Yao Changfeng, was spotted by an onlooker grabbing a young girl away by her hair and dragging her into a bush near a river.

The man was caught by 11 villagers and taken to the police station, confirming that Yao was a top suspect who killed three children and molested over 10.

Yao Changfeng was caught by villagers as they put on leather belt on his neck and ropes on his hands in China.

The villager caught the man when he tried to escape by crossing the river last Saturday

Video emerged showing the moment Yao, who had his hands tied up, was beaten by an elderly woman in Yuanling county of Hunan Province on July 8.

A villager can be seen pulling the suspect by a belt around his neck while others pointed fingers at him.

An onlooker can be heard in the video saying that she told an elderly woman that she saw a man dragging a young girl to a bush near a river.

The grandmother said the young girl could have been her granddaughter.

About 11 villagers arrived and stopped the man as he was trying to escape by crossing the river.

An onlooker said she saw Yao grabbing a young girl's hair and dragged her towards the river

Police officer confirmed that Yao was on the list of most wanted fugitives that killed two children and one teenager in 2011 and 2013 respectively

Yuanling police officers arrived and brought Yao to the station. Yao was confirmed to be an on-the-run sex offender under the list of grade B fugitives by the Ministry of Public Security.

According to People's Daily Online, Yao killed a seven-year-old girl and her six-year-old brother after a rape attempt in 2011.

Two years later in 2013, Yao molested and later killed a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Hubei Province.

The sex offender also had a record of over 52 criminal activities, which 10 of them involving rape and 42 of them involving theft, People's Daily Online stated.

Hubei police officers issued a wanted poster to capture Yao with a 200,000 yuan (23,000) reward earlier this February.

There will also be a trial for Yao in the coming days.
It was one of the most deadly viruses that caused millions of deaths around the world, and now scientists have revived a virus similar to smallpox.

The researchers hope that the virus could be used to create more effective vaccines.

But other experts have warned that the relatively easy technique could be replicated by terrorists to create biological weapons.

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It was one of the most deadly viruses that caused millions of deaths around the world, but scientists have revived a virus similar to smallpox (artist's impression pictured)

HOW DID THEY RECREATE IT? The researchers have not revealed the details of how they recreated the horsepox virus, because their paper has not yet been published. But a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), says the team purchased overlapping DNA fragments, each about 30,000 base pairs in length, from a company that synthesizes DNA commercially. That allowed them to stitch together the 212,000-base-pair horsepox virus genome. Introducing the genome into cells infected with a different type of poxvirus led these cells to start producing infectious horsepox virus particles. The virus was then 'grown, sequenced and characterized,' according to the report. Advertisement

Researchers from the University of Alberta have resurrected a virus called horsepox, which is very similar to smallpox.

Professor David Evans, who led the study, said: 'Our goal is to improve on current methods that protect the public from possible viral outbreaks.'

While horsepox itself is not harmful to humans, the technique to piece it together could be used to synthesise other dangerous viruses, including smallpox.

The researchers have not revealed the details of how they recreated the horsepox virus, because their paper has not yet been published.

But a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), says the team purchased overlapping DNA fragments, each about 30,000 base pairs in length, from a company that synthesises DNA commercially.

That allowed them to stitch together the 212,000-base-pair horsepox virus genome.

Introducing the genome into cells infected with a different type of poxvirus led these cells to start producing infectious horsepox virus particles.

The virus was then 'grown, sequenced and characterised,' according to the report.

Professor Evans has accepted that the technique comes with its risks.

Speaking to Science, he said: 'Have I increased the risk by showing how to do this? I don't know.

'Maybe yes. But the reality is that the risk was always there.'

Researchers from the University of Alberta have resurrected a virus called horsepox, which is very similar to smallpox. Professor David Evans, who led the study, said: 'Our goal is to improve on current methods that protect the public from possible viral outbreaks' (stock image)

While WHO guidelines prevent scientists from attempting to build the full smallpox genome, this new research shows that it is possible to buy the DNA building blocks without being flagged.

And experts say the technique is fairly easy to replicate.

Speaking to The Washington Post, Peter Jahrling, a virologist at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said: 'Maybe not some guy in a cave, but a reasonably equipped undergraduate microbiology lab could repeat this trick.'

THE HISTORY OF SMALLPOX  The first known victim of smallpox was Pharaoh Ramses V of Egypt, who died in 1157BC and whose mummy still bears the scars of the disease.  When the Spanish took it into Hispaniola - now Haiti and the Dominican Republic - which they settled for sugar cane plantation in 1509, it killed every one of the 2.5 million natives within a decade.  More than 200 years ago, physician Edward Jenner made a crucial-discovery which led to the first vaccine. He found that milkmaids who developed cowpox through working close to the animals day after day seemed to be protected from smallpox, the human form of the disease.  In Britain, the disease was endemic until 1935.  The last major outbreak in Europe was in 1972 when 20 million were vaccinated after a pilgrim returning to Yugoslavia from Mecca infected 175 people.  Doctors waged a vaccination campaign to wipe out smallpox which succeeded by the late 1970s.  All nations were asked to destroy stocks of the virus or hand them to high-security installations in the US or Russia. It is feared terrorists may have got supplies from Russia in the 1980s. Advertisement

In the wrong hands, the technique to synthesise viruses could be diasterous.

Speaking to Science, Paul Keim, an expert in bioweapons at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, said: 'Bringing back an extinct virus that is related to smallpox, that's a pretty inflammatory situation.

'There is always an experiment or event that triggers closer scrutiny, and this sounds like it should be one of those events where the authorities start thinking about what should be regulated.'
Apple has set up its first data centre in China, in partnership with a local internet services company, to comply with tougher cybersecurity laws introduced by Beijing last month, it said on Wednesday.

The company said it was setting up the facility in the southern province of Guizhou with data management firm Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry Co (GCBD).

A spokesman told Reuters this would form part of a planned $1 billion (0.78 billion) investment by Apple into the province.

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A spokesman told Reuters this data centre would form part of a planned $1 billion investment by Apple into the province (stock image)

APPLE DATA CENTRE IN CHINA The US company said it was setting up the facility in the southern province of Guizhou with data management firm Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry Co Ltd. A spokesman told Reuters this would form part of a planned $1 billion investment by Apple into the province. China, on June 1, brought in a new cyber security law that codifies much stricter controls over data than in Europe and the United States, including mandating that firms store all data within China and pass security reviews. Overseas business groups said the law's strict data surveillance and storage requirements are overly vague, burdening the firms with excessive compliance risks and threatening proprietary data. Advertisement

'The addition of this data centre will allow us to improve the speed and reliability of our products and services while also complying with newly passed regulations,' the company said in a statement to Reuters.

'These regulations require cloud services be operated by Chinese companies so we're partnering with GCBD to offer iCloud.'

Apple also said that it had strong data privacy and security protections in place.

'No backdoors will be created into any of our systems,' it said.

China, on June 1, brought in a new cyber security law that codifies much stricter controls over data than in Europe and the United States, including mandating that firms store all data within China and pass security reviews.

Overseas business groups said the law's strict data surveillance and storage requirements are overly vague, burdening the firms with excessive compliance risks and threatening proprietary data.

In April, China also announced a law requiring businesses transferring over 1,000 gigabytes of data outside China to undergo yearly security reviews, with potential blocks on exporting economic, technological and scientific data.

Earlier this week, Apple said it planned to open a new data centre in Denmark.

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an event in Cupertino. The new laws come as Chinese cloud firms are expanding rapidly in foreign markets

An earlier centre in the country, announced in 2015, will come online this year, it said.

The new laws come as Chinese cloud firms are expanding rapidly in foreign markets.

Alibaba Group Holding has 17 data centres across China, the United States, Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Other foreign firms that oversee cloud businesses, including Amazon.com and Microsoft Corp, already have data centres in China.
Google has used academics to sway public opinion on their business practices by paying them vast sums of money for their research, according to a new report.

Around a dozen professors have accepted money - and some even shared their paper with the company to make comments before publishing, the report said.

These papers would have been used to support ongoing battles with regulators such as claims the company unfairly steers users to its commercial sites.

It is believed policymakers would have been unaware of Google's involvement in academic research.

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Google has funding hundreds of research papers to help defend its business interests - with payments of up to $400,000 (310,000) each, revealed the shocking report (stock image)

GOOGLE-FUNDED RESEARCH Over the past ten years, Google has funding hundreds of research papers to help defend its business interests - with payments of up to $400,000 (310,000) each, revealed the shocking report. Some academics even shared their papers with Google before publishing - and allowed them to suggest amendments, according to the paper. Google officials even made wish lists of research papers that they wanted written, which even included titles, abstracts and an estimation of how much each paper would cost. The report suggests there is a strong push in Silicon Valley to influence government policy as part of a shocking culture that pays academics to act as lobbyists. Advertisement

Over the past ten years, Google has funding hundreds of papers to help defend its interests - with payments of up to $400,000 (310,000) for a paper, the shocking report revealed.

The report by The Wall Street Journal found Google paid for travel expenses for professors from top universities including Harvard and Berkeley to meet officials and lobbyists.

Research papers were used to counteract antitrust accusations against Google in 2012, the report said.

Google officials also made wish lists of research papers that they wanted written, which even included titles, abstracts and an estimation of how much each paper would cost.

They then looked for authors who might be willing to write them, according to a former employee.

Google has paid professors to declare that its collection of consumer data online was fair considering its services were free.

They were also paid to say that the company did not unfairly steer users to Google's commercial sites or advertisers.

The report suggests there is a strong push in Silicon Valley to influence government policy as part of a shocking culture that pays academics to act as lobbyists.

'Ever since Google was born out of Stanford's Computer Science department, we've maintained strong relations with universities and research institutes, and have always valued their independence and integrity,' the company told The Wall Street Journal.

'We're happy to support academic researchers across computer science and policy topics, including copyright, free expression and surveillance, and to help amplify voices that support the principles of an open internet.'

Google has been contacted for comment.

Last month Google was hit with a 2.4 billion euro ($2.7 billion) penalty for unfairly favouring its shopping service as one of its battles with regulators.

Brussels accused Google of giving its own online shopping services top priority in search results to the detriment of other price comparison services.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a conference. Google officials even made wish lists of research papers that they wanted written, which even included titles, abstracts and an estimation of how much each paper would cost, the report revealed

The case is one of three against Google and of several against blockbuster US companies including Starbucks, Apple, Amazon and McDonalds.

The previous record for illegal monopoly practices is held by US firm Intel, which was fined 1.06 billion euros in 2009, about 3 percent of the company's turnover.

Earlier this month it was announced EU antitrust regulators were weighing another record fine against Google over its Android mobile operating system.

The commission has set up a panel of experts to give a second opinion on the case, two people familiar with the matter said.

Assuming the panel agrees with the initial case team's conclusions, it could pave the way for the European Commission to issue a decision against Alphabet's Google by the end of the year.
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A privately owned company plans to use robotic spacecraft to launch a series of commercial missions to the moon, some 45 years after NASAs last lunar landing, officials said on Wednesday.

Cape Canaveral, Florida-based Moon Express is developing a fleet of low-cost robotic spacecraft that can be assembled like Legos to handle increasingly complex missions, founder and Chief Executive Officer Bob Richards said in an interview.

Ultimately the company plans to establish a lunar outpost in 2020 and set up commercial operations on the Moon, mining material and returning it to Earth to sell.

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The MX-1E spacecraft is slated to fly before the end of the year aboard a Rocket Lab Electron booster, which launches from New Zealand and will attempt to win the $20M Google Lunar XPRIZE

THE LUNAR X-PRIZE Google is offering a top prize of $20 million for the first privately funded team to land a spacecraft on the moon; have it fly, drive or hop at least 1,640 feet (500 meters) and relay pictures and video back to Earth. The second prize is $5 million. Contenders have until Dec. 31 to launch their spaceships. Google also is offering bonus money for other milestones, such as traveling 5 km (3.1 miles), touching down near an Apollo landing site or finding evidence of water. Advertisement

The initial spacecraft, known as MX-1E,is a similar size and shape to the R2D2 droid from Star Wars, and is slated to fly before the end of the year aboard a Rocket Lab Electron booster, which launches from New Zealand.

It will hop across the lunar surface on its legs.

Moon Express hopes the endeavour will clinch a $20 million prize from Google, but Richards said the win was not essential.

Moon Express has raised more than $45 million from private investors to build its first spacecraft and buy launch services.

'The Google Lunar X Prize ... is icing on the cake,' Richards said.

Google is offering a top prize of $20 million for the first privately funded team to land a spacecraft on the moon; have it fly, drive or hop at least 1,640 feet (500 meters) and relay pictures and video back to Earth.

The second prize is $5 million.

Contenders have until Dec. 31 to launch their spaceships.

Google also is offering bonus money for other milestones, such as traveling 5 km (3.1 miles), touching down near an Apollo landing site or finding evidence of water.

Richards presented the spacecraft design in Washington on Wednesday, revealing plans for a single, modular spacecraft that can be combined to form successfully larger and more capable vehicles.

Moon Express says it is self-funded to begin bringing kilograms of lunar rocks back to Earth within about three years.

'We absolutely intend to make these samples available globally for scientific research, and make them available to collectors as well,' said Bob Richards, one of the company's founders, in an interview with Ars.

Besides vying for the X Prize, Moon Express will fly science equipment and payloads for at least three paying customers, including Houston-based Celestis, which offers memorial spaceflights for cremated remains.

His parents' ashes will be on the flight.

He said they used to sing the song 'Fly Me to the Moon' to him, 'and I'm going to.'

MX-1E is a similar size and shape to the R2D2 droid from Star Wars (right)

The company uses a Diana Krall recording of the song for its telephone hold music.

Richards said the company would pay for the initial mission, with customers funding subsequent ones.

The company plans to set up a permanent robot-operated base on the moons south pole to prospect for water and other materials.

By 2020, Moon Express expects to return lunar samples to Earth for research and commercial sale.

The MX series of spacecraft also can be scaled up for travel to other destinations, such as the moons of Mars.

The company expects to complete the first spacecraft in September.

The team from the US will be using a hopping lander, and has signed a multi-mission launch contract with Rocket Lab USA for three lunar missions by 2020.
Facebook recently announced that it now has over 2 billion monthly users.

This makes its 'population' larger than that of China, the US, Mexico and Japan combined.

Its popularity, and with it the influence it has in society, is beyond dispute.

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The team found we continue to use the site even though it often annoys or offends us to silently watch friends  and perhaps even take pleasure from judging them

THE JAYDEN PRANK A long-running hoax has resurfaced among Facebook users, urging them not to accept friend requests from an account called Jayden K Smith. The well-meaning message warns friends and family that Jayden K Smith is a hacker who will gain access to your account if you accept their invitation. It says Smith is a hacker who 'has the system connected to your Facebook account'. Although some users of the site do add strangers for nefarious purposes, in this particular case the chain message is a prank. Advertisement

But for many the experience of actually using the site fluctuates somewhere between the addictive and the annoying.

Our new research shows that the reason for this is very simple. It's all to do with other people, and how we feel about them.

For Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg and colleagues, the ethos behind the site is straightforward.

It aims to 'give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together'.

By offering individuals the chance to connect with friends and share meaningful content, it aims to strengthen relationships and community ties.

The fact that this is a rather idealistic picture of society hasn't prevented the site from flourishing.

Yet, examining what people actually do on the site, how they interact with each other, and what they feel about the behaviour of friends and acquaintances, shows that the truth is rather more complex.

We surveyed and selectively interviewed a network of over 100 Facebook users.

Our findings show how we continue to use the site and remain connected to people through it even though they often annoy or offend us.

But instead of challenging them or severing ties, we continue to use Facebook to silently watch them  and perhaps even take pleasure from judging them.

In other words, Facebook reflects the dynamics at the heart of all real human relationships.

Just as in their offline life, people try to open up and bond with each other while simultaneously having to cope with the everyday frictions of friendship.

One of the most notable things we found in our research was the high number of people who said that they were frequently offended by what their friends posted.

The sorts of things that caused offence ran the gamut from extremist or strongly-held political opinions (racism, homophobia, partisan political views) to oversharing of daily routines and acts of inadvertent self-promotion.

Facebook recently announced that it now has over 2 billion monthly users. This makes its 'population' larger than that of China, the US, Mexico and Japan combined.

For example, one interviewee wrote of how she had 'a particularly hard time with pro-gun posts':

'I really, really wish guns were significantly less accessible and less glorified in American culture. Still, I dont think Facebook is really the place that people chose to listen to opposing views, so I usually ignore posts of that nature.'

At the other end of the spectrum was this interviewee:

'I wrote to a friend about how my two-year-old was counting to 40 and was saying the alphabet in three languages. This made a Facebook contact write passive aggressively on her wall about overachieving parents who spend all their time bragging about their children. I felt the need to de-friend her after that incident.'

The reason these reactions happened so often was due to various factors native to the sort of communications technology that Facebook represents.

Facebook forces us to mix with by people from different parts of your life being brought together in one space

First, there's the specific type of diversity that exists among people's online networks.

That is, the diversity created by people from different parts of your life being brought together in one space.

On Facebook, you write your message without knowing who precisely will read it, but in the knowledge that the likely audience will include people from various parts of your life who have a range of different values and beliefs.

In face-to-face conversations you're likely to talk to you father-in-law, work colleagues or friends from primary school in separate contexts, using different styles of communication.

Whereas on Facebook they'll all see the same side of you, as well as getting to see the opinions of those you associate with.

This means that people are engaging in personal conversations in a much more public space than they did before, and that the different value systems these diverse friends have can very easily come into conflict.

But the nature of the ties people have on Facebook means that often they can't just break loose from people they find annoying or offensive in this way.

For example, if a work colleague or relative offends you, there are likely to be reasons of duty or familial responsibility which mean you won't want to de-friend them. Instead, people make discreet changes in their settings on the site to limit the views they find offensive from showing up in their feed, without provoking outward shows of conflict with people.

As one interviewee explained: 'I remember de-friending one person (friend of a friend) as she kept posting her political opinions that were the complete opposite of mine. It frustrated me as I didnt know her well enough to bite and reply to her posts, equally, I didnt want to voice it on a public forum.'

None of the people in the study, however, said that they'd reduced their use of Facebook because of the frequent offence they experienced from using it.

Instead, we can speculate, it's this opportunity to be slightly judgemental about the behaviour of your acquaintances that proves one of the compelling draws of the site.

Similar to the 'hate-watching' experience of viewing television programmes you don't like because you enjoy mocking them, this can be seen as a mild form of 'hate-reading'.

Logging onto Facebook gives you the chance to be indignantly offended (or maybe just mildly piqued) by other people's ill-informed views and idiosyncratic behaviour.

And there's a surprising amount of pleasure in that.
Early Cornish kings feasted on oysters, roast pork and wine out of imported Turkish bowls and Spanish glass goblets, excavations at Tintagel Castle have shown.

The evidence of fine dining and luxury in the late 5th and early 6th century was unearthed as part of the first research excavations to take place in decades at the legendary castle found on England's southwest coast.

While Tintagel is intricately bound up in the legend of King Arthur, who was said to have been conceived there, experts said the finds reveal it was almost certainly a royal site with trading links to the Mediterranean during 'Cornwall's First Golden Age'.

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Fragments of Roman pottery and part of a local stone bowl found at Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, England. Early Cornish kings feasted on oysters, roast pork and wine out of bowls imported from Turkey and glass goblets from Spain, excavations at the site have shown

TINTAGEL CASTLE Tintagel Castle is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island, close to the village of Tintagel in Cornwall, England. The castle has a long association with the Arthurian legends, going back to the 12th century. In the Historia Regum Britanniae, a fictional account of British history written by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Tintagel is described as the place where Arthur was conceived. According to the tale, Arthur's father, King Uther Pendragon, was disguised by Merlin's sorcery to look like Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall and the husband of Ygerna, Arthur's mother. The book was extremely popular and other Arthurian tales were produced in the late medieval period which claimed the king was actually born at Tintagel. Merlin the magician was also said to live below the castle in a cave. Advertisement

Results of the dig, carried out in 2016 by experts at the Cornwall Archaeological Unit (CAU) and English Heritage, show finds including oyster shells and livestock bones with signs of burning and butchering.

A cod cranial bone found at the site provides the first evidence of deep sea fishing at Tintagel.

The dig, which only covered a small area, also turned up a Phocaean red slipped ware bowl from Turkey, amphorae or jars from southern Turkey or Cyprus, and fine glassware from Spain, as well as iron brooches and dress hooks, knives and nails.

The excavations uncovered a selection of stone-walled structures on the southern terrace of Tintagel Castle's island area, with substantial stone walls and slate floors reached by a flight of slate steps.

Following on from the successful dig, the archaeologists have returned to examine a much wider area, with the public able to see them in action.

The evidence of fine dining and luxury in the late 5th and early 6th century was unearthed as part of the first research excavations to take place in decades at the legendary castle (pictured) found on England's southwest coast

While Tintagel is intricately bound up in the legend of King Arthur, who may have been born there, experts said the dig (pictured) reveals the castle was almost certainly a royal site with trading links to the Mediterranean during 'Cornwall's First Golden Age'

English Heritage properties curator Win Scutt, said the finds drew a 'highly evocative picture' of life at the site in the post-Roman period.

'These finds reveal a fascinating insight into the lives of those at Tintagel Castle more than 1,000 years ago.

'It is easy to assume that the fall of the Roman Empire threw Britain into obscurity, but here on this dramatic Cornish cliff top they built substantial stone buildings, used fine table wares from Turkey, drank from decorated Spanish glassware and feasted on pork, fish and oysters.

'They were clearly making use of products like wine and oil contained in amphorae traded from the eastern Mediterranean.'

Evidence so far suggests they were residential buildings which may have housed important members of the community who lived and traded at Tintagel more than 800 years ago, she said

English Heritage properties curator Win Scutt, said the finds drew a 'highly evocative picture' of life at the site in the post-Roman period

Results of the dig (pictured), carried out in 2016 by experts at the Cornwall Archaeological Unit (CAU) and English Heritage, show finds including oyster shells and livestock bones with signs of burning and butchering

The dig, which only covered a small area, also turned up a Phocaean red slipped ware bowl from Turkey, amphorae or jars from southern Turkey or Cyprus, and fine glassware from Spain, as well as iron brooches and dress hooks, knives and nails (stock image)

Jacky Nowakowski, project director at CAU said: 'Our excavations at Tintagel last summer exceeded all expectations by partially revealing amazingly well-preserved stone walls, a slate floor and a flight of steps which belong to a pair of well-built buildings.

'Accompanied by many finds, we have at present, a broad date range which suggests these buildings were part of the major post-Roman settlement at Tintagel.'

She said the plan for excavations this year was to open up a much larger area on the southern terrace to get a look at the scale and size of the buildings they had discovered and find out when they were built and how they were used.

Evidence so far suggests they were residential buildings which may have housed important members of the community who lived and traded at Tintagel more than 800 years ago, she said.

Jacky Nowakowski, project director at CAU said: 'Our excavations at Tintagel last summer exceeded all expectations by partially revealing amazingly well-preserved stone walls, a slate floor and a flight of steps which belong to a pair of well-built buildings'

In the Historia Regum Britanniae, a fictional account of British history written by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Tintagel is described as the place where Arthur was conceived

The excavations uncovered a selection of stone-walled structures on the southern terrace of Tintagel Castle's island area, with substantial stone walls and slate floors reached by a flight of slate steps (stock image)

Tintagel Castle is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island, close to the village of Tintagel in Cornwall, England

Tintagel Castle is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island, close to the village of Tintagel in Cornwall, England.

The castle has a long association with the Arthurian legends, going back to the 12th century.

In the Historia Regum Britanniae, a fictional account of British history written by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Tintagel is described as the place where Arthur was conceived.

According to the tale, Arthur's father, King Uther Pendragon, was disguised by Merlin's sorcery to look like Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall and the husband of Ygerna, Arthur's mother.

The book was extremely popular and other Arthurian tales were produced in the late medieval period which claimed the king was actually born at Tintagel. Merlin the magician was also said to live below the castle in a cave.

According to the tale, Arthur's father, King Uther Pendragon, was disguised by Merlin's sorcery to look like Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall and the husband of Ygerna, Arthur's mother

The book was extremely popular and other Arthurian tales were produced in the late medieval period which claimed the king was actually born at Tintagel. Merlin the magician was also said to live below the castle in a cave
British holiday-makers have long flocked to Croatia for fun in the sun.

But those planning a trip to the party Island of Hvar had better be on their best behaviour this summer - after newly-elected Mayor Rikardo Novak introduced a crackdown on loutish tourists.

Penalties of up to 620 (700) will be issued for 'anti-social' activities including eating and drinking in public, and strolling the streets in swimwear.

How-to guide: These warning signs have already been erected throughout the summer resort

Warning signs have already been erected throughout the summer resort, which read: 'Save Your Money and Enjoy Hvar'.

Located at the entrances to the town's centre, they explicitly detail the offences and the corresponding fines, local media have reported.

The highest fine of 700 is for public drinking, eating or sleeping.

Other unwelcome behaviour includes tourists walking around in swimsuits in Hvar's centre risking a 600 (530) fine, while those not wearing T-shirts will pay 500 (445).

'They are vomiting in town, urinating on every corner, walking without T-shirts [...] crawling around, unconscious,' Novak told local media in June announcing measures to change such habits.

'Young tourists are welcome, but they will have to learn how to behave here.'

Last year Croatia welcomed nearly 16 million visitors to scenic spots such as Hvar (pictured)

His reactions were sparked also by articles in British tabloids which described the Croatian island destination as a 'place of Sodom and Gomorrah.'

Last month the mayor of Novalja, on the northern island of Pag, also complained about young mostly British tourists visiting his town.

Mayor Ante Dabo warned notably against what he called their 'primitivism, nakedness and drunkeness.'

Like Hvar, Novalja in the past several years has become known as a summer party destination for young tourists.

Tourism is a major industry for Croatia with visitors flocking to its stunning Adriatic coast, which boasts more than 1,000 islands and islets.

Last year the Balkan country welcomed nearly 16 million visitors, far outstripping its population of 4.2 million.
Jess Shears was rumoured to have bedded Love Island hunk Mike Thalassitis behind her boyfriend Dom Lever's back after leaving the show.

And now 26-year-old Dom has revealed he had a showdown with the hunk 24, following the supposed indiscretions.

In an interview with OK! Magazine, Dom explained that things were a little awkward as the two alpha males have never been close.

'For once he didn't look smug': Love Island star Dom Lever revealed he had an awkward showdown with love rival Mike Thalassitis following claims he bedded his girlfriend Jess Shears (pictured)

'Dom was keen to quash the rumours, which I respected. For once he didn't look smug, he clearly understood the severity of the situation and wanted to sort it out.'

But Mancunian Dom added: 'Mike will never be my mate but I'm happy for Jess to continue being friends with him.'

Despite the whirling rumours, Dom and Jess both happily proclaimed how easily they had slipped back into their partnership.

Opening up: Love Island's Dom Lever, 26, went shirtless and wore a kilt as he made a frank appearance on This Morning on Monday

'We fell straight back into the way things were before we were separated. Despite the time apart, neither of our feelings had changed,' revealed Jessica.

While Dom added that the two had both dropped the L word to each other already.

'We've both said it since we've been out. I know it seems nuts because we've only been together a few weeks, but we got to know each other inside out in that villa. '

And things have progressed so far they're even welcoming talk of a wedding.

Dom said: 'We'll get married in the Love Island villa! Caroline Flack could get ordained and perform the service!'

Tell all: In an interview with OK! Magazine , Dom explained what it was like meeting with the football hunk for a sit down man to man

While Jess added: 'I'd love to get married somewhere hot because we met in Majorca, so I think it would be romantic. I like the idea of doing it in southern Italy or Greece.

'Liv [Olivia Attwood] would be my maid of honour and I'm sure we'd invite a few of the original gang.'

'Marcel could bring the rest of Blazin' Squad and they could perform!' added Dom jokingly.

Rumours of the tryst with fellow islander Mike Thalassitis had dogged Jess following her departure, however Dom insisted to Phil and Holly on This Morning, on Monday, that he never had doubts about her loyalty.

Though he did admit to briefly feeling frustrated after being shown a clip of Mike and Jess' flirting on their Love Island date.

'It was a flirty date. It kind of brought everything back up. She was trying to reassure me but I was very annoyed,' he admitted.

'For a minuscule amount of time (I was annoyed), I'd never seen the date and never saw what happened on it. She said it's just how it is, you have to have a flirt on the date.

Rumours: Talk of a tryst with fellow islander Mike Thalassitis dogged Dom's girlfriend Jess Shears following her departure from the villa

Falling in love: Dom down for a heart-to-heart with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield about his burgeoning relationship with the Devon-born beauty

And discussing whether their love had flourished or faded since leaving the Island, Dom said: 'Obviously I feel like we're great. Being in the villa there's only so much you can accomplish and I feel like we did it all - other than being official.'

But nodding towards the future, he suggested that marriage was very much on the cards down the road.

'We've not spoken about it now we've come out but that is the natural step - not right now - but in time. She's all ready to go,' the handsome Mancunian star added.

'Jess and I were on a really good run. If it carries on like that outside the villa then I do see myself proposing. I fell in love with her.

Happy couple: Jess and Dom's relationship is now going from strength to strength (pictured together in Manchester on Friday)

'It was so difficult for me to admit that to Jess. I cried when she left the villa. I've cried more in the last four weeks than I have in the last ten years of my life.'

Seperately, Jess has also been speaking about the pair's sex life, now that they are away from prying eyes and can enjoy their privacy.

They had been the first couple to sleep together on Love Island's current series and claiming the pair have been more 'experimental' now they are not in view of cameras, Jess told Daily Star: 'It's very grabby and rough, we're both up for experimenting.

Wedding bells: Nodding towards the future, he suggested that marriage was very much on the cards down the road

'We're definitely not shy and being away from the cameras has meant we can do anything and everything we want without hiding under the covers.'

Whilst they may only have only known each other five weeks - and spent one of those apart when Jess was dumped first from the island - the pair confirmed that they have already been planning marriage and babies.

Dom explained: 'When you know you know. I trust her 100 percent and want this long term.'

Steamy: Jess has also been speaking about the pair's sex life, now that they are away from prying eyes and can enjoy their privacy

Meanwhile Tyne-Lexy has been spotted enjoying a spot of shopping following her Love Island experience.

Tyne-Lexy was ditched from the Love Island villa after she was left with no hunk to partner up with when Jonny chose Camilla over her.

The blonde beauty, who had entered the villa alongside Liverpudlian Gabby, admitted to fancying Chris Hughes - but had no luck in the love department.

Meanwhile she has been spotted dating other Love Islander Harley - who was the first person to be voted from the Love Island villa after finding himself in the bottom two.

Harley was voted off by Prince Harry's rumoured former flame Camilla, who chose 26-year-old Jonny over him.

Retail therapy: Meanwhile Tyne-Lexy has been spotted enjoying a spot of shopping following her Love Island experience
New Evidence Supporting Charlie Gard Treatment to be Presented; Terri Schiavo's Brother Visited Charlie and is Available for Comment Contact: Tom Shakely, Executive Director, Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network, 855-300-4673 ext 1, tshakely@lifeandhope.com



CINCINNATI, July 12, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- At 10:30a.m. Thursday in London(5:30a.m. in New York) the Royal Court of Justice will consider new evidence in the Charlie Gard case determining whether he will be permitted to receive an experimental treatment being offered by U.S. physicians. If he is denied access to this treatment, the hospital where he is staying would initiate proceedings to remove him from life support resulting in his death.



Bobby Schindler, brother of Terri Schiavo, visited Charlie in Great Ormond Street Hospital, London on Saturday at the invitation of Charlie's parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates. Bobby Schindler will be available following the London hearing for interview and comment.



"Chris and Connie are regular parents who want to offer their son what would be normal treatment in the United States," said Bobby Schindler, President of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network. "They are heroic advocates for their son, but face impossible odds due to the nature of the British healthcare and legal systems. After having met with them, and having visited little Charlie, I can speak to how remarkable their fight is and how important it is for everyone who cares about the sort of healthcare that's considered basic and ordinary in our changing medical landscape."



The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network has advocated for more than 2,500 medically vulnerable patients and families.

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The bitter feud between former professional swimmer Michael Klim and his ex-wife Lindy has gotten worse in recent weeks.

Just days after Michael accused Lindy of creating a fake Instagram account to 'troll' his girlfriend Desiree Deravi, a source told Daily Mail Australia the retired athlete is furious his former relationship is making headlines.

A friend close to Michael and Desiree revealed the Olympian doesn't understand why his former partner keeps bringing up their failed marriage in interviews.

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'She should focus on what is going on in her current relationship': Michael Klim is 'tired of pregnant ex-wife Lindy talking about their failed marriage in interviews', claims a source

'I'm sure that Michael would be tired of her bringing up their broken marriage,' said the source.

Lindy, who was married to Michael for almost a decade until last year, announced her pregnancy with new fiance Adam Ellis on Sunday.

The insider claimed the gold medal-winner wished Lindy would concentrate on these new life developments instead of constantly dragging up their past.

'She should focus on what is going on in her current relationship. She is pregnant now and engaged. It is time to move on,' they said.

'It is time to move on': Michael wishes Lindy would focus on her own personal life, including her pregnancy and relationship with new partner Adam Ellis, says an insider

'I know that Michael is a bit over the fact there has been media attention on his past relationship with Lindy,' the friend explained.

'It has been very much the focus of different articles she gets interviewed for.'

Indeed, Lindy's recent interview with Harper's BAZAAR magazine touched upon her divorce, which she described as 'really stressful and overwhelming'.

Speaking of her life post-marriage, the Balinese princess also told the publication: 'I've learnt to be a much stronger person. I'm not a pushover anymore.'

Meanwhile, it appears Lindy is continuing to use her married surname 'Klim' during media appearances, despite previously saying she was planning to change it.

Bitter split: It comes after Michael and new girlfriend Desiree Deravi (left) publicly accused Lindy of creating an Instagram account to anonymously 'troll' the couple

It comes after Michael and new girlfriend Desiree publicly accused Lindy of creating an Instagram account to anonymously 'troll' the couple.

Lindy and Michael share three children together - 11-year-old Stella, Rocco, nine, and Frankie, six.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Lindy's representatives for comment.
He has never placed in the top three on MasterChef Australia before.

And Arum Nixon was under pressure when faced with a challenging souffle task on Tuesday night with fellow top performers Tamara and Eliza.

With a fast-track ticket to finals week up for grabs, the contestants were told to 'rise to the occasion' in the allocated 40 minutes.

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'It's the most mind-blowingly stupid thing to do!' A silly mistake almost cost MasterChef's Arum Nixon his fast-track reward to finals week on Tuesday night's episode

Arum excited judge Gary Mehigan by choosing to create a prune and Armagnac souffle.

Eliza appeared to have the most experience with souffles, having auditioned with a twice-baked souffle.

Judges Matt Preston and George Calombaris were also pleased by her decision to make their favourite passionfruit souffle.

Difficult: Arum was under pressure when faced with the challenging souffle task on Tuesday with Tamara and Eliza. The prize on the line was a fast-track ticket to finals week

Oops! Arum appeared confident as he placed his souffles in the oven, but immediately realised he had made a fatal error

Meanwhile, the judges were concerned by Tamara's decision to create a bechamel-based souffle.

Arum appeared confident as he placed his souffles in the oven, but immediately realised he had made a fatal error.

'Oh, s**t! I've just remembered that I didn't put the prune puree into the souffles,' he said. 'So they're just vanilla souffles with a syrup. It's the most mind-blowingly stupid thing to do!'

'What I've worked so hard to make is just sat in a bowl on my bench. I can't add it in. I can't take the souffles out,' he continued.

'I've got no time to make another batch. The only ray of hope I've got is that there was vanilla in the batter already... it's got to be a bloody good vanilla souffle!'

'Oh, s**t!': Arum excited judge Gary Mehigan by choosing to create a prune and Armagnac souffle, but forgot to put the prune puree into the dessert

'It's got to be a bloody good vanilla souffle!': With no time to fix his error, Arum hoped that his plain vanilla souffle would still impress the MasterChef judges

Eliza and Tamara plated their souffles for the four judges to taste, before they rushed over to Arum's bench to taste his before it deflated.

They judges praised the dish's appearance, saying, 'Oh, Arum, that's a good rise!', but quickly noticed the prune and Armagnac was missing.

However, Arum was given the top spot despite his filling being absent.

'It didn't quite have the filling it wanted... but even by itself, as a vanilla souffle, which is how we judged it, Arum, that souffle was amazing!' Matt said.

He continued: 'Now, beat the ridiculously successful, powerful and knowledgeable chef in the next round, and go straight through to finals week. Easy?'

'Arum, that souffle was amazing!' They judges praised the dish, and even though they quickly noticed the absence the prune and Armagnac they couldn't fault it

Tough task! Arum was then asked to beat Good Food Guide's New South Wales' Chef of the Year Federico Zanellato in an invention test in order to claim his fast-track ticket to finals week

Going head-to-head with Good Food Guide's New South Wales' Chef of the Year Federico Zanellato for the fast-track ticket to finals, Arum was asked to choose 10 ingredients from an available 20, leaving the remainder for Federico to work with.

Arum played it strategically and didn't leave the professional chef with many good ingredient combinations, while he planned to cook a seared beef with celeriac, apple, black pudding and pernod.

Federico, a chef at from LuMi Bar & Dining in Sydney, said: 'You took all the best! I was crying when I saw the ingredients in the pantry. I said, "What am I going to do?"'

He chose to compete with Arum by creating filled pasta with mussels, Jerusalem artichoke and chilli.

'You took all the best! I was crying': His contender, Federico Zanellato, was worried about the 10 ingredients Arum had strategically left him to work with in the challenge

'It's a crowd-pleaser. I love it': The judges only had positive things to say about Arum's seared beef with celeriac, apple, black pudding and pernod

'This is... lacking those ingredients': Matt Preston wasn't impressed by Federico's creation, as the chef himself admitted he ran out of time to properly garnish his 'naked' pasta dish

Arum plated up a beautiful dish, which promoted his opponent to say: 'It looks like a professional chef would make. Yeah, I'm a bit worried now.'

Federico struggled with the kitchen layout and its equipment and explained he ran out of time to properly garnish his 'naked' pasta dish.

Tasting Arum's dish, Gary said: 'It's a crowd-pleaser. I love it'. George remarked: 'I think this is a really sophisticated dish'.

Matt also agreed, commenting: 'Its earthiness is truly special.'

When critiquing Federico's dish, Gary said: 'I think it's a dish that's comfortable in its own simplicity'. George added: 'The pasta is wonderfully al dente.'

However, Matt was not entirely impressed, saying: 'I think it's a really good dish, but for me, it's a very simple dish.

'This is the sort of dish lacking those ingredients to make a simple dish a spectacular dish.'

'That's frickin' ridiculous!': Arum was overjoyed when the judges (pictured) revealed he had won the competition by one point

Federico was scored 24 out of 30 by the judges, with Gary, George and Matt each giving the chef eight out of 10.

However, Arum was given the winning score of 25 out of 30.

'That's frickin' ridiculous! I'm the first person in finals week. How? It's crazy. This is my best moment in the competition by a mile,' Arum said, delighted.

MasterChef's Finals Week starts 7.30pm on Sunday on Network Ten
Lisa Wilkinson counted herself lucky for arriving in Italy in one piece on Wednesday.

The Today co-host, 57, shared a picture of one of the stunning traditional shopfronts she passed between Naples and Amalfi.

It was a rare bright spot in what she described as the 'hairiest' trip she's ever taken, denouncing dangerous drivers for providing a travel scare.

'Lordy! Road rules? Schmoad rules!!': Lisa Wilkinson counted herself lucky to arrive in Italy in one piece on Wednesday, after experiencing dangerous drivers between Naples and Amalfi

'Lordy! Road rules? Schmoad rules!!' the journalist continued in the caption, adding the hashtag 'who dares wins.'

The image Lisa snapped showed a boutique bed and breakfast in between Positano and Sorrento.

It featured stunning red concrete walls and striped shopfront awnings synonymous with the idyllic, if scary stretch of road known for daring bus drivers and scared tourists.

'Just a random wall I spied (and loved) on possibly the hairiest trip we've ever taken - on the scenic route between #Naples and #Amalfi,' she wrote in the caption.

'Possibly the hairiest trip we've ever taken': The image Lisa snapped showed a boutique bed and breakfast in between Positano and Sorrento, a stop on her journey from Paris

Joyful: Earlier, Lisa was having a much more relaxed stay at the Bristol Paris, a luxury five star hotel in Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore

In the comments, fans adding their own frightening stories of the popular road trip.

One wrote: 'Very dangerous small roads leading to Amalfi, hold on for dear life!'

'I found the trick was don't make eye contact with the oncoming driver and just push on. It's part of the extravagance of Italia,' another advised.

Earlier, Lisa was having a much more relaxed stay at the Bristol Paris, a luxury five star hotel in Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore.

Nice digs: The Bristol is a luxury five star hotel in Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, a street near to the famous Champs Elysees

Pictures from the balcony showed the news reader, who is currently on a break from the Today show, smiling as the streets of Paris are seen in the background.

Rooms at the hotel run from $1394 a night for the Superior Room, all the way to $7,280 a night for a prestige suite at current prices.

In a 2014 interview, the TV journalist told Traveler magazine it was, 'the best hotel she's stayed in'.

Pricey: Rooms at the hotel run from $1394 a night for the Superior Room all the way to $7,280 a night for a prestige suite at current prices

The TV host has said: In a 2014 interview, the TV journalist told Traveler magazine it was, 'the best hotel she's stayed in'.

Known for it's authentic 18th century decor, the hotel has been open since 1925 and has official "Palace" status, which is a rating even higher than five star.

The lush interiors of the 188 rooms include elaborate, period-appropriate wall paper and high end vintage furniture.

Views from the balconies and rooftops over look out over the exquisite Montmartre district and some overlook the Eiffel Tower.

The hotel includes the Michelin star awarded restaurants Epicure and luxury brasserie, 114 Faubourg.

Fancy: Known for it's authentic 18th century decor, the hotel has been open since 1925 and has official "Palace" status, which is a rating even higher than five star

Beautiful grounds:Views from the balconies and rooftops over look out over the exquisite Montmartre district and some overlook the Eiffel Tower

Out to eat: The Today show host also shared a snap of her choice of eatery for dinner, Chez Julian on the Right Bank of the River Seine
Theyre settling into parenthood following the birth of twins Ella and Alexander in June.

And after a month long period of adjustment, George and Amal Clooney have swapped their sprawling 25 million home in rural Berkshire for the picturesque surrounds of Lake Como in northern Italy, where the Hollywood couple own a sizeable waterfront estate.

Stepping out as they enjoy what amounts to their first break since welcoming twins, George, 56, and human rights lawyer Amal, 39, appeared to be in high spirits ahead of a dinner date with friends.

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Night out: Stepping out as they enjoy what amounts to their first break since welcoming twins, George Clooney and human rights lawyer wife Amal appeared to be in high spirits ahead of a dinner date with friends in Lake Como, northern Italy

Looking tanned and healthy, the happy couple were warmly greeted as they made their way inside Cernobbio restaurant Il Gatto Nero  understood to be one of Georges favourite Italian eateries.

Opting to dress down in a casual short-sleeved shirt and jeans, the popular actor was all the more noticeable by virtue of his graying goatee beard.

Standing alongside her husband, the always elegant Amal looked on as he accepted a kiss on the cheek from a female friend while preparing for the journey home later that night.

Here he comes: Opting to dress down in a casual short-sleeved shirt and jeans, the popular actor was all the more noticeable by virtue of his graying goatee beard

Graceful: Standing alongside her husband, the always elegant Amal looked on as he accepted a kiss on the cheek from a female friend

The outing comes following claims that George is increasingly worried about the level of security in their homes.

A source told Life & Style that the star has received threats in the past, while he is also concerned that his wife's work as an international human rights lawyer could make her a target.

'He doesnt feel like Amal and the twins are safe living in the English countryside,' the insider explained. 'As soon as Amal found out she was pregnant, he hired former Secret Service agents to assess all his properties and make recommendations for improvement.'

Glowing: Looking tanned and healthy, the happy couple were warmly greeted outside Cernobbio restaurant Il Gatto Nero  understood to be one of Georges favourite Italian eateries

Upbeat: George and Amal appeared to be in high spirits during their latest public appearance

The couple are settling into parenthood following the birth of Ella and Alexander in the exclusive Kensington Wing of London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

Amal's mother Baria Alamuddin recently reflected on the couple's new arrivals, insisting they are 'stunningly beautiful babies'.

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'.
It's the TV breakfast show that promises to keep viewers informed.

And Sunrise got very revealing on Wednesday morning when one of their crew stripped naked in the name of art.

The impromptu live art drawing session left Samantha Armytage blushing, causing her to cheekily joke: 'That is a massive boom pole!'

'That is a massive boom pole!' A blushing Samantha Armytage makes VERY cheeky joke after Sunrise audio man strips NAKED for live drawing session on TV

Sunrise weatherman Sam Mac was delivering the day's forecast at a Sydney live art drawing class when he revealed Channel Seven would be helping the club out.

'They've let us into their world its only fair if we give something back,' he explained.

'Unfortunately I have reached my nude quota for the year, so we need a representative for Sunrise - so please welcome our audio guy Wayne.'

The Sunrise crew member emerged on camera, naked except for a boom mike in one hand and an audio box covering his private parts.

Leaving little to the imagination: The Sunrise crew member emerged on camera, naked except for his boom mike and an audio box covering his private parts

Back in the studio, Wayne's unexpected appearance caused David 'Kochie' Koch and Samantha to dissolve in laughter.

'That is a massive boom pole!' A red-faced Samantha cheekily remarked.

'It is a massive boom pole,' Sam Mac agreed, before asking Wayne: 'My audio is a little bit low can you just adjust that knob?'

Members of the live drawing class then had one minute to draw their best impressions of Wayne, with Sam Mac assessing each drawing afterwards.

'We can confirm that Wayne is currently single and this drawing will be his new Tinder profile': Sam Mac assessed each drawing afterwards

'We can confirm that Wayne is currently single and this drawing will be his new Tinder profile,' he said after looking at one sketch.

'And we will be showing this video at his 50th birthday this weekend.'

Back in the studio, Samantha heaped compliments on her brave colleague.

'He looks like a Roman god standing there - he should be a statue,' the Channel Seven personality remarked.
Over two decades after his Logie winning original series, Richard Roxburgh is back as Roger Rogerson.

The 55-year-old cuts a frightening figure in the first sneak peak footage released from Channel Seven's Blue Murder: Killer Cop.

Starring alongside Toni Collette, the sequel to 1996's Blue Murder biopic documents how the former NSW detective-sergeant turned convicted murderer was caught.

'How they caught him': Over two decades after his Logie winning original series, Richard Roxburgh is back as Roger Rogerson

The footage opens on chilling close-ups of Richard, who was aged throughout the series with makeup and prosthetics.

The bespectacled Logie winner croaks: 'They convicted me of murder and commercial drug supply, not complaining - just telling ya.'

What ensue is a fast-paced, action heavy look into the hotly awaited series, that will follow-on from the 1995 original, covering the life of Roger from 1990 to today.

Toni Collette is introduced as Anne Melocco, Roger's wife, sharing an intimate moment with the disgraced policeman in the clip.

Convicted: Starring alongside Toni Collette, the sequel to 1996's Blue Murder biopic documents how the former NSW detective-sergeant turned convicted murderer was caught

Aged: The footage opens on chilling close-ups of Richard, 55, who was aged throughout the series thanks to makeup and prosthetics

Action packed! What ensues is a fast-paced, action heavy look into the hotly awaited series, that will follow-on from the 1995 original, covering the life of Roger from 1990 to today

'I don't even know what you do,' she says in the clip, leaning in close to Richard.

As scenes show Rogerson smashing a man in the face with a bucket and tossing another in the river, his reply is heard: 'Ah well, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve.'

Later, the law enforcement working on bringing Roger down for the murder of Sydney student Jamie Gao promise that he's going to 'die in jail.'

The clip concludes with raucous scenes that appears to depict Roger's eventual arrest at his Padstow Heights home in May 2014.

Dressed to impress! Richard (R), looks set to stun critics as Roger (R) again in the hotly awaited sequel, after winning the Best Actor Logie for his portrayal in the 1995 original series

Loving wife! Toni Collette (L) is introduced as Anne Melocco (R) Roger's wife, sharing an intimate moment with the disgraced policeman in the clip

'I know more about criminals and how to catch them than any 10 other blokes in the country,' Richard says as Roger Rogerson in the voice-over.

'Makes you wonder how I got here.'

Richard won the Logie for best actor in 1996 for his original portrayal of Roger in 1995's Blue Murder.

Accurate! Blue Murder: Killer Cop (L) will document the stunning twist in the 76-year-old's tale that saw him sentenced to life in prison in 2016 (R shows Roger's arrest in Padstow in 2014)

He looks set to stun critics again in the sequel, which will document the stunning twist in the 76-year-old's tale that saw him sentenced to life in prison in 2016.

Roger Rogerson was once the decorated detective-sergeant of the NSW Police, but later faced allegations that he and other detectives were corrupt.

In 2005, Roger and his wife Anne were convicted of lying to the Police Integrity commision in 1999, and he served twelve months of a maximum two-and-a-half year conviction.

Charged: On 20 May 2014, Roger and co-accused Glen McNamara (not pictured) both former policeman, were said to have murdered 20-year-old drug dealer Jamie Gao

Guilty: They were eventually found guilty of the Sydney student's shooting murder, allegedly after a drug deal went wrong

On 20 May 2014, Roger and co-accused Glen McNamara, both former policeman, were said to have murdered 20-year-old drug dealer Jamie Gao.

They were eventually found guilty of the Sydney student's shooting murder, allegedly after a drug deal went wrong.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Channel Seven is expected to 'rush' the two-part series to air as early as August.
He and his new girlfriend paraded a pair of near-matching hats as they touched down on the Gold Coast last Friday.

And earlier this month, Karl Stefanovic donned a pair of fluffy sandals designed by the brand owned by his ladylove Jasmine Yarbrough, Mara And Mine.

The 42-year-old was spotted wearing the fuzzy slides as he and Jasmine's younger sister Jade sauntered through Queensland's Maroochydore Airport en route to Sydney.

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The things you do for love! Now Karl Stefanovic wears FLUFFY sandals and carries a clutch by girlfriend Jasmine Yarbrough's fashion label

The father-of-three also carried a leather clutch, also designed by Jasmine's brand, and a brown chimney-sweep cap.

It looked like Karl was just having a bit of fun with photographers by wearing the eye-catching accessories - as the Today host was seen giggling and glancing toward his fancy footwear.

According to the brand's website, Mara And Mine offers customers: 'Shoes combines the perfect blend of modern and distinctive design, while remaining functional, feminine and above all, flat.'

High-flyers: The 42-year-old was spotted wearing the fuzzy slides as he and Jasmine's younger sister Jade sauntered through Queensland's Maroochydore Airport en route to Sydney

Fancy: Karl's snazzy footwear featured a layer of shearling wool that is embellished with a glamorous metal chain that extends across the sides

Decked out! The father-of-three also a carried a leather clutch, designed by Jasmine's brand

Indeed, Karl's shoes featured a layer of shearling wool that is embellished with a glamorous metal chain that extends across the sides.

Staying true to brand, Jasmine's sister Jade also sported a black pair of the same furry footwear.

Karl completed his look with a pair of straight-cut grey jeans, a matching hoodie and a pair of aviator sunglasses that hung from his collar.

Fun: It looked like Karl was just having a bit of fun by wearing the eye-catching accessories

It's all about the accessories! The trendsetter also slung a pair of designer sunglasses from his collar

What else? Staying true to brand, Jade also sported a black pair of the same furry footwear

Bon voyage! Karl and Jade were seen strolling through the terminal with flight tickets in hand

Jasmine's sister wore an all-black ensemble for the trip, donning a pair of ripped jeans, a T-shirt and a leather jacket.

She slung a black leather bag over one arm, while accessorising her look with a simple gold necklace.

After Karl and Jade had checked in their luggage, they were seen chatting over a glass of wine as they waited for a flight.

Catching up: The pair chatted as they checked in their hard-shell suitcases

Taking a load off: After Karl and Jade had checked in their luggage, they were seen chatting over a glass of wine as they waited for their flight

Kicking back: The duo were seen chatting as they waited for their flight

Working hard? At one stage Karl pulled out his mobile phone, while Jade flipped open her laptop

At one stage Karl pulled out his mobile phone, while Jade flipped open her laptop.

Karl had travelled to Queensland to visit Jasmine's father Bob on the occasion of his birthday, with Jasmine no doubt attending the festivities.

Jasmine was spotted touching down in Queensland ahead of the event days before Karl and her sister's arrival.

Family man! Karl appears to have bonded with Jasmine's family over the past few months, having sat front row with Jasmine's family at Fashion Week

Anything to declare? They were seen placing their items on a bagging scanner conveyor-belt ahead of take-off

Karl's relationship with Jasmine has made headlines since the couple were spotted canoodling on a boat in Sydney Harbour back in February.

The Channel Nine star had separated from his wife, former ABC journalist, Cassandra Thorburn the previous year.

The couple - who share three children, Jackson, River, and Ava - had been married for 21 years before their split.

Celebrations: Karl had travelled to Queensland to visit Jasmine's father Bob on the occasion of his birthday

New flame: Karl's relationship with Jasmine has made headlines since the couple were spotted canoodling on a boat in Sydney Harbour back in February
She is an Italian actress, who was propelled into the spotlight when she dated George Clooney for two years before they split in 2011.

And Elisabetta Canalis proved just what turned his head as she attended the launch of Magnum x Moschino's new ice cream new flavour in Rome, Italy.

The Virgin Territory actress, 38, turned heads in a plunging black dress as she tasted the delicious new recipe.

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Sizzling! Elisabetta Canalis proved just what turned ex George Clooney's head as she attended the launch of Magnum x Moschino's new ice cream new flavour in Rome, Italy

Making the most of her statuesque physique, Elisabetta slipped into a slinky corset-style black dress with lace-up detail.

The piece skimmed her slender midriff, the plunging neckline offering a glimpse of her enviable curves.

Accentuating her tanned and toned limbs, she added a pair of patent strappy stilettos.

Wearing her golden hair in loose waves over her shoulders, she enjoyed making her own ice cream as she sampled the new flavour.

Sampling the goods: The Virgin Territory actress, 38, turned heads in a plunging black dress as she tasted the delicious new recipe

It's been a busy time for Elisabetta after becoming a first time mum to baby Skyler.

The mother-of-one, who famously dated George Clooney five years ago, welcomed the little girl at the end of 2015 with her orthopaedic surgeon husband Brian, 49.

The pair wed in September 2014 after a whirlwind romance after they started dating in late 2013.

Dig in! Making the most of her statuesque physique, Elisabetta slipped into a slinky corset-style black dress with lace-up detail

Statuesque: Accentuating her tanned and toned limbs, she added a pair of patent strappy stilettos

Prior to Brian, Elisabetta famously had a two year romance with Hollywood A-lister George, before splitting in June 2011.

The Italian TV presenter recently spoke of her joy in hearing her ex was set to be a dad with wife Amal.

Speaking to Italian magazine Chi, she said: 'I'm happy [for him], really happy. This news brought me joy.

'When someone wants to have a baby and that actually happens, it's a gift. I wish him the best.'

Turning heads: The piece skimmed her slender midriff, the plunging neckline offering a glimpse of her enviable curves

Having a go: Wearing her golden hair in loose waves over her shoulders, she enjoyed making her own ice cream as she sampled the new flavour

Elisabetta attended the event to celebrate the collaboration between Moschino and Magnum, with creative Director Jeremy Scott the brains behind the 'Unleash Your Wild Side' campaign.

Scott also directed a short campaign film starring supermodel Cara Delevingne for the line.

'[The campaign] is at the root essence of what Magnum is, and at the center of Magnum -- we believe that a day without pleasure is a day lost,' Jon Jones, Senior Brand Manager for Magnum, told Forbes.

The brands have united to create a special line of Magnum and Moschino branded totes.
He may formerly be known for his vocal talents, but it seems Harry Styles has made his mark on the film industry in new movie Dunkirk.

The former One Direction star, 23, is among the cast on Christopher Nolan's big screen release and early reviews have seen him praised for his acting prowess.

While the popstar attended a press conference for the film in Santa Monica, Twitter was awash with praise for Harry's appearance as a soldier in the war drama, with many claiming they were 'pleasantly surprised' by his onscreen efforts.

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'Points for Styles': Harry, 23, has found himself praised for his acting prowess in early reviews of his first role in new movie Dunkirk

Their reviews came in following a press conference that had been held on behalf of Dunkirk, where Harry had been among those present.

He was on hand to answer questions about the release at the event held in Santa Monica, California on Tuesday, and cut a quirky figure up on stage.

Harry channeled his usual quirky sense of style and sported a dark shirt that had been unbuttoned a fair way down to reveal his chest underneath and featured turned-up sleeves that revealed the tattoos on his lower arm.

Sporting slightly longer locks, with his mane no doubt starting to grow back after he initially cut his trademark curls to star in Dunkirk, the former X Factor star appeared at ease as he took to the mic.

Big break? The former One Direction star features in the Christopher Nolan war-inspired movie alongside Tom Hardy, as a soldier named Alex

Pleased with his efforts? Harry was in high spirits as he attended a press conference for Dunkirk in Santa Monica, California on Tuesday

Stylish: Harry channeled his usual quirky sense of style for the event and sported a dark shirt that had been unbuttoned a fair way down to reveal his chest underneath

He accessorised his getup with a gold cross necklace and adorned his fingers with a plethora of rings.

Harry had watched back his first acting role with his critics who had voiced their opinions of his involvement in the film on social media.

Official reviews are strictly under embargo until a later date, but audience-goers had penned their reactions to Dunkirk via Twitter and credited Harry for his acting skills.

They penned: '#Dunkirk packs a wallop but a VERY different Nolan movie. Def see on IMAX. Tom Hardy has 10 lines and is amazing. Harry Styles can act people!!!

'I'm not watching Dunkirk for Harry Styles but the boi might just be the surprise of the century, phew (sic).

'Harry Styles can act, people!': The boyband star found himself praised by audience-goers who gave their reviews of Dunkirk on Twitter

'#Dunkirk is an astonishing piece of work. Bold. Breathtaking. Intense. A phenomenal war film. And yes, Harry Styles can act. A triumph.

'I have seen #Dunkirk and it is a triumph: beautifully filmed, deeply moving. strong turns all round (and yes, that includes Harry Styles).'

Another reviewer added: 'And for those asking: Harry Styles does well in DUNKIRK, was pleasantly surprised,' while one more penned: 'If your big #Dunkirk question is, "So is Harry Styles any good?" I have the answer.

'He's good. Acquits himself admirably. Points for Styles.'

One person that had never doubted Harry's talent had been Dunkirk director Nolan.

One critic penned: 'I'm not watching Dunkirk for Harry Styles but the boi might just be the surprise of the century, phew'

Speaking about Harry previously, the movie talent insisted that the boyband star had 'earned' his place in the film.

Nolan said: 'I don't think I was that aware of how famous Harry was. I mean my daughter had talked about him, my kids talked about him but I wasn't really aware of it.

'The truth is I cast Harry because he fit the part wonderfully and truly earned his seat at the table.'

The director added: 'What he does in the film is really remarkable in its subtleness and truthfulness and I hope people will comes to his performance with an open mind because I think he's an extraordinarily talented actor.'

Commended: One person that had never doubted Harry's talent had been Dunkirk director Nolan, as he had previously referred to the singer as an 'extraordinarily talented actor'

Harry will play the role of Alex, a British soldier, in the historical drama alongside newcomer Fionn Whitehead and Tom Hardy and has claimed he was in 'awe' of Noaln when he initially walked out on set during Dunkirk's production.

Harry said: 'Being a fan of Chris and being on set with him, it's hard not to be in awe of him just in the way that he works.

'You feel lucky that you get to watch someone like that work and someone so passionate of what they're doing I feel is always a privilege to be around people like that.'

While Dunkirk could be seen as Harry's big break into the film industry, he admits he 'hasn't thought too much' about crossing over and pursuing a career in acting.

Over the last few months, Harry has been pursuing his own solo career when it comes to music and enjoyed chart success with his debut single Sign Of The Times.

He followed up his track with the release of his self-titled album - his first solo offering since One Direction headed on a hiatus - and is set to embark on his sell-out world tour over in the US in September.
Planned Parenthood Targets Daleiden Defenders

202-717-7371 Contact: Alexandra Snyder, Life Legal Defense Foundation 202-717-7371



While the hearing ultimately concerned David, Judge William Orrick questioned David's entire legal defense team, including Life Legal's Katie Short, about the posting of the May videos. The attorneys invoked the attorney-client privilege, which prohibits attorneys from divulging confidential communications with their clients. California law requires an attorney to maintain client confidentiality "at every peril to himself or herself." (BPC  6068(e)(1))



David's criminal defense attorneys argued that David has the right to a vigorous defense against the felony charges he is currently facing. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a 15-count complaint, alleging that David illegally recorded conversations during which Planned Parenthood directors discussed the sale of baby body parts for profit. However, the conversations took place in public spaces where there would be no reasonable expectation of confidentiality.



At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Orrick found David's criminal defense attorneys in contempt of his 2016 order prohibiting the release of videos related to National Abortion Federation conferences. He took under submission the question of whether David and the Center for Medical Progress will also be held in contempt. Judge Orrick will issue an order shortly awarding money damages to NAF, but he denied many of NAF's other punitive requests, including disgorgement of Life Legal donations.



"The National Abortion Federation did not present sufficient evidence that David was involved in the release of the enjoined videos," said Alexandra Snyder, Life Legal Defense Foundation Executive Director. "Derek Foran, lead attorney for NAF, said that the videos were released with the hashtag #PlannedParenthoodSellsBabyBodyParts. He called this a 'horrendous term.' I agree. The business of tearing babies apart and profiting from the sale of their parts is horrendous." NAPA, Calif., July 12, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- The National Abortion Federation (NAF), the industry trade group for abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood, dragged David Daleiden and his entire legal team into court yesterday, insisting that David and his criminal defense attorneys be held in contempt of court for the release of videos that were uploaded to a private website in May. NAF is seeking monetary damages, including reimbursement for time spent by NAF employees scouring the internet for "hostile" and "negative" comments directed at abortion providers. NAF also asked the court to take a number of other punitive steps, including forcing Life Legal to "disgorge" funds related to our efforts to raise money for David's legal defensemeaning NAF wants to put donor money in their bloodied pockets.While the hearing ultimately concerned David, Judge William Orrick questioned David's entire legal defense team, including Life Legal's Katie Short, about the posting of the May videos. The attorneys invoked the attorney-client privilege, which prohibits attorneys from divulging confidential communications with their clients. California law requires an attorney to maintain client confidentiality "at every peril to himself or herself." (BPC  6068(e)(1))David's criminal defense attorneys argued that David has the right to a vigorous defense against the felony charges he is currently facing. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a 15-count complaint, alleging that David illegally recorded conversations during which Planned Parenthood directors discussed the sale of baby body parts for profit. However, the conversations took place in public spaces where there would be no reasonable expectation of confidentiality.At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Orrick found David's criminal defense attorneys in contempt of his 2016 order prohibiting the release of videos related to National Abortion Federation conferences. He took under submission the question of whether David and the Center for Medical Progress will also be held in contempt. Judge Orrick will issue an order shortly awarding money damages to NAF, but he denied many of NAF's other punitive requests, including disgorgement of Life Legal donations."The National Abortion Federation did not present sufficient evidence that David was involved in the release of the enjoined videos," said Alexandra Snyder, Life Legal Defense Foundation Executive Director. "Derek Foran, lead attorney for NAF, said that the videos were released with the hashtag #PlannedParenthoodSellsBabyBodyParts. He called this a 'horrendous term.' I agree. The business of tearing babies apart and profiting from the sale of their parts is horrendous."

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Nearly 50 years have passed since it was released  but The Italian Jobs car chases, one-liners and its cliffhanger ending are still proving a hit.

For the 1969 crime caper has been named the greatest British film ever made.

The movie  which stars Michael Caine as criminal Charlie Croker  won the top accolade after a survey of 2,000 UK movie-goers, with The Full Monty coming second and another Michael Caine classic, Zulu, in third.

Movie magic: In this scene from the film, Croker and his gang load up the stolen gold into the Minis - then the chase is on

Croker and his gang speed away from the police in the film as they speed across a river

Also in the top ten were Love Actually in fourth, followed by Trainspotting, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Monty Pythons Life of Brian, and Billy Elliot.

The Italian Job also won the award for Most Iconic Scene in a British film, for Sir Michaels line: Youre only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!

The 84-year-old star himself was named best British actor in the poll, with Anthony Hopkins in second followed by Sean Connery, the late Alan Rickman and Ian McKellen.

The top actresses were Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, who came sixth and seventh. Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness and Helen Mirren completed the top ten film stars.

Michael Caine, playing Charlie Croker, leads his Mini-driving gang into action

Michael Caine, 84, was also named best actor

Anna Smith, chairman of the Critics Circle, said: These results are a fascinating reflection of British culture over the decades, beginning with epic war film Zulu in 1964, when real-life battles were still fresh in many audience members minds.

Popular 70s and 80s cinema was arguably dominated by Hollywood, but British film is back with a bang in the 90s, with The Full Monty and Trainspotting. Both films helped define an exciting era in British culture.

The survey was commissioned by Vue cinemas to celebrate the re-launch of the Leicester Square branch, first opened in 1938. Dean Cross, of Vue, said: The Italian Job is a testament to British film-making, a moment when the best of the best came together to create cinema magic.
Heida Reed plays Ross Poldarks first love in the hit TV series, but breaks his heart by marrying his cousin.

Off screen, however, the actresss romantic life has a much happier ending. For I can reveal that the Icelandic-born beauty, 29, has become engaged to her hunky American boyfriend, producer and actor 31-year-old Sam Ritzenberg.

The couple, who have been dating since last year, confirmed the news on social media, and Heida says of Sam: Thats my fiance! Heida flew her betrothed to meet her family in Iceland last September.

I can reveal that Poldark star Heida Reed, 29, has become engaged to her hunky American boyfriend, producer and actor 31-year-old Sam Ritzenberg (left)

He lives in LA so theres a lot of back and forth, she told me at the time, adding he hadnt seen Poldark before they met.

Hes just started watching the first series, but he keeps watching it before bed so he always falls asleep.

Lottie shows off a cheeky tattoo

Kate Mosss tattoo of two small swallows is worth millions, she says, because it was inked by the late artist Lucian Freud.

But the same cannot be said for that of her half-sister, model Lottie, who has been showing off her latest body art this week in Ibiza.

Lottie Moss, 19, has the words Not yours inscribed at the top of her right buttock (left)

The perky 19-year-old  whose tempestuous relationship with Made In Chelsea love-rat Alex Mytton recently resulted in their arguing outside a London nightclub  has the words Not yours inscribed at the top of her right buttock.

Classy, eh?

The UKs last Eurovision triumph in 1997 with Katrina & The Waves cost the nation dear. Peter Salmon, the former BBC boss and husband of actress Sarah Lancashire, was responsible for staging the show the following year: We went to Birmingham and it stripped 7million out of the BBC One schedule money  I had to play Blankety Blank on a loop that summer!

Members of the Lords have been told to wear their security passes, or be stopped for questioning. Lord Fowler, Speaker of the Upper House, told peers it would no longer be acceptable for them to swan about without their passes being visible.

Individuals failing to display a pass are liable to be challenged, Fowler told the House. Given the pomposity of some of the Houses occupants, you have to feel sympathy for the security guards.
They've been taking Miami by storm these last 24 hours.

And BFFs Christina Milian and Karrueche Tran were both bikini season ready as they hit the beach after a night attending a gala together in the Florida hot spot on Tuesday.

The ladies strutted onto the sand while showing off their gym-honed physiques in their stylish two piece bathing suits.

Double trouble! BFFs Christina Milian and Karrueche Tran were prepared for bikini season as they hit the beach in Miami on Tuesday together

Christina, 35, opted to show off her envy-inducing physique in a shimmering pink bikini with beaded accents along the sides.

The star rocked retro style sunglasses atop her slicked back, wet hair, and a large pair of silver hoop earrings.

Karrueche, 29, meanwhile, sent temperatures soaring in her tropical print halter bikini.

The Claws star glammed up her look with large gold earrings and a matching bracelet.

Keeping their cool: The gal pals waded about in the water

Beach bum! Tran grinned in delight as she flashed her behind on the beach

Dropping jaws: Karrueche sent temperatures soaring in her tropical print halter bikini

Cooling down in the water, the ladies looked in high spirits as they chatted with each other.

After soaking up the sun alongside the crashing waves, the stars made their way back to their belongings.

Walking across the warm sand barefoot, the stars looked rejuvenated as they caught up on some much-needed rest and relaxation.

Cheeky! Milian played with her pink bikini bottoms

Making waves! Cooling down in the water, the ladies looked in high spirits as they chatted with each other

Hitting their stride! Walking across the warm sand barefoot, the stars looked rejuvenated as they caught up on some much-needed relaxation

Luckily for them, they had a treat waiting for them at their seats as well.

Karrueche plopped down on her lounge chair as she chowed down on a juicy and delicious-looking hamburger.

Her gal pal stood nearby as she noshed on her own burger.

Life's a beach! Tran and Milian lived it up on the shoreline

Hello sunshine! The Claws actress and her pal flashed a bright and broad grin from the water

Chow down! The star dug into a juicy burger as she dried her hair

No doubt the ladies are enjoying their leisure time as much as possible as they take a break from all their hard work.

Karrueche has been busy promoting her new TNT series Claws, in which she plays an employee at a nail salon opposite Niecy Nash.

Christina, meanwhile, has been busy enjoying single life since her split from rapper Lil' Wayne at the end of 2015.

Her too! The Grandfathered actress also enjoyed a tasty hamburger

Catching some rays: No doubt the ladies are soaking up as much relaxation as possible as they enjoy a break from all their hard work

The pair made their first public appearance together as an item at the ESPY Awards in July 2014 and went on to collaborate on various singles, videos and concert dates together.

Christina has also been busy with her acting career these last few years.

She starred opposite John Stamos in the now-cancelled television series Grandfathered, which aired from 2015 to 2016.

Living the life! Christina, meanwhile, has been busy enjoying single life since her split from rapper Lil' Wayne at the end of 2015
He may have been a heavy load.

But Kelly Rowland showed Atlas-like strength as she lugged her son Titan through the streets of Beverly Hills on Tuesday.

The Destiny's Child beauty made it look easy as she toted the two-year-old during an outing in the well-heeled area of Beverly Hills.

Atlas-like strength: Kelly Rowland made it look easy as she lugged her son Titan around during an outing in Beverly Hills on Tuesday

The 36-year-old warbler was looking in fine form as she minced down the street in a billowing navy dress, which she wore with trainers.

Her boy, whose father is her manager and husband Tim Weatherspoon, looked as cute as a button in a T-shirt, shorts and casual shoes.

Kelly is best known for her turn supporting Beyonce Knowles in Destiny's Child and solo hits such as Work.

But she has been plying her trade on the television talent contest circuit in recent years, including a turn in the UK's X-Factor.

Dash with the Titan: She looked like she was in no mood to stop and sign autographs

Sending a message: Her adorable son was wearing a shirt that said 'talk to my manager'

Teamwork: An obliging lackey was on hand to help out during their day out

However she recently experienced disappointment when her protege Fasika was booted from the final two on the Australian version of The Voice.

It left her with egg on her face, as she previously said: 'I feel her in my gut. I genuinely think shes special. She gets me excited about music.'

However it may not be the end of the road for Fasika, Kelly deigned to make a couple of phone calls to record producers in the US to point out the young talent's abilities.

She said: 'Im not an expert, Im not a label and I can only go on what I feel in my gut.'

Bun in the sun: She was wearing her hair up along with a trendy pair of reflective aviators
Throughout her long-standing modelling career, she earned the nickname 'The Body'.

Now Elle Macpherson, 53, has proved she's got the brains to match her beauty by reaching a big business milestone for her lingerie line.

On Wednesday, she shared a video of herself dancing with two underwear-clad models to celebrate attaining 20,000 Instagram followers for the label.

One Elle of a businesswoman! Macpherson celebrates lingerie business milestone by dancing with models in underwear

The Australian supermodel launched Elle Macpherson Body last September.

In the post, shared to both Elle's and the label's accounts, the mogul can be seen in a white pant suit with red stitch detail.

With her jacket open to reveal a maroon-coloured bra, she flaunted her toned tummy.

Flanked by two models wearing only lacy underwear, the three dance on the spot, with Elle seen clicking her fingers and singing.

Celebrate! Elle shared a video of herself dancing with two underwear-clad models to mark her Elle Macpherson Body range attaining 20,000 Instagram followers

Trio of beauties: In the video Elle and the models dance on the spot, with The Body clicking her fingers and singing

The blonde beauty's locks were blow dried in wavy style and parted in the centre, while her make-up was kept paired back and natural looking.

Described as capturing 'the essence of the Australian lifestyle,' the website for the underwear line also states that 'Elle believes that true luxury is comfort and style for any age or body shape'.

The burgeoning success of her business is a good focus for the mother-of-two, who has reportedly recently separated from her billionaire husband Jeffrey Soffer.

Entrepreneurial style: The website for her underwear line states that 'Elle believes that true luxury is comfort and style for any age or body shape'

The supermodel is said to be living with her two sons - Flynn, 19, and Aurelius Cy, 14 - from her previous relationship with Arpad Busson in Miami.

In May, Woman's Day claimed the mother-of-two looks set to keep the $26 million family mansion as well as earn $53 million in cash in the alleged divorce.

Elle Macpherson Body is stocked in David Jones and Myer.
He's known for his own takes on film genres and his graphic storytelling.

And now Quentin Tarantino is prepping a new movie about Charles Manson and the brutal killing of eight months pregnant actress Sharon Tate by his 'Family.'

The project, according to The Hollywood Reporter Tuesday, is being shopped around town and the Kill Bill director is said to want Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence to star.

New project: Quentin Tarantino is prepping a movie about Charles Manson and the brutal killing in 1969 of pregnant actress Sharon Tate by his 'Family', THR.com reported Tuesday

Pitt worked with Tarantino on his 2009 Oscar nominated film Inglourious Basterds.

Meanwhile ,after the story broke, Deadline.com claimed Australian actress Margot Robbie is the frontrunner to play Tate.

The website also reported that 'no-one is confirming anything at this point.'

The trade says Tarantino is currently finishing the script which he plans to direct and producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein are involved in the development.

If it pans out, it will be the first time the filmmaker will tackle a story based on true events.

Cult leader: Followers of Manson, picturedafter his arrest in December 1969, murdered five people with guns and knives at a home in LA's upscale Benedict Canyon on his orders

Infamous crime: The home was owned by Tate and her husband director Roman Polanski, pictured at their wedding. Tate was eight months pregnant when she was murdered. Polanski was not home at the time

The killing of Tate in 1969 at her home on Cielo Drive in LA's upscale Benedict Canyon is infamous even among the Manson string of murders.

Manson's followers - known collectively as the 'Manson Family' - slaughtered Tate and four other people on the orders of the cult leader.

Tate was married to director Roman Polanski who was not home at the time of the killings.

Manson and several of his followers were tried and convicted in 1971 for the murders they committed in 1969.

Manson remains behind bars in state prison in California.

His go to guy: Tarantino is said to have approached Brad Pitt to star in the movie; the two worked together on the filmmaker's 2009 Oscar nominated movie Inglourious Basterds
She was recognised as being one of Australia's most beautiful women after winning the title of Miss Universe Australia in 2015.

But model Monika Radulovic, 26, has assured fans that she is far from perfect, telling The Morning Show hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies of her private battle with self-confidence.

Appearing on the breakfast program this Wednesday, the Bosnian-born model, admitted: 'I'm not perfect. I'm still not perfect and that is one of the reasons why I wanted to have another platform like this to really be raw and authentic.'

'I'm not perfect': Monika Radulovic, 26, has assured fans that she is far from perfect, telling The Morning Show hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies of her private battle with self-loathing

'Because I think a lot of girls see some people on social media or public figures and think: 'Oh they have it all'.'

'It's really not true,' she explained, adding: 'We are all normal and we are all going through the same issues regardless of where we are in our lives.'

While Monika admitted she understood that women may feel intimidated by her natural beauty and intelligence, she reminded fans that she is 'still going' on her 'journey'.

She's just like us! While Monika admitted she understood that women may feel intimidated by her natural beauty and intelligence, she reminded fans that she is 'still going' on her 'journey'

Monika was the fourth runner-up in the 2015 Miss Universe pageant, losing out to winning contestant Pia Wurtzbach.

The raven-haired model wowed judges with more than just her beauty, boasting an impressive fluency in five languages.

Born in the former Yugoslav Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the genetically-blessed model and her family came to Australia as refugees from the Bosnian War when she was just four.

Pageant queen: Monika was the fourth runner-up in the 2015 Miss Universe pageant, losing out to winning contestant Pia Wurtzbach

Famous face: After winning Miss Universe Australia, Monika modelled as the face of well-known brands such as Novo Shoes, Antler Luggage and White Glo

After winning Miss Universe Australia, Monika modelled as the face of well-known brands such as Novo Shoes, Antler Luggage and White Glo.

She also appeared on Channel Seven as a panel member for Kochie's Angels and has worked a guest presenter for Sunrise Weather.

Meanwhile, Monika has been preparing for her wedding to artist Alesandro Ljubicic.
Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The British actress, 21, was spotted walking through the arrivals area at LAX.

She wore a long-sleeved stripy top and black jeans, revealing just a hint of her midriff.

California dreaming: Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner was spotted walking through the arrivals area at LAX after arriving back in Los Angeles

Sophie added black bovver boots and had an earbud attached to her cell phone inserted in one ear.

Her long reddish blonde hair was loose and fell in soft waves.

She sported black-framed spectacles and hooped earrings.

Dressed to travel: The British actress, 21, sported a stripy long-sleeved top and black jeans with black bovver boots and flashed a hint of midriff as she walked alongside a baggage helper

Sophie, who auditioned for HBO's graphic fantasy series when she was 12, stars as Sansa Stark on the show.

She has also been dating musician Joe Jonas since last fall.

You do feel like youre living in a fishbowl, she recently told Marie Claire UK magazine. Its frustrating (that) its the most mundane things that make the make the news  how boring!

Having dated Jonas for several months, she revealed that she is repeatedly exasperated by the public dissection of every detail of their relationship, however trivial. And with the almost constant fan attention.

It's such an invasion of privacy. I could be out with my mum on her birthday and I will ask them to delete it,' she said. 'I would much rather them come up and ask for a photo. I will probably be fine with itunless I look s***!

Flying beneath the radar: Her top was knotted at the back and her long reddish blonde hair was loose in soft waves

Connected: She sported black-framed spectacles and hooped earrings and had an earbud attached to her cell phone inserted in one ear

Sophie's character Sansa has had some of the most graphic sexually violent scenes, and the U.K.'s Sunday Times that the show in effect educated her about sex.

'Id be doing a read-through and wed be talking about very graphic stuff,' she revealed.

'The first time I ever found out about oral sex was from reading the script. I was like  Wow! People do that? Thats fascinating!'

In season 5, Sansa was brutally raped by her husband in scenes so shocking it caused a huge outcry.

In hindsight, Sophie explained she was 'naive' when she initially shot the scenes as sexual assault hadn't affected her or anyone she knew.

Growing up on screen: Sophie, who stars as Sansa Stark in the HBO fantasy series, was 15 when the first season aired. The show is known for it graphic sex and violence
She was a model before rising to fame on Home and Away.

And Pia Miller, 34, simply stunned during a swimwear photo shoot on Tuesday.

The beauty was seen flaunting her incredible figure in a white one piece on Sydney's Palm Beach.

White hot! Pia Miller stunned in a Sydney beachside photo shoot on Tuesday

A bit of all-white: The 34-year-old showed off her incredible figure in a white strapless swimsuit

Aren't you cold! The brunette braved the chilly winter weather and stripped down to bare minimum beachwear

The brunette braved the chilly winter weather and stripped down to bare minimum beachwear.

The actress seemed to be in her element as she walked along the sand with a beaming smile on her face.

Her swimming costume featured a plunging neckline that accentuated her cleavage while its high-cut leg showcased her long, toned pins.

The Chilean-born stunner was offered some semi-protection from the cold in another outfit - a white linen, low cut dress with side split.

Some reprieve! The Chilean-born stunner was offered some semi-protection from the cold in another outfit - a white linen, low cut dress with side split

Keeping the cold out? At one point she was seen holding onto her chest while posing for the pictures

At one point she was seen holding onto her chest while wearing it.

Pia's complexion glowed in the sun, and in one shot she looked to be taking a moment to enjoy the warmth on her skin, closing her eyes and holding her hair up.

Serene: Pia's complexion glowed in the sun and in one shot she looked to be taking a moment to enjoy the warmth on her skin, closing her eyes and holding her hair up

Natural beauty: Pia's chocolate-coloured tresses were styled in loose waves and her only accessories were a simple gold bracelet and ring

Her chocolate-coloured tresses were styled in loose waves and her only accessories were a simple gold bracelet and ring.

Pia, who has two sons Isaiah, 13, and Lennox, 10, was also seen wrapped in bright pink fabric for the shoot.

Held up with string held high by two out-of-shot assistants, it billowed in the coastal wind.

From fashion to TV: The stunner started out as a model in campaigns for Myer and Mossimo before making her Home and Away debut in 2015

The stunner started out as a model in campaigns for Myer and Mossimo, and made her foray into acting by studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Pia has starred in Home and Away since 2015, when she made her screen debut as senior constable Katarina Chapman.

'I do understand that I've been modelling for a long time and that's always going to be in the background. I'm stoked for getting this dream job on,' she told The Daily Telegraph when she first got the soap role.

Dream girl! Pia currently graces the cover of the August issue of Cosmopolitan

The star has recently been spotted on the Summer Bay set cradling a burgeoning baby bump, suggesting that her character will soon be having her first child.

Pia currently graces the cover of the August issue of Cosmopolitan with the line 'Dream girl!'

Loving it: The actress seemed to be in her element as she walked along the beach with a beaming smile on her face

Pretty in pink: Pia, who has two sons Isaiah, 13, and Lennox, 10, was also seen wrapped in bright pink fabric for the shoot
Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell is heading to jail in New York for blocking traffic to protest a power plant.

A town judge sentenced the 77-year-old Cromwell and two fellow protesters to a week in the Orange County Jail for civil disobedience.

The actor and activist was arrested in December 2015 at the construction site of a 650-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant.

Defending Mother Earth: Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell is heading to jail in New York for blocking traffic to protest a power plant. Above he's seen in 2015

A spokesman for the group Protect Orange County says Cromwell and others will rally at the plant site before reporting to jail Friday afternoon.

The Wawayanda plant, which 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of New York City.

Cromwell and five other protesters, who referred to themselves as the 'Waywanda Six,' appeared in court in April to say the protest was justified because carbon emissions from the plant would pose a threat to the local environment.

Clean up your act! Cromwell and five other protesters were arrested in December of 2015 for blocking traffic heading towards the Waywanda natural gas-fired power plant. Above the actor is seen a demonstrating for clean water at the New York state capital

However, on June 7 they were found guilty and each fined $375.

Three of the six protesters paid the fine, which was due Thursday, but Cromwell and two others wouldn't budge.

In court on Thursday, the town's justice Timothy McElduff Jr asked Cromwell: 'Are you refusing to pay the fine?'

Standing his ground: The 77-year-old was found guilty June 7 and fined $375, but Cromwell and two of his fellow protesters refused to pay the fine on ethical grounds. Above he's seen in April with wife Anna Stuart

The actor responded, 'I am,' and was ordered to a week in Orange County jail.

Cromwell lives in a neighboring New York town.

He has nearly 200 acting credits, including roles in American Horror Story: Asylum, Six Feet Under, Babe and L.A. Confidential.
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They're holidaying in the idyllic Greek Islands.

And on Wednesday, Dane Swan's longtime girlfriend Taylor Wilson showcased her incredible bikini body as the pair enjoyed yachting around Santorini.

Taking to Instagram, the blonde showed off her vacation tan in a brown string bikini, as she cosied up to her tattooed hunk, 33.

'Santorini cruising!' Dane Swan's longtime girlfriend Taylor Wilson flaunts her toned bikini body as the pair enjoy yachting in the Greek Islands

'Santorini cruisin',' Taylor captioned one snap of the pair, with I'm a Celebrity star Dane going shirtless and wearing a pair of navy and pink board shorts.

She also shared other shots of the pair swimming in the ocean with their friends.

Former AFL star Dane also took to his Instagram to share shots with fans, including one where he jumps off the boat while photobombing their friends.

Having a ball: She also shared other shots of the pair swimming in the ocean with their friends

Chilling out! Taylor flashed the peace sign as she relaxed in the ocean

In the deep: The pair also shared this cool underwater shot

'Another pretty ordinary day out on the water in Santorini watching the sunset. Pretty happy with my photo bomb too just quietly,' Dane wrote.

The day earlier, he posted to Instagram a snap of himself with Taylor as they relaxed in a pool over looking the ocean.

'It really is true what they say. You haven't been to Santorini unless you take a picture and put it on instagram. And Mondays aren't to bad these days. Detox before the retox,' he wrote.

Making memories: Their time in Santorini comes after they enjoyed Mykonos

Incoming! Former AFL star Dane also took to his Instagram to share shots with fans, including one where he jumps off the boat while photobombing their friends

Taking it all in: The day earlier, he posted to Instagram a snap of himself with Taylor as they relaxed in a pool over looking the ocean

The pair also enjoyed time with their pals in party Island Mykonos, with their group including AFL star Adam Goodes.

He and Taylor have been dating for nine years, but he recently told The Herald Sun there won't be a wedding anytime soon.

'It won't be this year, I might be broke so I won't be able to but I guess that is the natural progression of life so some time in the future I guess,' he said, saying this year was a year of travel.
Chelsea Handler paid a touching tribute to her late brother on social media on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old comedian and writer shared a picture of her older brother Chet, explaining that he passed away 33 years ago to the day.

Chelsea captioned: '33 years ago this month my brother Chet died. He was 22, and the oldest of 6 kids. We were never 6 again. Only 5. The number was never the right number again.

Moving: Chelsea Handler paid a touching tribute to her late brother on social media on Tuesday

Make it count: The 42-year-old comedian and writer shared a picture of her older brother Chet, explaining that he passed away 33 years ago to the day

'But, because of that day, I learned how to live and love and laugh and to: Show up. Stand up. Love up. Argue. Fight. Make up. Show up again. Go to bat for people. Tell them you love them.

'Defend your friends. Stand up for yourself. Give away the things you have in excess. Give away the things you love the most.

'This is the only chance we get. Make it count. Live a little,' she concluded.

The eldest Handler sibling died after he fell off a cliff in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, over three decades ago.

Siblings: She also shared this picture of them together in the snow

She told People last year how she was able to find something positive out of one of the darkest times for her family.

'Seeing your parents fall apart is really rough,' Handler told the publication, continuing: 'I wouldnt wish it on anybody.

'As hard as it was for me or for my brothers or sisters  [how did it feel] for my parents to have your own child in danger in that way? And then you cant protect them and you couldnt save them?

'In hindsight it really kept us as a tight-knit group, because it was so tragic and awful. Ultimately, it was kind of a beautiful gift because we all value each other so much.'

Sad loss: Chelsea with her family

Handler, whose Netflix talk show Chelsea debuted in May 2016, also fondly recalled taking care of Chet when he would come home from engineering school.

'I was, like, 7 or 8, and he would come home and I would make him cereal when he would come home late from school, from college, and I would put it in a bowl and act like I made him dinner, and look after him,' Handler shared with them.

'You have all these beautiful memories,' she said, and added, 'and thats enough sometimes.'
He could often be seen wearing armor in Game Of Thrones.

But Nikolaj Coster-Waldau ditched the metallic suit in favor of something much more stylish.

The 46-year-old actor looked dapper in a taupe linen suit from Strong Suit as he arrived for a Jimmy Kimmel Live interview inHollywood on Tuesday.

Hunky: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau looked dapper in a taupe linen suit from Strong Suit as he arrived for a Jimmy Kimmel Live interview in Hollywood on Tuesday

He was on the program to promote the upcoming seventh and final season of the HBO series.

Nikolaj rocked a grey two-piece suit along with a crisp white dress shirt with no tie and brown leather dress shoes.

His light locks were combed to the side as he had a bit of scruff on his face.

Dapper: The 46-year-old actor rocked a grey two-piece suit along with a crisp white dress shirt with no tie and brown leather dress shoes

Handsome: His light locks were combed to the side as he had a bit of scruff on his face

The hunky actor may have had a busy day but was not too busy for his fans as he even stopped to sign a few autographs for adoring followers.

The Danish actor recently opened up to Haute Living about how the cast of the hit HBO show should all get tattoos to celebrate the end of the series.

'Kit Harrington suggested that all who survive from the original cast should get tattoos,' Coster-Waldau stated referring to the actor who plays Jon Snow.

Hanging out: He stopped for a selfie with a female fan

Friendly to fans: The hunky actor may have had a busy day but was not too busy for his fans as he even stopped to sign a few autographs for adoring followers

'Im sure some will get themI know Maisie Williams [Arya Stark] and Sophie Turner [Sansa Stark] already have matching tattoos from the day they got the job,' he continued.

He also noted that Lena Headey, who plays his twin sister and lover Cersei Lannister, spends much of her time in the makeup chair to cover her extensive back tattoo.

Cover boy: The actor smolders in the snaps as he dishes on the cast of the hit HBO show

'I should get something before I die though,' Coster-Waldau said. 'Im going to get one when I turn 75.'

The Danish actor admits he didn't think the series would be such a success.

Even thought his character has an affair with his sister and paralyzes a boy in the first episode, Coster-Waldau liked what the producers were pitching.

'I spoke to show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and they told me that, if we got to do the three seasons, the arc would end with [Jaime] telling his version of why he became the King Slayer and saving the whole city from annihilation.'

There were so many layers to Jaime Lannister that Coster-Waldau wanted to explore such a diverse character.
She is known for never wasting an opportunity to flaunt extensive taste.

And Roxy Jacenko, 37, enjoyed another show-and-tell session this Wednesday as she prepared to appear in a photo shoot for cleaning product brand Enjo Australia.

Taking to her Instagram story, Roxy uploaded two videos that showed a glimpse into the couture accessories for her photo shoot.

All in a day's work! Roxy Jacenko showcased her mammoth collection of designer shoes and bags as she starred in a photo shoot for cleaning products

She loves her brands! Among the collection were multiple pairs of shoes by Jimmy Choo, Rochas and Adidas, as well as a pair of Bulgari sunglasses

Among the collection were multiple pairs of shoes by Jimmy Choo, Rochas and Adidas, as well as a pair of Bulgari sunglasses.

She also proudly displayed handbags by the likes of Bulgari and Saint Laurent Paris.

It is unknown if Roxy was the proud owner of the goods or they were merely on loan for the shoot.

Roxy also documented a glimpse of behind-the-scenes action on the set of her glamorous, housework-inspired shoot, in which she was pictured posing with a mop in hand.

Strike a pose! Roxy also documented a glimpse of behind-the-scenes action on the set of her glamorous, housework-inspired shoot, in which she was pictured posing with a mop in hand

Clad in designer activewear, the mother-of-two wore her blonde mane to hang loosely by her shoulders and sported a dramatic application of makeup.

It comes just days after Roxy returned to Sydney following a lavish Bali getaway with her jailbird husband Oliver Curtis and their two children Hunter, three, and Pixie Curtis, five.

The getaway was the first time Roxy had been overseas with Oliver since his release from Cooma Correctional Centre last month.

Fun in the sun: Roxy spent several days enjoying a lavish getaway in Bali with her children and husband Oliver Curtis, who was released from prison in June

Thanks for sharing! Roxy made sure to document her resort outfits during the lavish trip, most of which consisted of skimpy bikinis

The married couple were likely to have stayed in the resort's biggest villa, which costs over $3000 per night.

Ahead of his international flight to Bali Oliver, who completed a 12-month stretch for insider trading, would most likely have had to declare his criminal conviction.

Under the terms of his release, he must be of 'good behaviour' until June 23, 2018.

Barriers to entry? Ahead of his international flight to Bali Oliver, who completed a 12-month stretch for insider trading, would most likely have had to declare his criminal conviction
Bella Thorne never been one to hide her one-of-a-kind style.

And on Tuesday the 19-year-old actress made one of her boldest displays yet, donning a sheer-as-can-be evening gown which revealed her thong-clad posterior.

The former Disney darling captioned the provocative shot of her twirling and sporting sparkling black chiffon, 'Spinning in circles with you.'

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Cheeky! Bella Thorne made one of her boldest displays yet while donning a sheer gown which revealed her thong-clad posterior in a Twitter photo posted Tuesday

Bella looked like she didn't have a care in the world as she was captured mid-twirl while donning a sheer-yet-sparkling gown which bared almost all of the former Disney starlet's slim body.

The actress's - who can currently be seen in the Netflix original film You Get Me - perky posterior grabbed most of the attention covered with only a black thong and the dreamy gauze of the dress.

She held out the frock's floorsweeping skirt while spinning around and flipping her neon pink tresses while captioning the ecstatic Twitter pic 'Spinning in circles with you.'

Throwing in the towel! Before posting her haute bottom, Bella stripped down to a towel to give followers a glimpse of an upcoming photo shoot

Great gams! The Florida native also showed off her slim stems for followers

Ready for her close up! Though her hair was damp, the Famous In Love talent's dark eyeshadow was perfectly in place while she kept on a hearty chain choker, earrings, bracelets and several rings

Before posting her haute bottom, Bella stripped down to a towel to give followers a glimpse of an upcoming photo shoot.

Though her hair was damp, the Famous In Love talent's dark eyeshadow was still be perfectly in place while she kept on a hearty chain choker, earrings, bracelets and several rings.

Ever the coquette, the Florida native placed a towel atop her most intimate bits while still offering plenty of flesh for the curious and wandering eye as she pouted and posed for the camera.

Fringe appeal! Later on the star switched things up, trading her wild pink tresses for a raven wig with blunt bombshell fringe.

Dark angel: The difference between the star's hot pink tresses and raven locks was striking

Thigh's the limit! Bella added thigh high patent leather boots and a cheeky red wrap dress along with a rosary necklace and leopard belt for vintage va-va-voom

And for her third look of the day, Bella traded her wild pink tresses for a raven wig with blunt bombshell fringe.

She added thigh high patent leather boots and a cheeky red wrap dress along with a rosary necklace and leopard belt for vintage va-va-voom.

While the Shake It Up lead was expressing herself through the art of selfie, her alleged on-off fling Scott Disick was seen with baby mama Kourtney Kardashian and their three children in Massachusetts' upscale Nantucket Island.

It's the first time the duo have been seen together in two months, with a source telling TMZ the co-parents appeared like they were on 'good terms.'

The exes were seen heading into restaurant CRU oyster bar on Tuesday, according to the site.

Bella and Scott have been linked since spotted together in May with the starlet later tagging along with The Lord to Cannes.

She's also been seen at his Calabasas residence in recent social media postings.
She gave birth to twins Tom and Darcy in September.

And on Wednesday, Rebecca Judd looked every inch the doting mum as she posed in the pool with one of her youngest sons.

The glamorous mother-of-four stunned in a black bikini as she splashed around with her little boy.

Bathing beauty! On Wednesday, AFL WAG Rebecca Judd looked every inch the doting mum as she posed in the pool with one of her youngest sons during a family holiday in Noosa

In the Instagram snap, taken during a family holiday in Noosa, the Postcards host showcased her slender figure in a skimpy bikini.

Wearing a pair of white sunglasses, Rebecca glanced down lovingly at one of her identical twin sons sitting on a inflatable pool mat.

'Holidayzzz,' the footy WAG captioned the photo.

'It's horrific compared to having a natural delivery': In April, Rebecca described how she underwent a 'horrific' C-section last year while giving birth to her twins

In April, Rebecca described how she underwent a 'horrific' C-section last year while giving birth to her twins.

She said on KIIS FM's The 3pm Pick-Up: 'It's horrific compared to having a natural delivery. It kills, it absolutely kills. The fact that you are awake in major abdominal surgery is mind boggling and freaky.'

The Channel Nine personality said the emergency procedure (her boys arrived six weeks early) left her in a state of panic.

Describing the caesarean as 'wild', Bec said she experienced terrible pain compared to the relatively pain-free birth of first child Oscar.

'Mind boggling': The Channel Nine personality said the emergency procedure left her in a state of panic. Rebecca's twin sons Tom and Darcy (pictured) had arrived six weeks early

She said: 'I remember I was lying there on the operating table and I started pretty much having a panic attack, my heart was going nutso - I felt like it was jumping out of my chest.

'And I think, "Am I going to die? What's going on?", which actually was completely normal.'

Rebecca also had some advice for mums-to-be, urging them not to have a C-section if the baby is in a normal, natural position for birth.

Words of wisdom: Speaking on KIIS FM's 3pm Pick-Up, Rebecca had some advice for mums-to-be, urging them not to have a C-section if the baby is in a normal, natural position for birth

Proud parents: Rebecca is the wife of former AFL player Chris Judd (left)




She never fails to dazzle on the red carpet in an array of show-stopping gowns.

But Julianne Moore showed off the trendier side to her style on Monday, as she headed to the Raf Simons SS18 catwalk show during New York Fashion Week Men's.

The actress, 56, stood out from the crowds in a quirky quilted coat of mixed prints as she took her place on the FROW alongside a host of other big stars.

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Chic: Julianne Moore showed off the trendier side to her style on Monday, as she headed to the Raf Simons SS18 catwalk show in NYC

The Oscar-winning actress certainly made a statement in the striking outerwear, which shrouded her famously slender figure with its oversized fit.

The garment maintained the formal feel of a suit jacket, with its retro padded shoulders, vintage buttons and traditional lapels at the front.

Making the look more trendy however, the garment then swapped prints throughout - patterned with blue and white diamond quilting on the breast, before extending into monochrome check on the sleeves.

All eyes on me: The actress, 56, stood out from the crowds in a quirky quilted coat of mixed prints as she took her place on the FROW alongside a host of other big stars

Keeping all eyes on the statement coat, Julianne simply sported a black top and silk trousers underneath, which she co-ordinated with matching heeled sandals.

Styling her hair into bouncy, tousled waves and adding only a slick of liquid eyeliner to her face, the Still Alice star drew attention to her enviably radiant and youthful complexion as she mingled with her fellow guests at the bash.

While Julianne is recognised for her string of successful movies, she is known for her natural sense of style, which she often displays at glamorous events everywhere.

Natural beauty: Adding only slick of liquid eyeliner, the Still Alice star drew attention to her enviably radiant and youthful complexion as she cuddled designer Raf at the bash (above)

Fashion forward: While she has carved a career as an actress, Julianne is known for her natural sense of style - and often attends an array of catwalk shows around the world

Say cheese! Julianne cosied up to a number of guests at the bash for cameras

Let's hear it for the boys: Other guests at the bash included Jake Gyllenhaal, clad in a more casual white T-shirt and jeans (L), and A$AP Rocky, who looked typically trendy in all black (R)

Recently speaking to the Telegraph however, the actress admitted that she sees her red carpet duties as something completely separate to her acting career - allowing her to play around more with fashion.

She explained of staying humble: Its a privilege to wear a beautiful dress, but you cant confuse that with the work you do. Theyre separate things.

Twenty years ago, the red-carpet thing wasnt that big a deal. People didnt have stylists; you bought your own dress. Imagine!

Casual cool: The rapper also sported a black jacket, which he draped casually around his arms

Atmospheric: The event took place in a night market in Chinatown, to reflect Raf's nod to the 1982 Ridley Scott flick Blade Runner, which runs through the new collection

Supportive: Raf Simons was supported by many high profile guests at the bash, including fellow designer Marc Jacobs (R)

Other guests at the bash included Jake Gyllenhaal, clad in a more casual white T-shirt and jeans, and rapper A$AP Rocky, who looked typically trendy in all black.

The event took place in a night market in Chinatown, to reflect Raf's nod to the 1982 Ridley Scott flick Blade Runner, which runs through the new collection.

The Spring/Summer line sees an array of layered ensembles, matching jersey tops and grungy T-shirts with sleeveless coats and trench coats, to co-ordinate the umbrellas held in the models' hands.

However many of the T-shirts featured New Order and Joy Division band art on the front, in a more modern touch by the Belgian designer.
She's the talented British-Australian actress who has recently been busy promoting her new Netflix series Gypsy.

But this week, Naomi Watts was a world away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood as she spent time in Africa.

Posting to her Instagram account on Tuesday, the 48-year-old shared a photo of herself surrounded by disadvantaged kids at a children's home in Nairobi.

'Wonderful visit today': On Tuesday, Naomi Watts (pictured) shared an Instagram post about her visit to Nyumbani Children's Home in Nairobi with her son Alexander, nine

'Wonderful visit today at Nyumbani Children's Home in Nairobi,' Naomi wrote in the caption. 'It was so inspiring to see how loved and well supported these vulnerable kids are by such an impassioned team.'

For her visit, Naomi swapped her fancy red carpet frocks for a more low-key outfit consisting of blue jeans and a longsleeve white T-shirt.

Wearing no makeup and with her hair tied back, the actress flashed a huge smile as she put her arm around her son Alexander, nine, and another child.

'Bittersweet farewell': Naomi's son Alexander (left) and guide Tinka (right) posed for a photo

'So much beauty': In a photo taken in Kenya, Naomi admitted she loved the country

In other photos shared to Naomi's Instagram account this week, the natural beauty of Africa was on display.

One photo showed her eldest son in the arms of their guide 'Tinka' as they posed with a vast sprawling landscape as their backdrop.

'My boy and our lovely guide... bittersweet farewell. We will never forget you Tinka,' Naomi captioned the photo.

Pucker up! In another holiday snap, the actress shared an open-mouthed kiss with a giraffe

The Ring star seemed to be enjoying her trip, as she admitted in another holiday snap that she loved Kenya.

'Up at sunrise, breathing in all that surrounds... so much beauty,' she wrote.

During her vacation, Naomi also shared a photo of herself in a luxury lodge kissing a giraffe standing outside her window.
Rob Kardashian has reportedly apologised to his family for launching his shocking tirade at Blac Chyna and not dealing with the drama privately.

The 30-year-old posted a series of explicit photos of his ex and claimed she cheated on him with 'eight other dudes' in an expletive-ridden social media rant last week.

The reality star has now admitted he should have listened to his mother and sisters' warnings to 'stay away' from Chyna as she was 'bad news', sources claimed.

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Regretful? Rob Kardashian has reportedly apologised to his family for launching his shocking tirade at Blac Chyna and not dealing with the drama privately

An insider told TMZ: 'He's spoken with all of his sisters and his mom, telling them he has no excuse for posting nude pics of Chyna and her medical information on social media.

'He said he regrets he didn't deal with the Chyna drama privately and said it wouldn't happen again.

'Rob also acknowledged all of the Kardashian women warned him Chyna was "bad news" and he should stay away... advice he ignored. He told them they were right.'

It was reported that the Kardashian clan have 'accepted' Rob's apology, but urged him not to reconcile with 29-year-old Blac.

Admission: The reality star admitted he should have listened to his mother and sisters' warnings that he should 'stay away' from Blac as she was 'bad news', sources claimed

Shocking: The 30-year-old posted a series of explicit photos of his ex and claimed she cheated on him with 'eight other dudes' in an expletive-ridden social media rant last week

Chyna, who filed a restraining order against Rob, alleged that the Kardashian was abusive towards her.

She alleged that Rob struck her during an April 8 argument, threatened to kill himself if she didn't do what he wanted and claimed he has a gun.

Rob - who shares two-year-old daughter Dream with Blac - denied ever physically abusing Chyna, according to TMZ.

Sources claimed he decided to stay with the former stripper for the sake of their daughter as during his childhood he was raised by both of his parents.

Rumour has it: 'Rob acknowledged all of the Kardashian women warned him Chyna was "bad news" and he should stay away... advice he ignored. He told them they were right,' a source claimed

Forgiven: It was reported that the Kardashian clan have 'accepted' Rob's apology, but urged him not to reconcile with 29-year-old Blac

Rob took to social media last Wednesday firing off a number of shots at his ex.

He posted nude photos of her and claimed she cheated on him with '8 dudes in less than a month'.

He also called into question her honesty, sobriety and abilities as a parent.

Even when his Instagram account was shut down amid the scandal, Rob took his vitriol for his child's mother to Twitter, continuing his diatribe.

Chyna, accompanied by her attorney Lisa Bloom, was granted a temporary restraining order against her former fiance on Monday in Los Angeles

'Rob is really trying to get back on track and focus on being a dad again,' a source told US weekly. 'He's embarrassed that he has caused this.'

Chyna and Rob started dating early 2016 and were engaged and expecting their first child by that spring.

After months of being on and off they split in February this year but still put on an amicable display on social media over the following months, sparking rumors of reconciliation.

It comes as at least one member of Rob's family is allegedly hinting that Blac might be in legal hot water after claiming he was abusive to her.

Better times: Rob and Chyna were on good terms during an outing in Las Vegas last year

Rocky romance: Chyna and Rob started dating early 2016 and were engaged and expecting their first child by that spring

It's over: After months of being on and off they split in February this year but still put on an amicable display on social media over the following months, sparking rumors of reconciliation

According to People, Kim Kardashian's reps sent ABC News a copy of a non-disclosure agreement the former stripper signed under her real name Angela White before appearing on the Kardashian family E! reality shows.

The move came after the news outlet asked the selfie queen, 36, for comment about her younger brother's social media rant and the posting of explicit pics of Chyna.

It's the first public response from any member of the Kardashian family apart from Rob himself to the extraordinary events of the past week.

The NDA is a binding legal document that prohibits Chyna from speaking about or revealing any information, either privately or in public, about the private lives, business interests and finances of the Kardashians, the Jenners, the Disicks or the Wests.
While on-screen his former 24 character Jack Bauer was unlucky in love as he put his career as a counterterrorism agent first.

But the same can't be said for Kiefer Sutherland, 50, in real-life after it was reported he has had a secret girlfriend for three years.

According to the New York Post, the actor has reportedly been dating actress Cindy Vela, 38, 'under the radar' for a long time but have been able to keep their romance under wraps.

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Loved-up? It has been reported that Kiefer Sutherland, 50, has had a secret girlfriend for three years

The newspaper's Page Six column reported that the It's Gawd actress recently joined Kiefer and his band on their European tour and they are now living together.



Cindy shared a number of photos on social media while sightseeing on the tour which were taken by Kiefer, and as well as picnicking in Paris, with one of the pair's highlights was seeing Jeff Lynne's ELO in Glasgow, Scotland.

She captioned a picture from the gig: 'Best show we ever saw: @jefflynneselo in Glasgow.. The songs were amazing. xo, Kiefer and Cindy (sic)'.

The Texan beauty - who joined him on tour on May 2 - also supported Kiefer during his Glastonbury set late last month which she was sure to commemorate with a colourful snap.

MailOnline have contacted Kiefer's rep for comment.

Candid: Cindy shared a snap with her beau on Twitter as they walked around London with his band

'Under the radar': According to the New York Post , the actor has reportedly been dating actress Cindy Vela, 38, 'under the radar' for a long time but have been able to keep their romance under wraps

Memories: One of the pair's highlights from the tour was seeing Jeff Lynne's ELO in Glasgow, Scotland

Support: The Texan beauty also joined Kiefer during his Glastonbury set late last month which she was sure to commemorate with a colourful snap

Elsewhere, the Designated Survivor actor was previously engaged to Oscar-winner Julia Roberts, 49.

The London born star began dating the Pretty Woman star in 1990 after meeting on the set of Flatliners and got engaged in August of the same year.

Recently reflecting on their relationship, he praised her for having the 'courage' to call of their wedding in 1991 following their whirlwind romance.

'I think she was being realistic for herself. I think that's much better...' he said. 'This wedding that was supposed to be something between the two of us became something so big.'

In the past: Elsewhere, the Designated Survivor actor was previously engaged to Oscar-winner Julia Roberts, 49

'Courage': Recently reflecting on their relationship, he praised her for having the 'courage' to call of their wedding in 1991 following their whirlwind romance

'Then, in the middle of that, I think she had the courage... it wasn't what she wanted to do, in the end I think it took a lot of courage, even amongst all of that other stuff, to be able to say, "I can't do this."'

Despite the heartbreak, Kiefer went on to marry Elizabeth Winn in 1996 but filed for divorce eight years later in 2004.

He also has daughter Sarah from his first marriage to Camelia Kath, who he was wed to from 1987 until 1990.

While Kiefer dated Siobhan Bonnouvrier for three years during his stint on cult classic 24 before they split in 2011.
He is a doting dad of one, and is more often seen spending time at home with his sweet son Boomer.

However Michael Phelps enjoyed a much-needed night out on Tuesday, as he attended The Players' Tribune Hosts Players' Night Out 2017 in LA.

The Olympic swimmer, 32, cut a stylish figure in a blue checked suit as he posed at The Beverly Hills Hotel with a number of other big sporting names - including a much healthier looking Lamar Odom.

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Relaxed: New dad Michael Phelps enjoyed an evening away from his parenting duties on Tuesday, as he attended The Players' Tribune Hosts Players' Night Out 2017 in LA

Back to his best: The swimmer posed at The Beverly Hills Hotel with a number of other big sporting names - including a much healthier looking Lamar Odom (above)

The sportsman, who is the most decorated Olympian of all time, looked typically slick and suave in a traditional suit, patterned with trendy blue check all over.

He layered the stylish two-piece atop a pale pink shirt, and tied the look together with classic tan brogues.

A self-professed family man, the swimmer appeared relaxed as he posed at the event - during a rare night out with his wife Nicole, away from their parenting duties to son Boomer.

Flying solo: A self-professed family man, the swimmer appeared relaxed as he posed at the event - during a rare night out away from his parenting duties with wife Nicole, to son Boomer

Michael welcomed his little boy with the former Miss California USA in May last year - one month before their secret wedding.

The couple were together on and off for eight years, before finally becoming engaged in 2015.

The two have joked in the past about their tumultuous relationship, with Nicole even confessing that at certain points, they were not even friendly.

Happy family: Michael welcomed his little boy with the former Miss California in May 2016 - one month before their secret wedding (family pictured celebrating Boomer's first birthday)

'There definitely were times, and I think Michael would say the same thing, where I hated him. We were at odds at times,' she told Cosmopolitan.com.

'Even when I loathed him, there were still times when I was like, "God I wish I was with him."

Michael was joined by a number of other sporting stars at the event - including a now rarely-seen Lamar Odom.

Better than ever: Michael was joined by a number of other sporting stars at the event - including a now rarely-seen Lamar Odom (above)

The 37-year-old cut a cool figure in his own blue suit, which was adorned with contrasting black panels on the lapels and hem.

Paired with trendy suede loafers, Lamar looked better than ever as he beamed for cameras at the event - after a difficult few years away from the limelight.

In October 2015, the former LA Lakers was found unconscious at a Nevada brothel after overdosing on drugs and alcohol - suffering multiple strokes, which left him in a coma for several days.

Cool kid: The 37-year-old cut a cool figure in his own blue suit, which was adorned with contrasting black panels on the lapels and hem

Stepping out: The former NBA star was seen hanging out with friends at a nightclub after the ESPY event in Hollywood

Happy and Healthy: He donned a warm beige sports jacket for his outing

Camouflage: Lamar slipped on an eye-catching camouflage shirt underneath his jacket

At the time, his ex Khloe Kardashian called off their divorce to help him recover in hospital, instead finalising their separation in 2016.

However after being spotted drinking once again in April last year, he checked into rehab that December to overcome his demons once and for all.

In March, he gushed of his happiness that he was finally clean to UsWeekly, admitting: 'Living sober, meaning no drugs, is a great feeling.

'Being in the moment is important  how you react, respond, create. If I would have done coke last night, you would have gotten some d--khead here trying to get out of here fast. But youre getting Lamar now.'

Thumbs up! NBA player Baron Davis appeared in good spirits as he posed for cameras

Girls just wanna have fun: Model Draya Michele stunned in black satin as she arrived (L) while WNBA player Nneka Ogwumike added a splash of colour in her printed frock (R)
She shot to fame as Poppy in the racy TV drama Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

And on Wednesday, English actress Lily James flashed plenty of flesh in a plunging gown at the Australian premiere of Baby Driver in Sydney.

The 28-year-old beauty looked simply sensational as she smiled on the red carpet.

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Braless beauty! On Wednesday, English actress Lily James flashed plenty of flesh in a plunging gown at the Australian premiere of Baby Driver in Sydney

Baby Driver is an action-comedy written and directed by Edgar Wright, known for films Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Baby Driver follows Baby (Ansel Elgort), a young getaway driver who ends up being coerced into working for criminal kingpin Doc, played by Kevin Spacey.

Lily stars as Debora, a waitress and Baby's girlfriend.

Gorgeous: The 28-year-old beauty looked simply sensational as she smiled on the red carpet

The A-list cast also features a several big Hollywood names.

Mad Men star John Hamm portrays Buddy, a handsome party boy and member of Doc's gang.

Jamie Foxx and Jon Bernthal also play members of Doc's gang.

She's smiling! Lily looked happy and confident before the film's premiere Down Under

A-list glamour: Lily rose to fame playing Poppy in British TV drama Secret Diary of a Call Girl

Picture perfect! Lily's makeup was flawlessly applied and she accessorised with drop earrings

The film also stars a number of musicians, including rappers Killer Mike and Big Boi.

Songstress Sky Ferreira also stars as Baby's mother.

However, at just 25, Sky is only two years older than her on-screen son, Ansel Elgort.

Star studded: Lily posed with co-star Ansel Elgort (left) and director Edgar Wright (centre)
He's the 5 Seconds of Summer rocker known for his often-changing hair colour.

But on Tuesday, Michael Clifford appeared to be benefiting from laying off the dye as he arrived at The Highlight Room in Hollywood.

The 21-year-old guitarist's blond hair looked thick, healthy and full just a year after he appeared to be balding during a trip to Sydney.

Hair today, back tomorrow! 5 Seconds Of Summer's Michael Clifford, 21, displayed thick and full hair on Tuesday (left) a year after fans noticed his patchy, thinning locks (right)

The Australian heartthrob, who joined 5SOS while still in school, was joined at the venue by his longtime girlfriend Crystal Leigh.

Despite wearing a backwards-facing cap, it was clear Michael's hair was looking in a lot better shape than it did 12 months ago.

The musician has been colouring his hair for several years, which may have damaged his hair and caused some thinning last year.

Punk rock! The Australian musician has been colouring his hair for several years, which may have damaged his hair and caused some thinning last year. Pictured in 2013

Bright spark! When Michael met Ellen DeGeneres (left) in late 2014, the Sydney-born star was seen with yet another colourful shade

In 2013, Michael opted for a two-toned hairstyle by dying the sides of his hair peroxide blond with a black middle.

Later on, Michael coloured his hair bright blue, before going completely purple.

And when he met Ellen DeGeneres in late 2014, the Sydney-born star was seen with yet another bright shade.

Oh, dear! In June 2016, the effects of his peroxide and repeated colouring were clear, with his hair looking patchy and thin at the front while attending an event in Sydney

In June 2016, the effects of his peroxide and repeated colouring were clear, with his hair looking patchy and thin at the front while attending an event in Sydney.

Some fans even began questioning if the young rock star was balding prematurely.

However, it appears Michael stopped dying his hair around nine months go and he is enjoying the benefits of a more natural approach.
She has been stepping out of her supermodel mother Cindy Crawford's shadow to carve out her own career in the fashion world.

And Kaia Gerber looked every inch the rising star as she hung out with a group of friends in Malibu before taking a trip to the beach.

The 15-year-old budding model nailed the grungy 90s look in a frayed white crop top and heavy-duty Doc Martens for the sun-soaked outing on Wednesday.

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Chic: Kaia Gerber looked every inch the rising star as she hung out with a group of friends in Malibu before taking a trip to the beach

Adding to the androgynous boy-meets-girl vibe, Kaia rocked a pair of navy pinstripe cropped trousers with chain detail at the waist.

Styling her dark hair in a simple sleek middle-parting, the teenager went make-up free to show off her striking features.

She seemed to be in great spirits as she gave one of her companions a friendly hug, before heading with them to the beach to soak up the sun.

Simply stylish: The 15-year-old budding model nailed the 90s-grunge look in a frayed white crop top and heavy-duty Doc Martens for the sun-soaked outing on Wednesday

Budding fashionista: The teenager has been quietly cultivating a stylish sports-luxe look

Kaia was just five when she appeared in a controversial shoot for swimsuit designer Melissa Odabash.

The image showed her looking over her shoulder while wearing no top. She was dressed in just white shorts, a seashell necklace and there was a fake tattoo on her lower back.

Then as a 10-year-old, Kaia posed in a thigh-skimming mini skirt for a Versace campaign.

Cindy decided to put a stop to Kaia's budding modeling a month after the ad came out, deeming her 'too young'.

But Kaia wasn't out of the spotlight for long, returning to the industry at 13 after landing a contract with IMG Models.

Family affair: Cindy decided to put a stop to Kaia's budding modeling a month after a controversial Versace ad came out when she was 10, deeming her 'too young'

Sweet: Kaia posted this sweet tribute to her dad Randy Gerber for father's day

The agency shared the news to their social media in July 2015, along with a picture of her from her Vogue Italia spread, shot by Steven Meisel.

Kaia made her debut in American Vogue two months later; the teen posed in a casual dress for a photo featured in the magazine's coveted September issue.

She landed her first campaign at the age of 14 for Chrome Hearts, a jewelry line.

Her first magazine cover was also at 14; she posed with mom Cindy for the cover of Vogue Paris' April issue, shot by famed photographer Mario Testino.

Now her modeling career is on the rise; the teen has also chalked up campaigns for Marc Jacobs' Daisy fragrance and beauty line as well as for Alexander Wang and Penshoppe.
There were just six amateur cooks left in the MasterChef kitchen on Wednesday.

And with their place in the competition at stake, the contenders were giving it their all in a service challenge where they were tasked with serving up 50 portions of their chosen dish in just three hours.

Famous chef Clare Smyth was on hand to lead the contestants in the culinary battlefield but the assistance wasn't enough for Tamara Graffen, Karlie Verkerk and Sarah Tiong who were forced into the elimination round.

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Meltdown! On Wednesday's episode of MasterChef, Tamara (left) was in tears and Karlie (right) was embarrassed by her dish as they joined Sarah in the bottom three

The monumental task sent 28-year-old Tamara into meltdown mode early on in the episode as she let the tight time constraints get to her.

Stressing about how much running around she was doing to prepare her marron tail, Tamara was soon in tears and unable to cope.

Judge George Calombaris was forced to step in and give her a pep talk.

'You can do it,' he told her. 'You hear me? You can do it. You're an incredible human being.'

In a tizz: Tamara struggled with the fast pace required for the service challenge

Also pushed close to the brink was Karlie, who was making duck with Tasmanian mountain pepper, duck jus and Asian greens.

Karlie's decision to cook the duck 'on the crown' to save time came back to haunt her when she opened the oven and the birds were inconsistently cooked.

'I'm feeling quite embarrassed and I don't want to serve this duck,' she complained. 'I feel like I've completely let Clare down and I feel like I've let myself down.

Elsewhere in the kitchen, Eliza was having dramas with her dish's custard being too thin, while Sarah made the risky decision to whip up a savoury dessert.

Duck disaster! Karlie's choice to cook her bird 'on the crown' came back to haunt her

The only contestant whose night seemed to be smooth-sailing was Ben.

He enjoyed a relatively trouble-free time preparing coriander seed sponge with caramelised pineapple, which the judges loved and named best dish of the episode.

Diana also managed to impress with her venison and pear three ways.

Smooth sailing: The challenge went well for Ben (pictured) and his coriander dessert was named the best dish of the episode

Unfortunately for Tamara and Karlie, their troubles in the kitchen meant they were headed to the elimination round after judges George, Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan found their dishes lacking.

They were joined by Sarah, who also didn't manage to pull off her adventurous savoury dessert.

However, she still has hold of an immunity pin and if she chooses to play it, it will mean Eliza will take her place in the elimination round on Thursday night.
She soaked up the sun during an idyllic Greek getaway last month.

And ever the jetsetter, Demi Rose headed to Spain where she sizzled in a tropical-themed photoshoot on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old aspiring DJ showcased her eye-popping cleavage and enviably tiny waist in a leaf-print bikini with racy pink mesh sleeves.

Lush life: Demi-Rose headed to Spain where she sizzled in a tropical-themed photoshoot on Tuesday

Not just content to dazzle in front of the camera, Demi also took several selfies during her Spanish getaway.

Rocking a tiny triangle bikini, she flaunted every inch of her voluptuous figure as she pouted for one steamy shot.

Clearly getting into the holiday spirit, the rumoured fling of Tyga later posed with a glass of wine on her balcony in Ibiza.

She rocked a scarlet polka dot dress with flirty frills along the plunging neckline, which she teamed with red lace-up heels.

Meanwhile, just two weeks earlier, she shared saucy snaps from her sun-drenched getaway to Santorini.

Body goals: The 22-year-old aspiring DJ showcased her eye-popping cleavage and enviably tiny waist in a leaf-print bikini with racy pink mesh sleeves

Legs for days: She flaunted her shapely bronzed limbs in the high-cut tropical bikini

Sitting pretty: The brunette beauty showed off her tiny waist as she sat against a tropical backdrop for the photoshoot

The DJ keenly showed off every inch of her voluptuous figure - including her busty assets and pert derriere - in two incredibly risque ensembles.

In one sexy image, Demi donned a barely-there white swimwear which plunged perilously down the middle to flaunt her eye-popping cleavage.

The high rise one-piece worked wonders as it added to her sensational curves as she sat on the edge of a view-point against a lush back-drop of glistening blue waters.

Larking around: She flashed a smile as she joked with the crew in between shots

Preened to perfection: Demi Rose wore her raven tresses in tumbling glossy waves

Cor(n) blimey! The busty model smouldered as she posed against a popcorn machine

'My first time in Greece! It's so beautiful here,' the bronzed beauty captioned the snap which saw her flirtatiously tame her brunette locks.

Oozing body confidence, Demi went on to showcase her bodacious bottom in a saucy semi-sheer gown as she partied the night away on the Anchored cruise, sponsored by ISawItFirst.com.

The model set pulses racing in the backless glittering gown as she posed over her shoulder.

Looking glam: She plumped her full pout with a slick of nude lipgloss and framed her dark eyes with iridescent shimmer

Leaf it out! Her bikini top was zipped all the way down to reveal a tantalizing amount of generous cleavage

Working her angles: Demi looked ever the professional as she posed sultrily for the cameras

'Happiest girls are the prettiest girls,' she captioned the snap which saw her sporting a huge smile.

Demi continued to sizzle with further images of herself over the weekend where she threatened to spill out of the precariously small top as she posed against a railing.

The dress featured a cutaway panelling which exposed her impossibly tiny midriff whilst accentuating the curve of her hip.

Body goals: Demi Rose showcased her eye-popping cleavage and enviably tiny waist in a sultry bikini snap from her Spanish holiday

Spanish senorita: The 22-year-old aspiring DJ later rocked a scarlet polka dot dress with flirty frills along the plunging neckline, which she teamed with red lace-up heels

In another image, she sizzled as she posed topless covered in a heavily embellished military inspired jacket which she left seductively open to tease at her buxom bust.

The Birmingham-born beauty stepped her sex appeal up a notch by baring her ample cleavage while holding the statement garment open.

In the snap, she teamed her skin-flashing look with a black high waisted skirt while her raven tresses fell down her back into a sleek ponytail.

Highlighting her sensational figure, she posed with her eyes closed while showcasing her glossy pout to the camera.

She's got a lot of front! The model showed off her ample assets in a plunging bikini

Living the high life: Demi commanded all attention in a nude bikini with a snake print sarong tied around her tiny waist

In another shot, Demi commanded attention in a striking neon orange bikini that just about managed to contain her bust as she seductively stared down the lens, playing with her glossy locks over her shoulder.

Captioning her flesh-flaunting look, she wrote: 'Love a bit of taurine (ugliest face of mine ever)'.

Demi first rose to prominence in May of last year when she was spotted out with Rack City hitmaker Tyga, 27, while he appeared to be on a break from his 19-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star girlfriend.

Getting into the holiday spirit: She induced envy from her 4.7million followers with her sizzling bikini snaps

Sizzling getaway: Demi Rose, 22, showed off her busty assets in a perilously plunging swimwear as she lapped up the sun in Santorini, Greece

Enviable figure: Oozing body confidence, Tyga's rumoured ex went on to showcase her bodacious bottom in a saucy semi-sheer glittering gown

Demi was first spotted when she shared some of her now-trademark sexy snaps - leading to reported link up with famed US publicity group Tazs Angels.

In a previous interview with The Sun, she revealed: 'Ive had Instagram since I was 18. Posed for selfies and pictures and it just grew from like 60,000 to 200,000 to a million to 3.2million now.

'In school I was quite popular on MySpace and that kind of followed on to Instagram. It was really weird when people started recognising me and stuff on the street. I just got used to it.'

White hot: Demi continued to sizzle with further snaps of herself over the weekend where she threatened to spill out of the precariously small top as she posed against a railing

The breast it's going to get: Demi sizzled as she posed topless covered in a heavily embellished military inspired jacket which she left seductively open to tease at her buxom bust
She became a household name after a brief fling with Justin Bieber in 2014.

And on Monday, Chantel Jeffries had all eyes on her as she arrived to the Dream Hotel in Los Angeles.

The 23-year-old DJ highlighted her flat stomach in a bright red crop top with skintight patent trousers.

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What a beauty: Chantel Jeffries had all eyes on her as she arrived to the Dream Hotel in Los Angeles on Monday

Chantel put her full chest on display in the curve hugging crop top that grazed her upper stomach.

The model slipped on second skin cropped crimson bottoms as well as coordinating pointed heels.

The beauty added color with her oversized jacket, which she styled off her shoulders.

Chantel chose a black, white and red zippered cover up.

Stunner: The 23-year-old DJ highlighted her flat stomach in a bright red crop top with skintight patent trousers

Eye catching: Chantel put her full chest on display in the curve hugging crop top that grazed her upper stomach

Chantel styled her long brunette locks in waves with a center part.

The dark haired beauty chose to paint her lips a nude hue, adding brown shadow and shimmer on her cheek bones.

She rocked red colored sunglasses on the way in but chose to forgo them as she left.

Chantel shared a brief clip of herself to her Instagram while seated in her car; she showed off her ensemble and added the caption: 'Why you gotta do em like that.'

Fancy: Chantel shared a brief clip of herself to her Instagram while seated in her car

Views: She showed off her ensemble and added the caption: 'Why you gotta do em like that

Late last month, Chantel wowed while enjoying a boat ride - wearing just her bikini bottoms.

She covered up her breasts with her hands in the breathtaking photo.

Weeks earlier, Chantel was in Shanghai with beauty company Lancome; while there she stunned in a seductive black dress with a silky kimono and red lipstick.

Gorgeous and natural: Late last month, Chantel wowed while enjoying a boat ride - wearing just her bikini bottoms
Julianne Hough has a dream wedding in Idaho to NHL star Brooks Laich this weekend.

And the Dancing With The Stars judge said what she loved most about the nuptials was 'kissing each other for the first time as husband and wife as the confetti cannons exploded around us,' she told the new issue of People.

'I couldnt stop crying all weekend and most people [thought] I would have cried during the entire ceremony, but instead I was just so excited and ready to celebrate!' said the blonde beauty.

So sweet: Julianne Hough has a dream wedding in Idaho to NHL star Brooks Laich this weekend. And the Dancing With The Stars judge said what she loved most about the nuptials was 'kissing each other for the first time as husband and wife

'Brooks and I kept eye contact the entire ceremony,' she said. 'We never stopped looking at each other.'

She added: 'I dont think I ever really necessarily dreamed about my wedding as a kid. But I know I will always cherish and remember it for the rest of my life.'

The Grease: Live star added the wedding was 'perfection.'

So in loe: 'Brooks and I kept eye contact the entire ceremony,' she said. 'We never stopped looking at each other,' she said; seen in 2016

She had on a Marchesa dress while he opted for a Brooks Brothers suit. They exchanged rings designed by Kim Kardashian's favorite jeweler, Lorraine Schwartz.

They wed at Lake Coeur dAlene where Hough spent her summers when growing up.

'When I introduced Brooks to the lake, he fell in love with this special spot, and we knew this was where we wanted to raise our family and grow old together,' she added.'

Pretty gal: After the wedding, Julianne changed into a white bodysuit with sheer dress over it, also designed by Marchesa. InTouch Weekly has obtained photos of her second gown

Classy: The pair made quite the entrance into their reception as they pulled up on a vintage wood speedboat

The new issue of InTouch is on newsstands now

'It just felt right to be married here.'

'It was really important to me that we had our ceremony outdoors, said Laich, 34.

'Julianne and I are very adventurous and free, and wanted the setting to be in nature.'

Hough and Laich announced their engagement in August 2015.

While her pals 'choreographed dance number to Sias song, The Greatest, a favorite from Houghs recent tour with her brother, Derek,' reported People, Julianne surprised her groom with 'fireworks over the lake during their first dance to OneRepublics All This Time.'

Her dogs Lexi and Harley were also a part of the ceremony.

After the wedding, Julianne changed into a white bodysuit with sheer dress over it, also designed by Marchesa.

InTouch Weekly has obtained photos of her second gown.

The pair made quite the entrance into their reception as they pulled up on a vintage wood speedboat.

Brooks had trouble tying the boat at the dock, but he laughed it off. 'Eventually, Julianne helped, and he managed to do it,' a source told In Touch. 'Everyone cheered!'
She's one of the most glamorous WAGs in rugby league history.

But on Wednesday, Terry Biviano skipped the State of Origin decider to spend time with her daughter Azura instead.

The 42-year-old wife of NRL legend Anthony Minichiello joined her little girl at Disney On Ice's Frozen event in Sydney.

What decider? On Wednesday, Anthony Minichiello's wife Terry Biviano skipped State of Origin to spend time with her daughter Azura instead at Disney On Ice's Frozen event in Sydney

The bronzed beauty looked elegant in a black velvet top that exposed her tanned decolletage.

She added matching skinny jeans and ankle boots to finish off her glamorous look.

Before arriving at the event, the socialite shared a selfie with Azura to Instagram.

'Date night with my Ice Queen Azura,' she wrote in the caption.

'Date night with my Ice Queen Azura': Before arriving at the event, the 42-year-old socialite shared a selfie with Azura to Instagram

Terry has been supportive of her husband's sporting career since they started dating in 2006.

The couple bonded over their shared Italian heritage, which proved to be a strong foundation for their relationship.

In 2010, they announced their engagement and tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at St. Mary's Cathedral in 2012.

Terry has been supportive of her husband's sporting career since they started dating in 2006

In a previous interview with the Daily Telegraph about their relationship, Terry was quick to downplay their 'ultimate power couple' label.

'We just go about our life and relationship like everyone else,' she said.

'We focus on our family and we do not take too much notice of whatever is going on the outside.'
Stephanie Davis has launched a foul-mouth tirade at Jeremy McConnell as she wished the Irish model dead.

In messages seen by the Mirror, the former Hollyoaks actress, 24, sent a string of direct messages to a close friend of the Dubliner, 27, on Twitter in which she blamed Jeremy for his father's death - after he lost his battle with cancer in March.

The mother-of-one also hit out at Jeremy for reportedly seeing Love Island star Shannen Reilly McGrath after she jetted back to Dublin following her failed attempt to find romance in the villa - despite insiders insisting they are friends.

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Foul-mouthed: Stephanie Davis has launched a foul-mouth tirade at Jeremy McConnell as she wished the Irish model dead

During his grieving, Stephanie acted as a rock to Jeremy and was at his side following his father's passing and days later at his aunt's in Dublin.

Although going through the mourning together, Stephanie has now made shocking comments in the online exchange which read: 'I really really really reallllyyyyyyyyyy hope that the c*** dies.

'[He] pays 50 a week for her to go out. That I'll forgive him. His dad DIED because of him. He's a DIRTY SCUM BAG WHO I WOULDN'T P*** ON IF HE WAS ON FIRE.'

She continued: 'C***!!! Shannon [Shannen] sent me everything from this to drake lyrics to worse....He's a SCUM BAG SAYING HE DOSNT KNOW WHO HE SENT IT TOO AND SAYING HENHAST EVEN KISSED HER.'

Under fire: The mother-of-one also hit out at Jeremy for reportedly seeing Love Island star Shannen Reilly McGrath after she jetted back to Dublin following her failed attempt to find romance in the villa - despite insiders insisting they are friends

Turn of events: In messages seen by the Mirror, the former Hollyoaks actress, 24, sent a string of direct messages to a close friend of the Dubliner, 27, on Twitter in which she blamed Jeremy for his father's death after he lost his battle with cancer in March

While branding him 'vile', the publication deemed some of the contents to be 'too shocking' to publish as she said Jeremy 'isn't worth her spit'.

MailOnline have contacted Stephanie's rep for comment.

Her latest tirade comes after she confronted Love Island's Shannen about an alleged affair with Jeremy.

She reportedly unleashed a tirade of angry messages on the reality blonde after she was spotted out with Stephanie's ex - a mere 72 hours after a violent bust-up between the on-off couple.

To fight fire with fire, Stephanie is said to have then deliberately flirted with Dan O'Doyle - Shannen's ex and Jeremy's pal - in an attempt to make him jealous, according to The Sun.

Anger: Angry: Stephanie launched into a public tirade over her ex-boyfriend Jeremy after she confronted Love Island's Shannen about an alleged affair with Jeremy

The furore comes as they both suffered horrific injuries following an explosive row earlier this month, which left Stephanie with five fractured ribs, a broken nose, a black eye.

But it was claimed that they had to be separated by police in another row just three days earlier.

The pair, who share seven-month-old baby Caben, were reportedly at a hotel in East London when the blazing argument ensued.

An onlooker at the hotel told Sun Online: 'We were in the hotel reception and we saw this girl very distressed running out of the hotel crying. It was clear something had gone on and the night manager called the police'.

Furore: The furore comes as they both suffered horrific injuries following an explosive row earlier this month, which left Stephanie with five fractured ribs, a broken nose, a black eye

A spokesman told MailOnline: 'Police were called at 02:49hrs on 29 June to a disturbance between a man and a woman at the Hotel Alto in Ilford Hill, Ilford.

'Officers attended the location. No criminal allegations were made.'

Speaking about the explosive showdown, Jeremy had claimed to MailOnline that their 'toxic relationship' is over for good with no chance of any reconciliation.

He claimed their fight began immediately after Stephanie's pregnancy announcement, saying: 'Steph then looked at my phone and saw that I was following some other woman. She just went mental at me and kicked off.

Raging: The former Hollyoaks star, 24, branded the Irish model (pictured) 'disgusting' - appearing to address their blazing hotel brawl that had left both stars with injuries

'She was going mental I had not even met this woman but was just following her. She would not listen and stormed off to go to the pub and refused to go to the scan.'

He said he followed Stephanie to a local pub near to the Royal Chase Hotel in Enfield where they were staying.

'We were in the pub and having a few drinks. I had two or three and so did Steph which I thought was off as she was pregnant. She was also smoking and I told her a pregnant woman should not drink and smoke.

'She told me it was her life and she could do as she wanted... She was screaming and shouting and being abusive. She would not listen and for five to ten minutes just kept screaming at me.'

Serious: He said he followed Stephanie to a local pub near to the Royal Chase Hotel in Enfield where they were staying

Recalling the build-up to their brawl, he said: 'She just told me that she was pregnant. I was pretty shocked as it wasn't planned, but to be honest I was excited.

'She told me that she was going to have a scan at the hospital later that afternoon. The pregnancy was not planned and given our history together took me by surprise. I was pleased, but still in a bit of a shock.'

Stephanie was arrested and taken to Enfield Police station. She was later rushed to hospital and released at 3am on Tuesday morning after being bailed until July.

Friends claimed the row began when McConnell smashed Davis's phone which contained treasured photos of their son.

Stress: Stephanie was arrested and taken to Enfield Police station. She was later rushed to hospital and released at 3am on Tuesday morning after being bailed until July

However, he insists he did not harm the former actress, explaining: 'There is no way I touched her. She was the one who attacked me. I did not punch her and touch her.'

Two months ago Stephanie had talked about having a second child with heavily tattooed Jeremy and even talked about marriage.

But since they began seeing each other having appeared on Big Brother they have been involved in a stormy relationship.

Jeremy has spent time in rehab and Stephanie has previously spoken about how drink and drugs has affected their relationship.
Lindsay Shookus and Ben Affleck are very serious.

That is what sources have told the new issue of People about the 37-year-old SNL producer and the 44-year-old Live By Night director, who is still in the process of divorcing Jennifer Garner.

'They have been trying to take it slow but its progressing quickly. Their feelings are strong,' said the insider.

He has found love: Ben Affleck and Lindsay Shookus are very serious, according to the new issue of People; here they are seen enjoying dinner on Monday in LA

The exes: Lindsay Shookus married TV producer Kevin Miller in 2010; here he is seen playing himself in a 2007 episode of 30 Rock. Jennifer Garner is on the right

It was added that Shookus is not a flaky person who changes her mind quickly.

'She isnt someone who would have been reckless. Shes really down to earth and centered,' it was added. 'She isnt someone who does things without thinking them through.

'[The relationship] has got to be something that she felt was worth risking a lot for.'

The real deal: It was added that Shookus is not a flaky person who changes her mind quickly. 'She isnt someone who would have been reckless,' said a source; seen on Monday

And the insider insisted she is not starstruck by the Oscar-winning mega star who came to fame with Good Will Hunting and is now playing Batman in the DC Comics franchise.

'Shes just not the kind of girl who is likely to have her head turned by fame,' said the site's source.

'Shes come into contact with people more famous than Ben.'

Still pals: Ben with Jen on the Fourth Of July in LA with their kids

The fam: They have three children: Violet, 11; Seraphina, eight; and Samuel, five

SNL has attracted guests such as Alec Baldwin and The Rock.

As far as how he feels, a source close to Ben said: 'He enjoys spending time with her.'

That is clear from the smile he has flashed after dinner dates with the beauty in LA.

People also has reported that he has taken her to Las Vegas.

The way they were: Ben and Jen seemed like the perfect Hollywood power couple in 2014

There have been reports that Lindsay and her husband Kevin Miller split years ago and Ben had nothing to do with the collapse of their marriage.

It has also been claimed that Lindsay met Ben in 2013 and that their 'affair' did indeed end her union with the producer, who now works on Late Night With Seth Meyers.

Lindsay and Kevin wed in June 2010 at the Country Club of Buffalo in Williamsville, New York.

They met in September 2002 while both working on Saturday Night Live.

According to a wedding announcement placed in The New York Times, she met Kevin on her first day of work on the show.

She must like LA: Here Lindsay is seen arriving in Los Angeles last week

'She had been hired as an assistant to a producer and he was the writers assistant. They are now associate producers for the show, and Ms. Shookus is also an associate producer on 30 Rock,' the 2010 article stated.

It was added she is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and she grew up in Williamsville.

On Tuesday morning People alleged that Garner confronted Shookus about her 'affair' with Affleck back in 2015.

Garner was on a work trip to New York City when she found out about their relationship and approached Lindsay, 37, the insider told the site.

According to the source, 'Lindsay refused to back down or quit the affair.'

Ben's digs: People claimed Lindsay is staying with Ben in this rental which belongs to Brooke Shields

Multiple people have also told the magazine that the two started having an affair all the way back in 2013, two years before Jennifer and Ben separated.

Lindsay was also married at the time to Miller as they did not split until the following year.

Jen's digs: Up the street, Garner is living in this Pacific Palisades mansion

Jennifer, who separated from Ben in 2015, has apparently known about the affair for quite some time and even spoke to Lindsay's ex about it on another trip to New York City after Lindsay and her husband had already split up.

The actress was appearing on an episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers where Miller is a supervising producer.

Sources tell People, the actress went to Lindsay's husband with 'proof' of the affair, including text messages between the two.

She is fine on her own: Garner has said she is happy with her life; here she is seen with all three kids on Sunday in LA

UsWeekly also reported the two have been seeing each other 'on and off' for over two years.

The insider told Us that Ben and Lindsay 'were not casually dating' but have been 'having a full-blown affair' since 2015.

'They were sleeping together, sending each other cute texts and meeting up whenever they could,' claimed the insider.

However, a source close to Ben claimed they pair have only been dating for three months and tried to make it clear that 'Lindsay was not what led to the end of [Affleck and Garner's] marriage,' adding 'They had a ton of other problems.'

Multitasker: Jennifer has a thriving career that includes the new movie Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda; seen last week in LA

E! News also reported the relationship is new.

Ben also allegedly had an affair with the couple's nanny Christine Ouzounian in 2015.

The pretty blonde was let go after Jen suspected she was having an affair with her estranged husband of 10 years with whom she has three children.

News of Ben and Lindsay's relationship became public last week.

'They are spending time together in LA Lindsay is staying at Bens new house,' a source told People. The site added on Wednesday that Lindsay has her own home in LA but is staying often at Ben's digs.

'They had dinner at Giorgio Baldi on Thursday. They arrived in a limo. They looked happy. They had a quick dinner and then returned to Bens house,' the source added.

Ben and Jennifer announced their separation in summer 2015, after 10 years of marriage. The former couple, who filed for divorce in April, have remained amicable. They have three children: Violet, 11; Seraphina, eight; and Samuel, five.
Fans noticed she was looking slender and rather strained following her split from ex-boyfriend Sasha Mielczarek last year.

But on Wednesday, Sam Frost appeared happy and healthy as she joined her niece Bridie at Disney On Ice's Frozen performance in Sydney.

The Bachelorette star, 28, smiled for the cameras as she led the VIP guests at the family-friendly event.

Much better! On Wednesday, The Bachelorette's Sam Frost appeared happy and healthy as she joined her niece Bridie at Disney On Ice's Frozen performance in Sydney

Sam previously made headlines for her dramatic weight loss.

However, the reality TV star looked positively glowing at the Frozen event, dressed in a casual yet stylish ensemble.

She wrapped up warm up in a chic grey turtleneck sweater, skinny jeans and a pair of black ankle boots.

Good times! Sam previously made headlines for her dramatic weight loss, but she looked to be in positive spirits while attending the family-friendly event

She later added a leather jacket as she beamed while cuddling up to her niece alongside Frozen's female stars.

Possibly helping Sam smile is her rumoured new romance with Dave Bashford, who did not attend the soiree.

Meanwhile, several other local celebrities were spotted at the event, including glamorous single mum Jodi Anasta.

White on the mark! Meanwhile, several other local celebrities were spotted at the event, including glamorous single mum Jodi Anasta. Pictured with her daughter Aleeia, three

The Neighbours actress, 32, cut a stylish figure as she posed with her three-year-old daughter Aleeia.

The mother-daughter duo opted for cute matching white outfits.

Jodi finished off her stylish winter look with a long beige trench coat and nude flats.

She didn't dare wear white! Channel Nine's Amber Sherlock wore a pale blue frilled mini dress and heels as she joined her daughter Piper for some school holiday fun

However, one guest who made sure to avoid wearing white was Amber Sherlock.

Six months after 'Jacketgate', where she scolded colleague Julie Snook for wearing white during a Nine News segment, Amber instead opted for pale blue.

The 41-year-old journalist and weather presenter looked youthful and confident as she arrived in a frilled mini dress and heels.

Who knew they were friends? Amber and Jodi shared a laugh at the VIP event

Family first! NRL WAG Terry Biviano skipped the State of Origin decider to take her daughter Azura to meet a Disney princess

She appeared to be in good spirits while enjoying some school holiday fun with her daughter Piper.

Later, the brunette TV personality was seen sharing a laugh with Jodi as they mingled among the VIP guests.

Meanwhile, NRL WAG Terry Biviano skipped the State of Origin decider to take her daughter Azura to meet a Disney princess.

All smiles: Home and Away veteran Emily Symons also made an appearance with her two nieces, Eva and Lucia

Home and Away veteran Emily Symons also made an appearance with her two nieces, Eva and Lucia.

Also joining the female celebrities for the VIP event were a number of doting dads, including The Biggest Loser's Shannan Ponton.

The 43-year-old father-of-two looked dapper as he arrived with his children, Max and Mila, and wife Kylie Stray.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs' Jason Clark also brought overjoyed daughter Milla to meet with the Disney On Ice stars.

Family affair: The Biggest Loser's Shannan Ponton was joined by his wife and two children
Her infamous 'Jacketgate' feud with reporter Julie Snook in January was sparked when the entire news panel wore white.

But there was no white in sight when Amber Sherlock attended Disney On Ice's Frozen VIP event in Sydney on Wednesday night.

The television journalist, 41, looked chic in a stylish blue dress as she enjoyed some school holiday fun with her daughter Piper.

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No white in sight! Channel Nine's Amber Sherlock (left) wore a stylish blue frock at Sydney's Disney On Ice event on Wednesday, joined by her daughter Piper (right)

Appearing in high spirits, Amber smiled as she posed with seven-year-old Piper at the exclusive soiree.

Amber's dress featured flirty frills above the knee, with long sleeves and a high neck design.

She finished off her evening look with a pair of strappy black high heels.

Leggy display! Amber's dress featured frills above the knee, with long sleeves and a high neck

Treating Piper to the VIP experience, Amber was seen tying a balloon to her daughter's wrist after she had her face painted.

She also appeared to have been gifted a Frozen handbag and a cardboard crown.

The mother-daughter duo later posed with the stars of the ice-skating show, Elsa and Anna.

School holidays! Treating Piper to the VIP experience, Amber was seen tying a balloon to her daughter's wrist after she had her face painted

'Girls night': They later posed with the stars of the ice-skating show, Elsa and Anna

Amber captioned the snap: 'Do you want to build a snowman? Girls night!'

The Channel Nine star also rubbed shoulders with fellow celebrities Sam Frost, Jodi Anasta and Terry Biviano at the event.

Disney On Ice presents Magical Ice Festival will tour Sydney from July 13-17
He was hospitalised in January after suffering a heart attack while in England.

So no doubt Antonio Banderas' fans will be thrilled to see the 56-year-old looking so well while enjoying a day of sunbathing with girlfriend Nicole Kempel, 37, in Ischia, Italy on Wednesday.

The hunky Spanish film star looked to be in great shape as he showed off his toned chest and arms while soaking up the sunshine during a lazy day by the ocean alongside his beautiful bikini-clad partner.

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Hollywood hunk: Antonio Banderas, 56, flaunted his toned chest while enjoying a day by the sea in Ischia, Italy, alongside girlfriend Nicole Kempel, 37, on Wednesday

Enjoying time together: The Mask of Zorro star soaked up the sunshine and enjoyed a dip in the waters while bikini-clad Nicole chose to read a book on her sun lounger

Donning a pair of black and green swimming trunks, the shirtless actor showcased the good looks that made him a Hollywood heartthrob.

He matched his trainers to his shorts, also opting for a green and black design, and carried a black T-shirt with fluorescent orange sleeves to slip on when he left the poolside.

At one stage the raven-haired star was seen standing with his head tilted towards the sun, enjoying the scorching hot rays on his face, before settling down next to pretty Nicole on an adjoining sun lounger.

Good-looking couple: Nicole slipped into a white cover-up when she left the pool area alongside Antonio, who is in Italy to premiere his latest movie, Black Butterfly

Sun worshipper: Spanish actor Antonio appeared to bask in the sun's rays at one point, tipping his head upwards to catch the heat

Hunk: the ex-husband of actress Melanie Griffith enjoyed a dip in the waters during his day of relaxation alongside Nicole

Perfect view: he looked deep in thought while staring out across the ocean after returning to his sun lounger

Antonio shocked fans in March when he revealed he'd suffered a heart attack back in January and had been hospitalised in England.

The ex-husband of Melanie Griffith reassured fans it hadn't been serious and there was no lasting damage.

He underwent a procedure to introduce three stents to his arteries and insisted the whole incident hadn't been dramatic or anything to worry about.

While Antonio basked in the sunshine, his gorgeous girlfriend remained hidden from the rays, lounging underneath a sun umbrella

While Antonio took a stroll around the poolside area, Nicole flaunted her figure in a skimpy black halterneck bikini as she topped up her tan, choosing to read a book on her lounger.

She kept her brown tresses off her face and tied up in a knot on her head, and protected her eyes with a stylish pair of brown sunglasses.

When the couple were ready to head inside, the brunette beauty slipped on a white cover-up and strappy flat sandals.

Good look? Antonio appeared to quiz Nicole on his T-shirt choice while they walked off from the seaside area

Antonio and Nicole's day of relaxation in the sun came after they made a glamorous appearance at the Ischia Film Festival on Monday night, to support the actor's latest film, Black Butterfly.

The psychological thriller, co-starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, stars Antonio as a reclusive writer desperate to revive his career with a brand new project.

However, his efforts are derailed when Jonathan's mysterious character turns up in town and the two men get sucked into a dangerous game of one-upmanship that only one can win.
Francesca Eastwood bared her taut tummy in a black silk bra-top Tuesday night while partying at The Dream Hollywood Hotel's rooftop pool lounge The Highlight Room.

The Fargo guest star - who turns 24 next month - wore a beige jacket over her shoulders and rocked a black star-spangled mini-skirt and stilettos.

That same day, Miss Golden Globe 2013 - who dyed her hair black in May - shared a selfie with her 240K social media followers captioned: 'Love you.'

Midriff: Francesca Eastwood bared her taut tummy in a black silk bra-top Tuesday night while partying at The Dream Hollywood Hotel's rooftop pool lounge The Highlight Room

Coy: The Fargo guest star - who turns 24 next month - wore a beige jacket over her shoulders and rocked a black star-spangled mini-skirt and stilettos

That same day, Miss Golden Globe 2013 - who dyed her hair black in May - shared a selfie with her 240K social media followers captioned: 'Love you'

Francesca happens to be the nepotistically-privileged daughter of Clint Eastwood and his Unforgiven castmate Frances Fisher.

The 87-year-old Oscar winner - who's fathered seven children with five women - spent four years with the 65-year-old SAG Award nominee but they never wed.

The California girl's birth marked the first time Clint was present for one of his children being born.

Famous parents: Francesca happens to be the nepotistically-privileged daughter of Oscar winner Clint Eastwood and his Unforgiven castmate Frances Fisher

Everything okay? Curiously, Eastwood hasn't been photographed with her second husband, Westworld star Clifton Collins Jr., since March (pictured January 20)

Curiously, Eastwood hasn't been photographed with her second husband, Westworld star Clifton Collins Jr., since March.

The Outlaws and Angels actress and her 47-year-old beau co-starred in two upcoming films, including the campus rape thriller M.F.A. hitting US theaters this September.

The indie film - in which they play Noelle and Kennedy - will next screen at Ireland's Galway Film Fleadh on Thursday as well as Canada's Fantasia Film Festival on July 26.

Hitting US theaters this September! The Outlaws and Angels actress and her 47-year-old beau co-starred in two upcoming films, including the campus rape thriller M.F.A.

Festival circuit: The indie film - in which they play Noelle and Kennedy - will next screen at Ireland's Galway Film Fleadh on Thursday as well as Canada's Fantasia Film Festival on July 26

The May-December couple also play Leah Dillon and Detective Iger in this year's movie The Vault alongside James Franco and Taryn Manning.

Francesca finished recording ADR for the bank robbery horror flick on April 6.

The Heroes Reborn alum gushed on Instagram: 'Damn am I a fan of Taryn Manning, Scott Haze, [director] Dan Bush, Q'orianka Kilcher, Clifton Collins Jr., and most of all Keith Loneker.'

Onscreen collaboration: The May-December couple also play Leah Dillon and Detective Iger in this year's movie The Vault alongside James Franco (R) and Taryn Manning
Blac Chyna has kept quiet about the drama that unfolded on social media when ex-fiance Rob Kardashian posted nude photos of her on his Instagram account.

The mother-of-two fought back in court with a temporary restraining order against her ex, preventing him from coming within 100 yards of Chyna or posting any photos of her or her children (including his daughter Dream) online.

In an interview with US Weekly after the incident, the 29-year-old social media star revealed she is 'taking the classier route' and not engaging with any online haters, including her ex who 'doesn't respect me.'

Speaking out: Blac Chyna, 29, revealed she is taking the 'classier' route when it comes to online haters, including Rob Kardashain who 'doesn't respect me'

Fighting back: Chyna, who filed for the restraining order on Monday with lawyer Lisa Bloom, alleged that Rob was abusive towards her

Chyna, who filed for the restraining order on Monday, alleged that Rob was abusive towards her.

Rob - who shares two-month-old daughter Dream with Chyna - denied ever physically abusing her, according to TMZ.

She opened up to the magazine about what she believes is the most important thing in a relationship: 'respect.'

'Once respect comes, then loves come and when love comes, a really healthy relationship comes, you know?' Starting out as friends goes a long way in building 'solid ground,' she told US. 'If you don't have that, things just crumble.'

Wants a good relationship: She opened up to the magazine about what she believes is the most important thing in a relationship: 'respect'

The model, who has been in an on and off relationship with Rob since early 2016, encourages people to seek help and call the police if things become unhealthy

She encourages people to 'go seek help' and 'call the police' if things become unhealthy.

The model revealed to the magazine that she is currently not dating, but says she is looking for the ideal partner.

'I would like somebody confident, who takes care of his business, is strong, healthy. Somebody that loves their family and treats their friends right  and treats me right.'

Chyna doesn't plan on taking a break or slowing down her social media presence, but says there are some things she is planning on changing about her approach.

In the past, she says she didn't hesitate to engage with online haters, but will now start 'taking the classier route' when it comes to social media interactions.

'I feel like the more I share, the more relatable I am,' she revealed.

Loves to share! Chyna doesn't plan on taking a break or slowing down her social media presence, but says there are some things she is planning on changing about her approach

Want to connect: 'I feel like the more I share, the more relatable I am,' she revealed

The D.C. native also said she has stopped caring about what people think: 'I don't care how somebody looks at me or their feelings. I know how I am. I know how I treat my friends and family and kids and that's all I'm worried about.'

'You have some people that's weak and you have some people that's strong. I consider myself a very strong person.'

In the online rants against her, Rob shared that he spent $100,000 on surgery for Chyna after Dream was born, but the mother-of-two didn't touch on that part of the process.

She says she used a couple healthy routes to get back into pre-baby form.

'I actually stopped eating meat,' she says of one trick she's used to drop the pounds. 'It's been five months now. I'm a pescatarian, and I still eat eggs and cheese.'

Healthy weight loss: She says she used a couple healthy routes to get back into pre-baby form, including cutting out meat and private gym sessions

In the online rants against her, Rob shared that he spent $100,000 on surgery for Chyna after Dream was born, but the mother-of-two didn't touch on that part of the process

She also has a trainer that comes to her house to do circuit training with her.

'I hate going to the gym, so we just do everything in my backyard,' she revealed.

Chyna, who is also mom to four-year-old King Cairo with ex Tyga says she is focusing on being a mom to her two children and loves watching them grow up.

'King is like me; he's really strong. If he wants something, he'll demand it. He has really good common sense, and I see that in myself. He likes to figure out things.'

She refused to touch on how she was going about co-parenting her kids, saying it's 'nobody's business,' but says she hopes to have more children one day.

Happier times: Chyna and Rob started dating early 2016 and were engaged and expecting their first child by that spring (pictured in June)

'I wouldn't mind having four; I think four is a good number. No more after that. Five is too many. I'd have to get a minivan for sure, and I'm not riding in no minivan.'

Chyna and Rob started dating early 2016 and were engaged and expecting their first child by that spring.

Dream was born November 10, 2016 in Los Angeles.

After months of being on and off the couple split in February this year but still put on an amicable display on social media over the following months, sparking rumors of reconciliation.
She's the 47-year-old Home And Away star known for her age-defying appearance.

And Emily Symons continued to turn back the clock on Wednesday, as she looked remarkably youthful at Disney On Ice's Frozen VIP event in Sydney.

Emily, who has played Marilyn Chambers on the TV soap since 1989, flaunted her wrinkle-free features at the family friendly soiree.

Frozen in time! Home and Away's Emily Symons, 47, looked remarkably youthful while attending Disney On Ice's Frozen VIP event in Sydney on Wednesday with her two nieces

The Australian actress was joined by her nieces Eva and Lucia, but it appears her own young son Henry, who is almost two, stayed at home.

She wrapped up against the chilly winter weather in a black coat and accessorised with a stylish animal print scarf.

Emily's young relatives looked cute in bright dresses and had their faces decorated with colourful painted patterns.

Mum's the word! Emily was joined by several other local celebrities, including Neighbours star Jodi Anasta (left) and her daughter Aleeia (right)

Chilled style! The Bachelorette's Sam Frost also attended the family friendly event

Emily was joined by several other local celebrities, including Neighbours star Jodi Anasta and her daughter Aleeia, as well as The Bachelorette's Sam Frost.

As well as spending time with her nieces, doting mother Emily regularly shares photos of herself bonding with son Henry.

She welcomed her child in August 2015 with former partner Paul Jackson.

Doting mum! The 47-year-old regularly shares images of herself bonding with son Henry

Miracle child! The actress became pregnant with Henry after struggling with fertility

The birth came after Emily's long-running struggles with fertility, including two unsuccessful rounds of IVF, which she has spoken about on several occasions.

After becoming pregnant, Emily told New Idea magazine in 2015 that she was feeling emotional about expecting her first child.

'I cry through all the scans, every time I hear that heartbeat, but they're obviously tears of happiness,' she told the weekly tabloid.
She gave birth to daughter Shiloh Nouvel on May 27, 2006 in Swakopmund, Namibia.

And Angelina Jolie and her Namibian-born daughter jetted off to the African country earlier this month to officially open the Shiloh Wildlife Sanctuary.

The sanctuary, named in honor of the 11-year-old, is part of the N/aan ku se Foundation.

She's got a big heart: Angelina Jolie and her daughter jetted off to the African country to officially open the Shiloh Wildlife Sanctuary; Angelina (r) pictured with the N/aan ku se Foundation founders Marlice and Rudie Van Vuuren

The new sanctuary is funded by the Jolie-Pitt Foundation; she and estranged husband Brad Pitt gave the foundation a $2 million grant in 2011.

Animals like rhinos and elephants will be cared for at the Shiloh Wildlife Sanctuary - saved from poachers and abusers; the foundation called it a 'place of hope' and a 'second chance' for the animals.

In early July, Angelina brought Shiloh to help open the sanctuary named in her honor.

People magazine reports that Shiloh's 'face lit up when she saw the sanctuary for the first time.'

Happy: Shiloh (pictured on the left) was born in Namibia in 2006; pictured with Zacheo, Leasin and Klein Piet

Big hearts: The new sanctuary is funded by the Jolie-Pitt Foundation; she and estranged husband Brad Pitt gave the foundation a $2 million grant in 2011

Adding that the 'name was a surprise to her;' Shiloh couldn't stop 'beaming.'

The Shiloh Wildlife Sanctuary's main purpose is to 'assist and care for any rhinos or elephants that have been injured or orphaned in a poaching incident,' according to the N/aan ku se Foundation's website.

The new addition to the foundation will have a full-time veterinarian as well as trucks, crates, vet equipment and holding pens, thanks to the Jolie-Pitt Foundation's donation.

Wildlife that are cared for at the facility will be nursed back to health before released to their place of origin.

Shiloh's siblings were also on hand at the wildlife sanctuary opening.

Shiloh is the daughter of Angelina and Brad Pitt; her siblings are: Maddox, 15; Pax, 13; Zahara, 12; and twins Vivienne and Knox, nine.

Blast from the past: Angelina and Brad took their kids to the foundation in 2010

People magazine wrote that during the opening, Shiloh and her siblings 'moved around very quietly as the newly rescued elephants were still settling in.'

The clan stayed in Namibia for five days.

While there, Angelina, Shiloh and Zahara met with His Excellency Dr. Hage Geingob, who is the President of the Republic of Namibia, as well as Madame Monica Geingos, First Lady of the Republic of Namibia, according to the foundation.

Angelina said that 'It is a privilege to work with N/aan ku se and be able to contribute in Namibia,' via People.

The movie star, 42, also visited a cheetah named Shiloh during her visit earlier this month; she first met the animal in 2015 when it was just a cub.

What a sweet duo: The movie star, 42, also visited a cheetah named Shiloh - which she first met in 2015; seen two years ago with the cub

In January 2011, Angelina and Brad gave the foundation $2 million, after enjoying Christmas there with their kids.

During their visit six years ago, their children witnessed a leopard being returned to its place of origin as well as an injured wild dog getting tended to, UK's Press Association reported via People.

Angelina re-visited the foundation in 2015 as well.

The star has known the N/aan ku se Foundation co-founder, conservationist Marlice van Vuuren, since 1998.

Having fun: Angelina with her son Maddox during their 2015 visit to the foundation
The summer exploits showed no sign of ending as Kimberley Garners current jaunt across the Mediterranean continued in earnest on Wednesday afternoon.

The former Made in Chelsea star was joined by a small group of family and friends as she frolicked aboard a small boat off the picturesque coast of St. Tropez.

Sporting a midnight blue swimsuit, Kimberley, 27, showed off her undeniably toned physique while taking pictures of the stunning ocean vista.

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Good times: The summer exploits showed no sign of ending as Kimberley Garners current jaunt across the Mediterranean continued in earnest on Wednesday afternoon

Accompanied by a female pal, the blonde later jumped into the azure blue water for a refreshing dip before climbing back on board.

Bending to retrieve her towel from its place on the deck, Kimberley once again revealed her peachy bottom as the group prepared to make their way back to the jetty.

With an appearance at local beach restaurant Le Club 55 on the cards, the former TV personality traded her swimwear for a vibrantly patterned crop-top and matching, high-slung shorts.

Say cheese: Sporting a midnight blue swimsuit, Kimberley, 27, showed off her undeniably toned physique while taking pictures of the stunning ocean vista

Looking good: The former Made in Chelsea star was joined by pals as she frolicked aboard a small boat off the picturesque coast of St. Tropez

Here we go: Accompanied by a female friend, the blonde later jumped into the Med for a refreshing dip

Shielding her eyes behind a pair of heavily tinted sunglasses, Kimberley was in high-spirits as a small speedboat ferried them back to dry land.

But with temperatures soaring the demure blonde once again got her feet wet while splashing around in the surf during a short coastal walk.

Speaking to MailOnline, Kimberley admitted her stay in the South of France has turned into something of a ritual.

'I've been coming here since I was little each summer - so it's sort of a family tradition now,' she explained. 'It's really nice to spend some time with them. I have some girlfriends staying too.'

Feet first: Two shirtless pals looked on as they leaped into the ocean, with one capturing the moment on his smartphone

Here she comes: Kimberley soon made her way back on board following a brief swim

Annual visit: Kimberley recently admitted her stay in the South of France has turned into something of a family tradition

Her appearance in St. Tropez comes just days after she was seen with Canadian F1 driver Lance Stroll on the Italian island of Capri.

The swimwear designer revealed last month that she is single after calling time on a long-term relationship.

She told MailOnline: 'I ended the relationship recently. It was a really wonderful three years and we are still good friends today.'

Peachy: Bending to retrieve her towel from its place on the deck, Kimberley once again revealed her bottom as the group prepared to make their way back to the jetty

Outfit change: With an appearance at local beach restaurant Le Club 55 on the cards, the former TV personality traded her swimwear for a vibrantly patterned crop-top and matching, high-slung shorts

Helping hand: Kimberley had some assistance as she changed into her seasonal two-piece

The socialite has been notoriously tight-lipped about the identity of her previous long-term boyfriend, who was often seen with her in west London.

Speaking to The Sun during her appearance at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, she said: 'It was a great relationship. Id love to meet someone with a great personality  its all about the personality for me.'

Kimberley joined Made In Chelsea in March 2012 before departing the following November, as she featured in some extremely tumultuous storylines.

She dated Richard Dinan on the show, with the businessman whisking Kimberley off on romantic dates and later a holiday to Italy .

Picturesque: The sweeping Mediterranean provided a stunning backdrop as the blonde star idled on the deck of her small boat

Shady: Shielding her eyes behind a pair of heavily tinted sunglasses, Kimberley was in high-spirits as she made her way back to dry land

Upbeat: The blonde was joined by an assortment of family of friends aboard a small speedboat

All together now: The group huddled together for a snap ahead of their lunch date on Wednesday afternoon

She's pleased: Given her idyllic surroundings, Kimberley was predictably cheerful as she perched herself at the front of the boat

Let's go: The swimwear designer made her way across a narrow jetty after reaching the shore
He's been lapping up the sun in Hawaii with his wife of 16 years, Keely Shaye Smith.

And Pierce Brosnan looked in high spirits as he cut a solo figure while emerging from the glistening waters in a hunky display.

The 64-year-old actor, who is most famed for his James Bond role, looked every inch the silver fox as he went shirtless to top up his tan.

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Eternal hunk: Pierce Brosnan, 64, looked every inch the silver fox as he went shirtless for a dip in the ocean in Hawaii

Pierce, who played the legendary secret agent from 1995 until 2002, looked on fine form as be display his torso in a pair of grey boardshorts.

Making the most of his down time, the star dipped briefly into the ocean before emerging onto the sandy shore.

Ensuring to maintain his physique, Pierce later embarked on a gruelling run in a fitted all-grey ensemble.

Irish-born Pierce married his wife Keely in 2001, 10 years after his first wife, Cassandra Harris, passed away at age 43 following a battle with ovarian cancer.

Lapping up the sun: Making the most of his down time, the actor dipped briefly into the ocean before emerging onto the sandy shore

Always on form! Ensuring to maintain his physique, Piece later embarked on a gruelling run in a fitted all-grey ensemble

The star recently gushed about his wife's strength and support for him, telling the Independent last year: 'I love her vitality, her passion.

He continued: 'She has this strength that I wouldn't be able to live without. When Keely looks at me, I go weak.'

The actor often declares his love for his wife by sharing throwback snaps of himself with her in younger years.

Meanwhile, it's been confirmed that Pierce will reprise his role as Sam for the recently announced sequel to Mamma Mia!

Starring role: Pierce has famously played legendary secret agent in James Bond from 1995 until 2002

In love: Pierce has been lapping up the sun in Hawaii with his wife Keely Shaye Smith - who he wed in 2001, 10 years after his first wife, Cassandra Harris, passed away at age 43 following a battle with ovarian cancer

The new film, entitled Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! is due for release in summer 2018, a decade after the original film came out.

Although the storyline remains a secret, it is believed that a number of ABBA hits that werent included in the first film  such as Waterloo and Knowing Me, Knowing You - will be featured.

Universal Pictures confirmed last month that the sequel will see the return of the film's original cast.

The star-studded line-up will include Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard.
It's still seven months from release, but Black Panther's cast and crew have revealed new details about the flick centered on Marvel Comics' first black superhero.

Michael B. Jordan, Chadwick Boseman, and Lupita Nyong'o appear as their characters on the cover of EW's annual Comic-Con double issue, which hits newsstands Friday.

'What makes him different from other superheroes, first and foremost, is he doesn't see himself as a superhero. He sees himself as a politician,' director Ryan Coogler told the mag.

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Groundbreaking: It's still seven months from release, but Black Panther's cast and crew have revealed new details about the flick centered on Marvel Comics' first black superhero

Hitting newsstands Friday! Michael B. Jordan (L), Chadwick Boseman (M), and Lupita Nyong'o (R) appear as their characters on the cover of EW's annual Comic-Con double issue

'In this movie, a lot like politics, it's a little tricky to define who's [a good guy]. The film very much plays with those concepts, looking at conflicts and different motivations, and who's with who.'

40-year-old Boseman revealed that the T'Challa stand-alone film will revisit unresolved issues from last year's Captain America: Civil War.

'It [explores] his mourning process, his connection to why his father [T'Chaka] was killed, and feeling like he should have been able to do something about it,' the South Carolina-born star explained.

'All that ties into how he's going to rule.'

Director Ryan Coogler told the mag: 'What makes him different from other superheroes, first and foremost, is he doesn't see himself as a superhero. He sees himself as a politician'

The 31-year-old Creed filmmaker teased: 'In this movie, a lot like politics, it's a little tricky to define who's [a good guy]' (pictured in 2016)

'It [explores] his mourning process': 40-year-old Boseman revealed that the T'Challa stand-alone film will revisit unresolved issues from last year's Captain America: Civil War

T'Challa's armor is famously made from Vibranium, the mystical metal mined in his royal kingdom of Wakanda, which also comprised Captain America's shield.

The Afro-futurist paradise - pretending to be an impoverished third-world nation to the outside world - lures the one-armed poacher Ulysses Klaue played by Andy Serkis.

'As long as he can amass fortune and cause disruption in the world at the same time, I think he's a happy man,' the 53-year-old Englishman said.

Black Panther marked an unlikely reunion for the Golden Globe nominee and his Hobbit castmate Martin Freeman, who portrays 'totally competent' CIA operative Everett K. Ross.

Precious metal: T'Challa's armor is famously made from Vibranium, the mystical metal mined in his royal kingdom of Wakanda, which also comprised Captain America's shield

'He can amass fortune and cause disruption in the world': The Afro-futurist paradise lures the one-armed poacher Ulysses Klaue played by Andy Serkis

Yes! Black Panther marked an unlikely reunion for the Golden Globe nominee and his Hobbit castmate Martin Freeman, who portrays 'totally competent' CIA operative Everett K. Ross

Antagonist: After Andy's Ulysses breaks Erik Killmonger (Jordan) out of a CIA prison, the Wakanda dissident attempts to overthrow T'Challa from his throne

After Andy's Ulysses breaks Erik Killmonger (Jordan) out of a CIA prison, the antagonistic Wakanda dissident attempts to overthrow T'Challa from his throne.

34-year-old Lupita takes on the role of T'Challa's love interest Nakia, who's 'an undercover operative traveling the world to protect Wakanda's interests and hunt its enemies.'

'In her journey in this film, she has to really choose between her passion for her calling and her passion for her king,' the Oscar winner explained.

Back on February 16, the Queen of Katwe stunner shared a mysterious Instagram snap of herself getting a cast made of her head and shoulders - which was very likely for Black Panther.

Badass: 34-year-old Lupita takes on the role of T'Challa's love interest Nakia, who's 'an undercover operative traveling the world to protect Wakanda's interests and hunt its enemies'

The Oscar winner explained: 'In her journey in this film, she has to really choose between her passion for her calling and her passion for her king'

'More than a facial': Back on February 16, the Queen of Katwe stunner shared a mysterious Instagram snap of herself getting a cast made of her head and shoulders - which was very likely for Black Panther

Talented: The ensemble also features Oscar nominee Angela Bassett, Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya, and The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira (R)

Nyong'o - who boasts 7.3M social media followers - ominously teased: 'More than a facial...'

The exciting ensemble also features Oscar nominee Angela Bassett, Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya, and The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira.

Fans can catch more of Black Panther and the kingdom of Wakanda when the highly-anticipated Marvel flick finally hit US/UK theaters February 16 of next year.

'Creating a character named Black Panther, who comes across in those early comics as smarter than everybody else, is shrewder than everybody else, comes from a country that is more advanced than any other country...They were doing this in the sixties, right in the middle of the Civil Rights movement,' Marvel president Kevin Feige mused.

'That's pretty good, and we are certainly not going to shy away from that.'

Excited? Fans can catch more of Black Panther and the kingdom of Wakanda when the highly-anticipated Marvel flick finally hit US/UK theaters February 16 of next year

Marvel president Kevin Feige mused: 'Black Panther comes across in those early [sixties] comics as smarter than everybody else, shrewder than everybody else, comes from a country that is more advanced than any other country' (pictured May 25)
Dawn O'Porter and Chris O'Dowd welcomed their second child to the world on July 1 - a boy named Valentine.

Taking to Twitter, the author and journalist shared a sweet snap of the tot with a caption reading: 'We had a baby boy last week. Woohoo! His nappy expenses are ridiculous, so this baby is going 'Cheep'. #DadJoke #Valentine'.

Dawn, who shares two-year-old son named Art with Chris, dropped the surprise news on one of her podcasts in January when she teased about living in 'a lot of elasticated trousers' with a new baby and a book on the way.

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Sharing the post on Wednesday, Dawn shared the snap of the tiny tot sporting a babygro with the front emblazoned with an image of a duckling.

He added a caption on the image reading: 'Happy to announce I am the proud owner of this chirpy little chap. Born July 1st, his name is Valentine O'Porter, and he is so delicious. Two sons, my goodness #soinlove'.

In her initial announcement, Dawn said: 'I am starting a new novel this week. I'm about to turn 38 and I am pregnant. So I'll be investing in a lot of elasticated trousers and dusting off all my old vintage tents, not unlike a lot of people in January.'

Dawn - nee Dawn Porter - and Chris met at her 30th birthday, eight years ago and married at typically fashionable venue, London's 33 Portland Place, in 2012.

Expecting: Dawn O'Porter and Chris O'Dowd welcomed their second child to the world on July 1 - a boy named Valentine

Expecting: Dawn teased her fans on a podcast by telling them that she was investing in 'a lot of elasticated trousers'

On their first meeting, she told The Belfast Telegraph two years ago: 'I just fancied him. He's just a gorgeous guy. I feel absolutely adored by him.'

They welcomed a little boy named Art in January 2015, but Dawn says that being a working mum has given her the motivation to achieve more than ever.

She continued: 'Being a working mum is really hard. This year I've had enormous support from Chris, and I've managed to do all the things that I've got to do, and I feel very, very lucky.

'Since I had Art I've achieved more than I ever had before, and I've also spent an awful lot of time with him. My guilt isn't 'is Art ok?', I just miss him when I'm at work.'

Working hard: Chris is still best known for his part in Channel 4's The IT Crowd (left)

Hitting Hollywood: He also starred in Bridesmaids with Kristen Wiig but he and Dawn met before his Hollywood break

Moviestar: Chris (here with Fionnula Flanagan and Colin Farrell in 2016) is an Irish comic

In her monthly column for Glamour magazine, she also said of parenting: 'I have to say, I love it. Art's given me a really lovely start. It's hard work and bloody relentless, but he's a really nice baby. I feel very lucky to have a healthy child.

'I was very emotionally ready to be a mum, so by the time he flopped out - well, didn't quite flop out - I was raring to go. He's very cute.'

Though they rarely speak publicly about their son, Chris 'introduced' the child in February 2015 with a humorous hybrid picture featuring their most distinctive features as a couple.

Baby joy: Dawn says that being a working mother is very hard, but she's achieved more since welcoming two-year-old Art than ever before

Joker: The couple have stayed quiet about their children, but this is the only 'picture' Chris has released of their son - joking about making an introduction in February 2015

He wrote: 'It's a boy! @hotpatooties & I would like to introduce Art O'Porter, our gorgeous baby. Well,I'm pretty sure he's ours'.

Dawn is now due to write another boo, reminding her fans and loved ones that she'll be in a very sensitive place for here on out.

She said on Instagram: 'I am about to crawl into another writing cave. A new book, a new deadline (the third Renee and Flo), a new roller coaster.

'I'll come out for parental reasons, occasional party reasons, almost definitely my birthday reasons and possibly occasional breakdown reasons.

'Other than that, the people who know me, know the drill... BACK OFF OR I'LL CRY AT YOU.'
Ashley Tisdale showed off her svelte frame as she left the gym in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The High School Musical alum, 31, opted for high rise grey leggings and a black tank top that she tucked in to show off her tiny waist.

The actress also carried a huge bottle of water with her as she made her way to her car.

Workouts paying off: Ashley Tisdale, 29, showed off her svelte frame in grey leggings and a black tank top as she left the gym in Los Angeles on Wednesday

Ashley paired the dark outfit with matching running shoes and held a sweatshirt over her arm, which she clearly didn't need for the sunny day.

She wore her dark shoulder-length hair down and appeared to wear very little makeup for the workout.

In order to keep the sun out of her eyes, she opted for large sunglasses.

Ashley decided to hit the gym solo, but was recently spotted returning from a vacation with husband Christopher French, 35.

Coordinated: Ashley paired the dark outfit with matching running shoes and held a sweatshirt over her arm, which she clearly didn't need for the sunny day

She wore her dark shoulder-length hair down and appeared to wear very little makeup for the workout

The pair got married in a secret ceremony in Santa Barbara in September 2014.

The couple have enjoyed two and a half years together after vowing to spend the rest of their lives together.

The musical lovebirds became engaged in 2013 after only a year of dating each other.

Ashley gushed about how Christopher is her best friend and the love of her life in a recent Instagram post.
After facing backlash for a tweet mocking a 'gender creative' boy, James Woods tweeted this Wednesday that his critics should 'stop the homophobia train.'

James, 70, had tweeted an image Sunday of parents who held signs supporting the boy, including one which read, 'my son wears dresses and makeup. Get over it.'

He'd written above the photo: 'This is sweet. Wait until this poor kid grows up, realizes what you've done, and stuffs both of you dismembered into a freezer in the garage.'

Response: After facing backlash for his Twitter joke about a 'gender creative' boy, James Woods tweeted this Wednesday that his critics should 'stop the homophobia train'

He's been criticized on Twitter since then, and posted a string of tweets on Wednesday that seemed to address clapback.

'Using one's child as a social justice propaganda doll is tantamount to child abuse. This is not about homophobia. Nice try though...' he began.

His next tweet read: 'For the record I have supported human rights of all stripes and persuasions, colors, creeds, choices and preferences my entire life. Period.'

One Twitter user replied: 'except for Podesta,' a tweet James quoted and responded to by joking: 'I said "human" rights...'.

Offensive: James said the pictured boy will murder his parents when he grows up

James then returned to tweeting seriously: 'Some children can be ruthlessly cruel to children who are simply different in any way. I humbly suggest making your child a target is unwise.'

He went on to write: 'I spent my entire adult life in the New York theatre scene, kids. I have more gay friends than Liberace. So let's stop the homophobia train.'

When a Twitter user replied to his Liberace joke: 'You don't have to defend yourself sir, this is a new America,' James quoted the tweet and wrote: 'This is not a defense. I'm old enough to remember the agony friends suffered for being different. Being wrongly accused of anything is vile.'

'Tantamount to child abuse': He's been criticized on Twitter since then, and posted a string of tweets on Wednesday that seemed to address clapback

'Some children can be ruthlessly cruel': James wrote that he'd 'spent my entire adult life in the New York theatre scene' and joked that 'I have more gay friends than Liberace'

He closed: 'And of course the final word on all of this is that I frankly don't give a s*** what anybody thinks about me,' a tweet that is now pinned to his profile.

Among the Twitter users who'd criticized James' original tweet were How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris, who's been married to his husband David Burtka since 2014.

Quoting James 'freezer' tweet, Neil wrote this Tuesday: ''Utterly ignorant and classless, Mr. Woods. I'm friends with this family. You know not of what you speak, and should be ashamed of yourself.'

James is known for voicing his conservative views on social media, and his Twitter page once featured a pinned message where he thanks President Donald Trump for re-tweeting one of his musings.

Angry: Neil Patrick Harris called James Woods 'ignorant and classless' after taking offense at one of his tweets on Tuesday

The twice Oscar-nominated actor, a practicing Roman Catholic who has a reported IQ of 180, has yet to respond to the Doogie Howser MD favorite's statement.

Others also took offense at Woods' initial tweet, including Weeds actor Andy Milder.

The 47-year-old said: 'When did you dismember your humanity and stuff it in a freezer in the garage?'

The boy's mother Lori Duron - who's written a book about bringing him up - had blogged about how her son had enjoyed attending the Orange County Pride Parade in Southern California.

Angry: The father-of-two told James he 'should be ashamed'

She wrote: 'The festival was everything C.J. hoped it would be and then some.

'My sweet, fabulous, rainbow boy has never received so many compliments.

'He's used to getting stares and whispers when we're out in public. He's not used to getting the smiles, hugs and encouragement he received at Pride.'

In addition his mother said: 'When it was time to go, he didnt want to leave and offered to stay at Pride by himself. He said he would ride home in a taxi. We said no.'

She added that her son had said he '"liked the vibe... liked all the colors. But, most of all, I liked all of the people."'
She's been sharing a stream of joyful snaps from her Eurotrip.

Now, Ashley Hart, 27, has called her well-deserved holiday in Mykonos, Greece, 'The trip of a lifetime.'

The glamazon made the call on Wednesday in a post to her Instagram just hours after her sister Jess confirmed she'd split from her billionaire 'fiance'.

The trip of a lifetime: Ashley Hart is all smiles just hours after sister Jessica confirms split from billionaire 'fiance' Stavros Niarchos III as the pair holiday in Greece

The picture shows Ashley, cocktail in hand, with a beaming smile on her face.

Posing in front of picturesque blue water and a dusk skyline, the blonde beauty looked ecstatic in an off-the-shoulder top that showed off her flawless decolletage.

Her boho-style loose, floral skirt was embroidered with pink and metallic accents while she accessorised with layered gold necklaces and a ring on each finger.

Ash, who is on holiday with her sister Jessica, was celebrating the birthday of friend and fellow model Kasia Z.

Sunshine smiles: Ash made the call on her trip being the best ever on Wednesday in a post to her Instagram just hours after her sister Jess confirmed she'd split from her billionaire 'fiance'

She shared a picture of Kasia, who is Buddy Franklin's ex girlfriend, in a very skimpy bikini earlier in the day to mark the occasion.

Just hours earlier Ashley's sister Jessica confirmed her split from rumoured fiance Stavros Niarchos III.

In a statement made to Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday, the 31-year-old's representative revealed that the model has never 'been happier'.

What heartbreak? Jessica Hart confirmed her split from rumoured fiance' Stavros Niarchos III on Wednesday. The 31-year-old's representative revealed to Daily Mail Australia that the model has never 'been happier'

The statement read: 'Yes, I can confirm the split. It was amicable they remain friends and Jessica hasn't been happier!'

The couple had been dating for seven years and were rumoured to have become engaged.

Jessica has appeared to be in excellent spirits in recent days. On Monday, the beauty flaunted her dance moves in a short clip shared by Ashley on her Instagram Story.

Yogi abroad: Ashley, who is known for her healthy lifestyle, has also been spotted keeping up with her exercise routine while away

Known for her healthy lifestyle, Ashley hasn't let her exercise routine slip while away.

The beauty has been spotted practicing yoga, even taking time out to bust out a cobra pose on a jetty.
The second annual Martha's Vineyard Concert Series announced that Aretha Franklin will not be headlining the August 19 event at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs.

'We are sad to say that Aretha Franklin has cancelled her show on Marthas Vineyard,' the festival announced on Facebook Saturday.

'Refunds are already in process for all ticket buyers and will be automatically deposited into the credit card used to make the original purchase.'

Uh-oh: The second annual Martha's Vineyard Concert Series announced that Aretha Franklin will not be headlining the August 19 event at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs (pictured April 19)

The festival announced on Facebook Saturday: 'We are sad to say that Aretha Franklin has cancelled her show on Marthas Vineyard. Refunds are already in process for all ticket buyers'

The 75-year-old Queen of Soul - who's sold over 75M records worldwide - pulled out due to 'an undisclosed medical issue.'

The news came after the 18-time Grammy winner ominously canceled her July 1 gig at Toronto's Sony Centre for Performing Arts back on June 27.

It's technically Aretha's fourth cancelled concert after pulling out of gigs in Chicago and Toronto.

Back in 2010, Franklin - who's retiring later this year - was also forced to cancel a series of shows to undergo emergency abdominal surgery.

Feel better soon! The 75-year-old Queen of Soul - who's sold over 75M records worldwide - pulled out due to 'an undisclosed medical issue' (pictured in 2016)

Health woes: Back in 2010, Franklin - who's retiring later this year - was also forced to cancel a series of shows to undergo emergency abdominal surgery

The twice-divorced mother-of-four will release her final album, a Motown tribute collaboration with fellow living legend Stevie Wonder, in September.

'I must tell you, I am retiring this year,' the Respect hitmaker has previously stated.

'I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now.'

Franklin has enjoyed a career packed with highlights and unique achievements since her first album was released back in 1956.

In 1987, Aretha - who still intends to play occasional shows - was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The R&B belter was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2005.
She's had her fair share of glamorous invitations, thanks to her days on Made In Chelsea.

Yet Georgia Toffolo managed to find the perfect gala gown for the ultra-special Grand Prix Ball on Wednesday night.

Dazzling on arrival at London's Hurlingham Club, the reality star turned heads in a midnight blue dress that swept the red carpet elegantly with a sexy thigh-high split at the side, to boot.

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Striking! Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo lead the red carpet arrivals at The Grand Prix Ball on Wednesday night in London

As always, Georgia was glamorously coiffed with her platinum locks blown out into loose waves.

She wore the hairdo around her shoulders, careful not to cover her exquisite, plunging neckline, which featured silver detail on a caged bodice.

Beneath her floor-sweeping dress, Georgia subtly flashed the outline of her undergarments, sure to outshine the other attendees.

Gorgeous: She wore a super-plunging neckline that showed off her chest

Ready for the gala night: Georgia was top of the guestlist for the high society event

The annual event returned on Wednesday ahead of next week's British Grand Prix.

Every year, it raises thousands of pounds for charity and has now partnered with charity Wings For Life spinal cord research foundation.

The event was hosted by Tiff Needell, Eddie Jordan, David Coulthard and Christian Horner.

Guests were treated to an exclusive F1 demonstration before a gala dinner, charity auction and performances by The Gipsy Kings and DJ Seb Fontaine.

Blue beauty: Her neckline featured a dazzling beaded detail

With the elite: Toff was pictured with F1 Development driver Oliver Rowland on the night

Say cheese! Georgia later posed for a snap with the equally glamorous Shanie Ryan

Georgia herself is on the hunt for new romance after she was seen filming Celebs Go Dating, on Tuesday.

Following failed romances with Francis Boulle on the E4 reality show and a recent tryst with Lottie Moss' ex Sam Prince, Georgia is looking for Mr Right.

The dating show format sees stars lined up with non-famous suitors and this year features celebrities including James Argent.

Suited and booted: Jay Rutland, husband of Tamara Ecclestone, later arrived in a slick black tuxedo complete with bow tie

Relaxed: Jay appeared in good spirits as he headed to the bash, seemingly without his wife and daughter Sophia

Glamorous: CEO of GP Management Jonny Dodge and wife Cassandra made a glamorous pair

Special guests: Shanie Ryan and Tony Sinclair were among the guests

Singing superstar: Singer Emily Haig was invited to entertain guests

Suited and booted: New Top Gear presenter Rory Reid sharpened up for the event

Slick: He enjoyed one of the ultra-glamorous motors outside

Stylish: Classic beauty Sophie Stanbury wore a black dress that oozed glamour

Busty display: It was a daring display for Shanie Ryan in a plunging number

Striking: Shanie revealed her cleavage as she posed for photos at the event on Wednesday evening

Simply stunning: The TV and radio presenter caught the eye in her sweeping black gown

In attendance: American actress Meredith Ostrom (L) and Hayley Sparks (R) also made an appearance at the event

In good company: Meredith posed alongside a female friend at the event on Wednesday evening

Hosting: Tiff Needell was just one of four hosts to attend on Wednesday

Keeping casual: Christian Horner meanwhile ditched the traditional suit for faded blue jeans and a leather jacket
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He is the big boss, with a celebrity phone-book longer than the Yellow Pages.

So Simon Cowell naturally felt little need to get glammed up to the hilt as he threw his annual summer party in honour of his record label Syco at Kensington Palace Gardens' The Orangery on Wednesday - despite his bevy of superstar guests, including ballgown-clad Lauren Silverman and chic Myleene Klass getting super dolled up.

A host of stars came to ring in the summer months with the 57-year-old, including Piers Morgan, Dermot O'Leary, Sinitta, Matt Terry and Louisa Johnson, all of whom opted for more glamorous ensembles than their host.

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Didn't get the memo? Simon Cowell naturally felt little need to get glammed up to the hilt as he threw his annual summer party in honour of his record label Syco in Kensington on Wednesday - despite his bevy of superstar guests, including ballgown-clad Lauren Silverman and chic Myleene Klass getting super dolled up

The annual Syco Summer Party never fails to boast a heaving guest list full of the top celebs and Simon ensured this year was no different as stars from his various shows including Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor showed up in a bevy of super glamorous ensembles.

Simon stuck to his tried-and-tested style for the evening, as he showed off a thatch of chest hair from beneath a deeply plunging white shirt while adding in long-line jeans and Cuban-style boots.

Leading the glamour was Lauren, 39, who slipped into a breathtaking floral gown complete with a bustier top and fishtail hem to provide the perfect hourglass silhouette to her stunning gym-honed frame.

The black base on the pink, white and green floral print gave the pretty look an evening edge alongside the corseted bodice. She wore her raven tresses in long lengths pulled loosely off her face and shoulders.

Glamourous girls: A host of stars came to ring in the summer months with the 57-year-old, including Piers Morgan, Dermot O'Leary, Sinitta, Matt Terry and Louisa Johnson, all of whom opted for more glamorous ensembles than their host - with Lauren and Myleene (left-right) leading the ways

A beer and a smoke: Simon stuck to his tried-and-tested style for the evening, as he showed off a thatch of chest hair from beneath a deeply plunging white shirt while adding in long-line jeans and Cuban-style boots

Oozing glamour: Lauren was the perfect date for the main man as she looked stunning in florals

Joining her partner in throwing herself immediately into the fun, the socialite clutched a glass of champagne in one hand and her envy-inducing clutch bag in the other while navigating her way into the bash.

Myleene meanwhile was equally glamorous yet opted for a more conservative vibe in a chic crochet midi dress with a dramatic frilled neckline and monochrome colour scheme.

She provided a splash of colour with a pair of fluorescent yellow stilettos paired with gold jewellery - perfect for bringing together the classic yet kooky ensemble.

As ever she ensured she was flawlessly turned out with her locks coiffed into shoulder-skimming curls and her make-up delicately applied to make the most of her dewy, tanned complexion.

Sipping away: Joining her partner in throwing herself immediately into the fun, the socialite clutched a glass of champagne in one hand and her envy-inducing clutch bag in the other while navigating her way into the bash

Floral fancy: Lauren was certainly the lady of the hour as she headed into the annual bash

Out and a pout: As ever Myleene ensured she was flawlessly turned out with her locks coiffed into shoulder-skimming curls and her make-up delicately applied to make the most of her dewy, tanned complexion

Slinky: The former pop star was equally glamorous yet opted for a more conservative vibe in a chic crochet midi dress with a dramatic frilled neckline and monochrome colour scheme. She provided a slash of colour with a pair of fluorescent yellow stilettos paired with gold jewellery

TV favourite and reinstated X Factor host Dermot OLeary enjoyed his latest public appearance with wife Dee Koppang at the party. He was opting for a smart blue two-piece suit and looked appropriately dapper.

A crisp white dress shirt and black tie added to the look, while polished leather shoes rounded things off. Evidently in high spirits, Dermot flashed a beaming smile at onlookers as he walked hand in hand with his glamorous wife.

Ensuring she was not overshadowed on the night, Dee caught the eye in a stylish floral print and high-slung trousers. Glossy peep-tie heels completed the look, while heavily tinted sunglasses and elegant gold statement earrings proved to be notable accessories.

Dermot and Dee married in Kent back in 2012. The TV presenter popped the question to his long-term love the year before during a trip they had taken to New York. His proposal came 10 years after the couple had first begun dating.

Happy days: TV favourite and reinstated X Factor host Dermot OLeary enjoyed his latest public appearance with wife Dee Koppang at the party. He was opting for a smart blue two-piece suit, seasoned presenter Dermot, 44, looked appropriately dapper

Partying the night away: A crisp white dress shirt and black tie added to the look, while polished leather shoes rounded things off. Evidently in high spirits, Dermot flashed a beaming smile at onlookers as he walked hand in hand with his glamorous wife, 38

The X Factor's 2015 winner Louisa Johnson put on a very leggy display in a blue floral frock. Making the most of her long and shapely pins, Louisa's floral summer-dress skimmed the tops of her thighs with the bright colour accentuating her golden tan.

Cinched in at the waist, it fell across her decolletage in a pretty plunging V-neckline, framed by a delicate multi-chain. Elongating her pins further with a pair of tan fringed sandals, she left her blonde hair in loose waves down her back, opting for expertly applied make-up.

More X Factor alumni came from reigning champ Matt Terry, who followed in Simon's casually-clad footsteps by sporting a loose-fitting denim shirt with chinos and white trainers.

Legs eleven: The X Factor's 2015 winner Louisa Johnson, who was just 17 when she won the show, put on a very leggy display in a blue floral frock. Making the most of her long and shapely pins, Louisa's floral summer-dress skimmed the tops of her thighs, the bright colour accentuating her golden tan

Chic: Cinched in at the waist, it fell across her decolletage in a pretty asymmetric neckline, framed by a delicate multi-chain. Elongating her pins further with a pair of tan fringed sandals, she left her blonde hair in loose waves down her back, opting for expertly applied make-up

Oh dear: Louisa's skimpy mini dress risked baring far too much as she walked into the bash with her hemline rising

The winner! More X Factor alumni came from reigning champ Matt Terry, who followed in Simon's casually-clad footsteps by sporting a loose-fitting denim shirt with chinos and white trainers

Fancy seeing you here! An unexpected guest came in the form of Ella Henderson - who came ninth in the 2012 series of the talent show - as she looked pretty in a floaty floral gown with an off the shoulder frill

A vision: The star, who enjoyed huge success with her 2015 hit Ghost, looked pretty in her floaty gown

Slender: Naturally in attendance was Simon's former flame and best pal Sinnita - who is never far from his TV shows, projects or parties - as she looked sensational in a skin-tight pink dress

An unexpected guest came in Ella Henderson - who came ninth in the 2012 series of the talent show - as she looked pretty in a floaty floral gown with an off the shoulder frill.

Naturally in attendance was Simon's former flame and best pal Sinnita - who is never far from his TV shows, projects or parties - as she looked sensational in a skin-tight pink dress.

Looking svelte in all-black was Piers Morgan, who previously sat on the judging panel of Britain's Got Talent with Simon before departing and continuing his TV career on Good Morning Britain.

Last year's X Factor runners-up Five After Midnight joined the bash in typically funky ensembles as they paired their sharp suits with backwards facing caps, braces and trendy glasses.

Sleek: Looking svelte in all black was Piers Morgan, who previously sat on the judging panel of Britain's Got Talent with Simon before departing and continuing his TV career on Good Morning Britain

Here come the boys! Last year's X Factor runners-up Five After Midnight joined the bash in typically funky ensembles as they paired their sharp suits with backwards facing caps, braces and trendy glasses
Her mother Belinda tragically passed away the night following the Bachelorette finale.

And Georgia Love's mother was clearly on her mind on Wednesday, as the reality star shared a moving black and white image in which she's by her mum's side.

The 28-year-old captioned the image, which was shared to her Instagram Story: 'Miss you extra amounts today'.

Missing mum: Georgia Love's mother was clearly on her mind on Thursday, as the reality star shared a moving black and white image in which she's by her mum's side

In the image, a beaming Georgia embraces her equally delighted mother, who stands at chest height to the beauty.

Georgia's mother Belinda was 60 when she tragically passed away the night following the Bachelorette finale.

Belinda endured a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer, admitted into palliative care in late October last year.

On October 31, Georgia revealed on Instagram the heartbreaking news that her mother had died.

Heartbreaking: Georgia's mother Belinda, 60, tragically passed away the night following the Bachelorette finale

Battle: Belinda endured a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer

The brunette was able to introduce her mother to her chosen Bachelorette winner and boyfriend Lee Elliott, shortly before her death.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph Georgia admitted the death put strain on her new romance with Lee Elliott, 36.

Met the man: The brunette was able to introduce her mother to her chosen Bachelorette winner and boyfriend Lee Elliott, shortly before her death

'It's made our relationship really hard,' the former TV journalist candidly told the publication.

Opening up, Georgia said: He's the one who has to cop it when I'm having a bad day. He's the one who's there as I break down.'

Hard: In an interview with The Daily Telegraph Georgia admitted the death put strain on her new romance with Lee Elliott, 36

However the journalist did tell the publication that the mechanical plumber has been nothing but 'incredible'.

'He was there every step of the way. Nothing will ever take that away. That's something that makes me even more in love with him. In so many ways it brought us very close.'
She's the bohemian motherhood blogger who juggles family life with a blossoming career in Hollywood.

And Teresa Palmer, 31, swapped her red carpet gowns for a laid-back look while stepping out with her seven-month-old son Forest Sage last week.

The blonde beauty was spotted leaving a nail salon with Forest sleeping in a portable car-seat slung from her right arm.

Baby on board! Actress Teresa Palmer, 31, swapped her red carpet gowns for a laid-back look when she stepped out with her seven-month-old son Forest Sage while running errands last week

Going makeup-free for the off-duty occasion, the multi-tasking mother donned a relaxed black T-shirt, grey leggings and white volley shoes.

She also accesorised look with a black felted hat and a gemstone necklace.

The fair-haired actress recently spoke to the Daily Telegraph about the stresses that come with life as a working mother.

No nanny needed! The blonde beauty was spotted leaving a nail salon with Forest sleeping in a portable car-seat slung from her right arm

'The juggle and the struggle is real. You have to try and be on point in your relationship first and foremost, I think, to make it work,' she confessed in April.

'I don't want to do the work for the sake of working because I prefer to hang out with my kids.'

When quizzed by the publication about her next career move, Teresa revealed that she had been enjoying time out of the spotlight since the release of her previous flick 2:22.

Laid-back: Teresa donned a relaxed black T-shirt, grey leggings and white volley shoes

Rising star: The Australian actress first moved to Los Angeles in 2006 and starred in The Grudge 2 that same year

'Right now, I am hanging out in Adelaide doing school runs,' she said.

The Australian actress first moved to Los Angeles in 2006 and starred in The Grudge 2 that same year.

Since then she has gone on to star in big Hollywood films, including I Am Number Four, Warm Bodies, The Choice and most recently Hacksaw Bridge.

Teresa married her husband Mark Webber in an intimate ceremony in Mexico in 2013 and together they share two sons Bodhi, three, Forrest, seven-months-old, and Mark's son from a previous relationship Isaac Love, eight.
Angelina Jolie took her brood to Disneyland in California on Wednesday for a special celebration.

It's the twins Vivienne and Knox's ninth birthday and they were the center of attention as siblings Shiloh, Zahara, Pax and Maddox joined in the fun.

The Hollywood actress kept cool in a camisole top with spaghetti straps and matching loose black leggings and covered up with a Panama hat.

Special outing: Angelina Jolie took her kids to Disneyland in California on Wednesday to celebrate twins Vivienne and Knox's ninth birthday

Jolie, 42, gave birth to her youngest children with ex Brad Pitt in a hospital in Nice, France, on July 12, 2008.

Vivienne, in denim overalls and a stripy top, stayed close to her famous mom during the trip to the so-called 'happiest place on Earth.'

The blonde-haired youngster was seen carrying a large plush pony under her arm as she strolled through the theme park.

Center of attention: Birthday girl Vivienne, in denim overalls and a stripy top, stayed close to her mom and sisters Shiloh and Zahara during the trip to the so-called 'happiest place on Earth'

Under the radar: The famous family appeared to go unnoticed by other theme park visitors during their low-key outing

Stylish star: The Hollywood actress, 42, kept cool in a camisole top with spaghetti straps and matching loose black leggings and covered up with a Panama hat

Vivienne's older sister Shiloh, 11, playfully wore a yellow Goofy hat with trailing black ears.

She paired it with a black UNHCR shirt supporting refugees and knee-length black cargo shorts.

Staying close to Shiloh and Vivienne was Zahara, 12, who opted for skinny black jeans and a white tee with a pineapple logo on it.

Meanwhile, birthday boy Knox seemingly preferred to hang out with his older brother Pax, 13.

The two boys were spotted riding in the front row of a roller coaster car

Birthday boy: Knox seemingly preferred to hang out with his older brother Pax, 13, on some of the more exciting rides

Seeking thrills: The two boys were spotted riding in the front row of a roller coaster car

The family have just got back home to LA after a trip to Namibia, where Shiloh was born on May 27, 2007.

They were in the African country to officially open the Shiloh Wildlife Sanctuary.

The sanctuary for animals saved from poachers and abusers was given a $2 million grant in 2011 by the Jolie-Pitt Foundation established by Angelina and Brad.

Big sis: The twins's older sister Shiloh, 11, wore a yellow Goofy hat with trailing black ears. She paired it with a black UNHCR shirt supporting refugees and knee-length black cargo shorts

Hanging out together: Shiloh and her mom had a blast on the swings
Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan since 1947, is one of the most heavily militarised spots on Earth with a long history of conflict

Thousands of people have fled their homes in Pakistani Kashmir, officials said Monday, as continued shelling between Pakistan and India escalated tensions along the the de-facto border in the disputed Himalayan region.

Pakistani authorities confirmed the exodus saying around 3,000 people have left their villages along the Line of Control (LOC) in Abbaspur sector after heavy shelling by Indian troops over the past two weeks.

Sajid Hussain, a senior administration official in the area, said most of the people fled from four of the worst affected villages near the LOC in the Pakistani part of Kashmir.

"We are in process of registering the migrating people," said Hussain, adding that many families have moved in with relatives while another 50 families took shelter in government buildings.

Elderly resident Muhammad Saiddique told AFP that about 80 percent of the people from his village near the LOC had fled.

At least six people have been killed and more than 20 wounded in Abbaspur sector in the latest wave of unrest along the LOC in the past two weeks, said Hussain.

Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan since 1947, is one of the most heavily militarised spots on Earth with a long history of conflict.

Both countries claim the territory in full, and have fought two major wars over it.

The mountainous region is home to dozens of armed groups fighting for independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan.

The villagers' flight comes as government forces clashed with stone-throwing protesters in Indian-administered Kashmir on Saturday, as the volatile Himalayan territory marked the anniversary of a hugely popular rebel leader's death.

Disputed Kashmir has seen an explosion of protests against Indian rule since government forces shot and killed Burhan Wani a year ago.

The death of the charismatic 23-year-old, who had built up a big following on social media, sparked an outpouring of grief and anger that spilled into the streets and led to months of clashes with security forces.
Tens of thousands of Hindus from all over India travel to Kashmir every year to visit a phallus-shaped ice formation in the Amarnath caves that is worshipped as a symbol of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction

Indian leaders and Kashmiri separatists united Tuesday to condemn an attack on a bus that killed seven Hindu pilgrims and threatened to exacerbate tensions in the country's only Muslim-majority state.

Six women and a man died when unidentified gunmen opened fire late Monday on a bus carrying Hindus on the annual pilgrimage to a Himalayan cave revered as the abode of the god Shiva.

It was the worst such attack in the divided Himalayan region since 2000 when gunmen fired on a group of Hindu pilgrims, killing 32 people including two police officers.

The chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir state said the attack was a "blot on all Muslims and Kashmiris".

"Pilgrims come to Kashmir every year for the yatra (pilgrimage) despite all difficulties. And seven people died today. I have no words to condemn it," Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed told reporters as she visited wounded victims in hospital.

Tens of thousands of Hindus from all over India travel to Kashmir every year to visit a phallus-shaped ice formation in the Amarnath caves that is worshipped as a symbol of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.

The caves, which lie 3,900 metres (12,800 feet) high and can only be reached on foot or on horseback, are seen as a symbol of religious unity in the volatile region.

The ice formation is said to have been discovered in 1850 by a Muslim shepherd who became a custodian of the shrine, along with two Hindu priests.

Separatist leaders in Kashmir condemned the attack, which they said "goes against the very grain of Kashmiri ethos".

"The annual Amarnath Yatra has been going on peacefully for centuries and is part of our yearly rhythm and will remain so," they said in a joint statement.

Tensions were already running high in Indian-administered Kashmir, where militant groups have for decades been fighting for independence or a merger with neighbouring Pakistan.

The troubled region had been relatively calm until last July when government forces killed a hugely popular rebel leader, kicking off months of violent protests against Indian rule.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack on the pilgrims.

Some Indian media quoted the Kashmir police chief blaming pro-Pakistan militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been involved in a number of deadly attacks in India.

But a spokesman for the group denied responsibility.

Authorities said the two-month pilgrimage season would continue after the attack on the bus, which was not part of the official convoy carrying pilgrims.

Reports said the bus was travelling after dark and without the official security usually provided to pilgrims.

Most of the victims were from the western state of Gujarat where police said they were on high alert for protests.

A demonstration was also planned in Mumbai, capital of western Maharashtra state, where some of the pilgrims were from.
The German-made INS Rahav Dolphin-class submarine arrives at the military port of Haifa on January 12, 2016

Israeli police have arrested seven people this week over an alleged corruption scandal involving a submarine deal with Germany which reportedly involves people close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"As part of the ongoing investigation being carried out by the national crimes and investigation unit this morning another suspect was arrested and is being questioned," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said on Tuesday.

Tuesday's arrest comes a day after six other Israelis were taken in for questioning on suspicion of offences including bribery and money laundering over a deal to buy Dolphin submarines from Germany's ThyssenKrupp.

Three were released to home arrest, while three others were remanded.

Police named the three remanded as Avriel Bar Yosef, former deputy head of Israel's National Security Council; Micky Ganor, the local representative for ThyssenKrupp; and Ronen Shemer, a lawyer employed by Ganor.

Media reports have alleged a conflict of interest over the role played by David Shimron, a relative of the prime minister and the Netanyahu family lawyer who also represents ThyssenKrupp in Israel.

In February, the justice ministry announced it had launched an investigation into the affair, stressing however that Netanyahu himself was not a suspect in the case.

Netanyahu is being investigated in a separate case over corruption suspicions reportedly involving receiving gifts from Israeli businessman and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.

The Israeli premier is also being probed over the suspicion he sought a secret deal with Amnon Moses, publisher of Israel's top-selling newspaper Yediot Aharonot.

Netanyahu has rejected any charges of misconduct, saying he is the target of a campaign by political opponents.
(FILES) This image grab taken from a propaganda video released on July 5, 2014 allegedly shows the leader of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, addressing Muslim worshippers at a mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Tuesday it had information from top Islamic State group leaders confirming the death of the jihadist organisation's chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq said it could not confirm the report.

"Top tier commanders from IS who are present in Deir Ezzor province have confirmed the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, emir of the Islamic State group, to the Observatory," the monitor's director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

"We learned of it today but we do not know when he died or how."

Deir Ezzor, in eastern Syria, remains largely under IS control even as the group is losing territory elsewhere in the country and in neighbouring Iraq.

Abdel Rahman said Baghdadi "was present in eastern parts of Deir Ezzor province" in recent months, but it was unclear if he was killed in the area or elsewhere.

There was no official confirmation or denial of the news on social media platforms used by IS.

The US-led coalition said it could not verify the Observatory's report.

"We cannot confirm this report, but hope it is true," said coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon.

"We strongly advise ISIS to implement a strong line of succession, it will be needed," he added, using a different acronym for IS.

There have been persistent rumours of Baghdadi's death in recent months, and Russia's military said in mid-June that it was seeking to verify whether it had killed the IS chief in an air strike in Syria in May.

Russia's army said Sukhoi warplanes carried out a 10-minute raid on May 28 at a location near the IS stronghold of Raqa, where group leaders had gathered to plan a pullout from the area.

The US-led coalition also said at the time it could not confirm whether the Russian strike had killed Baghdadi.

The 46-year-old Iraqi-born leader of IS has not been seen in public since making his only known public appearance as "caliph" in 2014 at the Grand Mosque of Al-Nuri in Mosul.

IS destroyed the highly symbolic site before Iraqi forces could reach it as they pushed the jihadist group from Mosul, where Iraq's government formally declared victory on Monday.

With a $25-million US bounty on his head, Baghdadi has kept a low profile and was rumoured to move regularly throughout IS-held territory in the area straddling Iraq and Syria.

His death, if confirmed, would be another heavy blow to the group which is also battling a US-backed coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters for control of its Syrian stronghold Raqa.
The THAAD test came in response to North Korea's test, shown here, of an intercontinental ballistic missile believed to be capable of reaching Alaska

The US military has conducted a successful test of a missile intercept system, officials said Tuesday, as tensions soar following North Korea's test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that could potentially reach Alaska.

The test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system saw a ballistic missile target air-launched from an Air Force C-17 over the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii.

"A THAAD weapon system located at (Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska) in Kodiak, Alaska, detected, tracked and intercepted the target," the US Missile Defense Agency said in a statement.

THAAD is designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight.

THAAD maker Lockheed Martin said this was the first time the system had intercepted an intermediate-range ballistic missile.

Richard McDaniel, a Lockheed vice president, said in a statement that the system had performed "flawlessly."

Though such exercises are planned months in advance, it comes after North Korea's first-ever test-firing last week of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching parts of the United States including Alaska.

THAAD is not designed to stop an ICBM -- that job is left primarily to the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptor system.

The US military this year began deploying THAAD to South Korea, a move that infuriated China, which has argued the deployment would further destabilize the situation on the Korean peninsula.

This was the 14th successful intercept in 14 attempts for the THAAD weapon system, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said.

Missile defense system

"I couldn't be more proud of the government and contractor team who executed this flight test today," MDA Director Lieutenant General Sam Greaves said in the statement.

"This test further demonstrates the capabilities of the THAAD weapon system and its ability to intercept and destroy ballistic missile threats. THAAD continues to protect our citizens, deployed forces and allies from a real and growing threat."

The US also has a THAAD system installed in Guam.

THAAD uses "hit-to-kill" technology where kinetic energy from the interceptor missile destroys an incoming target.

"The successful demonstration of THAAD against an (intermediate)-range missile threat bolsters the country's defensive capability against developing missile threats in North Korea and other countries around the globe and contributes to the broader strategic deterrence architecture," the MDA said.
Under a UN-backed deal President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Joseph Kabila was allowed to remain in office beyond his term until elections in late 2017, but concerns are growing that the agreement is collapsing

The United States on Tuesday threatened sanctions against the Democratic Republic of Congo if elections are not held this year and urged the UN Security Council to punish those responsible for a flareup of violence.

Under a deal reached last year and backed by the Security Council, President Joseph Kabila was allowed to remain in office beyond his term until elections in late 2017.

But concerns are growing that the deal is collapsing after the head of the electoral commission said last week that the vote will likely not be held this year.

"Election delays cannot continue," US Deputy Ambassador Michele Sison told the council during a meeting on the crisis in the mineral-rich African country.

"The international community must step up and apply more pressure, not only on President Kabila and his government but also on the independent national electoral commission," said Sison.

The deputy ambassador demanded that the commission "immediately" publish an electoral calendar and specifically set a date for the presidential election to put in motion the DR Congo's first democratic transition.

The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on several officials close to Kabila over the election delays and human rights abuses, in particular in the Kasai region.

"We are ready to take additional action to sanction those who stand in the way of the DRC's first democratic transition of power," said Sison.

"The Security Council should also consider targeted sanctions to reduce the violence in the DRC and help pressure all stakeholders to play a more constructive role in moving the country forward," she added.

France and Britain also demanded that a date for the presidential vote be announced and stressed that there was no alternative to the New Year's Eve agreement on ending the political crisis.

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the council that worsening violence had led to a sharp increase of 26 percent in the number of displaced people over the past two months to reach 1.3 million.

Lacroix cited "disturbing reports of summary executions and rapes including of civilians by the security forces" and that "dozens of mass graves" have been reportedly uncovered in Kasai province.

A UN commission of inquiry has been established to investigate the killings in the Kasai while a separate UN panel is preparing to release this month the findings of its probe of the murder of two UN experts.

The bodies of American Michael Sharp and Swedish-Chilean Zaid Catalan were found in March, weeks after they had disappeared while investigating reports of mass graves in the Kasai.
Like his father, Donald Trump Jr has plunged head first into the storm swirling around his father's presidency over Russia's meddling in the US election

Like father like son: brash, combative and pulling no punches, Donald Trump's eldest son Don Jr has come out fighting after dragging the White House into another Russia-related scandal.

The 39-year-old father of five, who stayed in New York to run the family business with brother Eric when Trump took power, is in the eye of a gathering storm for meeting a Russian lawyer in a bid to get dirt on Hillary Clinton.

The real-estate scion and eldest presidential child has freely admitted to seeking dirt on his father's then rival for the presidency when he met Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016.

On Tuesday, he sought to get ahead of the backlash by releasing an email chain with the British music publicist and former tabloid journalist who set up the meeting "in order to be totally transparent."

Informed ahead of the meeting that material from the lawyer was part of an effort by Moscow to aid his father's presidential bid and incriminate Clinton, he emailed back in minutes: "If it's what you say I love it."

His response comes straight out of his father's combative playbook -- go on the offensive, flatly deny any wrongdoing and lash out at Democrats, the media and other critics in an attempt to brazen out the media maelstrom.

"Media & Dems are extremely invested in the Russia story. If this nonsense meeting is all they have after a yr, I understand the desperation!" he tweeted Tuesday to his 1.8 million followers.

On Monday, he called the initial revelations from The New York Times "a big yawn" and said he would be "happy" to "pass on what I know" in response to calls on the Senate Intelligence Committee to interview him.

- 'Much ado' -

But taking another leaf out of his father's playbook, he quickly lawyered up -- engaging top-flight New York criminal defense attorney Alan Futerfas, whose past clients include alleged mob associates.

Futerfas's first move was to bat aside the backlash by quoting the title of a much-loved Shakespeare comedy to dismiss it as "much ado about nothing."

The first child of Trump's first marriage to Czech-born model and businesswoman Ivana, Don Jr was sent to boarding school after his parents mud-flinging divorce then his father's alma mater, the Wharton School of Finance.

He earned a reputation for partying hard, once getting arrested during Mardi Gras in New Orleans on charges of public drunkenness, before joining The Trump Organization in 2001 and rising to the status of executive vice president.

He has been a right-hand man of his father's for years in business. Since his father ran for president, Don Jr has cultivated a no-nonsense profile to resonate with Republican voters and is thought to harbor political ambitions of his own.

A public speaker, who can reportedly command tens of thousands of dollars, he also joined his father and sister Ivanka in gracing television screens on reality series "The Apprentice."

But while Ivanka and brother-in-law Jared Kushner followed Trump to Washington, Don Jr has ostensibly kept his distance to run the real-estate business in a deal that came under fire from ethics experts.

- 'Not curated' -

But in the rocky first six months of his father's presidency, Don Jr has stuck his head above the parapet on several occasions, coming out swinging in his father's defense and proving his fierce loyalty time and again.

"I'm not a curated kind of guy," he admitted in a New York Times profile published in March. "I'm probably a little more like my father in that sense. You know, I say what I'm thinking."

Donald Trump Jr, seen here addressing the Republican national convention last year, has stayed away from Washington to run the family business but is quick to defend his father

Ronald Kessler, author, former investigative reporter and friend of the president, agrees. "Just like his father, he is very candid," he told AFP.

It is an approach that plays well to the Trump base.

"If you believe that all of this is nonsense, then you admire Don Jr for being very forthright... and saying it like it is," adds Kessler.

But if even friends admit the meeting with Veselnitskaya was "amateurish," neither is it the first time that Don Jr has landed in hot water.

Despite a well-received speech at the Republican National Convention last year, there were times during his father's campaign, when he sparked controversy, such as comparing Syrian refugees to a bowl of potentially deadly Skittles candy.

A member of the National Rifle Association, he has come under fire for hunting in Zimbabwe. As a child, he spent part of his summers hunting and fishing with his grandfather in then Czechoslovakia.
US President Donald Trump has opted to extend by three months the deadline on whether to lift decades-old sanctions against Sudan, saying 'more time is needed' for review

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday opted to extend by three months the deadline on whether to lift decades-old sanctions against Sudan, saying "more time is needed" for review.

Trump was to decide by Wednesday whether to permanently lift Washington's sanctions on Sudan after his predecessor Barack Obama eased the embargo in January but kept Khartoum on a six-month review period.

In his executive order Trump amended the deadline to October 12, 2017.

Obama made the permanent lifting of sanctions dependent on Khartoum's progress on five areas of concern at the end of the review period.

"I have decided more time is needed for this review to establish that the Government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action across all of those areas," Trump's order said, adding that "the Government of Sudan has made some progress."

Washington imposed a complex set of economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its alleged backing of Islamist militant groups.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011, was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

Washington also justified the embargo with accusations of scorched-earth tactics by Khartoum against ethnic minority rebels in war-torn Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since a brutal conflict erupted in Darfur in 2003, the United Nations says.

Prior to Trump's measure the UN said it hoped the US would make a "positive decision" on sanctions against Sudan for allowing more humanitarian aid access across war zones as sought.

Giving more access to humanitarian workers was one of the five conditions Obama insisted Sudan must meet before the sanctions can be lifted permanently.
Netflix dramas "The Crown" and "Stranger Things" are among the favorites for this year's Emmys, but experts say the field is wide open

Television industry experts are predicting a wide open race for this year's Emmys when the nominations are announced Thursday, with awards juggernaut "Game of Thrones" out of the running.

HBO's fantasy epic about noble families vying for control of the Iron Throne raked in a record-breaking 12 awards last year, but is ineligible this time around since the new season doesn't start until Sunday.

The Television Academy tends to nominate and vote conservatively, with the Emmys dominated by perennial favorites like "Thrones" and "Downton Abbey," which finished in March 2016.

But with both of these shows out of the picture, a number of nods for television's equivalent of the Oscars should go to newcomers like lavish period drama "The Crown" and its Netflix stable mate "Stranger Things."

Hulu's dystopian sci-fi series "The Handmaid's Tale," NBC's family drama "This Is Us" and HBO's dark sci-fi western "Westworld" are all in the running for best drama, as well as in the writing and acting categories.

Returning from last year, "The Americans" (FX), "Better Call Saul" (AMC), "Homeland" (Showtime), "House of Cards" (Netflix) and "Mr. Robot" (USA) will all be contenders for the top prizes too.

Awards prediction website Gold Derby has Golden Globe winner "The Crown" -- about Britain's Queen Elizabeth II -- as favorite for best drama, ahead of "Stranger Things," an award-winning sci-fi-horror drama set in the 1980s.

"I think the two slam dunks are 'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'The Crown.' I wouldn't mind seeing 'Westworld' in there because I think it was more creatively ambitious and pulled it off better than most," said awards expert Tim Goodman in a commentary for The Hollywood Reporter.

"But I'm worried that 'Stranger Things,' a series I quite enjoyed but doesn't merit a best drama nom, will get in, taking a valuable spot."

- 'Extraordinary year' -

Robert De Niro, shown here at the premiere of "The Wizard Of Lies" in New York in May with co-star Michelle Pfeiffer, is one of the favorites to earn an Emmy nod for best actor in a limited series or TV movie for his portrayal of Bernie Madoff

The most star-studded category, as ever, is best actor in a limited series or TV movie with the field led by Robert De Niro, who anchored HBO's "The Wizard of Lies" as Ponzi scheme fraudster Bernie Madoff.

Riz Ahmed, Ewan McGregor, Geoffrey Rush and John Turturro will also be expecting nominations, while other big name contenders in the category include Benedict Cumberbatch and Jude Law.

"House of Cards" star Kevin Spacey, a double Oscar winner who has never won an Emmy, should pick up a nomination in the best drama actor category.

But he faces competition for the elusive statuette from Sterling K Brown ("This Is Us"), Bob Odenkirk ("Better Call Saul") and last year's winner Rami Malek ("Mr. Robot").

The academy's 21,000 members were given two weeks to sift through a crowded field of several thousand entries from shows aired during the previous 12 months.

"It has been an extraordinary year for television. The industry has never been more dynamic or inventive, and storytellers and content creators have never been more prolific," said chairman and CEO Hayma Washington.

- SNL's big day? -

In the best actress in a comedy category, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is hotly-tipped for a sixth consecutive Emmy for her role as hapless former president Selina Meyer on HBO's "Veep."

Melissa McCarthy, shown here in January, has earned praise for her portrayal of White House spokesman Sean Spicer on "Saturday Night Live"

Melissa McCarthy, who made headlines with her appearances as embattled White House press secretary Sean Spicer on sketch show "Saturday Night Live," would be a popular nomination for best comedy guest actress.

McCarthy, who has one Emmy win in seven previous nominations, faces posthumous competition in the category from "Star Wars" legend Carrie Fisher, who appeared in British sitcom "Catastrophe" before her death in December.

It could be a big day for SNL, with Alec Baldwin also in the running for his impersonation of President Donald Trump and Kate McKinnon hoping for recognition for her popular turn as Trump's election rival Hillary Clinton.

In a new development, academy members were able to select as many programs as they liked per category but, unlike the Oscars, do not rank their choices for the Emmys, with nominees determined by a simple tally.

There are seven nominees in "comedy series" and "drama series" and six in the rest.

"Game of Thrones" made television history last year, becoming the most decorated fictional show since the awards began nearly seven decades ago with nine awards in technical categories and three top prizes.

"Veep" actress Anna Chlumsky and "Criminal Minds" star Shemar Moore will present the nominations this time around from the Television Academy at 8:30 am (1530 GMT) and the announcement will be live-streamed at Emmys.com.

Second round voting will take place in August while the ceremony itself will be beamed live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, on September 17 on CBS, with late night funnyman Stephen Colbert hosting.
Donald Trump Jr in December 2016 in Trump Tower in New York

Did Donald Trump's eldest son break US law in meeting a Russian lawyer he hoped would dish compromising dirt on the woman standing between his father and the White House?

Could the 39-year-old real estate scion be charged with treason? This is what legal experts say about what is known so far of the June 2016 meeting in New York between Don Jr and Natalia Veselnitskaya.

What law might he have broken?

The most incriminating revelation, say experts who spoke to AFP, are the emails that Trump Jr dumped on his Twitter account: namely that he would "love" to hear what the Russian had to say about Hillary Clinton.

"If it's what you say I love it," he wrote back within minutes of being told the lawyer had information that would "incriminate" Clinton as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump."

Brandon Garrett, law professor at the University of Virginia, says since Watergate, federal law has forbidden any direct or indirect foreign contribution or promise of such to a US election.

The statute outlaws any donation "or other thing of value," which Garrett said could potentially include information.

Another worry for Trump Jr is that conspiracy law is sweeping.

"One does not have to have committed a crime, the attempt is enough," said Garrett. "They could still be found guilty of conspiring," he warned. In other words, the sole fact of going into a meeting to fish for information could be enough to establish intent.

But Daniel Tokaji, an electoral law expert at Ohio State University, sees "very serious free speech" concerns and "troubling implications" in interpreting information as a "contribution."

He warned it "could prohibit a campaign from gathering information about a rival campaign."

Susan Klein, law professor at the University of Texas and a Democrat, doesn't believe Trump Jr could be prosecuted just for talking either -- "except perhaps if they paid for it or exchanged it for something."

There has been no suggestion, at least so far, that happened.

Who decides if there's a case?

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) logically pursues election law violations, says Tokaji.

But split three-three between Democrats and Republicans, "it's very unlikely that they would take action," he added.

In theory the US attorney's office in Manhattan, where the meeting took place, could also open a case.

More likely is that former FBI director Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor charged with investigating possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia, will determine if there's a case, says Tokaji.

Whether the electoral law has been broken or not, he believes it is still worth investigating.

"It is quite troubling... that someone possibly acting at the behest of a foreign power is colluding with people at the very top (of a presidential campaign)," Tokaji said.

Did he commit treason?

Democratic Party lawmakers deployed the T word on Tuesday, but the experts who spoke to AFP doubted that would stick.

"Simply having a contact with a foreign country, even a foreign adversary -- we are not at war -- does not make it espionage or treason," says Joshua Dressler, law professor at Ohio State University.

"To bring it within treason, you'd have to (show that) they intended to harm their own country... That's an extreme argument to make," he said. "It would probably have to be something less extreme."
Pro-Erdogan supporters gather at Taksim Square in Istanbul following a failed coup attempt, on July 16, 2016

Just before midnight on July 15, 2016, a tear-stained anchorwoman, clearly under duress, appeared on Turkish state television to announce the purported seizure of power by the army.

Shortly after she read the statement -- said to be in the name of the armed forces -- war planes bombed Ankara and tanks surged into the streets of Istanbul in a night of violence that left 249 people dead.

But 12 hours later, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim was able to appear outside his offices to declare that this "ignominious bid" to seize power "has been defeated".

The coup's defeat was rapid and the consequences merciless, as the biggest crackdown in Turkish history targeted supporters of the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, who was blamed for the coup but denies the charges.

Yet questions remain over the timeline of the events on July 15, with Turkey's opposition looking for answers with increased stridency.

Turkish anti-riot police officers on duty in Istanbul's Taksim Square on July 17, 2016

How come the coup erupted undetected by Turkey's vast intelligence service and was then put down so quickly?

Why was information garnered on the afternoon of July 15 that something serious was afoot not shared with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan?

And why have key figures failed to give personal testimony to a parliamentary commission supposed to investigate the failed coup bid?

"We are not seeing an open investigation. It's been very, very disappointing and in fact very frightening," Gareth Jenkins, Istanbul-based non-resident senior research fellow at the Silk Road Studies Program told AFP.

The government insists that it is not hiding anything and has decried claims of a cover-up as an insult to those who lost their lives defeating the coup.

- 'Massive action' -

Witness testimonies published in Turkish media from a parliamentary commission and trials of suspects showed intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and the head of the military, General Hulusi Akar, were aware of a plot as early as the afternoon of July 15.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledges supporters in Ankara

An army helicopter pilot, identified only as Major O.K. went to the headquarters of the spy agency in Ankara at 2:20 pm on the afternoon of July 15 and warned officials that some action -- at least against the National Intelligence Service (MIT) -- was afoot.

"I said there could be a massive action and even a coup," the witness reportedly said. "I remember very well that I used the word 'coup'."

The warning was passed on by the MIT to the army at around 4:30 pm. Fidan then met with Akar.

Yet Erdogan said he found out about the failed putsch from his brother-in-law late in the evening of July 15, not from the secret service.

Akar was held by the coup plotters throughout the night. He returned to central Ankara by helicopter in the morning, accompanied by General Mehmet Disli, who was later arrested on charges of being one of the key plotters.

Special forces commander Zekai Aksakalli reportedly criticised the top military commander for his failure to shut Turkish airspace to all flights while he has also been criticised for not confining soldiers to barracks that night.

- 'Question marks' -

In October, a parliamentary committee made up of lawmakers from political parties represented in the parliament started investigating the failed coup.

US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen was blamed for the Turkish coup but denies the charges

The opposition demanded both Fidan and Akar be called to appear. But the calls were rejected by the ruling party.

"We are not prosecutors, nor judges. We will not convict anyone. We only wanted to receive a response to our questions," Sezgin Tanrikulu, MP from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told AFP.

"Unfortunately, they kick this opportunity away... and the question marks will continue to hang," Tanrikulu, who is a member of the committee, said.

After listening to former army chiefs, a former spy chief as well as bureaucrats and witnesses, the committee was ordered to wrap up its work in December, one month earlier than scheduled.

"It may be that the government has something sinister to hide. Maybe it is just hiding its own incompetence because of the response to the coup. It was very, very chaotic, it was not well organised," said Jenkins.

"We hope eventually that the truth will come out," he added.

The CHP's leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, had infuriated the government by using the term "controlled coup" -- claiming the authorities knew in advance about the plot, allowed the coup to play out in order to profit from it later.

Testimony has suggested that in fact the plotters wanted to launch the coup at 3:00 am on the morning of July 16 but brought forward the plan to around 10:00 pm on July 15 after authorities got wind of it.

Questions also linger over who was behind the coup and which political leaders the plotters wanted to take over should it have been successful.

The government says that the plot was a straightforward attempt to take over power by Gulen's group, which it calls the "Fethullah Terror Group (FETO)".

But some observers see the reality as more nuanced. "It was probably an alliance of circumstance between Gulenist, Kemalist (secular) officers and opportunists," said a European diplomatic source. "It was badly prepared and badly executed."
The DMZ dividing the Korean peninsula is one of the most heavily fortified places in the world

The number of North Koreans escaping to the South declined sharply in the first half of this year as Pyongyang strengthened controls on its border with China, officials said Wednesday.

The DMZ dividing the Korean peninsula is one of the most heavily fortified places in the world, and almost all defectors to the South go to China first -- where they still risk being repatriated if caught -- and then on to a third country before travelling to the South.

In the six months to June, 593 Northerners entered South Korea, down 20.8 percent from the same period in 2016, statistics compiled by Seoul's Unification Ministry showed.

As usual most -- 85 percent -- were women. North Korean men who try to leave are likely to be rapidly identified as absent by their work units.

Pyongyang's "tightened grip on the population and strengthened border controls add to the risks for potential defectors to take the plunge", a ministry official told AFP.

The Seoul-financed Korea Institute for National Unification said in a report that since late 2015, the North has been bolstering border controls and installing high-tension electric fencing along the Tumen River that forms the border with China.

A total of 30,805 North Koreans have fled to the South, many of them leaving during the famine years of the 1990s.

Arrivals peaked in 2009, but numbers have fallen more recently, with leader Kim Jong-Un reportedly ordering crackdowns on defectors and tightened border controls after inheriting power from his father in 2011.
Israeli soldiers fire tear gas canisters towards Palestinian protestors during clashes near the West Bank city of Jenin

Two Palestinians were shot dead during clashes with the Israeli army in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinian medical and security sources said.

One of the two had been evacuated in serious condition and later succumbed to his wounds, medical sources said.

Official Palestinian news agency Wafa identified the Palestinians shot dead as Saad Salah, 21, from the city of Jenin, and Aws Salame, 17, from the Jenin refugee camp.

A third Palestinian who was shot in the leg was in moderate condition, the medical sources said.

The Israeli army said soldiers shot toward "attackers" after "Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the forces and assailants hurled explosive devices at the forces" operating in the camp.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said none of their forces were wounded in the incident.

A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 277 Palestinians, 42 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP toll.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

Others were shot dead in protests and clashes, while some were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The violence has greatly subsided in recent months.
Allegations that huge sums were misappropriated from 1MDB through money-laundering triggered a corruption scandal that has embroiled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who founded the fund. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

A Singapore court Wednesday convicted a jailed banker of additional offences in a case linked to the international money-laundering scandal involving neighbouring Malaysia's state fund 1MDB.

Singaporean Yeo Jiawei, a former wealth manager with Swiss bank BSI, was sentenced to 54 months after admitting charges of money-laundering and cheating.

The jail term will run concurrently with a 30-month sentence for trying to tamper with witnesses involved in the probe into the scandal, which was handed down last year.

Allegations that huge sums were misappropriated from 1MDB through money-laundering triggered a corruption scandal that has embroiled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who founded the fund. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Yeo is one of several bankers in Singapore jailed over the affair. Court documents show he worked closely with Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, who helped set up 1MDB. Low has also denied wrongdoing.

Passing sentence Wednesday, judge Ong Hian Sun said Yeo had taken "considerable effort" to conceal his criminal wrongdoing and had exploited his position for personal gain.

He added that the courts must take an "uncompromising stance" to protect the integrity of Singapore's financial system.

The convictions related to Yeo's time at BSI. While there, he was involved in a series of elaborate cross-border transactions involving shell companies and bank accounts belonging to his parents, court documents showed.

Yeo and a colleague made $466,000 in profit by syphoning off commission that was meant to go to BSI for facilitating the transactions, which were linked to 1MDB and its associated projects.

In mitigation, Yeo's defence lawyer Derek Kang said his client would never work again in the finance industry and that he would give up profits made from the offences.

The scandal has been described by prosecutors as the "largest ever money-laundering case" investigated by Singapore's white-collar crime unit.

The city-state's financial regulator said in March that it has barred seven bankers linked to the case, several of whom had been convicted of various offences involving 1MDB.

The United States and Switzerland have also launched investigations into the 1MDB fund but only Singapore handed down any convictions so far.
Migrant workers typically do jobs spurned by locals, such as on construction sites and palm oil plantations

Malaysia has rounded up over 3,000 undocumented migrant workers this month in a major crackdown, prompting alarm Wednesday from lawmakers across the region who said the campaign was "victimising the vulnerable".

The relatively developed country is a magnet for migrant workers from across Asia, but several million are believed to be undocumented.

Authorities started rounding up illegal workers after an official programme to register undocumented foreigners ended on June 30, and more than 3,100 had been detained as of July 11, according to the immigration department.

Bangladeshis represent the largest group among those detained, with substantial numbers also from Indonesia and Myanmar. In the latest raid late Tuesday, scores of foreign workers at a construction site in the coastal town of Port Dickson were rounded up.

The clampdown has caused alarm among activists and in neighbouring countries, and a group representing current and former lawmakers from across Southeast Asia added their voice to the concern.

"A desire to decrease the number of undocumented workers in the country can never be an excuse to further victimise the vulnerable," said Cambodian lawmaker Mu Sochua, a board member of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.

"While Malaysia has a legitimate need to address the fact that so many migrants find themselves without proper paperwork, it must ensure that basic human rights are respected for all people at all times."

Aegile Fernandez, director of prominent Malaysian migrant rights group Tenaganita, said the real culprits were unscrupulous agents who extorted money from foreign workers in exchange for bringing them to the country, leaving them saddled with huge debts.

"Malaysia would not have developed so much if not for migrant workers. We should thank them and not handcuff them," she told AFP.

More than 60 employers who allegedly hired illegal foreign workers have also been arrested. Migrant workers typically do jobs spurned by locals, such as on construction sites and palm oil plantations.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari went to London for medical reasons earlier this year but returned on March 10 only to return there some two months later

Nigeria's vice-president has returned from a whistlestop trip to meet ailing President Muhammadu Buhari in London and will chair Wednesday's weekly cabinet meeting, his spokesman said.

Acting President Yemi "Osinbajo now back in Abuja from London & will be presiding over FEC (federal executive committee) this morning," tweeted Laolu Akande.

He also pledged to share "more information" about Osinbajo's encounter with Buhari, describing it as "a very good meeting".

Osinbajo, who has been acting president since Buhari left for medical treatment on May 7, flew to London on Tuesday.

No details were given about the meeting but it is believed to be the first face-to-face encounter between Nigeria's two most senior politicians in more than two months.

Buhari, 74, has not been seen in that time and has now spent nearly four months of this year out of the country, prompting growing calls for clarity about his fitness to govern.

His condition has not been disclosed but aides have previously played down rumours that he was terminally ill with cancer or even dead.

His wife Aisha, who flew to London earlier this month, on Monday posted a cryptic message on her Facebook page in response to a Nigerian senator's description of Buhari as "the absent Lion King".

"God has answered the prayers of the weaker Animals. The Hyena's and the Jackals will soon be sent out of the kingdom," she wrote.

The description has been seen as a reference to a supposed behind-the-scenes struggle for power and influence in government during Buhari's absence.

The Nation newspaper, owned by the founder of Buhari's All Progressives Congress party, Bola Tinubu, said Osinbajo's trip to London had been secretly planned for weeks.

"The Acting President has actually been relying on third-party information and purported directives from the President in London," an unnamed source was quoted as saying.

Another said: "The trip had been planned in the past three weeks but was only known to few people for strategic reasons. The 'Jackals and Hyenas' were beaten to it."

Osinbajo wanted "undiluted information" on Buhari's health, to brief his boss on decisions he had taken in his absence and get approval for policy, the second source added.
Divers aided by wildlife officials approached the distressed animal and tied ropes to it before towing it gently to shallow waters near the coast, where it was released late on Tuesday

Sri Lanka's navy has rescued an elephant that got into difficulties after being washed out to sea, a spokesman said Wednesday, calling it a "miraculous escape".

Chaminda Walakuluge said the navy mounted the 12-hour rescue after spotting the elephant struggling to stay afloat around eight kilometres (five miles) off the island's northeast coast.

Divers aided by wildlife officials approached the distressed animal and tied ropes to it before towing it gently to shallow waters near the coast, where it was released late on Tuesday.

Walakuluge said the animal had likely got swept into the sea while crossing the Kokkilai lagoon, a large stretch of water that lies between two areas of jungle.

"They usually wade through shallow waters or even swim across to take a short cut," he said.

"It is a miraculous escape for the elephant."

Photos posted on the navy's website show the animal trying to keep its trunk above the water as divers approached it.

The rescue came six weeks after the navy and local residents saved a pod of 20 pilot whales who became stranded in nearby Trincomalee, a natural harbour that is popular for whale watching.

The waters around Trincomalee, which was used by Allied forces as a staging post during World War II, have a high concentration of blue and sperm whales, while the surrounding jungles have herds of wild elephants.
A handout picture provided by the office of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on July 12, 2017, shows him (R) greeting Oman's Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi in Tehran

Iran and Oman will work to boost their ties, the Islamic republic's President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, as a diplomatic crisis persists in the Gulf.

"Iran and Oman have for years had fraternal relations and the best must be made of these good relations to reinforce them," Rouhani said as he met Oman's foreign minister.

The Iranian government's website reported Foreign Minister Yussef Bin Alawi as replying: "Omani leaders believe our ties should be developed."

The remarks come after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt last month severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing extremism and being too close to Riyadh's arch-rival Tehran.

They imposed a series of isolation measures on Qatar including cutting air, land and maritime links to the small gas-rich emirate.

Oman, which has maintained ties with Qatar, took part this week in a string of Kuwaiti and US-led talks towards resolving the crisis.

Rouhani slammed the sanctions imposed by the Riyadh-led group on Doha, which Qatar has called a "blockade".

"Threatening, pressuring and imposing a blockade against neighbours, including Qatar, is an erroneous method and everyone must try to reduce the tensions in the region," he said.

He also criticised "the policies of certain countries in the region against Syria, Yemen and Bahrain", in what appeared to be a reference to Saudi Arabia.

Iran regularly denounces bombings of Iran-backed Huthi rebels by a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, where is has accused the coalition of blockading ports.

Tehran also accuses Riyadh and its allies of supporting rebels and jihadists in Syria and Iraq, where it backs Damascus and Baghdad.

Iran increased its food imports to Qatar after its Gulf neighbours cut transport links to the emirate.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari went to London for medical reasons earlier this year but returned on March 10 only to return there some two months later

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari is recovering fast from an undisclosed illness and should be back in Nigeria soon, his deputy said on Wednesday, after a whistlestop trip to meet the ailing head of state in London.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo told reporters before a weekly cabinet meeting in Abuja that he had been in London on Tuesday to "check up on" the 74-year-old Buhari, who left for medical treatment in the British capital on May 7.

"Of course I've been speaking to him on the phone and I thought it would be a good thing to go and see him and generally check up on how he was doing and also to brief him on developments," he said.

"We had a very good conversation on wide-ranging issues and he's in very good spirits. He's recuperating very quickly and he's doing very well."

The meeting lasted for "well over an hour", he said, adding: "We are expecting him (back in Nigeria) very shortly."

Osinbajo, who has been acting president since Buhari's departure, made no mention of the president's medical condition, which has led to growing calls for clarity about his fitness to govern.

The former military ruler has now spent nearly four months of this year out of the country and has not been seen in public for more than two months.

When he returned from a previous trip to London in January and February, Buhari said he had "never been so sick" and disclosed he had undergone blood transfusions and a battery of tests.

Aides have previously played down rumours that he was terminally ill with cancer or even dead.

- Power struggle? -

His wife Aisha, who flew to London earlier this month, on Monday posted a cryptic message on her Facebook page in response to a Nigerian senator's description of Buhari as "the absent Lion King".

"God has answered the prayers of the weaker Animals. The Hyena's and the Jackals will soon be sent out of the kingdom," she wrote.

The description has been seen as a reference to a supposed behind-the-scenes struggle for power and influence in government during Buhari's absence.

The Nation newspaper, owned by the founder of Buhari's All Progressives Congress party, Bola Tinubu, said Osinbajo's trip to London had been secretly planned for weeks.

"The acting president has actually been relying on third-party information and purported directives from the president in London," an unnamed source was quoted as saying.

Another said: "The trip had been planned in the past three weeks but was only known to few people for strategic reasons. The 'Jackals and Hyenas' were beaten to it."

Osinbajo wanted "undiluted information" on Buhari's health, to brief his boss on decisions he had taken in his absence and get approval for policy, the second source added.
Donald Trump in Las Vegas in 2013 with Russian businessman Aras Agalarov, Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo and Russian singer Emin Agalarov

A Russian billionaire on Wednesday blasted claims in emails released by Donald Trump Jr that he was a potential middleman for alleged incriminating Kremlin material on Hillary Clinton, as Moscow again denied any role in the scandal.

The emails have thrust US leader Donald Trump's eldest son into the centre of a growing firestorm over whether the president's allies colluded with Moscow in its alleged efforts to tilt last year's election in the Republican's favour.

A June 2016 email from British music promoter Rob Goldstone to Trump Jr released on Tuesday claims an offer was allegedly made by Russia's general prosecutor to provide the Trump campaign with "official documents" on Clinton during a meeting with real estate mogul Aras Agalarov.

Goldstone says the Russian prosecutor "offered to provide the Trump campaign" with "very high level and sensitive information" as "part of Russia and its government's support" for his father.

Goldstone claimed to have been tipped off by Agalarov's pop star son Emin, whom he managed, and went on to help organise a meeting between a lawyer he said was a "Russian government attorney" and Trump Jr.

The Agalarov family has established ties to the Trumps and brought the future US leader to Moscow for the 2013 Miss Universe beauty competition.

- 'Making it up' -

But Agalarov rubbished the emails touting him as a possible go-between for the Trumps and the Kremlin and said he only vaguely knew Goldstone.

"I think this is some sort of fiction. I don't know who is making it up," Agalarov told Russia's Business FM radio station, according to a transcript posted online.

"What has Hillary Clinton got to do with anything? I don't know. I really don't know Rob Goldstone well."

In the email exchange which was released by Trump Jr, the president's eldest son suggested he would "love" to get any dirt on Clinton.

US intelligence agencies have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of approving a hacking and influence campaign to sway the vote, claims fiercely denied in Moscow.

- Lobbyist lawyer -

Veselnitskaya has denied she has any contacts to the Russian government and the Kremlin on Wednesday again insisted it had no ties to her or her meeting with Trump Jr

Trump Jr and two other top campaign officials eventually met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016 but both sides insist she provided no information on Clinton.

A publicist for Emin Agalarov directed all questions on the issue to his lawyer. The Russian prosecutors office did not respond to questions.

Trump Jr has said that rather than discussing Clinton, lawyer Veselnitskaya focused on a 2012 US law called the Magnitsky Act that targeted Russian officials and drew fury from the Kremlin.

The legislation slapped sanctions on Russian officials allegedly involved in the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who had tried to fight a major fraud scheme against US-British investor Bill Browder.

The Russian government then banned the adoption of Russian children by Americans in retaliation.

Veselnitskaya -- who made her name litigating murky property disputes in the region around Moscow -- has long lobbied for the Magnitsky Act to be repealed and defended a firm accused in the US of money laundering over the case.

Veselnitskaya has denied she has any contacts to the Russian government and the Kremlin on Wednesday once again insisted it had no ties to her or her meeting with Trump Jr.

"We have already said that we are absolutely not familiar with this whole story," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"We never had any contact with this lawyer, that is why we are not in the loop and have nothing to say. She doesn't have even the slightest relation to us."
Following the bloody Second Congo War, French special forces led a UN-mandated international intervention to Bunia, in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, to prevent fighting between Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), dominated by the Hema group, and Lendu opponents

A Congolese journalist working for state broadcaster RTNC was killed by an unknown assailant at his home in the northeast of the country Wednesday, officials said, adding it was too early to speculate on the motive.

"A journalist from (state broadcaster) RTNC was killed around 4 am by an as yet unidentified assailant who hit him with a blunt object, causing his death," vice-governor of Ituri province Pacifique Keta told AFP.

Serge Karba, president of the regional branch of the national press union UNPC demanded a full investigation as he confirmed the death of Banga Karaba, who he said had been attacked at his property.

Keta said it was too early to speculate if the killing had had an ethnic motive.

"It is too early to link this murder to the Hema-Lendu conflict. We must await the results of the inquiry under way," said Keta, adding police had opened an investigation.

Banga was from the Hema ethnic group which has clashed repeatedly with the neighbouring Lendu people.

He had presented French language programming for state radio in the town of Bunia for more than 20 years and was known for his balanced reporting, Karba said.

Ituri, a rich province owing to its gold deposits, saw several outbreaks of violence during the Second Congo War between 1998 and 2003 which was ended with the aid of a French-led international military intervention.
Saudi King Salman greets US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ahead of their meeting in Jeddah on July 12, 2017

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held talks Wednesday with four Arab states boycotting Qatar as part of a round of intense shuttle diplomacy aimed at resolving the regional crisis.

Tillerson flew into Saudi Arabia where he met King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose country leads a four-state alliance that has cut ties with Qatar over accusations it supports extremism.

The United States, a longtime ally of Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, has given mixed signals about its policy on the Gulf crisis.

While President Donald Trump welcomed the Arab states' decision to sever air and land links to their gas-rich neighbour, the State Department has taken a more neutral position and Tillerson is seeking to broker a diplomatic solution.

The crisis has presented Tillerson, well known in the Gulf from his former role as chief of energy giant ExxonMobil, with his first big challenge as Washington's top diplomat.

In a setback to his efforts, the four Arab states on Tuesday dismissed a counter-terrorism deal signed between Qatar and the United States that day as "insufficient".

But on Wednesday Tillerson underscored the shared mutual interests between the United States and Saudi Arabia notably in the areas of "security, stability... and economic prosperity".

Speaking after meeting with the Saudi crown prince, the king's son and a highly influential figure in regional politics, Tillerson stressed the two countries shared a "strong partnership".

The secretary of state also met the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in an attempt to mend fences between the crucial US allies.

The United States and its Western allies have vast economic and political interests in the Gulf, which pumps one fifth of the world's oil supplies.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has become the symbol of Qatari resistance during the month-long row between Doha and a Saudi-led coalition

While Saudi Arabia is a key US ally, Qatar is home to the US military's largest air base in the region, Al-Udeid. Rival Bahrain houses the US Navy Fifth Fleet.

On Tuesday, after a stop in regional mediator Kuwait, Tillerson travelled to Doha where he described Qatar as being "reasonable" in its dispute with the four states.

He also signed a deal which he said "lays out a series of steps the two countries will take over the coming months and years to interrupt and disable terror financing flows and intensify counter-terrorism activities globally."

The deal meant Qatar was "the first to respond" to Trump's call at a summit in Riyadh in May "to stop the funding of terrorism", Tillerson said, suggesting such deals could be signed with the other Arab states as a step toward ending the crisis.

- 'Insufficient' step -

But Tuesday's initiative was dismissed as "insufficient" by the Saudi-led bloc.

Commitments made by Qatari authorities "cannot be trusted," said a joint statement published by Saudi state news agency SPA.

The bloc has issued a list of 13 demands for Qatar including closing broadcast giant Al-Jazeera, downgrading ties to Iran and shutting a Turkish military base in the emirate.

Iran, Saudi Arabia's main arch-rival, has offered to export food to Qatar and on Wednesday announced it was boosting ties with the Gulf state of Oman.

Oman has maintained ties with Qatar and joined the Kuwaiti and US-led crisis talks this week.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain on June 5 announced sanctions, effective immediately, against Qatar over accusations Doha supported Islamist extremism and was too close to Iran.

They severed all diplomatic ties, suspended transport links with Doha and ordered all Qataris to return home within 14 days.

Qatar refused to comply with the ultimatum and has consistently denied accusations of ties to Islamist groups.

- The fight for Al-Jazeera -

UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on June 30 said the demand to close Al-Jazeera represented "an unacceptable attack on the right to freedom of expression and opinion," prompting a harsh response from the United Arab Emirates.

In a letter to the rights chief, UAE state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash accused Al-Jazeera of anti-Semitism and inciting viewers to discrimination and violence.

The letter lists the broadcasting of "sermons by the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, in which he praised Hitler, described the Holocaust as 'divine punishment'" and the regular airing of the speeches of slain Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and others as examples of hatred.

Tillerson's visit is the latest in a series by officials to the region, including UN diplomats and the foreign ministers of Germany and Britain, to try to resolve the row.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit the Gulf this weekend, with stops in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait.
Highways around Afghanistan passing through insurgency-prone areas have become exceedingly dangerous, with the Taliban and other armed groups frequently kidnapping or killing travellers.

Afghan authorities on Wednesday recovered the bullet-riddled bodies of seven passengers kidnapped by gunmen in the western province of Farah a day earlier, in an attack blamed on Taliban insurgents, police said.

The violence, which underscores the fragile security situation in Afghanistan, came after Taliban fighters closed a highway connecting provincial capital Farah to Herat city late Tuesday, stopping a bus and forcing 16 passengers to dismount, Farah police spokesman Iqbal Baher told AFP.

They shot at least seven of them, while the remaining nine were taken hostage, he said.

Government forces launched an operation early Wednesday to free the hostages and open the highway, clearing roadblocks set up by the militants, Baher said.

They recovered the bodies of seven passengers, he continued, adding that six were civilians and one a police officer.

"It is not clear why the Taliban kidnapped and killed them, and we are still unsure about the fate of the remaining kidnapped passengers," he stated.

The Taliban have so far not commented on the incident in Farah province, which has witnessed an increase in the militant group's activities recently, according to provincial officials.

Highways around Afghanistan passing through insurgency-prone areas have become exceedingly dangerous, with the Taliban and other armed groups frequently kidnapping or killing travellers.

Civilians are increasingly caught in the crosshairs of Afghanistan's worsening conflict as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive, launched in April against the Western-backed Kabul government.

Six civilians seeking work in Farah, capital of western Farah province, were killed earlier this month when their pickup truck hit a roadside bomb.

Authorities blamed the Taliban for the attack.
With the calving, the Larsen C ice shelf lost more than 12 percent of its total surface area -- larger than the US state of Delaware

A Delaware-sized iceberg, one of the largest ever seen, was set adrift after snapping from a West Antarctic ice shelf that will be closely watched for signs of collapse, scientists said Wednesday.

A crack in the Larsen C ice shelf, a drifting extension of the land-based ice sheet, finally broke through after inching its way across the frozen formation for years.

It created an iceberg of about 5,800 square kilometres (2,200 square miles), with a volume twice that of Lake Erie, one of the North American Great Lakes.

"The iceberg weighs more than a trillion tonnes, but it was already floating before it calved away so has no immediate impact on sea level," said a team of researchers from the MIDAS Antarctic research project.

The gargantuan ice cube will probably be named A68.

"The calving of this iceberg leaves the Larsen C ice shelf reduced in area by more than 12 percent, and the landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula changed forever," the team added.

Map of Antarctica locating the Larsen C ice shelf where a giant iceberg, weighing a trillion tonnes, has broke away

Separation occurred somewhere between Monday and Wednesday, and was recorded by a NASA satellite.

The calving of ice shelves occurs naturally, though global warming is thought to have accelerated the process in some regions. Warmer ocean water erodes the underbelly of the ice shelves, while rising air temperatures weaken them from above.

Icebergs calving from Antarctica are a regular occurrence, and there are thousands of them.

The latest behemoth will be closely watched for potential risk to ships.

"The big ones are easier to spot in the ocean. This one, for sure, will be tracked very easily by satellite," Mark Drinkwater, a European Space Agency (ESA) ice expert, told AFP.

"The concern is whether the thing breaks up into a myriad of smaller bergs."

There is also a risk that smaller, loose pieces which stayed behind when the main chunk broke off will now calve away.

"There appear to be a number of fractures that might indicate that other pieces might break away later," Drinkwater said.

The fate of A68 is hard to predict.

Drinkwater said it could "hang around" for some time before the tides and wind force it further out to sea.

According to an ESA statement, ocean currents could drag the iceberg, or pieces of it, as far north as the Falkland Islands, posing a hazard for ships in the Drake Passage.

- Will it collapse? -

Experts disagree over whether the calving heightens the risk of Larsen C disintegrating like its neighbours Larsen B in 2002 and Larsen A in 1995.

Floating on the ocean, ice shelves are fed by slow-flowing glaciers from land. Without them, the glaciers would flow directly into the sea.

If the glaciers held in check by Larsen C were to spill into the Antarctic Ocean, it would lift the global water mark by about 10 centimetres (four inches), previous research has shown.

With its new shape and size, Larsen C may be less stable, the MIDAS researchers warned.

An aerial view of the Larsen C ice rift in Antarctica, seen in an image received from NASA via Swansea University on June 1, 2017

"In the ensuing months and years, the ice shelf could either gradually regrow, or may suffer further calving events which may eventually lead to collapse," said lead investigator Adrian Luckman.

"Our models say it will be less stable, but any future collapse remains years or decades away."

Drinkwater, however, said satellite data and years of on-site investigation show the shelf "is in a very stable configuration."

"We're going to be watching very carefully for signs that the rest of the shelf is becoming unstable," added Swansea University glaciologist Martin O'Leary, another MIDAS project member.

For Catherine Ritz of France's CNRS research institute, the iceberg calving pointed to rising pressure from global warming.

"It is a sign that ice shelves are more and more vulnerable," she told AFP. "These Larsen (shelves) existed already at the beginning of the Holocene" -- the current geological period that began about 12,000 years ago.

But O'Leary and Drinkwater said this particular iceberg calving was unrelated to global warming.

According to O'Leary, "we're not aware of any link to human-induced climate change", while Drinkwater called it "a typical iceberg calving event" along a very old fault lines in the ice shelf.

This did not mean other shelves were not already feeling the effects of warming, however.

And in the future, "there is certainly with climate warming a chance of ice shelves being removed further and further south along the Antarctic peninsula," Drinkwater said.

Human actions have lifted average global air temperatures by about one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial levels, according to scientists, and Antarctica is one of the world's fastest-warming regions.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is still 73-percent owned by the British government

Britain's bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland agreed Wednesday to pay a US regulator $5.5 billion (4.8 billion euros) over its role in the subprime mortgage crisis more than a decade ago.

The lender said in a statement that the 4.2-billion penalty was a "heavy price" to settle US mis-selling claims, which occurred in the run-up to the notorious global financial crisis and subsequent worldwide recession.

"The Royal Bank of Scotland... has reached a settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency," the lender said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that FHFA "litigation against RBS will be withdrawn".

The net cost will be $4.75 billion due to special indemnity agreements.

The deal resolves FHFA claims in relation to RBS's issuance and underwriting of about $32 billion of residential mortgage-backed securities in the United States before the financial crisis erupted.

The agreement settles an FHFA lawsuit alleging that RBS sold faulty mortgage bonds to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac between 2005 and 2007.

RBS will pay approximately $4.525 billion to Freddie Mac and approximately $975 million to Fannie Mae, the FHFA added.

The announcement resolves one of two major US probes into mis-selling allegations; RBS has yet to reach a deal with the Department of Justice.

- 'Stark reminder' -

"This settlement is a stark reminder of what happened to this bank before the financial crisis, and the heavy price paid for its pursuit of global ambitions," RBS chief executive Ross McEwan said in the statement.

The deal was "an important step forward in resolving one of the most significant legacy matters facing RBS".

Edinburgh-based RBS remains 70-percent state-owned after receiving a vast government rescue at the height of the 2008 crisis in the world's biggest banking bailout.

The FHFA fine is largely covered by money already set aside by the bank, which has long been plagued by legacy costs arising from its past conduct.

McEwan cautioned the bank may need to set aside more money to settle outstanding claims.

RBS chief finance officer Ewen Stevenson added the FHFA settlement was "in the region of what we'd been anticipating", but analysts indicated that it was higher than forecast.

Once the $5.5 billion is paid, RBS will be reimbursed $754 million under contractual agreements entered into with third parties.

Equities analyst Joseph Dickerson, at US bank Jefferies, said the net $4.75-billion figure was $1.0 billion higher than market expectations.

"This settlement clears a major hurdle for the bank, though there remain further significant related costs, such as the DOJ," he said.

Dickerson forecast that RBS would need to set aside another $2.5 billion to cover the DoJ deal in the fourth quarter.

The system-wide failure of complex securities derived from residential mortgages caused a cascading wave of bankruptcies and crises that sparked a global recession, leading to tens of millions of job losses around the world.

- 'Elephant in the room' -

In late afternoon deals on Wednesday, RBS shares sank 1.95 percent to finish at 251.50 pence on London's rising FTSE 100 index.

"Ten years on from the financial crisis, RBS and the UK taxpayer are still counting the cost of the bank's former misdemeanours," said Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.

"The coming year is not going to be pretty for the bank, as it works through the costs of outstanding US litigation for mortgage-backed securities sold in the run up to the credit crunch.

"The elephant in the room is the US Department of Justice fine, which is likely to be sizeable, and is subject to a high degree of uncertainty."

Following the FHFA settlement, RBS will still have almost $4 billion of provisions for US mortgage-backed securities principally related to the DOJ probe.
Hundreds of migrants have reached port in Sicily as Italy urges EU partners to do more to tackle the waves of arrivals -- which Wednesday included a newborn and his mother from Cameroon

The first of more than 3,500 would-be migrants picked up off the coast of Libya in recent days arrived Wednesday in Italy, as Rome pressures other countries into taking their share.

The early morning saw a coast guard vessel with 481 migrants aboard reach the southern Sicilian port of Pozzallo, while the Phoenix vessel of Maltese NGO Moas began disembarking 422 more further up the coast at Trapani.

One migrant was a newborn Cameroonian named Christ, whose mother gave birth to him Tuesday aboard a rickety wooden boat.

Rescuers applauded as she made her way up a ladder to haul herself on to the Aquarius, a vessel chartered by SOS Mediterranee and MSF.

The little boy's father has still to attempt the hazardous trip to Europe from Libya.

MSF midwife Alice Gautreau tweeted how she cut the child's umbilical cord.

"Little Christ is doing fine, his mother too. But it would have been better for both if she had not had to give birth in the middle of the Mediterranean, surrounded by 100 men," Gautreau added.

Vessels from four other NGOs -- Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), SOS Mediterranee, Save the Children and ProActiva Open Arms -- were on their way to Italian ports with a cargo of some 2,700 more migrants, including many children, picked up Tuesday, those organisations said.

Italy has been urging its EU partners to make a "concrete contribution" to dealing with the crisis both in terms of trying to limit departures from Libya and also taking in a portion of those who survive the perilous journey.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni warned last week that his country did not have "unlimited" capacity to keep taking people having already accepted around 85,000 of the 100,000 people who have arrived this year.

EU interior ministers last week pledged to back an urgent European Commission plan to help Italy by earmarking 35 million euros ($40 million) in aid.

The issue was high on the agenda of Wednesday talks in the northeastern city of Trieste between Gentiloni, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attending a Western Balkans summit.
Indian censors have refused to certify a documentary film featuring Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen unless words like 'cow' and 'Hindu India' are beeped out, the director said on Wednesday, in the latest dispute involving the sensitive film board.

Suman Ghosh, a national award-winning director, said he screened his film 'The Argumentative Indian' - adapted from Sen's book of the same title - for censors in eastern Kolkata city on Tuesday.

After three hours of viewing, officials verbally asked him to delete the terms 'cow' - an animal considered sacred for Hindus - 'Hindu India' and 'Gujarat'.

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Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen is the subject of the documentary

Resident Jaiwantiben watching a wood market burning after it was set ablase by Muslims that fled the Lathi bazar area in Ahmedabad, Gujarat

After three hours of viewing, officials verbally asked him to delete the terms 'cow' - an animal considered sacred by Hindus

'In a piece of cinema, I think it's bizarre to just beep something suddenly,' Ghosh told the NDTV news network, saying he was 'quite shocked' by the censors' objection.

'But I will not make any change at all,' he said.

The documentary had been set for release this weekend.

Before he became PM Narendra Modi was the controversial chief minister of Gujarat

Filmed over the course of more than 15 years, Ghosh's new work mainly features Sen, a vocal critic of Modi, and Kaushik Basu, who was chief economic adviser to India's last Congress-led government, in a conversation that ranges from economics and philosophy to the global rise of right-wing nationalism.

It mentions communal riots in western Gujarat state where at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in 2002 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was chief minister there.

Ghosh said he was yet to receive an official notice from the Mumbai-based Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

The CBFC did not immediately respond to several calls and text messages by AFP seeking comment.

Sen said he was 'absolutely astonished that there was anything controversial about it'.

'The censor board has now made it an interesting film and I am grateful for that,' he told NDTV.

Cow slaughter or consumption is a hot-button issue in India, where even rumours of them being transported can spark murderous reprisals and religious riots.

Gujarat is beeped over sections discussing the 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, who were killed in 2002 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was chief minister

An Indian Bajranj Dal activist armed with a iron stick shouts slogans against Muslims during mob violence and looting of shops and residences in the Sahapur District of Ahmedabad

Indian censors often bar movies and cut scenes, especially those deemed too racy or at risk of causing religious offence, with filmmakers accusing them of intolerance and muzzling creative freedom.

The CBFC sparked uproar in February when it refused to certify an award-winning Hindi film exploring women's sexuality for being 'lady-oriented'.

In 2015, it blocked the release of a toned-down version of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and deemed two James Bond kissing scenes unsuitable for an Indian audience.
Under long-time leader President Robert Mugabe, 93, Zimbabwe has suffered mass unemployment, a collapse of many public services and banknote shortages as foreign investors have fled

Air Zimbabwe has laid off 200 employees -- nearly half its workforce -- to try to stay in the air, Zimbabwe state media reported Wednesday, as the country's economic troubles deepen.

Under long-time leader President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe has suffered mass unemployment, a collapse of many public services and banknote shortages as foreign investors have fled.

According to Bloomberg News, the southern African country's economy has halved since 2000.

"We have retrenched 200 employees out of the 424," Air Zimbabwe chairman Chipo Dyanda was quoted as saying in the Herald newspaper.

"The organisation is over-bloated."

This is the latest bad news to hit the troubled national carrier, which in May was added to a list of airlines banned from EU airspace over safety concerns.

The airline, which flies to South Africa and Tanzania as well as on domestic routes between Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, has over $300 million in debts.

According to a letter seen by AFP, the state-owned company said it was acting "to contain operational costs and save the national airline's viability as a going concern."

Affected workers were sent on paid leave on Tuesday and will receive three months' salary and compensation for loss of employment, the letter said.

The 93-year-old Mugabe, currently on a medical trip to Singapore, has sometimes chartered Air Zimbabwe planes, forcing the cancellation of scheduled flights.
Riot police on duty in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, on July 12, 2017

Zimbabwean riot police in the capital Harare fired tear gas and used water cannon on Wednesday to break an opposition protest calling for fair elections next year.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party had planned a march against voter registration centres which it says favour long-ruling President Robert Mugabe.

A heavy police presence was on duty from early morning, and officers moved in to prevent marchers from gathering in the city centre.

An AFP correspondent witnessed shopkeepers pulling down shutters and locking doors as tear gas cannisters were fired from passing police trucks.

On the street, police wielding batons dispersed protesters and bystanders trying to escape the stinging fumes.

"Heavily armed police officers brutally crushed our peaceful demonstration," MDC youth secretary general Lovemore Chinoputsa said in statement.

Mugabe, who has been in power since independence in 1980, is the ZANU-PF candidate for the election despite being 93 and in poor health.

He is currently in Singapore for a medical check-up.

His party is riven by rivalry over his succession, while opposition parties are in talks to unite behind one candidate.

Last year a series of large anti-Mugabe protests that shook the government were ended in a security crackdown.
FBI director nominee Christopher Wray pledges to protect the agency's independence from political interference at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.

Donald Trump's nominee to lead the FBI pledged Wednesday to insulate the agency from outside interference, amid a probe into Russian election interference that could threaten the president and his inner circle.

"If I am given the honor of leading this agency, I will never allow the FBI's work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law, and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period," Christopher Wray told a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination.

"There is only one right way to do this job, and that is with strict independence, by the book, playing it straight, faithful to the constitution, faithful to our laws, faithful to the best practices of the institution, without fear, without favoritism, and certainly without regard to any partisan political influence," he said.

Trump fired the respected director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James Comey in May, expressing frustration about the ongoing investigation into whether his presidential campaign colluded with an alleged Russian effort to tilt the election in his favor.

That raised allegations of obstruction of justice against the president and led to the appointment of an independent prosecutor, Robert Mueller, another former FBI chief, to oversee the Russia probe.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the judiciary panel, told Wray he must be committed to pursuing any investigation to the end no matter who is implicated.

"The FBI director does not serve the president," Feinstein told the hearing.

"He serves the constitution, the law and the American people. As such, the director of the FBI must be a leader who has the integrity and strength that will enable him to withstand any attempts at political interference."
Sudanese women and children stand next to a donkey in the war-torn town of Golo in the thickly forested mountainous area of Jebel Marra in central Darfur on June 19, 2017

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday suspended negotiations with Washington aimed at ending sanctions against Khartoum, after the United States extended its embargo for another three months, state media said.

US President Donald Trump prolonged a review period overnight to October 12 before his administration decides whether or not to permanently lift the decades-old sanctions.

His predecessor Barack Obama had eased the sanctions in January, but kept Sudan on review for six months, a period that ended on Wednesday.

Obama had made the permanent lifting of the sanctions dependent on the North African country's progress in five areas of concern at the end of the review period.

In his executive order issued on Tuesday, Trump extended the deadline, saying "more time is needed" for the review.

And on Wednesday, Bashir decided to suspend the talks between Washington and Khartoum.

Bashir "issued a presidential decree ordering the suspension of the committee that was negotiating (the lifting of the sanctions) with the United States until October 12," the official news agency SUNA said, quoting a presidential decree.

The committee has been negotiating for more than a year with US officials on lifting the American trade embargo in force against Khartoum since 1997.

Prior to Bashir's decree, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour voiced Khartoum's disappointment over Trump's order.

"We regret such a decision that came out after long negotiations between Sudan and the United States," he said.

"The United States, Europe, Africa and the international community admit that Sudan has fulfilled its commitments when it comes to the five tracks, which is why we don't see any reason for extending the review period," he told reporters.

"But we are still hoping that the sanctions will be lifted permanently."

The areas of concern -- or "five tracks" -- include giving more access to humanitarian workers in war zones, counterterrorism cooperation with the United States, an end to hostilities against armed groups in Sudan and halting support for insurgents in neighbouring South Sudan.

"I have decided more time is needed for this review to establish that the government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action across all of those areas," Trump's order said, noting that "the government of Sudan has made some progress".

- 'Smart' sanctions recommended -

Washington imposed a complex set of economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its alleged backing of Islamist militant groups.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011, was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

Washington also justified the embargo with accusations of scorched-earth tactics by Khartoum against ethnic minority rebels in war-torn Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since the Darfur conflict erupted in 2003, the UN says.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes related to the conflict, charges he steadfastly denies.

The UN said it had hoped the United States would make a "positive decision" on the sanctions against Sudan for allowing more humanitarian aid access across war zones.

But some think-tanks had called for the review period to be extended, saying Khartoum needed to do more for the embargo to be lifted.

The Enough Project, a Washington-based think-tank, said the Trump administration should now devise a new set of "smart and modernised" sanctions that would spare Sudan's people.

They should "target those who are most responsible for grand corruption and atrocities, including air strikes on villages, attacks on churches, obstruction of humanitarian aid, jailing and torturing opposition figures and civil society leaders, stealing elections, and undermining peace efforts", said John Prendergast, founding director of Enough Project.
Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz addresses the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, on July 12, 2017

Turkey's Energy Minister Berat Albayrak is set to visit Israel by the end of this year to conclude an agreement for the building of a natural gas pipeline from the Jewish state to Turkey, the Israeli energy minister said on Wednesday.

A visit by Albayrak, son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a key member of his inner circle, would be a significant diplomatic move by Ankara after a rapprochement deal last year between the two countries mended a long-standing rift.

The crisis was triggered by Israel's deadly storming in 2010 of a Gaza-bound ship which left 10 Turkish activists dead. But the two countries normalised ties in June last year and rapidly begun discussing the gas pipeline project.

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said both countries decided to accelerate efforts to conclude by the end of this year an intergovernmental agreement that will enable the construction of a pipeline from Israel to Turkey.

"Hopefully, Mr. Albayrak will pay a visit to Israel this year in 2017, which will help us accelerate and try to conclude this agreement," the minister said at the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul after meeting Albayrak.

He added that no exact date had been fixed but it would take place in the coming months.

Turkey, which largely depends on foreign supplies for its energy needs, is keen to diversify resources and has a close eye on Israel's own developing resources.

Israel is searching for energy partners to develop its Leviathan natural gas field in a bid to make it economically feasible.

"We want to build a pipeline stretching from Israel to Turkey in order to able to export natural gas from Israel to Turkey," Steinitz said, adding that the Israeli gas could be delivered to Europe and to the Balkans through Turkey.

- 'Don't make me choose' -

Israel is also moving ahead with plans, together with Italy, Greece and Cyprus, to build the world's longest undersea gas pipeline from the eastern Mediterranean to southern Europe, with support from the European Union.

If carried out as planned, the long-discussed $6.2-billion pipeline will take gas from Israel and Cyprus's offshore gas reserves to Europe, potentially reducing European dependence on Russian energy.

Both Israel and Cyprus have started to extract gas from their offshore fields in recent years, and officials have sought to market that gas to Europe an an alternative to Russian monopoly over gas supplies.

Erdogan warned this week global energy companies to stay away from any deal with Cyprus for gas and oil exploration in the eastern Mediterranean after talks missed a "big opportunity" to unite the divided island.

Asked if eastern Mediterranean could be a source of tension between Israel and Turkey, Steinitz said: "Hopefully this region will find its way in the future to cooperate and establish good relations," he said.

Steinitz hailed both pipeline projects with Turkey and Europe as "extremely important" and said: "Don't force me to choose".
The Iraqi city of Mosul, seen in this July 9 photo, was declared retaken this week from Islamic State fighters after months of attacks by the US-led coalition

The US-led coalition attacking the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria killed as many as 744 civilians in June, an independent monitor said Wednesday.

Airwars -- a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that uses social media, eyewitness reports and other sources to compile its data -- said the concurrent assaults on Raqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq were often "devastating."

The number is completely at odds with that of the US military, which so far has acknowledged the accidental deaths of 603 civilians since coalition operations began in late 2014.

Airwars director Chris Woods said the increased tempo of strikes in Mosul and Raqa accounted for some of the increase, but suggested the Pentagon's goal of "annihilation" of the jihadists had placed civilians at greater risk of harm.

"While it was always predicted that high civilian casualties would occur during the assaults on Raqa and Mosul, this alone cannot explain the very high fatalities we and other monitors, NGOs and international agencies are tracking," Woods said.

Airwars said it assessed that between 529 and 744 non-combatants were killed in June, more than 50 percent above the prior month's tally.

Amnesty International on Tuesday called for a commission to investigate crimes against civilians in Mosul by all sides in the battle to liberate the Iraqi city from jihadists.

The charity said Iraqi and coalition forces had failed to take adequate measures to protect civilians.

Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, who leads the anti-IS coalition, rejected such claims.

"This is, I believe, the most precise campaign in the history of warfare," Townsend said.

"I would challenge the people from Amnesty International, or anyone else out there who makes these charges, to first research their facts and make sure they're speaking from a position of authority."

The US military's Central Command is currently wading through a backlog of old Airwars claims and so far has assessed most of these to be "non-credible."

Coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon said a seven-person team reviews every civilian casualty allegation, many of which are self-reported through the military itself.

The process "is very thorough and I will take our credible reports over any of the allegations that do come in," he said.
(FILES) A Syrian man displaced from Raqa walks carrying food at Al-Karamah camp, 20 kilometres east of the Islamic State group's Syrian bastion, on June 13, 2017

The UN's World Food Programme announced Wednesday it has resumed aid deliveries in parts of Syria's Raqa province for the first time in three years using a newly-opened land route.

The deliveries come as thousands of civilians are being displaced by a US-backed campaign to oust the Islamic State jihadist group from the provincial capital of the same name in northern Syria.

Aid provision to the wider province of Raqa is complicated by the region's remote location and by the myriad warring factions that control access routes to it.

Until last month, the World Food Programme was relying on flying aid from Damascus to the neighbouring province of Hasakeh and then delivering it to surrounding areas.

The land route instead travels from Aleppo province to the west of Raqa and has "allowed access for the first time in three years to Al-Mansura and other rural areas north of Raqa city", the WFP said.

Al-Mansura is a town west of Raqa city and was recaptured from IS in June.

"WFP is now delivering food every month to nearly 200,000 people, displaced in eight hard-to-reach locations inside Raqa governorate as well as other areas in neighbouring governorates," the UN agency said.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, have been battling since November 2016 to oust IS from Raqa province.

They entered Raqa city for the first time in June after spending months working to encircle it. SDF forces now control nearly 35 percent of the one-time IS bastion.

IS is also under pressure elsewhere in Syria and in neighbouring Iraq, where it lost its largest stronghold of Mosul this week.
The closure of Al-Jazeera is one of 13 wide-ranging demands a Saudi-led alliance placed on Qatar as conditions to end their isolation of the emirate

A top UAE official on Wednesday accused Qatari broadcast giant Al-Jazeera of anti-Semitism, discrimination and inciting religious hate, in a rebuttal to UN accusations of attacking freedom of expression.

The United Nations has warned that demands that Qatar close Al-Jazeera by a rival Saudi Arabian-led alliance, which includes the UAE, violate basic freedoms.

The United Arab Emirates' state minister for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, hit back in a letter to UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

In it, Gargash wrote that Al-Jazeera had "promoted anti-Semitic violence by broadcasting sermons by the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Yusuf al-Qaradawi".

Qaradawi, he added, had "praised Hitler, described the Holocaust as 'divine punishment', and called on Allah to 'take this oppressive, Jewish, Zionist band of people... and kill them, down to the very last one'".

The letter was published in a statement from the UAE National Media Council.

Saudi Arabia and its allies cut all ties with Qatar last month over accusations the country funded Islamist extremists and was too close to Shiite-ruled Iran, sealing the emirate's only land border and ordering its citizen to return home.

The closure of Al-Jazeera is one of 13 wide-ranging demands the alliance placed on Doha as conditions to lift the "blockade", now in its second month.

On June 30, Al Hussein said the demand that Al-Jazeera be shut down represented "an unacceptable attack on the right to freedom of expression and opinion".

Gargash's letter, dated July 9 but released Wednesday, also accuses Al-Jazeera of having "repeatedly crossed the threshold of incitement to hostility, violence and discrimination" and lists multiple examples, among them broadcasting the speeches of slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
This photo from June 2017 shows an infant suspected of being among Yemen's 320,000 cholera cases in what a UN aid official calls a man-made scandal

The UN aid chief on Wednesday blamed Yemen's warring parties and their foreign backers for a 'man-made' cholera outbreak affecting 320,000 people in a country already reeling from war and severe food shortages.

"This cholera scandal is entirely man-made by the conflicting parties and those beyond Yemen's borders who are leading, supplying, fighting and perpetuating the fear and fighting," Stephen O'Brien told the UN Security Council.

The humanitarian crisis "is a direct result of the conflict and serious violations of international law," he said.

More than 320,000 suspected cholera cases have been reported in nearly all of Yemen's districts and at least 1,740 people have died from the outbreak, said O'Brien, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs.

Describing the humanitarian crisis as "appalling", Yemen's UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the country was in the throes of not "a single emergency but a number of complex emergencies".

More than seven million people are at risk of famine including 2.3 malnourished children under the age of five in Yemen, already among the Arab world's poorest countries.

Yemen's health system has collapsed during the war pitting the Saudi-led coalition backing the internationally recognized Yemeni government and Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels since March 2015.

The Huthi rebels still hold the capital Sanaa and Taez, the country's third largest city.

O'Brien appealed for $250 million in funding for the UN response to the cholera crisis. So far, only $47 million has been received.

He also urged council powers to take action to ensure public servants are paid so that health facilities can reopen.

The airport in Sanaa, which closed last year, must be reopened and the port of Hodeida, a crucial lifeline for deliveries of food and medicine, must be kept safe from attack, O'Brien said.

The aid chief urged Saudi Arabia to allow mobile cranes left in Dubai to arrive at Hodeida port.

Riyadh has accused the Huthi rebels of using the port to smuggle weapons into the country.

"You will have to lean much more heavily and effectively on the parties and those outside Yemen who are leading this policy and action," O'Brien told the council.

cml/dw
A tube which is part of the test system for high-speed rail startup Hyperloop One is seen in a 2016 photo. The company said Wednesday it completed its first successful full-systems test in the Nevada desert

US startup Hyperloop One on Wednesday announced the first successful full-systems test of its near-supersonic rail transit system.

The test took place in May at the company's development track in the Nevada desert near Las Vegas, and involved a vehicle coasting above tracks for slightly more than five seconds using magnetic levitation, according to the startup.

The test vehicle accelerated to a speed of 70 miles (112 kilometers) per hour during the test, and the company's next goal is to ramp the speed to 250 mph (400 kph), Hyperloop One said in a release.

"Hyperloop One has accomplished what no one has done before by successfully testing the first full scale Hyperloop system," said startup co-founder and executive chairman Shervin Pishevar.

"By achieving full vacuum, we essentially invented our own sky in a tube, as if you're flying at 200,000 feet (60,000 meters) in the air."

Hyperloop One had originally promised a full-scale demonstration by the end of 2016, after a successful test of the propulsion system.

Systems tested in May included the motor, vacuum pumping, magnetic levitation, and electromagnetic braking, according to the company.

Hyperloop One also announced on Wednesday that it has built a prototype pod designed to carry people or cargo through the systems low-pressure tubes.

Hyperloop One early this year disclosed a list of locations around the world vying to put near-supersonic rail transit system to the test.

Viable submissions had to be condoned by government agencies that would likely be involved in regulating and, ideally, funding the futuristic rail.

Hyperloop One wants to get three systems underway, chief executive Rob Lloyd told AFP at the time.

Hyperloop One, which has raised more than $160 million, was set on an idea laid out by billionaire Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind electric car company Tesla and private space exploration endeavor SpaceX.

Pods would rocket along rails through reduced-pressure tubes at speeds of 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) per hour.

Hyperloop One says the system offers better safety than passenger jets, lower build and maintenance costs than high-speed trains, and energy usage, per person, that is similar to a bicycle.

Port colossus DP World Group of Dubai last year invested in the concept, joining backers including French national rail company SNCF, US industrial conglomerate General Electric and Russian state fund RDIF.
Google is not liable for 1.115 billion euros ($1.272 billion) in unpaid taxes claimed by the French state, a French court ruled Wednesday.

It says the internet giant's Irish subsidiary is not taxable in France.

'The French company Google Ireland Limited (GIL) is not taxable in France for the 2005 to 2010 period,' the court ruled.

Google paid just 6.7 million euros in corporate taxes in 2015 in France by booking revenues for its online empire at its European subsidiary in low-tax Ireland, a legal loophole prized by multinationals.

European action has become increasingly aggressive against US technology giants Amazon, Facebook and Apple as well as Google

The group employs 700 people in France but advertising contracts for its search engine or video-sharing website YouTube are signed with its Irish subsidiary.

The French claim was the latest in a series against the California-based group, which faces mounting legal problems in the EU.

European action has become increasingly aggressive against US technology giants Amazon, Facebook and Apple as well as Google.

The EU hit Google with a record 2.4 billion euro fine on June 27 for abusing its dominant position in the search engine business and illegally favouring its own shopping service over rivals.

In 2016, European competition chief Margrethe Vestager shocked Washington and the world by ordering iPhone manufacturer Apple to repay 13 billion euros in back taxes in Ireland after paying a near-zero rate of tax some years.

Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron promised to get tough on US internet giants during his campaign, seeing their low tax rates as a source of resentment about globalisation and unfair on European companies.

'It is time Europe got a grip and defended its interests, making Google, Amazon and Facebook pay the taxes they owe European taxpayers,' French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday.

The French claim was significantly higher than the amount Google agreed to pay Italian and British tax authorities over its tax arrangements with its Irish subsidiary.

In May, the group agreed to pay 306 million euros to Italian authorities.

Last year, it struck a deal with Britain to pay 130 million (170 million euros) for a decade of business, which was criticised at the time by opposition MPs as being too low.

The French claim was a fraction of the company's annual profits: In April, Alphabet, Google's parent company, declared a 29 percent jump in profit to $5.4 billion in the first quarter of 2017.
New York will spend $32 million to try to kill thousands of rats as it seeks to turn the tide in its long-running battle with the rodents

Desperate to turn the tide in its war on rats, New York unveiled a new $32 million effort Wednesday to cull thousands of them with rodent-proof trash cans and tighter garbage rules.

Rodents are one of the least savory aspect of life in America's financial and cultural capital, a daily menace scurrying between subway tracks or darting around trash bags dumped on the street for collection.

English novelist Charles Dickens complained about rodents when he visited in 1842 and last year the health department received a record 31,362 rat-complaints from irate New Yorkers ringing into a help line.

The new measures will be rolled out in Chinatown, the East Village and the Lower East Side in downtown Manhattan, around Grand Concourse in the Bronx and in Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn.

"It's been a problem for way too long," Mayor Bill de Blasio admitted Wednesday, unveiling what he called a "change of approach" after comparing extermination efforts over the years to "bailing out a leaky boat."

The latest plan seeks to cull rats by 70 percent in target areas by depriving them of food, and goes hand in glove with existing extermination programs.

Money will be spent on rat-resistent trash cans, replacing dirt basement floors with concrete in public housing, increasing trash collection and forcing larger buildings to put out garbage only shortly before trash collection.

Fines will also be increased for private businesses that dump garbage illegally, up from $1,500 to $5,000, and rising to $20,000 for multiple violations.

If successful, the $32 million initiative will be rolled out to other areas.

Legend has it that there as many rats as humans -- 8.4 million -- but Columbia University statistician Jonathan Auerbach in 2014 debunked the myth, estimating the number of rats at two million.

While officials say there is no scientifically accurate way to count the rat population, de Blasio promised "many thousands of rats" would be eradicated.

Until now New York's main rodent weapon has been the so-called rat reservoir program, in which the city invested nearly $3 million in 2015 and which subjects concentrated areas to months of intense baiting.

In 2015, a New York rat shot to internet stardom when filmed walking down the stairs of a subway station with a slice of pizza in its mouth. The YouTube hit has been viewed nearly 10 million times.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday suspended negotiations with Washington aimed at ending sanctions against Khartoum, after the United States extended its embargo for another three months, state media said.

US President Donald Trump prolonged a review period overnight to October 12 before his administration decides whether or not to permanently lift the decades-old sanctions.

His predecessor Barack Obama had eased the sanctions in January, but kept Sudan on review for six months, a period that ended on Wednesday.

Obama had made the permanent lifting of the sanctions dependent on the East African country's progress in five areas of concern at the end of the review period.

In his executive order issued on Tuesday, Trump extended the deadline, saying "more time is needed" for the review.

And on Wednesday, Bashir decided to suspend the talks between Washington and Khartoum.

Bashir "issued a presidential decree ordering the suspension of the committee that was negotiating (the lifting of the sanctions) with the United States until October 12," the official news agency SUNA said, quoting a presidential decree.

The committee has been negotiating for more than a year with US officials on lifting the American trade embargo in force against Khartoum since 1997.

A senior US administration official told reporters in Washington that the United States wanted with Sudan a "positive relationship going forward".

"The key focus, I think, for the Sudanese has been working to achieve the full revocation of the sanctions and if at the end of the three months, just a relatively short extension... the stated intent, as our statement indicates, is to lift the sanctions," he said.

- 'Five tracks' -

Prior to Bashir's decree, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour voiced Khartoum's disappointment over Trump's order.

"We regret such a decision that came out after long negotiations between Sudan and the United States," he said.

"The United States, Europe, Africa and the international community admit that Sudan has fulfilled its commitments when it comes to the five tracks, which is why we don't see any reason for extending the review period," he told reporters.

"But we are still hoping that the sanctions will be lifted permanently."

Top US envoy to Sudan, Steven Koutsis, had told AFP in June that barring few exceptions, Khartoum had made "positive" steps on these concerns.

The areas of concern -- or "five tracks" -- include giving more access to humanitarian workers in war zones, counterterrorism cooperation with the United States, an end to hostilities against armed groups in Sudan and halting support for insurgents in neighbouring South Sudan.

"I have decided more time is needed for this review to establish that the government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action across all of those areas," Trump's order said, noting that "the government of Sudan has made some progress".

- 'Smart' sanctions recommended -

Washington imposed a complex set of economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its alleged backing of Islamist militant groups.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011, was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

Washington also justified the embargo with accusations of scorched-earth tactics by Khartoum against ethnic minority rebels in war-torn Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since the Darfur conflict erupted in 2003, the UN says.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes related to the conflict, charges he steadfastly denies.

The UN said it had hoped the United States would make a "positive decision" on the sanctions against Sudan for allowing more humanitarian aid access across war zones.

But a Washington-based campaign group had called for the review period to be extended, saying Khartoum needed to do more for the embargo to be lifted.

The Enough Project said the Trump administration should now devise a new set of "smart and modernised" sanctions that would spare Sudan's people.

They should "target those who are most responsible for grand corruption and atrocities, including air strikes on villages, attacks on churches, obstruction of humanitarian aid, jailing and torturing opposition figures and civil society leaders, stealing elections, and undermining peace efforts", said John Prendergast, founding director of Enough Project.
Kenya's Laikipia region has seen a string of violent attacks this year as gunmen raid farms and ranches

At least six police officers were killed and four injured in Laikipia in Kenya's central highlands on Wednesday in the latest violent incident to hit the area.

Police said the officers were killed in a shoot-out with suspected ethnic Pokot "bandits" in the Kamwenje area of Laikipia West.

"Six police officers have been killed, while four have been injured," said a senior police officer who asked to remain anonymous as he was not authorised to talk to the press.

Violence has spiked in Laikipia this year with smallholder farms and huge ranches alike invaded by armed herders.

Dozens of people have been killed and thousands displaced while a government-ordered security operation has so far failed to quell the unrest which some blame on drought and others on politics.

Kenyans go to the polls on August 8 in national elections to choose a new president as well as members of parliament and county officials.

In a report this week advocacy group Human Rights Watch said the violence in Laikipia and neighbouring Baringo county had displaced people meaning they would be unable to vote next month.

"Kenya's government needs to lawfully address the security crisis in parts of the Rift Valley ahead of the August vote," said Africa researcher Otsieno Namwaya warning the insecurity "could have a serious impact on people's ability to vote in the August election."
Aceh province in Malaysia's neighbour Indonesia has strict Islamic laws, and public canings are common for offences ranging from gambling to drinking alcohol.

A Malaysian state controlled by a Muslim party Wednesday overhauled its Islamic laws to allow caning in public, prompting criticism that the move was against the constitution.

The state legislature in Kelantan, which is governed by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), approved amendments to its sharia regulations to allow the punishment.

Caning could already be meted out as a punishment for Muslims under Islamic law in Malaysia, but not in public.

PAS has been pushing to introduce a tough Islamic criminal code, known as hudud, in the northeastern state that includes penalties such as amputations for theft and stoning to death for adultery.

After Wednesday's vote, Kelantan deputy chief minister Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said it would be left to sharia courts to decide whether the caning was carried out in prison, or publicly.

"It is in accordance with religious requirements... because the sharia punishments must be executed in public," he was cited as saying by state news agency Bernama.

Over 60 percent of multi-ethnic Malaysia's 32 million inhabitants are Muslim but a traditionally tolerant brand of Islam has been eroded in recent years as conservative attitudes have gained ground.

The public caning in Kelantan would apply to issues ruled on by Islamic courts.

Malaysia operates a dual-track legal system and Islamic courts can handle religious and family matters such as divorce, custody and inheritance for Muslims, as well as cases such as adultery.

However caning is rarely handed down under Islamic law.

Criminal cases are dealt with under federal law, where caning is also a punishment, and is carried out in prison.

But the Malaysian Chinese Association, an ethnic Chinese party in the ruling coalition, said that conducting canings in public went against the federal constitution.

"PAS is setting a very dangerous trend of riding rough over the laws of the land by disregarding the federal constitution as the supreme law of the land," said the party's religious harmony bureau chairman Ti Lian Ker in a statement.

In 2015 the Kelantan assembly passed a law mandating the hudud but it has not been implemented as the federal constitution forbids it.

Aceh province in neighbouring Indonesia has strict Islamic laws, and public canings are common for offences ranging from gambling to drinking alcohol.
Malta has voted to allow same-sex marriage despite strong church opposition in the deeply Catholic country.

Lawmakers voted 66-1 in favour of the bill, with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat hailing the 'historic' decision in a country which only legalised divorce in 2011 and where abortion is still illegal.

He said: 'This shows that our democracy and society have reached a level of maturity and we can now say that we are all equal.'

'Pledge delivered, future secured,' he later tweeted. Calling the vote was one of Muscat's first actions after winning power in last month's election.

Maltese lawmakers voted 66-1 in favour of a bill allowing same-sex marriage in a deeply Catholic country where abortion is still illegal

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat hailed the 'historic' moment as gay rights activists gathered outside his office to celebrate

The bill also removes words including as 'husband', 'wife', 'mother' and 'father' from the Marriage Act and replaces them with the gender-neutral 'spouse', 'parent who gave birth' and 'parent who did not give birth'.

Muscat said such wording was needed to avoid categorising any member of society.

He rejected accusations that this could spell the end to 'Mother's Day' or 'Father's Day', saying such suggestions were 'laughable'.

Muscat won a second term in office on June 3 and had vowed to reinforce his call for equality in society.

Gay rights activists hailed the result, along with many on social media, as they rallied outside the premier's office in downtown Valetta.

The facade of the building was lit in rainbow colours and the slogan: 'We've made history'.

Opponents of the legislation, meanwhile, held a silent vigil outside parliament. The Catholic church had staunchly opposed the move.

The near-unanimous vote came despite strong opposition from the Catholic church

All but one lawmaker supported the new law, which also opens the door for same-sex couples to adopt. Previously this was possible only if one person applied rather than as a couple.

Though Malta scores relatively well in European-wide freedom indexes, society in the tiny Mediterranean island is still influenced by religion.

Since gay unions were approved in 2014, 141 couples have taken advantage of the partnerships, while 22 others who had gotten married outside the country had registered their unions.

Malta, the EU's smallest nation, becomes the bloc's 15th member to legalise same-sex unions.

The Netherlands was the first European country to legalise same-sex marriage, in 2001, with the most recent being Germany on June 30 after a surprising shift on the issue by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Gay marriage has also been approved in Canada and the United States, and in four South American countries, though it remains illegal in most of Africa and Asia.
People stand outside the Bardo museum in Tunis on March 18, 2016, during a memorial ceremony marking the first anniversary of a jihadist attack on the museum

A newly-opened trial over a 2015 attack at the Bardo museum in Tunisia's capital that killed 21 foreign tourists and a policeman has been adjourned until October 31, court officials said Wednesday.

Two gunmen opened fire at the National Bardo Museum in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Some 22 detained suspects were in a Tunis court for Tuesday morning's first hearing, which a source close to the case said was a procedural session.

The source, asking not to be named, said four other suspects who were not under arrest had not been present and that authorities were seeking a further 30 fugitives in connection with the attack.

The identities of those on trial have not been disclosed.

The suspects are being tried for "terrorist crimes", according to the French Association for Victims of Terrorism and Imed Belkhamsa, a lawyer for victims of the attacks.

Four French tourists were among those killed.

Under a 2015 anti-terror law, the defendants could face the death sentence -- although Tunisia has had a moratorium on implementing capital punishment since 1991.

Since its revolution in 2011, Tunisia has faced a series of jihadist attacks that have also claimed the lives of more than 100 soldiers and police.

A month after the Bardo shootings, in which police gunned down the assailants, 38 foreign holidaymakers including 30 Britons were killed in a gun and grenade attack on a beach resort near the city of Sousse.

That November, a suicide bombing in the capital killed 12 members of the presidential guard.

IS claimed all three attacks.

Shortly after the Bardo attack, Tunisian authorities arrested 20 people and announced they had dismantled "around 80 percent of the cell" responsible.

Months later, they released eight of the suspects, including a man they had said was the head of the cell.

French lawyers for victims and their families have said the Tunisian investigation into the Bardo carnage had left "several dark areas".

Some 26 people went on trial in May over the Sousse attack, including six security personnel accused of failing to assist people in danger.

The source close to the Bardo trial said lawyers had asked on Tuesday that the two judicial proceedings be merged into one, but their request was rejected.

Tunisia has remained under a state of emergency since the attack on the presidential guards.
This undated video grab obtained July 11, 2017 shows Chinese Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo surrounded by doctors and his wife Liu Xia at an undisclosed location. The US government has expressed concern about the cancer-stricken democracy activist

The US government expressed concern Wednesday about the status of China's Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo and urged Beijing to release the cancer-stricken democracy activist and his wife so he can receive appropriate medical care.

"We remain concerned that both Mr. Liu and his family are unable to communicate with the outside world and that he is not free to seek the medical treatment of his choosing," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told a press briefing.

"We continue to call on the Chinese authorities to grant him full parole and to release his wife from house arrest, and provide them the protections and freedoms -- such as freedom of movement and access to appropriate medical care -- consistent with the Chinese constitution, legal system and international commitments."

Washington expressed its concern as 61-year-old Liu's condition worsened Wednesday, with his hospital stating he suffered respiratory failure and his liver function had deteriorated.

The First Hospital of China Medical University, in the northeastern city of Shenyang, said Liu's family declined to have him put on artificial ventilation, which was necessary "to maintain life."

The Chinese government has rebuffed international appeals to let Liu seek treatment abroad, saying he is getting the best possible care from top domestic doctors.

A German and a US doctor visited Liu last weekend and said he was still strong enough to fulfill his wish to go abroad, but the hospital has issued increasingly pessimistic reports every day since then.
FBI director nominee Christopher Wray testified at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday with his family behind him.

High-flying criminal lawyer Christopher Wray took a big step Wednesday toward becoming the next director of the FBI as he told lawmakers he would resign rather than bow to political interference.

Nominated by Donald Trump after the president fired FBI chief James Comey in May, Wray told a confirmation hearing he would be ready to step down as head of the country's most powerful law enforcement agency if given an illegal or immoral order from above.

While unwilling to directly criticize his future boss during questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wray staked out an independent line amid worries Trump has sought to stifle the investigation into alleged collusion between his election campaign and Russia.

"There is only one right way to do this job, and that is with strict independence," Wray told the panel.

"You can't do a job like this without being prepared to either quit or be fired at a moment's notice you're asked to do something or confronted with something that is either illegal, unconstitutional or even morally repugnant," he said. "You have to be able to stand firm to your principles."

Wray also rejected Trump's insistence that the Russia investigation now led by independent prosecutor Robert Mueller -- a former FBI director -- is a "witch hunt" based on "fake news."

"I do not consider director Mueller to be on a witch hunt," Wray assured the panel.

- New York lawyer pedigree -

If confirmed Wray's first challenge will be to reassure the more than 30,000 employees of the FBI of his commitment to their independence after Trump fired Comey in frustration over the Russia probe, going on to label the respected former prosecutor a "liar."

FBI director nominee Christopher Wray pledged to protect the agency's independence from political interference at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.

Born into a family of New York lawyers, Wray, 50, graduated from Yale Law School and was a Justice Department prosecutor for years.

In 2003 he rose up to assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division, where he mostly oversaw fraud investigations, including the huge case of Enron, the Texas energy firm that imploded with billions of dollars of losses tied to corruption.

In 2005 he resigned to join private practice as a partner at King & Spalding law firm in Washington and Atlanta.

Wray has represented major companies in litigation but also, most recently, worked for Trump ally Chris Christie in the so-called "Bridgegate" political scandal in New Jersey.

Politically, he was an uncontroversial pick to take the helm of the FBI, one of the country's most politically powerful jobs. FBI chiefs have alternately bolstered and made life miserable for presidents over decades. In the 1990s Bill Clinton's eight years in office were plagued by investigations led by Louis Freeh, whom he personally chose to run the agency.

- Don't be fooled -

To date, Wray's clearest demonstration of resistance to political pressure came when he was in the Justice Department working under Comey.

In 2004 Comey was made acting attorney general due to the illness of his boss John Ashcroft.

When George W. Bush's White House tried to take advantage of Ashcroft's illness to ram through an extension of a controversial warrantless eavesdropping program, Comey, and then-FBI director Mueller, took a stance against it, putting their jobs on the line.

As the two prevented Bush's aides from reaching Ashcroft in his hospital bed, according to the Washington Post, Wray, who was also there, told Comey: "Look, I don't know what's going on. But before you guys all pull the rip cords, please give me a heads-up so I can jump with you."

Besides that, and his work for Christie, Wray has steered clear of political controversy.

But, with his wife and children sitting behind him in the hearing, he told senators not to be fooled by his soft-spoken manner.

"I've heard many people describe me as understated and low key. My kids would describe me more as just boring," he said. "No one should mistake my low-key demeanor as a lack of resolve."

"Anybody who thinks that I would be pulling punches as the FBI director sure doesn't know me very well."
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - Iraq's prime minister declared victory over the Islamic State group in Mosul after more than eight months of some of the toughest fighting Iraqi forces have faced in the more than 3-year-old war against the extremists.

Iraqi and coalition forces acknowledged from the start that Mosul would be a challenge, but the Iraqi leadership's initial vows that it would be over by the end of 2016 underestimated the capacity and the resolve of the IS fighters left to fight to the death.

Here are five things to know now that the fight for Mosul is officially over.

FILE - In this March 24, 2017, file photo, residents carry the body of several people killed during fights between Iraq security forces and Islamic State on the western side of Mosul, Iraq. The levels of destruction are dramatically different between Mosul's east and west. Many of the east's residential neighborhoods suffered relatively little damage. In the west, however, entire city blocks are damaged or destroyed by months of airstrikes and artillery. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

THE IMPORTANCE OF MOSUL

Mosul held deep symbolic importance for IS. It was after the Islamic State group overran Mosul in June of 2014 that they declared a caliphate stretching from territory in northern Syria deep into Iraq's north and west. And it was from Mosul's al-Nuri mosque that the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, made his only public appearance when he gave a Friday sermon calling on all Muslims to follow him as "caliph." He vowed that IS would conquer "Rome," and the entire world.

Mosul was also the bureaucratic and financial backbone of IS. In the early days of IS growth in Iraq and Syria, former Saddam-era military officers from Mosul made up some of the group's highest-ranking members and helped garner supporters in Iraq.

Raiding Mosul's central bank, and taxing and extorting the city's wealthy inhabitants, made IS the richest terrorist organization in the world in the summer of 2014. Mosul's vast industrial zones were converted into factories for weapons and explosives.

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HOW U.S.-BACKED IRAQI FORCES WON

Iraq spent more than two years rebuilding its armed forces and preparing for the Mosul offensive. Some 70,000 forces drawn from Iraq's army, special forces, the federal police, and tribal and militia fighters were mobilized for the fight, according to Iraq's joint operations command.

Initially, Iraqi forces planned to attack the city simultaneously from multiple fronts - north, east and south. But forces without urban combat experience and limited training quickly proved incapable of leading pushes and instead were moved to act largely as holding forces. Iraq's special forces and the federal police led most combat operations to retake Mosul, first clearing the city's east and then the west.

U.S.-led coalition support for Iraqi ground forces in Mosul repeatedly proved to be the critical factor. Iraqi forces repeatedly called in airstrikes to kill just one or two IS fighters armed with light weapons. Iraqi commanders said this approach was adopted to keep military casualties to a minimum.

The final battles for Mosul played out in the Old City, dense terrain measuring just a few square kilometers (miles) where the United Nations estimated IS held more than 100,000 people as human shields.

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THE COST OF VICTORY

The extent of the cost in civilian life is not yet known as many bodies are still believed to be trapped under rubble and Iraq lacks a centralized system for documenting civilian casualties.

But at a minimum hundreds of people are believed to have been killed and thousands more wounded, according to interviews conducted with doctors at field clinics and humanitarian organizations.

Iraq's military has also suffered high casualty rates. The government does not disclose official death tolls, but many of the units leading assaults in Mosul faced attrition rates of upward of 25 percent when engaged in urban combat. The high casualty rates will likely undermine the forces' ability to continue the fight against IS in the pockets of territory they still hold in Iraq.

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DESTRUCTION

The levels of destruction are dramatically different between Mosul's east and west. Complexes in the east used by IS fighters, like the city's university, were heavily bombed. But many of the east's residential neighborhoods suffered relatively little damage.

In the west, however, entire city blocks are damaged or destroyed by months of airstrikes and artillery. It was also in western Mosul that a single U.S. airstrike killed more than a hundred civilians sheltering in basement of a single home.

Human rights and aid groups warn that such widespread destruction could undermine the military victory and make it more difficult for the hundreds of thousands of civilians who fled the west to return to their homes.

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THE FIGHT CONTINUES

The operation in Syria to retake the IS group's de-facto capital, Raqqa, is in full swing, with U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces having retaken a handful of neighborhoods. But the battle for Raqqa is expected to be extended and bloody, and IS still controls a number of other towns in eastern Syria.

IS also continues to carry out insurgent attacks in Iraq, Syria and beyond. Iraqi and coalition officials have said the fight against IS as an insurgent force will likely be more difficult than the fight against the group as a conventional one and that the extremists will continue to pose a threat for years to come.

FILE - In this March 14, 2017 file photo, an injured man is carried atop an Iraqi special forces armored vehicle during fighting against Islamic State militants in western Mosul, Iraq. The extent of the cost in civilian life is not yet known as many bodies are still believed to be trapped under rubble and Iraq lacks a centralized system for documenting civilian casualties. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

FILE - In this April 17, 2017 file photo, U.S. soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division fire artillery in support of Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State militants from their base east of Mosul. U.S.-led coalition support for Iraqi ground forces in Mosul repeatedly proved to be the critical factor in the Mosul fight. Iraq's prime minister declared victory over the Islamic State group in Mosul after more than eight months of some of the toughest fighting Iraqi forces have faced in the more than 3-year-old war against the extremists. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 20, 2016 file photo, Iraqi army soldiers raise their weapons in celebration on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq. The Iraqi forces prepared for nearly three years to rebuild their military to have enough troops and clear enough supply lines to launch an attack on Mosul. Iraq's prime minister declared victory over the Islamic State group in Mosul after more than eight months of some of the toughest fighting Iraqi forces have faced in the more than 3-year-old war against the extremists. (AP Photo, File)
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - A timeline of events in the rise and fall of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Mosul.

April 2013 - Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of al-Qaida's branch in Iraq, announces the merger of his Islamic State of Iraq with al-Qaida's franchise in Syria, forming the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and expanding his reach into neighboring Syria.

2014

FILE - In this Sunday July 3, 2016, file photo, an Iraqi man looks for victims at the site of a deadly truck bomb attack in a commercial area of the Karada neighborhood, Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

January - Al-Baghdadi's forces overrun the Iraqi city of Fallujah in western Anbar province and parts of the nearby provincial capital of Ramadi. In Syria, they seize sole control of Raqqa after driving out rival Syrian rebel factions.

February - Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri disavows al-Baghdadi after the Iraqi militant ignores his demands that IS leave Syria.

June - IS captures Mosul, Iraqi's second-largest city, and pushes south as Iraqi forces crumble, eventually capturing Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit and reaching the outskirts of Baghdad. When they threaten Shiite holy sites, Iraq's top Shiite cleric issues a call to arms, and volunteers largely backed and armed by Iran flood to join militias.

June 29 - The group renames itself the Islamic State and declares the establishment of a "caliphate" in its territories in Iraq and Syria. Al-Baghdadi is declared the caliph.

July 4 - Al-Baghdadi makes his first public appearance, delivering a Friday sermon in Mosul's historic al-Nuri Mosque. He urges Muslims around the world to swear allegiance to the "caliphate" and obey him as its leader.

Aug. - IS militants capture the town of Sinjar west of Mosul and begin a systematic slaughter of followers of the tiny Yazidi religious community. Women and girls are kidnapped as sex slaves - and hundreds of them remain missing.

Aug. 8 - The U.S. launches its campaign of airstrikes against IS.

2015

January - Iraqi Kurdish fighters knows as the peshmerga, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, drive IS out of several towns north of Mosul. In Syria, Kurdish fighters backed by U.S. airstrikes repel an IS onslaught on the town of Kobani on the border with Turkey after heavy fighting. Kobani is the first significant defeat for the Islamic State group.

April 1 - U.S.-backed Iraqi forces retake Tikrit, their first major victory against IS.

May 17 - IS militants capture the remainder of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Anbar province.

2016

Feb. 9 - Iraqi forces recapture Ramadi after months of fighting. The victory comes at enormous cost, with thousands of buildings destroyed or damaged. Almost the entire population of hundreds of thousands of people fled the city.

June 26 - Fallujah is declared liberated by Iraqi forces after a five-week battle.

July 3 - IS militants set off a gigantic suicide truck bomb outside a shopping mall in Baghdad, killing almost 300 people, the deadliest attack since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

July 10 - Iraqi forces capture the Qayara military base, south of Mosul, from IS militants.

Oct. 17 - Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announces the start of the operation to liberate Mosul

Oct. 21 - IS militants and sleeper cells carry out a coordinated wave of attacks, shootings and suicide blasts in the central city of Kirkuk, killing at least 80 people in an attempt to divert attention from the attack on Mosul.

Nov. 1 - Iraqi forces enter Gogjali, the easternmost district of Mosul.

2017

Jan. 24 - Al-Abadi announces eastern Mosul has been "fully liberated," but clearing operations on the northern edges of the city continue for weeks.

Feb. 19 - Iraqi forces begun the assault on western Mosul. Within four days, the troops retake Mosul's airport and a nearby military base on the city's southern edge.

Mar. 17 - A single U.S. airstrike kills nearly 200 civilians sheltering in the basement of a west Mosul home, according to residents interviewed by the Associated Press.

May 25 - The Pentagon releases findings from an investigation into the Mosul airstrike. The findings say more than 100 civilians were killed when a U.S. strike hit the building, but blamed the deaths on explosives placed inside the house by IS fighters.

May 30 - Mostly Shiite militia forces reached the border with Syria west of Mosul, establishing a key foothold that could aid forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

June 18 - Iraqi forces launch battle for Mosul's Old City, the last IS stronghold.

June 21 - As Iraqi forces close in on Mosul's iconic al-Nuri mosque and it's 12th century leaning minaret, IS destroys the structure according to Iraqi and coalition officials. IS says a U.S. airstrike destroyed the mosque and minaret.

July 10 - Iraqi Prime Minister al-Abadi declares victory over Islamic State group in Mosul and end of the extremists' so-called caliphate. Al-Abadi had made similar announcements in previous days despite ongoing clashes.

FILE - FILE - In this Tuesday, March 31, 2015 file photo, an injured Iraqi officer waits for treatment on the front line during clashes with Islamic State extremists in Tikrit, 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

FILE - In this June 27, 2016 file photo, a member of Iraqi counterterrorism forces stands guard near Islamic State militant graffiti in Fallujah, Iraq. Iraq's government is setting its sight on Mosul, Iraq's second largest city that has been under IS control since June 2014, as its next major target in the fight against IS. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

FILE - File - This Monday, March 30, 2015 file photo shows a member of the Iraqi security forces running to plant the national flag as they surround Tikrit during clashes to regain the city from Islamic State militants, 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

FILE - FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2014 file photo, smoke rises from the Syrian city of Kobani, following an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition, seen from a hilltop outside Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, June 28, 2016 photo, Iraqi security forces celebrate their victory in Fallujah, Iraq. In the newly-liberated Sunni city of Fallujah, the proliferation of Shiite militia flags and graffiti has the potential to undermine military successes and hamper the broader fight against the Islamic State group by reigniting the sectarian tensions that fueled the militants' rise in Iraq. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

FILE - FILE - In this Sunday, Dec. 27, 2015 file photo, elite Iraqi counter terrorism soldiers raise an Iraqi flag near the provincial council building in central Ramadi, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad after they retook the strategic complex from Islamic State militants who have occupied the city. (AP Photo/Osama Sami, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, March 30, 2014, file photo, Islamic State group militants hold up their flag as they patrol in a commandeered Iraqi military vehicle in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this Friday, July 11, 2014 file photo, an Islamic militant speaks to people during a celebration of their declaration of an Islamic state at a mosque in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this June 23, 2014, file photo, fighters from the Islamic State group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this June 16, 2014 file photo, demonstrators chant pro-Islamic State group, slogans as they carry the group's flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - FILE - This file image made from video posted on a militant website Saturday, July 5, 2014, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq during his first public appearance. (AP Photo/Militant video, File)

FILE - This file image made from video taken on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014 shows Iraqis people from the Yazidi community arriving in Irbil in northern Iraq after Islamic militants attacked the towns of Sinjar and Zunmar. (AP Photo via AP video, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, file photo, smoke believed to be from an airstrike billows over the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar. The Islamic State militants who stormed into the Iraqi town of Sinjar in 2014, massacring members of the Yazidi minority and forcing women into sexual slavery, are gone. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen, File)

FILE - Aerial view of the destroyed al-Nuri mosque during fighting between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, June 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2016 file photo, U.S. Army soldiers move through Qayara West Coalition base in Qayara, some 50 kilometers south of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 file photo, Iraqi army soldiers man a checkpoint as oil wells burn on the outskirts of Qayara, Iraq. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2016 file photo, an Iraqi special forces soldier fires his weapon at Islamic State positions in Gogjali, on the eastern edge of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic, File)

FILE - In this Friday, March 24, 2017 file photo, residents carry the body of several people killed during fighting between Iraq security forces and Islamic State militants on the western side of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, June 27, 2017 file photo, Iraqi special forces soldiers stand in a house retaken by Iraqi forces during fighting against Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2016 file photo, a Peshmerga convoy drives toward the frontline in Khazer, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen, File)

A bomb explodes behind the al-Nuri mosque complex, as seen through a hole in the wall of a house, as Iraqi Special Forces move toward Islamic State militant positions in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, June 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

FILE - In this Saturday, June 21, 2014 file photo, volunteers of the newly formed "Peace Brigades" raise their weapons and chant slogans against the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during a parade in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)
The Islamic State group's mix of a local insurgency and digitally connected global jihadis gives the group staying power and the means to relaunch its future, from small cells of extremists escaping the war zone in Iraq and Syria to those who never went there in the first place.

The impending loss of Mosul and Raqqa cuts out the urban heart of its self-proclaimed caliphate, but the extremist organization has built-in plans to endure and has shown a degree of flexibility that will be difficult to counteract.

For more than a year, Islamic State has acknowledged the possibility of losing the territory that propelled it to the forefront of the global jihadi movement - and drew thousands of foreign fighters. Islamic State's goal since then has been to maintain its local and global support base in the face of overwhelming defeat. Whether it succeeds depends on what happens well after today's battles are over.

FILE - In this Friday, June 9, 2017 file photo, debris and smoke rises after a Philippine Air Force fighter jets bombed suspected locations of Muslim militants, in Marawi city, southern Philippines. The Islamic State group's mashup of local insurgency and digitally-connected global jihadis gives the group staying power and a launchpad for its future. The impending loss of Mosul and Raqqa will still urban heart of its self-proclaimed Caliphate, but the extremist organization has built-in plans to endure, a blueprint for supporters and the flexibility to bide its time away from airstrikes. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

ESCAPE CELLS

A first group of Islamic State fighters from Syria and Iraq numbering more than 100 arrived in Afghanistan at the beginning of February, followed by a smaller group, around 20, at the end of March, according to a U.N. report released last week. The group is unpopular among average Afghans, but shows traction among the young and, most importantly, receives ample funding from Islamic State's central command to pay new fighters triple what the Taliban offers - $500 to $600 a month.

The U.N. report said Islamic State has warned its Afghanistan contingent that it will soon need to be self-financing, an ominous sign for the organization that once pulled in millions of dollars in oil money, ransoms and extortion.

Other groups of foreign fighters are feared to be trying to make their way back to Europe or North Africa, to ether plot attacks there or simply await orders.

In Europe, this has fed fears of extremists hiding among the influx of migrants, while North Africa is "really unstable. ... It's awash in weaponry," said Colin Clarke, an analyst with the RAND think tank.

Islamic State is "a global group but it's more regionally anchored. I don't see them taking up and traveling wholesale to another place. They're going to go where they have roots. They're going to seek out these weak states. They're going to insinuate themselves in local conflicts," he said.

HOSTILE TAKEOVER

Al-Qaida and the Islamic State group split in 2014, driven apart less by ideology than by a dispute over timing and tactics.

Now known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in its latest rebranding effort, al-Qaida is on the rise in some parts of Syria and in recent days has begun targeting what it calls "organization cells" of the Islamic State group in Idlib and other Syrian provinces.

The two groups have considerable crossover - and both claim the mantle of Osama bin Laden. The al-Qaida campaign could be a precursor to demands for a merger or hostile takeover, complete with a choice of death or repentance from rank-and-file defectors.

"The differences between these groups are more in style and tone than in substance," said Bruce Hoffman, the head of Georgetown University's security studies program and author of "Inside Terrorism."

Many of Islamic State's foreign fighters, especially those from Europe, headed to Syria with the expectation of joining al-Qaida's branch there, then switched to what they believed was the winning side. Changing back will not be very difficult, Hoffman said.

"Al-Qaida has been waiting in the wings and been letting ISIS take all the heat," Hoffman said, using an alternative acronym for IS.

FIGHTING - OR HIDING - IN PLACE

Iraq and Syria themselves offer plenty of safe havens for local extremist fighters biding their time. At its height, IS held vast stretches of territory by promising not just brutality, but a religious government beyond corruption that would protect against arbitrary punishment, theft and graft in the service of a global movement for Sunni Muslims everywhere. The promises tapped especially into the grievances of Iraqi Sunnis, who felt abandoned by the Shiite-led government in Baghdad and were suspicious of the Kurdish government in Irbil.

Many in the U.S. have called on the Iraqi government to ensure that Sunnis share in the country's gains going forward - a step that will prove especially complex given that Sunni areas have seen widespread destruction in the fight against the extremists. Block after block of shattered homes line the roads of Mosul, Fallujah and Ramadi.

"It's almost at a new level of divisiveness and an unrelenting decade of bloodletting has made any sense of rebuilding a civil society unbelievably challenging," Hoffman said. Islamic State retains a powerful presence in Iraq's Anbar province and in the city of Tal Afar.

Islamic State's leadership still has a core of leaders from Saddam Hussein's Baathist organization, known for their survival skills and the support networks they built - something the group's spokesman, Abu Muhammad Adnani, noted in a message before he was killed last summer in a U.S. airstrike: To survive "whether Allah blesses us with consolidation or we move into the bare, open desert, displaced and pursued."

REVENGE ATTACKS

A major aspect of Islamic State's propaganda narrative has been to offer a haven to Sunnis worldwide and until recently its videos and photos made a point of tempering extreme brutality with images of abundant harvests, children at play and efficient, free medical care.

Recently, however, its videos have depicted airstrikes destroying the caliphate, providing a powerful new message - vengeance.

Last month's attack at London Bridge was claimed by Islamic State as revenge against the U.S.-backed coalition, and the group pledged more violence to come. With supporters from around the world linked by social media and thousands of pieces of propaganda, security officials in Europe and the U.S. fear similar attacks are in the offing.

At its height, Islamic State had tens of thousands of fighters at its disposal, though estimates varied widely. Airstrikes killed a vast percentage, the streams of Europeans heading to the war zone have dried up, and new recruits from the region are growing scarce, but its survival may not depend on numbers alone.

"The numbers may never be their 60,000 fighters or whatever, but the attraction of terrorism is the disproportionate effect a few people can have on the enemy societies and that'll be enough to keep it alive," Hoffman said. "The most visceral emotion we know is revenge. It is cathartic and self-satisfying and it becomes a duty."

FILE - This undated file image made from a video released by Islamic State militants, Sunday, April 19, 2015, shows a group of captured Ethiopian Christians taken to a beach before they were killed by Islamic State militants, in Libya. The Islamic State group's mashup of local insurgency and digitally-connected global jihadis gives the group staying power and a launchpad for its future. The impending loss of Mosul and Raqqa will still urban heart of its self-proclaimed Caliphate, but the extremist organization has built-in plans to endure, a blueprint for supporters and the flexibility to bide its time away from airstrikes. (Militant video via AP, File)

FILE - In this undated file photo released online in the summer of 2014 on a militant social media account, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, militants of the Islamic State group hold up their weapons and wave its flags on their vehicles in a convoy on a road leading to Iraq, in Raqqa, Syria. The Islamic State group's mashup of local insurgency and digitally-connected global jihadis gives the group staying power and a launchpad for its future. The impending loss of Mosul and Raqqa will still urban heart of its self-proclaimed Caliphate, but the extremist organization has built-in plans to endure, a blueprint for supporters and the flexibility to bide its time away from airstrikes. (Militant photo via AP, File)

FILE - In this June 23, 2014 file photo, fighters from the Islamic State group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul, Iraq. The Islamic State group's mashup of local insurgency and digitally-connected global jihadis gives the group staying power and a launchpad for its future. The impending loss of Mosul and Raqqa will still urban heart of its self-proclaimed Caliphate, but the extremist organization has built-in plans to endure, a blueprint for supporters and the flexibility to bide its time away from airstrikes. (AP Photo, File)
CAIRO (AP) - The United States on Tuesday faced calls to maintain pressure on Sudan's government, the day before Washington is expected to announce the permanent lifting of sanctions dating back to the 1990s.

Rights advocates and opposition groups say the move will strengthen President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide charges linked to the Darfur conflict, and do much to bring his government back into the international fold after decades of isolation, war and abuses.

Sudan has been under U.S. financial sanctions since the 1990s, when it was briefly home to Osama Bin Laden and accused of sponsoring terrorism. The Obama administration temporarily lifted the sanctions in January, citing improved counterterrorism efforts and progress toward ending the country's many internal conflicts. The move becomes permanent on July 12 unless the State Department revokes it.

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 6, 2014 file photo, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir speaks after meeting with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, in the capital Juba, South Sudan. The United States is facing calls to maintain pressure on Sudan's government, on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 the day before Washington is expected to announce the permanent lifting of sanctions dating back to the 1990s. (AP Photo/Ali Ngethi, File)

The U.S. has worked to isolate Sudan since the military coup that brought al-Bashir to power in 1989, and other sanctions targeting him and some of his inner circle will remain in place regardless of the upcoming decision.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said Tuesday he expected the easing of the sanctions to be made permanent. "The lifting of the sanctions is a right of Sudan, which has fulfilled all its commitments," he said in comments carried by newspapers.

Human Rights Watch has said that the six-month timeframe was not enough to measure any purported progress.

"The human rights situation has not improved," the New York-based group said in May. "Sudanese Armed Forces and aligned forces, notably the newly created Rapid Support Forces, have continued to attack civilians in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile with utter impunity."

Khaled Omer, vice chairman of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party, said permanently lifting the sanctions would do nothing to help the Sudanese people.

"The few people who control the country will line their pockets and use it to finance their priorities: oppression, accumulating more power and funding the security services who do their bidding."

U.N. experts say the government has largely succeeded in putting down the revolt in Darfur, with fighting in the 13-year conflict now limited to the mountains, a claim disputed by activists and human rights advocates.

The rebel Justice and Equality Movement now operates mostly in neighboring South Sudan, the experts said in a report to the U.N. Security Council last January, while one faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army operates largely across the border in Libya and another just holds pockets of territory in the Jebel Marra area.

The Sudanese government heavily restricts access to all these areas.

"We can't give up hope, but if the sanctions are lifted it is bad for the Sudanese people - it is an unreciprocated award to the government and will boost their position," said Traio Ali, the nomme de guerre of an exiled SLA leader. "Civilians are still being killed, and if sanctions are lifted this will worsen," he said. "We will continue to fight for our rights regardless of what happens."

Activists say that intercommunal violence, militia activity, and banditry continue unabated in Darfur.

Conflicts in other areas - Blue Nile state and South Kordofan - pit the government against rebels from the SPLA-N, who were left on the northern side of the border after South Sudan became independent in July 2011.

"The Sudanese government has not stopped its atrocities against people in Sudanese war zones," said activist Osman Naway from the Nuba Mountains area of South Kordofan, who urged the U.S. to postpone its decision until independent experts evaluate the situation on the ground.

"We continue to document major violations and constant attacks on civilian areas by Sudanese militias, and the Sudanese government also continues to prevent humanitarian access to almost a half million people from Nuba," he said.

The E.U. placed an arms embargo on Sudan in 1994, but a report by Conflict Armament Research says the government has expanded efforts to circumvent it and may have violated U.N. sanctions on arms sales with Iran.

Paul Gabriel, an analyst at London-based consultancy Control Risks, expects the sanctions to be lifted, spurring an increase in investment from the Gulf.

"Western companies will be more cautious at first, given the level of uncertainty that remains in Sudan," he said. "But investments in oil and gas, an underdeveloped financial sector and all the business support that goes with it are likely to see an increase."

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Follow Brian Rohan on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/brian_rohan
SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) - Tens of thousands of people converged on Srebrenica Tuesday for a funeral for dozens of newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre in the Bosnian town.

Remains of 71 Muslim Bosniak victims, including seven juvenile boys and a woman, were buried at the memorial cemetery on the 22nd anniversary of the crime. They were laid to rest next to over 6,000 other Srebrenica victims found previously in mass graves. The youngest victim buried this year was 15, the oldest was 72.

Adela Efendic came to Srebrenica to bury the remains of her father, Senaid.

A Bosnian Muslim woman cries near the coffin of her relative during a funeral ceremony for dozens of newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre, at the memorial centre of Potocari near Srebrenica, 150 kms north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys, which international courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

"I was 20-day-old baby when he was killed. I have no words to explain how it feels to bury the father you have never met," Efendic said. "You imagine what kind of a person he might have been, but that is all you have."

More than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys perished in 10 days of slaughter after Srebrenica was overrun by Bosnian Serb forces on July 11, 1995. It is the only episode of Bosnia's fratricidal 1992-95 war to be defined as genocide by two U.N. courts.

Serbs hastily disposed of the victims' bodies in several large pits, then dug them up again and scattered the remains over the nearly 100 smaller mass graves and hidden burial sites around the town.

Every year forensic experts identify newly found remains through DNA analysis before reburial.

Most coffins are lowered into their graves by strangers, because all male members of the victims' families had often been killed.

"I was looking for him for 20 years...they found him in a garbage dump last December," Emina Salkic said through tears, hugging the coffin of her brother Munib. He was 16 when he was killed.

Srebrenica was besieged by Serb forces for years before it fell. It was declared a U.N. "safe haven" for civilians in 1993, but a Security Council mission that visited shortly afterward described the town as "an open jail" where a "slow-motion process of genocide" was in effect.

When Serb forces led by Gen. Ratko Mladic broke through two years later, Srebrenica's terrified Muslim Bosniak population rushed to the U.N. compound hoping that Dutch U.N. peacekeepers would protect them. But the outgunned peacekeepers watched helplessly as Mladic's troops separated out men and boys for execution and sent the women and girls to Bosnian government-held territory.

An appeals court in The Hague ruled this month that the Dutch government was partially liable in the deaths of more than 300 people who were turned away from the compound.

Mladic is now on trial before a U.N. war crimes tribunal, but many Bosnian Serbs, including political leaders, continue to deny that the slaughter constituted genocide.

"We are again calling on Serbs and their political and intellectual elites to find courage to face the truth and stop denying genocide," Bakir Izetbegovic, Bosniak member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, said in his address to the mourners.

Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, the head of the EU delegation to Bosnia, said that remembering what happened in Srebrenica was "the common duty of us as Europeans," especially as we live "in a world where facts and truth are being manipulated."

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Amel Emric in Srebrenica contributed

Bosnian Muslim woman cries near the coffin of her relative during a funeral ceremony for dozens of newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre, at the memorial centre of Potocari near Srebrenica, 150 kms north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys, which international courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Bosnian Muslim people pray in front of coffins during a funeral ceremony for dozens of newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre, at the memorial centre of Potocari near Srebrenica, 150 kms north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys, which international courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Bosnian Muslim people pray in front of coffins during a funeral ceremony for dozens of newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre, at the memorial centre of Potocari near Srebrenica, 150 kms north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys, which international courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A Bosnian Muslim woman protects herself from the sun during a funeral ceremony for dozens of newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre, at the memorial centre of Potocari near Srebrenica, 150 kms north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys, which international courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A Bosnian Muslim woman prays among gravestones during a funeral ceremony for dozens of newly identified victims of the 1995 massacre, at the memorial centre of Potocari near Srebrenica, 150 kms north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys, which international courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A Bosnian Muslim woman touches the coffin of her relative during a funeral ceremony for the 71 victims at the memorial center of Potocari near Srebrenica, north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim people, which International courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A Bosnian Muslim woman cries near the coffin of her relative during a funeral ceremony for the 71 victims at the memorial center of Potocari near Srebrenica, north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim people, which International courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A Bosnian Muslim woman cries near the coffin of her relative during a funeral ceremony for the 71 victims at the memorial center of Potocari near Srebrenica, north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim people, which International courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Bosnian Muslim men say prayers among coffins during a funeral ceremony for the 71 victims at the memorial center of Potocari near Srebrenica, north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim people, which International courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A Bosnian Muslim woman cries near the coffin of her relative during a funeral ceremony for the 71 victims at the memorial center of Potocari near Srebrenica, north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim people, which International courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

A Bosnian Muslim woman cries near the coffin of her relative during a funeral ceremony for the 71 victims at the memorial center of Potocari near Srebrenica, north east of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Twenty two years ago, on July 11, 1995, Serb troops overran the eastern Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and executed some 8,000 Muslim people, which International courts have labeled as an act of genocide. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran Railways says it has signed a preliminary agreement with Italy's state railway to construct two high-speed links in Iran.

Four memoranda of understanding worth some $1.36 billion were announced Tuesday. They refer to the construction of high-speed railways between Qom and Arak and the capital, Tehran, and Isfahan. They also include cooperation agreements between Iranian and Italian universities.

Iran is looking to revive its aging infrastructure following the lifting of international sanctions under the 2015 nuclear agreement.

In April 2015, Iran signed $8 million deal with the French company AREP to modernize three train stations, in Tehran, Qom and Mashhad.
MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) - Authorities say a Georgia police officer who fatally shot a suspect during a hostage standoff last week was involved in another fatal shooting last year.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the SWAT officer who killed the man holed up in a bank in metro Atlanta with two people Friday was involved in a similar shooting in April 2016.

The newspaper reports Cobb County officer Dennis Ponte shot 33-year-old Brian Easley after the man allegedly took two people hostage while falsely claiming to have a bomb.

The report says 15 months earlier, Ponte shot and killed 18-year-old Demetrius Deshon Dorsey as he held two gas station workers at gunpoint.

The newspaper says a spokeswoman for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed the officer was involved in both shootings. The GBI reviewed each of the cases.
NEW YORK (AP) - Visiting New York City this summer? Take a break from Times Square, shopping and museums and do like the locals: Hop a train or ferry to the beach.

The beach at Coney Island , at the tip of Brooklyn and reachable by four subway lines from Manhattan, is bordered by a famous strip of amusement park rides.

You can also go by subway to Rockaway Beach , Queens, but a new ferry service now departs for the Rockaways from Wall Street's Pier 11 on the East River in Lower Manhattan, with one stop in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

This July 9, 2017 photo shows a beach in the Rockaways, in the Queens borough of New York, on the Atlantic Ocean, with some beach-goers using body boards to ride the waves. A new ferry that travels between Lower Manhattan and the Rockaways has made it easier to get to the beach, which is known for its crashing surf. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

Here are some tips for a beach day in the Big Apple.

CONEY ISLAND

Take the D, F, N or Q subway train to the end of the line in Brooklyn ($2.75 each way). Several small amusement parks sit side by side across from the station, with the boardwalk and the Atlantic Ocean just beyond.

The famous Cyclone ride is to your left when you get off the train. It's a wooden roller coaster that will rattle your bones. And it's easy to spot Deno's Wonder Wheel amid the colorful jumble of attractions. It's a towering Ferris wheel with two types of cars. One car slides out to the edge and back in as the wheel turns; the other car is stationary. You'll be asked which car you prefer when you board.

Have a hot dog from Nathan's and wander down to the water to dip your toes or take a swim. To your right as you face the ocean, there's a pier where you'll find fishermen chatting in various languages - Russian, Spanish, Chinese - while tending to their catch.

Just remember: This isn't Disney World. It's a place with old-fashioned charm - the seaside park dates to the 19th century - as well as a big dose of urban grit. You may see litter on the beach and on a hot day, smell garbage in the alleys between the rides. Welcome to New York, folks!

Don't worry about water safety, though: Water quality is monitored by city health officials and lifeguards watch the swimmers. But don't leave your belongings unattended. Have one person in your group stay with them on the sand while others get wet.

Daniela Prankl, visiting with her sister from Austria, said the long subway ride from Manhattan to Coney Island "was absolutely worth it." She enjoyed seeing New Yorkers relaxing at the beach, in contrast to "busy Manhattan."

"Tourists should know that they can spend a great time there, with having fun in the amusement park, watching fisherman, having a walk at the beach and enjoying nice food," she said.

ROCKAWAY

The trip by ferry from Wall Street in Manhattan to Beach 108th Street in the Rockaways is only an hour on the water. But hundreds of people have been lining up for the boat at times, so the wait to board can be long, though extra departures have been added to the one-boat-per-hour schedule ($2.75 each way, tickets sold onsite or online). The ferry offers spectacular views of One World Trade and the skyscrapers of Lower Manhattan.

Rockaway is famous for big waves and even has designated surfing areas. Elsewhere body-boarding and body-surfing rule. Just watch out for strong currents and churning water that can dislodge sand beneath your feet as you wade in.

After the ferry arrives, you can hop a free shuttle bus to various beaches, or walk the few blocks from the bay side of the Rockaway peninsula where the boat drops you off, to the ocean side where the beaches are. You'll pass shops and eateries along 108th Street as you walk from the ferry to the ocean side, or look for concession stands at Beach 106th Street, Beach 97th Street and Beach 86th Street. Favorite local foodie spots include Tacoway Beach, at 302 Beach 87th St., and Caracas Arepa Bar, 106-01 Shore Front Parkway.

Rockaway was hit hard by flooding from Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Restoration included beach grass plantings and a new concrete boardwalk.

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Listen to AP Travel's weekly podcast Get Outta Here! at https://apnews.com/tag/TravelPodcast

This July 4, 2017 photo shows the beach at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York, with visitors wading in the Atlantic and the sand lined with sunbathers and colorful umbrellas. The outlines of some of Coney Island's amusement park rides can be seen in the distance framed by apartment buildings. Tourists visiting New York City might consider taking a subway to Coney Island to experience a favorite local summertime destination. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

This July 9, 2017 photo shows a view of One World Trade and other skyscrapers as seen from a ferry boat leaving Lower Manhattan and heading to Rockaway Beach in the Queens borough of New York. The new ferry is a scenic way to access the Rockaways, a favorite local summertime destination. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Romanian Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu's most treasured firearm, a Holland & Holland hunting rifle, is going up for auction.

The gold-embellished gun, commissioned for King Carol II in 1933, is being offered Tuesday at a starting price of 12,000 euros ($13,700).

After the monarchy was abolished at the end of WWII, the communists confiscated the royal rifle. Decades later it came into Ceausescu's possession, and his name was engraved on it.

Cristian Gavrila, collectibles consignment manager at Artmark auction house, shows an engraving of Romanian Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu's name on a Holland & Holland hunting rifle before an auction, in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Romanian Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu was an avid hunter, and his most treasured gun, a Holland & Holland hunting rifle, is to be auctioned. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

"The Holland & Holland rifle is top of the range, the most luxurious," Cristian Gavrila, an evaluator at Artmark auction house, told The Associated Press. "It is attractive for anyone even without the story of Romanian royalty and Ceausescu."

A total of 15 antique rifles and pistols are on offer at the auction.

Ceausescu went hunting on Dec. 10, 1989, two weeks before he and his wife were executed after a summary trial. Though he officially was credited with killing 400 animals, he was said to be a poor shot, so his companions would shoot his quarry.

Cristian Gavrila, collectibles consignment manager at Artmark auction house, holds the late Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu's Holland & Holland hunting rifle before an auction, in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Romanian Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu was an avid hunter, and his most treasured gun, a Holland & Holland hunting rifle, is to be auctioned. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Cristian Gavrila, collectibles consignment manager at Artmark auction house, holds the late Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu's Holland & Holland hunting rifle before an auction, in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Romanian Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu was an avid hunter, and his most treasured gun, a Holland & Holland hunting rifle, is to be auctioned. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to allow the mastermind of the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane-closing scheme to avoid prison when he is sentenced Wednesday because his testimony helped convict two former aides to Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

Under a plea agreement, David Wildstein faces 21 to 27 months in prison for orchestrating a scheme to create gridlock near the bridge to retaliate against a Democratic mayor who declined to endorse Christie's re-election bid.

In a letter to the judge last week that was published Tuesday, the U.S. attorney's office praised Wildstein for providing "timely, complete and truthful information and testimony" about the scheme.

FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2016, file photo, David Wildstein arrives for a hearing at the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Newark, N.J. Wildstein faces 21 to 27 months in prison at his Wednesday, July 12, 2017, sentencing for orchestrating George Washington Bridge lane closures in 2013 to punish Fort Lee, N.J., Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat who didn't endorse Republican Gov. Chris Christie's re-election. Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to allow Wildstein to avoid prison because his testimony helped convict two of Christie's former aides. Wildstein, appointed to The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey by Christie in 2010, pleaded guilty May 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

In a separate filing, Wildstein's attorney also asked the judge to sentence him to probation, noting that he was the only one to take responsibility for the plot and help the government.

Wildstein's testimony helped convict former Christie staffer Bridget Kelly and Wildstein's former supervisor, former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive Bill Baroni. Wildstein testified he used his position at the Port Authority to lead a scheme to close lanes to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich.

Kelly and Baroni were sentenced to 18 and 24 months in prison, respectively, in March. Both have appealed their convictions.

"Were it not for Wildstein's decision to cooperate and disclose the true nature of the lane reductions, there likely would have been no prosecutions related to the Bridge Scheme," prosecutors wrote.

Wildstein's sentencing will bring an end to a sordid saga that has left a cloud over Christie's administration and likely torpedoed his presidential aspirations.

Christie wasn't charged, but the scandal contributed to his approval rating falling from around 70 percent to 15 percent.

Wildstein was a former salesman, blogger and low-level political operative when his former high school classmate, Christie, approved hiring him to a position ostensibly overseeing billions of dollars in infrastructure projects in the New York area.

The closing of access lanes to the bridge over four days in September 2013 will go down as one of the more bizarre episodes of political skullduggery in New Jersey, a state where politics has never been for the faint of heart.

As revelations about the traffic jams seeped out in the fall and winter of 2013-14, Christie became embroiled in the controversy even though he denied knowledge of the scheme, an assertion contradicted by Wildstein, Baroni and others during the trial.

Wildstein testified he and Baroni joked with Christie about traffic problems in Fort Lee while the lane closures were underway.

Christie's presidential campaign ended in early 2016 after a poor showing in New Hampshire. Then-candidate Donald Trump said he believed Christie "totally knew" about the bridge plot. Christie was one of Trump's first high-profile endorsers in 2016, but later admitted the scandal was a factor in Trump not choosing him as his running mate.

The case also damaged the reputation of the Port Authority, the powerful bistate organization that operates New York-area bridges, ports and airports and employed Wildstein as a director of interstate capital projects, a position created for him.

Port Authority executives testified that Wildstein was viewed as carrying out Christie's agenda and that he was "protected" by Christie. Wildstein testified members of the Christie administration used the Port Authority to dole out favors to Democratic politicians whose endorsements they sought.

In their letter to the judge last week, prosecutors noted Wildstein produced evidence such as texts and emails that corroborated his account. One of those was Kelly's infamous "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" message to him weeks before the lane closures began.

"Wildstein never attempted to minimize his own role in any of his activities at the Port Authority or actions that he took before he joined the Port Authority, even where his words and deeds did not reflect well on him," prosecutors wrote.

Among those deeds was an incident in which he stole the suit jacket of Frank Lautenberg, then a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, minutes before Lautenberg was to debate a Republican candidate whom Wildstein, then in his early 20s, worked for.

Asked to explain, Wildstein chalked it up to youthful exuberance.

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Contact Porter at https://www.twitter.com/DavidPorter_AP
ATLANTA (AP) - A man accused of threatening the staff of U.S. Rep. John Lewis has been deemed competent to stand trial.

A report from the warden at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, indicates that Dante Antione Rosser is competent to stand trial and understands the nature of the legal proceedings, U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman said Tuesday. Baverman had ordered a mental health evaluation during a hearing in March.

Court records say the Democratic congressman's Atlanta-based staff members expressed "grave concerns" for their safety after Rosser visited their office and also made repeated phone calls.

FILE-In this Tuesday, June 20, 2017 file photo, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., speaks at an election night party for Democratic candidate for 6th congressional district Jon Ossoff in Atlanta. A man accused of threatening the staff of Lewis has been deemed competent to stand trial, said U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman on Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Rosser made 46 calls over two days in February and demanded the congressman's staff seek "financial reparations" for his family, according to a sworn statement from a U.S. Capitol Police special agent. The statement says Rosser threatened to "splatter their heads all over the ground."

A federal grand jury in March indicted Rosser, saying he threatened to assault and murder a congressional employee.

After the case received media attention, the staff at an apartment complex near Atlanta where Rosser had previously lived contacted the FBI to say that he had harassed them for about two years, prosecutor Phyllis Clerk told the judge. The threats and harassment increased in intensity and Rosser even showed up at the leasing office and shouted at the employees, Clerk said.

Lewis' staffers and the apartment complex employees are terrified of Rosser and Rosser continued his harassment even after authorities told him to stop, Clerk told the judge as she urged him to keep Rosser in detention until his trial.

"Clearly he has shown he does not intend to respect authority, he does not intend to follow the law," Clerk said.

Rosser's lawyer, Nicole Kaplan, said that while the calls Rosser is accused of making may have been graphic, nothing in his history suggests he would act on the threats. She asked that Rosser be allowed to live with his son.

Baverman said he doesn't know enough about the conditions at Rosser's son's home and whether it would be possible to place sufficient restrictions on him there. For the time being, the judge said, Rosser will remain in detention.
Diane J. Nelson, a multiple graded-stakes winning jockey who rode more than 1,000 winners while capitalizing on her good looks with a modeling career, has died. She was 54.

Nelson died July 5, according to a post on the Moloney Family Funeral Homes of New York's website. There was no cause of death listed and no obituary.

A memorial service was held Monday at Mother Teresa Tribute Center at Nassau Suffolk Crematory in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York. Denise Bisset, a relative of Nelson's, wrote on the website's condolence page that the service was for immediate family only.

In this Feb. 21, 2005, photo provided by Coglianese Photos, Diane J. Nelson rides Acey Deucey to victory in The Dearly Precious stakes at Aqueduct Race Track in New York. Nelson, a multiple graded-stakes winning jockey who rode over 1,000 winners while capitalizing on her good looks with a modeling career, has died. She was 54. Nelson died July 5, 2017, according to a post on the Moloney Family Funeral Homes of New York's website. (Adam Coglianese/Coglianese Photos via AP)

Nelson was the sixth female jockey in North America to reach 1,000 winners. She had 1,095 victories from 9,905 career races and purse earnings of $19,106,392, according to Equibase.

Nelson was one of the elite women jockeys in the sport, although she never rode in any of most prestigious Triple Crown or Breeders' Cup races.

She rode regularly on the highly competitive New York circuit, where at times she was the lone woman.

"I'm realistic enough to know that I'm not going to get all the good mounts," she told the New York Daily News in 2001. "There are 10 riders in here that are the top riders in the country. I would prefer to stay here and ride less and ride quality. I've gotten to ride some unbelievable horses in my career. That means more to me than winning a lot of races."

Nelson's career began at New York's Aqueduct Racetrack on Feb. 27, 1986. She rode her last race at the same track on Jan. 20, 2007.

She won eight graded stakes races in her career, including the Grade 1 Prioress Stakes with Acey Deucey in 2005 at Saratoga.

After debuting at Aqueduct, she moved to New Hampshire's now-defunct Rockingham Park and later Suffolk Downs in Boston. Eventually, she went on to ride at the New Jersey tracks and the New York circuit near her Long Island home.

"Being in New York is incredible," she told the Daily News. "I'm not going to get rich, but there's always a chance of riding a really nice horse and winning $100,000 stake races."

Nelson said the lack of women riders who followed her was proof of how tough it was to survive in the sport.

At 5-foot-6 (1.68-meters), Nelson was considered tall for a jockey. After being featured in television ads for the New York Racing Association, she landed a contract with the Ford Modeling Agency.

"Diane was beautiful inside and out," Abby Fuller, a former jockey who competed against Nelson, wrote on the mortuary's website.

This undated image provided by Coglianese Photos shows jockey Diane J. Nelson. Nelson, a multiple graded-stakes winning jockey who rode over 1,000 winners while capitalizing on her good looks with a modeling career, has died. She was 54. Nelson died July 5, 2017, according to a post on the Moloney Family Funeral Homes of New York's website. (Coglianese Photo via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) - MSNBC host and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough says he's leaving the GOP.

The "Morning Joe" co-host has become a sharp critic of President Donald Trump.

Scarborough said Tuesday during an interview with CBS "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert that "I've got to become an independent."

FILE - In this April 11, 2012 file photograph taken by AP Images for The Hollywood Reporter, 'Morning Joe' host Joe Scarborough arrives at The Hollywood Reporter 35 Most Powerful People in Media event in New York. MSNBC host and former Republican Congressman Scarborough says he's leaving the GOP. The "Morning Joe" co-host has become a sharp critic of President Donald Trump. Scarborough said Tuesday, July 11, 2017, during an interview with CBS "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert that "I've got to become an independent." (Evan Agostini/AP Images for The Hollywood Reporter, File)

He appeared as a guest with his co-host and fiance, Mika Brzezinski, who recently was attacked in sharply personal terms by the president.

Scarborough says it's inexplicable why so many Republicans look the other way when Trump says or does something that betrays the party's core values.

He told Colbert that "I am a Republican but I'm not going to be a Republican anymore."

Scarborough was elected to four terms in Congress from Florida starting in 1994.
SRINAGAR, India (AP) - As India's government on Tuesday blamed separatist rebels for gunning down seven Hindu pilgrims and wounding 19 more in Kashmir before fleeing into the night, rebel groups in the disputed region condemned the rare, deadly attack on civilians and insisted they had no part in it.

A memo that was circulated to regional police, military and paramilitary units two weeks ago indicates Indian security officials had been expecting an attack. The memo, marked "top secret," warned that a "sensational attack by terrorist outfits cannot be ruled out" in the mostly Muslim region.

The memo, dated June 25 and verified as authentic by The Associated Press, said "terrorists have been directed to eliminate 100 to 150 yatris (pilgrims) and about 100 police."

Indian paramilitary soldiers frisk a Kashmiri civilian left and an Indian pilgrim, right, as others wait for their turn at a temporary checkpoint near the pilgrim base camp in Pahalgam, about 100 Kilometers south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. As India's government on Tuesday blamed separatist rebels for gunning down seven Hindu pilgrims and wounding more than a dozen in Kashmir before fleeing into the night, rebel groups in the disputed region condemned the rare, deadly attack on civilians and insisted they had no part in it. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

It described circumstances eerily similar to what transpired Monday night: "The attack may be in the form of standoff fire on yatra (pilgrimage) convoy, which they (militants) believe will result in flaring of communal tensions throughout the nation."

Police said the attack began with gunmen unleashing a hail of bullets on an armored police vehicle and, soon after, on a nearby police patrol. They said that a bus carrying 60 Hindu pilgrims had been passing through the area when the patrolling police and militants were exchanging fire, and that some bullets struck the bus and its passengers.

The police also said that the bus had been traveling at night, despite instructions to avoid the roads after dark. Though security had been increased along the route for the pilgrimage, the thousands of deployed soldiers and police do not patrol overnight.

Several bus passengers who were wounded gave a different version of events, saying the bus had been targeted from three directions during the attack. They said the driver kept driving the bus as it was being struck with bullets near the southern town of Anantnag on the main highway linking Kashmir with the rest of India.

The annual summer pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine, which began June 29 under heavy security, has been targeted in the past. Opponents of Indian rule in Kashmir accuse Hindu-majority India of using the pilgrimage as a political statement to bolster its claim to the disputed region.

On Tuesday, thousands of Hindus continued the religious pilgrimage undeterred, as Indian soldiers and police increased security along the Himalayan route for buses carrying pilgrims to the base camps where they start walking the path to the high mountain cave.

None of the rebel groups fighting to oust India from the mostly Muslim region has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the three top separatist leaders in Kashmir condemned it.

They demanded an independent investigation into the attack.

"This incident goes against the very grain of Kashmiri ethos," the separatist leaders - Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammed Yasin Malik - said in a joint statement.

Police were searching for the assailants, who they said were from the Pakistan-based rebel group Lashkar-e-Taiba. India also blames the group for a 2008 attack that left 166 people dead in India's commercial capital of Mumbai.

"We're investigating the attack, but we know certainly that the Lashkar has done it. We'll soon deal with them," police Inspector-General Muneer Ahmed Khan said.

Lashkar-e-Taiba denied any involvement in the attack, which they called "reprehensible" and "un-Islamic," according to a statement sent to local media in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

The group said India was behind the attack, "to sabotage the freedom struggle of Kashmiris" and fulfill "its nefarious agenda" to crush the popular anti-India rebellion.

"No Kashmiri has ever targeted any pilgrims, and this barbarity and atrocity is the trademark of Indian forces," the group's statement said.

Residents said they were afraid of a possible backlash by Hindu nationalists and Indian forces against Kashmiris elsewhere in India.

"My two brothers are studying in India," school teacher Shagufta Kaunsar said. "I don't know if it's really safe for them there. We're already telling them to come back home."

Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of Kashmir, asked India's home ministry to protect Kashmiri students and workers across the nation. "Possibility of backlash can't be ignored," he said in a Twitter message.

Most of the pilgrims wounded in the attack were released from hospitals on Tuesday. The bodies of those killed were flown to New Delhi on their way to the pilgrims' west Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The attack sparked outrage across Kashmir and much of India.

In the Jammu region of Kashmir, which is dominated by Hindus, hundreds of protesters shouted angry slogans against the militants and burned a faceless effigy meant to represent both terrorism and Pakistan, which India blames for supporting the rebels. Many shops and businesses were shuttered for a protest strike in Jammu.

Meanwhile, students in the Gujarati city of Ahmadabad gathered for a sit-in to protest all religious violence, while peace activists planned a candlelight vigil in New Delhi on Tuesday night.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the last major attack on Amarnath pilgrims occurred in 2000, when gunmen killed 30 people in the Pahalgam area, including local porters carrying pilgrim's baggage up the mountain path.

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Follow Aijaz Hussain at www.twitter.com/hussain_aijaz.

Indian paramilitary soldiers frisk a Kashmiri civilian as others wait for their turn at a temporary checkpoint near the pilgrim base camp in Pahalgam, about 100 Kilometers south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. As India's government on Tuesday blamed separatist rebels for gunning down seven Hindu pilgrims and wounding more than a dozen in Kashmir before fleeing into the night, rebel groups in the disputed region condemned the rare, deadly attack on civilians and insisted they had no part in it. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Indian pilgrims stroll inside a base camp after returning from the annual summer Hindu pilgrimage to the Amarnath Shrine in Pahalgam, about 100 Kilometers south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. As India's government on Tuesday blamed separatist rebels for gunning down seven Hindu pilgrims and wounding more than a dozen in Kashmir before fleeing into the night, rebel groups in the disputed region condemned the rare, deadly attack on civilians and insisted they had no part in it. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard outside a pilgrim base camp in Pahalgam, about 100 Kilometers south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. As India's government on Tuesday blamed separatist rebels for gunning down seven Hindu pilgrims and wounding more than a dozen in Kashmir before fleeing into the night, rebel groups in the disputed region condemned the rare, deadly attack on civilians and insisted they had no part in it. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Indian government forces frisk vehicles of Kashmiris and Indian pilgrims at a temporary checkpoint near the pilgrim base camp near Pahalgam, about 100 Kilometers south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. As India's government on Tuesday blamed separatist rebels for gunning down seven Hindu pilgrims and wounding more than a dozen in Kashmir before fleeing into the night, rebel groups in the disputed region condemned the rare, deadly attack on civilians and insisted they had no part in it. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Indian students hold placards and offer tributes to the victims of a gunfire attack on a bus carrying pilgrims, in Ahmadabad, India, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Gunmen sprayed bullets on a passenger bus bringing Hindu pilgrims back from a cave shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday. Indian police blamed the attack on Muslim militants who are fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. In the foreground in local language its written tributes. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Indian Muslims burn an effigy representing Pakistan and terrorism during a protest against the terrorist attack on pilgrims, in Ahmadabad, India, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Gunmen sprayed bullets on a passenger bus bringing Hindu pilgrims back from a cave shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday, killing at least seven of them, including five women, and wounding 14 others, police said. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Kashmiri men walk past shattered glasses of a bus carrying pilgrims that was attacked as in Batengoo about 50 Kilometres (31.25 miles) south Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Gunmen sprayed bullets on a passenger bus bringing Hindu pilgrims back from a cave shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday, killing at least seven of them, including five women, and wounding 14 others, police said. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

An Indian army soldier stands guard at site of shootout in Batengoo about 50 Kilometres (31.25 miles) south Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Gunmen sprayed bullets on a passenger bus bringing Hindu pilgrims back from a cave shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday, killing at least seven of them, including five women, and wounding 14 others, police said. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - The visit by Paraguay's president to Taiwan this week offers a diplomatic lifeline to the self-governing island democracy whose international breathing space is being steadily chipped away at by Beijing.

Horacio Cartes and his delegation were scheduled to attend events Wednesday commemorating 60 years of ties between Taiwan and the landlocked nation, the island's only diplomatic ally in South America.

Cartes' three-day visit comes almost a month after Panama switched relations from Taipei to Beijing, leaving Taiwan with just 20 diplomatic allies, mainly small developing nations in Central America, the Caribbean, the South Pacific and Africa. That development set alarm bells in Taipei.

"As far as the (Taiwanese) government is concerned, there is a growing sense of unfairness and unreasonableness by Beijing," said Alan Romberg, director of the East Asia program at The Stimson Center, a Washington think tank. "It is hard to see a way out."

At a welcoming ceremony in the capital Taipei, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen issued a "most heartfelt welcome" to Cartes.

Cartes, who is making his third visit to Taiwan as president, offered words of comfort, saying : "Based on ongoing and earnest friendship, as well as mutual support, we will continue to reinforce Taiwan and Paraguay's inseparable cooperation and exchange programs."

Beijing renewed a campaign to diminish the island's global standing last year after cutting ties with Tsai's independence-leaning government, which has refused to endorse China's insistence that Taiwan is part of China.

Along with plucking away Panama and two of Taiwan's African allies, Beijing has barred Taiwan's representatives from attending the World Health Assembly and other gatherings to which they formerly had access.

Since Panama broke away, Taiwan's diplomats have redoubled their efforts to shore up ties with the island's remaining allies, with analysts saying such relationships remain vital to Taiwan retaining its claimed status as a sovereign nation and maintaining its international profile.

Visits to allies in the Western Hemisphere also permit Taiwan's leaders to stop off in the United States to meet with American politicians and other supporters. The U.S. switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979, eight years after Taiwan's seat at the United Nations was given to China.

The loss of Panama had a major impact on Taiwanese public opinion and served as something of a wakeup call to the government, said Alexander Huang, director of the Institute of Strategic Studies at Taiwan's Tamkang University.

That's partly because the relationship stretched back more than 100 years when the Republic of China - the official name of Taiwan's government - ruled all of China from the mainland, Huang said. The ROC was moved to Taiwan in 1949 after Mao Zedong's Communists drove Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists from the mainland amid civil war.

Panama, home to the canal that is crucial to global trade, was also Taiwan's last partner of major strategic importance and its shift aroused fears of a domino effect on other allies, he said.

"So we need to make sure that even with the worst case scenario, we will try our very best with our counterparts to keep our interests protected, keep our personnel, and that our interests in those countries continue," Huang said.

And despite the challenges, Huang said he sees no prospects for cutting a deal with Beijing on endorsing its "One China" principle in return for maintaining Taiwan's international presence.

"Everyone in Taiwan across party lines understands that China can continue to humiliate Taiwan because they have the power," Huang said. "But to continue this kind of game would not necessarily bring about a Chinese unification or win over the minds and hearts of Taiwan people."

Beijing's efforts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically have been "a big factor in the rise of pro-independence sentiment," said Ashley Esarey, a Taiwan scholar at Canada's University of Alberta.

However, maintaining relations with a small number of states is less important than it was two decades ago, since Taiwanese have shifted their thinking to emphasize "informal, substantive relationships over formal diplomatic partnerships," said Taiwan politics expert Shelley Rigger, a political scientist and longtime observer of Taiwanese politics at Davidson College in North Carolina.

Rigger and other observers said they expect Beijing to continue picking off Taiwan's remaining allies - including Paraguay - as a means of piling the pressure on Tsai.

China's campaign to not only deepen Taiwan's diplomatic isolation but also damage its economy by limiting Chinese tourist visits does seem to be having an impact, with Tsai's approval ratings down considerably since she took office May 2016. While political unification with China is deeply unpopular among Taiwan's 23 million people, support for trade and travel between the sides remains strong.

For now, China does seem to be exercising a degree of restraint, even as it seeks to convince countries such as Nigeria, Jordan and Ecuador that have only informal ties with Taiwan to downgrade those relations even further, said Dennis V. Hickey, distinguished professor and director of the Graduate Program in Global Studies at Missouri State University.

Beijing "could take more of Taipei's allies any time it wants to do so," Hickey said. As long as Tsai continues to defy Beijing, "Taiwan's global footprint will continue to shrink and the present administration will try to shift the blame to Beijing," he said.

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Bodeen reported from Beijing.
FBI nominee rejects Trump claim: Russia probe no witch hunt

WASHINGTON (AP) - Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI broke with the president in key areas Wednesday, rejecting the idea that an investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump election campaign is a "witch hunt" and promising not to cave to any pressure from a White House that has challenged boundaries with the nation's top law enforcement agency.

Christopher Wray, the former high-ranking Justice Department official whom Trump nominated last month, told senators at his confirmation hearing that he would never let politics get in the way of the bureau's mission. And he said he "sure as heck" would not offer a pledge of loyalty to the president.

Asserting his independence, he said, "My loyalty is to the Constitution and the rule of law. Those have been my guideposts throughout my career, and I will continue to adhere to them no matter the test."

Wray's responses seemed to satisfy both Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, many of whom signaled their support for him.

Wray, 50, would inherit the FBI at a particularly challenging time given Trump's abrupt dismissal of James Comey, who was admired within the bureau. Yet the hearing, the first public window into Wray's views since his selection, was largely devoid of fireworks in keeping with what friends and supporters have described as the nominee's low-key, disciplined style.

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Lawmakers intend to question Trump campaign chairman

WASHINGTON (AP) - The scope of congressional investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential contest came into sharper focus on Wednesday as lawmakers said they intended to question the former chairman of the Trump campaign and to determine whether Russian social media "trolls" were connected to Trump's election efforts.

The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to question former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and will subpoena him if necessary, according to the panel's Republican chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. He said he and the committee's top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein of California, have agreed to try to bring Manafort before the panel for questioning about the government's enforcement of a law requiring registration of foreign lobbyists. Feinstein's office confirmed that they plan to question him.

Manafort would certainly also be asked about his participation in a Trump Tower meeting last June with President Donald Trump's eldest son and son-in-law, where the purpose was to hear potentially damaging information about Hillary Clinton from a Russian lawyer.

Manafort disclosed the meeting in a package of information he provided to the Senate and House intelligence committees, who have been investigating potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, as is Robert Mueller, the former FBI director appointed by the Justice Department as the special counsel.

"Obviously it would be appropriate for anybody to get into anything that went on at that meeting, and he was at that meeting," Grassley told Iowa reporters.

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10 Things to Know for Thursday

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:

1. WHITE HOUSE PRESSURING GOP ON HEALTH CARE

Trump says he will be "very angry" if the Republican-led Senate fails to pass a revamped health care bill.

2. NOMINEE BREAKS WITH TRUMP

The lawyer that the president picked to lead the FBI declares he does not believe the special counsel investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign is a "witch hunt."

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Trump says he'll be 'angry' if Senate health care bill flops

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will be "very angry" if the Senate fails to pass a revamped Republican health care bill and said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell must "pull it off," intensifying pressure on party leaders laboring to win over unhappy GOP senators and preserve the teetering measure.

Trump's remarks came a day before McConnell, R-Ky., planned to release his revised legislation to a closed-door meeting of GOP senators. The new legislation would keep most of the initial Medicaid cuts and makes other changes aimed at nailing down support, but internal GOP disputes lingered that were threatening to sink it.

With all Democrats set to vote no, McConnell was moving toward a do-or-die roll call next week on beginning debate, a motion that will require backing from 50 of the 52 GOP senators.

Conservative Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Wednesday he would oppose the motion and moderate Republican Susan Collins of Maine seemed all but sure to do the same - leaving McConnell with zero margin for error to sustain his party's goal of toppling President Barack Obama's health care law. Several other GOP senators were holdouts as well, leaving McConnell and his lieutenants just days to win them over or face a major defeat.

In a White House interview conducted Wednesday for the Christian Broadcasting Network's "The 700 Club," Trump said it was time for action by congressional Republicans who cast scores of votes "that didn't mean anything" to repeal the 2010 law while Obama was still president.

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In Paris, Trump is Bastille Day guest of city he derided

PARIS (AP) - President Donald Trump's visit to Paris on Thursday will take him to a city he has repeatedly derided - and at the side of a French leader best known to Americans as the earnest young man with the endless handshake.

"Paris isn't Paris any longer," Trump declared in February, implying the city had been ruined by jihadi attacks. "I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris," he said just last month as he announced the U.S. would leave the Paris climate agreement.

But Trump isn't the only politician who can use Paris to make a symbolic point.

When Trump arrives in the French capital, it will be as French President Emmanuel Macron's guest of honor, with a private tour of Napoleon's tomb, dinner at the Eiffel Tower and, to top off the Paris tourist trifecta, a seat at the tribune as American troops open the Bastille Day parade on the Champs-Elysees.

He departed the White House on Wednesday evening, joined by his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and top aides, including chief of staff Reince Priebus and National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster.

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Brazil's once-adored ex-president convicted of corruption

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was found guilty of corruption and money laundering Wednesday and sentenced to almost 10 years in prison, the highest-profile conviction yet in the sprawling graft investigation that has jailed dozens of Brazil's elite.

The decision by Judge Sergio Moro was widely expected, even by Silva's own defense team, but was still stunning. The charismatic leader left office on Dec. 31, 2010, with sky-high popularity and is credited with pulling millions of Brazilians out of poverty and turning Latin America's largest nation into an important player on the world stage.

Brazil's first working class president will remain free while an appeal is heard, but he is now also the country's first ex-president to be convicted in a criminal proceeding at least since democracy was restored in the 1980s.

In many quarters, the man known to Brazilians simply as Lula remains revered - both for his economic policies and his role in fighting for democracy during the country's dictatorship. The 71-year-old has been considered a front-runner for next year's presidential election.

Silva's defense team issued a scathing statement after the ruling, calling the charges an attack on democracy and vowing to prove the former president's innocence.

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Afghan girls will be allowed into US for robotics contest

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. officials will allow a group of Afghan girls into the country to participate in an international robotics competition after President Donald Trump intervened, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed Wednesday, ending a saga that had sparked international backlash.

Homeland Security Department spokesman David Lapan said the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved a State Department request for six girls from the war-torn country to be allowed in, along with their chaperone, so they can participate in the competition. The girls' applications for U.S. visas had been denied twice.

The non-profit organizing the competition celebrated the reversal in a jubilant statement Wednesday.

"I truly believe our greatest power is the power to convene nations, to bring people together in the pursuit of a common goal and prove that our similarities greatly outweigh our differences," said Joe Sestak, the president of First Global. He credited "the professional leadership of the U.S. State Department" for ensuring that all 163 teams from 157 countries, including a team of Syrian refugees, would be able to participate.

The U.S. State Department had declined to comment on why the Afghan team's visa applications were denied, saying that "all visa applications are adjudicated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with U.S. law."

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AP Explains: How do politicians collect opposition research?

WASHINGTON (AP) - Psst. Wanna hear something bad about your opponent?

As any political strategist can attest, opposition research is a lifeblood of campaigning, with documents, recordings and tips streaming in from all directions claiming evidence of a rival's misdeeds.

"Oppo research," as it's known inside the Washington Beltway, burst onto the public stage with the disclosure that Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, welcomed an offer to get dirt on Hillary Clinton from a Russian lawyer. But oppo has been a booming business in political circles for years.

Here's what it is:

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Shia LaBeouf apologizes for racist tirade during arrest

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Shia LaBeouf apologized Wednesday for a racist tirade against Georgia police officers and jailors who arrested him Saturday for public drunkenness.

The actor wrote in a statement posted on Twitter Wednesday that he has been publicly struggling with addiction for "far too long." He called his behavior a new low and attributed it in part to his complete disrespect for authority.

The statement, which was confirmed as legitimate by LaBeouf's publicist, asked for forgiveness and said the actor was taking steps to get sober. He did not elaborate.

LaBeouf's apology came hours after celebrity website TMZ posted video taken while the actor was being booked when he accused police of being racist and told a black officer he was going to hell. The actor made several other profane remarks before being released on $7,000 bond.

The videos were not immediately available Wednesday from the Chatham County Sheriff's Office.

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Chuck Blazer, who touched off soccer scandal, dead at 72

NEW YORK (AP) - Chuck Blazer, the disgraced American soccer executive whose admissions of corruption set off a global scandal that ultimately toppled FIFA President Sepp Blatter, has died. He was 72.

Blazer's death was announced Wednesday by his lawyers, Eric Corngold and Mary Mulligan. At a November 2013 court hearing during which Blazer entered guilty pleas to federal charges, Blazer said he had rectal cancer, diabetes and coronary artery disease.

With huge girth, charm, wit and a pet parrot, Blazer cut a large figure as he made deals from an office and apartment in Trump Tower. The No. 2 official in the governing body of soccer's North and Central American and Caribbean region from 1990-2011 and a member of FIFA's ruling executive council from 1997-2013, Blazer was central to the rise of the sport in the United States.

Blazer accused CONCACAF President Jack Warner and fellow executive committee member Mohamed bin Hammam of offering $40,000 bribes to voters in the 2011 FIFA presidential election. Bin Hammam had been the lone challenger to Blatter, who was elected unopposed to a fourth term after Warner and bin Hammam were suspended. Blatter was elected to a fifth term in 2015 before resigning.

But it turned out Blazer's conduct was as corrupt as the actions of the people he accused. U.S. government agents stopped him on a Manhattan team, threatened him with arrest, and he became a government informant.
NEW HOPE, Pa. (AP) - The body of one of four missing young men was found along with other human remains inside a 12-foot-deep common grave on a Pennsylvania farm linked to a 20-year-old man taken into custody Wednesday.

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub pledged at a midnight news conference to "bring each and every one of these lost boys home to their families." Cadaver dogs had led them to the spot on the 90-acre farm where the FBI has spent days digging up the grave and sifting through the dirt for evidence. The other remains still need to be identified. The cause of deaths of those found in the grave has not yet been announced.

"I don't understand the science behind it, but those dogs could smell these poor boys 12-1/2 feet below the ground," Weintraub said.

Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., speaks with members of the media in New Hope, Pa., Thursday, July 13, 2017. Authorities said they've found human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one victim. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Cosmo DiNardo was being held on $5 million cash bail after he was charged Wednesday with trying to sell another victim's car after he disappeared. The car was found on the DiNardo family property.

The body identified early Thursday was that of 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro. The missing men are 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick. Patrick, who was a year behind DiNardo at a Catholic high school for boys, was last seen on Wednesday, while the other three vanished two days later.

DiNardo also had been arrested Monday and held on $1 million bail on an old gun charge, before his father paid $100,000 to bail him out Tuesday. The charge stems from accusations that DiNardo was caught with a shotgun and ammunition in February despite a prior mental health commitment.

The back-to-back arrests bought investigators time as they scoured the farm and other spots across the county for clues to the men's disappearance, Weintraub said. He hoped the higher bail would hold him even longer, but acknowledged it might not.

DiNardo's parents, Antonio and Sandra DiNardo, own the farm in upper Bucks County, a bucolic area with rolling hillsides, new housing developments and historic sites. They also own a nearby farm parcel that was also searched and a concrete company near their home in Bensalem, closer to Philadelphia.

An attorney representing the couple issued a statement earlier Wednesday saying they sympathize with the families of the missing men and are cooperating "in every way possible with the investigation."

The FBI had been using heavy equipment to dig a deep ditch on the farm property, and then sifting through each bucket of dirt by hand.

At least some of the missing men are friends, but it's unclear how well they knew DiNardo, if at all.

In the February gun charge he still faces, DiNardo is accused of illegally being in possession of a shotgun and ammunition because of a previous involuntary commitment to a mental health institution. An affidavit in that case said he is "known to be suffering from mental illness."

His social media posts suggest an avid interest in hunting, fishing and Air Jordan sneakers, which he appeared to sell online. He had enrolled in a nearby college at one point as a commuter student, with hopes of studying abroad in Italy, according to an article on the college website. He had a few other brushes with the law since turning 18 over traffic violations and other minor infractions.

Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., speaks with members of the media in New Hope, Pa., Thursday, July 13, 2017. Weintraub said they've found human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one victim. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A woman listens to Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., speak during a news conference in New Hope, Pa., Thursday, July 13, 2017. Authorities said they've found human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one victim. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

People walk at the entrance to a blocked off drive way, in Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Investigators gather under tents as they search a property, Wednesday, July 12, 2017, in Solebury, Pa., for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (Clem Murray/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

This photo provided by the Bucks County District Attorney's Office in Doylestown, Pa., shows Cosmo DiNardo, who was arrested Monday, July 10, 2017. DiNardo was arrested on a charge of possession of firearms by a person prohibited from possessing a firearm. His arrest comes as the FBI uses heavy equipment to search his family's sprawling farm property in Solebury Township during a search for four men who are missing. (Bucks County District Attorney's Office via AP)

Gregg Shore, First Assistant District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., walks down a driveway, Wednesday, July 12, 2017, in Solebury, Pa., as the search continues for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., arrives for a news conference, Wednesday, July 12, 2017, in Solebury, Pa., as the search continues for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., speaks with members of the media, Wednesday, July 12, 2017, in Solebury, Pa., as the search continues for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A man looks up a blocked off drive way, in, Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A man speaks on his phone at the entrance to a blocked off driveway, Wednesday, July 12, 2017, in Solebury, Pa., as the search continues for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., second from right, departs from a news conference, Wednesday, July 12, 2017, in Solebury, Pa., as the search continues, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., second right, speaks with members of the media, Wednesday, July 12, 2017, in Solebury, Pa., as the search continues for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

An officer walks up a blocked off drive way, in, Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Investigators walk up a blocked off drive way, in, Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Men walk down a blocked off drive way, in, Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Men walk up a blocked off drive way, in, Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

An officer walks down a blocked off drive way, in Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

This undated photo provided by the Bucks County District Attorney's Office on July 10, 2017, shows Jimi Tar Patrick, one of four young men who went missing last week. (Bucks County District Attorney's Office/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

This undated photo provided by the Bucks County District Attorney's Office on Monday, July 10, 2017, shows Tom Meo, one of four young men who went missing last week. (Bucks County District Attorney's Office/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

This undated photo provided by the Bucks County District Attorney's Office on Monday, July 10, 2017, shows Dean Finocchiaro, one of four young men who went missing last week. (Bucks County District Attorney's Office/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

This undated photo provided by the Bucks County District Attorney's Office on July 10, 2017, shows Mark Sturgis, one of four young men who went missing last week. (Bucks County District Attorney's Office/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, left at microphone, ends a press conference Thursday, July 13, 2017, in New Hope, Pa. Weintraub said they've found human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one victim. (Clem Murray /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, center, holds a press conference Thursday, July 13, 2017, in New Hope, Pa., to announce that bodies have been found on a Solebury Township farm belonging to the DiNardo family, and have identified one victim as Dean Finocchiaro. Authorities arrested the son of the property's owners, Cosmo DiNardo, earlier on Wednesday on charges he tried to sell one of the missing men's cars a day after he was last seen. (Clem Murray /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, center, holds a press conference Thursday, July 13, 2017, in New Hope, Pa., to announce that bodies have been found on a Solebury Township farm belonging to the DiNardo family, and have identified one victim as Dean Finocchiaro. Authorities arrested the son of the property's owners, Cosmo DiNardo, earlier on Wednesday on charges he tried to sell one of the missing men's cars a day after he was last seen. (Clem Murray /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, center, holds a press conference Thursday, July 13, 2017, in New Hope, Pa., to announce that bodies have been found on a Solebury Township farm belonging to the DiNardo family, and have identified one victim as Dean Finocchiaro. Authorities arrested the son of the property's owners, Cosmo DiNardo, earlier on Wednesday on charges he tried to sell one of the missing men's cars a day after he was last seen. (Clem Murray /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., speaks with members of the media in New Hope, Pa., Thursday, July 13, 2017. Weintraub said they've found human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one victim. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The snowballing revelations about Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer during last year's presidential campaign have broadsided the White House, distracting from its agenda as aides grapple with a crisis involving the president's family.

The public has not laid eyes on the president since his return from Europe Saturday. But in private, Trump has raged against the latest Russia development, with most of his ire directed at the media, not his son, according to people who have spoken to him in recent days.

On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted that his son was "open, transparent and innocent," again referring to the investigation as "the greatest Witch Hunt in political history." The president also questioned the sources of the media reporting on the story, despite the fact that his son personally released four pages of emails in which he communicates with an associate claiming to be arranging a meeting with a Russian government lawyer.

FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2016, file photo, Donald Trump Jr. campaigns for his father Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Gilbert, Ariz. Donald Trump Jr. has long been his father's id, the brawler who has helped fuel the president's pugilistic instincts and stood firm as one of his fiercest defenders. Now the president's eldest son is at the center of the firestorm over Russian connections swirling around his father's administration and trying to fight off charges that he was open to colluding with Moscow to defeat Hillary Clinton.(AP Photo/Matt York, File)

The bombshell revelation that Trump Jr. was eager to accept information from Moscow landed hard on weary White House aides. While staffers have grown accustomed to a good news cycle being overshadowed by the Russia investigations, Trump aides and outside advisers privately acknowledged that this week's developments felt more serious.

In the emails, the intermediary says the attorney has negative information about Democrat Hillary Clinton that is part of the Russian government's efforts to help Trump in the campaign. The then-candidate's son responds: "I love it."

This new setback raises new questions about whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Moscow during the election, a charge the president has denied for months. And it points those questions more directly at the inner circle of Trump's own family.

As has been the pattern for Trump's White House, the controversy has sparked a new round of recriminations among the president's team. Nearly a dozen White House officials and outside advisers spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the mood in the West Wing.

The president, in conversations with confidants, has questioned the quality of advice he has received from senior staff, including chief of staff Reince Priebus. However, Priebus has been a frequent target of criticism for months and even those taking aim at him now said it did not appear as though a shakeup was on the horizon.

There has also been a difference of opinion within the West Wing as to how to handle the crisis, with some aides favoring more transparency than others. Some of the unhappiness centers on Trump's legal team, which is led by New York attorney Marc Kasowitz.

An unusual statement Saturday night from the legal team's spokesman Mark Corallo appeared to claim Trump Jr., Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort were duped into meeting with the Russian lawyer, and was viewed as particularly unhelpful by senior White House officials.

The president, again on Twitter, pushed back Wednesday on the narrative of a dysfunctional administration, writing that the White House "is functioning perfectly" and claiming that "I have very little time for watching T.V."

At least 10 of the president's tweets since Monday have been about TV shows or links to videos from the Fox News Channel.

The revelations come at a pivotal moment for Trump and the Republican Party, as GOP senators race to finish work on a health care overhaul that has divided the party. Trump has largely stayed on the sidelines of the policy negotiations on the measure, but has still publicly pressed GOP senators to wrap up work on legislation this summer and fulfill one of the party's central promises to voters.

On Capitol Hill, some Republican lawmakers cast the Russia controversy as a distraction from the health care debate.

"We ought to be disciplined and not be distracted by things that may be legitimate but not right now in our lane," said Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

The matter has also distracted from a brief stretch in which some White House advisers believed they were finding their footing.

Trump aides, who view clashes with the media as central to the president's agenda, were emboldened when three journalists from CNN resigned after the network withdrew a story about a Trump ally. Trump's allies were also heartened by his trip to Europe last week, feeling that his speech saluting national pride in Poland was a high point of his presidency and believing that he held his own during meetings with foreign leaders at an international summit in Germany.

But the afterglow of Trump's trip quickly vanished, replaced once again with questions about the swirling federal and congressional investigations into Russia's election meddling.

And Trump allies took notice Tuesday when Vice President Mike Pence distanced himself from the revelation by the president's son. In a statement, Pence spokesman Marc Lotter said the vice president "was not aware of the meeting," adding Pence was "not focused on stories about the campaign especially those pertaining to the time before he joined the campaign."

Pence was named Trump's running mate in the middle of July 2016, several weeks after the meeting involving the president's son.

Trump Jr, who is running the family business with his brother, huddled with friends and close business associates after the first stories dropped, his mood shifting from worry to defiance over the story's lifespan, according to confidants. He has told those close to him that while he realizes the optics of the meeting aren't ideal, he has echoed his father in believing that the media have overblown the matter and, despite some opposition among his allies, has said he wants to publicly fight back.

But White House aides struggled with bringing forth a strong defense. Though Sanders called charges of collusion "ridiculous," the White House press briefing remained off-camera for the second consecutive day, limiting the power of her pushback.

And the president himself was slated to stay out of sight. He had no public events scheduled for Wednesday until he leaves for another overseas trip, this time to France.

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The story has been corrected to reflect a reference to the singular lawyer instead of lawyers in the 9th paragraph, which begins ' ... An unusual... '

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Lemire reported from New York.

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Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire and Pace at http://twitter.com/@JPaceDC
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) - The U.S.-led coalition said Wednesday that an Amnesty International report accusing its forces of violating international law during the fight against the Islamic State group in Mosul is "irresponsible."

The report released Tuesday said Iraqi civilians were subjected to "relentless and unlawful attacks" by the coalition and Iraqi forces during the grueling nine-month battle to drive IS from Iraq's second largest city. It said IS militants had carried out mass killings and forcibly displaced civilians to use them as human shields.

"War is not pleasant, and pretending that it should be is foolish and places the lives of civilians and soldiers alike at risk," Col. Joe Scrocca, a coalition spokesman, told The Associated Press.

Airstrikes target Islamic State positions on the edge of the Old City a day after Iraq's prime minister declared "total victory" in Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared "total victory" in Mosul on Monday, but clashes along the edge of the Old City continued into the evening Tuesday.

In all, 5,805 civilians may have been killed in the fight for western Mosul by coalition attacks, Amnesty said, citing data from Airwars, an organization monitoring civilian deaths caused by the anti-IS coalition in Iraq and Syria.

Amnesty said the fighting generated a "civilian catastrophe."

IS swept into Mosul in the summer of 2014 when it conquered much of northern and western Iraq. The extremists declared a caliphate and governed according to a harsh and violent interpretation of Islamic law. The militants rounded up their opponents and killed them en masse, often documenting the massacres with video and photos.

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have gradually retaken much of that territory, but at a staggering cost, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble.

Airstrikes target Islamic State positions on the edge of the Old City a day after Iraq's prime minister declared "total victory" in Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Smoke billows from Islamic State positions on the edge of the Old City a day after Iraq's prime minister declared "total victory" in Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Smoke billows after airstrikes hit Islamic State positions on the edge of the Old City a day after Iraq's prime minister declared "total victory" in Mosul, Iraq, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
ISLAMABAD (AP) - A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday that it made full payment in damages and compensation to the victims of an oil tanker fire in Pakistan that killed 215 people last month, hours after Pakistan's oil and gas regulator threatened legal action.

The tragedy took place after a fuel tanker crashed and started leaking on the side of a highway and hundreds of people from a nearby village rushed to the scene to collect the spilled fuel. They were engulfed in flames when the spill ignited.

Pakistan subsequently asked Shell to pay $2.4 million, or $9,500 to the families of each person killed.

On Wednesday, Shell Pakistan Limited in a statement said it made full payment to Pakistan's Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, which would distribute the money among the victims.

The latest development came after Shell said it was in discussions with Pakistani authorities over the "means by which this financial assistance can appropriately reach the injured and the families who have lost their loved ones." It did not specify the amount it planned to pay.

Imran Ghazanvi, a spokesman for Pakistan's oil and gas regulator, confirmed they received about $2.4 million on Wednesday afternoon. He said their probe found the company responsible for the disaster. The tanker was not fit to transport oil and the driver's license was invalid, he added.

Shell Pakistan Limited had already paid a $96,000 fine over the disaster.
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - Manny Pacquiao still disagrees with the unanimous decision that resulted in him losing the WBO world welterweight title to Jeff Horn, despite an independent re-scoring of the July 2 fight, and says he has no plans to retire.

On Monday, the WBO said in a statement that three of the five independent judges who scrutinized the bout awarded it to Horn, one awarded it to Pacquiao and one scored it a draw.

A Philippines government department asked the WBO to review the refereeing and the judging of the so-called "Battle of Brisbane" in Australia after Horn, fighting for his first world title, won a contentious unanimous points decision against Pacquiao, an 11-time world champion.

In this Sunday, July 2, 2017, file photo, Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines reacts after his loss to Jeff Horn of Australia, during their WBO World Welterweight title fight in Brisbane, Australia. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard, File)

The review concluded that Horn won seven rounds to Pacquiao's five.

Pacquiao was subsequently quoted in Philippines' media as saying "Let the people judge for themselves ... people saw what happened. We have seen worse judgments in the past where judges manipulated results. Nothing surprises me now."

The 38-year-old Pacquiao on Wednesday indicated in a Twitter post that he won't be hanging up his gloves, suggesting a rematch against the 29-year-old Horn, a former schoolteacher, could happen.

"I love this sport and until the passion is gone, I will continue to fight for God, my family, my fans and my country," Pacquiao said.

Horn said he welcomed the outcome of the WBO review.

"It gives me evidence behind me that I can just use now. Instead of saying I think I won the fight, now a heap of other people - professionally - think I won the fight," Horn said.

The fight, in front of more than 51,000 people, was scored 117-111 by Waleksa Roldan and 115-113 each by Chris Flores and Ramon Cerdan - Roldan's score coming in for heavy criticism. Pacquiao had Horn in wobbling and in trouble in the 9th round, but couldn't finish him off.

Horn rallied late to hold on for the points decision and remain unbeaten in 18 professional fights.

Australian media have reported the rematch could be in November, also in Brisbane.
BEIJING (AP) - In a demonstration of the Chinese navy's expanding global reach, the country's latest-generation warships conducted live-firing drills in the Mediterranean Sea this week while en route to joint exercises with the Russian navy, the defense ministry said Wednesday.

The destroyer Hefei, frigate Yuncheng and support ship Luomahu took part in Monday's drills involving the ship's deck guns and small arms, the ministry said in a notice on its website.

"Maintaining a strict schedule of targeted exercises accomplishes transit, training and improvement en route, raising the flotilla's training levels and capabilities," it quote flotilla commander Liu Hui as saying.

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2016, photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, officers and sailors of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy hold a welcome ceremony as a Russian naval ship arrives in port in Zhanjiang in southern China's Guangdong Province. China says its latest-generation warships have conducted live-firing drills in the Mediterranean Sea Monday, July 10, 2017, while en route to joint exercises with the Russian navy. (Zha Chunming/Xinhua via AP, File)

The ships will next take part in the "Joint Sea 2017" exercises in waters off the Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, part of growing cooperation between the countries' militaries.

China's navy is the world's second-largest behind the U.S. and is increasingly operating in the Mediterranean, aided by the construction of a naval logistics base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti.

Two naval ships departed Tuesday from the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang with personnel to man the facility, China's first overseas military base.

While China says the base is needed to support peacekeeping, anti-piracy and other missions in the region, Beijing's rivalry with the U.S. is considered a key driving force behind the country's military expansion.

"The U.S. Navy is also more combat ready because it has been actively participating in joint drills and regional wars for decades," the official China Daily newspaper said in an editorial Wednesday.

"This means China has to work harder to become a major naval power that can better defend its territorial rights and sovereignty," it said.

On Tuesday, China's sole operating aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, departed Hong Kong after a visit aimed at inspiring patriotism among citizens of the former British colony that reverted to Chinese rule 20 years ago. Taiwan's defense ministry said it was monitoring the progress of the carrier and its escorts as they traveled northward along the western portion of the Taiwan Strait.
SRINAGAR, India (AP) - Government forces fired shotgun pellets and tear gas Wednesday in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir as residents carried the body of a young rebel killed with two other militants during a gunbattle with Indian troops in the disputed region.

The gunfight began overnight after Indian troops raided western Radbugh village following a tip that militants were hiding there, said police Inspector-General Muneer Ahmed Khan.

He said the gunbattle lasted through the night and the three rebels were killed early Wednesday.

An Indian policeman fires a teargas shell to disperse Kashmiri protesters after the funeral of local rebel Aqib Ahmad in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir after three men police identified as Kashmiri rebels were killed in a gunbattle with government forces. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Authorities imposed a curfew in downtown Srinagar, anticipating protests and clashes opposing Indian rule because two of the dead men were natives of the city.

As news of the killings spread, residents defied the restrictions and threw rocks at police and paramilitary soldiers while chanting pro-rebel slogans against Indian rule in the Himalayan region.

The troops fired tear gas to quell the protests and brought more reinforcements to impose a security lockdown in the city's downtown.

Many traders shuttered their shops and businesses in non-curfew areas of the city in solidarity with the rebels.

Later Wednesday, as officials handed over the body of one of the slain men, thousands of residents of downtown Srinagar again defied the curfew and assembled for the funeral prayers and burial of the man.

As the residents began marching to the main Martyr's Graveyard in Srinagar chanting slogans such as "Go India, go back" and "We want freedom," police and paramilitary soldiers fired pellets and tear gas at them, fearing the procession could become a larger rally seeking the end of Indian rule.

Witnesses said tear gas shells landed near the mourners and pellets hit some pallbearers.

Intense clashes broke out as hundreds of angry young men hurled rocks at the troops, while another group of mourners changed their route to bury the body at a local graveyard.

Scores were reported injured, mostly with shotgun pellets. The injured included a photographer working for a local newspaper.

Thousands also participated in the funeral of the other two slain men while chanting pro-freedom slogans.

Meanwhile, the Indian military said two of its soldiers were killed Wednesday when Pakistani troops fired at an Indian post in the northwestern Keran sector along the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan.

Indian army spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia called the incident a violation of a 2003 cease-fire accord between the neighboring countries. He did not give any other details.

Both India and Pakistan claim all of Kashmir. Rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 for the Indian-administered portion to become independent or merge with Pakistan. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting and in the ensuing Indian crackdown.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir's mostly Muslim population and most people support the rebels' cause despite a decades-long military crackdown on the armed rebellion.

India has accused Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, which Pakistan denies.

Rebel groups have largely been suppressed by Indian forces in recent years and public opposition to Indian rule is now principally expressed through street protests.

Kashmiri people carry the body of a local rebel Aqib Ahmad during his funeral procession in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir after three men police identified as Kashmiri rebels were killed in a gunbattle with government forces. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Kashmiri people carry the body of a local rebel Aqib Ahmad during his funeral procession in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir after three men police identified as Kashmiri rebels were killed in a gunbattle with government forces. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

A Kashmiri woman cries during the funeral procession of local rebel Aqib Ahmad in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir after three men police identified as Kashmiri rebels were killed in a gunbattle with government forces. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Kashmiri women wail during the funeral procession of a local rebel Aqib Ahmad in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir after three men police identified as Kashmiri rebels were killed in a gunbattle with government forces. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Kashmiri women wail as they watch funeral procession of a local rebel Aqib Ahmed from window of their house in Srinagar Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir after three men police identified as Kashmiri rebels were killed in a gunbattle with government forces. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian paramilitary soldiers stands guard during a curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir after three men police identified as Kashmiri rebels were killed in a gunbattle with government forces. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Indian policemen clash with Kashmiri protesters after the funeral of local rebel Aqib Ahmad in Srinagar Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir after three men police identified as Kashmiri rebels were killed in a gunbattle with government forces. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Kashmiri people carry the body of a local rebel Aqib Ahmad during his funeral procession in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Anti-India protests and clashes erupted in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir after three men police identified as Kashmiri rebels were killed in a gunbattle with government forces. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump White House picked the worst possible time to criticize a package of new Russia sanctions that is heading toward almost certain and overwhelming approval by Congress.

The administration stayed on the sidelines as lawmakers crafted the legislation popular with Republicans and Democrats alike. And now its complaints over a key section of the bill are drowned out amid Tuesday's stunning revelations that President Donald Trump's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer after being promised damaging information on Hillary Clinton supplied by the Kremlin.

"Really none," Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, answered when asked what role the White House played in developing the legislation. He said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson knew the bill was being drafted, but the State Department didn't offer any substantive advice before it passed the Senate last month with 98 votes.

FILE - In this May 2, 2017 file photo, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., speaks to members of the media as he arrives for a policy luncheon with Vice President Mike Pence, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Trump White House picked the worst possible time to criticize a package of new Russia sanctions that is heading toward almost certain and overwhelming approval by Congress. Corker, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the White House offered very little input into the legislation. And now White House complaints over a key section of the bill are drowned out amid stunning revelations on Tuesday, July 11 that President Donald Trump's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer after being promised damaging information on Hillary Clinton supplied by the Kremlin. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

"This was not done in the dark," Corker said.

Many lawmakers viewed the president's desire for warmer relations with Moscow warily long before Trump's son released emails that showed him searching disparaging information on Clinton thought to possibly be available through sources connected to the Russian government. They've supported inquiries by the House and Senate intelligence committees into Russia's meddling in the presidential election and praised the Justice Department's choice of former FBI Director Robert Mueller to lead a separate investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow.

Trump didn't help matters when he refused to publicly denounce Vladimir Putin the same way his staff insisted he did in private during a meeting late last week with the Russian leader.

The upshot is that Trump, still eager for a big win on Capitol Hill, may face a difficult choice instead: Sign the sanctions bill into law and possibly scuttle his bid for a new partnership with Russia - or veto the legislation, set off an outcry and risk having that decision overturned by Congress.

Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, called for Congress to "act definitively and immediately" on the sanctions legislation following Tuesday's disclosures by Donald Trump Jr.

The dearth of constructive input for an important piece of legislation may stem from the failure to properly staff the State and Treasury departments, the federal agencies primarily responsible for administering sanctions programs. The White House has blamed Democrats for obstructing Trump's qualified nominees. But Democrats fired back, saying it's the administration's fault for moving at a glacial pace to fill key vacancies.

Either way, White House objections over the bill come too late to matter. The section of the bill the administration dislikes has strong bipartisan backing.

The provisions would require a congressional review if Trump seeks to ease or end the sanctions against Moscow. The provisions are styled after 2015 legislation pushed by Republicans and approved in the Senate that gave Congress a vote on whether then President Barack Obama could lift sanctions against Iran.

Marc Short, the White House legislative director, said Monday that the sanctions review section "sets an unusual precedent of delegating foreign policy to 535 members of Congress."

Officials from the Treasury and State departments met last week with House congressional staff in a belated attempt to voice their concerns over the congressional review. They said the section would infringe on the president's executive authority.

But Corker predicted the House would soon pass a sanctions bill "almost identical" to the legislation that cleared the Senate easily in mid-June. Only one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, opposed the bill, which also slaps Tehran with new sanctions.

The administration had its chance.

Tillerson had the ideal forum to voice concerns and objections when he testified before the Foreign Relations Committee on June 13, the morning after Senate Republicans and Democrats agreed on the Russia sanctions legislation.

But Tillerson was ambiguous when Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., asked him about the Russia sanctions bill. He told the committee he was still reviewing the proposal, but cautioned lawmakers against legislation that would tie the president's hands during negotiations with Putin.

Two days later, the Senate approved the bill slapping sanctions on Russia and Iran.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer declined nearly two weeks later to comment on the legislation, calling the measure "hypothetical."

The House Republican leadership hasn't yet scheduled a vote on the bill, although one is expected before Congress breaks for the August recess. How soon will depend on how quickly a dispute can be resolved over a revision to the bill made after the Senate passed it.

House Democrats have charged that the change undercuts their ability to oppose any potential attempt by Trump to lift or ease the Russia sanctions. That authority, according to the revision, will rest solely with House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican. The bill leaves intact the ability of individual senators regardless of party to ask for a vote on what's known as a resolution of disapproval.

Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., just wants the House to vote and send a message to Moscow, especially in light of the news about Donald Trump Jr.

"It's no surprise that the White House has voiced its opposition to this bill and tougher sanctions on Russia," said Deutch, the top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee. "Failure to act on this sanctions bill makes (Ryan) complicit in the White House's apparent efforts to repay Russia's political favors."

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EDITOR'S NOTE - Richard Lardner has covered defense and foreign policy issues for The Associated Press since 2007.

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Contact Richard Lardner on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rplardner
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - A satirical cover for a political news magazine was all it took to see its editor eventually sentenced to more than two decades in prison.

Cevheri Guven, editor in chief of Turkey's Nokta magazine, fled while out on bail late last year, smuggling his family out of a country he says is rapidly descending toward all-out dictatorship. He took refuge in Greece, where he applied for political asylum.

Guven is far from alone in feeling the full force of the Turkish government's wrath against press critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, particularly after last year's failed coup attempt. About 160 journalists are currently in jail, mostly on terrorism-related charges, while more than 150 media outlets, from broadcasters to newspapers and magazines, have been shut down, leaving thousands unemployed.

FILE - In this Friday, April 1, 2016 file photo, a Turkish journalist shows his press card as he covers his mouth with a black ribbon before the trial of Can Dundar, the editor-in-chief of opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet and Erdem Gul, the paper's Ankara representative, outside the courthouse in Istanbul. Many feel the full force of the Turkish government's wrath against press critical of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, particularly after July 2016's failed coup attempt and ensuing crackdown. About 160 journalists are currently in jail, mostly on terrorism-related charges, while more than 150 media outlets, from broadcasters to newspapers and magazines, have been shut down, leaving thousands unemployed. (AP Photo/Omer Kuscu, File)

Pressure on Turkey's media is nothing new. Ranked 155th out of 180 countries in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, Turkey fared only marginally worse than it had the previous year, when it was ranked at 151. Some journalists in prison today have been there for years.

"Turkey is the world leader in jailing journalists and has decimated the independent print media and cracked down heavily on news websites and social media," said Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey director for Human Rights Watch. Most of the journalists now imprisoned "have not yet been convicted of any crime but face trumped-up terrorism charges," she said.

Rights groups have criticized Turkey for decades for imprisoning journalists. The country has seen at least three coups, in 1960, 1971 and 1980, each leading to regimes that restricted the media in various ways. Guven's own troubles started with a September 2015 magazine cover, long before last year's July 15 coup attempt.

But, he says, the coup aftermath, with its state of emergency granting authorities sweeping powers, has plunged the country to new lows.

"There have been (bad times) in Turkey, in the junta years," Guven said, speaking through a translator from his temporary home in Greece. "But now is the worst time for journalists."

Some of his colleagues have been released from detention by court order, only to be re-arrested outside the prison gates. Others are held in isolation, and are threatened with life sentences.

"This shows that there is no chance for journalists to be free in Turkey," he said. Guven himself has been sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for a variety of terrorist-related crimes, including making propaganda for both the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party and Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, two groups that are hostile to each other. Erdogan blames Gulen, a former ally living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, for the coup.

The situation in Turkey, Guven said, "is obviously" going toward a dictatorship.

Erdogan bristles at accusations he is muzzling the press, insisting authorities are simply rooting out criminals.

"When we take a look at the names, we see that they include everyone from murderers to robbers, from child abusers to swindlers. All that's missing in the list are journalists," he said in March, referring to lists of imprisoned journalists he says are constantly presented to him by foreign officials.

Asked at the end of last week's G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, about the media situation, Erdogan again insisted that those arrested had been detained for criminal activity.

"Journalists commit crimes too and when they do the judiciary makes the necessary assessment," he said. "I want you to know that those you know as being members of the press are mostly people who aided and abetted terror."

Critical reporting has been all but silenced by the detentions and sackings, which have included the editor and top staff at Turkey's most respected opposition newspaper, Cumhuriyet.

"The crackdown on the media is not only about censoring critical reporting," said HRW's Sinclair-Webb, "but about preventing scrutiny of government policies and of the deeply repressive measures taken under the ongoing state of emergency."

For Guven, serious problems began with Nokta's satirical cover in September 2015 depicting a smiling Erdogan taking a selfie in front of a Turkish soldier's flag-draped coffin. It was strong criticism of the president's reported comments that soldiers killed fighting Kurdish militants would be happy for their martyrdom.

The result: distribution of the magazine was banned and police raided its offices, accusing its leadership of insulting the president. In May, Guven's colleague Murat Capan was caught trying to flee to Greece and has been locked up in Turkey, also on a 22.5- year sentence. Greek media said Capan had made it across the Greek border but was pushed back into Turkey, where authorities detained him. The Greek government denies pushing back asylum seekers.

Activists say the media crackdown has fostered a climate of fear in which self-censorship has increased among the remaining journalists.

"The fact that there are journalists in jail is not the only proof of the lack of press freedoms in Turkey. The censorship and self-censorship imposed on media organs also remove press freedoms," Gokhan Durmus, head of the Turkish Journalists' Syndicate, said in a speech on May 3, World Press Freedom Day. "In our country, which is governed under a state of emergency, journalism is being destroyed. They are trying to create a media with one voice, a Turkey with one voice."

The purge has affected almost every sector of Turkey's professional classes, from the judiciary and military to academia, hospitals, kindergartens, businesses and diplomats. Human rights activists, including members of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have been among the latest wave of detentions.

Anyone deemed to be linked to Gulen's network of schools, charities and businesses has fallen under suspicion. About 150,000 people have been detained, one-third of them formally arrested; more than 100,000 have been fired, sometimes for links as tenuous as using a particular bank.

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016 file photo, the journalists of the pro-Kurdish IMC-TV station gather in their Istanbul office after their television channel was shut down by the government. Many feel the full force of the Turkish government's wrath against press critical of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, particularly after July 2016's failed coup attempt and ensuing crackdown. About 160 journalists are currently in jail, mostly on terrorism-related charges, while more than 150 media outlets, from broadcasters to newspapers and magazines, have been shut down, leaving thousands unemployed. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this Friday, June 24, 2016 file photo, a journalist takes pictures of padlocks on a fence of Metris prison, during a demonstration of people demanding the release of Reporters Without Borders' local representative Erol Onderoglu, academic Sebnem Korur Fincanci and journalist Ahmet Nesin, outside Metris prison where Onderoglu and Nesin were held, in Istanbul. Many feel the full force of the Turkish government's wrath against press critical of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, particularly after July 2016's failed coup attempt and ensuing crackdown. About 160 journalists are currently in jail, mostly on terrorism-related charges, while more than 150 media outlets, from broadcasters to newspapers and magazines, have been shut down, leaving thousands unemployed. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, June 21, 2016 file photo, protesters demonstrate against the jailing of two journalists and an academic, outside the offices of Ozgur Gundem, a pro-Kurdish publication subject to multiple investigations and lawsuits, in Istanbul. Many feel the full force of the Turkish government's wrath against press critical of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, particularly after July 2016's failed coup attempt and ensuing crackdown. About 160 journalists are currently in jail, mostly on terrorism-related charges, while more than 150 media outlets, from broadcasters to newspapers and magazines, have been shut down, leaving thousands unemployed. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

FILE - In this Friday, May 6, 2016 file photo, Can Dundar, right, editor-in-chief of of Cumhuriyet opposition newspaper and Erdem Gul, left, Ankara bureau chief, speak before the start of their trial outside Istanbul's main courthouse. Many feel the full force of the Turkish government's wrath against press critical of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, particularly after July 2016's failed coup attempt and ensuing crackdown. About 160 journalists are currently in jail, mostly on terrorism-related charges, while more than 150 media outlets, from broadcasters to newspapers and magazines, have been shut down, leaving thousands unemployed. (Can Erok/Cumhuriyet via AP)

FILE - In this Friday, April 1, 2016 file photo, Turkish journalists cover their mouths with black ribbons before the trial of Can Dundar, the editor-in-chief of opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet and Erdem Gul, the paper's Ankara representative, outside the courthouse in Istanbul. Many feel the full force of the Turkish government's wrath against press critical of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, particularly after July 2016's failed coup attempt and ensuing crackdown. About 160 journalists are currently in jail, mostly on terrorism-related charges, while more than 150 media outlets, from broadcasters to newspapers and magazines, have been shut down, leaving thousands unemployed. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015 file photo, a protester holding a placard demonstrates across the street from the headquarters of a media company that owns opposition television stations Bugun TV and Kanal Turk, the Bugun and Millet newspapers and other business interests, after was seized by the government, in Istanbul. Many feel the full force of the Turkish government's wrath against press critical of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, particularly after July 2016's failed coup attempt and ensuing crackdown. About 160 journalists are currently in jail, mostly on terrorism-related charges, while more than 150 media outlets, from broadcasters to newspapers and magazines, have been shut down, leaving thousands unemployed. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

FILE - In this Monday, July 25, 2016 file photo, people are reflected in a bus stop decorated with a Turkish flag in Istanbul. Many feel the full force of the Turkish government's wrath against press critical of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, particularly after July 2016's failed coup attempt and ensuing crackdown. About 160 journalists are currently in jail, mostly on terrorism-related charges, while more than 150 media outlets, from broadcasters to newspapers and magazines, have been shut down, leaving thousands unemployed. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2016 file photo, journalists and lawmakers hold a latest copy of Cumhuriyet newspaper outside its Istanbul headquarters after police detained chief editor Murat Sabuncu and two columnists of Turkey's opposition newspaper and had warrants to detain 10 other senior staff members, in Istanbul. Many feel the full force of the Turkish government's wrath against press critical of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, particularly after July 2016's failed coup attempt and ensuing crackdown. About 160 journalists are currently in jail, mostly on terrorism-related charges, while more than 150 media outlets, from broadcasters to newspapers and magazines, have been shut down, leaving thousands unemployed. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Several hundred workers, including baggage handlers, cleaners and customer service agents at three New York-area airports and Philadelphia International Airport have suspended a strike while contract talks continue.

The airport workers at Newark Liberty International Airport walked off the job at 9 p.m. Tuesday in a labor dispute with their employer, PrimeFlight, a subcontractor for several airlines.

A spokeswoman for the 32BJ Service Employees International Union said late Tuesday that workers also planned to strike Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York, along with the Philadelphia airport early Wednesday.

But union Vice President Rob Hill said early Wednesday that "last-minute" talks between the union and American Airlines have resumed, so the union has "suspended" the strike while talks continue.

PrimeFlight and American Airlines couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Queen guitarist Brian May is releasing a book of 3-D images capturing the rock band's history.

May announced Wednesday that he will publish the coffee table book under his own imprint in August. It includes more than 300 photos and a 3-D viewer May designed.

May is a lifelong enthusiast of stereoscopic images and says he's traveled with a 3-D camera since he was a child.

This image released by Shelter Harbor Press shows "Queen in 3-D," by Brian May. May announced Wednesday, July 12, 2017, that he will publish the coffee table book under his own imprint in August. It includes more than 300 photos and a 3-D viewer May designed. (Shelter Harbor Press via AP)

"Queen in 3-D" features behind-the-scenes photos May took of his bandmates during recording sessions and while on tour. The guitarist and composer also shares personal anecdotes about Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.

"Queen in 3-D" is being published by the London Stereoscopic Company, which May launched in 2008 with the aim of "bringing the magic of true stereoscopy to the modern world."
BOSTON (AP) - More than 1,200 nurses at a Boston hospital have started a one-day strike after last-minute negotiations between their union and hospital administrators were unsuccessful.

The strike by Tufts Medical Center nurses started at 7 a.m. Wednesday with picket lines outside the hospital.

Hospital officials have locked out striking nurses for four additional days and hired more than 320 temporary nurses.

The union and the hospital are at an impasse over staffing levels, pay and benefits.

A union representative says hospital management was "determined to force a strike." Hospital CEO Dr. Michael Wagner said it's "extremely unfortunate that the union has continued to hold out for more money and an ill-conceived pension plan."

The sides have been negotiating a new contract since April 2016.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A Philippine air force fighter jet missed its target in an airstrike Wednesday against Islamic State group-aligned militants in southern Marawi city, killing two soldiers who were hit by debris from a building where they were taking cover, military officials said.

Eleven other soldiers were slightly wounded and taken to a hospital after being hit by shrapnel when the aircraft dropped its bomb about 250 meters (820 feet) from its target, military spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said.

It was the second deadly accident involving aerial bombing since the military launched an offensive to end an unprecedented siege of the lakeside city by hundreds of militants. A bomb dropped by a military jet on May 31 hit an army position and killed 11 soldiers in Marawi.

"We are saddened by this unfortunate incident," Arevalo said, adding an investigation was underway.

Since the intense urban fighting broke out on May 23, at least 389 militants including foreign fighters, 90 soldiers and policemen, and 39 civilians have been killed. The battles have forced nearly 400,000 residents to flee from Marawi and outlying towns in Lanao del Sur province.

About 300 other civilians remain trapped in their houses near the fighting or are in militant custody, slowing the advance of troops in the last four areas of Marawi where less than 100 gunmen are still fighting from small buildings and houses, military officials said.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law for 60 days in the country's south to deal with the Marawi insurrection, the worst crisis he has faced since taking office in June last year. Duterte has said he will likely extend the martial rule, which is to expire on Saturday, because the situation remains critical.
NEW HOPE, Pa. (AP) - The Latest on the search in Pennsylvania for four missing men (all times local):

12:10

Authorities say they've found multiple human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one of them.

Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., speaks with members of the media in New Hope, Pa., Thursday, July 13, 2017. Weintraub said they've found human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one victim. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said early Thursday morning that one victim has been identified as 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro.

Weintraub says they found all the remains in a 12.5-foot-deep common grave on a sprawling farm in suburban Philadelphia.

Finocchiaro, 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick have been missing since last week.

On Wednesday, authorities arrested the son of the property's owners, 20-year-old Cosmo DiNardo, on charges he tried to sell one of the missing men's cars a day after he was last seen. He's being held on $5 million bail.

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11:30 p.m.

A Pennsylvania prosecutor plans to announce at midnight Wednesday a major development in the investigation of four missing men.

The four young men disappeared last week, and police have said they suspected they were victims of foul play.

A massive search has been underway since Sunday of a sprawling farm north of Philadelphia.

The son of the property's owners was arrested earlier Wednesday on charges he tried to sell the stolen car of one of the missing men and is being held on $5 million bond. He had been described earlier in the week by the county prosecutor as a person of interest in the investigation.

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8:30 p.m.

About 50 students, faculty and staff have gathered at a Baltimore university's chapel to pray for four missing Pennsylvania men, including one of the school's students.

The missing student, Jimi Tar Patrick, is a rising sophomore at Loyola University Maryland, a Jesuit school.

The Baltimore Sun reports Director of Campus Ministry Sean Bray says the group wants to honor the request of Patrick's grandmother to "storm heaven with our prayers for Jimi's safe return."

University President The Rev. Brian Linnane, says Patrick finished his freshman year "with distinction."

Linnane says the university wants "to be with him and his family and hope for the best."

Patrick disappeared a week ago. Three other young men disappeared Friday.

A 20-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on charges of trying to sell a car belonging to one of the missing men.

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6:50 p.m.

The owners of the property where authorities have centered their search for four missing Pennsylvania men say they are cooperating with the investigation.

An attorney representing Antonio and Sandra DiNardo issued a statement Wednesday saying the couple sympathizes with the relatives of the missing men.

Authorities have charged the couple's 20-year-old son, Cosmo DiNardo, with stealing and trying to sell a car belonging to one of the missing men.

Police have focused their search on the family's 90-acre farm in Solebury Township and have scoured the property with multiple law enforcement agencies, cadaver dogs and heavy construction equipment.

The missing men have been identified as 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo, 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick.

Patrick disappeared a week ago. The other three disappeared Friday.

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4:45 p.m.

A judge has set bail at $5 million cash for a man now at the center of an investigation into the disappearance of four young Pennsylvania men.

The bail was set Wednesday for 20-year-old Cosmo DiNardo after he was arrested on charges he had tried to sell the stolen car of one of the missing men, 21-year-old Tom Meo.

Officials say Meo's car was found at one of his family's properties north of Philadelphia, and still had Meo's life-saving diabetic medicine inside.

Police have spent four days searching a farm owned by the DiNardos family for evidence of the missing men. The county prosecutor said earlier Wednesday that important evidence was found there and other locations, but that no human remains have been located.

DiNardo was first arrested on Monday on an unrelated gun charge, but his father was able to post $100,000 to have him freed.

This time, prosecutors sought a higher bond so he would remain behind bars. The DiNardos have not commented.

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3:20 p.m.

A man authorities have called a person of interest in the search for four missing Pennsylvania men has been re-arrested, this time for allegedly stealing and trying to sell a car belonging to one of the missing men.

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said Wednesday that 20-year-old Cosmo DiNardo is back in custody.

Weintraub says the recovered 1996 Nissan Maxima contained 21-year-old Tom Meo's life-saving diabetic medication.

DiNardo, whose family owns the sprawling farm property where authorities have focused their search, was jailed on Monday for an unrelated gun charge and released on bail Tuesday.

The other missing men are 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick.

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11:20 a.m.

Authorities say they've recovered several pieces of evidence from a sprawling farm property and elsewhere while investigating the disappearance of four young Pennsylvania men believed to be victims of foul play.

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub told reporters Wednesday that some of the tips they've received are "bearing fruit." He wouldn't say what evidence has been recovered but did say it didn't include human remains.

Police have focused their search on a farm in Solebury and have utilized several law enforcement agencies, heavy construction equipment and cadaver dogs.

Police have called the 20-year-old son of the farm owners a person of interest in the case.

The missing men are 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo, 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick. Patrick disappeared a week ago. The other three disappeared Friday.

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10:25 a.m.

Police are back for a fourth day searching a large Pennsylvania farm for evidence in the disappearance of four young men believed to be victims of foul play.

The 90-acre (0.14-square-mile) property in Solebury Township has been scoured by law enforcement agencies, heavy construction equipment and cadaver dogs.

Police on Monday arrested 20-year-old Cosmo DiNardo on an unrelated gun charge and called him a person of interest in the case but wouldn't say he was a suspect in the men's disappearance. His family owns the farm.

Court records show DiNardo was released late Tuesday after his father posted 10 percent of his $1 million bail.

The missing men are 22-year-old Mark Sturgis, 21-year-old Tom Meo, 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick.

Patrick disappeared a week ago. The other three disappeared Friday.

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12:40 a.m.

Authorities are gearing up for another day of searching a sprawling Pennsylvania farm for evidence linked to four missing young men.

Cadaver dogs and heavy construction equipment were used Tuesday in the search of farmland in Solebury Township, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Philadelphia.

A person of interest in the case, who had been jailed on an unrelated gun charge, was released Tuesday night after posting 10 percent of his $1 million bail in cash.

Authorities have not called 20-year-old Cosmo DiNardo, whose family owns the farmland and another property that was searched, a suspect in the case.

Neither DiNardo nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.

Authorities say the men who went missing last week are believed to be victims of foul play.

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, center, holds a press conference Thursday, July 13, 2017, in New Hope, Pa., to announce that bodies have been found on a Solebury Township farm belonging to the DiNardo family, and have identified one victim as Dean Finocchiaro. Authorities arrested the son of the property's owners, Cosmo DiNardo, earlier on Wednesday on charges he tried to sell one of the missing men's cars a day after he was last seen. (Clem Murray /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

A woman listens to Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., speak during a news conference in New Hope, Pa., Thursday, July 13, 2017. Authorities said they've found human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one victim. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Investigators gather under tents as they search a property, Wednesday, July 12, 2017, in Solebury, Pa., for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (Clem Murray/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Investigators walk along a blocked off drive way in Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

This photo provided by the Bucks County District Attorney's Office in Doylestown, Pa., shows Cosmo DiNardo, who was arrested Monday, July 10, 2017. DiNardo was arrested on a charge of possession of firearms by a person prohibited from possessing a firearm. His arrest comes as the FBI uses heavy equipment to search his family's sprawling farm property in Solebury Township during a search for four men who are missing. (Bucks County District Attorney's Office via AP)

An officer walks down a blocked off drive way, in Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Investigators walk up a blocked off drive way, in, Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

An officer walks up a blocked off drive way, in, Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Men walk down a blocked off drive way, in, Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Men walk up a blocked off drive way, in, Solebury, Pa., as the search continues Wednesday, July 12, 2017, for four missing young Pennsylvania men feared to be the victims of foul play. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, center, holds a press conference Thursday, July 13, 2017, in New Hope, Pa., to announce that bodies have been found on a Solebury Township farm belonging to the DiNardo family, and have identified one victim as Dean Finocchiaro. Authorities arrested the son of the property's owners, Cosmo DiNardo, earlier on Wednesday on charges he tried to sell one of the missing men's cars a day after he was last seen. (Clem Murray /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, left at microphone, ends a press conference Thursday, July 13, 2017, in New Hope, Pa. Weintraub said they've found human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one victim. (Clem Murray /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, center, holds a press conference Thursday, July 13, 2017, in New Hope, Pa., to announce that bodies have been found on a Solebury Township farm belonging to the DiNardo family, and have identified one victim as Dean Finocchiaro. Authorities arrested the son of the property's owners, Cosmo DiNardo, earlier on Wednesday on charges he tried to sell one of the missing men's cars a day after he was last seen. (Clem Murray /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., speaks with members of the media in New Hope, Pa., Thursday, July 13, 2017. Weintraub said they've found human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one victim. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Young women listen to Matthew Weintraub, District Attorney for Bucks County, Pa., speak during a news conference in New Hope, Pa., Thursday, July 13, 2017. Authorities said they've found human remains in their search for four missing young Pennsylvania men and they can now identify one victim. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is condemning as "cowardly" a deadly terrorist attack on religious pilgrims in India this week.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer says an attack on religious freedom is an attack on the "most fundamental right of liberty."

Spicer is offering condolences to the victims and families of Monday's assault. He says the U.S. and India will fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world.

President Donald Trump recently hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (nah-REN'-drah MOH'-dee) for talks and dinner at the White House.

During Monday's attack, gunmen sprayed bullets on a passenger bus as it returned Hindu pilgrims from a cave shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Authorities said at least seven people were killed, and more than a dozen others were wounded.
Kim Kardashian West is clearing things up after some of her social media followers claimed to see lines of cocaine on a table in the background of one of her posts.

Kardashian West posted a Twitter video Tuesday explaining that the pair of white streaks spotted on a black table at a hotel she's staying at is just part of the table's marble stone. She showed up close shots of the table.

On Monday, she initially posted she thought the streaks might be leftover sugar from some candy her kids were eating.

FILE - In this April 12, 2017, file photo, Kim Kardashian West, left, and Kourtney Kardashian arrive at the U.S. premiere of "The Promise" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. West explained Tuesday, July 11, 2017, that the pair of white streaks spotted on a black table from a social media post created at a hotel she's staying at were just part of the table's marble stone.(Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Kardashian West admonished those who thought the streaks were drugs, saying, "I have kids. It's just not my lifestyle. I've never been like that."
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Federal officials are rethinking a plan to build new high-speed railroad tracks through parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island after complaints that the project would devastate neighborhoods, marshlands and tourist attractions.

The Federal Railroad Administration dropped the proposal from the latest version of a $120 billion to $150 billion master plan, released Wednesday, to rebuild the congested Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C., over the next 30 years.

Instead, the agency said it would continue studying options for adding track capacity and speeding service in the 100-mile stretch from New Haven, Connecticut, to Providence, Rhode Island, and that it's seeking input from residents and officials in both states.

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2016 photo, an Amtrak Acela train travels along the shore where people are fishing in Old Saybrook, Conn. The Federal Railroad Administration dropped the proposal from the latest version a master plan, released Wednesday, July 12, 2017, to rebuild the congested Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C., over the next 30 years. The federal government is rethinking the construction of new high-speed railroad tracks through parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island after complaints that the project would devastate neighborhoods, marshlands and tourist attractions. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, a Democrat, called the idea of running tracks through historic Old Lyme and other communities on Connecticut's southeastern shoreline "misguided," poorly conceived" and "untethered from reality." The FRA's retreat, he said, is a testament local residents' and town leaders' perseverance.

Construction couldn't begin without the support and agreement of state leaders, FRA project manager Rebecca Reyes-Alicea said.

"We proposed an informed option that we wanted to put on the table and get reaction," Reyes-Alicea said of the now-shelved plan. "We really see the study as a positive move in the right direction."

The master plan unveiled Wednesday would enhance capacity, performance and reliability on the 500-mile Northeast Corridor through updated infrastructure, more trains to accommodate an expected ridership surge and new tracks allowing speeds of up to 220 mph in some places.

It's the first comprehensive look at the future of the 500-mile corridor, which handles about 2,200 trains and 750,000 passengers each day on commuter and intercity trains.

The next steps will be deciding how the plan will be implemented and how it will be funded, all while making sure construction doesn't hamper day-to-day operations, Reyes-Alicea said.

"That's one of the greatest challenges," she said.

The FRA estimates rebuilding the Northeast Corridor would cut travel times between Washington and New York by 35 minutes, to about 2 hours and 10 minutes, on the fastest trains and save 45 minutes to an hour on trips between Boston and New York, which now take close to 4 hours.

Work has already begun on some projects incorporated into the FRA's plan. They include a project to build new, expanded tunnels under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, so far pegged to cost $12.9 billion, and a project to replace a 143-year-old tunnel in Baltimore.

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Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

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Follow Mike Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak
SHERMAN, Texas (AP) - A Texas doctor wrote unnecessary prescriptions for powerful drugs that contributed to the overdose deaths of at least seven people over a four-year period, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.

Howard Gregg Diamond, 56, was arrested Tuesday on charges that include conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and health care fraud.

Prosecutors contend that Diamond began issuing prescriptions in 2010 that had no legitimate medical purpose. The prescriptions were for drugs such as fentanyl, hydrocodone and morphine, according to the indictment.

Authorities say the overdose deaths occurred in the Texas cities of Abilene, McKinney and Sulphur Springs, and in the Oklahoma cities of Ardmore, Hugo, Idabel and Yukon.

In each case, the seven people died within a month of filling the prescription provided by Diamond, the indictment states. One person filled a prescription for methadone in May 2013 and was dead two days later.

In another instance, a woman only identified in the indictment by the initials T.H. filled a prescription in July 2014 for alprazolam, morphine, oxycodone and zolpidem. She died 10 days after receiving the drugs.

Diamond, who is based in Sherman, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Dallas, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday. He is due in court again on Friday for a detention hearing. He is in federal custody and could not be reached for comment. His public defender, Denise Benson, didn't immediately reply to a message Wednesday seeking comment.

The indictment alleges that Diamond conspired with others to distribute the drugs but there was no indication whether additional arrests will be made.

Brit Featherston, the acting U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Texas, declined Wednesday to discuss the ongoing investigation but said the opioid problem has been getting worse. He said area law enforcement officers are seeing more and more cases of parents driving under the influence of opioids with their children in the back seat, indicating the prescription drugs are no longer confined to back alley deals.

"It's a different type of problem that we've been seeing build for several years now," he said.

Diamond also is accused of defrauding Medicare of tens of thousands of dollars by filing false claims and through other means.

Prosecutors say they'll seek to have Diamond's medical license revoked.

Online records kept by the Texas Medical Board show that Diamond's medical license was issued in 1988. He appears to have specialized in spinal injuries and rehabilitation.

The board in 2015 required Diamond to submit to a remedial plan after finding he "failed to maintain adequate medical records documenting his care and treatment of chronic pain patients." Records indicate the plan concluded when he completed its requirements a year later.

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An earlier version of this story was corrected to show that Diamond was arrested Tuesday, not Monday.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Vice President Mike Pence promoted a revamped Senate health care bill Wednesday, choosing the home turf of Kentucky's high-profile senators to "turn up the heat" on the struggling Republican effort to uproot former President Barack Obama's health care law.

Pence praised Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's management of the health care issue, even as the state's other senator, Rand Paul, renewed his opposition to a new GOP proposal, insisting it doesn't go far enough in erasing Obama's signature law.

In a campaign-style speech at a small business, Pence said the revised health care bill that McConnell planned to introduce Thursday adheres to conservative principles that would deliver more affordable health care with greater choices for consumers.

"I came here today to turn up the heat, because this is the moment," the vice president said. "Now is the time. It's time for Congress to step up and repeal and replace Obamacare."

Pence predicted that the Republican repeal-and-replace effort will succeed this summer.

He then turned his attention to Kentucky's senators, praising them both even as they found themselves on opposite sides of the health care debate. Both McConnell and Paul have pledged for years to uproot Obama's health care law.

"The president and I believe when the time comes, Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul will do the right thing together and we will pass legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare," he said.

Paul, a tea party favorite and former presidential candidate who helped to block an earlier Senate vote on health care, sounded unpersuaded by Pence's comments.

"As Senator Paul has said, he strongly favors repealing Obamacare," his office said in a statement after Pence's speech. "Unfortunately, the current Senate bill doesn't do that and leaves most of its taxes and regulations in place."

Earlier in the day, in an interview with The Associated Press, Paul reminded his Republican colleagues that they made a pledge to voters to fully repeal the health care law.

"It's very surprising that here we are with a bill that doesn't repeal Obamacare and creates a brand-new superfund for insurance companies," Paul said.

In offering a sneak preview of the new McConnell-sponsored health care bill, Pence said it would repeal Obamacare mandates, ensure coverage for people with pre-existing health conditions and strengthen Medicaid "''for the people who need it most." It will expand health savings accounts and offer tax credits to help people purchase coverage, he said.

"We are very close to achieving what we've talked about for the last seven years," Pence said.

In leaving Washington to make his pitch, Pence chose one of the states with the most at stake in the health care debate. Pence heard from several small business operators who complained that the existing law has burdened them and their employees with skyrocketing costs and limited coverage.

Pence called Kentucky a "case study of Obamacare's failure," pointing to fast-rising premiums and deductibles and shrinking choices for many people seeking coverage on health exchanges under the ACA.

But former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said the event was another example of President Donald Trump's administration "choosing to put politics over people." Beshear, a Democrat, has been among the biggest advocates for Obama's law, which he used to expand health care coverage to many more Kentuckians and push the state's uninsured rates to historic lows.

"Vice President Pence should skip the private meeting with his carefully chosen audience and instead face the 231,000 Kentuckians who will lose health coverage if Sen. McConnell's horrific plan to destroy the ACA becomes law," Beshear said in a statement. "And he should be urging his party leaders to sit down with health experts, Democrats and others to work on health care."

Kentucky was among the states that expanded its Medicaid programs under the federal law to cover childless adults making below a certain income level. Beshear made that decision, which added more than 400,000 people to the state's Medicaid rolls and is credited with slashing the number of people without health insurance in Kentucky from 20 percent to 7.5 percent in just two years, among the largest coverage gains in the country.

While federal funding covers most of that, Kentucky's Republican Gov. Matt Bevin says the state can't afford to pay its share for all of the new people allowed to enroll in Medicaid because of the Affordable Care Act, especially with the state facing a multibillion-dollar public pension shortfall.

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Associated Press writer Stephen Ohlemacher in Washington, D.C., contributed to this article.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been found guilty of corruption and money laundering and sentenced to almost 10 years in prison.

Silva, who ran Brazil from 2003 until 2010 and is still known affectionately as Lula, was handed nine and a half years for accepting a bribe of a luxury seaside apartment and $1.1 million.

The decision was expected but still shocked many in the country as Silva left office with soaring popularity ratings having lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty.

Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was jailed for nine and a half years after being found guilty of accepting a bribe of $1.1million and a beach house (pictured listening to the verdict yesterday)

Silva, 71, left office in 2010 with huge approval ratings and was planning on making a political comeback next year. His legal team claim his conviction is an attempt to subvert democracy

Silva was brought down by a huge corruption investigation which has seen dozens of Brazil's elite jailed, and charges brought against the current President

The 71-year-old had been considered a front-runner for next year's presidential election until his sentence, with many alleging politics motivated his trial.

Protesters took to the streets in Sao Paulo last night to oppose the ruling while Silva's legal team immediately lodged an appeal.

He will remain a free man while the appeal is heard.

Brazil's first working class President is now also the country's first ex-president to be convicted in a criminal trial at least since democracy was restored in the 1980s.

In many quarters Silva remains revered - both for his economic policies and his role in fighting for democracy during the country's dictatorship.

Silva's defense team issued a scathing statement after the ruling, calling the charges an attack on democracy and vowing to prove the former president's innocence.

'President Lula has been the victim of lawfare, the use of the law for political ends, the famous method used to brutal effect in various dictatorships throughout history,' the lawyers said.

The case is part of the huge 'Operation Car Wash' corruption investigation that has seen dozen's of the country's ruling elite jailed.

Silva was found guilty of accepting a triplex apartment in this block at Asturias beach, in the city of Guaruja, though he denies being the owner

The apartment was given to him as part of a web of kickbacks and embezzlement involving the country's state oil company

The probe centers on a giant embezzlement and kickbacks scheme involving state-owned oil group Petrobras, construction firms and several political parties.

Even the current president, Michel Temer, has been charged with taking bribes and several of his ministers have resigned after corruption claims were made.

Silva was accused of receiving a beachfront apartment and repairs to the property as kickbacks from construction company OAS.

Silva never owned the apartment, but prosecutors argued it was intended for him.

Prosecutors also alleged that OAS paid to store Silva's belongings, but Moro dismissed that part of the case.Silva also faces charges in four other cases.

The former union leader has said all the charges are completely unfounded, and his defiant testimony in the case decided Wednesday was billed as a showdown between himself and Moro.

Both men are viewed as national heroes by some parts of Brazilian society.

'The present conviction does not bring this judge any personal satisfaction. Quite the contrary, it is regrettable that a former president be criminally convicted,' Moro wrote in his decision. 'It doesn't matter how high you are, the law is still above you.'

Silva, who is still affectionately known as Lula in some quarters, is credited with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty and toppling the country's dictatorship

While the verdict was expected, thousands of people still took to the streets of Sao Paulo to protest the verdict, as Silva's legal team lodged an appeal

Protesters unhappy with the verdict gathered in Sao Paulo on Wednesday night to protest

Moro said he did not order Silva's immediate arrest because the conviction of a president is such a serious matter that he felt the former leader's appeal should be heard first.

'This makes Lula's situation much worse since it is much more than a mere investigation,' said Claudio Couto, a political science professor at Fundacao Getulio Vargas, a Sao Paulo-based university and think tank.

'But now he will do something he likes: Until the appeal is decided, he will rally his allies and supporters against a decision that is controversial.'

A few hundred supporters gathered in Sao Paulo on Wednesday night to denounce the ruling, while a smaller group of people took to the streets to celebrate Silva's conviction.

'It was an obviously political decision to prevent Lula from becoming president,' said Armando Teixeira, an unemployed auto worker.

'Everyone knows he will win if he runs.'

The case now goes before a group of magistrates. If they uphold the conviction, Brazilian law says Silva would be barred from seeking office.

In addition to sentencing Silva to 9 1/2 years in prison, Moro also ruled that the politician should be barred from public office for 19 years.

The decision was welcomed by others, who marched through Sao Paulo in celebration

Anti-corruption activists let off flares and celebrate after Silva was sentenced to jail

The prosecutor's office that handled the case said it would appeal the sentence to ask for it to be increased.

Silva's presidency coincided with an economic boom fueled by high commodity prices and he used the profits to fund generous social programs that made him a hero among Brazil's poor.

He left office with popularity ratings of up to 87 per cent and Brazilians elected his hand-picked successor, Dilma Rousseff, to succeed him.

But a subsequent fall in commodity prices and economic mismanagement by Silva and Rousseff led Brazil's economy to implode, and with it Rousseff's popularity. Rousseff was later impeached and replaced by Temer.

The news of Silva's conviction took the focus off of Temer, who himself is accused of taking bribes from a meatpacking executive in exchange for helping the company obtain favorable government decisions.

Temer denies wrongdoing, and the lower house of Congress will decide if he should be suspended from office and put on trial.

A close Temer ally got some relief Wednesday. A judge ordered former Legislative Affairs Minister Geddel Vieira Lima released from jail and instead put under house arrest while he faces an obstruction of justice charge.
VALLETTA, Malta (AP) - The Latest on the vote to legalize same-sex marriages in Malta (all times local):

7:45 p.m.

Lawmakers in the predominantly Catholic island nation of Malta have voted to legalize same-sex marriages.

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017 file photo, faithful pray in St. John Cathedral in downtown Valletta, Malta. The predominantly Roman Catholic island nation of Malta is set to legalize gay marriage, joining much of Western Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

Malta joined much of Western Europe on Wednesday when its parliament approved legislation eliminating the traditional "you are now husband and wife" declaration in civil ceremonies and replacing it with "you are now spouses."

The vote was 66-1, with the sole lawmaker who voted against the change citing his Christian faith.

The Catholic Church had opposed the legislation, which the Labor government promised to introduce as its first law after winning a second term last month and which the main opposition party supported.

The aim of the law, piloted by Equality Minister Helena Dalli, is to "modernize the institution of marriage" to give all consenting adult couples the right to marry.

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11:15 a.m.

The predominantly Catholic island nation of Malta is set to legalize gay marriage, joining much of Western Europe by eliminating the traditional "you are now husband and wife" declaration in civil ceremonies and replacing it with "you are now spouses."

The Catholic Church had opposed the legislation, which the Labor government promised to introduce as its first law after winning a second term last month and which the main opposition party supports. The only question heading into Wednesday's parliamentary vote is whether the bill would pass unanimously or with a lone opposition lawmaker voting against.

The aim of the law, piloted by Equality Minister Helena Dalli, is to "modernize the institution of marriage" to give all consenting adult couples the right to marry.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Three people protesting against President Donald Trump's travel ban in downtown Columbus earlier this year said city police officers intentionally hit them in face with pepper spray, allegations that can be proven with comments recorded by the officers' body cameras, a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday alleged.

The lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio seeks money damages, attorney fees and an order stopping Columbus police from using excessive force. The lawsuit names Police Chief Kim Jacobs, a police lieutenant and three unnamed officers.

A spokeswoman for Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday the city doesn't comment on pending litigation.

According to the lawsuit, the three plaintiffs, 29-year-old Ellen Abdur-Rahim, of Columbus; 18-year-old Harrison Kallner, of New Albany; and 18-year-old Connor Lefevers, of Worthington, were sprayed by officers from inches away. Abdur-Rahim alleged her contact lenses were fused to her eyes and that a city emergency medical crew refused to treat her.

The demonstration occurred Jan. 30 near the Ohio Statehouse. No protesters were arrested during what had been a peaceful protest that evening, the lawsuit said.

After several hours into the protest, a group of seven officers followed the orders of Lt. Jeffrey Lipp to spray over the thinning crowed to disperse the demonstrators, the lawsuit said.

According to the complaint, Abdur-Rahim initially covered her face with her hijab, a Muslim head covering, and walked away. She claims an officer put his hand on her shoulder and sprayed her directly in the face. The lawsuit claims one of the unnamed officers later told other officers, "I wanted that chick to get it and she got it," prompting laughter from his colleagues.

The lawsuit said Harrison also was sprayed after walking away and that a woman offered him breast milk to flush his eyes.

Lefevers, a high school student who was with his mother at the protest, said he was holding a "peace" sign and smiling at police when he was sprayed in the face. The lawsuit said one officer said, "I call that guy first." The teen's mother took him to a hospital for medical attention.
WASHINGTON (AP) - For all things Paris, President Donald Trump's go-to guy is Jim.

The way Trump tells it - Jim is a friend who loves Paris and used to visit every year. Yet when Trump travels to the city Thursday for his first time as president, it's unlikely that Jim will tag along. Jim doesn't go to Paris anymore. Trump says that's because the city has been infiltrated by foreign extremists.

Whether Jim exists is unclear. Trump has never given his last name. The White House has not responded to a request for comment about who Jim is or whether he will be on the trip.

FILE - In this June 28, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Trump repeatedly talked about the enigmatic Jim while on the campaign trail, but his friend didn't receive widespread attention until Trump became president. For Trump, Jim's story serves as a cautionary tale - a warning that even a place as lovely as Paris can be ruined if leaders are complacent about terrorism.

Jim's biggest moment in the spotlight was during a high-profile Trump speech in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland. Trump explained that Jim "loves the City of Lights, he loves Paris. For years, every year during the summer, he would go to Paris. It was automatic, with his wife and his family."

Trump one day asked Jim: "How's Paris doing?"

"'Paris?" Jim replied, as relayed by Trump. "'I don't go there anymore. Paris is no longer Paris.'"

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, responded by tweeting a photo of herself with Mickey and Minnie Mouse inviting Trump "and his friend Jim" to France to "celebrate the dynamism and the spirit of openness of #Paris."

France's then-Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also took to Twitter, noting that 3.5 million American tourists had visited France last year.

The Jim story highlights differences on immigration between Trump and major European leaders, including Trump's host in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron.

Trump has put immigration at the core of his anti-terrorism strategy. He proposed a Muslim ban during the campaign and is fighting in the courts to temporarily bar travelers from six Muslim-majority nations as well as refugees.

Macron is an outspoken critic of discriminatory policies against France's Muslim population. He favors strong external European Union borders and he's also called for a united European policy on immigration so that countries like Greece are not disproportionately affected by the influx of refugees.

Trump believes European policies fall short of any credible efforts to protect the public. He has vowed to push forward with a plan to build a wall along America's southern border with Mexico and he advocates for "extreme vetting" to "keep terrorists out."

Trump never endorsed Macron's election opponent, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, but in an interview with The Associated Press, he noted that terrorist attacks in France would "probably help" her win since "she's the strongest on borders and she's the strongest on what's been going on in France."

Trump has criticized several European leaders, accusing them of lax counterterrorism policies. He lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan after an attack on London Bridge last month. In a February speech, Trump denounced Sweden's policies and talked about "what's happening last night in Sweden." Swedish officials sought clarification because there were no known attacks in their country that night.

Trump took to Twitter to explain: "My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden."
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Spain's tax authority says that customs agents have boarded and carried out an inspection of a yacht rented by Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo.

In an email response to questions by The Associated Press, the authority said Wednesday that the inspection of Ronaldo's boat "forms part of a routine check of vessels that is carried out each summer."

It added that the inspection targeted the boat's owner, not Ronaldo as its renter. The authority's aim was to determine if the boat's owner, "in this case a charter company," is correctly applying a tax exemption for boats that are available for rent, but is not applicable once they are rented.

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, June 26, 2017, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo stretches during a training session in St. Petersburg, Russia. Spain's tax authority confirmed Wednesday July 12, 2017, that customs agents have boarded and carried out an inspection of a yacht rented by Portugal soccer captain Cristiano Ronaldo, adding that the inspection targeted the boat's owner, not Ronaldo as its renter. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, FILE)

The story was first reported by Spanish magazine HOLA on Wednesday. HOLA published what it claimed were photos of agents boarding a yacht supposedly rented by Ronaldo in waters near the Balearic island of Formentera.

The boat inspection is not related to an investigation into Ronaldo's affairs for alleged tax fraud.

The Real Madrid player is set to be questioned by a judge on July 31 after a state prosecutor accused him of four counts of tax fraud totaling 14.7 million euros ($16.5 million).

Ronaldo has denied any wrongdoing.
URBANA, Ill. (AP) - A grand jury has indicted a 28-year-old in the abduction of a University of Illinois scholar from China, confirming a decision by federal agents to arrest and charge Brendt Christensen last month.

The federal grand jury in central Illinois returned the indictment Wednesday. It charges Christensen with kidnapping 26-year-old Yingying Zhang on June 9 off campus in Urbana. Indictments indicate a grand jury agrees there's enough evidence to justify a charge.

Investigators say Zhang was abducted on her way to sign an apartment lease. They allege that Christensen lured her into his car. After Christensen's June 30 arrest, investigators said they believe Zhang is dead but hadn't found her body.

The indictment means a preliminary hearing set for Friday is canceled. An arraignment date will be set in coming days.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Two groups are suing the Indiana secretary of state's office in an effort to block the release of voter data requested by a White House commission investigating President Donald Trump's allegations of widespread voter fraud.

The lawsuit, which comes amid similar legal challenges in New Hampshire and Washington D.C., was filed Tuesday in state court by the NAACP and the League of Women Voters of Indiana.

Without citing proof, Trump has repeatedly said he believes millions of fraudulent ballots were cast in the November election, when he carried the Electoral College but lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The commission launched to investigate those claims is being chaired by Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who sent requests for detailed voter information to all 50 states.

Already, Kobach has faced backlash from Republicans and Democrats alike over the request. In the face of legal challenges, the commission told states this week to hold off on providing the data.

The Indiana lawsuit argues that state law prohibits Secretary of State Connie Lawson from releasing voter information to a third-party in most cases, if that third-party plans to release the information to someone else.

The lawsuit notes that Kobach said in his letter that he plans to make any documents submitted "available to the public." The groups argue that would "run afoul of the State's carefully-crafted limitations on the use of voter data" which "may be released only under certain limited circumstances and conditions imposed by Indiana's election laws."

Indiana law does allow a third party to release the data to other people if it is used for "political activities or political fundraising activities," but the advocates argue that doesn't apply to Trump's commission.

A spokeswoman for Lawson, a Republican, declined to comment on the lawsuit. But she has previously said that she would release a limited amount of the data, including the voters' names, addresses and the congressional district they live in.

It remains unclear exactly how the data will be used. Pence spokesman Marc Lotter said the commission will look for potential irregularities in voter registrations and advise states on how they can improve their practices.

But many secretaries of state say all or part of the requested data is not public in their states. Some Democrats have said the commission is merely trying to provide cover for Trump's unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. They have also suggested that its findings could be used to justify stringent new laws that make it difficult for many voters to cast a ballot.

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia are refusing to comply with the commission's request. Many others, including Indiana, plan to provide only limited publicly available information.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration is seeking talks that could lead to the renegotiation of a free-trade agreement with South Korea.

U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer said in a letter Wednesday to South Korean Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan that the United States wants to meet to discuss "possible amendments and modifications" to the pact that that went into effect five years ago under President Barack Obama. The terms of the trade deal call for the talks to begin within 30 days.

Obama had predicted that the pact would increase U.S. exports to South Korea, the world's 11th-biggest economy. Instead, U.S. exports of goods to South Korea fell from 2011 to last year, and the U.S. trade deficit in goods with South Korea widened from $13.2 billion to $27.6 billion over the same period.

The Trump administration blames the rising trade gap on continuing South Korean barriers to U.S. exports, especially in the auto market. But other analysts cite South Korea's sluggish economy and note that other countries have seen their exports to South Korea fall even more.

Jeffrey Schott, senior fellow in trade policy at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says it would make sense to update the U.S.-South Korea trade deal to cover emerging businesses such as e-commerce.

The administration focuses on trade in goods, like airplanes and washing machines. But Schott points out that the U.S. runs a trade surplus with South Korea in services, such as banking and tourism. Including services, the overall trade deficit last year was $17.6 billion, a fraction of the deficits of $309.3 billion with China, $63.1 billion with Mexico and $57.1 billion with Japan.

President Donald Trump has criticized past trade deals and has already begun an effort to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - A man who fled federal custody more than 25 years ago couldn't escape new-age crime fighting, thanks to facial recognition technology.

The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles said it nabbed 64-year-old Robert Frederick Nelson in June as he tried to renew his state identification card. Nelson has since been turned over to the federal Bureau of Prisons. He's expected to serve his remaining sentence and additional time for fleeing federal custody in 1992.

Federal authorities aren't clear on how Nelson fell through the cracks for so long, said Chris Clifford, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service in Minneapolis.

This undated booking photo provided by Clark County Detention Center shows Robert Nelson. Nelson, who escaped from a Minnesota federal prison in 1992 and had been on the run ever since, was taken back into custody June 20, 2017, after trying to renew his driver's license. Investigators from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles withheld Nelson's driver's license after a facial recognition system showed the same person had previously held a Nevada driver's license in the name of Craig James Pautler. (Clark County Detention Center via AP)

"We almost had to rebuild the entire case," he said.

Nevada DMV spokesman Kevin Malone said a technician processing Nelson's paperwork at the North Las Vegas station called agency investigators after noticing something suspicious about him. Nelson's left the DMV unaware a full-scale probe would follow by officers in the department's Compliance Enforcement Division who investigate identity theft and related issues.

"The facial recognition was only part of it. It was good, old-fashioned police work," Malone said.

The investigators discovered Nelson's ID card photo resembled another man: Craig James Pautler, who had a commercial driver's license and a state ID card dating back to 1993. Nelson began using his true identity in 2013 when he got an ID card under his real name, which he attempted to renew last month. In Nevada, people apply for identification in person and leave with a paper detailing their information. The DMV processes the application, and if approved will mail the identification card to the applicant.

In the case involving Nelson, the resemblance between the two identities prompted investigators to run his criminal history. They found felony convictions under both names, and that he had eluded federal authorities in Minnesota for decades. Nevada officials called to inform him of a problem with his application and asked him to return to the DMV office, where he was arrested June 20.

Malone said the DMV has used a facial recognition technology since 2008, after moving to a central processing system for all state-issued ID cards to tighten security. The technology is strictly for mug shots and isn't the higher-tech type that can pick people out of a group. The facial recognition software shows possible matching faces, allowing the DMV to further scrutinize applications. Malone said most cases just link similar-looking photos but the department catches ID fraud two to three times a month.

"We've caught a lot of ID theft and ID fraud cases," said Malone. "This is the first time I'm aware of that we've captured an escaped prisoner."

The program pre-dates the state's compliance with the federal Real ID Act of 2005, which required all states to enhance ID standards. The process and regulations for state IDs were more lenient before 9/11, which Malone said is probably how Nelson got his other identification documents.

Federal court records from Minnesota show that Nelson was arrested in January 1990 and charged with six counterfeiting counts. Under his plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to one count and the rest were dropped. U.S. District Judge Robert Renner sentenced him in May 1990 to 2 years imprisonment.

Nelson was listed as having escaped from the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1992, Clifford said, but he didn't know the circumstances.

Nelson somehow ended up in state custody in Nevada in 1992 or 1993, and the Marshals Service filed a "detainer" to return him to federal authorities after Nevada was finished with him, Clifford said. But he said Nevada released Nelson without telling them.

Marshals Service officials didn't learn Nelson was free until they were contacted by Nevada investigators, who "did a great job of putting two and two together," said Clifford.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Nelson was attempting to renew his state ID card, not a driver's license.

____

Karnowski reported from Minneapolis.

____

Follow Sally Ho at http://twitter.com/_sallyho
The Prince of Wales has said he finds it unbelievable when people ask why tackling terrifying environmental issues should be a priority.

Charles warned that humanitys place on Earth could be derailed for good if diversity of life continued to be depleted and destroyed.

He spoke of his vision for harmony between food and farming during a speech at a conference at Llandovery College in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

Afterwards, he opened the new extension of an organic yoghurt factory, describing the dairy industry in Wales as of great importance.

We were honoured to welcome HRH The Prince of Wales to our Aberystwyth dairy today. It was a pleasure to have you here @ClarenceHouse pic.twitter.com/eoHARcnP0P  Rachel's (@RachelsOrganic) July 10, 2017

Charles visited the historic Strata Florida site in Ceredigion and wore white gloves to examine the Nanteos Cup  considered by some to be the Holy Grail.

He then opened Volac Internationals new biomass plant in Ciliau Aeron, which uses sustainable wood fuel to produce energy.

During his speech at Llandovery College, Charles said humans were doing our utmost to test to destruction the living system of nature.

This is why I find it so unbelievable when people ask why we should bother with the conservation and protection of the Earths dwindling biodiversity, or why we should strive to make the terrifying environmental issues we now face such a priority, he said.

It is, of course, the diversity of life on Earth which actually enables us to have our being.

Deplete it, reduce it, erode and destroy it and we will succeed in causing such disorder that we risk derailing humanitys place on Earth for good.

He said traditional architecture, crafts, music, education and engineering could be used to tackle the enormous problems we face.

The Prince unveils a beautiful new stained glass window in Llandovery.



It was made by Myddfai Community Hall's local volunteers #HRHinWales pic.twitter.com/oiw0KEsg4W  Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) July 10, 2017

This is not backward-looking and anti-science, it is reinstating the discarded baby that was rashly removed with the bath water, he added.

The Prince then toured Rachels Organic in Llanbadarn Fawr, near Aberystwyth, where he opened an earlier expansion almost 20 years ago.

He met Rachel Rowlands, who founded Britains first organic dairy in 1982 and remains involved in running the company despite selling it in 1999.

Rachel Brittain served Charles a taste of Rachels Greek-style yoghurt with honey, which he described as really creamy.

He said it was a great pleasure to go to the site and meet employee Nigel Truman, who he remembered from his 1998 visit.

The Prince of Wales during a visit to Rachel's Organic in Aberystwyth (Anthony Devlin/PA Wire)

In that time an awful lot has changed and from what I can gather it is now the most remarkable bit of plumbing I have ever seen, he added.

I do hope that it will make an enormous difference, not only in terms of sales but also in terms of the dairy sector in Wales which is of such great importance.

The Prince then attended Strata Florida, the site of a former Cistercian monastery which was significant to Wales during the Middle Ages.

Children from Pontrhydfendigaid primary school waved Welsh flags as Charles explored the site.
Romelu Lukaku says nothing less than titles every season will do after completing his big-money move to Manchester United.

Amid interest from former club Chelsea, Jose Mourinhos men surprised onlookers by swooping in to sign the 24-year-old from Everton.

Lukaku arrived in a deal worth 75million plus add-ons that could take it beyond the initial world-record 105million euros (89million) outlay that took Paul Pogba to Old Trafford last summer.

Romelu Lukaku

The pair have been close friends for a number of years and were on holiday in Los Angeles together as the striker underwent a medical ahead of penning a five-year deal, with the option of a sixth, on Monday.

I feel really well, I am really happy, he told Pogba in an interview for MUTV. Delighted. I cant wait to get started. Last year you guys won three trophies. Now were starting to build on that and perform better than we did last year.

Asked what his goal was, Lukaku added: Titles every year. Nothing less. Nothing less. I think being at Manchester United, you have to challenge for every title that there is. Every cup or whatever.

Thats what I want and thats why I am here to help the team perform. I am not going to talk too much, but I am just going to perform on the pitch and do whatever it takes to win a game.

Lukaku has hit the ground running at United, training with his new team-mates in LA within an hour of move being officially completed.

The striker stayed with the team at their Beverly Hills hotel on Sunday and arrived with his new team-mates at UCLA the following morning, signing autographs and posing for photos for supporters before a double training session.

United boss Mourinho looked far more happy with the set-up compared to last summers ill-fated tour in China and is delighted to be working with Lukaku once again.

Romelu is a natural fit for Manchester United, he said of a player he sold when Chelsea manager in 2014. He is a big personality and a big player.

It is only natural that he wants to develop his career at the biggest club.

He will be a great addition to the group and I know they will make him very welcome. I am really looking forward to working with him again.

Mourinho named a 27-man group for Uniteds summer tour, although the arrival of Lukaku has already swollen that number.

Fellow new boy Victor Lindelof, a summer acquisition from Benfica, trained with his new team-mates at UCLA, where Luke Shaw and Ashley Young worked away from the main group as they step up their return from injury.

Uniteds first match of their US tour comes against the LA Galaxy on Saturday, before friendlies against Real Salt Lake, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Scotlands former first minister Alex Salmond is to host his own show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The ex-SNP leader, who lost his seat as MP for Gordon in Mays General Election, will front Alex Salmond Unleashed during the annual arts festival in August.

Promoters for the show say it will feature invited guests, music and comedy, as well as a bit of light-hearted banter and a few behind-the-scenes revelations about his time in power.

#SalmondUnleashed: new show at @edfringe. Join @AlexSalmond and friends for an afternoon of chat, stories and musichttps://t.co/lD6PR7tQyZ  Unleashed: The Tour (@AlexUnleashed18) July 11, 2017

Mr Salmond told the National newspaper: I have always fancied a spot at the Edinburgh Fringe and this is going to be lots of fun.

Obviously in the show there will be lots about politics but the emphasis will be very much on the lighter side.

Among the invited guests there is already plenty of excitement and quite a few surprises. I suspect some people might be taken aback at the range of friends whom I invite along.

I can confirm that the President of the United States will not be appearing in person but he may well feature in quite a few of the stories I tell about recent political events.

The ex-SNP leader said he'd always fancied doing the Fringe (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said: Only Alex Salmond would have the ego to think he could be an attractive fixture at the worlds biggest comedy festival.

The crowds will almost certainly be laughing at him rather than with him.

And it seems hes recruiting other ousted SNP MPs to help out.

Next well have Angus Robertson selling the half-time macaroon bars, and John Nicolson checking ticket stubs.

Crowds in Edinburgh's Royal Mile during the 2016 Fringe Festival (Jane Barlow/PA)

:: The hour-long show will run for two weeks at the citys Assembly Rooms from August 13.
Thirteen bikers who caused chaos in a 'Mad Max-style' Halloween ride-out in Leeds city centre have been jailed.

They were handed prison sentences of between 12 months and two years for their parts in the organised event, which saw more than 100 riders on motorbikes and quad bikes disrupting traffic and riding through pedestrianised areas.

David Armitage, who organised the event through social media, was filmed during the incident encouraging 'carnage' and telling riders to 'shut down' the city centre.

David Armitage, left, was jailed for two years for organising the event, while and Nicholas Flaherty, right received 18 months for perverting the course of justice

Police described the events witnessed in Leeds like a scene from Mel Gibson's Mad Max movie

Police said the lawlessness and fear caused on October 31 led to people branding the scene as like Mel Gibson film Mad Max.

Sentencing the defendants at Leeds Crown Court, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said: 'This is a case which calls for a deterrent sentence.

'Behaviour of this sort, having serious effects on this city, cannot be tolerated.'

The bikers, on motorbikes, scooters, scramblers and quad bikes, gathered 'en masse' on Kirkstall Road and Leeds city centre at rush hour.

Some of the riders were not wearing helmets and some were wearing face coverings, including Halloween-style masks. A number of the bikes did not have licence plates.

More than 100 riders on a range of different vehicles weaved in and out of traffic

The bikers were seen speeding, weaving in and out of vehicles, riding on pavements, in bike and bus lanes, through pedestrian-only areas and red lights and on the wrong side of the road, and performing wheelies and other stunts.

One group of riders drove through a narrow, pedestrianised shopping arcade in the city centre, with one quad bike colliding with a motorcycle and injuring the rider's leg.

News : 13 Jailed for Offences Relating to Halloween 'Ride Out' https://t.co/0NOCUqyBy3  West Yorkshire Police (@WestYorksPolice) July 11, 2017

Judge Marson said bikes were seen riding on pavements towards groups of children out trick-or-treating, customers at a supermarket on Kirkstall Road were unable to leave and the store had to close early as a result of the disruption.

13 bike thugs jailed David Armitage, aged 26, of Brookfield Road, Headingley was jailed for two years; Jamie Ayres, aged 26, of Lupton Avenue, Burmantofts was jailed for 12 months; Omar Ahmed, aged 24, of Stonegate View, Meanwood was jailed for 12 months; Ashley Benson, aged 25, of Whingate Road, Armley was jailed for 12 months; Michael Clough, aged 27, of Torre View, Burmantofts was jailed for 14 months; Ben Colley, aged 26, of Butterbowl Road, Farnley was jailed for 14 months; Dean Fawcett, aged 28, of Intake View, Middleton was jailed for 12 months; Nicholas Flaherty, aged 29, of Prospect Street, Farsley was jailed for 18 months; Rachel Taylor, aged 29, of Nowell Lane, Harehills was jailed for 12 months; Joshua Hawley, aged 22, of Mead Grove, Colton was jailed for 12 months; Dylan Lockwood, aged 23, of Torre Grove, Burmantofts was jailed for 12 months; Adam Nicholson, aged 26, of Henley Terrace, Bramley was jailed for 12 months; Anton Rojas, aged 26, of Skelton Avenue, Burmantofts was jailed for 12 months. Ben Colley was also convicted of driving while disqualified and without insurance. Nicholas Flaherty was also convicted of perverting the course of justice. Advertisement

One woman reported that she was unable to cross the road with her disabled son, who had a seizure as a result of the noise.

Police received around 160 calls from the public and took the decision to close a section of Kirkstall Road, which was eventually reopened at around 10.10pm.

Judge Marson said the riders were 'causing danger and serious inconvenience to citizens'.

He said: 'This was a planned event, organised through the use of social media.

'It began at about 5.15pm, during the rush hour in this city, on Monday 31 October 2016.

'Approximately 100 riders gathered en masse in the city centre.

'I have seen CCTV and mobile phone recordings showing the chaos that ensued in this city over a period of more than four hours.'

The court heard that Armitage, who did not take part in the event due to injury but was shown encouraging the riders on a Facebook live video, said the ride-out was to raise money for the family of 17-year-old Sophie Smith, who was murdered by her 18-year-old partner.

He claimed to have raised around 400 but the court heard that the family had received no money and did not want to associate themselves with the event.

Leeds District Commander, Chief Superintendent Paul Money said: 'The behaviour of these individuals and others that night put people's safety at risk, caused unnecessary fear to the public and created an image of lawlessness in the heart of the city that we simply could not allow to go unchallenged.

'We made it very clear in the immediate aftermath of the incident that we would be taking firm action against all those we could identify as being involved, and these outcomes at court today show us delivering on that promise.

'The situation this group created that night was completely unprecedented in Leeds and West Yorkshire and it presented a significant challenge to us due to the large number of people involved and the limited tactical options available to safely stop people on motorbikes.

'We immediately launched a criminal investigation into the incident which brought a number of arrests and seizures of vehicles over the following weeks and ultimately led to the convictions we have seen today.

'We also learned from the experience and now have comprehensive plans in place at both Force and District level to tackle any such events in future. These proactive tactics have seen us head off a number of other ride out events before they could materialise on the ground and our approach has been used nationally as best practice for policing such events.

'We hope the action we have taken alongside our partners in the local authority and the Crown Prosecution Service will serve to reassure the community and send a very clear deterrent message to anyone thinking of organising or taking part in this type of activity in future.'

Leeds City Council also condemned the actions of the bikers.

Councillor Debra Couper, the council's executive member for a Safer Leeds added: 'The sheer disregard shown by this group of individuals for the safety of the public in riding so dangerously through pedestrianised areas of the city centre and on many busy roads is something that will not be tolerated.

'We welcome therefore this action taken through the courts which has resulted in criminal convictions against those involved. I hope this sends out a clear message to anyone who may be tempted to become involved in this type of behaviour of the serious consequences that they will face.

'On a final note, I again would like to make it clear to law-abiding motorcyclists that the injunction we secured to help us tackle similar incidents if they occur in the future, will in no way hinder their own enjoyment driving as a group on the roads.

'The use of this injunction will only be considered when individuals are found to be putting the safety of residents and motorists at real risk as this group did.'
Marcel Kittel won stage 10 of the Tour de France in Bergerac as Chris Froome stayed safe in the yellow jersey.

Quick-Step Floors Kittel strengthened his grip on the green jersey as leader of the points classification by winning his fourth stage of the Tour, with fellow German John Degenkolb of Trek-Segafredo second and Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen of LottoNL-Jumbo third.

Team Skys Froome crossed the line safely in the pack, keeping the three-time Tour winner 18 seconds clear of Italian national champion Fabio Aru in the general classification.

Marcel Kettel won his fourth stage of the Tour de France

Fortuneo-Oscaros Dan McLay had looked strong in the finale but launched his sprint too soon and faded to finish seventh at the end of the 178 kilometre stage from Perigueux to Bergerac.

The race started at a strong pace as riders re-found their legs following Mondays rest day, but once a two-man breakaway  formed of Wanty-Groupe Goberts Yoann Offredo and Fortuneo-Oscaros Elie Gesbert  had gone clear, the peloton settled down for a gentle ride around the Dordogne.

The leading duo quickly built a lead of more than five minutes, but always knew theirs was a doomed mission with the sprint teams eyeing their chance after two difficult days in the mountains, and with the Pyrenees looming later in the week.

The gap gradually began to fall, and the catch was made with seven kilometres to go as Offredo and Gesbert shook hands.

It's been another beautiful day on @LeTour - the Dordogne region has looked stunning! #TDF2017  pic.twitter.com/jX2aJXSDIl  Le Tour de France UK (@letour_uk) July 11, 2017

Team Sky led the peloton towards Bergerac in a bid to keep Froome safe before the sprint trains took over on the way into town.

Kittel did not have many team-mates left on the approach to the line and appeared a long way back, but he surfed the wheels and used McLays attack to set up his victory.

Maybe if it was a race where I didnt win a stage yet, maybe I would have panicked with the position I was in, Kittel said.

I was waiting for someone to make a move because there were a few that were too far back. That was McLay today, I just held his wheel and then I could hit the front at the perfect moment.
Andy Murray is not used to being upstaged in the second week of Wimbledon but the world number one must try to emulate Johanna Konta and reach the semi-finals.

If he beats Sam Querrey it will be the first time since 1967, a year before the professional era began, that Britain will have had a man and a woman in the singles semi-finals.

Querrey, the 24th-seeded American, will have to cause a sizeable upset to prevent that happening.

Querrey is out to spoil the defending champion's party...



What to watch out for on Day 9: https://t.co/p3L4j3V0cH#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/iDR9YVGZLM  Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2017

The pair have met eight times previously, with Murray winning seven, including on Centre Court in 2010 and in the third round of the Australian Open in January.

Former British number one Greg Rusedski expects the defending champion to make it eight from nine, and then to see off Marin Cilic, who faces Rafael Nadals conqueror Gilles Muller.

Rusedski said: Andy likes playing Sam but Sams had probably the best year of his career so far.

I like his serve and his forehand, and his backhands got better, but it comes down to movement and getting balls back and Andys one of the greatest returners in our game, so hes going to find a solution.

Sam Querrey has lost to Andy Murray in seven of their eight mettings

I think its going to be loud, noisy, but I expect Murray, although he may drop a set, to come through.

And Cilic, yes he will push him more, but I just feel Andys mentality, being on Centre Court, and with his experience  Andy never lets any opportunities go.

Its an incredible record, 10 quarter-finals in a row, and Andys got the bit between his teeth because its been the year of Federer and Nadal. Murray wants to say, Its my year as well, Im world number one, dont forget me.

Class in defeat.



After a titanic contest, Rafael Nadal waits to walk off court with opponent Gilles Muller#Wimbledon #ManicMonday pic.twitter.com/1URgEVS9sG  Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2017

Nadals loss to Muller means reaching the last four would ensure Murray holds onto the world number one ranking beyond Wimbledon.

He will be wary of Querrey, who ended Djokovics title defence 12 months ago, and said: Sam obviously likes the conditions here.

He played really well last year. Hes had some good wins here, some tight matches as well. Hell be confident going in.

Hes obviously got a big serve, goes for his shots, a very aggressive player. (Against Paire), I maybe played one or two service games in the first set that werent the best. Against (Querrey), you cant really afford that.

Ill need to make sure Im serving well and not letting him dictate too much.

While Murrays draw has opened up, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic look destined to meet in the last four.

Djokovic was very unhappy at having his fourth-round match delayed until Tuesday and then with the state of Centre Court but comfortably dispatched Adrian Mannarino.

He will face Tomas Berdych next while Federer takes on Milos Raonic in a rematch of last years semi-final, which was won by the Canadian.
US President Donald Trump has defended his eldest son over a meeting with a Russian lawyer last year, declaring on Twitter that he is open, transparent and innocent.

The comments came a day after Donald Trump Jr revealed his eagerness to hear damaging information about Hillary Clinton from the Russian government in a meeting with the lawyer from Moscow during the presidential campaign.

Defending his sons conduct, the president again dismissed the ongoing Russia investigation as the greatest Witch Hunt in political history.

Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

Here is page 4 (which did not post due to space constraints). pic.twitter.com/z1Xi4nr2gq  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

Mr Trump responded after Mr Trump Jr disclosed a series of emails on Tuesday that marked the clearest sign to date that Mr Trumps campaign was willing to consider election help from a long-time US adversary.

The email exchange posted to Twitter by Mr Trump Jr showed him conversing with a music publicist who wanted him to meet with a Russian government attorney who supposedly had dirt on Mrs Clinton as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr Trump.

The messages reveal that Mr Trump Jr was told the Russian government had information that could incriminate Mrs Clinton and her dealings with Russia.

Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya speaks to journalists in Moscow (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Meanwhile, Mr Trump defended his eldest son on Twitter, writing that Donald Trump Jr was open, transparent and innocent.

He again called the Russia investigation the greatest Witch Hunt in political history.

Mr Trumps lawyer also defended the presidents son, saying he did not violate any laws in his meeting with the Russian lawyer.

Jay Sekulow said Mr Trump was not aware of Donald Trump Jrs June 2016 meeting and did not find out about his sons email exchange until very recently.

I love it, Mr Trump Jr said in one email response.

Donald Trump Jr said there had been "nothing to tell" his father after the meeting (Richard Drew/AP)

The presidents lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said in an interview with NBCs Today that Mr Trump Jr did not violate any laws by accepting the meeting.

He said the president had not been aware of Mr Trump Jrs June 2016 meeting and did not find out about his sons email exchange until very recently.

Mr Sekulow said the president was not being investigated by former FBI director Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating the Trump campaign and its interaction with Russia during the election.

I would know a little bit about it. Im one of the lawyers, Mr Sekulow told ABCs Good Morning America.

The media is attacking @DonaldJTrumpJr because he is one of the most effective voices defending the President. They see him as a threat!  Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 11, 2017

Trump, Jr. smart to release emails. Tabloid guy set him up w Russian lawyer who promised Hillary dirt. She didn't deliver. That's the story.  Bill O'Reilly (@BillOReilly) July 11, 2017

Liberal media in a frenzy because Donald Trump Jr released all his emails. Should've just deleted them. We know that's fine with them!  Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) July 11, 2017

As the emails reverberated across the political world, Mr Trump Jr defended his actions in an interview with Fox News, blaming the decision to take the meeting on the million miles per hour pace of a presidential campaign and his suspicion that the lawyer might have information about under-reported scandals involving Mrs Clinton.

He said the meeting really went nowhere and that he never told his father about it because there was nothing to tell.

In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently, Mr Trump Jr said.
The competition watchdog is to conduct an in-depth investigation into the 3.7 billion merger between Tesco and food wholesaler Booker.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday that it believes that competition could be harmed in more than 350 local areas where there is an overlap between Tesco shops and Booker symbol stores.

Booker is the countrys largest wholesaler and owns Londis and Budgens as franchised outlets, and the CMA is concerned that shoppers could face worse terms when buying their groceries as a result of the deal.

Proposed Tesco/Booker merger being referred to in-depth, phase 2 investigation https://t.co/fdLUDWUVB2 pic.twitter.com/wbZDg9Y5de  Competition & Markets Authority (@CMAgovUK) July 12, 2017

The watchdog added that there are concerns over the potential for Booker to reduce the wholesale services or terms it offers the symbol stores it currently supplies, in order to drive customers to their local Tesco.

The CMA now has 24 weeks to conduct its probe and pledged to publish its final report before Christmas, after an earlier provisional findings document is released.

Tesco is Britains biggest retailer, while Booker is the UKs largest cash-and-carry operator with around 13,000 staff and around 200 stores.

Tesco has faced criticism from investors over the deal, with some shareholders branding the takeover tilt a distraction and urging the Big Four grocer to scrap it.

Booker is the UK's largest cash-and-carry operator (PA)

The CMA said the investigation will now pass to a new set of decision makers, an inquiry group chosen from independent panel members.

They will assess whether the deal could reduce competition by seeking views and evidence from all those potentially affected by the merger.

A Tesco spokesperson said: We are pleased that the CMA has accepted our fast track request, and we look forward to continuing our engagement over the coming months.

This merger has always been about growth, and we remain convinced that it will bring benefits for consumers, independent retailers, caterers, small businesses, suppliers and colleagues.
It was another great week at the Platte County Fair. Thanks to all the people who made our county fair a success again. I know it takes a huge number of volunteer hours to make an event like that happen.

More summer events are on the calendar in the coming weeks. First is the citywide sidewalk sale and Downtown Runaround on July 22. Sidewalk sales will be happening around Columbus that day and the run will again be ending on 11th Street.

Continuing the fun is the Something Good Summer Series, a weekly summer event showcasing our community. At each event youll have the chance to register to win our $2,000 grand prize, which will be drawn during Columbus Days. Also enjoy free food, free Something Good items and special offers from the hosts.

Put these upcoming Summer Series events on your calendar:

 11:30 a.m. July 19  Overhead Door Company of Columbus

 noon July 27  Dynamic Life Therapy & Wellness

View the calendar of Something Good events on our website, www.thecolumbuspage.com.

The Summer Series will also include the celebration of Nebraskas 150th birthday, as that event comes to Columbus on Aug. 4. The Nebraska 150 Express will bring a Union Pacific Streamliner locomotive and vintage passenger cars to Columbus. Gov. Pete Ricketts and other dignitaries are riding the train across the state.

The Columbus stop is scheduled near the 26th Avenue crossing at noon Aug. 4. Live music, family activities and food will be offered beginning at 11 a.m.

I would also mention that happens to be the first day of the Columbus Races. The first night of the live race meet at Ag Park will start at 6:30 p.m. that evening and the Chamber Commodores will be there to sponsor the first race.

Just a couple weeks later will be Columbus Days 2017. We will "Discover the Music, the Food, the Fun" and the Columbus Days Board has tied into the Nebraska 150 celebration with a Wild Wild West theme.

Entry forms or applications for Columbus Days events continue to come into the chamber office, including the Columbus Days Parade entry form. If you are looking for an entry for the baby show, talent contest, rib-eating contest or any of the other Columbus Days events, please contact the office.

The Columbus Barbeque Classic is always a highlight of Columbus Days weekend. This year we welcome five great vendors: Papa Toms, Hickory Road BBQ & Catering, 9 South Char Grill, Wild West Bar-B-Que & Catering and Buresh Catering & Barbeque. Theyll be serving Friday evening, Aug. 18, and all day Saturday, Aug. 19.

The Columbus Days Board continues working to make sure it will be a great celebration this year. They have planned some really fun connections to the Wild West theme and were hearing from members that they have some great parade floats in mind to use that theme as well.

The updated schedule of Columbus Days events is posted on the chamber website under the events tab.

I hope its clear that we have plenty of fun to be found for the rest of the summer in Columbus. So leave behind the air conditioning, for awhile at least, and get out to enjoy Something Good in Columbus.
Dani Alves has apologised for any hurt he might have caused Manchester City and their head coach Pep Guardiola by signing for Paris St Germain.

Last month the 34-year-old left Serie A champions Juventus after just one season in Turin and, despite being linked heavily with a summer move to Premier League side City, he has instead opted to sign a two-year deal with PSG.

The attack-minded right-back, who won the Champions League three times with Barca, also claiming six LaLiga titles during his time at the Nou Camp, has agreed a deal running until June 2019 with last seasons Ligue 1 runners-up after weighing up his various options.

Dani Alves looks set to sign for Paris St Germain

Although he was tempted by Citys offer, he admitted the draw of the French capital was too strong.

There was not only interest from Manchester City but from other English clubs, he said at his unveiling, in quotes carried by LEquipe.

I have often said the Premier League intrigues me a lot and there is a very interesting project there, too. I did speak with City officials.

But I have friends here (in Paris) and my wife loves this city. I was a little bit selfish when I went to Juve, I didnt listen to my wife or friends. This time, I tried to be less selfish and to please everyone.

I believe in happiness  thats why I made the decision to come here. If Guardiola feels wronged, I apologise.

On his own professional targets with PSG, who were dethroned by Monaco last season following a run of four straight titles, he said: I am extremely happy to sign. In recent years Ive witnessed the tremendous growth of this club, which has became a strong force in European football.

It is very exciting to become part of this great project. At every club where Ive been, Ive always given my best to help the team go as far as possible. Believe me, Ive come to Paris to win things.

I recognise the ambitions of my new club and the expectations of our many supporters around the world. Im sure were going to share some great moments.

 @DaniAlvesD2 : "The President had a great power of persuasion. I like to make history. We can write it together here." #PSGlive  Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) July 12, 2017

While PSG have been consistent in Europe of late, they are yet to make the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Alves former club Juve achieved as much and more last term, reaching the final in Cardiff only to lose to Real Madrid, but their declared intention to go one better in 2017-18 was not enough to keep the Brazilian in Italy.

When it emerged he was keen to rescind his contract as there were reports of strong interest from overseas, links were drawn between the Bahia-born defender and City, managed by his long-term boss at Barca, Guardiola.

But PSG have won the race for his signature, leaving City still in the hunt for a senior right-back following Pablo Zabaletas release and subsequent move to West Ham.

Tottenhams Kyle Walker has also been linked with a switch to City, who have already signed Portuguese playmaker Bernardo Silva and Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson in the transfer window.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have formally welcomed the King of Spain to the UK with a military spectacle full of pomp and pageantry.

Britains head of state and Philip warmly shook hands with King Felipe VI and his wife, Queen Letizia, at Horse Guards Parade, Henry VIIIs former jousting yard.

The Duke, Queen and king are all descended from Queen Victoria and they shared a few words before the welcome ceremony began.

The Queen meets King Felipe VI of Spain (Nick Ansell/PA)

The Queen welcomed Theresa May and other dignitaries (Nick Ansell/PA)

Members of the Household Cavalry rode ahead of the state carriage procession (MoD/PA)

It is the first state visit by a Spanish monarch since King Juan Carlos toured Britain in 1986 when he raised the controversial issue of Gibraltar  as his son Felipe is expected to do when he addresses parliamentarians later.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall had escorted the king and his wife from their London hotel to Horse Guards Parade, arriving in chauffeur-driven limousines.

Hannah McKay/PA

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall welcome The King and Queen of Spain to London ahead of #SpainStateVisit.  pic.twitter.com/sscffLFqsQ  Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) July 12, 2017

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall spent time with the Spanish royals at their hotel (Hannah McKay/PA)

Following protocol the Queen introduced the Spanish couple to leading figures from UK national life, including Prime Minister Theresa May, Home Secretary Amber Rudd  whose hat blew off when she arrived  Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and senior military figures.

During their three-day visit Felipe and Letizia will dine at a Buckingham Palace state banquet, with Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge expected to attend; visit the Palace of Westminster, where the king will address parliamentarians; and on Thursday Felipe will meet Mrs May at Downing Street.

The backdrop to the visit is strained relations between Spain and the UK over the sovereignty of Gibraltar, which have come to the fore because of Brexit.

The Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Letizia of Spain rode together in a carriage to Buckingham Palace (MoD/PA)

At the palace, the four royals posed for pictures (Yui Mok/PA)

Video: The Queen, Duke and the King & Queen of Spain exit their carriages - a gallant Philip offers Queen Letizia his hand. pic.twitter.com/kvRbGKTpop  PA Royal Reporters (@PARoyal) July 12, 2017

Simon Manley, Britains ambassador to Spain, was questioned by journalists in Madrid last week, and when asked if Felipe could talk about the British overseas territory in his Westminster speech, he replied it was a possibility.

Last September, Felipe used his address to the UN General Assembly in New York to call for a negotiated handover of The Rock.

The king, at 6ft 5in, towered over the Queen, and he kissed his relative on the cheek and hand when they met.

The Queen previously hosted a Spanish State Visit in 1986, which was attended by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia. #SpainStateVisit  pic.twitter.com/AbjXFQXgNY  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 12, 2017

In 1988 King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia invited The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh to visit Spain. #SpainStateVisit   pic.twitter.com/0AiFMBC7f7  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 12, 2017

A guard of honour, the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, lined up in front of the royal party and Philip escorted Felipe across the parade ground to inspect the troops.

The king strode ahead of his host with Philip having to pick up his pace to keep up.

The Duke of Edinburgh and King Felipe VI inspect The Guard of Honour #SpainStateVisit. pic.twitter.com/FX3N03N0zN  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 12, 2017

King Felipe VI inspects the guard of honour on Horse Guards Parade escorted by the Duke of Edinburgh pic.twitter.com/sEG5AwNese  PA Royal Reporters (@PARoyal) July 12, 2017

Back on a dais, the Queen chatted to Letizia as they watched the men walk along the line of guardsmen.
Forward Sadio Mane will miss Liverpools pre-season trip to Hong Kong for the Premier League Trophy as he continues his recovery from a knee operation.

The Senegal international scored 13 Premier League goals last season despite spending most of January at the African Nations Cup before his season was prematurely ended on April 1 when he damaged the meniscus in his knee during the Merseyside derby.

He began running with his team-mates on Tuesday as he begins to build up his fitness for the coming season and will most likely resume full training in the next week but is not ready for competitive matches yet and so will remain at Melwood when the squad fly out to Asia on Sunday.

Jurgen Klopp offers update on Sadio Mane's recovery: https://t.co/Afgx5RoLUp pic.twitter.com/GdzpLwa2Li  Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 12, 2017

He is really, really good. He is close; he is closing on coming back to team training, manager Jurgen Klopp told liverpoolfc.com.

In this moment we think it will be when we are in Asia, so then it makes no sense to take him to Asia because he needs to then do the first steps in kind of team training.

We will see how we can do it; maybe the U23s will be here, so when he can start (training) then we can use this opportunity, but we have to wait.

On Tuesday morning he was part of the running, so he is first-team training if you want and that looked really good.

Mane scored against Everton but later went off injured (Peter Byrne/PA)

I think he is getting better, but it is how it is after a long time - you need to build a little bit of muscle again in the quad and thigh, which is important.

There is no risk with him because he is a naturally-fit boy and in the moment when he can start to be a real part of the sessions, he will then immediately be fit again.

We have not all the time in the world, but we have time and we will use it.
Andy Murray said he did the best he could after his Wimbledon title defence was brought to an end in the quarter-finals by Sam Querrey and his dodgy hip.

The top seed has limped throughout the tournament and lost 12 of the last 13 games in a 3-6 6-4 6-7 (4/7) 6-1 6-1 loss to Querrey.

Murray was forced to take two days away from the practice courts on the eve of the tournament before declaring himself fit.

He said: The whole tournament Ive been a little bit sore. But I tried my best right to the end, gave everything I had. Im proud about that.

But its obviously disappointing to lose at Wimbledon. Theres obviously an opportunity there. So Im sad that its over.

Murray will sit down with coach Ivan Lendl and the rest of his team on Thursday to discuss where they go from here, with the priority being to ensure the next time the Scot sets foot on a tennis court he is able to move freely.

At a record 42nd attempt, Sam Querrey finally reaches a Grand Slam semi-final...#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/UXrSsCAKV3  Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2017

The US Open is less than seven weeks away but both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have shown this season the benefit of taking a lengthy break.

Murray said: Before the tournament, it was very short-term because you want to play Wimbledon.

"This is a dream come true - to be in the semi-finals at #Wimbledon makes it even more special"



- Sam Querrey pic.twitter.com/Yhzv6lYSGM  Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2017

Ill get the best advice I can, then stick with that. If it means taking a few weeks rest, then so be it. If it means training and doing the right rehab and stuff, then Ill do that.

I did the best that I could. Obviously I managed to get through a bunch of matches and did okay.

The US Open is six, seven weeks away. Ill sit down with my team tomorrow and come up with a plan for what I have to do next.

After the battle, both winner and loser sign autographs for the fans #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/ad9559UDk9  Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2017

Murray declined to go into specifics on his hip problem but said earlier in the tournament it is something that has affected him on and off for the better part of a decade.

Ive been dealing with it for a very long time during my career, he said. Obviously as you get older, things are a little bit tougher to manage. Theres a bit more wear and tear there.

Im sure moving forward Ill be able to get through it. I just need to do all of the right things and be even more diligent and professional than I have been recently.

#Querrey is 1st player to win 3 straight 5-setters at #Wimbledon since @TipsarevicJanko in 2007. Beat Tsonga, Anderson and Murray in 5 sets.  ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) July 12, 2017

I feel like Ive done all of the right stuff, but Ill try to do more, try to get myself in better shape. Hopefully Ill come through the other side of it a better player, a better athlete.

This year has obviously been frustrating at times. Its not been the easiest. But Ill want to obviously come back and try and compete for majors.

The hip problem is the latest physical issue in a difficult season for Murray, who has also been afflicted by shingles, an elbow injury and two bouts of flu.

He has only won one title, in Dubai in February, but Novak Djokovics retirement against Tomas Berdych means Murray will hang on to the world number one ranking for now.

The 30-year-old knows his time at the top is limited, though, saying: I havent played well enough this year to deserve to stay there for much longer.

The match began so well for Murray, who won eight of the first nine points as Querrey made a nervous start.

He might well have won the second set, too, but, after breaking for 4-3, lost his way and the last three games.

 NBA Champion Draymond Green congratulates his compatriot Sam Querrey after his victory today #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/cV4m652l9M  NBA UK (@NBAUK) July 12, 2017

The third set was arguably harder than it needed to be as well, with Murray missing a chance to serve for the set at 5-4 before taking it in a tie-break.

It soon became clear early in the fourth set that Murray was struggling physically and from 1-0 he lost nine straight games.

Querrey finished off the match with another run of three games to become the first American to reach a grand slam semi-final in singles since Andy Roddick eight years ago.
The Government is pledging an extra 21 million for cyber security across the NHS in the wake of the WannaCry ransomware attack.

Ministers have said NHS Digital will broadcast alerts about cyber threats to hospitals, provide a hotline for dealing with incidents and also carry out on-site assessments to check security.

Work is also under way to establish a fast and cost-effective way for the NHS to completely move away from unsupported operating systems, including Windows XP, which was the focus of much criticism following the attack in May.

The Department of Health said use of Windows XP has fallen in the past 18 months from 18% to 4.7%.

The 21 million will help boost security at major trauma sites, of which there are 27 across England.

The pledges form the Governments response to a report last July from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and National Data Guardian, Dame Fiona Caldicott.

The CQC and Dame Fiona wrote to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt several months before WannaCry happened, warning that an external cyber threat is becoming a bigger consideration within the NHS.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was warned about the threat (Neil Hall/PA)

Their data security review of 60 hospitals, GP surgeries and dental practices found there was a lack of understanding of security issues.

It warned that patient data breaches were often caused by hurried staff working with ineffective processes and technology.

The attack in May was a global attack, affecting thousands of computers in around 150 countries.

In England, 47 NHS trusts reported problems and 13 NHS organisations in Scotland were affected.

(Dominic Lipinski/PA)

In the new report, ministers have pledged that by December 2018, people will be able to access a digital service to help them understand who has accessed their summary care record.

This is a brief description of existing health needs and care that is available online to a treating clinician via a protected site.

By March 2020, people will also be able to use online services to see how their personal confidential data collected by NHS Digital has been used for purposes other than for their direct care.

People will also be given the choice to opt out of sharing their data beyond their direct care, which will be applied across the health and social care system.

On Govt response to NDG we'll build trust/understanding of data sharing working w/ patients/partners https://t.co/PzXzCiM8OY #DataSavesLives  NHS Digital (@NHSDigital) July 12, 2017

There will also be meaningful sanctions against criminal and reckless behaviour if it leads to personal data being exposed or the deliberate re-identification of individuals.

The National Data Guardians position will be put on a statutory footing, the Department of Health said.

Furthermore, the Government has changed the NHS contract so that NHS organisations are now formally required to adopt data security standards set down by the CQC and Dame Fiona.

This will include security training for staff and extensive contingency plans to respond to threats to data security.
The UK will offer 40 million in humanitarian aid to rebuild war-torn Mosul after Iraqi forces declared victory over Islamic State in the city, International Development Secretary Priti Patel has said.

Ms Patel told MPs they must be realistic about the challenges ahead in the region as she hailed efforts to halt the unimaginable oppression by IS, also known as Daesh, on thousands of civilians in the city in Northern Iraq.

Iraqi security forces are clearing the final pockets of resistance from the terror group in Mosul after nearly nine months of fighting.

The UK is sending lifesaving aid to help the people of #Mosul rebuild their homes, their city and their lives https://t.co/slliJmdTuI #UKaid pic.twitter.com/k1G9u2s3Gf  DFID (@DFID_UK) July 12, 2017

Ms Patel, delivering an urgent statement in the Commons on the humanitarian situation in Mosul, said: Im pleased to confirm the UK will provide 40 million of humanitarian funding this year, taking our total commitment just in Iraq to 209 million since 2014.

This funding will help to ensure that the displaced communities, the displaced people, will receive the much-needed shelter, food and medical support and will provide protection services for the most vulnerable, including the minorities, and women and girls.

She condemned the terror groups brutal tactics including use of suicide bombers and human shields against Iraqi forces during the conflict and described the victory as a great step forward for global security.

Islamic State areas of control in Syria and Iraq (PA graphic)

Praising the bravery of security forces, Ms Patel added: We should also recognise the bravery of the people of Mosul.

Children who have been out of school for years who are now back in the classroom and sitting exams, doctors who have had to stop working under Daesh are giving life-saving treatment once again to fellow citizens who are injured in the fighting, volunteers are clearing the rubble from the streets and public buildings.

We must though be realistic about the challenges ahead. Almost 50,000 homes have been destroyed.

While almost 200,000 people have returned to their homes in eastern Mosul, over 700,000 people are still displaced and in need of continued humanitarian assistance.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel syas almost 50,000 homes have been destroyed in Mosul (David Mirzoeff/PA)

Explosive remnants will be a problem in the city for many months to come, she said.

She said the UK had been at the forefront of efforts to offer aid in Mosul, adding: After winning the battle for Mosul, it is important to win for peace and now starts that painstaking if rebuilding and reconciling so that families can return home as quickly as possible.
Stoke have rejected a bid of 20million from West Ham for forward Marko Arnautovic.

The 28-year-old asked to leave the bet365 Stadium earlier his week, handing in a transfer request, and Press Association Sport understands that the Hammers have made a move.

However, with Arnautovic only 12 months into a four-year contract, the Potters have a strong bargaining position and have turned down the London clubs advances.

Arnautovic is looking to leave Stoke

Arnautovic is currently with the squad in Switzerland for their pre-season training camp.

The Austria international was linked with Everton last year before signing his new deal and Stoke would be unwilling to have another transfer saga.

With the current inflated transfer market, Arnautovic would be expected to command a large fee should Stoke even be tempted to sell.

Arnautovic joined from Werder Bremen in 2013 and has made 145 appearances, scoring 26 goals, for the Potters. He netted seven times in 35 games last season.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan believes the city could one day host the British Grand Prix.

The future of a British race hangs in the balance after Silverstone announced on Tuesday they were activating a break clause in their contract, with the last grand prix at the Northamptonshire track currently set for 2019.

The circuits owners, the British Racing Drivers Club, insist hosting F1 is not financially viable as their contract includes an annual five per cent increase in cost.

#F1LiveLondon: Inspiring the next F1 generation. Congratulations to everyone taking part in the pit stop challenge! pic.twitter.com/jCOsZZmrns  Formula 1 (@F1) July 12, 2017

The timing of the announcement, on the eve of this seasons British Grand Prix, has led to F1 owners Liberty Media claiming the move is posturing for fresh terms.

But, with London hosting a unique F1 event on Wednesday night with cars running through the city, Khan said a much-heralded street race in London is a viable option in the future.

Lets wait and see, he told Sky Sports News.

Pit stop challenge with @JensonButton at #F1LiveLondon. A fantastic way for young Londoners to learn about engineering and tech. pic.twitter.com/Xmc2QeIP3w  Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) July 12, 2017

F1 have only just got out of the deal with Silverstone. But the reality is, there are so many F1 fans in London.

Some hurdles well have to overcome, but theres no reason at all why it cant be beyond the whit of us to organise an F1 race in London in the future.

Clearly, if its the case that talks have broken down with Silverstone, Im happy to talk and listen to F1.

What an amazing crowd in London! #F1LiveLondon is amazing! pic.twitter.com/rPfQdn4Xib  Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) July 12, 2017

Khan confirmed he has spoken to Liberty and backed London to add any potential grand prix to a portfolio of well-run events in the capital.

There are some hurdles well have to overcome, he added.

Ive met the new leadership of F1, theyre a breath of fresh air, theyre very exciting, theyve got cracking ideas, and if they want to have a conversation with me, Im really happy to talk, listen, and work with them to make it happen.

Were good at organising events safely. Im reassured we can make everyone safe in London and were going to make sure events are successful.

Im sure F1, working with us, can in the future have an F1 race in London. Watch this space.

The event in London will be a demonstration run ahead of this weekends race at Silverstone and takes place in and around Trafalgar Square.

 Noise warning - you may want to turn the volume down for this...#F1LiveLondon #2Seater pic.twitter.com/3JbkLZ5RTr  Formula 1 (@F1) July 12, 2017

Lewis Hamilton, the three-time world champion and one of only two Brits on the current F1 grid, left organisers miffed as he opted to stay away from the event - instead taking a short break before his home race.

An amendment to the Road Traffic Act was passed in parliament earlier this year making it easier to host closed-roads motorsport events in England.

Former two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who currently drives for Woking-based McLaren, reckons it does not have to be an either, or situation for the future of the British race.

Im happy to bring F1 to the streets of a city like London, he said at the event.

I think both, we race at Silverstone and then we race in London, on a street circuit.
Juventus have signed Brazil winger Douglas Costa on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich.

The move follows Bayerns loan signing of Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez from Real Madrid earlier on Wednesday.

A statement on Juves website read: Douglas Costa is officially a player of Juventus. The club has reached with Bayern Munich an agreement for the temporary acquisition of the Brazilian wide player.

Douglas Costa

The Bianconeri will pay a loan fee of 6million euros (5.3m), with the potential for an extra 1m euros (885,000) in performance-related add-ons and an option to buy him outright for a further 40m euros (35.4m).

Costa began his career with Gremio in his homeland, spending just over a year in their first team before moving to Europe with Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2010.

He moved on to Bayern in August 2015 and made 76 appearances over two seasons, scoring 14 goals. He featured against Juve in the last 16 of the 2015-16 Champions League, setting up goals for Thomas Muller in the first leg and Robert Lewandowski in the second as Bayern won 6-4 on aggregate.
There has been plenty of talk in this years Tour de France about long, flat, boring stages leading to bunch sprints.

Wednesdays stage 11 may have fit into that pattern on paper, but in reality the road to Pau was filled with hazards for the general classification riders.

Fabio Aru saw key domestique Dario Cataldo crash out while his Astana team-mate Jakob Fuglsang, fifth overall, went to the hospital for checks on his injuries  which could prove a significant blow to their tactics in chasing down Chris Froome. Romain Bardet and Alberto Contador also hit the deck before Marcel Kittel broke the heart of solo escapee Maciej Bodnar to take his fifth win of the Tour so far.

Chris Froome and Marcel Kittel

Late for school

REPORT: For sure I will enjoy tomorrow a bit more than today, less stress & more in my territory... - @SimonYatess https://t.co/mKBf0MfWRp  Team BikeExchange-Jayco (@GreenEDGEteam) July 12, 2017

Simon Yates got a slap on the wrist from race officials after being late to sign on before Tuesdays stage to Bergerac. The 24-year-old Orica-Scott rider, who is leading the young riders classification, was fined 100 Swiss francs (80) at the end of the stage, and got a visit from the race jury prior to the start of Wednesdays stage to remind him of the rules  which have changed this year. "I was a minute late for sign-on," the Bury rider said with a shrug. "They have new sign-on this year. I thought I had to be in the last 10 minutes, but you need to be signed on before then."

The price is rising

And we keep going! Yeah, give me five!! @quickstepteam is in the flow. Thanks to my boys for another day in paradise.  #TDF17

 @tdwsport pic.twitter.com/vmE1BH3cgv  Marcel Kittel (@marcelkittel) July 12, 2017

Kittel was asked about his future after the stage, with the possibility still open that he moves on from Quick-Step Floors. He said he was in no hurry to sort anything out however, and who can blame him as the price surely rises by the day. "Talks are ongoing with several teams," he said. "Im in a position where I dont have to force any decision. I can just keep going."

Tomorrow never dies

Stage 11 is complete and @chrisfroome crosses the line to retain yellow. Kittel (QST) bags another victory. Now for the Pyrenees #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/i1f6YlPCKA  INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) July 12, 2017

Froomes return to Peyragudes on Thursday is highly anticipated, given it was where he was made to wait for Sir Bradley Wiggins when on domestique duty in 2012. Many believe Froome could have gone on to win the Tour for himself that day, but Froome refuses to engage in the speculation. "No regrets," was pretty much all he would say. There will be a twist this time around with the stage finishing on the Peyresourde-Balestas airfield, which was used in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. With gradients of 20 per cent, can his rivals use it as a launch pad for yellow?

Quote of the day

A HUGE effort from @maciejbodnar but its a 5th 2017 stage victory for @marcelkittel #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/KXZIyTFnq8  Le Tour de France UK (@letour_uk) July 12, 2017

It is incredible because sometimes when you are on your top level, on your top game in the sprint, its like playing Tetris and the last days I always got the right gaps and I never made a mistake. All the lines were perfect"  Kittel on his dart to the line.

Tweet of the day

Lunch at the foot of the Ventoux ahead of a very special day tomorrow x pic.twitter.com/HrUVtG39fU  Brad Wiggins (@SirWiggo) July 12, 2017

While the peloton headed towards the Pyrenees, 2012 Tour winner Sir Bradley Wiggins was on the other side of France ready for Thursdays gathering on Mont Ventoux to remember Tom Simpson on the 50th anniversary of his death during the 1967 race.
COLUMBUS  The Platte County Highway Department fields plenty of phone calls from people concerned about road and bridge conditions.

While some callers want a quick fix to a problem, it's not always that easy to work through federal guidelines.

I think its important for people to know you dont just go in there and replace a bridge, said Jane Cromwell, the departments administrative assistant.

This is especially true for bridges listed in the National Bridge Inventory system, a database put together by the Federal Highway Administration that's used to track bridge conditions.

Bridges on that list are longer than 20 feet and inspected every two years. Of the countys 419 bridges, 374 are in the NBI system.

Bridge inspections are completed on a rotating basis, with half of Platte County's bridges checked one year and the other half the following year.

Repairs can take weeks because of regulations.

Any bridge, especially the 20 (feet) and over, needs to have an engineers stamp on them. We cant build them without an engineer, said Platte County Highway Superintendent Terry Wicht.

The process also includes advertising for bids, awarding a contract for the work and waiting for materials to arrive.

When you call up and say a bridge is bad, we cant just send a crew up there, Cromwell said.

Some smaller problems, such as a loose plank, can be taken care of quickly, Wicht said. But there isn't a quick solution for larger issues.

For example, the Platte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to seek bids for a bridge replacement project with culverts along 415th Street about a half-mile west of 535th Avenue. Bids will be reviewed Aug. 8, but Wicht said it will take another six to eight weeks for materials to come in after a contract is awarded.

We are still looking at August, October to put it in, Wicht said.

The county is also playing the waiting game for a bridge near Duncan that was closed in late June because it was labeled a fracture-critical bridge, meaning it could collapse if a component fails.

Wicht said that bridge, about 4 miles west of Duncan, has plates that need to be replaced.

It is closed and will be closed for another three to four weeks, he said.

In other business, the supervisors approved:

 cleaning debris from a bridge 1.5 miles south of Tarnov on 295th Avenue. The road and bridge committee will look at options to keep the debris from accumulating there.

 an agreement for fracture-critical bridge inspections with the Nebraska Department of Roads. The cost for bridge inspections in the county is estimated at $4,365. The county will be billed 20 percent of the cost, or $873.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has finished talks with the king of Saudi Arabia and other officials from Arab countries lined up against Qatar with no sign of a breakthrough in an increasingly entrenched dispute.

Mr Tillersons trip from Kuwait to the western Saudi city of Jiddah followed discussions the previous day with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, that ended with the signing of a counter-terrorism pact.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and cut air, sea and land routes with it over a month ago, accusing Doha of supporting extremist groups. Qatar denies the allegations.

Rex Tillerson and Saudi King Salman

Sec. Tillerson and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud discussed the strong US-#SaudiArabia partnership. https://t.co/S4nuAEhSWa pic.twitter.com/ZWulIZCvVG  Department of State (@StateDept) July 12, 2017

The quartet has given no indication it would be willing to back off from its hard-nosed stance. Just hours before Mr Tillersons arrival in Jiddah, the four Arab states said the counter-terrorism deal that Qatar signed with him on Tuesday was not enough to ease their concerns.

Mr Tillersons visit to Saudi Arabia included talks with King Salman and his powerful son Mohammed bin Salman, who was recently elevated to the role of crown prince, placing him next in line to the throne. He also met with the foreign ministers of the four countries in the anti-Qatar bloc.

Officials gave little indication of what was discussed, but Mr Tillerson was likely to press the bloc to ease up on some of its demands after he secured the deal for Qatar to intensify its fight against terrorism and address shortfalls in policing terrorism funding.

Secretary Tillerson will travel to #Qatar on July 13 to meet w/ senior Qatari officials to discuss the Gulf dispute. https://t.co/gqzBhquot4  Department of State (@StateDept) July 12, 2017

He is expected to travel back to Qatar on Thursday for more talks with the 37-year-old emir.

The four anti-Qatar countries last month issued a tough 13-point list of demands that included shutting down Qatars flagship Al-Jazeera network and other news outlets, cutting ties with Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, limiting Qatars ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the tiny Gulf country.

Qatar has rejected the demands, saying that agreeing to them wholesale would undermine its sovereignty.

The head of Qatars government communication office, Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, has accused the quartet of organising a smear campaign in the international media to damage Qatars reputation and said they are not interested in engaging in honest negotiations to resolve our differences.
BRASILIA, July 11 (Reuters) - The speaker of the lower house of Brazil's Congress on Tuesday urged that a vote be held this week on a corruption charge facing President Michel Temer.

Speaker Rodrigo Maia of the Democrats Party, who would become the interim president should Temer step aside, said Brazil "cannot wait" for resolution of the first charge among several expected to be brought against Temer.

"We need to make a decision, to give a response to the prosecutor general's charge, so that we can continue voting on our agenda, and our agenda is the (economic) reforms," Maia told journalists.

Temer was charged last month in connection with a graft scheme involving JBS SA, the world's biggest meatpacker. Executives said the president took bribes to resolve tax matters and facilitate loans from state-run banks.

Temer has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Under Brazilian law, two-thirds of the lower house of Congress must vote to allow a criminal charge against a sitting president to move to the Supreme Court. The vote could happen this Friday or possibly be delayed until early August, after a congressional recess.

A swift vote on the charge is seen by many in Brasilia as a way to block prosecution of Temer while his hand is stronger in Congress, before any further plea bargains by jailed politicians and executives bring fresh allegations to light.

Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot alleged in the charge that Temer made deals under which JBS would have paid him 38 million reais ($11.5 million) over the next nine months.

Janot has said he will likely charge Temer in the coming weeks with racketeering and obstruction of justice.

If the top court accepts a charge and puts the president on trial, he would be suspended for 180 days and replaced by Maia on an interim basis.

In interviews with Reuters this week, six key lawmakers both in Temer's coalition and in the opposition said on condition of anonymity that they think the president can muster the votes to block the first charge against him in a vote this week.

However, the congressmen also said that a delayed vote or an accumulation of charges from Janot could erode the president's support in Congress. (Reporting by Brad Brooks and Ricard Brito in Brasilia; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
JAKARTA, July 12 (Reuters) - Indonesia is unlikely to need to import natural gas until at least 2020 due to robust production at home, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

The Southeast Asian nation has ramped up gas consumption targets in recent years for environmental reasons, and plans to subsidise natural gas for industrial buyers.

"Our production has turned out to be better than predicted," the country's Director General of Oil and Gas Wiratmaja Puja told reporters on Wednesday, without giving further detail.

The comment comes even as state-owned Pertamina has an agreement to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from U.S.-based Cheniere Energy Inc from 2018.

"Pertamina has businesses in various countries, so we can re-sell to Bangladesh or others. We are pushing Pertamina to go global," Puja said.

Meanwhile, Puja said that the resource-rich country is looking for buyers for 16 to 18 uncommitted LNG cargoes for this year.

He expects an average of 50 to 60 of uncommitted cargoes per year until 2035. (Reporting by Wilda Asmarini and Bernadette Christina Munthe; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy and Joseph Radford)
By John Irish and Ayesha Rascoe

PARIS/WASHINGTON July 11 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's relationship with Emmanuel Macron got off to an awkward start, with a jaw-clenching handshake at a summit in Brussels before the French president rebuked the U.S. leader for his stance on climate change.

The two men would appear to have little in common. Trump, 71, is an anti-globalist elected on a pledge to "make America great again" who is unpredictable on foreign policy. Macron, 39, is an ardent European integrationist more than three decades younger who sees himself as an honest broker of international relations.

Trump's visit to Paris this week, to celebrate 100 years since U.S. troops entered World War One on the side of France and Britain, follows bruising talks on trade and climate policy that pitted him against leaders from the world's major economies at a G20 summit last weekend.

In Paris, Trump will seek common ground on diplomatic and military endeavours. Both he and Macron have a political interest in building rapport, and both have a corporate background that may help underpin their relationship.

Trump could use a friend overseas. His preference for a more unilateral, transactional diplomacy has unsettled traditional allies in Europe and left the U.S. president appearing isolated among world leaders.

"Sometimes Trump makes decisions we don't like, such as on climate, but we can deal with it in two ways: we can say, 'We are not going to talk to you,' or we can offer you our hand to bring you back into the circle," government spokesman Christophe Castaner told French news channel LCI. "Macron is symbolically offering Trump his hand."

POLITICAL OUTSIDERS

Trump and Macron are political outsiders, the American a real estate mogul, his French counterpart a former investment banker. Both love a good deal, demand tangible results rather than lofty ambitions, and have a penchant for showmanship.

Like Macron, Trump will be looking for common ground.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One returning from the G20 meeting in the German city of Hamburg, Gary Cohn, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Trump and Macron enjoyed a "great" relationship.

"You know, Macron and the president have somewhat different views on how to achieve the end goal, but I think the end goal is the same," Cohn said.

Trump announced in June that the United States would pull out of a landmark international accord reached in Paris in 2015 to fight climate change. In hard-fought negotiations in Germany, Macron tried to soften U.S. language on climate policy.

Cohn played down talk of tensions with Macron over climate policy. He said he expected meetings in Paris on military and security matters as well as "a long bilateral meeting between the two men".

Having reshaped their countries' political landscapes, both now have certain shared objectives, making crushing Islamic State and countering global terrorism a leading priority.

It is unclear whether the leaders will address thornier issues such as policy toward Iran, possible American tariffs on steel and Russia sanctions legislation in the U.S. Congress that might derail a 9.5 billion euro ($10.9 billion) gas pipe project in which France's Engie SA has a stake.

The United States and France hold differing views on Iran.

On a visit to Saudi Arabia in May, Trump singled out Iran as a key source of funding and support for militant groups. During the U.S. presidential race, he threatened to tear up an international agreement on Iran's nuclear program, branding it "the worst deal ever negotiated".

So far Trump has stopped short of killing an accord that has allowed French companies including planemaker Airbus SE, oil major Total SA and automobile manufacturers Peugeot SA and Renault SA to sign initial deals.

'A WIN-WIN FOR BOTH'

Just as Macron flattered Russian President Vladimir Putin with a meeting at the gilded Versailles palace of France's former monarchy, Trump will bask in a Bastille Day ceremony on Friday laden with pageantry and military pomp, with U.S. soldiers parading down the Champs Elysees.

For Macron, France's youngest leader since Napoleon two centuries ago, it is an opportunity to use soft diplomacy to win Trump's confidence and set about influencing U.S. foreign policy at a time European diplomats say Washington lacks direction.

"The visit is a win-win for both," said one French diplomat. "Trump remains unchallenged and gets the grandeur that he enjoys. Macron remains unchallenged and gets a no-fuss picture with the leader of the 'free world'".

Macron is concerned about Trump feeling backed into a corner, French diplomats said. Moreover, he senses an opportunity to sway U.S. thinking and elevate the role of France, a nuclear power and permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, in global affairs, in particular on Syria and the Middle East, they added.

France is the second-biggest contributor to the U.S.-led coalition in Syria, and French officials have expressed fears that the United States has no clear vision beyond taking the military fight to Islamic State.

It is one reason, the diplomats say, that in his first two months as president, Macron has sought warmer ties with the Kremlin, just as Trump is left hamstrung in his relations with Moscow by allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election to help Trump win and possible collusion with Russia by people close to him.

"The Russians are pleased to have a grown-up to talk to in Europe," a second French diplomat said.

Daniel Fried, an expert on U.S.-European relations who served under presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said Trump had nothing to gain politically at home or abroad by isolating himself. "By reaching out to the French I suspect he hopes to show he can be a viable actor on the world stage." (Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Howard Goller and Will Dunham)
ISTANBUL, July 12 (Reuters) - Iran's oil output will rise to around 4 million barrels per day by the end of the year, an Iranian oil official said on Wednesday as the OPEC member tries to ramp up production after years of international sanctions.

"By the end of 2017 we hope to reach about 4 million barrels per a day," Amir Hossein Zamaninia, Iran's deputy oil minister for trade and international affairs, told reporters in Istanbul.

Iran has been producing around 3.8 million barrels per day in recent months. (Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; Editing by Susan Fenton)
BEIRUT, July 12 (Reuters) - Iran is forming a government commission to oversee its deal with Frances Total to develop the South Pars gas field, the first major Western energy investment in the Islamic Republic since the lifting of sanctions last year.

The commission will include representatives from the judiciary, the head of parliaments energy commission and of its planning and budget commission, speaker Ali Larijani said Wednesday, according to state media.

The South Pars project will cost up to $5 billion, including an initial stage of around $2 billion, and production is expected to start within 40 months, the oil ministry said this month.

Total will be the project's operator with a 50.1 percent stake, Chinese state-owned oil and gas company CNPC will hold 30 percent, and National Iranian Oil Co subsidiary Petropars will have 19.9 percent.

Production capacity is seen at 2 billion cubic feet per day, or 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day including condensate, Total said in a statement this month.

The gas will supply the Iranian domestic market starting in 2021.

The announcement of a commission followed a parliamentary session on Wednesday where oil minister Bijan Zanganeh spoke to MPs about the details of the project.

Each year of delay in developing South Pars can cost Iran up to $5 billion, Zanganeh told parliament, according to oil ministry news agency SHANA.

He added that Iran has lost some $22 billion because of delays in developing South Pars.

Over the course of 20 years the field is expected to produce 335 billion cubic metres of natural gas as well as 290 million barrels of gas condensate, Zanganeh said, according to SHANA.

The deal with Total increases Iran's energy security and is likely to encourage other foreign companies to invest in Iran, Zanganeh told parliament. (Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; editing by Jason Neely)
By Felix Onuah

ABUJA, July 12 (Reuters) - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is recuperating fast and will return home shortly, his deputy said on Wednesday after visiting the head of state in London where he has been on prolonged sick leave.

Yemi Osinbajo's brief and unannounced trip has revived speculation about Buhari's health and whether he will be able to stand for re-election in 2019. The details of his illness have not been made public.

"He is in very high spirits, he is recuperating very quickly and we had a very long conversation. We spoke for well over an hour. His humour is all there. He is doing well," said Osinbajo, who is acting president.

"We discussed wide-ranging issues. I can't go into specifics," he said in his first public comments after returning to Abuja on Wednesday morning. Osinbajo then chaired a weekly cabinet meeting.

When Buhari, 74, left Abuja for London on May 7, his second trip abroad for health reasons, he handed over power to Osinbajo, who according to the constitution would assume the presidency should Buhari be unable to continue.

Osinbajo is already being talked about in the capital as a potential nominee for the 2019 presidential election in Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa's largest economy and energy producer.

QUESTIONING THE NARRATIVE

A thin-looking Buhari was last seen in Nigeria on state television in early May, just hours before he flew to Britain, welcoming a group of 82 girls released by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

Buhari's first trip to London for health reasons was in January and lasted nearly two months.

The Nigerian public's view of Buhari's situation has turned sceptical. As the trickle of information about the president's health, which used to include photographs of meetings in London, dries up, some are questioning the official narrative.

"I don't know, unless they show it to us on television or through anything, that both of them (Buhari and Osinbajo) are meeting," said Adeleke Ogunlana, a businessman in Lagos.

"I don't believe they met at all."

With the economy now in its second year of recession, the first in a quarter of a century, others asked whether a sickly person should be at the helm.

"We want a healthy, vibrant president who is sound mentally and physically to be able to handle the problems facing the country," said Emeka Iloabuchi, a Lagos-based marketer.

"The president as far as I am concerned should leave the office, should resign honorably so that the people of Nigeria can have a man that is healthy."

AVOIDING POLITICAL INFIGHTING

Nigerian officials have sought to avoid a scenario seen in 2010 when political infighting broke out during the lengthy illness of then-President Umaru Yar'Adua.

Osinbajo has been given full powers to act during Buhari's absences, in contrast to predecessor Goodluck Jonathan who only took over after Yar'Adua's death in 2010 ended the power vacuum.

Investors have welcomed Osinbajo, a Christian lawyer from the commercial capital Lagos in southwest Nigeria who is seen as more business-friendly than Buhari.

But the long-term risk is that the Muslim north, where Buhari hails from, might not accept Osinbajo as a permanent solution if the president became incapacitated at some point.

Traditionally in Nigeria, the leadership rotates between north and south to ensure a balance in a country evenly split between Muslims and Christians.

Jonathan, a Christian from the south, upset many northerners by refusing to give way to a northern candidate in 2010. Many northerners had felt there should have been another northern presidential term after Yar'Adua's premature death. (Reporting by Felix Onuah, Paul Carsten and Alexis Akwagyiram; Additional reporting by Angela Ukomadu, Seun Sanni and Chioma Udeh in Lagos; writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
The rampant lawlessness and intoxication in Whiteclay "would have been impressive in Chicago in the Roaring Twenties," let alone a village of nine people, lawyers for the state of Nebraska say in a new court brief defending the decision to close four beer stores there.

Whiteclay beer sales have been on hold since April, when the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission refused to renew the stores' licenses.

The store owners appealed the decision and won in a lower court, but the stores were forced to remain closed after the state filed an appeal of its own before the Nebraska Supreme Court.

The state's high court is expected to hear oral arguments in the case Aug. 29.

In a brief filed Monday, Nebraska Solicitor General James D. Smith and Assistant Attorney General Milissa Johnson-Wiles raised procedural concerns about the beer stores' appeal and the initial decision in the store owners' favor by Lancaster County District Court Judge Andrew Jacobsen.

Further, they argue the Liquor Commission "would have been derelict in its duty to protect 'health, safety, and welfare'" if it had renewed the licenses.

Evidence presented to the Liquor Commission showed "an epidemic pattern of alcohol-related criminal activity and public intoxication that should be an embarrassment to the State of Nebraska," the attorneys wrote.

For decades, Whiteclay's beer stores sold millions of cans of beer every year to residents of the nearby Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where alcohol is banned.

Street people routinely passed out along the highway that runs through Whiteclay, and residents of the village said vile and violent behavior was common. Yet Whiteclay, an unincorporated village, has no law enforcement of its own and relies on a small county sheriff's office and the Nebraska State Patrol for policing.

Attorneys for the beer stores and for Whiteclay residents who oppose the stores will file their own briefs later this month.
By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, July 12 (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a new version of a Russia and Iran sanctions bill on Wednesday, hoping to send a message to President Donald Trump to maintain a strong line against Moscow.

Seeking to force Republican House leaders to allow a vote, Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced legislation unchanged from what passed the Senate by 98-2 on June 15 but has been stalled ever since.

While the new bill is identical to what the Senate passed, it will be labeled as House legislation to avoid a procedural issue that prompted House Republican leaders to send the measure back to the Senate.

However, there was no sign of support from Trump's fellow Republicans, who control majorities in both the House and the Senate and control what legislation comes up for a vote.

AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, dismissed the Democrats' action as "grandstanding."

The measure was introduced by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Representatives Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, and Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Democrats have accused House Republicans of stalling the sanctions package because of Trump administration concern about provisions setting up a process for Congress to approve any effort by the president to ease sanctions on Russia.

Trump's attempts to mend relations with Russia have been hindered by allegations that Moscow interfered in the 2016 U.S. election and colluded with Trump's campaign. Russia denies meddling and Trump says there was no collusion.

The issue has become even more heated since emails released Tuesday showed that Donald Trump Jr, the president's eldest son, eagerly agreed last year to meet a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have damaging information about Hillary Clinton, the Democratic rival in the 2016 presidential election.

Lawmakers and aides said news of that meeting, and the failure to disclose it, added new urgency to the push to pass the Russia package.

"DILLY-DALLYING"

House Republican leaders said they had not taken up the original Senate bill because it violated a constitutional requirement that all legislation affecting government revenues originate in the House, known as a "blue slip" issue. Democrats and some Republicans who backed the bill scoffed, saying the problem could have been quickly remedied.

"Dilly-dallying around about the blue slip issue was just a ridiculous waste of time. We could have fixed it in five minutes," Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters.

The Senate changed the bill to address that issue, but also tweaked it in a way that Democrats said weakened a provision requiring Congress to approve any effort by the president to ease sanctions on Russia.

The new bill introduced on Wednesday would eliminate that change to allow House Democrats, as well as Republicans, to force a vote on a resolution of disapproval of any effort to ease Russia sanctions.

"I don't believe that having the president's party in a position to protect him from any oversight is good policy for our country," Hoyer told reporters.

Ryan told a news conference he wants to move a strong bill regarding sanctions on Russia as quickly as possible but that the legislation still faced procedural and policy hurdles.

The U.S. energy industry has been lobbying against the bill and some Republican House members, particularly from oil-producing states, have said they might want changes.

The Russia sanctions legislation was written as an amendment to a bill imposing new sanctions on Iran over issues including its ballistic missile program. Besides establishing the review process, it puts into law sanctions previously imposed on Moscow via presidential executive order and introduces new sanctions. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Amanda Becker and Susan Heavey; Editing by James Dalgleish and Leslie Adler)
By Kieran Guilbert

DAKAR, July 12 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) suspended operations on Wednesday in the town of Zemio in southeastern Central African Republic after militants shot and killed a baby in a hospital hosting thousands of people displaced by violence.

Two armed men entered the hospital in Zemio - about 1,000 km (620 miles) east of the capital Bangui - on Tuesday and threatened a family before opening fire on them, shooting the baby in the head and killing her instantly, according to MSF.

"The callousness of this attack highlights both the indiscriminate nature and disturbing escalation in violence in CAR against civilians ... and signals the diminishing space for aid organizations," said Mia Hejdenberg, MSF's head of mission.

"It has also forced the withdrawal of MSF's staff in Zemio leaving thousands without adequate access to healthcare in the region," she said in a statement.

A MSF spokeswoman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the staff had been relocated to Bangui on Wednesday morning and it was unclear when they would return to Zemio.

More than 20,000 people have been uprooted by violence in Zemio, which erupted a fortnight ago, with many wounded and unable to reach medical care, according to MSF.

At least 22 people in Zemio were killed in three days of fighting between armed Fulani herders and militia fighters at the end of June, yet the trigger for the violence was unclear.

Thousands have died and a fifth of Central Africans have fled their homes in a conflict that broke out after mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in 2013, provoking a backlash from Christian anti-balaka militias.

Herders involved in the Zemio clashes were believed to be associated with the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC), a group that belonged to the now-disbanded Seleka coalition and which some experts say could be taking advantage of a security vacuum in the region.

Recent fighting in the towns of Alindao, Bangassou and Bria has uprooted more than 100,000 people in the worst displacement since 2013, and the escalating violence is cutting off access to those civilians most needing help, aid agencies say. (Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
By Denis Dumo

JUBA, July 12 (Reuters) - The U.N. mission in South Sudan said on Wednesday it had been prevented from reaching an orphanage with 250 children trapped between rebel and government troops in a town in the country's equatorial region where insurgency is escalating.

David Shearer, who heads the mission known as UNMISS, said local authorities in Torit were denying access to the childrens' facility and this was "unacceptable".

"UNMISS has asked for access to the orphanage, but locally, on the ground, this has been denied on numerous occasions," he told reporters in the capital Juba.

"I am particularly concerned... government and opposition forces have taken up battle positions on either side of an orphanage just outside the town."

He added that the Torit authorities were preventing access even after UNMISS had secured permission to reach the area from the military's top leadership in Juba.

Torit's state governor Tobiolo Alberto Oromo denied blocking UNMISS from accessing the orphanage but said they were not sure why the mission wanted to travel there.

"We need people who are taking service, people who are taking food for (the) orphanage, not just go and watch them, that ... is not good," Oromo told Reuters in a phone interview.

Fighting has been intensifying and spreading in South Sudan's lush green equatorial region as government forces struggle to halt gains by the opposition.

Africa's youngest nation was plunged into civil war in 2013 after President Salva Kiir, who hails from the Dinka tribe, sacked his deputy, Riek Machar, a Nuer.

Much of the fighting has taken place along ethnic lines.

Regional and international efforts to reconcile the warring factions and return the oil-producing country to peace have failed.

Aid agency staff have been increasingly targeted in South Sudan's conflict, which has already killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than three million.

At least 12 soldiers are on trial by a military tribunal for the rape of five foreign aid workers.

In rebel-held Pagak town in South Sudan's Upper Nile state, Shearer said an advancing military assault by government troops had forced 5000 people to flee to neighbouring Ethiopia in recent days.

He described government's advance on Pagak as not conforming to "the spirit of the unilateral ceasefire declared by the Government." (Writing by Elias Biryabarema, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
BUENOS AIRES, July 12 (Reuters) - Argentina's President Mauricio Macri blamed Congress on Wednesday for lack of progress on a corruption investigation involving Brazil's Odebrecht SA that has roiled Latin America in recent months.

His government banned the company from bidding on new public works projects for a year in a measure published in the official gazette last Friday, but Macri said on Wednesday the company would be welcome to get back to work if Congress passed a law that would enable his government to negotiate a leniency deal.

"In Brazil they continue to operate and they could keep working here in the future but first we need to know what happened in the past and we are stuck due to lack of a legal instrument," Macri told reporters.

His government proposed a bill that would allow companies to be punished for corruption and also enable them to sign leniency agreements in exchange for collaborating with prosecutors that was passed by the lower house on July 5.

But Macri said a key clause allowing leniency agreements had been removed.

"For some reason (lawmakers) prefer that Odebrecht does not talk," Macri said.

The proposal could be further amended before it is voted on in the Senate.

In December, Odebrecht and petrochemical subsidiary Braskem SA settled with Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss authorities for a record fine of $3.5 billion. In that settlement, Odebrecht admitted to bribing officials in 12 countries, including $35 million in Argentina between 2007 and 2014.

It is now trying to settle with the other countries it admitted to paying bribes in, and prosecutors across Latin America initially vowed quick action.

In Peru, a lack of convictions so far related to the $29 million in bribes that Odebrecht acknowledged paying in the Andean country has also stirred concerns that local investigations have stalled.

However, Peruvian prosecutors who signed a collaboration agreement with Odebrecht have cited testimony from the company's former executives in criminal cases involving two former presidents. (Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Additional reporting by Mitra Taj in Lima; Editing by Bernard Orr)
By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS, July 12 (Reuters) - Top United Nations officials on Wednesday slammed the warring parties in Yemen and their international allies for fueling an unprecedented deadly cholera outbreak, driving millions closer to famine and hindering humanitarian aid access.

Since the end of April, the World Health Organisation said there have been more than 320,000 suspected cases of cholera - a disease that causes uncontrollable diarrhea - and 1,742 deaths across more than 90 percent of the Arabian Peninsula country.

U.N. aid chief Stephen O'Brien told the Security Council on Wednesday the toll was likely much higher as aid workers could not reach remote areas of the impoverished, war-torn country.

"This cholera scandal is entirely man-made by the conflicting parties and those beyond Yemen's borders who are leading, supplying, fighting and perpetuating the fear and the fighting," O'Brien said.

He called on the 15-member Council to "lean much more heavily and effectively on the parties and those outside Yemen" to end the conflict and humanitarian crisis.

A Saudi Arabia-led coalition intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015, backing government forces fighting Iran-allied Houthi rebels. The country, which relies heavily on imports for food, has become one of the U.N.'s top humanitarian crises.

"Seven million people, including 2.3 million malnourished children - of whom 500,000 are severely malnourished under the age of five - are on the cusp of famine, vulnerable to disease and ultimately at risk of a slow and painful death," he said.

U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Graziano da Silva said there had already been reports of people dying from hunger in some areas of Yemen and complained about a lack of funding and access.

"We simply cannot act where we are most needed," he told the council.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the council the outbreak was "being driven by conflict, the collapse of the basic public services and malnutrition."

He said the WHO and the U.N. Children's Agency UNICEF were supporting more than 600 treatment centers and rehydration points in Yemen and planned to open another 500 centers but there was a shortage of doctors and nurses.

Yemen's economy has collapsed and 30,000 health workers have not been paid for more than 10 months, so the United Nations has stepped in with "incentive" payments to get them to help with the fight against cholera.

U.N. Yemen mediator Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told the Security Council a Saudi donation of $67 million had helped slow the cholera spread and called on other donors to step up. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by James Dalgleish)
By Rahmatullah Nabil and Melissa Skorka

July 12 (Reuters) - Given wide-ranging authority by the Trump White House to determine its own course of action, the Pentagon is now considering troop levels in Afghanistan. But as the U.S. administration decides on a military strategy, the last 16 years have shown that Washington cannot rely solely on its troops to secure the Afghan state or stop groups like the Taliban from using the country as a base for attacks against the West. The U.S. must pursue political solutions as well.

For Washington, that task includes looking beyond buttressing the Kabul regime to engaging with major regional powers, namely Pakistan, China and India. A fresh approach to Islamabad is particularly important. Trump must increase the pressure Washington is putting on Pakistan to contain the expansion of the sanctuary it provides for extremists like the Haqqanis - today one of the most influential Islamist militant organizations in South Asia.

Haqqani, a Taliban-allied militant group established in the 1970s during the Afghan war against the Soviets, maintains close ties with al Qaeda. The network rose to power in large part through the backing of Pakistan, a nuclear state, which supports Islamist militants in Afghanistan in order to create a power vacuum that Pakistan itself could fill by proxy.

Haqqanis increasing military and political operations in cities across southeastern, northern, and western Afghanistan, especially in the capital Kabul, have enabled its Taliban affiliates to control or contest territory that is home to about a third of the Afghan population, nearly 10 million people. According to national security expert Peter Bergen, this figure is greater than the population controlled by Islamic State in Syria and Iraq at the groups peak in 2014. For al Qaeda and its affiliates in Afghanistan, it represents a base from which militants can recruit, train, and plot attacks against the West, including, principally, the United States.

Pakistans interference in Afghanistan is hardly new. For decades it has tried to ensure that whatever regime rises to power in Kabul aligns with Islamabad's interests. Since the U.S.-led engagement in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan has quietly reestablished militant proxies to both hasten the departure of Western forces and influence post-NATO Afghanistan. The Trump administrations announcement that it is considering expanding U.S. military involvement in the region, however, changes Pakistan's calculus.

The current Afghan unity government was formed in Kabul in 2014 after a disputed election required Washington to mediate a power-sharing agreement between political rivals. Today, President Ashraf Ghani continues to face unresolved ethnic tensions, causing deep unease in the countrys diverse communities, who see themselves being increasingly marginalized. This political crisis threatens the fledgling Afghan army and police forces, where many believe the Ghani administration has put ethnic interests ahead of national ones. In such cases, disaffected Afghan security leaders are increasingly co-opted by the Taliban. If this infiltration is not stanched, the U.S. and Afghan security forces may face increased risk of insider attacks: Afghan soldiers who defect to the Taliban and turn on U.S. and Afghan troops.

From a strategic perspective, the co-option of the Afghan military and national police by Haqqani and the Taliban weakens the ability of Afghan forces to take over security from NATO and undermines Afghan opposition to al Qaeda and its allies. Such co-option becomes even more problematic when considering the remarkably high death rate of Afghan soldiers, which already hinders their ability to combat well-financed militant forces. In a report released in February, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found that nearly 7,000 Afghan soldiers and police had been killed in the first 10 months of 2016. Before NATO troops depart the region, the U.S.-led coalition must ensure that Afghanistan has a sufficiently trained and cohesive force to defeat the Islamist militants and their backers.

Although it has suffered a recent spate of deadly attacks, the Afghan capital has largely avoided the years of bloody upheaval that has affected the rest of the country. But the security of the Afghan state is far from assured - especially if Pakistans military and intelligence leaders continue to support proxies like Haqqani.

Another complicating factor in the current political crisis is the wider proxy war. Over the past few years, Russia and Iran have expanded their presence in Afghanistan in order to counter the Islamic State, while simultaneously increasing challenges to U.S. power and the Western-backed government in Afghanistan.

One potential worst-case scenario is the collapse of the central Afghan government. If that happens, U.S. and NATO troops could find themselves fighting a Taliban-dominated territory stretching across Afghanistan to the border of Iran.

To create a more effective U.S. policy, Washington must deal with the Ghani administrations political crisis. Unwilling to unite ethnic factions, the Afghan state remains paralyzed to the point that most observers believe it would collapse without indefinite U.S. backing. The Trump administration must therefore appoint an envoy to enforce the existing legitimate power-sharing arrangements between the Kabul regime and diverse ethnicities, which would help secure and stabilize the country and the region at large.

At the same time, the U.S. must work with the next-generation leaders of the Afghan army and national police to address infiltration of the Afghan security forces by Taliban-Haqqani factions. The anticipated additional U.S. troops will strengthen NATOs combat support role to train and mentor the Afghan forces and help them aggressively counter the militants hold on territory in Afghanistan. But countering their infiltration will entail a restructuring of regional strategy, as the U.S. will have to work closely with the Ghani administration to execute political and security reform while confronting Pakistans support for Islamist extremists.

To that end, Washington should expose Pakistan's duplicity publicly where it supports U.S.-designated terror organizations like Haqqani, and begin sanctioning Pakistani military and intelligence leaders who support proxies. Although such measures would be drastic against an ostensible ally (and would require judicious application to protect sources and methods), previous approaches to address Pakistan's sanctuary for militants have failed.

Equally important, the White House must adopt a different approach to the larger proxy war and hold major powers accountable for their support of violent extremists that threaten regional stability. Washington should strengthen its alignment with India, and co-operate with China on regional concerns of mutual interest, in particular growing terrorism and economic security. Bolstered relationships with the major world powers, in particular with Saudi Arabia, which has good relations with Pakistan, could help contain its expanding sanctuary for extremists and more effectively forge a diplomatic solution between Kabul, Islamabad, and its Taliban-Haqqani proxies. That political solution, in turn, could de-escalate the Afghan conflict and help stabilize the South Asia region. (Reporting by Arlene Getz)
Amnesty International on Tuesday called for a commission to investigate crimes against civilians in Mosul by all sides in the battle to liberate the Iraqi city from jihadists.



The horrors that the people of Mosul have witnessed and the disregard for human life by all parties to this conflict must not go unpunished, said Lynn Maalouf, director of Middle East research at Amnesty International. An independent commission must immediately be established, tasked with ensuring that any instances where there is credible evidence that violations of international law took place, effective investigations are carried out, and the findings made public, she added in a statement.



Iraq on Sunday declared it had successfully ousted the Islamic State (IS) group from Mosul, from where the jihadists had declared their self-styled caliphate in 2014. In documenting the conflict between January and mid-May, Amnesty found IS violated international humanitarian law and committed war crimes.

LONDON AFP

July 11, 2017
For facilitating the Belt and Road cooperation, advancing economic and trade cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road, intensively displaying competitive industries and featured commodities in Guangxi, as well as promoting economic and trade cooperation between Guangxi and Sri Lanka, the Commerce Department of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will hold the 2017 China Guangxi Products Exhibition (Sri Lanka), at SLECC, from July 14 to 16, 2017.



This expo will be strongly supported by the Economic and Commercial Counsellors Office of the Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Industry and Commerce Ministry of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka China Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Chambers Of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka China Business Council, etc.

China Guangxi Products Exhibition (Sri Lanka) 2017 lasts for three days, from 9:00 a.m. to 18:00 p.m. each day. The opening ceremony will be held at 10:00 a.m. on July 14. Leaders from such related departments as Economic and Commercial Counsellors Office of the Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China in Sri Lanka and Industry and Commerce Ministry of Sri Lanka, heads of important chambers of commerce in Sri Lanka, as well as social guests from all walks of life will attend the opening ceremony and visit the exhibition.



The organisers sincerely welcome guests from industrial and commercial circles, political circles, and media friends to take part in the opening ceremony at the appointed time, so as to renew friendship, seek common development and assist this grand occasion altogether.



It is the first time for the Guangxi government to hold a products exhibition in Sri Lanka. There are 30 booths in this expo and 27 enterprises from Guangxi participate in the exhibition, including Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Co., Ltd, Guilin Guiye Machinery Co., Ltd, Wuzhou Shenguan Collagen Casing Co., Ltd, Guangxi Beiliu Laotian Ceramics Industry Co., Ltd, Guilin Lanhai Trade Co., Ltd, Wuzhou Rixin Plastic Industrial Company Limited, etc.



The exhibition includes such five categories as electronic products, construction materials and machinery, food and tea-leaves, home textiles and clothing, daily house crafts, covering hundreds of best-selling famous specialties and new high-quality products, which intensively reflect the highest production capacity level of Guangxi.



In recent years, China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership has proceeded to the best developmental epochs and the bilateral trade has maintained the momentum of rapid growth. According to the statistics of China Customs, in 2016, the total bilateral trade value between China and Sri Lanka is US $ 4.56 billion, of which Chinas export to Sri Lanka is US $ 4.287 billion and Chinas import from Sri Lanka is US $ 273 million, indicating that China has become Sri Lankas largest trade partner and source of imports for the first time.



Benefitting from the overall development of China-Sri Lanka relationship, Guangxi also conducts active cooperation and friendly communication with Sri Lanka in various fields. In 2016, the total volume of trade between Guangxi and Sri Lanka has reached US $ 78.88 million, increased by 69.3 percent year-on-year, reflecting a huge growth potential.



Guangxi, an important province in southern China, is located in the joint part of such three economic circles as ASEAN, southern China and southwest China. It is the only province in China borders on both land and sea with ASEAN countries, serving as the forefront of China-ASEAN open cooperation.

Guangxi plays an important role in the Belt and Road Initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping. In April, 2017, during his inspection in Guangxi, Xi pointed out that Guangxi owns conditions to exert more effect in the establishment of the Belt and Road.



Guangxi is rich in natural resources, such as its abundant minerals, agriculture and forestry, ocean and tourism resources. It acts as one of the most important industrial bases and possesses the only marine port in southwest China. In 2016, Guangxis gross domestic product (GDP) was US $ 274.68 billion; its export and import trade is US $ 47.9 billion.



Guangxi is sparing no efforts to build itself a significant gateway for linking up with the Belt and Road, moreover, as the East and West crossroads, Sri Lanka is also of great importance in the cooperation of 21 Century Maritime Silk Road. Therefore, in the face of new historical opportunity, the cooperation between Guangxi and Sri Lanka has great potential and bright future.



This exhibition aims at setting up a new platform for further expanding and deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation and communication between China and Sri Lanka, so as to develop new cooperation path and business opportunity, create new wealth and achieve mutual benefit and common development.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Sri Lanka annual conference this year is themed, Digital Transformation  are you ready?

The theme this year has been triggered by the understanding of the harsh reality that most businesses are not yet ready for the digital transformation that would disrupt many industries in the long term. Similar sentiments were common about the internet and social media earlier in the millennium, when these were seen as game-changers that would bring about the biggest challenge to businesses since the industrial revolution, and such speculations have become a reality today.

Digital transformation is believed to make an even greater impact in comparison to the internet and social media; as it accelerates disruption of every market place, abolishing barriers to entry for new competitors from diverse sectors and acts as a major enabler for ambitious new start-ups that are able to see data (manipulated by technology) as the new oil or the new asset, around which they build their new business.

The good news is that all the changes driven by this digital wave would bring marketers back to one essential question: How can these digital trends help my customer? Followed by: How are my competitors using these digital developments to steal my customers? A business without a marketing oriented digital perspective would not likely survive the next 20 or even 10 years while those that nurture true customer empathy and embrace digital trends, will continue to thrive. This is the reason that CIM has an important role to play in the digital transformation of the country.

This year, CIM Sri Lanka will present its conference goers with the opportunity to delve deeper into the digital world and be empowered to face the digital marketing challenges of the future. CIM Sri Lanka believes that this years conference would see the birth of digital change agents within the marketing fraternity, who would be well-equipped to write their own digital transformation success stories, by asking the correct questions and taking the digital transformation discussion to the board level, and ultimately leading the digital transformation at their workplaces.

Paul Smith, the key note speaker at this years CIM conference is an author, consultant and renowned marketer from the United Kingdom, who currently functions as an advisor and mentor in digital marketing, communications and digital transitions. Graduating from Dublin, Ireland and having earned his MBA from CASS Business School, Paul Smith more popularly known as PR Smith carries over 10 years experience in lecturing, consulting, and is also the founder of a consortium of three universities and an e-learning company specialising in marketing which has reached out to 63 countries worldwide. He has authored six books that have been translated into seven languages. His latest SOSTAC planning guide was voted in the top three marketing models of all time by CIMs centenary poll.

The key note speaker assures that the forum will help the delegates to understand the need for a quick recess from everyday work inertia and focus on transforming the way they do their marketing, formulating plans to transform their digital marketing through the use of right tools, execution and measures of control. The CIM conference speakers will present real life scenarios to trigger the delegates thinking towards practical aspects of doing business such as revenue maximisation and cost minimisation through digital transformation, rather than focus on theoretical models and feel-good jargon.

Delivering best value to the delegates within a single day on one platform, the key note speaker Paul Smith will be joined by Michael Rogers of KPMG UK and Jerome Thill -Vice President of SABRE (APAC). Michael is one of a new breed of emerging thought leaders and consultants in digital transformation. He is a management consultant in KPMGs UK practice and primarily specialises in providing tech strategy advice for financial service clients. Passionate about the change technology brings, Michael also works closely with start-ups. Helping connect start-ups and incumbents to collaborate with one another, facilitating the symbiotic relationship between the old and the new. Michael also mentors start-ups, including those outside of the financial service industry. Jerome Thill is the vice president of marketing for Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific. Based in Singapore, Jerome is responsible for product development and content marketing for travel agencies and suppliers across the region. A travel and technology veteran with over 20 years of experience, Jerome has held senior leadership roles spanning the global distribution system, travel meta-search and software-as-a-service categories. He has also overseen the successful launch, growth and acquisition of multiple startups across Europe and Asia.

In a new and unique conference format put together by the board CIM Sri Lanka, the conference is expected to be a learning experience that would help marketers in Sri Lanka prepare for achieving marketing excellence by 2020 and beyond.
It is essential to conserve the Dambulla Rajamaha Viharaya also known as the Cave Temple Complex if the historic site is to retain its world heritage status, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told a group of young Buddhist monks who met him at Temple Trees today.

The Government is prepared to stop the conservation work if the Maha Naya Theras want it stopped. However, it is up to the Maha Nayakas to decide the fate of this historical site. It is unfortunate if the Cave Temple Complex is to lose this status at a time UNESCO is considering the declaration of several other Sri Lankan sites including Horton Plains as world heritage sites, he said and added that he would meet the Asgiriya Maha Nayake Thera next week to explain these matters to him.

The Premier said some people were trying to politicize this issue targeting the next election and accused the media of giving prominence to stories such as this when there were a host of other important issues to talk about.

The media never gave publicity when the previous government threatened the Ven. Maha Nayaka Thera of the Malwathu Chapter saying Chapter would be divided. I wonder whether it was Rajapaksa Saranag Gachami for the media at that time, he said and added that the government was willing to talk to the Maha Nayaka Theras, UNESCO and other parties to resolve this matter. (Yohan Perera)

Video by Danushka
In-depth research needs to be carried out before introducing dengue vaccines including the newly proposed vaccine which is to be introduced in Sri Lanka by the pharmaceutical company known as Sanofi Pasteur, Dengue Eradication Units Community Specialist Dr. Priscilla Samaraweera said today.

She said this particular vaccine had several minor issues when it was in the process of being introduced earlier in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, the GMOA told Daily Mirror that according to reports a trial session had been carried out recently in the Puttalam District in an effort to introduce this dengue vaccine in Sri Lanka.

GMOA Secretary Haritha Aluthge said this particular company needed to get the approval of the Epidemiology Unit and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) to introduce such a vaccine.

Introduction of this vaccine to Sri Lanka should be carried out on a scientific basis. It is also necessary to consider the results of the trial sessions before it is approved, he said.

However, our sister paper, the Daily FT recently reported that Sanofi Pasteur was to introduce its dengue vaccine in Sri Lanka and was awaiting Health Ministry approval for use in Sri Lanka.

A company spokesman said Sanofi Pasteur had introduced this vaccine successfully in 17 countries including Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Brazil and Mexico.

Sanofi Pasteur is cooperating fully and in a transparent manner with the regulatory authorities to find the best solution to the health issues faced by Sri Lankans and help bring down the human suffering and the burden on the country, he said. (Kalathma Jayawardhane)
(Daily Mail), 11 July 2017 - Earths sixth mass extinction is already underway, meaning thousands of species are at risk of disappearing forever, scientists have warned.



And wildlife faces further biological annihilation if measures are not taken within the next 20 years to arrest powerful assaults on biodiversity, researchers said.



Human overpopulation and greed are driving factors behind the destruction of species on Earth, which is having a negative impact on ecosystems, according to researchers.The grim warning, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, states that the hidden rate of species population decreases mean Earths sixth mass extinction episode has proceeded further than most assume.



The report, involving scientists at both Stanford and Mexico City universities, found the current rate of vertebrate extinction during the last century was two species a year.



This is compared with two species every 100 years over the last two million years.
Former Navy Spokesman Commodore D.K.P. Dassanayake has been arrested by the CID this afternoon at Welisara on charges of aiding and abetting in the enforced disappearance of 11 youths between 2008 and 2009, the Police said.

He would be produced in the Fort Magistrates Court, the Police said.

Three other suspects, who were arrested in connection with the incident, are in remand prison.

They said the CID was investigating into the incident, where 11 youth were kidnapped in Colombo and later disappeared after being detained illegally between 2008 and 2009.
The government is lying when it says that the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances would not have a retrospective effect, the joint opposition said today.

Former MP G.L. Peiris told the weekly news conference that the convention would not only permit action to be taken against personnel accused of future incidents of enforced disappearances but also on past incidents.

The convention can and will be used to take action against armed personnel who fought terrorists during the final phase of the war in 2009. This piece of legislation will allow the arrest of Sri Lankans when they visit a foreign country. Sri Lanka is also bound to extradite a person against whom a foreign country makes allegations, he said.

Mr. Peiris claimed that Sri Lankans would be arrested and extradited based on a mere accusation made by foreign countries and not on gathered evidence. The arrested Sri Lankans could be tried at international courts such as the International Criminal Court based on the allegations, Mr. Peiris said.

He said western countries including the US, Britain and Canada had not signed the convention whereas Scandinavian countries including Finland, Norway, Sweden and India had not ratified it though they had signed the convention.

Meanwhile, JO leader and MP, Dinesh Gunawardane said the convention would create a harmful environment for former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the security forces personnel who defeated terrorism. (Lahiru Pothmulla)
The Great Place to Work (GPTW) Institute recognized Union Assurance PLC for the fifth consecutive year as a work place that is conducive to growth and personal development at the award ceremony held on the 28 June at the Oak Room, Cinnamon Grand.

Union Assurance was also given the special acknowledgement with the Laureate Status for being able to maintain a great work place throughout the five consecutive years.

Continuous recognition as a Great Place to Work has directed Union Assurance to build a high trust work place culture that engages employees for organisational success. We believe in nurturing our employees and therefore aim to consistently provide our people with the tools they need to be successful and empower our people to make a positive difference to our customers whilst encouraging them to grow, develop themselves and contribute to society by providing a journey of continuous career enrichment.

Being a great place to work is not about perceptions, it also brings a host of business benefits including employee branding and employee retention. As a company which embraces their employees and places their success on its people, this recognition would be yet another valued endorsement towards the future endeavours to be achieved.

Union Assurance continuously practices and has set up its processes by sensing the human dynamics and thoroughly observing the human capital.

The unique inclusive and more innovative driven culture at Union Assurance is keeping our teams well ahead in the industry and it is a resounding achievement as a company with 30 years of excellence in the Sri Lankan insurance industry. Professional development programs, performance driven working environment and work-life balance initiatives executed by the company are the true pillars that make Union Assurance a great place to work.

Union Assurance Human Resources General Manager Suresh Muttiah expressing his thoughts emphasised that People are at the heart of everything we do at Union Assurance and we want to foster an open, safe, inclusive and stimulating working environment.

The changes we see in workforce demographics brings about a new set of challenges in aligning people practices, whilst keeping this in mind it is incumbent on the HR department to be strategic in its approach, drive change as a business imperative, be the voice and champion of people. Also, great places to work are not built overnight, to become one you require people to trust the people they work for, build pride in what they do and appreciate the people they work with. This is a journey and in this you need to continuously learn and reinvent.
JERUSALEM AFP July11, 2017

Israeli police have arrested seven people this week over an alleged corruption scandal involving a submarine deal with Germany which reportedly involves people close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.



As part of the ongoing investigation being carried out by the national crimes and investigation unit this morning another suspect was arrested and is being questioned, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said on Tuesday.



Tuesdays arrest comes a day after six other Israelis were taken in for questioning on suspicion of offences including bribery and money laundering over a deal to buy Dolphin submarines from Germanys ThyssenKrupp.



Three were released to home arrest, while three others were remanded.



Media reports have alleged a conflict of interest over the role played by David Shimron, a relative of the prime minister and the Netanyahu family lawyer who also represents ThyssenKrupp in Israel.

In February, the justice ministry announced it had launched an investigation into the affair, stressing however that Netanyahu himself was not a suspect in the case.
Christchurch,(Daily Mail), 11 July 2017 - New Zealand has been rattled by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake which struck off the countrys South Island.



It is believed the quake hit just after 7.00pm local time (5pm AEST) on Tuesday at a depth of around 40km.



Reports suggest it was centred about 400km offshore, causing shaking across the South Island.

Social media users described feeling a long, rolling rumble in Invercargill, while others said they felt tremors in Dunedin and Christchurch. GeoNet, which provides geological hazard information for New Zealand, registered nearly 2,000 reports of people feeling the quake.
Moodys Investors Service this week said Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) would grow its loan book by as much as 20 percent per annum during the two years to March 2019 as the bank would complete its rights issue that would inject as much as Rs.15.0 billion in fresh equity by the end of this month.

The bank last week received the shareholder nod to raise up to Rs.15.0 billion in fresh equity via a rights issue. The exercise will issue one new share for every six shares held for both HNBs ordinary voting and non-voting shareholders.



Moodys, one of the three big global credit rating agencies, said the forthcoming capital would be credit positive because the new capital will elevate the capital adequacy levels of the bank to above the minimum required by the BASEL III accord.



We estimate that the rights issuance will add 230 basis points to HNBs Tier I ratio, bringing it to 12.9 percent well above Sri Lankan banks new 10 percent regulatory minimum, with which banks must comply by January 2019, Moodys said.



The rights issuance will also position HNBs Tier I ratio above the ratios of its domestic peers.

Moodys also expects HNB to return a 20 percent cash dividend every year while maintaining an around 13 percent Tier I ratio by the end of 2019 even after maintaining the forecasted 20 percent growth in loans over the two years.



In this scenario, where we also assume 20 percent cash dividends every year, HNBs Tier I ratio would be around 13 percent at the end of 2019, the rating agency said.



In a different scenario where HNB recording an annual loan growth of 25 percent, Moodys estimates the banks Tier I CAR to be around 12 percent at the end of 2009  still 200 basis points higher than the regulatory minimum.



Sri Lanka implemented the first phase of the BASEL III accord effective from July 1, which requires the banks to build its capital buffers on a staggered basis up to January 2019 when the new rules are fully implemented.

By July 1 the banks with assets more than Rs.500 billion, identified as Domestic Systematically Important Banks (D-SIBs) under BASEL III required to have a minimum Tier I and Tier II capital adequacy ratio of 7.75 percent and 11.75 percent, respectively from the hitherto required minimum of 5.0 percent and 10.0 percent.



This then goes up to 8.875 percent and 12.875 percent, respectively by January 1, 2018, before further going up to 10.0 percent and 14.0 percent, respectively by January 1, 2019, when Sri Lankas DSIBs become fully compliant with the BASEL III rules.



Moodys 20 percent forecast for growth in loans translates into an exponential Rs.119 billion during 2017 and Rs.143 billion in 2018 in absolute terms by the bank on a standalone basis.



Even though the banking sector did not experience a similar growth in their loan books during 2Q17, HNB during its January  March quarter recorded a mammoth growth in loans, which topped Rs.30 billion.



If annualized, the bank will end up disbursing as much as Rs.120 billion in new loans in 2017, but due to weak demand for credit during the 2Q17, this is somewhat unlikely.
A Police Sergeant and two others were arrested by the Wellawatta police in connection with robbing Rs. 15 million from a Chinese woman.

Police said the suspects had allegedly robbed the Chinese woman last month in Wellawatta.

The sergeant attached to the Gampaha Police Station and two other suspects will be produced at the Court today.
Residents left out to dry as third leak continues

Cracks have appeared on the walls of my house where I was living with my wife, my kids and my mother for more than twenty years. There is not a drop of water in our well which used to be full. My vegetable cultivations are destroyed. I have no livelihood now. Farming is all I know. Please sir, help us to live. This is quoted from a letter written by R.M.Gnanasiri, from Dalukella, Mathetilla of Bandarawela. We met him outside the Bandarawela Divisional Secretarys Office, where he was waiting to meet the District Secretary (DS) to handover the letter.

Gnanasiris house is just one among thousands of houses subject to cracks due to the adverse effects of Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project which was initiated in 2008 by an Iranian contractor Farab under the Rajapaksa Government. Five-inch cracks started appearing on the walls of Gnanasiris house years ago. His house is located within a distance less than one kilometer from the tunnel. As relief, he still receives a mere Rs. 50 per day for dry rations.

Tunnel excavation work taking place about 700 feet below the surface had caused three huge internal water leaks (the third one is still happening). All the wells and water springs in the area are dried up, causing a severe water shortage, instability of lands and destruction of cultivations and properties of villagers. Due to the third leak, eighty million litres of water per day is wasted.

People complain that not only the previous government, but also the present government is responsible for all the disasters caused by the Uma Oya Project. They claim that the present government is continuing the project in the face of strong public opposition. Apart from facing a catastrophe, the villagers complain about irregularities in the resettlement of displaced villagers and compensation procedure in place.

The issue surfaced again in newspaper headlines last month following a massive demonstration carried out by citizens of Bandarawela against the governments silent approach towards the impending natural and geological disaster caused by the project.

During a tour of Bandarawela, the Daily Mirror, observed several houses having severe cracks on their walls. The cracks had surfaced three months ago. People are also experiencing hardships due to the availability of only a limited amount of water in the tanks for daily consumption, provided by the Divisional Secretariats Office.

Sixty five percent of the Uma Oya, which starts from Piduruthalagala Mountain, belongs to the Uva Province while 35% belongs to the Central Province. The objective of the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project was to construct two dams named Dyraaba and Puhulpola, an underground hydro-electric power generation plant and a tunnel. As planned, the tunnel will connect the dams and transfer water to the power plant which will hopefully add 120 MW to the national electricity grid. The hydro-electric power generation plant will also be directed to the Hambantota dry zone and some dry areas of Wellawaya.

The first huge internal water leak was reported from Makul Ella area. Second one was from Udaperuwa. As a result of the leakages, all the water in water springs and wells seeped into the tunnel. Consequently, all the water springs dried up in Wehagala-thenna, Makul Ella, Heel Oya, Palleruwa and Udaperuwa. The third water leak is still happening, drying up water springs in Keenigama, Bindunu Wewa, Hapugas Ulpatha and Dik Ulpatha. Geologists said the tunneling had damaged the soil structure on the earth. Where ever the soil structure wasnt stable, cracks appeared and sections of some houses and buildings started sinking.

Dried lives of villagers

Nilanthi Sanjeewani, a mother of two from Bandarawela, requested President Maithripala Sirisena to pay thorough attention to their problems and order the relevant authorities to bring a solution.

Temples at Makul Ella, Egodagama, Heel Oya and Kurundu Golla and Palleperuwa Mosque are among the religious places affected. This problem has also affected the education of our children. They also worry about these issues. Cracks have appeared on some buildings of Makul Ella School, Adikaram School and Dharmashoka Central College in Bandarawela. We are afraid to send our children to school given this situation, she said.

Sixty-five-year old R.M.Sumanawathi said all what is left for them is to pray to God to take them out this trouble and help them to live like before.

Water is more valuable than gold. All the neighbors used to take water from our well. After the Uma Oya Project, our well dried up. Distributing water once a week isnt enough. They will distribute water only as long as the project continues. What will happen after the completion of the project? she asked.

Mapa Menike is a female farmer. She said there isnt a drop of water in her paddy field for even an ant to drink. There are six-inch cracks in her field.

We used to depend on the earth. Now, we dont have a livelihood because of what Appachchi (Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa) did merely for his personal benefits. He prioritized only his well-being. That is why we are all helpless now. We have been thrown into a situation where we have to beg on streets, she said.

Bloated estimate

Meanwhile, charging the previous government, CaFFE Executive Director Keerthi Thennakoon said the estimate for the Uma Oya Project was bloated by USD 248 million in January 2009 due to commissions.

Issuing a press release recently, he said former Irrigation Ministry Secretary A.D.S.Gunawardena resigned from his post on January 9, 2009 noting his reluctance to sign the project agreement that costs an additional sum of USD 248 million to the Sri Lankan Government.

constructors Unprepared

Bandarawela Divisional Secretary G.G.N.Gunaratne said damages began being reported when the excavation of the tunnel began.

A number of landslides occurred on October 29, 2014 in some areas of the Badulla District including Koslanda, killing at least 16 people and leaving around 200 missing. I am unable to verify the environmental connection between the landslides and the geological damage caused by the tunnel excavation of the Uma Oya Project. I doubt there is a connection. It was on December 26, 2014, that all the damages were done to houses, two days after the first water leakage, he explained.

According to him, neither the villagers nor the constructors expected such damage and therefore constructors failed to address the issue and act properly.

Govt. to face more losses

Meanwhile, the Head of Geology Department of Peradeniya University Professor Jagath Goonatilake said its a huge waste of funds and effort if a decision is taken to terminate the project after completing more than 70 percent of it.

We are giving instructions to them on how to minimize the harm. It is pointless to terminate the project now. Wrong areas need to be corrected so that the constructors can continue with the rest of the project, he said.

The Director of Environment Conservation Trust, Sajeewa Chamikara said that the project was initiated to provide water for development projects launched by the Rajapaksa Government in the Hambantota District. He claimed that the Central Environment Authority (CEA) was compelled to give approval for the project after being pressurized by Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa despite the CEA identifying the potential harm.

Chamikara said that a number of small irrigational and hydro-electric projects operated from the water of the Uma Oya are under risk. Uma Oya water also feeds the Rantambe Reservoir and the Bathmedilla Project. All these projects are also under risk due to the transfer of water from Uma Oya through the Iran funded project, he said. He emphasized that ultimately there will be a decrease in the number of rice and vegetables being cultivated in the areas affected by the Uma Oya Project. Chamikara was of the view that the fundamental human rights of people who use water under the Mahaweli Project are also being violated. At this rate, the government will have to allocate more money to supply water to such agricultural work in the absence of water from Uma Oya, he said.

Demands to terminate project

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) member for Uva Provincial Council Samantha Vidyarathna said regardless of the efforts taken and funds spent on the Uma Oya Project thus far, it should be terminated in order to prevent harmful impacts which will occur during excavation of the remaining 5.5km of the tunnel.

Following are the demands presented by Uva PC member Vidyarathna to the government.

Destructed houses should be rebuilt.

Leakage should be repaired without further delay.

Excavation of the tunnel and the entire project should be terminated.

Affected villagers should be compensated.

Lands should be provided for villagers whose cultivations were destroyed.

Solutions should be offered to those who lost their self-employment and small/ middle scale business.

A broader investigation should be carried out on the geological situation in the surrounding areas to identify potential future disasters.

A Presidential Commission should be set up to estimate the external environmental, social, agricultural and economical damages.

Suspension of drilling

Last week, the Mahaweli Development and Environment Ministry announced the suspension of drilling operations in the Uma Oya Project for a period of ten days until a solution was found for the water leakage.

It was also reported that drilling machinery utilising modern technology will be flown in from Switzerland before July 18.

The suspension came after President Maithripala Sirisena summoned those involved in the Uma Oya Project for a meeting in an attempt to find a solution to the situation that has arisen in the area surrounding the project.

Authorities not listening to professionals: Prof. in Geology

Professor in Geology at University of Peradeniya H.A Dharmagunawardena when contacted by the Daily Mirror said the natural and geological damage caused by the Uma Oya tunnelling is so immense that a complete recovery of the disaster was impossible.

Water leaks are inevitable when excavating a tunnel. But, the issue with the Uma Oya Project is that the water leaks are so heavy that they get out of control. This is the first time such a tunnelling method has been used in Sri Lanka. Fixing the leak is extremely difficult with this tunnelling method because theres no direct access to the leak.

The tunnel stretches several hundreds of metres below the surface. The hydraulic pressure that it creates in water columns above the grounds, where leaks have occurred, is enormous. These leakages suck the water from the shallow ground into the tunnel causing a declension of ground water level at the surface. As a consequence, the areas go dry and all social and environmental damages occur. Ground water recharge in the future will be at a very low level. If the tunnel isnt completely sealed off, the water will leak even after the tunnel is filled with water.

Unfortunately, millions of litres of water that leaked into the tunnel were removed from the water springs. Our people have destroyed these precious resources of water which could have been preserved for years. The damage will be permanent. The workers will be able to rectify only a part of the damage, but not fully.

Sri Lankan geologists were alarmed about the issues much before the incidents took place. But, it appears that the Iranian Construction Company wasnt willing to follow our instructions. Despite all the disasters that have taken place, it seems that the authorities still dont lend an ear to the advice of professional geologists. That is why they are now seeking assistance from abroad to fix the leaks.

When local expert panels studied the first leak which occurred in 2014, they warned that there would be more leaks. Unfortunately, our advice wasnt heeded by the constructors. There have been recommendations and meetings to raise the awareness about the possible impacts of the unhealthy tunnelling carried out using sub-standard machinery. It poses a question whether these recommendations were followed.

The feasibility study carried out on the project hasnt foreseen the problems adequately. Ground water wont fill up again as before due to the absence of the previous pressure. Even after the leaks, it will take years for the dried water springs to fill.

If the tunnel is going to proceed like this, I think there will be many problems. There will be many leakages if the tunnelling continues without appropriate measures being taken.

A thorough pre-tunnelling investigation should be launched to detect the potential threats that will surface with the proceedings of the tunnel. The ground areas must be stabilized before starting further excavations. However, even if the leakages are rectified somehow, what is the guarantee we can have that there wont be more leakages?

Pix by Waruna Wanniarachchi
Reiterating its stand on Katchatheevu, the Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday strongly opposed the recent legislation passed by the Sri Lankan government, which restricts certain fishing practices, and asserted that it would retrieve the ceded islet from the neighbouring island nation.

Responding to DMK MLA and former Minister K.P.P. Samy (Thiruvottiyur), who raised the issue during the debate on the demand for grants for the Fisheries department in the Assembly, Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar said, We will not accept the legislation [passed in the Sri Lankan Parliament].

The Minister listed the efforts made by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who opposed the legislation in his letter to the Prime Minister, and added that the State government would continue to oppose the legislation. Retrieving Katchatheevu is the only solution to the problem. We will definitely retrieve Katchatheevu, Mr. Jayakumar reiterated emphatically.

Later in the debate, when the Minister referred to the ceding of the islet to Sri Lanka in 1974, DMK Deputy Floor Leader Duraimurugan said the then Central government under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi did not keep the then State government under Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in the loop over its decision.

Congress Legislative Party leader K.R. Ramasamy (Karaikudi), however, maintained that the situation back then was different from what it is currently, and hence, the debate should focus on the future course of action.

Mr. Duraimurugan listed the efforts made by Mr. Karunanidhi to ensure certain rights for fishermen over Katchatheevu and claimed that the AIADMK chose to walk away from the all-party meeting and from the House, which had passed a resolution to this effect. (The Hindu)
REUTERS: The Sri Lankan rupee ended slightly firmer yesterday due to greenback sales by banks and exporters, while the Central Banks dollar buying prevented an appreciation in the local currency, dealers said.



The spot rupee ended at 153.65/75 per dollar, compared with Tuesdays close of 153.70/75.

There was exporter dollar sales and we saw some inflows. If not for the Central Bank dollar buying, the rupee would have appreciated further, said a currency dealer, asking not to be named.

Central Bank Deputy Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said the bank had completely stopped defending the currency unlike in the past.



Since February, we have been only buying dollars. We are not selling at all. We do not see any pressure on the rupee. It is market-driven demand and supply, he told Reuters in an interview.

If we do not intervene and buy, probably it will appreciate. We are buying and preventing certain appreciation.



Dealers said the market has priced in further depreciation due to the Central Banks no-intervention policy.



The spot rupee resumed trading on June 19 for the first time since May 5, when the Central Bank fixed its reference rate at 152.50.



Dealers said they expected seasonal demand for dollars to pick up from August.



The rupee has been under pressure since early this year after the Central Bank stopped providing support for the currency at a time when the island nation faces a balance of payments crunch.

The rupee has fallen around 2.6 percent so far this year.



The Central Bank is also compelled to buy dollars from the market to meet the reserve target set by the International Monetary Fund under a US $ 1.5 billion, three-year loan programme.
So much is expected from the president and prime minister. They need to walk together to address these challenges

President Maithripala Sirisena this week said that anyone watching TV would feel there is no government. While some people may argue that it is a creation of some sections of the media and opposition, some others would say it is the actual state of the country, where there is no discipline or order and often decisions are not thought through by people of substance.



The president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe must take control of the country. For a start before unveiling the big stuff, the hygiene issues like the garbage and health risks in the city must be addressed. Someone must be entrusted to take back the Colombo city  that is now dubbed the garbage city. We have a situation that looks like many things are totally out of control. The country needs decisive leadership and leaders who put the country first to address many of the issues we are currently facing.



For example, if SriLankan Airlines is so badly managed as some government ministers claim, the president and prime minister must hold those people in charge responsible for their action; if found guilty, they should be sacked. The airline belongs to the public, not to a handful of private shareholders.



We often refer to the late Lee Kuan Yew. Many years back, he told a group of civil servants, Dont change No to Yes. Dont be a fool. If there is a good reason why it is No, it must remain No, but tell the public politely.



In 2011, I listened to Yew officially launch his book titled Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going, at the St Regis Singapore. He spoke passionately of the need to promote meritocracy. Undoubtedly, his uncompromising stand for discipline, consistency, meritocracy, efficiency and education during his tenure as Prime Minister transformed Singapore into one of the most prosperous nations in the world.



He is unquestionably, one of the outstanding world leaders of the last 100 years. Few leaders have so far matched Yews achievement in propelling Singapore from Third World to First World. Moreover, he managed it against far worse odds: no space, no water, beyond a crowded little island, no natural resources and, as an island of polyglot immigrants and not much shared history.



Some people have dismissed the relevance and transferability of the Singapore experience with the offhand remark that Singapore is too small to offer any lessons of value to larger countries. Tell that to the worlds two most populous countries that Singapore doesnt matter  that its mindset and psyche of governance is not scalable, for example India declared a day of mourning at the passing of Yew and the reiteration by the Chinese leaders that China emulated many of Singapores policies after Deng Xiaopings visit to Singapore in November 1978.



Unlike Yews friend Xiaoping, Yew worked on a small canvas and demonstrated that an impoverished country can turn into a flourishing one with strong and engaged leadership. Singapores per capita income in 1959 was about US $ 400; today it is in excess of US $ 56,000 and has reserves of over US $ 343 billion.



Importance of leadership

Yew was perhaps the last of that generation of leaders who guided their countries through the challenges and turmoil of decolonization to independence. It is hard now to recall how difficult and challenging those times were for Singapore. He brought Singapore into being a sovereign independent state against the background of the fight against communism in the Malayan Emergency, the contest with Sukarnos Indonesia in Confrontation, the bitter split from the union with Malaysia and Britains strategic withdrawal from Asia.



He found himself leading a country deeply divided on religious and ethnic lines, surrounded by powerful potential enemies, with a weak economy and no natural resources at all. Those who criticize the authoritarian style of government he developed to deal with all these issues need to consider the scale of the challenges Singapore faced. Yews PAP offered the people of Singapore an implicit deal: in return for accepting his system of politics, he offered them stability, security, clean government and prosperity. And he delivered on that deal way beyond anyones wildest dreams  including perhaps his own.



Yew demonstrated that superior performance requires superior leadership. Yew demanded of leaders both intellectual and moral superiority. Contrary to modern Western democratic theory that emphasizes citizens participation in governance, his views were closer to Platos conception of the guardians or Chinas historical Mandarins. Through all this he demonstrated that good government is only possible when leaders put the public good unquestionably above their own personal interests.



Legacy of Lee Kuan

Singapore today has the third highest per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of US dollar in the world, measured in public-private partnership (PPP) terms, behind only Qatar and Luxembourg. It is 50 percent higher than Switzerlands and double of Australias. That is the scale of his achievement. There can be few examples in history of such an outstandingly successful nation created so completely by the vision, will and leadership of a single individual.



Yew was a firm believer in meritocracy. He would often say, We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think, as he put it bluntly in 1987. His governments ministers were the worlds best-paid, to attract talent from the private sector and curb corruption. He had no place as he often said for, fossils and dinosaurs. Corruption did indeed become rare in Singapore.



Like other crime, it was deterred in part by harsh punishments ranging from brutal caning for vandalism to hanging for murder or drug-smuggling. Singapores objective of attracting foreign investment was in tune with its education policy and its manpower policy. As Yew also said, Between being loved and feared, I have always believed Machiavelli was right. If nobody is afraid of me, Im meaningless.



Yew, the man behind modern Singapore clearly left a political legacy behind that demonstrated beyond doubt that superior and moral leadership can turn an impoverished country into an economic powerhouse and the ultimate test of the value of political leadership is whether it helps a society to establish conditions which improve the standard of living for the majority of its people.



In the final analysis, we like to hear the president or prime minister say like PM Lee often said during the 1964 economic and political crisis in Singapore, Dont worry we have taken control of the situation and then demonstrate that with solid results.

(Dinesh Weerakkody is a thought leader)
The former President of the United States of America Barack Obama in his last official foreign visit to Greece delivered his speech at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre in Athens. Obviously perturbed by the shock result of the then recently concluded Presidential election, it was no surprise that he dedicated a fair proportion of his speech to highlight the need to cling on to democracy and a mode of governance fashioned by its attributes. Doubtless he was inspired by the fact that he was physically in the place where democracy (demokratia, as he pronounced in Greek to the applause of the audience), was born as a concept 25 centuries ago. Not only did he mention the fact that USA was more inclined to treat as their allies, those countries that had democratic modes of governing but was unequivocal in his notion that the power the USA yields in terms of its economic and military power was derived from their democratic roots of governance.

Obviously there would be cynics, detractors and critics with their fair share of negative observations about the so called democracy or the rules of democratic governance of the USA as a state in terms of its role as the international policeman. In addition , looms in the background the election of Donald Trump who seems to consider democratic norms and tolerance of dissension as afterthoughts. Yet one thing stands out as clear as ever;the belief and persistence with democracy, not nominally but in reality , is still precious to the citizens of the USA as reflected by their popular former President.

We too have been a democracy since 1931, when the Donoughmore Commission introduced universal franchise and the nation, ever since, has been going to polls every five or six years or sometimes more regularly than that. In that sense, we can boast of being a democracy, some times more vociferously than even advanced nations. Yet it seems that our acquaintance with democracy has been a superficial one and not profound or organic. In other words, in a quantitative basis we might call ourselves a democratic nation; yet qualitatively , we lag behind. In the said speech Obama made a distinction between two types of countries that call themselves democratic. One were the type that went for elections every few years yet whose structures of governance are far from democratic at the core. The other type were the ones where the mode of governance was organically democratic and based on structures that support democracy from the roots.

We talk about democracy more vociferously than even advanced nations

On quantitative basis we call ourselves democratic; qualitatively, we lag behind

SL had witnessed two massive, bloody revolts in the south and a separatist struggle in the north that spanned one third of a century

LTTE was crushed and war was won, but it did heavy damage to inter ethnic relationship

Civil Service was a pride to SL, but is in tatters with endemic corruption and subservience to Politicians

We live in an era where the nation state is being threatened by racial, religious and ethnic tendencies

I believe that the first type that he referred to is a fair assessment of the status quo of our democracy in many respects. We have a parliament that is supposedly filled with representatives of the people and also a President who yields executive powers and elected by the people. In addition we have Provincial Councils that could be called sub tier legislative bodies followed by local governments in the form of pradeshiya sabha, urban councils and municipal councils. Since the introduction of the universal franchise, no regime change has taken place other than through the ballot. Thus the notion that on a quantitative basis, we are democratic.

Yet can one be satisfied that we are a democratic society, in the true sense of the word? We have witnessed two massive and bloody revolts in the south and a separatist struggle in the north that spanned one third of a century. The respective governments have been able to suppress these insurrections leading to nationwide bloodshed, disappearances, assassinations, abductions , media restrictions etc. We have crushed the rebellions but in doing so we have damaged, in my view fatally, the social fabric that was supposed to be democratic and civilized.

We tolerated a pogrom in the form of the black July in 1983 and it is no exaggeration to say that the civil society in general and the Sinhala majority in particular has never considered it necessary to look back or revisit those dark spots in our social psyche with a self critical out look, so that we would not allow such an occurrence again. The separatist war was crushed and we all celebrated ridding ourselves of the murderous and fascist group LTTE. Yet the heavy damage it did to the inter racial relationship as well as to the social psyche in terms of tolerance and right for dissension,it is yet to be recognized by the major society.The engagement with and the pursuant suppression of the terror outfit has been uniformly, but erroneously, identified along with the legitimate aspirations of the Tamils and other minorities and condemned in a heap without drawing a distinction between the two.

True, the excessive power concentration in the executive presidency and the consequent subjugation of other arms of the state by it are fatal to democratic governance, by itself. Yet the cancer that has stricken us is not confined to the obvious. I think we are witnessing phenomena wherein each and every citizen thinks that his or her rights, benefit and well being are the only things that matter. If at all, they will tolerate an extension of such rights to those who are like them socially, racially and economically and not beyond. Democratic principles which should underpin day to day activities are brushed aside. For the simplest of example, selecting a prefect board of a school is done not in a manner that allows the most suitable students being selected but in accordance with their affiliation to the immediate power structure that is in the form of Principals, teachers or powerful members of the school development board.

Going beyond that, selection of personnel for govts official portfolios are done in a manner that negates all civilized and accepted norms of selection. The Civil Service, which was once a pride to the country is in tatters with endemic corruption and subservience to Politicians.Transparency, accountability and suitability are simply forgotten words in face of nepotism, bribes, political favouritism etc. Even the public representatives elected by vote are bent on such interests rather than being mindful of the capabilities of such officials who in turn will be expected to serve the populace.

Fundamental rights of citizens are of little concern until and unless judicial intervention is sought by an aggrieved party. The local government bodies, police, corporations and statutory authorities act more reflective of a slave-master or serf-feudal Lord-power relationship rather than a democratic one.Those who are capable of oiling the palms of authorities manage to circumvent the difficulties they face from such bodies while the hapless and the helpless are left to suffer without vindication of their rights.

All this , in my view, emanates from the utter decrepit and dysfunctional status of the civil society structure which, if at all, exists only nominally. The civil society and its organizations have been paralysed by the overriding political authority that permeates each and every aspect of social life. The executive presidency bludgeons all aspects of democratic socio-political life to listless submission. Democratically elected representatives are not being held accountable by the people who select them. The service that a citizen expects from a representative whom he voted for is some personal favouritism such as getting a job, finding school admission for children, or in a more extreme case getting some type of permit etc.

There is no concerted effort on the part of society to hold their representative responsible; rather it also expresses itself along the line of party politics irrespective of whether such a representative merits to be supported. Once in a while you hear a voice in the wilderness like that of John the Baptist in the New Testament, calling for public representatives to declare assets and justify their election expenses etc. which arouses some interest for a while and falls silent.

The whole society seems to be engaged in a rat race aimed at grabbing the biggest piece of cake in the form of economic prosperity. There is nothing wrong with economic advancement and upward social mobility. In fact the whole objective of democracy is to allow individuals to attain to the highest possible goal without being weighed down by caste, creed, race, political affiliation etc. Yet the manner in which our society seems to be engaged in it seems to be in negation of all such notions and ultimately bound towards self destruction. In such a hysterical struggle for personal gain alone, concerns about democracy, ethics, good governance, fundamental rights, universally accepted forms of charity etc. seem to be inconveniences.

Yet the ideals expressed by Barrack Obama with regard to democracy being the greatest propeller for their wealth and might , resounds so true, specially in our context. A deterioration of democracy, whether it is the neo-liberal type or the social democratic alternative, will ultimately give rise to unequal distribution of wealth, unrest, disillusionment and rebellion. The old classical type Marxist revolution may not be en vogue when it comes to social change, yet as the Arab Spring illustrated, its substitute is a spontaneous and an anarchist type of rebellion with no clear nucleus of control and therefore, so destructive and fragmentary in terms of the interests of national state.

We live in an era when the nation state is being threatened by racial, religious and ethnic tendencies that has the propensity to drive segments of the populace away from the centre along such lines. It becomes that much important that we are mindful of such tendencies and are not complacent with the mode of governance we have as being immune to such dangers. The need to protect, advance and promote democratic values in all spheres of life is felt ever more acutely at present. It is in this regard that the civil society with its non- political structures should take the banner of democracy instead of entrusting it entirely to politicians.

It is such structures, not political parties that hold the fabric of democratic life together in advanced democracies. The political colouring that the fabric assumes might change depending on the political leaders and parties that gain the support of the masses given the exigencies of times. The political inclination could be right wing, neo-liberal, social democratic or left-wing based on the policies of the govt. But yet the very essence of a democratic society is not touched as the civil society with its watch dogs are always vigilant to fire the first salvo, the moment a regime gives a signal that it intends to engage in an anti-democratic course. Any regime that is oblivious to such a response would be doomed for failure in such a vibrant democracy. It is such a scenario that we should aspire for, no matter how utopian it might sound given the present stagnated and superficial democracy we enjoy.

There is no alternative for us; if our democracy is flawed, the alternative is more democracy!!
UrbanTrendz which opened its doors to Colombos shoppers recently is the newest, hippest Multi-brand Retail Store in Sri Lanka for such a super assortment of exclusive fashion brands as United Colors of Benetton, AND, Global Desi, Allen Solly, Van Heusen, V.Dot, John Miller, Indigo Nation, Scullers, Jealous 21, Victorinox, Swiss Gear, Baggit, Breakbounce, Killer-Jeans, FabAlley, as well as British Cosmetics, Lakme, Amante, Triumph and Jockey innerware, RLJ Jewellery and GMT Watches.

This is the most widespread mix of brands in recent times to be displayed under one roof in the city of Colombo. The collection is considered a broad range because the brands represent such a diverse set of fashion categories as Apparels and Innerwear, Luggage and Travel Gear, Wristwatches, Jewellery and Cosmetics in addition to several renowned Fashion Accessory brands, all of which are very economically priced keeping the urban and suburban shopper in mind. While the famous clothing brands are from European origins the internationally reputed Luggage and Travel Gear is from Switzerland.

Under the GMT banner shoppers at UrbanTrendz will find a vast and exclusive array of timepieces from such globally renowned brands as Victorinox; Hugo Boss; Lacoste; Ferrari; Timberland, Police; Gant; Swiss Military Hanowa; Raymond Weil; 88 Rue Du Rhone; Earnshaw; James McCabe; AVI-8; Maserati; Lee; Sector and Pepe Jeans.

Another exciting retail venture by Royal Lanka Agencies, the main emphasis of UrbanTrendz is to create a concept of a multi-brand availability in one highly affordable consumerist mix. Designer fashion and glamorousconsumer trends come together at this ultra-modern retail store with the latest store zoning-layout thats designed to provide the complete retail experience in keeping with international standards. The vast collection of Apparels, Luggage, Wristwatches, Jewellery, Cosmetics and Fashion Accessories hailing from these renowned brands only cement the fact that UrbanTrendzis ready and geared to cater to the needs of style savvy customers eager to make their personal fashion statement public.

To check out the latest fashions in town, hot off the runways of the world, step in to UrbanTrendz at 273 Galle Road (on the land side), Colombo 03.
Relations with neighbours are always essential to comprehend a nations standing in international relations. There are times when bordering states have differences but they iron them out using common ties and move towards a thaw.

Schools of thought give us profound wisdom to comprehend events as and when issues arise. These schools are always contesting in perspective and attempting to win over the other. Realism opined that conflict should be the norm in international relations, whereas regime theorists say there is cooperation despite anarchy. When it comes to debate on India-China disputes, it seems realism has primacy over all.

India and Chinas relations are becoming a topic of debate with increasing risk of aggression on the border. In several instances that define the terms between the two nations, one common highlight is primacy to secure ones national interest, irrespective of common history, civilization and trade ties that connect the two nations.

As the US is vacating world leadership willingly, it is China that is moving unopposed to take its place. World media has also acknowledged that the Donald Trump-Narendra Modi bonhomie at the White House was also partly aimed at China.

To say this camaraderie rattled China would be wrong, looking at how the US has a declining graph in international affairs. Looking at the diversity of structure and the informal nature of the organisation of G20, India must factor in the autocratic style of the US - acts to reject that positive correction the G20 wants to bring in world economic governance.

G20 works on consensus, not majority rule, which India must in the time to come use for its benefit to rectify financial risks and complex technologies, which stem from Chinese operations.

Further, lack of diplomatic oversight can be seen from the fact that after ignoring the One Belt One Road initiative, India put in a meek voice during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)and G20 meeting at a time when its borders are in jostle.

At the two-day G20 summit, India did voice its concern over terrorism and efforts to boost global trade. The ministry of external affairs highlighted that heads from both sides - Modi and Xi Jinping of China - discussed a range of concerns. Unfortunately, China played down the meeting by harping on withdrawal of Indian troops before any dialogue.

What India missed out at the G20 was that instead of highlighting the attempt of bonhomie, it should have told the Chinese authorities that conducive atmosphere for a productive bilateral meeting has been usurped because of Chinese incursions.

On the other hand, focusing less on the paparazzi, China at G20 gained more by focusing on its role in the international arena - pledging assurance to the Paris climate deal and recasting its image by supporting global trade.

India and China are strong economies yet politically weak allies. Economics is always a shining arena for any bilateral interface within a multilateral set-up. Sadly, both at G20 and SCO, India could not wipe out the distrust and unease that was needed for a thaw in ties.

Both nations are attempting to expand, yet their terms remain edgy. Both nations did talk of free trade, not understanding that regional distrust contains the opportunities and instincts driving free trade and investment.

India should have attempted to signal the larger message that one must decide in what ways one should take terms forward - as collaborators and competitors with dynamics of managing a high growth economy and populous polity in world diplomacy and international markets.

Even on issues of convergence, disagreements arose within these two Asian giants which are doomed to conflict. What came forward was a contrasting vision that they may speak for security cooperation but less has been done to manage tensions.

Also, not to forget that India-China terms are a barometer for Asias stability because this is also the input for US and Japans policy formulation. Glimpses of G20 and BRICS showed the same - accord with the others and discord with each other over unresolved issues, irrespective of adding layers of engagement with each other.

China constrains Indias diplomatic manoeuvres. India must keep track that having good relations with its neighbours is done in a manner to make sure they don't go into the clutches of China, which will work against all the effort it puts. As the terms are moving in tough waters, it seems China is testing the relations.

If and when India falters, China may take Bhutan into its fold. With incursions across the border rising, and with a record of disrespect towards human rights and international laws, as seen in the instances of Tibet and Sikkim, China has cleverly put the onus on India and cited diktats of international law to secure peace on the borders.

India opposed Chinas OBOR initiative because of its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) moving through Gilgit and Baltistan, which India claims as part of its terrain. China is attempting to generate investment in infrastructure across Asia, Africa and Europe. Moving away from this maximalist opposition, India, along with Pakistan, became a member of the China-dominated SCO. India must not let this deep divide with neighbours hinder any platform for mutual communication and negotiation. It also helps to give a new push to fight terrorism, understand the power tactics of China and Russia and take benefits of the prospects the SCO might present in intensifying rendezvous with Central Asian states also.

One must realise that there is enough space in the world for the development of both India and China. The two nations are always in transition. India should tap forums like SCO that co-existence in multipolar world is possible for both, but it will be selective and partial in range.

Instead of false imagery of one-upmanship, India should let pragmatism prevail over any facade of skirmishes and supports. National interests far outweigh differences and India must keep exploring such platform for interaction.
After successive climatic risks engulfed Chennai  the floods in 2015, Cyclone Vardah (2016) and the drought (2016-2017)  there has been a rush of development projects in Tamil Nadu, especially in its capital city to make it sustainably liveable.

According to a Greater Chennai Corporation official, under the Smart City project, transformation of T Nagar in Chennai would begin in August. Simultaneously, the draft Tamil Nadu State Housing and Habitat Policy is set to be public later this month.

Accordingly, it is no exaggeration to point out that Chennai  the third largest city of India  is currently the laboratory of climate change, rise in sea level, solid waste management, water management, affordable housing, over and above all urban agenda for both external and domestic development partners, lead academic institutions based in Chennai and beyond India and nascent civil society organisations (CSOs).

Restoration of the Velachery Lake, the drafting of Tamil Nadu State Housing and Habitat Policy, preparation of the Regional Master Plan, prototype district planning, Smart City, 100 Resilient Cities, Cities Fit for Climate Change, component of Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation Project, Strengthening Climate Change Resilience in Urban India etc., are the names of a few initiatives which are known to the Greater Chennai Corporation and financed by World Bank, ADB, GIZ, Rockefeller Foundation and both Central and state governments.

Beyond these high-profile but least consulted and coordinated projects among the funding agencies as well as state-governing bodies, there are numerous projects in the pipeline too.

There has been a rush of development projects in Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai to make it sustainably liveable.

Consequently, the rush of development projects under such experiments within broad development discourse in itself has many side effects, strongly evident in Chennai.

From the outset, the research and development are active so long as the funds are in the locker or the external funding agencies - both multilateral and bilateral - choose accordingly to their priorities.

The project-driven zeal of all the stakeholders (mostly CSOs, academic institutions and government agencies) engaged in Chennai abruptly ends once the project comes to an end.

The findings, outcomes, recommendations or suggestions from numerous research, studies, workshops and conferences organised or implemented by elite institutions, think tanks or CSOs are limited to networking among themselves or at the most, to publish as a paper.

Worst, according to the terms of reference (ToR) for a number of projects, parallel ad-hoc institutions which are established wont function accordingly after the termination of the project.

In 2010, preparation of the Tamil Nadu State Action Plan of Climate Change (TNSAPCC) was initiated with the support of GIZ by the department of environment.

Since July 2014, a final draft of TNSAPCC has been carried in the website with establishment of Tamil Nadu Climate Change Cell (TNCCC) at the department of environment.

Presently, there is an informal discussion to establish a cell each for Smart City, for 100 Resilient Cities, Cities Fit for Climate Change, Disaster (management) and for urban agenda, at Greater Chennai Corporation to address standalone project objectives.

In addition, a steering committee was being formed in April this year under the ADB-funded project  Strengthening Climate Change Resilience in Urban India.

Are the agencies or wings of Greater Chennai Corporation or state government competent enough to coordinate across projects objectives?

The higher officials who are trying to coordinate various objectives under similar themes have been transferred within a short span to other departments. It is a general sweeping statement that there is no coordination among state agencies which is distinctly visible in the Chennai administration. While it is partially true, the major impediment lies somewhere else.

How about coordination among CSOs, academic institutions and think tanks which are engaged in consulting to devise probable projects or recommending to address the problems? There is absolutely minimal coordination.

Secrecy to get the project from funding agencies and not to share it in public are the norms both for government and non-government institutions. These so-called knowledge brokers are engaged in consultancy without accountability.

In general, public information disclosure on development programmes and projects in Tamil Nadu/Chennai is the lowest among the rest of India. The encouragement for not sharing information is led by the state Assembly itself if one goes through the Assembly website .

Besides the "who is who" in the successive governments, the section which would be more important as the status of development plans (under the "Questions and Answers") in Assembly are completely missing. Similarly, the elite institutions which claim to be top-notch knowledge broker consultants, wouldnt see eye to eye or share the completed research outcome with public or among themselves to generate policy advice to governments.

Having awarded a number of projects to address the gaps and challenges in Chennai City is a welcome step. But to implement those projects under democratising decision-making process needs to be adhered to by sharing information, building coordination and allowing discussion throughout the project cycle.
Is true democracy on a death row?

Sample this: A democratically elected president imposes martial law in parts of the country and then publicly dares the countrys Supreme Court, It's not dependent on the whim of the Supreme Court. Should I believe them? He then threatens anyone who dares challenge his decision. " you ask me to lift it? I will arrest you and put you behind bars."

All these for his "love" for the country. He says, We can talk of anything else and make compromises maybe, but not when the interest of my country is at stake.

Sure, that sounds fair. But, aggressive defence of "the interest of the country" as one man perceives, without any tolerance for others views, sounds far from democratic.

Havent we heard such historical rhetoric before, with devastating after-effects? Lets, for a moment, consider these as off-the-cuff remarks by an overzealous, no-nonsense, result-oriented and well-meaning chief executive.

What about, then, this presidents remarks, Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now, there is three million drug addicts. I'd be happy to slaughter them. He thunders yet again, in a bizarre effort to inspire his troops, You can arrest any person, search any house If you happen to have raped three women, I will own up to it.

For now, our cherished democratic values, if not democracy itself, are indeed on a death row, with appeal pending. (AP photo for representational purpose)

Elsewhere, look at the self-appointed captain of the democratic world. The new presidents relentless "press-bashing" has been spectacular and ominous. A free and fearless press, the good, bad and the ugly, is one of the fundamental pillars of democracy.

An elected president, the protector of all democratic values, proudly tweets his own act of bashing up a news channel that has been openly critical of him and his actions, using a doctored video clip. One would have searched for traces of humour had it not been from a man who has unleashed ceaseless attacks on the free press ever since taking up the presidency. He throws regular insults at judges, custodians of yet another key pillar of democracy. He does not mince his words in dispensing with his know-it-all wisdom even if they are in gross violation of the fundamental democratic rights of the people, particularly the ethnic and religious minorities.

Check out another: a powerful "democratic" country: the president orders arrests of over 50,000 citizens, from across the spectrum of the society, intelligentsia, politicians, government officials, teachers, police, defence personnel and more. On top of it, over 150,000 people are either sacked or suspended from their jobs; all in the name of protecting the state from destabilising bad elements post a failed, and shabby, coup attempt.

The president goes on to seek more power for his office and convinces the electorate to give him. Further arrests follow.

The worlds largest democracy: equality for all citizens remain a constitutional jargon. Reservation policies, regularly widened under vote-bank compulsions, continue to deprive large chunks of the populace a fair deal. One gets killed for allegedly carrying or eating certain kind of food, jailed for caricaturing politicians, beaten up for criticising certain beliefs, and threatened for performing on a stage.

Elected parliamentarians intimidate toll booth agents, slap airlines officials, beat up canteen helpers, and ease up on the wall of a school when everyone lands up paying a cleanliness tax on most of their purchases.

When such things happen in these citadels of democracy, if the supposed rulers, the people, get perpetually ignored, if the elected representatives behave more and more like autocrats with scant respect for institutions, and then the same people get re-elected, it sure rings a bell loud for the future.

It is possible that the common people, frustrated with repeated failure of the elected representatives to deliver promises, are starting to lose faith in classic democracy. They want action. They want progress. They want security.

In the process, they probably do not mind if their leaders cross the traditional lines of political correctness and fairness, if they trample on fundamental democratic principles, and if they wrestle with revered institutions that protect democratic values.

One can see this striking shift in peoples rendering of their ideal leader. The good old days are slowly fading away to distant memory. Some of todays leaders would have never been elected in the past, given their divisive remarks, policies and melodramas.

But, here we are. This may continue till we find ourselves in the grips of authoritarian rules, a new avatar of authoritarians with electoral mandates. Initially, better days may come under this new indulgence. But, they will degenerate slowly into oppressive dictatorial rules as "absolute power corrupts". The common men would, once again, realise the cost they had paid for the progress, start a struggle for freedom and a new cycle all over again.
HARRISBURG, Pa.  A flurry of deadline-driven budget work quieted Tuesday in the Pennsylvania Capitol as the state's divided government trudged forward in a stalemate over a budget that is badly out of balance and legally questionable.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf remained out of sight Tuesday, and lawmakers reported no new efforts to secure agreement on a $2 billion-plus revenue plan that negotiators say is necessary to stitch together the state government's threadbare finances.

Wolf let a nearly $32 billion bill become law without his signature at midnight Monday  his second straight year doing so  after unsuccessfully pressing the Republican-controlled Legislature to approve a tax package he deemed to be big enough to avoid a downgrade to Pennsylvania's bruised credit rating.

House Republican leaders  at odds with Wolf, Democratic lawmakers and Senate Republican leaders over how to close the deficit  sent rank-and-file members home to their districts after five session days waiting for a deadline budget deal that never arrived.

Talks collapsed Monday, when negotiators had said the sides were close, and House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, could not predict when or how talks would resume on a revenue plan.

"It's got to get done, it will get done," Reed told reporters Tuesday evening. "You know sometimes maybe a couple hours away for everybody is a good thing. Everybody can regroup and we can put it back together."

House Republican leaders were also the only ones to protest Wolf's move to let the budget bill become law. Reed said Wolf should have used his line-item veto power to strike enough spending from the budget bill to ensure it balanced with the state's existing tax collections.

The governor's office would only say Tuesday evening that Wolf would continue working toward an agreement to balance the budget.

Besides a tax increase of some level, the revenue package that had been under construction in closed-door negotiations was to rely primarily on borrowing and involve another expansion of casino gambling in the nation's No. 2 commercial casino state.

Democrats were stunned at the decision by House GOP leaders to send members home, a move they said would drain pressure on negotiators to end the 11-day-old stalemate.

"It's unconscionable to me that they would walk away from their obligation to govern and work to resolve the revenue part of the conversation," said Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny. "You've got three of the four parties and the governor who are willing and wanting to work toward a conclusion now, today, tomorrow, and they send the members home. I just don't get it."

The Senate expected to remain in session beyond Tuesday.

Last year, the Legislature sent an on-time, bipartisan spending bill to Wolf, but with no plan to pay for parts of it.

Wolf let the plan become law without his signature when the 10-day signing period expired and lawmakers delivered a $1.3 billion funding package three days later.

In recent days, Wolf had rejected Republican plans that leaned more heavily on one-time cash infusions, and pressed Republicans to support a larger package of tax increases, lawmakers say.

Wolf had sought $700 million to $800 million in reliable, annual revenue, such as tax increases. House Republicans had been unwilling to offer a tax package even half that size, negotiators said.

Tax increases under discussion included basic cable service, movie tickets, bank profits, telephone service and electric service.

Wolf also had pushed Republicans to agree to a production tax on natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale, his third straight year of doing so. Pennsylvania, the nation's No. 2 natural gas state, is the only large natural gas-producing state that does not tax the product. Top Republican lawmakers rejected that, despite its support from most Democrats and moderate Republicans.

Reported earlier:

HARRISBURG, Pa.  A stalemate in Pennsylvanias Capitol showed no signs of chipping away Tuesday as state government moved forward into its fiscal year with a nearly $32 billion budget that was badly out of balance and legally questionable.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf remained out of sight Tuesday, and lawmakers reported no new efforts to secure agreement on a $2 billion-plus revenue plan that negotiators say is necessary to stitch together the state governments threadbare finances.

Wolf let the bill become law without his signature at midnight Monday  his second straight year doing so  after unsuccessfully pressing the Republican-controlled Legislature to approve a tax package he deemed to be big enough to avoid a downgrade to Pennsylvanias bruised credit rating.

A revenue package that had been under construction in closed-door negotiations was to rely primarily on borrowing and involve another expansion of casino gambling in the nations No. 2 commercial casino state.

The absence of active talks Tuesday left some House members suspecting that the chambers Republican majority leaders would recess the chamber indefinitely.

Rank-and-file House Republicans reported hearing nothing from their leaders about the stalemate or even about major elements of the package that had been under negotiation before talks collapsed Monday.

Ive talked to a lot of other members and nobody has heard a word about what is going on, Rep. Eugene DiGirolamo, R-Bucks, said.

The Senate, at least, expected to remain in session beyond Tuesday in an effort to secure a revenue agreement with Wolf and the House.

We still think theres some shuttle diplomacy to be had, said Drew Crompton, the top aide to Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson.

House Republican leaders were at odds with Wolf, Democratic lawmakers and Senate Republican leaders over how to come up with the $2 billion-plus.

House Republican leaders were also the only ones to protest Wolfs move to let the budget bill become law without striking out enough spending in it to ensure it balanced with the states existing tax collections.

House debate on other budget-related bills was expected to go into Tuesday night.

Last year, the Legislature sent an on-time, bipartisan spending bill to Wolf, but with no plan to pay for parts of it.

Wolf let the plan become law without his signature when the 10-day signing period expired and lawmakers delivered a $1.3 billion funding package three days later.
Boy, I could use a vacation about now  like millions of other hardworking Americans.

According to a recent study by the U.S. Travel Associations Project Time Off, 54 percent of American employees ended 2016 with unused time off  a total of about 662 million unused vacation days.

Whereas our friends in Europe enjoy up to six weeks off every year, Americans, after three years of working at a job, are lucky to average 10 days of vacation.

Thats if you can call what we do vacationing. When we finally do take time off, we usually take it piecemeal; we take one day here, one day there, and we hardly ever enjoy an actual break.

Even if we do take a week at the beach, for instance, we bring our computers and smartphones with us. We check our email obsessively, dial into phone conferences and keep our noggin in real-time connection to the stresses and agitations of the workplace no matter where our vacationing bodies may be.

Our work habits have changed over the past few decades. Were terrified of losing our jobs, you see, so we work harder. We feel guilt if were the first to leave the office or the only one who didnt work over the weekend  or the only one not to work 60-plus hours a week.

As a result, a 24/7 culture has evolved in which employees feel the need to be accessible to their employers every moment of every day. Our habits may be a contributor to productivity levels that are the envy of the world, though our productivity comes at the expense of our weekends, holidays and vacationsputting us at risk of burnout.

Some in our country think the solution is the creation and passage of new federal laws that mandate more vacation time  like similar laws in other countries.

Take the French. Their government mandates that every employee get at least five weeks of paid vacation. The French average 37 days of vacation every year  and 22 paid holidays on top of that.

Virtually all European countries have government mandates that require employee-paid vacation of four to six weeks  whereas America has no government-mandated vacation requirements.

Its true that while our European friends are basking in the sun and sipping refreshing drinks on their long government-mandated vacations, were sitting inside sterile office buildings worrying about our jobs, projects, job security and that next promotion.

Its even worse for Americas small-business owners. Fewer than half take a week off during the summer. With the economy still somewhat uncertain, many are not ready to hire. They are picking up the slack by working two or three jobs themselves.

And when we go home late at night, our job worries stay right with us. As a result, we have less energy to go for an evening stroll in the park with our children, less time to enjoy a glass of lemonade while visiting our neighbors, and less desire to engage in our communities to support charities and other noble causes.

The fact is, America, too many of us are working too long and too hard and were not taking enough time to recharge our batteries.

As I said, as a long self-employed writer and author, Ive been guilty of this myself.

Can we take more vacation time without the government demanding our employers give us more? Can we maintain our freedom to choose whether to vacation and simply choose to enjoy more vacation time on our own?

Its high time we think this vacation challenge through, America  as we stand in the surf sipping fruity adult beverages with little umbrellas in them.

Tom Purcell is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist and is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons Inc. Email him at Tom@TomPurcell.com.
Union Cabinet approves establishment of International Rice Research Institute in Varanasi

Published: July 12, 2017

The Union Cabinet has approved establishment of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) set up a regional centre International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a global rice research institute.

It will be named as IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) and will be set up at campus of National Seed Research and Training Centre (NSRTC) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

Key Facts

For setting up of the Centre, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) will be signed between Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DACFW) and IRRI, Philippines. This Centre will be the first of its kind international Centre in the eastern India.

Centre of Excellence in Rice Value Addition (CERVA) will be also established in Varanasi. It will include a modern and sophisticated laboratory with capacity to determine quality and status of heavy metals in grain and straw. It will also undertake capacity building exercises for stakeholders across rice value chain.

Benefits from ISARC

The ISARC will help in utilizing the rich biodiversity of India to develop special rice varieties. It will help India to achieve higher per hectare yields and improved nutritional contents. Further it will help to address Indias food and nutritional security issues.

It will play a major role in harnessing and sustaining rice production in the region. It is also expected to be a boon for food production and skill development in the eastern India and similar ecologies in other South Asian and African countries.

The Centre will support in adopting value chain based production system in the country. Thus, help to reduce wastage, add value to produce and generate higher income for the farmers. The farmers in Eastern India will be main beneficiaries, besides those in South Asian and African countries.

About International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

It is an international agricultural research and training organization with headquarters in Los Banos, Philippines. It is also the largest non-profit agricultural research centre in Asia.

It was established in 1960 and has offices in 17 countries. It aims to reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensure environmental sustainability of rice farming.

IRRI is known for its work in developing high yeilding rice varieties that contributed to the Green Revolution in the 1960s. It advances its mission through collaborative research, partnerships, and the strengthening of the national agricultural research and extension systems of the countries IRRI works in.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2017

Category: Places in News Current Affairs

Topics: Cabinet Decisions  National

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Union Cabinet approves JIN pact between India and Bangladesh

Published: July 12, 2017

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the Joint Interpretative Notes (JIN) on the Agreement between India and Bangladesh for the Promotion and Protection of Investments.

Decision in this regard was taken at the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

Purpose of JIN

In general, JIN plays an important supplementary role in strengthening the investment treaty regime. Looking at increasing trend in Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) disputes, issuance of such statements is likely to have strong persuasive value for resolving disputes before arbitration tribunals. Moreover, such pro-active approach by states also can foster more predictable and coherent reading of treaty terms by tribunals.

Approval of JIN

The approval JIN by the Union Cabinet will impart clarity to the interpretation of the existing agreements between India and Bangladesh for the Promotion and Protection of Investments (BIPA). The JIN between India and Bangladesh includes interpretative notes to be jointly adopted for many clauses, including, the definition of investor, investment, exclusion of taxation measures, National Treatment (NT), Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) and Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment, essential security interests, expropriation and Settlement of Disputes between an Investor and Contracting Party.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2017

Topics: Cabinet Decisions  India-Bangladesh  Investments  Joint Interpretative Notes  National

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On Aug. 21 the Parkland will be experience one of natures rarities  a total solar eclipse will plunge the area into darkness, something that hasnt been witnessed in this area to that extent for 525 years.

For people in the Parkland, this will be the first time since 1492 that we have had a total solar eclipse, said Laura Raymer, the director of operations and member engagement for the Farmington Regional Chamber of Commerce. This is a big deal. When they say a once in lifetime event, this time they really mean it.

Although the totality of the eclipse, where the sun is completely blocked, will be less than three minutes, the total eclipse process takes a couple of hours.

The whole eclipse process takes around three hours, Raymer said. But there are a lot of different things that will happen. One thing you will notice is the temperature will drop almost 40 degrees.

According to Raymer, people may witness animals who are normally only out at night to start stirring and moving about.

People need to note, when it gets dark, animals may start coming out, Raymer said. They have a tendency to get a little confused during an eclipse.

Raymer also added that where you are watching the eclipse will also depend on how long the totality will last.

The length of totality will vary, Raymer said. The maximum totality is 2:40 minutes, but we are not entirely in that area. For Farmington totality will last about 2:12 minutes. Mineral Area College, where many of the eclipse (observation) events are taking place, will be in totality for about 2:18. And Bonne Terre will be about 2:20 minutes.

"Also, just east of us in Ste. Genevieve and Perryville they will experience full totality.

As a result of the rarity of a total solar eclipse, the Farmington area has become a popular destination to view the eclipse. In fact, according to Raymer, the area should prepare itself for the amount of visitors who will be coming to experience this event.

This is a pretty amazing event, Raymer said. We are actually going to have thousands of people coming to Southeast Missouri for the day or for the weekend, and experience what we have to offer.

"Most of the hotels in the area are already filled, so are most of the camping and RV sites, but I think St. Joe may still have some open spots.

In preparation for a the solar eclipse and the amount of people who will be descending upon the area, the chamber, along with Mineral Area College, have teamed up with the St. Louis Eclipse 2017 Task Force.

We have been fortunate to be a part of the (eclipse task force) since last year, Raymer said. We have been going up once a month and discussing what is going to happen, and what we need to do to prepare our community.

Whether you get your glasses from us or from somewhere else, just make sure you get them from somewhere. During the totality of the eclipse, you will be able to take your glasses off and look at the sun, but only during totality. Before and after, you must have your glasses.

During this months chamber luncheon on July 20 at the Centene Center the guest speaker will be Don Ficken, the head of the St. Louis Eclipse 2017 Task Force and a member of the St. Louis Astrological Society.

During his lecture, Ficken will discuss the different stages of the eclipse as well as the path and other pertinent information.

Following Ficken will be Dr. Chad Follis with Mineral Area College, who will discuss the events scheduled at the college for the day of the eclipse.

For more information on purchasing solar eclipse glasses or for information about the chamber luncheon contact the chamber at 573-756-3615.
Advocating pro-white viewpoints and flanked by members of the Warlocks Motorcycle Club, local right-wing blogger Jason Kessler spoke outside the Charlottesville Police Department on Tuesday night to discuss his upcoming rally and to denounce his opponents.

Kesslers Unite the Right rally, planned for Aug. 12 at Emancipation Park, will take place a little more than a month after about 50 members of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan held a rally in Justice Park that drew more than 1,000 counter-protesters.

Both rallies protest the citys decision to rename two parks that were named for Confederate generals and to sell a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee  which is on hold because of a court injunction. Those decisions are part of a larger push by the city to better tell its African-American history.

Kessler has distanced himself from the KKK rally, saying that the leader of the Klan chapter that filed for the city permit is an FBI informant and was paid by left-wing groups to discredit legitimate conservatives.

Kessler, who is the president and founder of Unity and Security for America, a right-wing political advocacy group, said his event is expected to draw hundreds of participants  his permit estimates there will be about 400. Far-right individuals such as alt-right leaders Richard Spencer and Tim Treadstone (also known as Baked Alaska) are expected to attend. Kessler has said he does not identify as either a white supremacist or a white nationalist.

When asked if the Proud Boys, a far-right fraternal organization founded by conservative commentator Gavin McInnes, would attend, Kessler said he could not speak for them. Kessler was seen in a livestreamed video in June being initiated into the group on the Downtown Mall.

Kessler said he will have security personnel in place, but declined to go into further detail. He said he also plans to coordinate with city police to keep the rally peaceful.

He also spoke against City Councilors Kristin Szakos and Wes Bellamy for their roles in City Council decisions on the parks and statues.

Many organizations such as Showing Up for Racial Justice Charlottesville have spoken out and demonstrated against Kessler. He said those organizations have used violent rhetoric against him and others. The two sides have occasionally interacted on the Downtown Mall in recent months, resulting in misdemeanor charges for two activists.

Kessler said people coming to the Unite the Right event are doing so to express their First Amendment rights.

We have a serious double-standard in this community and across this country where people who are white are not allowed to advocate for their own interests, he said.

Kessler went on to say that individuals of every other persuasion  homosexual, Muslim, Jewish, black, Hispanic, whatever are supported.

There is no one who is protecting white people, and that's absolutely unacceptable, said. If people really care about diversity, if they really care about values like equality, you have to be allowed to have white people advocate for their own interests.

People need to be able to come to America and see a majority European country because this is a country that was founded by European Americans, he continued.  (I)t's absolutely unacceptable for these liberals to have displacement-level policies which are removing the indigenous people from the country.
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Rodney D. Burnett, 46, of Crown Point, Indiana, was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with malicious wounding after police said he attacked a woman on Interstate 64 in Albemarle County.

State police responded to a call for an injured person and found a woman who had been assaulted near mile marker 101 on the interstate just after 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The victim was transported to the University of Virginia Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries, police said. She is listed in critical condition.

Shortly after 7 p.m., Albemarle County police located Burnetts vehicle on Batesville Road in Afton.

Burnett is being held at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

The investigation is ongoing.
Adventure-scarred canoes lashed to its pontoons, a fully loaded DCH-2 Beaver circled one of northwest Ontarios thousands of jagged. As it began its descent, the unbroken amalgam of boreal forest and shimmering water was transformed from a glorious abstract painting to a very real and intoxicating  almost threatening  wilderness. Like a seafood-zeroed raptor, the eyes of the four anglers aboard dilated.

The night before, in a pine-paneled cabin owned by Wilderness North, a Thunder Bay-based outfitter, Mark Melnyk, the operations chief fishing officer, weaved a suspiciously lofty description of the fishery we were set on.

A spider webs wispy vein of a massive watershed, the river is accessible only by bush plane and canoe.

Youll need a five or six weight, said Melnyk. Start with 3X tippet  Big foam hoppers  There are brook trout over five pounds.

Mark Taylor, Chris Hunt, Paul Smith and I chuckled nervously, pointing the hoppy contents of tall Northern Loggers down our gullets, attempting to marry dumfounded excitement with realistic caution.

When the Beaver found its feet on the water, we lost the reigns on our expectations.

Our river guides  Joe Boyce and Keith Missewace, Canadian natives of the Objibwe Nation  freed the canoes from their lashings. We piled out of the aircraft, tossing gear into the boats and splashing into the cool water of the rocky lake.

We rigged rods. Five- and six-weight for the brook trout. Finishing with staunch tippets and large, brightly colored grasshopper patterns, we formally entered the fantasy Melnyk sold us the night before.

Chris and Mark piled into one canoe with Joe. Paul and I filled out another, with Keith in the stern. Joe ripped the chord on a four-stroke bolted to his square-stern. Paul and I reached out and grabbed Joes aluminum walls and the gas-propelled craft carried us down lake towards the outlet.

Water began to flow and our canoe complex disassociated as the head of the river came into view. A scraggly, moss-covered white cedar arched over a shallow riffle. Joe, the elder of the two guides by about two decades, in the lead, stepped out of the canoe and strung the craft with a rope through the riffle to a gravel bar. Keith, 21, followed suit.

Canoes grounded, we stepped out picked our positions.

Chris got into position first, at the head of a long, sweeping run that trotted slowly down the outside bend of the river. Presenting downstream, he hooked up quickly but lost the fish as suddenly.

Mark waded the inside bank to position himself halfway down a swifter, shorter run with a soft pillow behind a rock in the center. Paul cozied up to Chris, casting downstream. Looking for room, I found it behind the rock that Mark wasnt fishing.

I slapped the foam on the water as hard as I could to alert the fish of its sudden faux turmoil and, with the rod tip high, began skittering the hopper in short, 4-inch jaunts in between pauses.

On the second cast, I watched as a royally large crimson belly rose to the surface, propelled like a rocket by ivory-tipped fins. An aggressive, splashy surge sucked down my fly.

I set the hook without hesitation, fully prepared, as I should have been fishing such a spot  a textbook trout feeding lie, though one that I have fished time and time again to no avail on less-fertile rivers. My six-weight flexed. The trout ripped line from my hand.

Joe sided up to me slowly, standing to my left. Relatively unenthused, the net held slackly by his side, he nudged me.

You just made me $10, he said with a devious grin.

$10?

I bet Keith youd catch the first fish. You had the right spot.

A resident of Fort Hope, Joe has fished this river his entire life. Its a four-hour boat ride and some sustenance pike fishing that separates him from his home, but he makes the trip a few times a year to fish for brookies, anyway.

Ten dollars didnt sound like much  not compared to the thrill of catching a foot-and-a-half-long brookie on a skated fly, but size alone didnt speak to the true value of what Joe netted a few minutes later.

The brook trout we had traveled by land and air and water to discover swam through the heart of a virgin ecosystem, unadulterated, unaltered by human industry. A wild place intact. Joes, and Keiths backyard. Their birthright and spiritual endowment.

A few moments after releasing my first fish, running about 18 inches and three pounds, Chris hooked into and landed a fish approaching 24 inches and six pounds.

It was then evident that the two Objibwe fishermen were trading nominal sums of a far more bountiful fortune.

Matthew Reilly is a columnist for the Rural Virginian. He may be reached at Matthew.evan14@gmail.com or AdventuresAfield.blogspot.com.
Aunt Beulah had never seen anything like it.

I had never seen anything like it, she told Imogene McCorkle as they stood in the frozen-food aisle at Food Lion.

Never heard of such a thing, Mrs. McCorkle responded. Right out of the blue?

Right out of the blue, Aunt Beulah said. I came home from prayer meetin Wednesday night. The lights were off in the house. I opened the front door and I hear Ralph say: Hey, honey, Im in the dining room. The dining room, I thought? He never goes in the dining room. First thing I thought was he mustve fallen over that cardboard box full of VBS decorations I put in there, broken his leg and couldnt get up. But he didnt sound like he was in pain. So I walked down the hall and found him sittin at the dining room table with a couple candles lit in the middle of it. He even stood up when I walked in.

Amazing, Mrs. McCorkle responded.

I know. The dining room smelled of Aqua Velva and the meal consisted of two Swanson TV dinners, a plate of white bread, bowls of fruit cocktail and bottles of Sprite. But, by all standards, it was still a fancy candlelight dinner.

My goodness.

Well, of course I was suspicious, Aunt Beulah went on. I said: Okay, Ralph, what did you do? He said: I fixed you dinner. And then I said: You know what I mean. Did you wreck the car? I told you to get that thing aligned before it killed somebody. I know its not race week in Charlotte, so whats up? He answered: I just want you to sit down and enjoy your candlelight dinner. And then he came around and pulled my chair out.

What on Earth did you do, Beulah? Mrs. McCorkle asked.

I put my Bible on the buffet, sat down, let my husband push my chair up to the table. We then enjoyed our first candle light dinner in years  not countin the times the powers gone out. He fixed me breakfast in bed the next mornin. Sent me flowers yesterday for no reason at all. And were goin to Charlottesville this weekend to see a movie. Its been a while since we saw a movie. I hear they have sound and color now.

Well I never, Mrs. McCorkle said. Odd, isnt it?

Yes, very odd, Aunt Beulah thought.

Well, dear, the way I see it, Mrs. McCorkle stated. When a man starts actin all strange and doin things he normally doesnt do, hes either one of two things: Up to no good or rabid. And in either case, the best thing to do is just shoot him. Have a nice day, Beulah.

With that, Mrs. McCorkle pushed her cart down the aisle and turned right toward the meat section.

Aunt Beulah pondered Imogenes statement for a moment and then pushed her cart down the aisle, picked up a package of Land O Lakes butter and made her way to the checkout line, where Kaye rang her up. As she waited for the total, Carl Epperly, one of Uncle Ralphs faithful fishing partners, came through the stores automatic doors.

Hi, Carl, Aunt Beulah said.

Hey, Beulah, Carl responded.

Pretty day, she said as she wrote Food Lion in the Pay to line of her check. Doin some fishing today?

Just a little. Im savin up for our trip to Buggs Island. That husband of yours said hes got some new lures he wants to try out and Burt wants to break in that new rod of his.

Really? Aunt Beulah questioned as she inconspicuously flipped to the calendar in her checkbook. Now I know Ralph mentioned it to me, but whats the date of that big trip?

July 30th, Carl answered. I remember cause 30 is my lucky number.

You dont say, Aunt Beulah responded as she looked at the words Williamsburg Pottery written in her checkbook calendar on the 30th day of July. Im sure glad its somebodys lucky number. Take care, Carl.

You too, Beulah, Carl said as he walked toward the beer section.

Fifty-seven thirty, Beulah, Kaye said. Another 30. Now isnt that something.

Yes. Isnt that something, Aunt Beulah said as she handed her the check and forced a smile. Whats the best thing to do with a rabid dog, Kaye?

Id say you either better call Animal Control or shoot it, Kaye replied. Otherwise, the poor thing will suffer.

Lord knows I would hate to see the poor thing suffer, Aunt Beulah said as she walked through the automatic doors and the forced smile quickly left her face.

Ill fill you all in later as to how Aunt Beulahs and Uncle Ralphs trip to the Williamsburg Pottery goes and how many fish Carl and Burt catch at Buggs Island on Saturday, July 30.

Meanwhile, try to enjoy the rest of your summer no matter how you spend it.
He has been cited by Rush Limbaugh, quoted in the New York Times, featured at Real Clear Politics and Lucianne.com and interviewed on radio, TV and in social media.





Inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame, for many years he served as a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State University. A former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) he has lectured at Rowan University, Temple University, The College of New Jersey and Arcadia University. He has conducted workshops on public relations for thousands of participants throughout the nation and has taught countless others the art of public speaking. He has also advised numerous lawyers, judges, public officials and political candidates.





Cirucci is a prolific writer and his op-ed pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier-Post and other publications.



A native of Camden NJ, Cirucci is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Cirucci served as Associate Executive Director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for nearly 30 years. He served as Chair of Penn State University's Professional Advisory Board for the Corporate Communication major at Penn State Abington and on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Selection Commission.



He received his MA degree from Rowan University and his BA from Villanova University. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Rowan's public relations program and received the E. A. "Wally" Richter Leadership Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Bar Executives' Communications Section. He has also been honored by numerous other local, state and national groups.









Cirucci's passions include politics, the popular culture, books and authors, art, communication, music, theatre, movies, dining and travel. In his hometown of Camden, Cirucci taught fifth grade at the Ulysses Wiggins Elementary School named for the founder of the Camden NAACP. There he was one of the first teachers in the country to teach African-American history to inner city students. He later served as editor of a local weekly newspaper, as Assistant to the Township Manager of Cherry Hill Township and as Associate Director of Communications at the New Jersey State Bar Association.

He's Dan Cirucci, the founder and editor-in chief of the Dan Cirucci Blog, Matt Rooney's sidekick on Save Jersey's videocasts and one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field. He's also been a public relations consultant to numerous organizations and individuals and hosted The Advocates on RVN-TV.
New Delhi: The communications ministry will set up working groups to deliberate on the new telecom policy (NTP) and hopes it will become a reality in 2018, Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said today.

The policy in the offing, will focus on areas such as Internet for all, next-generation technologies (like 5G and Internet of Things), skills development, and security, among others.

"We are commencing the work (on NTP)...and we will be setting-up the working groups and committees for this," Sundararajan said on the sidelines of an event on 'ICT: Engendering New Governance Structure'.

Asked if the telecom department hopes to bring the new policy in the sector sometime in 2018, she replied in affirmative saying, "yes, we are indeed hopeful". Speaking at a seminar, Telcom Minister Minister Manoj Sinha said the upcoming policy will be application driven as compared to connectivity driven at present.

The policy has to focus on the end users and should look at the newer opportunities for expanding the availability of telecom services, the minister added. He further pointed out that the advent of high-speed data services and enhanced user expectation of getting real time on-demand band-width to run live applications has set the tone for new policy.

Sundararajan said that the ministry will initiate the "widest possible public consultation" involving the industry, and that a series of regional workshops have also been planned to get inputs from local stakeholders on the new policy.

The department will work "intensively" on the policy over the next 3-4 months, she pointed out. On whether Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will be consulted on the policy, she said, "we will be in touch with TRAI for their policy inputs also".

The policy will focus on areas like Internet for all as well as new-age technologies like 5G and Internet of Things or IoT.

"Technologies like 5G and IoT will form the basis of the new Digital India. Other areas of focus will be skills development, getting more investments into telecom since we need to continuously upgrade our networks, and the aspect of security," she said.

India -- which is the second largest telecom market in the world with over one billion mobile subscribers -- saw FDI equity inflow of USD 5.56 billion between April 2016 to March 2017. This is more than four times the average inflow of about 1.3 billion dollars every year since 2013-14. However, the sector is now reeling under a staggering Rs 4.6 lakh crore of debt.

The industry players, both large and small, are complaining of pressure on revenue and profitability due to intense competition in the market, and disruptive voice and data offerings of newcomer Reliance Jio.

Sundararajan said the inter-ministerial group - constituted to suggest ways to ease the industry's financial stress - is expected to give its recommendations in ten days. She further added that the department is also considering setting up telecom Computer Emergency Response Team or CERT.

"We intend to start work on its soon...as telecom industry grows and telecom network security becomes more important, we will need a dedicated organisation which can look into the aspects of that," she said.

The standards for telecom security and the modalities of emergency response mechanism would be part of the new architecture of the telecom CERT, she added.
The four-month-old startup has been working on speed recognition and natural language processing among others.

Bengaluru: American search and technology giant Google has acquired four-month old Bengaluru-based AI-focused start-up Halli Labs for an undisclosed amount.

We are thrilled to share the news that the Halli Labs team is joining Google, the company, which named after a Kannada word for village, announced in a blog post on its website. The news was confirmed by Google later.

Welcome @Pankaj and the team at @halli_labs to Google. Looking forward to building some cool stuff together, tweeted Googles Vice President, Product Management, Caesar Sengupta on Wednesday.

Halli is founded by Pankaj Gupta, the former CTO of now defunct Stayzilla, and focuses on building deep learning and machine learning systems.

The four-month-old startup has been working on speed recognition and natural language processing among others.

Halli Labs was founded with the goal of applying modern AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning) techniques to old problems and domains in order to help technology enable people to do whatever it is that they want to do, easier and better. [And] what a better place than Google to help us achieve this goal, the post added.

We are excited that the Halli Labs team is joining Google. Theyll be joining our team that is focused on building products that are designed for the next billion users coming onl-ine, particularly in India, said Google spok-esperson Taj Meadows.

Before Stayzilla, Mr Gupta was incharge of running recommendation and personalization at Twitter. According to research by CB Insights, Google has been the most aggressive in this space with 11 acquisitions since 2012 followed.
Many users registered for Jio using their 12-digit Aadh-aar number issued by the government.

Mumbai: Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, which is looking into reports of a major leak of user data, has filed a police complaint alleging unlawful access to its systems, a police officer involved in the investigation said on Wednesday.

The complaint is the telecom companys first official acknowledgement of a systems breach. Jio has so far denied media reports and user accounts of a leak.

The officer involved in the investigation said Jio filed the complaint on Monday in Navi Mumbai, where it is headquartered. Jio, part of conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

Several news reports claimed on Sunday that names, telephone numbers and email addresses of Jio users were visible on a site called Magicapk, which was subsequently taken down.

Mukesh Ambani-led Jio rubbished the websites claims and said that its subscriber data was safe and maintained with the highest security. It said that data on the Magi-capk website appeared to be unauthentic.

MediaNama, however, contradicted these claims. They reported being able to cross reference and confirm the veracity of the data on numerous Jio customers known to them.

Experts say India has inadequate data protection laws that do not mandate companies or agencies to notify clients if their personal data has been breached. Advocates for stronger data protection laws say this results in data leaks often going unreported.

There is a clear stigma attached to being hacked, or data being stolen, said Akash Mahajan, a web security consultant in Bengaluru, adding this is why companies in India often do not admit to data breaches.

On Tuesday, police in Rajasthan detained a man on suspicion of involvement in the breach, which cyber security analysts say could be the first large-scale leak from an Indian telecoms firm.

The officer involved in the matter declined to give further detail on the investigation, but said preliminary evidence indicated the widely-used Aadhaar numbers of Jio customers were not compromised in the leak.

Jio has over 10 crore subscribers after drawing in users with months of free service and now cut-price deals. It is not clear whether data on all 100 million plus customers was compromised. Many users registered for Jio using their 12-digit Aadh-aar number issued by the government.
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India governor Urjit Patel is today meeting parliamentary panel that is expected to put before him pricking questions on demonetisation. The panel had called Patel on May 25 and June 28 also but the RBI governor sought exemptions which were granted.

The government on November 8 last year had scrapped legal tender status of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes as part of its crackdown on black money, counterfeiting and corruption. Earlier, RBI had refused to divulge information on demonetisation sought under the Right to Information Act citing that the matter pertained to national security.

Urjit Patel had earlier met one parliamentary panel and told then jury that the central bank had warned the government about consequences of an 'abrupt' demonetisation. Patel who is appearing before the panel will have to answer these questions:

1) According to a report in The Indian Express, the parliamentary panel has prepared a set of questions for RBI governor Urjit Patel to answer. It includes query on banks' preparedness for transition to digital transactions.

2) The panel will also ask Patel how much money has come back into the banking system after Rs 16 lakh crore worth of currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denominations were scrapped overnight.

3) Patel will also be asked by the panel the real purpose of demonetisation that sucked out all the cash from the economy causing intense hardships to the common man.

4) The parliamentary panel will also ask Patel how the central bank carried out the entire demonetisation exercise. Did it follow the rules? It will also ask what role did the central bank play.

5) Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance has already questioned governor Patel on January 18 this year. The Committee headed by Congress leader M Veerappa Moily had asked various questions most of which were not answered at that time.
On July 10, the state government received the order of not charging the state surcharge on imports of petroleum products.

Mumbai: The prices of petrol and diesel are set to come down in Maharashtra as the government has decided to slash the state surcharge levied on petroleum products. State food and civil supplies minister Girish Bapat gave this information here today.

"The prices of petrol will come down in the range of 66 paise to Rs 1.77 per litre depending on the local taxes of the municipal corporations and other local bodies. Similarly the diesel prices will come down in the range of Rs 1.25 to Rs 1.66 per litre," Bapat said.

"The GST roll-out made all the other existing taxes redundant. Though the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) octroi was abolished, the state surcharge was found to be exercised by the public sector oil companies. Hence, the state government made a request to the Union Petroleum Ministry to abolish these charges as well," he said.

On July 10, the state government received the order of not charging the state surcharge on imports of petroleum products. Hence, its implementation will bring down the price of petrol and diesel, Bapat said.
The Code on Wages Bill will ensure minimum wages as a right for all employees.

Mumbai: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday is likely to give approval to the Code on Wages Bill that seeks to mandate minimum wages as a right for all employees.

According to a report in Financial Express, the code will then be open for discussions in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament.

This move is being viewed as one of the first steps taken by the Labour Ministry to embark on a series of labour reforms in the country. The bill which seeks to create transparency in the labour sector has been approved by an inter-ministerial panel on labour, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Here are five things the Code on Wages seeks to change:
Dileep's membership of film artists association AMMA and FEFKA have also been revoked on Tuesday.

Mumbai: On Wednesday, Malayalam actor Dileep, who has been booked for conspiracy in the abduction and molestation of a renowned actress, was sent to police judicial custody for two days by the Angamaly Judicial Magistrate court. The police had requested three days custody for further questioning and gathering evidence, the court has granted permission for two days.

His lawyer, K Ramkumar, has filed an application for bail.

Malayalam actress abduction: Gangrape charge stares at Dileep

As per the remand report of police, Dileep has been booked under 10 sections that include conspiracy, gangrape and destruction of evidence. If the conspiracy charge {IPC section 120 (B)} is proved, he may get a life sentence. However, it is said that the other sections could be dropped by virtue of benefit of doubt if his conspiracy charges are not proved before the court of law.

Police officers involved in this case are digging deeper to gather more evidence and find out if others were part of it. Mukesh, one of the AMMA members and a Left-backed MLA, may also be questioned and further arrests are highly likely to happen.

Members from the film industry, who had supported the actor earlier, have also started giving him the cold shoulder and are no longer showing solidarity with him.

Malayalam actress abduction: Cops arrest Dileep on conspiracy charges

The 48-year-old actor, who is often regarded as the third biggest actor Malayalam film industry has ever produced, after Mamooty and Mohan Lal, reportedly said the morning before his arrest that he was innocent.

I am innocent and I will prove my innocence. I was trapped, said Dileep. On Monday evening, he was was arrested after multiple rounds of questioning at an undisclosed location.

On February 17, the actress was abducted and molested by unidentified men when she was returning home from a shoot in Ernakulam district in Kerala.

The incident took place when the men stopped and hijacked her car near Athani in Angamaly. The actress was molested in a moving car till they reached Palarivattom, which is roughly 25 kms away. The accused men got down at Palarivattom and fled in another car.

The gang also took video and photos of the actress while threatening her of dire consequences inside the running car. The police have registered a case of kidnapping and molestation.

Last month, Dileep was questioned for close to 13 hours after the claimed that he and his director friend Nadirshah were being blackmailed for 1.5 Cr by the kidnappers that incuded Pulsar Suni, the main accused. On several occasions, Suni was reportedly spotted on the sets of Dileeps films and the duo has reportedly known each other for years. Last week, Pulsar Suni told reporters, A big shark will fall, after his second jail sentence.

Police were reportedly informed that Suni was paid to attack the actress. Kerela police have also raided a boutiqueLakshyaowned by Dileeps wife in search of criucial evidence after the main accused took the actors name in his confession.

On Monday evening, a hotel owned by the star in Kochi was attacked and ransacked by an angry mob.
A blog about life under, and resisting, a dictatorship
In March, HMK had filed a complaint against the actor for his remarks about epic Mahabharata in an interview. (Photo: File)

Chennai: In a setback to 'Bigg Boss Tamil', the reality television show hosted by actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan, a right-wing group on Wednesday asked to arrest him and ban the show.

The show went on air late in June and was the actor's debut in small screen.

Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK), a right-wing group has also asked to arrest the contestants alleging that they were mouthing obscene statements, saying that the show also promotes nudity, NDTV reported.

"They should be arrested under law because they are hurting Tamil culture and the programme should be banned," the group said in a statement accusing the show of hurting the sentiments of 7 crore people of the state.

As part of the show, all 15 participants, except one who are actors will remain locked inside the house along with 30 cameras to monitor them. According to the rules of the show, one contestant will be eliminated every week.

Arjun Sampath part of the right-wing group has also claimed that the show promotes Leftist and Dravidian ideologies. He also alledged that the only non-actor on the show, Juliana, was selected because she had spoken against the BJP government during the Jallikattu protests, the report added.

The group had earlier targeted the actor a few months ago.

In March, HMK had filed a complaint against the actor for his remarks about epic Mahabharata in an interview. They termed his comments derogatory. However, the High Court had suspended summons issued to the actor by the court.
Tiger Shroff has always been very polite to the media and his fans.

Mumbai: Tiger Shroff recently got trapped in a controversy related to his statement given to a popular tabloid in an interview.

The actor was continuously prodded with questions related to him being comfortable working with newbies in his upcoming film Student of The Year 2 by Karan Johar, and also if he was recommending alleged beau Disha Patanis name for the same.

To which, the actor replied, I dont get involved with the casting at all. I dont really care about the padding around me. Its the script and my character that matters.

This statement by him sparked off yet another debate on the blatant sexism that exists in Bollywood.

However, clarifying it to a daily, Tiger said, The reporter kept asking me about who my heroines in SOTY 2 (Student of The Year 2) are and she tried to also ask me if Im pushing Disha (Patani) for my films. I just meant to say that all I care about are my role and work. Everything else depends on the director because ultimately, its his vision, after all.

People who know me well know that I am not the kind of a guy to insult and disrespect women. I never called my heroines padding. I was referring to everything else about the film  how the director designs the film, shoots, and pads it up. I was talking about the structure and the padding around a film to make it larger and not about the girls at all," clarified the Munna Michael actor.

He further said, The reporter misinterpreted me completely in the process. She asked me if I was okay being cast opposite newcomers and I said it didnt matter. What matters to me is the script and my role. I dont interfere with the casting at all because I am very focused on myself. Thats all a filmmakers responsibility. The last thing I would do is think of actresses as mere props.

Tiger concluded by saying, "I was too shocked to say anything. I just saw people slamming me for something I didnt even mean. I hope people understand what I actually meant."

Few months ago, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma had reacted to a magazine cover picture of Tiger and had mocked him for posing like actress Urmila Matondkar, even then the actor remained calm and replied in the most softest way possible.

This act by Tiger proves that he refrains from landing into any kinds of controversy, and is the humblest person ever in this industry.
Kochi: Superstar Dileep was dragged to court in a police van from Aluva jail in his hometown, which is about 25 kilometres from Kochi. A fleet of police vehicles escorted the van amidst reports that an angry mob could cause chaos.

When Dileep's lawyer filed for bail, the court said that it would hear Dileeps bail request only after two days, allowing the police to interrogate him in the meantime. The police wanted his custody for three days but the court granted them two.

Police sources said they are investigating allegations made on Dileep that he offered a man 1.5 crore rupees in 2013 to attack the actress and wanted the assault recorded on video and nude photographs clicked.

The actor bore grudge against the actress, as she revealed his affair with Kavya Madhavan to Dileeps ex-wife Manju Warrior, which led to them falling apart.

As he sought bail on Wednesday, Dileeps lawyer told the court that his client has been trapped in a conspiracy scripted by "a very fertile imagination."

"Dileep has acted in many movies, but this is the best script and highly imaginative," lawyer K Ramkumar said, calling it "an indiscriminate arrest without any evidence in the remand report to prove his crime at all."

On Monday, Dileep, 48, was arrested in the abduction case, after long hours of interrogation session by police officials.

He was sent to police custody for 14 days on Tuesday.

On February 17, the actress was abducted and molested by unidentified men when she was returning home from a shoot in Ernakulam district in Kerala.

The incident took place when the men stopped and hijacked her car near Athani in Angamaly. She was molested in a moving car till they reached Palarivattom, which is roughly 25 kms away. The accused men got down at Palarivattom and fled in another car.

The gang also took videos and photos of her and threatened her of dire consequences.

Six people were arrested earlier this year, including the main accused Pulsar Suni, a driver she had sacked and the man the police allege Dileep contracted to attack her.

While the actor has said he does not know Pulsar Suni, the police has found out that Dileep had known Suni for many years and that the latter was present at many of his film shooting venues.

The actor's lawyer challenged this argument in the court saying, "Dileep is a superstar and many come to meet him during his film shoots. He doesn't know everyone."

In the next two days police are expected to take the actor to places where the conspiracy to attack the actress was allegedly hatched. The police could also summon others from the film industry for questioning.

After he was sent to prison on Tuesday, the Association of Malayalam Movies Artistes sacked Dileep, after top actors met at mega star Mammootty's Kochi home.
The audio function of Fidaa starring Varun Tej, was held at a function hall in Hyderabad on Monday. The film is produced by Dil Raju and directed by Sekhar Kammula.

Dil Raju, under pressure from Chiranjeevi fans, took the opportunity at his films audio function to try and pacify them. The criticism is that he didnt mention the name of Chiranjeevi at his earlier success meet of Duvvada Jagannadham, and also announced that the film created all non-Baahubali records. Irate fans of the Megastar approached Dil Raju on Monday and asked him to clarify the records. They also put up a video on social media saying that the producer agreed about fake records and that he would clarify the issue at the Fidaa music launch.

Varun Tej and Sekhar Kammula

It is reported that Chiranjeevis 150th film Khaidi No.150 was compared to my film Duvvada Jagannadham. But my film is nothing compared to Chiranjeevis film, said Dil Raju, specifying that it is Chiranjeevi who gave many lead actors to the industry. I have had many moments with Chiranjeevi garu, right from a fan to having him as the chief guest for my film. All the actors, including Pawan Kalyan, Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Varun Tej and Sai Dharam Tej were introduced to the industry because of Chiranjeevi. So, we always remember him at all our functions, he said.

Meanwhile, though Varun Tej is the lead actor of Fidaa, none of the actors from Chiranjeevis family attended the function. In his speech, Varun Tej explained, Generally, someone like daddy (Chiru), Babai (PK), Charan anna or Bunny come to our functions, but they didnt come as we decided to make this function with only the films crew.

He added that he made a few faults in his career and assured fans that he will choose the best in his coming films.
Hyderabad: Maximum C-sections and normal babies are born during morning and mid-afternoon hours, according to data assessed from medical records, showing a high morning pattern in births. The data shows that 20 per cent of the babies are born in the most popular week than in the least popular ones. They are generally born in the mornings and before noon and there is a rush, mostly on Mondays, when the number is slightly higher than other weekdays.

Dr Vimee Bindra, consultant gynaecologist and laparoscopic surgeon at Apollo hospitals, explained, It is not only C-sections, but any kind of surgeries are planned in the morning, as there is always a complete workforce in terms of doctors, nurses, staff and also easy availability of blood and easier management of complications. These are the reasons that most babies are born during morning hours. A C-section is an elective case, a planned surgery and it is justified medically. But this does not hold true for natural labours and emergency cases where there is no set time for childbirth.

Doctors state that normal induced birthing where the labour pain goes on for hours, is often found to deliver during morning hours and only in a few cases in the late evening or night. Dr Sridevi I, senior gynaecologist at a government hospital explained, We find that most patients are approaching hospitals during the morning hours as they know that there are senior doctors during that time. Only emergency cases get taken up in the evenings.

The late evening child C-section births are found to cause problems, like late arrival of anaesthetist, lack of staff and problems in procuring blood. Dr Geeta Naidu, senior gynaecologist, explained, There is a major challenge of doctor-patient ratio, but that does not mean deliveries are not done in the late evening or night. Emergencies are handled as and when they arrive.

Rich opt for mahurat babies:

Mahurat Baby is a major demand where the babys time of birth is decided by astrologers. This time is then passed on to the doctor who insists that the birth must be carried out during that time only. Dr Hema Diwaker, senior obstetrician and gynaecologist explained, Doctors are pressured by high-end paying clients that the child must be born according to a particular time only. They are not willing to listen to the medical reasons and are clear that only during this time will the child have a good future. But with the government of India now asking for an explanation from gynaecologists over the increasing C-sections, we are trying to explain to them but many of them are very adamant.

Another senior doctor on condition of anonymity explained, Despite counselling the patient and their relatives which are in huge numbers, they are adamant that the time of delivery must be according to astrological beliefs only. Many of them are adamant and openly state that if their demand is not met they are willing to change the doctor and the hospital. But what the family fails to understand is the plight of the mother and her offspring. Due to these kind of episodes after the first round of counselling if the family does not agree, we simply go ahead with them as for us the health and care of the pregnant mother is more important.

Due to these kind of pressure tactics, a section of gynaecologists tell the pregnant mother, father-in-law and also mother-in-law on Day One of consultation that they do not carry out the demand of mahurat babies. A special counselling is carried out by the hospital that astrological considerations must not be enforced on them and they will only follow the medical condition and deliver the babies. It has been tough for many but their patients have been loyal and returned accordingly. But this number is very few compared to many others who state that they have no option but to succumb.
There are 13 toilets that are worth travelling to. (Photo: Facebook / Ultimate Kilimanjaro)

New Delhi: It may be just about every traveller's pet peeve, but it turns out, nature's call need not always be a nightmare and can be answered beautifully. When travelling, toilets can be the worst part - confusing foreign languages, puzzling unfamiliar hygiene practices and awkward situations like plane turbulence and moving trains, but at some destinations, they can actually become your trip's highlight.

From futuristic commodes to box-urinals, ixigo, a travel search engine, has flushed out some toilets that have upped their game and are worth appearing on our Instagram feeds.

According to the World Toilet Organisation, we spend nearly three years of our lives on the throne and it's probably even more if smartphones accompany us. This fact is enough to set you off on a mission to make an interesting stop along the way.

Here are 13 toilets that are worth travelling to:

1. Barafu Camp, Tanzania: When you are trekking Africa's tallest mountain, toilet papers become an important investment. Be ready to immerse in the wilderness of various ecosystems and stop by to relax and ease yourself at Barafu camp's toilet located at the height of 15,287 feet.

2. Eco-toilet, British Columbia, Canada: Eco-toilets are used in areas in areas that lack water. Squat in the woods on this peaceful throne at Taylor Arm Provincial park on the north side of Sproat Lake in British Columbia, Canada.

3. Jonsknuten, Kongsberg, Norway: A Norwegian odyssey means soaking in the beauty of many dramatic landscapes and experiencing the twists of nature's artistry. The quaint town of Kongsberg opens a window to mount Jonsknuten elevated at the height of 2,966 ft. with a toilet for a picturesque 'poo-fect' holiday.

Here now in Kongsberg, Norway. #kongsberg #riverphotography #travelphotography #norway A post shared by FlorenceCheng (@florencecheng_hk) on Jul 12, 2017 at 4:38am PDT

4. Denali, Alaska: Famed as the highest mountain peak in North America with a summit elevation of 20,310 ft., Denali claims a prominent place in the 7 summits of the world and it's located in Alaska. Dropping a deuce here must feel like an over achievement.

A post shared by Dave Hahn (@davehahn.climb) on Jul 12, 2017 at 7:15am PDT

5. Mount Shukshan, Washington, USA: How dream-like would it be on a breezy day after a tiresome long trek to drop the bomb in the mountains? Mount Shukshan provides certain amenities at Sulphide Glacier base that'll make you fall in love with this scenic destination.

6. Mount Whitney, California, USA: With an elevation of 14,505 feet, Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States. Installing a toilet at such great heights is extremely thoughtful if nothing.

#mountwhitney A post shared by Matthew McCreary (@mgm808) on Jul 12, 2017 at 7:16am PDT

7. Paradise Bay, Antarctica: If you're planning an expedition to the magnificent glaciers of Antarctica, then Paradise Bay is one of only two harbors used for cruise ships to stop on the continent. Mark your territory by dropping code brown at the quietest toilet in the world.

A place like no other #antarctica #paradisebayantarctica #silent #soundofnature #mirror #seaadventurer #quarkexpeditions A post shared by Andriy Andriu (@andriy) on Mar 14, 2017 at 5:56pm PDT

8. Segantini Hut, Muottas Muragl, Switzerland: Swiss Alps, where the sunsets are a sight to behold and the wintery panoramic view becomes a playground for snowshoe hikers. Silent Segantini hut is located on the summit of Muottas Muragl.

#segantinihut #segantinihutte toilet A post shared by Song Lee (@songleeklee) on Jun 24, 2017 at 2:13am PDT

9. Sapporo JR Tower, Japan: This 38-storey tower is a skyscraper and office complex located in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Amongst its many spectacular amenities and features, the male urinals are lined adjacent to the large windows that offer bird's eye view of the Sapporo city. Now taking a leak here would be really adventurous.

(10/365)JR #travelphotography #sapporojrtower #nightview #genic_pt A post shared by Yuka Sasagawa (@yukaxxoro) on Nov 25, 2016 at 1:20am PST

10. The Shard, London: Making a code brown deposit with a stunning view of London at the height of 1,016 ft. has to be worth a million bucks. The Shard is an epitome of exquisite architectural design that stands proudly as the tallest building in the United Kingdom.

Up this high, we'll never hit the ground A post shared by Rio (@riosicilia) on Jul 12, 2017 at 7:36am PDT

11. Thiksey Monastery, Ladakh, India: Inline image 13 Ladakh is every backpacker's dream come true if you are a sucker for mountainous adventures. Its dramatic landscapes and cascading rivers will put your foreign postcards to shame. Write your poop-tastic travel story now!

12. Toilet Island, Belize: On usual days, one thinks what it would be like to own an island that is no less than any paradise. But an off-beat traveller might have to go an extra mile to discover an island that is famous for a fully functioning toilet.

13. Wringapeak, United Kingdom: How often do you see thrusting waves and a stunning coastal view from your toilet window? Wringapeak offers a luxury accommodation in England with extraordinary vistas.
The Kerala Government has told the Supreme Court that it will set up zoos for stray dogs in its districts in a bid to rehabilitate them.

Dogs in Kerala have increasingly become a menace and a threat to humans and other animals.

According to the government, they have framed a policy which makes it mandatory for district panchayats to acquire 2-3 acres of agricultural land for the aforementioned purpose.

However, the Centre, along with the Animal Welfare Board and NGOs opposed opening dog zoos stating that keeping a check on rising dog population would perhaps yield better results, provided the state government implemented the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rule to sterilise canines.

The state, however, is not in favour of it and wants to have power to take a policy decision to create canine zoos.

The apex court said it will examine the legal question as to whether the 2001 Dog Rules, framed by the Centre, would prevail over the state laws.

The court has also expressed its unhappiness at the rising number of dog bites and attacks in the state and has asked the government to take steps to find a solution.

The court also expressed unhappiness over increasing cases of dog bites in Kerala and asked the state government to take steps to ensure that such cases are checked.

A bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra and Mohan M Santana Goudar wondered as to why such cases were more prevalent in Kerala. According to the legal counsel of dog bite victims, 1.16 lakh people had been affected in the State and 22 died.

The alarming number of stray dogs and dog attacks across Kerala in the recent years had resulted in the state government proposing to mass cull the strays, a move which was opposed by various animal rights groups.
Skills on Wheels  a customised bus retrofitted with all the necessary tools and equipment to deliver the multi skill vocational education in secondary schools

Mumbai: Lend A Hand India (LAHI), a Pune-based NGO recently undertook a Skill Yatra from Pune to Ladakh.

The NGO attempted to bring attention to skill education in schools from Pune to Ladakh through Skills on Wheels  a customised bus retrofitted with all the necessary tools and equipment to deliver the multi skill vocational education in secondary schools.

Speaking about the initiative, Raj Gilda, Co-founder & Director, LAHI, said, Owning a skill set is extremely important in a growing economy like ours. It is emerging as the new currency across businesses adding to personal, professional, and economys growth. India is caught between maintaining a fine balance between the skill gap and vocational education in far flung areas due to geographic issues.

He further went on to add, It is critical to take proactive measures such as Skill Yatra by Lend-A-Hand India to amalgamate vocational education with skill based learning to overcome the existing gap.

Sunanda Mane, Co-founder & President, LAHI, stated, India will need to generate at least 280 million jobs between now and 2050. There is 36 million unemployed youth in India. Of these 24 million live in villages and substantial number move to cities in search of employment. The initiative supported by Bajaj Auto is one of the solutions that can help the growth of skill education.

The Skill Yatra begun from Pune and had the final stop at Leh, Ladakh, where it visited the famous 'Druk Padma Karpo School', also known as Rancho School  the location of movie 3 Idiots.

During the Yatras last leg, Vinod Tawde - Minister of Education  Maharashtra and Dr. Suvarna Kharat - Joint Secretary - Dept. of Education  Maharashtra received the Skill Yatra at Mantralya Mumbai.
Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday evening. (Photo: Representational/PTI)

Srinagar: Security forces have launched a massive hunt to track down Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander and Pakistani national Abu Ismail, who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly attack on Amarnath pilgrims.

Proactive operations have been launched, mainly in south Kashmir, to track down Ismail as investigations including communication intercepts have pointed out to his involvement in the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, a senior police official said.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday evening.

The official said the attack in Anantnag appears to be a reprisal for killing of several Lashkar militants including Bashir Lashkari in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.

"The terrorists are frustrated at the back to back losses suffered by them during counter-insurgency operations over the past month or so and have now resorted to attacking civilians and tourists," he said.

According to the official, Ismail has been active in Kashmir for several years and had moved base to south Kashmir more than a year ago.

The Anantnag attack on Amarnath pilgrims came the same day when police announced arrest of a module of LeT including a Hindu terrorist hailing from Muzaffaranagar area of Uttar Pradesh.

Lashkar has not only distanced itself from the attack on Amarnath pilgrims but also condemned the attack.

LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi, while condemning the attack on pilgrims, has said, "It is against Islamic teachings".

"The attack on the pilgrims is highly reprehensible act. Islam does not allow violence against any faith," he said.
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More than 100 madrasa students and 16 rectors from Guwahati being questioned by the CCB and Railway police, in Bengaluru on Tuesday (Photo:DC)

Bengaluru: Rumours of mass child trafficking spread like a wildfire in the city, when more than 150 madrasa students, accompanied by 16 rectors, were detained by the Cantonment Railway police when they alighted from the Guwahati-Bengaluru train on Tuesday morning.

The children were made to wait for more than eight hours at the station before they were let off by the police.

The police detained the students after a few commuters, mistaking the children to be the victims of child trafficking, alerted the city police, who informed the railway police about the incident.

Following rumours of children being trafficked from Bangladesh, the railway police swung into action and along with the officials of Child Welfare Committee verified documents of the children. They then confirmed that the children were actually returning to their respective madrasas after finishing the Ramzan holidays.

There were more that 150 children between the age group of eight and 13 years. They were taken to the waiting room to verify their documents after which they were let off. Our prime concern was to ensure they are not trafficked, a senior police officer part of the investigation said.

He said that thought it did not appear to be a case of child trafficking, but verification was necessary. However, one of the rectors told Deccan Chronicle that children were made to unnecessarily wait for more than eight hours, all because of a 'false alarm'.

As the children waited at the station, the railway police provided them food and water. Some passersby even gave biscuits.

The children, who were studying in different madrasas in the state, had boarded the Guwahati Express and alighted at the Cantonment Railway Station around 11 am.

From here they were to travel by buses to their respective madrasas in Sagar, Madikeri and Tumkur.

Some are studying in madrasas in the city.
Chennai: At a time when the agricultural yields are declining, owing to the increase in farmer suicide cases, a 70-year-old farmer from Ponneri has a success story to share. Meet E. Devaraj from the Sinnakavanam village of Ponneri in Tiruvallur district, who has embraced solar energy to cultivate sugar-free rice.

A woman sprays natural fertlizer in the field.

The organic way of farming has not just reduced his dependence on electricity, but also enhanced the productivity. Devaraj who has been in the eco-friendly style for the last 5 years told Decan Chronicle that it is a way to sensitise many farmers into it.

He has purchased solar panels from the agriculture department at the cost of Rs 3 lakh, for which the government pays a subsidy of Rs 2 lakh.

The farmer, in his 3.5-acre field in the village, produces two varieties of rice  Karuppu Kavuni and NR9 sourced from Gujarat and Thanjavur.

I bought 10 kilos of NR 9 variety for Rs 1,200. People warned me that the variety would not sustain due to the change in the weather conditions. But I tried, he recollected.

The yield has been threefold. It was the same with the Karuppu Kavuni rice, which is predominantly used as gruel.  I bought 36 kg of Karuppu Kavuni variety. The yield was a total of 925 kg, the farmer said, with a pride in his voice.

His cultivation involves zero use of artificial fertilisers. Devaraj prepares his own fertilisers through a paste of ginger, garlic and green chillies. Before sowing the seeds, I soak the seeds in the leaves of neem, ground nut and cow dung. During the period of cultivation, I spray natural fertilisers, he explained.

Devaraj sells his yield directly to the public, as a co-operative society is more than 30 km away. But there is a need for a cooperative society in our village, for those who want to sell it here, he opined. So how did he go eco-friendly? He attributes the reason to Rafidullah, a Minjur agricultural department official, and Nammalvars follower Sundaraman for showing the path.

Devaraj is well known among his customers not just for selling the rice at a minimal price, but also for distributing the saplings of Costus igneous ( a medicinal plant that treats insulin) with the rice bags.
Mumbai: In a dig at the BJP over the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday asked the senior ally of his party to send 'gau rakshaks' to fight terrorists in the Valley.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday evening.

While five of the deceased hailed from neighbouring Gujarat, two were from Maharashtra.

"They (the BJP) used to say that do not bring sports, culture etc. in political issues. Today, religion and politics came together in the form of the terror attack. Should we understand that none of those terrorists would have been alive today if they had cow meat in their bags and not weapons?"

"The issue of 'gau rakshaks' is raging today. Why don't you send these vigilantes to fight terrorists?" Thackeray asked while addressing representatives of various Ganesh mandals for the upcoming festival here.

Thackeray, whose party shares an uneasy relationship with the BJP, further said, "If the BJP government can talk to separatists in the Kashmir Valley to resolve their issues, they can certainly talk with those wishing to celebrate the Ganesh festival amidst fanfare".

He requested the Devendra Fadnavis government to bring in an ordinance against restrictions imposed by the Bombay High Court on noise level during the festivals.
It is time the burden on Cauvery river is reduced and rainwater harvesting is taken up seriously by Bengalureans. If the city harvests rainwater, it can conserve up to 15tmcft of water, which is nearly 80 per cent of Bengalurus requirement of 19 tmcft per annum. Though BWSSB has identified over 1.4 lakh properties that are supposed to install rainwater harvesting systems, only 72,500 have complied till July 2017. Water experts, who are not happy with the progress, say that the water board should take up publicity initiatives and set realistic goals to achieve 100 percent compliance. Experts argue that water crisis in the city will worsen over the years and RWH is the only way out, report Aknisree Karthik and Aksheev Thakur.

Bengaluru, on an average, receives 700-800 mm of rain. If RWH is taken up comprehensively, the city can conserve up to 15 tmcft of rainwater, which is nearly 80 percent of our Cauvery water requirement of 19 tmcft per annum, said water expert and lead scientist at IISC T.V. Ramachandra.

If the city takes up RWH and also recycles waste water, it can conserve up to 31 tmcft of water, he points out. If we catch rainwater, we can save up to 15 tmcft and if we recycle waste water, we get another 16 tmcft of water, he said.

The well-to-do do not have any concern for the environment and ignore RWH. They defend their decision not to install RWH systems, saying they dont have space in their buildings to store rainwater. If they cannot harvest and store rainwater, they can at least divert the collected rainwater to a recharging pit, which will help recharge depleting groundwater levels, he said.

Citizens' Action Forum president Mr D.S. Rajashekar on the lack of compliance from citizens, said, How many government offices have RWH systems in place? It is more obligatory on them to do this and set an example for the citizens.

On the awareness campaigns taken up by the BWSSB, he said, Whatever the water board is doing is not sufficient. Campaigns should be held on every street. Citizens should be made aware of the present scenario prevailing over Cauvery river, how the natural resources is being burdened, how there has been a population explosion in the city, etc. Then, the people should be made to realise that there isn't enough water in Cauvery to meet the growing demands of the city."

Mr Rajashekar said, Eight monsoon seasons have gone by since the state government made rainwater harvesting mandatory, but we have seen only 50 percent compliance. RWH should not be enforced on citizens; it should be treated as a joint effort of the government and citizens.

A road map has to be drawn up with a proper plan on how to achieve 100 percent compliance within a short period, say a year, he said.

Fact-file

In 2009, BWSSB made it mandatory for all existing building in 60x40 sqft sites and upcoming ones on 30x40 sqft plots to install RWH.

BWSSB identified over 1.4 lakh properties that are supposed to install RWH.

Of the identified ones, only 72,500 properties have installed RWH systems till now.

The water board, to motivate citizens to take up RWH, is organising street plays, awareness campaigns, seminars and workshops.

The RWH theme park in Jayanagar has all working RWH working models to help citizens choose the one that suits their need.

This apart, the BWSSB has listed the resources to set up RWH systems, like plumbers, on their website.

BWSSB sources said that from July 2016 till May 2017, a fine of Rs 7.69 crore has been collected from defaulters.

We have to make errant building owners fall in line

The BWSSB claims it is doing all it can to increase the number of rainwater harvesting structures in the city, but till now, only half of the total identified properties have fallen in line.

Ask BWSSB chairman Tushar Girinath on the poor conversion ratio, he says, We have taken up all sorts of measures to make people aware of the benefits of rainwater harvesting. Be it roping in local NGOs or Bharath Scouts and Guides to carry the message of RWH to every households in the city, the BWSSB is doing its bit. He said that pamphlets have been distributed and street plays conducted regularly, elaborating the benefits of RWH to impress upon the people to take up RWH voluntarily.

This apart, we have all been working on display models at our RWH theme park. Visitors can see every single working model available on RWH. Our engineers assist the visitors and explain different models to help people choose what suits them, he said.

But still, the compliance is low. Those who do not fall in line have been severely penalised. Structures without RWH have to pay 25 percent of the water bill as fine for the first three months. After three months, the fine doubles, he explained. BWSSB sources said that from July 2016 to May 2017, fines of Rs 7.69 crore have been collected from defaulters. Getting the needed resources like plumbers and skilled labourers is not a difficult task. We have listed all the details on our website. It is the people who have to make up their mind to install RWH systems and conserve water for the benefit of the future generations, he advised.

On the reasons for the people not complying with the rules, he said, According to the RWH notification, the existing buildings built on 60x40 sqft plot should install RWH systems. As majority of these buildings do not have adequate space or arrangement to install RWH, they are not falling in line.

On how the BWSSB will make buildings that do not have a BWSSB connection to fall in line, he said, We do not have any mechanism now. As groundwater is under the purview of the Department of Mines and Geology, we have to evolve a system to make such building owners fall in line.
Attorney General KK Venugopal pressed the apex court for an early set up of the Bench on Aadhaar. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, on Wednesday, agreed on setting up a five-judge Constitution bench to probe the issues that are by-products of Aadhaar, especially the most discussed - right to privacy.

The hearing for the same has been dated for July 18 and 19.

Requesting an early hearing, the Centre on Wednesday had said, "Millions of people are involved in the outcome of the case."

Attorney General KK Venugopal, pleading for the Centre, and Shyam Divan representing the petitioners, pressed the apex court for an early set up of the Bench on Aadhaar.

On June 27, a vacation bench of Supreme Court refused to pass an interim order against Centre's notification making Aadhaar compulsory in order to avail social schemes and welfare benefits. The government had, however, said no one would be deprived of any benefit because of Aadhaar.

Earlier, the court stated that no interim order could be passed on grounds of petitioner's "apprehension" that somebody might be deprived of benefits, since no victim of such a situation has come forward.

SC was hearing three separate petitions challenging Centre's notification to make Aadhaar mandatory for social schemes.

It had in turn passed several orders directing the government to not make Aadhaar mandatory to an extent that it affects social welfare schemes. It, however, allowed the Centre to seek Aadhaar voluntarily for providing benefits of schemes such as LPG subsidy, Jan Dhan Yojana and Public Distribution System.
Hyderabad: A 55-year-old man from Mahboobnagar has contracted swine flu and was rushed to Gandhi Hospital for treatment.

Doctors at Gandhi Hospital said that the patient does not have any other co-morbid conditions and is undergoing treatment.

Superintendent of Gandhi Hospital, Dr Shravan Kumar explained, As the temperatures have come down the virus is active again and is affecting those whose immune systems are low. The patient is under observation and requires complete rest and isolation.

District officials of Mahboobnagar have been alerted.
"We should not look at this as a Kashmir vs rest of India issue. It's not the popular sentiment," said Jitendra Singh.

Srinagar: Minister of State (MoS) in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh and Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir on Wednesday briefed media about the security arrangements in Jammu and Kashmir post the Amarnath Yatra terror attack.

Addressing the media, Jitendra Singh congratulated the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the kind of resilience they have shown in the last 25 years.

"Anything that happens in Kashmir finds echo across the country. People of the Valley want the guilty to be punished. We are here on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express our solidarity. The common youth of Kashmir is keen to be a part of the development journey led by Prime Minister Modi," he added.

Singh said the militancy is going to outlive its life soon and that India is in the last phase of militancy.

Responding to Home Minister Rajnath Singh's assertion that "every Kashmiri is not a terrorist", Jitendra Singh said, "Yes, Home Minister Rajnath ji is absolutely right - every Kashmiri is not a terrorist."

"We should not look at this as a Kashmir vs rest of India issue. It's not the popular sentiment," he added.

Echoing similar sentiment, Hansraj Ahir said that even after the attack, Amarnath Yatris are unfazed and enthusiastic.

"The Government and state government are serious about the incidents that are happening. We met the Governor and the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief Minister has handled the situation well. All injured have been sent to their respective homes. We will review the security arrangement. We will overcome the security lapses," he added.

As many as seven people were killed and fifteen others injured after a group of terrorists opened fire on a bus carrying 17 pilgrims from Baltal to Mir Bazar around 8:20 pm on Monday night.

Meanwhile, three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed by security forces near Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday night.

Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was launched by troops of the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Radbug village of Budgam.

The troops recovered one self-loading rifle along with three magazines and one pistol with one magazine.

Two terrorists have been identified as Javed, a resident of Churpur and Aabid, a resident of Badgam. The identity of the third one is yet to be ascertained.
Two Army men were killed in the latest ceasefire violation by the Pakistani troops along the LoC in Kupwara district on Wednesday (Representational Image)

Srinagar: Two Army men were killed in the latest ceasefire violation by the Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Kupwara district on Wednesday.

Army officials in Srinagar said Lance Naik L N Ranjit Singh and Rifleman Satish Bhagat were killed in the Pakistani firing in Furkiya area of Chowkibal. They belonged to the Armys Jammu and Kashmir Rifles.

Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia added that the Pakistani troops initiated firing at 2.20 pm without any provocation.

The ceasefire violation was retaliated to strongly and befittingly, he said.

The 745-km LoC has witnessed multiple incidents of ceasefire violation in recent weeks. After each clash between the Indian and Pakistani troops, the two sides blamed each other for initiating the firing. Several civilians and soldiers on the two sides have lost their lives in the exchanges of fire.

Earlier this week, a jawan of the Territorial Army Muhammad Showkat and his wife Safia Bi were killed and their three daughters Zaida Kouser (6), Robina Kouser (12) and Nazia Bi and another person were injured when a mortar fired by the Pakistani troops exploded near their home in Karmara village of the Poonch sector.

The same day, the Pakistani authorities reported death of five civilians and injuries to a score others in the Indian firing and shelling in Chirikot, Satwal and other sectors on their side of the de facto border.

Indias deputy high commissioner J P Singh was summoned by Pakistans Director-General (South Asia and SAARC) Muhammad Faisal to the Foreign Office in Islamabad for the second consecutive day on July 9 over the alleged ceasefire violations by the Indian troops along the LoC.

However, the Indian have countered the Pakistani claims and said there have been as many as two dozen incidents of ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops, an attack by Pakistan special forces team and two infiltration bids in past one month, in which eight people including five Army jawans were killed and 12 were injured in Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, a report from Muzaffarabad said that hundreds of border dwellers have fled their homes in Abbaspur sector of the other side of the LoC and relocated to Abbaspur town (Poonch) where they have been accommodated in a government building during past few days to escape skirmishes between the facing armies.

The trade between Poonch (Jammu and Kashmir) and Rawalakote (PoK) through Chakan Da Bagh corridor remains suspended due to persisting tensions.
The security forces also recovered arms and ammunition. (Photo: DC/HU Naqash)

Budgam (J&K): Three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed by security forces near Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir Tuesday night.

Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was launched by troops of Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Radbug village of Budgam.

The joint operation was launched at around 6:00 pm on Tuesday and at about 8:30 pm contact was established with terrorists.

A police official said security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Redbug area of Budgam last evening after receiving specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in the area.

The search operation turned into an encounter as the search party of the security forces was fired upon by the militants.

The operation was halted for the night but the security forces maintained the cordon of the area to stop the militants from escaping, the official said.

He said the gun fight resumed this morning and three militants were killed. The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants is being ascertained, he added.

The security forces also recovered arms and ammunition and war-like stores.

This came a day after militants attacked a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

At lease seven people were killed and more than 15 sustained injuries in the attack.
Three militants were killed in a fire fight with the security forces in central district of Budgam earlier on Wednesday (Representational Image)

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir police on Wednesday claimed that one of the three Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed in a fire fight with the security forces in central district of Budgam earlier on Wednesday was involved in the lynching of deputy superintendent of police, Muhammad Ayub Pandith.

Pandith was stripped and beaten to death by a mob outside Srinagars Grand Mosque on the night of June 22. He was among three police officials on surveillance and anti sabotage duty and was reportedly clicking pictures of people emerging from the historic Jamia Masjid with his mobile phone when attacked.

A statement issued by the police in Srinagar said Sajad Ahmed Gilkar, son of Nazir Ahmad and resident of Srinagars Malaratha (Nowhatta) locality, played key role in the murder of Pandith.

It added, After the incident, he went underground and joined Hizbul Mujahedin militant ranks.

The statement also said the slain militant was also involved in grenade attacks on CRPF at Nowhatta on April 2, at CRPF camp at Safa Kadal on June 11 and on a police party at Khanyar on April 30, in the attack on one Abdul Qayoom in Barzulla on May 24 and Army convoy near SKIMS Bemina on April 1.

The statement is not clear on the question that if Gilkar joined militant ranks after the lynching of the police officer and how was he involved in these incidents which took place before Pandith was murdered on June 22.

The other two militants who died in the encounter with the security forces in Budgams Redbug area have been identified as Aaqib Gul, a resident of Gooripora and Javaid Ahmedd Sheikh of Churpora Beerwah of Budgam district.
Earlier too, in a series of tweets condemning the attack, Rahul had called upon Prime Minister Modi to take responsibility for the Amarnath terror attack. (Photo: File | PTI)

New Delhi: Blaming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-People's Democratic Party (PDP) Government in Jammu and Kashmir for the recent terror attack on the Amarnath Pilgrims, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy has created space for terrorists in the Valley.

Rahul took to Twitter to condemn the recent terror attack.

"Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India," he tweeted.

Modis policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India#AmarnathTerrorAttack  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

He said Prime Minister Modi's party alliance with PDP has cost India massively.

"Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively. Modi's personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood," he added.

Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

Modis personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

Earlier too, in a series of tweets condemning the attack, Rahul had called upon Prime Minister Modi to take responsibility for the same, adding that the attack was the result of a 'grave and unacceptable security lapse'.

The BJP, then, lashed out at Rahul's 'lack of maturity' over his attempts to politicise the Anantnag terror attack that killed seven pilgrims.

"While the whole country is united at this dark hour, there are some discordance voices like Rahul Gandhi's. Right now, we need to go after the enemy, not place blame and politicise the matter. This is something that people who are not mature don't understand," BJP leader RK Singh said.

"Whatever corrective action is necessary, it will be taken in due course of time," he added.

As many as seven people were killed and fifteen others injured after a group of terrorists opened fire on a bus carrying 17 pilgrims from Baltal to Mir Bazar around 8.20 pm on Monday night.

Meanwhile, three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed by security forces near Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday night.

Based on inputs of presence of some terrorists in a specific house, an operation was launched by troops of the Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Radbug village of Budgam.

The troops recovered one self-loading rifle along with three magazines and one pistol with one magazine.

Two terrorists have been identified as Javed, a resident of Churpur and Aabid, a resident of Badgam. The identity of the third one is yet to be ascertained.
Noida: Angry villagers hurled stones and barged into a housing society in Noida near Delhi on Wednesday morning alleging that a young woman employed as domestic help in one of the apartments was held captive overnight and beaten up by her employers.

The employers reportedly suspected her of stealing money.

According to a report on NDTV, the husband of the 26-year-old woman, Zohra Bibi, has filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the Noida police against the employers, a couple who live in the apartment with their seven-year-old daughter. Her family said she did not return home all day on Tuesday and in the night.

On Wednesday morning, they arrived with other villagers at the housing society Mahagun Moderne in Sector 78 of Noida.

It is not clear where the woman, who has rushed to hospital on Wednesday morning, was during the night.

"We waited all night outside the society for her. We went to the apartment but they said she wasn't there. We even took the police. This morning we saw her come out of the society," a relative of the women said.

The employers have alleged in a statement that the domestic help, who works in several other apartments in the complex too, stole Rs 10,000 and admitted that she had taken the money. They alleged that she ran away when they threatened to inform the housing society, leaving behind her mobile phone.

Other residents of the complex have told the police that Zohra was not held captive but had in fact, spent the night at the apartment of an elderly woman where she works too.

On Wednesday morning, the villagers attacked the society.

"They entered in my house by breaking the door glass. It was terrifying. It's about our life and I am afraid about the safety of my family and kid," Mitul Sethi, who runs a play school in the area, said in the statement. Her husband Harshu runs a real estate business.

More than 200 people, many of who also work as domestic help in housing complexes near their village, engaged in a scuffle with security guards who attempted to keep them out.

Carrying stones and sticks they broke open the society gate and attacked the facility office, witnesses said.

The Sethis were escorted out of the housing complex by security guards and have been moved to an undisclosed location with permission from the police.

The protests ended after police pacified the crowd and appealed for peace.
Activist of the 'Not In My Name' campaign held silent protests at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday evening demanding for a peaceful India. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The news of terrorists spraying bullets on Amarnath pilgrims has only strengthened Imad Ul Riyaz's conviction: "we cannot let violence eat us up".

Riyaz, a Kashmiri student in Delhi, was among the many faces, young and old, at the 'Not In My Name' protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, against the killings of seven pilgrims.

"Violence will only infuse more violence. No matter which side is involved, hatred cannot be propagated. It will lead to retribution, which will result in more alienation," Riyaz, who graduated from Delhi University's Ramjas College, said.

The organisers of the campaign had come under fire from leaders of the ruling dispensation, immediately after Monday night's attack.

BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao had tweeted: "On Amarnath killings, is 'Not In My Name' gang protesting or are protests only for Akhlaqs, Junaids, Pehlu Khans & Not4Lord Shiva devotees?"

On Amarnath killings, is "Not In My Name" gang protesting or are protests only for Akhlaqs, Junaids, Pehlu Khans & Not4Lord Shiva devotees?  GVL Narasimha Rao (@GVLNRAO) July 10, 2017

"We are a campaign of concerned citizens and we cannot spend our time reacting to what others say and how others define us. We are defining ourselves and we have been consistent in our stand and our stand is that we are against violence, we stand against hatred," filmmaker Saba Dewan, one of the organisers, said.

Artists, activists and commentators including filmmaker Rahul Roy, Shabnam Hashmi, Gauhar Raz, Kavita Krishnan, Saba Naqvi and Tehseen Poonawala were among the prominent faces at the protest venue, in what was a rain-washed evening.

"All lives matter and dead bodies should not become part of a politics that divides people on the basis of religion. The seven dead did not deserve to die and its is only when we stand up and demand an end to this politics of hatred that we can prevent the deaths of innocents going on a pilgrimage or returning from Eid shopping," a statement released by the organisers said.
Krishnagiri: M. Mayarudran of Natramapalayam Pudur in the Denkannikottai taluk of Krishnagiri has become the cynosure of all eyes after the state made public about the countrys fourth Zika virus(ZKV) case.

We live in panic after coming to know about Zika case in Natrampalayam. We have not heard about this fever till now, 35-year-old M. Ramkumar, a farmer in Natrampalayam Pudur, told Deccan Chronicle.

The villagers also recall state health secretary J. Radhakrishnans visit to Natrampalayam Pudur, a day before the official announcement about Zika.

The officials came to my house on Sunday and discussed the issue in English which I could not follow. Without giving details about the fever (Zika) they asked me not to get scared and assured that I will get well soon Mayarudran, 28, a tailor, told Deccan Chronicle.

I had gone to Kathiri, near Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh, and stayed there for more than two months before returning in March, a week before Ugadi, he added.

Mayarudran said, Villagers show no discrimination, but I feel embarrassed because I have become the centre of attention.

Mayarudran had gone to Anchetti primary health centre to get treatment for fever since there was no improvement after getting treatment in private clinics.

After tests for dengue and chikungunya proved negative, blood and urine samples were sent to the King Institute in Chennai and also at the National Institute of Virology in Pune of Maharashtra. Both the results confirmed the was he tested positive for Zika.

According to the medical team conducting a camp in Natrampalayam, Zika case is believed to have been locally transmitted by the Aedes aegypti or Aedes aldopictus mosquitoes that also spread other viral infections including dengue and chikungunya.

They have also asked villagers not to panic because Zika is completely curable. They also can get free treatment at all government-run hospitals across the state.

People have been asked to keep their surroundings clean and keep the water stored containers closed to prevent breeding of mosquitoes that spread the fever.

First Zika virus infected man cured: Minister

State health minister Dr C. Vijayabaskar denied any outbreak of the dreaded Zika virus in Tamil Nadu and said the first case of Zika virus infected man reported from Krishnagiri district, has been cured. Nevertheless, the government has stepped up its surveillance and is taking appropriate measures to ensure there is no occurrence.

There is no outbreak of Zika in the state (now). Only one man has been diagnosed with having Zika in a remote Primary Health Centre (PHC). He was treated and is doing well now There is no need to panic as Zika infection is milder compared to dengue, Dr. Vijayabaskar told the Assembly on Tuesday. He was responding to the issue raised by MLA Y. Prakash (DMK) representing the Thalli Assembly constituency which falls in Krishnagiri district in the state.

All routine investigations for dengue, chikungunya and leptospirosis tested negative with the patient (hailing from N. Puttur in Natrampalayam Panchayat) who had developed fever, headache, redness of the eyes and weakness. He tested positive for Zika and was treated as an outpatient at a PHC and has completely recovered from it.

Allaying the apprehensions of the people he said all preventive measures were being taken by the government to ensure the infection does not spread. This virus, the Minister said, would not prove fatal. Nevertheless, steps were being taken to monitor the spread of the virus.
Hyderabad: In an unexpected move, K. Ramakrishna Reddy, the first Advocate General of Telangana state, has submitted his resignation to the state government. Mr Reddy faxed his resignation to the Chief Secretary of the government on Wednesday.

Mr Reddy was appointed the first Advocate General of the newly-formed Telangana state on June 21, 2014. He completed his three-year term on June 21 this year, and the state government wants to appoint a new Advocate General. Sources in the law department revealed that D. Prakash Reddy, senior counsel and former advocate-general is likely to be the new Advocate General.
KOZHIKODE: After 24-hour research protest by scholars and one-hour extra working protest by staff against former VC, Calicut University is witnessing a similar one. SFI on Monday started a three-day Varsity Prathirodham Theerkkunu protest on the campus against what they described as the growing fascism with talks, discussions, documentary screening, poster making, beef dance and dramas. SFI campus unit secretary Ajay Ghosh R. said they were aimed at creating awareness among the community against the fascist acts like the recent lynching by cow vigilantes.

More impact would be there when we do it in a different way, unlike public speeches and marches. Instead of one-sided talk, we should engage in dialogues, he told DC. Many personalities from academic, political and cultural fields visited the venue and addressed them. On Monday, Anil Kumar Theruvath, B Arundhathi, Jamsheed Ali and Rovith Kuttoth took part in discussions on cow vigilantism. SFI president V. P. Sanu addressed them on the issue.

Two documentaries Holy Cow and Cast on the Menu Card will be screened on Wednesday, besides staging a "beef dance" wearing the mask of buffalo and a drama and a talk by Dr T. V. Madhu. The poems wrote against fascism by the students will recited during the function on Wednesday along with artists painting on the 'canvas of resistance' set up at the venue.
Patna: Political crisis deepened in Bihar further on Tuesday after JD(U) gave its coalition partner RJD four days to issue a public clarification on the allegations leveled against Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had called a meeting of his party leaders to discuss CBI raids on RJD Chief Lalu Yadav and his family. Senior JD(U) leader Ramai Ramai after the meeting said, That the party will discuss the issue again after four days, let the RJD decide what is to be done now.

Though other JD(U) leaders later refused to comment on the statement made by Ramai Ram, they claimed that the family must come out with the truth about the allegations leveled against them.

Party insiders said Nitish Kumar, however, did not ask for Tejaswi Yadavs resignation because the CBI has not yet filed a charge sheet in the case.
New Delhi: As Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar mounted pressure on his deputy and RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav to quit, the Congress, which is the third alliance partner in the state government, moved in swiftly for some damage control.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi used the opportunity to call Mr Kumar on Wednesday morning to thank him for his support to Opposition vice-presidential candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Congress sources said that there was no threat to the mahagathbandhan government in Bihar as of now as Mr Kumars pressure on the Yadavs is a mere stand taken to protect his clean image.

JD(U) spokesperson K.C. Tyagi told this newspaper: It is Nitish Kumars image which places him on a pedestal almost similar to that as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If we dilute that image, then the BJP will have its own way in Bihar also. So we will not let the Chief Ministers image suffer.

On Tuesday, Mr Kumar had virtually put the RJD on notice asking the Yadavs to explain their stance on the charges against them within four days.

The JD(U) even wanted Mr Tejaswi to step down. The RJD, which has 80 legislators in the Assembly, is adamant that Mr Tejaswi will not resign.

Sources said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is likely to meet Mr Kumar on July 22 or 23.

Mr Rahul Gandhi had sought a meeting with Mr Kumar when he had called him on Tuesday night after the 18-party conglomerate chose Gopalkrishna Gandhi as its V-P candidate.

The JD(U)s support for the V-P candidate was significant as the Bihar Chief Minister had broken ranks and supported the NDA presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind.

The JD(U) has, however, since then maintained that the support for Mr Kovind was a one-time affair and could not be seen as a precedent for things to come.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav (L) with Health Minister Tej Partap Yadav arriving for the cabinet meeting at the secretariat in Patna. (Photo: PTI)

Patna: Bihars deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav on Wednesday rejected corruption charges against him and termed it a conspiracy by the BJP to break the alliance in Bihar.

Talking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting in Patna, Mr Yadav said that he had pledged zero tolerance on corruption the day he had joined office and always went out of the way to help poor and backward people.

FIR against me is a part of political vendetta. Its a conspiracy by BJP chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister to break the alliance in Bihar, Mr Tejaswi Yadav said.

This was Mr Tejaswis first public appearance after raids were conducted at his residence in Patna and other places. Tejaswi Yadav also interacted with the Chief Minister for the first time on Wednesday.

I am not resigning from the Cabinet post and why should I resign when I know that cases registered against me are completely baseless, Mr Yadav said.

He further claimed that the CBI registered FIR against him in cases of 2004 when he was 14-year-old kid with no moustache and had no proper knowledge of scam and corruption.

Can you imagine that a child of 14-years of age whose moustache had even not come out getting involved in corruption and land scam. The cases levelled against me are completely false, the deputy chief minister asked reporters.

He further said that BJP was always scared of my father Lalu Yadav but now I know that they are also nervous to see my growth as a political leader.

Mr Tejaswi attending the Cabinet meet is being considered significant because Nitish Kumar during the JD(U) meeting on Tuesday had said that he wanted a public clarification by RJD top leaders over the allegations.
The chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao expressed anger at Mr Naiks behaviour and instructed him to meet the Collector and tender an unconditional apology. He warned the MLA that if he does not change his behaviour he will be suspended from the party.

Warangal: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao told Mahbubabad MLA Banoth Shankar Naik to tender an unconditional apology to district collector Dr Preethi Meena for his unacceptable behaviour during the Haritha Haram programme at NTR Stadium on Wednesday.

Employees of the collectorate said they would not attend to their duties until the state government responds.

The chief minister expressed anger at Mr Naiks behaviour and instructed him to meet the Collector and tender an unconditional apology. He warned the MLA that if he does not change his behaviour he will be suspended from the party.

The Chief Minister also asked Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari and MP Sitaram Naik to speak to the Collector and settle the matter on behalf of the Government and the ruling party.

Later in the day, tourism and social welfare minister A. Chandulal and Mahbubabad MP Sitaram Naik, who were both present at the tree plantation programme, met Ms Meena in her office and persuaded her to forgive Mr Naik. The MLA also apologised to her for his actions.

Speaking to media persons later, Mr Naik said that he did not touch the collector intentionally. The collector is like my sister and I did not have any bad intentions. Since there were a lot of people at the location, my hand accidentally touched her, he claimed.
The man has reportedly been detained and a team of five police personnel has already left for Churu  a village 300km away from Jaipur, to take custody of the accused. (Representational image)

Earlier this week, Indias telecom operator Reliance Jio allegedly experienced a data breach after personal details of some of the Jio subscribers were leaked on a website, Magicapk.com. The breach was first reported by technology website Fonarena.com. Following which, a Jio spokeswoman said that they had informed the law enforcement agencies about the claims of the website, and are going to follow through to ensure strict action is taken against the perpetrator. Now, a new report suggests that the police have apparently cracked the case.

As reported by Midday, the Navi Mumbai investigation team has zeroed in on the 25-year-old Pintoo Chimpa in Rajasthan as being the primary link to the given data-breach. The man has reportedly been detained and a team of five police personnel has already left for Churu  a village 300kms away from Jaipur, to take custody of the accused. Additional SP from Churu, Yogendra Faujdar has confirmed the news information, the report added.

"The prime suspect of the data theft case is in our custody. The detained person has been kept under vigil within the additional SP office premises and we are waiting for Navi Mumbai police team to reach here so that he can be handed over to them," Faujdar told Midday.

Users have been registered on the Reliance Jio network using a 12-digit Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) provided number, commonly known as the 'Aadhaar' number. The 'Aadhaar' number, which works on the similar lines as Social Security numbers in the US, is unique to every Indian citizen and stores biometric and demographic data of the user at a centralised database.

The data breach pose a large setback for the Indian telecom entrant's aggressive push led by Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani, which added 3.9 million subscribers to its network in April. Many users on Monday, 10th July complained on Twitter about personal information of millions of Jio users being publicly available on Magicapk.com, in what appears to be the first of its kind large-scale data breach of an Indian telecom operator. Reliance Jio hasnt provided any comments on this matter as yet.

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Mumbai, the financial capital of the country with wide-ranging transportation requirements, has seen the involvement of multiple logistics aggregators. Despite this, the situation of public conveyance within the metropolitan city leaves its residents asking for more. In order to solve multifaceted transportation concerns faced by Mumbaikars, TYGR, an omni-transport app based out of India, has announced its launch in the Maximum City.

TYGR has rolled out its customer-centric services, which also address the hassles of changing fares and surcharges, with a fleet of 5,000 cabs in Mumbai. Its innovation-driven business model has been recognised by global leaders such as NASSCOM and is also backed by Facebook through FbStart.

TYGR is an omni-platform logistics operator that offers a wide spectrum of logistics solutions including cabs, auto-rickshaws, shuttle vans, buses, and even luxury vehicles such as limousines. As part of its launch, the platform has initially rolled out its cab-based services in Mumbai, and will eventually roll out additional services for ambulance, delivery and intercity logistics.

TYGR does not intermediate payments and customers can pay directly as per their preferred method, such as meter, fixed rate, cards, and even their negotiated price. TYGR vehicles also come fully equipped with a range of cashless payment options and any non-TYGR passenger can also download the application and make cashless payments to a TYGR-affiliate while en route to his or her destination. The transparent platform, moreover, provides exact fair estimates which remain constant round the clock, throughout the year.

The platform has also recently unveiled its services across Kolkata, Indore, and Ranchi and now aims to roll out its passenger vertical in Bengaluru and Ranchi. TYGR also aims to launch its services in Europe, Canada and South East Asia within a period of 12 months.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Washington: President Donald Trump and France's Emmanuel Macron may be the world's oddest of political odd couples.

Far apart on climate change and immigration, the two leaders will look for common ground on terrorism and defense policy when they meet this week in Paris.

The president will be the guest of honour at this year's Bastille Day events a celebration of French national pride at a time when, according to Macron, "our world has never been so divided."

The overseas trip comes as Trump is dogged by fresh controversy over his campaign's potential connections to Russia.
Injured being treated in a hospital after militants opened fire on the Amarnath Yatra in which some pilgrims were killed many injured in Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: PTI)

Washington: The White House on Wednesday condemned a deadly terrorist attack on Amarnath pilgrims stating it as "cowardly" act.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said an attack on religious freedom is an attack on the "most fundamental right of liberty."

Spicer is offering condolences to the victims and families of Monday's assault. He said the US and India will fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world.

President Donald Trump recently hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (nah-REN'-drah MOH'-dee) for talks and dinner at the White House.

During Monday's attack, gunmen sprayed bullets on a passenger bus as it returned Hindu pilgrims from a cave shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Authorities said at least seven people were killed, and more than a dozen others were wounded.

Earlier on Tuesday, the US ambassador to New Delhi deplored the attack on Amarnath pilgrims and said it condemned all acts of terrorism. It also extended its "deepest" condolences to the families and "all those affected".

"We deplore the attack on #Amarnath pilgrims & condemn all acts of terrorism. Deepest condolences to the families & all those affected," the US ambassador to New Delhi's official Twitter post said.

The US has appointed Kenneth I Juster as its ambassador to India but he is yet to take office.

Meanwhile, condemning the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir, a top Hindu-American body in the US has urged the Trump admin to clampdown on Pakistan for supporting terrorist groups carrying out attacks in India.

"This was an unconscionable attack on innocent pilgrims exercising their most fundamental and basic rights to freedom of religion," said Hindu American Foundation (HAF) board member Rajiv Pandit.
Umamaheswara Kalapatapu, 63, and his wife Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu, 61, both of Logansport, were killed in the crash, according to a media release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. (Photo: Facebook)

Houston: An Indian-origin psychiatrist couple was killed when their private plane crashed in the US state of Ohio, police officials said on Wednesday.

Umamaheswara Kalapatapu, 63, and his wife Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu, 61, both of Logansport, were killed in the crash, according to a media release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The Piper Archer PA-28 piloted by Umamaheswara is believed to have crashed sometime between 10:36 am and 12:30 pm on Saturday, July 8, the release said.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol Aviation with the assistance of the Civil Air Patrol located the crash scene in an abandoned retention pond near the village of Beverly in southeastern Ohio.

Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt Garic Warner said the crash occurred about 3 miles northwest of Beverly. Searchers found the wreckage on Saturday afternoon.

There was no word on what caused the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

The Bowen Centre replied to a NewsChannel 15 tweet to offer condolences to the Kalapatapu family- It is with great sadness we have been informed about the loss of Dr Kalapatapu and his wife. We offer our condolences to friends & family.

The Kalapatapus were psychiatrists and owned Raj Clinics, with offices in Logansport, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Lafayette and Kokomo.

Heather Geisler, Logansport, said shes done data entry, scanning and a little bit of everything for the Logansport clinic for the past eight years.

They were generous to a fault, extremely hardworking and dedicated to their patients, Geisler said of the Kalapatapus.

Umamaheswara Kalapatapu was a talented photographer while Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu was a gifted musician and fantastic cook, Geisler said.

Umamaheswara Kalapatapu received multiple state, national and international awards and recognitions for his photography and had been a certified professional photographer by the Professional Photographers of America since 2005, according to Pharos-Tribune archives.

They were just two people that were so full of life. Its hard to imagine that theyre not there anymore. They were wonderful people, absolutely wonderful. Two of the kindest people Ive ever known and Im going to miss them, Geisler said.

Raj Clinics Logansport location opened in 1995, she added.
China's navy is the world's second-largest behind the US and is increasingly operating in the Mediterranean. (Photo: Representational/File)

Beijing: In a demonstration of the Chinese navy's expanding global reach, the country's latest-generation warships conducted live-firing drills in the Mediterranean Sea this week while en route to joint exercises with the Russian navy, the defense ministry said Wednesday.

The destroyer Hefei, frigate Yuncheng and support ship Luomahu took part in Monday's drills involving the ship's deck guns and small arms, the ministry said in a notice on its website.

"Maintaining a strict schedule of targeted exercises accomplishes transit, training and improvement en route, raising the flotilla's training levels and capabilities," it quote flotilla commander Liu Hui as saying.

The ships will next take part in the "Joint Sea 2017" exercises in waters off the Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, part of growing cooperation between the countries' militaries.

China's navy is the world's second-largest behind the US and is increasingly operating in the Mediterranean, aided by the construction of a naval logistics base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti.

Two naval ships departed Tuesday from the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang with personnel to man the facility, China's first overseas military base.

While China says the base is needed to support peacekeeping, anti-piracy and other missions in the region, Beijing's rivalry with the US is considered a key driving force behind the country's military expansion.

"The US Navy is also more combat ready because it has been actively participating in joint drills and regional wars for decades," the official China Daily newspaper said in an editorial Wednesday.

"This means China has to work harder to become a major naval power that can better defend its territorial rights and sovereignty," it said.

On Tuesday, China's sole operating aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, departed Hong Kong after a visit aimed at inspiring patriotism among citizens of the former British colony that reverted to Chinese rule 20 years ago.

Taiwan's defense ministry said it was monitoring the progress of the carrier and its escorts as they traveled northward along the western portion of the Taiwan Strait.
The PPAP star beamed at the invitation to accompany the diplomat to New York and pledged to do his utmost for the awareness campaign. (Photo: AP)

Tokyo: "Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen" and the UN are rhyming. Japanese comedian Pikotaro has adapted his catchy song to promote the United Nations' sustainable development goals. The original went viral last year after pop star Justin Bieber tweeted that it was his favourite video.

Pikotaro, in his trademark leopard-lizard design outfit, was a bit reserved at an appearance Wednesday alongside the more conservatively dressed Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

The PPAP star beamed at the invitation to accompany the diplomat to New York and pledged to do his utmost for the awareness campaign. They'll debut the UN version, United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals "SDGs," on Monday.

At first, Pikotaro seemed unconvinced. "Do you mean the UN, one that is in New York? Me? Are you sure?" he asks half-jokingly. Kishida reassured him that it is a Japan-hosted reception at the UN headquarters where he will be performing.

The UN action plan sets goals in fighting poverty, climate change and other global challenges. Kishida says he needs to boost awareness for the project in which every citizen needs to help. "Pikotaro-san's popularity would be extremely effective to boost public recognition," Kishida told him.

Pikotaro says it would be a challenge to achieve all the goals, but he is happy to accept the Foreign Ministry's appointment to the promotional role and to help by doing what he does best. "Something easy that encourages people to watch and follow example."

He also gave Kishida a brief posing lesson, demonstrating hand gestures showing 17 development project areas as the minister struggled to copy Pikotaro.

There was no dancing lesson, however. In the PPAP song, Pikotaro mimics stabbing a pen into an apple and a pineapple while singing simple English lyrics and dancing to a catchy beat.
EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier, right, and British Secretary of State for Exiting the EU David Davis attend a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels on Monday. (Photo: AP)

Brussels: The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator set out tough conditions for Britain to meet during the first months of talks before both sides can start looking at a future relationship.

Michel Barnier said that Britain needs to make "sufficient progress" on all initial issues, citizens' rights, the bill it has to pay to the EU and on the issue of the Irish border, before talks can move to a future trade deal.

Barnier said the three areas "are indivisible and intertwined," making clear that progress in two of the three would be insufficient to advance to the next stage.

The first issue which is being addressed, citizens' rights for people living in each other's nations, is already posing serious problems, with the European Parliament dismissing the proposals which were made by British Prime Minister Theresa May as insufficient and burdensome.

The European Parliament's input is important since it could veto any deal.

After British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the EU can go "whistle" for Britain to pay any excessive bill, Barnier retorted that "I am not hearing any whistling, just the clock ticking" with the deadline of March 2019 drawing ever closer.

Estimates of the amount Britain must pay to cover pension liabilities for EU staff and other commitments have ranged ever upward to 100 billion euros ($114 billion).

Barnier said it was inconceivable to look at the future before first settling such issues.

"It is simply settling accounts," Barnier said. "It might be expensive." He said not addressing such issues went to the heart of a future relationship.

"How do you build a relationship which is going to last with a country where you don't have trust," Barnier asked. "Trust means giving security to the 4 million British and European citizens. It means settling accounts."
Tillerson also gave besieged Qatar some political backing ahead of talks with officials from the Arab quartet in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. (Photo: AP)

Doha: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took his mission to break the deadlock between Qatar and four Arab states to the tiny energy-rich nation Tuesday, securing a commitment from Qatar to intensify its counterterrorism efforts as he looks to end the squabbling among key Middle Eastern allies.

Qatar was Tillersons second stop on a shuttle-diplomacy circuit that will also take him to Saudi Arabia, which shares Qatars only land border and is the most powerful of the four countries lined up against it.

Describing himself as a friend to the region, Tillerson expressed hope for progress in ending the standoff in brief remarks following a meeting with 37-year-old Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the sweltering Qatari capital, Doha.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding during his visit outlining future efforts Qatar can take to fortify its fight against terrorism and actively address terrorism funding issues, said senior Tillerson adviser R.C. Hammond.

That agreement addresses one of the core allegations made against Qatar by the quartet, which has accused Doha of supporting extremists. Qatar denies the charge. Tillerson also gave besieged Qatar some political backing ahead of talks with officials from the Arab quartet in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

I think Qatar has been quite clear in its positions and I think very reasonable, he said.

Tillerson, a former oilman with years of experience in the oil-rich region, began his Gulf visit Monday by meeting Kuwaits ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah. The Kuwaiti leader has been acting as a mediator between Qatar and the quartet of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

The four nations broke off relations with Qatar and cut air, sea and land routes with it in early June. They later issued a 13-point list of demands to restore relations and gave Doha 10 days to comply.

The demands include Qatar shutting down news outlets, including the media network Al-Jazeera, cutting ties with Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, limiting ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country.

Qatar strenuously denies supporting extremist groups and has rejected the demands, saying that agreeing to them wholesale would undermine its sovereignty.

It does, however, at least indirectly support Islamist groups labeled as terrorist organisations, such as the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Qatar has hosted senior Hamas officials on its soil and is the largest financial patron to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

It argues its aid is for the Palestinian people rather than Hamas. Qatari envoy Mohammed al-Amadi signed a new agreement with a Palestinian contractor to build eight residential buildings in Gaza on Tuesday.

He said his country would continue to support development projects in the seaside territory, which Hamas seized from forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.

Tillersons arrival in the Gulf coincided with the release by CNN on Monday of allegedly leaked agreements between Qatar and its neighbors dating from 2013 and 2014. CNN said it received the documents from a source in the region.

They include a handwritten 2013 deal between the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar to not interfere directly or indirectly in the internal affairs of fellow members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which also includes Bahrain, Oman and the UAE.

That agreement specifically ruled out support for the Muslim Brotherhood and other unnamed groups that could threaten the blocs members. Qatar sees the Brotherhood as a legitimate political force and has for years hosted its spiritual guide, Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi.

That puts it squarely at odds with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, which see the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation.

The four anti-Qatar countries lent credibility to the leaked agreements in a statement issued early Tuesday. They asserted that the documents confirm beyond any doubt Qatars failure to meet its commitments and its full violation of its pledges.

Their 13-point list of demands in June was tied to those earlier deals and was fully in line with the spirit of what was agreed upon, they said.

The head of Qatars government communication office, Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, disputed that, saying the June demands bore no relation to the Riyadh agreements, according to a statement carried by the official Qatar News Agency. He called the siege by the four states a violation of the GCC charter.

US officials have said Tillerson does not expect an immediate breakthrough in the dispute and cautioned that a resolution could take months. A senior adviser to Tillerson, R.C. Hammond, has said the demands on Qatar were not viable but that there were individual items on the list that could work. He did not elaborate.

Qatar is not new territory for Tillerson. Before being tapped to be President Donald Trumps top diplomat, he served for years as CEO of Exxon Mobil. The Irving, Texas-based oil giant is one of the most dominant players in OPEC member Qatars energy industry, and played a major role in turning it into the worlds largest producer of liquefied natural gas.
Tillerson also gave besieged Qatar some political backing ahead of talks with officials from the Arab quartet in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. (Photo: AP)

Jeddah: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held talks Wednesday with four Arab states boycotting Qatar as part of a round of intense shuttle diplomacy aimed at resolving the regional crisis.

Tillerson flew into Saudi Arabia where he met King Salman, whose country is leading a four-state alliance that has cut ties with Qatar over accusations that it supports extremism.

He then began talks with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in an attempt to mend fences between the crucial US allies.

In a setback to his efforts, the four Arab states on Tuesday quickly dismissed a counter-terrorism deal signed between Qatar and the United States as "insufficient".

The crisis has presented Tillerson, well known in the Gulf from his former role as chief of energy giant ExxonMobil, with his first big challenge as Washington's top diplomat.

While President Donald Trump welcomed the Arab states decision to sever air and land links to their gas-rich neighbour, the US State Department has taken a more neutral position and Tillerson is seeking to broker a diplomatic solution.

Tillerson, who is spending much of this week in the Gulf seeking to end the dispute, passed on "greetings from President Trump" at his audience with King Salman at the royal court in Jeddah.

"He wanted to ensure that I extend to you his warmest regards," Tillerson told the Saudi ruler.

The United States and its Western allies have vast economic and political interests in the Gulf, which pumps one fifth of the world's oil supplies.

While Saudi Arabia is a key US ally, Qatar is home to the US military's largest air base in the region, Al-Udeid. Rival Bahrain houses the US Navy Fifth Fleet.

On Tuesday, after a stop in regional mediator Kuwait, Tillerson travelled to Doha where he described Qatar as being "reasonable" in its dispute with the four states.

He also signed a deal which he said "lays out a series of steps the two countries will take over the coming months and years to interrupt and disable terror financing flows and intensify counter-terrorism activities globally."

The deal meant Qatar was "the first to respond" to Trump's call at a summit in Riyadh earlier this year "to stop the funding of terrorism", Tillerson said, suggesting such deals could be signed with the other Arab states as a step toward ending the crisis.

- 'Insufficient' step -

But Tuesday's initiative was brushed aside by the Arab countries that imposed sanctions on Qatar last month.

"This step is insufficient," said a joint statement published by Saudi state news agency SPA, adding that the four states would "carefully monitor the seriousness of Qatari authorities in combating all forms of financing, supporting and harbouring terrorism."

Commitments made by Qatari authorities "cannot be trusted," the statement added, citing previous agreements that have allegedly not been honoured.

The Saudi-led bloc has issued a list of 13 demands for Qatar including closing broadcast giant Al-Jazeera, downgrading ties to Iran and shutting a Turkish military base in Doha.

The four countries on June 5 announced sanctions, effective immediately, against Qatar over accusations Doha supported Islamist extremism and was too close to Iran.

They severed all diplomatic ties, suspended transport links with Doha and ordered all Qataris to return home within 14 days.

Qatar refused to comply with the ultimatum and has consistently denied accusations of ties to Islamist groups.

In a sign of the magnitude of the challenge facing Tillerson, a columnist in Saudi Arabia known for expressing views similar to those of the palace even cast doubt over the US diplomat's impartiality.

"The secretary of state can take Qatar's side if he wants to, but he has to realise that he will be further complicating an already complex matter and prolonging the crisis," Abdulrahman al-Rashed wrote in Saudi daily Arab News.

Tillerson's visit is the latest in a series by officials to the region, including UN diplomats and the foreign ministers of Germany and Britain, to try to resolve the row.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit the Gulf this weekend, with stops in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait.
The Supreme Court is to consider on Monday point of sentence against beleaguered industrialist Vijay Mallya for committing contempt of court by transferring 40 million USD to his children's accounts despite an order against alienating his assets.



After holding him guilty on May 9, a bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and U U Lalit ordered Mallya, promoter of defunct Kingfishers Airlines, to be personally present before the court on July 10 for advancing arguments on quantum of sentence.



Mallya, who evaded law enforcement authorities here, has been residing in the United Kingdom. The Union Government, which has already been perusing his extradition separately, wanted an order against Mallya to fortify its case in the United Kingdom.



The court had held Mallya guilty for contempt also for failing to make full disclosure of assets. He now faces the maximum sentence of six months for contempt of court.



The court had in May passed its judgment after reserving its order in March on an application filed by the SBI led Consortium of Banks.



Mallya was accused by the Union government as well as banks of violating the SC's order directing him to make full disclosure of assets held by him and his family members.



The banks are seeking repayment of Rs 9400 crore loan to Kingfisher Airlines.



On a plea by banks, the court had earlier questioned Mallya as how could he transfer 40 million USD to his children's accounts.



Mallya has claimed there has been no violation of the apex court's order of April 26, 2016, for disclosure of assets. He contested a plea made by banks for a direction to forthwith deposit 40 million USD received by Mallya from Diageo, the British liquor major.



Banks claimed Mallya also violated the injunction issued by the Karnataka HC's order of November 13, 2013, against transferring his properties and money.


Unfazed by last night's terror attack in which seven yatries were killed, more than 22000 pilgrims Tuesday set off for the Amarnath Cave Shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas amid tight security arrangements.



An official spokesperson said chanting 'Bam Bam Bhole', 3289 pilgrims comprising 2283 men, 756 women and 250 sadhus and sadhvis set for the arduous trek from both the traditional Pahalgam and shorter Baltal routes from Jammu.



He said by 10.30 am 18838 pilgrims had left for the Cave Shrine from Chandanwari, Sheshnag, Panjtarni and Baltal camps. "The yatra is progressing smoothly and the terror attack has not dampened the spirits of the pilgrims," he said.



In the aftermath of the attack, J&K Governor NN Vohra, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), convened an emergency security review meeting on Tuesday morning where security aspects of the yatra were reviewed. "It was decided that the pilgrimage shall continue without any diminution whatsoever and this decision was conveyed to all Camp Directors and to the Yatri Niwas, Jammu, from where pilgrims leave for the Valley in a convoy every morning," the spokesperson said.



Even as the Central and State governments are trying to defend failure on their part to avert the terror attack on Amaranth Yatra, Vohra had already raised concerns over arrangements for the annual pilgrimage.



Official documents reveal that the governor had expressed concern over the arrangements, prior to the attack, as 14 yatries had died for one reason or the other in the first 12-days of the annual pilgrimage taken by thousands and acknowledged widely as a potent symbol of religious harmony. Since the beginning of the yatra on June 29, more than 146000 pilgrims have paid obeisance at the cave shrine.



Army chief General Bipin Rawat, who rushed to Srinagar in the afternoon to review the security arrangements in the wake of a deadly attack on the pilgrims, held detailed meetings with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Governor Vohra and senior commanders of the army, defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said.



"General Rawat was briefed by the Chinar Corps commander on the prevailing security situation in the Valley and later he held meeting with State Chief Secretary and the DGP," he said.



Security agencies have launched a manhunt for Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander Ismail, a Pakistani terrorist, and two others who masterminded Monday's attack on the yatra bus in which seven pilgrims were killed and 19 others injured.



The bus, bearing Gujarat registration number, was on way to Jammu when the attack took place at around 8:25 pm on Monday. Sources said strict instructions have been given to the security agencies not to allow any unregistered pilgrims to proceed towards the Amarnath shrine from the base camps.



"The bus which was attacked was not part of the Amarnath yatra convoy and was plying after the 7 pm deadline imposed by the security officials on the movement of the yatra vehicles," they said.



"More than 100 empty cartridges were found at the attack site, which indicates that the terrorists had come with an intention to kill as many pilgrims as possible," sources added.



Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh termed the attack a "big security lapse", saying: "We have to enquire why the bus was allowed to move after sunset. We were told there was a tyre burst and the driver took time to replace it."



Meanwhile, Monday's terror attack evoked widespread condemnation from political and social circles across Kashmir on Tuesday.
Three local militants of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit were killed in an overnight encounter in central Kashmirs Budgam district on Wednesday morning.



A police official said that a joint party of Armys Rashtriya Rifles and special operations group (SOG) of J&K police launched a search operation after inputs about presence of militants in Radbugh village of Budgam, 18 km from here at around 7 pm, Tuesday.



At around 9 pm contact was established with the militants and after a brief exchange of fire the operation was halted for the night. A tight cordon was maintained by the security forces around the area to stop the militants from escaping taking advantage of darkness, he said.



The gun fight resumed with the first light of the morning and security forces blasted the house where the militants were hiding, the official said and added the ultras were killed outside the house after they came out and tried to break the cordon.



The slain militants have been identified as Javid Sheikh, Dawood and Aaquib Gul, all locals belonging to the Hizbul. Police also said it recovered three weapons from the gunfight site. Sheikh, according to police, was the district commander of the Hizbul.



The latest encounter comes just a day after militants attacked a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims in south Kashmirs Anantnag district on Monday evening. Seven pilgrims were killed and 19 others injured in the drastic attack drawing strong condemnation not only from Kashmir, but across the country and the world.



Militancy has seen an alarming rise this year with nearly 165 persons, including civilians, militants and security forces personnel, killed in terror related incidents in the state. The civilian support and sympathy for militants has increased since the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani last July, which has become a concern to the state.
A 35-year-old computer science dropout from Rajasthan has been arrested for his alleged involvement in a case of leak of customer data from India's newest telecom entrant - Reliance Jio.



The accused has been identified by his nickname 'Imran Chippa' and was arrested from Churu district in Rajasthan.



A resident of Sujangarh town, Chhipa had made the website Magicapk. He claimed to provide Jio user data through his website, police said.



However, Jio has said that the claims of the website were "unverified" and "unsubstantiated".



After the police complaint lodged in Mumbai, Mumbai Police had reached Churu after tracking the IP address and took Chhipa into custody last night.



"Chhipa has been arrested in the data leak case," Additional SP, Yogendra Kumar Faujdar told PTI in Jaipur.



Following the data leak, the domain of the website has been suspended.



"We have seized the computer and other devices used by him to leak the data and he will be thoroughly interrogated. A team of Mumbai Police led by ACP Deepak Dhole had reached Churu district after tracking the IP address and will interrogate Chhipa," police said.



An analysis by the Maharashtra Cyber Police headed by Inspector General of Police Brijesh Singh led investigators to zero-in on the location from where the suspected data breach had happened, he said.



The suspect's computer, mobile and storage devices have been seized and will be sent for a thorough examination, he said.



There were reports on Sunday which claimed that customer data, including mobile numbers and other details of Reliance Jio users, were allegedly leaked on an independent website.



Jio had also said its subscriber data "is safe and maintained with highest level of security".



The company is one of fastest in the world to touch the 100 million subscriber mark within months of its launch in September 2016.



When asked about the data leak, Maharashtra Cyber Police's Superintendent Balsingh Rajput confirmed that some leak had occurred but declined to give details about the quantum of the breach.




Security forces have launched a massive hunt to track down Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander and Pakistani national Abu Ismail, who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly attack on Amarnath pilgrims.



Proactive operations have been launched, mainly in south Kashmir, to track down Ismail as investigations including communication intercepts have pointed out to his involvement in the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, a senior police official said.



Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday evening.



The official said the attack in Anantnag appears to be a reprisal for killing of several Lashkar militants including Bashir Lashkari in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.



"The terrorists are frustrated at the back to back losses suffered by them during counter-insurgency operations over the past month or so and have now resorted to attacking civilians and tourists," he said.



According to the official, Ismail has been active in Kashmir for several years and had moved base to south Kashmir more than a year ago.



The Anantnag attack on Amarnath pilgrims came the same day when police announced arrest of a module of LeT including a Hindu terrorist hailing from Muzaffaranagar area of Uttar Pradesh.



Lashkar has not only distanced itself from the attack on Amarnath pilgrims but also condemned the attack.

LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi, while condemning the attack on pilgrims, has said, "It is against Islamic teachings".



"The attack on the pilgrims is highly reprehensible act. Islam does not allow violence against any faith," he said.


A Muslim trader from UP was allegedly slapped by an unidentified person when he refused to raise 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogan during a protest by Bajrang Dal activists here against the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, police said today.



The activists of the Dal took out a march near a mosque here yesterday to protest the attack on pilgrims in Kashmir Valley.



The Muslim trader hailing from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh had come to the mosque to offer prayers yesterday when the Dal activists were taking out a march.



As the Bajrang Dal activists were raising 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogans, someone in the crowd asked the trader who was at the gate of the mosque, to raise the slogan.



When he refused, he was allegedly slapped by someone in the crowd, police said today, adding a complaint was filed by the trader against around 100 unidentified people who were part of the crowd.



A Bajrang Dal leader here said no one from the Dal had slapped the trader.



After the incident, the people in the mosque closed the main door of the religious place and informed the police.



The activists of Bajrang Dal, in the meanwhile, also dispersed after burning effigies and raising slogans against Pakistan.



A case of rioting, promoting enmity between classes, maliciously insulting religious beliefs of any class, causing disturbance to an assembly engaged in religious worship, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation has been registered against 100-125 unknown persons, police said.



Lalit Kumar, SHO, City Police Station said no arrest has been made so far.
US President Donald Trump has lauded the "transparency" of his eldest son over the release of a chain of emails showing a Russian source offering "sensitive information" about his White House rival Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the presidential election.



In an email to 39-year-old Donald Trump Jr, who is in the middle of a political storm over his meetings with a Russian source, his music publicist Rob Goldstone said the information "would incriminate Hillary (Clinton) and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father".



"My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," Trump said in a statement which was read out by the White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during her daily news conference.



While Trump Jr said he hopes that by releasing these emails would bring an end to the controversy, the opposition political leaders called for investigation and claimed that this is yet another indication of the connection between the Trump campaign and the Russians.



"Donald Trump Jr has admitted and documented that he, Jared Kushner, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer with the understanding that she was a Russian government lawyer providing damaging information on Hillary Clinton as part of Moscow's effort to help President Trump's campaign," said Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi.



"The attempt by these top Trump advisors - to solicit the support of a hostile foreign power to win the American presidency - is unprecedented in our history," he said.



"The need for Special Counsel Mueller's investigation and our Congressional inquiries to continue has never been more clear.



"Pending any investigation, no one who participated in the Trump Tower meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya should have access to any classified information, especially material relevant to our national security," Krishnamoorthi said.



Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the email shows that Trump Jr clearly understood the intent of the meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya.



"Instead of welcoming information from the Russian government, the Trump team should have immediately notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation.



"I'm not a prosecutor, but I think this is an extremely serious issue and needs to be followed up on by Robert Mueller's investigation and the Congressional Intelligence Committees immediately," Cardin demanded.



Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein said these emails are deeply disturbing.



"They appear to show direct coordination between the Trump campaign and possibly the Russian government itself," she said.



"There's no escaping it: the Trump Campaign's inner circle met with an agent of a hostile foreign power to influence the outcome of an American election."



"The American people face a White House riddled with shadowy Russian connections and desperate to hide the truth," said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.



"One after another, senior Trump officials have been caught hiding secret meetings with Russian agents. The incendiary news of the meeting arranged by Donald Trump Jr is a grave development in the investigation of Trump officials' possible collusion with Moscow," she said.



The New York Times, which first broke the story, said the emails show just how eager Trump Jr was to accept what he was explicitly told was the Russian government's help in his father's campaign against Hillary Clinton.



"The Justice Department, as well as the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, is examining whether any of President Trump's associates colluded with the Russian government to disrupt last year's election. American intelligence agencies have determined that the Russian government tried to sway the election in favour of Trump," the report said.



The daily claimed that Trump Jr released the entire chain of emails on Twitter after it told him that they were publishing the emails that they had in their possession.



Several Congressional committees were reportedly considering to question Trump Jr about his meeting with a Russian offer of providing compromising information about Hillary Clinton.



Congresswoman Grace Meng sent a letter to the US Federal Election Commission urging that it perform an official investigation into the actions of the Trump campaign to determine whether they violated federal election and criminal law.



Congressman Elijah E Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said the email chain confirms that the president's son was both aware of and supported the Russian government's efforts to help the president get elected.



"Our country has a fundamental principle that a foreign adversary should not and cannot interfere with our sacred elections, period. The soul of our very democracy depends on it. I remind my colleagues from both partiesthe Constitution does not give Congress the right to remain silent in the face of this threat. We must investigate. And we must act on our findings," he said.



The Washington Post said these emails clearly showed that Trump Jr understood he was taking the meeting as a way of channeling information directly from the government of a nation hostile to the United States to his father's campaign.



"It is the most concrete public evidence to date suggesting that top Trump campaign aides were eager for Russia's assistance in the campaign," the daily reported.



Sanders told reporters that President Trump is frustrated that Russia continues to be an issue.



"I think that the President is, I would say, frustrated with the process of the fact that this continues to be an issue," she said in response to a question.



"And he would love for us to be focused on things, like the economy, on healthcare, on tax reform, on infrastructure. And that's the place that his mind is, and that's what he'd like to be discussing," Sanders said.


The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) will hold rallies in various parts of the hills later in the day, party sources said.



An Army column, comprising around 50 personnel, was deployed in Kalimpong on Monday night, defence sources said.



Two columns of the Army have already been positioned in Darjeeling and Sonada on Saturday after large-scale violence and arson took place in those areas.



In an all-party meeting in Mirik yesterday, it was decided to continue with the indefinite strike and start an indefinite hunger strike to press the demand for 'Gorkhaland' from July 15.



Darjeeling was incident- free today as the indefinite strike for a separate state of Gorkhaland entered its 28th day.Police and security forces patrolled the streets of the hills and kept a tight vigil at entry and exit points.Internet service remained suspended for the 25th day.
The Centre on Wednesday ordered probe into the allegedly kickbacks paid by CDM Smith, the Boston-based consultancy firm, to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials between 2011 and 2015 to bag contracts in road projects.



"It is reported in the media that CDM Smith Inc, USA have allegedly admitted having paid bribe to NHAI officials between 2011 and 2015. However, in 2015, they were debarred for a period of 3 months from participating / engagement in future bidding of NHAI projects because of deficiency in services in one of the projects, Dholpur - Morena Section of NH-3. Presently, M/s CDM Smith have no ongoing assignment with the NHAI. In view the seriousness of the charges, NHAI have initiated an internal investigation into alleged payment of bribe money to its officials, said a statement released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.



According to an official, though CDM Smith was actively involved in road sector, the firm has been blacklisted by NHAI in 2015.



The company reportedly admitted to the justice department of the United States that its officials paid bribe of $1.18 million (approximately Rs 6.7 crore) to NHAI officials between 2011 and 2015 to obtain works for highway construction supervision and design contracts and a water project contract in Goa.



The reports mentioned that the company's division for India operations and CDM India paid bribes to receive contracts from NHAI. The bribes were normally 2-4% of the contract price and paid through fraudulent subcontractors, who provided no actual services and understood that payments were meant to solely benefit the officials.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday wanted the Representatives from British architectural firm Foster and Partners to design state Assembly in the shape of Kohinoor diamond and High court in the shape of Buddha Stupa symbolic to the region in which the state capital is being built.



Naidu reviewed the final design plans for Amaravati city at his Camp Office in Vijayawada, where the architects presented detailed designs for the new assembly building, the high court and the city infrastructure plan, after having worked on inputs provided by the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) officials.



Among the various proposals, two of the main iconic structures presented were of the High Court building, which was shaped like a diamond, and the Assembly building (located at the centre of the city plan), shaped like a Buddhist stupa. The Chief Minister made a key suggestion to interchange the two designs of the buildings, thus structuring the Assembly building like a diamond.



He said, The stupa signifies happiness, and justice is the greatest happiness I want my people to feel, reflected by the High Court. The Assembly building, at the centre of the city plan, should be inspired by the historic Kohinoor, which happens to be born in this very land.He also said that the area containing the High court and the judiciary residency complexes, Justice City, will be compared to the standards set by London and Hong Kong.



After studying every detail of the master plan of different aspects of the city plan, like environment friendliness, energy infrastructure and the waste disposal system, the Chief Minister gave the final nod. The architecture firm will meet the ministers in two days, to officially commence the execution, after they meet with the Chief Justice on Thursday, for more inputs.
The Calcutta High Court today asked the Centre to convey its position on whether it was considering a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the recent communal strife at Baduria in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district.



On a plea seeking an NIA investigation into the clashes, a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice T Chakraborty asked the lawyer for the central government about his stand.



Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Kaushik Chanda submitted that he will take instructions in this regard from the government.



Chanda was asked by the bench to convey the Centre's position on the plea on July 21 when PILs with regard to the clashes will be heard again.



The bench also directed the West Bengal government to submit an affidavit stating the steps it has taken to control and normalise the situation in riot-affected Baduria on July 21.



The direction to the state government was made on another petition seeking a direction to the state to compensate victims in last week's communal clashes.



State Advocate General Kishore Dutta submitted that 32 cases have been registered and 66 arrests made in connection with the clashes.



He told the court that the situation has normalised at Baduria and adjoining areas in Basirhat sub-division, which is situated close to the Bangladesh border.


"That is the kind of sensitivity with which every citizen of India looks up to Kashmir and therefore, it is not unbecoming that whenever an incident like this happens, there is a huge surge of emotion all over the country," he added.



Singh said the prime minister kept himself abreast of the entire sequence of events after the attack and personally intervened to ensure that the bodies of the deceased and the injured were airlifted.



"The (Union) home minister is monitoring the developments and we are here at the behest of the Government of India," he added.



Singh asserted that the incident had not created any fear among the pilgrims or dampened their spirit.



"The morale of the people, the civil society, not only here but across the country, is so high that even after this incident, the pilgrims are insistent that the yatra should not be suspended even for a single moment," he said.



Asked about Congress leader Karan Singh's statement that Governor's Rule should be imposed in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said it should be left to the discretion of the home ministry.



"Anybody saying anything may have a view, but there are certain mechanisms in place, which have the prerogative to take certain decisions," he added.

Union minister Jitendra Singh today complimented the Kashmiri people for condemning the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, saying it had restored the faith in the composite culture of Kashmir and vindicated everything the country and the state stand for.He also said "supplementary" measures and hi-tech methods such as the use of warning gadgets were being discussed to secure the ongoing annual pilgrimage, which will conclude on August 7."I have to congratulate the civil society, the people of Kashmir, in fact the people of the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, for the kind of resilience and discipline they have maintained over the last 25 years," he told reporters here.Singh said there were certain elements, which "look forward to fish in the troubled waters of Jhelum with the hope that something goes wrong", and added that the civil society had proved every mischief wrong."They have vindicated our faith in everything that India stands for, Jammu and Kashmir stands for," said the Union Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).He added that the people of the Valley deserved to be complimented for the way they came out to condemn the terror attack on the pilgrims."People have come forward not only to denounce this (the attack), but also with a very aggressive plea that such incidents should not be allowed to take place in the future and the guilty should be brought to book. This is something which was perhaps not very visible for quite some time," said Singh.Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when their bus came under terrorists' gunfire in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday night.Singh said earlier, there were complaints that while denouncing the acts of violence, there was a tendency of "selective condemnation", but this time, the way the people of the Valley criticised the terror attack, it would "restore the faith of the world" in the composite culture of Kashmir."Certain acts of violence were vociferously condemned, while some others were apologetically condemned. But, this is one incident which has vindicated us," said the BJP leader.He added that this time, there were no apologies in condemning the attack and the people of the Valley were also keen that the guilty were brought to book.Terming the United Jihad Council (UJC)'s condemnation of the attack as "healthy", Singh said one "good thing which came out of the attack" was that nobody was "apologetic" while denouncing it.He also asserted that the government would "take a lesson" from the terror attack."The incident of course will be looked into by the security forces. We have to leave it to the wisdom of the security forces and experts, instead of jumping into conclusions and no political functionary, however highly placed, enjoys the prerogative to sit on judgement on security-related matters," said Singh.Stating that the investigating agencies would look into "all the aspects", the Union minister said the last word must come from the experts in the field of security."Let us wait for the inferences to come from the security agencies and it is our responsibility to carry that forward. We will find answers and learn from this incident," he added.Singh said "supplementary" measures and hi-tech methods such as the use of warning gadgets were being discussed to secure the ongoing 40-day pilgrimage.Asked if terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was behind the attack, he said it had been confirmed by the security agencies, but the investigation was still on."The investigation is going on and the information available with you (LeT's involvement in the attack) has been confirmed by the security agencies," he added.The Union minister complimented the security agencies and the Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) for identifying the mastermind of the attack within a few hours.He said whenever an untoward incident took place in Kashmir, it echoed across the country.
The family of the alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative Sandeep Sharma alias Adil, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district, who was arrested in Jammu & Kashmir earlier this week, has been facing ''social boycott'' after the revelation even as the police stepped up its efforts to ascertain if Sharma had built any local network.



According to the reports, the neighbors and other acquaintances of the family have been keeping away from it after the revelation that Sharma was an alleged terrorist.



''None of the neighbors....not even the relatives came to meet us...Sandeep may have done something wrong but we are in no way involved,'' said Sandeep's mother Premvati.



She said that her family members had become ''suspect'' in the eyes of the local people. ''We are facing a social boycott,'' said Sharma's 'bhabhi' (brother's wife) Rekha in Muzaffarnagar.



Police sources in Muzaffarnagar said that four people had been detained for questioning on suspicion of having links with Sharma. ''We are trying to ascertain if Sharma has built any local network,'' said a senior police official.



The official said that around half a dozen youths had left for J&K from Muzaffarnagar and and adjoining districts with Sandeep. ''We are trying to find out if they have returned,'' the official added.



Sources said that Sandeep had virtually abandoned his family after he had come into contact with a Kashmiri woman while living in the valley.



Police had earlier Premvati and Rekha but released them later after questioning them. Sandeep's brother Praveen Kumar Sharma, who was an auto driver at Haridwar town in the neighboring state of Uttarakhand, was also also let off after being quizzed.



Sandeep, who had left his home in Muzaffarnagar around eight years back, was incidentally the first non-local and non-Muslim, who was allegedly involved in militancy in Kashmir.
In a major crackdown lasting for over a month, the Thane Police busted an inter-state racket with the arrest of 23 people who were involved in changing electronic chips inside petrol and diesel pumps to dispense less oil than that shown on digital meters.



One of the key accused, Prashant Nulkar, the mastermind of the racket, was arrested from Hubballi in Karnataka and brought to Thane.



The scam also has international ramifications as such integrated circuits (IC) had also made way to countries abroad.



The loss that the consumers would have suffered collectively would run into several crores as the scam has been running since some time.



According to investigations carried out so far, the racket involved replacing the oil marketing companys Integrated Circuit (IC) with an unauthorized IC made by the accused and implanting them in the dispenser unit of the petrol pumps.



It was a big racket with which they could dispense less petrol or diesel whereas the reading remains the same as asked for by the customer, Thane Police Commissioner Parambir Singh told reporters on Wednesday at a news conference.



The suspects have procured such ICs from China and after re-programming them, sold them to petrol pumps in Maharashtra and other states in India, besides petrol outlets in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, China, among other countries.



Investigations also showed that at least four to 30%less petrol/diesel per litre was actually dispensed without altering the metre reading.



The Thane Police and Crime Branch-CID started the probe after a tip-off from the Uttar Pradesh police who had arrested one of the kingpins of the racket in May, Vivek Harishchandra Shetye, a resident of Dombivli.
At least two army men were killed as Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran sector of north Kashmirs Kupwara district on Wednesday.



Sources said the army personnel from Jammu and Kashmir Rifles were hit by sniper fire from Pakistan side near Furkian Gali in Keran sector, 120 km from here this afternoon. Today at around 2.20 pm, two army personnel deployed at a forward location at LoC sustained injuries due to sniper fire from Pakistan. Both the injured soldiers succumbed while being evacuated to the hospital," they said.



Furkiya area has been a known route used by militants infiltrating into the Kashmir Valley from Pakistan. Defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia confirmed to DH that two soldiers were killed in the incident. The slain soldiers were identified as Lance Naik L N Ranjit Singh and Rifleman Satish Bhagat.



The incident comes two days after the deadly attack in south Kashmirs Anantnag where seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed, and 19 others injured in a militant attack. On Sunday the Pakistan army had targeted villages and forward posts along the LoC in Poonch district by resorting to heavy mortar shelling and firing automatic weapons. Officials said in June only 23 ceasefire violations, one BAT attack and two infiltration bids have been reported in which four people including three soldiers were killed and 12 others injured.



On June 22, Pakistani soldiers had carried out an attack 600 metres inside Indian territory along the LoC in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch killing two Indian soldiers. Earlier on May 1, Pakistani Border Action Teams (BAT had crossed into the Indian territory near LoC in Krishan Ghati under the cover of heavy shelling and beheaded two Indian soldiers.



There have been hundreds of violations of the 2003 ceasefire agreement by the Pakistan along the LoC and the International Border in J&K since Indian army carried surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29 last year.








Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi today refused to buy the defence of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav that he was a minor "without a moustache" at the time of the land-for-hotels deal.



"When Tejaswi Yadav became the owner of the property, he had turned an adult with a moustache and a beard," he said in a statement here.



"He cannot put a veil on his crime by pleading that he was a minor at that time," added Modi.



The BJP leader claimed that the Kochhar brothers had sold a commercial property on February 25, 2005 in the form of a three-acre land in Patna, through 10 sale deeds for Rs 1.47 crore, to Delight Marketing, in which Sarla Gupta, the wife of former Union minister Prem Chand Gupta, was a director.



After the tender was awarded to Sujata Hotel, owned by the Kocchars, the ownership of Delight Marketing also changed hands from Sarla Gupta to Rabri Devi and Tejaswi Yadav between 2010 and 2014, he alleged.



Modi dared Tejaswi to announce that he did not own the said land, on which Bihar's biggest mall was coming up.



"Tejaswi should also announce that he does not own a four-storied building at New Friends Colony in Delhi, the value of which is Rs 115 crore today," he said.



The BJP leader once again urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to sack Tejaswi.



"When Tejaswi Yadav and his family have refused to resign, should the CM not show the courage to sack him?," he wondered.



Bihar BJP chief Nityanand Rai also dismissed Tejaswi's defence of being a minor at the time of the land deal and alleged that he was putting the blame on his father (RJD supremo Lalu Prasad).



Earlier in the day, Tejaswi virtually ruled out the possibility of resigning from the state cabinet and dubbed the FIR against him as a part of a "political vendetta".



"The FIR (in the land-for-hotels case) is part of a political vendetta. BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are conspiring against me and my family members because of political reasons," he told reporters.



"Can you believe that a 14-year-old child, whose moustache is yet to come, will indulge in corruption?," he asked and dubbed the FIR as a "farzi" (fake) one.


With increasing tensions over China's island-building efforts in the South China Sea, American strategists worry that a naval port so close to Camp Lemonnier could provide a front-row seat to the staging ground for American counter- terror operations in the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, the New York Times reported. Besides the US, the base could also spark concerns in India as it is located in the strategic Indian Ocean region.

China has dispatched PLA personnel to man its first overseas military base in Djibouti in the strategic Indian Ocean region, a move likely to spark concerns in the US and India.Ships carrying Chinese military personnel departed Zhanjiang in southern China's Guangdong Province yesterday to set up a support base in Djibouti, located in the Horn of Africa, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.China, however, today sought to playdown reports that its naval facility at Djibouti was its first military base.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing that the Djibouti base is a support base which will serve Chinese troops when they escort ships for anti- piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, perform humanitarian rescues, and carry out other international obligations.The base will be conducive to driving Djibouti's economic and social development, and assist China's contribution to peace and stability both in Africa and worldwide, he claimed.Dispatching the military personnel yesterday, Shen Jinlong, commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, had read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti and conferred the military flag on the fleets.The establishment of the PLA Djibouti base was a decision made by the two countries after friendly negotiations and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides, the PLA navy had said.Djibouti base, which China says is more of a logistical and resting centre than a military base, was under construction since 2011.It is the first such base being set up by China. The second base is coming up in Gwadar, Pakistan, which links up with China through the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).In March this year, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post had reported that China plans to increase the size of its marine corps from 20,000 to one lakh personnel for overseas deployment, including at Gwadar and Djibouti.The expansion is planned to protect China's maritime lifelines and its growing interests overseas. Some members would be stationed at ports China operates in Djibouti and Gwadar in south-west Pakistan, the report had said.In addition, China also plans to take over the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka as part of a debt swap to firm up its naval operations in the Indian Ocean, much to the disquiet of India.The bases were being set up as China operationalised its first aircraft carrier and launched the second one which was expected to be ready for operations by next year.The move to set up base in Djibouti is also likely to raise concerns in the US as the military base is just a few kilometres from Camp Lemonnier, one of the Pentagon's largest and most important foreign installations.
The BJP today hit out at Rahul Gandhi for attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and "not terrorism", after his return from "vacation", hours after the Congress vice president said Modi's policies had created space for terrorists in Kashmir.



Union minister Smriti Irani said the challenges around Kashmir were a legacy of the Nehru-Gandhi family and that "the country knows it".



"After his return from vacation, Rahul attacks Modi, and not terrorists. I want to ask when Mani Shankar Aiyar (Congress leader) sought Pakistan's help in removing Modi from power and bring in the Congress, was it Rahul's personal agenda or political agenda?" she asked.



When the Army chief was called a "goonda", she said referring to remarks of Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit, was it Rahul's personal agenda or political?



BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi, at a press conference, asked the Congress vice president to read the history of his family, saying that they were responsible for problems in Kashmir.



She also raked up the 1984 anti-Sikh riots to attack Gandhi over his accusation of "personal gain" at Modi, and said only those behind such riots would consider drawing "personal gain from the blood of innocents".



Gandhi's attack on Modi showed his "immature" mind, she said.

If one person was responsible for what was happening in Kashmir, it was Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister, the Lok Sabha MP from New Delhi claimed.



"He will do well to get a correct briefing from his advisers," she said.



Gandhi had earlier accused Modi of pursuing policies that created space for terrorists in Kashmir.



"Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India.



"Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively," he said in a series of tweets.
At least 15 people were killed when four female suicide bombers detonated their explosives in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, police said today, in the latest violence to hit the strategic city.



Borno state police commissioner Damian Chukwu told reporters the four struck in the suburb of Molai Kalemari last night and that most of the victims were civilian militia manning security posts.



"The bombers detonated IEDs (improvised explosive devices) strapped to their bodies at different locations of the area, killing 19 people, including the bombers," he said.



"A total of 23 people were injured."



Bello Danbatta, a spokesman for the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) militia and chief security officer at the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said it appeared his men were the targets.



Two of the bombers blew themselves up at checkpoints manned by militia members, who assist the military with security and sometimes accompany soldiers on operations against Boko Haram jihadists.

"In all we lost 12 of our gallant JTF," he said.



He added: "Civilian JTF have sacrificed their lives to protect their people and the life and property of the citizens of Borno state.

"We sacrificed our life, inshallah (God willing), we continue to fight this insurgency."



SEMA operatives in face-masks and white overalls were seen removing body parts from the scene of the attacks today. Victims were covered with rugs awaiting burial, as local people looked on.



Suicide bombings have become a feature of Boko Haram's eight-year insurgency in northeast Nigeria, which has killed at least 20,000 people and made more than 2.6 million others homeless.



Young women and girls have frequently been used to attack security checkpoints, as well as civilian "soft targets" such as mosques, markets and bus stations.



Nine people were killed in a string of suicide bomb attacks in the city last month around the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.



The University of Maiduguri, which lies on the edge of the city, has become a frequent target since the start of the year, as it teaches the "western" education despised by the Islamic State group affiliate.



Nigeria's military and government maintain the group is a spent force and on the verge of defeat as a result of sustained counter-insurgency operations since early 2015.

But sporadic fighting still occurs, while mines and blasts remain a constant threat.



Boko Haram this week released a video showing executions and amputations for alleged infringements of its strict interpretation of Islam, suggesting it still holds territory in some areas.
Four terrorists, two of them Pakistanis, are suspected to have been involved in the attack on Amarnath pilgrims in which seven devotees were killed, home ministry officials said today.



Quoting intelligence inputs, the officials said Pakistani national and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Ismail was the mastermind of Monday's attack and he was assisted by another Pakistani and two local militants.



A massive manhunt has been launched for the four terrorists, who are also believed to have used two motorcycles to escape from the scene after attacking the pilgrims bus, officials said. They said the Gujarat registered bus, which was attacked, reached at Jammu on July 7 and got registered at Amarnath shrine facilitation centre.



Initially, the bus was part of the regular convoy of the pilgrims and travelled together till Baltal. The pilgrims in the bus paid their obeisance at the cave shrine on July 8 and returned. On the way back, the pilgrims left the convoy and drove to Srinagar.



The Gujarati pilgrims stayed in Srinagar for two days as tourists. On July 10, around 4:30 PM, they left Srinagar for Katra. The vehicle got punctured at a place 10 km away from Khanabal around 6:30 PM. Then the passengers went down and had food at a roadside eatery.



When the bus resumed its journey, it came under attack from the terrorists at Khanabal around 2017 hours. Facing the bullets, the driver of the bus, Salim Sheikh, charged past the area but had to face another group of terrorists after crossing just 75 metres.



The driver again did not stop the bus despite facing the terrorist attack for the second time in quick succession. The bus was finally stopped at a police point after a few kilometres and the policemen on duty took the pilgrims to the Anantnag police line where the injured were given first aid before being shifted to a hospital, officials said.
The Reserve Bank of India has deputed a special team that is working round-the-clock to count the old currency notes deposited with banks after demonetisation.



RBI Governor Urijit Patel told a Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday that the scrapped currency notes were still being counted and he was not in a position to give a figure on the number of banned notes deposited with banks after the note ban decision was announced on November 8 last year.



Patel told the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, chaired by Congress leader M Veerappa Moily, that the special team was workaing overtime to count the notes that were returned and were availing only their weekly offs.



The RBI governor told the Committee that the total currency in circulation was Rs 15.4 lakh crore as against the Rs 17.7 lakh crore that was in circulation last year before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation.



He told the committee that the RBI was yet to receive details of banned notes deposited with post offices, cooperative banks and from Nepal, where Indian currency in legal tender.



This was Patel's second deposition before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance. In his previous deposition before the Committee on January 18, Patel had faced some tough questioning from Parliamentarians prompting former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is a member of the panel, to intervene.



Singh had urged members to respect RBI as an institution, thus saving Patel from tough questions from the Committee.



After the meeting, Moily said he would submit the Committee's report on 'Demonetisation and Transformation towards the digital economy and Banking Sector in India  Challenges and the Way Forward' during the monsoon session of Parliament beginning Monday.
A murder convict on parole is the prime accused in the robbery reported from Gokulam in the city on June 23.



According to police, Saleem, convicted for murder and serving jail term at Hindalaga Central Prison, Belagavi, teamed with nine others to robbed Rs 29.66 lakh in cash from the office of a businessman in Gokulam.



He returned to jail after completion of is one-month parole.



His involvement in the crime came to light after the city police arrested Afzar Pasha, Shabir and Zakir Pasha, all residents of Bengaluru, in connection with the robbery. During the investigation, the trio named Saleem. A senior police officer said that a team of police has left for Hindalga jail for enquiry.


Five Mysureans have found place in the new team of Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA), the representative body of Micro and Small Scale Industries of Karnataka.



The election was held during the 67th general body meeting of KASSIA in Bengaluru, recently, when R Hanumanthe Gowda was elected as president. Basavaraj S Javali as vice president, T S Umashankar as honorary secretary, Latha Girish and Manjunath as joint secretaries, and K N Narashimhamurthy as honorary treasurer were elected for the year 2017-18. A Padmanabha is the immediate past president.



Besides Manjunath, the treasurer of Mysore Industries Association (MIA) and managing director of Vima Rubbers, who has been elected as joint secretary, MIA general secretary N Sathish, Mysore Printers Cluster general secretary Suresh Kumar Jain, Hebbal Industrialist Estate Manufacturers Association president N H Jayanth and Mysuru District Small Scale Industries Association honorary secretary Subramanian were nominated as council members of KASSIA.


The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday upheld the lower courts order and acquitted Rehan Baig, brother of Urban Development Minister Roshan Baig in a criminal appeal filed by the CBI.



Rehan Baig was reportedly involved in the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam with Abdul Karim Telgi.



Baig was said to have helped Telgi get the stamp paper vending licence and helped him use his building for his activities.



A division bench comprising Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice John Michael Cunha dismissed the CBIs appeal on the ground that there was no proof to show that there was monetary benefit to Baig and that 60 witnesses had turned hostile in the case.



The bench is hearing all cases pertaining to the fake stamp paper scam in Bengaluru and the criminal appeals filed by Telgi.



The division bench dismissed Telgi's appeal seeking directions to return movable and immovable properties including gold belonging to him. The bench refused to return them on the ground that the property and the gold were gained only through the benefit that Telgi got through the scam.



In another appeal, the bench disposed of a criminal appeal filed by Telgi in a case pertaining to possession and sale of fake stamp papers.



The lower court had sentenced Telgi to 10 years imprisonment and imposed Rs 2 lakh penalty. As Telgi has already stayed in the prison for over 16 years now, the appeal was disposed of.


What the tweets said









Rakshith Ponnathpur @rsponnathpu r: A UP migrant in Mysuru can get all bank services in his language. But a Kannada literate native of Mysuru can't.Fair?



Srujana Deva @SrujanaDeva: What should a Kannadiga do who knows only Kannada? This is how you alienate people in their own land.

Prakash Belawadi @belawadi: GoK & its Dept's. should consider moving a/c.s to banks that respect local language customers.Srujana Deva @SrujanaDeva: What should a Kannadiga do who knows only Kannada? This is how you alienate people in their own land.





Ramachandra M @nanuramu: It's a shame that even after 70 years after Independence, we are begging to get the banking services in our Lang.





Hariprasad Holla @hariprasadholla: This is an ATM machine in Belthangady, Mangaluru. You wouldn't find 1% Hindi natives there.





Adi @naveenspatil: @shaziailmi Thr is no imposition? adding just another language? Can you show me Kannada in Banks in Karnataka?





Lakshmisha Lakshman @Lakkilakshman: To see how 3 lang policy magically becomes 2 lang policy (hindi & Eng) in nationalised banks in KA, pl visit any bank





Prathap Kanagal @Kanagalogy: MP who represents Our constituency blocked me becoz i asked Kannada in Karnataka! I what if i demanded It in Delhi

(This tweet refers to Sadananda Gowda).

A campaign is calling out banks for completely abandoning Kannada in their service stationery.Activists posted challans and forms on Twitter, showing how even banks founded in Karnataka were now using only Hindi and English. With more than 13,000 posts since Tuesday evening, #Nammabankukannadabeku was trending on Twitter.For the non-Kannada speaking, the hashtag translates to 'Want Kannada in our banks'.The online campaign is seeking forms in Kannada to allow people to bank in the language. It comes in the wake of resistance to Namma Metro's attempts to put up signage in Hindi.Campaigners said they were afraid the Metro authorities, like the banks, would gradually erase Kannada completely.Reports have been highlighting the plight of Kannadiga bank customers not familiar with English and Hindi, and the obstacles they face when it comes to transactions.In September 2016, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had spoken in favour of Kannada at a banking conference: "It has been observed that banks, while preparing challans, passbooks, loan applications, account opening forms, and fixed or term deposit certificates, are not following the compulsory tribhasha sutra (three-language formula)... The government wishes to take firm steps for implementing Kannada in all official activities."The State-level Bankers Committee (SLBC) issued a notice to all banks in the last week of March, asking them to set up Kannada cells and teach Kannada to non-Kannadiga employees, but campaigners say nothing has moved.Kannada Grahakara Koota, an online consumer forum, is among the organisations in the forefront of spreading consumer awareness among Kannada-speakers. The Karnataka unit of the Aam Aadmi Party supported the campaign with a tweet in Kannada.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike will bring all private telecom towers in the city under its tax net. The move is expected to generate a revenue of Rs 60 crore for the civic agency.



Chairperson of BBMPs committee on taxation and finance M K Gunashekar told reporters that the Palike does not have any records about how many telecom towers are there in the city as they have been out of the Palikes purview till now. Now, we have decided to bring them under the tax net, said Gunashekar.



He added that there are around 10,000 towers in the city. We have asked telecom companies to furnish details of all telecom towers in a fortnight, pay one-time permission fee and continue with their services. If the companies fail to abide by our direction, we will disconnect the towers, said Gunashekar.



Gunashekar had also asked telecom firms to furnish details of the total length of OFCs laid in the city. The companies have disclosed that they have laid 2,000 km of OFCs in the city. It is highly unlikely, given that the length of the major roads in the city is about 14,000 km. We have warned these companies to furnish credible data. If the companies do not fall in line, we will disconnect these cables, said the Palike panel chief.



Similarly, telecom firms have been told to remove all hanging optical fibre cables from TenderSURE roads and use ducts laid beneath the footpath.



It has been observed that telecom firms have been avoiding using the ducts laid especially for OFCs on seven TenderSURE roads. The reasons are apparent. The OFC laying charges on TenderSURE roads Rs 1,500 per running metre whereas on other roads, the charges are Rs 500, said Gunashekar. He threatened to disconnect the cables if the companies failed to remove the hanging cables in a fortnight.
The residents of Chickpet Assembly constituency will get an opportunity to air their civic woes as Deccan Herald and its sister publication Prajavani will organise Janaspandana  Citizens for Change programme on July 22.



The event will be held at Huq House, 14, Lalbagh Main Road, Raja Ram Mohan Roy Extension, Sudhama Nagar at 10 am. MLA R V Devaraj and corporators of the wards in Chickpet Assembly constituency along with the officers from various government agencies such as Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bescom and police will listen to the woes of the citizens and help them address the issues instantly.



The programme is part of Deccan Herald and Prajavanis initiative to connect with the citizens of Bengaluru to solve their civic problems ranging from waste disposal, streetlights, stray dog menace, roads, drains, water and sewerage, electricity, health, public transport services, footpaths, parks, playgrounds, traffic and the law and order.



The publications had organised many such events in the past at different locations of the city, which helped in resolving most of the civic issues.



People willing to air their grievances can reach the venue by 9 am and register their names at the temporary reception counter.



They can also send their grievances through email to janaspandana@printersmysore.co.in or call 94485 28998 between 9 am and 5 pm.




The demand for protection of parks, playgrounds and open spaces is growing louder but citizens say the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) are doing little to save them.



Take the case of an open space in Jeevan Bima Nagar. The residents have been fighting a legal battle since 2009 to reclaim it. BDA handed over this piece of land to four organisations to build structures.



M S Anand, president of JB Nagar Residents Welfare Association (RWA), said the BDAs comprehensive development plan of 2005 and 2015 clearly showed Site No-2 of the layout as a green area, which means no construction activity is allowed.



A park had been carved out of this piece of land. The BDA allotted the rest of the land to four organisations including Mogavira Sangha, which is constructing a building, he said.



A couple of years ago, the BDA notified this place as a yellow zone. Subsequently, construction work started. We challenged it in the high court and got a stay against the construction on Monday. However, work is going on in full swing. This is outrageous, said Anand.



Girish Ganguli, a resident of Nanjundeshwara Layout in JP Nagar 5th Phase, has been fighting a legal battle to protect a park. Two builders want to form a road cutting through a park in his layout.



The Palike itself has laid a mud road and is in the process of asphalting it.



Another park in the layout has been encroached by a club for parking. He said he had lodged several complaints to the BBMP before taking the legal option.



The office bearers of Citizens Action Forum, a consortium of about 150 RWAs had raised the issue of shrinking lung spaces in the city with Governor Vajubhai Vala.



We have been complaining about the encroachment and misuse of open spaces in the city. These illegalities are happening right under the nose of politicians and officials. Politicians encourage encroachment and allow buildings and slums to come up on open spaces, said CAF president D S Rajshekar.


The flood situation in Assam worsened on Wednesday as five more deaths were reported in the deluge, which has affected 17.2 lakh people in 24 districts.



The mighty Brahmaputra and its tributaries have submerged 2,500 villages, destroyed 1.06 lakh hectares of crop land, damaged infrastructure by breaching the embankments and overrunning roads and bridges, said the Assam State Disaster Management Authority. Five more deaths were reported, taking the toll to 44. One death each was reported from Majuli, Sivasagar, Dhemaji, Golaghat and Nagaon districts.



Nearly 75% of the Kaziranga National Park, a World Heritage Site, was inundated, leading to the drowning of two female hog deer and one male swamp deer in the northern range of the park.



According to the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, the animals, including rhinos, have been forced to take shelter at the highlands and at the Karbi Anglong hills across National Highway 37, which passes through the park.



The National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force, along with the authorities and the police, have so far rescued 7,814 people who were marooned in 16 districts. Nearly one lakh people have taken shelter in 231 relief camps.



Flood worsens in UP



Ten people, including women and children, were killed when houses collapsed in different parts of Uttar Pradesh in the heavy rain. The flood situation worsened in the state following a rise in the water levels of major rivers.



Three children were buried alive after a wall caved in amid heavy rain at Mirpur village in Barabanki district on Wednesday evening. In similar incidents at Lakhimpur-Kheri and Badayun districts, seven people were killed.



Reports said that an overflowing Ghaghra river breached its embankments in Barabanki, Gonda and Bahariah districts and inundated large tracts of lands. Dozens of villages were marooned in these districts, sources said.



In Bihar, heavy rainfall in the last 10 days has brought down the rain deficiency to a mere 2%, a remarkable recovery if one takes into account the 43% deficient rainfall figure on June 29.



As many as 34 people died in the state due to lightning. People, particularly in rural areas, have been advised to never take shelter under an isolated tree and to immediately move to a building or an enclosed area.

Heavy rain in TN



Normal life was affected due to heavy rain that battered northern districts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, with weather officials predicting more downpour over the region in the next two days due to a trough over the Bay of Bengal.



Heavy rain is also expected in Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Coimbatore districts.



Landslides in Itanagar



Flood and landslides triggered by incessant rain in the last few days have completely cut off many district headquarters in Arunachal Pradesh from the rest of the country, officials said. Itanagar was virtually cut off with its lifeline NH-415 getting totally eroded at the entry point, while the alternate road via Jullang remained blocked leaving only one road through Hollongi en route to Lakhimpur district in Assam open.


Less than a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Israel, his government on Wednesday approved a pact between India and Palestine for cooperation in health sector.



The government also moved a step closer to clinching another Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Palestine for cooperation in the field of Information Technology and electronics.



A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by the prime minister, approved an India-Palestine MoU for cooperation in health and medicine. The MoU was signed during Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbass visit to New Delhi last May.



The cabinet was apprised of the MoU between India and Palestine on cooperation in the field of Information Technology and electronics. The draft of the MoU was also finalised during Palestinian presidents visit to New Delhi.



Modis recent visit to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem completed Indias move to relink its relations with Israel and Palestine. His visit to Israel was the first by a prime minister of India to the Jewish nation in West Asia, although the two countries had established formal diplomatic relations in 1992.



The MoU on cooperation in IT and electronics is aimed at promoting closer co-operation in the areas of e-Governance, m-Governance, e-Public Services Delivery, cyber security, software technology parks and start-ups ecosystem.



The other MoU covered cooperation capacity building of health staff, prevention and control of communicable diseases, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, drugs, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment and any other area of mutual interest.



Indian dignitaries visiting Israel in the past made it a point to visit Palestine too. President Pranab Mukherjee visited both Israel and Palestine in October 2015.



External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, too visited Palestine after touring Israel in January 2016, just as one of her predecessors, S M Krishna, had done in October 2012. Modi, however, did not visit Palestine.



New Delhi steadfastly supported the Palestinian peoples struggle for a sovereign, independent, viable and united state of Palestine within secure and recognised borders, side by side at peace, with Israel, and with East Jerusalem as its capital.



India was the first non-Arab country to recognise Palestine in 1988. Indias growing ties with Israel after the Bharatiya Janata Partys ascent to power in May 2014, however, fuelled speculation about New Delhi reviewing its position on Palestine. The Centre made it clear that while India would continue to support the cause of Palestine, it would also seek to build stronger ties with Israel.


The central government has authorised the army vice chief with more financial powers to purchase a range of ammunition and spares in order to keep the army ready for a short and intense war.



The vice chief has been allowed to procure 46 types of ammunition and spares for 10 different types of weapons systems, said an army source. Another proposal to allow the army to procure 20 types of armament and six types of mines is also under consideration by the defence ministry.



At the present market rate, the total cost of these ammunition and spares, required to maintain the optimal level of the force readiness, would be around Rs 40,000 crore.



However, in reality, the spending would be less as the army already has some stocks of these ammunition and spares, sources told DH.



The decision was taken a few days ago to fill up a void in the armys war readiness as pointed out in the past by the Comptroller and Auditor General as well as by a Parliamentary committee.



An internal assessment of the army in the wake of the Uri terror attack in 2016 also came up with the same conclusion.



The army was pressing the government to ensure speedy procurement of military platforms, ammunition and spares, citing evolving security challenges. The decision is a major move to fill various gaps in our combat readiness, said a senior army official.



A 2015 CAG report red-flagged the critical shortage in ammunition, which was steadily on the rise since 2009.


Intensify anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in view of the Amarnath terror attack, the Centre told the security forces on Wednesday.



Sources said the Ministry of Home Affairs has made it clear the forces will have to implement their security plan in full vigour as the highest level of alert has been sounded in Jammu and Kashmir, where seven pilgrims were killed by terrorists on Monday. The instructions come in the wake of agencies launching a massive search for Lashkar-e-Toiba commander and Pakistani national Abu Ismail, suspected to be the mastermind of the deadly attack.



Sources said the operations were launched mainly in south Kashmir, with communication intercepts showing Ismail's involvement in the terror strike.



Ismail is said to have been active in Kashmir for years. He moved to south Kashmir a little over a year ago. All security forces operating in J&K have been asked to step up operations. They will also provide enhanced security for Amarnath pilgrims.



Home Minister Rajnath Singh is continuously monitoring the situation. On Tuesday, he had ordered enhanced security for the yatra.
China will downsize its 2.3 million-strong Peoples Liberation Army to under one million as the worlds largest military effected its biggest troop reduction in history to bolster its navy and strategic missile forces, the official media reported.



The massive troop reduction is part of the restructuring of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and evenly proportion the army and other services, the PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military, reported.



The PLA will increase the numbers of other services, including navy and missile forces, it said.



Jun Zhengping Studio, a Chinese social WeChat account run by the newspaper published an article on Tuesday on structural reform in the military, saying that the old military structure, where the army accounts for the vast majority, will be replaced after the reform. The reform is based on Chinas strategic goals and security requirements.


The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to examine whether an FIR filed in the office of a Karnataka police inspector  instead of a regular and notified police station for an anti-corruption case  is valid for prosecution.



G H Nagahanumaiah, an officer with the Bangalore Development Authority, and others faced investigation on an FIR lodged on December 14, 2016 on allegations of graft in land acquisition proceedings in the city.



He challenged a Karnataka High Court's order of February 22, this year, rejecting his plea for quashing of the investigation. Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, for the petitioner, contended before a bench of Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao that the high court ignored the contention that the FIR registered at the office of the Inspector of Anti Corruption Bureau cannot be sustained in law. The bench would continue hearing the arguments in the matter on Thursday.


What a piece of work is ape.

It's been nearly 50 years since the release of "Planet of the Apes," the outlandish and weird and fantastic sci-fi cautionary tale featuring groundbreaking makeup work, a legendary performance from Charlton Heston and one of the most famously shocking endings in movie history (courtesy of "Twilight Zone" legend Rod Serling).

Numerous sequels and TV adaptations followed. Many were little more than campy nonsense.

Even the 2001 reset, directed by Tim Burton and starring Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham Carter, Paul Giamatti, et al., which made more than $350 million worldwide and had its moments, seemed superfluous. Perhaps we had gone as far as we could go with this premise.

So what a great and pleasant surprise it was when the franchise found new creative life a decade later.

Over the course of three socially relevant, action-packed, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining films, from "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" in 2011 to "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" in 2014 to the new "War for the Planet of the Apes," the focus has gradually shifted from the humans to the increasingly intelligent and empathetic chimps  a masterstroke of storytelling.

Directed with great flair and scope by Matt Reeves, "War for the Planet of the Apes" picks up the story some 10 years after "Dawn" (also directed by Reeves).

Still led by the wise, noble and ferocious but world-weary and physically aging Caesar (Andy Serkis), the apes have built a colony deep in the California hills and have tried to live peacefully, striving to avoid conflict and in fact avoid any contact with the humans who have survived the sweeping simian flu plague.

We open with an intense and gritty wartime sequence. American soldiers with anti-ape slogans scrawled on their helmets crawl through the brush, planning an ambush. This scene looks like something out of "Platoon" or "We Were Soldiers" or "Full Metal Jacket"  and it's hardly the only time "War for the Planet of the Apes" will remind us of a superbly crafted Vietnam War film.

Once the battle is on, both sides suffer horrific casualties, rendered in a style telling us "War" is going to be more serious and much darker than most big-budget midsummer blockbusters.

And a whole lot more captivating.

From that point forward, the film is told almost entirely from the point of view of the apes. Caesar's mission is to find a land so remote the apes will be able to live and thrive without the constant threat of invasion from humans  but after a bloodthirsty American known only as the Colonel (Woody Harrelson) leads an attack on the compound, resulting in some deaths that hit close to home, Caesar cannot suppress his need for revenge.

Accompanied by the wise Maurice (Karin Konoval) and his loyal lieutenant Rocket (Terry Notary), Caesar sets out on a seemingly suicidal mission to find the Colonel's camp and take him out. Along the way, they pick up an elderly survivor that calls itself "Bad Ape" (Steve Zahn), and a mute little girl (Amiah Miller) who will be called Nova. (Caesar initially wants nothing to do with the human, but Maurice forges an instant parental bond with the child, and tells Caesar if they leave her behind, she will die  and Maurice can't abide that.)

Director Reeves, who co-wrote the richly layered screenplay with Mark Bomback, makes it clear he's taking us on a journey to the heart of darkness. (We even see "Ape-pocalypse Now" scrawled on the wall in a cave.)

Once our band of heroes locates the Colonel's lair, "War" shifts from a road trip film to POW camp thriller, with Caesar and company plotting to free their brothers and sisters who have been captured, abused and used for slave labor.

With his shaved head, mad ramblings and hideous methods, the Colonel is an obvious cinematic descendant of Brando's Col. Kurtz. Thanks to Harrelson's laser-focused intensity, it's a dominant portrayal of a man driven to madness by a world gone mad  yet in one scene, we find just a little empathy for this tyrant when we learn exactly what drove him over the edge.

As jarring as it might seem initially to see apes riding horses and having conversations in English (though some still converse through sign language), in many ways "War" plays like a familiar, albeit extremely well-made, film about the horrors of war and the unspeakable things people (and evolved chimps) will do in the name of protecting their loved ones and surviving to live another day.

The veteran cinematographer Michael Seresin ("Angel Heart," "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azbakan") deserves an Academy Award nomination for giving the film such a vibrant and stunning overall look. Serkis is brilliant and memorable and sometimes absolutely heartbreaking as Caesar. The supporting players excel, with each getting a moment or two in the sun.

If there's one drawback in "War," it's the lack of a human character with any ... humanity. Have ALL the good people been wiped out by the simian flu? From the viewpoint of this film, the dynamic between apes and humans has reached the point where even the humans "in charge" are clearly inferior to the chimps they so despise.
Continuing their protest against the release of water to Tamil Nadu from KRS dam, members of Kasturi Karnataka Janapara Vedike tried to grab attention by burying themselves in soil, at Maddur lake, on Wednesday.



The protest entered the sixth day on Wednesday. The protesters dug earth with excavators, and buried themselves partially in the soil, saying, Give us water or bury us completely.



Tahsildar S Harsha visited the spot and pacified them. He promised the agitators that he has already submitted a report to the government and has suggested releasing water into canals. He advised them to continue with their protest in a peaceful manner instead of resorting to such gimmicks.



Yielding to his request, the protesters came out of the pits, but threatened to continue with the protests till the government decides to stop releasing water.




Turkeys FNSS Delivers First Armored Vehicle to Oman



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One of Derbys best-known engineering firms is shedding 16 jobs  despite having a healthy order book.

EPM Technology specialises in the manufacture of carbon composite components  including for Formula One teams.

Based in an ultra-modern factory off Raynesway, the 21-year-old firm also supplies to the automotive, aerospace, defence and bespoke sectors.

Managing director Graham Mulholland said the business currently had its largest ever order book with 5 million confirmed sales to Christmas 2017 and up to 10 million in the pipeline over the next 12 months.

But external challenges had resulted in the need to cut costs.

Mr Mulholland, who founded the business in 1996, said: Our sales are topping 200,000-a-week and recent major contracts have included the design and manufacture of a 1.6 million advanced composites structure housing the LED screen for the U2 Joshua Tree world tour, which came to London at the weekend.

Despite this healthy order book, we are facing the same challenging and competitive environment as everyone operating in the advanced composites industry who are working with F1 and to supply volume components to automotive and aerospace customers.

It has therefore been necessary to restructure the business in line with these external challenges and we decided, reluctantly, that 16 redundancies were required to tightly control our costs today and prepare EPM for growth tomorrow.

There has been a short-term cash flow issue which has impacted supplier payments this week but this will be resolved by the middle of the week.

Our finances are fully supported by all our shareholders and stakeholders alike.

EPM Technology employs about 140 staff at its site in Belmore Way.

One employee said several redundancies had already taken place, with more anticipated.

The staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, added: As employees we are obviously very nervous about our future.

It is not the first time EPM has experienced financial difficulty. Mr Mulholland once recalled in a blog a time in 2006 when his company was 35 minutes from going bust.

Fortunately, the firm was about to enter a busy period and, by putting a plan together the business survived and ultimately prospered.

In 2014, the company left its premises in Draycott and moved into its current purpose-built 6 million site in Derby  described then as the most advanced factory of its kind in Europe.

In an interview with Business Weekly in March 2016, Mr Mulholland said the company had experienced an explosion of growth, with the 60,000sq ft factory helping secure substantial orders in the aerospace, motorsport, defence and automotive sectors.

This included a 22 million-plus order to produce and supply composite aircraft interior components and substructures, announced in December 2015.

A 4 million deal to manufacture cosmetic components made out of lightweight carbon fibre for an unnamed automotive business  the firms first production contract  was also announced a few months later.

As a result of the increasing workload, Mr Mullholland announced plans to create 30 new jobs.

EPM also carries out bespoke projects. An example is when the firm produced carbon fibre protective face mask for Derby County defender Richard Keogh, after the player broke his nose in three places during a fixture in January 2016.

Last month, EPM scooped the International Trade prize at the 2017 Derby Telegraph Business Awards.
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Police probing the death of a woman on the A38 are working with officials in Lithuania to establish her identity.

Johnathon Allison, 39, from Hull was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the incident and remains under police investigation.

A woman was taken to hospital by air ambulance after being struck by a vehicle on the A38 last Thursday night but she later died.

A Staffordshire police spokeswoman said: We are now working with colleagues in Lithuania to confirm her identification and so at this time are unable to name her.

Our investigation to establish the exact circumstances of what happened continues.

Johnathon Allison, of Coltman Street in Hull, also appeared in court on Saturday charged with breaching a restraining order.

He was remanded in custody and will appear at Stafford Crown Court on August 11.

The A38 northbound was closed between Branston interchange and the Claymills junction following the incident, which caused major traffic problems for drivers.

Some reported having to leave their cars because of the length of the delays on Thursday night.

However, enterprising locals opened an old exit on the A38 to allow access to Burton, according to Twitter user @Lynn_GT.

She tweeted: Thank you to the enterprising locals who opened an old exit to Burton to help clear traffic. Back on A38 at Clay Mills. #A38. Cheers chaps.

The southbound side of the A38 was closed for a short time to allow an air ambulance to land.

However, the A38 northbound stayed closed overnight and only partially reopened at about 9am the following morning.

Police opened one lane to allow some traffic through but residual delays continued until the road was completely opened on Friday evening.
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A former Derby altar boy who was subjected to years of sexual abuse by a paedophile priest has received 95,000 in compensation from the Catholic Church.

Father Francis Cullen was jailed for 15 years in 2014 after admitting abusing five boys and two girls over a 34-year period.

Four of his victims were targeted while he worked at Christ the King church in Mackworth.

And now one former altar boy, who was just eight years old when Cullen started to molest him, has been given compensation by the Catholic Church.

The victim, who suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the abuse, contacted London-based Bolt Burdon Kemp (BBK) solicitors in 2010.

At the time Cullen was on the run after skipping bail in 1991. He had been arrested and charged with sexual offences against children in Nottingham.

A spokesman for BBK said: In 2010 BBK were contacted by the victim. He and his family were parishioners of the Parish of Christ the King Church and Community Centre where Father Paul Francis Cullen was the Parish Priest.

He became involved in various social and religious activities arranged by Father Cullen in the course of his duties and was an altar server at the church.

In the 1960s and 1970s, when he was aged between eight and 15 years old, he was sexually abused and assaulted by Father Cullen.

At the time he contacted BBK, Father Cullen had not been convicted of the offences against him and his whereabouts were unknown.

Although the difficulties in this case were clear from the outset, BBK decided to investigate further and pursue a claim against the church on the basis that the abuse took place in the course of Father Cullens employment and was closely connected to his role as a priest.

Throughout this period, the victim continued in his own efforts to locate Father Cullen so that he could be brought to justice and kept in contact with the police.

Cullen was eventually tracked down to Tenerife 22 years after he first skipped bail. And in 2013 he was extradited to the UK to face further sexual abuse charges.

In 2014 at Derby Crown Court, Cullen  then aged 85 - was jailed for 15 years after pleading guilty to 21 counts of sexual abuse which took place between 1957 and 1991.

The court heard his seven victims  four in Mackworth, two in Buxton and one in Nottingham  had been subjected to years of horrific sexual abuse.

BBK said the victims compensation claim was put on hold pending the outcome of the prosecution.

A38 death crash investigation leads police officers to Lithuania

A civil trial was set to take place but three months before the trial the church agreed to settle the claim with the sum of 95,000.

The spokesman said: The victim was most pleased, not only with the outcome but with the fact that BBK took his case on at a time when no other firms were willing to assist him and had it not been for this, he would still be searching for justice.

The abuse and its impact, including the long struggle to bring Father Cullen to justice, had consumed his life.

BBK obtained a medical report from a consultant psychiatrist who concluded that he was suffering from depression with psychotic symptoms and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. His education and employment had been affected by the abuse.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Nottingham said the diocese had actively co-operated with the statutory authorities to bring Cullen to justice.

He said: The abuse of children is abhorrent, by whomsoever it is perpetrated, as is any attitude of mind which somehow tolerates it.

The Catholic Church takes the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults extremely seriously, and it is our hope and expectation that no child or vulnerable adult should ever suffer at the hands of others.

We will continue to work with the police and other statutory authorities whenever allegations of abuse arise, and will ensure that our churches and parishes are safe and welcoming for all members of the community.

I am not able to comment on individual claims due to data protection laws which rightly protect the confidentiality of claimants.
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A Derby man punched a security guard at the Grosvenor Hotel after staff tried to throw him out, a court has heard.

Alan Scholfield, 46, hurled his belongings around his room when he was asked to leave, even though it was nine hours after his check-out time.

He smashed his room door with a shower head after punching at a guard who had tried to turf him out of the 200-a-night hotel, a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace, on February 21.

Prosecutor Sian Morgan told Westminster Magistrates' Court: "The incident occurred at 8.22pm. He was asked to vacate his room as he only had the room until midday.

"When the security guard, Mr Torrest Charafi, knocked on the door, Mr Scholfield was on the floor searching for something.

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"He asked him if he needed any help.

"Mr Scholfield shouted 'f**k off, f**k off out of my room!' and punched a clenched fist into the left-hand side of Mr Charafi's face.

"Mr Charafi tried to back out of the room but Mr Scholfield kept punching him on the left side of the face.

"Then he noticed Mr Scholfield was carrying a shower head and he thought he was going to hit him with it."

Mr Charafi tried to grab Scholfield's hand to stop him hitting him again and the furious hotel guest managed to shut him out of the room, the court was told

He then started banging furiously against the door from the inside.

Scholfield, of Wilson Street, Derby, admitted common assault and criminal damage at the hotel in Buckingam Palace Road.

He has been on remand at Pentonville prison since June, facing trial for assaulting a police office and criminal damage in a separate incident.

Staff failed to bring him from the jail for his sentencing and he will now be dealt with on July 28.
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Lawyers representing a Derbyshire mother serving life behind bars for the brutal killing of her baby daughter say she should have her murder conviction overturned after fresh evidence emerged.

Kathryn Helen Smith, of Overseal, was found guilty of murder and child cruelty after 21-month-old Ayeeshia Jane Smith was beaten and stamped to death at her home in Burton.

The 24-year-old was ordered to serve at least 24 years behind bars at Birmingham Crown Court in April last year.

But she is challenging her murder conviction at the Court of Appeal, in London, with her lawyers arguing it was unsafe, according to the Burton Mail.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, was due to announce the courts ruling in March after the case was heard in November.

However, the decision was delayed after her lawyers revealed new evidence had come to light as part of a serious case review into Ayeeshia's death.

Barrister, John Butterfield QC, said a doctor's opinion now available cast doubt upon some of the evidence given by medical experts during the trial.

He today told the court there was a "misunderstood entry" in Ayeeshia's medical records, which meant her weight had been wrongly recorded in the months before her death.

This, he said, was "profoundly troubling" as it gave jurors the incorrect impression that the child's weight had "plunged" dramatically while she was being cared for by her mother.

He argued that, in the context of a trial where Smith and Ayeeshia's stepdad, Matthew Rigby, were each blaming the other for her death, this evidence could have caused serious prejudice to Smith.

(Image: Newsteam/SWNS Group)

Rigby, 23, was found guilty of causing or allowing Ayeeshia's death but was cleared of murder and child cruelty.

Mr Butterworth said the weight loss issue was "particularly concerning that it went to her detriment in a cut-throat case."

The barrister also said it had emerged that a blister on Ayeeshia's finger was sustained when she was in the care of someone else.

But Christopher Hotten QC, for the Crown, argued the convictions should be upheld, despite the new evidence.

He said Smith's own statements to police had placed her alone with Ayeeshia around the time the toddler suffered the fatal injuries.

Lord Thomas, sitting with Mr Justice Wyn Williams and Mr Justice Goss, said the court would give its ruling on Smith's appeal at a later date.

He said that, if Smith's conviction challenge fails, a decision will be made on whether to cut her minimum jail term.
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The Prime Minister has ordered a public inquiry into the blood scandal which has killed 2,400 people  including Derby dad-of-two David Hatton.

Theresa May told the Cabinet she and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt had decided a probe was needed.

The scandal involved haemophiliacs and other patients being infected with hepatitis C and HIV from blood products during the 1970s and 1980s.

Because of blood he received from the NHS during treatment for haemophilia, Mr Hatton contracted HIV and then Hepatitis C followed by sclerosis of the liver.

After a slow decline, he died on April 22, 1998, just three weeks after his 41st birthday. The effect on the family was devastating.

His daughter Katie Walford, who lives Darley Abbey and is the mother of a six-year-old daughter, was 10 years-old when she lost her father.

Hearing todays news, Katie says she broke down in tears. She said: My initial reaction was to just cry  I was completely overwhelmed. Weve been fighting this fight for a long time.

But now weve got to wipe away the tears  this is where the real fight begins. This inquiry is going to bring up a lot of raw details and events for the families involved.

We cant be complacent because weve got the inquiry, we need to keep the momentum going  we are a huge family bonded through this tragedy.

I especially want to mention Jason Evans and Su Gorman, whose family members have also been affected by this  they are key players behind the campaign  and MP Diana Johnson. She has done so much for us, keeping the debate going in the Commons for us.

"I personally hope for two outcomes of the inquiry - to have those responsible for the deaths of family members and/or a decrease in quality of life held accountable, and that those still living with the various infections and the family members left behind to have better quality of financial, mental and governmental support."

Details of the UK-wide investigation have yet to be finalised, and consultations will take place with those people affected as to how best to proceed.
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Middlesbrough is reportedly the preferred destination for Liverpool winger Sheyi Ojo, with Newcastle United also interested in the youngster.

The 20-year-old has only made eight first-team appearances for Jurgen Klopps side, after joining the club at the age of 14 and progressing through the clubs academy.

Newcastle are also said to be interested in Ojo, but the Liverpool boss would prefer that Ojo join the Boro, according to the Teesside Gazette.

(Image: Getty Images)

Leeds United defender Guiseppe Bellusci will reportedly be leaving the club this summer, after manager Thomas Christiansen told the player that the club has reached a decision on his future.

According to journalist Phil Hay from the Yorkshire Evening Post, Bellusci will definitely be leaving the club, after posting the situation on his Twitter account.

Bellusci joined Leeds in 2014 for around 1.6m, and has made 62 appearances for the club.

Queens Park Rangers have signed youngster Chay Tilt from Premier League side West Bromwich Albion.

The 19-year-old spent last season on loan at National League side Torquay united, making seven appearances.

Tilt has signed a professional contract with the Baggies until January 2018, and will link up with QPRs development side.
Heartfelt tributes have been paid to a humble and hardworking Derby businessman who has died aged 65.

Sohal Foods founder Gurmukh Singh Sohal, who lived in Littleover, was well-known in the food industry and worked with dozens of restaurants and other businesses over the years. He died on July 2.

Mr Sohal, who was originally from India and moved to Derby as a teenager in 1966, leaves behind his two sons, Bhupinder Sohal, 34, and Narinderpal Sohal, 43, daughter Narinder Baraclough, 44, his wife Debo Kaur Sohal, 63, and his mother Chanan Kaur, 100.

Bhupinder Sohal said his dad was a hardworking, generous, selfless, loyal and humble person, who had a very simple outlook on life.

"Over the years he helped many of the communities of Derby," he said. "From working with the Sikh temple as their treasurer, to supporting many local restaurants and takeaways when they first set up with extended credit facilities and additional support wherever he could offer to help get these businesses off the ground."

In 2006, Mr Sohal was featured in the book 50 Years of Punjabis In Derby which was published to celebrate the achievements of some of the most influential Punjabi citizens of Derby.

In 2008, he began his mission to make improvements in his home village Sangal Sohal in India by creating a fund to modernise the drainage and sewerage system in the village, install street lighting, construct roads, create a park area and plant trees. His work was featured on a special Sikh Channel documentary looking at the work done in the village and to encourage others to support their own villages in the Punjab.

Throughout the years, Mr Sohal helped to raise money to support an organisation that provides free eye operations in Punjab India.

Each year, he donated his lorries to be used to transport the elderly for the annual Sikh Vaisakhi parade - or Naga Kirtan - in Derby. He also supported the Derby Caribbean Carnival through supplying stock and lending them a lorry each year.

Bhupinder Sohal added: "He always saw the good in people. He was always very welcoming to everyone he met no matter what your race, religion or background. Being such a humble individual all he ever wanted to do was help all those around him and he did whenever he could."

He said that, ultimately, his father's passion was his work, and he had no qualms about working 16 hours a day, seven days a week, doing what he loved.

After leaving school, Mr Sohal's first full-time job was as a labourer in a builders yard before he worked at a cash and carry. It was then that he came up with the idea to open his own business.

While working for British Rail as a conductor, Mr Sohal opened his first corner shop on Porter Road in 1982, Sohal Food Store, where Mrs Sohal worked in the day and Mr Sohal worked in the evenings. This shop was one of the first in Derby stocking the specialist Asian foods and spices than can now be seen in many other stores.

From here, he began packing his own spices in his garage and began supplying local Indian restaurants and takeaways owned by many of his friends. The wholesale side of the business grew and rapidly expanded, to eventually renting his first industrial unit in Robinsons Industrial Estate.

In 1989, Mr Sohal, a devout Sikh who visited the Guru Arjun Gurdwara on a daily basis, further expanded his business and moved to Dale Road, a former Davenport Drinks at Home depot, which he converted into a supermarket at the front of the building and a wholesale warehouse at the back with living accommodation on top. From Dale Road, Mr Sohal was one of the main suppliers to restaurants and takeaways in Derby.

In 2009, he moved the business to Sandown Business Park to further expand and eventually it was taken over in 2014 by Hyperama Plc for which Mr Sohal continued to work as a delivered wholesale manager.

One of his customers was Naveed Khaliq, from Anoki restaurant, who said Mr Sohals charity work was well-known within the community.

"I recall a weekly grocery delivery from Sohal Foods to our home in mid-1980s like most within our neighbourhood. We are only getting accustomed to such services 35 years later, a great visionary," he said.

"I opened my first restaurant in 1993 and my first delivery amounting to over a thousand pounds came from Sohal Foods on credit. He never asked for a reference or checked my credit history.

"I just wonder how many businesses started with his help and generosity. RIP Mr Sohal you always gave more than you received."

A funeral service for Mr Sohal is due to take place on Wednesday, July 19, at the Guru Arjun Dev Gurdwara, Dale Road, Derby, at 10am and Marketon Crematorium at 11.20am.

Tributes to Gurmukh Singh Sohal from friends, relatives and business owners:

Bhupinder, his son: "Dad, I am so proud of everything you achieved, you will always be my hero."

Narinder, his daughter: "Dad helped anyone that crossed his path and taught me about forgiveness and loving unconditionally. A very spiritual man, we are lucky to had him as our dad."

Sharon, his niece: "When you lose someone you love, you gain an angel that you know."

Rajinder, his brother-in-law: "He will always be remembered for his humble heart and his kind thoughts for all he came into touch with. It has been a true honour to have known his humble soul so may God bless always my brother-in-law, my dear friend for always."

Tajinder Atwal: "Although I have known Mr Sohal for more than 20 years but began to know him well when I started business dealing with him in 1996, I found him a person true to his word who would go a mile to help others. God knows how many people he helped over the years while running the Sohal Food Stores who were struggling and asked for financial help from him. No was never his answer when help required.

"In 2015, when selected as treasurer of the Guru Arjan Dev Gurdawara, Stanhope Street, Derby, for two years, within this period of two years he spent his valuable spare time by doing voluntary service for the Gurdawara and serving the community, always on the forefront if any donations were required. He was a man with big heart, our community will cherish his memories for ever.

"I pray to mighty Lord to rest his soul in peace."

Mr A Razzi: "When I opened Pepitos in 1997, Mr Sohal, who I had known since 1987, helped me source the Mexican ingredients necessary to cook our dishes. At this time, there wasn't any suppliers selling Mexican ingredients and, if it wasn't for the help of Mr Sohal, Pepitos may have not existed.

"Twenty years on, we continued trading with Mr Sohal because he was a man of principle and conducted business in the same way - honest, fair and loyal. It is a huge loss to the community to lose such a wonderful human being and he will be sorely missed by my team and I."

Mahmood Akhtar and staff at Shalimar Gold restaurant: "Mr Sohal was my supplier for 30 years. When I heard he had died, I felt really shocked. He was such a nice person, not just to me, but to the whole community. He was very helpful when a person opened their business. I really feel sorry for his family. You can't find people like him these days. We had a great relationship. We are very sorry to have lost a great man in the community."
Mid-valley fire crews were kept busy on Tuesday with several grass fire calls, two of which burned a significant number of acres and some crops.

A farmer leasing a field in Tangent sparked a grass fire that burned 5 acres of cut seed crop when he struck and downed a power line with his vehicle, according to Tangent Fire Chief Scott Casebolt.

The first alarm summoned crews at 9:09 a.m. to the field, which lies on the southeast corner of Beta Drive and the Pacific and Western railroad line. Tangent sent three mobile attack water tenders, a bush unit and a command vehicle. Albany Fire Department also responded with two engines and a battalion chief. In all, 16 firefighters worked to contain and control the blaze, which was out within 15 minutes.

"We were concerned because Beta Seed is right there," said Casebolt. "But the wind was pushing it due south."

No structures were damaged and there were no injuries.

A little while later, Albany Fire and three other agencies responded to a 30-acre field fire off Knox Butte and Harber roads, according to AFD Deputy Fire Marshall Sandy Roberts.

Jefferson, Scio and Lebanon fire departments also responded to the two-alarm call, which came in at 10:58 a.m.

Five engines, three brush rigs and two water tenders were on scene to battle the fire, which was contained. There were no injuries.

Officials are still investigating the cause.
A log truck rolled over and started a fire late Tuesday afternoon at the intersection of highways 20 and 126, near Santiam Junction.

The accident was reported shortly after 4 p.m., according to Oregon Department of Transportation public information officer Angela Beers-Seydel. She said when the truck flipped, it spilled its load, causing a fire in nearby vegetation. The U.S. Forest Service arrived and extinguished the blaze.

The driver was not injured.

Highway 126 was closed in both directions at the juncture during the cleanup and investigation. The truck was removed shortly before 9 p.m., but Beers-Seydel said the area would be flagged through Tuesday evening, with debris removal resuming Wednesday morning.

Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including ODOT and the Oregon State Police.
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Facebook has announced that it is expanding the beta test of Messenger ads globally, after initial testing in Australia and Thailand

It seems like we may start seeing advertisements on Facebook Messenger soon. The social media giant has announced that its expanding the beta test of Messenger ads globally after initially testing it in Australia and Thailand. The company says that over 1.2 billion people use Messenger every month, which gives marketers the chance to expand the reach of their campaigns. People will see Messenger ads in the home tab of their Messenger mobile app. When they tap on an ad, they will be sent to the destination chosen during ad creation. This can be your website or a Messenger conversation, the company states in its page. Advertisers will be able to add Messenger to campaigns using the traffic and conversion objectives, with additional options like App Installs objective coming soon.

Back in January, it was reported that Facebook was testing a new mid-roll ad format. This would give video publishers the chance to insert advertisements into their videos after 20 seconds of playback. It was reported that these ads would only appear in videos that run for at least 90 seconds. It was also said that Facebook would sell these advertisements and share the revenue with publishers by giving them 55 percent of all sales.

Facebook also uses WhatsApp to influence the ads people see on Facebook. However, WhatsApp claims that it doesnt share users' contact data with its parent company, but rather codes. On its end, Facebook is able to to help merchants understand how people interacted with the advertisement, without them knowing any details about the users.

Image Courtesy: TechCrunch

Ads on Facebook messenger are definitely going to hamper the user experience of the service. While we habven't seen ads on Messenger in India yet, TechCrunch notes that they take up a lot of space on the screen, nearly covering two thirds of the app's UI. The only respite is that Facebook is not yet snooping into your Messenger conversations to throw relevant ads at you. Even then, one really doesn't head to Messenger in hopes of coming across an ad to buy iPhone covers or clothes. The intention to open Messenger is always to speak to a contact, not to see giant banner ads while scrolling through conversations.
The Moto X4 is rumoured to be a mid-range smartphone offering premium design and a dual camera system. The handset is said to come with IP68 water and dust resistance, and support Google's Project Fi network.

Motorola is expected to reboot the Moto X series this year with the launch of Moto X4. The handset is tipped to be a mid-range smartphone and could become Moto's first smartphone with a dual camera system. Motorola is hosting an event on July 25 in New York where it could showcase the Moto X4 which has now made its way to GFXBench benchmarking platform.

A Motorola smartphone carrying the model number XT1789 has been benchmarked on GFXBench suggesting that this could be the 2017 Moto X also called as the Moto X4. While Moto X4 is tipped to sport a 5.2-inch full HD display, the listing reveals the handset is rocking a 5-inch 1080p display instead. The listing seems to indicate Qualcomm's Snapdragon 630 platform, coupled with 3GB RAM and 16GB storage as opposed to claimed 4GB RAM and 64GB storage.

There is a possibility that we are looking at one of the storage variants of the Moto X4 here. The listing also confirms a 12MP rear camera with support for 4K video recording and a 16MP front camera. Previous reports indicate that the Moto X4 will feature a combination of 12MP and 8MP rear camera setup. The benchmark also confirms Android 7.1.1 Nougat and support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC. The handset is also said to be IP68 water and dust resistant, and feature an aluminium unibody casing. Interestingly, it might become the first mid-range smartphone to support Google's Project Fi network. Motorola is also said to be working on a flagship Moto Z2, and mid-range G5S series for 2017.
Samsung nailed its design this year with the Samsung Galaxy S8. The Galaxy A-series phones were really good too and even the C-series phablets were fairly competent. The Samsung Galaxy On Max follows the same path. It is an online only device and at Rs. 16,900, it looks quite promising. The USP of the device are its two cameras, which includes 13MP cameras each on the front and back. We had the chance to check out the phone for a night, in the picturesque setting of Rajasthan. Samsung claims that it is the best budget camera phone and they may even be right.

Low light performance

At the back, the Galaxy On Max has a 13MP rear shooter with f/1.7 aperture, which combined with Samsung's improved camera algorithm, takes good pictures in low light conditions. It may not be as exemplary as the dual-pixel camera on the Galaxy S8, but it's quite good. From the few pictures we took, it is hard to conclude whether this is the best camera phone in its category, but it is certainly amongst the best. The main aspect Samsung has worked upon is to minimise the graininess or noise in the low light shots. While the company has achieved what it set out to do, the images do seem a tad overexposed at times, giving them a posterized effect and diminishing overall details.

Image quality during daytime

Images in normal lighting conditions, or even against the sun, seem really good. They have a slightly warmer tone, which isnt natural, but will definitely be appealing to many. The camera manages to separate foreground and background quite well and has one of the best dynamic ranges we have seen on a sub-20K smartphone. The images we clicked with the phone captured most of the details. The shutter response and autofocus are quite swift as well.

Impressive internals

As for the specifications, you get a MediaTek Helio P25 SoC, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Now, before you start to cringe your teeth on the limited storage space, you should know that the phone has a dedicated micro SD card reader, that supports up to 256GB cards. We were however, surprised to see the phone is not using Samsungs AMOLED display panels. Still, the 5.7-inch 1080p display is not bad in any way. Infact, like the camera, it could easily be the best in the category. We couldn't test the performance thoroughly as the phone had nothing besides pre-installed applications, but we did not find the experience lacking or lagging in any way. Even jumping in and out of the camera or taking images in low light, the phone was smooth and responsive.

Metal all round

As for build quality, Samsung has given us little reason to complain in recent times and that stays true for the On Max as well. Even with a 5.7-inch form factor, the phone felt ergonomic and easy-to-use. What we are unsure about is the battery life, as the MediaTek Helio P25 is fairly new chip and the phone only has a 3300mAh battery, which is powering a fairly large 5.7-inch display.

All things said and done, the Samsung Galaxy On Max is more of a surprise package in the sub-20K category, and has the potential to turn the tables on the Moto G5 Plus. The phone packs a serious rear camera and the overall fit and finish, and swiftness can make it one of the best phones in its category.
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Many of the steel industry's troubles can be traced to massive overproduction by China, but the U.S. has already put up big barriers to Chinese steel imports.



By JOSH BOAK and PAUL WISEMAN

AP Economics Writers

WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump pledged during the campaign to help U.S. factory workers by slapping tariffs on foreign steel. But his long-awaited decision on the issue is running behind schedule and administration officials are leaving plenty of wiggle room on what direction he'll take.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross initially hoped to finish a report on tariffs last month, but his department has been holding off as the Pentagon weighs in about impact of steel tariffs on national security. The delay is an example of the difficulty Trump faces in delivering on his ambitious policy agenda  on taxes, health insurance and more  as quickly as he told voters he could.





. . .
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The hulking J. Edgar Hoover building overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue has long been the government building everyone loves to hate.



By SADIE GURMAN

Associated Press

WASHINGTON  The nation's top law enforcement agency will continue operating out of its deteriorating downtown Washington headquarters for the foreseeable future after the federal government announced Tuesday it had scrapped a decade-long plan to look for a new building in Maryland or Virginia.

The General Services Administration, which oversees federal office space, said it does not have enough money to move forward on a new location. The Obama administration had sought $1.4 billion for the project, but Congress left it underfunded by about $882 million.





. . .
Pakistan has always been a bad ally for the United States in its fight against terrorism and has a long proven history of duplicity in its dealings with terror outfits. US, however, has been reluctant to cut ties or take extremely coercive measures against Islamabad because the supply line to Afghanistan runs through Pakistan. Now, in an op-ed in The Washington Times titled 'Pakistan's long history of duplicity,' Republican Congressman Ted Poe has said that it is time that America confront the evil of Pakistan and bare facts. ''However, this key link does not come free and has even been severed by Pakistan on multiple occasions after violent incidents between their forces and our own,'' Poe alleged. Poe, a top lawmaker, said Pakistan must be held accountable for continuously working against the interests of the US through treachery. According to Poe, Pakistan is his country's ugliest ally. He makes a distinction among ''good'', ''bad'' and ''ugly'' allies of the US. The good ones are allies and partners with whom America shares common interests and values, while the bad ones are countries that sponsor terrorism and not only ''undermine'' America's goals but also ''flaunt their disdain for the Unites States.'' Poe rates Pakistan in the third category: ''the Ugly''. The Congressman, who represents the second district of Texas in the US Congress, writes, ''The Benedict Arnold of states that say they are our friends, take billions in US aid, then back the very terrorists that are killing Americans. The ugliest of the bunch is Pakistan.'' (Benedict Arnold was one of the earliest heroes of the revolutionary war (1775-83) against the British in America. But Arnold became the ''most infamous traitor'' in the history of the United States when he switched sides and compromised American interests after taking money from the British. Poe, meanwhile, had recently introduced two legislations calling for revoking special ally status to Pakistan and a ressessment of whether Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism. One of the two legislations introduced in the US House of Representatives calls for revoking major non-NATO ally (MNNA) status of Pakistan, which was granted to it in 2004 by the then President George Bush as the US wanted Pakistan to be on its side in its fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The second legislation would require the State Department to assess Islamabad's long history of cooperating with terrorists and determine whether or not Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism. ''Pakistan must be held accountable for the American blood on its hands,'' said Mr. Poe, who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade. Once a key ally in the US war on terrorism, Pakistan, which harbors more than a dozen terror groups, has been steadily cozying up to America's rivals, China and Russia. Both China and Russia have been taking advantage of Pakistan's paranoia about India, and the steady decline in Washington's global influence with Donald Trump as President.








As India joined a show of strength by the US and Japanese navies in the Bay of Bengal, its Asian rival China is quietly setting up a naval support base in Djibouti, in the Horn Of Africa, as part of expanding China's naval presence all over the Indian Ocean and beyond.

A Xinhua report said the first ships carrying Chinese military personnel departed Zhanjiang in southern China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday to set up a support base in Djibouti.

Shen Jinlong, commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti, and conferred military flag on the departing vessels.

''The establishment of the People's Liberation Army Djibouti base was a decision made by the two countries after friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides,'' the report quoted PLA navy sources as saying.

Djibouti, located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal, is a tiny, barren land sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts US, Japanese and French bases.

There has been speculation that China would build other such bases, in Pakistan for example, but the government has dismissed this.

Located on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean, Djibouti sits well in China's move to encircle India with military alliances and assets, including the ''string of pearls'' assets in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

China began construction of a logistics base in strategically located Djibouti last year, purportedly to base resupply naval vessels taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia.

The base will support China's overseas missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and West Asia.

The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks, including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways, the Xinhua report said.

''Certainly this is the People's Liberation Army's first overseas base and we will base troops there. It's not a commercial resupply point. It makes sense there is attention on this from foreign public opinion,'' said the paper, which is published by the official People's Daily.

However, Chinese warships are already deployed in the Indian Ocean. And while China officially describes the Djibouti base as a logistics facility, this will be China's first overseas naval base.
The Donegal Democrat has been informed of the following deaths:

- Hughie Kennedy, Ballybrillaghan, Mountcharles

- Mary McBride, Magheraclogher, Bunbeg

- Sam Parke, Knockbrack, Letterkenny

- Michael McGowan, Edenville, Kinlough



Hughie Kennedy, Ballybrillaghan, Mountcharles

The death has occurred at Donegal Community Hospital of Hughie Kennedy, late of Ballybrillaghan, Mountcharles.

Reposing at his home this evening, Wednesday July 12th, from 6pm to 11pm and on Thursday from 11am to 6pm. House private thereafter. Remains arriving at the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Frosses, on Thursday evening for 7pm to repose overnight.

Funeral Mass at 11am on Friday morning with interment in the adjoining cemetery. Family flowers only. Donations in lieu to Donegal Community Hospital, C/o John McGowan Funeral Directors. Parking available beside the wake house, please follow the signs.

Mary McBride, Magheraclogher, Bunbeg

The death has taken place at Aras Gweedore of Mary McBride, late of Magheraclogher, Bunbeg, gaoth Dobhair

Reposing at her late residence.

Funeral Mass in St. Marys Chapel, Derrybeg on Thursday, July 13th, at 11am with burial afterward in Magheragallon Cemetery.

Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu to Aras Gweedore c/o any family member or or Kieran Roarty Funeral Director.

Rosary at 9pm tonight. House private from after the rosary until 10am.



Sam Parke, Knockbrack, Letterkenny

The death has taken place at Letterkenny University Hospital of Sam Parke, late of Knockbrack, Letterkenny.

His remains will repose at his late residence.

Funeral from there on Thursday, July 13th, at 10.15am going to the Church of the Irish Martyrs, Letterkenny for Requiem Mass at 11am with burial afterwards in Conwal cemetery.

Family time please from 11pm till 10am and on the morning of the funeral.

Michael McGowan, Edenville, Kinlough

The death has taken place in London of Michael McGowan, late of Edenville, Kinlough, Co. Leitrim. Removal of remains to St Aidans Church, Kinlough, on Friday morning, July 14th, for 11am funeral Mass. Burial afterward in St Aidans Cemetery. No flowers please. Donations in lieu to a charity of ones choice. House strictly private please.

If you wish to have a death notice included here, email us at editorial@donegaldemocrat.com. Please include a telephone number for verification.
WASHINGTON  As the nation was preparing to celebrate its storied independence from the British crown, the president secured his place as history's greatest jester.

Or America's first toddler president. Take your pick.

Trump did so by tweeting a doctored video clip of himself from several years ago in which he takes down wrestling magnate Vince McMahon and gives him a good pummeling. The new version superimposes the CNN logo on McMahon's head. Get it? In the 28-second clip, Trump walks away from the fray unrumpled with nary a hair out of place.

Bizarre comes to mind. Absurd. Ridiculous. Funny, perhaps, to a certain sort. Embarrassing in the extreme to many Americans who would describe themselves as perpetually appalled. What's next, Trump in his tighty whities atop Trump Tower punching an inflatable Vladimir Putin?

It is baffling to think that Trump is proud of himself and such high jinks, to put it charitably. We get that he's at war with the media, hardly an original concept at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. But no one has ever seen a U.S. president behave in such an idiotic manner. Most adults have a pause button in their brains that shields civilized society from impulsive, inappropriate behavior. For the president, every impulse is apparently irresistible.

For good reason, many in the journalism world have expressed deep concerns about the effect the video might have. CNN's response said in part: "It is a sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters."

We've already witnessed one such event this year when Montana congressional candidate Greg Gianforte assaulted a reporter for The Guardian, breaking his glasses. In a comedy, the audience might applaud the tough guy punching the obnoxious reporter, but this isn't a comedy. Please, someone tell the president.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., whose recent book laments the absence of people behaving like grown-ups in America, reacted to the video-tweet in strong language, suggesting that Trump is trying to "weaponize distrust" toward the media. It's not as though the country's media-haters need much encouragement to act out Trump's looney-tunes dreamscape. It only takes one.

All is not glum, however. There have been some truly humorous moments in the aftermath of the video's viral reception, principally from those defending Trump's cartoon presidency. The ever-earnest Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president "in no way form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence." How's that? Isn't this the same Trump who offered to pay the legal fees for anyone who got in hot water for punching out a protester at one of his campaign rallies?

To Trump supporters who find the wrestling video unobjectionable or, I suspect, hilarious in some cases, I would ask that they try to imagine the same video showing Barack Obama superimposing Fox News on someone's face, punching him repeatedly and then smugly strutting away.

Very likely these same folks would have stormed the National Mall demanding the president's impeachment.

As an opinion columnist who draws plenty of threatening hate mail, I fear less for my personal safety than for the integrity and security of our country. I've covered politics off and on for 40 years, including writing a thrice-weekly column for the now-defunct Charleston Evening Post in 1980 leading up to the first Republican presidential primary in South Carolina.

Never during that time or since have I ever worried that a president's behavior would embarrass the country on the world stage. Trump's most unpardonable offense isn't his implied threat to members of the Fourth Estate but his minimizing of the nation's stature in the world. Our allies must shudder while our enemies devise new ways to celebrate. Trump may crack himself up, but he also shatters any pretense of our seriousness as a nation. So much for that shining city on the hill, not to mention the president as leader of the free world.

We look like fools because our president so convincingly plays one.

Trump, naturally, begs to differ. To his mind, he's acting perfectly presidential. His Twitter habit is simply a "modern day presidential" way of communicating. To this thought, homeland security adviser Thomas Bossert added that Trump is a "genuine president expressing himself genuinely."

Well, there's that.

But the act of a president using modern technology doesn't necessarily convey presidential, as most define it.

And being genuine in Trump's case simply means he's a genuine fool.
I met some wonderful people visiting the Wiregrass at various Dixie state tournaments, but let me be the first to apologize for our angry gnats. They do not represent most of our residents, though I can name a few that well, Im getting off point here. This years rabble (I looked it up; means disorderly crowd or mob) of gnats is simply awful. A group of gnats  and dont they always travel in packs of 10 billion?  are also known as a cloud. We wish we could eradicate them, but nothing short of a Chernobyl disaster would kill these monsters.

While there is no truth to the rumor that some gnats have beards and when successfully swatted they can be reported at the local game and fish check-in station, Ricky Adams may be onto something when he told me not swat at them by any means at any time. Just makes em angry, he said.

And no, we are not the Big Gnat Capital of the World  I dont think -- and while Enterprise pays homage to the boll weevil for leading that town to become the peanut capital, the gnat has only led us to stay inside more than out, so there will be no statue built for the bothersome insect.

Male gnats, it is said, are particularly annoying at dusk when they are looking to mate. Such swarms are referred to as ghosts. I like rabble or cloud better.

For the man who told me they were almost gone last week, I say, well, thats because several of them went in my ears and nostrils while watering my plants. By the way, they DO NOT taste like chicken! They taste like gnats. Theres a reason Andrew Zimmern hasnt included a mess of them sauteed on his Bizarre Foods program. Id rather eat instant grits without cheese.

I remember a coyote expert once telling me that when you hear them howl at night, there were probably no more than three or four even if it sounded like 25 because coyotes throw their voices. Maybe so, but the first gnat expert that tells me there are probably just a few loses his or her expert card because Ive personally swatted to their death double-digits of them only to have the angry mob come at me with even more gusto. I know, I just made them mad.

Gnats aside (and oh, how I wish they were), heres a shout out to the local establishments and individuals who have left such a great impression on those from elsewhere in Alabama here for the state tournaments. Almost to a person they expressed how great they have been treated while in our town. First of all, thank you. Secondly, congratulations. You have made the kind of impressions we need, what with our gnats trying to take over.
Corey Bigbie hasnt forgotten where he came from and he isnt letting anyone else forget it, either.

I try to represent the city wherever I go, he said. I have a Run Alabama tattoo. I try to bring something back to the city.

Bigbie, a Dothan musician, will play the Electronic Dayton Music Festival, Friday in Dayton, Ohio. Bigbie got the opportunity after touring this spring with Layzie Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

Bigbie said electronic music isnt quite his style, but he looks forward to giving the audience there a sample of his music. Bigbie said the invite to the festival was the result of hard work with crowds at events he played earlier this year.

Bigbie said he invested a lot of time before his sets getting to know the audience and interacting with them. This paid off in enthusiasm and support when he hit the stage.

I love the interaction, he said. I love telling them how much performing means to me and how much it means to me to be in their city.

Bigbie was noticed by Layzie Bone after trying to break a Guiness World Record for the longest rap performance. Bigbies attempt was unsuccessful, but it impressed Layzie Bone and led to the opportunity to tour with him in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and New Jersey.

Bigbie said touring has been a life-changing opportunity for him, and its taught him to deal with many of the pressures of the music business. Bigbie said curbing his urge to micro-manage has been a major lesson hes learned from touring.

After a while it got where I tried to manage every little thing to the point where I was ill toward people and would get irritated by everything, he said. I learned that I have to play the cards where they fall.
The Coffee County Board of Education has been hit with a lawsuit by former superintendent Donald McPherson alleging the board violated a separation agreement entered into when his tenure as superintendent ended early.

The suit, filed on June 8, makes claims for defamation, breach of contract and cost of litigation. The suit alleges that the board must pay McPherson retirement benefits it paid the Alabama Retirement System on his behalf, but the system rejected.

The suit also alleges that the board had agreed to provide a neutral recommendation regarding his time as superintendent, and that former Coffee County Board Chairman Shag LaPrade violated that agreement by making disparaging comments about McPherson at a Coffee County Republican Womens meeting in August 2015.

The Coffee County Board of Education denied McPhersons charges in a press release from its attorneys, Dale Marsh and James Tarbox of Marsh & Cotter, LLP in Enterprise.

It would be inappropriate to comment directly on the claims made in the lawsuit except to say that the board and its board members deny all of the claims made by McPherson in the suit and contend he is not entitled to any damages, the release said.

McPherson became Coffee County superintendent in 2011, replacing Linda Ingram. McPherson had previously served as Cullman County Schools federal programs director and English language learning coordinator.

The board voted in July 2015 to end McPhersons term as superintendent and enter into a separation agreement with him. The separation agreement made McPherson a special consultant to the system and paid him $21,037 per month up to 12 months, according to the Southeast Sun. The separation agreement also said the board would pay for health insurance and other benefits, and would also make payments on his behalf into the state retirement system.

Other parts of the agreement stipulated that the agreement was not to be construed as admission of wrongdoing by McPherson or the board and that board members and McPherson would make no disparaging remarks about one another.
Home Four wheelers Nissan Appoints Thomas Kuehl As New President of India Operations oi-Vishnu

Japanese car maker Nissan today announced the appointment of Thomas Kuehl as its President for India Operations, effective October 1, 2017.

Kuehl replaces Guillaume Sicard, who would take up a new post with Alliance partner Renault as Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Asia Pacific and also as Managing Director, South Asia.

Commenting on his appointment, Thomas Kuehl said, "I am very enthusiastic to be back in India with Nissan. I have had first-hand experience of the dynamism and high potential in India, which is on track to become one of the top auto markets worldwide."

"Nissan also waits for the significant growth with an expanding wide range of great products, services and technologies across the Nissan and Datsun brands and a well-established and quality-driven national retail network, supported by local production and R&D in Chennai", added Thomas.

Kuehl will work from Nissan India Motors Pvt. Ltd. headquarters in Gurgaon and report directly to Peyman Kargar, the Chairman of Africa, Middle East and India Region for Nissan.

DriveSpark Thinks!

This new appointment at Nissan Motors in India should help in the smooth functioning and continuous growth of the company. Thomas Kuehl's statement about expanding the product range makes sense, as Nissan in India right now, needs good marketing, and this can be achieved only through launching of new products in our market.
How many Jedi mind tricks can Republicans successfully play on a weary American public? Their powers to plant suggestions in the minds of many voters, coaxing them to turn on their own health care security, are undeniable. But can the magic go on forever?

Implanting the idea of repealing Obamacare now in return for a mystery plan in some unspecified future would be a mind trick for the ages. It's also a transparent setup. Get rid of the Affordable Care Act, and then -- with the protections gone -- make an offer the public can't refuse: Our crumbs or nothing.

Such audacity is clearly an act of desperation. The public hasn't exactly cheered the so-called Republican moderates' plan to slash benefits and strip coverage for many millions -- or conservative proposals to basically ditch the health reforms altogether. Polls gave the House GOP plan a pathetic 16 percent approval rating and the Republican Senate version only 17 percent.

If you can't sell a program on the details, get rid of the details. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska started the ball rolling by urging the immediate repeal of "as much of Obamacare as is possible" while not taking away benefits for a year. President Trump says he's on board.

Conservative lawmakers who condemned the House and Senate proposals as too nice are especially enthusiastic. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky tweeted, "Let's keep our word to repeal then work on replacing right away."

Now, if you're going to replace Obamacare in short order, why repeal it right away? And if you're going to leave Obamacare benefits in place for a year, why not repeal it in a year? What's the hurry?

This makes zero sense unless the real agenda is to put off the pain of losing Obamacare until it's too late to stop the dismantling. Stave off a public revolt while setting the timer ticking to automatically destruct the program a few months hence.

In a similar fashion, the Senate bill would delay the cuts in benefits until after the midterm elections. Clever, no?

While congressional action grabs most of the attention, a bigger and sneakier threat to the Affordable Care Act is already in motion. It is Plan B: Destabilize the insurance markets that have kept Obamacare afloat. And you don't need legislation to do that.

From his first day in office, President Trump has been sabotaging the insurance markets from behind the scenes. He cut off funding for ads during the Obamacare enrollment period. He threatened to pull Obamacare subsidies for low-income people. He issued a call to stop the IRS from enforcing the mandate to obtain coverage.

That some of these things have not (yet) come to pass matters not. Their point is to rattle the insurers. These actions all discourage healthy people from signing on as the sick obtain coverage no matter what. The result is an unsustainable insurance pool forcing insurers to jack up rates, thus discouraging more heathy enrollees.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, for example, has publicly blamed its planned rate hike of 23 percent on uncertainty from the government. Otherwise, the increase would have been 9 percent.

The Affordable Care Act has certainly had problems, but they were fixable. Premiums were already stabilizing, and enrollment was set to boom until Trump and fellow gremlins got out the monkey wrenches -- creating a "crisis" to freak out the insurers and pressure the public.

As for the visible efforts to doom Obamacare, serial failure seems to have left foes with the ultimate fantasy gambit: Offer a definite repeal and an invisible replacement.

This could be a mind trick too far. May the Force be with those unwilling to submit.
Inniskeen's Patrick Kavanagh Centre is to benefit from funding under the Cooperation with Northern Ireland Scheme 2017, as announced yesterday by the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys TD.

Under the scheme, the Inniskeen Enterprise Development Group Ltd., is to receive 8,000 in funding, for the project description The Patrick Kavanagh Centre & Seamus Heaney home place celebrate the work of two of Ireland's finest artists

This the one of two projects in Monaghan to benefit from this cross border scheme.

The other, Castleblayney Community Enterprise CLG, is to receive 10,000 for the project, Establishing and enhancing the shared culture of Castleblayney and Cullyhanna through music, heritage and folklore.

156,300 has been approved in total for various projects in this scheme. Other counties to benefit under the cross border scheme are Dublin, Galway, Cavan, Tyrone, Tipperary, Limerick, Derry, Fermanagh and Down.

There are no projects from Louth among those approved for funding under this scheme.

Speaking at the announcement of the funding, Minister Humphreys said:

The Cooperation with Northern Ireland Scheme 2017 provides a platform for cultural exchanges and joint projects from organisations on both sides of the border and has produced some fascinating and valuable projects over the years.

The island of Ireland shares a cultural resonance and output that can surpass political challenges.

Funding projects of this kind, such as those included under this scheme, is particularly important in the context of Brexit and the challenges that it may bring to cultural organisations and audiences across the border."
The Lidl store in Dundalk helped raised 1000 for local charity Cara Cancer Support Centre recently as part of a new initiative in the Lidl Community Works programme.

'Charity of the Week' sees Lidl donate 1000 every week for a year to local charities and groups across Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and will run alongside existing support programmes already in place at each of Lidl's 4 regional sales offices.These worthy causes are selected by store teams in recognition of their excellent work in the local community. The Lidl store teams are best placed to choose these groups as they see first-hand, the positive impact that is made in the areas in which they operate.

Cara Cancer Support Centre gives support to people living with cancer by providing a supportive environment where patients and family members can come to find solace and avail of the experience of cancer survivors. They offer a range of holistic therapies, pamper days, workshops and counselling as well as prosthesis wig advice and fittings. At the Cara Cancer Support Centre patients can enjoy relaxation in the form of meditation, yoga and tai chi classes or even something as small as a cup of tea.

My team and I in Dundalk are proud to have selected Cara Cancer Support Centre as our Charity of the Week. Supporting and investing in local communities is something that Lidl are committed to and we are delighted to be able to make this contribution, said store manager Kristaps Pumpurs.
Having recently graduated from leading US fintech program, Envestnet Yodlee Incubator, Melbourne-based start-up Finch has today launched its first offering to the Australian market  a social payment app that gives millennials a clearer picture of their spending habits.

Shahirah Gardner, who co-founded Finch with her husband Toby Gardner and their friend Eric Kuhn in 2016, spoke to Dynamic Business about challenges associated with launching the app, which is available for free download in Australia (iOS/Android), and her belief that traditional banks are missing a beat when it comes to millennials.

DB: What is the elevator pitch for Finch?

Gardner: Finch (short for finance made cinch) is a financial app that removes those awkward money moments that arise in ones social life, whether thats being left out of pocket by a forgetful friend or a flaky housemate, having to calculate who had what at a restaurant or tracking expenses across a group (without an excel spreadsheet!).

Specifically, the app allows users to pay and request money instantly (without a BSB), split bills, run tabs in groups to track shared expenses (perfect for housemates/roommates) and  in the comings months  receive actionable insights to improve spending and saving habits. Over time our goal is to provide personalised, data driven recommendations.

We offer free instant transfers between Finch balances and a small transaction fee from debit and credit card. In the future, well introduce a subscription model for financial insights, and eventually, potentially referral fees.

DB: Why is the app geared towards millennials?

Gardner: A lot of millennials simply dont know how and where theyre spending money around their social life. So we provide financial insights for those who are starting to gain interest and awareness around their spending, and also allow for budgeting for others who are ready to become more frugal. Were building around the behaviours of our customers.

DB: What sparked the idea for Finch?

Gardner: While the three of us were living in San Francisco, we used a number of financial apps on a daily basis  one to pay friends, one to split expenses, another to budget but there wasnt was a single platform that allowed people to do all of these things, let alone support them as their financial priorities and goals changed over time. So, we asked ourselves: if there was a single platform built around behaviours, rather than products, what would this experience look like? Thats how the idea for Finch was conceived  and the reason were meeting with millennials around their behaviours today.

DB: How useful was Envestnet Yodlee incubator?

Gardner: Being accepted into the #1 fintech program in the US validated our approach and our team, indicating we have what it takes to be globally competitive. Also, our peer group of start-ups were incredibly talented and often well-funded from Silicon Valley VCs, which set the bar very high for us!

The program, which culminated in a Demo Day pitch to investors in May, really helped us prioritise certain activities, identify gaps in our approach, and refine our messaging for investors and customers alike. It also gave us the belief that Aussie fintech startups can compete with the best in the world despite being in a smaller market with less access to capital. This was proven when we won Best Product Demo (as voted by Yodlee Engineers and Product Managers) at Bootcamp 2.

DB: What are the strategies for growing your user base?

Gardner: As part of our beta testing and pre-launch experiential campaign, Finch hosted a four-week Innobeta Program at Melbourne and Sydney University in May. Select students were offered exclusive access to innovation and start-up workshops run by Finch co-founders, alongside user testing and feedback. Many of these students are committee members of various university clubs and societies whose members have been onboarded during this phase and continue to be.

Additionally, weve spent the last six months building a millennial audience across our social channels with a focus on millennial content. For example, this week we are launching the first part of a three-part video campaign on Facebook targeting millennials. At launch, we have a 10k following on Instagram, which is on par with the following for Commonwealth and ANZ  this illustrates our appeal to the millennial audience, based on their values. I think the big banks are absolutely missing a beat in delivering the customer experience millennials have come to expect. As a result, millennials feel increasingly disconnected with their banks. In fact, a KPMG report shows that a whopping 84% of millennials would consider banking with a tech company if they had a better product offer than or deal than a traditional bank. We will be launching a blog and influencer marketing campaign in coming weeks.

DB: What have been the key challenges pre-launch?

Gardner: As a self-funded start-up, weve had to be really, really lean. That means juggling competing priorities, managing our time and learning as fast as we humanly can! Its a complex product that required a lot of thinking around product and data strategy long before we had started development.

What allowed us to build and launch Finch without external funding was our network and combined Silicon Valley experience in corporate finance, innovation, mobile product management and tech PR/marketing.

Additionally, finance is a heavily regulated industry which has required us to become very familiar with the regulatory environment. While important, it can also be exhausting and expensive to get the right advice.

DB: What is the focus for your start-up moving forward?

Gardner: Our priority, this year, is building the best user experience and most beautiful financial app that Australia has ever seen. Later this year, well rollout financial insights. Somewhere in between we intend to raise capital and build a team that shares our obsession for beautiful user experiences and data intelligence.
Here's something we learned this week: It's possible for dried grass blowing onto electrical wires to spark fires in agricultural fields.

It happened on Monday afternoon just west of Bellfountain; the resulting blaze covered about 30-35 acres before wildland fire crews extinguished it. Fortunately, no injuries were reported and no structures were damaged.

The Bellfountain fire was one of a series of small fires throughout the mid-valley on Monday. Together, the blazes offered convincing proof that wildfire season has arrived in the mid-valley.

And not just in the mid-valley: Wildfires are burning throughout Oregon and the West. The biggest fire in the state, the Ana fire, has grown to 6,200 acres near Summer Lake in south-central Oregon. The blaze reportedly has destroyed a barn, a hunting cabin and an outbuilding. Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.

Chances are good that the Ana fire will turn out to be human-caused. That's because most Oregon wildfires are caused by humans: In fact, the Oregon Department of Forestry reports that 91 percent of wildfires in the state in 2016 were human-caused.

So the Bellfountain fire, caused by a whirlwind twirling into a windrow and carrying grass onto power lines, is a bit of an outlier, although fire officials said this type of fire isn't completely unusual when fire season hits.

Which raises a couple of related points: First, these early-season fires are getting a boost from the rainy winter and spring: The rains helped to grow an unusually lush crop of grass that provides excellent fuel for fires once it dries out.

Which brings us to the second point: As long as fire season lasts (and last year's season ended on Oct. 14), you need to be careful when you venture out of doors. Conditions seem ripe again for a long-lasting and hot-burning wildfire season. Remember that if you spark a fire, you can be held liable for the costs of fighting it  and that isn't cheap. And you might not be able to claim that the wind picked up some straw and threw it against nearby power lines.

Marionberries and osprey

We're still taking stock of everything that happened during the course of the Legislature's 2017 session, but there is good news to report on the marionberry and osprey fronts.

First, the resolution declaring the marionberry pie the official pie of Oregon survived the session, passing both chambers by wide votes. This always seemed to us to be an easy call  surely no other type of fruit pie can claim the same Oregon connection as the marionberry. After all, marionberries were introduced by George F. Waldo of the United States Department of Agriculture in 1956 in Corvallis, part of a collaboration with Oregon State University. And the berries are named after Marion County. It was time to give the marionberry pie its due.

Second, legislators struck a compromise on Sen. Fred Girod's proposal to name the osprey the official state bird  but not without some heated debate. The osprey has been designated the official state raptor. The Western meadowlark remains the official state bird.

Girod argued, among other points, that the meadowlark isn't a particularly original choice for state bird: The meadowlark also is the state bird of Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming.

Truthfully, the osprey would have been a fine candidate for the official state bird. But, as the final language of the resolution notes, "Whereas while most states are content to be limited to one state bird, Oregon recognizes the need for another, understanding that there is room in the hearts of Oregonians for two symbolic birds."

That reasoning seems a little odd, but we'll let it slide this time  in the spirit of compromise. (mm)
Homes for home workers in Hertfordshire

Working from home is increasing, leading more people to want a property with dedicated office space, according to housebuilder Redrow.

Research suggests that home working has increased by more than 25% in the last five years, with almost a third of employees now spending at least a day a week working at home.

While having a laptop on your knee is fine for casual browsing and the dining table can double as a desk occasionally, regular home workers will require a dedicated office space where they can concentrate away from the distractions of family life.

Kerry McCoubrey, sales director for Redrow Homes (Eastern), explains: Flexible working patterns and the increased ability to spend at least part of the working week at home make it easier to balance work and family life. As people spend more time telecommuting than physically commuting they start to think more about the part of the home theyre working in. The properties in our Heritage Collection, including those at The Maples in Buntingford, have been well thought-out to meet the demands of modern life, including the ability to work from home with a study included in several designs.

Four and five-bedroom detached homes are currently available at The Maples, priced from 599,995.

Properties with studies include the four-bedroom Canterbury and the five-bedroom Sandringham and Highgrove styles.

The advantage of having a home office cant be underestimated, Kerry adds.

It can help keep regular working hours so that you keep to office hours at home. Theres no need to pack and unpack each day as you have a dedicated work space. Plus the children will know that while mum or dad are in the study its the equivalent to them being at work and they shouldnt be disturbed.

The Maples is the perfect commuter base, with a choice of options for travelling into London. Homeowners could make a short drive to nearby Royston, Ware or Hertford East stations and then hop on the train to the capital. Ware and Hertford East are a 20-minute drive from the development, offering journey times to London Liverpool Street of 47 and 51 minutes respectively.

Its also a great place to raise a family as theres a choice of good and outstanding schools within walking distance of the new homes at The Maples.

Buntingford High Street is home to a selection of stores and cafes; while there are options for more serious retail therapy in in Hertford, which is 20 minutes away by car, or Cambridge, which can be reached in 35 minutes.

The show home at The Maples is open Thursday to Monday from 10am to 5.30pm. For more information see redrow.co.uk/themaples.
Register an interest in the stunning new homes at Taylor Wimpey's Forge Wood

Home-hunters in West Sussex are being advised to register their interest in the beautiful properties coming soon at Taylor Wimpeys in-demand Forge Wood development in Crawley.

The leading housebuilder is preparing to release an exciting new phase of development off Steers Lane, including the fantastic Wilton and Flatford showhomes, and with a range of one and two-bedroom apartments and three, four and five-bedroom houses available, theres sure to be something for everyone at the development.

These impressive new properties are set to be unveiled  along with a brand new sales area  on Sunday 27th August and are expected to be in high demand with discerning buyers, so prospective purchasers are being encouraged to register an interest now to ensure they receive the latest information about the launch as it becomes available.



Susan Joseph, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey, says: The fabulous collection of homes in the new phase at our Forge Wood development is already generating high levels of interest.

Opportunities to own a beautiful brand new home in such a wonderful location dont come along very often, so Id urge would-be buyers to get in touch now to make sure they dont miss out when the first plots are released for sale.

To make moving to Forge Wood even easier and more affordable, Taylor Wimpey offers a range of helpful homebuyer incentives including Help to Buy and easymover. Full details are available from the Sales Executive.

Taylor Wimpey at Forge Wood forms part of a brand new neighbourhood on the north-eastern fringes of Crawley being delivered by a consortium of Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon Homes, Crawley Borough Council and the Homes and Communities Agency.

This exciting new community will eventually comprise 1,900 new homes, along with employment and retail space and a local centre. Forge Wood Primary School is located at the heart of the development and welcomed its first intake of pupils in September 2016.

Crawley itself boasts a wide selection of shops, including Debenhams, BHS and Primark, as well as an array of bars, cafes and restaurants. The town also has a 15-screen cinema and a bowling alley.

For commuters, junction 10 of the M23 is just a short drive away for easy access to London, while Crawley railway station offers direct services to Southampton, London Victoria and Gatwick Airport.

To register an interest in the brand new phase coming soon at Forge Wood, off Steers Lane, Forge Wood, Crawley, RH10 3NH, property-seekers should visit the website at taylorwimpey.co.uk.
Uber Technologies CEO Travis Kalanick on Tuesday confirmed that he will take a leave of absence, as a company review led by Eric Holder, former U.S. Attorney General, was made public. The review sketches out a plan to make radical changes to diversify Uber in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination.

Kalanick accepted responsibility for widespread company problems that led to the investigation in a letter to employees that was released with the report.

For the last eight years my life has always been about Uber, he wrote. Recent events have brought home for me that people are more important than work, and that I need to take some time off of the day-to-day to grieve for my mother, whom I buried on Friday, and to reflect, to work on myself, and to focus on building a world-class leadership team.

The ultimate responsibility for how things have developed and unraveled at the company rests on my shoulders, Kalanick added.

As they worked to build Uber 2.0, Kalanick needed to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that the company needs, he said.

While Kalanick is away, the leadership team, his direct reports, will run the company, he said. While he will be available as needed for strategic decisions, he will be empowering them to be bold and decisive so the company can quickly move forward.

The changes recommended in the report were unanimously approved by the board on Sunday, according to Liane Hornsey, chief HR officer at Uber, who said they would improve our culture, promote fairness and accountability, and establish processes and systems to make sure this would not happen again.

Company Oversight

The 13-page report, prepared by Holder and Tammy Albarran, both partners in Covington & Burling, calls for a series of dramatic changes to diversify Ubers management and workforce, as well as overhaul the corporate governance structure.

Holders firm was brought in after former engineer Susan Fowler described widespread sex harassment and retaliatory behavior at Uber in an online post.

Numerous changes already have been made at Uber, including the firing of about 20 employees found to be guilty of bad behavior, and the sacking of Ubers No. 2 executive Emil Michael.

The report recommends giving some of Kalanicks duties to other senior management officials: The company should hire a chief operating officer to run day-to-day operations  preferably someone with a background in diversity and inclusion. It should hire an independent chairperson of the board, and restructure the board to have more independent members. The company also should conduct performance reviews of top executives.

The report suggests creating an oversight board to evaluate how the company is progressing in its efforts to increase diversity, to operate using ethical business practices, and more. The company should use compensation to hold senior executives accountable.

Uber also needs to improve the companys internal controls and audit committee processes, as well as closely track agreements with employees through the use of software and other tools to ensure compliance and monitor handling of complaints.

The company should use blind resumes in its hiring to help prevent discriminatory practices. It should adopt something similar to the NFLs Rooney Rule, which essentially requires more people of color and women to be included in major hires, the report suggests.

Inmates Running Asylum

In order for Uber to improve, it needs restructuring at the top leadership level, said Rebecca Lindland, executive analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

My first reaction was theyre putting the adults in charge, she told the E-Commerce Times. You cant run a company like a frat house.

What Uber needs is a Sheryl Sandberg-like executive who can help steer a young, growing technology startup to adopt a more mature and diverse corporate culture, Lindland suggested.

Ubers problems are not unique  other startups have been known to indulge in freewheeling behavior when the checks come flying in and then have difficulty growing up.

Until I worked at a startup, I never understood the maxim that growth can kill a company, said Bennett Kelley, founder of the Internet Law Center.

Uber experienced rapid growth, and Kalanick didnt put in place the people and controls necessary to manage it properly, he told the E-Commerce Times.

The situation at Uber is more than a little strange, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

While the Holder report recommendations are eminently sensible, changing a company culture  particularly one that led to such a strong market position and personal enrichment of so many people  is not a trivial matter, King told the E-Commerce Times.

Its difficult to see how can the company can deliver the significant change shareholders and board members have called for under the existing structure, he said.

The companys corporate structure enables three insiders  Travis Kalanick, cofounder Garrett Camp and Ubers first employee and CEO Ryan Graves  to control a majority of the boards voting rights, King pointed out.

Absent one or two of these board members joining the call for structural change, he said, Kalanicks leave of absence may simply be the first act in a dumb show that will have little if any lasting effects.
Salesforce finished up the second quarter with a strong showing at its developer conference in San Francisco, TrailheaDX, roughly quadrupling last years attendance and flooding its developers with new technology.

Over the last few years, the company has built out a multidimensional matrix of product offerings that include customer relationship management components like sales force automation and customer service, but it has been careful to introduce back-end technology products that support administrators and developers as well. It makes all the sense in the world.

Salesforce rapidly is transitioning past a point where it can grow only by selling more CRM seats. Market research shows that only a plurality of businesses use CRM today, implying that theres room for further growth  and there is. However, many of the businesses that dont have CRM either are too small or dont fit the model. A tire dealer and a restaurant are both businesses, but not likely candidates for CRM.

Thats not to say that they cant benefit from application support. They can, and the bottleneck always has been the limitations of a spreadsheet app on one side, and the effort needed to build something new to fit a business.

You could say the same about smaller businesses that already use CRM: They need ways to build and tailor apps, and thats what made the TrailheaDX conference so interesting.

3 App Development Paths

TrailheaDX encompasses all of the knowledge that one needs to develop applications on the Salesforce1 platform, and there are a lot of moving parts.

Trailhead is the name of the self-teaching/learning system that people can use to learn everything about app development on Salesforce.

There are three modes of configuring/customizing/developing apps that Trailhead teaches about, corresponding to the three development modes Salesforce offers: completely codeless, some code, and traditional professional developer mode.

Corresponding with these modes are roughly 200 learning units, each with a badge for the resume of everyone who passes an exam.

At the TrailheaDX conference, Salesforce introduced some sweeteners that enable development of very robust apps that go way beyond traditional database applications.

Briefly, they include the following:

Einstein Sentiment, which enables classification of the tone of text in a message. This rating capability will be useful for helping the Einstein AI tool to rank situations from negative to neutral to positive.

Einstein Intent, which helps developers train models to understand the underlying intent of customer interactions, which further will help to determine next actions and offers.

Einstein Object Detection, for training models to recognize different objects in an image.

At last years Dreamforce, CEO Marc Benioff said this would be the year of Einstein. The company has been executing on that strategy by embedding the artificial intelligence solution in all of its clouds, so it was time to make those tools available to developers too.

By the way, the developer tools are classified as Salesforce DX, which I find confusing  a naming convention that probably needs revisiting.

Two new partners  Atlassian, an agile development methods company, and GitHub, which provides source code management and collaboration capabilities  have joined the partner ecosystem to help ensure that developers leverage the new capabilities optimally.

The emphasis throughout Salesforce DX seems to be configure if you can  but if youre going to code, leverage all of the modern capabilities, like agile methods, that you can. These partners appear to be testimony to that thinking.

CRMs Future

What does all of this mean for CRM? Lots.

First, it further opens up the greatest opportunity for Salesforce to sell seats by enabling many more apps to be built and subscribed to through the AppExchange.

Second, it puts a friendly arm around developers at a time when all of the major software houses offer something to make developing code easier and faster. This might seem to defy a Salesforce precept that coding never would be needed with its products, unlike other CRMs, but the fact of the matter is that in a general-purpose development environment, coding isnt going away. Instead, the little coding that will be done in the future will be really hard stuff that machines cant do.

Third, this approach from no code to full code is expected to discover thousands of new people who can do the work  talent that might have been overlooked in another era. In a time of talent shortages, programs like Trailhead should help businesses find additional people to at least do some of the easier system maintenance, saving the developers for the hard stuff.

Salesforce DX is in an open beta and likely will show some results by Dreamforce. Einstein Sentiment and Einstein Intent also are in beta, while Einstein Object Detection is in pilot, and no pricing was available at the show for any products not fully GA.

Its not too early to begin wondering what Salesforce will want to announce at Dreamforce. I suspect there will be more Einstein capabilities, especially in concert with other products like IBM Watson. Meanwhile, this company continues to impress. While other vendors are puffing up their reputations with cloud basics, Salesforce continues to imagine a bright future.
Amazon on Friday announced that it has inked a deal to acquire Whole Foods Market for close to US$14 billion in cash. The agreement includes assumption of Whole Foods net debt.

Whole Foods will run as a wholly independent subsidiary of Amazon. It will continue to operate stores under its own brand and source products from vendors and partners.

Cofounder John Mackey will continue in his role as Whole Foods CEO, and the companys headquarters will remain in Austin, Texas.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.

News of the deal sent share prices of grocery chain Kroger  as well as other retail chains that carry groceries, such as Target and Costco  plummeting. However, Whole Foods stock shot up 28 percent.

Large grocery stores like Kroger and Albertsons will be especially affected, said Madeline Hurley, senior analyst at IBISWorld.

Amazons resources and online channel will make it a larger threat in the food retailing market, she told the E-Commerce Times.

Amazon will be able to compete with large grocers through multiple channels, Hurley said.

Online Grocery Boom Ahead?

With the purchasing power that a partnership brings, and the innovation that Amazon has already introduced with its checkout-free grocery stores, prices for high-quality organic produce and prepared foods could decline significantly, putting pressure on a low-margin industry, noted Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce.

With this merger, Amazon will also be able to invigorate the popularity of a highly fractured online grocery and delivery market, with the rollout of Amazon Fresh nationwide, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Amazon recently introduced a discounted Prime membership subscription for recipients of government welfare programs.

With the nationalization of its Prime-only delivery benefit, Amazon will be able to further incentivize its premium loyalty program, Amazon Prime, and bring more people into its ecosystem, Caporaso said.

Online grocery shoppers in the United States buy specific items rather than making large purchases, and they buy online infrequently, according to Fund Global Retail & Technology.

The U.S. online grocery industry is on the cusp of a boom, with the involvement of major retailers such as Walmart and Kroger, suggested Fund Global. This trend is expected to accelerate into 2017.

Advantages to Whole Foods

Whole Foods has been lagging in the move to online commerce  its stores are in urban markets.

Although Whole Foods only holds 2.7 percent of the market, Amazons resources and online channel will make it a larger threat in the food retailing market, IBISWorlds Hurley noted.

Amazon will likely utilize Whole Foods existing infrastructure to shake up the brick-and-mortar market, she said, while taking advantage of its supply chain to make the online side of the business more cost-effective.

Amazon and Whole Foods take diametrically opposite approaches to pricing. Amazon tends toward competitive pricing, while some of Whole Foods products are so expensive the company has been dubbed Whole Wallet.

The high prices have limited Whole Foods draw, but if prices are lowered as a result of the Amazon takeover, that could help Whole Foods emerge from the doldrums.

Whole Foods last month shook up its board of directors under pressure from activist investor hedge fund Jana Partners.

The company has launched some lower-cost products under its own 365 brand, and its stores have begun carrying a few clothing and other non-food items. It also has expanded its prepared food business.

Brick-and-Mortar Benefits

Online grocery sales are expected to continue growing as more consumers trust this channel, IBISWorlds Hurley remarked. However, consumers will continue to shop at brick-and-mortar locations.

The Whole Foods purchase doesnt necessarily mean Amazon will shift it into an online grocer, she said.

Amazon has experimented with the brick-and-mortar format but has struggled to find a plan that works on a grand scale, Hurley pointed out. The Whole Foods purchase may help it resolve that issue.
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P.S. 123, a K-8 school in Harlem, had been a chaotic place when Melitina Hernandez arrived as principal in 2013. Students would often run out of class to get attention. Staff members sometimes dodged confrontational parents. The school had old computers and tattered textbooks.

So Hernandez and her staff set out to make big changes with a $4 million grant from the state. They started with upgrading technology and other classroom amenities. They also turned their attention to the needs of the schools large population of homeless children. Then their efforts kicked into higher gear in 2014 when P.S. 123 became part of New York Citys broad efforts to turn around dozens of low-performing schools by injecting them with a range of health, social-emotional, and academic support services for students and their families.

Nearly three years later, the results at P.S. 123, with its 530 students, offer a small window into what the citys larger initiative is seeing: an increase in student attendance and family participation in school activities, a drop in chronic absenteeism, but uneven academic progress. Just 17 percent of P.S. 123s students in grades 3-8 were proficient on the states English Language Arts exam in 2016, but in 2015, it had been even lower at 7 percent.

Thats not a big thing to anyone else, but, in actuality, thats huge when you work with the demographics that we work with, Hernandez said.

Flooding impoverished schools with a range of services and resources is not new, and theres still lively debate in education circles about whether its something schools should take on.

Commonly referred to as community schools or whole-child initiatives, the approach has been used in districts from Tacoma, Wash., to Cincinnati for several years, but the movement has picked up steam more recently amid a backlash against single-measure, test-based accountability and as an alternative to closing long-struggling schools. Its gotten robust support from the nations teachers unions. And some states are looking to incorporate the features of community schools in their plans required by the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act .

Pennsylvania, for example, intends to allow districts to use a community schools approach to tackle the problem of chronic absenteeism, to increase the roles that parents play in schools, to address students social and emotional needs, and to provide more after-school opportunities, said Pedro Rivera, the states education secretary.

We know that in todays society, our children ... regardless of class, come to our institutions with various needs, Rivera said. When properly implemented and supported, community schools will again allow schools to be the nucleus or the hub of their communities.

Whether community schools initiatives will continue to gather momentum is unclear. President Donald Trumps proposed federal budget threatens to slash several funding streams that districts, communities, and nonprofit partners use to fund community schools and whole-child initiatives. And the research on whether a community schools strategy is an effective way to increase student achievement paints a complicated, sometimes contradictory, picture.

Benefits for Attendance

An independent study released earlier this year on the Communities in Schools program, one of the countrys largest whole-child initiatives that focuses on dropout prevention, found that while on-time graduation rates rose and the numbers of dropouts decreased in schools with the program, comparison schools also saw their graduation rates go up.

Attendance was higher in elementary schools in the program than in a comparison group of schools, according to the study by MDRC which looked at select schools in Texas and North Carolina.

Test scores improved at both Communities in Schools sites and the comparison schools at the elementary and high school levels. But at the middle school level, state test scores did not improve at those sites, although they did at the comparison schools.

But Linda Darling-Hammond, a longtime education scholar and president of the left-leaning Learning Policy Institute, said there is evidence that the strategy can be used to improve schools. What matters, more often than not, is the implementation, she said.

Schools that use the approach successfully, Darling-Hammond said, know the specific needs of their community and tailor services to meet those and forge strong relationships with families and communities.

In a recent report by the National Education Policy Center and the Learning Policy Institute, researchers analyzed more than 125 studies and research reviews on community schools, and found test score gains showed up in years three, four, and five. In the shorter term, researchers saw improvement in students health, attentiveness, and behavior, Darling-Hammond said.

Whenever you do major structural reforms, if you are successful, the first thing that will respond is attendance, she said. And then you will see increases in kids ... coming to school, staying in school, graduating, which actually has a much bigger effect on their later life outcomes than test scores.

Though addressing the needs that poor students face outside of school is important, improving the quality of instruction is the most essential part of making schools better, said Paul Reville, who runs the Education Redesign Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Id hate to see [community schools] undermined by having unrealistic expectations of it being a short-term silver bullet to bringing about success in these schools, Reville said. Its one piece of a comprehensive strategy for turning around chronically underperforming schools.

Massive Effort Aimed at Struggling Schools

In New York City, schools like P.S. 123 are in a special category of community schoolsa multi-million dollar initiative called renewal schools aimed at staving off a state takeover or shutdown of campuses that had lagged academically for years.

Buoyed by some of the results in the wider community schools program, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in May that he will expand the number of participating schools in the fall to 215 , increasing the scale of the program to one previously unseen in the country. The schools will serve about 100,000 students, far bigger than most school districts in the United States. But critics say de Blasios embrace of the community schools approach is troubling, since the academic improvements have been modest at best.

English/language arts and math proficiency rates rose by 5.7 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, from the 2014-15 school year to the 2015-16 school year, according to city data. Graduation rates for students in community schools averaged a 4.7 percent increase year over year. Chronic absenteeism declined by 3.5 percent in community schools, compared to a little over 1 percent citywide.

We are targeting really high-need schools that are in neighborhoods with entrenched poverty, so the numbers are not where we want them to be. But we have been pleased with the growth early on, said Chris Caruso, the executive director of New York Citys community schools program. A lot of this is about changing culture.

New York City Chancellor Carmen Farina stressed that community schools are one of many strategies the district is using to improve schools, and that they offer parents, students, and teachers key advantages. GED and English-as-a-second-language classes for adults help parents participate in their childrens education. The schools provide mental health counselors and other staff from community-based organizations, which frees up teachers and principals to focus on instruction, she said.

A major benefit, Farina said, are the experiences community schools bring to low-income children that are typical in middle- and upper-income communities. Playing chess, raising chickens, and learning to code, to name a few.

You dont ever give up on any community and any child, and this is what we are doing, she said. You have to serve the whole child, we are talking about social, emotional, academic learningwhat we call the three pillars of education.

Still, in the citys renewal schoolswhere the challenges are even greater and the resources have been more robustresults so far from the community schools initiative show modest, but promising signs. In renewal high schools, the graduation rate jumped on average nearly five points in 2016, to 59 percent. But, that still lagged the city average of 73 percent.

Graduation rates at renewal high schools did not increase more than at comparable high schools, and test scores did not show statistically significant gains compared to select non-renewal schools that did not get extra city resources, according to Aaron Pallas, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, who recently analyzed city education data.

But city education officials have called Pallass analysis flawed, arguing, in part, that renewal schools were chosen based on strict selection criteria that did not match the criteria used in his analysis.

One pro-charter group that has been highly critical of de Blasios education agendaFamilies for Excellent Schoolsthinks a smarter approach would be to shut down the renewal schools and give students the option to attend high-performing schools, including charters.

Others argue that until the city does something dramatic to break up schools with high concentrations of poverty, there wont be any major academic breakthroughs.

Zeroing In on Chronically Absent Students

While the citys community schools use a wide variety of strategies to address each schools and neighborhoods needs, they all rely on an on-site director as a key ally to principals and the main connection to outside partners. At P.S. 123, Hernandez points to two people who are essential to her schools program: Jeanine Lascelles, the community school director, and Raymond Blanchard, the mental health clinician.

Lascelles oversees a team of 10, including six success mentors, who work directly with 112 students who were chronically absent. The mentors are frontline advocates for homeless students, who may need extra tutoring, an extension to finish an assignment, or more basic supports. The mentors conduct daily check-ins to ensure that students show up to class and make home visits to families. They also meet weekly with the liaison at the shelter in the neighborhood. And when students improve, mentors notify parents through celebration calls, Lascelles said.

Their efforts are paying off. About 85 percent of the students who were part of that targeted effort improved attendance over the past year, Lascelles said.

Blanchard, along with other staff members, provide counseling to students and their families, and training for teachers to better recognize signs that misbehaving students need counseling services. They are also trained on de-escalation techniques and other ways to support students, including knowing when a child may just need to take a walk or require additional counseling.

The learning is 100 percent important, but its hard for the students to learn if they are coming in worrying about where they are going to sleep, what they are going to eat, different things like that, Blanchard said. Its providing them support on that emotional level so that they can come in express themselves, let that information out, and then be able to go into the classroom and continue with their day, to continue with learning.
EUREKA  Eureka, Nevada commemorated Independence Day with an old-fashioned 4th of July celebration including a day full of events that started at 5 a.m. with a Sonic Salute to the day, a parade, street events, raffle, and an evening fireworks display.

In Eurekas Old-Fashioned 4th of July Parade, the bearer of the American flag is traditionally a member of the United States armed forces or veteran. In 2017 the community was honored by the presence of retired U.S. Air Force colonel Jim Gibbons, former governor of Nevada.

Beside leading the state as Governor from 2007 to 2011, and five terms representing Nevada in the U. S. House of Representatives, Gibbons served in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot in the 1st Special Operations Wing, Tactical Air Command.

He was assigned as an A-37B fighter pilot in the 603rd Special Operations Squadron during the Vietnam War. Gibbons was awarded 19 service medals including The Unit Citation, the Aerial Achievement Medal, and 2 Air Medals for Valor during the Vietnam War.

Before his retirement from the military in 1996, Col. Gibbons served as the vice commander flying the McDonald Douglas F-4C during the Persian Gulf War, where he was again awarded several of the Air Forces highest awards, including two Air Medals, the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

As a true Nevada military hero, Eureka was honored to have Gibbons leading the Independence Day Parade.

When asked about his day in Eureka, Gibbons said, I am happy to be part of a good old-fashioned Nevada 4th of July celebration. I have seen a lot of old friends today and made new ones. I hope the tradition of this type of celebration will continue into the future.

Prize winners at the Independence Day Parade were:

Best Float, Raines Market/ACE Hardware

Best Child Float , Dapper Dan  horse drawn wagon driven by Payden Trevino, participants included Caleb Evans

Best 4-Wheeler, Honey Buzz, Olivia and Evan Hoehne

Best Decorated Bicycle, Lloyd Morrison-Hand

Best Groomed Pet, Jayden Buchanan with Gizmo the Goat tied with Braylen Hubbard and Stella the Goat

Best Dressed Cowpoke, Sam and Jake Baumann with Milly the Bull

Two AR15 rifles raffled by the Eureka Volunteer Fire Department were supplied by Raines Market/ACE Hardware. Raines also donated eggs for the egg tossing contest.

Coke for the pop drinking contest was supplied by CocaCola Company.

Beer for the beer drinking contest was supplied by Blach Distributing.
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Police urge Manx holidaymakers to watch safety video

Police are urging Manx residents going on their summer holidays to watch a video explaining how to stay safe during a firearms or weapons attack.

The Isle of Man Constabulary shared the video, which was made the UK Government, on social media to encourage those planning vacations to be prepared.

Officers say the advice applies whether travelling in the UK or further afield.

Holidaymakers are urged not to be alarmed, but police say the information is handy to know.
ELKO  An inmate working on a fire crew near Elko walked away from the fire camp early Wednesday morning.

Minimum-security inmate Jordan Shane Redger, 27, left the camp situated near Interstate 80 at the Deeth Exit between Wells and Elko, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections. The inmates were employed fighting the Tabor Flats fire.

Redger arrived at NDOC from Elko County on May 5, and was housed at Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City before being moved to the Wells Conservation Camp on May 23. He was serving 12 to 36 months for grand larceny of a motor vehicle.

Redger was last seen late Tuesday night at the camp but was discovered missing at approximately 5 a.m. when he didnt show up for breakfast.

Redger is 5 feet, 11 inches tall, 160 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair and wears a goatee. He was last seen wearing dark blue clothing and black work boots.

He has Momma Tried tattooed on his left arm, KAT573 on his right arm, and his last name tattooed on his back. A retake warrant has been issued. Anyone with information on whereabouts of Jordan Shane Redger is asked to contact 911 or their local law enforcement agency.

NDOC partners with the Nevada Division of Forestry to run nine Conservation Camps in the state. The camps are for minimum security inmates who are scheduled to be released within two years.

Inmates in the camps are trained to fight wildland fires and are deployed to handle weed abatement, highway cleanup and other jobs when in the off season. More than 500 inmates assisted with sandbagging and other jobs during the recent flooding in Northern Nevada.
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Get the latest on all the biggest court and crime news in Essex direct from our expert court reporter

A woman from Harlow who used a fake birth certificate to apply for a passport so she could bring her husband from Ghana to the UK has been spared jail.

Nancy Williams' "dark secret" led to her pleading guilty to one count of using a false instrument with intent when she appeared before Chelmsford Crown Court on June 7.

40-year-old Williams, of Taylifers, in Harlow, appeared at the same court to be sentenced for her crime this afternoon (July 12).

Mum-of-three Williams claimed her now dead uncle had secured the false birth certificate for her when she was 29 years old.

Before passing sentence, Judge David Turner QC said: "This is a sad shameful day for you.

"It may well be true you had been born in Lambeth but this was not your birth certificate.

"You used it wrongly to get a passport for yourself.

"In due course you used that passport to secure the entry of your husband from Ghana."

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The court heard how Williams, who has lived in the UK for around 16 years, had no previous convictions.

A part time agency worker, she is currently in her second year of an online course in health and social care at Anglia Ruskin University.

Williams' husband, Raymond, who she married in 2008, has been given indefinite leave to remain in the UK as her spouse.

Noting Williams' good work record, Judge Turner questioned whether or not her conviction would have an impact on future employment.

"There are no issues in respect of debt, drugs, alcohol, mental health or anything else," said Judge Turner.

"What there is here is a dark secret.

"I'm told the family is involved in church life. I have no doubt you are making a useful contribution.

"There's nothing to suggest you have made a negative contribution in this country before this allegation."

He went on to brand those who attempt to circumnavigate passport laws as "cheating the system", before considering whether to impose an immediate custodial sentence on Williams.

One matter which caused Judge Turner concern was the fact Williams did not appear to be completely truthful when she was interviewed by a probation officer.

"I'm not completely certain you have been quite as frank as you should have been," he said.

"The people who I'm concerned about are your three sons  there's nothing to suggest you aren't a good mother to them.

"You may face challenging times ahead."

Bearing in mind the submissions of defence solicitor Paul Donegan, Judge Turner sentenced Williams to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

In addition, Williams was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work to benefit the community, must pay a victim surcharge and has three months to pay 200 towards prosecution costs.

Before Williams was released, Judge Turner warned her she had come very close to going to prison as a result of her "devious conduct".
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) informed that there has been an increase in migrant boats arriving in Spain, thus putting a lot of pressure on the countrys already drained infrastructure and migrant capacities. More than 360,000 refugees and migrants reached the shores of Europe last year and more than 85,000 have already arrived in Italy this year.

The Italian route is by far the most popular with around 59,000 migrants between January and May, which is an increase by 32% compared to last year. While the Spanish route is less frequented, it saw 6,800 migrants during the same period, representing an increase of 75% compared to 2016. Only in June this year, about 1,900 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa  Cameroon, Gambia, Guinea, and Ivory Coast  reached Spains Andalusia.

Many migrants are diverting their migrant route from Libya towards Morocco and then to Spain due to a better security situation. 27-year old Buba Fubareh, who tried and failed to get to Europe via Libya earlier this year explained that people are talking about going to Spain. It seems like it is safer to go through Morocco to Spain than through Libya. The difference is that Libya doesnt have a president and Morocco does  there are not guns like in Libya. There were reports that some African migrants passing through Libya had been beaten up, detained in camps with no food or water and even traded as slaves, held for ransom, and forced to labor or sexual exploitation.

According to the UNHCR, Spain is not prepared to deal with a surge in migrant arrivals and vulnerable groups, such as children, refugees who should be processed via asylum system or victims of human trafficking. Spokesperson for the UNHCR in Spain, Maria Jesus Vega commented that what is clear is that, they (Spains government) have to get ready. They cant be caught unprepared. What started happening elsewhere in Europe in 2015 cant be allowed to happen here. Its not yet an emergency, but you have to take into account that there are no structures here to deal with more arrivals.
Libya has once again found itself amidst renewed violence after Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar announced that the Libyan National Army (LNA) had liberated the city of Benghazi from terrorism. The clashes continued over the weekend in the Sidi Akribesh neighborhood of the Sabri district with at least 20 soldiers killed. The LNA knew that its last week liberation declaration was not complete on the ground as it warned celebrating crowds in the city not to enter the liberated areas because there are still mines and other possible threats. Marshall Haftar said that despite the city entering a new era of peace, security, reconciliationand reconstruction, dangers still persist.

The Arab League commented that the liberation of Libyas second biggest city is an important development in the war against terrorism in Libya and urged for the revival of talks between various Libyan factions to finally put an end to the conflict. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates armed forces, congratulated Mr. Haftar during a meeting in Abu Dhabi over the weekend.

During his meeting with the LNA chief that also touched upon joint cooperation in combating extremism and terrorist organizations Sheikh Mohamed said that he hoped that the different Libyan authorities would be able to unify the nation as part of political efforts for a return to stability. The UAE is one of Marshall Haftars strong supporters and it has supplied him with weapons despite the embargo imposed on the country. The LNA is one of the biggest and most influential factions in Libya and its chief is loyal to the Tobruk-based House of Representatives but not the UN-supported Government of National Accord.
Ukraine has taken fresh steps towards joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and has a plan to fulfill membership standards by 2020. Ukrainian President Poroshenko renewed his countrys interest in NATO membership during a visit by the organizations Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, who also used the occasion to urge Russia to end its insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine has clearly defined its political future and its future in the sphere of security, Mr. Poroshenko said, adding that today we clearly stated that we would begin a discussion about a membership action plan and our proposals for such a discussion were accepted with pleasure. Russia is deeply opposed to Ukraines membership in the Alliance, as it sees its NATOs membership as a threat to its own security. Regarding Mr. Stoltenbergs comment on Russias involvement in the Crimean conflict, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia had never had troops in Ukraine.

At a 2008 NATO summit, leaders agreed that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance one day but at that time there was little support for the issue in Ukraine and as such it was never pursued by Ukraines pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovitch. However, following Russias annexation of the Crimean peninsula in March 2014, popular support for a NATO membership among Ukrainians has soared. Currently about 69% of Ukrainians say that they would like to see their country in the Alliance compared to only 28% under then then-President Yanukovich.

Given the sensitivity of this issue from a geopolitical perspective, President Poroshenko did not specify any dates regarding when talks on membership might begin. He actually cautiously said that this initiation does not mean that we will soon be applying for membership. He explained that he was simply seeking to have a clear schedule of what must be done by 2020 to meet the NATO membership criteria.


mCanvas, in collaboration with IAS Media, has tied up with Gulf News to serve interactive ads to users on the publications mobile website. The mobile storytelling platform will serve as the technology and creative partner to Gulf News; providing its ad formats  Scroller, Sticker and Spotlight and access to its award winning creative team to produce ads for Gulf News clients.



Lavin Punjabi, CEO, mCanvas, said, Being the largest media brand in the UAE, it brings me immense pleasure that mCanvas will serve as technology and creative partners to Gulf News. Our formats and campaigns have been highly appreciated in India and we are glad to serve the Middle Eastern market now. Our formats will equip the Gulf News ad sales team with new formats, which deliver the clients branding needs of engagement.



Gulf News is known to be the largest news publication in the UAE, with online visitors not just from the Middle East but also India, USA and UK. This partnership is touted to increase value for both publisher and advertisers alike, and usher in a new era of interactive ads. mCanvas has collaborated with IAS Media  one of UAEs biggest media concessionaires  to expand their reach in the Middle Eastern market.



Rajeev Khanna, Commercial Director, Gulf News, commented, We are glad to associate with mCanvas. We needed the capability to deliver rich brand experiences on mobile, and the mCanvas platform helps us achieve that. Additionally, their ad formats also appeal to the users, are non-intrusive and easy to dismiss. The media and ad industry is slowly slanting towards a mobile-first approach and it is important to take notice of these changes and adopt measures that will help us stay relevant for our audiences.



Launched in 2015, mCanvas has worked with over 150 brands like Loreal, Star Plus, HBO, Fox Studios, Nissan, Toyota, Idea Cellular, ICICI Bank, etc. Their interactive and highly immersive ad units (Sticker, Scroller and Spotlight) deliver over 10x the engagement rates compared to standard mobile banners.

Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
Darren Abate /San Antonio Express-News

The Alamodome has awarded San Antonio-based Selrico Services a $1.2 million annual contract to clean and prepare the stadium for events, the company announced Wednesday.

Selrico Services has been providing custodial and conversion work for the stadium since October 2015. The new contract runs for five years, with an option to extend for another five, according to a press release.
With a shared interest in feminist artwork with a touch of the occult, San Antonio-based artists Lisette Chavez and Audrya Flores were looking for a project to collaborate on.

Over the course of several weeks, the Rio Grande Valley natives met to chat, talking about their lives, their hometowns and naturally ghost stories and folk tales and all of that, Flores said.

Chavez and Flores found themselves lingering on one of those stories in particular  the devil at the dance.

The legend centers on a young woman who defies her mothers wishes and goes out dancing, only to encounter Lucifer himself. In a popular San Antonio version, the tale is set at El Camaroncito, a now defunct South Side club. In some tellings, she faints when she realizes the handsome stranger she has been dancing with has a chicken foot and a cloven hoof; in others, shes scorched by the devils touch or drops dead.

Both artists chaffed at the implications of the story  that a a woman who exerts her independence is asking for trouble.

Its kind of like Well, thats what you get, and we really hated that tone, Flores said. As much as we like the story and the creepy elements of it, that really bothered us.

In Angel Baby, a video installation organized by Lady Base Gallery and on view at AP Art Lab, the artists tweak the story, reworking it from a feminist perspective. For the piece, Chavez and Flores recast the devil as a woman. Self-possessed, their female protagonist is fully in control of her fate and, at the end of the evening, it is her unsuspecting male dance partner who winds up passed out on the floor. Set in the present, the piece is laced with humor, but the artists are serious about their message.

When a woman goes out, everythings examined  what shes wearing, who shes with, does she dance, does she not, all these things  and we wanted to examine how that really hurts us, Flores said.

I think were taking the gaze thats usually put on women and were flipping it back and putting it on the male, Chavez said.

The installation takes up the entire gallery. Bathed in a red glow and filled with the scent of vanilla, the room is dominated by a white canopy bed with sheer white curtains. The bed, which was Flores childhood bed, and her mothers before her, serves as a frame for the video monitor. The soundtrack for the piece, a cruising classic by Rosie and the Originals, helps set the mood.

We wanted to invite the viewers into the domain of our main character, the devil, and we felt this could be a really seductive, but also angelic way to pull people in, Flores said.

Prior to Angel Baby, neither Chavez nor Flores had worked in video. In recent exhibitions, Chavez, who has a masters of art degree from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and a master of fine arts degree from the University of Arizona, has primarily shown drawings and installations dealing with faith and religious hypocrisy. For the most part, Flores, a self-taught artist and educator, works in installation and collage, using found objects and textiles to create works that deal with womens roles and traditional healing practices.

Both were featured in A Womans Place Is ..., an all-Latina show curated by Kathy Vargas at Centro de Artes.

Chavez and Flores had not yet solidified their concept for Angel Baby when curator Sarah Castillo invited them to exhibit. Castillo, who has run Lady Base as a gallery without walls for the past three years, started the project to showcase the work by women and LGBTQ artists. This year, she is partnering with Amanda Poplawsky of AP Art Lab, sharing the gallery on South Flores Street.

Initially, Castillo gave the two artists the option to show individual works or collaborate on a piece.

Together or separate, no matter what, I was confident their final work would be breathtaking, and it is, Castillo said. They did a phenomenal job putting together their concept in this new medium.

Chavez found their star, Paola Cortinas, not at a dance, but an art opening. The first-time actress exudes the kind of strength the artists envisioned for their main character. As novice video-makers, Chavez and Flores called on friends and fellow artists for advice.

When I make art, I choose the medium that works best for the concept, Chavez said. We could have early on said, Well, we dont do video, so weve got to change the concept, and this would never have happened. So I think theres a lot of risk-taking involved with this project and the idea that despite the fact that were not versed with this type of medium, its OK to ask questions; its OK to ask for help; and its OK to get it done.

Chavez and Flores hope the piece sparks some conversations, like the one Chavez had with her mother about the traditional tale of the devil at the dance and its message to women.

I think that was a really nice connection to have with my mother, Chavez said. I was kind of like, Were perpetuating this behavior. This is how were teaching women to be. And she was kind of like Wow! Well, thats awesome that youre making her the devil.

Angel Baby is currently on view by appointment and closes with a reception 7-10 p.m. Aug. 12, AP Art Lab, 1906 S. Flores, ladybasegallery.com.

lsilva@express-news.net
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A crowd of several dozen stood, some with hands over hearts, as Cpl. Frank Luna Sandoval was brought into Fort Sam Houston National Cemeterys assembly area.

A snare drum rolled and the order came: Attention!

The horse-drawn caisson kept moving for a moment, troops saluting on a windy, sunny summer morning, the distant sound of a locomotive horn blaring in the distance.

Sixty-seven years after his capture amid a chaotic series of American retreats in the Korean War, Sandoval was finally home. A Joint Base San Antonio honor guard carried him into the shelter and methodically folded the American flag that covered his casket.

I dont know this soldiers story, Charly Allred wrote in a message on a San Antonio Express-News live feed of the ceremony. But thank you for your service.

The story goes like this: Sandoval, a father of two young boys, went to war at the tender age of 20, and in the brutal winter of those retreats from North Korea, was captured. He served with Battery A of the 2nd Infantry Divisions Field Artillery Battalion, which supported U.S. and South Korean troops as they tried to hold back a Chinese army of 300,000 soldiers that had been steamrolling U.N. forces since two days after Thanksgiving.

Chinas entrance into the war transformed a dramatic American-led victory into a disaster. Sandovals Support Force 21 pulled out of Changbong-ni with allied troops in an area that is now part of South Koreas west coast. Sandoval was reported missing on Feb. 13, 1951.

Back home, his family waited for word. In 1953, the Army told him he was presumed dead. His sons Alex and Frank Jr., along with their mother Guadalupe, held out hope that he might still make it.

It was unlikely, but they dared to imagine him returning with a smile on his face and stories to tell.

In May, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said it had identified Sandovals remains. They had come to Hawaii in an exchange of war dead in 1954, from where he died  Camp 3, a prisoner-of-war base near Changsong, in northwestern North Korea.

On Monday, Sandovals casket was unloaded from a jetliner in a solemn tarmac ceremony at San Antonio International Airport. If greeting his remains wasnt the joyous reunion the family had dreamed of, it had to be enough.

And it was a relief for his sons, putting to rest some of the questions and visions that had banged around their heads since they were kids.

Just that hes finally home has lifted off a lot of weight off of us, knowing that he is here in our lifetimes. We got to see him  before were all gone, Frank Sandoval Jr., 67, of San Antonio, said after the service.

We really never knew him. We missed him, but we didnt miss him. When you have something that really isnt there you dont tend to miss it as much as when you have had it, Alex Sandoval, 69, of Fort Worth said.

The boys were very young and grew close to their mother. In 1953, the San Antonio Light ran a photo of the family, having learned he had died, looking at a framed portrait of Sandoval in his Army uniform.

That portrait was brought to the burial ceremony, held by Melanie Sandoval Dacosta, the soldiers grandaughter.

I am so grateful he is here, said Alex Sandovals wife, Helen. I would see my husband. He would see things like this and I know deep in his heart that he wanted his father home, and hes home now, and I can see the relief in him.

A steady stream of tributes filled the My San Antonio Facebook page as the ceremony closed. Three rifle volleys rang out, followed by a bugler sounding taps, soldiers and civilians in the crowd saluting.

Birds sang. A jet flew overhead. Cameras clicked.

Birds singing for you, corporal, Selena Elizondo-Cepeda wrote.

Such a hero! Tabitha Dominguez wrote. Thank you for your service. Rest in peace.

Regino F. Cipriano Jr. wrote, RIP my brother in arms.

A priest walked up to the casket.

May the Lord now welcome him to the table of Gods children in heaven with faith and hope in eternal life. Let us assist him with our prayers.

Rest in peace, Corporal, EmKay Bee wrote on Facebook. You are loved.

sigc@express-news.net
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Law officers will have an alternative to criminalizing child sex trafficking victims when a drop-in center opens in October at the Roy Maas Youth Alternatives campus on West Avenue.

The non-profit has partnered with the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department and several other agencies to provide a new program called Centro Seguro. It will give minors a place to get a meal, take a shower or nap, and connect to resources throughout the city  and a case worker who can counsel them and walk with them out of prostitution when they are ready.

The juvenile probation department, which received the two-year, $877,491 federal grant, had already been working with the Alamo Area Coalition Against Trafficking for about three years to try to protect exploited minors. Officials realized they needed a place to bring the kids, said Lynne Wilkerson, the countys chief juvenile probation officer.

Weve built programs over the years to work with them rather than overcriminalizing them, Wilkerson said. This drop-in center provided a critical piece. They can walk in and walk out again until they are ready to get out of their situation.

The nonprofit is finishing a new building to better house an existing program called The Bridge, which provides emergency housing for runaway and homeless youth. The old space will be renovated to become the drop-in shelter, Wilkerson said.

More Information The study by the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault at the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work can be found at http://sites.utexas.edu/idvsa/files/2017/02/Human-Trafficking-by-the-Numbers-2016.pdf See More Collapse

We want to help children achieve positive change by emphasizing individual responsibility and connecting them with resources. It is the first of many steps to a permanent safe situation, she said.

Initially, we were thinking we were going to convert those beds to a larger counseling center, Roy Maas CEO Bill Wilkinson said. We are still going to have the larger family counseling because that, to us, is where we prevent people from even coming into the system, by solving family problems with intact families.

Keeping child victims of sex trafficking out of the justice system is important because they are not the ones committing the crimes, he said.

Theyll be able to talk to someone right then and there when they walk in the door, Wilkinson said. Theyll have a therapist and a case manager. We can connect them with other services that hopefully get them off the street and doing so without them having to engage the legal system.

Only two other such centers exist in the nation. Roy Maas personnel will receive training from one of them, a program in Los Angeles.

The Bridge does receive some children from the sex trafficking industry but Wilkinson said they dont come in identifying themselves as such.

Its very difficult to work with trafficked kids because they often dont see themselves as victims, Wilkinson said. Their pimps are often the first adults in their lives whove expressed any love for these kids, and respect, but then eventually they start abusing them through trafficking.

According to a study by the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault at the University of Texas at Austin, there are more than 300,000 sex trafficking victims in Texas, 79,000 of them children. Wilkinson said a lot of child victims are runaways from foster care and feel the system hasnt served them well.

Weve always known that its a problem, he said. I think folks are recognizing its a little more universal than they might have thought. Its not just isolated to certain neighborhoods.  We are all trying to figure out; how does this work? What is the basket of services these kids need in order to extricate themselves?

jpolcyn@express-news.net
Wildlife officers euthanize bear who bit mans head

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  Wildlife officials have recently confirmed that a bear was euthanized after biting a mans head in central Utah.

KSL-TV reports the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources confirmed Monday that a California man was attacked while camping in Desolation Canyon on Fourth of July. The man says he awoke to find a black bear biting the back of his head.

According to Conservation Outreach Section Chief Robin Cahoon, the man suffered relatively minor injuries and drove himself to get medical care.

Wildlife officers say they successfully captured and euthanized the bear involved in the attack.

Thousands comment on Nevadas Gold Butte

LAS VEGAS (AP)  The U.S. Interior Department has received thousands comments about whether President Donald Trump should keep the scenic, ecologically fragile and artifact-rich Gold Butte area in southern Nevada protected as a national monument.

Monday was the last day that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke took public comments on Gold Butte, declared by President Barack Obama in December. Zinke asked for feedback on the monument and 26 others as part of a review about whether they were properly established.

At least 35,000 comments mention Gold Butte but some only mention it as a monument under review.

The monument covers 470 square miles northeast of Las Vegas.

Gold Butte is perhaps best-known as the grazing area at the center of a cattle round-up and armed standoff in April 2014 involving federal land management agents and Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy.

Man charged after mailing severed finger to IRS

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP)  An Olympia, Washington man who authorities say mailed one of his fingers to the IRS is now facing federal charges.

The Seattlepi.com reported Monday that 68-year-old Normand Lariviere was charged with mailing a threat to injure after IRS workers in Ogden, Utah discovered a package containing a fake bomb July 6.

Charging papers say he also sent his finger, a bullet and a marijuana joint to tax collectors in 2016.

Court documents say Lariviere has been upset with the IRS since he was laid off in the 1990s from his job as a civilian defense contractor.

He began filing grievances with federal agencies related to the Department of Defense, saying he shouldnt have to pay taxes because the government hadnt satisfied his claims.

Charging papers say Lariviere told investigators he made and sent the fake bomb. He remains jailed.

EPA taking comments on mine restrictions

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken the first step toward reversing its proposed restrictions on large-scale mining near the headwaters of a major salmon fishery in southwest Alaska.

As part of a legal settlement reached in May with the Pebble Limited Partnership, the EPA pledged to initiate a process for withdrawing the proposed restrictions.

EPA announced Tuesday that it would hold a 90-day comment period on the intended withdrawal.

The agency also said it will consult with tribal governments in the Bristol Bay region, where the Pebble partnership has proposed developing a copper and gold mine.

EPAs proposal was criticized by conservationists and the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, who have sought protections for the region.

Pebble CEO Tom Collier welcomed EPAs action.
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Reviled by the Trump administration and conservatives, cable news journalist Jim Acosta has become a hero to others for his aggressive reporting and unyielding defense of a free press.

On Saturday night, CNNs senior White House correspondent will break away from his frontline post in the ongoing fake news wars in Washington to be honored at the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists 19th annual Scholarship & Awards Gala.

Acosta will receive the Corazon de Oro award, given to figures who have reached major achievements nationally while addressing issues of importance to Latino audiences. Past winners include Vicki Carr, Little Joe Hernandez and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez.

Also to be honored are former San Antonio Express-News reporter John W. Gonzalez, who will receive the Henry Guerra Lifetime Achievement Award, and RAICES, the Refugee & Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, which is receiving the community services award for providing legal aid to immigrants and refugees.

Special tribute also will be paid to the Mexican journalists who have been killed in 2017.

SAAHJ President Joey Palacios said Acosta was chosen for the top award for being a constant defender of the right of people to know what is happening within the government.

He isnt afraid to push forward and he doesnt back down when those he is interviewing try to skirt his question, he added.

Acosta also will be the featured speaker at the event that is expected to draw about 475 guests including many local journalists.

The message, he said, will be about the need for reporters to keep fighting for access and answers, in Washington and elsewhere.

The White House is now insisting on doing the daily briefing without the cameras on. Would that be tolerated in City Hall in San Antonio? In the Statehouse in Austin? It wouldnt be. We have to hang tough to take this head-on, he said.

They can kick us out of the White House. They can kick us out of the briefing room. Well set up our cameras on Pennsylvania Avenue and continue to do the kind of reporting weve been doing all along, he said.

Acosta, 46, the son of a Cuban immigrant, worked for television stations in Dallas and Chicago, before joining CBS News in 2003. He became a CNN correspondent in 2007.

Now based in Washington, he serves as substitute anchor for a variety of programs in addition to covering the White House.

Acostas very public conflicts with the administration began at the new presidents first news conference on Jan. 11, when Donald Trump denounced CNN as fake news and refused to take a question from Acosta, who broke protocol by repeatedly shouting the question at Trump.

Since then, things have not improved, as relations between the Trump administration and CNN have gone from difficult to overtly hostile.

Acosta also repeatedly has clashed with spokesman Sean Spicer, both in public and on social media, and at times has taken the White House press secretary to task.

A recent Washington Post article about Acosta raised questions about whether some of his conduct has crossed traditional journalistic lines, including editorializing instead of reporting.

The issue of some grandstanding at televised news conferences also was mentioned by Spicer, who was very critical of Acosta in the article.

But Acosta brushes off such criticisms, saying a different sort of presidency requires a different type of playbook, and from time to time well have to be disrupters ourselves.

Harkening back to an earlier broadcast star who also had his share of critics, Acosta said, This is not the first time weve seen this movie. Sam Donaldson was famous for shouting questions at Ronald Reagan. That was a style that had an impact on me growing up. I remember thinking, Wow, that guy is going to ask that question no matter what, and thats the way I look at my job.

Bill Israel, 67, is a journalism professor at St. Marys University and was the press secretary for Sen. Harold Hughes of Iowa during the Watergate era.

Israel currently is working on an article comparing that 1970s scandal that forced President Richard Nixon from office and the Russian crisis threatening the Trump administration.

He sees many parallels, including highly adversarial relationships between the White House and the news media.

In terms of broadcast journalism, the guy who was leading the pack in challenging authority at that time was Dan Rather, followed by Daniel Schorr. It requires a willingness to confront power, ask unpopular questions and take the heat, and Jim Acosta has done that admirably, he added.

He said the two eras also are comparable because Trump has called the news media the enemy of the people, and Nixon also saw the press as his adversary, and tried to delegitimize it.

Nixon assigned Spiro Agnew the role of the hunter of the press, marginalizing the Washington Post and causing CBS News to cut back on a two-part segment it was doing, narrated by Walter Cronkite, about Watergate, he said.

Acosta says history will judge whether his style of confrontational journalism was really necessary to deal with a president who appears eager to marginalize the mainstream media.

The bigger issue is the 1st Amendment, and were on the right side of that one.The president is not, with his assault on the press. I think 10 or 15 years from now, folks will look back with regret on the press being called the enemy of the people, he said.

And, referring back to that first fateful news conference, when Trump refused to take Acostas question about contacts between his associates and the Russians, Acosta said he recently was vindicated.

Look at what came out yesterday. The presidents son released his own e-mails showing he had met with a Russian attorney. So what he (Trump) called fake news, was clearly not fake news. As time goes by, and as the facts come out, history will bear us out as being on the right side of the issue, he added.

A limited number of tickets, which are $125 apiece, are available at the door. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Grand Hyatt hotel, 600 E. Market St.

jmaccormack@express-news.net
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AUSTIN  In a move weighted with importance but not surprise, Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to announce for re-election Friday in San Antonio, the city where he launched his first gubernatorial bid four years ago.

The event will be on the heels of an important campaign update by Abbott on Facebook Live on Thursday evening, a continuation of his emphasis on social media to deliver his message.

Abbott, who previously said hell run for another term, is poised to formalize his campaign plans just days before the start of the special legislative session he called that will address issues key to the Republican base.

The special sessions topics include property tax reform; a proposal that would allow state-support of private school tuition for students with special needs; and restrictions on transgender peoples use of restrooms in schools and government buildings. The proposals failed during the regular session that ended May 29, as did an ambitious effort at school finance reform, amid complaints from some that Abbott was too low key in the process.

Abbott has said he saw his role as governor during the session as identifying his top issues and giving lawmakers enough room to grapple with them, becoming most involved when we all begin the process of coming together.

Despite criticism, Abbott remains a popular figure among Republicans statewide and has a campaign kitty that will be daunting to any potential challengers. He had more than $34 million in his campaign account in January, and that number is expected to grow when new fundraising totals are announced shortly.

Abbott isnt expected to draw heavyweight opposition in the GOP primary. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced for re-election early this year to stave off rumors that he might mount a primary challenge to Abbott.

Democrats havent yet put forward a gubernatorial candidate. In 2014, Democrat Wendy Davis lost to Abbott by more than 20 percentage points.

This gubernatorial announcement  like Abbotts first one  comes on the anniversary of the 1984 accident that broke his back and put him in a wheelchair. Abbott was jogging in the River Oaks area of Houston when a tree fell on him.

Abbott has often lauded his wife, Cecilia, for her love and support during his recovery and throughout their changed lives. The two have strong ties to San Antonio. Cecilia grew up in the city, and the two were married at Our Lady of the Lake.

At least one thing will be different about the San Antonio event. Four years ago, Abbott announced his bid in the sweltering summer heat at La Villita. This time, hell be at The Depot at Sunset Station, indoors with air conditioning.

pfikac@express-news.net

Twitter: @pfikac
Mayor Ron Nirenberg on Wednesday formalized the City Council committees that will work over his tenure to help craft policy and deliberate matters before the full body makes final decisions.

Newly minted mayors typically recast the committees to signal their imprint on policy. They often change the titles of the groups and what they will handle, and they also appoint chairmen and members. Nirenberg faced an atypical challenge forming his committees because the majority of the council is new.

Nirenberg sent a memo Wednesday afternoon to the council and city officials outlining the committee shake-up.

These changes mark a shift in the citys policy focus and reflect conversations that I and my council colleagues have had with the community, Nirenberg said in an afternoon press release. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the issues that will help move San Antonio forward and improve the quality of life for all residents.

Nirenberg will assume the chairmanship of the Governance Committee, known as the most powerful of the councils working groups. He has appointed council members Rey Saldana, Roberto Trevino, Rebecca Viagran and Ana Sandoval, the only freshman council member in the group, to serve with him.

There are notable changes in the committees, this year, Nirenberg wrote in the memo. A new committee focused on transportation and mobility has been created. In previous years, transportation was overseen by the same committee that reviewed utility and other infrastructure issues.

Saldana will lead the Transportation Committee. The previous Transportation, Technology and Utilities Committee will become the Comprehensive Planning Committee. That group, to be chaired by Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales, will ensure that policies are aligned equitably and in support of the SA Tomorrow Plan, a comprehensive guide designed to address the growth expected in San Antonio over the coming decades.

Councilwoman Ana Sandoval is expected to chair the Community Health and Equity Committee, which will focus on community health, air quality and social issues, such as domestic violence and delegate agencies, a source with knowledge of the plans said.

The Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee will be chaired by Councilman Roberto Trevino, the source said.

Among other things, that council committee will focus on the citys upcoming Tricentennial celebration next year and UNESCO World Heritage issues. The committee will also handle matters involving historic preservation, arts and culture.

I look forward to working with each of you to realize our mutual goals to benefit the city of San Antonio and its residents, Nirenberg wrote in the memo.

Councilman John Courage will lead the Audit and Accountability Committee, and Viagran will head the Economic and Workforce Development Committee. No longer a subcommittee, Inter-Governmental Relations will now have full committee status under Nirenberg and will be chaired by Saldana.

Currently on summer break, the City Council returns in early August.

jbaugh@express-news.net

Twitter: @jbaugh
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Plaintiffs challenging the 2013 redistricting maps on Tuesday accused the state of improperly delaying the release of thousands of pages of documents from them, including 113 documents that state lawyers refuse to hand over because they say they are privileged.

The spat may further delay a conclusion to the weeklong trial, which already was frustrating judges on Tuesday because of repetitive questions during the House maps portion of the trial. Testimony over congressional maps was heard late Tuesday.

Many of the documents in question pertain to communications of the chairman of the 2013 redistricting committee, Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, with other people involved in the redistricting, according to a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

The documents, under rules imposed by the three-judge panel, should have been disclosed years ago in the six-year old lawsuit, along with whats known as a privilege log, but the apparent failure was recently discovered by Mark Gaber, one of the lawyers representing whats known as the Quesada group of plaintiffs, according to court papers filed by Gaber.

After Gaber pressed for the documents last week, state lawyers over the weekend released more than 7,000 pages, but stopped short of turning over everything. Gaber filed an emergency motion to compel the state to turn over the 113 pages it says are protected by attorney-client privilege.

Theyve sort of strung it out throughout the weekend, said Jose Garza, a lawyer representing another group of plaintiffs, the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. We just got another drop this morning. It was documents that had been requested two years ago. ... There was a requirement to produce certain documents or submit a privilege log. They never did that with Chairman Darby.

The plaintiffs havent reviewed all of the documents that were allegedly turned over late.

There may not be anything significant, or there can be some bombshells in there like we found back in 2011, said Garza, referring to emails showing Republicans discussing how to eliminate districts or alter them in manners that were detrimental to minority voters and minority candidates.

One of the states lawyers, Angela Colmenero, defended the decision not to turn over the 113 documents. The judges  Judges Orlando Garcia and Xavier Rodriguez, both of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, and Judge Jerry E. Smith of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals  ordered the state to file a response by late Tuesday, and set a hearing for Wednesday morning to take up the dispute, before trial testimony continues.

The Express-News on Tuesday left a message seeking comment for Darby, but he did not respond.

Meanwhile, the plaintiffs, which include civil rights groups, continued to argue that the 2013 maps the state adopted dilute the minority vote and discriminate, in violation of federal law.

Some of Tuesdays testimony focused on voting patterns in Dallas, Bell and Fort Bend counties, and problems seen by the NAACP in House districts under the 2013 maps.

One plaintiffs witness, state Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, who represents District 100, testified that there wasnt much discussion during the special session in 2013 meant to fix the 2011 maps, which the three-judge panel invalidated in a pair of rulings this spring.

Johnson said the 2013 special session seemed to have no process  no input from people with knowledge nor input from stakeholders like those who might be affected. During that session, the Legislature took temporary maps the court panel ordered a year earlier, and made them permanent.

Johnson said he offered a map that would have added a district where a Latino might be elected for Congress in North Texas, but there was no interest in his proposal, and it seemed the maps were already a foregone conclusion.

Some witnesses for the plaintiffs testified that blacks, Latinos and Asian-Americans coalesce in voting for minority candidates. But witnesses for the state say that isnt always true.

In Fort Bend County near Houston, where Asian-Americans make up about 20 percent of the population, there has been division  with Chinese Americans backing non-minority candidates, according to Jacey Jetton, formerly the Asian-American engagement director for the Republican Party there.

Asked if Asian Americans vote cohesively, Jetton testified, No, not necessarily.

gcontreras@express-news.net

Twitter: @gmaninfedland
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The Bexar County Commissioners Courts approval Tuesday of plaques recognizing six Texas Legislative Medal of Honor recipients was a win that was a long time coming for 58-year-old Jim Cisneros.

He had been fighting since 2015 for a place to publicly represent the men, including his brother, Marine Corps Cpl. Roy Cisneros, who fought and died in Vietnam. Cpl. Cisneros was among four honored posthumously.

They acted beyond the limit of human conduct. Thats why the medal doesnt only represent the actions of the man, Jim Cisneros said, holding out an open container showcasing his brothers medal. It also, in my opinion, represents the lives that he saved.

The plaques will replace a Confederate memorial located between the Cadena Reeves Justice Center and the Bexar County Courthouse, facing Dolorosa. A ceremony revealing the memorial and presenting the plaques is expect by the end of the month, but will be announced later, officials said.

This is important because we wanted to represent all the military, not just my brother, Cisneros said. This is something that we needed to recognize.

Other Medal of Honor recipients to be listed are: Army Master Sgt. Roy P. Benavidez; Marine Corps Sgt. Alfredo Freddy Gonzalez; Army 2nd Lt. Darryn Deen Andrews; Army Maj. Audie L. Murphy; and Army Air Corps Lt. Col. William E. Dyess.

We would like to thank you for keeping  ourselves to the fire here because you are a great advocate for your brother, Commissioner Paul Elizondo said. The family has made a great sacrifice here.

Roy Cisneros was mortally wounded Sept. 11, 1968, while single-handedly attempting to destroy an enemy bunker containing personnel that had pinned his squad by heavy fire, according to an 82nd Texas Legislature resolution.

Along with the Medal of Honor, Roy Cisneros was awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest honor for valor bestowed on a Marine.

And the Edgewood Independent School District middle school he attended was renamed in his honor in 2009.

Jim Cisneros said his brother was among 55 former Edgewood ISD students who fought in Vietnam.

In other business, the Commissioners Court approved a contract for GEO Corrections and Detention LLC to provide 70 beds at a Karnes County facility to address the increase in inmate population at Bexar County Jail.

In May, the jail reported 4,156 occupants. Its maximum capacity is 4,562 inmates, according to the Sheriffs Office.

Sheriffs Office Deputy Chief Laura Balditt said Tuesday that the jail is housing about 4,400 inmates.

The agreement will allow GEO Corrections to supply 100 more beds for inmates at Karnes County Correction Center. This will help the center stay in compliance with Texas Jail Commission standards, officials said.

The county will not be charged for the first 30 beds. The per diem rate for beds 31-48 will cost the county $41, while beds 49-100 will cost $45, according to county records.

As of July 1, at least 30 inmates were already being housed in the Karnes jail, according to court records.

Only those with misdemeanors will be moved to the Karnes County jail on an as-needed basis, according to Balditt.

In the event that we have to increase that population, we will, Balditt said. Once we get to capacity here, well need space, obviously. Well be able to transport them and we wont have that bottleneck  in our facility.

She said the Commissioners Court will add additional hours in the afternoon for judges to process the misdemeanor inmate population.

jbeltran@express-news.net

Twitter: @JBfromSA
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Pete Gallego is a practical guy.

When the West Texas Democrat wanted to get Washington D.C. experience after graduating from Sul Ross State University in 1982, he embraced the chance to serve an internship in the office of Congressman Tom Loeffler, even though Loeffler was a Republican. After getting elected to the Texas House in 1990, Gallego patiently stayed put for 22 years before daring to make a move for higher office.

So when Gallego filed paperwork on July 4 to form an exploratory committee for a campaign in U.S. District 23, there was nothing impetuous about it.

If Gallego follows through with his testing-the-waters move, it would be the fourth straight election cycle in which he has been a candidate in District 23. After unseating tea party conservative Francisco Quico Canseco in 2012, Gallego lost two consecutive elections to Will Hurd, a Republican rising star from Helotes.

After 2014, Gallego could argue  with some justification  that he was a casualty of a GOP wave election; that midterm elections tend to be unkind to Democrats in the sprawling swing district he represented.

After 2016, however, there were no arguments left to make.

Hurd fended off Gallegos challenge, even when saddled with the thorny coattails of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, whose calls for a border wall played poorly in areas like El Paso County (which Trump lost to Hillary Clinton by nearly a 3-1 margin), and who was the first Republican presidential nominee in 20 years to fail to carry Texas by double digits.

Even the many Democrats who like Gallego dont look forward to seeing him take on Hurd for a third time. Gallego surely isnt oblivious to this line of thinking, but hes also mindful of a practical fact: No one knows what will happen to the District 23 map between now and next years election.

In March, a three-judge federal panel in San Antonio ruled that Republican lawmakers racially gerrymandered District 23 and two other congressional districts in this state. On Monday, a trial will begin to address how the court should deal with that issue. District 23, which currently covers 29 counties from San Antonio to El Paso, might change shape by the next time voters go to the polls.

Gallego declined to comment for this story, but he suggested in April that his candidacy is contingent on what the courts decide.

If theres a new map, Gallego told the Texas Tribune, then theres a new race.

The map seems to be less of a concern for Judith Canales, a former legislative officer for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and administrator for Rural Business and Cooperative Programs in the Department of Agriculture. Canales, 55, is based in Eagle Pass, where she once served as assistant city manager.

I am currently exploring my candidacy for congressional District 23, Canales said. Its been already a very positive reaction that I have received from the 29 counties. Im very enthusiastic about it.

Canales pointed out that she has deep roots in the district, including a 1982 internship for the late Congressman Abraham Chick Kazen.

The boundaries changing or not changing really have no impact on my decision, she said. Its really more about representing the communities of the 23rd Congressional District.

Canales has run for political office only once, finishing third (with 19.7 percent) in a three-candidate 2002 Democratic primary for Texas House District 80.

Speculation also has focused on Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hulings, who attended Harvard Law School and served nearly two years as the deputy chief counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Hulings did not respond to an interview request.

Regardless of the map or the challenger, knocking off Hurd wont be easy. The former CIA agent has defied the districts recent history of swinging back and forth with each election, building a solidly Republican voting record while projecting a bipartisan image.

Congressman Hurd has been one of the most effective members of Congress since 2015, said Justin Hollis, Hurds campaign spokesman. And he will continue to build on his solid record, not worrying about the next Democratic opponent that will be rejected by the voters of the 23rd District.

The big question is whether that opponent will once again be Pete Gallego.

ggarcia@express-news.net

Twitter: @gilgamesh470
I have advice for District Attorney Nico LaHood. He didnt ask for it, and he is unlikely to take it. But it is good advice, friendly advice.

Nico should call off his war against the Express-News.

The conflict became public two months ago when Nico used Facebook to post an angry screed accusing the newspaper of dishonesty.

There is clearly an agenda to attack me and the District Attorneys office, he wrote. They continuously ignore the truth and fail to report the facts.

After proclaiming his own courage and honesty, Nico wrote, I fully expect the Express-News will continue this slanted journalism. Many of us see the unsettling reality that journalism is turning from objective reporting to profit-driven opinion creation.

More recently, Nico barred an entire Express-News contingent  a photographer, a reporter and a columnist  from his bombshell news conference announcing he would seek the indictment of Genene Jones for murder. Shes the ex-nurse who has served more than 30 years in prison for killing babies in Kerrville in the early 1980s. She was sentenced to 99 years but is scheduled to get out early. Nico wants to prevent that by resurrecting the unprosecuted cases of babies who died under her care in Bexar County.

It was a ham-handed move by the district attorney and, as history shows, a self-defeating one. In the short run, the Express-News got the news in other ways and gave it a favorable ride, but perhaps not with as much depth as if they had access to Nico.

In the long run, history shows a more corrosive effect of warring with the press.

Example No. 1: A top aide to Fred Rodriguez, one of Nicos predecessors, complained to an editor about my coverage of him. She suggested they sit down and talk to me. His direct quote: Oh, no. Hes our enemy for life. Rodriguez lost his next election.

Rodriguez didnt lose because he quit talking to me. He lost because that was symptomatic of a condition that is fatal to politicians: thin skin. Let me give three examples of politicians who handled criticism much more effectively.

I almost could set my clock by the midmorning phone call I would receive from Mayor Lila Cockrell any time I wrote a less-than-favorable column about her. It would always begin the same way. Rick, she would say in a friendly tone, I would like to visit with you about your column.

She would calmly lay out her objections, often ones of nuance rather than fact. They were good points. The result wasnt that I would never criticize her, but it encouraged me to check out her reasons first and to be inclined to praise her when the opportunity arose.

When Nelson Wolff objected to a column, his phone calls were loud, forceful and unprintable. But the next time I would see him or call him he would be as friendly and open as ever.

Then there was an event with City Manager Lou Fox. I had enraged Lou with a Sunday column on the infamous 1988 police union contract. He was so angry that the next morning he fired the citys finance director, Carl White, who had been with the city 36 years.

Whites sin was to have given me an actuarial report that showed the cost of the contracts retirement health benefits was going to be much more than staff estimates. Carl believed all such information belonged to the public.

As it happened, I worked out at the YMCA that Monday during a lunch break and, afterward, found Lou with his back to me in the shower. It was a typical mens gym shower with spigots coming out from the four walls and no stalls or other barriers. So there was no avoiding an encounter. Good afternoon, Lou, I said.

And the response of the angry man?

He turned around, stuck out his hand and said, Hey, Rick! How are you? How are the wife and kids?

And we stood there naked, shaking hands and making small talk. That helps explain why Lou set what was then a San Antonio record for city manager longevity.

Think about it, Nico.

This column originally appeared as Rick Caseys Last Word on KLRNs Texas Week with Rick Casey, which appears Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 1 p.m.
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Bernardo de Galvez may not be well known in San Antonio and Texas, but for more than 40 years the Order of Granaderos y Damas de Galvez has been educating people about the role he and Spain played in the American Revolutionary War.

Thats the reason the Granaderos came into being: to spread the message that what Bernardo de Galvez and Spain did for the American colonies was vital, said Joe Perez, governor of the organization, which was founded in 1975.

Often called the little-known hero of the American Revolution, Galvez was the fourth governor of Spanish Louisiana when he was thrust into aiding the American colonists seeking independence from Britain.

The revolt against the British began in 1775 even though the Americans were ill-prepared for such an undertaking.

During the June 17, 1775, Battle of Bunker Hill, the American colonists ran out of ammunition and lost the battle.

The army had not five rounds of powder a man, Benjamin Franklin said afterward. The world wondered that we so seldom fired a cannon; we could not afford it.

The only way the colonists could defeat the British was with assistance from France and Spain.

Both countries had been sending aid to the colonies even before the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Besides money and military supplies, Spain also was sending munitions, medicines and muskets.

France and Spain had been allies against the British in the Seven Years War. When that war ended in 1763, the British received Canada from France and Florida from Spain.

As governor of Louisiana, the Spanish-born Galvez sent much-needed gunpowder, rifles and other vital supplies to the colonists. After Spain declared war against Britain on June 21, 1779, Galvez formed an army in New Orleans and routed the British from important ports in the South.

His largest victory was in Pensacola, the British capital of West Florida. It took two months before Galvezs troops and a small contingent of French soldiers captured Fort George in May 1781.

Appointed viceroy of New Spain in 1785, Galvez and his family moved to Mexico City. After his death on Nov. 30, 1786, he was buried in Mexico Citys Church of San Fernando.

In honor of his service to the United States, the Continental Congress in 1783 resolved to hang Galvezs portrait in the Capitol. It took 231 years until, finally, a painting of the Spanish hero was unveiled in 2014. It hangs in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee room in the Capitol.

That same year, President Barack Obama signed a joint resolution of Congress making Galvez an honorary U.S. citizen. He is only the eighth person given that honor.

He is the third European who assisted the Continental Army. The others are the Marquis de Lafayette from France and Polands Casimir Pulaski  named an honorary American.

In 1974, nearly 200 years after the Battle of Pensacola, Erik I. Martel was named Spains consul general in Houston. In his travels, Martel became increasingly dismayed by the answers Americans gave when he asked them about Galvez.

Martel recalled that during his first trip to Galveston, named after Galvez, he asked the then-mayor for the origin of the citys name.

He said it could derive from the name of an old local hotel named after someone called Galvez, Martel said in a recollection he wrote of the origin of the Granaderos.

When the consul general asked who Galvez was, the mayor replied that he thought it could be a French pirate from Louisiana.

Americans knew that France had helped during the Revolutionary War but Spains intervention was utterly unknown, Martel said.

He began formulating an idea of how to change Americans minds and discussed the idea with two men from San Antonio who visited Martel in Houston one day.

The men were businessman Charles E. Barrera and broadcaster Henry Guerra, then members of the Bicentennial Commission in San Antonio.

The first chapter of the Order of Granaderos de Galvez was formed in San Antonio in 1975 by Barrera and five charter members: Ventura G. Perez, Adolfo Herrera, Henry de Leon, Manuel Borrego and Raymond Ugalde.

Of them, only de Leon is still living, said Joe Perez, son of Ventura G. Perez.

In 1977, Barreras wife, Alicia, founded the Order of the Damas de Galvez to support the mens organization.

The two groups later merged and today the organization is known as the Order of the Granaderos y Damas de Galvez, Perez said.

Originally, the Damas were an auxiliary organization to the Granaderos, but it was consolidated to one organization and the Damas now have equal standing, added Perez, now in his second stint as governor.

San Antonios was the founding chapter. Other chapters are in Houston; Pensacola, Florida; Jacksonville, Florida; and Washington, D.C.

Chapters in El Paso and Galveston are no longer active.

Though their membership has decreased somewhat, the Granaderos perform at many local and regional events, from parades such as the King William Parade during Fiesta to school fairs. Each Fourth of July, they and a fife and drum corps perform at a patriotic ceremony usually held at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. Because of construction, this year and last year, the ceremony was held at the San Antonio National Cemetery.

The Granaderos wear distinctive Spanish colonial uniforms of the Navarra Regiment, consisting of a white coat over a red vest and knee breeches. On their heads they wear miter hats covered in bear fur.

The uniforms are 100 percent wool and theyre hot in summer, but we strive for authenticity and wear wool because thats what was issued for the kings army in the 1700s, said Perez.

The uniforms worn by the original members, as well as muskets and bayonets they carried, were donated by the Spanish government.

Martel recalled that when the uniforms and armament arrived, he needed help in convincing U.S. Customs that the Spaniards were not trying to equip an army of their own within the borders of the United States.

COMING FRIDAY: Many arrowheads and spears found in Central Texas.
On July 13th 1999 Mr. Bungle released their third and final album, California .

The album was intially set for a June release date, however Warner Bros thought that it would clash with the release of the Red Hot Chili Peppers record Californication which was to be released the same month.





Press Release





Bar: Horns, Keyboards

Trevor Dunn: Bass, Keyboards

Danny Heifetz: Percussion, Keyboards

Mike Patton: Vocals, Keyboards

Trey Spruance: Guitar, Keyboards, Droppin' productions skills, etc.





Conceived 15 years ago in a part of Northern California that is known as the nation's capital of heartburn, domestic violence, and testicular cancer, Mr. Bungle has overcome these obstacles and, in fact, embraced their Humboldt County roots as the catalyst for their dark, irregular, forbidding music.





Originally founded as a death metal quartet donning Halloween masks, the band played locally, appropriately changing their style to fit each gig. Whether it be a school-sponsored talent show, a hillbilly bonfire at the beach, punk rock evictions, birthday parties at the hospital, hippie blues jams, or lunchbreaks at the pulp mill, Mr. Bungle was always prepared to set the right mood. Needless to say, it was this constant wavering that drove the band to the brink of insanity. Eventually they were showing up at the wrong gig with the wrong set of music prepared, and were forced to improvise or simply take chances of offending their guests. The band remains in this position today.





In 1991, Warner Bros. Records released Mr. Bungle's self-titled debut, which became an underground classic for young geeks and nerds who were already sick of rock music. It was at this point that Mr. Bungle claimed they were not a "real band" but, in fact, a toy band. Small, helpless circus riffs...adolescent clown melodies...saxophones, distorted bass, out-of-tune guitars...all contributed to further alienating the band from people expecting repetitive avant-gardism, and/or danceable music.





The band toured the States and made a bunch of money.





In 1995, Warners released "Disco Volante," an album that further explored the realsm of faux-jazz, fake tango, pseudo-surf, false metal, doppelgangers, and aimless soul searching. Some people were offended that parts of the record were written in a secret, "other worldly" language. Others were offended that parts of the record were NOT written in a secret language.





The band toured the States, Europe, and Australia in a cargo van, got real sick, went bankrupt, and starting writing music for oboe, cymbalum, French horn, accordion, timpani, and guiro.





Mr. Bungle's third CD is evidence of a rock band pretending to have roots in rock music. More meticulously orchestrated, more guided by mistake than their previous releases, they continue on a roll of self deprecation while writing music that is out of the range of their instruments.





The new album, entitled "CALIFORNIA," explores an ambiance new to the band, conjuring up the sultry dance moves of Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire; digging through the graveyard of riffs to find English Pop, Elvis, Neil Diamond, and Michael Jackson. The album is sure to alienate those expecting weird meter-changes and heartless vulgarities. To be sure, this is Western music, chockful of backbeats, strings, and vocal harmonies. But like the original 49ers, the listener is headed into a desert land of draught and famine -- the dark side of the California dream.





Topics of charity, gregariousness, and escapism are accompanied by those of suicide, retribution, and apostasy. The band somehow proves to themselves, once again, that they cannot escape their twisted past, or their twisted future. And like Hollywood, the underbelly is glossed over with major chords, sparkling glockenspiels, exotic percussion, fuzz guitars, tears of joy, and plastic smiles. And it's all in Technicolor, breathtaking Cinemascope, and stereophonic sound! Music to be listened to under the warmth of the cancer-inducing sun. It's danceable, it's singable. Grab an umbrella and join the slaughter!





Future plans: tour; write music that works.





Musical influences: death metal, Romanian gypsy, surf, rockabilly, disco, film, hits from the '60s, '70s, and '80s, Herbie Hancock's "Sextant," Peter Maxwell Davie's "Eight Songs for a Mad King," voodoo drums, psychedelic Brazilian bands, and various keyboard instruments.





Mr. Bungle is easily bored and likes to eat well, so please direct them to the best food in your town.









Kerrang | KKKK | Rod Yates





A more laid-back offering from Mike Patton's lunatics. THEY'RE CLEVER buggers, those chaps in Mr Bungle. For while they specialise in the art of melting brains by composing some of the most twisted music imaginable, one gets the feeling that they're not even trying. The bastards.

Having spent the last few years attending to other projects - Faith No More, Fantomas, Secret Chiefs 3, for starters - Mike Patton's mob are back with their third album, 'California', and it's as loopy and (surprisingly) laid-back as its namesake.

Neither as heavy as their 1990 debut nor as psychotic as 1995's 'Disco Volante', 'California' comes off like the soundtrack to a Middle Eastern surf movie in which one-eyed, crack-smoking dwarfs massacre the Beach Boys. Jazz, metal, bebop, gospel, soul, country, pop and surf-rock combine to make one eye-twitching ride: witness the chop-change madness of 'Ars Moriendi' and 'TheAirConditioned Nightmare'. Only on the FNM-esque 'Retrovertigo' and 'Pink Cigarette' does some semblance of sanity enter the equation.

While lacking in any massive distorted rifferama - 'Goodbye Sober Day' is the brilliant exception. 'California'is arguably Mr Bungle's most beguiling effort to date. Songfocused without sacrificing any of their trademark quirk, that line between genius and madness just got fainter.
Wheat: Net sales of 375,300 metric tons were reported for delivery in marketing year 2017/2018. Increases were for the Philippines (105,000 MT), South Korea (80,100 MT), Mexico (73,900 MT, including decreases of 6,300 MT), Bangladesh (57,700 MT, including 55,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), and Nigeria (33,200 MT, including 1,000 MT switched from unknown destinations). Reductions were reported for unknown destinations (149,100 MT), Colombia (27,800 MT), and Ecuador (1,800 MT). Exports of 541,100 MT were reported to the Philippines (111,400 MT), Mexico (86,900 MT), Italy (73,400 MT), Bangladesh (57,700 MT), and Nigeria (47,800 MT).

Exports for Own Account: Exports for own account of 39,300 MT were applied to new or outstanding sales for Italy.

Corn: Net sales of 140,300 MT for 2016/2017--a marketing-year low--were down 56 percent from the previous week and 69 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for the Netherlands (135,100 MT, including 125,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), Mexico (81,000 MT, including decreases of 13,800 MT), South Korea (63,600 MT, including 60,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), Peru (62,000 MT, including 31,800 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 1,000 MT), and Colombia (58,500 MT, including 31,500 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 5,000 MT). Reductions were reported for unknown destinations (278,400 MT), Venezuela (35,800 MT), and Panama (29,000 MT). For 2017/2018, net sales of 74,500 MT were reported for Mexico (69,000 MT), El Salvador (2,800 MT), Panama (2,000 MT), and Guatemala (800 MT). Exports of 1,108,900 MT were up 9 percent from the previous week, but unchanged from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Japan (313,100 MT), Mexico (248,200 MT), the Netherlands (135,100 MT), South Korea (124,700 MT), and Peru (70,800 MT).

Optional Origin Sales The current optional outstanding balance for 2016/2017 of 122,000 MT is for South Korea (68,000 MT) and unknown destinations (54,000 MT). The current outstanding balance for 2017/2018 of 112,000 MT is for unknown destinations.

Barley: Net sales of 600 MT for 2017/2018 were reported for Japan. Exports of 1,000 MT were reported to Japan.

Sorghum: Net sales of 71,500 MT for 2016/2017 were reported for unknown destinations (66,000 MT), China (4,000 MT), Mexico (1,000 MT), and Japan (500 MT). Exports of 13,800 MT were down 82 percent from the previous week and 75 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were Japan (10,500 MT), and Mexico (3,300 MT).

Rice: Net sales of 108,600 MT for 2016/2017 were up 40 percent from the previous week and 64 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Venezuela (52,000 MT), Mexico (28,600 MT), Haiti (21,300 MT, including decreases of 200 MT), Guatemala (6,800 MT), and Saudi Arabia (3,000 MT). Reductions were reported for unknown destinations (7,500 MT). For 2017/2018, net sales of 4,000 MT were reported for unknown destinations. Exports of 64,200 MT were down 14 percent from the previous week, but up 10 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Japan (27,200 MT), Haiti (14,300 MT), El Salvador (6,600 MT), Guatemala (6,200 MT), and Mexico (3,000 MT).

Exports for Own Account: The current outstanding balance of 200 MT is for Canada.

Soybeans: Net sales of 365,500 MT for 2016/2017 were up 17 percent from the previous week and 58 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Mexico (141,200 MT, including decreases of 100 MT), unknown destinations (92,100 MT), China (66,200 MT, including decreases of 7,000 MT), Saudi Arabia (66,000 MT), and Indonesia (21,600 MT, including decreases of 200 MT). Reductions were reported for Spain (65,000 MT) and Japan (4,600 MT). For 2017/2018, net sales of 73,200 MT were reported for China (59,000 MT), Costa Rica (12,000 MT), unknown destinations (2,000 MT), and Malaysia (200 MT). Exports of 278,700 MT were down 19 percent from the previous week and 23 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Mexico (70,500 MT), China (67,500 MT), Japan (51,400 MT), Colombia (22,000 MT), and Indonesia (20,200 MT).

Exports for Own Account: The current outstanding balance of 69,900 MT is for Canada.

Soybean Cake and Meal: Net sales of 45,100 MT for 2016/2017 were up 19 percent from the previous week, but down 52 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Mexico (27,200 MT), Morocco (25,000 MT), Ecuador (11,000 MT, switched from unknown destinations), the Philippines (6,900 MT,), and El Salvador (5,900 MT, including 2,600 MT switched from Guatemala, 1,000 MT switched from Nicaragua, and 1,600 MT switched from unknown destinations). Reductions were reported for Colombia (31,000 MT), unknown destinations (21,300 MT), Venezuela (1,500 MT), and Nicaragua (1,000 MT). For 2017/2018, net sales of 35,100 MT were reported for unknown destinations (25,000 MT), the Dominican Republic (19,000 MT), Canada (8,100 MT), Honduras (7,500 MT), and Guatemala (500 MT), were partially offset by reductions of 25,000 MT. Exports of 159,300 MT were down 5 percent from the previous week and from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily the Philippines (49,100 MT), Guatemala (19,300 MT), Colombia (19,200 MT), Mexico (11,400 MT), and Canada (11,000 MT).

Soybean Oil: Net sales of 6,600 MT for 2016/2017 were down 48 percent from the previous week and 64 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Mexico (3,400 MT), Colombia (3,000 MT), South Korea (500 MT), and Canada (400 MT). Reductions were reported for the Dominican Republic (900 MT). Exports of 4,900 MT were down 72 percent from the previous week and from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Colombia (2,200 MT), Canada (1,500 MT), Mexico (900 MT), and Honduras (200 MT).

Cotton: Net upland sales of 194,200 RB for 2016/2017 were down 26 percent from the previous week, but up 34 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Vietnam (83,200 RB, including 2,200 RB switched from China and 1,100 RB switched from Japan), China (43,100 RB), South Korea (19,300 RB), Indonesia (18,800 RB, including 2,700 RB switched from Japan and decreases of 100 RB), and Turkey (11,600 RB). Reductions were reported for Japan (6,100 RB). For 2017/2018, net sales of 297,200 RB were reported primarily for China (65,600 RB), Mexico (47,300 RB), Vietnam (47,200 RB), and Japan (24,400 RB). Exports of 302,500 RB were up 21 percent from the previous week and 14 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Turkey (73,900 RB), Vietnam (61,700 RB), Indonesia (49,500 RB), China (28,500 RB), and Mexico (20,000 RB). Net sales of Pima totaling 1,800 RB for 2016/2017 were up 71 percent from the previous week, but down 70 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were for Japan (800 RB), Thailand (500 RB), and India (200 RB). For 2017/2018, net sales of 600 RB were reported for Japan. Exports of 4,100 RB--a marketing-year low--were down 65 percent from the previous week and 59 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily China (1,300 RB), India (1,000 RB), Japan (500 RB), and Peru (400 RB).

Exports for Own Account: New exports for own account were reported to Vietnam (1,200 RB). Exports to Indonesia (13,200 RB) and South Korea (400 RB) were applied to new or outstanding sales. The current outstanding balance of 77,400 RB is for Indonesia (38,100 RB), Taiwan (14,400 RB), Vietnam (9,200 RB), India (5,500 RB), South Korea (4,600 RB), Bangladesh (3,200 RB), Thailand (1,900 RB), and Pakistan (500 RB).

Hides and Skins: Net sales of 444,500 pieces reported for 2017 were up 41 percent from the previous week and 2 percent from the prior 4-week average. Whole cattle hide sales totaling 445,000 pieces were primarily for China (299,200 pieces, including decreases of 10,800 pieces), South Korea (75,100 pieces, including decreases of 1,300 pieces), Hong Kong (30,000 pieces, including decreases of 100 pieces), Mexico (23,000 pieces, including decreases of 5,200 pieces), and Brazil (5,200 pieces). Exports of 341,300 pieces reported for 2017 were down 23 percent from the previous week and 22 percent from the prior 4-week average. Whole cattle hides exports of 338,700 pieces were primarily to China (176,200 pieces), South Korea (72,300 pieces), Mexico (32,800 pieces), Thailand (22,000 pieces), and Taiwan (13,900 pieces).

Net sales of 109,100 wet blues for 2017 were down 46 percent from the previous week and 21 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Mexico (31,600 grain splits and 100 unsplit), Italy (26,900 unsplit), China (19,500 unsplit and 5,300 grain splits), Vietnam (6,200 unsplit and 1,900 grain splits), and Brazil (7,200 grain splits). Reductions were reported for India (500 grain splits) and Taiwan (100 unsplit). Exports of 129,600 wet blues for 2017 were up 13 percent from the previous week, but down 14 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were China (33,600 unsplit and 4,100 grain splits), Italy (26,200 unsplit and 3,600 grain splits), and Mexico (16,300 grain splits and 4,100 unsplit). Net sales reductions of splits totaling 176,600 pounds for 2017 were reported for China. Exports of 138,400 pounds were down 28 percent from the previous week and 30 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were China (130,400 pounds) and South Korea (8,000 pounds).

Beef: Net sales of 17,000 MT reported for 2017 were up 52 percent from the previous week and 36 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Japan (12,200 MT, including decreases of 1,700 MT), Hong Kong (1,300 MT, including decreases of 100 MT), South Korea (1,100 MT, including decreases of 300 MT), Mexico (1,000 MT, including decreases of 300 MT), and Taiwan (700 MT). Reductions were reported for Egypt (400 MT). Exports of 14,900 MT were unchanged from the previous week, but up 7 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Japan (4,900 MT), South Korea (3,400 MT), Hong Kong (1,700 MT), Mexico (1,500 MT), and Canada (1,300 MT).

Pork: Net sales of 13,200 MT reported for 2017 were down 50 percent from the previous week and 39 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Mexico (5,100 MT), Hong Kong (3,300 MT), Japan (1,800 MT), Canada (1,400 MT), and Colombia (400 MT). Reductions were reported for Costa Rica (100 MT). Exports of 17,400 MT were down 12 percent from the previous week and 14 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Mexico (7,300 MT), Japan (3,300 MT), Canada (1,300 MT), Hong Kong (1,000 MT), and South Korea (900 MT).

Source : USDA
The MoU proposes Wittraco will buy about 20 per cent of production  believed to be between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes a year  for the first five years of production of the project, which is based on a chain of salt lakes 160 kilometres south east of Newman.
US & Europe Should Investigate Azeri Shipments of Weapons to Terrorists

By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com A stunning investigation by Bulgarian reporter Dilyana Gaytandzhieva revealed that Azerbaijans state-run Silk Way Airlines has shipped under diplomatic cover 350 planeloads of heavy weapons and ammunition to terrorist groups around the world in the last three years! Azerbaijan asked the Foreign Ministries of various countries to issue a diplomatic exemption for these flights, allowing civilian planes to carry weapons which would normally be prohibited by the International Air Transport Association. The reporters information is based on a large number of emails sent to her by an anonymous source: The leaked files include correspondence between the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Azerbaijan to Bulgaria with attached documents for weapons deals and diplomatic clearance for overflight and/or landing in Bulgaria and many other European countries, in addition to Syria, Iraq, the United States, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, and Israel, to name a few. According to documents obtained by Gaytandzhieva, Silk Way Airlines offered diplomatic flights to private companies and arms manufacturers from the US, the Balkans, and Israel, as well as to the militaries of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and the military forces of Germany and Denmark in Afghanistan and of Sweden in Iraq. Diplomatic flights are exempt of checks, air bills, and taxes, meaning that Silk Way airplanes freely transported hundreds of tons of weapons to different locations around the world without regulation. The leaked documents also reveal that American weapons manufacturers had shipped over $1 billion of weapons through Silk Way Airlines. These were non-US standard weapons which means that they were not intended for use by U.S. forces. When Silk Way Airlines did not have enough available planes, Azerbaijans Air Force jets would transport the military shipments, Gaytandzhieva reported. According to the U.S. federal contracts registry, in December 2014, the U.S. Special Operations Command signed a $26.7 million contract with the American company Purple Shovel. Bulgaria was listed as the country of origin for the shipped weapons and Azerbaijans Defense Ministry as the consignee. Another US company, Orbital ATK, received a contract for $250 million of non-US standard weapons. Amazingly, the daring Bulgarian reporter went to Aleppo, Syria, in December of last year where she found and filmed 9 underground warehouses full of heavy weapons with Bulgaria as their country of origin. They were used by Al Nusra Front (Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria designated as a terrorist organization by the UN). Gaytandzhieva discovered that just in April and May of 2017, Azerbaijans Air Force jets transported 282 tons of grenades on 10 diplomatic flights. Another major purchaser of non-US standard weapons is Saudi Arabia which cannot use these weapons for its own defense as they are not compatible with its arsenal of western weapons. In 2016 and 2017, there were 23 diplomatic flights carrying weapons from Bulgaria, Serbia and Azerbaijan to Jeddah and Riyadh. These weapons were transported to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through Silk Way Airlines and ended up in the hands of militants in Syria and Yemen that Saudi Arabia officially admits supporting, according to Gaytandzhieva. On April 28 and May 12 of this year, Silk Way Airlines carried out two diplomatic flights from Baku to Burgas-Jeddah-Brazzaville (Republic of Congo). The military cargo on board both flights was paid for by Saudi Arabia. The aircraft was loaded with mortars and anti-tank grenades. These very same weapons were discovered by the Iraqi army a month ago in an Islamic State warehouse in Mosul. It is not surprising that Islamic State terrorists have displayed these weapons in their propaganda videos, according to Gaytandzhieva. The same situation existed with the shipment of Coyote machine guns which appeared on propaganda videos posted online by militant groups in Syria. These weapons were transported on a diplomatic flight via Turkey and Saudi Arabia a few months earlier. There are many other examples of such shipments that ended up in the hands of terrorists, including some shipments sponsored by United Arab Emirates. In February and March 2017, Saudi Arabia received 350 tons of weapons on Silk Way Airlines diplomatic flights originating from Baku. The cargo included 27,350 pieces of 128-mm rockets and 10,000 pieces of 122 mm. Grad rockets. Some of these shipments were paid in cash which may account for the huge amount of wealth accumulated by Pres. Aliyev and his family. Just as concerning are the shipments of large quantities (around 200 tons) of white phosphorus which could be deadly. Ironically, Azerbaijan, which possesses white phosphorus, accuses Armenia of using it in the Artsakh conflict. This is not just another article which should be read and forgotten! The US Congress and European governments should hold hearings and investigate these huge shipments of weapons, most of which are destined for terrorists in the Middle East and elsewhere.
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Statement by the Spokesperson on the conflict resolution and reconciliation efforts

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

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

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I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments
A report released Wednesday by Transparency International Canada recommends the government consider adopting legislation to create a deferred prosecution agreement scheme as a way to increase transparency and promote compliance.

In the Canadian context, DPAs, if properly designed and implemented, have the potential to support increased enforcement of anti-corruption laws and increased self-disclosure and compliance by corporations, TI-Canada said.

Companies can avoid prosecution under DPAs by agreeing with prosecutors to behave in certain ways. That usually includes full and voluntary disclosure, cooperation, and remediation.



Why should Canada consider a DPA scheme now?

In recent years, the report says,



Deferred Prosecution Agreements, or DPAs, have gained increasing visibility and prominence in the international fight against corruption. The United States first adopted DPAs in the context of enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Since then the concept has gained acceptance in numerous countries, including the UK and France, with more countries examining incorporating DPAs into their enforcement regimes.



In a closer look at the United States experience with DPAs, the report talks about waivers of attorney-client privilege, the meaning of cooperation, the increased prosecution of individuals, and the appointment and use of compliance monitors.

The first reported use of a DPA [in the U.S.] was in a 1992 settlement with Salomon Brothers, the report says.

DPAs in the United States have no statutory basis and are not subjected to any specific legal framework. Rather, they are based on policies issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and guidelines set out in memos issued by the Deputy Attorney General.

In the UK, the law allowing prosecutors to use DPAs became effective in 2014.

That law  Schedule 17 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013  lists at Section 5 mandatory requirements for every DPA. Those include a statement of facts (which may or may not include admissions by the accused) and an expiry date.

Section 5 list other provisions that can be included in UK DPAs, including requirements to:-

(i) pay the prosecutor a financial penalty

(ii) compensate victims of the alleged offense

(iii) donate money to a charity or other third party

(iv) disgorge any profits made by the accused from the alleged offense

(v) implement a compliance program or make changes to an existing compliance program, such as adding training for employees

(vi) cooperate in any investigation related to the alleged offense, and

(vii) pay any reasonable costs of the prosecutor in relation to the alleged offense or the DPA.

A UK DPA can also impose time limits for the accused to comply with the requirements of the DPA, and a penalty clause for a failure to comply.

TI-Canada warns that DPAs need safeguards. Above all, they cant seen as a simple cost of doing business.

And the government shouldnt treat DPAs as a stand-alone measure in the fight against corporate crime.

The debate on a potential DPA scheme should be part of a greater reflection on the state of corporate criminality in Canada and serve as the opportunity to invest the resources required by law enforcement, prosecutors and the judiciary to efficiently combat corporate crime.

The report concludes that any DPA scheme should be enacted through specific legislation and carried out under transparent judicial purview.

The DPA scheme should also be aimed to achieve certain objectives  financial reparations, sincere compliance reform, and accountability of individual wrongdoers.

TI Canadas volunteer Legal Committee produced the report.

Its available here (pdf).

____

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.
Eagerly anticipated and brought to life following a successful crowdfunding campaign, Yasmin Kadis new single No Drama is finally here, and we have the exclusive premiere for your ears only! Take a listen to the track below:

Speaking about the song  which was produced by SOS  Yasmin says: Relationships, especially intimate ones, can be full of complications. This track is about wanting to say  I dont want any more drama  take it to your mama, as Im not interested!

The song comes after debut single Earthquake, which rose to the top of the iTunes Ireland chart before Yasmin then performed alongside the likes of Paloma Faith at Londons O2 Forum, headlined the Women of the World Festival in 2016 at the Southbank and toured with MOBO Award-winning Roots Manuva.

Currently starring alongside Usain Bolt in new Virgin Media Campaign This Is Virgin Fiber, Yasmin is now even one of the lead performers in the latest Guitar Hero video game. The futures never looked brighter for Yasmin.

At a young age, following her birth in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Yasmin was forced to flee to the UK after her family home was attacked during the blood diamond conflict in the area. In that time, she used music to express herself.

Growing up in Africa, you dont really have a voice, especially as a female, she explained. You always had to suppress how you felt and your opinions didnt really matter to a certain extent, so I was determined naturally as I got older to just speak my mind.

Yasmin Kadis new single No Drama officially releases on August 18, 2017.

by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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If so, you are not alone as more and more parents admit they often feel isolated.

Parenting on Female First

In fact, research by COMRES* found that 3 in 10 British adults report to feeling lonely some of the time. This is especially true for new mums and dads who may feel they are missing out on the social interaction for their pre-baby social life.

But what can you do if you are a parent to avoid isolation? Annie Drewry a parent and founder of the Big Red Bus Club offers her five top tips.

Identify your loneliness

Parenthood is all about change. This sounds obvious  but the truth is even the simplest thing like enjoying a few hours in the cinema with friends or going out on a Friday night with work colleagues just disappears.

Loneliness is made up of social loneliness, missing that large group of friends to socialise with and emotional loneliness, like the loss of a confidant.

This type of loneliness is different from wondering how you will fill your day with just your baby and not having someone to share the highs and lows of your day with.

Find others that share your interest

Step back and take a moment to think about you. What do you really enjoy? Is it running? Is it knitting? Your day to day activities might have changed but the things that make you- you havent.

To find hobby groups with others that share your interest, look to social media or ask at local events. Dont forget to check the old-fashioned notices on community boards, the local paper and when in the waiting room at the doctors  they are a great source of information.

If you are struggling with finding childcare, its worth checking with others who maybe in the same situation to share these duties and free up an hour.

Finding others that share your situation

Remember that first day at school? Well welcome back. Walking solo into your fist play group, baby event or childrens centre is equally daunting.

Every under-fives group is unique so look for ones where you can find others that are facing the same changes  when you have a lively four year old and a babe in arms you might be attracted to groups that wear the eldest out.

Whats important is persistence in attempting to strike up conversation and make new friends and the confidence to walk away if the group just isnt for you.

Know your strengths

Its not uncommon for parents to have had their confidence knocked in the job market, in their relationships, in their physical wellbeing. Finding the strength to pick yourself up after a knock takes work, time and it isnt easy. But it can get easier. Maybe write down the great things about yourself and what makes you a great friend.

Having the confidence to make new friends and inner strength to try starts with recognising your value. You have an amazing amount to offer  it just may have slipped your mind.

Making friends - Dive in and say something

The hardest thing some people face is making conversation with strangers. In the corporate world people pay thousands of pounds for courses to learn how to network. Start a conversation by sharing common ground. The one thing all parents share is they love it if you compliment their child  its conversation starter gold dust.

So, next time you are next to another parent and dont know how to start a conversation just try it out. It might lead you to the friend you have been looking for.

Article by Annie Drewry founder of the Big Red Bus Club, Greenwich London  a group for under-fives and their families funded through The Health Lottery.

With money raised through The Health Lottery, Peoples Health Trust has awarded 52 million to projects which identify as addressing social isolation amongst other things.

* The findings are based on a survey by COMRES of over 2,000 adults
The World Heritage Committee, who met in Krakow last week, added the ancient ruins of Aphrodisias in southwestern Turkey to the UNESCOs World Heritage List, bringing the total number of UNESCO sites in Turkey to 17.

Aphrodisias

Located in southwest Turkey, Aphrodisias was renowned throughout the Hellenistic and Roman empires for its school of sculpture and art. Comparatively recent excavation work means that most of its treasures are still intact, and the on-site museum displays many examples of the monumental statuary produced by the school.

The Temple of Aphrodite

The temple of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love, dates from the 3rd century BCE and the city was built one century later. All that remains of the ancient temple are fourteen of the over forty Ionic columns that once surrounded it and the foundations of the cellar section.

The wealth of Aphrodisias came from the marble quarries and the art produced by its sculptors.

The city streets are arranged around several large civic structures, which include temples, a theatre, an agora (a public open space used for assemblies and markets) and two bath complexes.

Click here to read Aphrodisias: The Lost City of Sculptures on the Turkish Travel Blog

How far away is it?

Depending upon which route you take, Aphrodisias is approximately three to four hours drive from Fethiye. You will need a further three to four hours to spend at the site. You dont want to miss anything!

Its well worth a visit if you havent been yet.

Two further sites in the United Kingdom and Brazil were also added to the list.
Switzerlands State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has announced that it will continue to support Better Work, a flagship programme of the International Labour Organization jointly managed by the International Finance Corporation. The four-year investment aims to help lift millions of people out of poverty by promoting decent work.

The programme will also drive business competitiveness and encourage inclusive economic growth in the global garment industry. This sector employs some 60 million people across the developing world and 80 per cent of them are women.

The announcement came on the first day of the World Trade Organizations 'Aid for Trade' conference currently underway in Geneva. In order to reach even more people along the garment supply chain, SECO will continue to support the programme in Asia and especially in its partner countries Indonesia and Vietnam with a contribution of 12 million Swiss francs ($12,470,000 dollars) between 2017 and 2021. It represents Switzerlands firm commitment to enhancing international trade and competitiveness while also creating more and better jobs that support countries' social and economic development.

Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has announced that it will continue to support Better Work, a flagship programme of the International Labour Organization jointly managed by the International Finance Corporation. The four-year investment aims to help lift millions of people out of poverty by promoting decent work.#

Switzerland has been a core donor of Better Work since 2009, helping the programme grow to reach 1,450 clothing and footwear factories and 1.9 million workers across four continents.

Better Works recent independent impact assessment demonstrated the programmes ability to improve working conditions while boosting firm performance and enhancing the lives of workers and their families. The report showed, for example, that factories participating in the programme achieved up to a 25 per cent increase in profitability. Furthermore it says that Better Work had a notable and positive impact on working conditions such as abusive practices, weekly pay, contracts and working hours.

The report also indicated that Better Work has decreased the gender pay gap by up to 17 per cent, and that empowering women is a key step to improving working conditions and productivity of workers as well as the health and education of their children.

"As delegates from around the world gather in Geneva to discuss how trade can support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Better Work provides a concrete and successful example of how better business practices promote decent work, gender equality and better living conditions for millions of people," said Raymund Furrer, head of economic cooperation and development, SECO.

"Switzerlands commitment to Better Work will continue to help us significantly scale our impact," said Dan Rees, director of the programme at the International Labour Organization. "As part of our new strategy, we will leverage existing and new partnerships to expand our reach to workers tenfold, influence business practices in the international garment industry and use our data and experience to reshape the global policy dialogue on decent work."

Switzerlandalong with Australia, the Netherlands and the USis a major development partner to Better Work, and collaborates closely with representatives of international apparel brands, academia, unions and employers organisations to provide strategic inputs to the programme. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Cutting-edge research into using electric currents and copper to develop a new form of embroidery has earned a senior lecturer at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) a prestigious award. Jo Horton, who joined DMU in 2006, has been highly commended in the Embroiderers Guild Beryl Dean Award for Teaching Excellence in Embroidery and Design for 2017.The award recognises academics who tirelessly enhance the learning experience and who care passionately about the future of embroidery. Judges were particularly impressed by Jos leading research which she shares with her students to encourage ambition and innovative thinking.

Cutting-edge research into using electric currents and copper to develop a new form of embroidery has earned a senior lecturer at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) a prestigious award. Jo Horton, who joined DMU in 2006, has been highly commended in the Embroiderers' Guild Beryl Dean Award for Teaching Excellence in Embroidery and Design for 2017.#

Referring to her work as metal horticulture, Jo, who leads the Mixed Media Textiles pathway on DMUs Textile Design BA (Hons), said: My research at DMU has focused on the ways in which fashion textiles has been transformed by metallic embellishment, looking at the role traditional craft techniques have had in the desirability of luxury clothing and the opportunity for industry to embrace new ways of producing high-value surface treatment.As a designer more used to working in an artists studio or textiles workshop, to make novel textiles I have found a new home in a laboratory where I can be playful with science and unusual production technology as well as beautiful embellishment. As a member of the Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC), the bursary awards I have received from them were pivotal in the development of my PhD and work as a metal horticulturalist both in terms of the financial support I received and feedback, Jo said.Next I have plans to combine chemistry with couture hand stitch in the production of fashion textiles and further develop the exquisite iridescent colour effects that grown metal can produce, she added.After working in the surface decoration industry since graduating in 1985, Jos career progressed via an MA in Fashion Textiles to academia while running her own business as an embroiderer and designer-maker. Since joining DMU in 2006 she has developed the Mixed Media Textiles pathway to offer bespoke stitch and couture embellishment for interiors and fashion.As a result of Jos dedication, graduates of the pathway have secured many awards - including from the RSA Bursary Competition, the SDC, Bradford Textiles Society, The Textiles Society and New Designers - for their collections of embellished and hand, machine and digitally embroidered fabrics.Students gain internships and employment at high-profile companies and design studios, and Jo has also encouraged a culture of postgraduate applications with successful graduates going on to specialise in stitch at the Royal College of Art and Central St Martins.My career at DMU has also included programme leadership as I was asked to establish the Fashion Textiles and Accessories BA (Hons), renamed Fashion Textile Design for next year, in addition to leading Mixed Media Textiles, said Jo.This course has focused on exciting hybrid materials and processes for fashion. Using skills garnered from my industry experience in hard and soft materials decoration I have been able to encourage students to use alternative materials to progress their ideas in embroidery and embellishment. In 2010 I handed over the course to my colleague Alan Beattie so that I could seriously apply my energies to my PhD study, commencing practice-based research and taking on industry projects from the metal finishing and data collection industries, she said.To date, her academic distinctions, awards and prizes include the SDC international bursary recognition award 2015, SDC bursary awards 2014 and 2013, DMUs Research Leave Award and Medici Enterprise awards 2014, and a Textile Society national professional development award for 2013.Last year, Jo was selected to share her PhD findings at the Fashion and Textiles Museum in London for the 2016 Festival of Textiles. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Statement by the Spokesperson on the conflict resolution and reconciliation efforts

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

Google Ad

Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom

Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

Google Ad

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments
Brazilian government has taken the initiative to boost the production of cotton in East Africa by improving the techniques of cotton farming and through training professionals. Assistance to cotton farmers with the availability of better cotton varieties, irrigation projects, and transparent pricing will boost cotton production in African countries.

Cotton Victoria Project, a partnership between Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), Brazilian Cotton Institute (IBA), Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Brazil, Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi, will boost cotton production in East Africa, according to a news agency. The project will increase the competitiveness of the cotton sector in Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi, with the production of a greater amount of high quality cotton, said Marcela Nicodemus, Brazilian ambassador to Kenya. Cotton can improve the economic condition of these countries, he added.

Kenya's average yield of cotton per hectare is 572 kg as compared to the world's average of 726 kg. In late 1980s, there was a downfall in Kenya's cotton production due to the introduction of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) across the world. (RR)

Brazilian government has taken the initiative to boost the production of cotton in East Africa by improving the techniques of cotton farming and through training professionals. Assistance to cotton farmers with the availability of better cotton varieties, irrigation projects, and transparent pricing will boost cotton production in African countries.#

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
CB&I, a leading provider of technology and infrastructure for the energy industry, has been awarded a contract by PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk (CAP) to supply materials for the revamp of existing cracking heaters at CAPs naphtha cracker plant in Cilegon, Indonesia. The revamp will increase CAPs ethylene production capacity from 860 KTA to 900 KTA.

The expansion project would enable CAP to meet increased market demand for petrochemical products in Indonesia.

CB&I previously provided the license, basic engineering and detailed engineering for the naphtha cracker revamp project.

CB&I, a leading provider of technology and infrastructure for the energy industry, has been awarded a contract by PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk (CAP) to supply materials for the revamp of existing cracking heaters at CAP's naphtha cracker plant in Cilegon, Indonesia. The revamp will increase CAP's ethylene production capacity from 860 KTA to 900 KTA.#

This award builds upon our long relationship with CAP, the largest integrated petrochemical producer in Indonesia, said Luke V Scorsone, executive vice president of CB&Is Fabrication Services operating group. CAPs naphtha cracker has been in service for more than 20 years using CB&Is industry-leading ethylene technology and pyrolysis heaters. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Diganth, most famously known as 'Doodh Peda', has been in news about his love affair for quite some time now. There have been gossips of something-something brewing between him and actress, Aindrita Ray.

The gossips even mentioned something about them getting married. Well, Diganth and Aindrita, like other celebrities, kept quiet about their relationship in front of the media. Neither of them had bothered to give clarifications on the subject.

But now, if the reports are true, these two celebrities are not together! They are avoiding being seen together. Aindrita does not visit a place which has Diganth's presence and vice-versa! Ultimately, this has given opportunity for new rumours to spawn.

So, what is this new news that we are hearing about? What is the rumour? Is it true that they aren't together anymore?

Read on to know more of it.
Kannadathi In Kurukshetra

According to sources, the first actress for Kurukshetra has apparently been unofficially finalised. Having beaten top heroines from other industries, a proud Kannadathi has bagged a role in the movie before others.

Who Is She?

Reportedly, the glamorous doll of Kannada film industry, Hariprriya has been finalised as the first female actress in the movie. Only the official announcement is to be made, which we can expect on July 23.

What Is Hariprriya's Role In The Movie?

Hariprriya being selected as the first actress in the movie cast is beyond suspicion. But, the question is, which role will she be playing? Is her character finalised?

There are also a second set of rumours that are suggesting that the film-makers are purposefully hiding some certain facts about the movie to preserve its authenticity.

How Many Heroines Will Kurukshetra Need?

In the script of Kurukshetra, Draupadi, Rukmini, Sathyabhama, Kunti and others are the female characters. According to the above information, Hariprriya might portray a role one among the above or it might also change. We have to wait and watch..

Hariprriya Is Busy!!

Presently, Hariprriya is completely busy with a lot of movies on hand as of the moment. She has just completed the shooting for Dhruva Sarja's Bharjari.

In addition to that, she has also completed a song for Puneeth Rajkumar's Anjaniputra movie and is currently shooting for Chiranjeevi Sarja's Samhaara. Recently, she was cast opposite Duniya Vijay for the film Kanaka, the shooting of which might start in a few days.

Technicians From Baahubali Team

Yes, you guessed it right! For Kurukshetra movie, the producer has roped in graphics and VFX experts who worked for the Baahubali movie franchise.

Art Director From Mumbai

The shooting for Kurukshetra is most likely to happen in Hyderabad's Ramoji Film City. VFX artists and sets are being brought in from Mumbai.

When Will Kurukshetra Begin?

At the moment, Darshan Thoogudeep's costume is ready. Arms and weapons for V. Ravichandran are getting prepared. Producer of the movie is politician-turned-producer, Muniratna. The film is directed by Naganna and will be launching on June 23.
Julia Yaroshenko

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She's currently having a photoshoot in Moscow and will leave to other European countries for photoshoots.

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Julia Yaroshenko will next be in Zurich and Spain for work.

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Julia Yaroshenko is a work of art. Isn't she, folks?

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Someday she'll end up being the world's best model sooner or later!
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 11, 2017 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Snap, Inc. ("Snap" or the "Company") (NYSE: SNAP) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Central District of California, and docketed under 17-cv-03679, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Snap securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants' violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you are a shareholder who purchased Snap securities or otherwise acquired Snap securities: (1) pursuant and/or traceable to Snap's false and misleading Registration Statement and Prospectus, issued in connection with the Company's initial public offering on or about March 2, 2017 (the "IPO" or the "Offering"); and/or (2) on the open market between March 2, 2017 and May 15, 2017, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), you have until July 17, 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]

Snap Inc. is a camera company that provides technology and social media services. The Company develops mobile camera application products and services that allow users to send and receive photos, drawings, text, and videos. Snap serves customers worldwide.

On or about March 3, 2017, the Company completed its IPO, issuing 200,000,000 shares and raising net proceeds of approximately $3.91 billion.

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) Snap's reported user growth was materially false and misleading; and (ii) as a result, Snap's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On May 10, 2017, post-market, Snap issued its first quarterly report as a public company, disclosing disappointing user growth at the Company's Snapchat messaging platform. For the quarter, Snap reported 166 million daily users, only 8 million more than in the previous period and only 44 million more than the same period in the prior year-Snapchat's slowest year-to-year growth rate in at least two years.

On this news, Snap's share price fell $4.93, or 21.45%, to close at $18.05 on May 11, 2017.

On May 16, 2017, Bloomberg reported that a former Snap employee, Anthony Pompliano, had filed a lawsuit against Snap, "claim[ing] he was fired after three weeks on the job for raising questions about allegedly false growth metrics [and] seeking whistleblower protection against retaliation by [the] company."

On this news, Snap's share price fell $0.02, or 0.1%, to close at $20.72 on May 16, 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
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 11, 2017 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Tahoe Resources Inc. ("Tahoe" or the "Company") (NYSE: TAHO) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of New York, and docketed under 17-cv-05155, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired GM securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants' violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you are a shareholder who purchased Tahoe securities between April 3, 2013 and July 5, 2017 both dates inclusive, you have until September 5, 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]

Tahoe, together with its subsidiaries, explores, develops, and operates mines in the Americas. The Company primarily produces copper, gold, silver, lead/zinc, and natural gas and petroleum, as well as precious metals assets.

On April 3, 2013, Tahoe announced that Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines ("MEM") had granted the Company an exploitation license for the Escobal mine, a large silver mine located in the department of Santa Rosa in Southern Guatemala.

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) Guatemala's MEM had granted the Escobal mining license to Tahoe's Minera San Rafael subsidiary without prior consultation with Guatemala's Xinca indigenous people; (ii) the foregoing constituted a violation of Guatemalan law and provided a basis for suspension of the Escobal license; (iii) consequently, the Company's revenues associated with the Escobal mining license were unlikely to be sustainable; and (iv) as a result of the foregoing, Tahoe's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On July 6, 2017, Tahoe disclosed that the Supreme Court of Guatemala had issued a provisional decision suspending the Escobal mining license of Minera San Rafael, a Tahoe subsidiary, in connection with a legal action brought by the human rights organization Centro de Accion Legal Ambiental y Social de Guatemala ("CALAS") against Guatemala's MEM. CALAS alleges that MEM violated the Xinca indigenous people's right of consultation prior to granting the Escobal mining license.

On this news, Tahoe's common share price fell $2.74, or 33.01%, to close at $5.56 on July 6, 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
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 11, 2017 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against General Motor Company ('GM' or the 'Company') (NYSE: GM) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, and docketed under 17-cv-12185, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired GM securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants' violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you are a shareholder who purchased GM securities between February 27, 2012 and May 24, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until July 26, 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]

General Motors Company designs, builds, and sells cars, trucks, crossovers, and automobile parts. The Company offers vehicle protection, parts, accessories, maintenance, satellite radio, and automotive financing. General Motors provides its vehicles and services worldwide.

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 installed at least three distinct defeat devices in over 700,000 trucks with Duramax diesel engines from 2011 to 2016 in order to cheat emissions tests in the U.S.; (ii) consequently, the GM trucks at issue emit up to five times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide pollutants; and (iii) as a result of the foregoing, GM's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On May 25, 2017, Bloomberg reported that a consumer lawsuit had been filed against GM for installing multiple defeat devices in two models of heavy-duty trucks with the Duramax diesel engine from 2011-2016. The lawsuit alleges that GM's unlawful, unfair, deceptive, and otherwise defective emission controls affect model year 2011-2016 GM Sierra 2500HD and 3500 HD trucks and GM Silverado 2500 HD and 3500 HD trucks. According to the lawsuit, extensive testing of a 2013 Silverado 2500 diesel-a vehicle representative of the class of Duramax diesel engines present in both the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra model years 2011 to 2016-indicated as follows: (1) the vehicle produces emissions above the certification tests at temperatures above the certification range (86F); (2) the vehicle produces higher emissions when temperatures are below the certification test range (68F); and (3) the vehicle produces higher emissions occur after the vehicle has been run for 200-500 seconds of steady speed operation on average by a factor of 4.5 in all temperature windows. These test results confirmed the presence of three distinct defeat devices, which enable the vehicle to meet emissions standards in the test temperature range, while allowing two to five times the legal amount of nitrogen-oxide pollutants to be emitted at all other times.

On this news, GM's share price fell $0.60, or 1.81%, to close at $32.60 on May 25, 2017.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
Armenian and Artsakh parliamentarians turn to international community

Armenian Parliaments Standing Committees on Foreign Affairs and European Integration Affairs and the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of Artsakh have issued a joint statement. Discussing the recent escalation of the situation in the conflict zone, the continuous destructive and provocative actions by Azerbaijan, Azerbaijans xenophobic policy The sides attach importance to the implementation of international obligations set by the ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 1995, highlight the importance of agreements reached at the Vienna and St. Petersburg summits, in particular, establishment of investigation mechanism of ceasefire violations as a preventive tool, state that violations of obligations by Azerbaijan on the peaceful settlement of the conflict creates responsibility for Azerbaijan with all consequences, condemn Azerbaijani military and political leaderships policy on consistently violating the Geneva Convention, deploying military posts near civilian settlements and using civilians as a human shield, call on the international community to impose targeted political and economic sanctions on those responsible for escalating the situation in the conflict zone, expect the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to make more effective and practical efforts to stabilize the situation and ensure conditions for progress in peace, urge international structures to have active contribution to the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict by assisting the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, reads the joint statement which was signed by Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Armen Ashotyan, Chairwoman of the NA Standing Committee on European Integration Affairs Naira Zohrabyan and Chairperson of Artsakh Parliaments Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Arzik Mkhitaryan.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 11, 2017 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Eco Science Solutions, Inc. ("Eco Science" or the "Company") (OTC PINK: 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 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]

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

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP




TYSONS, Virginia, USA (ots) - DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC), the world's leading independent, end-to-end IT services company, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Zurich Insurance Company Ltd (Zurich), a leading global, multi-line insurance provider, by which the parties wish to extend until December 2022 the Master Services Agreement that will support Zurich's digital transformation initiatives.The agreement was originally signed in 2009. With this new extension that is foreseen to become effective by the end of the year, DXC Technology will become the Preferred Systems Integrator supporting Zurich's strategic goal of bringing Zurich's data center environment to the next level using a "digital-first" approach.As a centerpiece of its platform transformation journey, Zurich has turned to the hybrid cloud to deliver innovative applications and services, enabled by DXC, to more than 210 countries and territories. DXC has the world's most comprehensive insurance software portfolio, leadership in insurance business processes services, and significant capabilities in Cloud, Security, Mobility, Analytics & IoT, and Applications Management.DXC will provide Zurich with private cloud as a managed service and in-life management and integration services for the company's use of public cloud. With the addition of digital platform and cloud services delivered by DXC, Zurich's hybrid infrastructure will enable it to seamlessly integrate new services from many providers and to support all workloads between private cloud and public cloud.Thomas Kropp, Group Chief IT Services Officer at Zurich Insurance Group said: "Market differentiation is key in today's global insurance market. We need a committed technology partner who can scale alongside us and support and accelerate our strategy." He added: "We want to offer our customers innovative, convenient products and services quickly and cost effectively. Our decision to extend the contract with DXC signals our ongoing pledge to invest in the agility and modernization of our systems for our customers.""True digital transformation requires the ability to deliver flawlessly today, while at the same time consider new approaches for tomorrow," said Mike Lawrie, chairman, president and CEO of DXC Technology. "Done properly, the efficiency gains that come from next-gen private and public cloud technologies are the foundation for driving digital transformations at leading companies like Zurich, for which DXC has been a committed service provider for 13 years."About the New AgreementThe new agreement will help Zurich to bridge the cloud with some traditional elements, including the move from legacy systems to digital platforms. To support Zurich's modernization of its environment, DXC will eliminate as much of the underlying hardware as possible with the DXC Agility Platform, which includes point-and-click tools to provision new workloads and set up cloud orchestration, governance and security.Zurich will also move to DXC's hyperconverged private cloud, a software-defined data center (SDDC) solution that meets scalability and security requirements at a lower cost. Powered by the DXC Agility Platform's hybrid cloud management solution, Zurich will be able to reduce its server provisioning time, reduce costs, and accelerate development with streamlined DevOps practices.About DXC TechnologyDXC Technology (DXC: NYSE) is the world's leading independent, end-to-end IT services company, helping clients harness the power of innovation to thrive on change. Created by the merger of CSC and the Enterprise Services business of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, DXC Technology serves nearly 6,000 private and public sector clients across 70 countries.The company's technology independence, global talent and extensive partner network combine to deliver powerful next-generation IT services and solutions. DXC Technology is recognized among the best corporate citizens globally. For more information, visit www.dxc.technology.About ZurichZurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With about 54,000 employees, it provides a wide range of property and casualty, and life insurance products and services in more than 210 countries and territories. Zurich's customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, as well as multinational corporations. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at www.zurich.com.Originaltext: DXC Technology digital press kits: http://www.presseportal.de/nr/126139 press kits via RSS: http://www.presseportal.de/rss/pm_126139.rss2Pressekontakt: Carolin Treichl Director Marketing und Communication North & Central Europe Dresdner Strasse 47 1200 Wien Telefon: +43 1 20777 1060 Mobil: +43 664 325 33 60 E-Mail: ctreichl@dxc.comeconNEWSnetwork Carsten Heer Telefon: +49 40 822 44 284 E-Mail: redaktion@econ-news.de
SAN FRANCISCO (dpa-AFX) - Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) announced Wednesday that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Shareowner Services business to Equiniti Group plc in UK for $227 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of first quarter in 2018. Wells Fargo Shareowner Services or WFSS is a division of Wells Fargo Bank that provides shareowner services in the U.S., including stock transfer agent, corporate action, and investment plan services to more than 1200 public and private companies across the U.S. More than 400 WFSS team members are expected to transition to Equiniti. 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.
HONG KONG, CHINA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/12/17 -- Today, Institutional Investor revealed its annual rankings of individuals and companies which best uphold corporate governance standards and engage with investors in a transparent, meaningful way.

A total of 3,074 buy-side individuals and 858 sell-side analysts participated in the 2017 All-Asia Executive Team Honored Companies survey and nominated 2,510 companies across 18 sectors, based on six core attributes: accessibility of senior executives, constructive conference calls and meetings, well-informed and authoritative investor relations, quality corporate documents, quick response to requests and timely financial disclosures.

The survey revealed three key trends:

1. China's rise to the top: More mainland Chinese companies climbed to the top of the rankings, edging out some of last year's winners from India, Southeast Asia and Australia. Mainland Chinese banks ascended, with Merchants Bank and China International Capital Corporation earning the highest weighted scores in the banking sector.

Traditionally, India has dominated the Healthcare & Pharmaceutical sector, but this year, three mainland Chinese companies, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group, China Medical System Holdings and 3SBio, swept in and clinched the top three spots as Most Honored Companies.

The top six companies in the Internet sector all hailed from mainland China, led by Tencent Holdings, Alibaba, NetEase and Ctrip.com. With the recent inclusion of China's A-shares in the MSCI Index and further opening up of the Chinese market, Asia provides increasing investment opportunities for global managers and Chinese companies are expected to reap the benefits.

2. However, China leads -- but does not dominate -- the regional technology sector: Despite the heavy hitters in China, India and Taiwan maintained their strong presence in this year's tech sector rankings. India maintained its strength in the Technology / IT Services and Software sector, led by Infosys, Tata, HCL and Tech Mahindra, while Taiwan dominated the Technology / Semiconductor space, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation taking the lead.

3. Corporate transparency and value are the strongest areas of focus for investors: This year's survey reached a new record in terms of nominated companies, indicating that investors are searching for value investments and have an increasing interest in corporate transparency. The number of buy-side voters more than tripled year-on-year, from 1,007 buy-side individuals and portfolio managers in 2016 to 3,074 this year. Sell-side voters also increased, from 611 analysts in 2016 to 858 in 2017.

"International investors continue to view the Asia Pacific region as a really good investment opportunity," said Will Rowlands-Rees, Managing Director Institutional Investor Research. "This year we saw a real investor focus on Chinese companies at the expense of some more established markets like Korea and Australia, and their efforts to be transparent and trustworthy for domestic and international investors alike are being recognized."

Institutional Investor's confidential and unprompted voting gathers data from buy- and sell-side analysts and corporations to determine the rankings in four categories -- Best CEO, Best CFO, Best IR Professional and Best IR Company -- at Asian (ex-Japan) companies. Participating buy-side analysts manage US$1.5 trillion in Asian equities, excluding Japan. The title of "Honored Company" goes to businesses earning a top-three position in one of the four categories, while "Most Honored Company" goes to companies that secure two or more top-three appearances.

Weighted scores determine the ranks; each first place position is worth 3 points; second place, 2 points and third place, 1 point. Most Honored Company always ranks above Honored Company, regardless of score.

"We're pleased to receive this recognition for our high standards of corporate governance, transparency and investor communication, which are vital to the long term success and sustainability of our business," said Wang Xiaochu, Chief Executive Officer of China Unicom, the top-ranked Most Honored Company in the Telecommunications sector.

Last year, four companies captured first place in every single category in which they were eligible to compete. This year, however, only one company seized the first place title in all four categories -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., the world's largest semiconductor foundry, outshining others in Technology / Semiconductors.

Of the 18 sectors, Chinese companies took the top spot in 8 industries while Hong Kong companies seized the top spot for 6.

"Although it's clear that Chinese companies are raising their state of play, Hong Kong is maintaining its historical status as a regional financial and business center trusted by investors year in and year out," Rowlands-Rees said.

Hong Kong-based Link Real Estate Investment Trust achieved Most Honored Company status in the Property sector, with its Chief Executive Officer ranking first.

"As a company wholly owned by private and institutional investors, this ranking is extremely important to us because of the perception it represents," said George Hongchoy, Chief Executive Officer of Link Asset Management Limited, the manager of Link Real Estate Investment Trust. "We consider Institutional Investor ranking the gold standard and review the list each year for guidance on staying competitive, continuing to provide the highest level of transparency around our business, and engaging with investors in Asia and beyond."

Complete survey results can be found at http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/Research/7066/Overview.html.

About Institutional Investor

Now entering its fifth decade, Institutional Investor has consistently distinguished itself among the world's foremost financial publications with groundbreaking journalism and incisive writing that provides essential intelligence for a global audience. In addition, Institutional Investor offers a host of proprietary research and rankings that serve as respected industry benchmarks.

Contact:

Craig Leon

Email Contact




Former SAP executive, Per Stritich, joins Box as vice president for DACH, covering Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Box (NYSE: BOX), a leader in cloud content management, today announced it has appointed a leader for the DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) region and opened an office in Munich, Germany. Following the launch of Box Zones, Box KeySafe, Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) approval, and achieving the BSI C5 certification, Box is now better placed than ever to expand in DACH.

"We've seen increasing opportunities at large organisations across Europe," said David Benjamin, Box senior vice president and general manager of EMEA. "By focusing on meeting DACH's sophisticated compliance requirements, we've removed the traditional barriers to cloud adoption. We're thrilled that Per has come on board to maximize the opportunity and help move organisations from all industries to the cloud. We've strategically opened our newest office in Munich to expand our reach into Germany, Austria, and Switzerland where we've identified opportunities for growth."

Box intends to continue its expansion across Europe with an increased focus on Germany, which has been made possible through the launch of Box's compliance and regulation solutions. The new office in Munich adds to Box's existing European sites in the UK, France, Netherlands, and Sweden.

"I've been impressed by Box's rapid growth in Europe," said Per Stritich, Box regional vice president of DACH. "Given its progress in meeting DACH's complex security and compliance regulations, there is now a significant opportunity to work with the region's largest organisations, including companies from highly regulated industries. I'm delighted to join Box at this exciting turning point in DACH's journey to the cloud."

Mr. Stritich has more than 15 years of leadership experience in cloud and software companies. Prior to joining Box, he held the role of Vice President of EMEA at OneLogin, leading the company from market entry to scale. Prior to that, as Vice President and Head of Cloud at SAP South Europe, he ran SAP's entire cloud portfolio.

Before SAP, Mr. Stritich spent seven years at the forefront of the cloud market in Europe, working as Area Vice President of Enterprise Sales for HR technology company, SuccessFactors.

Box makes it easy for more than 74,000 organisations around the world to manage their content in the cloud. The company serves 64 percent of the Fortune 500, including global enterprises like AstraZeneca, General Electric, Schneider Electric, Eurostar, Spotify, SKF and Hamburg Airport.

About Box

Box (NYSE:BOX) is the cloud content management company that empowers enterprises to revolutionize how they work by securely connecting their people, information and applications. Founded in 2005, Box powers more than 74,000 businesses globally, including AstraZeneca, General Electric, P&G, and The GAP. Box is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, with offices across the United States, Europe and Asia. To learn more about Box, visit http://www.box.com/.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712005075/en/

Contacts:

Box

Titus Thomson, +44(0)7598029952

titus@box.com
LONDON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

A new survey by YouGov for New Nuclear Watch Europe (NNWE) shows at least four times more support for nuclear to complement renewables in the UK energy mix than other power generation technologies.

With doubts over what will happen to the UK nuclear industry following the withdrawal of the UK from the Euratom Treaty, more people who expressed a preference were in favour of the UK negotiating to remain a member of Euratom. However, almost one-third favoured the creation of a new, nuclear regulatory group including both EU and non-EU countries, which is in line with NNWE's call for a new architecture for international cooperation on nuclear energy.

The results also reveal that foreign investment and foreign technology in nuclear power plants would be acceptable to the majority of people provided such a project is led by a British/EU consortium, rather than under foreign control.

In more detail, the figures released today by NNWE show:

Over twice as many people support the use of nuclear power in the UK energy mix than oppose it (56% vs 25%). Support for Hinkley Point C has rallied and is now at 40% compared to 33% in April 2016 .



C has rallied and is now at 40% compared to 33% in . There is overwhelming support for nuclear power to supply baseload power to complement renewable energy technology, with nuclear power over four times more popular than gas, its closest rival (40% vs 9% for gas, 4% for coal).



43% of people were in favour of the UK negotiating to remain a member of the Euratom Treaty, and 30% supportive of the creation of a new, nuclear regulatory group including EU and non-EU countries.



Just over half (51%) of those surveyed approve of a British/EU consortium being at the helm of nuclear new build projects in the UK. When presented with the three current or recently debated initiatives, apart from Hinkley Point C, the outcome was as follows:

17% approved and 54% disapproved of a South Korean-led development at Moorside, Cumbria with Korean technology;

17% approved and 56% disapproved of a Chinese/French-led development at Bradwell, Essex , with Chinese technology; and

51% approved and 21% disapproved of a British/EU consortium with Rolls-Royce modifications to Russian technology.

Chairman of NNWE, Tim Yeo, commented: "NNWE is a strong supporter of renewable energy, but as an intermittent form of generation it needs to be backed up by secure, low-carbon and cost-effective baseload power, which can only be supplied by nuclear. We are pleased that the YouGov poll supports this position and shows that the public recognises nuclear as by far the best option to supply baseload energy.

"NNWE has previously warned that Brexit will see the departure of one of the leading pro-nuclear voices in the EU, and if Britain quits the Euratom Treaty the nuclear sector could fare badly. Brexatom could weaken Britain's energy security, increase consumer prices and prevent it from meeting its carbon emission reduction targets. Top priority must be given to ensuring the survival of Britain's nuclear industry.

"If the UK is to leave Euratom, it is vital that a new architecture for international cooperation on nuclear energy is created. NNWE has put forward outline plans for the Organisation for Nuclear Cooperation in Europe (ONCE) to strengthen and expand the ties between pro-nuclear countries both in the EU and on the borders of the EU to ensure continued co-operation in new nuclear development.

"In order to give consumers the best value Britain needs to look beyond Europe to other overseas vendors from countries such as China, Russia and South Korea. These countries have developed nuclear technologies which can generate electricity at close to half the price Britain has agreed for Hinkley Point.

"This YouGov survey demonstrates that people are supportive of using overseas nuclear technology as long as the development is UK-EU led. A debate about the terms on which the use of technology developed outside Europe is acceptable for new nuclear plant is urgently needed.

"Britain can build on the criteria established by Prime Minister May last September when she approved Chinese involvement in Hinkley Point. Firstly, the shareholding of non-EEA state controlled entities in the operating company should be less than 40%. Secondly, operational control of the company must remain with EEA companies/organisations. Thirdly, IT control systems must be supplied by a trusted British vendor".

For more information, please contact:

Charlie Napier

T: +44 (0)7979 536506

E:contact@newnuclerwatch.eu



Edmund Gavaghan

T: +44 (0)7714 283858

E: contact@newnuclerwatch.eu



Notes to Editors


BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The British pound strengthened against other major currencies in the European session on Wednesday, after data showed that the U.K. unemployment rate declined to the lowest since 1975.



Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the ILO jobless rate came in at 4.5 percent in three months to May versus 4.9 percent in the same period of previous year. The expected rate was 4.6 percent. This was the lowest since 1975.



The number of unemployed decreased by 64,000 from previous three months to 1.49 million.



The employment rate was 74.9 percent, the highest since comparable records began in 1971.



Including bonus, average weekly earnings for employees increased by 1.8 percent on a yearly basis. Excluding bonus, earnings rose 2 percent compared with a year earlier.



The claimant count rate remained unchanged at 2.3 percent in June.



Investors remained focused on Federal Reserve chairperson Janet Yellen's speech before congress later today for additional clues on the possible pace of rate hikes.



In the Asian trading today, the pound had fallen against its major rivals.



In the European trading, the pound rose to 0.8904 against the euro and 145.88 against the yen, from an early 8-month low of 0.8949 and nearly a 2-week low of 145.27, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.87 against the euro and 148.00 against the yen.



Against the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc, the pound advanced to 1.2865 and 1.2397 from an early 2-week lows of 1.2812 and 1.2339, respectively. The pound may test resistance near 1.30 against the greenback and 1.26 against the franc.



Looking ahead, U.S. crude oil inventories data is set to be published in the New York session.



At 10:00 am ET, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is expected to testify on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report before the House Financial Services Committee, in Washington DC.



The Bank of Canada will announce its monetary policy decision and monetary policy report followed by a press conference at 10:00 am ET. Economists expect the Central Bank to raise its main policy rate to 0.75 percent from 0.5 percent.



At 2:00 pm ET, U.S. Federal Reserve releases its Beige Book report.



At 2:15 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George is expected to speak on the economic outlook and the Federal Reserve's balance sheet before an economic forum hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Denver Branch.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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LONDON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The ultra-modern OVO Wroclaw complex comprises 50,000 square metres in Wroclaw, Poland's fifth largest city. Designed by Gottesman-Szmelcman Architecture, with JSK Architekci as executive architects, this statement-making project is located near the historical market square and features an inspiring rounded facade made with Corian high-tech surface in white colour. An astonishing 6,000 square metres of sophisticated Corian wraps around corporate offices, 180 luxuryresidences and a five-star DoubleTree by Hilton hotel with 189 rooms and suites and offers a majestic view for visitors to its sprawling inner courtyard.

This sleek white structure takes its place next to the classical Brick Expressionism post office and is now a part of Wroclaw's evolving urban landscape. Wroclaw, a business city set on the banks of the Odra River, offers a variety of architecture and is the ideal setting for the OVO Wroclaw to make a significant statement. Gottesman-Szmelcman Architecture's concept focused on layering the building in such a way that it reflects the complexity and richness of urban life.

Architect Asaf Gottesman explains the history behind this extraordinary structure. "OVO Wroclaw began 10 years ago, in 2006. It is a result of an international competition and although we began working on the site prior to the 2008 financial crisis, we were forced to stop the works because the banks were unable to fulfil their financial commitments. In order to move forward, we had to restart the project in 2012." Adds Architect Gottesman: "As an architectural practice our work is always site specific. We pay particular attention to the cultural and urban context. As a practice, we are also always involved in the development of the programme and we consider the programme as a critical component of the architectural process. As a practice, we tend to be concept driven rather than pre-determined by stylistic considerations. Finally, like most architects and artists, we tend to create problems and a part of what defines us is how we choose to resolve the technical challenges that are a part of the creative process. So when we first came to Wroclaw, what struck us was the incredible diversity and plurality that is inherent in the architecture. Contrast is celebrated here and it is the inherent openness and curiosity of Wroclaw that so attracted us."

Corian was also used for making the DoubleTree by Hilton backlit logo and in a variety of other interior applications in the hotel, including an elegant welcome area at the reception, backlit signage of individual apartments, bathroom worksurfaces. As the site is highly congested with guests coming and going, it must withstand a great deal of traffic while still maintaining a fresh and clean appearance over a long period of time. That is why Corian in Glacier White colour - the same that appears on the facade - is the perfect choice as no dirt or bacteria will appear on its surface. Corian was also used in wall cladding in conference rooms and bathroom countertops, proving how versatile the material can be as a design tool if placed in the right creative hands.

The plot where the OVO Wroclaw stands wasn't easy to design. There is an existing post office made of bricks on one side and major thoroughfares on the other two, which means a major car traffic and significant emissions. Thanks to the non-porous and easy to clean surface of Corian, the facade will be pristine and beautiful over the long haul. Furthermore, if anything happens to the curves on the facade, it can be mended on site without having to dismantle it.

For downloading the press kit in PDF file and to request high resolution images, click here
FRANKFURT, Germany, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Bristlecone collaborates with SAP as sponsor and exhibitor at SAP Leonardo Live 2017 in Frankfurt, Germany

collaborates with SAP as sponsor and exhibitor at in Brian Ehricke , Director of Supply Chain & Operations at Mahindra North America (MUSA) is speaking about Supply Chain Digitization at the event

Bristlecone, a premier supply chain advisory firm focused on enabling digitally connected and anti-fragile supply chains, is a sponsor at SAP's first-ever global IoT and digital innovation conference, SAP Leonardo Live. Held on July 11 and 12, 2017 at the Kap Europa Congress Center in Frankfurt, Germany, the event showcases leading innovations, industry expertise and best-practice business cases from around the globe.Technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, blockchain, big data and analytics have converged to dramatically transform the way people live and work; conference attendees are able to experience these in real use cases.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/534950/Bristlecone_Mahindra_SAP_Leonardo_Live.jpg )



Bristlecone showcased its first monitor bot HARI, built by Bristlecone Labs, which makes it possible to remotely tour or monitor factories, floors, warehouses, and field offices, attending events and meetings on site from a place of convenience. It will help supply chain professionals to improve visibility and efficiency across their supply chain.

Bristlecone Labs is a flagship research center and Center of Excellence (CoE) started by Bristlecone for nurturing IoT and Advanced Analytics applications. Operating globally, Bristlecone Labs provides the ideal environment for customers to conduct sophisticated research in leading-edge technologies that impact the supply chain.

Irfan A. Khan, President and CEO of Bristlecone said, "Bristlecone Labs is our innovation engine that helps harness disruptive technologies like IoT, blockchain, machine learning, big data and analytics. It offers design thinking, rapid prototyping and co-innovation models for customers to ideate and develop solutions efficiently for the digital supply chain." In addition, the company's heritage in supply chain and procurement advisory and implementation enhances Bristlecone Labs' capability to deliver best-in-class results.

Brian Ehricke, Director of Supply Chain & Operations for Mahindra North America, spoke at the Leonardo Live event about the major business challenges faced by manufacturing organizations today: lack of inventory visibility, wasted productivity, high operational costs and lack of flow optimization within a plant. He elaborated how Bristlecone Labs' IoE Solutions enabled a system for connected assets within MUSA's supply chain operations, helping them solve these issues and provide their B2B ecosystem real-time visibility.

The Bristlecone Labs' IoE solution generates value for Mahindra North America by enabling real-time visibility into inventory positions, product mix and incident reporting. It also provides a B2B specific scalable solution that is integrated with S&OP for inventory tracking across distribution networks. The solution was enabled in days instead of the typical weeks of effort. Ehricke highlighted the pilot work that MUSA has been doing with Bristlecone to digitalize their supply chain."IoT gateways collect data from sensors and tags, immediately uploading it to the Cloud, so we have full visibility of high value asset movements within our assembly and distribution center.The ability to monitor these assets in real-time has tremendous value potential in providing visibility across our supply chain ecosystem."

About Bristlecone:

Bristleconeis a premier Supply Chain Advisory and Analytics SaaS+ firm focused on enabling Digitally Connected Supply Chains. A leader in advising clients on how to maximize the strategic value of their Supply Chain and Business Analytics, Bristlecone assists customers to unleash that value rapidly through effective use of enabling technologies. Rated by Gartner among the top Supply Chain Management System Integrators, Bristlecone has enabled strategic, incremental value for over 300 customers across multiple industry verticals. With its singular focus on addressing procurement, Supply Chain and Analytics challenges, Bristlecone helps clients diagnose, design, enable, and enhance their operations by encapsulating years of experience into pre-configured solutions, accelerated deployments and enhancement packs for the leading Supply Chain technologies. Headquartered in California's Silicon Valley, Bristlecone also has offices located across the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, Australia and India. Bristlecone is a subsidiary of the Mahindra Group. To know more visit:http://www.bcone.com

About Mahindra USA (MUSA)

Mahindra USA was formed in Tomball, Texas in 1994, expanding Mahindra Group's global reach to a key market. It has been ranked as the world's #1 company selling tractors in 2010. Mahindra North America serves this market with 8 Distribution Centers in the US, Canada, Mexico. Mahindra North America is linked to a strong global brand - the Mahindra Group.

About The Mahindra Group

The Mahindra Group is a USD 19 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It has a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world's largest tractor company, by volume. It also enjoys a strong presence in agribusiness, components, commercial vehicles, consulting services, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, steel, aerospace, defense and two wheelers. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 200,000 people across 100 countries. Learn more about Mahindra on http://www.mahindra.com.

Press Contacts

Rebecca Nerad

Head of Global Marketing and Alliances, Bristlecone - US and Europe markets

+1-802-999-7641

rebecca.nerad@bcone.com



Rama Krishnamurthy

Global Marketing, Bristlecone - India and SEA markets

+91-9731757812

rama.krishnamurthy@bcone.com


THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 07/12/17 -- Editors Note: There is a graphic associated with this press release.

MEXICAN GOLD CORP. (the "Company" or "Mexican Gold") (TSX VENTURE: MEX) is pleased to announce that Geofisica TMC SA de CV has been engaged to complete ground magnetic survey at the Cinco Senores mineralized zone at Las Minas.

The ground magnetic geophysical survey will target potential extensions to the high-grade intercept in step-out hole LM-17-CS-04, which intersected massive chalcopyrite grading 10.8 g/t gold, 41.7 g/t silver and 2.8% copper gold equivalent over 2.0 metres - see press release dated May 15, 2017. The strong chalcopyrite mineralized magnetite intercept was located approximately 100 metres west of mineralized intercepts outlined by earlier drilling and at the same elevation as the projected El Dorado / Juan Bran skarn zone - see cross section in Figure 1. When combined with earlier drilling and sampling results, step-out hole LM-17-CS-04 is believed to be indicative of a potential El Dorado / Juan Bran type zone at Cinco Senores. The survey will also cover historical mine workings with associated magnetite mineralization. The high-grade values at Las Minas are associated with skarn-type alteration with high magnetite content.

Mobilization and commencement of the surveys will be undertaken in mid to late July 2017. Survey results will be provided when available.

Brian Robertson, President & CEO, stated "The mineralization controls at Las Minas are similar to the Guerrero Gold belt, which is the site of the Los Filos and Morelos gold deposits. In both areas, the high gold values are associated with intrusive hosted systems, with initial high magnetite/hematite fluid flows mobilizing the gold mineralization, followed by later stage precipitation of the magnetite. We anticipate that the ground magnetic geophysical survey will identify potential gold/magnetite extensions to the high-grade mineralization intersected in step-out hole LM-17-CS-04 as well as elsewhere at Cinco Senores.

Issuance of Bonus Shares

The Company also announces that the Board of Directors of the Company has approved the issuance of 78,431 common shares of the Company (the "Bonus Shares") to Brian Robertson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, at a deemed price of $0.255 per Bonus Share, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Board of Directors of the Company has exercised its discretion to issue the Bonus Shares in lieu of a cash bonus payment pursuant to the provisions of Mr. Robertson's employment agreement with the Company. The Bonus Shares will be subject to a four month hold period pursuant to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Sonny Bernales, P. Geo., a registered Professional Geoscientist in the Province of British Columbia and a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Bernales is responsible for logistics and supervision of all exploration activity conducted by Mexican Gold on the property.

About Las Minas

The Las Minas Project hosts near-surface gold-silver and copper skarn mineralization and high-grade gold-silver epithermal vein deposits. The project is comprised of six mineral concessions covering approximately 1,616 hectares (3,995 acres), with several small scale, past-producing mines and numerous untested targets.

The district is host to one of the largest under-explored gold-silver and copper skarn systems known in Mexico, and has a production history that extends back to the Aztec era. The Las Minas granodiorite intrusive measures approximately 10 kilometres in diameter and underlies the Las Minas concessions. The mineralization controls and association with magnetite appear to be similar to parts of the Guerrero Gold belt, which is the site of the Los Filos and Morelos gold deposits.

About Mexican Gold Corp.

Mexican Gold Corp. is a Canadian based mineral exploration company committed to building long-term value through ongoing discoveries and strategic acquisitions of prospective precious metals deposits in Mexico. Mexican Gold is advancing its Las Minas project towards an initial mineral resource estimate. The project is located in the core of the Las Minas district in the Veracruz State, Mexico. The district is host to one of the largest under-explored skarn systems known in Mexico and has a strong production history that dates back to the Aztec era.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain information that may constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements about the magnitude or quality of mineral deposits, anticipated advancement of mineral properties or programs, future operations, results of exploration, prospects, commodity and precious metals prices, future work programs, anticipated financial and operational results, capital expenditures and objectives and the completion and timing of mineral resource estimates. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including the risks identified in the Company's disclosure documents available at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based on the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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.

To view the graphic associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20170711-figure-1.jpg

Contacts:

Mexican Gold Corp.

Brian Robertson

President & CEO

807-474-4270 or 807-251-1816

807-474-4272 (FAX)

info@mexicangold.ca

www.mexicangold.ca




AerCap Holdings N.V. ("AerCap") (NYSE:AER) has announced its major business transactions during the second quarter 2017:

Signed lease agreements for 65 aircraft , including 18 widebody and 47 narrowbody aircraft.

, including 18 widebody and 47 narrowbody aircraft. Purchased 11 aircraft , including 8 Airbus A320neos, 1 Airbus A321neo and 2 Boeing 787-9s.

, including 8 Airbus A320neos, 1 Airbus A321neo and 2 Boeing 787-9s. Executed sale transactions for 32 aircraft, including 2 Airbus A319-100s, 6 Airbus A320-200s, 1 Airbus A321-100, 3 Airbus A321-200s, 2 Airbus A330-200s, 1 Airbus A330-300, 1 Boeing 737 Classic, 3 Boeing 737NGs, 3 Boeing 757-200s and 2 Boeing 767-300ERs from AerCap's owned portfolio, and 1 Airbus A319-100, 1 Airbus A320-200, 3 Boeing 737 Classics, 1 Boeing 737NG and 2 Boeing 757-200s from AerCap's managed portfolio.

In addition, AerCap signed an agreementwith Boeing for an order of 30 787-9 aircraft.

About AerCap

AerCap is the global leader in aircraft leasing with, as of June 30, 2017, 1,539 owned, managed or on order aircraft in its portfolio. AerCap has one of the most attractive order books in the industry. AerCap serves approximately 200 customers in approximately 80 countries with comprehensive fleet solutions. AerCap is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (AER) and has its headquarters in Dublin with offices in Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Shannon, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Singapore, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, Seattle and Toulouse.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements, estimates and forecasts with respect to future performance and events. These statements, estimates and forecasts are "forward-looking statements." In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "might," "should," "expect," "plan," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "predict," "potential" or "continue" or the negatives thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements and are based on various underlying assumptions and expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. As a result, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate or correct. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future performance or events described in the forward-looking statements in this press release might not occur. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results and we do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not undertake any obligation to, and will not, update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For more information regarding AerCap and to be added to our email distribution list, please visit www.aercap.com and follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/aercapnv.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712005580/en/

Contacts:

AerCap Holdings N.V.

Investor Relations:

Brian Canniffe, +353 1 418 0461

Head of Investor Relations

bcanniffe@aercap.com

or

Media Relations:

Gillian Culhane, +353 1 636 0945

Vice President Corporate Communications

gculhane@aercap.com
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/12/17 -- GMV Minerals Inc. (the "Company" or "GMV") (TSX VENTURE: GMV) is pleased to announce that its reverse circulation (RC) drill program is now underway at its Mexican Hat Gold property in S.E. Arizona.

The Company's fourteen-hole RC program is specifically designed to expand mineral resources to the south and to the east of the existing Mexican Hat gold resource. This phase is a continuation of three holes completed a few weeks ago. Two of these holes identified mineralization to the west and to a maximum depth of 120m. One hole tested the northeastern extent to depth. The core drilling encountered multiple intercepts (eight) above our cut-off grade (0.20 gpt) with the eastern most hole intersecting good gold grades to the end of the hole at 354 meters total depth. Significant intersections included (MHC 17-6) 6.9m grading 0.48 gpt gold and (MHC 17-8) 5.0m grading 0.78 gpt gold.

Mr. Ian Klassen, President of GMV, commented "It is highly encouraging as we continue to intersect good grades and widths outside of the established resource in all three of the most recent core holes completed. Moreover, it is significant that MHC 17-8, our northeastern drill hole encountered good grades and widths to its deepest extent (354m), which is 72m below the deepest Mineral Resource in this area, and the western holes encountered two new zones north of our northern-most resource blocks. These two new targets will be followed up to assess whether these intersections correlate with intersections noted on surface and in other drill holes."

The current drill program will consist of step-out drill holes and test along strike of the known mineralization, as well as to the southeast where our last drill program identified significant gold mineralization (67.1m grading 0.64 gpt gold as part of a larger interval of 106.7m reporting 0.44 gpt gold (GMV 2016-11) from the southeastern most testing of the 120 degrees striking H2 Zone). The most common trend to the mineralization strikes 60 degrees (+/-) for at least five zones with an additional four zones potentially occurring to the east. This program will target up to six holes in this area and will test down to a depth of 300m to explore mineralization below historical drilling of 200m from surface.

In addition, the Company reports that it has commissioned Cooper Aerial Surveys Co. to complete a detailed topographic and othophotographic survey over the expanded property in preparation of a comprehensive exploration program and for the preparation of base maps for engineering work required for a Mining Plan of Operation.

Dr. D.R. Webb, Ph.D., P.Geo., P.Eng. is the Q.P. for this release within the meaning of NI 43-101 and has reviewed the technical content of this release and has approved its content.

About GMV Minerals Inc.

GMV Minerals Inc. is a publicly traded exploration company focused on developing precious metal assets in Arizona. GMV, through its 100% owned subsidiary, has a 100% interest in a Mining Property Lease commonly referred to as the Mexican Hat project, located in Cochise County, Arizona, USA. The Mexican Hat property contains an Inferred Mineral Resource of 23,452,000 tonnes grading 0.70 grams of gold per tonne hosting 531,400 troy ounces of gold. The project was initially explored by Placer Dome (USA) in the late 1980's to early 1990's. GMV is focused on developing the asset and realizing the full mineral potential of the property through near term gold production.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ian Klassen, 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.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management of the Company regarding future events or results. Such statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update such statements except as may be required by law.

Contacts:

GMV Minerals Inc.

Ian Klassen

(604) 899-0106

info@gmvminerals.com




SAINT LAURENT, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/08/17 -- IntelGenx Technologies Corp. (TSX VENTURE: IGX)(OTCQX: IGXT) (the "Corporation" or "IntelGenx") is pleased to announce that it has closed a second tranche of its prospectus offering (the "Offering") of convertible unsecured subordinated debentures of the Corporation (the "Debentures"), pursuant to which it has raised additional gross proceeds of CDN$762,000.

Together with the principal amount of CDN$6,838,000 of Debentures issued on July 12, 2017 (the "Initial Issuance Date"), the Corporation has now issued an aggregate principal amount of CDN$7,600,000 of Debentures at a price of CDN$1,000 per Debenture (the "Offering").

The Debentures will mature on June 30, 2020 and bear interest from the Initial Issuance Date at an annual rate of 8% payable semi-annually on the last day of June and December of each year, commencing on December 31, 2017. The Debentures will be convertible at the option of the holders at any time prior to the close of business on the earlier of June 30, 2020 and the business day immediately preceding the date specified by the Corporation for redemption of Debentures. The conversion price will be CDN$1.35 (the "Conversion Price") per common share of the Corporation ("Share"), being a conversion rate of approximately 740 Shares per CDN$1,000 principal amount of Debentures, subject to adjustment in certain events.

The Debentures are not redeemable prior to June 30, 2018. On or after June 30, 2018, but prior to June 30, 2019, the Debentures may be redeemed at the Corporation's sole option, in whole or in part, from time to time on required prior notice at a redemption price equal to the principal amount of the Debentures, provided that the current market price on the date on which such notice of redemption is given is not less than 125% of the Conversion Price. On or after June 30, 2019 and prior to June 30, 2020, the Debentures may be redeemed at the Corporation's sole option, in whole or in part, from time to time on required prior notice, at a redemption price equal to the principal amount of the Debentures, irrespective of the current market price. In addition thereto, at the time of redemption, the Corporation will pay to the holder accrued and unpaid interest up to but not including the date of redemption.

The Debentures were distributed under a short form prospectus dated June 28, 2017 filed by the Corporation in connection with the Offering and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Offering was conducted, on a best efforts basis, by a syndicate of agents led by Desjardins Capital Markets and including Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. and Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. (collectively, the "Agents"). In consideration for the services rendered by the Agents in connection with this second tranche of the Offering, the Corporation has paid the Agents an agency fee of CDN$45,720.

The Debentures issued in connection with the first and second tranches were listed and posted for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the stock symbol IGX.DB.

The Corporation intends to use the aggregate net proceeds from the Offering for capital expansion, clinical studies, product development and general working capital requirements.

The Debentures and the common shares issuable upon conversion, redemption or maturity of the Debentures have been registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to a Form S-1 Registration Statement that was declared effective on July 11, 2017 (the "Registration Statement").

About IntelGenx:

Established in 2003, IntelGenx is a leading oral drug delivery company primarily focused on the development and manufacturing of innovative pharmaceutical oral films based on its proprietary VersaFilm technology platform.

IntelGenx' highly skilled team provides comprehensive pharmaceuticals services to pharmaceutical partners, including R&D, analytical method development, clinical monitoring, IP and regulatory services. IntelGenx' state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, established for the VersaFilm technology platform, supports lab-scale to pilot and commercial-scale production, offering full service capabilities to its clients. More information about the company can be found at www.intelgenx.com.

Forward Looking Information and Statements:

This document may contain forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable U.S. and Canadian securities laws. These statements are statements that are not purely historical and include, but are not limited to, statements about the use of the Offering proceeds, IntelGenx' plans, objectives, expectations, strategies, intentions or other characterizations of future events or circumstances and are generally identified by the words "may", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", "could", "would", and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding the terms of the Offering, any potential redemptions and the use of proceeds. All forward looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Because these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, IntelGenx' actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements.

Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Registration Statement and in IntelGenx' annual report on Form 10-K, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov, and also filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and www.sedar.com. IntelGenx assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

Although the Corporation believes that the expectations and assumptions on which Forward-Looking Information is based are reasonable, readers of this press release are cautioned not to rely unduly on this Forward-Looking Information since no assurance can be given that they will prove to be correct. The Corporation does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any Forward-Looking Information, whether as a result of events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release, unless so required by legislation.

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.

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Corporation in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation of sale would be unlawful.

Contacts:

Stephen Kilmer

Investor Relations

(514) 331-7440 ext 232

stephen@intelgenx.com



Andre Godin, CPA, CA

Executive Vice-President and CFO

IntelGenx Technologies Corp.

(514) 331-7440 ext 203

andre@intelgenx.com




GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO -- (Marketwired) -- 07/12/17 -- zvelo, the leading provider of categorization services for web content, web traffic and web-connected devices, today announced that S4M -- the mobile-native ad tech company providing a premium programmatic platform for advertisers and brands -- has successfully deployed zvelo's new Invalid Traffic (IVT) dataset to combat ad fraud.

The IVT dataset -- part of zvelo's comprehensive ad fraud solution that also includes the Free Bot Detection Service and Comprehensive Page-level Traffic (CPT) dataset -- is a continuously updated feed of IPs recognized as sources of non-human and bot traffic (NHT). This traffic can include the activities of data centers, web crawlers, fake crawlers, and malicious bots. Implementing the IVT dataset, programmatic platform businesses such as S4M can effectively perform pre-bid blocking of NHT-based impressions, thereby eliminating wasteful spending into suspicious and fraudulent ad traffic afflicting mobile advertising campaigns today.

Today, S4M is the only technology accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) for the entire mobile user journey -- and the only European company with the certification. In order to renew the accreditation this year by complementing existing FUSIO fraud traffic filtration based on IAB spider list and activity-based methodologies, S4M set out to reinforce its data center IP filtration. By partnering with zvelo's IVT dataset, S4M can ensure that a media product or service employs valid, reliable, and effective audience measurements. Sophistication of the platform's fraud detection capabilities is one of the many updates S4M is addressing in order to meet the MRC's strict annual audit process.

The IVT dataset has also equipped S4M with the ability to filter out ad traffic created by malicious bots and other non-human sources, enabling the ad tech company to recognize -- and eliminate -- wasteful spending on ads that do not reach prospective customers. The fully deployed IVT dataset has further served S4M by filtering non-human sources from its ad impressions and clicks, of which the company discovered about 4% of each to be problematic. S4M has also been able to identify publishers delivering high percentages of bot traffic, allowing it to reallocate ad spend toward those publishers proven to supply higher quality traffic.

"The insights and capabilities yielded by zvelo's IVT dataset have proven invaluable to S4M, both in our day-to-day efforts to identify ad fraud in our campaigns and to uphold our commitment to our clients," said Christophe Collet, CEO of S4M. "Our technology is dedicated to staying ahead of fraud as it becomes increasingly sophisticated. This partnership with zvelo helps us to guarantee true ad engagements for our intended audiences."

"S4M sets a powerful example, proving the accomplishments and accolades that an ad tech provider can achieve with accurate and detailed knowledge of who -- or what -- are truly the active sources within advertising data," said Jeff Finn, CEO of zvelo. "We're proud of the effective ways in which S4M has enlisted our IVT dataset to achieve success, and look forward to working alongside the company as it continues to grow."

About zvelo, Inc.

As a leading provider of content categorization and malicious detection data services for web pages, devices and traffic, zvelo is the trusted partner for the market's preeminent ad tech, network security, and mobile service provider/subscriber analytics vendors. zvelo solves a diverse range of business needs including providing the foundational datasets for web filtering, parental controls, brand safety, contextual targeting, subscriber analytics, and ad fraud prevention.

zvelo, headquartered just outside of Denver, is committed to providing the market's highest quality data products and best responsiveness. The company has additional offices in the Philippines.

About S4M

S4M (Success for Mobile) is an innovative mobile advertising company, and the only technology platform today with MRC accreditations for post-ad measurements in mobile browsers and apps. Our mission is to deliver mobile ads that provide genuine personalized content for each individual user. We guarantee our clients full visibility into campaign insights from impression to conversion. The S4M programmatic technology guarantees MRC accredited standards and impressions and landing pages that are 100% loaded + 1 second followed by real clicks, and post-click engagements.

Founded in 2011 by mobile marketing pioneers, we now service more than 500 advertisers around the world. S4M is headquartered in Paris with over 130 employees and ten offices worldwide in the US, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Discover more: http://www.s4m.io
SUNNYVALE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/12/17 -- Today RedSeal (www.redseal.net) increased its capabilities for modeling complex networks by adding a new integration with Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI). The integration between RedSeal's network modeling and risk-scoring platform and Cisco ACI expands customers' ability to create one, unified model of their hybrid datacenters -- including devices that are on-premise, virtualized, and/or in a public cloud -- and to conduct queries across all of these environments.

The digital infrastructure of today's modern enterprise includes a complex array of on-premise, cloud and virtualized networks, which are constantly changing, making a complete and detailed understanding of the current state of a network a time-consuming and complex task. RedSeal's ability to model complete hybrid datacenters -- including software-defined networks (SDNs) in VMware NSX and now Cisco ACI, as well as previously announced enhanced modeling of Amazon Web Services Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) -- gives customers a comprehensive view of their entire as-built network.

The Cisco ACI integration builds on RedSeal's ability to provide critical visibility into access controls for these hybrid datacenter environments, as well as alert users to violations of customized policies they have established for their organizations. This capability also helps security teams be more productive by allowing them to quickly and accurately model devices and associated policies within the Cisco ACI fabric.

"Enterprise security teams are struggling, as they're understaffed and under pressure. When it comes to understanding network access across and within all of their network fabrics, they're in the dark," said Kurt Van Etten, product VP at RedSeal. "They need a holistic view of their network that's deeply integrated with their current security solutions. The integration of Cisco's ACI fabric with the RedSeal platform provides this visibility, giving enterprise security teams much needed context for prioritizing vulnerabilities, accelerating incident response, managing compliance, and improving the overall resilience of their infrastructure."

For further information, visit www.redseal.net and follow RedSeal on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About RedSeal

RedSeal's network modeling and risk scoring platform is the foundation for enabling enterprise networks to be resilient to cyber events and network interruptions in an increasingly digital world. RedSeal helps customers understand their network from the inside, out -- and provides rich context, situational awareness and a Digital Resilience Score to help enterprises measure and ultimately build greater resilience into their infrastructure. Government agencies and Global 2000 companies around the world rely on RedSeal to help them improve their overall security posture, accelerate incident response and increase the productivity of their security and network teams. Founded in 2004, RedSeal is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and serves customers globally through a direct and channel partner network.

RedSeal and the RedSeal logo are trademarks of RedSeal, Inc. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:

Dean Fisk

Finn Partners

+1 (707) 292-4201

dean.fisk@finnpartners.com




SUNNYVALE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/12/17 -- SafeBreach, the leading provider of Breach and Attack Simulation, has issued a Ransomware Special Edition of its Hacker's Playbook, the industry's most comprehensive collection of findings detailing enterprise security trends and risks from the point-of-view of an attacker.

The Ransomware Special Edition was compiled by SafeBreach Labs in response to recent global campaigns like WannaCry and Petya, which delivered ransomware and disrupted banking, healthcare, government and public service operations worldwide. The Ransomware Special Edition shares insights from SafeBreach simulated "ransomware attacks" in customer deployments over the past 12 months -- detailing how ransomware campaigns are often able to bypass security products.

Ransomware is one of the fastest growing and most prolific forms of attack used by hackers to compromise computer systems and data. According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, ransomware has grown to become an estimated $1 billion criminal enterprise. The 2017 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report showed that ransomware had risen from a ranking of 22nd to the 5th most common form of attack in the past year. In its 2016 Security Roundup report, Trend Micro's analysis showed a 752 percent increase in the types of ransomware being used by hackers between 2015 and 2016.

Highlights from the SafeBreach Hacker's Playbook - Ransomware Special Edition include the following:

WannaCry is the most successful ransomware downloaded in deployments;

HTTPS encrypted traffic is the top ransomware infiltration method to exploit security blind spots;

Executables within VBS files, DOCs with macros and zipped files bypassed security products;

C2 communications by ransomware are not inspected by security products; and,

Older ransomware strains such as CryptoLocker continue to be effective.

"Ransomware is an insidious form of attack with the potential of doing serious harm both to organizations that are victimized and, as we have seen, to individuals who may be caught in the middle such as hospital patients, public service constituents and consumers of all types," said Itzik Kotler, co-founder and CTO at SafeBreach. "The first step in mitigating the risks associated with ransomware or any attack, is to understand -- from a hacker's point-of-view -- how the attack works and how it is used. Our hope is that this information will help advance that understanding and result in greater preparedness against future attacks."

The SafeBreach Playbook of breach methods has grown to more than 3000 breach methods from older attacks like Zeus and CryptoLocker to recent ones like WannaCry, Loki2 and RedLeaves. The methods are combined in a multitude of attack scenarios specific to each organization's risk and security profile, to allow an unparalleled view, and highly accurate and actionable assessment of attacks risks -- in addition to validating the efficacy of deployed security technologies.

Organizations are invited to download the Hacker's Playbook - Ransomware Special Edition here.

About SafeBreach:

SafeBreach is a pioneer in the emerging category of breach and attack simulations. The company's groundbreaking platform provides a "hacker's view" of an enterprise's security posture to proactively predict attacks, validate security controls and improve SOC analyst response. SafeBreach automatically executes thousands of breach methods from an extensive and growing Hacker's Playbook of research and real-world investigative data. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, the company is funded by Sequoia Capital, Deutsche Telekom Capital, Hewlett Packard Pathfinder and investor Shlomo Kramer. SafeBreach is a 2016 SINET16 Innovator, and a finalist for the RSA 2016 Innovation Sandbox and BlackHat Most Innovative Startup competitions. For more information, visit www.safebreach.com or follow on Twitter @SafeBreach.

Contact:

Jennifer Torode

CHEN PR for SafeBreach

Email Contact

781.672.3119




WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 08/30/17 -- CBMJ dba Canna Broadcast Media/Loudmouth News (OTC PINK: CBMJ) https://cannabroadcastmedia.com/ a premier cannabis broadcasting company announced that it has secured a $500,000 dollar funding commitment from MFG. The funding will be utilized to purchase mainstream media for the cannabis industry.

MFG has agreed to transfer to CBMJ the sum of $500,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) in pre-paid media placement opportunities and services. The media assignment can be used on Television, Radio, Out of Home, Digital Display and Print Publications subject to normal placement terms.

Canna Broadcast Media/Loudmouth News has established relationships in Radio, Print, TV, and online media on a national basis and produces several cannabis based content programs including Loudmouth News, currently cleared to air on over 700 radio stations nationwide. www.loudmouthnews.com

Mark Schaftlein CBMJ CEO stated: "By receiving $500,000 in media funding, Canna Broadcast Media is now able to increase its buying power of mainstream media for the cannabis industry which is expected to increase our margins, expand our reach, and allow us to place media for a greater number of clients. The timing of this funding commitment just prior to the MJAC2017 investors conference in LA powered by CBMJ puts us in an even stronger position as we meet with leaders of the cannabis industry. Our appointments are nearly full despite adding an additional individual to take orders at the show but feel free to stop by our double booth to learn more."

(CBMJ) dba Canna Broadcast Media specializes in getting mainstream media cleared promoting the cannabis sector including network TV, radio, and digital ads targeting those who wish to take advantage of the incredible investment opportunities that exist in the cannabis sector. Canna Broadcast Media acquired "LoudMouth News" www.loudmouthnews.com which became the first and longest running syndicated terrestrial radio news program that focused on the news relating to the marijuana industry. LoudMouth News presents the news and commentary in an entertaining neutral manner highlighting the most impactful current news in politics, products, sociological issues, businesses, and the ever-changing perceptions of marijuana usage.

Contact:

Barry Henthorn

206 579 0222

barry@baristas.tv




PALO ALTO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/12/17 -- Adaptive Insights, the leader in cloud corporate performance management (CPM), continues its strong growth and expansion across Europe announcing today new partners and customers in France. The company recently announced that over 20% of its sales are from international markets outside of the United States.

"The demand for cloud-based planning tools is escalating, and we see tremendous potential for companies of all sizes and industries in France," said Tom Bogan, CEO of Adaptive Insights. "Expanding our industry-best partner network to now include Censio, Generation Conseil, and IENA, we're able to enhance our customers' experience and support with teams that embrace our approach to active planning."

Strong Channel Support Drives Expansion in France

The company's partner network in France has experienced strong growth over the past year with Censio, Generation Conseil, and IENA joining current partners Alsight and Modellis, underscoring demand in the region. Adaptive Insights also has offices in the United Kingdom which, along with partners, serves United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Nordics. Today, the company's European partner network also includes Addedo (Finland and Sweden), eCraft (Finland), Efima (Finland), Inspari (Denmark) and Staria (Finland). Together, these trusted partners serve as an extension of the Adaptive Insights global team, providing localized sales and support for prospects and customers across Europe.

"We are experiencing strong demand for cloud solutions and see an extremely high adoption rate across France," said Thomas Becquet, partner at Censio. "Adaptive Insights is a solution that makes budgeting and planning easy, fast, and reliable, while perfectly managing performance and scalability. Partnering with the clear leader in cloud planning was an easy choice for Censio and we look forward to expanding our mutual customer base."

"More and more French companies are looking for ways to enhance their productivity through cloud services," said Cyrille Granjard, Founder of Generation Conseil. "Our experience shows that we have to be fast when improvements are needed in data accuracy, analysis, and performance. Teaming with Adaptive Insights allows us to meet our customers' needs for crucial projects."

"IENA sees great demand for corporate performance management from both Finance and Controller functions," said Toufic-Pascal Naccache, founder and CEO of IENA. "We are very excited to pair our planning, budgeting, and reporting expertise with Adaptive Insights' cloud CPM offering to deliver excellence to the French market."

New Customers Embrace Active Planning in the Cloud

Mirroring growth across Europe, new and ongoing partnerships in France continue to expand Adaptive Insights' customer list, with organizations of all sizes and industries joining the Adaptive Insights community. Customers include Antalis, Deya Group, ELITech Group, Groupe Up, Kariba, ZMFH, La Ruche qui dit Oui, and Lizeo.

"As a repeat Adaptive Insights customer in an international company, I can appreciate the simplicity of the Adaptive Suite to address very complex needs," said Philippe Platon, CFO at La Ruche qui dit Oui.

"Nevertheless, at La Ruche qui dit Oui we performed due diligence and reviewed all current CPM solutions on the market. We selected Adaptive Insights to pilot our business given it was the best vendor to manage all our forecast processes and analysis needs for our fast-growing business."

Industrial finishings specialist Deya Group was challenged to consolidate its financials and provide the strategic analysis required for a growing multi-division company. "We needed a corporate tool for budgeting and reporting, in order to accompany the strategic transformation of Deya Group," said Bertrand Godfrin, group CFO, Deya Group. "After a review of cloud CPM vendors, Adaptive Insights was selected based on its powerful modeling capabilities. As important, its ease of use allows our teams be autonomous on administration and to support our strategic planning and forecasting activities."

About Adaptive Insights

Adaptive Insights is the recognized leader in cloud corporate performance management (CPM). The company's Adaptive Suite enables companies of all sizes to collaboratively plan and model, easily access real-time analytics, streamline complex financial reporting, and accelerate financial consolidation. With this best-practice active planning process, Adaptive Insights differentiates with easy, powerful, and fast software that empowers more than 3,500 customers in over 50 countries to drive business success.

Adaptive Insights is a privately held company with headquarters in Palo Alto, CA. To learn more, visit adaptiveinsights.com.

Media contact



United States:

Diane Orr

Adaptive Insights

650-422-7334

mediainquiries@adaptiveinsights.com




Center to leverage region's advanced digital infrastructure to provide technology solutions and professional services to government customers worldwide

SAN RAMON, California, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Accela, the leading provider of cloud-based productivity and civic engagement solutions for government, today announced the launch of its first international Center of Excellence in Amman, Jordan, demonstrating the company's commitment to its strategic partnerships with both the World Bank and the Kingdom of Jordan. The site was selected for its advanced digital infrastructure and the caliber of its highly qualified workforce, and opened with 25 trained employees.

"Accela is committed to enhancing government-citizen interaction and streamlining processes for government agencies around the world," said Ed Daihl, Chief Executive Officer at Accela. "The launch of our new Center of Excellence in Amman is a significant step that reflects mutual interest in developing government technology globally, and we look forward to nurturing strategic partnerships with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan."

In the last few years, Accela's operations in the Middle East have increased significantly, fostering a number of strategic partnerships with government entities to help improve services to citizens and residents across the region. The Company recently announced that Abu Dhabi Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport (DMAT) went live with the Municipal Electronic Permitting System (MePS) on the Accela Civic Platform to manage all building permits processes across 98 different services for building permits within three municipalities and connected to 25 governmental entities.

The opening of Accela's Center of Excellence was celebrated in a private ceremony attended by Ed Daihl, Accela's CEO, Mr. Khaled Jaouni, Accela's EMEA Managing Director and executives from Amman's leading technology companies and government agencies.

"Accela's selection of Amman as the location for the Center of Excellence demonstrates Jordan's integral role in technology and the movement towards digital government," said Khaled W. Jaouni, Managing Director of Accela International. "We greatly appreciate the support of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in helping us smoothly and swiftly launch this facility."

About Accela

Accela provides a platform of cloud-based productivity and civic engagement software to governments of all sizes worldwide. The Accela Civic Platform includes cost-effective solutions to manage critical enterprise functions and mobile apps to foster greater citizen engagement. From asset, land and legislative management to licensing, finance, environmental health and more, Accela's software drives efficiency for more than 2,000 governments worldwide. More than 80% of America's 50 largest cities have implemented at least one of Accela's many solutions. In 2017, the Company was named to Government Technology's GovTech100 for the second straight year and listed as a Top 50 Private Company in the East Bay by SF Business Times. Accela is headquartered in San Ramon, California, with offices in New York, Portland, Salt Lake City, Melbourne and Amman. For more information, visitwww.accela.com.

Media Contacts:

Valerie Pressley

Accela

(925) 659-3200

vpressley@accela.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/275174/accela_logo.jpg
Beaver-Visitec International (BVI), a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of specialized surgical devices for the ophthalmic marketplace, announced today it has acquired Vitreq, a next-generation ophthalmic technology company. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"At Vitreq, it's our mission to develop reliable, safe, and sophisticated tools that provide surgeons with the support and innovation necessary to perform at the highest levels," said Frank Ruseler, CEO and Co-Founder of Vitreq. "In BVI, we have found a partner that is committed to growing our organization, best positioning us to achieve our mission of becoming one of the leading vitreoretinal surgery platforms. The company continues to build a robust, high-quality ophthalmic portfolio that we are thrilled to become a part of. We look forward to working closely with Dana and the rest of the team to expand our product offering and footprint."

Headquartered in Netherlands, Vitreq develops and manufactures high-quality, innovative products for the ophthalmic industry. With a special focus on vitreoretinal surgery, Vitreq's team of in-house R&D, engineering, and manufacturing professionals collaborate with renowned surgeons to create a portfolio of state-of-the-art minimally-invasive instruments designed to match the demands of today's surgical environment. Founded by a group of industry veterans, Vitreq's management has more than 80 years of ophthalmic experience.

"The Vitreq team has quickly established a trusted brand with vitreoretinal surgeons through their unique, customer-centric product development model. We are excited to combine our efforts with the goal of building a leading global vitreoretinal franchise under the Vitreq brand," said Dana G. Mead, Jr., President and CEO of BVI. "We welcome the Vitreq employees to the BVI team and look forward to delivering our combined portfolio of high quality, innovative products to an expanded group of customers worldwide."

BVI's acquisition of Vitreq builds on a period of momentum for the company, beginning with an investment from TPG Capital last year. Since the partnership, BVI has made four key leadership appointments including Dana G. Mead, Jr. as CEO and two acquisitions that expand its growing portfolio.

About Beaver-Visitec International, Inc.

Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, Beaver-Visitec International develops, manufactures and markets ophthalmic and other specialty microsurgical products. Beaver-Visitec distributes products in over 90 countries worldwide and operates manufacturing facilities in Waltham, MA, USA and Bidford on Avon, U.K. Beaver-Visitec offers products and services for all aspects of Ophthalmic Surgery, including cataract, refractive, oculoplastic, and vitreoretinal sub-specialties as well as other specialty microsurgery procedures. More information about Beaver-Visitec International can be found at www.beaver-visitec.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712005717/en/

Contacts:

Beaver-Visitec International, Inc.

Peter Hemingway, 781-906-7950

Peter_Hemingway@beaver-visitec.com
INDIANAPOLIS (dpa-AFX) - Eli Lilly and Co.(LLY) said that it has entered into a settlement agreement with generic companies to resolve pending patent litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia regarding the Cialis (tadalafil) unit dose patent. This patent was previously set to expire on April 26, 2020. As part of the agreement, Cialis exclusivity is now expected to end at the earliest on September 27, 2018. Patent expiration for Adcirca (tadalafil) is still expected on November 21, 2017, or on May 21, 2018, if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration grants the company's application for pediatric exclusivity. Eli Lilly noted that there will be no change to the company's 2017 financial guidance or mid-term expectations through the remainder of the decade as a result of this settlement. 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.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwired - July 12, 2017) - The first assay results are now available from the reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Castelo de Sonhos (CDS) gold project of TriStar Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE: TSG) (the "Company" or "TriStar"). This RC drilling program began in May when the first RC rig arrived at site and is now being handled by three rigs, the last of which arrived at site in June. To date a total of 60 holes have been completed for 7,013 m; assay results are now available from 24 holes for 2,747 m. Drilling is expected to continue until we have approximately 15,000 m complete, at which point an updated resource estimate will be calculated and used as the basis for the project's first preliminary economic assessment (PEA).

"We're excited to see CDS moving forward," says Nick Appleyard, TriStar's President and CEO, "the three twin holes have demonstrated to us the benefits of combining low-cost RC drilling with high-value optical televiewer imaging and petrophysical logging to replace expensive core drilling. The first assay results from the in-fill RC holes are consistent with what we saw in the large step-out holes last fall; so, we're looking forward to publishing a PEA later this year that demonstrates our continued belief that this project meets our corporate objectives."

Figure 1 shows the location of the 60 new RC holes that have been completed in the Esperanca South and Center regions of the project. All RC holes are vertical, and drilled to a target depth of 120m. A few holes were terminated short of their 120m target due to local conditions; any hole that reaches less than half of its target length is deemed to be abandoned prematurely, and will be redrilled. Three of the new RC holes are closely-spaced twins of previous core drill holes, drilled to provide data on the reliability of analytical data from RC chips.

In Figure 1, the holes for which more than half of the assay results have now been received are shown in green; the significant intervals in these holes (using a 0.4 g/t cutoff) are shown in Table 1. True width is approximately 85% of the downhole intercept length.

Table 1. Significant intervals for new RC holes. Hole From To Au ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-156 34 35 1m @ 1.3 g/t 73 74 1m @ 0.6 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-157 92 93 1m @ 0.5 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-158 17 18 1m @ 0.5 g/t 61 63 2m @ 1.1 g/t 83 84 1m @ 0.4 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-159 43 48 5m @ 2.8 g/t inc. 47 48 1m @ 11.3 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-160 51 60 9m @ 2.7 g/t inc. 59 60 1m @ 19.6 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-161 96 99 3m @ 3.4 g/t inc. 98 99 1m @ 7.8 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-162 11 12 1m @ 0.5 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-163 No significant intervals ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-164 14 16 2m @ 1.1 g/t 67 69 2m @ 1.0 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-165 47 60 13m @ 2.9 g/t (CSH-12-44 twin) inc. 53 59 6m @ 5.4 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-166 68 85 17m @ 2.0 g/t (CSH-12-40 twin) inc. 73 74 1m @ 5.0 g/t inc. 78 79 1m @ 6.5 g/t inc. 82 83 1m @ 9.7 g/t 93 95 2m @ 0.6 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-167 58 85 27m @ 2.5 g/t (CSH-14-104 twin) inc. 61 63 2m @ 6.0 g/t inc. 70 71 1m @ 11.1 g/t inc. 84 85 1m @ 6.9 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-168 No significant intervals ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-169 5 6 1m @ 0.6 g/t 8 9 1m @ 0.6 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-170 No significant intervals ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-171 94 95 1m @ 2.0 g/t 114 115 1m @ 0.6 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-172 20 22 2m @ 0.5 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-173 71 77 6m @ 4.0 g/t inc. 75 77 2m @ 8.6 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-174 No significant intervals ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-175 38 39 1m @ 1.1 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-176 102 103 1m @ 1.3 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-177< 50% of assays received to date ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-178< 50% of assays received to date ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-179 59 60 1m @ 0.4 g/t 78 79 1m @ 0.7 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-180 110 111 1m @ 0.6 g/t 115 116 1m @ 0.5 g/t 118 120 2m @ 0.5 g/t ----------------------------------------------------------- RC-17-181 48 49 1m @ 0.6 g/t 72 73 1m @ 24.2 g/t -----------------------------------------------------------

As shown in Figure 1, the RC drilling in-fills gaps in previous core drilling. When compared to the surrounding core drill holes, the significant intervals of the new RC holes reported in Table 1 are, on average:

lower in thickness by 17%

higher in grade by 25%

resulting in higher grade x thickness by 4%

These results are consistent with the fact that sample interval length is 1m for the new RC drill holes, and was 2m for the previous core drill holes.

Sample analysis procedures and QA/QC protocols

As it has done with each new phase of drilling, TriStar has reviewed the data from its quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program. With abundant free gold, some of which is coarse (>100 microns), the project benefits from the larger volume samples available with RC drilling. In order to ensure that as much material as possible is being analyzed by the lab, TriStar has switched to 1m sample intervals and has begun using the Leachwell procedure, an analytical procedure that uses an aggressive acid leach to extract gold from a 1 kg sample. The first Leachwell analyses indicate that they have higher precision than fire assays; this is likely due to the mass of the analyzed material being approximately 20x larger in a Leachwell assay than the 50g aliquots analyzed in a conventional fire assay procedure. The results presented in Table 1 include a combination of fire assays, done in duplicate or triplicate, and Leachwell assays.

Sample preparation and analytical work for the Castelo de Sonhos drilling program were carried out by SGS Geosol and ALS laboratories. SGS Geosol did sample preparation at its lab in Parauapebas, Para State, and fire assays at its lab in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais; ALS did sample preparation at its lab in Goiania, Goias and Leachwell assays at its lab in Lima, Peru. All of the laboratory facilities, both the prep labs and the analytical labs, are ISO 9001:2008 and 14001:2004 certified. Both SGS Geosol and ALS use industry-standard analytical methods and have internal QA/QC programs to monitor the reliability of their work. Independently of the labs, TriStar runs its own external QA/QC program, using standards, blanks and duplicates inserted into the sample processing stream at a rate of one per 10 samples.

TriStar's Vice-President, R. Mohan Srivastava (P.Geo.), is the QP for this press release and has prepared or supervised the preparation of the scientific or technical information in this press release.

About TriStar:

TriStar Gold is an exploration and development company focused on precious metals properties in the Americas that have potential to become significant producing mines. The Company's current flagship property is Castelo de Sonhos in Para State, Brazil. The Company's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol TSG. Further information is available at www.tristargold.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements under Canadian securities legislation which are not historical facts and are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects" or "it is expected", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward looking statements in this press release include, the scope and success of the planned exploration program at the Castelo de Sonhos project and the Company's opinion that it has clear title to the Castelo de Sonhos property Such forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's reasonable expectations and business plan at the date hereof, which are subject to change depending on economic, political and competitive circumstances and contingencies. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause a change in such assumptions and the actual outcomes and estimates to be materially different from those estimated or anticipated future results, achievements or position expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company's plans to change include changes in demand for and price of gold and other commodities (such as fuel and electricity) and currencies; changes or disruptions in the securities markets; legislative, political or economic developments in Brazil; the need to obtain permits and comply with laws and regulations and other regulatory requirements; the possibility that actual results of work may differ from projections/expectations or may not realize the perceived potential of the Company's projects; risks of accidents, equipment breakdowns and labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses in development programs; operating or technical difficulties in connection with exploration, mining or development activities; the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of reserves and resources; and the risks involved in the exploration, development and mining business. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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 required by applicable securities laws.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/7/12/11G142561/Images/PR_Jul_11_2017_Fig01-290ad94e934a84ed99924b63d00fbfa4.jpg

For further information, please contact:



TriStar Gold Inc.

Nick Appleyard

President and CEO

480-794-1244

info@tristargold.com
In an official ceremony on July 5, 2017, the SolarCar Team, made up of students from Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Germany, unveiled the design of their entry for the 2017 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge - the thyssenkrupp blue.cruiser which takes place in Australia from October 8 to 15, 2017. The solar car was painted by Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE: AXTA), a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, at its Cromax Training Centre in Bonn, Germany. The thyssenkrupp blue.cruiser is the culmination of a 15-year research and development process. This year, the Team comprises 58 students from mechanical and electrical engineering, mechatronics, IT, sustainable development, architecture, economics, humanities, e-mobility and many other fields.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712005849/en/

Axalta Supports German Student Racing Team's World Solar Challenge Entry (Photo: Axalta)

To keep the overall weight of the car down, the thyssenkrupp blue.cruiser has a steel frame and a carbon fiber skin. Although the carbon is very lightweight, it is very porous, which makes it a challenge to paint it and keep the paint weight to a minimum. The SolarCar Team supplied Axalta technicians with a sample of the car's carbon fiber a few weeks in advance of the painting. This allowed the Axalta technical team to test different combinations of coating layers to determine what would provide the best coverage and produce the most lightweight finish.

The result was the application of a universal, high-quality two component polyester putty to compensate for the slightly uneven substrate and to ensure good adhesion. This was followed by an acrylic-based variable two-component high solids filler for good isolation before finishing with the waterborne basecoat and fast airdry two-component high solids clearcoat. For the project, Axalta leveraged its experience coating production cars made of carbon fiber for some of the world's leading automotive manufacturers.

"Axalta is passionate about supporting students and community engagement, and this project is the ultimate combination of our product technology, our extensive motorsports experience and our commitment to sustainability, which was of particular importance to the Team as they wanted to ensure sustainable materials were used. The clearcoat we used, for example, dries extremely quickly at ambient temperatures, yet delivers an ultra-smooth surface, perfect for reducing drag," says Dirk Sauer, Technical Service Manager for Axalta in Germany, who oversaw the project.

Axalta's support of the SolarCar Team reflects the convergence of the company's product technology, commitment to motorsports, university relations program, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Its participation in university racing teams enables Axalta to help students recognize not only the role of coatings in motorsports, but also the applied technology, engineering, and innovation that go into the company's products.

The SolarCar Team hopes to win the prize for best design, an award the university has secured for each of its six previous World Solar Challenge entries.

For more information on Axalta, visit www.axalta.com.

About Axalta Coating Systems

Axalta is a leading global company focused solely on coatings and providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful and sustainable solutions. From light OEM vehicles, commercial vehicles and refinish applications to electric motors, buildings and pipelines, our coatings are designed to prevent corrosion, increase productivity and enable the materials we coat to last longer. With more than 150 years of experience in the coatings industry, the over 13,000 people of Axalta continue to find ways to serve our more than 100,000 customers in 130 countries better every day with the finest coatings, application systems and technology. For more information visit axalta.com and follow us @Axalta on Twitter and on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712005849/en/

Contacts:

DA Public Relations Ltd

Chantal Bachelier-Moore

D +44 207 692 4964

chantal@dapr.com
With the launch of the first of their crypto-asset management products, a product that allows clients to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin (XBT/BTC) through the bank, Falcon Private Bank is writing history as the first private bank worldwide offering clients direct exposure to Bitcoin by owning the asset itself.

Clients of Falcon Private Bank will from today on be able to access, acquire, hold and liquidate Bitcoin directly through their e-banking platform or their account manager, and will be able to monitor their holdings in custody directly in their online portfolio or as part of standard account statements. Additionally a Bitcoin ATM will be available for clients directly in the lobby of Falcon Private Bank's Zurich branch at Pelikanstrasse 37.

Bitcoin Suisse AG provides the underlying infrastructure and support for this new product offering, and acts as the AML-regulated broker of Falcon Private Bank. Bitcoin Suisse AG is a Swiss-based broker, asset manager and financial service provider specializing in crypto-assets. Falcon Private Bank and Bitcoin Suisse AG, supported by their various partners, have been engaged with one another since January 2017 in setting up this new product offering, technically as well as regulatory-wise. Following a final review by auditors, the product has now received the approval from the FINMA, the Swiss Financial Markets Regulatory Authority.

Bitcoin Suisse AG, a regulated financial service provider specializing in the decentralized financial markets and in crypto-assets, announced its engagement with Falcon Private Bank today. Falcon Private Bank is a Swiss private banking institution with 14.6 billion CHF of client assets (31.12.2016), headquartered in Zurich with locations in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London and Luxembourg. A press release from Falcon Private Bank earlier today announced that FINMA has given Falcon Private Bank the approval, making the bank the first Swiss banking institution to offer Bitcoin, the world's most valuable crypto-currency/crypto-asset, directly to clients. As the Bank's crypto-asset broker and infrastructure partner, Bitcoin Suisse AG has assisted in providing the full suite of products and services necessary to acquire, safeguard, track, and trade crypto-assets for institutional clients and high net worth clients.

Founded in August 2013, Bitcoin Suisse AG provides a range of financial services and products for individuals, companies and institutions in the new crypto-financial and decentralized market space, including brokerage, trading, asset management, ICO services, software integrations and consulting solutions based on crypto-assets and blockchain technologies. Bitcoin Suisse AG is, among other things, known for supplying the crypto-payment solution infrastructure for the town of Zug, which July 1st 2016 became the first public entity worldwide to accept Bitcoin and other crypto-assets as payment for public services. The oldest Swiss company in the market and AML-regulated since 2014, Bitcoin Suisse AG is as of 2017 a world-leading provider of compliant crypto-financial services.

Commenting on the announcement, Bitcoin Suisse AG CEO Niklas Nikolajsen said, "Bitcoin Suisse is proud to support Falcon Private Bank in this historic product offering. Falcon Private Bank is, to my knowledge, the first private bank worldwide to offer crypto-assets directly to their clients. It has been a pleasure assisting Falcon in realizing this product offering, which is nothing less than a historic milestone for Bitcoin and for the entire crypto-financial space. A bank offering crypto-assets is a game changer, as it gives institutional clients and high net worth individuals a counterparty in regard to crypto-assets upon which they can rely: A regulated Swiss bank".

"Because of its cryptographically-limited supply and its unique set of properties, in just a few short years Bitcoin has swiftly become a peerless store of value. With the recent growth in market capitalization and liquidity, Bitcoin and the other major crypto-assets offer a way to diversify cash holdings. While the volatility of crypto-assets has historically been very high, the trend the past few years has been very positive, as adaption has grown, with the Falcon Private Bank offering now definitively bridging the gap between crypto- and traditional finance. This past year, high net worth individuals and institutions have increasingly demanded access to directly invest and diversify into Bitcoin through a trustworthy and regulated financial institution, and we are excited to be a part of realizing this demand through our collaboration with Falcon Private Bank."

Niklas Nikolajsen added, "This announcement marks a major leap for Bitcoin as an asset class and indeed for all the crypto-assets. The door has been opened wide for an entirely new class of investors to engage in the crypto-asset market. As the blockchain industry grows worldwide, we are evermore confident that other institutions will follow Falcon Bank's innovative lead in offering clients direct access to digital currencies and crypto-assets."

According to Nikolajsen, the Swiss financial industry is a critical market for establishing Bitcoin and crypto-assets worldwide. "Switzerland is not only historically one of the most important and trustworthy financial markets in the world, it is also currently at the forefront of FinTech development, and has probably the most progressive regulatory framework for crypto-finance anywhere in the world" said Nikolajsen. "That is particularly interesting for both established companies and start-ups engaging in the crypto-financial space, since the transparent and progressive regulatory approach of the Swiss financial market supervising authority, the FINMA, has created clear rules of engagement for dealing with digital finance." As a result, Switzerland has become a role model for the transparent and regulatory safe business in Bitcoin- and crypto-asset space, with especially the region of Zug, also known as "Crypto Valley," leading the way.

About Bitcoin Suisse AG

Founded in August 2013, Bitcoin Suisse AG (BTCSAG) is a regulated Swiss financial intermediary, service provider and asset manager, which focuses on crypto-assets. BTCSAG provides financial services including brokerage, trading, ICO-services and asset management and consulting solutions based on crypto-assets and blockchain technologies. BTCSAG and subsidiaries has (Q3 2017) has an avg. monthly turnover of ~150M USD and has a permanent staff of some 20 employees. For more information, visit https://www.bitcoinsuisse.ch/bitcoin-crypto-assets-meet-traditional-banking

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712005872/en/

Contacts:

Bitcoin Suisse AG

David Wachsman

Wachsman PR

david@wachsmanpr.com

+1-212-835-2511

or

Service Desk Bitcoin Suisse

Bitcoin Suisse AG

info@bitcoinsuisse.ch

+41 41 544 12 51
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 07/12/17 -- Alabama Graphite Corp. ("AGC" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: CSPG) (OTCQB: CSPGF) (FRANKFURT: 1AG) is pleased to announce that independent engineering firm AGP Mining Consultants Inc. ("AGP") of Barrie, Ontario has been awarded the definitive contract by AGC for the Feasibility Study of the Company's flagship project, the Coosa Graphite Project, located in Coosa County, Alabama, USA. AGC is 100% owner of the Coosa Graphite Project - the only advanced-stage graphite project in the contiguous United States of America - and all requisite downstream secondary processing to develop and manufacture AGC's battery-graphite products is being conducted in the United States of America. Although AGC's proprietary, environmentally sustainable process to purify and manufacture battery-ready graphite is source agnostic, the Company's secondary process flowsheet has been optimized for Coosa Graphite Project material.

AGP produced the Company's Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") technical report for the Coosa Graphite Project (please refer to AGC's November 30, 2015 announcement entitled, 'Alabama Graphite Corp. Announces Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for Coosa Graphite Project in Coosa County, Alabama, USA; Files Completed PEA NI 43-101 Technical Report'.

Note: A PEA is preliminary in nature. A PEA includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have 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. Inferred Mineral Resources represent material that is considered too speculative to be included in economic evaluations. Additional trenching and/or drilling will be required to convert Inferred Mineral Resources to Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no guarantee that all or any part of the Mineral Resource will be converted into a Mineral Reserve.

AGC's PEA diverges from others in the flake graphite development space in that it addresses both primary and secondary processing to produce specialty, ultra-high-purity graphite products, as opposed to sole primary processing to make traditional graphite concentrate. The forthcoming Feasibility Study will combine Detailed Engineering for Phase One production rates for both primary and secondary processing, per the PEA. The initial production rate is for 5,000 tonnes per annum ("tpa") of final, secondary-processed graphite - specifically, Coated Spherical Purified Graphite ("CSPG") engineered for use in secondary/rechargeable lithium-ion ("Li-ion") batteries, and its byproduct Purified Micronized Graphite ("PMG") for use in primary and secondary Li-ion battery applications - with built-in expansion to 15,000 tpa, commencing in year seven.

Due to the low initial production rate, the primary and the secondary processing plants will be modular and built off site. The oxidized, soft-rock geology of the Coosa Graphite Project allows for excavation of graphitic feed material without drilling and blasting. No crushing and grinding infrastructure will be required, allowing for flexibility in production rates. The Feasibility Study will explore increased production rates, as the market may require and will be based on the primary-processing Pilot Plant flowsheet, per the Company's February 3, 2016 announcement entitled, 'Alabama Graphite Corp. Reports Positive Pilot Plant Test Results for Coosa Graphite Project in Coosa County, Alabama, USA'. A modular plant construction will also potentially shorten time to production, pending the publication of a positive Feasibility Study.

In conjunction with the forthcoming Feasibility Study, AGC will concurrently commence a second Pilot Plant ("Pilot Plant 2") for secondary processing, exclusively for the production of CSPG and byproduct PMG. The flowsheet and equipment for Pilot Plant 2 are currently being finalized. Per the Company's May 1, 2017 announcement, entitled, 'Alabama Graphite Corp. Commences Production of greater than 150 Kilogram Stockpile of Sourced-and-Manufactured-in-USA Specialty Battery-Ready Graphite for End User Qualification', AGC is also currently producing and testing its more than 150-kilogram stockpile of sourced-and-manufactured-in-USA battery-ready graphite products. This stockpile development work will provide the basis for Pilot Plant 2.

The Company also announces that it has completed a positive preliminary environmental survey on the Coosa Graphite Project to commence the necessary environmental and mine permitting processes for the mining and primary-processing operations at the Coosa project site, which consists of 41,964 acres (16,982 hectares or more than 65 square miles), located on private land. The permitting process for the Coosa Graphite Project involves state-level permitting only via the Alabama Department of Environmental Management ("ADEM"). Independent engineering firm Thompson Engineering, of Mobile, Alabama is contracted as AGC's consultant leading the permitting process for the Coosa Graphite Project with ADEM.

Readers are cautioned that AGC is not yet in production and there is no guarantee that the Company will advance to full-scale production. If, following the completion of a Feasibility Study - which has not yet been commenced - AGC is able to advance the Coosa Graphite Project into production, the resulting graphite products would be sourced from within the contiguous United States and, as such, the Company may have a potential competitive advantage over other producers of value-added graphite materials sourced from other countries, regardless of whether said materials were processed and/or manufactured in the United States of America.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of ALABAMA GRAPHITE CORP.

Donald K. D. Baxter, P.Eng., President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director

QUALIFIED PERSON

Donald K. D. Baxter, P.Eng., President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Alabama Graphite Corp., is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 ("N.I. 43-101") guidelines, and has reviewed and approved the content of this news release.

ABOUT AGP MINING CONSULTANTS INC.

AGP Mining Consultants Inc. is an independent mining consulting firm specializing in mine engineering (underground and open pit), mineral resource estimation, metallurgical development and process engineering, geotechnical and water resources engineering, and infrastructure and project management. AGP's associates have more than 250 years of combined mining experience with significant experience in the production of N.I. 43-101 compliant preliminary economic assessments, and prefeasibility and feasibility studies.

ABOUT THOMPSON ENGINEERING

Established in 1953, Thompson Engineering specializes in environmental services for a wide range of projects. The company is equipped with an in-house staff of environmental engineers, geologists, soil scientists, health and safety specialists, moisture intrusion experts, CADD/GIS technicians, and construction experts. Thompson Engineering works with agencies at all levels of government, industrial and commercial interests, to provide time effective, quality environmental services across the southwestern United States.

ABOUT ALABAMA GRAPHITE CORP.

Alabama Graphite Corp. is a Canadian-based flake graphite exploration and development company as well as an aspiring battery materials production and technology company. The Company operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Alabama Graphite Company Inc. (a company registered in the state of Alabama). With an advancing flake graphite project in the United States of America, Alabama Graphite Corp intends to become a reliable, long-term U.S. supplier of specialty high-purity graphite products. A highly experienced team leads the Company with more than 100 years of combined graphite mining, graphite processing, specialty graphite products and applications, and graphite sales experience. Alabama Graphite Corp. is focused on the exploration and development of its flagship Coosa Graphite Project in Coosa County, Alabama, and its Bama Mine Project in Chilton County, Alabama as well the research and development of its proprietary manufacturing and technological processing process of battery materials.

Alabama Graphite Corp. holds a 100% interest in the mineral rights for these two U.S.-based graphite projects, which are both located on private land. The two projects encompass more than 43,000 acres and are located in a geopolitically stable, mining-friendly jurisdiction with significant historical production of crystalline flake graphite in the flake graphite belt of central Alabama, also known as the Alabama Graphite Belt (source: U.S. Bureau of Mines). A significant portion of the Alabama deposits are characterized by graphite-bearing material that is oxidized and has been weathered into extremely soft rock. Both projects have infrastructure in place, are within close proximity to major highways, rail, power and water, and are approximately three hours (by truck or train) to the Port of Mobile, the Alabama Port Authority's deep-seawater port and the ninth largest port by tonnage in the United States (source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/USACE). The state of Alabama's hospitable climate allows for year-round mining operations and the world's largest marble quarry (which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in Sylacauga, Alabama), is located within a 30-minute drive of the Coosa Graphite Project.

On November 30, 2015, Alabama Graphite Corp. announced the results of PEA for the Coosa Graphite Project, indicating a potentially low-cost project with potential positive economics. Please refer to the Company's technical report titled "Alabama Graphite Corp. Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the Coosa graphite Project, Alabama, USA" dated November 27, 2015, prepared by independent engineering firms AGP Mining Consultants Inc. and Metal Mining Consultants Inc., and filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Note: a preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized.

(i) Inferred Mineral Resources represent material that is considered too speculative to be included in economic evaluations. Additional trenching and/or drilling will be required to convert Inferred Mineral Resources to Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no guarantee that all or any part of the Mineral Resource will be converted into a Mineral Reserve.

Alabama Graphite Corp. is a proud member of the National Association of Advanced Technology Batteries International ("NAATBatt International"), a U.S.-based, not-for-profit trade association commercializing advanced electrochemical energy-storage technology for emerging, high-tech applications.

For further information and updates on the Company or to sign up for Alabama Graphite Corp. News, please visit www.alabamagraphite.com or follow, like and subscribe to us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

AGC's COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

AGC's graphite is purified via the Company's propriety, low-temperature thermal purification process. AGC's environmentally responsible and sustainable graphite purification process does not utilize caustic chemicals or harsh acids that are commonly regarded as dangerous and environmentally harmful (e.g. hydrofluoric acid, as is commonly used in Chinese graphite production hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acids, or alkali roasting, caustic-soda roasting, etc.), nor does the process require copious amounts of clean water or costly, energy-intensive high-temperature thermal upgrading. Please refer to the Company's February 17, 2017 announcement, 'Alabama Graphite Corp. Achieves 99.99997% Graphite Purity via Proprietary, Environmentally Responsible and Sustainable Purification Process; Exceeds Nuclear Graphite Purity Requirements.'

For more information about AGC's specialty, secondary processing to produce its CSPG please refer to the June 2016 comprehensive independent report, 'Alabama Graphite's Coated Spherical Purified Graphite for the Lithium-ion Battery Industry,' written, researched and prepared by Dr. Gareth P. Hatch, CEng, FIMMM, FIET, prior to his joining the AGC Board of Directors. Dr. Hatch is also President of Innovation Metals Corp., Founding Principal of Technology Metals Research, LLC, and Independent Director of the Company.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"), which may include, without limitation, statements with respect to any potential relationships between the Company and any end users and/or the DoD. The forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management and reflect Alabama Graphite Corp.'s current expectations. When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current view of Alabama Graphite Corp. with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things, the interpretation and actual results of current exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of graphite; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. Forward-looking statements are also based on a number of assumptions, including that contracted parties provide goods and/or services on the agreed timeframes, that equipment necessary for exploration is available as scheduled and does not incur unforeseen breakdowns, that no labor shortages or delays are incurred, that plant and equipment function as specified, that no unusual geological or technical problems occur, and that laboratory and other related services are available and perform as contracted. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and Alabama Graphite Corp. undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements (unless required by law) if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Alabama Graphite Corp. cautions that the foregoing list of material factors and assumptions are not exhaustive. When relying on Alabama Graphite Corp. forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and assumptions and other uncertainties and potential events.

Alabama Graphite Corp. has also assumed that the material factors and assumptions will not cause any forward-looking statements to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors and assumptions is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICE PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

Website / LinkedIn / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube

Contacts:

Alabama Graphite Corp.

Ann-Marie M. Pamplin

Vice President, Investor Relations

+1 (416) 309-8641

apamplin@alabamagraphite.com




TUALATIN, OR -- (Marketwired) -- 10/17/17 -- Powin Energy Corporation (OTCQB: PWON), a leading manufacturer of fully integrated energy storage solutions, has secured construction to term project financing from leading renewable power company Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (TSX: BEP.UN) (NYSE: BEP) for its 8.8 MW/40.8 MWh Stratford Energy Storage Project in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. The non-recourse debt financing will support the project that is currently under construction and expected to be operational by the end of 2017.

"Securing non-resource financing is a critical step for energy storage assets themselves as well as the broader market. We believe that closing a deal of this nature with a well-respected group like Brookfield is indicative of market maturation and Powin's future prospects," said Geoffrey Brown, President of Powin Energy. "I'm proud of our team that once again raised the bar in battery storage."

The Stratford ESS is contracted with the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) as part of IESO's long-term energy plan to provide key ancillary services including reactive support, voltage control, and peaking power to the grid through energy storage technologies.

With a usable capacity of 40.8 MWh, when commissioned it will be the largest contracted battery energy storage project in Canada. It will consist of 300 Powin Energy Stack140 systems housed inside a newly constructed, purpose-built warehouse and will be connected to inverters from both Eaton and EPC. The construction outfit Ellis Don broke ground on the building in mid-July, with work on the battery array beginning in late August.

Powin's Stack140 utilizes lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. The chemistry was chosen for its high thermal stability, long cycle life and well-established track record of performance. At its expected usage rate of one full cycle per day, the system will have a lifespan of over 20 years.

With the completion of the Stratford Project, Powin will have brought over 50MWh of utility scale battery storage on-line in 2017. In August, Powin announced they secured a 26 MWh energy storage contract with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), bringing the company's total contracted backlog to 70 MWh.

About Powin Energy Corporation

Powin Energy's (OTCQB: PWON) sole focus is creating and deploying the next wave of safe and scalable battery energy storage that is purpose-built for the demands of utility-scale, commercial and industrial, and microgrid applications. Powin's Stack140 modular battery system features a patented Battery Pack Operating System (bp-OS) that provides critical insight into system functions and lifespan via the proprietary Battery Odometer and Warranty Tracker. Powin was incorporated in Oregon in 1990 and has spent almost three decades perfecting supply chain management. Combined with the management team's decades of successful leadership experience in the energy, storage, and utility industries, Powin Energy is able to deliver exceptional value to large-scale energy projects. For more information, visit http://PowinEnergy.com/. Investors can find real time quotes and market information for the company at http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PWON/quote

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains historical information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to the business, financial condition and results of operations of Powin Corporation and Powin Energy Corporation. The words "will", "believe," "expect," "intend," "plan," "should" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views, assumptions and expectations of Powin Energy Corporation with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Powin Energy Corporation to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, or financial information, including, among others, the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the merger; risks entailed in integration, including employee retention and customer acceptance; the risk that the merger will divert management and other resources from the ongoing operations of the business or otherwise disrupt the conduct of the businesses, potential litigation associated with the merger, and general risks associated with the business of Powin Corporation and Powin Energy Corporation, including changes in the markets in which the businesses operate and in general economic and business conditions, loss of key customers, key customer acceptance of new battery storage technology, ability to completely fund operations to meet potential customer orders, changes in government regulation and tax policy, availability of tax credits, changes in carbon reduction requirements imposed on utilities, unpredictable sales cycles, competitive pressures, market acceptance of new products, inability to meet efficiency and cost reduction objectives, changes in business strategy and various other factors, whether referenced or not referenced in this press release. Various other risks and uncertainties may affect Powin Energy Corporation and its results of operations, as described in reports filed by the Powin Energy Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. Powin Energy Corporation does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Media Contact:

Mercom Communications

www.mercomcapital.com

Wendy Prabhu

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Technavio market research analysts forecast the global smart connected baby monitors marketto grow at a CAGR of more than 28% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.

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Technavio has published a new report on the global smart connected baby monitors market from 2017-2021. (Photo: Business Wire)

The market study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global smart connected baby monitors marketfor 2017-2021. The report also lists video smart connected baby monitors and audio smart connected baby monitors as the two major product segments, of which the video smart connected baby monitors dominated the market with a share of over 91% in 2016.

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Technavio analysts highlight the following three market drivers that are contributing to the growth of the global smart connected baby monitors market:

Premiumization through innovations in features and user interfaces

Increasing number of working mothers

Online retail increasing visibility and accessibility of products across geographies

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Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Premiumization through innovations in features and user interfaces

Innovation in technology is the key factor that drives the global smart connected baby monitors market. Various players in the market are developing innovative smart connected baby monitors with features like remote monitoring, temperature monitoring, humidity history, and noise detection. The main advantage of using wireless smart baby monitors is mobility. This device allows parents to keep a watch on their babies from all corners of the house and even when they are outdoors.

The smart baby monitors with Wi-Fi connectivity have cameras that provide the view of the baby during the day and at night. The temperature in the room may change from time to time. This change in temperature can also be traced by smart connected baby monitors with Wi-Fi connectivity and viewed on smartphones and tablets. This enables parents to maintain the desired temperature in the room.

"These devices offer interactive monitoring and are compatible with smartphones, computers, and tablets. They also provide features such as room temperature monitoring, sound notifications, and a two-way communication system to speak and hear from anywhere. Such innovative features and technology are expected to drive the market for smart baby monitors," says Poonam Saini, a lead analyst at Technavio for toys and baby products research.

Increasing number of working mothers

Changing lifestyles have led to an increase in the number of nuclear and single-parent families, which has led to an increased need for easy-to-use baby monitoring devices. According to the National Center for Health Statistics in the US, several career-oriented parents delay having children to earn enough disposable income to ensure the safety and comfort of their children when they have them, later in life.

These working parents then seek the assistance of baby monitors to carry on with their chores while simultaneously monitoring their babies. The use of baby monitors has exponentially increased over the past few years. Women prefer to monitor babies while working or when they are away from home to ensure the safety of their infant. This is expected to boost market growth in the future.

Online retail increasing visibility and accessibility of products across geographies

The growing online retail increases the visibility of products and makes them accessible across various geographies. E-retailing is the fastest growing sector of the global online retail market. China and the US were the leading end-users, accounting for 55% of the global online sales in 2014. Some of the biggest players in the global online retail market for smart baby monitors are Amazon.com, First Cry, and Babies "R" Us.

"The growing number of online websites offering a wide range of smart baby monitors has increased the demand for these devices, especially among working parents who seek easy accessibility and convenience. E-retailing of various products including smart baby monitors is gaining popularity because it is a time-saving and cost-effective process of purchasing products," says Poonam.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Baby Monitors Market 2017-2021

Global Automatic Baby Swing Market 2017-2021

Global Baby Stroller and Pram Market 2017-2021

About Technavio

Technaviois a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 10,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170718005658/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
A.M. Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A- (Excellent) from A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to "a-" from "a" of Generali Lebensversicherung A.G. (Generali Leben) (Germany). Concurrently, A.M. Best has placed these Credit Ratings (ratings) under review with negative implications.

The rating action follows the announcement on Sept. 28, 2017 that Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. (Generali), the ultimate parent of Generali Leben, intends to put the company into run-off during the first quarter of 2018, with Generali not excluding of the possibility that the Generali Leben portfolio will be disposed of in the future.

The rating downgrades reflect A.M. Best's view that Generali Leben is no longer core to the strategy and ongoing success of the Generali group, and that the level of support from Generali that the company could expect to benefit from, if needed, has diminished. Furthermore, as the company enters into run-off, its prospective business profile and earnings are expected to deteriorate, which could negatively impact its balance sheet strength.

The ratings will remain under review with negative implications as A.M. Best assesses the full impact of the announced decision on the rating fundamentals of Generali Leben, following dialogue with the management of Generali Leben and the Generali group.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best Rating Action Press Releases

A.M. Best is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright 2017 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171006005581/en/

Contacts:

A.M. Best

Martina Seydoux, +44 20 7397 0308

Financial Analyst

martina.seydoux@ambest.com

or

Ghislain Le Cam, CFA, FRM, +44 20 7397 0268

Director, Analytics

ghislain.lecam@ambest.com

or

Christopher Sharkey, +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

Manager, Public Relations

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

or

Jim Peavy, +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644

Director, Public Relations

james.peavy@ambest.com
More Beta Partners Join for Launch in Colorado

DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / July 12, 2017 / CannaSys, Inc. (OTC PINK: MJTK) (CannaSys), a marketing, branding, and technology company, today announced expansion to their Beta Platform of Citizen Toke.

Last week, CannaSys welcomed Elements, MMJ America, and The Station dispensaries of Boulder, Colorado, to the Beta Launch Program of Citizen Toke.

The Beta Launch Program allows participating dispensaries exclusive access and insights into the Citizen Toke marketing platform, facilitating communication between user, dispensary, and CannaSys to improve the platform before a full-scale launch.

Patrick Burke, CannaSyss Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are very excited to see the momentum of our product carry outside of Denver and into Boulder. We hope users are excited with the increase in location flexibility and promotions that come with this growth, as well."

Citizen Toke offers exclusive, instant, location-based, gamified promotions in the cannabis space, powered by SMS. Citizen Toke is an efficient means for retail centers to communicate exclusive promotions to their consumers and to extend brand awareness to current and potential customers.

Additionally, more Denver dispensaries have joined the Citizen Toke Beta Launch Program, including LivWell, MMJ America, DANK, Euflora, the Healing House, and Greenfields.

"We picture the Citizen Toke platform as an enhancement for dispensaries to market their products and to find new customers," noted Patrick Burke. "We are proud of the fact that our participating beta partners are embracing this vision, as well. We look forward to growing in tandem with our beta partners and user base to make the Citizen Toke platform as valuable as possible for all parties."

Users have already started using the platform, receiving and then redeeming promotional specials at participating dispensaries. "Our focus is on scaling the beta launch of the Citizen Toke platform to accommodate a growing number of users and dispensaries with the goal of validating a positive return of investment and significant value for dispensaries through ease of use and high-quality deals for users," commented Burke.

CannaSys and its management remain committed to creating long-term shareholder value and will provide timely updates to shareholders as they occur.

About CannaSys, Inc.

CannaSys is a technology solutions, marketing, and branding company. Its core products are delivered software as a service to facilitate point-of-purchase transactions and customer relationship marketing solutions. CannaSys plans to develop, acquire, and build strategic relationships with other businesses in order to bring additional solutions to market. For more information, please visit www.cannasys.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release includes forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including continued acceptance of CannaSyss products, increased levels of competition for CannaSys, new products, and technological changes, CannaSyss dependence on third-party suppliers, and other risks detailed from time to time in CannaSyss periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

CannaSys, Inc.

Patrick G. Burke

Chief Executive Officer

Tel: 720.724.7515

Email: patrick.burke@cannasys.com

Web: www.cannasys.com

SOURCE: CannaSys, Inc.
LONDON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

London-based charity Decision Time Ministries is continuing to help people in need thanks to a vehicle donation from Dajon Data Management.

The charity, founded by Phil Cartlidge, works with people the benefits system are unable to reach, in particular the homeless, those suffering from addiction or sex workers. Phil and his charity travel to various parts of the UK providing food, hot drinks and support to those in the greatest need.

The donation of the van from Dajon, a scanning and robotic process automation company based in the capital, means his charity will be able to get out and help even more people. In the past, the charity has provided items such as suits for job interviews with the aim of helping someone finally get off the streets and into work.

Phil has said of his decision to start the charity: "I started this organisation to help the needy, the homeless and fill the gap where the government has failed to do so between the homeless and the benefits system."

Although the charity has a current van, the one donated by Dajon - which was handed over following a social media appeal on the LinkedIn networking site, will help to spread the work of the charity further, enabling them to reach even more people.

Damien Andrews, Managing Director of Dajon Data Management, said: "We're happy to donate the van, which we no longer need for our business, as it is always good to help those in need whenever possible."

Donations can be made to Decision Time Ministries at: http://www.decisiontimeministries.co.uk/donate/

People can also donate good such as toiletries, clothes, sleeping bags etc, by phoning Phil on +44-7415-109951 orphil@decisiontimeministries.co.uk

Decision Time Ministries was founded in 2016.

Dajon Data Management donated this vehicle free of charge to Decision Time Ministries.

Phil will be using the vehicle with other volunteers to reach additional areas of the UK which they were unable to do with only one vehicle.

Media Contact:

Amy Charman

Dajon Data Management

amy@dajon.co.uk

+44-2077-3232-23


NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 12, 2017 / The following statement is being issued by Levi & Korsinsky, LLP:

To: All persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Eco Science Solutions, Inc. ("Eco Science Solutions") (OTC PINK: ESSI) between May 1, 2017 and May 19, 2017 . You are hereby notified that a securities class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. To get more information go to: http://www.zlk.com/pslra-sb/eco-science-solutions-inc?wire=1 or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. either via email at jlevi@levikorsinsky.com or by telephone at (212) 363-7500, toll-free: (877) 363-5972. There is no cost or obligation to you.

The complaint alleges that throughout the class period Defendants issued materially 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 basis at all relevant times. On May 19, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order of suspension of trading, halting trading of the Company's securities.

If you suffered a loss in Eco Science Solutions you have until July 24, 2017 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

Levi & Korsinsky is a national firm with offices in New York, California, Connecticut, and Washington D.C. The firm's attorneys have extensive expertise and experience representing investors in securities litigation, and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

Levi & Korsinsky, LLP

Joseph E. Levi, Esq.

30 Broad Street - 24th Floor

New York, NY 10004

Tel: (212) 363-7500

Toll Free: (877) 363-5972

Fax: (212) 363-7171

www.zlk.com

SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
Bessemer Venture Partners also joined the round and former Salesforce SVP and Slack CMO/CRO Bill Macaitis joins Advisory Board

SAN MATEO, California, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Applitools, the leader in AI-based Automated Visual Testing and Monitoring for mobile, web, and native apps, today announced it has raised an $8 Million round led by Sierra Ventures, with participation by Bessemer Venture partners and existing investors Magma Venture Partners, iAngels and La Maison. With this current round, Applitools' funding reaches $15 Million. Former SVP at Salesforce and Slack CMO/CRO Bill Macaitis is also joining the Applitools Advisory Board.

Applitools launched its SaaS offering in January 2015 and since then, usage has constantly grown 25% quarter-over-quarter. In 2016, MRR multiplied 3X over 2015 and similar growth is expected in 2017. Today millions of visual tests are performed with Applitools each week. Applitools is trusted by companies of all sizes, including Fortune 100 customers in a variety of verticals such as Banking, Software, Online Retail, Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, and more. Applitools 200+ customers include household names like American Express, Intuit, MasterCard, Bose, Sony, Salesforce, Slack, ServiceNow, Twilio, Wix and Siemens.

"We are very pleased to have Sierra Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners join our existing investors in this new round of funding," said Gil Sever, CEO of Applitools. "Their support validates our vision and gives us the capital we need to continue our mission - to bring AI-based Automated Visual Analysis to application test automation, application monitoring, and collaboration for automation engineers, DevOps, developers, and digital transformation leaders that need to adapt to Continuous Delivery. It's been an exciting few years since inception and the new funding will allow us to continue expanding our product offering and grow even faster."

As part of the financing round, Tim Guleri, Managing Director of Sierra Ventures, joins the Applitools Board. "Tim's years of entrepreneurial leadership in taking companies through the next stages of growth and execution, combined with his vast network of partners and customers, make him a valuable addition to the Applitools Board," added Gil Sever.

"In today'strend toward mass scale digitization across all verticals, a company's Application User Interface is its proverbial 'front door', and is key to staying competitive," said Tim Guleri, Managing Director of Sierra Ventures. "The breadth of device/browser combinations, coupled with continuously shortening development and release cycles, requires DevOps teams to fully automate the development and runtime as part of their digital transformation. Applitools is the only company that has used Artificial Intelligence at scale to provide a proven and robust solution for this acute pain-point. I am sure that their unique technology and execution can make them the leader of this new and exciting market segment."

Applitools allows Test Automation, DevOps and Development teams to release software flawlessly and automatically through its SaaS Visual Testing and Monitoring product. Based onsophisticated image processing algorithmsthat mimic the human eye and brain, Applitools ensures that an app appears correctly and functions properly on all mobile devices, browsers, operating systems and screen sizes.

About Sierra Ventures

Founded in 1982 and investing its 11th venture fund, Sierra Ventures is a privately held venture capital firm that invests in early-stage, high growth emerging technologies companies. Sierra Ventures is known for working closely with exceptional entrepreneurs to build world-class category defining companies. A few of Sierra Ventures recent successful exits include the IPOs of InvenSense, Sourcefire, AuthenTec, and the acquisitions of Ooyala (by Telstra), Nexgate (by Proofpoint), Greenplum (by EMC), DynamicOps (by VMWare) and Bina Technologies (by Roche). Sierra has also backed prominent technology companies including Intuit, Healtheon, Active Software, Micromuse and Teradata. www.sierraventures.com

About Bessemer Venture Partners

Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) is a $4B venture capital firm that funds consumer, enterprise, and healthcare technology startups around the world, from seed stage to growth. BVP funded the early stages of Blue Apron, Pinterest, Twitch, Periscope, Skype, among others, and helped build 117 IPOs including Twilio, Yelp, LinkedIn, Shopify, and Wix. Follow us @BessemerVP.

About Applitools

Applitools is on a mission to help Test Automation, DevOps and Development teams to release and monitor flawless mobile, web, and native apps in a fully automated way that enables Continuous Deployment. Founded in 2013, Applitools uses sophisticated AI-based image processing technology to ensure that an app appears correctly and functions properly on all mobile devices, browsers, operating systems and screen sizes. Applitools has more than 200+ customers from a range of verticals, including Fortune 100 companies in Banking, Software, Online Retail, Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, and more. Applitools is based in San Mateo, California and Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information, please visit applitools.com.

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/521532/Applitools_Side_by_Side_Test_Editor_View.jpg

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/521533/Applitools_Logo.jpg
Kari is a Young Girl of Amazing Talent and Has a Brilliant Mind; Yet, Due to No Fault of Her Own, She is Unable to Find a School Place

BIRMINGHAM, UK / ACCESSWIRE / July 12, 2017 / Through a new interest in computer science and wanting to learn more about artificial intelligence 13-year-old Kari Lawler, from Solihull, UK, set herself the challenge of creating her own virtual assistant, like Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa. After purchasing a few books, she very quickly taught herself the necessary programming skills and, within a few days, it was apparent she was making considerable progress and, amazingly, within just one week, she had a working prototype.

Her family has stated it's amazing what she has achieved at her age with very little resources. The fact her personal assistant responds in a similar manner to Siri and even has the same witty attitude when asked something out of the ordinary is marvelous. It's also especially incredible when you consider what the large technology companies have probably spent on producing something not much different to what Kari has managed to achieve in such a short amount of time.

Looking to the future Kari does plan to expand on her prototype and does see great value in this type of technology. She is currently working on making her assistant more realistic with more human-like back and forth conversation. If achievable, she thinks this type of virtual human interaction would be of great benefit in areas such as social care, like providing company to the elderly or assistance for people with dementia. Similarly, she sees it being used as a learning assistant for whole class teaching or for helping individual students in a school. Realistically though, she appreciates she has a long way to go before realizing this vision. However, in the meantime, she would very much like to connect and learn through maybe a mentoring role with any individuals or companies in this field.

About Kari Lawler

Kari, now 14, is a very bright and gifted young lady excelling in English, mathematics, and science. At the age of 11, she was diagnosed with ASD. Since her diagnosis, and through no fault of her own, she has had great difficulty in accessing an education in a mainstream setting which has resulted in her being out of school now for just over a year. The resistance Kari is facing is solely down to a complete lack of understanding of Autism. Even though Kari has never had any learning needs, behavioral issues, communication, or high anxiety issues at school, schools approached just assume the worse based on stereotypes and dismissively say no without looking at her as an individual. Overall, Kari wants nothing more than to be back in school doing what she loves the most, which is learning.

Media Contact:

Brett Lawler

Email: brett@brettlawler.com

Phone: +44 121 748 2468, Cell/Mobile: +44 7772 733138

SOURCE: Kari Lawler
How In-House Recruiters Stay Focused on the Bottom Line - Winning the Competition

Dallas, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2017) - Staff physician recruiters who sit atop their profession today know that to succeed in their job, they must leverage resources beyond the confines of what's available to them "in-house."



Physician Shortage 2.0



The looming physician shortage has been well documented over the last decade. In response to the shortage there have been a number of concerted efforts at the state level, and through the use of advanced practitioners, to combat the issue of doctor supply versus our nation's rising demand.



In-house recruiters currently find themselves faced with new, unforeseen challenges as well, in addition to the reality of a physician shortage now lying firmly at their feet. As a result, healthcare facilities are expected to hire for administration positions responsible for recruitment efforts at over twice the rate of other occupations.



We're feeling the effects of a much stronger federal presence on our healthcare delivery system than we previously anticipated. In-house recruiters now carry the weight of increased concerns over retention first, before they snowball into their next search for a new doctor.



Specialties within the primary care spectrum and patients among our population in underserved regions of our country need immediate help, as they are unable to continue waiting for solutions from those dictating policy.



Cultivating Partnerships with Recruiting Firms



The physician recruitment process can be overwhelming for healthcare administrators. They're subject to a constant barrage of calls from recruiters at staffing firms vying for an opportunity to lead the search for a facility's next doctor.



The truth is that the most successful in-house recruiters will choose only one or two staffing firms with whom they will cultivate a partnership during their tenure. Experienced healthcare administrators realize the value in building trusted relationships with external physician recruiters beyond just one search.



Staff recruiters embrace a proactive mindset and learn to tap into external resources before turnover occurs at their facility. This includes taking advantage of the consultative expertise provided by those in the physician recruitment industry who've built their career on a track record of successful placements. These individuals offer a wealth of knowledge to aid in-house recruitment efforts. They're privy to current market trends, salary data, and the competitive landscape faced by medical facilities.



Placement is the Bottom Line



Through understanding the dynamics of our physician shortage and leveraging their partnerships with experts in the physician recruiting industry, in-house recruiters are able to focus on the bottom line.



Utilizing the best resources at their disposal allows staff physician recruiters to make the largest impact possible on their facility and patient base through the addition of new physician.



Let's talk today about preparing for tomorrow's recruitment challenges.





Doug Carter

Ironside HR

Phone: 214-785-2404

Email: doug@ironsidehr.com

www.IronsideHR.com



Doug Carter has 21 years of recruiting experience, working with clients to find new, executable ways to source and secure candidates for hard to fill vacancies in both rural and metropolitan areas. Doug is an expert consultant with human resource professionals, CEO's, nursing executives and ancillary executives on employment trends within healthcare.



A graduate of Rhode Island College, Doug began his career with Honeywell as a finance professional and consultant before transferring to the staffing vertical in 1996 with Robert Half's Accountemps. Since then he has held management and leadership roles, in addition to launching a new service line at one of our nation's largest healthcare recruitment firms, before starting Ironside HR in 2011.
The new major version of DocuVieware offers improvement of the core engine and many new features. It now includes support for HTTPS TWAIN acquisition and annotation comments.

Muret, France--(Newsfile Corp. - July 12, 2017) - ORPALIS releases the new major version of its HTML5 Viewer and Document Management Kit, DocuVieware.

"Thanks to a strong expertise in document imaging and image processing, ORPALIS offers a great tool to build rich Web applications. This component is suitable for any industry, and provides interactive features to ease collaborative processes online," says Loic Carrere, CEO, and owner of ORPALIS and DocuVieware creator.

DocuVieware customers (http://www.docuvieware.com/company/customers/) include Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, small and medium businesses, and non-profit.

Any organization that needs to develop client interactive application to manage their documents online can benefit from the many features of the toolkit.

DocuVieware is powered by GdPicture.NET Document Imaging SDK (http://www.gdpicture.com/).

The latest enhancements in the new major version of GdPicture.NET (GdPicture.NET v14) improve DocuVieware v3 performance, memory footprint, and user experience.

What's new in DocuVieware v3?

Global improvements

The rendering quality of images has been greatly improved at certain zoom levels.

PDF rendering time has been dramatically sped up, and data transfer speed between server and client is now faster.

Format support improvements include:

Microsoft Office OpenXML document export to vector PDF

faster loading speed of RAW images

support for more than 80 new cameras formats

RTF format support

Annotations

Two new independent properties (CanEdit and CanDelete) can enable or disable the corresponding action buttons. This allows a finer handling of access rights.

TWAIN acquisition

The DocuVieware TWAIN Web Connector 2.0 now supports TWAIN acquisition over HTTPS.

The security chain is preserved in SSL secured environments.

The security aspect is transparent to both user and developer because it is automatically managed during the installation process.

DocuVieware 3.0 allows programming a default configuration thanks to the new corresponding JavaScript client API methods. Besides acquisition settings, the device driver dialog can appear or not. It is now possible to silently scan documents and make the acquisition process easier for end users.

New Comment feature and built-in Snap-In

DocuVieware 3 provides a new built-in rich user experience Snap-In that allows users to add, remove, and edit comments.

Comments statuses and discussion support make the collaborative document review process easy for users.

This comment feature is available for PDF, TIFF, and the hundred other formats supported by DocuVieware.

Printing support

Header and footer have been removed when printing in Chrome and Firefox to save ink and paper.

User Interface Localization

DocuVieware 3 supports several new languages: Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Korean and Hebrew. This increases the number of supported languages to 25.

Learning resources and tutorials

A new set of tutorials is provided to ease DocuVieware 3.0 integration in any web technology.

These richly illustrated step by step guides show how to serve DocuVieware through a REST API and integrate it into your application using JavaScript, Angular, PHP, Java, ASP.NET, and more.

DocuVieware v3 can be downloaded and tested free of charge on the DocuVieware website (http://www.docuvieware.com/download/).

Technical support is provided during the evaluation phase.

About ORPALIS

ORPALIS is specialized in automating large-scale document-based processes, providing document imaging and document-management toolkits as well as software tools for the general public. ORPALIS is the creator, developer, and owner of the comprehensive document imaging toolkit series released under the brand "GdPicture", now a worldwide known and respected leader in the imaging technologies industry. More than 13,000 developers based in over 70 countries have included GdPicture components in their applications. In 2011 ORPALIS releases PaperScan, marking the beginning of a new line of products meant for end-users. PDF Reducer is launched in 2013. In 2015 a most powerful universal HTML5 viewer and document management kit called DocuVieware is made available to the public. The same year, a software tool for converting scanned documents to the searchable PDF/OCR format, the ORPALIS PDF OCR, is launched. In 2016 DocuVieware Lite Free HTML5 Document Viewer is released.

www.orpalis.com / www.gdpicture.com / www.docuvieware.com

Contact

Media Contact:

ORPALIS

Elodie Tellier

3 35 61 43 98 13
SAINT LAURENT, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 07/12/17 -- IntelGenx Corp. (TSX VENTURE: IGX)(OTCQX: IGXT) (the "Company" or "IntelGenx") announced that Dr. Rodolphe Obeid, its Director of Research and Development, Process Development and Manufacturing Scale-Up, discussed the Company's oral films based on its proprietary VersaFilm technology platform during a presentation today at BIT's 7th Annual Symposium of Drug Delivery Systems being held in Prague, Czech Republic.

Entitled "Oral Film Technology Evolution, Challenges and Therapeutic Benefits," Dr. Obeid's presentation reviewed the Company's development of VersaFilm and the technology platform's potential to enhance active pharmaceutical ingredient bioavailability, accelerate onset of action, reduce side effects and ease administration, thereby improving patient's compliance and satisfaction.

Dr. Obeid is an expert in drug delivery systems and polymeric assemblies. In his current role, Dr. Obeid is responsible for overseeing all of IntelGenx' product development activities. Based on IntelGenx' current pipeline, there are eight different film projects in various development stages, five of which are under co-development with a commercial partner. Here, Dr. Obeid is in charge of overseeing the technology transfer, as well as the process development and manufacturing scale-up of all internal and external pharmaceutical film projects. Prior to joining IntelGenx, Dr. Obeid was a postdoctoral industrial R&D Fellow at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of University of Montreal, working on vaccine encapsulation using biodegradable microspheres. Before that, he was a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Alabama in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, focusing on the development of novel poly-based polymers for surface modification of biomedical implants as a part of the Boston Retinal Implant Project. Dr. Obeid holds a Ph.D in polymer chemistry from the University of Montreal, Canada and two Masters in polymer science and chemical engineering from the University of Strasbourg, France. Dr. Obeid is the co-inventor of multiple pending patent applications, and has published numerous scientific articles on recognized international journals and conferences.

"Our talented R&D team continues to break new ground in the development of oral film technology, and we were excited to have this opportunity to present their progress to an international audience of scientists from industry and academia, as well as leaders from healthcare providers and policy makers," Horst G. Zerbe, CEO of IntelGenx.

About IntelGenx:

Established in 2003, IntelGenx is a leading oral drug delivery company primarily focused on the development and manufacturing of innovative pharmaceutical oral films based on its proprietary VersaFilm technology platform.

IntelGenx' highly skilled team provides comprehensive pharmaceuticals services to pharmaceutical partners, including R&D, analytical method development, clinical monitoring, IP and regulatory services. IntelGenx' state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, established for the VersaFilm technology platform, supports lab-scale to pilot and commercial-scale production, offering full service capabilities to its clients. More information about the company can be found at www.intelgenx.com.

Forward Looking Statements:

This document may contain forward-looking information about IntelGenx' operating results and business prospects that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Statements that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about IntelGenx' plans, objectives, expectations, strategies, intentions or other characterizations of future events or circumstances and are generally identified by the words "may," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "could," "would," and similar expressions. All forward looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Because these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, IntelGenx' actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in IntelGenx' annual report on Form 10-K, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov, and also filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and www.sedar.com. IntelGenx assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

Each of the TSX Venture Exchange and OTCQX has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

Source: IntelGenx Technologies Corp.

Contacts:

Stephen Kilmer

Investor Relations

(514) 331-7440 ext 232

stephen@intelgenx.com



Andre Godin, CPA, CA

Executive Vice-President and CFO

IntelGenx Technologies Corp.

(514) 331-7440 ext 203

andre@intelgenx.com




Weekly net asset value ("NAV") is calculated as of the close of business on each Tuesday and posted on the following business day. In the event that Tuesday is not a business day, the Company will calculate the close-of-business NAV as of the business day immediately preceding that Tuesday. The end-of-month NAV is calculated as of the close of business on the last day of the month and posted on the following business day. For weeks that include a month-end NAV report, PSH will provide only the month-end NAV and not report the Tuesday NAV. Monthly NAVs are published in accordance with the Decree on Conduct of Business Supervision of Financial Undertakings under the Wft (Besluit Gedragstoezicht financiele ondernemingen Wft).

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 07/12/17 -- Osisko Mining Inc. (TSX: OSK)("Osisko" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce new results from the ongoing drill program at its 100% owned Windfall Lake gold project located in Urban Township, Quebec. The current 400,000 metres drill program combines definition drilling above the Red Dog intrusion ("Red Dog"), expansion drilling above and below Red Dog, and expansion/definition drilling in the Lynx deposit located immediately to the NE of Windfall. Significant new assays from thirty intercepts in seventeen drill holes focused on infill and expansion drilling in the Lynx deposit are reported in the table below.

Highlights from the new results include: 131 g/t Au over 2.0 metres (100 g/t Au over 2.0 metres cut) from DDH OSK-W-17-851; 113 g/t Au over 2.0 metres (75.1 g/t Au over 2.0 metres cut) from DDH OSK-W-17-846; 73.5 g/t Au over 2.2 metres (29.1 g/t Au over 2.2 metres cut) from DDH OSK-W-17-859; 30.0 g/t Au over 2.9 metres from DDH OSK-W-17-857; and 5.32 g/t Au over 15.7 metres in DDH OSK-W-17-878.

Maps showing hole locations and full analytical results are available at www.osiskomining.com.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Au (g/t) Interval Au (g/t) cut to 100 Hole No. From (m) To (m) (m) uncut g/t Zone ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-817 594.0 596.0 2.0 13.3 New ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-827 469.0 472.0 3.0 3.63 New ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-836 210.0 214.5 4.5 4.56 Lynx 1 HW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 219.9 222.0 2.1 5.49 Lynx 1 HW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 382.4 384.7 2.3 20.7 14.8 New ---------------------------------------------------------------- including 382.4 382.7 0.3 146 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 890.1 892.7 2.6 16.3 New ---------------------------------------------------------------- including 890.1 890.6 0.5 75.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-839 319.7 328.0 8.3 6.60 Lynx 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-846 95.0 97.0 2.0 113 75.1 Lynx 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------- including 95.5 97.0 1.5 151 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-848 348.0 350.6 2.6 8.43 Lynx 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------- including 348.0 348.9 0.9 21.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 486.5 488.5 2.0 3.11 New ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 490.5 492.8 2.3 6.21 New ---------------------------------------------------------------- including 491.3 492.2 0.9 15.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-849 190.0 192.0 2.0 7.10 Lynx 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Au (g/t) Interval Au (g/t) cut to 100 Zone within Hole No. From (m) To (m) (m) uncut g/t Lynx ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-851 249.0 251.0 2.0 3.04 Lynx 1 HW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 340.0 343.0 3.0 8.02 Lynx 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 348.0 350.0 2.0 131 100 VNCR ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-857 252.0 254.0 2.0 27.4 Lynx 1 HW ---------------------------------------------------------------- including 253.1 253.6 0.5 95.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 348.0 350.9 2.9 30.0 Vein ---------------------------------------------------------------- including 349.2 350.9 1.7 50.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-859 307.0 309.0 2.0 5.66 Lynx 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 380.5 382.7 2.2 73.5 29.1 VNCR ---------------------------------------------------------------- including 381.4 382.0 0.6 263 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 390.6 393.4 2.8 10.3 VNCR ---------------------------------------------------------------- including 390.6 391.5 0.9 27.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-868 199.8 202.0 2.2 9.77 Lynx 1 HW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 221.0 223.0 2.0 26.7 Lynx 1 HW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 301.0 303.5 2.5 12.3 Lynx 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-870 210.4 213.1 2.7 25.7 Lynx 1 HW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-872 194.7 197.4 2.7 4.27 VNCR ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-873 242.0 246.9 4.9 10.7 Lynx 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 269.0 271.6 2.6 10.0 Lynx 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-874 168.0 170.0 2.0 7.03 Lynx 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-876 210.0 212.0 2.0 25.9 15.3 Lynx 3 ---------------------------------------------------------------- including 210.6 210.9 0.3 171 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-878 287.0 302.7 15.7 5.32 Lynx 2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes:

1. True widths are estimated at 65 - 80% of the reported core length interval. See "Quality Control" below. 2. Definitions: HW = hanging wall, VNCR = crustiform vein. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azimuth ( Dip ( degrees Length Hole Number degrees ) ) (m) UTM E UTM N Section ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-817 145 -60 822 453334 5435231 3600 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-827 145 -63 957 453173 5435126 3425 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-836 145 -68 1045 453548 5435280 3825 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-839 331 -56 449 453431 5434888 3525 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-846 331 -64 249 453139 5434935 3300 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-848 136 -46 669 453310 5435355 3650 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-849 333 -48 315 453219 5434910 3350 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-851 320 -50 375 453452 5434918 3550 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-857 330 -52 437 453415 5434890 3525 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-859 337 -55 414 453432 5434908 3550 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-868 332 -64 435 453428 5434977 3575 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-870 332 -50 411 453419 5434939 3550 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-872 334 -47 307 453265 5434914 3400 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-873 326 -61 393 453428 5434977 3575 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-874 332 -50 372 453312 5434910 3450 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-876 335 -48 393 453257 5434941 3400 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OSK-W-17-878 329 -62 417 453454 5434984 3600 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

OSK-W-17-817 returned 13.3 g/t Au over 2.0 metres. Mineralization consists of 5% pyrite stringers and tourmaline, 5% disseminated pyrite and traces of chalcopyrite. Mineralization is hosted in a rhyolite altered to silica, sericite and chlorite. This new zone is between Lynx 1 and Lynx 4.

OSK-W-17-827 returned 3.63 g/t Au over 3.0 metres. Mineralization consists of 3% pyrite stringers and traces of disseminated pyrite, and is observed in the contact between felsic porphyritic intrusive and felsic volcanic. Alteration comprises sericite and weak silica flooding. This new zone is between Lynx 1 and Lynx 4.

OSK-W-17-836 returned two significant intersections: 4.56 g/t Au over 4.5 metres and 5.49 g/t Au over 2.1 metres within the Lynx 1 HW. Mineralization comprises 1 to 3% disseminated pyrite with locally 1% pyrite stringers. Host rock is a foliated/sheared gabbro with quartz-carbonate veining. A third interval returned 20.7 g/t Au over 2.3 metres (including 146 g/t Au over 0.3 metres), including local visible gold as clusters and fine grains associated with intense silica flooding, with 1 to 2% of fine grained clusters of disseminated pyrite, hosted in the contact and within felsic intrusive and volcanic units. This interval is located between Lynx 1 and Lynx 4 (possibly the eastern extension of Lynx 1). A fourth interval returned 16.3 g/t Au over 2.6 metres (including 75.9 g/t Au over 0.5 metres). Mineralization is associated with up to 5% quartz-tourmaline veins and consists of 1 to 3% disseminated fine to medium-grained pyrite and traces of pyrite stringers, all hosted in altered felsic volcanics (sericite, chlorite and silica flooding).

OSK-W-17-839 returned 6.60 g/t Au over 8.3 metres (including 30.4 g/t Au over 0.5 metres and 24.9 g/t Au over 0.7 metres). Mineralization consists of pyrite-tourmaline stringers, tourmaline ptygmatic veins, crustiform veins, smoky quartz fracture fillings, with 10% pyrite and sphalerite. The felsic quartz eye porphyry has weak sericite and chlorite, strong silica flooding, and at the contact between the intermediate felsic intrusive and the gabbro, strong sericite, chlorite, silica flooding and local fuchsite. This interval is in within the Lynx 1.

OSK-W-17-846 returned 113 g/t Au over 2.0 metres. This interval contains local visible gold and 3 to 7% of pyrite within tourmaline ptygmatic veins, stringers and disseminations. Host rock is mainly a moderate to strongly silicified rhyolite with local weak chlorite and sericite alteration.

OSK-W-17-848 intercepted 8.43 g/t Au over 2.6 metres (including 21.3 g/t Au over 0.9 metres) within Lynx 2. This intersection extends Lynx 2 eighty (80) metres to the northeast from OSK-W-17-837 (97.7 g/t Au over 8.4 metres, see press release dated May 30, 2017). Mineralization comprises 8% pyrite stringers locally associated with tourmaline, with a strong silica alteration. A second and third interval returned 3.11 g/t Au over 2.0 metres and 6.21 g/t Au over 2.3 metres (including 15.1 g/t Au over 0.9 metres) respectively. The hole is a succession of felsic and mafic intrusions followed by a sequence of felsic and mafic volcanic rocks. These two mineralized zones comprise of 2% crustiform veins with pyrite and up to 3% tourmaline and quartz veins, 2 to 4% pyrite stringers and 3% disseminated pyrite and clusters, and medium to strong chlorite alteration, weak to strong sericite and silica alteration and disseminated fuchsite. These intervals are between Lynx 1 and Lynx 4 and possibly correlate with OSK-W-17-836 (3.30 g/t Au over 2.3 metres, see press release dated May 23, 2017).

OSK-W-17-849 returned 7.1 g/t Au over 2.0 metres. Mineralization consists of tourmaline ptygmatic veins containing up to 12% disseminated pyrite hosted in moderate to intense silica bands intersected within a rhyolite. This interval is within the Lynx 2 infill 50 metres east of OSK-W-17-805 (12.4 g/t Au over 5.0 metres, previously published June 7, 2017) and 80 metres below OSK-W-16-761 (71.3 g/t Au over 2.3 metres and 64.3 g/t Au cut to 100 g/t, see press release dated February 15, 2017).

OSK-W-17-851 intercepted three intersections. The first returned 3.04 g/t Au over 2.0 metres within the Lynx 1 HW, 35 metres east and below OSK-W-17-800 (16.4 g/t Au over 2.4 metres, see press release dated April 25th, 2017) and 10 metres northeast of OSK-W-17-857 (27.4 g/t over 2.0 metres). Mineralization consists of disseminated pyrite and up to 3% pyrite tourmaline stringers with locally 2% quartz-carbonate-pyrite veins. Host rock is a strongly altered contact (chlorite, sericite, fuchsite and locally silica) between a felsic porphyritic dike and an intermediate volcanic unit. The second intersection returned 8.02 g/t Au over 3 metres. The third intersection returned 131 g/t Au over 2.0 metres within the Lynx 2. Mineralization consists of crustiform veins with 6 to 8% pyrite and tourmaline, and local visible gold; this mineralization corresponds with OSK-W-17-800 (35.2 g/t Au over 2.3 metres, 25.4 g/t Au cut to 100 g/t, see press release dated April 15, 2017).

OSK-W-17-857 intersected 27.4 g/t Au over 2.0 metres (including 95.0 g/t Au over 0.5 metres) corresponding to Lynx HW Zone. Mineralization consists of 1% tourmaline ptygmatic pyritic veins with locally 10% pyrite, traces of arsenopyrite and local visible gold associated with intense silicification, all hosted in fragmental felsic intrusives. A second intersection returned 30.0 g/t over 2.9 metres.

OSK-W-17-859 intercepted three intersections: 5.66 g/t Au over 2.0 metres and 73.5 g/t Au over 2.2 metres (including 263 g/t Au over 0.6 metres). The third interval returned 10.3 g/t Au over 2.8 metres (including 27.3 g/t Au over 0.9 metres). Mineralization consists of 1 to 3% disseminated pyrite (locally up to 10%), 50% crustiform veins with 20 to 30% pyrite, traces to 3% of pyrite tourmaline stringers and local visible gold. Host rocks consist of zones of intense pervasive silica flooding in felsic volcanics. These intervals correspond to Lynx 1, 25 metres below OSK-W-16-760 (7.79 g/t Au over 4.5 metres, see press release dated January 11, 2017) and 30 metres west of OSK-W-17-834 (421 g/t Au over 3.7 metres, 27.8 g/t Au cut to 100 g/t, see press release dated May 10, 2017).

OSK-W-17-868 returned three intersections. Two are within Lynx HW Zone, averaging 9.77 g/t Au over 2.2 metres and 26.7 g/t Au over 2 metres respectively. The first zone is at the contact between a shear and a rhyolite with quartz-carbonate veins, with silica and sericite alteration and disseminated pyrite. The second zone consists of 5% of pyrite and trace tourmaline. Local visible gold was observed in a pervasive silica flooding within a felsic intrusive. A third zone corresponding to Lynx 2 returned 12.3 g/t Au over 2.5 metres, thirty metres northeast of OSK-W-16-760 which returned 7.79 g/t Au over 4.5 metres (see press release dated January 11, 2017).

OSK-W-17-870 returned 25.7 g/t over 2.7 metres. Mineralization consists of 2% pyrite stringers, 2% ptygmatitic tourmaline veins and local visible gold hosted in a silicified rhyolite. The intercept correlates to the Lynx HW Zone observed 30 metres above OSK-W-16-760 which returned 14.1 g/t Au over 3.0 metres (see release dated January 11, 2017).

OSK-W-17-872 returned 4.27 g/t Au over 2.7 metres. Mineralization comprises 1 to 2% pyrite-tourmaline stringers and trace of disseminated pyrite hosted in a crustiform vein. Host rock alteration comprises sericite, chlorite, carbonate and silicified felsic fragmental intrusive. The intercept corresponds to Lynx 2 infill 25 metres northeast of OSK-W-16-755 (8.12 g/t Au over 2.0 metres, see release dated January 11, 2017).

OSK-W-17-873 intercepted Lynx 1 and returned 10.7 g/t Au over 2.6 metres. Mineralization comprises traces of 3% disseminated pyrite and trace of pyrite-tourmaline stringers in a porphyry felsic intrusive, with sericite and silica. A second intersection in Lynx 2 returned 10 g/t Au over 2.6 metres. Mineralization occurs within rhyolite with sericitic and silica alteration containing 3 to 5% disseminated pyrite.

OSK-W-17-874 returned 7.03 g/t Au over 2 metres. Mineralization consists of 3% of disseminated pyrite associated with pervasive silica flooding hosted in a rhyolite. This intersection of Lynx 1 is 25 metres above OSK-W-17-803 which returned 19.1 g/t Au over 2.9 metres (see release dated January 11 2017).

OSK-W-17-876 returned 25.9 g/t Au over 2 metres including 171 g/t Au over 0.3 metres (uncut). Mineralization consists of 3% of pyrite-tourmaline stringers and 2% ptymagtitic tourmaline veins occurring in contact with the felsic intrusive fragmental rock, and a weak pervasive silica-sericite altered rhyolite, correlating to Lynx 3.

OSK-W-17-878 returned 5.32 g/t Au over 15.7 metres. The intersection from Lynx 2 is hosted in moderately sericitized/silicified rhyolitic unit, with up to 2% pyrite as stringers and centimeter-scaled pyrite-rich silica bands.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed, prepared and approved by Mr. Louis Grenier, M.Sc.A., P.Geo. (OGQ 800), Project Manager of the Windfall Lake gold project, who is a "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

Quality Control and Reporting Protocols

True width determinations are estimated at 65 - 80% true core lengths. Assay are uncut except where indicated, and calculated intervals are reported over a minimum length of 2 metres using a lower cutoff of 3 g/t Au. All NQ core assays reported were obtained by either 1 kilogram whole rock metallic screen/fire assay or standard 50 gram fire-assaying with AA or gravimetric finish at ALS Laboratories in Val d'Or, Quebec or Sudbury, Ontario. The 1 kilogram metallic screen assay method is selected by the geologist when samples contain coarse gold or present a higher percentage of pyrite than surrounding intervals. All samples are also analyzed for multi-elements, including silver, using an Aqua Regia-ICP-AES method at ALS laboratories. Drill program design, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and interpretation of results is performed by qualified persons employing a Quality Assurance/Quality Control program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices. Standards and blanks are included with every 20 samples for Quality Assurance/Quality Control purposes by the Corporation as well as the lab. Approximately 5% of sample pulps are sent to secondary laboratories for check assays.

About the Windfall Lake Gold Deposit

The Windfall Lake gold deposit is located between Val-d'Or and Chibougamau in the Abitibi region of Quebec, Canada. The current mineral resource comprises 2,762,000 tonnes at 8.42 g/t Au (748,000 ounces) in the indicated category and 3,512,000 tonnes at 7.62 g/t Au (860,000 ounces) in the inferred category (sourced from a technical report dated June 10, 2015 entitled "Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Windfall Lake Gold Property, Quebec, Canada" with an effective date of April 28, 2015, prepared in accordance with NI 43-101). The Windfall Lake gold deposit is currently one of the highest grade resource-stage gold projects in Canada. The bulk of the mineralization occurs in the Main Zone, a southwest/northeast trending zone of stacked mineralized lenses, measuring approximately 600 metres wide and at least 1,400 metres long. The deposit is well defined from surface to a depth of 500 metres, and remains open along strike and at depth. Mineralization has been identified only 30 metres from surface in some areas and as deep as 870 metres in others, with significant potential to extend mineralization up and down-plunge and at depth.

About Osisko Mining Inc.

Osisko is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal resource properties in Canada. Osisko holds a 100% in the high-grade Windfall Lake gold deposit located between Val-d'Or and Chibougamau in Quebec and holds a 100% undivided interest in a large area of claims in the surrounding Urban Barry area (82,400 hectares), a 100% interest in the Marban project located in the heart of Quebec's prolific Abitibi gold mining district, and properties in the Larder Lake Mining Division in northeast Ontario, including the Jonpol and Garrcon deposits on the Garrison property, the Buffonta past producing mine and the Gold Pike mine property. The Corporation also holds interests and options in a number of additional properties in northern Ontario. Osisko continues to be well financed with approximately $190 million in cash and investments.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this news release. The information in this news release about the Windfall Lake gold deposit being one of the highest grade resource-stage gold projects in Canada; the current 400,000 metre drill program at Red Dog; the significance of new results from the ongoing drill program at the Windfall Lake gold project; the significance of assay results presented in this press release; the type of drilling included in the drill program (definition drilling above Red Dog, expansion drilling above and below Red Dog, expansion drilling to the NE of the main deposit, and exploration drilling on the greater deposit and Urban-Barry project area); potential mineralization; the potential to extend mineralization up and down-plunge and at depth at the Windfall Lake gold deposit; the ability to realize upon any mineralization in a manner that is economic; the ability to complete any proposed exploration activities and the results of such activities, including the continuity or extension of any mineralization; and any other information herein that is not a historical fact may be "forward-looking information". Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, interpretations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "interpreted", "management's view", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information.

This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Corporation, at the time it was made, involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Osisko to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, risks relating to the ability of exploration activities (including drill results) to accurately predict mineralization; errors in management's geological modelling; the ability of Osisko to complete further exploration activities, including drilling; property interests in the Windfall Lake gold project; the ability of the Corporation to obtain required approvals and complete transactions on terms announced; the results of exploration activities; risks relating to mining activities; the global economic climate; metal prices; dilution; environmental risks; and community and non-governmental actions. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Osisko cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers of securities of the Corporation that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither Osisko nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such forward-looking information. Osisko does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law.

Contacts:

John Burzynski

President and Chief Executive Officer

(416) 363-8653




SoLocal Group, European leader in local online communication, reveals local know-how, and boosts local revenues of businesses. The Internet activities of the Group are structured around two business lines: Local Search and Digital Marketing. With Local Search, the Group offers digital services and solutions to clients which enable them to enhance their visibility and develop their local contacts. Thanks to its expertise, SoLocal Group earned the trust of some 490,000 clients of those services and over 2.4 billions of visits via its 4 flagship brands (PagesJaunes, Mappy, Ooreka and A Vendre A Louer) but also through its partnerships. With Digital Marketing, SoLocal Group creates and provides the best local and customised content about professionals. With over 4,400 employees, including a new orders force of 1,900 local communication advisors specialised in five verticals (Home, Services, Retail, Health Public, BtoB) and Internationally (France, Spain, Austria, United Kingdom), the Group generated in 2016 revenues of 812 millions euros, of which 80% on Internet and ranks amongst the first European players in terms of Internet advertising revenues. SoLocal Group is listed on Euronext Paris (LOCAL). More information may be obtained at www.solocalgroup.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.
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/12/17 -- Canadian Utilities Limited (TSX: CU)(TSX: CU.X)

The Board of Directors of Canadian Utilities Limited has declared the following quarterly dividends:

Shares TSX Stock Dividend Record Date Payment Date Symbol Per Share ($) (2017) (2017) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Class A non- voting CU 0.3575 10-Aug 01-Sep Class B common CU.X 0.3575 10-Aug 01-Sep Series Y 3.403% CU.PR.C 0.2126875 10-Aug 01-Sep Series AA 4.90% CU.PR.D 0.30625 10-Aug 01-Sep Series BB 4.90% CU.PR.E 0.30625 10-Aug 01-Sep Series CC 4.50% CU.PR.F 0.28125 10-Aug 01-Sep Series DD 4.50% CU.PR.G 0.28125 10-Aug 01-Sep Series EE 5.25% CU.PR.H 0.328125 10-Aug 01-Sep Series FF 4.50% CU.PR.I 0.28125 10-Aug 01-Sep

These dividends are eligible dividends within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada). Canadian Utilities Limited has a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) available to eligible holders of Class A non-voting shares and Class B common shares. Eligible shareholders may reinvest the cash dividends paid on their common shares to purchase new Class A non-voting shares from treasury at a two percent discount to the volume weighted average price as defined in the DRIP. For more information visit: www.canadianutilities.com or the CST Trust Company website at www.canstockta.com.

With approximately 5,400 employees and assets of $19 billion, Canadian Utilities Limited is an ATCO company. ATCO is a diversified global corporation delivering service excellence and innovative business solutions in Structures & Logistics (workforce housing, innovative modular facilities, construction, site support services, and logistics and operations management); Electricity (electricity generation, transmission, and distribution); Pipelines & Liquids (natural gas transmission, distribution and infrastructure development, energy storage, and industrial water solutions); and Retail Energy (electricity and natural gas retail sales). More information can be found at www.canadianutilities.com.

Forward-Looking Information:

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company.

The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon.

Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof, and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

Contacts:

Media & Investor Inquiries:

D.A. (Dennis) DeChamplain

Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

403-292-7502




TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - July 12, 2017) - Gran Colombia Gold Corp. (TSX: GCM) announced today that it produced a total of 16,258 ounces of gold in the month of June, surpassing the monthly production record set last month and bringing the total for the second quarter of 2017 to 46,075 ounces, up 21% over the second quarter last year. For the first half of 2017, gold production increased by 22% over the first half last year to a total of 85,083 ounces. The trailing 12 months' total gold production as of the end of June 2017 now stands at 165,073 ounces, up 10% over 2016's annual gold production and above the Company's production guidance for the 2017 calendar year of a total of 150,000 to 160,000 ounces.

Commenting on the mid-year 2017 production update, Serafino Iacono, Executive Co-Chairman of Gran Colombia, said, "We are very pleased with the steady improvement in our gold production this year which is paving the way for us to execute our capital programs, keep our working capital in good shape and continue to aggressively reduce our senior debt."

At the Segovia Operations, tonnes processed averaged 842 tpd in the second quarter of 2017, a 9% increase over the second quarter last year. In addition, head grades in the Company-operated mining areas improved to an average of 11.3 g/t in the second quarter of 2017, up from an average of 4.4 g/t in the second quarter last year, as a result of mining higher grade stopes in the Providencia mine this year. This brought the overall head grade for the Segovia Operations to an average of 15.9 g/t in the second quarter of 2017 compared with 13.8 g/t in the second quarter last year. Segovia's gold production of 14,243 ounces in the month of June, also a new monthly record, brought the total for the first half of 2017 to 72,996 ounces, up 26% over the same period last year. The trailing 12 months' total gold production as of the end of June 2017 at Segovia was 141,374 ounces, up 12% over 2016's annual gold production and above the Company's production guidance range for the 2017 calendar year at Segovia of 126,000 to 134,000 ounces.

At the Marmato Operations, gold production continued to be steady with 2,015 ounces produced in the month of June, bringing the total for the first half of 2017 to 12,087 ounces, up 2% over the same period last year. This brings Marmato's trailing 12 months' gold production at the end of June 2017 to 23,699 ounces, up 1% over its 2016 annual production. The Company expects Marmato's annual gold production for 2017 will range between 24,000 and 26,000 ounces.

About Gran Colombia Gold Corp.

Gran Colombia is a Canadian-based gold and silver exploration, development and production company with its primary focus in Colombia. Gran Colombia is currently the largest underground gold and silver producer in Colombia with several underground mines in operation at its Segovia and Marmato Operations. Gran Colombia is continuing its expansion and modernization activities at its high-grade Segovia Operations.

Additional information on Gran Colombia can be found on its website at www.grancolombiagold.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information:

This news release contains "forward-looking information", which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to production guidance and anticipated business plans or strategies. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Gran Colombia to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated as of March 30, 2017, which is available for view on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release and Gran Colombia disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, results, future events, circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

For Further Information, Please Contact:

Mike Davies

Chief Financial Officer

(416) 360-4653

investorrelations@grancolombiagold.com
Movile, a LatAm provider of mobile marketplaces, secured $53m in funding.

The round was led by Naspers (injecting $30M into the company) with participation from Innova Capital (injecting $23M).

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth of Moviles core business and Rapiddo, (Fast in Portuguese), a recently launched Online-to-Offline (O2O) platform that consolidates several popular consumer services in a single place, across Latin America (LatAm)

Led by Fabricio Boisi, CEO, Movile operates an ecosystem of around 100M monthly active users (MAU) combining all its businesses. The company has been acquiring and building mobile businesses in LatAm for more than a decade including iFood (food delivery marketplace), PlayKids (kids content marketplace), Rapiddo Delivery (cloud delivery marketplace), Maplink (cloud-based routing for deliveries), Sympla (tickets marketplace) and Superplayer (music marketplace).

Led by Mauro Piazza, Director, Rapiddo is a LatAm O2O consolidated mobile marketplace which leverages O2O services that Movile has developed over the years. Top-up services for pre-paid phones has already been launched with additional services including food delivery, grocery delivery, ticketing, courier delivery services and more to come soon. In addition, the company will be welcoming select partners to join the platform, like Taxis, which will provide users with access to transportation within Rapiddo.

FinSMEs

12/07/2017
Samsung NEXT, Samsungs investment arm, has announced the rollout of its early stage startup investment and M&A efforts in Europe.

The announcement marks the start of the firms expansion plans in Europe beginning with its Berlin headquarters, adding to existing offices in Korea, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York and Tel Aviv. The company plans to open additional locations throughout Europe within the next year.

Felix Petersen, recently appointed as managing director of Samsung NEXT Europe, will lead the European investments and M&A efforts. Petersen is a serial entrepreneur who was previously a partner at Faber Ventures in Lisbon. His career follows a number of successful exits including geospatial company Plazes AG, acquired by Nokia in 2008 and social networking service Amen, acquired by Tape.tv in 2013.

The investment arm will target early stage startups with a focus on fast scaling frontier tech such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented reality and virtual reality. It will partner with European startups to grow their businesses, by leveraging its global scale to provide entrepreneurs with capital, resources, expertise and deep connections within Samsungs ecosystem.

Since inception in 2013, Samsung NEXT has invested in more than 60 companies and has made 15 acquisitions including mobile payment solution LoopPay, cloud computing service provider Joyent, artificial intelligence platform Viv, and IoT platform SmartThings.

FinSMEs

12/07/2017
New Delhi: The Intelligence Bureau has raised serious concerns over the government's proposal to allow 100 percent foreign direct investment in local airlines citing security issues, a source said.

Concerns were raised during a meeting chaired by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi which was attended by senior officials from the civil aviation ministry and the IB. The meeting, held last month, was convened to discuss issues related to proposed amendments to the Aircraft Rules, 1937.

To a query about the concerns raised by the IB, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said nothing has come to his notice.

If anything comes and concerns are raised, then they have to be looked into, he told television channel CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

He also said the Cabinet decision on allowing 100 percent FDI in airlines holds.

The amendments to the Aircraft Rules are required to operationalise the framework for allowing foreign non-airline players to own up to 100 percent stake in domestic carriers. While the liberalised FDI policy was announced last year, it can be implemented only after putting in place the relevant rules.

According to the source, who is not authorised to speak to the media, the IB is of the view that foreign players should not be allowed to have 100 percent stake in domestic airlines as aviation is a "highly sensitive sector".

During the meeting, the IB also submitted that even developed countries like the US and Canada have permitted foreign entities to have only up to 25 percent stake in their respective domestic carriers.

Another concern raised was on the grounds that many airports having commercial operations are with the defence establishment.

Allowing foreign players to fully own domestic carriers might pose threat to national security, especially during the times of conflict, the source said.

The IB has also suggested that the existing substantial ownership and effective control requirement should be retained. Under this norm, substantial ownership and effective control of domestic airlines should be vested only with Indian nationals.

A query sent to a civil aviation ministry spokesperson seeking comments for the story did not elicit any response.

Another meeting on making amendments to the rules to operationalise the framework for 100 percent FDI in local airlines is likely to be held this week, the source said.

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has been opposing the move to permit overseas players to establish carriers in the country. Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir are part of the FIA.

At present, at least three domestic carriers have foreign airlines as partners. They are Jet Airways, Vistara and AirAsia India.

In Jet Airways, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has 24 percent stake, while in Vistara, Singapore Airlines holds 49 percent shareholding. Malaysias AirAsia Berhad has 49 percent ownership in AirAsia India.
New Delhi: The NITI Aayog would set up an Expert Group for evolving possible ways to strengthen the cooperative banks in the country, it was announced on Tuesday.

The Expert Group, to be chaired by NITI Member Ramesh Chand, would discuss the issue of providing financial support to District Central Cooperative Banks of the states for their sustainable growth, an issue flagged by the Punjab government.

The group would also discuss regulatory issues concerning the cooperative banks.

The in-principal agreement to form the Expert Group was arrived at during a meeting of senior officers of Punjab government and central ministries chaired by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya.

The government think-tank said that the group would have members from NABARD, state governments, Reserve Bank of India, Finance Ministry's Department of Financial Services and subject experts.

In a statement, the NITI Aayog said that it is one of its mandates to offer a platform for resolution of pending issues with the Central government to accelerate the implementation of developmental agenda of the states.

"The NITI Aayog is closely working with the states to foster cooperative federalism through structured support and mechanisms," it said.

During the meeting, the Punjab delegation headed by Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, also raised the issue of clearance to a project for extension, renovation and modernisation of canals being fed from river Sutlej.

"The Water Resources Ministry has indicated that the approval would be provided within a week of receipt of revised proposal from the state government of Punjab," the NITI Aayog statement said.
Bengaluru: Rupay credit cards are already in operation since 15 June, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) Managing Director and CEO A P Hota today said.

"For all practical purposes Rupay Credit Cards have already been launched. It is already in operation since 15 June. As many as ten banks are issuing these credit cards," Hota

told PTI from his Mumbai office.

Of the ten banks issuing Rupay Credit Cards, eight are public sector banks, while one is a private bank and the other a cooperative bank, Hota said.

The eight public sector banks are - Andhra Bank, Canara Bank, Corporation Bank, Central Bank, IDBI, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank and Vijaya Bank.

The other two are - HDFC Bank (private bank) and Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank, he said.

The NPCI, the nodal agency for digital payment systems in the country, is going to conduct a formal launch in Mumbai in the middle of this month or in all likelihood next month, Hota said.

"We are not focusing more on the formal launch, but focusing more on technically enabling more and more banks in credit cards," he said.

Hota also said a pilot is going on with five public sector banks and by March 2018, NPCI plans to have 25 banks altogether on board.

He also said the business development department of NPCI is in touch with the banks to technically enable them.

"Our officials are visiting the banks to technically enable them to issue Rupay credit Cards. We are making them aware of its benefits, and how better they are compared to Visa and Master Card," he said.

Hota said NPCI is also in talks with private banks to issue Rupay Credit Cards.

Replying to a query, he said each banks have issued between 50 and 100 Rupay credit cards, but would increase numbers as and when requests come their way.
Kolkata: The State Bank of India has not been "rushing towards" the new Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to resolve cases of defaults as the entire ecosystem required for the new law has not so far been fully created, its chairperson Arundhati Bhattachrya said on Tuesday.

"The banking sector has in one voice asked for the Bankruptcy Code. As the country matures and evolves, it is necessary to have a judicial framework for orderly resolutions of assets. We cannot have makeshift structures that we were having earlier. So, we have been asking for a bankruptcy law and that has come.

"Now, the reason why we have not been rushing towards this is because with the law also you need to set up the ecosystem," she said.

Bhattacharya noted that first of all, the bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has to be created, people have to be deputed on the bench and next, one needs to create an information utility, which has not come yet.

She also cited the requirement of certified and registered resolution professionals to go with the resolution process.

"So, it has taken a little time for the law to be passed, rules to be notified and all the infrastructure to be created. Now, the ecosystem has begun getting created...it has been created, but not fully. And that is why we have seen that slowly the cases have been going on," she said.

The SBI chief said all the 12 stressed accounts, which were identified by the Reserve Bank of India, were receiving its attention and it hoped to see fast resolution for the settlement of dues through the IBC.

"All of the stressed accounts are receiving our attention. As and when it will come up in front of the NCLT, we will be making our representations. And we hope that these resolutions will happen as fast as it currently laid out in the law," she said.

Last month, the apex bank had identified 12 large accounts with exposure of more than Rs 5,000 crore and more than 60 percent of which is recognised as NPAs. Banks have to refer to the IBC for these accounts.

Bhattacharya said the amount of provisioning that needs to be made on the 12 stressed accounts would "slightly" be above of what the bank would have made in any case.

"It will obviously hit the bottomline (of SBI), but not to that extent," she said.

She was in the city for the inauguration of bank's wealth management services and Bhattacharya said the bank is among the first PSU lender to introduce such services. It is targeting to have SBI Exclusif outlets in 13 centers in the country in the current financial year.
Bengaluru: Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting division on Tuesday announced it has shut down its lighting plant at Mysuru owing to sharp decline in demand for CFL and increasing preference for LED products.

"We notified the (state) government and relevant authorities of our decision to shut down the lighting plant two months ago and complied with regulatory requirements," said the company in a statement here.

The closure of the manufacturing unit resulted in the company offering voluntary retirement scheme for the remaining 84 workers.

Admitting that changing market and technology landscape in the lighting business had rendered operations of its Mysuru unit commercially unviable, the company said reduced demand for CFL saw production at the facility drop sharply over the past two years.

"We evaluated all options and kept the plant operational for a year at low production levels despite being economically unviable," added the statement.
A court in Angamaly on Wednesday quashed Malyalam actor Dileep's bail plea and remanded him in two-day police custody in connection with the abduction and assault of a Malayalam actress in February, according to media reports.

Police had requested that the court grant them custody of the actor for three days in order to further question him and gather evidence. However, the court sent the actor to police custody for two days, The Indian Express reported.

The 48-year-old actor, charged with conspiracy, was remanded to 14-day judicial custody by a court in Angamaly on Tuesday. Dileep was then shifted to a jail in Aluva, which is also his hometown. The actor has pleaded not guilty, maintaining that he was trapped.

Noted lawyer K Ramkumar, who appeared for Dileep, said the actor was charged under Section 120(B) (conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code. Police said there was no instruction from the magistrate to provide any special facilities to Dileep in jail.

Dileep was arrested on Monday evening on charges of criminal conspiracy in the abduction and assault of the actress, who has worked in Tamil and Telugu films. She was allegedly abducted and molested inside her car for two hours by the accused, who forced their way into her vehicle on the night of 17 February and later escaped in a busy Kochi area.

Dileep's arrest came after police questioned him and his director friend Nadirshah on 29 June and on Monday in view of certain revelations by prime accused Pulsar Suni. Police said the actor had been arrested based on evidence gathered.

Meanwhile, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) held an emergency executive meeting and removed Dileep from its primary membership after the news of his arrest broke. Dileep was the treasurer of the AMMA, which had also pledged its support to the actress, Malayalam superstar Mammootty told reporters.

Dileep had been expelled from a number of organisations, including FEFKA Directors' Union, another key body in Malayalam cinema.

Mammootty, who attended the AMMA meeting, said the organisation stood by the victim and would continue to extend all support to her in her fight for justice. "We are always with our sister. We have extended our support to her from the very beginning itself. We will stand by the victim," he said.

Mammootty and superstar Mohanlal had faced flak for their "silence" over the issue during a press conference of AMMA recently.

The sacking of Dileep also came as embarrassment for the ruling Left Democratic Front, whose Lok Sabha member and AMMA's president Innocent and two actor-turned MLAs, Mukesh and KB Ganeshkumar, publicly defended the actor last week.

The AMMA meeting also condemned alleged derogatory comments made against the actress by some actors.

With inputs from PTI
Vadodara: A Vadodara court issued summons to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on 11 July over the stampede at the railway station in the city during a train trip to promote his film Raees which left a man dead.

The court of judicial magistrate first class S P Dave issued summons to Khan under section 204 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) after noting that there was sufficient ground for proceeding against him in the case, and ordered him to remain present in the court on 27 July.

Section 204 of the CrPC deals with issues of processes if, in the opinion of a magistrate, there is sufficient ground for proceeding against a person. The magistrate then shall issue summons for securing the attendance of the accused.

A private complaint against Khan was filed by a man named Jitendra Solanki. Solanki had moved the court after the police refused to take his complaint and register an FIR against Khan.

His lawyer Juned Saiyed argued that negligence shown by Khan had caused chaos and loss of public property at the railway station. The incident had left one dead and several others injured.

The Gujarat High Court had earlier stayed summons issued to Khan by the Government Railway Police on the same issue, maintaining that summons under CrPC cannot be issued to a person not staying within the limits of the police station where an offence has occurred.

Farheed Khan Pathan, a local politician, had suffered a heart attack at the Vadodara railway station on 23 January after being caught in the huge rush of Khan's fans, waiting for a glimpse of the superstar.

Khan, who was promoting Raees had arrived at the station by August Kranti Express from Mumbai. Pathan subsequently died in a hospital.
The 18th IIFA awards will be held in New York this year over 14-15 July (15, 16th July, for the Indian audience). The grand two day celebration is known for championing Indian cinema and all the artists who have contributed in taking Hindi cinema beyond the realm of our own nation.

However, films are not the only thing that are celebrated at the IIFA awards.

Every year, celebrities and other members of Bollywood come out in scores to showcase fashion and their personalised style with grace and oodles of panache. We see a bevy of beautifully (sometimes not) turned out individuals that give us #FashionGoals for months after the award show has come to a close.

This year, we thought we would bring to you a round-up of the fashion that has been displayed on the IIFA red (and by that we mean green) carpet over the years, as stars attend the various official IIFA events (IIFA Rocks, IIFA Fashion Extravaganza, IIFA Awards Green Carpet, etc.)

Here is our pick of the Best Dressed celebrities at IIFA

Deepika Padukone (2016)

It was impossible not to feature Deepika Padukone in this ethereal avatar on our Best Dressed list. Dressed in a Sabyasachi gown, there is not one thing about this look that we can point a finger at. From the ensemble to the hair, make-up and accessories, Deepika was the definition of 'slay' at last year's event.

Sayani Gupta (2016)

Sayani Gupta best known for her performance in Margarita, With A Straw wore this edgy (literally) outfit by designer Amit Aggarwal at last year's IIFA Rocks event. The cuts on the dress work perfectly, and Gupta's hair compliments the look 100%. Something about this number just seems to work on multiple levels.

Bipasha Basu (2015)

This embellished long kurta by designer Sabyasachi that Bipasha Basu is seen sporting at IIFA 2015, is one look that will be remembered for years to come. Classic and elegant, the star seems to have carried off this Indian ensemble with elan.

The pulled back hairstyle along with the subtle make-up given us the perfect vintage look and feel. Some may feel the look is a tad bit too ostentatious for the occasion however we feel like she deserves due credit here.

Shilpa Shetty (2016)

This white number by designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil not only gave us fashion goals, but it also combines 'oomph' with class and gives us a pretty neat package. The actor's fit physique only compliments this slinky piece.

Shahid Kapoor (2016)

Shahid Kapoor cuts a sharp picture in this cobalt blue two-piece suit at the 2016 IIFA green carpet. The clean cuts of the outfit along with Kapoor's adorable face, paired with his slim tie gives us the perfect ensemble that a male can sport on the occasion of a big event.

Disclaimer: If you're wondering why most of our favourite best dressed looks are from the previous year, the fashion game of Indian celebrities has picked up only recently in our humble opinion (yes, we said it #SorryNotSorry).

Here is our pick of the Worst Dressed celebrities at IIFA

Richa Chadda (2014)

This Falguni and Shane Peacock number sported by Richa Chadda is the stuff of nightmares (further research shows that actor Sameera Reddy wore the exact same outfit at another event and all we can wonder is  WHY?).

Looking like a hybrid between a flamingo and a carnation, this is exactly what one should never wear to an event where there is more than one guest, and there is even the slightest chance that you can be seen.

Bipasha Basu (2012)

Why wear a sari, dress, or a gown when you can wear a bikini top and throw a blanket over it. Basu's neck-piece is no better. Looking like a scary contraption straight out of a sci-fi movie, we can't imagine what she was (or wasn't) thinking when she decided to sport this look at the IIFA rocks event back in 2012.

This 9 yard wonder designed by Shivan Narresh has left us slightly speechless, to put it mildly.

Neha Dhupia (2015, 2016 - because just LOOK at her)

Wearing a creation by designer Neha Agarwal, here we have actor Neha Dhupia looking like a Batik print stencil gone wrong in this too-frickin'-yellow outfit that has us reaching for our sunglasses and a toothpick to stab in our eyes simultaneously.

Dress so nice, we had to have it twice. Neha Dhupia finds herself featured in our Worst Dressed list two times over, and looking at these two outfits, you shouldn't be too surprised. Sporting this H&M number, in 2016 Dhupia got confused and thought she was the nurse at the emergency ward of the Lilavati Hospital and not a Bollywood star attending one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies celebrating Indian cinema in the city of Madrid.

She also thought she worked part-time as a matron.

Ranveer Singh (2012)

We know he can pull off almost any whacky ensemble he wishes to, but checks and stripes have even this magical man beat.

There is just so much going on with this outfit that we don't know what to thrash first. Should we talk about the bad looking shirt that Singh has paired up with his bad looking granddad tie? Should we talk about the 80s superstar hair that he is seen sporting? Should we thrash the fact that the actor's suit has an insignia almost as big as his face?

Lara Dutta (2016)

Sporting this creation by the wildly popular international clothing line Balmain, we are not sure what look Dutta was going for. Ugly chandelier? Mitochondria? Micro-organisms floating around a coral reef? The best part about our former Miss World's outfit is Mahesh Bhupati.

The awards will be held at the MetLife stadium, in the heart of New York this year. There will be a live telecast of the celebration on Colors TV. Rest assured we'll be watching out for the various looks our favourite celebrities will be sporting. Will you?
Dubbing filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar's upcoming film Indu Sarkar as a political ploy of the BJP, local Congress leaders today said the party will not allow its screening in the cinema halls in the city.

"Under the garb of the freedom of expression, the movie touches the subject of Emergency. It purposefully features the lookalikes of (former Prime Minister) Indira Gandhi and her son late Sanjay Gandhi to sully our party's image," City Congress general secretaries Girish Joshi and Vivek Khandelwal said in a statement. The movie, slated to release on July 28, will not be allowed to be screened in the cinema halls at any cost, states a PTI report.

The leaders said letters have been written to film distributors, the Central Cine Circuit Association, Indore, and cinema halls operators against screening of the film.

In response to the allegations made by these Congress party workers, Madhur Bhandarkar said, I dont know what to say, really. The members of the Congress have asked Maharashtra Chief Minister to intervene in the matter too. Yesterday in Lucknow a mob burnt my effigy, there were some news from Allahabad too. I think this is a kind of knee-jerk reaction, really. They havent even seen the film," according to a report by The Indian Express.

Indu Sarkar has landed itself into one controversy after the other over the past few weeks. First, Congress member Sanjay Nirupam wrote a letter to CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani asking him to arrange a 'pre-screening' for Congress party workers to clear the movie from the Congress' side, to which Nihalani issued a statement wherein he said he was not obligated to respond to Nirupam's letter.
Superstar Kamal Haasan has found himself in the cross hairs of a fringe group in Tamil Nadu, reportedly due to his role as host of the reality show Bigg Boss Tamil.

This is the first-ever season of Bigg Boss Tamil, which was launched on 25 June 2017 on the Star Vijay channel.

As per a Times Now report telecast on 11 July 2017, the fringe group  which goes under the moniker Hindu Makkal Katchi  has asked for Haasan's arrest on the grounds of 'tarnishing Tamil culture' by hosting a show like Bigg Boss.

Veeramaanickam Siva, the secretary of Hindu Makkal Katchi, has filed a complaint against the makers of the show and Kamal Haasan with the Commissioner of Police, Chennai.

"People of India are paragons of virtue. Indian television channels, nowadays, are acting in a way to wreck the Indian culture. The Bigg Boss program in Vijay TV overthrows every other show on television in tarnishing the Indian culture and Tamil traditions. People who don't know each other wearing slinky clothes and using crass language erode our social values and are a threat to our culture. We are in the times where television is accessible from kids to elders, and these kind of programs are a menace to our society. Even the respectable Tamil anthem was subjected to disgrace in the show and contestants made a mockery of it. This has deeply hurt the sentiments of 7 crore Tamilians. The host Kamal Hassan and the participants Namitha, Oviya, Gayathri Raguran, Julie, Raiza, Haarathi, Vayyapuri, Shakthi, Ganja Karuppu, Aarav, Snehan, Bharani, Ganesh Venkatraaman should be arrested immediately and I seek legal action from the police department. The reality show should be immediately banned to save the Tamil culture and values," read the letter addressed to the police commissioner.

Haasan has been a vocal opponent of the 30 percent local tax imposed by the Tamil Nadu government on the state's film industry over and above the newly implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST). He hit back and promptly responded to the accusations in his interview to the news channel Republic sometime back.

"I don't mind being arrested. It would make a point in proving how silly these accusations are. Why didn't they call for a ban on cheerleaders dancing in the stadium during a cricket match?" said Haasan.

Asked about why he's being targeted by the fringe groups time and again, he said, "I'm mistaken to be a Communist by Hindutva groups. The truth is I'm a rationalist. I am willing to accept any good ideas coming from either side as long as it works along with the world logic."

When he had taken on the anchor's gig for Bigg Boss Tamil, the actor had said, "Bigg Boss is a social experiment. That's the reason I came on board", further quoting Tamil philosopher Kaniyan Poongundranaar's famous saying: "To us, all towns are one, all men our kin" as the crux of the show's concept.

It was just in March this year that the HMK had targeted Haasan, ostensibly for making 'derogatory' remarks about the Mahabharata. The right-wing group had then filed a PIL against the actor.
Viacom 18's award-winning African drama MTV Shuga that deals with safe sex, family planning and HIV is soon to get an Indian version and will be titled MTV Nishedh.

Viacom's Viacom International Media Networks unit revealed this development at the Family Planning 2020 summit in London on 11 July. The series was originally created for sub-Saharan Africa, and with MTV Nishedh, it will be the first time that the series will cross borders, reports The Hollywood Reporter (THR).

The series is a bona fide collaboration of Viacom's MTV International and the MTV Staying Alive Foundation in order to make the African youth get access to knowledge and behavior relating to HIV.

In one of it's previous report, THR had also said that according to the preliminary results of a study in Nigeria by the World Bank, the show has had a positive impact on the audience. The report furthered that twice as many viewers of MTV Shuga wee likely to go for HIV testing.

Not only that, there was a 58 per cent reduction of chlamydia among female viewers, safer sex and improved knowledge about HIV transmission and testing were also found.

In India, MTV Nished aims to target 176 million young people and would tackle "locally relevant issues, including child sexploitation and HIV". The show will be launched by Indian joint venture Viacom 18, as reported by THR.

Not only India, the show is also going to launch an Egyptian version in Arabic language, making it the first version of the show in a language other than English. The Egyptian version will throw light on issues pertaining to family planning issues, including demand for contraception, gender-based violence, child marriage and female genital mutilation.

The African version starred Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o, in its initial two seasons.
Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Rajkumar Hirani's biopic on Sanjay Dutt is arguably one of the most awaited films in Bollywood. Sanjay Dutt's journey has been documented in multiple ways, from being a son to Bollywood legends Nargis and Sunil Dutt, to becoming a successful hero and then turning into one of the most controversial actors in the Indian film industry.

His drug addiction and later rehabilitation, his super strong comeback from the brink of disaster, his involvement in the Bombay serial blasts, arrest under TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act), his incarceration and ultimately his release, more than suggest that had Dutt been in Hollywood there would have already been a spate of books or a television special by now.

However there have been many speculations regarding the movie, the cast and the treatment done to it. The makers of the film too have tried their best to create as much suspense around the film as possible, revealing bare minimum about the story.

There were rumours doing rounds that the makers have comfortably omitted out portions from Dutt's life that deals with drug addiction. However, according to a report by DNA, Ranbir, post Jagga Jasoos release, would fly down to New York to shoot the portions that deals with Dutt's addiction and rehab. The report also said that Sunil Dutt had sent off Sanjay to the US for rehabilitation. The biopic will bring in light Dutt's relationship with his father, his best friend that is being played by Masaan actor Vicky Kaushal, and all those women who he had romanced once upon a time.

Paresh Rawal, who is essaying the role of Sunil Dutt in the film, speaking to The Indian Express said, "It is chiefly a father-son story. The film is Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Dutts story."

Speaking about working in the film and being in the shoes of Sunil Dutt, Rawal spoke to Firstpost earlier and said, "Oh, its so amazing. Its all because of my director Rajkumar Hirani, because of Abhijat Joshis writing and because of Ranbir Kapoors acting that the movie is looking amazing. Ranbir is terrific, he is a unique talent. Fortunately, I am portraying a character that doesnt have any kind of set mannerisms or idiosyncrasies. Sunil Dutt was very human. He never had any vibes of stardom around him."

Manisha Koirala will be playing Nargis in the film. Other actors include Dia Mirza, Karishma Tanna, Tina Munim (not an Ambani then) and Anushka Sharma, according to a Hindustan Times report.
First Vir Das, now its Aditi Mittal. When Netflix announced they were signing on Aditi Mittal for a standup special, people were pretty happy.

When the streaming giant first released Vir Das's one hour comedy special Abroad Understanding, it opened up the gates for many more Indian stand-up comics, who could let their routines be seen by an international audience.

Also Read: Vir Das in Netflix's Abroad Understanding: Here's an Indian making fun of Americans in US

Amazon Prime, Netflix's competitor, then announced that it was signing on 14 Indian comics for standup specials. There was just one problem: all the comics were men. This led to a long drawn debate on how there is sexism in standup comedy, including an Anupama Chopra led panel to discuss the issue.

Sexism in stand-up comedy? No laughing matter, as this Anupama Chopra-led panel proves

With Aditi Mittal's standup in the mix, there's lots to look forward too. Mittal is one of the few comics whose routine has a women-centric comedy experience.

She talks about eve-teasing, tampons vs pads and also does a great impression of an old fashioned sex therapist, Dr Mrs Lutchuke, who tries her best to explain sex to the younger generation.

Her comedy routines have been featured in the Hansan Minaj led comedy special Stand-Up Planet, and the comedian has also been judged as BBC Asian Comedy's 'The cream of South Asian Comedy' in London.

Here's the trailer of her Netflix special, Things They Wouldn't Let Me Say, which will stream on Netflix on 18 July:
Such is the resilience of the Amarnath pilgrims that within hours of Monday's attack on a bus by militants, hundreds of devotees set off for the shrine amid stepped up security. The number of pilgrims undertaking the arduous journey is only expected to increase further.

"Another batch of 3,791 yatris left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in 101 vehicles, including 55 buses and 46 light motor vehicles for the valley around 4 am on Wednesday in an escorted convoy," a Hindustan Times report quoted a police source as saying.

"The yatra is progressing smoothly and the terror attack has not dampened the spirits of the pilgrims," an official quoted by PTI said.

Even at the Amarnath Yatri reception centre, the pilgrims exhibited little fear or anxiety, according to a report in The Indian Express. The predominant sentiment among the pilgrims is an unshakable belief in the government's security umbrella.

The bus carrying the pilgrims on Monday was neither registered with the Amarnath Shrine Board nor had it adhered to the security detail which is compulsory for the pilgrims in view of the terror threat.

Even the people onboard the bus had completed the yatra two days back and were in Srinagar since then, deviating from the vehicular part of the Amarnath yatra route which is between Pahalgam and Jammu.

Further, the bus was on its way to Jammu at night, which is not permissible. Keeping in view these security lapses, the other registered pilgrims are unfazed by the terror attack. "From what I have heard, the yatris who were attacked were not registered as pilgrims, and they were not part of the convoy. When the government is providing security, why should we take the risk of going by ourselves," Santosh Kumar was quoted in The Indian Express report.

"No fear at all. If they kill 60 yatris, we will bring 70. They want to scare us but that fear is missing. We will complete our yatra with the grace of the almighty," said another pilgrim to India Today.

Jammu and Kashmir governor NN Vohra convened an emergency meeting to review the security situation and a spokesperson told The Times of India that in the meeting, it was decided that the pilgrimage shall continue without any diminution whatsoever.

This rise in the number of Amarnath pilgrims in the face of the terror attack and at a time when militancy is at its peak in Kashmir is explained by a report published by Equations, a sustainable tourism advocacy group in Bengaluru, and the Jammu-Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) in Srinagar. Titled 'Amarnath Yatra: A Militarized Pilgrimage', the report suggests that the Amarnath yatra was promoted as an assertion of Hindu heritage, as The Wire explains.

The authors of the report recount their experience of the yatra and say that slogans such as 'Hindustan mei rehna hai bum bum Bhole kehna hai'. The report suggests that the Amarnath yatra is seen as a nationalist claim on Kashmir and an assertion of the Hindu religion.

Until the 1980s, not more than a few thousand people annually made the journey. The number of yatris eventually grew from 2,000 in 1980 to 42,000 in 1985. The report suggests that the growth has continued and uncannily shadows events linked to the resurgence of the Hindu right in India.

The yatris waiting to go to the yatra say that any attempt to block the pilgrimage would only double their faith. The Amarnath pilgrims and their unquestioning faith in religion seem to reaffirm the contents of the report.

"We are all finally dependent on Bhole Baba. If something bad has to happen, it could happen sitting at home also. There is nothing to fear at all," The Indian Express report quoted a pilgrim as saying.
In the dark of the night on the first Monday of the Shravana, Khanabal village in south Kashmir's Anantnag saw a vicious attack on a bus with pilgrims returning from the Amarnath yatra, killing at least seven and grievously wounding nineteen others.

No outfit, terrorist or otherwise, has claimed responsibility yet; ironically, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), dubbed as the primary suspect by the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police, issued one of the earliest condemnations, calling the attack 'un-Islamic' and reprehensible.

Hasuben Ratila Patal, Surakha Ben, Patal Lakshmiben, Usha Mohanla Sonkar, Thakor Nirmalaben, Ratan Zina Bhai Patal, and Patal Lakshmi Ben are the seven who lost their lives and in whose names we mourn the tragedy. It remains unclear as of now if the attack was only or primarily religious in character. Given the fact that a police check post was attacked before the bus, Inspector General of Police Munir Khan suggested that the attack on the bus was an unfortunate casualty after militants opened fire indiscriminately.

An acknowledgement of the aforesaid, however, must not denote denial. Only earlier this year, former Hizbul Mujahideen commander Zakir Musa chided separatists for calling the Kashmir question a problem of politics, urging the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in Kashmir.

The question of Kashmiri Pandits is one that unceasingly haunts the Valley, and to that end, casts deep aspersions on the nature of the Kashmiri resistance. Those democratic and secular in orientation see the resistance as themselves, often preferring to look the other way when the unease of such questions is invoked.

That the Kashmiri resistance is marred with elements of fundamentalism should cause no uneasiness if the objective is to voice the region's rightful discontentment. It should not lead us to believe that imaginations and desires cannot be reoriented, or that which is heinous is all there is. In looking the other way, as many recently did after the lynching of DSP Ayub Pandith in Srinagar, we betray that we know little of Kashmir or its resistance.

A recourse to silence in the wake of the Amarnath yatra tragedy would thus be antithetical to the democratic. It would cede critical political space to Hindutva, a process already underway as the tragedy is appropriated in the fustian of the perpetually persecuted Hindu. One is only to access social media to trace the unfolding of its insidiousness.

Revenge is the call and it is asked for in immediacy. The Kashmiri appears as the fundamental adversary, the 'them' of otherness in dire need of repressive measures. Wrestler Geeta Phogat recently tweeted, "Enough of condemning terror, we need to burn them alive now."

      ,

    !!!   geeta phogat (@geeta_phogat) July 10, 2017

As Abhishek Saha writes in this Hindustan Times piece, citing his childhood friend's Facebook post  that read, "Do not shoot them. Kick them. Belch them. Cut them. Slice them. Desecrate them. Destroy them. Piece by piece. Hit them where it hurts the most. Kill them all."

"... it is unclear who (he) means by 'them' (in the post)  militants believed to be behind the killings or the common Kashmiri, often vilified in popular Indian narrative for having sympathies for militants and holding secessionist views," Saha wrote.

Already a nation navigating the spiral of attacks on Muslims across the country, it would not be unreasonable to expect more such instances following the mobilisation around the Amarnath tragedy  none of which will ever be condemned by those now commissioning condemnations.

It is in these vitiated times that the Kashmiri has been the kernel of hope. Even beyond social media, where ordinary Kashmiris refused to be silent against the attack, public figures from the region's political milieu have been steadfast in condemnation.

In a joint statement, separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Yasin Malik deplored the incident as 'against the very grain of Kashmiri ethos.' Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, offered similar condemnation in the vein of Kashmiris and Kashmiriyat.

What spoke most profoundly was the reaction of the Kashmiri civil society, as demonstrations were staged across Srinagar against the attack and a demand for a probe was articulated. In a stunning display of understanding, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted:

The people of Kashmir have strongly condemned the terror attack on Amarnath yatris. It shows the spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much alive.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 11, 2017

Such were the reverberations of the Kashmiri outpouring of mourning that the public has taken notice. Whether it fosters empathic imagination towards the Kashmiris is our challenge and a test of our conscience.
New Delhi: Security agencies engaged in anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir have been told by the Centre to implement security plans with full vigour.

The directive from the central government came in the wake of the killing of seven Amarnath pilgrims in a terror attack on Monday. Security agencies were told to implement the security plans vigorously, a home ministry official said, indicating that the anti-militancy operations will be intensified.

Two central ministers  Jitendra Singh and Hansraj Ahir, army chief General Bipin Rawat, and CRPF DGP RR Bhatnagar have visited the Kashmir Valley in the last two days. The instructions have been given to all forces engaged in anti-militancy operations, the official said.

The highest level of alert has already been sounded across Jammu and Kashmir while Amarnath pilgrims will be provided enhanced security along the two pilgrimage routes.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and ordered enhanced security for the Amarnath Yatra following the terror attack on devotees. He took stock of the prevailing situation in the Valley, particularly on the routes to the shrine located in the Himalayas at an altitude of 12,756 feet, during an hour-long meeting. Sources said Singh directed the officials to ensure enhanced security for the pilgrims.

The pilgrimage started on 29 June and will conclude on 7 August. As many as 21,000 paramilitary personnel in addition to state police forces have been deployed for security of the pilgrimage routes. The number of paramilitary personnel deployed this year

is 9,500 more than last year.
Though security agencies blamed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for killing seven Amarnath pilgrims in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, the LeT has denied responsibility for the attack, according to media reports.

Kashmir police chief Munir Khan said that there were credible inputs that suggest LeT was responsible for Monday's attack, which also left 19 pilgrims injured.

However, according to a report in the Hindustan Times, the LeT has said it had nothing to do with the incident. LeT spokesperson, Abdullah Ghaznavi, blamed "Indian agencies" for the highly reprehensible act", the deadliest on Amarnath pilgrims in 15 years.

Times Now reported a statement from the LeT: "Islam doesn't allow violence against any faith. We strongly condemn such acts."

However, intelligence officials suggested that the LeT's vehement denials can be viewed through the prism of geopolitics.

According to a report in The Times of India, an intelligence officer believes that the fact that innocent civilians were the target of the terrorists could draw international attention, which could create trouble for our neighbours to the West. "Pakistan has been told time and again to rein in Hafeez Saeed and the LeT terror network," an intelligence officer was quoted as saying in the report.

In 2001, the terror outfit released a statement, assuring that they had no intention of attacking Amarnath Yatra pilgrims. "Our aim is neither to attack the Amarnath Yatra nor the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and the pilgrims should therefore join the Yatra without any fear," LeT spokesman Abu Abra said in a statement to a Srinagar news agency, according to a report on Rediff.com.

But intelligence agencies have good reason to view the LeT's statement with scepticism. History shows that Amarnath Yatra devotees have faced repeated attacks from the LeT.

A bloody history

According to The Hindu, at least 13 people were killed and 15 others injured when a militant, who was reportedly affiliated with the LeT, hurled grenades at a camp and later fired indiscriminately near the Amarnath cave on 20 July, 2001. The militant initially lobbed a grenade at the camp and as policemen rushed to the spot, tossed another grenade which killed at least two police officials.

CNN-News18 reported that on 30 July, 2002, two pilgrims were killed and three injured when militants hurled grenades at a taxi in Srinagar which was on its way to the Amarnath cave base camp. Just a week later, on 6 August, three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists opened fire inside the Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camp, killing nine people and injuring 27.

This attack took place despite the presence of an estimated 15,000 troops and police personnel deployed to protect the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims, an article in Frontline reported.

Intelligence officials point finger at 'desperate' LeT

According to a report in India Today, a top official said that the early assessment by the intelligence agencies was that the terrorists were acting out of desperation. "The killing of Jammu and Kashmir policemen has been a turning point. The force has turned the screws on and the intensity of their vigil and counter against terrorism has pushed the terrorists," the official told India Today.

Top intelligence officials claim the terrorists were forced to look for sitting ducks due to heavy security arrangements made by the army and government forces in Kashmir, India Today reported. The LeT reportedly activated its sympathisers and workers on the ground to narrow down the search for a soft target.

"They had been tailing this group from Gujarat comprising mostly women for the last two days and tipped off the terrorists to attack the group when there was no security around," top government sources told Mail Today.

Meanwhile, security for the ongoing pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine has been beefed up. The deceased were from Gujarat and their bodies were flown home on Tuesday morning.

Jammu and Kashmir governor NN Vohra, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh and other senior ruling PDP-BJP leaders and senior civil and police officers laid wreaths on their bodies before they were flown to Gujarat.

With inputs from agencies
The whole country knows it by now, doesnt it?

Pakistan is so scared of India that it cannot stop escalating trouble in Kashmir.

The militant groups in the Valley are so disturbed by the countrys tough leadership that they cannot take a break from engaging the security personnel in regular skirmishes.

Yes, Kashmir is in turmoil because the Centres no-nonsense policy is yielding results.

China is nervous of Indias military might and growing global clout. Thats why it has started needling India near a tri-junction in Bhutan.

The killing of Amarnath pilgrims is a clear proof that terrorists and their handlers are getting desperate.

Thanks to rant television, we are convinced that Indias enemies are terribly afraid at this point and they would go to any extent to land it in discomfort. The current problems and whatever might arise later have to do with its incredible rise as a super power under the very able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Delusional? Well, no. It depends on what you chose to believe  the sobering gut feeling that things might actually be getting worse, or, that which the chest-thumping crowd would like to convey. Absolute truth is such a redundant matter these days.

Efforts at perception control versus resistance to it is one of the dimensions of the prevailing national discourse. But its a relatively harmless one given the fact that jingoism and painting the enemy as bad are hardly intrinsically divisive. They dont set one Indian against the other. The more insidious dimension, however, is the tendency to paint Indians, a whole lot of them, as enemies, or at least ill-wishers, of the country.

If you have watched several television anchors responding to the 10 July terrorist attack on the bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir and noticed how they frothed at the mouth berating Indians advocating a shift from the current confused approach in the Valley from the government, you would understand better. The aim was clearly, as it has been for quite some time, to launch a vicious attack on people not subscribing to the muscular stand of the Right universe on Kashmir, or, in general, in the countrys neighbourhood, and branding them as unpatriotic and anti-national.

So, we had immediate questions on the #NotInMyName campaign, attacks on civil society groups active in the trouble zone, organisations favouring a dialogue with Pakistan and so on. The predictability of all this is sickening. Its as if incidents such as the attack on the Amarnath pilgrims are only an alibi for a particular crowd working with some other agenda. Theres no real sympathy for the people dying or even soldiers getting killed. Keep out of the cacophony of ideology, and it appears so outrageously silly to the sane mind.

How can a bunch of people spread ill-will against other Indians and just divide the country this way? And yes, they have for company a whole lot of like-minded people on social media. The target is obvious: the supposed Left liberals. It has now been expanded to include all who dont believe in the ideology of the Right. How can people be termed anti-nationals only on the basis of their beliefs or ideology, if they have one? One is not sure who is a bigger anti-national  the ones trying to divide people or the ones just expressing a different view.

All the countries trying to harm India could be laughing aloud. It does not take much to turn Indians against each other. Their understanding of nationalism is just too frivolous. One incident of provocation, and they would go all out attacking their own countrymen. Britishers didnt take long to realise this curious trait. The result is known to all. The handlers of terrorists would be having fun watching how their activities have been playing out in India, particularly in its media.

This dimension of the national political discourse needs to be controlled before it goes out of hand. You cannot be a patriot by branding other countrymen as unpatriotic. Is anyone listening?
By Abheet Singh Sethi

The killing of seven Hindu pilgrims in southern Kashmir enroute from the holy cave of Amarnath is the latest bloody statistic in Jammu and Kashmir, which has witnessed a 45 percent rise in terrorism-related deaths  and 164 percent increase in civilian deaths alone  over the year ending 30 June, 2017 according to an IndiaSpend analysis of data from the South Asian Terrorism Portal, run by the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, a nonprofit.

Unidentified terrorists reportedly opened fire on a police vehicle at around 8 pm on 10 July. When police retaliated, the terrorists fired indiscriminately, and a bus full of pilgrims returning from Amarnath was caught in the crossfire, according to the police. Others said there was no crossfire and the pilgrims were targets, with later reports saying the bus was attacked twice in three minutes.

The Kashmir Police blamed the Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terror group, for the attack, alleging it was masterminded by Pakistani terrorist Abu Ismail. LeT spokesperson Abdullah Ghaznavi, however, denied the charges and blamed Indian agencies for the highly reprehensible act, the deadliest on Amarnath pilgrims in 15 years.

Pained beyond words on the dastardly attack on peaceful Amarnath Yatris in J&K. The attack deserves strongest condemnation from everyone.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 10, 2017

Kashmiris, including separatists, were quick to condemn the attack.

#Hurriyat activists join HR groups civil society members & students to condemn killings ofYatris & express solidarity withBereaved families pic.twitter.com/a5zPE2cdjg  Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (@MirwaizKashmir) July 11, 2017

Widespread criticism of the terrorists in Kashmir drew a reaction from Indias home minister, Rajnath Singh.

The people of Kashmir have strongly condemned the terror attack on Amarnath yatris. It shows the spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much alive.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 11, 2017

Over 18 years, 52 pilgrims killed in five attacks Over the past 18 years, at least 52 Amarnath pilgrims have been killed in five terrorist attacks.The deadliest attack was mounted by LeT terrorists on 1 August, 2000. That attack left 21 pilgrims dead in Pahalgam.

Source: News Reports

The latest attack comes hours after a curfew and social-media ban was lifted in the Kashmir Valley after restrictions were imposed in anticipation of a possible attack to mark the death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani. Wani was gunned down by security forces a little over a year ago on 8 July, 2016. What followed were violent protests, several months of curfew and an overall deterioration in Jammu and Kashmirs security situation.

Death toll of security forces, civilians up in 1 year

The number of security personnel killed in terrorist violence has nearly doubled from 51 in the year preceding Wanis death to 98 in the following year, according to an analysis of data compiled by SATP. The SATP compiles data on fatalities due to terrorism from media reports. The data are provisional and compiled as on July 10, 2017. On 8 July, 2017, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa paid tributes to Wani on his first death anniversary. Sharif said Wanis death infused a new spirit in the struggle for freedom in the Kashmir Valley.

First @ForeignOfficePk read frm banned LeT's script. Now Pak COAS glorfs Burhan Wani. Pak's terror suprt&spnsr'p need 2b condmnd by 1 & all  Gopal Baglay (@MEAIndia) July 9, 2017

Source:South Asia Terrorism Portal

The 45 percent increase in deaths of civilians, security personnel and terrorists from 216 in 2015-16 to 313 in 2016-17 is the highest year-on-year percentage increase over the past five years.

Civilian deaths have increased 164 percent, as we said, from 14 in 2015-16 to 37 in 2016-17 while terrorist deaths have risen 18 percent during this period to 178 in 2016-17.

There has been a 42 percent increase in terrorism-related deaths in Jammu and Kashmir since the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government (BJP) came to power in May 2014, compared with the last three years of the second term of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II), IndiaSpend reported on 27 May, 2017.

India has had successes against terrorism  both on the security and diplomatic front.

On 27 May, 2017, Wanis successor Sabzar Bhat was killed in an anti-terrorist operation by security forces.

On 27 June, 2017, United States designated Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin a global terrorist, ahead of Modis meeting with American President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.

Salahuddin also leads the United Jihad Council, an umbrella organisation for anti-India terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, known to operate out of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

Salahuddin has openly admitted to carrying out attacks against India, including on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, on 2 January, 2016.

Indiaspend.org is a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit/FactChecker.in is fact-checking initiative, scrutinising for veracity and context statements made by individuals and organisations in public life.
The security forces are having a tough time regulating the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims as many violate the security guidelines and refuse to be escorted in the security convoy to make the pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine.

The militants attacked a bus carrying pilgrims on Monday evening which was on its way back from the shrine. The bus was not part of the security convoy and the militants came out of an alley in Batengoo, Anantang and launched an attack on the yatris who were killed in the firing.

Nearly 30 percent of the pilgrims who take the yatra every day also visit other tourist spots, said Farooq Ahmad Kuthoo, secretary general of Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK). Some of them travel to Srinagar as well before going on the yatra.

Security officials said that the yatris travel on their own without adhering to the security guidelines that leave them vulnerable to militant attacks.

As per the guidelines issued by the police and Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), pilgrims have to proceed in a convoy from the base camp in Jammu from two routes  Baltal and Pahalgam  in Kashmir. The officials say, despite the security arrangements, the pilgrims travel in hired vehicles and also by air to Srinagar.

Sher Singh, the camp director of Amarnath yatra, said they have a hard time convincing the yatris to take the security cover.

"We allow the yatra convoy to proceed from Srinagar to Jammu during a specific time of the day. Despite making several announcements on the security guidelines at the base camp, many pilgrims ignore the details. They tell us that they want to visit tourist areas of Sonamarg or Ladakh and don't want to proceed along with the security convoy," he said.

"There is a transit camp for the pilgrims in Anantang and the vehicles which come from Jammu to Srinagar by 5 pm are halted at the camp. The pilgrims are allowed to proceed during the day as part of the security convoy. Yatris who travel at night on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway are vulnerable to militant attacks," said a senior security official.

Pilgrims are also advised by the shrine board and the police to carry permit cards and slips bearing their names and addresses to ensure coordination and cooperation with government officials.

"The pilgrimage is also viewed as a tourist avenue. After the pilgrimage is over, it no longer remains a part of the yatra. The yatris, who were attacked, were moving around in different areas of Srinagar after they had completed the pilgrimage,'' said a senior security official from Anantnag.

There is a camp at Mir Bazar in Anantnag  all those pilgrims who come from Jammu are made to spend the night there and the yatra is allowed to proceed on the Baltal and Pahalgam routes early in the morning. It was only last year that the yatra was allowed during the night hours because of incidents of stone-pelting after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wani, the security official said.
Monday's attack on pilgrims of the Amarnath yatra is one more indicator of just how badly the situation in Kashmir has deteriorated. This did not snap out of the blue the moment militant commander Burhan Wani was killed a year ago. The process has progressed over the last nine years.

It is easy to lose sight of the dimensions of the current threat to national security. Youth rage is very real. So is radicalisation, in both political and religious terms, among militants and teenagers. Pakistan's involvement has increased. The Jamaat-e-Islami took the lead last year. And China plays a major role.

China's role is particularly challenging. There were few buyers for this idea earlier, but at least since the CPEC project came to the forefront at the same time as Burhan was killed, it should be crystal clear to even an ostrich.

Gradual emergence

Those who raise questions about which shadowy hand might be behind Monday's attack on Amarnath pilgrims, tend to miss the wood for the trees. For, even if shadowy hands did manipulate it, one cannot deny the other ground realities such as, radical ideas and increased militancy.

The most significant event that highlighted the trend towards radicalisation was the militant commander Zakir Musa's public threat to slit the throats and string up any Hurriyat or other 'leader' who called the Kashmir issue a 'political' one. He did that in a recording that was made public on 12 May.

Musa reiterated a trend that has been evident for some time. The trend was visible even in Burhan's recordings. He rejected Pakistani, Kashmiri and any other kind of nationalism, and democracy too. In another recording, he asked women to stay veiled, not lob stones.

Questions have also been raised about whether Musa, too, was being manipulated by shadowy intelligence hands. Even if someone shadowy were egging him on, Musa would not know that shadowy agents were among his advisors. The point is that he believes what he says.

The far more important point is that, since that recording went public, Musa's fan following among Kashmiri teenagers has risen to the extent that he now has rock star status. Until he made those radical remarks, many teenagers thought of him as an angry young man with a dubious past. He was feared, not generally loved. Now, he is adored.

My point is that, even if some part of the government is behind any of this, they are shooting the government and the future of the country in the foot, by promoting a trend that has already gone way out of hand without any assistance from them.

New generation

The government deserves censure for failing to engage with Kashmiri youth when they still could have. Last winter was their last window of opportunity. It is now shut tight.

It is easy to miss the fact that those who were on the streets in 2008, when mass demonstrations took place across Kashmir, were generally not among those who took to the streets in 2016. Those who manned barricades and imposed shutdowns in the four months after Burhan was killed were typically teenagers, or those in their pre-teens.

Many of the latter were infants in 2008.

It is even more perilous to miss the change in the chief issues of the three major youth uprisings of the past decade. The 2008 uprising was mainly about a perceived threat to identity in light of land transfer to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board. The 2010 uprising was essentially a ringing demand for the rule of law: it protested the killing of those who had nothing to do with militancy.

The 2016 uprising was specifically to protest the killing of an acknowledged militant, Burhan.

It represented a rejection of the system, lock, stock and barrel. At least subliminally in the minds of most teenagers, this rejection was not about a particular nation state. They have come to reject democracy and nationalism altogether.
Sheikh Saleem Gafoor did what any decent human being would do. The 37-year-old bus driver saved those in his care and in the process, saved himself.

Bullets are indiscriminate. They don't choose their targets with care.

Sheikh had the presence of mind to get out of there. He did that. He did not idly sit behind the wheel and think: These are a bunch of Hindus, so let them die.

So, let's not demean his actions by defining him by his religion. That's patronising and presumptuous.

It only underscores the sentiment that we, the majority are surprised that a Muslim would do this.

In our eagerness to feed the perverse priorities of political parties  across the spectrum  their supporters fall over themselves to create heroes. But for the wrong reasons.

Why not just reward Sheikh for his good deed and not worry about his religion, which had nothing to do with his job as a driver. If I were Sheikh, I'd feel condescended to.

Let's play out this scenario: Sheikh loses control of the vehicle because the terrorists shoot out his tyres. The bus slams into a tree. The engine seizes up. How would we react? If Sheikh has lived, we would have had flayed him. For the crime of being Muslim. We would have accused him of being in cahoots with the terrorists and helping them kill Hindus. We'd say: So what if he lost his life? After all, it was jihad. And that would have been the story splashed across the media.

Sheikh is the working man. When we make him a legend and label him a Muslim, we are perpetuating division and not unity. Because our actions are drenched in prejudice. Why can't we accept that human beings, in difficult circumstances, do the right thing simply because that's in our DNA?

We don't have to fall back on caste, creed or religion to justify courage under fire.

Would all these flag-wavers have cared if Sheikh had died in a hail of bullets? I doubt it.

Sheikh's actions brought honour to his job. That's what human beings do, day in and day out.

Visit Katra, near Jammu. Walk up to the Vaishno Devi shrine. Nearly all the people who serve the devotees on the way up are Muslim. They're the ones wrangling the horses. Or literally having your back as they push you up. They're folks like you and me, simply making a living the best way they know how. There's no animosity there. No hostility. In fact, a certain understanding and camaraderie exists between them and the pilgrims.

It is in that atmosphere, amidst these scores of helping hands that you realise that agony is caused by defining people solely on the basis of their religion and lumping them in together.

Let people be. Let them earn their daily bread.

Well done Sheikh. I don't care if you're Hindu or Muslim.

You did well by those entrusted to your care.

God bless you.


New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "policies created the space for terrorists" in the Kashmir Valley and called it a strategic blow for India.

"Modi's policies have created the space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India," Gandhi said on Twitter.

Modis policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India#AmarnathTerrorAttack  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

He also said that the short-term political gain for Modi from the alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir had cost India dear.

Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

Modis personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

Gandhi's latest salvo against the Prime Minister came two days after seven pilgrims were killed when militants opened fire at a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.
Washington: Joining the condemnation pouring in from across the world, the White House on Wednesday strongly condemned the "cowardly" Amarnath terror attack and said the US and India will continue to fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world.

In a statement, the White House press secretary Sean Spicer also said that an attack on religious freedom is an attack on the most fundamental right of liberty.

"The United States strongly condemns the cowardly terrorist attack on religious pilgrims in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on 10 July. We extend condolences to the victims' families and the people of India. An attack on religious freedom is an attack on the most fundamental right of liberty. The United States and India will continue to fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world," the statement said.

Seven Amarnath Yatra pilgrims were killed and 19 others injured in a terror attack on a bus full of yatris in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday night.

On Tuesday, Mary K. Carlson, Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in New Delhi had tweeted her condemnation. "We deplore the attack on Amarnath pilgrims and condemn all acts of terrorism. Deepest condolences to the families and all those affected," she said.
Three militants were killed in an overnight encounter by security forces in Budgam district of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Wednesday. The dead bodies of the terrorists, along with their weapons have been recovered by security personnel, media reports said.

J&K: Three terrorists killed by security forces near Budgam, arms and ammunition recovered pic.twitter.com/Ma4mB9OKgX  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

The police said that an encounter broke out on Tuesday evening between security forces and militants in central Kashmirs Budgam district.

Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Redbug area of Budgam on Tuesday evening after receiving specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in the area, a police official said.

The army had, on Monday, foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Naugam sector of north Kashmir, killing two militants.

"Suspicious movement was noticed along the LoC in Naugam sector last night and the terrorists were tracked till dawn, when they were challenged by troops," an army official said.

The encounter comes only a day after a deadly attack on the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims killed seven people, mostly women, and injured 19 others. The mastermind behind the attack, Abu Ismail is said to be a Pakistani national, who had crossed over to the Indian side two years ago and is now dubbed to be one of the top ranking militants of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

With inputs from agencies
Did Assam education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma go overboard while taking on headmasters and principals of government schools over the poor performance of students in state board matriculation examinations? Did he forget who was in charge of the ministry when going after a certain set of schools?

Headmasters and principals of state-run schools in Assam where students fared badly in Class X examinations this year were in for a rude shock, when Sarma took them to task over the results.

Just to avoid confusion , it would do better to clarify that headmasters are those who head high schools while those heading higher secondary schools are called principals.

While the minister's intentions may have been justified, and there is a need to instill accountability among a section of the teachers, the manner in which the whole exercise took place on Monday, with televised images beaming across the state and even outside, surprised many. Officially termed as a review meeting, principals of three different categories of schools  those with 100 percent pass results, those with 1-10 percent pass results, and those where not a single candidate could clear the examination  were called by the minister.

This year, 31 schools in the state did not have a single student who could pass Class X examinations held by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA). The numbers of candidates in these schools range from three to 54.

Sarma rebuked heads of these institutions on live TV and demanded an explanation from each one of them individually for the dismal performance by their respective schools. Left at the mercy of the minister in such media glare, many of them were nervous and struggled to answer coherently.

The pace at which the whole thing proceeded reminded one of the Anil Kapoor starrer Nayak. Sniffing a scam in the provincialisation process of 124 schools in 2013, the minister had ordered a reexamination of the process for these schools while the BKB Anchalik High School in Barpeta district lost its provincialisation following the principal's failure to give satisfactory replies during the questioning.

Throughout the review meeting on Monday, it was quite obvious that the schools which were provincialised in 2013 were under the scanner. Ironically, Sarma was the education minister then under the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government from 2002-14. If there is indeed a scam as the minister assumes, he would probably have a lot of answering to do. He even wanted to know who was the IAS officer who gave nod for the provincialisation of these presently underperforming schools and if any data was fudged.

Surprisingly, as the minister said during the meeting many of these 124 schools had shown relatively better results prior to 2013 when they were in the venture category but their performance deteriorated soon after they started receiving government funds.

"The manner in which the whole thing was conducted did create a shock and awe. It is a sensitive matter and has to be handled in a sensitive and sophisticated manner. But it is also true that impatience is setting in and it is high time the issue is dealt with. For a backward state like Assam, there are some major departments which are in dire need of strong leadership and education is one of them. I think the minister was perhaps too aggressive on Monday, although there is no doubt about his intention. The open bashing led to a controversy," said Dileep Chandan, political commentator and editor of Asam Bani.

Furthermore, the minister also ordered mass transfers of teachers, including punishment postings, and even warned of imposing voluntary retirement schemes for non-performing teachers, and merging of schools.

"There has to be accountability. There is no doubt about it. But blaming the teachers alone is not right. Many teachers are forced to engage in non-teaching work like elections, census and the National Registration (NRC), Assam. A one-day public bashing by the minister is not going to help. These headmasters were soft targets. Having said this, failure of an entire batch of students cannot be justified," said an eminent educationist who did not wish to be identified.

The pass percentage slipped to 47.94 this year, down from last year's 62 percent; only 1,78,656 out of a total of 3,80,733 candidates could clear the exams. While 8,093 candidates were absent, 48 results are withheld for various reasons, and 1,062 students were expelled from examination halls for employing unfair practices.

"The minister is getting involved in an impression game. It seems like an attempt to discredit the state board and the schools under it. Obviously there needs to be accountability since there are schools where no student passed the examination. But what is the need to do that in public? The government is not helping the public schools enough. With such public displays, the minister is possibly trying to send out a subtle message that the credibility of government-run vernacular medium schools and the state board are at stake. It seemed more like a propaganda to discredit both," Samujjal Bhattacharya, advisor to the All Assam Students Union (AASU), told Firstpost.

However, the meeting was not about brickbats alone. Sarma also announced that all teachers of the 19 schools that saw 100 percent pass percentage would be rewarded with a certificate and Rs 10,000 prize money. The minister also sought to know from nine headmasters of these 19 about their teaching methods and asked them to share tips with their counterparts, so that standards of education can be improved across the state.

However, despite the appreciation, it was the scathing  and at times, taunting  criticism that claimed all the headlines. "Why were the headmasters alone targeted? What were the school inspectors in each district doing? If the schools are not doing well, it's the job of the inspectors to find out what was wrong and take steps accordingly. I believe the inspectors have to take the share of the blame as well. They should have also been taken to task. Going after the teachers alone would demoralise those who are honest and sincere. Squarely blaming the teaching community is not the way forward," the educationist said.

"For instance, the state is reeling under floods now. There are so many embankments which were not properly made. Are the engineers who were in charge of these confronted in public, as was the case with the principals? The deputy commissioners are not pulled up in public despite so many faults. When other government departments are not admonished in public for poor showing, singling out teachers is not the right way. The minister seeks to instill a a sense of responsibility, but if the teachers feel humiliated, their morale would be affected. Having said that, however, zero pass percentage in a school is also not acceptable," he said.

There is also an increasing feeling, that while attempting to kick off mass reformation in the state's education sector, the government is taking hasty decisions which might end up harming the state's vernacular medium schools. The government had recently announced that only candidates from English-medium schools will be eligible to apply for teaching at the model schools or Adarsh Vidyalayas across the state, triggering a huge uproar.

"Why is the state trying to bring the Adarsh Vidyalayas under CBSE? Why can't they come under SEBA? The government is ignoring vernacular medium schools and the state board in the name of reforming the education sector in Assam. We are not against CBSE or English-medium, but our point is SEBA can also do the same thing. The privately-run Assam Jatiya Bidyalay at Noonmati in Guwahati is a shining example; it's a vernacular-medium school. If there is a debate competition in Guwahati today, not only would its students win in the Assamese section but also in the English section. They also do English plays. Can't the government replicate the same model in its schools?" asked the AASU advisor.

"There should be teacher orientation programmes. In fact, this government was brought in to correct the flaws of the previous Congress government. But instead of making it an ego issue, the future of the students should be improved," Bhattacharya said.

There is a general belief that deep corruption has stymied the growth of the state's education scenario leading to a miserable performance by many students mostly in the government-run schools. "They should have addressed the whole thing in a systematic and structural manner, and not in public. The Directorate of Secondary Education is the nerve centre of corruption. This has to be rooted out. Otherwise, this kind of treatment which the minister meted out is going to symptomatic," the educationist said.

There are other infrastructural issues with the education sector which also cannot be ignored. "During the meeting with the minister, some principals pointed to the lack of adequate facilities in schools  they don't have any protection from floods, they lack adequate roads and transport system, making traveling to the schools difficult, while teachers in far-flung places lack accommodation as well. In some schools, there aren't even sufficient teachers. Although these cannot be excuses for poor results, it cannot be ignored," the academician said.

In course of the discussion, Sarma even went to the extent of asking a principal what his monthly compensation was after the implementation of the seventh pay commission and also advised one to dress in a formal manner to keep the dignity of a teacher. He went on to ask the qualifications of a few of the assembled headmasters. "Probably this was a bit too much. Regular refresher courses for the teachers in subjects like Mathematics and English have to be conducted to keep them sharp, focussed and updated. A simple BEd degree won't help much. It will give only the pedagogy," the educationist said.

But whatever the method of the minister, there is no denying that the education sector in Assam needs a massive overhaul. "The effort of correcting the education system has to start right from the lower primary level, from the grassroots, and it has to be saturated. Probably it would have augured well if the minister had first met with the higher officials of the department, senior academicians and intelligentsia, and then proceeded to the next step. He should also trust various student organisations in the state," Chandan said.
New Delhi: Union minister Kiren Rijiju and Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Wednesday accused the national media of being "biased" towards the Northeast in reporting the massive floods and ignoring the region.

Taking to Twitter, Rijiju said unlike floods in Kashmir and Chennai, the national media is "ignoring" the North East and not giving due coverage to the deluge as the region "readily does not exist in the minds of mainland".

"Friends, don't cry that in this catastrophic moment national media ignores North East unlike Kashmir floods or Chennai floods. Govt cares," he tweeted.

Replying to a Twitterati, he said "Dear @KhonaHinal no deliberate ignorance but North-East readily doesn't exist in the minds of the mainland. It requires efforts for attention".

Rijiju hails from Arunachal Pradesh.

Lending support to the union minister of state for home, Manipur chief minister Singh tweeted: "Kirenji Rightly said national medias are (sic) totally biased towards the North East. They are only for mainland not for the whole India".

Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur are facing massive floods since last fortnight.

At least 39 people have lost their lives in Assam, where 15 lakh people in 23 districts have been affected by the deluge.

Five persons were killed and nine went missing as a massive landslide triggered by incessant rains hit eight dwellings in Arunachal Pradesh's Papum Pare district on Tuesday.

In Manipur, more than 20 percent of the total paddy fields in all five districts of Imphal valley were hit by the floods.

Manipur has suffered a loss of around Rs 131 crore in the floods since cyclone Mora hit the state in late May, leading to floods and related incidents like landslides, state Principal Secretary (Relief and Disaster Management) M H Khan had said yesterday.
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved upgrade of a 65-km-long National Highway in Manipur to boost the state's connectivity with south and southeast Asia via Myanmar.

Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari told reporters here that NH-39 from Imphal to Moreh near the Myanmar border would reduce travel time from three-and-a-half hours to one hour and 45 minutes.

"The project is of international importance as it would make it possible to travel from India to Myanmar and even Bangkok by road," Gadkari said.

The Imphal-Moreh Highway would not only boost international trade and business, but would also be important from security point of view, he said.

It is also crucial for socio-economic development in the northeast region which currently has a poor road network, he said.

He said the project would create employment opportunities in Manipur and is part of the Asian Highway project.

It is estimated to cost around Rs 1,630 crore.

Gadkari said the northeast region has been a priority for the BJP government which has already started road infrastructure projects worth Rs 50,000 crore in the region.

"Our target is to have projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore by the time we complete our five years," the minister said.
Kochi: The Centre on Wednesday said its 23 May notification banning sale and purchase of cattle from markets for slaughter had nothing to with slaughtering business or food habits and assured that representations against the rules were being examined objectively.

"We do not have even an iota of intention to influence anybody's food habit in this country. We have nothing to do with the slaughtering business," Union environment minister Harsh Vardhan told reporters on Wednesday.

He was responding to a question on Wednesday's Supreme Court order extending to the entire country the Madras High Court directive staying the Centres notification.

"Whatever representations have come to us, we are examining them, very objectively. The Supreme Court gave us the time on Tuesday for examining it," said the minister.He clarified that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 was brought to prevent "... cruelty towards animals. It has nothing to do with slaughtering business. It has nothing to do with food habits."

He clarified that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 was brought to prevent "... cruelty towards animals. It has nothing to do with slaughtering business. It has nothing to do with food habits."

He said the notification was issued after completing all necessary formalities in a bid to prevent cruelty towards animals and the apprehensions against it were "thoroughly misplaced."

"There was some unnecessary hue and cry being raised from different quarters. When the law was made, rules were notified, they were put in the public domain before that. Draft rules were put in public domain for one month," he said.

"But when it was notified, there were "different types of apprehension, which I see as thoroughly misplaced ... We said if you have something to suggest, please give us. We got some representations and we are examining them," he added.

The Supreme Court extended the stay on the cattle rules while disposing of a plea by the All India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee challenging the constitutional validity of the 23 May notification.

It gave the order after the Central government said it was not seeking the lifting of the stay and was, rather, looking at it afresh by considering objections and suggestions.
BEIJING: China has said that it is willing to play a "constructive role" in improving relations between India and Pakistan, especially after the increased hostility along the Line of Control, saying the situation in Kashmir has attracted "international" attention.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said India and Pakistan are important South Asian countries but the "situation in Kashmir has attracted the attention of the international community."

India maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter with Pakistan, and that there is no scope for third party mediation.

The Chinese comments aimed at getting involved in India-Pakistan tensions come at a time the armies of India and China are locked in a standoff in Doka La area in the Sikkim section.

Expressing concern over the tension between India and Pakistan, Mr Geng said "the conflict occurred near the Line of Control of Kashmir. This will not only harm the peace and stability of the two countries but also the peace and tranquility of the region."

"We hope the relevant sides can do more things that are conducive for peace and stability in the region and avoiding escalating the tensions and China is willing to play constructive role in improving relations between India and Pakistan," he told reporters.

The comments also come two days after a Chinese analyst wrote in the state-run Global Times that a "third country's" Army could enter Kashmir at Pakistan's request, using the "logic" the Indian Army used to stop the Chinese military from constructing the road in Doka La area.

Mr Geng's comments were in reply to a question on the tension between India and Pakistan, with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressing concern over the situation in Kashmir, and whether China can play a role to defuse the hostility between the two countries.

According to Pakistan foreign ministry, the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, who met in Abidjan, Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, passed a resolution on Kashmir.

Indian security forces have been carrying out combing operations in parts of Kashmir to clear the areas of terrorists supported by Pakistan who launch attacks against them.

On Monday evening, terrorists targeted a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims and killed seven of them, including six women, in Kashmir's Anantnag district. Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and Pakistani national Abu Ismail has emerged as the mastermind of the attack.
Due to regular mob lynching and attacks on vulnerable groups especially Muslims on the suspicion of carrying or transporting beef, several Muslim organisations and civil society groups across Maharashtra are demanding a strict act like the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention (Atrocities Act) for the protection of the community.

Three peace rallies demanding the formation of this new act have already taken place in Pune, Latur and Solapur, and a fourth one is scheduled to take in Pune on 15 July.

Though focussed mostly on the incidents of violence committed against Muslims, these rallies have received support not just from Muslim organisations like Jamat-e-Islami but also from civil society groups as well as Marath organisations.

On Wednesday, 20 organisations including Muslims, Dalits, and Marath organisations like the Sambhaji Brigade took part in a peace rally in Solapur, where they walked from Hutatma Chowk in the city to the Collector's office. The rally which saw more than 500 people from different religions and sections concluded with the organisers giving a letter to the district collector demanding the formulation of an act to protect Muslims from attacks. A similar rally was held on 5 July in Latur city in Marathwada and in Pune on 7 July.

One of the organisers of the Aman Rally in Solapur which took place on Wednesday is Sadiq Shaikh, father of Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh, a techie who was beaten to death by a Hindu group in 2014.

My son Mohsin was brutally lynched to death in June 2014 by Right wing organisations because he had beard. The murder took place in Pune soon after the Narendra Modi government came to power. Seventeen out of the 21 accused who were arrested have gotten bail from the court till now. If Muslims are protected by the act like Prevention of Atrocities Act, the killers of my son wouldn't have been able to roam scot free. With the increasing number of attacks and mob lynching of minorities and that too mostly of Muslims, we need protection of an act like the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention (Atrocities Act), he says.

Mohsin Khan of Swabhimani Muslim Vikas sanghatana, one of the organisations which took part in the Latur rally on 5 July said that there's a need for a strict law like that of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention (Atrocities) Act-like law for protection of Muslims because the government, police and minority commissions have proven ineffective in protecting them.

"Muslims are being targeted under the pretext of carrying or eating beef, transporting cows, circulating objectionable message against Hindu leaders and so on. If somebody commits crime then police should take action and a trial should be held in the court. Common men are attacking Muslims and Dalits," he added.

Latur city had seen more than 200 people from different social organisations and political parties, demanding the formation of the prevention of atrocity act for Muslims. The participation was higher in Pune on 7 July where more than 500 Punekars took to the street and formed a human chain. They also handed over a letter to the district collector with the demand for a similar act.

Anjum Inamdar, president of Rashtrapremi Kruti Samiti and one of the organisers of the Pune rally, said, We have seen mob lynching of Muslims  from Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh in Pune, Akhlaq Khan in Uttar Pradesh and most recently Hafiz Junaid Khan, a 15-year-old boy in Uttar Pradesh. On this background, we want an act like Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention (Atrocities Act) for minorities especially Muslims."

He added, Besides, we also want the accused in the attacks and lynching of Muslims to be arrested and tried under a MCOCA like act." Inamadar also demanded that families of Muslims who got lynched should be given compensation of Rs one crore immediately.

Mohammed Shabi of Jamat-e-Islami, an organisation working for the welfare of Muslims in Pune, said, This is high time the minority community especially Muslims get legal protection from attacks and lynching as, currently, the whole Muslim population have been living under fear and pressure of attacks and death. If we see the statistics, 97 percent of attacks and deaths due to lynching of Muslims have taken place after 2014 when the BJP government came into power."

He also added that though attacks on Muslims for allegedly carrying beef started in 2010, the number of attacks spiralled after 2014. "Till now 63 such attacks have taken place across the country. Nineteen people have died while 14 got injured in these attacks. And more than half of the 63 attacks have taken place in BJP-ruled states," Shabi said.

Punekars are planning to held another peace rally on 15 July in Kondhwa in Pune. The rally has already received support from 15 Muslim social organisations, NGOs and political parties.

Our country is known for communal harmony despite having many religions. But the trend like mob lynching and attacks on Muslims under the pretext of carrying or transporting beef or other communal reasons is creating rift in the society. Muslims do not feel secure any more. We are organising this rally to demand their protection under a prevention of atrocity act in solidarity with other rallies," said Razi Ahmed Khan of Popular Front of India. One of the organisers of the 15 July rally in Pune, Razi is is expecting a turn out of more than 7,000-8,000 people on Saturday.

Human rights activist Shehla Rashid who has often been trolled for her anti-Right wing stance and is a vocal supporter of the proposed Manav Suraksha Kanoon (MASUKA), said the violence against vulnerable sections like Muslims and Dalits are based on identity. "If this violence is normalised then groups like Bajrang Dal will start attacking women in pubs and discos. Though these attacks are against many groups, Muslims are the one who are being targeted at large extent. They have stopped eating meat at stalls and carrying it. We need to address this fear. And, that is why we have proposed Manav Suraksha Kanoon (MASUKA). Under this law violence against the vulnerable sections doesn't only include Muslims but all who are vulnerable, (and the offence is) non-bailable.
Hyderabad: Telgu Desam Party (TDP) MP from Andhra Pradesh J C Diwakar Reddy, who was banned by most of the domestic airlines from flying owing to his alleged unruly behaviour, on Tuesday filed a petition in the Hyderabad High Court, requesting it rule that the ban on him was illegal.

He made the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Air India, Jet Airways, Vistara Airlines, IndiGo, GoAir, Air Asia, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha Airways as respondents to his petition.

He alleged that no complaint has been filed against him regarding the incident and blamed the IndiGo Airlines for not issuing him a boarding pass though he reported well within the time.

The TDP lawmaker had allegedly created a ruckus at the Visakhapatnam airport on 15 June after he was not allowed boarding by IndiGo for being late.

In the petition, he sought a direction declaring action of respondents in imposing flying ban on him as "illegal, arbitrary, violation of principle of natural justice. And to consequently direct the respondents to forthwith allow the petitioner to fly in all domestic flights".

He said the parliament session is expected to commence from 17 July and since he is an MP and a senior citizen, the ban imposed on him would result in lot of difficulties and hence it should be lifted.

Almost all the domestic airlines in India have announced flying ban on the TDP lawmaker following his alleged unruly behaviour.

Reddy had allegedly gone on the rampage, pushing an airline staffer and lifting a printer from the table, after he was denied boarding by IndiGo for being late.
At d BRICS leaders' informal gathering @ Hamburg hosted by China, PM @narendramodi and President Xi had a conversation on a range of issues pic.twitter.com/ervZw46PH0  Gopal Baglay (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2017

This was a tweet that Gopal Baglay, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, put out after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a quick, spur-of-the-moment meeting in Hamburg the other day. Baglay refused to elaborate on either the "range of things" they talked about or the success of the powwow.

A day later, he revealed to reporters, like a messiah delivering celestial wisdom to his apostles, that the picture that went with his tweet itself "speaks more than a thousand words". He was apparently referring to the smiles on the faces of Jinping and Modi.

More than a thousand words? Really?

Language aficionados say that it was the American magazine Printers Ink which had first used the expression "one look is worth a thousand words" in 1921, attributing it to a Japanese scholar. Six years later, the same magazine printed the line "one picture is worth ten thousand words" and said it was of Chinese origin. This led to speculation that it was Confucius who had first coined it and that led to the confusion.

Confucius is no longer in a fit condition to shed light  he died in 479 BC  on whether he had said thousand or ten thousand words. The clever Baglay played it safe with "more than a thousand". And this led to a whole lot of confusion too. Baglay's tweet became a conundrum, of a kind even the senior-most journalists covering the external affairs ministry had not encountered before.

Reporters pored over the photo to ferret out the "more than thousand" words that supposedly lurked behind the smiles of Modi and Xi, but they found none. Then they rushed to physiognomists, anthroposcopisgts and even metopomancists for help but to no avail.

But I was lucky. I found a source  I'll call him Deep Throat  who revealed to me what went on between Modi and Xi when they met in a side room with a large window overlooking a lawn in Hamburg. He told me the story  though only up to a point.

Deep Throat said he had crouched on the lawn and peeped into the open window and saw it all. This is what he said.

Once they had stepped into the room and dismissed their respective aides, Modi and Xi locked themselves in a tight embrace, like two brothers separated by a cruel villain finding each other at the end of a Bollywood movie.

"Xi," Modi said.

"Ji," Xi sighed.

Separating themselves from each other with great reluctance, they sat at the two ends of a long sofa. But soon the camaraderie disappeared like a candle light being blown. Their smiles were gone. For an entire minute, they scowled at each other in silence.

Modi was the first to break the silence. "Your boys must get the hell out of Doka la," he said with fire in his eyes.

Xi's retort was quick. "If anybody must get out of there, it's your kids," he said. "Doka la belongs to China."

"Applesauce and balderdash," Modi said, shaking his head in disgust and raising his voice. Doka la belongs to Bhutan, and India has a contract to save Bhutan from expansionist, hegemonic real-estate usurpers like China. And what basis do you have to make such an absurd claim that Doka la is part of China anyway?"

"Why, of course, the 1890 agreement says it all," Xi said, looking surprised that Modi should even ask the question.

"But that accord," Modi said, "was signed by the Queen of England and Emperor Guanxu of China and, since then, circumstances have changed as unrecognisably as ape has changed into man in evolution. Your selective amnesia no doubt stops you from recalling that the so-called 1890 agreement was all about Sikkim and Tibet. Now, Sikkim is ours, and you claim Tibet is yours. Besides, Bhutan was never a party to it."

"But an accord is an accord is an accord," Xi insisted with a grimace.

A smile crossed Modi's face. "In which case," he declared, "I too have an accord that will beat the life out of all accords ever signed since Big Bang."

"I beg your pardon?" said Xi, nonplussed.

"Kaun hai wahan?" Modi shouted in the direction of the door.

An Indian official walked in with a bunch of palm leaves bound as a book. On a nod from the Prime Minister, he handed it to Xi.

"That's the 1126 accord," Modi said.

Xi began to study the palm leaf inscriptions with an expression that changed from surprise to bewilderment and then to utter panic.

Modi said, "To cut the long story short, and the short story to a paragraph, it's this. It all began in year 1126 when King Vikramaditya-VI summoned up a humongous army to march across the Narmada river, the northern India, the Himalayas and into China up to Heilongjiang to conquer the whole damned place. Emperor Huizong, who then ruled China, was struck by horror. Fearing that Vikramaditya-VI would annex entire China, Huizong made an offer. He said the Indian king could take China up to Peking, leaving the provinces beyond Leaoning to him. The two emperors signed a pact to that effect in 1126, but, as fate would have it, Vikramaditya-VI soon passed away. Then all was forgotten, and the palm-leaf manuscript gathered dust for nine centuries. I found it under my pillow when I woke up the other day, left there by an anonymous patriot, no doubt."

Xi looked as if the chandelier above him had crashed on his head. He was unable to hide the fear in his eyes. Yet he tried, without success, to put on a brave front, as he asked: "And you expect the world to buy this 1126 historical poppycock?"

"Just the way you want the world to fall for your 1890 historical poppycock," Modi replied.

"You have anything to back this up?"

"Yes," Modi said, "our archaeologists have dug out a stone of the Maurya kingdom vintage dating back to 321 BC which shows-"

"Zugou, (enough)," shouted the Chinese President, as sweat began to appear on his puffed up face. "You aren't leaking any of this damned historical evidence to the media, are you?" he said with a quiver in his voice.

"No, I'll just tell Trump."

"Ah, leave alone Doka la," he said, "Trump can't find his own nose even if the White House aides hold a mirror before him."

"But," Modi explained, "Trump will put it on Twitter. He's got 33.7 million followers. I'll retweet it to my 31.5 million followers. Soon the whole world will get the stuff."

Xi raised a trembling hand. "Stop it," he pleaded.

With his face in hands, Xi fell silent for a few moments before he looked up and mumbled, as if to himself: "Things have gone a bit awry, have they not? I must find a way out of this."

Then the Chinese President's face illuminated as if a bulb inside his head had been switched on but no words came from his smiling lips for a long time.

'Xi!" Modi said.

"Ji," Xi sighed. "I do have an honourable-media will call it face-saving-way out of this face off, which will..."

At that point, Deep Throat heard the footsteps of approaching security guards. He fled from the window with the speed of a bullet. But he disclosed later that he suspects the Sikkim face-off will soon come to an anti-climax like a poorly-made Chinese romance movie.

This is a satirical piece. The author wrote a weekly satire column called True Lies in The Times of India from 1996 to 2001. He tweets at @sprasadindia
Hisar: A Muslim trader from Uttar Pradesh was allegedly slapped by an unidentified person when he refused to raise 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogan during a protest by Bajrang Dal activists in Hisar against the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, police said on Wednesday.

The activists of the Dal took out a march near a mosque on Tuesday to protest the attack on pilgrims in Kashmir Valley.

The Muslim trader hailing from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh had come to the mosque to offer prayers yesterday when the Dal activists were taking out a march.

As the Bajrang Dal activists were raising 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogans, someone in the crowd asked the trader who was at the gate of the mosque, to raise the slogan.

When he refused, he was allegedly slapped by someone in the crowd, police said today, adding a complaint was filed by the trader against around 100 unidentified people who were part of the crowd.

A Bajrang Dal leader here said no one from the Dal had slapped the trader.

After the incident, the people in the mosque closed the main door of the religious place and informed the police.

The activists of Bajrang Dal, in the meanwhile, also dispersed after burning effigies and raising slogans against Pakistan.

A case of rioting, promoting enmity between classes,maliciously insulting religious beliefs of any class, causing disturbance to an assembly engaged in religious worship, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation has been registered against 100-125 unknown persons, police said.

Lalit Kumar, SHO, City Police Station said no arrest has been made so far.
In a relief to Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Supreme Court on Wednesday relaxed the 500-metre cap on liquor vends across the national and state highways there.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar relaxed the cap while noting that almost 50 percent of the state revenue for Arunachal Pradesh came from the sale of liquor and 916 shops out of a total of 1,011 shops have been affected by the 500-metre cap.

The counsel appearing for Arunachal Pradesh said that 80 percent of the state was covered by forests and, out of a total revenue of Rs 441.61 crore, Rs 210 crore came from liquor sale.

"The counsel appearing for Arunachal Pradesh states that the terrain in the state is similar to that of states of Sikkim and Meghalaya and, accordingly, the state of Arunachal Pradesh deserves parity given to Sikkim and Meghalaya in the order passed by this court on 31 March. The prayer is allowed," the bench, also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and L N Rao, said.

Similarly, the bench also allowed the prayer of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and relaxed the 500-metre cap.

The apex court had on 31 March said that liquor vends within 500 metres of national and state highways will have to shut down from 1 April, but had exempted the hill states of Sikkim, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh and areas having a population up to 20,000.

The apex court also dealt with a similar plea of Uttarakhand which is also seeking a relaxation from the cap. However, the counsel for Uttarakhand could not furnish the data on the revenue loss and was asked to furnish details.

"You provide us (with) the data. We will give you time. We are not agreeable at this stage. You provide the data first," the bench said and posted the matter for hearing next week.

A similar petition filed by Kerala also came up for hearing before the bench but the counsel appearing for the state said he would amend the application.

In a significant order on 31 March on the pleas of various states seeking modification of the court's 15 December, 2016 verdict, the apex court had said that the ban on liquor vends along the highways would also be applicable to bars, pubs and restaurants as drunken driving led to fatal road accidents, particularly on highways which have high-speed traffic.

It had modified the 500-metre cap rule for Meghalaya, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and areas alongside highways with a population of up to 20,000, saying they may have liquor vends at a distance of 220 metres from highways.

On the issue of non-extension of liquor vends' licences beyond 31 March, the apex court had said the licences, which were given before 15 December, 2016, will be valid till 30 September in case of Telangana and would be operational till 30 June in Andhra Pradesh.

The court had ordered a ban on all liquor shops along the national and the state highways and made it clear that licences of existing shops will not be renewed after March 31.

The verdict had come on a PIL alleging that nearly 1.42 lakh people died per year in road mishaps and drunken driving was a major contributor.

It had also directed that all signages indicating the presence of liquor vends will be prohibited along the national and state highways.
Muzaffarnagar (UP): A Kanwaria was killed and 4 injured in two separate accidents in the district, police said on Wednesday. Ranjit, 27-year-old Delhi resident, was run-over by a vehicle near Bhensi village on Delhi-Haridwar Highway on Tuesday.

The body has been sent for postmortem and a case registered against a driver of the vehicle, police said.

Ranjit along with four other friends was on his way to Haridwar to collect Ganga water.

In a second accident, four Kanwarias (devotees of lord Shiva) were seriously injured when their two bikes collided with a vehicle near Ghazipur village on the highway on Tuesday.

The injured were identified as Nitin, Sonam, Neha and Sonia, all Delhi residents, police said.

They were rushed to Bharatpur medical college in serious condition.

Heavy security arrangements have been put in place for the smooth passage of Kanwar yatra from the district.

The District Magistrate GS Priyadarshi said here that 47 sector magistrates have been posted and 214 CCTV cameras installed along sensitive places.
Srinagar: Union minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday complimented the Kashmiri people for condemning the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, saying it had restored the faith in the composite culture of Kashmir and vindicated everything the country and the state stand for.

He also said "supplementary" measures and hi-tech methods such as the use of warning gadgets were being discussed to secure the ongoing annual pilgrimage, which will conclude on 7 August.

"I have to congratulate the civil society, the people of Kashmir, in fact the people of the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, for the kind of resilience and discipline they have maintained over the last 25 years," he told reporters here.

Singh said there were certain elements, which "look forward to fish in the troubled waters of Jhelum with the hope that something goes wrong", and added that the civil society had proved every mischief wrong.

"They have vindicated our faith in everything that India stands for, Jammu and Kashmir stands for," said the Union Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

He added that the people of the Valley deserved to be complimented for the way they came out to condemn the terror attack on the pilgrims.

"People have come forward not only to denounce this (the attack), but also with a very aggressive plea that such incidents should not be allowed to take place in the future and the guilty should be brought to book. This is something which was perhaps not very visible for quite some time," said Singh.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when their bus came under terrorists' gunfire in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday night.

Singh said earlier, there were complaints that while denouncing the acts of violence, there was a tendency of "selective condemnation", but this time, the way the people of the Valley criticised the terror attack, it would "restore the faith of the world" in the composite culture of Kashmir.

"Certain acts of violence were vociferously condemned, while some others were apologetically condemned. But, this is one incident which has vindicated us," said the BJP leader.

He added that this time, there were no apologies in condemning the attack and the people of the Valley were also keen that the guilty were brought to book.

Terming the United Jihad Council (UJC)'s condemnation of the attack as "healthy", Singh said one "good thing which came out of the attack" was that nobody was "apologetic" while denouncing it.

He also asserted that the government would "take a lesson" from the terror attack.

"The incident of course will be looked into by the security forces. We have to leave it to the wisdom of the security forces and experts, instead of jumping into conclusions and no political functionary, however highly placed, enjoys the prerogative to sit on judgement on security-related matters," said Singh.

Stating that the investigating agencies would look into "all the aspects", the Union minister said the last word must come from the experts in the field of security.

"Let us wait for the inferences to come from the security agencies and it is our responsibility to carry that forward. We will find answers and learn from this incident," he added.

Singh said "supplementary" measures and hi-tech methods such as the use of warning gadgets were being discussed to secure the ongoing 40-day pilgrimage.

Asked if terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was behind the attack, he said it had been confirmed by the security agencies, but the investigation was still on.

"The investigation is going on and the information available with you (LeT's involvement in the attack) has been confirmed by the security agencies," he added.

The Union minister complimented the security agencies and the Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) for identifying the mastermind of the attack within a few hours.

He said whenever an untoward incident took place in Kashmir, it echoed across the country.

"That is the kind of sensitivity with which every citizen of India looks up to Kashmir and therefore, it is not unbecoming that whenever an incident like this happens, there is a huge surge of emotion all over the country," he added.

Singh said the prime minister kept himself abreast of the entire sequence of events after the attack and personally intervened to ensure that the bodies of the deceased and the injured were airlifted.

"The (Union) home minister is monitoring the developments and we are here at the behest of the Government of India," he added.

Singh asserted that the incident had not created any fear among the pilgrims or dampened their spirit.

"The morale of the people, the civil society, not only here but across the country, is so high that even after this incident, the pilgrims are insistent that the yatra should not be suspended even for a single moment," he said.

Asked about Congress leader Karan Singh's statement that Governor's Rule should be imposed in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said it should be left to the discretion of the home ministry.

"Anybody saying anything may have a view, but there are certain mechanisms in place, which have the prerogative to take certain decisions," he added.
Kannur: A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office at Payyannur in Kannur was allegedly attacked by CPM workers on Tuesday night. No one was inside it at the time of the incident, police said.

Only a forensic examination will reveal if the office was set on fire or a petrol bomb was hurled. It has suffered some damage, they said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers alleged that Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPM) was behind the attack. The party called for a strike in Payyanur on Wednesday.

However, CPM workers alleged that BJP activists hurled three country bombs at a motorcycle rally taken out by them at Payannur in the evening on the first death anniversary of CPM worker Dhanraj who was killed allegedly by RSS activists on 11 July 2016.

Four workers suffered minor injuries in the incident, the workers said.

Police said a few houses of workers belonging to both parties were attacked.

Some persons have been taken into custody in connection with the incidents. The situation is under control, they said.
New Delhi: An Indian national, suspected to be an Islamic State operative who had been deported from Turkey twice, was recently arrested from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, police said on Wednesday.

Shahjahan Velluva, 32, a native of Kannur in Kerala, was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police after US intelligence agency CIA informed it about his arrival.

He was being questioned about other Islamic State operatives and his links with them, said an official, who was not authorised to speak to the media.

Velluva was earlier deported from Turkey in February for allegedly carrying out terrorist activities there. He subsequently got a fake passport with another identity, the official added.

Velluva's second attempt to enter Turkey with the fake passport was also foiled by the police there and he was deported to India.

The police said more arrests were likely to be made in the case.
Nagpur: The police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district on Wednesday claimed to have killed two women Naxals in Yengao area on Chhattisgarh border.

A police team conducting an anti-Naxal operation in Yengao forest came under attack from the rebels on Tuesday morning, an official release said.

In a heavy exchange of fire that followed, two women Naxals were killed, it said.

Identity of the slain cadres was yet to be established, it added.

Ration items, including rice and oil, besides a cache of torches and batteries and large amount of weapons were recovered from their possession, he added.

On Monday, the Gadchiroli police had claimed to have killed a woman Naxal in Ranwahi forest in the district.
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday reacted sharply to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asking filmmaker Suman Ghosh to "mute" four words and phrases, including cow and Gujarat, in his documentary on Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen.

"Every single voice of the opposition is being muzzled. Now, Dr Amartya Sen (sic)," she wrote on her Twitter handle.

Every single voice of the opposition is being muzzled. Now, Dr Amartya Sen... 1/2  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) July 12, 2017

If somebody of his stature cannot express himself freely, what hope does the common citizen have 2/2  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) July 12, 2017

In the documentary, The Argumentative Indian, Sen speaks of social choice theory, development economics, philosophy and the rise of right-wing nationalism across the world, including in India.

Ghoshs documentary has been made over a span of 15 years (2002-2017) and is structured as a conversation between Sen and his student, economist Kaushik Basu.

Earlier, the filmmaker told PTI that the CBFCs regional office here had verbally communicated to him to "mute" four words and phrases  Gujarat, Cow, Hindutva view of India and Hindu India  in his documentary on Sen.
Mumbai: A 20-year-old man was on Wednesday arrested for allegedly flashing at a woman at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST) railway station here, a senior police official said.

The incident had occurred on 29 June, but it came to light after a video went viral on social media, the official said.

The 22-year-old victim, who works for a child rights NGO, was about to travel to Nashik by an express train when the incident took place.

The accused, identified as Ashok Pradhan, who is a rag picker, allegedly exposed himself to the woman on platform number 13 when she was about to board the train.

The offence took place on 29 June around 5.45 am. The matter came to light after the video of the incident, shot by the victim, went viral on social networking sites, the official said.

"A case in this regard was registered at CST police station on Wednesday. We examined the CCTV footage of that day and traced the accused within six hours after the registration of the case. He was arrested from Carnac Bunder area of the city," ACP Machindra Chavan said.

The accused was booked under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (word, gesture or act intending to insult the modesty of woman).

The accused, who hails from Bhubaneswar district in Odisha, resides at a slum in Chembur. He will be produced in a court tomorrow, Chavan said.

Further investigation into the case is on.
New Delhi: An Islamic forum said the Centre's assurance that those involved in mob lynchings would be acted against was not having any impact on the ground, and the situation was "deteriorating very fast".

Referring to recent cases of lynching, including that of teenager Hafiz Junaid near Delhi, the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Maulana Umari advised the Muslim youth to avoid being "instigated", which he said would only aid communal forces.

"The spate of mob lynchings rages persistently in trains, buses and public places. It is highly regrettable that there is a feeling of fear and insecurity among citizens in many places of the country. Those in power assure us that breaking the law will not be tolerated and the guilty will be awarded exemplary punishment but the reality is that this assurance is not having any impact on the ground," Umari said in a statement.

He said Muslims should not use the language of fear and despondency nor use the language of confrontation and communalism and instead "build bridges with fellow countrymen".

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said killing people on the pretext of protecting cows was not acceptable and warned that no one had the right to take law into his hands.
Mumbai: In a setback to the Enforcement Directorate, a court in Mumbai on Wednesday granted bail to Aamir Gazdar, an alleged close aide of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, in a money laundering case.

Judge AN Sirsikar of the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court granted bail to Gazdar on a bond of Rs 5 lakh.

He shall not leave the country without the court's permission, and shall cooperate with the investigation, the judge said, laying down conditions while granting him relief.

During the hearing on the bail plea, Gazdar's lawyers Taraq Sayyed and Mubin Solkar had argued that he be released as investigation was over and charge sheet filed.

Unlike Zakir Naik, Gazdar had not been booked in any other case by the NIA or other government agencies, the lawyers said.

The ED had arrested Gazdar in February this year. Naik had allegedly established some 'dummy' companies in India and abroad which were used to camouflage diversion of funds received by him through his illegal activities, and he had named Gazdar as a director of at least six such companies, the agency said.

Gazdar was a close confidante of Naik, it claimed.

The ED had registered a criminal case against Naik and others last December after the National Investigation Agency booked him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The ED also summoned Naik for questioning, but he has not appeared before the agency.

Naik, who was already abroad when the case was filed, has not returned to India fearing arrest since some perpetrators of the Dhaka terror strike of 2016 claimed they were inspired by his speeches.

The NIA registered a case against him and 'unnamed officials' of his Islamic Research Foundation under Section 153-A of IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and the UAPA.
Dimapur: Four persons, including a minor were killed and five others injured when a bridge collapsed near Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research in Dimapur on Tuesday, the police said.

Nagaland: Four persons died and five injured after bridge at 5th Mile connecting Pugobuto and Niuland with Dimapur collapsed, earlier today. pic.twitter.com/QucMoLoXBr  ANI (@ANI_news) July 11, 2017

Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Dimapur Kesonyu Yhome said so far four persons, including two women from Tripura, were killed in the incident.

The DC said the deceased are yet to be identified and added that the injured are being treated at a local hospital.

Police and State Disaster Management personnel have reached the spot, but rescue operations are being hampered due to strong currents of the stream, Yhome said, adding that five vehicles are still stuck in the debris.

An alternative route connecting the highway linking Dimapur with Kohima is being arranged for commuters, he added.

District administration officials said plying of heavy vehicles was stopped on the bridge in 2015, but light vehicles were allowed as the road connected over 100 villages.

An emergency meeting of the state cabinet held in the evening has directed payment of ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased and also to the injured, an official statement said.

The state government has also directed an inquiry to be conducted by Secretary (Law and Justice) into the circumstances leading to the collapse of the bridge and loss of lives, the statement added.
New Delhi The Cabinet Committee on Security met in New Delhi on Wednesday to take stock of the security situation in the wake of the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims and the stand-off with China along the border.

According to government sources, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the meet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CCS was held prior to the Cabinet meeting.

Seven persons were killed and 19 others injured on Monday night when militants opened fire at a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

Army chief General Bipin Rawat rushed to the valley to review the security on Tuesday, while two central ministers  Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir and Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh were sent by the Centre to assess the situation.

A stand-off continues between Indian and Chinese troops since the middle of June on the border in the Sikkim sector.
Two army personnel were killed on Wednesday after Pakistan Army resorted to firing without any provocation at Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir, according to reports.

J&K: Two army personnel shot in firing by terrorists in Kupwara's Keran sector, more details awaited. pic.twitter.com/xIYJsGwj9g  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

According to Times Now, Pakistan targetted the Indian soldiers without any reason.

IANS quoted defence ministry sources saying that the soldiers were killed in Furkiya area of Chowkibal sector, which is a known route used by militants for infiltrating into the Kashmir Valley from Pakistan.

The incident comes a day after three militants were killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in Budgam district of Kashmir.

The Pakistan Army on Sunday also targeted villages and forward posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district by resorting to heavy mortar shelling and firing automatic weapons in yet another ceasefire violation.

There have been 23 incidents of ceasefire violation, one BAT attack and two infiltration bids by Pakistan in June this year in which 4 people including 3 jawans were killed and 12 injured, officials said.

With inputs from IANS
New Delhi: The Parliamentary panel on finance will present its report on demonetisation in the upcoming Monsoon Session and RBI Governor will not be called again on the note ban issue, the committee's chairman M Veerappa Moily said on Wednesday.

During the more than three-hour long meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance here on Wednesday, RBI Governor Urjit

Patel took a lot of questions but many members said the central bank chief did not provide any "specific number" on the amount of money that came back to the system post demonetisation.

"We had a lengthy discussion (on demonetisation and various other issues) today... The panel will not be calling RBI Governor again on the issue of demonetisation," Moily told PTI.

The panel would submit its report on demonetisation during the Monsoon Session of Parliament starting on 17 July, Moily said. The session is to conclude on 11 August.

Patel appeared before the panel for the second time on Wednesday after cancellation of old Rs 500 and 1,000 currency notes on 8 November 8  a government decision which had attracted a lot of criticism from the Opposition.

In January too, the RBI governor had appeared before the committee and had told the members that he would submit a statement on the amount of money that came back into the system after demonetisation.

Along with Patel, RBI Deputy Governor SS Mundra was also present at the meeting on Wednesday.

With Patel not providing any particular figure, saying that counting of the notes was still in progress, many panel members expressed dissatisfaction with the RBI chief's replies.

After the meeting, a senior member said the governor did not provide any figure but gave details on remonetisation.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was present at the meeting, did not ask any question to the governor, according to three panel members.

Incidentally, it was Singh who had rescued Patel from a tough grilling during the January meeting when he intervened to say that the central bank and the governor's position as an institution should be respected.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday transferred to the Delhi High Court the plea of Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra, recently disqualified by the Election Commission, seeking to vote in the Presidential election.

The BJP leader had approached the top court against the Madhya Pradesh High Court order refusing to give him urgent hearing on his plea seeking permission to vote in the election to be held on 17 July.

The poll panel had on 23 June disqualified Mishra for three years over paid news charges, holding him guilty of filing wrong accounts of election expenditure relating to articles and advertorials in the media in the 2008 assembly polls.

A bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud asked senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Mishra, and senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Congress leader Rajendra Bharti opposing his plea, to appear before acting Chief Justice of Delhi HC on Wednesday itself and seek constitution of a bench.

The apex court also said the Delhi High Court should hear the matter from Thursday and asked it to conclude the hearing before the voting for presidential poll.

Earlier in the day, the apex court had agreed to hear his plea after his counsel mentioned the matter before it.

Rohatgi said he has challenged the order of Madhya Pradesh High Court refusing an urgent hearing to his interim prayer to allow him to vote in the presidential election.

The former AG had said he has challenged the disqualification by the Election Commission for the 2008 assembly polls before the High Court which had refused an urgent hearing on the aspect that he be allowed to vote.

He argued that disqualification does not mean that he can be barred from voting. "I have the right for hearing and voting in the presidential election," Rohatgi said.

Disqualifying Mishra from contesting elections for three years following a complaint against him, the commission had used some strong words against paid news, calling it a "cancerous menace" that is assuming "alarming proportions" in the electoral landscape.

His election from the Datia Assembly constituency also stands void.

A full bench of the Election Commission, comprising then Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi and Election Commissioners AK Joti (now CEC) and OP Rawat, had in its order indicted Mishra and unseated him under various sections of the Representation of the People Act (RPA).

Mishra, who won from Datia assembly constituency, is the minister for water resources and public relations and the chief spokesperson of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.

Bharti, the main complainant in the case, had first sent a complaint to the EC about eight years back in 2009.

The order said all the 42 news items that had appeared in five Hindi dailies were "extremely biased in favour of" Mishra.

It had said that its findings had also strengthened the conclusion that he had "knowingly participated or took advantage of the expenditure on such advertisements" that had appeared as news in the publications.
Jaipur: Four Rajasthan Roadways buses were set on fire in Kuchaman city of Nagaur district, which has been tense since a gangster was killed last month, police said.

The incident took place at a bus stand, where the buses were parked for the night. Nobody was hurt, investigating officer and head constable Hukma Ram said. A hunt was on to nab the accused who are yet to be identified, he added.

Nagaur district has been tense since 24 June when gangster Anandpal Singh, on the run since September 2015, was gunned down by the police in Malasar village in Churu.

The gangster's family, backed by the Rajput community, is yet to cremate the body. They are demanding a CBI inquiry into the encounter and permission for Anandpal Singh's brothers, who are in judicial custody, to attend the funeral.

The SP of Nagaur said the body was kept in a deep freezer at his house where elaborate security arrangement was made. Police were allowing people to enter the village only after verifying their identity.

The Rajasthan government has offered a SIT probe but Anandpal's family is sticking to its demands. The Rajput community is organising a 'shrandhanjali' rally in the slain gangster's native village Sanvrad today.
Ranchi: NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday said the President's post is above party politics as it is the highest Constitutional post of the country.

Kovind made the remark at a meeting he had with the NDA MPs, MLAs and other supporters at Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das residence on Wednesday afternoon.

Union Chemical and Fertilisers Minister Ananth Kumar briefed the media quoting Kovind having said at the meeting that "Service to the nation is my duty and given an opportunity to serve as president I will keep the national interest and constitution of India as my top priority."

Kovind said that once he became the Governor of Bihar, he did not remain member of any political party and he performed all his duties as governor as per the Constitution.

He said the Constitution is the final book for him and as the president of the country he will follow only the Constitution.

Ananth Kumar said after declaration of Ram Nath Kovinds candidature for the presidents post, the support for him has been growing and several political parties from the opposition camp have also supported him.

The Union minister said AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh and TRS in Telengana have also lent support to Kovind.

Kumar said in Jharkhand, besides NDA ally AJSU (All Jharkhand Students Union) party, MLA Gita Koda of Jai Bharat Samanta Party and MLA Bhanu Pratap Sahi of Naujawan Sangharsh Morcha have also offered their support to Kovind.

Kovind expressed his gratitude to the people of Jharkhand and said that the support of most of the people for his

candidature is, in fact, respect for Indian tradition and culture.

Welcoming Kovind earlier, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das said that Kovind as the governor of Bihar has increased the dignity of the post of governor.
New Delhi: The retirement age of medical officers working in central armed police forces like the CRPF and BSF has been enhanced from 60 to 65 years, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

The cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for enhancement of the age of superannuation in respect of general duty medical officers of central armed police forces and Assam Rifles from 60 to 65 years, an official statement said.

The retirement age of specialist medical officers of central armed police forces and Assam Rifles has also been enhanced from 60 to 65 years.

The move will help in retention of officers in specialist and general duty medical cadre and thereby help in better patient care, proper academic activities in medical colleges as also in effective implementation of national health programmes for delivery of health care services, the statement said.

The central police forces are: Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF-India), National Security Guards (NSG) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
India's clamping on the eastern border to check the burgeoning cattle and gold smuggling with next door Bangladesh was the biggest trigger for the communal violence that rocked Basirhat in West Bengals North 24 Parganas.

Reports reaching New Delhi claim the trigger for the violence was a bitter, constantly brewing tussle between the Hindus and Muslims to take charge of the illegal border trade. Cow smuggling across the border is pegged unofficially at Rs 4,000 crore, half of the business is generated through the Basirhat border, the rest from the Malda-Murshidabad.

A report submitted to the home ministry by the state government  claimed a senior home ministry official  indicated how the riots were used to settle scores between the two communities. For almost a year, the government has stepped up vigil across the 4096-km border, half of which has been fenced.

The state government report said there was a serious economic angle to the riots, and it revolved around the communities involved in smuggling across the Bangladesh border. And that it will continue till the border is totally fenced. According to sources, the report from the state home department to the Union home ministry has also raised questions about the "efficacy" of the Border Security Force. The elaborate report from the Trinamool Congress government in the state was sent to the Centre after the home ministry sought detailed reports on the violence in Badurai and Basirhat regions. The state government  under attack for not being able to handle the situations that led to communal clashes  has also protested the lack of cooperation from the Centre when the crisis erupted.

"Land acquisition is a major challenge to completing the work by the 2019 deadline and theres constant tension between the two communities over control of the smuggling business," said the official, speaking on conditions of anonymity. The border runs along West Bengal for 2,216.7 km, Assam 263 km, Meghalaya 443 km, Tripura 856 km and Mizoram 318 km.

"Besides cattle and gold, liquor and fake Indian currency notes are routinely smuggled across the border, the fight is over its control, the Facebook post by a teenager and the subsequent violence is just an excuse, a trigger," says Samik Bhattacharya, former BJP legislator from Basirhat.

Bhattacharya said the crisis will continue till fencing is complete and that the work was being hampered because  according to him  the state government was not cooperating in land acquisition despite forming a committee for the same. There are logical problems as well. A large part of the border in Bengal is riverine, approximately 70 kilometre of the south Bengal frontier  from South 24 Parganas to Malda  is riverine and fencing is not possible. The Muslims want a total grip on the smuggling business," says Bhattacharya.

Cattle smuggling is one of the most lucrative business across the border, rates ranging from Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000, even Rs 24,000 for the cows brought from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, even Rajasthan and Gujarat. In October, the Supreme Court found that around 17,000 heads of cattle had already been smuggled in 2015  over five times as many as the year prior and, in total, worth around $2 million. The number was much lower than many experts and reports say. The Bangladesh government has been on the record saying over two million cows pass across the border each year.

"It's about strength, it's about numbers. If your numbers are high, you control the district and do not have to depend on the law, Ram Prasad Thakur, 35, who is BJP in-charge in Rudrapur and a member of the Basirhat Zilla Parishad.

RPS Jaswal, DIG (Eastern India), BSF said cattle smuggling has been largely controlled but it remains a major bone of contention in the border states. Everyone wants to take control and there are sparks that constantly fly from across the border. We have been able to contain cattle smuggling to a great extent but tensions are constantly brewing in Basirhat between the two communities, he said. Jaswal said four platoons of the BSF are currently patrolling the borders in Basirhat where the "situation is still not normal".

In May 2016, home minister Rajnath Singh had claimed the BSF had reduced the number of cattle smuggled each year from 2.3 million to around 300,000 since the BJP came to power.

The illegal cattle trade is a sprawling industry, stretching from the border to the tanneries in Bangladesh, the cash meaning something different to each person along the supply chain. There are some who gather the cattle after purchase, some who travel with the cattle, and some to help the cattle cross the border, guiding the cows through rice paddies and across the water. At times, the smugglers are seen striding along naked so that villagers are embarrassed to interfere.

Both Hindus and Muslims are involved in the trade, and there is fear the trade will end in two years flat. What happens then?

So it's better to mop up whatever you can in this two-year period," said Kaji Abdul Rahim, the Rudrapur legislator belonging to the CPM-Congress combine. He says people are making most of it by pushing a record number of cattle across the border, new sheds have come up in Satkhira town in Bangladesh that lie on the border. So, to dominate the trade, someone needs to be in total control of things in Basirhat. The riots were inevitable, Rahim said in a telephonic interview.

Rahim said the current shape of the trend is clear to those living in Basirhat: The Indian government has become more protective of many elements of traditional Hinduism, including violence against cows. "This awareness about cattle has spilled over to the border. These are incontrovertible dangerous times. There are routine clashes between vigilante cow-protecting mobs and the smuggling rings. BSF officers are routinely injured by the smugglers."

Bangladesh needs as many cows India can smuggle, no one in the neighbouring country  claim home ministry officials in Delhi  has the capacity to purchase full cows for prices ranging $500 to $2,000. Bangladesh is barely 7 km from the epicentre of the riots. Satkhira, the nearest Bangladesh town and a hotbed of Jamat politics, does not have any industry, any manufacturing plants. Poor villagers, naturally, resort to smuggling.

A report on border security tabled by Parliament Standing Committee on Home Affairs in Rajya Sabha in the just concluded budget session talks about a 'deep and wide' cattle smuggling nexus at the India-Bangladesh border.

The committee, headed by former home minister P Chidambaram, said despite several measures taken by the BSF, the problem of cattle smuggling persists along India-Bangladesh border. "The West Bengal state government has failed to implement its own order in 2003 that outlaws existence of any cattle haats within 8 kilometre of border area, said the report. The committee recommended that the state government should cancel licenses of cattle haats and prosecute officials who illegally issue licenses to these haats.

The committee wanted the state government to ban mass movement and trading of cattle within 15 kilometre of border and prevent cattle smugglers from buying cattle from auctions organised by custom officials of seized cattle.

There is a wide and deeply entrenched nexus due to which this menace has proliferated and the government needs to strike at roots of the nexus if it has to completely curb this problem," the report said.

Along with cattle, gold is smuggled from across the border. Intelligence officials claim the smugglers in Bangladesh get the yellow metal from Dubai and smuggle it across India, which vies with China as the worlds top gold consumer. This May, India saw a four-fold increase in imports of the precious metal as traders stocked up fearing that the government would fix a higher rate for jewellery under the new goods and services tax (GST) regime to be implemented from 1 July.

Overseas purchases advanced to 126 tonnes in May from 31.5 tonnes a year earlier. Demand is projected to rise to between 850 tonnes to 950 tonnes by 2020 from an estimated 650 tonnes to 750 tonnes in 2017 buoyed by the new tax regime, claimed the World Gold Council last month.

The bulk of gold smuggling happens through the Bangladesh and Myanmar border, claim Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials in Delhi and Kolkata. Last month, the DRI officials in Kolkata seized 105 kg of gold being smuggled into India from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

"Tensions are on a high between the two communities to take control over cattle and gold smuggling," said the home ministry official.

The Facebook post was just a trigger, even the state government now admits it.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked a trial court in New Delhi to commence recording of evidence in a Rs one crore defamation case against lawyer activist Vrinda Grover and another woman by former TERI chief RK Pachauri from 1 August.

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked the trial court to conclude the cross-examination of Pachauri and other witnesses on or before 30 September on the petition filed by Grover opposing the district judge's 7 July order directing day-to-day hearing between 13 and 26 July.

"Let the trial court begin the cross-examination of plaintiff (Pachauri amd witnesses) on 1 August and conclude it on or before 30 September," the court said.

The high court had on 16 June set aside the trial court order fixing the recording of evidence in the case during the summer vacation and asked it to fix a fresh schedule.

Grover, in her fresh plea, said that on 7 July, the trial court heard the matter for rescheduling but Pachauri failed to file the list of evidences or number of witnesses.

She claimed that the rescheduled dates  13 to 26 July  for recording of evidence was conveyed to her counsel on 10 July.

"It was brought to the notice of the trial court that on account of the failure of the plaintiff (Pachauri) to file the evidence by way of affidavits, it was no longer possible for the petitioner to be ready with any effective cross-examination of the plaintiff and his witnesses from 13 July," the court said.

Pachauri's counsel Ashish Dixit sought a fixed schedule for recording evidence in the matter while submitting that Grover had sought adjournment twice earlier.

In April 2016, few months after the charge sheet against him was filed in the alleged sexual harassment case lodged by an ex-colleague, Pachauri had slapped a civil suit against Grover and the other woman for allegedly making defamatory statements against him outside the court room to the media in connection with the case.

The other woman had also made similar accusations against him after filing of the original complaint.

Pachauri has sought damages of Rs 1 crore for "false and frivolous allegations" which, he argues, could prejudice his case.

He also made three media houses and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry parties to the suit filed before a Patiala house court and sought a permanent injunction against any reporting of statements of the two women.

On 26 February, Pachauri had secured an order from another city court making it mandatory that the media houses publish or telecast the coverage of the case with a title that "in any court the allegations have not been proved and they may not be correct".

The interim order had further said, "When such information is published in any page of a magazine or report, then it should be in middle of the page in bold letters and it should be five times larger than the font in which the article is being published."
Srinagar: Amid the stand-off on the border with China, Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said that India is today better equipped to meet challenges than it was in 1962.

To a question on the situation on the border with China, where troops of both countries are engaged in a stand-off, Singh said that "India today is not the India of 1962", when it lost the war.

India today is much different and much better equipped to meet any challenge, he said.

His comments reiterate what Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said a few days ago that the India of 2017 is different from the India of 1962.

Jitender Singh's comments come as China on Wednesday demanded that India withdraw its troops from Doka la in the Sikkin sector as a precondition for dialogue.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said in Beijing that the trespass by Indian troops in Doka la was different from the "frictions in the undefined sections of the boundary" between India and China.

Geng said what has happened in Doka la is a dispute. He dismissed Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar's remarks that differences over the border between India and China had occurred in the past also and were resolved.
The clearest expression of India's policy direction on regional integration and Sikkim standoff with China emerged on Monday when Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar delivered the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy lecture in Singapore to mark the 25th anniversary of India-ASEAN ties. The address coincided with an interview of former national security advisor Shivshankar Menon published by The Hindu newspaper where key questions on Sino-Indian relationship were tackled.

A close inspection of the views of Jaishankar, India's top diplomat, and Menon, India's ex-envoy to China, reveal the multifaceted, stable and consistent nature of the bilateral tie. Both stressed against the dangers of letting one issue overshadow a thousand others. At the same time, they also pointed to the stress factors in the relationship which unless addressed and reinterpreted with the shifting power equations, may result in more incidents of friction in the near future.

The seriousness of the month-long impasse at Sikkim sector is underlined by the fact that both sides have recently reinforced their troop presence. India has redeployed 2,500 soldiers from Sikkim to Doklam plateau while China has made similar adjustments to its holding point at Chumbi Valley. The soldiers are apparently unarmed and in non-combatant mode but on high alert.

Menon, an old China hand who is also fluent in Mandarin, admitted in the interview that in his long diplomatic career and history of negotiations with the Chinese on border disputes (he was a moving force behind the 1993 Border Peace and Tranquillity Agreement) he cannot "recall this kind of rhetoric for a very long time", referring to the belligerent stand taken by Beijing on the deadlock near India-Bhutan-China tri-junction.

Speaking to The Hindu's Suhasini Haidar, the former foreign secretary said given the many mutual irritants in NSG, Masood Azhar and CPEC, "my own sense that both of us must sit down and work out a new modus vivendi to govern the relationship. We have both since the 1980s been rubbing up against each other in the periphery we share. So we do need a new strategic dialogue to discuss how we should sort out problems. "

China's steady escalation of rhetoric through foreign office, diplomatic circles and state-controlled media is matched by its calibrated strategic moves. The timing of the seemingly disparate actions point to a clear coordination which could be part of a grand strategy to keep raising the cost of impasse till it breaks India's resistance. China is well aware that if it forces India to withdraw, New Delhi's role as a security guarantor to Bhutan would be diminished and the tiny Himalayan kingdom could fall into its lap.

The building of a road at tri-junction  which India has termed as a violation of the 2012 understanding reached between special representatives of both countries that it would be settled through consultations with Bhutan  stems also from a desire to permanently alter the status quo. Interestingly, China's blanket refusal to engage with India unless it backs off, points to the fact that it wants to create a 'new normal' in the bilateral power equation. It had possibly not taken into account the spirited response from India and this may explain part of their belligerence.

But what are these 'seemingly disparate moves'? As pointed out by India Today's China correspondent Ananth Krishnan on Twitter, China's People's Daily newspaper has posted an image online of a frontpage editorial from 22 September, 1962: "If this can be tolerated, what cannot?", drawing a clear equivalence

People's Daily goes there today -- posts image online of front page editorial from Sept 22, 1962: "If this can be tolerated, what cannot?" pic.twitter.com/jseaoiecbs  Ananth Krishnan (@ananthkrishnan) July 12, 2017

Other analysts have pointed to the steady vitriol being belted out from its TV channels.

It's true. Rhetoric out of Beijing--official+unofficial--is highly abnormal for a border incident. Alarming, Grade-A bluster on CGTN today. https://t.co/3VZFv9KFUN  Jeff M. Smith (@Cold_Peace_) July 12, 2017

There are also reports that Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing has indicated its interest in playing the role of a mediator between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, a marked departure from its earlier stance.

Asked by Pak media if China will play a role, MoFA says 'willing to play a constructive role in improving relations between India and Pak'  Ananth Krishnan (@ananthkrishnan) July 12, 2017

Amid this furious signaling of intent, two other media reports emerging from China are of special interest. One, it has sent troops to Djibouti to open its first overseas military base. Officially, Beijing has denied that this is part of any military expansionism, pointing out that it is merely a "logistical support base" to facilitate "escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia" and is even intended to ensure "global peace" but few are willing to take these claims seriously.

Least of all, it seems, even the Chinese media. In an editorial, another Chinese daily claimed that there could be no doubt that this is "indeed the People's Liberation Army's first overseas base, where China will garrison, (and) it is not a commercial supply point."

Simultaneously, as reported by various media outlets, China has been sending a plethora of submarines, military and surveillance vessels into the Indian Ocean through the South China Sea, possibly out of the strategic anxiety caused by India's trilateral naval war games with the US and Japan.

The New York Times quoted retired Admiral Anup Singh, who has been part of naval exercises in the past, as saying on the influx of Chinese warships in India's backyard that they are deliberately upping the ante in order to flag their posture to people who are concerned The Indians, the Japanese and the Americans. So they deliberately do it as a pinprick."

Meanwhile, Chinese navy is getting ready to begin similar war games with Russia, featuring its latest warships. The signaling here is hard to miss.

Amid these overt and covert signaling, are India and China headed inevitably for war?

Menon doesn't think so, advocating in the interview that military conflict would solve nothing, but "both India and China would have to reach that same conclusion at the same point of time to avoid it."

We see a similar sentiment being expressed by Jaishankar, who in his address at Singapore's Shangri La Hotel called for "strategic maturity", emphasising that "differences shouldn't become disputes", a line quoted from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Astana last month.

Jaishankar didn't deny the existence of pressure points, he placed those in the context of inevitable complexities that might occur when "two major powers" are rising "near simultaneously, that too in close proximity," adding that "the powers in question are civilisational ones, with positive far history and difficult near history, adds to the challenge."

The cornerstone of the relationship must be the acknowledgement that the sum is much greater than the parts, and "skewing the analysis in the direction of one at the expense of the other could mislead us. In truth, the India-China relationship by now has acquired so many dimensions and so much substance that reducing it to black and white argumentation cannot be a serious proposition."

It should be clear by now that regional integration through increased economic, strategic and geopolitical cooperation with ASEAN nations provide the greatest mutual insurance for India and the South East Asian nations against the rise of a belligerent hegemon.

In Jaishankar's words: "Involvement with the ASEAN and the consequent development of trade and sourcing of resources from the East has significantly heightened maritime consciousness in India. This has led us not only to be more active in pursuit of maritime interests but to use the domain to add an additional layer to our policy engagement."

There is little point fantasising about "Hindi-Chini bhai bhai", a rose-tinted fallacy for which we paid a heavy price. But that doesn't mean our relationship needs to be defined solely in terms of competing antagonism. As long as both countries respect each other's core concerns and keep engaging in areas of mutual interest, there will always be space in Asia for two major powers.
Patna: Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday refused to buy the defense of Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav that he was a minor "without a moustache" at the time of the land-for-hotels deal.

"When Tejashwi Yadav became the owner of the property, he had turned an adult with a moustache and a beard," he said in a statement.

"He cannot put a veil on his crime by pleading that he was a minor at that time," added Modi.

The BJP leader claimed that the Kochhar brothers had sold a commercial property on 25 February, 2005 in the form of a three-acre land in Patna, through 10 sale deeds for Rs 1.47 crore, to Delight Marketing, in which Sarla Gupta, the wife of former Union minister Prem Chand Gupta, was a director.

After the tender was awarded to Sujata Hotel, owned by the Kocchars, the ownership of Delight Marketing also changed hands from Sarla Gupta to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav between 2010 and 2014, he alleged.

Modi dared Tejashwi to announce that he did not own the said land, on which Bihar's biggest mall was coming up.

"Tejashwi should also announce that he does not own a four-storied building at New Friends Colony in Delhi, the value of which is Rs 115 crore today," he said.

The BJP leader once again urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to sack Tejashwi.

"When Tejashwi Yadav and his family have refused to resign, should the chief minister not show the courage to sack him?," he wondered.

Bihar BJP chief Nityanand Rai also dismissed Tejashwi's defence of being a minor at the time of the land deal and alleged that he was putting the blame on his father (RJD supremo Lalu Prasad).

Earlier in the day, Tejashwi virtually ruled out the possibility of resigning from the state cabinet and dubbed the FIR against him as a part of a "political vendetta".

"The FIR (in the land-for-hotels case) is part of a political vendetta. BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are conspiring against me and my family members because of political reasons," he told reporters.

"Can you believe that a 14-year-old child, whose moustache is yet to come, will indulge in corruption?," he asked and dubbed the FIR as a "farzi" (fake) one.
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday held extensive talks with the Deputy Prime Minister of Yemen Abdulmalik Abduljalil Al-Mekhlafi during which she conveyed India's concern over the safety of Father Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted in the Arab country last year, the ministry said.

On his part, Al-Mekhlafi told Swaraj that Father Tom was alive and the Yemen government was making all efforts to secure his release.

"The External Affairs Minister stressed the government's concern for the safety and well-being of Father Tom Uzhunnalil who was abducted in April 2016 from Aden and reiterated the request for continued assistance from the Yemeni authorities in securing his safe and early release", the ministry said in statement after the meeting.

Al-Mekhlafi, who is also the foreign minister of Yemen, assured all cooperation to secure release of Father Tom, a resident of Kerala.

The internal situation in Yemen as well as the overall atmosphere in the gulf region are believed to have figured in the talks. Terror groups like the Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are said to have bases in parts of Yemen resulting in instability in the country.

Swaraj and Al-Mekhlafi held discussions in a cordial and friendly atmosphere, covering bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest, the MEA said.

"The visiting minister appreciated India's steadfast support for Yemen during difficult times, including India's humanitarian assistance", the MEA said.

In the meeting, Swaraj thanked the Yemeni government for its whole-hearted cooperation and support in evacuation of Indian and foreign nationals from Yemen under the 'Operation Raahat' in March-April 2015.

India had evacuated 6,700 people, including the nationals of 41 countries, under the operation when internal strife in the Arab nation grew out of control.

The Yemeni deputy prime minister appreciated India for continuing to welcome Yemeni nationals, especially for higher studies and medical treatment.

"He requested increase in slots for Yemeni students as also facilitation of medical visas for the Yemeni patients as India has been their most preferred destination. The External Affairs Minister assured all possible assistance, including through supply of much-needed medicines at Yemens request", the MEA said.

Swaraj hosted a lunch in honour of the visiting dignitary.

Al-Mekhlafi arrived in India on Monday on a four-day visit.
Hyderabad: The main opposition Congress in Telangana would hold sit-ins in 10 district headquarters towns, demanding that the TRS government address the problems of farmers in the ongoing kharif season.

Telangana Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the farmers are not getting adequate cash from the banks for their agricultural needs.

The TRS government should release funds towards the fourth instalment of its farm loan waiver scheme, Reddy said in a press note issued on Wednesday.

He also demanded that the wages of labourers engaged in works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme be released through post offices.

He said Congress workers would stage dharna in front of banks in the erstwhile 10 district headquarters towns, which existed prior to the reorganisation of districts in the state.
New Delhi: At least 30 people, including activist-brothers Tehseen and Shehzad Poonawalla, were detained by the police after they assembled outside Parliament on Wednesday to protest against recent incidents of lynching.

The activists gathered at Vijay Chowk to take "an oath to uphold the Constitution" and urge fellow citizens not to remain a "mute spectator" to mob lynchings.

The event was organised by the National Campaign Against Mob Lynching, which had last week unveiled a draft anti-lynching law, Maanav Suraksha Kanoon (MASUKA).

A police officer said the activists were detained as they gathered at the venue without permission.

"The protest was supposed to be held at Jantar Mantar, but they moved to Vijay Chowk. That is why they have been taken in," the police officer said.

The detained activists were taken to the Parliament Street police station.

"...Youngsters were detained for wanting to take a pledge on our Constitution that we will uphold the rule of law...We want MASUKA or a law against vigilantism and mob lynchings and we will uphold peace and social harmony," said Tehseen.

He also took to Twitter to react to the police action.

In a series of tweets, he told Home Minister Rajnath Singh, "Sir we are youngsters from good families taking an oath on the constitution how is this illegal ? If we scare u imagine mobs (sic)."

"Dear @HMOIndia whybis (sic) @DelhiPolice detaining youngsters taking an oath on the Constitution? Is this democracy?"

The Delhi Police function under the Union home ministry.

The Maanav Suraksha Kanoon proposes that lynching be made a non-bailable offence, with life imprisonment for those convicted of it.
Mumbai: Taking a dig at the BJP over the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has asked the senior ally to send 'gau rakshaks' to fight terrorists in the Valley.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday evening.

While five of the deceased hailed from neighbouring Gujarat, two were from Maharashtra. "They (the BJP) used to say that do not bring sports, culture etc. in political issues. Today, religion and politics came together in the form of the terror attack. Should we understand that none of those terrorists would have been alive today if they had cow meat in their bags and not weapons?"

Thackeray asked.

"The issue of 'gau rakshaks' is raging today. Why don't you send these vigilantes to fight terrorists?" he asked while addressing representatives of various Ganesh mandals for the upcoming festival.

Thackeray, whose party shares an uneasy relationship with the BJP, further said, "If the BJP government can talk to separatists in the Valley to resolve their issues, they can certainly talk with those wishing to celebrate the Ganesh festival amidst fanfare."

He requested that the Devendra Fadnavis government bring in an ordinance against restrictions imposed by the Bombay High Court on noise level during the festivals.

Earlier, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the attack on Amarnath pilgrims is an assault on the entire nation and the government, and it is high time that such dastardly incidents are given a befitting reply. "This attack was not only on pilgrims going for the Amarnath yatra but on the entire country and the government in Delhi (Centre)," he said.

"Merely condemning the incident will not suffice. It is now high time that this (terrorist attack) is given a befitting reply," he said.
Kolkata: A Congress delegation led by state party chief Adhir Chowdhury was stopped by police on their way to riot-hit Baduria in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday.

"A Congress delegation was stopped with the same reason last week. How does a visit by a political party disturb the peace of the area, I really don't understand?", asked Chowdhury, after he and other party leaders were stopped at Barasat and were told that political parties were not allowed to visit the area.

On Monday, Chowdhury had said political activities and engagements are necessary to bring back normalcy in the region.

Clashes broke out between the members of two communities in Baduria last week after a provocative social media post went viral.

Although the youth involved with the social post was arrested and the post deleted, trouble broke out and spread to several areas, with trees felled to put up road blockades, vehicles, including those of police, and houses torched, and shops damaged.

A number of police personnel were injured in the clashes and the central government rushed 400 paramilitary personnel to the area to control the situation.
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to convey its position on whether it was considering a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the recent communal strife at Baduria in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district.

On a plea seeking an NIA investigation into the clashes, a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice T Chakraborty asked the lawyer for the central government about his stand.

Appearing for the Centre, additional solicitor general Kaushik Chanda submitted that he will take instructions in this regard from the government.

Chanda was asked by the bench to convey the Centre's position on the plea on 21 July when PILs with regard to the clashes will be heard again. The bench also directed the West Bengal government to submit an affidavit stating the steps it has taken to control and normalise the situation in riot-affected Baduria on 21 July.

The direction to the state government was made on another petition seeking a direction to the state to compensate victims in last week's communal clashes.

State Advocate General Kishore Dutta submitted that 32 cases have been registered and 66 arrests made in connection with the clashes. He told the court that the situation has normalised at Baduria and adjoining areas in Basirhat sub-division, which is situated close to the Bangladesh border.
New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday attacked the NDA government over its silence on the "grave security lapse" in the death of seven Amarnath Yatra pilgrims and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi refuses to come forward after any terror attack.

"Nearly 36 hours have passed but neither Modi nor home minister Rajnath Singh have come forward to either admit the grave security failure or to assure the nation on decisive action," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters at a press conference.

Lashing out at Modi, Surjewala said, "We have not even heard a single syllable on the momentous failure on the part of the prime minister."

"After every terrorist attack, be it the Uri or the Pathankot air force camp, similar platitudes are offered by government with the prime minister refusing to come forward," he alleged.

Surjewala's remarks came in the wake of the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims on Monday evening in Kashmir's Anantnag district in which seven people were killed and over 19 others injured.
The BJP on Wednesday termed the first budget of the Yogi Adityanath government as a "historic" one and said that the Opposition was "frustrated" for not being able to find any "lacunae" in it.

"The Adityanath government has made a bold initiative of including the promises mentioned in the Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra in its first Budget itself which is a good sign," UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said.

He said the current budget drew inspiration from Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay and his thoughts of Antyodaya (benefits reaching the poorest sections of society).

"The first budget presented by the Adityanath government is certainly a historic one. The opposition parties are feeling frustrated and sad as they are unable to find any lacunae in it," he said.

"(SP chief) Akhilesh Yadav was not in Lucknow when the budget was tabled. Since there was no provision for statues and memorials, it made BSP supremo Mayawati sad," Tripathi said.
Agartala: A Tripura tribal party, which has blockaded the national highway and the lone railway track in the state to push its demand for a separate state, has sought tri-partite talks with the central and state governments over its demand.

"We have sought the governor's intervention and a tri-partite meeting between us, the Centre and state governments to resolve the matter," Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) President Narendra Chandra Debbarma said.

The IPFT has been blocking a national highway and a lone railway line in the state to press for its demand for the third day Wednesday.

Debbarma told the media: "In Delhi, the National Federation for New States took up the issue with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Home Ministry. We also submitted a memorandum to the Tripura Governor (Tathagata Roy) demanding his intervention."

The senior IPFT leaders on Wednesday held a review meeting but they refused to divulge its outcome.

Roy, who was in the national capital to attend a dinner of outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee, told IANS over phone: "I cannot do anything now as I am in Delhi. After returning to Agartala I would look into the issue."

The IPFT, which for years has been agitating for the creation of a separate state, carved out by upgrading the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) area, organised blockade on the NH-8, the life line of the state, and the lone railway line to the state at Khamting Bari since Monday morning.

The politically important Council constitutes two-thirds of Tripura's 10,491 sq km area, which has 12,16,465 (mostly tribals) of the state's 37 lakh population residing in it.

The Left Front government led by Manik Sarkar, which is strongly opposed to both the demand and the stir, has taken unprecedented security measures in and around the Baramura hill ranges, through which the NH-8 and the railway line passes.

"The agitators, comprising men and women, are peacefully blockading the roads and railway line. No unpleasant incident has been reported so far. We are closely supervising the situation since Sunday, a day before the blockade was started," West District Police chief Abhijit Saptarshi told IANS from the blockade area, 35 km north of here.

Some women agitators were taken ill and were treated by government doctors.

Chief Public Relations Officer of he Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Pranav Jyoti Sharma said that in view of the blockade, all trains including those bound for New Delhi and Kolkata, were cancelled in Tripura.

Debbarma said: "In support of our demand, we would continue the blockade for an indefinite period until the central government gives a positive assurance towards our demand."

A rally would also be organised in Agartala on the same issue on 23 August, the IPFT chief said.

He said: "We had a meeting with Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh on 17 May in New Delhi where we discussed our demands."

"The Minister told us that the government would consider our demands. If Tripura police want to arrest us they can do that," Debbarma said.

Singh is also Minister of State for Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER).

Most of the political parties, including the ruling CPM, Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have rejected IPFT's demands.

Blaming the BJP for the blockade, CPM's West District Secretary Pabitra Kar, said the saffron party did a similar thing in Manipur before the state assembly elections there.

The BJP, however, denied the allegations.

Information and cultural affairs minister Bhanulal Saha while talking to the media said: "The state government once again urged the IPFT to call off the blockade considering the sufferings of the people and possible crisis of essentials, food grains and fuels."
A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair. Machiavellis political expediency will be stretched to a whole new level when the loss in question isnt inheritance but acquired political capital, because then it results not just in despair but also fury.

Leaders of Bihar's ruling Janata Dal United (JD(U)) are a furious lot these days. It is a well-known fact that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who first rose to power in the state in 2005, has laid down roads in his state and restarted defunct schools, and has eventually come to be known as the states Vikas Purush (the man who brought development) and Susashan Babu (Mr Good Governance).

On one hand, Nitish has been trying to rebuild Brand Bihar with an emphasis on corruption-free politics and on the other hand, JD(U) ally Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and his son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, the current deputy chief minister of Bihar, have been named in a case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The investigation agency has alleged that the family received land in Patna in exchange for granting a private company the contract to maintain two railway hotels. These charges come less than a month after the Supreme Courts ruling that Lalu will face charges of criminal conspiracy and fraud in a fresh trial related to the 1996 fodder scam.

Speaking to Firstpost, Sanjay Jha, national general secretary of JD(U), said that the political ideals shaped by Nitish will not be compromised 'at any cost'. His statement that any disruption of the existing government is a lesser price to pay than compromising on the partys political ideals has strained the already taut relations between Lalu's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the JD(U).

We assumed power in Bihar only for the upliftment of its 11 crore residents, and not to defend any individual, noted Jha. He also shared that in a recent meeting cabinet meeting, Nitish had said that Tejashwi will have to defend himself against the charges in a transparent manner. During the meeting, Nitish also brought up his own example when he resigned as the railway minister, taking responsibility of the 1999 Gaisal train disaster in Assam that had killed at least 290 people.

The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee later included me in his cabinet, Jha quoted Nitish as saying.

Jha said that not just Nitish but even the party has displayed "high moral standards" by accepting resignations of leaders who have demonstrated shortcomings in their political conduct, be it Jitam Ram Manjhi in 2005, Ramadhar Singh in 2011, or Awdesh Kumar Singh and Ramanand Singh in 2015. According to Jha, in the meeting, some JD(U) ministers also raised their voice against corruption and asserted that that they wont compromise with their stand against corruption because that is their asset.

In his political career spanning over 40 years, Nitish Kumar has spent 12 years as a chief minister, and has handled several portfolios as a union minister, including railways, surface transport and agriculture. In all these years, he has stood firm on his resolve of zero tolerance towards corruption, Jha told Firstpost.

According to Central Statistics Office data, Bihars gross state domestic product as a percentage of the GDP of all states and Union territories has been steadily increasing, from 2.5 percent in 2005-06 to 3.1 per cent in 2013-14, when Nitish was chief minister. In 2005-06, the per capita income of the state was 29.2 percent of the all-India figure. By 2013-14, this had increased to 38.9 percent of the all-India per capita income. JD(U) chief is trying hard to build Brand Bihar, which is now being sullied by Tejashwi, who is shrouded in fraud charges. This, as Jha puts it, is something that the party will not tolerate.

The article was originally published by Firstpost Hindi.
Churhat: Congress chief whip in Lok Sabha Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday criticised Union minister Radha Mohan Singh saying he enjoyed a yoga session with Ramdev at a public event, at a time when farmers in Madhya Pradesh and other parts of the country were in distress.

"Union agriculture minister (Radha Mohan Singh) was delighted doing yoga with yoga guru Ramdev at a time when the farmers are in distress, particularly in Madhya Pradesh," Scindia said.

He was speaking at a farmers' rally organised by his party at Churhat constituency in Sidhi district.

Two days after five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur during the farmers' unrest at MP's Mandsaur district on 6 June, the Union minister was seen doing yoga with Ramdev at Motihari in Bihar - for which he drew flak.

Scindia, who is the MP from Guna in Madhya Pradesh, slammed the BJP government in the state over the death of five farmers in police firing at Mandsaur on 6 June, and sought to know from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan why the farmers were killed.

"Does raising demands amount to an offence or a crime?" he said.

Alleging that the MP government has failed on all counts, Scindia said that there was a dearth of doctors and medicines in government-run hospitals.

Recalling former union minister late Arjun Singh, who once represented Churhat constituency, Scindia said he was a visionary leader and worked for the welfare of the down-trodden.

Leader of the Opposition in MP Assembly, Ajay Singh, who represents Churhat assembly seat, said the days of BJP government in MP were numbered as people were ready to "teach a lesson" to it in the assembly elections next year. Congress general secretary and MP party affairs in-charge Mohan Prakash, state Congress chief Arun Yadav were also present at the rally.
The political deadlock in India's northeastern state of Nagaland is showing no signs of letting up, with neither of the warring factions in the ruling Naga Peoples Front (NPF) appearing in the mood to relent. Governor PB Acharya has asked Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly on 15 July. However, at the heart of the crisis is the power struggle between Liezietsu and the state's former chief minister TR Zeliang. Firstpost recapitulated the political developments in the state, to bring you the story so far.

The story from the start

It all started in January 2017 with civil unrest in the state over the NPF government's  then headed by Zeliang  move to hold civic polls with 33 percent reservation for women. The tribal bodies in the state almost unanimously opposed the reservation to women leaders, stating that the government order was in contrast to their traditions, which do not allow women to take up leadership roles. The state saw violent protests on its streets from tribal communities, from 31 January onwards, after the state government decided to hold urban local bodies' (ULB) election with 33 percent reservation for women, which led to the death of three persons in police firing.

The deaths resulted in a state-wide bandh, with a demand for the then chief minister Zeliangs resignation. Nagaland saw a total breakdown of state machinery as protesters made it impossible for the government to function until Zeliang was relieved of his post. The protest gained such vehemence that the state secretariat remained closed for 18 days and Zeliang had to finally relent and vacate his post on 19 February.

Following this, the ruling NPF's MLAs elected Liezietsu as a non-MLA chief minister and new leader of the legislative party on 22 February.

What spurred the current crisis?

The state appeared poised for a fresh bout of political crisis on 8 July, with a majority of NPF legislators gunning for the ouster of Liezietsu, and Zeliang staking his claim to form the government. A rebellion erupted within the legislature party against Liezietsu  merely four months after taking over as chief minister  accusing him of indulging in nepotism by appointing his son Khriehu as advisor with Cabinet status and pay.

Amid the hue and cry over his appointment, Khriehu even declined the Cabinet post, apparently to bail his father out. However, the warring factions have shown no signs of relenting.

The fresh political instability has come at a time when Liezietsu is gearing up for the 29 July by-election from the Northern Angami-I Assembly constituency. Khriehu had resigned from the same seat last month to enable his father to contest and become an elected member in the Nagaland Assembly in order to continue as chief minister.

Liezietsu, subsequently, hit back at Zeliang, who has staked his claim to form government, by sacking four top ministers and 10 Parliamentary Secretaries. The chief minister also suspended 10 legislators from the party's primary membership for alleged anti-party activities.

Meanwhile, voices backing Zeliang's return as chief minister grew stronger in the party, with 35 of the 47 NPF legislators rooting for the former chief minister's return.

"More than 40 (NPF and Independent) legislators have signed a letter of support in favour Zeliang as the new legislature party leader," IANS quoted a senior NPF legislator, who did not wished to be named.

The NPF legislators along with the Independent legislators are camping at a resort in Kaziranga National Park in Assam to discuss the transition of power.

Commenting on the irony of the situation, a Hindustan Times piece observed, "It was virtually an action replay of what happened before Zeliang had to quit in the last week of February. A majority of NPF legislators had trooped into the same resort then."

The copy also notes that NPF sources haven't denied the possibility of Nagaland's lone Member of Parliament Neiphiu Rio being behind the current crisis. Interestingly, Zeliang has unusually warmed up to Rio, once his bitter rival and a three-time Nagaland chief minister. Rio was even suspended a couple of years ago for "anti-party activities", particularly against Zeliang. Rio's name had even cropped up as a likely successor to Zeliang during the February impasse, according to Scroll.

However, Liezietsu trumped him at the last moment. In the truncated 59-member Assembly, the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland coalition government comprises 47 NPF legislators, including suspended legislator Imkong Imchen, four BJP MLAs and eight Independents.
The Nagaland governor's secretariat on Wednesday said the news report that Governor PB Acharya had postponed the floor test of Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu in the Assembly was false.

"The news report on governor issuing new directives to postpone the floor test and asking former chief minister TR Zeliang to submit a writ petition to speaker with at least 10 Opposition legislators to move the no-confidence motion ... is false," a Raj Bhavan spokesman said.

"No such statement has been issued from the governor's secretariat except an official statement wherein the governor asked Chief Minister Liezietsu to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly by 15 July," the official said.

On 8 July, TR Zeliang, former chief minister of Nagaland wrote to the governor claiming to form the government. Zeliang told the government that he has the support of 41 MLAs which include 34 from NPF and seven independent MLAs. The letter also said that the dissident MLAs also demanded ouster of the chief minister.

Significantly, out of the remaining MLAs only 14 belong to the ruling NPF while four of them are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)  an ally to the ruling NPF  and have maintained strict neutrality during the present crisis.

The 60-membered Nagaland Assembly does not have a single Opposition MLA. On 9 July, the chief minister suspended four of his ministers and 10 parliamentary secretaries alleging anti-party activities.

Shurhozelie is slated to contest from the Northern Angami I Assembly constituency in the by-election to be held on 29 July since he is not an elected member of the Nagaland Assembly. He was elected by party MLAs only when Zeliang, the then chief minister, was forced to resign due to mass movement against his leadership among the public nearly six months ago.

With inputs from agencies
Patna: Bihar's ruling Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) asked an embattled deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, an accused in the land-for-hotels scandal, to "come out with facts in public against the accusations" but stopped short of demanding his resignation.

Amid reports of a widening rift between JD(U) and ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads the 3-party coalition government in the state which also includes the Congress, chaired a meeting of JD(U) legislators, party office bearers and district unit chiefs where he referred to political sacrifices he made for ensuring probity in public life.

Though Kumar did not speak to media after the meeting, which came a day after Lalu Prasad's RJD rejected the BJP's demand for Tejashwi's resignation, his reference to "political sacrifice" was being seen as a message to the alliance partner to ensure that his deputy either came clean on the issue or there could be some turmoil in the ruling coalition.

"The party knows how to follow gathbandhan (coalition) dharma...JD(U) has a record of facing political challenges and making political sacrifices," JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar told reporters while briefing about the meeting. Though he did not name Tejashwi or Kumar, the JD(U) spokesman said the ball was now in RJD's court. "Explain your defence against the accusations in public with facts," Neeraj Kumar said.

Lalu Prasad, his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi have been named as accused in a CBI case relating to transfer of three acres of prime land in Patna to the family by two businessmen allegedly in return for licences to run two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri when the RJD chief was railway minister.

Kumar's reference to coalition politics and sacrifices is also being seen in the context of JD(U) having walked out of the NDA in 2013, ending its 17-year association with BJP, after Narendra Modi was appointed its campaign committee chief for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Though the JD(U) spokesman was guarded in responding to questions about what transpired at the meeting, senior party leader Ramai Ram claimed the RJD has been given four days to "come out with facts". MLC Raj Kishore Kushwaha said Nitish Kumar told the meeting that "law would take its own course while government would do its work".

"Our party is known for doing 'politics with a difference'," Neeraj Kumar accompanied by other spokespersons Sunil Kumar Singh, Ajay Alok and Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said.

"People of Bihar and political groups in the nation know our tradition on matters like crime and corruption," Nitish was quoted as having told the meeting.

"There are examples in the government headed by JD(U) of taking hard decisions for the sake of political propriety," he added. JD(U) general secretary Sanjay Jha, who attended the meeting, said the CM recalled how he had tendered his resignation as railway minister after the Gaisal train tragedy in 1999 on moral grounds going against the advice of the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The terse message from the JD(U) camp notwithstanding, the RJD once again ruled out the resignation of Tejashwi. "Tejashwi Yadav's work as deputy chief minister and minister of road construction and building construction has been appreciated and no allegation has been levelled against him during the period...hence there is no question of his resignation," state RJD president Ramchandra Purbe told reporters after the JD(U) meeting.

His party colleagues Mundrika Singh Yadav and minister Shiv Chander Ram echoed his views. After Lalu Prasad, who had gone to Ranchi for appearance in a fodder scam case, returned here many RJD leaders were seen flocking to his 10, Circular Road, residence following the JD(U) meeting.

Meanwhile, the BJP said on Monday that it will wait for 4-5 days for Nitish Kumar to take action against his deputy. "JD(U) has put the ball in RJD's court ... We will wait for the next four-five days to see what action Nitish Kumar takes against Tejashwi Yadav," senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said.

Modi recalled how Kumar had in the past acted against his ministers after their names cropped up in corruption cases. Kumar had accepted the resignations of ministers Jitan Ram Manjhi, Awadhesh Kushwaha, Ramanand Singh and Ramadhar Singh in the past for their alleged involvement in criminal cases.
Mumbai: The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA)'s presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind will arrive in Mumbai on Saturday on a brief campaign visit for the ensuing 17 July presidential elections, an official said on Wednesday.

Kovind will reach Mumbai airport by 10 am where he will be welcomed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Raosaheb Danve.

Later, he will go to the Garware Club at Churchgate, where top BJP leaders and other NDA leaders will receive him. He will address a meeting of legislators and parliamentarians.

He will depart from Mumbai in the afternoon.

In Maharashtra, the NDA constituents, comprising BJP, Shiv Sena, Republican Party of India (A) and other smaller parties, have announced support for Kovind.

However, Kovind is not scheduled to meet Shiv Sena presiden Uddhav Thackeray at his residence when he visits Mumbai on Saturday, BJP sources said.

Significantly, Pranab Mukherjee and Pratibha Patil, a presidential candidates of the UPA, had visited the then Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra as the party had broken ranks with the NDA in the past two elections for the highest constitutional office.

Uddhav had announced his party's support for Kovind afte a meeting of the Shiv Sena leaders here last month.

"Kovind is a good candidate, a straight-forward perso from a simple family and has the potential to work for th country's benefit," he had said, after dithering for a da following the announcement of Kovind's candidature by the BJP followed by its endorsement by most other NDA partners.

The Sena's announcement to support Kovind had come amid sever strains in the relations of the party with the BJP ove a host of issues.

The party had earlier pitched for Rashtriya Swayamseva Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat as its first preference fo the top office.

Sena MP Sanjay Raut had said, "If India has to be made 'Hindu Rashtra', Bhagwat will be a good choice for President."

After Bhagwat ruled himself out of the race, the Sena had suggested agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan's name fo the post, saying he will be able to provide solutions to the deepening agrarian crisis in several parts of the country.

BJP president Amit Shah had met Thackeray last month a 'Matoshree' to enlist the party's support for the NDA' presidential candidate. Sena has 18 MPs and 63 MLAs.

The voting for the presidential election is scheduled on 17 July and the counting will take place on July 20, four day before President Pranab Mukherjee's term ends.

Polling for the Presidential election  in which Kovind is challenged by the united opposition candidate Meira Kumar  will be held on 17 July and the results will be announced on 20 July.
Lucknow: Opposition Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party members on Wednesday staged a walkout from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council expressing dissatisfaction over the government's reply over the law-and-order situation in the state.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Leader of the Opposition Ahmed Hasan said, "In the 100 days of the BJP's rule, 1,229 cases of murder, 1,321 incidents of rape and 1,201 incidents of dacoity have been reported."

"Crime has increased almost four-fold in the state. Uttar Pradesh at this point of time has become Crime Pradesh," he said.

Countering his allegation, Leader of the House and Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said, "During the Samajwadi Party rule, no cases were registered. When the cases were not registered, it boosted the morale of the criminals.

"The BJP government has made provision of online registration of complaints. When cases are being registered, the number will go up," he said.

The legislators also protested levying of electricity charges to government schools at commercial rate.

To this, state energy minister Shrikant Sharma assured the House that the government will look into the matter seriously.

"The government will seriously deliberate over the proposal that electricity bill of secondary schools should not be levied at commercial rates.

"There are over 1.5 lakh primary schools, of which there is no provision of electricity in 60,000 such schools. The effort of the government is to make electricity available in all the government schools by October 2017," the minister said.

Some members also raised the issue of "bad behaviour" they reportedly face at various toll plazas in the state.

Earlier in the day, members condoled the death of seven Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag district and observed two-minutes silence.
The Supreme Courts decision on Tuesday to extend the Madras High Court's three-month stay  on the government's notification regarding sale of cattle for slaughter  across India shows that Centre may have won a battle or two but they've lost the war.

The contentious rules will probably never see the light of the day, which is good news for Indias rural farm economy and meat export industry.

"Needless to say that the interim direction issued by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court shall continue and extend to the entire country," the Supreme Court (SC) bench said.

As this Firstpost article pointed out, this was a battle the Centre was bound to lose, both for legal and political reasons. And that's exactly what happened.

Several states had challenged the Centre's notification in court citing reasons such as: The states power to regulate cattle trade, the freedom of the people to choose the food they like and the disastrous impact of the notification on the meat industry.

And finally, the Centre's notification also led some to allege that the Narendra Modi government was trying to enforce a backdoor ban on meat by choking the supply of cattle and thereby imposing their 'Hindutva agenda'.

Livestock markets are the prime centres of cattle trade and the farm-to-fork model is still a work in progress. Given that only about 10 percent of the cattle to be slaughtered are procured directly from farmers, the protest from the meat industry was expected.

The Centres notification was challenged in Madras High Court on the grounds that it violated the basic right of an individual to choose his or her food. On 29 June, the court yet again extended the stay by four weeks. The latest apex court ruling leaves the Modi government with no option but to revoke the notification.

In the Supreme Court, the government indicated that it will review the guidelines and it didnt seem to defend its notification aggressively. Perhaps it realized the mess it made.

Already, states like Kerala and Meghalaya have passed resolutions against the Centres notification. They say they will not implement the notification. The West Bengal and Tripura governments, also citing states' rights, said they will not implement it.

And without the cooperation of the state governments, it becomes impossible for the Centre to impose its will. The government should have taken the advice and consent of the states before announcing their notification.

Let's be clear: The core issue was not the government's intent  to bring discipline to cattle trade and prevent theft by way of stringent guidelines  but with the provision that banned the sale of cattle for slaughter in market places. Which immediately triggered panic among farmers and meat traders.

According to the meat industry lobby, slaughter houses gets only 10 percent of the cattle directly from farmers. The rest happen in the country, where farmers bring their unused cattle to small, neighbourhood markets. From there, traders take cattle to bigger mandis. Halting this and imposing the farm-to-fork model overnight would have paralysed the industry.

Worse, it would have jolted the rural economy where farmer sells his old cattle to raise funds to buy new cattle or invest in farm equipment. Above all, it simply isn't practical for small traders to supply stock directly to slaughter houses. The scarcity of animals will also hurt the tanning and leather industries.

And when supply is reduced, demand increases. That's economics 101. Consumers will be forced to pay through the nose and business will be hit. Particularly in states like Kerala, where meat consumption is high (according to the state finance minister, over 70 percent of the population eat beef), the populace saw this move as the government trying to encroach upon their rights and curbing their eating habits.

Finally, the Centre's new rules defined cattle to include buffaloes, which wasn't the case earlier. Even when the restrictions were in place, the food that many hotels served as 'beef' was buffalo meat. The inclusion of buffaloes in this category came as a shock to both meat eaters and traders in many states.

Now that the Supreme Court order has brought clarity to the situation, the Centre can still save face: By revoking the notification and implementing other provisions to improve the functioning of cattle markets and treatment of animals.

The Centre must work in a way that does no harm to the meat industry. The Centre can direct states to ensure cattle ownership rules are followed strictly, animals are transported and sold in a fair manner, and even have a separate area for cattle that will be sold for slaughter.

But this notification was a bad idea. It needs to be done away with as quickly as possible.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Election Commission for not taking a clear stand on a plea seeking a lifetime bar on convicted politicians from contesting elections, saying "silence was not an option" for it.

A bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha came down heavily on the poll panel and asked whether it was "constrained" to not give its views on the matter.

"Is silence an option for you (ECI)? You must say either 'yes' or 'no' on whether you are supporting the petitioner. You are the ECI and here is a citizen of India who has come here to seek lifetime debarment of convicted persons. Can you say I will be silent? No, you cannot," the bench said.

"If you (ECI) feel constrained by the legislature, then let us know. If you are even constrained to the extent of giving your view, feel free and say so clearly," it said.

Referring to the ECI's reply, the apex court said it was clear that the poll panel has supported the cause espoused by petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking a life ban for convicted politicians.

When the bench asked ECI to clarify its stand, its lawyer said the poll panel is supporting the cause to the extent of decriminalisation of politics.

The bench shot back, asking "Are you (ECI) supporting lifetime debarment?"

The counsel submitted that one of the paragraphs of the ECI's counter-affidavit said the poll panel supports the cause and it should not be "read in isolation".

"Paragraph eight of your counter-affidavit is very clear that you are supporting it. You are saying we have to read between the lines which we think we should not. We do not think why we should find out any other meaning of what is there in this paragraph," the bench said and fixed the matter for further hearing on 19 July.

It also asked the ECI about what it had communicated to the Centre on the issue.

When the ECI's counsel the court it has not said anything about that in the communication addressed to the Centre, the bench said "you cannot be silent".

However, the poll panel's counsel said the ECI was not the "correct authority to comment on it" and that it would file an additional affidavit in the apex court on the matter.

"It is submitted that the accompanying PIL, to the extent of relief claimed under prayers, are not adversarial and the answering respondent (Election Commission of India) supports the cause espoused by the petitioner," the ECI had said in its affidavit.

During the arguments, Upadhyay, himself a lawyer who argued on behalf of one of the intervenors, told the bench that ECI's affidavit was clear that it was supporting the cause espoused by him.

When he claimed before the court that "30 percent of the lawmakers are actually lawbreakers", the bench said, "It is a matter of statistics and we are not going into it".

"Are you also espousing the cause of convicted public servants and alleging discrimination," the apex court asked Upadhyay after he argued that on being convicted, public servants and judicial officers were eventually dismissed from service for life whereas a politician was debarred for only six years.

The Centre, in its affidavit, said the prayer of the petitioner for a lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers was not maintainable and the plea should be dismissed.

The ECI affidavit said it was in favour of setting up special courts to decide the criminal cases related to people's representatives, public servants and members of the judiciary, in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution.

The affidavit was filed in response to a PIL which has also sought special courts for trial of criminal cases against people from the legislature, executive and judiciary.

The ECI said it has been championing the cause of decriminalisation of politics within the constitutional and statutory framework, with the aid of Article 324 which relates to the functions and powers of the poll body.

It has also issued necessary instructions in furtherance of the mandate to conduct free and fair elections and to "decriminalise democracy", the poll panel had said.

On March 3, the apex court had granted the "last opportunity" to the government and the ECI to spell out their stand on a plea for barring convicts from contesting polls for life and stopping them from entering the judiciary and the executive.

The petition has also sought a direction to the Centre and ECI to fix minimum educational qualification and a maximum age limit for persons contesting elections.
Lucknow: On the second day of the budget session on Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh government came under severe attack from Opposition parties, who accused it of not being able to handle the issues facing people.

Leader of the Congress Legislature Party Ajay Kumar Lallu raised the matter of floods in many districts and accused the government of being insensitive to the plight of the people.

"People are facing a lot of difficulties in Maharajganj, Gonda, Kushinagar, Bahraich and Lakhimpur, but the government is doing nothing to help the people caught in floods," he said.

The previous Samajwadi Party (SP) government too had failed to pay heed to their advice and make advance arrangements before the monsoon.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath responded by saying that the state government was alive to the situation and that the floods were a perpetual problem.

He pointed out that this year, however, there had been heavy rains, leading to floods in many places. "We have established flood control rooms in every district and are monitoring the situation."

Former minister and SP legislator Durga Prasad Yadav raked up the matter of recent hooch tragedy in Azamgarh and sought to corner the government for its failure to arrest illicit liquor trade in the state.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna rebutted the charges and said the government had responded swiftly to the tragedy and the guilty would not be spared.

"Families of the victims have been given ex-gratia, excise employees and officials have been suspended," the minister further informed.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator Sukhdev Rajbhar, however, accused the state government of fudging facts and hiding the actual tally of victims in the hooch tragedy.

He also demanded that a five-member parliamentary committee be formed by the state government to probe the matter or the issue be probed by a senior official.

To this, Khanna said an additional district magistrate (ADM) was already probing the matter and reiterated that the government was not hiding anything.
Kabul: At least seven civilians were killed by militants in Afghanistan's Farah province, an official said on Wednesday.

"The incident occurred in Bala Buluk district on Tuesday when militants intercepted a long-distance bus, singled out seven civilians and shot them dead before letting the vehicle with the remaining passengers go," Xinhua news agency quoted the official as saying.

The bus was travelling from Farah to neighbouring Herat province, according to the official.

The reason for the bloody carnage is not yet clear. However, locals blame Taliban for the attack.

Tolo News in a report said the militants seized control of the road and set up checkpoints to intercept and check vehicles running along the road.

More than 10 Taliban militants were killed and seven wounded after Afghan security forces arrived at the area and engaged with the militants, the report said.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since late April when the militant group launched its annual rebel offensive in different places of the country.

Observers believe the group would intensify activities to gain more territory ahead of winter and snowfall in the mountainous country.
Paris: A trillion-tonne iceberg, one of the largest ever recorded, has snapped off the West Antarctic ice shelf, scientists who have monitored the growing crack for years said on Wednesday.

"The calving occurred sometime between Monday, 10 July and Wednesday, 12 July, when a 5,800-square kilometre (2,200-square mile) section of Larsen C (ice shelf) finally broke away," the Swansea University said in a statement.

The massive ice cube, larger than the US state of Delaware, has a volume twice that of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes.

It is about 350 metres (1,100 feet) thick.

"The iceberg weighs more than a trillion tonnes, but it was already floating before it calved away so has no immediate impact on sea level," the team said. It will likely be named A68.

With the calving, the Larsen C ice shelf lost more than 12 percent of its total surface area.

Icebergs calving from Antarctica are a regular occurrence. But given its enormous size, the latest berg will be closely watched as it travels, for any potential risk to shipping traffic.

The calving may have heightened the risk of the remaining ice shelf disintegrating, the Swansea team said.

Ice shelves float on the sea, extending from the coast, and are fed by slow-flowing glaciers from the land.

They act as giant brakes, preventing glaciers from flowing directly into the ocean.

If the glaciers held in check by Larsen C spilt into the Antarctic Ocean, it would lift the global water mark by about 10 centimetres (four inches), researchers have said.

The calving of ice shelves occurs naturally, though global warming is believed to have accelerated the process.

Warmer ocean water erodes the underbelly of the ice shelves, while rising air temperatures weaken them from above.

The nearby Larsen A ice shelf collapsed in 1995, and Larsen B dramatically broke up seven years later.

The final break was detected by a NASA satellite.

"We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C ice shelf and the fate of this huge iceberg," said lead investigator Adrian Luckman of the universitys MIDAS project.

The fate of the berg is hard to predict. It may stay in one piece, but could also break into fragments.

"Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters," said Luckman.

The team said the calving at the iceberg cannot be directly placed at the door of global warming, describing it as a "natural event".

Human actions have lifted average global air temperatures by about one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial levels, according to scientists.

Antarctica is one of the world's fastest-warming regions.
China on Wednesday said the "situation" in Jammu and Kashmir has attracted international attention and urged India and Pakistan to avoid escalating tensions.

Without elaborating what it meant by "situation," Beijing said it was willing to play a "constructive role" in improving relations between India and Pakistan.

"Situation in Kashmir has attracted a lot of attention (of the) international community," foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said here.

"The conflict near the Line of Control (LoC) of Kashmir will not only harm the peace and stability of both the countries but also the peace and tranquillity of the region," he added.

"We hope that relevant sides can do more things that are conducive to peace and stability in the region and avoid escalating the tensions,"

"China is willing to play a constructive role in improving relations between India and Pakistan," Shuang said.
Beijing: China says its latest-generation warships have conducted live-firing drills in the Mediterranean Sea while en route to joint exercises with the Russian Navy.

The Defence Ministry says the destroyer Hefei, frigate Yuncheng and support ship Luomahu took part in Monday's drills involving the ship's deck guns and small arms.

The ships will next take part in the 'Joint Sea 2017' exercises in waters off the Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, an illustration of growing cooperation between the countries' militaries.

China's navy is increasingly operating in the Mediterranean, aided by the construction of naval logistics base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti.

Two naval ships departed Tuesday from the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang with personnel to man the facility, which constitutes China's first overseas military base.
Donald Trump Jrs emails on meeting Russian informers have Americas prime time comedy show watchers in splits even as the US President took to Twitter to praise his eldest son, 39, as open, transparent and innocent.

Donald Trumps eldest son Donald Trump Jr has quickly turned into first class grub for late night comedy after his rash of emails with a music publicist show him eagerly accepting a meeting with a Russian lawyer last summer in hopes of obtaining information that he was told could incriminate Hillary Clinton.

What do you get when you cross a Russian, an email and an idiot? - is how Daily Show host Trevor Noah opens on Eric Trumps email bombshell.

Irony! An email giveth us the Presidency and an email taketh it away ! Noah guffaws as laughter rings across networks mid week after Trump and Cos return from the G20.

Conan OBrien leaves it to a slick video to drive home the buffoonery. He has Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin characters in a phone call interrupted by a low IQ third party (Donald Trump Jr) who tells daddy that hes just given away hard drives from Trump tower to the pizza boy and his Snapchat password to the New York Times.

Stephen Colberts punchline is all the rage after the Trump Junior blooper.

Id like to apologize to Eric Trump. We always thought you were the dumb one. We were wrong, says Colbert who also interviewed Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of MSNBCs Morning Joe the same night.

Both these morning show hosts were the subject of personal insults by Trump late June.

Scarborough announced on the Colbert show that he was leaving the Republican Party.

Big fat nothing burger is the other hot word of the week.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus pooh poohed the latest developments on the Trump Russia links as a nothing burger and late night hosts are going to town with it.

News wire APs Jonathon Lemire and Julie Pace are reporting on how Trump privately rages as the Russia scandal returns via his eldest son while comparisons Donald Trump Jr and Fredo Corleone in The Godfather Part 2 are splitting Twitter. In the Godfather film, Fredo is the second son of the mafia don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro), younger brother of Sonny (James Caan) and elder brother to Michael (Al Pacino) and sister, Connie (Talia Shire).

.@TyBurr: Is Trump Jr. our eras Fredo Corleone, desperate for a little respect? https://t.co/yRd3xVYoeV pic.twitter.com/sYBz5xhXSg  The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) July 12, 2017

Now, if you want to plug in to the serious side of this story, it boils down to this:

Donald Trump, Jr. is neither a part of the Trump Administration nor did he have a formal title during the Trump campaign. Technically an outlier while being family, this makes him a freelancer and fall guy for the Trump White House.

Even if the White House convinces everybody that Eric Trump has no locus either in the current White House or during the Trump campaign, note the names of others who were at the June 9th meeting, details of which Eric Trump has served up for free on Twitter: Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law one of the Presidents closest advisers in the White House and Paul Manafort - then manager of the Trump campaign.

It doesnt end there - Donald Trump Jr, even if hes painted as an outsider, forwarded his e-mail chain with Goldstone to Kushner and Manafort with the subject line: Russia - Clinton - private and confidential.

This meeting happened one floor below Trumps suite in Trump Tower. And Donald Trump was in office that day.

Breitbart, Trumps favourite right wing newspaper says it all in its Wednesday headline: Donald Jr, youre such a .
New York: First Amendment advocates are suing President Donald Trump, saying some of his critics have been unconstitutionally blocked from following him on Twitter.

The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. The lawsuit says Twitter has become an important public forum for the president and he frequently makes public announcements on his @realdonaldtrump account.

The lawsuit asked a judge to stop Trump and his media team from blocking critics from following his personal account.

A spokeswoman for government lawyers declined to comment. The lawsuit says blocking people from following Trump's account was a viewpoint-based restriction that the Constitution doesn't permit. The director of the Knight First Amendment Institute is Jameel Jaffer, who worked for years with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Meanwhile, the under fire president defended his eldest son Don junior who is under fire for his meeting with a Russian lawyer during last year's US presidential campaign and hailed his "transparency" for releasing emails about the talks.

"My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," Trump said in a statement to reporters read by White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Washington: US President Donald Trump will travel to Paris later this week to attend the annual Bastille Day celebrations and hold discussions with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on issues like Syria and counter-terrorism, the White House says.

"The president will arrive in Paris midmorning on Thursday, 13 July to conduct meetings with President Macron of France, and to participate the next day in the annual Bastille Day celebrations, at the invitation of President Macron. The First Lady will also accompany," a senior White House official told reporters on Monday.

Trump who returned from Europe last week after attending the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany would be making his third foreign trip after becoming the US president in January 2016.

The Trump-Macron meeting "will focus on Syria and counter-terrorism topics," the official said who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"We also anticipate the two presidents, in the introductory one-on-one meeting, will also share perspectives from the recent G20 meeting," the official said, adding that the two presidents will address a joint press conference after that.

On Friday, 14 July, the president and first lady will participate as guests of honour in the French National Day ceremonies on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the entry of American troops onto French soil, and into World War I. It will also feature participation by US soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines from the Army's 1st Infantry Division. 1st Infantry Division was the first US unit to enter France, the official said adding that it actually participated in the Bastille Day ceremonies in 1917. It was also the first US unit to go into combat, he added.

The US Air Force demonstration team, the Thunderbirds will also participate and conduct a flyover during the ceremony. A US Navy aviator will pilot a French Rafale fighter plane as part of the festivities. Three US veterans of the Normandy invasion will also be present.

Responding to a question, the official said Trump is ready to engage on climate change issue if it is raised by Macron during the meeting that is scheduled for an hour and 15 minutes. While this would be their first formal bilateral meeting, the two leaders have spoken multiple times. They also met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Germany last week.

"The relationship between the two of them as being very positive... There are some issues, where we see the world a little bit differently, but many issues where we see the world more or less the same. The French are and have been and will be very close security partners of ours who cooperate in many different domains and on many different issues. And I think the relationship, still in its early stages, is a very, very good one," said the official.
Dubai: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with his Saudi counterpart on Wednesday as he looks to end a rift between Qatar and four Arab states.

His trip from Kuwait to the western Saudi city of Jiddah follows talks the previous day with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. He has also held discussions with the ruler of Kuwait, who is mediating the dispute.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and cut air, sea and land routes with it more than a month ago, accusing it of supporting extremist groups. Qatar denies the allegation.

Tillerson met with Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir on arrival in the Red Sea city. He is expected to meet with officials from the rest of the quartet later in the day before returning to Kuwait.

He will likely press the quartet to ease up on some of its demands after he secured a deal with Qatar on Tuesday to intensify its fight against terrorism and address shortfalls in policing terrorism funding.

The four countries last month issued a tough 13-point list of demands to Qatar that included shutting down its flagship Al-Jazeera network and other news outlets, cutting ties with Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, limiting ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country.

Qatar has rejected the demands, saying that agreeing to them wholesale would undermine its sovereignty.

The head of Qatar's government communication office, Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, on Tuesday accused the quartet of organising "a smear campaign in the international media to damage Qatar's reputation" and said they are "not interested in engaging in honest negotiations to resolve our differences."

The anti-Qatar bloc took partial credit for the US counterterrorism deal Qatar signed Tuesday, saying it was the result of "repeated pressures and demands" by them and others, but said it fails to go far enough.

While welcoming US-led efforts to dry up terrorist funding, they maintained a hard line that Qatar must meet their list of what they said were "fair and legitimate demands."

"The quartet affirms that the measures they have taken were motivated by the continuous and diversified activities of the Qatari authorities in supporting, funding and harboring terrorism and terrorists, as well as promoting hateful and extremist rhetoric and interfering in the internal affairs of states," they said in a joint statement.

The squabble among five of its West Asian allies has put the United States in an uncomfortable position and risks complicating the Pentagon's operations in the region.

Qatar hosts al-Udeid Air Base, the largest US military installation in West Asia and hub for US-led operations against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. Bahrain is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, while American surveillance planes and other aircraft fly from the UAE.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has claimed that he contacted United States president Donald Trump's son to publish via WikiLeaks the emails about setting up a meeting with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Instead, the US president's eldest son did so via Twitter, igniting a firestorm of criticism around his apparent willingness to work with the Russian government against his father's Democratic rival, the Guardian reported.

"Contacted Trump Jr this morning on why he should publish his emails (ie with us)," tweeted Assange, who is based at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. "Two hours later, does it himself."

Trump Jr released the emails on Tuesday after The New York Times told him they had the documents and would be reporting on them.

Assange said he told Trump Jr to release the documents "because his enemies have it  so why not the public?"

"Better to be transparent and have the full context," he continued, "but would have been safer for us to publish it anonymously sourced. By publishing it himself it is easier to submit as evidence."

It was not clear whether Assange's use of the word "enemies" was the reference to the media or political rivals, the report said.

The emails reveal correspondence between Trump Jr and his acquaintance Rob Goldstone as they set up a meeting with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who promised to share incriminating evidence on Clinton to help the Trump campaign.

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Trump," Goldstone wrote in one email.

"If it's what you say I love it," Trump Jr said in one reply, referring to the information about Clinton.

Trump Jr said that nothing came out of the meeting and that Veselnitskaya only wanted to talk about a US policy on Russian adoptions.

He denied any wrongdoing in taking the meeting, but lawmakers were vying to get him to testify before House and Senate committees.

Trump said in a statement that Trump Jr "is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency".
Islamabad: The Panamagate Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has accused Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam of presenting fake documents on two 2006 declarations to the probe team using the "Calibri" font which was not commercially available till 30 January, 2007.

The JIT, which is probing allegations of money laundering against Sharif and his family, said Maryam Nawaz, her brothers Hussain and Hassan Nawaz as well as her husband Captain Mohammad Safdar (retd), had signed false documents to mislead the Supreme Court.

The team that probed offshore assets of Sharif family said in its report that Maryam Nawaz claimed herself to be "trustee not the owner" of Avenfield properties in London, which linked her to Minerva Services and Samba Financial, Geo News reported.

The JIT said that her claim turned out to be completely wrong and it was proven that she owned the properties managed by Minerva Services. The JIT concluded that Sharif's daughter was the real and ultimate beneficial owner of the Avenfield apartments.

It said that the font used in documents submitted by Maryam Nawaz suggested that the 2006 declarations were fake and called it a federal crime, said a report in the Express Tribune. Maryam Nawaz was also accused of accumulating "assets disproportionate and beyond means of known sources of income", Dawn reported.

The JIT's report said: "She had been receiving heavy gifts from Rs 73.5 million to Rs 830.73 million within period of 2009-2016." It said that the "accumulation of Maryam's assets shows a drastic hike in the early 1990s with no declared source of income".

Soon after the "font" portion of JIT report went viral, Twitterati targetted Maryam Nawaz in a hilarious manner.

"I already thought Calibri was the greatest font ever but I never imagined it would achieve legend status," one Twitter user said.

I already thought #Calibri was the greatest font ever but I never imagined it would achieve legend status.  Muhammad Rehan Javed (@Rehan_Chaudhryy) July 11, 2017

"Calibri font invented by our daughter Maryam Nawaz in Arfa Kareem tower Lahore: Shahbaz Sharif," wrote another user.

Calibri font invented by our daughter Maryam Nawaz in Arfa Kareem tower Lahore: Shahbaz Sharif  Nido (@Nid0_0) July 10, 2017

One user saw the hipster side of Maryam:

Salute to Princess who invented #Calibri font but forgot to take it's patent in 2006 pic.twitter.com/32ZnOz4OxM  Farhan K Virk (@FarhanKVirk) July 11, 2017

Meanwhile, Maryam Nawaz rejected the JIT report in a tweet: "Every contradiction will not only be contested but decimated in the Supreme Court."

The Supreme Court has sought objections from all parties in the Panama Papers case within a week and the next hearing of the case is scheduled for 17 July. The JIT was formed on 5 May to ascertain the money trail of the Sharif family-owned properties in Park Lane, London.
Lahore: Shell Pakistan is facing suspension of its licence in the country for failing to pay about Rs 260 million compensation to the victims of the devastating oil tanker fire that killed 220 people, according to a media report.

Pakistan's Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had ordered the local subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell to pay a penalty of Rs 10 million for 25 June oil tanker fire tragedy near Ahmedpur East.

In addition, the regulator ordered the company to pay Rs one million in compensation to the families of each of those killed and half a million for each person injured.

The firm on Wednesday paid Rs 10 million penalties. However, the payment was immediately rejected by the regulator, saying it was partial compliance of its order that also required the company to pay compensation to families of the victims.

"This is only a partial compliance and we reject it," a spokesperson to the regulator, Imran Ghaznavi, was quoted as saying by the Dawn.

He said the payment of penalty would not be considered full compliance with its orders unless the oil company made full compensation to affected families within the stipulated deadline which expires on Wednesday.

"OGRA will proceed under the rules and laws in case the company fails to ensure full compensation to affected families. In the case of non-compliance, OGRA may impose Rs 1 million per day or revoke the marketing licence," he said.

Earlier, the company said it would pay the fine imposed by OGRA to comply with the regulators directive, but it has right to contest it.

It said the matter was under investigation, and the company would decide on the appropriate course of action once more information was known and investigations concluded.

"We are discussing with Ogra the appropriate means by which this financial assistance can appropriately reach the injured and the families who have lost their loved ones," Shell said.

On 7 July, OGRA held Shell Pakistan squarely responsible for gross violation of laws, rules and standards in oil transportation resulting on 25 June tragic accident.

The regulator claims the tanker was not fit to transport oil and that the driver's license was invalid.

The Lahore High Court has also taken up this matter and directed the government to suggest penalty on the Shell Pakistan.

In its reply last week the government had suggested Rs 500 million on it.

The oil tanker carrying some 50,000 litres of fuel from Karachi to Lahore had crashed on a highway in central Punjab province.

After the fuel tanker crashed and started leaking, hundreds of villagers from a nearby village rushed to collect the spilled fuel, despite warnings by the driver and police to stay away.

The tanker exploded minutes later, killing 220 people, in one of the worst accidents in Pakistan's history.
Ramallah (West Bank): Palestinian officials say the Israeli military has shot and killed two people who hurled stones at troops on an arrest raid in the northern West Bank.

The Israeli military says troops came under attack early Wednesday in the Jenin refugee camp. It said assailants opened fire and hurled explosives at them and the troops returned fire. The Jenin Hospital director said two men, aged 21 and 17, were killed and two others were wounded.

Since September 2015, Palestinian attackers have killed 43 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and attacks using cars to ram into troops or civilians.

During that time, Israeli forces have killed more than 250 Palestinians, most of them said by Israel to be attackers while others were killed in clashes.
Editor's Note: The political future of Pakistan's embattled prime minister Nawaz Sharif will be decided on Friday by the country's Supreme Court when it announces its verdict in the Panama Papers case in which he and his family are accused of corruption. This article, that was originally published on 12 July, is being republished in view of the impending judgment.

In what may be a major blow to Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which was formed in April this year to probe Sharif family's involvement in money laundering, on Monday recommended filing of a corruption case against him and his children after finding "significant" disparities in their income and actual wealth.

The investigation team also accused Sharif's daughter Maryam of presenting fake documents to the probe team, which it said, is a criminal offence.

According to the team, Maryam Nawaz, her brothers Hussain and Hassan Nawaz as well as her husband Captain Mohammad Safdar (Retd), had signed false documents to mislead the Supreme Court.

The six-member JIT also recommended that the family be tried under Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance 1999.

The JIT report said the assets of all four respondents were found to be more than the sources of their income.

"Significant gap/disparity amongst the known and declared sources of income and the wealth accumulated by the Sharif family have been observed," the JIT observed in its concluding remarks.

The report said the financial structure and health of companies in Pakistan having linkages to the Sharif family also do no substantiate their wealth.

Sharif government was quick to slam the probe report. Sharif's close aide and minister for development Ahsan Iqbal in press conference with other ministers, said they will challenge the report in the Supreme Court and will "completely expose and unveil its contradictions and falsifications".

Maryam took to Twitter to reject the report.

JIT report REJECTED. Every contradiction will not only be contested but decimated in SC. NOT a penny of public exchequer involved: PMLN  Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) July 10, 2017

What next for Nawaz Sharif?

With the Supreme Court to now decide whether to proceed for a trial, based on the evicence provided by the investigating team, Sharif's fate hangs in balance. Sources told News18 that the Sharif family is expected to fight the charges. The report also added that there has been friction between the probe team and the Sharif government, with the JIT blaming the government of obstructing the probe.

The report added that one of the biggest evidences against the Sharif's family is a letter by a Qatari royal Hamad Bin Jasim Jaber Al Thani which can damage him politically. In the letter, the prince admitted that many of the properties under scanner were bought through liquidating those companies where he and Sharif were partners.

"After this JIT report, the prime ministers position has weakened and becomes unpredictable. He may have to leave," Talat Masood, a political analyst, told Reuters.

What is the prime minister doing to counter the charges?

After the verdict, Sharif consulted senior party leaders and loyalists to formulate a policy to deal with the legal and political consequences of high-level inquiry report against him.

Sharif called his younger brother and Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif from Lahore who was part of a meeting attended by defence minister Khawaja Asif, railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq, interior minister Nisar Ali Khan, minister of planning and development Ahsan Iqbal and minister of petroleum Khaqan Abbasi and members of his legal team.

The role of the Pakistan Army

The Pakistan army has not officially reacted so far. During the course of the investigation as well, the army has refused to take a stand. However, a Dawn report pointed out that the army is keeping a close watch over the developments. An ISPR statement said:

"The forum reiterated to continue supporting and enabling national efforts to play positive role in line with Pakistans national interests. Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa presided over the meeting."

While the statement does not talk of the ongoing crisis in direct terms, the report added that the timing of the meeting itself pointed out to army's keen interest in directing the political course of the country.

If at all the Pakistan Army enters into the picture, then it will be for the second time after 1993, when the army intervened to force president Ghulam Ishaq Khan as well as then Sharif to resign over corruption charges.

Notably, the army may even invoke the "Doctrine of Necessity" to take over the reins.

The Doctrine of Necessity is an idea unique to Pakistan, which justified the take over of "extra-constitutional powers" to stabilise the country. Often, the military has used this idea to justify its takeover of the country.

Snap polls or a new prime minister?

An editorial in the Dawn urged Sharif to resign during the length of the investigation and appoint a new caretaker prime minister. The editorial argued that if there is a mid-term election without Sharif being the prime minister, it will greatly help the embattled PML(N) leader to improve his image and dismiss questions of his interference in the JIT investigation.

The idea of installing a new prime minister was in the offing even in April, when the Pakistan supreme court ordered the probe against Sharif. Back then, the names of Ghulam Ishaq Dar and Shahbaz Sharif were doing the rounds. It is to be noted that the term of the current parliament ends in May 2018.

The Panama papers controversy erupted last year, wherein 11.5 million secret documents from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca documented the offshore dealings of many of the world's rich and powerful. Among the global elite implicated were three of Sharif's four children  his daughter and presumptive political heir Maryam, and his sons Hasan and Hussein.

At the heart of the matter is the legitimacy of the funds used by the Sharif family to purchase several high-end London properties via offshore companies. The government insists the wealth was acquired legally through family businesses in Pakistan and the Gulf.

With inputs from PTI
Islamabad: In a setback to Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, a Supreme Court ordered probe panel in its final report on the Panamagate on Monday recommended filing of a corruption case against him and his children after finding "significant" disparities in their income and actual wealth.

The six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that probed the Sharif family's business dealings in its report submitted to the apex court recommended that a corruption case should be filed against Sharif and his sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, as well as daughter Maryam Nawaz, under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance 1999.

The report, however, was slammed by the Nawaz Sharif government as "trash" with Sharif's close aide and minister for development Ahsan Iqbal in press conference with other ministers, saying they will challenge the report in the Supreme Court and will "completely expose and unveil its contradictions and falsifications".

Sharif's daughter Maryam also rejected the report, saying, "JIT report REJECTED. Every contradiction will not only be contested but decimated in SC. NOT a penny of public exchequer involved."

The JIT report said the assets of all four respondents were found to be more than the sources of their income.

"Significant gap/disparity amongst the known and declared sources of income and the wealth accumulated by the Respondent No. 1, 6, 7 and 8 have been observed," the JIT observed in its concluding remarks.

Respondent 1 refers to Prime Minister Sharif; Respondent 6 was Maryam; Respondent 7 Hussain; while Respondent 8 was Hassan.

The report said the financial structure and health of companies in Pakistan having linkages to the Sharif family also do no substantiate their wealth.

It also highlighted "irregular movement" of huge sums of money in the form "loans and gifts" between Sharif and his youngest son from various companies set up in Saudi Arabia, the UK and the UAE.

The report said the role of off-shore companies is critical as they have been identified to be linked with their businesses in UK.

The JIT also said that the Sharifs were unable to provide substantive evidence of a reliable money trail, used to buy expensive properties in London.

Sharif, 67, who has denied money-laundering allegations against him and his family, on Monday held consultations with his close aides after the report was filed with the court.

Sharif's close aide and minister for development Iqbal later said, "If you review this report, it has no logical argument neither it quoted authentic sources nor material, but is based on things that have no authenticity before the law. Therefore, we are rejecting this report, terming it rubbish."

Iqbal, while announcing that his party will challenge the report before the apex court, said, "We not only condemn this report but will completely expose and unveil its contradictions and falsification before the Supreme Court. We will demolish this report."

Iqbal said the report was based on accusations leveled by Imran and his party and there was nothing new in it.

Zafarullah Khan, another close aide of Sharif, said, "It is a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf report and not JIT report...It is Imran Nama."

He said that the Supreme Court bench will consign the report to a "trash bin, where it rightfully belongs".

Earlier, JIT chief Wajid Zia presented the 10-volume report along with evidence to the three-member special bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal, Justice Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan.

The court ordered that its copies should be provided to the parties in the case, including Sharif family.

However, JIT chief Zia asked the court that its 10th volume of the report should not be made public as it consists of correspondence with a foreign government.

The bench has adjourned the hearing till Monday.

The six-member JIT was set up in May by the Supreme Court with the mandate to probe the Sharif family for allegedly failing to provide the trail of money used to buy properties in London in 1990s.

The JIT has also probed several serving and former officials in connection with the case.

The six-member JIT included Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Additional Director General Wajid Zia, Military Intelligence's Brig Kamran Khurshid, National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) Director Irfan Naeem Mangi, State Bank of Pakistan's Amer Aziz, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan's (SECP) Executive Director Bilal Rasool and Inter-Services Intelligence's Brig Muhammad Nauman Saeed.

In 2016, the Panama Papers revealed that three of Prime Minister Sharif's children owned offshore companies and assets not shown on his family's wealth statement. The assets in question include four expensive flats in Park Lane, London.

The top court took up the case in October last year on petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Awami Muslim League and Jamaat-e-Islami and reserved the verdict in February after conducting hearings on a daily basis.

The JIT questioned Sharif family including the Prime Minister, his younger brother and Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, sons Hassan and Hussain, daughter Maryam, son-in-law Captain Safdar, cousin Tariq Shafi and close relative Ishaq Dar.

It also probed several serving and former officials.

Meanwhile, Sharif's rival Imran told the media that the PML-N chief should resign as prime minister.

"There is no need of further trial or proceedings. He should go away and should be barred from leaving the country along with other family members," he said.
There are alarm bells ringing in certain political circles of Pakistan, following the publication of the findings of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) set up on the directions of the Supreme Court to probe the Panama Papers case. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would have seen the writing on the wall six months ago, as he perused the members' list of the JIT. The inclusion of two intelligence officers in the JIT not only indicated the courts' poor opinion of other institutions, but also that, at the very least, the investigation was unlikely to dissolve into nothingness.

At first glance, the JIT appears to be made up of the best in the business. Its head, Wajid Zia, earlier of the Intelligence Bureau, and presently part of the Federal Investigation Agency, has had a distinguished career. He was also part of the second investigation team set up to investigate the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, at a time when the interior minister was Rehman Malik  who emerged as a suspect in a UN Commission. That investigation, of course, went nowhere.

A second member is Amir Aziz, son of a now retired brigadier, a man accused by the Sharifs of being biased against them. The grounds for this is that he was earlier awarded a medal for his investigation into the Sharif-owned Hudaiba Paper Mills case. Clearly, what one may see as bias, could be seen quite credibly, as qualified experience by another.

A third member of the team, Bilal Rasul, is said to be close to the Sharifs' nemesis, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and its ageing leader Imran Khan.

The two intelligence officers in the JIT were earlier part of the investigation into the so called "Dawn leaks" case.

Clearly, there is nobody on the team who's even remotely likely to be sympathetic to the Sharifs.

The court itself is no less. The earlier 549-page judgment of the Supreme Court showed extreme skepticism towards the Sharifs' innocence, wondering at one point why the family had not taken the opportunity to clear their names in front of the court and the people of Pakistan. It equally cast blame on the heads of major institutions, like the National Accountability Bureau, as having been "partial and partisan". Now the court itself has come under question for its actions.

As noted human rights lawyer Asma Jehangir pointed out, the JIT's findings will have to come up in a trial, and clearly this cannot be in the Supreme Court itself  which is the final court of appeal. Moreover, it is unclear why the court first refused to hear the case, on grounds that it was not within its jurisdiction, and then changed its mind.

Moreover, there is also some evidence of a selection process of sorts by the court in forming the JIT. Another apparent leak  the government appears to be leaking like a sieve  was to suggest that somebody within the establishment colluded to ensure that at least two of the chosen members were at the very least not likely to be terribly in favour of the Sharif clan.

Meanwhile, the JIT report itself has not been able to pin responsibility on Nawaz Sharif himself for any specific acquisition of property. For instance on the question of the Gulf Steel Mills, the court had asked for clarity on who owned it, why it was sold, and what happened to the proceeds. The JIT declared that the apparent owner, Tariq Shafi  earlier a defaulter in loans taken from the infamous Bank of Credit and Commerce in Pakistan  has produced documents which are patently false. He and another benami owner, Mohammad Hussain, are cited as frontmen for Sharif. This, however, is a finding in default, with no evidence available to prove that claim.

In case of the ownership of the flats in London, the investigation unhesitatingly condemns Maryam Nawaz, Sharif's attractive and media savvy daughter, for filing false documents, and establishes her as the owner. The key question, as to where money for this purchase will come from, is however still unclear, since the role of the Al Thani family in Qatar is still unclear. Earlier, Qatari prince Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al Thani had come to the rescue of the Sharifs. However, despite trusted aides of the ruling family positioned in Qatar to handle matters there, the prince has refused to come to Pakistan, or even record his statement at the Pakistan embassy. The JIT now says the letters were a "myth", and that a money trail leading from the proceeds of the sale of one property and purchase of another doesn't tally.

In the final question put by the Supreme Court as to whether the prime minister possessed "disproportionate assets", the JIT rather reasonably states that while it did not expect an absolute estimation from any of the respondents, it did expect some reasonable explanation for the (demonstrably huge) assets that showed "exceptional growth" between 1985-1999. This was the period when Sharif first became finance minister of Punjab (1982) to when he had his first term as prime minister (till May 1993). He returned to power in February 1997, when he was finally overthrown (quite literally) by his own nominee, General Pervez Musharraf.

The JIT has been able to access records of the old cases, including those against Ittefaq Foundries and Ittefaq Textiles, all of which took massive loans when Sharif was in power, and then showed an inability to pay them back. Clearly, the scale of alleged theft is astounding, even by South Asian standards.

Even as the Sharif team goes into a huddle, the political opposition is sharpening its swords, asking that the prime minister resign on the grounds that he is not "ameen" (honest) as required by Article 62 (1)(f) of the Pakistani Constitution of a Member of Parliament. This is setting the standards impossibly high in any situation, since honesty is hardly the bedrock of politics. In Pakistan, it assumes shades of the Brothers Grimm. However, the threat of disqualification is real. Earlier, two judges of the bench had already ruled against Sharif in terms of the article on honesty and integrity. However, three of the seven-member bench had called for an investigation. A long-drawn out trial is Sharifs' only hope, where enough mud-slinging until elections next year in June 2018.

Neither Nawaz Sharif or his daughter Maryam are likely to be able to contest the next election, even if the proceedings are delayed until then. The original Panama Papers makes no mention of Shahbaz Sharif, Nawaz's brother and the present Chief Minister of Punjab. Generally regarded as an efficient administrator, the family could use Panamagate as a plank for public sympathy, by alleging persecution by the "establishment". In this case, Shahbaz could be a leading and convincing candidate, particularly since other major parties are in tatters. The only other party with a national standing is the PPP (Pakistan People's Party) which is riven by family rivalry and inner party feuds. Tehreek-e-Insaf has no standing across the country. Besides, leaders of both parties have their own set of corruption cases, that can be part of another series of "leaks at any time.

Those who say that the Sharifs will probably win the next election are not far from wrong. The trouble is that the Supreme Court has chosen to make the JIT report public.

The final questions are two: The lesser one is how much corruption the Pakistani public can forgive. The answer to that is  probably a lot. Integrity is hardly a part of South Asia's political dictionary any longer, except in rare cases. The second question is far more interesting. That is, has the Pakistan Army and its backers  who are now largely Chinese  decided that matters relating to interests of both parties, may best be run without any political interference? In that case, expect a rubber stamp caretaker administration, now constitutionally valid after a landmark Supreme Court ruling  and part of the Constitution by the 18th and 20th Amendments. Following such a set up, it is simplicity itself for the Pakistan Army to create a suitable "mix" of political parties to form an "a la carte government".

The author is former director of the National Security Council Secretariat
Manila (Philippines): A Philippine air force fighter jet missed its target in an airstrike Wednesday against Islamic State group-aligned militants in southern Marawi city, killing two soldiers who were hit by debris from a building where they were taking cover, military officials said.

Eleven other soldiers were slightly wounded and taken to a hospital after being hit by shrapnel when the aircraft dropped its bomb about 250 meters (820 feet) from its target, military spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said.

It was the second deadly accident involving aerial bombing since the military launched an offensive to end an unprecedented siege of the lakeside city by hundreds of militants. A bomb dropped by a military jet on May 31 hit an army position and killed 11 soldiers in Marawi.

"We are saddened by this unfortunate incident," Arevalo said, adding an investigation was underway.

Since the intense urban fighting broke out on May 23, at least 389 militants including foreign fighters, 90 soldiers and policemen, and 39 civilians have been killed. The battles have forced nearly 400,000 residents to flee from Marawi and outlying towns in Lanao del Sur province.

About 300 other civilians remain trapped in their houses near the fighting or are in militant custody, slowing the advance of troops in the last four areas of Marawi where less than 100 gunmen are still fighting from small buildings and houses, military officials said.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law for 60 days in the country's south to deal with the Marawi insurrection, the worst crisis he has faced since taking office in June last year. Duterte has said he will likely extend the martial rule, which is to expire on Saturday, because the situation remains critical.
Manila: Philippine troops clashed on Wednesday with communist rebels in the south, leaving eight rebels and a soldier dead, officials said.

The fighting erupted after patrolling troops encountered some 40 New People's Army rebels in southern Compostela Valley province, said army spokesman Captain Alexandre Cabales.

The guerrillas later fled, leaving behind the bodies of eight rebels and six high-powered guns. A wounded soldier died on the way to a hospital, he said.

On Monday, troops in the same province captured a camp of the rebels, who have been waging one of Asia's longest-running Marxist insurgencies.

The violence happened despite a statement by officials and rebel peace negotiators that they would suspend offensives to allow troops to focus on quelling a bloody siege by Islamic State group-aligned militants that in southern Marawi city.

The Marawi fighting entered its 51st day on Wednesday, with President Rodrigo Duterte saying Tuesday that it could end in 10-15 days.
London: The Saudi embassy in the UK has welcomed the decision of the British high court that ruled to continue weapon sales to the Saudi-led Arab coalition in order to restore legitimacy in Yemen.

London's High Court earlier this week rejected a bid by Campaign Against Arms Trade, a UK-based organisation, on halting Britain's arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

In a statement released on Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday, the Saudi Embassy in the UK hailed the court's decision and reiterated Saudi Arabia's firm commitment to comply with international humanitarian laws.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UK work together in various fields, the most important of which is joint cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the desire to establish peace and stability in Yemen and the region as well," the statement said.

"The two kingdoms are also capable of conducting a frank and transparent dialogue, in an atmosphere of mutual respect," it added.

Following the court decision on Monday, British prime minister Theresa May told Parliament that she welcomed the judgement.

"It shows that we do in this country operate one of the most robust export-control regimes in the world," she said.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition is working with the unanimous support of the UN Security Council to thwart the Houthi-backed rebellion in Yemen against the internationally-recognised government of President Abdrabbou Mansour Hadi.
India and China have been engaged in a stalemate in the Sikkim region and the dispute does not seem to be receding with the Indian Army pitching tents and indicating that they are unlikely to retreat. Interestingly, Bhutan, which is a key player in the ongoing dispute, has chosen to remain silent.

Bhutan has only issued a demarche to the Chinese envoy, asking Beijing to restore status quo in the Doka La region. "Bhutan has conveyed to the Chinese side, both on the ground and through the diplomatic channel, that the construction of the road inside Bhutanese territory is a direct violation of the agreements and affects the process of demarcating the boundary between our two countries. Bhutan hopes that the status quo in the Doka La area will be maintained as before 16 June, 2017," the statement read.

However, apart from issuing an innocuous demarche and sending out a diplomatic response, the mountain country has eerily remained silent on the entire issue.

Chinese media has been warning India against making claims on behalf of Bhutan. A report in Xinhua read, "Doka La has long been under the effective jurisdiction of China. Both Bhutan and China have a basic consensus on the functional conditions and demarcation of their border region."

And, India on its behalf has been saying that it won't withdraw troops from the fragile region because Bhutan has asked for New Delhi's help.

Bhutan has kept quiet on the Doka La issue possibly because it does not want to be sandwiched in a hostile war between China and India. "Bhutan has done well, so far, to avoid both the fire from the Dragon on our heads and also the Elephants tusks in our soft underbelly," senior Bhutan journalist Tenzing Lamsang wrote for The Wire . Bhutan is probably worried over becoming a punching bag for its giant neighbours. Lamsang, in a Facebook post, wrote, "There are good reasons why the Royal Government of Bhutan has issued a demarche and a statement from the Foreign Ministry and then kept quiet on the Doklam issue."

The Bhutanese media has also refrained from commenting on the dispute. Bhutan's media is offering only matter-of-fact reportage on the issue if one goes by what is available in the online versions of its newspapers and on social media, The Hindustan Times reported.

Vishal Arora, an expert who has covered Bhutan and South Asia, told Firstpost that Bhutan is seen as the most loyal neighbour of India and China seems to be seeking to test Bhutans reliance on India for border security. "In other words, Bejing is trying to tell Bhutan that it is more powerful than New Delhi," he added.

Bhutanese leaders have chosen to remain quiet because they would not like to "counterbalance India's influence in Bhutan. They are well aware of how Nepal suffers when it seeks to increase its engagement with China," Arora said.

An India Today report stated that Bhutan cannot afford to anger India because their internet connectivity comes through Siliguri and any occupation by the Chinese could pose a great threat to Bhutan's internet connectivity and contact with the rest of the world. For India, however any road construction by the Chinese in Doka La moving towards the chicken neck is seen as being harmful to its security. The chicken neck is a small piece of land that connects mainland India to its seven North Eastern states.

The report also quoted a source as saying, "We only hope that the two powerful, responsible nations would have the sense of responsibility to de-escalate the situation at the border and bring back normalcy."

Further, the perception of Bhutan as a small state makes it 'vulnerable', as some experts pointed out. Bhutan is considered "tiny" infront of its "mighty" neighbours. Therefore, refraining from a dispute is possibly the best option it has. Bhutan only has about 8,000 members in its military branches, according to Global Security report. Whereas China's People's Liberation Army has about 2.3 million troops, according to a report by LA Times. Bhutan is therefore treading cautiously so as not to anger any of its neighbours and avoid any confrontation with the two countries.

However, it remains to be seen how Bhutan will respond if the tension escalates at the tri-junction.

With inputs from Akshita Jain
Beijing: China on Wednesday said troop withdrawal by India from Doka La remained the precondition to resolve the border crisis in the Sikkim sector.

Beijing also dismissed Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar's remarks that differences over the border between India and China occurred in the past also and were resolved.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the trespass by Indian troops in Doka La was different from the "frictions in the undefined sections of the boundary" between India and China.

Geng said what happened in Doka La was a dispute.

Jaishankar, who on Tuesday was at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore to deliver a lecture, said "differences should not become disputes".

Gang said, "China has pointed out many times that the illegal trespass of Indian border troops of the mutually recognised border line is different in nature from the frictions in the undefined sections of the boundary.

"The Sikkim section has a special historical background and this is only defined boundary between India and China. And this is totally different from the undefined boundary in the east, middle and west part. According to the 1890 convention, the Sikkim section has been recognised by both China and India and this convention is effective for both countries. We again request India to withdraw the border troops to the Indian side of the boundary and properly settle this dispute at an early date," he added.
Moscow: All countries should work collectively and decisively against terrorism and cross-border movement of terrorists, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

Addressing the Russian Parliament, the State Duma, she said the global community should work together to counter the increased threat from terrorism.

The remarks by Mahajan, who is leading an Indian parliamentary delegation to Russia, came two days after terrorists attacked Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir, killing seven and injuring 19.

Earlier, Mahajan met Speaker of Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, who conveyed condolences on behalf of himself and the members of the Russian Parliament on Monday's terrorist attack in Anantnag, according to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat.

In her address to the Duma, Mahajan mentioned that the Indian economy is growing at an appreciable rate and is one of the fastest among the emerging economies of the world by registering a growth 7.1 percent in 2016-17. She said the government of India has rolled out the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 1 July, which is an important economic reform measure.

Talking about India-Russia relations, she said there is an ambitious project of building energy-bridge. Opening of the International North-South Transport Corridor, establishment of green-corridor, technology transfer and deepening the mutual friendships between the peoples of the two countries are the areas which need to strengthened and further consolidated, she said.

Expressing happiness that the State Duma has instituted an Indo-Russian Federation Friendship Group, she informed that a similar initiative has been taken in the Indian Parliament. She stressed that parliamentary cooperation between the legislatures of Russia and the Indian states needs to be expanded.

Highlighting the fact that defence relations between India and Russia have been historically important, Mahajan said these are not limited to seller-buyer arrangement but the bonds are deeper and friendly.
Taipei: Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence on Wednesday urged its population to be calm as China's aircraft carrier and an accompanying fleet passed through the Formosa Strait, a few kilometres from Taiwan.

After its historic visit to Hong Kong, where it arrived for the first time on 7 July as part of celebrations of the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to Beijing, the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning is returning to base in Qingdao, EFE news reported.

The Liaoning left Hong Kong at Tuesday noon and entered Taiwan's defence zone on Wednesday, travelling in a northerly direction via the western side of the Taiwan Strait, a defence ministry statement said.

The Taiwanese military has sent airplanes and ships to monitor the passage of Liaoning and its fleet across the Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from mainland China, and said that nothing unusual has been reported so far, in addition to urging the population to be calm.

The Chinese fleet's passage comes at a time of tension between Taipei and Beijing, following Washington's recent announcement on the sale of a cutting-edge weaponry package worth $1.42 billion.

The Chinese fleet consists of the aircraft carrier Liaoning, the destroyers Jinan and Yinchuan, the frigate Yantai and a squadron of J-15 fighter aircraft and helicopters.

The Liaoning has already crossed the Taiwan Strait twice  once in January and again earlier this month, when the Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was on a diplomatic tour of Latin America.

Tensions between China and Taiwan have increased since May 2016, with Tsai's rise to power and her adamant stance against Beijing's request to declare the island a part of China.

China and Taiwan have maintained a sovereignty dispute for decades, and Beijing has refused to renounce the use of force to resolve the dispute over the island's status.
Ankara: Turkish police killed five suspected Islamic State group jihadists in the central Turkish province of Konya, the governor's office said. "During the operation, the five terrorists were

neutralised after they resisted armed force, and four security forces were lightly injured," the governor's office said in a statement.

Police also seized weapons during the raid including five Kalashnikovs, a gun and ammunition. The raid took place as part of an investigation into whether the suspects were planning to target events commemorating last year's failed coup on 15 July, Dogan news agency said.

The statement did not say whether the five had actually been planning an attack.

Police began the raid shortly after sunrise, targeting a house believed to belong to an Islamic State cell, Dogan said, indicating that they searched a total of 10 separate addresses. Turkey has been hit by a series of attacks in the last 18 months blamed on Islamic State and Kurdish militants.

In a report published on Tuesday, the interior ministry said there had been 14 major terrorist attacks conducted by Islamic State including 10 suicide bombings, one bomb attack and three armed attacks. The attacks had killed 304 people, including 10 police officers and one soldier.

The last major Islamic State attack was during New Year's Eve celebrations at an elite Istanbul nightclub where a gunman killed 39 people, most of them foreigners. Police arrested the attacker after a manhunt.

Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed Turkey had killed 3,000 Islamic State terrorists during its operations against the group in northern Syria which ran from August until March.

He also said Turkey had deported 5,000 terror suspects and banned another 53,000 people from entering the country.
Washington: The US general who heads the coalition fighting the Islamic State group said on Tuesday that he had no information that would confirm or deny claims the jihadists' leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead. Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said he had heard "all kinds of reporting" about Baghdadi's status.

"I don't have a clue," Townsend said in a video call from Baghdad.

"Hope his deader than a doornail. And if he's not, as soon as we find out where he is he will be.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a longtime monitor of the country's conflict, said on Tuesday that it had information from top Islamic State leaders confirming Baghdadi's death.

The report could not be independently verified and Baghdadi has been reported dead several times.

But if confirmed, his death would mark another devastating blow to the jihadist group after its loss of Mosul, which Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi said on Monday had been retaken from Islamic State after a gruelling months-long campaign.
Washington: A federal judge in the US has halted deportation of more than 1,400 Iraqis, many of them Christians, who argued they would face persecution if expelled from the country.

Some of the 1,400 Iraqis have faced deportation orders for years, even decades, but Iraq's refusal to accept them allowed them to remain in the US, Efe news reported.

Their situation, however, changed in March when Iraq agreed to receive them following a deal sealed by President Donald Trump.

Although most of the 1,400 remain at large, immigration officials arrested 199 of them in June, largely in Detroit (Michigan) and Nashville (Tennessee), with the intention of deporting them immediately.

According to the US authorities, they committed serious crimes, ranging from homicides to crimes related to drugs or weapons.

Those arrested, however, filed a joint lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the country's leading civil rights organisation, to halt their deportation.

They claimed that because of their status as minorities (as many of them are Chaldean Catholics and Iraqi Kurds) they would be at risk of persecution.

In his ruling, Judge Mark Goldsmith said deporting Iraqis would expose them to "a substantiated risk of death, torture or other serious persecution before their legal claims can be tested in a court".

However, the Justice Department, which has not yet reacted to the ruling, argued that Goldsmith, appointed by former President Barack Obama, has no power to make such decisions.
Washington: United States vice president Mike Pence sought on Tuesday to distance himself from the snowballing scandal over possible collusion with Russian election interference that increasingly threatens president Donald Trump.

After Trump's son Donald Jr admitted to meeting a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton last June, Pence declared in a statement that he knew nothing of the meeting, which took place well before he became Trump's running mate in the election.

"The vice president is working every day to advance the president's agenda, which is what the American people sent us here to do," his office said in a statement.

"The vice president was not aware of the meeting. He is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket."

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump Jr released emails showing he had arranged to meet with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya over her offer of "incriminating" material on Clinton ostensibly sourced from the Russian government. Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner also attended the meeting.

Trump Jr said Veselnitskaya ultimately had "no meaningful" information on Clinton and instead wanted to talk about United States sanctions on Russia. He labelled it a "nonsense meeting."

But critics say the meeting suggests the Trump campaign was prepared to collude with Russian efforts, not clearly understood at the time, to undermine Clinton's run for president.

The meeting took place on 9 June, five weeks before Pence was officially chosen as Trump's vice presidential running mate.
Just yesterday, Maharashtra cyber police detained a man who was suspected to be involved in the recent Jio data user leak. The accused has been identified by his nickname Imran Chippa and was arrested from Churu district in Rajasthan.



According to PTI, the suspect is a 35-year old computer science dropout living in Sujangarh town of Rajasthan. He claimed to make the website Magicapk and provided Jio user data through his website. Mumbai Police had reached Churu after tracking the IP address and took Chhipa into custody last night.

The accuseds computer, mobile and storage devices were seized and he will be brought to Mumbai later on transit remand, Inspector General of Police Brijesh Singh, Maharashtra cyber police, said. Currently, a team of Navi Mumbai police and Maharashtra cyber police, along with officials from Reliance Jio, are conducting searches in Rajasthan. FoneArena first reported about the massive data leak of over 120 million users of Reliance Jio users on Sunday.

Source
Samsung introduced Samsung Pay Mini with the Galaxy J7 Max smartphone last month and also said that it will be available on select existing J series devices soon. Now it has pushed a new security update for the Galaxy J7 (2016) that will add soon add support for Samsung Pay Mini.

There is a new Samsung Pay Mini app after the update. When you open it, it just says Samsung Pay is coming to more devices. So other Galaxy J series devices might get a new update soon, and the Samsung Pay Mini might be activated for all these devices simultaneously.

The Samsung Pay Mini lets you transfer money using Paytm wallet just by scanning the code or sending it using mobile number and send to bank account using UPI (Unified Payment Interface). Similar to Samsung Pay app, this also has several promotions that offers cashback on payments.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) update J710FXXU3AQF6 is 136.32MB in size, adds stability improvements and bug fixes, and is already rolling out for the users in India.

Source | Via
Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, both advisors to President Trump, have just decided they will attend the Allen & Co. conference this week in Sun Valley Idaho, FOX Business has confirmed. The duo will join the likes of media titans including Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, CBS Chairman Les Moonves, as well as a host of billionaires such as Warren Buffett.

The question baffling some of the high rollers in attendance is why? The answer according to political operatives back in Washington: to escape.

White House aides confirmed to FOX Business that the couple plans to arrive in Sun Valley late on Wednesday. They are expected to attend Thursdays leg of the conference alongside power brokers including Shari Redstone of the National Amusements, the holding company that runs CBS (NYSE:CBS) and Viacom (NYSE:VIA), financier and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) co-founder Ken Langone, Apple CEO Tim Cook (NASDAQ:AAPL) as well as 21st Century Fox Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch and Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch. 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA) is the parent of FOX Business and Fox News.

A White House spokeswoman did not return a phone call regarding their attendance at the time of publication.

But a senior White House aide later told FOX Business the couple were invited to the conference a few months ago and are official attendees of the event.

Both Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have limited to zero roles in the media industry, especially in its current iteration that combines television with high tech, internet and cable.

Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com

For 11 years Kushner owned a small newspaper  The New York Observer  before selling it earlier this year. Prior to joining the Trump White House his main business activities involved running his family's real estate holdings.

Ivanka Trump has even less media experience. She held positions in her fathers real estate and branding business, had a role on The Apprentice and most recently started her own line of women's clothing.

That said, they may be the most influential guests in attendance since they have the ear of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, at a time when the pace of media-tech mergers is accelerating. AT&T (NYSE:T) and Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) are poised to merge in a deal valued at $85 billion, pending approval from the government. In addition, speculation has swirled that Disney (NYSE:DIS) could be snapped up by Verizon (NYSE:VZ). FOX Business reported earlier Wednesday that Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam dismissed the idea of the merger.

Still, the general consensus among Washington political advisers is that their goal in Sun Valley will not be to press a specific agenda, but to get away from Washington given the contretemps engulfing the Trump administration and the inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Kushner himself has been under some scrutiny since it was revealed that he attended a now controversial meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and an attorney with connections to the Russian government who allegedly offered intelligence on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the campaign.

"It's good to leave somewhere where there's a problem to somewhere where there are no problems," said democratic political strategist Hank Sheinkopf. "Where would you rather be  somewhere you were dealing with Russia or a place where you're among those with the same socio economic status and won't be attacked?"

Even if the political power couple has no specific agenda pressing with the well-heeled crowd in Sun Valley, being there has a definitive upside for the administration, says GOP political consultant Sam Nunberg.

Many of the media and tech executives attending supported Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. In the case of Bewkes, Time Warner owns CNN, the cable news station President Trump frequently criticizes. He has called out the network for reporting what he believes are fake news stories connected to his administration. They could be in Sun Valley to "advocate for the administration and continue to build contacts in an anti-republican environment," Nunberg said.
The stock market didn't make any big moves on Tuesday, with major benchmarks mostly easing upward slightly. The ongoing inquiry into possible connections between the Trump administration and Russia continued to command investors' attention, although the decision by Donald Trump Jr. to release personal email communications produced only a short-lived momentary downturn in indexes before they regained lost ground. Yet some individual stocks found themselves in greater difficulty, and Michael Kors Holdings (NYSE: KORS), Snap (NYSE: SNAP), and Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) were among the worst performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so poorly.

Analyst sees Kors as out of fashion

Shares of Michael Kors Holdings dropped over 7% after a stock analyst made negative comments about the fashion retailer. MKM Partners started its coverage on the stock with a sell rating, setting a price target of $26 per share. Kors has struggled to find its strategic vision in the wake of tough conditions in the luxury retail space, and recent slumps in revenue and earnings show few signs of ending anytime soon. The MKM analyst noted that the company hasn't been quick to embrace innovative designs, and poor promotional and merchandising strategies are likely to weigh on margin figures as well as comparable-store sales in the future. Shareholders should also be prepared for even further declines, because even after today's pullback, the price target that MKM put on Kors implies another 20% of downside potential for the stock.

Snap can't snap back from this rare move

Snap stock fell 9% in the wake of receiving a downgrade from a prominent Wall Street analyst company. Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the social-media company from overweight to equal weight, and it slashed its price target on the stock by more than 40% to $16 per share. What especially hurts about the move is that Morgan Stanley served as the lead underwriter on Snap's initial public offering. Investment banks that have underwriting relationships with companies are often among the most optimistic about their prospects, especially immediately after a company goes public. Yet Snap hasn't been able to produce the growth that investors had hoped to see, and rising competition from rival platforms has eaten into Snap's potential for further expansion. The company will have to fight harder to prove to investors that it still has the ability to meet their growth expectations in the long run.

Blue Apron keeps falling

Finally, shares of Blue Apron dropped more than 12%. The meal-delivery company's stock has suffered a big decline since its recent IPO, and today, one analyst company questioned whether Blue Apron has much of a future. Northcoast Research initiated its coverage of Blue Apron with a sell rating and a price target of $2 per share, or more than 75% below where the stock began the day. Investors have increasingly questioned whether competition from other players in the food industry will eat into the opportunity that Blue Apron might have, while some simply never believed that the business model was a viable one. Blue Apron could yet prove naysayers wrong, but for now, the stock shows no signs of having convinced Wall Street that success is in the cards.

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Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Michael Kors Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
What happened

Shares of Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) have more than tripled thus far this year, climbing 202% as of closing on July 11, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

As you can see from the chart below, the gains began with a blowout fourth-quarter earnings report at the end of February and the stock continued to rally from there.

So what

Weight Watchers shares have been exceptionally volatile in recent years, but the stock has been gaining traction thus far in 2017 following a high-profile tie-up with Oprah Winfrey.

Over a three-day period around the end of February, the stock rallied more than 50%, including a gain of 28% on the day the earnings report came out.

The company reported that subscribers were up 10% from the previous year to 2.6 million, and operating income nearly tripled to $46.7 million. Earnings per share swung from a loss of $0.18 to a profit of $0.20, and earnings guidance for 2017 was much better than expected at $1.30-$1.40.

The stock gave back some of those gains, but rallied again in late April after the company named Mindy Grossman as its new CEO. Grossman had served as CEO of the Home Shopping Network since 2008, bringing valuable experience in the direct-to-consumer market.

The following week, the stock surged again on a strong first-quarter earnings report as subscribers jumped 16% to 3.6 million and the company lifted its full-year EPS guidance to $1.40-$1.50. Momentum carried the stock higher over the subsequent months as the stock gained nearly 30% in June.

Now what

Weight Watchers' surge this year has been remarkable, considering the stock's turbulent past. Over a five-year time frame, the stock is still down 28%, and an earlier rally in 2015 after Winfrey joined the company fizzled out.

Participants in weight-loss programs like Weight Watchers are notoriously fickle, and while the growth in subscribers is encouraging, the rally seems to be exhausting itself. Based on the midpoint of 2017 guidance, the stock is now valued at a P/E of 24. That seems like a fair price considering that top-line growth is still a modest 7% as of the most recent quarter. I wouldn't expect a repeat performance in the second half of the year.

10 stocks we like better than Weight Watchers InternationalWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Weight Watchers International wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

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*Stock Advisor returns as of July 6, 2017

Jeremy Bowman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg toured a North Dakota drilling rig on Tuesday and peppered industry workers in the No. 2 U.S. oil-producing state with questions about automation, safety and fracking.

The visit to North Dakota, which pumps about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day - more than some OPEC members - is part of Zuckerberg's plan to tour all 50 states this year and learn about their local economies and communities.

While Zuckerberg, 33, is a vocal supporter of renewable energy development, he said the visit gave him an opportunity to meet with those who rely on oil and natural gas production for their livelihood and oppose tighter regulation of the energy industry.

"Many people I talked to here acknowledged (climate change), but also feel a sense of pride that their work contributes to serving real needs we all have every day - keeping our homes warm, getting to work, feeding us and more," Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post early Wednesday morning.

The Facebook co-founder flew his private jet into Williston, the de facto capital of the state's oil industry, and toured a nearby drilling rig operated by Nabors Industries Ltd and an oil well owned by Statoil ASA.

Zuckerberg spent more than two hours with roughnecks on the drilling rig, asking about technology developments that have helped the U.S. shale industry in the past two years cut in half the time needed to drill a new oil well.

Representatives for Nabors and Statoil were not immediately available to comment.

In a picture accompanying the Facebook post, Zuckerberg can be seen wearing the oilfield uniform of fire-resistant coveralls and a hard hat. He is not wearing safety glasses or gloves but holds them in his left hand, a violation of rig safety rules.

"Zuckerberg was extremely intrigued by all the technological developments in the oilfields," said Ron Ness, head of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, the industry trade group that arranged the tour with Facebook.

Zuckerberg later held a community meeting to discuss education and housing. Politicians were not allowed to attend. The months-long delay of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which transports the state's Bakken crude oil, was also a main topic.

"A number of people told me they had felt their livelihood was blocked by the government, but when (President Donald) Trump approved the pipeline, they felt a sense of hope again," Zuckerberg said.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Oil futures rose, maintaining some gains from earlier in the day, as a report showing hefty drawdowns in U.S. crude inventories was offset by data pointing to lackluster gasoline demand.

U.S. crude inventories fell 7.6 million barrels last week, its biggest weekly plunge in 10 months, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

That was much more than the 2.9 million-barrel crude draw forecast in a Reuters poll but was slightly less than the 8.1 million-barrel decline reported by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday. <ENERGYUSA>

But at 495.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories were in the upper half of the average range for this time of year.

U.S. gasoline stocks <USOILG=ECI> fell 1.6 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a 1.1 million-barrel gain, but were also in the upper half of the average range, EIA said.

"U.S. gasoline demand remains lackluster and gasoline stocks are still above the five-year average, which will cap gains in crude and gasoline prices," said Abhishek Kumar, Senior Energy Analyst at Interfax Energy's Global Gas Analytics in London.

Brent crude futures <LCOc1> rose 22 cents, or 0.5 percent, to settle at $47.74 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude <CLc1> gained 45 cents, or 1 percent, to settle at $45.49.

That bigger gain in U.S. crude, pressured the premium of front-month Brent futures over WTI to $2.08 per barrel, the lowest so far this month.

Before the EIA released its storage report, Brent was up 1.9 percent and WTI was up 2.4 percent.

Traders noted suggestions from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that the oil market will see a surplus next year also weighed on Wednesday's price gains.

"We are still facing a situation where there is an abundance of oil across the globe and demand is increasing at a pace that only makes a small dent in inventories," said Mark Watkins, Regional Investment Manager with U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Park City, Utah.

"The rebalancing of the supply and demand equilibrium for oil is moving at a snail's pace," Watkins said.

OPEC said its oil production jumped in June and forecast world demand for its crude will decline next year as rivals pump more, pointing to a market surplus in 2018 despite an OPEC-led output cut.

Those output cuts, in place since the start of the year, have lent prices some support, but in recent weeks rising output from Libya and Nigeria - OPEC members exempt from the output reduction deal - has pushed supply higher.

(Additional reporting Alex Lawler and Ahmad Ghaddar in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson and Marguerita Choy)
Verizon (NYSE:VZ) CEO Lowell McAdam shot down rumors that the company he helms would buy Disney (NYSE:DIS) anytime soon or at all. FOX Business caught up with McAdam at the Allen & Company Sun Valley conference and asked whether the telecom and media giant would combine and he gave a firm no. Disney CEO Bob Iger is not attending the conference, according to Variety.

Earlier this year, McAdam signaled that he would be open to acquisitions, as reported by Bloomberg. Since, investors have speculated on the price of a potential deal. According to Wells Fargo, a merger would be valued around $190 billion and may require Verizon, whose market value is $174 million, to take on too much debt.

A potential deal would give Verizon a lucrative library of content which it could distribute over its many channels. Even so, FOX Business Charlie Gasparino pointed out companies like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) also have deep pockets and could potentially make a play for the mouse house. Also, each has different means of distribution which could be a strategic factor the companies may consider.

More from FOX Business... Trump's driving goal has to be the economy: Newt Gingrich

Deal making in the media sector has picked up. In June, Verizon completed its $4.5 billion acquisition of Yahoos operating business. The deal followed its $4.4 billion purchase of AOL.

And AT&T (NYSE:T) is in the process of acquiring Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) for $85 billion. The deal is expected to be completed by year-end.
What happened

Shares of would-be goldminer Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd (NYSEMKT: NAK), the company that is hoping to open up a "Pebble" goldmining project in Alaska, surged more than 12% in early Wednesday trading, before settling down to enjoy a more muted gain of 4.1% as of 11:45 p.m. EDT.

So what

On Tuesday, after close of trading, Northern Dynasty announced that the US Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to withdraw its 2014 Clean Water Act Proposed Determination.

If left in place, this determination would have restricted Northern Dynasty's ability to develop its Pebble Project. Removed, however, it now permits Northern Dynasty to proceed with obtaining a final Environmental Impact Statement for the Pebble Project from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Assuming a positive finding from the Corps, Northern Dynasty will be able to proceed with obtaining a permit to begin mining, according to the "normal course" for obtaining such permits.

Now what

Although this is good news for Northern Dynasty, it was hardly unexpected. It has been known as far back as May that Northern Dynasty had a settlement agreement in place with the EPA that would permit this.

What remains unknown is whether the Corps will indeed give Northern Dynasty a positive environmental impact statement. And even if the Corps gives it the all clear, we also don't know whether Northern Dynasty will be able to attract the kind of funding it will need to make the Pebble Project a success. Northern Dynasty said in its statement on Tuesday that it "is now focused on qualifying and securing a new major funding partner for the Pebble Project" -- meaning it does not yet have one in hand.

For that matter, even assuming everything else works out right, there's still no guarantee Northern Dynasty will find enough gold, and be able to extract it profitably enough, to make the Pebble Project a success.

Profitless, revenue-less, and with only $42 million in cash in the bank, Northern Dynasty Minerals stock remains a speculative investment.

10 stocks we like better than Northern Dynasty MineralsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Northern Dynasty Minerals wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 6, 2017

Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, on Tuesday said that the Democrats obstructionism is hurting President Trumps political agenda.

Its also time to shine a brighter light, a hotter light on the Democratic obstructionism and resistance. Its no longer a bumper sticker or a bunch of pink hats. Its hurting people in this country. We only have 23 percent of the presidents nominees that have been confirmed, the rest are just languishing there. The judicial process is at a holt because some of these federal judges are not being considered, Conway told FOX Business Lou Dobbs.

Conway said the Republican leaderships push to delay the August recess will hopefully slow down the Democrats resistance to President Trumps agenda.

The holding back of the two weeks recess is a great start to get things done and to show that these Democrats who are obstructing think they are raising money off of it and they are worried about whos going to run in 2020, its nonsense. They are going to have to look their constituents in the eye and say we failed on health care [and] we failed on tax reform,'" she added.
The confirmation hearings of FBI director nominee Christopher Wray come amid a new FBI document dump related to the agencys investigation into Hillary Clinton and her mishandling of classified information.

Former FBI Assistant Director James Kallstrom said he hoped senators would raise the issue with Wray during his testimony, It wasnt an investigation, I always said it was a shell game. But there was so much evidence even without a proper investigation, you know, they had a plethora of things that showed multiple felonies by Hillary Clinton, Kallstrom told the FOX Business Networks Maria Bartiromo.

Kallstrom says there still needs to be an investigation into the Clinton Foundation and the unmasking scandal.

Whats going on today with the Clinton Foundationwhats going on with the unmasking of purportedly thousands of names of American citizens? Where is this going? I hope its going somewhere. I hope this testimony being taken Washington by a grand jury thats secret, I hope thats actually going on.

Kallstrom hopes Christopher Wray will move the FBI beyond politics and move forward with some of these investigations.

I hope this guy is a tough guy and I hope he can do something about the political correctness that is really tying the hands of the FBI and other agencies, you know, for the last over 8, 12, 14 years where they havent been able to actually investigate and look at things from a motive standpoint because of politics.
President Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday, touting Americas success in defeating ISIS in Syria and Iraq. But former CIA Covert Operations Officer Mike Baker said we are not winning the war on ISIS on all fronts.

The fact that we defeat them on the ground in Syria and Iraq is important that doesnt mean the end of extremism of Jihad of Muslim extremism around the world," he said. "It will morph as it has over the years. They tend to adapt. Every time they lose in one place, they tend to pop up like cockroaches somewhere else."

ISIS is on the run & will soon be wiped out of Syria & Iraq, illegal border crossings are way down (75%) & MS 13 gangs are being removed.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

Baker also said the U.S. would play a role--and a hefty price tag--in rebuilding Mosul.

The tab thats been building when people talk about rebuilding that infrastructure is enormous, its in the multiple billions we will undoubtable be part of that, he said.

He added, the goal is to get regional allies involved, but Irans influence might stand in the way.

Iran is not going to back out of Iraq just because we defeat ISIS weve still got some of these same issues. Iran has more influence in Iraq than theyve had in ages. Theyve got more influence in the Middle East then theyve had in modern times, he said.
During his successful Presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, promising, "I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall." Do we still want a wall built? A recent MoneyTips survey says no, but Trump voters say yes. In fact, they're willing to have America pay for it!

When Donald Trump accepted the nomination for President at the Republican convention, he told the crowd, "Decades of record immigration have produced lower wages and higher unemployment for our citizens, especially for African-American and Latino workers." In an exclusive MoneyTips survey conducted in June, 466 Americans were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statement:

I believe President Trump's immigration policies are improving the American economy.

Half of the people surveyed disagreed, with nearly 3 out of 4 of them (74.2%) disagreeing strongly. The results:

Less than 1 out of 3 (30.3%) agreed with the statement, with less than 15% agreeing strongly, and less than 16% merely agreeing. Women especially do not feel Trump's immigration policies are helping the economy; 54.5% disagreed to some extent, with only 27% in agreement. For men, less than 45% (44.5%) disagreed, with more than 34% agreeing.

Age also appeared to be a factor, as only 20% of people younger than 40 agreed at any level with the statement, and a whopping 58.8% disagreed. Among those older, 35.6% agreed, and 45.4% disagreed.

Who did agree with the President? Trump voters. Nearly 35% agreed strongly, while more than 35% simply agreed. More than 70% of Trump supporters agreed overall, while less than 7% disagreed at all with the statement. In contrast, less than 5% of Hillary Clinton supporters agreed, and more than 87% disagreed. People who didn't vote for either top vote-getter, or didn't vote at all, also didn't agree.

Says Dr. Michael Zey, Professor of Management at Montclair State University's Feliciano School of Business in New Jersey, "The majority of Americans surveyed reveal that they are not convinced his immigration policies will help the economy. Trump must take his case to the American people even as he attempts to dramatically transform America's immigration strategy."

What's the most we should spend to build a wall between the US and Mexico?

59% of people surveyed did not want a wall built. A look at the results:

Women wanted the wall less than men did, with 63.5% of the women and 53.6% of the men reporting that they opposed building it. Although the majority was against it in nearly every age group, older respondents tended to want the wall more than younger ones. More than 72% of adults under 29 were opposed, while that number drops to 51% for people aged 60 and up. Two-thirds of the people whose families make $50,000 or less annually were against the wall, as opposed to 54% of the people whose families make more.

On the other hand, less than 20% of Trump voters said they didn't desire a wall, as opposed to more than 80% of the non-Trump voters. Compare that to Hillary Clinton supporters; nearly 88% were opposed.

Among the people who want a wall, is there a limit to how many tax dollars we should spend? The answer appears to be no. Over half (52.4%) of those who want to build the wall say do it no matter the cost. Of the rest, 31.4% say spend up to $10 billion, 10.5% limit it to $15 billion, and 5.8% cap spending at $20 billion. Regarding the cost in April, Trump estimated, "I think $10 billion or less. And if I do a super-duper, higher, better, better security, everything else, maybe it goes a little bit more." He recently proposed a "solar wall" that could "create energy and pay for itself."

Among people who desire the wall, the group that wants it the most no matter the cost contains families who earn more than $200,000 annually. 63.6% of those high-earners who want the wall wouldn't cap the costs. Among those surveyed whose families earn $50,000 annually or less, less than half (49.2%) don't care about costs. Older people also cared less about cost than younger people polled did. Only 43.4% of wall-proponents under 40 set no limit on costs, compared to 55.8% of those 40 and older.

Trump supporters may want to build the wall, but many also want to budget for it. While more than 56% of wall-proponents wouldn't limit the costs, 31.1% would spend up to $10 billion, 9.1% up to $15 billion, and 3.8% would cap spending at $20 billion. Those findings are similar to the overall numbers. However, among the few Clinton voters who want the wall built, over half (52.6%) would only spend up to $10 billion, and only 31.6% would build it without considering cost.

Summarizes sociologist Zey, author of many books including Ageless Nation, "Throughout the election campaign, Trump repeatedly argued that a restriction on both legal and illegal immigration would stem the influx of cheap labor and thereby strengthen Americans' job and wage prospects. He also linked illegal immigrants entering via the US-Mexico border to terrorism and crime. Americans not only voted Trump into office but also provided him a GOP House and Senate to produce legislation that addresses their concerns. Expect Trump to follow in the footsteps of previous presidents and make good on his campaign promises through legislation and executive orders."

Read more exclusive Trump survey results and check your credit score and credit report for free within minutes with Credit Manager by MoneyTips.

This article was provided by our partners at moneytips.com.

Read More From MoneyTips:

Trump Voters Still Solidly Support The President And His Proposals

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Newly-released footage from an officers bodycam video shows actor Shia LaBeouf cursing at Georgia police officers and arguing with authorities about his Saturday arrest.

LaBeouf was arrested early Saturday morning in Savannah, Georgia for being drunk in public. The Chatham County Sheriffs Office said the 31-year-old actor was arrested in a hotel lobby.

In the video, LaBeouf is seen standing close to the officer and yelling: "What did I do sir? I have rights, I'm an American! You got me in my hotel doing what sir?"

The video cut to LaBeouf sitting in the police cruiser and refusing to talk to the police officer.

"Let me out," LaBeouf wailed. "No, we can't talk or nothing. I'm a f--king American, I pay my taxes. Get these s--t off my arms."

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING VIDEO CONTAINS PROFANITY

The video then cuts to the inside of the police cruiser where you hear LaBeouf yelling: "So you wanna arrest white people who give a f--k and ask for cigarettes? I came up to you trying to be nice you stupid b---h."

"I came up to you asking for a cigarette you dumb f--k," the actor continued. "Why would I ask for a cigarette if I was a racist, you stupid b---h."

The video then showed an African American officer talking to the other officer and LaBeouf yelling at the African American officer: "I got more millionaire lawyers than you know what to do with, you stupid b---h."

STRANGER THINGS RELEASE DATE REVEALED BY NETFLIX

The video ends with LaBeouf in a white room asking: Why am I in custody?

LaBeouf was charged with public drunkenness and could face charges of disorderly conduct and obstruction.

A police report said the actor asked a bystander for a cigarette and when he refused, he became disorderly, using profanities and vulgar language in front of the women and children present.

GWEN STEFANI SUED BY WOMAN WHO CLAIMS SHE WAS SEVERELY INJURED DURING STAMPEDE AT CONCERT

When LaBeouf was told to leave, police said he refused and became aggressive toward an officer. He ran to a nearby hotel to avoid arrest.

LaBeouf was in the Savannah area filming his new movie, The Peanut Butter Falcon.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former Bond Girl Lana Wood is in a better place these days since news broke in April she was homeless.

Her friend Gregor Gillespie set up a GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising funds for the star, and fans have pitched in a whopping $29,635, totally overshooting the page's intial $10,000 goal.

I still have my moments when it hits hard, the 71-year-old actress told Fox News. But the relief overshadows a lot of that."

CELEB PHOTOGRAPHER SPILLS OLD HOLLYWOOD SECRETS

Inside Edition reported earlier this year that the younger sister of Natalie Wood was staying in a motel room outside of Los Angeles with her daughter Evan, her son-in-law, three grandchildren, and two dogs while struggling to make ends meet.

"Its difficult [relocating] under good circumstances. So under really rotten ones, its not really terrific. I have basically fought all of my life to take care and to provide a home for my daughter, for myself, for my family.

Wood was once regarded as Hollywood royalty when she starred as Plenty OToole opposite Sean Connery in 1971s Diamonds Are Forever".

But Wood said the familys growing medical bills were to blame for their financial woes. Inside Edition reported Evan battled Hodgkins lymphoma and her radiation treatments permanently scarred her lungs, resulting in her breathing through an oxygen compressor. The family struggled to pay for their rented home in California and they were ultimately evicted. They scrambled to find a motel that would allow the family to stay with their pets.

I realized [I was in trouble] for quite a while, but it seemed like we were able to bail out, Wood explained. ...We had more health problems than expected -- not that you ever expect them -- but I know Im not going to get well. Im only going to get worse But with my daughter, shes all hooked up to oxygen. Shes got two units. She cant walk across a room without becoming terribly winded. We werent expecting that. She has other medical problems that I dont think she would be comfortable with me going into on her behalf But shes not well. Shes really not well. Its difficult.

Wood suffers from health issues of her own, including arthritis. She claimed doctors have tried numerous treatments, but nothing has provided long-term relief.

I literally live in pain 24/7, she said. Its degenerative and theres nothing that at my stage that can be done Unfortunately, I lived with it for a very long time and I just kept my mouth shut, which is probably not the smartest thing to do. So now Im dealing with it on both knees. Ive been told I have absolutely no cartiidge left on my neck. My hands are a nightmare. And Im just waiting to see what else starts hurting at this point Unfortunately, theres just nothing that can be done about that. Im just trying to deal with it the best I can. You take your high blood pressure medicine, a lot of vitamins, and hope for the best.

Wood and her family have since left the motel and are living in an adorable little place. She credited donations from the GoFundMe campaign for giving her family a new start.

Oh goodness, if I wasnt able to touch [that money], I wouldnt have electricity, water, or a roof over my head, she said. But you know, the thing a lot of us forget, myself included, is you put down first, last, and a security deposit and youre in a place. But how about all the deposits necessary for water, gas, electricity  all of our things had to be put in storage. Even doing that we lost more than half of everything we owned and finding a motel that would accept us with dogs was not easy. It was costly Were still coming to terms with everything, so were not pulled together by any stretch of the imagination, but were trying. Im trying very hard to make it a home.

Many fans wondered why Robert Wagner, her sisters husband and a famous Hollywood actor, hasnt stepped in to help. Wood shared there hasnt been any contact between Wagner or any of Natalie's daughters.

In 2011, Wood pressed the 87-year-old for answers concerning Natalies sudden death in 1981 from drowning. Authorities have said Wagner isnt a suspect, and he denied any involvement in her passing. Wood claimed that if Natalie were alive, she would have stepped in to help her sibling.

Oh, she would have done everything possible to help, she explained. Natalie was a very loving, very giving person sometimes to an extreme. She also went through a period of time where she said shes gotta stop caring so much when its not good for her. And she did that through therapy. You know, she would have done everything in her power to help. She probably would have turned around and bought us a house!

However, Wood is stunned so many fans pitched in financially  and continue to do so.

Im terribly overwhelmed with sincere gratitude, she said. I dont know where I would be right now if it wasn't for everyone saying, Yes, I want to help.' Theyve given me a continuation of my life to which was rapidly falling apart. My gratitude is endless.
Donald Trump Jr. has been making headlines this week after tweeting "the entire email chain" of his exchanges with a music publicist regarding hearing damaging information about Hillary Clinton from the Russian government.

Trump Jr. appeared on Fox News' "Hannity" Tuesday night to clear the air about the emails with music publicist Rob Goldstone regarding scheduling a meeting in June 2016 with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer.

Trump Jr., 39, told Hannity that he "probably would have done things a little differently" when he met with Veselnitskya but described the meeting as "nothing."

"I wouldn't have even remembered it until you started scouring through his (Goldstone) stuff," Trump Jr. said. "It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame."

President Trump defended his son writing on Twitter on Wednesday that his son was "open, transparent and innocent." Trump called the investigation the "greatest Witch Hunt in political history."

Celebrities took to social media to react to the news of the released emails:
Mayim Bialik is proudly leading a new campaign for SodaStream despite the Israeli beverage company stirring up controversy for its last celebrity endorser -- Scarlett Johansson.

"The Big Bang Theory" star defended the Israeli company against those that criticize SodaStream for having operated in the West Bank.

"SodaStream recently struggled to secure working permits for its Palestinian workers in an effort to bridge religious and political conflicts and improve lives where they can," Bialik told Fox News. "This is admirable and while it may not solve the entire Middle East situation, it is a gesture of solidarity and respect that is needed in so many places in this world."

The Jewish star, who has been outspoken about her support of Israel, said SodaStream "is about diversity, coexistence and peace."

'BIG BANG THEORY' STAR MAYIM BIALIK TAKES ON PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST LINDA SARSOUR

Pro-Palestinian activists who advocate consumer boycotts of goods produced in Jewish West Bank settlements have encouraged the public to shun SodaStream. The company's main plant was in an Israeli industrial zone next to the settlement of Maaleh Adumim in the West Bank. The company has closed the plant in the controversial location in 2015.

"As so many people in Israel know, people from different religions, ethnicities and nationalities can work together in peace and harmony despite what the media wants us to believe. Individuals and corporations can show that we are stronger together: women, men, children, lovers of peace, and lovers of freedom and justice," she said.

Johansson served as the global ambassador for SodaStream for eight years and even stepped down as an Oxfam Global Ambassador over a "fundamental difference of opinion" about her work with the beverage company.

Bialik now appears in a video called "The Homoschlepiens" alongside "Game of Thrones" actor Kristian Nairn in a SodaStream campaign.

The partnership was a natural one, Bialik told us, because the company's reusable bottles are an effort to make "single-use plastic bottles...a thing of the past."

"As a species, we have evolved so much, but much as we know plastic bottles pollute our environment and kill marine life, we continue to use them," she shared.

Bialik spoke to Fox News over email after being put on vocal rest by her doctor. She said not being able to speak for "a whole month" is "very hard" because she loves "to talk and [needs] to talk!"

"When I remove the ability to speak I get to see whats really worth talking about," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Woody Harrelson isnt shy to discuss his rebellious past.

Ive been busted a few times, the 55-year-old actor told The Hollywood Reporter. My first arrest, the police were really brutal. I was 20 or 21, and I was jaywalking, me and a friend, and this cop flags us over, asks to see our ID. My friend showed his ID, but I said, I dont have my ID, which I did, of course. And he says, Have you been out to some of these bars? Then you have an ID to get in. I go, Oh, good point. So I pulled it out, and as I pull it out, he goes, Dont lie to me again, punk! And then he grabbed me, smashed me against the wall a couple of times.

Thats when things escalated between Harrelson and the police officer.

I knocked his hands off, pushed him away and started running, he recalled. And that was the beginning of a real dire episode. He put out an officer-in-distress signal, and soon Im just surrounded by blue, and they had me down on the ground, knee in my throat. It was so brutal, the way they were handling me.

But even when Harrelson was handcuffed and put in a police van, he escaped when they stopped to pick up someone urinating on the street.

Im handcuffed, and Im wearing boots, and Im running, he recalled. But I was a runner  I did track and stuff. I was running as fast as I could across the parking lot. And I can hear them all shouting and running after me, and there is a car going across this parking lot. I hit the car, did a complete flip, landed on the back of my head, kept rolling, and then kept rolling, and then they were on me and they maced the fk out of me. And when they mace you, youre done, thats the end of the story. So yeah, I went to jail, they rough you up a little more, and before it was over, they had six counts against me. My mom came and got me the next day. That was brutal.

Harrelson claimed the incident had a long-term impact on him, both physical and personally. He said the mace caused him to wear sunglasses for a long time and his skin became swollen and really nasty. And Harrelson, who was actually considering a career in law enforcement, gave up that dream for acting instead.

Harrelson found himself in trouble again years later, but not with police. He told the publication that back in 2002, he was involved in a drunken foursome in London while married to Laura Louie. He said the incident appeared in News of the World.

Harrelson married Louie in 2008 and they share three daughters.

Im not sure how Laura found out, but she did, he said. I was kind of hoping she wouldnt see it. I cant remember the details; Ive doubtless repressed it. She never saw the thing. But someone told her. Laura  this really gives you a sense of the depth of her compassion  what she said to me after finding out was, That must be really hard for you, to have this st exposed. She just said that. Now that doesnt mean she wasnt upset. How did I apologize? You know, just your standard Texan grovel. But she forgave me and were still together.
A New Hampshire woman is demanding an apology and is raising questions about the cleanliness of a Manchester McDonalds after her son became covered in human waste in the play pen.

Justina Whitmore said that when she let her son play, she knew he may be covered in germs.

Germs yes, poop no, she said.

She said she never imagined her 5-year-old would emerge from the yellow slide covered in another childs waste.

I was still eating and the next thing I knew he came out and just stated there was poop all inside the slide, she said. When he came out, he was covered in poop.

Gabriel said he was playing tag with another child, who apparently had a soiled diaper.

It was because he went down the slide first, he said. And then I couldnt help it and it went all over me.

But its what happened after the incident that the mother finds even more outrageous.

There was no soap in the bathroom, and when she asked employees for help, she said they just laughed at her.

I went over to the counter and said, Are you going to give me any paper towels or anything to help clean my son off, and they were just laughing and arguing about who should clean it up.

For ten minutes Justina said she was pleading for assistance only to have employees ignore her and take smoke breaks, or act like a child.

I was at that point just using my bare hands, and fortunat[ly] one of his socks did not have poop on it so I was just using his left sock to scrape it off his skin, Whitmore said.

Her friend started taking video when things got heated.

Whitmore shared the encounter on Facebook. Its now been shared more than 4,500 times, raising questions about the cleanliness of the fast-food favorite.

Im sure employees go to the bathroom, Whitmore said. Theres no soap. How are they washing their hands?

Because her son has eczema, she had to take him to the emergency room to get checked out after the incident.

She said she just wants an apology but hasnt heard from the owner.

Boston 25 News received a statement from the owner, Michael Gambino, who said, The safety and well-being of our customers are out top priorities. We are investigating the situation and will take any appropriate measures to address.

More from Fox 25 Boston.
Sometimes it pays to be a hero.

A flock of firefighters who had been battling the raging California wildfires were eating at a Dennys restaurant when another patron decided to show her appreciation.

While eating, an anonymous woman told the Dennys staff that she wanted to buy all of the firefighters meals, the Colton Fire Department posted to Facebook.

With about 25 firefighters dining at the time, the steep bill came out to $405, including tip. The kind woman not only paid the bill, but also shelled out $100 to treat the crew to dessert.

The fire departments spokesman Capt. Tom DeBellis said these acts of kindness are not uncommon in the small Californian community.

It happens all the time, DeBellis told the San Bernardino County Sun. More so when were on big fires. People just anonymously donate money to cover the bill. They want to do what they can to help.

The Colton Fire Department thanked the anonymous citizen for her generous show of support.

We are all honored to serve the citizens of our communities, the department wrote.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post.
Its starting to seem like the KFC restaurants in China arent really interested in serving chicken.

Following the chain's earlier experiments with robot-staffed restaurants and facial-recognition technology, KFC China has teamed up with Huawei  the countrys largest smartphone company  to release a Colonel-themed smartphone in honor of the KFC's 30th anniversary in China.

"Both brands have witnessed the rise of China in these 30 years, and both embody the spirit of the times. Our collaboration is a homage to the era," said Steven Li, the senior vice president of KFC marketing for Yum China, in a statement to Campaign Asia-Pacific.

KFC RELEASES STEAMY ROMANCE NOVELLA IN HONOR OF MOTHER'S DAY

The phone, named the KFC Huawei 7 Plus, comes with red casing and features an outline of the Colonels face on the back. The numbers 1987 are also imprinted onto the case, to commemorate the year both KFC and Huawei made their debut in China, reports CNET.

In addition to its KFC-approved color scheme, CNBC reports that each KFC Huawei 7 Plus comes pre-loaded with the KFC app, as well as 10,000 K Dollars (or virtual credits) to spend on said app. KFC customers who purchase the phone will also have access to a jukebox function called K-music, which will allow them to choose the songs theyd like to hear over the sounds systems in 4000 KFC China locations.

"Music is part of the lifestyle of young consumers and they want music to be on-demand, explained Li.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

KFC Huawei 7 Plus phones are currently available for a limited time on the Chinese online retail site Tmall for 1099 Chinese yuan, or just under $162.

As mentioned above, this isnt the first time KFC China has tried incorporating new technology into its business model. In 2016, KFC China staffed one of their Shanghai locations with voice-activated robots. Earlier this year, the company also installed facial-recognition ordering kiosks at one of its Beijing locations, which would order customers a meal based on their facial expressions.
Turns out, Rocky Balboa was onto something with his famous liquid breakfast. Compared to their cooked counterparts, raw eggs are higher in certain important nutrients. But weve all heard warnings that eating uncooked liquid chicken is basically a death trap. So whos right?

COOKED VS RAW EGGS: THE NUTRIENTS

As with all practically everything nutrition-related, the answer isnt black and white. Its true that the cooking process destroys a tiny amount of some of the vitamins and minerals found in eggs. Raw eggs are slightly higher in B vitamins (like vitamin B6 and folate), vitamin E, the mineral choline, and the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin. But the difference is so small that its basically insignificant, says Alissa Rumsey, MS, RD, author of Three Steps to a Healthier You. Case in point: Youll get .085 micrograms of vitamin B6 and 146.9 milligrams of choline from a raw egg, versus .072 micrograms of B6 and 117 milligrams choline from a cooked one.

And when it comes to protein, cooked eggs come out as the clear winner. The body is only able to absorb about 50 percent of the protein from a raw egg, compared to 91 percent of the protein from a cooked egg, according to one Journal of Nutrition study. (Heat changes the structure of eggs protein molecules in a way that makes them more digestible.)

That means raw eggs would provide only 3g of digestible protein, compared to 6g of digestible protein from a cooked egg, Rumsey says.

But those arent the only reasons why cooked eggs might be a better choice. Raw eggs can harbor Salmonella, a type of bacteria thats responsible for around a million cases of food poisoning annually, according to CDC estimates. Of course, raw eggs dont account for all of those casesyou can also get Salmonella from poultry, meat, raw milk, cheese, or even contaminated fruits and vegetables. But they do make up a significant portion. Between 1985 and 2002, contaminated eggs accounted for 53 percent of all Salmonella cases reported to the CDC. Cooking the eggs eliminates that risk, Rumsey says. Thats why major health organizations like the CDC say you should steer clear of ones that are raw or lightly cooked.

SO, SHOULD YOU EVER GO RAW?

Ultimately, its up to you to decide whether the small vitamin and mineral boost is worth getting less protein and a possible case of food poisoning. Salmonella is most likely to strike in kids, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems. If youre a healthy adult, youre less likely to get [sick], especially if you take steps to minimize your risk, says Harriet Whiley, PhD, an environmental biologist who studies public health at Flinders University in Australia. However, theres always a small chance.

If you do opt to go raw, there are some steps you can take to minimize your risk for getting sick. Buying pasteurized eggswhich are heat-treated to kill bacteriais one option. But like cooking, the pasteurization process could cause your raw eggs to have slightly lower levels of some vitamins and minerals, Rumsey says. So it might not be the best choice if youre seeking out raw eggs specifically for the nutrition boost.

Whether you opt for pasteurized eggs or not, dont automatically assume that free-range ones are safer, either. Caged hens might be more susceptible to Salmonella infection due to stress, but the controlled setting is easier to keep clean, explains Whiley. Free-range hens are less susceptible to getting a stress-related infection, but findings show that they could be more likely to contract Salmonella from their environment. An egg may come in contact with contaminated feces, either from the chicken or from other animals carrying Salmonella, Whiley explains.

Also, avoid eggs that are cracked, especially if they arent pasteurizedcracked eggs up the odds that bacteria on the surface of the shell could get inside of the egg. Even if youre tempted to eat them, youre better off just throwing them away, says Whiley.

This article first appeared on Rodale's Organic Life.
A sheriffs deputy has come to the aid of a former co-workers 3-year-old son who is in dire need of a kidney. Angelina Castleberry, a former Riverside County Sheriffs Department deputy in Palm Desert, was told from the very beginning that one of her twins, Matthew, wasnt going to live, CBS Local 2 reported.

Matthew was diagnosed with posterior urethral valves and was born with pulmonary hypertension, bleeding in his brain, fluid in his brain, kidney failure and collapsed lungs. In just three years, he has undergone 14 surgeries, dialysis and three failed donor matches, the news outlet reported. But an unexpected phone call is set to change his future.

WOMAN DIES AFTER CONTRACTING RARE TICK-BORNE VIRUS

I called her and asked her if she was sitting down, Deputy Alicia Lopez, Castleberrys former coworker and longtime friend, told CBS Local 2. I didnt realize how rare this was until she explained it to me over the phone and I just stood there with my mouth open for a minute.

With the surgery set for later this month, Lopez has been going through prep for the past four months.

STUDENT CREATES 3-D PRINTED ARM FOR PROFESSOR'S SON

When you see his face, its kind of hard to say no, Lopez told CBS Local 2.
An 8-year-old boy is looking forward to doing things like bike riding and rock climbing after receiving a custom 3-D printed arm from a student at the college where his dad teaches. Garrett Clark, whose dad is a professor at the University of Texas Arlington, has already used his new arm to high-five his brother and arm wrestle his mom, CBS 11 reported.

Its all been made possible by Adam Williams, a recent UTA graduate who heard about Clarks story and felt moved to do something.

JUDGE OFFICIATES DAUGHTER'S WEDDING DAYS BEFORE CANCER DEATH

I love building things, Williams, who works with the universitys Fab Lab, told CBS 11. That alone makes me happy. But seeing that it actually helps someone is a warm, tingly feeling.

Williams, who is also working on flippers to help Clark swim, said the new arm improves upon the concept of a prosthetic that can flex and grip. The project cost about $100 for materials.

WOMAN DIES AFTER CONTRACTING RARE TICK-BORNE VIRUS

I feel like everyone should have an opportunity to at least have a childhood, Williams told CBS 11.

Clarks dad, Andrew, told the news outlet that hes excited to see his son gain more independence with his new arm. Video of Clark receiving his new arm was shared by the university in April.
The family of a Missouri woman who died from a rare tick-borne illness is speaking out about the dangers of the virus, which has only been confirmed in a handful of patients since it was discovered in 2014. Tamela Wilson, who died June 23 of complications stemming from Bourbon virus, had worked at Meramec State Park in Sullivan, and removed two ticks from her body a few weeks prior to falling ill, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The 58-year-old womans stepmother, Kathy Potter, said doctors didnt know to test for the disease, and diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection before sending her home with antibiotics.

EXACTLY WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET A TICK BITE

Every day wed go to the hospital and shed get worse, Geoff Potter, another relative, told Fox 6 Now. No improvement.

She was eventually admitted to Barnes-Jewish Hospital on May 31, and her blood was tested for other tick-borne illnesses before being sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which confirmed Bourbon virus, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch confirmed.

There currently is no medicine to treat Bourbon virus, and some patients may require hospitalization for some symptoms. According to the CDC, because there have only been a few cases of the virus identified, the medical community is still learning about potential symptoms, but patients may experience fever, tiredness, rash, headache, body aches, nausea and vomiting. They may also present low blood cell counts.

POWASSAN VIRUS: POTENTIALLY FATAL TICK DISEASE THAT CAN BE TRANSMITTED IN MINUTES REPORTED IN MAINE

Wilsons daughter, Amie May, said her mother developed secondary infections including pneumonia and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. It was also revealed that she had been receiving treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma since 2012.

You wouldnt want this for your worst enemy, Kathy Potter told Fox 6 News.

May said her mother was working full time as an assistant superintendent at the park, which was declared an area of interest by the state Department of Natural Resources a week after Wilsons death. The department was collecting ticks to test for the virus, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

I want people to know its out there, May told the news outlet. We have a virus that doesnt have a cure, and thats scary.

TICK-BORNE DISEASES ON THE RISE

Wilsons case marks the first reported in Missouri, the state has been dealing with a rash of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Ehrlichiosis cases, prompting health officials to warn about the dangers of tick bites.

This is an opportunity to say there are things we face every day that are much more of a problem, Dr. Steven Lawrence, an infectious disease specialist, told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I see patients who get sick and die from tick-borne infections that could be prevented if people treated it early and doctors recognized it.
In an early morning tweet, President Trump slammed Democrats for spreading Russian propaganda, namely the broadcast of the controversial British dossier. Trump levied the accusation in response to the media firestorm over his sons admission of meeting with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign.

Trump is correct to say that many of my fellow Democrats have used the document as proof of Trumps collusion with the Russian government. For example, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., assured Americans that the document was absolutely true while Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., announced that he hoped to talk to the British spy who wrote it.

But is Trump right to say that its propaganda? Or are Democrats correct in believing that its absolutely true?

Heres what we know for certain.

But the most important, undisputed assessment comes from our former commander in chief and his intelligence leadership. Their view? The dossier wasnt and isnt worth our consideration. Yet why then did our intelligence community brief the document at all?

-- The nations intelligence leadership briefed both Obama and Trump on the dossier but made no judgment as to whether it was reliable.

-- When the intel chiefs briefed Obama on the document, he offered a skeptical response: What does this have anything to do with anything?

-- Obama took this suspicious view despite knowing that an investigation was being or had already been conducted on the dossiers contents.

-- Once the press leaked the unvetted document, Trumps angry response led then-CIA Director John Brennan to clarify that the dossier wasnt intelligence community information and gave it no particular credence.

There are many rumors about the report, of course. Some question the author and the dubious sources that he used to draft the document. Still others highlight that the dossier was allegedly paid for by Republican and Democratic politicians opposed to the idea of a President Trump.

But the most important, undisputed assessment comes from our former commander in chief and his intelligence leadership.

Their view? The dossier wasnt and isnt worth our consideration.

Yet why then did our intelligence community brief the document at all?

Former intelligence chief James Clapper claimed that he did so to give policymakers the fullest possible picture of any matters that might affect national security. After all, he continued, Americas politicians may hear about it.



To former intelligence officials like me, his statement simply doesnt add up.

Spies are trained in several core competences, with one of them being how to properly vet raw information before it gets published or briefed as intelligence. This process is incredibly important because the finished product goes to policymakers who in turn use it to decide issues of war and peace.

People live or die based on the quality of finished intelligence.

So what vetting was done regarding the dossiers allegations when Clapper and Brennan made their statements? The facts show that there had been some degree of investigation, resulting in no judgment.

Meanwhile, President Obamas reaction  'What does this have anything to do with anything?  suggests that the proof was either inconclusive or nonexistent.

And yet the nations intelligence leadership thought it appropriate to brief an uncorroborated set of rumors that our current commander in chief was a secret Russian traitor.

Whats more, my former colleagues felt it appropriate to brief the alleged crimes to the alleged traitor himself  Donald Trump.

If this leaves you scratching your head, it should. Its as though a district attorney decided to brief a criminal on the case against him because he may hear about it.

Ridiculous.

Its obvious that Clappers statement was a lie.

So whats the truth? The most charitable explanation is that he and others were deeply concerned by Trumps connections to Russia and felt it their duty to expose it. After all, a guilty Trump would never have let the facts get a fair hearing. That seems to be the rationale given by former FBI Director James Comey, who admitted to leaking FBI evidence in hopes of forcing the selection of a special prosecutor.

This explanation takes on greater weight given the avalanche of unauthorized disclosures of classified information in the past six months targeting President Trump and his advisors. A smart observer will recognize that these leaks are not coincidental but instead part of an organized effort exposed by the New York Times.

That suggests another possible explanation: partisanship. My Democratic party knew that its legacy  and key legislative victories like ObamaCare  were both at grave risk with a Republican-controlled Congress and White House.

Finally, many Americans  Democrats and Republicans  simply found Trump to be a distasteful person. The infamous locker room comments were a breaking point for many voters, including spies and law enforcement officials.

These three explanations are much more honest appraisals for why Clapper, Brennan, and Comey briefed the dossier. In short, they knew that by briefing the document, they would give life to allegations that otherwise had no or little support.

They also knew that, when their efforts eventually leaked, the smear of the dossiers allegations would leave the new president hobbled. He would struggle to move his agenda forward.

And they knew that politicians like Rep. Waters and Rep. Schiff would cling to the dossier and spread its uncorroborated accusations. It doesnt take a spy to understand that Capitol Hill cant help itself. Politicians need to make headlines to raise their profile  and re-election cash.

In short, Trump is right that some Democrats have embraced the unfounded allegations of the British dossier. But theres a much bigger concern: Americas senior spies and law enforcement officers have used the dossier as a part of their own covert influence campaign.

Their reasons for doing so are irrelevant. No one  Democrat or Republican  should be allowed to subvert American democracy and rule of law. Thats most especially true of our intelligence and law enforcement communities. As Ive written previously, our spies and G-men cannot decide the nations political winners and losers.

Let me be clear: the investigation of President Trump and his associates must continue. Indeed, Donald Trump Jrs release of campaign emails should rightfully be of interest to Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller and his team. Trump Jr. was transparent of his behavior only after he got caught by the Times, adding suspicion to the fears of Trump / Russia collusion.

But as Mueller wrestles with Trumps behavior and that of his team, he must also address the actions of senior officials like Clapper, Brennan, and Comey. Their sin is no less grave than that which is alleged of Trump.
Charles Krauthammer was absolutely right last week on Tucker Carlson Tonight when he said President Trumps speech in Warsaw, Poland, on July 6 was one of the presidents best.

He was right that the speech was Reaganesque. He was right that it was a stark contrast to the Obama apology tour. And he was right that it was extremely significant.

However, despite all of this, I was left puzzled by Charless assertion that the Presidents words were the antithesis of his inaugural address, wherein Charles incorrectly claimed that President Trump had equated our allies to parasites.

Take, for example, these lines from the inaugural address:

We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world  but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first.

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.

We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones  and unite the civilized world against Radical Islamic Terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth.

These are not the words of an isolationist who views our long-time allies as parasites and wants America to go it alone. These are the words of a leader resetting, renewing, and reaffirming Americas role in the world.

The same values and principles expressed by President Trump in January were once again reflected during his remarks in Warsaw, in which he said, Americans know that a strong alliance of free, sovereign, and independent nations is the best defense for our freedoms and for our interests.

In fact, President Trumps Warsaw speech was consistent with his other major foreign policy speeches since taking office  his first address to the Joint Session of Congress in February and his speech at the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in May.

During his first address to the Joint Session of Congress, he said, our foreign policy calls for a direct, robust, and meaningful engagement with the world. It is American leadership based on vital security interests that we share with our allies all across the globe.

In this speech to Congress, which he made after his first month in office, President Trump said, we strongly support NATO, an alliance forged through the bonds of two world wars that dethroned fascism, and a Cold War, and defeated communism.

During his speech in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  which was an unprecedented, historic meeting between an American president and more than 50 leaders of Muslim-majority nations  the president actually referred back to his inaugural pledge to strengthen Americas oldest friendships, and to build new partnerships in pursuit of peace.

He said, our goal is a coalition of nations who share the aim of stamping out extremism and providing our children a hopeful future that does honor to God.  To the leaders and citizens of every country assembled here today, I want you to know that the United States is eager to form closer bonds of friendship, security, culture, and commerce.

Looking at all four speeches, the presidents foreign policy message  and actions  have been entirely consistent. President Trump has never ceased to promote American leadership, peace, and security through strong alliances  while also promoting the right of each nation to pursue its own path to prosperity.

As I discuss in my new #1 New York Times best-selling book, Understanding Trump, the key to promoting safety abroad is rebuilding bridges with our traditional allies and showing great strength to those who may be our enemies.

This is exactly what President Trump is doing.
Just to be clear: if an emissary of Borut Pahor, President of Slovenia, had emailed Hillary campaign apparatchik John Podesta last summer, offering scandalous dirt on Melania Trump, he would have turned down the meeting? Give me a break.

Politics is a dirty game, and the Clinton campaign engaged in numerous underhanded tricks to defeat not only Bernie Sanders, but also rival Donald Trump. Weeks before the election, videos surfaced showing Clinton campaign workers strategizing on how to infiltrate and disrupt Trump rallies. As the New York Times headline put it: Videos Put Democrats on Defensive About Dirty Tricks.

What Donald Trump Jr. did in accepting a meeting with someone supposedly linked to the Russian government was dirty, and stupid, but it is not evidence that his fathers campaign colluded with Russia to defeat Hillary Clinton. It is evidence, instead, that many involved with the election of Donald Trump were political neophytes, and that the campaign was operating on a shoestring. In a normal campaign, lawyers might have been contacted, red flags would have been issued, and underlings would have taken the meeting. That didnt happen, in part because there was almost no infrastructure to the Trump campaign.

That said, having a Russia-linked source offer up dirt on Hillary Clinton would have been irresistible. Let us remember what was going on at the time. Russia was indeed a big story during the 2016 election, thanks to Peter Schweizers book "Clinton Cash." In it, the prize-winning author detailed any number of scandalous situations in which Hillary and Bill Clinton appear to have done favors for political or business allies in exchange for substantial gifts to the Clinton Foundation. Spurred by that best-seller, The Wall Street Journal and others conducted their own investigations into the foundation. The Journal reckoned that at least 60 companies that lobbied the State Department during [Clintons] tenure donated a total of more than $26 million to the Clinton Foundation.

Outrage over the Clinton Foundation and about Hillarys evident pay to play proclivities was political fodder for Republicans throughout last year, and rightly so. Money actually changed hands between Russian entities and the Clintons, and favors were done.

Among the most shocking of Schweizers charges was that Hillary helped win approval for Russias state nuclear agency (in other words, a government entity  directed by President Vladimir Putin) to buy a controlling interest in Uranium One, one of Americas largest uranium mines, in exchange for $2.35 million in donations to the Clinton Foundation. The payments were not made public on the Clinton Foundation website, as was required by an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama administration. Instead, the funds flowed through a Canadian offshoot, the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, and therefore escaped notice. (Donations to the Canadian affiliate were included in the White House pact, but ignored by Clinton.)

Mrs. Clinton also forgot to mention the donations to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

At roughly the same time, a Russian investment bank staffed with numerous ex-KGB types paid Bill Clinton a $500,000 speaking fee, causing a New Yorker writer to ask, Why was Bill Clinton taking any money from a bank linked to the Kremlin while his wife was secretary of state? Does this resonate? Will Special Counsel Robert Mueller ask the same question? He certainly should.

The uranium deal was important, in that it concerned a large stock of a U.S. strategic asset. Also, the Kremlin had made expanding its access to uranium globally a high priority because it was hard at work building nuclear power plants such as the Bushehr facilities in Iran and similar projects in North Korea and Venezuela. In other words, the Uranium One purchase significantly boosted Russias business and diplomatic prospects. As a result, the deal raised national security concerns; numerous Congressmen had petitioned to block the purchase, which nonetheless took place.

Outrage over the Clinton Foundation and about Hillarys evident pay to play proclivities was political fodder for Republicans throughout last year, and rightly so. Money actually changed hands between Russian entities and the Clintons, and favors were done. In that context, Donald Trump Jr. was approached by a Russian source who promised incriminating evidence about Hillary. Who wouldnt jump at the chance?

There are important challenges facing our country. You wouldnt know it from following the mainstream media, caught up as they are in faux scandals and the ever-lasting Russia story. Democrats and their allies in the press cannot and will not move on from the investigations into Trumps presumed ties to the Kremlin, even if it hurts the country. To do so would legitimatize the Trump presidency, and focus voters attentions on the popular White House agenda  health care reform, lower taxes, infrastructure spending, protected borders, a stronger military and a roll-back of decades of suffocating red tape.

Democrats cannot afford that. They especially cannot afford to have Americans looking for their answers to our challenges  they dont have any. Which is why Donald Trump, and not Hillary Clinton, is president.
Democrats and their handmaidens in the mainstream media are in hysterics over the meeting Donald Trump Jr. had with a shady Russian lawyer, but they have completely ignored a real example of actual election interference.

Back in January, Politico, hardly members of the right-wing conspiracy, published an explosive report headlined "Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump backfire." The report laid out how a Democratic National Committee operative worked with Ukrainian government officials to help Hillary Clinton and damage Donald Trump.

The operative, who according to Politico used to work at the Clinton White House, spearheaded the entire effort, meeting with Ukrainian officials at the Ukrainian embassy in Washington to discuss ways to go after former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

"She occasionally shared her findings with officials from the DNC and Clinton's campaign, the bombshell story stated.

To top it off, the operative claimed she gave guidance and off-the-record information to, a lot of journalists who were writing about Manafort and Donald Trump's potential ties to Russia."

What's worse, Trump Jr.s meeting which he says yielded no useful information, or Team Clinton working with the Ukrainian government? And better yet, why didn't news organizations extensively report on Ukrainian collusion? Politico did all the heavy lifting. All the other outlets had to do was follow up. They did not.

Was it because many of the so-called top news organizations in this country were exposed before the election as having colluded with the Clinton campaign? And meddling in foreign elections is such a big deal, why didn't the mainstream media report that a Congressional investigation found that in 2014 the Obama State Department funded an effort to defeat our ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?

Do members of this corrupt media even know about these stories? And since the press is so interested in prosecuting people and accusing them of crimes, what about real crimes the media so often ignores?

We know Hillary Clinton mishandled and destroyed top secret special access program classified government information. The press, and former FBI Director James Comey, helped her explain that one away.

But what about a real Russian collusion conspiracy? That's the Uranium One deal. As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton signed off on giving up to 20 percent of America's uranium to Vladimir Putin and the Russians. And all those people in the deal? Well, they kicked back over $100 million to the Clinton Foundation. At the same time, Bill Clinton doubled his speaking fees in Moscow.

Clear crimes such as these, as well as constant illegal leaks by the Deep State that endanger our security, unmasking for political reasons of people such as Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and Comeys own leaks of classified material, dont seem to get more than a yawn from the mainstream media.

The press has zero credibility left. They have been caught time and time again spreading fake news stories and carrying out personal attacks against the president, against his family and anybody that dares to be associated with the president.

We have an information crisis, and it is caused by overpaid, lazy, rigid left-wing ideologues who masquerade as journalists.

Adapted from Sean Hannity's monologue on "Hannity," July 11, 2017
Even by U.N. standards, last weeks vote at UNESCOs World Heritage Committee meeting in Krakow, Poland, was diplomatic theater at its most absurd.

With civil war, ethnic and religious cleansing and ISIS terrorism blowing Muslim and Christian sites to smithereens across Iraq and Syria, UNESCO chose to focus instead on the nonexistent threat of Israeli control over the Cave of Patriarchs. In a move that would have left George Orwell scratching his head, the committee voted to erase Jewish history, demean the Bible and register the Old City of Hebron and the Cave of Patriarchs to the nonexistent State of Palestine.

In a semi-secret ballot, 12 countries voted in favor, three voted against and six abstained.

The Cave of the Patriarchs, whose purchase by Abraham is recorded in the Bible, is considered to be Judaisms second holiest site and Islams fourth.

Understandably, Israelis and Jews around the world reacted with outrage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu donned a yarmulke to read the passage in Genesis that details our Patriarch Abrahams negotiations and payment for the Cave where he would soon bury his beloved Sarah. All other patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people (except for Rachel, who was buried in nearby Bethlehem) were buried on this hallowed site.

But instead of safeguarding a 3,500-year-old legacy, UNESCO desecrated and endangered Maarat Hamachpelah (the Hebrew term for the site). The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, denounced the move as an affront to history.

Another outrage came when the German ambassador decided to join with the Cuban ambassador in requesting a moment of silence for Palestinian victims after a moment of silence for the six million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. An incensed Israeli ambassador confronted the German ambassador directly, demanding to know if the diplomat was equating Anne Frank to Palestinian youngsters who stabbed innocent Israeli civilians. If he was expecting an apology, it never came.

Could it get any worse?

Actually, yes. Much worse.

Witnessing the vote in Poland was Tayseer Abu Sneineh, the recently elected mayor of Hebron, the city with the largest population controlled by the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank. Abu Sneineh was Fatahs local candidate this year, but he had a different title back in May of 1980. He was part of a terrorist cell that murdered six Israeli yeshiva students and wounded 16 others as they danced and prayed their way from Beit Hadassah on a Sabbath Eve. The youngsters were ambushed as they approached the very same Cave of the Patriarchs.

All four attackers, including Abu Sneineh, received life sentences in Israel. They were released in prisoner exchange deals in the 1980s.

In announcing Abu Sneinehs candidacy, Fatah  the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority (PA)  described the terror attack as one of the most important battles and acts of bravery of the Fatah Movement and one of the most courageous self-sacrifice operations.  It praised the killers as heroes and men of delicate emotions. Abu Sneineh joined the PA in the 1990s, serving in the ministry entrusted with guarding holy places.

And now the UNESCO vote tells Palestinians and Israelis alike: Terrorism from ISIS, Al Qaeda, Al Shabab, Taliban, is to be denounced. Terrorism from Palestinians against Israelis will be rewarded.

Without a doubt, mass murderer Abu Sneineh must feel vindicated. After his election, he was asked if he felt remorse for the 1980 killings: All of us in Fatah fought for our national rights, and international law allows us to resist the occupation by all means," he declared.

With the Hebron victory in his back pocket, PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who is in the eleventh year of his four-year term, rushed to Cairo to counter diplomatic moves by terrorist Hamas. During his visit with the head of the Arab League, he asserted he supported anti-terrorist moves and backed a two-state solution.

And why shouldnt Abbas continue his lies and doublespeak? The international community doesnt demand transparency for how the PA spends its more than $4-billion-a-year budget or accountability for its deeds, which include bestowing hero status upon terrorists like Abu Sneineh.

Indeed, Abbas bristles at demands, now enshrined in bills pending in the U.S. Congress and Israels Knesset, that he stop rewarding terrorists and their families based on the number of Jews they kill.

The European Union wont stop them. Human rights NGOs, many churches and peace activists give a wink and a nod to Palestinian terrorism. UNESCO has gone even further, rewarding Palestinian lies, murders and diplomatic deceit.

The only thing that will change the way the PA behaves will be if the global funders demand it.

That leaves America standing alone with the clout to demand change in Palestinian behavior. Without such change, no Israeli government - Right, Center or Left - can ever reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.
A coalition of U.S. states, cities, businesses and colleges is committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as prescribed under the so-called Paris climate agreement, even after President Trump deemed the pact unfair and called for America to withdraw.

California Gov. Jerry Brown and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched Americas Pledge on Wednesday, promising to stand by the Paris pact. The coalition aims to significantly reduce emissions at a time of limited federal leadership, according to a press release.

Reducing emissions is good for the economy and good for public health, Bloomberg said. The American government may have pulled out of the Paris Agreement, but American society remains committed to it  and we will redouble our efforts to achieve its goals.

While backed by congressional Republicans, the U.S. withdrawal has been met with criticism on the world stage. At the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany last Saturday, the European Union expressed support for the Paris agreement and criticized the U.S. for backing out  a move referred to as a regrettable by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Brown argues that Americas Pledge is representative of the Americans who want to move forward on emissions reduction.

Today were sending a clear message to the world that Americas states, cities and businesses are moving forward with our countrys commitments under the Paris Agreement  with or without Washington, Brown said.

The coalition now includes 224 cities and counties, nine states, 314 colleges, and over 1,600 businesses and investors.
Two Democratic congressmen introduced an article of impeachment on Wednesday against President Trump, accusing him of obstruction of justice over his firing of former FBI Director James Comey.

The resolution says Trump prevented, obstructed and impeded the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn by threatening and then terminating Comey.

We now begin the effort to force the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on obstruction of justice and Russian interference in our election, said California Rep. Brad Sherman, who sponsored the resolution. Texas Rep. Al Green is a co-sponsor.

The resolution had been expected, despite warnings from others in the Democratic Party that talk about "impeachment" is not helpful.

The Republican-led House is highly unlikely to move on the measure either.

White House deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed the effort during Wednesdays press briefing.

I think that is utterly and completely ridiculous and a political game at its worst, she said.

The resolution itself calls for Trump to be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. It says Trumps conduct warrants impeachment and trial and removal from office.

In all of this, Donald John Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as president and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States, it states.

Announcing his filing, Sherman cited Donald Trump Jr.s recently released emails pertaining to his meeting last summer with a Russian lawyer thought to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Recent disclosures by Donald Trump Jr. indicate that Trumps campaign was eager to receive assistance from Russia, Sherman said.

It now seems likely that the president had something to hide when he tried to curtail the investigation of national security adviser Michael Flynn and the wider Russian probe.

It takes a majority of House members to pass an article of impeachment. Even if the GOP-led House were to pass impeachment articles, the Senate would then vote to acquit or convict.

But Sherman, in his statement, already was looking ahead to the prospect of Vice President Pence assuming the nation's highest office.

I served with Mike Pence in Congress for twelve years and I disagree with him on just about everything, Sherman said. I never dreamed I would author a measure that would put him in the White House.

Some on the left have criticized those in their own party for focusing on such efforts.

KUCINICH RIPS DEMS FOR PROPOSAL TO EXAMINE TRUMPS MENTAL FITNESS

Last week, former Ohio Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich dinged Democrats pushing a bill to examine Trumps mental and physical fitness for office.

I think its destroying the party as an effective opposition, Kucinich said.
Donald Trump Jr. said he was being fully transparent yesterday by releasing the emails that led to his meeting with a Russian lawyer that has caused a media uproar.

It was not a pretty picture, and it confirmed the latest New York Times story on the controversy.

The move temporarily put Don Jr. back in control of the narrative rather than playing catchup after each newspaper story. The president applauded his transparency in a terse statement. But that transparency wasnt entirely voluntary: the Times says he posted the emails after being told that the paper was about to publish them.

The 2016 meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya, which apparently led nowhere, may indeed turn out to be a blip. But Trump supporters who are denouncing it as fake news are missing the point. Most of what we now know about the matternow including the emails--comes from the presidents son.

And while theres plenty of room to debate whether this is a nothing-burger, as Reince Preibus put it, some on the right would be screaming if Chelsea Clinton had had taken such a meeting with a Russian lawyer supposedly offering dirt on Trump. Politics is built on selective outrage.

I get the Russia fatigue after months of coverage with little payoff, but Don Jr., who has since hired a criminal lawyer, is obviously taking it seriously. Thats why he appeared with Sean Hannity last night.

That email was from Rob Goldstone, a British PR guy and ex-tabloid reporter who does business with Russia and helped broker the meeting (adding to the colorful characters in this saga).

Goldstone said the Crown prosecutor of Russia had met with a Russian real estate magnate who was the father of one of his clients, pop star Emil Agalarov. The email said the prosecutor offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.

Goldstone added: This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump.

Thats critical because Trump Jr. was explicitly told that the Putin government was behind this.

His quick reply is making headlines everywhere: If its what you say I love it especially later in the summer.

Goldstone later said the meeting would be with a Russian government attorney, which Veselnitskaya is not, but she is close to Russias prosecutor general, according to the Times.

Veselnitskaya told NBC News she doesnt know why Trump Jr. believed she was bringing oppo research on Hillary: Its quite possible that maybe they were looking for such information. They wanted it so badly.

Before posting the emails, Don Jr. tweeted this, in a tone reminiscent of his father: Media & Dems are extremely invested in the Russia story. If this nonsense meeting is all they have after a yr, I understand the desperation!

So what are we to make of thisand the partisan reaction on both sides?

National Reviews Jonah Goldberg finds the whole feeding frenzy [over Russia] unappealing. The Democrats are clearly in full partisan mode, framing every inconvenient, benign, or even potentially exculpatory detail as a smoking gun.

At the same time, he says, what I just dont understand is how conservatives can mock, scoff at, and ridicule the idea there might be some legs to this story when Donald Trump does everything he can to make it look like there might be a there there.

The Weekly Standard ties the controversy to the Senates 98-2 vote turning U.S. sanctions against Moscow into law:

Whether the media has unfairly targeted the president and his advisers over their dealings with Russian officials is now beside the point. By a series of unforced errorsomissions of financial dealings with Russian companies, unaccountably faulty memories on meetings with Kremlin-connected operativesthe Trump team has lost all credibility on the question of Russia.

My own take is that two things are not mutually exclusive. The coverage of the Russian collusion question has generally been overheated, and this particular meeting, touted as providing information from the Russian government, is important. Just how important depends on whether prosecutors and the press find that it fits into a larger pattern.
A conservative congressman criticized Donald Trumps presidential campaign Wednesday morning following the news that the presidents son took a controversial meeting with a Russian lawyer last year.

Donald Trump Jr. said he met with the lawyer in June 2016 who he thought had damaging information about Trumps opponent, Hillary Clinton. That information was part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump, according to emails pertaining to the meeting that Trump Jr. publicly released.

Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., excoriated the emails on Twitter early Wednesday morning, calling the implications disturbing and serious.

The implications of the email thread are serious [and] disturbing, Amash tweeted. We deserve answers, not an ever-changing story. If theres more, tell us now.

Campaigns dont operate this way. Even a political novice would worry about violating campaign finance laws given the context of the emails, Amash said in an additional tweet.

HEADS WILL ROLL AFTER DONALD TRUMP JR. LEAKS, COREY LEWANDOWSKI SAYS

When asked by a Twitter user about his feelings toward Clinton, Amash said he was also disturbed about nearly everything she did.

Multiple lawmakers raised the alarm about Trump Jr.s meeting  especially after he published the emails that set up the meeting.

Clintons former running mate Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Trump Jr. turned the probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin in the 2016 presidential election into a treason investigation.

TRUMP JR.: I WOULD HAVE DONE THINGS DIFFERENTLY

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, have both called for Trump Jr. to appear before the Senate intelligence committee.

Trump Jr. said he would be "happy to work with the committee to pass on" what he knows.

Trump Jr. has also said that the lawyer didnt have any information on Clinton, but instead wished to discuss a 2012 law that imposes sanctions on certain Russian individuals.

Trump, too, took to Twitter Wednesday morning as he defended his son.

"My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent," the president tweeted, referencing his son's interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. "This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!"
Donald Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer in July 2016 after learning she had damaging information about Hillary Clinton, the Democratic opponent of now-President Trump.

But Trump Jr. and other key figures involved in the meeting downplayed the gathering when questioned by Senate investigators.

The meeting provided no meaningful information and turned out to be not about what was represented, Trump Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to recently released transcripts. He contended that the meeting with lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya was actually regarding a Russian adoption prohibition.

So what was this meeting about?

Before Trump Jr. was set to meet with the Russian lawyer as his father campaigned for the presidency, Trump Jr. was told Veselnitskayas potentially damning information about Clinton was from the Kremlin, according to emails he released.

Trump Jr. has maintained that Veselnitskaya did not have any information to share and instead wanted to discuss other matters, such as the Magnitsky Act which enacts sanctions on certain Russian officials as punishment for human rights violations.

After pleasantries were exchanged, the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms. Clinton, Trump Jr. said in a statement.

Her statements were vague, ambiguous and made no sense. No details or supporting information was provided or even offered, Trump Jr. continued

Was anyone else at the meeting?

Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort also attended the meeting, along with a translator.

Rob Goldstone, a music publicist who set up the meeting, was also in attendance, as well as Rinat Akhmetshin, a prominent Russian-American lobbyist, Ike Kaveladze, a business associate of a Moscow-based developer and a translator.

A spokesperson for Trumps outside legal team said Trump was not aware of and did not attend the meeting. Trump Jr. said he wouldnt have wasted his time by telling him about the meeting.

Didnt Trump Jr. publish the emails about the meeting?

Trump Jr. posted screenshots of multiple emails purportedly from Goldstone.

In a June 3, 2016 email, Goldstone said he was asked to contact you with something very interesting.

The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton] and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father, Goldstone said.

He added that the information was very high level and sensitive but was part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump.

Trump Jr. responded in less than 20 minutes saying that he wanted to check out the information first, but if its what you say I love it especially later in summer.

In another email, Goldstone referred to Veselnitskaya as the Russian government attorney.

So did Trump Jr. break the law?

As Trump Jr. does not have a position in his fathers administration, he is not required to disclose foreign contacts, according to The Associated Press.

Foreign nationals are prohibited from providing "anything of value" to campaigns, and that same law also bars solicitation of such assistance. The law typically applies to monetary campaign contributions, but courts could consider information such as opposition research to be something of value.

Trump Jr. told the Senate committee that if he had been given any information about Clinton, he would have consulted with counsel on what to do with it.

Bradley A. Smith, a former Bill Clinton-appointed Republican Federal Election Commission member, said based on what's known about the meeting, Trump Jr.'s actions are unlikely to be considered illegal solicitation.

"It's not illegal to meet with someone to find out what they have to offer," Smith said.

But Larry Noble, a former general counsel at the FEC, said the situation "raises all sorts of red flags."

"You do not want your campaign to be involved with foreign nationals, period," said Noble.

Fox News Benjamin Brown, Brooke Singman, Bree Tracey and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Donald Trump Jr. acknowledged in an exclusive interview with Fox News' "Hannity" Tuesday night that he "probably would have done things a little differently" when he met with a Russian attorney during his fathers presidential campaign in June 2016.

"This [was] pre-Russia fever. This [was] pre-Russia mania," Trump Jr. told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "I dont think my sirens went [off] or my antenna went up at this time because it wasnt the issue that its been made out to be over the last nine months, ten months."

However, the presidents eldest son also described the meeting as "a nothing," adding, "I wouldnt have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame."

The interview constituted the first public statement by Donald Trump Jr. since he posted what he called "the entire email chain" of his conversations with music publicist Rob Goldstone setting up the June 2016 meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya on Twitter.

In one of the messages, Goldstone told Trump Jr. that Russian officials were offering "some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton]" as part of "Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump."

Trump Jr.s response email read, in part, "if its what you say I love it."

"I had been reading about scandals that people were probably underreporting for a long time, so maybe it was something that had to do with one of those things," Trump Jr. told Hannity when asked about his reaction to Goldstones email. "I didnt know if there was any credibility, I didnt know if there was anything behind it, I cant vouch for the information. Someone sent me an email. I cant help what someone sends me. I read it, I responded accordingly."

Trump Jr. posted the messages in the wake of a series of New York Times reports that revealed more details of the meeting with Veselnitskaya, which was also attended by Paul Manafort, Trumps then-campaign manager, and Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser.

"For me this was opposition research," Trump Jr. said. "They had something, you know, maybe concrete evidence to all the stories Id been hearing about  so I think I wanted to hear it out. But really it went nowhere and it was apparent that wasnt what the meeting was about."

Trump Jr. said that Goldstone apologized to him for wasting his time after the meeting, which lasted approximately 20 minutes.

"I think what happened [is] he sort of goosed up, he built up, there was some puffery to the email, perhaps to get the meeting, to make it happen," Trump Jr. said. "In the end, there was probably some bait-and-switch about what it was really supposed to be about."

The Times claimed that Trump Jr. tweeted images of the emails after "he was told NYT was about to publish the contents of the emails."

Veselnitskaya, who Trump Jr. denied knowing prior to the meeting, told NBC News Tuesday morning that she did not have "any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton," adding, "It was never my intention to have that."

When Trump Jr. was asked for his reaction to Veselnitskaya's interview, he said he was "a little taken aback by her talking about me pressing for the information, but as you can see from the emails, the pretext of the meeting was, 'Hey, we have information.'"

The emails between Trump Jr. and Goldstone contain no evidence that the presidents son was informed of the larger alleged Russian effort to meddle in the U.S. presidential election.

On Tuesday afternoon, President Trump issued a statement supporting his sons decision to make the email chain public, calling Trump Jr. "a high-quality person" and adding "I applaud his transparency." The presidents outside legal counsel has repeatedly denied that the elder Trump knew about or attended the meeting.

In his interview Tuesday evening, Trump Jr. also denied telling his father about the Veselnitskaya meeting, saying, "There was nothing to tell."

"I think in the grand scheme of the hysteria thats been talked about over the last eight, nine, ten months with Russia, things are probably different than they were 13 months ago," Trump Jr. concluded. "In retrospect, I know more now, but hindsights always 20-20."
The Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. in a controversial June 2016 sit-down had been denied a visa to the enter the United States months before the infamous encounter  and a powerful senator wants to find out how she ended up in America anyway.

She shouldnt have been in the country, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday.

The senior lawmaker is raising questions about how Natalia Veselnitskaya was able to gain access to the U.S. for a June 9 meeting with Trump Jr., then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and senior aide and President Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The brief session was set up by publicist Rob Goldstone, who promised information that would incriminate Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate. Goldstone had said the dirt was part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump -- a detail that has fueled Trump critics' claims of collusion with Moscow last year, though the lawyer apparently did not have such damaging information.

Asked Wednesday if the meeting may have been a setup by opponents of Trump  perhaps even then-President Barack Obama  Grassley demurred.

Theres no way I know that and I shouldnt comment on things you dont know, he said.

The Russian lawyer would have been granted entry under the Obama administration, and Grassley said he's sent inquiries to the relevant agencies.

I think the lady Russian lawyer that was there in that meeting, Ive written to [The State Department and Department of Homeland Security] to find out what she was doing in the country when presumably either her visa or parole expired, Grassley said on Fox & Friends.

Grassley wrote the departments saying Veselnitskaya had been granted parole to enter the U.S. sometime in 2015, but her parole expired in January 2016, months before the Trump Jr. meeting. Grassley noted on Fox & Friends that Veselnitskayas movements  approved or otherwise  in the U.S. occurred during the Obama administrations watch.

And if thered been enforcement of the immigration laws she wouldnt have been in the country, he said. The other thing, if she was representing a foreign governmentshe wasnt registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as well.

He added, We do have a responsibility to congressional oversight to get to the bottom of it.
President Trumps former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski predicted Wednesday that the leakers driving coverage of Donald Trump Jr.s meeting last year with a Russian lawyer will be fired, as the White House reportedly scrambles to find the source or sources.

Anybody, and I mean anybody who is not on the presidents agenda that works in this administration should absolutely be removed immediately, Lewandowski told Fox & Friends on Wednesday morning.

I dont know who the leaker is but let me tell you this, if it were up to me, and somebody was speaking to the media [and leaking information detrimental to Trump], I would fire them on the spot, and Donald Trump will do the same, he added.

Numerous accounts in the wake of the Trump Jr. revelations have described the White House as racked by internal drama and suspicion. In seeming reference to such stories, the president tweeted Wednesday morning: Remember, when you hear the words sources say from the Fake Media, often times those sources are made up and do not exist.

TRUMP TWEETS DEFENSE OF JR.

But there is little question the presidents inner circle would like to get to the bottom of the leaks.

The latest  and perhaps most serious  Russia-related controversy started when The New York Times began reporting on a meeting Donald Trump Jr., then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner had last summer with a Russian lawyer who apparently offered to provide dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr. on Tuesday ultimately published the emails he exchanged with the contact who set up the meeting -- music publicist Rob Goldstone. Those emails describe the offer of incriminating information on Clinton as part of "Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump."

Trump Jr. responded that, "if its what you say I love it 

According to the presidents eldest son, such information was never provided. Donald Trump Jr. acknowledged in an exclusive interview with Fox News' "Hannity" Tuesday night that he "probably would have done things a little differently."

TRUMP JR.: I WOULD HAVE DONE THINGS DIFFERENTLY

"This [was] pre-Russia fever. This [was] pre-Russia mania," Trump Jr. told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "I dont think my sirens went [off] or my antenna went up at this time because it wasnt the issue that its been made out to be over the last nine months, ten months."

However, the presidents eldest son also described the meeting as "a nothing," adding, "I wouldnt have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame."

Axios reports theres considerable anger on the Trump team over who leaked the information to the Times in the first place.

Speculation is widespread over who may have provided the material and had a motive to do so. An earlier Times article described the sourcing as three advisers to the White House briefed on the meeting and two others with knowledge of it.

According to the Times, Trump Jr. posted his emails on Twitter only after being told the newspaper was about to publish their contents.

As the Kremlin also reportedly is denying reaching out to a Moscow property developer to set up the meeting in question, Lewandowski told Fox News that the session was just a courtesy meeting.

Further, Lewandowski  who was still campaign manager at the time  said he knew nothing about the meeting because it was a nothing meeting.

I think what this is is a giant distraction for the mainstream media about a story about nothing, and that is prohibiting the president from getting his agenda done, he said.

Asked about the possibility of formally returning to the presidents team, Lewandowski said he likes his outside work now but would not rule out helping the president if he wants.

While Lewandowski and other Trump allies have sought to downplay the latest controversy, the contents of the emails have fueled bipartisan concerns about Trump associates contacts with Russia last year. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have indicated theyll want to hear testimony from Trump Jr.

Trump defended his son on Twitter Wednesday morning.

My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad! he wrote.
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Wednesday that the agency fully supports tax reform efforts, acknowledging the existing U.S. tax code is such a mess that even he struggles to fill out his federal returns.

Nobodys more supportive of tax simplification than the IRS.  The tax code is a mess. It is difficult for the IRS commissioner to fill out his tax returns, Koskinen, who has a Yale law degree, told Fox News at a Washington, D.C., conference on improving government services.

Koskinen, who became commissioner in 2013 under then-President Barack Obama, made clear the agency doesnt meddle in policy but said he started talking with the new administration about tax reform just weeks after then-candidate Donald Trump was elected and the IRS continues to offer help.

One of the questions was, If major tax reform simplification was on the table, would there be anybody in the IRS opposed to that? I was quick to respond, after having talked to employees, that nobody is more supportive of tax simplification than the IRS, he said.

Koskinen said he started soliciting suggestions from employees last year about ways to simplify and streamline the code and called such reform one of our highest priorities.

Tax reform was a big part of Trumps winning campaign and one of his first-100-days promises.

In mid-April, with the 100-day marker nearing, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the tax code would be simplified to the extent that the average American should be able to do his taxes on a large post card.

He and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn followed the announcement two days later with more specifics -- most notably plans to double the standard deduction for most Americans and reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to three: 10, 25 and 35 percent.

Mnuchin called the proposed changes the biggest tax cut and the largest tax reform in the history of our country.

But with the 100-day marker in the rearview, the leaders of the GOP-controlled House -- where tax and other money-related bills start -- have yet to craft a reform bill.

White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short said Monday that the West Wing wants a tax reform draft locked in place before the August recess. However, the administration has also said it wont push for the bill to be introduced in the House until the chambers Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee agree on the specifics.

Most people want to be compliant, but when you make it very difficult for them  to work through the various nooks and crannies, it doesn't seem, to me, to be in the best interest of the taxpayer or government, Koskinen said Wednesday at the event, organized in part by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service.

Koskinen also said hes made very clear to the White House, Treasury Department and Congress that the IRS is involved in tax administration, not tax policy. However, he and the entire agency are eager to implement changes and try to make them as effective and easily understandable as possible.

If you have an idea, oftentimes you can implement it in a way that is very complicated, he said. There can be more straight-forward or simpler ways to do it.
In a series of emails released Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. admitted meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya on June 9, 2016, purportedly to discuss dirt on presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The email string carried the subject line, Russia  Clinton  private and confidential.

Also attending the meeting with Trump Jr., who has no official role in his fathers administration, were President Trump's then-campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and adviser Jared Kushner.

Trump Jr. initially responded sarcastically to a series of stories about the meeting that appeared in the New York Times, tweeting Monday, Obviously I'm the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear info about an opponent... went nowhere but had to listen.

On Tuesday he acknowledged on Fox News Channels Hannity that, looking back, he probably would have done things a little differently. He also described the meeting as not memorable, and literally just a wasted 20 minutes.

While it is not known who might have leaked details about the meeting to the Times, the Trump White House, which values loyalty, is said to be angry and conjecture abounds.

Heres a look at the key figures in the latest episode to haunt the administration:

Rob Goldstone

This British publicist, an unexpected player, stands at the center of the controversy, having brokered the meeting between Trump Jr. and Veselnitskaya. Goldstone appears to have initiated the conversation, according to what Trump Jr. called the full email exchange, which he released on Twitter.

In the emails, Goldstone claims he has contacts who can provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.

Goldstone refers in the emails to very high level and sensitive information, claiming the material is part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump.

Natalia Veselnitskaya

In arranging the meeting with Trump Jr., Goldstone identified the other participant, presumably Veselnitskaya, as the Russian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow for this Thursday.

In an interview with NBC, however, Veselnitskaya denied any connection to the Russian government. She also contended that she had no damaging information on Clinton, seemingly contradicting claims made in the email exchanges between Goldstone and Trump Jr.

I never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton. It was never my intention to have that, Veselnitskaya told NBC.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that Veselnitskaya is not linked to the Russian government. We have already said we are absolutely unaware of this story, we have never been in contact with this lawyer, he said. She has nothing to do whatsoever with us."

But the denials have not stopped reports speculating that Veselnitskaya is actually an insider with close ties to Putin.

Paul Manafort

The emails show that Trump Jr. forwarded the messages with Veselnitskaya both to Manafort  Trumps campaign manager at the time -- and Kushner the day before the meeting.

According to Politico, a source close to Manafort said the former Trump insider hadnt read all the way to the bottom of the email exchanges on his phone and that he didnt even know who he was meeting with when he attended the 20- to 30-minute session.

On Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), whose panel is investigating Trump links to Russia, said he would subpoena Manafort, if necessary, regarding his presence at the June 2016 meeting.

Jared Kushner

Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and the only attendee of June 2016 meeting who formally serves in the Trump administration, has drawn criticism for his involvement. Veselnitskaya claimed that Kushner stayed in the meeting for seven to 10 minutes.

Kushner has come under fire in the past, for not fully disclosing his meetings with foreign government officials properly on a required government security clearance form called SF-86.

Referring to the form, Kushners lawyer, Jamie Gorelick, said in a statement, "Mr. Kushner has submitted additional updates and included, out of an abundance of caution, this meeting with a Russian person, which he briefly attended at the request of his brother-in-law, Donald Trump Jr. As Mr. Kushner has consistently stated, he is eager to cooperate and share what he knows.

Democrats have been quick to call for Kushners resignation, and removal of his security clearance.

Vice President Mike Pence

Marc Lotter, press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, issued a statement Tuesday, saying, The vice president was not aware of the meeting.

Pence is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket, the statement said. Pence was announced as Trumps pick for vice president via Twitter on July 16, 2016, joining the campaign a month after Trump Jr.s meeting with Veselnitskaya.

Amid swirling speculation that Pence is distancing himself from the Trump Jr. Scandal, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked Tuesday about the relationship between Pence and President Trump.

There is absolutely no distance between the president and the vice president, she responded.

President Donald Trump

Trump Jr. has insisted he never informed his father about the Veselnitskaya meeting, telling Sean Hannity, there was nothing to tell.

President Trump predictably defended his son, calling him a high-quality person, and applauding Trump Jr.s transparency in releasing the email chain.

Whodunnit?

The question remains: Who might have alerted the New York Times to the existence of this meeting, and the emails?

Guesses from Twitter users range from the Russians, to White House strategist Steve Bannon, to Pence.

Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone weighed in, telling BuzzFeed that his money is on former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Donny was a vocal critic of Corey, Stone told the website. He walked him towards the exits, and fits the broad definition of a White House adviser. Im not unbiased, but hed be my choice.

Lewandowski told Fox & Friends on Wednesday, I dont know who the leaker is, but let me tell you this: If it were up to me, and somebody was speaking to the media, I would fire them on the spot -- and Donald Trump will do the same.

Stone also posited that intelligence sources could be to blame for the leaks.
A Maine state lawmaker made his opinion of President Trump crystal clear in a social media post Tuesday, calling him a "joke," a "rapist" and a crude anatomical term before wrapping up his screed with what could be interpreted as a death threat.

In a Facebook exchange, State Rep. Scott Hamann posted a rambling diatribe using profanity and explicit language to refer to Trump and his supporters.

"Trump is a half term president, at most, especially if I ever get within 10 feet of that p*ssy," Hamann wrote on Facebook.

"Trump is a half term president, at most, especially if I ever get within 10 feet of that p*ssy,"  Maine Rep. Scott Hamann

Another Facebook user, who did not respond to Fox News request for comment, replied incredulously to the implicit threat.

Scott Hamann you plan to kill the President? the user wrote.

The U.S. Secret Service is aware of the situation, but officials did not comment, citing an investigation into the matter.

Hamann did not reserve all of his vitriol for Trump, adding of the president's supporters, "I just can't deal with you ignorant people anymore."

Hamann praised President Obama, saying he ran quite possibly the classiest 2 term presidency in US history.

The Facebook posts have since been deleted, but screen grabs of the exchange were forwarded to Conservative talk radio host Keith Hanson, who hosts both First Look" and The Keith Hanson Show on Fox News affiliate radio stations WNTK and WUVR in New Hampshire and Vermont. Hanson shared the images with Fox News, as well as Hamann's bosses the statewide hunger relief organization, Good Shepard Food Bank, where Hamann serves as a program director.

I had somebody reach out to me and passed screenshots on to me saying that they were concerned about this," Hanson told Fox News. "This is a Democrat, a liberal, who was threatening the president, Hanson told Fox News.

Hanson told Fox News that Hamann confirmed to him, in a private Facebook message chain, that he posted the comments.

Hi Keith. Contacting my employer over a facebook comment I made to an old friend? Im sorry if the truth triggered you so much that you felt it was a good idea to send a screenshot to my employer, Hamann messaged Hanson. Profanity-laden?? Are you kidding me? The only swear words in the image you posted were a**, pr*cks, and Trump. Too much for a snowflake, then dont read comments between me and my childhood friend.

Hamann added, if anything negative comes from your attack on my employment, my attorney will be in touch. Cease and desist.

Hanson said he was shocked that an elected official could unleash such hate against the president.

When you are selected to become the voice of an electorate, you have a huge responsibility to be policing your words and representing your constituents at the best of your ability, Hanson told Fox News. What was surprising to me was that anybody with half a brain would have said those arent my comments.

Maine Republican Party Chairman Demi Kouzounas posted Hamann's rant to the Maine GOP Twitter page on Wednesday.

The Maine State House Majority Office then released Hamanns apology statement.

While the tone of the post was born out of frustration with the vile language currently surrounding politics, I should not have responded with the same language, Hamman said in a statement. This is not language I typically use, it does not reflect my personal values, and while misguided, it was intended to make a visceral point about the developing political discourse in America.

Hamann did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he will not stand back and let the national murder rate continue to rise.

During a stop in Las Vegas on Wednesday, the attorney general said he plans to hire 300 additional federal prosecutors to fight violent gangs like MS-13, a ruthless criminal enterprise with roots in El Salvador.

The national murder rate has increased 10 percent the past year. According to Sessions, thats the largest increase since 1968.

Sessions was in the City of Lights to continue his fight against Sanctuary Cities. He said too many jurisdictions are still refusing to cooperate with federal authorities and are protecting criminal who, under federal law, should be deported.

SESSIONS SAYS SANCTUARY CITIES RISK LOSING DOJ, DHS GRANTS

The Justice Department is threatening to withhold federal funding from cities that dont cooperate with federal officials in enforcing immigration laws.

"When cities like Philadelphia, Boston or San Francisco advertise that they have these policies, the criminals take notice," Sessions said in Vegas.

He said lax immigration enforcements leads to increased violence. He pointed to Kate Steinle, who was killed by an illegal immigrant in San Francisco who allegedly moved to that city because of its sanctuary status.

"Her death was preventable  and it should have been prevented," Sessions said. "He walked the streets freely because San Francisco refuses to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In fact, he admitted that one reason he was in San Francisco that day was that he knew the city had these policies in place."

SANCTUARY CITIES LOSE ACCESS TO FEDERAL GRANTS THAT REQUIRE COMPLYING WITH FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAW  CUE THE HISTORIANS

Right now, four cities, four counties and two sanctuary states are undergoing a legal review by Sessions, including Vegas, where he urged Clark County to cooperate with ICE. In all, he said, some 300 jurisdictions refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

These jurisdictions, he said, are protecting criminals rather than their law-abiding residents.

He said cooperation will help the government dismantle gangs like MS-13, which is wreaking havoc across the country.

To take these gangs off of our streets, he said, we need cooperation between law enforcement at the federal, state and local levels.
Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm behind the infamous and unverified Trump dossier, was also closely tied to a wide-ranging Moscow effort to undermine U.S. sanctions against the Putin regime led by the lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. last year.

The company, founded in 2010 by former Wall Street Journal reporters Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch, is named in a complaint that has had international implications. It was filed by Hermitage Capital Management, run by Bill Browder, who was Russias top investment manager before his dealings there encountered tragedy, and ultimately resulted in the current wide-ranging U.S. sanctions against top Putin officials.

Attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya, who met with Trump Jr. in June 2016, was working for a Cyprus-based real estate holdings company called Prevezon, run by Denis Katsyv, son of Pyotr Katsyv, one of Russian President Vladimir Putins closest advisers. She was given unlimited resources by the Kremlin-connected group to run a campaign to get the Magnitsky Act repealed, Browder told Fox News.

The idea was discredit your opponent. It was essentially a coup attempt by PR."  Christopher Davidson of Durham University

The Magnitsky Act is named after Browders former attorney Sergei Magnitsky, who was beaten to death in a Moscow prison after accusing Russian authorities of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars through tax refunds and then laundering the money through New York banks. The scheme was allegedly run by Prevezon Holdings, whose attorney Veselnitskaya was working to get the sanctions reversed.

They were trying to completely change the narrative of what happened to Sergei. Their objective was to have the Magnitsky Act repealed, Browder said. They cant change the truth of what happened to a man who was murdered in order to achieve some sort of political objective.

Browder told Fox News that Simpson was retained by Prevezon Holdings via a law firm, BakerHostetler, for his expertise and contacts with the Washington and New York media. That law firm had represented Simpson on prior cases, and the Russians looked to it for legal help as well as lobbying access to Capitol Hill.

Others involved were a Washington-based group called Potomac Square, run by another former Wall Street Journal reporter, Chris Cooper, as well as a D.C.-based lobbyist suspected of ties to Russian intelligence, Rinat Akhmetshin.

According to lobbying disclosures reviewed by Fox News, Akhmetshin founded a group called the Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation. The groups website is largely under construction. Denis Katsyv, whose father runs Prevezon Holdings, appears on the lobbying disclosure form.

Akhmetshin had led the way in getting a movie that attempted to influence public and official opinion about the Magnitsky Act shown at Washingtons respected Newseum on June 13, 2016. Several screenings of the movie had been canceled in Europe because it was a crude attempt to smear Magnitsky and Browder, according to a report by Radio Free Europe.

Akhmetshin told RFE that Potomac Square Group, which had circulated news articles critical of Browder to reporters, paid for the event with the expectation of being reimbursed by his foundation.

As for Simpson, he was using all of his media contacts to get a smear campaign going against Magnitsky and myself, Browder said. He also seems to be able to get articles stopped. Simpson has unusual influence because he was often a big source to these reporters on other stories.

Around the same time in June 2016, Veselnitskaya scored her meeting with Donald Trump Jr. after luring him in with emails indicating there was dirt on former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Veselnitskaya probably tried 12 different angles to get to Trump and also to Clinton for that matter, Browder said. She had every possible incentive to get to both sides since her goal was to get the Magnitsky Act repealed, and apparently not to influence the U.S. election.

Meanwhile, according to Browder, attorneys from BakerHostetler were briefing the House Foreign Affairs Committee on their false narrative on Magnitsky.

In a company statement, an official confirmed the relationship. "Fusion GPS was engaged by a U.S. law firm, BakerHostetler, to perform public records litigation support in a U.S. asset seizure case, U.S. v Prevezon, the statement read. Its work is a matter of public record. Fusion GPS is not a lobbying firm and engaged in no lobbying in this case. Any suggestion to the contrary is entirely false.

But as Browder points out, Fusion was providing media influence, rather than lobbying work on Capitol Hill.

In its statement, Fusion said it had nothing to do with the Trump Jr. meeting.

Fusion GPS learned about this meeting from news reports and had no prior knowledge of it. Any claim that Fusion GPS arranged or facilitated this meeting in any way is absolutely false, the statement read.

There is also no evidence that the work Fusion did for Prevezon Holdings and the Russians was related to the Trump dossier, which was crafted by a former MI-6 agent named Christopher Steele and made various sordid and still uncorroborated allegations about President Donald Trump.

However, Browder speculates that it is possible Simpsons work with the Russian lobbyist, and possible spy, Akhmetshin, on the Prevezon case may have facilitated his work on the Trump dossier.

Most experts believe the dossier was commissioned by Trumps domestic political enemies, possibly even Republicans.

Akhmetshin is effectively a Russian spy in close contact with Simpson, said Browder. He could have easily fed some misinformation into the dossier regardless who was paying for it.

Browder filed a complaint with the Justice Department against Simpson, Akhmetshin, Potomac Square, BakerHostetler, Veselnitskaya and others last July. He met with DOJ lawyers in Washington, and that was the last time I ever heard from them.

As for Fusion GPS, its work with Prevezon mirrored in certain ways what it did for other clients. For example, Simpson and a prominent Democratic group called California Strategies teamed up on a PR campaign in 2010 for an exiled United Arab Emirates sheikh that involved a 37-page dossier, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and other media and advertising efforts.

The Guardian newspaper reported that, other tactics explored and employed ranged from raking up a sex scandal  and meeting Hillary Clinton on visits to Washington.

It was war through PR, said Christopher Davidson of Durham University. The idea was discredit your opponent. It was essentially a coup attempt by PR. The campaign was very extensive. It was a new type of coup.

Bottom line: Simpson is very secretive. He is for hire, said billionaire Idaho businessman Frank VanderSloot, whose support for former presidential candidate Mitt Romney landed him on Simpsons radar in 2012.

Simpson asked a Democratic operative to dig up dirt on VanderSloot. His business model is, Do you want to destroy somebodys life or somebodys business? OK, I will destroy his life if you pay me enough. His job is to destroy the target by digging up dirt and getting that dirt published.

In a declaration to the D.C. Superior Court that was hearing VanderSloots case in 2014, Simpson wrote, Regardless of the assignment, Fusion GPSs clients demand that we maintain their identity, and the nature of their request, as confidential. Many, if not most, of Fusion GPSs clients would not engage our services if they believed that we would disclose their identity, or the nature of the research that we provided them.

Efforts to reach Glenn Simpson, Akhmetshin, Veselnitskaya and BakerHostetler for this report were unsuccessful, and the Department of Justice would not comment on Browders complaint.
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, argued Wednesday that Congress should build President Trump's border wall by taking money from Planned Parenthood and federal food stamps.

On CNN, King said he supports the $1.6 billion in funding that the House is considering as a start for building the wall. But he said he'd add another $5 billion if he had his way.

"And I would find half of a billion dollars of that right out of Planned Parenthood's budget," he said. "And the rest of it could come out of food stamps and the entitlements that are being spread out for people that haven't worked in three generations."

"We've got to put America back to work, this administration will do it," he said.

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Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, has multiple times brought articles to impeach President Trump to the House floor.

Each effort to impeach the president has failed, and he hasnt garnered support from some top lawmakers in his party, including House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. But Green said he isnt giving up, contending that Trump is the quintessential person that impeachment was designed for.

The House overwhelmingly rejected Greens impeachment resolutions in December and January.

What does impeachment mean?

Congress has the ability to remove a sitting president from office before his term is finished  an authority granted by the Constitution.

Along with the president and vice president, all civil officers in the U.S. can be removed from office if they are impeached and convicted of bribery, treason or other high crimes and misdemeanors, according to the Constitution.

How does impeachment work?

Article One of the Constitution grants the House of Representatives the sole power of impeachment; the Senate has the sole authority to try all impeachments. If the president is being tried, the Chief Justice should preside over the trial.

The House must vote, requiring a simple majority, to adopt the articles of impeachment. Before a vote, the House Judiciary Committee  or another special committee  may investigate the articles.

The House is able to vote to impeach even if the committee does not recommend doing so.

Should that vote be reached, then the House will appoint members  called managers  to act as prosecutors as the proceedings then go to trial in the Senate. The president is able to have defense attorneys.

The Senate would need a two-thirds majority in order to find the president guilty. Should that happen, the president would be removed from office and the vice president would take the president's place.

Have other presidents been impeached?

Only two U.S. presidents have been impeached  and neither were removed from office.

Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998.

While the proceeding began against former President Richard Nixon, he was not actually impeached. Nixon was the only president to resign from office.

Fox News' Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump ripped Hillary Clinton and fellow Democrats Wednesday over what he described as a double standard for their respective associates' alleged coordination with foreign governments in the 2016 campaign.

The president has been on defense over fresh revelations of a meeting his eldest son held last year with a Russian lawyer who promised dirt on Clinton.

But Trump used his widely followed Twitter account Wednesday to draw attention to a Washington Times article claiming Democrats had used false information from Russia to attack him and his campaign.

@WashTimes states Democrats have willfully used Moscow disinformation to influence the presidential election against Donald Trump,' the president tweeted.

He added, Why aren't the same standards placed on the Democrats. Look what Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with. Disgraceful!

The news report refers back to the questionable dossier -- written by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele and allegedly distributed by Fusion GPS -- which contained unverified allegations against the Trump team.

Fusion GPS, the Democrat-funded opposition research firm, allegedly paid Steele with money from a Clinton backer. The dossier eventually fell into the hands of the FBI.

The White House and Trump allies also have cited a reported meeting between a DNC consultant and officials at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C., last year.

If you are looking for an example of a campaign coordinating with a foreign country or a foreign source, look no further than the DNC which actually coordinated opposition research with the Ukrainian Embassy, White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday.

This is not an accusation. That is an on-the-record action that they took, Sanders said.

The meeting Sanders referred to was first reported in January by Politico. The report cited a meeting between Ukrainian government officials who allegedly tried to help Clinton undermine Trump by publicly questioning his fitness for office and shared research and damaging information on Trump and his advisers with Clinton allies.

The Politico investigation exposed that a Ukrainian-American DNC operative -- Alexandra Chalupa, who worked in the Clinton White House -- met with officials in the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington in an effort to expose ties between Trumps then-top campaign official Paul Manafort and Russia. Manafort later resigned.

Hillarys staff should not have takenformer Hillary staffers should not have taken the meeting with Ukrainian government, Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary for President George W. Bush and now a Fox News contributor, said on Outnumbered Tuesday.

The Ukrainian Embassy pushed back on Sanders' characterization, saying: Unfortunately, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee-Sanders must have been misinformed about Ukraine and the DNC.

The Embassy of Ukraine in Washington did not coordinate with the DNC about opposition research. While some politicians who are not part of the Ukrainian government might have taken sides during last years elections in the U.S., the government of Ukraine did not, the statement said.

Leaders in other countries also spoke out against Trump last year, though not necessarily in any government capacity.

The Washington Examiner reported in May 2016 that former Mexican President Vicente Fox, an ardent Trump critic, met in Mexico with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to discuss ways to boost Clinton. He was not in power, however, at the time.

The back-and-forth comes as the Trump White House tries to control the damage from revelations about Donald Trump Jr.'s June 2016 meeting with the Russian attorney with alleged ties to the Kremlin, Natalia Veselnitskaya.

TRUMP DEFENDS SON AS 'HIGH-QUALITY PERSON,' AS RUSSIA EMAILS FUEL CRITICISM

Trump also posted a defense of his son on Twitter Wednesday morning and attacked the Fake Media.

Remember, when you hear the words sources say from the Fake Media, often times those sources are made up and do not exist, Trump tweeted.
President Trump said Wednesday he is anxious for Senate Republicans to come together to pass legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare, a day before Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to release a draft of a new bill.

I am sitting in the Oval Office with a pen in hand, waiting for our senators to give it to me, Trump said in an interview with Pat Robertson for CBNs "700 Club" set to air Thursday.

Last month, Senate Republicans delayed plans to vote on health care legislation after failing to attract enough votes from members of its own party. The House passed an ObamaCare replacement bill in May.

On Wednesday, Trump expressed frustration that Republicans are struggling to pass the legislation -- especially since they now have a president willing to sign it.

"Obama wasn't going to sign it. ... Now we have a president that's waiting to sign it," he said. "I have pen in hand so now it means something.

Trump said: You know, those other times, those many, many times, that they passed it, it didn't mean anything.

Efforts have been made to win over conservatives, like lawmakers elected during the Tea Party wave of 2010, who argue the legislation doesnt go far enough to repeal ObamaCare. But at least one senator said Wednesday he still opposes the legislation.

If this bill goes through, were voting to keep ObamaCare, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul said in a press conference Wednesday, saying he planned to oppose a procedural vote on the bill.

I think a large part of the frustration in our caucus is that this bill no longer is repeal, Paul said. And theyre being asked to vote for something that we never promised. We promised the American voters that we would repeal ObamaCare. But when youre keeping half the taxes, most of the regulations and creating a brand new insurance bailout superfund -- that to most people just doesnt sound like repeal.

During his interview with Robertson, Trump said hed be angry if congressional Republicans cant find a way to pass the legislation. Speaking of McConnell, Trump said: "He's got to pull it off. Mitch has to pull it off. He's working very hard. He's got to pull it off."

If Republicans dont pass the legislation, Trump said it would be very bad.

I will be very angry about it and a lot of people will be very upset, he said.
The White House went on offense Wednesday amid the firestorm over Donald Trump Jr.s campaign-season meeting with a Russian lawyer, trying to turn the tables by alleging the Democratic National Committee and the Clintons are the ones caught up in collusion."

The White House has been grappling all week with revelations of a meeting the presidents eldest son held last year with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya, who was said to have dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of a Russian government effort to help the Trump campaign.

But Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders used Wednesdays off-camera briefing to highlight DNC and Clinton ties to foreign governments including Russia and Ukraine.

If were looking at Russia relationships with anybody, it would be directly with the Clintons, she said, citing examples of a speech former President Bill Clinton gave in Russia for which he reportedly earned over $500,000 and reports of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton selling what Sanders described as a third of the worlds uranium to Russia.

Putting more distance between himself and Russia, even on the heels of a meeting with Vladimir Putin, President Trump also said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network set to air Thursday that he believes there are many reasons Putin would prefer Hillary Clinton in office over him.

We are the most powerful country in the world and we are getting more and more powerful because Im a big military person. As an example, if Hillary had won, our military would be decimated. Our energy would be much more expensive. Thats what Putin doesnt like about me. And thats why I say why would he want me? Trump said.

Meanwhile, Sanders drew attention Wednesday to other alleged examples of Democratic coordination with a foreign government.

If theres been any evidence of collusion in 2016 actually happening, it would have been between the DNC and the Ukrainian government, Sanders said.

Sanders was referring to a Politico report published in January. The report cited a meeting between Ukrainian government officials who allegedly tried to help Clinton undermine Trump by publicly questioning his fitness for office and shared research and damaging information on Trump and his advisers with Clinton allies.

TRUMP UNLOADS ON HILLARY OVER DOUBLE STANDARD, AMID REPORTS DEMS ALSO GOT FOREIGN HELP

The Politico investigation exposed that a Ukrainian-American DNC operative Alexandra Chalupa, who worked in the Clinton White Housemet with officials in the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington in an effort to expose ties between Trumps then-top campaign official Paul Manafort and Russia. Manafort later resigned.

In Wednesdays briefing, Sanders was effectively picking up where Trump left off on Twitter.

On Wednesday morning, Trump took to Twitter to rip Clinton over what he described as a double standard for their respective associates alleged cooperation with foreign governments in the 2016 campaign.

Trump first drew attention to a Washington Times article claiming Democrats had used false information from Russia to attack him and his campaign.

@WashTimes states Democrats have willfully used Moscow disinformation to influence the presidential election against Donald Trump, the president tweeted.

He added, Why arent the same standards placed on the Democrats. Look what Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with. Disgraceful!

The news report refers back to the questionable dossierwritten by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele and allegedly distributed by Fusion GPSwhich contained unverified allegations against the Trump team. Fusion GPS, the Democrat-funded opposition research firm, allegedly paid Steele with money from a Clinton backer. The dossier eventually fell into the hands of the FBI.

As Sanders referenced such reports at Wednesdays briefing, she said: This is the only collusion Ive seen, and its certainly been proven.

Even as the White House sought to shift the focus to Democrats, the Trump team is facing mounting bipartisan scrutiny over both the Trump Jr. meeting and the administrations handling of the latest revelations.

TRUMP DEFENDS SON AS 'HIGH-QUALITY PERSON,' AS RUSSIA MEETING EMAILS FUEL CRITICISM

Sanders told reporters on Wednesday that she was not aware of any additional meetings with Trump officials and Russian nationals.

Our goal is to be as transparent as humanly possible and put every bit of information at the forefront, Sanders said. We are willing to cooperate with anybody looking into this matter.

Sanders was asked to respond to criticism from House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., who told Fox News Tuesday night that the drip, drip, drip is undermining the credibility of this administration.

I think its actually undermining the credibility of the media because they drip, drip, drip, without having much to do about anything, Sanders said.

Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary and now Fox News contributor, said that the White Houses handling of the Donald Trump Jr. situation has been terrible.

The White House created a four day drip, drip, drip, drop instead of getting it all out of the way on the first day, Fleischer told Fox News, but said the White House should make the case questioning where the coverage was of the Ukrainian meeting between officials and an ex-Clinton staffer. Donald Trump Jr.s meeting was bad judgment. This is not excusing what he didbut its disproportionate. Its part of why Donald Trump feels the press is unfair to him, and with some justification.
With the successful confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, a confident White House is now quietly turning its attention to filling the lower federal courts.

There are currently 137 vacancies, giving President Trump a chance to move the judiciary sharply to the right.

It is something past presidents have done, creating a political and ideological legacy that far outlasts their tenure in office. And it gives the White House a ready team of possible candidates for the biggest political and professional prize  a seat on the Supreme Court, in the event of another vacancy.

"The trend is to look to young judges on the lower courts to fill Supreme Court seats when they open up," said Elizabeth Wydra, president of the progressive Constitutional Accountability Center. "That gives you several decades of influence on the high court."

Included in the current 15 percent federal court vacancy rate are 21 seats on the regional federal appeals circuits  influential courts where eight of the nine current members of the Supreme Court sat before being elevated.

Several Trump nominees to those openings were state court justices on the original "List of 21" names then-candidate Trump offered as possible Supreme Court candidates. The GOP nominee at the time vowed only to choose from that list and did just that weeks after taking office, tapping Gorsuch to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Many court watchers say with a Republican-led Senate, the president has a unique opportunity to take the offensive when it comes to the third branch of government.

"What he now needs to do is replicate the success of Justice Gorsuch on a massive scale throughout the courts of appeals and district courts," said Thomas Dupree, a former top Justice Department official in the Bush White House.

Government sources say the pending nominations also give key judges -- like state supreme court justices Allison Eid, of Colorado; Joan Larsen, of Michigan; and David Stras, of Minnesota -- valuable experience in the federal nomination process, should they one day be tapped for the Supreme Court.

One name in particular is gaining traction-- Judge Amul Thapar, who already has been confirmed to sit on the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

He already had been personally interviewed by Trump as a finalist for the Scalia seat while still a district court judge, a sign the White House may be grooming him for bigger things.

"If you are looking for someone to keep an eye on for future potential nominations, I think Judge Thapar would be an excellent candidate," Dupree said. "For the many judges who didn't make the cut for the seat that went to Gorsuch, this gives the president a great starting point, a great field team from which to choose for future nominations for courts of appeals and maybe someday to the Supreme Court."

There had been a good deal of misplaced anticipation in late June that Justice Anthony Kennedy would step aside after nearly 30 years on the high court. But the court recessed for a three-month break with no signs the senior associate justice and key "swing" vote on that court was ready to leave.

Kennedy's eventual retirement would create a massive political fight, since his replacement could move the court strongly to the right -- or left -- depending on the person occupying the Oval Office. Kennedy turns 81 this month.

Strongly working in Trump's favor is a change in Senate rules first used for the Grouch nomination, ending a longstanding "filibuster" rule that required a 60-vote threshold to approve nominees to the high court.

Now only a simple majority is needed, the same standard that has applied to other federal judicial picks.

Many liberal activists say that change could transform not only the makeup of the courts but public expectations of the role of judges as well.

"Now that you've gotten rid of that filibuster rule, it enables really extreme nominees being put on the bench," Wydra said. "That's not something a majority of Americans actually support. Justice Gorsuch on the bench of the Supreme Court has been very much a Trump justice. He has been bold and brash from the start."

Conservative legal activists who have been quietly advising the White House on judicial nominees are hopeful the president could have several more high court opportunities if he serves two terms.
Canadian lobster fisherman and whale rescuer Joe Howlett was killed by a North Atlantic right whale after freeing it from a net.



Howlett, who co-founded the Campobello Whale Rescue Team more than 15 years ago, was attempting to free a trapped whale off the coast of New Brunswick when the unfortunate events occured, the Washington Post noted.

MONK SEAL BITES, INJURES US WILDFIRE STAFFER ON MIDWAY ATOLL

The fisherman was on a "fast response vessel" which belonged to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a Canadian government agency. Details of how the death occurred were not released, but Dominic LeBlanc, minister of the agency said that freeing a whale from entanglement has "serious risks" involved.

Mackie Greene, the captain of the whale rescue group, said the whale had been freed prior to Howlett's death. They got the whale totally disentangled and then some kind of freak thing happened and the whale made a big flip, Green said in comments captured by the Post. Joe definitely would not want us to stop because of this.

The North Atlantic right whale is an endangered species in Canada and the U.S., with only round 500 of them left in the world. They can live for at least 75 years, grow up to 59 feet long and migrate between Georgia and Florida in the winter and the Bay of Fundy and Nova Scotia in the summer.

1,000-POUND HAMMERHEAD SHARK SHATTERS RECORD IN TEXAS FISHING TOURNAMENT

Seven North Atlantic right whales have been found dead in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A giant "Delaware-size" iceberg that scientists have been monitoring for more than two years has broken off from Antarctica, becoming one of the largest icebergs on record.

The iceberg broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf sometime between Monday and Wednesday, British Antarctic Survey reported. The 2,240-square-mile iceberg was "hanging by a thread" for several months, with the crack growing by 16 miles in the last two months alone. By July 5, there was only three more miles until it officially separated from the continent.

The new iceberg made up more than 10 percent of the ice shelf. It did not impact sea levels because it was already floating before the break-off. Though scientists will determine if the break-away section will have a significant impact to the rest of the Antarctica shelf.

GIANT 'DELAWARE-SIZE' ICEBERG SET TO BREAK OFF ANTARCTICA

Experts also fear the iceberg will melt at a rapid rate.

"If Larsen C now starts to retreat significantly and eventually collapses, then we will see another contribution to sea level rise," said Professor David Vaughan, glaciologist and Director of Science at British Antarctic Survey, in a statement.

"There is little doubt that climate change is causing ice shelves to disappear in some parts of Antarctica at the moment," Vaughn said, adding that the disintegration of Larsen C was most likely caused by climate change.

SPACE BREAKTHROUGH: SCIENTISTS TELEPORT PHOTON FROM EARTH TO ORBIT

The professor said though some parts of Antarctica are losing ice due to ocean change, significant warming in the last several decades have contributed to ice shelves collapsing.

The new iceberg now poses as a risk for ships passing through the peninsula, according to Reuters. The area is just outside major trade routes and a frequent place for cruise ships coming from South America.
They're the stuff of news headlines, blockbuster movies and nightmares: shark attacks.

The idea of a shark attack can be terrifying, but consider this: the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) at the Florida Museum of Natural History says the "annual risk of death during one's lifetime" from a shark attack is one in 3,748,067.

Fox News asked University of Miami professor and marine ecologist Dr. Neil Hammerschlag for advice on how to deal with a shark encounter, and he answered three questions on most swimmers' minds.

How can I prevent a shark from biting me?

There are a couple of things you can do.

Hammerschlag says to avoid swimming in areas with an unusual amount of fish life, where sharks may be searching for food.

You should also avoid being in the water at nighttime, dawn, or dusk. It appears that sharks may mistake people or bite people unintentionally, he told Fox News, explaining that its harder for them to discriminate when its dark out.

People should also avoid swimming alone, and stay in groups. Sharks tend to target isolated prey, Hammerschlag said.

SHARK BITES BOTH LEGS OF SWIMMER OFF OF POPULAR FLORIDA NUDE BEACH

I see a shark  what should I do?

Keep your distance  do not attempt to shoo, corner or touch it.

Dont act like shark food, Hammerschlag recommends. He says that if you encounter a shark, do not run away. You should also keep eye contact with the shark.

Follow it around if it circles you, let it know that it sees you, he added. When trying to get away, keep facing the shark, but move backwards slowly.

Whats the best way to fight back if a shark is biting me?

Most sharks bite and release, Hammerschlag says.

In the unlikely event they dont release, you should fight back and strike the sharks gills, eyes and nose, he advised.

Hammerschlag also said shark bites are really rare, usually minor and do not require hospitalization.
An Amazon Alexa device made headlines this week after it was reported that the device called 911 during a domestic dispute in New Mexico. But Amazon is disputing that claim.

Local law enforcement officials in New Mexico said the Alexas ability to contact authorities definitely helped save a mother and her child from a very violent situation.

ALEXA CALLS COPS ON MAN ALLEGEDLY BEATING HIS GIRLFRIEND

The Alexa allegedly called emergency officials during a domestic dispute at a residence in Tijeras.

During the dispute, Eduardo Barros, who is accused of threatening to kill his girlfriend, asked, Did you call the sheriff? according to FOX 8 Cleveland.

The complaint claimed the Amazon Alexa device overheard this remark, and apparently called 911  all on its own.

But Amazon says thats not possible.

Alexa calling and messaging does not support 911 calls, Amazon told Fox News via email.

PRESIDENT TRUMP ATTACKS AMAZON ON TWITTER, SAYS IT DOESN'T PAY "INTERNET TAXES"

The Amazon Alexa, or Echo, can make calls only if the user syncs their contacts with the Alexa App, according to the online shopping giants website.

After allegedly getting an emergency call from the device, authorities contacted the victims cell phone. Barros saw the caller ID and threw (the victim) to the floor. Barros then kicked her while on the ground at least 10 times in the face and stomach, FOX 8 reported of the criminal complaint.

FOX 8 said its not clear how the 911 operators knew to respond to the victim via her cell phone.

AMAZON ALEXA DATA WANTED IN MURDER INVESTIGATION

This incident isnt the first time an Amazon Alexa has been involved with the law.

Police in Arkansas wanted access to an Alexas recordings to use as possible evidence in a murder case from November 2015. Amazon initially refused to comply with the police warrants, but eventually agreed to release recordings from the device.
Google operates a little-known program to harness the brain power of university researchers to help sway opinion and public policy, cultivating financial relationships with professors at campuses from Harvard University to the University of California, Berkeley.

Over the past decade, Google has helped finance hundreds of research papers to defend against regulatory challenges of its market dominance, paying $5,000 to $400,000 for the work, The Wall Street Journal found.

Some researchers share their papers before publication and let Google give suggestions, according to thousands of pages of emails obtained by the Journal in public-records requests of more than a dozen university professors. The professors dont always reveal Googles backing in their research, and few disclosed the financial ties in subsequent articles on the same or similar topics, the Journal found.

University of Illinois law professor Paul Heald pitched an idea on copyrights he thought would be useful to Google, and he received $18,830 to fund the work. The paper, published in 2012, didnt mention his sponsor. Oh, wow. No, I didnt. Thats really bad, he said in an interview. Thats purely oversight.

This story originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal.
President Donald Trump has been sued by a free-speech group, which claims his practice of blocking Twitter users violates the First Amendment.

Trump, who uses the @realDonaldTrump account in office, has been sued by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University in New York, along with seven individual Twitter users. The suit claims that Trump's blocking of users who are critical of him is a violation of the U.S. Constituion.

PRESIDENT TRUMP ATTACKS AMAZON ON TWITTER, SAYS IT DOESN'T PAY 'INTERNET TAXES'

"President Trumps Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, has become an important source of news and information about the government, and an important public forum for speech by, to, and about the President," the lawsuit reads. "In an effort to suppress dissent in this forum, Defendants have excluded 'blocked' Twitter users who have criticized the President or his policies. This practice is unconstitutional, and this suit seeks to end it."

The suit claims it is a violation to suppress dissent. The lawsuit was filed in the federal court in the Southern District of New York.

Trump often takes to Twitter to discuss public policy, including his thoughts on the war against terror, healthcare and other affairs, both foreign and domestic. Henceforth, the suit says the government is not allowed to exclude people, no matter their view on a situation.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer noted in June that Trump's tweets are official statements and the White House often sends out official statements everytime the President tweets.

Trump, along with Spicer and Dan Scavino, the White House director of social media, are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

COVFEFE LIVES: TWITTER COMES UP WITH FUNNY MEMES AFTER TRUMP TWEET

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University is a New York City-based 501(c)(3) organization "that works to defend and strengthen the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, and public education," according to the complaint.

The seven individual plaintiffs in the suit are writer and political consultant Rebecca Buckwalter, professor Philip Cohen, political organizer Holly Figueroa, resident in general surgery Eugene Gu, police officer Brandon Neely, former professional cyclist Joseph Papp and comic/writer Nicholas Pappas.

The federal suit is case number 1:17-cv-05205.

The White House declined to comment on this story when asked by Fox News.
Millions of Verizon customer records have been exposed after an Israeli technology company left user data unprotected, the International Business Times reported.

As many as 14 million records of Verizon customers were found unsecured on an Amazon storage server controlled by Israeli-based Nice Systems, according to ZDNet.com.

WANNACRY RANSOMWARE ATTACK: A LOOK AT OTHER MAJOR CYBER BREACHES, HACKINGS

The database was found to have communication logs of Verizon customers who called customer service, as well as customer cell phone numbers and account PINS, according to the IBTimes.

Verizon, in a statement to CNBC, apologized to their customers, but said reports that customers PIN numbers were available were not actually connected to customer accounts and were instead numbers used to confirm customers at call centers.

"As a media outlet recently reported, an employee of one of our vendors put information into a cloud storage area and incorrectly set the storage to allow external access," a spokesperson for Verizon told CNBC Wednesday. "We have been able to confirm that the only access to the cloud storage area by a person other than Verizon or its vendor was a researcher who brought this issue to our attention. In other words, there has been no loss or theft of Verizon or Verizon customer information."

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT BE ABLE TO GET ITS PAWS ON YOUR CELL PHONE INFO?

Verizon was reportedly told of the data breach in June, but IBTimes reported it took more than a week before Verizon and Nice Systems secured the server.

Nice Systems had access to the information in order to listen to recorded customer service calls to improve customer experience.

The security breach comes a year after Verizon said the contact information of 1.5 million business customers was for sale by hackers.
Qatar Airways has reached a new low, according to critics within the airline industry.

The Association of Flight Attendants and the Air Line Pilots Association have come forward to condemn recent remarks made by Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, who was caught on film calling American carriers crap and bashing the flight attendants who work them.

Al Baker made the remarks last week in Dublin, while speaking at an event commemorating his airlines new flight route between Irelands capital and Doha, Qatar.

MIDDLE EASTERN AIRLINE TROLLS TRUMP WITH AIRFARE PROMOTION

After touting the award-winning service from our international cabin crew, Al Baker took a moment to brag about his crews average age  and he knocked U.S. airlines while he was at it.

By the way, the average age of my cabin crew is only 26 years. So there is no need for you to travel on these crap American carriers, said Al Baker, eliciting laughter from the audience.

You know youre always being served by grandmothers on American airlines, he added, as seen in footage of the speech that was later uploaded to YouTube.

Now, in the wake of Al Bakers comments, two unions within the airline industry are slamming the Qatar Airways CEO.

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) was the first to respond to Al Bakers remarks, posting a lengthy response on Sunday.

"Straight from Akbar Al Baker lips, he confirms what AFA has said all along: Qatar Airways thrives on misogyny and discrimination, wrote AFA President Sara Nelson in a statement. Qatar is not only seeking to choke out U.S. Aviation, but also the 300,000 good jobs built through opportunity created on the principle of equality. There is no room for a separation of humanity in air travel or in an emergency. Flight Attendants are onboard to save lives and every life counts. If you prop up Qatar Airways you are supporting sexism, racism, and ageism.

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) later responded to Al Bakers chauvinistic remarks on Tuesday.

The head of Qatar Airways sunk to a new low recently when he disparaged hard-working U.S. crewmembers and airlines that represent $1.5 trillion in economic activity, said ALPA President Capt. Tim Canoll in a statement posted to ALPAs website. Akbar Al Bakers sexist and degrading remarks are an affront to our core values as a country, and he owes U.S. airline workers an apology.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

However, Canoll hypothesized that there will likely be no economic ramifications for his insults, since Qatar Airways is subsidized by Qatars government and doesnt technically compete in the open market. He then called on President Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to support the ALPA-backed Partnership for Open and Fair Skies, which aims to prevent state-owned airlines like Qatars from dominating air travel.

A representative for Qatar Airways was not immediately available for comment.
A Southwest flight traveling from Austin to Chicago was turned around in the air after a fight on board.

Austin police said they arrested one person from that flight. Southwest flight 3590 was already delayed when it took off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport headed for Chicago Midway, but not long after taking to the sky the flight was turned around.

Lisa Birkman, a passenger on the flight, said 20 to 30 minutes after takeoff she heard people yelling toward the back of the plane.

A flight attendant had one passenger change seats and a witness said a man had reached over his seat and punched another man.

The pilot then announced the flight would be returning to the Austin airport.

Lisa said the plane did indeed turn around and a flight attendant told her a couple people would be escorted off the aircraft.

Once the plane landed safely in Austin, the pilot asked all passengers to remain seated and Austin police escorted two young adult males off the flight.



Lisa said a couple of other passengers chose to get off the airplane, but the majority stayed on board.



Austin police said one man was arrested following the incident.

The plane was refueled and departed ABIA for the second time at 6 p.m.

More from Fox 7 Austin.
Its every passengers fear that an airline will mishandle their luggage, so just imagine how one flyer felt upon learning that United had mangled his $42,000 custom wheelchair.

Valentin Duthion, a 24-year-old French man suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, disembarked his flight from France to New Jersey on July 2 only to find that United had destroyed his wheelchair ahead of a 27-day trip to the United States with friends, according to his sister Lucie.

This is how @united airline accompanies persons with disabilities, wrote Lucie on Twitter, via a translation from French news outlet Le Progres. Armchair destroyed (37.000 euro), trip to the USA wasted.

In a video that accompanied the tweet, the other members of Duthions travel group  which goes by the name Dream Trotter  can he heard discussing the damage to what appears to be a United employee.

DISABLED WOMAN CLAIMS VIRGIN DENIED ENTRY TO HER SERVICE DOG

Lucie later told Le Progres that her brothers chair had been rendered unusable due to mangled wheels, a disconnected assistance box, damaged cylinders and a twisted steering handle.

In a statement obtained by Fox News, a representative for United claims they're in contact with Valentins group, and that the airline is making every effort to rectify this situation.

Our goal is to provide great service for our customers during their entire journey, and it concerns us deeply anytime we fall short, United in a statement obtained by Fox News.

We have been in contact with our customer, and provided him with a loaner wheelchair to use during his vacation. We have arranged for the chair's repair and have upgraded the customer and his travel companions for their return flight.

Lucie, however, claimed that Valentin was offered a loaner wheelchair that was not at all adapted to his needs  his custom chair reduced his pain, and had much better battery life, she says  but Valentin took it anyway after United gave the group an ultimatum.

If we refused, we had to sign a waiver stating that we refused the help of United Airlines, Lucie told Le Progres.

Valentin's chair in currently in the care of United, which is arranging for its repair. In the meantime, however, Valentin has already had trouble with the loaner.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

During one of their first stops in New York, Lucie said the group had to push this 200-kilogram (441-pound) wheelchair for miles after a breakdown." She also claims theyve already swapped out the chair for a manual version.

A representative for United declined to confirm the chair would be back in Valentin's possession. According to Dream Trotter's Facebook page, they believe he'll be getting it back by the end of the trip.

Regardless, the group seems to be making the most of their vacation, having already updated their Facebook page with posts from New York and San Fracisco.
An 18-year-old California woman was sentenced to 13 years behind bars for her role in running a prostitution ring.

Police in Hanford arrested Jelinajane Bedrijo Almario in May 2016. She was sentenced on Monday in Kings County Superior Court, two days after her 18th birthday.

Although a juvenile at the time of her arrest, she was tried as an adult for human trafficking, sending threatening emails to the family of at least one of the girls and making terrorist threats. The ring involved four girls between the ages of 14 and 15, officials said.

Almarios scheme involved posting pictures of the younger girls  who she found through friends or on social media  on different websites for prostitution, then taking the girls to various local motels, police officials said.

BOND DOUBLED FOR 2 CHARGED IN TEXAS HUMAN SMUGGLING CASE

These girls would run away for weekends or work a couple of nights, Hanford police Detective Richard Pontecorvo told the Sacramento Bee.

These people are great at locating kids with low self-esteem and trying to be their friend, and then it obviously changes once they started working for her, said Pontecorvo, according to the paper.

During the time before the ring was broken up, one of the mothers of one of the victims was looking for her daughter, and Almario sent her threatening text messages, which was how the police were able to stop Almario and arrest her.

We were able to get these girls back home and get them the help they needed, he told the Sacramento Bee. But these pimps are ruining these kids lives at an early age.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE SACRAMENTO BEE.
A federal judge in Detroit has stopped the deportation of 1,400 Iraqi nationals while their deportation orders are reviewed by the court system.

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith halted the deportations of the nationals, many of whom are Christians, after he asserted jurisdiction over the objection by the Justice Department in a 24-page opinion Tuesday.

ACLU SUES TO STOP DEPORTATION OF ARRESTED IRAQI NATIONALS

The judge blocked the deportations for two weeks on June 22 while he determined if he had the jurisdiction over the case. The Justice Department has insisted that a U.S. District Court judge does not have jurisdiction in the immigration matter.

Many of the Iraqis fear torture or death if they return to the country. The government says the nationals face deportation because they committed crimes in the U.S.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Malaysian authorities have raided a construction site and detained 77 foreigners as part of a fresh crackdown on illegal immigration.

Immigration officials said more than 3,100 foreigners and 63 employers who allegedly hired workers illegally have been detained since a sweep began July 1. The crackdown is targeting migrants who come to Malaysia illegally to work mostly low-wage jobs in the construction, plantation and manufacturing industries.

As one of Southeast Asia's richest countries, Malaysia has long attracted workers from nearby nations such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and India.

Immigration officials who conducted the midnight raid Tuesday and early Wednesday at the construction site in northern Negeri Sembilan state found 77 of the 85 workers had no valid documents. Most of them are Indonesians, living in wooden make-shift dormitories at the site. Reporters were notified of the raid and invited to go along.

The 77 workers were handcuffed and sent to the immigration depot, where they are expected to be deported, officials said.

The new sweep followed the expiry of a deadline to register foreign workers from 15 countries. Officials have said only 161,000 of 600,000 illegal migrants who are eligible to apply for work permits had done so by June 30.

Malaysia, which has a population of 31 million, relies heavily on foreign labor to fill menial jobs shunned by locals. There are some 2 million registered foreign workers in Malaysia and another million believed to be working illegally. The government regularly seeks to flush out the illegal workforce, but this had previously caused labor shortages in certain sectors.

Immigration chief Mustafar Ali has said that some 30,000 illegal migrants were deported this year. He warned that employers who hire illegal migrants could be caned, in addition to facing prison time and fines.

___

Associated Press journalists Vincent Thian in Port Dickson, Malaysia and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia contributed to this report.
Residents along a stretch of roadway in Tulsa, Oklahoma were left in shock Tuesday after work crews painted over roadkill in the middle of the street.

One family said in an interview with FOX 23 News they witnessed the city crews reapplying the double yellow line on the middle of the four-lane road, and wondered at the time if they would stop to remove the roadkill.

Instead, residents found animal carcasses in three spots with fresh yellow stripes through them.

The city of Tulsa told FOX 23 News in a statement the street crews did paint over the roadkill, but only because the striping truck only noticed the carcasses once it was too late. The traditional process however is to pick up anything in the street that does not allow for the solid line to be painted properly.

In response to the story by FOX 23 News, city officials sent crews back out to pick up all the roadkill that was painted over, and make corrections in spots where animals were painted instead of the road's surface.

One resident who has lived in the area for 40 years told FOX 23 the area deals with so much roadkill of wild and domesticated animals, he's not surprised that more weren't painted over.

"If the stripers stopped to pick up the roadkill on this road, there wouldn't be any striping done," Loren Lewis told the television station.

Read more from FOX 23 News.
Erin Hester was on her way to work after a lunch break when a soldier got out of his car in the pouring rain to salute a funeral procession as it drove by in Vine Grove, Kentucky last week.

As soon as he got out of the car, it made me tear up, Hester told Fox News.

WWII VET RECOUNTS HOW HE TRICKED 15,000 GERMAN SOLDIERS: 'I HAD A FLUTTER INSIDE MY BODY'

Kentucky law states that funeral processions have the right-of-way at intersections when accompanied by an escort.

Hester said that lately she had noticed that people werent pulling over and stopping for funeral processions in the town, adding that the soldier "went above and beyond.

It was amazing that he wasnt only respecting the deceased, but also respecting a family that he doesnt even know, Hester said.

POLICE OFFICERS MOW LAWN OF DISABLED VETERAN

Hester posted a photo of the soldier on Instagram and Facebook and the post has received over 100,000 shares and 142,000 likes.

It was true honor, respect, integrity, and humanityI want people to see this, she said.

The soldier's identity is still unknown, as well as whether or not the procession was honoring the life of a serviceman. The town is just outside Ft. Knox Army Base.
President Donald Trump and France's Emmanuel Macron may be the world's oddest of political odd couples. Far apart on climate change and immigration, the two leaders will look for common ground on terrorism and defense policy when they meet this week in Paris.

The visit will gauge whether Trump and France's new leader can find consensus on critical issues including terrorism and security.

The overseas trip comes as Trump is dogged by fresh controversy over his campaign's potential connections to Russia.

Macron, for his part, has come out strongly against Russia's purported efforts to interfere in elections in the U.S. and across Europe. He has accused Moscow of working against his own campaign in support of his opponent, far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
A woman was arrested in California after police said she falsely reported a carjacking that led to an Amber Alert.

On Thursday, authorities told KABC Charline Gatson reported being carjacked in Los Angeles and that her 16-year-old stepson, Eric Coleman, was in the backseat at the time.

The report resulted in an Amber Alert, KABC reported.

Authorities identified a suspect in the alleged carjacking and she was arrested on Friday in San Bernardino. But Gatson actually had loaned the car to the woman who then refused to give it back, police said.

There was no carjacking and Coleman was never in the backseat, KABC reported.

AMBER ALERT CANCELED AFTER GIRL'S BODY FOUND

Authorities said it's possible that Gatson made the false report to trigger a scene that led to a police response.

"Those kinds of man-hours and that dedication of resources meant that other victims of true crimes, of valid crimes, went without justice or at least their justice (was) delayed," LAPD Capt. Shannon Paulson told KABC.

Gatson was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of filing a false police report. She faces fines as well as up to a year in jail if convicted.

Authorities said the woman who borrowed the car has not been charged.
The man police say is responsible for killing his wife, son, and dog in an apparent murder-suicide has been identified as the medical director of the Nevada American Red Cross.

The bodies of Dr. John Lunetta, his wife, Karen Jackson, and his son who was one day away from his first birthday were found Monday in their home in Las Vegas. Police at the scene said Lunetta was responsible for the deaths. Las Vegas Police Lt. Dan McGrath said he is clearly the suspect, according to the Review Journal.

We dont know why he did this, said McGrath.

The bodies were found after relatives called police requesting a welfare check. Relatives then entered the home and found the bodies of the couple, their son, and the pet dog.

INFANT, MOM, DOG KILLED IN MURDER-SUICIDE THAT STUNNED LAS VEGAS NEIGHBORHOOD

McGrath added that Lunetta was a legal gun owner and had called police about a recent custody issue, but there was no physical violence involved. There were no previous reports of domestic violence.

Neighbors responded to the discovery of the bodies with surprise. Neighbor Aaron Alagic told KSNV none of this stuff happens around here, and said he was kind of shocked in a way.

Neighbors told the Review Journal they never saw the couple fight or argue, but rumors emerged after the bodies were discovered. Neighbors reported they had seen a moving truck in front of the home last week and wondered if Jackson was leaving the home. Jackson also had a 10-year-old daughter who was not present or harmed in the crime.

Sylvia Rico, a survivor of domestic abuse, left a rock at a memorial for the family.

I left a rock there to memorialize the family, she said to KSNV. Its unfortunate that she didnt speak to someone, or him either. There are lots of resources.

TENNESSEE FATHER CHARGED WITH MURDER IN SON'S SHOOTING

Rico also told KSVN if you are afraid of your spouse or if you are afraid of the situation, always listen to your gut instinct. Just leave. Just disappear.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department urges anyone with information to contact them at (702) 828-3521 or homicide@lvmpd.com. To come forward anonymously, you can contact Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555, www.crimestoppersofnv.com or text CRIMESNV and tip information to 274637 (CRIMES). Message and data rates may apply.
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He couldnt hide his nerves  or drugs.

A Canadian man was arrested in California after police found 88 pounds of cocaine in his vehicle during a traffic stop.

Officers stopped the man, identified as Joel Benedict Medina of Vancouver, Monday morning in Long Beach. They requested additional assistance after the 36-year-old driver began acting nervous, police said.

COCAINE WORTH $2 MILLION FOUND IN UNLICENSED DAY CARE CENTER

With the help of Dope K9 Abbey, police were able to uncover two large duffel bags filled with 35 bricks of cocaine.

Medina was arrested and charged with possession for sales and transportation of cocaine. He is being held on $1 million bail at the Long Beach jail.
A Florida man ended up behind bars Wednesday after deputies found a stash of cocaine hidden inside a Cookie Monster doll during a traffic stop.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said in a news release 39-year-old Key West resident Camus McNair was pulled over after a deputy saw his license plate was partially obscured and the car had heavily tinted windows.

When McNair rolled down his window, police said a deputy smelled marijuana and then searched a backpack found in the car before finding the Cookie Monster doll.

The deputy then noticed the doll "seemed to weigh more than it should have." When he then took a closer look at the doll and noticed a slit had been cut into it.

Inside Cookie Monster were two packages containing 11 ounces (314) grams of cocaine.

McNair was arrested and charged with trafficking cocaine, the sheriffs office said.
A Texas doctor wrote unnecessary prescriptions for powerful drugs that contributed to the overdose deaths of at least seven people over a four-year period, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.

Howard Gregg Diamond, 56, was arrested Tuesday on charges that include conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and health care fraud.

Prosecutors contend that Diamond began issuing prescriptions in 2010 that had no legitimate medical purpose. The prescriptions were for drugs such as fentanyl, hydrocodone and morphine, according to the indictment.

Authorities say the overdose deaths occurred in the Texas cities of Abilene, McKinney and Sulphur Springs, and in the Oklahoma cities of Ardmore, Hugo, Idabel and Yukon.

In each case, the seven people died within a month of filling the prescription provided by Diamond, the indictment states. One person filled a prescription for methadone in May 2013 and was dead two days later.

In another instance, a woman only identified in the indictment by the initials T.H. filled a prescription in July 2014 for alprazolam, morphine, oxycodone and zolpidem. She died 10 days after receiving the drugs.

Diamond, who is based in Sherman, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Dallas, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday. He is due in court again on Friday for a detention hearing. He is in federal custody and could not be reached for comment. His public defender, Denise Benson, didn't immediately reply to a message Wednesday seeking comment.

The indictment alleges that Diamond conspired with others to distribute the drugs but there was no indication whether additional arrests will be made.

Brit Featherston, the acting U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Texas, declined Wednesday to discuss the ongoing investigation but said the opioid problem has been getting worse. He said area law enforcement officers are seeing more and more cases of parents driving under the influence of opioids with their children in the back seat, indicating the prescription drugs are no longer confined to back alley deals.

"It's a different type of problem that we've been seeing build for several years now," he said.

Diamond also is accused of defrauding Medicare of tens of thousands of dollars by filing false claims and through other means.

Prosecutors say they'll seek to have Diamond's medical license revoked.

Online records kept by the Texas Medical Board show that Diamond's medical license was issued in 1988. He appears to have specialized in spinal injuries and rehabilitation.

The board in 2015 required Diamond to submit to a remedial plan after finding he "failed to maintain adequate medical records documenting his care and treatment of chronic pain patients." Records indicate the plan concluded when he completed its requirements a year later.

___

An earlier version of this story was corrected to show that Diamond was arrested Tuesday, not Monday.
The Iranian cancer researcher who was detained at Boston's Logan International Airport along with his family and sent back to his home country on Tuesday was not a result of President Trump's travel ban, a spokeswoman from U.S. Customs and Border Partol said.

Stephanie Malin, the spokeswoman, said Moshen Dehnavi and his family were detained for reasons unrelated to Trumps executive order. She said the stop was based on information discovered during the agencys review. She did not elaborate.

Dehnavi was arriving in the U.S. to start work at a prominent Boston hospital.

Boston Childrens Hospital said in a statement earlier Tuesday that Dehnavi was prevented from entering the country with his wife and three young children despite holding a J-1 visa for visiting scholars.

Boston Childrens hopes that this situation will be quickly resolved and Dr. Dehnavi and his family will be released and allowed to enter the U.S., hospital spokesman Rob Graham said in the statement. 

But Malin noted that visa applicants bear the burden of proof to meet all requirements and can be denied entry for a range of reasons, including health-related issues, criminality or security concerns.

The Supreme Court recently ruled the Trump administration could largely enforce its temporary ban on travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. But the court said the ban cant block people with a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.

Some advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Iranian American Council, suggested the detention might be a violation of the Supreme Court order.

The family is very worried, said Shayan Modarres, a lawyer for the D.C.-based council, which has been in contact with the family. If it is a minor paperwork issue, then something needs to be told to the family so they can resolve it.

At the very least, the incident shows how the administrations political priorities are leading to overzealous enforcement of immigration laws, said Gregory Romanovsky, chair of the New England chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Exercising discretion is not what theyre comfortable doing anymore, especially if theyre dealing with someone from one of the six banned countries, he said of local customs officials. The travel ban and the whole anti-immigrant mood coming from the very top of this administration certainly affects their ability.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a Democrat, told reporters he was waiting to hear more about the Dehnavis circumstances, but also suggested the case was an example of concerns with the travel ban.

Many people, doctors and nurses and people who are students working in the world-class institutions that we have are going to be boxed out or left out of the country, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
Police say "free samples" of tainted heroin may have resulted in the hospitalization of at least eight people in Chicago over the weekend due to overdoses.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says no deaths have been reported due to the adulterated heroin. However, he announced Monday that a woman is being held as a person of interest in the distribution of the drugs.

Johnson says police are also searching for a man who was seen distributing drugs from his vehicle in the South Shore neighborhood.

Johnson says it's uncommon to see as many drug overdoses as were reported Saturday. He says that is what brought the case to the attention of authorities.

Chicago police are working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to investigate the overdoses.
A proposal at Harvard University would ban all fraternities, sororities and single-gender clubs starting in fall 2018, a measure that's largely aimed at the school's exclusive, all-male social clubs that have been blamed for problems with sexual assault and alcohol abuse.

The recommendation was announced Wednesday by a faculty committee that was created in March to examine the school's rules surrounding single-gender clubs and suggest improvements. The final decision on any change now falls to Harvard President Drew Faust.

In its 22-page report, the committee said it hopes to create an environment where clubs "cease to have a pernicious influence on undergraduate life."

"In order to move beyond the gendered and exclusive club system that has persisted  and even expanded  over time, a new paradigm is needed," the committee wrote, "one that is rooted in an appreciation of diversity, commitment to inclusivity and positive contributions to the social experience for all students."

For years, Harvard's administration has sought to crack down on secretive all-male social clubs that are known on campus as "final clubs." They include a handful of groups that have been around for decades, including the Porcellian Club, which dates to the 18th century and counts President Theodore Roosevelt among its past members.

But the faculty committee said those clubs are a product of their times and "due to their resistance to change over the decades, they have lapsed into products behind their time."

A separate Harvard committee reported in March that members of the clubs have "deeply misogynistic attitudes" and a "sense of sexual entitlement." A school survey found that 47 percent of female seniors who interacted socially with the clubs had experienced non-consensual sexual contact during college.

Students and alumni from some clubs have strongly denounced those accusations and said they don't have problems with sexual assault. Messages left with several final clubs were not returned on Wednesday.

The proposal would forbid students from joining final clubs, fraternities or sororities  even those that are co-ed  starting with incoming students in fall 2018. Students found to have violated the rule would face disciplinary action from the university.

Although Harvard doesn't officially recognize fraternities or sororities, there are several local chapters open to Harvard students. None returned calls Wednesday, but a group that represents three fraternities that include Harvard students spoke out against the proposed ban.

"Freedom of association and speech are paramount for the intellectual and spiritual growth of students," Heather Kirk, spokeswoman for the North-American Interfraternity Conference, said in a statement. "We urge Harvard to focus on creating a culture of health and safety on campus that also respects students' rights."

The proposal goes beyond an earlier rule that was announced last year barring members of single-gender groups from serving as sports captains or leaders of other campus groups. That policy drew pushback from students and some faculty, leading administrators to convene the new committee to revisit the issue.

If approved, Harvard would join other colleges that have taken heavy actions against Greek life groups. The Harvard proposal is based on longstanding fraternity bans at Williams College in Massachusetts and Bowdoin College in Maine. More recently, some schools have banned alcohol at fraternity parties following student deaths.

Pennsylvania State University tightened its rules after 19-year-old student Tim Piazza died in February from injuries he suffered during a fraternity pledge night.

The Harvard committee said its proposal is partly a reaction to those types of stories.

"The committee's deliberations were carried out under the shadow of tragic events relating to hazing and excessive drinking at other campuses across America," the group wrote. "The Committee's recommendation is in part intended as a preventative step."
An illegal immigrant who sneaked into the United States from Mexico seven times was driving drunk and speeding down a Nebraska highway when he crashed his van last week, killing a passenger sitting in the back of the vehicle, prosecutors said.

Douglas County prosecutors said in court Tuesday Nemias Garcia-Velasco, 32, was deported in 2009 and 2011 and "voluntarily returned" to Mexico five times in 2005, the Omaha World-Herald reported. He was convicted of making a false claim to U.S. citizenship in 2005.

Garcia-Velasco's bail was set at $2 million. Prosecutor Ryan Lindberg in court on Tuesday requested a high bail for the illegal immigrant because he feared the man might flee the country -- again.

"If this is someone who bonds out, I dont think well see Mr. Garcia-Velasco again," Lindberg said.

Garcia-Velasco was speeding down an interstate in Omaha about 1 p.m. last Wednesday when he lost control of his 2001 Dodge Ram van, slamming into a guard rail before the vehicle rolled over and caught fire, officials said.

BLACK TEENAGER SAYS CALIFORNIA POLICE WRONGLY ROUGHED HER UP

Silvano Torres, 58, who wasn't wearing a seat belt while riding in the back of the van, died in the crash. Torres' girlfriend told the newspaper her boyfriend had documents to be in the U.S. and he was a father to two girls and a boy.

Another passenger, Jesus I. Gonzalez, 16, was hospitalized and released later that day.

Garcia-Velasco later told police he drank 12 beers the night before and into the morning of the crash. His blood-alcohol level was at .243, three times the legal limit of .08, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT MOM ACCUSED IN STABBING DEATHS OF CHILDREN, HUSBAND SMILES IN COURT

Garcia-Velasco was treated for severe burns, released and booked into jail. He was charged with motor vehicle homicide, driving under the influence and operating without a driver's license, KETV reported. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
It was early morning in March 1990 when two men carried out the largest art heist in history -- a brazen theft of masterpieces by such painters as Rembrandt, Vermeer and Manet valued at $580 million from a Boston museum.

Nearly three decades later, an investigator independently working the case said he's "100 percent convinced" the most valuable collection of stolen artwork is somewhere in Ireland, specifically in the possession of associates with the Irish Republican Army, or the IRA.

"I have been talking with several former IRA members -- individuals I've built a trust with over the years," art investigator Arthur Brand told Fox News on Wednesday.

"I'm convinced they are there," Brand said of the artworks. "The Ireland angle has been one of the most promising leads from the beginning."

But Brand's theory is one the museum said it's already probed extensively, concluding long ago the stolen artwork is not in Ireland.

"We have investigated leads related to the IRA thoroughly," Anthony Amore, the museum's chief investigator, told Fox News.

"There's not any current evidence that indicates our paintings are being held by the IRA, or in Ireland," Amore said. But, he added, "We are always happy to hear new information."

Just after midnight on March 18, 1990, two men dressed as police officers buzzed the side door at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and claimed they were there to investigate a disturbance.

A little more than an hour later, the men left with a collection of artwork valued at around half-a-billion dollars -- 13 masterpieces including Rembrandt's only seascape, "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee," and Vermeer's "The Concert," a masterpiece said to be worth more than $200 million.

The thieves also snatched an ancient Chinese bronze beaker or "Ku" from the Shang Dynasty and a finial that once stood atop a flag from Napoleon's Army.

The suspects, described as white men in their 30s, convinced two inexperienced security guards that they were police officers responding to a call, before overtaking the guards and tying them up. They spent 81 minutes inside the museum, walking the dark hallways before making their way to the Dutch Room, where the most valuable works were found.

Brand, who is based in Amsterdam, is credited with helping German police track down bronze horse statues that stood in front of Adolf Hitler's Grand Chancellery building, as well as recovering Salvador Dali's "Adolescence."

The FBI declined to comment Wednesday on Brand's assertions, citing an ongoing investigation.

FBI Special Agent Geoff Kelly previously told Fox News the suspects had "inside knowledge" of the museum's surveillance system. In 2013, the FBI announced that it knows the identities of the thieves but claimed it would be imprudent to disclose their names.

Investigators said the individuals belong to a criminal organization, and they said they believe the art work has changed hands several times over the years. The agency said it believes the works were transported from Connecticut to Philadelphia where they were sold about a decade ago. From there, knowledge of the art works whereabouts is limited, the FBI has said.

The bureaus investigation has focused largely on Robert "The Cook" Gentile, an 80-year-old Connecticut mobster who in May agreed to plead guilty to federal weapons charges and is currently imprisoned. Gentile has denied any involvement in the theft -- despite information collected by the FBI implicating him in the crime.

Gentile became a focus of the investigation in 2009 when the widow of Robert Guarente, another person of interest in the theft, told the FBI that Guarente and Gentile had at least two of the stolen works before Guarente's death from cancer in 2004.

Brand said Wednesday he believes it's unlikely Gentile knows where the Boston artwork is hidden.

"If he could have made a deal with authorities, he would have done it by now," said Brand. "Hes an old man now in jail for selling weapons."

Brand claims the IRA provided a "very, very strong lead" from the beginning of the investigation, noting the group's strong ties to the Irish community of Boston.

"The IRA is known to do such things," he said. "In 1974, in Ireland, they stole a few paintings and they tried to use it as exchange for getting imprisoned IRA members to be moved from England to Belfast."

Brand described the collection of art stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum as "priceless" but said such works are often used as payment for drug deals or arms deals on the black market.

"You cannot put a price on this art when it comes to its historical value," he said. "Vermeer is considered one of the best artists of all time. He only made 34 paintings in his life so you can see if they steal one, its quite a loss. And Rembrandt's "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee" is the only seaside he ever made."

"These are works that are not only important for art lovers but for history," Brand said.

In May, the museum and its board of trustees doubled the reward for the 13 pieces of stolen artwork to $10 million. The increased reward will expire at the end of 2017.

Brand said that while the hefty price might crack the case, he said officials must be clear on the exact terms of the reward.

"These criminals don't trust their own mothers," he said. "You have to be open and clear. You have to tell them exactly what to expect."

"Maybe they are not all together anymore," Brand said. "What if someone is in possession of three of the pieces and they're in poor condition?"

"I have no idea if immunity is granted and by whom and under what conditions. Authorities must be clear on this if they're hoping for a break," Brand said.

Amore, meanwhile, said the museum has been very clear about the terms of its reward. Any criminal prosecution is determined by federal authorities.

"The museum for more than a quarter of a century has made it extremely clear about the conditions under which the reward will be paid," Amore said. "The museum is prepared to pay a fair share of the reward for less than the 13 paintings, if necessary."

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the stolen artwork is urged to call 617-278-5114 or email tips to theft@gardnermuseum.org.

Cristina Corbin is a Fox News reporter based in New York. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaCorbin.
A U.S. military plane crashed in a Mississippi soybean field on Monday afternoon, killing 15 Marines and a Navy Corpsman. Heres what we know about the incident and the victims.

What happened?

The KC-130 transport aircraft went down at about 4 p.m. local time in Leflore County, the Marine Corps Special Operations Command said Tuesday in a Facebook post.

Six of the Marines and the sailor were from the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, the post said. The special forces members and their equipment were headed for pre-deployment training in Yuma, Arizona.

PHOTOS: MARINE AIRCRAFT DISASTER: THE FACE OF THE

VICTIMS

Brig. Gen. Bradley S. James, commanding general, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Forces Reserve, said Wednesday they were headed to El Centro, California, before going to Yuma.

"Indications are that something went wrong at cruise altitude," he said.

James also said that there were two impact sites. One site was approximately a half-mile north of U.S. 82, and the second site about a half-mile south of it, he said.

Who were the victims?

Nine Marines were from Newburgh, N.Y., and six Marines and a Navy Corpsman were from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, according to James.

The plane was based at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh.

On Friday, the Marine Forces Reserved identified the Marines and sailor killed the crash.

They are: Maj. Caine M. Goyette; Cap. Sean E. Elliot of Orage, Calif.; Gunnery Sgt. Mark A. Hopkins of Chesapeake, Va.; Gunnery Sgt. Brendan C. Johnson of Chittenden, Va.; Staff Sgt. Joshua M. Snowden of Dallas Texas; Sgt. Julian M Kevianne of Dallas, Texas; Sgt. Owen J. Lennon of Rockland, N.Y.; Cpl. Daniel I. Baldassare of Monmouth, N.J.; Cpl. Collin J. Schaaff of Pierce, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Robert H. Cox of Ventura, Calif.; Staff Sgt. William J. Kundrat of Frederick, Md.; Sgt. Chad E. Jenson of Los Angeles, Calif.; Sgt. Talon R. Leach of Callaway, Mo.; Sgt. Joseph J. Murray of Duval, Fla.; Sgt. Dietrich A. Schmieman of Benton, Wash.; and PO2 Ryan M. Lohrey of Middletown, Ind.

MARINE AIRCRAFT DISASTER: FBI SEEKS ANSWERS IN MISSISSIPPI CRASH THAT KILLED AT LEAST 16

What has the response been?

President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that the incident was heartbreaking, and that he and First Lady Melania Trump send our deepest condolences to all!

Vice President Mike Pence tweeted that he and his wife Karen Pence are praying for the families of the Marines who lost their lives. Others also offered their condolences.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Donald Trump Jr. acknowledged in an exclusive interview with Fox News' "Hannity" Tuesday night that he "probably would have done things a little differently" when he met with a Russian attorney during his fathers presidential campaign in June 2016.

"This [was] pre-Russia fever. This [was] pre-Russia mania," Trump Jr. told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "I dont think my sirens went [off] or my antenna went up at this time because it wasnt the issue that its been made out to be over the last nine months, ten months."

Dershowitz: Did Donald Trump Jr. commit a crime or merely political sin? It depends

Jarrett: Donald Trump Jr. has broken no law

Hannity to the media: You have zero credibility left

REASONS UNRELATED

The Iranian cancer researcher who was detained at Boston's Logan International Airport along with his family and sent back to his home country on Tuesday was not a result of President Trump's travel ban, a spokeswoman from U.S. Customs and Border Partol said.

Stephanie Malin, the spokeswoman, said Moshen Dehnavi and his family were detained for reasons unrelated to Trumps executive order. She said the stop was based on information discovered during the agencys review. She did not elaborate.

TEACHER SEX SCANDAL

A 31-year-old mother and former Connecticut high school teacher was arraigned with her husband standing by her side on charges that she sexually assaulted a special education male student.

Laura Ramos, who is charged with second-degree sexual assault, admitted having sex with an 18-year-old student a hand full of times from December 2016 until April 2017, according to a video statement from police officials.

CROSSING THE LINE

The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning on Wednesday, for a brief time, entered Taiwans defense zone and was being monitored, Reuters reported.

The carrier left Hong Kong before it entered in to the area. Taiwan said there was no reason to be alarmed. It is the fourth time the ship sailed in the vicinity. Taiwan has, in the past, scrambled fighter jets to follow the ship.

COMING UP ON FOX NEWS CHANNEL

10 AM ET: Fed Chair Janet Yellen testifies in front of the House Financial Services Committee in the reserves semi-annual monetary report.

11 AM ET: Update briefing scheduled to discuss the latest in the crash of the Marine KC-130 from Laflore County, Mississippi. Watch live on FoxNews.com

12: 10 PM ET: Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions addresses federal, state and local law enforcement about sanctuary cities and efforts to combat violent crime from Nevada. Watch live on FoxNews.com.

4:10 PM ET: Vice President Pence makes remarks at Bryants Rent-All in Kentucky. Watch live on FoxNews.com
Multiple sets of human remains were unearthed from a 12-foot-deep mass grave on an isolated Pennsylvania farm early Thursday as authorities continued digging for the bodies of four young men who disappeared last week.

Officials were able to identify one of the victims as 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro -- who vanished last week along with Mark Sturgis, 22, Tom Meo, 21, and Jimi Tar Patrick, 19. Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said he could not identify the other remains at this time, while issuing a fresh appeal for more help from the public.

"They are down 12 foot deep in a hole that is getting deeper by the minute," Weintraub said.

The FBI had been using heavy equipment to dig a deep trench on the farm property and then sifting through each bucket of dirt by hand, after cadaver dogs led authorities to the spot on the 90-acre farm in Solebury Township, located about 30 miles north of Philadelphia, where they discovered the remains inside a 12-foot-deep common grave.

"I don't understand the science behind it, but those dogs could smell these poor boys 12 feet below the ground," Weintraub said.

Fire and rescue crews on Thursday were using plywood to help shore up the deep grave as investigators worked inside under intense heat and choking dust.

"They're tenderly, painstakingly, reverentially recovering the remains of people they do not even know," Weintraub said.

Cosmo DiNardo, 20, remained a person of interest in the case. The grisly discovery was made on his father's farm and DiNardo was arrested Wednesday for allegedly trying to sell Meo's car for $500 on July 9 -- a day after Meo was last seen. That 1996 Nissan Maxima was also found on the family's farm.

DiNardo was being held on $5 million bail, which a Bucks County judge has said is the highest he has ever set.

Weintraub said Thursday he does know more about the relationships among the men but can't share more information because he needs to "maintain the integrity of the investigation."

"This is a homicide. Make no mistake about it. We just don't know how many homicides," Weintraub said.

The parents of DiNardo is expected to face a grand jury Thursday morning, Fox 29 reported. Authorities are hoping the parents can provide some information of their son's whereabouts the week of the men's disappearance.

'PERSON OF INTEREST' IN DISAPPEARANCE OF BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA MEN RELEASED ON BAIL AMID INTENSE SEARCH

An attorney representing the parents said in a statement Wednesday that they are cooperating "in every way possible with the investigation," adding that they sympathize with the grieving families.

"I can tell you they are doing everything in their power to cooperate with law enforcement's investigation at this point," Perri said in the statement.

DiNardo was originally released Tuesday evening to his parents home in Bensalem while FBI agents sifted through mounds of dirt from a deep pit they dug on the farm about 20 miles away. Police cadets combed the vast cornfields nearby. Patrick's family members said Sturgis and Meo worked together and Finocchiaro was a mutual friend.

POLICE SEARCH FOR 4 MISSING YOUNG MEN IN BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, DA BELIEVES FOUL PLAY INVOLVED

Weintraub said police would "continue digging and searching that property until we're satisfied that they are not there."

"This is just really, really rough on everybody involved because of the heat, the magnitude, the scope -- and the stakes are incredibly high -- life and death," he said

DiNardo was originally arrested Monday on a charge that had earlier been dismissed, accused of possessing a shotgun despite a previous mental health commitment.

Weintraub sought a high bail for DiNardo on the gun charge because he now considers him a flight risk. The father, Antonio DiNardo, posted $100,000 Tuesday to bring his son home after the initial arrest.

In a Thursday morning press conference, Weintraub provided an updated tip line for the FBI, 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Read more from FOX 29.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


A retired Army judge said he was perplexed that the Army would allow a soldier who allegedly showed support for ISIS remained an active military member.

Col Gregory A. Gross, who severed as the initial judge in the court martial of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan in 2009, told The Associated Press Tuesday that the Army may have decided Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Kang was just mouthing off and was not a threat.

Gross said he was concerned by the similarities between Kang and Hasan's case. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.

"He was making all these statements, and giving these presentations," said Gross, who is currently a civilian defense attorney for military service members.

Noel Tipon, an attorney in military and civilian courts, said there's nothing in the Army manual on removing soldiers from the service that would address allegations like speaking favorably about a group like Islamic State.

He suspects the FBI wanted to Kang to stay in the Army while they investigated whether he had collaborators.

"They probably said `let's monitor it and see if we can get a real terrorist cell,' " said Tipon, who served in the Marine Corps.

The Army took away Kangs security clearance for a while. But he stayed in the service, deploying to Afghanistan in 2013.

Then, last weekend, the FBI arrested the 34-year-old on terrorism charges following a yearlong investigation, shortly after Kang declared his loyalty to the terrorist group and exclaimed that he wanted to "kill a bunch of people," according to authorities.

The case highlights the challenges investigators face with protecting the public from a potentially dangerous actor on one hand and gathering sufficient evidence to enable prosecution on the other.

Kang is on record making pro-Islamic State comments and threatening to hurt or kill other service members back in 2011, according to an FBI affidavit filed Monday in federal court.

The Army revoked his security clearance in 2012, but gave it back to him the following year. Last year, the Army called the FBI when it "appeared that Kang was becoming radicalized," the affidavit said.

Lt. Col. Curtis J. Kellogg, a spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division, declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Kang's court-appointed lawyer, Birney Bervar, said his client may suffer from service-related mental health issues of which the government was aware but neglected to treat. He declined to elaborate.

The FBI said its investigation showed Kang was acting on his own.

Spokesman Arnold Laanui said the probe took nearly a year given the evidence that needed to be collected and the constitutional rights that needed to be protected.

"These tend to be very meticulous and time-consuming matters," Laanui said. Public safety, he said, was at the forefront of the case, he said.

The FBI outlined its evidence against Kang in a 26-page affidavit filed Monday. It includes allegations Kang filmed a combat training video for Islamic State and bought a drone he believed would be sent to the Middle East to help the group's fighters.

Agents said none of the military documents -- classified and unclassified -- Kang gave to people he believed were affiliated with Islamic State ever got to the group.

Kang's father told Honolulu television station KHON and the Star-Advertiser newspaper his son may have had post-traumatic stress disorder. Kang told the newspaper he became concerned after his son's return from Afghanistan. He said his son was withdrawn.

Kang enlisted in the Army in December 2001, just months after the Sept. 11 attacks. He served in South Korea from 2002 to 2003. He deployed to Iraq from March 2010 to February 2011 and Afghanistan from July 2013 to April 2014.

Kang was scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a detention hearing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
Authorities are renewing their search for an Alabama woman nine years to the day after she went missing.

Madison County sheriff's investigators, the FBI and others were searching Wednesday at the home where Jennifer Fay Powers lived and was last seen. She was 29 and a married mother of three at the time.

Powers' husband said she went outside on July 12, 2008, and never returned. Relatives say she had a drug problem but wouldn't abandon her family.

Madison County Sheriff's Office Capt. Michael Salomonsky tells WAAY-TV that crews will dig on the property to search for evidence in her disappearance.

Salomonsky say investigators believe the woman was the victim of a homicide, and authorities have a person of interest.

The house is located in Harvest, near Huntsville.
A 31-year-old mother and former Connecticut high school teacher was arraigned with her husband standing by her side on charges that she sexually assaulted a special education male student.

Laura Ramos, who is charged with second-degree sexual assault, admitted having sex with an 18-year-old student a handful of times from December 2016 until April 2017, according to a video statement from police officials.

Ramos later left the courthouse Tuesday with her husband.

She is presumed innocent and we look forward to proceeding on this matter, said her lawyer Edward Gavin, according to the New Haven Register.

Ramos, who has been teaching special education at the high school, resigned following her arrest.

On June 9, officers were called to Central High School for a complaint of a sex assault; the schools principal told officers that a teacher reported that one of his students told him Ramos had been having sex with one of her students from the special education program, according to the Register.

Police said the student witness told them Ramos had been texting him for some time, often relating her personal problems and complained that her guy didnt want to have sex with her anymore.

The student witness said he believed the her guy Ramos was referring to was another male student who he often saw with the teacher, making eyes at each other like flirting, police said.

Click here for more from the New Haven Register.
President Donald Trump and France's Emmanuel Macron may be the world's oddest of political odd couples. Far apart on climate change and immigration, the two leaders will look for common ground on terrorism and defense policy when they meet this week in Paris.

The president will be the guest of honor at this year's Bastille Day events  a celebration of French national pride at a time when, according to Macron, "our world has never been so divided."

The overseas trip comes as Trump is dogged by fresh controversy over his campaign's potential connections to Russia.
The Utah parents charged in the death of their 3-year-old daughter taunted the malnourished girl with food and attempted to cover her injuries with makeup, prosecutors said.

Cellphone video taken by the girl's parents Brenda Emile, 22, and Miller Costello, 25, show them presenting the girl with food, and then taking it away after disciplining her, police said.

Cellphone footage shows the toddlers condition growing progressively worse over a year and a half before her extremely malnourished body was found at the familys home, authorities said.

The girl was found at the Ogden home July 6, after her parents called police to report she wasnt breathing. Police said the girl was found covered with burns, cuts and bruises, some of which looked new while others appeared to be in various stages of healing.

Emile and Costello were charged with aggravated murder. The charge carries the possibility of the death penalty. Two other children were removed from the house and given to state child protective services, police said.

Officers searching the couple's cellphones later found pictures and videos taken between January 2016 and June 2017 that show the child obviously upset, police said. In one video the girl's father used the feet of an infant to kick the girl in the face, prosecutors said.

Costello acknowledged he knew his toddler was in danger of dying if she didnt get medical attention, but did not take her to the doctor, police said.

He said Emile, who cared for their children during the day, told him Angelina's siblings had injured her but Emile didn't want to take her to a doctor because she feared a police investigation and her children being taken away.

Prosecutors are asking the couple be held without bail, saying they have ties in several states and Costello's travels frequently for his job as a scrap metal dealer. They also say the pair had tens of thousands of dollars in cash when they were arrested.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The White House is condemning as "cowardly" a deadly terrorist attack on religious pilgrims in India this week.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer says an attack on religious freedom is an attack on the "most fundamental right of liberty."

Spicer is offering condolences to the victims and families of Monday's assault. He says the U.S. and India will fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world.

President Donald Trump recently hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (nah-REN'-drah MOH'-dee) for talks and dinner at the White House.

During Monday's attack, gunmen sprayed bullets on a passenger bus as it returned Hindu pilgrims from a cave shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Authorities said at least seven people were killed, and more than a dozen others were wounded.
Local officials say that more than 78 people have been killed after a truck overturned in an accident in Central African Republic's city of Bambari.

Oumar Tidjani, a member of the young Muslims association of Ouaka, said Thursday that 75 others were injured at the Ngouro bridge about 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Bambari. He said the victims are mostly traders who piled into the truck to go to the weekly market in Maloum.

Hospital workers confirmed that 59 bodies are in the morgue and at least 18 others are with families for burial.

The president's office appealed to drivers to not transport so many people at once given the terrible conditions of the roads.

International Red Cross workers in Bambari are helping to treat and transfer the wounded.
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The visit by Paraguay's president to Taiwan this week offers a diplomatic lifeline to the self-governing island democracy whose international breathing space is being steadily chipped away at by Beijing.

Horacio Cartes and his delegation were scheduled to attend events Wednesday commemorating 60 years of ties between Taiwan and the landlocked nation, the island's only diplomatic ally in South America.

Cartes' three-day visit comes almost a month after Panama switched relations from Taipei to Beijing, leaving Taiwan with just 20 diplomatic allies, mainly small developing nations in Central America, the Caribbean, the South Pacific and Africa. That development set alarm bells in Taipei.

"As far as the (Taiwanese) government is concerned, there is a growing sense of unfairness and unreasonableness by Beijing," said Alan Romberg, director of the East Asia program at The Stimson Center, a Washington think tank. "It is hard to see a way out."

At a welcoming ceremony in the capital Taipei, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen issued a "most heartfelt welcome" to Cartes.

Cartes, who is making his third visit to Taiwan as president, offered words of comfort, saying : "Based on ongoing and earnest friendship, as well as mutual support, we will continue to reinforce Taiwan and Paraguay's inseparable cooperation and exchange programs."

Beijing renewed a campaign to diminish the island's global standing last year after cutting ties with Tsai's independence-leaning government, which has refused to endorse China's insistence that Taiwan is part of China.

Along with plucking away Panama and two of Taiwan's African allies, Beijing has barred Taiwan's representatives from attending the World Health Assembly and other gatherings to which they formerly had access.

Since Panama broke away, Taiwan's diplomats have redoubled their efforts to shore up ties with the island's remaining allies, with analysts saying such relationships remain vital to Taiwan retaining its claimed status as a sovereign nation and maintaining its international profile.

Visits to allies in the Western Hemisphere also permit Taiwan's leaders to stop off in the United States to meet with American politicians and other supporters. The U.S. switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979, eight years after Taiwan's seat at the United Nations was given to China.

The loss of Panama had a major impact on Taiwanese public opinion and served as something of a wakeup call to the government, said Alexander Huang, director of the Institute of Strategic Studies at Taiwan's Tamkang University.

That's partly because the relationship stretched back more than 100 years when the Republic of China  the official name of Taiwan's government  ruled all of China from the mainland, Huang said. The ROC was moved to Taiwan in 1949 after Mao Zedong's Communists drove Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists from the mainland amid civil war.

Panama, home to the canal that is crucial to global trade, was also Taiwan's last partner of major strategic importance and its shift aroused fears of a domino effect on other allies, he said.

"So we need to make sure that even with the worst case scenario, we will try our very best with our counterparts to keep our interests protected, keep our personnel, and that our interests in those countries continue," Huang said.

And despite the challenges, Huang said he sees no prospects for cutting a deal with Beijing on endorsing its "One China" principle in return for maintaining Taiwan's international presence.

"Everyone in Taiwan across party lines understands that China can continue to humiliate Taiwan because they have the power," Huang said. "But to continue this kind of game would not necessarily bring about a Chinese unification or win over the minds and hearts of Taiwan people."

Beijing's efforts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically have been "a big factor in the rise of pro-independence sentiment," said Ashley Esarey, a Taiwan scholar at Canada's University of Alberta.

However, maintaining relations with a small number of states is less important than it was two decades ago, since Taiwanese have shifted their thinking to emphasize "informal, substantive relationships over formal diplomatic partnerships," said Taiwan politics expert Shelley Rigger, a political scientist and longtime observer of Taiwanese politics at Davidson College in North Carolina.

Rigger and other observers said they expect Beijing to continue picking off Taiwan's remaining allies  including Paraguay  as a means of piling the pressure on Tsai.

China's campaign to not only deepen Taiwan's diplomatic isolation but also damage its economy by limiting Chinese tourist visits does seem to be having an impact, with Tsai's approval ratings down considerably since she took office May 2016. While political unification with China is deeply unpopular among Taiwan's 23 million people, support for trade and travel between the sides remains strong.

For now, China does seem to be exercising a degree of restraint, even as it seeks to convince countries such as Nigeria, Jordan and Ecuador that have only informal ties with Taiwan to downgrade those relations even further, said Dennis V. Hickey, distinguished professor and director of the Graduate Program in Global Studies at Missouri State University.

Beijing "could take more of Taipei's allies any time it wants to do so," Hickey said. As long as Tsai continues to defy Beijing, "Taiwan's global footprint will continue to shrink and the present administration will try to shift the blame to Beijing," he said.

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Bodeen reported from Beijing.
Another 38 probable mass graves have been found in central Congo, where violence between troops and militia members has killed thousands of people since August, the United Nations announced Wednesday.

This means at least 80 mass graves have been identified so far, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the vast Central African nation said.

The international community has expressed alarm over the violence in the once-calm Kasai provinces region. Some diplomats have suggested that the tensions are also tied to Congo's presidential election that has been delayed since last year.

The Catholic church has estimated more than 3,300 people have died in the fighting since a traditional chief was killed in a military operation in August.

The U.N. says more than a million people have been displaced, making Congo the African country with the most internally displaced people  3.8 million.

The latest mass graves were found this month in the Diboko and Sumbula areas of Kamonia territory by an investigative team from the local U.N. human rights office and Congo's military justice authorities, the U.N. said.

On Tuesday, U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix expressed serious concern to the U.N. Security Council that violence in the Kasai provinces "has reached very disturbing levels."

Congo's government now points to the violence as the reason for further election delays. The country's U.N. ambassador, Ignace Gata Mavita, has said voter registration has not yet begun in two provinces  Kasai and Kasai Central  as a result of the fighting. Registration is scheduled to begin July 20, he said.

President Joseph Kabila's mandate ended in December, and after deadly protests the government and opposition reached a Dec. 31 agreement that calls for the vote by the end of this year  without Kabila as a candidate.

The head of the electoral commission, however, now says that won't be possible.
Ships carrying personnel for China's first overseas military base set sail on Tuesday to begin setting up the facility in Djibouti, as China's rapidly modernizing military extends its global reach.

The warships departed from Zhanjiang in southern China to set up a "support base" in the Horn of Africa nation, state media Xinhua reported late Tuesday.

Xinhua did not say when the base would begin operations, but reported the establishment of the base was a decision made by the two countries after "friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides."

"The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia," Xinhua reported.

New satellite images obtained by Fox News on Wednesday showed the extensive construction and development at the base, which grants strategic access to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

The newly obtained satellite images, from ImageSat International, revealed dozens of buildings meant for logistic storage and accommodations in various stages of construction.

In the most recent images, from July 4, there is evidence of a squadron building, seven shelters for helicopters or UVA's along a 1,300-foot long apron, which is intended to accommodate aircraft for loading, refueling or maintenance. In the center of the photo, there's a building, which appears to be a control tower.

Another image shows the significant sprout of development in the past month in four various sites on the compound.

The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry announced on Jan. 21, 2016, an agreement with Djibouti to host its first base beyond the South China Sea, and construction commenced days later. Though Beijing called the installation a logistics and fast evacuation base, some of the Asian powers rivals, such as Taiwan, said it is more likely the beginning of a new, aggressive military buildup intended to rival the United States' facilities.

The new Chinese base is a source of concern for American defense forces, as it is located less than 4 miles from the U.S. base at Camp Lemonnier, one of the Pentagon's largest and most important foreign military installations.

Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, commander of AFRICOM, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March 2017 that he met with Djiboutis President Ismail Omar Guelleh and expressed our concerns about some of the things that are important to us about what the Chinese should not do at that location. He anticipated the base would be completed some time this summer.

Camp Lemonnier is home to about 3,000 U.S. military personnel and contractors and the base to Special Operations Command (Forward)  East Africa, which has carried out operations against Al Shabaab militants in Africa.

Djibouti, which is slightly smaller than New Jersey, hosts U.S., French and Japanese military bases, and will soon add a Saudi military facility as well.


The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning on Wednesday, for a brief time, entered Taiwans defense zone and was being monitored, Reuters reported.

The carrier left Hong Kong before it entered in to the area. Taiwan said there was no reason to be alarmed. It is the fourth time the ship sailed in the vicinity. Taiwan has, in the past, scrambled fighter jets to follow the ship.

Last month, China launched its most advanced domestically produced a 10,000-ton destroyer called the Type 055.

China's navy is undergoing an ambitious expansion and is projected to have a total of 265-273 warships, submarines and logistics vessels by 2020, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Naval Analysis. That compares with 275 deployable battle force ships presently in the U.S. Navy, China's primary rival in the Asia Pacific, with the once-yawning gap between the two narrowing rapidly.

China says it needs a powerful navy to defend its 9,010 miles of coastline, as well as its crucial maritime shipping routes.

However, it also appears increasingly willing to challenge actions by the U.S. - long the region's pre-eminent military power - especially in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety.

Beijing has also long nurtured resentment against Japan over its past invasion of China, and their dispute over a group of tiny, uninhabited islands in the East China Sea has at times threatened to break out into open confrontation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been convicted of taking bribes and money laundering in a massive corruption scandal that has swept the country's political establishment.

Brazilian federal judge Sergio Moro, who is leading the multi-billion dollar corruption probe known as Carwash, sentenced the 71-year-old for nine and a half years in prison. Lula will remain free on appeal.

Moro found Lula guilty of accepting $1.2 million worth of bribes from the engineering firm OAS SA. Prosecutors said the company spent the same amount refurbishing a beach apartment for Lula in return for his helping in winning contracts with state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro.

The case is part of a massive corruption investigation that has roiled Brazilian politics that has seen business executives and elite politicians jailed.

"The present conviction does not bring this judge any personal satisfaction. Quite the contrary, it is regrettable that a former president be criminally convicted," federal Judge Sergio Moro wrote in his decision. "It doesn't matter how high you are, the law is still above you."

Moro said he did not order Silva's immediate arrest because the conviction of a president is such a serious matter that he felt an appeal should be heard first.

Lula, who is considered one of Brazils most popular leaders, was president between 2003 and 2010.. His handpicked successor, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached last year over accusations of budget mishandling.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Iran has appointed a female CEO to lead its national airline for the first time since it was established in the 1940s.

The state-owned IRAN daily reported Wednesday that the transport minister appointed Farzaneh Sharafbani, 44, who holds a PhD in aerospace engineering and previously served on the board of Iran Air.

Iran is in the process of revamping its aging passenger fleet following the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which lifted international sanctions. It has struck billion-dollar deals with Boeing and Airbus to buy scores of passenger planes.

The administration of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who was re-elected earlier this year, has appointed women to a number of management posts, breaking with tradition in the Islamic republic.
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Italy's plan to reduce the risk of a jihadi-inspired attack is pinned in small part on El Hacmi Mimoun, an imam who bikes to the prison here every week and exhorts Muslim inmates not to stray from life's "right path" or hate people who aren't Muslim.

Seven inmates  three Moroccans, three Tunisians and a Somali  left their cells at Terni Penitentiary on an early summer day to listen as the Moroccan-born imam led prayers and delivered a sermon. Sunlight from a high barred window streamed through Mimoun's gauzy, off-white robe.

"If I am praying, I am not cooking up ideas to harm others on the outside," a 35-year-old Tunisian inmate said, sitting cross-legged in the small, beige-tiled room that was converted into the prison's Mosque of Peace.

None of the inmates would give their names, and prison rules precluded asking why they were serving time.

So far spared the attacks that have stunned France, Belgium, Britain and Germany, Italy has relied mostly on arresting and deporting suspected extremists to try to keep the country safe. But the Italian government has come to embrace prevention, too, especially in the prisons it doesn't want to become training grounds for potential extremists.

Inviting in imams who have been vetted to make sure they espouse "moderate views" is a tactic now being employed in Italian prisons to counter radicalization among inmates. In February, the government signed a recruiting agreement with the Union of Islamic Communities and Organizations in Italy, which professes to foster Islamic "pluralism."

When preaching to inmates, "we stress that we are Italians of Muslim faith, Europeans of Muslim faith ... We are 100 percent citizens with rights and duties," UCOII president Izzeddin Elzir said.

Italy's second generation of Muslim immigrants is just coming of age now. For the most part, the nation lacks neighborhoods with heavy concentrations of Muslim residents. But Muslims make up a disproportionate share of the population in Italy's prisons.

More than a third of all inmates in Italian penitentiaries are foreigners, and 42 percent of those come from the majority Muslim countries of Morocco, Albania and Tunisia, according to a 2017 report by inmate advocacy group Antigone.

The advocacy group counted 411 chaplains, but only 47 imams working in Italy's 200 prisons. Prison system officials worry that if imams don't make regular visits, inmates might be more vulnerable to the influence of those who are already radicalized.

"It's not so much those (inmates) who preach, but those who submit to this proselytizing" who are considered at risk, Terni Penitentiary Superintendent Natascia Bastianelli said.

Justice Ministry Undersecretary Gennaro Migliore stressed in an interview that of about 11,000 Italian prison inmates from predominantly Muslim countries, "those who could be potentially radicalized, or already radicalized don't exceed 400" inmates.

So far, 13 UCOII imams have started preaching in eight prisons after being screened by interior ministry officials. Government officials and the organization plan to evaluate the strategy's effectiveness as a de-radicalization tool this fall.

If Italy needed a wakeup call, it came with the morning news two days before Christmas.

Before dawn, officers in Milan confronted and killed a young Tunisian suspected of driving the truck that plowed through shoppers at a Berlin Christmas market that week, killing 12. Anis Amri is believed to have become radicalized during the 3  years he spent in Italian prisons for his role in a riot at a migrant center.

In a separate case, authorities accused a Tunisian inmate with alleged links to extremist groups of recruiting fellow Muslims at an Italian prison, and attacking inmates who resented his extremist propaganda.

Terni police commander Fabio Gallo said learning that Amri had spent time in Italian prisons spurred him and other prison officials to sharpen their skills at recognizing an inmate who is becoming radicalized.

About 20 percent of the penitentiary's personnel have taken courses to make them aware of possible signs, such as preaching to other inmates or exulting at television news coverage about extremist attacks in Europe, Gallo said.

But he stressed that it's often difficult to realize which words or gestures might be worrisome signals, especially for staff who don't understand Arabic. And inmates are catching on to what tips prison personnel off, Gallo said.

"Nobody has a long beard" anymore, the commander said.

Vetting imams may not prove to be a straightforward process either.

"Where do you set the bar? Is it OK if someone is saying Western society is decadent, but at the same time condemns ISIS?" asked Lorenzo Vidino, an Islamism expert, using an alternative abbreviation for IS.

Former anti-terrorism magistrate Stefano Dambruoso, who is now a lawmaker in Italy, endorses careful screening of who will be preaching to men and women behind bars. He thinks it's essential "they have been trained in schools, in environments respectful of the founding principles of our Constitution."

Yet Dambruoso also expresses concern about the imams invited into prisons "turning into some kind of secret eye, or a spy for the institutions."

On the day when Mimoun was at Terni Penitentiary, 46 of the 109 foreigners in the medium-security section were from northern Africa. The imam delivered his sermon in Arabic, sprinkled with Italian and French phrases.

He said he teaches his followers to "respect Italians, respect neighbors, your colleagues, your cellmates."

One of the inmates who came to pray in the mosque said that "if you respect religion, our religion, you won't commit" extremist attacks.

After the seven were accompanied back to their cells, Mimoun told of how an inmate once confided in him that he "hated Italians."

"I showed him in the Quran where it says you cannot hate others of different religions," the imam said.

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Frances D'Emilio is on Twitter: www.twitter.com/fdemilio
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The Latest on the vote to legalize same-sex marriages in Malta (all times local):

7:45 p.m.

Lawmakers in the predominantly Catholic island nation of Malta have voted to legalize same-sex marriages.

Malta joined much of Western Europe on Wednesday when its parliament approved legislation eliminating the traditional "you are now husband and wife" declaration in civil ceremonies and replacing it with "you are now spouses."

The vote was 66-1, with the sole lawmaker who voted against the change citing his Christian faith.

The Catholic Church had opposed the legislation, which the Labor government promised to introduce as its first law after winning a second term last month and which the main opposition party supported.

The aim of the law, piloted by Equality Minister Helena Dalli, is to "modernize the institution of marriage" to give all consenting adult couples the right to marry.

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11:15 a.m.

The predominantly Catholic island nation of Malta is set to legalize gay marriage, joining much of Western Europe by eliminating the traditional "you are now husband and wife" declaration in civil ceremonies and replacing it with "you are now spouses."

The Catholic Church had opposed the legislation, which the Labor government promised to introduce as its first law after winning a second term last month and which the main opposition party supports. The only question heading into Wednesday's parliamentary vote is whether the bill would pass unanimously or with a lone opposition lawmaker voting against.

The aim of the law, piloted by Equality Minister Helena Dalli, is to "modernize the institution of marriage" to give all consenting adult couples the right to marry.
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"Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen" and the U.N. are rhyming.

Japanese comedian Pikotaro has adapted his catchy song to promote the United Nations' sustainable development goals. The original went viral last year after pop star Justin Bieber tweeted that it was his favorite video.

Pikotaro, in his trademark leopard-lizard design outfit, was a bit reserved at an appearance Wednesday alongside the more conservatively dressed Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

The PPAP star beamed at the invitation to accompany the diplomat to New York and pledged to do his utmost for the awareness campaign. They'll debut the U.N. version, "SDGs," on Monday.

At first, Pikotaro seemed unconvinced. "Do you mean the U.N., one that is in New York? Me? Are you sure?" he asks half-jokingly. Kishida reassured him that it is a Japan-hosted reception at the U.N. headquarters where he will be performing.

The U.N. action plan sets goals in fighting poverty, climate change and other global challenges. Kishida says he needs to boost awareness for the project in which every citizen needs to help. "Pikotaro-san's popularity would be extremely effective to boost public recognition," Kishida told him.

Pikotaro says it would be a challenge to achieve all the goals, but he is happy to accept the Foreign Ministry's appointment to the promotional role and to help by doing what he does best. "Something easy that encourages people to watch and follow example."

He also gave Kishida a brief posing lesson, demonstrating hand gestures showing 17 development project areas as the minister struggled to copy Pikotaro.

There was no dancing lesson, however. In the PPAP song, Pikotaro mimics stabbing a pen into an apple and a pineapple while singing simple English lyrics and dancing to a catchy beat.

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Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi

Find her work on APNews at https://www.apnews.com/search/mari%20yamaguchi
Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung, World Banks Acting Country Director Sebastian Eckardt, and Director General of Vietnam Custom Nguyen Van Can jointly push a button to make the portal go live during a ceremony held in Hanoi on July 12th, 2017.

Hosted by the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) under the Ministry of Finance, with support from the World Bank Group in Vietnam, the VTIP is expected to help improve the predictability and transparency of the countrys trading laws and processes, giving foreign and domestic investors quick access to Vietnams trade rules.

With the official launch and operation of the VTIP, we hope that business community and other stakeholders will be provided with a useful tool and able to find sufficient and necessary information for the facilitation of import - export activities. The Ministry of Finance, as the leading agency in the implementation of the WTO/FTA, has committed to close coordination with government agencies, private sector as well as international organizations to ensure the efficient cooperation and information sharing for the sustainability of VTIP and contribute to the realization of Vietnams international commitments to transparency, spoke Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung.

Photo courtesy of WB Vietnam

The initiative is the latest Government effort to increase access to information and to comply with the WTOs Trade Facilitation Agreement. The website will include existing trade regulations and procedures such as laws, administrative procedures, guidance notes, forms, licenses, permits, and applicable fees in both Vietnamese and English.

The Portal now provides a one-stop access point where users can find information from more than a dozen Ministries and State agencies that are involved in trade procedures. It is an essential piece of a larger, on-going effort by the Government to enhance trade facilitation and the World Bank stands ready to continue to provide support to these important efforts.

Having a single portal containing all trade regulations and procedures will save businesses time and operational costs, especially for small and medium enterprises interested or involved in the import, export and transit sectors.

Some of VTIPs other features include: an overview of Vietnams economy, business startup process, import and export guide, customs terminology, as well as information on special economic areas, export processing zones, cross-border trade and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) automation; international, regional and bi-lateral trade agreements to which Vietnam is a party, including applicable rules and requirements as well as associated benefits; a selection of websites of international organizations or institutions that can bring further support to overseas expansion and tools allowing exporters to perform trade potential analysis, desk research and market surveys.

Besides, the portal is also expected to improve trade regulations themselves, as legislators are now able to easily identify the complexity of current regulations and procedures when applied to commodities and to suggest areas of modernization and simplification while easily monitoring the progress of such processes.

Vietnam has climbed nine spots to 82 from 91 on the WB's Doing Business 2017 ranking, and moved 15 spots up to 93 from 108 for improved border-trade indicators related to import-export operations. Thus, the VTIP is a major step towards Vietnams goal of being one of the top 4 easiest places for doing business in ASEAN by 2020./.
A Philippine air force fighter jet missed its target in an airstrike Wednesday against Islamic State group-aligned militants in southern Marawi city, killing two soldiers who were hit by debris from a building where they were taking cover, military officials said.

Eleven other soldiers were slightly wounded and taken to a hospital after being hit by shrapnel when the aircraft dropped its bomb about 250 meters (820 feet) from its target, military spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said.

It was the second deadly accident involving aerial bombing since the military launched an offensive to end an unprecedented siege of the lakeside city by hundreds of militants. A bomb dropped by a military jet on May 31 hit an army position and killed 11 soldiers in Marawi.

"We are saddened by this unfortunate incident," Arevalo said, adding an investigation was underway.

Since the intense urban fighting broke out on May 23, at least 389 militants including foreign fighters, 90 soldiers and policemen, and 39 civilians have been killed. The battles have forced nearly 400,000 residents to flee from Marawi and outlying towns in Lanao del Sur province.

About 300 other civilians remain trapped in their houses near the fighting or are in militant custody, slowing the advance of troops in the last four areas of Marawi where less than 100 gunmen are still fighting from small buildings and houses, military officials said.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law for 60 days in the country's south to deal with the Marawi insurrection, the worst crisis he has faced since taking office in June last year. Duterte has said he will likely extend the martial rule, which is to expire on Saturday, because the situation remains critical.
Turkish police killed five Islamic State group militants in a firefight that erupted during a raid on a house in the central city of Konya, officials said Wednesday. Four police officers were slightly wounded in the operation.

Eight other militants were detained in a series of other raids linked to the operation, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The Konya governor's office said police carried out the raid on the house after a routine security check on residents of homes on a route frequently used by military units revealed that it was being rented by a militant wanted by police.

The governor's office said a gun, five automatic rifles and a large amount of ammunition were seized in the raid.

Turkey has been hit by a series of deadly attacks carried out by IS or Kurdish militants and has stepped up anti-terrorism operations across the country.

IS claimed responsibility for a New Year's mass shooting at an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people.


PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte exchange the joint statement (Source: VNA)

The following is the full text of the joint statement:

1. At the invitation of H.E. Mr. Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, H.E. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and his spouse visited the Netherlands from July 8th to 11th, 2017.

During the visit, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc held talks with Prime Minister Mark Rutte and was the guest of honour at a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Mark Rutte; met with the President of the House of Representatives Ms. Khadija Arib and the President of the Senate Ms. Ankie Broekers-Knol; visited the Port of Rotterdam and met with the Mayor of Rotterdam Mr. Ahmed Aboutaleb; visited Wageningen University and Research; attended a Business Forum, participated in a CEO Roundtable and met with representatives of leading Dutch companies.

2. The leaders noted with satisfaction the comprehensive and substantive growth of the Vietnam - Netherlands relationship in all areas since the establishment of the Strategic Partnership Arrangement on Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management in 2010 as well as the Strategic Partnership Arrangement on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in 2014. The leaders pledged to continue high-level contacts and exchanges of delegations, including consultations at regular intervals between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs on topics of mutual interest and concern. The diplomatic missions of the two countries at international organizations and multilateral fora, when appropriate, will hold consultations and strengthen cooperation on issues of mutual interest.

Both leaders noted that Vietnam and the Netherlands will celebrate the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2018 and agreed that the respective sides would coordinate where appropriate in marking this special year.

3. The leaders expressed satisfaction with the concrete cooperation within the framework of the Strategic Partnership Arrangement on Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management.

In particular, the two sides have made significant progress in cooperating on improved regional coordination in the Mekong Delta and on policies directed at the sustainable development of the Mekong Delta. Both sides are committed to build on these successes.

Given the similarities as Delta Countries, both sides valued the exchange of expertise and experience in this field. In light of its role as an important knowledge partner, the Netherlands confirmed its willingness to further support the implementation of the Arrangement, as appropriate. The leaders signed a Letter of Intent to cooperate on the facilitation and implementation of large-scale transformative projects for a sustainable Mekong Delta. Vietnam welcomed the Dutch contribution to the Mekong River Commission (MRC). The leaders confirmed their strong support for the 1995 Agreement on the cooperation for the sustainable development of the Mekong River basin.

4. The leaders highly valued the practical cooperation within the framework of the Strategic Partnership Arrangement on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security. Vietnam and the Netherlands will exchange views on improving value chains in agriculture, including in safe meat production chains and creating favorable conditions for innovative sustainable agriculture. Vietnam welcomes the experience and cooperation of the Netherlands in this field. Together with the World Bank Group, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Food Safety Management in Vietnam involving Dutch support for Vietnam in terms of professional knowledge, technology and experience. Vietnam appreciates the technical support of the Netherlands in developing Vietnams National Food Branding strategy in recent years. Vietnam cordially invited the Netherlands to participate in the Vietnam FoodExpo 2018 as the Country of Honour.

5. The two countries affirmed the importance of promoting bilateral trade and investment and creating favorable conditions for the businesses of both sides, particularly in the framework of the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. The leaders expressed their support for the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. This agreement, with a specific chapter on sustainability, would be mutually beneficial and an important tool to spur economic growth and sustainable development. The Netherlands offered its expertise and support to Viet Nam on the implementation of the Agreement as will be stipulated in the Road Map. Vietnam reaffirmed its consistent policy of economic reform and international integration, ensuring implementation of relevant international commitments.

6. The leaders support the efforts and progress made in the partnership between the Vietnamese aviation sector and the Dutch aviation sector. Vietnam highly appreciates the collaboration of Dutch aviation experts, government agencies and businesses with their peers in Vietnam. The continued efforts by the Dutch government supported through the Dutch Aviation Vietnam Cluster will focus on knowledge exchange, advisory services and identifying suitable technologies to support the growth of Vietnams aviation industry.

Both sides, given the importance of the maritime and inland waterway transportation; logistics and port development and management for their economies and building on earlier cooperation, are looking forward to intensifying exchange of expertise in these fields.

7. The leaders highly appreciated the recent development in the cooperation among their provincial and municipal authorities and agreed to promote the investment and technological transfer from Dutch local authorities to Vietnamese ones.

8. The leaders acknowledged the importance of the rule of law and respect for human rights, both of which are essential for sustainable development, security and stability. Prime Minister Rutte acknowledged the positive developments in Vietnam in the field of equal rights for Lesbian, Gays, Transgender, Bisexual and Intersex (LGBTI) persons, including the joint position of both countries in the Human Rights Council on the issue, and looks forward to future cooperation on this topic. The leaders looked back with satisfaction on Dutch support for Vietnam in implementing the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) and expressed their wish to extend this cooperation.

9. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris Agreement, signed during the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Both sides realized the importance of developing renewable energy. The Netherlands is pleased to be part of the Vietnam Energy Partnership Group (VEPG) and is looking forward to its deliberations, especially on the area of energy efficiency.

10. The leaders looked back at a successful G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to stepping up their extensive cooperation as well as mutual support in regional and international fora such as the United Nations, WTO, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the ASEAN-EU cooperation in order to promote peace, stability and economic integration, sustainable and inclusive growth and prosperity. Fostering cooperation ties between these organizations, inter alia through ASEAN-EU meetings and the ASEM, can benefit the member countries. The Netherlands wishes Vietnam much success in hosting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in 2017.

With the establishment of the ASEAN community, both leaders expressed their determination to strengthen cooperation in order to take use of the massive market of 600 million consumers of ASEAN. The leaders welcomed the recent progress in the ASEAN-EU dynamic partnership in various areas. They expressed their commitment to enhanced ASEAN-EU relations.

The leaders discussed ways to expand their defense cooperation, especially in the area of maritime security. The leaders noted with satisfaction the recent cooperation in peacekeeping. Prime Minister Rutte commended the growing efforts of Vietnam in UN Peacekeeping Operations. Prime Minister Phuc expressed his appreciation for the Netherlands assistance to Vietnams Peacekeeping Center.

11. Prime Minister Rutte and Prime Minister Phuc recognized that peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea (called East Sea in Vietnam), are of strategic significance. The leaders also affirmed their full support for the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The leaders jointly decided to explore ways to intensify the bilateral dialogue on international law and the settlement of disputes by peaceful means. The leaders pledged to further strengthen cooperation in training experts, academic exchange among each others institutions and researchers in the field of international law, especially in the law of the sea./.
A local real estate developer will have to wait a little longer for City Council to vote on the latest proffers for his proposed roughly $33 million townhouse development off Lafayette Boulevard.

City Council members praised Carl Braun on Tuesday for working diligently over the years to address concerns about Highlander Park at Hazel Run, but after a public hearing, decided to delay voting until their Aug. 8 meeting.

It is a significant development for our little city, said Councilman Tim Duffy. I would hesitate to move very quickly on this.

Brauns proposal is to build 91 townhouses on the 12.2 acre parcel at 115 Young St., which is behind Employment Resources Inc. and its Gladys H. Oberle School. He had originally proffered to build a 77,500-square-foot fitness center and a 24,000-square-foot office building there in 2003.

Braun said that the townhouses, which would sell for $300,000 to $350,000, would be aimed at young professionals and empty nesters. He is proffering a cash payment of $100,000 to offset the impact of the 42 students that the development is expected to generate.

Other proffers would include traffic improvements to Young Street; making a slight shift north to the Virginia Central Railway Trail; and working with the City on interpretive signs along the trail.

Braun has also proposed a natural trail to run through the area of the development adjacent to Hazel Run, and is proffering coordination on a landscape buffer to both screen the site from historic Maryes Heights and preserving important viewsheds of the Heights from the VCR trail. In addition, hes proffering an on-site water quality treatment of a portion of the stormwater discharged from the site into that Rappahannock River tributary.

In a letter to the Planning Commission, Braun noted that a residential use of the parcel would create about 574 trips per day, a 75 percent reduction in traffic from what is allowed there. But the additional traffic was a concern to several City Council members and neighboring property owners.

Danny Frizzell, who lives in the 900 block of Lafayette Blvd., said that traffic increased when Cobblestone opened off Lafayette Boulevard and he already has a hard time getting out of his driveway. He said he also thought that the number of schoolchildren that would live in the townhouse development could be higher than stated, and that it will change the viewshed from the top of Fredericksburg National Cemetery.

Im not sure if this isnt an overly ambitious size; 91 [townhouses] seems like a large amount, he said.

Councilman Matt Kelly said that he would have liked the National Park Service to have purchased the property to use as part of the viewshed, and questioned whether an archaeological study had been done at the site since it figured in the Battle of Fredericksburg. Braun said that the property became an industrial site after the Civil War and test holes turned up such things as sawdust, concrete and other debris that will have to be hauled away.

Kelly also said that he was concerned about the increase in traffic the project and other proposed for that corridor would bring, and wanted more time to go over the latest traffic study.

Lafayette has been an issue for us, he said. We need to look a little bit more long term.

Kirsten TalkenSpaulding, superintendent of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, thanked Braun for working closely with the National Park Service about its concerns, and said she will continue to work with him and the city on mitigating the developments impacts on the viewshed and the proposed changes to the VCR Trail.

ERI President Roarke L. Anderson said Tuesday afternoon that he and his staff have been working with Braun for some time about the development, and think that the amended proffers address their concerns about traffic flow on Willis and Young streets. He added that Oberle, a day school for students with special needs, is looking to expand in several years.

City Council also held several other public hearings Tuesday.

One dealt with a request from Loisanns Hope House for a special-use permit to turn the single-family home at 826 Lafayette Blvd. into additional housing for four homeless families. The house is within the Commercial/Transitional Office Zoning District, which permits such institutional housing by special-use permit.

In conjunction with that request, Loisanns also asked the city to vacate an approximately 7,650 square-foot portion of the Spring Street public right-of-way between its house at 900 Lafayette Blvd. and the one next door at 826 Lafayette Blvd. so it can build a paved parking lot. The right-of-way is currently used as parking for the nonprofit and adjacent single family homes, and is not in the citys plans to be improved.

Frizzell said that he applauded what the nonprofit is doing, but said he was concerned about the growing amount of institutional housing in a gateway to the city. He added that police and ambulances are called to Loisanns weekly.

Executive Director Lisa Crittenden said that Loisanns is across from 7Eleven and police occasionally come by to view the nonprofits security cameras. She added that ambulances sometimes need to be called because children living in its housing get sick.

City Council voted 60 to approve the special-use permit and the right-of-way request. Councilwoman Kerry Devine was not able to attend the meeting.

In other business: Council members also voted to:

Approve CalAtlantic Group Inc.s proposal to donate 54.2 acres of land to the city to establish a new public area in the Village of Idlewild subdivision. The land includes open space that protects the northern branch of Hazel Run and nature trails that connect to the citys trails and sidewalks. The trails would continue to be maintained by CalAtlantic Group and its successors, including the Village of Idlewild Homeowners Association.

Accept the Memorial Commissions recommendation to put the names of Madonna Donna Cote, Robert Allen Hodge and Elnora Mary Overley Johnson on the Citys 2017 Wall of Honor. Cote headed the Central Rappahannock Regional Library for 34 years; Hodge inspired generations of biology students at James Monroe High School and Germanna Community College; and Johnson was the consummate educator, leader and citizen-at-large during her lifetime (19182008), according to the application for her nomination.

Renew Central Rappahannock Heritage Centers lease in the former Maury School Building gymnasium for another five years. Councilman Billy Withers abstained because he is a past chairman of the centers board of directors.

Amend the citys 2015 Comprehensive Plan to incorporate City Councils new 20-year vision statement for the city.

Adopt the Capital Improvements Plan for FY 20182022, which includes $9.5 million for public works, $2.5 million for public facilities and more than $2 million for schools for fiscal 2018.
New U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt has reversed most of an economic package announced by the government just weeks ago, including a planned cut in income taxes. Hunt said Monday he was scrapping almost all the tax cuts announced last month by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Liz Truss, and also signaled that public spending cuts are on the way. It was a bid to soothe turbulent financial markets spooked by fears of excessive government borrowing. The move raises questions about how long the beleaguered prime minister can stay in office, though Truss insisted she has no plans to quit. She vowed to lead the Conservatives into the next general election, but many in the party want her gone.
DUBLINScandinavian accents filled Volvo Trucks new customer center at the Virginia plant on Tuesday, as the company welcomed top executives and media from around the world to unveil its next generation of rigs.

Company officials offered rosy forecasts for future sales, noting the plant has offered jobs back to all those laid off during its last drawdown and is now accepting applications from new workers at whats been one of the largest employers in the region for decades.

The new truck line, known as the VNL family, has been in the works for years. It comes stocked with new features including refrigerated seats, five USB power outlets, 21 steering wheel buttons, improved fuel efficiency and active crash avoidance technology. A search of some dealer websites show VNL models selling from $117,000 to $180,000.

When looking for an announcement venue, the Swedish company decided the event would serve as a good time to also unveil the new customer center in Pulaski County. The 36,000-square-foot showroom was part of $38.1 million plant investment in 2015. Now that construction is complete, Volvo plans to welcome more than 3,000 visitors in the coming months.

Company representatives said the idea is to have a place to bring perspective customers while theyre shopping. They can begin with a tour of the assembly line across the street, and then stop by the customer center to see the finished product.

The facility has an event space, trucks on display and separate meeting rooms to learn about things like safety features and engine upgrades. The building overlooks a 1.1-mile test track where customers can watch the vehicles theyre about to buy in actionor jump behind the steering wheel themselves.

The purpose of this building is to give them the royal treatment, Volvo Trucks General Manager Franky Marchand said.

On Tuesday, the test track was full of journalists trying out the new VNLs.

The New River Valley plant has already produced some of these trucks for testing and trade shows, but now theyll begin rolling off the assembly line for real customers.

The product launch comes as things are looking up for the Dublin factory.

The plant struggled in 2016, as a dip in the overall industry prompted multiple rounds of deep layoffs. According to Marchand, Volvo was on the verge of slimming down to one production shift per day after cutting about 500 workers in February, 300 in September and then announcing 500 additional cuts in December.

But thats when things started to look up. Inventory, or the number of trucks waiting to be put to use, was low and so the industry began to correct itself. The last round of layoffs was eventually cancelled.

Since then, every eligible worker who was laid off has been offered a job back with the company. Now, with employment around 2,400, Marchand said Volvo is accepting new applications again.

We have touched the bottom, he said, citing official corporate forecasts. With a brand new truck like this, we should be able to take our lions share of the market. Its good news for us.

Top Volvo executives also gave a rosy outlook for the companys North American business during Tuesdays presentation, calling for moderate growth in manufacturing for 2018.

Asked about research in the realm of self-driving trucks, company global president Claes Nilsson told The Roanoke Times thats in the works as well.

He confirmed that Volvo Trucks is working with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, a leader in vehicle automation technology, as well as other universities and private companies.

Volvo Trucks has already started testing slow-moving automated trash collectors in Sweden. Nilsson said those kinds of applications, as well as off-road vehicles, are just around the corner for both Europe and North America.

As for the prospect of driverless tractor trailers making their way down on Interstate 81, Nilsson said we shouldnt count on that in the near future.

He said customers are eager and asking for the technology, noting the direction is clear.

Outside of the roads, its going to happen very quickly, Nilsson added. But again, on roads where youre dependent on politicians and legislationwho knows?
It is not a bad thing for us, that the route known as the Goldene Strae or the Golden Road as we will get to know it- has escaped the attention of so many. It has been spared being overrun by hordes of tourists and as you will discover the
Attorneys for Charlottesville and its City Council on Monday filed a motion claiming that a lawsuit filed in March by a pro-monuments group over the citys planned removal of the Robert E. Lee statue relies on arguments that are insufficient as a matter of law.

The demurrer, filed in Charlottesville Circuit Court, came on the same day that the national chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice, an anti-racist advocacy group, asked the court if it could join the legal action as a third party and provide information supporting the citys arguments.

Both filings come just after a weekend in which thousands descended upon Charlottesville to protest a rally of the Ku Klux Klan in Justice Park, formerly Jackson Park, around the statue of Gen. Thomas Stonewall Jackson. The roughly 50 Klan members who attended said they were protesting the citys decision to remove the Lee statue and rename its parks named after Confederate generals.

Mondays filing restates many of the positions taken in the April filing to have the lawsuit dropped, including a challenge to count one of the pro-statue Monument Funds suit, which claims that removing the statue would violate a state law that protects memorials to war veterans.

The Monument Fund, made up primarily of local residents and the Virginia Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, alleged that the councils vote violated the state code because the Lee and Jackson monuments were memorials to the War Between the States, and that the state code makes it unlawful for the authorities of the locality  to disturb or interfere with any monuments or memorials so erected.

In their Monday filing, counsel for the city wrote that the state code evoked by the plaintiffs became applicable to cities and towns in 1997 and has no application to the Lee statue, erected in 1924.

The argument that the [state code] applies retroactively to a monument erected 73 years prior to the 1997 legislation is contrary to settled rules of statutory construction that strongly disfavor the retroactive application of new legislation, the filing reads.

The citys filing references a Danville Circuit Court judges 2015 ruling in a case with similar circumstances. When the city of Danville passed an ordinance prohibiting Confederate flags from being flown on city property, it was sued by a heritage preservation group citing the same state war memorial statute. The Danville Circuit Court sided with the city, writing that the statute did not apply retroactively to monuments or memorials erected before 1997.

The citys filing adds that last year, when the General Assembly passed a bill that would make the war memorial statute operate retroactively, Gov. Terry McAuliffe vetoed the bill, writing that it overrides the authority of local governments to remove or modify war memorials erected prior to 1997.

The plaintiffs in this case are now asking the court to do what the General Assembly was unable to do: override the governors veto, the filing reads.

The filing goes on to criticize the plantiffs assertion that the Lee statue qualifies as a war memorial or monument protected by the Virginia code, writing that if the statue was a monument or memorial to the Civil War or its veterans, it would be evident from some inscription on the statue itself.

In this case, there is no allegation in the complaint that the Lee statue contains any inscription referencing the Confederacy, the Civil War, any battle occurring during the Civil War or the veterans of the Civil War, the filing reads. While in most cases a statue will tell the public why it was erected, the Emancipation Park Lee statue simply does not speak for itself. And its silence is matched by the absence of any factual allegations in the complaint.

The filing continues that the complaint fails to allege how the statue has been violated or encroached upon as a result of its planned removal, how the legal rights of the 13 plaintiffs in the case are affected by the resolution that authorizes the statues removal or how the terms of the statue being gifted to the city would be violated by its removal.

The original complaint alleged that Charlottesville native and philanthropist Paul Goodloe McIntire stipulated that the statues must remain in the park in perpetuity when he gifted the statues and land to the city, a claim the city has repeatedly rebuffed.

As is readily apparent on the face of the two McIntire deeds, there were only two conditions on the conveyances: that the property conveyed be held and used in perpetuity by the city as a public park, and that no buildings be erected thereon, the filing reads. The deeds contained no other restrictions on the future use of either park or any improvements therein.

On the same day as the citys latest filing, the national chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice asked the court if it could be allowed to join the action as a third party and file a brief in support of the citys latest demurrer.

In an accompanying news release, SURJ said it supported the citys arguments, especially the notion that the Lee statue was not a war memorial and was never erected for the purpose of honoring war veterans or their cause.

Instead, the Lee and Jackson statues were erected during the height of the Jim Crow era as part of the fictionalized Lost Cause narrative, amid a massive resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in Charlottesville and throughout the South, the release states. The statues were erected not to honor war veterans, but for the purposes of reinforcing white supremacy in Charlottesville, solidifying the segregation of public spaces and intimidating black community members.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Aug. 30. In the meantime, the Lee statue will remain following a May injunction from a city judge that disallowed its removal and sale for a six-month time period.
Janice Evelyn Moore, 68, of Spotsylvania County went to be with our Lord on Thursday, July 6, 2017 at her home surrounded by her family. Janice is survived by her loving husband, Pastor Sherrill Moore; daughters Jennifer Develin and Stacey Garner; sons Timothy Moore and wife, Katrina, and Edward Moore and wife, Angie; 16 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Janice's family will receive friends from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Saturday, July 15, 2017 at Found and Sons Funeral Chapel, 10719 Courthouse Road, Fredericksburg. A celebration of Janice's life will be held at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, July 16, 2017 at Spotswood Baptist Church with Pastor Bob Ellinger and Pastor Jim Stone officiating. Interment will be held in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. Condolences to her family may be shared online at foundandsons.com.
ROLLING STONE and the University of Virginia fraternity defamed in the magazines retracted story about the never-happened gang assault that the story claimed had occurred there have settled the fraternitys $25 million lawsuit. Rolling Stone will pay Phi Kappa Psi $1.65 million.

The fraternitys settlement is described as the closing chapter of the A Rape on Campus debacle, in that Rolling Stone had reached a settlement in April in the other lawsuit spawned by the story. It was brought by U.Va.s former associate dean of students, Nicole Eramo, who also sued for defamation and was awarded $3 million by a jury. That settlement was reached after Rolling Stone contested the verdicts size, citing a lack of evidence that reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely had acted with actual malice.

But there is no final chapter whatsoever in the effort to curb campus sexual assault, which continues to make headlines under the glow of a national spotlight.

It was exactly two months prior to the Rolling Stone storys publication in November 2014 that the Barack Obama administration launched its anti-campus assault initiative. The then-president acted in light of the appalling statistics collected on the far-reaching problem.

The litigation may be over in the Rolling Stone case, but the damage inflicted by the report is not forgotten. We hope the false story doesnt impact efforts to combat sexual assault on and off campus, unacceptable behavior that has by no means abated.

Campus sexual assault needs to remain among the nations front-burner issues because it carries serious criminal and social implications. Cultural change usually takes time, but we must not be willing to put up with this shameful and degrading conduct any longer.
The newspaper's editorial staff need to get its story straight with regard to the "privately owned" farmers markets in Stafford.

I know the owners of two of these markets, and they also extend SNAP benefits and matches to those who qualify for them, offer punch cards for drawings, work with their farmers, SERVE and other charities to distribute fresh food to the food banks and those in need.

All of their vendors provide many varieties of Virginia-grown crops and foods made in Virginia, such as local meats, fresh baked goods and locally canned jellies, jams, preserved vegetables and related items. As a Stafford resident and a frequent customer myself, I can vouch for this.

I am aware that there may be the perception that since the Stafford markets are not "affiliated" with the county or state government, that they aren't extending the same benefits. There are benefits, but they are different due to difference in ownership, as privately owned markets are not eligible for the same programs as those affiliated with government.

Please do not mislead your readership by implying that there is no benefit to shopping at privately owned markets.

Lynn Harris

Stafford
Thank you for your editorial of June 28 regarding the new state laws that target school bullying.

Having been in public education for more than 40 years, I can tell you that schools are constantly trying to stop bullying and care for the victims.

Counselors, teachers and administrators continue to attend college courses and conferences that increase their knowledge and awareness of bullying and suicide that can result from it.

The one item I did not see in the new legislation is financial support to increase the number of school counselors.

Many high school counselors have 375 or more students in their caseloads, with a long list of responsibilities and expectations.

Many schools assign as many as 250 students to the counselor, who is also responsible for serving as department head.

Along with this new legislation, we need to urge our school boards to find the funds to provide additional counselors so that caseloads can be decreased.

If we can save one child from committing suicide, how can we not find the funding for those additional counselors?

Margaret Lowry

Stafford
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Ukraine waiting for decision in WTO dispute with Russia over restriction of wagon imports in April 2018

The second meeting of the arbiter panel to discuss the case initiated by Ukraine in the World Trade Organization (WTO) over Russia's ban to import of Ukrainian rolling stock, switches and other railway equipment is scheduled for November, Ukraine's Economic Development and Trade Ministry has reported.

"The final report of the arbiter panel in this case is expected in April 2018," the ministry said in a press release after the first meeting of the arbiter panel held on July 10 and July 11.

"Ukraine paid attention of the panel that Russia has not presented any counterarguments related to the complaint. This is clear evidence that Russia has used compliance procedures as a tool to prevent the import of Ukrainian railway products and block access of Ukrainian producers to the market," Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Ukraine's Trade Representative Natalia Mykolska said.

The ministry said that at the first meeting the Ukrainian and Russian delegations and third parties announced their oral statements and presented the responses to the additional questions to the panel.

Ukraine still insists that Russia had no grounds to restrict the imports in violation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement.
WREN RYAN CLARY Free Access Zach and Erica Clary of Gaffney announce the birth of their daughter, Wren Ryan Clary, born August 17, 2022. Wren has a sister, Reese. Grandparents are Eric and Teresa Bennett...

Fresh fruit and veggies for Thanksgiving Free Access Families can receive a box of fresh fruits and vegetables just in time for the Thanksgiving holidays. FoodShare Cherokee provides opportunities for all residents to order fresh food boxes every...

Museum, Limestone collaborating on textile history program Free Access The Cherokee County Museum is partnering with Limestone Universitys communications class and local educator Tim Lipsey to conduct a history program on textiles. If you or your family has worked...
The negotiations between the largest low cost airline in Europe Ryanair (Ireland) and the Boryspil International Airport (Kyiv) on financial issues were doomed to fail after fixing the passenger fee at $7.50 reflected in a memorandum signed by the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine and the airline's top managers, the Boryspil airport has said, presenting its official position on the negotiations.

"The fee with the economic entity  Boryspil airport  was not agreed from the point of its feasibility and non-discriminative behavior towards other contractors of the airport," the airport said.

The airport recalled that with the purpose of satisfying the Ryanair's demands the passenger fee was cut from $17 to $13 for all airlines. This is a shortfall of UAH 360 million every year for the airport. The fee is set in an order of the Infrastructure Ministry.

"The $7.50 per passenger fee expected by Ryanair cannot be set without amending it," the airport said.

The airport also changed the requirement for public offer with 80% discount from the basic passenger fee for new destinations.

"We officially affirm that the conditions of the Boryspil airport's stimulating program are open, public, transparent and such that all airlines that are interested in flights from Boryspil can take advantage of. The Boryspil airport is ready for any audit of the negotiation process with the Ryanair airline," the airport said.

Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan said on his Facebook page that the airport is government owned, the terminals were built using taxpayers' funds. These terminals aren't working, while the airport spends UAH 250 million per year on maintaining each of them.

"Regarding Ryanair's demands, no top-level, world-scale business has any intention of doing charity work in Ukraine. Businesses make money. That's what they are for. The reason why Ryanair is the largest and cheapest airline in Europe is its ability to fight for optimal conditions," the minister wrote.
Story Highlights Majorities in four of six Balkan countries see benefit in joining the EU

Serbians exhibit highest level of euroskepticism

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ahead of the annual Western Balkans Summit on Wednesday among leaders from the European Union and six Western Balkan countries hoping to join the bloc, Gallup surveys find that residents of all six countries are more likely to say membership would benefit rather than harm their countries. This includes majorities in four of the six countries.

EU Membership Views Among Non-Member Balkan Countries, 2016 In general, would membership in the European Union benefit or harm ___________? Benefit Harm Neither/Both % % % Kosovo 84 4 4 Albania 80 10 2 Bosnia and Herzegovina 59 21 13 Macedonia 58 18 13 Montenegro 49 25 17 Serbia 40 34 17 Gallup World Poll, 2016

At the summit, EU officials and leaders from the six EU hopeful countries are expected to flesh out a proposal for a regional common market, which could help prepare these countries for the EU's single market.

With at least four in five residents saying EU membership would benefit their country or region, views in Albania and Kosovo are the most positive by far. As two of the poorest areas in the region with high unemployment rates, residents may associate membership with a means to improve their living standards and stimulate job growth.

Of the six, Montenegro and Serbia are the only Balkan candidate countries engaged in accession talks. People living in Serbia, however, are the most divided on EU membership. Part of this skepticism appears to be driven by historical grievances associated with the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians. The dominant expectation among EU countries that Serbia recognize Kosovo's independence before joining the bloc likely exacerbates this resentment.

Serbian Residents of Balkans Divided on EU Membership

Serbian populations in some other Balkan countries appear equally divided. Differences in standard demographics such as gender, age and education level make little difference in people's views on potential EU membership. Nationality creates dividing lines that mirror EU support. For instance, ethnic Bosnians and Montenegrins are almost twice as likely to view entry into the EU as beneficial when compared with Serbians living in those respective countries.

EU Membership Views by Nationality Within Country % Benefit Serbians Bosnians Croatians Montenegrins Macedonians Albanians % % % % % % Bosnia and Herzegovina 38 69 50 - - - Montenegro 32 - - 63 - - Macedonia - - - - 50 83 Gallup World Poll, 2015-2016

A combination of internal and external factors may contribute to the skepticism among Serbs. While governing parties in Serbia have committed to the path of EU accession, nationalist politicians across the region have adopted platforms that tap into the historical narrative of Western hostility. With an interest in halting the spread of Western influence in the region, Russia is seen by some as promoting such behavior. The Republika Srpska's recent referendum to declare Jan. 9 an official holiday is one such example. Seen as a provocative trial run for a plebiscite on secession from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the international community -- including Serbia -- condemned this action. Only Russia lent support.

Serbs are more likely than any other nationality in the Balkans to express approval of Russian leadership. Fifty-four percent of Serbs approved of Russia's leadership over the past two years, while only 28% approved of the EU's leadership. Among those who approve of Russian leadership, majorities in five of the six countries still see more benefit than harm in joining the EU. Serbs remain the most divided.

EU Membership Views Among Those Who Approve of Russia's Leadership Benefit Harm Neither/Both % % % Albania 87 9 1 Kosovo 69 9 9 Bosnia and Herzegovina 55 30 10 Macedonia 53 25 15 Montenegro 54 29 13 Serbia 45 33 15 Gallup World Poll, 2015-2016

Implications

Overall, entry into the EU remains an attractive objective across the region -- residents are more likely to see membership as beneficial rather than harmful. In the aftermath of Brexit, the Western Balkans Summit this week aims to re-energize the idea of enlargement and map out the next steps toward accession or candidacy status for EU hopefuls.
Story Highlights 35% say media have been too tough on Trump; 34% say not tough enough

77% of GOP say media too tough; 53% of Democrats say media not tough enough

Solid majority in U.S. following conflict between Trump and the media

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- About as many Americans say the news media have been too tough on Donald Trump (35%) as say the news media have not been tough enough (34%), amid the president's public battle with the media. This is similar to March, when Americans were also about split in their evaluations. An additional 28% say the news media's coverage of Trump is "about right."

Americans Divided on Media's Coverage of Donald Trump In its coverage of Donald Trump and his administration so far, do you think the news media have been too tough, about right or not tough enough? Too tough About right Not tough enough % % % July 2017 35 28 34 March 2017 32 24 37 January 2017 36 31 28 Gallup

Slightly more Americans today than shortly after President Trump's inauguration in January (28%) say the media are not being tough enough on Trump. The percentages saying the coverage was "too tough" or "about right" were roughly the same as they are now.

The media's coverage of Trump has been a major story since he took office. The president has referred to segments of the news media as an "enemy of the people" and "fake news."

But even as Trump's clashes with the media continue, Americans' views of the way media have treated Trump seem mostly fixed. Public opinion held steady after new developments such as the recent Twitter conflict between Trump and "Morning Joe" co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough. In that exchange, President Trump called attention to Brzezinski's physical appearance and made assertions about Scarborough's mental state. The "Morning Joe" hosts responded, "Donald Trump is not well" in a Washington Post column.

Republicans, Democrats Differ in Perceptions of Media Treatment of Trump

Republicans and Democrats hold diverging beliefs about how the news media are treating Trump. Seventy-seven percent of Republicans say the media have been too tough on him, up from 64% in March. However, the shift was not enough to move the overall number much, particularly as independents' and Democrats' views haven't changed.

Republicans Believe News Media too Tough on Donald Trump, Democrats Say Not Tough Enough In its coverage of Donald Trump and his administration so far, do you think the news media have been too tough, about right or not tough enough? January 2017 March 2017 July 2017 % % % Republicans Too tough 74 64 77 About right 17 21 12 Not tough enough 6 9 7 Independents Too tough 37 34 30 About right 31 23 30 Not tough enough 26 37 36 Democrats Too tough 9 9 8 About right 40 27 38 Not tough enough 49 59 53 Gallup

On the other end of the spectrum, 53% of Democrats say the media have not been tough enough on Trump, though the percentage of Democrats who say "about right" is up 11 points to 38% from March.

Americans Slightly Side With Media in Its Struggles vs. Trump

Gallup also asked Americans who they side with in disputes between Trump and the media. Currently, 36% say they lean toward or strongly side with the news media, while 32% side either moderately or strongly with the president.

Americans Slightly Lean Toward Media More Than Trump in Public Disputes In these disputes, in general, do you -- [ROTATED: strongly side with Trump, lean toward Trump, side with neither Trump nor the media, lean toward the media (or) strongly side with the media]? Trump, strongly Lean Trump Neither side Lean media Media, strongly % % % % % July 2017 17 15 29 21 15 March 2017 13 20 28 20 17 Gallup

About three in 10 U.S. adults agree with neither side. These data are virtually unchanged from March, suggesting that the lines have been drawn in this battle.

Forty-eight percent of Republicans strongly side with Trump, while 3% of Democrats are firmly on the side of the president. On the other end, 32% of Democrats strongly side with the media, and 3% of Republicans say the same.

In the months since January, it is obvious that Americans are paying relatively close attention to the matter. In the U.S., 74% say they are following this Trump-media conflict very or somewhat closely. This is virtually unchanged from March.

Implications

Trump has become a lightning rod for media scrutiny since he announced his campaign for president, and that has continued now that he is in office. Public opinion appears to be settling into a roughly even split between those who sympathize with Trump and those who take the media's side.

The last time Gallup asked about perceived media toughness prior to Trump was shortly after Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009. Then, 48% said that the coverage was "about right" and 38% said "not tough enough." Only 11% said "too tough," suggesting that Americans' perceptions about the media coverage of the Obama presidency, albeit in its early stages, were quite different from today.

With Republicans believing the media are too harsh toward Trump -- and Democrats saying the media aren't harsh enough -- these familiar partisan lines are likely to persist as this presidency continues. Perhaps a sign of the media's dilemma regarding how to cover Trump, the percentage saying the media's coverage of him is "about right" has not reached a majority across the three surveys Gallup has conducted.

Historical data are available in Gallup Analytics.

Explore President Trump's approval ratings in depth and compare them with those of past presidents in the Gallup Presidential Job Approval Center.
Ukrtransgaz, Poland's Gaz-System to offer extended capacity for gas supply to Ukraine from Sept

Operators of gas transport systems of Ukraine and Poland  public joint-stock company Ukrtransgaz and Gaz-System  from September 1, 2017 are going to increase transmission capacities towards Ukraine, the press service of Gaz-System has reported.

The company said that from September 1 through April 30 a total f of 250,000 cubic meters of gas per hour (6 million cubic meters a day) could be supplied via the Hermanowice gas metering station, and in the period from May 1 through August 31  167,000 cubic meters of gas per hour (4 million cubic meters).

The agreed available capacity, on Gaz-System side, is made available via capacity booking platform GSA Platform according to the auction calendar published by ENSTOg.

Ukrtransgaz said that today the transmission capacity from Poland for importing gas to Ukraine is 4.3 million cubic meters a day. Thus, for the period from September through April the gas supply capacity will be expanded by 40%.

Average daily imports of gas from Poland to Ukraine on July 1 through July 10 totaled 4 million cubic meters, and in January-June 2017  3.2 million a day.
There currently are 93 Fisher Houses in the United States and in Europe with plans for more.
LAS VEGAS  Nevada, which calls itself the "Battle Born State," actually was born prematurely because of Republicans' anxiety. Now, 152 years later, it again is a subject of their anxiety.

Entering 1864, Abraham Lincoln and his party were intensely, and reasonably, in doubt about his re-election. So, scrambling for every electorate vote, Republicans decided to conjure three from thin air  thin desert air. They began the process of admitting Nevada to the union, even though the 1860 census said its population was 6,857, far short of the 60,000 ostensibly required for statehood. Nine days before the election, the Republican-controlled Congress made Nevada a state (although Gen. Sherman's Sept. 2 capture of Atlanta probably guaranteed Lincoln's victory).

On election night 2016, the nation's attention might be focused on Nevada, where Republicans have their most promising, and probably their only realistic, chance to capture a Democratic Senate seat. Harry Reid, Senate minority leader, is retiring, and Republicans' hopes of retaining their majority might depend on Joe Heck replacing Reid.

He is a strong candidate for his party, as his opponent is for hers. Catherine Cortez Masto is a former two-term state attorney general who won re-election even against the 2010 anti-Democratic wave. She would be the Senate's first Latina.

Heck, an emergency room physician and a brigadier general in the Army Reserve, is a third-term congressman from the Las Vegas metropolitan area, where 75 percent of Nevada voters live. His district, where he defeated his 2014 Democratic opponent by 24.6 points, is 19 percent Hispanic and 16 percent Asian-American.

The state's non-Hispanic white population was 79 percent in 1990 and is now 54 percent. There are about 70,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, down from 90,000 in 2012, when Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney here by 67,806 votes.

According to the Almanac of American Politics, Nevada was the fastest-growing state in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and from 2000 to 2007, before the economy cratered. Since 1990, the population of Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb, has quadrupled to 286,000, the size of Cincinnati. Heck says many people come to Nevada, which has no income tax, in flight from Democratic governance in contiguous California  but some come with, and retain, Democratic attitudes.

Only 24 percent of Nevadans were born in the state, the lowest percentage of any state, which is one reason Nevada was devastated by the subprime mortgage crisis, which left 62 percent of Nevada homeowners "underwater"  owing more on the mortgages than their homes were worth. Today, only 24 percent are, but Cortez Masto is picking at the scab of the post-2008 trauma with ads accusing Heck of putting the "big banks before Nevada families," partly because he has received contributions from the financial industry.

Heck notes that Trump's candidacy has energized Nevada Republicans. He says their February caucuses on a Tuesday evening attracted more participants than the 2008 and 2012 caucuses combined. Which is good for Heck, unless it isn't: Trump might similarly energize the Hispanic 17 percent of the electorate against Trump, with Heck as collateral damage.

Nevada has a senator from each party and a split (three Republicans, one Democrat) House delegation. Polls show a close contest between Heck and Cortez Masto. Today, there are 54 Republican senators, seven of whom are in difficult re-election races: Arizona's John McCain, New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte, Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey, Ohio's Rob Portman, Missouri's Roy Blunt, Wisconsin's Ron Johnson and Illinois' Mark Kirk. Johnson and Kirk are currently trailing by 5 or more points. If Hillary Clinton becomes president, Vice President Tim Kaine will vote with Democrats to organize a 50-50 Senate. Republicans, needing 51 seats for control, must have a net loss of no more than three.

If, in October, Clinton seems headed for the presidency, Heck may need to convince many Nevadans who are tepidly for Clinton to vote strategically supporting him so a Republican Senate can restrain her. Reid is determined to keep his seat Democratic, but Heck says that in 2014 Reid's celebrated turnout machine was "an utter disaster."

In 1908, the Silver State (another Nevada nickname, a legacy of the long-since-depleted Comstock Lode) voted for a third and final time for the Democrat's presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan, who favored free coinage of silver. Since then, only once (in 1976, when it favored President Gerald Ford) has Nevada not supported a winner. Which is another reason the nation will be watching Nevada late on Nov. 8.
A missing person report turned fatal Monday night when a 6-year-old Albany boy was struck and killed on Interstate 5, three miles south of Albany, the Oregon State Police have confirmed.

Linn County Sheriff's Office deputies received a call about the missing boy at about 9:33 p.m., and dispatched four deputies to the residence and surrounding area.

By 9:48 p.m., the State Police had joined the search. Then, shortly before 10 p.m., the State Police responded to a motor vehicle-versus-pedestrian crash near milepost 230 on the interstate.

Investigators determined that at least one commercial motor vehicle struck the child, and that two other vehicles may have been involved. Deputies confirmed the victim was the missing boy.

There is no indication of any wrongdoing, and the vehicle operators are cooperating with the investigation, officials said. OSP officials have declined to release the name of the victim or other people involved.

The Linn County District Attorney's office, Tangent Rural Fire District, Albany Fire Department and the Oregon Department of Transportation assisted at the scene.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is soliciting public comment on whether to grant a wetland fill and removal permit for a 35-unit housing development in southwest Corvallis.

Applicant Chris Kiilsgaard wants permission to remove just under 400 cubic yards of soil and vegetation and add about 6,000 cubic yards of fill material on 3.33 acres of wetlands at the project site, which is on the south side of Country Club Drive just west of 53rd Street. Kiilsgaard also is seeking a similar permit from the Oregon Department of State Lands.

To make up for the loss of wetland area, Kiilsgaard proposes to purchase 3.33 acres of wetland credits in the Muddy Creek Mitigation Bank.

Written comments on the application will be accepted until Aug. 5 and must include the writers name and address, as well as the Corps of Engineers reference number, NWP-2017-243.

Comments should be addressed to Benny A. Dean Jr. They may be sent by email to benny.a.dean@usace.army.mil or by postal mail to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Benny A. Dean Jr., Eugene Field Office, 211 E. Seventh Ave., Suite 105, Eugene, OR 97401-2722.
A Benton County Circuit Court judge sentenced a Corvallis man to jail and probation Tuesday for the criminal mistreatment of a 9-year-old child.

Nathan Lee Serafin, 42, should serve 10 days in jail, 40 days on the parole and probation work crew and three years on supervised probation, Judge Matthew Donohue ruled.

The sentence came about in a plea agreement between Serafins court- appointed defense attorney, Danielle OBrien, and Deputy District Attorney Kristen Farnworth. Serafin pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree criminal mistreatment, a Class C felony carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

According to a charging document filed by prosecutors in the case, Serafin was caring for the child on March 23 when he caused physical injury to the child. Details on the extent of the injury and how it was caused were not provided by prosecutors.

Mr. Serafin is prepared to accept responsibility and move forward, OBrien told the judge.

Serafin declined to speak before Donohue handed down the sentence.

The judge ordered Serafin not to have contact with the victim while on probation except for approved by his probation officer. Serafin also is not permitted to physically discipline any child while on probation and must complete a parenting class and anger management treatment, Donohue ruled.
I think it is unwise and unfounded to argue the principle of health care as a human right on the basis of the U.S. founding documents, as Bob Harris does in his July 3 letter. One could do so on the basis of Article 25 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, to which the U.S. is a signatory:

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care

Or, how about common sense? We supply services to our population that individuals and families cannot well provide for themselves: police and fire protection, schools, roads, etc. Is it not time we accepted health care as one of these?

The reason for supplying health care as a public service is that in this day and age most people cannot adequately insure themselves. When they are left to do so we have a) people avoiding health care until it is too late and b) mass medical bankruptcies. And it results in a health care system which rates far below many less developed countries in length of life, overall health outcomes, infant mortality and other health markers.

In other words, we need what Canada has and all the developed countries have  health coverage for all. If this makes sense to you, see Mid-Valley Health Care Advocates at www.MVHCA.org for a local activist group, part of Health Care for All Oregon.

Dianne Farrell

Corvallis (July 4)
Poroshenko: Investment in Ukraine on the rise

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says foreign investment in Ukraine has significantly increased.

"An increase in foreign direct investment as of today is over $0.5 billion, and the total sum last year exceeded $4 billion," Poroshenko said during a working visit to Sumy on Wednesday.

Ukraine has been implementing a number of important reforms while countering military aggression, he said.

"But this does not prevent us from believing in Ukraine's future, believing in the effectiveness of Ukrainian reforms and we will resolutely continue these reforms," he added.
Wizz Air (Hungary), the largest low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, has announced its intention to double operation in Ukraine in 2018.

According to a company press release, it will replenish its fleet with the third Airbus A320 at its Kyiv base at Kyiv Zhuliany Airport from April 2018.

During the same month, Wizz Air will launch two new flights from Kyiv to Lisbon and Tallinn and increase the frequency of flights on the most popular destinations - 11 additional flights a week as part of the summer schedule from Kyiv next year.

"Tickets for all new flights are on sale from July 12 at prices starting from UAH 429," the report reads.
World Climate Conference in Bonn : Residents invited to house participants

Bonn Around 20,000 people are expected to take part in the World Climate Conference in Bonn in November. The city is asking residents to help accommodate some of the participants.

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The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 23) will take place in and around the World Conference Center (WCCB) in Bonn from November 6 - 17. It is a big undertaking for the City of Bonn, and one of the challenges will be providing enough accommodations for all the participants. Besides the normal hotel rooms, city and tourism officials are also counting on private accommodations.

At a press conference on Tuesday with tourism director Udo Schafer, Lord Mayor Ashok Sridharan emphasized that Bonn wanted to show its hospitality to the international guests. He asked all residents to consider hosting COP participants who would be traveling on a small budget. Citing a successful example, he recalled World Youth Day in Cologne and Bonn, where many residents privately housed participants.

Tourism & Congress Bureau in charge of the organization

The non-commercial approach of housing conference participants in private quarters underscores the citys cosmopolitan image. For the UN City of Bonn, this fits our image well, said the mayor. He would be delighted if the citizens from Bonn and the region would greet the many international participants with hospitality and offer them accommodations if they are able to do so.

, host families can register, giving information about how many beds they have and for which dates they are available. Offers from commercial vendors will not be accepted on that platform, according to Schafer.

Every accommodation, whether bed or sofa is welcome. A private guest room is not a must. Childrens rooms are also appropriate. Schafer estimates that they will need 2,000 to 3,000 private beds. Every potential guest is checked by the T & C beforehand. The platform is now active and anyone who has additional questions can call T & C on their hotline at: (0228) 9 10 41 42.
G20 riots in Hamburg : Three Bonn residents arrested

Bonn At the G20 Summit in Hamburg, police took three young people from Bonn into custody. They belong to the youth organization of a public workers union. A participant said they did not have weapons and were not wearing face coverings. They are under investigation.

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Following the heavy rioting at the G20 in Hamburg, two women and one man from Bonn are all in police custody. They belong to Verdi-Jugend, a youth organization of the public workers union Verdi. According to a managing director from the youth organization, Nils Jansen, they were arrested on Friday morning near a camping area and taken into police custody a few minutes after the demonstration began.

Jansen and about 20 Verdi members from Bonn wanted to participate in the blockade against the summit together with a group of 200 people. According to Jansen, the Bonn group was peaceful. The police had surrounded the protestors and attacked them with batons and water cannons. Asked if rioters were among them, Jansen replied, From my perspective, the demonstration was attacked with no reason and people fled in panic.

Accused of disturbing the peace

As Jansen reported, the police took around 70 members of the demonstration into custody, including 13 members of the Bonn group. All were accused of disturbing the peace. According to Jansen, nobody in the group had been armed or wearing a covering to hide their face. The conditions in the detention center were humiliating, he said.

Everyone had to strip off their clothing. Neon lights were on in the containers throughout the night. Every 20 minutes, police came and awakened the detainees, on the grounds that they were checking to see if they were still alive. Even after the judge had cleared me, I had to stay another night, explained Jansen. An arrest warrant was filed against the three Bonn residents. An urgent appeal was filed in response to free them from police custody.
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.




There is an enormous and remote wilderness area Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territory of Canada that would make for some amazing hiking and exploring, only it carries a rather dark reputation - as a place where headless bodies show up!













"the people over there." The "people" being some remote mountain folks called Naha who were (a theme the Paiutes also utilized in describing the Hav-Musuvs of Death Valley). The local Dene Tribe named the region forThe "people" being some remote mountain folks called Naha who were evil giants who attacked their villages and behead people. These giants were said to wield weapons never seen before





This theme seems to repeat itself throughout all Native People around the globe. The Natives either killed the Naha off or scared them off, but they went missing over time and just before headless bodies started showing up. Like many other Native legends, it is said the giants just suddenly disappeared....





With the 1800s advent of fur trappers and Europeans to this region of Canada, so came the legends of gold to be found.





In 1908, two brothers went in there to prospect. After a year missing, it was assumed they were taken by the elements. Eventually, their bodies were found along a river, both decapitated, with their heads nowhere to be found.





In 1917, yet another prospector set out to find gold. He even built a cabin and settled in, but later the cabin was found burned and his headless skeleton was found among the ashes.





In the mid 1900s, a trapper's body was found in his sleeping bag, without a head.





Soon after, a trapper was found frozen to death, holding matches and sitting in front of what looked like a fire that had been running for some time. He was frozen through.





By the late 1960s, 44 people had gone missing, never to be found again.





In 1964, a man named John Baptist saw a man-like being with a long black beard that uttered a growl and took off. Several more people in the area reported seeing him, one saying he wore a moose skin around his waist and had a stone club.





These giants are reported to have short body hair, long beards, clawed fingers, long arms, black faces, red or yellow eyes. They are said to make high-pitched whistles and laughing sounds, are nocturnal, smell awful, are swift runners, supposedly hypnotic powers, throw rocks, and will kidnap women and children.













This valley is also known for other cryptids such as thunderbirds, strange lights and UFOs. Some say that the once thought extinct, Bear Dog, still rambles around the hillsides there. Perhaps the area is a strange portal or vortex, even a holding place for some Pleistocene creatures thought long gone.



Source: In North West Canada, and even some connecting parts of the United States there have been reports of a large wolf-like animal, but powerfully built similar to a bear, particularly the fore quarters where the legs are longer than the rear as well as a broad head much wider than a wolf and with a coat of long white fur. These features all correspond with the physical traits of the larger bear dogs (although we cant be certain about the colour) as well as the description of a creature in Native American folklore called the Waheela. Back in the twentieth century the cryptozoologist Ivan T. Sanderson drew this very conclusion that stories of the Waheela may in fact be accounts of a relict population of bear-dogs (although confusingly he additionally referred to Canis dirus, better known as the dire wolf for his theory, and this was a true wolf not a bear dog).



The Waheela is a creature of legend yet one that many people have claimed to have seen even in modern times. Additionally there seems to be a concentration of reports of the Waheela that come from the Nahanni Valley, a place that is also known by the more grisly name of the Headless Valley due to the discoveries of the bodies of people that were missing their heads. Stories from people who claim to have seen the Waheela are usually fairly consistent although it could be argued that the story of the Waheela is becoming more popular in the mainstream and that more people now know what to say, or are led to a specific conclusion because of this whereas otherwise they might not have said Waheela. The story and description of the Waheela is also similar to other creatures of legend called the Shunka Warakin and the Amarok, so it seems that these different stories may all be describing the same creatures.



Although the story is good, it is currently impossible to establish if the Waheela is a late surviving bear dog, or even if it exists at all because so far it is only legend. No body or part of has ever been presented for scientific study, and there is no definitive video or photographic evidence of a living Waheela in its natural habitat. This does not completely discount the idea that a still unknown large mammal might be roaming around the wilds of Canada given there remoteness and lack of people to witness something, which is why the chance of something being found is viable, if slim.



The idea that Waheela are surviving bear dogs is a little harder to swallow, but suggesting that a legendary cryptid is a relict of a prehistoric creature is not unknown.

Others say the region is an opening to Hollow Earth, a supposed other world within our world sometimes described as nirvana.

Source: Another entrance is found in the Nahanni Valley but many of those that have dared to enter this area have been found decapitated, thus giving the region its name aThe Valley of the Headless Mena. The Nahanni Valley in Canada is the land of the Ojibways, the Slave, Dogribs, Stoney, the Beavers and the Chipweyans. It covers 250 square miles in the southern end of the Mackenzie Mountains of Canada and lies almost 550 miles due west of Fort Simpson on the Mackenzie River of northwest Canada. Hot springs and sulfur geysers keep the

valley warmer than the surrounding areas by about 30 degrees year-round. This land of perpetual mist is viewed by the Indians as a tabooa and avoided.

Much of the land is still unexplored and unmapped, making it an ideal hiding place for a tribe of giants who went into hiding or other mysterious and deadly entities.

What is happening in the Valley of the Headless Men? We have no idea, and we may not for quite some time. Man still has yet to truly plod through the region extensively enough to discover anything for sure any time in the near future in this still greatly unexplored wilderness.
PrivatBank (Kyiv) before nationalization functioned as a financial pyramid, Deputy Head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Yekateryna Rozhkova has said during a working meeting of the parliamentary committee on financial policy and banking activities.

"Before nationalization the bank had no resources to return deposits. PrivatBank was a financial pyramid," she said.

Rozhkova drew attention to the audit of PrivatBank's financial statements according to IFRS for 2016, conducted by EY, which estimated the volume of the bank's depreciated loans at UAH 206.5 billion, of which only a small part - for the amount of UAH 14.9 billion - were loans to individuals, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, the volume of public funds in the bank at the time of nationalization was UAH 151.2 billion.

As reported, PrivatBank Board Chairman Oleksandr Shlapak during a press conference on July 4 stated the real volume of loans to related persons as of January 1, 2017 was UAH 190 billion, or 97% of the financial institution's total loan portfolio. The gross indebtedness on the portfolio, which also includes interest to be recovered, was UAH 198.4 billion.
kacylee at 12-07-2017 07:50 AM (5 years ago) (f)

On Tuesday, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, visited President Muhammadu Buhari for the first time since he left for the UK on May 7 on medical vacation.

On Tuesday, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, visited President Muhammadu Buhari for the first time since he left for the UK on May 7 on medical vacation.

Osinbajos visit enabled him brief Buhari on how he has been steering the ship in his absence and also have first-hand knowledge about the Presidents health.



The Nation reports that the trip was a closely guarded secret and carried out through covert diplomatic and intelligence methods.



Most of Osinbajos key aides and cabinet members were oblivious of the trip.



The Acting President reportedly dashed for the airport after making brief remarks at a Presidential Quarterly Business Forum at the old Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja.



The trip had been planned in the past three weeks but was only known to few people for strategic reasons. The Jackals and Hyenas were beaten to it.



The Acting President went to London to wish his boss well, get undiluted information on his health, brief the President on certain decisions he had taken and seek his approval for some appointments and outstanding reforms in government.

Some members of the cabinet have not been committed to Osinbajos acting presidency too.



Other parts of Osinbajos visit were the need to clear misgivings about some of the steps he has taken, especially the need to clarify that he is not executing any anti-North agenda and the alleged accusation of abandoning the Presidents agenda.



Some of those who has access to the President had painted a wrong picture of the situation at home in order to create a wedge between him and Prof. Osinbajo.



The trip was laced with some diplomatic and intelligence coordination. Most cabinet members and key aides were caught unawares, a source revealed.



He added:  Osinbajos visit enabled him brief Buhari on how he has been steering the ship in his absence and also have first-hand knowledge about the Presidents health.The Nation reports that the trip was a closely guarded secret and carried out through covert diplomatic and intelligence methods.Most of Osinbajos key aides and cabinet members were oblivious of the trip.The Acting President reportedly dashed for the airport after making brief remarks at a Presidential Quarterly Business Forum at the old Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja.The trip had been planned in the past three weeks but was only known to few people for strategic reasons. The Jackals and Hyenas were beaten to it.The Acting President went to London to wish his boss well, get undiluted information on his health, brief the President on certain decisions he had taken and seek his approval for some appointments and outstanding reforms in government.Some members of the cabinet have not been committed to Osinbajos acting presidency too.Other parts of Osinbajos visit were the need to clear misgivings about some of the steps he has taken, especially the need to clarify that he is not executing any anti-North agenda and the alleged accusation of abandoning the Presidents agenda.Some of those who has access to the President had painted a wrong picture of the situation at home in order to create a wedge between him and Prof. Osinbajo.The trip was laced with some diplomatic and intelligence coordination. Most cabinet members and key aides were caught unawares, a source revealed.He added:  Quote So far, the trip is fruitful and the Acting President will be able to do certain things, including the inauguration of the two ministers.



I think we should expect some radical changes after this trip. The two leaders discussed extensively on some directions.

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 12-07-2017 07:50 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero
Ex-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych's public defender Vitaliy Meshechek, who was assigned by the Kyiv Regional Center of Legal Assistance, insists his client should participate in the trial in the video conference mode.

"I consider his participation in the process via a video link as necessary for a fair trial, fair consideration," Meshechek told journalists in the court room of Kyiv's Obolonsky district court, which continued hearings on the Yanukovych treason case on Wednesday.

"That is, I think that Viktor Yanukovych should take part in the hearing by means of video conference, and no one has the right to deprive him of the opportunity to ask witnesses, experts and any other participants in the criminal proceedings questions, file applications, complaints and request recusal. This is my opinion and that of the former defenders  I fully support them," the defender said.
Overall, dont let the bhoot mislead you, nothing bhootiya about this story. Had the makers tried to push the envelope, the idea could have been outstanding for a bhootiya comedy.
Ukraine is in touch with foreign partners regarding the bill on specifics of state policy to restore territorial integrity and sovereignty in Donbas, Ukrainian deputy presidential chief of staff Kostiantyn Yeliseyev has said.

"In keeping with yesterday's [July 10] decision by the National Security and Defense Council, we are now working in contact with our key partners, primarily the United States, Germany and France, to coordinate this draft with them. We have already received the first encouraging response from our partners," Yeliseyev said in an interview with the Ukrainian-language service of Radio Svoboda (Radio Liberty) published on July 11.

Ukraine will continue this work with foreign partners, he said.

The bill is designed to manifest the presidential strategy and policy on restoring Ukraine's sovereignty over these territories and their reintegration into Ukraine politically and diplomatically, Yeliseyev said. "The implementation of the Minsk Agreements is at its foundation," he said.

It had been reported earlier that the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council had postponed the consideration of the bill on the de-occupation of certain areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions until the fall in order to hold consultations with foreign partners.
Government of the Netherlands  AN/AAR-57A(V)7 Common Missile Warning System (CMWS)

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 17-40

WASHINGTON, Jul. 10, 2017 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of the Netherlands for AN/AAR-57A(V)7 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS). The estimated cost is $58.2 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of the Netherlands has requested the possible sale of thirty-two (32) AN/AAR-57A(V)7 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS). This would be in addition to the thirty-three (33) AN/AVR-2B laser detecting sets with various support elements included in an earlier FMS case valued at $8.2M. Also included in the amended FMS case would be mission equipment, hardware and services required to implement customer unique post modifications, communication and navigation equipment, special tools and test equipment, ground support equipment, technical data, publications, MWO/ECP, technical assistance, and training, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total case value is $58.2 million.

This proposed sale will enhance the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of the Netherlands which has been, and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in Europe. It is vital to the U.S. national interest to assist the Netherlands to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability.

The proposed sale will improve the Netherlands' capability to meet current and future threats and will be employed on the Netherlands' AH-64D Apache helicopters. The Netherlands will use the enhanced capability to strengthen its homeland defense, deter regional threats, and provide direct support to coalition and security cooperation operations. The Netherlands will have no difficulty absorbing these systems into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of these systems will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractor will be BAE Systems, Nashua, NH. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government personnel or contractor representatives to the Netherlands.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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Pacom Chief Visits Bangladesh to Discuss Cooperation, Security Initiatives

By Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Robin W. Peak, U.S. Pacific Command

DHAKA, Bangladesh, July 11, 2017  Navy Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., commander of U.S. Pacific Command, visited Bangladesh to meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and military service chiefs for discussions on cooperation, regional security initiatives and to learn more about Bangladesh's role in peacekeeping operations.

During Harris' first visit to Bangladesh as Pacom's commander, he also participated in the dedication of a $3.6 million multinational training facility at the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operations Training.

"Pacom is pleased, indeed honored, to partner with our friends in Bangladesh in support of the State Department's Global Peace Operations Initiative to train multinational military forces to conduct real-world United Nations global peacekeeping operations," Harris said.

Supporting Peacekeeping Efforts

He added, "This facility serves as a tangible demonstration of our militaries' and our countries' dedication to U.N. peacekeeping efforts around the world."

BIPSOT is dedicated to the training of peacekeepers to support U.N. Peace Support Operations. In October 2016, Bangladesh achieved GPOI full training capability, marking the country's ability to conduct core military peacekeeping training independently.

BIPSOT's commandant, Maj. Gen. Enayet Ullah, stated that the institute has met the benchmark for serving as "a global standard peace support operations center for training peacekeepers and other personnel."

In early 2018, Pacom and Bangladesh's armed forces are scheduled to co-host Shanti Doot 4, a multinational peacekeeping exercise, at the BIPSOT. Next year also marks the 30th anniversary of Bangladesh's support to peacekeeping operations.

"Shanti Doot 4 is a fitting way to mark such a momentous anniversary, as it will enable partner nations from around the world to learn from one another's experiences and deploy globally in support of vital peacekeeping operations," Harris said.

He added, "This kind of multinational training can deepen mutual understanding and respect, and encourage further collaboration when we do it right and when we're committed to this mission. And I know that we are."

Pacom, in concert with other U.S. government agencies, protects and defends the territory of the United States, its people and its interests, officials said.

With allies and partners such as Bangladesh, officials said, Pacom is committed to enhancing stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies and deterring aggression.

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Exercise Red Flag 17-3 Commences in Nevada

By Air Force Airman 1st Class Andrew Sarver, 99th Air Base Wing

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev., July 11, 2017  Red Flag 17-3, a three-week air-to-air combat joint training exercise, commenced here yesterday, Air Force officials said.

Officials said Red Flag consists of a variety of attack, fighter and bomber aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft, airlift support, search-and-rescue aircraft, aerial refueling aircraft and ground-based command and control, space and cyber forces.

The exercise concludes July 28.

Base leadership reminds southern Nevada residents they may notice increased military aircraft activity during the exercise.

Aircraft will depart here twice daily to participate in combat training missions on the Nevada Test and Training Range north of Las Vegas in one of the Air Force's largest joint exercises.

Joint Warfighting Exercise

"For Red Flag, we bring in our joint warfighters with their capabilities and their equipment," said Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Sadler, 414th Combat Training Squadron commander. "We come together and fight as a team. And, we get to learn from each other as we do that."

Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II fighter jets will participate alongside the Air Force's F-35A's for the first time in Red Flag history.

"We get to learn in a realistic training environment as we continue to progress down the road with this platform and other fifth-generation or fourth-generation aircraft," Sadler said.

Having two F-35 units at Red Flag provides a team-building opportunity, he said.

'We're Not Going to War Alone'

"We're not going to go to war alone," Sadler said. "The more we can do joint exercises like Red Flag -- where we get everybody together and learn from each other -- the more we can better use each other's tactics, techniques and procedures to successfully go after whatever the problem set is."

More than 2,500 joint warfighters will participate in Red Flag 17-3, officials said.

"Red Flag gives our joint warfighters the opportunity to promote their readiness through innovation," Sadler said. "They may have to go outside their comfort zone and take risks with their innovation. But at the end of the day if they see positive, successful outcomes toward the objectives, then that's immediate positive feedback on readiness we're looking for here at Red Flag."

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Roberta Pinotti, Minister of Defense of the Italian Republic July 11, 2017

Remarks by Secretary Mattis in an Honor Cordon Welcoming Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti to the Pentagon

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JIM MATTIS: Madam Minister, to you, Excellency, you're delegation, welcome to the Pentagon. It's very good to have you here. You and I have talked a number of times in Brussels. I'm happy to host you here at the Pentagon.

I appreciate you taking the time to visit us here. Italy is an old friend, come through difficult times together from -- far from battlefields and of course in the battlefield that is known as Brussels.

Exactly, but in addition, Italy hosts over 10,000 of our troops plus their family members. And any soldier that we have who is thinking about not re-enlisting, we send them to Italy, and suddenly they want to re-enlist for 20 years in the U.S. military. (Laughter.)

Yes. We are also very much aware Madam Minister that you are a front line -- (inaudible) -- in dealing with threats from the south. And your country has shown remarkable humanity in its life-saving efforts in the Mediterranean to the refugees that -- that you have saved at sea.

Your military has also sustained extraordinary leadership in Afghanistan, with the training and the fighting out there. The training of the Afghan forces in Herat, and that has been a very well-conducted operation over many years.

And thank you especially for your contributions for the Defeat ISIS Coalition campaign, in which we are full partners with one another. You're the second largest contributor to that campaign, and obviously we respect that greatly.

And I have to especially make mention of your Carabinieri's effort to train the Iraqi police. They have been instrumental in this fight, and they've done their usual magnificent job.

And of course we thank you for offering to host the next Defeat ISIS Restricted Ministerial Meeting in Rome. That's the way we keep this coalition together. So thank you.

While we'll focus on NATO issues here today, as an old friend and ally, and we deal with the North Korean regime, we want to know what Italy's advice is, with their continued violations of the United Nations Security Council resolutions, and just any thoughts you have on this threat to world peace are always welcome.

But, Madam Minister, we're honored to have you, and thank you.

Madam Minister, welcome.

MINISTER OF DEFENSE ROBERTA PINOTTI (through translator): Well, thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you here. Mr. Secretary, we already met in Brussels. But being here is just an opportunity to -- (inaudible) -- between our two countries.

This is also (inaudible) -- and I -- (inaudible) -- start by conveying my condolences for the tragic loss of the lives of the U.S. soldiers who perished the other day.

And I know by personal experience how difficult it is for a secretary of defense to sustain such losses. It's always a terrible moment.

SEC. MATTIS: Thank you.

MIN. PINOTTI (through translator): And the relationships between Italy and the U.S. are excellent, and I must say that Italy has seen and felt all the friendship feelings and all the closeness that the U.S. has many -- (inaudible) -- especially with regard to the -- (inaudible) -- problems we are having on the south flank.

Italy is living a very difficult moment. It is bearing the burden of migration -- of the dealing -- of dealing with migration almost alone. And it's something that also -- has also to do with threats that may come from the south, something we have to keep an eye and to focus on every day.

We welcome the support you have given to the -- (inaudible) -- south in the -- (inaudible) -- and the -- (inaudible). We hope that resources can be increased -- (inaudible).

We are happy with the work that has been done so far to defeat Daesch, especially in Sirte and in general in Libya. And we look forward to work -in this respect to take further steps.

SEC. MATTIS: Thank you.

Thank you again, Madam Minister, Excellency. Welcome to you all. And if the press will excuse us, we'll now get to work.

Q: Mr. Secretary, -- (inaudible) -- troop levels in Afghanistan. Are you considering using military contractors?

SEC. MATTIS: I'm still putting together my ideas on that.

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming by.

-END-

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1243507/

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USNS Lewis B. Puller Begins First Operational Deployment

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS170711-08

Release Date: 7/11/2017 1:41:00 PM

From Military Sealift Command Public Affairs

NORFOLK (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy's first purpose-built expeditionary sea base, USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB 3), departed from Naval Station Norfolk to begin its first operational deployment, July 10.

Puller is deploying to the U.S. 5th Fleet to provide operational support for U.S. Navy and allied forces operating in the region.

"We call ourselves 'Team Puller,'" said Cmdr. Arlen Rose, the military detachment's officer in charge. "The Puller is a brand new ship, so we had a lot to learn. The military crew has been training with the ship's civil service mariners for a year to prepare for this deployment."

"We are ready to get Puller out there to takes its rightful place in the fleet," added Rose. "Everyone is really excited to get to work and see what the Puller can do."

USNS Lewis B. Puller was delivered to the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC) in June 2015 and is the Navy's first purpose-built expeditionary sea base. The ship has a hybrid-manned crew with a combination of military personnel and civilian mariners (CIVMAR).

"The CIVMARs aboard Puller primarily focus on the operation of the ship," said Capt. George McCarthy, the Puller's master. "The CIVMARs perform a variety of critical tasks including navigation, propulsion and ventilation services."

The 784 foot-long vessel features a 52,000 square-foot flight deck, fuel and equipment storage, repair spaces, magazines, and mission-planning spaces. Able to accommodate up to 250 personnel, USNS Lewis B. Puller will support multiple missions, such as air mine counter measures, counter-piracy operations, maritime security operations, humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions, and crisis response operations.

According to McCarthy, the Puller is going to be permanently deployed overseas, which saves a tremendous amount of time in terms of operations. So the ship's maintenance, repairs and crew swaps will take place in theater.

USNS Lewis B. Puller is named after Lt. Gen, Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller, one of the most decorated members of the Marine Corps. He is one of only two men, and the only Marine, to be awarded five Navy Crosses. He fought in Haiti and Nicaragua, and participated in battles of World War II and the Korean War. Puller retired from the Marine Corps in 1955 and spent the remainder of his life in Virginia.

USNS Lewis B. Puller is the expeditionary sea base-variant of the expeditionary transfer dock (ESD) which includes USNS Montford Point (T-ESD 1) and USNS John Glenn (T-ESD 2). The second expeditionary sea base, USNS Hershel "Woody" Williams (T-ESB 4), is currently under construction by General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) in San Diego.

MSC operates approximately 120 non-combatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, conduct specialized missions, and strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world, while moving military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces and coalition partners.

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NCBC Gulfport Celebrates Completion of Four Megawatt Solar Facility

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS170711-06

Release Date: 7/11/2017 1:04:00 PM

From Navy Office of Information

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Department of the Navy (DON), Mississippi Power and representatives from the Mississippi Public Service Commission celebrated the completion of a four megawatt (MW) direct current solar facility at the Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) Gulfport in Gulfport, Mississippi.

The project was commemorated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony today on NCBC Gulfport. Notable ceremony presenters and attendees included Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar, commander, Navy Region Southeast; Capt. Cheryl Hansen, commanding officer of NCBC Gulfport; Anthony Wilson, president and CEO of Mississippi Power; Richard Walsh, Clean Energy Solutions Program Lead at WGL Energy and Mississippi Public Service Commissioners Sam Britton and Brandon Presley.

"Seeking out alternative energy resources isn't a fad. We aren't doing it because it is the 'hip' thing to do. We are doing it because it is necessary for the future security and resiliency of our Navy," said Bolivar.

With approximately 13,000 solar panels spanning 15 acres, the energy produced can supply enough electricity to power 450 homes. The energy and renewable energy credits may be used to serve Mississippi Power customers with renewable energy, for future renewable energy programs or to sell at whole sale to third parties.

"We are pleased to know this facility will help provide clean energy to hundreds of homes across South Mississippi," Hansen said. "It is in all our best interest to be good stewards of our environment."

Completed in April 2017, the power generated from the project is routed to the electric grid, which produces power for Mississippi Power customers, including NCBC Gulfport.

"Our company is very proud to support our military partners," said Mississippi Power President and CEO Anthony Wilson. "We are involved in several renewable energy projects across our service territory. This facility is special not only because it will serve the men and women who protect our country, but also because it is the first solar project completed in our 92-year history in South Mississippi."

In January 2016, the DON and Mississippi Power signed a lease to develop the solar facility on NCBC Gulfport. Hannah Solar, Mississippi Power's developer, financed and built the project. WGL Energy owns and operates the facility.

"WGL Energy is proud to collaborate with distinguished partner organizations to complete an innovative Gulfport solar system, and we congratulate the U.S. Navy for advancing its renewable energy goals," said Sanjiv Mahan, president of WGL Energy Systems. "Our portfolio of integrated solutions continues to draw from the full spectrum of energy sources and available technology to help customers stabilize energy costs, improve the environment, and reduce their carbon footprint."

Adding cost-effective alternative energy provides fuel diversity and increases regional energy resiliency and security.

"It's great to see this partnership with members of industry and the United States Military working together to provide energy to hundreds of homes across the state," Southern District Public Service Commissioner Sam Britton said." Projects like this are so important in diversifying the state's energy portfolio and continuing to supply reliable power to people across the state."

"This project is a step forward in making the Seabee Base more energy independent and therefore making America more energy secure. The benefits of this solar facility help Mississippi Power customers and strengthen America's security," said Mississippi Public Service Commission Chairman Brandon Presley.

The DON continues to improve readiness, combat effectiveness and flexibility through initiatives that focus on energy reliability, resiliency and efficiency.

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The Chamber of Commerce of Industry of Ukraine plans to create an anti-crisis center for consulting business in cyber security issues in the near term, the Chamber said in a press release on Wednesday.

"The anti-crisis center specialists will consult business suffered from cyber attacks free of charge and help to prevent possible cyber threats in the future," the Chamber said.

The Chamber told Interfax-Ukraine that the premium is to approve the decision on the creation of the anti-crisis center at the end of July.

"The business should be prepared for the fact that cyber attacks will continue, and during the discussion we assessed the problem on the basis of what we have heard, to develop an effective mechanism for protecting domestic entrepreneurs and preparing for a new wave of attacks. In addition to creating an anti-crisis cyber security center for business, a working group will be formed. An appeal to government bodies to establish the main reserve channels for the transfer of social information would be sent," Chairman of the committee for e-communications at the Chamber Volodymyr Koliadenko said.
Rex Tillerson says Qatar's position in diplomatic crisis 'reasonable'

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 1:37PM

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Qatar has "reasonable" views in the five-week diplomatic crisis with a Saudi-led bloc of Arab countries.

Tillerson made the comments after meeting with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and the country's foreign minister in Doha on Tuesday.

"I'm hopeful we can make some progress to bring this to a point of resolution," he said after meeting the Qatari emir.

"I think Qatar has been quite clear in its positions and I think very reasonable and we want to talk now... how do we take things forward, and that's my purpose in coming."

The top US diplomat traveled to Qatar as part of his Persian Gulf tour to break the five-week rift between Doha and several Arab states.

Ahead of his Doha visit, Tillerson made a stop in Kuwait, which is still trying to mediate the dispute.

Tillerson will visit Saudi Arabia before leaving the Persian Gulf region on Thursday. He will hold a meeting with the foreign ministers of the four countries involved in the dispute on Wednesday in Riyadh.

The US State Department has warned the crisis could last months and Tillerson does not expect to produce a breakthrough, but instead, wants to explore possibilities for bringing all sides to the negotiating table.

The unprecedented crisis in the Persian Gulf region unfolded on June 5, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar and placed an air, land and sea embargo on the country over claims that Doha supports terrorism.

On June 22, the four Arab states issued a 13-point list of demands as a prerequisite to lift the sanctions against Qatar.

Qatar has denied the terrorism allegations, calling the list of demands and the embargo unjustified and a violation of international law.

Many experts say Saudi Arabia sparked the diplomatic conflict to rein in Qatar's increasingly independent foreign policy.

The split among the Arab states erupted in May after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and then pointing out that numerous Arab leaders had complained to him that Qatar is supporting terrorism.

Saudi Arabia was the first stop on Trump's first international trip on May 20. No other US president has made the kingdom their first foreign visit.

Analysts said Trump's public support for Saudi Arabia emboldened the regime to adopt a more hawkish regional diplomacy.

Tillerson's visit is the latest in a series by officials to the region, including UN diplomats and the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany and Oman. The United States and its Western allies have vast economic and political interests in the region.

Qatar, the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, hosts about 10,000 US troops at its al-Udeid Air Base.

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7 Hindus killed in crossfire between Kashmir militants, India troops

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:25AM

At least seven Hindus have died in reported crossfire between Indian forces and suspected militants in New Delhi-controlled Kashmir amid tensions in the disputed Himalayan region.

Police said on Monday that those killed were Hindu pilgrims on a bus returning from the Amarnath shrine deep in the Himalayas.

The bus was caught up in the firefight, which broke out when the militants attacked a police bunker and another police party at a checkpoint in Anantnag town, according to the report.

A dozen more passengers were also wounded in the crossfire.

The attack is likely to trigger hardline Hindu groups tied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party to demand tougher actions against the militants fighting Indian rule in Muslim-majority Kashmir.

New Delhi has already deployed hundreds of thousands of Indian troops to the region to enforce a harsh security crackdown on the people in the disputed region.

The Amarnath cave, located high in the Himalya mountains in Lidder Valley is a pilgrimage site visited by Hindus, annually.

Modi, a staunch Hindu himself, was quick to condemn the death and injury of the Hindus in the incident.

"The attack deserves strongest condemnation from everyone," Modi tweeted, adding that he has spoken to the governor and chief minister of the Indian-administrated region of Kashmir to assure them "all possible help."

Both India and Pakistan claim the Kashmir region in entirety and have fought three wars over the region.

The mountainous area is home to dozens of armed groups fighting for independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan.

India accuses neighboring Pakistan of funding and training militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir to carry out armed attacks, a charge denied by Islamabad.

Indian-ruled Kashmir has seen a sharp hike in anti-India protest rallies since government forces shot and killed Burhan Wani, a popular Kashmiri militant commander, a year ago.

Over the weekend, Kashmiris marked the anniversary of Wani's death with angry protests against the Indian government amid tight security.

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Trump's Son Publishes E-Mails With Russian Offer Of Damaging Information On Clinton

RFE/RL July 11, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump's eldest son has published e-mails showing he was aware that a Russian lawyer he met with in 2016 had alleged ties to the Russian government, and that he was offered "sensitive information" that could help Trump's election campaign.

Donald Trump Jr. published the material on his Twitter account on July 11 in what was the latest chapter in a dizzying narrative that has put the White House again on the defensive.

Trump's presidency has been dogged by suspicions that Russia interfered in last year's election, and by multiple investigations into that and into interactions between past and present Trump associates and Russian officials.

Last week, Trump met for the first time with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hamburg, Germany. According to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Trump asked Putin about the alleged election interference, and Putin denied it.

Over the weekend, The New York Times reported that Trump Jr. had met with Russian lawyer Natalya Veselnitskaya on June 9, 2016, as the presidential election campaign was heating up.

The meeting -- which also included Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign head Paul Manafort -- was held three weeks after Trump secured enough delegates to win the Republican Party's nomination and about one month before the party's nominating convention.

It also occurred less than one week before media widely reported that Russian hackers had infiltrated the servers of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and stolen thousands of e-mails.

E-Mail Exchange

Trump Jr. initially said his meeting with Veselnitskaya largely concerned the question of American adoptions of Russian children, something that Putin had halted in 2012 in response to a U.S. law known as the Magnitsky Act.

But Trump Jr. later changed his explanation after The New York Times reported that Trump had been offered information damaging to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The Times also reported on July 10 that the Russian government was the source of information.

Citing three anonymous sources, the Times reported that a publicist named Rob Goldstone, who helped broker the meeting, had sent Trump Jr. an e-mail saying the potentially damaging information was being provided as "part of a Russian government effort to aid his father's candidacy."

On July 11, Trump Jr. published four pages of e-mail exchanges showing Goldstone proposing the meeting and explaining that Veselnitskaya claimed she had information about purported illegal campaign contributions to the DNC and that she thought Trump Jr. might find it helpful.

One e-mail, signed by Goldstone and dated June 3, 2016, said the information "would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump," it said.

Trump Jr. responded shortly after, "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."

In a message accompanying the Twitter post, Trump Jr. said the e-mails bolstered his earlier statement that Veselnitskaya had no information to provide, and merely wanted to talk about U.S. adoptions. He also quoted Goldstone's public comment on July 10 that the meeting was "the most inane nonsense I ever heard. And I was actually agitated by it."

In an interview broadcast on July 11 by U.S. NBC TV, Veselnitskaya also said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Magnitsky Act, the law signed by President Barack Obama imposing sanctions on Russians considered to have violated human rights.

She told NBC that she "never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton" and had no ties to Putin's government.

In an earlier interview with the Times, prior to Trump Jr.'s publishing the e-mail exchange, Goldstone denied knowing the source of the information that was damaging to Clinton.

During Veselnitskaya's meeting with Trump Jr., Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, and Manafort, who was heading Trump's election campaign at that time, were also present.

Veselnitskaya told NBC that Kushner left the room after 7-10 minutes and did not return, and that Manafort did not appear to be paying attention.

Trump Jr. To Testify

The meeting, and the e-mails, add to the growing pile of evidence pointing to some sort of active Russian effort to meddle in the U.S. campaign. In January, the U.S. intelligence community released a report that outright accused Moscow of waging a hacking-and-propaganda campaign to interfere in the election.

Since that time, multiple congressional committees have opened investigations into the question of Russian meddling.

The FBI, meanwhile, opened a criminal probe in July 2016 into whether Trump associates -- including Manafort -- had improper interactions with Russian officials. But the man overseeing that investigation, James Comey, was fired in May 2017 by Trump, who later reportedly bragged to Russian officials that his firing had relieved "great pressure" on him about the Russian probe.

The uproar that ensued ultimately led to the Justice Department appointing a special counsel to oversee the criminal investigation.

Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump Jr., issued a statement on July 10 saying his client did nothing wrong and had promised to cooperate with investigators.

In Congress, Republican and Democratic senators signaled that they would seek to have Trump Jr. testify.

"This is the first time that the public has seen clear evidence of senior-level members of the Trump campaign meeting with Russians" to obtain information damaging to Clinton, Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said.

With reporting by The New York Times, Reuters, and NBC

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-russia-trump-jr-emails- prosecutor-offer-clinton-information/28610822.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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Report Claims Trump's Son Was Told Russia Provided Damaging Information About Clinton

RFE/RL July 11, 2017

Donald Trump Jr. was told that the Russian government was the source of information damaging to former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton before meeting with a Russian lawyer about it, the New York Times reported on July 10.

Citing three anonymous sources, the Times said publicist Rob Goldstone, who helped broker the June 2016 meeting, sent an e-mail to President Donald Trump's eldest son indicating that the Kremlin was the source of the potentially damaging information and that it was being provided as "part of a Russian government effort to aid his father's candidacy."

In the e-mail Goldstone purportedly said the Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, claimed she had information about purported illegal campaign contributions to the Democratic National Committee that she thought Trump Jr. might find helpful. According to the Times's sources, the e-mail does not provide details about Moscow's alleged effort to help Trump.

Speaking to U.S. broadcaster NBC in Moscow on July 11, Veselnitskaya said that she "never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton" and had no ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin's government.

Veselnitskaya said that she had wanted to discuss the Magnitsky Act, a law signed by President Barack Obama that enables the United States to impose sanctions on Russians considered to have violated human rights.

In an earlier interview with the Times, Goldstone denied knowing the source of the information that was damaging to Clinton. He was not available to be questioned about the newly reported e-mail.

The meeting -- which also included Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign head Paul Manafort -- was held three weeks after Trump secured enough delegates to win the Republican Party's nomination and about one month before the party's nominating convention. It also occurred less than one week before media widely reported that Russian hackers had infiltrated the servers of the Democratic National Committee and stolen thousands of e-mail messages.

Veslnitskaya told NBC that Kushner left the room after 7-10 minutes and did not return, and that Manafort did not appear to be paying attention.

It is expected the Goldstone e-mail, if it exists, will be sought by the Justice Department and congressional committees probing Russian involvement in the election and the possibility of collusion between the Trump campaign and agents acting for Moscow.

Trump Jr. has acknowledged agreeing to meet with Veselnitskaya to learn damaging information about Clinton. But this is the first indication he may have been told before the meeting that information came from the Kremlin as part of an effort to aid Donald Trump's candidacy.

He denied receiving any specific information about the Clinton campaign during the meeting.

Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump Jr., told the Times his client did nothing wrong and has promised to cooperate with investigators.

Trump Jr. is expected to be called before Congress to testify on the meeting with Veselnitskaya.

"This is the first time that the public has seen clear evidence of senior-level members of the Trump campaign meeting with Russians" to obtain information damaging to Clinton, said Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

With reporting by The New York Times

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-jr-told-kremlin-source-damaging- information-democratic-candidate-/28607433.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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US-Led Coalition May Establish Temporary Bases in Iraq

Sputnik News

20:54 11.07.2017(updated 20:59 11.07.2017)

The US-led coalition may look into establishing temporary bases in Iraq to finish the campaign against Daesh after the liberation of Mosul, Operation Inherent Resolve Commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said in a briefing on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The commander noted that he anticipated the coalition's future footprint will be smaller, and added that he is not anticipating needing more bases for post-Daesh period.

"There may be temporary facilities that we need to prosecute the rest of this campaign against ISIS [Daesh], and if we need those, we will put those bases up to finish the fight," Townsend told reporters.

The US-led coalition is already training the Iraqi military to prepare for the evolving threat the remaining militants may pose after the group is defeated, Townsend said.

"We do know that our Iraqi Security Force partners will have to engage in counter-insurgency style operations at some point, and we're already making efforts now to start shaping their training towards that next ISIS tactic."

Townsend said fighters surviving the overall offensive may adopt insurgent-style tactics that will still pose a threat to Iraq's security.

Instead of a conventional force threat, "they'll be smaller, more covert," he added.

Townsend pointed out US or coalition troops are unlikely to be significantly involved in wider stabilization efforts in Iraq, adding that the Iraqi government is capable of undertaking such projects assisted by the United Nations.

Some of Daesh militants remaining in Mosul offered to negotiate a surrender as the city fell to the Iraqi military and US-led coalition, Townsend added.

"This afternoon there were some ISIS offers to negotiate a surrender," Townsend told reporters of the move by the terror group. "I was pleased to hear that the Iraqi commander's response was'unconditional surrender'."

Townsend said the Iraqis refused to negotiate and told the terrorists to surrender unconditionally or be killed.

A Daesh commander had offered on Monday to surrender a group of fighters but refused the Iraqis' order to surrender unconditionally, Townsend explained.

A later wave of suicide attacks led the coalition to assess the surrender offer was a ploy by the militants to get close to the Iraqi Security Forces.

The Tuesday offer was reported to be a serious one, Townsend pointed out.

Last week, Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Anderson, director of the coalition's partner force development, said the US-led coalition is assisting the Iraqis to create mobile police and border stations to provide security in liberated areas of the country.

 Sputnik

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Colombian President Pardons Over 3,500 Former FARC Militants

Sputnik News

03:17 11.07.2017

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed on Monday a decree on amnesty for 3,600 former militants from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the presidential administration said.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik)  The amnesty will apply to the former militants, who have already laid down arms.

The pardoned FARC members were accused of taking part in a revolt and civil disorder as well as illegal possession of weapons and wearing military uniforms.

FARC was formed in 1964 as the military wing of Colombia's Communist Party. The half-century war between the FARC and the Colombian government claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

The Colombian government signed a peace deal with the FARC in November 2016. Santos signed in total three decrees on amnesty for former FARC militants having pardoned more than 6,000 people. Some 1,400 more were released in accordance with local courts' verdicts.

 Sputnik

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Press Availability With Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani

Press Availability

Rex W. Tillerson

Secretary of State

Foreign Ministry

Doha, Qatar

July 11, 2017



FOREIGN MINISTER AL-THANI: (In progress) (Via interpreter) -- at the trilateral level between the United States and Qatar, then a trilateral meeting with the presence of our brothers in Kuwait to discuss the latest developments in the Gulf crisis and the appreciated efforts by our brothers in the state of Kuwait and the help of our friends in the United States.

As for the bilateral aspect of the meetings, we have agreed on many points, and we have signed a memorandum of understanding to  on combating financing terrorism. And this comes in the context of bilateral cooperation between the U.S. and Qatar, and as a result of the joint efforts to develop mechanisms to combat financing terrorism and exchange information and expertise to develop this mechanism and to develop the institutions between different countries.

As for the other fields of cooperation in the  on the bilateral  at the bilateral level, we have discussed affairs relating to all political and other aspects. But the main output was the memorandum of understanding pertaining to combating financing terrorism, which for long the blockading countries have accused Qatar of financing terrorism. Now the state of Qatar is the first country to sign this memorandum of understanding with the United States. We invite the other blockading countries to join signing this understanding.

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Thank you very much, Your Excellency. And thank you for welcoming us to Doha today. And we also appreciated the time His Highness The Emir afforded us for a very good discussion upon our arrival as well.

I am here in Qatar today carrying with me the same spirit which President Trump traveled in Riyadh with in May. The United States has one goal: drive terrorism off the face of the Earth. The President said, and I quote, "Every country in the region has an absolute duty to ensure that terrorists find no sanctuary on their soil." The agreement in which we both have signed on behalf of our governments represents weeks of intensive discussions between experts and reinvigorates the spirit of the Riyadh summit. The memorandum lays out a series of steps the two countries will take over the coming months and years to interrupt and disable terror financing flows and intensify counterterrorism activities globally. The agreement includes milestones to ensure both countries are accountable to their commitments.

Together, the United States and Qatar will do more to track down funding sources, will do more to collaborate and share information, and will do more to keep the region and our homeland safe.

I applaud the leadership of His Highness The Emir of Qatar for being the first to respond to President Trump's challenge at the Riyadh summit to stop the funding of terrorism. And again, I want to thank His Excellency and His Highness The Emir for the time they have given us today. Thank you.

MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Now we open the floor for questions and answers. Al Jazeera channel.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) (Inaudible) from Al Jazeera. For Your Excellency, the Qatari foreign minister: What's your response to the leaking the agreement of Riyadh and the timing of it?

FOREIGN MINISTER AL-THANI: (Via interpreter) First of all, regarding the leaking of the Riyadh agreement last night and the timing of this leaking, these are clear efforts to diminish the role by Kuwait and the mediation by Kuwait, and the efforts exacted by the United States to mediate this crisis. If this leaking reflects anything, it only reflects the approach by the blockading countries, similarly to what they did when they leaked the list of demands. This brings into question the level of trust in these countries in international relations. Usually, commercial companies show respect for this agreement, let alone respected countries and states.

As for the campaign that accompanied this leaking and the accusation that Qatar did not respect the agreement, these are falsifications and Qatar has committed itself and respected this agreement, and this can be proven. This is not a unilateral agreement. This is a multilateral agreement. And the statement  the agreement does not singularly single out Qatar to adhere to this agreement. And this is a clear violation of the blockading countries because they did not use any of the dispute settlement mechanisms, and as a result, if there are any grievances, these shall be discussed either according to the agreement of Riyadh or according to the charter of the GCC.

MODERATOR: A question from Bloomberg.

QUESTION: Thank you, a question for both of you. A couple of days ago, the discussion of what was happening in the Gulf was framed by the U.S. side as something that could take months to resolve and that you were at an impasse  all of the countries involved. Do you have an indication from the other parties in this crisis that they would be willing to sign a similar agreement with you? And does what happened today now sort of revise your timeframe? Do you think this could be solved more quickly, or do you still expect that this is something that will last for some time? Thank you.

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, I think it's important to first make sure that the proper understanding of the agreement that was signed today is an agreement that we have been working on for quite some time. In fact, there's elements of this work that actually had been underway as long as a year ago. So what I think you're seeing the culmination today is really of this reinvigoration of our talks as a result of the Riyadh summit. And President Trump's very strong call in Qatar, I think, has taken the initiative to move out on things that had been discussed but had not been brought to a conclusion, and to put in place a very, very strong agreement, one that has commitments for action immediately in a number of fronts, and in fact, several steps have already been taken and implemented.

As it relates to the conflict that exists here in the Gulf, we had a good trilateral exchange around the conflict with His Highness The Emir and the foreign minister, with our Kuwaiti mediator partner. And my role here is to support the efforts of the Emir of Kuwait and the Kuwaiti mediator to bring what we can to the discussions to help both sides more fully understand the concerns of the relative parties and also point out possible solutions to those.

So we did have a good, thorough discussion today. I think as most of you know, I'll be traveling to Jeddah tomorrow to meet with the parties who are on the other side of this issue, and similarly, to explore their feelings and explore options for how we might move this forward. So I would not want to comment on any expectation for a timetable at this point because these are discussions that are still ongoing.

FOREIGN MINISTER AL-THANI: Just to follow up what His Excellency just mentioned, this agreement which was signed, which is being signed now, it's a separate bilateral agreement between Qatar and the United States which has been underway and in discussion for weeks now, and it has nothing related directly to or indirectly to the recent crisis and the blockade which is imposed against Qatar.

And also, we support the role which is carried out by the Kuwaiti mediator and supported by the United States, and we have been very much positive and forthcoming in engaging in a constructive dialogue which will result for a solution, which is  which has been the behavior of the state of Qatar from the beginning of this crisis. And we hope that the blockading countries behave in the same manner.



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Security Council warned DR Congo's violence on rise amid little political progress

11 July 2017  The security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to be a major source of concern, with violence in the Kasai provinces, in the western part of the vast country, reaching "disturbing" levels, the United Nations Security Council was told today.

Presenting the latest report of the Secretary-General on the situation in the DRC, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who recently visited the country, urged the Council to support the Government and the people to preserve the gains of the past 17 years.

"The current political impasse, the rising insecurity, and the worsening human rights and humanitarian situation in the DRC require a concerted response from regional and international partners," Mr. Lacroix said.

"This response must aim to help to create the conditions for a successful transition and the holding of free, fair and inclusive elections, in accordance with the Constitution," he stressed, with a nod to a political agreement signed last year which specified that elections would be held by the end of this year.

The agreement  facilitated by Conference Episcopale Nationale du Congo (CENCO) mediators, and reached in DRC's capital, Kinshasa, on 31 December 2016  allowed President Joseph Kabila to stay in power beyond the end of his term.

In today's statement, Mr. Lacroix said implementation of the Agreement "remains largely inadequate."

"At a time when the DRC is at the mid-point of its transition, it is more necessary than ever for national political actors and international partners, including the members of the Council, to remobilize the political agreement of 31 December 2016," the senior UN official stressed.

Supporting the implementation of the Agreement  in addition to paving the way for elections and protecting civilians  remains a key priority of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, known as MONUSCO, Mr. Lacroix said.

He underscored his commitment "to ensuring that MONUSCO delivers on its core mandated objectives as efficiently and effectively as possible" while responding to the changing situation on the ground.

MONUSCO is currently undergoing a strategic review, which will likely result shifts in its structure and mandate, based on options presented to the Security Council by 30 September.

'Reports of daily human rights violations and abuse'

Amid the political impasse, the focus in the country faces rising insecurity, with particular concern over violence in the Kasai provinces, and a recent increase in inter-ethnic violence there.

"Disturbing reports of human rights violations and abuses continue to be received on a daily basis," Mr. Lacroix said.

Dozens of mass graves have been reported so far, and the national investigation efforts are "slow," he said, adding that "MONUSCO has also received disturbing reports of summary executions and rapes including of civilians by the security forces."

Between May and June, the number of displaced persons in the DRC increased by 26 per cent to 1.3 million, according to UN figures.

Noting that he visited the country last month, Mr. Lacroix said he had stressed the need to prioritize political means to address the situation in the Kasais and emphasized the urgency of ensuring accountability.

He also stressed UN's continued focus on ensuring that those responsible for the killing of UN human rights colleagues, Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan, are brought to justice.

Despite the insecurity, MONUSCO has been able to support pockets of stability, such as in the town of Tshimbulu, where some schools and churches have reopened.

"Through a combination of human rights monitoring and political outreach, supported by a light but increasing military presence, the Mission is helping to bring back some measure of stability wherever it can," Mr. Lacroix said.

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Aid agencies in Yemen forced to shift resources from fighting hunger to cholera - UN

11 July 2017  Unless the international community contributes $200 million to address the cholera outbreak in Yemen, the United Nations humanitarian arm will be forced to "reprogram" more resources tagged for malnutrition in the country already facing famine, a senior official today said.

"This unprecedented cholera epidemic would further weaken the resources, and the resilience that people had had over the last two and a half years of this war," Jamie McGoldrick, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, told journalists in Geneva.

There were now 313,538 suspected cases of cholera and 1,732 deaths, according to figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

About 40 per cent of the suspected cases and a quarter of the deaths were among children younger than 15 years old, particularly the malnourished. Older adults, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions were among the greatest risk for death.

"All of this is entirely man-made, as a result of the conflict," Mr. McGoldrick said by phone from Amman, Jordan.

He noted that two million additional people were added to the humanitarian case load since the start of the year as a result of the cholera outbreak, the looming famine, and the economic collapse.

Humanitarians were not as far ahead as they should be in terms of the cholera response, he noted, mainly due to the fact that they did not have enough resources to expand their operations into areas where health workers were working without pay.

"The actual system is in complete collapse," he said.

The UN has received only one-third of the $2.1 billion it sought to provide food to the millions people facing famine in Yemen; separately, a $250 million funding appeal on cholera received only $47 million.

"Agencies have had to use resources which they had programmed otherwise, for example for food security or malnutrition," said Mr. McGoldrick.

UN agency considers "shelving" cholera vaccine in Yemen

Meanwhile, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) is considering not shipping vaccines tagged for Yemen.

"A vaccination way ahead of an outbreak would be useful, but that would imply a huge amount of vaccines, taking into account all the countries where cholera was endemic," Christian Lindmeier, WHO spokesperson, told journalists.

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Sudan Calls for US to Permanently Remove Sanctions

By VOA News July 11, 2017

Sudan is asking the United States to permanently scrap 24-year-old sanctions, warning that the country could fall back into war if the sanctions are reapplied.

The Obama administration temporarily lifted the sanctions in January, tying their permanent removal to a series of conditions imposed on Sudan, including enhanced counterterrorism cooperation with the U.S., unhindered access for aid groups, and a cessation of conflict between armed groups in Sudan.

On Wednesday, the removal of sanctions will become permanent unless the Trump administration decides to reverse its predecessor's decision.

Speaking on state radio, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour warned that fighting between the government and rebels  which has killed at least 300,000 people since 2003  could resume if the U.S. switches the sanctions back on.

"If the sanctions continue, it will push the armed groups to harden their positions," Ghandour said. "If the sanctions are lifted, they will return to negotiation. If not, they will prepare for war."

He called reinstating the sanctions "illogical and unacceptable," adding, "We don't expect any other decision except lifting of the sanctions."

Rights groups skeptical

Some rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have criticized what they see as negligible human rights improvement in Sudan during the six months of sanctions relief. Speaking at the Human Rights Commission in April, Human Rights Watch senior researcher Jehanne Henry called for the U.S. to take more time to monitor Sudan's progress before making a final decision on sanctions.

"U.S. relations should not be normalized without significant progress on human rights," Henry said. "[Obama's executive order] is clear that the suspension should only become permanent with Sudan's continued progress."

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers agrees. Last week, they wrote to Trump, asking him to delay sanctions relief until the U.S. has the ability to monitor Sudanese compliance with human rights norms.

"Today's letter calls for a delay in sanctions relief for one year or until the Trump administration has ... named a special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan who can conduct a thorough and objective review," read the letter.

U.N. team sees 'marked improvement'

On Monday, the United Nations Country Team in Sudan voiced support for the removal of U.S. sanctions against Sudan, acknowledging "marked improvement in humanitarian access over the past six months ... as a result of improved engagement between the government of Sudan and humanitarian actors."

U.N. aid agencies help hundreds of thousands each year in Sudan's Darfur region, where government forces have been fighting various rebel groups since 2003. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the region.

Sudan has also battled rebels in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile since 2011.

The U.S. imposed the sanctions in 1997 for Sudan's alleged support of Islamist terror groups. Osama bin Laden lived in Khartoum, Sudan's capital city, between 1992 and 1996.

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Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov is disappointed at the Verkhovna Rada's poor performance as lawmakers ignore cyber defense issues.

"Parliament members who work a few days a month are probably very tired and will go into their next recess for several months from next week. Yesterday they even failed to include a bill in the agenda that is of key importance for the state's cyber defense," the NSDC's press service quoted Turchynov as saying.
Emails Show Trump's Son Expected Incriminating Russian Information on Clinton

By Ken Bredemeier July 11, 2017

Newly disclosed emails show that an intermediary for a Russian lawyer promised U.S. President Donald Trump's eldest son incriminating information last year about Trump's presidential opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, to bolster Moscow's support of the real estate mogul's candidacy.

Donald Trump Jr. released a string of emails Tuesday that he exchanged with Rob Goldstone, an American music publicist representing Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met with the younger Trump in mid-June last year, shortly after his father had clinched the Republican party's nomination for president.

The emails come in the midst of multiple investigations of Russian interference in the U.S. election, both by Congress and a separate criminal probe by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director.

The U.S. intelligence community has already concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally directed a campaign aimed at damaging Clinton's reputation and helping Trump defeat her in last year's presidential vote.

'Very useful to your father'

On June 3, Goldstone told the younger Trump by email: "The Crown prosecutor of Russia ... [has] offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump," the email said.

Within minutes, the younger Trump replied, "If it's what you say, I love it, especially [for use] later in the summer."

Days later, Goldstone referred to Veselnitskaya as "the Russian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow" to meet with the younger Trump. Moscow has denied knowing Veselnitskaya and rejected U.S. claims that it meddled in the election.

The New York Times said the younger Trump released the chain of emails after the newspaper told him it was about to disclose them in a story about the meeting with Veselnitskaya.

Hours after his son made public the emails, President Trump released a statement saying, "My son is a high quality person and I applaud his transparency."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders deflected reporters' other questions about the emails, referring them to the younger Trump's attorney.

As he released the emails, Donald Trump Jr. said during his meeting with Veselnitskaya last year it became obvious to him that she did not have incriminating evidence about Clinton to hand to him. The lawyer quickly turned the conversation to discussions about sanctions the U.S. had placed on Russia, the younger Trump said, and the halt Moscow ordered on the adoption of Russian children by Americans.

On Monday, before the disclosure of Donald Trump Jr.'s chain of emails, the White House defended his meeting with Veselnitskaya, saying that it proved there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to help Trump's campaign because nothing came of the talks.

The younger Trump met Veselnitskaya along with then-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and the eventual president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, both of whom are now White House advisers to the president.

Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with the Russian attorney is the first known contact between senior Trump campaign officials and Russian interests during the campaign. In response to The New York Times' disclosures about the younger Trump's meeting with the Russian lawyer, his lawyer said Monday those accounts were "much ado about nothing."

White House spokeswoman Sanders said Monday: "The president's campaign did not collude in any way. Don Jr. did not collude with anybody to influence the election. Our position is that no one within the Trump campaign colluded in order to influence the election."

With the release of the emails, however, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said that the younger Trump "definitely has to testify" before a Senate panel probing Russia's election interference. Other lawmakers said they were disturbed that the younger Trump was willing to accept information about Clinton from a Russian contact.

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Military Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, July 12, 2017  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 19 strikes consisting of 63 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

U.S. Central Command continues to work with partner nations to conduct targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes consisting of 18 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, five strikes destroyed 19 ISIS oil refinement stills, four weapon caches, four wellheads, three separator tanks and a storage tank.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, six strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed 25 ISIS oil refinement stills, five oil tanks and 10 oil tankers.

-- Near Raqqa, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units, destroyed a fighting position and a mortar tube, and suppressed a fighting position.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of 45 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; destroyed 18 fighting positions, seven medium machine guns and two rocket-propelled grenade systems; and damaged 12 fighting positions.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two mortar systems and two vehicles.

July 10 Strikes

Officials also reported today the results of July 10 strikes in Syria and Iraq for which details were unavailable at the time of yesterday's update:

-- Near Raqqa, Syria, 15 strikes engaged 12 ISIS tactical units; destroyed nine ISIS-held buildings, six fighting positions, two improvised bombs, a command-and-control node, a tunnel entrance and an ISIS communication tower; and damaged a command-and-control node.

-- Near Mosul, Iraq, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, destroyed 21 fighting positions and two medium machine guns, and damaged a fighting position.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

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UN blames perpetrators of Saudi-led war for cholera crisis in Yemen

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 12, 2017 5:59PM

The United Nations has blamed Yemen's cholera crisis on the perpetrators of the ongoing war against the impoverished country and their foreign supporters.

Stephen O'Brien, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the "man-made" outbreak of the deadly disease was "a direct result" of the Saudi-led aggression and "serious violations of international law."

"This cholera scandal is entirely man-made by the conflicting parties and those beyond Yemen's borders who are leading, supplying, fighting and perpetuating the fear and fighting," he said.

"You will have to lean much more heavily and effectively on the parties and those outside Yemen who are leading this policy and action," the aid official told the council.

The US and the UK have been the main purveyors of weapons, training and intelligence to Saudis during the course of the unprovoked war, which began in March 2015.

The UN official warned that the suspected cholera cases across Yemen had surpassed 320,000 while at least 1,740 had lost their lives after being infected.

O'Brien noted that the UN had only raised $47 million of $250 million in funding that it needed to battle the crisis. He also called on the Security Council to help reopen health centers in Yemen by ensuring that public servants would get paid.

Yemen's UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the "appalling" cholera outbreak was only one of the "complex emergencies" that the country was dealing with.

The Saudi-led war has destroyed most of Yemen's infrastructure and put nearly half of the country's population on the verge of famine.

Local Yemeni sources have put the death toll from the Saudi war at over 12,000, including many women and children.

O'Brien said Wednesday that in order to speed up the aid process, the airport in the capital Sana'a needed to reopen, months after Saudi attacks rendered it unusable.

The port of Hudaydah, a crucial lifeline for deliveries of food, medicine and other vital goods also needed to be kept safe from attacks, he added.

Saudi warships have been closely monitoring the port, sending away many of the ships carrying humanitarian aid.

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Militants kill seven bus passengers in western Afghanistan

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 12, 2017 2:41PM

Afghan authorities have recovered the bullet-riddled bodies of seven passengers kidnapped by militants a day earlier in the country's troubled west.

Police spokesman Iqbal Baher said on Wednesday that security forces had recovered the bodies in Farah province. Six civilians and one police officer were among those killed by the militants, he added.

The passengers were abducted in province of Farah a day earlier, in an attack blamed on Taliban militant group.

"It is not clear why the Taliban kidnapped and killed them, and we are still unsure about the fate of the remaining kidnapped passengers," media outlets quoted Baher as saying.

The violence came after Taliban militants closed a highway connecting the provincial capital, Farah, to the city of Herat late Tuesday. The armed men stopped a bus and forced 16 passengers to get off.

According to police, they shot at least seven of them, while the remaining nine were taken hostage.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Baher said government forces had launched an operation early on Wednesday to free the hostages and open the highway. They also cleared roadblocks set up by the militants, he added.

Earlier this month, at least six civilians seeking work in Farah were killed after their pickup truck hit a roadside bomb. Afghan authorities blamed the Taliban for the attack.

Highways in Afghanistan passing through militancy-prone areas have become exceedingly dangerous, with the Taliban and other armed groups frequently kidnapping or killing travelers.

In April, the Taliban announced the start of its annual spring offensive against Afghan security forces and US-led foreign troops across the country. The militant group has stepped up offensives in various parts of Afghanistan over the past few months.

Insecurity has gripped Afghanistan since 2001, when the United States and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington's so-called war on terror. Many parts of the country remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of foreign troops.

Over the past 16 years, the Taliban militants have been conducting terrorist attacks across the country, killing and displacing civilians.

In addition, the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, which is mainly active in Syria and Iraq, has recently managed to take recruits from Afghan Taliban defectors.

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Trump Defends Son, Again Calls Russia Allegations 'Witch Hunt'

RFE/RL July 12, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump called his son "open, transparent, and innocent" after the release of e-mails indicating the younger man had welcomed an alleged offer from Russia to help his father's 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump on July 12 also once again condemned media coverage and the various investigations into his campaign's alleged links to Russia as "the greatest Witch Hunt in political history."

Donald Trump Jr. on July 11 released a series of e-mails revealing he had quickly agreed to meet a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who had damaging information about Democratic rival Hillary Clinton as part of Moscow's "support" for his father's campaign.

The meeting -- which also included Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign head Paul Manafort -- was held three weeks after Trump secured enough delegates to win the Republican Party's nomination and about one month before the party's nominating convention.

Some members of Congress charged that the meeting with the Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, amounted to "collusion" with Russia.

Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat-Oregon) said the e-mails show that Trump's son "sought to collude with a hostile foreign power to subvert America's democracy."

Trump Jr. called those allegations "ridiculous" and "overplayed."

In an interview with Fox News television late on July 11, Trump Jr. said the meeting did not yield anything useful to his father's campaign and that he never told his father about it.

He insisted he did not attempt to coordinate with the Russians to affect the election or try to damage Clinton.

He added, though, that "in retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently."

'A Very Nice Young Man'

After the interview, the president on Twitter praised his son's television appearance.

"He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!" Trump wrote.

Christopher Wray, Trump's nominee to head the FBI, told a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing on July 12 that he had no reason to believe special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling was a "witch hunt."

In January, the U.S. intelligence community released a report that accused Moscow of waging a cyber-and-propaganda effort to interfere in the election to benefit Trump's campaign over Clinton.

Since that time, multiple congressional committees and the Justice Department have opened investigations into the question of Russian meddling.

Trump and Russian officials have repeatedly denied any collusion, and Moscow has denied any meddling.

Speaking in Brussels on July 12, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow has "no doubt" that the accusations of Russian election meddling were "orchestrated in an attempt to reverse the results of the election won by Donald Trump."

Many Republicans in Congress on July 12 also downplayed the reports of the meeting between Trump Jr. and the Russian lawyer.

"I think that's overblown," said veteran Senator Orrin Hatch (Reputlican-Utah), calling Trump Jr. "a very nice young man."

With reporting by AP, AFP, the New York Times, Reuters, TASS, and Fox News

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-defends-son-russia- allegations-witch-hunt/28612911.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's Son Says Never Told Father About Meeting With Russian Lawyer

RFE/RL July 12, 2017

Donald Trump Jr., U.S. President Donald Trump's eldest son, has said that his meeting with a Russian lawyer did not yield anything useful to his father's presidential campaign and that he never told his father about it.

In an interview late on July 11 with Fox News, Trump acknowledged that he "has probably met with other people from Russia" besides lawyer Natalya Veselnitskaya, whom he met with in June 2016 after being told that the meeting was part of a Russian-government effort to help his father's candidacy.

But he insisted that he did not attempt to coordinate with them to affect the election or try to damage his father's Democratic opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Trump said he didn't tell his father about the meeting with Veselnitskaya because "there was nothing to tell."

"It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes," he said. "For me, this was opposition research" that he hoped might yield "concrete evidence" against Clinton.

"In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently," he said.

Some members of Congress charged that the Veselnitskaya meeting, as related in e-mails released by Trump himself on July 11, amounted to "collusion" with Russia.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said the e-mails show Trump's son "sought to collude with a hostile foreign power to subvert America's democracy."

Donald Trump Jr. called those allegations "ridiculous" and "overplayed."

In a tweet on July 12, President Trump once again decried the Russia investigations as a "witch hunt" and said that his son had been "open, transparent, and innocent" during the Fox News interview.

Russia: 'Fiction,' 'It Wasn't Us'

Speaking in Brussels the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had "no doubt" that the accusations of Russian election meddling were "orchestrated in an attempt to reverse the results of the election won by Donald Trump."

Lavrov said he had not seen "one fact" establishing Russian election interference and compared the investigations to "making a mountain out of a molehill."

In January, the U.S. intelligence community issued an assessment that Russian President Putin "ordered an influence campaign" aimed at the U.S. presidential election, with goals including undermining faith in the U.S. democratic system, denigrating Clinton, and improving Trump's chances of winning the presidency in the November 8 vote.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, once again stated on July 12 that the Kremlin had no connection with Veselnitskaya and compared the accusations to "a long-running soap opera in which Moscow plays no part."

Russian real-estate mogul Aras Agalarov, who has been identified as a middleman in arranging the Veselnitskaya meeting, told Russia's Business FM radio station: "I think this is some sort of fiction. I don't know who is making it up."

He said he barely knew Rob Goldstone, the music publisher who first contacted Trump Jr. to arrange the meeting with Veselnitskaya.

In a post on Twitter on July 11, President Trump described his son as "a great person who loves our country."

Republicans in the Senate were more subdued. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would wait forSenate investigation to "get to the bottom of whatever happened." Senator Susan Collins (Republican-Maine), a member of the Intelligence Committee, said the latest e-mail revelations were "only part of the picture."

The Veselnitskaya meeting, and the e-mails, add to the evidence pointing to some sort of active Russian effort to meddle in the U.S. campaign. In January, the U.S. intelligence community released a report that outright accused Moscow of waging a cyber-and-propaganda effort to interfere in the election.

Since that time, multiple congressional committees have opened investigations into the question of Russian meddling.

The FBI, meanwhile, opened a criminal probe in July 2016 into whether Trump associates -- including Manafort -- had improper interactions with Russian officials.

But the man overseeing that investigation, James Comey, was fired in May by Trump, who later reportedly bragged to Russian officials that his firing had relieved "great pressure" on him about the Russian probe.

The uproar that ensued ultimately led to the Justice Department appointing a special counsel to oversee the criminal investigation.

Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump Jr., issued a statement on July 10 saying his client did nothing wrong and had promised to cooperate with investigators.

With reporting by AP, AFP, The New York Times, Reuters, and Fox News

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-jr-says- never-told-father-about-meeting-kremlin-linked- lawyer-veselnitskaya/28611602.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 to Play Constructive Role in Promoting India-Pakistan Dialogue - Beijing

Sputnik News

14:20 12.07.2017

China is ready to play a constructive role in the Indian-Pakistan relations' normalization amid the latest aggravation of tensions in Kashmir, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.

BEIJING (Sputnik)  China is prepared to play a constructive role in the process of normalization of Indian-Pakistan relations amid the latest aggravation of tensions in Kashmir, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Wednesday.

"We hope that the relevant sides will be able to take more action to promote peace and stability in the region, as well as avoid escalation of tensions. China is ready to play a constructive role in the issue of improvement of relations between India and China," Geng said at a briefing.

On Sunday, Islamabad accused the Indian military of violating the policy of ceasefire at the line of contact in the disputed region of Kashmir. According to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, Indian forces killed four women and one man in gunfire across the contact line in recent days.

Kashmir has been a matter of dispute between India and Pakistan since the partition of India in 1947. The two countries have gone through three wars over the region, but the conflict has yet to be resolved. There is no official border between India and Pakistan in the region, as there is only a line of contact controlled by the armies of the two states.

The significant escalation of tensions in the region occurred during July 2016 after the killing of Burhan Wani, the leader of a separatist group, by Indian security forces. The current tensions in Kashmir are linked to the anniversary of Wani's death. Separatist groups operating in Kashmir are striving for Kashmir's joining with Pakistan.

 Sputnik

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Yankee Go Home: American Forces Move to New Korean Base

Sputnik News

03:47 12.07.2017(updated 10:15 12.07.2017)

The Eighth US Army in South Korea has celebrated the opening of their new headquarters at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi state. This will be the first time the Army group will relocate their headquarters since they settled at Yongsan base outside of Seoul after the Korean War.

With 5.7 square miles of grounds, Camp Humphreys is intended to act as the permanent home of 42,700 American soldiers, family members and civilian employees by 2020.

The $10.7 billion relocation project has resulted in the Pentagon's largest overseas Army garrison. Eighth Army commander Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal called Humphreys "the crown jewel of overseas installations."

The base "reflects the enduring commitment of both the ROK [Republic of Korea] and US governments to this great alliance," according to Vandal. He said that the base will improve his army group's quality of life with features such as state-of-the-art barracks, family housing, schools, a hospital, and a runway. It will also improve the soldiers' "readiness to fight tonight."

He added that 80 percent of the base's construction is complete, with the remainder to be finished by January 2019.

Along with Vandal, Korean military leaders such as Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk attended the ribbon cutting ceremony. Four-star Korean Gen. Paik Sun-yup, a now-retired 97-year-old who commanded South Korean forces during the Korean war, also attended.

The camp's centerpiece is a bronze statue of General Walton Walker, who commanded the Eighth for the first months of the Korean War before his 1950 death in a jeep accident. The statue was relocated from the Yongsan garrison to Camp Humphreys.

As for Yongsan, most of the land will be returned to the Korean government and turned into a public park. A few vestiges will remain, such as the Korea-US Combined Forces Command building and housing for US embassy officials.

The relocation has been in the works since 2003. At the time, there were 173 US military bases and facilities around the country, and the Korean opinion of the American forces was low after an American military vehicle accidentally struck and killed two Korean teenaged girls in June 2002.

Consolidating the dispersed American forces is believed to improve operational effectiveness. It may also positively affect the Korean opinion of the United States, which presently sits at about 75 percent approval according to a June Pew Research Center poll.

 Sputnik

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Thailand Approves $257 Million Plan for 8 More South Korean Jets

Sputnik News

02:34 12.07.2017(updated 03:52 12.07.2017)

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha said Tuesday that Bangkok has approved a plan to buy eight additional South Korea-made T-50 trainer jets.

Chan-ocha made the announcement following a cabinet meeting in which members endorsed the $257 million dollar plan. The jets are being purchased in addition to four other South Korean jets Thailand agreed to buy in a $110-million deal signed in September 2015, with deliveries set for 2018.

The deal is part of the Thailand Air Force's plans to build a 16-jet squadron, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The T-50s are set to replace soon-to-be-decommissioned trainer jets made in the Czech Republic, according to the Bangkok Post.

The T-50 has a range of a range of 1,850 km and a maximum speed of 1,838 kph. They were made by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the south's only aircraft manufacturer, with help from Lockheed Martin. The aircraft was promoted during an airshow at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition in March.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said that the aircraft will be paid for over the next three years by the Royal Thai Air Force's dedicated budget.

The deal with KAI is slated to be finalized on July 29.

 Sputnik

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Afghan Officials Send High-Profile Sexual Assault Case to Court

By Ayaz Gul July 12, 2017

Authorities in Afghanistan confirmed Wednesday that an alleged torture and sexual assault case against the country's first-vice president, Abdul Rashid Dostum, has been sent to court for further action.

A spokesman for the attorney general's office in Kabul told VOA the charges were investigated with "complete impartiality" before the case was submitted to the court a month ago.

The disclosure came a day after the United States described as "extremely serious" charges against Dostum and stressed the need for a "fair" investigation as well as "follow-up legal actions" to uphold rule of law and combat impunity in the war-hit nation.

Dostum, a 63-year-old ethnic Uzbek warlord, and some of his militia guards, have been under investigation for months over allegations of torturing and sexually assaulting an elderly political rival named Ahmad Ishchi.

But in late May, Dostum flew to Turkey, saying he needed health care and remains there. His departure has prompted allegations he struck a secret deal with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to escape prosecution.

Hugo Llorens, the acting U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, told reporters Tuesday the charges against Dostum warrant close review by Afghan judicial authorities.

Former governor accuses

"Afghans have the right to demand that human rights be respected, the rule of law be upheld and those who violate the public trust are held accountable regardless of position, or influence," Llorens said to a group of journalists.

Late last year, Ishchi, a former provincial governor, said in a nationally televised interview that Dostum's militiamen detained, tortured and sexually assaulted him. He said Dostum had ordered the detention and abuse.

Dostum rejected the accusations as politically motivated, and initially refused to cooperate with investigators. But the incident outraged critics at home and abroad, putting President Ghani under severe pressure to open an investigation into the incident to bring Dostum to justice.

The U.S. envoy said that, like other Afghan citizens, the first vice president deserves due process and the presumption of innocence. He emphasized that the legal process underscores the Afghan state's efforts to uphold the rule of law and combat impunity, and to send a signal to the world that no one is above the law in Afghanistan.

"Any efforts to politicize the case, or use it to sow ethnic tensions is harmful to the rule of law, peace and stability in Afghanistan. I believe the Afghan authorities must pursue justice and not to succumb to any political pressures," said Llorens.

Three-party alliance

The American diplomat apparently was referring to a new alliance of three mainstream Afghan ethnic minority political parties. The political group is made up of Jamiat-e-Islami, Hizb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami and Dostum's Junbish-e-Milli party.

The alliance was announced in Turkey earlier this month, and it presented a list of demands for reforms by President Ghani.

Some of Dostum's critics say he is behind the political move to pressure the beleaguered Afghan unity government to seek a favorable outcome from the investigation into the Ishchi allegations.

Leaders of the other two parties in the alliance also hold senior positions in the government.

Hours before the U.S. ambassador spoke, Ghani told reporters in Kabul that his government is "totally neutral" in the judicial proceedings involving Dostum.

He said the first vice president left the country with the permission of the Afghan attorney general because the laws do not bar someone suspected of wrongdoing from seeking medical treatment abroad "if he is ill and he [Dostum] had a serious illness."

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Ukraine's Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry has announced a tender to select specialists to the reforms promotion team  an analytical center with 20 employees as part of the project approved by the European Union. The center will be created using financing provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

"We expect that the reforms promotion team in September would join us and will actively help us with promotion of reforms and their practical implementation," Minister Ostap Semerak wrote on his Facebook page.

He said that the office will work out eight top-priority directions, such as new climate policy, waste treatment, reduction of emission, use of water resources, geology and deposits, environmental examination, fight against corruption and public administration.

The team would consists of a HR manager, project managers, lawyers, analysts, an expert for communications and a designer.

Candidates can submit their applications before July 28.

"The creation of the analytical center is approved by the EU and the EBRD," Semerak said.
Sudan Freezes Talks With US After Delay in Lifting Sanctions

By VOA News July 12, 2017

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is freezing all negotiations with the United States following President Donald Trump's postponing of a final decision on whether to permanently lift economic sanctions against Sudan for another three months, state media reported.

"President of the republic Omar al-Bashir issued a presidential decree ordering the suspension of the committee that was negotiating with the United States" over the lifting of sanctions, the official news agency SUNA said, quoting a presidential decree issued by Bashir.

President Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, signed an executive order before leaving office in January that temporarily lifted some sanctions on the central African nation for six months. Trump was facing a Wednesday deadline imposed by Obama that would have made his decision permanent.

Instead, Trump signed a new order on Tuesday that extends the temporary period until October 12.

"The administration recognizes Sudan has made significant progress in these areas in the last six months... but the administration decided it needed more time to review Sudan's actions," a senior state department official said on a press call Wednesday.

During the review period, U.S. officials are authorized to review Sudan's imports and exports and engage in transactions related to government property in Sudan, the official added.

The sanctions were first imposed in 1997 after the U.S. labelled Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism for allowing al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden to live in the capital, Khartoum. Further sanctions were added in reaction to allegations of human rights abuses carried out by government forces against ethnic minority rebels in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.

Obama imposed a series of benchmarks Sudan had to meet in exchange for permanently lifting the sanctions, including resolving the conflict in Darfur, improving access to humanitarian workers in conflict areas and cooperating with the United States on counterterrorism.

But human right activists, as well as a bipartisan group of U.S. senators, have urged the Trump administration to keep the sanctions in place, citing a lack of key personnel at the State Department and National Security Council that could fully evaluate the issue.

"We remain deeply committed to engagement with the GOS [Government of Sudan] and working toward further progress on achieving a sustainable peace in Sudan," said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert in a written statement.

Even if the sanctions are permanently lifted, Sudan would still be designated as state sponsor of terror, and other sanctions on President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide related to the Darfur conflict, would remain in place.

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No Breakthrough Reported on Qatar Blockade After Tillerson Talks with Saudi-Led Group

By Cindy Saine July 12, 2017

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has not announced a breakthrough or substantial progress after holding talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with the ministers from four Arab nations that are locked in a stand-off with Qatar. On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic ties and instituted a land, air and sea blockade of Qatar.

The Saudi-led group of Arab nations accuses Qatar of supporting terrorism and has given Doha a 13-point list of demands. Qatar has said it is willing to negotiate, but will not give up its sovereignty.

Tillerson met with ministers from the Saudi-led group, but did not speak to reporters afterward. Prior to the talks, a senior UAE official said any resolution of the conflict must go beyond terrorism financing and address all key issues.

Tillerson also met separately with Saud King Salman and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, highlighting the importance of the U.S.-Saudi relationship.

The secretary then returned to Kuwait City, his "home base" in the Persian Gulf region this week. Kuwait is helping to mediate in the month-long dispute. Secretary Tillerson will return to Doha on Thursday to meet with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Bin Hamad Al-Thani, as the diplomatic push continues.

The talks in Jeddah come a day after Tillerson announced the United States and Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding for Doha to take steps to curb terrorism financing.

"I am here in Qatar today carrying with me the same spirit which President (Donald) Trump traveled in Riyadh with in May," Tillerson said. "The United States has one goal: drive terrorism off the face of the Earth."

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt said in a statement that while they appreciate U.S. counterterror efforts, the agreement signed Tuesday "is not enough" and they will be closely monitoring Qatar's "seriousness" in combating the funding and support of terrorism.

Brokering a crisis

"I think Qatar has been quite clear in its positions, and I think those have been very reasonable," Tillerson said Tuesday after meeting with Qatar's emir.

The U.S. is concerned the dispute could hurt its military and counterterrorism operations and enhance Iran's influence in the region. Qatar hosts the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East, which aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition use to launch attacks against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

Aaron David Miller of the Washington-based Wilson Center advised both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state in Middle East negotiations. He told VOA the conflict with Qatar and Saudi Arabia and its allies has been brewing for years, saying in many ways, Qatar's open domestic policies embody Saudi Arabia's worst fears, and amount to competing views of the shape of the Middle East. He said it would be very difficult for Tillerson, or anyone else, to help broker a long-term agreement.

Amnesty International issues warning

As Tillerson shuttled through the Gulf, Amnesty International called on the secretary to not overlook the issue of human rights and advocate for the release of activists being detained in Gulf states for "peacefully expressing dissent."

"While Secretary Tillerson holds talks with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, human rights defenders are in prison and face torture for speaking out against horrific abuses in the region," said Naureen Shah, senior director of campaigns at Amnesty International USA.

"Tillerson should condemn the persecution of peaceful dissidents, many who are facing bogus national security charges. Otherwise, Tillerson risks giving Gulf governments a green light to continue ruthless crackdowns on dissent."

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IS confirms death of top leader al-Baghdadi

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 19:08, July 11, 2017

The Islamic State (IS) militant group has confirmed the death of its top leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a local news website reported on Tuesday.

"Daesh organization (IS group) circulated a brief statement through its media in the (IS-held) town of Tal Afar in the west of Mosul, confirming the killing of its leader al-Baghdadi without giving further details," Iraqi news agency al-Sumaria News said on its website.

"Daesh said in its statement that the name a new caliph (Islamic top leader) will be announced soon, calling on the (IS) militants to continue their steadfastness in the redoubts of the caliphate and not being dragged behind the sedition," al-Sumaria said, citing an anonymous source from Nineveh Province.

"The announcement caused widespread uproar among supporters of the organization," the website said.

The news report came a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared Mosul liberated from IS after nearly nine months of fierce fighting to dislodge the extremist militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq.

"I declare to the whole world the end, failure and collapse of Daesh state, the state of IS group terrorism, which they announced it here in Mosul three years ago," Abadi said in a speech in Mosul.

On Oct. 17, 2016, Abadi announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq.

Mosul, 400 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, came under IS control in June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.

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Daesh declares its ringleader dead: Source

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 10:14AM

After its collapse in Mosul, Daesh has announced that the Takfiri terror group's leader Ibrahim al-Samarrai, aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, "has been killed," a local source in Iraq's Nineveh province says.

The local source told Iraq's al-Sumaria news website Tuesday that Daesh announced the death of its leader in a brief statement released via the terrorist group's media outlet in the center of Tal Afar city, situated 63 kilometers west of Mosul, without providing further details.

The source, who asked not to be named, added that the group said it would name a successor to Baghdadi soon.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group affiliated to Syria's foreign-backed opposition groups, has also said that it has "confirmed information" that Baghdadi has been killed.

Following the announcement by Daesh, another local source revealed that an internal revolt and infighting had broken out within Daesh ranks in Tal Afar.

The source added that a wide-scale arrest campaign was launched against supporters of Baghdadi.

According to the report, a curfew was also declared in most of the city.

No Iraqi official has confirmed the report yet.

The report comes weeks after Russia said it was "highly likely" that the Daesh leader had been killed in an airstrike carried out by the Russian Air Force in Syria's Raqqah city in May.

On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared victory of the country's forces over the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group one day after the country's military and Popular Mobilization Forces took full control of the northern city.

Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters from the PMU have made sweeping gains against Daesh 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.

An estimated 862,000 people have been displaced from Mosul ever since the battle to retake the city began eight months ago. A total of 195,000 civilians have also returned, mainly to the liberated areas of eastern Mosul.

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Daesh Confirms Death of Group Leader al-Baghdadi

Sputnik News

11:28 11.07.2017(updated 11:41 11.07.2017)

Daesh terrorists confirmed the group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, Al Sumaria TV channel reports citing a source in the Iraqi province of Nineveh.

According to the source, Daesh terrorists issued a brief statement in which they reported the death of their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as well as the name of the "new Caliph."

On June 16, the Russian Defense Ministry said al-Baghdadi was likely eliminated as a result of a Russian Aerospace Forces strike on a militant command post in the southern suburb of the city of Raqqa in late May. It noted that it was in the process of confirming the information through various channels.

On June 23, US Operation Inherent Resolve Col. Ryan Dillon said that the US has no conclusive evidence to believe that Baghdadi was killed in Russian airstrikes. However, the US "certainly would welcome the death of al-Baghdadi, but we do not have any definitive proof to lead us believe that this is accurate," he added.

On June 29, Russian lawmaker Alexei Pushkov told Sputnik that the information of the Russian side the probability of al-Baghdadi's death is about 100 percent. The lawmaker noted that information received from different sources indicated that there was a power struggle within Daesh for its top position, which serves as signal that al-Baghdadi is dead.

Al-Baghdadi appeared in the media for the first time in 2014 when he declared the creation of a caliphate in the Middle East. Since then, the media have reported several times about the death of the Daesh leader, though the information has never been confirmed.

 Sputnik

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Anti-IS Coalition Aims to Turn Up Heat on Terror Group

By Nike Ching July 11, 2017

From stemming the flow of foreign fighters to cracking down on terrorism financing, global coalition leaders are meeting in Washington this week to explore ways to further intensify pressure on the Islamic State militant group.

The State Department is hosting the gathering that begins a day after the Iraqi government formally declared the liberation of Mosul from IS militants.

U.S. officials say the 72-member anti-IS coalition on Wednesday will examine how to accelerate global efforts to defeat IS in the remaining areas the group holds in Iraq and Syria, while maximizing pressure globally on its branches, affiliates, and networks.

"The meetings come at a key moment in the fight against ISIS just as Mosul has been liberated," said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert on Tuesday.

"The coalition's working groups on stabilization support, counter finance, foreign terror fighters and counter messaging are convening to evaluate the progress and also discuss how to build upon momentum that are achieved in each of those areas," added Nauert.

Focus on stabilization efforts

On Thursday, about 30 members of "the key Coalition stakeholders" will convene to discuss priorities to set IS on "an irreversible and lasting path to defeat," building on the progress in Mosul and Raqqa. The group will also focus on stabilization efforts in Iraq to facilitate the voluntary return home of those who have been displaced by the violence, according the State Department

Representatives from a number of African countries are also invited to the small group meeting on Thursday.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke with Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo on Thursday, according to the State Department.

The government of Somalia, a member of the 72-member Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, said Washington reaffirmed its commitment to "support Somalia and cooperate on eradicating the threats of terror."

Additional funding for Iraq

The United States announced last week it will provide an additional $150 million to help stabilize Iraq after Islamic State militants are driven out.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will work through the U.N. Development Program.

"The funds will support efforts to establish basic security, re-establish essential services, restore local economies, stabilize communities and allow Iraqis to finally return home," said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.

The U.S. funding, part of a total U.S. commitment of more than $265 million over two years, will also provide temporary, cash-for-work employment to jump-start local economies, officials said.

The last coalition meeting at the foreign ministers' level was hosted by Tillerson at the State Department in March.

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Pentagon Officials: No Confirmation of Reports Islamic State Leader Is Dead

By VOA News July 11, 2017

Pentagon officials say they have no information to confirm reports that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.

"We cannot confirm this report, but hope it is true," said the U.S.-led coalition in an emailed statement. "We strongly advise ISIS to implement a strong line of succession, it will be needed."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Tuesday it has information confirming the death of the IS leader.

"We learned of it today but we do not know when he died or how," the monitoring group's director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Baghdadi, 46, has not been since in public in 2014, when he appeared at Mosul's al-Nuri mosque to declare an Islamic "caliphate" on lands IS controlled in Iraq and Syria. He has been falsely reported killed or wounded several times since becoming prominent three years ago.

IS militants blew up the mosque and its leading 45 minter minaret late last month as Iraqi forces worked to oust the militants from one of their last Mosul strongholds.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared victory over IS in Mosul on Monday

VOA National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.

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US, Qatar Sign Pact to Fight Terrorism

By Cindy Saine, Chris Hannas July 11, 2017

The United States and Qatar have signed a memorandum of understanding to fight terrorism in the Persian Gulf nation.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday during his visit to the capital, Doha, that the agreement was signed after weeks of intensive discussions.

"The memorandum lays out a series of steps the two countries will take over the coming months and years to interrupt and disable terror financing flows and intensify counterterrorism activities globally," Tillerson told reporters after the signing.

Tillerson met with Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Thani in the capital to discuss resolution of a dispute involving Qatar and four other Middle Eastern countries. Last month, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic ties and instituted a land, air and sea blockade of Qatar, accusing the country of supporting terrorism. Qatar denies the accusation.

Tillerson said he will visit Saudi Arabia Wednesday "to meet with the parties who are on the other side of this issue... to explore their feelings and explore options for how we might move this forward."

The secretary of state traveled to Qatar from Kuwait, which has been working to mediate the crisis, after meeting earlier Tuesday with Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah.

Tillerson's senior communications adviser, R.C. Hammond, said U.S. President Donald Trump has been very clear that his No. 1 goal is to have all Arab nations do more to stop the financing of terrorism. After his first trip abroad to Saudi Arabia as president, Trump accused Qatar of supporting terrorism at the highest levels.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have given Qatar a list of 13 demands, which include calls for Doha to downgrade its relations with Iran and close the Qatari-state-funded al-Jazeera news network. Qatar has said it is willing to negotiate, but will not give up its sovereignty.

Tillerson said, "I think Qatar has been quite clear in its positions and I think those have been very reasonable."

The U.S. is concerned the dispute could adversely affect its military and counterterrorism operations and enhance Iran's influence in the region.

Qatar is where the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East is based and from which U.S.-led coalition aircraft launch attacks against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

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FBI Nominee Says He Will Support Probe Of Russian Meddling

RFE/RL July 12, 2017

WASHINGTON -- Christopher Wray has told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that, if confirmed as the new FBI director, he would fully support the investigation into Russian meddling into the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Wray, 50, a former top official in the Justice Department under President George W. Bush from 2003 to 2005, was nominated by President Donald Trump on June 7 to lead the domestic security agency after Trump abruptly fired the previous director, James Comey.

Comey had been leading the FBI probe of Russian hacking and meddling into the presidential campaign when he was fired.

Wray on July 12 told the committee he would also continue the probe into contacts between Trump's presidential campaign and Russian officials and other individuals.

Wray said he would fight against any attempt to block the investigation now being carried out by former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who was named by the Justice Department as special counsel in the matter.

"I would consider an effort to tamper with Director Mueller's investigation to be unacceptable and inappropriate and would need to be dealt with very sternly and appropriately indeed," Wray told the Senate panel.

"I'm very committed to supporting director Mueller in the special counsel investigation in whatever way is appropriate for me to do that," he said.

Trump has since called the investigation into links between his campaign and transition team to Russia a "hoax" and a "witch hunt," a claim the president repeated on July 12 on Twitter.

In response to a question, Wray said he did not consider "Mueller to be on a witch hunt."

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked about reports that Trump's son, Donald Jr., had met with a Russian lawyer during last year's presidential campaign and what Wray would have done in that situation.

Wray told Graham he would probably want consult with a legal adviser before taking such a meeting.

"Any threat or effort to interfere with our election by any nation state or any nonstate actor is the kind of thing the FBI would want to know," he said.

Wray said he had "no reason" to doubt the U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia meddled in the U.S. electoral process.

Over the past decade, Wray has worked in private practice at the King & Spalding law firm in Atlanta, where his clients have included large corporations and financial institutions in criminal and civil cases.

The confirmation hearing was continuing into the afternoon of July 12.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-fbi- nominee-wray-supports-probe- russia-meddling/28612802.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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Tillerson Signs Pact with Qatar to Curb Terrorism Financing

By Cindy Saine July 12, 2017

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's effort to resolve a dispute between Qatar and four of its Persian Gulf neighbors shifted Wednesday to Saudi Arabia where he is due to meet with officials from the nations accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism.

The talks in Jeddah come a day after Tillerson announced the U.S. and Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding for Doha to take steps to curb terrorism financing.

"I am here in Qatar today carrying with me the same spirit which President Trump traveled in Riyadh with in May," Tillerson said. "The United States has one goal: drive terrorism off the face of the earth."

But Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt said in a statement that while they appreciate U.S. counterterror efforts, the agreement signed Tuesday "is not enough" and they will be closely monitoring Qatar's "seriousness" in combating the funding and support of terrorism.

Brokering a crisis

On June 5, the four nations severed diplomatic ties and instituted a land, air and sea blockade of Qatar. The Saudi-led group of Arab nations has accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and has given Doha a list of 13 demands. Qatar has said it is willing to negotiate, but will not give up its sovereignty.

"I think Qatar has been quite clear in its positions, and I think those have been very reasonable," Tillerson said Tuesday after meeting with Qatar's emir.

The U.S. is concerned the dispute could hurt its military and counterterrorism operations and enhance Iran's influence in the region. Qatar hosts the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East, which aircraft from the U.S.-led coalition use to launch attacks against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

Aaron David Miller, a former advisor to both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state on Arab-Israeli negotiations, told VOA Tillerson's success on this "shuttle diplomacy" mission could unite the secretary and Trump.

Necessary skills

"If Tillerson can deliver something that allows the Saudis and Qataris to back away from this without either being humiliated, then I think the President would welcome and support it," Miller noted. "If however you end up in a situation where the Saudis walk away embittered, concerned that Tillerson has pushed them too hard, then I think it's going to be hard."

Miller, a fellow with the Wilson Center in Washington, said that he believes Tillerson, as the former head of Exxon, has the required skills to negotiate a deal.

"Tillerson is familiar with this part of the world, particularly the Gulf. So I think people respect him," Miller said. "You know he's straight out of central casting with respect to looking like a secretary of state, but it's very important, clearly was important to the president and your persona is critically important."

But some analysts are concerned many in the Persian Gulf and in the broader Middle East are unsure Tillerson speaks for his boss.

Kemal Kirisci, a Turkey analyst at Brookings Institution, says there is a great deal of confusion about U.S. goals.

"I suspect the general feeling in the region is one that is probably not different than the rest of the world - a state of confusion over what American foreign policy is and also a sense of nervousness about the uncertainty that engulfs American foreign policy at the moment and question marks on whether Tillerson actually represents that foreign policy given the way which sometimes what he says and his remarks do not always overlap with those of the president of the United States, Donald Trump," he said.

Several analysts say the president needs to make clear Tillerson has his full support for the secretary to succeed.

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Exclusive blitz interview with British Ambassador to Ukraine Judith Gough for the Interfax-Ukraine News AgencyI don't think that Brexit so far has had any impact on relations between our two countries, or, indeed, it would have an impact. We may be leaving the European Union, but that does not mean that we are leaving the European continent. And Ukraines security is European security, so Ukraine will remain a foreign policy priority for us, and the evidence is there and plain to see. Since the referendum last summer, we have had the Foreign Secretary visit twice and the Defence Secretary visit. And we have remained committed to our bilateral assistance, which this year is over GBR 40 million. That includes technical assistance for reform, humanitarian assistance and our military training operation, which supports Ukraine's Armed Forces. So, I don't see a change, and it's not just about the European Union. Foreign policy is also defined in other fora. We will continue to be a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council - we play an active role there. We're the second largest contributor to NATO, the second largest contributor to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. And we will continue to be a supporter and partner going forward.It is still too early to tell what will happen regarding a third country agreement that we have through our membership in the European Union, and those details will be worked out, as we progress through the negotiations. But what I can say is that the United Kingdom wants to continue trading with Ukraine - we want to build that trade and investment relationship. And the best thing that we can do right now to support that is to build strong institutions, particularly the judiciary, and tackle corruption, because the biggest obstacle to British investors coming to or trading with Ukraine is concerns that they will not be able to have a fair hearing in the judicial process, as the judiciary is not strong. And that corruption will be a problem. So we need to do two things: one is to look at the negotiations and how they will pan out, but also there are things that Ukraine can do to attract more investment in commerce that I would like to see between our two countries.I think there will be an interest in privatization in Ukraine, but people will only invest here if they believe that privatization will be fair, transparent and that they will be able to have recourse to an independent judicial system. That will be really important. We went through a series of privatizations, going back 20 or 30 years, and we have great experience in this area. But faith in the process is really important. I think we will only see investors coming in if they believe that it is transparent and fair, and everybody is equal before the law.Well, that's a really big question. But the key thing is this country has made more progress in the past three years than it has made at any point since independence. So, that's a really positive sign. And I think we should give real credit and praise to Ukraine for having made that journey. But it's really important that momentum is sustained and that this reform method continues. There is a sense that, if we are not careful, progress can slip back. And it's really important if Ukraine is to be that European country that it's supposed to be, sharing our values, standing by our principles - continuing with reform and tackling corruption is vitally important. Not just in terms of maintaining international support, but also in answering the demands of the people who took to the Maidan three years ago, demanding change in this country. We want to see Ukraine prosper. We want to see Ukraine stable. Reform is a really important part of delivering that.I think the challenge is that there is so much to do. We have been encouraged that there have been anti-corruption institutions set up, that the banking sector has been restructured, and the economy has begun to show signs of growth, which is, of course, very important. And things like the ProZorro procurement system, e-declarations all were steps in the right direction. But where we really need to prioritise our efforts is on judicial reform and tackling corruption.We are still very much working on this. I can't reveal any further details at this point in time, but it's really important to reform these areas. And we're looking at how we might do that. We have stepped up our work with Parliament. We have a lot of exchanges between our Parliament and your Parliament. That's really important because public trust in your Parliament is low, for democracy that is not a helpful thing. So, there is a lot of support from our Parliament, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, and John Smith Trust, as well.So, we operate on annual funding cycles and the financial year goes between years. What I can tell you that from 2017 through 2018, which goes through to the end of March, our commitment is around GBR 40 million this year.The first thing to look at is the first clause of the Minsk agreements. That is security. I think the most important thing is to deliver that ceasefire, the withdrawal of weapons. And of course as Russia is an aggressor in Ukraine, it is also really important that Russia shows political will on the Minsk agreements by delivering security in eastern Ukraine.For the moment we are focused on supporting the Minsk process as it is. We have not forgotten Crimea. That's really important. We don't recognize and we won't recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea. That's why we have just rolled over sanctions again within the European Union for another 12 months, because we do not recognize that annexation.Let me be very clear on this. During the press conference, [Polish] Foreign Minister [Witold] Waszczykowski suggested that the international community might want to look at an alternative format that involved other countries. That was not a joint position. It wasnt something that we announced. That was something that the Polish minister suggested. We are not at this point in time proposing an alternative format. The key thing is that we have a process that has Ukraine and Russia at the table, this is really important, although I understand people in Ukraine are frustrated with that process, I think there is good evidence that it has managed to draw down the violence - it has not drawn down the violence enough although. Ukrainians being killed is not acceptable - that's not what we want to see. But I think we have to keep supporting the process and a diplomatic solution to the crisis and the current situation in the east of Ukraine, the conflict rather.
THAAD Successfully Intercepts Target in Missile Defense Test

17-NEWS-0007

July 11, 2017

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the Ballistic Missile Defense System Operational Test Agency, and U.S. Army soldiers of the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade from Fort Bliss, Texas, conducted an intercept test today of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) element of the nation's ballistic missile defense system.

The test, designated Flight Test THAAD (FTT)-18, was executed by MDA, supported by elements of the U.S. Army, Joint Forces Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska (PSCA), Ballistic Missile Defense Operational Test Agency, DoD Operational Test and Evaluation, and the Army Test and Evaluation Command.

A ballistic missile target was air-launched by a U.S. Air Force C-17 over the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii. A THAAD weapon system located at PSCA in Kodiak, Alaska, detected, tracked and intercepted the target. Preliminary indications are that planned flight test objectives were achieved and the threat-representative, intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) target was successfully intercepted by the THAAD weapon system.

"I couldn't be more proud of the government and contractor team who executed this flight test today," said MDA Director Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves. "This test further demonstrates the capabilities of the THAAD weapon system and its ability to intercept and destroy ballistic missile threats. THAAD continues to protect our citizens, deployed forces and allies from a real and growing threat."

Soldiers from the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade conducted launcher, fire control and radar operations using the same procedures they would use in an actual combat scenario. Soldiers operating the equipment were not aware of the actual target launch time.

This was the 14th successful intercept in 14 attempts for the THAAD weapon system. The THAAD element provides a globally-transportable, rapidly-deployable capability to intercept ballistic missiles inside or outside the atmosphere during their final, or terminal, phase of flight. THAAD is strictly a defense system. The system uses hit-to-kill technology whereby kinetic energy destroys the incoming target. The high-altitude intercept mitigates effects of enemy weapons before they reach the ground.

The successful demonstration of THAAD against an IRBM-range missile threat bolsters the country's defensive capability against developing missile threats in North Korea and other countries around the globe and contributes to the broader strategic deterrence architecture.

The mission of MDA is to develop and deploy a layered ballistic missile defense system to defend the United States, its deployed forces, allies and friends from ballistic missile attacks of all ranges in all phases of flight.

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US-made Patriots deployed in Lithuania for NATO drills

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 2:29PM

A battery of the US-made Patriot ground-to-air missiles has been deployed in Lithuania as the NATO military alliance is readying for war games near the country's border with Russia.

Lithuania's Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that the missile system would be used in the upcoming NATO exercises, called Tobruq Legacy 2017.

The ministry hailed the deployment as a sign of "the firm engagement of the United States to ensure Lithuania's security and its readiness to send strategic capability to the region." Authorities said the Patriot system would return to the United States after the drills end on July 22.

NATO's multi-national war games will involve troops from Britain, the US, Lithuania and Poland. That comes against the backdrop of increasing tensions between the NATO and Russia. Moscow has repeatedly accused Western governments, mainly the US, of using the military alliance to spark a new arms race in the Baltics and the Balkan region. The Russians say NATO's eastward expansion toward Russia's borders is a serious threat to Russia's security.

The row between NATO and Russia escalated three years ago when deep political developments in Ukraine led to a full-fledged conflict east and south of the country. More than 10,000 have been killed in the war in Ukraine's industrial east, where Russia is accused of supporting militants. Russia denies any involvement and blames the entire mess on the US and allies.

NATO's war games in Lithuania come as Russia is planning to hold massive drills in September. The action will be held in Belarus and Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave which borders Lithuania and Poland and hosts nuclear-capable Iskander missiles since last year. Patriot system is designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, low-flying cruise missiles and aircraft.

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Russia to Build Super Heavy-Lift Rocket Launch Pad at Vostochny Space Center

Sputnik News

16:09 11.07.2017(updated 16:10 11.07.2017)

Russia plans to develop a launch pad for super heavy-lift launch vehicles needed for future lunar missions at the newly-build Vostochny space center, Roscosmos state space corporation Director General Igor Komarov said on Tuesday.

VOSTOCHNY COSMODROME (Sputnik)  Flight tests of Russia's Angara-A5V super-heavy class carrier rocket at the cosmodrome are currently set for 2027, according to Military-Industrial Commission documents.

"One of the good news for the cosmodrome is that we plan to develop a launch pad for super heavy-lift launch vehicles here," Komarov said, adding that the possibility of a mission to the Moon is directly connected to the creation of a super heavy-lift carrier rocket.

Komarov explained that Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Roscosmos to accelerate the work on the new carrier. The space corporation now hopes to have the rocket ready for launch by 2028.

The estimated dates for lunar missions will also move closer, Komarov added, stating that these would hopefully become possible by 2030.

Russia carried out the maiden space launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on April 28, 2016. It involved a Soyuz-2.1, a light class space rocket with three research satellites.

Vostochny is expected to reduce Russia's dependency on Kazakhstan's Baikonur, on lease to Russia until 2050.

 Sputnik

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US Shoots Down Missile in Intercept Test Over Pacific

By Ken Bredemeier July 11, 2017

The U.S. said Tuesday it has successfully shot down a simulated incoming missile, bolstering its defense against the threat posed by North Korea's recent test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the United States.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency said in its test it launched a ballistic missile from a fighter jet over the Pacific Ocean north of the island state of Hawaii. But it said the military's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the far northwestern state of Alaska "detected, tracked and intercepted the target."

The test was the first time the U.S. has deployed THAAD in an effort to shoot down an intermediate-range ballistic missile, a faster and more difficult target to hit than shorter-range missiles.

"The successful demonstration of THAAD against an [intermediate]-range missile threat bolsters the country's defensive capability against developing missile threats in North Korea and other countries around the globe and contributes to the broader strategic deterrence architecture," the agency said.

New urgency

The test took on new urgency with North Korea's successful launch of an ICBM last week that analysts believe has the range to hit Alaska, although not Hawaii and the 48 contiguous U.S. states. North Korea, despite sanctions imposed by the United Nations, has been developing nuclear weapons and launched numerous missile tests to advance the capabilities of its arsenal.

Lieutenant General Sam Greaves, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said in a statement, "I couldn't be more proud of the government and contractor team [led by Lockheed Martin] who executed this flight test today.

"This test further demonstrates the capabilities of the THAAD weapon system and its ability to intercept and destroy ballistic missile threats," he said. "THAAD continues to protect our citizens, deployed forces and allies from a real and growing threat."

THAAD incorporates "hit-to-kill" technology, where kinetic energy from the interceptor missile destroys the incoming target.

The Missile Defense Agency said Tuesday's successful intercept was its 14th in 14 attempts.

The U.S. also has a THAAD system installed in Guam and this year began deploying it in South Korea, as a defense against the possibility of a North Korean attack on the Korean Peninsula.

China has protested the U.S. installation of THAAD in South Korea, saying its powerful radar can probe deep into its territory and risked upsetting the strategic balance of power in the region.

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US State Dept. approves $3.9bn Patriot missile sale to Romania

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 12, 2017 9:52AM

The US State Department has approved a $3.9 billion Patriot missile sale to Romania, a deal which is likely to anger neighboring Russia.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement on Tuesday that the sale will boost the defensive capabilities of the Romanian military.

"The proposed sale of the Patriot system will support Romania's needs for its own self-defense and support NATO defense goals," the agency said.

"Romania will use the Patriot missile system to strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats. The proposed sale will increase the defensive capabilities of the Romanian military to guard against aggression and shield the NATO allies who often train and operate within Romania's borders. Romania should have no difficulty absorbing this system into its armed forces," it added.

The US Congress now has 30 days to object to the deal, but it is not expected to do so as Romania is an important NATO ally of the United States. Romania has been a NATO member since 2004 and has contributed troops to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The agreement comes as the US military deployed a Patriot battery in Lithuania as part of multinational NATO exercises in the country.

Russia has expressed concerns over Romania's hosting of a US missile shield, calling it a threat to Russian security.

Moscow has previously criticized Washington for deploying ballistic missile systems in Romania, saying the deployment would violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INFT) signed between the US and the Soviet Union in late 1980s.

The US began operating its land-based missile system in Romania in 2016. In April this year, American and Romanian military forces conducted a joint military exercise within the framework of the NATO.

Washington has defended the deployment as a bid to protect itself and Europe from what it calls Russia's "threats."

The US military buildup in Eastern Europe, however, is perceived as an effort to curb Russia's influence.

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China sets up base in Djibouti

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 21:17, July 11, 2017

Ships carrying Chinese military personnel departed Zhanjiang in southern China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday to set up a support base in Djibouti.

Shen Jinlong, commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti, and conferred military flag on the fleets.

The establishment of the PLA Djibouti base was a decision made by the two countries after friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides, according to the PLA navy.

The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia.

The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways.

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China dispatches troops to set up military base in Djibouti

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 4:3PM

China has dispatched its naval forces to the Horn of Africa to set up an army base in Djibouti, where several global players have a military presence.

Members of China's People's Liberation Army marked the incident at a ceremony at a naval base in the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang on Tuesday, the Chinese Defense Ministry announced on its website.

China says it will use the base to assist anti-piracy operations, UN peacekeeping and humanitarian relief missions in Africa and western Asia.

Beijing also says it will use the base to facilitate military cooperation and joint exercises, as Chinese navy and other services seek to expand their international presence in line with the country's growing economic and political influence.

The Horn of Africa nation, strategically located in the critical entrance from the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, lies at the gateway to the busy Suez Canal waterway and provides a port to neighboring landlocked Ethiopia.

The US, France, Japan and several other countries already have a military presence in Djibouti.

In April, US Defense Secretary James Mattis visited Djibouti, which houses Camp Lemonnier, the largest known US military base in the African continent.

Mattis also discussed the issue of China's growing influence in Djibouti with officials of the African country.

Touted by military experts as one of the most strategically important US military bases abroad, Camp Lemonnier has been dramatically expanded since it was built in 2001. The number of personnel stationed there, for example, has jumped from 900 to 5,000 since 2002.

The US has been using a fleet of drones stationed at the base to conduct bombing missions against several Muslim countries in the region.

Washington has also deployed a number of drones to the Chabelley Airfield, located some 6 miles (9.5km) to the southwest of Djibouti's capital.

China's military base in Djibouti will be established just a few miles from Camp Lemonnier, a decision that Washington says would raise "security concerns."

In August 2015, Djibouti had reportedly ordered the US to vacate its secondary Obock military base in the country in a bid to turn over the installation to the Chinese military and its contingent of 10,000 troops.

The US Defense Department reportedly paid Djibouti nearly $63 million per year for the use of the Camp Lemonnier military base. However China, reportedly offered Djibouti a far more generous offer, namely the completion of a $3-billion railroad project from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to Djibouti.

The West is concerned that closer ties between Djibouti and China may prompt the African country to impose restrictions on US access to the Camp Lemonnier base, which the US uses to collect intelligence on terrorist groups in the region.

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Beijing to Slash Size of Chinese Army, Largest in the World, in Half

Sputnik News

22:08 12.07.2017(updated 22:27 12.07.2017)

The ranks of China's People's Liberation Army will shrink from 2.3 million soldiers to less than a million troops, the official newspaper of the Chinese military reported on Wednesday.

China wants to modernize its force structure by allocating more resources to other branches of its armed forces. "The old military structure, where the army accounts for the vast majority, will be replaced after the reform," the PLA Daily explained.

The PLA will no longer be the largest army in the world.

The report did not specify a timeline for completing the transition.

With fewer personnel and less financing directed toward infantry units, more troops will be funneled to the PLA Navy and PLA Rocket Force, while the number of PLA Air Force airmen will remain unchanged, Press Trust India reported Wednesday. The PLA Strategic Support Force, which handles electronic warfare and communications campaigns, is also slated to receive greater resources.

"The PLA will strengthen its capability to conduct overseas missions," Xu Guangyu, a Chinese defense adviser, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

This marks the first time the number of standing troops in the Chinese army will dip below 1 million people, according to NDTV.

With the growth of Chinese military assets abroad, readjusting strategy is crucial. Ensuring the safety of those interests is "beyond the Army's current capabilities," Xu said.

 Sputnik

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Beijing Explains Why China Needs Its First Overseas Military Base

Sputnik News

14:00 12.07.2017(updated 14:18 12.07.2017)

The establishment of China's naval logistics center in Djibouti, which is in fact Beijing's first overseas military base, will enhance stability and security in the region and will allow the Asian state to more efficiently contribute to the peace processes of the African region, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Wednesday.

BEIJING (Sputnik)  On Tuesday, the Chinese Defense Ministry announced the official opening of a naval logistics center of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa. The same day, a ceremony for the Chinese sailors embarking to the base in Djibouti was held in the southeastern city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province, China. Around 10,000 personnel will reportedly be deployed to the center.

"The use of the logistics base in Djibouti will enable China to fulfill its international duty more efficiently, including patrol missions and participation in humanitarian operations," Geng said at a briefing.

According to Geng, it will "contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the African region." He also stressed that Beijing was committed to peaceful development, adding that China's defense policy remained to be defensive in nature.

In February, 2016, China announced it was building a logistical facility in Djibouti. The naval logistics center was expected to provide Chinese patrol boats in the Gulf of Aden and other areas, to serve as refuel and restock sites for Chinese vessels, as well as to provide recreational facilities for the sailors, according to the Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian.

Djibouti borders on Somalia and is located in the Horn of Africa, which is plagued by piracy. China has been actively participating in anti-piracy measures in the region, with a reported 16,000 sailors and 1,300 marines serving in the Gulf of Aden between 2008 and 2015.

 Sputnik

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DPRK accuses U.S., South Korea of intensifying war preparations

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 20:51, July 11, 2017

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Tuesday accused the United States and South Korea of intensifying war preparations after it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) earlier this month.

"It was reported that the U.S. Department of Defense, much scared by the DPRK's success of test-launch of ICBM Hwasong-14 at one go, had a military attack scenario in the making such as hurling fighters and warships into the waters off the Korean peninsula," said the official daily newspaper Minju Joson (Democratic Korea).

The DPRK declared on July 4 that it successfully launched an ICBM on the same day, hailing it as the "final gate to rounding off the state nuclear force."

The launch has aroused grave concern from Russia and China, and drawn strong condemnation from the United Nations, South Korea and Japan, as it seriously violated relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Minju Joson also accused South Korea of holding joint ballistic missile drills with U.S. forces to "deliberately escalate tensions" after the missile launch.

Meanwhile, Rodong Sinmun, the official daily of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, charged that South Korean military forces recently took part in the U.S.-led air defense exercises in Alaska.

"They set in motion air force including KF-16 fighter bombers formation to stage bomber guided exercises, coordinated precision bomb dropping drill and air refueling drill targeting surprise attack at key facilities of the DPRK," it said.

The paper also criticized South Korea for its "commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the second Yonphyong naval skirmish," which broke out between patrol boats of the DPRK and South Korea along a disputed maritime boundary in the Yellow Sea in 2002.

Rodong Sinmun remarked that "trumpeting dialogue" is meaningless as long as Seoul does not abandon a policy of confrontation with Pyongyang, in reference to repeated appeals for dialogue by South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

"The South Korean authorities are well advised to stop the foolish act of challenging the nation's desire and will for the improvement of the north-south relations and peace and reunification of the country, and behave with discretion," it added.

The DPRK has denounced Moon's recent visit to the United States, describing it as a gesture of "submission" to Washington which meant a "betrayal" to his supporters in the election campaign this year.

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On Thursday, July 13, at 15.00, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference entitled "Relations and Cooperation. Era Media and National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine: Reboot." The participants will include General Director of Era Media Ihor Lotashevsky, Director General of National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine Zurab Alasania, and head of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting Yuriy Artemenko (8/5a Reitarska Street). Registration requires press accreditation.
North Korea unlikely to have attained ICBM tech: S Korean spy agency

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 3:15PM

South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) says it is unlikely that North Korea has yet achieved the necessary technology to build intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), as Pyongyang celebrates the "successful launch" of the country's first such missile a week earlier.

The NIS, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, made the comments in a report to the parliamentary intelligence committee on Tuesday, saying Pyongyang does not seem to have relevant testing facilities to coat the missile with proper protection to prevent it from burning up its warhead as it re-enters Earth's atmosphere.

"Although North Korea claimed that [the missile's] heat resistance was verified, whether it re-entered [the atmosphere safely] was not confirmed and the country has no relevant test facility, making it look like it has not secured the technology," the NIS report added.

The spy agency's account came a week after Pyongyang announced that, in a technological breakthrough, it had successfully tested an ICBM, claiming that it could "reach anywhere in the world." North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also described the missile at the time as a gift to "American bastards" on their Independence Day.

Yi Wan-young, a member of the South Korean parliament's intelligence committee, said the NIS could not confirm that the North's Hwasong-14 ICBM test on July 4 had been successful. "Considering how North Korea does not have any testing facilities [for re-entry technology], the agency believes [North Korea] has not yet secured that technology," he added.

North Korea at the time claimed that its guided ballistic missile flew 933 kilometers, in 39 minutes, reaching an altitude of 2802 kilometers. Russia, however, was the first country to raise doubt on the nature of the missile, with its Ministry of Defense saying on Sunday that it was in fact an intermediate-range missile (IRBM). The ministry's statement further said that the missile actually flew some 535 kilometers and reached an altitude of 510 kilometers.

The United States, which is strongly against the North's nuclear and missile programs and an avid supporter of imposing further tough sanctions against Pyongyang, still insists that what North Korea launched on July 4 was most likely a new ICBM with an estimated range of 5,500 kilometers and capable of hitting Alaska.

According to John Schilling, an aerospace engineer, Pyongyang's ICBM is "likely" to be capable of delivering a 500-kilgram warhead to San Diego in two years time.

"If the Hwasong-14 is put together the way we think it is, it can probably do a bit better than that when all the bugs are worked out. It will likely become a missile that can reliably deliver a single nuclear warhead to targets along the US west coast," he added, in a report he wrote on Monday on the respected 38 North website, a monitoring project linked to US Johns Hopkins University.

He also speculated that North Korea's ICBM would attain a range of 9,700 kilometers with a 500-kilogram warhead on board.

The US has already announced that it had tested an ICBM interceptor missile of its own in May, particularly in order to eliminate alleged potential nuclear and missile threats posed by the North.

Unsettled by North Korean missile and nuclear programs, Washington has adopted a war-like posture, sending a strike group and conducting joint military drills with North Korea's regional adversaries Japan and South Korea.

North Korea, which has been under huge international pressure and sanctions over its missile and nuclear programs, sees the country's missile and nuclear arsenal as a strong deterrent against US aggression.

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US Experts Dispute Russia's Claim That North Korea's New Missile Not an ICBM

By Jenny Lee July 11, 2017

Russia's assessment of North Korea's latest missile launch puzzles many U.S. experts, who say the Kremlin "mischaracterized" the nature of Pyongyang's test, either as a result of technical flaws or possibly for political reasons.

According to Russian state-run media, Moscow's U.N. mission submitted a letter to the U.N. Secretariat that described the North Korean projectile fired on July 4 as an intermediate-range rocket. That assessment is at odds with U.S., South Korean and Japanese findings that classified the Hwasong-14 as a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

China has not yet commented details of the rocket involved.

"A Voronezh-type radar station deployed in the Irkutsk region monitored the launch of the Hwasong-14 medium-range ballistic missile (IRBM) from North Korea, which flew a distance of 510 km in 14 minutes, reaching an altitude of 535 km, before landing in the Sea of Japan," the Russian letter stated.

It followed a fierce U.N. Security Council debate last week, during which Moscow challenged Washington's reference of the missile as an ICBM. This derailed efforts to reach a consensus among 15 council members on a press statement condemning North Korea for the launch.

Describing the use of a long-range rocket launch as "a clear and sharp military escalation," U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley blasted the Russian claim at the emergency U.N. meeting, telling Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov, "If you need any sort of intelligence to let you know that the rest of the world sees this is an ICBM, I'm happy to provide it."

North Korea's official news agency KCNA identified the launch as the regime's first test of an ICBM. It said the missile was fired at a steep angle and reached an altitude of 2,802 km and traveled 933 km during its 39-minute flight into the Sea of Japan.

Extrapolating from the North Korean data, many analysts agreed the Hwasong-14 could, if launched at a standard angle, travel up to 8,000 km - a range long enough to reach Alaska. The Pentagon defines an ICBM as having a range greater than 5,500 km.

"This is so baffling that Russia would have such a different assessment of the Hwasong-14 launch," Mark Fitzpatrick, a scholar at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told VOA's Korean Service. "It's almost as though Russia saw a totally different launch or made up the numbers."

The only possibility for a country geographically close to North Korea to conclude it was a shorter-range rocket would be a technical flaw or "human failure," said Fitzpatrick, adding: "In either case, it's actually worrisome that Russia apparently has so badly mischaracterized this launch."

Fitzpatrick said it Russian radar may simply have missed the launch, or did not track the missile's flight completely.

John Schilling, a missile technology specialist with 38 North, a North Korea monitoring website run by Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), brought up another possibility. Given that the Hwasong-14 was a two-stage rocket, Russian monitors may have detected only the rocket used for the missile's first stage - believed to be a well-known KN-17 liquid-fueled missile - which Schilling said "would have reached the lower altitude and traveled a shorter distance."

Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, also believes the missile's second stage may have escaped the notice of Russian trackers.

"The second stage separates, fires and goes up to this almost 3,000 km height, but if the Russians didn't see the second stage for some reason and just saw the first stage, that would only go up to sort of the height that they report," he said.

Russia's failure to track the Hwasong-14's second stage could be explained by a lack of "good sensor systems as close to North Korea as the U.S. does have, presumably in South Korea, that are much closer to the action," McDowell added.

He said Russia's early-warning systems to detect missile launches have been deteriorating for several years. "A lot of their early warning satellites have been retired, and their radars, not all of them are in operation, and so this may reflect the aging of the Russian technical capability," the scientist said.

Another North Korea expert, Bruce Bennett of the Rand Corporation, said while Russia's assessment could be a result of technical shortcomings, it seems more plausible that Moscow's political motivations may have influenced its missile report.

"In theory, Russia could be trying to play down the North Korean assertion that it did happen and that therefore [leader] Kim Jong Un accomplishes his objective," Bennett said. "So Russia could be taking a position against North Korea  as well as acting against the U.S. It's kind of a poor play by the Russians."

Fitzpatrick shares this view as Russia historically tends to minimize North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities, "so as not to play into what is sometimes an excessive sense of threat perceived by the United States."

"I think it's fair to say that Russia has a political motivation to assess that it was not an intercontinental ballistic missile because Russia does not want the United States to have any further excuse to expand its ballistic missile defense capabilities," Fitzpatrick said.

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Indian Navy Disposes of Russian-Built Submarine INS Sindhurakshak at Sea

Sputnik News

17:35 11.07.2017

Four years after an accident and resultant operational issues, the Indian Navy sank the Russian-built Kilo-class submarine INS Sindhurakshak last month.

New Delhi (Sputnik)  The US-based Resolve Marine Group had salvaged INS Sindhurakshak which had sunk in the Mumbai Naval Dockyard on August 14, 2013, after an explosion but the submarine was never able to return to full operational capability.

Naval sources told Sputnik the submarine capsized in the Arabian Sea and its resting point is 3,000 meters below the surface.

"When a warship is decommissioned, each and every nut and bolt is accounted for as it can be used on other vessels. The Sindhurakshak was a total write-off," a Navy official said.

The Sindhurakshak was a Project 877 Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine originally laid down in February 1995 at the Sudomekh shipyard in Saint Petersburg for the Russian Navy but later it was sold to the Indian Navy and commissioned into it in December 1997.

Manned by a crew of 52 sailors, the submarine was 238-feet long and had surfaced displacement of 2,325 tons. In the 2013 fire, 18 sailors lost their lives in the accident, which happened due to lapses in standard operating procedures. The reason found by an inquiry set up by Indian Navy was 'organizational and individual lapses'. Two officers were found culpable in the inquiry. After a series of accidents, primarily due to fire at submarines, the then Indian Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi had resigned in 2014.

Presently, Indian Navy has 13 diesel-electric submarines in service-9 Kilo-class and four Shishumar (Type 209/1500)-class, however, only half of them are operational at any time. India has planned 18 conventional submarines apart from current 13 which are 17 to 31 years old. Two P-75 submarines are expected to join Indian Navy this year while a case for six P-75 I submarines are pending decision on strategic partnership model.

 Sputnik

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Top Iran, Russia diplomats discuss JCPOA implementation

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:44PM

Senior Iranian and Russian officials have held talks about the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries ahead of a scheduled meeting of the Joint Commission monitoring the implementation of the deal.

In a meeting between Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov in Tehran on Tuesday, the two sides discussed technical cooperation on civilian nuclear technology, particularity within the framework of the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Araqchi reaffirmed Iran's full compliance with the JCPOA and said the sustenance of the nuclear deal, as a multilateral international document, requires all sides' complete fulfillment of their commitments.

"The continuation of the US's irresponsible approach to the JCPOA, particularly during the era of the country's new ruling administration, which reflects the extremist and unilateralist stance of the United States of America on all international issues, is considered as disregard for the international community's will and demand," Araqchi said.

He emphasized that the P5+1 group of countries and all the UN countries must address such a destructive approach.

No replacement for JCPOA

The Russian diplomat, for his port, hailed Iran's full commitment to its obligations under the JCPOA and said Moscow pursues a firm stance on the deal and believes that there is no replacement for it.

He also decried the US unilateral approach to international issues, particularly the JCPOA.

Ryabkov added that Iran and Russia have a common stance on many regional and international developments and expressed his country's determination to play a constructive role in safeguarding the JCPOA.

Earlier in the day, Araqchi said a new meeting of the Iran-P5+1 Joint Commission would be held in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on July 21.

He added that failures on the part of the US to meet its commitments under the JCPOA would be among the issues on the agenda of the meeting.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia - plus Germany signed the JCPOA on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

Under the agreement, limits were put on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related bans against the Islamic Republic.

The UN Security Council later unanimously endorsed a resolution that effectively turned the JCPOA into international law.

The administration of US President Donald Trump, which took over in January 2017, one year after the JCPOA came into force, has been skeptical of the deal, which was negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama.

During his presidential campaign, Trump described the nuclear accord with Iran as a "disaster" and vowed to unilaterally scrap it. While he has not carried out that threat, his administration is conducting a "review" to see whether the provision of sanctions relief to Iran - a US commitment under the deal - is in America's "national interest."

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Iran Fulfilling Provisions of Nuclear Deal - Russian Foreign Ministry

Sputnik News

19:21 11.07.2017(updated 20:32 11.07.2017)

Iran fulfills its obligations in accordance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on its nuclear program and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regularly confirms this, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov held consultations with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Tehran and discussed the implementation of the JCPOA, as well as exchanged views on international security issues of mutual interest.

"The Russian side stressed that Iran firmly implements its JCPOA obligations, that is regularly confirmed by the IAEA. Russia and Iran stressed the importance of maintaining of the agreement and noted the effectiveness of this mechanism in terms of ensuring international and regional security, as well as the nuclear non-proliferation regime. It was stressed that the guarantee of a sustainable and successful implementation of the JCPOA in the long-term perspective is the fulfillment of its obligations by all the participants and the parties involved," the statement said.

In July 2015, Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany, signed the JCPOA. The nuclear deal stipulated a gradual lifting of the economic and diplomatic sanctions previously imposed on Iran in exchange for Tehran maintaining the strictly peaceful nature of its nuclear program. The plan's implementation began in January 2016.

US President Donald Trump's tough stance on Iran, however, differs from the position held by his predecessor Barack Obama, who actively promoted signing the deal. Trump believes that the Iran nuclear deal has been ineffective and, therefore, must be revised.

 Sputnik

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Moscow 'Categorically' Disagrees With Washington on Iran's Missile Program

Sputnik News

17:54 11.07.2017(updated 17:55 11.07.2017)

Russia categorically disagrees with US claims that Iran's missile program is carried out in violation of a UNSC resolution on the issue as the United States and some other Western countries attempt to misrepresent the situation, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier on Tuesday, Ryabkov held a meeting in Tehran with Iranian Deputy Foreign Ministers Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi on the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (CAPA).

"We discussed the situation with the consideration of the Iranian dossier in the framework of the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, and concluded that there are also a number of issues on which we have to work actively together," Ryabkov said.

According to Ryabkov, some Western countries, including the United States, are attempting to paint the Iranian missile program in a false light, "present the case in such a way that this program, including test launches of ballistic missiles, does not meet the requirements of resolution 2231."

"We categorically disagree with this," the Russian diplomat stressed.

In July 2015, the JCPOA was reached between Iran and six international mediators, including the United States, to ensure the peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program.

In January 2016, Iran's compliance with the terms of the JCPOA, verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), allowed for a large part of the international anti-Iranian sanctions to be lifted, including the deprivation of access to frozen assets, ban on purchasing passenger planes, and sale of oil and coal.

However, the new US administration imposed a new round of sanctions against Iran in February 2017 over its January medium-range ballistic missile test. Additionally, on April 19, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused the Iranian government of sponsoring terrorism and announced a JCPOA review, ordered by the US president, that could potentially dissolve the agreement, while at the same time confirming that Iran was fulfilling its obligations under the JCPOA.

 Sputnik

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GOP Senators Urge Tillerson Not to Certify Iran's Compliance With Nuclear Deal

Sputnik News

19:55 12.07.2017 (updated 19:56 12.07.2017)

A group of US Republican senators in a letter on Wednesday called on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to reject certifying that Iran is fulfilling its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding its nuclear program.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (INARA) requires the US president to confirm to Congress every 90 days that Tehran is adhering to the terms of the deal. If the administration determines that Iran breached the accord, the United States can re-impose sanctions.

"We write to urge that you not certify that US sanctions relief for Iran is in the vital national-security interests of the United States or that Iran is complying with the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ("JCPOA")," the letter stated.

Tillerson certified Iran's compliance in April. However, the senator contended that the full suspension of punitive measures against Iran would threaten US national security. They claimed in the letter Tehran is currently operating more advanced nuclear centrifuges than it is allowed under the JCPOA and has frequently exceeded the limits on its heavy water stocks.

The letter was signed by senators Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton, David Perdue, and Ted Cruz.

The Joint Plan of Comprehensive Action (JCPOA) was concluded in July 2015 between Iran, the European Union and the P5+1 group of nations: the United States, Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and China. Under the terms of the agreement, nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were lifted in exchange for assurances Tehran's nuclear program would remain peaceful.

 Sputnik

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Retired US Generals Challenge Trump's Attitude Toward Iran Nuclear Deal

Sputnik News

19:30 12.07.2017(updated 19:59 12.07.2017)

The 2015 nuclear deal between the United States, Iran and other world powers has benefited US national security, a group of 38 retired US generals and admirals wrote in an open letter to President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The former US military officers wrote the letter to mark the two-year anniversary of the deal nuclear called the Joint Plan of Comprehensive Action (JCPOA), concluded in July 2015 between Iran, the European Union and the P5+1 group of nations: the United States, Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and China.

"The international accord successfully blocked Iran's paths to a nuclear weapon and has greatly strengthened the security of the United States and our allies," the letter stated.

Under the terms of the deal, nuclear-related sanctions on Iran were lifted in exchange for assurances Tehran's nuclear program would remain peaceful.

In the letter, the military officers noted that Iran has complied with its obligations under the JCPOA by dismantling two-thirds of its centrifuges, surrendering 98 percent of its stockpiled uranium and destroying the core of its heavy water reactor.

The officers also urged Trump to establish diplomatic channels with Tehran to ensure the continued implementation of the deal and "resolve national security crises" that may occur.

Trump and Republicans in Congress have criticized the JCPOA, with Trump decrying it as one of the worst deals in history. Trump has not followed through with his promise to unilaterally withdraw from the agreement, but the administration is currently reviewing whether lifting sanctions on Iran is in the interest of US national security.

Trump has repeatedly slammed the Iranian nuclear deal and calling it disastrous for Israel.

 Sputnik

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Amnesty Accuses Iraq, Allies Of 'Crimes' In Mosul

July 11, 2017

Amnesty International says tactics used by Iraqi forces and their U.S.-led coalition allies in the battle for Mosul violated international humanitarian law and might amount to war crimes.

The London-based rights watchdog said in a July 11 report the Islamic State (IS) militant group had also flagrantly violated humanitarian law by using civilians as human shields.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi declared victory in Mosul on July 10, three years after IS seized the city.

A 100,000-strong alliance of Iraqi government units, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Shi'ite militias launched the offensive to recapture the city in October 2016, with air and ground support from the U.S.-led international coalition.

Thousands of civilians have been killed and nearly 1 million forced to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.

Amnesty said Iraqi forces and the coalition had carried out a series of unlawful attacks in west Mosul since January.

It said the coalition relied heavily on improvised rocket-assisted munitions (IRAMs), weapons with crude targeting capabilities that caused extensive harm in densely populated areas.

The top U.S. general in Iraq strongly rejected that coalition strikes violated international law.

"I reject any notion that coalition fires were in any way imprecise, unlawful, or excessively targeted civilians," Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend told a news briefing in Washington.

He added that he believed the fight against IS was the "most precise campaign in the history of warfare."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein mentioned in a July 11 statement allegations of rights abuses by Iraqi forces and by individuals taking revenge against captured IS fighters or people accused of supporting them.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iraq-mosul-amnesty-says- violated-law/28610965.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 Congratulates Iraqis on Liberation of Mosul from IS

By Heather Murdock, Chris Hannas July 11, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday congratulated Iraq, its prime minister, and security forces for liberating the city of Mosul from Islamic State.

In a White House statement, Trump said defeating the militant group in Mosul "signals that its days in Iraq and Syria are numbered." He further pledged to "continue to seek the total destruction of ISIS," using an acronym for Islamic State.

Trump said the United States grieves for the thousands of Iraqis who suffered and died at the hands of Islamic State along with the "loss of the heroic soldiers and Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters) who gave their lives."

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared victory on Monday in the city that the militant group had declared the capital of its caliphate in Iraq.

Speaking from Mosul's Old City in a speech carried on state television, Abadi said the win is a victory over oppression, brutality and terrorism.

"I declare in Mosul, from Mosul, to all people the...failure and collapse of the terrorist Islamic State," he said.

Abadi said Iraq still faces challenges, including destroying Islamic State terror cells that still exist in the country and creating stability for the entire nation.

The U.S. military welcomed Abadi's statement but said there are still areas of the Old City of Mosul that must be cleared of explosives and possible ISIS fighters in hiding.

Hours before Abadi's speech, witnesses reported heavy fighting still underway in parts of Mosul.

The commanding U.S. general of the coalition operation in Mosul, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, said, "This victory alone does not eliminate ISIS and there is still a tough fight ahead. But the loss of one of its twin capitals and a jewel of their so-called caliphate is a decisive blow."

Islamic State still controls some territory outside Mosul as well as much bigger areas in neighboring Syria.

Will it ever feel safe again?

Thousands of civilians have been killed in this battle and 900,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. Vast swaths of Mosul and the surrounding towns and villages have been abandoned, and many people say they will never feel safe going home.

And while no part of Mosul is as thoroughly destroyed as the Old City, neither has any part been left untouched by nearly three years of Islamic State rule and almost nine months of all-out war.

Human rights group Amnesty International released a report Tuesday detailing the loss of civilian life in the battle for Mosul, documenting at least 400 civilian deaths just in West Mosul between January and mid-May.

"The scale and gravity of the loss of civilian lives during the military operation to retake Mosul must immediately be publicly acknowledged at the highest levels of government in Iraq and states that are part of the US-led coalition," Lynn Maalouf, Director of Research for the Middle East at Amnesty International, said.

In parts of East Mosul, recaptured by Iraqi forces in January, recovery is more promising. Shoppers crowd the streets, some of which are newly paved, mostly picking through wreckage left by airstrikes. The government has restored electricity and water supplies in much of the city.

Washington Institute for Near East Policy Distinguished Fellow and former Ambassador James Jeffrey told VOA that relief and recovery efforts are only the first step after the recapture of Mosul.

"The second step is of course political, as always in Iraq," Jeffrey said. "How are you going to prevent a return of ISIS or something like it, and how are you going to incorporate the Sunni Arabs into the larger Iraq and keep the Kurds, who are in it but quite separate, playing a positive role. Those are the big issues we have been dealing with since 2003."

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Ukraine in 2017/18 agri-year could export 38-39 mln tonnes of grain with near 60 mln tonne harvest - expert

KYIV. July 12 (Interfax-Ukraine)  Grain harvest in Ukraine in 2017 is projected at 60 million tonnes, and exports in the 2017/18 agricultural year (July-June)  at 38-39 million tonnes.

"The grain harvest is expected at 60 million tonnes compared to 64-66 million tonnes last year, according to various estimates," expert of the grain market of UkrAgroConsult Yelyzaveta Malyshko said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

She said that this season Ukraine would harvest around 24 million tonnes of wheat, and the export potential for wheat will be 15 million tonnes.

The maize harvest is assessed at 26 million tonnes. Exports could reach 19.5 million tonnes.

"If in the 2016/17 agri-year we had 44.3 million tonnes of exported grain, in 2017/18 the figure will be 38-39 million tonnes with low ending stocks of grain," the expert said.

Malyshko said that a trend of cutting areas planted with grain crops is seen in the world.

"In five years the areas planted with grain crops in Ukraine narrowed by 12%. This season the trend is not clearly seen. The reduction of fields with barley in Ukraine was compensated by the expansion of areas with winter wheat," she said.

The expert said that prices of wheat with high protein content are growing on the international market.

"Black Sea wheat with 12.5% of protein content cost more than $190 per tonne and this is $25-27 more than a year ago," she said.

She said that this year the bread wheat harvest in Ukraine would be good as the weather is good for protein content in wheat.

UkrAgroConsult Director General Serhiy Feofilov said that due to changes of climate and the higher price of bread wheat Ukraine will make large efforts to plant durum wheat and the areas planted with this crop would expand.
Iraqi forces mopping up last pockets of Daesh terrorists in Mosul

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 12, 2017 2:26PM

Iraqi government forces are fighting to eliminate the last pockets of Daesh terrorists in the Old City of Mosul, more than two days after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared victory over the extremists in their former stronghold and the country's second largest city.

Three residents living just across the Tigris River from the ravaged area told Reuters on Wednesday that heavy exchanges of gunfire between Iraqi army soldiers and Daesh militants began before midnight and extended into the morning hours.

Army helicopters hovered over the Old City and columns of smoke rose into the air. It was not immediately clear if the smoke came from controlled explosions or from bombs set off by Daesh remnants.

"We still live in an atmosphere of war despite the victory announcement two days ago," 45-year-old Fahd Ghanim said.

Another resident said the blasts shook the ground around half a kilometer away.

An unnamed Iraqi military official attributed the activity to "clearing operations."

"There are Daesh militants hiding in different places. They disappear here and pop up there, then we target them," he said.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have thwarted a Daesh attack on their position in the village of Mosallas al-Waqi'ah, located 70 kilometers west of Mosul, killing at least 17 Takfiri terrorists in the process.

Separately, Iraqi police forces repelled a Daesh attack on the Syrian border.

"Security forces, backed by Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Sha'abi), managed to seize a factory for making car bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) belonging to Daesh in the Old City of Mosul," a security source said on condition of anonymity.

"Forces defused about 20 car bombs and dismantled around 200 explosive devices, in addition to a large amount of light and medium weapons," the source added.

"These weapons were prepared for a terror attack on security forces and fighters of al-Hashd al-Sha'abi based on the Syrian border in order to escape to Syria," the source noted.

Some two dozen Izadi women rescued in western Mosul

Furthermore, Iraqi troops found and rescued 23 Izadi women, whom Daesh extremists had been holding captive near the Tigris riverbank in the western side of Mosul.

The women have been transferred to safe zones in order to be reunited with their families.

On Monday, Abadi formally declared victory of the country's forces over Daesh in the northern city, which fell into the hands of the Takfiri terrorist group in June 2014.

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.

An estimated 862,000 people have been displaced from Mosul ever since the battle to retake the city began eight months ago. A total of 195,000 civilians have also returned, mainly to the liberated areas of eastern Mosul.

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Netanyahu's Lawyer, Ex-Navy Chief Named as Suspects in German Submarine Probe

Sputnik News

12:15 12.07.2017(updated 12:30 12.07.2017)

Attorney David Shimron, a personal lawyer to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Adm. Eliezer Merom, a former commander of the Israeli Navy, were questioned within the ongoing investigation into government contracts to purchase submarines from the German ThyssenKrupp company, media reported Wednesday.

TEL AVIV (Sputnik)  According to The Jerusalem Post newspaper, Shimron and Merom were detained by the police earlier this week, questioned and placed under house arrest.

Shimron worked as an intermediary for Miki Ganor, the Israeli representative of the German shipbuilder, and he is suspected of bribery while pushing to acquire submarines under conditions which were skewed more favorable for ThyssenKrupp, the media outlet said.

Marom, who commanded the Navy from 2007 to 2011, is suspected of having received bribes from Ganor.

According to reports, Israeli police have detained a total of seven individuals to be questioned over their suspected involvement in the corruption scandal surrounding the government's purchase of submarines, involving instances of money laundering and tax evasion.

The investigation into the 2014 multi-billion dollar deal began in November 2016. Netanyahu himself is not being investigated for possible wrongdoing.

Israel possesses five German-built, diesel-electric powered submarines in its army, and has a contract signed to build a sixth.

 Sputnik

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Nazarbaev Signs Law Barring 'Ordinary' Kazakhs From Seeking Presidency

RFE/RL's Kazakh Service July 11, 2017

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has signed into law a measure that bars people without previous government experience from running for president.

According to the law signed on July 11, only Kazakh citizens with at least five-years of experience at official posts can register as presidential candidates.

Additionally, under the constitution, presidential candidates must be at least 40-years-old, born in Kazhakstan, have at least 15 years of residence in the country, and speak fluent Kazakh.

The presidential term is five years long and one person may only serve two consecutive terms.

However, Nazarbaev, who has ruled the oil-rich Central Asian nation of 18 million since 1989, can be elected an unlimited number of times in accordance with the special Law on the First President.

Kazakhstan's last presidential election was held in April 2015, and Nazarbaev, 77, won his fifth term with 97.7 percent of vote.

None of elections held in Kazakhstan have been considered free or fair by the West.

With reporting by zakon.kz

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-nazarbaev- presidency-law-experience/28610386.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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US sanctions bill against Russia stalled in House of Representatives

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:30PM

A new package of economic sanctions against Russia and Iran that would limit President Donald Trump's ability to lift financial penalties on Moscow is mired in a partisan dispute in the House of Representatives in Congress.

The pending legislation, which passed the Senate on a 98-to-2 vote last month, has stalled in the House with Republicans and Democrats blaming each other for the delay.

The bill was introduced in response to Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election and its purported involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.

A key part of the legislation would require a congressional review if President Donald Trump attempted to ease or end penalties against Moscow. It would give Congress a much stronger hand in determining Russia sanctions policy.

Trump's desire to improve ties with Moscow along with alleged collusion between his presidential election campaign and the Kremlin has many lawmakers uneasy about leaving the country's sanctions policy to the president alone.

But Democrats in the House said they do not trust that House Republicans are serious about the effort and say a recent change to the bill would effectively prevent them of their ability to raise objections to Trump's sanctions policy on Russia.

After the bill passed the Senate, House Republican leaders raised procedural objections to the bill and demanded revisions, prompting House Democrats this week to threaten to block the bill from moving forward.

"House Republicans are prepared to send the Iran-Russia sanctions bill papers back, which will allow the Senate to automatically resend us a fixed bill, but House Democrats are blocking that and demanding their own changes to the bill," said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Senators are growing increasingly frustrated with the squabbles in the House over what they view as a dispute over technicalities and not the substance of the package.

The White House says the legislation unacceptably constrains the president's authority. Marc Short, the White House legislative director, told reporters Monday the administration objects to a key part of the legislation that would give lawmakers a much stronger hand in determining Russia sanctions policy.

"Our concern is that the legislation, we believe, sets an unusual precedent of delegating foreign policy to 535 members of Congress by not including certain national security waivers that have always been consistently part of sanctions bills in the past," Short said.

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Russia may retaliate expulsion of diplomats under Obama

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 12:22PM

Sources in the Russian Foreign Ministry say Moscow may finally expel some 30 American diplomats in retaliation for a similar measure adopted in the previous US administration.

In a report published on Tuesday , the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia quoted officials as saying that if the US does not correct a decision by former President Barack Obama on expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and seizure of Russia's diplomatic compounds, Russia could retaliate in the foreseeable future.

Russia refrained from a direct response to the measure as it came in Obama's final months in office while everyone was expecting to see how new president Donald Trump may deal with the case. The issue was raised in a recent meeting between Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin, but Russian sources told Izvestia that Trump presented "no plan to resolve the crisis".

The expulsions and seizure of Russian property in the United States came after reports emerged of an alleged support by the Kremlin for hackers that tampered with the computers of the camp of US presidential election candidate Hillary Clinton, a move that was thought to have hugely undermined the chances of the Democratic Party candidate and propelled Trump to the White House. Obama also imposed new rounds of sanctions on Russian individuals and entities, piling more pressure on a government in Moscow, which had already been slapped with bans and boycotts over the crisis in Ukraine.

Trump has explicitly endorsed the idea that Russian hackers may have played a role in last year's presidential election but have categorically denied any direct collusion between members of his campaign and Russian officials. The issue is still being investigated and any decision by Trump to roll back the sanctions or return the Russian property in New York and Maryland may further complicate the issue.

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White House Seeks Changes In Senate's Russian Sanctions Bill

RFE/RL July 11, 2017

The White House is seeking to change a Senate bill imposing tough new sanctions on Russia so it doesn't constrain the president's authority to impose or waive sanctions, a top White House official said on July 10.

The bill to impose new sanctions on Russia for allegedly meddling in the U.S. election and other matters passed the Senate overwhelmingly but has been stalled in the House of Representatives. The bill also imposes new sanctions on Iran.

Marc Short, the White House legislative director, told reporters that the administration backs the new sanctions on Russia and Iran, but it objects to a provision giving Congress a much greater say on sanctions.

That provision would require a congressional review if President Donald Trump attempts to ease or end the bill's penalties against Moscow.

"Our concern is that the legislation, we believe, sets an unusual precedent of delegating foreign policy to 535 members of Congress by not including certain national security waivers that have always been consistently part of sanctions bills in the past," Short said.

Axios reported that the White House is concerned that the bill would "tie Trump's hands" in negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia and the United States recently kicked off negotiations aimed at forging a broader peace in Syria.

"This bill is so poorly written that neither Republican nor Democratic administrations would be comfortable with the current draft because it greatly hampers the executive branch's diplomatic efforts," Short told Axios.

The objection was first raised by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who said in testimony last month that Trump needs to retain "the flexibility to adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation" with Russia.

AP reported that officials from the Treasury and State departments met last week with House congressional staff to voice their concerns over the congressional review provision, which they said infringes on the president's executive authority.

But weakening that provision likely would provoke resistance from congressional Democrats and some Republicans.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, who was instrumental in drafting the bill, views the review requirement as a proper exercise of congressional authority.

Corker told reporters on July 10 that it's not unusual for a White House to resist congressional oversight of foreign policy. But he said the sanctions review requirement is a "very important" part of the legislation.

"Any administration would prefer to conduct foreign policy 100 percent without involvement from Congress," Corker said. But he said no Trump administration official has contacted him to say "we don't want this legislation to pass. That has never occurred."

The bill is also opposed by the powerful American Petroleum Institute, which represents U.S. oil companies. It opposes the measure's expansion of an existing prohibition on U.S. energy companies being involved in new Russian energy projects.

That existing sanction would be expanded to bar U.S. firms from participating in projects all over the world in which Russian energy firms participate.

The petroleum association said the expansion would penalize U.S. oil companies, not just Russian companies, and cost them potentially billions of dollars in jobs and economic activity.

The National Foreign Trade Council, a business group, has also objected to the expanded energy sanctions, saying they would prevent U.S. oil companies from competing in mot export markets while rivals in China and Europe would not be equally constrained.

Axios reported that the administration has taken up the cause of the oil industry in arguing behind the scenes against the bill in Congress,

It also reported that the White House is worried about the political dilemma the bill poses for Trump, if it is passed by the House.

"The nightmare scenario for the White House," Axios reported, is "Trump is forced to either sign the bill, which would make it impossible to establish a broader cooperative relationship with Putin, or veto the bill and risk a two-thirds majority in Congress overriding his wishes."

With reporting by AP, Axios, The Hill, and Washington Examiner

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/white-house-seeks-changes -senate-russian-sanctions-bill-executive- authority-marc-short/28607430.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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Lavrov Says Russia To Retaliate If U.S. Does Not Release Property

RFE/RL July 11, 2017

Russia will retaliate in a reciprocal manner if the United States does not heed its demands for a return of diplomatic assets, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

"We hope that the United States, as a country which promotes the rule of law, will respect its international obligations," Lavrov said after a meeting in Brussels with EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini on July 11.

"If this does not happen, if we see that this step is not seen as essential in Washington, then of course we will take retaliatory measures. This is the law of diplomacy, the law of international affairs, that reciprocity is the basis of all relations."

In December, the United States seized two Russian diplomatic compounds and then-President Barack Obama ordered the expulsion of 35 Russians over what he said was their involvement in hacking to interfere in the U.S. presidential election campaign.

Moscow denied the allegations and said then it would wait to see if relations improved under incoming President Donald Trump.

Lavrov on July 11 declined to answer when asked if that meant that Russia would expel U.S. diplomats and seize diplomatic property. "We are now thinking of specific steps," he said.

Lavrov's statements came after he said earlier on July 11 that "the situation is outrageous" during a visit to Austria.

Citing a Russian diplomatic source, Russian daily Izvestia said Moscow was considering expelling around 30 U.S. diplomats and taking over two U.S. diplomatic compounds in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Izvestia said the Russian government was frustrated that President Vladimir Putin's first meeting with Trump in Hamburg last week had failed to resolve the diplomatic row.

Their discussions far exceeded the original time limit, ranging from cybersecurity to the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine. Trump described the talks soon afterward as "very, very good."

With reporting by Reuters and Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-u-s-- response-30-diplomats-expulsion-/28610369.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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Frustrated with US inaction, Russia warns of reprisal on US expulsions, seizures

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 12, 2017 2:47PM

Russia says the United States should either correct a 2016 decision by former President Barack Obama to expel a number of Russian politicians and "illegally" seize Russian diplomatic compounds in America or wait for Moscow's "measures of reciprocity."

"From the point of view of international law, Russia cannot put up with it for a long time, leaving it without taking any measures of reciprocity," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a news conference on Wednesday.

"But at the same time we expect that in the end our colleagues in the US will finally show some kind of political will to rectify the violations of international law which they admitted," he added.

The months-long political row began in December 2016, when the Obama administration ejected 35 Russian officials and took over two pieces of property belonging to the Kremlin, on the grounds that Moscow was using them to hinder America's democratic process.

The properties included a 45-acre compound in Maryland and a mansion on Long Island's Gold Coast in New York City, both purchased by the Soviet Union in 1972 and 1952, respectively.

The government of Russian President Vladimir Putin took no retaliatory measures in response to Obama's move, hoping that ties between the two sides would improve under his successor, Donald Trump.

In late April, the Trump administration sent the first signal by reportedly saying it would return the two compounds if Moscow allowed the construction of a new US consulate in St. Petersburg to continue. Russia had ordered the project to freeze in 2014, in response to US sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine.

However, Washington changed its stance days later, when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak at a meeting in Washington that the deal was off.

Moscow's frustration with Washington's flip-flopping was best reflected in Lavorv's remarks on Tuesday, who called Washington's lack of regard for the issue "outrageous."

"I believe that for such a great country like the United States of America, this advocate of international law, it's just shameful to leave the situation in mid-air," he said during a trip to Austria, warning that Moscow was "now thinking of specific steps" to retaliate.

According to Russian media, Moscow's retaliatory steps might involve deporting around 30 US politicians and taking over two American diplomatic compounds in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The reciprocal measure might go into effect as soon as next week, when Lavrov's deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, and Thomas Shannon, a US under secretary of state, will meet to discuss the issue.

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U.S., Russia To Revive High-Level Talks On Seized Dachas, Other 'Irritants'

RFE/RL July 12, 2017

The United States and Russia are reviving high-level talks aimed at resolving major irritants between the two world powers, the U.S. State Department has said.

The announcement came after Russia's top diplomat threatened retaliation if the United States did not return two Russian diplomatic compounds in New York and Maryland that were seized by the Obama administration in December.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Tom Shannon will host Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Washington on July 17 for talks that are expected to focus on resolving the row over the diplomatic compounds, which the Kremlin has made a top priority.

Moscow last month abruptly canceled the last scheduled meeting between Shannon and Ryabkov after the U.S. Treasury announced new sanctions against Russia over its aggression in Ukraine.

But State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that the talks were now back on track, without providing a reason. "Shannon has been hard at work as we have been trying to find areas that we could deal with some of these so-called irritants," she said.

The dialogue was launched earlier this year at what U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called a "low point" in U.S.-Russia relations, in hopes that making progress on relatively minor issues such as the diplomatic spat might enable the two countries to cooperate on larger matters such as the wars in Syria and eastern Ukraine.

Revival of plans for the talks follows the first meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Germany last week, in an encounter both countries described as a positive first step toward improving relations.

Ryabkov, speaking to Russian media on a visit to Tehran on July 11, said the presidential meeting had inspired a "certain hope that the situation will change for the better."

Driving the agenda for the meeting is a set of grievances both countries want the other to address, including U.S. calls for Moscow to stop harassing its diplomats and to lift a ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian children.

The Kremlin is keenly focused on getting the United States to return control of its two Cold War-era recreational estates that former President Barack Obama seized as part of his response to Moscow's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Putin declined to retaliate in December for the seizures and simultaneous expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats the White House said were really spies, saying he wanted to give Trump an opportunity to weigh in on the matter.

But Moscow has recently made clear it is not willing to wait much longer. On July 11, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov threatened unspecified retribution if the compounds, also known as dachas, aren't given back soon.

"We hope that the United States, as a country which promotes the rule of law, will respect its international obligations," Lavrov said after a meeting in Brussels with EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini.

"If this does not happen, if we see that this step is not seen as essential in Washington, then of course we will take retaliatory measures. This is the law of diplomacy, the law of international affairs, that reciprocity is the basis of all relations."

Lavrov declined to elaborate. But the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported on July 11 that Moscow plans to kick out about 30 U.S. diplomats and seize U.S. government property in Russia if the issue is not resolved at next week's talks.

Ryabkov was not optimistic ahead of the meeting. "Our dialogue with the United States remains difficult," he told Russian reporters in Tehran. "It would be wrong to expect our bilateral relations to improve overnight."

Ryabkov said that "it's an alarming sign" that so far the Trump administration has refused to return the seized compounds.

Ryabkov blamed Russian "enemies in Congress" and the Obama administration for creating a "gap" in relations between the two countries that"is so deep that it will take much time to get out of it."

Much will depend on whether the United States follows up on agreements reached between Trump and Putin in Hamburg, Germany that Ryabkov said not only would establish a cease-fire zone in southwestern Syria but would form a joint working group on cybersecurity, and develop a framework for relations that "would rule out interference into domestic affairs and that would be based on the key principle of mutual respect and equality."

With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, TASS, and Interfax

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-russia- revive-high-level-talks-shannon-ryabkov -seized-diplomatic-compounds-irritants/28611538.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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Tatar Lawmakers Urge Renewal Of Kazan-Moscow Power-Sharing Agreement

RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service July 12, 2017

KAZAN, Russia -- Lawmakers from the Russian Republic of Tatarstan have appealed to Moscow to extend a power-sharing treaty between the capital and the region that is set to expire later this month.

Members of Tatarstan's State Council adopted the text of a statement addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 11, urging him to prolong the agreement signed between one of Russia's most economically advanced regions and Moscow 10 years ago.

The statement also asks the Kremlin to allow the republic to continue designating its executive-branch head as "president." Under pressure from Moscow, all other republics in the Russian Federation have abandoned that title.

The power-sharing treaty signed on July 27, 2007, expires on July 24.

Tatar lawmaker Nikolai Rybushkin said at the parliamentary session that unless the agreement was prolonged it would be necessary to amend at least 14 articles of Tatarstan's constitution, as well as several federal-level laws.

He also said the people of Tatarstan were counting on the treaty's renewal.

Recent reports in the Moscow press indicate that the treaty most likely will not be prolonged.

The first power-sharing treaty between Tatarstan and Moscow was signed in 1994 by then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin of Russia and then-Tartarstan President Mintimer Shaimiyev.

The treaty provided Tatarstan with broad autonomy, giving it rights to have its own laws, taxes, and even citizenship.

After Vladimir Putin took over in 2000, he began actively pursuing the creation of the so-called power vertical that many critics viewed as an attack on the principle of federalism itself.

All the laws in the subjects of the Russian Federation were brought into strict conformity with federal laws. By 2005 all previous agreements and treaties between subjects and Moscow were annulled, and it was announced that pacts would be negotiated in conformity with strict new federal laws.

Special status was given to only to two federal subjects: Tatarstan and Chechnya.

In 2007, the current treaty was agreed, according to which Tatarstan had the right to make decisions jointly with Moscow regarding Tatarstan's economic, ecological, cultural, and other policies.

Tatarstan was allowed to have special passports with attachments in the Tatar language. According to the treaty, candidates for Tatarstan's presidency must be fluent in both of the republic's state languages -- Tatar and Russian.

The issue of renewing the treaty is expected to be raised at the World Congress of Tatars, which will be held in Tatarstan's capital, Kazan, in August. Tatars from 40 countries are expected to attend the gathering.

Tatarstan is a mainly Muslim-populated region in central Russia with deep cultural and economic influence on the neighboring Russian republics of Bashkortostan, Chuvashia, Mari El, Udmurtia, Mordovia, and other parts of Russia along the border with Kazakhstan.

Kazan, once the center of the Kazan Khanate, was conquered by Muscovite Tsar Ivan the Terrible in 1552.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia- tatarstan-lawmakers-urge-renewal- power-sharing-pact/28611975.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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U.S. House Speaker Says Procedural Issue Delaying Move On Russian Sanctions

RFE/RL July 12, 2017

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan says he wants to move as quickly as possible on a package of tough new sanctions against Russia and Iran but that procedural and policy issues are delaying that action.

Ryan, a Republican, on July 12 said that "right now, we have a procedural issue," adding that his party was working with Democrats to send the bill back to the Senate to address those matters.

"There are some policy issues with respect to making sure that we don't actually inadvertently help Russian oligarchs and oil firms," he told reporters.

The White House opposes the bill, saying it ties President Donald Trump's hands in dealing with Russia in regard to future policy on sanctions and his ability to make adjustments.

'New Urgency'

Earlier in the day, Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and other lawmakers said the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump's son and a Russian attorney, and the failure to disclose it, added new urgency to the drive to impose new sanctions on Russia.

"What happened with Donald Trump Jr. just underscores how Russia was operating," Cardin said, referring to the disclosure that the president's son met in June 2016 with someone identified as allegedly working with the Russian government having derogatory information on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The Senate on June 15 voted 98-2 to impose the tough new sanctions on Russia for allegedly meddling in the U.S. election and other matters, but it has been stalled in the House. Sanctions on Iran were also included in the bill.

Constitutional Requirement

On June 23, the Senate bill encountered a roadblock in the House when it was discovered that it violated a requirement in the Constitution that any bill raising government revenue must originate in the House.

Congressional aides said sanctions or fines against other countries like those in the bill could be interpreted as affecting U.S. government revenue.

Ryan at the time said that procedural issue must be resolved before the House can take action on the bill. It was not immediately clear if the same issue was involved in the delay Ryan spoke about on July 12.

On July 10, a top White House official said the administration was seeking to change the bill so that it did not constrain the president's authority to impose or waive sanctions in the future.

'Tying Trump's Hands'

Marc Short, the White House legislative director, told reporters that the administration backs the new sanctions on Russia and Iran, but it objects to a provision giving Congress a much greater say on sanctions.

That provision would require a congressional review if President Donald Trump attempts to ease or end the bill's penalties against Moscow.

The Axios news website reported that the White House is concerned that the bill would "tie Trump's hands" in negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"This bill is so poorly written that neither Republican nor Democratic administrations would be comfortable with the current draft because it greatly hampers the executive branch's diplomatic efforts," Short told Axios.

The objection was first raised by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who said in testimony last month that Trump needs to retain "the flexibility to adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation" with Russia.

The AP news agency AP reported that officials from the Treasury and State departments met with House congressional staff to voice their concerns over the congressional review provision, which they said infringes on the president's executive authority.

But weakening that provision likely would provoke resistance from congressional Democrats and some Republicans.

With reporting by AP, Axios, The Hill, Reuters, and Washington Examiner

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-ryan-russia- sanctions-procedural-issue/28612787.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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Syrian army soldiers inflict heavy losses on Daesh militants

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 1:40PM

Syrian government forces have carried out fresh operations against Takfiri Daesh militants in the war-raved Arab country's eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr, inflicting substantial losses on them.

Syria's official news agency SANA reported that Syrian Air Force fighter jets had carried out a string of aerial assaults against Daesh positions in al-Hussainia, al-Bogheilia, Panorama, Hattla, Marat and Mazloum districts, killing scores of the militants and destroying large amounts of their munitions.

The developments came on the same day that several mortar shells fired by foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists landed in al-Joura, al-Qosour and Harabesh neighborhoods of the provincial capital city of Dayr al-Zawr, located 450 kilometers northeast of the capital, Damascus, causing huge material damage. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Moreover, local sources confirmed that a number of top Daesh militant commanders, including Hamed al-Nouri aka Abu Hamza al-Qaraani, have fled Dayr al-Zawr,

Separately, Syrian army soldiers have regained control over al-Heil oil fields northeast of the ancient city of Palmyra, inflicting heavy losses on Daesh terrorists.

Elsewhere in the southwestern province of Sweida, Syrian army troops established complete control over Tal Shihab mountainous region.

Syrian fighter jet allegedly struck east of Damascus

Meanwhile, a foreign-sponsored militant group affiliated with the so-called Free Syrian Army's Southern Front stated that its fighters had fired anti-aircraft machine guns at a Syrian military aircraft on Tuesday,

"The men targeted the plane, they saw smoke coming out of it. It withdrew backwards towards the regime-controlled territory," Saad al-Haj, spokesman for the Lions of the East Army, said.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said the plane was damaged and was forced to come down in the al-Sin military air base on the outskirts of Damascus, but it did not crash.

Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen news network and Damascus Now news website also dismissed allegations that the plane had been shot down and crashed in the Um al-Ramam region.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military.

UN: Up to 50,000 civilians trapped in Raqqah

Furthermore, the United Nations has expressed deep concerns over the situation of tens of thousands of people, who have been trapped in Syria's militant-held northern province of Raqqah.

"The UN estimates that between 30 and 50,000 people remain trapped in Raqqah city, although certainly over numbers, getting the precise number is difficult given the lack of access. Availability of food, water, medicine, electricity and other essentials has been dwindling, with the situation rapidly deteriorating. It is imperative that trapped civilians are able to secure a safe passage out to reach safety, shelter and protection." Spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Andrej Mahecic told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

He added that 20,000 people have left the city over the month of June alone, stressing that those who attempt to leave Raqqah expose themselves to massive airstrikes being carried out by the US-led coalition purportedly fighting Daesh terrorist group.

"They either chose to, they either have to make a choice to remain and risk dying in the fighting, in the fierce fighting, or risking becoming targets as they flee. We have seen a similar situation, a similar pattern, a similar modus operandi in Mosul," Mahecic pointed out.

Syria has been fighting different foreign-sponsored militant and terrorist 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.

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Syrian Kurds must be given role in drafting new constitution: UN envoy

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 10:15AM

The United Nations special envoy for Syria says Syrian Kurds should be allowed to take part in drafting a new constitution for the Arab country.

Staffan de Mistura told Russia's RIA news agency in an interview published on Tuesday that the Kurds should not be ignored and their representatives must be allowed to take part in producing the initial version of such a document.

Western diplomats have revealed that the UN has hosted two sets of technical talks on a future constitution with various Syrian opposition groups in the Swiss city of Lausanne in recent weeks, according to Reuters.

The Syrian government was yet to comment on de Mistura's remark or the revelation reported by Reuters.

De Mistura's remarks are, however, very likely to draw reactions from Ankara, which is wary of armed Turkish groups in Syria, Iraq, and Turkey itself.

The Turkish government regards Turkish groups fighting in Syria an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, an internationally-designated terrorist group that has been involved in an armed conflict with the government in Ankara.

The United States, meanwhile, considers the Kurds as a main force on the ground in the fight against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group. The US has armed the Kurdish fighters but has said it would take the arms back once Daesh is routed.

UN envoy upbeat about peace prospects

On Monday, de Mistura made optimistic remarks about the prospects of peace in Syria, which has seen more than six years of foreign-backed militancy.

"There is a higher potential than we have seen in the past for progress," he said after the first day of peace talks in Geneva. "But what I can tell you is that we are seeing several stars coinciding in a certain direction, both on the ground, regionally and internationally."

The diplomat said one of the things that had given him hope was a small-scale ceasefire recently brokered with US and Russian help for southern Syria.

He said other hopeful signs were the creation of "de-escalation zones" during parallel talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

The talks are organized by Russia, Iran, and Turkey.

Another source of optimism, de Mistura said, was the recent recapture of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul from Daesh after a nine-month battle.

He concluded his remarks by saying "homework" was being done for the launch of a more ambitious peace process, "maybe much sooner than we are thinking."

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Syrian Monitoring Group Says IS Leader Baghdadi Is Dead

July 11, 2017

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it has received "confirmed information" from sources within the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.

In a statement on July 11, observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said Baghdadi died in Deir al-Zor Province in eastern Syria, but he did not say when or how.

Both the White House and U.S. military officials said they were unable to confirm Baghdadi's death.

Sebastian Gorka, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, told U.S. media on July 11 that the United States could not immediately verify the report.

The U.S. general who heads the coalition fighting the Islamic State group said he had no information that would confirm or deny claims that Baghdadi is dead.

Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said he had heard "all kinds of reporting" about Baghdadi's status.

"I don't have a clue," Townsend said in a video call from Baghdad.

Kurdish and Iraqi officials also had no immediate confirmation.

Earlier in the day, Iraq's Al-Sumaria television station cited an IS source as confirming Baghdadi's death.

One month ago, Russia's Defense Ministry announced it believed it had killed Baghdadi in an air strike near the city of Raqqa, in Deir al-Zor, on May 28.

Known IS-affiliated social-media accounts have not issued any comment.

Baghdadi's death has been erroneously announced several times in the past.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/syria-baghdadi- dead-islamic-state/28610399.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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Deficit of Trust Between Arabs, Kurds Complicates Raqqa Battle

By Jamie Dettmer July 11, 2017

Kurdish-led fighters made further advances Tuesday in the fight to oust the Islamic State terror group from its de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria. They have been consolidating their foothold in the old city, while amassing soldiers in the eastern suburbs, ready for a deeper strike, say commanders with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

The military advances appear not to have dispelled local Arab anxiety, however, about the Kurds' long-term intentions for Raqqa and its outlying villages.

Although eager for the jihadists to leave, Raqqa's Arabs remain wary of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, worrying the Kurds have territorial ambitions for the Arab-majority city.

That concern has mounted following the expulsion this week of an Arab militia from the SDF for retreating in the face of Islamic State fire. Claims of abusive treatment of local young Arabs at the hands of the advancing U.S.-backed forces also are adding to sectarian tension.

On June 30, a video surfaced in the Turkish media of two soldiers wearing YPG uniforms kicking two local Arab men and stomping on them while screaming at them to disclose the location of IS fighters. In the video, the detainees from a village west of Raqqa insist they don't know the whereabouts of IS extremists.

The YPG soldiers who were filmed were, in fact, Arabs but this has not served to tamp down local anger over the ugly incident. YPG leaders have acknowledged to local media the authenticity of the video. They have denounced the abuse "in the strongest terms," describing it as "absolutely unacceptable."

In a statement, the YPG added, "Since they have broken laws and international norms, they will be held accountable for their irresponsible, individual acts."

Local Arab suspicions of the Kurds, according to some accounts, haven't been diminished by the participation of Sunni Arab militias in the assault on Raqqa  an engagement initially insisted on by Washington, though one that has seen Arab militias from the rebel Free Syrian Army seeking battlefield roles.

Long-term stability at stake

Analysts say that providing stability for Raqqa and avoiding rights abuses following the expulsion of the Sunni militants from the city will be crucial in determining the future chances of IS being able to mount a prolonged insurgency in northern Syria. They have warned for months that if the Kurdish-led SDF fails to oversee the city and its outlying villages evenhandedly and within traditional Arab and tribal power structures, the odds of future sectarian conflict will increase, providing an opening for the jihadists.

"The resulting deficit of trust between the Kurds and Arabs in some areas could be a fault line that jihadis exploit to try to return to liberated areas," cautions Hassan Hassan, an analyst at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, a Washington-based think tank, and co-author of the book ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror.

Trust has been in short supply between Arabs and Kurds in northern Syria since even before the start of the uprising six years ago against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In the 1970s, Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, displaced tens of thousands of Kurds in the province of Raqqa in order to resettle Arab families. Raqqa's Arabs fear the Kurds now may seize the opportunity to even the score and engineer a Kurdish expansion, which would result in an upending of current demographics.

IS propaganda, as well as YPG expulsions of Arabs from some villages last year captured by Kurds in northern and eastern Syria, haven't helped to dispel Arab anxiety  nor do incidents of SDF abuse of detainees.

Raqqa locals allege the anti-Islamic State forces are all too ready to suspect people who continued to live in Raqqa under IS rule of being jihadists or fellow travelers. Relatives of local IS fighters also are quickly viewed as having been complicit with the jihadists, they say.

Activists with a network called Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently reported Monday that SDF units have been mounting arrest raids and detaining young men from villages in the Raqqa countryside.

Some detainees have been taken to training camps and obliged to join so-called Self Defense Forces.

"They are told they will be working to achieve a Democratic Nation in Syria," the activist network says. "The attacking militias have been demanding that young men in the newly controlled villages join the SDF before their families can be allowed to return to their homes."

Kurdish officials dispute the allegations and say many detainees are freed quickly, once it is ascertained they are not IS members. They maintain that even those who were IS members but did not kill or commit heinous crimes will be pardoned.

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Militant mortar attack kills Russian soldier in central Syria

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 12, 2017 12:28PM

The Russian Defense Ministry says one of its servicemen has lost his life after foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants launched a mortar attack in Syria's western-central province of Hama.

The ministry said in a statement early on Wednesday that Captain Nikolay Afanasov was killed by "sudden mortar fire on a Syrian government army camp," noting that he was part of a group of military instructors who were training Syrian soldiers.

Russia has been offering military assistance to the Syrian government since September 2015.

The military assistance, in the form of an aerial campaign and advisory support, came upon a request from the government in Damascus, which has been fighting foreign-backed militancy in the country since 2011.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on April 11 that two of its servicemen had been killed and another sustained severe injuries following a militant mortar attack.

The statement, however, did not provide any further information about the exact place and date of the attack, nor the identities of the slain servicemen.

On March 6, Russia's Defense Ministry said one of its servicemen had been killed after members of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group mounted an offensive against positions of Syrian government forces in the central province of Homs.

The ministry said in a statement that Private Artyom Gorbunov had been killed in action near the ancient Semitic city of Palmyra, located about 215 kilometers northeast of the capital Damascus four days earlier.

The statement added that the 24-year-old "was guarding a group of Russian military advisers in Syria at the time.

Militant mortar attacks leave five Syrians dead, six injured

Meanwhile, five people were killed and six others injured in a series of mortar attacks carried out by Daesh militants in Syria's eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr.

Syria's official news agency SANA reported that mortar shells fired by militants struck the city's Harabesh and al-Qusour neighborhoods on Wednesday.

Syria has been fighting different foreign-sponsored militant and terrorist 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.

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Tsai: Arms sales show U.S. support for Taiwan's defense autonomy

ROC Central News Agency

2017/07/11 20:39:13

Taipei, July 11 (CNA) A recent decision by the U.S. government demonstrates the Trump administration's support for the Taiwan Relations Act and Taiwan's ability to defends itself, President Tsai Ing-wen () said on Tuesday.

The president made her remarks while receiving a group of visitors from the Atlantic Council, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, at the Presidential Office.

She told her guests that Taiwan has been working to strengthen its strategic partnerships with the U.S. and Japan. In June, a Taiwanese delegation attended the SelectUSA business summit in the U.S., engaging in fruitful talks with delegates from the U.S. and other countries, she noted.

Taiwan's cooperation with the U.S. extends to the Global Cooperation and Training Framework and such other areas as public health, the digital economy and youth participation, Tsai said.

She said as the two countries extend their cooperation into even more areas, the Atlantic Council has long been an important pillar for bilateral cooperation and she hopes it will come up with concrete proposals for furthering exchanges between Taiwan and the U.S.

In another meeting, also at the Presidential Office, Tsai greeted Jonathan W. Greenert, former Chief of Naval Operations and commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, exchanging views with him on matters of mutual concern.

Greenert supported Taiwan's plan to build its own submarines, which Tsai said was a significant contribution to Taiwan's defense autonomy as well as to regional peace and security.

On June 30, Tsai tweeted her gratitude to the U.S. government after the latter approved arms sales to Taiwan a day earlier.

The arms sale to Taiwan was made public by U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, who said the administration had informed Congress of the US$1.42 billion deal, including technical support for early warning radar, anti-radiation missiles, torpedoes and components for SM-2 missiles.

This marked the first arms sale to Taiwan since U.S. business tycoon Donald Trump took office as president of the United States on Jan. 20. (Sophia Yeh and S.C. Chang)

Enditem/AW/

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Turkish army jets kill 11 Kurdish militants in southeast

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:44AM

At least 11 militants with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have been killed as Turkey's fighter jets bombed their positions in two areas of the country's southeast overnight.

Turkey's army said in a statement on Tuesday that an air operation on an area in the Dargecit district of Mardin Province near the Syrian border claimed the lives of eight PKK militants believed to be preparing for an attack.

Turkish warplanes also destroyed two gun positions during the operation.

The statement added that the jets also conducted air raids in the countryside of Hakkari Province, which borders Iraq and Iran, leaving three other PKK members dead.

Turkey has declared the PKK a terrorist organization and has banned it. The militant group has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region since 1984.

A shaky ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish government collapsed in July 2015. Attacks on Turkish security forces have soared ever since.

Over the past few months, Turkish ground and air forces have been carrying out operations against the PKK positions in the country's southeastern border region as well as in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria.

More than 40,000 people have been killed during the three-decade conflict between Turkey and the autonomy-seeking militant group.

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Turkey Deploys Military Vehicles Convoys Near Syria's Northwestern Border

Sputnik News

15:29 11.07.2017

Turkey has deployed six military transport convoys to the Musabeyli area, which is located in the Kilis province that borders Syria's de facto self-governing Kurdish regions, local media reported Tuesday.

ANKARA (Sputnik)  According to the Anadolu news agency, this has been done to strengthen the positions of the Turkish forces on the border with Syria close to the Syrian city of Afrin, which is controlled by Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

Earlier in July, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said that Ankara did not rule out carrying out a military operation in Afrin in the event Turkish security was threatened.

Afrin is located in the province of Aleppo and belongs to the de facto autonomous region of Rojava, proclaimed by the Kurds in the north of Syria. Turkey has repeatedly bombed the positions of Kurds in northern Syria and considers the Syrian Kurdish associations to be a wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) banned in the country.

 Sputnik

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UK to buy $1B worth of US-made Joint Light Tactical Vehicles

Iran Press TV

Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:23PM

Britain is planning to purchase $1.04 billion worth of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV), made by the United States, says the US Defense Department.

Manufactured by Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Corp, the sale of 2,747 of the vehicles has been approved by the State Department, various outlets reported Tuesday.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified the US Congress of the possible sale on Monday.

"This proposed sale supports the foreign policy and national security policies of the United States by helping to improve the security of a NATO ally which has been, and continues to be, an important partner on critical foreign policy and defense issues," read the announcement.

In August 2015, the Pentagon ordered Oshkosh to build 17,000 vehicles after clinching a $6.7 billion contract.

The vehicles have been designed to replace a portion of the Humvee fleets in the US Army and Marine Corps.

On June 14, Pentagon officials said new Joint Light Tactical Vehicles will be fielded at the 10th Mountain Division and Marines with II Marine Expeditionary Force in early 2019.

The 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, will get 500 JLTVs for its infantry brigade combat team.

The Marine Corps will also equip an infantry battalion with II MEF at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, with 69 JLTVs.

The sale of American vehicles to Britain is announced days after a meeting between the two countries leaders, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May, during the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

Trump personally assured May that a "powerful" trade deal between would be clinched "very, very quickly."

"Prime Minister May and I have developed a very special relationship, and I think trade will be a very big factor between our two countries," Trump said.

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EU Formally Approves Ukraine Association Agreement

RFE/RL July 11, 2017

BRUSSELS -- The European Union's 28 member states have formally endorsed the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, the final step in the ratification process after years of political twists and turns.

The deal, which strengthens ties between the EU and Kyiv, will enter into force on September 1.

The landmark agreement was initially slated for signing in November 2013. But the Ukrainian president at the time, Viktor Yanukovych, walked away from it under pressure from Moscow, prompting massive protests that pushed him from power in February 2014.

Russia responded by annexing Ukraine's Crimea region and providing military and economic support to separatists in a war against Kyiv that has killed more than 10,000 people in eastern Ukraine.

Current Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the EU agreement in June 2014, but it remained unratified after 61 percent of Dutch voters opposed it in a citizen-driven, nonbinding referendum in April 2016.

The Dutch government eased voters' concerns in December the same year by negotiating a legally binding supplement to the Association Agreement with the other 27 EU member states to underscore that it will not give Kyiv the right to automatic EU membership or guarantee any EU military aid for Ukraine.

The Netherlands ratified the Association Agreement in June after both its lower house and Senate voted in favor of it earlier this year.

The handover of a letter announcing the completion of the ratification process will happen at an EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv on July 12-13.

Speaking ahead of the summit, Poroshenko noted that "a qualitatively new stage of our journey to the European Union will start on September 1, 2017."

He added that Ukraine will coordinate with EU leaders on "how to ensure the most efficient and rapid achievement of the agreement's objective."

Russian Objections

Many parts of the Association Agreement have been provisionally applied since 2014, but the adoption of the agreement will ensure closer cooperation between the EU and Ukraine in areas such as foreign policy, justice, education, science and technology.

The economic part of the agreement, called the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), is also intended to open up the EU market to Ukrainian goods and will align the Ukrainian economy with EU standards by harmonizing laws and regulations

Russia has indicated that it objects to the EU-Ukraine trade pact. Minutes of a June 29 meeting of the World Trade Association's Committee on Regional Trade Agreements that were published on July 11 record Russia's representative as saying the EU-Ukraine DCFTA was "an exemplary case of a situation where a free trade area worsened trade conditions for other trading partners."

WTO rules stipulate that free trade areas should boost trade between the signatories while at the same time preventing the erection of new trade barriers for other countries.

The Russian WTO representative said that Russia's share of Ukrainian imports had fallen significantly since Ukraine began implementing its Association Agreement with the EU, while the EU's share had grown.

Since becoming a WTO member in 2012, Russia has launched six trade disputes -- all against the EU or Ukraine.

With reporting by RFE/RL Correspondent Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-ukraine-association- agreement-formally-approved/28610083.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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A former Westover Christian Academy teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

Jonathan Christopher Good, 39, of Sandy Ridge, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent liberties in Danville Circuit Court.

The maximum punishment Good can receive is 20 years, said Danville Commonwealths Attorney Michael Newman.

Goods defense attorney, Michael Nicholas, declined to comment on his clients case.

Newman said that Good began an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old student at Westover at the beginning of the year.

They were texting back and forth until the students parents found out and contacted the school, Newman said.

The school told Good to stop the behavior, but he continued.

Good and the student met in his classroom before and after school between March 1 and April 12. Good engaged in physical contact with the student in the classroom at those times, Newman said.

In April, Westover Christian Academy contacted police about the text messages between Good and the student, according to a Danville Police Department news release.

Good was arrested and indicted by a grand jury in May.

His sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 28 in Danville Circuit Court.

Livingston reports for the Danville Register & Bee.
A policy on how to best handle feral cats will be put to the test when the new Pittsylvania Pet Center opens this month.

The issue of feral cats has long created a divide in the animal activist community.

This divide now extends to the Dan River Region after Pittsylvania Countys decision to lease its new animal shelter to the Lynchburg Humane Society, a no-kill facility that practices trap-neuter-return for outdoor cats.

That policy has come under fire from Paulette Dean, the longtime director at the Danville Area Humane Society, which has an open admission policy for cats, feral or otherwise, and has had a contract with Pittsylvania County since 2007 to field incoming cats from the county. The contract ended on July 29. The Pittsylvania shelter will on July 29 under the management of the Lynchburg Humane Society.

The Lynchburg Humane Society chooses not to seek out feral and community cats to bring into the shelter, but instead uses a program to trap, spay or neuter and return the animals to their environment as long as they are healthy.

The Lynchburg organization defines feral as undomesticated wild cats unable to be touched or handled due to little to no contact with humans. Community cats are just animals that live outdoors. Lynchburg offers free spaying and neutering for both groups of cats.

There is no definition of a feral cat in the State Code of Virginia. The State Vets Office called feral cats a local animal control issue, not something it gets involved in at all.

Trap-neuter-return has been a practice supported for more than 20 years by organizations like Alley Cat Allies, a national nonprofit cat advocacy group. However, it has been fought against for nearly as long by other organizations and wildlife rehabilitators.

There are many communities in northern [Virginia] that have an active TNR program, such as Fairfax, who now look to bring cats into their area for adoption, Lynchburg Humane Society Executive Director Makena Yarbrough said in an email to the Register & Bee. She emphasized it is working as much as the opposition says it isnt.

Since 2007, Pittsylvania County has paid $3,950 a month for Danville Area Humane Society to handle the cats of the county. Last year, more than 1,100 cats were brought in from the county.

Dean did not have an exact number of feral cats brought in to Danville Area Humane Society because they do not note which ones are feral.

Many cats that appear to be unsocialized at time of intake are merely scared and calm down after a time, Dean said.

The new Pittsylvania Pet Center on U.S. 29 will be able to hold roughly 30 cats at a time, with 16 cages and 9 cat condos. Lynchburg Humane Society has an active foster program, and advertises cats stay in the shelter on average for 38 days. Yarbrough said the hold time is lengthened by the extra care needed for kittens.

Starting on July 1, Pittsylvania County ordinances changed. Previously, state animal control officers would pick up feral and stray cats based on calls, according to Assistant County Administrator Otis Hawker. On July 1, the policy changed to state animal control officers will not pick up cats unless the cat is seriously ill or injured. Free-roaming and stray cats are now considered wild animals, which are not handled by animal control officers.

In the city of Lynchburg, the animal control officers do not handle cats unless they are injured/ill, a bite case, or they are part of a cruelty case, Yarbrough explained.

If a call comes in about feral cats, there is a policy in place at the Lynchburg Humane Society.

If they dont want the cats around their property we talk to them about deterrents, she said. But the cat is in that area for a reason, someone is feeding them or there is an established food source and more times than not they have been there for a while.

Feral cats can be trapped and brought in Monday through Thursday to get fixed without an appointment at the spay/neuter clinic in Evington, according to Yarbrough. The clinic is approximately 42 miles from the new Pittsylvania Pet Center.

All feral or wild cats have their ears tipped when they are brought in. Tipping, optional for community cats, involves clipping a quarter-inch of a cats ear to show it has been fixed. Tipping is optional for community cats.

Yarbrough said she believed it has worked in Lynchburg, if for no other reason we have less cats dying in our community, less nuisance calls and a more humane outlook on cats.

However, Dean disagrees and called this practice euthanasia by proxy, saying just because humans dont see the suffering doesnt mean it doesnt happen.

People have been told that cats do just fine on their own, Dean said in an email. Our position is that they do not. They starve, are abused, are hit by cars, become afflicted with the same diseases our pet cats are, have to scrounge for food. and do not live wonderful lives. How do I know this? Because of what I have seen. Plain and simple.

The Danville Area Humane Society was offered the chance to bid on running the new pet center, but Dean declined to give a proposal.

The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to lease the shelter to Lynchburg Humane Society during their June 5 meeting.

Lynchburg Humane Societys cat intake has nearly doubled since 2015, which Yarbrough attributes mostly to people bringing animals in from other counties.

That is when we applied for another grant and have begun helping our counties with their cats, Yarbrough said. When you have a no kill shelter in the community you find that most people want to bring you pets and strays from their area because they know they are safe.

Dean also is still concerned about the practice of trap-neuter-return because of the effect on the wildlife.

In 2016, 274 injured animals were brought to the Southside Virginia Wildlife Center were hit by cars, according to center founder Tanya Lovern.

Eighteen percent of those animals were hit by cars. Nearly 50 percent required treatment for injuries from cats.

I think those numbers speak for themselves, Lovern said.

Dean also has voiced concern about the new shelters managed admission policy, which could mean residents looking to surrender an animal may be placed on a waiting list depending on available space at the shelter, and also may be charged a continuing care fee upon acceptance.

Dean also expressed her concerns about people abandoning animals or mistreating them because of placement on a waiting list or being charged a continuing care fee.

The no-kill approach to an open-admission shelter is a [phrase] that is being discussed in relation to the new shelter. We, therefore, reiterate that placing animals on waiting lists and charging for their admittance places them at risk of abandonment and cruel treatment, Dean said. There have been cases, both in Virginia and throughout the country, where desperate people have either abandoned animals or have killed them because they have been turned away by shelters.

The Lynchburg Humane Society asks owners to make appointments to surrender animals in order to make sure there is space at the shelter for that type and size of animal.

It also asks for a continuing care fee of $20 for an adult pet, or $40 for a litter of animals. The fee is waived for litters if an appointment is made to get the mother spayed.

However, the website states if there is financial need or a time constraint for an owner, the fee and timeline can be waived, and pets are always taken in an emergency, according to Yarbrough.

Dean has been assured by county officials that any county animals can be accepted at their facility and transferred to the county shelter at their discretion. Yarbrough agreed this will be the case.

We dont want animals from the county going to another shelter if they are not planning on adopting it out, Yarbrough said. There have been times when shelters call us and say they want to keep the animal and if they are able to handle it we allow them but request they call us if euthanasia is ever part of the plan.
The Virginia Occupational Safety and Health is investigating multiple incidents involving Danville utility workers in the past week.

Jennifer Rose, Virginia Occupational Safety and Health safety director with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, told a Register & Bee reporter Tuesday afternoon about the investigations.

Charles Sutton and David Ward were injured in an explosion Monday morning outside the Intertape Polymer Group plant on Eagle Springs Road in Pittsylvania County.

The two Danville utility workers were working on the wiring for an expansion of the plant.

Both Sutton and Ward suffered burn injuries from the explosion, a news release from the city stated.

Arnold Hendrix, public information officer for the city of Danville, said in a news release Tuesday morning that Ward is in stable condition at the UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Sutton was treated and released from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

The second incident OSHA is investigating is the death of Samuel Thompson.

Thompson and a co-worker were responding to a power outage in the 160 block of Applewood Drive on Thursday.

Thompson, a 20-year member of Danville Utilities, was in an elevated bucket truck when he was electrocuted.

Funeral arrangements for Thompson were made in Louisiana.
A chorus of regional voices contends that a plan by Virginia's environmental agency to hold just two public hearings about the proposed, deeply controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline fails to adequately serve a key constituency: the public.

On June 30, the state's Department of Environmental Quality announced plans to convene a public hearing in Radford on Aug. 8 and a hearing in Chatham the next night to solicit public comment about the department's draft plans to protect water quality along the pipeline's route through Virginia.

The next day, Del. Greg Habeeb, R-Salem, fired off an email to DEQ officials, noting it was "totally unacceptable that you all are not holding a single hearing in our affected area." Habeeb's district includes Salem, Craig County and portions of Roanoke and Montgomery counties.

On Monday, he said DEQ's plan for two hearings suggests the agency is "trying to avoid robust public dialogue." He said he has constituents on Bent Mountain experiencing "an existential environmental crisis" because of the pipeline's potential threats to the watershed there and the region at large.

"At the very least, a separate Roanoke Valley meeting should be held by DEQ for the citizens of Roanoke County and Craig," he said.

It sounds like that won't happen. On Wednesday, DEQ indicated it will stick to the plan for two meetings.

Recipients of Habeeb's July 1 email included DEQ Director David Paylor, who replied July 5.

"We have attempted to locate the venues for public hearings so that citizens who wish to participate are in the range of not much more than 90 minutes of drive time," he wrote.

On Wednesday, Ann Regn, a DEQ spokeswoman, reiterated Paylor's response, noting also that DEQ worked to secure locations able to accommodate at least 500 people.

"We worked hard to find locations that would not be more than a 90 minute drive for most people," she said in an email. "Additional criteria that we considered included: availability of State Water Control Board members to officiate at the hearings, availability and capability of the venue and agency resources."

As proposed, the pipeline's 303-mile route would cross from West Virginia into Virginia in Giles County. It would then travel through the counties of Montgomery, Craig, Roanoke and Franklin en route to the Transco pipeline in Pittsylvania County. The route, which would total about 106 miles in Virginia, would not pass through Radford. There also would be about 52 miles of access roads in the state.

The 42-inch diameter pipeline, which would transport natural gas at high pressure, would be buried in a trench ranging in depth from about 5.5 feet to 9 feet, depending on terrain. The construction right-of-way would be about 125 wide in most places.

The full, 303-mile route of the pipeline and its access roads would require about 1,108 water body crossings. About 216 miles of the route would cross shallow bedrock that might require blasting. In addition, about 67 miles would travel through karst landscapes characterized by sinkholes, caves, springs and underground aquifers vulnerable to contamination. The pipeline would cross thousands of acres of soils prone to erosion.

These considerations have raised concerns about the project's potential impacts on water quality and put DEQ on a very hot seat.

As an interstate pipeline, the Mountain Valley project needs approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before construction can begin. FERC's track record and a recent final environmental impact statement released by the commission suggest approval is likely, leaving pipeline opponents hopeful that DEQ might decline to grant a state water quality permit that the project would need.

Paylor emphasized to Habeeb that DEQ's scrutiny of the pipeline's potential impacts on water quality will be unprecedented. He said the department's "dedicated but limited staff" is "going far beyond what has been done in the past and what is legally required." And he noted that people need not attend hearings to comment about the department's draft plans to protect water quality. DEQ also is accepting written comments, submitted electronically or through the mail, until Aug. 22.

Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, also has called on DEQ to hold a Roanoke meeting. He advised Paylor last month that he is a member of the Roanoke River Basin Advisory Committee and noted that the Roanoke River watershed "is vital to this region."

Habeeb's Republican colleague, Del. Joseph Yost of Giles County, said DEQ should hold hearings close to people who could be affected by the pipeline, including residents of Newport and other areas of Giles County and portions of Montgomery County.

Yost said Monday that a meeting in either Blacksburg or Giles County would be more convenient for many of his constituents than a Radford hearing.

"DEQ is stunningly tone deaf to the situation," Yost said. "I want individuals to be able to have a voice."

Both Habeeb and Yost are running for re-election.

Chris Hurst, a Democrat seeking Yost's 12th District seat, also weighed in about the DEQ meetings and the importance of clean water to people in the district, which includes significant stretches of karst.

"This is the element of the proposed MVP that keeps me up at night," Hurst said in an email. "People in Giles and Montgomery County rely on safe, clean drinking water, often from private wells. Given my deep concerns about the potential for landslides, sinkholes and leakage from the pipe itself, this could poison the water for so many families."

Hurst, like Yost, called for a public hearing either in Giles County or Blacksburg.

Politicians weren't the only people clamoring for more meetings.

Diana Christopulos is president of both the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club and the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition and is a member of the Roanoke Group of the Sierra Club.

"Given the fact that Mountain Valley Pipeline would cross tributaries of the Roanoke River over 120 times upstream of Salem and Roanoke, it seems critical that the downstream public have an opportunity to comment on a project that could have major impacts on drinking water and storm water," Christopulos said in an email Wednesday.

Carolyn Reilly and her family own and operate a Franklin County farm that Mountain Valley has attempted to survey for a pipeline route. Reilly works also with Bold Appalachia and Bold Alliance, groups opposed to the Mountain Valley Pipeline and similar but separate Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

"I think that DEQ holding two public hearings regarding the MVP is their pathetic, weak attempt to seem like they care," Reilly said. "As has been stated by many others, the locations are not ideal and relevant for where the majority of water crossings and concerned landowners and citizens are."

Reilly said she hopes Franklin County residents will attend the Chatham hearing.

DEQ came under fire in May after the department reported it had miscommunicated when advising that it would scrutinize each wetlands and stream crossing by the pipeline. DEQ clarified that it will rely on the Army Corps of Engineers' permitting process to examine stream and wetlands crossings. The department said it would focus instead on potential threats to water quality from other aspects of pipeline construction.

Critics responded that the Corps Nationwide Permit is a streamlined blanket permit process that would not effectively evaluate long-term and cumulative impacts to streams and wetlands.

Now, DEQ seeks public comment on draft conditions that it would include in the state's certification process if the State Water Control Board ultimately opts to grant Mountain Valley the necessary permit.

Bent Mountain resident Roberta Bondurant said many people concerned about the pipeline would not be able to access the internet to offer comments to DEQ and would likely benefit from hearing from other people at public meetings.

"It's certainly true that people don't have to attend a public hearing to offer a written comment," Bondurant said. "But because of age, education, limited internet access or disability, there will be many rural residents who will be left out of the public process absent the opportunity to speak personally to a hearing official."

Meanwhile, Yost said he believes the pipeline threatens resources he holds dear.

"There are a lot of reasons you can be opposed to the pipeline but for me it's personal," he said. "I've fished a lot of these streams and hiked the trails."

The draft conditions that DEQ might attach to a water quality certification for the Mountain Valley Pipeline can be found at www.deq.virginia.gov/Portals/0/DEQ/Water/Pipelines/MVPfinaldraft401cert.pdf

Instructions for filing comments can be found at www.deq.virginia.gov/Portals/0/DEQ/Water/Pipelines/final%20notice-mvp.pdf
"Arctic Star views this new Project as a unique opportunity to advance a new diamond district", says Buddy Doyle, VP Exploration of Arctic Star. "The 100%-owned Project offers diamond bearing kimberlites that allow for immediate further work to assess their economic potential. The Project is road accessible, and located on excellent infrastructure in mining friendly Finland."Vancouver, July 12, 2017 - Arctic Star Exploration Corp. (TSXV: ADD) (FSE: 82A1) (WKN: A2DFY5) ("Arctic Star" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire a 100% interest in a 243Ha Exploration Permit over the Black Wolf (Masta Susi) and the White Wolf (Valkoinen Susi) diamond bearing kimberlites (together the "Wolf kimberlites") in northern Finland. The Exploration Permit is being acquired via a Share Exchange Agreement with the Finnish holding company (transaction details below).

Furthermore, the Company has filed application for an Exploration Reservation centered on the acquired Exploration Permit. The Reservation is approximately 95,700 hectares in size, and it provides Arctic Star with exclusive rights to acquire additional exploration permits for a 2 year period.

The combined regional exploration and diamondiferous kimberlite property has been named the Timantti Project (Timantti is Finnish for "diamond").

Mr. Roy Spencer, who discovered the Wolf kimberlites also led the team that discovered the Grib Diamond Mine near Archangelsk, Russian Federation, has joined Arctic Star's Board. "Kimberlites are likely to occur in fields - also known as clusters - which typically contain 30 or more separate kimberlites. The Wolf kimberlites are just the first discoveries in a more extensive cluster," according to Roy Spencer. Roy continues: "There is good evidence for the existence of this field in the public domain. This data shows regional distribution of kimberlitic indicator minerals and diamonds in surficial tills. The Exploration Reservation will allow Arctic Star to explore the entire region".

A 43-101 technical report titled, "Geological Report on the Foriet Diamond Property, Finland" authored by Kevin R. Kivi, P.Geo, of KIVI Geoscience Inc. has been filed by the Company on SEDAR. The author confirmed the diamond-bearing nature of the Wolf kimberlites by submitting samples collected from kimberlite float in overburden during a due diligence site visit. Microdiamond results are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Micro-diamond assay results for the Arctic Star due diligence surface float samples, White Wolf kimberlite.

Kimberlite Sample

Weight Kg +0.106

mm +0.15

mm +0.212

mm +0.3

mm +0.425

mm +.60

mm Total

Stones White Wolf 18.9 23 16 13 4 2 0 58

Microlithics Laboratories Inc., of Thunder Bay, ON ("Microlithics") is independent of the issuer, and is not ISO accredited. Kevin Kivi, P.Geo. has audited Microlithics to verify sample preparation and analytical methods for diamond recovery were appropriate.

Mr. Doyle continues "the opportunity for an economic discovery at Timantti is substantially improved by easier access than companies face in in northern Canada and Siberia. The Wolf kimberlites represent the first discoveries in a possibly more extensive diamondiferous kimberlite field."

"Both Roy and Buddy have led Tier 1, major company diamond mine discovery teams, and previously collaborated on diamond projects in Finland and on the development of the Lihqobong Diamond Mine in Lesotho," commented Mr. Patrick Power, President and CEO of Arctic Star. "Roy's extensive local knowledge and experience will mean we can hit the ground running in Finland, and we expect to commence work immediately upon closing of the transaction."

The Wolf kimberlites were discovered by European Diamonds PLC in 2005. The discovery team was led by Mr. Spencer. European Diamonds made the discoveries by drilling a low-magnitude magnetic high anomaly at the head of a prominent G10 pyrope garnet-bearing kimberlitic indicator mineral ("KIM") train they had traced over 30km. In total eight (8) angled diamond drill holes were completed on the bodies. Some 41.2kg of kimberlite, which comprised pyroclastic and hypabyssal phases, were collected. In September 2005 European reported "microdiamond analysis at the laboratories of Kennecott Canada Exploration in Thunder Bay, Canada, identified a total of 42 small diamonds between 0.15 and 0.88 mm in size from 4 samples totaling 41.2kg in weight. Sample processing was performed to the ISO/IEC17025 standard. Eleven of the 42 diamonds have a longest axis equal to or greater than 0.5mm with the largest stone having a long axis of 0.88mm. Approximately 26% of the stones were white and some 38% were octahedrons".

In 2006 European Diamonds changed its name to Kopane Diamond PLC. An 8.8t kimberlite sample was extracted from the Wolf kimberlites from two shallow backhoe trenches. These samples were run through a gravity separation circuit at the Finnish government facility in Outokumpu. 1.25 carats of stones greater than 1mm were recovered. The largest stone recovered was 0.09 carats.

Buddy Doyle further comments, "The high microdiamond count, 77 stones (greater than 0.15mm), from the two small samples totaling 60.1kgs (European plus Arctic Star Caustic Fusion samples) is a significant result. Backhoe trenching results are significant because they show the Wolf pipes contain diamonds of over 1mm.

The Wolf kimberlites occur on the Fennoscandian Shield which hosts the world class (multi-billion dollar revenue) diamond mines at the Arkhangelskaya kimberlite (Lomonosov Mine) and Grib kimberlite (Grib Mine), both near Arkhangelsk Russia (450km East of Wolf). In Finland the diamond bearing Kuopio kimberlite field occurs on the exposed Archaean Karelian Craton segment of the Fennoscandian Shield, south of the Timantti Project.

Arctic Star believes that the diamond bearing Wolf kimberlites signify the first discoveries in a new diamond bearing kimberlite field. This view is supported by public data showing "cloud" of KIMs distributed across an area that is some 80km wide and roughly centered on the Wolf kimberlites.

Patrick Power, President and CEO comments, "I believe that a commanding land position around the Wolf kimberlites is the key to ensuring our shareholders have maximum exposure to discovery in this new and exciting diamond district, which we believe offers high potential for numerous further diamond-bearing kimberlite discoveries. This to me is the most exciting aspect of the Timantti project."

After closing the acquisition, the next steps are to quickly gain a better understanding of the Wolf kimberlites. The Arctic Star field visit confirmed the Wolf kimberlites contain both pyroclastic (formed near surface) and hypabyssal (formed at depth) kimberlite types. Arctic Star plans to complete detailed magnetic, gravity and EM (electro-magnetic) geophysical ground surveys, which will be used to target further drilling. Drilling will help define the shape and tonnage of each kimberlite and collect more material for caustic fusion analysis for microdiamonds. The microdiamond distribution will determine the parameters of a bulk sample (to determine diamond grade and value).

To swiftly discover more kimberlites on the Timantti Project, Arctic plans to fly airborne geophysical surveys to cover the entire region that hosts KIMs. The Company will improve targeting by detailed ground follow up of the indicator mineral anomalies in the area.

Arctic Star has entered into a Share Exchange Agreement dated effective June 7, 2017 and agreed to issue 14,500,000 common shares at a deemed price of $0.20 per share for all the right, title and interest to Foriet Oy, a Finnish company that has the 243Ha exploration permit over the Wolf kimberlites in North-Eastern Finland. 10,000,000 of the Arctic Star shares are to be issued to Dragon Equities Ltd., a UK company, which indirectly owns Foriet Oy, and 4,500,000 shares will be issued to the beneficial owners of a joint venture partner of Foriet Oy. On completion of the Share Exchange, Foriet Oy will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Arctic Star.

In addition to the 4 month hold period imposed by securities regulation, all shares issued in the transaction will be subject to a Value Securities Escrow Agreement whereby the shares are released over a 3 year period. Closing of the Share Exchange Agreement is subject to TSX-V approval.

The Company welcomes Mr. Roy Spencer and Mr. Scott Eldridge to the Board of Directors.

In addition to Mr. Spencer's previously mentioned accomplishments, Roy is a GSSA Member and a Fellow of the AusIMM. Roy joined De Beers upon graduation from high school in 1966 and has been involved with exploration and deposit evaluation for gemstones and other commodities throughout his career. Roy's tertiary education was at the University of Natal and Rhodes University in South Africa, and is a member of the Geological Society of South Africa and a Fellow of the Aus.I.M.M. As technical director of Peregrine Diamonds, he discovered the first kimberlites on the Pilbara craton in Western Australia in 1989, and as Leader of the Owners Team for Archangel Diamond Corporation he was largely responsible for the discovery of the world class Grib kimberlite in far northern Russia (February, 1996). In 1998, Roy created and raised the seed finance for Ilmari Exploration Oy to explore for gold, base metals and diamonds on the Karelian Craton in Finland. Ilmari went public in 2000, and discovered the Lentiira kimberlite cluster in central Finland in 2003.

In 2006, as CEO of London-based diamond explorer European Diamonds, Roy led the Owners Team which brought the Liqhobong kimberlite (Lesotho) into commercial production on time and under budget. In mid-2007, Roy left European, a company which had evolved into a successful mid-tier diamond producer and marketer after having raised 23 million over a 6-year period. Since that time Roy has continued in gemstone exploration and deposit evaluation in Africa, Finland and western Russia for a variety of junior and senior mining companies.

Scott Eldridge is experienced in the financial industry focused on the resource sector. He is a co-founder, President & CEO of Euroscandic International Group Inc., a private company offering accounting and investment banking services to natural resource companies. During his time in the industry Scott has been responsible for raising in excess of $500 million in combined equity and debt financing for mining projects varying from exploration to construction financing around the globe. Mr. Eldridge has a B.B.A. from Capilano University, and an M.B.A. from Central European University.

About Arctic Star: Arctic Star is an experienced diamond and mineral exploration company, with diamond exploration properties in Nunavut (Stein), the NWT (Diagras and Redemption) and in the Athabasca Basin of SK. The Company has been planning and de-risking its entry to Finland over the last year, and is pleased to present what it believes is the pre-eminent new field opportunity to shareholders in the Timantti Project.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

Arctic Star Exploration Corp.

"Patrick Power"

Patrick Power, President

+1 (604) 689-1799

Qualified Persons: The content of this news release has been read and approved by Roy Spencer, FAusIMM, a Director of the Company, who is a Qualified Person and has been read and approved Kevin R, Kivi, P.Geo., an Independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements in this press release include that the Timantti Project offers high potential for numerous further diamond-bearing kimberlite discoveries; Arctic's drilling and surveying plans and the expected outcome of those plans; that Arctic can swiftly discover more kimberlite on the property; that the Wolf kimberlites themselves may have the potential to be economic; that the transaction will receive TSX approval and will close; the statements that Mr. Spencer will be a strong addition to the ADD discovery team, that the Exploration Reservations contiguous with the acquired claim package would be able to be explored.

Such forward-looking statements and information are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement. Specific risks included that we may not be able to finance our intended acquisition or intended exploration and we may not obtain regulatory approval for the transaction.

The Wolf kimberlites assets have not been the subject of any recent resource work, much less a feasibility study and as such there is no certainty that any future resource will be defined or be able to produce a commercially marketable product. There is a significant risk that any future efforts at the project will not demonstrate any merit for work to evaluate for a defined NI 43-101 compliant resource and economic study. General risks inherent in the Project include the reliance on available data and assumptions and judgments used in the interpretation of such data, the speculative and uncertain nature of exploration and development, exploration and development costs, capital requirements and the ability to obtain financing, volatility of global and local economic climates, possible political instability, share price volatility, estimate price volatility, changes in equity markets, increases in costs, exchange rate fluctuations and other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry. There can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information referenced herein will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Also, many of the factors are beyond our control. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. We undertake no obligation to reissue or update any forward-looking statements or information except as required by law.


Last year, the township of East Liverpool, Ohio, shocked the nation when its local officials posted photos on Facebook. They showed a grandmother and her boyfriend, passed out from heroin overdoses, while a 4-year-old looked on from the backseat of their SUV.We feel we need to be a voice for the children caught up in this horrible mess, the city wrote on Facebook in defense of their decision. This child can't speak for himself, but we are hopeful his story can convince another user to think twice about injecting this poison while having a child in their custody.Police used naloxone, a drug used to reverse the fatal effects of opioid overdoses, to revive the adults and called the local child services agency to take custody of the child. A month later,reported similar incidents in Alabama, Indiana, Massachusetts and Michigan. National data show that the number of children placed in foster care is rising, and in many states, the most common reason for a childs removal is their parents use of drugs or alcohol. Governing recently explored how the opioid crisis is impacting child welfare agencies across the country. In the process of reporting that story,spoke with East Liverpool Mayor Ryan Stovall -- who is also a part-time police officer -- about the infamous Facebook post and why they decided to post it.The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.Weve had a health epidemic here -- not only in East Liverpool but in Ohio.Yes, theres been plenty. Ive responded myself as an officer to overdoses where children have been present, and we had to call in child services.When these drug addicts need their fix, they need it. They dont care whos around. Its not that they love their kids any less; its just that they have to have their fix.The photos were taken for evidence for a court case. Between myself, my safety service director, the assistant law director and the police chief, we talked. It wasnt an easy decision to make, but we decided to hit things head on.A lot of cities and towns want to keep their heads in the sand. We wanted to show this is happening here. This is whats going on in our community. We took some heat for that, and we knew we would, but the point is we got people talking, we had state officials here that otherwise would not have come here. We got the kid out of the situation that he never should have been put in in the first place.It always gets brought up. With social media nowadays, its obviously a recorded event thats out there. People say, in 20 years, if this kid looks up his name, its going to show this bad stuff that happened and its going to make him depressed. I tend to look at it as the opposite. He may very well look it up in 20 years, but hes going to say, this was when somebody said enough was enough and cared enough to get me out of that situation.
Intentions Questioned

Potential Problems

'Not Been a Partisan Issue'

Communication is a two-way street. And right now, state election officials aren't happy with the way information is flowing in or out of Washington.They're frustrated about the information they're being asked to provide federal officials as well as the information they're not getting back from them.It's well-known that secretaries of state are unhappy that President Trump's election commission -- led by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Vice President Mike Pence -- asked them for every voters' personal data, including addresses, partial Social Security numbers and voting histories. More than 40 states have rejected at least part of the request, sometimes in colorful, " go jump in the Gulf of Mexico "-style language.After lawsuits poured in from privacy advocates, Kobach suspended the data request until a federal court rules on a temporary restraining order. In the meantime, election officials at the National Association of Secretaries of State meeting this past weekend are also concerned that the federal government hasn't been sufficiently forthcoming about reported breaches in voting security."It has been disappointing that it seems to be a one-way street on the information," says Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos. "They could be helpful to us, but we need better lines of communication."Last fall, the Department of Homeland Security revealed that Russian agents targeted voter registration systems in some U.S. states, but it wasn't until last month that U.S. security officials revealed how many . And, according to a leaked National Security Agency document, Russian intelligence attempted to crack into registration software that's used in eight states."Over 20 states have been hampered with in some fashion, but no one seems to know what states they are, which means the Department of Homeland Security has not shared that information," says Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate. "We're still a little frustrated on that count."Given the heightened concern about election security, Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill says it seems like an odd moment to be constructing a national database of voter information, as the federal commission seems intent on doing."States are super-conscious right now, given the concerns about voter security and their databases, in handing over this information," says Tomas Lopez, counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School. "States have some reason to be wary about how this information is going to be used."The commission's work is happening against a backdrop of renewed attacks from Congress against the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), a federal agency set up 15 years ago to help state and local governments share information about administering elections, such as handling provisional ballots, accommodating overseas voters and boosting security. Last month, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to defund the EAC."It's ironic the EAC is on the chopping block when it's an agency that state officials have come to terms with and to appreciate in a lot of ways," says Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin.Burden also notes that state officials always get annoyed when the federal government starts meddling with voting matters. States had what amounted to a free hand in running elections as they saw fit prior to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Since then, the feds have become more engaged in voting issues with the passage of the so-called motor voter law in 1993, which allows people to register when they get driver's licenses, and the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which created the EAC and dispensed billions of dollars to states to update election equipment in the wake of voting problems in the presidential election of 2000."Elections are a state issue; they are not a federal issue," says Pate, Iowa's secretary. If the Pence-Kobach commission is looking to help solve problems with elections, that's fine, he says, but "if it's about federalizing elections, we're opposed to that."Voting rights advocates are concerned that the commission will conclude that there are extensive problems with elections, including voter fraud. Such a finding, they argue, could then be used as an excuse to push federal legislation with the intent of curbing access to the ballot box or calling on states to purge voters."State officials are rightly wary of the goals of the commission because it does seem that the whole purpose for setting it up is to justify a preordained conclusion that somehow millions of votes were cast illegally in the last election," says Brenda Wright, vice president for policy and legal strategies at Demos, a progressive think tank. "That's the verdict, and now they want to hold a trial."Justin Levitt, an elections expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, says it's clear that Kobach intends for the commission's findings to influence federal voting legislation. Revising federal voting law was an action item on a piece of paper that was visible in photographs when Kobach met with Donald Trump, then the president-elect, on Nov. 20."States already know in large part what he's going to say," Levitt says. "He had it literally on a to-do list before the first day of the administration."Kobach -- who notably did not attend the gathering of his fellow secretaries of state -- defended the commission's intent in a statement last week."Despite media distortions and obstruction by a handful of state politicians, this bipartisan commission on election integrity will continue its work to gather the facts through public records requests to ensure the integrity of each Americans vote because the public has a right to know," he said.But critics of the commission say it isn't truly bipartisan. Its membership contains more Republicans than Democrats and it's being led by politicians who currently hold elected partisan positions. In the past, former presidents and campaign lawyers have led such efforts.If Kobach hopes to match information from state voter files with federal records to find discrepancies or fraud, which seem to be his intention, election experts warn that could create all sorts of problems.For one, matching records can create many false positives. Two people named Robert Johnson, for example, might share the same birth date. Such problems can grow exponentially as databases grow larger -- and a national voter file would certainly be enormous.There are also privacy concerns. Some states make certain types of voter information available but block their use for commercial purposes, for instance. Federal commission rules mean such information, once gathered, would have to be shared more widely."Someone who wants to use voter information to sell people stuff can't get it from Texas but could get it from Kobach," says Loyola's Levitt.And in Colorado, clerks in Denver, Boulder and Arapahoe counties told news outlets that more than 500 people had already withdrawn their voter registrations in response to Secretary of State Wayne Williams' announcement that he'd send the commission voter information -- far more than the usual handful of withdrawals during similar time periods.While Democrats are wary of Kobach's intentions, they're not the only ones. Republican state officials are nervous that the commission will claim there have been widespread problems with voting in their own states."This has not been a partisan issue in any way," says Condos, the Vermont secretary. "Republican and Democratic secretaries have all agreed that we think that this commission has kind of overreached a little bit."As the commission retools its request in light of the legal challenge and political backlash, state officials hope it will be something they can comply with. After all, even Kobach's own state of Kansas has laws in place that prevent it from sharing the type of information he asked for in his initial letter."His own state is resisting," says Burden, the Wisconsin professor. "That suggests that the commission did not do its homework in knowing what the states were able to do or what they were likely to do."Today, 15 years after the passage of the Help America Vote Act, state election officials warn that their equipment is starting to get old. They would love for the federal government to supply them with funding to help modernize and secure their systems."I can promise you that if the federal government offered a chunk of money to upgrade their voting systems, that would be the type of federal intervention that would be really, really welcome," says Levitt.Short of that, secretaries of state remain leery about the prospect of further federal intrusions into an area they view as their own responsibility. If the Trump administration does intend to make policy changes, they're hoping for fewer demands and greater consultation."If they want our cooperation," says Pate of Iowa, "they'll have to share with us."
Six months after releasing a request for proposals (RFP) aimed at changing the way the state procures IT, officials in Ohio toldthat from a pool of 82 proposals encompassing 129 unique businesses, they have qualified 50 companies to advance as experts.Ohios RFP, which was released on Jan. 5, focuses on data analytics and was distributed to 2,313 companies in an effort to generate new tools for agencies including its departments of Public Safety and Taxation, Office of Family and Children, and Bureau of Workers Compensation.But officials realized they needed to streamline their IT procurement process to attract new and smaller-sized vendors, Ohio-based businesses and new technology.Their solicitation targeted new [to the state] firms and smaller boutiques that may offer expertise in niche areas, officials said in a recent PowerPoint about the results  and ultimately yielded 50 that demonstrated expertise in at least one category. These companies have been offered contracts, to perform expert-level exploratory projects.Twenty-nine companies also submitted proposals indicating their interest in providing platform services to the state; these proposals are still being evaluated.The state stimulated interest by simplifying its RFP response requirements and offering a trial run of revised terms and conditions, including shrinking the liability burden and work history requirement for smaller vendors. Turnout was striking. An online bidders conference conducted via Skype  a first for the state  attracted 501 attendees, and a subsequent 226 inquiries before proposals were submitted. Of the proposals received, 22 came from Ohio companies  11 newcomers and 11 incumbents.CIO Stu Davis toldthat the state hopes to take the next step toward producing those tools later in July or in August: issuing the first statements of work, with the hope of getting proofs of concept back during the second quarter of the 2017-2018 fiscal year.I think its important for us in government to do as much as we can on the front end to streamline processes so that were not raising the cost of doing business with the state, Davis said, noting its not uncommon for a response to a complex state RFP to cost from $800,000 to $1.5 million.Thats just the cost to get in the door. That doesnt even guarantee youre going to get the work, he added.Of particular note, Davis said, is that many companies expressed an interest and prequalified in more than one of 14 state disciplines put forth, including crime, corrections and recidivism; life sciences; public health; and transportation. Two firms pre-qualified in all 14 areas, he said, while seven qualified in more than 12 categories  demonstrating very broad expertise, officials said in the PowerPoint.On average, more than 19 companies were deemed qualified in each category. Life Science and Public Health, the area with the highest number, had 33 firms qualify, while 26 qualified in Fraud, Waste and Abuse. Only seven companies qualified in the area of Environment/Natural Resources, the least in any category.In an effort to keep the vendor pool active, the CIO said companies that decide not to bid on statements of work will be asked to explain why; and those that repeatedly do not respond will likely be asked to requalify.Scaling back mandatories, a key strategy, shook up the vendor pool  something officials said not everyone was comfortable with. But comfort levels showed an intriguing dichotomy.Only three of 46 new state vendors had issues with terms and conditions, whereas 15 of 27 firms with which the state already does business indicated that they had issues.That differential, Davis said, told officials that their new terms and conditions arent that bad, and that familiar companies may be a little too comfortable.Beyond enhancing the states ability to analyze data, Tom Hoyt, chief communications officer for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, said Ohios goal in calling for the creation of new tools is to unite state agencies around subject focus.You have various state agencies that are all doing some type of work in those areas, but independently. And the whole data analytics effort is to kind of bring that together, to get the best results possible by combining these, you know, multiple work load areas, Hoyt said.This summer, officials will continue developing statements of work with state subject matter experts, including officials with insight into data needs around infant mortality, opiate abuse, workforce development and financial analysis.Depending upon cost, Davis said officials may be able to run more than one proof of concept per area, to see whether companies obtain different results by using unique algorithms and science on the same data streams.Either way, he said, Im anxious to drop one into the cauldron and see what comes out.
Diversifying Your Department L.A. CIO Ted Ross suggests taking these steps to increase gender equity and bring more diversity into the workplace:



Educate yourself on the issues. Dont assume you know everything about gender bias. Talk with women in technology, both inside and outside of your organization.

Assess your organization based on data. Identify the numbers of women you have in various job categories. Are they proportionate? The numbers can help you home in on specific problem areas. For example, you might have many women in mid-management, but none who have risen any higher in the organization. In that case, you need to investigate why.

Review your recruiting operations to make sure you are targeting women and other under-represented groups.

Review your hiring processes to make sure they reflect a diversity of outlooks. How many women are on your typical interview panel, for example?

Offer leadership and management training for women.

When hiring outside contractors, make an effort to include women freelancers and women-owned small businesses in your search.

Gender equity in IT has been heading in the wrong direction. Despite all the discussion of increasing the numbers of women in tech, the percentage of women in computing occupations declined over the last 25 years, from 36 percent in 1991 to 25 percent in 2015, according to a 2016 report by the National Center for Women and Information Technology. And even if they start their careers in IT, most women dont stay  some 56 percent leave the profession after 10 to 20 years.The situation limits the opportunities not only for women, but also for their employers. Diversity leads to better organizational performance, according to the 2015 reportby McKinsey and Co. The study found that gender-diverse companies are 15 percent more likely to financially outperform their peers, and ethnically diverse organizations were 35 percent more likely to outperform. More recently, a 2016 survey of data from 22,000 companies around the world by the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that having more women in corporate leadership correlates with increased profitability.Gender equity was already top of mind for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, as well as Ted Ross, general manager and CIO of the citys Information Technology Agency (ITA). Meanwhile, Ross faced a looming personnel shortage: Nearly half of his IT staff would become eligible for retirement within the next few years.Ross saw a way to address both problems. We had an opportunity to create a workforce that is representative of L.A. itself, which is a very diverse city, he said.He started some informal efforts in early 2014 by discussing the topic with female IT employees, from senior managers to entry-level staff members. He also spoke with local and national leaders promoting women in technology. Partly inspired by Tracy Chou, an engineer who challenged companies to post their percent of women in particular tech positions on GitHub, Ross analyzed his departments employment data. The numbers told him that as of late 2014, zero percent of ITAs executives, 40 percent of its managers and 38 percent of its programmers were female.Then, Garcetti issued an official directive in August 2015 that created a Gender Equity Coalition to ensure equity across all city departments. That spurred Ross to set a target of 50 percent females in IT management by the end of 2016.He took several steps to achieve this target. Informally, Ross began a concerted outreach effort to recruit women. He spoke about supporting women in technology at public forums, such as the mayors diversity day. Formally, he launched leadership training seminars specifically for women and pushed for greater female representation on panels that interviewed job candidates. He concentrated on recruiting more women interns using social media, the departments website and even TV.Weve found that specialized recruitment, specialized and diverse representation on interview panels, and building leadership skills in our organization is very powerful, said Ross. It yields an iterative benefit over time.One benefit was identifying and promoting talent from within the department. Joyce Edson had worked in technology for years, most of it in support of the citys public safety division. Although public safety agencies such as police and fire departments tend to be dominated by men, Edson didnt let any bias intimidate her. Im usually pretty vocal and will call people on it, she said. And when you call people on it, that usually takes it off the table. Nevertheless, she had made little headway in promoting her idea for an open data project.I had been watching the open data movement for a couple of years and knew that L.A. should be doing this, Edson said. It was an alignment of the planets when the mayor [then Councilman Garcetti] expressed an interest in it, Ted came in as assistant general manager and I pitched [again] the open data project to him. He said, Go for it, and we got it done. Edson was promoted in 2015 to assistant general manager and deputy CIO.Ross efforts to improve gender equity also attracted new talent to the city. After a 32-year career at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), with a couple of detours into national and international projects including helping launch President Obamas Open Data Initiative, Jeanne Holm was ready to do something in L.A., her hometown. Her departure from JPL was partly as a result of my frustration about equity for women in technology, she said.In 2016, only 4 percent of JPLs IT managers were women, and of the two top female managers, one reported to the other, she said. In contrast, when I looked at Teds organization chart, the faces were as diverse as the faces I see every day in my city, Holm said. People of all different ages, just as many women as men, people of all different ethnicities. It was a deciding factor in her choice to work at ITA. She is now senior technology adviser to the mayor and assistant general manager and deputy CIO for ITA.Ross is proud of the progress ITA has made so far. As of mid-2016, 60 percent of IT executives, 54 percent of managers and 42 percent of programmers in the agency were female. In March 2017, ITA received an award for its efforts at Garcettis Inaugural Los Angeles State of Women and Girls Address and Young Womens Assembly.The increased diversity of backgrounds and genders at ITA translates to a greater diversity of thought, which in turn stimulates creative thinking and innovation, said Ross. Without such diversity, we may not have the next breakthrough, because we would be limited to viewing problems and potential solutions in only a certain way, he said.Holm couldnt agree more. Its ridiculous to think that organizations are working on these amazing, tough, innovative, leading-edge technologies, and yet some are using only half of the brain power available to them.
China sovereign wealth fund returns to profit in overseas investment

China's sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) said Tuesday that its overseas investment returned to profit in 2016.

CIC posted a U.S. dollar-denominated net return of 6.22 percent in overseas investment last year, compared with a loss of 2.96 percent in 2015.

The year 2016 was an extraordinary year for the fund, CIC Vice Chairman and President Tu Guangshao said in the annual report.

Facing a complex global landscape fraught with uncertainties, CIC achieved encouraging results through internationalized, market-oriented and professional operations, Tu said.

The fund has seen a net cumulative annualized return of 4.76 percent in overseas investment since its establishment, according to the report.

Its total assets had grown to 814 billion dollars by the end of last year.

In CIC's 220-billion-U.S. dollar overseas investment portfolio, public equities, fixed income, alternative assets and cash products accounted for 45.9 percent, 15 percent, 37.2 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.

In 2016, CIC performed well in overseas real estate investment, CIC spokesperson Liu Fangyu said.

CIC Capital Corporation, a CIC subsidiary, completed investment decisions on 16 foreign direct investment projects last year, totaling about 5 billion U.S. dollars in value.

CIC Capital also increased its investment in infrastructure, such as Port of Melbourne in Australia.

For 2017, Tu cautioned that the global investment environment presented high volatility, citing rising uncertainties in global politics and policies.

"Global growth for 2017 should pick up, but the downside risks cannot be overlooked," he said.

Headquartered in Beijing, CIC was established in September 2007 as a vehicle to diversify China's foreign exchange holdings and seek maximum returns for its shareholders within acceptable risk tolerance.

China's forex reserves stood at 3.057 trillion dollars at the end of June.

CIC invests overseas through two subsidiaries: CIC International and CIC Capital.

Central Huijin Investment Ltd., another CIC subsidiary holding stakes mainly in commercial banks, securities and insurance companies, experienced stable and healthy development in 2016, Liu said, highlighting its function in serving real economy and supporting economic restructuring.
CGTN photo

Alibabas 2017 Global Entrepreneur Conference was held in Hangzhou on July 11. Under the theme of Made in Internet, CEOs and founders of e-commerce and tech giants, like China's Alibaba, Xiaomi and India's Paytm attended the conference.

Retail has recently become as hot as AI and VR among tech investors. Many e-commerce firms are stretching their feelers out from the cloud down to the ground with landmark M&As.

Alibaba CEO Zhang Yong introduced five new aspects in his speech, namely big data, new tech, new devices, new financing tools, and restructure goods and markets. He said that staff-less stores may be a new way to redefine grocery shopping.

Meanwhile, by studying consumer behavior data, companies can then design, market, sell and serve in order to satisfy customers, Zhang added.
(CGTN photo)

The 2017 BRICS Friendship Cities and Local Governments Cooperation Forum is held in the central Chinese city of Chengdu, the provincial seat of Sichuan, from July 11 to 13.

Over 180 guests participate in discussions on topics "City Internationalization" and "Education Exchange.

Oleg A. Kosolapov, deputy mayor of Russia's Blagoveschensk, said, "Our city and the city of Heihe in China are just 750 meters away from each other. For us, strengthening cooperation with Heihe is very important.

There are two ways of promoting cooperation between cities. One is through culture and sports, another is through economic cooperation by all BRICS countries. It is good that Chinese President Xi proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, so all of us can work together to promote economic development for all countries. Kosolapov said.

The BRICS Cooperation Mechanism is an important session of the 2017 summit and has become a major platform for members to promote cooperation.
The Battery Seedling projects are aimed at innovative battery materials and approaches that complement the Vehicle Technologies Office Battery500 Consortiums research to more than double the specific energy (to 500 watt-hours per kilogram) of lithium battery technologies. These projects enable smaller, safer, lighter weight, and less expensive battery packs that ultimately will make electric vehicles more affordable. Promising phase 1 awardees will be competitively down-selected at the end of 18 months for a second phase of research.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding $19.4 million to 22 new cost-shared projects to accelerate the research of advanced battery, lightweight materials, engine emission control technologies, and energy efficient mobility systems (EEMS). Among the awardees are Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America and GM, with separate projects on Li-sulfur batteries, as two of the fifteen Phase 1 Battery Seedling Projects.

The Department of Army will contribute an additional $1 million through the Advanced Vehicle Power Technology Alliance to support these projects.

The three selected EEMS projects will conduct research that evaluates energy savings benefits from connected and automated vehicles. They will lead to the creation of new software, controls, and technologies that use connectivity and automation to improve vehicle efficiency, a novel research vehicle testbed to evaluate connected and automated technologies, and analyze the system-wide energy opportunities available through connectivity and automation combined with shared mobility.

Two projects will research, develop, and use integrated computation materials engineering (ICME) techniques to develop low cost carbon fiber from a variety of feedstocks and precursors that can be used to make carbon fiber with less energy and lower cost. An additional two projects will research and develop novel emission control strategies for advanced combustion engines.

The award is from the FY 2017 Vehicle Technologies Program-Wide Funding Opportunity (DE-FOA-0001629) issued in December 2016. (Earlier post.) Selected projects include:

Battery500 Seedling Projects  Phase 1 awards (Area of Interest 1) Organization

(Partners) Description Funding University of Maryland: College Park Research innovative iron-based materials for high energy cathodes for high energy lithium ion battery technologies. $400,000 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Research thick cathodes using freeze casting methods for solid-state lithium batteries. $400,000 Penn State University Park Research multifunctional Li-ion conducting interfacial materials that enable high- performance lithium metal anodes. $399,194 Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Inc. Research a scalable synthesis to enable very thin coatings on solid state electrolyte membranes to enable high performance Li-Sulfur Battery. $400,000 University of Maryland: College Park Using 3D printed, low tortuosity frameworks, develop solid state Li-ion batteries. $400,000 General Motors LLC Design, engineer, develop, and integrate pouch-format cells for lithium-sulfur batteries to achieve high energy density and long cycle life. $400,000 University of Pittsburgh Research sulfur electrodes utilizing lithium ion conductor (LIC) coatings for high energy density advanced lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. $400,000 Cornell University Research highly loaded sulfur cathodes and conductive carbon coated separators that enable high energy batteries. $360,000 University of Maryland: College Park Research advanced electrolytes to limit dendrite growth in lithium-metal cells. $400,000 Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station Utilize an analytical and experimental approach to examine the interface between solid state electrolytes and lithium-metal anodes and identify potential methods for mitigating dendrite growth. $400,000 Navitas Advanced Solutions Group, LLC Research a solvent-free process to fabricate all-solid Li batteries. $400,000 Wayne State University Research novel full-cell, ultra high-energy Li- metal batteries based on 3-dimensional architectures. $225,000 Oregon State University Research and develop a new process to produce Li2S@graphene composite cathodes to inhibit polysulfides to enhance cycle life. $353,500 SUNY University at Stony Brook Research li-sulfur batteries using a novel sulfur rich nanosheet composite cathode. $400,000 University of Houston Research high-energy solid-state lithium batteries with organic cathode materials. $400,000

ICME Low Cost Carbon Fiber (Area of Interest 2) Lead organization

(Partners) Description Funding University of Virginia Research multiscale integrated computational approach to assess new carbon fiber precursors. Reactive Force Field and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of conversion processes will help identify promising precursors. $3,000,000 Western Research Institute Using state-of-the-art oil and polymer analytics, DFT aided molecular dynamics modeling, and machine learning, the Consortium will develop advanced computational tools for low cost carbon fiber from a variety of feed stocks. $3,745,413

Emission Control Strategies for Advanced Combustion Engines (Area of Interest 3) Lead organization

(Partners) Description Funding University of Houston Research and develop a multi-functional, lean catalyzed trap for low temperature combustion engines. $2,099,998 University of Kentucky Research and develop novel adsorber technology to address hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions for Low Temperature Gasoline Applications. $2,098,530
A toddler tragically fell to her death at an apartment building in Changsha, central Chinas Hunan province, after being deliberately left alone by her playmates in an elevator going up to an 18th-storey floor with no guardrail protection.

The 2-year-old girl, who went by the nickname Lili, was playing with two other children, including a five-year-old boy, in their apartment building on July 3. Surveillance footage shows all three children going up to the ninth floor together. The boy is later seen reaching high to press the 18th-floor button before they exit.

After all three children exited, the boy is seen picking up Lili and putting her back into the elevator. He also watched the door to make sure she did not run out before it closed.

Lili stood nervously close to the door as the elevator went up. When it reached the 18th floor, footage shows the toddler exiting before disappearing from camera.

A later investigation showed that the 18th floor lacks a protective guardrail and has no protective glass, leaving the building open to the outside.

The heartbreaking incident has stirred the emotions of many Chinese netizens, who have called for better care and responsibility for young children. Many also blamed the 5-year-old boy, as the juvenile prank appeared to be intentional murder.

Police are currently investigating the case. It is unclear who will be held responsible for the girls untimely death.
DURHAM  A Colorado-based company is moving its headquarters to Durham and opening a second manufacturing facility in Mebane.

Prescient is a fully integrated and patented design, engineering, manufacturing and installation solution for the construction industry, according to a news release from the company.

Prescient's Durham headquarters will serve clients east of the Mississippi River, while the Colorado facility will continue to serve clients in the western U.S. The company is hosting a grand opening for the new Mebane facility Wednesday with Gov. Roy Cooper among those in attendance.

The Mebane plant began production in May and expects to eventually employ more than 200 designers, architects, project managers, installers and other employees. The facility doubles the companys total annual capacity to nearly 11 million square feet, according to the release.

We are witnessing significant growth, having doubled our revenue each year since 2013. Relocating our headquarters will allow us to expand our national footprint and better accommodate customers along the East Coast, from Maine to Miami, stated Satyen Patel, chairman and former CEO of Prescient, in the release. While our expanded 120,000-square-foot facility in Colorado will continue to serve customers west of the Mississippi River, we believe that North Carolina, with its commitment to growing a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy, is a perfect fit with Prescients mission.

Prescient provides the architecture, engineering and construction industry with a seamless process tied together with a digital thread from design to the finished product. The company states in the release that its design platform offers a faster, greener and more cost-effective alternative than conventional building structures and is ideally suited for multi-unit mid-rise projects, including apartments, student housing, hotels and senior living.

I am proud to welcome Prescient to North Carolina. Prescient joins a growing list of innovative companies attracted to our states exceptional talent and business climate, stated Gov. Cooper in the release.
The mainlands first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, sailed north through the Taiwan Strait on July 12, wrapping up a five-day visit to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the haiwainet.cn reported, citing Taiwan media. The transit was greeted with alarm by Taiwanese authorities, who pledged to monitor the vessel and its escorts.

China's Ministry of National Defense has not confirmed the transit as of press time.

According to Taiwanese officials, Liaonings transit through the sensitive strait took place at around 2:40 am on July 12. The vessel entered Taiwans air defense identification zone, staying on the west side of the straits centerline. Many experts believe that the sail-by was not a provocation, as the vessel did not sail on the east side of the centerline.

This is not the first time that the aircraft carrier has entered the strait. On July 1, three days after the U.S. government approved a $ 1.4 billion arms package for Taiwan despite the mainlands protest, the vessel entered the strait en route to Hong Kong for a first-ever visit as part of Chinas celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the former British colonys handover back to China.

The aircraft carrier along with several other vessels set out from Qingdao in east China on June 25 for a routine training mission. The naval formation includes the advanced 052C and 052D destroyers. According to the national defense ministry, the training mission, like previous ones, is expected to improve overall coordination and improve the skills of crew and pilots in different marine regions.
A former Westover Christian Academy teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

Jonathan Christopher Good, 39, of Sandy Ridge, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent liberties in Danville Circuit Court.

The maximum punishment Good can receive is 20 years, said Danville Commonwealths Attorney Michael Newman.

Goods defense attorney, Michael Nicholas, declined to comment on his clients case.

Newman said that Good began an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old student at Westover at the beginning of the year.

They were texting back and forth until the students parents found out and contacted the school, Newman said.

The school told Good to stop the behavior, but he continued.

Good and the student met in his classroom before and after school between March 1 and April 12. Good engaged in physical contact with the student in the classroom at those times, Newman said.

In April, Westover Christian Academy contacted police about the text messages between Good and the student, according to a Danville Police Department news release.

Good was arrested and indicted by a grand jury in May.

His sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 28 in Danville Circuit Court.
For an industry still in its early stages, legal marijuana already has surpassed many other businesses in generating jobs.

In a new report called the Marijuana Business Factbook 2017, the marijuana industry is reported to have created 165,000 to 230,000 full- and part-time jobs in the United States. According to the report, that means there are more people working in the marijuana industry than there are bakers, dental hygienists and massage therapists.

The job numbers include those working at cannabis retail stores, growing facilities, marijuana-infused product companies, testing labs and ancillary businesses such as transportation and security. The numbers represent marijuanas rapid transformation out of the black market and into a viable economic force, according to the report.

Related: Sorry, But No You Can't Smoke Marijuana on the Las Vegas Strip Yet.

Practical matters

The numbers also underscore one of the two practical considerations for political leaders that go beyond the decades-old war against drugs debate that continues at the federal level.

The first is that legalized marijuana generates huge amounts of tax income for state and local governments. For example, Oregon expects to reap $200 million in adult-use marijuana taxes by 2019, and that money will go to schools, roads and law enforcement.

The tax dollars generated by Colorado and other western states have politicians in other cash-starved states, such as Illinois, hoping to legalize marijuana to help balance governmental budgets.

The second, which the report focused on, is job creation. Nationwide, the numbers are expected to skyrocket as California, Massachusetts and Nevada allow adult-use sales and another big state, Florida, moves forward with a regulated medical marijuana industry.

Though all the new legal marijuana markets will take time to fully develop, they have the potential to create tens of thousands of new jobs in the marijuana industry, according to the report.

Putting it in perspective

Marijuana also has been a boon to small businesses. The majority of the jobs in marijuana are concentrated on smaller operations that only need a handful of employees.

Part of the reason for this is the fact marijuana remains an illegal drug at the federal level. Because legalization has happened in a state-by-state manner, large marijuana companies employing hundreds of workers have not materialized.

Related: NBA Champion John Salley Talks About the 'Seed to Sale' Process for Cannabis Business

But the jobs continue to multiply. Assuming that most marijuana industry workers do not require a college degree, here are some other, similar occupations that the marijuana industry has either surpassed or approached in the number of workers:

Short-order cooks (181,600)

Electronics Installers and Repairers (136,100)

Library Assistants (210,700)

Boilermakers (17,400)

Sheet metal workers (141,000)

Again, the employment numbers will only grow as legal marijuana operations go into effect in new states. Moving forward on the debate about marijuana, expect politicians to start referencing the economic benefits of cannabis over long-held objections. They may find the economic bottom line on the marijuana industry is too strong to ignore.

Related:

Marijuana Workers Now Outnumber Bakers and Other Common Careers

Sorry, But No You Can't Smoke Marijuana on the Las Vegas Strip Yet.

NBA Champion John Salley Talks About the 'Seed to Sale' Process for Cannabis Business



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


(File photo)

Xianyu, an online flea market, announced the opening of its first offline experience store for used cars in Hangzhou on Tuesday. More than 500 stores are planned for the next three years.

According to Mao Wenfeng, Alibabas innovative business director, customers can test drive vehicles and return for maintenance later on.

As the secondhand platform of Alibaba, Xianyu has access to the 120 million registered users and 400 million active online consumers on Alibaba ecommerce platforms.

The head of Xianyu Secondhand Cars, He Jia, said only about 20 percent of the profits are gained from direct trading. More needs to be done in financing, testing, warranty, and maintenance to generate revenue.

Xianyu has a superior business model compared to car retailers who draw in customers and sell offline. Our goal is to produce a hundred CarMax used-car retailers in China, said He.

CarMax is the largest retailer of used vehicles in the United States, controlling about 10 percent of the market. Purchases can be made both online and offline.

Business insiders said used cars are non-standard products that consumers distrust. Only high-quality experience stores can sell successfully, as online services are more preferred for price comparisons.

According to official data, up to 10.4 million used cars traded hands in 2016, and that number is expected to grow by 20 percent in 2017.

Thirteen Chinese provinces have launched policies to cancel restrictions on importing used cars. He said Xianyu was considering reselling cars from developed cities in China to developing cities.
This burger is headed for Hong Kong. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Over the last two years, Shake Shack has been on an expansion tear. Since announcing its IPO in December 2014, it has more than doubled its locations from 63 to, currently, 134. And next year, the burger chain will dip its toes into China when it opens a Hong Kong location. The restaurant is one of 14 planned locations in the city and neighboring Macau, and if all goes according to plan, the start of an expansion push into China.

The Hong Kong restaurant will be operated by licensee Maxims Caterers, Ltd., which operates brands like the Cheesecake Factory there. Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti tells Bloomberg the menu will be 90 to 95 percent the same, with the possibility for more chicken dishes.

The company has been a darling of the food world and a major success story, but its recently experienced some hiccups. Same-store sales fell 2.5 percent during the most recent quarter, shares have declined 3 percent so far this year, and a report suggests that it struggles with customer loyalty. But Garutti says the company, which in its 2015 IPO filing announced plans to open 450 American locations, remains committed to serious growth in the U.S.
As you may know, there are ads on Facebook. Quite a lot actually. So with that in mind, the following really shouldn't be all that surprising. The social network is working on bringing ads into its own-brand chat app, Facebook Messenger.

These will show up inside the home screen of Messenger, where you currently see your most recent chats. The look of the ads will be tightly integrated into the design of the app so that they don't stand out too much, but the amount of vertical space they take up (which is roughly equivalent to three chats) will definitely not go unnoticed, as you can see from the screenshots below.

Facebook says Messenger users worldwide could be seeing ads within the next few weeks. However, the full rollout may take until the end of the year to conclude, so if you're lucky you'll have that long to get used to the idea. Testing for this feature actually begun in January, but only in Australia and Thailand.

Facebook expects most ads in Messenger to lead to opening conversational threads inside the app, either with a human or a bot. That said, companies are free to direct you to external destinations such as their websites once you tap on an ad.

Source | Via
Asus has gotten us used to announcing new smartphones in June at Computex, but this year it's gone a different route. The Zenfone 4 series is clearly coming soon, yet so far only one member of the family has been unveiled - the Zenfone 4 Max. Five more Zenfone 4 iterations are probably on the way.

A new report from the company's home of Taiwan claims that Zenfone 4 devices will only become available in August, four months after Asus' initial goal. The first of the bunch to go on sale will in fact be the Zenfone 4 Max, after which we expect the other members of the lineup to become available.

Asus has been rumored to announce more Zenfone 4 smartphones near the end of this month. That would fit well with an August release. On the other hand, some (or all) Zenfone 4 handsets may only arrive in Europe in late September. This new release timeline will pit Asus' series directly against the new iPhones, Sony's phones coming at IFA, and Samsung's Galaxy Note8, and that might not go so well for the Taiwanese company, sales-wise.

Source
Samsung positions the J series as affordable and stylish smartphones. The 2017 edition of the Galaxy J7 surely captures the eye, especially the Matte Black unit we got. An interesting fact is that this black phone looks indigo or navy blue under certain light conditions. Here are our initial thoughts and dont forget to check back this time next week for the complete review.

The Galaxy J7 (2017) has a year in its name, suggesting a follow-up with a slight update over the previous version. However, it comes with more differences than similarities when compared to the Galaxy J7 (2016). The first and most noticeable distinction is the body. This time you get a full-metal unibody not unlike the Galaxy A-series at the expense of your access to the battery.

Things are also overhauled on the inside. The phone comes with Android 7.1 Nougat which is a step ahead of its upper mid-range siblings - the Galaxy A5 (2017) and the Galaxy A7 (2017) which run on Android Marshmallow. The user interface is new to the J series and inherits a lot of similarities from the Galaxy S8 duo.

The Galaxy J7 (2017) looks so good and comes with a solid list of upgrades such as the Full HD resolution, the bigger battery, an always-on fingerprint scanner, improved cameras  it almost sounds too good to be true.

Well, yes, not everything is perfect. The Galaxy J7 (2017) insists on using the older micro USB port instead of the USB-C. You should also take good care of it and keep it away from dust or liquids as it only has a rather low IP54 rating.

There is also the Exynos 7870 chipset, which although incredibly power-efficient, is the same as on last years model. We certainly wouldnt have minded getting the higher-grade Exynos 7880, which is utilized in the Galaxy A5 (2017).

The J7 (2017) comes with a higher price - it is about 20% more expensive than the 2016 iteration of the Galaxy J7 back when it launched. It remains to be seen whether all the new features are worth the higher price tag? We will have the answer to this one once the review is done. Stay tuned!
So far, we've seen Samsung's virtual assistant, Bixby, on its Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones, and it's going to be built into the upcoming Galaxy Note8 too. Today though Bixby has arrived on a mid-range device in Samsung's home country of South Korea.

We're talking about the Galaxy A7 (2017), a phone that just launched at SK Telecom (that's one of the Korean carriers). The version that SKT sells has Bixby on board, despite the fact that it doesn't feature a special physical button to launch it - this A7 (2017) is identical in terms of hardware to the version that was announced in January. It's just the software that's different, and that's where Bixby comes in.

One thing to note, however, is that the assistant's voice functionality isn't to be found inside the A7 (2017). Unlike in the US, for example, Bixby Voice has been widely available on the S8 duo in Korea since May.

If you're in South Korea, you can buy the Bixby-infused Galaxy A7 (2017) from SK Telecom for KRW 588,500, which at the current exchange rates means about $513 or 452.

Source (in Korean) | Via




Haiti - Social : Passing of the poet writer Jean-Claude Fignole





Tuesday, July 11, passed away the writer poet professor and former mayor of Abricotsn Jean-Claude Fignole.



President Jovenel Moise :

"President Jovenel Moise salutes the memory of a talented writer, a great intellectual figure [...] The death of Professor and poet Jean-Claude Fignole is a great loss for the country. His brilliant intelligence, his kindness, his commitment to the renovation of his hometown as Mayor of the Abricots, as well as many other qualities will miss us a lot [...] Jean-Claude Fignole had created a place of choice for himself in Haitian intellectual circles with his remarkable novel work whose originality and relevance have been hailed throughout the world.



On his own behalf and on behalf of his entire administration, President Jovenel Moise presents his sincere condolences to the family of the writer Jean-Claude Fignole and his family."



Prime Minister Lafontant :

"On behalf of the Government, Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant, salutes the memory of an immense writer and sends his sad condolences to his family, his relatives and the cultural world."



Read more about Jean-Claude Fignole :

Jean-Claude Fignole, born May 24, 1941 in Jeremie, was one of the founders of the literary movement called spiralism in collaboration with Franketienne and Rene Philoctete. So he had put his knowledge, his vision at the service of education at the College Jean Price Mars that he had co-founded with Rene Philoctete and Victor Benoit.



His romantic work of a great variety has deeply marked Haitian literature as much by its modernity, its realism as by the exceptional work realized at the level of the writing and the language, as testify in particular in the "Les Possedes de la pleine lune" and "Aube tranquille".



In the 1980s, he provided essential support to the inhabitants of his native village of Abricots in the Grand'Anse. A father of three, Jean-Claude Fignole has been mayor of the commune of Apricots since 2007. He assisted the inhabitants in a development work of all necessity (reforestation, education, health, road constructions, agriculture) in order to stem the rural exodus.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - FLASH : New decree of declaration of public utility of land





After the recent decree of public utility on land in Port-au-Prince https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21457-haiti-flash-declaration-of-public-utility-of-land-in-port-au-prince.html , the Council of Ministers adopted a new decree, published in the Official Journal "Le Moniteur", which declares of public utility in the communes of Cabaret, Saut d'Eau, Dessalines, Saint-Michel de l'Attalaye, Saint Raphael , Hinche and Maissade, the areas delineating the sections of road linking : Titanyen-Saut dEau, Dessalines-Saint-Michel de lAttalaye, Saint-Michel de lAttalaye-Saint Raphael, and Hinche-Maissade for a corridor with a width of 100 meters.



The land retained within the framework of the decree will be used to rehabilitate the Titanyen-Saut d'Eau road sections, Dessalines-Saint-Michel de l'Attalaye, Saint-Michel de l'Attalaye-Saint Raphael and Hinche-Maissade.



The decree prohibits, throughout the defined area, all construction, road drilling, subdivision or other land use, as well as any real estate transaction or disposal.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21457-haiti-flash-declaration-of-public-utility-of-land-in-port-au-prince.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





National Ambulance Center closure

Marie Greta Roy Clement, Minister of Public Health announced that the National Ambulance Center (CAN) was closed until further notice due to strikes and protests by employees https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21490-haiti-news-zapping.html



25 bandits arrested in Port-de-Paix

As part of an operation named "Koukouwouj" the police of Port-de-Paix last weekend arrested nearly 25 individuals, accused of belonging to several gangs that operated in several cities of the cities of the country including the Capital. According to police officials in the Northwest Department, several guns and cars have been seized.



Tourism : Haitian-American cooperation

Brian W. Shukan, Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Haiti and Jessy Menos, Minister of Tourism, held a meeting on the possibilities for cooperation between the two countries in the field of tourism. Shukan during this courtesy visit cited several projects that could be executed in the tourism sector

with the support of his country.



Bellerive auditioned in the Senate

On Tuesday, as part of a new investigation on the use of PetroCaribe funds, former Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive has been auditioned in the Senate.



4th edition of the Caves Festival

Ministry of Tourism executives carried out an evaluation visit in the caves of Dondon a few days before the 4th edition of the Festival des Grottes (18-23 July 2017), to assess the progress on site and to ensure the follow-ups for the host needs of visitors and tourists during the Festival.



Senate calls for suspension of indirect elections

The Presidency published in the official newspaper "Le Moniteur" a (non-binding) resolution of the Senate calling for the suspension of indirect elections. Senators calling for inclusive elections with the participation of all citizens and not just elected officials. At the Provisional Electoral Council, the elections for the municipal assemblies, which began on Monday and that are due to end on 14 July, continue without lateness.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2017/07/12 | Source

Added episode 15 captures for the Korean drama "Fight For My Way" (2017)

Advertisement

Directed by Kim Dong-hwi, Lee Na-jeong

Written by Lim Sang-choon

Network : KBS

With Park Seo-joon, Kim Ji-won, Ahn Jae-hong, Song Ha-yoon, Son Byung-ho, Kim Ye-ryung,...

20 episodes - Mon, Tue 22:00

Synopsis

A drama about a man and a woman who live a life with nothing to show for.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/05/22

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Published on 2017/07/12 | Source

Added episode 3 captures for the Korean drama "Bride of the Water God 2017" (2017)

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Directed by Kim Byeong-soo

Written by Jeong Yoon-jeong

With Nam Joo-hyuk, Shin Se-kyung, Lim Ju-hwan, Jung Soo-jung, Gong Myung, Lee Kyung-young,...

16 episodes - Mon, Tue 10:50

Synopsis

"Bride of the Water God 2017" is a spin off version of the comic "Bride of the Water God". 'Spin off' means a deviated version from the original, so the classic fantasy and characters will be modernized and moved by time and location to Seoul today.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/07/03

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A security company owner is facing the Federal Circuit Court after allegedly threatening to send staff straight to the dole queue if they spoke to Fair Work inspectors.



Legal action has commenced against Adam Marcinkowski and his company VIP Security Services Pty Ltd for allegedly taking unlawful adverse action against three employees.



It is alleged that in the weeks following the visits by inspectors, Marcinkowski also dismissed two guards, including one for refusing to sign a back-dated agreement (which would have retroactively removed his leave entitlements), and another after he failed to return to work immediately after spending several days in an intensive care unit with pneumonia.



The dismissal of the three workers allegedly contravened the section of the Fair Work Act that makes it unlawful to take adverse action against an employee for exercising a workplace right, such as taking personal leave or requesting assistance from the Fair Work Ombudsman.



VIP Security was contracted to provide security services at a range of Gold Coast City Council sites, including three libraries, for two years until April this year.



Fair Work Ombudsman inspectors visited some of these sites last year to check security staff were being paid their minimum lawful entitlements as part of a proactive campaign aimed at ensuring local government procurement of security services was compliant with federal workplace laws.



The FWO alleges that after the visits, Marcinkowski directed a supervisor to tell all security guards employed by VIP Security that if they spoke to Fair Work inspectors, their employment would be terminated.



During a telephone conversation, Marcinkowski allegedly said: Can you just do me a favour, get around all the sites and if I hear that anyone of our guards has spoken to them (Fair Work), they can just f go straight to the dole queue.



Marcinkowski allegedly also told the supervisor: If they talk to those f, if I find out who, that somebodys talked to them, right, theyre getting the sack.



It is alleged that Marcinkowski and VIP Security followed through on the threat, yelling at and later dismissing one full-time employee because he sought advice about his workplace rights from the Fair Work Ombudsman following a reduction in his hours.



The conduct related to the worker who had been in hospital also contravened the section of the Fair Work Act that makes it unlawful to dismiss an employee who was temporarily absent from work because of a prescribed illness or injury.



It is alleged that VIP Security and Marcinkowski also contravened workplace laws by underpaying three guards  the guard who had been hospitalised, the guard who refused to be converted to a casual employee and another guard - a total of $15,938 between April 2015 and June last year.



The guards were allegedly paid a flat $24 hourly rate that failed to cover the weekend, night and public holiday rates employees were entitled to under the Security Services Industry Award 2010. Overtime and annual leave entitlements were allegedly also underpaid and unlawful deductions were allegedly made from wages for uniforms.



The company has now back-paid the three guards in full.



The FWO alleges that Marcinkowski and VIP Security also contravened workplace laws by representing that an Individual Flexibility Agreement (providing for flat $24 hourly rates) was a full-time employment contract, as opposed to a document that varied the application of the Award.



VIP Security had obtained legal advice that the Agreement failed the Better Off Overall Test.



Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said legal action has been commenced because of the seriousness of the alleged contraventions.



It is completely unacceptable for an employer to take adverse action against a worker, including dismissing them, for exercising basic workplace rights, said James.



It is also completely unacceptable for an employer to tell workers to sign up to an agreement when they have been directly advised that it fails to meet Award conditions.



VIP Security faces penalties of up to $54,000 per contravention and Mr Marcinkowski of up to $10,800 per contravention.



The FWO is also seeking an Order requiring the company to commission an external audit of its compliance during the period it was contracted by the Gold Coast City Council and evidence of the back-payment of any underpayments found; commission workplace relations training for Marcinkowski; and to circulate a workplace notice detailing workers rights to all employees.



The matter is listed for a directions hearing in the Federal Circuit Court in Brisbane on August 14.




The ENVI Committee on Tuesday voted in favour of adopting a draft report that would effectively cap the use of forest resources at the levels of 20002012.

Finnish industries and policy makers have voiced their disappointment with the accounting rules for land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) proposed by the European Parliaments Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee.

The European Parliament is to discuss the draft report in its plenary session in September.

If the future logging volumes exceeded the past logging volumes of a country, they would be classified as emissions. The country in question would then have to compensate by reducing emissions from other sectors or by obtaining emissions rights from the market, explained Anneli Jaatteenmaki (Centre), a member of the ENVI Committee.

She said she voted against adopting the draft report.

Finlands second representative in the committee, Nils Torvalds (SFP), was absent from the vote as he participated in a presidential debate at Suomi Areena, a public debate event organised annually in Pori. He did, however, voice his staunch opposition to the proposal in an interview on YLE TV1 on Tuesday.

Ahti Fagerblom, the head of energy and climate policy at Finnish Forest Industries, admitted that the draft report would be problematic for Finland.

The thought of deciding that forests should be used in the same way as before is ridiculous when youre thinking about future issues. I fail to see the merits of such thinking, he said in an interview with Uusi Suomi. Weve obviously cultivated forests with the idea of being able to harvest them later.

Finnish Forest Industries has lobbied for an accounting system that would determine the allowed intensity of forest management based on realised forest growth rates. Finnish forests are currently growing at twice the rate of the late 1960s, according to Fagerblom.

The proposed accounting rules would be a burden for countries rich in forest resources, such as Finland and Sweden.

Both Fagerblom and Jaatteenmaki pointed out that the selected reference period makes the proposal problematic especially for Finland, which experienced a severe economic downturn that affected the already struggling forest industries in 20002012. Sweden, on the other hand, was less affected and able to utilise a greater proportion of its industrial forest resources.

I doubt its particularly smart to set the objective of sustaining the bad situation and limited use of forest resources while seeking to develop the bioeconomy, commented Fagerblom. [The proposal] clearly puts countries in an unequal position.

The draft report has faced criticism also across Europe.

We should not penalise countries that did not use the full potential of their forests in the past, commented Emma Berglund, the secretary general of the Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF).

Member states should be able to use their growing forests for developing a fossil-free bioeconomy and forest owners should be enabled to continue investing in sustainable forest management  the best long-term strategy to maintain the carbon sink and ensure the climate benefits of forests, she added.

The issue of forest resource use has also been discussed by the European Parliaments Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee and Agricultural and Rural Development (AGRI) Committee. From a Finnish viewpoint, both of the committees adopted a much more favourable position on the issue than the ENVI Committee, reminded Fagerblom.

He also dispelled some of the concerns by reminding that the draft report will be considered not only by the European Parliament but also by the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.

We have to hope a sensible compromise is found, he said.

If Finland decided or was forced to cut back on logging, other countries would step in to satisfy the demand for timber and other forest produce, added Fagerblom.

We should also recognise that if the products arent made here, theyd definitely be made somewhere else and the trees would still be cut down. Its hypocritical to think that something good is happening in the climate if the trees are cut down in our neighbouring countries instead of here, he stated.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Roni Rekomaa  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
His economic policy preferences have been regularly overshadowed by his hard-line comments on immigration, but he has now clarified that he is not a supporter of the kind of market economy pursued by the National Coalition.

Jussi Halla-aho, the chairperson of the Finns Party, has rejected the persistent suggestions that his economic policy preferences are largely in line with those of the National Coalition Party.

I cant say I agree with the government on the social and health care reform or with the National Coalitions view of the market economy, which seems to fundamentally be about moving public funds to private operators. This isnt the kind of market economy I support, he stated.

Finland, he said, must invest in education if it is intent on succeeding in the global markets.

The whole world is opening up to competition. This is a major trend that no country will be able to avoid. Productive work is moving to places where its more profitable. At one point it was moving to Eastern Europe, now to Asia and in the future maybe somewhere else. The situation is constantly changing, told Halla-aho.

The focus of global competition will, as a result, shift increasingly to products and services with high added value, he predicted. This dictates that we must have a high-quality education system. Thats what we should invest in in Finland.

Halla-aho has also clarified his recent controversial remarks about unemployment and social security benefits.

When youre talking about using public funds, you should be able to prioritise the functions of the society. The most fundamental functions are guaranteeing internal and external security. Thats the states core responsibility towards its citizens, he said. After that you fund everything else with whatever you have left in the purse. Social security benefits fall into this category.

Halla-aho described unemployment and social security benefits as luxury functions of the society in an interview with Iltalehti in March.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Martti Kainulainen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
Taiwans National Palace Museum has implemented a new policy, allowing the public to download images of its artworks for free and unrestricted use.

As of press time, visitors can download 70,000 low-resolution (72 dpi) digital images from the official website. The museum has also selected 2,163 higher resolution images of 300 dpi, promising to add 500 more images every three months.

Renowned artworks, such as Huai Sus Autobiography, one of the best representative of Chinese calligraphy works, is free to download from the website.

According to the museum, this is the first time that it has released digital images of its artworks for personal use. The museum hopes the free access to the images will boost Taiwans cultural and creative industries, encouraging more people to draw inspiration from the ancient art crafts, as well as help others better understand the objects. The museum also noted that cultural relics should not be kept in museums, but be enjoyed by the public.
(file photo)

Several days ago, footage showing Baidu CEO Li Yanhong (Robin Li) live streaming himself in a Baidu self-driving car on Beijing's Fifth Ring Road went viral online. Beijing traffic police said they support technological innovation in driverless vehicles, but will investigate possible violations of existing traffic laws.

On July 11, Li responded to the incident in a speech on Artificial Intelligence at Shanxi University, saying that "self-driving cars will be safer than human drivers in the future."

According to Li, about 500 people in China die in traffic accidents every day, and such tragedies can be prevented with the adaption of self-driving cars. "When self-driving cars become common, lives will be saved. It's of great economic and social significance," he said.

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla, holds the similar view. After a Tesla driver died in a fatal crash while using autopilot mode last year, Musk said that the mass adoption of self-driving vehicles will save 50,000 lives each year, adding that he would not criticize the safety of self-driving vehicles because of a single accident.

Baidu has been engaged in AI for several years and believes the technology will fundamentally change human society. When there was no Internet, the communication between people and things could not be achieved. AI will solve that. "The Internet has improved the efficiency of people-to-people communication; AI will turn the impossible into the possible," said Li.

Last year, Baidu applied for more AI-related patents than the entire country of Japan, Li revealed. At present, AI enterprises are mainly distributed in a few countries, including the US, China, and the UK. Chinese have performed well in AI research and development. "Forty-three percent of AI-related papers in the world are written by Chinese, and the number of their patent applications is growing rapidly."
Homeless women will be "looking at the winter with fear and trepidation", according to the Simon Community, as new figures show 42pc of Irish homeless people are female.

Simon Community spokesperson Niamh Randall said many women have become homeless as a result of "childhood adversity".

She said "unless we break the cycle" this high percentage will continue for years to come.

"The key thing is the lack of support for when women are coming out of rental accommodation and into homelessness," said Ms Randall. "It's a vicious cycle of going through different services - whether that be homeless services, prison services or mental health services."

Ms Randall added that there was a huge "stigma and shame, as well as a sense of failure" upon these women.

Around 70pc of female participants in a survey conducted by Simon had children and this resulted in a "very difficult" situation for women, according to Ms Randall.

She said women are "very vulnerable" to sexual assault and violent attacks while homeless and that this figure highlighted the "trauma" experienced.

Dr Paula Mayock, of the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin, helped compile the research and said the figures show a "hidden homelessness".

Horrible

The research also revealed a large number of "single" homeless women are mothers who have been separated from their children.

Dr Mayock told the Irish Independent that the figures "have risen dramatically" since initial figures of 33pc in the CSO in 2011.

"It is a horrible situation for anyone to be homeless but there is a stigma attached for women, which makes them feel a great shame," she said.

Dr Mayock said the rise in the number of families has contributed to the figure but "consistent poverty" in the country has impacted on people.

She added that 50pc of lone parents are unemployed and this puts them in a precarious situation.

Women constitute between 20pc and 33pc of homeless populations in most European countries.

In Ireland it is close to 50pc in the Dublin area, which Dr Mayock said was a "feminisation of homelessness".
A lieutenant in the Kinahan cartel is suspected of being at the centre of a violent slash attack in north Dublin, in which one man was stabbed in the back of the head and another was lucky not to lose his thumb.

The savage incident led to a stand-off between members of two rival gangs in the Finglas area and the deployment of a large number of armed gardai as the situation threatened to spiral out of control.

Details of the shocking incident, which is believed to have happened in the Cardiffsbridge Road on Thursday evening, can only be disclosed now and there have been no arrests in the case.

Brutal

The two Finglas men who were hospitalised after suffering "serious stab wounds" declined to make a complaint to investigating gardai.

However, detectives are working on the theory that the knife attack was part of a dispute between rival criminal factions in the area.

The duo, both aged in their 30s, were treated for non-life threatening injuries at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown after the attack.

One line of enquiry is that they were targeted in a revenge attack after a close older male relative of the cartel lieutenant was assaulted earlier in the week.

However, mystery surrounds the brutal melee and gardai do not have a full account of what happened because of non co-operation from potential witnesses.

"It was chaos around the Finglas area for a number of hours on Thursday night after this stabbing attack happened. There was a face-off for a while," a source told the Herald.

"Local gardai had to call in support from armed units and it really looked like it was going to kick off between these different crews, but the armed presence meant that things eventually calmed down.

"This was a very dangerous situation for a while. There were some major criminals strutting around and the fear was that they were armed."

The suspected attackers are the 25-year-old Kinahan drug kingpin and an older associate of the mobster, who is known to officers for firearms offences.

The targeted men are associates of a gang who have been running a "drugs superstore" in the Barry Close area of Finglas.

"There are still fears that all this could turn into a really nasty situation," the source added.

"There are reports that some of the individuals involved are looking for even more serious criminals from other parts of the city to get involved in this row."

The cartel criminal at the centre of the dispute, who has very close links to Daniel Kinahan's crime syndicate, has emerged as a major player in north Dublin's drug trafficking scene over the past 18 months.

Sources say that gardai believe he is making huge amounts of money from his control of a vast drugs operation, which includes dealing in cocaine, cannabis and heroin.

Gardai are aware of an incident last December in which the Kinahan-aligned dealer threw an object, believed to be a rock, at an SUV occupied by Finglas crime figure Wayne Bradley.

Sources say that the dealer's motivation was to show Bradley (38) "who was the boss of the area", even though Bradley is not suspected of involvement in the local drugs trade.

He is also suspected of shooting at a woman's car in Finglas.
Riverside Apartments, Poddle Park, Kimmage. Scene where 3 year old was discovered with fatal stab wounds.

A shrine to little Omar Omran has been growing steadily outside the riverside apartment complex in Kimmage since news of his violent death emerged late on Monday evening.

The poignant messages are all the more so because they are from the hearts of people who had never met him but feel his loss nonetheless.

Teddy bears, soft toy animals, flowers, candles and balloons have all been left at the gates by local people whose hearts were broken by the news.

"Rest in peace poor child. Fly with the angels," read one message on a single flower.

Another read: "You got your wings too early."

Asked if they knew Omar or his mother, Maha, who is being treated in St James's Hospital, the people leaving flowers and toys admitted they didn't.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do. We only live up the road. We saw it on the news and couldn't believe it happened so close to us," said Greg Byrne and Reddy Thumma, who arr-ived early with a bouquet of flowers.

People driving past slowed down to bless themselves, while inside the complex a team from the Garda Technical Bureau were carrying out the grim task of photograph- ing the scene, taking measurements and gathering other pieces of forensic evidence.

Then the silver ambulance from the city morgue arrived and reversed up to the front door.

Stretcher

Gardai in their white forensic boiler suits and hoods carried Omar's body down to the ambulance on a stretcher, with a red cover draped over him.

The vehicle waited briefly for the gates to open. A little stuffed toy giraffe, pushed into the rails on the gate, carried a message printed on a page and pinned to it. "Why?" it read simply.

When the technical bureau and city morgue workers left, neighbours returning home looked on.

A passing glance would yield no sign of the desperate tragedy, but on closer inspection the silhouette of a tall garda sitting on a chair outside a first-floor apartment was a reminder that Omar would not be coming home.

In the car park, only a few feet from the door, his child seat was still strapped into his mother's navy blue 2003 registered Nissan Micra.

The riverside complex was built in 1999. With fewer than 20 apartments, there is a community feel about the neat and angled block, built on the banks of the River Poddle.

Residents said they always look out for each other, and one said Omar's mother is a caring woman, qualified as a doctor, who often offered help to her neighbours.

"I just can't believe it. I can't take it in. I don't know what happened," said one resident.
The total mileage of Chinas high-speed trains has surpassed 22,000 kilometers after a high-speed rail line linking Baoji and Lanzhou opened for traffic on July 9.

According to the medium-and long-term railway network plan issued by the State Council in 2008, China is to construct a four vertical and four horizontal railway network by 2020. With this, total railway expansion is expected to reach 120,000 kilometers, including 16,000 kilometers of high-speed rail.

The goal for 2020 was reached in 2015 when the four vertical and four horizontal railway network became reality and mileage for railway and high-speed railway exceeded planned figures.

Today, demand for high-speed railway is increasing as the daily volume of passenger transportation has reached four million.

As a result, China upgraded the goal in 2015, planning to form an eight vertical and eight horizontal rail network that runs 175,000 kilometers, including 38,000 kilometers of high-speed rail by 2025.

The medium-and long-term network plan aims to link Chinese cities with populations of over 200,000 with rail lines while high-speed railways will connect provincial capitals and large and medium-size cities by 2030.

The pace of development of Chinas high-speed railway is therefore a marvel to the world.

On December 3, 2010, CRH380 from Beijing to Shanghai clocked record speed of 486 kilometers per hour during trial runs.

In mid July 2016, two trains travelling at 420 kilometers per hour in opposite directions bypassed each other on parallel tracks on the Zhengzhou-Xuzhou high-speed railway, the fastest of its kind.

On June 26, 2017, China's next generation bullet train, "Fuxing", debuted on the Beijing-Shanghai line.

Chinas high-speed railway network runs 5,200 kilometers from east to west and 5,500 kilometers from north to south, traversing complicated geographical conditions across the country.

After years of technological upgrades and innovation, China has lifted its high-speed railway technology to the most advanced level. It has the advantages of low cost, quick delivery and acknowledged reliability.

The Shiziyang Tunnel on Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong express rail link is intended to be the fastest underwater tunnel in the world.

From four vertical and four horizontal to eight vertical and eight horizontal, Chinas high-speed railway network is a demonstration of speed and passion and represents the countrys glory and dream.
Nearly 80 PA people have been charged for Jan. 6 riot. Three are dead.

news
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will join a meeting of foreign ministers of four Arab countries boycotting Qatar on Wednesday, amid intensified diplomatic efforts to mediate the crisis.

Tillerson and foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt will meet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on coordinating efforts to deal with Qatar in the future, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Tillerson is currently visiting the Gulf in a bid to calm down tensions as the standoff continues between Qatar and the Saudi-led bloc of Arab countries.

Led by Saudi Arabia, the four countries severed diplomatic ties with Qatar early last month and cut off sea, land and air links to the tiny rich Gulf nation, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism, interfering in their internal affairs and seeking closer ties with Iran, a Saudi rival.

Qatar has strongly denied the charges against it, while rejecting a list of 13 demands put forward by the bloc for resuming diplomatic ties.

"The meeting would be convened in light of coordinating stances and stressing solidarity of the four Arab countries in future dealing with Qatar," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.

The meeting "underlines the four countries' commitment to the procedures taken against Qatar, based on its violation for international norms and laws, support for terrorism and extremism and Doha's negative intervention in the Arab countries' domestic affairs," it added.

Tillerson held a meeting in Kuwait City on Monday with Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Britain's National Security Advisor Mark Sedwill to discuss the ways to defuse the crisis.

Kuwait, which plays as a mediator, the U.S. and Britain called for "a rapid end" to the standoff between Qatar and its Arab neighbors through dialogue as soon as possible.

After visiting Kuwait, Tillerson arrived in Qatar Tuesday to discuss the efforts for solving the Gulf crisis and means of combating terrorism.

The two sides signed signed a memorandum of understanding outlining future efforts for Qatar to step up fight against terrorism, media reports said.

The agreement also includes clauses on combating funding for terrorism. This tackled one of the core accusations against Qatar by the Saudi-led bloc, which criticized Doha for financing extremist Islamic groups that seek to destabilize their countries.

The extremist groups supported by Doha include the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Hamas movement that rules the Gaza Strip.

In a move to increase pressure on the tiny Gulf nation, the Saudi-led bloc said Monday that a recently published accord signed in 2013 showed Qatar has violated its obligations.

The U.S. news network CNN on Monday published the documents of a secret agreement reached at a meeting between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2013.

In the document, the parties agreed "not to interfere in the internal affairs of any GCC country, not to harbor or naturalize any GCC citizens who have activity contrary to the regulations of his country, unless the consent of his state, not to support the rogue groups and opposition to their countries."

The Saudi-led alliance said that their list of 13 demands handed to Qatar later last month is "fully in line with the spirit of what has been agreed upon."

The demands include closing the Al-Jazeera TV station, downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran, and ending support to terrorism.

Qatar, in response, has vehemently denied the charges by the Saudi-led bloc, while agreeing to resolve the crisis through talks.

At the same time, Doha has rejected the list of demands issued by the Saudi-led bloc, citing that it will not hold negotiations on issues that are related to its sovereignty.

R.C. Hammond, a senior adviser to Tillerson, reportedly said Monday that the quartet's demands on Qatar are not viable, though some of the individual terms on the list could work.

The U.S. is increasingly worried that the continued standoff in the Gulf could damage its counterterrorism operations in the region as it has a huge military base in Qatar, from where it has been launching airstrikes at terror targets in Syria and Iraq.
A Sino-German digital summit was held Tuesday, with some 200 officials and businessmen from China and Germany gathering here to discuss the latest trend of digitalization in both countries and deeper cooperation in the related fields.

The summit was a followup event to the G20 summit held in Hamburg on July 7-8, which had included digitalization as one of its major topics.

During the digital summit, China's key digital enterprises like Alibaba Group had talks with Germany's major digital companies such as Otto Group.

China is the world's largest and most rapidly growing market of digitalization, which has great influence on European companies and their business, said Ragnar Kruse, CEO and Co-founder of Smaato, a leading global mobile advertising platform and also a partner of the digital summit.

Hamburg is a city that has a key position in Germany's digital economy and it is also regarded as China's gateway into Europe. Over 550 Chinese enterprises have investment in the city.
CGTN photo

Premier Li Keqiang had underlined the importance of reform and innovation in promoting the economic development and upgrading in west China.

Li made the remarks during an inspection trip in northwest China's Shaanxi Province from Monday to Tuesday.

At the Yangling Area of China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Li spoke highly of the administrative reform carried out in the area, which allows people to apply for business licenses through WeChat, China's leading social media app.

He called for continued reform and opening-up to create a business environment where institutional transaction costs are low, both domestic and foreign businesses are willing to come, and high-quality human resources would stay, so as to help boost the development of west China.

The premier also visited the Yangling Agricultural Cloud Co., where he saw a cloud map of big data information helping farmers.

He said the agricultural sector depends on weather as well as "cloud," and it will help strengthen the sector by combining agriculture and modern technology such as the "Internet plus."

At a mass entrepreneurship and innovation park, the premier said mass entrepreneurship and innovation has great potential for development in rural areas, and asked local governments to create a good environment in this regard to help farmers increase their income.

Li also met families in need as he visited a poor village called Dawanhe a the rural area of Baoji city, inquiring about details of their incomes, children's education and social security system.

Saying there was great potential for poor villages in the region to develop tourism and distinctive agricultural undertakings, the premier said relocation of the poor from the mountainous region should take into consideration of both the villagers' resettlement and their new jobs.

At a state-owned machine tool manufacturing company in Shaanxi which customized its products, Li said the market today is quite different and individualized needs are becoming more and more important.

He urged state-owned enterprises, the big ones in particular, to push forward supply-side structural reform and promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation to upgrade the Chinese economy to medium-to-high end.

During the trip, Li also visited a rundown area in Baoji city, where he said China had moved 80 million people out of substandard housing in recent years, but there were still tens of millions left behind. The premier called upon local governments to step up efforts to improve people's living conditions.
For the first time, the Carolina Panthers are charging fans for their annual Fan Fest, the traditionally free practice and fireworks show that will be held Aug. 4 at Bank of America Stadium.

The Panthers say they are charging $5 per ticket because of an increased demand and precautions for fan safety. All proceeds from Fan Fest will be donated to the teams charitable arm, the Carolina Panthers Charities.

The tickets will be available on July 22 at 10 a.m., through Ticketmaster.com, which fans can access by clicking Fan Fest Tickets in the Hot Topics section on the homepage of Panthers.com, or by choosing Fan Fest in the Tickets dropdown menu, according to Panthers.com. Tickets are limited to six per household.

Following a near-perfect 2015 season, the Panthers were overwhelmed with Fan Fest demand last summer when the team started requiring that fans reserve and print out a free ticket beforehand. Within a day, all 60,000 tickets were claimed. Some fans expressed frustration at the new system, as many were left without tickets. Rain deterred many fans from showing up, though.

Before the event, several free tickets were being sold on Craigslist  some for as high as $100.

Bank of America Stadium has a capacity for over 75,000, but because the event concludes with a fireworks show, fans cant be seated in the upper level of the end zones for safety reasons. In 2015, the Panthers had 55,000 fans attend Fan Fest, which was the most in the teams history. For the three years before that, 25,000 fans showed up.

Gates of Fan Fest open at 6 p.m., and practice starts at 7:30 p.m.

The Panthers other training camp practices in Spartanburg remain free and open to the public. Camp will run from July 26-Aug. 13 at Wofford College.
The local and NC chapters of the NAACP demanded Monday that U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-NC, hold a town hall to discuss the Senate Republican health care bill with his constituents.

The Rev. Alvin Carlisle, the president of the Winston-Salem branch of the NAACP, read a letter demanding the town hall to more than 250 protesters who gathered for a rally outside of Burrs office in Winston-Salem.

The NAACP wants Burr to respond by noon Friday to its request, Carlisle said. Burr can pick the time, place and format of the town hall, he said.

But please, do not disrespect us again, Carlisle said. If Burr does not agree to the town hall, Carlisle said, We will secure the largest church in Winston and hold a Burr-Less town hall, featuring a large cardboard cutout of you (who is) afraid to meet the people you purport to represent. I speak for all constituents when I say we would much rather have you there.

During the demonstration, Daphne Holmes-Johnson of Winston-Salem, a rally organizer, said that local opponents of the Republican health care bill had contacted Burrs office in late June, requesting that Burr hold a town hall in Winston-Salem to discuss the bill during the July 4 recess in Congress.

Holmes-Johnson said that Burrs office never responded to their their request.

The NAACP asked Burr to bring a copy of the health care bill to the town hall, Carlisle said.

We will certainly have a copy for all to see if you decide not to come, Carlisle said. This will be a good place to start a national discussion for a health care plan for all the people.

Taylor Holgate, a Burr spokesman in Washington, D.C., couldnt be reached Monday night to comment on the NAACPs letter.

Burr said in a statement nearly two weeks ago that he supports the Republican health care bill and will continue to work to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters in Washington on Monday that senators will vote next week on a new health care bill to repeal and replace key parts of Obamacare.

At the rally in Winston-Salem, Carlisle said that any GOP proposal would hurt people.

We have only crying and hungry babies, Carlisle said in the letter. We have only sick, disabled, veterans and old people struggling in nursing homes, who will die lonely deaths sooner because of heartless policies your colleagues propose.

The demonstrators demanded that Burr vote against the GOP health care bill. They stood on the grass and along the sidewalk of First and Miller streets for the 90-minute rally. The protesters held a similar rally on June 28 outside of Burrs office.

At Mondays rally, the protesters held signs such as No Cuts to Medicaid, Trump Care Kills, Pass Universal Health Care Now, Health Care is a Human Right. Not a Privilege and Tax the Rich. Insure the Poor.

Several speakers quoted the recent report by the Congressional Budget Office that said that 22 million Americans would lose their health care coverage if the Republican Senate health care bill becomes law.

Dr. Wesley Hsu, a neurosurgeon at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, told the demonstrators that he appreciated that a large crowd attended the rally to publicly protest the House and Senate proposed health care bills.

So many of my patients get the life-saving treatments, (and) the surgeries they need because of Medicaid and Obamacare, Hsu said.

Nobody in North Carolina wants these bills.
CONOVER  The Catawba County Sheriffs Office issued a warrant Tuesday morning for the arrest of a Charlotte man suspected of burning a BJ Drive trailer in Conover, according to a Catawba County Sheriffs Office warrant.

Gregory James Carson, of Charlotte, is charged with one felony count each of second-degree arson, second-degree kidnapping and cruelty to animals. Carson also is charged with one misdemeanor count of assault on a female.

Carson set fire to Angela Dawn Griffins residence in Conover on July 5, according to the warrant.

The trailer fire killed two dogs, a flying squirrel and two fish, according to the warrant. The animals were inside the trailer at the time of the fire.

(The fire) has been tabbed as suspicious moving forward, Catawba County Fire Investigator Jennifer Lowrance said, tying in with Carson's charge of second-degree arson.

Lowrance said that both investigations into the cause of the fire and Carson's whereabouts remain active.

The suspect also kidnapped Griffin, 34, on the Fourth of July for the purpose of terrorizing her, and he allegedly held her down, punched her in her right eye, and dragged her through the residence by her arm, according to the warrant.

Carson remains at large and is wanted by the Catawba County Sheriffs Office.

If anyone has information to Carsons whereabouts, call the Catawba County Sheriffs Office at 828-464-5241.
Technical staff members work at the undersea cablecasting site linking Zhongtian Village to Meizhou Island in southeast China's Fujian Province, July 12, 2017. A 110 kilovolt undersea cable line, the first one of this kind into Meizhou Island, was successfully laid here Wednesday. It will provide reliable power support for 38,000 residents on the Island. (Xinhua/Zhang Guojun)
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At this summers Jaipur Literature Festival in London, I complimented my old college mate Shashi Tharoor for having transformed anti-colonialism into a cottage industry. His book on the depredations of the British Empire in India has  as his gleeful publisher told me  been a roaring success in the UK. While this has much to do with the authors presentation skills, it is also a commentary on todays Britain.

Recently Oxford University announced it is tweaking its curriculum to make a paper on non-European history obligatory for history students. Nominally, this had nothing to do with either the noisy Rhodes must fall stir or Tharoors eloquent attack on the Raj at an Oxford Union debate. Nor is the desire to enlarge the sphere of exploration an outcome of economic globalisation, a process that has fuelled premature anticipation of a post-national world.

Arguably, the changing ethnic landscape of western Europe has kindled popular interest in Asia and Africa. Since multiculturalism  as opposed to assimilation  is now the preferred European approach to integration, there is a feeling that national histories are inadequate. Just as an understanding of Indias colonial experience is patchy without a parallel awareness of British history, the complexities of todays UK warrant examining how Empire impacted the colonies.

Not that European academia has only been obsessed with Judeo-Christian civilisation. Western universities have a rich tradition of engagement with non-European themes, even if they were aimed at servicing the Empire project. Indology, for example, has been enriched by European scholarship. And even when post-Independent India turned its back on classical studies in the elusive quest of the scientific temper, dedicated western scholars, often working in monastic isolation, kept Indology alive.

What the History Faculty of Oxford  housed, ironically, in a building called the India Institute but from which Indian studies were arbitrarily banished in 1968  has done is to move fringe and exotic concerns into the mainstream. The decision is laudable.

Unfortunately, things are often not what they seem. The Oxford dons may have acted with the purest of motives and with only half an eye on the commercial implications for cash-strapped universities. However, the move comes in the backdrop of an intellectual environment that is eroding the vitality of European societies.

There was a time when the study of non-European societies was accompanied by an implicit Eurocentric bias, aimed at both glorifying Empire and hinting at the backwardness of the Orient. Today, this has been replaced by an emerging culture of self-abnegation, verging on self-loathing. The celebration of the Empire and all that it represented has yielded space to a profound sense of post-colonial guilt  what an Australian writer has described as the replacement of the Three Cheers view of history with the Black Armband perspective.

I saw an example of this at an exhibition on German Colonialism at the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. The exhibition, documenting some of the brutalities and racist overtones of the short-lived German Empire, culminated in a felled bronze statue of Hermann von Wissmann, a former Reich Commissioner and Governor of German East Africa, that stood in Dar es Salaam until 1919. Relocated to Hamburg University in 1922, it was toppled in 1967 following student protests against imperial glorification. The exhibition in Berlin has the statue lying on its side, the face still smeared in the yellow spray paint with which it was vandalised by students.

As a symbol of inversion the imagery is powerful. The German desire to repudiate a troubled past is understandable. If, however, historical guilt becomes an overriding concern, it could be a prescription for national paralysis. Germanys self-destructive open-door policy towards asylum seekers has owed entirely to this sense of guilt, as has the UKs inability to curb the evolution of a Londonistan.

History is rarely dispassionate or objective. Winston Churchill can be remembered as the leader who saved Britain from Hitler or as the man whose strategic choices led to a million plus deaths in the Bengal famine. India recalls the latter but if Britain also starts perceiving Churchill as simply an imperialist monster, there are bound to be complications. What matters is not what is taught but how the subject is approached. And with what objective.

India too has experienced the systematic rewriting of its history to suit post-national tastes. More than an exercise in puerile iconoclasm, the reshaping of the national imagination is also aimed at eroding the national spirit. There is undoubtedly a place for rarefied scholarship but at the popular level history must aim at bolstering the nation.

Swapan Dasgupta is a Rajya Sabha MP, senior journalist and political commentator

The views expressed are personal
Director of the controversial film Lipstick Under My Burkha, Alankrita Shrivastava says the metaphorical title refers to the idea that it is impossible for the society to kill womens passion and dreams.

Alankrita, along with the team, was recently in New Delhi, as part of the films promotions, where she was asked how she came up with the interesting title.

Lipstick Under My Burkha is a metaphoric title. It refers to the idea that women will always have a pulsating desire to be free.

Adding, They will always keep dreaming even if society puts them into boxes or restrains them, they cant kill womens passion, ambition and dreams. It also talks about the things that women sometimes do in secret because they are not allowed to do them in public. So the title is about hidden dreams, secret fantasies and hidden ambitions.

The cast of the Alankrita Shrivastava-directorial includes Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak Shah and Sonal Jha, among others.

#Repost @ektaravikapoor (@get_repost)  Lipstick team A post shared by Balaji Motion Pictures (@balajimotionpictures) on Jul 11, 2017 at 4:10am PDT

The movie is about four women who are leading four separate battles for their freedom. The makers had an elaborate battle with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for its lady oriented content.

Overruling the censor boards refusal, Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) has issued A or Adult certificate to feminist drama and it finally releases on July 21.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
More fuel has been added to the fiery debate around TV reality shows for children, with acclaimed filmmaker and screenwriter Amole Gupte now criticising how these shows keep children out of school. Before this, filmmaker Shoojit Sircar spoke of the mental stress that the child contestants have to endure.

Countering their stance, celebrity judges of TV reality shows say that they ensure the children are treated well, and that giving children a platform to display their talent cant be a bad thing.

Gupte, who wrote the story and screenplay for the acclaimed film Taare Zameen Par (2007), a teacher-student drama around letting childhood blossom, trounced the way children pass through these shows, missing school and then finding it difficult to get back to their normal peer group environment. Countering that, composer Vishal Dadlani, who has judged music reality shows, says, Whenever Ive done a childrens reality show, Ive made sure that nothing goes wrong in terms of how theyre treated on the sets, and them attending school regularly, but I dont know if that happens on every show. I can guarantee that it happens on the shows that Im a part of.

Filmmaker Amole Gupte is unhappy with kids reality shows disrupting the normal schedule of children.

As for the intense competition the children are exposed to, Dadlani says, I think its really important to learn the essence of sportsmanship, to learn how to compete fairly, and how to have fun while doing it. Its important to learn from other people. As long as the show is conducted in a manner that protects childhood, and theres no missing school, I dont see any issue.

Gupte asked, In a reality show which has a continuous schedule, how can it be possible that a child does not step out of school? He added, Giving goodies and keeping children comfortable is not the end of looking after a childs physical and mental health.

Sircar was vehement, saying, Youre making fun of a [young] boy or girl, you are body-shaming them, and then putting the kids out to get scrutinised.

Filmmaker and show judge Remo DSouza says, I cant talk about any other show, but on the shows that Ive judged, I have not seen any kid suffer. Its good for them to have a platform to showcase their talent. I agree that they shouldnt bunk school.

Actor Boman Irani, also a show judge, said in an earlier interview, There are extracurricular activities in schools and theres a way to enjoy their childhood. When theyre preparing for a school play, do we say that they are working? Theyre enjoying themselves. These things are also done in school; the difference with [TV] shows is that its done on a larger platform. Look at it as a child who grows up with a wonderful experience.

Actor Boman Irani feels reality shows are a bit like bigger versions of extracurricular activities in schools.

However, clinical psychologist Pulkit Sharma says that being judged  and losing  on such a public platform can leave a deep impression on a childs mind. For a young and tender mind, this whole concept of winning and losing gets very emotional. Children dont have that kind of reasoning mind like an adult, where they can tell themselves, Life is like that, and there will be other opportunities to win. Ive worked with children who participated in reality shows, and it becomes very difficult for them to come back to normal life.

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For actor Amit Sadh, getting into Bollywood was not an easy task. The 34-year-old quit television after doing shows such as Kyun Hota Hai Pyarrr and Kohinoor, as he wanted to get into films. After struggling for five years, giving countless auditions and even taking an acting course in the US, Amit got his break in films with Phoonk 2 (2010) and Maximum (2012).

Does he feel that actors from a film background dont have to struggle much? Every human being goes through his own struggle, including star kids. I am not a cry baby who would talk about the opportunities that other people are getting. I believe in making my own opportunities. There is so much talk on nepotism, its almost become a sin to be a star kid, he says, hinting at the nepotism debate which sparked ever since actor Kangana Ranaut accused filmmaker Karan Johar of being the flag-bearer of nepotism. The actor adds, I was born in an Army family and I also got some attributes from my parents. So what is the problem if star kids also learn from their parents?

Amit, who has been seen in films such as Kai Po Che (2013) and Sultan (2016), says that he feels fortunate to do what he loves. I am so grateful that I am able to be in a profession which I am passionate about. I look at acting as a psychiatrist. It cleanses me and infuses me with energy. Acting helps you evolve. The whole process is full of learning and innovation, says Amit, who will next be seen in Raagdesh and Gold.

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Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan held bilateral talks with Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak on Tuesday, during which issues of bilateral energy cooperation, including renewable energy were discussed.

The two ministers agreed to work together on few concrete projects in coming period in areas like E&P and downstream sectors. They also agreed to work together in third countries.

Pradhan also chaired a ministerial session on Current Economic Strategies in Indian Oil & Gas Sector.

He also chaired a plenary session on Supply and Demand Challenges for Oil, Gas and Products.

Addressing the plenary session, Pradhan said that rising middle class of emerging Asian countries like India will drive the demand for energy both in terms of electricity and cooking and transportation fuel.

Giving example of India, he said that the energy consumption is expected to grow to almost double by 2035. India is the only country where the demand will continue to rise for more than a decade.

He flagged the importance of Responsible Price for crude oil for countries like India which would allow it to provide energy to the common people.

He underlined that in todays oversupplied market, it is important for producers to understand the perspective of consumers and demand centres and the changes that have taken place in these demand centres.

Later in the evening, Pradhan launched an event on Hydrocarbon Exploration & Licensing Policy (HELP) as a part of process of promoting the upcoming oil & gas bidding rounds in India.

The event was attended by noted industry leaders like M Bob Dudley, Group CEO, BP; Daniel Yergin vice president IHS Markit; FatihBirol, Executive Director of IEA; Sun Xianseng, Secretary General, IEF and many others.
Former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who rose from childhood poverty to become a two-term president, was convicted on corruption charges on Wednesday in the first of five graft trials he faces.

He was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. He will remain free on appeal.

The ruling marked a stunning fall for Lula, Brazil's first working-class president who left office six years ago with an 83-percent approval rating. The former union leader won global admiration for transformative social policies that helped reduce stinging inequality in Latin America's biggest country.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama once labeled him the most popular politician on earth.

The verdict represented the highest-profile conviction yet in the sweeping corruption investigation that for over three years has rattled Brazil, revealing a sprawling system of graft at top levels of business and government and throwing the country's political system into disarray.

Judge Sergio Moro found Lula guilty of accepting 3.7 million reais ($1.2 million) worth of bribes from engineering firm OAS SA, the amount prosecutors said the company spent refurbishing a beach apartment for Lula in return for his help winning contracts with state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro.

Federal prosecutors have accused Lula, who first took the presidency in 2003, of masterminding a long-running corruption scheme that was uncovered in a probe into kickbacks around Petrobras.

Lula's legal team has previously said they would appeal any guilty ruling. They have continuously blasted the trial as a partisan witchhunt, accusing Moro of being biased and out to get Lula for political reasons.

Moro has denied the accusations.

Lula's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Senator Gleisi Hoffmann, the head of the Workers Party, lashed out at the ruling, saying Lula was convicted to prevent him from running for the presidency next year. She said the party would protest the decision and was confident the ruling would be overturned on appeal.

The Brazilian real extended gains following Moro's decision and reached its strongest in two months. The benchmark Bovespa stock index rose to a session high.

Popularity persists

Despite the conviction and other charges against him, Lula remains a popular figure among many Brazilian voters, according to recent polls, and has said he wants to run again for the top office next year.

But he would be barred from office if his guilty verdict is upheld by an appeals court, which is expected to take at least eight months to rule.

If he cannot run, political analysts say Brazil's left will be thrown into disarray, forced to rebuild and somehow find a leader who can emerge from the immense shadow that Lula has cast on Brazilian politics for three decades.

"Lula's absence opens a gaping hole in the political scene, it creates an enormous power vacuum on the left," said Claudio Couto, a political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a top university. "We have now entered a situation of extreme political tension, even beyond the chaos we have been living for the last year."

Couto said he expected Lula's guilty verdict to be upheld by the appeals court. That would leave the 2018 presidential race wide open and raise chances of a victory by a political outsider, given most known contenders are also ensnared in Brazil's corruption investigations.

Boom to bust

Lula's two-terms were marked by a commodity boom that momentarily made Brazil one of the world's fastest-growing economies. His ambitious foreign policies, aligning Brazil with other big developing nations, raised the country's profile on the global stage.

With Lula's swagger setting the tone, Brazil sought to shrug off northern economic and political hegemony and engage in global problems, like Middle East peace and the standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

But upon leaving office and managing to get his hand-selected successor Dilma Rousseff elected, Brazil's economy soured, with the nation just now beginning to emerge from its worst recession on record.

Rousseff was impeached last year for breaking budgetary rules. She and her backers say her ouster was actually a 'coup' orchestrated by her vice president and now President Michel Temer, who himself faces corruption charges.

During his trial, Lula gave five hours of fiery and defiant defense, proclaiming his innocence and saying that it was politics and not the pilfering of public funds that put him on trial.

"But what is happening is not getting me down, just motivating me to go out and talk more," Lula said in his testimony. "I will keep fighting."



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DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand school education minister is firm on enforcing a dress code for government schoolteachers, saying the move will ensure their attendance.

Once government schoolteachers wear a uniform, it wont be easy for them to attend wedding and mundan (first haircut of a child) functions, or roam around in market places or skip the school, minister Arvind Pandey told Hindustan Times on Wednesday.

They (teachers) will be caught if they do not attend schools. I want to strengthen attendance of teachers with this move.

Pandey said he was making efforts to get approval of teachers associations for a unified dress code.

Government teachers association general secretary Sohan Singh said, The allegations that teachers do not work and roam around are baseless . We have asked for suggestions from all teachers and if dress code gets a majority, we will follow it. If not, then we wont.

Odisha enforced a dress code for government schoolteachers in 2010 -- black pant and sky blue shirt for men and pink sari and black blouse for women. Officials of the eastern state said the dress code was an attempt to curb teacher absenteeism, a major cause behind falling education standards. Reports said saris were later linked to the local handloom industry giving the sector a boost.

Pandey said a dress code would infuse discipline in the school system. I remember our gurus wearing cotton kurta and dhoti. Everyone used to identify them by their clothes. Its about discipline, the minister said. When we want our students to be dressed in uniform, then why not teachers?

School education director RK Kunwar supported the minister on dress code. Whats the harm in wearing uniform. It will keep teachers away from the burden of selecting next days attire, he said on a lighter note.

In Uttar Pradesh, chief minister Yogi Adityanath banned jeans and t-shirts in April for male and female teachers. Women teachers were allowed to wear suits and saris and men were asked to wear shirts and pants.

Punjab passed an order in May, stating the impact of indecent, bright and provocative clothes like jeans, tops and fashionable dresses on students. Two senior education officials were suspended after teachers associations raised objection to the language of the order that, they said, denigrated women teachers. The order was later withdrawn.

Shaktiman statement

Clarifying his controversial statement -- I am not Shaktiman  made a few days ago in Nainital when questioned about the safety of students studying in dilapidated government schools, Pandey said what he meant was safety of kids.

I said I am not Shaktiman because I cannot save anyone. What I meant was its advisable for students and parents not to send their kids to dilapidated schools when its raining heavily, he said.

The state, Pandey said, faces a high-risk situation during monsoon, so parents should not send their kids to schools when the climatic conditions are extreme. We need to save lives of students first, studies come later, he added.

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DEHRADUN: A swollen Asan river claimed the life of a man in Dehradun on Wednesday as heavy rains pounded most parts of Uttarakhand and forced authorities to close educational institutions in Chamoli and Rudraprayag.

District disaster management officer Deepshikha Rawat said the victim, Kaalu of Sabhawala, jumped into the Asan to save his buffaloes that had got caught in the fast current. A joint team of local administration, police and disaster response force unit fished him out at a place nearly 2 km away near the Jhajra bridge but the man did not survive, the police said.

Though the meteorological department had predicted heavy rains, students had a terrible time as several schools were open in the capital. Rain water entered Asian School and Himalayan School. Several houses in the low-lying areas were inundated. Locals were left fuming as BJP legislators Umesh Sharma and Khajan Das didnt turn up to visit the affected sites. We were hopeful that our representatives will help us but all our hopes went down the drain, Mangesh, a local resident, said.

Dehradun district magistrate SA Murugesan ordered closure of schools on Thursday.

At least 10 roads in the district were blocked due to rainfall and work on opening them was going on at the time of filing this report. Landslides were reported from hilly areas including in Chakrata and in Mussoorie. Reports of agricultural land being washed away due to overflowing streams came in from Ghorimaafi, Sahabnagar, Rishikesh and some villages in Chakrata tehsil.

Close schools, if rivers and rivulets are overflowing

The education directorate decided that schools will remain close whenever nearby streams and rivulets are over overflowing to prevent any untoward incident

In his letter, DG education Alok Shekhar advised officials that in many places, students have to cross rivers and rivulets to reach schools. Sometimes, they are over flowing with strong currents due to heavy rain. In such a situation, schools should declare holidays and students not turning up for classes shouldnt be marked absent, he ordered. Parents should be advised not to send children to schools in such situations.

Situation worsens in Pithoragarh, Champawat dists

Several roads, including the Tanakpur Champawat highway, remained closed in Pithoragarh district where over 78 mm of rainfall was recorded in the last 24 hours.

According to the disaster management office, over 63 National Disaster Response Force personnel were deployed at sensitive places to tackle any situation arising from natural calamities. We have posted 35 NDRF personnel at ITBP Mirthi to tackle the situation in sensitive sub-divisions of Didihat, Munsiyari and Dharchula, district disaster management officer S Rana said.

In Champawat district, the administration ordered closure of schools for the next two days following weather forecasts of incessant rains in the next 48 hours. The orders took time to be communicated due to lack of communication facilities in remote parts of the district, said CS Joshi, a villager in Champawat .

The eight batch of Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims was briefed by ITBP at Didihat was briefed about steps to be taken while crossing rivulets and rivers on the trek route to Gunji that begins from Sirkha camp today.

Seven roads, including the Garjiya Betalghat route, were closed. Small landslides occurred in Nainital and Bhimtal city, posing danger to homes. Four homes came in the spate of landslides in Hiragarh village on the Haldwani Hedakhan route.

Swelled rivulets halt traffic

In Nainital district, Methi Shah Nullah that lies near Haldwani saw increased flow of water that hampered traffic. Vehicles had to wait at the ends of the nullah for the water level to come down. There are other points in the Nainital district which faced the same problem. The Sher Nullah on way to Chorgalia saw massive flow of water and obstruction to traffic.

The route from Haldwani to Sitarganj has Surya Nullah which is getting water from the nearby river.

Public Works Department executive engineer Ranjeet Rawat said that a bridge had been sanctioned for the Methi Shah nullah and all the approvals were taken. We are in talks with firms for making the design of the bridge and also the other technical specifications. After this, we will start construction of the bridge.

With inputs from Neha Pant, Mohan Rajput, Abhinav Madhwal & BD Kasniyal
The Delhi government has proposed to decongest the Press Enclave Road, which is surrounded by malls, hospitals, a court and metro stations. A meeting was held last month to start the project, which includes shifting of divider and construction of flyovers.

The Public Works Department (PWD) has proposed a realignment of the road and the construction of a skywalk connecting important establishments to rake pedestrian movements off the road. It also plans to regulate non-motorised vehicles, which is the main reason for congestion on this stretch.

The 3.8km stretch of Press Enclave Road connects to Aurobindo Marg on one side and Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg on another. We have proposed either a skywalk from Malviya Nagar metro station to district court complex or a flyover from Max hospital to district court complex. The traffic is slow because of encroachment by cycle rickshaws and autorickshaws and pedestrian movements, said a PWD official.

However, the skywalk would need a consent from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), as the one proposed is in the range of 100-300 metres from ASI site  Khirki Masjid and Satpula monuments.

The Press Enclave Road connects traffic from Khirki village, Hauz Rani, Saket, Malviya Nagar and Pushp Vihar, apart from connecting commercial hubs. There is already a huge demand for parking from residents of the area; the mall-going traffic too requires parking spaces. Heavy pedestrian movement takes place from Malviya Nagar metro station to Saket district court, slowing the traffic.

Read: Traffic nightmare outside malls in Saket

To give connectivity from the Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, the PWD has proposed a flyover for vehicles that have to turn right.

The road connects to Gurgaon and Faridabad apart from connecting residential areas such as Tughlakabad, Tigri, Khanpur, Saket and Mehrauli. The 3km stretch of this road needs to be redesigned, keeping in mind the heavy bus traffic, said a PWD official.

The PWD officials said that a stakeholder meeting was held on June 8 and after NOC (No Objection Certificate) from all the agencies, the work will start.

Lieutenant governor Anil Baijal is also reviewing a task force for de-congestion of pilot corridors  Aurobindo Marg (Aurobindo Marg to Andheria More), Mathura Road (Neela Gumbad to Badarpur Flyover), Outer Ring Road (Chirag Delhi Crossing to Savitri Flyover), Sardar Patel Marg, (11 Murti to Rajokari Border) and Dhaula Kuan, (Dhaula Kuan Flyover to GGR Flyover, Sanjay T-Point).

He has directed the local bodies to come out with a plan to create more stack parking, so that road side parking can be freed for better circulation of traffic.

The task force formed by the L-G conducted extensive field visits and studies, and submitted a list of 77 corridors that need to be decongested. Of this, 28 were identified as Category A priority corridors.

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He was 11 years old when his parents were first approached by a gang of thieves with an offer. They promised the kid good clothes, food, good money and a bright, comfortable future in exchange for his services. His job would be to sneak into weddings in Delhi and other cities to steal cash and jewellery for the gang. No body would suspect an 11- year-old to be a member of a band of wedding thieves.

JP Chayal, who grew up in a village Kadiya in district Pachor, around 300km from Bhopal is now a high school teacher. He is preparing for the civil services and does not regret his fathers decision to turn down the gangs offer.

Residents of Kadiya village are notorious for renting their children to Band, Baja, Barat gangs that steal from weddings in metropolitan cities such as Delhi. Investigations in various cases have led police to the village, where parents sign bondage agreements with the gang members to send their children in return for an annual fee of Rs 2-5 lakh, that too under the panchayats watch.

Over the past four months, 86 police teams from different states have visited Pachor to trace suspects and arrest gang members who hire them. In April, the Delhi Police attributed 34 thefts at lavish weddings to minors, including those from Pachor. The latest case was reported on July 3, in which a minor allegedly stole a bag containing gifts and Rs 8 lakh cash from a wedding venue in southwest Delhi. Investigations show that over 11 minors left the village in the last three months with the gangs for job training.

As a child, while most his counterparts whiled away time, he hid in his field behind a well and spent his entire day reading about Subhash Chandra Bose, Martin Luthar King, Nelson Mandela and BR Ambedkar. He now teaches history and social sciences to children and no longer lives in village Kadiya. I could have been a thief too. But I did not take the easy path. I saw my friends leaving to join the gangs. They would return with fancy clothes, but all that never attracted me. I was focused, he says.

Though Chayal agrees that most people from his tribe join hands with gangs in Delhi who train teenagers to steal at weddings, he blames the government for not providing them opportunities to come in the mainstream. Chayal says the outside world paints a wrong picture of his tribe (Sansi).

We were once a criminal tribe but not any longer. Our parents may be involved in crime but they want their kids to study and have a secure future. There are people who are still running these gangs, but they are doing it to secure a future for their kids. With the money they gather from the rich, they put that in educating their children. This is not loot. There is nothing wrong with it, he says.

He has a list of youths who have dared to take the path less travelled. All he now requests is support from the government. At present, there are around nine youths from Kadiya village who have cleared IIT entrances and are studying engineering, nine are MBBS doctors, 21 are in the police department, 35 are teachers, six are in banking, nine in the forest department and also kids who are representing out country in international games, he says.

We are trying hard to rub off this title of a criminal tribe provided we are given some assistance. Why would someone want to commit crimes if they have a good job? A vocation? It is for the government to engage us in jobs so that we do not get attracted towards crime, he adds.

Jitendra Sisodia, who works with an NGO, says gang members asked his father to send him with them. (Mujeeb Faruqui/HT Photo)

Jitendra Sisodia, another from the tribe, who now works with an NGO, Neev Social Welfare Association, recalls how he was approached several times for his children but refused to send him with the gangs.

My father was approached and years later even I was approached. These gang members asked me to send my kids with them. They told me that they will give my kids good clothes, food and money. When I refused saying I wish to educate them, they said education will not pay them as much as this job would, he says.

He adds, It was difficult turning their offer down as they are our fellow men, so I left the village and shifted to the town. Today both my kids are studying in a convent school. Had I not left the village in time, they would have indulged my kids in some crime for sure.

To wean away the members of the tribe from crime, the MP police have begun vocational training programs. The purpose is to divert their mind from committing crime and channelize their energy to do something constructive. We identify adults interested in training and then train them to further convince more people. Many women in the past have joined the group. The efforts are on but a lot still needs to be done, SP, Rajgarh, Himani Khanna says.

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A man from Keralas Kannur with alleged ISIS links, who was deported by the Turkish police for holding a fake passport, was arrested at the Delhi international airport on Wednesday, police said.

The Delhi Polices anti-terror unit is probing his links with the terror group.

A case of cheating, forgery, impersonation and under sections of the passport act has been registered against him. We are probing his links with ISIS. We will interrogate him to probe how he got a forged passport, a senior police officer said.

The man in his mid-30s was reportedly deported by the Turkish police for entering the country on a forged passport. Intelligence officials told the police that he planned to enter Syria and was in touch with many others who have already sneaked into the country and joined ISIS.

He is learnt to have told the police he was in touch with Indian ISIS sympathisers currently training in Syria. Police suspect he was in touch with some of the missing men from Kerala and other parts of south India, who have fled the country and are believed to have entered Syria.

Sources said it was his second attempt to sneak into Syria. He reportedly confessed that in February he had tried to enter Syria through Turkey but failed.

Police said he was radicalised over the internet and encouraged to join training camps in Syria, following which he got in touch with agents, who promised to arrange his trip.

The police have also seized his mobile phone to check all his chats and emails to find out who he was in touch with.

In April, the government told the Rajya Sabha around 80 people suspected to have been influenced by the ISIS ideology have been held in the country but no input suggests that the radical organisation has established a base in India.

Last year, 21 people from Kerala allegedly joined ISIS in Afghanistan. The disappearance of the group, which included six women and three children, sent shockwaves across the country. Most of these people were educated and came from upper middle-class families.

Some of them later called up their relatives and told them they had joined the terror group.

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A day after a 53-year-old woman was found murdered inside her house in south Delhis Amar Colony, the police have arrested three persons, including her domestic help, from Noida.

DCP South East Romil Baaniya said police have recovered the stolen jewellery cash from the three men. Police said they are now looking for a fourth man, who was also involved in the murder.

The victim, Sarita Jain, was found dead on Tuesday at her house. Her hands and legs were tied and her house had been ransacked. She was alone at home with her two servants while her husband Manak Lal and son were at work when the incident took place.

According to the police, three men barged into Saritas apartment with the help of one of the servants, Sajan, when she was asleep in her bedroom. The men reportedly tied the other help Ranjan, and ransacked the house.

Sarita woke up to the noise and went out to see what was happening. When she tried to raise an alarm and resist the robbery bid, the men allegedly tied her up, thrashed her and strangled her to death.

The four men  Sajan and three of his associates  were nabbed from Atta market in Noida late on Tuesday night. With the arrest the police also recovered cash and jewellery worth Rs 10 lakh that the men had managed to rob from the house. The Delhi police have not yet revealed the identity of Sajans associates.

The police said that Sajan was hired by Sarita as a cook a few weeks ago. He allegedly hatched the plan to carry out a robbery along with two of his associates.

One of the helps, Sajan, facilitated the entry for the men. He opened the door and let them in. The other servant, Rajan, was then tied up with ropes by the three men and the house was ransacked. Sarita, who was sleeping inside her bedroom, woke up. When she tried to stop the men, she was attacked. The men strangled her when she tried to alert the neighbours, a senior police officer said.

The entry into the house was facilitated by the servant who had started working in the house around two weeks ago. His servant verification was not done by the family members, DCP southeast, Romil Baaniya said.

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Are you upset with the cleanliness of public toilets in Delhi? Do you want to complain but are clueless whom to approach?

Within two months, Delhis three civic agencies will launch a mobile app, which will help users give a feedback about the toilets condition. MCD officials said once they receive a feedback, teams will be sent to check the public utilities and they would inform private concessionaires managing the toilet.

The app will also help find location of all MCD toilets across the city. Users will be able to give feedback if these are not clean or lack basic amenities such as water taps. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation provided location of 900 public utilities; North Delhi Municipal Corporation 350 and EDMC 550.

According to the results of the Swachh Survekshan survey 2017, North MCD, SDMC and EDMC ranked 279, 202 and 196 respectively in a survey held across 434 Indian cities on waste management, sanitation conditions and overall cleanliness.

Our three agencies are currently busy with the geo-tagging of all public toilets in their jurisdiction. The process included identifying the latitude and longitude location of each toilet and marking them on google map as well so that the people can easily locate them. We are assuming the work to be completed in couple of days, said an official from IT department, South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

An official said the app will have a rating scale of Happy, Not Happy and Satisfied.

The app users can also identify missing amenities such as no water supply, poor maintenance or repair work, an official said.

Devender Kumar, director, department of environment management services said, If it is dirty, we will arrange for its cleaning within hours. But, if it needs repair work, it will be done in a weeks time, he said.

A study by NGO Action Aid in December 2016 found that out of 229 toilets surveyed, only 149 had facilities for women. According to the report, out of 229 toilets 70 per cent were not clean, 65 per cent had no flush facility, 50 per cent had no water supply, 70 per cent had no signages and almost 70 per cent were not disabled friendly.

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The Blind Men of Hindoostan make a reprise every time there is a debate on jobs in India. This was further proven by the results the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) amnesty scheme for the formal sector that ended in June. The EPFO had asked firms, which had hidden employees who were eligible for PF contributions, to bring these workers into the rolls. The bait: The companies would not be penalised for this disclosure. Over 10 million workers were added to the provident fund rosters during the amnesty. To put that into perspective, the governments estimates for total formal sector employment in India is about 48 million of whom 38 million were on the EPFO roster. The amnesty increased the EPFOs subscriber pool by 26% and probably total formal sector employment estimates by a similar percentage.

While the political and intellectual discourse in India is dominated about whether enough jobs are being created, about the quality of these jobs and how government policies are or are not helping employment, the truth is much of this is done wearing sunglasses in a dark room at night.

As the vice-chairman of Niti Aayog, Arvind Panagariya, has pointed out, of the two official surveys used to calculate the state of employment in India one misses all shops and plants that employ less than 10 people and is patchy in its coverage of economic sectors, while the other, which is more accurate, the national sample survey, is done only every five years.

He has proposed that, at the very least, the Survey should be done more often. There are other issues regarding measures of the job situation, especially in the informal sector and mobile labour, but suffice to say India has only the most tenuous idea of how its people work.

It is not true that India is suffering from jobless growth. What is true is that India is not generating enough jobs to absorb the millions of youth entering the workforce every year let alone the millions of rural Indians fleeing their increasingly unviable farms for the cities.

This has been further aggravated by the continuing stagnation in private sector investment and, most recently, by demonetisation. What matters politically, in the end, is popular perception and opinion polls are showing that not only is employment seen as Indias primary problem, concern on this issue is now greater than it was under the last two Congress-led governments.
New Delhi The Delhi high court on Tuesday said the ongoing Delhi University admissions could be impacted by the Class 12 examination answer sheets submitted to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for re-evaluation this year.

A bench of acting chief justice Gita Mittal and justice C Hari Shankar said the merit position of students could change substantially on the basis of marks obtained after re-evaluation. Therefore, as a matter of abundant caution, colleges and admission-seeking students need to be kept informed about the pendency of the writ petition as well as the fact that the process of re-evaluation of marks by the CBSE on the request of some students is underway, it added.

Last week, the court had lifted all conditions imposed by the CBSE on students seeking to re-evaluate their Class XII answer sheets. The verdict came on a plea filed by advocate Sandeep Bajaj, who was representing four students against the boards notification limiting the scrutiny of marks to just 12 subjects.

Nearly 11 lakh students appeared for the Class 12 exams conducted by the CBSE this year, of which 2.47% applied for re-evaluation.

However, Delhi University officials said this need not worry students who have already secured college seats. Once a students admission is approved and they pay the admission fees, it will not be cancelled even if their marks get reduced after re-evaluation. Admissions will be cancelled only if the student provides the university with fabricated certificates and such, said MK Pandit, chairperson of the admissions committee.

Pandit said there are provisions in the university admission guidelines to accommodate students whose grades have increased after re-evaluation. The guidelines clearly state that a student who qualifies under a cut-off list but fails to take admission may do so on the last day of admissions under subsequent cut-off lists, subject to the availability of seats, he added.

Pandit said college principals and students are aware of the stipulations, and clarifications have also been issued in this regard.

(With inputs from A Mariyam Alavi)

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New Delhi: The education system has become completely dehumanised into a machine which is mass producing clones and frowning upon individuality, the Delhi High Court said on Tuesday.

It (education system) is completely de-humanised. It is a machine. The human element has been completely taken out. The contact between teacher and student is perfunctory. There is no connect, a bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and Najmi Waziri said.

The bench said, Are we producing clones? We seem to be mass producing clones. It seems individuality is frowned upon now. You must conform at all costs, else retribution is swift.

The court made the oral observations while hearing a plea initiated by the Supreme Court in September last year on the alleged suicide by a student of Amity Law University. The matter was transferred to the Delhi High Court in March.

During the days proceedings, the bench said there was perhaps an element of callousness in how the university handled the deceased students cry for help before he took the extreme step.

Sushant Rohilla, a third year law student of Amity had hung himself at his home here on August 10, 2016 after the university allegedly barred him from sitting for semester exams because he did not have the requisite attendance. He left behind a note saying he was a failure and did not wish to live.

The student reached out to you (Amity). He cried out for help. But did you respond? Perhaps there is an element of callousness in how you handled it, the court said.

Implement your rules, but do not put students at risk, the court told the varsity which claimed it was only strictly enforcing its attendance norms.

Systems are not in place in your institution which is why a student took that step, the bench said. The varsity, however, said that systems were in place, but there was always room for improvement.

The court did not appear to be convinced by the claims of the varsity, which is affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), and said there should be safeguards in place so that a person who wants assistance gets it immediately.

It also said that this incident would have scarred the lives of the family of the deceased, his friends and batch mates. It is a continuing trauma for them.

Meanwhile, the amicus curiae appointed by the court said the status report filed by the Delhi Police regarding the incident was shocking as it said there was nothing in the complaint which required examination of any person.

The status report also said the suicide note was probably not written by Rohilla, the amicus told the court.

He said the investigation carried out so far by the police appears to be compromised and therefore, should be transferred.

After hearing the submissions by the amicus, the bench said it expected the police to cover all bases and talk to everyone.

It directed the deputy commissioner of police (south) to look into the matter, monitor the probe and file a detailed and comprehensive report before August 8, the next date of hearing.

The GGSIPU was given a last opportunity to file an affidavit indicating its stand as it had not responded to the plea.

The PIL was instituted by the apex court after taking note of the letter written to then CJI T S Thakur by Raghav Sharma, a close friend of the deceased and a fourth-year law student.

It has been claimed that Rohilla, who missed classes for various reasons, including health issues, was depressed over the prospect of not being allowed to take the exam by the college because of lack of attendance. The letter has blamed the Amity authorities for Rohillas suicide.

Alleging harassment by his teachers, his classmates had taken to social media and launched protests on campus after his death demanding action against his professors, two of whom have since resigned.

The letter to the CJI had also urged the apex court to take cognisance of the incident and order a probe by an independent committee in such matters.

It also referred to the letter written by the student before taking the extreme step that he might not mentally survive the debarment.

The college had said that the student had 43% attendance, whereas the attendance requirement of the university was 75%.
A ban on electronic items larger than a mobile phone still applies to flights from Egypt to the United Kingdom

EgyptAir has announced the lifting of a US-imposed ban on electronics being carried in the cabins of flights from Egypt to the United States, the Egyptan national carrier said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, the airline said a similar ban still applies to flights from Egypt to the United Kingdom.

Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said the measures on flights to the US will be lifted for one year or until another emergency rule is introduced, state-run news agency MENA reported.

On 25 March, US authorities imposed a ban on devices larger than mobile phones being carried on flights from 10 airports in Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey.

The measures were introduced by the US Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) to reduce the risk of terrorist bombings. US officials said at the time that the ban would be lifted once these airports  including Cairo  imposed stricter security procedures.

Earlier this month, the USDHS said it would be lifting the electronics ban for some countries that had applied improved security procedures at airports.

On 7 July, US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said the US has imposed a number of security measures to all commercial flights heading to the US.

These measures, according to Kelly, include enhanced screening of electronic devices, more thorough passenger vetting, and new measures designed to mitigate the potential threat of insider attacks.

EgyptAir is the only Egyptian airline that flies to the United States, operating flights between Cairo and New York.

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Chennai The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered status quo on the admission process of MBBS and BDS courses in Tamil Nadu till the adjudication of a plea against a state government order reserving 85% of the seats for state board students and only 15% for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and other boards. The admissions are being done on the basis of scores secured by students in National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (NEET) for entrance to medical colleges for MBBS and BDS courses.

Justice K Ravichandra Baabu gave the directive while reserving orders after day-long arguments on a petition by Darnish Kumar, a student represented by his parents, and two others challenging the June 22 state government order.

Defending the order, advocate general R Muthukumaraswamy said the policy of the state government was not in favour NEET, conducted by the CBSE.

Two bills seeking exemption for the state from the NEET for both undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses had been passed by the assembly and Presidential assent for the same was awaited.

He also submitted that out of 4.30 lakh students under the state board as many as 84,000 had appeared for NEET whereas as out of 4,000 students under the CBSE, a total of 2,000 had taken the entrance test.

More than 50% of the questions in NEET were based on the CBSE syllabus. There was inequality in the all-India exam.

Under the 85-15% quota, around 2,000 state board students and 520 CBSE students would get chance for medical seats, he said.

Criticising the government order the petitioners submitted that the Supreme Court (SC) had clearly stated that when admission was based on the entrance examination NEET, it should make no difference whether the qualifying examination was conducted by the state board or CBSE because no discrimination can be done between the schools affiliated to both the boards.

There could be no distribution of seats between state and other board students and the petitioners who had qualified in the Class 12 board examinations from schools within the state were entitled to be considered against all available seats in MBBS and BDS courses. The result of NEET alone could be considered, they argued.

After conclusion of the arguments, the judge reserved orders on the petitions and ordered status quo till the final order.

As per the present situation, the merit list for medical courses will be published on July 14 and the counselling will start on July 17.

A similar petition against the G.O was filed in the Supreme Court which, however, on July 7 declined to entertain it and directed the petitioner to approach the Madras High Court. PTI Cor VS GSN
Punjabi University officiating vice-chancellor SK Sandhu, who also holds the charge of additional chief secretary (higher education and languages) hinted that a regular V-C could be appointed by the end of the month.

He said this at a meeting with heads of departments and deans of various faculties at the senate hall on Tuesday. I will also impress upon the government to work to ease the financial crunch at the varsity, he told the gathering. He added that a committee had been formed to file a reply over the matter of re-employed professors.

Sandhus predecessor Anurag Verma had relieved these and the decision was challenged in the Punjab and Haryana high court. He listened to demands of student unions as well as to complaints and grievances of some of the professors.

On Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPCs) demand for ban on the sale of Mahankosh for alleged errors, Sandhu said the university was looking into the matter. Bhai Kahan Singh, the writer of Mahankosh, is widely respected. There is no doubt that the content of literature like Mahankosh is excellent. We will hold a meeting over the matter, he added.
Fashion has come a long way, but in all the years of its flashy existence, this world had a dyed-in-the-wool image of depicting slender and tall as beauty.

Vidit Sehgal, Head (Marketing and IT) and co-founder of LURAP, a platform which makes extra large clothing, said, It is no secret that the global fashion industry is rightfully criticised for accepting only skinny models, be it for walking down the ramp or posing for online shopping websites. The notion of a womans beauty has been formed around the size and shape of her body, and the idea of fuller-bodied women has been considered visually unappealing. Those who are not able to fit the existing parameters of slim end up feeling marginalised.

With trends becoming broader and more complex, the images of models got more liberal - women who are not dictated by the norms of fashion world also started gracing the ramps. According to data from market research firm NPD Group, U.S. sales of womens plus-size apparel, including those for teens, rose 6% to 21.4 billion dollars in 2016.

Another NPD study released last year showed that the percentage of US teens purchasing plus-sized clothing almost doubled from 19% in 2012 to 34% in 2015. Despite an average Indian woman wearing a size-M and the average female American wearing a size 20, many high-street and premium brands have refused to acknowledge the fact that most women are unable to wear clothes from their catalogues, Sehgal noted.

But certain recent developments - like a law in France banning the use of unhealthily thin fashion models, Madrid banning anorexic models from walking the ramp and Israel banning models with Body Mass Index (BMI) less than 18.5% - indicate that the mindsets are gradually changing, he added

A post shared by A S H L E Y G R A H A M (@theashleygraham) on Jun 24, 2017 at 11:04am PDT

Many plus-size women are also fervently pushing boundaries and demanding beauty to be all-inclusive. Fashion shows are introducing plus-size women on the ramps in the West. Recognizing the potential of this market, Victoria Beckham too has launched her own plus-size line of high-street clothing with pieces up to XXXL, he added.

After 2015 saw many retailers, such as Target, introducing their own plus-sized collections, more brands joined in. Last year, retailer JCPenney (JCP) unveiled its Boutique + collection in conjunction with Project Runway winner Ashley Nell Tipton.

Recently, Nike also launched an expanded plus size collection for sizes 1X to 3X and Walmart (WMT) announced the acquisition of the independent online retailer ModCloth, which the retail giant described as a pioneer in the fashion industry on issues of size diversity, lifestyle inclusiveness, and body positivity over the last decade.

A post shared by Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) on Mar 15, 2017 at 4:12pm PDT

According to a report from McKinsey & Co, the number of mentions of plus size in the fashion press tripled in 2016 compared with the previous year. In recent years, the haute couture worlds scenario has changed with plus-size models landing big fashion gigs. Plus-size model Tess Munster, aka Tess Holliday, became the first woman of her size and height to score a contract with the prominent modelling agency, Milk Model Management, in 2015, while Candice Huffine became the first ever plus-size model to be featured on the Pirelli Calendar.

Vogue magazine recently hit the headlines by featuring for the first time plus-sized model Ashley Graham on its March cover alongside other models. Plus-size models may be having their moment of glory internationally, but in India, they still have a long way to go.

A post shared by A S H L E Y G R A H A M (@theashleygraham) on Jun 15, 2017 at 7:46pm PDT

India, too, is joining the bandwagon, even if at a much smaller scale, Sehgal continued, Lakme Fashion Week launched its Plus-Size fashion show last year, which saw curvier models owning the runway with grace and elan. Dove too introduced its #RealBeauty project, calling women of all shapes and sizes to share their photographs on its website and join the conversation revolving around body image and body acceptance.

He further said that plus-size and curvy fashion bloggers are proudly taking the Internet by storm with their blog pages like Curves Become Her, Beyond That Bouffant, and Girl with Curves. Renowned designer Prabal Gurung, known for designing clothes up to size 22, has teamed up with the U.S.-based plus-size label Lane Bryant for a collection of 22 pieces. Online fashion websites like Lurap are also catering to this demand by offering a collection of plus-size boutique clothing for curvy women that are tasteful, fashion-forward, and aspirational.

Fashion designer Little Shilpa during fittings session with the plus size model for the 2016 Lakme Fashion Week. (Arijit Sen/HT PHOTO)

Sehgal also noted that sensible efforts are being made by a lot of influencers and brands from the industry to create a niche, where plus-size women can express themselves and celebrate their bodies.

He concluded, This attitude of the Indian fashion industry needs to change, desperately and immediately; the stereotype that all plus-size women are fat needs to be shattered, because it is, like all other stereotypes, demeaning and erroneous. Before plus-size can become mainstream and aspirational, there is a dire need to bring a halt to different kinds of size supremacy.

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At 29 years, IAS officer Vinay Pratap Singh is one of the youngest deputy commissioners (DCs) in the state. With his appointment as DC of Gurgaon this week, city residents are hoping for a solution to long-pending issues such as potholed roads, waterlogging during monsoon, harassment of homebuyers by builders and traffic congestion. Apart from his age, his familiarity with Gurgaon is also in his favour as he has been the additional DC of Gurgaon for almost three years.

Singh too acknowledged the residents expectations due to his experience with the city since November 21, 2014, when he joined as ADC.

Hailing from Faridabad, Singh graduated from the Birla Institute of Technology (BITS) in Pilani, Rajasthan, with a B Tech in electronics. In 2011, he cleared the civil services examinations and after nearly six and a half years of service, the state government promoted him to DC of Gurgaon.

There is no doubt that he is young and dynamic. The real challenge is before him now and we hope he does not disappoint us. However, I would also add that the DC alone cannot change a lot unless the state government allows him to act. We are hoping that the new DC brings relief to homebuyers who are being harassed by developers in Gurgaon, but only time will tell, said Shephalika Sharma, vice president, Federation of apartment owners association, Gurgaon.

Another resident, Shashi Kant Sharma of Sector 5, said, The plan to connect the city with the metro network and removal of Kherki Daula toll are stuck in a political tangle. We hope the new DC resolves these issues.

Last year, there was massive waterlogging at Hero Honda Chowk during the monsoon. The reason for this was that the main Badshahpur drain is too narrow at Khandsa to drain out rainwater timely and failed the city in the excessive rain in July last year. While efforts have been underway to widen the drain at Khandsa, every successive DC has failed to resolve it till date.

Similarly, completion of the citys two peripheral roads (SPR and NPR) is stuck in litigation, also delaying work on other infrastructure projects and development in the areas along these two roads. The city also does not have solid waste management system, a master plan to harvest rainwater, and the renewable energy plan is still in its initial stages due to low enforcement.

Assuring that he will connect with people actively through social media to get a better understanding of their problems and their solutions, Singh sad, I will fulfil the expectations of the residents and the state government.

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The audit report of several private schools in the city is expected to be released next week. Parents protesting against fee hike by such schools are expected to get some relief from the report that was due in March.

Several city schools were allegedly violating the rules under Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) affiliation bylaws and Haryana School Education Rules, 2003.

Divisional commissioner D Suresh, who is also the chairman of the Fee and Fund Regulatory Committee (FFRC), had in March directed several city schools not to demand an advance fee and only charge fee as per the heads mentioned in Form 6, but schools allegedly violated the orders.

Form 6 is to be filed by a school with the education department within a stipulated time. It contains details of the fee the school charges. A majority of the citys schools mention charging a monthly fee in their forms, but actually charge a quarterly fee with several additional charges.

Parents have already deposited the fee of the current academic year and admissions are over.

By next week, the district administration expects to receive the audit report of the schools that had raised the fees for the current year and the divisional commissioner will order the schools to refund the amount charged in excess of what was declared in Form 6.

We are expecting to receive the audit report next week. It will clear the air regarding the issue of fee hike across the city. Whatever has been mentioned in Form 6 will be considered as the final declaration from the schools. We will issue orders to the schools to refund the amount that is not mentioned in Form 6, said Suresh.

Read more: Gurgaon: No relief for parents on fee hike despite protests and meetings with officials

On May 12, an order was passed under Rule 158A of the Haryana School Education (Amendment) Rules, 2014 that an inquiry be conducted by the additional deputy commissioner (ADC) along with district education officials regarding the issues. It added that an audit of the school concerned be carried out by the auditor already engaged in this behalf by the FFRC under the overall supervision of the ADC.

The FFRC is empowered to conduct an independent audit of all financial details of the school against which the complaint is filed.

In April, various parents associations united and involved experts from all fields to raise their voice against the fee hike they found unjustified. These groups have, however, said that their complaint is against arbitrary and illegal fee hike and not about what corresponds with Form 6.

We have been hearing the same thing since April and, despite tall claims, no action was taken against schools. Parents have already deposited the fee and many had to take a loan to pay the annual charges, said Bhupinder Singh, representative of the Haryana chapter of All India Parents Forum for Education (AIPFE).

Despite formulation of good policies, there is no implementation, he added.

The schools have violated various rules under the Haryana School Education Rules, 2003 and (of the) CBSE. The schools were asked not to increase fees without consulting the parents association, but most schools do not have a formal parents association. Despite this violation, no action was taken and parents had to suffer by paying the unjustified fee hike, said Yashesh Yadav, a parent.

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In two separate incidents, two Gurgaon policemen ran over half-a-kilometre each to catch hold of two criminals who had snatched mobile phones from women.

In both the cases, the police not only managed to catch hold of the accused but also recovered the stolen mobile phones from them.

ASI Rajesh Kumar, who is posted in Sector-53 police station and had gone for some personal work on Tuesday at the UCO Bank at Jail chowk near Sadar Bazar, Gurgaon. As soon as he came out of the branch, he heard a woman shouting loudly and pointing at a man, who she said had snatched her mobile phone. However, but no one responded to her cries for help.

Spotting the culprit, Kumar, who was not on duty at the time, went after him and was able to catch him after a chase of almost 600 metres. He recovered the stolen phone from him, Ravinder Kumar, public relations officer, Gurgaon police, said.

The accused was identified as Shokat Ali of Rithoda village at Rojka Mev in Mewat district. A case was registered under section 379A of the IPC.

Appreciating the good work done by ASI Rajesh, Gurgaon police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar awarded him a commendation certificate and a cash reward of 3,000.

This is an exemplary act and will set an example for the rest of the police force. It reinforces the faith of common man in police, Khirwar said.

In another incident on Wednesday, a Gurgaon police constable, Kapil, who was posted at district police lines, heard a girl shouting that her phone had been snatched by a youth. As soon as Kapil spotted the accused, who was almost 500 metres away, he ran after him and nabbed him after a few minutes of chase.

Read I Gurgaon gang rape case: Police announce 2 lakh reward for info on accused

As the incident happened around 1.30 pm near the busy Sadar Bazar, a large crowd gathered at the spot and was ready to thrash the culprit. However, the constable rescued him from the mob and managed to whisk him away.

The accused, who was taken to the Sector 14 police station gave his name as Sukhpal, a resident of Ludhiana. A case of theft under section 379A of IPC was registered against him at the City police station.

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Next time when you board Rapid Metro Gurgaon, dont be surprised to find a female train operator in the drivers cabin. Meet 22-year-old Gayatri Singh and 25-year-old Priya Sachan, who have been working as train operators for Rapid Metro. These women of steel work hard to match up to the expectations of the passengers on board, and feel happy when their parents feel proud of them.

It feels wonderful when I take my parents for a ride

Gayatri Singh, 22, joined as a train operator a year back in Gurgaon. (Zabeeh Afaque/HT)

As a child, Gayatri Singh never travelled by Indian Railways but little did she know that after growing up she will take up the profession of being a train operator. Ek train operator ko train operate karni hai toh apni responsibility pe karni hoti hai, says Gayatri, who is from Meerut. She underwent a six-month training and joined Rapid Metro Gurgaon a year back, immediately after she completed her education at DN Polytechnic, Meerut.

Back home, her choice of profession surprised many of her friends and relatives. There has always been a curiosity about my job among people in my home town. My family knew about metro trains operational in Delhi-NCR but they had never travelled in it till I took up this job. My extended family was also happy with my choice of profession since they always wanted me to become a successful, independent woman. Today, it feels wonderful when I take my parents for a ride, whenever they visit me from Meerut, says Gayatri.

When asked about the kind of reactions she gets from the commuters, her face brightens up and she says, Achcha, ladki chala rahi hai! (Oh, its a woman driving the train)  this is a very common reaction that I get from passengers. And there are many other incidents that have stayed with her. Once a group of friends took turns to cross-check if I was the one driving the train. It was as if they couldnt believe their eyes... Hum apni job kar rahe hain, ladke bhi toh drive karte hain (We are just doing our job. Men drive too). It will take some time to change perceptions.

So, what keeps her going? When I drive a train, its not just my life thats at stake but also the lives of thousands who ride with me. And that is my main motivation. Safety and coordination is immensely important in my job. I also ensure that my focus is on point, at all times. We have to drive keeping the passengers safety in mind, and also other aspects such as departing timely. A smooth functioning of a train requires coordination from station staff and operation control as well, adds Gayatri, who is loving her independent life.

Whatever I have experienced has been an emotional journey

Priya Sachan, 25 , joined as a trainee train operator in 2012 at Rapid Metro, Gurgaon. (Zabeeh Afaque/HT)

For 25-year-old Priya Sachan from Kanpur, her profile of a train operator, in Rapid Metro Gurgaon, is like any other job that requires dedication, focus and confidence.

Its been five years now, says Sachan, who joined Delhi Metro as a trainee train operator in 2012, I never planned it but whatever I have experienced has been an emotional journey. Its very difficult, you need to concentrate for more than six hours. I grew up on the job. It has taught me to be patient, and has made me grow mentally strong and confident. We are working at a very crucial public system of transportation, and safety is of utmost importance here, adds Sachan, an alumna of Delhi Universitys Rajdhani College.

She to cleared the required exams and medical tests post her training, which reminds her of her disciplined school days. We were given first-aid training along with fire and safety trainings. We also got trained in simulators and signalling systems, she recalls.

What was her familys reaction? My family is quite cool but it has always been education-first in my home. They [My parents] said it was up to me to either pursue masters or take up a job. I chose a field that was new and different, and my parents feel proud because of the [kind of] attention I receive, says Sachan, who is happy to work in shift timings of 7am to 3pm: It gives me time to pursue my hobbies in the evening, and I can fuel my passion for dance.

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Charlize Theron has slammed Hollywood for not giving women an opportunity to work with higher budgets.

The 41-year-old actor said she is ashamed of the film industry, reported Variety.

Charlize Theron arrives at the Dior Cruise Show at the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve. (Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

I am ashamed that Im part of an industry that has never allowed a woman to work with a budget higher (than Wonder Woman).

Thats so caveman-like. I am always hoping that this is the movie thats going to change it, Theron said.

The actor will next be seen in Atomic Blonde, due out on August 28.

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Quentin Tarantino is quietly starting to put together his latest project and is talking to A-list actors for what is promising to be a unique take on the Manson Family murders.

The project, whose title is unknown, was written by Tarantino, who will also direct.

Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who have produced and executive produced the previous Tarantino films, are involved.

In this Aug. 20, 1970, file photo, Charles Manson, head of the cultic Manson Family charged with murder-conspiracy in the Tate-LaBianca slayings, is escorted by deputy sheriffs to court in Los Angeles. (AP)

Theyre said to be in the early stages of shopping the project to studios to co-finance and co-distribute the venture.

The move apes the way Tarantino and the Weinsteins made the filmmakers 2009 movie Inglourious Basterds, which had Universal Studios as a financial and distributing partner.

The director is putting the finishing touches on the script. Brad Pitt, who worked with the filmmaker on Basterds, and Jennifer Lawrence have been approached.

Studios could receive the package after Labor Day, according to one source.

Script details are fuzzy but one of the stories centres on Sharon Tate, the actor and wife of director Roman Polanski who was murdered by Manson and his followers in 1969.

In this Feb. 24, 1970 file photo, Patricia Krenwinkel, a defendant in the Tate murder case, enters the superior court in Los Angeles for an arraignment. Krenwinkel, a follower of cult killer Charles Manson, is again seeking parole Thursday 22, 2017. (AP)

Manson had ordered a group of his followers to attack the inhabitants of a house in the Benedict Canyon part of Los Angeles, believing it was owned by a record producer who earlier had rejected him.

Over the course of several hours on the night of August 8, the four followers, using guns and knives, brutally killed Tate, who was eight months pregnant, and four other occupants.

In 1971, Manson and certain members of his crew were sentenced to life imprisonment for these and several other murders committed that summer.

The movie is eyeing to start shooting in 2018.

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Almighty Allah wont forgive the killers of innocents, said hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Geelani on Wednesday, referring to the attack on Amarnath Yatra pilgrims on July 10.

Demanding an impartial probe, Geelani, chairman of Tehreek-e-Huriyat, expressed his deep grief over the death of the seven pilgrims in the Anantnag attack.

In a statement, the Hurriyat leader said that human lives were precious and quoted a Quranic verse to denounce those who killed the pilgrims.

Islam says Whosoever kills a soul unless it be (in legal punishment) for murder or for causing disorder and corruption on the earth will be as if he had killed all humankind; and he who saves a life will be as if he had saved the lives of all humankind, he said.

A bus carrying over 50 pilgrims mostly from Gujarat and Maharashtra was attacked by gunmen at Batengoo in Anantnag on Monday evening.

The police maintain that the terrorists target was the security forces and not the bus carrying the Yatris. They blamed Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba for the attack, however, the militant outfit denied the charges and its spokesperson Abdullah Ghaznavi called it a highly reprehensible act and blamed Indian agencies for the attack.

Bodies of the Amarnath pilgrims who were killed in Monday's militant attack at Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir, being brought by an IAF plane at the airport in Surat on Tuesday. (PTI)

Geelani reiterated that the Yatris were their guests. We have no animosity with India nor do we nurture any enmity with their faith, the pro-Pakistan veteran leader said.

He hailed the Kashmiri youth for their exemplary service, the blood donation campaign and the support they provided to the Yatris in times of distress.

Kashmiris reacted in unison against the attacks with traders organising protest marches on Tuesday and civil society reacting in rage, saying the attack on the centuries-old pilgrimage was against Kashmiri ethos and tradition.

Hoteliers observed a black day on Wednesday while a shutdown was observed in Pahalgam, one of the two base camps for the annual pilgrimage.

People in Kashmir have always proved that they are not following any fanatical dogma instead their exemplary valour and their respect for minority community has always remained a source of inspiration, Geelani said.
Egypt's Minister of Education Tarek Shawki has certified the 2016/17 Thanaweya Amma exam results, which show a 72.4 percent pass rate nationwide, state-run news agency MENA reported on Wednesday.

The pass rate for the previous year was 75.7 percent, Shawki said.

The final results for all Thanaweya Amma students are set to be published on the education ministry website on Wednesday afternoon.

The Thanaweya Amma examinations are the last stage in the Egyptian high-school education system. Students who pass the exams are awarded the General Secondary Education Certificate.

On Tuesday night, Shawki called 56 students who had achieved top grades to congratulate them on their scores and the succesful completion of their secondary education.

Students will soon be applying to public universities based on their Thanaweya Amma grades. This phase usually starts within a week after the official announcement of the results.

The highly competitive Thanaweya Amma examinations have been marred in the past by repeated cheating and leaking of exam documents.

This year, Egypt introduced a new booklet system for the examinations to reduce the possibility of errors in the marking process and eliminate the risk of exam leaks.

The new system requires students to submit their answers on the same sheet as the questions, as opposed to on a separate sheet, as was previously the case.

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The killing of seven Hindu pilgrims in southern Kashmir en route from the holy cave of Amarnath is the latest bloody statistic in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), which has witnessed a 45% rise in terrorism-related deathsand 164% increase in civilian deaths aloneover the year ending June 30, 2017 according to an IndiaSpend analysis of data from the South Asian Terrorism Portal, run by the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, a nonprofit.

Unidentified terrorists reportedly opened fire on a police vehicle at around 8 pm on July 10. When police retaliated, the terrorists fired indiscriminately, and a bus full of pilgrims returning from Amarnath was caught in the crossfire, according to the police. Others said there was no crossfire and the pilgrims were targets, with later reports saying the bus was attacked twice in three minutes.

The Kashmir Police blamed the Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT), a terror group, for the attack, alleging it was masterminded by Pakistani terrorist Abu Ismail. LeT spokesperson Abdullah Ghaznavi, however, denied the charges and blamed Indian agencies for the highly reprehensible act, the deadliest on Amarnath pilgrims in 15 years.

Kashmiris, including separatists, were quick to condemn the attack.

#Hurriyat activists join HR groups civil society members & students to condemn killings ofYatris & express solidarity withBereaved families pic.twitter.com/a5zPE2cdjg  Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (@MirwaizKashmir) July 11, 2017

Widespread criticism of the terrorists in Kashmir drew a reaction from Indias home minister, Rajnath Singh.

The people of Kashmir have strongly condemned the terror attack on Amarnath yatris. It shows the spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much alive.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 11, 2017

Over 18 years, 52 pilgrims killed in five attacks

Over the past 18 years, at least 52 Amarnath pilgrims have been killed in five terrorist attacks. The deadliest attack was mounted by LeT terrorists on August 1, 2000. That attack left 21 pilgrims dead in Pahalgam.

Source: News Reports

The latest attack comes hours after a curfew and social-media ban was lifted in the Kashmir Valley after restrictions were imposed in anticipation of a possible attack to mark the death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani.

Wani was gunned down by security forces a little over a year ago on July 8, 2016. What followed were violent protests, several months of curfew and an overall deterioration in J&Ks security situation.

Death toll of security forces, civilians up in 1 year

The number of security personnel killed in terrorist violence has nearly doubled from 51 in the year preceding Wanis death to 98 in the following year, according to an analysis of data compiled by SATP.

The SATP compiles data on fatalities due to terrorism from media reports. The data are provisional and compiled as on July 10, 2017.

On July 8, 2017, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa paid tributes to Wani on his first death anniversary. Sharif said Wanis death infused a new spirit in the struggle for freedom in the Kashmir Valley.

First @ForeignOfficePk read frm banned LeT's script. Now Pak COAS glorfs Burhan Wani. Pak's terror suprt&spnsr'p need 2b condmnd by 1 & all  Gopal Baglay (@MEAIndia) July 9, 2017

Source:South Asia Terrorism Portal

The 45% increase in deaths of civilians, security personnel and terrorists from 216 in 2015-16 to 313 in 2016-17 is the highest year-on-year percentage increase over the past five years.

Civilian deaths have increased 164%, as we said, from 14 in 2015-16 to 37 in 2016-17 while terrorist deaths have risen 18% during this period to 178 in 2016-17.

There has been a 42% increase in terrorism-related deaths in J&K since the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government (BJP) came to power in May 2014, compared with the last three years of the second term of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II), IndiaSpend reported on May 27, 2017.

India has had successes against terrorism  both on the security and diplomatic front.

On May 27, 2017, Wanis successor Sabzar Bhat was killed in an anti-terrorist operation by security forces.

On June 27, 2017, United States designated Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin a global terrorist, ahead of Modis meeting with American President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.

Salahuddin also leads the United Jihad Council, an umbrella organisation for anti-India terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, known to operate out of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

Salahuddin has openly admitted to carrying out attacks against India, including on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, on January 2, 2016.

(Indiaspend.org is a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit)
New Delhi: Pressure may be growing on the Mehbooba Mufti government after Mondays terrorist strike left seven Amarnath pilgrims dead, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-BJP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir faces no imminent threat.

The ties between the two ideologically opposed partners have been under strain over several issues, including chief minister Muftis insistence on starting a dialogue with the separatist Hurriyat Conference and other stakeholders.

But both sides have managed to put up a united front after a group of terrorist opened fire at a bus of pilgrims returning from the revered Amarnath shrine.

There is no reason for us to blame the PDP. They are not responsible for any lapses or the attack. Both partners are on the same page, a BJP leader told HT on Wednesday.

Mufti, the first woman chief minister of the border state, can draw comfort from the fact that the killings have evoked widespread outrage in Kashmir, her political constituency.

Home minister Rajnath Singhs remarks on Twitter, too, have been encouraging. The senior BJP leader in response to some malicious tweets had defended Kashmiriyat, or the syncretic culture of Kashmir, and went on to say that all Kashmiris are not terrorists.

The Valley has seen continuous violence since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8 last year.

Mufti popularity has been on the decline since then. Her government has come under repeated attack for mishandling of the violent street protests, with the opposition demanding its dismissal and imposition of governors rule.

BJP sources told HT the differences that cropped up between the two unlikely partners during the 2016 unrest have narrowed and the hiccups in governance removed.

The state governments decision to give compensation to the family members of the dead and to the injured pilgrims was another point the two sides agreed on. No compensation was awarded after the earlier attacks. It was a suggestion made by the BJP, which has been followed up by the chief minister, the BJP leader said.

Muftis efforts to ensure that the assembly cleared the goods and services tax and her readiness to give a free hand to the security establishment, too, have apparently gone down well with the BJP leadership.

Jammu and Kashmir was the only state that had not cleared the GST, Indias biggest tax reform, that was rolled out on July 1. The state took another week to join the new tax regime after high drama in the assembly.

The CM has agreed to the BJPs suggestion to give a free hand to the security establishment. The terror attack was an act of desperation. The coalition is progressing smoothly, guided by the agenda of alliance, said another BJP leader on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The terrorist attack could not be called a security failure as the forces had been foiling such attempts 100 out of 100 times, BJP general secretary and Jammu and Kashmir in-charge Ram Madhav had said on Tuesday.
Minutes after the dastardly attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir on Monday, the opposition National Conference (NC) called a day-long shutdown in Jammu on Tuesday in protest against the killings.

The decision came as a surprise given that the NC with a pan-Jammu and Kashmir presence could have announced a statewide shutdown (bandh) instead of restricting the protest strike to one region only.

The competitive politics to court the political constituency in Jammu prompted the Congress, the National Panthers Party of Bhim Singh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to support the call.

Were Kashmiris less enraged than the people from Jammu or was it that Kashmir remained indifferent to the killings of Amarnath pilgrims? Perhaps, the widespread condemnation of the attack by Kashmiris on social media and other public platforms was to the contrary.

The incident had shaken Kashmir and the spirit of Kashmiriyat. While Kashmirs civil society orgainsed a protest sit-in in Srinagar, the separatists who otherwise promptly give strike calls merely expressed deep sorrow and grief over the killings.

This incident goes against the very grain of Kashmiri ethos. Amarnath yatra has been going on peacefully for centuries and is part of our yearly rhythm and will remain so, said Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik in a joint statement.

This was the worst attack on the annual pilgrimage since 2000 when 30 pilgrims were killed.

The rush by mainstream parties to mollify Jammu also explains the tough task ahead for chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti. For her, the biggest challenge will be to ensure peace in Jammu, a region with substantial Hindu population.

In the past, the agitations in Jammu have also resulted in the fall of the state governments. The Jammu agitation of 1952-53 over the demand for complete integration of J&K with the rest of the country and opposition to the provision of separate flag, separate constitution and the provision of the post of Prime Minister eventually resulted in the dismissal and arrest of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.

And in 2008, the coalition government headed by Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress had to go following the 61-day agitation in Jammu over the cancellation of an order of transfer of about 39.88 hectares of forest land in Baltal (Sonamarg) and Chandanwari (Pahalgam) to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.

Political analysts, however, are of the view that the attack indicates the worsening situation in Kashmir and suggested that Mufti should pursue and push the central government to change its present stand and go for reconciliation process and initiate a dialogue with different stakeholders to restore normalcy in the state.

That will weaken and alienate the emerging extremist elements and restore confidence among the people not only in J&K but across India. She (Mufti) needs to win over the hearts of the people and push the BJP to give up its hardened policy on Kashmir, said Prof Noor Ahmed Baba of Kashmir University.

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A political blame game broke out on Wednesday over this weeks militant attack on Amarnath pilgrims, even as government forces launched a hunt for Pakistani national Abu Ismail, the alleged mastermind of the deadly assault.

Using the hashtag #AmarnathTerrorAttack, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi unleashed a series of strongly worded tweets that accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of pursuing policies that had created space for terrorists in Kashmir.

He also attacked the BJPs ruling alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party in Kashmir, saying the association forged for short term political gain has cost India massively.

Modis personal gain = Indias strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood, one of his tweets said, referring to Mondays attack in which seven pilgrims were shot dead and 15 injured when a bus carrying them back from Amarnath was attacked by militants.

In response, BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi asked the Congress vice president to read the history of his family, saying they were responsible for the problems in Kashmir.

Pressure over the attack has grown on state chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who has struggled to control an upsurge in street protests as well as militant violence since last July when security forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani.

But on Wednesday, Union minister Jitendra Singh defended the state governments response to the attack and praised Muftis handling of the situation.

He also sought to deflect criticism of the government and said it must be left to the security forces and experts to find out how the attack occurred.

No political functionary, however highly placed, enjoys the prerogative to sit on judgement on security related matters, Singh said.

The opposition Congress, however, accused the government of issuing contradictory statements.

Deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Nirmal Singh is conceding that there was definitely a lapse in security, while BJP general secretary in-charge of the state Ram Madhav sharply contradicted them and said there was no security lapse, party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters.

Kashmir has been on the edge for the past year as violent anti-India protests have engulfed the region saddled with a decades-long separatist movement.

But most Kashmiris condemned the attack on the pilgrims, saying the cowardly act hurt Kashmirs ethos.

Mufti and Singh highlighted the outpouring of condemnation to say the Amarnath attack proves no one can kill Kashmiriyat.

I salute the people of the country for being patient, the chief minister said, adding the militants failed in their motive to pit people against each other and provoke communal riots.

Singh said as much, as he congratulated the people of Kashmir for the kind of resilience and discipline they have maintained over the past 25 years.

Besides, the Union minister said hi-tech methods such as the use of warning gadgets were being discussed to secure the 40-day pilgrimage.

Jammu and Kashmir police have formed a special investigation team (SIT) to catch the people behind the attack amid a hunt to find Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Abu Ismail, a Pakistani.

Investigations point to the role of Ismail. Two local militants are believed to be part of the team, inspector general police (Kashmir Range), Muneer Khan, said.

The banned outfit had denied its role in the attack.

Not much is known about Ismail, probably in his 30s, though he is said to be active in Kashmir for several years. He didnt figure on the armys latest list of 12 most wanted militants.

(With agency inputs)
A massive hunt is underway in south Kashmir to track down Abu Ismail , the 24-year-old Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) mastermind whose hand is suspected in the Monday night killing of seven Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Anantnag.

The Jammu and Kashmir police have informed the Union home ministry that Pakistani terrorist Ismail along with three other associates carried out the attack. At least two of his associates are suspected to be local youth. The police also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Deputy Inspector General (South Kashmir) SP Pani on Wednesday to probe the attack from all angles and launch a manhunt to trace the perpetrators.

Speaking to HT, state police chief SP Vaid, said: Prelimanary investigation has suggested that Abu Ismail was involved in the attack along with three other persons.

The Police is following intelligence leads regarding Ismails associates, hideouts used and communication intercepts. The state police had so far put Ismail in the middle ranked B category of terrorists.

Sources in security forces said Ismail is active in the Anantnag and Pampore areas. The LeTs south Kashmir commander Abu Dujana and two other militants  Abdul Lone and Abdul Hameed  have been described as his associates.

However, the LeT had denied its role in the July 10 attack saying the attack on pilgrims was against Islamic teachings.

Retracing the events leading up to Monday nights attack, the state police has informed the Union home ministry that the ill-fated bus carrying mostly Gujarati pilgrims reached Jammu on July 7 for its onward journey to Baltal via Srinagar. The Yatris usually trek 14 km from Baltal to reach the holy cave.

On way to Baltal, the bus travelled in the convoy after getting registered at facilitation centre in Jammu. The Yatris did darshan on July 8. But on its return journey from Baltal, the bus was not part of any convoy.The passengers halted in Srinagar for the next two days for sightseeing. On July 10, at around 4.40pm the bus left Srinagar for Jammu, said a home ministry official.

They stopped at Pampore on the outskirts of Srinagar to buy saffron. At it moved ahead, the bus suffered a tyre puncture at 6.30pm when it was around 10km away from Khanabal.

The yatris disembarked and had their dinner and moved around while the puncture was being fixed.

It is suspected that the movement of Yatris outside the bus come under notice of some overground supporters of militants who might have been hiding nearby looking for targets. Since the bus was not moving in any security convoy, that made it an easy target, said the official.

The bus was fired upon at 8.20pm at Khanabal, killing seven Yatris, including five women.

Keeping in mind the incident, the home ministry has now asked security forces to deploy road-opening parities till late in the evening as well.

The state police has been asked to proactively pursue groups of yatris to travel with the convoy only.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved upgradation of a 65-km-long National Highway in Manipur to boost the states connectivity with south and southeast Asia via Myanmar.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told reporters here that NH-39 from Imphal to Moreh near the Myanmar border would reduce travel time from three-and-a-half hours to one hour and 45 minutes.

The project is of international importance as it would make it possible to travel from India to Myanmar and even Bangkok by road, Gadkari said.

The Imphal-Moreh Highway would not only boost international trade and business, but would also be important from security point of view, he said. It is also crucial for socio-economic development in the northeast region which currently has poor road network, he said.

He said the project would create employment opportunities in Manipur and is part of the Asian Highway project.

It is estimated to cost around Rs 1,630 crore.

Gadkari said the northeast region has been a priority for the BJP government which has already started road infrastructure projects worth Rs 50,000 crore in the region.

Our target is to have projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore by the time we complete our five years, the minister said.
Pro-Gorkhaland supporters on Wednesday set ablaze a panchayat office and damaged a few government vehicles on the 28th day of the indefinite shutdown.

The agitation spearhead Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) took out a rally at Chowkbazar in Darjeeling with the body of Ashok Tamang, who died Tuesday night in a hospital where he was admitted after being allegedly injured in Saturdays clashes between the police and GJM supporters.

The GJM claimed that Tamang received serious head injuries during a baton charge by the police.

The police, however, said it was not clear whether he died of injuries or some other reason.

We are waiting for the post-mortem report. We can only comment after seeing it, a senior police officer said.

The panchayat office in Mirik sub-division was set on fire by the activists, who also damaged a few government vehicles in the hills, the police said.

Internet services remained suspended for the 25th day.

While an Army column, comprising around 50 personnel, has been deployed in Kalimpong since Monday night, two columns have been positioned at Darjeeling and Sonada from Saturday after large-scale violence and arson took place in those areas.

The GJM has claimed that eight of its supporters have been killed in police firing, including four on Saturday.

But the police have said two persons have been killed in the hills, including a truck driver whose vehicle was set ablaze during the over month-long agitation that turned violent on June 17.

A meeting of the hill parties in Mirik had on Tuesday decided to go on with the indefinite shutdown and start a hunger strike to press the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland from July 15.

The police and the security forces maintained a tight vigil at all entry and exit points.
The mirror told Nikita Laad she was going bald. Depressed at the thought of people jeering at her, the 20-year-old college student jumped before a running train in Madhya Pradesh and killed herself, police said on Wednesday.

She committed suicide on Monday at Pipalkot village in Khandwa district, about 270 km west of state capital Bhopal, police added. Laad lived with her uncles family in Khandwa town, about 25 km from Pipalkot, where she attended college.

When she did not return from college on Monday evening, her uncle lodged a report with police. A police team recovered her body from the railway track near Pipalkot, where her parents live, and found a suicide note in her bag. Laads uncle and friends confirmed that the note in Hindi was in her handwriting, said police.

Quoting from the note, police said Laad wrote, "With receding hairline and baldness growing, I started pulling my hair in frustration. My family consulted many doctors for treatment but nothing happened. My family also got me tonsured so that I couldnt pull my hair and it would grow again, but all in vain. Now, I have to cover my head with a scarf and I cannot take it anymore. I don't want to live my life with a scarf on the head forever. So, I am committing suicide."

Laad also wrote she loved her parents and no one should be held responsible for her death, police added.

Inspector Vinod Nagar, who is investigating her death, said, "This is the first case I have seen where baldness has been a reason for suicide. We are investigating the case. Laads family members and friends told us she was depressed over going bald."

Suicide is the biggest cause of death in 15- to 24-year-olds in India, followed by road traffic accidents, shows data from Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 that tracked death from 306 diseases, injuries and risk factors across 188 countries.

Suicides have almost doubled in teenagers and young adults in India since 1990, replacing tuberculosis and injuries as the top two causes of death in a little over a decade, reported the study.

Rapid hormonal changes make it more difficult for teenagers and young adults to regulate emotional impulses, which drives them to take more risks without giving much thought to consequences.

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The iconic remains of Mauryan emperor Ashokas palace and the famed 80-pillar court at Kumhrar in eastern Patna has been threatened by heavy waterlogging and faces oblivion.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), mandated with its upkeep, has now written to the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) to send its team to examine the situation and suggest whether it would be safe to remove the protective sand cover, laid in 2002-03 to protect it from wasting away.

Chief minister NItish Kumar, on one of his visits to the site, had urged the ASI to excavate the Mauryan palace hall and display it for public viewing.

At present the site appears like any other park in the city as the ancient structure lies buried beneath tons of sand, which the ASI used to preserve it from ruination due to perennial waterlogging.

The site of the remains of 80-pillar hall of emperor Ashoka is waterlogged at Kumhrar in Patna. (Reena Sopam/HT photo)

The waterlogging problem has to be dealt with before exposing the palace complex.We want the CGWBs suggestion before moving ahead in this direction. The area continues to witness waterlogging because of poor drainage system, DK Sinha, superintending archaeologist, ASI, Patna Circle told HT.

Another ASI official said the entire surroundings lay encroached with illegal settlers building homes all around the site without recourse to drainage. Where is the open space to plan drainage?

He said, as a rule, any construction activity is prohibited within 100-metre stretch of such heritage sites. Yet no one bothered, as encroachers indulged in unplanned construction.

Archaeologists say the condition of the heritage site had gone from bad to worse, with signs of damage on the remains, exposed as it was to waterlogging over decades.

The site was discovered by a young American archaeologist named David Brainerd Spooner on February 7, 1913, He chanced upon a brick wall under a structure and beneath that found 30 cm thick charcoal and ashes.Beneath that was found a huge square substructure with 72 massive Mauryan sandstone pillars made of black spotted buff sandstone monoliths - 15 ft apart and arranged in eight rows.

Spooner also discovered a series of parallel wooden platforms with just one column of the 72 pillars intact. It was this discovery that established Patliputras identity. He deduced that this structure, which seemed to be a replica of the great Persian structure at Persepolis, was the grand conference hall where Ashoka conducted the third Buddhist council.

AS Altekar and V Mishra from KP Jaiswal Research Institute conducted another excavation between 1951 and 1955 to unearth eight more pillar pits apart from the 72 already discovered by Spooner, and also found the ruins of a brick structure dating back to the 5th century.

A terracotta seal found on the same spot read: Arogyavihare Bikshusamghasya (hospital of Dhanvantari). A seal was also found carved with the word Dhanvantareah written in Gupta Bramhi script. A plethora of antiquities like copper coins, ornaments, antimony rods, terracotta seals, dice made of ivory, and toy carts were also excavated.

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Tension gripped a locality in the city on Tuesday evening after an unidentified person allegedly slapped a Muslim youth for not saying Bharat Mata ki jai during a Bajrang Dal protest against the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims.

Heavy police force was rushed to the spot to maintain the law and order situation. However, no complaint was received in this regard. This happened after local Bajrang Dal activists had scheduled a protest near Parizat chowk where they were to burn an effigy.

Reports said the leaders changed the protest venue and reached near a mosque at Lahoriya Chowk. It was alleged that some Bajrang Dal activists started raising slogans of Bharat Mata ki jai and asked a Muslim youth returning after offering namaz to do the same.

A verbal ensued between the youth and others and an unidentified person slapped him and fled. After getting information, police tightened security around the mosque.

Are we guilty of attacking anyone? We all are brothers. It is my demand that the police must arrange proper security around the mosque and arrest the accused, Harphul Khan Bhatti, chief of the Hisar unit of Muslim Kalyan Committee, said talking to mediapersons.

We have not received any complaint so far. We are investigating the matter. If we get a written complaint, the police will take action, said city station house officer (SHO) Lalit Kumar,.

No one from Bajrang Dal manhandled anyone. We also came to know about this. We only protested against terrorism and left from there. We are not aware what happened after that, Kapil Vats, Hisar unit leader of Bajrang Dal, said.
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told Arab information ministers on Wednesday that his country intends to continue confronting those countries that support terrorism, state-run news agency MENA reported.

"There are no compromises in facing countries that support terrorism and endanger the lives of innocent people," said the Egyptian president.

El-Sisi made the comments to Arab ministers of information who were in Cairo for a meeting of the Arab Information Council.

The Egyptian president also affirmed that Cairo does not interfere in the internal affairs of any other country.

Terrorism has caused great damage to the Arab nation in recent years in terms of loss of lives and economic devastation, he told the ministers.

He added that it is necessary to tackle this phenomenon with determination, applying a comprehensive strategy that takes all factors into consideration.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for talks reportedly aimed at resolving the crisis over Qatar.

The four Arab states leading the boycott of Qatar said on Tuesday that their sanctions on Doha would remain in place until it meets their demands and that they would keep a close eye on the Gulf monarchy's efforts to fight terrorism funding.

In a joint statement released through state-media outlets, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain said they appreciated US efforts in fighting terrorism but that they would closely monitor Qatar's behaviour.

Tillerson visited Doha on Tuesday, with the apparent aim of seeking to end the month-long rift between Qatar and other Arab nations. During the visit, he signed an agreement with Qatar aimed at combating the financing of terrorist groups.

The four Arab states imposed sanctions on Qatar last month, accusing it of financing militant groups while allying with Iran, the arch-foe of the Gulf Arab states. Doha denies any involvement in financing terrorism.

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A rare 1931 pencil portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and a collection of his handwritten letters that went under the hammer at the Sothebys auction here on Tuesday have been bought by noted Indian businessman Cyrus Poonawalla, popularly known as the vaccine billionaire.

Poonawalla founded the Serum Institute of India in 1966, today one of the worlds largest vaccine makers by volume, producing 1.3 billion doses annually.

Poonawalla bought the lot for 32,500 pounds (nearly Rs 27 lakh) saying he wanted to bring the historic and rare work back to India.

I am absolutely delighted to have acquired this beautiful signed image and to have the opportunity to bring a work of such historical value back to India.

Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most respected and revered figures in the world and considered to be the father of our nation, and so to have such a rare and intimate depiction of him at work, and signed by the great man himself, is an incredible honour and an absolute pleasure, Poonawalla said in a statement.

The pencil portrait was drawn by artist John Henry Amshewitz. It features Gandhi focused on writing something and is inscribed with the words Truth is God/MK Gandhi/4.12.31.

Gandhi usually refused to sit for formal photographs, let alone a portrait, making this an extremely rare portrayal of the political leader at work, Sothebys said in a statement.

Poonawalla has also bought a collection of Gandhis handwritten letters addressed to Sarat Chandra Bose and his family.
Eleven Indians have been killed in a fire in the southern Saudi city of Najran and the Indian Consulate in Jeddah is providing all assistance to the families of the deceased and those injured in the tragedy, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday.

Among the Indians killed in the fire, four were from Uttar Pradesh, three from Kerala, one from Bihar, one from Tamil Nadu and details of two others were yet to be ascertained, it said.

Apart from the 11 Indians killed, five Indians were also injured in the blaze that ripped through a windowless house where the workers were staying.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay in New Delhi put out the details of the deceased and said the Consulate General of India, Jeddah, was providing all assistance.

Arab News reported that 11 people suffocated and six were injured on Wednesday, in a fire that ripped through a windowless house they shared at a farm.

Firefighters put out a blaze in an old house lacking windows for ventilation. Eleven people died of asphyxiation, and six others were injured, the local civil defence authority said.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said, I am aware of the fire tragedy in Najran...I have spoken to Consul General Jeddah.

Our Consul General is in touch with the Governor of Najran. He is updating me on a regular basis, Swaraj said.

Gauri Shankar Gupta, Kamapalan Sathyan, Baiju Raghavan, Sreejith Kottasseri, Murokanandan Kaliyan, Tabrej Khan, Ateeq Ahmad, Waseem Akram, Vakeel Ahmad, Paras Kumar Subedar and Mohammad Waseem Azizur Rahman were the Indians killed in the fire, according to the details of the deceased released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Details of the five Indians injured in the fire were yet to be ascertained, the MEA said.
An IndiGo aircraft, bound for Kolkata had to abort take off following failure of its airconditioning unit on Wednesday.

All 178 passengers on board the Airbus 320 flight 6E-634 were reported safe.

The passengers were deboarded after the aircraft was brought back to parking bay number one at the Jay Prakash Narayan international airport in Patna. The aircraft has been grounded and engineers reportedly summoned from the airlines head office in New Delhi.

Airport sources said one of the AC units of the aircraft cabin failed. The pilots detected the snag on the runway, after the air traffic control (ATC) had given the aircraft clearance for take-off.

The aircraft had lined up for take-off on the runway but had not started rolling when pilots detected the snag in one of its AC unit, aborting the take-off. They quickly intimated the ATC and returned to the parking bay.

Sources said there were 132 passengers from Patna and another 46 from Lucknow, who were bound for Kolkata.

IndiGo did not respond to HTs repeated calls.

Airport director Rajender Singh Lahauria told Hindustan Times, The aircraft had lined up for take-off at 10.30am when its pilots reported technical fault and returned to the parking bay. The aircraft had not started rolling for take-off. So, there was no question of the pilots having to apply emergency brakes.

This is the second incident in 12 days that an IndiGo flight had to abort take-off at the Patna airport, raising serious questions on maintenance of its aircraft.

On June 30, Patna-Delhi flight 6E-508, with 174 passengers on board, had to apply emergency brakes after completing one-third of the runway when pilots detected that one of its engine was spewing smoke. It was detected that one of the turbine blades of its left engine had cracked, stalling it. The aircraft, which was grounded, returned to Delhi on July 8 after the airlines changed its engine.

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Security forces operating in the Valley first heard the name of Abu Ismail, whose name has come up in connection with the attack on Amarnath pilgrims on Monday, more than two months ago.

In the first week of June, an intelligence input claimed that Ismail was moving in a group of four persons in the Pir Panjal range.

The intelligence input claimed that Ismail and his group was doing a recee of targets in the area and moving through villages en route to the Amarnath cave, said a security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.

The official added that there was a possibility that at least two persons in his group were local residents.

On Tuesday, I-G of J-K police Muneer Khan was quoted by ANI as saying that Abu Ismail was one of the masterminds of the attack, which he attributed to the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Sources in the security and intelligence communities have hinted at some kind of one-upmanship between Ismail and Abu Dujana, who is considered the divisional commander of LeT for South Kashmir. Dujana is also known by the name of Hafiz and is considered to be from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

We havent heard much about Abu Dujana in the last few weeks. It could be a possibility that Ismail is taking over Dujanas place who might have been withdrawn by his handlers  known as Sajid and Waleed  based in the PoK. But it seemed that Ismail and Dujana were competing with each other, said another security official.

Sources in the J-K police suspect that when the bus that was carrying the pilgrims got a flat tyre at Sangam, someone informed the militants .

The state police, in its report to the Centre said the bus came under fire twice from within a distance of 75 meters from its right side. They also suspect that two groups were active in there as three attacks took place in the area within a span of 10 minutes.

Seven pilgrims returning from the remote Himalayan shrine of Amarnath were shot dead and several wounded when militants fired on their bus as well as a security vehicle in Anantnag district of Kashmir on Monday. There is mounting evidence of security lapses in the hours before the attack that triggered widespread condemnation across the country.

Monday horror As it happened 20:15 hour Militants attacked on the combined Naka of Jammu and Kashmir police and CRPF at Khanabal and rushed towards Batengoo. No loss of life or injury reprted 20:20 hour Militants opened fire on a bus returning from Baltal, a base camp of Amarnath Yatra, at Batengoo. Seven pilgrims killed. The attackers escaped towards Arwani While leaving, the militants fired on the camp of 90th battalion of the CRPF. No loss of life or injury reported The bus was not part of any convoy of vehicles of the Amarnath pilgrims and before reaching Khanabal, one of its tyres got punctured While the tyre was being repaired, some of the passengers got down and it is being suspected that watchers gave a tip off to the militants leading to attack The Jammu and Kashmir governments report to the Union home ministry states that there might be two groups of militants involved in attacks

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A group of people allegedly set five persons, including three minors, on fire after sprinkling petrol on them. The incident took place at Bhagwapur Yogvana village under Bathnaha police station of Sitamarhi district of north Bihar, on Tuesday.

Police said, the victims claimed that the accused had targeted them because wanted to stop them (the victims) from recording their statements in a Delhi based court, in a kidnapping case.

The victims were first rushed to a local primary health center at Bathnaha and later referred to the sadar (district) hospital at Sitamarhi, the district headquarters town, for treatment. Four of them, including two minors, were released after first aid while a minor girl is still battling for her life when reports last came in.

The police have registered an FIR on the statement of Guddu Jha, 40, one of the victims, who has named Pawan Jha as the main accused in the case, said station house officer (SHO) of the Bathnaha police station Santosh Sharma.

Sharma said all five victims received varying drgrees of burn injuries on their head, hand, stomach and/or other parts of their bodies. Rubi Jha, 14, the daughter of Guddu Jha, is admitted in sadar hospital at Sitamarhi with serious burn injuries, he said.

Guddu Jha, his mother Narmada Devi, 60 and his two sons Rahul, 13 and Raja, 11, had undergone treatment for their injuries, he added.

Referring to the Guddus FIR, the SHO said his wife had been abducted by Pawan Jha, a resident of the same village and main accused among five named in the case.

Guddu has alleged that he, along with his family members, was living at Delhi, where he came in contact with Pawan. Later, Pawan and his friends abducted his wife from his rented residence at Delhi. As such, he registered an FIR with the local police at Delhi, the SHO said.

Sharma further quoted Guddu as saying in his FIR that he and his daughter Rubi were witness in that case. So, Pawan tried to eliminate all my family members to prevent us from recording our statement in the court, Sharma quoted Guddu as saying.

For his part, Sharma, who had made inquiries about the incident, said, he had yet to come to any conclusion about Guddu Jhas claims. The matter is still not clear and there are several grey areas. We are investigating the case from various angles and a clearer picture will emerge in a day or two, he stated.
The Himachal Police on Wednesday rounded up six people in connection with the rape and murder of a minor in Kotkhai. The six are being interrogated by the police about their whereabouts between July 3 and July 6, based on their call details.

The minor victim was missing since July 3 and her body was later recovered from a forest area in Kotkhai of Shimla district on July 6. It is alleged that she was also raped.

However, the police has denied any arrest in the case so far. Inspector general of police (Southern Range) SZH Zaidi who is heading the SIT said, We are investigating the case. Some people have been rounded up and we will soon arrest the culprits.

On Tuesday, Virbhadra Singh had directed director general of police Somesh Goyal to nab the culprits at the earliest. He also announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest of the culprits.

SOCIAL MEDIA ABUZZ WITH RUMOURS

On the other hand, the social media in the state is abuzz with photographs of six youth who are being labelled as the culprits. Their photographs are being widely shared on WhatsApp and Facebook and many are congratulating the police to have cracked the case.

There is no official confirmation that the people whose photographs are being circulated on the social media are the same as the ones who are being interrogated.

Chief minister Virbhadra Singh wrote on his Facebook page: I would like to inform the people of Himachal Pradesh that four suspects have been taken into police custody and further investigation is being conducted in the alleged rape and murder of the minor.

Initially some photographs of the youth were also posted on his official page, but they were pulled down later.

Meanwhile, one of the youth whose photograph is being circulated wrote on his Facebook wall that he was not involved in the crime.

CIVIL SOCIETY DEMANDS EARLY ARREST

Meanwhile, social outfits, public representatives and student bodies have been exerting pressure on the police to arrest the accused at the earliest. Members of the civil society have also met the DGP in this regard.

On Wednesday, various youth associations of Shimla district gathered at The Ridge and lighted candles demanding justice for the victim.

POLICE ISSUES SOCIAL MEDIA ADVISORY

On Wednesday evening, the Shimla police appealed the general public to be cautious about sharing information regarding the rape and murder case.

Shimla SP DW Negi said it is advised to remain cautious about the rumours that are being spread on the social media. Publishing, posting and forwarding names or photographs of any persons, especially juveniles, is a criminal offence. People posting such things can me made liable under the Information Technology Act and the Juvenile Justice Act. Spreading of unsolicited rumours can also make one liable under the provisions of Indian Penal Code, he said.
A man responsible for the lynching of a police officer at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar last month was reportedly among three militants killed by security forces in central Kashmirs Budgam district on Wednesday.

A police officer said the encounter occurred after security personnel launched a cordon-and-search operation in Redbug area on Tuesday evening, after receiving specific intelligence inputs on the presence of militants in the area. The militants started firing at us. Subsequently, we halted the operation for the night but maintained the cordon to prevent them from escaping, he added.

The gunfight resumed in the morning, and the three militants were killed. They were identified as Hizbul district commander Javed Sheikh, Dawood and Sajad Ahmed Gilkar. An AK-56 assault rifle, a self-loading rifle, a pistol and seven magazines were recovered from the scene of the shootout, said deputy inspector general M Dinakaran.

A police statement said Gilkar had played a key role in the lynching of DySP Mohammad Ayub Pandith in Nowhatta on June 23, besides a number of other terror-related incidents. He had recently joined the ranks of the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Dinakaran said villagers began pelting stones at security personnel during the shootout, apparently to help the militants escape. But we managed to chase them away, he added.

(With agency inputs)
The government on Tuesday abruptly transferred the National Investigation Agency (NIA) additional director general (ADG) and Andhra Pradesh cadre Indian Police Service officer Varun Sindhu Kul Kaumudi to the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D).

The government also abolished the ADGs post from the NIA and moved that position to a central paramilitary. The NIA will not have a number two officer now and the senior-most of the four inspector generals will act as the second-in-command.

The Union home ministry is the cadre controlling authority for the Indian Police Service (IPS) officers and deals with their transfers and postings.

The development comes at a time when the second yearly extension given to NIA chief Sharad Kumar is nearing its end in October.

Senior NIA officials were tight-lipped over the reason behind such a decision.

Yes, Kaumudi has been transferred and the post of ADG has also been abolished in the agency. It is the governments prerogative, said an agency official.

Kaumudi said he was aware of the order but was yet to a get a copy of it.

I learnt a lot at NIA and I enjoyed my stint there, said Kaumudi, adding that it was the governments prerogative to post him.

The NIA was established in the wake of 26/11 Mumbai attacks to probe terror cases.

Kaumudi, a 1986 batch IPS officer, had joined the NIA as inspector general in March last year for a term of five years. Earlier this year, he was promoted to the next rank of ADG.

Kaumudi had earlier served in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on central deputation.

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The Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world, an Unesco world heritage site that draws millions of tourists from across the globe and earns the government crores in revenue.

But the 16th-century structure isnt part of Uttar Pradeshs cultural heritage, according to the Yogi Adityanath governments first state budget presented on Tuesday. The move has invited criticism by academics.

The annual budget for 2017-2018 makes no mention of Taj Mahal in the special section Hamari Sanskritik Virasat (Our Cultural Heritage) incorporated in the finance ministers 63-page speech. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has often pointed out that the Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, did not reflect Indias ancient culture

The Taj Mahal was one of a string of monuments and heritage sites that was left out of the budget, triggering criticism that the exercise was communally inspired and bore the Hindutva stamp. A number of schemes were announced for Hindu pilgrimage towns of Ayodhya, Varanasi, Mathura and Chitrakoot.

Our government has formulated schemes for maintenance of places of cultural and historical importance to promote tourism, said finance minister Rajesh Agarwal, invoking Hindu god Ram in the assembly.

The exclusions sparked criticism with top academics and historians saying the government should promote the composite multi-faith culture of Indias largest state.

The identification of heritage with Hindu identity is in complete contradiction with UPs Sanjhi Virasat(Shared Heritage), said Athar Siddiqui of the Centre For Objective Research And Development.

Others feared any neglect of the Taj Mahal would hurt tourism revenue. Agra has three world Heritage sites and deserved a better deal in budget. If tourism in Agra grows, circuit cities like Mathura would grow automatically, said Rajeev Saxena, secretary for Tourism Guild of Agra.

Professor Rajesh Mishra of Lucknow University advised the government to either completely delink the state from all religious establishments or be more considerate to sentiments of people of all religions. There is no room for appeasement for people of one religion and complete disregard for others, he told HT.

The budget launched a Swadesh Darshan Yojana with Rs 1,240 crore focusing on the Ramayana Circuit (Ayodhya), the Buddhist Circuit (Varanasi) and the Krishna Circuit (Mathura). Another scheme, Prasad Yojana, with an allocation of Rs 800 crore, has been proposed for development of infrastructure facilities in Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura.

Besides, Rs 200 crore has been earmarked for setting up of a cultural centre at Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modis Lok Sabha constituency.

Sohan Lal Yadav, Sociology professor at Banaras Hindu University, said the state government had given more importance to the cities that fit in its agenda. The Taj Mahal is a monument of national importance and international fame. It cant be seen linking with any religion. It is a monument. No government can ignore it.
Two army jawans were killed on Wednesday as Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire in the Keran sector of Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, an Army official said in Srinagar.

The jawans were killed in the Pakistani firing, the official said while refusing to be identified.

Earlier, the same official said that an Indian Army patrol party was ambushed and fired upon by the Pakistani troops, resulting in killing of two soldiers.
A member of the terrorist group Hasm involved in the killing of several policemen last May was killed in a shootout with Egyptian police in a Cairo neighborhood, a statement by the interior ministry said on Wednesday.

The Hasm member and fugitive Ahmed Mohamed Omar Sweilem was killed as police conducted a raid in Cairos El-Marg neighborhood.

Sweilem was involved in several terrorist operations, most notably the killing of three policemen and the wounding of six others in Nasr City last May, according to the statement.

The ministry added that Sweilem was also involved in the killing of two policemen in January and September of 2016.

Wednesdays statement comes one day after the ministry said that police killed a leading member of Hasm in a shootout in Fayoum.

Hasm has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks against Egyptian security personnel in recent months, mostly targeting police checkpoints.

Egyptian security forces have arrested and killed dozens of suspected Hasm members in the past few months.

Egyptian officials have said that that the group is linked to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group.

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Jammu and Kashmir police has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a time bound investigation into Mondays attack on Amarnath Yatra pilgrims.

The SIT headed by deputy inspector general (South Kashmir) SP Pani, also has a an SP rank officer and two DSPs.

According to official sources, the SIT, besides having launched a massive hunt to track down Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander and Pakistani national Abu Ismail  whose name has come up in connection with the attack  the team will probe it from all angles.

Police is following intelligence leads regarding Ismails associates, hideouts used, the communication intercepts.

Kashmir Range Inspector General , Muneer Khan had told HT that initial investigations have pointed to the role of the Pakistani LeT militant Abu Ismail in the attack.

Two local militants are also believed to be part of the team.

The banned militant organisation however had denied any role in the attack calling it, against islamic teachings.

We will follow leads like in the case of killing of an SHO and five police men where the mastermind Bashir Laskhari was killed after gathering conclusive evidence against him, said an official.

While not much is known about the militant, sources say Ismail (30) has been active in Kashmir for many years. Surprisingly, he did not figure in the list of 12 militants released by the army in June.

Another Pakistani militant, LeT operative commander Abu Dujana had figured in the list of suspects behind the attack.

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Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday Kashmiris need to be complimented for their unequivocal condemnation of the killing of seven Amarnath Yatris by militants on Monday as people in the valley said the attack on the centuries-old pilgrimage was against the ethos and tradition of the state.

I think across sections of society people have come forward not only to denounce this attack but also with an aggressive plea that such incidents should be checked, not allowed to happen and the guilty should be brought to book, Singh, the minister of state for Prime Ministers office, said.

Kashmiri traders associations, the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) and civil society organisations on Tuesday evening organised a protest march and sit-in demonstration at Srinagars commercial hub of Lal Chowk asking the government to bring the killers of the pilgrims to book.

Many Kashmiri social media users posted strong condemnation statements against the killings.

Separatist leaders also denounced the killings, saying it was against the very grain of Kashmiri ethos. Militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been accused by the state police of planning the attack, denied its involvement and said it was against the teachings of Islam.

That is something which was perhaps not very visible for quite some time. In one voice the entire populace has come forward and said that punish the guilty. There were earlier complaints that while denouncing acts of violence there were tendencies of selective condemnation, certain acts of violence were very vociferously condemned while others were apologetically condemned. But I think this is one incident which has vindicated us as there were no apologies in condemning it, Singh added.

Singh and Hansraj Ahir, minister of state for home affairs, made an emergency visit to Srinagar in the aftermath of the brutal killing of the seven pilgrims in south Kashmir and attended a high-level security meeting in Srinagar on Tuesday.

They addressed the media at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre in Srinagar.

Mondays attack was the fourth in 15 years, including the August 2000 massacre of 30 pilgrims and local porters who help the devotees trek an arduous route to the cave shrine that has an ice stalagmite seen as a symbol of Shiva.

Millions of Hindus do the pilgrimage between July and August to the shrine at an altitude of more than 3,600 metres in the Lidder Valley of south Kashmir.

Amarnath Yatra is a unique pilgrimage where persons of one faith perform the Yatra and persons belonging to all other faiths play a host in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The tragic terror incident has been condemned by all parties and various groups across the entire state and the entire nation, particularly the entire public of Jammu and Kashmir, a separate press note said.

Singh also spoke about an aspirational class of Kashmiri youth that is keen to be a part of the developmental journey led by Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi.

On militancy, Singh said that it will soon outlive its life, as seen in northeastern India and other parts of India. We are now in last phases of militancy, he said.

Singh, however, did not answer questions on the specifics of the attack but said the government was not in denial mode.

Answering a question from a journalist, he said that all observations and question by concerned citizens will be taken in the right spirit and the government will wait for inferences drawn by security establishment and experts.

On Tuesday, Union home minister Rajnath Singh praised the people of Kashmir for their unequivocal condemnation, which he said: proves that Kashmiriyat is still alive.

Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said the act makes heads of all Kashmiris hang in shame.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the acting Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court to constitute a bench to hear a plea of state minister Narottam Mishra, challenging his disqualification by the Election Commission.

The Commission has disqualified Mishra for not disclosing expenses he incurred on paid news in his election expenditure returns.

The bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud directed Mishra and complainant Rajender Bharti to approach the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday itself for setting up of the bench.

The apex court also directed immediate hearing of the matter, so as to decide the case before July 17 the day for polling to elect a new President to succeed outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee.

The order said that, if required, the hearing would continue even on the weekend.

The Madhya Pradesh minister, who has contested the Election Commission order on different counts, had sought an urgent hearing of his plea either by the high court or the apex court itself, so that he could participate in the presidential election.
Simmering discontent in Gujarats major industrial hub Surat is threatening to boil over. For over a month now, the city famous worldwide for its diamond and textiles business has seen protest marches by traders demanding a rollback of certain provisions of the new Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Last Saturday, over a lakh traders came out on the streets to oppose the 5% GST on textiles. A day earlier, Union minister of state for road and transport Mansukh Mandaviya had met traders leaders and promised to take up the matter with the GST Council.

Some discomfort is expected in the beginning whenever a big change is introduced. The BJP has been in constant touch with the traders, Mandaviya told reporters in Surat. But some traders are getting impatient.

Business is our God. If business is not there, do we worship the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),? asks Mahendra D Raoliya, a power loom owner and diehard BJP supporter till the GST hit his textiles business.

Over 10 lakh people associated with big and small power looms and textile mills of Surat are a worried lot, fearing the GST would add to the woes of the industry barely recovering from the effects of demonetisation.

Most of our products are sold on two-wheelers in the countryside. A Rs-100 saree will cost Rs 190 after GST. Imported products will be cheaper and our industry will be finished this time, says Mahendra, a member of the Patidar community that traditionally votes for the BJP.

As Gujarat heads for crucial assembly elections later this year, issues like demonetisation and GST are bound to figure in the campaign for garnering votes of disaffected sections.

Even the famed diamond business of Surat, the worlds largest hub, is getting the jitters. Just a daylong shutdown by diamond traders on June 18 to press for exemption from GST led to a loss of roughly Rs 700 crore. Traders are opposing the proposed 3% GST on polished diamonds, 5% as labour tax and 0.25% on rough diamonds.

Taxes under GST would shrink our export turnover by 20 %. Considering that 96% of the diamonds processed here are exported, taxes on local transactions should not be levied, says Dinesh Navadiya, president of Surat Diamond Association.

Cut and polished diamonds were until now exempted from all taxes. The industry, small units in particular, was hit by last Novembers demonetisation. Now, Surats diamond workers and owners fear the GST could deal a crippling blow to the Rs 90,000 crore business.

The 3% GST on polished diamonds is refundable once the product is exported. Why take the taxes in the first place if it is to be repaid? asks Jaysukh Bhai Gajera of the GST Sangharsh Samiti that organised the June 18 shutdown.

At Surats Shree Ramkrishna Exports (SRK), one of the worlds biggest diamond cutting and polishing units, founder Govindbhai Dholakia agrees that GST would affect the industry somewhat.

The 0.25 % tax will help in making transactions transparent. But there is a problem with the 3% refundable tax. This is to streamline local trade, which accounts for just 4 %, but it will also affect the remaining 96% businesses that deal in exports, says Dholakia.

Surats diamond industry employs more than 10 lakh people directly and indirectly. Another 5 lakh people are employed in smaller centres like Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar and Amreli.

Small units make up 15-20% of Surats diamond business employing one-third of the work force.

First demonetisation hit us. Now, we do not even know how to register for GST, forget about its impact on our business, says Ramesh Bhai of Tapadia Gems that employs 65 workers and caters to the domestic markets.

Diamond traders have written to us. We will discuss the issue and try to reach some conclusion, says Gujarat finance minister Nitin Patel.

The ruling BJP is wary about the renewed disenchantment in Surat  the nerve centre of the violent Patidar agaitation for OBC quota in September 2015.

Political observers say the disenchantment in this Patidar-dominated BJP stronghold has been building up for quite some time now.

Most of the diamond businessmen and workers are Patels (Paitidars) who have migrated from Saurashtra. Already unhappy with BJP, if the Patels show their anger in their voting pattern, it will make a huge difference, says political analyst Achyut Yagnik.

Patidars or Patels comprise 15 % of Gujarats population. In bid to reach out to the community, the BJP had organised a road show on June 1 for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Surat. The road show drew huge crowds, making the BJP believe that Modi magic was still shining bright in the diamond hub that traders fear will soon lose lustre.
Congress Rahul Gandhi and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar spoke on Tuesday evening, apparently about corruption allegations against the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the vice-presidential election.

Kumars JD(U), the Congress and Lalu Prasads RJD are in an alliance in Bihar that trumped the BJP in the 2015 assembly elections. The graft allegations against Prasad and his family have spelt unease in the coalition.

Congress vice president Gandhi called Kumar, who is also the president of the Janata Dal (United), to seek support for Gopalkrishna Gandhi picked as the oppositions vice presidential candidate a few hours earlier, sources said.

The Centres ruling NDA has yet to announce its nominee for the August 5 election.

Sources didnt rule out the possibility of the two leaders talking about the friction between the alliance partners over a slew of corruptions charges against Prasad, his two minister sons and other family members.

Sources also indicated that Kumar will meet with Gandhi the next time the CM visits Delhi in a sign of a possible thaw in the frosty ties of their parties.

The cases against Prasad are politically motivated. The government is trying to corner him for political reasons, a close aide of the Congress leader said on condition of anonymity.

On Tuesday, the Janata Dal (U) gave the RJD four days to come clean on corruption charges against Lalu and his deputy chief minister son Tejashwi.

The chief minister is under mounting pressure to remove Tejashwi, who was recently named in an alleged land-for-hotels scandal along with his father and mother that saw the CBI raid their homes and other properties.

The Congress ties with JD (U) have soured over Kumar breaking ranks with the opposition to back the NDAs presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

He also chose to send a representative for the midnight launch of the goods and service tax, which the Congress chose to boycott.

It is not clear if the phone call eased the tension but the Congress leader did manage to secure Kumars support for Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Kumars senior party colleague Sharad Yadav had attended the 18-party meeting to pick the vice presidential candidate.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday in the wake of the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, indicating that the Congress will sharpen its criticism over the Centres Kashmir policy.

In a series of tweets, Gandhi said,

Modis policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India#AmarnathTerrorAttack  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

The Congress vice presidents fresh criticism against the PM comes a day after Opposition parties asked the government to introspect and find out how despite intelligence inputs, terrorists could attack the pilgrims bus.

Bodies of the Amarnath pilgrims who were killed in Monday's militant attack at Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir, being brought by an IAF plane at the airport in Surat on Tuesday. (PTI)

Gandhi, like many other Opposition leaders, questioned the BJP-PDP coalition in Jammu and Kashmir, the first such ruling alliance in the state.

Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

On Monday evening, a group of militants attacked the bus at Batengoo in Anantnag area, killing seven pilgrims. The bus was coming back from Baltal, one of the base camps of the Amarnath Yatra to Jammu. This was the first major attack on Amarnath pilgrims in 16 years.

In another tweet, Gandhi said,

Modis personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017
Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Wednesday said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be releasing Rs 2,000 crore worth of currency to banks in Telangana, to meet the currency crunch in the state.

In a meeting with bankers on the issues of farmers loans, Dattatreya said as much as Rs 9,000 crore was released during June and another Rs 2,600 crore during the first week of this month.

Dattatreya said he has spoken to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on the issue of sufficient currency supply to the banks.

An amount of Rs 9,000 crore was released to the banks by the RBI by June 2017, Rs 2,600 was released in the first week of July 2017 and another Rs 2,000 crore will be released to banks in Telangana on July 13, a statement from the minister said.

He noted that Rs 3,600 crore is currently available in the cash chests of various banks in Telangana.

With the total availability of Rs 5,600 crores approximately in the state, he hoped that the crisis would find a reasonable solution, the minister added.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju will lead a high-level central team to assess rescue and relief operations in flood affected areas in the Northeast.

During the three-day tour, beginning Thursday, the central delegation will visit Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, where more than 15 lakh people were marooned by flood water.

The minister of state for home will lead a high-level central team tomorrow to supervise the rescue and relief operations in flood affected different parts of the North East, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The team will include members from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

Central forces along with state agencies are involved in the rescue and relief operation in the three states and, if the situation arises, additional central forces can be deputed from other parts of the country, the statement said.

At least 39 people have lost their lives in Assam where 15 lakh people in 23 districts have been affected by the deluge.

Five persons were killed and nine went missing as a massive landslide triggered by incessant rains hit eight dwellings in Arunachal Pradeshs Papum Pare district yesterday.

In Manipur, more than 20 per cent of the total paddy fields in all five districts of Imphal valley were hit by the floods.

Manipur has suffered a loss of around Rs 131 crore in the floods since cyclone Mora hit the state in late May, leading to floods and related incidents like landslides, state Principal Secretary (Relief and Disaster Management) M H Khan said on Tuesday.
In a u-turn the Election Commission said on Wednesday that it cannot take a stand on a demand to bar convicted politicians for life from contesting polls, prompting the Supreme Court to criticise the poll panel for shying away from a crucial issue.

Is silence an option for you? You must say either yes or no. How can you be silent? If you are constrained please let us know, a bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the EC counsel whose submission was a departure from the stand the commission took in its affidavit.

In response to a public interest litigation raising the demand, the EC had on April filed an affidavit where it supported the petitioners plea. The short affidavit said the commission supported the cause of the petitioner to decriminalise politics.

When the court asked the commissions lawyer, the latter replied: The commission is not taking an adversarial stand. We feel the issue (debarring convicted politicians) is in the legislative domain and we have no stand.

If you feel constrained by the legislature then let us know, the bench shot back at the counsel.

The Centre has already made its stand clear on the issue by opposing the petition. In its affidavit in April it had said that the court should not pass orders on the issue as this is a matter best decided by the Parliament.

The court also took a swipe at the petitioner for invoking Article 14 (right to equality) in the case. The petitioner had contended that while a convicted bureaucrat and judicial officer lose his or their jobs, the same principle should apply to convicted politicians.

Are you espousing the cause of public servants, complaining of discrimination on the ground of Article 14, the bench told the petitioner, fixing July 19 to hear the matter again.

Under the Representation of the People Act, a politician convicted and sentenced to a jail term of two years or more shall be disqualified from contesting polls for six years from the date of his release from prison after conclusion of the term.

The poll panel had said in its affidavit it was alive to the issues that concern the conduct of free and fair elections and functioning of healthy democracy and as such asserting for bringing in electoral reforms which further the cause of free and fair elections.

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Families are steadily getting smaller in India but in many homes the missing children are girls.

Around seven million girls go missing in India every decade, with the fall in sex ratio corresponding with rising affluence, increasing availability of sex-determination technology and declining family size.

The natural sex ratio at birth favours boys, with about 1,020 boys born to 1,000 girls. This bias in favour of boys is natures way of balancing the slightly raised risk of death in baby boys, which even outs the overall sex ratio by the age of six.

Yet not only are fewer girls born because of sex-selective abortions but more girls are also dying in the first five years of birth because of neglect.

Around 1.2 million children die before their fifth birthday in India, which puts the countrys under-5 mortality rate (under-5 deaths/1,000 live births) at 45.

While gender-wise data for 2015-16 is not yet available, the newborn death rate (death within 28 days of birth) in India was 41 for boys and 37 for girls per 1,000 live births in 2005-06, with states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttrakhand and Assam registering a fall sharp in the under-5 gender ratio over the past decade because many families invest more effort, time and money to save a sick boy child than a girl.

India also has the worlds highest newborn deaths, more than 700,000 babies dying within the first 28 days of life every year. Here again, more boys are likely to be saved than girls.

Dont girls get sick?

To save babies in the first most critical 28 days of life  70% infants deaths occur in the neonatal period -- 662 special neonatal care units (SNCUs) with more than 11,000 beds have been set up at the district level to prevent deaths from low birthweight (below 2.5 kg), prematurity, birth asphyxia, sepsis, jaundice and other birth complications.

In 2016, 842,000 newborns were treated at these SNCUs across India. Only 41% of them were girls.

The smaller percentage of girls is significant because SNCUs are referral units, with most sick babies being treated either being referred from within the hospital or from other hospitals in the vicinity, says Dr Satish Maravi, paediatrician in-charge of the SNCU at government JP district hospital in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. If the numbers are low for girls, its because parents are not bringing their girl child despite being referred, he said.

*More boys are born than girls, but the ratio evens out by age 6 as boys are biologically more likely to die of illness in early infancy

His unit in the city centre has 23 beds, with 30-32 babies being admitted on any given day. Around 57.5% of these babies are boys, with the percentage of boys being higher in the 34% cases referred from private hospitals and clinics.

Sabita Baria, 22, is there with her second child, a boy, who suffered birth asphyxia from prolonged labour. Rainbow Children Hospital, a private clinic in Bhopal, charged her Rs 60,000 before referring her son to the JP hospital, where treatment is free.

Baria desperately wants the baby to live. We have a five-year-old girl and have been trying for a boy. I wont ask God for anything more if my boy lives, she says, hugging her son in quiet desperation.

Her yet-to-be-named son is ready to be discharged, says staff nurse Meenakshi Pillai, who is more concerned about the 1.175-kg preterm baby Rinky in the next radiant warmer, who weighs less than half a healthy birthweight of 2.5kg. Shes gained 40gm in a week, which is a sign shes recovering. Shes started feeding on her own too, shes a fighter, says Pillai.

Fighting bias

In many homes, girls have to fight to survive.

Indias pre-natal diagnostic techniques act bans both pre-conception and pre-natal tests such as amniocentesis and sonography since 1994 and 2003, respectively. But illegal abortions have kept the sex-ratio at birth skewed in favour of boys: 919 girls to 1,000 boys were born in the five years preceding 2015-16.

With many states cracking down on doctors conducting illegal sex-determination, the sex ratio has registered a marginal increase to 914 in 2005-06, with Kerala being the most kind to its girls (1,047 girls born to 1,000 boys), followed by Meghalaya (1,009) and Chhattisgarh (977).

Some states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Haryana have registered a significant improvement in the sex ratio, but many others have shown a sharp decline.

Over the past decade, sex ratio at birth plummeted in Sikkim from 984 to 809, Manipur from 1,014 to 962, Mizoram from 1,025 to 946, Manipur from 1,014 to 962, and Jharkhand from 1,091 to 919.

In a family that already has a daughter, the chances of the second child being a girl drops by 38%, found a study in Nagpur.

The study found that the sex ratio for the third child was 1,000 in families with two sons, but dropped to 600 if one of the older siblings was a girl and to 455 if the first- and second born were girls, found a 2013 study at Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, Nagpur.

India newborn action plan 2014 has a goal of attaining single-digit neonatal mortality and stillbirth rates by 2030, with efforts including setting up of SNCUs at the district level, starting birth-defect surveillance in medical colleges, and getting ASHAs (community health workers) to visit one crore newborns at home within 42 days of birth each year, says a health and family welfare ministry official, who did not wish to be named.

How many children are saved depends on the last-mile reach. Unless community health workers ensure all sick babies, irrespective of gender, get the best possible treatment, India will continue to lose girls as families shrink.

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Egyptian and French naval forces concluded on Wednesday joint naval military exercises dubbed "Cleopatra," which ran for several days in Egyptian territorial waters in the Mediterranean and Red seas, the Egyptian army announced on Wednesday.

The exercise included planning and management of joint offensive and defensive combat operations, inspection of suspicious vessels, transportation exercises, helicopter manoeuvres, air defence and the maritime landing of personnel and equipment on coasts.

Two Egyptian Mistral helicopter carriers participated in the exercise, as well as a number of frigates, rocket launchers, F-16 fighter jets, and aircraft that detect and combat submarines.

The exercises were attended by Egyptian naval commander vice admiral Ahmed Khaled and French naval commander admiral Christophe Prazuck.

In 2016, Egypt carried out 30 joint military exercises with 20 Arab and African countries, as well as European countries including France and Russia.

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Seven years after an antique bell gifted to Lord Irwin was stolen from Shimlas majestic Viceregal lodge, the Central Bureau of Investigation is now conducting a narco test of security personnel at the Indian Institute of Advanced studies housed in the British era building.

It was in 2010 that the antique bell made of eight metal alloys weighing 30 kgs went missing from the reception. The bell was tied to a 60-kg wooden plank placed next to the reception of the building. The theft had raised concerns not only among the management of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS), but also among antique lovers and visitors who would often get themselves photographed with the iconic bell.

The bell was gifted to then Indian Viceroy Lord Irwin by the King of Nepal in 1930. The CBI has taken a security guard from IIAS for narco test to Delhi, Prem Chand, officiating secretary of the IIAS told the Hindustan Times. Unable to gather any vital clues about the stolen bell, the CBI had earlier this year announced a 1-lakh reward for anyone providing any leads about the theft. This had raised the hackles of Shimlaites since the prestigious institute enjoys a two-tier security.

THE VIP LINEUP Marquess of Dufferin: 1884-88 Marquess of Landsdowne: 1888-94 Earl of Elgin: 1894-99 Marquess Curzon: 1899-1904 and 1904-05 Earl of Minto: 1905-10 Lord Hardinge of Penshurst: 1910-16 Viscount Chelmsford: 1916-21 Marquess of Reading: 1921-26 Lord Irwin, Earl of Halifax: 1926-31 Marquess of Willingdon: 1931-36 Marquess of Linlithgow: 1936-43 Earl Wavell: 1943-47 Earl Mountbatten: April to August 1947

The bell was stolen on October 22, 2010 . The police investigations had then suspected that it could not have been possible for thieves to take away the bell without a vehicle. The police probed the case for five years but to no avail. Finally, in 2013 it prepared a report saying the bell remained untraced.

Subsequently, IIAS approached the high court, which ordered a CBI probe into the case.

Built in Jacobethan style in 1888 during the regime of Lord Dufferin, the antique building that witnessed scores of historical moments is facing structural distress.

The Viceregal Lodge remained the summer residence of the British Viceroys during the Raj. Renamed as Rashtrapati Niwas after Independence, it was on October 20, 1964, that the then President of India S Radhakrishnan inaugurated the institute afresh.

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The terror attack that killed seven Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir is reprehensible, the Trump Administration has said as several lawmakers joined in to condemn the dastardly act.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 19 others were injured in a terrorist attack in south Kashmirs Anantnag district on Monday night.

The bus, bearing Gujarat registration number, was on way from Baltal to Jammu when the attack took place.

We consider it to have been a terrorist attack in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in which seven religious pilgrims were killed. Thats of great concern to us, the State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at a news conference.

These were civilians, they were killed as they were exercising their right to worship and that is, in large part, what makes this so reprehensible. That is a great concern to us and our thoughts and prayers go out to those people and to their families as well. Our prayers are with the victims and those who were affected, she said.

Meanwhile several US lawmakers condemned the terrorist attack.

My thoughts & prayers to all of the #AmarnathYatraTerrorAttack victims & their families. The attack is reprehensible & must be condemned.  Rep. Will Hurd (@HurdOnTheHill) July 11, 2017

The terrorist attack on Amarnath Pilgrims is outrageous, said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

The terrorist attack on #AmarnathPilgrims is outrageous. Religion is a fundamental right and human right #AmarnathYatra #ReligiousFreedom  Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) July 11, 2017

Congressman John Ratcliffe in his tweet, sent his prayers to the families of those killed in the horrific terrorist attack.

Sending my prayers to the families of those killed in the horrific terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra: https://t.co/h0kZ3b4Eah  John Ratcliffe (@RepRatcliffe) July 11, 2017

Congressman Jim Costa said he is Deeply saddened at the cowardly attack on innocent Amarnath Yatra pilgrims.

Deeply saddened at the cowardly attack on innocent #AmarnathYatra pilgrims. My thoughts and prayers are with you. https://t.co/FaIqZD2F57  Rep. Jim Costa (@RepJimCosta) July 11, 2017

The terrorist attack on AmarnathYatra is reprehensible and must be condemned, tweeted Congressman Ted Poe.

The terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra is reprehensible and must be condemned. https://t.co/q1WsUlwQOR  Ted Poe (@JudgeTedPoe) July 11, 2017

Congressman John Culberson said:

Our hearts go out to the victims of the terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra. We must stand united against these deplorable acts of terror.  John Culberson (@CongCulberson) July 11, 2017

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard said:

Hindus & pilgrims of every religion should be able to visit their holy places without fear of attacks by terroristshttps://t.co/Lpzfb60sEv  Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) July 10, 2017
Volunteers of the newly-floated Sri Krishna Sena (SKS) disrupted trains services at Chak Sikandar railway station in Vaishali district of Bihar on Wednesday, demanding an immediate withdrawal of cases against RJD chief Lalu Prasads younger son and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav in connection with the land-for-hotels scam.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided his house last week before registering a case against Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi and other officials for allegedly illegally awarding hotel maintenance contracts to private firms when the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief was the railway minister.

Chak Sikandar, which falls under Tejashwis Raghopur assembly segment, is one of the most important stations under the Sonepur division of East Central Railway (ECR) on the Hajipur-Bacchwara route. The area is also a citadel of the Yadav community to which Lalu belongs.

The area also falls under the parliamentary segment of Vaishali, which Union minister for food and civil supplies, Ram Vilas Paswan represents.

SKS volunteers, who swear by Tejashwi and his brother Tej Pratap, assembled at the station braving showers in the morning and climbed onto the locomotive engine of the Barauni-Patliputra MEMU train with posters decrying the CBI and the Centre.

Prem Kumar Yadav, who led the agitation, alleged that the cases against Tejashwi were lodged at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government, which he said was scared of his growing popularity. He claimed the cases against him were false.

The services of trains on the section remained disrupted for hours as the supporters were adamant on the arrival of senior railway officials to receive their demand and forward it to the central government for withdrawal of cases lodged against Tejashwi while raising slogans against the NDA government, said railway officials.

Chak Sikandar is a politically sensitive area with an equal number of National Democratic Alliance supporters as well as those of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The police were also alerted to avert every potential threat of a clash between rival groups, which could have led to damage to the railway and other government property, said an official.

Chief security commissioner and inspector general of the Railway Protection Force at ECR headquarters, Ravindra Verma, said train services resumed after the agitators were assured by senior railway officials, including the local BDO, that their demands will be forwarded to those concerned.

Senior divisional commercial manager of Sonepur division Dileep Kumar said legal action would be taken against those found disrupting trains services.

This was the first such agitation to be reported in support of Tejashwi in one of the RJD bastions and has potential to spread.

Tejashwi junked corruption allegations against him on Wednesday, terming the charges a political conspiracy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and dismissing speculation that the states ruling alliance was under strain.
Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav rebutted on Wednesday corruption charges against him, saying it reeks of political vendetta as he was barely 13 when the alleged case happened in 2004.

The 26-year-old younger son Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah of conspiring to implicate him in a false case to break the ruling alliance in the state.

They are bringing cases of 2004 against me. I was 13-14 yr old at that time. Didnt even have moustache in 2004 Can a boy of 13-14 years indulge in a scam? he asked after attending a cabinet meeting called by chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Kumars Janata Dal (United) rules the state with the RJD and Congress, which together defeated the BJP in the 2015 assembly election.

The RJD-JD(U) ties were strained after Tejashwi and his father were named in a land-for-hotels scandal, and the CBI raided their homes and other properties last week. The JD(U) has asked its partner to come clean amid calls to sack the deputy chief minister.

But Tejashwi dismissed speculation that the states ruling alliance is under strain.

From Day 1, BJP leaders have been trying to break our alliance. The alliance is strong and will continue, he said.

The first-time minister alleged the BJP started a political conspiracy because of his successful work with the roads department.

It seems the BJP, which is afraid of my father, is now scared of a 26-year-old too, he said.

I have done nothing wrong as the deputy chief minister and have worked relentlessly for the states development. How can I be in a scam when I had nothing, not even a moustache, when it allegedly happened?

His belligerent stand, however, belied the sombre mood at the cabinet meeting that he attended with elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, the health and environment minister.

There was hardly any discourse between the CM and his deputy and the meeting was over really fast, said a top JD(U) cabinet member who didnt wish to be named.

Congress ministers described the mood as normal and everyone had tea thereafter.

The Congress is apparently trying to prevent the crisis escalating into a break-up as the chief minister is said to be upset because his clean image is sullied by the allegations.

Industries minister and JD(U) leader Jai Kumar Singh said his party wont compromise on its zero-tolerance policy on corruption, but refused comments on calls to sack Tejashwi.

Senior RJD leader and minister Chandra Shekhar said Tejashwi is clean.

The JD(U) and RJD came together with the Congress and formed the government despite knowing the charges against Lalu Prasad. Why a different norm when the charges (against Tejashwi) are fake?

BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi challenged the RJDs stand.

Tejashwi should say whether the property in the CBI FIR is in his name or not. Saying that he should not be charged for a past irregularity is like saying I can murder but should not be answerable if I am a minister, he said.

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A 12-year old boy allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his hostel room at Jeedimetla on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Wednesday.

According to Jeedimetla police, the body of Fareeduddin, a Class 6 student of Telangana Minority Welfare Residential School, was found hanging from the ceiling of his hostel room on the first floor of the school building. He reportedly cut his bedsheet vertically, made it into a rope, tied it to the ceiling fan and hanged himself.

School principal Syed Aslam Nazir told the media that Fareeduddin was sharing the hostel room with four other boys, who were fast asleep when he took the extreme step. One of the inmates who woke up in the early hours noticed the boy hanging from the ceiling. He alerted the hostel staff, who in turn informed the police.

The police said Fareeduddin hails from a poor family staying at Venkatramireddy Nagar in Jeedimetla. His father passed away five years ago and his mother Akthar Begum is a daily wage worker.

The family members suspect that the boy might have been subject to physical harassment by the school and hostel authorities. They questioned why the boys body was shifted to the hospital without even intimating to them.

However, the police said there were no external injuries on the body. Preliminary inquiries revealed that Fareeduddin was not interested in studies. He was admitted into this school only on Friday last and he returned home on Saturday. He was forcibly brought back to school on Monday evening. May be he felt home sick, Jeedimetla sub-inspector K Srinivas told HT.

The police, who booked a case of suspicious death, shifted the body of the boy to Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad for post-mortem.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh child rights association has demanded that the school authorities be held responsible for the death of the boy. It is their responsibility to provide a safe and secure environment for the children. Their callousness led to the boys death, association president P Achyuta Rao said and demanded that the family be paid an ex gratia of Rs 12 lakh.

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Even as hope returned to families of the 39 abducted Indians after terror group Islamic State (IS) was ousted from stronghold Mosul by government forces in war-torn Iraq, the lone returning survivor has stuck to his claim that they are dead.

Harjit Masih, 30, who said he feigned death after being shot in the leg by IS men, had returned in 2014. The entire incident of IS terrorists shooting the men happened in front of me, he said on Wednesday in his village in Gurdaspur district, saying he wonders why Indian government is not accepting the reality. He added, I still pray that what I saw is proved wrong and Indian officials who have gone to Mosul bring them back, alive.

Of the 39 men, at least 22 belong to Punjab and had gone to Iraq as factory workers.

Masih said, If the government says that all Indians are safe, why has it not found any of them in these three years. Moreover, what will the government get by not telling the truth? Ultimately, some day or the other, the truth will come out.

Harjit Masih. (HT Photo)

Again narrating his tale, Masih said, Everything was fine till May of 2014. We enjoyed our work at a factory, though some incidents of firing by IS militants happened in the outer parts of the city. But, a month later, they entered the factory and kidnapped all of us.

He said they were shifted to a place he could not identify. On that fateful day, they forced us to sit on our knees, in a row, and opened fire. I received a shot in my right leg and was covered with bodies. Next day, when I regained consciousness, I found all my fellow workers dead.

After a few days, I managed to reach a Bangladeshi relief camp and was rushed to hospital. A week later, I returned to India after which intelligence agencies kept shifting me from one city to another. I was made to stay in Delhi, Gurgaon and Greater Noida, before finally being sent back to my village, he claimed.

He also alleged that he was promised a government job for keeping mum. But, as I opened by mouth, I was implicated in a fake case and sent to jail for six months. My father died during this period. Even now, intelligence agencies visit me regularly, he further said.

Meanwhile, families of the 39 men are in regular touch with the Union government, which had sent minister of state for external affairs Gen VK Singh (retd) and other officials to Iraq to trace the men.
A resident of Uttar Pradesh, Dharam Pal is as much at home in mountainous Baltal as in the fertile plains of his hometown of Saharanpur.

On Tuesday, Pal struggled to control his tears and come to terms with the killing of seven Amarnath pilgrims at Batengoo, 150km from Baltal, the night before.

What harm did those yatris do to the militants? They had come to Kashmir to pray but now their bodies have gone back home, said Pal, who has been running a free kitchen, or a langar, at the Baltal base camp during the Amarnath Yatra for 18 years.

Baltal in Jammu and Kashmir is the shorter but high-altitude route to the revered Hindu shrine, which is 14km away. The mountain camp is also the last point till which vehicles can go. The remaining journey is either done on foot or ponies.

The bus that was attacked by terrorists also came from Baltal, packed with devotees who had paid obeisance at the Himalayan shrine.

Manning the desk of the Sri Mahadev Seva Samiti, which he said fed around 2,000 pilgrims a day, Pal broke down as he talked about the strike that stunned the border state and rest of the country.

If such incidents continue, will anyone ever come to Kashmir. What enmity do the militants have with pilgrims, he said.

The assault comes at time when Kashmir is battling street protests and increased militant violence, which are keeping tourists away.

Also seen as a symbol of Kashmirs syncretic culture, the pilgrimage has largely remained untouched by the decades of unrest in the Valley. Mondays attack is the fourth such assault.

Pal was not alone. Disbelief, grief and sadness were hard to miss at Baltal. People did put up a brave face but fear was not too far behind.

We have full faith in God that no harm will come to us but what has happened had created fear in our minds, said Ramesh Kumar. A resident of Amritsar in Punjab, Kumar has been visiting the shrine for 17 years.

Two couples from Surat in Gujarat said they were at the Himalayan shrine when pilgrims were hit. Their families were frantic as the bus that was fired upon was registered in Gujarat and three of the dead were also from that state.

We came down this morning and our phones have been ringing constantly. People have been calling from home, asking if we are fine, said Dinesh Jariwala. We are a bit worried about going back but we hope things will fine.

A group from Muradabad in Uttar Pradesh had similar concerns. We had been advised against leaving for Jammu today, and so we are staying back, Ashish Singh said.

A shutdown was called in Jammu on Tuesday in protest against the killings.

The 40-day pilgrimage, also known as the Amarnath Yatra, began on June 29. The government said more than 35,000 troops were being deployed to protect the twin pilgrimage routes. This year, police are using drone-mounted surveillance cameras, jammers, dog squads, bullet-proof bunkers, satellite tracking devices and other gadgets to secure the pilgrimage in view of increased militancy and violence in the Valley.

Monday horror As it happened 20:15 hour Militants attacked on the combined Naka of Jammu and Kashmir police and CRPF at Khanabal and rushed towards Batengoo. No loss of life or injury reprted 20:20 hour Militants opened fire on a bus returning from Baltal, a base camp of Amarnath Yatra, at Batengoo. Seven pilgrims killed. The attackers escaped towards Arwani While leaving, the militants fired on the camp of 90th battalion of the CRPF. No loss of life or injury reported The bus was not part of any convoy of vehicles of the Amarnath pilgrims and before reaching Khanabal, one of its tyres got punctured While the tyre was being repaired, some of the passengers got down and it is being suspected that watchers gave a tip off to the militants leading to attack The Jammu and Kashmir governments report to the Union home ministry states that there might be two groups of militants involved in attacks

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Thousands of Rajputs who gathered at Saanvrad village in Nagaur district on Wednesday vowed to not vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2018 assembly elections. They converged at the village in a show of strength to demand CBI inquiry into the encounter of gangster Anandpal Singh.

Anandpal was killed in the encounter on June 24 in Churu district.

Karni Senas patron Lokendra Singh Kalvi, who spearheaded the Hunkar rally, said that the community will not settle for anything less than a CBI inquiry.

Earlier, former MLA Ranvir Gudha and Karni Sena president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedhi proposed that the Rajputs take a vow against voting for BJP. Around 50,000 people from different parts of the state raised their hand in support.

Rajputs began pouring in to the from the morning on Wednesday. Police set up 32 check posts on all the roads leading to Saanvrad to verify details of all those going to the village.

We deployed 2,500 police personnel, including staff from the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary, the emergency response team and special task force to maintain law and order in view of large number of people expected in the village, said ADG (law and order) NRK Reddy. He said riot control vehicles were also deployed.

Ajmer range inspector general of police Malini Agarwal said 20 additional and deputy SPs, 40 inspectors and more than 80 sub-inspectors were deployed to monitor the situation.

Talks between the Rajput leaders and administration continued until late on Wednesday evening. The state government sent top police officer Ajit Singh Shekhawat, who is director general of jails, to mediate in the talks.

Reddy said by 6 pm, more than 6,000 people had left the village. He said there was a minor stone pelting in the village in which window panes of two police vehicles were damaged. However, the rally was largely peaceful, he added.

The district administration imposed prohibitory orders in the district and suspended internet services from 5 pm on July 11 to midnight of Wednesday.
The Muslim organisation that played a key role in coordinating with the police in pacifying agitating Muslim mobs at Baduria and Basirhat during the five days of communal flare up has planned to raise funds to compensate every victim of violence.

All India Sunnat Al Jamaat has also decided to repair all places of worship vandalised during clashes between Hindus and Muslims and has sought the administrations permission for the work.

Read: Bengal violence: Basirhats Muslim leaders tried to pacify the rioting mob, but couldnt

The outfit has also sought the administrations permission to host a mega gathering at Basirhat where Hindus and Muslim will be served khichdi on the same table. We are waiting for the administrations permission, Abdul Matin, secretary of the North 24-Parganas-based All India Sunnat Al Jamaat, told HT.

Compounder Debprasad Bairagi (left) and Dr Kaseed Ali, who have been working together in Basirhat for 35 years have been spreading the message for harmony to the patients coming for consultation. (Samir Jana)

The outfit is a Muslim social welfare organisation that organises some of the biggest religious soirees in Basirhat and Baduria region.

We have started drawing up a list of victims of the clashes. This include people who were beaten up, whose houses and shops were vandalised, said Matin.

He told HT that the organisation will use its own funds to repair the damage done to the temples and mosque. The authorities will start a fund collection drive if the administration approves their plan of offering compensation to the victims.

Read: Basirhat impact: Tourists vanish from popular riverside destination of Taki

Well sit with the administration with the list of victims and request a joint effort by people from both communities and the administration in properly compensating each of them. We have also told the local administration that we want to repair all temples and mosques vandalised during the clashes, added Matin.

Though police and paramilitary forces continue to patrol Basirhat, the town resumed normal life on July 10 after being paralysed for a week. (Samir Jana)

The office bearers of All India Sunnat Al Jamaat have spoken to local police and administrative officers, who have requested Matin to wait till the situation normalises.

Matin, who is in his forties, ran from one locality to another between July 2 and July 5 to persuade blockaders to clear the roadblocks and desist from vandalism. His appeal to refrain from protests on the day of ulta-rathajatra on July 3, however, could not stop attacks on rathajatra at two places.

Muslims need to initiate any such effort because it was a section of people from our community who are to be blamed for creating the trouble, he said.

Matin said that the wounds in peoples heart needs to be healed and that both communities should work together in restoring trust in each other.

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Finance minister Rajesh Agarwal who presented the budget for 2017-2018, invoked Lord Ram, said that the budget aims to connect the youth with places of cultural and historical importance.

Our state has been a carrier of ancient cultural heritage. But our younger generation is gradually distancing itself from the places of cultural and historical importance. Our government has formulated schemes for maintenance of places of cultural and historical importance to promote tourism, said Agarwal.

Temples and residential buildings are seen on the banks of the river Ganga in Varanasi. A number of schemes were announced for Hindu pilgrimage towns of Ayodhya, Varanasi, Mathura and Chitrakoot. (REUTERS)

The budget marks launch of Swadesh Darshan Yojana with an allocation of Rs 1,240 crore focusing on the Ramayana Circuit, the Buddhist Circuit and the Krishna Circuit.

The budget saw the exclusion of icons such as the Taj Mahal from sites that connote historical and cultural importance, triggering criticism. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has often pointed out that the Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, did not reflect Indias ancient culture. (Shutterstock)

No mention has been made of Taj Mahal or Fatehpur Sikri in the special section Hamari Sanskritik Virasat (Our Cultural Heritage) incorporated in the finance ministers 63-page budget speech.

Eid-ul-fitr congregation in the lawns of the Bara Imambara in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. (Subhankar Chakraborty / HT Photo)

People climb the steps of the Buland Darwaza in Fatehpur Sikri, a UNESCO World Heritage site and considered the first planned city built by the Mughals in India. (Shutterstock)

A commitment has been made to hold Lok Malhar and Savan Jhula programmes in Gorakhpur and Ayodhya. Special places for rendering bhajans (religious songs) will be constructed in Ayodhya and Chitrakoot.

People cross the historic Rumi Darwaza in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. (Subhankar Chakraborty / HT Photo)

Also missing from the budget are spheres of environmental conservation such as the Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary, Katarniaghat, Dudhwa and the Uttar Pradesh section of the Chambal sanctuaries. These sites are host to several rare species of plant and animal life.

A view of the entrance to the Agra Fort, also a World Heritage site and the residence of Mughal emperors before the capital shifted to Delhi in 1638. (Shutterstock)

The Samajwadi Party was quick to react calling the budget bhashan (budget speech) a bhajan bhashan (budget speech is like singing of religious songs) with the SP national spokesperson Ghanshyam Tiwari saying the state would not be able to achieve even 5% growth rate with Yogi governments budget.
Iraqi forces clashed with Islamic State militants holding out in Mosul's Old City on Wednesday, more than 36 hours after Baghdad declared victory over the jihadists in what they had declared the de facto Iraqi capital of their "caliphate".

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's victory announcement signalled the biggest defeat for the hardline Sunni group since its lightning sweep through northern Iraq three years ago. But pockets of Mosul remain insecure and the city has been heavily damaged by nearly nine months of gruelling urban combat.

About 900,000 people fled the fighting, with more than a third sheltered in camps outside Iraq's second largest city and the rest living with family and friends in other neighbourhoods.

Civilian activity has quickly returned to much of Mosul and work is underway to repair damaged homes and infrastructure, something the United Nations estimates will initially cost more than $1 billion.

Newly trained local police are deployed in Mosul alongside the military, but authorities have not prepared a post-battle plan for governance and security in the city, officials say.

Iraqi forces exchanged gunfire with the militants in their final Mosul redoubt just before midnight and through the day on Wednesday, three residents living just across the Tigris River from the area told Reuters.

Army helicopters strafed the Old City and columns of smoke rose into the air, though it was unclear if these came from controlled explosions or bombs set off by Islamic State group, the residents said by phone.

"We still live in an atmosphere of war despite the victory announcement two days ago," said Fahd Ghanim, 45. Another resident said the blasts shook the ground around half a kilometre away.

An Iraqi military official attributed the activity to "clearing operations".

"Daesh is hiding in different places," he said, using an acronym for Islamic State group. "They disappear here and pop up there, then we target them."

Media access to the area has been heavily restricted since Abadi claimed victory on Monday, hailing "the collapse of the terrorist state".

Footage released by Islamic State group news agency Amaq entitled "Fighting till the last gasp" and allegedly filmed in Mosul's Maydan district showed militants mixed in with civilians and unidentified corpses lying amid the rubble of an urban battlefield. Reuters could not authenticate the video.

Asymmetric Attacks

Thousands of civilians have been killed during the Mosul offensive. Many were targeted by Islamic State group but rights groups have also accused Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition backing them of killings that violated international humanitarian law.

On Tuesday, Amnesty International cited a reliance on weapons it said had only crude targeting capabilities.

The coalition strongly rejected the charges, and Abadi, without mentioning Amnesty, said in a statement on Wednesday that rights groups should check their sources.

The Iraqi official declined to estimate the number of militants or civilians remaining in the Old City, but the top U.S. general in Iraq said on Tuesday that as many as a couple of hundred IS insurgents could still be in Mosul.

"There are bypassed holdouts. We haven't cleared every building in this city the size of Philadelphia. That's going to have to be done, and there are also hidden IEDs (improvised explosive devices)," Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend told reporters. "There are still going to be losses from the Iraqi security forces as they continue to secure Mosul."

The coalition said it had conducted three air strikes on IS group in the Mosul area on Tuesday, targeting militants, machine-gun emplacements and rocket-propelled grenade systems.

South of the city, Iraqi security forces repelled an IS group attack launched from western desert areas on the village of al-Jaran, a tribal fighter said.

Reinforcements also arrived to help government forces oust militants armed with machine guns and mortars from the village of Imam Gharbi, further to the south.

A policeman was killed and two others wounded in clashes on Wednesday, a security official said. IS group has taken more than 75 percent of the village since storming it last week.

These are the kind of asymmetric, guerrilla-style strikes Islamic State group is expected to concentrate on now as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces regain control over cities the group captured during its shock 2014 offensive.

Another attack on a border guard convoy in western Anbar province, near the Syrian border, killed two soldiers and wounded four on Tuesday, military sources said.

Separately, 28 Sunni Muslim civilians were kidnapped in the Iskandariya district south of Baghdad this week and 20 of them were found dead later, a police officer told Reuters.

Suspects detained by the authorities said they belonged to the Shia Muslim Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia. A Baghdad-based spokesman for the group, whose fighters are taking part in the Shia-led government's campaign against Islamic State group, said he had no knowledge of the incident.

The government's victory in Mosul may rekindle revenge attacks and fresh violence between Sunnis and Shia, a sectarian divide that tipped Iraq into civil war after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

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This is the third year in a row that I have been to Spain. And I will keep going back. Some of this has to do with the vibe. Madrid lacks the hipness quotient of Barcelona but is a lively, if stately, city with wonderful museums, great parks and friendly people.

While the city has its share of Michelin starred restaurants (most of them quite boring), the best meal I had last year was at a dive called Asturianos in a working class area. There was no pretension and no poncing around. The mother made the food and the sons served. There was a little room at the back (the main dining area) and an even smaller one in the front where the bar was.

This time we sat near the bar and ordered far too much food: Chorizo cooked in cider, an earthy traditional bean stew, prawns sauteed with garlic in olive oil and lots more, all washed down with the modest Spanish wine the restaurant chose for us.

We were the only out-of-towners (let alone, non-Spanish people) in the room so our relative familiarity with the restaurant (they remembered us from last year; I doubt if another Indian has eaten there in the intervening period) and the food earned us many stares from regulars at other tables.

Finally, a very nice man from the next table came over and asked where we were from. I said we were from India but he had already guessed that much. Then, he asked the question he really wanted to ask: how had we heard of the restaurant?

Thank God Virs new friends at Asturianos had been sober enough to manage a reservation at Samm.

When I told him this was our second visit and that I no longer remembered who had sent me here last year, he warmed to us. And soon his table began sending over their favourite dishes. I sent them a bottle of champagne in return , then another one and as the evening progressed all of us got quite merry. (Fortunately, they all spoke English to varying degrees).

My new friends asked if I had been to Samm. I said Id never heard of it. You must go, they said. The best paella in Madrid. They dont speak English at the restaurant.So well book you a table ourselves. Which they did.

And that is how, the following day, we found ourselves on the highway speeding towards the suburb where Samm is located. When we got there, we were a little surprised to discover that it was actually quite fancy (and not as modest as Asturianos) and full of well-dressed locals, all of whom seemed to know the staff.

Except us. We knew nobody and we spoke no Spanish. So the staff mimed to us that they were fully booked, so sorry etc. I held my ground and they finally pulled out the chef who spoke fluent English. I explained that our friends had made a booking and he said he would check.

This was easy enough. Because the restaurant was so much in demand, they had put little pieces of paper on each table with the name of the person who had booked it. And there, to my relief, was a table with my name on it. (My new friends at Auturianos had been sober enough to manage that, thank God!)

The chef told us that 95% of the guests came for only one dish, a seafood paella. This was made to order and would take time so we should have a starter. He recommended a salad with homemade mayonnaise.

The salad was fine. But the paella was the star of the show. Ive eaten paella before (it is virtually the national dish of Spain, a favourite in such touristy areas as Valencia),but never like this. A server brought the pan in which the paella had been cooked, showed it to us and then, began to scrape the rice from the bottom.

Even Virs wife, who is not overly fond of strong seafood flavours, liked it enough for them to polish off the pan of paella.

I knew that this kind of paella (there is another wetter version) should be a little moist at the top of the pan but dry enough to have a nutty texture at the very bottom. No paella I had ever eaten before, however, had fully lived up to that description.

This one did. And how!It was superb and even my wife, who is not overly fond of strong seafood flavours, liked it enough for us to polish off the pan.

This time I stayed at the new and trendy Gran Melia Palacio de los Duques, a smart design hotel carved out of a Dukes palace and a monastery and decorated as a tribute to the painter Velazquez.The staff were well-meaning and the public areas were beautiful.

But I am now at that stage of my life where small, dark hotel rooms, no matter how trendy, annoy the hell out of me. However,if you are young, on your own, like the dark and have only hand baggage, then the hotel is worth checking out.

I divided my time between Spain and Portugal this time. And it was Portugal that was the real discovery.

I stayed at Penha Longa, one of the most amazing resorts I have seen. It is about 25 minutes from the centre of Lisbon but might as well be in another time zone. Located in the middle of a protected forest, the hotel is built over a vast area that includes several structures including a church that is many centuries old. It is run by Ritz-Carlton so obviously, the luxury levels are first rate but the service in Portugal is in a class apart from the rest of Europe.

Among Penha Longas many restaurants is LAB (one Michelin star) part of the empire of Spanish chef Sergi Arola who has two Michelin stars at his Madrid flagship.

I know Arolas food a little from the time he ran a restaurant at the JW Marriott in Mumbai. We had dinner together (which I wrote about at the time) when the restaurant first opened but Arola now has such a far flung global empire that I doubted that he had very much to do with LAB.

Sergi Arolas quail.

Imagine my surprise then, when the very first person I saw at the restaurant was Arola himself! He was cooking himself that day and as the restaurant has only just over 20 covers, he oversaw the food for every table.

There is an a la carte section at LAB and there are tasting menus. And then there is what the manager described as the Menu Loco, a mad enterprise where you eat every single dish on the menu.

So, naturally, we ordered the mad menu and ate 18 courses or more.

It was made worse by Arolas insistence on cooking off-menu dishes that were personal favourites of his. So, while everything on the menu was great, the real treats were the dishes that Arola made for us. One of them, a sea-food pot au feu, a hommage to Michel Guerard (who invented it), was outstanding and especially memorable.

Penha Longa is next to the Estoril coast (Cascais, Sintra and Estoril itself) one of the most beautiful parts of Southern Europe, on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

We had three days there and I was conflicted about whether to take in the beauty of the sea and the little villages by the ocean or to go and see the many historical sites in that area.

In the event, we found a happy balance. We went to the magnificent Sintra Palace, which looked nothing like North European palaces but seemed straight out of Dorne in Game of Thrones. The other historical areas were astonishing too.

Sintra Palace looks like Dorne out of Game of Thrones.

But then,so were the towns and villages themselves. We walked by the ocean , covering the coastline from Estoril to Sintra, ate fresh oysters by the sea wondered through the up and down streets of the villages, tried Portugals famous Santini ice-cream (its okay; you can do much better in Italy) and discovered why Portugal may be the pastry capital of the world.

My tip, if you ever go to Sintra, is Piriquita, in the centre of town for good custard tarts (though not in the league of Lisbons Belem) and brilliant Travesseiros (warm sugar coated pastry pillows filled with almonds and egg yolk).

But whatever you want --- good, cheap pastries, a stunning ( and entirely free) view of the coast or two Michelin star meals --- you will find that Portugal has it all. It is not as trendy as Spain.But is beautiful and friendly.

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Indian courts have to recognise and uphold the governments assurance that Abu Salem could not be jailed for more than 25 years, said Salems lawyer on Tuesday.

The assurance was given by the Indian government to Portugal while extraditing Salem.

Sudeep Pasbola was concluding his arguments for quantum of sentence for Salem in his role in the 1993 blast. Pasbola said that according to the governments assurance, Salem could not be jailed for more than 25 years. He also sought minimum punishment for Salem stating that his role alleged by the prosecution was based on circumstantial evidence.

Pasbola said that Salems role should be considered as par with other convicts who played similar roles in the blast. He compared Salems case with Mansoor Ahmed Sayyed Ahmed and Ibrahim alias Baba Musa Chouhan who were sentenced to 10 years in jail each. Ahmed had gone to actor Sanjay Dutts house with Abu Salem while Chouhan had supplied weapons to the actor. The lawyer also cited Samir Hingoras example who was sentenced to nine years imprisonment for organising a AK-56 gun for Dutt.

Meanwhile, special public prosecutor Deepak Salvi has sought a lifetime imprisonment for Salem. He said that that Salem deserved nothing but death for transporting a car full of ammunition from Bharuch to Mumbai.

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Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal has alleged the prosecution failed to prove his identity and presence at the spot when arms were being smuggled in the state in 2006.

Ansari has challenged his conviction in connection with 2006 Aurangabad Arms Haul case before the Bombay High court.

The high court has earlier this week admitted his appeal filed through lawyers Aashif Naqvi and Yakub Shaikh.

The court has now issued notice to the state government to reply to Ansaris appeal.

Ansari and 11 accused were convicted by the special MCOCA court last year in July.

Ansari and six others were given improvement for life for their role in transportation of arms and ammunition smuggled from Pakistan.

A team of the Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) initially recovered 30kg of RDX, 10 AK-47 rifles and 3,200 rounds of ammunition after a car chase on May 9, 2006.

Read more: Aurangabad arms haul: Abu Jundal, six others get life imprisonment

Eventually, the ATS seized a total of 43kg of RDX, 16 AK-47 assault rifles, 3,200 live cartridges, 62 magazines and 16 magazine pouches of AK-47 rifles.

The court said the consignment was procured from Pakistan with the help of a wanted accused Junaid, alias Rasheed Abdulla alias Abdul Aziz, a Pakistani national and an LeT operative.

The court also accepted the prosecutions case the arms were brought in for the larger conspiracy of assassinating Narendra Modi, then CM of Gujarat, and Hindu leader Praveen Togadia, to avenge the Godhra incident.

However, Jundal has challenged the verdict of the MCOCA court stating that the evidence brought in by prosecution were not sufficient to prove his role.

The prosecution alleged the arms landed in Maharashtra on May 8, 2006 and Ansari along with other accused were on their way to transport the arms and ammunition when they were apprehended by the team of ATS.

The defence lawyers in the appeal claimed, The main grounds of appeal is that there is no evidence to prove that Jundal was in car from May 8, 2006 till it was caught by ATS.

The process of identification parade to establish Ansaris identity was also not conducted. Further the evidence to establish that the arrested accused is the same who allegedly participate in the Arms Haul is also not cogent, Naqvi said

Read more: Aurangabad arms haul: The soft-spoken electrician who became Abu Jundal

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The collective force of Bombays working class citizens  dock workers, textile mill workers, labourers, small merchants and traders, the informal sector workers  had shaped the city. Their involvement in the freedom movement was natural and, for decades later, their stories became oral narratives of the movement in working class areas.

As scholars recorded, workers strikes and links between the labour class and nationalist politics were key aspects of the early years of the movement and had become common by early 20th century. The textile mill workers earliest strikes in 1892-93 were focussed on payments and working conditions but the general strikes across the industry in 1919, 1920, 1924-25, 1928 had resonances of the freedom struggle. The week-long strike of 1908 had set the tone for mill workers involvement.

Thousands of mill workers had grown restive in June 1908 when Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was arrested on charges of sedition. A month later, when he was convicted and sentenced to six years imprisonment, Bombay shut down. All markets in Bombay city were closed on July 22 and remained closed for a week, wrote noted historian Bipan Chandra in Indias Struggle for Independence, The workers of all textile mills and railway workshops went on strike for six daysThe Army was called out16 workers lay dead in the streets with nearly 50 others seriously injured. Hundreds of workers in the Mulji Jetha Market cloth shops, the hub of the trade, too joined the strike.

In early April 1919, as action against the Rowlatt Act gathered momentum, nearly 80 per cent of shops and businesses including the cloth, fish, and vegetable markets remain closed; merchants, small traders, peons, clerks, taxi and Victoria drivers, hawkers, street vendors, barbers and dhobis stayed off work for a day or two prompting Mahatma Gandhi to say that the hartaal in Bombay was a complete success, according to newspapers accounts.

Through the 1920-30s, large sections of the working class actively campaigned; some even lost their lives. Babu Genu Said became legendary. He and others lay down on a Kalbadevi road, in protest against imported cloth, to stall trucks laden with the cloth. He was crushed to death. The docks were an integral part of Bombays economy, dock workers of its politics. A large number of nationalist meetings were organised through 1920-30s in Matharpacady and other areas near Mazgaon docks. The Bombay Dock Workers Union organised boycotts of ships carrying British cloth and dumped bales of cloth into the sea.

Trade unions had enormous influence over workers and a voice in the freedom movement despite internal battles between the Congress and communists over controlling the unions. Some unions aligned with the freedom movement and Gandhi; a few participated but did not take to the Mahatma who, they felt, had not articulated their demands. But the spirit across the densely-populated working class areas of Dongri, Mazgaon, Mandvi, Girangaon, Dhobi Talao, Kumbharwada, and the mixed areas of Khetwadi, Girgaum and Thakurdwar was decidedly anti-British.

These areas reverberated with slogans and songs of freedom, and small acts of rebellion against the British. Organisations such as the Cotton Brokers Association, Grain Merchants Association, Indian Merchants Chamber, Bombay Shroffs Association and Bombay Native Piece Goods Association supported Gandhithe established industrialists and capitalists were cautious though they contributed to his call for funds, write scholar Usha Thakkar and researcher Sandhya Mehta, in Gandhi in Bombay.

Workers also turned against the Congress in 1938 when nearly 2,20,000 of them from all trades occupied the streets on November 7 to protest the Bombay Trades Dispute Bill which sought to curb strikes. Eight years later, young ratings of the Royal Indian Navy were on the streets near the port.

They had mutinied on the signal training ship HMIS Talwar at Bombays dockyards on February 18, 1946, to protest against racism, poor food and working conditions. They lowered the naval ensign on the ship, replaced it with flags of the Congress, Muslim League and Communists, and signalled to other vessels whose ratings turned their guns on the shoreline. The mutiny spread to nearly 70 other ships across naval bases; this is believed to have hastened the exit of the British. The ratings were later court-martialled and dismissed. Only in 1973 were some of them recognised as freedom fighters.

(to be continued)

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Stroll along Nariman Point with George Orwell. Let Devdutt Pattanaik keep you company on an international flight. Meet Antoine de Saint-Exupery at a Starbucks outlet.

Does exploring the city accompanied by your favourite authors sound fun? Its now possible, thanks to a group of Mumbaiites hiding paperbacks around the city for bibliophiles to find, read and pass on.

Theyre part of an international project called the book fairies, which started in March and gained popularity after actor Emma Watson hid feminist books around New York City to celebrate International Womens Day.

She inspired SoBo resident Kadambari Mehta to join the movement, which now has 5,000 people sharing books in more than 100 countries, including cities such as Delhi and Bangalore.

I had been following Watsons book club, Our Shared Shelf, for a while. Thats how I heard about the book fairies and decided to launch the initiative in Mumbai, said Mehta.

Three months ago, she hid a copy of The Monuments Men at Mani Bhavan. I wanted to hide books in places that captured the charm of our city, she said.

What followed were book drops at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the David Sassoon Library and even a Mumbai-bound flight returning from Goa.

Shes hidden 10 books so far, including one in Goa and one in Mahabaleshwar.

Malad resident Jaita Guha has hidden four, the first of which was JK Rowlings Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Both said there are no rules regarding the kind of books you can drop off. Ive shared books that Ive read and loved. They need not be in pristine condition; the ones I dropped off had several of my favourite quotes underlined. You can also tuck personalised notes between the pages, said Mehta.

Though both women have stashed away only English books so far, Guha said she was contemplating dropping off a few Bengali books, but was unsure if they would find takers.

To sign up All you need are a set of stickers from the official website www.ibelieveinbookfairies.com, which sells a set of nine for Rs150. The stickers take three weeks to arrive from London, after which you can paste them on books you want to drop off. Leave your books at public places. Make sure theyre easy to spot. Post photographs of your hidden stash on Instagram. Be sure to mention the location of the books and use the hashtag #IbelieveinBookFairies to make them easier to track The whole reason for launching The Book Fairies worldwide was to encourage reading in all corners of the globe  so I am so excited to see so many people, from so many different countries getting involved. I am so impressed with the book fairies we have in India, as they have been creative with their book drops and have already grown quickly. We would love to support local authors and bookshops in Mumbai and spread the joy of reading to as many people as possible, said Cordelia Oxley, director, The Book Fairies.

Mehta said a lot of people have asked her for Gujarati books, which shes asked her friends to donate. She also plans to drop off childrens books near playschools in the city.

So how do you determine if the book youve spotted peeking out from behind a wall once belonged to Guha or Mehta?

Theyll have a distinctive green-and-white sticker that says, Take this book, read it, and leave it for the next person to enjoy.

If youre still unsure, post a photograph of the book with the hashtag #IbelieveinBookFairies so they can find you and confirm, or just head over to their Instagram accounts.

Thats what biomedical engineer Deepti Dyondi did when she found Guhas copy of Memoirs of a Geisha in an Andheri-bound autorickshaw on June 28.

I was returning from a yoga class in Malad when the auto driver told me someone had left their book on the backseat. I thought of checking whether it belonged to a local library so I could return it. Seeing the book fairies sticker made me so happy, especially since my birthday was the previous day and this was an ideal gift. I saw Guhas photo on Instagram and thanked her, she said.

The official book fairies Mumbai Instagram account, which Mehta started a week ago, plans to put up posts leaving hints as to where the next drop will be.

Look out for books featuring Agatha Christies famed detective Hercule Poirot as thats what Bhavika Govil  the newest member of the Mumbai group  plans to leave on a local train.

Some of my favourite people are those whove recommended, lent or gifted me books. Thats exactly what a book fairy does, which is why I was so enthusiastic about joining them, said the Bandra resident.

Govil has ordered her book fairy stickers from the projects official website, which sells a set of nine for Rs150. The stickers should be here in a week, after which I plan to start hiding books in and around Bandra. Im currently looking for books I can bear to part with. They should also be fun, easy to read and have a connection to the city, she said.

With such criteria, whatever book she hides first is sure to be a page-turner.

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A 24-year-old mobile phone wholesaler said he was robbed of Rs 30 lakh cash at gunpoint at Mumbai Central, on Tuesday. Vikram Purohit said he was on his Activa when four men on two motorcycles accosted him near BIT chawl. One of the men held him at gunpoint while the others took his scooter and money before fleeing, he said. Purohit owns a shop at City Center Mall, Mumbai Central, and was taking the Rs30 lakh home.

A family friend, who did not wish to be named, said, Being a wholesaler of mobile handsets, Purohits family only deals in cash. He would frequently take cash home and bring it back to the shop, whenever needed.

On Tuesday, he put Rs 30 lakh in a bag, placed it under the seat of his Activa, and left for home at around 4pm. However, he chose to take a shortcut. An officer from the Nagpada police said, He took the BIT chawl road, which is a bit secluded, to reach home. Robbers confronted him at an isolated spot near the chawl and pointed a revolver at him.

In his statement to the police, Purohit said the men threatened to kill him. His family friend said, Suddenly, one of the men got off the bike and snatched his Activa at gunpoint. They threatened to kill him if he followed them. Purohit said the men then fled with his two-wheeler and the cash.

At 6.15pm the police found the Activa at 13th street, Nagpada, after receiving a tip-off from an anonymous caller. Senior police inspector Sanjay Baswant at Nagpada police station, We will soon file a first information report (FIR). We are also checking about the amount quoted by the victim.

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While the cut-offs across Mumbai colleges plunged in the first merit list for first year junior college (FYJC) admissions announced on Tuesday, the state Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) will release the merit list (SML) for medical and dental college admissions today.. Does exploring the city accompanied by your favourite authors sound fun? Its now possible, thanks to a group of Mumbaiites hiding paperbacks around the city for bibliophiles to find, read and pass on. The police on Wednesday arrested two bikers, who were performing Dhoom-style stunts at Mumbais Marine Drive to impress girls. Also, a lawyer from Lokhandwala lost Rs62,000 to debit card fraud, as her money was withdrawn in the United States last month.

Here are todays top five picks:

1. FYJC admissions: A look at cut-offs at top colleges in Mumbai

The cut-offs across Mumbai colleges plunged in the first merit list for first year junior college (FYJC) admissions announced on Tuesday. A total of 32, 477 of the 2.3 lakh students who applied in the general category got admissions through quota and 53, 803 got their first preference. This means only 63% students are left to compete in the next rounds.

2. Book fairies are leaving novels all over Mumbai, have you found one yet?

Stroll along Nariman Point with George Orwell. Let Devdutt Pattanaik keep you company on an international flight. Meet Antoine de Saint-Exupery at a Starbucks outlet. Does exploring the city accompanied by your favourite authors sound fun? Its now possible, thanks to a group of Mumbaiites hiding paperbacks around the city for bibliophiles to find, read and pass on.

3. Merit list for Maharashtra medical, dental college admissions to be announced today

The state Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) will release the merit list (SML) for medical and dental college admissions today. Registrations for the same had started off in June itself and while all other states have already declared state wise merits, Maharashtra is one of the last in announcing this important detail.

4. Mumbai bikers arrested for performing Dhoom-style stunts at Marine Drive, say they wanted to impress girls

The police on Wednesday arrested two bikers, who were performing Dhoom-style stunts at Mumbais Marine Drive to impress girls. The two arrested accused  Mohommad Mustafa Niyaz Khan, 18, and Jhedh Shahnawaz Khan, 18, are residents of Nagpada and Mazgaon, respectively.

5. Mumbai lawyer loses 62,000 to card cloning, criminal withdraws money in the United States

A lawyer from Lokhandwala in Mumbai lost Rs62,000 to debit card fraud, as her money was withdrawn in the United States last month. The woman approached her bank asking for a refund, after which she was asked to approach her local police station to file a FIR against the unidentified cyber criminal.
The cut-offs across Mumbai colleges plunged in the first merit list for first year junior college (FYJC) admissions announced on Tuesday

A total of 32, 477 of the 2.3 lakh students who applied in the general category got admissions through quota and 53, 803 got their first preference. This means only 63% students are left to compete in the next rounds.

Take a look at the cut-off in top colleges in the city, here

Despite this, officials warned students that upcoming rounds will be unpredictable  the cut-offs might spike or fall further  owing to new admission rules. These rules allow students to change their college preferences and stream after each round, but there is no betterment of seat, unlike previous years.

Officials have advised students to be careful if they plan to give up seats allotted in the first list in the hope of securing better options in upcoming rounds.

This year, cut-offs in the merit list will not follow any sequence. Till last year, the cut-offs would fall after each list, but this time they might even rise as students switch streams and change preferences, said BB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai region.

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Even though cut-offs across Mumbai colleges plunged in the first merit list for first year junior college (FYJC) admissions announced on Tuesday, students are unsure of what to expect in the second, third and fourth rounds. A total of 32, 477 of the 2.3 lakh students who applied in the general category got admissions through quota and 53, 803 got their first preference. This means only 63% students are left to compete in the next rounds.

Despite this, officials warned students that upcoming rounds will be unpredictable  the cut-offs might spike or fall further  owing to new admission rules. These rules allow students to change their college preferences and stream after each round, but there is no betterment of seat, unlike previous years. Officials have advised students to be careful if they plan to give up seats allotted in the first list in the hope of securing better options in upcoming rounds.

This year, cut-offs in the merit list will not follow any sequence. Till last year, the cut-offs would fall after each list, but this time they might even rise as students switch streams and change preferences, said BB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai region.

Read more: 10 things to do after Mumbais FYJC merit list is announced

This means that if a college has closed at 80% in the first list, the cut-off might increase to 85% in the second list or fall to 75%. One of the students who was assigned Ruparel College, his second preference, in the first list asked me if he will get his first preference Podar in the next list, but there is no way to predict what will happen in the next lists this time, added Chavan.

Students and parents are anxious over the upcoming rounds. They said the rules have made choosing colleges difficult. I find this admission process extremely confusing and based on chance rather than merit, said Dheeraj Pandya, a student from Mahim, who secured 81% in SSC exams and was allotted his fourth preference in the first list. I do not know whether I should stick to the assigned college or try my luck in other rounds. But it means risking losing this seat too, added Dheeraj.

Parag Thakkar, principal, HR College, said the next list will depend on how many seats are vacant after the first round and the number of students who took the risk of waiting for better seats or played it safe by taking admission to the assigned seats. The first list, which was scheduled to be released at 5pm on Monday, was finally declared at 1am on Tuesday, after several delays.

Read

FYJC first merit list: Cut-offs across Mumbai colleges drop by 3%-4%

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The opposition to the goods and service tax (GST) is growing among textile traders in the state.

The traders in Munbai market will decide on Wednesday whether to go on a strike to protest against GST imposed on their trade.

Mumbai is one of the oldest and biggest textile trade markets in India.

Textile traders in Ahmedabad are already on an indefinite strike since Monday to protest against the new tax regime.

Merchants in Bhiwandi in neighbouring Thane district started their strike from Monday.

Read more: GST effect: Wholesalers in Navi Mumbai shut shop in protest, demand lower tax

Traders in 13 wholesale markets in Mumbai including Mangaldas Market, Mulji Jetha Market, Swadeshi Market and Sindhi Market went on strike last month as GST regime started. They later withdrew it.

The traders are against the GST levied at every stage of processing.

Our powerloom owners are uneducated and they cannot keep tab of every transaction. It is a cumbersome process and will make things difficult, said Sharadram Sejpal, spokesperson, Bhiwandi Powerloom Association. We are not against GST, but it should be imposed on the yarn itself in the first stage, instead of levying it at every stage, he said.

He said that from the yarn to the final sale of cloth, there are 18 stages like sizing, weaving, dyeing, printing, transport at which GST is being levied.

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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ended talks with ministers from Saudi Arabia and three Arab allies on Wednesday over how to end a month-long rift with Qatar but there was no immediate word of a breakthrough.

Tillerson, en route to mediating country Kuwait, had inked a U.S.-Qatari accord on terrorism financing on Wednesday that Qatar's opponents said fell short of allaying their concerns.

Any resolution of the impasse must address all the key issues for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, including Doha's undermining of regional stability, a senior UAE official said ahead of the talks in Saudi Arabia.

The four countries slapped sanctions on Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing extremist groups and allying with the Gulf Arab states' arch-foe Iran. Doha denies those accusations. The four states and Qatar are all U.S. allies.

Tillerson met the foreign ministers in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea city of Jeddah in pursuit of an end to the worst dispute in decades among the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states.

Tillerson also met separately with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss cooperation in combating terrorism and its financing.

"We're happy to see this continuous cooperation between us and (to) even strengthen it and increase it further without limits...," Mohammed bin Salman said in welcoming Tillerson.

In a joint statement issued after Tillerson and his Qatari counterpart signed their counter-terrorism pact, the four states called the accord inadequate.

They also reinstated 13 wide-ranging demands they had earlier submitted to Qatar, the world's biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, as a condition for removing sanctions but later said were void.

The demands include curbing Qatar's relations with Iran, closing the Doha-based Al Jazeera TV channel, shutting a Turkish military base in Qatar and handing over all designated "terrorists" on its territory.

UAE Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, sent a formal complaint to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday alleging that Al Jazeera supported terrorism, sectarianism and anti-Semitism.

Al Jazeera, which has denied allegations of stoking violence and says it practices free speech, did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan told reporters during a visit to Slovakia that Tillerson's visit was unlikely to resolve the row.

"I think it will ease tensions but it's just postponing the problem, which will grow in the future."

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The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) authorities have approached Central and Western Railway officials to shortlist railway stations with highest commuter footfall.

This is being done to lure passengers during the peak hours be re-scheduling its buses and increases services on feeder routes. The BEST officials are also trying make tourists use bus services. Besides offering transport service, the BEST intends to explain tourists its importance and history.

The BEST, the second largest mass transport system in Mumbai after the suburban trains, is facing its worst financial crisis owing to the plummetting passenger footfall.

The BEST administration, which is incurring heavy losses daily, believes that it will be able to increase its revenue by offering commuter-friendly services to Mumbaiites and tourists alike. Sources said service at stations such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai Central, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Dadar and Churchgate are likely to increase as these stations see highest footfall of commuters and tourists daily.

Methods for increasing passenger footfall are being constantly probed. Getting passengers to travel by buses during peak hours and luring tourists are a few of the measures we are considering,said a BEST official.

Loud and cheaper

On Sundays, bus conductors use loudspeakers to promote BEST services and inform people how cheap the services are in comparison to share cabs. Officials claimed the marketing strategy is working and it has witnessed a slight increase in passenger footfall at CSMT and Churchgate stations.
The Maharashtra government has decided to give free medical insurance cover of up to Rs10 lakh to all sitting and former legislators and their families. The government will have to set aside Rs9.96 crore a year to pay the insurance premiums of 335 sitting legislators and 837 former legislators  1,172 in all. Each premium works out to Rs85,000.

Legislators were earlier covered by the governments medical reimbursement scheme. A committee headed by top medical officials would examine and approve medical bills submitted by legislators. The annual expenditure on such reimbursements was about Rs9crore to Rs10 crore.

Under the new scheme, six of a family, regardless of their age and medical condition, are collectively entitled to an insurance cover of up to Rs10 lakh.

If the cover is exhausted, the policy has a contingency provision of Rs10 crore for all legislators.

Family members of legislators wont have to undergo any medical tests, said an official. Chief minster Devendra Fadnavis took the decision three weeks ago, said the official.

Earlier, the government had proposed an annual insurance cover of Rs15 lakh for each legislator. This would have increased the states financial burden by Rs4 crore.

With the insurance scheme, the government expects to curb the use of fake bills for reimbursements. In many cases, we found that legislators had submitted fake and duplicate bills to claim medical reimbursement, said an official from the finance department.

Officials who clear medical bills said the insurance scheme would be better than the existing one.

We have a network of 4,700 hospitals across the country under the insurance scheme. It will be a cashless facility and the insured members will not have to pay from their pockets. The reimbursement scheme covered only five critical and 27 serious diseases, he added.

READ

Maharashtra lawmakers get monthly salary hike with immediate effect

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Shiv Sena legislator and womens rights activist Neelam Gorhe has called for a thorough investigation into alleged harassment and sexual abuse of staff in a district jail of Maharashtra by senior officials.

Gorhe, a senior member of the state legislative council, received a letter from a woman superintendent of a district jail complaining about the incidents. The superintendent, however, denied having sent the letter to Gorhe.

The Sena leader handed over a copy of the letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and requested for an inquiry.

Gorhe said, In the letter, the woman superintendent has mentioned ten incidents where different women have been bullied, exploited and they are under pressure to keep relations with their higher-ups.

The Sena leader said she tried to verify the claims by contacting the person who allegedly sent the letter. She denied sending the letter. This means there is either the possibility of someone wanting to malign some peoples image, or there might even be some truth in the complaint. Either way, it needs to be investigated.

Gorhe has also urged Fadnavis to ensure the inquiry is conducted not by jail staff but by other police officials.

The letter states till date, a particular senior jail official has allegedly molested at least 60 to 70 women employees. As per the letter, he also kept sexual relations with the complainant, falsely promising to marry her.

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The police on Wednesday arrested two bikers, who were performing Dhoom-style stunts at Mumbais Marine Drive to impress girls.

The two arrested accused  Mohommad Mustafa Niyaz Khan, 18, and Jhedh Shahnawaz Khan, 18, are residents of Nagpada and Mazgaon, respectively.

Vilas Gangawane,s enior police inspector from Marine Drive police station, said, We got an information that four riders are performing stunts at the sea face. They were not just risking their own lives, but were posing a threat to those sitting at Marine Drive too. We did a nakabandi near Islam Gymkhana and caught two of them.

The other two managed to flee leaving their bikes at the spot.

The police registered four different cases. In their statement to police, Mohommad and Jhedh claimed they were inspired by the movie Dhoom and were performing stunts to impress girls at the promenade.

They have been booked under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code.

The two arrested accused were released on bail, while the hunt for two others is on.

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Juhu Circle is quintessentially Mumbai: a roundabout and fountain built to beautify this suburb had to be broken down to make way for the ever increasing number of vehicles. Did it help?

The constant jams at the circle  where five major roads converge and connect to the Western Express Highway, Juhu, Vile Parle, Versova, Lokhandwala and Andheri railway station  show it didnt.

Home to film stars and Mumbais most popular beach, Juhu is a tourist attraction and witnesses heavy flow of traffic throughout the day, especially at this junction.

But, unlike other parts of Mumbai, the congestion here cannot be blamed on bad roads, lack of footpaths or poorly managed traffic.

The problem is the sheer volume of vehicles.

READ: Chaos rules SV Road in Andheri, thanks to hawkers, potholes and no space for pedestrians

To manage this, the signals at the junction are timed to last several minutes, and the long waiting time causes traffic to build up on all roads leading to the junction.

Owing to the increased signal timing, only a few vehicles pass through when the signal turns green. This creates a backlog as flow of traffic is continuous. The waiting time at the junction goes up by five times, said Sudhir Badami, a traffic expert.

Indisciplined motorists add to the problem, said experts and commuters.

Motorists dont follow lane discipline. They drive recklessly despite the presence of traffic constables, said Rupesh Singh, a businessman who stays in Lokhandwala .

HT found high noise levels from vehicle horns as drivers rush to prevent getting stuck at another long signal.

READ: Single lane at Khar subway leads to bottlenecks, traffic chaos

Infrequent public transport is also increasing congestion.

Rakesh Kadam 28, an IT professional, said he takes an autorickshaw to get to Juhu from Andheri station.

If the public bus service was more frequent, fewer people would take autos, said Kadam.

Traffic expert Ashok Datar said a traffic congestion index should be developed and updated every year.

Authorities could use this index to come up with effective solutions to the issue of congestion at Juhu Circle, Datar told HT.
A lawyer from Lokhandwala in Mumbai lost Rs62,000 to debit card fraud, as her money was withdrawn in the United States last month. The woman approached her bank asking for a refund, after which she was asked to approach her local police station to file a FIR against the unidentified cyber criminal.

According to her complaint, she was at home when she received a message on her mobile phone around 1am on June 1. The message was sent from her Indian state-owned bank, alerting her about the money transaction made from her account.

The woman couldnt do anything at night, and approached the bank the next morning where she was informed that the money was withdrawn from her account using her debit card. The bank also informed that the money was withdrawn in the USA.

The woman registered an FIR with the local police this week. A police official requesting anonymity said, We do not know how the cyber fraudster managed to withdraw the amount. We are taking help from cyber police to investigate the case.

The case assumes significance as recently, the Mumbai Crime Branchs Cyber police had busted a card racket where a Bulgarian national was caught withdrawing money of Chinese nationals in India. The stolen data of credit/debit cards belonging to Chinese nationals was used to make cloned cards, and their money was withdrawn from an International bank in Mumbai.

Advocate Vicky Shah, a cyber-expert said, The card can only be used internationally once it is international debit enabled. Perpahs the victims card was internationally enabled prior to being cloned. It needs to be found out if its a magnetic strip card or an EMV chip card. If its an EMV chip card it is very difficult to be cloned, and then its a unique case. As a preventive measure, customers should replace their existing cards with EMV chip cards.
The Chembur police arrested a 57-year-old man on Tuesday for stealing Rs3.47 lakh from an apparel firm he works for.

An investigation revealed that Chandrashekhar Haridutt Sharma had stolen the money because he felt he was not well paid. Sharma had been working for the company for two decades. The firm organises garment expos across various cities and its current stop is Chembur.

According to the police, Sharma was sent to deposit the cash at a bank at 11am on Monday. When he did not return, the owner called him around 1pm and found his phone was switched off. Sensing trouble, the manager approached the Chembur police and registered a complaint.

Sharma had discarded his old phone and SIM card and bought a new one. The police questioned one of Sharmas relatives, who told them where he may have gone. Based on this, a police team tracked him down at Khadakpada in Kalyan.

Sharma was preparing to flee to Akola or Nagpur by the Sevagram Express from Kalyan station when we arrested him, said Yashwantrao Shinde, assistant police inspector, Chembur police station.

The officer added,He said he had been fired once by the company and wanted to be paid more.

Sharma was booked under Section 408 (criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

READ

Man arrested for using F-word in email to woman employee

Mumbai: Employee flees with foreign currency worth Rs1.43 crore

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The proposed Wadala-Fort extension of the Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane Metro 4 line, which will give commuters in central and eastern Mumbai another mass transit option, could also ease the pressure on both the Central Railways suburban trains and arterial roads, including the Eastern Express Highway.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, which will build the Metro 3 underground corridor, claimed the metro line would reduce the number of vehicle trips a day by 4.5 lakh, or 35%, in 2021 and reduce consumption by 2.43 lakh litres a day in the same year.

However, traffic expert Ashok Datar said he wasnt sure if the Metro network would help decongest roads much. No matter how many alternatives are provided, people will only give up their private vehicles by choice. But the Metro could reduce the load on local trains if planned properly, he said.

The Metro 4 extension to Fort will be one of two that will provide crucial north-south connectivity. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is preparing a project report for the Wadala-Fort extension of the Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavali Metro 4. Metro 3 (Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ) will connect the island city with the western suburbs. The two lines, it is hoped, will ease the load on local trains and traffic on roads.

MMRDA officials said Metro 4 would follow the Eastern Express Highway to tap potential riders near it. They said the Metro 4 extension from Wadala to the GPO at Fort would attract many commuters who now travel on the central and harbour lines between Wadala and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Apart from this, a comfortable metro ride may attract people who would otherwise travel in private cars or cabs, said an official.

Datar said that the metro lines were being planned well. They are being planned within comfortable distance of local train stations so that passengers can switch between the two, he added.

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With chief minister Devendra Fadnavis promised probe into claims that government officials illegally purchased land along the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway going nowhere, an activist with farmers group Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti has taken matters into his own hands. He has moved the revenue department seeking answers.

A complaint filed by Thane-based activist Baban Harne with the principal secretary of revenue department, Manu Kumar Srivastav, last month points to certain individuals, including a relative of a senior bureaucrat in the chief ministers office, purchasing large tracts of land with six others along the highway, in violation of the Maharashtra Agriculture Land Ceiling Act, 1961.

According to this law, a farmer can hold 18 acres of irrigated land or 27 acres of land with assured irrigation for one crop or 54 acres of dry crop land. Additional land belonging to any person is to be taken back by the government.

Our preliminary calculations based on land records show this group of people, led by a senior officials relative, own nearly 200 hectares or 480 acres of land in just Thane district. There needs to be an independent scrutiny into the lands owned by them, its classification, because this surplus land holding is illegal and at the cost of the government. There has been blatant disregard of laws and false affidavits to get these lands regularised and this has the blessings of seniors in the government, said Harne. Harne said if the revenue department fails to do justice, they would move the high court in the matter.

Read: Mumbai-Nagpur super highway: 5 reasons why Nashik farmers are unhappy with compensation

The complaint filed on June 20 (a copy of the complaint is with HT) calls for an independent probe into the matter stating that a local sub divisional officer (SDO), who led an inquiry in September last year, gave these purchases a clean chit. The complaint makes reference to land purchased by Venkateshwara Gupta and Piyush Bongirwar along with five others in Shahapur and Murbad talukas. It alleges connivance of local officials with these individuals in purchasing large tracts of agricultural land. Some of this land falls close to the alignment of the super communication highway and the names of these land owners along with relatives of several government officers had figured in the complaint made to the chief minister during the winter session of the state legislature in December last year. While a probe in the issue was promised in the legislature, there has been little to show by way of progress in the past six months.

Piyush Bongirwar is the son of former chief secretary of the Arun Bongirwar and brother-in-law of a senior bureaucrat in chief minister Devendra Fadnavis Office.

I am neither aware of the said purchase nor have I spoken to anyone about the same. And all legal action should be taken to stop any irregularities, if any. There is no connection with the CMO or myself in these land transactions or the said inquiry. No file has passed through my office, said the senior bureaucrat.

Piyush Bongiwar told This refers to some land purchased by a group of us. We submitted relevant documents of the land before the sub divisional officer and on the basis of that, a judgement was given in our favour. There is nothing irregular in this purchase.

Gupta is a close associate of Bongirwar  both are directors together in a firm called Harihar Life Space and are also associated with the Alamuri Ratnamala Institute of Engineering and Technology. Gupta was not available for comment. He told HT he was not in the city and hence could not comment.

Read: Maharashtra farmers protest Mumbai-Nagpur highway, call it their road to ruin

In May last year, Shahapur tehsildar had referred the case of land purchase of surplus 118 hectares (283 acres) in four villages of Sathgaon, Mokhawane, Bhatsai and Sapgaon by Gupta, Bongirwar and others to the SDO for a hearing. Sub divisional officer Dr Santosh Tithe, in his report dated September 23, 2016, had regularised this purchase as not exceeding the land ceiling. A copy of this report is with HT.

Harne, in his complaint, challenged this clean chit pointing out to various factual errors and bypassing of laws in the probe. These include not classifying land as irrigated or dry land, blanking out several survey numbers and purchases made in 2012 in Mokhane village, not considering land purchased in other villages, including Tember, Thile, absence of scrutiny of land purchased by these individuals elsewhere in the state so far and considering land purchases under Hindu Undivided Family or ancestral land holdings, when they did not fall in this category.

The report in granting a clean chit to Gupta and Bongirwar does make reference to Section 6 of the Agriculture Land Ceiling Act. This section refers to additional leeway of 10 more acres a member being given to large families with more than five members. This is with reference to ancestral property or land holdings. The inquiry said Gupta, with eight members, and Bongirwar, with six members in the family, could get their land ceiling holdings increased to 84 acres and 64 acres respectively. The report noted that Gupta held 69 acres of land in these villages, while Bongirwar owned 63 acres and as such had not violated the law.

Principal secretary (revenue) Srivastav was not available for comment. Sources in the CMO told HT an initial probe in the matter assured in the winter session had been entrusted with chief secretary Sumit Mullick. So far, sources said district collectors had been asked to collate information about government officials and their kin purchasing land along this alignment, but no headway had been made in the probe.

Read: Five reasons why Mumbai-Nagpur super communication highway is not a good move

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The Cidco Metro project that has faced continuous delays has now picked up pace. Officials from CIDCO recently said that they are confident of completing the project by December 2018.

The project was originally scheduled to be completed by 2015.

State governor Vidyasagar Rao in his address in the Assembly in March had announced that the first phase of the Navi Mumbai metro project would be completed in July 2018. Sources in Cidco, however, said that delay in land acquisition and in getting permission for the railway over bridge at Taloja, and inviting tenders again for construction of the stations caused around a years delay to the project.

In January, BEML Limited, Bangalore delivered the catenary maintenance vehicle (CMV) to Cidco. With its arrival, work on the systems and technical aspect of the project has picked up pace.

There will be 11 railway stations between the 11-km Belapur and Pendhar route.

Senior public relations officer of Cidco, Mohan Ninawe, said, We had earlier invited tenders for the construction of the metro stations. However, not many companies responded to it so we had to call for tenders again. We are confident that the construction of the stations will begin soon.

Ninawe said, Work on Taloja flyover was stuck as we were waiting for Railways permission but now the work is underway.

He added, The signalling work has been done and tracks have been laid. Taking into consideration the schedule for the rest of the work, the first phase of the project will be completed by December 2018.
Todays Google Doodle celebrates the birthday of Tayeb Salih, the late Sudanese writer.

Salih shot to fame with his critically acclaimed novel Season of Migration to the North, written in 1966. The book, now a classic, made him one of the top Arab World novelists of the 20th century, dubbed the "genius of the modern Arab novel" by critics.

Following the novel's publication in Lebanon in 2001, the Arab Literary Academy in Damascus declared it "the most important Arabic novel of the 20th century".

It was also voted among the "100 Greatest Books in History" by authors from 54 nations in a writers poll, conducted in 2002.

Salih's subjects are always rooted in his hometown, Karmakal, close to Al-Dabbah in northern Sudan, and are centered on the communal rural life and the complex relationships of people there.

His works, which were translated into more than 20 languages, include Urs Al-Zayn (The Wedding of Zayn), a comic short-story collection (The Doum Tree of Wad Hamid, 1985), A Handful of Dates, also a short story collection, and Al-Ragul Al-Qubrosi (The Cypriot Man, 1978).

The Wedding of Zayn was adapted into a Kuwaiti film directed by Khalid Alsiddig. It was screened at Cannes, and was selected as the Kuwaiti entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards, although it was not accepted as a nominee.

Born into a family of farmers and religious teachers, Salih attended quranic school and later completed his schooling at Gordon College, Khartoum, where he then worked as a teacher. Afterwards, he went to England and enrolled at the University of London.

Salih was introduced to literature while working at Al-Majalla, an Arabic magazine in London, for which he wrote a weekly column.

He was appointed director general of the Ministry of Information in Doha, Qatar, and then became UNESCOs representative in the Gulf States for the last 10 years of his career.

He launched the Yearly Award, in association with Abdelkarim Mirghani Cultural Centre, Omdurman, in 1998, with one writer honoured each year for their novel writing. The first prize was awarded in 2003.

Salih died on 18 February in 2009 in London, after suffering from a kidney failure. He was buried in Sudan.

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Pali Hill is seeing a housing and restaurant boom. However, its surrounding areas are also in danger.

Pali gaothans water supply and sewage system, built 75 years ago, has been unable to keep pace with the rapid development the area has seen in the past decade. A drain around one entrance at Pali Naka and another on 16th Road are constantly clogged, said Goering Vincent, a businessman and resident of the area. Residents said they have complained to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and have taken the issue to the chief ministers office, but have still seen no action.

When the water from the hill trickles down during the monsoon, it mixes with water from drains. This floods our gaothan, said Titus Fernandes, a member of the Pali Gaothan East Indian Resident Association. Civic workers have cleaned drains, but every 15 days, the issue resurfaces, residents said. The clogged drains are turning into breeding grounds for diseases.

Some residents said the clogged drains were due to commercialisation of their centuries-old locality. The eateries may be dumping waste into these gutters, which is why they get filled every 15 days, Vincent said. Neil Pereira, another gaothan resident, suggested the government should ask a private firm to survey the area. Pereira also suggested a new drain on Dr BR Ambedkar Road, which links Pali Hill to the gaothan. The H (West) ward officer was not available for comment, but corporator Swapna Mhatre, said, I have met the waste management department, but work cant be done now because of monsoon.

READ

HT monsoon audit: BMC had 2 months, 89 cr to clean drains, prevent Mumbai floods, did it succeed?

No contractors for desilting work, Mumbai civic body to clean minor nullahs, drains
Ram Nath Kovind, the National Democratic Alliances presidential candidate, will visit Mumbai on Saturday as part of his campaigning ahead of the polls on Monday. But he is unlikely to meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence Matoshree.

Incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee and his predecessor Pratibha Patil had visited the Thackeray residence before the polls to garner support of Shiv Sena legislators.

Kovind is expected to go to Garware Club from the airport to address NDA MPs and MLAs and then leave Mumbai after lunch. For a change, the Shiv Sena has not yet taken this as a slight.

BJP president Amit Shah met with Uddhavji to discuss the presidential polls and their candidate. The Sena has given its support to Kovind, so it doesnt matter if he visits Matoshree, said a Sena minister.

However, it is not clear if Sena legislators and MPs will attend Kovinds address at Garware Club.

The Senas backing for Kovind came a day after most other allies and other parties declared their support. While the party is part of the Central and the state governments, relations between the saffron allies are at their lowest point. The Sena had suggested RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as the candidate for the presidential polls.

There was no plan to get Kovind to call on Thackeray for his approval, a source from the BJP said.

READ

Will back NDAs president pick, but reveal name first, Shiv Sena tells BJP

Hot and cold: Decoding the Shiv Senas rocky relationship with the BJP in Maharashtra

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A week after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis asked the Union government to relax noise rules for festivals in Maharashtra, anti-noise activists said lifting these curbs would violate the constitutional right to life.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and environment minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, anti-noise crusader Sumaira Abdulali from NGO Awaaz Foundation said noise levels during festivals in Mumbai could reach 123.7 decibels (dB)  as loud as a thunderclap.

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld noise rules, terming them a constitutional right of citizens to enjoy a peaceful life under Article 21. Apart from adversely affecting health of infants, elderly people and sick people, the use of loudspeakers in silence zones is against the right to life or personal liberty, she said.

What is a silence zone? The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, define silence zones areas within 100m of sensitive places such as hospitals, courts, educational institutions and religious places where people need an extra level of protection Silence zones must keep noise levels to 45dB during the day and 40dB during the night The licence to use loudspeakers or public address systems in silence zones wont be granted, there is a complete ban on beating a drum or tom tom, or blowing horns, either musical or pressure, or trumpet or beats or sounds any instrument playing of any music, using any sound amplifiers, holding of mimetic musical or other performances of a nature, said a division bench of Bombay high court justices Abhay Oka and Amjad Sayed

The PM has a mission to ensure a pollution-free country. The environment minister is an ENT surgeon. They will be well aware of how noise pollution poses an eminent danger to crores of Mumbaiites, she added.

On October 5, 2005, the Supreme Court banned the use of loudspeakers in silence zones. The Bombay high court (HC) passed a comprehensive order in August 2016 and the state filed an undertaking, saying it would ensure that loudspeakers would not be permitted in silence zones.

Last week, however, the state requested the high court to relax noise norms by allowing the use of loudspeakers in silence zones during the 10-day Ganeshotsav festival from August 25. Last month, the high court issued another comprehensive order, directing the state to ensure that the Mumbai police could not permit the installation of loudspeakers in silence zones.

The peak effects of noise pollution are felt during the festival season when loudspeakers are often used in the sensitive areas, said Abdulali, who has been measuring noise levels since 2002. Medical studies have proven that noise pollution affects the entire human body and leads to hearing loss, mental health problems and even heart disease, she said.

Last week, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Ashish Shelar said the state would issue an ordinance to relax noise norms if the Centre failed to act on its request.

State officials said no directions had been issued so far. The state does not have the power to issue any ordinance. Only the central government has the power to amend to the noise rules. High court judges have issued comprehensive orders that deter such a move, said Satish Gavai, additional chief secretary, state environment department.

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To rein in terrorism in Kashmir, the Shiv Sena has urged the Narendra Modi-led Union government to scrap Article 370 that gives special status to the state within eight days and show that Kashmir is an integral part of India.

In an editorial in the Senas mouthpiece, Saamana, the party said while terrorism was rampant in Kashmir during the Congress-led regime, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government too has not been able to change the situation and it is time for tough action.

The party said, If you want to send a strong message to extremists and Pakistan, show that Kashmir is an integral part of India by scrapping Article 370, which gives special status to the state in the next eight days. The country needs action and for that it is alright even if Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to imbibe Hitlers form.

Read more: Mere condemnation of Amarnath attack wont do, time for PM Modi to prove he has 56-inch chest, says Sena

The Sena said it is unfortunate that while the Union government celebrated the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax in the entire country it could not apply the single levy that has unified the country to Kashmir due to Article 370.

The party said the country remembers Sena founder Bal Thackeray who took a tough stand against any kind of attacks on the Amarnath Yatra that ensured its smooth functioning for the next 20-25 years.

The Shiv Sena had on Tuesday condemned the attacks on Amarnath yatra pilgrims in Kashmir, saying now was the time for the government to show the might of the much-touted 56-inch chest. Seven people died in the attacks while several others were injured.

The party in the editorial said, All this was happening during the Congress governments rule and so the public elected a change to have a courageous government. But though the government changed, the situation in Kashmir has not changed at all.

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After allowing the audit of Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to conduct CAG audit of three industrial development authorities  Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway.

On July 11, Uttar Pradesh Industrial Development department principal secretary Alok Sinha wrote a letter to Vinita Mishra, accountant general (Economic and Revenue Sector Audit), Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, in this regard.

Now CAG audit will be conducted annually in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities. CAG will audit all accounts and transactions, Sinha said.

The controversy over allowing CAG access to these authorities had erupted during the UP assembly poll campaign when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alleged large scale corruption in the GDA.

The Samajwadi Party government had denied permission to the CAG to audit the GDA despite governor Ram Naiks intervention on the issue. The accountant general had brought the matter to the notice of the governor through letters on May 5 and May 31, 2016.

Naik took up the issue with President Pranab Mukerjee. For the purpose of transparency, audit should be carried out wherever government funds are given, he had said.

Apart from carrying out checks on procedures, utilisation of funds and progress of projects, the CAG audit may also scrutinise the terms of contracts, agencies and contractors to whom the projects have been awarded.

Social activists and homebuyers allege that the three authorities had made large-scale land allotments to the builders and other allottees at throw away prices in the past 10 years.

The Greater Noida, Noida and the Yamuna Expressway authorities also leased back prime residential land to persons, who were not even eligible for such lucrative land allotments. Previous government was hand-in-glove with the builders, thus it did not allow the CAG audit, said a senior Noida authority official, requesting anonymity.

Apart from this, the Noida authority kept paying Rs100 crores per annum in the name of paying salary to various contractual employees without actually working anywhere, the official added.

CAG audit, if done properly, will unearth several unknown scams in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities. But if CAG will not carry out its duties honestly then the defaulters will go scot-free, said Raghuraj Singh, a Congress leader.
In the backdrop of the mob violence on Wednesday morning, the residents of the Mahagun Moderne in Sector 78 have decided not to allow Bangladeshi domestic helps in the society.

As the society has no residents welfare association (RWA), the decision of debarring the maids was taken by the active residents of the society. Facility management was informed about the decision which in turn issued a notice.

Read | Mayhem in Noidas Mahagun Moderne society after maid is beaten up

Residents said that the society has 2,750 flats in its 16 high-rise and four low-rise buildings. Ninety percent of them are occupied. Many houses have Bangladeshi domestic helps.

Every individual in the society is scared after Wednesdays incident. There is no way they can trust the Bangladeshi domestic helps anymore. We will clear their dues and take the help of an agency that provides domestic helps. Children were frightened to see the ugly situation, said Dr Amit Sachdeva.

Noida mayhem: Everybody had a free run in the upscale gated society. Only the cops looked like mute spectators.

Watch video! pic.twitter.com/IrZzHrAPbv  Anupam Thapa (@anupamthapa) July 13, 2017

Residents also said most of the inhabitants used to get domestic helps through the security guards, who knew the maids.

As a standard practice, we used to give forms to the maids and tell them to get them verified from the police. After verification, entry passes were issued. There is record of the entry and exit of society visitors and the helps. None of us knew such a situation would arise. Those who pelted stones work only in this society and it shows none of us are safe. It can happen to us also, said Brijesh Singh, a resident.

However, after the situation was brought under control, some residents tried to give entry to the maids, but were stopped. Residents said they will contact an agency that can assure safety.

Noida: Security guards of Mahagun Mordene society in Sector 78 fighting pitched battle with villagers.@HTNoidaGzb @htTweets pic.twitter.com/8Mndg4f3y7  Sohil Sehran (@SohilSehran) July 12, 2017

We want the police and administration should intervene into the matter. In future, this will become a culture in Noida and residents will have no say. From rape to assault, every allegation was levelled against the residents of our housing society. Every person on the side of the maid has their own version. This can turn dangerous, said Vibhuti Chaudhary, a resident.

Meanwhile, Abdul Sattar, husband of Zora Bibi, who was allegedly beaten up and held at the employers house, said people in his community were perturbed as his wife was missing. They had only gone to enquire about Zoras whereabouts, he said.

When we asked the security guards of the society, they used batons on us. Everyone was injured and we resorted to stone-pelting in self defence. We were threatened by them that they would kill us. We know the chaos would make the women jobless, but oppression cannot be tolerated by anyone in the society, said Sattar.

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Residents of an apartment complex in Noida woke up to a riot-like situation on Wednesday morning, when a mob stormed its gates and vandalised the premises.

Police said over 300 people gathered at the gates of the Mahagun Moderne around 6 am, alleging that one of its residents had assaulted a domestic help. Many even managed to overpower the security guards and forced their way into the premises.

Most of the protesters were domestic helps and acquaintances of the woman, Zora Bibi, said superintendent of police (city) Arun Kumar Singh, who rushed to the scene with a police team. The situation remained chaotic for over three hours, and terror-stricken residents dared not step out.

However, we eventually managed to contain the protest. The road outside the complex was also cleared for traffic, said the officer, who was aided by superintendent of police (rural) Suniti and circle officer (city) Rajeev Kumar Singh in defusing the situation.

Armed with sticks angry villagers breached security and entered Mahagun Moderne society. @htTweets @HTNoidaGzb pic.twitter.com/1g8bR2LQEt  Sohil Sehran (@SohilSehran) July 12, 2017

According to the residents, the woman was allegedly caught stealing money from an apartment belonging to one Mitul Sethi. She had fled when he threatened to report the matter to the apartment management, they contended.

Police said many of the agitators were armed with iron rods, and were pelting stones indiscriminately. In the chaos, around 25 people gained entry to Sethis apartment and vandalised it. Nobody has been detained till now. It will take us time to ascertain the facts. We will examine CCTV cameras installed on the premises too, said Singh, adding that cases of stone-pelting and rioting will be lodged.

Police said the matter would need a thorough probe because conflicting versions were being furnished by the two warring parties.

Noida: Security guards of Mahagun Mordene society in Sector 78 fighting pitched battle with villagers.@HTNoidaGzb @htTweets pic.twitter.com/8Mndg4f3y7  Sohil Sehran (@SohilSehran) July 12, 2017

Zora Bibi said she had only sought two months salary  amounting to Rs 12,000  from her employers. But instead of paying what was owed to me, they accused me of stealing Rs 17,000 from the house. I was beaten up. I fled to the basement of the apartment complex in terror, and the guards brought me out early this morning, her statement to the police read.

Police registered a case on the basis of Zora Bibis complaint at the Sector 49 police station. Later that evening, Sethi filed a counter-complaint with the police. When I enquired about the money she stole, Zora Bibi asked me to deduct it from her salary and not report the matter to the apartment management. We have footage to prove our case, he said.

Zora Bibis husband, Abdul Sattar, told police that he and his friends  all residents of Barola area in Sector 49  had only gone to Mahagun Moderne to enquire about her. But they beat us with batons, forcing us to throw stones in self-defence. They even threatened to kill us, he said.

Police admitted that the maid was found inside the apartment complex in the morning, following which she was taken to a hospital. Zora Bibi was brought here at 9.10 am. However, she was discharged within an hour after a medical test failed to find anything wrong with her, said Dr Bindu, the emergency medical officer.

Parshuram, SHO of the Sector 49 police station, said they have procured footage proving that the woman was not being held captive at the apartment. Moreover, a woman in the society has told us that Zora Bibi stayed at her apartment. We have registered FIRs under different sections in both cases, and separate investigations are in progress, he said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Commission of Women sent two counsellors to Noida after reports of the incident poured in. They met the woman and helped her register the FIR. Noida is not in our jurisdiction, but we took the step on humanitarian grounds, said Bhupinder Singh, media advocacy officer of the Delhi Commission for Women.

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The Noida police arrested two persons on Wednesday for allegedly betting on horse races on the expressway. The police said they identified the duo through the video footage that went viral on social media.

Sadiq (19) and Salman (20) were arrested from Jamia Nagar in New Delhi on Wednesday afternoon by a team of the Expressway police. They have been charged under the Gambling Act, Prevention of Cruelty Towards Animals Act and Section 289 of the Indian Penal Code for causing a disturbance.

In the video that went viral on social media on July 9, two stallions ridden by the men were seen racing against each other on the main carriageway of the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway.

According to station house officer, Vedpal Singh Pundir, a total of five men have been identified as a part of the horse racing gambling from the video.

In the video, Sadiq is seen riding the brown-white horse while Salman was seen on a bike bucking up the jockeys. We are questioning them for leads on the remaining three, said Pundir.

These men are from the economically weaker section and have been making an earning through horse riding on the Yamuna plains near Delhi and Noida. The horses belong to them and they usually place cheap bets, said Pundir.

According to the police, on July 11, a reward of 5,000 was to be given to the winner of the race, between the riders of the brown and brown-white stallions.

The men had planned to party after the horse race but the brown stallion could race for only 100 metres, after which it stopped. So naturally, the brown-white horse was adjudged the winner, said Pundir. The police said they will soon nab the three others.

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Recently, Amit Shah, president of the BJP, lauded Mahatma Gandhis foresight in calling for the disbanding of the Congress after Independence. While his use of a caste suffix chatur bania for Gandhi was rightly objected to, the part about disbanding the Congress went uncontested.

In a note dated January 27, 1948, three days before he was assassinated, Gandhi wrote that the Congress has outlived its use in its present form, should be disbanded and flower into a Lok Sevak Sangh. This appeared as an article in Harijan on February 2, 1948, titled His Last Will and Testament, a phrase added by his associates. Some scholars of Gandhi seem to have uncritically accepted the term last will and testament.

For example, political scientists Lloyd and Susan Rudolph comment: Twenty four hours before his death on 30 January 1948 at the hands of Nathu Godse, Gandhi proposed in his last will and testament that the Indian National Congress be dissolved and be replaced by a Lok Sevak Sangh, a peoples service organisation. The title of the article and its posthumous publication endowed Gandhis note with a significance greater than he intended.

The last will and testament should be read along with another statement also carried in the Harijan the same day: Indian National Congress which is the oldest national political organization and which has after many battles fought her non-violent way to freedom cannot be allowed to die. It can only die with the nation. This suggests he still believed the Congress had a future role and was pondering over what it would be.

What Gandhi had penned was a draft constitution, not a last will and testament. If Gandhi had lived, it is probable that this draft constitution would have been debated in the Congress as a whole, rather than the focus being only on disbanding the party. Gandhis comments were made in the context of a continuing debate on the future role of the party in the post-Independence period and the associated reorganisation of the Congress. With Independence, the historic role of the party in achieving Independence had been played out and changes in the structure of the party were in order to make it better designed to fulfil the purpose of effecting a social and economic revolution. This was a debate initiated by the party leadership in 1946, with circulars sent out to the Congress committees to ascertain their views.

Many responses came in over the months, including those of Jayaprakash Narayan, Raghukul Tilak, JB Kripalani and Rammanohar Lohia. Tilak was apprehensive about the vacuum, which would be created by dissolving the Congress, which communal parties would rush to fill. Congress president, Kripalani, suggested a reorientation of the Congress now that the struggle against the British was over. He spelt out the role of the Congress as laying down the policy of the government and being a link between it and the people. Lohia wanted the Congress to adopt the socialist creed and connect with workers and kisan organisations to realise this. Gandhi spoke of dissolving the party not in the limited context of being disillusioned with the power politics, which dominated it, but as part of the transformation of the party to make it a fit instrument for the new situation. Gandhi had been engaged in these discussions on the future role of the party since he was in Noakhali and had continued them in Delhi in late 1947 and early 1948.

Tracing the evolution of this debate on the role of the Congress shows that dissolution was not a distinct Gandhian perspective, counterposed to the official Congress line that it is made out to be. It appears that this claim is made time and again, as it conveniently fits in with the popular mythology about Gandhi standing apart from the Congress and its leaders in his last years. A mythology, which allows for selective appropriation of the Mahatma and other nationalist leaders and debunking of others. This is of course part of a continuing trend in the (mis)appropriation of national leaders by the BJP.

Sucheta Mahajan is professor, Centre for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences, JNU

The views expressed are personal
O Freunde, nicht diese Tone! (Oh friends, not these sounds!), proclaimed the baritone in the stirring performance of Beethovens Ninth Symphony to the G20 leaders in Hamburg last Friday evening. That soul-stirring phrase, the opening line of Ode to Joy, Beethovens appeal to universal brotherhood, was the perfect message to the global leaders sitting in the concert halls balcony. The G20 president, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, actually made remarkable headway in channelling Beethovens spirit.

This G20 summit, of course, was the first with Donald Trump as United States President. The summits discordant tones, echoed in the stormy sections of Beethovens symphony, emanated entirely from the US. Trump has no use for appeals to brotherly love. He traffics in ethnic and religious divisiveness, hostility to neighbours (insisting again at the summit that the US will build a wall on the Mexican border and that Mexico will pay for it), and Manichean images of a Western civilisation vulnerable to collapse at the hands of radical Islam, rather than at the height of unimaginable wealth and technological prowess.

While the conductor led the orchestra in a breathtaking performance, the true maestro of the evening was Merkel. What a stroke of genius to bring the G20 leaders to Hamburgs spectacular new Elbphilharmonie concert hall, itself a triumph of architectural vision, to be inspired by perhaps the greatest musical work of universal culture, with its message of world harmony.

The concert itself offered layer upon layer of significance. The Germany of Beethoven has been reborn on the ashes of the Germany of Hitler. Germany today is a globally admired, peace-loving, war-abhorring, democratic, prosperous, innovative, and cooperative country.

At the same time, Beethovens genius belongs not only to his native Germany, or even to the West, but to all of humanity. His scoring of Schillers poetic ode reflects the truly global aspirations of the Enlightenment. Yes, the Enlightenment was a European phenomenon; but it was utterly aware of the entire world and of the dangers of particularism and chauvinism. In Germany, it was imbued with Immanuel Kants vision of perpetual peace, grounded in the categorical imperative to act according to maxims that can be made into a universal law, rather than according to personal whims and narrow self-interest.

Trumps America First is a brazen affront to Kantian ethics and a threat to peace. His break with the rest of the world on the Paris climate agreement is his most chilling act of naked self-interest so far. Its origin lies in the aim of a few US companies  led by Koch Industries, Continental Resources, Peabody Energy, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and a few others  to maximise profits from gas and oil fracking, deep-sea drilling, and continued coal mining and use, the climate consequences be dammed.

These fossil-fuel companies have financed the campaigns of the Republican representatives and senators who called on Trump to withdraw from the Paris accord. They, and the Republican politicians on their payroll, are prepared to sacrifice the wellbeing of fellow Americans, even their own families, not to mention the rest of the world and future generations. Greed uber alles.

The question ahead of the G20 summit was therefore clear: Would other countries follow the US in recklessly putting self-interest above the common good? Rumours were flying. The New York Times ran a curtain raiser suggesting that Trump might succeed in pulling Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and even Indonesia into a petrostate coalition to weaken or overturn the Paris agreement.

For this reason, the future of global cooperation was at stake in Hamburg. It had taken many years  by one plausible accounting a full generation since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit  to reach the Paris climate agreement, unanimously adopted by all 193 UN member states in December 2015. Could the US oil lobby, with their political lackeys in tow, send the world back to square one?

Merkel proved once again to be a bulwark of reason and efficiency. She did not panic, raise her voice, or make demands. But she made clear where she, Germany, and Europe stood. Following the G7 meeting in late May, she lamented that Europe could no longer fully rely on the US. Behind the scenes, she and the highly professional Germany diplomatic corps worked overtime to secure consensus  minus America  at the G20.

As the G20 leaders headed to the concert on Friday, their Sherpas stayed behind to debate the final text. Would Russia, Saudi Arabia, and others play Trumps game? When the communique appeared, diplomats and climate activists around the world breathed a sigh of relief. All other G20 countries had resisted the US ploy. The communique was simple, accurate, and reassuring on climate change: The Leaders of the other G20 members state that the Paris Agreement is irreversible.We reaffirm our strong commitment to the Paris Agreement, moving swiftly towards its full implementation

The communique does contain a paragraph of Trump doublespeak. The US affirmed its strong commitment to an approach that lowers emissions while supporting economic growth and improving energy security needs, and would work closely with other countries to help them access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently and help deploy renewable and other clean energy sources. As a teenager might say: Whatever.

On several other global issues, a full consensus was reached. The G20 reaffirmed that international trade and investment are important engines of growth productivity, innovation, job creation, and development. All G20 leaders recommitted their countries to universal health coverage (another clear message to Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Speaker Paul Ryan), and to strengthening health systems. They reiterated their commitment to sustainable development and to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

When the concert ended, the G20 leaders and the rest of the theatre rose to their feet in a prolonged standing ovation. The curtain call truly belonged to Beethoven, Kant, and Merkel.

Jeffrey D Sachs is director of Columbias Center for Sustainable Development

Copyright: Project Syndicate

The views expressed are personal
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday filed another chargesheet, against 12 persons, in the multi-crore Jagdish Bhola drug case, naming former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur, his son Damanvir Phillaur, and former SAD MLA Avinash Chander as accused too.

Sarwan Phillaur and Chander, who had switched to the Congress just before the February assembly polls, are first among politicians formally named as accused in a chargesheet in the racket in which names of many leaders have cropped up. In April this year, the ED had attached with the case the houses of both the leaders in Jalandhar.

In the chargesheet filed by ED deputy director Niranjan Singh in the CBI court at Mohali, the agency has sought prosecution on charges carrying jail terms of up to 12 years and confiscation of properties worth more than Rs 100 crores already attached in the case. They face charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

After Jagdish Bhola named Phillaurs son Damanvir involved in this trade, we investigated their properties and other assets. Our probe has found wealth they collected through illegal means. They had common business with Goraya-based businessman Chunni Lal Gaba whose factories were manufacturing illegal drugs, says the chargesheet. A diary seized by the income tax department at Gabas premises had found an entry of Rs 8 lakh paid to Chander.

The other accused include Amritsar-based businessman Jagjit Singh Chahal, who is a former SAD leader, his brother Paramjit Singh Chahal and wife Inderjit Kaur. Chahal is already in the Nabha jail.

Davinder Sharma of Una (Himachal Pradesh), who worked as a manager at Chahals drug manufacturing factory in Gagret; Jaswinder Singh of Shahkot (presently in Surrey, Canada), Sachin Sardana and Sushil Sardana, Kailash Sardana and Sushils wife Rashmi Sardana also figure on the list.

So far, the ED has filed five chargesheets, naming 68 persons. Properties worth more than Rs 1,000 crores have been attached.

Wednesdays chargesheet was the last one filed by ED officer Niranjan, whose transfer from the case in 2015 days after he interrogated then-minister Bikram Singh Majithia of the SAD in the case had created a political storm. The Punjab and Haryana high court had later stayed his transfer.

Notably, as per an application moved by the ED headquarters in the HC in May, the agency has said that since Niranjan was promoted as deputy director from assistant director in January this year, as per department manuals he cannot act as the investigating officer (IO) while holding such a senior post. Sources said Niranjan has been given key cases in Delhi by the ED, and an assistant director posted in Jalandhar has already been named as the new IO.

KEY CHARGES AGAINST THE TRIO

Sarwan Singh Phillaur, former SAD minister, no Cong leader

1. Failed to give sources of many properties

2 His son made many properties when Phillaur was minister

3. Shareholder in many businesses with Goraya-based businessman Chunni Lal Gaba named in case

Avinash Chander, former SAD MLA, now in Cong

1. A diary entry of having got Rs 8 lakh from accused Gaba

2. Failed to provide sources of money used in his palatial house in Jalandhar

3. No concrete or direct evidence against involvement with drug peddlers

Damanvir Phillaur, son of Sarwan Phillaur

1. Bhola said in a statement that Damanvir introduced smuggler Varinder Raja to manufacturer Gaba

2. Found to be a director in Gaba familys firms that manufactured illegal drugs

3. Huge unaccounted-for investments in different firms

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In politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies, just permanent interests. The Congress is already at unease with its Bihar ally, chief minister Nitish Kumar, cosying up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Now there seems to be new-found bonhomie between the partys own chief minister from Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, and Modi.

On Tuesday, Amarinder called on the PM at New Delhi to seek the Centres support for resolving the agrarian crisis in Punjab and industrial development. He also requested the PMs intervention to settle the Rs 31,000-crore debt resulting on account of cash credit limit (CCL).

On Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, too, Amarinders stand has softened towards the Centre. He had resigned as a Lok Sabha MP in November last year after the Supreme Court gave a verdict supporting Haryana. In run-up to elections, Amarinder had announced that Punjab will not share its waters with Haryana at any cost.

On Tuesday, he welcomed the SCs directive to hold talks with Haryana on the SYL issue. Appealing to the Centre to initiate talks at the earliest to find an amicable solution to the problem, Amarinder said in a statement: The central government had also showed its keenness to find a consensual solution to the issue. The issue could be thrashed out by the parties involved by sitting across the table and taking into account all the aspects of the problem.

ON CAPATAINS WISH LIST Debt waiver for Punjab farmers, help in resolving agrarian crisis Both state and Centre should bear 31,000-crore debt burden on account of cash credit limit (CCL) Central agencies be instructed to increase efforts for solving sacrilege cases and killings of RSS and Shiv Sena leaders Funds for meeting cost of raising two Indian Reserve Battalions, sanctioned by the Union ministry of home affairs in 2016 for strengthening border management in the state Extension of the security related expenditure (SRE) scheme, currently being implemented in Naxal-affected states, to Punjab in view of large-scale attempts to destabilise the state and perpetrate disharmony. Strengthening intelligence infrastructure in the border state Monitoring of social media to curb its misuse Deployment of two Central Armed Police Forces companies at high-security jails in Punjab, where hardcore terrorists and dreaded gangsters are lodged. He said Punjab was willing to provide an equal number of IRB companies to the Centre in exchange.

The Opposition SAD was quick to hit out at the CM with former CM Parkash Singh Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Badal questioning Amarinders stand to put waters of Punjab on the negotiating table.

But Amarinder needs Modi to bail out his government from inherited financial crisis, debt waiver promised to farmers, bring in new industry, and most importantly, on the contentious issue of the SYL canal. Many in the Congress also attribute the warmth in ties to ongoing investigation into allegations of Swiss bank accounts against Amarinder and his family. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raids at Himachal CM Virbhadra Singhs residence is a ready reckoner.

THIRD MEETING WITH PM

Interestingly, this is Amarinders third meeting with the PM since forming the government in March this year.

In less than a month of taking over as the CM, Amarinder had met Modi seeking debt waiver for Punjab farmers.

In April, he again called on Modi, this time to seek permission to sell Punjabs surplus power to Pakistan or Nepal.

In May, Amarinder hailed Major Leetul Gogois action of using a Kashmiri as a human shield against stone pelters and the armys decision to honour him. Amarinder had written that Gogoi deserved to be given a distinguished services medal for the feat.

PARTY, CAPT NOT ON SAME PAGE

In June, as his party vice-president Rahul Gandhi described the governments decision to usher in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) through a midnight session of the Parliaments Central Hall a gimmick, saying it was being rushed through in a half-baked way with a self-promotional spectacle, Amarinder was all for the GST.

The CM called it a progressive tax that will highly benefit Punjab. On objections of the party, he had first said the Congress was only opposed to the event. He had later added that the Congress was also opposed to the multiple tax slabs and wanted the rate of tax to be capped to 18%.

However, when in the Opposition, Amarinder used to take frequent digs at former CM Parkash Singh Badals visits to then PM Dr Manmohan Singh. In run-up to the elections, Amarinder had said Badal must have realised that Manmohan was a better PM than Modi and a well-wisher of Punjab as he never let Badal come back empty-handed and always put something into his begging bowl.

When out of power, the grouse of Congressmen in Punjab was that Dr Manmohan Singh was generous towards Badal. Amarinder himself had once written to Manmohan not to attend the inauguration of the Virasat-e-Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib and Manmohan had heeded his advice.

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They are dead: Amid hope for 39 Indians in Iraq, survivor sticks to story

Even as hope returned to families of the 39 abducted Indians after terror group Islamic State (IS) was ousted from stronghold Mosul by government forces in war-torn Iraq, the lone returning survivor has stuck to his claim that they are dead. Read full story here

Punjab Police nab dreaded gangster after encounter in Ferozepur

A gangster, wanted in over two dozen cases of murder and robbery, was arrested after an exchange of gunfire in a village here, police said on Wednesday. Read full story here

From SYL to GST, the new Capt Amarinder-Narendra Modi bonhomie

In politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies, just permanent interests. The Congress is already at unease with its Bihar ally, chief minister Nitish Kumar, cosying up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Read full story here

Dera killing: 2 months on, Barnala police fail to arrest all accused

The sensational dera shootout case, in which two men were shot dead allegedly by another group of dera men on May 12, is still hanging fire as the Barnala police are yet to arrest all nine accused as four of them are still absconding. Read full story here

Shimlas missing antique bell: 7 years on, CBI conducts narco test

Seven years after an antique bell gifted to Lord Irwin was stolen from Shimlas majestic Viceregal lodge, the Central Bureau of Investigation is now conducting a narco test of security personnel at the Indian Institute of Advanced studies housed in the British era building. Read full story here

Ludhiana: GADVASU under lens over child working in canteen

The veterinary varsity in Ludhiana has hit controversy after a video of a boy working in a canteen of the institution started circulating. A complaint has been lodged with the vice-chancellor of the varsity. Read full story here

Panjab University wants Rs 2 crore from Chandigarh for roads, streetlights

The Panjab University (PU) on Tuesday told the Punjab and Haryana high court that the Chandigarh administration should be directed to bear the burden of road maintenance and upkeep of streetlights on its campus. Read full story here

Indian-origin boy dies after allergic reaction to cheese allegedly forced on him

A 13-year-old Indian-origin boy with a dairy allergy died after suffering a severe reaction to a piece of cheese allegedly forced on him, prompting the UK police to launch a homicide probe, media reports have said. Read full story here

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The Chandigarh international airport has not only brought a smile to frequent travelers, its also giving a big push to economic activity in the region with its software exports soaring from 423 crore in 2005 to 3,878 crore in 2016-2017. Be it the IT sector, the hospitality industry, academia, ancillary services or the realty, these are all benefiting from the virtuous cycle set in motion by the improvement in domestic and international connectivity.

IT boom

It was early 2000 when Chandigarh started making forays into the Information Technology (IT) business. Then tourism and IT director Vivek Atray, who was spearheading this move, recalls how poor air connectivity would often become a stumbling block during his talks with IT companies in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other places.

They would often raise the issue of poor air connectivity and ask us how their clients abroad would make their way here when they themselves found it difficult to reach Chandigarh, he recounts.

Despite the initial hiccups, business travelers began reaching Chandigarh especially after Infosys agreed to set up a unit here, even though the local airport had just a single flight to Delhi. As the number of travelers increased, the number of flights also went up and more companies began to settle here. The rest is history, Atray smiles.

Software Technology Park of Indias additional director at Mohali,. Ajay Prasad Shrivastava, says there is no doubt that the growth of IT sector in Chandigarh and Mohali coincided with the expansion of air connectivity as it eased travel for domestic and foreign clients.

As per the latest figures of STPI, the tricitys software exports touched almost 3,878 crore in 2016-2017, up from 7.7 crore in 1998-99. The industry hopes to double these in the next five to seven years and generate immense employment opportunities.

The Mohali Industrial Association president, Sanjeev Vashist, says great connectivity coupled with a stellar quality of life in the tricity is a big draw. Wait for the day when the city gets direct flights to London, New York or Sydney. You wont be able to imagine the impact on IT trade and other businesses, he gushes.

Major hospitality chains are also showing an interest in the area. The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, for instance, is building a luxury hotel on the premises of the under-construction Bestech Square Mall on the way to the airport from Chandigarh. (Anil Dayal/HT)

The rich spread

From industrial parks to hotels, the area around the airport has already started looking prosperous. As per industrial projections, at least 5,000 acres of land is under development in the airports vicinity. Chandigarh international airport chief executive officer Suneel Dutt said business always gets a boost wherever aviation sector develops. The result is already visible here with Chandigarh-Dubai connectivity; companies from both sides are traveling frequently between the two points, he said.

Major hospitality chains are also showing an interest in the area. The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, for instance, is building a luxury hotel on the premises of the under-construction Bestech Square Mall on the way to the airport from Chandigarh. The 600-crore project will be ready by the end of next year. It will be our first Radisson RED hotel in Mohali under a strategic partnership with Bestech Group, said a company official.

Then prominent global trade facilitators, World Trade Center Association (WTCA) is coming up with its new signature venture World Trade Center in Mohalis aero city. The project spanning a massive 1 million sq ft will host office spaces, auditoriums, retail spaces, studio apartments, food courts, retail plaza, banquet halls, multiplexes and a lot more

Cheers for F&B biz

The airport expansion is also seeing a rise of several new businesses such as food and beverages (F&B) and transport business. Then F&B business has reportedly seen a growth of 20%-25% due to the increase in air traffic. Its ditto for local cab operators.

Several agencies from the tricity, for instance, have now applied for a licence from the Airport Authority of India to set up special kitchens meant to prepare food for airlines. G S Virk, owner of Park Plaza in Zirakpur, said their in-flight kitchen is in the final stage of completion and once it is operational, they will start trading with airlines.So far airlines are sourcing their food from local sources. They start doing it once licensed vendors start their kitchens, said an airport official.

Karan Dhillion, whose company owns a mall in Manimajra, however, cautions that the airport is still not growing as per the expectations of the local industry. We need more flights to international destinations, especially where NRI population is settled, he says.

Foreign flights boost desi realty

Real estate projects in the vicinity of the airport are the bright spots in the otherwise gloomy real estate scene in the tricity. The start of international flights from the airport proved the spark needed to rekindle a business that had almost gone into hibernation.

Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) was among the first to benefit from the airports upgradation. Before the airport went international, GMADAs IT city near the new airport terminal had seen a whopping 325 allottees surrendering their plots. But the demand for the project changed dramatically last year with the announcement of the international flights. GMADA received 14,000 applications for the allotment of 750 residential plots in the IT City. Ravi Bhagat, chief administrator, GMADA, says, The airport has benefited both the private and public sectors in the area. We see it as a very promising location for both residential and commercial properties. We are planning to further develop projects here.

In stark contrast to the airport area, realty sector in other parts of the tricity is struggling with price corrections and low demand. Kulwant Singh, president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association, Punjab, and managing director, JLPL, says, The impact of the international airport is positive on both the housing and commercial segments in locations adjacent to the airport in Mohali. While in most parts of the tricity, there has been a big slump in the realty sector, here price appreciation started with the announcement of international flights. Though demonetisation halted the price rise, there is again a consistent increase in demand and prices. In the near future we will see a rise in the number of hospitality and residential projects in the area.

For some though, the airport is yet to deliver the expected dividends. D S Benipal, former chairman of Mohali Property Consultant Association, says, The demand for housing and commercial spaces in the area will pick up only when they start international flights to Canada, Australia and England. NRI investors from these countries can boost realty investments here. At present, the NRI visitor, taking flight either from Amritsar or Delhi, is not fully aware about the realty potential and developments in the area.

Shot for medical tourism

Sandeep Dogra, senior vice president at Max Super Specialty Hospital, Mohali, is hopeful that a fully operational international airport will boost medical tourism in the tricity. Many Punjabis have migrated abroad but they prefer the health services offered at home. He said once the airport starts offering more destinations overseas, NRIs will be able to get tests or treatments done in Mohali and fly home the same day or a day later. This will save them the cost of treatment abroad.

For some though, the airport is yet to deliver the expected dividends. (Anil Dayal/HT )

What they say

Mohali is turning into an attractive market for us due to its air connectivity and host of commercial and infrastructural developments. The new airport will become the gateway for a host of opportunities, said KB Kachru, chairman emeritus, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, South Asia.

It is high time the Punjab government and UT develop specific tourism corridors given the fact that we have Anandpur Sahib, Chandigarh and many other iconic places in the airports periphery, chairman of the PHD Chamber of Commerce (Punjab), RS Sachdeva, said.

IT industry and airport complement each other since foreign clients prefer to have clear connectivity with the area where they do business. All we need now is civic development in the areas developing as IT hubs, Xeam Ventures director Anil Khurana said.

If the airport blossoms to its full potential, the IT city coming up in its proximity will be the direct beneficiary as it will make travel easier between local companies and their offshore clients, Mohali IT City Companies Association president Raman Aggarwal said.

International flights from the region are a shot in the arm for the industry. Improved connectivity with the rest of the world will help attract investments besides improving business linkages. It will also give a fillip to industry such as tourism, IT, IT-enabled services in the region, Babu Khan, CII Northern Region regional director, said.
In a first-of-its-kind move, Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu gave a public hearing to four superintendent engineers whom he had suspended last week. Sidhu had said the four engineers allotted Rs 500 crore of development work without any competition or negotiation to bring down the work cost during the previous SAD-BJP regime. Total works that these engineers allotted were of Rs 800 crore.

As Sidhu heard out the engineers side of story, nine Congress MLAs sat beside the minister and posed counter questions. The hearing went on for over an hour, in which the engineers said they allotted works through e-tendering and approval for the rates was taken from their superiors in the department, based in Chandigarh headquarter.

SEs PK Goel, Kulwinder Singh, Pawan Sharma, and Dharam Singh were given personal hearing. MLAs Pargat Singh, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Surinder Dawar, Sunil Datti, Sanjeev Talwar, Rajinder Beri, Avtar Henri Jr and Raj Kumar Verka were also present.

Who ordered you to circumvent the procedure laid in different acts governing the functioning of the local civic bodies. Give me in writing in case, the orders came from high-ups, said Sidhu.

Raising concerns, MLAs said in the past, works were allotted after negotiating a cut in offered rates between 12-28% in the cost of works. In this case, the SEs negotiated a cut of only 1-2% causing a huge loss to the state exchequer, said MLA Ashu MLA from Ludhiana.

MLAs alleged that in a number of cases, works have not taken place despite the fact that payments have been made.

Sidhu said for these works, the local MC House had to pass a resolution and take clearance from the finance and contract committee.

To my shock, the route was bypassed and then mayors and councillors used to complain, said Sidhu. The local bodies minister said he would take further action based on merit and they could meet him. Suspensions of senior officials and engineers will follow, if their names cropped up in irregularities, he added.

Not under any pressure

Sidhu clarified that he was not under any pressure, that he was holding an open court to give hearing to the suspended SEs to be fair in his working. The council of ministers, in its first meeting after the government formation, decided to review all the development works with a cost over Rs 10 crore. I am not doing anything extraordinary, just following the mandate of my government of which I am a part, said Sidhu.
Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) Bar Association of Chandigarh is up in arms against new AFT rules.

Under the new rules, notified by the government in June, AFT will continue to function under the ministry of defence (MoD) despite the fact that cases involve the ministry itself. The new rules also reiterate the role of the defence secretary in selecting the members of the AFT, but consultation with Chief Justice of India (CJI) has been abrogated.

The defence secretary will now have a role in ordering inquiries against members of the tribunal and their removal, which was undertaken by a Supreme Court judge till now.

The facilities and benefits of retired high court judges appointed as judicial members have been downgraded. The new rules have reduced the existing tenure of judges from 4 years to 3, and have provided for re-appointment by a selection committee of which the defence secretary is a member and is the first opposite party in all litigation.

While the earlier provisions barred the post-retirement employment of judges with the government, the new rules specifically allow such employment. Lawyers say that it would impact independence of judges.

Under the new rules, any advocate with 10-year practice can be appointed as the AFT chairperson, while the lower appointment of judicial member can only be held by a high court judge. Earlier, chairperson used to be only a retired apex court judge.

Even the administrative members who used to be retired lieutenant general now can be people with 20 years of experience in law, commerce, management, finance, accountancy and industry.

The Punjab and Haryana high court had directed the central government in 2012 in Navdeep Singh versus Union of India to place the AFT under the law ministry, and also to recast the selection committee. When the UPA government had approached the SC with a Special Leave Petition, the apex court had refused to stay the judgement and had only agreed to stay the contempt proceedings in the high court. The case is still pending.

These new rules are mockery of justice. The AFT shouldnt be under MoD, as it is a party in all the cases. These rules are a ploy to get favourable orders, said Justice Surinder Singh Thakur (retd), who retired from Chandigarh bench of AFT in September last year.

The change in rules for administrative members would allow IAS officers to enter. The facilities and benefits are downgraded for judicial members. I dont think retired high court judges should go to AFT now, as it has been diluted. There is no independence of judicial system now, he said.

After retirement of Justice Thakur, Centre is yet to appoint any new judicial member at Chandigarh-bench of AFT.

Now administrative members on the bench could come from anywhere. If we do not have people from defence background, how can justice be delivered? The new rules have given more power to central government in appointing judges and removing them. We protest against these rules, said Anupama Sharma, secretary, AFT Bar Association of Chandigarh.

Delhi AFT Bar Association had also observed strike against the new rules last week.

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The Panjab University (PU) on Tuesday told the Punjab and Haryana high court that the Chandigarh administration should be directed to bear the burden of road maintenance and upkeep of streetlights on its campus.

The court was informed that the varsity was annually spending 2 crore on maintenance of roads and streetlights on its campuses in Sector-25 and Sector-14. The vice-chancellor (VC) informed the court that since the university will no longer receive separate development grant for maintenance and upgradation of civic infrastructure, the UT administration should be asked to make some provisions to meet the universitys civic needs in its annual budget.

Later, the court issued notice to the Chandigarh municipal corporation and the UT administration seeking their response in this regard.

The division bench of justice SS Saron and justice Avneesh Jhingan was hearing a suo motu petition initiated in 2016 after news reports had quoted VC AK Grover stating that due to freeze in grants by the Centre, the varsity faces immediate closure.

During the hearing, the court was informed by additional solicitor general, Satya Pal Jain, that the Centre has decided to issue a 207-crore grant to the university for the financial year 2017-18. This, he said, is an increase from last years allotment of 198 crore. He also stated that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has been directed to make quarterly payments.

Haryana mulls affiliation of colleges from PU

Meanwhile, the Haryana government informed the court that it was working on a proposal of getting some colleges affiliated with the Panjab University. The VC has met senior government officials and some model for financial support is being worked out . The file on the issue is currently pending before the chief minister, the court was told.

Meanwhile, the high court also directed the Punjab government to submit details of arrears of university with the government.
The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, performed its first lung transplant on Tuesday. With it, the institute becomes the first in the northern region and the first government hospital in the country to perform such transplant.

A team of over 20 surgeons and paramedics spent over 12 hours in the operation theatre wherein they retrieved six organs and saved four lives. Apart from this, two were given vision.

Lung transplant most challenging

We wanted to do lung transplant and had been waiting for a suitable donor, said Dr Sandeep Rana, one of the surgeons who conducted the organ transplant. Lung transplant is not very complicated in comparison to other organs, but the results are not very encouraging. In the northern region, no hospital, not even All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, has performed the lung transplant. In south, some private hospitals are conducting surgeries, but no one knows their success rate, said Prof Ashutosh from the PGIMER pulmonary medicine department.

On Monday morning, 22-year-old Bhola Singh from Gholia Kalan village in Moga was rushed to the PGIMER with a severe head injury. He was already brain dead. The transplant co-ordination team sprung into action and it took no time to convince his family.

The surgeons called organ recipients. Bhola was also shifted for organs retrieval. The transplant took over 12 hours. Around 1.30am, we started the procedure and it ended at 2:30pm, the next day. It was very challenging but we are happy that it was a success, said Dr Sandeep Rana.

While, the lungs were being removed from the donor in one OT, we started surgery on the other table to remove the recipients lungs, which is a tedious task, said Dr Rana. Meanwhile, other organs were retrieved and transplanted by other teams in different OTs.

Dr Rana said: The recipient, a 34-year-old Sangrur woman, is fine. All the parameters are within normal limits, but still we will have to observe her for many days to say that she is out of danger.

Know the saviour

Bhola Singh, 22, of Gholia Kalan village in Moga used to work hard day and night to make the ends meet. He had taken the financial responsibility of his family. His uncle, Joginder Singh, takes pride in saying that he was not into drugs and was an obedient child.

Bhola, who used to work at a car service station in Charik village in Moga, met with an accident on Saturday night. He was driving a two-wheeler, without helmet, when he was hit with a speeding vehicle. He suffered severe head injury and was rushed to PGIMER on Sunday evening and the next morning, doctors alerted the transplant coordinator about brain death.

We have seen people suffering for want of organs. Hence we decided to donate Bholas organs, said Joginder Singh, paternal uncle of the donor. What can be a better deed than saving someone elses life? he said.

The donor is survived by his father Soma Singh, mother Kulwinder Kaur and three siblings.

Know the recipient

The recipient is a 34-year-old woman from Sangrur. She was suffering from breathlessness and cough from the past two-three years, but her condition deteriorated in January. In February, we brought her to the PGIMER, her husband said.

She is suffering from interstitial lung disease and her lungs were 95% damaged. Around two weeks ago, doctors informed them that the only solution left was organ transplant. We got a call on Monday and we reached at 8pm. I have not met my wife since then. I hope, she is fine, he said.

FACTS

A lung transplant is surgery to remove a persons diseased lung and replace it with a healthy lung from a deceased donor. Such transplants are used for people who are likely to die from lung disease within 1 to 2 years. Their conditions are so severe that other treatments, such as medicines or breathing devices, no longer work.

Who needs lung transplant?

Lung transplant may be an option for some patients when the lungs become so damaged by disease that they can no longer get oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out of the blood. This is called end-stage lung disease, says Dr Rana. Transplant is not a permanent cure. It is just that the day to day activity becomes easier, they are no longer dependent on oxygen cylinder, but they have to undergo life-long medications, which have adverse side-effects, says Dr Ashutosh, who was part of the ten that conducted the transplant.

What is a success rate of lung transplant?

There is no way to define a success rate. These patients have higher risk of infections and organ rejection. They are always at risk. The global data says 50% might live till 5 years, says Dr Ashutosh.

Then why should one go for lung transplant?

It improves a quality of life to a variable degree. In some patients, it might not be that good; in others it can improve the quality of life, he says.

How much it costs?

The cost depends upon the complication. In non-complicated cases, the initial cost is around 6-10 lakh at the PGIMER. Then one has to spend around 10,000 per month on medications, which are life-long. In private sector, it would cost around 45 lakh.

They say

Despite cadaver donor organ transplants picking up pace, lung transplants are still very uncommon. This is partly because the surgery is complex and technically demanding and also because there are not too many usable lungs. So, its heartening that the PGIMER not only surpassed the 27 cadaver organ donations of last year, but also has to its credit of becoming the first in public sector hospitals to perform a lung transplant, Dr Jagat Ram, PGIMER director, said.

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One fine Sunday in 1994, Professor Randhir Singh was invited by a small group of budding scholars for a talk in New Delhi.

It will be of only two hours sir, this is how the group persuaded Singh to be part of the discussion, to which he agreed. When the designated Sunday arrived, the group met Singh at 10am and eight hours later, the discussion was still on. This was Professor Randhir Singh, a renowned thinker and author of his time who was associated with various communist movements in the country since 1939.

The anecdote was revealed by Professor Vivek Chibber of the New York University, USA, during the first Randhir Memorial Lecture at the Institute for Development and Communication (IDC), Sector-38 A, Chandigarh on Monday. Singh was the founder member of IDC.

Speaking on the topic Pathways out of neoliberalism -- Can we revive the development state? Prof Chibber argued that neoliberalism, globally, is in deep crisis and this has become more profound in the last one decade starting from the economic crisis of 2007-08.

He said the discontentment among the working class, even in the West, is arising out of stagnated income and the rich-poor divide, which has now been institutionalised.

Reviving the developmental state

Addressing the debate on the relevance of the development state, Prof Chibber said in the global south (the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America), people argue in favour of going back to the development state from their current neoliberal market conditions.

The development state is the market arrangement that existed prior to the widespread acceptance of neoliberalism. It was marked by a protected economy with varying degree of state intervention.

Prof Chibber reasoned that these countries favour this revival because the regimes under the development state had elements of redistributive justice in terms of anti-poverty commitments. Furthermore, the economic growth in this phase was quite respectable. Thus, people believe that going back to the development state will be a solution to the neoliberal crisis they are in, he said.

Conflicts under Nehruvian policies

Describing the contradictions in the developmental polices adopted by Jawaharlal Nehru, Prof Chibber said, Nehru and his planners took it for granted that their responsibility was to guide capitalists how to operate. For this, they also needed the power to discipline the capitalist class by saying no to things that were demanded against the plan, he said.

He explained that on the other hand, the capitalist class wanted state intervention (in terms of lower tariffs, infrastructure support, availability of market etc) but desired that the intervention should be at their behest. This is where the conflict arose. It was later responsible for the switch from the protected economy that India was, to embracing neoliberal polices marked by economic liberalisation, he said.

Criticising the development state under Nehru, he said India was a protected market and the capitalist class had no domestic or outside competition because the state took upon itself to protect them.

However, while the planners protected the domestic capitalists, this also insulated them from technological advancements, he said.

Going back not desirable

On the question of whether it is possible to go back to the development state and if it desirable to do so, he said its difficult to switch back because the political support for the development state is no longer. Furthermore, the big capitalists are committed to the neoliberal state as it caters to their interest.

He argues that even if we are somehow able to go back, this switch is undesirable. This is because the development state failed to live up to its own promises of redistribution of wealth and to ensure that capitalism was favourable to the poor.

But how was it possible for neoliberalism to be embraced so swiftly? Prof Chibber explains that this was possible because there was no resistance from the working class. This in turn was because under the development state, the working class and the trade unions were systematically made toothless.

Is there a way out?

Commenting on the prevailing market conditions, he said they are ironical because despite high growth rates in India, jobs are scanty. We are presently trying to find ways within the capitalist system. Private capital is needed but we must harness it and not be enslaved by it, he said.

The case at present is of humanising capitalism, make working conditions more enjoyable and put socialism as the agenda.

He added, We need massive state-led intervention in terms of public sector investment that creates jobs. China, despite its many political and economic loopholes, has been able to resolve its unemployment menace. It will soon enter into an era of labour shortage.

However, he asserted that this is just a temporary measure. The permanent change will not come out of the bourgeoisie or the capitalist class. It rather has to come from an organised working class resistance. But, its easy said than done, he said.

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A man was admitted to the Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP) in Ranchi for allegedly trying to open the door of an Air Asia flight while it was taking off from the Delhi airport on Tuesday.

Police said 28-year-old Aftab Ahmad, who was arrested at the Birsa Munda airport, suffered from a medical condition that caused bouts of anxiety attacks.

CIP director Dr D Ram said Ahmad has a history of mental ailments and aggressive behaviour. He has been uncooperative and a little aggressive at the hospital too. We have been keeping him under observation since last night, but diagnosing the cause of these bouts may take over 24 hours, he added.

Ahmad  a resident of Bariatu Colony in Ranchi  told Doranda police that he was pursuing a post graduate degree in medicine at New Delhis All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and was aware of his medical condition.

Earlier, there was some confusion regarding Ahmads whereabouts  with police stating that he had been admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences. A few even reported that he had been referred to the Ranchi Institute of Neuro Psychiatry and Allied Sciences.

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Secret agencies in Jharkhand have put its police high alert in Muslim majority districts after 43 members of Popular Front of India (PFI), an Islamic Fundamentalist Organisation (PFI), were arrested in Pakur for clashing with local police and allegedly trying to snatch their weapons on July 5.

At least five policemen including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) were injured in the clash when PFI cadres in Pakur, a Muslim majority district sharing border with West Bengal, took out a protest rally against the increased attacks on Muslims and demanded arrest of local BJP leader, Hisabi Rai for spreading hate messages against their community.

Justifying the arrests, police had alleged that the PFI had not sought prior permission before taking out the protest rally and when they tried to preempt it, the protestors attacked security personnel deployed on the streets. This is the first time leaders and cadres of PFI, an organization banned in Kerala, have been arrested in Jharkhand.

Among those arrested include PFIs firebrand leader, Hanjala Sheikh, whose name featured prominently in several anti-state protests in the recent past. Police said around a year back, PFI supporters led by Sheikh had waved Pakistani flags during an anti-state protest in Sahebganj but the local SP then had resisted lodging an FIR.

Taking serious umbrage to the arrest of their cadres, senior PFI leaders from across the country assembled in Pakur on Saturday and held meeting with their family members. Later, they released a press note to local media declaring the arrests police high-handedness and a bizarre act to suppress the fundamental rights of peacefully protesting Muslims.

PFI state president Abdul Kabir rubbished the allegations lodged against those arrested on July 5 as concocted and baseless. He said the organization had informed Pakur town police station about their protest rally well in advance.

It was a peaceful rally. Police turned it violent by resorting to lathi charge and arresting our 43 cadres, Kabir said, adding, Our Delhi office has dispatched a team of legal experts. They will carry out an in-depth investigation and fight the legal battle to secure release of our arrested cadres.

The press note declared PFI as a social and pro-democratic organization that works for uplift of dalits backwards and protection of minority rights in the country. Leaders said the organization reserves its rights to stage peaceful demonstrations.

Considering their violent activities in Kerala and couple of other states in the past, we are keeping a strict vigil on their activities and movements. We fear they could align with few tribal and other anti-state organizations to foment trouble and gain political mileage as their main objective is to keep defeat BJP and keep it out of power, said a senior IPS officer in the state intelligence department, who is not authoirised to speak to media.

Pakur police superintendent, Shailendra Burnwal said he had no option but to arrest the PFI cadres as they confronted police discharging their duties and further agitated them by trying to snatching their weapons.

He gave a clean chit to local BJP leader, Hisabi Rai declaring uncouth elements had created a fake ID carrying his picture and name to spread hate messages. We have tracked down the miscreant who to tried to stoke communal fervor. The BJP is innocent, he said.

About PFI

Since its inception, PFI has been accused of various antisocial and anti-national activities. The allegations include connections with various Islamic terrorist groups, possessing arms, kidnapping, murder, intimidation, hate campaigns, rioting, Love Jihad and various acts of religious extremism, the most infamous among them being the assault on Professor T J Joseph who had set a controversial question paper insulting the Prophet Muhammed.

EOM
Samantha Ruth Prabhu is working like theres no tomorrow as shes getting ready for her big fat wedding with Naga Chaitanya in October. The actor interacted with her fans on Monday as she hit four million mark on Twitter. She thanked her fans for all the love and support and had a chat session with them. #4MillionLoveForSamantha. What would I do without you? You have been my greatest inspiration. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, she tweeted.

In the chat session, she answered various questions ranging from her career to her beau Chaitanya. When asked how she was feeling about her wedding, she said, In my head I am married to him already, so I think everyone else is more excited than the both of us. Samantha and Chaitanya first met on the sets of Ye Maaya Chesave. Although it wasnt love at first set, they grew fond of each other in the last couple of years and decided to take their relationship to next level. While a lot of secrecy is being maintained about their wedding, it is believed they will get married on a beach in Goa.

I love this pic of #chaisam. So much in love!! pic.twitter.com/8oVkmEAFXW  Nagarjuna Akkineni (@iamnagarjuna) January 30, 2017

Having worked with all major stars across Tamil and Telugu industries, Samantha finds working with superstar Mahesh Babu very entertaining. While in Telugu she has Ram Charans Rangasthalam 1985 and Savitri biopic Mahanati, she has Sivakarthikeyans yet-untitled comedy flick and Aneethi Kathaigal in Tamil.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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I hardly ever studied Hindi in school. At least, not enough to come to grips with even basic grammar. Whenever I attempt to talk in Hindi, I am prone to mixing up kaa, ki, and kii, effortlessly achieving gender fluidity of a sort. One trick that I use to reduce the mistakes was to memorise lines from Bollywood movies I have seen, and string them together as needed in conversation. And I think I know where I stole that idea from.

Ek Duuje Ke Liye was the Hindi remake of the Telugu blockbuster Maro Charitra, a romantic tragedy about two doomed lovers with a language problem. In the Telugu original, Kamal Haasans character spoke Tamil, and Saritha, the heroine, spoke Telugu. When the movie was remade into Hindi, Kamal still spoke Tamil, and Rati Agnihotri, the new heroine, spoke Hindi. The highlight, possibly the lightest the movie ever got in its narration, is Kamal Haasan wooing his heroine while stuck in an elevator by singing a song whose lyrics were essentially a bunch of movie titles strung together. Mere Jeevan Saathi. Pyar Kiye Jaa. Jawaani Deewani. Khoobsurat. Ziddi. Padosan. Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri feature in the song, Mere Jeevan Saathi... Pyar Kiye Jaa from Ek Duuje Ke Liye.

The other thing that stands out about Ek Duuje Ke Liye is that Kamal Haasans character, although a Tamilian in a Hindi movie, is not a caricature, the way such characters usually are in Bollywood movies. Unfortunately, recent statements by our politicians, be it Venkaiah Naidus hilarious Hindi hamara raashtrabhaasha hai paeans, or Shashi Tharoors more measured statements about how Hindi occupies a better-than-other-languages position in polity has meant that such caricatures are just reflections of imposed realities.

In April this year, former BJP parliamentarian Tarun Vijay sparked a row, when he explicitly said something that most North Indians leave unsaid and implicit. In the context of Indias perceived racism against Africans, he said, If we were racist, why would we have all the entire South Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra why do we live with them? We have black people around us. For many from Tarun Vijays part of the country, their idea of India is a monocultural north. South Indians exist among them, and they bemusedly tolerate them. For the most part, Bollywood filmmakers belong to this ilk and share the viewpoint. And therefore, when they have South Indian characters in their movies, they resort to stereotypes. From Mehmoods Master Pillai in Padosan, to Shah Rukh Khan in near-blackface as Omiswaami in and as Mind It mouthing yenna rascala in Om Shanti Om. But theres a reason why Kamal Haasans character was not distilled into a stereotypical caricature. K Balachander, who directed the Telugu original, directed the Hindi remake too, instead of signing away the rights to a Sippy, or a Chopra, or a Kapoor.

Mehmoods Master Pillai in Padosan: The archetypal South Indian in Hindi films.

A dozen years ago, I spent two years in IIM Bangalore. Given its standing as a national institute rather than a regional one, in some ways, life inside the campus represented a certain microcosm of the nation as a whole. It was my first time in an environment where north Indians were not a minority. Almost every Saturday, there used to be an all-night party in the hostel blocks, called L-Square, because incongruously the dance floor was both a square and L-shaped depending on where you looked at it from. Given I had two left feet, I never ventured onto the dance floor, and would instead, along with similarly handicapped batchmates, nurse my cheap booze on a nearby terrace while watching the party below. The DJ, or to be more accurate, the man loading up the Winamp playlist was almost always a north Indian, which, in turn, meant that a lot of the songs played were from Bollywood. Two standards though were not. One was Appadi Podu from Ghilli, the Tamil movie. Another was Aa Ante Amalapuram from Aarya, the Telugu movie. While the DJ may have meant these as token south Indian songs, what I could see from the terrace was that it was clearly the north Indians who were enjoying it much more. It fit their idea of south India. It is the same idea that gave us the song Lungi Dance, in Chennai Express. It is the same idea that in a different era gave us Naino Mein Sapna, from Himmatwala. Or from an even earlier era, Ramaiya Vastavaiya, from Shree 420. For Bollywood, the south was best dealt with either through gross caricatures or catchy songs.

Lungi Dance from Chennai Express proves stereotypes continue in Bollywood.

However, Hindi is not entirely alien to south Indian cinema. While usually played for comic relief, there is a strong undercurrent of the dominant position Hindi has in the eyes of the nation-state.

Some of the funniest scenes in regional cinema involve attempts to learn the raashtrabhaasha. In the Bhagyaraj movie Indru Poi Naalai Vaa, G Ramlis character Rajendran is attempting to learn Hindi with aim of impressing his Hindi teacher, and more importantly his comely daughter, but he gets badly stuck. Its for the same reason why I have a friend in Chennai named Magesh Agarwal  he cannot get the first line of a lesson named Baap Ka Beta right, thus giving us the immortal line, Ek gaav mein ek kissaan Raghu thatha. In the Vamsy movie Ladies Tailor, Rajendra Prasad, whom the north Indians know best unfortunately for Quick Gun Murugan, wants to get into the good books of a lady with a mole (yes, that is his kink), Archana, and decides to learn Hindi among other things from her. His attempts result in a language that will make anyone forget Hindi, including Archana. Sujata main mar jaata, tumhaara chuttu phir jaata, adhi naa talaraata. In the case of the Malayalam movie Sandhesam, we have the north Indian politician Yashwant Sahai making his way into Kerala and speaking nothing but Hindi, with obviously hilarious results. After finally getting more coconut water than he can possibly handle, he eventually storms out declaring that he will not help Kerala unless they learn Hindi. A scene that started off as poking gentle fun at political workers in Kerala, has a denouement that reflects the stepmotherly treatment central parties mete out to non-Hindi speaking states.

Hard to forget lines like Sujata main mar jaata, tumhaara chuttu phir jaata, adhi naa talaraata from Telugu film Ladies Tailor.

The other situation that warrants Hindi in south Indian movies is when you have characters from the north who have become part of the fabric of the south Indian cities where the movies are set in. Sowcarpet, literally rich mans town, is a neighbourhood in Chennai which has a sizeable population of Marwaris who have settled there now for generations. Sowcarpet seths are a common fixture in Tamil movies, speaking their Hindi-infused Tamil, and almost always being miserly, comical, and evil  all in one breath. Kannada movies too have a long tradition of including Marwari traders with their grammatically incorrect Hindi (because the script is usually written by a Kannadiga) being the main villains financier, or sometimes, the main villain himself. Perhaps the producers had run into one too many a Marwari moneylender while raising money for the movie, and this is how they took revenge.

A notable exception to this weaselly typecasting is in the Ambarish classic Antha, where in the role of Kanwarlal (Ambarish plays a dual role here), he is more a wounded tiger straining at his chains. Little surprise that the Kutte Kanwarlal bolo! dialogue from that movie is one of the most popular ones on Kannada dubsmash.

Movies set in Bangalore also often have side characters, usually the heros friend, who speak in Shivajinagar Urdu/Dakhni. The title song of the Shankar Nag movie Nodi Swamy Navirodu Heege (literally, We Are Like This Only), a movie where the city of Bangalore is as much a character as any of the cast, has the title sung out in various languages one hears in Bangalore. And apart from Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu, the only other translation one hears is Apun toh bhai aisa hai  Shivajinagar Urdu and not grammatically correct Hindi.

Despite the fact that over the last couple of decades, driven primarily by the IT revolution, there has been a huge influx of north Indians into Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad, one does not see a similar influx of Hindi-speaking North Indian characters into regional cinema.

Sonia Agarwal and Ravi Krishna star in Selvaraghavans Tamil film 7G Rainbow Colony.

When they do, like Sonia Agarwals character did in Selvaraghavans 7G Rainbow Colony, it looks like they serve little else but to show up class and skin colour disparity. Which often is anyway achieved by just casting north Indian heroines without actually having them play north Indian characters. This is possibly because North Indians do not watch regional movies, and it makes commercial sense for the producers to ignore them. But it is important to get them to watch us. While the central government busies itself with shoving Hindi onto those who do not welcome it, south Indian pop culture should get more insidious in imposing itself on North India. Some of it is already happening. Classic movies like Kshana Kshanam are now up on YouTube with subtitles, links to which are frequently being shared on Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile, Priyadarshan has made a business model out of remaking his Malayalam movies into poor Hindi copies  Hera Pheri, Hungama, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Garam Masala, and so on. There is a whole generation of people who stay at home and are getting entertained by Hindi dubs of masala Kannada and Telugu movies on Star Gold and similar TV channels. There are loud, big budget remakes of south Indian hits such as Singam. And then, of course, there is Baahubali.

Mohanlal stars as Veerapalli Srinivasan IPS in Ram Gopal Varmas Company.

I got carried away there. We are still quite far from seeing a seamless integration of south Indians into north Indian movies. Ram Gopal Varma, an import from the Telugu industry into Bollywood, used to regularly provide exceptions such as Mohanlals turn as Veerapalli Srinivasan IPS in Company, but his grip on his art has long waned. I was impressed by how natural the Hindi scenes in Kammatipaadam, the runaway Malayalam hit of last year, were. The hero, played by Dulquer, holds a job as a security guard in Mumbai, and stays with other Hindi-speaking colleagues. And having been in Mumbai, and in a job that requires him to converse in Hindi, he does so, like every implant from the south actually has done. With an ordinariness that does not stand out, and does not lend itself to any sort of a caricature.

But it will be a long wait though, to see something similar in mainstream Bollywood. After all, the minor tragedy in Ek Duuje Ke Liye, is that it is the Tamilian played by Kamal Haasan who ends up learning Hindi, and not the other way round.

(Published in arrangement with GRIST Media)

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Wonder what has kept actor Priya Bapat busy in the last eight months? Well, the actor has been bit by the travelling bug. Off late, Priya has been taking solo trips across thecountry. She says, I have been travelling extensively and solo. I randomly decide a place, book my tickets and take off. I have been to Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh and Pondicherry.

Priya has been enjoying every bit of these impromptu trips. She adds, Its a great experience to travel solo. It is a good feeling when you can just be alone and have conversations with yourself. I dont want to sound philosophical but it is okay to pat yourself on the back and say good things to yourself. I am happy I could take some time off.

Travelling has helped Priya discover a hidden talent too. I used to maintain a diary in which I would write about my travel experiences. My writings have got published in a regional magazine. I can write only if I have experienced it, but I have no aim of becoming a writer. It is a form of expression for me; I wont make it a profession, says the Timepass 2 (2015) actor, adding that travelling makes her happy and content.

When it comes to work, Priya believes in quality over quantity and this is why you see the actor do selective films. I take my time. I dont sign films just for the sake of being on screen. And that is why, despite being in the industry for so many years, I have not done a huge number of films, says Priya, who will start shooting for an untitled film in October.

The actor, who was last seen in the Marathi film Vazandar (2016), is awaiting the release of next films, Gajendra Ahires Pimpal and Nachiket Samants Gachchi.

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The shoot of Mahesh Babus highly anticipated Telugu-Tamil bilingual spy thriller is almost over except for one song. While the makers are certain of wrapping up the entire shoot in a weeks time and be ready for release in September, theyre under tremendous pressure to unveil the teaser. When we did some digging, we found out that plans are being made to release the teaser in the last week of July or in the first of August. Earlier, the makers released a sneak peek of the film and it was very well received.

Spyder, a spy-thriller being directed by AR Murugadoss, has been confirmed to hit the screens worldwide on September 29 to coincide with Dussehra. In the film, Mahesh plays an intelligence bureau officer and he has apparently performed stunts sans body doubles. The films production designer Rupin Suchak had said, This man has taken it to another league. Theres a particular sequence where even the stunt doubles were scared of doing it. But Mahesh just went ahead and delivered it, he said.

The film, which is being made on a budget of over Rs 100 crore, also stars Rakul Preet Singh and SJ Suryah in important roles. Harris Jayaraj is composing the music. Spyder marks the first time collaboration of Murugadoss and Mahesh Babu. The film will have simultaneous release in Hindi and Malayalam as well.

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The Hindu Makkal Katchi on Wednesday demanded ban on the Tamil version of reality show Bigg Boss and wanted its host actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan to be arrested for tarnishing Tamil culture.

In its police complaint, the nationalist Hindu party demanded that the contestants of the show -- such as Oviya, Namitha, Ganja Karuppu and Harathi among others -- be arrested as well.

They claim the show is obscene.

The participants are mouthing obscene statements and are acting 75% nude. It is also derogative of Tamil culture and hurts the sentiments of seven crore Tamilians, read the statement.

They should be arrested under law because they are hurting Tamil culture and the programme should be banned, the statement added.

The show, which went on air June 25 on Star Vijay, marks the television debut of Kamal Haasan.

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Humanity still exits. A human chain of 70 people saved the lives of nine people, including two children, from the rip tide at the shores of Panama City beach in Florida.

Jessica Mae Simmons and her husband Derek were the first to spot the drowning people in the rip tide. she gathered people on the beach to form a human chain and swam through them to save the lives.

What really got me was how a entire BEACH jumped into action to save these people. People who COULDNT even swim was part of that human chain. They wanted to help that bad. I just wish I could share a picture or video of it. Man it was life changing to witness it (sic), Jessica wrote in her Facebook post.

Facebook/Rosalind Beckton

The incident happened on the Saturday afternoon. Roberta Ursrey, who is originally from Georgia, went to the beach with her family  mother, husband, two daughters and two boys and a nephew  on Saturday to enjoy the day.

The whole family got into the water but Roberta came out as she was not feeling well.

I seen my mom, 2 daughters, husband and nephew all together but I didnt see my boys so I went looking for them. I found them way out in the water. So I went down to tell them to come in and all I heard was my 2 boys screaming and crying (sic), she wrote in a post which she shared on gofundme.com, wherein she is collecting funds for the treatment of her mother who suffered a heart attack in the water.

On my way out there were some people coming out telling me not to go out after them. I told them I dont care thats my kids, Roberta recounted. She went into the tide and got herself stuck in the same situation.

Well once my family seen what was going on they swam over to try and help and ended up getting stuck in the rip tide as well. Robertas two daughter managed to get out of the water, but other members of her family, including herself, got stuck in the killer waves of the beach.

Apart from the Robertas family, a Chinese couple was also caught in the tide when they went inside to save the children.

When Jessica and her husband Derek noticed some odd activity around the shore, she didnt imagine that people were drowning.

Facebook/ Jessica Mae Simmons ( )

When I notice everyones direction was facing the water. I automatically thought SHARK. So I slowly start coming out of the water as Derek went over to find out what is going on. That is when I seen the police truck on the beach.. and that is when I knew someone was drowning.... my heart sank, she said.

I knew we had to do something. Derek, Kate (his niece) and some people started gathering people on the beach to form a HUMAN CHAIN. 

Photo credit: (Facebook/Rosalind Beckton )

Jessica with other people on the beach in the selfless act helped save the lives of people without thinking about their own.

To see people from different races and genders come into action to help TOTAL strangers is absolutely amazing to see!! People who didnt even know each other went HAND IN HAND IN A LINE, into the water to try and reach them. Pause and just IMAGINE that, Jessica said.

Thankfully, all the nine people drowning were saved.

Jessica, however, mentioned about the careless attitude of the police officers at the beach, who she says didnt offered any help at that moment.

What I do want to make note of is the 5 police officers sitting on the beach did not even offer to even help or be apart of the human chain. In fact, one of the police officers handed his board off to someone in the crowd for THEM to go out and get them, she said.

Rosalind Beckton, one of the witness to the act, in a Facebook post, wrote, Today we witness some REAL HEROS and it wasnt THE GUYS IN UNIFORM.... IT WAS PPL OUT ON THE BEACH THAT HAD THE CARE/HEART TO RISK THEIR LIVES TO SAVE SOMEONE. THESE PPL JOIN HANDS & PULLED OUT 8 PPL ONE BY ONE WHO WAS STUCK IN A RIP CURRENT, WHILE EMERGENCY RESPONDERS WATCHED. ONLY ONE COP RAN INTO THE WATER TO GIVE A HAND (sic).

Over 35,000 reacted to Jessicas post. They praised her and other people who formed the human chain for their bravery. Heres the post:

Here are some of the reactions:

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An agreement between Qatar and the United States on combating terror funding is insufficient, the four Arab states that imposed sanctions on the emirate said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The memorandum of understanding announced in Doha during a visit by US secretary of state Rex Tillerson is the result of pressure and repeated calls over the past years by the four states and their partners upon Qatar to stop supporting terrorism, said Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

This step is insufficient, said the statement carried by Saudi state news agency SPA, adding that the four states will carefully monitor the seriousness of Qatari authorities in combating all forms of financing, supporting and harbouring terrorism.

The statement said commitments made by Qatari authorities cannot be trusted, citing previous agreements that have allegedly not been honoured.

It called for strict monitoring controls to ensure its (Dohas) seriousness in getting back to the natural and right path.

Tillerson and Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani made the announcement at a joint news conference in Doha.

Tillerson said the agreement was built on decisions made at a Riyadh summit in May to wipe terrorism from the face of the Earth.

As a result of President Trumps very strong call, these commitments for action will begin immediately on a number of fronts.

Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar was the first country in the region to sign an agreement with Washington to counter terror funding and called on what he called the siege nations to follow suit and sign their own agreements with the US.

The statement by the four states said sanctions against Qatar would continue until Doha commits to comprehensively implement the just demands, including confronting terrorism and establishing stability and security in the region.
German special police commandos arrested several people during raids in Berlin on Wednesday over the spectacular robbery of a 100 kilo gold coin, worth about $4 million, from Berlins Bode Museum in March.

Pictures showed armed police in balaclavas and paramedics outside a property in the Neukoelln area of Berlin.

We are at the moment conducting searches and executing arrest warrants in several places in Berlin concerning the break in at the Bode museum in March, said Berlin police.

The unlikely robbery from one of Berlins most prestigious museums in the centre of the capital, from behind bullet-proof glass stunned Germans.

The Canadian coin, named Big Maple Leaf, which bears the image of Queen Elizabeth II, is made out of pure gold with a material value of about $4 million. Its face value is about $1 million.

The coin, 53 centimetres in diameter and 3 centimetres thick, even made it into the Guinness Book of Records for its unrivalled degree of purity. It was loaned to the Bode Museum in December 2010.

Police had said it was probably stolen by a group of robbers who broke into the museum through a window, possibly with a ladder. They had also said they would expect the coin to be melted down.

The Bode has one of the worlds largest coin collections with more than 540,000 items.

German media showed a picture of a man being led away by police with a white garment thrown over his head to disguise his identity.
A small but strategically located country in the Horn of Africa is the latest security concern for India. China has picked Djibouti to set up its first overseas military base and ships carrying troops set sail on Tuesday, Chinese media said.

Beijing says the base will aid in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions but that is not how India views it.

Five reasons why the latest bid by China to expand its global reach has India worried:

1. Situated on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean, Djibouti could become another of Chinas string of pearls of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

2. China has stepped up activity in the Indian Ocean, which New Delhi considers within its sphere of influence, in recent days, citing anti-piracy patrols and freedom of navigation. The Indian Navy has sighted more than a dozen Chinese warships, including submarines and intelligence-gathering vessels, during the last two months, forcing it to tighten surveillance of the strategic waters.

3. The Indian Ocean shipping lanes carry 80% of the worlds oil and a third of the global bulk cargo. China is looking to secure its energy and trade transportation links along the vital shipping route. The Indian Ocean is also emerging as the playground for countries eyeing a bigger role in world affairs. China is looking to generate goodwill and influence in the Indian Ocean countries by investing in projects such ports, roads and railways.

4. Beijing has officially described it as a logistics facility and said China would not seek military expansionism or get into arms races no matter what happened but the state-run Global Times said on Wednesday there could be no mistake that this was, in fact, a military base. Certainly this is the Peoples Liberation Armys first overseas base and we will base troops there, it said.

5. China is looking to expand its presence in the Indian Ocean, and is building ports and other infrastructure in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The Indian Ocean figures prominently in President Xi Jinpings ambitious One Belt, One Road initiative to build a new Silk Route. India has kept away from OBOR as its centrepiece, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, also passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. New Delhi says it challenges its sovereignty by lending legitimacy to Pakistans claim over PoK.

(With agency inputs)
China on Wednesday highlighted the conflict in Kashmir and offered to play a constructive role in improving India-Pakistan ties even as it maintained silence on the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims that claimed seven lives.

The situation in Kashmir has attracted the attention of the international community, foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told a regular news briefing.

The conflict near the Line of Control (LoC) would not only impact the peace and tranquillity of India and Pakistan, but also affect the region, he said.

Pakistan and India are both important countries in South Asia, Geng said. China was willing to play a constructive role in improving relations between India and Pakistan.

Geng was responding to a question from a Pakistani journalist about the situation along the LoC and the role Beijing could play in resolving differences between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Neither the spokesperson nor the Chinese government formally condemned the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir on Monday.

The investigation into the incident has just begun but India authorities suspect the involvement of Pakistan-based Laskar-e-Taiba, a group banned by the US and the UN.

Key Western powers and most countries in Indias neighbourhood have condemned the attack, describing it as heinous and against humanity. China is the only major power and neighbour to remain silent on it.

Relations between China and India have hit a fresh low because of a military standoff in the Sikkim sector. Indian troops acted in coordination with the Bhutan government to oppose the construction of a road by Chinese troops in the Donglang or Doklam region claimed by Thimphu.

Both sides have deployed more troops in the sector due to the three-week-old standoff. China has demanded that India withdraw its troops from the area as a pre-condition for meaningful dialogue.

When Geng was asked to comment on foreign secretary S Jaishankars remarks that India and China have handled such differences in the past, he replied that the incident in the Sikkim sector was different in nature.
China on Wednesday said the military face-off in the Sikkim sector is different from earlier border incidents as it brushed aside Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankars remark that the standoff can be tackled since the two countries have faced similar situations in the past.

The standoff can be resolved, the foreign ministry said, if India withdraws its troops from Donglang or Doklam region. The area at the strategic tri-junction of India, Bhutan and China, which is under Beijings control but claimed by Thimphu, has been the scene of a standoff since June 16.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang reiterated Chinas hardline stance on the impasse when he was asked to respond to Jaishankars comments at a regular news briefing.

He said: China has pointed out many times that the illegal trespass into Chinas territory across a mutually recognised border line is different in nature to frictions that happened in undefined sections of boundary.

This is totally different from the undefined boundary in the eastern, middle and western sectors, he added.

We once again require India to withdraw border troops to the Indian side of the boundary and properly settle disputes at an early date, Geng said.

Foreign secretary Jaishankar, while responding to questions on the standoff at a lecture on the theme India-Asean and the Changing Geopolitics in Singapore on Tuesday, had noted this was not the first time that China and India had differences along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

When such situations arise, I see no reason, when having handled so many situations in the past, (why) we would not be able to handle it, he had said.

It is a long border, as you know no part of the border has been agreed upon on the ground. It is likely that from time to time there are differences, Jaishankar added.

But Geng cited the 1890 treaty between British India and Chinas Qing dynasty on demarcating the borders between Tibet and Sikkim.

The Sikkim section has a special historical background and this is the only defined boundary between China and India and this is totally different from the undefined boundary in the east, middle and western parts, he said.

Geng said that according to the 1890 convention, the Sikkim section had been defined and the Chinese and Indian governments recognised this.

Relations between China and India have plummeted because of the military standoff in the Sikkim sector. Indian troops acted in coordination with the Bhutan government to oppose the construction of a road by Chinese troops in the Donglang or Doklam region.

Both sides have deployed more troops in the region due to the standoff.
Ships carrying Chinese military personnel for Beijings first overseas military base, in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, have left China to begin setting up the facility as Chinas rapidly modernising military hones its global reach.

Djiboutis position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worries in India that it would become another of Chinas string of pearls of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

China began construction of a logistics base in strategically located Djibouti last year that will resupply naval vessels taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular.

This will be Chinas first overseas naval base, although Beijing officially describes it as a logistics facility.

State news agency Xinhua said in a short report late on Tuesday the ships had departed from Zhanjiang in southern China to set up a support base in Djibouti.

Navy commander Shen Jinlong read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti but the report did not say when the base might formally begin operations.

Xinhua said the establishment of the base was a decision made by both countries after friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides.

The base will ensure Chinas performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia, it said.

The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways, the Xinhua report.

Not military expansionism

The Peoples Liberation Army Daily said in a front-page commentary this was a landmark move that would increase Chinas ability to ensure global peace, especially because it has so many United Nations peacekeepers in Africa and is so involved in anti-piracy patrols.

China would not seek military expansionism or get into arms races no matter what happened, it said.

These promises will not change because of the construction of the overseas logistics base, it said.

The state-run Global Times said in an editorial on Wednesday there could be no mistake that this was in fact a military base.

Certainly this is the Peoples Liberation Armys first overseas base and we will base troops there. Its not a commercial resupply point. It makes sense there is attention on this from foreign public opinion, said the paper, which is published by the official Peoples Daily, said.

However, Chinas military development was about protecting its own security, it said. Its not about seeking to control the world.

Djibouti, which is about the size of Wales, is located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal. The tiny, barren nation sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts U.S., Japanese and French bases.

There has been persistent speculation in diplomatic circles that China would build other such bases, in Pakistan for example, but the government has dismissed this.
China began deploying troops to its first overseas naval base, at Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, a major leap forward in the expansion of its foreign military presence, even as details emerged of a plan to cut down its 2.3 million-strong Peoples Liberation Army to under one million.

The military also released information on Wednesday about ongoing live fire drills by Chinese warships in the Mediterranean Sea.

The developments reflected Chinas changing military priorities  the PLAs ground forces would be reduced but the thrust and scope of the navy was being sharpened and expanded.

The movement of Chinese ships carrying troops to Djibouti fuelled worries in India about the strategically located base becoming another of Chinas string of pearls in the Indian Ocean region, including assets Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

Two warships sailed out of a base at Zhanjiang in Guangdong province on Tuesday with an undisclosed number of military personnel for the base in Djibouti that Beijing describes as a logistics facility. A defence ministry statement said the base will be used to support naval escorts in Africa and southwest Asia, (UN) peacekeeping and for humanitarian support.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Chinese personnel had encountered difficulties in replenishing food and fuel, and Djibouti offered logistical support in multiple instances.

He said the base will better serve Chinese troops when they escort ships in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast, perform humanitarian rescue and carry out other international obligations.

China began building the base in Djibouti last year but there was no word on when it would be become operational.

The changes are part of President Xi Jinpings aim to have a modernised and lean army and a navy with a wider reach across the oceans. India will be closely following the developments as the PLA navys increasing forays in the Indian Ocean have raised concerns.

The downsizing of the worlds largest army will coincide with the strengthening of the navy and strategic missile forces, the official newspaper of the military reported. Replacing the old military structure, with the army accounting for the vast majority, is based on Chinas strategic goals and security requirements, the report said.

This is the first time that active PLA Army personnel would be reduced to below one million, the official media announced. In the past, the PLA focused on ground battle and homeland defence, which will undergo fundamental changes, said the article widely shared on Chinas social media.

The release of the information was calibrated  official statements didnt share details about how the vacuum left by the reduction of ground forces would be filled.

The timing of the announcement regarding the troop cut coincided with the defence ministry saying that its new generation warships had conducted live firing drills in the Mediterranean Sea this week while on their way to joint exercises with the Russian Navy.

The destroyer Hefei, frigate Yuncheng and support ship Luomahu took part in Mondays drills involving the ships deck guns and small arms, the ministry said.

Maintaining a strict schedule of targeted exercises accomplishes transit, training and improvement en route, raising the flotillas training levels and capabilities, flotilla commander Liu Hui was quoted as saying.

The ships will next take part in the Joint Sea 2017 exercises in waters off the Russian cities of St Petersburg and Kaliningrad, part of growing cooperation between the countries militaries, a report said.
China will downsize its 2.3 million-strong military, the worlds largest, to under one million in the biggest troop reduction in its history as part of a restructuring process, an official Chinese daily said.

The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) will increase the numbers of other services, including navy and missile forces, the PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military, reported.

Jun Zhengping Studio, a Chinese social WeChat account run by the newspaper published an article yesterday on structural reform in the military, saying that the old military structure, where the army accounts for the vast majority, will be replaced after the reform.

The reform is based on Chinas strategic goals and security requirements. In the past, the PLA focused on ground battle and homeland defence, which will undergo fundamental changes, the report said.

This is the first time that active PLA army personnel would be reduced to below one million, it said.

It added that the number of troops in the PLA Navy, PLA Strategic Support Force and the PLA Rocket Force will be increased, while the PLA Air Forces active service personnel will remain the same.

According to the Ministry of Defence data, the PLA Army had about 8.50 lakh combat troops in 2013. No official numbers of the total strength of PLA Army were released.

Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping had announced that the PLA will be cut by three lakh troops.

The total PLA personnel was about 2.3 million before the country announced a cut of 300,000 troops in 2015, state-run Global Times reported.

This reform will provide other services, including the PLA Rocket Force, Air Force, Navy and Strategic Support Force (mainly responsible for electronic warfare and communication), with more resources and inputs, and the PLA will strengthen its capability to conduct overseas missions, Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, was quoted by the media report.

The PLA Daily article said that Chinas overseas interests were spread around the world and needed to be protected.

These are beyond the armys current capabilities, Xu said.

The PLA structure should also fit Chinas international status, Xu said.
Did Donald Trumps eldest son break US law in meeting a Russian lawyer he hoped would dish compromising dirt on the woman standing between his father and the White House?

Could the 39-year-old real estate scion be charged with treason? This is what legal experts say about what is known so far of the June 2016 meeting in New York between Don Jr and Natalia Veselnitskaya.

What law might he have broken?

The most incriminating revelation, say experts who spoke to AFP, are the emails that Trump Jr dumped on his Twitter account: namely that he would love to hear what the Russian had to say about Hillary Clinton.

If its what you say I love it, he wrote back within minutes of being told the lawyer had information that would incriminate Clinton as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr Trump.

Brandon Garrett, law professor at the University of Virginia, says since Watergate, federal law has forbidden any direct or indirect foreign contribution or promise of such to a US election.

The statute outlaws any donation or other thing of value, which Garrett said could potentially include information.

Another worry for Trump Jr is that conspiracy law is sweeping.

One does not have to have committed a crime, the attempt is enough, said Garrett. They could still be found guilty of conspiring, he warned. In other words, the sole fact of going into a meeting to fish for information could be enough to establish intent.

But Daniel Tokaji, an electoral law expert at Ohio State University, sees very serious free speech concerns and troubling implications in interpreting information as a contribution.

He warned it could prohibit a campaign from gathering information about a rival campaign.

Susan Klein, law professor at the University of Texas and a Democrat, doesnt believe Trump Jr could be prosecuted just for talking either -- except perhaps if they paid for it or exchanged it for something.

There has been no suggestion, at least so far, that happened.

Who decides if theres a case?

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) logically pursues election law violations, says Tokaji.

But split three-three between Democrats and Republicans, its very unlikely that they would take action, he added.

In theory the US attorneys office in Manhattan, where the meeting took place, could also open a case.

More likely is that former FBI director Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor charged with investigating possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia, will determine if theres a case, says Tokaji.

Whether the electoral law has been broken or not, he believes it is still worth investigating.

It is quite troubling... that someone possibly acting at the behest of a foreign power is colluding with people at the very top (of a presidential campaign), Tokaji said.

Did he commit treason?

Democratic Party lawmakers deployed the T word on Tuesday, but the experts who spoke to AFP doubted that would stick.

Simply having a contact with a foreign country, even a foreign adversary -- we are not at war -- does not make it espionage or treason, says Joshua Dressler, law professor at Ohio State University.

To bring it within treason, youd have to (show that) they intended to harm their own country... Thats an extreme argument to make, he said. It would probably have to be something less extreme.
US President Donald Trumps son has said he did not inform his father about the meeting with a Russian lawyer who said she could help his election campaign.

Donald Trump Jr told Fox News that his meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in June last year was just a nothing, but in retrospect, he would have done things differently.

Asked by Fox News if he had told his father about the meeting, Trump Jr said: No. It was just a nothing. There was nothing to tell.

The Presidents son, defending his actions and the allegations that Russia tried to sabotage Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clintons campaign, said he did not have any knowledge of this.

Russia has also repeatedly denied interfering in the November 8 US presidential election.

Trump Jr on Tuesday released emails showing that he welcomed an offer to meet the lawyer, who was allegedly linked to the Kremlin and had material damaging to Clinton.

I mean, I wouldnt have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame.

Trump Jr, his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort met Natalia Veselnitskaya after he received an email from an intermediary, British publicist Rob Goldstone, promising documents from Russia that would incriminate Clinton.

At that time, Donald Trump was the presumptive Republican nominee and heading towards an election fight against Clinton.

One email from Goldstone said the information they had been promised was obviously very high-level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its governments support for Trump.

Trump Jrs response email read: If its what you say I love it.

He said the meeting went nowhere, the woman provided them with nothing of use and it only lasted 20 minutes.

This is before the Russia mania, this is before they were building this up in the press. For me this was opposition research, they had something you know, maybe concrete evidence to all the stories Id been hearing about.

Someone sent me an email. I cant help what someone sends me. I read it, I responded accordingly, and if there was something interesting there, I think thats pretty common.

Trump in a brief statement supported his son, describing him as a high-quality person and applauding his transparency.

Veselnitskaya has said she was never in possession of information that could have damaged Clinton, and has no links to the Kremlin.

Republican senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the emails were very disturbing.

The highest-ranked Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, said he wanted Trump Jr and all participants in the meeting to testify before the panel.
A US soldier who was recently arrested on terrorism charges expressed support for the Islamic State group as early as 2011, but remained in the Army for years while the military and the FBI investigated to determine whether he posed a threat, authorities said.

Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Kang was taken into custody over the weekend after the 34-year-old veteran of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan declared his loyalty to the terrorist group and exclaimed that he wanted to kill a bunch of people, according to authorities.

The case highlights the challenges investigators face with protecting the public from a potentially dangerous actor on one hand and gathering sufficient evidence to enable prosecution on the other.

Kang is on record making pro-Islamic State comments and threatening to hurt or kill other service members back in 2011, according to an FBI affidavit filed Monday in federal court.

The Army revoked his security clearance in 2012, but gave it back to him the following year. Last year, the Army called the FBI when it appeared that Kang was becoming radicalized, the affidavit said.

Retired Army judge and prosecutor Col. Gregory A Gross said he was perplexed that the Army allowed Kang to remain a soldier even after his favorable comments toward the Islamic State group.

In this Monday, July 10, 2017 photo, Clifford Kang, father of soldier Ikaika E. Kang, poses with photo of his son in Kailua, Hawaii. (AP)

But Gross said the Army may have decided Kang was just mouthing off and was not a threat.

Gross served as the initial judge in the court martial of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. He said Tuesday he was concerned by the similarities between Kang and Hasans case.

He was making all these statements, and giving these presentations, said Gross, who is currently a civilian defense attorney for military service members.

Lt. Col. Curtis J. Kellogg, a spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division, declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Kangs court-appointed lawyer, Birney Bervar, said his client may suffer from service-related mental health issues of which the government was aware but neglected to treat. He declined to elaborate.

Noel Tipon, an attorney in military and civilian courts, said theres nothing in the Army manual on removing soldiers from the service that would address allegations like speaking favorably about a group like Islamic State.

He suspects the FBI wanted Kang to stay in the Army while they investigated whether he had collaborators.

They probably said lets monitor it and see if we can get a real terrorist cell,  said Tipon, who served in the Marine Corps.

The FBI said its investigation showed Kang was acting on his own.

Spokesman Arnold Laanui said the probe took nearly a year given the evidence that needed to be collected and the constitutional rights that needed to be protected.

These tend to be very meticulous and time-consuming matters, Laanui said. Public safety, he said, was at the forefront of the case, he said.

The FBI outlined its evidence against Kang in a 26-page affidavit filed Monday. It includes allegations Kang filmed a combat training video for Islamic State and bought a drone he believed would be sent to the Middle East to help the groups fighters.

Agents said none of the military documents  classified and unclassified  Kang gave to people he believed were affiliated with Islamic State ever got to the group.

Kangs father told Honolulu television station KHON and the Star-Advertiser newspaper his son may have had post-traumatic stress disorder. Kang told the newspaper he became concerned after his sons return from Afghanistan. He said his son was withdrawn.

Kang enlisted in the Army in December 2001, just months after the September 11 attacks. He served in South Korea from 2002 to 2003. He deployed to Iraq from March 2010 to February 2011 and Afghanistan from July 2013 to April 2014.

Kang was scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a detention hearing.
Iraqi forces clashed with Islamic State fighters holding out in Mosuls Old City on Wednesday, more than 36 hours after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the militants in the de facto Iraqi capital of their self-declared caliphate.

Abadis announcement marked the biggest defeat for the hardline Sunni group since its lightning sweep through northern Iraq three years ago, but pockets of Mosul remain insecure and the city has been heavily damaged by nearly nine months of gruelling urban combat.

About 900,000 people have fled the fighting, with more than a third in camps outside the city and the rest living with family and friends in other neighbourhoods. Activity has quickly returned to much of Mosul and work to repair damaged homes and infrastructure is already underway.

But Iraqi forces exchanged gunfire with the militants in their final redoubt just before midnight and into the morning, two residents living just across the Tigris River from the area told Reuters.

Army helicopters strafed the Old City and blasts sent plumes of smoke into the air, though it was unclear if they were controlled explosions or bombs set off by Islamic State, the residents said by phone.

We still live in an atmosphere of war despite the victory announcement two days ago, said Fahd Ghanim, 45.

Clearing operations

An Iraqi military official attributed the activity to clearing operations.

There are Daesh (fighters) hiding in different places, he said, using an acronym for Islamic State. They disappear here and pop up there then we target them.

He declined to estimate the number of militants or civilians in the area, but the top US general in Iraq said on Tuesday that as many as a couple of hundred fighters could still be in Mosul.

There are bypassed holdouts. We havent cleared every building in this city the size of Philadelphia. Thats going to have to be done, and there are also hidden IEDs (improvised explosive devices), Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend told reporters.

There are still going to be losses from the Iraqi security forces as they continue to secure Mosul.

South of the city, reinforcements arrived to help Iraqi forces push out Islamic State militants armed with machine guns and mortars from Imam Gharbi village. The militants have taken control of 75 percent of the village.

The militants assault on Imam Gharbi, launched last week, is the kind of strike Islamic State is expected to deploy now as US-backed Iraqi forces regain control over cities the group captured during its shock 2014 offensive.

A separate attack on a border guard convoy in western Anbar, near the Syrian border, killed two soldiers and wounded four on Tuesday, military sources said.
Japans public broadcaster NHK apologized Wednesday over a cartoon with Adolf Hitlers face that was printed on a T-shirt worn by a talk show guest.

The black T-shirt worn by entrepreneur Takafumi Horie also carried a No war message on one side and a peace symbol on the cartoon Hitlers chest. Horie was a guest on NHKs Afternoon Live daily talk show Wednesday.

The T-shirt prompted complaints from viewers.

During the program, the NHK announcer, who is also the shows co-host, apologized. Responding to a tweet asking about the Hitler cartoon, Horie said it was meant to be an anti-war message.

Its not the first time Hitler and Nazi themes have raised controversy in Japan. Much of Asia is less sensitive about Hitler and the use of Nazi themes than the West.

Last month, Japans central bank issued a rare apology following criticism over a board members remark that was interpreted as a praise for Hitlers economic policy.

Finance minister Taro Aso in 2013 was forced to retract comments suggesting Japan should follow the Nazi example in how to change the countrys constitution.
An inadvertent use of a type font has landed Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a soup.

The joint investigation team (JIT), probing Sharifs alleged involvement in the Panama Papers graft case, has accused his daughter Maryam Sharif of providing fake/falsified documents. The JIT said Maryam, her brothers Hussain and Hassan, and husband Mohammad Safdar signed falsified documents to mislead the countrys apex court.

Read | Calibri font spells trouble for Maryam Sharif

The forensic laboratory inferred that the font used in the property deed, which dates back to 2006, was Microsofts Calibri, after examining the original documents submitted by Maryam.

However, theres a catch.

Sharif claimed the deed was signed in 2006 but Calibri was not even commercially available before 2007. His alleged goof-up has become the butt of jokes and memes on social media with many terming it as an embarrassment for the sitting prime minister.

Some even called it #FontGate.

My favorite part of the JIT-PanamaPapers-report: When forgery @MaryamNSharif gets busted due to chosen font #Calibri pic.twitter.com/sPG1fIAkTM  Frederik Obermaier (@f_obermaier) July 11, 2017

I wish @MaryamNsharif had some caliber instead of #Calibri   Irtiza Husain Hashmi (@Alm0stDoctor) July 11, 2017

Salute to Princess who invented #Calibri font but forgot to take it's patent in 2006 pic.twitter.com/32ZnOz4OxM  Farhan K Virk (@FarhanKVirk) July 11, 2017

Overheard "Why this calibri calibri calibri di"  Rabia Anum (@RabiaAnumm) July 11, 2017

When you realize Calibri font you used to forge documents in 2006 was released in 2007. pic.twitter.com/wef94GJVrK  Svengali (@AltafBe) July 10, 2017

I already thought #Calibri was the greatest font ever but I never imagined it would achieve legend status.  kamran Amjad  (@chkamran310) July 12, 2017

Remember the outrage aunty of bik gayi hai gormint fame?

Who cares about Covfefe when the entire government can crumble due to #Calibri!  Ali Akber (@aliakberhabib) July 11, 2017

The Panama Papers case is about alleged money laundering by Sharif in the 1990s, when he twice served as Pakistans Prime Minister to purchase assets in London. The Joint Investigation Team was formed by the Supreme Court to probe the money trail.

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A ban on carrying laptop computers and other large electronic devices in aircraft cabins on direct flights between Morocco and the United States will be lifted on Thursday, Moroccos Royal Air Maroc said in a statement.

The airline is the only carrier to operate direct flights to the United States, flying from Casablancas Mohammed V International Airport to New York and Washington DC.

In March, the United States banned laptops in cabins on flights originating at 10 airports in eight countries - Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey - to address fears that bombs could be concealed in them.
To take Internet services to rural America, Microsoft is reportedly planning to harness the unused channels or bandwidth between television broadcasts, known as white spaces.

The software giant intends to start a white spaces broadband service in 12 states, including Arizona, Kansas, New York and Virginia, to connect two million rural Americans in the next five years who have limited or no access to high-speed Internet, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Microsoft president Brad Smith hailed white spaces as the best solution for reaching over 80 per cent of people in rural America who lack broadband today.

The white spaces technology is also called Super Wi-Fi, owing to its similarity to regular Wi-Fi except that it provides far longer range using low-powered television channels.

To support its plan, Microsoft is reportedly appealing to federal and state regulators to guarantee the use of unused television channels and investments in promoting the technology in rural areas.

The company is not planning to get into telecom service providing business directly, but will work with local Internet service providers like Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities in Virginia and Axiom Technologies in Maine by investing in them, the report noted.

However, the company will have to overcome some challenges such as economic viability of the project owing to the cost of devices and infrastructure.

Several television broadcasters have also opposed this move, fearing interference with the broadcasts run on neighbouring channels.
The battle over now-famous selfie photographs taken by a macaque monkey will head back to federal court.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco on Wednesday will hear arguments on whether an animal can own the copyright to a photograph. The proceedings will be broadcast online.

The lawsuit filed in 2015 by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sought a court order allowing PETA to administer all proceeds from the photos for the benefit of the monkey, which it identified as Naruto.

The photos were taken during a 2011 trip to Sulawesi, Indonesia, with British nature photographer David Slaters camera.

Slater says the British copyright obtained for the photos by his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd., should be honoured worldwide

A federal judge last year ruled that the monkey cannot be declared the photos copyright owner.
Frustrated with Pakistans duplicity over its relationship with the US, a top American lawmaker has said Pakistan must be held accountable for continuously working against the interests of the US.

The US has been reluctant to cut ties or meaningfully confront Pakistan over its treachery because the supply line that keeps the coalition fed and equipped in Afghanistan runs through Pakistan, Republican Congressman Ted Poe said in an op-ed in The Washington Times titled Pakistans long history of duplicity.

However, this key link does not come free and has even been severed by Pakistan on multiple occasions after violent incidents between their forces and our own, Poe alleged.

Poe said in order to put pressure on Pakistan, he has recently introduced two anti-Pakistan legislations in the US House of Representatives.

One of the legislation calls for revoking major non-NATO ally (MNNA) status of Pakistan, which was granted to it in 2004 by the then president, George Bush, in an effort to get the country to help the US fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The second legislation would require the State Department to assess Islamabads long history of cooperating with terrorists and determine whether or not Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism

Pakistan must be held accountable for the American blood on its hands, said Poe, who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-proliferation and Trade.
Pakistani political circles are abuzz with speculation that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs brother Shahbaz Sharif could replace the premier if he is disqualified from office after the Joint Investigation Teams (JIT) recommendation for filing a fresh anti-graft case over the Panama Papers leaks.

According to sources, Shahbaz, who escaped indictment in the JITs report, is now being reinforced as an all-important player of the Sharif family if Nawaz and his three children receive an adverse court decision in the case.

There has been a lot of talk in the party about the possibility of Shahbaz replacing Nawaz in case the latter is disqualified, influential daily Dawn quoted a member of the ruling PML-N party as saying.

But the big question is, does the PML-N leadership trust Shahbaz blindly and will it allow him to play a role in the Centre or (will it) choose someone else in the party or will it go for any other option, the leader said.

Shahbaz  the chief minister of the most populous province of Punjab  was present at a Tuesday meeting of party stalwarts chaired by Nawaz to discuss the situation arising out of the JIT report.

The JIT pointed out what media reports have referred to as categorical foul play on the part of the prime minister and his family. The JITs report has not been made public but the media quoted it as saying that investigators had found the Sharif family owned multiple offshore companies.

The team recommended the filing of a case against Sharif and his family by the National Accountability Bureau, the countrys main anti-corruption watchdog.

The JIT has also accused the prime ministers daughter Maryam Nawaz of submitting fake documents.

Following the report, opposition parties have demanded that Nawaz Sharif immediately step down from office.
Apart from focussing on improving trade ties with India, Prime Minister Theresa May has said she raised the issue of modern slavery in India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi since the scourge is a matter of concern.

Making a statement in the House of Commons on the recent G20 Summit, May named India among key countries with which Britain is keen to improve trade relations as it leaves the European Union. Talks through a working group had already begun, she said.

May said she was responsible for putting modern slavery on the agenda of the G20 Summit. She was asked by Graham Jones (Labour Party) if she had raised the issue of child prostitution with Modi.

May said: I have raised this issuethe question of modern slaverypreviously with Prime Minister Modi, as the United Kingdom wants people around the world to address it. We are very clear that we want to see this issue being dealt with.

That is one of the reasons why we have put into legislation the requirement for companies here in the UK, which will be manufacturing and will be sourcing products from around the world, to look at their supply chains and report on what they find in them and whether or not modern slavery is taking place within them.

May said she had meetings with Modi and other leaders at the G20 Summit, and they had made clear their strong desire to forge ambitious new bilateral trading relationships with the UK after Brexit. This included America, Japan, China and India.

During the meeting with May, Modi raised the issue of returning Indian economic offenders who had taken refuge in the United Kingdom, including controversial businessman Vijay Mallya, whose extradition case is currently being heard in court.

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One of the biggest icebergs on record has broken away from Antarctica, scientists said on Wednesday, creating an extra hazard for ships around the continent as it breaks up.

The one trillion tonne iceberg, measuring 5,800 square km, calved away from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica sometime between July 10 and 12, said scientists at the University of Swansea and the British Antarctic Survey.

The iceberg has been close to breaking off for a few months. Throughout the Antarctic winter, scientists monitored the progress of the rift in the ice shelf using the European Space Agency satellites.

The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict, said Adrian Luckman, professor at Swansea University and lead investigator of Project MIDAS, which has been monitoring the ice shelf for years.

Map of Antarctica, showing the accelerating rift in the Larsen C ice shelf. (AFP)

It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments. Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters, he added.

The ice will add to risks for ships now it has broken off. The peninsula is outside major trade routes but the main destination for cruise ships visiting from South America.

This November 10, 2016, image obtained from Nasa shows a mosaic of a wider part of Antarctic Peninsula's rift in the Larsen C ice shelf from Nasa's IceBridge mission Digital Mapping System. (AFP)

In 2009, more than 150 passengers and crew were evacuated after the MTV Explorer sank after striking an iceberg off the Antarctic peninsula.

The iceberg, which is likely to be named A68, was already floating before it broke away so there is no immediate impact on sea levels, but the calving has left the Larsen C ice shelf reduced in area by more than 12%.

The Larsen A and B ice shelves, which were situated further north on the Antarctic Peninsula, collapsed in 1995 and 2002, respectively.

This file photo released by Nasa on December 1, 2016 shows a massive rift in the Antarctic Peninsula's Larsen C ice shelf on November 10, 2016. (AFP)

This resulted in the dramatic acceleration of the glaciers behind them, with larger volumes of ice entering the ocean and contributing to sea-level rise, said David Vaughan, glaciologist and director of science at British Antarctic Survey.

If Larsen C now starts to retreat significantly and eventually collapses, then we will see another contribution to sea level rise, he added.

This picture received from Nasa on June 1, 2017 shows an aerial view of the Larsen C ice rift in Antarctica. (AFP)

Big icebergs break off Antarctica naturally, meaning scientists are not linking the rift to man-made climate change. The ice, however, is a part of the Antarctic peninsula that has warmed fast in recent decades.

In the ensuing months and years, the ice shelf could either gradually regrow, or may suffer further calving events which may eventually lead to collapse  opinions in the scientific community are divided, Luckman said.

Our models say it will be less stable, but any future collapse remains years or decades away.
Donald Trump Jr, the US presidents eldest son, tried to extricate himself from a growing controversy about a 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer, saying on Tuesday that in hindsight, he would have done things a little differently.

In retrospect, he said on Fox news, I probably would have done things a little differently.

However, he defended his decision to meet Natalia Veselnitskaya  who offered incriminating information against Hillary Clinton  despite having known that she represented the Russian government, a claim since been denied by Moscow.

For me, this was opposition research. They had something, you know, maybe concrete evidence to all the stories Id been hearing about, probably underreported for years, not just during the campaign, so I think I wanted to hear it out, he said.

Trump Jr went on to point out that his June 9, 2016 meeting and the email exchange took place before Russias meddling became public knowledge.

This (was) pre-Russia fever. This (was) pre-Russia mania  I dont think my sirens went (off) or my antenna went up at this time because it wasnt the issue that its been made out to be over the last nine months, ten months.

Allegations of Russian meddling first surfaced in media reports in August and were affirmed in a joint statement by the American intelligence community in October.

Trump defended his son as well, but rather tamely at first  calling him a high-quality person.

He was more expansive on Wednesday, saying Trump Jr, was open, transparent and innocent. Trump was referring to his sons Fox interview.

The meeting and related revelations have been described by Trumps critics as the smoking gun that linked his campaign to Russian meddling in the 2016 election, under investigation by the justice department and congress.

Trump Jr, accompanied by his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and then campaign manager Paul Manafort, met Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower.

British publicist Rob Goldstone, an intermediary who set up the meeting, had in an email to Trump Jr described Veselnitskaya as a Russian government attorney who was offering information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.

This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump, Goldstone had written in the email exchange made public by Trump Jr on Tuesday to pre-empt impending media release.

Trump Jr had replied within minutes of that mail, If its what you say I love it especially later in the summer.
First Amendment advocates sued President Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying it is unconstitutional to block his critics from following him on Twitter.

The Manhattan federal court lawsuit from the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University cited seven individuals rejected by Trump or his aides after criticizing the president. Besides Trump, the lawsuit also named as defendants White House press secretary Sean Spicer and Dan Scavino, White House director of social media.

Jameel Jaffer, the institutes director, said dozens of people reached out after his organization told the White House three weeks ago that it wasnt permitted to block individuals from following the presidents 8-year-old @realdonaldtrump account.

Trump doesnt seem to be the only politician trying to limit his audience. Jaffer said numerous people have said they were blocked from the accounts of Republican and Democratic politicians after posting critical comments.

A federal judge in Washington, DC, recently ruled that a local officials Facebook account was a public forum under the First Amendment, but higher courts have not yet addressed the issue, Jaffer said.

Its fair to say that this is a new frontier, Jaffer said. The First Amendment principle is well-settled, but the applicability of that principle to this context isnt an issue that the courts have yet had many occasions to address.

The lawsuit asks a judge to stop Trump and his media team from blocking critics from following his personal account, which has 33 million followers, 14 million more than @POTUS and 19 million more than @WhiteHouse.

Dawn Dearden, a spokeswoman for government lawyers, declined to comment.

According to the lawsuit, blocking people from following Trumps account was a viewpoint-based restriction the US Constitution doesnt allow.

It noted that Trump on July 2 tweeted: My use of social media is not Presidential  its MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL. It also quoted Spicer saying a month earlier at a press conference that Trumps tweets should be understood as official statements of the president of the United States.

Federal agencies and courts treat Trumps tweets as official statements, and The National Archives and Records Administration has advised the White House that the tweets must be preserved under the Presidential Records Act, the lawsuit said.

Among plaintiffs was Rebecca Buckwalter, a Washington-based writer and political consultant who was blocked from the account on June 6 after she replied to Trumps tweet saying he would have had ZERO chance winning WH if hed relied on Fake News from major media outlets. Buckwalter received over 9,000 likes and 3,300 retweets after posting: To be fair you didnt win the WH: Russia won it for you, according to the lawsuit.

Others to be blocked included Philip Cohen, a University of Maryland sociology professor who called Trump a Corrupt Incompetent Authoritarian, and Holly Figueroa, a national political organizer and songwriter who was cut off May 28 after posting an image of the pope looking incredulously at Trump, along with the statement: This is pretty much how the whole world sees you, the lawsuit said.
A US judge on Tuesday ruled that the government cannot immediately deport nearly 200 Iraqi immigrants arrested last month who argued they would face persecution if they were removed from the country.

US district Judge Mark Goldsmith in Michigan said he had the authority to order the government to keep the Iraqis in the county while their deportation cases were reviewed by the courts.

In his ruling, Goldsmith said sending the Iraqis back now would expose them to a substantiated risk of death, torture, or other grave persecution before their legal claims can be tested in a court.

Many of the 199 Iraqis detained  largely in the Detroit area but also in Tennessee, New Mexico and California  were Chaldean Catholics and Iraqi Kurds. Both groups said they could be targeted for attacks in Iraq because they are visible minorities. The government is seeking to deport over 1,400 Iraqis across the country, the ruling said.

Read | US targets some Iraqis for deportation in wake of travel ban deal

The actions are part of Trump administration efforts to increase immigration enforcement and make countries take back nationals ordered out of the United States.

The Iraqis arrested by immigration authorities had outstanding deportation orders and many had been convicted of serious crimes, ranging from homicide to weapons and drug charges, according to the US government.

Goldsmith said federal courts were first responders if constitutional rights were under threat and the Iraqis extraordinary circumstances gave him the power to block their deportation.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

The department has argued that only immigration courts have the authority to decide the Iraqis status.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the Iraqis, said in a statement: Federal courts must be able to ensure that the government acts according to the law, particularly where peoples lives are at stake.

Some of those arrested committed crimes decades ago and had been allowed to remain in the United States because Iraq until recently refused to issue them travel documents.

That changed after Baghdad agreed in March to accept U.S. deportees as part of a deal to remove the country from President Donald Trumps revised temporary travel ban.

In a statement, Michigan Rep. Sander Levin, a Democrat, applauded Goldsmiths ruling, saying it would give courts time to learn all of the facts related to these individuals.

Goldsmith scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the next steps in the litigation.
The United States has strongly condemned the cowardly terrorist attack on the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims on Monday and said it would continue to work with India to combat terrorism.

An attack on religious freedom is an attack on the most fundamental right of liberty, the White House press secretary said in a statement on Wednesday.

The United States and India will continue to fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world, the statement added.

Seven people were killed and 19 were wounded in the attack.
Zimbabwes President Robert Mugabe is in Singapore for medical reasons, prompting opposition figures to question whether the 93-year-old still has the stamina to run the country.

State media, quoting an information ministry statement, said the worlds oldest head of state left on Friday for a routine medical checkup and will be back in Zimbabwe later this week. This is Mugabes third Singapore visit this year.

Mugabe had been scheduled to address a campaign rally on Friday, but organisers say that has been cancelled due to the trip.

The opposition, which has called him a non-resident president due to his frequent foreign travels, has expressed concern over his health, saying he should retire.

Mugabe has said he will contest next years election, claiming he is still fit. He has been in power since 1980.
Bookends to the War

IN DECEMBER 2010, IN THE PROVINCIAL Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid, 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi had had enough of life in a repressive regime. His ultimate protestsetting himself afire on a city streetignited a revolution in Tunisia that spread and engulfed much of the Arab world in North Africa and the Middle East. As reports of Bouazizis selfless act spread around the globe, it conjured memories of the most famous self-immolation in history, that of Buddhist monk Trich Quang Duc on a Saigon street in June 1963. The impact of Quang Ducs act of protest was immeasurably heightened because a reporter with a camera, Malcolm Browne, was on the scene. His grisly photos, which were on the front pages of newspapers within hours, raised disturbing questions about the nature of the conflict, even inside John Kennedys Oval Office. Before Brownes death last August, he gave his former AP colleague Hal Buell a minute-by-minute account of his coverage of the monks protest. To mark the 50th anniversary of Quang Ducs ultimate protest, we present a collection of Brownes less familiar images from that day to accompany his gripping eyewitness chronology.

While the monks protest marked a turning point in the escalating Vietnam conflictfueling the U.S.-supported coup against Ngo Dinh Diem that set the course for deeper U.S. military involvementwe also mark in this issue another bookend to the war, Operation Homecoming. Forty years ago, after some 58,000 Americans had been killed and tens of thousands wounded, the negotiated release of prisoners of war was the last act of the drama that brought the U.S. war to a close. Our story on Operation Homecoming, and ongoing efforts to find and return remains of those still missing, begins on page 48. Also, in the official guide to Rolling Thunder XXVI inside this issue, we present selections of poetry and sketches by long-held POWs John Borling and John M. McGrath, and a story on the May 24, 1973, Nixon White House gala held in the honor of the just-released POWs.

Our cover story tells the compelling saga of a remarkable 1966 slugfest on a hill above Hiep Duc Valley that pitted an 18-man Marine platoon against more than 300 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese fighters. One of the 12 Marines that survived that long June night, Ray Hildreth, returned to the hilltop two years ago, on the anniversary of the battle. Hildreths incredible story, as told by author Charles W. Sasser, includes his emotional meeting with a number of his former enemies on that night.

And, sadly, in this issue we mark the passing of Stanley Karnow, one of the leading reporters and historians of the Vietnam War.

Originally published in the June 2013 issue of Vietnam. To subscribe, click here.
Bad Night in the Victoria Hotel

Thomas Johnsons picture (Saigon 66, April) of the aftermath of the April 1, 1966, Victoria Hotel bombing brought back memories, big time! I was an Army captain near the end of my first tour. The Victoria was my bachelor officers quarters. I was blown through the window from the balcony of my fourth floor room that day.

Awakened at about 5 a.m. by AK-47 fire, I rolled out of bed and hit the balcony dressed in my Skivvies to see what was happening. The car with the gunmen was already down the road on Tran Hung Dao, and a Renault pickup truckloaded with 600 kilos of plastic explosiveswas pulling up into the entryway past the mortally wounded guards, whose groans I could hear. A chase car arrived to pick up the driver of the truck, who had run across the road to place a Claymore mine. I yelled to my roomies to toss me a grease gun, and I popped off some rounds trying to hit that driver, but he escaped up a nearby alley. All was quiet and one of my roomies asked, Is it OK? As I started to say, No, theres a truck everything went orange.

The next thing I knew, I was on the floor inside the room, covered in blood. I wrapped towels around a head wound and went into the bathroom to see how bad it was, but the mirror and all the plumbing fixturessink, toilet, washbasin and showerwere gone, blown out by the blast. I got a jeep ride to the field hospital up the road, where I was triaged and awaited treatment.

I was lying in a bed, still pretty bloody, when a nurse came into the room with a TV crew who wanted to interview me, since I was aware of the sequence of the bombing. I said OK, but I wanted to wait until they got me cleaned up. The TV guy said: Oh, no. We want you like you are now. I shouted: Get the  outta here you ing ghoul!

Ted Raymond

El Mirage, Ariz.

Agent Orange not Black or White

I read the article about Agent Orange (Hearts, Minds and Herbicides, April) with particular interest. I served with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in the Central Highlands in 1965 and 66. I am disabled as a result of my exposure to Agent Orange. Naturally I now wish the defoliant had not been used. But that is water under the bridge. Several assertions made by Edwin Martini conflict with my experience. I spent a lot of time in villages and hamlets and spoke with many Vietnamese, none of whom criticized the use of Agent Orange. In the areas I was in, the defoliant was used to clear forests around base camps. I did not see it used to defoliate crops. No one I served with in Vietnam has made an issue of whether the United States was right in using the defoliant.

Al Garber

Isanti, Minn.

Hearts, Minds and Herbicides devoted one sentence to what I consider the most important reason Agent Orange was used in Vietnam: defoliating areas so Marines could have a more even chance against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and its booby traps. The article ignores the advantage the NVA lost when it could not utilize vegetation for its concealment. I was a Marine lieutenant and served as a forward observer and fire support coordinator. I operated in both defoliated and vegetated areas. The difference between them was dramatic. I realize the events described in the article occurred prior to 1968; however, to devote no discussion to this purpose for defoliation skews the entire article to the one question of destroying a food supply when it was much more than that.

I was diagnosed in 2010 with multiple myeloma, a cancer commonly associated with Agent Orange. But, even today, I would thank whoever made the decision to defoliate. I believe hundreds, if not thousands, more Americans would have been killed or wounded had we not used Agent Orange. I think one reason I survived my tour was defoliation. The impression given in the article was that the purpose of defoliation was to starve the NVAwhen that was just one purpose an important distinction when discussing morality and mens lives.

Edward Kliewer III

San Antonio, Texas

Originally published in the June 2013 issue of Vietnam. To subscribe, click here.
Hagel Survives Close Combat Again, This Time in Congress

After one of the most controversial and bruising Senate confirmation battles ever for a secretary of defense, by a vote of 58 to 41, decorated Vietnam War veteran and former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 27 as the 24th secretary of defensethe first to come from the enlisted ranks.

Fellow Vietnam vet and Republican John McCain was among Hagels biggest detractors, sparring with his former ally about comments Hagel had made on Israel and Iran and his vocal opposition to President George W. Bushs decision to send an extra 30,000 troops to Iraq in 2007. Hagel referred to the Iraq surge as our biggest foreign policy mistake since Vietnamand wrote,We blundered into Iraq because of flawed intelligence, flawed assumptions, flawed judgments, and ideologically driven motives.

Although McCain called Hagel unqualified to run the Pentagon, he angrily defended the two-time recipient of the Purple Heart against unsubstantiated accusations by Texas freshman Sen. Ted Cruz of possible financial connections between Hagel and North Korea.

In a 2012 interview with Vietnam, Hagel said that after he was wounded a second time in Vietnam in April 1968,I told myself, if I ever get out of this and Im ever in a position to influence policy, I will do everything I can to avoid needless, senseless war.

Journalists Dedicate Memorial in Cambodia

A number of news correspondents who covered the war in Vietnam and Cambodia returned to Cambodia in February to dedicate a memorial to nine of their colleagues killed by the Khmer Rouge at the village of Wat Po in May 1970. A memorial stone was placed at the site where NBC and CBS news crews led by correspondents Welles Hangen and George Syvertsen were captured and killed. A sacred Buddhist Bodhi tree was planted by the memorial stone that reads, Their words and deeds remain to remind us forever of the truth.

Kerry Senate Farewell Recalls Viet Protest

AFTER WINNING RESOUNDING confirmation to lead the State Department, Senator John Kerry gave an emotional speech to his Senate colleagues, touching on his Vietnam War experience:

I came to the National Mall in 1971 with fellow veterans who wanted only to talk to our leaders about the war. President Nixon tried to kick us off the Mall.We knocked on door after door on Capitol Hill, but too often couldnt get an audience with our representatives. A precious few, including Ted Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, came to where we were camped out and heard what we had to say. And I saw firsthand that our political process works only when leaders are willing to listento each other, but also to everyone else.

That is how I first came to the Senatenot with my vote, but with my voiceand that is why the end of my tenure here is in many ways a bookend.

Forty-two years ago, I testified before Senator Fulbrights Foreign Relations Committee about the realities of war in Vietnam. It wasnt until last week that I would sit before that committee again, this time testifying in my own confirmation hearing. It completed a circle, which I could never have imagined drawing, but one our Founders surely did: That a citizen voicing his opinion about a matter of personal and national consequence could one day use that voice as a senator, as the chairman of that same committee before which he had once testified a private citizen, and then as the presidents nominee for Secretary of Statethat is a fitting representation of what we mean when we talk about a government of the people, for the people and by the people.

Kent State May 4 Visitors Center Dedicated

Kent States May 4 Visitors Center, which opened its doors in October 2012, is being formally dedicated during the universitys annual May 4 commemoration activities this spring. Located in Taylor Hall, just steps away from the site where Ohio National Guardsmen fired into students protesting the invasion of Cambodia, killing four and wounding nine others on May 4, 1970. The center includes three galleries that cover the social movements of the 1960s, the Vietnam War and the campus shootings and their aftermath. Dr. Jerry Lewis, a sociology professor who witnessed the shootings and has researched the event extensively, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that students who visit the center are often laughing at first, but then get very, very quiet as they move into the exhibit about the shootings on May 4.

Hunger Games Author Pens Kids Book on Vietnam War

Suzanne Collins, author of the best-selling Hunger Games books, has written an autobiographical childrens picture book about a young girl who is dealing with her fathers absence while serving in Vietnam. For several years I had this little wicker basket next to my writing chair with the postcards my dad had sent me from Vietnam [when she was in first grade] and photos of that year, Collins said about the inspiration for Year of the Jungle, which is due out in September. Illustrated by James Proimos, whom Collins credits with first suggesting she write books for children, Year of the Jungle follows little Suzys many questions: What is the jungle like? Will her father be safe? When will he return?

The months slip by, marked by the passing of the familiar holidays and the postcards that her father sends, according to the publisher, Scholastic. With each one, he feels more distant, and when her father returns, Suzy must learn that even though war has changed him, he still loves her just the same.

Originally published in the June 2013 issue of Vietnam. To subscribe, click here.
Half Moon Bay, CA (94019)

Today

Mostly clear this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 43F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Mostly clear this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 43F. Winds light and variable.
Dwyane Wade will be taking the court next season in his sixth signature sneaker with Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning, the Way of Wade 6.

Today we have a detailed look at the new WoW 6, which comes decked out in green, featuring a thick midfoot strap on top of the knit upper. Black and red accents, including the speckled laces, give these kicks a certain Gucci vibe.

Release details regarding the Li-Ning Way of Wade 6 have not yet been announced but it is expected that the kicks will be dropping sometime in October.

Check out some pics of the newest Li-Ning Way of Wade 6 below, courtesy of D-Wade himself.

D-Wade
Lawyers representing the families of Aaron Hernandezs alleged victims, Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, in a wrongful death lawsuit have reportedly called on the New England Patriots to provide compensation.

According to The Boston Globes Travis Anderson, attorneys Kenneth Kolpan and William Kennedy made statements calling for the Pats to compensate Abreu and Furtados families after a hearing in the case in on Tuesday.

We would welcome the Patriots looking into that issue and doing the right thing, which is to compensate the victims, said Kenneth Kolpan, one of the attorneys, according to the Boston Globe.

Additionally, Ursula Ward, the mother of Odin Lloyd who was murdered by Hernandez, has filed a separate suit against Hernandezs estate, which also calls on the Patriots to kick over the $6 million she claims New England still owes to Hernandezs estate.

According to the report, attorneys for Hernandezs estate have rejected the families claims thus far, stating that Massachusetts law does not permit civil suits against a deceased defendant.

Hernandez
The first book about the legendary Queen written by a member of the band is set to release this August.

'Queen in 3-D' is going to be a special collection of personal snapchats of Queen in Three Dimensions, from the bands inception in the early '70s right up to the present day, alongside the exclusive recollections of founding member and lead guitarist, Brian May.

May spent three years writing the book and he is publishing the book in his own imprint this August.

Illustrated with over 300 photographs, the majority actually taken by Brian, and mostly in 3-D. These behind-the-scene shots of Freddie Mercury, John Deacon, Roger Taylor, and Brian himself, on and off stage all round the world, will come to life in the three dimensional stereoscopic images.

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The book captures the 46-year journey of Brian May of the iconic Queen. It is going to be more of a biography than picture book. The 3-D viewer that comes with the book is designed by Brian May himself.
American Airlines stepped up a verbal battle with Qatar Airways, assailing what the U.S. company said were "sexist and ageist" comments by the Mideast carrier's chief executive officer.

The rebuke was triggered after Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said at a Dublin event that the average age of his cabin crews is 26 and that "you are always being served by grandmothers" on U.S. carriers.

The remarks were "incredibly offensive," Jill Surdek, vice president of flight service for American Airlines Group, said in a message to employees Tuesday. "It was both sexist and ageist at the same time."

The exchange fueled a spat between the two carriers, which have been trading barbs since American disclosed last month that Qatar Airways had expressed interest in buying about 10 percent of the U.S. carrier. American CEO Doug Parker has called Qatar Airways' intention "puzzling at best and concerning at worst." Al Baker last week responded that his counterpart was "frightened" by the proposed investment.

Parker and the CEOs at Delta Air Lines and United Continental Holdings have called for diplomatic talks on whether state-owned Qatar Airways and fellow Persian Gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways have used government aid to expand unfairly in the U.S.

The Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, a coalition of the three U.S. airlines, on Tuesday called Al Baker's latest remarks "misogynistic and demeaning."

Labor groups weighed in as well, with the Air Line Pilots Association saying he had "sunk to a new low." Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association at American, called the comments "insulting, disrespectful and childish."

Bob Ross, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, also criticized Al Baker's remarks and defended members at American Airlines as "well-seasoned and highly trained professionals." The Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association said the comments were "reflective of a pattern of discrimination and deceit" by Qatar Airways.

"It is time for our government to stand up to these discriminatory actions and stand up for U.S. aviation," the Southwest union said in a statement.

Qatar Airways didn't respond to requests for comment.

Qatar Airways and American are partners in the Oneworld global alliance. Qatar owns 25 percent of British Airways parent IAG, which also operates a joint venture with American.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle

Aldi has remodeled one of its Katy stores as part of its plan to invest $34 million in renovations in the Houston area by the end of 2018.

The store at 5930 N. Fry Road, which will reopen on Thursday, has been updated with expanded produce, dairy and bakery sections. It also has a more spacious layout than the discount grocer's older store models.
Mesa Airlines pilots, who operate United Express flights in Houston, have ratified a new four-year contract.

Of the 761 pilots who voted, 58 percent cast ballots in favor of the agreement.

"We are pleased with today's results," Capt. Andy Hughes, master executive council chairman for the Mesa pilot group of the Air Line Pilots Association, International, said in a news release. "This tentative agreement delivers improvements in pay, vacation, and retirement, placing us in line with the rest of our peers and that's what pattern bargaining is all about."

On HoustonChronicle.com: Contract would raise pay for pilots at United Express contractor

The ratification represents more than six years of negotiations with Mesa Airlines, including three months with assistance from the National Mediation Board.
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The Environmental Protection Agency has reduced the mandate for renewable fuels, but subsidies for ethanol, the worst crony capitalism program in the country, will continue.

The announcement last week by President Donald Trump's EPA director, Scott Pruitt, reveals the difficulty in draining the Washington swamp. Republican politicians in the Midwest must appease corn farmers, who have become addicted to billions of dollars in government subsidies.

Congress mandated that U.S. refiners blend gasoline with renewable fuels in 2005, when oil prices were high and U.S. production was low. Battery-powered cars seemed like science fiction then, and phone apps for summoning rides were still on the drawing board.

Some experts were declaring that oil production was peaking and Midwest corn farmers were over-producing and needed a new market. Distilling corn into ethanol and reducing our dependence on foreign oil wasn't a bad idea. Today 97 percent of the gasoline sold in the United States has some ethanol in it, according to the Department of Energy.

To encourage the development of new liquid fuels, such as cellulosic biofuel made from cornstalks and switchgrass, the federal Renewable Fuel Standard also required gasoline refiners to buy so-called advanced alternative fuels made from the nonedible parts of plants. Critics were complaining that making fuel from corn was driving up food prices.

What made sense then now looks pretty foolish.

The U.S. has become the world's second-largest oil producer, and the market is awash in crude. Chevrolet is selling a $35,000 all-electric car that can travel 200 miles on a single charge. And car sharing is expected to surpass auto ownership in the next 15 years. U.S. consumption of gasoline is forecast to go down, not up.

Pruitt said he was lowering the mandate to use advanced alternative fuels to volumes "consistent with market realities." Instead of requiring the use of 322 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel in 2018, refiners will only have to buy 238 million gallons.

That's a smart move by the EPA, because advanced biofuels are hard to make, expensive to buy and bad for the environment.

Humans have long known how to dissolve starches and sugars into water and make alcohol. But sugars and starches largely come from the parts of plants we eat. Using the stalks, leaves and cellulose to make ethanol is far more difficult, and it turns out, four times more expensive.

The Department of Energy subsidized most of the operating advanced biofuels plants in the United States with startup cash, and then Congress propped them up with the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Even that, though, is not enough. The Department of Energy gave Spanish multinational Abengoa a $132 million loan guarantee and a $97 million grant in 2014 to build an advanced biofuel plant in Kansas, but that plant is now shuttered.

The Advanced Biofuel Association said it was disappointed by Pruitt's announcement. But corn farmers don't have to worry too much, because Pruitt is still requiring refiners to buy 15 billion gallons of conventional ethanol, the highest amount allowed under federal law.

Corn-based ethanol, though, is not much better.

The price of ethanol is significantly higher than gasoline. Farmers need to grow the corn and transport it to a distillery. The distillery consumes an enormous amount of energy and water, and the ethanol must then go to a refinery for blending with gasoline.

Supporters accurately point out that ethanol releases less carbon dioxide than gasoline when it is burned, but the manufacturing process produces much higher emissions than those released refining oil into gasoline, according to 2016 research by University of Michigan professor John DeCicco.

Researchers at the University of Tennessee reviewed the entire U.S. ethanol program in 2015 and found that it did more harm than good, particularly in water contamination and soil erosion. Not to mention, ethanol can damage engines and hinder fuel efficiency.

The American Petroleum Institute welcomed Pruitt's decision and rightfully called for Congress to end this $50 billion boondoggle by repealing the Renewable Fuel Standard entirely.

"The RFS mandate is bad for consumers, and it's clear that the solution is for Congress to significantly reform this mandate," said Frank Macchiarola, director for downstream issues at the institute. "Members on both sides of the aisle agree this program is a failure, and we are stepping up our call for Congress to act."

The problem is that corn farmers, especially in Iowa, have huge political influence. Trump promised Iowa Republicans that he would protect the ethanol mandates, and other Republicans can't afford to appear anti-farmer.

The swamp runneth over.
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In Texas, buying a home built to high standards of environmental friendliness may cost more than a conventional one. But when it's time to sell, the more efficient home stands to bring in a lot more green: $25,000 more, on average.

That was the conclusion of a University of Texas and U.S. Green Building Council study released Tuesday that was aimed at determining the value of green construction in the state.

"Buyers are apparently aware of the benefits and are paying for them," said UT's Greg Hallman, the lead researcher and author.

The study, which looked at more than 3,800 green-certified homes built in Texas Austin and four surrounding counties between 2008 and 2016, found homes built with green certifications, including so-called LEED standards, commanded a 6 to 8 percent premium over homes that didn't.

RELATED: Custom home builder sees value in green

LEED, a national program administered by the Washington, D.C.-based building council, stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Homes and commercial buildings are awarded certification for things like renewable energy systems, water conservation and recycled materials.

The study, conducted by the Real Estate Finance & Investment Center at UT's McCombs School of Business, was based on an analysis of more than 230,000 home transactions. It used a regression model that considered square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, garages and the age of the home, as well as whether the homes were built to green standards, including LEED.

The increase in resale value was significant considering the size of the market.

The number of LEED transactions among the data was only 143. That number's expected to grow.

"Many of them were built in the last three years, so there's evidence that it's starting to pick up," said Hallman, senior managing director of the real estate center.

The average new home in the data used for the study sold for $311,000.

"While our sample size for LEED homes was pretty small, the statistics showed there was a statistically significant increase in the price," Hallman said.

The size of the market in Texas was too small to determine differences between cities.

The U.S. building council, which commissioned the study, identified 288 single-family LEED-certified homes in Houston.

Houston-based custom builder Frankel Building Group started developing to LEED standards since around 2010. But it wasn't because customers were asking for it.

"It's a commitment we made just to have somebody checking our tracks while we're building," co-president Scott Frankel said. "We knew it would lead to less callback and higher satisfaction."

"And we're reaping the rewards," he said, referring to customers who later want a second Frankel home.

The company emphasizes energy and water efficiency in its homes, along with irrigation systems, roofing materials and insulation.

"Our entire design staff and construction staff and sales staff are constantly thinking about the program," Frankel said. "It also makes you feel like you're doing something better."

RELATED: Houston office buildings among greenest in nation

While Houston's market for green homes is small, its commercial real estate sector is a leader.

Local office buildings certified under the EPA Energy Star label, the LEED program, or both accounted for 53 percent of the Houston area's overall office space at the end of 2016, according to a study from CBRE Group and the Netherlands' Maastricht University.

Scott Davis, senior vice president of the real estate consulting firm Meyers Research, said earlier attempts to develop environmentally focused communities in the Houston area weren't successful, which may explain the lack of green home building.

Cost is also an issue.

"Those LEED materials are more expensive," Davis said, referring to things like tankless water heaters and solar panels. "For the owner there may be a payoff, but for the builder putting them in just makes the house more expensive."
Several Houston restaurants landed in hot water with inspectors this week after roaches, fruit flies and other bugs were discovered in and around their kitchen and dining areas.

At Lucky House (10123 Hammerly) one inspector found weavers in bulk bags of rice, sugar, MSG, tempura batter mix, potato starch and bread crumbs. Approximately 555 pounds of food were discarded.

SQUEAKY CLEAN:Houston restaurants with no health code violations (March - June)

The highest scoring restaurant on this week's report was Al's Pizza House (757 W Little York). The establishment earned 46 demerits for several infractions including not using effective measures to eliminate cockroaches on the premises. The restaurant was temporarily closed following the inspection, but the closure was lifted by an inspector two days later.

Moldy raspberries in the bar cooler at Seasons 52 (842 Sam Houston Pkwy N. Ste. 100) were deemed not safe for human consumption. Inspectors also noted a large number of fruit flies in the pantry.

Finally, two live German cockroaches were spotted under a buffet line by an inspector at the West University location of Candelari's Pizzeria (2617 W Holcombe Blvd., Ste. A).

Before you head out for your next meal, be sure to click through our slideshow above for the list of restaurants with violations (July 3-11).

During health inspections, inspectors distribute violations that carry a weight between 1 and 25, increasing in severity. The term "demerit" is used by city health inspectors to describe the weighted value assigned to each violation. The Houston Chronicle obtained the results of routine health inspections throughout the city and tallied each restaurant's demerits for a comprehensive list of violations. To view inspection reports online or learn more about food inspections, visit the health department website.
A 20-year-old man is behind bars in connection with the death of a man whose body was found in June in a car in northeast Houston.

Tevis Charles was arrested and charged Tuesday with the murder of 37-year-old Melvin Adams.
Donald Trump has been president for fewer than six months, and the number of critical columns, op-eds, TV and radio segments and other negative pieces on his administration has already reached the seven-figure range. It's way more than anyone can read.

But I want to swim against that tide to discuss how the Trump administration has performed competently. (I do feel a bit like MacArthur in"Doonesbury" when he was tasked to write a list of Duke's major achievements as Governor of American Samoa.) Namely, Trump has honored many of his campaign promises, and he has brought talented people into his administration.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to crack down on undocumented immigration, replace the Affordable Care Act and pursue an "America First" approach to foreign policy.

Democrats and a large swath of Republicans roundly criticized these campaign planks. And, once elected, President Trump could have broken these promises and strategically reversed his positions (i.e., flip-flopped) to bring them more in line with the political mainstream. On the whole, however, he has not done so.

MORE TRUMP ON GRAY MATTERS: Donald Trump's rhetorical brilliance

The Trump administration has adopted a much more aggressive approach to immigration enforcement than the Obama administration. This includes an effort to reduce the number of sanctuary cities, a broadening of the de facto range of the individuals who are targeted for deportation and a more active effort to locate, arrest and deport undocumented immigrants.

These efforts have increased fear and anxiety among undocumented immigrants and their family members (many of whom are U.S. citizens) and tarnished the GOP brand in the eyes of many present and future Latino voters, but they also appear to have reduced illegal immigration from Latin America.

And he has made a concerted effort to replace Obamacare. Though it is not clear whether GOP congressional leaders will be able to find that policy sweet spot with a bill that goes far enough for Tea Party Republicans without going too far for centrist ones, President Trump has worked to keep his promise  even though the reform legislation might not obtain congressional passage.

President Trump on the whole has also advocated an "America First" approach to foreign and defense policy. Under Trump, the United States has pursued policies based on whether he believes they benefit the U.S., not whether they benefit the world. Examples include the termination of U.S. participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord and the clear message sent to NATO members like Germany that they need to increase defense spending and cannot shirk their responsibilities and assume the U.S. will continue to pick up the slack.

GRAY MATTERS: How does Trump get away with saying that?

Additionally, Trump's administration includes Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster. These are extremely capable people who have a wealth of experience and provide steady hands running the country's massive bureaucracy. They also serve as a partial check on any ill-advised actions or policies that might emanate from the White House.

Clearly, in his first six months, President Trump has made missteps and errors, and he has quite often behaved in a way many would consider unpresidential.

But in spite of this, he has retained the support of most of those who voted for him; his July favorability ratings are virtually identical to those on Election Day.

In fact, a large majority of Trump voters continue to believe he is doing something right, even if that is only providing a populist voice for a group that has considered itself marginalized by a political system dominated by elites whose personal realities, worldviews and policy goals are quite distinct from their own.

And providing that voice has taken on greater urgency for the president, as the negativity about his administration piles up and our political life becomes ever more fractured into right and left camps. Though President Trump has much more work to do to provide a voice for other marginalized groups, from his time on the hustings to his tenure so far in the Oval Office he has stayed true to his word in a way that is presidential in the eyes of his supporters.

Mark P. Jones is the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy's Political Science Fellow and the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies at Rice University.

Bookmark Gray Matters. It has quite often behaved in a way many would consider unpresidential.
Global warming means the planet is getting warmer, but what perhaps too few people and policymakers realize is that it might become uninhabitable.

That's the premise of the alarm-sounding essay published Sunday by New York magazine, "The Uninhabitable Earth."

In the apocalyptic piece, David Wallace-Wells details the many possible ramifications of climate change beyond just rising sea levels if no action is taken. In many cases, though not all, what he details are worst-case scenarios.

The rise in global temperatures could mean it would be possible for humans to literally cook to death in certain places, writes Wallace-Wells.

Forgotten diseases long stored in Arctic ice, could reemerge, he warns. Massive disruptions to agriculture and the economy could lead to death, increased violence and unprecedented displacement. And it could all happen much sooner than many people think, according to the article.

But it's just one vision of the future that some say misstates some of the science and fails to highlight what Atlantic writer Robinson Meyer described as "a strategy for addressing climate change" currently coming together.

It's a dismal portrait, but one that should be weighed against other, more nuanced calls for concern.

At least one prominent scientist responded to the piece, pushing back against its framing and criticizing exaggerations of some of the science cited in the article. "The evidence that climate change is a serious problem that we must contend with now is overwhelming on its own," wrote Michael Mann, a professor of meteorology at Penn State University and a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that took home the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. "There is no need to overstate the evidence, particularly when it feeds a paralyzing narrative of doom and hopelessness."

JEREMY HARBECK/AFP/Getty Images

Still, it's not hard to imagine the impact higher temperatures could have and, in some cases, are already having on places like Houston.

In Phoenix recently, the heat grounded airplanes and was responsible for some 40 flight cancellations in one day. Scientists warn that threats like Zika virus and tropical diseases will become more common farther north.

And in Miami, competition is heating up for properties on higher ground as homeowners contemplate the collapse of coastal real estate. Investments from cities like Houston, which is the largest municipal user of green energy, according to the Guardian, have already begun, and the price tags can add up quickly.

And the economic impacts will likely not be evenly shared and hurt places like Houston. "It will impoverish many of the poorest communities in the country  arrayed across the South and Southwest, and especially along the Gulf Coast  while increasing the fortunes of cities and suburbs on both of the coasts," wrote Meyer in the Atlantic.

GRAY MATTERS: How electric vehicles can help cities like Houston fight climate change

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner was one of hundreds of mayors across the country who committed to the goals of the Paris climate accord, even after President Trump pulled out of the agreement.

But it's unclear how much cities can do on their own to meet those goals.

To understand what projected temperature increases will mean for your city, Climate Central, a nonprofit news organization, partnered with the World Meteorological Organization to create this interactive map of average summer temperatures by 2100 in major cities across the globe. "Up to a dozen cities will heat up so much, their summers will have no analog currently on Earth," according to Climate Central.

In Houston, without emissions cuts, our summer temperatures could become comparable to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Leah Binkovitz (@leahbink), formerly of the Houston Chronicle, is now a staff writer for Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research. This story originally appeared on the Kinder Institute's blog, The Urban Edge.

Bookmark Gray Matters. It has no analog currently on Earth.


News this week that an iceberg the size of Delaware had broken off an ice shelf in Antarctica was difficult for most to comprehend.

It certainly didn't sound good.

But a Rice University oceanographer said the break in the Larsen C ice shelf won't likely result in any kind of detrimental global sea level rise.

John Anderson, a veteran of 24 Antarctic research expeditions, explained that ice shelves act as corks, bottling up glaciers and ice streams on land.

The Larsen C ice shelf, however, wasn't holding back significant amounts of land ice, diminishing the risk of catastrophic sea level rise, Anderson said.

"I think for the larger glaciology community the threat from this event is not so great, but it is providing further documentation of the warming trend in the Antarctica Peninsula, not just on sea ice but ice shelves, which are much bigger systems," Anderson said.

Anderson said scientists who study Antarctica are much more worried about rifts that have formed in the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, two of the continent's largest ice streams.

Both glaciers are rapidly melting due to warming ocean water. The Larsen C ice shelf is melting because of warmer atmospheric conditions.

"Sea level rise from this event (the breakup of the Pine Island ice shelf) could approach one meter," Anderson said. "That would be really bad for coastal communities, including areas in coastal Texas."

Anderson said a comparable ice stream collapse 8,200 years ago destroyed Mustang Island, which took three centuries to recover.

While there's no imminent threat of such a collapse, Anderson and other scientists who study the Antarctic say warming in that region of the world certainly warrants close monitoring.

"What happened with Larsen today could very well happen with Thwaites and Pine Island," he said.
The new wave in Houston home design is a lot like a bento box. There are compartments of ingredients that combine to create a delectable, customizable bite.

Rice University School of Architecture graduate Brett Zamore has translated this idea into custom home design with Zamore Home's home kits. Each kit consists of a different set of materials, sizes and layouts. Home shoppers are welcome to mold the design to their own liking, depending on individual aesthetics and budgets.

"We have had over 20 kit homes built in Houston and beyond," Zamore explains. "Each has been customized by the individual owner in their own way from lighting, plumbing fixtures, trim work, colors, slight changes to the layout, cabinetry, tile, countertops and etcetera."

At about $90 to $150 per square foot and ranging in size from about 400- to 2,200-square-foot buildings, the attractive homes are also affordable. Zamore explains, "The kit home process is more affordable as the homes are already designed and my clients are purchasing the plans and paying for any changes to the plans."

Shot-Trot houses in Houston

Affordability and style aside, these structures are also smart.

By combining a shotgun house with a dogtrot -- known as a Shot-Trot-- Zamore's designs are naturally energy efficient. Shotgun homes are narrow. This design propels air from front to back at a more rapid pace.

A dogtrot is a style of house that boasts a covered breezeway, allowing the space to breathe, which is essential during an oppressive Houston summer.

That means a lower utility bill and an environmentally-friendly living space. It's important to note that the green building aspect of Zamore's homes begin at the design's inception, not just once the house has been built.

"Lots of builders are calling themselves green but the reality is anyone can call themselves a color of their choice," Zamore says. "Just like anything, people need to be informed and educated about what green building is and how it can impact one's life."

The architect, who is LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) accredited, has been known to use wood reclaimed from Houston tear-down structures. His home kit strategy makes the construction cost effective too, since he can build two or three homes at a time, thereby increasing labor during a window of time to reduce overall construction costs.

Tiny home problem in Houston

As for the "tiny home" dilemma in Houston -- each of Zamore's kits are usually under 1,000 square feet -- the architect believes he has found a solution.

"Most of my clients who build the tiny homes take on their own risk and get equity loans and or build the homes outside of Houston and or in their back yards as secondary structures for living and or working," he explains. "There are deeds that we need to follow depending on neighborhood which may prohibit a tiny home."

What's next for the local designer who is making headlines around the country?

"We have developed a new co. called Zfabhousing which we will be selling a 330-square-foot efficiency and also a 504-square-foot little house that is prefabbed and shipped to site," Zamore says. "We will be building our first Zfab in the Houston Heights this coming year."
On Sunday, Ric Gillespie settled into his living room in central Pennsylvania and flipped on a new History Channel documentary about Amelia Earhart, one that promised "shocking" new evidence that proved what had happened to the famed aviator.

Hundreds of miles away, in Florida, Mike Campbell did the same. Both were armed with a notepad and a healthy amount of skepticism, albeit for different reasons.

For most people, what became of Earhart during her doomed 1937 trip to circumnavigate the globe is a passing, sepia-toned concern, a historic relic occasionally brought up in articles like this one.

Gillespie and Campbell, however, belong to small, competing fraternities of people who have dedicated decades to solving the mystery of Earhart's disappearance. For them, any new shred of Earhart-related information is enough to make their heart race - or their blood boil - even 80 years after Earhart's plane vanished.

If there's one thing the men share, it's their adamant refusal to believe that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 1937. The U.S. government accepts this theory and declared Earhart and Noonan dead following a fruitless, months-long search.

Gillespie and the people at the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) believe Earhart and Noonan were swept off course by strong Pacific winds and crash-landed on what was then called Gardner Island, injured but alive. The pair used the plane's radio to send distress calls until it was pulled into the ocean. They ultimately died as castaways, Gillespie believes.

Campbell, a retired journalist who authored "Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last," insists along with others that Earhart and Noonan were captured in the Marshall Islands by the Japanese, who thought they were American spies, and died in Japanese custody after being tortured.

Throughout the decades, the two opposing camps have frequently clashed - gathering evidence, bolstering their own theories and publicly trashing others whenever new Earhart evidence surfaces.

The History Channel documentary sparked the latest conflagration. In previews and media accounts the week before the documentary aired, producers had teased the program with a black-and-white photograph they said had been dredged up from the National Archives.

The grainy picture supposedly showed Earhart and her navigator in Jaluit Harbor in the Marshall Islands after their disappearance - lending credence to the theory that Earhart had survived her final flight and been taken into Japanese custody, according to History Channel representatives.

"When you look at the totality of what we put together and then hold that photograph. . . . I think that photograph is as close to a smoking gun as you're going to have in a cold case that's 80 years old," Shawn Henry, a researcher featured in the documentary, told The Washington Post last week.

However, after the program aired, a Japanese military history blogger matched the photo in question to one first published in a 1935 Japanese travelogue. It couldn't have depicted Earhart and Noonan, he said, because it had been published at least two years before the pair set off on their trip around the world.

The History Channel released a statement Tuesday acknowledging the questions.

"HISTORY has a team of investigators exploring the latest developments about Amelia Earhart and we will be transparent in our findings," the statement read. "Ultimately, historical accuracy is most important to us and our viewers."

In a news release Tuesday, Gillespie said he suspected the photo wasn't really of Earhart and Noonan even before he sat down on his couch with his notebook and turned to the History Channel.

He outlined a litany of reasons: "The picture was undated; there were no Japanese, no guards, the figure alleged to be Amelia had hair that was much too long; the identification of a man as Fred Noonan depended upon a photo of Noonan that had been reversed to make the hairline match; their clothes were wrong; an indistinct blob behind a ship was proclaimed to be Earhart's Electra on a barge - and yet, to dozens of media outlets, the photo was heralded as 'proof' of Earhart's fate."

Gillespie dismissed the History Channel documentary as a rehash of "thoroughly debunked Japanese capture nonsense." He also noted that his wife had refused to watch the show with him.

"She's just not going to deal with me in that situation," he said. "I've got my notepad in front of me. And I'm laughing out loud to myself, talking to the screen. 'You didn't just say that!' "

Meanwhile, in Florida, Campbell finished the documentary with mixed feelings. On his blog, he later blasted the History Channel for its "bogus photo claims" - marking a rare instance in which he and Gillespie agreed.

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence; this photo offers none and fails completely," Campbell wrote.

On the other hand, Campbell told The Post that it had been a "pleasant surprise" to see all the eyewitness accounts in the documentary, including firsthand and secondhand interviews from the Marshall Islands and Saipan. Those included a "still mentally sharp" 91-year-old Josephine Blanco Akiyama, he said, who told investigators she saw Earhart being taken into Japanese custody in Saipan, as well as old footage of other eyewitnesses talking about Noonan being treated aboard the "Koshu" Japanese merchant ship as Amelia watched.

"These witnesses are magnificent, significant and revealing figures whose convincing accounts, if known and accepted by enough concerned Americans, might help unlock the deepest locks in Washington, the ones with the top-secret Earhart files," Campbell told The Post.

It was a shame that the hubbub over the grainy photo had undermined what had been perfectly good evidence presented in the documentary, Campbell said.

"The evidence presented in the documentary is all old evidence that researchers like me know about," Campbell said. "To use the photo as a predicate to enter into this History Channel kind of a bogus investigation thing is just ridiculous."

In his book, Campbell accuses the U.S. government of covering up what he says really happened to Earhart and Noonan: that they were captured by the Japanese, taken to Saipan and killed. He cites a 1960 Office of Naval Intelligence report as proof of "the government's ongoing interest in the Earhart case - an activity that continues to this day, quietly and behind the scenes."

Gillespie continues to look for evidence to support his Earhart theory. His group recently went on a National Geographic-sponsored expedition with TIGHAR to Nikumaroro, or Gardner Island, hoping to find the spot where Earhart died. Their secret weapon: border collies trained to sniff out human remains. TIGHAR hoped that the dogs would help locate a bone that could provide a DNA link to Earhart. It's one of a dozen TIGHAR expeditions that have not produced a smoking gun.

When asked about TIGHAR's latest expeditions, Campbell refused to comment.

"I don't have anything to do with Gillespie or TIGHAR . . . I don't want to attack him here. It's not relevant anymore," he said. "This has been such a cottage industry for these frauds and I'm sitting back here with 5,000 threads, a book that would kill a horse with information that absolutely proves she was there (on the Marshall Islands)."

The men who lead such expeditions - and each school of Earhart theory - have strikingly similar views of their universe: They each think they know the truth about what happened to Amelia Earhart and are one piece of evidence away from proving it to the world. And they wish other folks would stop spouting bogus theories in public.

"This is like fundamentalist ministries of the Deep South," Gillespie said. "This guy's got the ministry of the laying on of hands. And this guy's got the snakes. And this guy's got the speaking in tongues. It gets really passionate and everybody ends up screaming at each other."

---

Video: Legendary pilot Amelia Earhart's disappearance is a decades-old mystery. (Jenny Starrs, The Washington Post)
HAMBURG, Germany - World leaders struck a compromise Saturday to move forward collectively on climate change without the United States, declaring the Paris accord "irreversible" while acknowledging President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the agreement.

In a final communique at the conclusion of the Group of 20 summit meeting in Hamburg, the nations took "note" of Trump's decision to abandon the pact and "immediately cease" efforts to enact former President Barack Obama's pledge of curbing greenhouse gas emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

But the other 19 members of the group broke explicitly with Trump in their embrace of the international deal, signing off on a detailed policy blueprint outlining how their countries could meet their goals in the pact.

The statement and the adoption of the G-20 Climate and Energy Action Plan for Growth ended three days of intense negotiations over how to characterize the world's response to Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, and it came as this year's meeting of major world economies here laid bare the stark divide between the United States and the rest.

"This is a clear indication that the U.S. has isolated itself on climate change once again and is falling back while all other major economies step up and compete in the clean energy marketplace created by the Paris Agreement estimated to be worth over $20 trillion," said Andrew Light, a senior climate change adviser at the State Department under Obama.

'Nothing's easy'

Differences between the United States and other nations on climate, trade and migration made for a tricky summit meeting, which unfolded amid large protests that sometimes turned violent, with several injured and demonstrators setting fire to cars and looting in the streets of the German city.

"Nothing's easy," Trump said of the gathering Saturday as he complimented its host, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who has toiled to bridge the gap between the United States and other nations, for handling the challenge "so professionally."

Hours later, at the start of a high-stakes meeting with President Xi Jinping of China, Trump vowed to confront the threat posed by North Korea "one way or the other," and said he appreciated the Chinese leader's efforts to respond to Pyongyang's latest provocations.

"It may take longer than I'd like, it may take longer than you'd like, but there will be success in the end, one way or the other," Trump said. "Something has to be done about it."

The wording on climate change in the communique represented a victory for Merkel, who played a major role in forging compromise language after France raised objections.

In most other respects, though, the summit meeting had to be a bitter disappointment for the chancellor. When the meeting was first planned for Hamburg, Merkel's birthplace, she would have reasonably expected Hillary Clinton, a likely political partner, to be the U.S. president, and she had expected the event to be a strong part of her re-election campaign for a fourth term, with voting in September.

But Trump tends to suck all the media air out of a room, even in Germany, where he is deeply unpopular. This summit meeting was always going to be primarily about Trump and his first meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

Merkel's role

It has also been about efforts by most of the rest of the world to cajole the U.S. president into softening his stances on global trade and the climate, with Merkel in a secondary role, trying to come up with compromises.

Her standing has also suffered as Germans have been shocked by violent protests by a small bloc of anarchists who saw the G-20 as a perfect platform for their rejection of capitalism and order.

This was always going to be risky for Merkel, and Trump's presence only intensified what were widely anticipated to be widespread and sometimes violent protests against globalization, even though Trump is a sharp critic of globalization.

Whether the criticism of holding the summit meeting here will hurt Merkel in the September elections is not clear. Her popular conservative finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble, appeared on national television Friday strongly defending the decision. Only large cities like Hamburg, a picturesque Hanseatic port, have the infrastructure to host the thousands of leaders, delegates, journalists and lobbyists who gather at a G-20 meeting, he said.

And some diplomatic work was done at the meeting, even beyond Trump's meetings and his hyperbolic praise - regardless of his private views - of every leader he meets, including Merkel. ("You have been amazing, and you have done a fantastic job.")

Working overnight, diplomats first agreed on a common text on trade, with a nod toward Trump's "America First" demands for restrictions on unfair trade, but they had great difficulty on climate, with the Americans demanding a reference to the use of fossil fuels.

President Emmanuel Macron of France said he would continue to press Trump on climate and would hold a follow-up summit meeting in Paris in December to move the Paris deal forward.

The trade section in the statement the aides thrashed out read: "We will keep markets open noting the importance of reciprocal and mutually advantageous trade and investment frameworks and the principle of nondiscrimination, and continue to fight protectionism including all unfair trade practices and recognize the role of legitimate trade defense instruments in this regard."

The climate section is more of a dodge. It takes note of the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Paris accord and says the other countries regard the deal as "irreversible." Yet it subtly left open the possibility that the United States could someday come back into the pact, specifying that the country is putting the brakes on its "current" emissions pledge.

It then nods toward fossil fuels, saying: "The United States of America states it will endeavor to work closely with other countries to help them access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently."

Deal with Britain

Trump, who spent so much time with Putin on Friday that he delayed meeting the British prime minister, Theresa May, until Saturday, tried to fortify her delicate political fortunes. He said that they had had "tremendous talks" on trade and were working on a "very powerful" trade deal for a post-Brexit Britain that could be completed "very, very quickly."

It is not clear what Trump meant, since the two sides cannot sign such an agreement until after Britain leaves the European Union, in March 2019 at the soonest.
WASHINGTON - A House panel Tuesday unveiled legislation to begin building President Donald Trump's long-promised wall along the U.S-Mexico border. Mexico, however, will not be footing the bill.

The move by the House Appropriations Committee again puts the Trump administration and its allies on Capitol Hill on a collision course with Democrats who oppose the wall and succeeded in blocking a request by Trump to deliver the money earlier this spring.
Two Americans fighting alongside Kurdish forces in northern Syria were killed last week as the battle to retake the Islamic State's de-facto capital there continues well into its second month.

Nicholas Warden, 29, and Robert Grodt, 28, died last week on the outskirts of Raqqa, according to U.S. officials and a statement released by the Kurdish People's Protection Units, known as the YPG. Neither appeared to have any prior formal military experience. Another westerner, a British man named Luke Rutter, was also killed in the fighting, the statement said.

In a video posted by the YPG, Warden said he was from Buffalo and traveled to join the YPG in February to fight the Islamic State because of the attacks inspired by the terrorist group in places, such as San Bernardino and Orlando. He said he had also received some military training from the group.

Grodt, a one-time volunteer medic from the Occupy Wall Street movement, had also traveled to join the YPG around the same time, according to Ron Kuby, a family friend and lawyer. Grodt was originally from California. Grodt's mother, Tammy, confirmed that she had received notification about his death but has heard little else about how he died.

More Information Other developments Talks continue: Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar al-Ja'afari appealed to "genuine partners" to help end his country's devastating six-year war, insisting that such international cooperation must involve President Bashar Assad's government. Al-Ja'afari said the discussions Wednesday morning focused on the fight against terrorism - long the major focus of the Assad government in the Geneva talks. He said government experts were also expected to take up technical talks on political issues. Baghdadi dead?: A group that monitors the war in Syria said Tuesday it has "confirmed information" about the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, citing information received from the militants in eastern Syria. Baghdadi's death has been rumored numerous times in the past. There also were no immediate announcements from the Islamic State's news channels. The U.S. Central Command said in a statement: "We cannot confirm this report, but hope it is true." From wire reports See More Collapse

"It's pretty hard to put into words right now," she said.

Kuby, speaking on behalf of the family, said the State Department had called the family from the American consulate in Irbil, Iraq, and informed them of Grodt's death.

"There were email follow-ups but no real information as to who has Rob's body, when it will be returned, how he died," Kuby said. "They were very short on information."

"Tammy wants to know who has her son's body," he added.

Grodt leaves behind a 5-year-old daughter and his partner, Kaylee Dedrick. Grodt met Dedrick during an Occupy Wall Street protest in September 2011 after she was pepper sprayed, a moment that was infamously captured on video. Grodt told the New York Daily News that he rushed to her aid before treating her in a utility closet.

"Nothing strengthens a relationship like a chemical agent," he joking told the paper. Grodt proposed to Dedrick in Zuccotti Park, the hub of Manhattan's Occupy movement, on New Year's Eve 2011.

Warden and Grodt's deaths bring the total number of Americans killed fighting alongside the YPG to roughly a dozen. Three Americans, Jordan MacTaggart, William Savage and Levi Jonathan Shirley were killed last year fighting in the city of Manbij.

It is unknown how many Americans are fighting alongside militia groups in Syria. In recent years dozens of U.S. citizens have flocked to battlegrounds overseas, including those in Iraq and Ukraine, to fight as combatants in wars fueled by an array of ideologies.

The YPG is one component of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of Arabic, Kurdish and Turkmen militants fighting under one U.S.-backed umbrella. The group has wrested large swaths of Syria from the Islamic State in the past two years and is leading the fight into Raqqa.
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Despite shouts of protest, Harris County Commissioners Court decided Tuesday not to join a lawsuit targeting the state's controversial "sanctuary cities" law as unconstitutional.

A majority of the Commissioners Court said that despite their reservations about the law, which some described as an overreach by the state, joining the lawsuit could put the county on a slippery slope for lawsuits over an untold number of disagreeable state bills in the future.

"Were we to sue every bill that gets passed, I think that's a dangerous precedent," said Precinct 2 Commissioner Jack Morman, who, along with his three Republican colleagues, opposed joining the lawsuit.

Democratic Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis was the only member of Commissioners Court to favor joining the lawsuit, but his motion to do so was not seconded and died without a vote.

Tuesday's Commissioners Court meeting was a disappointing end for dozens of individuals and elected officials who had packed the chamber seeking the support of Texas's largest county in one of the most diverse regions in the country. Emotions ran high as individuals vocally disapproved of the county's decision, including one person escorted out by constable deputies while shouting that the court's inaction would result in opposition at the ballot box.

"We were expecting a vote, that's for sure," said Daniel Candelaria, an organizer for United We Dream, who spoke publicly in favor of joining the lawsuit. "It's kind of disappointing to see our elected officials doing that with something that means so much to so many people in the county."

The law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, allows police to ask people their immigration status if stopped, and threatens sheriffs and police chiefs with jail time and fines if they refuse federal requests to hold immigrants detained for other crimes.

Police chiefs' opposition

Earlier in the week, Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan, a Democrat, filed a friend-of-the-court brief stating that the law would "irreparably harm" children in the state's child welfare system.

"By mandating county attorneys cooperate in the enforcement of immigration laws - prioritizing immigration over other duties - SB4 creates an irreconcilable conflict between the priority given by our state to the preservation of the family," the brief states.

Gov. Greg Abbott and the law's supporters maintain the law will boost public safety and mandate consistent enforcement policies on whether officers ask people they have detained to prove they are in the country legally.

Opponents say it will sow distrust among immigrant communities who will be less likely to report crimes or potentially come forward as witnesses. They also have called the law discriminatory.

Police chiefs in the state's largest cities, including Houston Police Department's Art Acevedo, have said the law strips power from local officials to run their departments.

Acevedo has said the law would redirect limited police resources from crime fighting to an initiative that does not improve public safety.

Opponents of the law - who had showed up in greater numbers over the last two meetings of Commissioners Court - said it has particular significance for the Houston area, with its large immigrant population. Nearly a quarter of the Houston metropolitan area's population of more than 6 million is foreign born, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that studies immigration patterns.

The Houston area has the third-largest population of immigrants in the country illegally, behind New York and Los Angeles, according to Pew Research Center.

Houston City Council voted last month to sue the state over the new law, joining San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and other local governments and nonprofits in a consolidated lawsuit challenging the law.

A federal judge in San Antonio already has heard arguments in the case from plaintiffs seeking an injunction to block implementation of the law but has made no ruling.

Not an 'endorsement'

Among public speakers Tuesday were Democratic state representatives Sylvia Garcia and Armando Walle, both of Houston, who asked the county to join the lawsuit.

"The law, in my mind, is unconstitutional and it's in violation of human dignity," Garcia said.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said it would be ineffectual for the county to sue the state because the county is, constitutionally, an arm of the state. He said not voting in favor of joining the lawsuit against the law was not an endorsement of the statute, which he called an overreach by the state that would increase distrust in immigrant communities.

"Do not interpret, if we choose not to, don't interpret that as an endorsement of Senate Bill 4," Emmett said. "It is not."

Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack said he questioned whether the bill actually would increase distrust, and said the Harris County Attorney's office had not recommended to him to join the lawsuit. He also offered a criticism of the law, which he said "basically circumvents authority in a police agency, like the sheriff, for example."

In his brief, County Attorney Ryan said his office represents state officials who are bound to advocate for children's best interest and keep families together. It goes on to say the law would deter immigrants from reporting abuse of children, volunteering to care for children or providing evidence in child abuse cases.

"Given that SB4 compels county attorneys to cooperate in efforts which will lead to the deportation of parents or kinship caregivers, the separation of families, and further trauma to children, the new law presents clear conflicts with federal and state child welfare laws, which require efforts to protect children and to maintain the unity of their families without regard to their immigration status," the brief states.
Fredric Ken Helfrich, 78, passed away Monday, June 26, 2017, at the Phelps County Regional Medical Center in Rolla.

He was born March 23, 1939, in Columbia, Ohio.

He was raised in Union Lake, Mich. He was a Navy Chief Petty Officer and served during the Vietnam War. He retired after 20 years of service.

He owned and operated Spring Motors in Green Cove Springs, Fla.

He retired to Beulah, where he built a log cabin with his own hands and lived there enjoying his retirement.

Survivors include two daughters, Kathy Bergsma and Susan Shoaf; a son, Kenny Tosh; a brother, Tom Helfrich; and a sister, Lynne Kilby.

Burial with military honors is 10 a.m. Saturday, July 22, in Trout Family Cemetery in Beulah. Cremation was under the direction of Fox Funeral Home.

Online condolences may be made at foxfh.net.
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According to Buehler, empowerment and appreciation are key elements of the companys culture as they not only drive employee satisfaction but also increased productivity.

When you feel empowered and appreciated you become loyal, you want to perform better and you feel like youre part of something more than just yourself, she explains. Thats whats really special about our culture.

However, Buehler admits maintaining such a unique culture isnt easy within a remote workplace and it takes ongoing effort from the entire organization.

Culture is a part of every meeting, every event, all of our newsletters, we really make a point to keep it at the front of everyones mind, she tells HRD. We actually did an entire summer summit dedicated to culture and our core values.

As with any organization, Buehler says recruitment plays a pivotal role in maintaining culture with much of the interview process focussed on whether or not a candidate will align with the companys core values.
In this case, the employer withheld final holiday pay from two employees when they left and failed to match a national rise in the minimum wage for another worker.

While they fixed the issue when they became aware of it and paid arrears back to the employee, this penalty is a good reminder the onus is on the employer to get it right and ignorance is no excuse, said Milne.

Ultimately, the Employment Relations Authority ordered Kings Curry House, trading as Tandoori King, to pay $6,000 in penalties, in addition to the $7,865.21 in arrears already paid to staff.

Every employer in New Zealand must provide their employees with all their entitlements, such as at least the minimum wage for every hour worked  anything less will not be tolerated, reminded Milne.
When you think of what's needed in a country ravaged by civil war, a food crisis and a cholera outbreak, family planning might not be the first thing to spring to mind - but it's vitally important and its impact will saves lives.

Ahead of the Family Planning Summit in London on 11th July, I caught up with Mary, a wonderful midwife who works with CARE International in South Sudan, the world's youngest country.

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Mary Poni Daniel works in Parieng Primary Health Care Centre, Ruweng State in South Sudan. Many of the women Mary works with are refugees who have fled from the war in Sudan. Even in the midst of a refugee camp people still engage in activities that constitute everyday human needs - that includes having sex. In light of this, women who happen to be living in these settings have a more urgent and desperate need for family planning services. Why? Because for them contraception can literally mean the difference between living and dying.

I'd read up on the situation in South Sudan ahead of my call with Mary, and was stunned by the country's maternal mortality rate. The nation has one of the highest mortality rates in the world. Here in the UK, a woman's chances of dying in childbirth are approximately 1 in 39,000. Mary reported that in her hospital, it is higher than 1 in 60. Most of these deaths could be prevented if there were more health professionals, medical supplies (clinics are often looted) and - without doubt - family planning services.

I'd heard that there is a shortage of midwives at Mary's hospital, and I was keen to hear about staffing levels. Mary explained that where she works, a typical day involves two trained midwives looking after around 50 women. What an astonishing contrast to the hospital where I work, where we try to achieve one-to-one care, so that a woman in established labour has one midwife who looks after her throughout her labour and birth.

Mary's daily role is full and much broader than a midwife's role in the UK. Aside from the typical activities, there is a huge emphasis on health education and advice on family planning. Mary's very much involved with advising all women, not just the ones who have just given birth, regarding family planning. In South Sudan families are traditionally large, which is great, but having many children needs to be done safely. Mary speaks to the women she sees about healthy birth-spacing - this has enormous health benefits for the mother and to the babies born to her. Children born 3-5 years apart are twice as likely to make it to age 5 in comparison to those born less than 2 years apart. Another harrowing fact is that a woman who has more than 4 children is at increased risk of maternal mortality so informing her of the risks of increased family size and how contraception may prevent this could potentially save her life.

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I felt so heavy hearted after speaking to Mary. The conversation was a real eye opener and it gave me a perspective I didn't have before. The work she does really is life-saving work - but sadly, there's a lack of funding for it. Worldwide it's estimated that there are currently around 214 million women living in developing countries who want to delay or prevent pregnancy, but have an unmet need for effective contraception simply because they don't have access to it. It's so important that women have access to contraception and control over their bodies and this includes women living in areas of conflict, like South Sudan.
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In the middle of a refugee crisis, which is too often framed by divisive, hate-fuelled debate, it's easy to forget what happens to asylum seekers once they arrive in the UK.

Often those fleeing abuse, torture and war, including families with children, are detained and incarcerated.

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The UK in fact operates one of the most draconian systems. In France, migrants can be detained for a maximum of 45 days. In the UK, unlike any other country in Europe, has no limit.

Those, often already traumatised can be detained for months, or even years, often without hope and any idea when their incarceration will end.

And now Refugee Action's latest research lays bare the horrific experiences of refugees who aren't detained but are still let down by the UK system. They are hungry and homeless, suffering in extreme poverty because they are wrongly denied assistance or there are enormous delays in getting support.

Last week 120 people, including former detainees, spent five days walking from Runnymede to Westminster. The walk is organised by Refugee Tales each year in solidarity with refugees, asylum seekers and detainees. I met up with them in Battersea Park in the heavy afternoon heat to join the final leg of the walk.

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The first person I speak to is Tom, not his real name, who is waiting for his asylum claim to be processed. His story is hard to listen to.

He grew up on the streets of Kathmandu, without a family or a home, but was sponsored to come to the UK to study and begin a new life.

But then his sponsor died. Tom immediately informed his university, to assure them he would still pay his fees. The university promptly reported him to immigration authorities. He was detained for four months, shunted between four different centres.

He travelled back to Nepal to try to get help from a charity, but was thwarted by the devastating 2015 earthquake.

Now 22, Tom is back in the UK but is still waiting to find out if he will be given refugee status. In the meantime, he's studying again and has completed his first year of a social work degree - at a different university.

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The Green Party is the only party proposing a complete end to detention. Not just ending indefinite detention, but shaking up our system so no one is incarcerated at all. Immigration detention is inhumane, costly and totally unnecessary.

During the election campaign, our women's manifesto was launched at Yarl's Wood detention centre, shining a light on the particular risks to women in detention centres, many of whom are survivors of sexual violence.

The Green Party believes asylum seekers should be part of the community while their claim is processed, and applications should be processed within three months. The applicant deserves to access public services until a final decision is made.

To detain those fleeing war and persecution isn't just cruel, it also staggeringly expensive. It costs more than 30,000 to detain one person for a year with over 30,000 migrants are detained across the UK's 11 detention centres.

Despite the obstacles the system creates there is still hope. On the walk I met Lee, a refugee from China - tortured by the Chinese government for protesting over Tibet - who has now built a life in the UK.

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But it wasn't an easy or quick journey. He arrived in the UK in 2008 and was detained for seven months, then again for another six. He met others in detention who had been there five years.

Now, in 2017 after finally getting refugee status, he is married with two children and runs his own small business in south London.

But of the 20 former detainees on the walk, even now only Lee has refugee status. He's the only one who can be open about his experiences. The other 19 people - who are still waiting for decisions on their asylum applications and have no idea when they will get an answer - cannot speak out for fear it might jeopardise their claims.

This is what Lee is most adamant about highlighting when we meet. Until their applications are approved, asylum seekers have no voice. They are wary of appearing in any photos or videos or their names making their way into the public domain because even the slightest misstep could make their future far worse than it already is - and then what can they do?

Their voices have been stolen by a system stacked against them. Instead asylum seekers must rely on others to tell their stories for them, which is why the work of Refugee Tales is so crucial.

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There is so much more we can do for refugees. Reinstate the Dubs amendment to help child refugees reach safety. Widen reunification plans so families dispersed by war can find each other again.
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When Donald Trump tries to sneak in to the UK, be careful! This is a president that should come with a health warning. Here's five ways Trump is bad for public health around the world.

Making climate change worse

Climate change has been described - in the Lancet - as the "biggest public health challenge in the 21st century." Globally, climate change will lead to increased malnutrition, hunger, water shortages, and an increase in preventable illnesses like malaria and diarrhoea, as well as an increase in extreme weather events, which displace people and destroy livelihoods. Yet Trump denies climate change exists. He has packed his administration with the fossil fuel lobby and climate change deniers, and pulled money from environmental agencies. He has ramped up fracking. (Although it is always worth remembering that even Rex Tillerson opposes fracking if it happens in his own backyard.)

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Worst of all, Trump has pulled out of the Paris climate change agreement. This is not just a dereliction of duty; it's a declaration of war on the health of seven billion people.

Lowering food standards

If, or when, the UK government attempts to strike a trade deal with Trump, it's likely to lead to a massive lowering of food, health and safety regulations that are designed to protect and promote public health. When the EU and US recently tried to negotiate a trade deal, TTIP, the EU's unwillingness to compromise its relatively high food and farming standards was one of the main reasons the negotiations to come to a standstill: one person's health and safety standard is another's trade barrier. But trade is fundamentally about power, and whilst the EU was able to stand its ground, the UK is unlikely to be able to stand up to the power of US multinationals which will be desperate to see UK agriculture 'opened up', so that they can export hormone treated beef, chlorine washed chicken and GM crops. All of this will force British farmers to lower their standards so that they can compete. Farmers in the UK are worried, and rightly so. These standards are there to protect public health: you are what you eat after all.

Attacking women's rights

On his first day in office, Trump signed the global gag rule, decimating funding for family planning and maternal health projects. A version of this rule has been implemented by every Republican president since Ronald Reagan, but Trump's goes much further than any previous rules, effectively stopping any health funding, by any department - not just international family planning funding - going to NGOs that are thought to be 'promoting' abortion. That makes its financial implications '14-16 times' worse than previous versions of the rule. But it probably won't have desired effect. Eliminating access to contraception will result in more unintended pregnancies and more back street abortions. This is exactly what happened last time the gag rule was implemented.

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Because of the extent of the ban, it could also threaten progress on HIV, TB and malaria as well, as all of this is closely linked to family planning and sexual and reproductive healthcare.

Worst of all though, Trump could be setting a dangerous example by legitimising attacks on women's rights, which are vital for women's health. Campaigners in Central America have warned that it will fuel to the conservative backlash in the region, which has already seen women and girls being denied abortions even if they have been raped.

Privatising the NHS

Here in the UK, a future trade deal with Trump could threaten our most loved institution, which provides health care to all people regardless of their ability to pay. Of course, for this reason alone there are plenty of people in the UK who would like to see the back of it - not least the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who wrote a book about privatising the NHS. That fact helps explain why the UK government is unlikely to make a serious attempt to protect the NHS in a trade deal with the US, just as they refused to use the tools open to them to meaningfully protect the NHS in the now stalled TTIP negotiations. This will mean that the UK's healthcare 'market' will be open for business for US companies. If we want to keep and improve a public NHS, we need to oppose Trump-ed up trade deals.

Ramping up the failed War on Drugs

Strict drug laws have unintended health consequences. Criminalising drug users, and the stigma attached to drug use, make it harder for people to access medical care or social services, or get a job. And the lack of controls on drug strength and purity, due to prohibition, increases the rates of overdoses and means that drug injection is frequently done with unsterile equipment, increasing infectious diseases.

But it's not just users that are affected. The wider population also suffer, as strict drug laws tend to restrict access to even essential drugs and medicines. So when opium/heroin is illegal, this can make morphine hard to get for those in severe pain, particularly in the global south. And when producers' crops get destroyed as part of the 'war on drugs', farmers find themselves poorer than they already were and unable to afford food or healthcare.

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Unfortunately, Trump is all set to escalate the failed war on drugs. He wants to be 'ruthless' towards drug users at home whilst escalating the militarisation of the war on drugs abroad. At the same time, Trump is reducing the amount of money being spent on development in the global south. This is exactly the opposite of the general consensus on where drug policy needs to go. Indeed, many countries (and US states) have been moving towards decriminalisation, regulation and pro-development approaches, fed up with the cycle of poverty and violence that the war on drugs had created. But this (slow) progress is all being cast aside in Trump's bid to be the next big man on campus.
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Never before have the manifestos of both major parties been - both simultaneously and so obviously - written for audiences other than the public. The Conservative party's programme was written for the House of Lords so the revising chamber could not block its 'tough' reforms. Labour's was for the post-2015 members of the Labour party anticipating a huge loss and then an epic battle over the soul of the party.

It is fair to say the former repelled older voters, in particular, from Theresa May and her 'team' of local candidates, depressing turnout with a key plank of the Tory base - pensioners. The latter, however, enthused young voters to both register and vote for Jeremy Corbyn and Labour candidates across the country.

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Labour's manifesto had vision - which most agree its two, if not three, predecessors lacked; it had policies easy to explain; and, with clear appeal to very different parts of the electorate and - despite its contradictions - very much felt like it added up to more than the sum of its parts. There was much in it that I, and every progressive in Britain, would like to see achieved under a future Labour government. On national security it reflected agreed conference policy and it avoided the issue of foreign policy almost entirely.

This manifesto will be the blueprint for a future winning Labour manifesto, in the same way, as Stephen Bush at the New Statesman has pointed out, much of the contents of the 1983 manifesto were reiterated in the 1997 successor and then implemented by Tony Blair's government. I look forward to this happening; I just hope there are not 14 years in the intervening period.

The manifesto, however, is not perfect. It risks being talked about as sacred text, a new age bible of the left. This would be wrong. First, it was not the most leftwing manifesto on offer - the distributional impact of measures when taken together would give more to the middle classes and less to the poor. Other than soaking the super rich, it bares a striking resemblance to the Tory distributional impact for 90 per cent of the public. It was the Liberal Democrats who offered real change for the bottom income groups.

Second, it did not contain the radical reform that Britain's economy so desperately needs. There was higher spending and renationalisations but little that would change the short-term, casino capitalism that Ed Miliband had within his sights, nor any measures to address the asset-less in society who are really falling behind. In a text exchange with a close friend of mine who regularly calls people with my politics a 'red Tory', I asked for a definition. They replied: 'Someone who thinks all the spending on schools, hospitals and tax credits compensates for leaving behind a neoliberal economy and an unreformed banking system.' Had this manifesto been authored by any other wing of the party, John McDonnell and his friend would be saying the same about Labour's 2017 offer. So much for the challenge to neoliberalism many were promised.

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Third, while the manifesto had costings attached to individual items it was not costed as a document. Had the Tories not run an argument-free campaign and avoided the economy as a key dividing line the spurious revenue identified and the considerable spending associated would have been scrutinised - and most likely found wanting.

So what does Labour do with a good, but not perfect, manifesto?

First, it should accept the Institute for Fiscal Studies worst-case scenarios for how much the tax measures would bring in. This would close down a massive line of attack. It should then cut its cloth accordingly: the difference between Labour tax and spending 50billion and 38billion is not the difference between whether it is anti-austerity or austerity-lite. The language of priorities is the religion of socialism, after all.

Second, McDonnell should promise that any revenue raised over the IFS's projections will be spent on deficit reduction. This would confound his critics and show that Labour will attempt what the Tories will never do: fund public services and pay down the deficit.

Third, reprioritise some of the 11billion allocated for free tuition fees for the middle classes and filthy rich to reverse the Tories' benefits cap and to provide grants for those not going to university. In 2015, Jim Murphy offered a 1,600 'future fund' grant to all Scottish 18- and 19-year-olds not in higher education.

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Finally, retain the renationalisation of Royal Mail and the railways (not that I agree with the latter, but to certain voters it seems to be a solution to their dire transport problems) and promote alternative energy providers (something I enthusiastically support), but drop the pointless renationalisation of water companies that seems to have no measurable benefit, no recognisable support in the country and could be hung around our necks by the Tories in a decent campaign.

An election could come at any time. The next Labour manifesto must be battle-ready, it must not contain hostages to fortune - no one wants to win like Francois Hollande and destroy your party because the programme is so undeliverable - and be written for the voting public. The only thing we can be sure about in politics is the next Tory manifesto definitely will be.
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Ever since I had the misfortune of seeing Jack Renshaw, the leader of proscribed hate group National Action, wishing one of his white supremacist members a merry Yule I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the links various far right haters have been attempting to make with Paganism.

In much the same way that Britain First have tried to co-opt Christian values and Isis have tried to usurp Islamic values I am starting to see my own faith become associated with a misrepresentative and unwelcome element and one that I worry will cause the same confusion and controversy for Pagans that the idiots in Britain First and Isis have done for the Abrahamic faiths.

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To some extent it is easier to co-opt Paganism than it is Islam, Judaism or Christianity. We have no single scripture or doctrine that spells out what it is to be a Pagan or what our beliefs entail. The holy scriptures of the three Abrahamic faiths clearly detail what being a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim involves. Pagans enjoy no such clarity, to be a Pagan can mean something very different to every individual who identifies under the umbrella term of Paganism. This makes it hard to deny somebody as a part of the faith as there is no objective set of rules we can point to as being broken.

The far right have a definite need to identify with a faith. This is because a good deal of their prejudice is targeted at those with differing religious beliefs. Historically they have attempted to align themselves with Christianity in order to fuel their prejudice against Muslims and Jews but as the tactics the far right deploy in their persecution of UK minority faiths move further and further from the teachings of Jesus Christ they have increasingly started to usurp the Pagan faith as an alternative.

The fluidity of Paganism is one of the elements that attracts the far right. As a non-prescriptive faith there are no hurdles to overcome to self-identify as a Pagan. There are no mandatory rites of passage, no set holy days, no learning or memorising of scripture. There is no formal initiation into Paganism. It is therefore perceived by some as a faith that requires minimum effort to adopt.

The far right are attracted to Paganism as they perceive it in some way as being the traditional faith of the 'English' people. A faith that predates Christianity, Islam and Judaism appeals to their obsession with Nationalism and their white heritage. It is interesting to note however how inconsistent they are with this as those of the far right who do try to adopt Paganism focus very much on the Nordic Gods and Nordic mythology of the Vikings who, rather ironically, would have been the "invaders" and not the indigenous settlers of the British Isles.

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On a base level the far right are drawn to Paganism for the Hollywood associations with the Occult and spiritual power. Our ranting far right keyboard warriors enjoy the delusion of power that claiming to be Pagan gives them. Undoubtedly it boosts their false sense of self-esteem while tweeting hate speech to their 100 Twitter followers from their Mum's spare room in their Superman pyjamas.

The modern definition of what it is to be a Pagan is very different to how pre-Christians would have worshipped their Gods. When the far right talk about Paganism they are attempting to identify with the Pagans of old as justification for the use of using primitive tactics to destroy cultures that differ to their own. But this is too simplistic as it negates many hundreds of years of human growth and development. Just as we no longer do our cooking in holes in the ground we no longer see and perceive the world in the same way that our ancestors did. When the far right talk about the conflicts between pre Christian communities and how those conflicts were settled with violence they fail to understand that we have evolved as a society since then. Pagans in the modern world do not see violence and prejudice as constructive tools.

Interestingly, the belief that pre Abrahamic societies and in particular the far right's beloved Vikings were all about violence is a myth. The Vikings were pragmatic and practical people who would usually attempt a trading relationship with other countries before involving themselves in any conflict. If the far right truly want to emulate the Vikings they would do better to involve themselves in matters of farming and trade than they would in violence and disunity.

I have said Paganism is a diverse and hard to define faith in modern times and this is true. Perhaps the one thing though that all Pagans would identify with is a reverence for nature. Nature is an all-encompassing term to mean both the planet and the living creatures on it. This includes fellow human beings. It is not in keeping with the spirit of Paganism to wage war and genocide against other humans. Hate has no place in a Pagan world view.

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There is sometimes a misconception that Paganism lacks the morality of the Abrahamic faiths and that as such it offers more wiggle room for those wishing to speak hate against their enemies. Although there is no specific doctrine of morality, the values by which Pagans choose to live their lives are closely associated with liberalism and with the ideas of equality and social justice. This belief system is far more in keeping with a left wing political view than it would be the right wing and certainly has very little in common with the divisive beliefs of the extremist far right.

In summary, the ethos of Paganism is a poor choice of faith for those hell bent on disparaging and discriminating against their fellow human beings.
Our cities are gradually becoming "smarter". Sensors are proliferating, measuring everything from traffic flow and power usage to environmental conditions, and its this data which is giving city administrations the opportunity to tackle problems in a more incisive, timely way.

But who decides which problems merit the smart city treatment? If those sensors and back-end systems provide a useful solution, does that mean the city is beholden to the company that provides them? And  most crucially of all  who owns the data that's at the centre of this whole concept?

Recent years have seen some interesting developments. Citizens have wielded sensors to provide radiation data in Fukushima, air quality data in Amsterdam, and measure damp levels in housing across Bristol. Now, Barcelona is preparing to experiment with citizen-led internet of things and sharing economy pilots, with the aim of making the best of local data without any need for monolithic online platforms.

However, this isn't the how the smart city concept has largely played out so far. Instead, its found itself being pushed by the likes of IBM and Cisco in their quest for new business.

"Tech companies would make agreements with city councils, promising to address classic issues that cities that are growing have, such as mobility, pollution, waste and so on, by deploying their technological infrastructures," said Mara Balestrini, a technology strategist whose Ideas for Change consultancy has been advising Barcelona, Bristol and other cities.

"City councils realised they had privatised the public space"

According to Balestrini, the administrations buying in this technology initially had little idea how it really worked. "Nobody wants to be the mayor of a non-smart city," she said. "[But then] city councils realised they had privatised the public space. What we now know is that data has a lot of value."

"Smart cities were mainly implemented through technology-led logic, very much influenced by big technology providers," agreed Francesca Bria, Barcelona's digital chief. "This meant going with the technological infrastructure first  [installing] sensor networks, data-gathering devices and connectivity, and only then starting to think, 'What are the real problems and needs that we are addressing?' This led to city administrations solving technology's problems, not the citizen needs that you need to address as a key issue in government."

Bria was hired a year ago by the new, leftist administration of mayor Ada Colau, a champion of grassroots politics who has made waves by taking on big US tech platforms such as Uber and Airbnb. Consequently, Bria's mission is very much one of realigning the power balance of the smart city.

"You can end up with a black-box operating system where the city itself loses control of critical information and data that should be used to make better decisions," Bria said. "Another problem with the privatised way is basically the business model is creating dependence on very few providers We saw [this lock-in] previously in public administrations with Microsoft, for example. Now, in the smart city case, this lock-in would be extended to the entire urban infrastructure of the city. We're talking about transportation, better waste management, even water, energy, distributed green infrastructure. It's a big problem for a public administration, losing control of the management of the infrastructure."

So what's the solution? Figuring out the city and citizens' needs, then looking at the appropriate technology and, according to Bria, making sure that the technology is open-source to maximise interoperability. This doesn't just boost competition among suppliers and help cities share knowledge; it also allows the city administration to stitch together the smart city's various infrastructural patches.

"One of the main problems Barcelona had was non-interoperability," she said. "You [had] a sensor network solution for your lighting system and another for your pavement and another for measuring quality of water management. That's three different systems not talking to each other in a standardised way, and where the city couldn't access the critical part, which is the data."

Barcelona's new approach is to "recognise that the citizens are the ones that own the data," Bria said. Along with Amsterdam and a dozen other partners from the worlds of academia, tech and consultancy, the Catalan capital is involved in consortium called Decode that has 5 million worth of funding from the European Commission  and that could end up stimulating genuinely grassroots rivals to Silicon Valley's "sharing economy" platforms.

"The citizen gets to decide what data they want to donate, and on what terms"

"The citizen gets to decide what data they want to donate, and on what terms. Data is not centralised in the hands of very few players," Bria said of Decode's aims. "This is the first step to creating next-generation collaborative economy platforms that are more distributed and sustainable."

The project may also find a way through one of the thorniest issues about the smart city: privacy. Much of the information that powers smart cities is personal data that comes from and can identify individuals, particularly when data from different sources is correlated. If, for example, citizens put sensors in their homes to measure noise levels or air quality, they will first have to get over the fact that these sensors might capture information about them too. So the consortium is considering the use of blockchain technology, together with encryption, to provide a fine-grained permissions system for accessing and controlling data.

"We are implementing Decode so that the citizens can say, 'OK, I only want to share this data with my community, or with the city, because if the city gets this data, they can do something about the noise level','' Bria said.

According to Balestrini, some new city administrations have discovered that their predecessors signed long-running deals with technology providers that left the new councils having to buy their own cities' data from those providers, rather than being able to harvest their own  because the technology was proprietary, only the vendors could access the data.

"It's fascinating when you start to see how much data can be collected in the city and how useful it is, but also how dangerous it is if the data is only in the hands of private companies," said Balestrini. "People are developing more awareness. At the same time, city councils are hiring people that have more skills and can inform them that having this and that data can deliver better services, save money and so on."

Damp-sensing frogs

Barcelona isnt the only city to spearhead a citizen-led vision of interconnectivity. Closer to home, in the UK, there have also been serious attempts to build smart services from the ground up with communities. In Bristol, the local city council was among several backers of a project called Dampbusters, which began in 2015 and is preparing to enter its second iteration. Run by the Knowle West Media Centre, a community arts organisation and "living lab", Dampbusters was a "city commons" exercise in helping people identify their needs, build the connected tools to address them, and manage the resulting data in a communal way.

"We decided we needed a framework for explaining what citizen engagement looks like and what it is. It's not the same as just convening a focus group or trying to recruit people to a technology project. It's creating a level playing field where people can co-design the solution," said Carolyn Hassan, the centre's director.

The project employed artists to chat to locals in the community and figure out what they needed  according to Hassan, artists "are perhaps sceptical of some of the smart city language but are interested in how you work with people".

After considering a few alternatives, the team and community settled on the issue of damp in homes. They set about designing sensor-laden devices, resembling frogs, that people could use to measure temperature and humidity  and, importantly, to get feedback on what they should do about damp and where they find it. "We learned that once people understand what the problem was, they want to know their device is giving them information rather than just taking information," said Hassan.

The second generation of "Frogboxes" may include LEDs in the frogs' eyes, to show when the damp problem is reaching a critical level, Hassan said. The first generation already inspired one community member to set up a business servicing the sensors, and generated data that was given to the council to help it tackle the damp problem.

"There's potential for using some of these technologies to enable new kinds of jobs and skills"

Hassan noted that involving the community to this degree isn't just about making people feel part of the project, rather than subject to it. There's also scope for boosting local employment. "In terms of jobs, a lot of the focus of investment in technology has been focused on the high end," she said. "We need many more better-paid jobs in communities like Knowle West. We're thinking in terms of developing community-based micro-manufacturing. There's potential for using some of these technologies to enable new kinds of jobs and skills."

The big beasts of technology  Cisco, IBM and Google, to mention just a few  will continue to play a key role in smart city development. But as community-led projects develop and share knowledge of how to tackle the problems they face, there's every reason to hope that control of the technology, and the data it generates, will increasingly end up in the hands of the citizens it's supposed to be serving.
The late state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi left more than $7,000 toward astronomy programming at the North Adams Public Library.

Cariddi's 'Mysterious' Gift Has North Adams Library Looking Up



Library Director Mindy Hackner says the library will develop programming and materials on astronomy with Cariddi's gift. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  No one's quite sure why state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi's left a "mysterious and magical gift" to the library in support of astronomy.

But the city is "very, very grateful for this gift," Mayor Richard Alcombright told the City Council as it voted to accept the amount of $7,465.47.

The check came to the library from the late representative's account at the North Adams Municipal Employees Credit Union and is designated specifically for "Learning Materials on Astronomy Only."

"What is there to say about this mysterious and magical gift from Gail?" Library Director Mindy Hackner said. "Perhaps those who knew her well in this room can answer that question. Why astronomy?"

Why astronomy? No one really knows. The mayor smiled that it's because "Gail always shot for the stars."

Hackner said she and Cariddi had crossed paths on occasion but her apparent love of astronomy had never come up. It was puzzling for a library in the "storytelling business" not to have a story to tell. Maybe, Hackner said, she believed that all of us are stardust, or like some Native Americans that we will meeting again on the path of the Milky Way.

"Or maybe she wanted us to look up from our gadgets and devices and gaze at the night sky in awe and wonder," she said.

City Clerk Marilyn Gomeau said the longtime former councilor was interested in genealogy, and particularly what time - not what day  people were born.

"She always used to tell me it had something to do with the moon," she said. "So I believe that's where her interest came ... Nobody knew that except for my office."

Hackner said the donation (likely the close of Cariddi's account) would be used for materials and programming once a plan is decided.

"We want something lasting, and we're thinking it needs to be the whole library," she said.

The public library also was listed for memorial donations in Cariddi's obituary and gifts are continuing to come in, Hackner said. She planned to meet with Cariddi's sister, Antoinette, before deciding how those monies will be used.

Whatever the reason for the astronomical gift, Hackner said,"she will be remembered as a North Star, constant and true, orienting us toward kindness, humility and service."

In other business on Tuesday, the council approved transfers of $387,499.17 from the Public Service and unclassified accounts to close out debit accounts. The mayor said all the transfers are internal and do not touch reserves.

"This is a very normal use of using credits against debits. ... This is basically saying that our budget is technically in the black," he said, adding the city was anticipating "a pretty healthy number" for free cash this year.

 The council also approved George Sansoucy of George E. Sanscoucy Engineers & Appraisers of Portsmouth, N.H., as a special municipal employee for the purpose of doing consulting work with the assessor's office, particularly regarding the state's central valuation statute. The designation limits him to no more than 800 working hours in a preceding 365 days.

 Local resident David Willette, with the assistance of Peter Breen, gave a presentation on the benefits and ease of establishing dog parks in the city, pointing to the one created last year of Houghton and River streets as an example. He said there are several areas in the city that host a dog park, such as Kemp Park and the area behind the former Incarnation Church.

The council thanked him and referred him to the Parks and Recreation Commission for further discussion.

 An ordinance amendment to have meeting minutes of city boards and commissions published for public access within two weeks of a meeting was referred to the city solicitor. The amendment had been brought forward by the General Government Committee. Councilor Lisa Blackmer endorsed the idea but was concerned about what would happen if board secretaries were unable to comply within the two-week limit.

In relation to that discussion, the mayor asked if the city clerk could give a workshop for boards and committee on agendas and minute taking in an effort to standardize how such documents are presented and ensure they are complying with state law. Blackmer agreed, saying some were still using "old business/new business" without spelling out what that business was to comply with Open Meeting Law.
The recently opened Express Mart convenience store on Simonds Road received the town's permission on Monday to sell wine and malt beverages.

Williamstown Selectmen Approve Package Store Licenses



The Store at Five Corners, seen in this file photo, has opened once again. The Selectmen have approved sales of wine and malt beverages at the store in South Williamstown. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Board of Selectmen on Monday approved two new package store licenses  one on the north end of town and one at the south.

The Store at Five Corners in South Williamstown and the Express Mart at the corner of Simonds Road (Route 7) and Sand Springs Road were before the board seeking licenses to sell wine and malt beverages.

Ramesh Chaudhari addressed the board on behalf of the Express Mart, which opened a couple of months ago in a property that formerly had a gas station and convenience store. The current operation is a convenience store only, the only retail operation of its kind serving the northwest corner of town.

Chaudhari told the board that he also operates the Cozy Corner hotel across Sand Springs Road and plans to manage both operations.

Michael Lewis, the manager for Berkshire Five Corners Inc., told the board he has a history at the Store at Five Corners, having managed its alcohol sales in 2010. The store has reopened after its most recent closure and is looking again sell spirits at the junctions of Routes 7 and 43.

Chairman Hugh Daley reminded Lewis that the town periodically conducts compliance checks of all its retail and hospitality establishments with alcohol licenses.

"It's our intention to make sure compliance is very strict and we have very good records," Lewis said.

The board asked both applicants if they had received TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures) training, a requirement for managers at establishments that serve alcohol and a recommendation for package stores.

Lewis said he had undergone the training. Chaudhari was accompanied at Monday's meeting by one of his employees who had undergone the training.

Selectwoman Jane Patton, who has experience in the hospitality field, told Chaudhari that there are several people in town who are certified to do the training or he can find an online course and encouraged him to ask her for help finding a course.

"For what it's worth, I card anyone who looks like they're under 50," Patton said. "It makes them feel good, and it doesn't take any time."

Both applications were forwarded with the town's blessing to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission in Boston.

Monday's brief meeting included an update from Daley about the discussion surrounding a planned November special town meeting on expanding the Mount Greylock Regional School District.

Daley explained the recent decision by the Mount Greylock School Committee to temporarily suspend its own Regional District Amendment Committee and shift the conversation to the elementary school committees in member towns Lanesborough and Williamstown and said that the chairs of the two elementary school committees are working to create a working group.

"It's best for the towns with their individual school committees to understand what the options are before we move up that government structure  to understand what we're giving up and what we're gaining because there would be gains [from full regionalization]," Daley said. "The elementary school committees are, I think, the best place to figure it out."

In other business on Monday, Town Manager Jason Hoch told the board about a recent agreement that could potentially net the town tens of thousands of dollars.

The potential windfall is tied to the town's solar project on the capped landfill near the transfer station.

"The way this works is when we got into the [solar] business, generally, on net metering, we had to register," Hoch explained. "When you register with the state, regardless of the size or scope of the project, you're given a 10-megawatt ticket. You sign up for how much of it that you're going to need for your project.

"We're just using about 1.5 megawatts. That covers all of our municipal building, the Fire District and Mount Greylock. Because we get the 10-megawatt block 'tickets,' we have this capacity. It ends up being a salable commodity for someone looking to develop a solar project for a government entity."

Through its consultant from Beacon Integrated Solutions, the town heard of a pair of solar projects in Chelmsford that were looking for a public host  a holder of net metering credits.

In June, Hoch executed an agreement with the developer for half a megawatt (5 percent of the town's capacity) for compensation to the tune of $20,000 for years one and two and $10,000 in year three of a three-year deal.

"In all likelihood, we'd see it for the full 20- to 25-year lifecycle [of the project], but we'd go through in three-year increments," Hoch explained.

But there is no guarantee the "free money" will materialize, and Hoch was careful to explain that, "I can't spend this money yet."

"This all comes with the same caveat as our own project," he said, referring to extended delays that kept the landfill project from being built and from going on line. "If [the Chelmsford project] doesn't get built or if the credits aren't released 

"Our risk is if in this narrow window of time we align with partners who have bad luck  and we end up with two or three partners who all have projects that don't come to fruition. Then again, we have no expectation on this. This is all gravy anyway."

Hoch said there are not a lot of municipalities operating in the commonwealth that are "selling" solar credits, but Williamstown would by no means be the first one to do so. He also mentioned that town counsel had reviewed the agreement with SunRaise, the developer in question.

Hoch also announced Monday that the town will be visited on Wednesday, July 12, by staff from state Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield. The staff will hold office hours at Town Hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Appointments are not necessary but can be booked in advance by calling Hinds' Pittsfield office at 344-4561.
High performance, thermally-efficient DDR4 modules enable users to easily customize lighting

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products, today announced that its upcoming XPG SPECTRIX D40 RGB DDR4 has been certified compatible with ASUS AURA Sync software. This allows users of ASUS motherboards to personalize the RGB lighting elements built into D40 modules with choice of color range, lighting sequence, and more. SPECTRIX D40 modules have been optimized for the Intel X299 platform with a starting speed of 2666MHz. They are also compatible with AMD AM4 motherboards. Designed for gamers, overclockers, and case modders, SPECTRIX D40 DDR4 modules provide more options and customization features and support the trend towards builds that incorporate sophisticated RGB and LED.

Compatible with ASUS AURA Sync  flexible RGB customization

SPECTRIX D40 DDR4 modules have been fully tested compatible with popular ASUS AURA Sync software. Users of ASUS motherboards can easily control the RGB lighting on D40 modules via a convenient and intuitive interface. RGB effects, color sequence, intensity, on/off and additional features are all accessible to users thanks to guaranteed compatibility with AURA Sync, providing extensive case modding and personalization choices.

Faster baseline on Intel X299 and AMD AM4 support

SPECTRIX D40 modules have an SPD, or serial presence detect, configuration that defaults to speed of 2666MHz on the new Intel X299 platform and compatible processors such as the top-end Core i9 range. This compares favorably to other DDR4 module series that start from a slower 2400MHz. D40 modules are also compatible with the AMD AM4 platform and Ryzen processors.

Considerable overclocking potential

Owing to effective heat spreaders and conductive PCB materials, SPECTRIX D40 modules can be overclocked over 4000MHz on air and with no special cooling solution. Speeds may vary by BIOS and motherboard, but in all cases D40 modules are made for a combination of design and performance, without one coming at the cost of the other.

Currently, SPECTRIX D40 product availability is planned for late July/early August. Additional details will be made available when applicable.
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I don't think we sound like anyone else, I think we've got lots of different things going on with our music. But most magazines just want something they can easily identify and put in a neat little genre box. They don't seem to know what to write about us.

Joe Appleford, the BFG bruiser who spills his guts and provides deep, guttural, continent-shifting low end for Croydon three-piece Bad Sign, is not in a good mood. When we meet on a beautifully sunny heat-wave-haze of a day in South London, hes irate over a review that he feels has been cobbled together with little astute insight. To be fair, Appleford has every right to be somewhat miffed; whether gate-crashing summer festivals and playing barn-storming sets or supporting a cavalcade of diverse bands such as Black Peaks, Creeper, Heck or Tesseract and winning over initially hesitant crowds every time, Bad Sign have constantly proved themselves worthy of your attention. Theyve just come up with a superb debut album of riff after riff after melon farming riff that is all set to prove the sceptics wrong. You can form your own erudite opinion by pressing play on the stream below and listening to the debut full-length Live & Learn three days before its official release through Basick Records on Friday 14th July.

Bad Sign have been described by Appleford as an "outspoken band that refuses to conform to some of the standard band attitudes to releasing music and fitting in with scenes and genres". Their status (in some corners of the British music press) as bridesmaids but never the bride has been a fairly constant source of frustration since their formation in the summer of 2012, especially when you consider that ordinary folk (the ones who actually pay to go to gigs or buy a t-shirt) have taken to the band like a pig to s**t. Every time we play a live show and whatever bands we're playing with, we get a great reaction" says Appleford. "That fuels me and I know that given half the chance we could do such solid things. I've heard some obscene amounts of money being spent on records lately for other bands and if you gave us a 16th of whats being spent on those records, we could do something really special! But we need to understand that certain things aren't going to come easy for us in the way that they do with other bands.

With a British music press more obsessed by a bands story rather than the quality of their music, the likes of Bad Sign are in danger of disappearing amid a ghostly haze of guyliner, sob stories and appalling haircuts. Bad Sign are as no-nonsense as bands get; working class lads who marry Metallicas love of the riff with Oasiss unwavering self-confidence. Its a combustible combination that detonates with all the power of a thermonuclear warhead. On tracks like Liars & Lovers, Intermission and Attrition, its clear that Bad Sign dont need to bother fooling around with anything as trivial as gimmicks. I think some of these magazines might be taking the easy route says Appleford and in a way, I don't blame them because they've got to sell copies. But then you have a band like us, it feels like people don't want to invest the time to figure us out or imagine where we can go in the future with a bit of support. I could write pop songs, it'd be a lot easier to do that than what we do now and I'd almost certainly earn a lot more money doing it, but I choose to do something that I see as a little more worthwhile. Itd be nice sometimes if the press felt that way too.

Bad Sign are a particularly tricky feral beast to surmise, with traces of alt-rock, savage metal, furious punk and blistering hardcore all wrapped up in their sonic assault. But they are unquestionably idiosyncratic by design. All three of us like very different bands and we wanted to try and pull influences from as many of them as possible and put them into Bad Sign. It's quite hard to do that in an honest way but we dont want to be lumped in with any one genre; the grunge revival or nu-grave, all these things that are being pushed on people now. We're very happy and proud to be outside of those confines. I never want to be involved in a scene, because scenes die.

The band arent strangers to hard graft either, well versed as they are with the dilemmas and hardships that face a touring band that play uncompromisingly heavy music; their tireless work ethic has meant theyve barely been off the road since their formation five years ago. Our first tour was 26 dates in 30 days; we booked the whole thing ourselves, threw our gear in a van and went out all over the UK. We were sleeping in the back of a transit, showering at service stations but every night was like a big party. We've got this real loyal underground network from doing that which I believe is going to be the basis for how we elevate ourselves going forward. A lot of these bands that blow up overnight, the reason they collapse is because they've not done the graft, they've not done the hard work and so when something difficult comes their way, they crumble. I can already see the pressure getting to a few bands but that won't happen with us; we thrive on pressure. The more you throw at us, the tougher we get.

Appleford has lofty ambitions for Bad Sign and a strong sense of self belief which never slips into arrogance; his grass roots upbringing safeguards his ego from ever running rampant. A plan is in place that, if executed successfully, will help Bad Sign realise their dreams of headlining big venues across the country. Stranger things have happened; Biffy Clyro come up multiple times in our conversation, a band that were adored by the people and tolerated by the press for three albums and several years before signing to Warner Bros and blossoming into the arena rock behemoths they are today. Applefords aspirations echo the Ayrshire trios career trajectory.

Everyone used to take Biffy out on tour, he says and I think we're in a similar place to where they were before they released their first album (2002's Blackened Sky). Bands like to take us out on tour and Biffy had this great following, people liked them and I think people like us as well. We're a band of the people, we come from nothing but were trying to make something of ourselves and its key for us to keep pushing forward as a band. Were not writing songs for the press, were writing songs that we want people to love and that warrant being sung back to us in a 10,000 capacity tent or at Brixton Academy. And thats just the first big step we want to hit, eventually we want to be playing the likes of Wembley and The O2 Arena, we have those high ambitions. Its all about visualising these things and then putting the hard graft in behind it.

Live & Learn, the debut album from Bad Sign, is released Friday 14th July and is available to pre-order through Basick Records
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Giant pandas could be wiped out despite conservation efforts being hailed as a success, according to a new study.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently decided the bear was no longer officially endangered but was merely vulnerable to extinction.

This still means the animal faces as high risk of extinction in the wild  rather than the previous very high chance  but the new research suggested its true plight was perhaps being underestimated.

Writing in the journal Ecological Modelling, scientists from Beijing Forestry University said the number of giant pandas and the total area of suitable habitat had increased over the past 10 years.

But they also said habitats had also become more fragmented with 73 per cent of local populations so small that they faced a high survival risk.

Some 55 per cent of groups of pandas had fewer than 10 individual members and only 33 per cent had more than 30, which is seen as the minimum number to ensure a populations survival.

We cannot just focus on the overall number of wild pandas and the total area of habitat, ignoring habitat fragmentation and population isolation, the researchers wrote.

They suggested that conservation efforts could be masking a more fundamental problem.

The giant panda survival crisis is complicated because of the co-existence of protection and interference, they said.

Animals in decline Show all 8 1 /8 Animals in decline Animals in decline Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) Where: Orkney Islands. What: Between 2001-2006, numbers in Orkney declined by 40 per cent. Why: epidemics of the phocine distemper virus are thought to have caused major declines, but the killing of seals in the Moray Firth to protect salmon farms may have an impact. Alamy Animals in decline African lion (Panthera leo) Where: Ghana. What: In Ghanas Mole National Park, lion numbers have declined by more than 90 per cent in 40 years. Why: local conflicts are thought to have contributed to the slaughter of lions and are a worrying example of the status of the animal in Western and Central Africa. Animals in decline Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) Where: Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Costa Rica. What: Numbers are down in both the Atlantic and Pacific. It declined by 95 per cent between 1989-2002 in Costa Rica. Why: mainly due to them being caught as bycatch, but theyve also been affected by local developments. Alamy Animals in decline Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) Where: South Atlantic. What: A rapid decline. One population, from Bird Island, South Georgia, declined by 50 per cent between 1972-2010, according to the British Antarctic Survey. Why: being caught in various commercial longline fisheries. Alamy Animals in decline Saiga Antelope (Saiga tatarica) Where: Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. What: fall in populations has been dramatic. In the early 1990s numbers were over a million, but are now estimated to be around 50,000. Why: the break up of the former USSR led to uncontrolled hunting. Increased rural poverty means the species is hunted for its meat Animals in decline Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Where: found worldwide in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas. Why: at risk from overfishing and as a target in recreational fishing. A significant number of swordfish are also caught by illegal driftnet fisheries in the Mediterranean Animals in decline Argali Sheep (Ovis mammon) Where: Central and Southern Asian mountains,usually at 3,000-5,000 metres altitude. Why: domesticated herds of sheep competing for grazing grounds. Over-hunting and poaching. Animals in decline Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) Where: the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to South Africa and to the Tuamoto Islands (Polynesia), north to the Ryukyu Islands (south-west Japan), and south to New Caledonia. Why: Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing and trading of the species

The total habitat area and the population size increased as the degree of fragmentation also increased.

They used catastrophe theory to analyse the situation laid out in the two more recent surveys of panda populations, carried out between 1999 and 2003 and then again between 2011 and 2014.

The [latest] data showed that 73 per cent per cent of the local populations had a high survival risk and 55 per cent of [local populations] included less than 10 individuals.

Habitat fragmentation and human disturbance were the most important factors that negatively affected ecosystem stability and increased the survival risk of pandas. Thus, panda survival crisis remains serious.



Concern is growing about the rate of extinction of species on the planet, largely as a result of human activity. This is now similar to extinction rates that took place during the five global mass extinction events over the past 500 million years, caused by a range of effects such as meteorite strikes and massive volcanic eruptions.

The astonishing demise of wildlife because of humans is one reason geologists are considering declaring a new epoch, called the Anthropocene after our species. The bones of extinct wildlife from our time will eventually help form a recognisable line in the rocks of the future.
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Donald Trump is being sued because of his behaviour on Twitter.

The president's unprecedented Twitter use  which he has said is "modern day presidential"  has landed him a range of criticism in recent weeks. But the new lawsuit actually focuses not on his tweets but something else more private: his blocking critics on the site.

The new case argued that it is unconstitutional to stop people following him on Twitter. (Blocking people bans them from seeing your tweets or sending replies to them while signed into the blocked account.)

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 lawsuit has been filed in Manhattan and cites seven people who are no longer able to talk to or hear from their president because he or his aides have blocked him. As well as the president, Trump, the lawsuit also named as defendants White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Dan Scavino, White House director of social media.

Jameel Jaffer, the institute's director, said dozens of people reached out after his organisation told the White House three weeks ago that it wasn't permitted to block individuals from following the president's 8-year-old "realdonaldtrump" account.

Recommended Donald Trump tweets about US Olympics

Trump doesn't seem to be the only politician trying to limit his audience. Jaffer said numerous people have said they were blocked from the accounts of Republican and Democratic politicians after posting critical comments.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., recently ruled that a local official's Facebook account was a public forum under the First Amendment, but higher courts have not yet addressed the issue, Jaffer said.

"It's fair to say that this is a new frontier," Jaffer said. "The First Amendment principle is well-settled, but the applicability of that principle to this context isn't an issue that the courts have yet had many occasions to address."

The lawsuit asks a judge to stop Trump and his media team from blocking critics from following his personal account, which has 33 million followers, 14 million more than (at)POTUS and 19 million more than (at)WhiteHouse.

Dawn Dearden, a spokeswoman for government lawyers, declined to comment.

According to the lawsuit, blocking people from following Trump's account was a viewpoint-based restriction the U.S. Constitution doesn't allow.

It noted that Trump on July 2 tweeted: "My use of social media is not Presidential  it's MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL." It also quoted Spicer saying a month earlier at a press conference that Trump's tweets should be understood as "official statements of the president of the United States."

Federal agencies and courts treat Trump's tweets as official statements, and The National Archives and Records Administration has advised the White House that the tweets must be preserved under the Presidential Records Act, the lawsuit said.

Among plaintiffs was Rebecca Buckwalter, a Washington-based writer and political consultant who was blocked from the account on June 6 after she replied to Trump's tweet saying he would have had "ZERO chance winning WH" if he'd relied on "Fake News" from major media outlets. Buckwalter received over 9,000 likes and 3,300 retweets after posting: "To be fair you didn't win the WH: Russia won it for you," according to the lawsuit.

Others to be blocked included Philip Cohen, a University of Maryland sociology professor who called Trump a "Corrupt Incompetent Authoritarian," and Holly Figueroa, a national political organizer and songwriter who was cut off May 28 after posting an image of the pope looking incredulously at Trump, along with the statement: "This is pretty much how the whole world sees you," the lawsuit said.

Additional reporting by Associated Press
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Donald Trump says he will not reign in his use of Twitter, despite criticism of his online behaviour.

Hes known to be a big fan of the social media platform, and chose to keep tweeting from his @realDonaldTrump account even after gaining control of the @POTUS account after becoming President.

In recent weeks, hes caused widespread controversy by using the platform to attack Mayor of London Sadiq Khan over his response to the London Bridge terror attack, and by posting an edited video of him wrestling with a man whose head had been replaced with a CNN logo.

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

Its my voice, Mr Trump said of Twitter in a short interview with the New York Times Mark Leibovich, published this week.

Mr Leibovich had encouraged the President to keep tweeting, describing his social media updates as far more illuminating than anything the White House press office could ever disgorge.

Mr Trump assured him that he would.

They want to take away my voice. Theyre not going to take away my social media, he said.

The President recently described his use of the micro-blogging site as not Presidential, but MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL.

In March, he also told FOX News: Well, let me tell you about Twitter. I think that maybe I wouldnt be here if it wasnt for Twitter, because I get such a fake press, such a dishonest press.

Recommended Donald Trump sued for blocking people on Twitter

He added: Much of the news. It's not honest. And when I have close to 100 million people watching me on Twitter, including Facebook, including all of the Instagram, including POTUS, including lots of things  but we have  I guess pretty close to 100 million people. I have my own form of media.

The President is currently being sued for blocking people on Twitter.

According to the lawsuit, which has been filed in Manhattan, blocking people from following Mr Trump's account is a viewpoint-based restriction the US Constitution doesn't allow.
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Humanity is currently receiving its best ever pictures of one of the solar system's most intense spectacles.

Nasa's Juno spacecraft is sending back images from its trip to scrape by Jupiter and take pictures of the Great Red Spot on its surface. That swirling red image  created by a storm bigger than the Earth on the planet's surface  has fascinated people for centuries, and they may now get a look at how and why it happens.

The Juno spacecraft flew a mere 5,600 miles over the planet's surface, taking images and readings as it did so.

But it will take days for all of the pictures to travel through the solar system back to Nasa scientists on Earths. And it will take weeks, months or even years to know the full implications of what we can see there.

Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427  more commonly known as WR 124  and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead  sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later  having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region

Scientists hope the exercise will help unlock such mysteries as what forces are driving the storm, how long it has existed, how deeply it penetrates the planet's lower atmosphere and why it appears to be gradually dissipating.

Astronomers also believe a greater understanding of the Great Red Spot may yield clues to the structure, mechanics and formation of Jupiter as a whole.

"This is a storm bigger than the entire Earth. It's been there for hundreds of years. We want to know what makes it tick," said Steve Levin, the lead project scientist for the Juno mission at JPL.

Levin said the storm is believed to be powered by energy oozing from Jupiter's interior combined with rotation of the planet, but the precise inner workings are unknown.

Some of the most valuable data from Monday's flyby is expected to come from an instrument designed to peer into the red spot at six different depths, Levin said.

The churning cyclone ranks as the largest known storm in the solar system, measuring about 10,000 miles in diameter with winds clocked at hundreds of miles an hour around its outer edges. It appears as a deep, red orb surrounded by layers of pale yellow, orange and white.

The red spot has been continuously monitored from Earth since about 1830, though observations believed to have been of the same feature date back more than 350 years.

Once wide enough to swallow three Earth-sized planets, the famed Jovian weather system has been shrinking for the past 100 years and may eventually disappear altogether.

Still, the spot remains the most prominent characteristic of the solar system's largest planet, a gargantuan ball of gas  mostly hydrogen and helium  11 times the diameter of Earth with more than twice as much mass as all the other planets combined.

Monday's encounter with the Great Red Spot was the latest of 12 flyby missions currently scheduled by NASA for Juno, which is to make its next close approach to Jupiter's cloud tops on 1 September.

Additional reporting by Reuters
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Mobile phones are everywhere. In fact, they may be nearly as common on the African savanna as they are on American subways.

With the explosion of mobile technology in developing countries, a common narrative is that phones are transforming poor peoples lives. Phones, the story goes, reduce the effort required to search for information and make commerce more efficient.

As technology has spread, so has research on its effects. With support from the National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration, I study how Maasai pastoralists in Tanzania respond to various issues, including biodiversity conservation, globalisation and technology.

Recommended Mobile phones could soon work properly on London Underground

I and others are learning that mobile phones are changing lives, but perhaps not as much as some may think.

Phones as new tools

Recent studies have found that phones are critical new technologies to combat pastoralists greatest challenge: uncertainty.

Cell towers, few and far between, provide patchy coverage in rural Tanzania (Timothy Baird)

For generations, herders have moved across the landscape in search of forage and water for their livestock. Social networks are paramount for sharing information, but communication has long been challenging.

Now, with phones, herders can share information easily, quickly and over great distances.

The Tarangire River is a critical source of water during the dry season (Timothy Baird)

In Benin and Ethiopia, researchers have found that phones help facilitate social connections for Fulani and Borana herders, respectively. But efforts to leverage phones for broader economic gains are hampered by illiteracy and limited cellular coverage.

Among Maasai herders in Kenya, one study found that phone use is widespread but people largely communicate within their existing social networks. Establishing new connections is much less common.

Another study from Kenya found that Samburu herders dont rely on phones during drought periods. Its risky to move herds in search of water, and herders fear being misled by informants about where valuable resources are.

In the hands of the Maasai

A Maasai man accessorises with a beaded phone holder (Timothy Baird)

Recently, collaborators and I interviewed hundreds of Maasai in northern Tanzania to learn how they use mobile phones. In 2010, half of the households in our study area used phones. Now virtually all households do.

As one of our respondents commented, The phone is one of the best tools we have ever seen.

In our new paper, Joel Hartter and I describe how Maasai are integrating phones into most aspects of their lives.

Like earlier studies, we found that Maasai use phones to support traditional herding activities. Herders call each other to locate resources or notify others when health emergencies arise. We also learned that they use phones for many other activities, including getting information that helps them farm.

Rain-fed agriculture poses a different challenge in this semi-arid region where rainfall is highly variable. Unable to move fields to water, Maasai try to coordinate their planting with the onset of the rainy season.

This is a precarious proposition each year. But with basic phones, Maasai call experienced smartphone users who can download weather forecasts. Demand for these few individuals is so high theyve become like medicine men.

Young warriors use phones to take pics at a political meeting (Timothy Baird)

In addition, phones help communities manage persistent conflicts with wildlife. Elephants, zebra and bush pigs can devastate agricultural fields. And lions and other predators can threaten livestock and people alike. Maasai now use phones to communicate about about wildlife and avoid conflicts or reduce their consequences.

And phones support commerce. Maasai can make calls to check prices for livestock and other commodities at different markets. Pictures of animals can be texted around to prospect for buyers. Mobile banking applications help users conduct transactions and monitor their accounts.

Phones are also drawing Maasai into less traditional activities. Young people use phones to play video games, store music and flirt on WhatsApp and Facebook.

Phones also lie

Our respondents also told us that some people are using them to lie and cheat and steal.

As the Samburu herders of Kenya found, Maasai people also lie to callers about the locations of valuable forage or water. Young brides use phones to arrange extramarital rendezvous. And criminals can use phones to lure victims to meetings to ambush them en route.

Maasai have strong traditions surrounding lending and gift giving; requests for a loan or a gift are typically made in person. People seeking assistance can use a phone to call ahead before paying a visit. Someone who doesnt want to help can lie and say theyre not around.

As traditionally spiritual people, Maasai can be superstitious about phones. Respondents described instances of witchcraft where people received calls from mysterious numbers and instantly died. They also expressed grave concern about the fact that they, just like other phone users around the world, feel phantom phone vibrations.

Taken together, these issues seem to have weakened community ties. Respondents told us that while phones make group meetings easier to arrange than in the past, its harder to get people to attend. In many ways, phones help people to be more independent  and individualistic.

Face-to-face communication is more common, more diverse

In addition to simply describing how Maasai use phones, we also wanted to see if people use phones to communicate with more types of people or about more types of information than they do face to face.

Solar panels on hut roofs are used to charge phones and power lights and radios (Timothy Baird)

In one of the most cited papers in social science, Mark Granovetter found that weak ties with acquaintances were more useful for finding and securing job opportunities than strong ties with close friends and family. The value of weak ties is that they provide new, diverse types of information.

We thought that phones may be helping people to expand their weak ties and broaden their horizons. What we found instead was that face-to-face communication was more diverse among the Maasai than phone-based communication, even when controlling for factors like age, wealth and education.

These findings are well aligned with those from other studies of phone use in developing communities. Generally, phones support longstanding, culturally ingrained activities  they dont transform them. One change, though, is that phone use amplifies issues of trust and distrust.

These are some early findings, and many questions remain. This year, with funding from the National Science Foundation, we will begin examining how phone use affects the social networks of Maasai men and women differently.

Timothy D Baird is an assistant professor of geography at Virginia Tech. This article was originally published on The Conversation (www.theconversation.com)
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A couple who lost their two young sons in a car crash two years ago are now the proud parents of twin boys.

Gentry and Hadley Eddings welcomed Isaiah Dobbs and Amos Reed into the world on Monday, and were given their middle names in honour of the older brothers theyll never meet.

The couple were 28 years old when they lost their two-year-old son Dobbs in a car accident in North Carolina in May 2015.

Hadley, who was eight-months-pregnant at the time of the crash, had the baby delivered by emergency C-section, but he passed away two days later.

Proud dad Gentry poses with his newborn twins (Family Photo)

Truck driver Matthew Blair Deans, 28, was sent to prison for ramming into them while distracted. The couple say they have since forgiven him, saying: "We hope to be holding hands with you in heaven with our children."

He was released at the end of November after serving just over a year.

Their new pregnancy was announced on Facebook earlier this year, with the message: Y'all have held us up in prayer and we are so grateful! Now we ask you to add two more Eddings to your prayers! We are expecting twins this summer!

The couple says that their faith helped them through their tough two years.

Gentry is a worship leader at Forest Hills Church in Charlotte, while Hadley teaches pre-school at the church.

In 2015, the couple said: God has our boys in a place of peace, so I am in a place of peace,'

"God has a plan. The situation is a frustrating one. We don't want to be here. We don't like it. This is not a fun situation. We're mad at the loss. But we know God is good and has a plan and we believe that.

"I hate that this happened. I don't like it at all. But I can trust God even when it's really hard. I just trust it. I have to, I have to."

A GoFundMe page set up by the couples friends after the accident has raised more than $200,000 over the past two years, but the couple want donations sent to Mission of Hope Haiti instead, where they have both served.
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Happiness is overrated. Instead, try allowing yourself to be totally miserable. It might make you happier than you have ever been. Let us explain.

Browsing social media and being confronted with friends scoring dream jobs, creating perfect families and sunning themselves on beaches can create the impression that everyone else is in some unending state of euphoria. And there you are, laying on the sofa with one hand in a bag of crisps and the other holding your phone, an hour into a scrolling session.

But constant happiness is overrated. Not only is it overrated, but its totally unachievable.

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In fact, says Gina Clarke, a psychotherapist at Click for Therapy, expecting to be constantly happy is harmful. Everybodys mood fluctuates, we all have ups and downs and a widen range of emotions, she says, pointing towards the kids movie Inside Out as an analogy.

"If we expect to be constantly happy, then we judge that to feel any other emotion is wrong and therefore we internalise that we are bad if we feel sad, angry, frustrated, and so on, when in actual fact in order to feel happy, to process the difficult stuff that happens, we need to accept other emotions.

And if, as studies suggest, half of workers in the UK would rather be in a different job; some 60 per cent of people report being in an unhappy relationship; and social media is making us unsatisfied, it's unlikely that everyone around you is as happy as they seem. And you might hope that were not all doomed to endure these feelings for the rest of our lives.

That's why experiencing sadness or discomfort can be useful. Take running: every second of pain is being invested into a healthier body and better mental health.

Feeling sad or uncomfortable is similar to standing on a broken leg and feeling pain, explains Clarke. When we feel sad or uncomfortable it is our mind's way of telling us that we are out of balance, that emotionally we are in pain and we need time to heal. With a broken leg we ask for help, see a specialist. If we did this when we felt sad or uncomfortable it would help us to process and heal. The first step is acknowledgement and then assessment - do I need to leave the situation, ask for help, talk with a friend, seek professional support?

Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Show all 18 1 /18 Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health Sow Ay illustrations on mental health

When feelings of sadness and worthlessness are all-consuming, it is vital to visit a doctor and assess your mental health, as these can be symptoms of depression or other serious conditions. But dreading going into work but feeling happy in other aspects of life, or the odd pang of sadness can be a catalyst for trying to unpick what is causing these feelings.

From what Ive seen, and Ive worked with a lot of clients, a valuable key to contentment and or fulfilment is acceptance. Acceptance of ourselves, acceptance of whats happening in our lives, acceptance of those around us, says psychotherapist Hilda Burke. On the other hand, wishing things were other than what they are is a sure fire way of making ourselves unhappy as it keeps us in a stuck place in our heads where we are imagining how life could be better another way, with another partner, in another job and as such were inevitably missing whats just under our noses and failing to appreciate that good things that are there."

This is where self reflection is key, says Clarke. If we feel unhappy in the moment we should ask ourselves why, whats going on, and assess our emotions over time. Some people write it down, journal, some talk with others, some just note then feelings.

"Once you get to the root causes of how you feel, it becomes much easier to change your mood," chimes Phillip Adcock, psychologist and author of Master Your Brain. "I recommend playing the why, why, why game. In it, you ask yourself why you feel unhappy, and why is that, and why is that really. Keep going until you get to the root cause of your unhappiness."

In the long term, then unhappiness might just be the key to happiness.
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Faced with a sharp decline in rates of smoking in the West, the tobacco industry has pumped money and resources into opening up markets in places where taxes and regulations aren't always so restrictive.

Africa is one of the most important of those.

It had the lowest number of tobacco related deaths among World Health Organisation regions in 2010 but that might soon change.

The attractions of the market to all sorts of businesses are becoming increasingly clear.

A rising number of its people are pulling themselves out of the poverty that has defined the continent for too many years, and its economies are growing, some at a rapid rate.

If the industry can hold off regulations designed to control the sale of tobacco, and taxes to make smoking it more expensive, those economies will provide a rich seam of revenues for years.

The Guardian this morning cast a deeply unflattering light on the activities being undertaken to that end.

Its report focuses on British American Tobacco, one of the worlds biggest tobacco manufacturers that is soon to become the biggest.

An internal investigation, for which BAT retained law firm Linklaters, is ongoing into allegations by a former employee that officials in East Africa were bribed to undermine anti smoking laws. So well park that for now

What report says about the legitimate activities is, anyway, quite troubling enough.

The approach used, as portrayed in the report, is to deploy very similar arguments to the ones that have been defeated in the West. And, just as happened in the West, to make aggressive use of every possible lever to frustrate efforts to regulate tobacco products in ways the industry doesn't much like.

If this concerns you, as it does me, you may find it disquieting to consider that you and I are probably invested in BAT, and other tobacco giants, through our pensions and savings.

We could therefore be considered complicit in what the company is doing. That being the case, I would hope that the institutions that manage our money, and thus control our votes at the AGMs of tobacco companies, will use the clout they have to raise questions.

For its part, BAT has always argued that it is not opposed to regulation per se. In fact, I was told by a spokesperson that it is "simply not true that we oppose all tobacco regulation, particularly in developing countries".

"We agree that as a product that poses risks to health, tobacco should be appropriately regulated. As a result, we do not oppose sound, evidence-based regulation that has gone through a formal consultation process and delivers its policy aims.

However, where we feel that regulations are unlawful, may have unintended consequences or are failing to deliver their policy aims, we think it is entirely reasonable to ask the Courts to assist in resolving it. This is an approach we take in both developed and developing nations  having done so in countries like the UK, France, Canada and Australia.

Make of that what you will.

While the companys activities might comply with the law, the bigger question is whether they are ethical? Thats very much open to debate.

Tobacco is a legal product, but it is a profoundly destructive one. As such it needs to be tightly regulated, and taxed, both as a necessary deterrent, and so that the costs of caring for those stricken by the illnesses that can impact those that use it are covered.

Rich Western countries have imposed advertising bans, plain packaging, and high taxes, among other things, all of which have successfully reduced the use of tobacco.

A range of organisations, including the World Health Organisation, Britains Department for International Development, and even Bloomberg, have chipped in with money and expertise, with the aim of achieving the same results in Africa and in other parts of what is commonly known as the developing world.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

However, the report suggests that they will have to prepare for a long and grinding struggle.

It is a battle that will ultimately be won, as it was here. But, by fighting and delaying legislation and regulation at every turn, the industry will make a lot of money along the way. And a lot of people will die.

In the course of researching this piece, I was pointed by Action on Smoking & Health to a study by Prabhat Jha, founding director of the Centre for Global Health Research in Canada. He estimated that the number of tobacco related deaths in the 21st century could top 1bn. Thats a sobering figure.
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The first batch of an anticipated 4,000 dairy cows was flown into Qatar Tuesday, five weeks after the start of a Saudi Arabia-led boycott of the Gulf country.

A shipment of 165 cows, sourced from Germany and flying via Budapest, are ready to produce milk immediately and the product should reach local markets this week, according to a spokesman for Power International Holding, which is importing the animals.

Other shipments will include cows from Australia and the US, and should arrive every three days, the company spokesman said Tuesday. In total, the bovine airlift is expected to bring in the 4,000 cows within about a month.

Led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar has been accused of supporting Islamic militants, charges the sheikdom has repeatedly denied. The boycott that started on 5 June has disrupted trade, split families and threatened to alter long-standing geopolitical alliances. The showdown has forced the worlds richest country per capita to open new trade routes to bring in food, building materials and equipment for its natural gas industry.

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As part of its response, Qatar has imported Turkish dairy goods along with Peruvian and Moroccan fruit.

Until last month, most of the fresh milk and dairy products for Qatars population of 2.7 million was imported from Saudi Arabia. When all the cows purchased by Power International Chairman Moutaz Al Khayyat are flown in, his brand of milk will supply about 30 per cent of the countrys needs, he said in an interview last month.

Bloomberg
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An arm of the technology giant Samsung has decided not to set up its European headquarters in London because the city is not a fun place to live unless you are really rich.

Speaking to The Times, Felix Petersen, the managing director of Samsung Next Europe, a $150m (117m) technology fund owned by the South Korean company, said that Berlin had been selected as a location for the fund instead.

He told the paper it had become increasingly hard for people to build companies in London and that there were no reasonably priced neighbourhoods left.

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In the German capital you can do stuff without much money, he said, adding that the city is home to uncommercialised zones.

In London, the cost of living, the cost of getting around and the infrastructure mean its not a fun place to live unless you are really rich, especially for young people, he said.

For those wanting to have children, London has become virtually impossible to live in, he added.

The average house price in London has crept up to close to 500,000 this year according to official data, making it one of the worlds most expensive cities. Berlin is still considered relatively affordable, especially compared to other German cities, like Munich and Frankfurt.

In additon to the cost factor, London is battling to retain talent in the aftermath of the UKs vote last year to quit the European Union.

Scores of banks are considering shifting staff and their European headquarters away from London to the continent, in order to be able to retain crucial passporting rights and provide clients with a seamless service after Brexit.

Earlier this week, the chief executive of Societe Generale, speaking at a conference, said that the French bank could move 400 banking jobs from London to Paris because of Brexit.

At the same conference, JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon reiterated plans to increase headcount at JPMorgans Frankfurt office and HSBC chief executive executive Stuart Gulliver said about 1,000 of HSBCs 43,000 jobs in the UK would probably move to mainland Europe, underscoring comments made in January.

But so far London appears to have at least retained its appeal for investors in the tech sector.

According to figures published by London & Partners last week, the Mayor of Londons promotional agency, venture capital firms pumped more than 1.1bn into the citys technology sector over the last six months.

The report showed that Londons tech sector attracted more venture capital investment over that period than any other European city since the Brexit vote, including Dublin, Paris and Amsterdam.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

More than four times the amount of investment was recorded than at the same stage during 2013 and more than during any other six-month time period in the last decade.

Investment across the whole of the UK topped 1.3bn.

Samsung is the worlds biggest producer of memory chips and is Asia's third-largest company by market capitalisation.
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Southern Rail apparently put a 15-year-old on work experience in charge of its Twitter account on Tuesday, and he instantly endeared himself to the networks long-suffering passengers.

The task may have seemed an unenviable one, given the torrent of anger that under-fire Southern often faces on social media.

But after a series of witty and light-hearted responses, the teenager, known only as Eddie, garnered widespread praise for his performance.

Stepping into the breach just one day after Southern staff walked out in the latest of a series of strikes, Eddie nonchalantly announced his arrival with Hi, Eddie here! Here on Work Experience and ready to answer your questions! :)"

The laid-back opener drew a flurry of increasingly bizarre questions which the teen batted off with aplomb.

Would you rather fight 1 horse sized duck or 100 duck sized horses? asked Adam Winstone, to which Eddie replied: 100 duck-sized horses. A horse-sized duck would be pretty scary! You? ^Eddie

Duncan Ingrim chimed in with: Hey Eddie, do you think Jon Snow is going to meet Daenerys and Tyrion and rule Westeros?

Eddies quick-witted response: I'm sorry. I never get a chance to watch Channel 4 news. ^Eddie

Tom Cox had another classic "would you rather" conundrum: URGENT QUESTION - Eddie, would you rather have rollerblades for feet or chopsticks for hands for the rest of your life?

The obvious answer, of course, was rollerblades.

Rahul Desai threw out a potential banana skin for the youngster, requesting his opinion on rail nationalisation. Eddie wisely swerved the question.

Perhaps the tweet that drew the most praise was his response to the burning question of whether there would ever be a man who could swim faster than a shark.

Hi, I don't think so but you never know there could be a girl that can, Eddie responded, prompting replies of great work Eddie and  I love you.

Eddies performance was so assured that he was offered further work experience by ScotRail, and also spawned the hashtag #askeddie.

The British Transport Police were so impressed that they tweeted: We think Eddie deserves a permanent position! He is smashing it!

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

One Twitter user noted: I've never seen so much positivity on the @SouthernRailUK Twitter feed.

Eddie confirmed he would return on Wednesday but, at the time of writing, had yet to take the reins.

This morning the @Southern feed was filled with somewhat more prosaic 140-character dispatches: Due to a fault with the signalling system at #Dorking, services are subject to delays running through this station".
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A growing number of women around the world are going under the knife to change the appearance of their reproductive organs, plastic surgeons have said.

Labiaplasty, an operation to reduce the length of the inner folds of skin on either side of the vagina, was named the worlds fastest-growing type of cosmetic surgery in a new study.

In 2016, 45 per cent more labiaplasty procedures were carried out than in 2015, according to data gathered by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS).

The news comes after concerns were raised last week over young girls choosing to have surgery on their genitals because of body insecurities that stem from social media and pornography.

Leading adolescent gynaecologist Dr Naomi Crouch told the BBC girls as young as nine were seeking the cosmetic procedure because they were distressed by the appearance of their vulva.

More than 200 girls under 18 had labiaplasty on the NHS in 2015-16  more than 150 of whom were under 15, according to the broadcaster.

ISAPS asked around 35,000 doctors in 106 countries to submit data on surgical and non-surgical procedures performed in 2016 as part of its annual survey.

The organisation found that breast enlargement surgery was the worlds most popular cosmetic procedure overall, followed by liposuction, eyelid surgery and nose jobs.

 CNN reporter posts video of 'humiliating vaginal pat down' by airport security

Dr Lina Triana, an ISAPS member and plastic surgeon working in Colombia, said labiaplasty should not be compared to female genital mutilation, which is internationally recognised as a human rights violation.

Unfortunately, this is a common misunderstanding, but nothing could be further from the truth, she said, adding that many women choose to have the procedure to reduce pinching and chafing, or sores caused by excess labia skin.

Most female patients request labiaplasty to help minimise pain, while others request it to improve the aesthetic appearance of their genital area. This procedure empowers women, and helps them achieve a better quality of life through increased comfort and sexual confidence, she said.

However concerns over women undergoing drastic surgery in the pursuit of a designer vagina remain, with the chair of the British Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology saying young girls undergoing the procedure in Britain were doing so out of choice, not medical necessity.

Girls will sometimes come out with comments like, I just hate it, I just want it removed, and for a girl to feel that way about any part of her body  especially a part thats intimate  is very upsetting, she said.

Other procedures that were more popular in 2016 than the previous year were a lower body lift which increased by 29 per cent, upper body lift and breast augmentation using fat transferred from elsewhere in the body, both of which were up 22 per cent year-on-year.

Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. 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Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. 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The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests  but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty

The number of buttock lift procedures also increased by 20 per cent in 2016, the study found.

There was an overall increase of nine per cent in all surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures within the last 12 months, said ISAPS.

The top five countries  the USA, Brazil, Japan, Italy and Mexico  together account for 41.4 per cent of the worlds cosmetic procedures.
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There were 35 deaths caused by measles in European countries in the last year  an unacceptable tragedy, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Despite the availability of a safe, effective vaccination, measles outbreaks are continuing to spread across Europe, warned the agency.

The majority of fatalities were in Romania, where 31 people have died after catching the infectious disease, which causes sore eyes, rashes and cold-like symptoms and can lead to serious complications such as ear infections, pneumonia, and deafness.

Recommended France to make vaccinations mandatory from 2018

Since June 2016, there have also been two measles-related deaths in Italy, including the most recent victim of the disease, a six-year-old boy, while local health authorities in Germany and Portugal have each reported one fatality.

Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, the WHOs regional director for Europe, said every death or disability caused by this vaccine-preventable disease is an unacceptable tragedy.

We are very concerned that although a safe, effective and affordable vaccine is available, measles remains a leading cause of death among children worldwide, and unfortunately Europe is not spared.

Working closely with health authorities in all European affected countries is our priority to control the outbreaks and maintain high vaccination coverage for all sections of the population.

The combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine (Getty Images)

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced last week that parents in France will be legally obliged to vaccinate their children from 2018.

He said it was unacceptable that children are still dying of measles in the country where some of the earliest vaccines were pioneered.

All the vaccines which are universally recommended by health authorities  11 in total  will now be compulsory in France.

The move follows a similar initiative in Italy, which recently banned non-vaccinated children from attending state schools.

Anti-vaccine movements, whose followers are known as anti-vaxxers, are believed to have contributed to low rates of immunisation against the highly contagious disease in a number of countries.

In 1998, the British doctor Andrew Wakefield published a controversial and since-discredited study in The Lancet, which purported to show a link between the MMR vaccine  for measles, mumps and rubella  and autism in children.

Exhaustive scientific research, including a comprehensive 2014 review using data from more than 1.2 million children, have since concluded that no relationship between vaccination and autism.

Dr Wakefield was struck off the medical register after his report was found to be fraudulent.

However, many parents still choose not to vaccinate their children, with around 24,000 children in England each year at risk of measles, mumps and rubella because they have not been immunised against the diseases, according to Public Health England.

Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests  but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty

It is recommended that at least 95 per cent of the population is vaccinated against measles to ensure good protection against outbreaks of the disease.

But coverage is estimated to be lower than this in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and Ukraine.

While measles is no longer endemic in 37 European countries, according to the WHO, remaining pockets of low immunisation coverage allow the highly contagious virus to spread among those who choose not to vaccinate, do not have equitable access to vaccines or cannot be protected through vaccination due to underlying health conditions.

A recent survey found more than three out of 10 French people dont trust vaccines, with just 52 per cent of participants saying the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks.

And just 85.3 per cent of Italian two-year-olds were given measles vaccinations in 2015, down from 88 per cent in 2013.

Isabelle Sahinovic, the WHOs Vaccine Safety Net co-ordinator, has said that dangerous misinformation about vaccines continues to spread online.

Every day, misinformation about vaccines continues to proliferate on the internet, she said. This is dangerous.

We need to make sure that all parents, caregivers, and healthcare professionals can easily access accurate and trustworthy information about vaccines.

In Romania, where under 80 per cent of the population are vaccinated against measles, according to the Health Minister, anti-vaccination campaigns have been led by religious organisations and public figures.

Romanian celebrity Olivia Steer, a former TV presenter, has called vaccines a myth, stating on television that they are not necessary and can cause health problems including autism.

Poverty and lack of access to health services could also be behind increased outbreaks of measles in the country, with the WHO warning of the largest measles outbreak recorded in recent years in the country.

Romania is facing critical vaccine shortages or delays, including of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, along with a substantial drop in immunisation coverage, the organisation said.
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A nurse has described how the chaos of working in the A&E department of an NHS hospital has left her broken, warning that the health service is on its knees.

In the detailed account of a 13-hour shift posted online, Anna, who asked The Independent not to use her full name, said she would often cry with exhaustion and overwhelming stress after finishing work.

Nurses have threatened to strike for the first time in history over staff shortages and low pay, with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) calling the Governments decision not to scrap a 1 per cent pay freeze for NHS staff a bitter disappointment.

The RCN has announced a series of protests over working conditions this summer, warning that low pay is fuelling a recruitment and retention crisis and risking patient safety.

Anna, who has been qualified for seven months, told of how she was called in for a shift due to low staffing levels at A&E and found herself in a team of two despite there usually being six nurses in the department.

Treatments are piled up, chest pain, sepsis, confusion, intoxication, the list goes on, she wrote. I took over seven cubicles, each of them needed all of the initial assessments, three needed morphine, all needed a new set of observations.

Finally compiled my priorities to get on with my septic patient and the alarm bell goes. Cardiac arrest, our priorities suddenly shift.

Despite the efforts of Anna and her colleague, patients were forced to wait for treatment while the corridor was full of queuing ambulances and weve nowhere to put them, while the phone is ringing out as there is nobody to answer it, she said.

After almost an hour of trying we didnt get our patient back RIP. We have just enough time to call relatives in and the red phone goes, severe asthma and young.

Rush into [resuscitation] to prep what we anticipate to need, patient arrives looking dreadful and observations confirmed it. Then another arrest.

Again, we click into action. This is what weve trained so hard for right?

The RCN says there are 40,000 vacant nurse jobs in England, with more nurses and midwives leaving the profession than joining it, according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Figures obtained by the Council showed that between 2016 and 2017, 20 per cent more nurses and midwives left the register than joined it.

The Department of Health has said they are making sure we have the nurses we need to continue delivering world-class patient care, with nearly 13,100 more on the wards since May 2010 and 52,000 in training.

But high stress and a real-terms pay cut of 14 per cent since 2010 was discouraging people from joining the profession and pushing existing nurses to hand in their notice, said the RCN.

 Nurses protest at Department of Health over pay cap

Our already huge workload was piling up every minute, I have not had a spare split second today, none of us have. How can it be that 13 hours is not enough time? wrote the nurse in the post, which was widely shared on Facebook and Twitter.

How can it be that now im finally where I want to be, I cry with exhaustion and overwhelming stress with every shift. I do not want to feel like this any more.

Anna said it is the people and patients need that keeps her going in amongst all the chaos.

My worry is how long I can keep this up, she added. Whats even sadder, is that Ive had to work extra agency shifts to be able to afford a four-day UK caravan holiday for my family.

Nothing posh or fancy, just time away from the holidays. What was left over from my wages wasnt enough to cover it.

The NHS is on its knees, and we are too."
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The vast amount of waste water produced by fracking can contaminate rivers, lakes and other waterways with radioactive material and hormone-affecting chemicals, according to new research.

The study tested sediments and groundwater downstream of a treatment plant in Pennsylvania that was designed to make the water used as part of the fracking process fit for release into the environment.

The scientists, from Pennsylvania State University and other academic institutions, discovered that despite this process there were high loads of chloride, barium, strontium, radium and organic compounds in the Conemaugh River watershed.

Stream sediments in Blacklick Creek, just downstream from one treatment plant, were found to contain about 200 times the level of radium upstream of the plant.

The highest concentration of radium found was just 14 per cent below the level at which it would have to be treated as radioactive waste in some US states.

However the researchers said the risks of the pollutants discovered were difficult to assess.

Writing in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, the scientists said: Large quantities of oil-and-gas wastewater with high loads of chloride, barium, strontium, radium, and organic compounds have been discharged into the Conemaugh River watershed.

Stream sediments in Blacklick Creek immediately downstream of centralised waste treatment plant number one were found to contain [radium] levels that were about 200 times greater than activities measured in upstream and background sediments.

Elevated concentrations of radium and other alkaline earth metals have now been detected in reservoir sediments about 19km farther downstream of this plant.

Despite several other sources of contaminants such as coal bed methane, coal mine drainage, and flue gas desulfurization releases that can impact surface water quality, we document multiple lines of evidence that indicate the legacy of unconventional oil-and-gas wastewater disposal has impacted stream sediments and porewater [groundwater] on a watershed-scale.

They said while the amount of fracking wastewater was relatively small compared to the volume of the stream it nonetheless had a measurable impact.

Risks posed by the pollutants buried in the sediment and porewater of the Conemaugh River Lake are difficult to assess, the paper added. The watershed is not used as a source of drinking water, the researchers added.

Fracking involves forcing water and other substances, which can include radioactive ones, into cracks in porous rocks that contain significant amounts of fossil fuels.

It has become common in the US, accounting for more than half of oil production and two-thirds of gas production.

In the UK, the Conservatives have said they want to see a fracking revolution in the hope of providing a noticeable boost to the economy.

But the partys general election manifesto said this could only be done if we maintain public confidence in the process, if we uphold our rigorous environmental protections, and if we ensure the proceeds of the wealth generated by shale energy are shared with the communities affected.

Environmentalists argue that developing fracking in Britain is a mistake because it is opening up another source of fossil fuels when the country should be looking to reduce emissions. Supporters argue that gas produced in this way is greener than coal or oil.

The Conservative think tank Bright Blue has argued the priority should instead be to promote cheap renewable energy, like wind and solar.
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People in the UK are giving hundreds of thousands of pounds a year to Islamist extremists  sometimes unwittingly  in donations, a Government review has revealed.

Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, said the most common source of support for Islamist extremist organisations in the UK is from small, anonymous public donations, with the majority of these donations most likely coming from UK-based individuals.

In some cases these organisations receive hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, she added.

This is the main source of their income.

Ms Rudd said donors may not know or support the organisations full agenda, but a short summary of the report released by the Home Office did not provide a breakdown.

Some Islamic organisations of extremist concern portray themselves as charities to increase their credibility and to take advantage of Islams emphasis on charity, it said.

Some are purposefully vague about their activities and their charitable status.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd claimed national security reasons and the personal information contained in the report meant it could not be released in full (PA)

The Home Secretary said she had decided not to publish the full classified report because of the volume of personal information it contains and for national security reasons, but said that Privy Councillors from opposition parties would be invited to read it.

The decision was attacked by political opponents including the shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbott, who said the public has a right to know the governments, foreign and domestic groups and individuals who are funding extremism.

Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas dismissed the summary as utterly vague, calling the decision completely unacceptable, while Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron called on the Government to name and shame known culprits.

Haras Rafiq, CEO of the Quilliam counter-extremism group, accused the Government of whitewashing its findings, overlooking the alleged role of countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait in constructing mosques where radicalisation takes place.

This report may have identified charities and institutions that have received money from the British Government, he told The Independent, naming the Gift Aid scheme as a potential contributor.

National security is only impacted when youre talking about terrorism  this report was not about terrorism, it was about Islamist and extremist funding.

That excuse doesnt really fly as far as Im concerned.

 Amber Rudd announces probe into terror attacks response

Mr Rafiq said the Government could have redacted the names of individuals if needed but should name and shame the groups that are radicalising our youngsters.

Why not name them? Who are they? he added.

If I as a British Muslim was to read that statement and say I dont want to give money to those groups, how do I know who they are?

Amid widespread concern over influence from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations, the Home Office found that overseas funding was a significant source of income for a small number of suspected radical bodies, but for the vast majority of extremist groups in the UK, overseas funding is not a significant source.

It warned that foreign support has allowed individuals to study at institutions that teach deeply conservative forms of Islam and provide highly socially conservative literature and preachers to the UKs Islamic institutions, adding: Some of these individuals have since become of extremist concern.

The summary said the Government would be directly raising issues of concern, supported by evidence, with specific countries but did not name them.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said no commitment had ever been made to publish the full results of the review, adding: Contrary to suggestions by some media outlets, diplomatic relations played absolutely no part in the decision not to publish the full report.

Theresa May with King Salman (left) during a visit to Saudi Arabia in April (Getty)

Islam instructs followers to give 2.5 per cent of their wealth (zakat) to the poor every year, with additional pushes for charity during the holy month of Ramadan.

As well as numerous Muslim charities in the UK, mosques are run by charitable foundations that raise money for both their own running costs and other causes.

Many groups advertise on Islamic television channels, which are regulated by Ofcom, while others use print and online advertising, or local community networks.

Two British charities were investigated last year after allegedly being used to raise money for al-Qaeda and Isis, under the guise of fundraising for victims of the Syrian civil war and helping Kurdish Muslims in Birmingham.

Several other organisations have come under suspicion over alleged ties with jihadis fighting in Syria, while some have been linked to Anjem Choudarys banned al-Muhajiroun network and international Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir.

The Home Office report said regulation can improve transparency but some suspected extremist organisations are seeking to avoid regulatory oversight.

Its review, commissioned by David Cameron in November 2015, does not include the funding of terrorism or funding of extremism overseas from UK sources.

It gives us the best picture we have ever had of how extremists operating in the UK sustain their activities, Ms Rudd said.

Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Show all 9 1 /9 Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Policemen outside Rouen's cathedral during the funeral of Jacques Hamel, the priest who was killed in a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy on 26 July during a hostage-taking claimed by Islamic State group Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Two jihadists, both 19, slit Hamel's throat while he was celebrating mass in an attack that shocked France as well as the Catholic Church Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Muslims place flowers and hold a minute of silence in front of the church if Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, western France, where French priest Jacques Hamel was killed on 26 July Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Two people hold each other by the new makeshift memorial in Nice, in tribute to the victims of the deadly Bastille Day attack at the Promenade des Anglais Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the truck attack that killed 84 people in Nice on France's national holiday. Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31, smashed a 19-tonne truck into a packed crowd of people in the Riviera city celebrating Bastille Day Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Police work at a site where a Syrian migrant set off an explosive device in Ansbach, southern Germany, on 25 July, killing himself and wounding a dozen others Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis A Syrian migrant set off an explosion at a bar in southern Germany that killed himself and wounded a dozen others in the third attack to hit Bavaria in a week. The 27-year-old, who had spent a stint in a psychiatric facility, had intended to target a music festival in the city of Ansbach but was turned away because he did not have a ticket Friebe/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Police officers walk along train tracks in Wuerzburg southern Germany on 19 July, a day after a man attacked train passengers with an axe. German authorities said they had found a hand-painted IS flag among the belongings of the man, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, who seriously injured four members of a family of tourists from Hong Kong in his rampage Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis German police killed a teenage assailant after he attacked passengers on a train in Wuerzburg, southerg Germany with an axe and a knife on 18 July, seriously wounding three people Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/AFP/Getty Images

Fundamentally, no single measure will tackle all the issues of concern raised in the review.

A comprehensive approach focused particularly on domestic sources of support for all forms of extremism is needed.

The Home Secretary outlined steps including public awareness campaigns to ensure donors understand the full intentions of organisations they choose to give their money to.

Information will also be given to the financial services sector, grant making trusts and foundations, so they can ensure they are not inadvertently supporting jihadis.

The Charity Commission will be among the bodies tasked with bringing a higher proportion of supposedly charitable groups under regulatory oversight, introducing a new requirement to declare overseas funding sources.

A spokesperson said the change was agreed following a consultation last year as part of wider work to combat strategic risks facing charities and increase accountability and transparency.

Our plans to do this were already being proposed and developed before some of the issues raised by the governments extremism funding review were highlighted, she added.

Charities are already required to declare their overseas expenditure.

In the 2015/16 financial year, the Charity Commission opened more than 1,800 cases into concerns over charities but only ordered action 71 times.
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The London hospital treating Charlie Gard has been attacked by trolls angry about his treatment using Google reviews.

The High Court is due to hear fresh evidence on Thursday about experimental treatment in the US that the 11-month-old's parents want him to have.

Charlie suffers from a rare condition called mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, which means he is unable to move, speak or breathe on his own.

His parents want to take him to the US for the experimental deoxynucleoside therapy but doctors at Great Ormond Street petitioned the High Court to block the move and withdraw treatment, arguing it would cause him unnecessary suffering and make no significant improvement to his quality of life.

Although a similar therapy has reportedly shown improvement in other children, the proposed treatment for Charlie's strain of the condition has never been tested on humans.

The case was eventually referred to the Supreme Court, which ruled against the parents, but it has now been submitted to the High Court by the hospitals after a group of doctors said they had seen unpublished data which suggested it could help Charlie.

But trolls, angry that the hospital has been granted the power to withdraw life support without Charlies parents consent, have vented their rage on Google reviews where they claim the doctors are murderers.

One wrote: CENSORSHIP ALERT! People's Google reviews of this hospital are being deleted!

 Charlie Gard's parents urge courts to give boy 'chance he needs' with treatment

If you bring your child here, the staff might just let your child 'die with dignity' (be murdered).

Another, written in Italian, from Giovanni Bovini said: I am proud to be born in Tuscany, who is the first country in the world to abolish the death penalty in the distant 1786 (Grand Duchy of Tuscany), I can't believe that even today in Europe there may be doctors and a judge able to decide on the life of an innocent child.

You have lost three centuries of history and civilization. Shame, hands off Charlie Gard.

Google refused to say how many comments it had deleted but did say any negative comments that did not honestly reflect a users own experience would be deleted after it was flagged by another user.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA 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 year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction 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A spokesman told The Independent: "We have clear guidelines which govern the reviews allowed on listings.

If a user believes that a review violates these guidelines, we ask that they flag it as inappropriate. We will then take action as needed to remove the inappropriate reviews."

Hundreds more people have rallied to defend the hospital, which specialises in looking after children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions, by posting positive reviews on Google instead.

One, Kamina Bubbles, said: The reviews here say that doctors should not play god yet Charlie Gard is only still alive because these wonderful people are keeping him alive but at the cost of being so unwell and the poor child is just suffering.

I cant imagine what the parents must be going through but the pro life people should maybe go back to their place of praying and ask why God decides its a good idea to create ill children and make their loved ones suffer.

Another, Daniel James, said: It's amazing that you sickos leaving reviews don't care for a child suffering from such pain, with an incurable condition.

Would you rather let him be in pain and prolong his misery? You all should be ashamed.
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The police sergeant leading the operation to recover the deceased at Grenfell Tower has told of the painstaking process of identifying human remains one month on from the devastating fire.

Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) coordinator Sgt Alistair Hutchins said officers were facing huge emotional pressures due to the scale of the tragedy that claimed at least 80 lives.

Sgt Hutchins said 24 search-trained officers were working in the building, along with six archaeologists, conducting fingertip searches of every flat in the 24-storey block to locate any small fragments of bone, teeth or body parts that could later be identified.

The pressure it puts on you emotionally is huge. The DVI team are all volunteers and to ask them to enter a building like this and deal with the stuff they are finding is a big task for them, he said.

Its probably the worst incident that I have ever dealt with and I have been doing DVI for 18 years. I have dealt with many incidents and I have never come across one harder both emotionally, physically and challenging.

Sgt Hutchins said teams first entered the building on 14 June while the fire was still raging on some of the upper floors.

Our job was to form a tactical plan  so where the deceased were, visibly, so we can then plan a recovery strategy and that included animals because peoples pets were in there as well, he said.

No lights so we had to use head torches. Hoses everywhere. Fire equipment everywhere with firefighters still fighting fires up higher, smoke conditions, the heat, water pouring down the stairwells  if you imagine walking through a waterfall it will give you an idea, with the waterfall being hot - those are the conditions we were working through initially.

Teams then brought in dogs to identify search areas, before using small trowels and shovels to sift through the tonnes of rubble on each floor.

In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Show all 51 1 /51 In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police have released images from inside the tower where at least 58 people have died Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by polices what appears to be a stationary bicycle sitting among the ashes In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by police shows the remnants of a burnt-out bathroom In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Picture showing the lifts on an unknown floor Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency crews outside the front entrance to the tower Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Fire crews inspecting flats in the burnt out tower London Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Grenfell Tower is seen in the distance PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A drone flies near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire 'Theresa May Stay Away' message written on the messages of support at Latymer Community Church for those affected by the fire Ray Tang/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire An aerial view of the area surrounding Grenfall tower Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Donated shoes sit in the Westway Sports Centre near to the site of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of support for those affected by the massive fire in Grenfell Tower are displayed on a well near the tower in London AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A local resident stands on her balcony by the gutted Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of condolence are left at a relief centre close to the scene of the fire that broke out at Grenfell Tower, EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A police officer stands by a security cordon outside Latimer Road station Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firemen examine the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London on a huge ladder AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A search dog is led through the rubble of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn comforts a local resident (name not given) at St Clement's Church in west London where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hugs councillor Mushtaq Lasharie as he arrives at St Clement's Church in Latimer Road, where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn meeting staff and volunteers at St Clementis Church in Latimer Road David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firefighters with a dog walk around the base of the Grenfell Tower REUTERS/Peter Nicholls In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emotions run high as people attend a candle lit vigil outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Debris hangs from the blackened exterior of Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman speaks to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman holds a missing person posters near the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Sadiq Khan speaking with a resident James Gourley/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Ken Livingstone walks near the scene of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is confronted by Kai Ramos, 7, near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks to a woman outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers distribute aid near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People gather to observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People light candles as they observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man distributes food from the back of a van near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A firefighter is cheered near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A T-shirt with a written message from the London Fire Brigade hangs from a fence near The Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A young girl on her way to lay flowers near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire The remains of residential tower block Grenfell Tower are seen from Dixon House a nearby tower block Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers prepare supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block which was destroyed in a fire REUTERS/Neil Hall In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers move a car to make space for a lorry picking up supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People distribute boxes of food near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower bloc REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman touches a missing poster for 12-year-old Jessica Urbano on a tribute wall after laying flowers on the side of Latymer Community Church next to the fire-gutted Grenfell Tower AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man looks at messages written on a wall near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Candles and messages of condolence near where the fire broke out at Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry a stretcher towards Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency services at Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry out a body from Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Rick Findler/PA Wire

The sieves go down to 6mm so that we guarantee we can pick up small fragments of bone, teeth and any identifiable part of the human body we can pick up at that stage, he said.

All the debris from that flat is than packaged and is kept to one side and is marked with the floor number and the flat number so we can identify those bags. Then once we have cleared that flat, we then move on to the next flat and the process is repeated again until we have cleared every single flat in this tower block.

It comes after London fire chief Dany Cotton said only a miracle would have stopped the inferno raging at the west London block amid claims firefighters were sent to the scene without the correct equipment.

Firefighters did "the very best" they could on the night and many are suffering following the horrors they witnessed while tackling the blaze, she said.

"People have come out with all different kinds of suggestions and there's all sorts of experts around. I think people need to let the inquiry play out. But from everything I've seen from a professional firefighter, I believe we did the very best we could on that night," she said.

"I have lots of people who are suffering and will suffer in the future from things that happened that evening," she said.

Police revealed the number of people suspected to be inside the building for the first time on Monday.

More than 250 Grenfell Tower residents survived the devastating fire that killed at least 80 people last month, according to police.

Police said investigations had led them to conclude 350 people lived in the west London tower but 14 were not there when the building went up in flames.

Authorities believe 255 people escaped and 80 are still estimated to have died or are missing.

Recommended I understand why the Grenfell Tower residents are so angry

Thirty-two victims have been positively identified, with 55 postmortem examinations having taken place, according to investigating officers speaking at a briefing on Monday.

Detectives said that due to the damage caused by the fire, some bodies may never be identified.

But police said they do not expect the death toll to rise much further.

Families of victims were told at a meeting with coroner Fiona Wilcox and the Met Police earlier in the month that their relatives may not be identified until the end of the year.

Sgt Hutchins said it was unknown to a degree how long the recovery process would take but said teams were working on a rough estimate of four months.
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The Government must speed up its national fire safety initiative following the Grenfell Tower tragedy to reassure thousands of people living in similar blocks, Labour has said.

Shadow housing secretary John Healey criticised the Government for being "too slow to reassure residents", claiming the safety check process is "in chaos".

He also condemned the Department for Communities and Local Government's (DCLG) failure to list buildings that failed the combustibility testing carried out in the wake of the North Kensington blaze that killed at least 80 people.

Housing minister Alok Sharma, in response to a written parliamentary question from Mr Healey, said DCLG has indicated it would need more time to finish preparing its answer.

MPs are to debate the fire inquiry, to be chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr Healey said: "It is totally unacceptable that four weeks on from the Grenfell Tower fire ministers still don't know and can't say how many other tower blocks are unsafe.

"The Government has been off the pace at every stage in response to this terrible fire.

"Too slow to grasp the complexity of the help survivors need and too slow to reassure residents in 4,000 other tower blocks across the country."

Mr Healey said ministers have "failed to take responsibility" for getting tower blocks fully tested or for funding remedial work needed when buildings have failed the test.

He added: "The result is a Government testing programme which is too slow, too narrow and too unclear.

In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Show all 51 1 /51 In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police have released images from inside the tower where at least 58 people have died Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by polices what appears to be a stationary bicycle sitting among the ashes In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by police shows the remnants of a burnt-out bathroom In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Picture showing the lifts on an unknown floor Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency crews outside the front entrance to the tower Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Fire crews inspecting flats in the burnt out tower London Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Grenfell Tower is seen in the distance PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A drone flies near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire 'Theresa May Stay Away' message written on the messages of support at Latymer Community Church for those affected by the fire Ray Tang/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire An aerial view of the area surrounding Grenfall tower Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Donated shoes sit in the Westway Sports Centre near to the site of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of support for those affected by the massive fire in Grenfell Tower are displayed on a well near the tower in London AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A local resident stands on her balcony by the gutted Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of condolence are left at a relief centre close to the scene of the fire that broke out at Grenfell Tower, EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A police officer stands by a security cordon outside Latimer Road station Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firemen examine the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London on a huge ladder AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A search dog is led through the rubble of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn comforts a local resident (name not given) at St Clement's Church in west London where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hugs councillor Mushtaq Lasharie as he arrives at St Clement's Church in Latimer Road, where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn meeting staff and volunteers at St Clementis Church in Latimer Road David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firefighters with a dog walk around the base of the Grenfell Tower REUTERS/Peter Nicholls In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emotions run high as people attend a candle lit vigil outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Debris hangs from the blackened exterior of Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman speaks to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman holds a missing person posters near the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Sadiq Khan speaking with a resident James Gourley/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Ken Livingstone walks near the scene of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is confronted by Kai Ramos, 7, near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks to a woman outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers distribute aid near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People gather to observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People light candles as they observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man distributes food from the back of a van near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A firefighter is cheered near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A T-shirt with a written message from the London Fire Brigade hangs from a fence near The Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A young girl on her way to lay flowers near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire The remains of residential tower block Grenfell Tower are seen from Dixon House a nearby tower block Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers prepare supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block which was destroyed in a fire REUTERS/Neil Hall In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers move a car to make space for a lorry picking up supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People distribute boxes of food near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower bloc REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman touches a missing poster for 12-year-old Jessica Urbano on a tribute wall after laying flowers on the side of Latymer Community Church next to the fire-gutted Grenfell Tower AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man looks at messages written on a wall near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Candles and messages of condolence near where the fire broke out at Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry a stretcher towards Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency services at Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry out a body from Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Rick Findler/PA Wire

"The fire testing process is in chaos as councils and housing associations don't know what's going on and residents are still fearful their homes are unsafe.

"Four weeks on, ministers must now act to widen the testing programme and reassure all high-rise residents that their homes are either safe, or that the Government will fund the urgent work to make them so."

It comes after The Independent revealed "combustible" cladding similar to the panels at the centre of the criminal investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire was not being tested by the Government.

Testing was being limited to panels made of aluminium composite material (ACM)  the type that is believed to have aided the unprecedented spread of the blaze at the 24-storey building last month.

But fire safety experts warned The Independent the tests could be the tip of the iceberg, with many other types of cladding likely to fail the Governments own standard for fire safety.

Non-ACM cladding systems CEP and Carea are not made of aluminium, but have a near identical construction to the Reynobond ACM panels used on Grenfell Tower.

Recommended I understand why the Grenfell Tower residents are so angry

Niall Rowan, COO of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection, told The Independent: If you put this cladding through Government testing, it would fail, I would put money on it.

They are different materials to the Reynobond but they would all have a similar reaction to fire under the fire test.

Several London boroughs announced drastic changes to fire safety measures in the wake of the tragedy.

Brent Council has revealed a 10 million fire safety plan for tower blocks in the borough with sprinklers, smoke detectors and fire alarms forming part of a range of "enhanced safety measures".

Croydon Council said sprinklers will go into individual flats or communal areas of the council's 25 tallest blocks at 10, 11 or 12 storeys, with work starting this October and finishing next spring.

Additional reporting by agencies
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The mother of a boy who died after a severe allergic reaction has demanded answers about whether her son was bullied.

Karanbir Cheema, 13, was taken ill at William Perkin C of E High School in Greenford, west London, on 28 June.

He was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition but died with his parents by his side on Sunday.

The reaction he suffered last month was thought to have been caused by exposure to cheese. His school said it had been in contact with the Cheema family following what it called "unfounded rumours".

His mother, Rina, told the Daily Mail he had led a normal life despite his multiple allergies. She said: What exactly happened I do not know.

I want answers, I want to get to the bottom of what happened, I will be asking the school if he was bullied but my son was very popular, you could not help but like that child, he never made enemies.

When he died, he had a smile on his face when he went and we prayed until the final second, she added.

Karanbir's father, Amarjeet, said his death doesn't make any sense.

He told the Evening Standard: We were in hospital. I had to watch him die - no parent should have to go through that. While he was in hospital we were fully concentrated on his condition. Now we want answers. How could this have happened?

My son had allergies but he was very careful. He had an allergy to dairy products but was good at avoiding them. I don't how a piece of cheese hitting him could have killed him, it doesn't make any sense. We have been told very little. (sic)

Mr Cheema said his son was an amazing student who had talked about being a computer engineer, adding: We were so proud of him. He had a very bright future. There are a million things he could have done with his life.

He was a bright, bright boy. He was kind and gentle. We are just devastated.

Police have arrested a 13-year-old boy on suspicion of attempted murder, the Metropolitan Police said.

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Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA

A post-mortem examination is due to take place on Wednesday.

A statement on the school's website said: The school community is deeply saddened at the loss of a Year 8 student who died on Sunday July 9 at hospital following a severe allergic reaction.

Students have been supported at school in the face of this tragic incident and many good wishes have been posted in the school chapel in memory of this popular and well-liked student.

The school has kept in close contact with the family, particularly in light of a number of unfounded rumours which have circulated over the past days.

The student in question had always dealt responsibly with his multiple allergies and medical staff were therefore able to respond quickly with his agreed care plan during the incident on Wednesday June 28.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A couple who had one of the UK's first same-sex marriages involving a Muslim partner have received online abuse after their wedding.

Jahed Choudhury and Sean Rogan married last week in Walsall, in the West Midlands.

Footage from the ceremony showed the couple dressed in traditional Bangladeshi attire as they said their vows at the town's registry office.

But since their marriage, they have been targeted by hundreds of messages of abuse online, some from fellow Muslims.

Pink News reported on comments posted on a video of the pair by BBC Midlands, in which one commentator wrote: You Cant Be A Gay Muslim, If You Are Than Your Not A Muslim.

Islam Forbids This, Im not saying they should Split up and Be Straight Which is the right thing to do, what Im saying is they cant be Muslim If they are Gay.

Another added: "It's like eating meat and calling myself a vegetarian you are not Muslims."

Several similar messages were posted after The Independent shared the couple's story on social media.

One commenter said "Islam doesn't accept this" while another wrote: "Just putting asian costumes doesn't make it a Muslim marriage, there is no concept of gay marriage in Islam."

Another said: "They are not Muslims, we don't have gays and lesbians."

Mr Choudhury, 24, was previously bullied at school, attacked by other Muslims and banned from his local mosque.

He attempted to change his sexual orientation and went on religious pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh, but became suicidal and attempted to kill himself before meeting Mr Rogan.

The couple started living together in 2015 and Mr Choudhury proposed on his husband's birthday last year.

London Pride 2017 Show all 14 1 /14 London Pride 2017 London Pride 2017 Revellers in Trafalgar Square in front of the National Portrait gallery take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A man wearing two hats attends the Pride in London Festival Getty London Pride 2017 Protesters demonstrate during the Pride in London Festival in London. This year's London Pride event marks 50 years since homosexuality was decriminalised in England and Wales under the 1967 Sexual Offences Getty London Pride 2017 The parade passes Nelson's Column as revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London, EPA London Pride 2017 Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community take part in the annual Pride Parade in London on July 8 AFP London Pride 2017 Revelers enjoy the Pride London Parade in London. The Parade attracts an estimated crowd of 1 million onlookers, while around 26,500 people are taking part in the annual Parade making this the city's biggest one-day event and one of the world's biggest LGBT+ celebrations. AP London Pride 2017 Revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A participant sits on a rainbow coloured flag during the Pride in London Parade in central London PA London Pride 2017 Two men sit on a rainbow flag painted on the pavement at Oxford Circus as revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London, Britain EPA London Pride 2017 Revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A woman from the homeless charity 'Crisis' takes part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 Revellers wave their flags as they take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A woman walks past a shop front decorated with the Pride flag colours Getty London Pride 2017 People ride a tube escalator decorated with the Pride flag colours Getty

Mr Choudhury told The Express and Star: This is about showing people I don't care, my family doesn't want to come on the day, they just don't want to see it, it's too embarrassing for them.

They think it's a disease and can be cured, some of my family still call it a phase.

I want to say to all people going through the same thing that's it's okay  we're going to show the whole world that you can be gay and Muslim.

Mr Rogan, 19, said: Being gays not wrong, its not a phase'. People just need a bit of support.
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British military assets including the new HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier are increasingly vulnerable to cheap missile attacks from Russia and China, warns a new report calling for a dramatic re-think on defence.

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) identified a series of complex threats to ships, military aircraft and conventional weapons by states including North Korea and terror groups.

Authors said that although potential adversaries have not caught up with the US and UK in all areas, they have focused efforts on low-cost and high-threat areas including precision missiles and cyber attacks to increase the threat.

UK defence equipment capabilities costing 16bn a year are increasingly vulnerable to low-cost, technology-rich weapons from hostile states, the RUSI report concluded.

The advancing capabilities of potential adversaries of the UK should be a genuine concern.

Russia and China have developed the surveillance and precision strike capabilities to put at serious risk Western surface ships, large military aircraft and arguably any land system, even the most heavily armoured.

Authors said that Russia is extending its range of missiles, while China claims to have developed a J-20 stealth fighter jet and Iran says it possesses its own supersonic, ballistic anti-ship missile.

The UKs potential adversaries have also focused on developing relatively inexpensive weapons that can disable or destroy expensive assets, the report continued.

In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Show all 11 1 /11 In pictures: Isis' weapons factories In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A mortar round fin manufactured by Isis in Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis rocket components discovered in Gogjali, Mosul, Iraq in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis mortars discovered near Karamlais, Iraq, in November 2016 CAR In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis rocket launch frame in Qaraqosh, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A memo from Isis' COSQC on quality control at a manufacturing facility in Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Electrically-operated initiators manufactured by Isis in forces Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis mortar tubes at a manufacturing facility in Karamlais, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis mortar production facility discovered in Gogjali, Mosul, in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis weapons manufacturing facilities near Mosul in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Stocks of French-manufactured Sorbitol, Latvian potassium nitrate and Lebanese sugar at an Isis weapons factory in Iraq Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A destroyed Isis weapons facility in Qaraqosh, Iraq, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research

Western governments have been made acutely aware of the financial imbalance while battling Isis, which has been manufacturing its own armoured vehicles, explosives, mines, missiles and drones in Syria and Iraq.

An American official told RUSI that the US-led coalition has found itself using weapons costing $70,000 (54,000), sometimes fired from aircraft that cost $30,000 (23,000) an hour to fly, to destroy just one of the countless Toyota pick-up trucks used by Isis.

RUSIs report found a similar gulf exists with hostile states, saying: Missiles costing [much] less than half a million pounds a unit could at least disable a British aircraft carrier that costs more than 3bn.

Indeed, a salvo of ten such missiles would cost less than $5m (4m)China and Russia appear to have focused many (but not all) their efforts on being able to put at risk the key Western assets that are large, few in number and expensive.

The report cautioned that it has become much cheaper to destroy major systems than to develop them, making large-scale attacks on a single target more likely.

It did not specifically name the two new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers being developed for the Royal Navy, but Russian state media enthusiastically seized on its findings.

HMS Queen Elizabeth, one of two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, leaving the Rosyth dockyard near Edinburgh to begin her sea worthiness trials on 26 June (Royal Navy)

The HMS Queen Elizabeth  the largest British warship ever built - is due to enter service this year after tests currently underway in Scotland and will be followed by the HMS Prince of Wales.

Described as an icon by the Royal Navy, the Defence Secretary recently used the HMS Queen Elizabeth to taunt Russia over the dilapidated aircraft carrier it sent to bomb Syria last year.

When you saw that old, dilapidated Kuznetsov sailing through the Channel, a few months ago, I think the Russians will look at this ship with a little bit of envy, he wrote of Russias only aircraft carrier last month.

It's really routine for the Russians to collect intelligence on our ships. We will take every precaution to make sure that they don't get too close, but I think they will be admiring [the HMS Queen Elizabeth].

Following RUSIs report, the Russian defence ministry described the ship as merely a large convenient naval target.

It is in the interests of the British Royal Navy not to show off the beauty of its aircraft carrier on the high seas any closer than a few hundred miles from its Russian distant relative, said a statement to state-funded broadcaster Russia Today.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it was keeping all threats under constant review, adding: We are confident our new aircraft carrier, and other state-of-the-art equipment, is well protected thanks to defensive systems we have invested in as part of our 178bn equipment plan.

 Royal Navy's largest ship HMS Queen Elizabeth sets sail for first time

Our carrier strike group will be able to operate around the globe allowing Britain to pro-actively meet future threats and support operations in a range of theatres. It will be robustly protected by air and sea assets against threats known and unknown.

Following an American view of the US military capability that stressed the need for technological change, the MoD launched its own Defence Innovation Initiative in September last year.

It has committed 800m over a decade for research, as well as maintaining 1.2 per cent of the defence budget for science and technology.

RUSIs report argued that the British Government should shift its focus from attack systems to research, innovation and adaptive technologies.

It warned of the crowing threat of cyber attacks and threats to the Wests use of satellites in space, with China conducting a test destruction of a satellite in 2009 and Russia reportedly seeking an airborne laser weapon.

Enemies could take out communications and navigation systems for Western militaries, the report said, or target the UKs economy and crucial IT infrastructure causing chaos far beyond that seen in the NHS during the WannaCry ransomware attack.

If the recent WannaCry cyberattack hasnt got business leaders to sit up and take notice, GDPR will force them to (EPA)

It listed risks as Russia, China, North Korea, migration, terrorism, low economic growth including the uncertainty caused by Brexit, rapid change and unforeseen conflicts.

RUSI found that the UK and its allies must rethink deterrence, calling Natos readiness to explicitly consider nuclear options as a response to conventional attacks a hangover from the Cold War that looks less appropriate and credible than ever.

Lord Arbuthnot, a former defence minister and ex-chairman of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, said the UK must remain relevant, flexible and adaptable to stay safe.

The world now is more complex, interdependent and downright dangerous than I can ever remember, he wrote in the report.

Biomedicine, artificial intelligence, the internet of things and quantum computing are changing our lives in ways we can only just begin to imagine.

It would be naive to assume that they will not change our constructs of defence and notions of the secure society.
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Jeremy Corbyn will tell the EU's chief Brexit negotiator that he is ready to take up responsibility for negotiating Britain's withdrawal from the EU if there is a change in government.

In a meeting with Michel Barnier in Brussels, he will promise that Labour would avoid the "megaphone diplomacy" employed by the Conservatives.

The meeting comes just a day after Mr Barnier slapped down Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for saying the EU could "go whistle" for a divorce payment from the UK, telling him: "I'm not hearing any whistling, just the clock ticking."

Mr Barnier will also meet Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones for private talks ahead of the second round of formal negotiations in Brussels next week.

But he stressed that he will negotiate only with the UK Government.

The meetings come as Brexit Secretary David Davis publishes the Great Repeal Bill which will overturn the 1972 European Communities Act and incorporate all relevant EU laws on to the UK statute book, so they can later be abolished or amended by Westminster.

Mr Corbyn, who is joined in Brussels by shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, will tell Mr Barnier that Labour's approach to EU withdrawal would be "very different" from Theresa May's Conservatives.

Speaking ahead of his visit, the Labour leader said: "Labour is a government in waiting and we are ready to take up the responsibility for Brexit negotiations.

"Labour respects the referendum result and the decision to leave the European Union.

"But a Labour Brexit would look very different to the race-to-the-bottom tax haven backed by this Conservative Government.

"In contrast to the Conservatives' megaphone diplomacy, we will conduct relations with our European neighbours respectfully and in the spirit of friendship.

"Our strong links with our European sister parties gives Labour an advantage in reaching an outcome that works for both sides."

 No other countries will follow Britain in leaving the EU, says David Davis

On the key issues on the table in withdrawal talks, Mr Corbyn said: "Labour would negotiate a jobs-first Brexit deal which puts the economy, jobs and living standards front and centre.

"Labour would unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK because it's the right thing to do.

"Labour wants to work with other countries to build a different Europe, one which promotes human rights and environmental protections, celebrates the positive and complementary contributions of European nations, and where trade is fair and sustainable."

Meanwhile, Mr Jones said he hoped to use his meeting with Mr Barnier to stress the need for smooth transitional arrangements and voice his determination to avoid a disorderly Brexit without a deal on future trade relations.

"My primary responsibility as First Minister of Wales will always be to get the best deal for Welsh jobs and the Welsh economy," he said.

"With 67 per cent of Welsh exports going to Europe, it is absolutely vital that we retain full and unfettered access to the single market. It would be irresponsible to turn our back on this.

Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned  forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA  because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty

"Our friends and neighbours in Europe will continue to be our friends and neighbours after we leave the EU, and we need to find a way forward together to address our common challenges.

"It is in no-one's interest, least of all of those of us who passionately want to maintain the closest economic ties with our European neighbours, for there to be no deal or a hugely painful rupture between the UK and the EU. We will do all we can to prevent this."

Mr Jones, who backed Remain in the EU referendum in which Wales voted Leave last year, said he hoped to demonstrate to Mr Barnier that there were "parts of the UK that are prepared to engage constructively with the EU-27, rather than indulge in playing to the gallery".

He said he would present the chief EU negotiator with a copy of the Welsh Government's Brexit white paper, which focuses on the need to balance concerns over immigration with the need for continued UK participation in the single market.

Press Association
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The EU has piled further pressure on Britain to settle its divorce bill and the fate of EU citizens after Brexit  demanding answers within five days.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, also ridiculed Boris Johnsons claim that the EU could go whistle over the multi-billion pound exit settlement.

I'm not hearing any whistling, just the clock ticking, Mr Barnier told a Brussels conference - underlining where the power lies, in his view.

The second round of the withdrawal negotiations will get underway next Monday, bringing Mr Barnier face-to-face with Brexit Secretary David Davis again.

But the chief negotiator said he wanted clarification before the beginning of the second round  making clear he was willing to work through the weekend to make progress.

Mr Barnier also insisted he was not trying to push Theresa May into walking out of the talks by requiring the continued jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, including over the rights of citizens.

I dont want to push anybody over the edge, but we have to find clear and sustainable solutions, he said.

Laying bare the dispute on citizens, he added: The British position does not allow [EU citizens in UK] to continue to live their lives as they do today.

And, setting out the difficulties ahead, Mr Barnier said: How do you build a relationship based on trade and security to last with a country where you don't have trust?

Until now, it had been thought that EU leaders would be satisfied provided Ms May  if she survives in office  set out the UKs detailed position at a summit in October.

Mr Barniers comments came as credit ratings agency Moody's warned that Britain would face materially weaker growth if it failed to secure a good deal on trade after Brexit.

Last month, Mr Davis caved in to the EUs demand for citizens rights, the size of Britains divorce bill and border issues to be settled at the outset of the negotiations.

He was forced to drop his central demand for talks on future trade  Britains priority  to be staged in parallel, within hours of arriving in Brussels.

The negotiations would only move onto trade when the EU decided enough progress had been made on its three priorities, Mr Davis conceded.

That sets the scene for an autumn row, after Tory backbenchers lined up to insist the Prime Minister must not agree to pay a penny as the price for Brexit.

But Mr Barnier attacked British politicians who have described the financial settlement as a ransom  insisting the EU was simply settling accounts.

It's not an exit bill. It is not a punishment. It is not a revenge. At no time has it been those things, he said.

He made clear the EU would not discuss anything else without progress on its three priorities, which were indivisible and intertwined.

Before meeting Mr Davis on Monday, Mr Barnier will hold talks with both Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon and Carwyn Jones, the leaders of Scotland and Wales respectively.

However, he stressed that he will only negotiate with the UK Government  not with opposition politicians.
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The shock of Brexit and Donald Trumps rise is forcing Europe to tackle the deep problems that drove Britons to vote Leave, the EUs most senior officials have admitted.

Just as polls begin to signal the UK may want to stay in the union, the European Commissions chief strategists said the bloc now realises it must fundamentally change to remain relevant to people's lives.

Writing exclusively for The Independent, Jean-Claude Junckers top officials argue the EU is becoming more open, democratic and is certain the future must not be fudged or decided behind closed doors.

Recommended Optimism is finally back in the EU just as the UK prepares to leave

They directed their message to the British people as Mr Juncker prepares to announce new details of how Europe will transform over the next decade and after a string of member state leaders signalled the door is still open if the UK wishes to be a part of the new future.

The full complexity of a UK withdrawal became starker this week, with the Government 's approach to the EU's nuclear agency in chaos amid ominous signs of a Brexit hit UK economy and after the European Parliament saying it would veto Theresa May's opening proposals.

Ministers are also due to publish their key piece of Brexit legislation on Thursday, the Repeal Bill, marking the start of a two-year struggle for Ms May to pass one of the most complex legislative programmes in British history, on a shaky Commons majority propped up by the Democratic Unionist Party.

How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Show all 8 1 /8 How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Weetabix Chief executive of Weetabix Giles Turrell has warned that the price of one of the nations favourite breakfast are likely to go up this year by low-single digits in percentage terms. Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Nescafe The cost of a 100g jar of Nescafe Original at Sainsburys has gone up 40p from 2.75 to 3.15  a 14 per cent risesince the Brexit vote. PA How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Freddo When contacted by The Independent this month, a Mondelez spokesperson declined to discuss specific brands but confirmed that there would be "selective" price increases across its range despite the American multi-national confectionery giant reporting profits of $548m (450m) in its last three-month financial period. Mondelez, which bought Cadbury in 2010, said rising commodity costs combined with the slump in the value of the pound had made its products more expensive to make. Cadbury How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Mr Kipling cakes Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling and Bisto gravy, said that it was considering price rises on a case-by-case basis Reuters How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Walkers Crisps Walkers, owned by US giant PepsiCo, said "the weakened value of the pound" is affecting the import cost of some of its materials. A Walkers spokesman told the Press Association that a 32g standard bag was set to increase from 50p to 55p, and the larger grab bag from 75p to 80p. Getty How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Marmite Tesco removed Marmite and other Unilever household brand from its website last October, after the manufacturer tried to raise its prices by about 10 per cent owing to sterlings slump. Tesco and Unilever resolved their argument, but the price of Marmite has increased in UK supermarkets with the grocer reporting a 250g jar of Marmite will now cost Morrisons customers 2.64 - an increase of 12.5 per cent. Rex How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Toblerone Toblerone came under fire in November after it increased the space between the distinctive triangles of its bars. Mondelez International, the company which makes the product, said the change was made due to price rises in recent months. Pixabay How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Maltesers Maltesers, billed as the lighter way to enjoy chocolate, have also shrunk in size. Mars, which owns the brand, has reduced its pouch weight by 15 per cent. Mars said rising costs mean it had to make the unenviable decision between increasing its prices or reducing the weight of its Malteser packs. iStockphoto

In their article, Mr Junckers head of political strategy Ann Mettler and deputy head Pawel Swieboda tell how after a decade of crisis, Europeans have rediscovered optimism and are ready to improve the bloc.

They specifically cite chaos surrounding the UKs decision to quit the EU and Mr Trumps election in the US as moments that shook Europe to up its game.

Pointing to the dual political crisis in Britain and the US, they write: If anyone wondered what checking out of Europe or weakening multilateralism leads to, it is now clear for everyone to see  from increased investment uncertainty and an hitherto unknown degree of division within society, to the potential political fallout for countries so far admired around the world as beacons of democracy and freedom.

They add: There is now a strong sense that Europeans  having had a glimpse of the alternative  are ready to invest in our common project.

 Minister appointed to negotiate Brexit wanted EU 'torn down'

They realise that disintegration, illiberal democracy and populism are profoundly dangerous to our democratic traditions  the freedom and tolerance painstakingly built over decades, which has at times been taken for granted.

Critical to now bringing fresh vitality and legitimacy to the EU will be taking a decision on which of Mr Junckers five options for Europes future to follow.

The different paths were outlined in a white paper in March just days before Theresa May triggered Article 50, and were broadly entitled carrying on, nothing but the single market, those who want more do more, doing less more efficiently and doing much more together.

Mr Junckers officials write: Unlike in the past, the Commission has not itself stated which of the five scenarios is its preferred policy blueprint.

 Brexit could face court challenge over Article 50 'technical flaw'

That is not only because of the elections taking place in many European countries, but also because the commission understands that such fundamental political choices must not be fudged or decided behind closed doors.

Neither should the commission claim the monopoly of wisdom on what is the best way forward.

A feeling of detachment from EU decision-making was key to the British peoples shock referendum decision last year, but the pair of officials highlight how things are changing, adding: Instead, an EU-wide debate is needed, engaging citizens in new ways and making sure their voice matters.

Mr Juncker is to give a state of the union address in September in which he will flesh out the five options, and launch the public debate that he hopes will help explain each choice, as well as its inherent trade-offs so that they are more widely discussed and better understood, they write.

Their intervention follows a poll by Survation, which showed a majority of Britons (54 per cent) would vote to Remain in the EU if another referendum was held, while 46 per cent would back Brexit.

 Archbishop of Cantebury calls for cross-party Brexit commission

In an early sign that the Government may have misjudged the difficulty of Brexit, it faced a growing backlash against its decision to leave the EU atomic agency Euratom.

On Wednesday, Ms May's deputy Damian Green dismissed doctors warnings that radioactive isotopes used in cancer treatments may no longer be available as scaremongering, but was immediately accused by the Nuclear Industry Association of misleading MPs.

The private sector is also worried, with the Markit/Cips purchasing managers' index for the service sector showing business expectations at their lowest level since the month after last year's referendum. Growth in the sector fell to a four-month low in June.

In the first quarter of 2017 official EU statistics show the UK economy was the worst performer in the bloc as Brexit took its toll  Britains 0.2 per cent pick up was lower than Greece's 0.4 per cent.

Difficulties in early negotiations will only further dampen the mood, after the European Parliament's Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt branded Ms Mays opening proposals for guaranteeing EU citizens rights after the UK leaves a damp squib, and said MEPs are prepared to veto any deal with the UK.

But he and others, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, have said the door is open if the UK wishes to go back on Brexit.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA 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 year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA

President of the European Council Donald Tusk has also said he still holds out hope that Brexit can be reversed, telling how he had been asked by British friends if there is a way to stop it.

Mr Tusk said: I told them that in fact the EU was built on dreams that seemed impossible to achieve.

So who knows? You may say I am a dreamer but I'm not the only one, he added, quoting John Lennons Imagine.
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Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire clashed with Kensington council representatives and the senior investigating officer leading the criminal investigation into the disaster during a tense public meeting.

Residents of the local community gathered at St Clements Church in north Kensington to hear from the panel leading the Governments gold command response to the tragedy.

But the meeting quickly descended into chaos as fury over the handling of the tragedy spilled over.

Residents berated council leader Elizabeth Campbell for hiding from survivors, accusing her of making no effort to seek out those who needed the most help.

Investigating officer Matt Bonner was also quizzed by residents who expressed their anger and frustration that no arrests had yet been made in connection with the tragedy.

Ms Campbell spent the first minutes of the meeting speaking of the small steps taken to clean up the surrounding area, including window cleaning.

But one survivor, sobbing, told her: Why is this meeting even taking place? So were hear to talk about scaffolding, housekeeping and people cleaning windows but what about those people in that building who died?

We were there and saw what happened, we can't even describe the pain. those who we've lost, we can't bring them back, but what about those of us who remain? You're not doing anything for us.

Everyday, 100 times a day, we burn and come back again, this is four weeks now, its gone on too long. Why are you not protecting us, we know you exist, we know councils exist, but we don't exist, we don't count for anything.

We just want you to understand us, to protect us, to do something for us, thats all we want from you.

Ms Campbell, who admitted on Tuesday she had never set foot inside a high-rise council tower block, said it was very difficult to respond in the face of such despair and such grieving, but promised to meet the woman outside or tomorrow.

 Kensington council leader Elizabeth Campbell addresses Grenfell residents at public meeting

But another survivor interrupted the exchange to shout angrily: You need to meet all of the survivors. its all of us, not just her, theres more than one, theres loads of us everywhere.

You haven't made any effort to meet us we've had fraudsters find out where we are, how come you can't find out where we are?

Later Mr Bonner attempted to give residents an update on the criminal investigations into the tragedy, but said he was unable to share specific details about the case. He said 60 companies had been identified by police as being involved in the refurbishment of the tower in 2016.

"I cannot tell you about the case as it would put the investigation at risk," he said as residents shouted arrest someone.

Cries of this is state terrorism and mass murder rang out in the church, as one resident urged people to remain calm, shouting from the front: They are trying to paint us as savages so its in our best interests to stay calm.

But one man said he was angry and deserved to be heard, shouting at the panel: You murdered our friends, you murdered our neighbours.

Mr Bonner called for the crowd to "listen", telling them: The test of my investigation will be whether it's done properly not whether it's done quickly.

Unfortunately an investigation of this scale will not be quick but it will be thorough, it will get to the bottom of whatever happened and hold those to account, anyone that needs holding to account whether that be an individual or an organisation.

We will do all of that but we won't do that all tomorrow.

 Detective Matt Bonner: The Grenfell investigation will be thorough but it won't be quick

Another resident, hands trembling and voice hoarse, screamed at him: Listen, just listen, listen, listen, listen.

Bereaved with tears in their eyes are asking these questions. We cannot sleep, because we dream of this again. Don't you have humanity?

The panel was made up of a number of senior figures involved in the Government-led response on the ground, including Hilary Patel, part of community engagement for the Grenfell Response Team, Met police chief superintendent Robyn Williams and Rachel Wright-Turner, director of tri-borough commissioning.

Also in attendance was Barry Quirk, chief executive of Lewisham council, who spoke multiple times on behalf of Ms Campbell.

Dr Deborah Turbitt, deputy director for health protection at Public Health England, also spoke to reassure concerned residents about air and water quality.

Recommended I understand why the Grenfell Tower residents are so angry

She admitted that asbestos had been released in the fire but that the temperature was such that it would have been dispersed. She said air quality was still being monitored by an independent body.

Ms Patel also offered reassurances about the towers structural integrity, telling locals they should not be worried about the building collapsing.

"The building has never been at risk of falling down," she said.

The meeting coincided with the one month anniversary of the devastating blaze that killed at least 80 people.

In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Show all 51 1 /51 In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police have released images from inside the tower where at least 58 people have died Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by polices what appears to be a stationary bicycle sitting among the ashes In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A still from a video shared by police shows the remnants of a burnt-out bathroom In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Picture showing the lifts on an unknown floor Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency crews outside the front entrance to the tower Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Fire crews inspecting flats in the burnt out tower London Metropolitan Police In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Grenfell Tower is seen in the distance PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A drone flies near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire 'Theresa May Stay Away' message written on the messages of support at Latymer Community Church for those affected by the fire Ray Tang/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire An aerial view of the area surrounding Grenfall tower Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Donated shoes sit in the Westway Sports Centre near to the site of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of support for those affected by the massive fire in Grenfell Tower are displayed on a well near the tower in London AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A local resident stands on her balcony by the gutted Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Messages of condolence are left at a relief centre close to the scene of the fire that broke out at Grenfell Tower, EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A police officer stands by a security cordon outside Latimer Road station Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firemen examine the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London on a huge ladder AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A search dog is led through the rubble of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn comforts a local resident (name not given) at St Clement's Church in west London where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hugs councillor Mushtaq Lasharie as he arrives at St Clement's Church in Latimer Road, where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn meeting staff and volunteers at St Clementis Church in Latimer Road David Mirzoeff/PA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Firefighters with a dog walk around the base of the Grenfell Tower REUTERS/Peter Nicholls In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emotions run high as people attend a candle lit vigil outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near the 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Debris hangs from the blackened exterior of Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman speaks to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman holds a missing person posters near the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Sadiq Khan speaking with a resident James Gourley/REX In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Ken Livingstone walks near the scene of the Grenfell Tower fire Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is confronted by Kai Ramos, 7, near Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks to a woman outside Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Yui Mok/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers distribute aid near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Family and friends of missing Jessica Urbano, 12, wearing photographs of Jessica pinned to their t-shirts gather near Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People gather to observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People light candles as they observe a vigil outside St Clement's Church following the blaze at Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People attend a vigil at Notting Hill Methodist Church near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man distributes food from the back of a van near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A firefighter is cheered near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A T-shirt with a written message from the London Fire Brigade hangs from a fence near The Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A young girl on her way to lay flowers near Grenfell Tower Getty Images In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire The remains of residential tower block Grenfell Tower are seen from Dixon House a nearby tower block Getty In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers prepare supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block which was destroyed in a fire REUTERS/Neil Hall In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Volunteers move a car to make space for a lorry picking up supplies for people affected by the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire People distribute boxes of food near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower bloc REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A woman touches a missing poster for 12-year-old Jessica Urbano on a tribute wall after laying flowers on the side of Latymer Community Church next to the fire-gutted Grenfell Tower AP In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire A man looks at messages written on a wall near the scene of the fire which destroyed the Grenfell Tower block REUTERS/Paul Hackett In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Candles and messages of condolence near where the fire broke out at Grenfell Tower EPA In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry a stretcher towards Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Emergency services at Grenfell Tower Rick Findler/PA Wire In Pictures: Grenfell Tower after the fire Police carry out a body from Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building Rick Findler/PA Wire

Many residents expressed their scepticism over the death toll, with one survivor saying: We all know at least 300 died.

Police said more than 250 residents survived the fire, and investigations had led them to conclude 350 people lived in the west London block but 14 were not there when the building went up in flames on 14 June.

Authorities believe 255 people escaped and 80 are still estimated to have died or are missing.

Thirty-two victims have been positively identified, with 55 postmortem examinations having taken place, according to investigating officers speaking at a briefing on Monday.
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Labour has hit back in the bitter row over abuse of election candidates, accusing the Conservatives of running a campaign of smears and untruths aimed at its leading women.

In an extraordinary hard-hitting letter, the party claims Theresa Mays party promoted personal attacks as a core component of its national campaign.

It comes close to accusing the Conservatives of racism by protesting its negative, nasty campaign had targeted the first black woman MP, Diane Abbott.

Recommended May accuses Corbyn of failing to condemn abuse of Tory candidates

The Tories were guilty of abuse on an industrial scale by spending millions of pounds to post highly personalised and nasty attack adverts voters' Facebook timelines without their permission, it adds.

The letter has been sent by Ian Lavery, the Labour party chairman, to his Conservative counterpart, Patrick McLaughlin, ahead of a Commons debate on Wednesday.

It comes after Theresa May accused Jeremy Corbyn of failing to condemn threats against Conservative election candidates, revealed in recent days.

The Prime Minister said she was surprised that the Labour leader had not spoken out about the mounting evidence of shocking intimidation on the campaign trail last month.

Downing Street is to hold a review of criminal and election law, after Tory MPs including Sarah Wollaston and Sheryll Murray revealed the abuse they had suffered.

Now Labour has upped the stakes with its own counter-accusation, in a letter also signed by Cat Smith, the shadow minister for voter engagement.

It reads: We are writing to express our dismay and deep concern at the vitriolic personal attacks that defined the Conservative Partys election campaign.

The Conservatives ran a negative, nasty campaign, propagating personal attacks, smears and untruths, particularly aimed at one of the most prominent women MPs, and indeed the first black woman MP, Diane Abbott.

Such attacks on politicians, the consequent intimidating and abusive language and threats of violence towards them online, deter many people from entering politics.

Parties and politicians have a responsibility to set an example, by treating others with dignity and respect, including those with whom we strongly disagree.

The Conservative Party has instead promoted personal attacks as a core component of its national campaign.

Arguing it was not an isolated incident, the letter also highlights Zac Goldsmiths racially discriminatory campaign against Sadiq Khan, in last years race to be London mayor.

The suspension of Anne Marie Morris, the MP who issued a racist slur at a Brexit meeting, was also evidence of the level to which abusive and discriminatory language has been tolerated.

Sir Patrick must act by implementing a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, discrimination and intimidation following the debate, Labour said.

The letter is likely to see relations between the two major parties sink to a new low  just days after Ms May suggested cross-party working to introduce new sanctions to curb intimidation of prospective MPs.

Last week, Ms Murray revealed that opponents had carved swastikas into her campaign posters and urinated on her office door.

Ms Wollaston, the chairwoman of the Commons Health Select Committee in the last Parliament, said a masked man had covered her office with insults in an attempt to force me out of town.

The Prime Minister was then asked if she was concerned that Jeremy Corbyn has failed to condemn the actions of some of his supporters.

She replied: I call on all party leaders to condemn that. Im surprised at any party leader who is not willing to condemn that. Frankly, we should stand together on this.
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If Prime Ministers Questions serves any purpose at all, it is that the performances of Prime Ministers and Leaders of the Opposition inform grander narratives on their suitability for office. While this particular instalment, in which Emily Thornberry and Damian Green surpassed their supposed superiors with embarrassing ease, was uncharacteristically entertaining, the public are hardly in need of even more evidence of the fact that Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May are not up to either their respective jobs, or each others.

But that is, of course, what they got. Naturally, most of the questions posed by Ms Thornberry were not questions, and none of the answers given by Damian Green were answers, but no one has expected such things in at least a hundred years. Rather, the new First Secretary of State danced Kate Bush like around the questions while at no point straying into their gravitational field.

Recommended PMQs proved today that the Government is floundering on Brexit

What will happen to the Irish border if we get no deal? He was asked.

Its very important we get it right, came the answer. We want to have a deal. We want to have a good deal.

Will he confirm a plan for no deal exists? He was asked again, after a thoroughly entertaining run through of the wildly dynamic positions taken on this huge question by the Foreign Secretary, the Brexit Secretary and everyone else in between in the months since Article 50 was triggered.

It is the aim of the government to get a deal. We want to get the Irish border sorted.

Since the end of March, absolutely nothing has happened to intimate that a deal on trade with the EU has become more and not less likely, not least as on Tuesday, Boris Johnson stood at the despatch box and told the EU it could go whistle for the money it requires before talks on a trade deal can even begin.

We all know the stakes could not be higher, the situation more dire, but in such times, we must suppose a little light relief is welcome.

Besides, the real horrors, we learned will come on Thursday. Would the government be publishing the Treasury analysis of the risks of a no-deal Brexit, Ms Thornberry asked, in the form of a rhetorical question to which the presumed answer was no.

What she got, to her and everyone elses surprise was a yes. The Office of Budget Responsibility is, we were told, will be publishing this very thing on Thursday morning. An actual answer? No, course not. Damian Green had scarcely sat down again by the time the Office for Budget Responsibility clarified on twitter that, Just to be clear, we are NOT assessing no deal other possible Brexit negotiation outcomes.

Oh well.

Tory backbench braying was at a lower level than usual, presumably helped by the boss not being around to be sucked up to. But special mention must go to Anna Soubry. When Ms Thornberry lamented the Member for Newton Abbot having turned herself into Nick Griffin, the member for Newton Abbot being unintentional N-bomb dropper Ann-Marie Morris, MS Soubry was not alone by by some margin the most audible in shouting, Shame on you! Shame on you!

Never being afraid to speak her mind, not least on matters Brexit, we must conclude Ms Soubrys views are genuinely held. There will always be those in the Conservative party willing to stand up for others whose views remain unreconstructed since the 1950s. It is surprising, however, that Ms Soubry should be among them.
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The Government will not release its report into the extent of Saudi Arabian and other foreign funding for Islamist extremism in Britain, the Home Secretary has said.

In a statement released to Parliament on Wednesday, Amber Rudd said she would not be releasing the report, commissioned by former prime minister David Cameron, on national security grounds.

Having taken advice, I have decided against publishing the classified report produced during the review in full, Ms Rudd said.

Recommended Theresa May told to stop selling bombs to Saudi Arabia

This is because of the volume of personal information it contains and for national security reasons. We will be inviting Privy Councillors from the opposition parties to the Home Office to have access to the classified report on Privy Council terms.

The Government has previously said it hoped the report could be released in some form. The decision comes two days after the High Court ruled the Government was not breaking the law by continuing to license arms sales to Saudi Arabia  the state thought to be the focus of the report.

In a summary, the Government said the main findings of the report were that Islamist extremist organisations were generally funded by small, anonymous public donations but that for a small number of organisations with which there are extremism concerns, overseas funding is a significant source of income.

The summary did not explain which countries were involved in the funding.

The decision not to release the report was immediately condemned by opposition parties. Diane Abbott, the shadow Home Secretary, said there was strong suspicion that the report was being suppressed to placate Saudi Arabia.

The public has a right to know if any governments, foreign or domestic organisations or individuals are funding extremism in this country, and what the UK government intends to do to prevent that, she said.

Of course security intelligence should not be compromised, but this is easily achieved by redaction and other means. The Government would never have commissioned this report if it considered this problem insurmountable.

Instead, there is a strong suspicion this report is being suppressed to protect this Governments trade and diplomatic priorities, including in relation to Saudi Arabia. The only way to allay those suspicions is to publish the report in full.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said Britain could not tackle the root causes of terrorism without full disclosure of the states and institutions that fund extremism in our country.

It seems like the government, yet again, is putting our so-called friendship with Saudi Arabia above our values, he said.

This shoddy decision is the latest in a long line where we have put profit over principle.

Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas said the refusal to publish this report, and this utterly vague statement, are completely unacceptable.

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty

The statement gives absolutely no clue as to which countries foreign funding for extremism originates from, leaving the Government open to further allegations of refusing to expose the role of Saudi Arabian money in terrorism in the UK, she said.

The Prime Minister last week said she looked forward to deepening our close bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia, while Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said earlier this year that he wants British companies to sell more weapons to the country.

The review into extremist funding was commissioned by David Cameron in 2015 in exchange for Liberal Democrat support in a vote on whether to intervene militarily in Syria.
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Theresa Mays aides have cleared the Prime Ministers way to the summer holidays amid concern that anything controversial could derail the Government.

The publication of contentious reports, tricky legislation and potentially damaging opposition debates have all been put off until after the summer recess and beyond.

While Ms Mays administration is thought to have escaped immediate danger of a Tory coup or collapse, members of the Government said a period of calm would at least help her get to conference season unscathed.

It comes after The Independent revealed that Jeremy Corbyn is beginning a whirlwind tour of marginal constituencies in a bid to make his party election-ready if Ms May is toppled.

The Prime Minister herself admitted on Tuesday that she may not be able to implement her promised crackdown on insecure and exploitative working practices, saying it would be difficult without a strong majority in the Commons.

But there have also been reports that the Governments critical Brexit legislation, the Repeal Bill, will not come before the Commons before October, amid fears it could be scuppered by Tory remainers.

The Government is also currently sitting on one report about the funding of radical extremism, which Downing Street says is subject to discussions about what can be safely released, and another about how people of different ethnic backgrounds are treated by public services.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA 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 year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA

One member of the Government told The Independent: Its not the case that anything is being hidden. With some of the legislative stuff its just parliamentary planning that means we cant do it immediately. We might also be accused of trying to hush things up if reports were all rushed out together before the recess.

But having a period of calm is important. Not just for the Government, but for the country as well. People have had three big elections in three years, they expect the politicians to govern and to get on with the job of running the country.

Stability and calm are what people want and if its also an attempt to create a period of calm, then all for the good.

Details of the Governments post-Brexit immigration policy which had been expected ahead of a summer consultation are yet to appear, as are specifics on how the Government will tackle the schools funding crisis.

There is uncertainty over the Conservative manifesto promise for an extra 1bn per year which depended on funding from scrapping universal free school meals for infants, a proposal now abandoned.

Ministers instead say they are reflecting on plans for school meals and will come forward with proposals in due course.

 Jeremy Corbyn speaks at rally in Hastings

At the same time no opposition day debates have been scheduled before the summer recess.

Members of the Shadow Cabinet admit they would relish the opportunity to force votes on issues that might drive a wedge between the Tories and the DUP, who are propping up Ms Mays party.

One said: There are definitely places where that could happen given a chance.

Mr Corbyn meanwhile will embark on his tour taking in half of Labours target seats over the next few weeks, as he makes his party ready to fight for power.

The tour, which started with a rally in the London seat of ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, will be accompanied by a series of mini-campaigns, internal preparations and selections in critical target constituencies.
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Theresa Mays deputy has been accused of misleading MPs after insisting cancer patients had nothing to fear from the UK quitting the Euratom agency.

The Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) hit back after Damian Green dismissed doctors warnings that radioactive isotopes used in scans and treatments may no longer be available as scaremongering.

The Royal College of Radiologists has raised the alarm because the UK lacks reactors to produce the isotopes and relies on imports from France, Germany and Holland, overseen by Euratom.

Half a million scans are performed every year in Britain using imported radioisotopes, and more than 10,000 patients have cancer treatments that use them.

The controversy was raised at Prime Ministers Questions, where Mr Green  standing in for the absent Ms May, as her effective deputy  attacked unnecessary worry caused to cancer patients.

He told MPs: Euratom places no restrictions on the export of medical isotopes to countries outside the EU.

So, after leaving Euratom, our ability to access medical isotopes produced in Europe will not be affected.

I hope that reassures cancer patients around the country that the scaremongering thats going on is unnecessary.

But, within minutes, the NIAs chief executive tweeted a picture of part of the EU treaty which lists medical isotopes among goods subject to the provision of Chapter 9 on the nuclear common market.

Tom Greatrex, a former Labour MP, tweeted: Minister's response on medical isotopes misses point  part of #Euratom common area, listed in Treaty annexe, so are impacted.

He added: #euratom matters to both UK and EU - let's deal with this properly. Too important not to.

The row came as the Government admitted it had not carried out a formal assessment of the impact of quitting the Euratom agency.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy told the London Evening Standard: Although no formal impact assessment was carried out, government did assess the impact; the nuclear industry, the R&D community and the Office for Nuclear Regulation will all confirm this as government is in continuous dialogue with the industry on this.

Meanwhile, in a Commons debate, no fewer than seven Conservative MPs lined up to urge ministers to think again  enough to defeat the Government, if it comes to a vote.

Without new international agreements to replace it, MPs also fear Britain could run short of materials needed for scientific work and to produce electricity.

One Tory, former minister Bob Neill, warned the Government would be cutting off your economic and scientific nose to spite your political face, if it ploughed ahead.

Mr Neill pointed to very great benefits to the UK from continued Euratom membership, adding: We should not allow any thoughts of ideological purity to get in the way of achieving that.

Significantly, arch-Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash was also among Conservatives suggesting the UK seeks a form of associate membership of Euratom.

Another Eurosceptic backbencher, Antoinette Sandbach, said the UK had been awarded 500m of contracts in the nuclear fusion supply chain, adding: "All of that is put at risk, is it not, if we leave Euratom.

The Prime Minister has said Britain will seek a close post-Brexit relationship with the regulator, to try to head off the growing revolt in her party.
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Theresa Mays image has been removed from the Conservative party website homepage for the first time since she became Prime Minister, Labour has claimed.

Despite the focus of the general election campaign being centred on the Prime Minister  and team Theresa May  any reference or image of the embattled Ms May appears have been removed from the homepage of the website for the first time.

Raising the issue at the weekly session of Prime Ministers Questions, the Labour MP Toby Perkins said: Politicians are said to be here today and gone tomorrow, but whatever tomorrow may bring the Prime Minister isnt even here today to mark the end of her first year in power.

For the first time since she became Prime Minister, her image has now been removed from the front page of the Conservative party website.

He continued: Can the First Secretary tell us why she has gone from being the next Iron Lady to the lady vanishes?

Ms May was still featured on the party website in April 2016 (The Conservative Party ) (The Conservative Party)

In response, the First Secretary Damian Green, who was deputising for Ms May as she accompanied the King of Spain on his state visit to the UK, said: The honourable gentleman is ingenious in asking very personal questions. I commend him for it.

The removal of the Prime Minister from the homepage could have something to do with the dramatic fall in her approval ratings since she called the snap election earlier this year. According to one poll by ICM for the Guardian, Ms Mays net approval rating is now negative while Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, has a positive score  a reversal of the pre-election trend.

According to another poll, 44 per cent of respondents said the Labour leader was doing a good job and 28 per cent had a similar opinion of the Prime Minister.
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More than 20,000 Muslims attended a three-day convention denouncing terrorism.

The Ahmadiyya sect held the conference in the Canadian city of Mississauga. It featured an Islamic exhibition, a question and answer session with scholars and a series of lectures.

A press conference was also held and members of the media were encouraged to questions on issues relevant to the Muslim community.

Imam Azhar Haneef, a representative of the religion's leader, Caliph Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, also gave a speech denouncing all forms of terror.

He said that extremist groups concept of Islam was "illiterate," according to the Voice Online, adding: "If the youth are provided a true understanding of Islam, they would never commit any violent acts.

The Imam added: We have been engaged in outreach efforts for decades, dating back to the very founding of our community. We are a community of peace, and love for humanity."

The Ahmadiyya is a sect of Islam which originated in northern India in the late 19th Century.

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

It is regarded as being heretical by orthodox Muslims as it is does not believe that Mohammed was the final prophet.

The sects current headquarters is in London and it is estimated that there are between 10 and 20 million followers worldwide.
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Brazils former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been sentenced to nine and a half years in jail for corruption and money laundering.

Lula, who was president between 2003 and 2010, will remain free while an appeal is heard.

In the first of five trials, judge Sergio Moro found Lula guilty of accepting 3.7 million reais (890,000) worth of bribes from engineering firm OAS SA, the amount prosecutors said the company spent refurbishing a beach apartment for Lula in return for his help winning contracts with state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro.

The former president has said the charges are completely unfounded.

The case is part of a massive corruption investigation that has engulfed Brazilian politics and seen business executives and elite politicians jailed.

"The present conviction does not bring this judge any personal satisfaction. Quite the contrary, it is regrettable that a former president be criminally convicted," federal Judge Sergio Moro wrote in his decision.

"It doesn't matter how high you are, the law is still above you."

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

Judge Moro said he did not order Lula's immediate arrest because the conviction of a president is such a serious matter that he felt an appeal should be heard first.

Lula, who was president between 2003 and 2010, is leading polls for next year's presidential election.

The case will now be heard by a group of magistrates. If they uphold the conviction, Brazilian law says that Lula would be barred from seeking office.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A Canadian lobster fisherman lost his life after freeing a whale which had become tangled up in fishing gear.

Joe Howlett, from Campobello Island, New Brunswick, has saved dozens of endangered whales after they became entangled in fishing nets.

The 59-year-old had boarded a vessel off the province's eastern coast to help rescue a north Atlantic whale which had become entangled in heavy rope.

 Rescued whale 'waves goodbye'

Soon after cutting the last piece of rope from the massive whale, Mr Howlett was struck by the mammal, Mackie Green, of the Campobello Whale Rescue Team, said.

They got the whale totally disentangled and then some kind of freak thing happened and the whale made a big flip," Mr Green, who was not on the vessel at the time, told the Toronto Star.

Mr Howlett has helped rescue around two dozen whales over the past 15 years, his family and friends said.

Days before his death, he had rescued another North Atlantic right whale in the same region.

Dead whales beached on the North Sea coast Show all 8 1 /8 Dead whales beached on the North Sea coast Dead whales beached on the North Sea coast Two dead sperm whales are seen washed up on a beach near Skegness in northeast England. Four sperm whales believed to be from the same pod washed up on beaches in northeast England. Three whales were found on a beach near Skegness and one died on Hunstanton beach AFP Getty Dead whales beached on the North Sea coast 50ft sperm whale beached in Norfolk The dead 50ft (14.5m) young adult male sperm whale beached in Norfolk, which was was part of a group of six spotted in the Wash at Hunstanton, is believed to have been part of a pod that stranded and died in the Netherlands PA Dead whales beached on the North Sea coast 50ft sperm whale beached in Norfolk The dead 50ft (14.5m) young adult male sperm whale beached in Norfolk, which was was part of a group of six spotted in the Wash at Hunstanton, is believed to have been part of a pod that stranded and died in the Netherlands PA Dead whales beached on the North Sea coast 50ft sperm whale beached in Norfolk The dead 50ft (14.5m) young adult male sperm whale beached in Norfolk, which was was part of a group of six spotted in the Wash at Hunstanton, is believed to have been part of a pod that stranded and died in the Netherlands PA Dead whales beached on the North Sea coast 50ft sperm whale beached in Norfolk The dead 50ft (14.5m) young adult male sperm whale beached in Norfolk, which was was part of a group of six spotted in the Wash at Hunstanton, is believed to have been part of a pod that stranded and died in the Netherlands PA Dead whales beached on the North Sea coast 50ft sperm whale beached in Norfolk Two of three dead sperm whales that have washed up on a beach in Lincolnshire, just a day after another was beached in Norfolk PA Dead whales beached on the North Sea coast One of three dead sperm whales that have washed up on a beach in Lincolnshire, just a day after another was beached in Norfolk PA Dead whales beached on the North Sea coast Photo taken from the Twitter feed of the @RNLIskegness of one of three dead sperm whales that have washed up on a beach in Lincolnshire, just a day after another was beached in Norfolk PA

Joe definitely would not want us to stop because of this," Mr Green, who co-founded the Campobello Whale Rescue Team with Mr Howlett in 2012, added.

"This is something he loved and theres no better feeling than getting a whale untangled, and I know how good he was feeling after cutting that whale clear.

Federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc offered his sympathies to Mr Howlett's family and friends.

In a statement, he said: "We have lost an irreplaceable member of the whale rescue community. His expertise and dedication will be greatly missed."
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A man who beat his girlfriend unconscious before gouging her eyes out and leaving her to die has had his sentence reduced.

Chile's Supreme Court reduced Mauricio Ortega's jail term from 26 to 18 years, as the court ruled he was not attempting to kill Nabila Rifo when he brutally attacked her.

Hundreds protested outside the gates of the court, protesting against what they saw as an unjust decision.

The case has come to be seen as emblematic of the ongoing domestic violence crisis in Chile.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, who led the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, visited Ms Rifo in hospital while she was recovering.

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

Ortega was found guilty of causing serious injury and "frustrated femicide" - a legal term in the country referring to the killing of a woman because of her gender.

His defence lawyer, Ricardo Flores, asked for a retrial to get the sentence reduced.

Last month, Mr Florres said: "From the legal point of view, it would have been simpler to have killed her than simply to have left her alive."

Although the court rejected the appeal for a retrial, it overruled the prosecution for frustrated or attempted femicide and reduced Ortega's jail time.

During the trial, Ms Rifo told the court: "He harassed me for every little thing, for the food that I cooked 'badly'. He told me I was a whore. Sometimes he even dragged me down the stairs."

The mother-of-four told the Chilean press she wanted to share her story as an example to others.
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A man has opened up a "Blessing Box" filled with food for anyone to take if they need it.

Roman Espinoza, from Watertown, New York, decided to build a miniature food cupboard stocked with donated items.

"Whether you're taking or giving, you can just go to the blessing box," Mr Espinoza told CNN.

"There's not a lock on it  it's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

He got the idea while taking a class on human services at a local community college, where he was shocked to learn the school had a food cupboard for needy students.

He said: "I thought, 'Man, these adults that are spending time taking classes can't eat every day. '"

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Espinoza then decided to put up his box, providing the first bits of food himself. He said he hasn't had to put much in since, as the local community has stepped in to help.

"The box itself is for the community and it's sustained by the community," he said.

"The community, the neighbourhood and my block have been really supportive."

Other than food, the box also contains toiletries such as toothpaste, soap and shampoo.

Now, others in the Watertown community have asked Mr Espinoza for their own boxes.

"I've gotten a couple of requests from people around town for boxes for their property," he said.

"With any luck, we'll have a few around town where people can be made aware of them and make use of them."

He added: "Watertown, New York, in the next five years, could be known as the city of blessing boxes."
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An Iranian cancer researcher who had been headed to a prominent Boston hospital to work as a scholar was sent back to his country on Tuesday, a day after US immigration officials detained him and his family, media said.

Mohsen Dehnavi, his wife and three children were put on a return flight at about 9pm after being detained late on Monday at Logan International Airport, the Boston Globe said, citing Stephanie Malin, a spokeswoman for US Customs and Border Patrol.

The detentions were apparently unrelated to President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning travellers from six majority-Muslim countries, according to Boston Children's Hospital and immigration law specialists, who said Dehnavi had a valid entry visa.

Based on what we know, it's not travel-ban related. It's probably something much more stupid than that, said Susan Church, chair of the New England chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

The rules say if you have a valid visa you have to be let in, she told Reuters.

A spokesman for US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to telephone calls and emails to seek comment.

Two weeks ago, the US Supreme Court upheld a revised version of Trump's ban on travellers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, though it excluded visitors with a bona fide family tie. The executive order itself did not apply to travelers with valid visas.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump had called for a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States, a move he called necessary to protect national security in the wake of attacks at home and abroad by Islamist extremists.

Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban Show all 11 1 /11 Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty Activists protest Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban People listen to speakers at a demonstration against racism and conservative presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent remarks concerning Muslims on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Dozens or demonstrators and activists converged at Columbus Circle to denounce the politics of Trump and the treatment of Muslim refugees both in America and Europe. Spencer Platt/Getty

Opponents of the idea called it a violation of the US Constitution's protections for free expression of religion.

Trump's initial January version of the order, which also applied to Iraq, caused a weekend of chaos at US airports as travellers were turned away upon arrival and crowds of thousands turned out to protest against the move.

Reuters
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Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will meet with men's rights groups and accused rapists as part of her consultations on campus sexual assault, reports have claimed.

Along with representatives for sexual assault survivors, Ms DeVos has reportedly scheduled meetings with several groups that advocate for the rights of accused rapists. One group, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE), will bring along two men who say they were falsely accused of sexual assault, a SAVE spokesperson told the Daily Beast.

The representatives will include retired Navy serviceman Joseph Roberts, who alleges he was falsely accused of sexual assault while in college. Mr Roberts, who was reportedly suspended for several weeks before graduating, has said he felt the course of [his] life was derailed by the accusations. He has previously joined activists lobbying on behalf of SAVE on Capitol Hill.

Recommended 18 states sue Betsy DeVos for delaying rules meant to protect students

A second man, Jonathan Andrews, claims he was falsely accused in retaliation for reporting an alleged assault by a member of his fraternity.

SAVEs executive director Chris Perry will also be present, according to a SAVE spokesperson. Mr Perry told the Daily Beast that his organisation had been sending materials to the Department of Education ever since the Trump administration took over.

US sexual assault statistics Show all 8 1 /8 US sexual assault statistics US sexual assault statistics Graphiq US sexual assault statistics Graphiq US sexual assault statistics Graphiq US sexual assault statistics Graphiq US sexual assault statistics Graphiq US sexual assault statistics Graphiq US sexual assault statistics Graphiq US sexual assault statistics Graphiq

According to their website, SAVE believes that effective and just solutions to sexual assault require "consideration of the legitimate needs of all parties, including complainants and the accused.

In a 2013 paper, the organisation argued that domestic violence laws are threatening to rework fundamental notions of a civil and just society, and suggested that the Violence Against Women Act may be the most unconstitutional law in the United States.

The Department of Education has also reached out to representatives from the National Coalition for Men (NCFM) and Families Advocating for Campus Equality (FACE), according to Politico. Both groups are engaged in lobbying for the rights of accused rapists.

NCFM president Harry Crouch says the goal of his group is to dismantle the men's violence industry". He has previously suggested that, in cases of domestic violence, "often the woman initiates violence herself".

State chapters of the NCFM have previously been accused of publishing photos of female accusers on a page titled fase victims.

Reports of the meetings drew concern from some women's rights advocates, who feared the groups would advance what they see as a false narrative about victims.

"There is a difference between due process advocates and 'men's rights' groups that are often rape denialists that promote the sexist rape myth that most women lie," Laura Dunn, founder of SurvJustice, told The Independent.

She added: "While it is appropriate to discuss and improve due process protections on campus, this should not come at the expense of survivors' rights nor be couched in a mentality that victims are lying about their experiences."

The meetings come after years of activism by groups like SurvJustice, End Rape on Campus (EROC), and Know Your IX  as well as senators like Claire McCaskill and Kirsten Gillibrand  to raise awareness of sexual assault on college campuses. According to some studies, as many as one in five women will be sexually assaulted while in college.

Research puts the rate of false reporting at less than 10 per cent.

Under the Obama administration, the DOE opened investigations into hundreds of colleges and universities for allegedly mishandling allegations of sexual assault. The Department also issued the Dear Colleague Letter, which entrenched certain Title IX protections for those reporting their assualts.

Ms DeVos, in her Senate confirmation hearing, refused to say whether she would uphold the protections laid out in the Dear Colleague Letter. In the months following, she has overseen the rollback of some Obama-era policies on how to investigate allegations of sexual assault and other civil rights violations.

In her confirmation hearing, Ms DeVos said: I look forward to understanding the past actions and current situation better, and to ensuring that the intent of the law is actually carried out in a way that recognises both the victim ... as well as those who are accused.

The DOE has also reached out to representatives from Know Your IX, EROC, SurvJustice, National Womens Law Center, GLSEN, Girls, Inc and the National Center for Transgender Equality for meetings, according to Politico.
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Facing increasing pressure to quickly pass a healthcare bill, Senate Majority Leader McConnell has delayed the start of the Senate's August recess by two weeks.

"In order to provide more time to complete action on important legislative items and process nominees that have been stalled by a lack of cooperation from our friends across the aisle, the Senate will delay the start of the August recess until the third week of August," Mr McConnell announced in a statement.

While Republicans continue to primarily focus on passing legislation that will repeal and replace Obamacare, they still aim to take up tax reform and other legislative items by the end of the year.

"Once the Senate completes its work on health care reform, we will turn to other important issues including the National Defense Authorization Act and the backlog of critical nominations that have been mindlessly stalled by Democrats," Mr McConnell said.

With Republican legislators' overlapping concerns and competing interests, Mr McConnell has struggled to win support for the Senate healthcare measure. Moderate senators worry that millions of people would lose their insurance following cuts to Medicaid  a healthcare programme for the poor  while conservatives assert that the bill does not do enough to erase Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature domestic legislation.

Conservative Senator Mike Lee told reporters again on Tuesday that he could not support the first iteration of the bill that was released last month, but that there are changes that could be made to get him to vote 'yes'.

Mr Lee and Senator Ted Cruz, another conservative, have been pushing hard for the adoption of an amendment, known as the consumer freedom option, that would offer cheaper, deregulated plans for healthy people  a proposal that has been criticised by other Republican members of Congress. While allowing healthy and young people to get cheap coverage, opponents say the amendment would shift the sick and those with pre-existing conditions into high-risk pools that would likely cause premiums to spike to unaffordable levels.

With a majority of 52 Republican senators, Mr McConnell can only afford to lose two votes on the healthcare bill and still be able to pass it. In the event of a 50-50 tie, Vice President Mike Pence would be asked to cast the deciding vote. No Democrats are expected to support the legislation.

Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Show all 8 1 /8 Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP

Ten Republican senators had sent a letter to Mr McConnell at the end of June requesting that he consider truncating, if not completely foregoing, the scheduled August recess to allow them more time "to deliver conservative solutions for pressing legislative issues on behalf of the American people".

If Mr McConnell had not changed the schedule, there were only 30 working days as of Tuesday until the end of the fiscal year on 30 September, by which the Senate has to use the appropriations process to fund the federal government as well as deal with the debt limit.

During a press conference with eight of the legislators who had signed the letter, many of them newly elected, Senator Steve Daines said he did not see any reason why they should be leaving Washington in August given all of the work they have to get done.

"Most of us are new," said Senator Mike Rounds. "So, we are very close to what people back home are telling us. And they expect results up here."

Reporters also asked if the Republican senators had a response to the revelation that Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer in June 2016 after being promised that he would receive damaging information about his father's campaign opponent, Hillary Clinton.

"Id like to respond to it in this way: It has nothing to do with what we need to get done in August," Senator Thom Tillis said.

"Thats the very thing that we need to not be distracted by," he added. "We have specific things that we have to do here. Weve got to come up with a healthcare outcome, weve got to come up with a tax plan, weve got to come up with a spending strategy, and weve got to be disciplined and not get distracted by things that may be legitimate but not right now in our lanes."
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Far-right media personality Milo Yiannopoulos is suing his former book publisher for willful and opportunistic breach of contract, which the publisher says is publicity driven and entirely without merit.

The lawsuit, filed in the New York Supreme Court, alleges that Simon & Schuster broke contract when they decided against publishing his memoir Dangerous amid controversy over a video clip in which Mr Yiannopoulos appeared to defend sexual relationships between men and boys as young as 13  an interpretation of his remarks that the far-right provocateur says is wrong.

Mr Yiannopoulos was forced to self-publish his memoir, which jumped to the top of Amazon charts after release this month, but has since dropped to 10th. Mr Yiannopoulos lawsuit contends that the book would have sold more copies if it had been supported by the giant publisher.

Recommended Bill Maher invites Milo Yiannopoulos back on show

Simon & Schuster dropped the media personality in spite of reportedly having paid $250,000 in advance for the memoir. He was reportedly allowed to keep $80,000 of that sum when dropped.

When contacted for comment on this story, Mr Yiannopoulos declined to comment.

Although we have not been officially served, we believe that Yiannopoulos's lawsuit is publicity driven and entirely without merit, a statement from the publisher provided to the Independent reads. Simon & Schuster will vigorously defend itself against any such action, and fully expects to prevail in court.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Yiannopoulos made a spectacle of the lawsuit the week by announcing it outside of Simon & Schusters New York headquarters.

They have to pay for silencing conservatives and libertarians. How many more books could I have sold with their marketing muscle? he said.

The number of books Mr Yiannopoulos has sold as a private publisher has been disputed. The company in charge of promoting the book says that there have been 100,000 copies sold. But, the US trade paper Publishers Weekly has said that figure is too high.

Their shareholders should be pretty angry right now, because it isnt going to stop at 100,000. Were seeing everything pick up and continuing to pick up, Mr Yiannopoulos told that paper. Orders from distributors and retailers are getting bigger, not smaller. I think I can sell half a million copies without breaking a sweat. Simon & Schusters shareholders should be really, really pissed. And Im really pissed at them  which is why Im suing them.

Simon & Schuster severed ties with the British-born media personality after a video showing him arguing that the age of consent  particularly in the gay community  shouldnt be a one size fits all policy, sparked protest and controversy. Mr Yiannopoulos argued in the video that there are people younger than that threshold who are capable of giving informed consent, and said that relationships between men and young boys helps those children to discover themselves.

Some of those relationships between younger boys and older men, those kind of coming-of-age relationships,the relationships in which those older men help those young boys to discover who they are, and give them security and safety and provide them with love and a reliable  a sort of a rock for when they cant talk to their parents, he said.

When the interviewers said that the circumstance Mr Yiannopoulos was describing sounded like priest molestation, the far-right personality said that he is grateful for his childhood priest because he wouldnt be able to give as good of oral sex without him.

Mr Yiannopoulos later clarified in a statement that he doesnt support paedophelia, and noted that he may have been sloppy in his wording. He also said that the video that had gone viral online had been deceptively edited. As for the comments on giving better oral sex because of a priest, he said that was a joke.
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Russias foreign minister has dismissed the row over Donald Trump Jrs meetings with a Russian lawyer, suggesting media reports of the matter are making a mountain out of a molehill.

Sergei Lavrov said it was preposterous that the US Presidents son be blamed for meeting a lawyer who said she may be able to get damaging information about Hillary Clinton during the election campaign.

Mr Trump Jr released a cache of emails on Twitter yesterday where he revealed he had arranged a meeting with a Russian government lawyer who said she had information about Ms Clinton as part of a government effort to help Mr Trump Snr win the White House.

Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Mr Trump Jr, said the controversy was much ado about nothing.

He said the meeting, which happened between May and June 2016, came to nothing and stressed his father knew nothing about it.

The bottom line is that Don, Jr did nothing wrong. I have been representing people in investigatory matters for almost 30 years, and I see nothing here, he added.

Speaking at a news conference in Belgium, Mr Lavrov offered his support to Mr Trump Jr, demanding at least one fact from journalists that proved Moscow had tried to interfere with the election.

He said: "I learned with surprise that a Russian lawyer, a woman, is being blamed and Trump's son is being blamed for meeting. For me, this is wild.

"Because when any person speaks to a lawyer, what problem or threat could there be? I didn't know about this, I learned about it from television."

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

He dismissed the media attention, saying "It's amazing that serious people are making a mountain out of a molehill."

But this is the latest link found between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, which critics say is further evidence the former colluded with, or were at least aware, of Moscows attempts to undermine the electoral process.

Former National Security Adviser General Michael Flynn is currently the subject of two different investigations into claims he discussed government matters with the Russian ambassador before Mr Trump took office.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was also forced to recuse himself from overseeing the Justice Departments investigation into the matter after it was alleged that he had misled the Senate over his own interactions with the Russians during his confirmation hearing.
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A Democratic representative has introduced the first formal article of impeachment against President Donald Trump.

Representative Brad Sherman alleges Mr Trump committed obstruction of justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey amid agency investigations into Russian meddling in the US election.

"Such conduct," Mr Sherman writes in the article, "warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office."

 Will Donald Trump be impeached?

The Constitution allows impeachment in the case of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours". Obstruction of justice is a felony offence.

To take effect, however, articles of impeachment must pass the House by a majority vote  an unlikely outcome in today's Republican-controlled chamber. So far, only one other Democrat  Texas Representative Al Green  has publicly expressed support for impeachment proceedings.

When Mr Sherman started circulating a draft article last month, fellow Democratic Representative Michael Capuano reportedly stood up at a party meeting and denounced him as selfish.

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

In a statement issued Wednesday, Mr Sherman said he does not expect impeachment to happen immediately. Instead, he hopes the article will inspire an "intervention" in the White House, and encourage the executive branch to control its "uncontrollable impulses".

If not, he said, Republicans will eventually begin to support the impeachment effort.

Mr Sherman's article cites several of Mr Trump's reported actions  both before and after Mr Comey's termination  as evidence of obstructing justice.

First, Mr Sherman cites Mr Comey's allegation that the President asked him to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. In a Senate hearing last month, Mr Comey said Mr Trump had privately asked him to "let this go".

Mr Sherman also faults Mr Trump for firing the former FBI Director, and claims he did so in response to Mr Comey's handling of the Russia investigation.

While the White House provided several different accounts of Mr Comey's firing, the President eventually told NBC's Lester Holt: "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."

Finally, the Representative cites Mr Trump's reported comments after the firing, in which he allegedly told Russian officials: I faced great pressure because of Russia. Thats taken off.

After Mr Comey's firing, the Department of Justice appointed a special prosecutor to oversee their investigation into Russian meddling. The special prosecutor, Robert Mueller, is reportedly investigating Mr Trump for possible obstruction of justice, but has yet to release any findings.
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President Donald Trump has praised the transparency shown by his eldest son, Donald Jr, in releasing emails where he said "I love it" to what he had been told was an attempt by the Russian government to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential election campaign.

Mr Trump's defence of his son comes despite the fact that the emails increase the pressure on the White House over a number of investigations into potential ties between the Trump team and Russia. The release of the emails, via Mr Trump Jr's Twitter account, appear to have been forced by the fact that reporters were lining up a story disclosing the contents of the messages, amid a mounting controversy about his previously undisclosed meeting last summer with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who has been linked to the Kremlin.

While President Trump called his son a "high quality person" in a statement read out by White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Democrats jumped on the revelation, calling the emails "explosive". A number of Democrats also claimed that the messages prove there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia as part of attempts by Moscow to meddle in the 2016 presidential election - something the White House has repeatedly denied.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday evening, Mr Trump Jr insisted his father had not been made aware of the meeting. "I wouldnt have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff, he said. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame."

But he added that with hindsight, he probably would have done things a little differently".

Accusations of potential co-operation between the Trump campaign team and Russia, over what a number of US intelligence services have said was hacking of the election with the aim of helping Mr Trump into the White House, have dogged the President's first few months in office. A number of Congressional and FBI investigations into the hacking and any potential links to team Trump are underway - with the latest revelations sure to pile more pressure onto the President.

Both the Senate and House intelligence committees have said they want to speak to Mr Trump Jr, and examine the emails, while the team of Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who has taken over the FBI investigation, is also planning to study both the meeting and the emails, according to a report by CNN.

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

Investigators have been searching for a "smoking gun" over the contacts between the Trump team and Russia, with many of the President's opponents quick to cast the new emails in that light. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said it showed "open, knowing collusion".

"This is a pattern of lies that is deeply deeply disturbing. I think for a long time, we saw a lot of smoke but no fire. Youre seeing the fire today, he added.

The meeting between Mr Trump and Ms Veselnitskaya took place on 9 June 2016, with the new emails detailing an exchange between Mr Trump Jr and Rob Goldstone, a former British tabloid journalist who works as in New York as a music publicist and helped facilitate the meeting, ahead of that date.

 Russian lawyer says Trump Jr 'badly' wanted dirt on Clintons

The emails show that Mr Goldstone told Mr Trump Jr that the crown prosecutor of Russia had offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. Mr Goldstone manages Russian pop star Emin Agalarov, whose father, Aras, a Moscow-based property developer, was President Trump's business partner in taking the Miss Universe competition to Moscow in 2013

This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its governments support for Mr Trump, Mr Goldstome added

Seventeen minutes later, Mr Trump Jr replied: If its what you say, I love it, especially later in the summer.

In a later email, Mr Goldstone described Ms Veselnitskaya as a Russian government attorney. Mr Goldstone told The Wall Street Journal his reference to the crown prosecutor was also meant to mean Ms Veselnitskaya.

The email chain suggests Mr Trump Jr was forwarding the messages to Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and now White House adviser, and Mr Trump's then campaign manager Paul Manafort. Both Mr Kushner and Mr Manafort attended the meeting with Ms Veselnitskaya.

Ms Clinton's former running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, said the emails "were explosive" and contained wheelbarrows full of new evidence for the special prosecutor, referencing Mr Mueller.

Leading Democrat Nancy Pelosi was one of the first to point out what she saw as the serious nature of what the new emails mean. Theres no escaping it: the Trump Campaigns inner circle met with an agent of a hostile foreign power to influence the outcome of an American election, she said.

Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon and member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, went further. "The question is how far the coordination goes. It is now up to elected officials of both parties to stand up and do their duty: protect and defend the constitution, he said.

 Congress lines up to condemn Trump Jr emails about Russia

Some Republicans urged caution, saying that the investigations should run their course, but others were more forthright. Any time you're in a campaign and you get an offer from a foreign government to help your campaign, the answer is 'no', Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a frequent President Trump critic, said.

When news of the meeting was broken by The New York Times on Saturday, Mr Trump Jr initially did not mention the potential information about Ms Clinton. He said: It was a short introductory meeting...we primarily discussed a programme about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, but it was not a campaign issue at the time and there was no follow up.

A new statement on Sunday said that the meeting involved a woman who Mr Trump Jr was told "might have information useful for the campaign". In a statement accompanying the emails on Tuesday, Mr Trump Jr said the Kremlin-connected lawyer was not a government official, and that she did not provide any information regarding Ms Clinton.

Ms Veselnitskaya also insisted on Tuesday that she had no compromising information on Ms Clinton to offer. Asked if she had compromising information on Ms Clinton, Ms Veselnitskaya said it was not true and Mr Trump Jr was told so. However, she previously told NBC that Trump officials "were looking for such information... They wanted it so badly".

I never had compromising information and could not have had, Ms Veselnitskaya said, adding that she did not represent anyone other than myself.

The lawyer insisted she was offered to meet with Trump Jr in a private setting not connected to the fact that he is the son of the presidential candidate".
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A former Watergate prosecutor says that Donald Trump Jrs emails are the smoking gun that shows the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election, and it was possibly treasonous.

In the June emails  which Mr Trump Jr posted on Twitter this week in anticipation of a New York Times story on the subject that was scheduled to be published  President Donald Trump's eldest son discussed setting up a meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer who claimed she had dirt on Hillary Clinton.

It certainly seems like theres a smoking gun. For example, it shows there was collusion. That they were willing to take that information from the Russian government, even if it was information stolen by the security forces of Hillary Clinton, Nick Akerman, a former US attorney who worked on the Watergate case, told The Independent.

Recommended Congress members condemn Trump Jr email release

I mean it shows that they were involved with treason, that they were involved in campaign spending violations and other things as well as false statements to the government with respect to Jared Kushner, he continued.

To put it another way, perhaps gun isnt a strong enough noun.

This is almost a smoking canon, Mr Akerman told a New York Post reporter in a separate interview.

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 Trump Jr was approached last year by Rob Goldstone, a British music publicist with strong ties to Russia and the Trump family, with the offer to connect him with Natalia Veselnitskaya. Ms Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer who represents several state-owned businesses and the son of a top oligarch in the country.

This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump, Mr Goldstone wrote in one of the emails.

Mr Trump Jr was all game to take the meeting, and ultimately brought along Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort, and the future Presidents son-in-law Jared Kushner.

If its what you say I love it, Mr Trump Jr wrote at one point during the exchanges.

Mr Trump Jr defended himself against the accusations that this meeting constituted some sort of collusion with the Russian government, and said that the meeting ultimately focused on other matters than damaging intelligence on Ms Clinton or her campaign.

I first wanted to just have a phone call but when that didn't work out, they said the woman would be in New York and asked if I would meet. I decided to take the meeting. The woman, as she has said publicly, was not a government official, Mr Trump Jr said in a statement accompanying the emails. And, as we have said, she had no information to provide and wanted to talk about adoption policy and the Magnitsky Act.

The White House has consistently maintained that nobody involved in the 2016 campaign had done anything wrong. A short statement from the White House regarding the new emails said that the West Wing applauds Mr Trump Jr's "transparency" in releasing the emails, and that he is a "high quality person."

Mr Akerman said that the emails seem to tie together a considerable portion of news media reporting that has suggested that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government in its attempts to influence the 2016 presidential campaign in Mr Trumps favour.

That reporting has included allegations that Mr Kushner had lied to the federal government about having contact with Russian sources, as well as allegations that Mr Manafort had been in contact with Russian sources. The emails also show that the Trump campaign may have violated campaign finance laws in seeking the dirt on Ms Clinton, which prohibit political campaigns from soliciting anything of value from a foreign government.

But, Mr Akerman isnt the only former Watergate lawyer to say that the emails raise grave concerns.

It is collusion, Jill Wine-Banks, a former assistant Watergate special prosecutor, said on MSNBC. It is collusion with a foreign adversary if they were working together to get the information from the Russian government.
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In the halls of the US capitol, many Republicans are keeping a cool demeanour when asked if they are concerned with emails released by Donald Trump Jr that show him facilitating a meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer who said she had dirt on Hillary Clinton.

The White House, similarly, has swatted away concerns publicly. Mr Trump Jr did not do anything wrong, they said hours after the emails were released. Hes simply being transparent. Hes a high-quality person.

But a contrasting picture of the state of affairs in the West Wing has emerged from White House officials, who say they feel blind-sided, and liken the revelations within the emails to a major storm hitting land at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

One adviser to Donald Trump told Politico they felt essentially helpless following the revelations, because the exchange occurred amid a chaotic, anything goes campaign with few rules.

The same individual said they and several other people in the White House they had spoken to had no idea about the meetings, even though Mr Trumps son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner, was also at the meeting.

While the President has not made any public appearances since he returned to Washington from his trip to the G20 summit in Germany, people who have spoken to him in the past several days say the commander-in-chief is furious.

Mr Trump is fuming and blaming the news media he frequently spars with, according to the Associated Press, but his anger is not directed at his son. He is also reportedly questioning the quality of the advice he has received from his senior staff.

Other reports indicate that staffers have turned on one another, pointing fingers to place blame on colleagues in an effort to avoid the President's ire.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

The President bit back at the media on Twitter amid chaos, urging his followers to disregard media reports with anonymous sources, and insisting that his White House is running efficiently, and that theyre focused on policy issues.

Outside allies who contend that Mr Trump Jr wont face legal percussions, also noted that the emails story is a disaster for the White Houses public image. Its a Category 5 hurricane for the West Wing, one outside ally told the Washington Post. Another told that paper that CNN graphics showing the web of connections between the Trump campaign and Russia resembles the sinister Netflix series House of Cards in which, yes, the Presidency is stolen through less than savoury means.

The emails have once again thrust questions surrounding the Trump campaigns ties to Russia into the national spotlight just as the White House and congressional Republicans hoped to pull together a healthcare overhaul bill this summer that the GOP could coalesce around.

Mr Trump Jr posted on Twitter in what he said was an attempt at transparency in good faith. The emails show him corresponding with a British music publicist who indicated that he was working to connect the Trump campaign with a source connected to the Russian government who could provide damaging information about Ms Clintons ties to Russia. The liaison also noted that the Russian government has an interest in helping Mr Trump to beat Ms Clinton.

Mr Trumps eldest son said that the meeting had proved unfruitful, and said that the Russian lawyer had no information to provide. He also noted that he could have handled the meeting better.

But critics say there are several problematic elements to the meeting, which included Mr Trump Jr, Mr Kushner, ad former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

Mr Kushner, for instance, failed to note in federal filings that he had met with Russian sources during the campaign.

Another claim is that the emails show the Trump campaign at least attempted to collude with the Russian government to influence the 2016 US presidential election.

Another concern is surrounding US campaign finance law, which prohibits campaigns from accepting foreign donations or gifts of value  like information  from foreign sources.

Mr Trump Jr has reportedly had a changing mood regarding the emails story. When the first stories were published by the New York Times over the weekend, he was reportedly worried about their implications. Since then, however, his perspective has shifted and he has become steeled to fight back against an issue he has indicated he thinks the media is blowing out of proportion.

Still, the White House has struggled to mount a strong defence of the meeting. Vice President Mike Pence has sought to distance himself from the scandal, saying he hadnt joined the campaign at that point. Meanwhile, the West Wings communications team has stated that theres no distance between Mr Pence and Mr Trump on the issue.

White House Principal Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the whole thing ridiculous during a daily press briefing.

But, just like the President, the briefing was off camera. Mr Trump didnt have any public events scheduled - though the White House scheduled an interview for him with a Christian television network - leading up to his next foreign trip, when hell fly to France to celebrate Bastille Day.
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Donald Trump has said he probed Vladimir Putin for almost half an hour over whether the Russian President meddled in last November's US election.

The pair met for talks lasting more than two hours last week during the G20 summit in Hamburg.

Mr Trump claimed he questioned his Russian counterpart for the first 20 or 25 minutes of the meeting, asking Mr Putin if he was involved in what US intelligence believe was meddling in the presidential campaign.

"I said, did you do it?," Mr Trump said in an interview with the Reuters news agency.

"And he said no, I did not. Absolutely not. I then asked him a second time in a totally different way. He said absolutely not."

Asked if he believed the Mr Putins denial, Mr Trump said: Something happened and we have to find out what it is because we can't allow a thing like that to happen to our election process."

Mr Trump also spoke about his son Donald Trump Jr's meeting last year with a Russian lawyer, saying he had been unaware of it until just a few days ago.

No, that I didnt know until a couple of days ago when I heard about this, he said.

Mr Trump also said he did not fault his son for holding the meeting.

"I think many people would have held that meeting," the President said.

US intelligence agencies and members of the Trump team have accused the Kremlin and its affiliates of interfering in the election, but Mr Trump himself has wavered on the subject, at times suggesting that others might have been involved.

Asked whether he felt he could trust Putin, Mr Trump replied: "I am not a person who goes around trusting lots of people. But hes the leader of Russia. It is the second most powerful nuclear power on earth.

 Trump meets Putin for first time since winning presidency

I am the leader of the United States. I love my country. He loves his country.

Mr Trump again insisted there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia.

"There was zero coordination, he said. Its the dumbest thing Ive ever heard.
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Newly revealed intelligence shows Russian officials discussed meeting with associates or advisers to Donald Trump in 2015 just months before he declared his candidacy to become president, the Wall Street Journal reports.

At that time, intelligence analysts didn't really know what to make of the intercepted conversations, since Mr Trump was a global celebrity who had done business in Russia before. In light of recent emails posted on Twitter by Donald Trump Jr that detail a conversation to facilitate a meeting between himself and a Kremlin-connected lawyer in June of last year, intelligence officials are taking a second look.

Current and former intelligence officials told the Wall Street Journal that, since Mr Trump had produced the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow, and had sold properties in the country, they weren't alone alarming.

Recommended White House in chaos after Trump Jr emails detail Russia meeting

But, they were puzzling, and had people asking each other, "What's going on?" one former official said.

American suspicions that Russia was attempting to influence the 2016 election grew in the spring of last year, when intelligence counterparts in Europe warned that Russian money might be flowing into the US presidential election, sources knowledgeable with the warning said. It's not clear which candidates were on the receiving end of that alleged cash flow, or if the money was diverting into outside spending groups.

That investigation would only grow over the course of the next year, following massive hacks and leaks of Democrat email servers just before the 2016 Democratic National Committee, and then again in October just before the election. The US government publicly accused the Russian government of meddling in the election late last year.

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 Trump Jr, after a series of stories were published by the New York Times over the weekend showing that members of Mr Trump's inner circle had met with individuals associated with the Russian government during the 2016 campaign, publicly released emails from that time. Those emails detail the facilitation of a meeting in June of last year - just a month before Mr Trump would formally accept the Republican nomination to become president - and show an eager response to a promise that a Russian source would be able to supply the campaign with dirt on Hillary Clinton.

The meeting would take place days later, and included Mr Trump Jr, former campaign manager Paul Manafort, and Mr Trump's son-in-law and now-senior adviser Jared Kushner. They met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who represents the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, as well as several state owned businesses. The man acting as a liaison for the meeting said in the emails that the Russian government was keen on helping Mr Trump win the election.

Mr Trump Jr has adamantly argued that he did nothing wrong in the exchange, and says that he didn't receive any damaging intelligence from Ms Veselnitskaya during the meeting. Instead, they spoke about US-Russia relations, and other issues related to the two countries. Mr Trump Jr said in a statement accompanying the emails that he was releasing them for transparency purposes, and acknowledged that he could have handled the meeting better.

The White House has said that Mr Trump Jr didn't do anything wrong, and the President himself has also expressed support for his son. Mr Trump is reportedly furious about the coverage, and is angry that the media is focusing on the story instead of his policy proposals.

Still, the correspondence has raised concerns about the Trump campaign's ties with Russia last year, and many have said that the emails show that the three three men who attended the meeting had at least attempted to collude with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. Others have noted that the emails present even further concerns, including potential vulerability to treason charges, and potential vulnerability to charges related to breaking campaign finance laws should it turn out that they had actually accepted damaging information.
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A prominent Republican in Congress has suggested that Donald Trump should use federal money allocated to Planned Parenthood and food stamps to help pay for Donald Trumps border wall, a move that advocates make it difficult for millions of Americans to survive.

Representatives Steve King, of Iowa, made the statement after the House Appropriations Committee introduced a spending bill that would allocate $1.6 billion toward the wall as a part of a $13.8 billion budget for the US Customs and Border Protection overall.

Mr King said that hed like $5 billion more to be added to that budget.

Recommended Trump says Mexico will pay for border wall after meeting with Nieto

I would find half of a billion dollars of that right out of Planned Parenthoods budget, Mr King said on CNN. And the rest of it could come out of food stamps and the entitlements that are being spread out for people that havent worked in three generations.

Weve got to put America back to work, this Administration will do it, he continued.

Mr Trumps proposed border wall is expected to cost $21.6 billion, and take three-and-a-half years to finish, an internal White House report leaked in February indicated. That figure is much higher than the $12 billion that the Trump campaign cited in 2016, and even other estimates from Congress that reached as high as $15 billion.

Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Show all 33 1 /33 Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first 100 days in office were marred by a string of scandals, many of which caught the eye of the Independent's cartoonists Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's first 100 days have seen him aggressively ramp up tensions with his nuclear rivals in North Korea Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has warned of a "major, major conflict" with the pariah nation lead by Kim Jong Un Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump dropped the "mother of all bombs" on alleged ISIS-linked militants in Afghanistan, amid an escalation of US military intervention around the globe Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been accused of falling short of the standards set by his predecessors in the Oval Office, including Franklin D Roosevelt Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The tycoon's ascension to the White House came at a time when the balance of power is shifting away from Western nations like those in the G7 group Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Western politicians, including the British Conservative party, have been accused of falling in line behind Mr Trump's proposals Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Brexit is seen to have weakened Britain, reducing still further any political will to resist American leadership Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump's leadership has been marked by sudden and unexpected shifts in global policy Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Trump's controversial missile strike on Syria, which killed several citizens, was seen by some analysts as an attempt to distract from his policy elsewhere Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The President has also spent a large majority of his weekends golfing, rather than attending to matters of state Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Though free of gaffes, a visit from Chinese president Xi Jinping spotlighted trade tensions between the two states Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One major and unexpected setback came when Mr Trump's Healthcare Bill was struck down by members of his own party Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Mr Trump has been a figure of fun in the media, with his approval at record lows Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A string of revelations about Mr Trump's financial indiscretions did not mar his surge to the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Outgoing President Barack Obama was accused of wiretapping Trump Tower by his successor in America's highest office Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The alleged involvement of Russian intelligence operatives in securing Mr Trump the presidency prompted harsh criticism Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons The explosive resignation of Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who lied about his links to the Russian ambassador, was just one scandal to hit the President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Many scandals, such as the accusation Barack Obama was implicated in phone-hacking, first broke on Mr Trump's Twitter feed Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's election provoked mass protests in the UK, with millions signing a petition to ban him from the country Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump cited a non-existent terror attack in Sweden during a campaign rally Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump stands accused of stoking regional tensions in Eastern Asia Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons North Korea has launched a number of failed nuclear tests since Mr Trump took power Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Theresa May formally rejected the petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from the UK Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons When Mr Trump's initial so-called Muslim ban was struck down by a federal justice, the President mocked the 69-year-old as a "ridiculous", "so-called judge" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons A week after his inauguration, Theresa May met with Mr Trump at the White House Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's first days in office were marked by a hasty attempt to follow through on many of his campaign promises, including the so-called Muslim ban Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's decision to ban citizens of many majority-Muslim countries from the US sparked mass protests Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Revelations about Donald Trump's sexual improprieties were not enough to keep him from being elected President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was criticised by many in the press for cosying up to the new President Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons One of Mr Trump's top aides, Kelly Anne Conway, was mocked for describing mistruths as "alternative facts" Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons British PM Theresa May was quick to demonstrate that her political aims did not hugely differ from Mr Trump's Donald Trump's first 100 days: in cartoons Donald Trump's inauguration, on 20 January 2017, sparked protests both at home and abroad

The proposed wall  which would actually be a series of fences and walls  has proved contentious amongst environmentalists who say that walls would destroy local habitats, and amongst individuals who worry that the wall would be isolating for the United States abroad.

But critics also warn that slashing the funds for those programmes Mr King has targeted could have disastrous effects for some of the poorest people in America.

For instance, federal food stamps as a part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) help 42.6 million low income Americans put food on the table every day.

More than 380,000 people in Iowa  most of whom are children, seniors, working parents, veterans, or people with disabilities  depend on SNAP to survive, Joel Berg, the executive director of Hunger Free America, said in a statement provided to The Independent. Not only that, SNAP aids Iowa farmers. I find it hard to believe that someone representing Iowa would inflict such cruel harm on so many just to make a cheap ideological point.

Meanwhile, federal funding for Planned Parenthood  which doesnt go toward abortions, as is often falsely stated  helps people who rely on public health programmes like Medicaid to receive preventative health care services.

"Planned Parenthood receives federal funding the same way as every other hospital or community health care provider: through Medicaid reimbursements for specific services provided, including birth control and cancer screenings," Erica Sackin, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood, said in an emailed statement. "For Rep. Steve King to propose using Medicaid reimbursements to pay for a border wall is nonsensical and cruel. Blocking individuals on Medicaid from going to Planned Parenthood for preventive care will result in people losing access to care."

In addition, harsh immigration enforcement policies, including building a wall, are designed to sow fear in immigrant communities and stand in their way of accessing health care," she continued. "Planned Parenthood is proud to serve everyone regardless of immigration status.

Mr Kings proposal would roughly gut all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and would take a sizable chunk out of the $70.9 billion budget SNAP had in 2016.
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When North Korea launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile in the early-morning hours of 4 July, US military and intelligence personnel watched for a full 70 minutes, a source told The Diplomat's Ankit Panda.

During that time, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un smoked cigarettes and strolled around the launchpad under the US's gaze.

The US knew North Korea was in the final stages of building an ICBM after a recent rocket-engine test. The US knew North Korea liked to test missiles on the American Independence Day to send a message. The US knew this missile was different from any it had seen before, and the US knew it could destroy it with a variety of precision-fire platforms in the region. Importantly, the US also had Kim in its crosshairs for over an hour  and did nothing.

Those facts speak volumes about the security climate in the Koreas.

While it's fairly standard that the US didn't strike the missile ahead of the launch, Rodger Baker, the lead analyst of Asia Pacific and South Asia at Stratfor, a geopolitical consulting firm, told Business Insider, the unusual aspect may be saying they were watching, or at least allowing that to leak.

Video of the launch clearly shows Kim on-site, sometimes feet away from the missile. The next day, the US and South Korea put on a blistering display of precision-guided firepower demonstrating they could have both killed Kim and stopped the launch. But they didnt.

By letting North Korea know it watched Kim as he prepared for one of his country's most provocative missile tests ever, Baker says, the US may have sent two powerful messages.

The decision fit with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's statement that the US wanted to bring Kim Jong-un to his senses, not his knees and that regime change was not the US's ultimate goal.

But regime security is the reason North Korea wants long-range nuclear weapons in the first place.

If the US demonstrates it's not intent on killing Kim, that could communicate that there's no need to continue the missile programme, according to Baker.

But if the program is continued, Baker said, the US showed it could strike it and Kim. Though North Korea varies and tries to hide its launch points, the US tracks them vigorously, and footage of the launches always shows Kim nearby.

Perhaps rather than kill Kim and trigger a North Korean response, which could be massive, the US elected to signal that the best path to regime security would be to stay indoors and not play around near dangerous rocket engines, which have a habit of blowing up.

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Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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A Christian youth group leader allegedly raped an underage girl and punched her in the stomach when he thought she was pregnant.

Samuel Patrick Dockary, 23, is facing 26 charges including rape, indecent assault, and unlawful sexual connection, involving two complainants, both of whom were aged under 16 at the time.

The New Zealand native plead not guilty at the beginning of his trial at the Hamilton District Court.

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But one of the girls testified that he had sent her text messages saying "he wanted a relationship with me", according to Stuff.co.nz.

"I was quite flattered [but] I thought it was strange and I was uncomfortable," she added.

After befriending her family Mr Dockary is also said to have forced the girl to perform oral sex on him, and to have raped her, the court was told.

At one point, believing the girl to be pregnant, he allegedly punched her in the stomach.

He allegedly told her: "If there is a baby in there, I have just killed it," the girl told the court.

The trial continues.
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A Buddhist monk has been sentenced to seven years and nine months in prison after being found guilty of more than 25 counts of sexually abusing children in Germany.

The DPA news agency reported that the 62-year-old man was convicted in Bavaria's Augsburg state court of abusing seven children, aged four to 13, over a period of almost 15 years.

The monk, identified only as Hans D in line with German privacy laws, also took pornographic photos of some of his victims and authorities also found him in possession of other child pornography when he was arrested.

The man confessed to all of the accusations against him as his trial opened, meaning his victims were not needed to appear as witnesses.

Associated Press
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A major naval mission spearheaded by the EU has failed to tackle people smuggling in the Mediterranean and may even be leading to higher death tolls, a new report has found.

Operation Sophia, launched in 2015, has had little effect in deterring migration and its mandate should not be renewed, according to findings by the House of Lords EU External Affairs Sub-Committee.

But the report concludes that the operations search and rescue work which has saved the lives of many people should continue.

The initiative, involving 25 EU member states including the UK, was set up in the wake of disasters in which hundreds of migrants drowned attempting to reach Europe.

Yet detection of irregular migrants on the central Mediterranean route was at its highest level in 2016, when 181,436 people arrived in Europe by this route  an increase of 18 per cent on 2015, when the figure was 153,842.

A naval mission is the wrong tool to tackle irregular migration, which begins onshore, the assessment found.

It claimed an unintended consequence of Operation Sophia's destruction of vessels had been that the smugglers have managed to adapt, sending migrants to sea in unseaworthy vessels. This led to a tragic increase in deaths, with 2,150 in 2017 to date, the report added.

But it also noted that Operation Sophia vessels have rescued more than 33,000 people since the start of the mission.

The report comes just days after Amnesty International said reckless EU operations were destroying smugglers safest boats in the Mediterranean and causing more refugee deaths. It claimed the EU had turned its back on the search and rescue strategy.

A report by the human rights group argued that the search-and-rescue measures implemented in 2015 dramatically decreased the numbers of deaths at sea, but that EU governments had now shifted their focus to disrupting smugglers and preventing boats departing from Libya.

It said the EU strategy was exposing refugees and migrants to even greater risks at sea, destroying so many of the wooden boats used by smugglers that huge numbers of people had now started making the crossing on less safe rubber dinghies.

Commenting on the findings of Wednesdays report, Baroness Verma, chair of the committee, said: People smuggling begins onshore, so a naval mission is the wrong tool for tackling this dangerous, inhumane and unscrupulous business. Once the boats have set sail, it is too late.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. 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In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. 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Operation Sophia has failed to meet the objective of its mandate  to disrupt the business model of people smuggling. It should not be renewed. However it has been a humanitarian success, and it is critical that the EUs lifesaving search and rescue work continues, but using more suitable, non-military, vessels.

Future UK and EU action should focus on tackling people smuggling in source and transit countries, and supporting sustainable economic development and good governance in these countries.

Italy has found itself on the front line of a mass movement of people into Europe, and deserves credit for its efforts to respond.

Responding to the Lords committee report, Lily Caprani, Deputy Executive Director at Unicef UK, said: The Lords Committee is right to point out that we must address the underlying need for these dangerous journeys: a lack of safe and legal routes.

"Those that continue to be forced into this perilous journey include vulnerable unaccompanied children, including those trying to join their family in Europe.

"The UK Government must change our family reunion rules so that children dont have to travel to Europe in order to reunite with their loved ones, but can instead apply to join their family from countries outside the EU, reducing the need for dangerous journeys."
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MPs on the predominantly Catholic island of Malta have voted to legalise same-sex marriage.

In a vote passed by 66-1, Maltas parliament approved legislation replacing the traditional "you are now husband and wife" declaration in civil ceremonies with "you are now spouses.

The sole MP who voted against the change said he did so because of his faith.

"A Christian politician cannot leave his conscience outside the door" when he enters parliament, Edwin Vassallo said.

It follows the passage of a bill in 2014 that granted gay couples in Malta the right to civil partnerships.

Adoption by same-sex couples has also been legal since that date, although abortion remains banned.

Last year, the number of exclusively civil marriages eclipsed the number of church weddings for the first time.

The move is further evidence of Malta's transformation from a once-conservative nation of about 440,000 people, where divorce was illegal until 2011.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said it would be "discriminatory" to have separate laws for mixed and same-sex couples. The amendments to existing laws replace references to "husband and wife" with the gender-neutral term "spouse".

LGBT+ rights around the globe Show all 9 1 /9 LGBT+ rights around the globe LGBT+ rights around the globe Russia Russias antipathy towards homosexuality has been well established following the efforts of human rights campaigners. However, while it is legal to be homosexual, LGBT couples are offered no protections from discrimination. They are also actively discriminated against by a 2013 law criminalising LGBT propaganda allowing the arrest of numerous Russian LGBT activists. AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Brunei Brunei recently introduced a law to make sodomy punishable by stoning to death. It was already illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Mauritania Men who are found having sex with other men face stoning, while lesbians can be imprisoned, under Sharia law. However, the state has reportedly not executed anyone for this crime since 1987 Alamy LGBT+ rights around the globe Sudan Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal under Sudanese law. Men can be executed on their third offence, women on their fourth Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Saudi Arabia Homosexuality and gender realignment is illegal and punishable by death, imprisonment, whipping and chemical castration Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Yemen The official position within the country is that there are no gays. LGBT inviduals, if discovered by the government, are likely to face intense pressure. Punishments range from flogging to the death penalty Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Nigeria Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal and in some northern states punishable with death by stoning. This is not a policy enacted across the entire country, although there is a prevalent anti-LGBT agenda pushed by the government. In 2007 a Pew survey established that 97% of the population felt that homosexuality should not be accepted. It is punishable by 14 years in prison Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Somalia Homosexuality was established as a crime in 1888 and under new Somali Penal Code established in 1973 homosexual sex can be punishable by three years in prison. A person can be put to death for being a homosexual Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Iraq Although same-sex relationships have been decriminalised, much of the population still suffer from intense discrimination. Additionally, in some of the country over-run by the extremist organisation Isis, LGBT individuals can face death by stoning Getty

The law also calls for the removal of the terms "father" and "mother", to be substituted by "parents". Lesbian couples who have children via medical interventions are distinguished by the terms "the person who gave birth" and "the other parent".

Other changes concern heterosexual marriages: Any reference to "maiden name" is replaced with "surname at birth", while couples can now choose what surname to take after marriage.

More than a dozen European countries have legalised same-sex marriage, all in the western part of the continent.

Almost a dozen others, including Italy, have some sort of same-sex unions or civil partnerships.
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A deal struck by the European Union to slow refugee boat crossings to Greece is driving rising rates of suicide and self-harm in squalid camps, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned.

Asylum seekers detained on islands in the Aegean Sea have described people setting themselves on fire, hanging themselves or cutting their wrists, with a third of those on Chios witnessing a suicide.

New research by HRW found children were among those being driven to desperation in conditions increasing the trauma already suffered in the countries they have fled.

The mental impact of years of conflict, exacerbated by harsh conditions on the Greek islands and the uncertainty of inhumane policies, may not be as visible as physical wounds, but is no less life-threatening, said Emina Cerimovic, a disability rights researcher for the group.

The EU and Greece should take immediate action to address this silent crisis and prevent further harm.

Dozens of asylum seekers, including children, reported rising anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental illnesses as they wait months on end in horrific conditions to see whether they will be taken to the Greek mainland or deported to Turkey.

A 26-year-old Syrian man, who has been detained on Lesbos for more than three months pending deportation, said he has attempted to kill himself.

Burned shelters at the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece (Reuters)

Bilal said he was held in a police station for two months, attempting suicide in a cell, before being taken to the notorious Moria camp.

All this time [at the police station] I had seen no doctor, he said. Then I hurt myself in the police station, and then they brought me here.

The camp, now used as a detention centre for asylum seekers to be transferred to Turkey, has seen deadly fires break out and had to be evacuated after tents froze in the winter.

Migrants being held there told HRW how they were being tormented by the wait to hear their fate, with anxiety compounded by delayed and changed meetings with authorities and a lack of information and interpreters.

Ahmad, a 20-year-old Syrian, was moved to Lesbos from Chios in May and does not know whether he will be sent back or onwards to Turkey.

Im in a nervous situation, he said. Yesterday, an Algerian guy hurt himself [by cutting]  my feelings are dead.

Families are among those detained in Moria, including a Kurdish woman from Syria with four children.

In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee children at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees queuing for food at the Kara Tepe camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees' tents at the Kara Tepe camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees at the Oxy transit camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees waiting to board ferries to the Greek mainland in Mytilene, Lebos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees waiting to board ferries to the Greek mainland in Mytilene, Lebos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees waiting to board ferries to the Greek mainland in Mytilene, Lebos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos The graves of drowned refugees in Mytilene, Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos A building used to house unaccompanied children at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees queuing to register at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees arriving on smugglers' boats from Turkey in Lesbos

My hope is dead since they brought me here, Rabiha Hadji told HRW. We saw all the terrible miseries in Syria but me and my children havent seen a jail [until coming to Greece].

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which provides medical care on Lesbos and the island of Samos, has reported a high prevalence of depression, anxiety and psychosis, and a significant increase in suicide attempts and self-harm this year.

Recommended Refugee children being raped and forced into prostitution in Greece

A representative said poor conditions in camps were a particular risk to former prisoners and torture victims, adding: For people who have experienced extreme violence in detention back in their countries of origin, a place surrounded by barbed wire, the presence of police, and violent clashes clearly cannot be a proper place for them.

Amir, a 26-year-old Iranian asylum seeker who has been detained on Lesbos since April, said conditions in Moria constantly reminded him of prison in Iran.

I see the fences and I remember my past, he said.

During the first week I was here, I couldnt sleep all week  I had nightmares of the torture Ive been through in the military prison.

 Refugees in Greece: Every day you die many times

Almost 13,000 asylum seekers are currently being held on Greek islands, where 9,500 more have arrived so far this year despite the threat of deportation.

In December, the EU and Greek authorities ended exemptions for vulnerable groups including unaccompanied children, pregnant women, disabled people and torture victims that previously protected them from detention in island camps, despite an appeal from 13 major NGOs.

The EU is now pressuring Greece to speed up asylum decisions and deportations to Turkey, where 1,200 people had been returned between the EU-Turkey deal coming into force in March 2016 and June.

HRW warned that while lengthy procedures were worsening refugees distress, length of asylum procedures should not be reduced at the expense of the quality of the process.

It has documented cases with a lack of capable interpreters during vital asylum interviews, serious gaps in access to information and legal help and authorities prioritising migrants according to nationality.

The practice most commonly sees Syrians fast-tracked over Afghans, Iraqis, Bangladeshis and countries with low application success rates, fuelling tensions within camps that sometimes spill over into violence.

Greek authorities, with EU support, should ensure asylum seekers have meaningful access to a fair and efficient asylum procedure based on individual claims, not nationality, a spokesperson for HRW said, urging Greece to end the policy of containment on its islands and transfer asylum seekers to the mainland, where children can be enrolled in school and adults can work.

A child looks through the fence at the Moria detention camp for migrants and refugees at the island of Lesbos on May 24, 2016. (AFP/Getty Images)

The EU and the Greek government should work to restore the dignity and humanity of people seeking protection, not foster conditions that cause psychological harm, Ms Cerimovic said.

The report is the latest damning verdict of the EU-Turkey deal, which has seen the main refugee route to Europe switch from the comparatively shorter and safer Aegean Sea to the treacherous passage between Libya and Italy.

The agreement committed Turkey to accept the return of most asylum seekers who travelled through its territory to Greek islands, in exchange for billions of euros in aid, visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens, and revived negotiations for Turkish accession to the EU.

Talks have since broken down over a series of rows over European nations banning Turkish referendum rallies, support for Kurdish groups in Syria and concerns over the crackdown following an attempted coup against Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Research by Save the Children previously found the deal had dramatically reduced the number of refugees journeying over the Aegean Sea to Greece but had given people smugglers a firmer grip on a hugely profitable business.

A study by Harvard University found girls as young as four had been raped in an Athens refugee camp, while asylum seekers elsewhere in the country were selling sex to raise money to be smuggled out.

But Europol hailed success against people smuggling after setting up the European Migrant Smuggling Centre, identifying 17,500 suspected smugglers in 2016, intercepting messages, seizing documents and destroying boats.

More than 100,000 migrants have arrived in Europe so far this year by sea, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, Bangladesh and Syria, with 2,300 dying in the attempt.
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A 21-year-old Palestinian man and teenage boy have been shot dead by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) after a raid on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank turned violent, medical officials have said.

A routine dawn search for suspected militants and weapons in Jenin on Wednesday was met with gunfire, the IDF said in a statement, leading troops to return fire.

During an IDF operation in the Jenin refugee camp, Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the forces and assailants hurled explosive devices at the forces, a military statement said.

 Israel approves spending millions in West Bank settlement security

In response to the immediate threat, forces shot towards the attackers.

Locals who witnessed the incident said there had not been Palestinian gunfire before the IDF opened fire. The army used stun grenades and tear gas as well as live rounds on protesters throwing rocks, they said.

Mohammed Sadee, who lives in the camp, told Reuters he witnessed one of the Palestinians being shot.

The military jeeps were driving in and this martyr was behind them on a motorbike. They shot him... and he fell to the ground, he said.

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed that two Palestinians were killed and a third was wounded in the leg.

Another brick in the wall: Saving schools in the West Bank Show all 2 1 /2 Another brick in the wall: Saving schools in the West Bank Another brick in the wall: Saving schools in the West Bank 8423.bin Another brick in the wall: Saving schools in the West Bank 8424.bin

21-year-old Saad Salah died at the scene after being shot in the head. Aws Salameh, reported variously as being either 16 or 17 years old, died of his wounds while being treated in hospital, Jenins hospital director said.

No arrests were made at Jenin, although 21 others were taken into custody in similar raids across the occupied West Bank.

15 more Palestinians were arrested overnight on Tuesday on suspicion of taking part in forms of popular protest such as stone-throwing, the army said.

The two dead are the 38th and 39th Palestinians reported killed by the Israeli authorities this year.

At least 32 Palestinian children were killed as a result of violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem in 2016, human rights group Defence for Children International (DCI) has claimed, making last year the deadliest for Palestinian youth for a decade.

With Aws Salemehs death 10 children have been documented as killed by the IDF or Israeli settlers so far in 2017, according to DCI data.
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I am actually startled by the response and how quickly the rebuilding has been able to start. Ive never seen anything like it, said Antoine Ghazaly, Unicefs child protection officer for Bekaa Governorate.

Qab Elias refugee camp - which burned to the ground last week - is a scene of intense activity despite the blazing midday sun. Two bulldozers drag up earth to create space for new sewage tanks, water trucks relay back and forth, and men, women and children are busy putting up timber frames for modest houses. Engines and tools mean its so noisy families have to shout at each other to be heard. The smell of burnt fuel and metal still lingers on the edges of the camp.

In the past week not just one but two devastating fires hit informal refugee settlements for Syrians in Lebanons poverty-stricken Bekaa Valley - killing two children and destroying the identification papers and meagre possessions of some 1,400 people.

Both are believed to have been cooking accidents, which are common in the haphazardly built camps in which many Syrians in Lebanon live. While they are normally quickly contained, the July heat wave and nearby wheat crop meant the two blazes spread rapidly. Only five tents across both sites survived - and even they were heavily damaged.

The devastating fires sent towers of smoke into the air which were visible for miles and took hours to put out. For many in Lebanon - a country where one in four people are refugees - they have served as a reminder of the conditions many of the countrys estimated 1.5 million Syrians are forced to live in, and given local communities the opportunity to show they still care.

Dozens of people from neighbouring towns and villages have arrived at the camps with trucks of clothes, food, water and other donations, and nearby construction companies have suspended other projects to take part in the reconstruction work for less money they theyd earn on private contracts.

We are very grateful, said camp resident Bardah al Ghanen, originally from Deir Ez Zour, a town now besieged by Isis.

It was heartbreaking to lose everything again. I felt numb about it. But we are touched by how generous people have been.

Qab Elias refugee camp, destroyed last week, is a scene of intense activity despite the blazing summer sun (Finbar Anderson)

Wary of how generations of Palestinians stayed in Lebanon after fleeing the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, when Syrians began to arrive in the country in earnest in 2013, the government refused to build official refugee camps in an effort to dissuade people from staying.

After more than six years of war next door, the plight of Syrians is no longer an emergency response; while initially many Lebanese went above and beyond to help their neighbours, the country has become accustomed to the misery on its doorstep. Some even exploit it. Trafficking of women, ruthless landlords and child labour have become endemic problems.

Unaware of the macro benefits the mass influx of people has brought to the country - international NGO money has propped up Lebanons ageing water systems and failing schools in recent years - Syrians are often the target of discrimination and dangerous levels of racism.

The deaths of at least four Syrian men in the custody of the Lebanese army following a raid that turned violent in a camp outside the northern city of Arsal earlier this month has caused particular outrage.

"The only thing that will really make the crisis go away is if the [Syrian] war ends, a volunteer with a local charity said (Finbar Anderson)

Many Syrians The Independent spoke with hinted darkly that the fires in the Bekaa Valley may have been started on purpose as revenge for the incident, in which six soldiers were injured.

But still: the generosity shown by Lebanese locals towards those who have once again lost everything has been startling - especially when contrasted with the hostile attitude towards refugees in many Western countries, including the UK.

Just a week after the fire at Qab Elias, the new semi-permanent breezeblock, timber and tarpaulin homes are 90 per cent complete.

What can you do, ignore those in need?, a volunteer with local charity Dar al-Fatwa said, handing out boxes of donated clothes. These people need our help all the time, not just when there is a fire. The only thing that will really make the crisis go away is if the war ends."
The next commander of the U.S. Pacific Command has expressed concerns about the costs of relocating U.S. Forces Korea headquarters further south away from the border.

In written testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services ahead of a confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Admiral Harry Harris said the relocation costs under the Land Partnership Plan remain a concern given the current fiscal environment.

The U.S. defense budget could suffer further cuts in case the White House is faced with another sequester in the fiscal year 2016.

Under the relocation plan, the USFK is to return a total of 170 million sq.m of land, or 64 percent of all granted areas, to the Korean government. That includes 34 bases measuring 40 million sq.m and three training grounds measuring 130 million sq.m scattered across the country.

Korea will bear the costs of building alternative facilities for the USFK to replace its existing bases that Seoul wants to move, and buy land for them. But the U.S. will bear the construction costs for facilities it wants to relocate.

A new headquarters is already being built in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

But Harris, adding to a growing chorus of second thoughts about the relocation plan from Washington, appeared to suggest that the expense sharing should be renegotiated, signaling trouble for an already monumentally expensive project.


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As the Asian art market slows, Africa has filled the gap left behind. Last year alone there were two dedicated contemporary African art fairs in New York  Armory Focus and 1:54  and more in London and Paris. And then of course there is Africa itself. From the winding streets of Maputo and Addis Ababa to the high-rises of Lagos and Johannesburg, local galleries and art fairs are finally becoming profitable and are now proliferating at an impressive rate.

Nowhere is this newfound celebration of African art quite so intoxicating as in Cape Town. With jagged mountains, white-sand beaches and rolling vineyards, Cape Town has always suffered from the age-old curse of being too pretty to be taken seriously. But as the international art community finally turns its long overdue attention to the continent, this beautiful beach city has become something of a cultural hub thanks to its thriving gallery district, annual art fair and, from September, world-class museum.

Already a hub for artists, the upcoming opening of the 100,000-square-foot Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art at the Waterfront is set to turn the Mother City into the Miami of the southern hemisphere. Housed in the citys historic grain silo and designed by British architect Thomas Heatherwick, it will not only be the biggest public art space to open on the continent for more than a century; it will also profoundly shift the South African art market as we know it.

But while Zeitz Mocaa is dominating the discourse for 2017, Cape Town already has a vibrant gallery scene that has been steadily growing for the last decade and an art fair each February, and both are now profiting from the worlds attention.

Much of this interest is trained on Woodstock, a small suburb tucked right between Table Mountain and the harbour, that is notorious for its strong winds, which whistle through the narrow streets and brightly painted houses. An important hub for Cape Towns mixed race community and a few blocks away from the infamous District Six, Woodstock had a painful past under Apartheid. Today, it's experiencing rapid gentrification with new shops, restaurants and entire streets dedicated to galleries and artist studios. And although gentrification isn't without an impact on the local community, of course, Woodstock's regeneration has made it the hub of Cape Town's  and Africa's  modern art scene.

Goodman Gallery is one of South Africa's premier art spaces (Michael Hall)

There is Stevenson, which displays high-end contemporary art from all over the continent; Blank Projects, which works with emerging young southern African artists; Southern Guild, the continents best-known collectable design gallery, which last month opened a vast open-plan space near the Zeitz Mocaa site on the Waterfront; and the Goodman Gallery, arguably South Africas most successful private art space, whose sister gallery in Johannesburg hit the headlines in 2012 for displaying a supposedly indecent painting of South Africa's President Jacob Zuma (depicting him in a pose reminiscent of Lenin, with his genitals exposed).

Together, these curators and the artists they represent have been particularly vocal about the essential role they feel the art world needs to play in opposing the president, whose recent actions have led to mass protests across the country.

Artists thrive on political turmoil, says Trevyn McGowen, the owner of Southern Guild. I grew up in Johannesburg in the 1970s and 1980s and the theatre and art I saw at the time was groundbreaking and very stimulating, and it was all a reaction to the horrors of Apartheid. I find it heartening that once again we are banding together to take a stand against the political establishment.

The Zeitz Museum is about to put Cape Town's art scene on the map (Zeitz Museum ) (Zeitz Museum)

It is an interesting dichotomy that while South Africa is currently experiencing one of its most turbulent political periods since the end of minority rule, the domestic art industry is becoming increasingly more powerful and stable. And perhaps  those immersed in it say  now is the time for Cape Town to prove it is more than just a pretty face by using its art to add a voice to the growing dissent against the government.

The new Zeitz Museum will doubtless add clout to that voice. The brainchild of the German-born ex-Puma director Jochem Zeitz, the museums permanent exhibition will be taken from his personal collection and made up of artwork from Africa and the diaspora since the year 2000.

Stevenson gallery displays high-end contemporary art from all over the continent (Stevenson Gallery)

Certain critics have said that the museum should have been based in Nairobi, Lagos or Johannesburg  somewhere more representative of modern Africa than Cape Town, which is tucked away on the southern tip of the continent with a white population disproportionate to the demographics of the country.

I understand those arguments, but the Silo is an extraordinary structure and it was the perfect fit for us, says Mark Coetzee, the executive director and chief curator of Zeitz Mocaa. And more than that, Cape Town itself is a good choice. It is a place of incredible natural beauty and we attract sophisticated international visitors. The next step is to share something of our culture  we need to offer people a richer, more diverse experience that includes an education about our heritage.

As the worlds first art institution to exclusively document modern life in Africa, Zeitz Mocaa has an essential role to play in allowing Africans to tell their own story. But it also has a daunting amount of wall space to fill. With six floors of exhibition rooms, an education centre and a vast central atrium designed in the shape of a grain sheaf, the museum will be relying heavily on the goodwill of donors.

Our patron Jochem Zeitz is loaning his collection for 20 years so we have time to build up one of our own, says assistant photography curator Gcotyelwa Mashiqa. We are also hoping to bring back some of the paintings, sculptures and photographs that have been taken out of Africa because they deserve to be shown here too.

Local gallery owners agree too that the introduction of a world-class contemporary art museum will propel the African perspective to the fore. Zeitz has already changed the art scene on the continent and its not even open yet, says Monna Mokoena, the owner of Gallery MOMO on Buitengracht Street in Cape Towns city centre. Already we have seen more international curators visiting South Africa because Zeitz has made them realise just how Eurocentric their collections are.

In the West, there is only one version of art history, but Zeitz allows us as Africans to tell our story and preserve what we have.
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Given its history, and repeated promises to learn from past mistakes, might it have been too much to hope that the modern MP would be able to refrain from using racist language? To judge from Conservative MP Anne Marie Morris "slip up" in Parliament yesterday, it appears so.

But Im no longer angry about racism. Im tired. Im tired of having to explain relentlessly that the vocabulary people are using is offensive. Whenever I feel we are taking 10 steps forward, fools take us 10 steps back again.

After realising her error, Morris retreated: The comment was totally unintentional. I apologise unreservedly for any offence caused  but only after an audio recording was published that proved shed actually said it. Did she really expect everybody to say, Oh, silly Anne Marie. Thats fine. Dont worry about it. Everyone makes mistakes?

 Tory Brexiteer labels no deal Brexit 'real n***** in the woodpile'

People do make mistakes. Time and time again. Privately educated Oxbridge-types like Morris is not the first and I doubt she will be the last. Racism has a long and painful history in the Conservative party, and it continues nowadays in forms that are usually more subtle than Morriss accidental outburst. The harsh effects of Tory austerity have been felt the most by black and ethnic minority families in the UK, including cuts to wages, vital services, and attacks on workers' rights.

Ethnic minorities are far less likely to be hired for a job than their white counterparts.

Theresa May doesn't even have a single black MP in her cabinet and nor did David Cameron when he was in power. Tory rule is, and always has been, bleak for ethnic minorities.

Racial slurs are something the Tories don't seem to learn from, either. Lord Dixon-Smith, a well-respected peer, in 2008 used n*****r in the woodpile in the House of Lords chamber and apologised, saying he had left my brains behind and said that the phrased had slipped out without thinking.

Tory Councillor Peter Edwards used the phrase on BBC Radio Bristols drive time show while talking about the Horseworld centre. The politician said it was not his intention to cause anyone any offence.

Councillor Gerry Forsbrey in 2012 said: I dont want to be the n***** in the woodpile, and you guessed it, he claimed the phrase was an old-fashioned phrase and that people may well take offence at the language. Which people, I wonder?

These individuals should know better than to act with such complacency. People who have the privilege of power should be at the forefront of trying to change negative perceptions, not adding to them.

At a time where change is almost within reach, they knock us down. At a time where integration and inclusion has never been so important, they knock us down. At a time where we need those in power to represent the interests of the people, they knock us down. Using that phrase and then dismissing it as merely an old-fashioned term while waving it away with a non-apology like Im sorry if anyone was offended tells black people that we will always be the subjects of your parliamentary in-joke.

I've seen a lot of people jump to defend Anne Marie Morriss comment in the last 24 hours, with one Twitter user saying: "It's an old expression. It wasn't used in a racist context, therefore it isn't racist." How can someone who is not the subject of the joke decide whether or not it's offensive? You do not have the right to speak for us.

"N****r in the woodpile" was a commonly-used term in mid-19th century America, to describe fugitive slaves who hid in piles of firewood as they fled North to Canada. The term became popular throughout the 20th Century and was used as a metaphor to describe something that is wrong or suspicious.

To excuse such behaviour by claiming it's a generational issue is wrong and quite frankly, disrespectful. The term n****r has been around for decades and still holds the same negative, derogatory meaning it was first used for. So since when has this term or remark become acceptable? If these individuals are happy to openly and nonchalantly express themselves in this way, what on Earth are they saying at home behind closed doors?

This casual show of prejudice cannot and will not be excused. Morris knew what she was saying. She knew what she meant. Is she really sorry before she knew it was wrong? Or is she just sorry because she got caught?
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Before the EU referendum, many admitted that the EU is not perfect, but continued by saying that the only way to change it is from the inside.

I would invite these same individuals to study Ryszard Legutko, a Polish philosopher and political theorist. In 2014, he called LGBT rights a tyranny of the minority, and last week he wrote a piece warmly welcoming Donald Trump to Poland as a much needed dissenter. That same week, he was elected unopposed to co-chair the third largest European Parliamentary group, the European Conservatives and Reformists.

Last year I was purveyor of Lexit, and it didnt go down too favourably within leftist and liberal circles. It seemed like a betrayal to many  why should progressives, especially in the current climate, consider voting leave?

Its now been just over a year since then  and I dont regret a word. As expected, David Cameron was forced out of No.10, and a snap election cut the Conservatives mandate into a minority government. However, domestic turmoil will always be temporary, and certainly by itself did not justify Brexit. What did at the time, however, and what still does, is the personnel within the EU27.

In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier listens at the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, delivers his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Michel Barnier, European Chief Negotiator for Brexit reacts during a meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Member of the European Parliament and former leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage wears socks with Union Jack flag at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Nigel Farage, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) member and MEP, addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcoming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier gestures during speeches at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker (L) speaks with European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France Getty Images

As I noted last year, out of 28 EU Governments, 19 were considered conservative. Excluding the UK, that is two out of every three parliaments leaning right  something many leftists fail to consider. The EU Parliament, for the most part, represents the domestic parliaments of respective nations around Europe  and thus, social democrats and the far left are little more than a voice in the back, a protest movement within a larger tank of social conservatives and austerity pushers.

This of course, puts out any flame of the remain and reform argument  a pseudo anti-democracy, like the European Union has proven to be, will choose its path and rather than adopting a more federal approach, will subject its members to the concurring ideology. This has, for several years now, been privatisation and cuts  or to use the more technical term, moderate austerity. In 2010, Angela Merkel declared, Nobody in Europe will be abandoned. Nobody in Europe will be excluded. Europe only succeeds if we work together. As Greece found out, inclusion comes at a heavy and punitive price.

With political polarisation gripping the globe, more and more parliaments across Europe are turning right  those on the other side are often subject to punching left by so-called liberals. Many called the last few elections within Europe a validation of centrism, a validation of the EU itself; but these same individuals forget how close we were to a France with Marine Le Pen, an Austria with Hofer, a Dutch Parliament led by Geert van Wilders.

Within the EU, liberalism will continue to take a political battering  and with it, the central ideology of the EU will either be forced to shift, or break down completely.

 Boris Johnson says the sums the EU are demanding for Brexit are extortionate

Indeed, if we turn back to the idea of reform, some may argue that the European Parliament can help to limit the impact of Theresa May and her austerity agenda. Economically, as I have already alluded to, its quite the opposite. The European Institute notes that, EU member states may not have a budget deficit that exceeds three per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or a national debt that exceeds of sixty per cent of the GDP.

Between Brussels and Downing Street, the notion of living within our means is a philosophy contemptuously shared.

Surely, however, our counterparts in the liberal European Union undercut Westminster on social issues? This is quite far from the truth  with the most diverse parliament in UK history, its the EU that needs to catch up with Britain. While the 8 June saw a record 51 non-white MPs elected  alongside a record 45 LGBTQ+ members, the most in any parliament worldwide  a significant portion of Europe was whipping up far right sentiment.

While I am in no ways a fan of the Conservative Party or their history, Mays Government seems like the hippie movement of the 60s against their adversaries in Brussels. The refugee crisis has ostensibly given social conservatives a platform to call for tight borders  just look at Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, who described the flow of migrants as a poison.

However  and this, perhaps, is the crux of it  its not just the far right who oppose British values. Whether it be centrists like Macron, who just yesterday appeared to forget colonial history when calling Africas problems civilisational, or even Angela Merkel, famous purveyor of open borders, who has taken a newfound tough status on migrants. She also voted against the legalisation of same sex marriage just two weeks ago.

In any sense, the Brexit vote appears to be vindicated by not only the current standings of much of the European Parliament, but also the lack of scope for reform. For progressives  economic or social  it would be best, perhaps, to distance ourselves from such an organisation.
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Youve got to hand it to them. In the business world, where talk of menstrual cycles and womens health is often considered nothing more than awkward, messy and about as appropriate as hosting a vegetarian club in a burger joint, Indian media company Culture Machine is proudly piping up.

This month, the firm has announced that it is offering women the first day of their periods off: an often pined-for duvet day during which they can cower in bed with herbal teas and hot water bottles, nursing cramps, nausea and whatever other symptoms they might be forced to endure, away from the critical glances of unsympathetic colleagues.

The company has launched an online petition, which as of Tuesday had garnered more than 23,000 signatures, calling on other organisations across the country to implement similar policies.

Countries including Japan, China and Taiwan already have menstrual leave rules in place and Culture Machine has vowed to hand its petition to Indias Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Ministry of Human Resource Development in a bid to achieve the same.

Everyone knows that men and women are biologically different. However, the real progress of the human civilisation can only occur when we understand and honour these differences, the company writes. Why should menstruation, for instance, an integral biological process that a woman goes through in her lifetime, be kept hidden?

I couldnt agree more.

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Periods, for all their agony and annoyance, are the most natural process in the world. They are the sign of a healthy body which is able to create life. We should talk about them, even just for the purpose of education. Even the most macho, misogynist businessman, who would only touch on the subject in a drunken pub joke, would not be alive if it werent for periods.

But a policy of leave specifically labelled for this purpose? Is that really necessary, or is it a bordering-on-patronising way of painting all women  even those fortunate enough not to suffer on a monthly basis  as distressed victims of nature? Id argue the latter.

Women should unquestionably be allowed to take time off work for any physical or psychological condition that inhibits their ability to do their job in a comfortable and efficient state. Just like men. But implementing rules around a specific ailment risks exposing a company to a muddled network of discrimination claims, hostility and confusion.

Not all women suffer. So should those who dont be able to take the days in lieu?

A friend of mine suffers debilitating migraines. Granted, they dont occur with the four-week regularity of a womans perfect hormonal cycle, but they do tend to come on every couple of months at least. Should we be considering a migraine leave? Or a flu leave to pander to that person who always seems to get whacked with the bug at least three times every winter? How about a hay fever leave?

No, because weve covered that base with a (for the most part) deeply entrenched right to taking time off work when were not well. These all rightly come under the remit of sickness leave.

 Amy Schumer says 'anyone who is not a feminist is insane'

By painting menstruation as something deserving of its own category of physiological and psychological affliction, were categorising it in a way we shouldnt be and drawing a wedge between those who suffer and those who dont.

I too have experienced nasty episodes of vomiting, fainting and incapacitating cramps all in the name of being female. Ive also taken time off for near intolerable menstrual symptoms. But I took good old sick leave and certainly didnt feel the need to tell all my colleagues that I was on my period. I called in the morning to tell my manager I was unwell. No questions asked and no explanation needed.

Perhaps the real issue we should be addressing is how unwilling we are  as a presenteeism-obsessed society  to take time off for whatever reason, and how were becoming conditioned to equating time off with being weak.

According to a report published by insurance company Aviva in May, seven out of 10 employees in private firms  the equivalent of 18 million nationally  have at some point come into the office despite being unwell.

Last year, the number of sick days taken annually by British employees fell to its lowest level since records began almost 25 years ago. Around 137 million working days were lost from injuries and illnesses last year  down from a peak of 185 million in 1999, despite an increase in the number of people in the workforce since then.

 Obama's best speeches: Obama spoke on the progress made by women during his two terms and declared himself a feminist

Weve all sat next to a snivelling co-worker, when every time they cough you can almost see the bacteria creeping over onto your keyboard.

Beyond periods, we need to blast the taboo around any guise of ill health unreservedly  be that menstruation, depression, anxiety, stress, burnout or a simple twisted ankle, bad back or killer headache.

All conditions are legitimate reasons to take time out and none should have to be treated under a distinct label. We dont need legislation or policy. We dont need petitions to government  especially if that government clearly has far more pressing issues to deal with, even on the subject of womens health and wellbeing.

What we need is a frank understanding and acceptance that sometimes working is not an option  and that could be at any time of the month.
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This week, Britain celebrated one of its first same-sex Muslim marriages. Jahed Choudhury, 24  who identifies as both gay and Muslim  married his partner in an Islamic ceremony, even though his family refused to attend. As a gay person raised Muslim, I was thrilled to read of this news (and was inspired by Choudhurys bravery). In Islamic teachings, I was taught from a young age to constantly chart all my sins, and was forced to imagine myself in the pits of hell for all my transgressions. Homosexual desire was of course a one-way-express ticket to fiery torture.

And if I, like Choudhury, ceremonially married a man, would not see my family there. Muslim social conduct would stop most of them from coming. When my parents discovered I was gay  through pornography no less  they were distraught, our relationship fell apart, and they did everything they could to "stop it." This included throwing away all my colourful clothes, which I was emotionally very attached to. But this felt much more to do with their cultural association with Islam  their fear of what relatives would think  rather than anything to do with Islamic scripture.

Many argue that to be gay and Muslim is an utter irreconcilability  no Muslim is gay was a remark I saw on Twitter today. When one learns that The Muslim Council of Britain opposed same-sex marriage in 2013, we understand how these views are generated.

However, homosexuality as a taboo among families and faith is hardly specific to Islam. Whilst I saw Christians at Pride celebrating both their faith and sexuality at the parade, I also witnessed a Christian group protesting same-sex relationships behind them. Homosexuality has hardly been a walk in the park for Catholics, and same-sex marriage is still illegal in Northern Ireland (the DUP-coalition suggests the Tories dont much seem to care). Yet when same-sex marriages do occur in Christian contexts, the Western response is often one of relief, not incredulity  an ah yes, finally, rather then a no way?! Not possible!

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA

While many practicing Muslims reject homosexuality, the intersection of queer identity and faith is a reality for many of us. I now characterise myself as an "agnostic Muslim." I don't follow scripture or practice, but in many facets of my life  whether in my drag family, my spiritual connection to the world, or just instilled moral values  I think I hold deep some Islamic principles (even a connection to Allah). And this connection sits separate to the "Muslim" communities that I'm no longer accepted in.

Umber Ghauri, who identifies as pansexual, agender and Muslim, talks to me about their perspective as a queer British Muslim. They tell me that Islam can be explored through a variety of perspectives, explaining that Islamic history in Arab regions shows clearly that Muslims were among the most progressive people in terms of gender justice, racial equality, class politics and law. Muslim women were among the first in the world to vote, own property, run businesses, have the right to divorce. It is this facet of Islam that Umber has an alliance with, and as such, being Muslim is a progressive part of their character.

Similarly, a poet and journalist in the Middle East  who identifies as bisexual and Muslim  explains how media representation erases the complexity of her identity  my voice, my identity, is one that is erased and rewritten on a daily basis, whitewashed through generous doses of stereotype and bigotryI want to scream PEOPLE ARE NOT ONLY WHAT YOU IMAGINE THEM TO BE.

 Police officer accepts marriage proposal on Pride route

Im not meaning to pretend that being queer and Muslim is an easy marriage. Homosexuality is criminalised in many Muslim nations, and they are home to some devastating LGBTQI+ hate crimes. But we need to remember that a religion is not a cultural model  it is a personal and individual relationship with God that can be practiced outside of socio-cultural norms.

As we have become more celebratory of sexual and gender autonomy in Western faiths, we need to do the same for Muslims; many of whom identify as queer and have a spiritual relationship with Allah, regardless of cultural conflicts. And so I commend Choudhury and his partner Sean Rogan for demonstrating that the different facets of their identities are not irreconcilable. I hope this persuades non-Muslims and Muslims everywhere that being a queer person of faith is a happy possibility.
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After almost a decade of crisis, optimism is back. Europeans have regained faith in sticking together to face global and societal challenges.

A lot of people say this renewed optimism is a response to what has happened across the English Channel and on the other side of the Atlantic.

If anyone wondered what checking out of Europe or weakening multilateralism leads to, it is now clear for everyone to see  from increased investment uncertainty and a hitherto unknown degree of division within society, to the potential political fallout for countries so far admired around the world as beacons of democracy and freedom.

But there are at least two other factors which have also been crucial to the recovery of confidence in the European project.

Firstly, the EU is delivering economically. The euro area and broader EU recently recorded their highest ever employment. Investment is up and growth is projected to be twice as fast as the US.

Secondly, Europes political leaders have confidently stood for democracy, reform and Europe  instead of giving ground to populism  and have been supported by progressive pro-Europe grass-roots movements, like the Pulse of Europe.

Compare the picture to September 2016 and the difference could not be more stark. It was just three months after the UKs fateful vote to leave the EU.

Despite the blow, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker decided to announce that Brussels would publish a White Paper on the Future of Europe, setting out how the EU could change.

In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier listens at the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, delivers his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Michel Barnier, European Chief Negotiator for Brexit reacts during a meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Member of the European Parliament and former leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage wears socks with Union Jack flag at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Nigel Farage, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) member and MEP, addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcoming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier gestures during speeches at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker (L) speaks with European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France Getty Images

It was a bold move which many viewed as destined to fail, because the continent appeared on a downward spiral.

But when the White Paper was actually published in March 2017  days before the UK started Brexit by triggering Article 50  it shifted the rest of the continents focus on to forging a common future.

That is why the White Paper has come to be called the birth certificate of the EU27.

There is now a strong sense that Europeans  having had a glimpse of the alternative  are ready to invest in our common project. They realise that disintegration, illiberal democracy and populism are profoundly dangerous to our democratic traditions  the freedom and tolerance painstakingly built over decades, which has, at times, been taken for granted.

With the recovery strengthening and populism at bay, for now, Europe must make the most of our renewed hope. The worst thing when confidence returns, is to procrastinate and change nothing  and change we must.

References to Brexit or Mr Trump might give us a renewed sense of belonging for now, but in the longer term, Europe can only prosper on the basis of fresh vitality and the legitimacy of its own project.

That is where the White Paper comes in. It has two parts which are equally important.

One covers the long-term trends shaping Europes future, like technological change, migration and new security threats. The other presents five possible paths for Europe between now and 2025.

The White Paper has also been complemented by a number of reflection papers on the critical issues affecting Europes future  the social dimension, globalisation, defence, the euro and EU finances.

Unlike in the past, the Commission has not itself stated which of the five scenarios is its preferred policy blueprint.

That is not only because of the elections taking place in many European countries, but also because the Commission understands that such fundamental political choices must not be fudged or decided behind closed doors.

Neither should the Commission claim the monopoly of wisdom on what is the best way forward.

Instead, an EU-wide debate is needed, engaging citizens in new ways and making sure their voice matters.

Recommended These are the five possible futures that the EU is facing

It is clear there are different possible destinations for Europe in 2025, and so it is important that each choice, as well as its inherent trade-offs, are more widely discussed and better understood.

And actually, working with five possible scenarios has helped us move debate away from the simplistic arguments of the past  whether one is for or against, more or less, Europe.

Instead, looking at a range of possible futures has given us a more nuanced vocabulary to discuss what the EU27 want to achieve together  or apart  in the years to come.

Of course, reflection is only worth the effort if it is ultimately translated into concrete decisions and the moment for that is now approaching.

It is not for the Commission to prejudge the choices Europes political leaders will make, or that their people will favour. But the Commission can better inform those choices.

We will, in a neutral fashion, present more detailed versions of the EUs five scenarios with specific guidance on what each implies and how they can be achieved. We will also present an agenda on how Europe can better anticipate long-term challenges, instead of reacting to crises that could, and should, have been foreseen, such as the financial crisis or security challenges.

President Juncker will use his next State of the Union speech in September to lay out additional initiatives in line with the White Paper.

It will be done in the knowledge that for the EU to pursue business-as-usual would be a profound misreading of the public mood, not to mention a disservice to the EU itself.

Instead we should target an informed, forward-looking, EU-wide public debate on the future to show not only that our democracy is healthy, but also to chase away the demons of division and populism.

The Commission has the right to take the initiative on this, and it intends to make full use of it.

The authors are head and deputy head of the European Political Strategy Centre. Views are those of the authors and do not necessarily correspond to that of the European Commission
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Richard Branson really, really wants you to know that he is not valued at $5bn through sheer luck.

The way I see it, luck is a misunderstood concept, he wrote after the FastTrack 100 Awards, where he had been sitting next to three white male CEOs and one man of colour.

We must all create our own luck by taking the necessary risks to open the door to change, progression and success.

This blog post came in response to a comment at the conference by Simon Arora, Chief Executive of B&M Retail, who said: Everyone has lucky breaks in life. The reason the four of us are sitting on this stage and many others aren't is because we capitalised on those lucky breaks."

Pass the Febreze, because this stinks of white male privilege.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA

Male entrepreneurs often talk as if there is a secret, magic sauce that will separate the ranks of human being into the fabulous entrepreneurs and the bog standard, mere mortals who are happier slouching on the sofa after their 9 to 5.

Its a dangerous rhetoric, which has inflated the egos of the likes of Donald Trump, made certain people into untouchable demi-Gods and has also, helpfully, carved a smooth path for the ranks of young, ambitious white men behind them.

Bransons scorning of luck and privilege is mirrored in the highest echelons of society and business. Its a self-protection mechanism. Where in the handbook of success does it speak about institutionalised racism, sexism or cycles of poverty?

People love a rag to riches story. Its why we have so many films about white people who make it against all the odds. Just look at The Dallas Buyers Club, or The Founder, about the white guy who started McDonalds. The stakes suddenly drop to BORING when you realise the odds are in fact stacked in their favour.

Arguing that successful entrepreneurship is based on merit is like saying that white men are better. White men dominate in most areas of the world, from politics to Silicon Valley to the boards of the Fortune 500 companies. Claiming that men are better, or more capable, or more intelligent, is less palatable and generally unacceptable  as discovered by this Polish MEP. The theory of mens superiority also lacks any unbiased scientific evidence, although there are some studies that try anyway  see this Erasmus survey which claims that men have a higher IQ on average.

But then, white men dominate history and science too.

 Richard Branson says Trump is a 'dangerous individual'

The oft-touted entrepreneur philosophy that success comes if you are willing to take risks is bogus. Define the risk. Define the consequence. Define why women are taught from the first months of their coming into the world that they should be nice, polite and not cause a fuss. When Branson tweets his opinions about money and culture, his social media is not flooded with rape threats.

And when successful men screw up in business, they are treated differently. After the financial crash of 2008, for example, no banker (except in Iceland) went to prison. Donald Trump called himself the king of debt and he is now President. A man died when Bransons Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo rocket crashed to the ground in 2014. It was a tragedy for everyone involved. But if a woman came back to that project with the same determination as Branson did, I wonder if she would be seen less as an inspirational risk taker and more of a callous, cold-blooded she-devil.

There are plenty of women who hate this kind of article as they dont want to see themselves as a victim. It is the same mindset as men who say they operate in a meritocracy. They are all complicit in a deeply misogynistic world, desperate to own their success and keep it in a locked safe where no one else can lay claim to it.

I was once told all you needed to be successful was a good haircut. Thinking back, this male editors advice to conform made a lot of sense. If Branson really wanted to open the door to change, progression and success, then he should start by admitting that he is not as good as he thinks he is.
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Theresa Mays appeal for opposition parties to cooperate with her minority government didnt just produce the inevitable raspberry from Labour. It also went down very badly with Conservative MPs, who gave the Prime Minister another black mark just when she hoped she was stabilising her position.

She only advertised her weakness, one grumbled. Only the most sycophantic and ambitious Tories went on the airwaves to defend Mays plea. Perhaps she hoped for a brownie point from voters fed up with yaboo politics.

Although Jeremy Corbyn is a more tribal figure than some of his predecessors, I suspect even Tony Blair would have reacted in the same way  offering to send Labours election manifesto to the PM.

Mays overnight conversion from control freak dictator to consensual leader will fool no one; only two months ago, her allies were talking about a landslide that would crush Labour and keep it out of power for a generation.

May is limping towards the finishing line of next weeks parliamentary summer break, when her Tory critics will have to discuss her shelf life by phone rather than in dark Commons corners. Although many Tory MPs want May to see the Brexit negotiations through to their close in 2019, it is only because they fear a change of leader would fuel demands for another general election.

In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier listens at the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, delivers his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Michel Barnier, European Chief Negotiator for Brexit reacts during a meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Member of the European Parliament and former leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage wears socks with Union Jack flag at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Nigel Farage, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) member and MEP, addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcoming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier gestures during speeches at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker (L) speaks with European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France Getty Images

The PMs fragility will be underlined on Thursday with the publication of the Repeal Bill: the first of eight pieces of Brexit legislation. The mammoth Bill would have been complicated enough even if May had won her landslide. Now opposition parties and Tory pro-Europeans will be able to wage parliamentary guerrilla war against the Government  not exactly the cross-party co-operation May had in mind.

The Government is so nervous about rebellions that it will delay any debate on the Bill until October. There are between 20 and 30 pro-European Conservatives; only seven need to vote with all the opposition parties to muster 320 votes and defeat the 319 from the remaining Tory MPs and 10 Democratic Unionists.

The Bill really does the opposite of what it says on the tin. While it will abolish the 1972 European Communities Act which took us into the EU, it will transpose 44 years of EU legislation, including 19,000 regulations, directives and other rules, into UK law. (They are still coming: another 1,200 are expected before we leave in 2019). This would give ministers time to decide which EU rules to keep, which Whitehall officials believe could take 10 years.

The early skirmishes will likely be about the streamlined procedure proposed by ministers to make this huge task manageable. They want to assume so-called Henry VIII powers, named after the monarch who ruled by proclamation, allowing some decisions on EU rules to be taken without the full parliamentary scrutiny given to Bills.

Between 800 and 1,000 statutory instruments will be needed. Ministers insist they will use secondary legislation, which can be passed without a Commons and Lords vote, only for technical changes  for example, replacing an EU regulatory agency with a UK one.

But nothing excites MPs and peers more than their own powers  and this time they are right to be worked up. The constitutional brigade in the Lords will rightly lead demands for safeguards so that ministers cannot by decree dilute EU standards on issues such as workers and consumer rights and environmental standards. Ministers will almost certainly have to give some ground.

They have a presentational problem: Brexit is supposed to be about the UK Parliament taking back control of laws made in Brussels. Tricky.

 Michel Barnier encourages the UK to make haste in the Brexit negotiations

MPs and peers regard the Repeal Bill as a Christmas tree: parliamentary language for a measure on which they can hang virtually anything they want. So pro-Europeans might try to table amendments saying the UK should maintain the benefits of the single market and customs union.

It is not yet clear whether such amendments would be allowed, but where theres a will, MPs and peers normally find a way.

They will try to use the Bill to soften Mays dogmatic aversion to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which risks preventing sensible cooperation with the EU on issues such as pharmaceuticals and atomic energy. There will also be a row about the Governments proposal not to write the EUs charter of fundamental rights into UK law.

May will argue that Parliament cannot dictate the negotiations with the EU, which will be in full swing as it debates the Bill. But Mays lack of a majority will make it harder to close down debate.

The Bill will eventually become law  in order to avoid a cliff edge of no regulations in March 2019. The question is not whether it will be amended, but how.

We have already seen May back down to head off Commons defeats by funding abortions in England for women in Northern Ireland, and by setting up an inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal in the NHS. A spectacular defeat on the Repeal Bill could even be the final straw which persuades Tory MPs to force May out.

As one senior Tory put it: "She will go after an unexpected event. The Repeal Bill could provide it.
French and German airlines will seek to "screw over" UK airline carriers in the wake of Brexit, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has claimed.

The businessman described Brexit as "one of the great economic suicide notes in history", and predicted Lufthansa and Air France would see it as "a competitive opportunity".

He added that once flight cancellations started to hit British holidaymakers, there would be uproar.

"By September 2018, when your average British voter is sitting down to work out where he's going on holidays in the summer of 2019, the two options he will have will be: drive to Scotland or get a ferry to Ireland," Mr O'Leary told MEPs in Brussels yesterday.

"It will be a couple of months before British people understand that they don't all want to go on holidays in Ireland or in Scotland, and I think the British government will be forced to come to its senses."

In fact, he believes that the UK would consider reversing its stance on Brexit once holidaymakers were faced with the prospect of spending the summer in Ireland or Scotland.

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"We should be optimistic. The British, I believe, will change their minds [about Brexit], because it's going to be very bad for them over the next six to eight months," Mr O'Leary said.

He said Ryanair was already reallocating aircraft from Britain to European regional airports to ensure unfettered access to EU and transatlantic routes under an EU-US "open skies" deal.

"The UK is going to have to find a way, within the next 12 months, to get back into 'open skies' or to have a bilateral with the EU27, and I think that's an impossibility," Mr O'Leary told a European parliamentary committee on the impact of Brexit on aviation.

"There's no goodwill in Europe towards Britain. The French and the Germans, whenever they can get the opportunity to stick one to the British, like nothing better."

Mr O'Leary said Brexit was a "shambles" and the UK government "haven't a bull's notion what they're doing" in the negotiations, recalling a senior Brexit minister telling him that an open skies deal with Pakistan could make up for the loss of access to European airspace.

"A lot of Pakistanis would like to travel to the UK; I'm not quite sure all of those Brits that like to holiday in Spain, Portugal or Greece fancy Karachi for their summer holidays," he quipped.

But Willie Walsh, the head of International Airlines Group (IAG) - the holding company for Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia - said he was optimistic that a deal would be done with the UK.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe insisted that Ireland would not be following the UK out of the EU, and said Brexit continued to be a "source of great sadness".

He told a committee of MEPs investigating the Panama Papers tax scandal that Irish people were "proud members of the European Union" and would remain members of the EU "family" after Brexit.

He also responded to comments by French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire that companies such as Google, Amazon and Facebook should "pay the taxes they owe in Europe".

"Taxation is a national competence," Mr Donohoe told the Irish Independent. "These companies are very, very significant employers within Ireland, and they deserve to be treated fairly by tax authorities, and that is the case in Ireland."
China hit back yesterday in unusually strong terms at repeated calls from the United States to put more pressure on North Korea, urging a halt to what it called the "China responsibility theory" and saying all parties needed to pull their weight.

US President Trump took a more conciliatory tone at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, but has expressed some impatience that China, with its close economic and diplomatic ties to Pyongyang, is not doing enough to rein in North Korea.

That feeling has become particularly acute since Pyongyang launched an intercontinental ballistic missile that some experts believe could have the range to reach Alaska and other parts of the US West Coast.

China is North Korea's most important ally and main trading partner, including the source of critical supplies of food and energy. Historically, China has been opposed to harsh international sanctions being imposed on North Korea, at least in part because it wants to avoid the risk of a messy collapse within the fragile country that could set off a refugee crisis across the countries' 870-mile shared border.

Nuclear

According to US-based think-tank the Council on Foreign Relations, China-North Korea trade peaked at $6.86bn (6bn) in 2014, having increased tenfold from 2000 to 2015 - in part as aid was replaced with trade.

Asked about calls from the United States, Japan and others for China to put more pressure on North Korea, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said it was not China ratcheting up tension and the key to a resolution did not lie with Beijing.

"Recently, certain people, talking about the Korean-peninsula nuclear issue, have been exaggerating and giving prominence to the so-called 'China responsibility theory,'" Geng told a daily news briefing, without naming any parties.

"I think this either shows lack of a full, correct knowledge of the issue or there are ulterior motives for it, trying to shift responsibility," he added.

China had been making unremitting efforts and has played a constructive role, but all parties have to meet each other half way, Mr Geng insisted.

"Asking others to do work, but doing nothing themselves is not okay," he added.

"Being stabbed in the back is really not okay."

While China has been angered by North Korea's repeated nuclear and missile tests, it also blames the US and South Korea for worsening tension with their military exercises.

China has also been upset with the US deployment of an advanced anti-missile system in South Korea, which it says threatens its own security and will do nothing to ease tensions.

Additionally, Beijing has complained about Washington putting unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals for their dealings with North Korea.

Geng questioned how China's efforts could bear fruit if, while it tried to put out the flames, others added oil to the fire, and if, while it enforced UN resolutions, others harmed its interests.

Everyone needed to accept their responsibilities to get the North Korean issue back on the correct track of a peaceful resolution through talks, he added.

"The 'China responsibility theory' on the peninsula nuclear issue can stop," Geng added.

(Reuters, additional reporting Irish Independent)
An unofficial Chinese boycott of Korean businesses over the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in Korea is taking its toll on Hyundai and Kia and their suppliers in China.

One Korean parts supplier has been running its factory at only 40 percent capacity since April. "We invested heavily to build a plant in Chongqing to supply parts to Hyundai's factory that is scheduled to open there later this year," an executive said. "At this rate, we will end up losing all the money we invested."

Hyundai and Kia released their combined sales in China for June on Monday, which plunged 63 percent from the same month last year. Hyundai sold 35,000 cars and Kia 17,000. Cumulative January to June sales were down 47 percent.

Some 510 Korean auto parts makers who followed Hyundai and Kia to set up production facilities in China are suffering. One industry insider said, "Most manufacturers are forced to operate at only 50 percent capacity, which has prompted their workers to leave."

Some 510 Korean auto parts makers who followed Hyundai and Kia to set up production facilities in China are suffering. One industry insider said, "Most manufacturers are forced to operate at only 50 percent capacity, which has prompted their workers to leave."
From herding cattle to the winner's enclosure, The Black Russian has brought Fergus Hanley much joy as a small-time trainer.

Local trainer and farmer Fergus has great memories of the Galway Races as a child, but surprisingly it had little to do with horses. The bumper cars at the track were more his thing back then.

It was only when he got out of riding ponies and started training a few point-to-pointers with his late father Eddie that the racing bug finally kicked in.

Now the 42-year-old is living the dream as a small-time trainer and hopes that his sole charge, The Black Russian, can bring him further glory in a fortnight's time.

"I did all the usual stuff, jumping at the RDS on ponies, but I never had a great interest in racing until Dad got a few thoroughbreds," he remembers.

Eddie Hanley was well-known in horse circles throughout his life, his Carnmore Stud often standing stallions over the years, as well as producing several winners in the show rings.

"He also owned the show jumper Lydican, a winner with Francie Kerins before being sold to Italy," Fergus remembers.

One stallion of note that stood at Carnmore Stud was Uncle Walter. "I remember watching him compete for the Croker Cup at the RDS."

When Eddie Hanley picked up a few point-to-point horses in the 1990s, Fergus was immediately drawn to the sport. Over the next number of years he also enjoyed a stint race-riding, picking up some 30 rides in total.

"Dad always had a few horses here and there, but it was only in 2010 that I took out my own licence to train."

Over the years, horses came and went, and at one point they had 13 in the yard. "It just got so difficult paying staff and looking after owners," Fergus says. "I might get back into it again but right now I am happy with just the one racehorse. I also have a few show horses with Tazmin Murray.

"On top of that I work at home on the farm and look after my mother, Mary. There's no point being a busy fool in this racing game," he adds.

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Some would wonder how you could justify having a licence for such a small number, but The Black Russian is not your average thoroughbred.

Picked up as a four-year-old from his breeder Albert Conneally of Moorpark Stud, the son of One Cool Cat had a less than impressive start to his racing career, having refused to load into the starting stalls on more than one occasion.

However, he has since given the Hanleys so much fun and enjoyment with five wins to date, he is now very much part of the family.

"He had been placed once on the Flat before I got him but he was a difficult horse, to say the least," says Fergus of his history. "I really felt he needed to be sweetened up a bit so I used to herd the cattle at home with him. We have a small suckler herd here on 100 acres, so it was ideal."

It seems the change of scenery worked a treat and over the next three years, The Black Russian continued to improve for his owner/trainer, with his first win coming in a Maiden Hurdle in Kilbeggan in August 2013.

Three days later he was back in the winner's enclosure, again under Andrew Lynch but this time in a Handicap Hurdle over two miles.

It would be another 12 months before The Black Russian would strike again at Kilbeggan under Barry Geraghty, and remarkably he won on his chasing debut that September in Ballinrobe, with Lynch in the saddle once again.

By now he had shown true form, but the best was yet to come when the team returned to Ballinrobe last September for the John Mulhern Handicap Hurdle, where he cruised in at 7/1 under up-and-coming professional Rachel Blackmore to bring his winnings to well over 50,000.

"That was a very special day for us all," Fergus recalls. "My father had died only five weeks earlier so it really meant a lot."

Since then The Black Russian has been placed twice, including in a chase at Galway last October, and Fergus Hanley is hoping that his sole charge might now actually make it into the winner's enclosure there in a fortnight's time.

"He was placed second during the Festival a few years ago so we would love to see him win on home ground. There are so many options for him there," he adds.
Qatar has airlifted nearly 200 cows, in the first airlift to bring cows into the country, to build up its dairy herd and fresh milk supplies.

The 165 cows are the first of 4,000 which are being brought in by a Qatari businessman, to tackle the ongoing issue of a lack of dairy due to the Saudi-led restrictions on Qatar.

Qatar is home to 2.7m people and has come under political pressure from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates over alleged support of terrorism. Qatar denies the allegations, but its imports of fresh dairy have been severely curtailed, as much would have previously been imported through Saudi.

However, Turkey has sent 197 cargo planes, 16 trucks and one ship to Qatar to meet its daily needs since a dispute broke out last month, Reuters reports. Iran has also sent consignments of food and Morocco is understood to be looking at sending plane loads of food supplies.

Now a Qatari company Power International has bought the cows to Qatar via Turkey. Chairman Moutaz al-Khayyat told Bloomberg that once all the cows were flown in, they would meet about 30pc of the country's dairy needs.

The mass airlift will take approximately 60 flights and the cows are being taken to a newly built farm.

Meanwhile, hundreds of camels are reported to have died of starvation and thirst after their Qatari farmer owners were kicked out by Saudi as the row continues.

The Qatari owners of around 15,000 camels and 10,000 sheep were given hours to leave their farms.
Strong competition for land between developers is eating into margins here compared to Britain, according to the head of listed housebuilder Abbey.

Charles Gallagher told the Irish Independent that the market is "very competitive".

"There's a lot of private equity money out there, a lot of American money in the market.

"There is lots of competition and that's all the way down - even on a site for 20 houses," Mr Gallagher, Abbey's executive chairman, said.

He pointed to the 107.5m price achieved by RTE in selling just short of nine acres of its Donnybrook campus to Cairn Homes as "a very strong sale".

Mr Gallagher continued: "Obviously it depends from project to project, but certainly when we buy land, we buy on significantly tighter margins in Ireland. It is more competitive.

"We try to buy land with permission that we can build on straight away but there aren't that many of what we call 'oven-ready' sites for sale.

"When there are, there are still plenty of people chasing for them."

Mr Gallagher was speaking after Abbey published results for the year ended April 30.

The company's pre-tax profit rose from 61.5m to 63.5m year-on-year.

Abbey said: "The group has started the new year trading well from a platform that should allow more new homes to be delivered in both the UK and Ireland.

"UK margins continue to be good, however, subject to market conditions, we are anticipating some erosion towards more normal levels."

The company firmly backs the Irish Government's Help to Buy scheme, which may be axed on foot of an ongoing review.

"In Ireland, a strongly positive outlook may be impaired by further unwise intervention in the housing market," it said.

Abbey has bought land at Johnstown in Navan, Co. Meath, with scope for 46 houses. Mr Gallagher told the Irish Independent that work should begin on site "in a couple of months".

It has activities in Ireland, the UK and Czechia (formerly called the Czech Republic).

It completed 586 sales in the year, with turnover just under 200m. Mr Gallagher said Ireland would account for around 15pc of the company's overall output in the coming year and added that he would like to see the Irish proportion of its business rise.

"It was much higher 15 years ago. We still see our Irish business as being in the recovery phase and we're very committed to growing it."

The company is sitting on a land bank in Laois but house prices have not risen enough to make it economical to build, Mr Gallagher said.

"Prices have been recovering there but they're not there yet.

"They basically need to be in and around 200,000 for a three-bedroom semi-detached house to make it economical and we're still some way from that.

"When and if house prices rise to a level to allow us to build that out, we will build it."

He said building costs were creeping up because of the upturn in activity, adding: "Labour is quite tight. Wages were driven down in the downturn and people now have to be drawn back into the industry."
Cloud-based provider of customer service Zendesk is to create 300 jobs in Dublin over the next three to four years.

The roles will be in a number of areas including engineering, developing, sales, legal, and finance.

The move will bring its total headcount in Dublin to in excess of 500 employees.

Founded in a Copenhagen loft by three friends, Zendesk initially had just two members of staff in its Dublin office.

Read more: Turbine technology set to create 50 jobs from river flow

Speaking on Newstalk this morning, Colum Twomey, vice president of product engineering at Zendesk and the companys first hire in Ireland, said that a challenge for the company is always finding the appropriate skills to fill the roles, however he said that the company had been very successful at finding employees with the right skills in Dublin.

Of their employees in Ireland, around 35pc of staff are people who have moved to Dublin to take up roles in the company, Mr Twomey said.

Mr Twomey highlighted the current housing crisis in the capital, saying that accommodation is becoming more of an issue in the city.

Zendesk, which currently has over 100,000 customers around the world, provides its customers with the ability to put all customer information in one place to ensure that communication between businesses and their customers is efficient, relevant, and personal.
Ryanair announced on Monday that it was scrapping plans to begin flights to Kiev and Lviv

Ukraine wants to resume talks with Ryanair, its prime minister Volodymyr Groysman has said, after the low-cost Irish airline cancelled plans to begin flights to Kiev later this year.

After lengthy talks with Kiev's Boryspil airport, Ryanair said on Monday that it had called off plans to offer flights to Kiev and the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, alleging that the airport was trying to "protect high-fare airlines".

"We decided to resume the negotiation process with Ryanair," Groysman has now said.

Asked if Ryanair would change its mind on quitting Ukraine, a spokesman for the airline said: "We will only reconsider flights to or from Ukraine should our agreements be honoured."
Multiple trailers are out. Every photo has been analysed. Bookies have revealed their odds. The seventh season of Game of Thrones really is almost here.

** WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS **

But whats going to happen? Will Cersei remain Queen? Can Jon defeat the White Walkers? Will the Starks reunite? Well, here are our predictions of whats going to happen this season and beyond.

Were not fortune tellers, nor has HBO given us access to anything special, but there could be possible spoilers ahead. Also to note, these go from probable to very unlikely

1. Sams discovery

Starting with the most basic of predictions: Sam Tarly will discover the key to defeating the White Walkers. Game of Thrones have built up Sam finally entering the Oldtown library  no doubt there will be some major payoff, and theres little doubt over it being the key to ending the long Winter.

2. Gendrys return

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Before season six, there was a meme floating around the Internet with Gendry, along with many other characters, including Bran, members of the Brotherhood Without Banners, and the Blackfish, rowing out to sea on HS Forgotten Storylines. Come season sixs finale, though, and many storylines had finally been completely, minus Gendrys. Chances are, the bastard son of King Robert Baratheon will return, hopefully soon.

3. Bran brings the Wall down

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Weve discussed this theory before but heres a quick recap; mid-way through season six, we saw the Nights King enter the Three-Eyed Ravens home. The villain was unable to do so beforehand because of a magical barrier  this was broken once Bran was marked. The Wall has a similar enchantment, itself the reason Benjen/Colhands cannot pass the structure. If/when Bran travels beyond The Wall still marked, that will surely break the spell and bring it crumbling down.

Video of the Day

4. Littlefinger dies

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The bookies predict Petyr Baelish will be the first to die. Chances are, theyre wrong. There will no doubt be a few more deaths before the manipulator dies, and he will likely die. With Arya on the war path, chances are she will be the one to finish him. Before Littlefinger goes, though, expect him to use Sansa to take the North, likely turning her against Jon Snow.

5. Jorah finds a cure

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Jorahs pretty far into Daeneryss friend-zone right now, so dont expect them to end up together. However, the Mormont has such an undying love, theres a huge chance hell do anything to be cured of greyscale.Hopefully, we can expect the curse to be lifted, but likely at a cost (perhaps an arm?).

6. Jon and Daenerys

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We can almost guarantee these two will finally meet up. The question is, will they become more than just friends? As viewers know, Daenerys is Jon's aunt (remember R+L=J?), but they dont know that. Put two attractive, powerful people in a room together and who knows what will happen.

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7. Jaimes revenge (after sex, of course)

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Speaking of incest Jaime and Cersei will no doubt be having more sex this season, the Queen having no-one to answer to anymore. Having lost all three of her children, though, Cersei has gone power mad, something Jaime is adverse too. After all, he killed the Mad King for using Wildfire, something Cersei ended up using to destroy the Great Sept. Chances are, Jaime will be the only one left to stop Cersei doing something even crazier, likely becoming the Queenslayer. Then, riddled with guilt, the knight will kill himself, bringing their story to a Romeo and Juliet-like completion. If not this season, then perhaps next.

8. Jons bittersweet ending

Expand Close Undated handout photo issued by Sky of Kit Harington as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, as Sky has said rising costs from screening Premier League football and a "weaker UK advertising market" has dragged on profits. ... Sky profits ... 20-04-2017 ... London ... UK ... Photo credit should read: HBO/Sky/Press Association Images. Unique Reference No. 30989751 ... Issue date: Thursday April 20, 2017. The broadcaster saw an 11\% drop in operating profit to 1.01 billion in the nine months to March 31 as it pointed to a 494 million bill linked to Premier League costs. See PA story CITY Sky. Photo credit should read: HBO/Sky/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Undated handout photo issued by Sky of Kit Harington as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, as Sky has said rising costs from screening Premier League football and a "weaker UK advertising market" has dragged on profits. ... Sky profits ... 20-04-2017 ... London ... UK ... Photo credit should read: HBO/Sky/Press Association Images. Unique Reference No. 30989751 ... Issue date: Thursday April 20, 2017. The broadcaster saw an 11\% drop in operating profit to 1.01 billion in the nine months to March 31 as it pointed to a 494 million bill linked to Premier League costs. See PA story CITY Sky. Photo credit should read: HBO/Sky/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.

George RR Martin has said of the book series ending: I suspect the overall flavour is going to be as much bittersweet as it is happy. Oxford dictionary defines bittersweet as arousing pleasure tinged with sadness or pain. So, the series will end positively overall, but not without something very sad happening. Heres the theory (which applies mainly for season eight); Jon Snow will sacrifice himself to save the day. However, the hero wont die, instead becoming the new Nights King and leading the White Walkers back North, unable to live a normal life. Basically, like how Orlando Blooms Pirates of the Caribbean character is cursed to sail the seas as captain of the Flying Dutchman forever (oh wait, that was retconned), Jon Snow will be cursed to live beyond the now-crumbled Wall. Weve already established how people can live intelligent lives as semi-White Walkers with Benjen, so expect Jon to end up the same way. Maybe. Who knows, perhaps thats a little too predictable.

9. Cleganebowl

What is Cleganbowl?

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Game of Thrones season seven arrives 16 July
Lycra clad, eighties loving duo the Lords of Strut will headline Irelands first ever Kids Fringe Festival.

The Young Radicals is part of the Dublin Fringe Festival which runs throughout the capital from September 9  24.

Britains Got Talent semi finalists and brothers Famous Seamus and Seantasic will be joined on the line up 7-year-old dramaturg Cadhla McAnally.

Cadhla comes from an Irish acting dynasty; her granddad is RTEs Aonghus McAnally, her grandparents were BAFTA winner Ray McAnally and Ronnie Masterson.

And she enlisted her dad, actor Aonghus Og to help her write her epic adventure podcast called Cobras Quest.

Its like Star Wars, meets Harry Potter, Aonghus said. We wrote it together and we wanted to have a girl as the lead in it. That was really important

The podcast will run for the duration of the Fringe. For those who want to be the star o the show, kids have the chance to showcase their comedy chops at Monster LOLs  Stand-Up for Kids.

Aside from the childrens strand, the 23rd Fringe will be hard hitting and unflinching.

Artistic Director Kris Nelson, who will leave the Fringe and move to London's Lift Festival, says the programme touches on issues of gender, reproductive rights and race.

Its going to be bigger than ever before, he said.

We have ten more venues. We have Foil, Arms and Hog on the Peacock stage with their show Oink, a tent city will be built across the road from the Olympia, and an aerial act will be staged in a disused warehouse.

There will be more comedy from Alison Spittle whose one woman comedy show Worrier Woman focuses on her daily anxieties such as her sisters junior certificate results and Brexit.

Video of the Day

Theatre practitioners Grace Dyas and Emma Fraser will examine the issue of body autonomy by creating a waiting room that holds an archive of testimonies from women who have travelled to access abortion services in Not at Home.

Dance piece Soldier Still by Junk Ensemble will look at the long term impact of PTSD on Irish military.

For more information see http://www.fringefest.com/
U.S. President Donald Trump is praising his son for disclosing e-mails showing the Trump campaign was promised incriminating information about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton last year, to come from a lawyer identified as a "Russian government attorney."

The principal deputy White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, read a brief statement by the president to reporters: "My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency."

The president's statement did not discuss ramifications of the e-mails his son released. VOA's Capitol Hill correspondent Michael Bowman said the disclosure that Donald Trump Jr. expressed eagerness to obtain damaging information about Clinton ahead of the November election sent shockwaves across the Capitol.

Donald Trump Jr. released the e-mails Tuesday morning after learning that The New York Times was about to publish a story about them. They show an exchange with Rob Goldstone, an American music publicist who was representing Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer who met with the younger Trump shortly after his father clinched the Republican party's nomination for president.

 'High Level and Sensitive Information'

Goldstone told the younger Trump on June 3 last year that "the Crown prosecutor of Russia... offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump," the e-mail said. Within minutes, the younger Trump replied: "If it's what you say, I love it, especially [for use] later in the summer."

Democratic senators, such as Chris Murphy of Connecticut, said Tuesday's developments in the tale of Donald Trump Jr. and his meeting with the Russian lawyer "starts to look like collusion... open, knowing collusion with the Russian government" on the part of the Trump campaign team. Republican senators were more cautious in their reaction, but Susan Collins of Maine said "the e-mails deserve a thorough investigation" by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"We must investigate," said Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings, because the e-mail chain "confirms that the president's son was both aware of and supported the Russian government's efforts to help [Trump] get elected."
A 44-year-old activist with schizophrenia has been deemed unfit to stand trial for the murder of a man in his South Dublin home in 2014.

Mercy Peters, originally from Sierra Leone, is charged with murdering Tyrone McKenna (42) on July 17, 2014 at the house they had shared in Marley Court, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.

At todays Central Criminal Court hearing, Mr Justice Tony Hunt heard there was an issue to be decided by him about Ms Peters fitness to stand trial.

Mr Paul Burns SC, prosecuting, called a consultant forensic psychiatrist from the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) to give evidence on the issue.

Dr Sally Linehan said she interviewed Ms Peters on two occasions in order to give her opinion regarding her fitness to be tried and had prepared two reports on each assessment.

The witness said she was first asked to meet with Ms Peters on June 9, 2016 and reviewed her history.

Dr Linehan said Ms Peters has been in the CMH since July 21, 2014 and the accused did not agree with her diagnosis that she had a mental disorder. The accused told Dr Linehan that she had never heard voices or had hallucinations. She also denied any feelings of being controlled by an external force.

The court heard Ms Peters had persecutory themes involving the gardai and Dr Linehan formed the opinion that her insight into her illness was very poor.

The witness said she came to the conclusion that Ms Peters had a mental disorder at the time of the offence and was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. She said her illness displayed entrenched persecutory and delusional themes.

Concerning her fitness to be tried, Dr Linehan said Ms Peters had incorporated the criminal proceedings into this delusional system. She would be unable to make a proper defence and her capacity to give instruction to counsel would be impaired, said the witness.

Dr Linehan said she further assessed the accused on June 1, 2017 and compiled a second report. The witness again formed the opinion that Ms Peters insight into her mental health issues was limited and her mental state was unchanged. She said in addition to her delusions, Ms Peters presented with mood disturbance.

The witness said she remained satisfied when she reviewed Ms Peters again on June 1 that she met the criteria of a mental disorder. However, Dr Linehan said her opinion of the accuseds diagnosis had changed and diagnosed her as having a Schizoaffective disorder. She said it remained her opinion that Ms Peters did not satisfy the criteria for fitness to be tried as her reasoning and judgement was so impaired by her illness that she would be unable to meaningfully instruct a legal representative.

Under cross examination by Mr Michael OHiggins SC, defending, Dr Linehan agreed that Ms Peters had not been taking her prescribed medication for several months before this event occurred.

The court heard that Ms Peters had received a very good education in Sierra Leone where she worked as a journalist. Mr OHiggins said his client who is a very intelligent and articulate woman came to Ireland where she was involved in various organisations assisting asylum seekers.

Dr Linehan agreed with counsel that Ms Peters overarching view was blocked because of this persistent delusional belief system concerning gardai, MI5 and how Mr McKenna had a death wish.

The core element of her illness is a series of delusional beliefs with persecutory themes, she confirmed.

The defence then called Dr Aiden Corvin, Professor in Psychiatry at Trinity College, to give evidence.

Dr Corvin said he had been Ms Peters treating psychiatrist for several years and had diagnosed her with schizophrenia. He said despite Ms Peters being treated and medicated over the last three years, her belief system was still entrenched.

The witness concluded that, arising out of Ms Peters long-standing delusional beliefs and the fact that her judgement and reasoning were impaired by her mental disorder, she was unable for the judicial process.

Mr Justice Hunt said it was quite clear that the evidence in this very tragic case had proved that the accused was suffering from a chronic mental disorder.

It must be said from the outset that what is an unusual feature of the evidence is that Ms Peters is a very intelligent person with an understanding of the criminal process which goes beyond what one would expect in a lay person, he said.

The judge said that the strength of the accuseds delusional beliefs were so strong that she was unfit to be tried.

Mr Justice Hunt then made an order committing Ms Peters to the Central Mental Hospital until July 21. He also directed the preparation of a psychiatric assessment by an approved medical officer.
A FAIR City star who bit and punched his ex-girlfriend in an attack at his home has been given another seven months to pay her compensation.

Patrick Fitzpatrick (33), who is awaiting sentence for the assault, has already paid half of the 2,000 and a judge today said he has until next February to come up with the rest.

Fitzpatrick, who played the Zumo Bishop character in the hit RTE soap was excused from attending the brief hearing at Dublin District Court.

He potentially faces a maximum jail term of one year in prison.

Fitzpatrick pleaded gulitylast February to assault causing harm to Theresa Gannon at his home at Hollytree Terrace, Ballymun on September 4, 2015.

Dublin District Court had heard the victim was at the accuseds home on the day in question when he became aggressive.

He threw two punches at her face and bit her right upper arm. She was left with bruising to her right eye but the bite did not break her skin.

Defence solicitor Philip Hannon told Judge John Lindsay today that the case was before the court to clarify the issue of compensation.

Garda Niall Carolan said facts in the case had been heard previously and handed a copy of a medical report on the vicitm's injuries in to court.

A "positive" probation report on Fitzpatrick was also in court.

Judge Lindsay asked if the victim made a full recovery.

"She did, Judge," Garda Carolan replied.

The court heard 1,000 in compensation had already been paid by the defendant, and a total of 2,000 had been "mooted" back in February.

Garda Carolan said this figure had been a suggestion on the judge's part, and not necessarily an order.

Mr Hannon asked the judge to put the case back to November, saying the judge could monitor the situation.

Some of the money will be expected to be paid on that date, with the balance in February next year, the court heard.

Mr Hannon added that the comprehensive probation report contained a "specific recommendation."

Judge Lindsay adjourned the case to November 28, for mention. The defendant was remanded on continuing bail in his absence.

The charge of assault causing harm is under Section 3 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, which carries a potential sentence on conviction in the district court of 12 months imprisonment.

Fitzpatrick last made an appearance on Fair City in 2016. He had played the Zumo character between 2007 and 2013.
A man has been charged with dangerous driving causing the death of a French national working in Ireland.

Martin Linehan (36) appeared before Cork District on a total of 10 charges after he was brought to Ireland from the United Kingdom on foot of a European Arrest Warrant in connection with the death of Gabriel Jean Lege (25) four years ago.

Mr Linehan, who formerly lived at Lagan Grove in Mayfield, Cork but currently has an address at Essex in the UK, was arrested on arrival at Cork Airport and brought to the Bridewell Garda Station.

Judge Olann Kelleher at Cork District Court was told that Mr Linehan was charged by Detective Garda Anne O'Flynn with a total of 10 counts in relation to the circumstances surrounding death of the French national who had moved to Cork to work with Apple.

Mr Lege died after being involved in a collision while crossing the road in Cork city centre.

He was due to move into a new apartment that day.

Mr Linehan is charged with dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Lege at George's Quay in Cork on October 31 2013.

One of the other charges he faces is dangerous driving at two locations in Cork city.

Mr Linehan is also charged with failing to keep his vehicle at the scene of an accident.

The other charges include insurance, license and vehicle safety matters. Judge Kelleher was told that Gardai were applying for a remand in custody.

Defence solicitor, Michael Quinlan, told the court that the issue of a bail application does not arise at the current time.

Judge Kelleher remanded Mr Linehan in custody to appear again before Cork District Court on July 19 next.

Free legal aid was also granted to Mr Linehan.

Judge Kelleher said that Gardai are now awaiting instructions from the

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in relation to the matter.

Last November, Cork coroner Philip Comyn adjourned the inquest into Mr

Lege's death as the Garda file was still open.

Mr Lege suffered fatal injuries when he was struck by a van while crossing the road at Georges Quay on Halloween night in 2013.

The young man was left critically injured by the roadside.

The young Frenchman had been living and working in Cork for almost three years.

He was rushed to Cork University Hospital (CUH) where, despite desperate efforts by surgeons to stabilise his condition, he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Mr Comyn adjourned the inquest until this summer for mention.

Mr Lege was an employee at Apple's Hollyhill plant and his heartbroken family paid tribute to his employers, work colleagues and the people of Cork for the support they showed them in the difficult weeks and months after the tragedy.

He was from the Vendee region in the west of France.
A man accused of raping his wife on Christmas Day in 2003 has told a court they had consensual sex and he was shocked when she accused him the next morning of raping her.

The 44-year-old Dublin man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to two counts of rape, one count of oral rape and one count of anal rape of his then-wife on December 25, 2003.

The trial has heard the man allegedly raped the woman on the couch after putting their young children to bed on Christmas night.

Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy has completed his charge to the jury in the trial, which is now in its closing stages, and the jury of eight women and four men are expected to retire to consider their verdict tomorrow morning.

Earlier in the trial, the man took the stand and told Patrick Gageby SC, defending, that he had consensual sex with his wife that night. He said they had both had several drinks that evening and were both drunk.

He said when he came downstairs after putting the children to bed, his wife was lying on the couch. He told the court they started kissing and fondling. He said he sought to have oral sex but the woman said no and they had vaginal sex instead.

When asked if he had anal sex with her, the man replied, Not that I was aware of.

He said the following morning, his wife was cooking breakfast in the kitchen and she said to him, Do you know what you did last night?

She then proceeded to tell me that I raped her, the man told the court. There was no massive argument. I just went into pure shock I think.

The man eventually left the marital home, returned for some time and left again. The trial has heard varying accounts as to when exactly that happened. The couple legally separated in 2007.

The man said that he had sexual relations with his wife on a number of occasions after the alleged rape. He said when he returned to the family home, he eventually moved back into the marital bed before his wife packed his bags and he left again.

Prosecution barrister John O'Kelly SC said the man's assertion that he moved back into the marital bed was a very recent invention and untrue.

The man denied this was the case.

Mr O'Kelly put it to the man that on Christmas Day 2003, he raped his wife and told her, I've been waiting to do this for a long time before anally raping her. He submitted the man also told her, You're my wife.

Those words sum up what your intent of having sex with (your wife) on this night was, Mr O'Kelly said.

No, the man replied, adding they were a married couple having marital intercourse.

Mr O'Kelly said: Unfortunately on this night, your wife didn't want sex and she made it very clear that she didn't want sex. She had a difficult day.

The only 'No' I heard was when I looked for oral sex, the man said.

The man said that after his wife accused him of raping her, that put me into shock. I don't know why she made those allegations, he said.

Mr O'Kelly said the relationship broke down because of what happened on Christmas Day.

On that Christmas Day, you raped her and that changed everything, he said.

No, the man replied.

The trial continues.
A doctor on call was contacted four times by staff who had concerns for a patient who later died, an inquest heard.

A verdict of medical misadventure was returned at the inquest into the death of Marian Tracy (60). She died four days after surgery to remove her thyroid was performed on May 14 2015.

Ms Tracy of Dodsboro Road, Lucan, County Dublin died due to lack of oxygen to the brain due to compression of the windpipe due to a clot following thyroidectomy surgery at St Jamess Hospital.

In a statement read out after the inquest, the Tracy family said they are devastated by her loss.

Verdict of medical misadventure returned at inquest of Marian Tracy (60), who died after surgery to remove her thyroid. Family statement : pic.twitter.com/cPiBRZkPCQ  Louise Roseingrave (@blueskylou) July 12, 2017

Marian was the heart of our family and her death has left a huge void in all our lives. We would hope that Marians death wasnt in vain and the coroners recommendations be put in place and hopefully prevent another family having to suffer as we have.

ENT (ear, nose and throat) registrar-on-call Dr Monica Istovan was contacted four times by hospital staff and an intern doctor relaying concerns for the patient between 6.30pm and 11.04pm on May 15 2015.

The registrar-on-call did not attend the patient in a private ward in hospital until after Mrs Tracy had suffered a respiratory arrest, Dublin Coroner's Court heard.

Concluding a two day inquest into her death, Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane recommended that St Jamess Hospital and the Health Service Executive review their position of consultants operating on-call services to multiple hospitals and consider having senior on-call staff on-site within the hospital.

Read More

The coroner recommended that hospital staff across all levels be enabled to contact senior staff directly and that neck swelling post thyroid surgery prompt early review by ENT staff.

Expand Close Dr Michael Dowling Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins / Facebook

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Mrs Tracy developed neck swelling, difficulty swallowing and breathing the day after her surgery to remove her thyroid, the inquest heard.

Night nurse Sarah Keating contacted Dr Istovan, who was at home when she received the call at 9.45pm.

I was worried because I had never seen a patient post-operative with this level of swelling, Nurse Keating told the court. Dr Istovan instructed the nurse to ask the surgical intern on call, Dr Michael Dowling to assess the patient.

Asked if there was any way to over-rule the instructions of the registrar-on-call, the nurse replied:

Its not really my call. Its at her discretion.

Dr Dowling reviewed the patient and he was asked to send pictures of the patients wound to Dr Istovans phone. When she saw the pictures, the registrar-on-call said she would come in to see the patient. Sara Antoniotti, barrister for the family asked about the sending of pictures by phone.

In this situation, we felt it was the only option at the time and we were taking direction from the ENT registrar-on-call, Nurse Keating said.

Shortly afterwards, Mrs Tracy went into respiratory arrest. She died three days later on May 18.

The coroner returned a verdict of medical misadventure and the hospital apologised to the family for the failings in Mrs Tracy's care.
A teenager has pleaded not guilty to the murder of a 17-year old in a stabbing incident which happened in Co Mayo a week before Christmas.

The accused, who was 16 when the incident happened in the early hours of December 19, 2015, pleaded not guilty when he appeared before the Central Criminal Court sitting in Castlebar, yesterday.

A jury of eight women and four men was told by Justice Eileen Creedon that the trial of the teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, could take two weeks.

The court was told that both the accused and the deceased, 17-year old Dovydas Jenkas of Mount Street, Claremorris, were known to each other and were involved in sport together. They had been friendly but the friendship had cooled.

Both of them had moved to Ireland at different stages some years earlier with their families from Lithuania. The accused and the deceased both went to the same school but were in different years.

Prosecuting counsel Patrick McGrath, outlining the case to the jury, said that the accuseds sister and the deceased had started going out with each other but that the accused was unaware of this.

He said that on the night on the incident the accused and his sister were alone in their house in Claremorris, Co Mayo, after their mother had gone to Castlebar to meet friends.

Dovydas Jenkas had called to the house and went to the master bedroom to watch YouTube videos with the sister of the accused.

Mr McGrath said that the accused wasnt aware of his arrival and went to investigate when he heard noise from his mothers bedroom but the door was locked. He said that Dovydas Jenkas went to the ensuite bathroom.

Mr McGrath said that the accused went back to his own bedroom and picked up a homemade knife. He looked out the window and saw a person climbing down a pipe and recognised him.

The court was told that the accused ran downstairs and out the back with the knife and that he chased after the deceased around a trampoline.

Mr McGrath said that at some stage a single knife wound to the chest was inflicted.

Mr McGrath told the jury they would be told that the accused never intended to stab the Mr Jenkas and that the accused ran into him with the knife out.

But Mr McGrath said that evidence from State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, would show that there was rapid lung collapse and that the angle of the stab was downward at an angle of 45 degrees, which was not consistent with impaling.

The court heard that neighbours and paramedics rushed to the scene when the alarm was raised and that frantic efforts were made to save the life of the 17-year but that Dovydas Jenkas was pronounced dead at the scene at 3.40am on the morning of December 19, 2015.

The case continues in Castlebar this morning.
Thailand's Cabinet on Tuesday approved construction of the first phase of a $5.5-billion railway project to link the industrial eastern seaboard with southern China through landlocked Laos, as part of a regional infrastructure drive by Beijing.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who heads the Thai ruling junta, made use of an executive order last month to pave the way for the project, which has been beset by delays, including negotiations on loan terms.

The first phase encompasses six railway stations on a 250-km high-speed line linking the Thai capital of Bangkok and the northeastern province of Nakorn Ratchasima.

"This project is part of the development of a regional transport network, in particular China's 'One Belt One Road' initiative that will link Europe, Asia and Southeast Asia together," Korbsak Pootrakool, vice-minister at the Prime Minister's Office, told reporters.
A woman places flowers at the Riverside apartment complex in Kimmage. Photo: Doug O'Connor

A shrine to little Omar Omran has been growing steadily outside the Riverside apartment complex in Kimmage since news of his violent and tragic death first emerged late on Monday evening.

The poignant messages are all the more sorrowful because they are from the hearts of people who never met him, but feel his loss nonetheless.

Teddy bears, soft toy animals, flowers, candles and balloons have all been left at the gates by locals.

"Rest in peace, poor child. Fly with the angels," reads one message on a single flower.

"You got your wings too early," reads another.

Asked whether they knew Omar or his mother Maha Al-Adheem, who is being treated in St James's Hospital while gardai wait to interview her, the people leaving their tributes and toys conceded they didn't.

Expand Close A message on flowers at the Riverside apartment complex, Kimmage where Omar's body was discovered. Photo: Collins / Facebook

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"It just seemed like the right thing to do. We only live up the road.

"We saw it on the news and couldn't believe it happened so close to us," said Greg Byrne and Reddy Thumma, who arrived early with a neat bouquet of flowers.

People driving by slowed to bless themselves, while inside the complex a team from the Garda Technical Bureau was carrying out the grim task of photographing the scene, taking measurements, and gathering forensic evidence.

Then the silver ambulance from the city morgue arrived and reversed up to the front door.

Gardai in their white forensic boiler suits and hoods quietly carried Omar's body down to it on a stretcher, with a red cover draped over him.

The ambulance waited briefly for the gates to open.

A little stuffed toy giraffe pushed into the rails on the gate carried a message printed on a page and pinned to it.

"Why?" it read.

When the technical bureau and city morgue workers had gone, the scene quietened, and residents coming home stood and looked.

A passing glance would yield no sign of this desperate tragedy.

But on closer inspection the silhouette of a tall garda sitting on a chair outside a first floor apartment was the reminder that Omar would not be coming back.

One resident said that Maha was a caring woman, qualified as a doctor, who often offered help to her neighbours.

"I just can't believe it. I can't take it in.

"I don't know what happened," they said.
Children aged six to 11 months, travelling to other countries and regions where measles outbreaks are reported, are recommended to get the MMR vaccine. Stock Image

Irish families holidaying in Europe are being warned about a deadly measles outbreak which has claimed 35 lives in the past year.

The most recent fatality was a six-year-old boy in Italy, where more than 3,300 measles cases and two deaths have occurred since last month.

Several other countries have also reported outbreaks and there have been deaths in Portugal, Germany and Romania.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), which raised the alert, said: "Every death or disability caused by this vaccine-preventable disease is an unacceptable tragedy."

Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO regional director for Europe, said: "We are very concerned that although a safe, effective and affordable vaccine is available, measles remains a leading cause of death among children worldwide, and unfortunately Europe is not spared.

"Working closely with health authorities in all European affected countries is our priority to control the outbreaks and maintain high vaccination coverage for all sections of the population."

Read more - Dr Suzanne Cotter: How to protect your family from measles virus

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre here said the best way to prevent measles was to be vaccinated with the MMR.

"Parents should not delay getting the MMR for their child when it is due - 12 months and second dose at pre-school age for four to five-year-olds," it said.

Children aged six to 11 months, travelling to other countries and regions where measles outbreaks are reported, are recommended to get the MMR vaccine.

For older children and young adults not vaccinated, the advice is to contact a local GP about getting the jab. The WHO recommends that every eligible child receive two doses.
Both the HSE and Mr Harris were strongly criticised last night by Labour TD Alan Kelly for the delay in the reimbursement. Photo: Damien Eagers

A life-saving drug for heart failure patients certified as being "cost effective" 12 months ago is still awaiting reimbursement approval from the HSE and Health Minister Simon Harris, the Irish Independent can reveal.

Entresto, a potentially life-saving drug for heart failure patients, is the latest medicine to be caught up in the funding logjam that is causing deep concern among health professionals.

It is estimated the drug would cost less than 5 per day to administer to patients, yet the cost of admitting a heart-failure patient to hospital is 7,800.

Crucially, the drug is recognised as an effective alternative to hospitalisation and was given the green light last July by the National Centre of Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE).

Entresto is routinely available in most European countries and was even fast-tracked for reimbursement in the United States.

However, the HSE has confirmed that it does not have the funding for Entresto, having referred the matter to Mr Harris in May of this year. Eight other treatments were also referred to the department.

Both the HSE and Mr Harris were strongly criticised last night by Labour TD Alan Kelly for the delay in the reimbursement.

Along with Entresto, the list provided to the department also includes cancer drugs such as Erivedge and Lynparza, as well as Brintellix, which treats depression.

However, Entresto is the only drug on the list found to be cost effective by the NCPE, a key influencer in the purchasing of drugs.

By referring the list to Mr Harris's department, the HSE indicated it wants to purchase the drugs but cannot afford to do so.

This was confirmed by the Department of Health last night.

"The funding implications of these nine treatments are currently under consideration by the department," a department spokesperson told the Irish Independent.

"Each of these treatments were referred to the department because the HSE decided to support the reimbursement application, but considered that this could not be funded from within its current budgetary envelope and also taking account of the cumulative costs over a five-year period. The HSE advise that the cumulative cost over five years of these treatments is approximately 120m.

"It should be noted that the final decision in relation to the reimbursement of all medicines remains the statutory responsibility of the HSE."

The Department of Health has already gone to Government this year to seek funding for the cystic fibrosis drugs Orkambi and Kalydeco after a long-running campaign by patients and protracted price negotiations with pharmaceutical company Vertex.

Speaking to the Irish Independent last night, Labour Party health spokesperson Alan Kelly said the way in which the HSE and Mr Harris had dealt with the issue was unacceptable.

"Not alone is this health necessity but it is also a financially good move in respect of the taxpayer," Mr Kelly said. "Is Minister Harris really going to allow this issue to drag on beyond the summer recess, not ensuring that heart patients have access to a life-changing drug."

The HSE's request to Mr Harris to fund this drug was confirmed in response to Fianna Fail TD Billy Kelleher.
A SEMI-PRIVATE clinic, which was part of the National Maternity Hospital complex in Holles St in Dublin, had backroom services subsidised by public funds at one stage, a HSE internal audit has found.

The clinic was provided with supports such as administration, staffing and managerial services.

Two nurses, whose salaries were paid for from public funds , also worked on a part-time contract basis at the clinic, the audit showed.

Four senior managers in the publicly funded hospital were also given additional payments linked to work in the semi private clinic although this was against public pay policy.

The audits said there were "close linkages and blurred boundaries" between the public hospital and its semi-private clinic.

The master of Holles St Dr Rhona Mahony was paid 40,000 sourced from private fee income.

The HSE says the findings raise, at the very least, questions of possible/potential conflicts of interest and subsidisation of private entities by publicly funded bodies.

It also says the issues raised are perhaps not unique to Holles Street and highlight areas where public and privately funded health facilities co-exist.

The clinic provides scans and also fertility treatments.

In response the National Maternity Hospital said it rejected findings contained in the internal HSE audit.

A spokesman said the national maternity hospital is not owned by the HSE and is an independent entity.

He insisted that the payments to some medical and non medical staff were for private work and not from the public funds,fundraising or donations.

Payments were made to medical and non-medical staff.

Under public contracts agreed by the State, consultants are entitled to earn private money from treating private patients, in addition to their public income.

The private income from the semi-private clinic was pooled and the net income was distributed among the consultants.

It said it welcomed the HSE's acknowledgement that the 40,000 payment to Dr Mahony "to which the HSE drew so much attention over a protracted period" is sourced from professional fee income, as the hospital has always stated.

However, the HSE report said claims sources of extra payments to certain other staff has still not been disclosed by the hospital.

The HSE audit says there was an interest free loan of around 1.4 m from the public hospital, to allow for the 6m refurbishment of the semi-private clinic.

In exchange, the public hospital was able to use some of the upgraded office facilities.

The clinic paid 4.5m towards the cost of the work.

The Holles St spokesman said :A reading of the reports could lead to a misunderstanding of the cross-subsidisation between public and private practice at the NMH. The net cross-subsidisation that occurs is from private to public.

Approximately one third of NMH income is private bed income, without which the hospital could not deliver its existing public services.

It should also be understood that NMH provides services, some of which are not provided by the State. We are one of three EU countries that do not provide state funded IVF services. One of the entities discussed in this report provides that service on a not-for-profit basis. Another of the entities is an ultrasound clinic, set up by specialists in fetal medicine to increase ultrasound capacity at NMH.

It should be noted that NMH provides ultrasound services to women from HSE hospitals who do not provide advanced fetal medicine services or even routine ultrasound in some cases .

While Government policy has mandated an interlinked public and private healthcare system, the report consistently refers to perceived conflicts of interest in the way NMH operates this system.
Malak Thawley died in the National Maternity Hospital a year ago during emergency surgery for ectopic pregnancy

The bereaved husband of tragic Malak Thawley is requesting a meeting with Health Minister Simon Harris.

Mrs Thawley (34) died in the National Maternity Hospital a year ago during emergency surgery for ectopic pregnancy.

Her husband Alan Thawley, who is looking for an independent inquiry into the death, has said the coroner's inquest, which returned a verdict of medical misadventure, was not sufficient.

It raised issues around alleged "internal systemic failures and full accountability and disclosure," Mr Thawley said in a letter to the minister through his solicitor, Caoimhe Haughey.

"I cannot do justice to the depth of Mr Thawley's feelings in the confines of this letter," Ms Haughey wrote.

"For Mr Thawley, the limitations of the coronial process and its lack of scope is extremely significant in the context where he now finds himself, in respect of coping with the overwhelming tragic loss he has to suffer and continues to suffer," she added.

During the keyhole surgery, one of his wife's major blood vessels was accidentally cut, leading to Mrs Thawley suffering a fatal haemorrhage.

Mr Thawley has called for an inquiry to look at the use of bladed instruments by the maternity hospital during this form of keyhole surgery. The inquiry should be undertaken by "outside experts", he has said.

His call has been supported by the Association for Improvement in Maternity Services Ireland (AIMS).

Chair of the AIMS Krysia Lynch said: "External reviews are not about assigning blame - they are about learning from mistakes and ensuring that care is optimised and that families and babies in Ireland receive the best possible evidence-based safe care available."

Mr Harris said he was considering the issues raised in the correspondence from Mr Thawley.

The National Maternity Hospital has apologised unreservedly to Mr Thawley for the shortcomings in care that led to his wife's death. It said from the outset it accepted liability, and acknowledged Mr Thawley had suffered a most devastating loss.
The Eighth U.S. Army, the core of 29,000 American troops stationed in Korea, finally completed the move to its new headquarters in Pyeongtaek on Tuesday. The relocation from the old garrison in Yongsan in central Seoul took decades to complete. Eighth Army commander Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal cut the ribbon and said the US10.7-billion project "dramatically increased the size of U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, making it the largest U.S. Army garrison overseas." He described it as "the crown jewel of overseas installations." The remaining units will move to Pyeongtaek by the end of this year, with the exception of the Combined Forces Command, which has wartime operational control over more than 600,000 active-duty military personnel in both the U.S. and Korea. The U.S. Second Infantry Division, currently stationed north of Seoul, will move to Pyeongtaek by the end of 2018. Camp Humphreys is closer to strategic U.S. military installations than Yongsan, including Osan Air Base and port and rail facilities nearby, which makes it easier to coordinate American troop reinforcements in case of war.



Apache helicopters sit on the tarmac at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday

 Strategic Base The U.S. Forces Korea showed reporters round the new base on opening day, and it took them around 40 minutes to circle the sprawling compound that measures 14.68 million sq.m of land. That makes it 5.5 times bigger than the financial district of Yeouido in central Seoul. It houses 513 buildings that can accommodate 42,000 people, including 13,000 troops as well as their dependents and non-combat workers. Since there are more non-combatants than soldiers, the base also contains schools, a hospital, a veterinarian clinic, a movie theater, a swimming pool and a church. Camp Humphreys is designed as a strategic U.S. military hub in Northeast Asia and has its own railway station to make it easier to transport troop and materiel reinforcements arriving in the southern port city of Busan in any war. The bases proximity to other key military installations would also make it easier to evacuate American civilian staff in a war.

An aerial view of Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday /Yonhap

 Decades in the Making The relocation was a campaign pledge of former President Roh Tae-woo back in 1987. In those heady days of double-digit economic growth in Korea, the U.S. military faced mounting calls from the Korean public to move its main garrison out of the burgeoning capital, where real estate prices were going through the roof amid a massive development boom. Seoul and Washington signed an agreement in 1990 to relocate the main garrison. A golf course that was part of the Yongsan base was returned to Korea in 1991 and turned into a public park. But conflicts over cost sharing prevented the relocation plan from moving ahead until the leaders of the two countries signed an agreement in 2003 to jump-start stalled efforts. The ultimate aim was to merge 173 U.S. military installations throughout Korea in Pyeongtaek and two other key installations in Busan and Daegu. But the CFC will remain in Seoul and the 210th Field Artillery Brigade will stay in Dongducheon north of the capital. Other bases that are not being relocated are the U.S.-Korean military guards stationed in the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom, and Rodriguez firing range in Pocheon north of Seoul. The relocation is over 90 percent complete, according to the Defense Ministry, and will at this rate be finished by the end of this year.

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A man climbs a bonfire to plant an Irish tricolour on Shankill Road, Belfast ahead of the key date in the protestant loyal order marching season - the Twelfth of July Credit: PA Wire

Firefighters douse nearby buildings as a bonfire is lit in Albertbridge Road, Belfast ahead of the key date in the protestant loyal order marching season - the Twelfth of July Credit: PA Wire

Firefighters near a lit bonfire on Albertbridge Road, Belfast ahead of the key date in the protestant loyal order marching season - the Twelfth of July Credit: PA Wire

Firefighters douse nearby buildings as a bonfire is lit in Albertbridge Road, Belfast ahead of the key date in the protestant loyal order marching season - the Twelfth of July Credit: PA Wire

Onlookers watch as firefighters douse nearby buildings as a bonfire is lit in Albertbridge Road, Belfast ahead of the key date in the protestant loyal order marching season - the Twelfth of July Credit: PA Wire

Huge bonfires are being lit in loyalist areas across Northern Ireland to usher in the main fixture in the loyal order marching season.

Homes have been boarded up at a number of sites amid concerns around safety and risk to property.

The towering bonfires, most built with stacks of wooden pallets, will draw thousands of onlookers into the early hours of Wednesday.

They are ignited each year to herald the Twelfth of July, when loyalists and unionists commemorate Protestant King William of Orange's victory over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland in 1690.

The bonfires have again proved contentious this year. Sinn Fein reacted angrily to a coffin bearing an image of the late Martin McGuinness being attached to one in east Belfast while Irish flags and posters of Sinn Fein and other non-unionist politicians were again spotted on multiple fires.

A racist banner referencing Celtic striker Scott Sinclair was hung on another bonfire in east Belfast.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Firefighters douse nearby buildings as a bonfire is lit in Albertbridge Road, Belfast ahead of the key date in the protestant loyal order marching season - the Twelfth of July Credit: PA Wire Firefighters douse nearby buildings as a bonfire is lit in Albertbridge Road, Belfast ahead of the key date in the protestant loyal order marching season - the Twelfth of July Credit:: PA Wire Firefighters douse nearby buildings as a bonfire is lit in Albertbridge Road, Belfast ahead of the key date in the protestant loyal order marching season - the Twelfth of July Credit: PA Wire Firefighters douse nearby buildings as a bonfire is lit in Albertbridge Road, Belfast ahead of the key date in the protestant loyal order marching season - the Twelfth of July Credit: PA Wire / Facebook

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Sinn Fein's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill called for an end to what she described as an "annual display of hate".

"Once again, we have witnessed bonfires across the North being festooned with stolen Sinn Fein election posters, Irish national flags and other emblems," she said.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland spokeswoman said: "We take hate crime very seriously and actively investigate all incidents reported to us. Hate crime is wrong on all levels and the PSNI will do everything it can to ensure that everyone, from whatever background, can live free from prejudice, fear and discrimination."

The safety of a number of the structures has also been questioned.

Some of the unregulated pallet stacks have been erected in built-up areas near homes and other properties.

Contractors in Belfast spent most of Tuesday morning boarding up windows at a number of the sites, including Ravenscroft Avenue and Cregagh in the east of the city and Lanark Way in the north.

Last week Belfast City Council secured a court order to prevent further construction on four bonfires in the east of the city amid safety concerns. Masked loyalists appeared to defy that order at one of the sites on Monday.

Last year, a number of terraced homes next to the Hopewell Square bonfire in Belfast's Shankill Road were badly damaged when a blaze broke out on the roofs. It was caused by hot embers blown on the wind.

Advocates of the bonfires portray them as a family-friendly, spectacular celebration of loyalist/Protestant culture.

Their detractors claim they are potentially dangerous, environmentally damaging, magnets for anti-social behaviour and alienating to nationalists.

Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster claimed there was a campaign to "demonise" the bonfires.

"Bonfires on the Eleventh Night have long been part of the unionist culture," she said.

"Those who have waged a campaign of demonisation against such celebrations should dial down the rhetoric. To those who build bonfires, I urge them to not play into the hands of those who want to demonise the culture.

"They should be respectful of their neighbours. Endangering property and lives should not be a concern for residents on the Eleventh Night. These should be events that all the family can enjoy. We will work constructively with communities to achieve this."

One of the biggest bonfires ignited prematurely, with firefighters working through the early hours of Tuesday to extinguish the blaze in Carrickfergus.

While the vast majority of the almost 600 Protestant loyal order parades on the Twelfth are free of trouble each year, the threat of disorder at a small number of flashpoints always has the potential to mar the day.

There is cautious optimism this year's Twelfth will pass off without major incident.

Orangemen and nationalist residents at the most contentious parade - at Woodvale/Ardoyne in north Belfast - have struck a deal that aims to reduce tensions in the area on Wednesday.
A row has broken out over proposed plans to convert a historic convent into a mosque.

Pakistani businessman Mohammed Aslam intends to buy a protected, historic convent in Co Roscommon and convert it into a mosque.

The developer has placed an offer on St Marys Convent in Ballaghadereen, which was originally built in 1876 but has been unoccupied for the past 20 years.

The property is due to be auctioned shortly and was listed with a reserve price of 50,000, according to reports on Shannonside FMs website.

However, former councillor Michael Scally has expressed disappointment in the plan.

"Good luck to the particular man if hes interested in converting it into a mosque," Mr Scally told Shannonside FM.

"I would have preferred if the local diocese or the nuns or the Catholic community took the initiative to buy it or restore and do it up into a retreat house or a convalescing place for retired religious people," he continued.

Mr Aslam made headlines when he objected to Syrian asylum-seekers being accommodated in the town of Ballaghadereen, where his proposed mosque will be located.

He described the town as like a "desert with no businesses and nothing to do."

"If you bring the Syrians there, from my heart, you are punishing them," he said at the time.

These comments were met with criticism from some members of the local community in the town.
Former Tanaiste Joan Burton has said it was an "enormous achievement" by Gardai to get everybody away from the Jobstown protest without injury.

In her first comments since the acquittal of Solidarity TD Paul Murphy and five others for false imprisonment, Ms Burton praised the gardai on-duty during the water charges protest for showing restraint.

"Its very important in terms of the work that Gardai do that they got everybody out of that particular event without any injury to anybody," she said.

"I think in terms of restrained, traditional policing it was an enormous achievement of the Gardai. Particularly in a situation where there were small children mixed in with the people who were involved in the demonstration."

Mr Murphy and his co-accused were cleared after an eight week trial which heard that Ms Burton and her assistant Karen OConnell were trapped for three hours during the protest in November 2015.

The Dublin South West TD has since called for a public inquiry into evidence given by gardai during the trial after the judge told the jury to rely on video evidence rather than their testimony.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has called on Garda Commissioner Noirin OSullivan to examine Garda evidence given during the trial.

Speaking at Leinster House today Ms Burton said she doesnt intend to make any public statements on the trial.

"I havent, for instance, as I think is routine for people who have been part of the witnesses at a trial, I havent heard anything from the Office of the DPP.

"Clearly that office is the office which independently is responsible for prosecutions. We just havent heard anything. Until we get greater clarity on that I wont be saying anything," she said.
The slashing of the waiting time for divorce from four years to two is a step closer after it passed the committee stage without amendment.

However, the TD who proposed the move, Fine Gael's Josepha Madigan, cautioned against being overly ambitious in making further changes to the divorce law.

She said that marriage is ingrained in Irish society and suggested it's not yet time to seek to take divorce provisions out of the constitution completely.

She was speaking as the Oireachtas justice committee debated her proposal to cut the number of years that a couple have to be living apart to be eligible for divorce from four to two years.

The change in the law would require a referendum which would be likely to take place some time next year.

Under the constitution courts can only grant a divorce where spouses have lived apart for four years out of the previous five, theres no reasonable prospect of reconciliation, and proper provision have been made for spouses and children.

Junior Justice minister David Stanton told the committee that government is supporting Ms Madigans proposals.

He said that shortening the living apart period will allow couples whose marriages have broken down to regularise their affairs sooner and reduce the legal costs involved.

He said the government believes its appropriate to examine all provisions of the article of the constitution governing divorce and is open to the removal of the conditions that must be satisfied before a court can grant a divorce.

This would not be intended to take away regulation of divorce and matters associated with it but it would mean that the conditions for the grant of a divorce would be prescribed by the Oireachtas and not in the constitution, he said.

He said the government is in the process of drafting amendments to Ms Madigans Bill which wil be published at a later date.

Ms Madigan earlier told TDs that for now shed be in favour of leaving the conditions that dont relate to the living apart period in the constitution.

She said she believes her Bill is a balance between what she thinks are fair and reasonable proposals and what I think will be achieved by referendum.

We can lose sight of our goals when we are overly ambitious in my view, she said, while adding she is open to discussion on amendments.

Im not sure the Irish people are completely ready for it to be taken out of the constitution Ms Madigan said arguing that the institution of marriage is very ingrained.

She pointed out that the divorce referendum in the 1980s was defeated and that the successful introduction of divorce in the mid 1990s was passed but only by a whisper.

Ms Madigan said she qualified as a family law solicitor in 1997, the year divorce came on the statute books.

She said that while she has been happily married for 15 years there are thousands of people out there who go through separation or divorce.

She said she feels that if she gets her proposal over the line in a referendum it will help those people.

The Bill received cross party support in the Dail in April and will now go to the Report Stage.

Mr Stanton said the governments amendments will be ready for that stage in the legislative process.

Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger said Ms Madigans proposals to cut the waiting time is a step forward.

But she also said: I think most people when they get to the stage of actually going through divorce have been separated or their marriage has been falling apart for a long, long time and I think the stipulation of two years is still too onerous a requirement in allowing people to move on emotionally financially and in many other ways.

Independents4Change TD Clare Daly said the Bill was laudable but said it was unfortunate that government amendments werent ready to be discussed by the committee.
SOLIDARITY TD Paul Murphy has used Dail privilege to claim Gardai conspired to commit perjury in the trial of six people accused of falsely imprisoning former Tanaiste Joan Burton.

In an extraordinary series of Dail exchanges Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Dublin South West TD was quite threatening in his contributions across the chamber.

The Taoiseach rejected calls for a public inquiry into the evidence given during the nine week trial, telling Mr Murphy: You are not a victim here. You are not the victim of any conspiracy. You got a fair trial. You were acquitted but that doesnt mean your behaviour was right.

Cheered on by his Fine Gael colleagues and some TDs from other parties, an unscripted Mr Varadkar said: It may well be the case that you were not involved in kidnapping but it was thuggery and your behaviour was wrong. The protest was ugly, it was violent, it was nasty.

For those of us who have seen some of the coverage of it that was broadcast on television the anger, the virulence, the words that were directed at two women going about their work, a water balloon being thrown in somebodys face.

All of those things are unbecoming of a member of this House. Unbecoming from somebody who believes in democracy and unbecoming of anybody who has any respect for other human beings.

And Mr Varadkar called on Mr Murphy to stop trying to present himself as a victim and instead "offer an apology to Deputy Burton".

Mr Murphy was cautioned several times by the Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghail who warned that the Dail cannot be used to review the outcome of court trials.

In her charge to the jury during the trial, Judge Melanie Greally noted there were discrepancies between some of the Garda evidence and video footage. She advised that the footage be treated as the principal evidence, as it was not subject to human frailties.

Mr Murphy said three gardai told the court that he had asked protesters whether they should keep Ms Burton in Jobstown all night but this wasnt backed up by the video evidence.

Something very serious happened in court and there is a public interest in a public inquiry.

The Taoiseach has to decide what all of that means. I think it means that numerous gardai lied under oath in a coordinated way. I think that applies an agreement to commit perjury, he said.

As junior minister Mary Mitchell OConnor and others shouted about the fact that children were witnesses to the protest in November 2014, Mr Murphy replied: It might pain you all or at least lots of you that the jury heard the evidence and found us not guilty. Im sorry but thats the way it works.

This started with a Labour minister a few hours after the protest saying it was false imprisonment. It was followed by the Taoiseach saying it was kidnapping. It was followed by the now Taoiseach saying it was thuggery.

Now politicians, not courts, have to deal with the consequences, he said.

Mr Varadkar then hit back, saying: Not only do you owe Deputy Burton and Ms OConnell an apology. You also should give a public apology to all of the people who you led.

We saw you on the loudhailer. Particularly the young people and minors who should not have been led in that sort of protest that is unbecoming our democracy, he said.

The transcript of Mr Murphys Dail contributions are to be reviewed after Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin raised questions about a deputys entitlement to use privilege to state that people lied in court evidence.

He said if it was allowed to stand it would set a precedent that opens up all sorts of new horizons.

The row came after Ms Burton said it was an enormous achievement by Gardai to get everybody away from the Jobstown protest without injury.

In her first comments since the court case, Ms Burton praised the gardai on-duty during the water charges protest for showing restraint.

Its very important in terms of the work that Gardai do that they got everybody out of that particular event without any injury to anybody, she said.

I think in terms of restrained, traditional policing it was an enormous achievement of the Gardai. Particularly in a situation where there were small children mixed in with the people who were involved in the demonstration.

Mr Murphy and his co-accused were cleared after an eight week trial which heard that Ms Burton and her assistant Karen OConnell were trapped for three hours during the protest in November 15.

The Dublin South West TD has since called for a public inquiry into evidence given by gardai during the trial after the judge told the jury to rely on video evidence rather than their testimony.

Speaking at Leinster House today, Ms Burton said she doesnt intend to make any public statements on the trial.

I havent, for instance, as I think is routine for people who have been part of the witnesses at a trial, I havent heard anything from the Office of the DPP.

Clearly that office is the office which independently is responsible for prosecutions. We just havent heard anything. Until we get greater clarity on that I wont be saying anything, she said.
Gardai are investigating a suspected arson attack in Cork on the home of a young family.

The incident occurred in the early hours of this morning and left a young mother and her teenage daughter deeply shocked.

The attack occurred at a housing estate in Midleton in east Cork.

No-one was injured in the incident which resulted in minor scorch damage to the property.

An object was thrown through a front window of the house and a window frame and blind was scorched.

The fire was extinguished almost immediately.

Neighbours and Midleton Fire Brigade units attended the scene but it is understood that no major structural damage was caused.

However, the occupants were deeply upset at the incident.

Gardai are now investigating the matter.

It is unclear what was involved in the attack but one theory being examined is that the incident was a result of a case of mistaken identity with the attacker confusing the property with another in the area.
The finding that the latest version of the injected male contraceptive is now very effective is fantastic news.

In a trial of 320 men, researchers found that, over a one-year period, it was 96 per cent effective in preventing pregnancy. A spokesperson for the World Health Organisation said: The study found it is possible to have a hormonal contraceptive for men that reduces the risk of unplanned pregnancies in the partners of men who use it.

But the trial of the drug has already been halted  because just 20 of the men (out of 320, dont forget) found the side effects of the injection intolerable and it was decided that more research needed to be done to try and counteract them. Those side effects included depression, muscle pain, mood swings, acne and changes to the libido.

Do any of those side effects sound familiar? Oh yes, theyre the minor side effects of the combined pill, used by 48 per cent of women aged 16 to 19, 64 per cent of women aged between 20 and 24 and a majority (55 per cent) of those aged between 25 and 29.

How sad for these poor men  they couldnt handle the side effects that so many women have to deal with every day just to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. Women have had to bear the responsibility of contraception since the pill was first launched in 1962  and all of the side effects that go along with it.

When it comes to contraception, medicine is clearly biased towards men. Women can have such ailments as depression and acne thrust upon them for the greater good of preventing an unwanted pregnancy, but the same level of discomfort cannot be expected of men. Researchers are now going to spend millions trying to alter this medication so that its side effects are lessened.

Only 20 of the men surveyed said that they couldnt handle the side effects  more than 75 per cent said they would happily use the contraception. Because 20 men werent happy, the entire trial has been halted.

Lets review this in context. One of the most dangerous risks to women of taking the combined pill is the increased risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which can be fatal. It affects two in 10,000 women. Young womens lives have been cut short because they were taking the pill. The advice from the regulatory agency? The benefits outweigh the risks.

There is also an increased risk of breast cancer: one in eight women get breast cancer, and it is responsible for 31 deaths in Britain every day. Then theres the higher chance of getting cervical cancer or having a stroke, not to mention mood swings, cramps, sore breasts, headaches, migraines, weight gain, heavy and painful periods, no periods at all, bleeding every single day (known spotting)  do I need to go on?

The risks of the combined pill are numerous, and taking it is not a pleasant thing. But women have taken this burden on for more than 50 years to allow their relationships to develop without the risk of pregnancy. It is offensive and inconsiderate that researchers are halting a major trial of a male contraception because of a few minor  yes, they are minor, and if youre a woman complaining about them, thats what your GP will most certainly tell you  side effects.

I dont blame the men who dropped out of the trial for doing so. I blame the medical establishment for treating women like cattle who can deal with the risk of cancer and blood clots to avoid the world being populated by unwanted babies, yet arent willing to let men suffer even a slight headache to the same end.

For women, the alternatives to the combined pill are not much better. The mini pill doesnt provide as much of a risk, as it isnt jam-packed full of oestrogen, yet you can end up with irregular bleeding or no periods at all  unnerving for many, especially when youre trying to avoid an unplanned pregnancy. The depo injection is renowned for irregular bleeding  some people bleed every single day on it  and it cannot be reversed. If its side effects are intolerable, you have to sit it out for three months. The implant is also renowned for its disruption to the menstrual cycle  plus, you have to have a stick jammed in your arm. Lets not even start on the coil (a bit of copper shoved into your uterus through your vagina and cervix without any pain relief, anyone?).

Its enough to make you consider that remaining celibate  or even having a child  could be viable options.

The halting of the male contraceptive trial is not justified. Unless the researchers produce evidence that this injection increases the risk of death, cancer  or any side effect with a disproportionately higher risk than the forms of contraception billions of women are already using  they are courting controversy.

Ive never been of the school of thought that science is biased against women. Usually, Im the one defending it. But this is taking the biscuit. Women make up half the population in this country, and half the partnership responsible for every unplanned child  and its time someone gave us a break when it comes to contraception.
Supply strong, but home sales dip

From:Shanghai Daily | 2017-07-11 12:06

SALES of new residential properties fell in Shanghai last week despite record supply, with medium- to low-end apartments being most sought after.



The area of new homes sold, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, plunged 42.7 percent to 138,000 square meters during the seven days to Sunday, Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Co said yesterday.

New homes cost an average 45,160 yuan (US$6,623) per square meter, a week-over-week decrease of 6.2 percent.

New homes in outlying areas attracted the most buyers. Nanhui in Pudong New Area led weekly transactions with 38,000 square meters, a rise of 11.8 percent from the previous week.

Jiading and Qingpu districts recorded 21,000 square meters and 17,000 square meters respectively, Centaline said.

A residential development in Lingang port area recorded sales of 196 apartments at an average price of 29,373 yuan a square meter.

Average daily transaction volume of less than 20,000 square meters during the weekend period was somewhat equivalent to the low level we would usually see during the Spring Festival holiday, indicating truly sluggish momentum that could be even worsened by hot weather, said Lu Wenxi, senior manager of research at Shanghai Centaline.

On the other hand, a significant rebound in new home supply during the same period should reflect ever-growing pressure that some real estate developers have been facing to unload inventories and replenish cash as tightening policies, which have remained strictly enforced for quite a long period of time, dampen buyers home purchase interest.

About 318,000 square meters of new residential properties across 10 projects were released to the city, a week-over-week surge of 55.1 percent. That was the highest seven-day volume recorded so far this year, Centaline said.

Despite abundant supply, no major recovery should be expected in the next few weeks as summer kicks in, Lu said.
Louise O'Reilly has won praise for sharing an unedited photo of herself in a swimsuit.

The plus-size model (27) has hit back at the online trolls who have targeted her physical appearance in the past and was commended for her honesty.

Many celebrities have spoken out about how magazine photo shoots are often heavily retouched and can give young girls unrealistic expectations.

"A touch of back fat and cellulite... two of the most common combinations for all woman at any size and yet we rarely see it in the media... how crazy! I'll just leave this photo here then," Louise said alongside her photo on Instagram and Facebook.

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Former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh said the Dubliner looked "absolutely beautiful" and admitted that she too has struggled with insecurities.

"My partner took a shot of me by a pool and I hated it. Thanks for sharing your amazing mindset," she said.

Louise pointed out that "we're all human" and said people should "embrace" their bodies.

The Malahide woman's career has gone from strength to strength. She was recently named as the new face of plus-size clothing brand Evans and is also signed with several agencies abroad and has frequently modelled in the UK, Germany and Sweden.

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While she thinks the fashion industry has "got better" at becoming more inclusive of all shapes and sizes, she reckons there's still work to be done.

"It's not equal, no way. It's definitely got better. We've still an awful long way to go with brands and diversifying," she said.

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Louise, who runs popular blog Style Me Curvy, has been with her boyfriend Dave for more than five years and describes them as "happy and content".
SUITS "Skin In the Game" Episode 701 -- Pictured: Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane -- (Photo by: Ian Watson/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

SUITS "The Statue" Episode 702 -- Pictured: Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane -- (Photo by: Shane Mahood/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

It's back to the day job for Meghan Markle as the cast of Suits celebrate the show's seventh season and 100th episode.

Meghan (35) reunited with her cast mates in celebration of the 100th episode of the show on Tuesday.

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The actress, who has been dating Prince Harry for over a year, plays lawyer Rachel Zane in the legal drama.

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New images from the upcoming season see the ever-stylish Rachel looking sombre in the first two episodes.

Meghan has kept a relatively low profile since news of her relationship with Prince Harry emerged last year, and even shut down her lifestyle blog, The Tig.

The couple have attempted to keep their relationship out of the public eye, with no official appearances together as of yet.

In a rare appearance together, the Los Angeles native was spotted in Prince Harry's car en route to Pippa Middleton's wedding reception in May, and has travelled to and from Kensington Palace between shooting Suits in Toronto.

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A royal engagement has also been reported to be closer than we think, with Westminster Abbey releasing a statement clarifying that Meghan is eligible to wed Prince Harry there, despite the fact that she is divorced (she was previously married to Trevor Engelson from 2011 to 2013).

"The Abbey follows the General Synod Ruling of 2002. Since then it has been possible for divorced people to be married in the Church of England," a spokesperson told the Daily Express.

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Queen Elizabeth, Britain's longest reining monarch, is said to have approved of the budding romance early on and royal insiders expect him to pop the question in the coming months.

Talk of the couple getting hitched comes just after Harry and Meghan were snapped sharing a kiss at the Audi Polo Challenge at Coworth Park in Ascot earlier this month. "She was absolutely lovely and was chatting with everyone at the polo", the insider added.

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"She gets British humour and was laughing at everyone's jokes. She was saying that she loves horses, but doesn't ride so would like Harry to teach her."
The Duchess of Cornwall and Spain's Queen Letizia leave their hotel by car in London at the start of the King's State Visit to the UK. Photo credit : Hannah McKay/PA Wire

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall greet King Felipe VI and Letizia of Spain at his hotel in central London at the start of the King's State Visit to the UK. Photo credit: Hannah McKay/PA Wire

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall greet King Felipe VI and Letizia of Spain at his hotel in central London at the start of the King's State Visit to the UK. Photo credit: Hannah McKay/PA Wire

The Duchess of Cornwall greets Queen Letizia of Spain at their hotel in central London at the start of the King's State Visit to the UK. Photo credit : Hannah McKay/PA Wire

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Queen Letizia of Spain is seen leaving the ME Hotel during there state visit to the United Kingdom on July 12, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by DMC/GC Images)

Queen Letizia of Spain and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh ride in a carriage during a State visit by the King and Queen of Spain at Carriage Gate, Buckingham Palace on July 12, 2017 in London, England. This is the first state visit by the current King Felipe and Queen Letizia, the last being in 1986 with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Queen Letizia of Spain and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh ride in a carriage during a State visit by the King and Queen of Spain at Centre Gate, Buckingham Palace on July 12, 2017 in London, England

Queen Letizia dressed for the weather in a sunny yellow ensemble on the first day of her state visit to the UK.

Letizia and her husband King Felipe VI of Spain were greeted by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on the first day of their state visit.

Letizia (44) is fast becoming one of the world's most stylish royals, and her choice of outfit on Wednesday didn't disappoint.

The mother-of-two made a subtle statement in a pastel yellow coat, dress and bright yellow hat.

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She completed the ensemble with a pale yellow clutch bag, gloves and nude shoes.

It is the first state visit by a Spanish monarch since King Juan Carlos toured Britain in 1986 when he raised the controversial issue of Gibraltar - as his son Felipe is expected to do when he addresses parliamentarians later.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall had escorted the king and his wife from their London hotel to Horse Guards Parade, arriving in chauffeur-driven limousines.

Following protocol, Queen Elizabeth introduced the Spanish couple to leading figures from UK national life, including Prime Minister Theresa May, Home Secretary Amber Rudd - whose hat blew off when she arrived - Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and senior military figures.

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During their three-day visit Felipe and Letizia will dine at a Buckingham Palace state banquet, with Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge expected to attend; visit the Palace of Westminster, where the king will address parliamentarians; and on Thursday Felipe will meet Mrs May at Downing Street.

The backdrop to the visit is strained relations between Spain and the UK over the sovereignty of Gibraltar, which have come to the fore because of Brexit.

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Simon Manley, Britain's ambassador to Spain, was questioned by journalists in Madrid last week, and when asked if Felipe could talk about the British overseas territory in his Westminster speech, he replied it was a possibility.

Last September, Felipe used his address to the UN General Assembly in New York to call for a negotiated handover of The Rock.

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The king, at 6ft 5in, towered over the Queen, and he kissed his relative on the cheek and hand when they met.

A guard of honour, the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, lined up in front of the royal party and Philip escorted Felipe across the parade ground to inspect the troops.

The king strode ahead of his host with Philip having to pick up his pace to keep up.

Back on a dais, the Queen chatted to Letizia as they watched the men walk along the line of guardsmen.

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Additional reporting by Press Association.
Arizona Muse arrives for the Serpentine Summer Party at The Serpentine Gallery on July 6, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)

Arizona Muse attends the Elie Saab show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2017/2018 on March 4, 2017 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

(L-R) Bonniface Verney-Carron and Arizona Muse attend the Lost In Space event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the OMEGA Speedmaster, which has been worn by every piloted NASA mission since 1965 at Tate Modern on April 26, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Arizona Muse attends the Lost In Space event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the OMEGA Speedmaster, which has been worn by every piloted NASA mission since 1965 at Tate Modern on April 26, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Arizona Muse attends the 2017 CFDA Fashion Awards at Hammerstein Ballroom on June 5, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 28: Arizona Muse attends The Serpentine Galleries Summer Party at The Serpentine Gallery on June 28, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Arizona Muse attends The Serpentine Galleries Summer Party at The Serpentine Gallery on June 28, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Arizona Muse gave fashion fans a glimpse of her new wedding ring when she attended The Serpentine Galleries Summer Party at The Serpentine Gallery on June 28, 2017 in London, England.

Not a lot of people realise just how much thought needs to go into finding the perfect band to match a diamond ring, but model Arizona Muse certainly gets it, judging from her on-point bridal jewellery game.

The catwalk favourite flaunted her beautiful new wedding band, which sat cosily next to her stunning sparkling engagement ring, when she made her official debut as a married woman at The Serpentine Gallery's Summer Party in London on Wednesday night.

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Whatsapp LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 28: Arizona Muse and Boniface Verney-Carron attend The Serpentine Galleries Summer Party at The Serpentine Gallery on June 28, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Pictured with new husband Boniface Verney-Carron, the cute couple looked to be a vision of newlywed bliss at the glamorous event, which is one of the high points of London's summer social calendar, and even shared a sneaky kiss while posing for photos.

The American model, 28, tied the knot with osteopath Verney-Carron earlier this month, with the stylish bride looking timeless in a sophisticated sheath gown, long-line coat and statement Chopard choker.

My wedding was the most beautiful day I've experienced. Thank you to @alicetemperley for making this divine dress and @chopard for lending me the most elegant diamonds from their Green Carpet collection. A post shared by Arizona Muse (@arizona_muse) on Jun 19, 2017 at 12:11am PDT

The bride's Temperley dress photographed beautifully in the vintage-feel photos she later shared with her 163K followers on Instagram, which gave fans a peak into the couple's intimate celebrations with close friends and family.

The mother-of-one, who has a child with her former partner, said her wedding day was "the most beautiful day I've experienced" and went on to thank designer Alice Temperley for creating her wedding gown, and luxury jewellery store Chopard for lending her her diamonds on the day.

My husband, I loved every single second of marrying you yesterday. It was as I had been told it would be, the happiest day of my life. @boniface_vc A post shared by Arizona Muse (@arizona_muse) on Jun 18, 2017 at 1:30pm PDT

"My husband, I loved every single second of marrying you yesterday. It was as I had been told it would be, the happiest day of my life," she added.
Gogglebox favourite Chris Steed has officially tied the knot with his partner Tony Butland in a 'magical' wedding ceremony with both grooms looking seriously stylish in contrasting suits.

The wedding featured diva-themed tables for the guests that centred around icons such as Shirley Bassey, Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler and Julie Andrews, according to the Daily Mail.

Barbara Streisand was the name on the top table, and the couple are reported to have had their first dance to the songstress' duet with Bryan Adams "I Finally Found Someone".

"There was so much love in the room - everything went perfectly and I am the happiest man alive," 41-year-old Chris said.

1st official pic of Mr & Mr Butland-Steed! @tiger_tiger69 @thegrandbrighton @nickfordphoto - you're amazing! A post shared by Christopher Steed (@goggleboxchris) on Jul 9, 2017 at 11:33am PDT

"From the moment we woke up to when we said goodbye to the last guests in the early hours everyone said they'd never felt such energy at a wedding before."

The couple announced their engagement in October 2015, when hairdresser Chris said 'yes' to Tony on a romantic trip to Paris.

The love up pair shared a photo of themselves toasting their nuptials with champagne on top of the Effiel Tower, with Chris proudly displaying his sparkling engagement ring.

"It's official... I can't sing Beyonce anymore thanks to Tony Butland," the Channel 4 star wrote on Twitter at the time.

Now this is the way to make an entrance! Thank you @reveriesevents for making @tiger_tiger69 and my wedding so beautiful, fantastic pic @nickfordphoto A post shared by Christopher Steed (@goggleboxchris) on Jul 10, 2017 at 2:06pm PDT

Steed has been busy preparing for the wedding in the last week, and revealed that he had undergone a hair transplant, his third reported procedure in five years, in the days leading up to the nuptials.

"I wanted to look gorgeous when I walk down the aisle," he told the Irish Daily Mirror.

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"Lots of men are happy to shave their heads to cover it up, like my fiance Tony.

Having these hair transplants has ensured that I can have great hair myself."

The beauty procedure involved 4,000 hairs being grafted on to the back and side of his head, and cost the famous channel-hopper over 9,000 to have done.

The hairstylist has previously said that his wedding would be a private affair, however he joked that that would only be the case "unless OK Magazine decide to do a photo feature".

Expand Close Gogglebox's Chris Steed (right) pictured with his on-screen partner Stephen Webb on January 25, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Gogglebox's Chris Steed (right) pictured with his on-screen partner Stephen Webb on January 25, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

Some viewers of the Channel 4 show are more acquainted with the groom and his ex-boyfriend Stephen Webb, whom he appears alongside in the hit series.

The pair were an item when they began filming for the show in 2013, however they decided to continue appearing on the couch as friends when their romantic relationship dissolved after the first season.
Damien, from Meath, and Chereen, from Dublin, met in Damien's local pub, where he was DJing that night.

The pair became friends and would often bump into each other on nights out before their romance grew - and when Damien took Chereen for a walk around Howth Head on their first date, she never could have imagined he'd be bringing her there to propose nearly eight years later.

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Damien and Chereen wanted to have a traditional Irish wedding theme so they began their day with a church ceremony in St Patrick's Church, Kilquade, Co Wicklow, followed by a reception in Druids Glen Resort.

"We really wanted to get married in Wicklow and when we viewed Druids Glen, we fell in love with it," says Chereen.

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The couple hired a traditional Irish band - 3 For The Road - to play for guests during the drinks reception. However Damien had secretly learned how to play the fiddle for the day, joining the group for a tune, much to the surprise of Chereen and guests!

Damien also got crafty for the big day, making road signs and favour cards for the tables, as well as Mass booklets.

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Chereen found her dream dress in The Bridal Studio, Drogheda, and her bridesmaids wore pistachio dresses from Cari's Closet in Malahide. The groom got his suit from Pat O'Byrne Man's Shop in Trim, Co Meath.

After their whirlwind day, Damien and Chereen spent seven nights in Dubai relaxing at Anantara The Palm Resort.

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Photography by Couple Photography, couple.ie

Video by CMP Productions, cmpproductions.net

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'It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage. A man always imagines a woman to be ready for anybody who asks her." Emma Woodhouse, Emma.

One could be forgiven for assuming that Austen herself to some extent shared this belief, that a happy-ever-after ending in marital bliss was the ultimate goal for a woman. Her novels all centre around the involved dance of courtship, as a couple overcome various obstacles; mutual prejudice, interfering relatives, youthful folly, glamorous if ultimately licentious strangers, to arrive at an eventually successful proposal.

Jane Austen, however, was not a sentimentalist, and harboured no excessively romantic notions about the state of marriage. Her own idea of love was decidedly pragmatic; the concept of one true, passionate love was given short shrift. On advising her niece, Fanny Knight, on affairs of the heart, she warned against believing that first love is the only one, from which one will never recover. "Oh! Dear Fanny, your mistake has been one that thousands of women fall into. He was the first young man who attached himself to you." Such disappointments do not kill anyone, she goes on to explain. Marianne Dashwood, in Sense and Sensibility, one of Austen's most attractive proponents of romantic love, suffers badly, in the ending opting for the much more prosaic Colonel Brandon.

In her own life, Jane eschewed wedlock in favour of her career. Far from living a sheltered spinster's life, Austen enjoyed a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. Her father ran a small boarding school at the family home, so from a young age she was surrounded by young men. She herself was the second youngest of a family of eight, six brothers and two sisters. Always independently minded, at the age of seven, Jane insisted, according to her mother, on accompanying her beloved older sister Cassandra to school in Oxford. It was to be the beginning of a lifetime's travels, to London, around the countryside, to Bath, and on various holidays with her family. She was, however, dependent on male family members to accompany her from place to place, and could languish at one house waiting for a male relative to come and collect her.

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Accounts by various friends and family record that Austen herself was the object of various men's interest throughout her abridged life. Tom Lefroy, later the Chief Justice of Ireland, was a youthful dalliance. The pair met when he stayed with nearby friends of Jane's family, he was spirited away before things became too serious; his large family expected him to marry into money.

According to family legend, a summertime romance with a mysterious man encountered on a family holiday in Devonshire around 1801 was the most significant in terms of impact on Jane's affections, and might have led to an attachment, had he not died several months after their first meeting. "I never heard aunt Cass speak of anyone else with such admiration - she had no doubt that a mutual attachment was in progress between him and her sister," a niece recorded. "They parted - but he made it plain that he would seek them out again and shortly afterwards he died."

A year later, Jane actually did accept a marriage proposal, from Harris Bigg-Wither, a family friend. On a visit to Steventon to see their brother who now lived in the old family home, Jane and her sister had gone to stay with friends. The pair returned home early, in tears, their sister-in-law Mary Austen recalled. The story unfolded that the friend's younger brother Harris had proposed, and while Jane had accepted, the next morning she rescinded her agreement. One acquaintance recorded that Harris, although in line to inherit a fortune, was 'very plain in person, awkward, and even uncouth in manner'. He had failed to finish his studies, which may have counted against him with the whip-smart Jane, who was then approaching her 27th birthday. "One explanation is that she was at a vulnerable moment," suggests biographer Paula Byrne, in The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things. "Unhappy to be living in Bath, longing for a return to the locality of her childhood, and possibly recovering from news of the death of her seaside lover." Despite Austen's dismissal of the idea of one grand, passionate true love, her notion of marriage did require a love-match, but one that was grounded in reality, rather than an idealistic fantasy. "She simply wasn't in love with Harris," Byrne concludes, "and-whether as an agony aunt or a novelist - she was never someone to advise matrimony for financial gain without love, whatever the temptations of security or status".

Austen's view of marriage was in its way quite modern, a contract between equals. The idea of marrying a person for whom one did not feel affection, or kinship, was abhorrent. To her niece, she wrote "anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affectionnothing can be compared to the misery of being bound without love."

Finding such a person was not guaranteed though; "There are such beings in the World perhaps, one in a Thousandwhere Grace and Spirit are united to Worth, where the Manners are equal to the Heart and Understanding such a person may not come in your way".

Although in later years Austen's work would provide her with increasing amounts of financial independence, for much of her life, she, like most women of her era, was dependent on her male relatives, for financial security, a home, even for transport. Even from a young age, Austen would have been aware of the inescapable reliance women had on male relatives, and the consequences if such support was unforthcoming - her father's unwed sister travelled to the East Indies in search of a husband. She herself always knew that she wanted to be a writer. Jane was lucky in that her father wholeheartedly supported her aspirations, allowing her access to his library, and purchasing her a portable writing desk for her 19th birthday. First her father, then her brothers, provided homes for the sisters and their mother. When her parents announced suddenly that her father was retiring as rector at Steventon and the family would move to Bath, Austen fainted with shock. So little autonomy did she enjoy over her life that the notion that Jane would have any say in a decision which would so hugely affect her didn't occur to anyone. In 1809, her brother Edward, who as a teenager had been adopted by a wealthy, childless couple, provided Jane and her mother and sister with a house on his estate. The effect of a settled home, her first in almost a decade, was tangible; in her time at Chawton, Jane revised Pride and Prejudice, wrote Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion, and began Sanditon. Austen wrote from the age of 12, completing her first book aged 14. Virginia Woolf remarked that these writings were not just intended to entertain the close family circle, correctly identifying Austen's lifelong plans to become an author. Such ambitions most likely didn't allow for marriage as part of Jane's domestic arrangements. In letters to her nieces she urged them to put off childbirth until a little later in their lives, to avoid early exhaustion; "By not beginning the business of Mothering quite so early in life, you will be young in Constitution, spirits, figure and countenance, while Mrs Wm Hammond is growing old by confinements and nursing.

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"She truly believed that marriage could stifle women's voices. This was the fate to which she would not submit herself in her own life," Byrne argues. In letters Jane lamented to her niece: "I shall hatewhen your delicious play of mind is all settled down into conjugal and maternal affections." Austen may have ended her heroine's stories in marriage, but this is not a facile depiction of a fairy-tale ending. Jane was nothing if not realistic, and the reality of her time was that marriage was, in fact, for the majority of women bar those lucky enough to enjoy personal wealth, a vastly preferable option to a life of penury, dependency on relatives, or virtual slavery as a lady's companion.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Austen's most famous line, from Pride and Prejudice, could as easily be adapted to refer to the universality of a woman of marriageable age, with no income of her own, being in want of a husband.

Such championing of the marital state may fall short of our contemporary notions of feminism and female empowerment, but for Austen to have suggested an alternative would have been impossible given the essentially realistic nature of her work. The author's voice describes Charlotte's position on the matter in Pride and Prejudice in a tone that, despite Mr Collins's hideousness, allows for the validity of her point of view, despite Austen's own feelings that marriage without affection was beyond contemplating; "without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want." Women in Jane Austen's work rarely adhere to the traditional notion of a heroine. They are real creatures, rather than idealistic caricatures. The author "rejects the convention that a heroine must be beautiful," writes Byrne. Instead they are imperfect, hot-headed, pious, reserved. They make mistakes. Women in Jane Austen's books are pragmatic - Charlotte and her marriage to Mr Collins; sexually charged - Lydia Bennet and her affair with Wickham; intelligent - like Elizabeth Bennet; wise - like Fanny Price; and licentious - in Mary Crawford's case. They are not perfect, and their author does not require them to stand on a pedestal. Jane's own most significant relationship was with her sister, Cassandra, she jokingly referred to the pair as 'the formidables'. "Jane Austen liked women," explains her biographer, Byrne. She had many close friends, from neighbours, to governesses of her brothers' families. The idea of women as fragile, delicate creatures, in need of male protection, is given short shrift. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth's hardiness in tramping the countryside is favourably depicted. In Persuasion, Captain Wentworth's sister Mrs Croft admonishes him: "I hate to hear you talking so, like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days." Jane pays women the respect of representing them and the realities of their lives, fully. In later years, Austen, who took over from her brother and acted as her own agent, negotiating with her publishers, would robustly defend the novel, a new literary form which came in for much sexist, patronising criticism, associated as it was with female writers, and depictions of the feminine world, most famously in Northanger Abbey. "'Oh it is only a novel'in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour are conveyed to the word in the best chosen language."

Austen does not seem to have harboured any desire for motherhood, and childbirth horrified her somewhat. Her novels were her children. "I am never too busy to think of S. I can no more forget it, than a mother can forget her suckling child." Jane died at the age of 41 in 1817, her head cradled in her sister's lap. Afterwards, Cassandra wrote "she was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow. I had not a thought concealed from her, and it is as if I had lost a part of myself." No lover could have penned a more heartfelt tribute. Speculation has placed the cause of her death as Addison's disease. Even from her sickbed, she dictated comic verse to her sister. She died a successful author, her lifelong ambition fulfilled.
A photograph from the US National Archive which it is claimed shows Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan in the Marshall Islands in 1937

Pilot Amelia Earhart poses for a portrait in and airplane in circa 1936. (Photo courtesty Library of Congress/Getty Images)

It looks like the mystery of Amelia Earhart's disappearance remains unsolved.

Earlier this month, it was claimed in a documentary on the History Channel that the 80-year mystery of the pilot's disappearance was solved, citing a picture allegedly of her with navigator Fred Noonan on a dock in the Marshall Islands in 1937.

But a Japanese blogger now claims the blurry photo was taken two years before her disappearance and goes on to argue it isn't her in the picture.

It had been generally accepted that Ms Earhart, and her navigator Fred Noonan, died on July 2, 1937, when their plane crashed close to Howland Island in the central Pacific Ocean, amid poor visibility and low fuel levels.

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A new documentary, Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence on the History channel, however, argues that the photograph proves Ms Earhart and Mr Noonan were picked up by the Japanese military, who believed they were spies, and taken prisoner.

It states the pair had crash-landed in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.

The blogger said the same photo first appeared in a Japanese travel book in 1935. It's reported the original caption for the image cites 1935 as the date of arrival.

History have acknowledged the shadow of doubt cast on their findings and said they will investigate.

"We will be transparent in our findings, Ultimately historical accuracy is most important to us and our viewers," they said in a statement on their website.

"So we're going to continue to investigate this," History investigator Shawn Henry told NBC News. "The accuracy is obviously important. We want to follow the facts where they lead, and we're certainly going to do that."

"I think the evidence that we've collected thus far in totality says that Noonan and Earhart landed in the Marshall Islands. I think that that's true."

The photo was discovered by Les Kinney, a retired US treasury agent, who has spent years trying to unravel the mystery of the Earhart expedition.

He said the photo "clearly indicates that Earhart was captured by the Japanese".

The documentary tells of "a world-famous aviator who got caught up in an international dispute, was abandoned by her own government, and made the ultimate sacrifice," Mr Henry said.

"She may very well be the first casualty of World War II."

Experts stated the hairline of the man in the photo matched that of Mr Noonan.

"The hairline is the most distinctive characteristic," said Ken Gibson, a facial recognition expert. "It's a very sharp receding hairline. The nose is very prominent.

"It's my feeling that this is very convincing evidence that this is probably Noonan."

Marshall Islands residents have previously claimed they saw the plane crash near the island, with Ms Earhart and Mr Noonan being taken away by the Japanese.

"We believe that the Koshu took her to Saipan [in the Mariana Islands], and that she died there under the custody of the Japanese," said Gary Tarpinian, the executive producer of the documentary.

"We don't know how she died. We don't know when."

Japanese authorities told NBC that there are no records indicating that Ms Earhart was in Japanese custody.

Ms Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. Earheart was declared dead by the United States government in 1939 after it was concluded her plane crash landed.
In absence of both party leaders on Wednesday, Prime Ministers Questions became a lively affair as frontbenchers Damian Green and Emily Thornberry represented May and Corbyn.

On the agenda was Brexit, and with just over 20 months to go until Britain officially leaves the EU, the possibility of a potential no deal exit was a hot topic.

And yet, it was the dynamic exchange between the two cabinet stand-ins which really drew peoples attention.

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Ahead of her first question, Thornberry noted that Green had been the 16th cabinet member to represent the Tories at PMQs since he was first elected in 1997, and added: How about I give him up to the end of the session to name all the others?

In good humour, Green jokingly accepted Thornberrys challenge and was quick to respond by pointing out the Conservative record of being represented by two female Prime Ministers  Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.

There are many, many distinguished people of both sexes whove done (PMQs) in this party because we, of course, elect women leaders, the First Secretary of State delivered to cheers from the Tory front and backbenches.

But Thornberry did not disappoint with her clapback.

She said: I mentioned at the outset that hes the 16th member to represent his party in Prime Ministers Questions since 1997  only three of those have been women, and the last one before the current Prime Minister was 16 years ago.

I believe weve had three women Labour MPs doing this job in the last two years alone.

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The zingers didnt end there, as Thornberry challenged the Tory leaderships weakened position following Junes election, and suggested that there could be more than a few keen frontbenchers looking to replace May.

The MP for Islington South and Finsbury said: I understand the Honourable Member is new to this, but the way that it works is that I ask the questions, and he answers them.

Were (Labour) quite happy to swap places with them and, frankly, if he doesnt want to continue under these rules, Im sure theres plenty other people on the front bench who wold love to audition as Prime Minister.

May was absent on Wednesday as she attended a ceremony to welcome the King and Queen of Spain on their State Visit to the UK.

Expand Close Queen Elizabeth II greets Prime Minister Theresa May as she arrives for a ceremonial welcome to King Felipe VI and Letizia of Spain (Nick Ansell/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Queen Elizabeth II greets Prime Minister Theresa May as she arrives for a ceremonial welcome to King Felipe VI and Letizia of Spain (Nick Ansell/PA)

Thornberry took Labours lead at PMQs last December, where she was mostly praised for her performance against Commons leader David Lidington, who represented the Tories.

During Wednesdays session, Thornberry also compared suspended Conservative MP Anne Marie Morris to former BNP leader Nick Griffin, after Morris used the n-word last week while discussing the possibility of Britain leaving the EU without a deal.

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Amid the exchanges, Tory representative Green committed a gaffe when he wrongly identified shadow education secretary Angela Rayner as Labours Education spokesman.

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Rayner took to Twitter to remind Green.
The body of a 65-year-old retired judge - the first to investigate the still-unsolved 1984 death of a four-year-old boy that transfixed France - has been found with a plastic bag over his head.

The prosecutor of Mans, the town where Judge Jean-Michel Lambert lived, said a post-mortem would be needed to determine the judge's "precise" cause of death.

A statement said no traces of violence or disorder were found in the judge's home, where his body was discovered the previous evening.

Prosecutor Fabrice Belargent has ordered a police investigation into the death.

Lambert was at the centre of the much-criticised probe into the drowning of Gregory Villemin, whose body was found in a river with hands and feet bound.

The complex case of the boy's death quickly became the centre of French media attention.

"It's an affair that has accompanied me throughout my career and my life," Lambert said in a 2014 interview, parts of which were aired Wednesday on television channel BFM-TV.

Untangling family rivalries in the Villemin family - fed by anonymous letters and phone calls - was a prime task for the judge. Lambert at one point charged and jailed Bernard Laroche, the cousin of Gregory's father, only to free him months later.

But months later, suspicions pushed Gregory's father to kill Laroche.

Lambert later suspected Gregory's mother, jailing her before she was finally released and declared innocent.

The moves fuelled claims that Lambert was orchestrating a judicial fiasco.

The unsolved "petit Gregory" case took on new life recently with charges against at least three family members, two of whom have been allowed to remain free.

Another woman, a teenager in 1984, remains jailed after being charged for allegedly having knowledge of the kidnapping of Gregory.

Murielle Bolle had claimed early on that brother-in-law Laroche was Gregory's killer before retracting that version - a retraction that another cousin now claims was obtained through a beating by family members.

In a 2014 interview with the daily Le Figaro, as Judge Lambert was promoting a book on his career, he called the killing of Laroche a "tragedy within a tragedy" and reproached himself for not having time "to say he (Laroche) was innocent".

AP
China has dispatched military personnel to the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti to man the rising Asian giant's first overseas military base.

The defence ministry said on its website that a ceremony was held at a naval pier in the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang presided over by navy commander Vice Admiral Shen Jinlong.

It said members of its People's Liberation Army (PLA) would travel by navy ship but gave no details on numbers or units. Photos showed naval officers and marines in battle dress lining the rails of the support ships Jingangshan and Donghaidao.

China said the logistics centre will support anti-piracy, UN peacekeeping and humanitarian relief missions in Africa and western Asia.

It says it will also facilitate military cooperation and joint exercises as the PLA navy and other services seek to expand their global reach in step with China's growing economic and political footprint.

Djibouti is already home to the centre of American operations in Africa, Camp Lemonnier, while France, Britain, Japan and other nations also maintain a military presence in the small but strategically located nation.

Multinational anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden that China joined in 2008 have also given its navy ready access to the Mediterranean, and, in 2011, it took the unprecedented step of sending one of its most sophisticated warships together with military transport aircraft to help in the evacuation of about 35,000 Chinese citizens from Libya.

In 2015, China detached three navy ships from the anti-piracy patrols to rescue Chinese citizens and other foreign nationals from fighting in Yemen. The same year, it took part in its first Mediterranean joint naval exercises with Russia.

AP
Donald Trump Jr is at the centre of a firestorm over Russian connections (AP)

US President Donald Trump has defended his eldest son over a meeting with a Russian lawyer last year, declaring on Twitter that he is "open, transparent and innocent".

The comments came a day after Donald Trump Jr revealed his eagerness to hear damaging information about Hillary Clinton from the Russian government in a meeting with the lawyer from Moscow during the presidential campaign.

Defending his son's conduct, the president again dismissed the ongoing Russia investigation as the "greatest Witch Hunt in political history".

Mr Trump responded after Mr Trump Jr disclosed a series of emails on Tuesday that marked the clearest sign to date that Mr Trump's campaign was willing to consider election help from a long-time US adversary.

The email exchange posted to Twitter by Mr Trump Jr showed him conversing with a music publicist who wanted him to meet with a "Russian government attorney" who supposedly had dirt on Mrs Clinton as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump".

The messages reveal that Mr Trump Jr was told the Russian government had information that could "incriminate" Mrs Clinton and her dealings with Russia.

"I love it," Mr Trump Jr said in one email response.

The president's lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said in an interview with NBC's Today that Mr Trump Jr did not violate any laws by accepting the meeting.

He said the president had not been aware of Mr Trump Jr's June 2016 meeting and did not find out about his son's email exchange until "very recently".

Mr Sekulow said the president was not being investigated by former FBI director Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating the Trump campaign and its interaction with Russia during the election.

"I would know a little bit about it. I'm one of the lawyers," Mr Sekulow told ABC's Good Morning America.

As the emails reverberated across the political world, Mr Trump Jr defended his actions in an interview with Fox News, blaming the decision to take the meeting on the "million miles per hour" pace of a presidential campaign and his suspicion that the lawyer might have information about "under-reported" scandals involving Mrs Clinton.

He said the meeting "really went nowhere" and that he never told his father about it because there was "nothing to tell".

"In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently," Mr Trump Jr said.

Democrats in Congress voiced outrage and insisted the messages showed clear collusion, with California Representative. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, declaring that "all of the campaign's previous denials obviously now have to be viewed in a different context".

Yet Republicans - who stand the most to lose politically from Mr Trump's Russia ordeal - did not join in the condemnation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was confident Senate investigators would "get to the bottom of whatever happened".

And Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican on the intelligence committee, cautioned that the emails were "only part of the picture".

Mr Trump Jr, who was deeply involved in his father's presidential campaign, portrayed his decision to release the emails as an effort "to be totally transparent".

In fact, they had already been obtained by The New York Times.

Hours after the son posted the emails, the father rose to his defence.

"My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," the president said in a statement read to reporters by White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Although Ms Sanders declined to answer questions about the emails, she stood by the White House's long-standing insistence that no one in Mr Trump's campaign colluded to influence the election.

The messages were the latest disclosure to roil the multiple, ongoing investigations into Russia's interference in the election and potential collusion with Mr Trump's campaign.

US intelligence agencies have said the Russian government meddled in the election through hacking to aid Mr Trump.

The emails will almost certainly be reviewed for any signs of co-ordination with the Kremlin, which the White House and Mr Trump Jr have repeatedly said did not take place.

A spokesman for Mr Mueller declined to comment.

AP
A California Democrat has filed an article of impeachment against US President Donald Trump.

Representative Brad Sherman filed the long-shot bid to remove the president from office on Wednesday.

In it, he accuses Mr Trump of obstructing investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, in part by firing former FBI director James Comey.

Mr Sherman acknowledges that filing the article is "the first step on a very long road".

"But if the impulsive incompetency continues, then eventually - many, many months from now - Republicans will join the impeachment effort," Mr Sherman said in a statement.

The effort has little chance of success in the Republican-led House. Mr Sherman does not even have the backing of many fellow Democrats.

Democratic leaders have distanced themselves from the efforts to impeach Mr Trump, believing it serves only to energise the president's supporters. Mr Sherman's resolution has one co-sponsor, fellow Democrat Al Green of Texas.

Mr Sherman filed the article a day after the president's son, Donald Trump Jr, acknowledged that he met with a Russian lawyer during the campaign. The lawyer promised damaging information from the Russian government about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump Jr said he received no information about Mrs Clinton at the meeting.

The president has questioned his own intelligence agencies and whether the Russians actually interfered in the election.

However, federal authorities say they have definitive evidence that the Kremlin meddled in the US presidential election.

AP
Magistrate Jean-Michel Lambert on the day Christine Villemin told the police what happened on the day her son Gregory was murdered. (Photo by THIERRY ORBAN/Sygma via Getty Images)

A retired French judge has been found dead at his home in a dramatic new twist to a child murder case that has gripped the country for over three decades, a judicial source said on Wednesday.

The first elements of the investigation point to a suicide, the source said, after emergency services found dead at his home near Le Mans late on Tuesday. Le Parisien newspaper reported the 65 year-old had been found with a plastic bag over his head.

Lambert had been the first magistrate in charge of the investigation over the 1984 killing of four-year-old Gregory Villemin, whose body was discovered, bound hand and foot, in a river.

The murder, which remains unsolved, was followed by a revenge killing, and by other highly-publicised twists and turns where relatives were one after the other accused of being guilty amid a series of anonymous letters.

The case was reopened several times over the past decades, and in June this year the case raced back into the headlines as a couple in their 70s and a 48-year old woman, all relatives of the child, were placed under investigation.

Judge Lambert, who was 32 at the time, was often criticised for the way he handled the case between 1984 and 1987.

Expand Close Magistrate Jean-Michel Lambert on the day Christine Villemin told the police what happened on the day her son Gregory was murdered. (Photo by THIERRY ORBAN/Sygma via Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Magistrate Jean-Michel Lambert on the day Christine Villemin told the police what happened on the day her son Gregory was murdered. (Photo by THIERRY ORBAN/Sygma via Getty Images)

On Tuesday, a French news channel published what it said were notes from another judge who investigated the case and had severely criticised Lambert's work.

A month after the Gregory's death, Bernard Laroche, a cousin of the child's father, was charged based on evidence provided by his sister-in-law, Muriel Bolle.

He was later freed after evidence against him was thrown out by prosecutors. But convinced that he was the murderer, Gregory's father Jean-Marie Villemin shot him dead in 1985 and served four years in jail for the act.

Gregory's mother, Christine Villemin, also became a suspect because witnesses said they had seen her at the post office on the day that one of the mysterious letters was sent. She was later cleared.
Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia take a seat at the Palace of Westminster in London, Britain July 12, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

The King of Spain has expressed his confidence that his country and Britain will overcome their differences over Gibraltar and find a solution acceptable to all involved.

King Felipe raised the thorny issue as he addressed MPs and peers at the Royal Gallery in the Houses of Parliament, outside which the flag of Gibraltar was on display in Parliament Square.

The flags presence was welcomed earlier at Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons by Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell, who urged Prime Minister Theresa May to remind the King that Gibraltar is British, despite long-standing Spanish claims on the territory.

Mr Rosindell looked on as King Felipe said in the traditional address to both Houses of Parliament that Britain and Spain have a long-shared history and have frequently stood shoulder to shoulder as friends, partners and allies, in the best interests of both nations.

The monarch went on: It is just as true, however, that during our rich and fruitful history there have also been estrangements, rivalries and disputes, but the work and determination of our governments, authorities and citizens have relegated such events to the past.

I am certain that this resolve to overcome our differences will be even greater in the case of Gibraltar and I am confident that through the necessary dialogue and effort, our two governments will be able to work towards arrangements that are acceptable to all involved.

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Flags of the overseas territories and dependencies are regularly raised outside Parliament for state occasions such as the Kings visit, and Gibraltars flag is placed in the middle because they are in alphabetical order.

Flags of Commonwealth nations were displayed at Horse Guards Parade.

It had been suggested Felipe would raise the subject of Gibraltar in his address to parliamentarians and in the audience to hear him speak were the Prime Minister and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Earlier the Spanish monarch and his wife were the centre of a welcoming ceremony full of pomp and pageantry befitting a three-day state visit.

But the formality of the event, staged on Horse Guards Parade, was contrasted by the informal greeting of the Spanish King.

Felipe at 6ft 5in towered over the Queen and he kissed his distant relative on the cheek and hand when they met.

His wife Queen Letizia shared a conversation with the Queen as they watched the King, escorted by Philip, inspect a guard of honour, the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, on the parade ground.

The royal party later sat down to a private lunch at Buckingham Palace, where the foreign royals are staying, and were joined by the Duke of Cambridge.

Gifts are traditionally exchanged between the Queen and her guests and the monarch was presented with copies of love letters between Princess Victoria Eugenie, Felipe's great-grandmother and Queen Victoria's granddaughter, and King Alfonso XIII of Spain.

The Queen gave Felipe a bound album featuring pages from the Royal Library and Royal Archives. He also received the customary present - a silver framed pair of photographs of his royal hosts.

A Government spokesman said: "We welcome King Felipe's warm speech, in which he reiterated the friendship between our two countries. As the King said, the UK and Spain enjoy an incredibly strong relationship.

"While Gibraltar is an issue on which we do not see eye to eye, our position is clear: the sovereignty of Gibraltar is not up for discussion. The people of Gibraltar have repeatedly and overwhelmingly expressed their wish to remain under British sovereignty and we will respect this.

"As we leave the EU we are committed to working with our partners to secure a deal that works for the UK and the EU and its remaining members, including Spain. And that deal must also work for Gibraltar."
A rift across the Larsen C Ice Shelf that had grown longer and deeper is seen during an airborne surveys of changes in polar ice over the Antarctic Peninsula from NASAs DC-8 research aircraft on November 10, 2016. Courtesy NASA/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

One of the biggest icebergs ever recorded has broken off Antarctica, triggering disagreement among scientists over whether global warming is to blame.

The event, captured by satellite, happened over the last few days when the trillion-tonne chunk - more than seven times the size of New York City - snapped off an ice shelf.

While such "calving" of icebergs is not unusual, this is an especially big one. It covers an area of roughly 2,300 square miles, more than twice the size of Luxembourg. Its volume is twice that of Lake Erie, according to research group Project MIDAS.

It broke loose from the Larsen C ice shelf, which scientists had been monitoring for months as they watched a crack grow more than 120 miles long.

Scientists say global warming has caused a thinning of such shelves, but they differ on whether the latest event can be blamed on climate change.

The iceberg is considered unlikely to pose any threat to shipping. And since the ice was already floating, the breakup will not raise sea levels in the short term, the project said in a statement.

But it removed more than 10% of the ice shelf, and if that eventually hastens the flow of glaciers behind it into the water, there could be a "very modest" rise in sea level, the project said.

Two other Antarctic ice shelves, farther north on the Antarctic Peninsula, collapsed in 1995 and 2002. That sped up the slide of glaciers, which contributed to sea-level rise, David Vaughan, director of science at the British Antarctic Survey, said in a statement.

"Our glaciologists will now be watching closely to see whether the remaining Larsen C ice shelf becomes less stable than before the iceberg broke free," he said.

Eric Rignot, a glaciologist at the University of California, Irvine, said the breaking off of the iceberg "is part of a long-term major loss of the ice shelves in the peninsula, progressing southbound and resulting from climate warming."

But Swansea University glaciologist Martin O'Leary, a member of the MIDAS project, called it "a natural event, and we're not aware of any link to human-induced climate change".

And a spokeswoman for the British Antarctic survey said there is not enough information to say whether the calving is an effect of climate change, though there is good evidence global warming has caused thinning of the ice shelf.

As for any danger to navigation, scientists said the iceberg will probably break up and its pieces will circle Antarctica for years or decades rather than drifting northward into shipping lanes.
MPs in predominantly Roman Catholic Malta have voted to legalise same-sex marriage.

Malta joins much of Western Europe by replacing the traditional "you are now husband and wife" declaration in civil ceremonies with "you are now spouses".

Only one MP out of 67 in the Maltese parliament voted against the legislation, signalling its broad support on the island nation despite opposition from the Catholic Church.

Nationalist Edwin Vassallo cited his Catholic faith and its incompatibility with what he called a "morally unacceptable" law.

"A Christian politician cannot leave his conscience outside the door," when he enters parliament, Mr Vassallo said.

The Labour government had promised to introduce the bill as its first law after winning a second term last month. Both opposition parties supported it, ensuring its passage.

The aim of the law, piloted by Malta equality minister Helena Dalli, was to "modernise the institution of marriage" to extend it to all consenting adult couples.

Its passage marked the latest evidence of the transformation of the once-conservative nation of about 440,000 people, where divorce was illegal until 2011.

While abortion remains banned in Malta, adoption by same-sex couples has been legal since civil unions were introduced in 2014. Last year, the number of exclusively civil marriages eclipsed the number of church weddings for the first time.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna had opposed the same-sex marriage law, reflecting the church's long-standing view that marriage can only be between a man and woman.

"I can decide that a carob and an orange should no longer be called by their name," he said in a homily a few days after parliament started debating the legislation.

"But a carob remains a carob and an orange remains an orange. And marriage, whatever the law says, remains an eternal union exclusive to a man and a woman."

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had said it would be "discriminatory" to have separate laws for mixed and same-sex couples. So the amendments to existing laws included eliminating any reference to "husband and wife". In its place is now the gender-neutral term "spouse" to cover all situations.

The law also calls for the removal of the terms "father" and "mother", to be substituted by "parents". Lesbian couples who have children via medical interventions are distinguished by the terms "the person who gave birth" and "the other parent".

Other changes concern heterosexual marriages: Any reference to "maiden name" is replaced with "surname at birth", while couples can now choose what surname to take after marriage. A man, for example, can take his wife's surname.

More than a dozen European countries have legalised same-sex marriage, all in the western part of the continent.

Almost a dozen others, including Italy, have some sort of same-sex unions or civil partnerships, according to the Pew Research Centre.

AP
The reclusive leader of Isil, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, making his only public appearance, at a mosque in the centre of Mosul in 2014. Photo: Reuters

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of Islamic State (Isil), is dead, according to a Syrian war monitor.

"(We have) confirmed information from leaders, including one of the first rank, in the Islamic State in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zor," Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.

"We learned of it today but we do not know when he died or how."

Russia's defence ministry said last month that it may have killed Baghdadi when one of its air strikes hit a gathering of Isil commanders on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Raqqa.

The US said it could not corroborate the death and Western and Iraqi officials have been sceptical.

Russia said the air strike took place on May 28 and claimed a number of Isil's senior leaders, including Baghdadi, were killed. However they have so far offered no proof.

News of his death has not been independently verified. Lt Gen Stephen Townsend, commander of the US-led coalition to fight Isil, said it was his "fervent hope" he was dead but that he had no confirmation. The self-appointed caliph's death had been announced many times before but the Observatory has a track record of credible reporting on Syria's civil war.

"We don't have proof of life" for Baghdadi, Gen Townsend said. "But I hope he's deader than a doornail." The Pentagon said in a statement yesterday that the US has no information to corroborate reports.

Baghdadi declared himself the head of Isil's so-called caliphate, spanning across Syria and Iraq, in the summer of 2014.

He made his first - and only - appearance from the Grand al-Nouri Mosque in Mosul. The world's most-wanted man has been rumoured wounded or killed many times in the past. The last sign of life he gave was in November last year after Iraqi forces, supported by the aerial might of the coalition, launched their reconquest of Mosul, the country's second city.

In an audio recording, he urged his men to defend Mosul to the bitter end and Iraqi elite forces have gained huge ground but are still battling die-hard jihadists around the Old City. He was said to have left Mosul earlier this year and has since been reportedly spotted in various areas near the Syrian-Iraqi border. But his whereabouts were never confirmed.

That low profile is partly what Baghdadi, who has a $25m US bounty on his head, had owed his rise as well as his survival to. ( Daily Telegraph London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
The Iraqi government must do something "significantly different" to stop Isil from reforming, a senior US commander has said, even as the jihadist group managed to recapture most of a village close to the newly liberated city of Mosul.

Lt Gen Stephen Townsend, commander of the US-led coalition to fight Isil, said that despite the historic victory in Iraq's second city the war was not over.

"If we're to keep Isil 2.0 from emerging, the Iraqi government is going to have to do something pretty significantly different," he told the BBC.

"They're going to have to reach out and reconcile with the Sunni population, and make them feel like their government in Baghdad represents them."

He said politicians should reach out to Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority to stop Isil from regrouping and gaining support.

Isil militants stormed through northern Iraq in the summer of 2014. They were welcomed at the time by many of Mosul's Sunni residents who had felt persecuted by the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad. ( Daily Telegraph London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
An Iranian cancer researcher who had been headed to a prominent Boston hospital to work as a scholar was sent back to his country on Tuesday, a day after U.S. immigration officials detained him and his family, media said.

Mohsen Dehnavi, his wife and three children were put on a return flight at about 9 p.m. after being detained late on Monday at Logan International Airport, the Boston Globe said, citing Stephanie Malin, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

The detentions were apparently unrelated to President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning travelers from six majority-Muslim countries, according to Boston Children's Hospital and immigration law specialists, who said Dehnavi had a valid entry visa.

"Based on what we know, it's not travel-ban related. It's probably something much more stupid than that," said Susan Church, chair of the New England chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

"The rules say if you have a valid visa you have to be let in," she told Reuters.

A spokesman for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to telephone calls and emails to seek comment.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a revised version of Trump's ban on travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, though it excluded visitors with a "bona fide" family tie. The executive order itself did not apply to travelers with valid visas.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump had called for a "complete and total shutdown" of Muslims entering the United States, a move he called necessary to protect national security in the wake of attacks at home and abroad by Islamist extremists.

Opponents of the idea called it a violation of the U.S. Constitution's protections for free expression of religion.

Trump's initial January version of the order, which also applied to Iraq, caused a weekend of chaos at U.S. airports as travelers were turned away upon arrival and crowds of thousands turned out to protest against the move. (Reporting by Scott Malone, additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien; Editing by David Gregorio and Clarence Fernandez)
US President Donald Trump and high-ranking members of the White House staff were sued yesterday by America's Knight First Amendment Institute, which alleges the president's blocking of dissenting Twitter users violates the Constitution.

The case filed in Manhattan federal court seeks a court order that Mr Trump stop the practice.

The institute, a non-profit organisation affiliated with Columbia University, first warned it might seek an injunction in early June when it sent a letter to Mr Trump, his counsel, press secretary, and social media director.

At the time, the institute represented two Twitter users, both of whom said they were blocked after criticising Mr Trump. Yesterday's lawsuit represents seven users. In the complaint, the foundation argued that the president's Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, was "a public forum under the First Amendment" because of how Mr Trump and his staff used the account to communicate.

Press secretary Sean Spicer previously said Mr Trump's tweets were official statements. "President Trump's Twitter account has become an important source of news and information about the government, and an important forum for speech by, to, or about the president," Jameel Jaffer, the institute's executive director, said.

"The First Amendment applies to this digital forum in the same way it applies to town halls and open school board meetings. The White House acts unlawfully when it excludes people from this forum simply because they've disagreed with the president."

The Knight Institute requested that the court move to declare "viewpoint-based blocking" by the president's account unconstitutional, unblock the plaintiffs, and pay the plaintiffs' attorney fees. A request for comment from the White House wasn't immediately returned.

One plaintiff, comedian Nick Pappas, said he was blocked after replying to a tweet the president wrote about travel ban litigation.

"Trump is right. The government should protect the people. That's why the courts are protecting us from him," Mr Pappas tweeted.

He said he was blocked the day of his post, which got hundreds of retweets. Eugene Gu, another plaintiff, said he was blocked about two hours after tweeting at Mr Trump: "Covfefe: the same guy who doesn't proofread his Twitter handles the nuclear button." Trump had tweeted, and then deleted, a post including the mysterious word "covfefe". (Bloomberg)
Fires burn near a resort where, according to reports, several hundred tourists have been evacuated (Italian Firefighters Vigili del Fuoco via AP)

Hundreds of tourists at a beach resort in Sicily have been evacuated by boat due to wildfires that are blazing across a huge area of southern Italy, according to reports.

Additional military troops were being called in to help control the blazes, which civil protection officials and prosecutors said were likely to have been set intentionally.

The ANSA news agency quoted tourists at the Calampiso resort in San Vito Lo Capo, near Trapani, as saying they were being housed in a school because they cannot return to their rooms.

Other wildfires were encroaching on the Amalfi coast, on Mt Vesuvius and elsewhere.

AP
Paul Simon, centre, performs with Ray Phiri, left, and actor-comedian Chevy Chase on the saxophone in New York's Central Park in 1991 (AP)

Ray Phiri, a South African jazz musician who founded the band Stimela and became internationally known while performing on Paul Simon's Graceland tour, has died of cancer aged 70.

Phiri, a vocalist and guitarist known for his versatility in jazz fusion, indigenous South African rhythms and other styles, received many music awards in his home country.

His death was met with nationwide tributes.

"He was a musical giant. This is indeed a huge loss for South Africa and the music industry as a whole," President Jacob Zuma said in a statement.

Political parties also expressed condolences, saying Phiri's songs resonated among many South Africans, particularly during the era of white minority rule that ended in 1994.

"An immensely gifted composer, vocalist and guitarist, he breathed consciousness and agitated thoughts of freedom through his music," said the ruling African National Congress party, which was the main movement against apartheid until it took power in the country's first all-race elections.

South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, said many people grew up with Phiri's music.

"In the 1970s, Phiri's music spoke to issues that are still affecting our people today," the party said.

Stimela's best-known albums include Fire, Passion And Ecstasy and Look, Listen And Decide, and Phiri contributed as a guitarist to Simon's Graceland album in the 1980s.

The album evolved from Simon's interest in indigenous South African music.

AP
Trump's Russian business ally claims no links to Trump Jr. as scandal grows

MOSCOW -- President Donald Trump's one-time Russian business partner sought Wednesday to distance himself from political fallout as the Trump administration struggles with a growing scandal over an apparent attempt to seek Russian-brokered election dirt.

Aras Agalarov - whose name was mentioned in email exchanges with Donald Trump Jr. - insisted he did not know Trump Jr. or the music promoter that set up the 2016 meeting between Trump's eldest son and a Russian lawyer allegedly promising compromising information on campaign rival Hillary Clinton.

Agalarov told a Moscow radio station that it was his son, Emin, a Russian pop star, who developed ties with Trump Jr. when Agalarov family helped bring Trump's Miss Universe pageant to Moscow in 2013.

Agalarov further denied knowing the music producer, Rob Goldstone, who was key in setting up the meeting with Russian laywer Natalia Veselnitskaya and a high-level Trump election team including Trump Jr., then-campaign manager Paul Manafort and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is now a top White House adviser.

"He worked with Emin at some point," Agalarov said of the British-born publicist promising information that could be used against Trump's Democratic opponent.

But Agalarov was mentioned in at least one email exchanged between Trump Jr. and Goldstone. On June 3, 2016, Goldstone wrote that Emin Agalarov wanted to pass along "something very interesting."

"The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father," Goldstone wrote, according to email transcripted released Tuesday by Trump Jr.

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump - helped along by Aras and Emin," the email continued.

The elder Agalarov - sometimes called the "Donald Trump of Russia" - did not directly address why his name appeared in the emails. Instead, he stood strongly by President Trump, saying he believed the president's critics have "made up" allegations that his campaign had potentially improper contacts with Russians during the presidential campaign.

He suggested that Clinton's campaign could have been behind the accusations.

Trump on Wednesday also attempted to shift blame to Clinton, writing on Twitter: "Look what Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with. Disgraceful!" In another early-morning post, Trump asserted that his son was "innocent."

The comments by the oligarch Agalarov are the latest in a wave of denials from Moscow - joining defensive statements from the White House.

On Tuesday, the Kremlin protested that it had no ties to Veselnitskaya, although she had worked closely with Kremlin-linked clients in the past. Veselnitskaya, meanwhile, claimed that she never had disparaging information on Clinton.

"I never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton. It was never my intention to have that," she told NBC News on Tuesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday he was "astounded to learn" that a Russian lawyer and Trump's son "have been accused of communicating."

"It looks utterly absurd to me," he said at a news conference in Belgium following a meeting with the Belgian foreign minister, Didier Reynders. "When some person communicates with a lawyer, what's the problem about it?"

Lavrov also denied direct knowledge of the interactions, saying he only learned about the meeting from media accounts.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, also weighed, ridiculing reports about the eagerness of Trump's son to gather information from a Kremlin-linked attorney as a television spectacle. He called the ongoing investigations into possible collusion "absurd."

When asked how the publication of correspondence involving the president's son might affect bilateral relations, Peskov rejected the idea that the Kremlin was aiming to curry favor with Trump.

"Nobody expects concessions to Moscow from President Trump, and Moscow does not expect concessions from Donald Trump, and President Vladimir Putin has never talked about any concessions and has never put the issue this way," Peskov said.

He also sought to disavow connections between Russian government officials from the billionaire Agalarov family. He said the government was not in contact with Aras Agalarov, even though he has been granted many state building contracts and was decorated by Putin with the Order of Honor of the Russian Federation.

---

Stanley-Becker reported from Berlin. Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.

trump-russia-agalarov

Washington Post News Service (DC)

7/12/2017 10:00:26 AM Central Daylight Time
Indias regulatory framework on foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail is one of the most complex in the world.

But, navigating this perplexing system means gaining access to one of the worlds fastest growing consumer markets.

This article outlines Indias regulatory landscape for FDI in retail while offering suggestions on how foreign businesses can successfully maneuver through them.

Retail segments in India

The Indian government categorizes retail into two types: single-brand and multi-brand.

As the names suggest, single-brand retail refers to businesses that sell only a single brand of goods to consumers. Multi-brand retail refers to businesses that sell multiple brands through one outlet such as Walmart.

If a foreign business owns more than one brand, that business has to apply for FDI approval for each individual brand. A foreign company cannot sell these brands in the same outlet.

Single-brand retail

Foreign firms can now fully own local single brand retail chains. Previously, foreign firms needed approval from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to invest above 49 percent.

Until recently, foreign retailers operating in India had to source a minimum of 30 percent of the value of purchased goods  domestically.

To make doing business in India easier, foreign retailers can now meet this requirement  incrementally  within the first five years of their operations in India.

Specifically, this means that a retailer can source material from India for their international product lines but also have it count towards their domestic sourcing requirements.

After five years of operations in India, however, the company must begin sourcing 30 percent of their material in India for products sold in the domestic market.

The changes in FDI Policy were approved by the federal government on January 10, 2018.

Multi-brand retail

Currently, India allows 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail, 100 percent FDI into multi-brand food retail, and 100 percent FDI into e-commerce retail. All three categories require government approval with stringent conditions.

To obtain approval for the general category of multi-brand retail, foreign businesses must invest a minimum of US$100 million with 50 percent of their investment going into backend infrastructure within the first three years. Furthermore, the company can only sell products made in India  giving their domestic competitors a huge advantage.

So far, only British-based Tesco has established multi-brand retail outlets in India under these conditions. In partnership with the Tata Groups Trent Hypermarkets Ltd, Tesco has established its India outlets in Maharashtra and Karnataka, under the brand name Star Bazaar and Star Market.

To obtain approval for 100 percent FDI into multi-brand food retail, retail outlets are restricted to exclusively selling food. These food items must be either produced or processed in India.

Recently, the DIPP approved Amazons investment request for multi-brand retail in food. Amazon will invest US$515 million in food retail over the next five years.

Multi-brand e-commerce

FDI into multi-brand e-commerce platforms falls under the 100 percent foreign investment allowed, automatic route.

But, e-commerce companies have to abide by the marketplace model and cannot act as a retailer themselves.

A marketplace model stands for business-to-commerce (B2C), which implies that the entity is only a facilitator and cannot hold inventory that it sells, as is the case under the inventory based model or business-to-business (B2B).

This means that no more than 25 percent of an e-commerce platforms sales can go to a single company. E-commerce companies cannot invest in inventory. Additionally, these companies must not directly or indirectly influence the sale price of goods being sold on their platforms.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been inconsistent in their attitude towards FDI in multi-brand retail. The BJPs 2014 election manifesto opposed FDI into multi-brand retail though they have not undone regulations established by the previous regime.

Navigating FDI regulations in retail

Successfully navigating through Indias complex FDI regulations on retail means more decision-making autonomy and increased potential of profits for foreign companies.

While Indias sourcing norms on single-brand retail create barriers for many companies entering the Indian market, they also pose opportunities for foreign businesses to solidify their Indian presence.

As India is making slow progress at easing regulatory norms in retail  establishing a presence now will position foreign businesses to greatly benefit from future changes in the regulatory landscape.

India also needs more efficient, simplified supply chains. Though the sourcing norms on single-brand retail are stringent, cultivating supply sources means greater quality-control. Foreign businesses cultivating their own sourcing will protect themselves from subsequent efficiency leakages and supply chain disruptions.

Foreign retail companies can also team with Indian partners who can later become suppliers. Foreign retail companies can set up wholly-owned outlets in India once their partnership succeeds.

Finally, the Indian governments exact criteria on sourcing norms lacks transparency. Companies which manufacture state of the art or cutting edge technologies are exempt; however, what cutting edge means remains ambiguous.

When Elon Musk tweeted that Indias rigid sourcing norms were creating obstacles in making Tesla cars in India, the Indian government tweeted back. Under the @makeinindia twitter handle, the government clarified to Musk that his manufacturing would not require minimum local sourcing requirements.

Conversely, Apple Inc., the multinational technology company, urged the Indian government to exempt them from the domestic sourcing norm. However, in May 2016, the Finance Ministry rejected this recommendation as industry watchers and foreign smartphone companies assembling and/or manufacturing their units sold in India sought clarification.

When it comes to navigating Indias regulatory system, public attention pays off.
An American tourist was beaten to death in a bar brawl in Greece. The young graduate was in Greece for a photo-shoot for a clothing line.

Reports say that 22-year-old Bakari Henderson was approached by a man when he was at a bar with his friends and the two began fighting. The fight spilled into the street and more men joined in attaching Henderson.

Two Greek men have been arrested in relation to Henderson`s death and the police are searching for others.

Henderson`s alma mater, the University of Arizona, expressed shock and surprise at learning of the death of one of its brightest graduates. The family`s statement says that the victim was an inspiration and lived his life to the fullest.
A day heavy in green Indian equity markets saw a day, heavy in green, today. Nifty 50 ended, up by 321.5 points. Sensex ended, up by 1181.34 points. Top Gainers today were HDFC, HDFC Bank, Infosys. Top Losers ... November 11, 2022 | 11-11-2022 3:43 pm

In early trade, Rupee rises 71 paise to 80.69 / $ Early on Friday, the rupee strengthened 71 paise to 80.69 against the dollar as investors' attitudes were bolstered by easing US CPI data and a decline in the dollar index. Forex traders claime... November 11, 2022 | 11-11-2022 2:24 pm

Sensex zooms over 1,100 pts; Nifty above 18,300; IT index top contributor Domestic benchmark indices in the fast lane today led by IT and Metal stocks outperforming. Both the Sensex and Nifty benchmarks were nearly 2% higher amid positive global cues. On the se... November 11, 2022 | 11-11-2022 2:00 pm

NIBE receives order of Rs11.88 crore from Goa Shipyard; Stock slips 1% Nibe Limited stocks in focus as the company announced the receipt of purchase orders. As per the regulatory filing, it has received two purchase orders dated November 08, 2022 from G... November 11, 2022 | 11-11-2022 12:53 pm

Ashoka Buildcon receives provisional certificate for NHAI road project; Stock up 2% Ashoka Buildcon Limited has informed the declaration of October 26, 2021 as the Commercial Operation Date (CoD) for its Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) Project of National Highways Authority of ... November 11, 2022 | 11-11-2022 12:26 pm
Baywatch might not have proved out to be a big hit but that hasn't deterred PC one bit. She is back in business and is back to doing what she's best at! While there is a lot of stuff on her platter that includes prepping for the third season of Quantico and working hard on her acting projects, PC's Hollywood work commitments are keeping her busy.

BCCL

Apart from playing a crucial role in the Jim Parson's starrer A Kid Like Jake, she will also be seen in Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, and Adam Devine and the film has been tentatively titled Isn't It Romantic.





If reports are to be believed, the film will revolve around a distressed single woman who chooses to bring her life back on track by chasing the man of her dreams.

The film starring Liam Hemsworth as Blake, a handsome client; Adam Devine, as her earnest best friend, Josh; and Priyanka Chopra as yoga ambassador Isabella, is set for release beginning Valentine's Day, 14 February 2019.

While the wait till 2019 feels like an eternity, here are some pictures from the sets that speak volumes about PC's chemistry with all her co-stars. Here are the pictures!

Priyanka Spotted Shooting of her third Hollywood film "isn't it Romantic "  #Priyankachopra #Hollywood #Isntitromantic #centralparknyc A post shared by Priyanka Chopra Media (@priyankamedia) on Jul 12, 2017 at 5:10am PDT

             .    . #_ #priyankachopra A post shared by ANOUD (@serepc) on Jul 12, 2017 at 5:06am PDT

+ Photos from the film "Is not It Romantic?". # Photo @ priyashaa_chopra #priyankachopra A post shared by priyankachoprafan (@world_of_priyanka_chopra) on Jul 12, 2017 at 4:33am PDT

+ Photos from the film "Is not It Romantic?". # Photo @ priyashaa_chopra #priyankachopra A post shared by priyankachoprafan (@world_of_priyanka_chopra) on Jul 12, 2017 at 4:27am PDT

She's back with a bang!! #priyankachopra #cleavage #hotfigure #sexy #seductive #lusty A post shared by Lusty Actresses 2.0 (@lusty_actresses) on Jul 12, 2017 at 4:04am PDT

PC filming a scene with rebel And Adam | #priyankachopra #isntitromantic #adamdevine #rebelwilson A post shared by Priyanka Chopra Fan Page  (@pcourheartbeat) on Jul 12, 2017 at 12:06am PDT

@priyankachopra filming a scene with @rebelwilson and @andybovine #isntitromantic #priyankachopra third #hollywood #movie #rebelwilson #adamdevine #keeprocking #PC A post shared by Arshad PC Official  (@arshad_pc) on Jul 12, 2017 at 12:45am PDT

They won best kiss at the MTV Movie Awards so get ready for @adambovine and @rebelwilson starring in @isntitromanticmovie #adamdevine #rebelwilson #isntitromanticmovie A post shared by Christopher Peterson (@christopher.peterson) on Jul 11, 2017 at 7:08am PDT

A leaked clip from the set also hints at the film being strictly for adults. *Wink*!
Amid the rumours of Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin remake doing the rounds, the Aamir Khan and Pooja Bhatt starrer romantic musical drama has turned 26 years old today.

They say old is gold, and so is the cult classic romantic saga Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, a film that became a rage when it was released in 1991; the film which is still remembered for the soothing love story that was accompanied by beautiful songs that never fail to enthrall us even after so many years.

The film narrates the story of a woman, who in search of her beloved falls deeply in love with another man who belongs to a different class of the society. Pooja Bhatt who essayed her namesake character got all nostalgic while taking a walk down the memory lane, and remembering the beautiful time she had spent filming the movie. Thanking the entire cast and the crew of the movie, Pooja posted a song, and teased Aamir Khan by calling him a "pain."

The movie also starred Deepak Tijori in a special appearance and Anupam Kher, Sameer Chitre and Tiku Talsania in supporting roles. Produced by Gulshan Kumar and directed by Mahesh Bhatt, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin was an unofficial remake of the 1934 Hollywood film It Happened One Night.
Its definitely not good news for Shah Rukh Khan fans. The legal troubles seemingly arent ending anytime soon for the superstar. He is again in the thick of a storm pertaining to the Raees promotion incident that took place earlier this year.

What exactly had happened? During the promotions of Raees, Shah Rukh Khan instead of opting for a private vehicle travelled from Mumbai to Delhi in a local train so that he could also meet his fans on the way and spend some time with them. But of course, at the Vadodara Railway Station, the crowd went into a frenzy to catch just one glimpse of the superstar, and it resulted in a stampede. Due to suffocation, a person named Farid Khan Pathan suffered a heart-attack and couldnt survive. And now SRK is courting the legal wrath in the wake of the same.

Twitter

After a complaint was filed again him by Jitendra Solanki, the court has issued summons to Khan under section 204 of the CrPC. Judicial magistrate first class S P Dave said that since there was enough ground for proceeding against him, his presence is needed on July 27.

Twitter

The complainant has claimed that the incident took place because of the negligence of King Khan. Earlier, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Western Railway) Tarun Barot had also claimed that SRK may be booked for negligence under the IPC section 304a2 (causing death due to negligence) along with the sections of the Railway Act for creating a stampede.

We just hope that the issue gets resolved soon!
Amid the hostile environment where people are being speculated at just because of their religious identities, Salim Shaikh, the driver who's valour and presence of mind saved the lives over 50 Amarnath yatris on Monday evening, has come out a hero and saviour. Salim who hails of Gujarat drove a flat-tyred bus amid the bullet whizzing by for over two kms in order to save lives of not only him but many others.

ap

"It was all due to Baba Amarnath's blessings that I got the strength despite guns blazing around me," said Shaikh.

"The first bullet flew over my head and hit a passenger. The tyre burst, but I had no second thoughts in speeding away."

Also Read: Despite Terror Attack, Amarnath Yatra Continues, More Than 3,000 Pilgrims On Their Way To Shrine

ap

Witnessed told the horror unleashed on them by terrorists when kept firing till the bus reached the army camp. Salim said he understood that it was a terrorist attack the moment the bullet pierced through the glass.

"I slid down my seat and kept driving. I would see the road for a second or so and duck," he said.

Also Read: Amarnath Terror Attack Survivor Recalls Dreadful Tale Of A Punctured Tyre & Deadly Assault

Applauding his courage, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani said Shaikh would be nominated for the annual bravery award.

ap

Salim wasn't new this this sort of danger as it was his fourth trip to Amarnath in past eight years. Salim's family lives in Garib Nawaz Society in Valsad, his family members could scarcely belives that Salim's bus was attacked.

ap

"It was only around 11 pm when Shaikh called that we breathed easy," said his wife, Sanjeeda. "He said we must not discuss anything with our elder son Danish as he is undergoing treatment for an ear ailment," she added, hugging her four-year-old daughter Amrin and seven-year-old son Ayan.

Shaikh's mother Raziya is proud of her son. "He did well, but we are extremely pained for those who died," said Raziya, wiping her tears. Pallavi Abhyankar, 55, a lucky survivor from Maharashtra, said, "Had it not been for the driver, the toll would have been higher."

twitter

Salim works with Om travels and takes trip based assignments for private bus operators and gets Rs 12,000. But now, he is being showered with money. The J&K government and Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board announced a total reward of Rs 5 lakh.

Shaikh, who earns Rs 12,000 per month with Om Travels and takes trip-based assignments for other private bus operators, is being showered with cash rewards. The J&K government and Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board announced rewards totalling Rs 5 lakh. The government will give him Rs 3 lakh while governor NN Vohra, as chairman of Sri Amarnathji Shrine Board, announced a special reward of Rs 2 lakh.

Shaikh has four brothers and two sisters. His brothers Babu and Iqbal are also drivers and the former has been going to Amarnath for the past 15 years.
The terrorists who attacked the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims on Monday evening fired 150 rounds of the bullet at them. The Jammu & Kashmir police said that Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out the attacks and its commander Abu Ismail masterminded and executed the attack.

PTI

Ismails identification is said to be a big breakthrough in the investigations into the attack on bus carrying pilgrims which left seven dead and nine injured. Ismail was part of a group which came on two bikes and attacked the bus twice, carrying pilgrims of Maharashtra and Gujarat who were returning after visiting cave of Lord Shiva.

PTIi

"They fired more than 150 rounds before escaping through a maze of lanes and bylanes," said an officer. A massive manhunt has been launched by security forces to nab Ismail and several houses were raided in Batangoo in Anantnag and detained five persons.

"After every attack, he flees to Kulgam district because he has been entrenched there for a long time. He was earlier operating from Pulwama," said a police officer. Sources said Ismail has been trying to fill in the space left by the killing of Bashir Lashkari and Junaid Matoo.
A small trip to London will put a massive dent in your bank statements and there's no denying this fact. Clearly, it is one of the most beautiful, albeit expensive places in the world, yet doesn't keep many industry giants from building their business.

GDCC

But Samsung's move could literally change the face of such decisions and can prove to be pivotal towards how organisations must consider the prosperity of their employees while planning business.

Samsung rejected London over Berlin for their new European headquarters because Britain's capital is "not a fun place to live unless you are really rich".

tes

The company says that Berlin has been chosen instead of London because it's too expensive, especially for young adults. The lower cost of living in Berlin is a flourishing environment for people to live, experiment and be creative.

Coming out in their defence, City Hall and business groups have released an immediate statement saying that London is one of the world's favourite place for business and many tech giants have chosen it.

Change.org

But the managing director in Europe Felix Petersen told The Times "In Berlin, you can do stuff without much money. You can bike around or sit in the park. There are uncommercialised zones. You can experiment and play around with technology in a more relaxed environment."

In London, the cost of living, the cost of getting around and the infrastructure mean it's not a fun place to live unless you are really rich, especially for young people."

questweek

A spokeswoman for Mayor Sadiq Khan insisted London is one of the best cities in the world in which to do business.

She said: London is Europes largest tech hub and is open to talent, entrepreneurs and innovation from all over the world, reports Standard.
Theres a new space race brewing in what once looked to be an unlikely place  Asia. While the US and the Soviet Union fought for supremacy and bragging rights during the cold war, a similar race is emerging between China and India.

Early days

Reuters

Chinas space program began in the 50s with roots in its ballistic missile program to put the country on the same pedestal as other superpowers. It received active inputs from the Soviets, but after things went sour between the two nations, China went solo. It launched its first satellite from a home-grown launched in 1970 and also began work on human space flight at the same time. The latter was cancelled after Maos death.

ISRO

India, on the other hand, was slower off the blocks and was designed to serve the nation. Indias space program began in the 1960s and India was firing sounding rockets off the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station. India developed its first satellite, the Aryabhatta in 1975 and launched a satellite from a homegrown rocket in 1980.

Emerging powers

China was more successful with its rocket development and managed to put together powerful rockets capable of launching heavier satellites into space. Its Long March series of rockets underwent steady development during the 70s and 80s and was relatively successful. During the 90s, the Chinese launches became more frequent with heavier payloads being launched.

In 1992, the Chinese govt. authorised the development of the second manned system that eventually led to the Shenzhou program. In 2003, China became the third nation after US and Russia to launch a human into orbit. The successive Shenzhou missions proved various technologies like space walks and dockings (already proved by the American and Soviets in the 60s).

Reuters

India, on the other end of the spectrum, was severely limited in its spend and technology transfer. It was only the late 70s and early 80s that India developed the SLV rocket. It flew four times and had a success rate of 50 per cent. The next iterative development was the ASLV that had a success rate of only 25 per cent. The PSLV, after initial hiccups, were perfected into a robust launcher. India's only astronaut, Sq Ldr. Rakesh Sharma flew on-board the Soviet Soyuz space capsule.

American sanctions meant that India had to develop cryogenic technology on its own, which drastically delayed the development of the GSLV Mk2 and Mk 3 rockets. All this while, India boosted its fleet of communication and remote sensing satellites, among the largest in the world.

ISRO

Recent developments

China, on the back of its economic and military growth, was more ambitious with its space program that also served as a means of projecting its superpower status. China therefore plans to have a space station in orbit around 2020, when the current ISS is expected to be retired. China has also managed to land a rover on the moon, called the Jade Rabbit, that worked for a couple of weeks on the lunar surface. Its Mars mission, the Yinghuo-1 however failed to leave earth orbit.

India on the other hand has been more successful with its interplanetary missions. The Chandrayaan moon mission was responsible for the discovery of water on lunar surface while the Mangalyaan Mars mission made India the only country to have successfully reach Mars on the first attempt. India also recently set a world record by launching 104 satellites on a single rocket.

Reuters

India has also emerged as a preferred choice for launch of smaller satellites thanks to the reliability of the PSLV rocket.

China, on the other hand, cant shake off its image as a security threat. Not helping its cause is the American ban on the use of Chinese rockets for launch by American industries. India however doesnt suffer from the same proliferation background and American companies are able to get waivers.

Both China and India have big goals for the future. China wants to land humans on Mars, while India intends to have a manned mission to the moon and use reusable satellite launch vehicle.

ISRO

The Asian space race will be a long drawn out affair.
View China as a "copy cat" nation at your own peril, because the country's taking massive strides in scientific and technological exploration.

Like successfully teleporting an object from the surface of the earth to a satellite 500km to 1400km away in an instant! No easy feat this.

The team of Chinese scientists that achieved this teleportation breakthrough

But that's exactly what a team of Chinese scientists managed to do successfully, something that no one had done before. They teleported a photon between a satellite hovering higher than the International Space Station and a ground station on the Chinese mainland.

Why is this teleportation of a photon such a big deal?

Because, photon teleportation experiments are linked to revolutionary advancements ranging from computing to communication, and everything in between. Since the early 1990s, when scientists started experimenting with teleporting objects -- well, atoms and photons, to be precise -- they've largely been confined within complicated apparatuses crammed inside a laboratory. But the Chinese team have truly taken the concept of teleportation and successfully demonstrated its efficacy over a range of hundreds of kilometres.

How did the Chinese manage to teleport a photon across such a vast distance? The team started by creating entangled pairs of photons on the ground to begin with. Think of entangled pairs of photons as photons that are created at the same time, due to which they're sort of connected to each other at a quantum level. When you move the photons away from each other, they're still connected to each other through quantum entanglement, despite the distance that may exist between them. When you teleport a photon, which is the case in point in this experiment, you actually transfer the quantum data encoded in one photon to another, in a way where both the photons become indistinguishable.

The Chinese scientists conducted their experiment by shooting a single photon from several entangled pairs to the satellite Micius -- which is one of the most sensitive photon receivers ever built -- hovering above the base station every night. They kept the other photon on the ground. According to an MIT report, over 32 days, the Chinese scientists sent millions of photons to orbit and found positive results of teleportation in 911 cases.

"We report the first quantum teleportation of independent single-photon qubits from a ground observatory to a low Earth orbit satellitethrough an up-link channel with a distance up to 1400 km," says the Chinese team.
Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets.

Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials.

If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details.
Destroying Mosul to Save It: Possible US-Backed War Crimes in Iraq Exposed





As Trump applauds victory against ISIS in devastated Iraqi city, Amnesty International details horrific death toll and suffering of civilian population



By Julia Conley

July 11, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - As Iraqi forces celebrate their victory over the Islamic State (ISIS) in Mosul, a damning new report by Amnesty International sheds light on the killing of Iraqi civilians at the hands of the U.S.-led coalition which "may constitute war crimes"and demands that the coalition acknowledges the loss of civilian life and takes steps to lessen non-military casualties.

Thousands of civilians have been killed in Mosul and millions have been displaced since ISIS took control of the city in June 2014. The crimes of the group have been well documented by Amnesty International and other human rights groups. The report notes that ISIS deliberately put thousands of civilians in harm's way, using them as human shields in the city's conflict zones, and killing people who attempted to escape.

The report also focuses on the human cost of the U.S.-led coalition's actions in Mosul. Amnesty interviewed 150 witnesses, experts and analysts about dozens of attacks, and focused on a pattern of attacks that took place between January and July 2017.

"The horrors that the people of Mosul have witnessed and the disregard for human life by all parties to this conflict must not go unpunished," says Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty's director of research for the Middle East. "Entire families have been wiped out, many of whom are still buried under the rubble today. The people of Mosul deserve to know, from their government, that there will be justice and reparation so that the harrowing impact of this operation is duly addressed."

The coalition's attacks were largely carried out with Improvised Rocket Assisted Munitions (IRAMs), explosives with unsophisticated targeting abilities, which "wreaked havoc in densely-populated west Mosul and took the lives of thousands of civilians," according to the report. Air strikes by U.S. planes were also frequent during this time period, and the report says the coalition did little to protect civilians from these attacks.

"They did air-drop leaflets into [ISIS]-controlled areas of the city, instructing civilians to stay away from [ISIS] or to hang children's clothes on the roof to mark civilian homes. These warnings, however, took little account of the realities of living under [ISIS]. Staying away from [ISIS] was impossible for west Mosul residents and fighters would execute anyone caught with a flyer in their hands. Houses with children's clothes on the roof were still hit by air strikes."

"ISIS's use of people as human shields does not lessen the legal obligation of pro-government forces to protect civilians," says Maalouf. "Military planners should have taken extra care in the manner in which they used their weapons to ensure that these attacks were not unlawful."

Amnesty International is demanding that Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition limit the use of IRAMs in the fight against ISIL; it says the weapons "should never be used in densely populated civilian areas." It also joins other human rights groups in calling for an urgent increase in funding for humanitarian assistance for those who have fled the fighting in Mosul.

Mosul: The fighting may be over, but the humanitarian crisis is not #ChildrenUnderAttack need food, water, shelter & medicine @UNICEFiraq pic.twitter.com/c87i3f0G3o  UNICEF (@UNICEF) July 10, 2017

The report also notes that the coalition must publicly acknowledge the human cost of the fighting in Mosul. In his official statement on the retaking of Mosul by the Iraqi forces, President Donald Trump made no mention of civilian deaths that resulted from coalition attacks, instead acknowledging only the Iraqis who have been killed and displaced by ISIS.

This article was first published by Common Dreams -
Palestine Is Still The Issue





By John Pilger

July 11, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - When I first went to Palestine as a young reporter in the 1960s, I stayed on a kibbutz. The people I met were hard-working, spirited and called themselves socialists. I liked them.

One evening at dinner, I asked about the silhouettes of people in the far distance, beyond our perimeter.

Arabs, they said, nomads. The words were almost spat out. Israel, they said, meaning Palestine, had been mostly wasteland and one of the great feats of the Zionist enterprise was to turn the desert green.

They gave as an example their crop of Jaffa oranges, which was exported to the rest of the world. What a triumph against the odds of nature and humanitys neglect.

It was the first lie. Most of the orange groves and vineyards belonged to Palestinians who had been tilling the soil and exporting oranges and grapes to Europe since the eighteenth century. The former Palestinian town of Jaffa was known by its previous inhabitants as the place of sad oranges.

On the kibbutz, the word Palestinian was never used. Why, I asked. The answer was a troubled silence.

All over the colonized world, the true sovereignty of indigenous people is feared by those who can never quite cover the fact, and the crime, that they live on stolen land.

Denying peoples humanity is the next step  as the Jewish people know only too well. Defiling peoples dignity and culture and pride follows as logically as violence.

In Ramallah, following an invasion of the West Bank by the late Ariel Sharon in 2002, I walked through streets of crushed cars and demolished houses, to the Palestinian Cultural Centre. Until that morning, Israeli soldiers had camped there.

I was met by the centres director, the novelist, Liana Badr, whose original manuscripts lay scattered and torn across the floor. The hard drive containing her fiction, and a library of plays and poetry had been taken by Israeli soldiers. Almost everything was smashed, and defiled.

Not a single book survived with all its pages; not a single master tape from one of the best collections of Palestinian cinema.

The soldiers had urinated and defecated on the floors, on desks, on embroideries and works of art. They had smeared feces on childrens paintings and written  in shit  Born to kill.

Liana Badr had tears in her eyes, but she was unbowed. She said, We will make it right again.

What enrages those who colonize and occupy, steal and oppress, vandalize and defile is the victims refusal to comply. And this is the tribute we all should pay the Palestinians. They refuse to comply. They go on. They wait  until they fight again. And they do so even when those governing them collaborate with their oppressors.

In the midst of the 2014 Israeli bombardment of Gaza, the Palestinian journalist Mohammed Omer never stopped reporting. He and his family were stricken; he queued for food and water and carried it through the rubble. When I phoned him, I could hear the bombs outside his door. He refused to comply.

Mohammeds reports, illustrated by his graphic photographs, were a model of professional journalism that shamed the compliant and craven reporting of the so-called mainstream in Britain and the United States. The BBC notion of objectivity  amplifying the myths and lies of authority, a practice of which it is proud  is shamed every day by the likes of Mohamed Omer.

For more than 40 years, I have recorded the refusal of the people of Palestine to comply with their oppressors: Israel, the United States, Britain, the European Union.

Since 2008, Britain alone has granted licenses for export to Israel of arms and missiles, drones and sniper rifles, worth 434 million.

Those who have stood up to this, without weapons, those who have refused to comply, are among Palestinians I have been privileged to know:

My friend, the late Mohammed Jarella, who toiled for the United Nations agency UNRWA, in 1967 showed me a Palestinian refugee camp for the first time. It was a bitter winters day and schoolchildren shook with the cold. One day  he would say. One day 

Mustafa Barghouti, whose eloquence remains undimmed, who described the tolerance that existed in Palestine among Jews, Muslims and Christians until, as he told me, the Zionists wanted a state at the expense of the Palestinians.

Dr. Mona El-Farra, a physician in Gaza, whose passion was raising money for plastic surgery for children disfigured by Israeli bullets and shrapnel. Her hospital was flattened by Israeli bombs in 2014.

Dr. Khalid Dahlan, a psychiatrist, whose clinics for children in Gaza  children sent almost mad by Israeli violence  were oases of civilization.

A Dead Infant

Fatima and Nasser are a couple whose home stood in a village near Jerusalem designated Zone A and B, meaning that the land was declared for Jews only. Their parents had lived there; their grandparents had lived there. Today, the bulldozers are laying roads for Jews only, protected by laws for Jews only.

It was past midnight when Fatima went into labor with their second child. The baby was premature; and when they arrived at a checkpoint with the hospital in view, the young Israeli soldier said they needed another document.

Fatima was bleeding badly. The soldier laughed and imitated her moans and told them, Go home. The baby was born there in a truck. It was blue with cold and soon, without care, died from exposure. The babys name was Sultan.

For Palestinians, these will be familiar stories. The question is: why are they not familiar in London and Washington, Brussels and Sydney?

In Syria, a recent liberal cause  a George Clooney cause  is bankrolled handsomely in Britain and the United States, even though the beneficiaries, the so-called rebels, are dominated by jihadist fanatics, the product of the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq and the destruction of modern Libya.

And yet, the longest occupation and resistance in modern times is not recognized. When the United Nations suddenly stirs and defines Israel as an apartheid state, as it did this year, there is outrage  not against a state whose core purpose is racism but against a U.N. commission that dared break the silence.

Palestine, said Nelson Mandela, is the greatest moral issue of our time.

Why is this truth suppressed, day after day, month after month, year after year?

On Israel  the apartheid state, guilty of a crime against humanity and of more international law-breaking than any other the silence persists among those who know and whose job it is to keep the record straight.

On Israel, so much journalism is intimidated and controlled by a groupthink that demands silence on Palestine while honorable journalism has become dissidence: a metaphoric underground.

A single word  conflict  enables this silence. The Arab-Israeli conflict, intone the robots at their tele-prompters. When a veteran BBC reporter, a man who knows the truth, refers to two narratives, the moral contortion is complete.

There is no conflict, no two narratives, with their moral fulcrum. There is a military occupation enforced by a nuclear-armed power backed by the greatest military power on earth; and there is an epic injustice.

The word occupation may be banned, deleted from the dictionary. But the memory of historical truth cannot be banned: of the systemic expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland. Plan D the Israelis called it in 1948.

The Israeli historian Benny Morris describes how David Ben-Gurion, Israels first prime minister, was asked by one of his generals: What shall we do with the Arabs?

The prime minister, wrote Morris, made a dismissive, energetic gesture with his hand. Expel them! he said.

Seventy years later, this crime is suppressed in the intellectual and political culture of the West. Or it is debatable, or merely controversial. Highly-paid journalists and eagerly accept Israeli government trips, hospitality and flattery, then are truculent in their protestations of independence. The term, useful idiots, was coined for them.

Accepting Awards

In 2011, I was struck by the ease with which one of Britains most acclaimed novelists, Ian McEwan, a man bathed in the glow of bourgeois enlightenment, accepted the Jerusalem Prize for literature in the apartheid state.

Would McEwan have gone to Sun City in apartheid South Africa? They gave prizes there, too, all expenses paid. McEwan justified his action with weasel words about the independence of civil society.

Propaganda  of the kind McEwan delivered, with its token slap on the wrists for his delighted hosts  is a weapon for the oppressors of Palestine. Like sugar, it insinuates almost everything today.

Understanding and deconstructing state and cultural propaganda is our most critical task. We are being frog-marched into a second cold war, whose eventual aim is to subdue and balkanize Russia and intimidate China.

When Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke privately for more than two hours at the G20 meeting in Hamburg, apparently about the need not to go to war with each other, the most vociferous objectors were those who have commandeered liberalism, such as the Zionist political writer of the Guardian.

No wonder Putin was smiling in Hamburg, wrote Jonathan Freedland. He knows he has succeeded in his chief objective: he has made America weak again. Cue the hissing for Evil Vlad.

These propagandists have never known war but they love the imperial game of war. What Ian McEwan calls civil society has become a rich source of related propaganda.

Take a term often used by the guardians of civil society  human rights. Like another noble concept, democracy, human rights has been all but emptied of its meaning and purpose.

Like peace process and road map, human rights in Palestine have been hijacked by Western governments and the corporate NGOs they fund and which claim a quixotic moral authority.

So when Israel is called upon by governments and NGOs to respect human rights in Palestine, nothing happens, because they all know there is nothing to fear; nothing will change.

Mark the silence of the European Union, which accommodates Israel while refusing to maintain its commitments to the people of Gaza  such as keeping the lifeline of the Rafah border crossing open: a measure it agreed to as part of its role in the cessation of fighting in 2014. A seaport for Gaza  agreed by Brussels in 2014  has been abandoned.

The U.N. commission I have referred to  its full name is the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia  described Israel as, and I quote, designed for the core purpose of racial discrimination.

Millions understand this. What the governments in London, Washington, Brussels and Tel Aviv cannot control is that humanity at street level is changing perhaps as never before.

A World Stirring

People everywhere are stirring and are more aware, in my view, than ever before. Some are already in open revolt. The atrocity of Grenfell Tower in London has brought communities together in a vibrant almost national resistance.

Thanks to a peoples campaign, the judiciary is today examining the evidence of a possible prosecution of Tony Blair for war crimes. Even if this fails, it is a crucial development, dismantling yet another barrier between the public and its recognition of the voracious nature of the crimes of state power  the systemic disregard for humanity perpetrated in Iraq, in Grenfell Tower, in Palestine. Those are the dots waiting to be joined.

For most of the Twenty-first Century, the fraud of corporate power posing as democracy has depended on the propaganda of distraction: largely on a cult of me-ism designed to disorientate our sense of looking out for others, of acting together, of social justice and internationalism.

Class, gender and race were wrenched apart. The personal became the political and the media the message. The promotion of bourgeois privilege was presented as progressive politics. It wasnt. It never is. It is the promotion of privilege, and power.

Among young people, internationalism has found a vast new audience. Look at the support for Jeremy Corbyn and the reception the G20 circus in Hamburg received. By understanding the truth and imperatives of internationalism, and rejecting colonialism, we understand the struggle of Palestine.

Mandela put it this way: We know only too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.

At the heart of the Middle East is the historic injustice in Palestine. Until that is resolved, and Palestinians have their freedom and homeland, and Israelis are Palestinians equality before the law, there will be no peace in the region, or perhaps anywhere.

What Mandela was saying is that freedom itself is precarious while powerful governments can deny justice to others, terrorize others, imprison and kill others, in our name. Israel certainly understands the threat that one day it might have to be normal.

That is why its ambassador to Britain is Mark Regev, well known to journalists as a professional propagandist, and why the huge bluff of charges of anti-Semitism, as Ilan Pappe called it, was allowed to contort the Labour Party and undermine Jeremy Corbyn as leader. The point is, it did not succeed.

Events are moving quickly now. The remarkable Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS) is succeeding, day by day; cities and towns, trade unions and student bodies are endorsing it. The British governments attempt to restrict local councils from enforcing BDS has failed in the courts.

These are not straws in the wind. When the Palestinians rise again, as they will, they may not succeed at first  but they will eventually if we understand that they are us, and we are them.

This is an abridged version of John Pilger's address to the Palestinian Expo 2017 in London. John Pilger's film, 'Palestine Is Still the Issue', can be viewed on this website .

Follow John Pilger on twitter @johnpilger - http://johnpilger.com/
While Trump Talks, The Pentagon Balks

By Finian Cunningham

July 11, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - On the same day US President Donald Trump gave a historic handshake to Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Germany, the Pentagon was hosting a meeting planning for war with Moscow.

While the event at the US military headquarters near Washington DC was made public , it was hardly reported in the Western media. The two main figures attending were Defense Secretary James Mattis and his British counterpart Michael Fallon.

The American military publication Defense One headlined the Pentagon summit: As Trump and Putin met, US and UK defense chiefs discussed ways to deter Russia.

The phrase ways to deter Russia, is a euphemism for war planning. It expresses a more benign, more publicly acceptable purpose to Mattis and Fallons discussions. Especially given that the titular head of the US government, President Trump, was at the very same time extending a hand of friendship to Putin.

Democrats seek to block Trump-Putin cybersecurity plan by cutting US funds https://t.co/N1fMbuJyMd  RT America (@RT_America) July 11, 2017

This is not to suggest that anything seditious was being secretly hatched against the US president. In comments to reporters, the British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the concurrent meeting between Trump and Putin that was being held 4,000 miles away in Hamburg was welcome.

However, that fig-leaf of magnanimity from Fallon and his Pentagon hosts, could not disguise the aggressive Russophobia at the heart of the military confab.

We dont think its business as usual between the West and Putin but we welcome the dialogue [with Trump] thats taking place, said the British politician following his talks with Mattis. The first part of the quote is the important message.

As Defense One reported: While one part of Trumps executive branch looks to improve relations with Moscow, another prepares for the worst.

'Maybe working group, maybe an interaction within UN' - Russian G20 Sherpa on Russia-US cybersecurity cooperation https://t.co/4zYLY6haLU  RT (@RT_com) July 10, 2017

The publication added, with more breathlessness, that Mattis and Fallon talked about ways NATO could improve its combat power and deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe that even as the White House seeks to improve relations with Moscow, US and UK leaders still view Russia as a severe military threat.

What this vignette of official thinking reveals is the depth of systematic hostility and Russophobia underpinning the American and British political establishments. It also serves to illustrate the foreboding background against Donald Trumps friendly overture to Russian President Vladimir Putin. It diminishes any would-be significance.

When Trump finally met his Russian counterpart last weekend, nearly seven months after his inauguration in the White House, the meeting was conducted with a welcome level of friendship and respect. So much so that there were initial reports of a reset in US-Russia relations; relations which had become eviscerated over the past seven months due to constant and pejorative American media speculation that Moscow had interfered in the November presidential elections.

To be fair to Trump, he appeared to rise above this toxic Russophobia in the US media and greeted Putin in Hamburg as a potential partner to work on a range of international challenges.

If anything, though, rather than restoring bilateral relations between the two nuclear powers, Trumps landmark meeting with Putin has unleashed even more Russophobia and recriminations in the US.

The US media and Washington establishment lost no time to jump on Trump for his apparent overtures to Putin. Trump was accused of being played by Putin and even betraying American interests. Former Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said Trumps discussions in Hamburg were tantamount to chatting with a burglar who had robbed your house.

The New York Times, Washington Post and CNN, among others, have been running stories, variously, on claims that Trumps eldest son, Donald Jr, has been outed for allegedly colluding with Kremlin figures, that Russian hackers have supposedly targeted American nuclear power plants, and the Kremlin has, again allegedly, been covertly sponsoring environmental activists to undermine US oil and gas fracking industries. All this in the space of a week since Trump met with Putin.

US, Russia-brokered ceasefire will be fruitful if expanded to whole of Syria  Iran https://t.co/BBRNMqgYy5  RT (@RT_com) July 10, 2017

No wonder Trump has quickly backtracked on his earlier seeming rapport with Putin. He has, for example, disavowed reports of being willing to work with Russia on cyber security after coming under fire from hawkish Congress figures and pundits.

This week, too, the US is leading the biggest-ever war maneuvers conducted by the 29-member NATO military alliance in the Black Sea. Two separate war games are being carried out on Russias southern flank: Saber Guardian, centered around Bulgaria, and Sea Breeze, off Crimea, involving a total of 30,000 NATO troops, as well as missile destroyers, fighter jets, and amphibious Marines forces. The US Army said it showcases the ability to mass forces at any given time anywhere in Europe.

Granted, Russia and China are also conducting joint naval exercises this month in the Baltic region. But theres an important distinction. The Baltic Sea is integral to Russian security territory. By contrast, what the Black Sea has got to do with American, British, Canadian, Norwegian, French, German troops, and so on, is only because NATO has provocatively expanded its reach to set up on Russias borders. The two events are not comparable.

Moreover, NATO war games in the Black Sea this week are a culmination of months of military build up by the alliance in that region. In February, Russias President Putin warned the escalation was provoking a conflict. That NATO escalation continues apace, with apparent indifference to Russias grievances.

Another nothing burger? Everyone interested to see Nikki Haley's evidence of Russia hacking (Op-Edge) https://t.co/y3N6f0ztBW  RT (@RT_com) July 11, 2017

This bigger picture of relentless Russophobia, gratuitous anti-Russian propaganda in the US media, and the ongoing reckless goading by NATO forces on Russias borders is an appropriate perspective with which to assess the significance of Trumps meeting with Putin last weekend.

Yes, indeed, it was good to see Trump having enough independence of mind and personal decorum to greet Putin with respect.

But the fact remains: while Trump talked, the Pentagon balked. And not just the Pentagon. Virtually, the whole US political and media establishment.

Ominously, the American political system and its military machine seem to operate on only one gear: onward with Russophobia and aggression.

Finian Cunningham (born 1963) has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. Originally from Belfast, Ireland, he is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. For over 20 years he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organizations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. Now a freelance journalist based in East Africa, his columns appear on RT, Sputnik, Strategic Culture Foundation and Press TV.
Forgetting the Dirty Dossier on Trump





Exclusive: The new Russia-gate furor is over Donald Trump Jr. meeting a Russian who claimed to have dirt on Hillary Clinton, but the Clinton teams Russian cash-for-trash search against Trump Sr. is all but forgotten, writes Robert Parry.



By Robert Parry



July 11, 2017 "

Information Clearing House

" - Yes, I realize that the editors of The New York Times long ago cast aside any journalistic professionalism to become charter members of the #Resistance against Donald Trump. But the latest frenzy over a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer who was dangling the possibility of information about the Democrats receiving money from Russians represents one of the more remarkable moments of the entire Russia-gate hysteria.

Essentially, Trumps oldest son is being accused of taking a meeting with a foreign national who claimed to have knowledge of potentially illegal activities by Trumps Democratic rivals, although the promised information apparently turned out to be a dud.

Yet, on Monday, the Times led its newspaper with a story about this meeting  and commentators on MSNBC and elsewhere are labeling Trump Jr. a criminal if not a traitor for hearing out this lawyer.

Yet, no one seems to remember that Hillary Clinton supporters paid large sums of money, reportedly about $1 million, to have ex-British spy Christopher Steele use his Russian connections to dig up dirt on Trump inside Russia, resulting in a salacious dossier that Clinton backers eagerly hawked to the news media.

Also, the two events  Trump Jr.s meeting with the Russian lawyer and the Clinton camps commissioning of Steeles Russia dossier  both occurred in June 2016, so you might have thought it would be a journalistic imperative to incorporate a reference or two to the dossier.

But the closest the Times came to that was noting: Political campaigns collect opposition research from many quarters but rarely from sources linked to foreign governments. That would have been an opportune point to slide in a paragraph about the Steele dossier, but nothing.

The Times doesnt seem to have much historical memory either. There actually have been a number of cases in which American presidential campaigns have ventured overseas to seek out opposition research about rivals.

For instance, in 1992, President George H.W. Bush took a personal role in trying to obtain derogatory information about Bill Clintons 1970 student trip to Eastern Europe, including to Moscow.

That effort started out by having senior State Department officials rifle through the passport files of Clinton and his mother, looking for a purported letter in which some Republican operatives thought Clinton might have renounced his U.S. citizenship.

Bush and his team were called out on that caper, which became known as Passport-gate. During the Oct. 11, 1992 debate, Clinton even compared Bushs tactics to Joe McCarthys during the 1950s Red Scare. But the Bush campaign didnt let the issue entirely go.

Czech-ing on Bill

In the days after the debate, phone records revealed a flurry of calls from Bushs campaign headquarters to Czechoslovakia, another stop on Clintons student tour. There were also fax transmissions on Oct. 14 and 15, 1992, according to a later official investigation.

On Oct. 16, what appears to have been a return call was placed from the U.S. Embassy in Prague to the office of ad man Sig Rogich, who was handling anti-Clinton themes for the Bush campaign.

Following those exchanges, stories about Clintons Prague trip began popping up in Czech newspapers. On Oct. 24, 1992, three Czech newspapers ran similar stories about Clintons Czech hosts. The Cesky Denik story had an especially nasty headline: Bill Was With Communists.

The Czech articles soon blew back to the United States. Reuters distributed a summary, and The Washington Times, over three consecutive days, ran articles about Clintons Czech trip. The Clinton campaign responded that Clinton had entered Czechoslovakia under normal procedures for a student and stayed with the family of an Oxford friend.

Despite those last-minute efforts to revive Clintons loyalty issue, the Democrat held on to defeat Bush in a three-way race (with Ross Perot).

You also could go back to Republican contacts with South Vietnamese officials to sabotage President Lyndon Johnsons Vietnam peace talks in 1968 and similar meetings with Iranian emissaries to frustrate President Jimmy Carters Iran hostage negotiations in 1980, including a curious meeting involving senior Ronald Reagan campaign aides at the LEnfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C.

But the Steele dossier is a more immediate and direct example of close Hillary Clinton supporters going outside the United States for dirt on Trump and collaborating with foreign nationals to dig it up  allegedly from Kremlin insiders. Although it is still not clear exactly who footed the bill for the Steele dossier and how much money was spread around to the Russian contacts, it is clear that Clinton supporters paid for the opposition research and then flacked the material to American journalists.

The Mystery Dossier

As I wrote on March 29, An irony of the escalating hysteria about the Trump camps contacts with Russians is that one presidential campaign in 2016 did exploit political dirt that supposedly came from the Kremlin and other Russian sources. Friends of that political campaign paid for this anonymous hearsay material, shared it with American journalists and urged them to publish it to gain an electoral advantage. But this campaign was not Donald Trumps; it was Hillary Clintons.

And, awareness of this activity doesnt require you to spin conspiracy theories about what may or may not have been said during some seemingly innocuous conversation. In this case, you have open admissions about how these Russian/Kremlin claims were used.

Indeed, you have the words of Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, in his opening statement at [a] public hearing on so-called Russia-gate. Schiffs seamless 15-minute narrative of the Trump campaigns alleged collaboration with Russia followed the script prepared by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele who was hired as an opposition researcher last June [2016] to dig up derogatory information on Donald Trump.

Steele, who had worked for Britains MI-6 in Russia, said he tapped into ex-colleagues and unnamed sources inside Russia, including leadership figures in the Kremlin, to piece together a series of sensational reports that became the basis of the current congressional and FBI investigations into Trumps alleged ties to Moscow.

Since he was not able to go to Russia himself, Steele based his reports mostly on multiple hearsay from anonymous Russians who claim to have heard some information from their government contacts before passing it on to Steeles associates who then gave it to Steele who compiled this mix of rumors and alleged inside dope into raw intelligence reports.

 Besides the anonymous sourcing and the sources financial incentives to dig up dirt, Steeles reports had numerous other problems, including the inability of a variety of investigators to confirm key elements, such as the salacious claim that several years ago Russian intelligence operatives secretly videotaped Trump having prostitutes urinate on him while he lay in the same bed in Moscows Ritz-Carlton used by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

That tantalizing tidbit was included in Steeles opening report to his new clients, dated June 20, 2016. Apparently, it proved irresistible in whetting the appetite of Clintons mysterious benefactors who were financing Steeles dirt digging and who have kept their identities (and the amounts paid) hidden. Also in that first report were the basic outlines of what has become the scandal that is now threatening the survival of Trumps embattled presidency.

The Trump Jr. Meeting

So, compare that with what we know about the June 9, 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York City, which Donald J. Trump Jr. says he agreed to because someone was claiming knowledge about Russian payments helping Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr. said Russian lawyer Natalie Veselnitskaya stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Mrs. Clinton. Her statements were vague, ambiguous and made no sense. No details or supporting information was provided or even offered. It quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information.

According to Trump Jr.s account, Veselnitskaya then turned the conversation to President Vladimir Putins cancellation of an adoption program which had sent Russian children to American parents, a move he took in reaction to the so-called Magnitsky Act, a 2012 punitive law passed by the U.S. Congress in retaliation for the 2009 death of Sergei Magnitsky in a Russian jail.

The death became a Western cause celebre with Magnitsky, the accountant for hedge-fund executive William Browder, hailed as a martyr in the cause of whistleblowing against a profoundly corrupt Russian government. After Magnitskys death from a heart attack, Browder claimed that his lawyer Magnitsky had been tortured and murdered to cover up official complicity in a $230 million tax-fraud scheme involving companies ostensibly under Browders control.

Because of Browders wealth and political influence, he succeeded in getting the European Parliament and the U.S. Congress to buy into his narrative and move to punish the presumed villains in the tax fraud and in Magnitskys death. The U.S.-enacted Magnitsky Act in 2012 was an opening salvo in what has become a new Cold War between Washington and Moscow.

Only One Side Heard

The Magnitsky narrative has now become so engrained in Western geopolitical mythology that the storyline apparently can no longer be questioned or challenged. The New York Times reports Browders narrative as flat fact, and The Washington Post took pleasure in denouncing a 2016 documentary that turned Browders version of events on its head.

The documentary, entitled The Magnitsky Act. Behind the Scenes, was essentially blocked for distribution in the West, with the European Parliament pulling the plug on its planned premiere in Brussels shortly before it was scheduled for showing.

When the documentary got a single showing at the Newseum in Washington, a Washington Post editorial branded the documentary Russian agit-prop.

The Post sought to discredit the filmmaker, Andrei Nekrasov, without addressing his avalanche of documented examples of Browders misrepresenting both big and small facts in the case. Instead, the Post accused Nekrasov of using facts highly selectively and insinuated that he was merely a pawn in the Kremlins campaign to discredit Mr. Browder and the Magnitsky Act.

The Post concluded smugly: The film wont grab a wide audience, but it offers yet another example of the Kremlins increasingly sophisticated efforts to spread its illiberal values and mind-set abroad. In the European Parliament and on French and German television networks, showings were put off recently after questions were raised about the accuracy of the film, including by Magnitskys family.

We dont worry that Mr. Nekrasovs film was screened here, in an open society. But it is important that such slick spin be fully exposed for its twisted story and sly deceptions.

Given the fact that virtually no one in the West was allowed to see the film, the Posts gleeful editorial had the feel of something you might read in a totalitarian society where the public only hears about dissent when the Official Organs of the State denounce some almost unknown person for saying something that almost no one heard.

What the Post didnt want you to know was that Nekrasov started off his project with the goal of producing a docu-drama that accepted Browders self-serving narrative. However, during the research, Nekrasov uncovered evidence that revealed that Magnitsky was neither a lawyer nor a whistleblower; that the scam involving Browders companies had been exposed by a woman employee; and that Magnitsky, an accountant for Browder, was arrested as a conspirator in the fraud.

As the documentary unfolds, you see Nekrasov struggling with his dilemma as Browder grows increasingly abusive toward his erstwhile ally. Nekrasov painfully concludes that Browder had deceived him.

But, dont worry, as a citizen in the Free World, you probably will never have to worry about viewing this documentary, since it has been effectively flushed down the memory hole. Official references to Magnitsky are back in the proper form, treating him as a Martyr for Truth and a victim of the Evil Russians.

Plus, if you rely on The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN and the rest of the U.S. mainstream media for your news, you wont have to think about the far more substantive case of the Steele Dossier in which Hillary Clintons allies spent gobs of money seeking out sources in Russia to serve up dirt on Donald Trump.

Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, Americas Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com ).

This article was first published by Consortium News -
The Niger State Pension Board may have confiscated over 200 files as part of investigations into fraudulent activities by civil servants in the state, according to reports from the Northern City News, all the files were from local government councils in the state.

A source told our correspondent that not less than N200m was being siphoned on a monthly basis through various schemes by unscrupulous workers in the state.

According to the source, the files belonged to some retired local government workers who had collected their pensions and gratuities from the government.

These files were being circulated newly by some people in the affected local government areas; they make at least N200m monthly claiming the entitlements of those that have retired, the source stated.

Our correspondent learnt that the fraud was uncovered when the management of the pension board set up a committee to verify suspicious monthly pension claims by some workers.

It was not known if any of the workers had been arrested in connection with the suspected fraud, but our correspondent gathered that all the files were being kept in the custody of the Director General of the board.

It was also learnt that the external auditors engaged to audit the account of the board had completed their assignment.

The auditors were engaged following an allegation that over N6bn contributory pension funds had been pilfered.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
A woman got her fingers chopped off by her jealous husband because she studied a degree without his permission. Rafiqul Islam, 30, blindfolded his wife Hawa Akhter, 21, and taped her mouth, telling her he was going to give her a surprise present.

Instead he made her hold out her hand and cut off all five fingers. One of his relatives then threw Ms Akhters fingers in the dustbin to ensure doctors could not reattach them.

Mr Islam, who is a migrant worker in the United Arab Emirates, had warned his wife there would severe consequences if she did not give up her studies. After he came back to Bangladesh, he wanted to have a discussion with me, Ms Akhter told The Times.

Suddenly, he blindfolded me and tied my hand. He also taped my mouth saying that he would give me some surprise gifts. But, instead he cut off my fingers. Mohammed Saluddin, the Bangladesh police chief said that Mr Islam had confessed after he was arrested in the capital, Dhaka, and will face charges of permanent disfiguration.

Human rights groups are demanding life imprisonment. Ms Akhter says she is learning to write with her left hand and is determined to resume her studies. She is now back at her parents house.

Source: ( Instablog9ja )
At least five person were confirmed dead when unknown cult members on Monday July 10 night invaded the Omudioga Community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Police Public Relations Officer Nnamdi Omoni confirmed that a rival gang invaded Omudioga which resulted in a clash leading to the death of five persons while several people sustained injuries.

Omoni confirmed that the police made some arrests.

The Rivers police spokesman advised the people of the community to provide information to the police on the cultists in the area.

Meanwhile, the Rivers Police Command has assured that those responsible for the abduction of a medical doctor, Dr. Alex Akani will be arrested.

Omoni said the police has identified the house where Dr. Akani was held in captivity.
Yesterday was World Population Day  and one man in Ghana has 100 reasons to mark his particular contribution. Kofi Asilenu, 80, is the father of 100 children by 12 wives.

He lives with his family in a village called Amankrom, a 45-minute drive from the capital Accra. His family make up a third of the 600 people in the village.

He told BBC that he wanted a big family because he did not have siblings: I dont have any brother or uncle, thats why I decided to have many children so that they can give me a befitting burial when I die. In my home town if you give birth to one child they will say you are not important so I want to have many children.

Asilenu says he might have more children. His big family has, however, come at a cost. He says that he was well off financially, but his resources have mostly been drained due to the cost of raising such a large brood  even though he says now he gets financial help from his children.

Kofi Asilenu looks physically strong and even says he is willing to have more children  despite having mistakenly proposed to one of his daughters three years ago. The embarrassing incident meant he was forced to apologise to her, explaining that he had an eye problem so he could not recognise her.

As for his wives, they are all happy with the set up. First wife Nayome Asilenu told the BBC: When I married my husband and he decided to marry more women, I didnt have any option. Hes able to take care of us, pay the childrens school fees. They are healthy and strong so theres nothing wrong with that.
Acting president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, is currently meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in London. According to an official information provided by the Aso Rock Villa, the acting president was in UK on Tuesday, July 11, and will be returning back to Abuja same day.

While the purpose of the meeting and issues being discussed have not been made public, there is speculation in has to do with the development of the country.
A trusting wife thought her husband had a pleasant surprise for her when he blindfolded her, not knowing that the surprise was far from pleasant.

Hawa Akhter, 21, was told by her husband, Rafiqul Islam, 30, that he was going to give her a surprise present, so she allowed him blindfold her and tape her mouth. Just as she held out her hand to receive the gift, he cut off all five of her fingers. Afterwards, he got one of his relatives to throw the fingers in a dustbin to ensure doctors could not reattach them.

The tragic incident occurred in Bangladesh after Hawa began studying for a degree without his support. He had told her that there would be severe consequences if she did not give up her studies. He was reportedly jealous because he only had a grade eight education while she wanted to further her studies.

Mr Islam, who is a migrant worker in the United Arab Emirates, risks spending the rest of his life in prison as human rights groups are demanding life imprisonment for the crime.

Speaking to The Times about the traumatizing ordeal, Ms Akhter said: After he came back to Bangladesh, he wanted to have a discussion with me. Suddenly, he blindfolded me and tied my hand. He also taped my mouth saying that he would give me some surprise gifts. But, instead he cut off my fingers.

Mohammed Saluddin, the Bangladesh police chief said that Mr Islam had confessed after he was arrested in the capital, Dhaka, and will face charges of permanent disfiguration.

He was enraged. He was jealous because while he only had a grade eight standard education, she was off to college to pursue higher studies, said Mr Saluddin.

Ms Akhter says she is learning to write with her left hand and is determined to continue schooling. She is now back to living with her parents at their house.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured that it would continue to improve on the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in the country.

INEC National Commissioner, Prince Adedeji Soyebi, gave the assurance when he presented Certificate of Return to the winner of the Osun West Senatorial bye-election, Mr Ademola Adeleke, at INEC headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.

INEC on Sunday declared Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the winner of the bye-election held in 10 local government areas of the senatorial district.

Adeleke was won the elections by having polled 97,480 votes to defeat former Sen. Mudashiru Hussein of the APC, who scored 66,116 votes.

Adedeji advised citizens to always create the enabling environment for peaceful elections for the commission.

He commended the people of Osun West for their peaceful conduct during and after the Saturday election, saying that they have set precedence for Nigeria election.

I must commend the people of Osun South West for the way and manner they conducted themselves in the election.

They conducted themselves in a peaceful, friendly and ideal atmosphere for elections. They have set a role model or standard for others to emulate.

The people of Osun have shown us how elections should be conducted, he said.

Adedeji said that if the citizens conduct themselves in a peaceful way as the people of Osun West did, the work of the commission would be easier.

He thereafter presented the certificate of return to Adedeji.

Responding, Adeleke commended INEC for conducting the election in a free, fair and credible manner.

The senator-elect also commended his constituents for their support and the way they created a peaceful atmosphere for the election.

Adeleke in an interview with newsmen pledged not to disappoint the people of the state that elected him.

He pledged to introduce free medical care and free interest microfinance in his constituency.

He advised the party never to discard a candidate with winning potential.

The senator-elect said that he was glad for the PDP that gave him a platform to contest and he won.

I followed all the electoral process and I was declared unopposed in the primaries until they started their manipulations.

I used to be in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and I am back home now.

My interest was in APC, but it was when I got there, we discovered that they dont practice democracy, Adeleke said.

Source: ( PM News )
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Tuesday announced the commencement of the sales of 2017 Direct Entry application form.

This is contained in a statement signed by JAMBs Head of Public Relations, Mr Fabian Benjamin, and issued to newsmen in Bwari in the FCT.

The statement said that the form was designed for candidates that have A-level results and wished to gain direct admission to Degree programmes in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

It explained that the process of registration for the Direct Entry was spelt out in the just concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

According to the statement, the board equally has commenced the sale of UTME application for Nigerians abroad and foreign candidates who desired to attend tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

We urge all candidates wishing to register through direct entry to obtain the pins at Interswitch, Remita or any of the commercial banks approved earlier for the vending of UTME pins.

The process is as it was with the UTME where you create a profile and obtain the pins and proceed for biometric capturing at the CBT centres for Direct Entry candidates.

Candidates for the Direct Entry are expected to possess `Advanced Level, Diploma or its equivalent, while foreign candidates must possess proof of residency abroad.

For foreign candidates, you must have stayed in the foreign country for at least a minimum of six months and you must have had your secondary education there.

It noted that the board had not commenced the change of course and institutions, but that it would soon begin.

It explained that when it starts such changes would be carried out in all approved Computer Based Centres (CBT) centres nationwide.

Candidates need not necessarily come to the Boards centres for the change; it can be done in any of the CBT centres.

This is to avoid overcrowding of our offices for services that can be obtained at the utmost comfort by the candidates.

The statement further said that delay in the change process was due to the Boards preparation to ensure that the system was carried out without encumbrances.

It advised candidates who are desirous of a change of course or institution would be allowed to do so since the platform would be open until close of admission.

It also urged candidates not panic because the change process would not be closed as speculated by people that want to use the opportunity their desperation to defraud them.

However, it warned candidates not to patronise fraudulent individuals or organisations, but visit approved CBT centres and always cross check any information they are not too clear about, to avoid fraud.

Do not fall victim of fraudsters who claim they can inflate your scores; they do not have the ability, the Board will prosecute such fraudsters and the candidate who patronise them, it said.

Source: ( PM News )
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki; and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, on Tuesday condemned the Kogi State Government for its alleged roles in the ongoing process to recall the lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye, from the National Assembly.

Both of them specifically criticised the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of Kogi State, Mr. Ibrahim Muhammed, for criticising the Senate as lacking constitutional backing to stop Melayes recall.

Ekweremadu, while raising a point of order at the plenary on Tuesday, referred the lawmakers to a three-page advertorial by Muhammed, in which the commissioner criticised his last week submissions at the Senate on Melayes recall.

He said the commissioner was ignorant of the position of the constitution on the recall of a federal lawmaker.

I expect the Attorney General, instead of displaying his ignorance, to simply call me and I will educate him on the position of the law, he said.

But Muhammed has said the state government would not take issues with Ekweremadu over his comment on the advertorial in which he referred to the recall of Melaye as an exercise in futility.

The Attorney General told one of our correspondents on the telephone on Monday that he stood by every content of the advertorial.

According to him, he has enough knowledge and experience to be able to know the position of the law on the issue of recall.

He said, By the special grace of God, I am the Attorney General of this state, not based on the number of years of legal practice. I sit on the front row of the bench, I have adequate and enough knowledge about the position of the law and this formed the basis of the content of the advertorial.

He said that it was only the court of competent jurisdiction that could interpret the true position of law on the matter. Ekweremadu, however, argued that the AG was wrong by saying that the Senate had no role to play in Melayes recall process.

I dont know how he came to the conclusion that we do not have any role to play. I stand by my position that when INEC is through with any recall process, they must write the Senate President who will read it to us and we must be satisfied that the provisions of Section 69 in reference to recall have been fully complied with.

I pity the people of Kogi State who hired his kind of attorney general. It is unfortunate that they are paying a public servant and he is unable to do a simple work of looking at the constitution.

Let me also emphasise that this Section 68(2) is not part of the amendments we have made since 1999; this has been the original provision of the constitution; we did not invent it and it has nothing to do with Dino. We inherited it since 1999.

So, for him not to know about it; I dont know where he went to law school, anyway. If he had been properly educated, he should have been conversant with the basic provisions of the constitution. I also dont know his age at the bar but, apparently, I know that I am his senior at the bar and I expect him to show some respect to his senior. That is what we were taught at the law school.

Saraki, in his remarks, expressed concern over the calibre of people put in very serious positions in government.

He stated that the constitution was clear on the recall process.

What is even more disturbing and irresponsible is how they have spent over N10m on adverts, he added.

The Senate President accused the state government of culpability in the move to recall Melaye due to the interest it had shown in the process.

Source: ( PM News )
A landlord in an Abia State community has severely shocked residents after shooting his tenant dead in the area.

Ogbonnaya Igwe, the landlord of a building located at Plot 22, Obohia Road, Aba, Abia state, has been arrested by police operatives attached to the Ndiegoro Police Division in the state for allegedly shooting dead his tenant, one Mrs. Ijeoma Chibuzo.

According to the police, it took the intervention of a combined security team from the Counter-Terrorism Unit and others that were deployed in Obohia to stop angry mob from setting the suspects building ablaze.

The Abia state Police Public Relations Officer, Geoffrey Ogbonna, while confirming the arrest of the suspect, said: it took the police over three hours to break into the suspects house.

He was apprehended with the gun he allegedly used in killing the victim.

Although investigation into the matter was still ongoing, preliminary investigation showed that the suspect and the victim were having issues bothering on finance.

The Police spokesman in the state added that the victims body was deposited in an undisclosed mortuary within the city.

Both the suspect and the victim are reportedly said to be indigenes of Item in the Bende Local Government Area of the state.
According to reports, at least 11 persons were killed in multiple explosions on Tuesday night in Maiduguri,an eye witness who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that the first and second explosions occurred at about 9.45 p.m. at Mulaikalmari, some six kms away from Maiduguri.

The source said that eight persons, including the suicide bombers were killed in the attack.

Three persons were also killed and five others wounded in the third and fourth explosions, which occurred about 20 minutes later at Polo-Sabon Gari area of Maiduguri, according to the source, who said he helped in the evacuation of the victims from the scenes of the explosion.

All the attacks occurred in the outskirts of the metropolis. It is a foiled attempt by Boko Haram insurgents to infiltrate the town.

The source added that security teams had been drafted to the affected areas to ascertain the situation.

He disclosed those wounded referred to Special Hospital, Maiduguri for medical attention.

Source: ( PM News )
The Federal High Court sitting in Calabar, the Cross River State capital on Tuesday, sentenced two illegal petroleum dealers to 20 years imprisonment without an option of fine.

Two petroleum dealers identified as Tony Ochonogor and Efe Alex, reportedly broke down in tears and wept openly in the dock in disbelief after a Federal High Court in Calabar, Cross River State, on Tuesday, sentenced them to 20 years imprisonment.

Punch Metro reports that the convicts were sentenced without an option of fine for stealing Automotive Gas Oil, otherwise known as diesel, using forged documents.

According to the prosecution, the convicts were arrested in Amassoma, Bayelsa State on March 20, 2013 by the Joint Task Force with 33, 000 litres of AGO with documents purported to have been issued by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Pipeline and Product Marketing Company and Conoil.

While delivering judgment in the case on Tuesday, the presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, said the prosecution team proved the four counts pressed against the convicts beyond reasonable doubts.

The judge said he found out from the evidence before the court that the interaction between Ochonogor and Alex, resulting in the transaction, amounted to conspiracy.

Justice Ekwo said, From the evidence before the court, the convicts did not have appropriate authority to lift the petroleum product. There was no disparity between the arguments of the prosecution counsel and the defence counsel and the evidence was not contradicted by the confessional statements of the defendants.

From the evidence before the court, the metre ticket and the waybill as well as invoice/PIN with N.7576, purported to have been issued by Conoil Plc in respect of a tanker with Registration Number, Delta XD 459 WWR, conveying the AGO were forged.

It was gathered that before proceeding to pronounce his sentence on the accused persons, Justice Ekwo said that mere denial did not suffice as defence in criminal trial.

He added, I will not agree with the defence to discharge the accused persons.

Justice Ekwo sentenced the convicts to five years imprisonment on each on the four counts pressed against them, holding, however, that the prison terms would run concurrently.

The court also ordered that the 33,000 litres of petroleum product and the tanker recovered from the convicts should be forfeited to the Federal Government.

The defence counsel, Mr. N.A. Ibiloye, had, before the sentence pleaded with the judge to temper justice with mercy, urging the judge not to pass maximum sentence because his clients were first-time offenders.

He said Ochonogor, the first convict, was a pastor, married with children, adding that if he was put behind bars, he would not be able to take care of his family and his church would scatter.

The defence counsel said the second convict, Alex, was a family man whose wife had just died and left behind a little child for him to take care of.
Some suspected Internet fraudsters, have hijacked the Facebook page of the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police Force into an avenue to advertise their skills.

The suspects, through a series of comments, demanded between N5,000 and N50,000 from those who wanted to learn classified sites for defrauding people, especially foreigners, and offered options of online, as well as physical teaching platforms.

Hundreds of persons, including students, graduates and ladies, indicated interest in learning the skills for making quick money and provided their mobile numbers on the SFU Facebook page.

The comments were reactions to a post by the SFU sensitising the public to Internet fraud.

The unit in the post tagged, Common Tricks Yahoo boys use to Swindle Foreigners Revealed, had warned people against falling victims of the fraudsters.

The post read in part, One of the tricks they use in swindling foreigners is called Freestyle. The Freestyle trick is the simplest and it is common among starters. Applying Freestyle trick, all you need to do is to open an account in any of the popular dating sites and look for someone to fall in love with you; afterwards, he or she starts paying your bills, sending hard currency.

Also, one of the major tricks, Yahoo and Sakawa boys are using to perpetuate this act is Over Payment. The Over Payment trick requires a lot of processes. The Yahoo boy who uses this trick pretends to be a prospective buyer by logging into any of the popular Internet classified sites, after which he offers the person who he is buying from, a cheque as a mode of payment.

In this case, Yahoo boys have a way of persuading the seller to send the excess after issuing an over payment cheque. With this trick, a Yahoo boy can buy goods worth $1,000 and issue a cheque of $5,000. What the Yahoo boy is interested in is not the goods he claimed to be interested in, but the excess money that will be sent to him after the cheque must have been cashed.

The update concluded with a slogan Say No to Fraud; but what trailed the slogan was brazen defiance to the police warning, with commentators boasting of their mettle in various Internet scam sites.

The comments had reached over 1,762 with 158 shares as of 8.17pm on Tuesday.

In one of his comments, one Thomas Joshua, wrote, If you are interested in G (Yahoo yahoo), message me ASAP (as soon as possible) via +2349021933459. Tutor fee is 5k (N5,000). I will teach you how to make cool money in a week and if you have interest in hacking, wire transfer, ATM card hacking etc., message me ASAP.

One Kingxam Millionz stated that he ran tutorials on classified sites such as Dating, Spamming, Next of kin, Letgo and Grant, among others, with a fee ranging from N5,000 to N15,000.

Another poster, Stev Emmanuel, gave out his email address and phone number, 07064229454, to intending members, saying Hello dear friends, for those that want to be Yahoo boys, here comes your opportunity.

One Desmanking Destiny, who replied Emmanuel on the SFU platform, said he was 100 per cent serious to learn the skill.

A graduate, Ajisafe Adekunle Olowolayemo, said he was jobless and was desperate to go into cybercrime.

He wrote, Please, Im a graduate of Marine Engineering I have been jobless for good four years. I sought jobs in so many shipping companies, but to no avail. Please, I need a boss who will teach me the rudiments and basis of Yahoo yahoo.

A poster with an alias, Kvng Segzkid, said, I am a graduate of Science Laboratory Technology. Since 2015, I have yet to get a job. I have no choice but to venture into gee (Internet fraud). I need a boss and promise to be loyal and honest with him.

One Sanni Rasheed cautioned the posters on the criminal chats, saying This act will be prosecuted under the law of the country.

But one Hon Stainless Cash, dared the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other security agencies to come after him.

He said, To all the EFCC and SARS on this page, if you intend to trace me, please do trace me or track me if you can find me and I will highly welcome you. Please, make sure you track me; for your service is highly needed.

Ladies also joined in the discussion and expressed willingness to engage in Internet fraud.

A commentator, Ugo Osinachi, wrote, I want to be a gee guy. I need help from any boss please. Here is my number 09060655750; I am on WhatsApp and Facebook. Please bosses, help me out, I am serious about this.

Titilayo Adetoba also said, I want to become gee guy; any help should contact me, 09068646625. I am curious.

The SFU spokesperson, ASP Lawal Audu, said the unit was aware of the comments on its Facebook page, adding that a manhunt had been launched for the posters.

He said, We are tracking them, but we dont want to speak about it publicly. We are making efforts. Scientific investigation is not something you do anyhow; otherwise, you wont get at your targets.

( Source : Punch Newspaper )
A jealous husband is facing life in prison after chopping off his wifes fingers because she began studying for a degree without his permission.

Rafiqul Islam, 30, blindfolded his wife Hawa Akhter, 21, and taped her mouth, telling her he was going to give her a surprise present.

Instead he made her hold out her hand and cut off all five fingers. One of his relatives then threw Ms Akhters fingers in the dustbin to ensure doctors could not reattach them.

Mr Islam, who is a migrant worker in the United Arab Emirates, had warned his wife there would severe consequences if she did not give up her studies.

After he came back to Bangladesh, he wanted to have a discussion with me, Ms Akhter told The Times. 

Suddenly, he blindfolded me and tied my hand. He also taped my mouth saying that he would give me some surprise gifts. But, instead he cut off my fingers.

Mohammed Saluddin, the Bangladesh police chief said that Mr Islam had confessed after he was arrested in the capital, Dhaka, and will face charges of permanent disfiguration.

Human rights groups are demanding life imprisonment. Ms Akhter says she is learning to write with her left hand and is determined to resume her studies. She is now back at her parents house.
There are over 55 lakh eligible voters in the state, for whom 7,881 polling stations have been set up.
A husband who didnt like that his wife wanted to start studying for a degree has cut off her fingers to prevent her from continuing because she didnt have his permission.

A woman has been left deformed after her husband reportedly chopped off her fingers in order to stop her from studying for a dregree.

Dailymail reported that the man who is now facing life in prison after chopping off his wifes fingers because she began studying for a degree without his permission had tricked her by blindfolding her.

According to the police, Rafiqul Islam, 30, blindfolded his wife Hawa Akhter, 21, and taped her mouth, telling her he was going to give her a surprise present.

Instead he made her hold out her hand and cut off all five fingers. One of his relatives then threw Ms Akhters fingers in the dustbin to ensure doctors could not reattach them. Mr Islam, who is a migrant worker in the United Arab Emirates, had warned his wife there would severe consequences if she did not give up her studies.

After he came back to Bangladesh, he wanted to have a discussion with me, Ms Akhter told The Times.

Suddenly, he blindfolded me and tied my hand. He also taped my mouth saying that he would give me some surprise gifts. But, instead he cut off my fingers.

Mohammed Saluddin, the Bangladesh police chief said that Mr Islam had confessed after he was arrested in the capital, Dhaka, and will face charges of permanent disfiguration.

Human rights groups are demanding life imprisonment.

He was enraged. He was jealous because while he only had a grade eight standard education, she was off to college to pursue higher studies, said Mr Saluddin.

Ms Akhter says she is learning to write with her left hand and is determined to resume her studies. She is now back at her parents house.

The attack is the latest in a series of acts targeting educated women in the Muslim-majority company.

In June, an unemployed man gouged out the eyes of his wife, an assistant professor at Dhaka University, apparently because he could not stand her pursuing higher studies at a Canadian University.
A 24-year-old woman, identified as Oluchi Emeobi from Nnewi Ichi of Nnewi North LGA of Anambra State has been arrested by the Anambra State police command for allegedly selling her two months old baby for N250,000.

Anambra state police commissioner, Umar Garbage who briefed journalists said the suspect used part of the proceeds of the sale to purchase a motorcycle, which was also confiscated by the command.

Emeobi according to police conspired with on Nchedochi Richard, female, aged 26years, of the same address to sell the baby to a woman, popularly known as First Lady, who he said was now at large.

The commissioner said in order to conceal her dastardly act, the suspect reported at the Police Station under false pretence that she left her baby under the custody of a yet to be ascertained woman who absconded with her.

Exhibits recovered from the principal suspect include; Sum of N250,000, cash and One Motorcycle the suspect allegedly bought with part of the money realized from the sale of her baby, he said.

He said the matter was still under investigation and that effort was being made to arrest the fleeing suspect and recover the baby.

Source: ( PM News )
The Supreme Court has declared Ahmed Makarfi as chairman of the caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, after the long legal war, with battles fought in various courts across Nigeria.

Many courts have had to upturn the ruling of the one before them and the party has been split into two factions.

Sheriff was declared the chairman of the party by the Court of Appeal, but the Supreme Court verdict today has recognised Makarfis faction.

Two out of the three member-panel, Justice B.G Sanga and Justice A.B Gumel, in their judgment said the convention disobeyed the court order and the court would not close its eyes on such illegality.
Media Personality, Toke Makinwa is currently on a sponsored trip by Ciroc to Ibiza, Spain, and according to her, shes having the time of her life.

Toke who has been posting updates of her VIP treatment trip on Snapchat showed off her cleavage as she stepped out to party last night. More photos below.
Uche Jombo and Kenney Rodriguez are still a couple despite damaging reports that her marriage to the US-based Puerto Rican husband was in trouble.

Recall that an unknown person leaked the photos of Kenney looking really coupled up with a woman said to be 22-years-old. And some of the photos seemingly were taken in Kenneys home, same one he shares with Uche whenever she visits the United States.

The rumours came just after folks discovered that the actress had removed her husbands family name Rodriguez from her Instagram bio, plus the fact that she did not mark her 5th wedding anniversary on May 16 as had been her tradition.

Though Uche clarified later that she removed the name because she wanted to keep her family away from her social media, she never addressed the alleged cheating rumour.

However, the actress is currently in the United States and from the photo shared by Omoni Oboli, she is with husband. They intend to visit Canada for group vacation.

Stirred by this latest update, other actresses, including Tonto Dikeh and Chioma Akpotha, are celebrating the actress.

See their reactions:
As Nigerians join the world to mark the 2017 World Population Day on July 11, some medical stakeholders on Monday urged Nigerians that are yet to be involved in family planning to adopt family planning to regulate population growth and reduce maternal deaths.

The stakeholders, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, also called for more investment in Family Planning methods to provide adequate sexual and reproductive health services in the country.

The theme for 2017 World Population Day is: Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations.

As at Monday, July 10, a website, www.worldometers estimates the current population of Nigeria to be at 191,892,343, based on the latest United Nations (UN) estimates.

Nigerias population is equivalent to 2.55 per cent of the total world population of 7.6 billion and ranks the country number seven in the list of countries and dependencies by population

According to the stakeholders, the Nigerian environment, its natural resources, economy and facilities are fast being degraded and consumed as a result of human population increase.

Dr Nze Egbule, a public health expert said: Population growth in Nigeria is very fast and influences different spheres of peoples lives.

Nigeria is a country with the largest human population in Africa and popularly regarded as the `Giant of Africa for its population.

Some of the imminent and unavoidable results of the continuous increase in human population include human congestion, high unemployment rate, environmental pollution and degradation, depletion of resources and weather modification.

Unhygienic living conditions, elevated crime rate, conflicts, political instability, scarce resources, hunger and high rates of disease spread.

A major factor that triggers population growth is increased birth rate, and there is a need for Nigerians to be properly educated on the need to control birth rate and the consequent advantages, he said.

Mr Kabir Abdullahi, the Kaduna State Team Leader of Nigeria Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI), said: The theme for this years world population day is apt.

Nigeria contributes about 10 per cent of global maternal mortality case load and it is second only to India.

Indias population is about 1.2 billion people, while Nigeria is over 170 million people.

But, Nigeria contributes about 33,000 maternal deaths annually which is equivalent to about 90 women dying daily as a result of pregnancy complications in Nigeria.

This also translates to about four women dying per hour.

According to him, trends on maternal mortality show Nigeria as having less than two percent of Indias population or global population, yet contribute to about 10 percent of global maternal mortality.

In terms of ratio, one in 13 Nigerian women is at an elevated and high risk of maternal deaths, compared to one in 26 for sub-Saharan Africa.

This is a reflection of our society and how we prioritise the lives of women in our society; the major causes and issues are related to our birthing practices.

Our birthing practice is such that we have a desire for large family sizes and also have issues related to medical skills and logistics.

We also have issues related and similar to non-use of contraceptives, he said.

Contraceptive utilisation in Nigeria is about 15 per cent but for modern contraceptive, it is about 10 percent.

That means that only one woman out of every 10 is likely to be using contraceptives in Nigeria.

But the concept of family planning allows families to space births, control population and see to the improved health of the mother, child, father, family and the nation at large, Kabir said.

Also, Dr Adeola Duduyemi, Programme Officer, Service Delivery, NURHI 2, said there were many advantages to family planning, especially in relation to population control.

Family planning has an impact on planet earth as it mitigates population growths effect on access to water and sanitation.

With family planning, integrated population, health and environment projects can expand, thereby giving opportunities to expand access to clean and renewable energy.

Family planning contributes to building safe, resilient infrastructure and sustainable cities.

According to Duduyemi, family planning also helps to reduce population effects on food and chemical waste.

When the planet is over populated, a lot of waste and toxic activities will be generated; it affects the ecosystem, life on land, in the air and water.

When the population is controlled, declining marine resources will be protected and challenges in climate change will be addressed.

Likewise, the effects of deforestation and unhealthy interactions among humans, domestic animals and wildlife would be mitigated, Duduyemi said.

Family Planning has a great impact on the health of the woman, her spouse and the family.

It saves lives, contributes to improved nutrition outcomes, supports women and girls education, and helps to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS, as well as advances gender equality and empowerment.

Family planning helps to check poverty, population growth and the number of dependent citizens at particular points in time.

It contributes to economic growth and gives room for more numbers of working-age Nigerians to support younger and older dependents, he said.

Mrs Cecilia Oluborode, Chief Nursing Officer at Ibafon PHC, said: Though the decision to use an FP method is a voluntary one, the user should, however, be well informed.

This is because there are many methods to use and each has advantages and minimal disadvantages, depending on someones body system.

There are five main types of family planning methods; they are barrier methods, hormonal methods, use of IUDs, natural methods and permanent methods.

Experts advise that a person seeks counselling and testing from a qualified FP provider before using any method; that way, the most suitable one for the persons body will be recommended, Oluborode said.

Source: ( NAN )
Hog Prices Closed Mixed Barchart - Fri Nov 11, 4:21PM CST Lean hog prices were mixed on Friday with 12 to 52 cent losses through the April contract. The deferred contracts closed 10 to 15 cents in the black with May UNCH. The USDA National Average Base Hog Price... HEZ22 : 84.350s (-0.62%) HEJ23 : 94.100s (-0.13%) KMZ22 : 94.900s (-0.63%)

Friday Cotton Closes Triple Digits Higher Barchart - Fri Nov 11, 4:21PM CST Cotton added 116 to 182 points to the upside on Friday after a brief pause for the WASDE numbers. That kept the board under the high on Tuesday, but ended as a weekly gain of 253 points. USDAs FAS... CTZ22 : 88.20s (+2.11%) CTH23 : 86.33s (+2.09%) CTK23 : 85.56s (+1.89%)

Wheats Close in Black on Friday Barchart - Fri Nov 11, 4:21PM CST Wheat futures ended with +1% gains on Friday. KC HRW closed the strongest on Friday with 1.8% to 2% gains, leaving the Dec contract 10 1/4 cents in the red. CBT SRW closed between 1% and 1.3% higher across... ZWZ22 : 813-6s (+1.28%) ZWH23 : 835-2s (+1.15%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.4644 (+1.39%) KEZ22 : 943-4s (+1.97%) KEPAWS.CM : 9.0182 (+2.07%) MWZ22 : 945-6s (+1.53%)

Triple Digit Losses in Friday Cattle Barchart - Fri Nov 11, 4:21PM CST The cattle complex faded on Friday on a recovery in the grain complex. Front month fat cattle futures ended the day $0.72 to $1.77 lower. December contracts were 13 cents weaker for the week. Feeder cattle... LEZ22 : 151.525s (-1.01%) LEG23 : 153.250s (-1.14%) LEJ23 : 157.050s (-0.91%) GFX22 : 176.950s (-0.94%) GFF23 : 178.575s (-1.72%)

Soy Prices Rally on Friday Barchart - Fri Nov 11, 4:21PM CST Front month soy futures ended the day higher on a bounce back from Thursday. Beans closed with 1.6% to 1.9% gains of as much as 27 cents. That left the Jan contract at a net 12 1/4 cent loss for the week.... ZSX22 : 1455-4s (+1.75%) ZSPAUS.CM : 14.2086 (+1.90%) ZSF23 : 1450-0s (+1.90%) ZSH23 : 1453-6s (+1.80%)

Corn Markets Close in Black Barchart - Fri Nov 11, 4:21PM CST Corn futures bounced back into the weekend with gains of 2 to 4 3/4 cents. USDA announced a private export sale of 209,931 MT of corn to Mexico this morning. The Ukraines Ag Ministry had 7.8 MMT of... ZCZ22 : 658-0s (+0.73%) ZCPAUS.CM : 6.5662 (+0.81%) ZCH23 : 663-0s (+0.53%) ZCK23 : 662-6s (+0.49%)

What are we buying? Blue Line Futures - Fri Nov 11, 4:05PM CST The inflation impact on markets.
Real estate developer Dev Motwani, president of Merrimac Ventures, plans to build a three-story self-storage facility in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The building at 2201 W. Broward Blvd. will comprise 130,700 square feet of storage space and 8,000 square feet of retail frontage. Motwani is seeking $15 million to $20 million in construction financing for the project, according to the source.

With the Fort Lauderdale residential trend shifting toward smaller units, we thought it would be a good addition, Motwani said.

The property is part of a 17.7-acre industrial development site Motwani purchased in 2014 for $5.9 million, which was previously rezoned to allow commercial use. He recently sold 11.7 acres of the land to Bridge Development Partners, a Chicago-based industrial real estate developer, for $10.4 million. That company plans to build Bridge Point Riverbend, a 221,542-square-foot distribution facility, with a groundbreaking scheduled for next month, the source reported.

Motwani was represented in the transaction by land-use attorney Robert Lochrie III, a partner with Lochrie & Chakas P.A., and land-transaction attorney Andrew Gross of Hunting & Gross P.A.

Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Merrimac Ventures is a real estate investment and development firm. Its primary focus is on resort and mixed-use development, but the company also has investments in multi-family residential, retail and office complexes.
Update 10/4/18  A little more than a year after acquiring the former Kmart building in Muncie, Ind., U-Haul has opened a new 2,500-square-foot showroom. Once the conversion to self-storage is complete, U-Haul Moving & Storage of Morningside will also contain a covered loading area and 706 interior units, some of which will be climate-controlled.

The new facility will also remotely manage the 80-unit U-Haul Storage of Creston, which is about a half-mile away at 2211 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, according to a press release.

We're expanding operations to be able to provide a better self-storage product and serve our customers at the level they've come to expect, Jones said.

8/15/17  U-Haul is also converting a former Kmart in Baltimore. U-Haul Moving & Storage of Eastpoint at 222 N. Point Blvd. has opened a temporary showroom offering truck and trailer rentals, moving supplies, and portable-storage containers. Hitch installation and propane sales will be available soon. The 11.25-acre property is near Dundalk, an unincorporated community of Baltimore County, Md.

Renovations for the 95,810-square-foot building are underway to add 60,000 square feet of indoor self-storage and 15,000 square feet of outdoor vehicle-storage parking. The storage units are expected to be available early next year, according to a source.

"I'm excited to bring top-of-the-line moving and self-storage services to this part of Baltimore," said Mike Finkelstein, president of the U-Haul Co. of Baltimore. "Dundalk was one of the first inner-ring suburbs of Baltimore, and this facility will finally service that community.

The property is part of North Point Mall, which was purchased last year for $3.3 million by Carl Verstandig, CEO of real estate firm America's Realty LLC. Kmart vacated the property in late 2016.

"U-Haul is pleased to reuse older buildings because it benefits the community in so many ways," Finkelstein said. "This building was originally built in 1974. It was renovated in 1997, so it's in really good shape. We're going to make it even better."

8/10/17  U-Haul completed its acquisition of the former Kmart in Muncie on Aug. 2. U-Haul Moving & Storage of Morningside has opened a temporary showroom while it builds out approximately 40,000 square feet of self-storage. The property at 1501 E. McGalliard Road also offers moving and packing supplies, towing equipment, trailer and truck rentals, and U-Box portable storage. The self-storage component will offer indoor climate-controlled and traditional drive-up units, with high-tech security features, according to a press release.

"This deteriorating building had been sitting empty for three years," said Anthony Jones, president of U-Haul Co. of Central Indiana. "People were using it as a dump site, so there were old tires and furniture everywhere. U-Haul is excited to take this neglected property and turn it into an attractive moving and self-storage facility."

The facility will also eventually offer propane tanks and refills and professional-hitch installation on the 9.89-acre lot.

"Mayor [Dennis] Tyler is happy to have us in there, bringing this building up to 2017 standards," Jones said. "It is important to U-Haul that we renovate these large existing buildings rather than start anew. We want to make sure we do things in a sustainable manner."

Once fully operational, U-Haul expects to employ a staff of at least 10 to run the facility.

7/31/17  A U-Haul affiliate acquired a former Kmart store last month in Erie, Pa., which the self-storage operator plans to add to its portfolio of moving and storage centers. The company paid $2.225 million for the former retail outlet, which is one of two anchors in the East Grandview Plaza at 1320 E. Grandview Blvd. U-Haul has set up a temporary showroom offering moving supplies and equipment rentals, while construction on the storage conversion is on pace for completion in about two months, company spokesperson Andrea Batchelor told the source.

The Kmart closed in March. Get Air, an indoor trampoline park, is developing the other empty anchor space and will lease from Brooklyn, N.Y.-based J & D Acquisition LLC, which owns all the retail spaces within the plaza except for the U-Haul site, according to the source. The shopping center was built in the 1970s.

7/11/17  Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc., which operates more than 1,300 self-storage locations across North America, is converting a JCPenney and two Kmart stores. The facilities are in Indiana, Washington and Wisconsin.

In Spokane Valley, Wash., the former JCPenney store at 10412 E. Sprague Ave. was turned into U-Haul Moving & Storage of U-City, which opened in June to offer moving and packing supplies, trailer and truck rentals, and U-Box portable-storage containers. Renovations are underway to add 835 climate-controlled units to the 108,766-square-foot building. Until theyre available next year, U-Haul plans to use its U-Box containers as temporary rentals. Professional hitch installation and propane sales will also be offered soon, according to a press release.

"This acquisition is all about customer convenience," said Manny Mendez, president of the U-Haul Co. of Inland Northwest. "Spokane Valley is a growing community. There aren't very many state-of-the-art self-storage facilities here. Our other [self-storage] facilities in the area are nearing [full] capacity, so we are happy to serve more customers."

A former Kmart store in Superior, Wis., is also being converted, while negotiations are underway to purchase a second Kmart big box in Muncie, Ind. U-Haul Moving & Storage of Superior recently opened a temporary showroom on the 6.22-acre property at 3015 Tower Ave. It currently offers truck and trailer rentals, moving and packing supplies, and U-Box portable-storage containers. Once the renovations are complete this fall, the 88,914-square-foot building will contain 737 climate-controlled units. Professional hitch installation will also be available.

"This building was sitting vacant, and we were able to step in to bring it back to life," said Bill Piette, president of the U-Haul Co. of Northern Minnesota. "By reusing the building, we save materials and can offer a fresh look to a deteriorating property from the 1980s. Our U-Haul adaptive reuse program enhances the entire community."

The Muncie site includes an 86,000-square-foot building. Although the property is listed for $1.1 million, the purchase price wont be disclosed until the sale is final, according to Ed Conatser, the brokers whos overseeing the transaction.

Finding a new occupant for the property, which closed in 2014, has been challenging due to its inclusion on federal flood-plain maps, a source reported. It's not clear if the designation has been changed or if its been figured into U-Haul's plans.

Established in 1945, U-Haul owns more than 44 million square feet of storage space. The companys corporate sustainability initiatives, which support infill development to help local communities lower their carbon footprint, has led to dozens of conversion projects in recent years.

Sources:

PR Newswire, U-Haul Moving & Storage of Morningside Opens New Showroom

PR Newswire, U-Haul of U-City Reveals Plans for Vacant Building in Spokane Valley

PR Newswire, Moving Makeover: U-Haul of Superior Fills Vacant Building

GoErie.com, U-Haul Opening at Erie's East Grandview Plaza

PR Newswire, U-Haul Reusing Former Kmart for New Store in Muncie

PR Newswire, U-Haul Reveals Plans to Expand Self-Storage Footprint in Baltimore

The Baltimore Sun, Dundalk Kmart to Close

The Star Press, Muncie's Former Kmart Might Have New Use
Investigations into suspicious claims conducted by Zurich Insurance and the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) conclude theres an organised and sophisticated Eastern European fraud ring deliberately targeting them through staged accidents.In a sworn statement by DAC Beachcrofts David Culleton in the Circuit Civil Court, on behalf of Zurich and the Bureau, he stated the fraud ring has generated an exposure to a potential 25 personal injuries claims.A report by Irish Examiner said these claims could potentially amount to 2 million in compensation, legal costs, and expenses  higher if they reach the High Court.According to Culleton, the supposed accidents usually involved drivers who had just previously taken out insurance on old vehicles using false identities or information. He said the drivers and their cars would then become untraceable after a report is filed with the insurance provider.MIBIs principal role is to compensate victims of road traffic accidents caused by uninsured and unidentified vehicles. Insurance companies underwriting motor insurance in Ireland are MIBI members and contribute to funding for claims in proportion to their market share.
In association with industry-leading publication Insurance Business, the Cannabis Cover Canada Masterclass is coming to Toronto on October 10.Featuring a line-up of highly-respected industry experts, Cannabis Cover Canada will examine the repercussions that the legalization of recreational-use cannabis will have on the insurance business.Among the themes this timely masterclass will cover are:- Insight from key stakeholders and industry innovators- A best-practice framework for underwriting complex industry-specific risks- Establishing the needs of the cannabis business and how to protect against specialized risks- Expert perspectives on regulation, cannabis-specific risk, business growth and how these forces shape the insurance marketSpeakers will include Ivan Ross Vrana of HKS Strategies, Mike Aberle of Next Wave Insurance, Karen Landrum of Merlinos and Associates, and others.The full agenda is available here Registration for the event has already begun. Attendees are advised to book as soon as possible to take advantage of special Early Bird offers.
Its an $80 billion market and its not nearly getting the insurance service you might expect. With targeted products few and far between, the small and midsized business (SMB) market has long been left behind.Incumbents admit they havent done enough and the sales process doesnt benefit brokers. So startups are entering the space.In a recent panel discussion at the CB Insights Future of Fintech conference, Tom Hutton, managing partner at XL Innovate described the issue like this: Insurance companies have kind of taken their eye off the ball of that consumer experience for small businesses. The industry today doesnt even serve that customer profitably  brokers dont make money by providing three-person companies insurance policies. Its not worth driving out to see them. But they [SMBs] still need it.Beth Maerz, vice president of strategy and execution at Travelers , added that insurtech companies had a huge opportunity to fill a profitable void.New companies are coming in and taking market share from us, she said. Anywhere where weve left a breakpoint in the customer experience, or where weve left the customer unhappy in that experience, there are opportunities for new companies to come in and redefine that relationship, and were seeing that with companies like Lemonade, etc.I think what they [startups] are doing really well  theyre starting with the customer experience in mind first, and then theyre [building a product] to take advantage of areas of opportunity that the incumbents have left on the table. Theres an opportunity in the small business market to reach people in a way that brokers today perhaps cant, profitably, she said.So what is happening in the SMB insurance sphere to change things and try to wrangle that market share?James Hobson, COO of startup insurer Attune, a technology-enabled platform that serves the particular needs of the $80-billion SME commercial insurance market in the United States, said his company is trying to provide something for SMBs that doesnt currently exist. The company is looking to write insurance differently, to better serve the market.Small businesses tend to not get products that are designed around the small business need. They tend to, if were being honest, get either watered down commercial products or they tend to get trumped up consumer products, he said.I think what Im excited about for insurance  is that if you can build a purposeful product for them and you can really understand their needs, you can serve them exceptionally well and theyll love you for it. But its a really hard problem. Theres a high degree of difficulty and so that means if you can do it, theres real value.Attune has three strategic investors  in AIG , Hamilton Insurance, and Two Sigma  but Hobson believes Attune will work with more carriers in the future, as it adds products.We have carriers on the back end, in AIG and Hamilton, who fundamentally believe that insurance can be underwritten more efficiently and better, using data and analytics, he said.And theres no saying how far this market could go. Next Insurance, a year-old startup, has hopes of one day selling hyper-specialized insurance. Next COO Sofya Pogreb said, eventually, the company would want to be selling ultra-targeted products online to not just, for example, a restaurant, or even to an Indian restaurant, but to  specifically  an Indian restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Small business insurance is an industry thats humungous in size, she said. [But it] has not seen a lot of innovation, from a usage of analytics and technology to improve the customer experience point of view.
A U.S. District Court has approved the $32.5 million settlement of a racial discrimination case against MetLife filed by a class of African-American former MetLife financial services representatives.Judge William Pauley III of the Southern District of New York approved the settlement last week, after finding that the agreement is fair, reasonable, adequate, and well within the range of final approval.The former employees filed the case against the insurer in 2015. They accused the firm of maintaining a racially biased corporate culture and stereotypical views about the skills, abilities, and potential of African Americans that affect personnel, a court docket said.Marcus Creighton, the chief plaintiff, said MetLife denied him advancement opportunities, even though he was a successful, experienced FSR and well-qualified to join management, the document added.According to the docket, MetLifes discriminatory management assessments, training, and selection practices systematically and disproportionately excluded African Americans from branch management and most management-feeder positions. It added that non-African Americans in similar situations  including those who never expressed interest in management  were selected for management opportunities, management training, management feeder positions, and were assigned to manage the firms offices.The terms order that $7.15 million of the settlement will be paid to class counsel Stowell & Friedman, while the remaining $25.35 million will go to the class members.MetLife denied and continues to deny all of the allegations and claims asserted, according to the settlement agreement.At MetLife, we are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace and do not condone discrimination, Kim Friedman, a company spokesperson, said in a July 06 email to Bloomberg BNA. We are pleased that our effort to work together with some of our former Financial Services Representatives to find a resolution was successful.About 690 former employees are expected to receive funds from the settlement, and they will be able to choose between two different payment methods, Bloomberg Law reported. On one hand, they can opt to be paid based on their years in the industry, and their time spent with MetLife or its subsidiary, New England Life Insurance. Alternatively, they can opt for a longer process that considers the supposed discrimination an ex-employee faced personally and how it may have harmed his or her career or reputation.
During its recently held annual meeting at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va., the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia (IIAV) named Douglas B. Megill of McLean Insurance Agency chairman of the board of directors.

Megil is a third generation insurance agent in the Northern Virginia Area.

Hunter Odom of Suffolk Insurance Corporation was named chair-elect. Odom formerly held the position of first vice chair, now held by Dennis Winfree of Horizon Insurance Services.

Bruce Laderberg of Laderberg Bruce Insurance Agency was named the new District 2 director.

For the past year, the IIAV board of directors has made improvements, and those improvements are expected to continue with this new wave of leadership, according to a press release issued by the IIAV.

Doug has big plans for the association, including bring back committees and tasks forces initiatives, said Robert N. Bradshaw Jr., president and CEO of IIAV. We are anticipating a great year for the Association.

Source: Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia

Topics Agencies Virginia
New Yorks U.S. senators are urging officials in Washington to quickly approve a disaster declaration for areas along Lake Ontario affected by recent floods.

Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats, said that they have written to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure local communities get the resources they need to rebuild and repair.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that he is requesting an expedited disaster declaration from FEMA. The state has also authorized $55 million in assistance.

Many upstate officials and lakefront property owners blame the flooding on the International Joint Commission, the U.S.-Canadian panel that controls the outflow of water from Lake Ontario. The commission says heavy rain was to blame.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics USA Flood New York
A.M. Best has revised its outlook to negative from stable for Country-Wide Insurance Company, a family-owned auto insurance company based in New York, N.Y.

A.M. Best also affirmed Country-Wides Financial Strength Rating of C+ (marginal) and its Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of b-, ratings the company has held for the past five years, according to A.M. Bests credit report on the company.

The revised outlooks are due to Country-Wides continued decline in risk-adjusted capitalization as a result of its reserve strengthening efforts, according to a release issued by A.M. Best regarding the change. Although Country-Wide has increased all accident year reserves in an effort to curb continuing negative reserve development trends, this has driven its recent drop in surplus, the release added.

Country-Wide is a property and casualty insurance company licensed in New York. The companys major lines of business are low limits, automobile liability and automobile physical damage for private passenger and commercial vehicles in New York City, primarily in Brooklyn and Queens. The companys business is generated through brokers within the five boroughs of New York City and Long Island.

In 2000, Country-Wide also began operating its wholly owned, full-service general agency, National City Service Agency (NCSA). The agency has a reputation for a growing and active network of sub-brokers throughout various neighborhoods and counties in New York City and its suburbs.

All of Country-Wides agents, representatives, underwriters and adjusters live in the tri-state area in and around New York City, according to the companys website. Because of this, Country-Wides profile remains limited since it is a single-state writer with a concentration in the five major boroughs of New York City, A.M. Bests credit report stated. Since the companys underwriting risks are concentrated geographically and by line of business, it is more susceptible to regulatory risk and competitive market pressures, the report added.

Country-Wides risk-adjusted capitalization, measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), has shown deterioration over the last couple of years, driven mainly by its adverse reserve development, the credit report said. Because of the companys high reserve leverage, its balance sheet is sensitive to strengthening efforts focused on improving loss reserve adequacy. Despite this, the company has continued its efforts to strengthen reserves through significant increases in the last three years combined with reorganizing reserving practices, the report said.

Additionally, automobile fraud on no-fault claims has continued to challenge the companys reserve development trends despite managements investigations and pursuit of no-fault claims settlements, as well as a prior mandate by New York regulators that unsettled claims are reserved for. This practice has changed as of April 2013, and after a grace period, denied claims can be closed without any reserve consequences, the report stated.

Another concern the report outlined is that the company has a focus on non-standard automobile lines, which the report explained are traditionally volatile and plagued with fraud. However, A.M. Best did find the company is invested in technology, which can streamline underwriting and claims processes and limit fraud.

Indeed, Country-Wide uses data-mining efforts and updated technological advancements to help with its anti-fraud metrics and holds a conservative investment portfolio, according to A.M. Bests credit report. The company has protocols in place to identify suspected abusive or fraudulent PIP claims and uses Independent Medical Examinations (IME) and Examinations under Oath (EUO) of both healthcare providers and injured parties when warranted. It also employs in-house legal counsel trained to deal with fraud issues.

In addition, Country-Wides other income, when combined with its net investment income, has been able to offset some of its underwriting losses and allow it to maintain competitive rates in some years, the release added. This is because of the companys ability to charge fee income, its implementation of a series of filed rate increases, and its diversification of covered risks within the automobile insurance sphere, according to the release.

In the future, A.M. Best plans to continue closely monitoring the companys loss reserves due to its high reserve leverage and the change in regulators handling of certain claims, the credit report said.

Positive rating action will depend on improved risk-adjusted capitalization and loss reserve adequacy, the release stated, adding that negative rating action is also possible if risk-adjusted capitalization further declines.

A.M. Best does not comment beyond the information outlined in its press releases due to a continuing interactive rating relationship. A representative from Country-Wide Insurance Company declined to comment.

Topics Trends Claims Fraud New York AM Best
More than 300 wildfires in British Columbia have forced Canadian lumber mills and an Enbridge Inc. natural gas compressor station to shut as hot, dry weather fans blazes across swaths of western Canada and the U.S.

Enbridge said Tuesday [July 11] that it has closed a compressor station on its T-South pipeline, which carries natural gas from northern B.C. to the U.S. border. Maintenance work in the affected area also has been halted, while emergency response plans are under way to protect facilities and workers, Enbridge spokesman Jesse Semko said in an email.

Wildfires have swept across the West, forcing thousands of evacuations across B.C., California and Colorado and prompting military personnel to mobilize on both sides of the border to help battle the flames.

Kinder Morgan Inc. said Tuesday it was closely monitoring the fires and was taking preventative actions near its Trans Mountain crude pipeline in B.C., including removing vegetation to create a fire break and adding sprinklers to keep the areas wet. On Monday, the company had said the blazes were in the vicinity of the pipeline.

Trans Mountain carries 300,000 barrels a day of crude oil and refined fuels from neighboring Alberta to the Vancouver area for export to the U.S.

Norbord Inc., the largest North American producer of oriented strand board used in residential construction, suspended production at its mill in 100 Mile House in central B.C. but stressed that, for now, the mill is safe.

Evacuation Zone

We were in a zone that got evacuated Sunday night so we shut the mill down and that continues to be the situation, Norbord Chief Financial Officer Robin Lampard said by phone Tuesday morning. The Toronto-based company has 440 million square feet of annual production capacity. It hasnt disclosed the cost per day of the shutdown, Lampard said.

West Fraser Timber Co., backed by billionaire Jim Pattison, said as of Tuesday operations at three locations in B.C.  100 Mile House, Williams Lake and Chasm  remain suspended.

West Fraser said its uncertain how long the operations will be closed and is unable to assess the impact on lumber and plywood production. The facilities represent annual production capacity of 800 million board feet of lumber and 270 million square feet of plywood.

Tolko Industries Ltd. said on its Facebook page its Williams Lake mills wont be operating until further notice.

330 Fires

West Fraser and Tolkos mills are in the heart of some key fire regions and more curtailments are possible, said Kevin Mason, managing director of ERA Forest Products Research. Harvesting is being restricted in parts of B.C.s southern interior and some mills may eventually run out of logs later this summer, he said.

Interfor Corp. said its operations werent directly affected by the wildfires as of Tuesday, but it has moved crews out of a woodland area to be on the safe side, according to spokeswoman Tania Venn. Canfor Corp.s operations werent directly affected by the wildfires, spokeswoman Corinne Stavness said in an email.

B.C. declared its first state of emergency in 14 years over the weekend. As of midnight Monday, 330 fires larger than 0.01 hectares were burning in the province, according to the BC Wildfire Service. More than 14,000 people have been evacuated in the Pacific Coast province, according to broadcaster CBC.

Central Region

Some of the worst fires have been raging in the provinces central region, an area thats home to mining, forestry and ranching.

Last year, wildfires five times the size of New York City swept through Albertas Fort McMurray, the gateway to the worlds third-largest oil reserves, forcing about 80,000 people out of their homes. Those blazes curtailed more than a million barrels of daily crude output as companies including Suncor Energy Inc., ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell Plc cut production.

The region is also home to mining. While no major mines had been shut down as of Tuesday, evacuation orders and road closures are affecting some operations.

Vancouver-based Imperial Metals Corp. said operations have been significantly reduced at its open-pit Mount Polley copper and gold mine near Williams Lake because of limited road access, according to a statement Monday. Employees able to report to work had been reassigned to maintain mill operations at the expense of mining.

Road Closures

Should critical supplies such as fuel not be available due to road closures, the mine may be forced to suspend operations, it said.

We have a few days of fuel, Steve Robertson, a spokesman, said by phone. For now, the supply route for fuel coming from Prince George and Edmonton remains open, he added. However, supply routes to the south are closed, which could affect deliveries of supplies.

Vancouver-based Taseko Mines Ltd.  operator of Canadas second-biggest open-pit copper mine in B.C.s Cariboo region where seven major fires are currently burning  said Monday that some of its workers have been personally affected by the fires but that the Gibraltar mine continues to operate normally.

Teck Resources Ltd.s Highland Valley copper mine lies just south of a major fire reported by BC Wildfire Service at Ashcroft Reserve. The company is still monitoring the situation but doesnt anticipate any impact on its mining operations, spokesman Chad Pederson said in an email Tuesday.

Copper Mountain Mining Corp., which has a mine 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Princeton, B.C., briefly lost power due to a line being downed but is operating normally, Dan Gibbons, a spokesman, said by phone. Weve had employees who have lost their homes, he said by phone Tuesday. The Princeton fire is moving east, which means for now Copper Mountain operations are not in its path, he said.

Local fire officials in Arizona, Colorado, California and Nevada said Monday that they didnt know of any mines affected by the fires. Company spokesmen for Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp. said Tuesday that mining operations in Nevada were unaffected.

With assistance from Kevin Orland, Natalie Obiko Pearson and Robert Tuttle

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire Canada
MJ Insurance has added Matt Stephanak to the benefits consulting team as a health risk analyst in its Indianapolis office.

Stephanak will utilize his technical aptitude to measure, analyze and make tactical and strategic recommendations on business issues. In addition, Stephanak will develop and leverage actionable analysis to support key company initiatives for benefits consulting clientele.

Prior to MJ Insurance, Stephanak served as a claims associate at CoLiance Risk Advisors/Assured Partners of Indiana. There, he assisted the agencys claim advocacy manager, monitored claims and managed and distributed monthly claim reports.

MJ Insurance is a property-casualty and employee benefits agency that, since 1964, has grown from a two-person start-up to an agency with more than 140 employees in both Phoenix and Indianapolis.

MJ Insurance specializes in a diverse selection of unique service lines including construction, energy, transportation, real estate, manufacturing, farm to fork, sororities and mining.

MJ also offers complete employee benefits programs including major medical, group disability, group life and onsite employer clinics. MJ Insurance currently has clients in 16 countries and every U.S. state.

Source: MJ Insurance
More than half a dozen Republican and Democratic senators have discussed alternatives to the embattled GOP health-care bill, even as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he plans a vote next week to muscle the Obamacare repeal measure through the Senate.

Talks about a bipartisan fallback are based on the idea that Obamacare insurance markets have problems and would need to be fixed if the health care bill dies. For Democrats, it would avert a repeal of a signature achievement that they admit needs improvement. For some GOP moderates, it would be a concrete act that would help their constituents amid a maelstrom of partisan bickering.

The main ideas involve creating a reinsurance fund and authorizing cost-sharing payments for insurers so they dont have to raise prices for covering a sicker pool of customers.

We dont agree with Obamacare, but recognize the fact that these markets are collapsing; insurance companies need it to provide the certainty of how theyre going to price the 2018 premiums, said Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican.

Congress should bite the bullet and stabilize those markets, Johnson said. There is substantial Republican support for that idea  the original McConnell health-care bill included $50 billion in insurer funds to stabilize markets and reduce premiums.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said Tuesday hell release an outline of an alternative health-care plan this week. He said hes seeking support from governors and senators of both parties.

Seeking Stabilization

Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, said shes spoken with Graham many times, and also has been talking with about a half-dozen Democrats who want a compromise with Republicans.

Anyone who has looked at the state of the individual and small-group markets across this country knows that doing nothing is not an option, Collins said.

One Democrat who said he has spoken with Collins about a bipartisan way forward is Bill Nelson of Florida. He, too, endorsed the idea of a stability fund to bolster the Obamacare marketplaces, and key Republicans said they expect to see it in a Plan B.

I think there will be a lot of stabilization, Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican. There will be a lot more spending, thats for sure. And the American people are going to be ripped off a lot more than they should be. But thats what happens what you have to go that route of bipartisanship.

If we dont pass it next week, weve got to do something, because people are going to get hurt, said Senator David Perdue, a Georgia Republican.

Senator Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat and former governor, also said hes speaking with senators in both parties and governors of a number of states about a possible bipartisan plan. He said he has approached about one-fourth of the GOP governors and one-third of the Republican senators, including Collins, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

Ultimately we need to do a fair amount more than shoring up the exchanges, Carper said.

Carper wants to hold down premium costs on the insurance exchanges. To get his support, he said, a bill would need to stabilize the exchanges to ensure theyre not just full of sick, unhealthy people but cover healthy people as well. A plan also needs to keep in place the requirement that individuals have insurance or something else that is at least as effective to get people to buy coverage, he said.

He said he wants more generous subsidies for poorer people buying insurance in the exchanges. States should be allowed to experiment with ideas that might even include a single-payer approach, Carper said.

Vote Next Week

Graham insisted he hasnt shut the door to McConnells GOP-only measure, but also made clear hes not happy with it.

I want to do the best I can, and I think the best we can is not on the table right now, he said.

McConnell said Tuesday the Senate will move toward a health-care vote next week, although he doesnt plan to release a final bill until Thursday or appear to have the votes needed to pass it. He contemplated what failure would mean last week at home in Kentucky.

If my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement, then some kind of action with regard to the private health insurance market must occur, McConnell said on July 6, the Associated Press reported. No action is not an alternative, he said. Weve got the insurance markets imploding all over the country.

This week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York had a response: Lets do it.

In a letter Monday cosigned by his leadership team, the New York Democrat told McConnell he appreciated his remarks and called on him to focus on immediately advancing policies to provide stability and certainty to the health insurance markets.

In addition to more cost-sharing funds and reinsurance, the Democrats proposed allowing Americans with no options on their local exchange to buy insurance from the District of Columbia marketplace, and phasing out the subsidy cliff so people earning just above 400 percent of the federal poverty level dont lose the entire subsidy.

Out-of-State Purchase

Some Republican senators began pushing fall-back options earlier this year when the House Republican health-care bill appeared to be dead.

Alexander, the health committee chairman, and fellow Tennessee Senator Bob Corker have proposed keeping Obamacare but allowing Americans without insurance options in the individual market to use their subsidy to buy a state-approved policy outside their exchange.

If things continue to unravel and theres no solution in sight, I would hope that it would be taken up, and I think theres a likelihood that it would pass, Corker said in April. It would solve a lot of problems for people across the country.

Another problem governors are confronting is that federal matching funds for states that accepted Obamacares Medicaid expansion are set to automatically wind down from 95 percent in 2017 to 90 percent in 2020. Thats a problem for states that have expanded Medicaid, and Cassidy said it may force a deal on a fix.

Louisiana is on the hook for $300 million every year. Ten percent of a big number is a big number, Cassidy said. States cant afford all this money.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
A new study has found that state reforms to control the costs of prescription drugs by targeting reimbursements for physicians dispensing them are having some effect but that physician-dispensing still accounts for a large share of prescription drug costs in a number of states.

The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) study of data from 2011 to 2014 found physicians dispensed fewer prescriptions after states enacted price-focused physician dispensing reforms. However, as of 2014, physician dispensing was still common and represented a large share of prescription costs in several states including California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

The study, A Multistate Perspective on Physician Dispensing, 20112014, compares the experience in post-reform states with states where there were no reforms or where only pre-reform experience was observed.

With any reform, stakeholders want to know if the desired outcome was achieved, said John Ruser, WCRIs president and CEO. This study answers the most important questions policymakers and other system stakeholders have with regard to these state reforms, including did they work as intended or have they led to unintended consequences?

According to the study, the reforms reduced prices for existing drug products, which was evident in all post-reform states. However, physician prices increased for several drugs commonly used to treat injured workers in several post-reform states including California, Florida, and Illinois. The increase in physician prices in these states was a result of frequent physician dispensing of higher-priced new drug products. When dispensing these new drug products, some physician-dispensers were able to bypass the reimbursement rules, which target physician-dispensed repackaged drugs, and were paid much higher prices than they were paid for existing strengths of the same drug. The results raise questions about the effectiveness and sustainability of the price-focused reforms in these states.

By contrast, physician prices changed little or increased in most non-reform or pre-reform states studied, except for Iowa and Maryland. The cost share of physician-dispensed prescriptions remained the same or increased in many of these non-reform or pre-reform states.

The study also reports noticeable changes in the dispensing pattern of specific drugs that were commonly dispensed by physicians in several states including Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The shift observed in the prescription distribution of physician-dispensed prescriptions for common drugs suggests that the recent reforms that limit physicians ability to dispense certain drugs had a direct impact on patterns of physician dispensing.

The data used for this report came from payors that represented 3668 percent of all medical claims across 26 states. The states included in this study are Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. The detailed prescription data cover service years from 2011 through 2014, for all medical claims with 24 months of experience.

WCRI is an independent, not-for-profit research organization based in Cambridge, Mass. WCRIs membership includes employers, insurers, governmental entities, managed care companies, health care providers, insurance regulators, state labor organizations and state administrative agencies in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Related:

Topics California Florida Illinois Maryland Drugs
Trusted Choice, the consumer branding program for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (Big I), has promoted Kevin Brandt as its next executive director.

Brandt is succeeding Dave Evans, who has served in this role since 2006 and been with the association since 1998. He has also served as publisher for the associations magazine.

The Big I and Trusted Choice are grateful to Dave Evans for his 19 years of excellent service, said Bob Rusbuldt, Trusted Choice president. Dave was instrumental in the birth and development of Trusted Choice and has been a wonderful colleague in his numerous roles at the association. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Rusbuldt said Brandt is prepared to fill huge shoes and to take the wheel for Trusted Choice.

Brandt joined the Big I team in 2003 as a software developer and has risen through the ranks. Since 2007, he has run the Trusted Choice day-to-day business as director of operations. He previously worked for a think tank, World Webmasters, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Brandt will work with the TrustedChoice carriers to ensure Big I members are evolving along with consumers and the marketplace, said Rusbuldt of the program that drives business to agents and carriers.

Trusted Choice was launched by the Big I and several independent agency companies to create a consumer brand for independent insurance agents and provide national advertising and other strategic tools to reach consumers. More than 26,000 insurance agencies and 70 carriers are members.

Katie Butler, vice president of communications, will succeed Evans as publisher of the association magazine.

Related:

Topics Agencies
FBI officials said the states attacks are a small percentage of the nearly 300,000 cyberattacks tracked nationwide in 2016. But agency officials said Arkansas is seeing more complex attacks, including cyberattacks from overseas.

Doing something like that is not easy, FBI Special Agent Sebastian Montes said. It takes an individual with a level equivalent to computer scientists. These folks, theyre very savvy and they have the luxury of time.

Those complex attacks show a global trend in evolving techniques of infiltrating government, business and personal computer systems, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

The most common internet crimes reported in 2016 were nonpayment or non-delivery scams, when a product or service isnt compensated or never received.

The FBI noted that ransomware, software that blocks access to a computer system until money is paid, is also on the rise in the U.S. In 2016, $2.4 million was paid in ransomware attacks.

The advice that we gave them and we give everybody is we dont advocate paying the ransom, Montes said. Thatll only encourage them to do it more. However, the reality of the situation is if they dont have backups, theyre out of options.

The FBI said complaints of cyberattacks are difficult to verify, but most of the time theyre not reported. They estimate that only 15 percent of cyberattacks are reported to federal authorities.

According to the FBI, more than $1.3 billion was lost in 2016 through cyberattacks in the U.S., which is the highest total since 2000.
Amys Country Candles L.L.C., a Harvey, La.-based manufacturer and purveyor of scented candles, violated federal law by firing an employee for complaining about sexual harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has charged in a lawsuit.

The EEOCs suit alleges that the Amys store in the Tanger Outlet Mall in Gonzales, La., fired an employee, an assistant manager, because she complained about sexual harassment by the son of the store owner.

The employee complained directly to the owner the day of the alleged harassment. Four days later, the employee, who had no job-related problems, was fired because, according to the owner, the employee continued with the matter.

Retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment or discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 2:17-cv-06565) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

The EEOC seeks, among other things, monetary relief for the former employee; the adoption of policies and procedures to remedy and prevent all forms of discrimination and retaliation; and training on anti-harassment and discrimination laws for all employees and managers at Amys Country Candles.

Source: EEOC

Topics Lawsuits Louisiana
A Florida strip club accused of hiring only women bartenders and refusing to hire a man is facing a federal lawsuit.

A lawsuit filed June 28 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says Sammys Gentlemens Club in Fort Walton Beach violated federal law by refusing to hire a male applicant because of his gender and by failing to maintain federally required employment records.

The EEOC says James Sharp attempted to apply for a bartender position in October 2015, but the manager told him the club didnt hire male bartenders. The agency says Sharp had bartending and management experience, but he was not allowed to apply for the position.

A telephone message left at Sammys wasnt immediately returned.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Florida
A federal judge has declined to grant preliminary approval to a $151 million settlement stemming from a 2014 chemical spill that sparked a water crisis in West Virginia.

Local news outlets report Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. said in an order July 6 that he wants changes to the deal with West Virginia American Water Co. and Eastman Chemical.

The proposal would have distributed the money among residents, businesses and others whose drinking water was contaminated when thousands of gallons of a coal-cleaning agent leaked from the now-defunct Freedom Industries storage tank into the Elk River in January 2014.

The spill left about 300,000 people without water for up to nine days.

Copenhaver raised concerns about how the terms awarded money, legal fees and timeliness of payments to spill victims.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Virginia
Wildfires driving people from their homes in California and throughout the West have had help from an unlikely source: the rain. Major winter downpours that pulled the state out of years of drought also brought a layer of grass that early-summer fires are greedily feeding on.

What the heavy rains have done is created a grass crop that we havent seen in forever, said Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni, whose department was battling two large wildfires Monday. That creates faster moving fires, hotter fires, it carries fire much more readily.

Older, dried out trees and vegetation are especially dangerous for wildland blazes, but enough new and drying grass can provide links between such tinderboxes.

Bennet Milloy of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says that diseased and damaged trees and dead vegetation from during the drought can be ignited by the lighter fuels that come from the wet winter, making for better-fed fires.

Despite a hot and dry weekend, crews were making progress against dozens of fires across California, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.

In Northern California, waves of evacuees were starting to return home from a wildfire in the grassy foothills of the Sierra Nevada, about 60 miles north of Sacramento, but thousands still remained away from their homes.

Chuck Wilsey returned to his ranch home in Oroville on Monday after evacuating over the weekend, relieved to learn it had been spared by the wildfire, just as he had stayed clear of troubles brought on by a damaged spillway at a nearby dam five months ago.

I dont know whats worse  fire, or water  its a toss-up, Wilsey, 53, said after returning to his home Monday afternoon.

The blaze burned nearly 9 square miles of grass, injured four firefighters and destroyed at least 37 structures. Officials couldnt immediately say how many were homes. It was 40 percent contained.

The area burning is southeast of Oroville, near where 200,000 residents downstream from the 770-foot-high Oroville Dam were briefly evacuated in February when the structures spillways began crumbling. Wilseys home was far enough away that he didnt have to evacuate from the floods.

His daughter, Krystle Chambers, who lives on the same property, said the one-two punch of floods and fires was taking its toll.

Its hard, its rough, she said. Way too many hits. First its this side of town, then the other side of town. It almost makes you want to move.

Wilsey was already making new plans in case the fire makes another run at them. He said he was leaving his trailer attached to his truck and telling his daughters to keep prized possessions they couldnt take the first time close at hand.

In Santa Barbara County, at least 3,500 people remained out of their homes due to a pair of fires. The larger of the two charred more than 45 square miles of dry brush and has burned 20 structures since it broke out. It was 20 percent contained.

In Colorado, crews were winding down the fight against a wildfire that temporarily forced the evacuation of hundreds of people near the resort town of Breckenridge. Firefighters built containment lines around at least 85 percent of the blaze.

Associated Press writer Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire
The letter, signed by 110 experts, researchers and scientists in the field of water security, warned Rouhani that Iran is facing an unprecedented water crisis and if left along, this could lead to escalating conflictsin the near future.

The letter read: In the near future, competing for limited water resources will expand, and conflicts over shares will spread across the country.

The head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian parliament, Alaa El-ddin Boroujerdi has previously confirmed that the water crisis has become a security issue and the Parliament established the Water Security Committee to track the consequences.

Boroujerdi said: The water resources in the country are very limited; Iran is one of the driest places in the world and we have a water crisis that has practically become a security issue.

In a different interview, Boroujerdi said: The country has very limited water resources, so that we are among the worlds most water-stressed countries Meanwhile, wastewater is pouring into many rivers across the country, thereby ruining the healthy water. 

Rahim Maidani, the water official at the Iranian Energy Ministry, said that 295 cities, including six large cities, are facing drought as the water crisis spreads across the country.

This water crisis has led to protests and demonstrations all over Iran, with protesters worried that the Iranian Regime has been directing water towards the Persian provinces in the centre of Iran, which has led to remote villages being abandoned in favour of the bigger cities.

Earlier this month, Iran Focus wrote a report on the crisis in which they commented: Disruptions to water supply could cause health problems, especially during the current heatwave, mass migration as resident emigrate in order to find reliable water, and widespread protests as people become more and more concerned that their government isnt doing enough.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran said: [The] Regime is in crisis in all areas. The environment, for instance, has turned into a huge crisis due to regimes destructive policies. Excessively digging deep wells and using groundwater resources besides regimes failing to set up water distribution networks have caused citizens to suffer severe water scarcity.

Two years ago, the former agriculture minister Issa Klanter warned of the impending water crisis and said that 50 million Iranians would have to emigrate over the next twenty years in order to survive, creating another wave of refugees.
Farmers will meet with the Minister for Agriculture this morning following a week long sit in at his Department.

The IFA suspended their demonstration last night but are warning they will return to protest if a deal is not reached.

It follows ten months of negotiations over payments for tillage farmers over compensation for last year's poor harvest.

IFA President Joe Healy has said farmers are determined to find a solution.

"We're here on behalf of the grain farmers from Cork, right up along the Western sea board to Galway," he said.

"With the weather crisis, last harvest just preventing farmers from harvesting any of their crop in many cases.

"They're a very important part of our sector and a sector the IFA is going to fight on our backs for.

"It's up to them to answer the call that's been made by IFA on behalf of our members because if they don't, there's always 9 o'clock the following morning and we'll be back here again."
An Oireachtas committee will assess whether homework should be scrapped in schools today.

The Irish Primary Principals' Network has said the traditional form of after-school assignments needs to be reassessed.
It is claimed that 40,000 retired public servants will have died before seeing their pensions restored.

The Government has committed to restoration by 2021 but today the body representing 140,000 of them is calling for that date to be brought forward.
Ryanair has warned that its policy regarding carry-on baggage "may be reviewed" if customers continue to bring large bags on board.

The low-cost airline said some travellers are flying with bags that exceed the maximum dimensions allowed.

This can cause disruption as they struggle to fit them into the aircraft's overhead lockers.

Many passengers refuse to pay for checking in their luggage as fees can reach 60 for each 20kg bag when booked online.

Ryanair said in a statement that its flights are 95% full this summer so passengers "must comply" with baggage rules.

The airline's chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs warned that the airline's hand luggage allowance of one normal cabin bag and one small bag, such as a handbag or laptop, could be reduced unless passengers change their behaviour.

He said: "We've noticed some customers are bringing larger than permitted bags on board, which can cause delays, and our policy may be reviewed should this practice continue.

"As we enter the peak summer period with many full flights, we urge customers to ensure that they travel with less carry-on bags where possible.

"Our aircraft can only carry 90 larger carry-on bags and our gate agents will rigorously enforce our carry-on policy to avoid flight delays and ensure an enjoyable travel experience for all customers.

"Any customers who wish to carry larger baggage are advised to purchase a checked-in bag."

Ryanair today launched a huge winter seat sale, with over 250,000 seats on more than 900 routes on sale from 9.99, for travel in October and November.
"Take your 20,000 debt, your degree, and get out.

That, according to the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), is the message being sent to Irish students by the Seanads failure today to support a motion calling for the rejection of an income-contingent student loan scheme.

USI President Michael Kerrigan went on to express his groups disappointment at the failure of the Labour partys private members motion to achieve the required support.

Not all of our Senators were brave enough to make the ambitious decision and reject an income contingent loan scheme, despite the obvious and unfair burden placed on students and their families. The message is loud and clear to future students: take your 20,000 debt, your degree, and get out.

Mr Kerrigan went on to welcome the fact that senators across party lines declared publicly funded higher education as something to strive for.

"Its time our Government put their money where their mouth is and make the commitment to publicly invest now.

"Senators from Fianna Fail and Fine Gael asked for patience with the Joint Committee on Education and Skills to come to a conclusion and publish their recommendations on how third-level should be funded. Well, we say this - where are these recommendations as our colleges crumble before us?.

Mr Kerrigan said the USI are calling on the Joint Committee on Education and Skills to make a decision on the future funding of third-level education and to reject any move to implement an income-contingent loan scheme but instead to publicly invest in third level education.

Reacting to the vote final year student, Cian Lalor, from IT Carlow revealed how he had been in debt since he was 17.

"I have always been in financial debt because of my loans. I couldnt imagine being able to also afford loans of 20,000 for my degree.
A California Democrat has filed an article of impeachment against US President Donald Trump which US political watchers acknowledge has little chance of success.

Representative Brad Sherman filed the long-shot bid to remove the president from office on Wednesday.

In it, he accuses Mr Trump of obstructing investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, in part by firing former FBI director James Comey.

Mr Sherman acknowledges that filing the article is "the first step on a very long road".

"But if the impulsive incompetency continues, then eventually - many, many months from now - Republicans will join the impeachment effort," Mr Sherman said in a statement.

The effort has little chance of success in the Republican-led House. Mr Sherman does not even have the backing of many fellow Democrats.

I have introduced H.Res. 438 Articles of #Impeachment of Donald J. Trump for Obstruction of Justice. Statement here: https://t.co/0gKr8ZFg3c pic.twitter.com/yUTDAnPFuJ  Congressman Brad Sherman (@BradSherman) July 12, 2017

Democratic leaders have distanced themselves from the efforts to impeach Mr Trump, believing it serves only to energise the presidents supporters. Mr Shermans resolution has one co-sponsor, fellow Democrat Al Green of Texas.

Mr Sherman filed the article a day after the presidents son, Donald Trump Jr, acknowledged that he met with a Russian lawyer during the campaign. The lawyer promised damaging information from the Russian government about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump Jr said he received no information about Mrs Clinton at the meeting.

The president has questioned his own intelligence agencies and whether the Russians actually interfered in the election.

However, federal authorities say they have definitive evidence that the Kremlin meddled in the US presidential election.

- AP
The UN said it is using newly opened land routes to expand food deliveries to areas around the Syrian city of Raqqa, where US-backed forces are battling Islamic State militants in their self-declared capital.

The new access has allowed the World Food Programme (WFP) to deliver food to rural areas north of the city for the first time in three years.

The UN agency said it is now delivering food every month to nearly 200,000 people in eight hard-to-reach locations inside Raqqa province as well as other areas in a neighbouring province.

Prior to the re-opening of the road linking Aleppo in the west to Hasakeh in the east, the WFP relied on airlifts.

"Replacing airlifts with road deliveries will save an estimated $19m per year, as each truck on the road carries the equivalent of a planeload of food at a significantly lower cost," said Jakob Kern, the WFP country representative in Syria.

"With these cost savings and improved access, we are now reaching more families and people returning to their homes who need our help with regular food deliveries."

One area that is now reachable is the town of Tabqa, which was taken from IS by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in May.

WFP said it was able this month to double the number of people it reaches, delivering monthly food rations to 25,000 people, many of whom have returned to their original homes and are now working to rebuild their lives.

The advance towards Raqqa city began last year, with the SDF fighting to clear rural parts around the city.

Backed by air strikes from the international coalition, the Syrian fighters captured the strategic town of Tabqa and a major nearby dam in May.

Also on Wednesday, a human rights group said Syrian-Russian air strikes and artillery attacks on a town in southern Syria last month killed 10 civilians in and near a school.

Human Rights Watch said one of the air strikes hit the courtyard of a middle school in the town of Tafas in the southern province of Daraa, killing eight people, including a child.

It said most of those killed were members of a family who had been displaced from another town, and two other civilians, including a child, were killed an hour earlier by artillery attacks near the school.

Bill Van Esveld, senior children's rights researcher at the US-based Human Rights Watch, said that "as long as no one is held responsible for such repeated unlawful attacks, it's likely they will continue".

AP
Paris judges may rule today whether Alphabets Google illegally dodged French taxes by routing sales in the country out of Ireland. The case hinges on whether Googles European headquarters in Ireland should be taxed as if it also has a permanent base in France.

The backlash has been unrelenting because tax populism and Google-bashing are on the rise among certain politicians, said Maximilien Jazani, a tax lawyer in Paris. The case could have extremely harmful side effects because any change in how tax law is interpreted would apply to all companies and could deter investment in France, he said.
In its annual financial statement for 2016, the company reported that the amount of cargo passing through the port had fallen by 13.6%  with the Port of Cork handling 9.5m tonnes last year compared to 11m tonnes in 2015. Turnover fell slightly to 29.6m from 29.8m in 2015.

Port of Cork chairman John Mullins, said profits had decreased by 1.1m in 2016 from 5.2m the previous year. Mr Mullins attributed the downturn in business to a combination of reduced oil throughput at both Whitegate and Bantry as well as the loss of 200,000 tonnes of cargo following the closure of the lead and zinc mine at Lisheen. He said oil traffic to the refinery at Whitegate remained the most significant trade in the Port of Cork with more than 5.3m tonnes passing through the facility last year.
Firms including Microsoft and Californias Verily are forming partnerships with public health officials in several US states to test new high-tech tools.

In Texas, Microsoft is testing a smart trap to isolate and capture Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, known Zika carriers, for study by entomologists to give them a jump on predicting outbreaks.

Verily, Alphabets life sciences division based in California, is speeding the process for creating sterile male mosquitoes to mate with females in the wild, offering a form of birth control for the species. While it may take years for these advances to become widely available, public health experts say new players bring fresh thinking to vector control, which still relies heavily on traditional defences such as larvicides and insecticides.

The Zika epidemic that emerged in Brazil in 2015 and left thousands of babies suffering from birth defects has added urgency to the effort. In Texas, 10 mosquito traps made by Microsoft are operating in Harris County, which includes the city of Houston. Roughly the size of large birdhouses, the devices use robotics, infrared sensors, machine learning and cloud computing to help health officials keep tabs on potential disease carriers.

Most conventional mosquito traps capture all comers  moths, flies, and other mosquito varieties leaving a pile of specimens for entomologists to sort through. The Microsoft machines differentiate insects by measuring a feature unique to each species: The shadows cast by their beating wings. When a trap detects an Aedes aegypti in one of its 64 chambers, the door slams shut.

The machine makes a decision about whether to trap it, said Ethan Jackson, a Microsoft engineer who is developing the device.

The traps are prototypes now. But Microsofts Mr Jackson said the company eventually hopes to sell them for a few hundred dollars each, roughly the price of conventional traps.

Other companies, meanwhile, are developing technology to shrink mosquito populations by rendering male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes sterile. When these sterile males mate with females in the wild, their eggs dont hatch. Oxitec is creating male mosquitoes genetically modified to be sterile.

MosquitoMate, a startup formed at the University of Kentucky, is using a naturally occurring bacterium called Wolbachia to render male mosquitoes sterile.

Reuters
And according to new accounts, one of the most profitable.

The accounts show pre-tax profits at the company that operates the Temple Bar pub soared last year by over 520,000, or 19%, to 3.29m.

In a bumper year for the pub company, gross profits at Temple Inn Ltd, jumped 17%, or by 1.48m, from 8.8m to 10.3m in the 12 months to the end of October 2016.

The multi-award winning Temple Bar pub is a haven for tourists throughout the year and it has its own merchandise shop adjacent to the pub selling Irish luxury brands.

The pub has had significant expansion in recent years.

Two years ago, it added a distillery store that serves Irish, Scotch, and rare whiskeys.

The two directors of the firm are Tom Cleary and Jackie Cleary who live in Dublin 4.

However, their aggregate pay last year fell from 360,819 to 337,197.

The monies were made up of 300,000 in salaries and 37,197 in pension contributions.

The Clearys also paid themselves a dividend of 100,000 for the year.

At the end of October, the group had accumulated profits of 11m and shareholder funds of the same amount.

The directors report states that the company which operates both as a licensed vintner and retail shops traded strongly during the year with the benefit of new outlets for the retail business.

The firms cashpile last year increased from 3.44m to 4.76m.

Staff costs, including directors salaries, last year increased from 2.12m to 2.33m.

The groups operating profits last year ran to a total of 3.8m.

Net interest payments of 544,403 reduced the groups profits to 3.29m.

Its had a post-tax profit of 2.84m, after paying corporation tax of 452,230.

The book value of the groups tangible assets last year stood at 15.9m and the profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of 223,377.

The group recorded the operating profit after accounting for 4.6m in administrative expenses and 1.8m in distribution costs. The firms assets increased from 23.15m to 24.23m.

Its liabilities decreased from 14.8m to 11m with the firms net assets increasing by 2.74m.
Its latest survey showed annual growth slowed to just 1% in the three months to the end of June.

The pace of growth has slowed for the fourth successive quarter.

It comes after KBC Bank Ireland and the Economic and Social Research Institute said consumer confidence showed a surprisingly sharp rise last month, possibly because fears of a hard Brexit had eased following the inconclusive result of the UK general election at the end of May.

Nonetheless, KBC said its own survey showed a solidly improving Irish economy but did not rule out a reversal in the months ahead if there is no dramatically positive news on the Irish economy or a significant improvement in household finances.

The Government will increasingly be looking to consumer spending and Vat receipts to help achieve its fiscal goals, as Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe prepares his first budget in October.

In the so-called summer statement, Mr Donohoe will issue the Governments latest economic forecasts and fiscal plans today.

Visa reported that face-to-face spending at bricks-and-mortar stores slowed for the ninth month in a row, while online spending increased. While this was the quickest rate of expansion in the past three months, the quarter overall was the weakest of the series to date since the index began almost three years ago, said Visa.

Of eight consumer spending areas, only spending on transport and communication fell, while spending on household goods, hotels, and restaurants rose sharply.

After spiking in February 2016, the growth in Irish consumer spending has gradually levelled out, with the last quarter representing the weakest degree of expansion since we began the index, said Visa Irelands Philip Konopik.

There was an uptick in June and it will be interesting to see if this leads to further expansion over the summer or whether consumer confidence becomes more cautious given the potential for future shocks.

Separately, a survey by Irish Life said that about two-thirds of Irish people are actively saving, but a third say they have no money to save.
This is a critical issue, said chief executive Sharon OHalloran. Five women have been murdered in Ireland since March.

The Government has expressed reservations about legislating for coercive control as a particular offence in the Domestic Violence Bill currently before the Oireachtas.

Coercive control  a pattern of sustained emotional and psychological abuse of a partner  has been recognised in British legislation since 2015.

A study found that intimidating controlling behaviour was present in 92% of domestic violence killings in Britain.

This research shows that deaths can be prevented if we can identify and understand coercive control from the outset, said Ms OHalloran.

Safe Ireland hosted a conference on coercive control in Dublin yesterday, and the office of Justice Minister Charles Flanagan was asked to attend.

At a committee stage debate on the Domestic Violence Bill in the Senate last week, the minister of state at the Department of Justice, David Stanton, indicated that it might be difficult to prosecute for coercive control.

However, Ms OHalloran said coercive control existed in all domestic violence.

The evidence is there  we just have to understand how to gather it, said Ms OHalloran.

We accept that a bruise is evidence of domestic violence and a woman can go to court and get a barring order but what about all the years she has been held hostage in her own home.

Lat year, 155 defendants were prosecuted for coercive control in Britain, including the first pure charge of coercive control where there were no accompanying physical assault charges.

US academic Evan Stark who developed the term coercive control, said it was only a question of time before coercive control became a crime in Ireland.

It will be a crime because women are not going to allow the deprivation of their rights and liberties to go without redress. It is just a question of when, said Prof Stark.

For every 100 women in Ireland that report domestic abuse, only three are resulting in police action.

Making coercive control a crime will give police the tools to hold some of these chronic offenders accountable.

Prof Stark said anybody could be coercively controlled  it was widespread in society.

There is coercive control in same-sex relationships; men can be coercively controlled by women, he said. But the vast majority of cases involve women being controlled by men.
Sinn Fein Cllr Chris OLeary likened business consultant Alf Smiddy to an annoying wasp while Fianna Fail Cllr Terry Shannon called on Mr Smiddy to apologise to the people of Cork City for disparaging and self-serving remarks which he said were made in an attempt to claw back some reputation after his stewardship of the 2015 review of the regions local government arrangements.

They made their comments during a debate in City Hall in the wake of a public meeting on the proposed city boundary extension in Carrigtwohill last week  one of several areas earmarked by an independent review of the Smiddy report for inclusion in an expanded city area.
The claim was made in the Circuit Civil Court in a sworn statement by solicitor David Culleton on behalf of Zurich and MIBI, which compensates victims of untraced and uninsured drivers.

Evidence of a major insurance probe into suspicious multiple claims was laid before Judge Jacqueline Linnane when she was asked to refer papers to the DPP in a 60,000 personal injury claim by Ivo Janmers, a director of Belgard Motors Ltd.

Paul McMorrow, for Zurich and MIBI, told the court his clients were also seeking costs against Mr Janmers, who, despite court orders, had failed to turn up for medical examinations and had not proceeded with his case.

Judge Linnane said she was aware from Mr Culletons affidavit of a considerable and thorough investigation by the insurers into a number of cases, including that of Mr Janmers, leading them to the conclusion that insurance had been taken out just prior to a litany of accidents they believed to have been staged.

The judge said she could not now reopen the case to further award costs or direct papers be sent to the DPP but there was now a committee, in being, to investigate insurance matters and she saw no reason why the outcome of these inquiries might not be forwarded to that committee and then to the DPP.

Mr Culleton said Mr Janmers claim was one of six highly suspicious and strikingly similar type of accidents each tainted by some element of fraud, collusion, or conspiracy.

As a result of their investigations, Zurich and the bureau believe they have been deliberately targeted as part of an organised and sophisticated Eastern European fraud ring which has generated an exposure to a potential 25 personal injuries claims, he said.

Such claims in the Circuit Court could cost the insurers a potential 2m in compensation, legal costs, and expenses while High Court cases could amount to many multiples of millions.

He said that, since commencing proceedings in July 2015 for damages for a badly injured back, Mr Janmers, 34, had continued to lead a, active and sporting lifestyle, including exposure on social media. The solicitor said Mr Janmers was connected with at least four of the six accidents which Zurich and MIBI had scrutinised.

Mr McMorrow said the accidents with which the court was most recently concerned were staged in the country at remote areas, in the dark at the dead of night, away from any possibility of discovery.

The court heard of four claims relating to a crash in Portlaoise, Co Laois; nine from two crashes at Balrothery, Co Dublin; five from one in Clara, Co Offaly; and seven from two accidents at Swords, Co Dublin. They occurred between December 2012 and December 2013.
The awards, which will be presented in the South Korean capital Seoul in September, were announced by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI).

The two Dublin-based practices will receive medals as part of this years International Union of Architects Friendly and Inclusive Spaces Awards. They beat off stiff competition from a total of 76 entries spanning 28 countries.

McGarry Ni Eanaigh Architects has won a medal in the new building category for Colaiste Ailigh, a secondary school on the outskirts of Letterkenny, Co Donegal.

Meanwhile, in the existing and historic buildings category, Sean Harrington Architects has won a medal for its work on Malahide Parish Centre.

The third medal, in the public space category, goes to SCF Arquitectos of Puerto Rico. The medals will be presented at an award ceremony in Seoul, Korea on September 6, as part of the 26th UIA Congress of Architecture. Practices recognised with honourable mentions will also collect awards at the event.

RIAI president Carole Pollard paid tribute to all winners, in particular, the two Irish practices.

Its further evidence of the high regard in which Irish architects are held, both at home and abroad, she said. Their expertise continues to contribute to the quality built environment.

Fionnuala Rogerson, co-director of the UIA Work Programme Architecture For All, added: The standard of entries was exceptionally high this year, which reflects our vision that good architecture contributes to the creation of enabling environments which are suitable for people of all ages, abilities, and cultures to use and enjoy.
That was the evidence given yesterday at Cork District Court when two Cork men appeared on counts of robbery.

One of the visiting Italians was left with a cut over his eye after he was struck with an implement and he had to receive five stitches.
Its gut-wrenching. Its something I wouldnt wish on my worst enemy, he added.

He was speaking at a vigil outside Leinster House yesterday organised by the Irish Road Victims Association (IRVA).

The vigil coincided with a new bill that Transport Minister Shane Ross presented to Cabinet, which proposes a mandatory driving ban on motorists convicted of being over the alcohol limit.

Were not trying to reduce the drink-driving limits, were just trying to increase the penalty  put a proper deterrent out there to try and save lives, said Mr Lieghio.

Its too late for our families and kids. My own daughter was killed in a

hit-and-run and its too late. Its not a question of revenge, what we are trying to do is save future childrens lives, family members, loved ones.

The father-of-four outlined the details of his daughters death.

I got a phone call that night just after she was knocked down. She was knocked clean out of her runners to the height of the traffic lights.

We got down there and they were putting Marsia on the stretcher. She survived a week in Tallaght and Beaumont hospitals before we had to turn off her life-support machine on her sisters birthday, he said.

He argues that the bill, if passed, will not affect peoples ability to socialise.

Were not trying to stop people from socialising. You can socialise over a cup of coffee or a game of cards like I do. Where is it written in the Constitution that when you go to a pub you must have alcohol in your system? Its not there, he said.

Mr Lieghio said that while his anger has passed, his grief has not, and a song on the radio or driving past his daughters school is enough to upset him.

My kids brought me away for my birthday at the weekend to Newcastle and although it was probably the best birthday I ever had, there was still part of me missing.

If she had have been there it would have just made it perfect, he said.

Donna Price, who set up the IRVA, also lost a child on Irish roads.

I lost my son Darren in a road crash in 2006. He was driving to college and he was in collision with a lorry and he was killed instantly.

"So we set up the Irish Road Victims Association to provide information and support to families who are affected, who have lost a loved one on the roads  helping them to deal with the Garda investigation, the coroners inquest and the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions], court cases that kind of thing, she said.

We are appealing to our public representatives to accept the evidence put forward to them by the Road Safety Authority and medical evidence and to support this legislation, she added.
DIVERSITY and inclusion: its undeniably a hot topic in business today, but is it just a nice corporate way of saying, Look at us, were progressive, we care! or is there an on-the-ground impact? To find out more, I spoke to eBays Rhonda Doyle about the companys recent Diversity and Inclusion report, and how it plays out in practice.

In Ireland, eBay can certainly stand over its gender diversity; where the global breakdown is 68% men and 32% women, here the staff is 53% female. I wondered if this was due to the nature of the work, which is primarily customer services.

Our customer support would be a large portion of what we have on site, says Doyle, But actually we have a lot of other roles too  HR, content writers, project management, and technical roles as well, and even in our tech teams we have a lot of gender diversity.

So how has this come about  whats different about the culture in Ireland?

Weve been lucky; even when we set up we always had a good mix of male and female staff. And thats helped the balance over the years. I think its just wrapped into our culture.

Doyle says that when they started looking at diversity and inclusion in Ireland, people asked why they needed to focus on something that was already working well.

They felt we had a lovely culture. I do think were very lucky, but you have to keep that focus going. Were not perfect  there will always be pockets. Gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation are popular areas of focus when it comes to diversity, but perhaps less on trend is socio-economic diversity. Arguably, you can be anything you want to be, as long as you went to the right college or have the right accent. I asked Doyle if socio-economic diversity is something eBay considers important.

Every year, we have a list of initiatives that our employees want to get involved in, and one of those is a partnership with Jobcare, to help longer-term unemployed people back into the workforce. Diversity and inclusion is quite a hip topic now, but initiatives like the partnership with Jobcare have been in place for years. The last time we had a Jobcare event on site we had about 20 people here; there was no outside pressure to do it, its just something weve very passionate about  looking at how we can get involved with local communities here in Blanchardstown.

Its not just about giving opportunities to the local community  eBays recently published report states that diversity and inclusion can be summarised as making sure employees all have a fair shot at great opportunities. Its a nice idea, but how does it work in practice?

One of the things I loved since I joined eBay is that if you have a proven track record, you can move into different areas, says Doyle, who is eBays global director of program and project management.

I didnt start out in project management and thats where I am today. A lot of companies will box you into a particular area, and you dont have much mobility. Im here 13 years and have seen lots of people start out on the frontline in customer services and move into risk management, finance, or project management.

She explains that one of the practical ways eBay ensures all employees have the chance for mobility and promotion is through diverse interview panels.

We had an eight-week span of recruitment recently, and because of the conversation weve having around diversity, the team leaders wanted to make sure we had a diverse panel doing the interviews. We want to make sure theres a balance of experience  not that people have to come from a specific college.

Diversity and inclusion covers a multitude, but tends to be associated with gender, and the fate of women in business.

Sheryl Sandberg is telling us to lean in, the 30% Club is campaigning to get women on boards, and research shows that gender-diverse companies tend to outperform their less diverse peers. Despite this, women often struggle to climb the proverbial ladder and break through the ceiling above, and it can be particularly difficult for women who leave work to have children.

Indeed, coming back after maternity leave can be a lonely and vulnerable time  I asked Doyle about her personal experience.

I have one son, Jack, who is five now. And yes, coming back after maternity leave was definitely an adjustment. I was fortunate  before I left, two leaders made connections with me and one of them said, Look, expect the organisation will have changed when you get back, people alongside you may be promoted above you or may have moved on  just expect change. I was still a little naive and didnt think it would happen, but of course it did.

A few people who I had really appreciated in my career had moved on, and some colleagues had been promoted. The first couple of weeks getting back into the business language were an adjustment, then theres the whole logistics of leaving the house. For the first three years I did a lot of the creche drop-off and pickup, and having to leave the

office when youre in a senior role at a certain time can be hard.

I ASKED her if she ever felt self-conscious leaving the office while others were still working.

I remember having that conversation with HR and they reminded me that our culture has evolved over the years  when we started, it was mostly the contact centre, and we were a lot more tied to certain routines. But now weve branched out into other roles, so we have people coming in early and leaving early, and others coming in later and staying later. For me its about having a transparent dialogue, and saying If you need me, ring me. You dont want people to feel they have to treat you differently as a mum  you want to prove you can still do the job just as well as you did before, and you can, but maybe you have to find your own way, and for me it was finding the hours that worked for me and being transparent about it.

Doyle took a new role after maternity leave and it made a huge difference to her.

I took an individual role and didnt have any team. Id say to anyone coming back into the workplace, sometimes trying something new can be good. That was the best thing for me and my family at the time. It was a global role  I didnt have to be in at nine on the dot, and I love that I can leave at six and log on later. If we can move away from that nine-to-half-five it really enables everyone, and especially women. So what does she think leaders can do to help with gender diversity?

Be a role model. Once you get into a leadership position, the onus is on you to help other people get there. And as a working mum I feel even more passionately about looking out for other mums. People tend to think once you get into a senior position its easier or theres some magic but it isnt; you have tough days the same as everyone else!
ONE of the many challenges of dealing with US President Donald Trump is that he sometimes misunderstands things. The fallout from Trumps meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 shows just how problematic that can be.

Trump tweeted upon his return from Hamburg that he and Putin discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded.

That sounded alarming. Indeed, most commentators took the tweet to mean that the US president was thinking about forming a joint cyberdefence mechanism with a foreign leader accused by US intelligence services of hacking the 2016 presidential election. People were predictably outraged.

A comment under the tweet expressed mock regret that Osama bin Laden was dead and couldnt join forces with Trump in countering terrorism. Senator Marco Rubio offered a similar reaction: Partnering with Putin on a Cyber Security Unit is akin to partnering with Assad on a Chemical Weapons Unit.

Partnering with Putin on a "Cyber Security Unit" is akin to partnering with Assad on a "Chemical Weapons Unit". 2/3  Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 9, 2017

Its not the dumbest idea Ive ever heard, but its pretty close, said senator Lindsey Graham.

But what would an impenetrable cybersecurity unit actually do, and was it even a thing?

Heres how Putin addressed the subject at the brief press conference he gave after the G20 summit: We agreed with the president of the United States that we would set up a working group and will work together on the subject of jointly controlling security in cyberspace, of making sure international legal norms would be unconditionally followed in this area and meddling with the domestic affairs of foreign states wouldnt be permitted.

In the original Russian, this means setting up a group that would work out clear rules of engagement in cyberspace, as well as notions of what would and wouldnt be permissible and a de-escalation mechanism. Its not the smartest idea Ive ever heard, but its pretty close.

Today, Russia and the US are engaged in creeping cyberwarfare against each other, and they may well be working to disable or undermine each others critical infrastructure.

The conflict is potentially deadly and, unlike military interactions between the two adversaries, not subject even to the most rudimentary rules or mutual arrangements.

That needs to be fixed, and though a multilateral process under the auspices of the UN or perhaps the G20 would be preferable, a bilateral working group would be a start.

I doubt that rules worked out by such a group would put political parties, thinktanks, and campaigns off limits for hackers. They could, however, clearly draw the line at hacking voting systems, transport networks, or energy grids.

There might be some clarity as to attribution mechanisms and appropriate responses.

Intelligence could be shared if terrorist groups attempted to attack one of the two countries by cyber means.

Trump and Putin dont need to be allies to agree on something like this; as heads of two largely hostile powers, they both have an interest in protecting their countrys vital infrastructure, physical and electoral, from hackers.

Though voter opinion carries far more weight in the US than in Russia, where opposition parties are kept weak, Putin would no doubt feel the heat if an attack was aimed against him.

It appears that Putin suggested forming the group in the same spirit as Russia and the US have attempted to sort things out in Syria, where theres a danger of direct military clashes.

(The only specific result of the 136-minute meeting between Trump and Putin was a ceasefire in south-western Syria  a possible precursor to the de facto partition of Syria into areas controlled by the Assad regime and its US backed opponents.)

And while the words jointly controlling sound ominous, in Russian, control is more oversight than dominance.

Trump, however, appears to have misunderstood the offer. In his mind, the working group turned into a joint impenetrable unit to guard against negative things.

Thats perhaps not surprising. Trump is still a political novice, and his mind must have been spinning after hours of discussion on subjects about which hes only recently been learning.

Unlike Putin, who prepares meticulously for every public appearance and every round of talks, taking pride in his memory for detail, Trump is unabashedly ad hoc. Putin noted this trait during the meeting and spoke about it afterwards, masking it as praise: He analyses rather quickly, answers the questions that are put to him, or to certain new elements that arise during the discussion.

Soon after tweeting about the impenetrable unit, Trump realised something was wrong with the idea as hed grasped it.

So he tried to walk back the earlier tweet, posting on Sunday: The fact that President Putin and I discussed a Cyber Security unit doesnt mean I think it can happen. It cant  but a ceasefire can, & did!

If some form of co-operation towards rule-making doesnt take place, it will have been an opportunity lost in Trumps poor translation of his own conversation. The implications for further interaction between Putin and Trump are even more troubling.

The lapse in understanding on a serious issue creates potential for frustration, false expectations, and shaky deals. Perhaps, when the two meet again, they should have more people in the room who will be able to intervene, provide some background and make sure the presidents are clear on what theyre talking about.
NTT Communications said that it will use Microsofts new Azure Stack in the United States and Europe.

The goal of Azure Stack is to ease management of hybrid public and private clouds. It does this by bringing public cloud capabilities into the data center. NTT Com, through its managed services business, will work with Dell EMC and HPE to provide a one-stop shop for managed services across the organizations hybrid environment.

Azure Stack is a key element of Microsofts strategy, according to TechCrunchs Frederic Lardinois. Late last month, Lardinois writes, Microsoft released Azure Stack to its hardware partners so they can put it through certification processes. If developers can target a single platform for both the public and private cloud, the thinking goes, then hybrid deployments become almost trivial, he wrote.

The platform initially will be available in 46 countries. The Azure Stack Development Kit, which is a single-server kit to help developers get acclimated, was also released.

The progress of Azure Stack was one of several announcements made at and before the Microsoft Inspire conference this week in Washington, D.C. Computerworld reported that Microsoft is consolidating Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) in the Azure portal. By combining Intune mobile application management tools, the Azure Active Directory and Information Protection in single console, Microsoft aims to create a unified administration experience and improve mobility management.

The Inspire conference seems to be a bit of a milestone for Microsoft. Eric Jhonsa runs through announcements made by the company before and during the conference in a very comprehensive rundown at TheStreet, Last week, there was a major restructuring of sales and marketing. That was followed this week with the Azure Stack, EMS and other announcements.

More important than any one of the introductions is the theme: the transition of Microsoft more fully to a software and services organization. Thats been going on for some time at Microsoft and across telecom and IT, of course. The announcements, Jhonsa suggests, will accelerate that trend at Microsoft. He points to great increases in annual revenue from the commercial cloud initiatives and the corresponding impact on total Office and server products/servers revenue.

This, he writes, led to the announcements made during the past few weeks:

Microsoft, quite aware of all of this, seems eager to double down on whats working. Even if it means disrupting how major business units operate, and how products responsible for billions in annual sales are sold.

The move to the cloud is irreversible. Microsoft is doubling down and trying as best it can to simplify its offerings.

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.
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Jack Trawick, an editor who coordinated the Winston-Salem Journals 1971 Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the effects of strip mining in Appalachia, died Saturday at Forsyth Medical Center. He was 80.

Trawick died of complications of leukemia, said his son, Michael Trawick.

He was probably the most civic-minded and the most giving person that Ive ever met, Michael Trawick said of his father.

Jack Trawick taught his two sons, Michael and Benton, how to think critically, Michael Trawick said.

He taught us about the importance of being responsible with information, Michael Trawick said. He taught us to check facts and document what we read and to check sources.

A native of Macon, Ga., Jack Trawick graduated in 1957 from Davidson College with a bachelors degree in English and French, according to his obituary. He served three years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.

Trawick joined the staff of the Journal as a reporter in 1961. He won several awards for reporting government affairs and business news.

He was promoted to assistant state editor in April 1966, and then to state editor in April 1967. In that role, he coordinated much of the coverage that earned the Journals 1971 Pulitzer Prize.

As part of his work, Trawick traveled to Kentucky and reported on strip mining there.

We felt like we were doing something, Trawick said of the project in an interview with the Journal in March.

Trawick was named as the systems editor for the Twin City Sentinel and Winston-Salem Journal in 1980. The Sentinel, an afternoon newspaper in Winston-Salem and the Journals sister publication, ceased publishing in 1985, and its operations were absorbed into the Journal.

As the systems editor, Trawick guided the news staff in the transition from using typewriters to using word-processing computers, said Joe Goodman, a former Journal managing editor. Trawick also adapted computers to the newspaper business.

He was like a stern school teacher, Goodman said. He also was a jovial guy and very patient as he instructed people in the new technology. He was extremely intelligent.

Trawick retired in 1999 as an assistant to the publisher, his son said.

Trawicks family loved him very much, said his wife, Catherine Trawick.

My children adored him, she said. His daughters-in-law and grandchildren also loved him.

As a journalist, Jack Trawick expressed himself beautifully, Catherine Trawick said.

He was a loving man, she said. He was a wise man.

A memorial service for Trawick will be held at 2 p.m. July 22 at Parkway Presbyterian Church, 1000 Yorkshire Road, in Winston-Salem.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools will have two security officers roaming the district during evening hours this year after the approval of a contract at the school board meeting Tuesday.

The Forsyth County Sheriffs Office has provided evening security for the school system for several years, in addition to having school resource officers at county schools during the day.

North State Security Group will now perform the evening service, with two officers roaming the district  one more than with the sheriffs office, said Jonathan Wilson, the security director for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.

With two, they can work with each other, or they can call for backup (from the sheriff or police), Wilson said.

Before, it was one person for the whole district.

The two security personnel are responsible for roaming 92 campuses, including the schools, administration buildings, bus lots and warehouses, Wilson said. The school board unanimously approved the contract with North State for $195,530, which runs through June 30, 2018.

Board members also unanimously approved a new security camera system for Glenn High School. The school has 139 cameras, and had experienced problems with the digital video recorder, server and other aspects with the system in the last six months, Wilson said.

The new system will cost $135,000, with the money coming from capital funds.

Board members also on Tuesday unanimously declared houses that were bought to clear the way for the construction of Lowrance Paisley school as surplus property. The five houses on Thurmond Street  Nos. 1400, 1408, 1412, 1414 and 1422  will be listed for sale on www.govdeals.com today.

Students at Lowrance Middle were moved from the Indiana Avenue building in February 2015, after concerns about chemicals in groundwater underneath the school.
WASHINGTON  From now on, ignore the conventional wisdom about how the Russia scandal is not resonating with President Trumps still-loyal base. The question at this point is what strikes a chord with special counsel Robert Mueller  and what kind of legal jeopardy Trumps closest associates, including his eldest son and son-in-law, might eventually face.

Trump spent Monday morning live-tweeting fawning segments from his favorite cable news show, Fox & Friends. Within the cozy confines of that alternate universe, the story everyone is still talking about was said to be video of the president, before boarding his helicopter at Andrews Air Force Base, scrambling to retrieve a Marines wind-blown hat.

In Muellers office suite, though, Im confident there was much more talk about Donald Trump Jr.s stunning admission over the weekend: In June of last year, he summoned Trump then-campaign Chairman Paul Manafort and Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner to a meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer  described as having close connections with the Kremlin  in hopes of receiving derogatory information about Hillary Clinton.

The meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya was first reported Saturday by The New York Times. Initially, Trump Jr. told the newspaper that the short meeting was to discuss a program about the adoption of Russian children. On Sunday, however, he acknowledged that he agreed to the meeting because he was told that Veselnitskaya might have information helpful to the campaign. The lawyers dirt about Clinton was vague, ambiguous and made no sense, however, and Trump Jr. ended the meeting after 20 to 30 minutes.

The meeting came amid what U.S. officials describe as a Russian campaign of hacks, leaks and disinformation designed to help Trump win the election. After months of categorical denials, we now have an admission of attempted collusion, at least, involving three top-ranking figures in the Trump campaign.

Despite what Trump apologists may say, it is not normal practice for a campaign to welcome information undermining an opponent regardless of the source. In 2000, for example, the Al Gore campaign was anonymously sent briefing books and a video that George W. Bush had used to prepare for an upcoming debate. Gore campaign officials immediately turned the material over to the FBI  which opened a criminal investigation.

Veselnitskaya is best known as a tireless crusader for repeal of the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 law blacklisting Russian officials believed responsible for the death of a well-known human rights activist. When President Obama signed the law, Russian President Vladimir Putin was so vexed that he halted U.S. adoptions of Russian children in retaliation. It is safe to assume that if Veselnitskaya raised the subject of adoptions, as Trump Jr. says, it was part of an argument against the Magnitsky law.

Is this all too complicated for voters to follow? Would Americans beyond the Beltway rather hear about jobs or health care? Perhaps so. But the questions that should be concentrating the minds of the presidents inner circle are legal, not political  and Muellers high-powered team of lawyers is experienced at connecting dots.

The Veselnitskaya meeting is just one of several encounters with Russians that apparently slipped Kushners mind when he filled out disclosure forms required for his White House post. It came to light only after he amended those forms  and someone familiar with their contents dropped a dime to the Times. Trump Jr. claimed in March that he had had no meetings with Russians that were set up ... and certainly none that I was representing the campaign in any way, shape or form. Do you find it remotely believable that he somehow forgot a meeting that he set up, between a party-line Russian lawyer and the campaign? Neither do I.

Trump Jr. said in a statement Sunday that he was asked by an acquaintance to arrange the meeting; he claimed not even to have known Veselnitskayas name beforehand, let alone anything about her. He said he did not tell Manafort or Kushner of the meetings purpose in advance, and said President Trump had no idea the meeting was taking place.

At the time, Manafort was running a presidential campaign  roughly like being at the vortex of a tornado  and Kushner was one of the campaigns chief advisers. The idea that they could spare even five minutes to meet an unknown person about an unknown subject is absurd. But thats Trump Jr.s story and hes sticking to it.

Manafort and Kushner have already retained high-powered lawyers. If he hasnt yet, Trump Jr. would be wise to do the same.
In her column on Donald Trumps speech in Warsaw on Thursday, my Post colleague Anne Applebaum criticized the president for embracing the 1944 Warsaw Uprising:

In large part, the disaster was caused by the fact that none of the other allies  not Britain, obviously not the Soviet Union, and certainly not the United States  came to Polands defense, even though the resistance army believed they would.

I hold no brief for the current Polish government (or the Trump administration for that matter). But in delivering his speech before the Warsaw Uprising memorial, and holding the insurgents up as an example of the courage we need to confront the totalitarian threats of our time, Trump was not only right  he righted a historical wrong.

I know something about the uprising, because my mother was one of the insurgents Trump honored in his address. When he talked about the barricade at Jerusalem Avenue  where Nazi snipers shot at anybody who crossed, including messengers, liaison girls, and couriers, it resonated deeply because my mom was one of those girls dodging the snipers bullets to get messages across the city. She survived, but her father gave his life on the streets of Warsaw  one of the 216,000 who perished during those 63 days of blood and courage.

No American president to date has so honored their sacrifice as Trump did this week. And there is a reason: Because the Wests failure to stand with the insurgents is a stain on our own history.

As I pointed out in a column on the 70th anniversary of the uprising:

Winston Churchill tried to enlist President Franklin D. Roosevelt in pressing Joseph Stalin to allow Allied planes carrying arms for the insurgents to refuel on Soviet air bases. After Stalin rejected their first appeal, Churchill told Roosevelt that they should try again and send the planes anyway if Stalin refused and see what happens. But Roosevelt replied, I do not consider it advantageous to the long-range general war prospect for me to join you in the proposed message to Uncle Joe.

 As my mother was marched out of Warsaw to be deported to a POW camp in Germany, she looked back and saw the orange glow of her beloved city on fire.

Indeed, the Warsaw Poles were abandoned so quickly after the war that my mother (who was liberated by Pattons army and finished out the war in London in the Polish army under British command) was not even allowed to march in the victory parade at the wars end  because the Allies had recognized the communist government installed by Stalin.

Poland never forgot the heroes of the uprising. But in the West it was easier to brush them under the rug and forget them  because remembering them would only remind us of our own moral failure to stand with these freedom fighters.

So for more than seven decades, U.S. presidents largely ignored the Warsaw Uprising  until last week, when Trump embraced the insurgents and held them up for the world to see as the heroes they were. Good for him.

Yes, the uprising ended tragically, but that tragedy was not foreordained. It was not a fools errand. The Warsaw Poles knew the Soviets were coming and wanted to liberate themselves from Nazi rule before Stalins forces arrived  so that Moscow would have to deal with the reality of a self-governing, free and independent Polish government. Had FDR heeded Churchills pleas and delivered arms and supplies to the insurgents, they might very well have succeeded.

Yet even in failure, the Warsaw Uprising was not a mistake  because the spirit of the uprising lived on in the conspiratorial hearts of the Poles, who continued to operate underground during the decades of Soviet domination that followed. The underground movement that briefly liberated Poland from Nazi occupation in 1944 paved the way for the Solidarity underground that took the Gdansk shipyard in 1979.

So I for one am grateful to President Trump for embracing the Warsaw Uprising, for rescuing it from the ashes of our forgotten history and for holding it up for the world to see.

And I am grateful that an American president did this while my mother  and the last of her fellow insurgents  were still alive to bask in the well-deserved recognition.
Being an American Jew, someone who lost family in the Holocaust, and who has a lot of beautiful loving family members in Israel, the Holy Land is especially important to me. As an academic dermatologist, a scientist who routinely questions dogma, I came to question our common understanding of Israel/Palestine.

Dermatology gave me first-hand experiences in countries across the Middle East. The Muslim people I met in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and even Iran were all warm and friendly. Those experiences gave me the courage to go to Palestine and meet, firsthand, Israels enemy. Like a good researcher, I had a hypothesis to test, that Palestinians would be nice people, just like everyone else.

Max and Jane Carter, Quakers in Greensboro, take a group to tour Israel/Palestine and volunteer in Ramallah for about two weeks each summer. This year I went along, and what I found surprised me.

I was not surprised by the treatment Palestinians suffered under Israelis, but it was still emotionally moving to be there, to see apartheid happening. A former Israeli soldier, proudly Jewish, took us to Hebron and described how there are separate laws for Jews (Israel civil law) and non-Jews (military law). He pointed out that if an Israeli throws a stone at Palestinians, nothing is done; if a Palestinian responds with a stone, he or she is sentenced to years in prison.

He described how Israeli settlers would harass Palestinians, then complain to the military, whose response would be to create sterile zones where Palestinians would not be allowed. Settlers would then enter those zones, complain about the Palestinians near them, and the zones would be expanded. For the benefit of a few hundred Israeli settlers, formerly vibrant parts of this city of 200,000 Muslims have been turned into a ghost town, hundreds of Palestinian businesses closed, the doors of peoples homes welded shut. The settlers would, quite correctly, point out that what they are doing is not nearly as bad as what was done to Palestinian families in the founding of Israel, when hundreds of thousand Palestinian men, women and children were expelled and made and kept refugees from their homes, their homes and villages destroyed.

What did surprise me was that Palestinians were, by far, the nicest people I have met anywhere. Entering Ramallah, home of the PLO and Palestinian Authority, passing a sign saying that it was dangerous for Israelis to enter, we were warmly greeted by people wherever we walked. It was a friendliness I have not experienced anywhere else, not in New York or Winston-Salem, not in any of the many countries to which dermatology has taken me. The warmth and friendliness of the Palestinian people could only be described as what you might expect people to be like if they were, as Palestinians are, the people who live in the land where Jesus once walked.

Having gotten to break bread in the homes of Palestinian Christian and Muslim families, having met Palestinian workers, teachers, children, religious leaders, refugees and legislators, I am convinced that there could be peace overnight and the security Jewish people need if Israel would repatriate Palestinian families, give everyone equality and justice, and live together in peace throughout the Holy Land.

People who have not had the firsthand experience that I have had may tell you, based on the violence that they have seen, that Palestinians must be violent people, but they arent. Peaceful Palestinian people suffer from far more violence meted out by good Jewish Israeli people who are pained by it but who believe -- quite wrongly -- that the only way Jews can have security for their children is via their oppression and dispossession of non-Jewish Palestinian families.

Our group met with Rami Elhanan, a Jewish Israeli, the son of a German Holocaust survivor, a man whose beautiful 12-year-old daughter was killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber. He understands like no one else can, and he told us:

We dont want you to be pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian; we demand of you to be pro-peace. To be against injustice and against this ongoing situation in which one people is dominating another. It must be changed, its the essence of evil, and it must be stoppedI am a Jew with the utmost respect for my people, to my tradition, to my history and my religion. And I will tell you that ruling and oppressing and humiliating and occupying millions and millions of people for so many years without any democratic rights is not Jewish, period, no two ways about it, and being against it is not anti-Semitism.

Dr. Steve Feldman lives in Winston-Salem.
The President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos [BBC profile], granted amnesty [press release, in Spanish] Monday to 3,252 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) [BBC backgrounder]. Since 2016, Colombia has granted renewed status to 7,400 guerrillas. As a result of the decree, administrative amnesty will be applied to political and related crimes. As a condition of protection under the decree, FARC members turned over their personal firearms as verified by the UN mission in Colombia. Other conditions of the decree are aimed are reincorporating FARC members into community life.

The Colombian government and the FARC reached a peace agreement [JURIST report] in November to end the guerrilla warfare that has been plaguing the country for more than five decades. In December Colombias Constitutional Court approved [JURIST report] the governments plan to expedite a peace deal with the FARC. Also that month the Colombian Congress approved [JURIST report] a measure granting amnesty to low-level FARC guerrillas who have not committed atrocious crimes. Colombian voters in October narrowly rejected [JURIST report] the previous peace deal negotiated between Santos and Timoleon Jimenez, the leader of the FARC. The Colombian government and the FARC signed a ceasefire [JURIST report] in June 2016, marking an end to more than 50 years of armed conflict between the two groups.
The British Supreme Court [official website] ruled [judgment, PDF] on Wednesday that a gay retirees husband is entitled to the same pension benefits a wife would enjoy regardless of when payment into the program began. John Walker filed the suit against his employer, Innospec Ltd [company profile], when they refused to pay his pension in the event of his death to his husband because his service predated December 5, 2005, the date the UK started legally recognizing civil partnerships. While the court acknowledged that the general rule, applicable in most modern legal systems, is that legislative changes apply prospectively in order to provide legal certainty, it looked to the Court of Justice of the European Unions (CJEU) [official website] future effects principle. The principle makes a distinction between retroactive application of a rule to a situation that was permanently fixed before the rule was enforced and immediate application of a rule to situations that are continuing. The court concluded that because Walkers service is continuing it is subject to immediate application and that rights established by legislation should be activated at the time that they were stated to exist. Walkers spouse will now be entitled to about 45,000 pounds ($57,800) a year instead of the minimum of 1,000 pounds a year.

LGBTQ+ rights and anti-homosexuality laws have been a matter of international controversy for decades, and have been receiving increasing attention and scrutiny in the past few years. Earlier this month the New Zealand Parliament formally apologized [JURIST report] to the hundreds of men who were criminally convicted under antiquated anti-homosexuality laws. Also in July a Chinese court has ordered a mental hospital to issue a public apology and pay compensation [JURIST report] to a 38-year-old man after forcing him to undergo conversion therapy. In June the lower house of the German Parliament voted 393-226 [JURIST report] to legalize same-sex marriage. In April Nigeria prosecutors in Kaduna charged 53 men [JURIST report] for celebrating an LGBTQ wedding in violation of the states law against unlawful assembly and the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act. A day earlier Human Rights Watch and other advocacy groups had urged [JURIST report] UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to investigate alleged abuse against LGBT people in Chechnya. According to the open letter, about 100 gay and bisexual men were detained, tortured, murdered or went missing under the authority of Chechen officials.
KEARNEY  Colombian police officers soon will be enrolling again at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

They loved Kearney when they came here, but they were a bit disappointed that all they learned was English language, said Michael Stopford, UNKs assistant vice chancellor for international affairs. He has worked for two years to resurrect the agreement between the Colombian National Police and UNK.

Launched in 2007 by Jerry Fox, the now-retired leader of International Education at UNK, the Colombian program in its heyday had more than 50 police officers learning English at UNK.

Among those who came to Kearney were highly ranked commanders, judges and attorneys, along with pilots, undercover drug interdiction agents, educators and human rights specialists. When they enrolled at UNK, many brought college-age children who also took classes here.

Police numbers dwindled, Stopford said, after a change in leadership for international affairs at UNK. In addition to English, the Colombians wanted to learn about U.S. law enforcement in cooperation with local and state law agencies, but UNK didnt follow through.

Kurt Siedschlaw, a professor in UNKs Department of Criminal Justice, unofficially taught Colombians a class on U.S. Constitutional law as it applies in criminal cases, and awarded the police certificates stamped with the UNK seal. Siedschlaw said the certificates might have been the only documentation officers could show their superiors after a year or two in Kearney.

He said with the resurrected program, UNK will work hard to document when the police complete classes in English and in law enforcement topics, and the university will connect the South Americans with local and state police, the law enforcement training center at Grand Island, and the Nebraska State Penitentiary.

Stopford and Siedschlaw said people in various UNK departments, including the English Language Institute and Department of Criminal Justice, are prepared to help the Colombians make the most of their time at UNK. They said Julie Campbell, chair of the Criminal Justice Department, was extremely supportive.

Traci Gunderson, the director of ELI, traveled to Colombia with Stopford recently so agreements could be completed.

Siedschlaw and his wife, Joni Tschetter, taught for five weeks at a police academy in Bogota, the capital of Colombia.

He said the experience demonstrated that the Colombians value training and education and that those who had studied at UNK gave their experience high marks. Some made friends in Kearney  including three who lived in an apartment in Siedschlaws home  and most appreciated the peace and safety in Nebraska.

In Colombia, the National Police and other branches of the military fought for nearly five decades against narco traffickers and rebel armies. During the war, more than 1 million Colombians were displaced from their homes and farms, and more than 100,000 were murdered. Colombias most notorious drug lord, Pablo Escobar, paid bounties for killing police officers.

Stopford and Siedschlaw expect Colombian police will begin arriving in August for the fall semester, but its uncertain how many will enroll.

UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen and Major Gen. Carlos Rodriguez recently signed the agreement between their two organizations.

Stopford said it is satisfying to reunite Kearney and Colombia, and Siedschlaw said he is excited about the diversity of culture it will bring to UNK and Kearney.

These individuals are coming from backgrounds and experiences that very few people would understand or appreciate, Siedschlaw said.

The advances this campus has made, internationally and culturally, weve come such a long way, and its benefited the community and the university.
FUNK  The remains of an adult female were recently found in a cornfield in rural Phelps County.

According to a Phelps County Attorneys Office press release, Phelps County Sheriff Gene Samuelson located the remains of the woman near 739 and R Roads northwest of Funk. Samuelson responded to a Tuesday report that a body was in a cornfield.

Identification of the remains is pending.

The Phelps County Sheriffs Office, Phelps County Attorneys Office, Nebraska State Patrol and South Central Area Law Enforcement Services investigated the matter and continue to investigate.

Anyone with information regarding the matter is asked to contact the Phelps County Sheriffs Office at 308-995-5692.
Cooper Cook, who was released from Hall County Jail at about 6 p.m. Monday, was back in jail three hours later after a corrections officer noticed suspicious activity in the parking lot.

Grand Island Police Capt. Jim Duering said the 25-year-old decided to load a syringe with heroin and attempt to shoot it up in the jail parking lot.

At about 9:15 p.m., a corrections officer, watching a surveillance monitor, saw Cooks actions in a car and called police.

Since its right across the street, when we got there Mr. Cook still had in his possession the syringe with the heroin, Duering said. And so we escorted him back from whence he came.

Cook, who was released from jail at 6:10 p.m., had left the property and come back in a vehicle, said Corrections Director Todd Bahensky. His return had something to do with a friend still in jail, Bahensky said. Cook may have been there to pick up the acquaintance, Bahensky said.

Cook, a former resident of Shapleigh, Maine, is now listed as homeless.

Cook was charged Tuesday in Hall County Court with possession of a controlled substance, which is a Class 4 felony, and possession or use of drug paraphernalia, which is an infraction.

Judge Al Corey scheduled his preliminary hearing for 10:30 a.m. Aug. 30. His bond was set at $2,500, with 10 percent of that needed for release.

Cook was released on bond Monday in another case by paying 10 percent of a $1,000 bond.

In that case, he is charged with two counts of carrying a concealed weapon, first offense, and one count of possession or use of drug paraphernalia. Those crimes allegedly took place on Friday.
OMAHA -- Seven times.

A prosecutor said Tuesday that Nemias Garcia-Velasco, 32, charged in the death of a passenger in a fiery July 5 crash, has been removed from the United States a total of seven times  five voluntary returns in 2005 and following two deportation hearings, one in 2009 and another in 2011.

Garcia-Velasco, who is from Mexico, also once was convicted of making a false claim to U.S. citizenship, Ryan Lindberg of the Douglas County Attorneys Office said in court.

Garcia-Velasco was driving drunk and speeding about 1 p.m. July 5 when he lost control of his 2001 Dodge Ram van as he headed west on Interstate 80 near the Interstate 680 split, Lindberg said. The van was going over 100 mph, Lindberg said, when it hit a guardrail and a bridge abutment before it rolled and caught fire.

Garcia-Velasco later told officers that he had consumed 12 beers the previous evening into the morning of the crash.

When it was checked at a hospital following the crash, Lindberg said, Garcia-Velascos blood-alcohol level measured .243, three times the legal limit of .08.

Silvano Torres, 58, was riding unrestrained in the cargo area of the van and was declared dead at the scene. Front-seat passenger Jesus I. Gonzalez, 16, was treated at the hospital and released the day of the crash.

Garcia-Velasco was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center with severe burns. He later was released from the hospital and booked into jail. He has been charged with motor vehicle homicide and faces up to 20 years in prison.

Lindberg asked Douglas County Judge John Huber on Tuesday to set a high bail for Garcia-Velasco. If this is someone who bonds out, Lindberg said, I dont think well see Mr. Garcia-Velasco again.

Garcia-Velasco is married and has a child, a public defender told the judge in noting Garcia-Velascos ties to the community. She also said he had sustained significant injuries in the crash.

Huber set bail for Garcia-Velasco at $2 million. He would have to post 10 percent of that, or $200,000, to be released from jail.

Rosa Flores, who had been dating Torres for about a year, said she last heard from her boyfriend just before noon last Wednesday.

Torres texted her that it was too hot to continue patching a roof, and that he would call her when he got home.

That afternoon and for two days, she kept calling and messaging him, with no answer. She saw photos of the burning van and had a sinking feeling that it was the work van Torres used.

I was just devastated, she said. There are so many unsolved things, so many questions. I was so hurt, I was so upset.

Flores said she is angry that Garcia-Velasco allegedly was drinking and driving.

If he knew that he was drinking and he knew that he wasnt able to drive, why did he? she said. He didnt stop to think about the consequences of what could happen. Its not fair that he took the life of somebody else.

Torres was a loving man who spoke fondly of his two daughters and son who lived in Mexico, Flores said. Torres had documentation to be in the United States, she said, and had lived in Omaha for about six years after working in other states. She said she does not know Garcia-Velasco.

In a local case from early 2016 that attracted national attention, Eswin Mejia, a now-21-year-old man from Honduras who was in the U.S. illegally, was charged with motor vehicle homicide and drunken driving after authorities say the pickup truck he was driving collided with an SUV driven by 21-year-old Sarah Root of Council Bluffs, fatally injuring her. Mejia posted 10 percent of his $50,000 bail set by Douglas County Judge Jeff Marcuzzo. Mejia, however, did not appear for the required twice-daily Breathalyzer tests and disappeared. Mejia still is being sought.

Mejias crime and his subsequent release became a focal point of Donald Trumps successful presidential campaign. Trump decried Mejias presence in the United States  and complained that Immigration and Customs Enforcement didnt place a jail hold on Mejia.

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure called Sarahs Law that would require federal immigration officials to take custody of any person who is in the country illegally and charged with a crime resulting in the death or serious bodily injury of another person. It was part of a broader bill aimed at cracking down on sanctuary jurisdictions. The House also approved another bill that would enhance penalties for people who re-enter the country illegally.

The measures have not yet passed the U.S. Senate.

Its not unusual for people who come to the United States illegally to return several times, said Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Rusnok noted that he had not received any reports on last weeks fatal crash in Omaha. He did say the vast majority of voluntary returns are to Mexico.

A spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform said the punishment for coming to the United States after being deported should be stricter.

The penalty seems to be a plane or a bus ticket back to the place they came from, and its got to be more than that, Ira Mehlman said. When people return to the United States after being deported, they should know that they could be facing jail time.

Mehlman mentioned Root and said both she and Torres were innocent victims.

Ross Pesek, an Omaha immigration attorney, said people repeatedly return to the U.S. because they have become part of mixed-immigration-status families. They come back to be around their wives or their brothers and sisters, he said.

What happens is a young man will come from Mexico to work and they will have in their head, Ill go back after I make some money,  Pesek said. But what happens is hell meet a woman, get married and probably have some kids. Then going back to Mexico would be like abandoning his family. Its life that happens.

Undocumented workers, he said, succeed and fail just as American citizens do.

Illegal immigrants get in car accidents and commit crimes, but its not related to their immigration status, Pesek said. American citizens also get in car accidents and commit crimes. Undocumented immigrants or American citizens, nobody wants to kill their friend in a car accident.

Flores, Torres girlfriend, said funeral services for Torres have not been scheduled. Relatives are waiting to take his body back to Mexico.
LINCOLN (AP)  Gov. Pete Ricketts kicked off a tour of businesses throughout Nebraska Tuesday in the buildup to a state economic development summit later this week.

Ricketts said the summit will focus on issues such as the states affordable housing shortage and ways to draw skilled workers into its fastest-growing industries. The first summit was held last year.

The summit and tour are a part of Ricketts larger push to create a business-friendly environment that creates additional jobs.

We as a state want to look for ways we can help develop those things, he said.

His comments came after he toured LI-COR Biosciences in Lincoln, one of several companies that helped Nebraska win the 2016 Governors Cup, a national economic development award. The state was judged on several factors, including its regulatory environment, labor force participation, workforce, power rates and infrastructure.

Nebraska now has the most economic development projects per capita in the nation, according to the governors office. Last year, the state garnered more capital investment projects than North Dakota, South Dakota and Kansas combined.

Nebraska Department of Economic Development Director Courtney Dentlinger said the state works to build relationships with companies that are looking to expand in the state. Companies that are looking to relocate to grow in Nebraska have access to some of the highest-ranking officials in state government, including the governor, she said.

Its all about customer service, Dentlinger said.

Ricketts toured an energy company in Adams earlier Tuesday, and later this week hes expected to visit companies in Kearney Snyder, West Point, Falls City, Endicott and McCook.

The Governors Summit on Economic Development is scheduled for Thursday in Lincoln.
Where have the moderates gone? You know, moderates are the rare breed of political leaders who represent a middle ground thats attainable without scorching the earth with radical extremism. Instead of taking a stand and never backing down, moderates are open to others ideas. Its not my way or the highway.

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Christopher M. Bellitto worried this week about the disappearance of moderates and what their rarity means for the rest of us.

Why are both sides always yelling, and why are there only two sides of stark black and white? Why does someone have to win and another lose? Doesnt me first equal you second? And what does that say about the common good central to democratic societies and religious traditions?

As Bellitto expresses it: Were extreming ourselves to death.

Perhaps the extremists are replacing the moderates because its simpler picking either one side or the other. The ideas are easier to accept when theyre only one-sided. Moderates have it tougher, ideologically speaking. Their ideas must stand up to scrutiny from two directions.

It may be tougher creating moderate ideas, but theyre probably more realistic.

Take health care, for example. On the liberal side, the idea is to include everyone, in contrast to the conservative side, which seeks to leave out as many people as possible.

We havent heard much from the moderates about health care, but if we did, they would say to contain elements agreeable to both liberals and conservatives. As the debate percolates, it could use a shot of moderation. Republicans ought to soften up a bit and seek some alternative solutions.

Americans expect something better than a one-party solution.

Extremists on the left and right mistakenly believe that standing by one of their ideas gives the appearance of conviction, but where is the brilliance in allowing yourself to support a flawed plan?

Moderates can have convictions, including the belief that yielding a little may yield a better result.

Americans should rediscover moderation. Its a place of balance and fairness. As Bellitto wrote: Extremists wash out subtlety and boil their traditions down to silly slogans. Moderates embrace the flaws and depths of theirs to find a better way.
The minute I decided to return to the Hub this spring, I emailed one question to Lori Potter, the Hubs agricultural writer: Can we go to the Sumner rodeo on July Fourth?

And so, last Tuesday, I sat happily in the bleachers for the Sumner Saddle Clubs 66th annual July 4 rodeo, lapping up the barrel racing and the steer wrestling and the calf roping like a kitten with a fresh saucer of milk.

This little rodeo is a charmer. There are no reserved seats or cup holders. They roll in temporary bleachers and set them up on the north and south sides of the rodeo grounds. On the east end, and across Highway 40, pickups and horse trailers are parked haphazardly.

You dont purchase tickets in advance or online. You dont pay a service fee. There are no cash registers, no money boxes. Lori and I simply hand $8 in cash to the woman standing at the gate. She clutches our bills in her fist.

We wander in. I find a bleacher seat three or four rows up. I sit down. The sun is hot. Potter wanders off, camera in hand, parking herself on a front-row bleacher or inching up a pole to take pictures unimpeded by fence lines. This is my fourth Sumner rodeo, and I still feel as if Im watching life in Nebraska through friendly binoculars.

Were a few minutes early, and out there in the ring, a dozen or so cowboys and cowgirls are ambling around on horseback like Olympic ice skaters who glide up and down the ice before competition begins. They ride as effortlessly as they breathe. As a city person whos still skittish about horses, I wonder how long it takes them to master that.

It is time for the national anthem. We say the pledge of allegiance, too. I sense a renewed fervor this year. Far away, Donald Trump is bumping along in the White House saddle as the snarling bull of public opinion tries to buck him off, but this crowds patriotism is as straight and strong as the corn I see across the road.

I sit down. Across Highway 40, the land rolls and stretches as distant as the sea.

Up high in the west end of the stands, country music is blaring. The announcer plays straight man for the rodeo clown. That clown, his face painted like Ronald McDonald, cracks dusty jokes about naughty bulls, nasty mothers-in-law and nagging wives. Hes wearing a little mike so we can hear him.

I watch cowboys rope calves. I watch cowgirls on horses circling madly around barrels. I see clusters of cowboy hats bent over the young man whos about to take his chances out there on the back of a bull.

I watch tiny children scramble to pluck the ribbon off the calf. One little blue-jeaned boy, about 3 years old, doesnt run. Left behind, he stands there, drops his brown-haired head, and cries.

I feel sorry for people whose faces are forever funneled down to their cell phones. Life is up here, under a hot July sun, where a bull snorts and paws the ground before trotting back to the pen, where people sit like sunflowers in the hot sun after they enjoyed a parade and nibbled on barbecued beef for lunch in the community center.

Late that afternoon, as Lori and I amble back to the car, we pass a sprawling family sitting in their yard sipping beer and lemonade in Sumner. Thats what holidays are all about.

Out here, practically smack dab in the middle of the U.S., Nebraskans celebrate Independence Day with flavor richer than the relish slathered on hot dogs. Most Americans think the best Independence Day celebrations happen in big cities. Every July 4, Sumner proves them wrong.
Its not likely that tolerance will soon break out in Nebraska. Those words from Charles Kuralt on a Dateline America piece about the Nebraska Interstate 80 Bicentennial Sculpture Project in 1976. Still haunting. Sadly true.

Kuralt was standing in front of Ermas Desire, a piece that still stands, almost forgotten, at the western edge of the eastbound I-80 rest stop at Grand Island. The project raised eyebrows and controversy since none of the artists were from Nebraska and the artwork was abstract. A series of statewide public hearings were held to discuss the project  and not everybody liked it.

Four decades later were still struggling with intolerance in Nebraska. Attorney General Doug Peterson announced that he is joining nine other Republican state attorneys general in asking that the Trump administration reverse its earlier decision to allow so-called DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) youths to retain legal presence in the United States. That would impact more than 3,000 young immigrants in Nebraska.

Until this session, Nebraska lawmakers have consistently supported the DACA youths who were brought to the country when they were babies or young children. Passed over gubernatorial vetoes (one during the Dave Heineman administration and two under the Pete Ricketts administration), lawmakers granted resident college tuition rates, drivers licenses and professional and commercial licenses.

But, the wheels came off the tolerance wagon this year when state senators narrowly approved a resolution (LR26) opposing any federal action to rescind protections for DACA youths. The resolution was approved on a 24-1 vote with 17 senators present but declining to vote. There were seven senators excused and not voting.

Of those present and not voting, 16 were Republicans and one Democrat, Burke Harr from Omaha. So, when is a senators present and not voting the same as a no vote? Its often just a safe way to appease both the constituents who elected them and the governor who keeps track.

Peterson admits that he struggles with the issue on a personal level, but his duty is fidelity to the constitution and that the executive branch has exceeded its authority in the matter and must be reined in (my words, not his). The Trump administration has vacillated on the issue thus far.

What if part of Petersons position is based on the big R behind his name? Given the votes in the Legislature and the history of vetoes by Republican governors, fighting DACA just seems to be the Republican thing to do. Just as much as voting for the proposals seems to be the Democrat thing to do. Or so we would deduce based on our understanding of the parties.

The post-session action is a fitting end to the 2017 Session of Our Discontent. Never has the nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature been this polarized. Petersons action doesnt do anything to ease the situation.

J.L. Schmidt, a registered Independent, is the Nebraska Press Associations statehouse correspondent.
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Imagine that you come home to find your daughter in tears. Shes been acting strangely for the past year, but she never tells you whats going on. This time she finally tells you: She cant stop thinking about killing herself with a knife in the kitchen. After an hour of talking, you realize that she doesnt want to die, but she has obsessive thoughts about hurting herself. Shes overwhelmed, and neither of you know what to do. Your pediatrician tells you to find a child psychiatrist and gives you a list of numbers of doctors who supposedly take your insurance. You call ten of the numbers, and none are taking new patients. When you finally reach one, the receptionist tells you that the psychiatrist doesnt accept insurance anymore. You cant afford the thousands of dollars a year it would cost to take your child to the doctor.

There are 15 million kids in the United States who need a child psychiatrist. There are only 8,300 practicing child psychiatrists in the country. Many are clustered in major cities like San Francisco, New York City and Boston, leaving less densely populated areas without any child psychiatrists at all. The map below, created by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, breaks the shortage down by state:

Source: Reprinted with the permission from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2017. All rights reserved.

The shortage means some of the most vulnerable children in our country will go without help. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the second most common cause of death among U.S. teenagers. Despite this, only one-third to one-half of children who need mental health care have access. The situation is only projected to get worse.

The Washington Post interviewed pediatrician Dr. Karen Rhea last year about what this means in the real world. She called it gut-wrenching to watch young people in crisis: a teen who overdosed, a mentally ill child who landed in jail, a high school senior who tried to kill herself by crashing her car. Her town of Franklin Tennessee did not have a single pediatric psychiatrist to care for these kids until she became one herself.

As if this werent devastating enough, most child psychiatrists, even if you find them, will not provide an appointment. Researchers at Harvard University conducted a study this May in which they called 312 child psychiatrists in Boston, Chapel Hill, Houston, Minneapolis and Seattle. All physicians were listed as taking Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance. And yet, when the researchers called pretending to have a child with the insurance, they were able to schedule appointments only 17 percent of the time.

Why the shortage? Part of it is that there is a high demand. There are just too many children with significant mental health concerns. The other side is that there is low supply. The pipeline of medical students interested in careers as child and adolescent psychiatrists is low. Psychiatry is one of the least-reimbursed fields in medicine, with salaries dwarfed by procedural specialties like anesthesia, dermatology and ophthalmology, which have historically been much more popular and competitive. Insurance companies continue to reimburse high rates for procedures and a fraction of that for office visits. While a dermatologist can get paid nearly $200 for a one-minute skin biopsy, insurance may pay half this for an hour-long psychiatry appointment. To top it all off, within the medical profession, psychiatrists are stigmatized by their colleagues. Dr. Wesley Boyd, psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School explains:

I think that those with psychiatric illness are stigmatized. I also feel that some medical students feel stigmatized if they choose to enter psychiatry. I have heard more than one psychiatry resident say that attendings told them that if they chose to go into psychiatry itd be a waste of their brains and talent. Additionally, psychiatry is relatively underpaid compared to other medical specialties and facilities/hospitals that offer psychiatric services do so at a loss. If pay were better and if it werent known to be a money loser for institutions, more might choose to enter psychiatry.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has implemented a number of strategies to improve the situation. The Academy offers mentoring programs and scholarships to help medical students explore the field. They have lobbied for loan forgiveness programs to increase the financial incentives for students to go into the field. Given the current state of health care policy, however, it remains unclear what the financial future is for those who choose the field.

For now, we are faced with a serious dilemma. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in teens, and its nearly impossible to find a child psychiatrist who can help those teens at risk. In the midst of emerging health policy under the Trump administration, I hope we find a solution soon.

Jack Turban is a child and adolescent psychiatry resident and can be reached on Twitter @jack_turban. He writes at the Political Minds blog for Psychology Today, where this article originally appeared.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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Everyone says that medical school gets better, especially third year. The traditional four-year curriculum covers basic science in the classroom for the first two years. Then suddenly, third year plunges us into clinical rotations in the hospital, where weve all dreamed of working for so long. Third year is when we transition from learning how to be scientists; we finally learn how to become doctors  except for one critical, necessary piece.

Like my non-medical friends whove really been living life, third year should finally have allowed me to say the same. After all, Ive delivered babies, consoled surgical patients before going under anesthesia, successfully convinced people to quit smoking  Ive even had the chance to tell a man he had brain cancer  and then be there to help him process that for hours. For most people, these probably sound like experiences of a lifetime.

Dont get me wrong. Ive felt deeply humbled and privileged to share these vulnerable moments with people who trusted me, a complete stranger. Regardless, these experiences simply could not make up my despair at all the things I couldnt do. My patients medical problems were inextricably intertwined with preventable social problems, which my superiors all too often dismissed as beyond our scope. This drove me up the wall because, in my previous career, seeing every problem as within my locus of control was the key to success.

For context, before medical school, I was first a Detroit public school teacher. I taught ninth-grade biology in a low-income neighborhood school, where the average ACT score was twelve (fifth percentile). Perhaps fueled by a then-naive vision for a better society, I trained for this role through Teach For America. While nothing couldve prepared me for this challenge, my amazing kiddos and I connected and taught each other more than we thought possible. My strongest relationships formed outside the classroom with students whom I helped to overcome social barriers  like lack of transportation, imminent homelessness, and functional illiteracy  which were precisely the same social determinants of health deemed out of scope in third year of medical school.

I entered medicine with a specific calling: to do my part to reverse the trajectory of Americas decreasing life span. After a year on the wards, I still hold myself firmly to this mission. But instead of adding productive years to life, my third year focused almost entirely on suffering patients who narrowly escaped death: heart attacks caused by unsustainable food systems, combative psychiatric patients medicated to mask failing social welfare, and diabetic amputations that unacceptably should have been prevented decades ago by public education.

During my entire third year, I repeated to myself, This just isnt good enough. We can do better. At some point, I realized that medical training in its current form will never be enough.

To bridge this gap, I count myself fortunate for the opportunity to pursue a master of public health (MPH) degree between my third and fourth years. This additional training will provide missing skills Ive needed to advocate for my patients by addressing their social barriers at the intersection of public policy, community development, and education  the upstream cures to nearly all of their disease.

But I shouldnt have to get extra training; every medical student should be taught this by default. Just as our Hippocratic Oath obligated us to learn diagnosis and management of disease, it also bestowed a social responsibility upon us to prevent disease through evidence-based policy reforms that do no harm.

As many medical schools experiment with new curricula, I challenge them to graduate physicians capable of seeing the bigger picture, beyond the scope of our individual hospitals and private offices. We need community-engaged physicians proficient at collaborating on legislative bills, at conducting targeted health interventions, and at protecting each of our unique patient populations through large-scale health promotion.

If we simultaneously pay for the most expensive care and the worst health outcomes in the developed world, then we are clearly doing [a lot of] harm. Now more than ever, it is imperative that our medical schools teach us concrete skills to stand up for what we already know is right, inside and outside the hospital. Only then can we shift toward a reality where everyone has access to excellent health  regardless of their zip code.

Rohit Abraham is a medical student.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Another public meeting is to take place in Callan later this month regarding the future of the Droichead childcare facility.

The meeting has been organised by local Sinn Fein TD Kathleen Funchion and councillor Sean Tyrrell, and follows two previous meetings held in the town to discuss ongoing fears over the facilitys future.

A dispute remains ongoing between the Droichead Family Resource Centre and its landlords, Callan Community Network (CCN), which gave the former notice to quit the Friary complex last month. The deadline to do so was extended to August, and locals are worried about its long-term future.

Some have also expressed concern that they dont have a say in what is to happen to the complex, on who makes decisions, and who controls the various buildings. There are also questions regarding rent, insurance and utilities.

The local Sinn Fein group, which organised the previous two meetings in the parish hall, also invited the Callan Community Network. They say the CCN has failed to engage with the people of Callan on the matter.

However, the Callan Community Network says it is happy to engage with all parties, but it too has a number of concerns. A spokesperson for the CCN says that all parties need to condemn attempts at cyber intimidation and not associate with those engaged in such activity. They say that people related to the Friary have had personal details and pictures posted online, and that even private details of CCN directors children have been posted.

The CCN is also seeking clarity over some missing property and damage at the complex.

It says that a number of public representatives have chosen electioneering over the truth. However, the CCN has also said that there is no threat to the creche, and the network is committed to the future of the facility.

The next public meeting takes place on Tuesday, July 25 in the parish hall.

It is for the benefit of Callan and all its people that all aspects of this matter are resolved and that the parents and children using the excellent childcare facility and those working there who perform such a dedicated and top class service are given an assurance of security and certainty going forward, says Deputy Kathleen Funchion.
A cross between an equine centre and a rubbish dump is how one local councillor described the state of Kilkennys Hebron House in the wake of a council-led inspection last week.

Located just outside the ring road, the distinctive farmhouse, which is a listed building and is in private ownership, has been in a state of disrepair and neglect for years now. However, it does appear to be in some regular use as a de facto stables for horses, and also as an illegal dumping ground.

Members of the council's environment staff, accompanied by Gardai, carried out an inspection at the property on Wednesday. Cllr Andrew McGuinness, who visited the site with a Kilkenny People photographer following the inspection, said he was shocked by what he saw.

Inside the building, there is rubbish piled 10ft high, stacked from the floor to the ceiling, says the Fianna Fail councillor.

Outside, there are horse facilities in place that are comparable to an equine centre. There is what looks like a freshly-used stable facility with chippings laid down, an outdoor pen with sand for a run.

Cllr McGuinness noted that it was the first time he had been in the vicinity of the house without seeing any horses there. There was evidence of their recent presence, however, including horse blankets, boxes, and manure.

Ive been raising the issue of Hebron House at council meetings for the last four months, he said.

It seems to be a hive of activity, with people going in and out every day. And very young children bringing horses across the road and in through a makeshift gate."

The council has not confirmed whether anything of note was discovered during the inspection, nor did it confirm whether or not there would be any follow-up action taken.

Im looking forward to hearing the outcome of the council's inspection, said Cllr McGuinness.

Particularly after what I saw, just after the inspection took place. I hope it will lead to prosecutions and the elimination of the dangers and anti-social behaviour associated with the unauthorised use of the house.

In a statement issued to the Kilkenny People, Kilkenny County Council said it carries out a number of routine and non-routine inspections each year.

The number of inspections planned for 2017 is 2,429. The council receives on average 1,000 complaints each year in relation to environmental and related matters. To date this year, nearly 500 complaints have been received and investigated.

In addition to checking for litter, illegal dumping and other unauthorised activities, an additional team including staff from Kilkenny County Council and An Garda Siochana carried out inspections at various sites under the Control of Horses Act, says the statement.

This is part of a programme of ongoing work with horse owners to ensure that all horses in Kilkenny City and county are identified and registered to their owners.

Kilkenny County Council are and will continue carrying out inspections on a regular and continuous basis all over the county.
A new campaign to highlight angling and the importance of conservation has been launched in Kilkenny by Inland Fisheries Ireland.

'CPR saves fish' is the campaign's slogan, and the hashtag #CPRsavesfish has been placed on a couple of high profile locations around Kilkenny to engage the public around the pursuit of conservation focused angling.c

Johns Bridge and Kieran Street, the Lady Desart Bridge, in Kilkenny City have been marked with the #CPRsavesfish stencil, alongside a number of locations around the country. CPR stands for Catch, Photo, Release and refers to a method of angling where a fish is caught and subsequently returned unharmed back into the water. This angling technique is proven to contribute to the maintenance of healthy fish stocks and ensures future generations can continue to enjoy the recreational and economic benefits of the fisheries resource.

The #CPRsavesfish stencils can be found in urban locations in each River Basin District in Ireland including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Letterkenny and Kilkenny. The hashtag stencils, which have been powerwashed with water onto pavements, are completely environmentally friendly and are expected to fade naturally in the coming weeks.

Inland Fisheries Ireland is supporting catch and release across all types of angling including pike, coarse, salmon and trout fishing as well as sea angling. The method results in positive survival rates for fish when caught using best practise methods.

Research carried out by Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research in 2014 examined the survival of salmon after catch and release fishing in three Irish rivers. Overall, 92% of the Atlantic salmon recorded after tagging survived post Catch & Release.

This awareness campaign in Kilkenny aims to put angling on the general publics radar by playing on the concept of CPR as a lifesaving mechanism and to engage existing anglers around the practise of catch and release fishing," said Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development at Inland Fisheries Ireland.

"Catch, Photo, Release (CPR) angling ensures the sustainability of our fisheries resource in the long term with most sporting anglers in Ireland already practicing catch and release to some degree, recognising that it ensures the maintenance of healthy fish stocks and the sustainability of the sport in the long term.

"Angling is a pursuit that can be enjoyed at any age or ability and Ireland has a host of top angling destinations right on doorsteps across the country. We are encouraging novice anglers to visit www.fishinginireland.info/ cprsavesfish to find out more about how they can try fishing in their local area.
July 12 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set for a quiet start on Wednesday, tracking U.S. stocks, which had a choppy session driven by political news, including emails disclosed by President Donald Trump's eldest son that cited Russian support for his father's 2016 presidential campaign.

Concerns about whether the Trump administration would be able to push through its economic agenda this year have also weighed on the market, especially after repeated delays in getting a new healthcare bill passed. Investors are keeping an eye on the upcoming semi-annual monetary policy testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and second-quarter earnings reports expected on Friday from big U.S. banks.

The local share price index futures was down 0.053 percent to 5672, a 56.9-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close.

The benchmark rose 0.1 percent to 5,728.9 on Tuesday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was flat in early trade.

(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney)
By Jason Bechervaise



The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) kicks off its 21st edition this evening with the world premiere of the Korean dark comedy "Room No. 7" set in a DVD room starring Shin Ha-kyun and directed by Lee Yong-seung.



This year there are 289 films from 58 different countries being shown, but the genre film festival is evidently trying to place an emphasis on Korean films illustrated by the increase of local films screening at the festival with 109 invited this year -- including the festival's opening film -- compared to 65 last year.



In an interview with The Korea Times, festival director Choi Yong-bae said, "This year, BIFAN is keeping its sights on Korean films and filmmakers, and by doing so, BIFAN is trying to be faithful to its goals."



Commenting on the overall health of Korean genre films, Choi cited recent Korean masterpieces such as "The Battleship Island" (2017), "Train to Busan" (2016) and "The Wailing" (2016) as large-scale films that also have mass appeal. "It is a positive thing for large-scale commercial genre films to be produced," Choi said.



"However, on the other hand, opportunities for small and mid-scale movies by creative and experimental new directors are relatively insufficient. I feel it is necessary for such directors to have more opportunities."



BIFAN, therefore, is a festival where such directors are given the chance to showcase their work including Lee with his sophomore feature "Room No. 7," which was produced by Myung Films headed by influential producer Sim Jae-myung. Lee's previous film "10 Minutes" bowed in Busan in 2013 to strong reviews, and then secured a healthy run on the international festival circuit, including the Berlin film festival.



Under Choi who joined the festival last year, BIFAN expanded its industry program with B.I.G (the BIFAN industry Gathering) launched last year. This broader program combined NAFF (Network of Asian Fantastic Films) -- a program that focuses on supporting the production of genre films in Asia, education, and global exchange -- with the addition of Korea Now, Made in Asia, and New Media programs, according to Choi.



The "Korea Now" program, for example, includes a filmmakers' workshop, a BIFAN scenario showcase and a Korean Film Policy Roundtable event, which will discuss the Korean Film Council's (KOFIC) new status and policies under the Moon Jae-in administration.



Choi who is also a well-established film producer heads the festival as it seeks to form closer ties with the local film industry, which is reflected in the festival's selection of films and its industry programs.



In December 2004, the then popular festival director Kim Hong-joon was dismissed by the former mayor of Bucheon, Hong Geon-pyo. The film industry responded by boycotting the festival.



"The film festival was ostracized by the film community for about ten years. BIFAN has recently started to restore the trust that was once lost," Choi said.



"The vision for this festival, which has taken the first step to getting back on track after a period of stagnation, is to not only have the film community return to BIFAN, but to earn their complete trust."



While the festival looks ahead, it is also reflecting on its past as it honors the renowned Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon and her career on the silver screen, which spans two decades.



Jeon's debut on the big screen was in Chang Yoon-hyun's "The Contact" that was shown at the BIFAN's inaugural edition in 1997, which was also a time when the local industry began to experience tremendous growth.



Giving audiences an opportunity to reflect back on Jeon's illustrious career also enables festival goers to see how the contemporary Korean film industry has evolved.



The special program titled "Contact Jeon Do-yeon" will include screenings of the 17 films she starred in, the publication of a book commemorating her work, and the actress herself will attend the festival.



Other notable programs at the festival this year include "Terrible Women: Monsters and Villainesses" that focuses on horror films and feminism, a retrospective of Spanish genre filmmaker Alex de la Iglesia, while the "Best of Asia" program will feature the most popular films from around Asia in 2016 such as "Train to Busan" and "Cold War 2."



Underscoring the festival's emphasis on Korean cinema, it also features a special program titled "Hong Ki-seon: The Cinema Beyond Suppression," which showcases the director's work including his final film "The Discloser" which he made before he died in December 2016.



The festival will also screen films from across the globe, which includes Alexandre O. Philippe's documentary "78/52" about the iconic shower scene in Hitchcock's "Psycho" that is also screening at the festival -- as is the Hong Kong action blockbuster "Shock Wave" and Julia Ducournau's "Raw" about a student desperate to fit in at school who abandons her family's vegetarian principles and searches for raw meat.



Also showing at the festival is "Okja" directed by Bong Joon-ho who will be attending a Q&A in Bucheon giving BIFAN audiences a chance to see the visionary auteur who continues to challenge industry norms.



Choi, who produced Bong's "The Host," said, "Bong has already initiated conversations about the future of the film industry, which has given everyone the chance to contemplate the question of how audiences will watch movies in the future. I believe that's the greatest role he has played."



BIFAN continues until July 23.




"My Wish" (2017), a 3D projection mapping on a replica of Kim Koo statue, by Krzysztof Wodiczko / Courtesy of MMCA



By Kwon Mee-yoo

Last winter, many Koreans gathered at Gwanghwamun Square to peacefully express their opinions through a series of candlelit protests. These not only affected Korea's society and politics, but inspired Polish artist Krzysztof Wodiczko, 74, who was preparing for his first exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul (MMCA).

"Krzysztof Wodiczko: Instruments, Monuments, Projections" is the first major retrospective of the artist in Asia and features 80 works from the artist's career as well as a new piece "My Wish," inspired by the recent social movement in Korea and installed in Gallery 7 of the MMCA Seoul.

Wodiczko took notice of the ideal society and expectation of democracy from the Korean people and linked the wish to the thoughts of Kim Koo (1876-1949), the independence fighter and premier of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea during the Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945).

"As I read My Wish from Kim's autobiography, the ideal country Kim dreamed of was one where ideas are exchanged candidly in a democratic way and I am impressed by how public places are used in Korea," he said.

So he created a replica of a statue of Kim and used 3D projection mapping of various Koreans speaking on the statue's face, hands and feet.

The voices represent the diversity of Koreans and include a family member of a victim of the ferry Sewol disaster, a North Korean defector artist, an immigrant worker, a sexual minority member, a dismissed worker and a cleric. The artist collected their voices, needs and expectations for over a year starting in May 2016.

Wodiczko is known for providing opportunities to speak to the socially disadvantaged. The artist refers his works as "cultural prosthetics" as they provide the right to speak for those who are excluded from society.

"Who normally wants to listen to a homeless person or an immigrant? I aim to create a special aesthetic situation to make people listen to the voices they usually avoid," Wodiczko said.





"A Homeless demonstrating Homeless Vehicle at Trump Tower, New York, 1988" by Krzysztof Wodiczko / Courtesy of MMCA



Wodiczko was a designer of electronic products such as a microscope, but soon shifted his interest to the weak.

On display in the retrospective are Wodiczko's early works made in Poland as the artist agonized over the conflict between individual freedom and control by the socialist state.

A series of his "cultural prosthetics," including "Vehicle," "Homeless Vehicle" and "Alien Staff," are also on view, giving a glimpse of how the artist tried to give voice to the socially disadvantaged.

Wodiczko's later works more actively involve public spaces as he projected videos on public buildings across the world, working closely with local communities.

His cultural prosthetics and public projections might speak with a larger voice in public spaces, but the Korean audiences can only sample that power at the museum.
Chris Khang

By Chris Khang

In today's complicated world, we need to be resilient and learn to adjust to volatility. However, no matter how the world unfolds and becomes uncertain, our commitment to environmental challenges should remain unchanged.

Recently the U.S. government made a decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, however, GE Chairman Jeff Immelt said that as an industry leader the company will stay supporting smart energy and green technology.

Solving challenges such as energy access and improving environmental performance remain critical and are engrained in our business operations.

As much as I can see the growing tension toward the withdrawal, the world agrees that climate change is a clear and present risk. By 2040, the global energy demand is set to rise 30 percent.

Companies and governments worldwide will invest up to $11 trillion in renewable energy. This is more than new additions to coal, gas and nuclear power generation combined. Globally, there are 8.1 million renewable energy jobs, and they're growing at 5 percent annually.

Businesses and governments around the world should continue taking responsibility addressing the environmental challenges by furthering and leveraging solutions that have the power to drive efficiency and reduce emissions. While believing that climate change is real and that the science is well accepted, GE has the commitment, willpower and technology to solve challenges.

Launched in 2005, Ecomagination is GE's key business initiative to deliver improved economic and environmental outcomes for our customers and the world.

Over the past 12 years, GE has invested $20 billion in clean technology R&D, has a portfolio of 74 Ecomagination products, and generated more than $270 billion in revenue.

Also, it reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 42 percent, reduced freshwater use by 53 percent, and generated more than $400 million in cumulative cost savings from energy efficiency in operations.

As customers, partners and countries are demanding technology that generates power while reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency and reducing cost, Ecomagination comes as a win for business and the environment.

Partnerships are helping us accelerate our efforts on our environmental commitment. In 2015, GE announced the formation of Ecomagination 2020 Partnerships to help solve global resource challenges with industry leaders such as Wal-Mart, Total, Intel and Goldman Sachs. GE and the companies are collaborating in areas such as industrial energy-efficiency, water-reuse adoption, energy-neutral wastewater, and new hybrid renewable solutions.

In Korea, GE has made a number of partnerships agreement with local companies to promote environmental values.

Last year, GE Aviation's marine gas turbine business signed a memorandum of understanding with local partners to cooperate in the joint development of the world's first liquid propane gas (LPG) fueled ferry design, which features GE's compact and lightweight combined gas turbine, electric and steam (COGES) system.

The ferry is expected to deliver economic value and eco-friendliness that the global market requires today, as it is designed to improve safety and efficiency while reducing nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emissions.

This May, the ferry has successfully completed hazard identification meetings, which are considered a key milestone in ensuring the final success of the LPG COGES ferry design process.

More recently GE Power opened a global heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) site, GE Changwon, in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.

HRSG technology maximizes energy efficiency by delivering the gas turbine exhaust heat to a steam turbine.

The site has been successfully transformed to meet the latest global manufacturing standards, with capabilities in research and development, design, and manufacturing. In alignment with the new government's drive for cleaner and more efficient energy ecosystem, we anticipate GE Changwon to bring a higher efficiency power generation solution to the global power market.

World energy consumption is growing. There are challenges ahead of us in preserving the environment.

Governments play a key role in setting policy, yet it is private sector actions that are critical.

GE, a global industry leader driving an energy ecosystem for affordable, reliable and sustainable access to energy, is uniquely positioned to take on environmental challenges.

With over 3,000 scientists across eight global research centers around the world, GE will continue to help to ensure a future that's cleaner and smarter, and that works for us all.

Chris Khang is president and CEO of GE Korea.
Edward Kopp, president of ACE American Fire and Marine Insurance Korea, a Chubb company / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul



By Park Hyong-ki, Nam Hyun-woo

Ever since artificial intelligence (AI) emerged into the spotlight, the world has been projecting a jobs doomsday.

Professionals in all fields, including finance, are asking whether they will be replaced by robots in the near future.

In insurance underwriting, Edward Kopp, president of ACE American Fire and Marine Insurance Korea, said he does not see a future where robots will take over this job immediately.

This is because insurance underwriting not only involves science but also art and insights only humans can provide.

"In underwriting, can we see this being done 100 percent by robotics and AI in the foreseeable future? I would say no," Kopp said in his first interview as the ACE Korea chief with The Korea Times at his office in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.

ACE Korea is part of Zurich, Switzerland-headquartered Chubb, the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company with a market cap of $63.7 billion.

"There is a lot of science behind underwriting. It also involves art. You have to bring the two together."

He noted that companies have data scientists who do predictive modeling, and use technology to draw outputs.

"Technology is an enabler, not the decision maker. You have to ask: how am I going to put this output into practice? I don't think AI can do that."

Therefore, he said that the young generation graduating from universities now and in the near future will not compete directly with robots in underwriting.

However, Kopp advised the young looking to develop their career in insurance to be flexible and always be open to learn new things.

"I couldn't say what the future would look like 50 years from now, but jobs that exist today, did not exist 10 years ago," he said.

"The clear thing is that we all have to learn to be flexible in the way of our thinking. That is going to provide you the opportunity to move and navigate as things change."

In robotic areas such as chatbots in end-to-end services, people could face growing competition with machines.

As he sees digital technology as an enabler that can help produce better results, it will have a further impact on business communication and distribution.

"When I started work, I did not use a computer. I used paper. When I needed to use a computer, I had to go to an IT team and sign one out," the 47-year-old president said.

"Digital is so important now and in the future because we view it not only as communication, but also as a distribution and service platform. The point is we need to stay flexible and open so that we can change with the times."

20 years in insurance

Kopp has worked in the insurance industry for two decades.

He started his career at Deloitte & Touche in Philadelphia in the United States as a certified public accountant for clients in life and general insurance.

"I always served clients like that. Then I worked in the insurance industry right away, mostly domestically focused on health insurance at that time," he said.

He came to Korea in 2003, and officially started working as the chief financial officer of CIGNA Korea, a local unit of the U.S. insurance company, in 2004.

Kopp was the chief operating officer of Hana HSBC Life, a joint venture between Hana Financial Group and HSBC, in 2011.

He joined ACE Korea in November, 2012 as its chief operating officer. He became the president in January 2014.

Except for two years when he worked in Hong Kong, he said that he has lived in Korea the longest outside of the U.S.

"I have seen how the market has developed and changed here. I definitely learned a lot while being here," he said.

"If you think about it, we provide insurance  a sense of protection and security whether for businesses, large or small, or individuals. It could be for individual families. That is part of the value chain of the economy."

Role of insurance

And that value chain here is changing not only because of digital technology but also the country's aging population.

In Korea, about 24 percent of the population here will be aged over 65 by 2030, and 40 percent by 2060, from 13 percent in 2015, he said, noting Statistics Korea's data.

"You can see it in the market. The changes I have seen is when people tend to get older they will have health conditions. They might have a certain condition that could create challenges for them to be insured," he said.

"There are many countries around the world in a similar situation such as China and Japan. Even in the U.S., people have lot less kids  one or two. So there is less support system for families that used to exist."

This changing demographic is going to pressure the social system, and insurance companies can play a big role in providing protection and security to people, Kopp said.

"I believe insurance companies play a critical role, particularly through a protection product. People can save money, but they also want to use their money judiciously to be protected in a life event, which could be a cancer, heart attack or stroke," he said.

"I don't think there is a perfect solution right now, but it is developing."

New responsibility

After more than 10 years in Huam-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, ACE Korea relocated to a new office in Gwanghwamun, following the merger of ACE and Chubb.

The global merger between the two was finalized on Jan. 14, 2016.

However, the two did not integrate until this January. Following the global integration, ACE and Chubb's Korean operations integrated.

The combined company now has more than 200 employees in Korea.

"By bringing the companies together, it has become much more powerful and stronger," he said, adding that his management responsibility has grown bigger.

Before the merger, Chubb was known for providing financial lines insurance coverage, for instance, against allegations from third parties, and losses caused by theft. It also has corporate accident and health insurance.

Meanwhile, ACE was known for consumer or individual products through distribution including telemarketing and infomercial.

"Our financial lines insurance is a very significant part of our business," he said.

"We also have a customer solution, which is an industry focus. This focuses on life sciences, technology, renewable and alternative energy such as solar and wind. These lines of businesses became complementary following the merger."

Over the last few years, ACE has sold three types of critical illness products to serve people who are in need of protection.

"That has been a big shift for us. Dental insurance was and is a very important product. But we also shifted to non-dental products, focusing on critical illnesses such as cancer, strokes and heart attacks."

ACE is a "niche player" in Korea, even though the group operates in numerous markets globally.

Its business in Asia accounts for 10 percent of the total, and Kopp said Korea has been "a significant part of that" given its economic importance in the region.

"Competition is really strong here. There is no denying that. Obviously, there are some challenges. There is also always opportunity within that. But we are definitely a niche player with a focused business here."

Chubb's value

When ACE acquired Chubb, it decided to keep the Chubb brand globally.

In Korea, the ACE brand is maintained with a mention of it being a part of Chubb.

This is because of Chubb's brand value.

"Chubb is a very well known brand in North America, going back to the late 1800s," Kopp said.

Thomas Caldecot Chubb and his son Percy started Chubb in 1882 and opened their marine underwriting business in New York.

ACE also goes all the way back to 1924 in Korea.

Then, it provided limited products only to foreign enterprises here.

It began selling general insurance products still only to foreign companies in 1968.

When ACE and Chubb merged, it selected nine colors to represent the newly merged entity's value.

"Our business cards have different colors, nine colors to be exact. They have meaning  diversity in terms of culture, thinking, employees, products and customers we serve."

In Korea, he added, ACE, a Chubb company, is an execution-oriented company with the brand standing for superior underwriting, execution and service.

"Those are the core parts of our brand. That is what Chubb means. It is about craftsmanship," he said.


By Park Hyong-ki



Why does Korea get frantic every time a foreign-invested company reports that it will send its dividends to its parent company abroad?



The media tends to report meticulously about it. They often indirectly cite some concerns about hard-earned money made from Korean consumers leaving this country.



This is in stark contrast to how foreign media or regulators approach the issue  they rarely or don't cover or deal with it.



It is not like an average regular person encounters a daily business story abroad about Samsung Electronics in the United States transferring dividends to its Korean headquarters after a good year of selling smartphones or chips in the world's largest market.



Koreans would most likely see that as an act of patriotism, but would probably look suspiciously or negatively at a foreign company that sends its dividends from its retained earnings to its home.



In an accounting sense, there is nothing wrong with sending dividends home, piling up cash for a rainy day or reinvesting that cash from retained earnings if a corporate board considers any of these acceptable.



Also, an average retail investor would not complain when a listed company she invested in decides to pay dividends.



Investors should rightly receive dividends from companies that fared well. And as a responsible shareholder, they should scrutinize and demand answers from companies that failed to meet expectations.



That is the basic function of a capitalist system.



Regulators should intervene when they detect disorder in this system to prevent irrational exuberance partly caused by "noisy phishing" as economists George Akerlof and Robert Shiller call it.



In a small, open economy such as Korea, the country could justifiably get worried over a massive exodus of cash because it could increase unwanted volatility.



Financial regulators here have said that how much foreign companies pay dividends overseas is their business.



As long as foreign companies follow global management standards and do not break any rules, there is nothing wrong with dividend payments, the Financial Supervisory Service said at the FSS Speaks forum last April.



Yet again, foreign companies here such as AIG and MetLife are being highlighted for paying handsome dividends to their parent companies overseas.



AIG Korea paid 26.9 billion won to its parent AIG Singapore last year for the first time in 63 years since it began its operations here.



MetLife Korea also paid about 80 percent of its net profit as dividends to its parent company last year.



Both had said that the payments were within their manageable levels.



In a recent interview with The Korea Times, AIG Korea CEO Steven Barnett said, "Based on our due diligence, it was at a level that the company was comfortable with and would not damage Korea's capital position."



MetLife Korea noted that it has been paying dividends over the past five years.



These payments by foreign companies here may be considered large when compared to domestic insurance companies, which have paid less as they try to hoard as much cash as possible ahead of a new accounting system called IFRS 17.



Domestic insurers most likely need to boost their reserves to prepare for the new system. That is why they paid less than their foreign peers.



Of course, when a company pays too much in dividends, it should draw curiosity. High dividend payments may mean that a company does not have a clear investment future. It has a lot of cash but doesn't know what to do with it, so it pays big dividends to make its shareholders happy.



In the case of Apple, it did not pay dividends to its shareholders when Steve Jobs was the chief executive. He instead used that money to reinvest in creating the next big things such as iMac, iPod, MacBook, iPhone and iPad. And its shareholders and board saw that as acceptable because the money spent on innovation boosted Apple's stock price.








South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed Wednesday to continue joint efforts to put "maximum pressure" on North Korea in order to bring it to the negotiating table.



The three countries strongly condemned the North's launch last week of a ballistic missile with intercontinental range during a video conference of their defense officials, according to the South's Ministry of National Defense.



It was meant to share information on the latest provocation and discuss countermeasures.



They pointed out that the July 4 missile firing was in clear violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions on Pyongyang and emphasized the communist regime's development of weapons of mass destruction poses a grave threat to global peace and stability, the ministry said.



The regional powers reaffirmed the importance of coordination to achieve the "complete and irreversible" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and coax the North into halting provocations and returning to dialogue.



South Korea was represented by Chang Kyung-soo, acting chief of the ministry's policy planning office. His counterparts were David F. Helvey, U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, and Satoshi Maeda, director general for Japan's defense policy.



The reclusive North claimed that it successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), named the Hwasong-14, as Americans marked Independence Day.



Launched on the "maximum-lofted" trajectory, it said, the missile reached an apogee of 2,802 kilometers and flew 933 km for 39 minutes.



But there are growing doubts about whether the North has actually mastered ICBM technology.



It would need at least a few more years to develop an ICBM to strike the U.S. mainland, according to Chang Young-keun, a missile expert at Korea Aerospace University.



Citing an simulated analysis, he said the North fired the missile with a 900-kg warhead on a lofted angle to reduce the maximum altitude and avoid possible technical trouble.



"A simulation showed that its range came to only 6,200 km," Chang said in a report. "If a standard warhead is loaded onto the Hwasong-14 ICBM, it can be used for an attack on Alaska and Hawaii. Its range falls short of a level to hit the U.S. mainland."



The distance between Pyongyang and San Francisco is about 9,000 km.



He said the Hwasong-14 is believed to be 19.5 meters long, with an 11-meter-long and 1.4-meter-diameter first-stage booster.



The North is expected to focus on developing a small warhead in a bid to extend the range of its ICBM, a work likely to take two or three years.



He echoed an assessment by the South's state intelligence agency that it remains unconfirmed whether the Hwasong-14 succeeded in atmospheric re-entry, a key element for an ICBM. (Yonhap)




Chief director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights Yoon Yeo-sang speaks during the Jeju Human Rights Conference, June 30. / Courtesy of Korea Human Rights Foundation



By Choi Ha-young

The two Koreas need to set up a "human bridge" at their border to expand people-to-people exchanges, according to Yoon Yeo-sang, cheif director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB).

"Like an animal bridge that connects lands over a road, I propose the creation of a human bridge in the Demilitarized Zone. As East and West Germany legalized border crossings before their unification, South and North Korea need to let people move across the border," Yoon told The Korea Times, during Jeju Human Rights Conference.

"This is the only measure that will resolve continuous re-defection and re-entry cases of North Korean defectors," he said. For years, North Korean woman Kim Ryon-hui has called for her repatriation, claiming she mistakenly arrived in South Korea. However, the Ministry of Unification said her return is impossible under the existing law.

Meanwhile, North Korean authorities have asserted that North Korean restaurant workers who arrived in Seoul last year are being "detained by force" in the South.

"By the declaration, two Koreas can provide a permanent platform for reunions of divided families, Korean War prisoners detained in North Korea and unswerving communists here," Yoon said.

President Moon has repeatedly vowed to achieve family reunions for those separated since the 1950-53 Korean War.

"Like Germany, the nation should announce it at some point. This is only a matter of time. If there is a security concern, Seoul's National Intelligence Service needs to look into the process according to its rules. Of course, this is different from unofficial defections from North Korea."

The NKDB has collected evidence of human rights abuses taking place in North Korea since 2003, in order to establish a framework for punishment against those oppressing North Korean residents.

The decreasing number of defectors is a challenge for the NKDB, since its archiving tasks have largely depended on the refugees as sources.

"We are simply gathering victims' testimonies and evidence to help the North Koreans sweep away assailants after the unification," Yoon said. "However, the full process of punishment and social integration is all up to the North Koreans. The South Korean government is not authorized to decide how to use the materials."
Pyongyang will never go for peace treaty with Seoul'

By Kim Jae-kyoung

There has been a debate over President Moon Jae-in's conciliatory approach toward North Korea amid heightened tensions in the wake of the North's first test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The Korea Times interviewed four international experts on East Asia and North Korea to analyze his strategies. The following discussion has been reconstituted based on separate interviews conducted through phone calls and emails between July 7 and 10.  ED.

Balbina Hwang, special adviser on East Asian affairs in the George W. Bush administration Tara O, adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) William Brown, adjunct professor at Georgetown School of Foreign Service Sean King, senior vice president of New York political consultancy Park Strategies

Q: During the G20 summit in Germany last week, Moon introduced his initiative for an inter-Korean summit to discuss a peace treaty with a more practical package including family reunions. What do you think of his peace gesture while the North is continuing missile launches? Do you think it is a viable option at this point?

Balbina Hwang: I was rather perplexed to hear Moon's proposals in Berlin. These statements and intentions seem contradictory with his statements and reactions to the ICBM launch, and also to his persistent stance that North Korea must denuclearize.

The obvious reason why there has been no peace treaty for almost 65 years is that the two Koreas  and supporting allies  have never been able to accept the terms for peace. Neither Korea has been willing to accept the full legitimacy of the other, as each state currently is. Making this problem worse, for the last 30 years, since the early 1990s, North Korea has now become a nuclear weapons state. This has made it impossible for South Korea and allies, and even Russia and China, to negotiate any peace treaty, as long as the North remains a nuclear state.

William Brown: In my view, Moon would do much better starting his administration by talking tough on Pyongyang, as he did in Washington, gaining room later to take a softer line. In Germany, he proposed peace treaty talks in the right way  including the obvious point that all parties, including South Korea, take part  but that, of course, is unlikely to fly given Pyongyang's view that only the signatories to the armistice have a seat at the table.

Tara O: Moon certainly is persistent in seeking dialogue with Kim Jong-un, but there are two problems. One is he is going against the tide. As North Korea further develops its capability to build a nuclear missile that can reach the U.S., the more urgent the threat becomes for the U.S. The U.S. is considering all options, including military ones, to not allow North Korea to become a direct threat. The other problem is that Kim is not interested in having talks with Moon, because it's contrary to Pyongyang's efforts to sideline Seoul as an insignificant actor.

Hwang: There is another problem with Moon's proposal. Who are the "parties" to the Korean War? Technically, legally, there are only two  North Korea and the U.N. forces. North Korea, the U.S., and South Korea are not legally the combatants. As you know, South Korea never signed, because Rhee Syngman refused. My personal belief has long been that a peace treaty must be negotiated and signed between the two Koreas, and only these two. But because legally the U.N. forces represented South Korea during the war, the treaty should be supported fully, and endorsed by U.N. forces, which continues to be led by the U.S.

Sean King: It'd be ridiculous for the U.S. to sign any peace treaty with North Korea because the North attacked the South, not the U.S. or the other way around. This is thus a matter between Seoul and Pyongyang. It's Seoul's own business if Moon wants to sign a peace treaty with Kim Jong-un but Kim would never go for it anyway, as it'd require Pyongyang's recognition of the South and would debunk his regime's false ultranationalist narrative that his grandfather was defending the peninsula against U.S. forces. The U.S. could in theory sign a parallel agreement with Beijing but it's a moot point, as Pyongyang would never sign any such underlying treaty with Seoul to begin with.

Brown: As a lawyer, Moon surely should understand Pyongyang's tactics. It tries to trap our side in twisted legal logic and then, at a time of its choosing, it declares something we do to be in violation of the deal and uses that excuse to do whatever it wants to do. So if Pyongyang really wants a peace treaty, it must do something to prove it actually wants peace. Stopping the nuclear program would show it is sincere.

Hwang: Every South Korean president, even Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, and now Moon, have unequivocally stated the North must be non-nuclear. Yet, very clearly, the North will not denuclearize before negotiations for peace. So, then, how can Moon call for a peace treaty if the North takes no action or effort to denuke?

Q: Can you provide any advice for President Moon on how to deal with North Korea?

O: Moon should consider increasing the cost to North Korea by focusing on sanctions, increasing military preparations and enhancing coordination with the U.S. The secondary sanctions against Chinese banks and entities have begun to increase the cost to China for not doing enough to discourage North Korea's nuclear weapons program. He should also send the signal to North Korea that the combined South Korea-U.S. military stands ready to defend South Korea, which, to be credible, includes the complete deployment of THAAD, if the need arises. Leave the door open to dialogue, but stand in the position of strength!

Hwang: Having a conciliatory approach to the North is simply not enough to improve either inter-Korean relations or for the goal of denuclearization. The reason is not because dialogue or engagement is wrong in principle, but because in order to achieve the two stated goals above, it requires Pyongyang's participation.

King: What South Korea says actually isn't all that important to Kim Jong-un, as the North's singularly focused on its position vis-a-vis the U.S. Pyongyang sees itself as the true Korean government and insists on directly dealing only with the U.S. But for the U.S. to let Kim come straight to the U.S. without his first acknowledging Seoul would undermine our own Korean ally. Similarly, we recognized East Germany in 1974 but only after the two Germanies recognized each other in 1972.

German unification didn't happen because West Germany reached out to its eastern counterpart, but rather it happened because Moscow chose to no longer support East Berlin and East Germany thus collapsed. Hence North Korea's collapse is the only real avenue toward any favorable Korean unification scenario.

Brown: So how can Moon constructively engage North Korea? Here are several suggestions. First, invite them to participate in the Winter Olympics, as long as there are no more long-range missile or nuke tests. Second, offer to re-engage talks on the Gaeseong and Mount Geumgang projects but with the condition that these are to be about economic development using a market, not state, approach. Also, negotiate resumption of family visits but with no payments to the North Korean government. If a system can be built to ensure that payments go directly to the families, allow South Korean families to make significant gifts.

Hwang: Moon has said the North must at a minimum immediately stop further advancements, and has offered a freeze. But Pyongyang is not accepting this proposal. So I cannot offer advice to Moon on his current policy, because it is already not working. However, I do think his actions thus far, showing strong resolve especially after the most recent ICBM test, are very good and a positive sign at least for now about the alliance. In particular, the trilateral show of air exercises among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan was excellent.

Brown: It is clear that at some point Moon will want to meet Kim. That will likely be fine as long as the meeting does not occur in North Korea or in China. So Moon needs to begin developing the concept of a summit held either at a resort in South Korea or in some other country, maybe even in Hawaii or someplace like that. The reason I say no to North Korea is the horrible history we have of high-level visitors to Pyongyang who, every time, come back empty-handed, looking diminished.

Hwang: The North will certainly not stop its actions for promises of cooperation, but at least a strong show of force, deterrence and defense has shown historically to work in limiting some of the North's most provocative behavior. For now, until the North shows any positive change in behavior, such a strong alliance deterrence must continue. The next test for Moon and whether he will have to alter his strategy will come soon with the future deployment of THAAD, and also when the North tests another nuclear weapon.
President Moon Jae-in talks with five key political and government leaders over tea before explaining the outcome of his recent trips to the United States and Germany at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. From left are Constitutional Court Acting President Kim Yi-su, National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, Moon, Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and National Election Commission Chairman Kim Yong-deok. / Yonhap
By Kim Bo-eun



An Egyptian man lost a suit he filed for refugee status, citing he would be persecuted in his home country for being homosexual.



The 26-year-old man, whose identity was withheld, filed a suit against the chief of the Seoul Immigration Office in May 2014.



The Supreme Court said Wednesday it overturned the Seoul High Court's ruling and sent the case back.



"There is not enough evidence to acknowledge that his fear is well-grounded that he will be persecuted by the Egyptian government," the court said.



The law stipulates that refugee status is given only to those who have "fear based on sufficient evidence of possible persecution."



The court based its ruling on the fact that the man's sexual identity was not disclosed when he was in Egypt. He was not involved in campaigns on homosexuality and had not been subject to persecution based on his sexual identity.



The man arrived in Korea in April 2014 on a tourist visa, and filed for refugee status the following month. He said, "In Egypt, homosexuality is perceived as an anti-religious practice so there is the possibility of persecution."



The first trial ruled against the plaintiff, citing lack of evidence, but the second trial overturned the ruling, recognizing that the man could be persecuted based on the fact that homosexuality is punishable in his home country.








Members of adoptee-led organizations call for an immediate end to international adoption at Gwanghwamun Square, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Kim Joon-young





Death of deported Korean adoptee Philip Clay ignites demands to end industrialized adoption practices

By You Soo-sun



Adoptee-led organizations called on the Korean government to immediately end the "industrialized international adoption" system here during a press conference in central Seoul, Wednesday.

The joint declaration, written at the University of California Irvine and addressed to the Moon Jae-in administration, was submitted at 3:00 p.m. at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul. In light of the recent death of deported Korean adoptee Philip Clay, members further stressed the need to prevent deportation and enhance the protection of rights for all adoptees.

John Compton, internal adviser at Global Overseas Adoptees' Link (G.O.A.'L), has mainly worked on advocating for deported adoptees including Clay. He started working with deported adoptees in 2013 and continues to maintain contact with eight of the adoptees.

He said although "15 years have passed since the issue was brought to light, there is still no place  policies, procedures, or programs  for them in this system." Compton said he took the initiative to have Clay's remains sent to the U.S., by locating and contacting Clay's adoptive parents and communicating with the Korean government and the U.S. Embassy.

He wondered why the Korean government or the adoption agency that facilitated his adoption did not take such measures. On Thursday, a small departure vigil will be held at Incheon International Airport before his remains are sent to the U.S.

The declaration, signed by scholars and members of various adoptee groups including KoRoot, Adoptee Solidarity Korea (ASK) and the Adoption, Naturalization, Deportation Project (AND), further urged the government to enhance support for unwed mothers, improve post-adoption services, centralize adoption records and provide deported adoptees in Korea with adequate welfare services. They also asked the government to launch a task force to prevent deportation of adoptees and protect the rights of all adoptees returning to Korea.

One of the key issues addressed was the poor management and preservation of records that are often denied to adoptees even upon request.

The problem has resulted from the industrialization of international adoption here as this induces stakeholders to create more demand for adopting rather than prioritizing protecting the rights of the child.

Records were largely kept and managed by adoption agencies and orphanages, many of which no longer exist and hence have led to inaccurate accounts of those who have been adopted abroad and those who face citizenship issues in the U.S., Australia and other Western countries.

"The Korean government has known about the problem since the 1990s  they had enough time to address this issue by working with the U.S.," Compton said. "Now is the time to come up with a plan to correct it."




By Jun Ji-hye



Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the nation's sole aircraft maker, will sign a 296 billion won ($258 million) deal later this month to export an additional eight T-50 supersonic trainer jets to Thailand, an industry source said Wednesday.



"The deal will be signed in Seoul tentatively on July 29," the source said, asking not to be named.



The signing is planned as Thailand's military government, which took power following a 2014 coup, approved the acquisition of eight T-50s, Tuesday, adding to the four aircraft it purchased in 2015.



Announcing the decision, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said, "We got the South Korean ones."



He added, "You can see that we are not tied to one particular country," apparently mindful of the controversy that the country's most recent defense purchases have been Chinese including a deal to buy three submarines.



The Bangkok Post reported, quoting an unidentified source, "The purchase (of eight T-50s) will be financed by the dedicated budget of the Royal Thai Air Force over the next three years."



In 2015, Thailand ordered four KAI T-50s in a $110 million deal to replace L-39 trainer jets made by the Czech Republic, which will be decommissioned.



The delivery of four aircraft will be completed by next year.



KAI developed the T-50 in 2001 with technical assistance from the U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.



About 2 trillion won was invested in the large-scale national project to develop the homegrown supersonic trainer jet that took eight years to develop.



The Korean company, based in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, has also manufactured aerobatic and combat variants, namely the T-50B, TA-50 and FA-50, as well as the Surion utility helicopter.



A total of 144 units of the T-50 family have been deployed by the South Korean Air Force, while 16 T-50s were exported to Indonesia in 2011.



Korea also signed a deal with Iraq to export 24 T-50IQs in 2013, and with the Philippines to export 12 FA-50PHs, a light combat version of the T-50, in 2014.



According to military officials, Thailand has also shown interest in buying Korea's armored cars and rifles.



As part of their efforts to explore Korea's defense industries and organizations, defense officials and scientists from Thailand, including Maj. Gen. Sombat Prasankasem, deputy director of the Defense Science and Technology Department, visited Korea last month.



During their visit, Thai officials toured defense companies such as Poongsan and S&T Motiv.



Poongsan produces ammunition, while S&T Motiv manufactures rifles and machineguns, such as the K-2 and K-12.




By Chyung Eun-ju



The chief of a popular coffeehouse franchise was indicted for allegedly blackmailing his celebrity ex-girlfriend after she told him she wanted to end their relationship.



Son Tae-yong, 48, CEO of Coffeesmith, allegedly demanded that his ex-girlfriend return all gifts and money he gave her, or spent on her, or he would make public "video clips" that would damage her reputation. He also allegedly threatened to disrupt her TV appearance by telling people she was a "gold digger who pretended to date him with marriage in mind."



The couple dated for four years from early 2013.



Amid the intimidation, the girlfriend, 28, sent back 57 luxury gifts and 160 million won ($139,650) in cash, according to the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office. Among the gifts were jewelry, watches, home appliances and designer clothes.



But his blackmailing continued, so she filed a petition with the prosecution.



Prosecutors said they had found no video clips that could damage her.



Coffeesmith said Son made the controversial comments "in a fit of anger" that did not reflect his true thoughts.



Coffeesmith has 50 outlets in South Korea and had annual sales of 13 billion won in 2015.




By Kim Bo-eun



The prosecution launched an investigation Wednesday into the Korea Customs Service over allegations it granted favors to certain conglomerates in providing duty free shop licenses under the Park Geun-hye administration.



The investigation will focus on whether Park or her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil intervened in the custom agency's selection of companies, marking a second-phase probe into the massive influence-peddling scandal which removed Park from office.



The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) confirmed Park ordered four additional slots for duty free shops in Seoul in 2016, for which there were no initial plans.



The findings came from an audit conducted in February and March on the customs agency following a request from the National Assembly. The state auditor announced 13 illegal and unfair practices it found in its audit, Tuesday.



Prosecutors began an into investigation Chun Hong-uk, the commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, and four former and current staff members of Seoul Main Customs.



Chun faces allegations of destroying documents related to duty free store license evaluations, and four other allegations of manipulating evaluation scores.



He is suspected to have pledged his loyalty to Choi after taking office as commissioner.



Officials of Hanwha Group and Doosan Group, which are suspected to have been unfairly selected in 2015, may also face an investigation. The customs agency allegedly altered its evaluations of the conglomerates, allowing them to be selected.



Prosecutors will look into whether the conglomerates provided support for Choi's daughter Chung Yoo-ra, a former dressage competitor.



Based on the fact that Hanwha and Doosan contributed funds to the Choi-controlled Mir and K-Sports foundations, prosecutors will also probe the relationship between the conglomerates' provision of funds for the foundations and their acquiring of licenses.



Lotte Group will also likely face an investigation. The group was selected in a third screening process, which was added due to Park's order.



Lotte provided funds to the Mir and K-Sports foundations after it was eliminated in the second screening.




Lee Jun-suh



By Lee Kyung-min

A Seoul district court issued an arrest warrant for Lee Jun-suh, a former senior official of the opposition People's Party, Tuesday, allowing the prosecution leverage to investigate the leadership of the party over a smear campaign against President Moon Jae-in.

In what could be a party-dissolving allegation, the prosecution is zeroing in on who among the party's top officials were aware of the fabricated material used in the campaign and whether they condoned it to help its former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo.

The Seoul Southern District Court issued the warrant for Lee who is suspected of knowing that the voice recording released by the party only four days ahead of the May 9 presidential election was fabricated by party member Lee Yu-mi and her brother.

In the recording, made to look like a communication between President Moon's son Moon Joon-yong and a schoolmate at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, the son acknowledges using his father's influence to land a job at a public agency.












South Korea's foreign ministry said Wednesday that it is conducting an internal investigation into allegations that a diplomat stationed in Ethiopia sexually assaulted a female subordinate.



A local news outlet reported that the high-ranking diplomat working at the South Korean Embassy to Ethiopia raped a subordinate official over the weekend.



The ministry confirmed the report, saying that the two met on Saturday night (local time) and had wine together before the incident happened.



The victim claimed that she was heavily intoxicated and unconscious when the diplomat brought her to his home where she was raped, according to the ministry.



The ministry didn't provide details on the identities of the two citing privacy reasons, only saying that the woman was an administrative worker employed on a contract basis.



The woman returned to Seoul on Tuesday night and ministry officials are currently meeting with her to figure out exactly what happened. The suspect has also been ordered to return home immediately for internal investigation, the ministry said.



He allegedly told his colleagues after the incident that he doesn't remember anything.



"His claims have not been inconsistent," a ministry official said on condition of anonymity. "We need to listen to his side of story when he returns to Seoul."



He is to arrive here late in the day. The questioning will start on Thursday, the official said.



The ministry said that it will seek heavy punishment and refer the case to the prosecution for criminal investigation if the allegations are confirmed. (Yonhap)




From left are Kim Pan-suk, head of the Ministry of Personnel Management; Ryu Young-jin, minister of food and drug safety; Hwang Soo-kyeong, commissioner of Statistics Korea; Lee Won-jae, administrator of the National Agency for Administrative City Construction; Lee Cheol-woo, chief of the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency; Choi Byung-hwan, first vice minister at the Office for Government Policy Coordination; and Noh Hyeong-ouk, second vice minister of the office. / Yonhap



By Kim Rahn

President Moon Jae-in appointed the heads and deputy heads of seven state-run organizations Wednesday.

Kim Pan-suk, a professor of public administration at Yonsei University, was tapped as head of the Ministry of Personnel Management, a vice-minister-level post.

He obtained his bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. degrees in public administration at Chung-Ang University, Florida International University and American University, respectively. The professor also worked under former President Roh Moo-hyun in personnel affairs and was the head of the Korean Society for Public Personnel Administration.

"As a scholar specializing in personnel and administrative affairs, he has contributed to developing the nation's public personnel system. He is strong in both theory and practical affairs," presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun said.

For minister of food and drug safety, Moon picked Ryu Young-jin, former vice chief of the Korean Pharmaceutical Association (KPA).

Ryu studied pharmacology at Pusan National University. He was the head of the Busan offices of the KPA and the Korean Association Against Drug Abuse. "He has been engaged in various activities to improve public health and protect citizens' rights. He is suitable to lead the agency through safe food and drug management," Park said.

Hwang Soo-kyeong, a senior researcher at the Korea Development Institute, was tapped to be commissioner of Statistics Korea. She studied chemical engineering at Seoul National University (SNU), and obtained her master's and Ph.D. degrees in economics at Soongsil University and State University of New York, respectively.

She held various positions at the Korea Labor Institute and is a member of the National Labor Relations Commission. "Hwang has expertise in labor economics and applied econometrics. She is expected to lead the nation's statistics affairs by providing quality statistics and related services," Park said.

Lee Won-jae, a former Cheong Wa Dae official in charge of land, infrastructure and transport affairs, was appointed as administrator of the National Agency for Administrative City Construction.

He majored in business administration at SNU, and obtained his master's degree in public administration at the school and in economics at the University of York. Lee held diverse ranking positions at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

For chief of the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency, Moon picked Lee Cheol-woo, a senior official at the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC). He earned his bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. degrees in law at SNU, Tohoku University and SNU, respectively. He served in various posts at the Prime Minister's Office and the OPC.

Choi Byung-hwan, planning and coordination office head at the OPC, was promoted to first vice minister of the organization. Noh Hyeong-ouk, second vice minister, will continue in that office.
Ahn Cheol-soo, former presidential candidate of the second-largest opposition People's Party, bows to apologize for a scandal regarding a smear campaign against President Moon Jae-in during a press conference at the party's office on Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul



By Kim Hyo-jin



Ahn Cheol-soo, the former presidential candidate of the second-largest opposition People's Party, apologized to the public Wednesday about the scandal regarding the party's smear campaign against President Moon Jae-in.



He broke a long silence and stated his position on the scandal that has rocked the party during a press conference held at the party's headquarters on Yeouido.



Ahn said he would take time off for self-reflection and introspection but did not announce his retirement from politics.



It has been over two weeks since it was revealed the People's Party waged a massive negative campaign against Moon during the presidential race using material fabricated by party member Lee Yu-mi.



"It's with a heavy heart that I have to say this. This fabrication case cannot be acceptable for any reason. As the presidential candidate I feel deeply responsible for this scandal," Ahn said.



"I apologize to the people who supported me, party members and fellow politicians who sacrificed themselves during the campaign, and the person directly involved in the case who must have suffered emotional distress."



Ahn said he should be held accountable for failing to adopt an appropriate verification system, pleading for a chance to get the party back on track.



"All the blame and anger should rest with me. I beg you to give the party one more chance so the multi-party system you created in the general election is kept valid," he said.



"I will have a period of deep self-reflection and look back on my five-year political career. I'll do everything I can for the party."



Ahn had faced strong calls from both within and outside the party to take responsibility as former party leader and the "beneficiary" of the negative campaign. But he remained silent and stayed away from the public scene, fanning further criticism.













His broke his silence after Lee Jun-suh, a former Supreme Council member, was arrested over his suspected role in the evidence fabrication, Tuesday.



The prosecution has expanded its investigation to other senior party members, indicating it has ignored the party's claim it was a "one-man crime."



Ahn explained he had to wait to express his position until the investigation was conducted.



"I have kept an eye on the investigation with a painful heart," he said. "I respect the decision of the court. The party will actively cooperate with the prosecution for a transparent and fair investigation. And I will also cooperate if I have to."



Lee Jun-suh was accused of spreading false information during the campaign, thereby violating the Election Law.



He provided the party with an unverified recording and fabricated messenger logs created by Lee Yu-mi accusing Moon Joon-yong, the President's son, of landing a full-time job at a public agency in 2006 based on his father's influence as a presidential secretary.



The evidence  an audio file and screenshots of Kakao Talk messages containing a tip-off from an alleged school contact of Joon-yong  later turned out to be fabricated by Lee and her brother.

The People's Party made an official apology after Lee Jun-suh was arrested, saying it respected the judiciary's decision to issue an arrest warrant.



"The court made the decision to seek the legal responsibility of Lee who skipped the proper verification process with the evidence while it still acknowledges the fabrication was solely done by Lee Yu-mi," said Rep. Son Kum-ju, the party's spokesman.



The party, however, continued raising an offensive against the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, claiming its leader Choo Mi-ae influenced the prosecution's investigation.



"There is still a lingering suspicion Choo may have offered guidelines to the prosecution," Son said, referring to Choo's earlier remarks that the fabrication must be connected to the party's leadership and was willful negligence.



Even though the party is seeking to contain the fallout from the scandal, it is expected to face an exodus of party members. Earlier in the day, Kang Yeon-jae, the party's former deputy spokeswoman, quit the party, saying she was disappointed with Ahn and his response failed to prove he could achieve what he dubbed "new politics."
By Choi Ha-young





Justice Parcy Chairwoman Lee Jeong-mi

The newly-elected Justice Party leader, Rep. Lee Jeong-mi, is a labor expert who has dedicated herself to promoting workers' rights.

In 1988, she dropped out of college and went to work for a company in Incheon with a single purpose  to form a union.

It was a time when the pro-democracy movement was at its peak, and unions sprang up across the country.

"I managed to organize a union soon after and raised the issues of sexual harassment and bullying at workplaces," Lee said on her blog. "The company did not treat the union well. The police and the labor ministry were on management's side. Union members were assaulted often."

Since then, she has devoted her life to improving labor conditions and exposing unfair management practices at conglomerates. Now, she is an outspoken member of the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee.

On Tuesday, she was elected as the new leader of the Justice Party. She received 56.05 percent of the votes at the party convention, beating former lawmaker Park Won-suk's 43.95 percent.

During a general election, a rival candidate called her a "communist" citing her "anti-U.S. and pro-North Korean" activities. "Speaking clearly, North Korea is a country without universal democracy and human rights. The North's hereditary succession of power is unconvincing. This is the view that I and the Justice Party share," she said.

The 51-year-old has come under the spotlight for her active engagement against labor repression in "black companies."

In May, E-land Group said it will pay overdue wages to part-time workers totaling 31 billion won ($ 27 million), following her exposure last year. During the parliamentary inspection, she urged the Ministry of Employment and Labor to look into the workers' overtime payment at the group's famous franchised restaurant Ashley.

She has actively advocated victims of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser's toxic humidifier disinfectant. She was one of the lawmakers who visited Oxy's headquarters in Britain in September 2016 in protest against the toxic ingredient of the product.

In the same month, she also exposed that the nation's top logistics service company CJ Korea Express had breached the multiple articles of the Labor Standard Act. Recently, she shed light on the working environment at a promising game company, Netmarble Games. By revealing the rampant overtime work at night in the industry, she called for the company to fully pay the overtime allowances and remedy the wrongful practice.

In May's presidential election, Lee was a key campaigner for the party's candidate Sim Sang-jung. Sim garnered 6.2 percent of the votes in the election. Now, Lee is challenged to broaden the party's appeal to voters.

"The party aims to be the largest opposition party in 2020 after winning the regional election next year," Lee said after winning the leadership race. "Let's make marginalized social minorities  women, part-time workers, youth, farmers and LGBTs  leading players in the politics of the nation."

Along with Lee's leadership, three of five parties are now led by female politicians  Choo Mi-ae of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Lee Hye-hoon of the conservative Bareun Party.
People run through the rain near Noryangjin Station in Dongjak-gu, central Seoul, July 9. / Yonhap



By Ko Dong-hwan

Heavy rain alerts have been issued, with rivers in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces flooding rapidly and people in cities and villages worrying about their safety.

Early on Monday afternoon, Gangwon Regional Office of Meteorology issued alerts for the province's seven cities  Chuncheon, Wonju, Hoengseong, Yeongwol, Hongcheon, Pyongchang and Jeongseon. Earlier alerts were issued for Cheorwon and Hwacheon.

Heavy rain has been falling on the cities since Sunday.

Up till Monday afternoon, Hwacheon had had 69 millimeters, Wonju and Munmak 62 millimeters, Hoengseong and Anheung 61 millimeters, Chuncheon 54 millimeters and Cheorwon 53 millimeters.

At Paldang Dam, between Seoul and Paldang Lake 24 kilometers east, five gates were opened at about 1:20 p.m., releasing 2,464 tons of water per second.

The province's western region is expected to receive up to 150 millimeters of rain until Tuesday. The eastern region is expected to receive up to 80 millimeters.

Gyeonggi Province's 28 cities were also put on alert.

As of noon Monday, Yangpyeong had 70 millimeters, Gapyeong 69 millimeters, Pocheon and Yangju 65 millimeters, Siheung 59 millimeters and Yeoju 56 millimeters.

Seoul's meteorological watchdog said heavy rain had eroded mountainous terrain, raising the risk of landslide and overflowing reservoirs.

Alerts were also issued to the middle regions, including Jincheon in North Chungcheong Province and Cheonan and Gongju in South Chungcheong Province, which had received more than 55 millimeters as of 11 a.m. Monday.

At around 11:30 a.m. Monday, the Ministry of Public Safety and Security warned citizens of Yeoncheon and Paju in Gyeonggi Province not to fish or play around Imjin River, where the water level had risen one meter above the maximum safety bar.

Korean meteorological authorities issue heavy rain alerts when precipitation reached 70 millimeters in six hours or 110 millimeters for 12 hours. Heavy rain warnings are issued when rainfall reaches 110 millimeters in six hours or 180 millimeters in 12 hours.
By Jonathan Rhys Panton





On July 6, The Korea Times published an article informing readers of the Korean government's introduction of blind hiring for all public jobs. This is a step in the right direction. As taxpayers bank roll government employees, it is best practice to implement valid and reliable methods of assessment in order to select candidates best fit for their roles. Blind hiring is effective, and I will attempt to illustrate this below. Additionally, it can be argued that attention should be put on other ways to make the selection process more effective. The whole issue cannot be touched on without finally referring to the "civil servant exams."

It is a common tendency to want additional information about a person before passing judgment, but this information can skew our perceptions. We believe added information helps us "get a feel" for a person; however, if it has nothing to do with the job, it is unnecessary.

If factors such as age, gender, name, disability, education level, ethnicity, religion, and address are not in any way relevant predictors for job performance, that information can be omitted. Decision-makers then rely on job specific information to make a more valid, informed, and less biased choice.

In 2000, Goldin & Rouse researched whether blind auditions had made an impact on the percentage rates of female employees within select US orchestras. These impartiality measures, cheaply implemented into the selection process, contributed to a 25% increase in the amount of females hired by those orchestras from 1970 to 1996.

This is just one example of how blind hiring can help the recruitment process become fairer and more effective. On this topic though, the Korean government should be advised to take a serious look at their main assessment method: the civil servant exams.

If you ever happen to visit Noryangjin in Seoul, you'll come across countless young Korean "goshi-seng." Noryangjin hosts academies specializing in preparing students for civil servant exams. These educated young adults spend in some cases years of their lives studying in the hope of passing within the top required cohort.

Whether this is an efficient use of a country's human capital is one question, another is the overall effectiveness of the exam.

Best practice is to initially perform a job analysis to establish the knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics required to perform the job well. After these constructs have been identified, assessment methods can be created that best measure for these competencies. A thorough process should have high levels of reliability and predictive validity: the extent to which a measure predicts job performance. Predictive validity is of particular contention when referring to the civil servant exam: how good a predictor of job performance is it? Does it take into account job specific scenarios? Does the government evaluate its effectiveness? Are there additional methods that are fairer and more valid?

Irrespective of blind hiring, if the above questions are not comprehensively addressed, the recruitment process for public jobs still lacks credible validity and effectiveness.





The writer works at Sungshin Women's University. He is also a postgraduate student studying occupational psychology at Leicester University. Write to jonathan.panton@hotmail.com.
Taiwanese butter bun is a great dessert when eaten with milk tea. / Korea Times photo by Do Je-hae



By Do Je-hae





Asian desserts are becoming noticeably more available in Korea. In my neighborhood alone, there are several stores selling Taiwanese pastries and Hong Kong drinks that were not there a few months ago.

Desserts are some of my favorite small luxuries. They have a good effect on picking up the mood and raising the energy level.



Previously, European food items such as macarons and tiramisu were the more popular desserts. I also had a macaron phase a few years ago, when I used to visit a little macaron store and buy boxes for myself and as gifts. Who could say no to a pretty box of colorful, tasteful macarons? Nowadays, the craze for European desserts has subsided with the rise of Asian desserts sweeping the Korean market.



I was thrilled when Hui Lau Shan, a chain of dessert shops from Hong Kong with more than a 50-year history, finally arrived in Korea earlier this year. The store specializes in mango-based snacks and desserts and is one of the most popular destinations for Korean visitors to Hong Kong. Hui Lau Shan has been expanding outside of Hong Kong and China for some time, but its arrival in Korea was unexpected because I didn't think there was a huge market for snacks made out of mango in Korea. Every time I go to Hui Lau Shan near my home, there is a long line of people waiting for their orders.



There are many Hui Lau Shan outlets in Hong Kong, and my go-to store is the one near Harbour City, the largest shopping mall in Hong Kong. One of my favorite things to do in Hong Kong is to enjoy its iconic skyline from the Avenue of Stars and take a long walk with a Hui Lau Shan mango drink. It's comforting to know that I can get my favorite mango drink anytime without traveling all the way to Hong Kong.



Another hot keyword in the Korean dessert market is Taiwan, which was the third most popular travel destination for Koreans after Osaka and Tokyo last year.



The boom for Taiwanese desserts is not totally new, since bubble teas and other exotic drinks from Gong Cha, a Taiwanese franchise, have been around in Korea for several years. But lately, there are more than just drinks.



A chain of bakeries specializing in Taiwanese butter buns was launched in Korea a few months ago. These mini buns are popular street food in Taiwan. As I have never been to Taiwan, I had never heard of them until I accidentally saw a store selling them at a nearby department store. The soft, buttery taste of the buns serves as a great dessert after a spicy meal or it could be a very filling breakfast with some good black coffee. The big sponge cakes from Taiwan were immensely popular at department stores last year. Taiwanese pineapple cakes (Feng li su) and nougat crackers have been selling like hotcakes at major retailers like E-mart and Home plus.



Then what about Korean desserts? I got to thinking about why Korea does not have desserts that have aroused a global sensation like Hui Lau Shan.



In SNS and foreign media, there is a lot of talk about Korean dishes like kimchi, bulgogi and ramen, and essential Korean ingredients like gochujang. But I have rarely seen people mention Korean desserts.

Koreans don't have a culture of finishing their meals with something sweet, and this may be one of the reasons why they are not better known.



There is big potential for Koreans desserts in the global market because of their spectacular taste and creativity. Desserts like rice cakes or patbingsu (shave iced dessert with red beans) are pretty well known already. There are some that deserve to be better promoted internationally.



I think one of Korea's desserts that has the most potential for global appeal is "hotteok." They are easier to make than the more complicated desserts like rice cakes. Simply put, it's a pancake filled with sweet filling and topped with chopped nuts. Although it's a winter treat, it can be found easily in department stores as well.



Another unique dessert that deserves more popularity is yakkwa, a fried doughy dessert drenched in honey. It comes in various sizes and shapes and easily found in grocery stores.



Korea does not have a culture of pairing meals with a certain drink. In Hong Kong, people like to have tea with their meals and the Vietnamese have their own famous coffee. So Korea is not known for its drinks either. It is a shame that the uniquely Korean drinks like sugeonggwa is not as well known as some other Asian dessert drinks. The traditional cinnamon punch is a great dessert after any Korean meal. It's a great way to get to know Korea by sipping on one while shopping at traditional Korean markets at Namdaemun. These markets have tiny stands that sell sujeonggwa and shikhye, a sweet rice beverage. They are as good and refreshing as any lemon iced-tea or bubble teas that have already become staples in many parts of Asia.





Do Je-hae is an editorial writer for The Korea Times. Write to jhdo@ktimes.com.
US garrison relocation starts to normalize alliance



The U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, new home to the Eighth U.S. Army (EUSA), is like an upscale American town transplanted into Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, accompanied by all the creature comforts. The bulk of its $15 billion tab for the largest U.S. base outside the United States was paid for by Korean taxpayers. When U.S. President Donald Trump visits Korea later this year, the real estate developer in him may regret not getting a piece of the action and could tempt him to eat his words _ he called Korea's contribution to the U.S. military presence "peanuts."



Besides, the relocation of the U.S. garrison from Yongsan in Seoul to its new location signifies a change in the ROK-U.S. alliance or, in a nutshell, alliance normalization.



First, its location at the Yongsan post, formerly used as Japan's imperial army headquarters, has posed a mental burden on Koreans. It is comparable to having a large foreign military presence in the heart of New York or Tokyo. That removed, Seoul's twisted urban development will be straightened out. A park a la New York's Central Park is planned.



Second, the relocation also means ROK forces virtually taking over ground defense north of Seoul.



The 2nd Infantry Division, the mainstay of the EUSA, will be phased out from its forward-deployed bases, and join the rest of the U.S. forces in Pyeongtaek. The exceptions are its artillery unit for multiple rocket launch systems (MRLS) and Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATMS), surface-to-surface missiles that target North Korea's artillery units, and a live-fire practice range.



It follows the disengagement of U.S. troops from frontline duties in the early1990s, relieving them of their "tripwire" role of holding back invading North Korean forces until reinforcements arrive from the U.S.



The rearward deployment jibes with the Korean military's plan as confirmed during the recent Washington summit to promptly take over wartime control of its military from the U.S. At present if war breaks out, ROK troops are put under the direction of the U.S. commander as part of the joint forces.



There are challenges as well. Although bringing U.S. forces into one location is better for efficiency _ reducing supply lines and transportation costs, it was a concept developed in the early 2000s, ruling out the growing threat of North Korea's missiles. Back then, the biggest threat was long-range artillery and rocket launchers that fell short of Pyeongtaek. It also has to rely on low-tiered Patriot interceptors and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, an interceptor with a wider range, whose deployment is on hold. More people and hardware could be in peril as a result of the base integration.



Seoul is a big city that is always short of property to develop and expand. If Seoulites don't pay attention to and show the will to preserve the ecological park plan, it could turn into a plan to build pricy high-rise apartment complexes.




It is shocking that the Korea Customs Service (KCS) fabricated the rankings of duty free store applicants by distorting data during the Park Geun-hye administration. There had been many suspicions of illicit favors in the customs agency's awarding of duty free licenses, and such suspicions have now been proven to be true.



The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) said Tuesday the KCS arbitrarily changed the scoring system in July 2015 when it evaluated duty free store operators in Seoul. As a result, Hotel Lotte earned low marks and failed to receive a license. But Hanwha Group earned higher-than-normal marks and received a license to run a duty free store in Seoul.



Lotte, the country's largest duty free operator, was unduly eliminated again from the subsequent November bidding the same year and handed over its license to Doosan Group.



The customs agency, under pressure from the presidential office, also increased the necessary number of operators by concocting data on the number of foreign tourists. An outside study had suggested there would be room for only one operator, but the KCS announced in April last year that four more operators were necessary.



The number of duty free operators in Seoul doubled from five at the end of 2014 to 10 this year. The consequences are horrible.



As Chinese tourists, who once accounted for 70 percent of sales, dipped after Seoul's decision to deploy a U.S. missile defense battery here, most duty free shops are in the red.



Civil servants' behavior revealed in the state auditor's inspection of the customs office was shameful. But the irregularities laid bare this time may be the tip of the iceberg.



Based on its audit, the BAI asked the prosecution to investigate KCS head Chun Hong-uk and other officials. Prosecutors should get to the bottom of the duty free license scandal to bring associated wrongdoings to light.



Now it's obvious the new administration needs to overhaul our duty free system to prevent a recurrence of similar irregularities. The current scheme in which licenses must be renewed every five years through open bidding is no longer tenable. Allowing companies to open duty free shops autonomously is long overdue.




By John Burton





When Korean President Moon Jae-in met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington two weeks ago, the bar had been set so low by the media that anything short of the two leaders getting into a screaming match would have been counted as a success.

In truth, the chances of a confrontation over how to deal with North Korea were minimal. Moon had studied his counterpart and knew that he would have to be accommodating and appeal to Trump's oversized ego. The Korean president was successful in setting the mood as soon as he landed in Washington.

Moon visited the National Museum of the Marine Corps to commemorate the Hungnam evacuation that rescued his parents fleeing North Korea in 1950 as well as the Korean War Veterans Memorial. He brought along more than 50 Korean executives who promised a total of $45 billion to invest in the U.S. or buy American products.

Moon's deft diplomacy seemed to work, with the two countries appearing to bridge their differences on North Korea policy. This interpretation was largely based on the joint statement that was issued. It appeared to reconcile Trump's preference for tough sanctions on North Korea and Moon's approach of offering carrots to Pyongyang in the form of talks, humanitarian aid and economic cooperation.

Under any other U.S. administration, the language contained in the joint statement, stating that Seoul would take the lead on dialogue with Pyongyang, would have been considered a victory for Moon.

But the statement carefully drawn up by the U.S. and Korean foreign ministers is in danger of becoming just a scrap of paper in the age of Trump, whose unorthodox behavior can quickly render any apparent agreement obsolete.

Indeed, there were plenty of danger signs displayed at the summit. While the Korean delegation was focused on a strategy to achieve coordination with U.S. on North Korea, Trump suddenly brought up the renegotiation of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Indeed the U.S. president spent as much time in public comments with Moon on trade than he did on North Korea, although there was no reference to the FTA in the joint statement.

Although Trump had previously criticized the FTA, his emphasis on the issue during the summit indicates that trade probably lies closest to his heart and confirms that he is deep-dyed economic nationalist. What also surprised observers in Washington that most had expected that an attempt to renegotiate the KORUS FTA would not be made until 2018 at the earliest.

Trump's stance on trade indicates there could be a rocky road ahead in relations between Seoul and Washington. A lot will depend on how Trump wants to revise the FTA and whether he would be satisfied with concessions such as easier entry to U.S. car imports and the increased purchase of U.S. energy supplies, such as natural gas, or push for a complete revision.

A dispute on trade is likely to further erode what little support Trump has in Korea. Koreans have the lowest confidence rating in Trump among Asians at just 17%, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center.

How to deal with North Korea will remain the central issue in the bilateral relationship. Moon appeared to endorse a more hardline policy in line with Washington. He expressed support for the Trump administration's policy of "maximum pressure and engagement," while Seoul agreed"to fully implement existing sanctions and impose new measures" with the U.S.

Moreover, any attempt by the Moon administration to promote economic cooperation with North Korea could now run into resistance by the Trump administration. Seoul would hesitate in setting up any projects with North Korea, such as reviving the Kaesong Industrial Complex, without seeking approval of the U.S. Otherwise, it could face the same type of secondary sanctions that the Trump administration has imposed on several Chinese entities doing business with Pyongyang.

Trump has used has the trade issue as a way to boxed in the Moon administration on its North Korean policy. In criticizing Korean trade policy, Trump has implied that Seoul should fall into line with a more aggressive U.S. stance on North Korea if it wants to avoid problems exporting products to the U.S. In an example of his transactional Art of the Deal, Trump appears to be pursuing a strategy of willing to ease pressure on renegotiating the FTA if Seoul plays ball on North Korea.

That poses a big dilemma for Moon. Given the importance of economic ties with the U.S., Moon may have no choice but to decide that trade should take precedence over his North Korean policy of engagement. This is particularly true when there is little evidence that Korea's large trade surplus with the U.S. is about to disappear.

John Burton, a former Korea correspondent for the Financial Times, is now a Washington,. D.C.-based journalist and consultant. He can be reached at johnburtonft@yahoo.com.
BTCC CEO Bobby Lee poses after an interview with The Korea Times on the sidelines of the RISE 2017 conference at the Hong Kong Convention Center, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Park Jae-hyuk



Bobby Lee denies Bloomberg's pessimism on Bitcoin

By Park Jae-hyuk

HONG KONG  A recent cyberattack against Bithumb, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Korea, proved the value of Bitcoin, BTCC CEO Bobby Lee said in an interview with The Korea Times on the sidelines of the RISE 2017 conference in Hong Kong, Tuesday.

"Criminals are attracted to steal value. Theft of Bitcoin currency is no different than theft of any other asset," said the co-founder of the world's longest-running Bitcoin exchange. "No one steals airline miles, credit cards or hotel reward points."

Lee said hackers' demands for Bitcoin as ransom also resulted from its value, including its anonymity.

At the same time, however, he stressed Bitcoin itself is not an illegal currency, just like cash isn't illegal.

"When the internet first came to town, people were skeptical of its various dangers. They were even reluctant to buy anything on the internet," the entrepreneur said. "Digital currencies have only been here a few years, so it's normal people are skeptical of it."

He, as a technologist, predicted the bright future of Bitcoin, expecting the value of 1 Bitcoin will surpass 1 million dollars. Although most of Bitcoin has already been mined, he said it does not mean its value will decrease.

"It will get there in not much time. When people and society truly understand the value of digital currency, its value will go up. The price will not increase in a linear straight line. Normally, it will go up in a curve," the CEO said.

He also refuted Bloomberg's report earlier this week that Bitcoin may face a civil war over changes in software. He said the term "civil war" is far from the reality of the industry.

"The majority of the industry has already decided to accept a proposal called SegWit2x, which will start being deployed on July 21," he said. "My company BTCC and many other companies in China and around the world are fully behind it."

For these reasons, Lee said he will continue to focus on Bitcoin-related business. BTCC has begun to deal with various types of cryptocurrency, including Ethereum Classic and Lightcoin. The chief executive denied their rivalry because each has specific roles in the market.

He added that governments around the world should set new laws and regulations on Bitcoin for people to clearly understand it. Korea and most countries have yet to accept Bitcoin as a currency.

"We're eager for Bitcoin to gain greater acceptance worldwide," Lee said. "In part, the governments should have stronger and clearer regulations on Bitcoin."

Founded in 2011, BTCC has grown into one of three Bitcoin exchanges in China, which transacts the largest volume of the cryptocurrency.
Amazon's Echo or Echo Dot speakers are equipped with virtual assistant Alexa. / Courtesy of Amazon



By Lee Han-soo

Are we already living in a world where artificial intelligence (AI) can be a lifesaver?

According to a recent case reported by New Mexico police, it certainly is a possibility.

On July 2, the Bernalillo County Sheriff's office responded to a domestic dispute after being allegedly informed by Alexa, an Amazon virtual AI assistant device.

The woman, whose identity was withheld, was known to have been in an argument with her boyfriend Eduardo Barros.

When the argument became violent, Barros allegedly threatened the woman with his handgun before hitting her in the face.

"Barros asked the victim, 'Did you call the sheriff?' This question, based on the victim's statements, prompted Alexa' to contact law enforcement," police said. "In the 911 recording, the victim can be heard yelling, 'Alexa, call 911.'"

Police said they immediately responded and were able to save the woman and her daughter while arresting Barros.

"The unexpected use of this new technology to help contact emergency services has possibly helped save a life," police said. "This amazing technology definitely helped save a mother and her child from a very violent situation."

But according to Amazon, Alexa's creator, the device is not equipped to make emergency calls.

"Alexa calling and messaging does not support 911 calls," a company spokesperson told Fox News. "Therefore, the phrase call the sheriff' would not trigger a call to emergency services."
Banners by the labor union of 3M Korea criticizing its management for its lazy wage negations are put up in Yeouido, Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Kang Seung-woo



By Kang Seung-woo





3M Korea CEO Amit Laroya

On the street of the populous business district Yeouido in Seoul, a number of banners are put up that condemn the management of 3M Korea.

The criticism from the firm's labor union ranges from its lavish dividend to its head office against a stingy pay raise to its unfair employee evaluation on union members that has to do with performance bonuses and promotion.

"The company paid extravagant dividends to its parent company in the past two years after chalking up more than 100 billion won ($86.8 million) in operating profit, but it does not want to spend on employee salaries," said Park Keun-seo, head of the firm's labor union.

According to Park, the wage negotiations between the management and the labor union recently fell through after the firm's offer of a 1 percent to 3 percent increase.

"The management urges us to accept its proposal first, saying it will try to do something additionally, but the rhetoric has repeated since 2015 and we will not compromise this year," he said.

"Considering the huge dividends, the company's stinginess with employees' wages is enraging us."

In May, the Minnesota-based company was "disgracefully" thrust into the spotlight in Korea due to its high dividend payout ratio in contrast to its little contribution to the local community. The ratio refers to the percentage of net profit paid to shareholders in dividends.

The payout ratio of 3M Korea was 335.9 percent with 576.5 billion won in 2015, followed by 113.7 percent with 149.9 billion won in 2016, but its donations to local charities were 51 million won and 69 million won in each of the last two years.

"We have proposed that the company donate a small percentage of its operating profit, but to no avail," Park said.

The labor union also takes issue with the company's employee evaluation system that it claims gives an unfair treatment to union members and eventually leads to less performance-based bonuses.

"Although the company sets the bar for performance-based bonuses, it refuses to make it public. As a result, the company says we always come short of the target and fail to receive a 100 percent bonus," the union chief said.

"In addition, compared with non-union workers, union members do not earn high marks from the management in its evaluation, which prevents us from getting promoted."

The 3M Korea labor union was established in 2009 with more than 600 employees, but it has shrunk by a fifth into 120 due to the company's hostility toward the union, according to Park.

In response, 3M Korea says its labor union is making unilateral arguments.

"Despite being stuck in the middle of labor dispute, we are trying to renew negotiations with the union along with unofficial talks," said a 3M Korea official.

"As for the evaluation system, it has been in operation even ahead of the establishment of the labor union and its argument that the company is oppressing the union is unreasonable."
By Lee Hyo-sik



Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) will likely build a nuclear power plant in Britain as the European nation moves closer to accepting Korea's next-generation nuclear reactor.



The state-run utility company has been negotiating with Toshiba to buy the debt-ridden Japanese firm's 60 percent stake in NuGen, a British nuclear consortium.



French utility firm ENGIE holds the remaining 40 percent stake in the consortium that plans to start building a nuclear power plant near Sellafield, Britain's nuclear fuel reprocessing and decommissioning site, in 2018.



The British government has raised no issue with KEPCO's acquisition of the 60 percent stake in NuGen, but was reluctant to allow the consortium to change the type of nuclear reactors.



NuGen had previously planned to use three nuclear reactors from Westinghouse, Toshiba's struggling subsidiary, but had been asked by KEPCO to switch to the Korea-developed APR-1400.



KEPCO has said it wouldn't purchase Toshiba's stake in NuGen unless the consortium chose the APR-1400 reactors for the envisioned power plant.



"We were notified by NuGen that the British government has decided to consider changing the reactor type, which is a positive development for us," a KEPCO official said.



"But nothing has been finalized yet as to whether we can export our reactors to Britain. We will wait and see what the British government decides."



KEPCO remains firm it won't acquire Toshiba's stake unless the consortium chooses the APR-1400, the official said.



"The APR-1400 has been proven safe and efficient over the years as many nuclear power plants here operate it without any problem," he said. "There isn't any reason for Britain to be concerned about its safety. Above all, the ongoing project to build four APR-1400 nuclear reactors in Barakah, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is the most convincing evidence that proves its safety and competitiveness."



If Britain chooses the Korean nuclear reactor, it will be the second time KEPCO has exported the APR-1400, eight years after it won the $20 billion UAE project.



In addition to the 60 percent stake in NuGen, Toshiba has been asking KEPCO to buy Westinghouse.



But the company has so far expressed disinterest in the U.S. firm, citing its snowballing debt and the bleak outlook for the nuclear power industry.



In 2006, Toshiba acquired Westinghouse for $5.4 billion. But hit hard by falling demand for nuclear power plants following the meltdown of Japan's Fukushima plant in 2011, Westinghouse has been grappling with declining sales.



Delayed construction of two U.S. nuclear power plants has also chipped away at its financial soundness.




General Manager Michael Ebbesen of LEGO Korea speaks at a press conference held in Seoul, Monday. He introduced LEGO Life, an app for children. /Courtesy of LEGO Korea



By Kim Ji-soo



As LEGO group, the Danish toymaker recognized for its plastic bricks, looks to mark its 85th year this year, LEGO Korea introduced an app for children called LEGO Life, Monday.

Michael Ebbesen, the new general manager of LEGO Korea, opened the press conference for LEGO Life and stressed that digitization was an opportunity for the toymaker.

Ebbesen took office about a month ago, after having worked in Poland, Russia and most recently in the Asia-Pacific.

Ebbesen said that "LEGO has reached 100 million children in the past 85 years and aims to reach 300 million through 2032," through innovations such as LEGO Life.

The app targets children 13 and younger or those too young for Instagram, allowing them to share their creations and connect with like-minded peers.

The company assures parents the safety of their children, as user names are issued randomly and user responses can be made only with LEGO emojis. Also, a monitoring team spread throughout North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific monitors for harmful content and private information.

This November, the company will introduce LEGO Boost, which is for children aged seven and up in Korea. Boost is a lower-priced programmable LEGO robot combining physical LEGO play with programming.

The company held its first press conference since making its introduction into Korea in 1984, demonstrating LEGO's focus in Korea.

"We have seen unprecedented growth over the past 10 years in Korea, and we have become a sizable player on par with the biggest toy manufacturer," said Michael Ebbesen.

"Yet when we compare South Korea with other markets (like) Germany, Japan, then it looks as if Korean children do not play or at least they don't buy toys too much. We hope to change that," he said.
By Jhoo Dong-chan



Korea's retail industry is in chaos as the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) accused the nation's customs agency of having rigged the evaluation to give unfair grades to Hotel Lotte in its assessment for duty free license bids in July 2015.



And then, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) allegedly discriminated against Lotte Duty Free once again during the re-approval process for existing downtown duty free stores in November 2015.



According to the BAI this week, the KCS committed 13 unfair practices during its two duty free business assessments in 2015. The watchdog handed the case over to the prosecution. KCS Commissioner Chun Hong-uk is suspected of having destroyed related documents before the government audit last October. Four other KCS officials face charges of having fabricated the evaluation data.



Lotte invested 300 billion won ($262 million) to extend its license for its duty free store at the World Tower in Seoul, but had to close it down because of the government agency's misconduct.



Due to the BAI report, Hanwha Galleria and Doosan may have to close down as they won their duty free licenses at the expense of Lotte.



Prosecutors are expected to investigate whether the two companies carried out any wrongdoing.



Some even raise the possibility that they may lose their licenses although the two flatly deny their involvement in any wrongdoing.



Observers claim that the sibling feud involving the two sons of Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho negatively affected the country's top retail conglomerate. But Lotte denied it.



"It was true the two sons of the group's founder have been engaged in a dispute over the group's control, but Lotte Duty Free itself had no problems either in management or in performance," a Lotte Group official said.



Lotte Group's history of troubles started coming to the surface along with the inauguration of former President Park Geun-hye.



In 2013, Lotte Group's two major affiliates _ Hotel Lotte and Lotte Shopping _ faced an extensive tax investigation from Seoul Regional Tax Service for about a year.



The Seoul prosecution also searched Lotte Group headquarters on suspicion of bribery and creating slush funds in June of last year. A total of 200 investigators were reportedly dispatched for the search, which lasted about 130 days.



The group has struggled due to its sales decline in China over deployment of a U.S. missile shield in Korea.



Lotte offered land for the anti-missile system, which China suspects would check airborne objects of the country.



Amid the dispute, which critics say was caused by the diplomatic incompetence of former President Park, most of the Lotte Mart outlets in China have to shut down this year. As a result, operational damages will approach 500 billion won.



However, Lotte Group was considered to be the biggest beneficiary under former President Lee Myung-bak, the predecessor of Park.



Shortly after Lee took office in 2008, Lotte Group was allowed to build the 123-story building, Lotte World Tower.



The decision faced a crucial objection from the nation's Air Forces claiming a very tall building like the Lotte World Tower would endanger landings and takeoffs of military flights on its base just 6 kilometers south of the tower. But the Lee administration pushed ahead with its plan.








By Yoon Sung-won





Kim Jang-hwan, Amway Korea CEO

Amway Korea has been evaluated as a mediocre workplace by its employees due to the low satisfaction of executives and slim chances of promotion, according to Jobplanet, Wednesday.



The job information provider said Amway Korea received 3.3 average points out of 5 in a corporate evaluation. A total of 126 employees participated in an assessment of five criteria  chances of promotion, payment and employee welfare, work-life balance, corporate culture and executives. Only 30 percent of the respondents said they believe the company will grow.



In an anonymous personal review posted on the Jobplanet website, an Amway Korea employee working at a business support unit said the company is "not recommendable" for jobseekers.



"In general, wages and employee welfare are fine. But it is difficult to believe wage increases and incentive payments are made under proper standards and procedures," the employee said. "Most business units are heavily studded with deputy managers but only a few of them are playing a bridging role between executives and junior employees. I would advise those who are still young to seek career experience in a better place."



This employee also requested executives build a more transparent corporate culture.



"It's such a shame that there are only one or two respectable leaders in a company with so many executives," the employee said. "I would ask the executives to show fairer and more transparent leadership."



Established in 1988, Amway Korea has been considered one of the largest multi-level marketing companies here. But its market leadership has been increasingly threatened by Atomy. Amid weakening profitability, Amway Korea appointed Kim Jang-hwan as its new CEO, replacing Park Se-joon who led the enterprise for a long time.



Another employee pointed out the lack of competent mid-level managers is aggravating an unfair division of labor.



"Whereas high-ranking positions are taken mostly by older people, the company doesn't have enough mid-level managers. This has resulted in too much work for inexperienced young staff," the employee said.



A former employee of Amway Korea said the company's system doesn't work properly to recognize the contributions of hard-working employees.



"Many talented workers often feel discouraged as the company doesn't recognize what they have achieved," he said.

Jobplanet's corporate review shows Amway Korea offers satisfactory employee welfare. The company received 3.7 points in payment and employee welfare, which was its highest score among the five criteria.



"One can experience diverse welfare programs in the company, which is common in a foreign-affiliated enterprise," according to an employee working in the administrative unit.
S.T. Dupont's Star Wars chess set



Imperial troops take on the rebels in a miniature battlefield



By Kris Chan





Now fans of the epic Star Wars series can own a piece of the expanded universe  for just a little more than HK$1 million.

To mark the saga's 40th anniversary since its debut on the big screen in 1977, French luxury goods manufacturer S.T. Dupont has created this exquisitely handcrafted chess set which is a miniature battlefield for the good versus evil conflict that took place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

The Empire and rebel pieces stand on a checker board in black obsidian with a polished and matte finish. The Empire pieces are rendered in nephrite jade from British Columbia while the Rebellion pieces are crafted in natural rock crystal quartz. Each stone is hand-carved and engraved with meticulous skill and attention to detail. The gold metal design elements on each piece evoke the signature looks of the iconic characters to bring the universe to life. Die-hard fans will immediately recognise which piece represents which character.

The two metal gold-plated drawer pulls feature the symbols of the two sides.

The metal gold-plated rim of the checker board resembles the Death Star texture.

Kick-off your battle against the dark side with this Star Wars chess set. May the force be with you.
July 3

2:16 a.m.: A 15-year-old Genoa City girl was cited for driving without a valid license after an officer was dispatched to a hit and run accident in the area of North Wells and Baker streets. Her passengers, a 16-year-old Lake Geneva girl and a 15-year-old Genoa City girl were also cited for failing to notify police of an accident.

July 4

12:36 p.m.: Police were sent to Center Street and Wrigley Drive on a reckless driving complaint. Sohail A. Zakaria, Clarendon Hills, Illinois, was cited for disorderly conduct.

July 5

9:55 p.m.: Matthew Steven Voight, 35, Lake Geneva, was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting an officer after police went to the 500 block of Spring Street on the report of a disorderly person. He was taken to the Walworth County Jail on those charges.

July 6

2:02 p.m.: Police went to the 600 block of North Edwards Boulevard on a shoplifting report. Ally Dayton Upton, 18, Elkhorn, was cited for retail theft.

5:56 p.m.: Joseph R. Delfino, 34, Henry, Illinois, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia after police were called to West Main Street at North Edwards Boulevard to assist a motorist.

7:05 p.m.: Police went to the 500 block of Madison Street for a welfare check. Victor Manuel Roman Ruiz, 28, Lake Geneva, was taken into custody for possession of cocaine. Charges have been referred to the Walworth County District Attorneys Office.

July 7

2:04 a.m.: Stacy Lee Smith, 40, Lake Geneva, was cited for driving under the influence third offense, a license restriction and operating after revocation after a traffic stop in the 100 block of Wells Street. Smith was then taken to Walworth County Jail.

July 8

2:08 a.m.: An officer conducted a traffic stop on West Main and Broad streets. Louis Raul Briones, 41, Naperville, Illinois, was cited for fleeing an officer, reckless driving-endangering safety, keeping open intoxicants in a motor vehicle, and operating while under the influence- sixth offense. He was taken to the Walworth County Jail on those charges.

9:28 p.m.: Heather L. Wahlstrom Binkert, 42, Lake Geneva, was cited for driving while under the influence  first offense, and unsafe lane deviation. Officers were called to the area of Center and Geneva streets on the report of a possibly intoxicated driver and made the stop in the area of Madison and Pleasant streets. Binkert was released to a responsible party.

July 9

2:48 p.m.: Officers responded to the report of a traffic accident on Edwards Boulevard at West Main Street. Jason J. Faust, 19, Holiday Hills, Illinois, was cited for driving after suspension, reckless driving-endangering safety and possession of a controlled substance-THC. He was taken to Walworth County Jail on those charges.
Dear W.C.,

I care for my granddaughter and grandson with disabilities full-time. My daughter committed suicide a little over a year ago and left me alone to care for the children. She was very depressed and had a hard time dealing with the fact her drug use during her pregnancy probably caused my grandsons severe disabilities. She managed to get off drugs and moved in with me before her death.

I think she just really struggled with her sobriety and the guilt she carried with her every day. My 15-year-old granddaughter is fine, she is older and my daughter was not using drugs or drinking as much during her pregnancy. My grandson is 12 and has severe facial and head deformities along with growth problems, seizures and heart defects. He needs around-the-clock care that I provide. I receive a small compensation for providing this care. What we need help with are a new wheelchair that fits my grandson properly, help with this months rent after I used these funds to pay for a car repair and if possible a new bed for my granddaughter. She is sleeping on an old bed that I know causes her discomfort.

Dear Readers,

When I called this grandmother, I soon got the feeling she was as no nonsense as her letter. As I am the same way, I knew we would get along just fine. The grandmother asked me to come over saying, I expected you to just stop by. I have nothing to hide.

I arrived at the two bedroom apartment the grandmother shared with her two grandchildren. I was immediately let in by the grandmother and shown around the apartment. The grandmother introduced me to her grandson and explained her granddaughter was out with friends. The grandson sat in a supported wheelchair and I could see he was trying to stay focused on me, but his eyes kept drifting away. I watched as he tried again and again to turn his eyes back to mine. His head was smaller than normal and so were his arms and legs.

I kneeled down to his level and said hello. I watched as his hand reached out but the tremor and jerky movements made it impossible for him to control. I reached out with both hands and held his hand for a moment until the violent tremors I could feel pulled his hand away from me.

The grandmother spoke to her grandson as if he was not disabled, as if he was any normal 12-year-old boy. She told him who I was and asked if she could show me his wheelchair. He did not reply verbally, but she seemed to be able to communicate with him and they had an understanding.

The grandmother showed me the various spots on the aging wheelchair that no longer fit the grandson properly. He was not eligible for a new wheelchair for another 18 months and with the sores she showed me I knew this boy could not wait that long.

Just because he could not show pain did not mean he was not feeling it. She looked at me saying, He understands everything I say but he just cant talk back. He is still my grandson and I love him more than any other grandma loves her grandson. I saw her smile at her grandson when she said that, and this time I did see the recognition in his eyes when they met hers for just a moment.

The grandmother told me she was going to put her grandson by the TV to watch one of his favorite shows while we talked. When we were out of close hearing for the grandson she said, I know he understands everything I say and I do not want to distress him talking about him like hes not here. I also do not talk about his mother in front of him. I was glad to hear she took his mental well-being seriously as I have had to tell many people over the years to watch what they say in front of their children, senior citizens or handicapped fellow creations in their care. These people are listening and the words we say can distress them even more than what they may already be suffering with.

Once we were settled I asked many questions about the circumstances that led up to the daughters suicide. The grandmother quietly cried into tissues occasionally looking over to the grandson to make sure he was not glancing her way.

She told me how her grandchildrens father had left when his grandson was born, not wanting to care for a child with disabilities. He too used drugs and was not willing to give them up. The daughter had gone into treatment and nearly a year later she had been allowed to see her children once more.

The grandmother had raised the grandson since his birth. She shared with me the painful details of the daughters death and the tremendous guilt her daughter had carried over her drugs and drinking that most likely caused the severe disabilities her son had to suffer with the rest of his most likely short life.

Not only did he suffer the obvious disfigurement and challenges but he also had heart defects that would keep him from living much beyond his early 20s. Again the grandmother sobbed into her tissues, trying to contain her distress. I patted her hand and offered what little consoling I could. There is not much you can say or do to ease the pain and suffering of loss you know will be coming. All we can do is try to make our fellow creations lives more comfortable and remove their pains of poverty. It is our hope that removing the pains and suffering of poverty makes lifes other challenges easier to bear.

Once the grandmother calmed some I moved on to talking about her financial situation. The grandmother received some compensation and Social Security. The grandchildren received a small amount from the state.

They barely got by each month and the added expense of a necessary car repair was enough to throw off their whole budget.

Looking over their finances I could see they lived very frugally. Other than the rent and utilities, all other expenses were for medications, food and gas. A new wheelchair and beds were completely out of their budget. The grandmother showed me the bed the granddaughter slept in. It had been her bed before her grandchildren had moved in many years ago.

I asked to see what the grandson was sleeping in and she showed me his hospital bed set up in the grandmothers small bedroom. The grandmother slept on a twin cot in the corner of the room in case her grandson needed help during the night.

The grandmother told me how her granddaughter sometimes volunteered to watch her brother at night so the grandmother could get a good nights sleep. The granddaughter also would stay with her brother when the grandmother had doctors appointments or needed to go grocery shopping.

The grandmother said, She is a good sister and rarely even goes out with friends. She prefers to stay here and help me and her brother. I know she has to have a life outside of just this so I tell her to go over to her friends house when I know there will be a parent home.

We together helped this grandmother and grandchildren with their overdue rent and one month ahead to help ease their strained budget.

We also provided not only a new bed for the granddaughter but also a twin bed for the grandmother to sleep on replacing the worn sagging cot.

I told the grandmother to contact the wheelchair company and they would come out and measure and fit her grandson for his wheelchair properly.

By this time the grandmother had to return to her full-time duties of caregiver to her grandson. He would need his diapers changed and to be fed. He would need to be carefully given fluids and physical therapy exercises would need to be done. She would administer medications and treatments.

There was much loving and physical care that went into her daily life caring for a grandson with multiple disabilities.

On my way to the door I handed the grandmother gift cards for additional food, toiletries and even clothing for the grandchildren as they both had grown out of what little clothing they had. The grandmother looked at the gift cards with renewed tears in her eyes. This time the tears were happy tears, not tears of distress. Our caring and sharing assistance gave this grandmother a moment of peace without the constant pains and suffering of poverty adding to the very real pains of disabilities and loss of loved ones.

This peace was all due to all of you and your support of our good works. As I walked out the door I heard the grandmother talking to her grandson telling him about The Time Is Now to Help and all the good people that cared about him.

Thank you for your continued support of the charity work we all do together. It is a group effort, a labor of love and a blessing to many suffering in poverty in our communities. Please remember the new Fox Charities Summer 2017 $25,000 Matching Grant. Every dollar you donate will be matched by Fox Charities, doubling your donation. Thank you and God Bless you.

Health and happiness, love and God bless everyone, W.C./SalHow to help

Please help: There are many coming to us in desperation. Our good fellow creations need our compassion. Together we make a big difference. Make checks payable to: The Time Is Now to Help, P.O. Box 1, Lake Geneva, WI 53147. The Time Is Now to Help is a federally recognized 5013 charitable organization licensed in the states of Wisconsin and Illinois. You will receive a tax deductible, itemized thank you receipt showing how your donation provided assistance for the poverty stricken.

A very special thank you: Fox Charities, Kunes Family Foundation, Mark and Natalie Reno, Martin Business, John Stensland and Family, Lake Geneva Area Realty, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Schuberth, Jeffrey Martin, Elkhorn Lions Club, Ritas Wells Street Salon, Barbara Zuzanek, John Race, Jeanette Logterman, W.H. Maus, Jr., Harry and Lois Niese, Nancy Runkle, Cheryl Farrar, Erich and Diane Lademann, III, John and Kathy Poiron, James and Mary Loftus, Harry and Patricia Buchert, Jr., Jack and Mary Lou Mc Kinney, Robert Ribordy, John and Marian McClellan, Nancy and Gary Bluemel, William and Jean Isaacson, Judy Dishneau, Beth and Jody Rendall, Patricia Jankowski, Mary Fitzgerald, Dawn Jorgensen, Michael and Kathe Beach, Church of Jesus Christ LDS, Robert and Patricia Davis, Denise Hubbard, Shari and James Loback, James and Marilynn Dyer, Marilyn Carver, Dorothy Tookey, James and Kathleen Smith, Edward and Doreen Ruder, our anonymous donors and all of you who support The Time Is Now to Help donation boxes, and the businesses that allow our donation boxes. Anyone who would like a Time Is Now donation box in your business, please call (262) 249-7000.

Memorials: The following donations were given in memory of Vera Lawton: Mary Rohloff, Arthur Duerst, Charles and Barbara Taylor, John and Diane Wuttke, Benne-Fit Valley Foundation, Dale and Gail Folkers and Eric and Erica Lawton. The following donations were given in memory of Mary Osborn: John and Darlene Osborn, Janet and Paul Brusky, Lyn Osborn and Jessica and Andrew Patey. Chris Dierks in memory of Wayne W. Perkins.

Prayer chain: The power of prayer and positive thoughts comes from the true healer, our Lord answering our prayers. Please pray for healing for the following people: Mike, Caroline, Susan, Jennifer, Clarence, Jayden, Santina, Alex, Lily, Kaitlyn, Kynesha, Brandis Grandma, and Marilyn.

Please visit: www.timeisnowtohelp.org
Honoring Cesar Chavez

Op Ed by Ruben Martinez, Ph.D.

Cesar Chavez died near his hometown of Yuma, AZ on April 22, 1993 at the age of 66. Chavez was in San Luis, AZ to assist UFW attorneys defend the union against a lawsuit brought by Bruce Church Inc. (BCI), a giant California-based lettuce and vegetable producer.

Eastern Michigan University's 12th annual Cesar Chavez celebration

YPSILANTI: Eastern Michigan University is the most diverse university in Michigan, which it holds as a defining and singular strength. As part of that, EMU is proud to host various events throughout the year that celebrate all races, cultures and ethnicities.

Por: Isabel Flores, corresponsal La Prensa

DETROIT, MI: La Comision Nacional de Libros de Textos Gratuitos (Conaliteg) cuenta en su portal de internet con el acervo digital de todos los libros de texto gratuitos para el ciclo escolar 2019 - 2020. El catalogo puede consultarse en la direccion: http:/libros.conaliteg.gob.mx De esta manera, los ninos podran mantenerse entretenidos con informacion en su propio idioma y estar al dia con sus materias, mientras se encuentran en casa por la contingencia.

Census 2020: Todos Debemos ser Contados
PRESS RELEASE

Russia, U.S. Move Ahead To Hammer Out Details in Setting Up Syrian De-Escalation Zones

July 11, 2017 (EIRNS)Carrying out the agreements made between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin during their meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, Moscow and Washington are working on details for the implementing de-escalation zones in southwest Syrias Daraa, Quneitra, and Sweida. "This cooperation will continue in terms of implementing the agreements approved for southwest Syria," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters yesterday, reported by TASS.

"The July 7 memorandum, signed by us, the Americans and the Jordanians, envisages working on more details that will fix how these zones will operate in practice." "Despite the fact that a ceasefire was announced yesterday, there is still much to be done in order to ensure it, so we have a lot of work ahead of us,"

Lavrov explained, saying

"it has been decided that details concerning the implementation of the de-escalation zones will be agreed at the monitoring center which Russia, the United States and Jordan are setting up in Amman. The center will maintain direct contacts with both the government forces and armed opposition unit." "Russia will continue to take advantage of its military presence in Syria to actively support the Syrian government and opposition in their joint fight against terrorist groups, particularly using its Aerospace Force,"

Lavrov said.

"I expect that the success achieved in connection with the setup of de-escalation zones, as well as the progress reached at the Astana talks concerning three other de-escalation zones, will help us fight terrorists more effectively." "We are close to reaching a final agreement on the Homs and the eastern Ghouta zones, while talks continue on the northern zone, which is planned to be set up in the Idlib area,"

Lavrov confirmed.
July 11, 2017 (EIRNS)ConsortiumNews published an Open Letter to Rep. Barbara Lee yesterday, calling her out for joining the Democratic Partys embrace of the New McCarthyism and Cold War, in violation of her historic role in standing up against the frenzy for war after 9/11. The author was Norman Solomon, coordinator of RootsAction.org and the executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, and Bernie Sanders backer in last election.

"Your longtime wisdom is antithetical to the tweet that you sent out after the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin from your official Rep. Barbara Lee Twitter account: Outraged by President Trumps 2 hr meeting w/Putin, the man who orchestrated attacks on our democracy. Where do his loyalties lie?"

Solomon wrote.

"In mid-September 2001, when you implored the Congress and the country to think through the implications of our actions today, so that this does not spiral out of control, the words of your speech were beacons of sanity in a propaganda storm for war. But now, as I watch a video of those two transcendent minutes, some of your old words echo in a newly haunting way.

"Now it falls to peace advocates who read your new words to urge you to think through the implications of the political line youve just taken, so that this does not spiral out of control. And now, peace advocates must remind you of other insightful words from your historically prescient speech nearly 16 years ago: Some of us must urge the use of restraint.

"Your declaration on Friday that you are outraged by a meeting between the Presidents of the worlds two nuclear-weapons superpowers is the opposite of restraint. Likewise, your baiting of Trump with the question Where do his loyalties lie? echoes the accusations of treason hurled at you for years. Such rhetoric is far beneath you and beneath any leader with a responsibility to encourage diplomatic discourse, especially between two nations brandishing huge arsenals of nuclear weapons....

"To counteract what Martin Luther King Jr. called the madness of militarism, we must get off a partisan bandwagon when it is heading toward military catastrophe."
PRESS RELEASE

Forum in Beijing Takes Up Reconstruction for Syria

July 11, 2017 (EIRNS)The Global Times reports today that the China-Arab Exchange Association sponsored a forum in Beijing Sunday on the reconstruction and development of Syria. The Syrian Ambassador to China, Imad Moustapha, said that "Syria has gradually begun its rebuilding program mainly in energy, water supply and manufacturing." He said that Chinas structural reform and reduction of overcapacity can connect with Syrias rebuilding, and that the Belt and Road Initiative also offers a good chance to work with Syria in various fields, Global Times reports.

Hua Liming, a former Chinese Ambassador to Iran, told the Global Times that China would invest in Syrias rebuilding, very likely attracting both state-backed and private companies.

"Infrastructure such as roads, houses and the water supply system is the primary investment target. Rehabilitating the oil industry would be the second goal,"

Hua said. He said that the unstable situation puts obvious restraints on the reconstruction, but that the process will begin in any case.

The recent U.S.-Russian cease-fire deal in southwest Syria concluded by Trump and Putin last week, Hua said, means that reconstruction can begin. "Rebuilding is very likely to begin in western Syria, areas around Damascus and the strongholds of President Bashar al-Assad," he said.

Sputnik also reports on the event today, writing that a delegation of 30-50 representatives of Chinese enterprises is expected to visit Syria from Aug. 15-22 "to explore investment opportunities," according to Qin Yong, the deputy chairman of China-Arab Exchange Association. They plan to visit Damascus, Homs and Aleppo and meet with local officials to discuss investment opportunities on a wide range of reconstruction projects. Qin said discussions are "primarily focused on restoration of the power supply systems in Syria."

Qin and a representative from the state-owned Jiangxi Construction Group Corp. visited Syria in April. Many more Chinese companies backed out last minute after the U.S. attacked the Syria airfield on April 7, Qin said. A second group of a 12-member Chinese delegation visited Syria on June 12-16, including representatives from Alibaba. They were told during that visit that Russia, China and Iran would have priority in reconstruction of Syria after the end of the war.

Qin said that a number of Chinese enterprises, including the state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation and China Construction Fifth Engineering Division Corp., have signed up for the visit to Syria next month.

There is a plan under discussion to create a Chinese-Syrian industrial park for 150 companies, costing $2 billion and creating 40,000 jobs.
PRESS RELEASE

U.S. AID Issues Fact Sheet: Yemen-Complex Emergency

July 11, 2017 (EIRNS)The U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) issued a fact sheet yesterday that highlights the genocidal impact of the Saudi war against Yemen. Highlights are: Yemen has the largest cholera outbreak in the world with 297,400 cases and 1,706 deaths since April. Out of the population of 27.4 million, 20.7 million require humanitarian assistance; 14.8 million lack basic health care; 17.1 million are food insecure; 7.3 million are in need of emergency food assistance; 2 million are internally displaced; and only 4.9 million have received humanitarian assistance.

The report indicates many ways in which the Saudi war has caused this situation. Saudi air attacks have caused at least 50 civilian deaths this year. Military activity damaged power lines that the city of Dhamar depended on for drinking water purification. An "alleged" Saudi airstrike damaged a cholera treatment enter in Qahza, injuring patients, damaging the building, and destroying medical supplies, requiring the transferral of patients to other facilities.

In response to this situation, President Trump has ordered an additional $192 million in financial assistance for Yemen. This brings the annual total up to $467,240 million. The United Nations has made requests that more care be taken to avoid harm to civilians, but support for the Saudi assault has not been withdrawn.
The Los Angeles area saw a dip in on-location production for the second quarter as a decline in TV pilot shoots and the cancellation of dramatic series including Amazons Good Girls Revolt and ABCs Mistresses took a toll on the local industry.

On-location shoots declined 4.7% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, according to a new report from FilmLA, the organization that oversees local filming permits. It marked the second quarterly decline in production activity this year. On-location shoots dropped 2.1% in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago.

But the group said the overall volume of local production remains strong when compared with a seven-year average.

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The second quarter saw a total of 9,466 shoot days, down from 9,937 shoot days a year ago. The report only measures on-location shooting in the greater L.A. area and not production that occurs on certified soundstages.

One of the biggest declines in the quarter was for TV drama series, which fell 24.3%, due in part to cancellations. Drama series to get the ax also include Amazons Hand of God, Showtimes Roadies and ABCs The Catch.

FilmLA also noted that Netflixs Gilmore Girls revival shot in L.A. during the second quarter last year and hasnt returned, further impacting quarterly results.

TV pilot production in L.A. plummeted 60.4% for the quarter as the networks ordered fewer pilots. As a result, production centers from L.A. to New York saw declines in the category, FilmLA said in a statement.

On-location pilot production in L.A. fell to 110 shoot days for the second quarter, down from 278 a year ago. The report said that 52% of those days were for pilots receiving tax incentives.

Declines were also observed in TV comedy series and web-based productions. Comedies saw a 9% drop in on-location shoots, while web-based shows for companies like Buzzfeed and Funny or Die experienced a 21.6% decline.

But the report noted that both categories are currently tracking at record highs for the last seven years.

On-location feature film shoots also declined for the quarter, falling 18.5%. That follows a first-quarter decline of 36.3% as local movie production struggles to recover from runaway productions to states such as Georgia and Louisiana.

One area that saw a bounce was commercials, which experienced a 12.5% increase in on-location shoot days for the quarter over the same period a year ago.

david.ng@latimes.com

@DavidNgLAT
Childrens apparel retailer Gymboree Corp. said it would close about 350 of its Gymboree, Janie and Jack and Crazy 8 stores nationwide  including 24 in California  as it restructures its business after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June.

In Southern California, the company will close 11 stores, two in Los Angeles County.

The San Francisco company aims to reduce its debt by $900 million with the restructuring while keeping most of its stores open and running as usual.

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Right-sizing our store footprint is a central part of our efforts to ensure Gymboree emerges from this restructuring process as a stronger and more competitive organization, Gymboree President and Chief Executive Daniel Griesemer said in a statement.

As people shop online more, traditional retailers such as Gymboree and shopping malls in general have been hit hard. This year alone, Macys Inc., Sears Holding Corp., J.C. Penney Co. and Payless ShoeSource Inc. are among the chains that have announced store closures.

Moodys Investor Service said in February that the number of distressed retailers  vendors carrying exceptionally large amounts of debt  was at its highest point since the Great Recession in 2008-09.

Gymboree was founded in 1976. As of April, it operated 1,281 stores in the U.S. and Canada across its three brands.

In Southern California, the company is shutting Gymboree stores in Los Angeles, Redondo Beach, Barstow, Carlsbad, El Cajon, El Centro, Santa Ana and Westminster; Crazy 8 stores in Corona and Westminster; and a Janie and Jack store in Thousand Oaks.

Closing sales begin next Tuesday.

A full list of the stores that are closing is posted on Gymborees restructuring website.

ethan.varian@latimes.com

@ethanvarian

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Amazon.com Inc. said shoppers flocked to Prime Day  its self-proclaimed retail holiday for Prime subscription members  at an unprecedented rate this week, driven in large part by widespread demand for devices manufactured by the e-commerce giant.

Amazon didnt disclose a dollar figure, but it said sales grew 60% over last years Prime Day. It also said that on Tuesday, more people joined Prime, its $99-a-year loyalty program, than on any other single day in company history.

The third incarnation of the annual summer discount extravaganza was extra-long  30 hours instead of 24, starting Monday at 6 p.m. PDT. And Prime Day was available in 13 countries this year, adding Mexico, China and India for the first time.

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Amazon said its Echo Dot, a voice-activated speaker and digital assistant, was the bestselling item globally. The Seattle company said it sold seven times as many Echo devices, in various versions, as on Prime Day 2016.

Other hot sellers in the U.S. were Amazon Fire tablets, genetic tests from 23andMe and an Instant Pot programmable pressure cooker.

The first Prime Day was held in 2015, a Cyber Monday-like shopping event meant to encourage enrollment in the Prime loyalty program, which includes free shipping and other perks. Analysts say it may have brought in as much as $400 million in extra revenue.

Last years incarnation was termed by Amazon its biggest day ever, but this years event was even larger. The company said tens of millions of Prime users made a purchase on Prime Day 2017, surpassing last year by more than 50%.

Analysts with Cowen estimated that the latest Prime Day brought in about $1 billion in revenue for Amazon.

But just as important was that it seemed to attract more new members, said the analysts, who estimate that more than half of U.S. households will have enrolled in Prime by the end of the year.

Cowen analysts estimated that there were 53 million Prime member households in the U.S. at the end of the second quarter, or 48% of U.S. households. Thats up from 41% in the same quarter last year.

Competing retailers jumped onto the Prime Day bandwagon. This year, Frys Electronics held a Frys Day offering free same-day delivery on 1,000 items. Best Buy had a Big Deals Day.

Wal-Mart, Amazons biggest rival, did not follow along, choosing instead to showcase two-day shipping and discounts for store pickups, according to the Associated Press.

The retail holiday also proved to be a fulcrum for social media commentary on Amazons businesses. On Twitter, activists who have been decrying the appearance of Amazon ads on the far-right Breitbart News Network website used the occasion to draw attention to their cause. I celebrated #PrimeDay by cancelling my Prime membership, one person tweeted.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents retail workers, put out a statement Tuesday calling for Americans to examine the high cost of Amazons business model. In the statement, UFCW President Marc Perrone called Amazons vision, and reliance on automation, brutal.

Varian writes for the Los Angeles Times. Gonzalez writes for the Seattle Times/McClatchy.

ethan.varian@latimes.com

@ethanvarian

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David Wilstein  founder of a prominent Los Angeles development firm  died Sunday. He was 89.

Since establishing Realtech Construction Co. in 1976, Wilstein had overseen more than 100 projects, including high-rise office towers, medical buildings, apartments, hotels and shopping centers.

Wilsteins daughter, Denise Margolin, remembers her father always with a phone in hand  no matter the time of day. He was the first one to work and the last one home.

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He always worked, he was married to his work, Margolin said. He was always doing a deal, always involved with something. He worked so, so hard.

The Pittsburgh native, who had a bachelors degree in engineering, came to California in the 1950s and got a job with the state helping designing freeways. He met his wife, Susan, two weeks after moving to L.A. Margolin said it was love at first sight, and the two were rarely apart in their more than 60 years of marriage.

Wilstein had humble beginnings in construction.

To earn some extra cash in the 1950s, Wilstein joined his father and brother in building a fence. That led to fixing the roof of a house, which led to the first of several remodeling jobs, Wilstein told The Times in a 2014 profile.

His career in development took off after a man for whom he had remodeled a home returned from Cuba with money to invest. Wilstein said he offered to build the man a six-unit apartment that could be sold for a 6% or 7% return.

Wilstein then started building properties for other investors. He eventually grew the company internationally, developing buildings in Japan, Thailand, Turkey and China.

Wilstein was responsible for some prominent L.A. office buildings, including the 12-story Roar building on Wilshire Boulevard at Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills and the 25-story Wells Fargo Center at Wilshire and San Vincente boulevards.

Wilstein was involved with the Jewish faith, Margolin said, heading up several philanthropic initiatives in Los Angeles and Israel, including an effort to help at-risk youth.

He also served on the board of directors of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Brandeis-Bardin Institute and the American Friends of the Hebrew University. He was a past trustee of the California State University system.

He was a great, great man, and he cared about everybody else before himself, Margolin said. He really put himself last.

Wilstein, a resident of Beverly Hills, died of natural causes.

He is survived by his wife and daughter. Funeral services will be held 1 p.m. Thursday at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City.

alexa.dangelo@latimes.com

@andangelo15
American Ballet Theatre finished its New York season with a Tchaikovsky Spectacular last weekend that freed two of its biggest stars, Misty Copeland and Marcelo Gomes, to appear at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night. Freed and prepared.

The New York Times noted that ABTs orchestra had been in admirable form and that Copeland has become such a draw that the company can count on her filling the nearly 4,000-seat Metropolitan Opera house. At the Bowl, the orchestral ante was upped. Copeland and Gomes, along with Natalia Osipova and Sergei Polunin, performed with no less than Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the opening night of the orchestras classical Bowl season.

The crowd, moreover, was in the neighborhood of four times what the Met holds. The L.A. Phil no longer provides audience statistics (explaining that they were never more than guesses in the past, anyway). But the amphitheater looked packed. The lines were LAX-long to get through the Bowls new (and welcome) metal detectors. Traffic, Im told, was two-hours-plus from the Westside. But nothing stopped em from coming.

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For all that, there was little dancing, and less (though some) imaginative dancing. But the evening was extremely pleasant. Thanks to global warming or whatever, instead of a chilly early July night in the Bowl (archival photos in the Bowl museum show women in the 1930s and 1940s wearing mink coats to picnic in the boxes), it was warm enough for the men in the orchestra to have removed their white jackets and play in shirtsleeves. The dancers had no worry about shivering.

The program itself was ripe for a summers evening. A short first half included orchestral bonbons from Tchaikovskys The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, with Gomes and Copeland each curiously taking a brief turn as the White Swan. Their more substantial and impressive pas de deux later was the balcony scene from Prokofievs Romeo and Juliet, of which Dudamel also conducted three brief orchestral selections. The other ballet excerpted was Giselle, with Osipova and Polunin dancing the grand pas de deux and variations from the second act.

As much a luxury as performing with Dudamel and the L.A. Phil may be, dancers often prefer simply working with the same conductor and orchestra, day in and day out  musicians who can serve them, never altering tempo or balances. The last thing they may want is fancy, unpredictable interpretations.

Misty Copeland is applauded by Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Bowl adds the challenge of dancing in front of the orchestra, which meant Dudamel conducted without making any connection with the dancers. The stage is plenty large, with lots of room for exciting flying entrances and exits, but another oddity is that the vast majority of viewers watches on video screens.

All that said, Dudamel conducted everything, even the musically formulaic Adam score to Giselle, with a lively flair that allowed the bits from each ballet to set the tone for dancing. While the music tends to be a piece of cake for the orchestra, the idea of bringing ballet into a symphonic setting is the least noted of all the different ways Dudamel has been stretching the reach of the L.A. Phil.

And there was real stretching for both orchestra and dancers in Romeo and Juliet. In February, Dudamel led an explosive performance of a suite from the ballet with quicksilver tempos only animated dancers might have been able to handle. He did so again Tuesday, before Copeland and Gomes appeared, creating in the minds ear an unrealistically agile young Juliet and dashing Romeo.

But the balcony scenes music is slower, and Dudamel produced a silvery atmosphere that inspired from Copeland to project real personality rather than her usual impressive determinism. Beyond a believably swooning girlishness, she implied a Juliet of substance, all the more touching thanks to Gomes mature strength and support.

Their White Swan solos in the first half, though, were another matter. First Gomes impersonated the mysteriously male alternative swan in Matthew Bournes Swan Lake. Copeland followed in the same solo, but as a dutiful White Swan in a modified version of Petipas traditional choreography.

For the old school, Osipovas Giselle was formidable, and Polunins Albrecht spectacular. But like the competing swans, this too felt ill conceived in the context of the evening  as if to say, well, these Russian and Ukrainian partners were meant to show how its really done, whereas the ABT dancers show how its done today.

In the end, Dudamel is one who showed them all how, musically, its rarely done in the ballet pit. The best part of all was how the large crowd (much of it likely new to dance) ate the show up. I wonder whether anything could have prepared the dancers for that.

mark.swed@latimes.com

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CBS S.W.A.T. reboot will take on the Trump years, #BlackLivesMatter, says Shemar Moore By Meredith Blake Stephanie Sigman and Shemar Moore (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Dont let the funky theme song or the 70s origins fool you. While technically a remake  of both the original series and the subsequent 2003 film based on it  CBS upcoming cop drama S.W.A.T. is very plugged into the current moment, according to its cast and creators. In the series, former Criminal Minds star Shemar Moore plays a native Angeleno who runs a tactical unit for the LAPD and finds his loyalty torn between his fellow officers and the community in which he was raised. As co-creator Aaron Rahsaan Thomas told reporters Tuesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour, the series was inspired by his experiences growing up in Kansas City, which have helped him understand both sides of the raging debate over police violence. I grew up in a neighborhood that had a very complicated view towards police officers, said Thomas, who created the series with veteran showrunner Shawn Ryan. On one hand, a 12-year-old kid who was a neighbor of mine was shot and killed by a police officer. On the other hand, another neighbor of mine was an actual police officer. Moore, best known for his long run on the CBS procedural Criminal Minds, noted the diversity of the cast and creative team and added that, while the show is primarily designed to entertain, it will also resonate politically. Were taking on the Trump years, he said. I dont care who you voted for. Its just whats happening today. Its Black Lives Matter. As much as some people dont want to hear it, its All Lives Matter. Its not just black versus blue or black versus white. Its every ethnicity. Its fear. Its racism. Its terrorism. Its subject matter of today. Ryan, who created the groundbreaking drama The Shield, about corrupt Los Angeles police officers, said he was excited about the chance to examine the often charged relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Los Angeles is such a diverse, amazing community, and seeing an officer who kind of lives in the city and sort of sees the people that are being policed as humans and as neighbors and as friends was really important to me. Facebook

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Netflix getting A Little Help from Carol Burnett By Libby Hill What do you get when you pair up a living legend with a bunch of little kids? Comedy gold, if Netflix has its way. The online streaming service announced Monday that comedy icon Carol Burnett will be returning to television with A Little Help With Carol Burnett, an original unscripted series that pairs Burnett with children to tackle lifes dilemmas. Someone once asked me how old I am inside, Burnett said in a statement Monday. I thought about it and came up with, Im about 8. So its going to be a lot of fun playing with kids my age. Kids ages 4 to 8 will join Burnett as celebrities and everyday folks bring their real-life problems to the show to get advice in front of a live studio audience. Were thrilled Carol is bringing her unique sensibilities to Netflix, Bela Bajaria, the services vice president of content acquisition, said in Mondays announcement. Carol is truly a legend in the entertainment industry with unprecedented success and fandom across TV, film and the stage, and we are both honored and excited to work with her. A Little Help With Carol Burnett will be produced by Dick Clark Productions and is the companys first Netflix project. This is the second television project announced this year for Burnett, 84. In February, ABC ordered a pilot for the multi-camera comedy Household Name, starring Burnett, though the series has not been picked up in its current iteration. Debuting in 2018, A Little Help With Carol Burnett will feature 12 half-hour episodes. Facebook

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Ken Burns explains why his Vietnam War documentary is more relevant than ever By Libby Hill Ken Burns in Beverly Hilton on Sunday. (Richard Shotwell / Invision) History doesnt repeat itself, Ken Burns told a room of journalists gathered Sunday at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Beverly Hills Were not condemned to repeat what we dont remember, Burns explained. Its that human nature never changes. Its a curious statement from the storied documentarian, particularly given his latest project, the 18-hour, 10-part documentary series The Vietnam War, directed with Lynn Novick. But just because humanity isnt trapped in a constantly repeating cycle doesnt mean that the echoes of modern strife arent plentiful throughout the upcoming PBS series. This is a story about mass demonstrations all across the country against the current administration, Burns said in response to a question about what the youth of America will find relevant in The Vietnam War. About a White House obsessed with leaks and in disarray because of those leaks, about a president railing against you, the news media, for making up news. Its about asymmetrical warfare, which even the mighty might of the United States Army cant figure out the correct strategy to take, and its about big document drops of classified material thats been hacked, that suddenly is dumped into the public sphere, destabilizing the conventional wisdom about really important topics and accusations that a political campaign reached out to a foreign power at the time of a national election to influence that election. This is the film we started in 2006, and every single one of those points are points about the Vietnam War having nothing to do with today, Burns concluded. By creating a fully-formed picture of Vietnam, Burns hopes to shed light on the rancor and alienation defining this present moment, he explained. For Novick, the thematic relevance only serves to help teachers who have long struggled in tackling the Vietnam War. Weve had great response from teachers already that the Vietnam War is difficult to teach because its controversial and unsettled history and theyre looking forward to using the film in the classroom, Novick said. Those resonances that Ken is talking about, those will be assignments for students. Were not going to have to work very hard with teachers to come up with those themes, and students are curious about whats happening now. The Vietnam War premieres Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. PDT Facebook

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Goodbye, MTV Moonman trophy. Hello, Moon Person By Emily Mae Czachor MTVs token space cadet just scored an identity revamp  and gender didnt make the cut. In a recent interview with the New York Times, MTV President Chris McCarthy said the networks iconic Moonman trophy has been discontinued. From now on, the metallic figurine  whose impenetrably opaque helmet has become the unofficial face of MTVs Video Music Awards  will go by Moon Person instead. Because who knows whats really going on beneath that lacquered astronaut getup, anyway. Why should it be a man? McCarthy told the Times. It could be a man, it could be a woman, it could be transgender, it could be nonconformist. This new development is just the latest installment in MTVs string of efforts to do away with gender norms during its awards proceedings. The network eliminated gender-specific categories at its MTV Movie & TV Awards earlier this year, where all nominees were placed in neutral categories (i.e. best actor in a show, best actor in a movie). And the network isnt going to stop there. McCarthy also announced a new MTV reality series  still in development called We Are They about a group of gender-nonconforming young adults coming of age. With Katy Perry hosting, the VMAs will broadcast from the Forum in Inglewood on Aug. 27. Heres the full list of nominees. Facebook

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Sam Shepard: Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, actor and ... avant-garde drummer? By Randall Roberts Sam Shepard in 2014. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Sam Shepard, whose death at 73 was announced on Monday, will be remembered for his cross-discipline versatility. As a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, he penned classic off-Broadway plays including True West, Buried Child and Fool for Love. An Oscar-nominated actor, he starred in films including Days of Heaven, The Right Stuff, Crimes of the Heart and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. To fans of underground music, however, Shepard served a lesser-known role as the drummer for seminal New York avant-garde folk band the Holy Modal Rounders, with whom he performed on the crucial late 1960s albums Indian War Whoop and The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders. The band is best known for its song If You Want to Be a Bird, which plays during the classic scene in Easy Rider in which Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson roar down the highway on their motorcycles. Thats Shepard playing drums as Rounders founders Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber whoop and yowl. It was in his capacity as a percussionist, in fact, that he drew the attention of a young Patti Smith, who, in her 2010 memoir Just Kids, recounted their first early 70s meeting at seminal music club the Village Gate. Escorted to the club by Todd Rundgren, who had just issued his album Runt, Smith described the Holy Modal Rounders set as like being at an Arabian hoedown with a band of psychedelic hillbillies. I was fixed on the drummer, who seemed as if he was on the lam and had slid behind the drums while cops looked elsewhere. Smith, who at the time was freelancing for Crawdaddy magazine, introduced herself to this drummer, who said his name was Slim Shadow. The two started hanging out, wrote Smith, describing his tales as being even taller than mine. He had an infectious laugh and was rugged, smart, and intuitive. In my mind, he was the fellow with the cowboy mouth. Only later did she learn Slims real identity when a friend pulled her aside after seeing them at a restaurant together. As recounted in Just Kids, Smith wrote that her friend asked, What are you doing with Sam Shepard? Sam Shepard? I said. Oh, no, this guys name is Slim. Honey, dont you know who he is? Hes the drummer for the Holy Modal Rounders. No, corrected her friend, Hes the biggest playwright off-Broadway. He had a play at Lincoln Center. He won five Obies! Once she learned of his reputation and acclaim, Smith and Shepard continued to see each other -- despite his being married at the time -- and eventually collaborated on a play called Cowboy Mouth. Smith described telling him of nervousness at writing for the stage, which she had never done. But Shepard urged her on, Smith wrote, telling her that you cant make a mistake when you improvise. Replied Smith: What if I screw up the rhythm? You cant, Shepard explained. Its like drumming. If you miss a beat, you create another. 7:15 a.m. Updated to correct the title of Smiths memoir, Just Kids, and to identify the Holy Modal Rounders co-founders, Stampfel and Weber. Facebook

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Lady Gaga subpoenaed in producer Dr. Lukes lawsuit against pop singer Kesha By Randall Roberts The ongoing offstage drama between the pop singer Kesha and her former producer Dr. Luke has entangled another platinum superstar: Lady Gaga. On Saturday, attorneys for Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, issued a statement regarding their attempt to depose Lady Gaga about relevant conversations she may have had with Kesha. The artist, who was born Kesha Sebert, is the subject of a defamation suit filed in New York by Dr. Luke stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct, which the producer vigorously denies. The statement reads: Dr. Lukes counsel served a subpoena on Lady Gaga because she has relevant information regarding, among other things, false statements about Dr. Luke made to her by Kesha. This motion has become necessary because Dr. Lukes counsel has not been able to obtain, despite repeated request [sic], a deposition date from Lady Gaga. The protracted legal battle between Dr. Luke, left, and Kesha has brought Lady Gaga into the fray. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images) Representatives for Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, said in a statement issued to The Times on Monday morning: As Lady Gagas legal team will present to the court, she has provided all of the relevant information in her possession and is at most an ancillary witness in this process. Dr. Lukes team is attempting to manipulate the truth and draw press attention to their case by exaggerating Lady Gagas role and falsely accusing her of dodging reasonable requests. Among the information Lady Gaga has provided are copies of text messages that were, according to a report on TMZ, heavily redacted. Lady Gaga has been a vocal Kesha supporter. Last year, Gaga wrote about her peers plight in an Instagram post: The very reason women dont speak up for years is the fear that no one will believe them or their abuser has threatened their life or life of their loved ones/livelihood in order to keep their victim quiet and under control. What happened to Kesha has happened to many female artists, including myself, and it will affect her for the rest of her life. The news comes at a particularly crucial moment for Keshas career. On Aug. 11, she will release her highly anticipated new album, Rainbow. The record, featuring songs such as Learn to Let Go, will arrive via Dr. Lukes imprint, Kemosabe, a situation Kesha sought to avoid in a 2014 lawsuit of her own, which she later dropped. Facebook

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Ride on, genius: Celebrities mourn the loss of Sam Shepard By Emily Mae Czachor Acclaimed actor and playwright Sam Shepard died July 27 at age 73. (Charles Sykes / Associated Press) Sam Shepard  Oscar-nominated actor and critically acclaimed playwright, author, screenwriter and director  died on July 27 after suffering complications from ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease). When news of his death broke Monday morning, Twitter erupted with posts to mourn, honor and remember one of show business beloved renaissance men. View Instagram post This story was updated with additional reactions. Facebook

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Macaulay Culkin got his first tattoo with goddaughter Paris Jackson, and its a match By Emily Mae Czachor For Paris Jackson, getting inked is nothing out of the ordinary. With more than 50 tattoos already under her belt, the 19-year-old daughter of late pop king Michael Jackson collects body art like postage stamps. According to E! News, the budding actress got her latest over the weekend: an understated sketch of a red spoon, just below the crook of her left arm. A new tattoo might be old-hat for Jackson, but it wasnt for Macaulay Culkin, Jacksons 36-year-old godfather -- and first-time tattoo patron -- who emerged from West Hollywoods Tattoo Mania with a matching spoon on his own forearm. Though neither Jackson nor Culkin spoke to the meaning of the double-inking, the design is supposedly meant to represent a kind of chronic struggle. And thats not the only news that Culkin made recently. The Internet nearly lost its collective mind last week when a new photo emerged of the Home Alone actor looking healthy and happy. E! News even declared that Culkin definitely just won 2017s greatest makeover. Your eyes aren't deceiving you. Macaulay Culkin definitely just won 2017's greatest makeover (thus far, at least). https://t.co/IdKjxii5KZ pic.twitter.com/SOAuSx57oU  E! News (@enews) July 27, 2017 Facebook

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Alex Jones products are almost as bad as his conspiracy theories, says John Oliver By Meredith Blake Over the last year, conspiracy theorist and influential radio host Alex Jones has come under intense scrutiny for his fringe beliefs, most notably his claim that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax perpetrated by the government. On Sundays Last Week Tonight, John Oliver noted that Jones status as a Sandy Hook truther qualified him for an Easy Pass to hells version of the champagne room. But he spent most of his time on a relatively overlooked aspect of Jones conspiracy empire -- the wide range of products that he sells in order to fund it. According to Oliver, Jones spends nearly a quarter of his airtime plugging InfoWars-branded merchandise, including Wake Up America Patriot coffee to Combat One Tactical Bath Wipes and a powder called Caveman True Paleo (made from chocolate and domesticated bird corpses, Oliver joked). As the comedian pointed out, it just so happens that many of the products Jones sells, often at a significant markup, purport to address the conspiracy theories with equally wild-eyed zeal. Think: water filters to remove chemicals that supposedly turn frogs gay or vitamins to boost your immunity and ward off germs from allegedly disease-ridden refugees. Jones even has his own in-house expert, Dr. Edward Group, with dubious qualifications (and equally questionable hair) to back up his various outlandish claims. InfoWars is essentially a QVC for conspiracy, Oliver argued. So in the spirit of InfoWars, Oliver decided to introduce his own personal care product, John Oliver Moisture-Armored Tactical Assault Wipes, available via Infowipes.com. The price? A mere $1 million. Worth every penny, were sure. You can watch the complete segment here. Facebook

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Vintage Casablanca poster sells for $478,000 By Trevell Anderson How much would someone pay for a vintage movie poster? Well, if that film is Casablanca, one persons answer is $478,000. Thats how much a bidder coughed up Saturday for the only known surviving Italian-issue poster for the 1942 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The poster sold through Heritage Auctions of Dallas. The buyer has just set a world record and acquired what we in the poster collecting world would equate to a masterpiece, said Grey Smith, Heritages director of vintage posters. The stunning artistry put into this poster makes it stand head and shoulders above any paper produced for the film. The poster, measuring 55.5 inches by 78.25 inches, was produced in 1946. The film opened in Italy on Nov. 21 that year, almost four years after its U.S. premiere. Featuring artwork by Luigi Martinati, the poster is considered the best of the pictures numerous advertisements, Smith said. Previous Italian-issue posters for the film have sold for as much as $203,000. A U.S.-issue of the poster has fetched $191,200. The auction featured other rare posters for the film, with a half-sheet going for $65,725, and a postwar Spanish-release poster selling for $35,850. ---------- For the Record An earlier version of this article misstated the purchase price of the Casablanca poster sold Saturday as $487,000. Facebook

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There is no Plan B for public broadcasting without federal funding, PBS president says By Libby Hill Paula Kerger, chief executive of PBS (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images) PBS President and Chief Executive Paula Kerger wasnt pulling any punches Sunday at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Beverly Hills. When people say, What is the Plan B for [loss of federal funding]? There is no Plan B for that, Kerger said of the potential budget crisis public broadcasting faces under the Trump administration. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been under fire for months, with President Trumps proposed budget axing the institutions $450-million budget. Though its easy to suggest that budget cuts would threaten Big Birds livelihood, the true victims of defunding would be far more human. Kerger explained that of PBS $450-million budget, one-third goes to radio. Of the television budget, most goes to community service grants that local stations use for up to 50% of their operating budgets. PBS itself will not go away. But a number of our stations will. If you are a station for whom 30 or 40 or 50% of your funding is suddenly pulled away, theres no way you can make up that money, Kerger said. You will find big parts of the country that will suddenly be without public broadcasting. The fate of public broadcasting is currently in flux, waiting for the end of Congress August recess for resolution. Currently, the House Appropriations Committee has approved the bulk of the PBS budget, while the House Budget Committee recommended doing away with funding altogether. Budget concerns aside, Kerger also addressed other unresolved PBS matters. The second seat of PBS NewsHour has been vacant since the untimely death of co-host Gwen Ifill in November 2016, leaving Judy Woodruff as the shows sole anchor. We have encouraged [executive producer] Sara Just and Judy Woodruff and the team at NewsHour to take their time and think very carefully about who that right person [to replace Ifill] is, Kerger said. Im hopeful that they will be making an announcement sometime over the next few months of a new anchor. Kerger also announced an upcoming project aimed at inspiring the country to come together in celebration of literature. The Great American Read is an eight-part series launching in spring 2018 that explores the nations 100 best-loved books, chosen by the American people and culminating in the first-ever national vote to choose Americas Best-Loved Book. Facebook

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AMC Visionaries adds Eli Roth, Roots, Gibney for new docu-series By Meredith Woerner Robert Kirkman, left, and Eli Roth at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Beverly Hills. ( Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for AMC) AMC announced several additions to its upcoming Visionaries docu-series Saturday at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Beverly Hills. Writer-director-actor Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) will be offering a deeper look into his signature style of genre filmmaking with Eli Roths History of Horror (working title) and Ahmir Questlove Thompson, Tariq Black Thought Trotter (founding members of The Roots) and Alex Gibney (Going Clear, History of the Eagles) will executive produce a series called Rap Yearbook (another working title). The cable network also has three other installments in development: History of Video Games, Outlaws of the Internet, and History of Martial Arts. The new Visionaries members join the previously announced programs Robert Kirkmans Secret History of Comics and James Camerons Story of Science Fiction. Kirkman and Roth were present at the AMC panel with Cameron appearing via satellite to show sneak peeks from the comics and sci-fi iterations of the series. A sizzle reel for the Secret History of Comics utilized plenty of classic panel pages and a sort of motion comic-like animation to illustrate the early days of Marvel Comics, going all the way back to the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby days. But the real treat was a collection of cameos, famous faces opining about their love of the form including Lee himself, J.K. Simmons, Kevin Smith, and Method Man, who earnestly revealed, You have to be born a comic book fan, I think. And there are plenty more talking heads to come, the AMC press release promised Patty Jenkins, Lynda Carter, Famke Janssen, Michelle Rodriguez, and Todd McFarlane. The second clip shared a look at Camerons love letter to science fiction. Today, science fiction is mainstream but it didnt used to be that way, the director explained. When I was a kid science fiction wasnt cool, but I thought it was cool. Cameron wants to focus on closing the gap between current fans knowledge of modern day sci-fi to the pioneering works of literature that inspired the blockbuster offerings of today. The Terminator and Avatar director noted that without Jules Verne and H.G. Wells there would be no Avengers, Star Wars or his own works. The series will be divided by theme -- space travel, time travel etc.-- and include appearances from Paul W. Anderson, Roland Emmerich, Paul Verhoeven, Bryan Singer, Keanu Reeves, Jonathan Nolan, David Gerrold and D.C. Fontana. When asked how their respective series would showcase diversity -- the footage screened was very male-centric -- Kirkman responded that History of Comics would have two episodes devoted to diversity. One will focus on the women who helped Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston steer the course of the hugely famous female superhero, and another highlighting people of color titled The Color of Comics. The episode explores the history of black characters, and the lack of black characters in the comic book industry, said Kirkman. which touches on the creation of Black Panther  the Marvel character  and does a really cool focus on this company called Milestone Comics that was founded by a group of African American comic book creators to create characters that appealed to them and represented them, because there was a huge lack of representation in comics even in the 90s. You wouldnt have horror without Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, Roth added. He cited the late George Romero as an example of how he wants to break down the themes within the horror genre. At the height of the civil rights movement [Romero] puts an African American as the lead of Night of the Living Dead and at the end of the movie hes shot by a bunch of rednecks. Not because of the color of his skin, but because they think hes a zombie. But you can read into the implications of that. What [Romero] was doing with using genre to explore racism was so ahead of its time. its just as potent today as it was 50 years ago. Its absolutely something were going to be discussing. Roths urgency to document the horror masters was apparent. It was the death of Scream moviemaker Wes Craven that inspired Roth to get involved in Visionaries. The panel then took a turn for the analytical when the creators were asked how their series would reflect the world today. The fact that dystopian science fiction has come back, especially in television and in movies, is very important, said Cameron. It means that in the age that we live in right now the challenges that face us are technological. Theyre science challenges: climate change, genetics, artificial intelligence, things like that. These are really on our horizon as major, existential threats. The best horror reflects whats going on in our times, said Roth. He used Jordan Peeles Get Out  which addressed modern day racial tensions as a reference. Its no accident that movie coming out right now is making over $200 million at the box office. You can tell its really resonating with people. Bouncing off Camerons dystopia revelation, Roth then turned his lens onto the current political climate, I dont think weve ever seen a cast of characters like this in our White House thats straight out of WWF wrestling in the 80s. When [Anthony Scaramucci] is coming out with things that would make Rowdy Roddy Piper in his heyday blush. This is a farce, is this actually happening? When will we start seeing this dystopian outlook on the current political climate in the movies? Possibly before Roths series, which will air sometime in 2018, after History of Comics and the Story of Science Fiction in 2017. Facebook

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President Trump got a fan letter from a young boy this week. Stephen Colbert introduced another young fan Friday By Greg Braxton Stephen Colbert, host of CBS The Late Show. (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images) White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders took time during a White House briefing this week to read a fan letter to President Trump from a 9-year-old boy named Dylan who has the nickname of Pickle. Sanders read part of the letter to reporters: Youre my favorite President ... I dont know why people dont like you. Sanders interjected, Neither do I, Dylan. The letter continued, You seem really nice. Can we be friends? Sanders assured Pickle that she had spoken directly to Trump about him, and the president would be more than happy to be your friend. Stephen Colbert on Friday brought another young fan of Trumps onstage Friday night to read her own letter during his CBS Late Show. Dear President, my name is Norah, but everybody calls me Mustard, the little girl recited. She continued, Youre my favorite current president. Norah then presented some probing questions to Trump: I was wondering, does the attorney general enjoy your full support? And how do you plan to implement the ban on transgender people currently serving in the military? Will those on active duty be called home? Sounds like a logistical nightmare. She continued, One more thing: Are you a puppet of Vladimir Putin? I love puppets! I made one at camp! Love, Mustard. The Late Show audience cheered. Facebook

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Broadways Great Comet producer apologizes for controversial Mandy Patinkin casting By Nardine Saad (Jeff Schear / Getty Images) The producer behind Broadways struggling musical Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812" has joined the apologetic refrain for the diversity uproar that followed the decision to bring in Mandy Patinkin to replace departing star Okieriete Oak Onaodowan, who is black. The production came under fire this week following its move to replace Onaodowan, who was in the original cast of Hamilton, with Tony Award winner Patinkin in a titular role. As part of our sincere efforts to keep Comet running for the benefit of its cast, creative team, crew, investors and everyone else involved, we arranged for Mandy Patinkin to play Pierre, co-producer Howard Kagan said in an official statement posted Friday on Twitter. Kagan said they had the wrong impression of how Onaodowan felt about Patinkins casting and how it would be received by members of the theater community, which we appreciate is deeply invested in the success of actors of color  as are we  and to whom we are grateful for bringing this to our attention. We regret our mistake deeply, and wish to express our apologies to everyone who felt hurt and betrayed by these actions, he said. The legendary Broadway star dropped out of the musical on Friday after the announcement that he would be replacing the African American star was met with disdain. Patinkin was to join the cast for a limited run from Aug. 15 through Sept. 3, but declined the part because he would never accept a role knowing it would harm another actor. I hear what members of the community have said and I agree with them. I am a huge fan of Oak and I will, therefore, not be appearing in the show, the Homeland alum tweeted. Another tweet on the shows account included an apology to Patinkin for any misunderstanding and said they understood his decision to withdraw from the show. Our deepest apologies. pic.twitter.com/Mks7XLGxbq  The Great Comet (@GreatCometBway) July 28, 2017 pic.twitter.com/vSZk6K2KOV  The Great Comet (@GreatCometBway) July 28, 2017 Onaodowan, who had replaced recording artist Josh Groban in the role of Pierre earlier this month, is scheduled to continue to perform through Aug. 13, after which, he stated Friday on Twitter, he will not return to the show. It is unclear if his decision to leave the production was his own or prompted by other factors. Show creator Dave Malloy, whose musical was inspired by a portion of Leo Tolstoys War and Peace, also apologized Friday on Twitter for how everything went down and missing the racial optics of their casting decision. They had previously asked actress Brittain Ashford to step aside for the casting of better-known singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson during the summer months and they didnt anticipate that Patinkins casting would be viewed differently, Malloy said. Despite 12 Tony Award nominations, Comet only received two wins -- for set and lighting -- at the June ceremony and ticket sales ebbed when Groban departed. Malloy said that sales for shows after Aug. 13, when Michaelsons run would also end, were catastrophically low. So they decided to cast Patinkin, hoping that his star power would help boost sales, because the weird show was in desperate shape and on the brink of closing. Facebook

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Eagles, Doobie Brothers will play Classic Northwest show Sept. 30 in Seattle By Randy Lewis The reconfigured Eagles, shown during a July 15 performance at Dodger Stadium, will continue with a Sept. 30 Classic Northwest concert with the Doobie Brothers in Seattle. (Kevin Mazur / Getty Images) The EaglesClassic music festival series will continue with at least one more stop, this time in Seattle. But unlike the inaugural Classic West bill July 15-16 at Dodger Stadium, which is having a Classic East encore this weekend in New York, the added Classic Northwest show on Sept. 30 will be just a single day and feature the Eagles and Doobie Brothers only. The Classic West and East shows teamed the Eagles, Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers on one day, with Fleetwood Mac, Journey and Earth, Wind & Fire on the second day of each. Tickets for the Classic Northwest bill go on sale Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster. At the outset of the Eagles portion of Classic West on July 15, co-founder Don Henley indicated it was still uncertain how much of a future his long-running band might have absent co-founder Glenn Frey, who died last year at 67. To make the Classic West and East shows possible, the group tapped Freys son, singer-guitarist Deacon Frey, and country music star Vince Gill to handle the lead vocals on the many Eagles songs that were originally sung by Glenn Frey. In case this is our last dance, Henley told the crowd at Dodger Stadium, where he was joined by longtime bandmates Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, we want to thank all of you in Southern California for all your support. Facebook

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In her new Hulu series, Sarah Silverman wants to love America -- seriously By Greg Braxton Executive producers Amy Zvi, left, and Adam McKay, star/executive producer Sarah Silverman and executive producer Gavin Purcell at Hulus I Love You, America panel at the TCA summer press tour. (Willy Sanjuan / Invision/Associated Press) From her stand-up act to her Comedy Central series to her Twitter account, comic-actress Sarah Silverman has a long history of courting laughs and controversy. Her outspokenness and sometimes absurd, sometimes acerbic views on everything from celebrity to culture to politics, particularly President Trump and his administration, have raised eyebrows. On her upcoming Hulu series, I Love You, America, Silverman is focused more on forming bonds than being provocative. In surveying the current political landscape and the comedy shows that skewer it, Silverman says she wants to reach out to all on the political spectrum. For me, [those shows are] great, but they really connect with more like-minded people. Theyre brilliant. Theyre funny. But Im hoping to, with this show, connect with un-like-minded people, Silverman said Thursday during a panel at the Television Critics Assn.'s summer press tour in Beverly Hills. The mission of the show is that were all the same. But whats important is that its funny. Although the exact format of the show is still being refined, Silverman did reveal some elements, including a monologue, a focus group in the studio and field pieces in which she travels around the country talking to people. For example, Silverman says she plans to go to Slidell, La., to meet a family that says they have never met a Jewish person. I cant help but have preconceived notions. They cant help but have preconceived notions, said Silverman. All I can do is just try to be open and brave and go into the situation. And same for them. Although Silverman and executive producer Adam McKay didnt make any sharp criticisms about Trump at Thursdays session, they did take exception to his attacks against so-called entertainment liberals or the Hollywood elite. What is he talking about? said Silverman. Im from ... New Hampshire. Everybody out here is from somewhere else. The goal of the show will be to seek common ground and understanding, she said: Ultimately were all the same. The thesis of the show is that everybody just wants to be loved. Facebook

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Jerry Seinfeld is Forbes highest-paid comedian; Amy Schumer still only woman to crack the top 10 By Nardine Saad If Jerry Seinfeld is this years king of comedy, then Amy Schumer is the queen. The Comedy Central star once again landed on Forbes list of highest-paid comedians, the financial magazine announced Thursday. She was the first woman comic to crack the top 10 last year and remains the only woman on the list this year. The Trainwreck and Snatched star made an estimated $37.5 million between June 2016 and June 2017 thanks to her Netflix show The Leather Special, her memoir The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo and endorsement deals with Bud Light and Old Navy. That ranked the raunchy comic No. 5 on the list filled with veteran comedy heavyweights. Meanwhile, the Seinfeld and Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee star shot back to the top of the list this year, earning an estimated $69 million. Seinfeld was eclipsed last year by Kevin Hart, who this year dropped to the No. 6 spot with $32.5 million. Chris Rock trailed Seinfeld for the second spot on Forbes list, earning $57 million. His record-breaking $20 million-per-special contract with Netflix paved the way for several comics, including Seinfeld, to cut lucrative deals with the streaming service, which is poised to become the go-to-destination for comedy specials. In addition to touring, those deals significantly padded the incomes of several stars on Forbes list. In the third and fourth spots, funnymen Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle, who earned $52 million and $47 million, respectively, also made expensive deals with the streaming service to make their millions. To see Forbes complete list, click here. For the record, 10:40 a.m.: A previous headline and version of this story said that Schumer was the first woman to make the top 10 list this year. Schumer was the first woman to make the top 10 last year. Facebook

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American Horror Story: Cult gets sickeningly sweet in official poster By Libby Hill We're just beneath the surface... #AHSCult pic.twitter.com/GvnMD1KieQ  AmericanHorrorStory (@AHSFX) July 27, 2017 What exactly is beneath the surface in American Horror Story: Cult? Bees, apparently. The seventh season of FXs hit horror anthology series is slowly revealing itself via its official Twitter account. On Thursday, the series shared the official poster for the series, and it is super messed up. The poster features a deathly pale woman who happens to be missing the top of her head and, for that matter, her brain. Instead, the inside of her head is a honeycomb, replete with bees and, of course, honey. This is creepy for so many reasons. Here are a few: This poor woman has had the top of her skull removed, bringing to mind that particularly gruesome dinner scene featuring Anthony Hopkins and Ray Liotta in the 2001 film Hannibal. Even more horrifying is that this poor, sweet woman is definitely dressed like a clown. The white makeup, lines through the eyes and exaggerated ruby red lips suggest that AHS: Cult is drawing inspiration from traditional grotesque whiteface clown makeup. Think more Pennywise, less juggalo. (And if none of that is enough to scare you, please enjoy this clown dating site I stumbled across while researching all of this.) FXs American Horror Story: Cult premieres on Sept. 5. Facebook

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Stephen Colbert had some [bleeped] thoughts on Anthony Scaramuccis NSFW rant By Yvonne Villarreal (Richard Boeth / Associated Press) Stephen Colbert took a cue from incoming White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci -- or the Mooch, as hes called -- by giving Thursdays episode of The Late Show a decidedly NSFW vibe. We got an incredible taste of unfiltered Mooch today, Colbert said during his monologue. He was, of course, referring to Scaramuccis disapproving -- and often vulgar -- comments about White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon in a New Yorker article that sent social media tongues wagging Thursday. But to even discuss the matter, Colbert had to issue a warning to CBS censors: Youre going to want to break out the extra bleeps for this one, he said before diving in. (If only we could get our ellipses to put in some overtime!) In his colorful conversation with New Yorker correspondent Ryan Lizza, which took place Wednesday night,Scaramucci was trying to get to the bottom of who leaked that he had dinner at the White House with President Trump, the first lady, Sean Hannity and the former Fox News executive Bill Shine. Scaramucci described Priebus as a  ... paranoid schizophrenic who had blocked him from the White House for six months -- prompting Colbert to break out an impression of Scaramucci. Yes, the guys paranoid, OK? He thinks his own communications director is gonna stab him in the back again, Colbert said with an exaggerated Italian accent. Front stab! he added with a knifing gesture. The New Yorker article also detailed how Scaramucci accused Bannon of seeking to build [his] own brand off the  strength of the president and made some other inflammatory remarks that we cant fully detail. So well let Colbert take it from here. Facebook

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Longtime Disney imagineer Martin Sklar dies at 83 By Richard Verrier (Jae C Hong / Associated Press) Martin Marty Sklar, the pioneering Walt Disney Co. imagineer who played an instrumental role in the design of Disney theme parks, has died, the company announced Thursday night. He was 83. During his 54 years at Disney, Sklar worked closely with Walt Disney and led the creative development of the Burbank companys theme parks, attractions and resorts around the world, including the companys ventures in the cruise business, housing development and the redesign of Times Square in New York. Everything about Marty was legendary  his achievements, his spirit, his career, Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger said in a statement. He embodied the very best of Disney, from his bold originality to his joyful optimism and relentless drive for excellence. He was also a powerful connection to Walt himself. No one was more passionate about Disney than Marty and well miss his enthusiasm, his grace, and his indomitable spirit. Sklar was born in New Brunswick, N.J., and attended UCLA, where he was editor of the Daily Bruin newspaper when he was recruited to create the Disneyland News for Walt Disneys new Anaheim theme park in 1955. After graduating in 1956, he joined Disney full-time and would become Disneys lieutenant. He wrote speeches, marketing materials and a film showcasing Walts vision for Walt Disney World and the Epcot theme park in Florida. READ MORE> Facebook

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Is a happily ever after coming to The Mindy Project? By Yvonne Villarreal The Mindy Project creator/executive producer/star Mindy Kaling with executive producers Matt Warburton, left, and Ike Barinholtz at the shows Television Critics Assn. press tour panel. (Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP) Is there a happily ever after written in the stars for the final season of The Mindy Project? Series creator Mindy Kaling, who also plays the titular heroine at the center of the Hulu comedy, took the stage Thursday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills to discuss the shows swan song season. And when asked if Kalings rom-com-obsessed character, Mindy Lahiri, would get her storybook ending, the 38-year-old actress suggested it wouldnt necessarily be in the way viewers expect. I think that all of us would agree that we do have happily ever after, the connotations of it, said Kaling, who was joined onstage by executive producer and showrunner, Matt Warburton, and producer and star Ike Barinholtz (sporting a neck brace from a recent stunt gone wrong). But happily ever after isnt the same as no loose ends, she said. That everything is tied up neatly in a bow is something we arent super interested in. That side of it I think were trying to avoid, Kaling added, while also leaving the audience with the sense of feeling that it was about something and that it really was a project and that she had some growth in the end. And for fans wondering whether or how Danny Castellano (played by Chris Messina) would factor into all that, the season promises to shed some light on that. For the unitiated, Messinas Danny is Mindys former fiance and the father of her child. Messina, who hasnt been a series regular since Season 4, is set to return for multiple episodes. And while the Season 5 finale ended with Mindy marrying boyfriend Ben (Bryan Greenberg), hints were thrown that the new episodes would bring some clarity to the Mindy-Danny relationship. The one thing we can promise the audience is a little bit of clarity about where they stand, Warburton said. Its so great to see him back because weve always known theyre always going to be in each others lives  but its great to actually see what that means this season. Its complicated, added Kaling. Theyre both married to other people, so we went into that season with all of that, which makes things sort of fun and delicious. Other familiar faces set to return for the final season are Mark and Jay Duplass, Adam Pally and Glenn Howerton. Kaling, in discussing the decision to end the series, promised a good finale. The decision to end the show was our decision, and I think thats always very hard, Kaling said. It was like, God, should this be the end? ... I think right now the idea of doing a prequel or something like that just felt  we just have such a good finale. We have such a good finale that weve known about for awhile. The final season of The Mindy Project will start its rollout on Hulu in September. Facebook

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Tiffany Haddish clarifies controversial Bill Cosby remarks: Im not afraid of the Big Bad Wolf By James Reed Actress Tiffany Haddish has clarified her remarks about wanting to work with Bill Cosby. (Christina House / For The Times) A joke that Tiffany Haddish recently told The Los Angeles Times has backfired on the breakout star of the new film Girls Night. Talking to The Times Trevell Anderson, Haddish credited Bill Cosby as a comedy inspiration, seemingly unfazed by the multiple sexual-abuse allegations levied against the beleaguered, 80-year-old TV legend. I still want to work with Bill Cosby, I dont care, she told The Times earlier this month. Ill drink the juice. Ill take a nap. I dont give a damn. But seriously, I would love for him to play my grandfather in something. Her remarks raised eyebrows and ire on social media, with some fans questioning her intentions and a New York magazine story noting that the actress seems to have wandered into problematic fave territory. I've been rooting hard for Tiffany Haddish but I find nothing funny about her making light of Bill Cosby drugging women  Stephanie. (@qsteph) July 26, 2017 Twitter: "We loved Tiffany Haddish in #GirlsTrip. Sweetie is doing amazing!"



Tiffany Haddish: "I'd love to work with Bill Cosby."



Twitter: pic.twitter.com/X23DQWb2wi  hellresidentNY (@hellresidentNY) July 27, 2017 On Thursday, Haddish attempted to clarify those comments while speaking on a panel at the Television Critics Assn.'s summer press tour in Beverly Hills. What I said was a joke, she said, noting that when youre expected to be funny in promotional interviews, there are risks. Youre going to say some bad jokes. Haddish said her point had been that Im not afraid to do anything. Im not afraid of any kind of job. Im not afraid to play any kind of girl as long as it doesnt compromise my morals.... Ive been through things. Ive been victimized, she added. I dont agree with what he did or anything, but, at the end of the day, Im not afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. Thats what I was trying to say, and I was trying to do it in a humorous way. Times staff writer Sarah Rodman contributed to this report. Facebook

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Tracy Morgan thanks God, and Tiffany Haddish reflects on her success at Last O.G. panel at TCA By Sarah Rodman Tracy Morgan, left, Tiffany Haddish and Ryan Gaul of the new TBS comedy The Last O.G. at the TCA press tour in Beverly Hills on Thursday. (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images) Thank God. Thats what Tracy Morgan had to say about what it means for the 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live alum to be returning to TV three years after the devastating accident that put him in a coma and resulted in the death of his friend James Jimmy Mack McNair. The stand-up comic and actor, whose new TBS comedy, The Last O.G. premieres Oct. 24, was full of gratitude and thoughts on starting over during the presentation for the show at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour Thursday in Beverly Hills. Executive produced by Morgan, Jordan Peele and John Carcieri, The Last O.G. chronicles the adventures of Tray (Morgan). Newly sprung from prison after serving 15 years, he has to acclimate to the changed times, his gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood and his former girlfriend (Tiffany Haddish of Girls Trip) raising the children he didnt know existed with another man. This is a show about humanity, this is a show about second chances, this is a show about redemption, said Morgan, answering a question about whether it would explicitly explore African American issues. I wanted to transcend that... I wanted to deal with humanity. Haddish, naturally, fielded several questions about Girls Trip, the new comedy film that has minted her as a star. I feel like a foster kid whos been in the system for a long time and then turned 16 and somebody adopted them and said, You can go to college and you aint got to pay no school loans or nothing,  she said of how shes been feeling in the wake of the films superb box office. Im happy! Ive been accepted finally after all these years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears. Haddish said she was looking forward to her role in The Last O.G. since its a character who has gone through a transition in her life, just as she herself has. Her fellow cast mates, including Cedric the Entertainer, good-naturedly ribbed her about becoming a diva since shes now a movie star. But Morgan noted seriously that Haddish has been nothing but a pro: She comes to work. Haddish joked: My bank account, it dont show movie star yet. Im waiting on it. They say nine months; its like a baby. Im waiting for the delivery. Morgan said it was important to surround himself with scene stealers such as Haddish and Cedric and was clearly earnest in his appreciation of his collaborators and their sensitivity to his physical needs. They make sure I sit down... they dont ask me, they [say] sit down for a little while. So Im good. Im taken care of by my people, and I love them with my heart. Facebook

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It can be TGIF every day on Hulu: The service lands popular ABC programming block in SVOD deal By Yvonne Villarreal Every day can be Friday in the 90s with help from Hulu. The streaming service announced Thursday it has signed a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for the exclusive streaming rights to programs that were part of the popular ABC programming block known as TGIF. The announcement was made during the streaming services day of panels at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills. The shows under the deal include Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, Step by Step and Hangin With Mr. Cooper. Nabbing the rights to Full House is particularly noteworthy considering Hulus rival Netflixs success with reviving the comedy, which is returning for a third season in September. With the Hulu deal, more than 800 episodes of the five sitcoms from the bygone family friendly lineup will be available beginning Friday, Sept. 29. These shows are more than just beloved hits, they were part of a cultural tradition to tune in every Friday night, said Craig Erwich, Hulus senior vice president of content in a statement. Facebook

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TV Academy announces which awards will be handed out during Primetime, Creative Arts Emmys By Nardine Saad Get your Emmys ballot ready  the Television Academy has announced which categories will be awarded during this years 69th Primetime Emmy Awards and the separate Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The main event will take place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 17 and will be hosted by The Late Show star Stephen Colbert. Prizes will be awarded to comedy and drama series, limited series, reality competition, variety talk and sketch, television movie, acting, directing, and writing during the live telecast on CBS. HBOs Westworld and NBCs Saturday Night Live lead the nominees with 22 nods apiece, a total that includes several below-the-line categories to be doled out at the two Creative Arts Emmys ceremonies the week before. Honoring artistic and technical achievements that could make or break your play-at-home ballot, the Creative Arts Emmys will be held in the same venue on two consecutive nights on Sept. 9 and 10. Theyll be put together for one show, produced by Bob Bain, that will air on FXX on Sept. 16. The first night will cover categories that include animation, choreography, cinematography, costuming, make-up, hairstyling, documentary and nonfiction awards, editing, lighting, sound-mixing, technical direction, variety special and some writing awards. The second night will lean more heavily on front-of-the camera talent, awarding the likes of guest actors and actresses and stunt work, in addition to childrens programs, commercials, main title designs and theme music, music composition and supervision, prosthetic makeup and additional sound and editing categories. For a complete list of this years nominees, click here. Heres the complete list of the awards being handed out during the Primetime Emmys telecast: COMEDY SERIES

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES

DRAMA SERIES

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

LIMITED SERIES

REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

TELEVISION MOVIE

VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

VARIETY TALK SERIES

WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

WRITING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES Facebook

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Kesha finds redemption in new song: The past cant haunt me if I dont let it By Emily Mae Czachor For Kesha, Learn to Let Go is not just an aptly titled track off her upcoming Rainbow LP. Its become one of my mantras over the last few years, she said in a remarkably uplifting letter that the singer published Thursday to accompany a new video for the song. (This is her new M.O., it would seem.) Learn to Let Go, which Kesha co-wrote alongside her mother, Pebe Sebert, is a heartrending chronicle of redemption. Had a boogeyman under my bed/ Putting crazy thoughts inside my head, she sings, while real home-video footage of a whimsical young Kesha cuts between clips of a grown Kesha frolicking through the forest. The chorus rings like a self-empowered anthem: The past cant haunt me if I dont let it. My mom is always telling me how you have to learn to accept that you cant try to control everything, she wrote in the letter. When you realize that you are not the one in control and you stop holding onto regrets  its liberating. Your past only has as much effect on your future as you want it to, Kesha continued. Its about embracing your past, but not letting it define you. Her new album, Rainbow, will be released Aug. 11. Facebook

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Stephen Colbert to bring animated Trump series to Showtime By Meredith Blake Stephen Colbert has ridden anti-Trump sentiment to the top of the late-night ratings. Now hes riding it all the way to premium cable. On Thursday, Showtime announced it had ordered 10 episodes of an as-yet-untitled animated series featuring cartoon renderings of the president, his family and inner circle. The satirical half-hour series, executive produced by Colbert and The Late Shows show runner Chris Licht, will debut on Showtime this fall. According to the network, turnaround on the series will be quick in order to incorporate current events. Stephen and Chris have an uncanny genius for deconstructing the world of President Trump, and this series opens a new realm for them, Showtime President David Nevins said in a press statement. Tim Luecke, who co-created the animated version of Trump who frequently appears in Late Show bits  including a recent segment from the notorious presidential suite of the Moscow Ritz-Carlton  will serve as lead animator. The announcement caps off a period of good news for Colbert, who racked up six Emmy nominations this month and will be hosting the awards in September. The recently concluded Russia Week, in which the comedian traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg, brought The Late Show its biggest margin over The Tonight Show since its premiere in 2015. While The Late Show airs on CBS, Colbert has also developed ties with his corporate cousins at Showtime. Many point to his riveting election night special Stephen Colberts Live Election Night Democracys Series Finale, which aired on the premium network, as a turning point after an uneven transition from The Colbert Report. For its part, Showtime has invested heavily in political content over the last 18 months, most notably the documentary series The Circus, from journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. Facebook

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Matt Damon gets punched right in the face in George Clooneys Suburbicon trailer By Nardine Saad  Matt Damon, Oscar Isaac and Julianne Moore star in the trailer for George Clooneys Suburbicon. In George Clooneys latest directorial effort, Suburbicon, the pleasantries of a 1950s town are undone when a home invasion exposes the communitys criminal subculture and racial tensions. And Matt Damons Gardner Lodge gets stuck in the thick of it -- defending his young son, making death threats, killing mobsters and getting popped square in his bespectacled face at the office -- as seen in the first trailer that Paramount unveiled Thursday. Did we mention this is a comedy? The dark, screwball kind from the minds of screenwriters Clooney and frequent collaborators Ethan and Joel Coen and Grant Heslov? Well, it is, in case that wasnt clear from the previous description. These animals took everything from us, a blood-splattered Gardner tells his son Nicky (Noah Jupe) at the dinner table. I have to make decisions like whats best for the family. After Gardners wife is murdered, he invites Auntie Margaret (Julianne Moore) to come live in the manicured suburban community to help with his son. Meanwhile, he gets mixed up with a loan shark that sets him on the warpath of a formidable, coffee-swilling collector named Roger (Oscar Isaac). The film is based on a script that the Coen brothers wrote years ago that Clooney found, and they agreed to have him direct it, according to Moore. Paramount acquired the U.S. rights to the film, billed as a comedy, crime and mystery, at the Berlin Film Festival last year. It will be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and hits theaters on Oct. 27. Facebook

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Woody Allens Wonder Wheel to complete Amazons turn to full-service distribution By Mark Olsen Woody Allen at the American Film Institutes Life Achievement Award tribute to Diane Keaton on June 8, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk / Getty Images for Turner) Thursday it was announced that Woody Allens latest film, Wonder Wheel, will have its world premiere as the closing-night film at this years New York Film Festival. The film stars Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake, Juno Temple and James Belushi in a story set around Coney Island in the 1950s. But that wasnt the only Allen item of the day. Variety reported that Wonder Wheel will also be the first film fully distributed by Amazon when it opens in theaters on Dec. 1. The company has already made fast inroads to the movie business, winning Academy Awards this year for Manchester by the Sea and The Salesman, but has up to now worked with established distribution partners such as Roadside Attractions or Bleecker Street to help get those movies into theaters. Amazon released Allens 2016 film, Cafe Society, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Steve Carell, in partnership with Lionsgate. The online giant also released Allens six-part Crisis in Six Scenes, in which he starred alongside Elaine May and Miley Cyrus, late last year via the Amazon Prime Video streaming service. The move by Amazon is yet another way the company is distinguishing itself in relation to streaming rival Netflix. Where Netflix has been seen as pulling back from theatrical distribution, opting for either extremely limited or no theatrical release at all of its titles to drive viewers to its own platform, this latest push by Amazon renews its commitment to traditional theatrical releases. The New York Film Festival slot for Wonder Wheel gives Amazon the three marquee spots at the showcase. Previously announced, Richard Linklaters Last Flag Flying will open the festival, and Todd Haynes Wonderstruck, which premiered at this years Cannes Film Festival, will show in the centerpiece slot. Other upcoming Amazon titles include Mike Whites Brads Status, starring Ben Stiller, and Luca Guadagninos remake of Suspiria, starring Dakota Johnson. Facebook

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Mick Jagger releases two new, politically charged singles By August Brown (Dave Gatley / Los Angeles Times) Mick Jagger has been looking to the past on recent albums and festival dates. But a pair of urgent new singles are firmly set in the present. On Thursday, the Rolling Stones frontman released two tracks, Gotta Get A Grip and England Lost, that describe, as he put it in a statement, the anxiety, unknowability of the changing political situation in a post-Brexit U.K. The production is resolutely modern, built on programmed drums and clanging guitar noise. The London grime artist Skepta even joins him for a verse on England Lost. Ostensibly, its about seeing an England football team lose, but when I wrote the title I knew it would be about more than just that. Its about a feeling that we are in a difficult moment in our history. Its about the unknowability about where you are and the feeling of insecurity, Jagger said in a statement. Its obviously got a fair amount of humour because I dont like anything too on the nose but its also got a sense of vulnerability of where we are as a country. The Girls actress Jemima Kirke also stars in a new clip for Gotta Get A Grip. The songs are Jaggers first new solo material since 2001s Goddess In the Doorway. Facebook

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Katy Perry to host 2017 MTV Video Music Awards By Libby Hill The MTV Video Music Awards are returning to California and getting a certified California Gurl to host. Katy Perry took to her Twitter feed Thursday to announce her upcoming gig hosting -- and performing -- at the VMAs in August. Ive been training with MTV in zero gravity, eating astronaut ice cream, and Im on a group text with Buzz Aldrin and Neil deGrasse Tyson, Perry said in a statement. Come August 27th, Ill be ready to be your MOONWOMAN! Brace for impact, kids. Perry will kick off the evening as the first announced performer for the ceremony. On Tuesday, Perry earned five VMA nominations for her video contributions over the last year, tying with the Weeknd, with only Kendrick Lamar earning more. Were thrilled to have global phenomenon Katy Perry as the host and a performer at the 2017 VMAs, said Bruce Gillmer, head of music and music talent for Global Entertainment Group, Viacom, in a statement from MTV. She is at the forefront of music culture and the perfect person to anchor this years show, which promises to be one of the most diverse and music-filled in VMA history. The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards will air from the Forum in Inglewood on Aug. 27. Find a full list of nominees here. Introducing your MOONWOMAN. Brace for impact! August 27th on @MTV @VMAs pic.twitter.com/WJsIYq7WiM  KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 27, 2017 Facebook

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Turns out Larry David and Bernie Sanders are related! By Yvonne Villarreal Turns out Saturday Night Live was on to something when it cast Larry David to play Sen. Bernie Sanders. During his freewheeling appearance Wednesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills to promote the upcoming ninth season of HBOs Curb Your Enthusiasm, David revealed that the resemblance is rooted in reality: Sanders is a distant relative. Hes in the line ... like a third cousin, or something, he said. The genealogical discovery comes courtesy of Davids appearance in an upcoming episode of the PBS series Finding Your Roots. I was very happy about that, David said. I figured there was some connection. David played Sanders on Saturday Night Live through the 2015-16 election cycle and also appeared alongside the senator on the late-night sketch show. Its the kind of family secret that David isnt ashamed to admit. I love Bernie, yes, David said. I love Bernie. Facebook

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Trumps proposed transgender military ban turns late-night into hostile territory By Libby Hill If theres one upside to the Trump administrations early-morning Twitter proclamations, its that it gives late-night shows all day to craft their reactions. Wednesday began with President Trump announcing a ban on transgender individuals serving in the United States military and ended with late-night hosts uniformly blasting the policy decision in hilarious fashion. On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert had plenty to say about Trumps tweets, which ended with an uncharacteristic thank you. Thank you? Colbert responded, shocked, before offering his own profane two-word response to the president. Colbert went on to discuss what he saw as the greatest fallacy of the presidents reasons for banning transgender soldiers: increased medical costs. Though a 2016 study funded by the Pentagon found that military medical spending on transgender soldiers would increase anywhere from $2.4 million to $8.4 million, Colbert wanted to reframe those figures. To put that number in perspective, the military spends five times as much on Viagra, Colbert explained, And if your erection lasts for more than four hours, thats too bad, because youre stuck on a submarine for the next six months. On The Daily Show Trevor Noah had similar concerns about the presidents cost-related excuse, pointing out that taxpayers are paying $60 million for Trump to travel to his various properties throughout his presidency. Noah also pondered which of Trumps generals hed consulted with, given that the Pentagon was unaware of his proclamation, suggesting that perhaps hed spoken with The General Online. Late Night With Seth Meyers also invoked the cartoon general from the car insurance commercials, when Meyers opted to turn discussion of Trumps tweets over to four of his female writers. Today it might be trans people, but tomorrow its gay people, and then the next day its black people, and after that its women, and then its immigrants, the writers pointed out, all of those groups represented between them. On The Tonight Show Jimmy Fallon had the good sense to turn over a portion of his monologue to transgender comedian Patti Harrison, who had plenty to say about Trumps Wednesday announcement. When I saw the headline this morning, at first I just read, Donald Trump bans transgender people, and I was like, Yeah, that sounds like him, Harrison deadpanned. But then I realized it was just in the military and I was shocked, because I assumed he already did that. But it was James Corden who took a completely different take on the transgender military ban, opting for a stylish and heartfelt song and dance, expressing his love and appreciation for the LGBT community. Facebook

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Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are on the road again in new song collaboration By August Brown Ringo Starrs new LP includes a collaboration with fellow former Beatle Paul McCartney. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images) Any time the surviving Beatles reunite on record is a historic occasion. But a new single from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr packs in even more classic-rock star power. Starrs new song Were on the Road Again is one of several collaborations with his former bandmate on his new LP, Give More Love. The song also has guest appearances from Joe Walsh, Edgar Winter and Steve Lukather. Its a slightly goofy ode to life on the road, as Starr boasts that, We play really tight; we play really loud and cheekily references his own song Photograph. The two Beatles last recorded together on Starrs 2010 album, Y Not, and performed McCartneys Queenie Eye at the 2014 Grammys. Starr announced the McCartney studio collaboration back in February, thanking the fellow Beatle in a Twitter post. Thanks for coming over man and playing Great bass. I love you man peace and love.  pic.twitter.com/Z5kpyLLlkO  #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) February 20, 2017 Set for release on Sept. 15, Give More Love will also feature cameos from Peter Frampton, Don Was, Richard Marx and Dave Stewart, among others. You can hear Starrs new track with Paul McCartney via Rolling Stone. Facebook

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Curb Your Enthusiasm returns this fall -- and you can expect a Pirates of the Caribbean vibe? By Yvonne Villarreal Actor-creator-executive producer Larry David speaks at the Curb Your Enthusiasm panel during the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour at the Beverly Hilton. (Chris Pizzello / Invision/AP) Larry David revealed the real reason Curb Your Enthusiasm is at last returning after a six-year hiatus: People wouldnt stop bugging him about it. The Seinfeld co-creator took the stage Wednesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills -- joined by his Curb cohorts Susie Essman, Jeff Garlin and J.B. Smoove and executive producer Jeff Schaffer -- to discuss the shows coming ninth season. So, why bring back the show now after all these years? Im not a misser, David told reporters. I dont really miss things, people that much, but I was missing it. I thought, yeah, what the hell. And I got tired of people asking me if the show was coming back. I couldnt get asked that question anymore and I wasnt ready to say, No, never. The often madcap and sometimes hilariously perplexing 30-minute panel -- led by Davids gruff wit and deadpans -- kicked off with a teaser for the season. There was David in a shower, David talking about constipation, David enduring the displeasure of middle-seat status on a flight. The amount of uncomfortable situations [real Larry David] has been in these last six years, Schaffer said, youre going to see it all. Its like were sitting in the Ft. Knox of awkward. As for TV Larry David, Schaffer said viewers will learn very quickly what hes been up to during the years that have passed. Once the show starts to air, it will be self-evident, he said. It goes to this really strange, fun, crazy place.... And you will never expect where it ends. The trip to that ending begins Oct. 1 when the comedy returns to HBO. The 10-episode season brings back Curb favorites like Cheryl Hines, as well as frequent faces Richard Lewis, Bob Einstein, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. And what would a long-awaited return be without some guest stars? Elizabeth Banks, Ed Begley Jr., Carrie Brownstein, Bryan Cranston, Lauren Graham, Jimmy Kimmel, Nick Offerman, Nasim Pedrad and Elizabeth Perkins will get in on the fun. For those who still need something to pin their hopes on about what this season will entail, Garlin offered this absurdly brilliant comparison. It really thematically follows Pirates of the Caribbean. ... Its more like the last one than the first few. Facebook

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At TCA 2017, HBO defends Confederate, announces Jon Stewart special and says Deadwood movie is inching closer By Greg Braxton Casey Bloys, president of HBO programming, addresses reporters at the Television Critics Assn.'s summer press tour at the Beverly Hilton on Wednesday. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press) HBO, which has the hottest show on television with Game of Thrones, recently came under fire with the announcement of a new series called Confederate from a team that includes Game of Thrones producers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff. The series revolves around events that lead to the Third American Civil War and examines an alternate reality in which the South seceded from the Union and thus, slavery is still legal. Casey Bloys, president of HBO programming, defended the project Wednesday during the premium networks session at the summer edition of the Television Critics Assn. gathering at the Beverly Hilton. Bloys said that, in hindsight, the announcement was mishandled because it lacked the context and the vision that he received from Benioff and Weiss in discussing the series. He admitted it was misguided to believe they could simply announce a series with such a sensitive and volatile subject matter. We could have done a better job with the press release, he said. There was no benefit of context. My hope is people will judge the actual material instead of what it could be or should be or might be, he said. Well rise or fall based on that material. He added that he felt the series, rather than being divisive, would be able to advance the racial discussion. Although the topic is controversial, he said he and the producers of the show all feel this is a risk worth taking. Bloys also stressed that the depiction of slavery would not echo Gone With the Wind and would not include whips and plantations. In other major HBO news, former Daily Show host Jon Stewart will perform a stand-up special at a date and time to be announced, and host the latest Night of Too Many Stars, an all-star benefit for autism. Also, a movie reboot of HBOs western Deadwood is closer to reality. Bloys said the shows creator, David Milch, has completed a script that will please fans of the series while also being accessible to those less familiar with the show. But, he said, reuniting the large cast, which included Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane, may prove challenging. Facebook

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Two Jon Stewart comedy specials are coming to HBO By Yvonne Villarreal Jon Stewart, seen here presenting at the ESPYS, will return to HBO for his first stand-up special in two decades. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Jon Stewart will headline two stand-up specials for HBO. The news was announced Wednesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills. The former Daily Show host will get a stand-up special  his first since since 1996s Jon Stewart: Unleavened aired on the network. A date and location have not been confirmed. Were excited to bring Jon to the network with this pair of specials, said HBO programming president Casey Bloys in a statement. Weve all missed his uniquely thoughtful brand of humor. Im really thrilled to be able to return to stand-up on HBO, added Stewart in a statement. Theyve always set the standard for great stand-up specials. Plus, I can finally use up the last of the Saddam Hussein jokes left over from my first special. Stewart will also host the latest Night of Too Many Stars, the all-star benefit for Next for Autism, a nonprofit organization focused on people living with autism spectrum disorder. The special will air live this fall and will take place from the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The specials are part of Stewarts four-year deal with the premium cable network. Facebook

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Angelina Jolie talks about difficult split from Brad Pitt By Nardine Saad A-lister Angelina Jolie is adjusting to the domestic growing pains of life as a single mom  making a proper breakfast, keeping house and picking up dog poop. I never woke up and thought, I really want to live a bold life. I just cant do the other. Its the same as I cant make a casserole. I cannot sit still, she said in a sprawling new interview with Vanity Fair, in which she discussed her high-profile split from actor Brad Pitt. Ive been trying for nine months to be really good at just being a homemaker and picking up dog poop and cleaning dishes and reading bedtime stories. And Im getting better at all three. But now I need to get my boots on and go hang, take a trip, the humanitarian said of her plans to head to Africa for a mission with the preventing Sexual Violence Initiative. Angelina Jolie opens up about putting her family first, life after Brad, health issues & her most personal film yet https://t.co/nKyf4dO8ls pic.twitter.com/WkXCgWR1PV  VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) July 26, 2017 The Oscar-winning actress explained how and when her marriage devolved, though she didnt go into great detail about the breakup for the sake of their six kids. The marriage began suffering in the summer of 2016 while she was in post-production on her fifth directorial effort, First They Killed My Father, a film about Cambodias Khmer Rouge genocide, which hits Netflix in September. Things got bad, Jolie said. I didnt want to use that word. ... Things became difficult. The director became slightly defensive at the mention of the familys globe-trotting lifestyle, which reportedly had been grating on Pitt. "[Our lifestyle] was not in any way a negative, she asserted. That was not the problem. That is and will remain one of the wonderful opportunities we are able to give our children. ... Theyre six very strong-minded, thoughtful, worldly individuals. Im very proud of them. After 12 years together and a few years of marriage, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016. While her ex was couch-surfing, she and the kids spent nine months in a rental property before settling into a six-bedroom, 10-bathroom Los Feliz manse once owned by film legend Cecil B. DeMille. Its just been the hardest time, and were just kind of coming up for air. [This house] is a big jump forward for us, and were all trying to do our best to heal our family. The divorce filing came suddenly for the health of the family on the heels of a spat Pitt had with their 15-year-old son, Maddox. They reached a divorce settlement privately in January after battling publicly for months over custody of the kids. The Oscar-winning producer had been vilified with accusations of child abuse and having an affair with his Allied costar Marion Cotillard. But he arguably won over public opinion with his introspective GQ Style interview in May in which he admitted to sobering up after boozing too much. Last year, Jolie was diagnosed with hypertension and developed Bells palsy when nerve damage caused one side of her face to droop. She took up acupuncture to treat it. Sometimes women in families put themselves last, she said, until it manifests itself in their own health. Thats just the latest in her medical history. Following a preventative double mastectomy in 2013, she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed in 2015, which sent her into menopause. I cant tell if its menopause or if its just been the year Ive had, she said, quipping about her dry skin and the idea that she could still be considered a sex symbol. I actually feel more of a woman because I feel like Im being smart about my choices, and Im putting my family first, and Im in charge of my life and my health. I think thats what makes a woman complete. For the record, Aug. 4, 12:55 p.m.: A previous version of this story said that First They Killed My Father would hit Netflix this month. It debuts in September. Facebook

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Caitlyn Jenner questions why Trump isnt fighting for transgender service members By James Reed (Taylor Jewell / Invision/Associated Press) There are 15,000 patriotic transgender Americans in the US military fighting for all of us. What happened to your promise to fight for them?  Caitlyn Jenner, tweeting in response to President Trumps transgender military ban announced Wednesday Read More Facebook

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Robert Pattinson confirms hes kind of engaged to singer FKA Twigs By Nardine Saad (Mike Coppola / Getty Images for People) Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson says hes kind of " engaged to singer FKA Twigs. The actor addressed the engagement rumors Tuesday in a direct response to shock jock Howard Sterns questioning on Sirius XMs The Howard Stern Show. Youre engaged, right? Stern said after calling the edgy English songstress his fiancee. Yeah, kind of, Pattinson, 31, responded uneasily. The Good Time star, whose relationships have been intensely scrutinized since he dated Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart at the height of the teen vampire frenzy, agreed that hes been a bit protective of his romances. Hes been dating the Water Me singer, real name Tahlia Barnett, since 2014 and theyve been rumored to be engaged since April 2015. Save for public appearances together, Pattinson has kept pretty mum about the relationship. Its one of the most frustrating things in the world because you want to be able to show off a relationship, he told Stern. You kind of get stuck in this position where you have to make decisions whether you want to let the kind of crazy people in. Pattinson was referring to the Twi-hards or, as he called them, a crack troupe of crazies who believe every decision he makes is part of some big conspiracy. To protect [the relationship] you kind of think, I want to create a big boundary between it. But then it makes it difficult for your actual relationship, he said. Additionally, Pattinson also discussed the racial disparagement his fiancee faces on social media for dating him. He tries to tune out the hate when he can, but he isnt always successful. I think its like professional trolls, he said of rude commenters. They get so addicted to kind of just wanting to cause hurt and pain on someone and its just one of the most difficult things to know how to confront. Its a faceless enemy. ... It might seem fake to them, but its definitely real in your life. Pattinson said responding to hate can just be feeding into it. It makes me feel less powerful if youre trying to attack and make it go away. Its like trying to attack a reflection in the water or something. You just look crazy, he said. Facebook

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David Letterman cringes when late-night TV hosts refer to viewers as fans By Emily Mae Czachor A profoundly bearded David Letterman made a rare talk-show appearance Monday -- one of just a handful of public ventures since the end of his run on The Late Show in 2015. Only this time, Letterman arrived as a guest. In an unusual turn of events, the former late-night host played interviewee on the season premiere of stand-up comedian Norm Macdonalds podcast, Norm Macdonald Live. The longtime pals discussed a number of matters, from Lettermans first-ever hosting gig (a game show called Wordbusters) to the time he found himself face to face with Richard Nixon. The two also discussed late-night TVs changing landscape and how Letterman never felt comfortable thinking of himself as the star of his own show. I could not possibly, and still dont, consider myself a star, because I couldnt refer to myself as a star, Letterman said. Johnny Carson was a star, theres no question of that. So for me to adopt that -- Starring Dave Letterman -- that was just ridiculous. In the same way, I always cringe a little when people refer to the folks who watch their show as their fans, Letterman added. I just think thats a little too  you know, you kind of just stepped over the line of basic humility there. Macdonald commented on late-nights packed roster of big-name hosts -- none of whom he finds particularly unique, except Conan OBrien, who he thinks has changed it up a little. On any plans for a late-night return to the host seat, Letterman told fans not to expect too much. Ive done it for 30 years, he said. I dont want to do it anymore. Watch the full episode above (warning: some profanity). Facebook

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Olivia de Havilland, 101, files motion to expedite her Feud lawsuit By Nardine Saad Olivia de Havilland at her Paris home in 2003. (Jean-Marc Giboux / Getty Images) Citing her advanced age, legendary actress Olivia de Havilland has filed a motion in her Feud lawsuit for a preferential trial date this fall. De Havillands attorneys filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, requesting that the jury trial be set in November or no later than 120 days of her motion being granted. The 101-year-old is hoping that a judge will fast track the trial during her Sept. 13 hearing date, which is just days before Feud is expected to be a big winner at the Primetime Emmy Awards. (The miniseries is nominated for 18 awards.) The Gone With the Wind star sued FX and Feud showrunner Ryan Murphy last month over her depiction in the miniseries about rival actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The two-time Oscar winner, who was played by actress Catherine Zeta-Jones on the show, makes legal claims about violations of her common law and statutory rights of publicity, her right to privacy and unjust enrichment. Based on her unusually advanced age, resulting particular susceptibility to disease, and recurring health issues, there is a substantial likelihood that she, as with anyone at this advanced age, may not survive for any extended period of time, the motion said. It is likely that if a trial preference motion is not granted, Olivia de Havilland will be prejudiced, because on the normal schedule, trial would not be set within the next 120 days. Her team also argued that because she is the sole plaintiff, De Havilland is crucial to the trial. Olivia de Havilland has a substantial interest in the litigation as a whole here as her personal statutory right of publicity cause of action does not survive her death. ... Further, should Olivia de Havilland die before her trial date, she will not be able to enjoy the benefits which she would receive in damages, the motion said. De Havillands June 30 lawsuit said the show damaged her professional reputation for integrity, honesty, generosity, self-sacrifice and dignity. She claimed that FX, Murphy and Fox producers never sought or obtained her permission to be depicted in the series and that Zeta-Jones portrayal of her in an episode about the 1963 Oscars cast her in a false, hurtful and damaging light. The defendants have not yet responded to de Havillands initial filing. According to Deadline, the Paris-based actress will not be attending the September hearing but may return to Hollywood if the trial is expedited to November. Olivia de Havilland 101: Everything you need to know as the movie legend celebrates her 101st birthday Facebook

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Despacitos Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee call out Venezuelan president for using song to push agenda By Nardine Saad Luis Fonsi, left, and Daddy Yankee. (Sergi Alexander / Getty Images) Despacito singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee and co-writer Erika Ender have condemned Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro for appropriating their international hit song for political gain. The chart-topping Puerto Rican recording artists and Panamanian songwriter on Monday called out Maduro, currently the subject of violent and sometimes fatal nationwide protests over his policies, for reworking their lyrics to appeal to voters during his weekly television show on Sunday. The revision promoted the leaders plans for a controversial citizens assembly to be elected on July 30 and tasked with rewriting Venezuelas 1999 constitution and bypassing the opposition-led legislature. Our call to the Constituent Assembly only seeks to unite the country ... despacito, Maduros version said. The term despacito means slowly in Spanish and in the original version of the song refers to the singers wooing techniques. Maduros supporters swayed to the remix dressed in matching T-shirts and baseball caps that brandished campaign slogans. the Associated Press said. The president was seen clapping along to the remix while the audience danced, according to the BBC. I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS, Ender wrote in Spanish on Instagram, citing a news story about Maduros use of the song. I cannot see so much pain in people I love so much. Warrior people, people with iron will. Good people, who are fighting for freedom of rights and expression. ... I love Venezuela, a land that has given me true brothers and sisters. Brothers who suffer because of the situation that exists. Ender also lamented seeing the song she co-wrote be used without permission to advertise campaigns linked to a regime that has sowed so much discontent and suffering. View Instagram post On repeated occasions, I have said how much I enjoy the versions of Despacito that have been released on a global level. However there has to be a limit, Fonsi also wrote in Spanish on Instagram. I have never been consulted, nor have I authorized the use of or the change of lyrics of Despacito for political means, much less in the middle of the deplorable situation in a country I love so much, Venezuela. He added that his music is for everyone who wants to listen to it and enjoy it, not to use as propaganda that tries to manipulate the will of the people who are crying out loud for their liberty and a better future. View Instagram post Daddy Yankee took a much more blunt approach in his post, sharing an image of a news article about Maduro with a large red X superimposed on it. What can you expect of a person who has stolen lives from young dreamers and people who are looking for a better future for their children? the reggaeton rapper wrote in Spanish. That you illegally appropriated Despacito does not compare to the crimes you commit and have committed in Venezuela. Your dictatorial regime is a mockery not only for my Venezuelan brothers, but for the whole world. With that nefarious marketing plan, you will only continue to highlight your fascist ideology, which has killed hundreds of heroes and injured more than 2,000. View Instagram post Millions of Venezuelans joined a general strike last week amid economic turmoil and a shortage of food and medicine in the country. Government opponents dealt a symbolic blow on Sunday to Maduro, casting votes in an unofficial referendum that rejected his plan for the constitutional overhaul. The government denounced the opposition balloting as illegal and seditious, according to The Times, but turnout appeared high at thousands of makeshift voting places set up throughout the country and abroad. Facebook

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Netflix invests in Matt Groenings Disenchantment By Libby Hill Matt Groening is ready to take another crack at this television thing. The creator of The Simpsons, which debuts its 29th season on Fox this fall, has a new show courtesy of Netflix. The streaming service provider announced Tuesday that it had ordered 20 episodes of Disenchantment, an adult animated comedy series set in a deteriorating fantasy kingdom. The show centers around a hard-living young princess named Bean, voiced by Abbi Jacobson (Broad City), her elf companion, Elfo (Nat Faxon), and personal demon Luci (Eric Andre). Ultimately, Disenchantment will be about life and death, love and sex, and how to keep laughing in a world full of suffering and idiots, despite what the elders and wizards and other jerks tell you, Groening said in a statement Tuesday. Matt Groenings brilliant work has resonated with generations around the world and we couldnt be happier to work with him on Disenchantment,  Cindy Holland, vice president of original content for Netflix, said in a statement. The series will bear his trademark animation style and biting wit, and we think its a perfect fit for our many Netflix animation fans. The series joins Netflixs Bojack Horseman in aiming for an audience unafraid of exploring the less-savory aspects of adulthood. Disenchantment will premiere on Netflix 10 episodes at a time, beginning in 2018. Facebook

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Broad City stars talk about the decision to bleep President Trumps name on the show By Yvonne Villarreal Abbi Jacobson, left, and Ilana Glazer of the series Broad City speak at the Television Critics Assn. press tour at the Beverly Hilton on Tuesday. (Chris Pizzello / Invision/Associated Press) Broad City creators and stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson consider the bleeping out of President Trumps name from the comedys upcoming fourth season a different kind of joke. The two appeared onstage Tuesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills to discuss the new season and how they reworked the show in the wake of Trumps election. We just got to a point where in real life were talking about the current administration, were talking about Trump  and it sounds so gross every day saying it so many 
A few thousand years from now, alien anthropologists sifting through the remnants of our once-proud civilization may survey Hollywoods 21st century simian-themed blockbusters with some confusion. Based on their titles, shouldnt Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) come before Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)?

A quick recap may be in order. Rise, the first in a series of prequels to the original Apes movies, chronicled the outbreak of a simian virus that birthed a new line of super-intelligent apes and initiated the fall of man. Dawn caught up with the action a decade later, amid escalating tensions between the apes and their fast-dwindling homo sapiens counterparts.

All this is helpfully summarized at the beginning of War for the Planet of the Apes, whose title may be cause for still further bewilderment. By the often bloody and bombastic standards of the genre, this masterful third chapter is not much of a war movie at all. Viewers expecting an epic clash between two equally vicious primate factions may be surprised  though not, I imagine, disappointed  by the eerie calm that hangs over this picture, and by the grace and restraint with which the writer-director Matt Reeves guides the story from its explosive beginning to its elegiac finale.

Perhaps that last part wont be so surprising. Reeves, after all, was the filmmaker who gave Dawn its unusual gravity and emotional grandeur, veering away from the high-spirited Rise (brilliantly directed in its own right by Rupert Wyatt) in pursuit of something altogether darker and more despairing. War, co-written by Reeves and Mark Bomback, completes this progression with breathtaking formal beauty and tonal control. It would be hard to overstate just how singular this picture feels in its seriousness of purpose and in its cumulative power to enthrall and astonish.

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Of course, seriousness (to say nothing of self-seriousness) is nothing new on the blockbuster landscape, and these three recent Apes movies are hardly the first of their kind to traffic in grim allegories of oppression and xenophobia. The crucial difference here is that the series vision seems to have evolved in sync with the visual-effects technology, rather than being eclipsed by it. Its the rare Hollywood reboot that really does feel like the product of a higher intelligence.

The sharpest mind here belongs, as ever, to Caesar, the grave and eloquent chimpanzee leader played by Andy Serkis in another seamless melding of digital expertise and actorly soul. Having defeated the vicious rebel bonobo known as Koba in Dawn, Caesar now presides over an advanced Bay Area ape community that, despite its peace-loving ways, is repeatedly targeted by an encroaching human army.

Even Caesars seemingly infinite patience wears thin after a fresh round of casualties, the cruelest of which is exacted by the armys maniacal leader, known only as the Colonel (a terrific Woody Harrelson). Spurred on by visions of Kobas bloodthirsty ghost, Caesar puts aside his pacifist impulses and sets out to take the Colonel down, accompanied by such sidekicks as his right-hand chimp Rocket (Terry Notary), his gorilla deputy Luca (Michael Adamthwaite) and, best of all, Maurice (Karin Konoval), still the loveliest orangutan to walk the earth.

The journey to the Colonels compound is paved with stunning backdrops, namely a series of snowy mountain vistas that, as shot by cinematographer Michael Seresin on gorgeous 65-millimeter film, give the movie a bleakness and desolation all its own. Naturally there are harrowing complications and unexpected meetings in store, and it is a measure of the underlying compassion of War for the Planet of the Apes, the optimism beneath its apocalyptic gloom, that these tense encounters tend to give rise to new friendships more often than not.

One enemy turned comrade is a wily zoo refugee, named Bad Ape by his former captors; hes wonderfully played by Steve Zahn, bringing some welcome levity to the proceedings while enriching our sense of what has become of the worlds broader ape population. The other newcomer is a courageous young human girl named Nova (Amiah Miller), who has been stricken mute by the virus.

Nova is not alone. Even as the apes language skills continue to evolve  most of them communicate via (helpfully subtitled) sign language, though several, like Caesar, have become proficient English speakers  many of the humans who survived the virus initial onslaught are now losing the gift of speech. It is in many ways a fate worse than death, and it explains the fanatical extremism of the Colonel and his followers, who are ruthless about destroying not only the apes but also the infected humans within their own ranks.

Under these circumstances, its fitting that silence should become such a powerful force in War for the Planet of the Apes, whose stately, never-draggy 142-minute running time features several gloriously talk-free passages. Reeves, an instinctively visual storyteller, likes to hold his characters in extended close-up, and he is understandably eager to showcase his ape ensemble, whose expressive twitches and gestures attest to the latest advances in performance-capture technology.

Serkis work as Caesar, much like his turn as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings movies, by now exists in a realm beyond praise or even measurable achievement; you feel this characters goodness, but also his roiling internal conflict, in his every digital atom.

Most of the spoken dialogue, by contrast, falls to Harrelsons Colonel, a worthy new adversary who at one point gets a deranged, nihilistic monologue that further underscores his resemblance to Col. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. Thats just one of a few classics that Reeves has cited as overt influences, including the Clint Eastwood western The Outlaw Josey Wales, biblical epics like The Ten Commandments, and the World War II-era classics The Great Escape and The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Mercifully, War for the Planet of the Apes feels like an inspired synthesis rather than a slavish imitation, and its inspirations flow organically from the material. The River Kwai comparison seems especially apt once Caesar is captured and thrown into a simian labor camp, at which point the movie becomes a full-blown prison-break thriller, rich in slow-burning suspense and tactical ingenuity. (Bonus points, too, for the resourceful use of weaponized ape feces.)

We root for the apes, of course  how could we not?  and Reeves does not shy away from heightening our sense of alienation from our own stupid, prideful and empathy-deficient species. Humanity here is a largely faceless parade of white-uniformed soldiers, as blank and menacing as a squad of Imperial Stormtroopers. The subversion of our sympathies is bracing, and indeed the spectacle of mankinds impending destruction is the sort of vicarious pleasure that the movies have always been well equipped to provide.

But the moral here, which is sufficiently nuanced that it has taken three movies to come into focus, isnt that mankind deserves extinction. Its that we are obliged to protect and fight for humanity wherever we happen to find it, and that the very question of ones humanity is less a matter of interspecies difference than a condition of the heart.

The films most haunting scene unfolds between an ape and a human on opposite sides of a cage. I wont specify which is the occupant and which is the onlooker, and Reeves himself is wise enough to let Michael Giacchinos piercingly beautiful score do most of the talking. Suffice to say that what passes between these two characters  a container of water, a wordless gaze  achieves a catharsis that almost defies understanding.

Its a small, fleeting moment, but like the rest of this indelibly soul-stirring movie, it feels like nothing less than a respite from the end of the world.

------------

War for the Planet of the Apes

Rating: PG-13, for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, thematic elements, and some disturbing images

Running time: 2 hours, 22 minutes

Playing: In general release

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justin.chang@latimes.com

@JustinCChang

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Resort and Trina Turk pretty much go hand-in-hand. The designers latest project had her collaborating with the W Los Angeles hotel in Beverly Hills on custom cabanas at the propertys Wet deck pool using prints from her Trina Turk indoor/outdoor Schumacher line.

Its the first time the prints  a turquoise ikat and another inspired by the waves in Carmel  have been used on cabanas and its the first time Turk has partnered with a hotel in Los Angeles. She did cabanas a few years ago for the St. Regis on Kauai in Hawaii and this past spring for The Diplomat Beach Resort in Florida.

On Sunday, the designer will bring her namesake line along with Mr. Turk for a cabana pop-up at the W as part of the hotels summer pop-up and event series its calling Daydream. Turk will host two more pop-ups at the W in August and September.

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Were really focusing on wear-now. Its poolside, so cover-ups and boardshorts, summer collections, Turk said of what will be at the pop-up. Its obviously been really hot in L.A. and its forecast to be really hot this weekend, so were just going to focus on stuff for in the pool or by the pool.

The balance of the year for the company will remain focused on boosting content on its e-commerce site, as Turk told WWD in March. At the time, Turk was readying for the opening of her store on Larchmont Boulevard which she said has been doing well. The company now counts a dozen doors with five of those, including Larchmont, carrying the Mr. Turk line. Although the online shop will be the primary focus this year, different events are planned for the companys doors to continue generating buzz at brick-and-mortar.

There is no formula, Turk said of what shes found to work with the in-store activities. Partnering with other neighborhood or town organizations is really good, especially on Larchmont. Thats a very neighborhood-y location. So working with other people from the neighborhood is a great thing or working with charities that are directly related to a specific place.

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Landmark French concept store Colette is closing its doors after 20 years. Staff were informed of the decision on Wednesday morning, said Sarah Andelman, creative director and purchasing manager. Andelman is the public face of the boutique, founded by her mother, Colette Roussaux. As all good things must come to an end, after 20 wonderful years, Colette should be closing its doors on Dec. 20 of this year, the store said in a statement, explaining that Roussaux was ready to retire.

Until our last day, nothing will change. Colette will continue to renew itself each week with exclusive collaborations and offerings, also available on our website colette.fr, it added.

The store is in talks with Saint Laurent to take over the location, it said.

We would be proud to have a brand with such a history, with whom we have frequently collaborated, taking over our address. We are happy of the serious interest expressed by Saint Laurent in this project, and it could also represent a very good opportunity for our employees, it added.

Colette, famed for its regularly updated window displays and frequent store events, recently launched a series of monthlong takeovers of the store, beginning with Balenciaga from June 19 to Aug. 5.

Les Vacances de Lucien, offering a selection from brands represented by Paris PR firm Lucien Pages, will take over the space from Aug. 7 to Sept. 2; followed by Sacai, from Sept. 4 to Sept. 30; Thom Browne from Oct. 2 to Oct. 28; Chanel from Oct. 30 to Nov. 25, and wrapping with Saint Laurent from Nov. 27 to Dec. 20.

The concept store famous for its blue dot logo posted revenues of 28 million euros, or $31 million, in 2016, with online accounting for roughly 20 percent, according to a spokesman.

It celebrated its 20th anniversary in March at Les Arts Decoratifs, where Brooklyn-based design firm Snarkitecture set up its installation The Beach, featuring an enclosure filled with 300,000 recyclable plastic balls.

In an interview with WWD at the time, Andelman  who has spent her entire career at Colette  responded to speculation about the future of the boutique.

Every year, people ask us how long we plan to go on. We are always searching for newness, discovering new designers and launching new talents, so there is no reason to give up. If suddenly there were nothing interesting left anywhere, we would reconsider, but fortunately something cool comes along every day, she said.

She said Roussaux, who still lives above the store, was the majority owner of the business and had never considered bringing in an outside investor. Andelman also said she did not know the revenues of the store.

Our accountant does, but luckily, I function more by instinct. I never have a budget when Im ordering. That doesnt mean I spend money as if it didnt belong to me. Im careful. My orders are reasonable, she said. I know I own a percentage, but likewise, I dont know what my percentage is.

Andelman said the stores revenues were hit by the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015, which sharply impacted tourism, but added the retailer was better equipped than some luxury brands to deal with the drop-off.

We work at it, but were lucky in the sense that we get a steady amount of foot traffic, unlike some luxury stores on streets like Avenue Montaigne. So even if there is a drop in the number of foreign visitors, or people cut back their spending, the store keeps going at times like these, she said. We really felt the impact last summer. Fortunately, we also sell online and our e-commerce site is growing.

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Firefighters on Tuesday night knocked down a slow-moving vegetation fire in Elysian Park, officials said.

Around 8 p.m., air and ground crews responded to the park, where flames burned three separate but nearby areas of grass, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

In less than an hour, 65 firefighters extinguished the blaze, which grew from a half-acre to roughly two acres. Los Angeles park rangers provided water tender assistance.

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Officials did not order evacuations and no structures were threatened. No one was reported injured.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @AleneTchek

UPDATES:

9:08 p.m.: This article was updated after the blaze was knocked down.

This article was originally published at 8:50 p.m.
A renegade skateboarding event at a popular park in San Franciscos Mission District turned into a rowdy standoff with police Tuesday night, with unruly crowds throwing beer bottles and skateboards at officers in riot gear, authorities said.

The confrontation began shortly after 7 p.m., when police were called to Dolores Park to aid an injured skateboarder, said San Francisco Police Officer Grace Gatpandan.

Roughly 300 onlookers had crowded the park to watch skateboarders who had taken control of a steep street zoom down the hill.

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While the rider was being treated, another skateboarder raced down the pavement and crashed into a police sergeant. The impact sent the rider flying over a patrol car that was partially blocking the street toward the bottom of the hill.

Videos posted on Twitter show the sergeant standing in the street as riders speed down the hill. As one rider weaves down the street, he and the officer collide and the skateboarder tumbles through a crosswalk.

A group of people then crowd around the skateboarder, some shouting at the police.

Dude, a cop just (messed) him up, one person says.

People on social media accused the officer of deliberately standing in the riders path. The sergeant appears to walk away after the moment of impact, though Gatpandan said Tuesday that he was taken to the hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries.

A police spokesperson could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Dolores Park doing its thing pic.twitter.com/HzCNQI6EeN  Jack Morse (@jmorse_) July 12, 2017

Gatpandan said skateboarders turned hostile toward police and more officers were called to the scene to gain control of the crowd spilling into the street.

Vandals tagged two police cruisers with graffiti and smashed one of their windows.

Two skateboarders, along with the police sergeant, were taken to the hospital with unknown injuries, she said. Police shut down the park, and after nearly three hours, the crowds broke up without a dispersal order.

No one was arrested during the confrontation, Gatpandan added. The investigation is ongoing.

Police on Twitter had warned the public to stay away from the area due to continued police activity and traffic delays.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @AleneTchek

UPDATES:

6:30 pm.: This article was updated to include details about videos posted on Twitter.

5:27 p.m.: This article was updated with details from another video taken at the event.

This article was originally published on June 11 at 10:50 p.m.
A group of Medi-Cal beneficiaries filed a lawsuit against the state Wednesday, alleging that low payments to doctors are creating an unequal healthcare system in California.

Thomas A. Saenz, an attorney representing the plaintiffs and president and general counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the state is required to provide coverage to low-income Californians through Medi-Cal thats equivalent to the care other Californians receive through private insurance or Medicare.

But Medi-Cal patients have a harder time finding doctors, wait longer for appointments, end up in the emergency room more often and have their diseases diagnosed later than those in other insurance programs, Saenz said. Thats in part because the state mismanages the health program and delays payments to doctors, making them unwilling to see Medi-Cal patients, he said.

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But the big issue is that the reimbursement rates ... are woefully, woefully inadequate, Saenz said in an interview.

The suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, claims that because the program is majority Latino, the state is essentially discriminating against Latinos.

California has created a separate and unequal system of healthcare, one for the insurance program with the largest proportion of Latinos, Medi-Cal, and one for other insurance plans that are majority white, according to the suit.

Reimbursement rates in Medi-Cal were closer to other insurance reimbursement rates when Medi-Cal was a predominantly white program, according to the suit.

That changed when the Medi-Cal program became increasingly Latino and then majority Latino. That is discrimination, said Bill Lann Lee, senior counsel of the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, in a statement.

Medi-Cal patients have long struggled to find doctors to see them, but that problem only got worse after the Affordable Care Act expanded the program in 2014, experts say. Medi-Cal now covers 13.5 million Californians  more than 1 in 3 state residents.

Medi-Cal pays doctors about half of what theyd get through Medicare, the government-run health insurance for people over 65. Of the 50 states, Californias Medicaid payment rates rank 48th.

Esther Castaneda, one of the plaintiffs and a Medi-Cal beneficiary, had to wait a year to get her gallbladder removed because she couldnt get appointments with her doctors or referrals for surgeons who took Medi-Cal, according to the suit. She stopped eating to minimize the extreme pain and vomiting shed experience otherwise.

She eventually resorted to getting the surgery in Mexico, where a doctor told her she wouldve died without it, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit asks that the state pay doctors enough to ensure that Medi-Cal beneficiaries can receive medical care of similar quality to others in the state and that there are enough doctors who will take Medi-Cal patients.

State officials said Wednesday that the Department of Health Care Services, which oversees Medi-Cal, monitors patients access to care.

DHCS has not identified any systemic problems with patient access to services in the Medi-Cal program nor has the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services identified any issues, department Director Jennifer Kent said in a statement to The Times.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla

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3:40 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from a state official.

This article was originally published at 1:10 p.m.
Los Angeles police have arrested a woman accused of falsely reporting she was carjacked and that a 16-year-old was kidnapped, which prompted an Amber Alert.

Police announced Tuesday that Charlene Gaston was arrested Friday on suspicion of filing a false police report.

Authorities say Gaston told police her car had been taken at gunpoint in South Los Angeles on Thursday and gave police the name of a woman who she said stole the vehicle.

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Gaston also claimed a 16-year-old boy was in the back seat when the car was taken, prompting police to issue an Amber Alert.

Police say there was never a carjacking or kidnapping. They say Gaston had loaned her car to the other woman, who refused to return it.

It wasnt immediately clear whether Gaston had an attorney who could comment.

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Firefighters took advantage of cooler temperatures Wednesday and increased containment on several destructive wildfires in California just ahead of another forecast of triple-digit heat this weekend.

The slight cool-down kept fire activity at minimal levels and allowed firefighters to improve containment lines around the blazes. The fires, which erupted over the weekend amid a searing heat wave, have destroyed more than four dozen homes statewide.

Wildfire risk will increase this weekend, as a massive high-pressure system settles over the American Southwest. That system is expected to raise temperatures in Northern California by as much as 10 degrees and 3 to 6 degrees in Southern California, according to the National Weather Service. The high pressure also will generate breezy conditions that can fan wildfire flames.

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Light sundowner winds could be problematic for firefighters battling the 11,920-acre Whittier fire in Santa Barbara County, forecasters said. The strong offshore winds are formed by a building high pressure, which pushes the northerly gusts through canyons and passes in the Santa Ynez Mountains.

This will make conditions in and around the Whittier fire worse, meteorologist Andrew Rorke said in a weather statement.

Fire crews tackling the Whittier fire in the Los Padres National Forest put out hot spots overnight and constructed new containment lines to hold the massive blaze, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire was 48% contained.

The blaze, which started Saturday along Highway 154, has destroyed eight homes and 12 outbuildings south of Lake Cachuma, and prompted the evacuation of more than 3,500.

Another massive fire burning near Santa Maria, the 28,687-acre Alamo fire, has destroyed two structures, including one home. The blaze, which was 65% contained, continued to threaten 133 structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Aided recently by light cloud cover and increased moisture levels, more than 2,200 firefighters have tackled flames smoldering in steep, rugged terrain.

Mandatory evacuations have remained active for residents living in the Tepusquet Canyon area. Hundreds of residents fled the remote area when the fire broke out Thursday off Highway 166 near Twitchell Reservoir in San Luis Obispo County.

In Butte County, some residents returned to their neighborhoods only to find their homes destroyed by the 5,800-acre Wall fire.

After inspecting the fires damage, Cal Fire determined that 41 homes had been destroyed. An additional 57 structures were damaged.

Steve Orsillo told KRCR-TV his home was one of 41 gutted by the blaze near Oroville. Orsillo built the house 25 years ago and shared it with his wife and four children.

My heart sank, he told the television news station. We raised all of our children there. Just a lot of life there.

Despite the warm temperatures and low humidity, nearly 1,700 firefighters have surrounded the blaze, strengthened containment lines and slowed its growth, Cal Fire said. The fire, which was 60% contained, still threatens 606 structures.

Elsewhere in the state, the Lariat fire, which broke out Tuesday afternoon, charred 100 acres in the east San Jose foothills. The fast-moving blaze destroyed one home and damaged another.

In the Central Valley, nearly 900 firefighters continued to battle the fast-growing Garza fire after it broke out Sunday afternoon near Tar Canyon in Kings County.

Flames were threatening five structures and power lines near Avenal.

The blaze, which was 24% contained, has scorched 18,666 acres of tall grass and brush in an area not easily accessible to firefighters, Cal Fire said.

Firefighters in San Diego County stopped a blaze from spreading into the community of Lakeside. Officials said three firefighters were hurt, and of those, two suffered moderate injuries and were taken to a hospital. The third was not hospitalized.

The 400-acre Jennings fire broke out Tuesday afternoon off Interstate 8 and triggered an hours-long freeway closure.

By Wednesday, one lane of eastbound Interstate 8 was reopened.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA

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A Los Angeles city pension board on Tuesday postponed a decision on whether to cut its investment assumptions  and put new stress on the budget that pays for police, firefighters and other basic services.

The Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System board had been advised to move its assumed rate of return, the yearly expected earnings for its investment portfolio, from 7.5% to 7.25%. The decrease is expected to shift $38 million in retirement costs to the city budget in mid-2018.

Board president Jaime Lee said she wanted to hear from the agencys newly hired investment consultant before casting a vote. And board member Nilza Serrano said she wasnt ready to make such a significant decision without reading more on the proposal.

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Its just such a large amount of information to wrap my head around, said Serrano, an appointee of Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Lee, another Garcetti appointee, predicted a decision would be made within two months.

Retirement agencies across the state have been reducing their assumed rates of return, concluding they would not succeed in meeting their prior earnings targets. Pension boards that represent L.A.s retired police officers, firefighters and Department of Water and Power employees already have lowered their assumed rates of return to 7.25%.

The retirement system for civilian workers, known as LACERS, oversees benefits for more than 41,000 current and retired employees. Last year, the agency reported an average yearly rate of return on its investment portfolio of 5.9% over 10 years, 6.5% over 15 years and 7.3% over 20 years.

LACERS actuarial consultant recently recommended that the pension board lower its rate of return to 7%  a step that would add $93 million in retirement costs to the city budget.

However, the board also was offered an alternative strategy: move the investment assumption to 7.25% and revisit the issue next year, when it has fresh information on its investment mix and the expected lifespan of the city workforce.

Elizabeth Greenwood, a board member who represents current city employees, urged the board to wait at least six months before acting. But board member Michael Wilkinson said he worried about putting off a vote.

Im concerned about delaying this decision. And Im really concerned about underfunding the [pension] plan, said Wilkinson, who represents retired city workers. Thats what this whole thing is about.

david.zahniser@latimes.com

Twitter: @DavidZahniser

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The headquarters of a Sacramento law firm known for representing police officers in use-of-force cases was spray-painted with anti-police graffiti after it lowered a Blue Lives Matter flag to half-staff in honor of a New York City police officer killed in the line of duty, the firm said Wednesday.

David Mastagni, the founder and managing partner at Mastagni Holstedt, said he arrived at work shortly before 9 a.m. to find a two-word epithet cursing police spray-painted in red across the buildings front window.

The firm, which represents a number of large police unions in California and also provides legal services to individual officers involved in use-of-force cases, had lowered a Blue Lives Matter flag outside its offices to half-staff in recent days after the shooting death of NYPD Officer Miosotis Familia.

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Familia was sitting in a mobile command post in the Bronx when she was ambushed by 34-year-old Alexander Bonds on July 5. She was rushed to a hospital but died of her injuries. Bonds was killed in a shootout with police moments after the attack.

Sgt. Bryce Heinlein, a Sacramento police spokesman, said the department was investigating a vandalism incident at the law firm involving disparaging remarks against law enforcement, but said it was too early to connect the incident to Familias death.

No persons of interest have been identified, and no other damage was done to the building, according to Heinlein, who estimated the damage to the law firm to be in the thousands of dollars.

Mastagni insisted the graffiti was linked to Familias death, noting that the N.W.A song F tha Police had been played by a protester near the officers funeral on Tuesday. A Bronx teenager told the New York Post that he played the song as thousands of officers mourned Familia in protest of the police-involved killings of two of his relatives.

Im absolutely positive its why we were targeted, Mastagni said. The whole community identifies us as law enforcement.

The firms clients include the unions that represent the Los Angeles Airport Police Department, the Sacramento Police Department and the Sacramento and Alameda county sheriffs departments, according to Mastagni.

Mastagni said people have visited the firm before to ask him about the flag, but he could not remember another vandalism incident.

Ive had a number of citizens come by and engage in civil dialogue about why I have a Blue Lives Matter flag, and I just say to them, because law enforcement represents the thin, blue line between anarchy and the rule of law, and that cops protect everybodys rights, he said. For the most part, everybody is accepting of that.

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.

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A fast-moving brush fire that broke out Tuesday northeast of San Jose is threatening several structures near Alum Rock Park, officials said.

The fire was reported about 4 p.m. in the Alum Rock neighborhood at Lariat Lane and Claitor Way, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

By 6 p.m., the blaze grew to 100 acres, Cal Fire said. Firefighters were trying to stop the flames from spreading into Alum Rock Park, thought to be the first municipal park established in the state.

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At least two structures burned and several residents in the neighborhood were ordered to evacuate, reported KNTV-TV Channel 11, the NBC affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area.

WATCH LIVE: Structures burn in Alum Rock fire in San Jose. https://t.co/OnaWxfyb0T pic.twitter.com/o6cgLdkt9N  NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) July 12, 2017

WATCH LIVE: Fire in San Jose's Alum Rock burns 2 structures, forces evacuations on Claitor Way and Boulder Drive. https://t.co/cjIlRwzgga pic.twitter.com/WYhscblgEM  NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) July 12, 2017

The fire was one of several across the state that firefighters were trying to control.

A fast-moving brush fire also broke out Tuesday off Interstate 8 in San Diego County, prompting officials to shut down the busy freeway.

The blaze was reported about 1:40 p.m. and quickly spread to 400 acres. Homes and schools were also evacuated.

By 5 p.m., firefighters had halted the spread of flames.

Westbound lanes of Interstate 8 reopened about 5 p.m. The eastbound lanes were expected to reopen by 7 p.m., officials said.

San Diego Union-Tribune staff writers Lyndsay Winkley and Pauline Repard contributed to this report.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno

UPDATES:

7:35 p.m.: This article was updated to reflect the fires size.

This article was originally published at 6:20 p.m.
A shark attack on a kayakers boat Tuesday near a famous surfing spot in Santa Cruz has triggered a four-day swimming ban and closure of beaches in the area.

The attack was reported just after 11 a.m. about a quarter of a mile from Steamer Lane, a popular surfing location, according to the Santa Cruz Fire Department. When the shark chomped on his boat, the kayaker was tossed into the water.

It was an unprovoked and unpredictable attack, Santa Cruz Fire Chief Jim Frawley said. The shark came from beneath in a stealth mode and struck the kayak with full force.

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Steve Lawson, a seasoned kayaker, used a marine radio to alert lifeguards of the attack, the chief said.

Lawson was not injured, but his boat suffered extensive damage, Frawley said. Lifeguards found a 12-inch bite mark on the bow of the boat, he said.

A fisherman in the area saw the attack as it unfolded and observed the shark leap out of the water, the chief said.

Lawson told KPIX-TV in San Francisco that he thought he had hit a rock, but he then saw the shark holding the front of my boat and he let go and I went over.

Lawson, who has been kayaking for 25 years, was not fazed, telling the television news station that things happen and it was not a big deal.

But Santa Cruz officials arent taking any risks.

By Tuesday afternoon, signs were posted at beaches within a mile of the attack and water activities were prohibited until sunrise Saturday.

Attacks like these are extremely rare in Santa Cruz County, and we are so thankful that the kayaker was uninjured, Frawley said. This is a reminder that swimming in the ocean does carry some risk and we encourage all swimmers, surfers and kayakers to be mindful of their surroundings and follow directions of lifeguards and Marine Safety staff.

The advisory comes at a time of increased shark activity along the California coast. Warnings have been issued to swimmers over the past three months as great white sharks have migrated to the coast in search of food.

In April, a woman was bitten by a shark while swimming with her boyfriend at the San Onofre surf break.

Leeanne Ericson, a 35-year-old Vista woman, underwent several surgeries after suffering significant blood loss when she was bitten on her right thigh and buttock.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA

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UPDATES:

12 p.m.: This article was updated with comment from Frawley, the fire chief.

This article was originally published at 8:20 a.m.
Police from Orange County surrounded an apartment complex in Los Angeles on Tuesday night as part of a widening investigation into the killing of a 23-year-old man earlier this week.

At the Parkwood Apartments complex between Ambrose Avenue and Los Feliz Boulevard, investigators were searching for a suspect connected to the fatal shooting of Israel Corpus, according to Tustin police Lt. Robert Wright.

Roughly five hours after police surveillance started, the search ended. The suspect we looked for is still outstanding, Wright told the Times.

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Were following up on leads and hoping to find him at that location, he said earlier in the night.

Tustin Police Department authorities were joined by officers from Irvine, and a SWAT team was on hand, Wright said.

Police prep to send robot into an apartment in Los Feliz where a man, connected to Tustin shooting, is barricaded pic.twitter.com/98pFn0adBW  Colleen Shalby (@CShalby) July 12, 2017

Witnesses said the Los Feliz apartments were evacuated after police arrived, and it appeared that officers were using a robot to coax a person out of one of the apartments. A loud explosion also rang out.

The complex is in a typically quiet residential area at the foot of Griffith Park. The throng of police late Tuesday was a spectacle for those walking dogs or coming home from work. However, the area has seen deadly violence: Earlier this year, an employee at a nearby gas station was shot and killed during a robbery.

Here's the scene where police are preparing to go into apartment unit. Up the hill is Griffith Park pic.twitter.com/ekt4bmS2wS  Colleen Shalby (@CShalby) July 12, 2017

Wright said police were investigating the gang-related slaying of Corpus that occurred Sunday about 4 p.m. in the 1600 block of Mitchell Avenue in Tustin.

Corpus was found with a gunshot wound outside an apartment complex. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead, police said.

Multiple men in their 20s were suspected of carrying out the killing, and they fled the area after Corpus was hit, police said.

Anyone with information was asked to contact Tustin police at (714) 573-3220.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno

colleen.shalby@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

1:10 a.m.: This article was updated with a quote from police.

12:40 a.m., July 12: This article was updated to say the police search had ended.

This article was originally published at 10:30 p.m.
The image has been shared thousands of times and brought freelance photographer Josh Edelson messages of thanks from both home and abroad.

As dusk turned to night Saturday, three firefighters battling flames and protecting homes in the path of a growing wildfire in Oroville, Calif., took an extra few moments to take down and safeguard an American flag that was hanging from a house balcony before moving on to the next home.

The flag wasnt huge, maybe 4 by 6 feet, but was flammable and vulnerable to burning from ambient heat which could then ignite the house, said Russell Fowler, a battalion chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

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The crew was part of a five-engine team protecting about 50 homes in the path of the 5,800-acre Wall fire and they were tasked with clearing out brush and items from the outside that could burn and ignite homes in the neighborhood, Fowler said.

It was amid this chaos, with propane tanks exploding, power lines falling down and tall flames inching forward that the three firefighters made a quick decision to grab the flag.

Were not going to let the symbol of Americans freedom perish in the fire, Fowler said.

1 / 25 From left, firefighters Aaron Williams, Lyle Bennett Robert Larios and Captain Crawford Gunn, with San Bernardino National Forest put out hot spots Monday morning along State Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 25 A burned sign warns of fire danger at The Outdoor School at Rancho Alegre Boy Scout camp Monday morning along State Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 25 Metal boats burned in the Whittier Fire at The Outdoor School at Rancho Alegre Boy Scout camp Monday morning along State Highway 154 in Santa Barbara County. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 25 Firefighter Aaron Williams with San Bernardino National Forest works to put out hot spots Monday morning along State Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 25 A plane drops retardant while battling a wildfire near Oroville. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) 6 / 25 Jim Berglund sprays water while defending his home as a wildfire approaches near Oroville. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) 7 / 25 A charred desk rests outside a residence after a wildfire burned through the property near Oroville. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) 8 / 25 Lake Cachuma is the backdrop for the gray ashen landscape as the Whittier fire continues to burn on the western flank on the north side of the Santa Ynez Mountains Monday afternoon along State Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 25 Little remains of the structures burned at The Outdoor School at Rancho Alegre Boy Scout camp Monday morning along State Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 25 Santa Barbara Deputy Sheriff B. Bruening, left, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife game warden Max Magleby view a jeep that was abandoned and scorched by the Whittier fire along State Route 154 in the Los Padres National Forest near Lake Cachuma. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 25 A firefighting helicopter draws water from Lake Cachuma while fighting the Whittier fire in the Los Padres National Forest near Lake Cachuma. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 25 A firefighting helicopter gets into position to make a water drop on the Whittier fire as it burns toward State Route 154 in the Los Padres National Forest near Lake Cachuma. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 25 Structures and vehicles burned at The Outdoor School at Rancho Alegre Boy Scout camp Monday morning along State Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 25 U.S. Forest Service firefighters put out spot fires from the Whittier fire along State Route 154 in the Los Padres National Forest near Lake Cachuma. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 25 The remains of a structure and boats scorched by the Whittier fire along State Route 154 in the Los Padres National Forest near Lake Cachuma. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 25 The Whittier fire burns toward State Route 154 in the Los Padres National Forest near Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 25 A smokey pall hangs over Santa Barbara from a new wildfire near Lake Cachuma. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 25 Firefighters look on as a helicopter drops water on the Alamo fire near Santa Maria. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 25 A hot spot burns ahead of the Alamo fire near Santa Maria. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 25 A firefighter maneuvers his vehicle down a private road as the Alamo fire burns near Santa Maria. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 25 The Whittier fire burns through the night near Santa Barbara. The Whittier fire and the Alamo fire. (David McNew / Getty Images) 22 / 25 Firefighters battle a wildfire as it threatens to jump a road near Oroville. Evening winds drove the fire through several neighborhoods, leveling homes in its path. (Noah Berger / Associated Press) 23 / 25 Doors lay in a pile of rubble after a fire tore through a residential neighborhood near Oroville. (Josh Edelson / AFP/Getty Images) 24 / 25 A car and house are engulfed in flames as the Wall fire burns through a residential area in Oroville. (Josh Edelson / AFP/Getty Images) 25 / 25 Sean Greenlaw views his truck covered in fire retardant as a smoke plume billows in the background near Oroville. (Josh Edelson / AFP/Getty Images)

Edelson, who photographed the firefighters, said he came upon the scene when he moved to the rear of the house where hed spotted flames from the front. He saw the firefighters spray down brush and weeds to create a barrier between the fire and the neighborhood.

Firefighters only have a few minutes to spend at each house before moving onto the next one, Fowler said. The men were finishing up at the home that had the flag when Edelson showed up.

They did a pretty good containment line around the house. There was this sort of moment of brief calm, Edelson said. They turned around and saw the flag there and it was pretty high up. They discussed it for a split second, made a snap decision to take it down.

The men are illuminated in orange and red haze in the shot. Two of the firefighters are supporting a third, who is holding onto a balcony railing with his right hand and taking down the American flag with his left, the stars and stripes flapping in the wind.

The men then rolled the flag up and stored it elsewhere on the property, Fowler said.

They didnt know there was a photographer in the area that happened to snap that photo and post it, Fowler said.

It wasnt until Edelson posted it on Facebook and it was shared thousands of times among Oroville locals that word got back to the firefighters.

Fowler said he called them into his office recently to discuss the flag incident with them.

Theyre very humble. Theyre like, Oh my God, were in trouble, Fowler recalled. I said: Guys, youre not in any trouble. You did a good thing.

While some on social media have questioned the firefighters priorities, the overwhelming response has been positive, Fowler said.

Edelson said its the most popular photograph hes ever taken in his 10 years of shooting.

I think its because our country is really, kind of, sort of in a rut. Weve been going through a lot with everything happening politically, weve really sorely needed a positive hero moment to boost our morale, Edelson said. I think this is sort of representing that.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

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Los Angeles civic leader George Kieffer says he is revved up about taking the helm of the UC Board of Regents this week, and hes already set his top priority: improve relations with state lawmakers.

UC may be the nations top public research university, but tensions with Sacramento have escalated in recent years. Legislators have begun exerting more control over the systems purse strings and this year voted themselves the power to directly fund the Office of the President.

The actions came after a state audit in April found shortcomings in the financial practices of the presidents office, and another review last year concluded that UC hurt Californians by admitting too many nonresident students.

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UC leaders take issue with many of the audits conclusions, but all agree that the gulf with Sacramento must be addressed.

Im confident if we do our job and address the particular concerns raised by the Legislature, well get past this, Kieffer said in a recent interview.

But we need to listen more carefully and engage more actively, because there are other very serious issues confronting all of public higher education in general, and we need greater mutual understanding and a stronger partnership with the Legislature in order to address them.

The new board chairman said his other priorities include improving undergraduate education and further expanding access to UC.

The regents, who meet Wednesday and Thursday in San Francisco, will vote to give final approval to the Office of the Presidents $813.5-million budget. Heeding the audits recommendations for more transparent budget practices, the regents finance committee held a special meeting last month to drill down into the spending plan; further discussion by the full board is scheduled for Thursday.

The proposed budget imposes new cost controls, including a minimum 10% reduction in employee travel spending.

One concern is the impact of the Legislatures decision to fund the presidents office directly with a $296-million appropriation that would otherwise go to campuses. Smaller campuses without money-making medical centers, such as UC Santa Cruz, have fretted they will lose out under the new method, while the UC Academic Senate says it will hurt educational quality by forcing budget cuts on every state-funded program.

In other business, regents will consider a proposal to allow all campuses to invite up to 15% of applicants to submit letters of recommendations. UC Berkeley began inviting such letters two years ago, in a limited pilot program to better understand their applicants, and wanted to expand to all prospective students.

But the UC Academic Senate is proposing the more proscribed approach after some faculty voiced concern that inviting letters could disadvantage students from underserved schools that may lack counselors and teachers to write them, and impose greater workloads on schools.

RELATED | UC Board of Regents adds experts in sports management, media, arms control, finance 

Four new regents will join the 26-member board, bringing it to full strength for the first time in two years. They are:

Maria Anguiano, a previous vice chancellor for planning and budget at UC Riverside and now chief financial officer at Minerva Project Inc., a for-profit educational organization in San Francisco.

Howard Peter Guber, co-owner of the Golden State Warriors and chairman and chief executive officer at Mandalay Entertainment Group

Lark Park, a UC Berkeley alumna and senior adviser to Gov. Jerry Brown for policy.

Ellen Tauscher, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security under President Obama and a former U.S. representative for the 10th Congressional District, which covers the northern San Joaquin Valley.

Kieffer, a partner with the national law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, received a bachelors degree in history from UC Santa Barbara and a law degree from UCLA. He said he still marvels at how much the university does to educate first-generation students, provide healthcare to the needy, research cures, manage national laboratories and support the states agricultural sector.

This university is something of a miracle he said.

teresa.watanabe@latimes.com

Twitter: @teresawatanabe
Nevada officials have declared a state of emergency over marijuana: Theres not enough of it.

Since recreational pot became legal two weeks ago, retail dispensaries have struggled to keep their shelves stocked and say they will soon run out if nothing is done to fix a broken supply chain.

We didnt know the demand would be this intense, Al Fasano, cofounder of Las Vegas ReLeaf, said Tuesday. All of a sudden you have like a thousand people at the door.We have to tell people were limited in our products.

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In declaring a state of emergency late last week, the state Department of Taxation warned that this nascent industry could grind to a halt.

As bad as that would be for marijuana consumers and the pot shops, the state has another concern: tax revenue. A 10% tax on sales of recreational pot  along with a 15% tax on growers  is expected to generate tens of millions of dollars a year for schools and the states general fund reserves.

With about 100 growers in operation across Nevada, there is plenty of wholesale marijuana. The crisis has to do with distribution and state rules over who is allowed to transport marijuana.

In the run-up to last years state referendum over legalization  which was overwhelmingly approved by voters, allowing people aged 21 and over to buy or possess up to an ounce of marijuana  the states powerful alcohol lobby worried that legalized weed would cut into liquor store sales.

So in a concession to the the alcohol industry, the ballot measure stipulated that for the first 18 months of pot sales only wholesale alcohol distributors would be allowed to transport marijuana from cultivation facilities to the dispensaries.

When legalization took effect July 1, nearly 50 dispensaries  all of them already in the medical marijuana business  had been licensed to sell recreational pot. But no alcohol distributors had been approved to transport it.

The state Department of Taxation, which regulates legal marijuana, said it had received about half a dozen applications from alcohol distributors but that none had so far met the state licensing requirements, which include background checks and security protocols.

As a result, the dispensaries have had to rely on marijuana already in stock.

Dispensaries and state officials had anticipated the problem, and in late June the Department of Taxation attempted to loosen the licensing rules to allow dispensaries to transport their own marijuana.

But a District Court judge blocked the request, arguing that the state needed to go through the regulatory process to determine how many distributors were needed. The state appealed the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court.

In the meantime, the Department of Taxation proposed emergency regulations aimed at expanding the pool of potential distributors.

Deonne E. Contine, executive director of the state agency, wrote in the state of emergency declaration that the industry would be unable to function unless the issue with distributor licensing is resolved quickly.

Gov. Brian Sandoval, who did not support legalization, has authorized state officials to hold a hearing Thursday to establish emergency reforms, including speeding up the review process for transport licenses and allowing cannabis companies to move pot if they meet certain requirements.

All four of the other states where recreational pot is legal  Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Alaska  allow the dispensaries to transport marijuana themselves, with no privileges given to alcohol distributors.

It is important that the distribution issue gets resolved, because if it is not sales will be halted completely, said Riana Durrett, executive director of the Nevada Dispensary Assn., a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of retail pot shops.

Many Nevada dispensaries had stockpiled marijuana before legalization took effect.

We bought as much as we could hold ahead of legal sales beginning, said Fasano, whose dispensary is less than a block from the Las Vegas Strip and sells mainly to tourists.

The state dispensary association estimated that in the first four days of legalization customers bought between $3 million and $5 million worth of pot. The state is not scheduled to release its numbers until the fall.

Tanya Lupien, vice president of sales and marketing at Medizin Las Vegas, said on Tuesday that her dispensary was running low on grab and go items such as marijuana edibles and vape pens, and that without a resupply the business stands to lose tens of thousands of dollars a week.

We need expanded regulations to have business as usual, she said.

This month, on the first day of recreational sales at Oasis Medical Cannabis, a block from the Strip, employees scurried around with tablet computers, like Apple store clerks, fielding questions from patrons about Pure Haze, Fire Angel and other pot strains.

The cofounder, Ben Sillitoe, was excited to see customers lined up around the building. But now all that demand is presenting a challenge.

We need to place orders to avoid running out of stock on popular items, he said Tuesday.

kurtis.lee@latimes.com

Twitter: @kurtisalee

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In the bleak camps that are home to millions displaced by war and persecution around the globe, there are families that have been waiting years for a chance to rebuild shattered lives in the United States.

Some already had travel dates and had started selling off cooking pots and mattresses when President Trump ordered in January that the U.S. refugee resettlement program be put on hold for 120 days, while the government reviewed its vetting procedures for travelers from countries with ties to terrorism.

After a series of court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed part of a revised order, a 90-day ban on travel from six Muslim-majority countries, to take effect last month. Exceptions were made for people with a bona fide relationship to schools, employers, close family and other entities in the U.S.

Refugee admissions came to a halt Wednesday after a 50,000-person cap for the fiscal year was reached. We spoke to David Murphy, who heads the San Diego office of the International Rescue Committee, to find out what this will mean for the refugee families that his nonprofit helps settle here. The interview was edited for length and clarity.

Which refugees get to come to the U.S.?

There are a couple of misperceptions about the refugee resettlement program, and one is that refugees can pick that they will come to the United States, when in fact it is the U.S. government that will go out and pick refugees that could be eligible for resettlement.

The process begins every year with a determination that is made by the sitting president [about the number who will be admitted]. For the last number of years, it was 70,000. Last year, in 2016, it was raised to 85,000, and then before President Obama left office, it was raised to 110,000 for this year.

There are more than 65 million people displaced in the world today, and even if the U.S. were going to bring in 110,000, which theyre not, its less than a drop in the bucket. And so the U.S. prioritizes who it will bring in. We prioritize members of opposition groups, journalists, members of religious minorities, LGBT community members, survivors of gender-based violence  those most in need of protection.

The U.S. State Department has regional refugee coordinators based in embassies around the world that will physically go to refugee camps to identify potential refugees for resettlement to the U.S.

Once the U.S. government has decided on these most vulnerable people, there then begins a process of in-person interviews, conducted by Department of Homeland Security staff, to build up the case file on these individuals. They will conduct an interview. They go away. They come back. They re-interview you. Does your story stay the same? This can happen six, eight times over the course of a year or two.

Once Department of Homeland Security is satisfied that they have an accurate case file on you, your file is then turned over to the security vetting machine. This is where your biometric data is run through up to 14 different databases  FBI, CIA, etc.  which takes another year. Then you are finally cleared to come to the United States.

The process takes two years on average, but for some countries it can take five or six or even eight years.

We dont want terrorists here anymore than anyone else does. But we also are confident in the current vetting process.  David Murphy, International Rescue Committee

Trump wants extreme vetting of refugees. Is there more vetting that can be done?

Thats a good question. Theyre already pretty extremely vetted.

As resettlement agencies, we are open to taking a look at the existing vetting process, and if there is a way to improve it, of course improve it. We dont want terrorists here any more than anyone else does. But we also are confident in the current vetting process that the U.S. government has in place.

A Pakistani Christian family is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. as refugees. Will they be allowed to stay? 

What effect is Trumps travel ban having on the refugees you work with?

There is a huge amount of uncertainty oversees in the refugee camps. The U.S. was initially planning on bringing in 110,000 refugees. Now were going to bring in about 50,000.

So that means there are about 60,000 refugees that are in the final stages of being vetted that were supposed to come to the United States this year, and now they are left in limbo  literally. They have no idea if they ever will travel to the United States, or if it will be delayed by months or years.

Its really unfortunate, because when a refugee is in the final stages of the process and getting ready to leave, they will sell all their household materials, because you only bring a suitcase with your clothes with you. And so now we have refugees in camps that are getting rid of everything, yet at the last minute were saying, No, wait a minute. Just sit tight.

Were also splitting families. We had a Somali family arrive last week, quite literally thats what they told us: They have some family back in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, and now they have no idea if they will ever be able to travel.

Its really sending a negative message to the world, saying that the U.S. is no longer going to provide safe harbor for refugees.

An interrupted journey ends in a new life in the U.S. for Syrian refugee family 

So what happens now?

The Supreme Court said that if youve gone through all of these vetting processes, and if you can prove you have a bona fide relationship with an immediate family member living in the U.S., then you can come.

But there is a disconnect there between what the policy is and how it is going to be implemented. The U.S. government picks individual refugees to come to the United States based upon need for protection, not based upon if they have an existing family member living in the U.S.

The Supreme Court also said if you have a connection with an institution or organization, then that will count. So the resettlement agencies are arguing that refugees have a relationship with a resettlement agency, so that should count the same way that a university would.

Then there is the travel ban for the six predominantly Muslim countries. We dont know what is going to happen after the 90 days, if this will be extended, or if people from these countries will be allowed to travel again.

Because there would be refugees coming from those countries. Here in Southern California, the No. 1 refugee populations have been Iraqis, Syrians, Afghans, Somalis, Congolese and Burmese.

If the travel ban remains in place, that means that Syrians and Somalis would no longer be able to come through the refugee program. And yet Syrians, for example, they have seen the horrors of war. They have seen the effects of terrorism. They have seen the effects of Islamic State. And yet the U.S. is turning our back on them.

What does the future look like for refugee resettlement in the U.S.?

Were in unchartered waters here. The U.S. resettlement program has always enjoyed bipartisan support. These are people that are fleeing war; they are those most in need of protection.

Unfortunately, with the current political climate, refugees, immigrants, illegal immigrants, Muslim terrorists are all packed in one nice sound bite. So we dont know what the future of the refugee resettlement program is going to look like.

But the U.S. is a nation of immigrants. It is the fabric of our society. It is what strengthens us as a nation. So hopefully calmer heads will prevail in the future.

alexandra.zavis@latimes.com

Twitter: @alexzavis

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Inspired by a Trump administration threat to slash federal funding to cities, Seattles City Council struck back this week, unanimously imposing a rare city income tax on the rich.

The new tax measure requires individual city residents to pay a 2.25% tax on any income earned beyond $250,000 annually; couples who file jointly will pay the same rate on earnings beyond $500,000.

The high-earner tax, expected to be quickly challenged in court, would help support the citys affordable housing, climate change, education and transit efforts at a time when federal tax cuts are expected to diminish funding for such programs.

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Our goal, said Mayor Ed Murray, a progressive Democrat who is leaving office in December, is to replace our regressive tax system with a new formula for fairness while ensuring Seattle stands up to President Trumps austere budget that cuts transportation, affordable housing, healthcare and social services.

A number of cities have adopted local income taxes, but no other city has solely targeted high earners and few have adopted so high a tax rate. The measure has opened the door to political warfare in the state, one of only seven across the country that has no income tax.

We have an increasing affordability gap between the have and have-nots. The middle class is being squeezed as well. And one of the reasons is our outdated, regressive and unfair tax structure, said Seattle council member Lisa Herbold, a co-sponsor of the tax measure.

Washingtons reliance on sales tax revenue hits the poor the hardest, proponents of the new tax measure argue. Some on the lower end of the income spectrum pay six times as much in state and local taxes in comparison to higher-wage earners.

In a city of soaring rents and housing prices, the income tax will help bridge the widening gap with a new formula for fairness, Murray said.

Other cities are flirting with similar tax-the-rich proposals. San Francisco, which already has a 1.5% income tax assessed on workers through their employers, is weighing a half-percent tax increase on residents making more than $1 million. Also under consideration is a plan to tax corporate profits.

Some of the richest so-called Seattle billionaires wont be chipping in to pay the new tax in Seattle, however. They dont live here. Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates (the worlds richest man, says Forbes, with $86 billion) and Paul Allen ($20 billion), along with Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos (the worlds second-richest, with $75 billion) and ex-Microsoft CEO and now-L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer ($30 billion) all have lakefront mansions in the ritzy eastern suburbs outside the city.

Ballmer spoke against the tax, saying it would drive up wages here and cause [company executives] to think about moving jobs elsewhere. That will certainly happen.

But backers of the measure rallied supporters, including software developer Carissa Knipe, who told the council before its 9-0 vote on Monday that she earns more than $170,000 and endorses the tax measure.

Seattle should serve everyone, not just rich folks, she said. I would love to be taxed.

State voters have repeatedly rejected an income tax, most recently in 2010 when a statewide Tax the Rich initiative was defeated by a 2-1 ratio. It would have taxed individuals earning more than $200,000 yearly and couples making beyond $400,000 a year.

To no ones surprise, it took all of a few hours after Seattles tax passage for the first lawsuit to be announced. The conservative, anti-tax Freedom Foundation quickly issued a statement saying the tax violates state law and invited other opponents to join the foundation in suing the city.

Tom McCabe, the foundations CEO, said that its a lie that only the rich will have to pay the tax. No matter who starts out paying it, everyone will eventually suffer if the tax is eventually applied to other wage earners, as he expects, and perhaps is extended statewide, he said in a statement.

State Republican Party Chairwoman Susan Hutchison, surrounded by chanting pro-tax supporters at a news conference outside City Hall, urged residents to forcefully resist the tax by refusing to pay it. She and others believe the measure violates a state constitutional requirement of tax equitability. State law also bars cities from taxing net income and requires state approval for enactment of any new municipal taxes.

Socialist council member Kshama Sawant, the other tax bill co-sponsor, said the city was already anticipating legal challenges, and asked her followers Monday: If we need to pack the courts, will you be there with me?

Some polls have shown widespread support for the tax, though 62% of more than 700 voters opposed it in a KING-5 TV flash poll after the tax was approved.

John Burbank, executive director of the tax-supporting Economic Opportunity Institute, said a closer look at the proposal shows higher-wage earners are not likely to pay exorbitant income taxes. If you make $300,000, for example, you pay tax only on the amount beyond $250,000. That $50,000 difference levied at 2.25% will cost a taxpayer about $1,100 a year, he calculated.

Households with incomes below $21,000 are paying, on average, 16.8% of their income in state and local taxes, Burbank added, while those with incomes above $500,000 pay just 2.4%.

Paul Guppy, a tax opponent from the Washington Policy Center think tank in Seattle, says the tax could poison the business environment, which in Seattle  Americas fast-growing city, according to the Census Bureau  is on an Amazon.com-fueled growth binge.

Were known across the world as a place that doesnt have an income tax, Guppy said. But passage of a city income tax sends a certain signal to people planning to make a life here, and he warned theyd likely go elsewhere.

That didnt seem to be a worry for those in the City Council chambers Monday. After the final vote, the packed house rose in applause. Later, outside, surrounding GOP Chairwoman Hutchison, demonstrators drowned out her news conference with chants of Tax the rich!

The tax wont be collected until the start of 2019  or later, and possibly never, depending on the outcome of any legal challenges.

Anderson is a special correspondent.

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Nevada will be a political battleground in the midterm elections, and U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions stepped into the middle of the fray Wednesday with a not-so-subtle message: Dont let the state become like California.

He was introduced to a group of law enforcement officials in Las Vegas by Nevada Atty. Gen. Adam Laxalt, who is a likely candidate to run for governor as a Republican and has endorsed the Trump administrations hard-line approach to immigration. Laxalt, the grandson of former Sen. Paul Laxalt, joined several other state attorneys general in a letter seeking to stop illegal immigration and prevent states like Nevada from becoming a sanctuary state.



For the record: An earlier version of this article referred to the late Sen. Paul Laxalt. Laxalt is alive.

Sessions sprinkled his speech with horror stories of gangs like MS-13, which originated in Los Angeles and has tentacles stretching from the Salvadoran prison system across the United States, the attorney general said. He brought up the story of Kathryn Steinle, who was killed while walking on a pier in San Francisco with her father; authorities charged a Mexican national who had served three federal prison terms for felony reentry into the country.

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Removing criminals like these from our streets makes Nevada safer, Sessions said. It would make Los Angeles and San Francisco safer  if they would do it.

Nevada, however, has been a trending blue state for the last few presidential election cycles and has a fast-growing immigrant community. In November, Hillary Clinton won the state, and Democrats took control of the state Legislature. Now, Sen. Dean Heller is considered to be one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the Senate as he vies to hang onto his seat in 2018.

Before Sessions spoke to law enforcement officials, several dozen protesters had gathered outside the U.S. attorneys office near downtown Las Vegas, arguing that the Justice Departments desire to tie federal dollars to local law enforcements assistance in pursuing immigration law is detrimental to keeping communities safe.

Sessions, Sessions, you cant hide  we can see your racist side, they chanted as several motorists honked as they drove down Las Vegas Boulevard.

Several so-called sanctuary cities across the country  including Denver, Salt Lake City and Seattle  have been the subject of attacks by those favoring tough immigration policies. Las Vegas Metro Police had been included as an uncooperative department by the Justice Department in several task reports, and Sessions said that was in the process of being reviewed.

Chuck Callaway, police director for the office of intergovernmental services with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said the department hadnt lost any funding yet because of those reports but feared it could lose future funding.

That is one of our primary concerns, he said.

Sessions said the presidential election sent a message about the need for tough immigration policy and cooperation among local, state and federal law enforcement.

The desire of the American people is clear  they want a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest and protects public safety, he said. They have a right to demand that of their elected representatives and law enforcement.

But opponents of Trumps immigration policies criticized a federal government program that, they said, leads to unsafe communities by discouraging people who are here illegally from reporting crimes. The 287(g) program allows state or local law enforcement to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in immigration enforcement. It has been opposed by groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, which says it involves racial profiling and stretches local resources.

Alicia Contreras, Nevada state director for Mi Familia Vota, stood outside the U.S. attorneys office amid protesters from local union groups and said Sessions was promoting fear-based rhetoric without real solutions.

Families shouldnt feel fear to report a crime. They shouldnt fear having to call the fire department or anyone in public safety making a community safe, she said. This shouldnt be about fear. This should be about making good policy.

Sessions, who spoke for about half an hour, also talked about the opioid epidemic that has gripped parts of the country. He said that the Justice Department was committed to combating the problem of human trafficking and other violent crime, and that it plans to hire 300 more assistant U.S. attorneys.

I believe that is the point of the spear, he said.

david.montero@latimes.com

Twitter: @davemontero

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The unraveling mystery of whether Donald Trumps presidential campaign colluded with Russia just produced a smoking gun: those emails from Donald Trump Jr. welcoming an offer from Moscow to supply dirt on Hillary Clinton.

This wasnt a casual meeting between the candidates impetuous son and some random peddler of political gossip. Trump Jr. was explicitly offered sensitive information [as] part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. He recruited two other top aides, campaign Chairman Paul Manafort and Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, to come along. All three were busy men; their presence suggests they considered the meeting to be a matter of high importance.

So now we know that the Trump campaign, at its highest level, eagerly sought Russias help.

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Theres still plenty we dont know, of course.

The president cant claim that the investigation is a witch hunt anymore.

We dont know whether that initial meeting in June 2016 led to other secret contacts. We dont know whether the Trump aides willingness to hear an offer of clandestine help led to genuine collaboration.

In other words, we have a smoking gun  but no bullet and no body.

(Clintons defeat doesnt count as evidence. She lost that election a half-dozen ways; Russian hacking was the least of them.)

And we dont know the answer to the old Watergate question: What did the president know, and when did he know it?

But theres lots of circumstantial evidence to suggest that acts of collusion may have occurred. The Russians hacked Democratic emails and released them through WikiLeaks, according to U.S. intelligence. Candidate Trump approved the hacking publicly and urged the Russians to do more. A longtime Trump ally, Roger Stone, seemed to know in advance when the email releases were going to happen. And the releases were often cleverly timed  just before the Democratic National Convention, for example. Its as if the Russians were being advised by somebody who knows how a presidential campaign works, a veteran Democratic strategist told me. Someone like Paul Manafort.

Trumps defenders will labor to put a charitable construction on what the emails revealed. It was only one meeting, theyll say. If nothing resulted, it was unseemly and improper, but little more. Besides, Trump Jr. says the Russian lawyer who attended the meeting didnt turn over any dirt. That means the meeting was an attempt at collusion that didnt pan out. Its also not clear that the lawyer was really acting on behalf of the Russian government. (But Trump Jr. thought she was, and the Kremlin often uses private citizens as cutouts, to preserve deniability.)

Finally, the candidates son and son-in-law, political neophytes, may not have known that they were potentially violating a federal law against seeking campaign help from foreigners. (Manafort, a veteran of many campaigns, should have known.)

What none of those excuses undercut, however, is that Donald Trump Jr. set out to obtain sensitive information from someone he thought was working for the Russian government.

If its what you say, he wrote, I love it especially later in the summer.

To a prosecutor, thats evidence of intent, one of the elements necessary to make a case for criminal conspiracy.

Conspiracy is a broad crime, Jeffrey H. Smith, a former general counsel at the CIA, told me Tuesday. There is no need that the crime actually occur, only that the individuals were intending to do it and took steps to carry it out. These emails come pretty close.

Last week, Trump Jr. hired a criminal lawyer. That seems wise.

Moreover, the emails explode, yet again, the presidents long string of denials that anyone in his campaign was ever in contact with Russia.

For months, Trump has denounced allegations of collusion as a made-up story and dismissed the FBI investigation of his campaign as a witch hunt  even as his attorney general, his former national security advisor, his son-in-law and son have admitted to contacts with Russians that they once concealed.

Trump Jr. continued his familys practice of clumsy, quick-evaporating denials, first claiming that he met with the Russian lawyer to discuss adoption policy, then admitting that they discussed the campaign.

Its simply baffling why any of the presidents luckless spokespersons, let alone any other self-respecting Republican, would continue to stake their honor on the Trump familys honesty.

There is no evidence of collusion, Trump declared in May.

Now there is, at the very least, evidence of attempted collusion. The president cant claim that the investigation is a witch hunt anymore. Hes in new, more dangerous territory. The Trumps own clumsiness has made it ever more likely that if they did something wrong, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III will find it.

doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com

Twitter: @DoyleMcManus

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook

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In normal times, it wouldnt be headline news if a nominee for director of the FBI rejected the notion of taking a personal loyalty oath to the president or refused to characterize as a witch hunt an investigation into highly plausible allegations that a hostile foreign country interfered in a U.S. election.

But when Christopher A. Wray, President Trumps nominee to head the bureau, took those positions at his confirmation hearing Wednesday, there was the proverbial audible sigh of relief in Washington.

That is because these are not normal times and Donald Trump is not a normal president.

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The day after his son and namesake released an email chain showing that he was eager to accept opposition research described as coming from the Russian government, the president tweeted: My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad! (Not for the first time, the president declined to follow the advice of the Los Angeles Times editorial board, which had urged him to stop the witch hunt talk.)

More to the point, the FBI may be investigating whether Trump obstructed justice in firing James B, Comey, the last director of the FBI. Last month Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that, in addition to expressing the hope that Comey would go easy on former national security advisor Michael Flynn, Trump had told Comey: I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.

Now listen to Wray testifying Wednesday before the Judiciary Committee: No one asked me for any kind of loyalty oath at any point during this process, and I sure as heck didnt offer one.

Wray also promised that he wouldnt brook any interference with the investigation of Russian meddling in the election  and possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign  being led by special counsel (and former FBI chief) Robert Mueller. I would consider an effort to tamper with Director Muellers investigation to be unacceptable and inappropriate and would need to be dealt with very sternly and appropriately indeed, Wray told the Judiciary Committee.

This couldnt have been music to President Trumps ears, but especially after the revelations about his sons meeting in Trump Tower its hard to believe that even this abnormal president would treat Wray the way he did Comey.

If he did, hed be moving against his own appointee, not an Obama holdover whose firing could be rationalized on grounds other than displeasure over a witch hunt about Russia. The administration initially suggested that Trump fired Comey because of a recommendation by Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein, who found fault with the way Comey handled the investigation of Hillary Clintons use of a private email server as secretary of State. (With a characteristic lack of discipline, Trump muddled that explanation when he told NBCs Lester Holt that he was thinking of this Russia thing when he decided to dismiss Comey.)

When the president met with Russian officials at the White House in May, he said that firing Comey  whom he called a real nut job  had relieved great pressure on him. Wrays testimony suggests that any relief was temporary.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook

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To the editor: Freedom of expression and political dissent are alive and well in Israel  just read Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper you quoted, as one example. The boycott, divestment and sanctions movement (also known as BDS), however, is something different entirely. (Israel should stop trying to wall out its critics, editorial, July 8)

It is a weapon being used in a political and ideological war underway in the United Nations, on college campuses and in the media with the goal of isolating, stigmatizing and ultimately eliminating the state of Israel.

The BDS movement is as much a security risk to the state of Israel as terrorism, and to ignore this reality is to have ones head in the sand.

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Malka Weitman, Berkeley

..

To the editor: The Times is correct that Israel is violating its own standards of democracy by enacting a law that bars entry for supporters of nonviolent boycott with the goal of ending the occupation of Palestinian territories.

Many Israel supporters say other countries are worse and ask why critics target Israel. The Times rebuts that argument by pointing out that Israel claims to be a bastion of democracy and is accepted as such, and so therefore it must be held to high standards.

An anti-boycott law might be tolerated in a theocracy such as Iran, but it should not be in a country that claims to be a Western democracy, such as Israel.

Jeff Warner, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Israel does tolerate peaceful dissent  by its residents. Many Israelis support the BDS movement, and they are free to demonstrate peacefully whenever they wish.

But when did Israel, or any other country for that matter, become obligated to grant equal rights and privileges to nonresidents? The United States does not; why should Israel?

Charles Taubman, Cupertino, Calif.

..

To the editor: In describing BDS, you omit the ineluctable truth: that fulfilling the movements goal of returning Palestinian refugees to Israel would destroy the Jewish state.

Upon the founding of Israel, hundreds of thousands of Jews were expelled from Arab lands, Jews who were successfully integrated into Israel. Thats about the equivalent of Palestinians who either left of their own accord or were putatively expelled.

You also ignore, just as the BDS people do, the numerous times Israel offered a two-state solution but was rejected. You also do not mention BDS omission of human rights abuses by Syria, Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, Sudan, Somalia and many other countries  only Israel is the target.

Democracy is not a suicide pact. Those who call for the destruction of Israel, whether implicitly or explicitly, do not qualify for free speech protection or entry into the country they wish to eliminate.

Jack Salem, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: As a credentialed teacher in a local school district, I admit to being skeptical of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos commitment to public education. Her affinity for charter schools is well known. (Its Betsy DeVos job to protect students from predatory for-profit colleges. She should do it, editorial, July 10)

However, the actions detailed in your editorial go beyond the pale. Not only is DeVos not qualified on any level to propose educational policy, but by suspending Obama administration rules intended to provide relief to debt-laden students who were essentially defrauded by for-profit colleges, she also has proved herself prejudicial against students and honest institutions of higher learning everywhere.

Like the public reaction to proposed healthcare and immigration policies, there needs to be an equal and compelling resistance to another one of President Trumps right-wing outrages. We should not have to wait until the 2020 presidential election to rid ourselves of these destructive policies.

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Tim Geddes, Huntington Beach

..

To the editor: Theres been a lot of talk lately about loan relief processing delays at the U.S. Department of Education. I am a military veteran who has been waiting for months to hear about my application.

When I enrolled in the International Academy of Design and Technology, the school promised me credits that would transfer anywhere and encouraged me to borrow thousands before I even knew what kind of classes I would be taking. When I tried to transfer, I found out that my credits were worthless to other schools.

The school later changed its name to Sanford-Brown and then closed its doors. I graduated with useless credits, and accumulating interest has left me about $100,000 in debt. I have a great job using the skills I learned in the military, but I cant improve my quality of life or buy a home because of my loans.

Ive applied to the Department of Education for borrower defense to repayment, which is supposed to provide relief to students such as myself who were defrauded. Months later, Ive heard nothing from the government, and I dont know where else I can get help.

After serving my country, I think I deserve better than to be cheated out of my future.

Stephanie Stiefel, Playa del Rey

..

To the editor: I am a retired adult education teacher who worked for more than 30 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District. I spent countless hours of that time warning my immigrant students about the predatory tactics used by many of these for-profit colleges.

Some schools recruited students by telling them that their English proficiency would not matter in their classes. They made wildly inflated claims of job availability and high earnings. Some told students that the government would pay for the education without mentioning that they would be receiving a loan that must be repaid.

The real shame of all this is that the LAUSD (and many other public education systems) provide much better vocational training at a fraction of the cost of these for-profit career colleges. This fact remains, for reasons that perplex me, one of the best-kept secrets about public education.

DeVos and her retinue of voucher pushers will bring the same reality to elementary and secondary education if they are allowed to.

Robert Michael LaCarr, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Kamala Harris works to forge relationship with Central Valley

Sen @kamalaharris talking grapes with Fowler Packing Co president Dennis Parnagian in the fields outside metro Fresno pic.twitter.com/smVuRfbSpQ  Cathleen Decker (@cathleendecker) July 5, 2017

The drought may be over in the minds of urban Californians, quite literally washed away by huge accumulations of rain last year that filled reservoirs and left the states mountains covered with snow even now.

But the farmers and others in the Central Valley, veterans of multiple drought-and-flood cycles, know the reprieve is only temporary. On Wednesday they pressed new U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris to work to ensure a more reliable source of water for the nations most bountiful farming region.

This area is drying on the vine, Ryan Jacobsen, executive director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau, told Harris during a roundtable with Central Valley officials.

A long-term solution can only come through federal and state action to protect the areas water supply, he said.

Jason Phillips, chief executive of the Friant Water Authority, said recent rainfall had done little to stem problems caused by nearly a decade of drought.

A canal that runs from Fresno to north of Bakersfield sunk in some places as much as 2 feet in two years, he said, wreaking havoc on a system that operates on the force of gravity.

We cannot get all the water to our growers, he said.

The meeting between Harris and nearly two dozen agriculture and water officials was meant to ease what is typically a fraught relationship between the states Democratic leaders  all of whose power bases are in metropolitan areas  and the mostly Republican Central Valley powers that traditionally look at them with skepticism.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has worked for two decades to aid the agricultural industry  at the roundtable, several nodded as Harris referred to the senior senator as an incredible warrior for the area.

But Harris predecessor, former Sen. Barbara Boxer, was allied more with environmental groups that have fought dams and other water systems. As a result, she was viewed negatively by many here.

Harris was intent Wednesday on persuading the Central Valley representatives of her interest in places beyond her base in Alameda and San Francisco counties.

They, on the other hand, worked to convince her to be more in the Feinstein mold on issues important to the area  from reliable water to immigration programs to environmental protections that take into consideration the areas needs.

President Trump was highly popular in much of the Central Valley, apart from Fresno County, which leans Democratic because of its metropolitan shadings. But some issues important to the valley cut in politically unorthodox ways.

Republicans here are more concerned than those elsewhere with passing a plan that would give legal status to immigrants, on whom agriculture depends. With undocumented workers worried about deportation, and the border tightening to those not yet here, the labor supply has already shrunk, farmers said.

Theyre out there working, being productive people, said farmer Joe Del Bosque. They work hard for us, and we have nowhere to reach.

Del Bosque said he recently held a training session for new workers. Of the 200 people who showed up, only a handful were born in the United States, he said.

Environmental regulations prized by Democrats elsewhere are often frowned on by some party members here and blamed for the areas water difficulties.

Several of the participants lobbied Harris for her support of dams that have long been under consideration by federal and state officials, particularly the Temperance Flat Dam, which would be constructed on the San Joaquin River.

Harris offered no assurances on the topic to the group on Wednesday. Afterward, speaking to reporters, she also did not take a position.

One of the things that were going to have to figure out ... is what is the right solution for that, she said of a plan to construct the Temperance Flat Dam and several others. Is it going to be about the building of dams? Is it also going to be about looking at  also looking at  other sources of renewable and sustainable reliable sources?

Both sides signaled they did not expect an alliance on all fronts. But Harris said she would serve as an advocate for farmers during the crafting of a new farm bill and other measures before the Senate.

William Bourdeau, executive vice president of the politically influential Harris Farms, told the senator he wished the majority of her supporters who reside in urban areas would have a better understanding of the risks and challenges of farming.

We need somebody to explain the symbiotic relationship we have, he said.

I agree with you completely, she replied.
Three times on Tuesday Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was asked about Donald Trump Jr.s attempt during the campaign to collect damaging information about Democrat Hillary Clinton from Russia.

And three times the Republican leader swatted back the inquiries, bluntly saying he would rely on the investigations already underway into the Trump administrations Russia ties and make no further comment.

The back and forth was a well-worn script that continues to play out on Capitol Hill amid the almost daily drip-drip-drip of new details about possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election.

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Republicans may privately grumble about the president  and many do  but they have been reluctant to publicly criticize President Trump and risk the wrath of his Twitter assaults, from which they have little political cover.

My guess is theyll continue to stick by him, said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist based in Texas. Theres a real sense of, Lets make the most of what we have.

Mackowiak added, No one wants to be the first Republican to step out and distance themselves.

The political calculation is clear, given that Republicans control the House, Senate and the White House, and as lawmakers face the 2018 midterm election.

Their constituents in red states and conservative House districts still largely back the president, and to break with the White House would invite criticism and could cost them votes.

Even if Republican lawmakers mustered the courage to buck Trump  on the Russia inquiry or on other issues like healthcare or tax reform where they part ways with him  they would then face pressure to do something about it.

Few senators or representatives are willing to be the army of one leading calls for investigations beyond those already underway. Most are still hopeful they can plug away at their legislative agendas and tally some accomplishments for reelection.

And so week by week, Republicans either brush past reporters or simply shrug and say they dont have much to offer on the latest swirling developments in the Russia investigation.

Most stick with the line often used by McConnell or House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, which is that they are relying on the inquiries underway by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and the House and Senate intelligence committees to resolve the matter.

Im sure theyll get to the bottom of whatever may have happened, McConnell said Tuesday.

Ryan has not publicly addressed the meeting between Trumps son and a Russian lawyer, nor did his office respond to a request Tuesday for comment.

Republicans in Congress face their own problems. Lawmakers are so worried about heading home for August recess with few big accomplishments that some asked leaders to cancel the monthlong summer recess. McConnell agreed Tuesday and announced the Senate would stay in session for part of the month.

Senators are struggling to fulfill their promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, and appear no closer to having the support needed from at least 50 senators ahead of next weeks vote.

They have made little tangible progress on other big-ticket campaign items, including tax reform, and they are arguing among themselves over the budget.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) conceded Tuesday that concerns over Russia may be legitimate, but he said it was not in our lanes.

It has nothing to do with what we need to get done in August, he said. Thats the very thing we need to not get distracted by.

Lawmakers said Tuesday that Trump voters back home seem more concerned about healthcare or easing what businesses see as excessive government regulation.

Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) wouldnt go so far as to dismiss the latest revelations as a nothing burger, as some have called it, but it looks like to me that not a lot happened in the meeting that was pertinent.

Besides, he said, consumer confidence was at a 13-year high, and consumers are a good gauge of whats happening.

Weve got a new presidents been in office six months, he added. The first six months of every president, I go back and look, have not been exactly smooth.

A few key Republicans, including Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), along with others in the House, have raised more public concerns over the Russia questions and pressed for deeper investigations into the links between Trumps campaign and President Vladimir Putins government.

Graham told reporters that if candidates get an offer from a foreign government for help on their campaigns, the answer is no.

Donald Trump Jr. definitely has to testify before investigators, Graham said. That email is disturbing, he said. On its face this is very problematic.

But such voices remain outliers in the Republican Party, and Democrats have piled on criticism, deriding Republicans for failing to confront Trump over what many Democrats view as a serious threat to the U.S. government and American democracy.

Has any elected Republican said anything brave today? Oh, never mind, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said in a Twitter message.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) suggested treason may have been committed.

Asked whether the latest Russia developments concerned him, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said simply, Nah.

Corker was at the doctors office Tuesday waiting for a checkup when he saw a TV report about the issue. He said he found it hard to get worked up about it.

I dont know, its kind of losing focus, Corker said. Im focused on other things  the Russia sanctions, healthcare and other kinds of things, and relying on the Intelligence Committee to do their work in a good way.

Mackowiak said the problem for Republicans, and those who want Republicans to stand up to Trump, was that the Russia investigation would not likely be resolved any time soon.

Peoples expectations that Republicans are going to start calling for Trumps impeachment, he said, thats not going to happen.

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

@LisaMascaro

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While rolling out their plan to extend Californias cap-and-trade program, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders have portrayed their proposal as a win on two fronts: reaching the states ambitious climate goals and tackling local air pollution.

But beyond the triumphant rhetoric, there is ambivalence about the proposal, largely from progressive lawmakers and environmental advocates. Meanwhile, more conservative legislators and industry groups have stopped short of embracing the plan, throwing the swift passage Brown hoped for in doubt.

The reactions to the proposal underscore a key tension in the debate over Californias self-styled role as a national and international climate leader, particularly as President Trump slashes environmental regulations in Washington: How to balance aggressive action with broad political appeal.

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The state is responsible for a tiny fraction of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions, meaning its only hope of influencing global warming is modeling policies that can be embraced elsewhere, including in more conservative states. Cap and trade, a system that requires companies to buy permits to release greenhouse gases, is seen as a more business-friendly alternative to other methods that would dictate how polluters such as refineries reduce their emissions.

Being able to show that [emissions] reductions can happen, that the economy can continue to thrive with this ambitious climate commitment, thats going to be critical for this model being replicated around the world, said Erica Morehouse, a senior attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, a national environmental group that quickly backed Browns plan.

But other green advocates want the state to set an example with the most stringent possible regulations, and blanch at the concessions that oil companies and other industries have extracted from Brown, who has been pressing for a deal before lawmakers break for summer recess July 21.

Brown wanted to declare victory on something and go home, and thats what hes doing  unfortunately hes doing so at the expense of our states climate goals, said R.L. Miller, president of the grassroots group Climate Hawks Vote.

Gov. Brown and Democratic leaders offer plan to extend cap and trade, with aim for approval this week 

The climate package, which was unveiled late Monday, received a lukewarm reception among lawmakers across the ideological spectrum Tuesday. Progressive Democrats worried the design of the cap-and-trade system was too friendly to industry. Republicans, whose votes Brown has courted, want tweaks on tax relief for manufacturers and for certain landowners currently paying for fire prevention that was written into the measure. They also want more clarity on how the revenues from the cap-and-trade auctions will be spent.

Brown and his allies want a two-thirds vote to extend cap and trade, the threshold for passing tax increases, to insulate the program from legal challenges. Democrats narrowly hold the necessary supermajorities in each house, but a substantial bloc is aligned with business interests, making it difficult to push a purely progressive measure through the Legislature.

Despite Californias reputation as a green leader, environmental groups often struggle to become the driving force in the Capitol, said Fabian Nunez, the former Assembly speaker who shepherded landmark legislation on climate change in 2006.

Theres a difference between protest politics and governance, he said. The environmental community has difficulty transferring from one to the other.

The disappointment among some environmentalists stands in stark contrast to their major victory last year with legislation setting an ambitious target for slashing emissions by 2030. With the goal enshrined in state law, they hoped to have more leverage over industry groups when it came to negotiating the future of the cap-and-trade program.

Brown said the business community was going to plead to extend the program to avoid more costly regulations. Browns prediction, in a sense, was borne out: Now, industries that have tried to undermine the program in the past are now seeking its extension, touting it as the most cost-effective way to reach the states goals.

Although clean energy businesses were quick to tout the plan released Monday, other sectors, including oil and agriculture, have so far kept quiet.

Given the magnitude of the importance of this, we only have one shot to get this right, said Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable. We support cap and trade, and we are all trying to figure out how we can build a balanced plan we can support that reduces greenhouse gases and grows our economy.

The implications of cap and trades future extend beyond Californias borders. Dean Florez, a member of the California Air Resources Board, said the governor needed to make a market-friendly proposal to show China and others considering climate change policies that a large economy could develop a measure that was environmentally sound and allowed for economic growth and flexibility.

If the governor did anything differently with this, he wouldnt have been a credible person on the international stage, Florez said. It would be seen as this wacky proposal.

Industrys hand was strengthened at the beginning of June when oil companies teamed up with powerful building trade unions, which have contracts at refineries, to block climate legislation backed by progressive lawmakers and some environmentalists.

The State Building and Construction Trades Council, the umbrella group for construction unions, said Tuesday it supports Browns plan. Cesar Diaz, the groups legislative director, said the state needs a balanced approach.

Our members are working at these refineries, he said, adding that if they started shutting down or scaling back, our members would suffer.

Besides the split between labor and environmentalists, green groups have also struggled to reach a consensus among themselves. Increasingly ambitious environmental justice advocates, who are focused more on addressing local pollution, are generally opposed to cap and trade, while other more established national organizations back the policy.

Meanwhile, oil companies worked with other industries, such as manufacturers and agriculture interests, to create their own detailed proposals, which aligned in part with the legislation introduced Monday.

Perhaps no issue has caused as much angst with the environmental justice faction as an industry request that would limit state and regional regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. The plan would prohibit air quality regulators from adopting carbon-cutting rules for refineries and other so-called fixed pollution sources that are also subject to cap-and-trade.

A Bay Area Air Quality Management District official criticized that provision as a giveaway to the Western States Petroleum Assn., the industry group that has led the charge against the districts efforts to regulate greenhouse gases from refineries.

That element of the bill is specifically designed to prevent the adoption of progressive, tough air quality regulations by agencies like the Bay Area air district against refineries, said Tom Addison, senior policy advisor for the Bay Area district.

The provision was similarly criticized by environmental justice advocates.

Diane Takvorian, who heads the San Diego County-based Environmental Health Coalition and sits on the state Air Resources Board, called the limitation a direct attack on ARBs proposed refinery reduction measures.

We just cant tie the hands of our state and local regulatory agencies like this, Takvorian said.

For now, negotiations continue at their wearying pace, as backers strive for a vote by the weeks end. Well into Tuesday evening, the governors office was still hosting meetings with Republicans and other interested parties on the package.

Times staff writer Liam Dillon in Sacramento contributed to this report.

melanie.mason@latimes.com, chris.megerian@latimes.com, tony.barboza@latimes.com

Twitter: @melmason, @chrismegerian, @tonybarboza

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A wealthy young Silicon Valley venture capitalist hopes to recruit statewide and congressional candidates and launch an affordable-housing ballot measure in 2018 because he says Californias leaders are failing to address flaws in the states governance that are killing opportunities for future generations.

Sam Altman, 32, said in May that he was considering a run for governor. But he said in an interview with The Times this week that he has no plans to run for office  at the moment  and will instead roll out an effort Wednesday to enlist candidates around a shared set of policy priorities  including tackling how automation is going to affect the economy and the cost of housing in California  and is willing to put his own money behind the effort.

I think we have a fundamental breakdown of the American social contract and its desperately important that we fix it, he said. Even if we had a very well-functioning government, it would be a challenge, and our current government functions so badly it is an extra challenge.

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Altman is the president of Y Combinator, a technology incubator that has provided start-up funding to hundreds of Silicon Valley companies, notably Airbnb, Dropbox and Stripe. He first made his mark by co-founding a social media app called Loopt when he was 19 that later sold for $43 million.

He said he hopes to recruit a slate of four candidates to run for office  possibly for governor, lieutenant governor, mayor of a major city in California and Congress  and could provide technology platforms and seed money for their campaigns.

Though Altman said he is not specifically targeting Democratic politicians, he made clear he is not happy with incumbents such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein or the current gubernatorial field, which includes Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Im not satisfied with the current choices, Altman said. I dont want to make this about dumping on specific people, [but] I dont think any of the current candidates are the best we could do.

He would not be the first wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur to try to shake up California politics based on his tech resume. Among them are former eBay chief Meg Whitman, who spent $144 million of her own money on an unsuccessful gubernatorial run in 2010, and former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina, who ran for Senate in 2010 before running for president in 2016.

In recent years, tech industry executives have played notable roles helping candidates get elected to top office, including Google parent company Alphabet Inc. CEO Eric Schmidt, who backed former President Obama, and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who supported President Trump.

Altman declined to say how much he was willing to spend on his effort but said he would prefer to invest heavily on a cause rather than underwriting individual campaigns.

Thats always felt gross to me, he said. Im happy to spend a lot of money supporting the movement.

Follow California politics by signing up for our email newsletter 

Over the years, Altman has been registered as a Democrat and as having no party preference, and his political donations swing between liberal and center-left.

Last year, he donated $100,000 to a San Francisco group working to elect moderates to the county Board of Supervisors, and $50,000 to an Airbnb committee that backed an increase in the city sales tax. He has also spent thousands of dollars backing Obama and national and local Democratic groups, as well as congressional, legislative and local candidates.

On a website that launches Wednesday, Altman lays out his concerns and policy goals. He argues that the states priorities have become unbalanced, resulting in inequality, stalled growth and declining opportunity. And it will only become worse because of an upcoming economic shift driven by automation, he says.

We need to figure out a new social contract, and to ensure that everyone benefits from the coming changes, Altman writes on the site.

Altman lays out 10 principles including lowering the cost of housing, creating single-payer healthcare, increasing clean energy use, improving education, reforming taxes and rebuilding infrastructure.

He has few specific policy edicts, and floats proposals that will generate controversy, such as creating a universal basic income for all Americans in an effort to equalize opportunity, public funding for the media and increasing taxes on property that is owned by foreigners, is unoccupied or has been flipped by investors seeking a quick return on an investment.

Altman said he recognizes he faces an uphill battle.

Maybe this will go nowhere, he said. Theres always the possibility I put this out and theres exactly one person who believes in this stuff and its me.

seema.mehta@latimes.com

For the latest on national and California politics, follow @LATSeema on Twitter.

Updates on California politics
Trump called him my African-American. But he has few kind words for the president. By Mark Z. Barabak (Mark Z. Barabak/Los Angeles Times) On the day that changed his life, Gregory Cheadle almost stayed in bed. He was tired  he traveled a lot in his long-shot bid for Congress  but asked himself: How often does a candidate for president come to the far reaches of Northern California? And why pass up a crowd and the chance to hand out more fliers? So Cheadle roused himself that June 2016 morning and secured a spot up close when Donald Trump swooped in for a rally at Reddings municipal airport. It was hot, the atmosphere was loose and Trumps patter seeming more stand-up comedy than campaign spiel. He went into one of those sidelong digressions, about protesters and an African American  great fan, great guy  and, by the way, whatever happened to him? It was then, Cheadle said, he raised his hand and jokingly shouted, Im here. Trump looked and pointed, his voice a throaty rumble. Look at my African-American over here! he exclaimed. Are you the greatest? In the days and weeks that followed Cheadle was attacked on social media and harassed by people who dug up his phone number and email address. For a time he stayed home, too nervous to venture outside. All, he said, because the media portrayed him as something he was not and never has been: a Trump sycophant. Read More Facebook

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Trump quietly signs Russia sanctions bill By Noah Bierman President Trump quietly signed legislation Wednesday that imposes new sanctions on Russia and limits his ability to remove them, according to two White House aides. Trump signed the bill without cameras or an immediate press release. He had opposed imposing new sanctions on Moscow but had little choice after a nearly unanimous Congress approved the bill, guaranteeing they would override a veto. The bill, which also imposes new sanctions on Iran and North Korea, prevents American companies from investing in many energy projects that are funded by Russian government interests. It also prevents Trump from unilaterally lifting the sanctions. It thus marked an unusual move by Congress to tie the presidents hands on foreign policy. Trump did not want to give up that leverage. But the vote in Congress was a strong sign that lawmakers do not trust Trump to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Trump has repeatedly praised, and the widening federal investigation into possible coordination last year between his presidential campaign and Moscow. Passage of the sanctions bill already has sparked a harsh reaction in Moscow. Putin announced last week that the United States would need to shed 755 personnel, including U.S. diplomats, from its embassy and consulates in Russia. President Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats, said to be spies, from the United States last December. A White House aide said a statement would be issued later Wednesday. Facebook

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Senior GOP senators serve notice: No action on healthcare at this point By David Lauter Trump administration officials continue to push the Senate to take another run at healthcare legislation, but on Monday senior Republican senators pushed back, making clear that theyre done with the topic for now. Theres just too much animosity and were too divided on healthcare, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), the head of the Senate Finance Committee, said in an interview with Reuters. I think we ought to acknowledge that we can come back to healthcare afterward, but we need to move ahead on tax reform, Hatch said. His remarks were quickly followed by others in GOP leadership positions. I think its time to move on to something else, Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri told CNN. If the question is do I think we should stay on healthcare until we get it done, I think its time to move on to something else. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota also chimed in. Until someone shows us how to get that elusive 50th vote, I think its over, he told reporters. The remarks seemed a coordinated effort to respond to administration officials, including budget director Mick Mulvaney and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who said over the weekend that they wanted the Senate to keep working on healthcare. Last week, the Senate defeated several different Republican plans to repeal all or part of the Affordable Care Act. The votes made it clear that with unified Democratic opposition to repeal, and divisions among Republicans, the campaign to overturn the law has stalled out, at least for now. Congress faces several other pressing issues that will be demanding lawmakers attention, including deadlines at the end of September to raise the federal debt ceiling and fund government agencies for the coming fiscal year. And the administration is eager to move on tax proposals, with officials rather optimistically saying they hope to see votes by November on a tax package that is not yet written. Facebook

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Good news for Atty. Gen. Sessions: Trump has 100% confidence in Cabinet By Noah Bierman To Q re Sessions, spox Sanders says Trump has 100% confidence in Cabinet. Last wk she wouldn't say if he had it in Sessions. Kelly effect?  Jackie Calmes (@jackiekcalmes) July 31, 2017 President Trump has called Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions beleaguered and even VERY weak, but Sessions seemed to get good news from the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, on Monday. Trump has 100% confidence in all of his Cabinet secretaries, Sanders said in response to a question about Sessions job status during the daily White House briefing. Last week, when speculation about Sessions was rife, Sanders repeatedly declined opportunities to provide assurances that the attorney general enjoyed the presidents full confidence. Trump himself said time will tell when he was asked last week about Sessions. The willingness to tamp down speculation about Sessions may reflect the arrival Monday of retired Gen. John F. Kelly as the new White House chief of staff. He is tasked with restoring order to the administration. Sanders also batted down reports that the White House was discussing moving Sessions to another post, as secretary of Homeland Security. That job became vacant Monday after Kelly was sworn in as Trumps new chief of staff. Sanders said the White House has had no conversations about any Cabinet members switching jobs. Republican senators have publicly opposed firing Sessions, and a couple have objected to shifting him to another post as well, given that it could appear that Trump is trying to affect the investigations of himself and his campaign in the context of Russias election interference. Trump has said publicly that his frustration with Sessions, once among his closest allies, stems from Sessions decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, an act that led to the appointment of a special counsel. Facebook

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Can Trump really cut health insurance payments for members of Congress and their staff? It would be easy By Lisa Mascaro Reeling from the failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Trump now threatens to block federal funding that lawmakers and their staff rely on to help buy health insurance. Trumps threats are not empty. The administration could simply stop the payments -- which are provided to Capitol Hill lawmakers and staff much the way many employers help pay employees monthly insurance premiums -- by dashing off new federal regulation. But the easy attack on lawmakers skims over what many say was a complicated, but fair-minded, compromise made during the Obamacare debates several years ago. Under Obamacare, if lawmakers want insurance through their employer - the federal government - they are required to buy policies through the ACA exchanges. There had been great criticism at the time, largely from opponents of the healthcare bill, that lawmakers and congressional staff should not be exempt from the law. The argument was they should have to live under it. So they did. Usually those buying individual insurance on the exchanges can apply to see if their income and geographic area allow them to qualify for a federal subsidy. For lawmakers, though, that was prohibited. Instead, they get the regular employer contribution they did before, much in the same way other workers do when their companies buy insurance. For federal workers, the government covers about 70% of the costs, about the same paid by employers in the private sector, according to Kaiser Family Foundation. The administration affirmed that federal support for lawmakers and their staffs in an Office of Personnel Management regulation issued in 2013. To cut those funds off, Trump administration could simply reverse course, and issue another regulation changing the rules. Trump appeared ready to do so in a series of weekend tweets. Why should Congress not be paying what public pays, Trump tweeted over the weekend. If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon. But such a move would likely cause an uproar in Congress. Its not just members of Congress, but also their staffs, who would have to pay full price for their insurance. Stopping Trumps action, though, seems tough. It would require Congress to pass legislation ensuring the federal payments would continue to be made. Few lawmakers would likely take up that cause. And even if Congress were able to pass a bill protecting the payments, it seems doubtful Trump at this point would sign it into law. Facebook

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U.S. hits Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with sanctions By Associated Press Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro celebrates the results of Sundays election in Caracas. (Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP/Getty Images) The Trump administration has hit Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with financial sanctions. The move comes after Venezuela held a weekend election that will give Maduros ruling party virtually unlimited power in the South American country. The Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the sanctions against Maduro in a brief statement on Monday, a day after the Venezuelan vote to elect a constituent assembly that will rewrite the constitution. A longer explanation from the White House was also expected. The administration imposed sanctions on more than a dozen senior current and former Venezuelan officials last week, warning the socialist government that new penalties would come if Maduro went ahead with Sundays election for the assembly. Facebook

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Anthony Scaramucci is out as White House communications director By Brian Bennett Anthony Scaramucci, the brash New Yorker who was announced little more than a week ago as President Trumps White House communications director, was ousted Monday before he had even officially taken the job. John F. Kelly, the newly sworn-in White House chief of staff, told Scaramucci around 9:30 a.m. EDT that he was going to be replaced, according to a person close to White House. In a statement officially announcing the move, the White House said Scaramucci felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team. While Scaramuccis time at the center of the presidents circle was short, it was consequential, prompting the resignations of first Sean Spicer as White House press secretary and then Reince Priebus as chief of staff. The most notable firings and resignations in the Trump administration >> A former hedge fund executive on Wall Street, Scaramucci, who enjoyed media attention, also had come on strong stylistically, highlighted by a profane tirade against colleagues Priebus and Trump strategist Steve Bannon in an exchange last week with a New Yorker reporter. The abrupt shift in Scaramuccis status seemed to reflect Kellys mission to bring order to the chain of command within the chaotic administration. In getting Scaramucci to leave, Kelly was undoing Trumps own hiring decision. Scaramucci had told reporters when he was hired that he would be reporting directly to the president at Trumps request, bypassing the normal chain that would have the communications director -- like all staff -- report to the chief of staff. Scaramuccis unusually short tenure reflects a moment of extreme turbulence in the White House, which has been embroiled in infighting as it confronts low poll numbers for the president, a floundering legislative agenda and the investigations involving Russian meddling in last years presidential election. After word spread of Scaramuccis ouster, Spicer, who resigned when Scaramucci took over but was still working in the White House, walked out of his office to a throng of reporters. Is this a surprise party? he asked. UPDATE 12:15 p.m.: This story has been updated throughout with additional details and background. This article was originally published at 11:49 a.m. Facebook

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Trump swears in John Kelly, says ex-secretary of Homeland Security will do an even better job as chief of staff By Noah Bierman President Trump swore in his new chief of staff, John F. Kelly, on Monday morning, formalizing a shake-up in his top ranks that was announced Friday evening with word of the resignation of Reince Priebus. We look forward to - if its possible - an even better job as chief of staff, Trump said to Kelly, formerly the secretary of homeland security. Ill try, sir, Kelly replied. JOHN KELLY is now chief of staff. Sworn in during ceremony in Oval Office minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/dMEQ4rhpFA  Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) July 31, 2017 Trump is hoping that Kelly, a retired general, will retool and bring order to a White House that has struggled with low poll numbers, staff infighting, a faltering legislative agenda and an investigation into Russian election meddling and potential collusion and obstruction of justice. Yet Trump said the administration has done very well after a reporter asked what would be different under Kelly. He cited the unemployment rate, the thriving stock market and unnamed polls that, he said, show high business confidence. Were doing very well. We have a tremendous base, he said.The country is optimistic. And I think the general will just add to it. Trump praised Kellys performance at the Department of Homeland Security, where Kelly focused on immigration issues at the southern border, as record-shattering, with very little controversy. There was no word on whom the president might name to replace Kelly at the department. Trump reportedly has considered moving Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions there from the Justice Department, reflecting his unhappiness with the attorney general, but Republican senators preemptively have signaled their opposition to such a move. Facebook

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Risky investigation, stalled agenda  Trumps in trouble, so heres his strategy By Noah Bierman (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) Hosts of Southern Californias Morning Answer radio show were wrapping up a two-hour live broadcast from a white tent just outside the West Wing last week and marveling at their access to Cabinet secretaries and prominent administration figures. If youre a Trumpkin, host Brian Whitman told his listeners on AM 870, this is like fantasy camp. The White Houses daylong hospitality for Salem Radio Network, a nationwide chain of Christian and conservative stations, underscored President Trumps continued courtship of  and increased dependence on  core supporters as he confronts a stalled agenda and increasingly perilous investigations into whether his campaign colluded with Russia and he subsequently sought to obstruct the inquiries. Read More Facebook

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Obamacare vote isnt the only sign of GOP resistance to Trump By Noah Bierman In the year since Donald Trump won the Republican presidential nomination, party leaders have been reluctant to challenge a man who has formed a tight bond with conservative voters, even when he upset party orthodoxies and norms of presidential behavior. But that reticence is breaking down. A convergence of contentious issues, as well as embarrassing infighting and shake-ups at the White House, have a number of Republicans suddenly in open resistance to Trump on a number of fronts. Read More Facebook

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Trump ousts Reince Priebus as chief of staff in latest White House shake-up By Noah Bierman John Kelly (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump ousted his beleaguered chief of staff, Reince Priebus, naming Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly to replace him Friday in the latest White House shake-up as the administration struggles to emerge from bitter staff infighting and a stalled legislative agenda. Trump announced the abrupt reshuffle in three posts on Twitter hours after the Senate killed his latest plans to rewrite President Obamas signature healthcare law, dealing another harsh blow to the White House. The tweets, sent as Trump was returning on Air Force One with Priebus after a speech on gang violence in New York, caught Capitol Hill and others off guard even though Priebus stature in Trumps inner circle has been in sharp decline for some time. Read More Facebook

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Putins spokesman accuses U.S. of political schizophrenia By Associated Press Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting in Moscow on June 21. (Sergei Karpukhin / EPA) Russia urged the United States on Monday to show political will to mend ties even as it ordered sweeping cuts of U.S. embassy personnel unseen since Cold War times. President Vladimir Putins spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said it will take time for the U.S. to recover from what he called political schizophrenia, but added that Russia remains interested in constructive cooperation with the U.S. We are interested in a steady development of our ties and are sorry to note that we are still far from that, he said. Peskovs statement followed Sundays televised comments by Putin, who said the U.S. would have to cut 755 of its embassy and consulate staff in Russia, a massive reduction he described as a response to new U.S. sanctions. The Russian Foreign Ministry had previously said that the U.S. should cut its embassy and consular employees to 455, the number that Russia has in the United States. Along with the caps on embassy personnel announced Friday, it also declared the closure of a U.S. recreational retreat on the outskirts of Moscow and warehouse facilities. Moscows action is the long-expected tit-for-tat response to former President Obamas move to expel 35 Russian diplomats and shut down two Russian recreational retreats in the U.S. over reports of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Facebook

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White House urged to refrain from Obamacare sabotage as Trump mulls subsidy cutoff By Laura King A pair of prominent lawmakers urged President Trump on Sunday not to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, in the wake of failed Republican efforts to scrap his predecessors signature legislative achievement. But Trump urged GOP senators to try again to push through some version of repealing and replacing the law, even though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said last week it was time to move on to other matters. Trump senior advisor Kellyanne Conway said the president would decide in coming days whether to block subsidies that are a crucial component of the existing healthcare law. Hes going to make that decision this week, and thats a decision that only he can make, Conway said on Fox News Sunday. Two of the lawmakers who blocked the Senate GOP repeal plan last week, however, criticized the administrations continued efforts to overturn the law. Sen. Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who steadfastly rejected a series of GOP healthcare measures last week, blamed the Trump administration for encouraging instability in the insurance markets by continuing the uncertainty over whether the subsidies  cost-sharing payments that reduce out-of-pocket healthcare costs for poorer Americans  would continue. Im troubled by the uncertainty that has been created by the administration, Collins said on NBCs Meet the Press. She contested Trumps characterization of the payments as an insurance company bailout. Thats not what it is, she said, calling the reduction payments vital assistance to low-income Americans. And Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said further action on healthcare should be done in a bipartisan manner and not rushed. You cannot do major entitlement reform singlehandedly, and you wouldnt do major legislative initiatives singlehandedly, she told reporters in Alaska. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) echoed Collins criticism of Trumps threat to stop making the cost-sharing payments. You know, I really think its incomprehensible that we have a president of the United States who wants to sabotage healthcare in America, make life more difficult for millions of people who are struggling now to get the health insurance they need and to pay for that health insurance, he said on CNNs State of the Union. Prior to heading out for a day at his Virginia golf property, Trump tweeted that Republican senators should press ahead with efforts to scrap Obamacare -- a day after he tauntingly exhorted them not to be quitters in the quest for a legislative victory for him. Don't give up Republican Senators, the World is watching: Repeal & Replace...and go to 51 votes (nuke option), get Cross State Lines & more.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2017 The White House budget director, Mick Mulvaney, on CNNs State of the Union, said it was official Trump administration policy that the Senate should keep working to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, eschewing an August recess if necessary. Senators, he said, need to stay, they need to work -- they need to pass something. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, while acknowledging a responsibility to follow the law -- Obamacare -- also signaled that Trump was not accepting defeat in efforts to get rid of the measure. Our goalas well as the presidents goal, is to put in place a law, a system, that actually works for patients, he said on Meet the Press, adding, You cant do that under the current structure. Facebook

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Frustrated in defeat, Trump threatens healthcare of voters  and lawmakers By Joseph Tanfani Frustrated by the failure of the Obamacare repeal in the Senate, President Trump on Saturday threatened to end federal subsidies for healthcare insurance  for Congress as well as the rest of the country. After seven years of "talking" Repeal & Replace, the people of our great country are still being forced to live with imploding ObamaCare!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017 If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017 If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon! Trump tweeted, fuming about Congress failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which he said was imploding. Such a move could cause havoc and much higher premiums in insurance markets, since many low- and moderate-income people depend on those subsidies to help cover the cost of their policies. Through a series of administrative maneuvers by Congress and the Obama administration, members and their staffs also benefit from those subsidies. Targeting congressional healthcare might score Trump some populist points with his base, but it would likely come at a cost of poisoning his relationship with Congress. Just making the threat on Saturday highlights how far things have eroded between Trump and top GOP lawmakers. And it comes a day after Trump pushed out former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, an establishment Republican who was the GOP congressional leaderships trusted liaison in the White House. Trump actually has a jarring amount of leverage over thousands of congressional staff who depend on employer health care contribution. https://t.co/lRPmrmDIJs  Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 29, 2017 Trumps longstanding threat to let the health insurance plans fail would come with its own political price. The federal government sends about $600 million a month to insurance companies to help cover the cost, and Trump is threatening to cut that off to allow Obamacare markets to collapse. His goal is to pressure Congress to send him a repeal bill, but so far the strategy has failed. The confidence Trump has expressed that if he followed through with the threat the fallout would land not on him but on Democrats, because they created Obamacare, is not widely shared in Washington. If health care collapses, voters will blame Trump and the GOP.



That's what happens when you control the White House and Congress. pic.twitter.com/iEjEGyapAL  Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 29, 2017 Facebook

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Iran condemns new U.S. sanctions, vows to pursue missile program By Ramin Mostaghim Iran defied Washington and condemned new U.S. sanctions over its development of missiles capable of being armed with nuclear warheads. We will continue with full power our missile program, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi told state television IRIB on Saturday, dismissing new sanctions passed by Congress last week as, hostile, reprehensible and unacceptable. Its ultimately an effort to weaken the nuclear deal, Ghasemi said, adding, The military and missile fields  are our domestic policies and others have no right to intervene or comment on them. Iran had agreed to limit its nuclear activities under the 2015 agreement with the U.S. and other world powers in exchange for sanctions relief. Ghasemi argued Saturday that the U.S. had violated that agreement by linking the missile program to the nuclear deal and restricting Iranian banking activities in the U.S. He argued that Irans latest missile tests dont break the agreement because the weapons are defensive. The new wave of pressure on missile projects in Iran will push the Islamic theocracy into a corner, predicted Iran analyst Hojjat Kalashi in Tehran, noting that the government of President Hassan Rouhani, who was reelected in May, is coping with an economic downturn and may step back from the compromise nuclear deal. The new Iran sanctions bill, which also targets Russia and North Korea, was passed by the House and Senate this week. It would penalize those involved in Irans ballistic missile program as well as those who do business with them, impose an arms embargo on Iran and label its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps a terrorist group. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said President Trump will sign the bill. On Friday, the U.S. was joined by Britain, France and Germany in condemning Irans recent launch of a satellite-carrying rocket and warned that it violated a United Nations resolution implementing the 2015 nuclear deal. In a joint statement, they urged Iran to stop developing missiles and rockets capable of carrying nuclear warheads that have a destabilizing impact on the region. In response to a rocket launch Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on subsidiaries of an Iranian company involved in Tehrans ballistic missile program. But Nader Karimi Juni, an analyst close to Rouhanis government, said Iranian leaders dont believe the U.N. and European powers will ultimately back the U.S., and so Iran will not compromise on missile projects and will remain defiant. Facebook

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Trump jabs U.S. mayors, who push back, calling president out of touch with cities By Kurtis Lee (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) President Trump wants police to know that he  not mayors  has their back. Ive met police that are great police that arent allowed to do their job because they have a pathetic mayor or a mayor that doesnt know whats going on, Trump said Friday in a speech before police officers in Brentwood, N.Y. The comments from Trump, who in his address highlighted crime in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, drew applause from some in attendance. In a statement following Trumps remarks, the United States Conference of Mayors, a bipartisan group, released a statement pushing back against the president. The presidents comments today prove how out of touch he is with the realities of life in American cities. Mayors number one priority is  and always will be  the safety and protection of their residents, said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, the groups president. There is no daylight between the mayors of our cities and the uniformed officers who work tirelessly to keep us safe every single day. During the speech Trump called on police and immigration officials to be rough with suspected gang members in cities nationwide. In a recent interview with The Times, former New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who recently launched a $200-million initiative to empower city governments and mayors, stressed the key to good governing is experience as a manager  something, he said, Trump was not. Bloomberg added that the mayors are much more in tune with the needs of residents than the federal government. You got to remember a mayor and the local city council are much closer to the public than the governor and the state legislature, or the president and the federal legislature. So if the public is in favor of something, the local officials know it and they get held responsible, he said. Facebook

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The growing parade of exits under Trump administration By Len de Groot A lot of people have left President Trumps early administration  Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was replaced Friday. The White House communications department has been the scene of many of the recent turnovers as it wrestles to craft a message sometimes at odds with Trumps frequent tweeting. At the National Security Council, there has been a leadership struggle since Michael Flynn resigned in the face of pressure over undisclosed contacts with Russia. One appointee was fired over comments he made at a private function. Others have been removed as Flynns successor, H.R. McMaster, has moved to add loyalists to the council. Here are the most noteworthy departures: Read More Facebook

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Trump urges officers and immigration officials to be rough on animals terrorizing U.S. neighborhoods By Barbara Demick ( (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)) President Trump on Friday called for police and immigration officials to be rough with suspected gang members in order to rid the country of animals he said are terrorizing communities. Please dont be too nice, Trump told police recruits at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood, a heavily Latino suburb of New York City. Like when you guys put somebody in the car and youre protecting their head, you know the way you put the hand  like, dont hit their head, and theyve just killed somebody?  You can take the hand away. He implied that he was satisfied with rough handling of suspects by the police. When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon  you just see them thrown in, rough, he said. Scoffing at calls for what he describes as political correctness, Trump also renewed his pledges to build a wall along the Mexican border. He accused the Obama administration of admitting criminals into the United States. Read More Facebook

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Analysis: In a Washington run by men, two overshadowed Republican women make their point on healthcare By Cathleen Decker In a Washington that has grown demonstrably more testosterone-fueled since President Trumps inauguration, it took two Republican women to secure the end of a long effort to repeal and replace Obamacare. They were the same two women  Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski  who had been excluded from the 13-member working group drafting the Republican bills. Nobodys being excluded based upon gender. Everybodys at the table, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had said of his all-white-males group. In the early hours of Friday, the duo was overshadowed by the more dramatic and unexpected no vote from Sen. John McCain of Arizona. There was reason for the attention lavished on McCain  a war hero and veteran senator returns to the Capitol days after a dire cancer diagnosis. But without both Collins and Murkowskis steadfast opposition, his vote would have been meaningless. Also largely overlooked: Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat who like McCain made an arduous trip to Washington despite her recent diagnosis of late-stage kidney cancer. Social media buzzed Friday with praise for the women senators from many fronts, including from men. But from many women, there was also a sense of familiarity at being ignored or taken for granted. Read More Facebook

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Clinton Foundation donor who was denied a visa settles leak case against the U.S. By Joseph Tanfani A billionaire Nigerian businessman and major Clinton Foundation donor banned from entering the U.S. two years ago on terrorism grounds has settled a lawsuit against the U.S. government. Gilbert Chagoury last year sued the FBI and other government agencies in U.S. District Court in Washington, saying he had been damaged by what he described as improper government leaks to the Los Angeles Times. The Times reported last year that Chagoury had been denied a visa to travel to the U.S. in 2015 on suspicion that he had provided aid to terrorist groups. One document, citing unverified information from an unnamed source, said that Chagoury  who is of Lebanese heritage  had funneled funds to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia and political group designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. Chagoury, an ardent Lakers fan who for decades lived part of the year in Los Angeles, angrily denied that he ever provided funds for terrorism. He said the publicity forced him to sell his Beverly Hills mansion at a loss and caused a bank to close his account. A philanthropist, Vatican ambassador and longtime friend of Bill Clinton, Chagoury once was invited to the White House after contributing to a Democratic get-out-the-vote campaign. He donated at least $1 million to the Clinton Foundation. Emails released last year showed that a Bill Clinton aide pushed Hillary Clintons aides at the State Department to get Chagoury access to top U.S. diplomats. In the settlement filed in court on Friday, the Justice Department said Chagoury has never appeared on the list of Specially Designated Nationals, figures such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers who are generally barred from doing business in the U.S. The government did not grant Chagourys request for a court hearing to dispute the reports that led to his exclusion from the U.S. As I have often said, I have loved America my whole life because it was the land of freedom and justice, he said in a statement, adding that he hopes the agreement will help repair his reputation. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chagoury, who lives most of the time in Paris, has not applied for another visa, said his spokesman, Mark Corallo. Facebook

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Trump ousts Priebus, announces John Kelly as new chief of staff President Trump announced via Twitter on Friday that he had named retired Gen. John Kelly, head of the Department of Homeland Security, as White House chief of staff, replacing Reince Priebus. I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff. He is a Great American....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017 ...and a Great Leader. John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017 I would like to thank Reince Priebus for his service and dedication to his country. We accomplished a lot together and I am proud of him!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017 Read More Facebook

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Rep. John Delaney of Maryland to run for president By Associated Press Rep. John Delaney of Maryland says hes running for president, instead of governor or reelection, in 2018. Delaney, a Democrat, announced his plans in a statement Friday. The politically moderate banking entrepreneur is in his third term in Marylands 6th Congressional District, which includes western Maryland and a large section of Montgomery County, the states largest county. The 54-year-old is worth roughly $90 million and is one of the Houses wealthiest members. He spent about $2 million to help finance his first House race in 2012. His consideration of a possible Maryland gubernatorial bid months ago quickly drew interest in his House seat. Several candidates already have expressed interest in running for the seat. Facebook

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McCain set to head back to Arizona to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments By Kurtis Lee (Shawn Thew / EPA) Sen. John McCain is headed home. Hours after McCain spurned his party and voted in opposition to a GOP measure to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the senators office announced Friday he will return to Arizona to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments for his recent diagnosis of brain cancer. McCain, 80, was found this month to have a brain tumor known as a glioblastoma. He is scheduled to return to Washington in September after his initial treatments. The glioblastoma  an aggressive type of cancer  was discovered when McCain had a blood clot removed from above his left eye. According to the Mayo Clinic, which is overseeing McCains treatment, glioblastoma is difficult to treat. After returning to Washington this week and voting in favor of opening Senate debate on repeal, McCain was among three Republicans early Friday morning to vote in opposition to a so-called skinny bill that would repeal the ACA, known as Obamacare. The move by McCain, who has served in the Senate since 1987, has drawn the ire of members in his own party and some in the right-wing media. Facebook

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McCains surprise vote doomed GOP healthcare bill, but did it open the door for Senate bipartisanship? By Lisa Mascaro Sen. John McCain is usually happy to spar with reporters, but he ducked into an elevator ahead of the Senate healthcare vote late Thursday without saying a word about how he would vote. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, though, already knew the answer. The Democratic leader had been talking with the Arizona Republican all week  four, five times a day  ever since McCain returned to work after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Earlier in the week, McCain had dramatically salvaged the stalled GOP bill by voting to begin debate, only to go on to deliver a blistering speech against his own party leaders partisan, closed-door process in crafting it. Weve been spinning our wheels on too many important issues because we keep trying to find a way to win without help from across the aisle, he told them. Were getting nothing done. Schumer and McCain have been longtime colleagues, a kind of frenemies who seem like throwbacks to an earlier era of Congress. They worked together on big legislation, including the 2013 immigration overhaul  grand ideas that seem all but impossible in todays Congress. They had plenty to discuss. About the Senate, about it working again, about working together, and about how this bill was so poor for the American people, Schumer said. And he knew that, so did half his colleagues, but he had the courage to vote no. The moment stunned the Senate when McCain stepped up to cast his vote  a single down-turned finger  dooming the healthcare bill. Audible gasps filled the galleries, which were packed with onlookers. But his vote  along with no votes from Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska  did more than shelve the long campaign to repeal the Affordable Care Act. It cracked open a new divide in the Senate, which seems to be split not so much between Republicans and Democrats, but by those senators who want to work together versus those stuck in hardened partisan tribes. Read More Facebook

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U.S. hits Iran with more sanctions in response to satellite launch By Associated Press The United States is slapping Iran with new sanctions in response to its launch of a satellite-carrying rocket into space this week. The sanctions target six Iranian subsidiaries of the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group. The Treasury Department says that group is central to Irans ballistic missile program. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the sanctions illustrate deep U.S. concerns about Irans missile testing and other actions. He says the U.S. will continue countering Irans ballistic missile program, including Thursdays provocative space launch. The U.S. has said that launch flouted a U.N. Security Council resolution because the technology is inherently designed to be able to carry a nuclear payload. The sanctions come as the Trump administration continues debating its Iran policy and whether to scrap the 2015 multilateral deal that limits the development of Irans nuclear capabilities. Facebook

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Political betrayal. McCain vote against Obamacare repeal draws ire from conservative writers By Kurtis Lee (Cliff Owen / AP) Though John McCain was one of three Republicans who helped Democrats squash the legislation to repeal Obamacare, conservative media is homing in on the Arizona senator for spurning his party in the healthcare vote. Here are some of todays headlines: John McCain: Traitor to the conservative cause (Washington Times) McCain, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, has been a staunch opponent of Obamacare, but in the end he could not support the so-called skinny repeal measure put forward by his colleagues in the Senate. In this piece, Cheryl K. Chumley, jabs McCain for his vote. For American voters expecting their Republican-dominated House, Senate and White House to honor their years of repeal promises and actually, well, repeal Obamacare, McCains thumbs-down was a face-slap moment that will be remembered in history as a textbook classic case of political betrayal, she writes. McCains odd definition of leading the fight to stop Obamacare (National Review) This article is simple  its a quick compare-and-contrast of McCains recent comments versus his vote on Friday. Last year, during a tough reelection, McCains campaign ran a television ad that boasted the senator is leading the fight to stop Obamacare. But last night his office put out a statement noting the GOP Senate bill did not offer a replacement to actually reform our health care system and deliver affordable, quality health care to our citizens. The author of this piece, Jim Geraghty, concludes: Its very difficult to characterize McCains decision as leading the fight to stop Obamacare. Thats more like leading the fight to keep Obamacare in place while you continue to look for a replacement that you like better. John McCain burns Mitch McConnell sides with Democrats (American Spectator) When McConnell, the majority leader, stood on the Senate floor Friday after the bills failure, he was clearly annoyed. McCains no vote had led to applause moments earlier from Democrats. In a move thats no surprise to anyone, John McCain voted against the embarrassingly named Skinny Repeal, voted against his party (or is it his party?) and voted to keep Obamacare going as is, writes Melissa Mackenzie. Facebook

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Meet the two female GOP senators who opposed the healthcare bill from the start By Kelcey Caulder Sen. John McCain shocked Republicans and Democrats alike with his vote early Friday morning to kill the latest Republican effort to repeal Obamacare. But McCain was not the only Republican to play a role in blocking the final version of the overhaul bill. Two female Republican lawmakers, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, also voted against the bill. Collins has opposed repeal and replace efforts from the beginning, and Murkowski has also been critical of much of what the Senate Republican leadership has proposed. Collins said it would be a big mistake for Republicans to pass legislation without trying seriously to work with Democrats to reach bipartisan solutions. Instead, she called for both parties to work together to improve the healthcare system. Murkowski and Collins were the first from their party to come out against repealing the ACA without having new, replacement legislation on the table. In statements posted on Twitter, Collins, who voted against the same proposal in 2015, said she did not think it was constructive to repeal the law without a replacement, while Murkowski encouraged senators from both sides of the aisle to work together to address healthcare issues. I will vote no on the motion to proceed to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement. I voted against this same proposal in 2015. pic.twitter.com/Szuke5zYNL  Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) July 18, 2017 My recent statement on the Senate Healthcare Process: pic.twitter.com/j19Ok1KwWw  Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) July 18, 2017 The two senators were also the only Republicans to vote against opening debate on repeal of Obamacare earlier this week. Their opposition to Republican healthcare efforts has drawn a lot of criticism within the party, some of it expressed in vulgar, even violent terms. Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter said in an interview Wednesday with MSNBC: Somebody needs to go over there to that Senate and snatch a knot in their ass. A Texas congressman said the female senators narrowly avoided an Aaron Burr-style showdown with him. President Trump publicly rebuked Murkowski on Twitter for her vote. Senator @lisamurkowski of the Great State of Alaska really let the Republicans, and our country, down yesterday. Too bad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017 Trump has not criticized Collins by name for her vote, but warned Tuesday at a rally in Ohio that any senator who votes against repeal and replace is telling America that they are fine with the Obamacare nightmare, and I predict theyll have a lot of problems. Facebook

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The current Senate GOP effort to repeal Obamacare is dead. Now what? By Noam N. Levey (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) The sudden collapse of the GOPs Senate campaign to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act does not mean the issue disappears. Significant problems and challenges remain, particularly for Obamacare insurance marketplaces. The defeat increases the odds that Congress will begin to look at a more limited approach to shore up the current law and stabilize markets. The GOPs repeal effort may return, but in the meantime heres a look at what a temporary fix might look like: Read More Facebook

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Paul Ryan responds to the failure of the GOP healthcare bill By Associated Press House Speaker Paul Ryan said Friday that hes disappointed and frustrated by the failure of Republican healthcare legislation in the Senate. But Ryan said in a statement that we should not give up after promising for years to repeal and replace Obamacare. We were sent to Washington to fulfill the pledges we made to our constituents, the statement said. While the House delivered a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, unfortunately the Senate was unable to reach a consensus. At the same time, the speaker said that overhauling the tax code is at the top of the Houses list of priorities. He pledged to pursue historic tax reform in the fall. He issued his statement as the House prepared to leave Washington for its annual August recess. The House passed legislation repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act in May. But after a failed vote early Friday in the Senate, its not clear if GOP leaders will be able to resuscitate the efforts. Facebook

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Economic growth rebounded to 2.6% annual rate in second quarter By Jim Puzzanghera The Port of Los Angeles (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) The U.S. economy rebounded this spring after a weak winter, expanding at a solid 2.6% annual rate as consumers picked up their spending pace, the Commerce Department said Friday. Total economic output, also known as gross domestic product, for the April-through-June period was in line with analyst expectations for a bounce-back based in part on pent-up demand. The economic growth rate was more than double the 1.2% pace in the first quarter. That figure was revised down Friday from an earlier estimate of 1.4%. After the winter blues, the economy has rebounded, said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at Cal State Channel Islands. Read More Facebook

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Never mind healthcare. President Trump has made slogans great again By Mark Z. Barabak ( (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)) His promise to repeal and replace Obamacare has crashed and burned. Tax reform hasnt gotten far. The White House is in disarray, and big plans to rebuild the nations infrastructure have hit a brick wall. But there is one unimpeachable triumph President Trump can point to: Hes made great again great again. The Make America Great Again 2016 campaign slogan  limned in block letters and emblazoned on countless cherry-red ball caps  has been reimagined, repurposed and cheekily appropriated for countless pitches and commercial products. Apart from the now-familiar caps, mercantile options include aprons, beanies, beer cozys, coffee mugs, hoodies, leggings, swimsuits, T-shirts, water bottles and, for the special someone, Donald Trump Make America Great Again Womens Booty Shorts. But MAGA, as the president short-hands the phrase in Twitter posts, is also popping up in places having little or nothing to do with politics: on a catwalk at New Yorks Fashion Week, high in the sky promoting classical music in Phoenix, on the menu at an Italian restaurant in Atlanta. Read More Facebook

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If Adam Schiff is Californias next U.S. senator, he might want to thank President Trump By Mark Z. Barabak (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) The road to elected office can be long and winding and is not always paved with the best of intentions. Some politicians  think of the Kennedys or the Bush family  are born to the trade. Others are borne by tragedy. Former Santa Barbara Rep. Lois Capps succeeded her husband when he died of a heart attack. Former New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy was spurred to run when her husband was killed and her son gravely wounded in a mass shooting on the Long Island Rail Road. Typically, though, the ascension is more methodical, one rung after the next, often with a pinch of right-place, right-time fortune thrown in for good measure. Lately that bit of luck has visited itself on Adam B. Schiff, in the form of Russian meddling and a president who hurls tweets like poison thunderbolts. Read More Facebook

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Kris Kobach says Trumps voter fraud panel will keep voter data secure. Some states arent buying it By Kurtis Lee (Jessica McGowan / Getty Images) After weeks of legal battles and bipartisan pushback from top election officials nationwide, President Trumps voter fraud commission has renewed a message for the states: Its safe to pass along your data about voters. Individuals voter registration records will be kept confidential and secure throughout the duration of the commissions existence, Kris Kobach, vice chairman of the commission, wrote in a letter sent late Wednesday to all 50 secretaries of state. Even so, by Thursday, much of the criticism that greeted an earlier request from the commission was repeated by election officials and activists, who have expressed concerns about privacy and have called the panel both a sham created by an insecure president and a tool to suppress votes. Trump  without evidence  has repeatedly alleged that 3 million to 5 million illegal votes were cast in last years presidential election. (Trump prevailed in the electoral college, while Democrat Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by about 3 million votes.) Read More Facebook

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President Trump said our guys are rougher than the violent gang MS-13. What did he mean? By Brian Bennett (SAUL LOEB / AFP ) When President Trump said this week his administration is going after bloodthirsty criminal gangs like the notoriously violent MS-13, he added a menacing flourish: Our guys are rougher than their guys. The comment raised concerns that Trump was instructing immigration agents to use excessive force when going after suspected gang members. Not so, Trumps top spokeswoman said on Thursday. I think the president means that our guys are going to do whatever it takes to protect Americans, protect American lives, protect our borders, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in response to a question about what Trump meant by rougher. Trump wants people to do their jobs, not go beyond the scope of what they should do, Sanders said. Trumps comment came during a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Tuesday night. We are throwing MS-13 the hell out of here so fast, he said, boasting that his administration is liberating towns and cities from gangs. And, well, I will just tell you this, were not doing it in a politically correct fashion, Trump added. Were doing it rough. Our guys are rougher than their guys. Trumps comment was meant to boost morale among immigration officers looking to arrest and deport gang members, said one senior administration official, who would speak only without being identified to discuss the presidents thinking. As part of Trumps crackdown on immigrants in the country illegally, he has instructed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to target a suspected gang member for deportation before that person has been convicted of a crime, said ICE director Thomas Homan. Homan joined Sanders at her daily briefing at the White House. The two spoke to preview the presidents Friday trip to Long Island, N.Y., where he will tout his administrations efforts against MS-13 and other gangs. For Trump, who grew up in Queens, recent headlines about MS-13 violence in central Long Island have hit close to home. In April, four young men were found hacked to death in a park in Central Islip, N.Y., a senior administration official told reporters Thursday night. He is a New Yorker and he knows New York, the administration official said. It is absolutely a personal issue. And he knows whats happening in New York -- and its not just Long Island -- is a tragedy and there are communities like that all across America. Facebook

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Boy Scouts chief apologizes for presidents political rhetoric at national Jamboree. Trump wont By Brian Bennett President Trump wont apologize for a surprisingly political speech this week to Boy Scouts that provoked a backlash for his attacks on his predecessor, his election rival, dissident Republicans and the news media. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered that word on Thursday, just after a top executive of the Boy Scouts of America issued an apology on behalf of the organization for allowing the political rhetoric to occur during Trumps address Monday evening at the National Scout Jamboree held in West Virginia. Michael Surbaugh, the organizations chief executive, in a statement extended his sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree. He noted that the groups invitation to the president to speak was in keeping with a long-standing tradition since 1937; eight of 11 incumbent presidents have attended. But, Surbaugh wrote, we have steadfastly remained non-partisan and refused to comment on political matters. We sincerely regret that politics were inserted into the Scouting program. At the White House, however, Sanders indicated that neither she nor Trump saw any reason to apologize, or considered his remarks in any way out of line. I was at that event and I saw nothing but roughly 40,000 to 45,000 Boy Scouts cheering the president on throughout his remarks, Sanders said. I think they were pretty excited that he was there and happy to hear him speak to them, she added. Sanders said she had not seen the statement from the Boy Scouts chief. During his rambling 38-minute speech to the Scouts in Glen Jean, W.Va., Trump criticized Hillary Clinton and President Obama and singled out congressional Republicans who were not in lockstep with him on healthcare. He got much applause and supportive chants from his audience, and even credited the Scouts -- who are too young to vote -- for being among the millions who elected him. But almost immediately, the Boy Scouts organization was inundated with protests from former Scouts, parents and others angered by the presidents partisan words. Facebook

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Trumps words kind of hurtful, Sessions says, but he has no plans to resign By Joseph Tanfani President Trumps scathing criticisms have been kind of hurtful, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions said Thursday, even as he again signaled that he wants to stay on the job. He wants all of us to do our job, and thats what I intend to do, Sessions said in an interview with Tucker Carlson of Fox News. Separately, Sessions told the Associated Press that it hasnt been my best week  for my relationship with the president. He made the comment in El Salvador, during a visit to highlight joint efforts to take on the MS-13 gang. The attorney general said he hadnt met with Trump but looked forward to talking to him about it. If he wants to make a change, he has every right, Sessions said. I serve at the pleasure of the president. Ive understood that from the day I took the job. But, he said, I believe with great confidence that I understand what is needed in the Department of Justice and what President Trump wants. I share his agenda. The comments were the first this week on the subject from Sessions, who has been subjected to harshly critical tweets from Trump for three days. The president has called him weak and said he wasnt aggressive enough in going after leakers. Last week, after Trump criticized Sessions in a New York Times interview, Sessions told reporters he planned to stay on as long as it was appropriate. Sessions has seemed to redouble his attempts this week to win back the presidents favor. He announced another crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities that dont cooperate with immigration enforcement and on Friday traveled to El Salvador to highlight arrests of MS-13 gang members, both favorite topics of the president. The Justice Department also plans to address leaks next week. Sessions said his department was stepping up leak investigations. Some people need to go to jail, he said. The president has every right to ask the DOJ to be more aggressive on that, and we intend to. On Wednesday evening, after Anthony Scaramucci , Trumps incoming communications director, falsely claimed in a tweet that hed been the victim of a leak, Sessions chief spokeswoman released a statement agreeing that leaks are undermining the government and promising to aggressively pursue leak cases wherever they may lead. Trump has made it clear that he is most angry with Sessions for recusing himself from supervising the ongoing investigation into his administrations ties with Russia. But Sessions defended that decision. I understand his feeling about it because this has been a big distraction for him, he said on Fox. Im confident I made the right decision, the decision thats consistent with the rule of law, and an attorney general who doesnt follow the law is not very effective at leading the Department of Justice, he said. In the interview, Sessions reached back to Trumps campaign slogan to praise the president as a strong leader. He is determined to move this country in the direction that he believes it needs to go to make it great again, he said. Sessions has received considerable support in recent days from conservative Republicans, including many of his former Senate colleagues. On Thursday, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) went to the Senate floor to discourage Trump from moving against Sessions, saying that the Senate would not allow the president to make a recess appointment that would bypass the normal confirmation process. A recess appointment would allow Trump to appoint a person who could serve without confirmation until the start of 2019. Such appointments can only be made if the Senate formally takes a break, which senators of both parties have said they will avoid in order to prevent Trump from avoiding confirmations. If youre thinking of making a recess appointment to push out the attorney general, forget about it, Sasse said. The presidency isnt a bull, and this country isnt a china shop. 1:55 p.m.: This post was updated with additional remarks by Sessions and remarks by Sen. Ben Sasse. 5:50: This post was updated with additional quotes from Sessions interview. Facebook

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For Trump White House, cable television becomes the venue for intramural sniping By Noah Bierman President Trump and his aides love to complain about leaks from within the White House. But on Thursday, the infighting was out in the open. The incoming communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, in a morning phone call broadcast on CNN, compared the West Wing to a fish that stinks from the head down, implying that White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus is responsible for at least some of the leaks. Later, Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to come to Priebuss defense and say whether Trump has full confidence in his chief of staff. Another Trump advisor, Kellyanne Conway, used a prison analogy for the broader backstabbing among aides, telling Fox News that her West Wing colleagues were using the press to shiv each other. While the knifings might suggest a new level of chaos in a White House known for it, the style is all Trump. As a businessman, he has a history of fostering rivalries among his employees. He always did sort of like competition, backstabbing, infighting kind of stuff, said Barbara Res, who spent nearly two decades as a top executive in Trumps real estate business. He set people up to do that. Trump led the charge this week, using his Twitter account and an interview with the Wall Street Journal to ridicule his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, one of Trumps first and most prominent campaign supporters. By Thursday, both Priebus and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson were seeing their fates publicly debated, less than a week after Sean Spicer was forced out as press secretary after months of speculation and presidential slights. The Priebus intrigue was amplified by Scaramucci on Twitter and in the CNN interview. He blamed Priebus for leaking Scaramuccis personal financial disclosure forms -- which are publicly available -- and suggested that Trump encouraged Scaramuccis offensive in a phone conversation the two men had just before the aide dialed into CNN. When Sanders was asked about the Scaramucci-Priebus dustup, she said that the president likes healthy competition on his staff. The president likes that kind of competition and encourages it, Sanders said. The result is a White House that increasingly suggests the presidents former way of life. As the star of a reality TV show, he fomented internal competition and firings among apprentices; their cable television appearances, meanwhile, recall the confessionals familiar to reality show fans, in which characters confide directly to the camera their anger or enmity toward others on the show. The primary attribute for a successful tenure in the Trump White House is masochism, tweeted Rick Wilson, a longtime Republican operative and Trump critic. The repeated evidence of dysfunction and the high level of insecurity among Trumps core aides help explain the White Houses inability to focus on its agenda. Trumps critics voiced suspicions on Twitter that the public staff blow-up was a deliberate distraction from the struggle in Congress to pass a healthcare bill, as well as from the ongoing investigations into potential collusion between his presidential campaign and Russia and the backlash to Trumps surprise Twitter announcement on Wednesday that transgender people will be barred from military service. But those issues also were being heavily covered on cable news. The stories that were overshadowed were those Trump was trying to promote: a deal his administration helped strike with Foxconn to build a production facility in Wisconsin, possibly creating thousands of new jobs, and nascent efforts to craft a tax overhaul plan. Facebook

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Democrats criticize financial industry backgrounds of two Trump bank regulator nominees By Jim Puzzanghera Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) Senate Democrats on Thursday criticized the financial industry backgrounds of President Trumps nominees for two key banking regulatory positions, arguing they would not protect the interests of average Americans. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and others sharply questioned Joseph Otting, the former chief executive of Pasadenas OneWest Bank, and investment fund manager Randal Quarles during a confirmation hearing by the Senate Banking Committee. Trump nominated Otting to be the comptroller of the currency, a powerful regulator of national banks. Quarles has been tapped to be the Federal Reserves vice chairman for supervision, who is in charge of the Feds oversight of the nations largest bank holding companies and other regulatory efforts. The two are expected to be friendlier to the banking industry than recent Democratic appointees. Read More Facebook

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Senator warns Trump there will be holy hell to pay if he fires Sessions By Joseph Tanfani A prominent Republican Senator issued a blunt warning to President Trump not to interfere with the Russia investigation, saying any effort to get rid of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters Thursday that there will be holy hell to pay if Trump fires Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, a favorite of conservatives who represented Alabama in the Senate for 20 years. Grahams warning was the sternest yet from Senate Republicans to Trump about the potential consequences of firing either Sessions or Mueller. The chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, Sen. Charles Grassley, (R-Iowa), issued his own warning in a tweet Wednesday night, saying his committee would not take up a nomination of a replacement attorney general this year, which is required before the Senate can vote to confirm. Everybody in D.C. Shld b warned that the agenda for the judiciary Comm is set for rest of 2017. Judges first subcabinet 2nd / AG no way  ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) July 27, 2017 Starting with an interview in the New York Times last week and continuing with a three-day barrage of critical tweets, Trump has raged at Sessions for his decision to recuse himself from supervising the investigation into the Russian attempts to influence the election, and into whether anybody involved in Trumps campaign participated in the scheme. Trump also has bitterly complained about Mueller, whom he has accused of leading a witch hunt, and Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod J. Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller and who is now supervising the probe. Justice Department regulations say that only the attorney general, or in this case Rosenstein acting in his place, can fire the special counsel. If Sessions were gone, Trump could try to appoint a replacement willing to carry out the firing. Graham said he will introduce a bill next week that would require court review if anyone tried to fire a special counsel who was investigating the president. I think Ill get all the Democrats and I hope to get a good number of Republicans, he said, adding that the enacting such a law is not just for Trump but for any future president. We need a check and balance here. Graham said Trumps campaign to marginalize and humiliate the attorney general is not going over well in the Senate or among conservatives. He also said Trump, who has called on Sessions to investigate his former rival Hillary Clinton, has gone way beyond what is acceptable in a rule of law nation. This is not draining the swamp, he said. What hes interjecting is turning democracy upside down..taking 200-year-old concepts that were a nation of laws and not men and trying to turn it upside down. Sen. Graham: "Any effort to go after Mueller could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency." https://t.co/6Pd60LrGRU pic.twitter.com/EXBOwBC35C  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 27, 2017 Facebook

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Watch live: White House news briefing with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders Facebook

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Trump administration threatens to retaliate against Alaska for GOP senators Obamacare repeal vote, news site reports By Noam N. Levey The Trump administration threatened to block federal aid to Alaska in an effort to bully one of the Republican senators opposed to the current Senate GOP push to roll back the Affordable Care Act, according to a report by the Alaska Dispatch News. The news site reports that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Wednesday called Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan with a warning that Murkowskis vote had put Alaskas future with the administration in jeopardy. According to the report: Sullivan said the call from Zinke heralded a troubling message. Im not going to go into the details, but I fear that the strong economic growth, pro-energy, pro-mining, pro-jobs and personnel from Alaska who are part of those policies are going to stop, Sullivan said. I tried to push back on behalf of all Alaskans.  Were facing some difficult times and theres a lot of enthusiasm for the policies that Secretary Zinke and the president have been talking about with regard to our economy. But the message was pretty clear, Sullivan said. The threat followed disparaging comments made by the president about Murkowski, including a Twitter attack Wednesday morning Senator @lisamurkowski of the Great State of Alaska really let the Republicans, and our country, down yesterday. Too bad! Trump wrote. Murkowski dismissed the presidents attacks in an interview with MSNBC. Were here to govern. Were here to legislate, she said. Were here to represent the people who sent us here. And so every day shouldnt be about campaigning. Every day shouldnt be about winning elections. How about just doing a little bit of governing around here? Thats what Im here for. Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins were the only Republicans who voted against a procedural motion Tuesday to begin debating legislation rolling back the 2010 healthcare law, often called Obamacare. Sullivan, also a Republican, voted in favor of advancing the bill. Murkowski has urged a more open process to develop the legislation, which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) has put together behind closed doors without committee hearings or input from Democrats. A spokeswoman for Zinke did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Facebook

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Iran angered by report that Trump wants additional nuclear inspections By Shashank Bengali Iran responded angrily Thursday to reports that the Trump administration would push for inspections of military facilities to ensure Tehran is complying with the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran will not succumb to further pressure, Hamid Reza Taraghi, a hard-line analyst who is close to Irans leadership, told The Times. Taraghi did not say whether Iran would refuse inspectors access to military facilities but insisted the Islamic Republic was complying with the agreement, which required Iran to shelve its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. President Trump has said he wants to tear up the deal and doesnt believe Iran is complying, although his administration certified it was in a report to Congress this month. The Associated Press reported Thursday that Trump was pushing for inspections of suspicious Iranian military sites, either to prove that Iran was violating the deal or force it to refuse, which could cause the agreement to collapse. Iranian officials have argued in the past that inspections of military sites would be off-limits. But under the agreement it signed with the United States and five other world powers, Iran agreed to the so-called Additional Protocol, which allows U.N. inspectors limited access to any site where illicit nuclear activity is suspected. Taraghi, a former lawmaker, said the Additional Protocol allowed for snap inspections and that international inspectors had installed closed-circuit cameras in all nuclear-related facilities. They have access to everything going on here on the ground, Taraghi said. What else do they want to know? It was not immediately clear what military sites the Trump administration was seeking to have inspected, or whether it had evidence that Iran was breaching the terms of the deal. U.N. inspectors monitoring Irans compliance had not requested access to military facilities as of July 25, according to a paper published Thursday by Mark Fitzpatrick, executive director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Washington. If US has good evidence of #Iran violations, then an inspection request is warranted, Fitzpatrick tweeted. A request designed to trap Iran into saying no isnt. Facebook

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Top U.S. general says Pentagon will not change policy on transgender troops until White House acts By W.J. Hennigan The nations senior military officer said Thursday that there will be no modifications to Pentagon policies for now despite President Trump social media posts declaring a ban on transgender troops in uniform. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote in a memo to commanders and senior enlisted leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines that the military will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect. Dunford said Pentagon policy on transgender troops would not change until the White House has issued Trumps directive to Secretary of Defense James Mattis through formal channels  not on Twitter  and the secretarys office issues guidance on implementation to the service chiefs. Its unclear when that might happen. The unusual memo appeared intended to calm widespread confusion and concern at the Pentagon, which was blindsided when Trump wrote Wednesday that Pentagon would not accept or allow transgender troops to serve in any capacity. The presidents posts appeared to reverse a year-old Pentagon policy that allowed transgender soldiers to openly serve for the first time, and to seek sex reassignment surgery, hormone therapy and other treatments at military hospitals. Trumps surprise announcement not only marked a retreat for the Pentagon push to bar gender-based discrimination. It also was an about-face for Trump, who had repeatedly vowed his support for the LGBT community during the campaign last year. The posts raised questions about the fate of thousands of transgender service members, including some deployed overseas, and whether they would be kicked out of the military under Trumps directive. Dunfords memo appeared to address those fears, at least for the short term. There will be no modifications to the current policy until the Presidents direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidance, he wrote. In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect, he added. As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions. In his tweets, Trump said he had decided to bar transgender troops because the military cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Experts said neither justification was accurate or fair since the expected medical costs were negligible and transgender troops have been openly serving for the past year without disruption. The sweeping declaration drew rebuke from war veterans and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy groups, who vowed to challenge Trump in federal court if self-identified transgender service members are forced out of the military. VoteVets, a liberal military veterans advocacy group, said Thursday it had collected more than 20,000 signatures from veterans, military families and other supporters to oppose the ban. Facebook

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Analysis: Trumps war against elites and expertise By Cathleen Decker (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images) When President Trump campaigned this spring at the Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson, one part of his predecessors approach got a special endorsement. It was during the Revolution that Jackson first confronted and defied an arrogant elite. Does that sound familiar? Trump asked to laughs from his audience. When Trump ally and National Rifle Assn. President Wayne LaPierre teed off six weeks later on Americas greatest domestic threats, he cited not homegrown terrorists but what he termed the three most dangerous voices in America: academic elites, political elites, and media elites. The rhetoric against elites came from two men who would seem to be card-carrying members of the club: LaPierre made more than $5 million in 2015, the most recent year for which his compensation was publicly released. Trump lived before his inauguration in a gold-plated home in the sky above New Yorks Fifth Avenue, a billionaires luxurious domain. Yet for Trump and his allies, a war on elites has been central to the campaign which put him in the presidency and has maintained the loyalty of his core voters. Trump has taken particular aim at entities that could counter his power, which has helped stoke the ardor of his political backers. Read More Facebook

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Top Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway says colleagues using the press to shiv each other By Noah Bierman White House staffers continued their angry campaign against leaks -- and each other -- as top advisor Kellyanne Conway used vivid language in a Fox interview Thursday to denounce colleagues who are using the press to shiv each other in the ribs. The comments came shortly after Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director, delivered his own attack on leakers -- all but blaming Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff -- in an interview on CNN. If the Trump White House at times resembles a reality show, cable television has become the confessional booth where the players vent their anger at each other. That dynamic was on vivid display Thursday morning. Kellyanne Conway: "Now, there are leaks, and then there are people using the press to shiv each other in the ribs. Thats different." (Fox)  David Wright (@DavidWright_CNN) July 27, 2017 Conway largely backed Scaramucci without explicitly taking sides in his public war against Priebus, whom he publicly suggested leaked Scaramuccis financial disclosure forms to the press. The forms are public and available through a request. We just have to cut down on people thinking its cute and its popular and it somehow enhances their resume and their portfolio for later on to curry favor with folks who are more interested in covering the style and not the substance here, Conway said of those who leak to he press. Asked specifically whether she agrees with Scaramucci that Priebus leaked the financial forms, Conway passed on the opportunity to defend Priebus. Leakers are easier to figure out than many think, she said, perhaps ominously given Scaramuccis threats to fire suspects. This West Wing is a very small place. Facebook

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Warfare in the West Wing breaks into the open as Scaramucci takes aim at Priebus By Brian Bennett A knife fight for control of the West Wing broke into the open Thursday morning as President Trumps new communications director Anthony Scaramucci lashed out at White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus in a televised interview, accusing Priebus of leaking and standing in the way of Trumps agenda. The fish stinks from the head down, I can tell you two fish that dont stink, OK, and thats me and the president, Scaramucci said, calling in to CNNs morning show New Day. I dont like the activity thats going in the White House, he said. Scaramucci, who had said the day he was named to the White House job that he and Priebus were like brothers, drastically amended that in the interview, comparing the two of them to the brothers who, in the Bible, were the characters in the first murder. Some brothers are like Cain and Abel, other brothers can fight with each other and get along. I dont know if this is reparable or not  that will be up to the president, he said. Scaramucci on his relationship with Reince: "Some brothers are like Cain and Abel." Uh, Cain killed Abel. https://t.co/UQ8F9HiXLx  Dan Merica (@merica) July 27, 2017 President Trump has a track record of encouraging rivalries among people who work for him. Scaramucci said he had spoken with Trump for 15 minutes to go over what he was going to say before he called CNN, implying his warning to Priebus carried Trumps backing. Trump, Scaramucci said, has given me his full support and his full blessing. When Scaramucci was hired, Trump told him he would report directly to the president, bypassing the chief of staff, and setting up the clash that played out Thursday on national television. If you want to talk about the chief of staff, we have had odds, we have had differences. When I said we were brothers from the podium, thats because were rough on each other, Scaramucci said. The tension between Scaramucci and Priebus flared after Politico published a story Wednesday about Scaramuccis publicly available financial disclosure form showing he still stands to profit from his stake in an investment firm he founded. The disclosure form was available to the public because Scaramucci had been nominated earlier this year for a job at the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., and the forms become public 30 days after they are filed. But Scaramucci, in a tweet Wednesday night, seemed to imply Priebus had leaked the form to make him look bad, or knew who did, and called for an FBI investigation. He later deleted the tweet, apparently after being informed that the form was not leaked. Over the last five days, Scaramucci said to CNN, he has done a major amount of work interviewing assistants to the president and communications staff. He also had dinner with Trump on Wednesday night in addition to his phone conversation with the president Thursday morning. The two of them want everyone to know we have a very, very good idea of who the leakers are, who the senior leakers are, in the White House, he said. Scaramucci took aim specifically at Priebus for leaking details about internal White House discussions and maneuvers. If Reince wants to explain that hes not a leaker, let him do that, Scaramucci said. Scaramucci appears to be giving voice to Trumps frustration with people in the White House the president believes are slowing down policy efforts, even though Trump has shown a pattern of repeatedly stepping on his own efforts on healthcare, job creation and other initiatives with unplanned tweets on topics such as Russia, transgender troops and unfounded allegations of voter fraud. There are people inside this administration who think its their job to save America from this president, Scaramucci said. Its not their jobs ... to rein him in or do things to him that slow down his agenda. People in the Washington are back-stabbers, Scaramucci said. Im more of a front-stabbing person. Facebook

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Scaramucci tweets, then deletes, confusing statement that referred to information in Politico report as a leak By Colleen Shalby In a now deleted tweet, incoming White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci sent out a confusing statement Wednesday night, addressing information reported earlier by Politico as a leak. The article reported on Scaramuccis financial disclosures. According to Politico, those details had been filed with the Office of Government Ethics, so its unclear what  if anything  was leaked information. Scaramuccis tweet further confused as it ended with White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus Twitter handle. Just before those characters, he noted that he intended to contact the FBI and the Justice Department. Some speculated that Scaramucci was implying that Priebus was behind the leak. But in a new tweet roughly two hours after the original, he tweeted what appeared to be a clarification, correcting a headline of news site Axios. Wrong! Tweet was public notice to leakers that all Sr Adm officials are helping to end illegal leaks, he tweeted, ending it  once again  with Priebus handle. Wrong! Tweet was public notice to leakers that all Sr Adm officials are helping to end illegal leaks. @Reince45 pic.twitter.com/AB0reseuX1  Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) July 27, 2017 Five days ago, Scaramucci, responding to a question about reported tensions between him and the chief of staff, said he and Priebus are a little bit like brothers, where we rough each other up a little, which is totally normal for brothers. 10:15 p.m. PT: This post was originally published at 8:52 p.m. It was updated with information from Scaramuccis new tweet. Facebook

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Senate Judiciary chair fires off warning to Trump about Sessions By David Lauter Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, fired off an unmistakable warning to President Trump on Wednesday evening: Dont even think about trying to get a new attorney general confirmed this year. Trump has been publicly tormenting Jeff Sessions, appearing to want to push the attorney general into stepping down from his job. But in a tweet, Grassley made it clear that if Trump pushed Sessions out, he would have to live with an acting attorney general for a long time. Everybody in D.C. Shld b warned that the agenda for the judiciary Comm is set for rest of 2017. Judges first subcabinet 2nd / AG no way  ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) July 27, 2017 Any nominee for attorney general would have to pass through the Judiciary Committee before getting a confirmation vote, so Grassleys no way would be a formidable barrier. Grassley has been an administration loyalist on nearly all issues so far, but as a veteran senator, he has a strong independent streak and, as previous administrations have found, he can be implacable if angered. His message comes as conservative allies rally support for Sessions. Several other Republican senators have spoken out in favor of the attorney general, a former colleague who was well liked during his years as senator from Alabama. Senate Democrats already have said they would use procedural motions to prevent the Senate from formally going on a recess this summer, blocking Trump from making a recess appointment that would bypass the Senate. Republicans used similar maneuvers to block recess appointments by President Obama. If Sessions were to step down and not be replaced, Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein would become acting attorney general. Trump has been critical of Rosenstein as well as Sessions, so that option presumably would not appeal to him. Facebook

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Under fire from Trump, Sessions should stay focused on his job, White House says By Joseph Tanfani (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) In spite of a daily barrage of Twitter attacks from President Trump, the White House press secretary said Wednesday that Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions should stay focused on performing his duties as the nations top law enforcement officer. You can be disappointed in someone and still want someone to continue to do their job, Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday, hours after Trump criticized Sessions for the third straight day  this time for not replacing acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe. Sessions was one of Trumps earliest and most loyal supporters, but the relationship has turned icy as Trump continues to seethe about Sessions decision to step aside from supervising the investigation into alleged Russian interference with last years election. Sessions was at the White House for meetings Wednesday, the second time this week hes visited the West Wing, but once again did not see Trump, Sanders said. Sanders did not clear up the main question surrounding Trumps strategy of publicly battering the attorney general: If the president is so unhappy, why doesnt he simply fire Sessions? Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Wednesday that Trumps apparent attempt to humiliate Sessions into quitting was a sign of weakness. To me, weakness is when you play around the edges, and you dont use the power you have, Graham said in an interview on CNN. Sanders said that Trump wants Sessions to continue to lead the Department of Justice. He wants him to focus on things like immigration, leaks and a number of other issues, she said. One of Trumps public complaints has been that Sessions hasnt been aggressive enough in pursuing leakers of classified information. In fact, the Justice Department is expected to announce next week some leak prosecutions. On Tuesday, Sessions also announced new measures to cut off some federal funds to so-called sanctuary cities that dont cooperate with immigration enforcement, another favorite issue for the president. But Sanders added that, at this point, a leak investigation would not salvage Sessions standing with Trump. I dont think thats the nature of the relationship, she said. In two tweets Wednesday morning, Trump criticized Sessions for not replacing McCabe, whose wife ran for office as a Democrat in Virginia in 2015. He suggested that McCabe had a conflict of interest in his duties as deputy director of the FBI during the investigation of Hillary Clintons handling of classified emails as secretary of State, although McCabe did not move into that job until months after his wifes campaign was over. McCabe took over the bureau as acting director when Trump fired James B. Comey in May. Sanders also declined to answer a question on why Trump did not fire McCabe himself, saying only that Trump looked forward to seeing his nominee as FBI director, Christopher Wray, be confirmed by the Senate soon. Facebook

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Trump, on Twitter, announced a ban on transgender service members. Now the military has to figure out what he means By Brian Bennett (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump surprised even the Pentagon on Wednesday morning by his unexpected announcement, via Twitter, of a ban on transgender service members. The military has not had a chance to decide how to put such a ban into effect, acknowledged Trumps top spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, as she fielded numerous questions on the topic later from White House reporters. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who was on vacation, wasnt informed until Tuesday that Trump had decided to bar transgender service members from serving in any way. Sometimes you have to make a decision and once he made a decision, he didnt feel it was necessary to hold that decision, Sanders said. The president concluded, based on consultations with his national security team, that allowing transgender individuals to serve erodes military readiness and unit cohesion, she said. White House and Pentagon officials had been discussing details of medical coverage for transgender service members on active duty. But Trump went far beyond that with his series of tweets that the military will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the military. It will be up to the Defense Department to determine the specifics of the policy, including whether active-duty transgender service members will be kicked out of the military, Sanders said. Estimates of the number of current service members who are transgender range from 1,300 to about 16,000. The implementation policy is going to be something that the White House and Department of Defense will have to work together to lawfully determine, Sanders said. I would imagine the Department of Defense will be the lead on that, she added. Trumps tweets overshadowed other announcements he had planned to make Wednesday about adding manufacturing jobs to the economy and donating $100,000 of his second-quarter paycheck to the Department of Education to support science and math education. The president has expressed concerns since this Obama policy came into effect, Sanders said. She added that the president considered allowing transgender people in the ranks is a very expensive and disruptive policy. At one point, an exasp
There are times when Bill Esparza wants to write about brunch, but he knows he cant because if he doesnt feature food by Latino chefs, nobody else will.

When there are Mexican chefs representing their own cuisine and hosting their own television shows, Esparza said, thatll be when he writes about other food.

Until then, the John Muir Middle School special-education teacher will continue to spread his wealth of knowledge about the thriving Mexican cuisine in Los Angeles through his blog Street Gourmet LA and Los Angeles Magazine.

The Hollywood residents latest venture includes his first published book, L.A. Mexicano, Recipes, People and Places, which features chefs, restaurants and recipes for breakfast plates, tacos, ceviche and cocktails.

He describes his book as a focused sequel to Gustavo Arellanos Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. Arellano, an author and editor-in-chief of the Orange County Weekly Magazine, contributed the forward for Esparzas book, which discusses four styles of Mexican cuisine in Los Angeles: street food, regional Mexican, Mexican American and Alta California.

John Muir Middle School teacher Bill Esparza signs his new book, L.A. Mexicano, Recipes, People and Places, for Matthew Mizel at Friends and Family Restaurant, on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles on Saturday, July 8, 2017. (Raul Roa / Burbank Leader)

Stories include why the restaurant Casa Vega in Sherman Oaks was revolutionary when it described its food as Mexican and not Spanish. He also shares the history behind why dishes are served with rice and beans.

L.A. has a strong and long history with Mexican-American people, Esparza said. In non-Latin neighborhoods, you couldnt have a Latino restaurant. Theyd call themselves Spanish cuisine. When El Cholo and El Coyote [Cafe] first opened, it was called Spanish cuisine even though it was Mexican cuisine.

His journey in being considered as one of the countrys leading experts on Mexican food began when he connected with his family in Aguascalientes, Mexico, after his fathers death. His father, who faced racism while living in Texas, forbade Esparza from learning or speaking Spanish.

The goal was to assimilate  but Esparza was worried he wouldnt have a connection with his family.

I was sitting on top of a pyramid [in Mexico], reflecting and realizing Id been missing out on a big part of who I am, he said.

Since his moment of realization on top of a pyramid at Teotihuacan, he began visiting Mexico much more often. He tried new foods, learned from local chefs and began his own blog on cultural cuisine.

Huevos Rancheros, as featured in Bill Esparzas new book, L.A. Mexicano, Recipes, People and Places (Raul Roa / Burbank Leader)

By 2008, though, he realized he needed to focus solely on Latin-American cuisine. Hes learned Spanish and Portuguese and has visited every state in Mexico.

I decided this was just the way to go  I felt like there was a future in this, he said. Today, I feel, along with Gustavo, that there isnt really anybody else that has any knowledge of the cuisine that has a national voice.

Its become his mission to spread the word, he said, and L.A. Mexicano comes at a time when young chefs are pushing the envelope.

Were at the beginning of what I feel Latin-American and Asian cuisine will take the place of what French and Italian food once held, he said. This book is right here when all of this is happening  reading L.A. Mexicano is like saying you were there when all of this was happening.

priscella.vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella
Hayden Werbe stood on the rocks watching the waves build as the tide rose Tuesday morning at the Wedge, Newport Beachs famed surf spot at the end of the Balboa Peninsula.

The 20-year-old Placentia resident was biding his time, waiting for the perfect set before strapping on his fins and hitting the ocean.

Thats the one, he said, quickly pulling up his black wetsuit before charging into the waves to join a dozen bodysurfers already in the water.

Werbe, who has been bodysurfing at the Wedge for four years, said he braved the weekday morning traffic to go to the coast when he heard about the sizable surf expected Tuesday.

Its definitely worth it, he said. It looks pretty fun right now.

Waves reached up to 10 feet Tuesday morning at the Wedge and were expected to build throughout the day and into Wednesday. Surf in other parts of Newport Beach and in Huntington Beach is expected to range from 4 to 8 feet, according to the National Weather Service.

The larger-than-normal waves are the result of a large swell pushed toward south-facing Orange County beaches by Tropical Storm Eugene, which had been classified as a hurricane before losing strength off the coast of Mexico.

The surf Tuesday wasnt huge for the Wedge, where waves have been known to tower more than 20 feet. But it was enough to lure surfers and spectators to the beach for the day.

Newport Beach lifeguards at the Wedge left their tower and moved closer to the shore to get a better look at the action. A lifeguard boat patrolled the water nearby.

On Tuesday afternoon, lifeguards said they hadnt encountered any emergencies, despite the large waves and strong rip currents.

It shouldnt overwhelm us, lifeguard Battalion Chief Brent Jacobsen said earlier. Its a significant surf event, but its nothing were not prepared for.

A bodysurfer and a bodyboarder catch the same wave Tuesday morning at the Wedge in Newport Beach. (Kevin Chang/ Daily Pilot)

Onlookers made their way to the sand to watch and cheer the bodysurfers. A mist of ocean water provided the audience with a taste of the action without setting out into the waves.

Lori Stanley, 40, of Sacramento groaned as a big wave slammed a surfer, sending him up the beach in the white froth.

That must have hurt, she said.

Waves at the Wedge are known for putting on a captivating  and sometimes dangerous  show when swells roll in.

The popular surf break has left generations of daredevils and other enthusiasts with stories of broken bones and concussions. But that doesnt stop the allure of the wild waves.

Its a dangerous break, Werbe said. If you dont know what youre doing, thats when you get hurt.

Over the weekend, a different south swell brought elevated surf to local beaches as crowds in the hundreds of thousands sought a reprieve from toasty temperatures inland. Those factors led to more rescues than normal, lifeguards said.

Newport Beach lifeguards made 207 rescues during the weekend, according to Jacobsen.

Lifeguards in Huntington Beach also reported more than 200 rescues.

Laguna Beach guards made 96 rescues Saturday and 211 on Sunday, officials said.

Newport guards sought to chat with beachgoers over the weekend before they entered the water to warn them of potentially dangerous swimming conditions.

They plan to continue the tactic this week.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
Good morning. Its Wednesday, July 12. Heres whats been happening around O.C.

TOP STORY

Todd Spitzer  a longtime rival of Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas  this week announced his campaign for district attorney in the 2018 race. The announcement has been more than a decade in the making and sets up one of Orange Countys most anticipated political battles. Los Angeles Times

AROUND THE COUNTY

Bishop loses appeal of order not to sell Newport church

A disciplinary board for the Episcopal Church has upheld a lower panels order blocking the bishop of the Los Angeles diocese from completing a planned sale of the St. James the Great church property in Newport Beach. Daily Pilot

Navy uniform from raid that took down Osama bin Laden is on display at Nixon Library

In its first public display, the uniform belonging to Robert J. ONeill  a former U.S. Navy SEAL who served in the SEAL Team 6 raid that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011  will be exhibited in the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum until July 31. TimesOC

BUSINESS

Anaheim prepares for Disney fanatics massive confab

Starting Friday, the Anaheim Convention Center will host D23, the three-day convention for Disney superfans. Los Angeles Times

OPINION

Column: ACLU wins at law but loses at diplomacy

Most people in Laguna Beach probably support the ACLU. So its been difficult to reconcile the ACLUs recent lawsuit against the city for its handling of the homeless. Daily Pilot

This is your brain on Disneyland: A Disney addicts quest to discover why he loves the parks so much

My name is Todd and I am addicted to Disney theme parks. Los Angeles Times

COURTS

Under lawsuit threats, Coast Community College District trustees consider switching election system

Coast Community College District trustees this month will consider moving from at-large elections to voting based on districts after receiving two recent lawsuit threats. Daily Pilot

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

With O.C. Fair fast approaching, heres your guide to Farm Fresh Fun

This time around, the Orange County Fair plans to honor the countys agricultural history with the theme Farm Fresh Fun. Daily Pilot

Laguna Beachs 85th art festival opens with an upgraded exhibition space

The Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach may have pulled off its most ambitious work of art yet: a complete renovation of its exhibition space in just nine months. Los Angeles Times

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to dailypilot@latimes.com.
Brazils Senate approved a set of controversial labor reforms that will strip workers of unemployment insurance, extend working hours and reduce vacation time.

The reforms, which are one of the pillars of President Michel Temers government, were approved Tuesday night and still require Temers signature to become law.

The proposed changes have angered workers across the country and sparked a backlash.

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I cant even bring myself to call it a reform, because its a real deconstruction of workers rights, said Fernanda Pinheiro Brod, an attorney and professor of labor law at Univates University in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

It is possible to support the unconstitutionality of these changes, which should be done by labor lawyers and judges, from the perspective that human rights are governed by the principle of non-retrocession and that workers rights also belong to the category of human rights.

Protesters have been taking to the streets for months in an attempt to block the reforms, which would have them working longer hours, losing unemployment insurance in circumstances other than being laid off and seeing their break time cut to a minimum of 30 minutes. In Brazil that means nobody will get more than that. The minimum used to be a full hour.

The reforms would also make union participation optional, as well as loosen rules related to the negotiation of collective agreements between unions and employers.

I dont want to have to pay a union tax either, but I will not support the dismantling of labor justice, said Silas Fiorotti, an anthropology researcher at the University of Sao Paulo. The intention [of the reforms] is to reduce the number of labor lawsuits against employers. They just want to impose criteria that make it so that workers dont have free access to labor justice.

Other aspects of the reforms have also spurred labor law specialists to voice concerns about the fight against slave labor, a battle they expect will be made much more difficult under the new laws.

In May, Judge Delaide Arantes of Brazils Superior Labor Court opened the Brazil Forum conference in Oxford, England, by saying that the proposed reforms do nothing to prohibit slave labor.

She also criticized the lack of debate on the subject, particularly in a moment of political vulnerability and of crisis of legitimacy and representation, and noted that the bill that passed in the lower house included 20 articles. After incorporating proposed amendments, the bill that passed in the Senate ended up with more than 100 articles, many of which were never previously discussed.

According to the Walk Free Foundation, Brazil has about 155,000 individuals in slave labor situations. The Labor Ministry has said that nearly 50,000 workers have been freed from slavery in the country in the last 20 years. The majority of people who end up working in slavery conditions in Brazil are in the mining, construction, agriculture and livestock sectors. Those living in urban areas are often immigrants from countries such as Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay and Haiti who are promised a better life, but end up sewing clothes for retail stores and fashion labels in exchange for room and board in subpar conditions.

Data from the statistics bureau IBGE show that Brazils unemployment rate has been steadily rising since 2014, reaching 13.3% in the quarter ending in May of this year. The countrys economic and political crises have exacerbated the situation, and faith in Temer, who has vehemently defended the labor reforms, has dropped to an all-time low. His approval rating was at 7% in the latest polls, the lowest of any Brazilian president in nearly 30 years.

Temer is also facing corruption charges for allegedly accepting a bribe of $152,000 from Joesley Batista, whose family owns the meat-packing giant JBS, in exchange for helping the businessman sort out a problem with a power plant. A decision is expected Friday on whether the charges will advance to the Supreme Court.

According to Labor Minister Ronaldo Nogueira, Temer is expected to sign the reform bill Thursday. He is, however, expected to put forward a provisional measure to make some changes to the reforms after they become law. Lower house Speaker Rodrigo Maia said he will not allow a vote on such a measure.

If approved by Temer as expected, the reforms will take effect in November  120 days after being published.

Langlois is a special correspondent.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was found guilty of corruption Wednesday in the first of five trials facing the popular politician.

A federal judge sentenced the former leader of Latin Americas biggest country to nine years and six months in prison after his conviction Wednesday. He will remain free while the decision is appealed.

Lula was convicted of accepting $1.2 million in bribes from contractor OAS, which prosecutors said were used for the purchase and renovation of a luxury penthouse apartment in the seaside town of Guaruja. Prosecutors said that in return Lula helped the firm win contracts with state-run oil giant Petrobras.

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The verdict by Judge Sergio Moro, who is known for taking a tough stance on politicians and entrepreneurs involved in Brazils billion-dollar corruption scandal known as Lava Jato, or Car Wash, will be analyzed by the 4th Federal Regional Court, a standard practice. The court takes an average of a year and a half to review sentencing decisions.

Moro will also preside over one of Lulas other four Lava Jato-related trials. The other three will be tried in the Federal Court of Brasilia.

This is the highest-profile conviction to date related to the widespread graft investigation, which has seen several politicians and well-known figures in business fall from grace for their involvement in the sweeping corruption scheme.

They include impeached lower house Speaker Eduardo Cunha, who is serving a sentence of 15 years and four months for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, and former Rio de Janeiro Gov. Sergio Cabral, who was sentenced to 14 years and two months in prison on charges of corruption and money laundering.

Lula, who was president from 2003 to 2011, is considered the countrys most popular politician and was seen as the top candidate for the 2018 elections in polling company Datafolhas June poll.

Langlois is a special correspondent.

UPDATES:

12:30 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with Times reporting.

This article was originally published at 11:55 am.
Only a few months after graduating from college, Bakari Henderson, a 22-year-old aspiring business entrepreneur, was planning to launch an environmentally and cost-friendly clothing line. That thirst for new experiences took Henderson and two friends to Greece where he planned to do a photo shoot for the business.

But Friday his trip took a dark turn, leaving his family asking whether a simple incident  setting beers on a table  really did lead to his death. Early that morning Henderson, who is from Austin, Texas, was beaten to death by a mob of at least 10 people outside a bar in Laganas, a popular tourist destination known for its nightlife on the island of Zakynthos.

Eight suspects  six Serbs, one Greek and a British citizen  have been charged in connection with Hendersons death and are scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

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The circumstances surrounding the attack are unclear, but local media reported that the trouble began after Henderson set two beers on a table occupied by the Serbs. Other reports suggested his attempt to take a selfie with a bar employee somehow triggered an altercation.

A State Department spokesman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs said in an email Tuesday that Greek police in Zakynthos notified the U.S. Embassy of Hendersons death. Our U.S. Embassy in Athens is providing consular assistance. We offer our sincerest condolences to his family and friends, the statement said.

Now, friends and family are left wondering how this could have happened to a young man whom they describe as extremely kind.

There is still a sense of disbelief. We are not sure when it will truly feel real, said Jan Richardson, Hendersons aunt and family spokeswoman, on Tuesday.

Richardson said she is thankful that in late May, 17 people in their family traveled to Tucson to see Henderson graduate from college. He attended the University of Arizona on a full academic scholarship and earned a bachelors degree in business finance and entrepreneurship.

He was more concerned planning an itinerary for us so we could have a good time than wanting to celebrate his success, Richardson said.

In a Facebook post, Hendersons friend Daniel Brown said that his new life motto is BLB, or Be Like Bakari. Ill tell myself that every morning as a constant reminder to stay humble, pursue my dreams and never get rattled by the little things life has to throw my way, Brown wrote.

Some with ties to Greece or who work in the tourism industry fear Hendersons death could paint the country as an unsafe tourist destination.

Its tragic that this young man was murdered, said Gregory Pappas, the founder of New York-based Greek America Foundation, a charitable group that organizes service project trips for vulnerable groups in Greece. But crime isnt part of this culture. Greece is safe.

Nicholas Kontis, a travel journalist, was born in Greece and frequently travels there and gives advice to people planning trips to the country. Greece is going through trying times and this incident sheds a bad light on tourism in Greece, Kontis said. Will people stop coming? No. It is an isolated incident, but nonetheless Greece cant have this.

The debt-stricken country relies heavily on tourism as a major source of revenue. Tourism experts say that Greece is on track in 2017 to experience one of its biggest increases in tourism in the last 10 years. About 25 million people visit Greece annually, and it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.

In 2012, the U.S. Embassy in Athens issued a security message to U.S. citizens to be aware of unprovoked harassment and violent attacks following a rise in racist violence directed toward persons who, because of their complexion, are perceived to be foreign migrants. Henderson was African American, though the motive for the attack was unclear.

People havent expressed any concern, said Peter Vlitas, senior vice president of Travel Leaders Group, an international travel company that organizes trips for people to Greece and other destinations. Vlitas said that his daughter is vacationing in Greece, and that he is confident shes safe. One tragic incident shouldnt paint an entire country in a bad light.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad

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Chicagoan Bill Hillmann hit the headlines this week when he was gored for the second time while running with the bulls in Spain.

His moment in the spotlight came with its fair share of online criticism, especially after he declared following his most recent goring in the buttocks Saturday that he intended to run again before the festival is over.

But reached in his Pamplona sickbed by Chicago Inc., Hillmann, a 35-year-old writer who says he has completed more than 300 bull runs, has a cheerful message for his haters: Youre boring, pathetic ... fat dumb people who vote for Donald Trump and have no interests except McDonalds and malls.

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And thats not all. America by and large is full of idiots, Hillmann added, calling cowboys and rodeo performers exceptions to his sweeping judgment. Americans watch too many Disney films and are out of touch with what it is to be human. ... The most interesting thing that happened to them this year is probably somebody shouted at them because their dog was barking.

By contrast, Hillmann said, the Spanish people are the most incredible, good, beautiful people. Thanks to his notoriety from running at so many bull-running festivals across Spain, he said, I walk down the streets here and I am beloved. They are grabbing me and taking my photo. The best runners in Spain are at my bedside.

Hillmann, who checked himself out of hospital after 36 hours and admits his wife is a little mad at him, said hed come to love and appreciate the culture of the balletic art of bull-running after more than a dozen years. (He was first gored in 2014.) He said that, himself excepted, Americans should not be running  I was an idiot when I first came to Spain, but now it is a part of me.

The appeal of bull-running, he explained, is more than the simple thrill of danger, and is rooted in the primeval interaction with bovine, big-horned beasts.

Human evolution took a turning point when early man learned to run large game into traps, providing a steady supply of meat that made our brains bigger and our stomachs smaller.

It changed us deep down, he said. Theres a subconscious call from our ancient past to do this.

Janssen writes for the Chicago Tribune. Follow him on Twitter: @kimjnews
China on Tuesday dispatched members of its Peoples Liberation Army to the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti to man the rising Asian giants first overseas military base, a key part of a wide-ranging expansion of the role of Chinas armed forces.

The defense ministry said on its website that a ceremony was held at a naval pier in the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang presided over by navy commander Vice Adm. Shen Jinlong.

It said the personnel would travel by navy ship but gave no details on numbers or units. Photos on the website showed naval officers and marines in battle dress lining the rails of the support ships Jingangshan and Donghaidao.

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China says the logistics center will support anti-piracy, U.N. peacekeeping and humanitarian relief missions in Africa and western Asia. It says it will also facilitate military cooperation and joint exercises as the PLA navy and other services seek to expand their global reach in step with Chinas growing economic and political footprint.

Djibouti is already home to the center of American operations in Africa, Camp Lemonnier, while France, Britain, Japan and other nations also maintain a military presence in the small but strategically located nation.

Multinational anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden that China joined in 2008 have also given its navy ready access to the Mediterranean, and, in 2011, it took the unprecedented step of sending one of its most sophisticated warships together with military transport aircraft to help in the evacuation of about 35,000 Chinese citizens from Libya.

In 2015, China detached three navy ships from the anti-piracy patrols to rescue Chinese citizens and other foreign nationals from fighting in Yemen. The same year, it took part in its first Mediterranean joint naval exercises with Russia.

ALSO

Indias highest court temporarily lifts a nationwide ban on cattle slaughter

What led to beating death of 22-year-old U.S. tourist in Greece? Police search for answers

Indias highest court temporarily lifts a nationwide ban on cattle slaughter
A cholera outbreak in Yemen that has infected more than 300,000 people and caused more than 1,700 deaths in the last few months is propelling the war-ravaged nation to the brink of catastrophe, health and humanitarian officials say.

Security concerns amid a severe shortage of safe drinking water are limiting what can be done to help fight the often-fatal bacterial disease, which causes severe vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration.

The World Health Organization said this week issues related to security and other challenges caused it to suspend plans to deliver doses of the oral cholera vaccine to Yemen. In addition, officials said that because so much of the country has been exposed to the disease, providing clean water may be a more effective path to helping people.

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The nations Ministry of Health, in consultation with the WHO and other partners, decided to focus less on vaccines and instead on helping people access clean water.

The situation has evolved so rapidly that vaccines are not the priority tool to use now, Fadela Chaib, a spokeswoman for the Geneva-based WHO said in an email Wednesday.

The main challenge remains identifying and reaching the areas and the people where the cholera outbreak has not yet fully emerged, she said. Vaccinating during an ongoing outbreak is not advised.

Chaib acknowledged that the security, logistical and also political challenges are immense but said that the destinations to which the vaccines might be rerouted were still under discussion.

The outbreak started last fall, accelerated in April, and in June, the WHO declared that Yemen was facing the worst cholera outbreak in the world.

The estimated 313,538 suspected cholera cases in the country means that 1 in 86 Yemenis is suspected of having the disease, said Iolanda Jaquemet, a spokeswoman for the Near East and Middle East regions at International Committee of the Red Cross.

In a typical cholera outbreak, about 20% of the cases would be considered severe, meaning they would need an aggressive medical response, Jacquemet said. In Yemen, 40% of cases are severe.

Cholera is endemic in Yemen, where there was an outbreak during the last six months of 2016. About 26,000 cases were reported and 112 people died, Jaquemet said.

This is no comparison to the current situation, she said.

Boys are treated for a suspected cholera infection at a hospital in the Yemeni capital, Sana. (Hani Mohammed / Associated Press)

The humanitarian situation in Yemen was catastrophic even before the cholera outbreak.

Its basically a country that is devastated, that is being brought to its knees, Jaquemet said.

Two years of conflict between pro-government forces and the predominantly Shiite Muslim Houthi rebels have laid the groundwork for unhealthy conditions, aid workers said.

Before the war, Yemen was already the poorest country in the Arab world. It relied on imports of food, medicine, fuel and aid to survive. With the war, less than half the imports are flowing in, including less than one-third of all medicines.

According to Jacquemet, civil servants including doctors in public hospitals and clinics and municipal workers charged with tasks such as trash disposal have not been paid since at least late last summer. Heaps of garbage cover streets.

Many shopkeepers have had to close their stores because of lack of business and farmers cant till their field because of bombings. Only 45% of healthcare structures, such as pharmacies and hospitals, are still operational, aid workers said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has documented at least 160 attacks against such structures. Electricity and fuel are scarce and, according to the United Nations, at least 16 million people do not have access to clean water.

There has been basic collapse of infrastructure, said Simon Cowie, Yemen country director for the International Medical Corps, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit humanitarian organization. The needs are astronomical. Add cholera to this, and its dire.

Cowie, who spoke via Skype from Sana, the Yemeni capital, described a landscape strewn with damaged buildings and destroyed bridges, and where airstrikes shattered the silence at night.

Out of Yemens population of 27 million people, up to 19 million are in need of some kind of humanitarian aid and up to 9 million depend on such assistance to survive, Jaquemet said, citing U.N. data.

This is huge, this is massive, she said. You have one-third of the country that depends on humanitarian aid. You have hundreds of thousands of kids who are severely acutely malnourished. The country is edging closer to famine by the day.

Chaib, the WHO official, said the organization would continue to focus on good care for those who do fall ill.

The WHO was focusing on setting up treatment centers and oral rehydration therapy corners, distributing oral rehydration solution, providing training to health workers and working with communities to help them understand how to prevent and respond to cholera, she said.

The Red Cross has shipped in massive quantities of chlorine, about 300 tons of intravenous fluids, antibiotics and oral rehydration kits. Red Cross engineers have been working to refurbish water systems in several cities.

The International Medical Corps is helping to truck water, distributing water purification tablets and has deployed a network of community health volunteers to help educate Yemenis about cholera, among other efforts.

Its because of the response of the international aid community inside Yemen that things are not worse than they already are, because the local health authorities are not in a position to face such a totally massive unprecedented outbreak, Jaquemet said.

ann.simmons@latimes.com

For more on global development news, see our Global Development Watch page, and follow me @AMSimmons1 on Twitter
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Beautiful South stars Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott have announced a Leicester gig as part of their tour of the UK and Ireland this autumn.

The duo will be performing at De Montfort Hall on Monday, December 4, and tickets will go on sale this Friday, July 7.

Heaton and Abbott will release their third album, Crooked Calypso, on Virgin EMI, later this month - and some, if not all of these, will get an airing during the tour.

They will also delve deep into Pauls 30 year back catalogue as a songwriter and will perform classic songs by The Beautiful South and the Housemartins.

Paul Heaton is one of the UKs most successful songwriters, with 10 million album sales under his belt.

He first came to public attention in the early 80s as front man of Hull-based indie poppers The Housemartins (the same group that spawned Norman Fatboy Slim Cook).

In 1988, Heaton formed The Beautiful South - who released 10 hugely successful albums - but took a break in 2001 and released his first solo album Fat Chance. The Beautiful South called it a day in 2007 citing musical similarities.

Jacqui Abbott was lead vocalist in The Beautiful South from 1994 to 2000 and she sang many of their signature hits including Rotterdam, Perfect 10, Dont Marry Her and Dream A Little Dream.

Paul Heaton went on to release two further solo albums, The Cross-Eyed Rambler (2008) and Acid Country (2010).

In 2011, Heaton wrote a musical called The 8th based on the Seven Deadly Sins and asked Jacqui to sing one of the parts. They have since released two acclaimed albums as a duo, What Have We Become (2014) and Wisdom, Laughter and Lines (2015).

- Tickets for the De Montfort Hall gig will go on sale at 9.30am on Friday. Tickets are 28.50 and will be available from the Ticketmaster and Gigs and Tours websites.
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Leicester Tigers head coach Matt OConnor returned to one of his old stomping grounds to bolster his back-row options for the Premiership and European season ahead.

The arrival of No.8 Sione Kalamafoni from Gloucester had long been touted before it was confirmed at the start of June, but the signing of Leinster and Ireland back-rower Dominic Ryan had not previously been flagged up.

OConnor knows what he is getting with the 27-year-old, who came through the ranks at Leinster - Tigers head coach worked with him during his spell at the helm in Leinster.

Though Ryan can play across the back row he is predominantly known as a flanker - and he adds to what is already a very competitive area of the Leicester squad.

The likes of Mike Williams, Brendon OConnor, Luke Hamilton, Mike Fitzpatrick and Tom Croft are among the established back-rowers, with England under-20s player Will Evans swiftly building a reputation and Harry Thacker also more than capable of putting up his hand as a flanker.

Ryan, a well-built operator at 6ft 4ins and 16st 10ib, made his Leinster debut in 2009 going on to make 113 appearances and scoring 18 tries.

He has won representative honours with Ireland Under-20s, the Wolfhounds and has one senior cap, making his debut against Georgia in 2014.

OConnor backs Ryans experience and his ability to win collisions on both sides of the ball, while Tigers new back-row recruit is looking forward to working again with OConnor, who clearly made an impression on the player during his stint in Ireland.

Dublin-born Ryan said: I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Leinster and Irish rugby over the last seven years, but it is time for a new challenge in my career and Im delighted to sign for Leicester Tigers, as they are one of the great clubs in European rugby.

Im also excited to work with Matty again because he had such a great impact on my career at Leinster.

Ryan brings to Leicester plenty of experience, while there is every reason to believe that there are plenty more miles on the clock once he adapts to his new surroundings at Welford Road.
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Any plans to close Leicesters Central Fire Station would be bitterly opposed, Sir Peter Soulsby has said.

Leicesters mayor, who is also vice chairman of the combined fire authority, has stressed the need to keep fire crews based at the 90 year-old premises in Lancaster Road.

The matter was raised by concerned councillors in a recent meeting after staff at the station were briefed last month on proposals that the historic station could be closed and fire engines based at a blue light hub shared with the police at Mansfield House Police Station in the city centre.

Chief fire officer Steve Lunn outlined the possibility of the move, as well as transferring moving appliances from Western station, in New Parks, to Beaumont Leys police station and from Eastern station, in Hastings Road, to Keyham Lane police station, in Hamilton.

Mr Lunn said sharing premises with the police could save the fire service 400,000 a year without cutting front line 999 cover.

He said he had discussed the idea with chief constable Simon Cole and the proposal would be part of a report on a wide ranging review of fire service property that will be presented to the fire authority in September.

There is unused space at Central Fire Station including an office suite which has been offered for lease without success so far.

However Sir Peter said told councillors: No proposals have been considered by the fire authority and I know of none being scheduled for any future discussion.

If there were proposals to have significant reconfiguration, particularly that even considered the closure of Central Fire Station I can assure members of the council that are our representatives there, myself included, would be bitterly opposed to such proposals.

Sir Peter said the Grenfell Tower tragedy was a reminder that fire response needed to be available and immediate in the city centre.

Castle ward councillor Patrick Kitterick said he could not see how fire engines could be accommodated at Mansfield House Police station.

Sir Peter added: one of the reasons there is spare capacity at Central Fire Station is changing patterns of service and the way in which fire crews are available in the 21st Century as opposed to the early 20th Century when this fire station was built.

That does leave questions about how you use the building better but it ought not put into question the presence of adequate cover in that station, from that station.

He suggested there was the opportunity for movement in the other direction with back office police staff transferring to Lancaster Road.
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Vietnamese inspired restaurant group Pho has revealed when and where it is to open its Leicester branch.

We reported last month that the popular restaurant - which already has 23 branches across the UK - was hoping to come to Highcross later this year.

Now, the group has announced that it will be opening in the autumn, in the 2,100 square foot site formerly occupied by the Red Hot World Buffet restaurant, on the corner of Shires Lane and High Street.

Pho's arrival in Leicester will be its first opening in the East Midlands.

The restaurant chain was established in 2005 by British husband and wife team Stephen and Juliet Wall, who, after quitting their jobs, travelled the world and found themselves inspired by Vietnamese cuisine.

The restaurant is named after Vietnam's national dish, pho, an aromatic and nutritious rice noodle soup served with a side of fresh herbs.

In addition to pho, the restaurant will serve an array of Vietnamese delights, from crispy and colourful salads to fragrant wok-fried curries.

General manager at Highcross, Jo Tallack, commented: We're excited to confirm the addition of Pho restaurant to Highcross.

"The new restaurant marks a further enhancement to the centres growing dining offer and brings a new cuisine for our visitors to enjoy.
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A burglar who ransacked a house and stole an array of possessions was jailed for three years and nine months.

Ronan Settersfield, 24, was convicted by a jury of breaking into the property in Blue Fox Close, near Great Central Way, Leicester, in December.

The defendant used a piece of concrete to smash his way into the home when the occupants were on holiday.

Numerous possessions were taken, including a vacuum cleaner, furniture, clothing, shoes, boots, two televisions, perfume, make-up, a jewellery box, a kettle, toaster, two DVD players, speakers, an Apple MacBook, an iPod, candles, rosary beads, alcohol, food and even a salt shaker.

Lucky Thandi, prosecuting, told Leicester Crown Court that an internal bedroom door was kicked off its hinges and another was forced open with a blunt implement taken to the scene.

(Image: Google)

Sentencing, Judge Philip Head said: In December last year you damaged an alley door leading to the rear of a house and used a piece of concrete to break a French window.

Pictures show the place was comprehensively ransacked.

It was a dreadful scene that the owners returned to.

Property worth 2,600 in monetary terms was stolen including items of sentimental value, such as a rosary; a gift from the deceased mother of one of the victims, 21 birthday presents and leaving presents for another occupant when she was going away to university.

The judge said: As the practised burglar you are, you brought along something like a jemmy to use - theres no evidence that any item was used from within the house.

He told the defendant: You have a dreadful record, its your third house burglary, in addition to two attempted house break-ins and two commercial burglaries.

Theres an entrenched history of dishonesty.

The public is entitled to a rest from you.

Your case is seriously aggravated by your record.

Im told you want to turn your life around and you have a partner.

Its up to you whether those good thoughts actually survive once youre out and about again.

(Image: Mike Sewell)

Yvonne Kramo, mitigating, said that Settersfield had attended a special school and was a vulnerable adult, who had also been the victim of a recent assault, which had left him needing nerve and tendon repairs to cut hands and requires physiotherapy.

His mother and partner are concerned about his welfare, said Ms Kramo.

At his trial, Settersfield, of Dominion Road, Glenfield, denied the offence claiming he was not responsible for the break-in.
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Get City transfer latest, team news, match updates and analysis delivered straight to your inbox

There are still around 50 days left of the transfer window but the signings, rumours and speculation show no signs of stopping.

Leicester City are hoping to complete the signing of Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho, despite reports of Tottenham potentially hijacking the move.

Riyad Mahrez is still keen to leave, despite being away with the squad on their Austrian training camp ahead of their trip to Hong Kong for the Premier League Asia Trophy.

(Image: Plumb Images/Getty)

Two Leicester players already have departed, with Ron-Robert Zieler joining Stuttgart on a permanent deal while Bartosz Kapustka has gone out on loan to Freiburg.

Mercury writers Rob Tanner and James Sharpe discuss all these stories as they bring you right up to date with what is going on in Leicesters transfer window.

Have a listen below, watch it above, and dont forget to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes .

If you enjoy it, make sure you give it a good rating.
The offer of the HPV vaccine that aims to prevent cervical cancer has been refused by up to half of teenage girls but the HSE is to mount a big campaign to reverse a dramatic fall.

Laois councillors have also been told by the HSE that 30% of children are not being vaccinated against measles with the MMR vaccine.

Vaccination rates were raised with the HSE management at the recent Dublin Mid Leinster Health Forum in Tullamore. The HSE was asked if it would indicate if there any plans/proposals to improve the uptake of immunisation rates in the region.

Dr Brenda Corcoran, Consultant in Public Health Medicine at the HSE National Immunisation Office replied on behalf of HSE. She gave details of the decline in the take up among the target group - girl in their 1st year secondary school.

"There has been a decline in uptake of HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine for the past two academic years. It decreased from 87% in 2014/15 to 72% in 2015/16, and provisional data indicates that only 50% of girls received the 1st dose in Sept/Oct 2016.

"This decline is related to unsubstantiated concerns about HPV vaccine safety and is of concern to all involved in cancer prevention. All international and national bodies including the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency continually report there is no scientific evidence of an increase in any long term medical condition in vaccinated girls," said the doctor.

The consultant said a comprehensive communications plan targeting those more likely to refuse the Gardasil vaccine is on-going.

"As the next cohort of girls is to be offered the vaccine from September 2017, additional activities (mainstream media, social media and advertising) are planned in the coming months," she said.

Dr Corcoran added that the 2nd round of HPV vaccine has been completed in schools with mop up clinics planned over the summer.

"There was no marked decrease in numbers of girls receiving their second dose of vaccine and there was an estimated 1-5% increase in the number of girls presenting for their 1st dose HPV vaccine," she said.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine protects girls from developing cervical cancer when they are adults.

The HSE has offered the HPV vaccine to all girls in first year in second level schools since 2010 to protect them from cervical cancer in adulthood. HPV vaccine is offered to this age group because the response to the vaccine is best at this age.

The HSE says the vaccine is recommended by

World Health Organization

International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

National Immunisation Advisory Committee

It is available free of charge from the HSE for all girls in 1st year of second level school.

The vaccine is given through a school based programme, to ensure high vaccine uptake. However, in specific instances some girls will be invited to special HSE clinics for their vaccines.

The HSE lets parents know the date the school immunisation team will attend your daughters school to give the HPV vaccine. If a student misses the vaccine in school, the HSE will arrange for the student to be vaccinated at a HSE clinic.

The decline in the take up of the vaccine is blamed on several cases where the health of girls have suffered after vaccination.

Dr Corcoran said the HSE national Immunisation Programme aims to prevent disease in individuals or groups and to achieve the World Health Organization target uptakes of 95% for childhood vaccines.

She said the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine uptake which declined to 69% in 2001 due to discredited vaccine safety allegations has slowly increased to 93% in early 2016 but uptake dropped to 92% from quarter 2 2016.

She said the HSE implements activities on an ongoing basis to promote immunisation and counter antivaccine campaigns and improve uptake rates.
Twice in the last week, there has been two days with no patients waiting on trolleys or in wards in Portlaoise Hospital.

However, this number shot back up to 15 on Tuesday, July 11.

A total of 261 patients waited in trolleys in Portlaoise Hospital throughout the month of June this year.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has confirmed record levels of hospital overcrowding in Ireland for first six months of the year.

The INMO Trolley and Ward Watch analysis dates back to 2006 where 18 people were on trolleys in the Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise for the entire month of June.

The trolley figures in Portlaoise Hospital for the month of June peaked in 2016 at 304.

The INMO has also released the numbers of people waiting on hospital trolleys and in wards around the country from January 2017 to June 2017.

From January to June 2017, 2033 people waited on trolleys and in wards in Portlaoise Hospital.

On a national level, the trolley/ward watch figures, compiled on a daily basis by the INMO, confirm that, in the first six months of 2017, 51,321 patients, admitted for care, were on trolleys in Emergency Department/Ward areas.

INMO General Secretary, Liam Doran said these figures show evidence that the Irish health service is too small.

These figures represent further evidence that our health service, through inadequate bed and staffing levels, simply cannot cope with the demands being placed upon it.

"The legitimate attempts to reduce waiting lists has only exacerbated the levels of overcrowding, with the indignity and loss of privacy that result, now taking place, in this peak summer period, in Emergency Departments and Wards across the country. These figures confirm that hospitals cannot deal with both planned and emergency admissions at the same time confirming that our health service remains far too small.

"At the Emergency Department Taskforce meeting, later today, the INMO will seek confirmation that, even ahead of planning for the winter surge, immediate steps will be taken, which have to involve additional staff and bed capacity, to address the current record levels of overcrowding.

"The government and the HSE, in responding to these latest figures, must bring forward emergency measures, including resources, to immediately address this totally unacceptable situation.
Kildare County Council intends to temporarily close a busy bridge used by many Kildare motorists travelling into Naas or on to the motorway to Dublin for a period this August.

It has given notice that it intends to close the the L2030 road at Victoria Bridge, between Floods Cross (L2030/ L2006) and Thomastown Junction (L2030/L7041), Thomastown, Caragh, Naas.

The road will be closed from Tuesday, August 8 to Friday, August 25, to facilitate resurfacing works.

Alternative routes will be put in place as follows:

RATHANGAN TO NAAS:

Car traffic from Rathanagan will be diverted via the L2030 over Malones Bridge to Caragh Village, on to the R409 to Halverstown Cross and turn right onto the L2006 to Floods Cross where it will rejoin the L2030.

Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes will be diverted from Allen Cross via the R415/R416 to Newbridge and onto the R445 to Naas where it rejoins the L2030 at the Bundle of Sticks Roundabout.

NAAS TO RATHANGAN:

Car traffic from Naas will be diverted at Floods Cross onto the L2006 to Halverstown Cross, left onto the R409 to Caragh Village, left onto the L2030 at Caragh Church and rejoin the L2030 at Thomastown.

Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes will be diverted at the Bundle of Sticks roundabout onto the R445 into Newbridge, onto the R416 to Milltown and onto the R415 to Allen Cross.

Diversionary routes will be clearly signposted and local and emergency access will be maintained.

Any objections/observations should be lodged in writing to the Senior Executive Officer, Roads, Transportation & Public Safety at the address below or by e-mail to roadssubmissions@kildarecoco.ie on or before 5pm next Tuesday.
The planning application by AvantCard for a new Lidl store on the N4, Dublin Road, Carrick-on-Shannon has attracted the largest number of objections in the county in years.



A decision is due on Thursday, July 13 from Leitrim County Council on the application to construct a new two storey Lidl store on a green site in front of the MBNA building.



129 submissions have been made on the planning application and 126 of these are objections.

The other submissions come from public bodies and make demands from the council to supply information from the applicant about various aspects of the application.

The majority of the objections come from residents of Carrick-on-Shannon including Cortober. Letters are signed by individuals, businesses and groups.



The overall impression is that Lidl is welcome in the area but not on the site of the planning application.

The main objections follow a similar line to the public meeting held in Carrick-on-Shannon a number of weeks ago.

Objections focus on an increase in traffic to the area and at the Tesco roundabout, concerns over flooding and the use of the Circular Road as an alternative route during flooding of the N4.

The green and attractive site is cited as being an advantage to tourism and many objectors claim a successful Lidl planning application could have a possible negative effect on the potential to lure a multinational into the old offices of MBNA.

Many more also note health and safety issues for students from Carrick Community School who need to cross several lanes of traffic.



Businesspeople point to the possible negative impact on Carrick-on-Shannon town centre as well as to the Cortober area.

One of the stand out objectors is Roscommon County Council.

Roscommon County Council has put forward a long submission in which they stress that the granting of planning permission for change of use of the Lidl business in Cortober should in no way be taken as an endorsement of Lidls apparent proposals to close the existing store on site in Cortober. They state the existing Lidl store in Cortober is appropriately located.

Roscommon County Council also ask Leitrim County Council to take a holistic view of Carrick-on-Shannon and consider the overall adverse impacts of the developmental proposal. They add that both councils are to prepare a joint Local Area Plan for Carrick-on-Shannon.



They strongly recommend that the status quo remain and suggest the planning application be refused.

Camdrow Ltd, Dublin outline that their client owns the 120,000 sq ft building opposite the site in question and they are objecting on the grounds that the construction would detract from the setting and image of prestigious MBNA.

They also note traffic issues and concern over flooding. They explain in their submission that Camdrow acquired the former MBNA premises from AvantCard with the exception of this field which is subject to planning.

They say they are developing and marketing MBNA as a large scale Irish and multinational business and hope to accommodate 1,000 jobs.



The HSE Food Control officer has concerns over possible flooding potential.

Local doctor, Kieran Greene, notes his objections in relation to ruining the attractive green site, an increase in traffic and concern that the site is on a flood plain.

Carrick Town Traders submit this is the last green site in the town and the planning would be in contravention of the retail planning guidelines published in 2012.

They also point to the retail cap in Leitrim County Councils Retail Strategy 2015-2021.



Resident John OCallaghan says the site is home to birds and animals.

Keith Duignan put forward that planning permission has already been granted for petrol pumps off the roundabout and believes this application would conflict with that.

Resident Mary Glancy notes the long term sinking of the N4 as a reason not to construct the Lidl store and bring further traffic to the area.



Gerard Fitzgerald claims that moving Lidl from Cortober to the Dublin Road would result in a reduction in shopping in Cortober which would be the tipping point for businesses in Cortober.

Carrick Tidy Towns have also submitted their objections and Tesco Ireland objects on grounds of concern over flooding and the effect the buildings design would have on the attractive approach.

Joe Dolan of The Bush Hotel and President of the Irish Hotels Federation believes granting the application would be of little to no benefit to the town.



Leitrim Councillors Sinead Guckian, Seadhna Logan, Des Guckian, Finola Armstrong-McGuire, Sean McGowan and Enda Stenson have also made submissions objecting to the application.

Cllr Sinead Guckian states the planning permission would go against the Active Travel Town project for Carrick-on-Shannon. Cllr Des Guckian stresses the building of Lidl on the site would rob people of the only green lung in the area.

Boyle area Councillor Rachel Doherty notes the planning has already been refused on good grounds.

A number of people are also calling for the area to be rezoned.
Fianna Fail TD for Sligo-Leitrim Marc Mac Sharry says we are in danger of losing GP services in the North West, but particularly in Co. Leitrim unless the Government starts implementing measures to retain and recruit doctors in rural areas.

Deputy Mac Sharry made the comments after it was revealed that 50% of GPs in Leitrim will reach retirement age within the next seven years.

GP services have been declining steadily over the past number of years as a result of a chronic shortage of doctors throughout the country. It is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit GPs to areas outside the main urban hubs, and as a result, towns and villages across Ireland are being left without an adequate service, explained Deputy Mac Sharry.

The situation is particularly bleak in Leitrim, as new information shows that half of GPs in the county will reach retirement age within the next seven years. The Irish Medical Organisation has warned that it will be impossible to replace many of these doctors once they retire as there simply arent enough people training to become GPs. This year, for the first year, the GP training scheme was under-subscribed. It is inevitable that many rural areas will be left without a primary health care service if this trend continues.

The local GP is the first port of call for a person who is sick and in need of medical care. If there arent enough GPs in our towns and villages, people will be forced to go to the Emergency Department, and the overcrowding crisis there will be further exacerbated. Its a vicious circle and the patients are the ones who are losing out.

GPs are under immense pressure, working longer hours, seeing more patients and taking on more on-call work. Unfortunately, theyre not getting fair treatment from the Government - they have had their funding cut by 38% in recent years and the end result is that young people simply arent entering the profession.

This is a serious crisis facing our health service. Having access to a local primary health service is not a luxury and rural Ireland shouldnt have to say goodbye to yet another fundamental community service. The Government needs to get to grips with this crisis now. Funding for GP services needs to be increased to make it more attractable for young doctors to setup practice in rural communities, concluded Deputy Mac Sharry.
A volunteer in the local mountain rescue team with the help of his team members is organising a fundraising Night Walk over Cuilcagh Mountain from the Cavan side to the summit and down the boardwalk to the Marble Arch.

Barney O'Loughlin takes on this walk every year, but this is the first year that the organisers have decided to do a night walk, as they also help out with the Sligo/Leitrim rescue team on their fundraising night walk up Benbulben each year.

Barney who is from Belleek told www.leitrimobserver.ie "This will be my 10th building trip to South Africa with Mellon Educate and my daughter Nisha (15) will be coming to help out this year. My first five trips saw us building houses in the poorest townships and this will be the fifth year where we go into the townships and build classrooms, kitchens and toilet blocks to improve the facilities for the kids in the schools.

"Last year on the (Mellon) blitz we had 270 volunteers, built 13 new classrooms, two toilet blocks, two kitchen blocks, two sun shelters with seating while we also renovated two playgrounds at two different schools.

"The charity also aims to retrain the teachers in these schools and in all the schools we have worked on there has been a huge improvement in results."

"The walk is a fundraising event and all proceeds will be going to help build more schools with Mellon Educate."

The walk will take place on August 5, from 18.30 to 03.00am. The meeting location is the Marble Arch Caves.

First walk registration is at 6.30pm  bus to start location to leave at 7pm.

The second walk registration is at 7.30 for bus to leave 8.15pm.

"This is a full noon night and with weather permitting should make for a really nice dander taking between 4-5 hours to complete at a nice easy pace. The distance is 12km approx. and the ascent 550m," said Barney.

The walk is not suitable for children under 12yrs and children under 16yrs must be accompanied by an adult. The numbers will be limited on both walks, pre-register can be done at logging onto the link below.

There is a minimum donation of 20 for adults and 10 for children; this will include guided walk, bus to the start and a cup of tea.

All money goes direct to the charity with no costs coming out of the donations.

Walkers are advised to have walking boots, waterproofs, torch with spare batteries, water and a snack.

The organisers also promote a leave no trace policy as they believe in leaving the environment as they find it.

Pre-register https://www.justg iving.com/fundraising/BarneyandNisha-O-Loughlin

Please confirm which walk you intend to be on the message board with your name on justgiving.

Alternatively contact Barney on 07858 114553.


Fianna Fail TD for Roscommon/Galway Eugene Murphy has said that the refusal of Minister Denis Naughten to provide a timeline for the State- supported National Broadband Plan means that rural Ireland will continue to wilt away in broadband limbo land

Deputy Murphy was highly critical of Minister Naughtens commitment to a timeline for the States support to rollout broadband to the over 542,000 households that are currently without access.

Last week, Minister Naughten said that the procurement process is continuing in parallel with the rollout of infrastructure by commercial operators.

It seems that nothing will happen for at least 18 months, but more likely two years, as the negotiations with potential bidders will take a considerable amount of time to conclude.

Is it the case that the Minister and his officials have been too slow at drawing up the necessary tender documents, or worse, the Minister isnt confident that he has the funding required to deliver the National Broadband Plan?

Either way, it leaves homeowners and business people anxiously waiting for the delivery of high speed broadband.

The ability of the State to meet its original pledge to deliver broadband to over half a million household and businesses is now shrouded in doubt

Rural Ireland is suffering, and is unable to compete with the major cities and large towns. Broadband can be a lifeline for these communities. A number of my constituents who run their own businesses actually find it quicker to sit in their car outside their premises on their mobile phone to send emails or conduct business because its quicker than sitting waiting on their computer in the office- thats how bad the broadband speeds are in some parts of Counties Roscommon and Galway and that unfortunately is the reality of trying to do business in rural Ireland, said Deputy Murphy.

The Fianna Fail TD noted that in terms of broadband County Roscommon is ranked as the lowest (36%) with the number of premises served by the commercial sector as over 60% fall within the national broadband plan intervention area.
Carrick Water Music Festival begins today, Wednesday July 12 and continues until Sunday July 16.



Bring the whole family to the Peoples Park today for an outdoor showing of the Academy Award nominated film Song of the Sea (featuring the voices of David Rawle & Brendan Gleeson) with musical introduction by members of Kila at 8.15pm.

Bastille Day on the 14th brings to Carrick the French film Breathless with soundtrack by Jazz Piano Legend Martial Solal at The Dock 11.30am, while on Saturday, 12 noon at Carrick Cineplex the wonderful animated musical comedy film Sing will be screened.



Saturday morning kicks off with Dr Rhona Trench leading a drama workshop exploring the imagination with drama using games, role play and movement at The Market Yard 10am.

Music with a Splash from the Von Dripp Duo as free family fun hits the town on Saturday afternoon in the Market Yard. These multi-instrumentalists and comic performers bring a highly entertaining afternoon of music and laughter for all to enjoy.

On Sunday at 2.15pm join The Reading Room for adventures, escapades, action, love and drama - come dressed as your favorite character from a book but BE WARNED you must tell their story!

Relax on the river in Boathouse Bay with a SUP yoga session-combining the ancient practice of Yoga with Stand Up Paddle Boarding accompanied by soothing music on Saturday 15th at 10am.



Follow the Free Music Trail around the town on Thursday and Friday; spend the days soaking up the festival atmosphere in various town cafes, venues and shops listening to tunes from all genres by local musicians.

All these amazing events complement the full line-up including The Waterboys, Dublin Gospel Choir, RTE ConTempo Quartet, lunchtime concerts from award winning artists including Young-Choon Park, Yeats Women and Jessie De Bellis.

www.carrickwatermusicfestival.com

Booking on: 071 96 50828.
The Leitrim Design House is a champion of creativity, craft, design and art. This summer the gallery is brimming with gift ideas and gorgeous work.



They also have a busy activity schedule lined up for you in celebration of the Water Music Festival. This year they are pleased to welcome, Roscommon based Artist, Anne Rigney who has developed a Water Music collection especially for the festival. Anne has exhibited extensively in Ireland and her work can be found in the public collections of the OPW, Roscommon County Council, The Arts Council of Ireland and the AIT Modern Art Collection. Anne has also exhibited in German, Poland, Scotland and recently in the USA. Her paintings are also in many private collections in Germany, Russia, Japan, Israel, Poland and America.



Annes paintings are a reflection of the subject matter that interests her.

Speaking of her art, Anne says I find my painting and art bring me into harmony with myself and the cosmos. Colour and the changing colours of nature are what interest me the most. Decaying leaves in the autumn, reflections in a pool of water or river which are constantly changing and full of energy- this is a reflection of the mind which is always busy and active, at the same time showing a calm exterior. 

Meet Anne in the Leitrim Design House on Saturday July 15 from 2-4pm and enter into a space which is reflective, calm and yet bursting with energy. The exhibition opens today, Wednesday July 12.

The Design House also has a colourful millinery display running from July 12-23. Wendy Louise Knight will be here in person on Sunday 16, from 2-4pm to guide you through the process of discovering what hat styles are just right for you. Wendy inherited both her passion for beautiful hats and her nimble fingers from her grandparents, who made bespoke hats.

Originally from Oxford, and now based in Newtownforbes, Wendy has established a very popular millinery business with a strong reputation and an extensive client base. Wendy specialises in one-off, handcrafted designs ranging from theatrical large-brimmed showstoppers, in a range of fabrics embellished with beads and veiling, to the more subtle styles such as cloches, pillboxes, trilbies and fedoras.



For the special wedding hat, or something to impress at the races, Wendy Louise designs will design specialist head wear to suit both the occasion and the wearer. Pop in on Sunday between 2-4pm and let Wendy share some of her experience with you.

Also on show is the stunning ART WALL. The current guest is Lorna Roberts. A recent graduate, Lornas chosen area of investigation is landscape painting and a sense of place.

From observations of her locality, she has created a series of landscape paintings in oil, some of which take a more intimate look at plant life.



Lorna is particularly drawn to the windswept, untamed area where she lives in the West of Ireland. Her feeling of connection with nature and the importance she attaches to this sense is explored in this collection.

The Design House is now open Sundays from 2-5.30pm so pop in and see them Monday to Sunday this summer.

For further info contact shop@leitrimdesignhouse.ie Follow them on Facebook www.facebook.com/TheLeitrimDesignHouse.comor call 0719650550.
Today, MPs elect their Select Committee chairs. The Liberal Democrats are to chair the Science and Technology Committee. The House will have the chance to choose between two of our MPs, Norman Lamb and Jo Swinson.

Each has produced a statement in support of their candidacy:

Jo Swinson

Statement more collegiate than tribal  Telegraph Collegiate Even the Telegraph said Im collegiate, and theyre not known for their love of Lib Dems. If youve been in Parliament for many years, I hope you agree that I engaged constructively with MPs regardless of party when I was a Minister: from pubs to payday lending, employment rights to equalities. If youre newer, you dont need to take my word for it, do ask your colleagues. And feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or ideas. Fair Select Committees are about the art of asking good questions to get to the heart of an issue. Its a wonderful privilege  and fascinating  to be able to quiz experts on any given subject, and I hugely enjoyed my time on the Environmental Audit Committee from 2007-2010. Every member of a Select Committee has an important role to play. In creating reports and recommendations for Government, Select Committees should be both challenging and constructive: giving credit where its due, and being bold about where change is needed. Enthused by science and technology Science and technology offer hope for the advancement of society, as an engine of growth for the economy, and to solve the big problems we face as humanity, from climate change to disease. The UK has a pivotal role to play, with a well-respected scientific community that should be supported and celebrated. Im enthused by these opportunities, as an early adopter of technology for democratic engagement, a former Vice-Chair of the Prime Ministers Digital Taskforce, and having served as a Non-Executive Director of a data science start-up. My constituency is home to the Beatson Institute, a world-class science facility focused on cancer research. Can v Should Science rightly pushes the frontiers of knowledge, and asks Can we?. In public policy terms, we must also ask Should we? Ethical questions range from balancing online privacy with security to preventing artificial intelligence entrenching current inequalities, from how to assess the benefit of new pharmaceuticals to understanding fully the impact of drones and driverless cars on employment. The Select Committee should play a crucial role in exploring these dilemmas and finding a path forward.

Norman Lamb

The role of Chair of the Science and Technology Committee is an immensely exciting prospect, and I hope I could offer sound guidance, leadership and authority to this important position. In terms of what I would bring to the role and my thoughts about the Committees future work, there are three points in particular that I would like to highlight. 1. My personal style of politics My approach has always been to work across party boundaries. I would want to build a close relationship of trust on the Committee. As a minister, I made myself available to members from across the House, holding weekly sessions for any member who wanted to raise issues with me. I plan to operate in exactly the same way, if elected. This committee will focus on key issues for the future of this country, and I want to be accessible to all those who have ideas or suggestions. I want to ensure that the committee engages closely with the science and technology community, getting out of Parliament as much as possible. I have a strong interest in evidence-based policy making. In 2014, I won the Political Studies Association Award for best evidence-based policy making in my role as minister responsible for mental health and social care. More recently, I have been complimented for my cross-party work on mental health and NHS and care funding. 2. Making sure the interests of science and technology are fully considered in Brexit negotiations The Committee must play its part in examining the implications of decisions taken during negotiations with the EU for science and research in our universities and elsewhere, including issues relating to Euratom. This is vital to our national interest. We have to ensure there is an environment which will allow our research institutions to flourish. Central to this will be maintaining the benefits of close collaboration with universities across the EU, access to EU research schemes, and attracting the best scientists and researchers from the EU and beyond. 3. The central importance of science and technology to our future prosperity This committees remit is central to the economic and social interests of our country. It will be important to closely monitor and scrutinise the Governments forthcoming Industrial Strategy which includes, as one strategic pillar, science, research and innovation. Other potential issues deserving attention include securing high-skilled, high-value jobs for the future given the existential challenges of automation and artificial intelligence, and the importance of encouraging more women to study STEM subjects. I am particularly interested in the role of science and innovation in healthcare. There is much to explore in areas such as the adoption of new treatments and technologies, genomics (following the Committees incomplete recent inquiry), the importance of a greater focus on mental health research, and the science and evidence relating to early intervention and preventive I am confident that I have the attributes and experiences to make an effective Chair of this Committee, and would be sincerely grateful for your support.

You can see the rules and regulations for the election here.

Well bring you the result this evening.

Whoever wins will receive an additional salary of 15025. A debate ignited on my Facebook wall the other day about whether this was a good thing. I have this old fashioned idea that if people take on extra responsibilities in the workplace, they should be paid for it and it is important that MPs set an example of this. Select Committees are an important part of holding the Governments feet to the fire and we need to show that we value them. The Chair has more responsibility than anyone else because they have to be on top of the issues and are often the public face of the Committee.

Others argued that this was part of the duties of being an MP and shouldnt attract extra remuneration. What do you think?

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
The rioting in Hamburg on the occasion of the meeting of the G20 this month highlights the oftentimes violent confrontation that exists between alternative theories of capitalism and socialism, as represented by the established orthodoxy and those that would seek to tear it down.

At the heart of this conflict lies differing interpretations of economic theory, often depicted simplistically as left v right; Keynes v Hayek; socialism v capitalism; social liberalism v economic liberalism; or progressives v conservatives.

Henry Georges Progress and Poverty envisioned a capitalism that would allow all people to own the product of their labour, but that things found in nature, particularly land, belongs equally to all humanity.

The Coalition for Economic Justice is a cross-party group that proposes the introduction of an annual Location Value Tax (LVT) (also known as a Land Value Tax) to reduce existing taxes on enterprise and labour in order to rebalance the economy and prevent future economic crises.

Sir Vince Cable in a 2010 conference speech opined in a world of internationally mobile capital and people it is counterproductive to tax personal income and corporate profit to uncompetitive levels.  But a progressive alternative is to shift the tax base to property and land which cannot run away and represent, in Britain, an extreme concentration of wealth.

Andy Burnham, now Mayor of Manchester, ran his 2010 campaign for Labour leader on the basis of radical tax reform with Land Value Tax at its heart and Labours 2017 manifesto continued the theme promising to review council tax and business rates and consider  land value tax, to ensure local government has sustainable funding for the long term.

Nick Boles (former conservative minister for planning) in the 2012 Macmillan Lecture proposed a land tax, using the New South Wales Land Tax as a successful example, suggesting that a UK Land Tax on similar terms could raise over 5 billion a year  and encourage productive use of under-utilised development land. The conservative 2017 manifesto included a commitment to registering all UK land and reforming land value capture as a means of funding local infrastructure.

Caroline Lucas of the Green Party introduced an LVT Bill in 2012; and the SNP conference passed a resolution in March this year backing LVT as a mainstay of Scotlands land reform program.

The critical insight of Lloyd George in the1909 peoples budget, and subsequently the labour chancellor, Philip Snowden, who introduced a Land Value Tax bill in 1931; was that taxes levied on income and profits and redistributed as subsidies to the working poor are ultimately captured as economic rent principally by owners of land and other natural monopolies. Conversely, taxes levied on land do not generate increases in market rents in the same way.

If substantive progress in tackling inequality is to be made in this Parliament of cross-party working, is it not time for the formation of an All Party Parliamentary Group on Land Value Taxation to consider the application of Henry Georges theories to present day societal conflicts?

* Joe Bourke is an accountant and university lecturer, Chair of ALTER, and Chair of Hounslow Liberal Democrats.
THE FUNERAL arrangements for the late legendary Limerick jockey, Martin Molony, have been released.

Funeral home private on Friday. Removal to St Michaels Church, Manister at 7.30pm. Requiem Mass on Saturday at noon with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

Large crowds will pay their respects to a giant of the Irish and UK racing scene, who passed away on Monday, a couple of days short of his 92nd birthday.

The former jockey from Manister and his late brother Tim swept all before them in the saddle in the 1940s and 1950s.

Martin was a six-time champion jump jockey in Ireland, won the Irish Grand National three times and a Cheltenham Gold Cup. He even rode on the flat and won three Classics.

Tim, who died in 1989, was champion jump jockey in Britain five times.

After retiring from the sport, Martin returned to County Limerick to run Rathmore Stud, which continues to be successfully run by his son Peter.

In 2014, a gala ball was held in the Dunraven Arms Hotel to honour Martin and Tim. A huge sum was raised for the Injured Jockeys Fund and for a bronze statue of the Molonys.

It was unveiled in 2015 and Martin, a very modest man, was there to see it. His son Peter said at the time: He kept asking me why were all the people there and I said they were there for him. It is a smashing statue, he loved it.

Peter tweeted this Monday: So sad to announce the passing of my father & Champ Martin Molony today, peacefully, just short of his 92nd birthday.
SINCE leaving Adare at the tender age of 16 to cut his teeth in the bar trade, publican Charlie Chawke has become a household name in the industry.

The nationally well-known figure comes from a long family line of Adare publicans. Despite having several bars in Dublin, he is showing no signs of slowing down in the historical Limerick village he was born into.

We are there a long time - six generations in Lenas. My grandmother was a Fitzgerald lady who married a Chawke, and her family had been there four generations there before that - since 1806, around the time it was built, Mr Chawke told the Limerick Leader.

My dad was in Bill Chawkes up the street, he bought it in 1959. Lena, my aunt, ran Lenas for 60 years all on her own. We have seven pubs in Dublin and two in Adare, he said.

Despite being based in Dublin with his wife - and having raised his five children there - Mr Chawke has never forgotten his home village.

Adare is a special village, its very close to my heart. We are involved as well in the GAA and in all sports. I sponsor the Adare hurlers - they won the county for the first time in 2001. We had great times then, and we still have great times - we are looking forward to winning it again this year! he said.

As the industry gets back on its feet after the recession, Chawkes pub group is going from strength to strength. After acquiring the old courthouse in Adare, the publican is merging it into Aunty Lenas, and creating a heritage bar with museum elements, all about Adares history.

And despite not living in Limerick himself, Charlie said that he wouldnt like to see the Chawke pub line ending in the village in his lifetime.

My dad and mum were living in Bill Chawkes, and my Aunty Lena was living in Lenas. When they died, my sister Mary and my brother Billy inherited the pubs. Some years later, they retired, and I suppose you could say, I retired the two of them, by purchasing the two pubs.

I came back to Adare to keep the family name going. I cant let it out of the family, not in my time anyway! I have five children, and the five of them are involved in the pubs, he added.
A MAN remains in custody this Wednesday morning after being arrested yesterday in connection with a shooting incident on the southside of Limerick city.

A man in his mid 30s was brought to University Hospital Limerick with apparent gunshot wounds and his condition is described as "serious".

The man in his 20s was arrested yesterday afternoon and is currently detained at Roxboro Road Garda Station under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939.

It is understood that a shotgun was fired during an altercation and the victim was shot in the stomach.

The man, who resides at Clonlong halting site, was shot in an incident at Kennedy Park.

It is understood that the firearm has been recovered.

Gardai are investigating if a jeep found burnt out in Kennedy Park is connected to the incident.

The area where the car was discovered was sealed off.

Sinn Fein councillor Seighin O Ceallaigh urged local residents to engage with gardai and report any information pertaining to crime as soon as possible.

The investigation is ongoing.
PLANNERS have cleared the way for the Limerick Institute of Technology to open a new engineering campus.

In a move which will see 100 permanent jobs and 134 construction jobs, the Moylish-based college is to open a new engineering-focussed campus beside Tesco at Coonagh Cross.

Limerick City and County Council had already given the 14m proposals the green light.

But following an appeal by An Taisce, this Wednesday, An Bord Pleanala waved the proposals through.

In effect, the decision has given the green light for an entirely new kind of state-of-the-art higher education campus in Limerick, and unlocks a 14 million Phase One capital investment. The development will lead to 134 construction jobs and 100 full time jobs when fully completed.

The first students are expected to be on campus at the start of the 2018/19 academic year, with 800 staff and students on the LIT Coonagh campus by the end of the 2019/2020 academic year.

Commenting on the decision, LIT President, Professor Vincent Cunnane said, We are delighted to be able to proceed with the development of the new campus now. This is a critical piece of infrastructure, not just for LIT, but for Limerick and the region.

This decision is a win for everyone, and underlines our commitment to the coherent development of Limerick city and the region through our 2030 Campus masterplan.

In order to strengthen the economic growth that the region has experienced in recent times, it is essential to provide the research and educational infrastructure that such growth is predicated on. The LIT Coonagh campus does just this, and enables us to produce graduates with the very specific skills needed to sustain the regions economic growth.

This project represents another step in the re-imagining of the northside of Limerick city. It helps to shift the gravity on this side of the city. This is the first major piece of infrastructure on the Northern Distributor Road, now becoming Limericks Knowledge Corridor, with LIT Coonagh at one end and the National Technology Park at the other.

I would like to acknowledge the work of An Bord Pleanala and Limerick City and County Council on this project, as well as the continued perseverance of LITs staff.

This decision gives us the certainty we need to provide exemplary state of the art education and research space for students, staff and industry in the region.
AWARD-winning author Donal Ryan has said his appointment as a lecturer at the University of Limerick is a dream come true.

The Spinning Heart writer, who lives in Castletroy, has been appointed to a full time role as lecturer in creative writing.

A former writer-in-residence on the creative writing programme at UL, the Nenagh native  who was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize  joins a team led by acclaimed novelist and Frank McCourt Chair of Creative Writing, Joseph OConnor and acclaimed novelists and fellow teachers Giles Foden and Sarah Moore Fitzgerald.

The programme of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick is young and dynamic and already competes strongly with the best in the world. I'm proud and thrilled to be a part of it. UL is my alma mater and my second home and this appointment is a dream come true.

The All We Shall Know author was hailed as a writer of exceptional gifts by Joseph OConnor.

To have him with us here at UL is immensely exciting and a great opportunity for all concerned. He is a wonderful author and teacher and will bring a huge amount to our Creative Writing programme. I am thrilled to have him as a colleague, he said.

Professor Tom Lodge, dean of arts, humanities and social sciences, said Ryan would add a distinctive Limerick voice to the programme; his novels are populated by local Limerick residents who use language in ways that evoke immediate recognition for local readers.
Jul 12, 2017, 6 AM

These two photo panels from the Red Cross picture folder portray methods by which the Red Cross worked to support United States military personnel who were assigned to England, or were sent there to recuperate from war wounds.

Sent from APO 514 at Mansfield, England, in 1943, this picture folder describes the many facets of American Red Cross work in support of the United States military in England. The folder is franked with a United States 1 stamp.

U.S. Stamp Notes  By John M. Hotchner

The never-ending postal history surprises from American forces in wars are a constant source of amazement; and another has just landed on my desk.

Shown, front and back, it is a picture folder issued to the American forces serving in the British Isles showing the work of the American Red Cross in the European Theatre of Operations.

The source, per the reverse, is the American Red Cross in Great Britain. It was probably sent by a Red Cross worker assigned to a military hospital at APO 514 (Mansfield, England) on May 14, 1943. It bears a censor marking.

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Inscribed at the bottom of the front of the folder is the following postal information, stating that it cost 2 pence to mail in a British postbox, and that it is free if mailed from your camp.

The fact that 1 printed matter rate postage was paid means that the sender probably was not a serviceman.

Within the folder are 16 photographs depicting activities of or sponsored by the Red Cross.

With all of these photographs, this was not an inexpensive production.

I wonder how many folders were printed and distributed, and how many survive? Being sent by noncollectors to family members and friends, who also mostly likely werent collectors, would suggest that this is a fairly scarce item.
Pressemitteilung: Silvia Kuhn startet YouTube-Kanal Clever Money mit Silvi Die Tochter der Honorarberater und Stiftung Warentest Autoren Stefanie und Markus Kuhn startete Mitte Mai mit ihrem neuen YouTube Kanal Clever Money mit Silvi. Ziel ist es, jungen Menschen alles Wissenswerte rund um Geld und Finanzen auf einfache Art und Weise nahe zu bringen. Die Idee zu einem YouTube Kanal ist aus einem Schulerpraktikum in 2019 entstanden. Silvia Kuhn hat

[mehr] Die Tochter der Honorarberater und Stiftung Warentest Autoren Stefanie und Markus Kuhn startete Mitte Mai mit ihrem neuen YouTube Kanal Clever Money mit Silvi. Ziel ist es, jungen Menschen alles Wissenswerte rund um Geld und Finanzen auf einfache Art und Weise nahe zu bringen. Die Idee zu einem YouTube Kanal ist aus einem Schulerpraktikum in 2019 entstanden. Silvia Kuhn hat

Pressemitteilung: Buntes Wachstum: Ceresana untersucht den Markt fur Farben Farben und Lacke verschonern nicht nur, sie konnen auch schutzen. Die Wande von Krankenhausern zum Beispiel werden zunehmend mit antibakteriellen Eigenschaften versehen. Hauchdunne, aber sehr haltbare Lackschichten bewahren Fahrzeuge vor Rost. Ceresana hat bereits zum vierten Mal den gesamten europaischen Markt fur Farben und Lacke untersucht: Im Jahr 2019 wurden 9,1 Millionen Tonnen dieser Beschichtungen verbraucht. Farbenfrohe Hauser und Autos Bautenfarben sind

[mehr] Farben und Lacke verschonern nicht nur, sie konnen auch schutzen. Die Wande von Krankenhausern zum Beispiel werden zunehmend mit antibakteriellen Eigenschaften versehen. Hauchdunne, aber sehr haltbare Lackschichten bewahren Fahrzeuge vor Rost. Ceresana hat bereits zum vierten Mal den gesamten europaischen Markt fur Farben und Lacke untersucht: Im Jahr 2019 wurden 9,1 Millionen Tonnen dieser Beschichtungen verbraucht. Farbenfrohe Hauser und Autos Bautenfarben sind

Pressemitteilung: Altlasten 2.067 Mrd. Euro - Krisensubvention 1.000 Mrd. Euro Die Welt leidet unter der Corona-Pandemie, deren Kosten viele Staaten an den Rand der Exixtens bringen konnte. Wie konnte es in Deutschland dazu kommen? Die Welt leidet unter der Corona-Pandemie, deren Kosten viele Staaten an den Rand der Exixtens bringen konnte. Wie konnte es in Deutschland dazu kommen? Lehrte 29.05.2020 In Deutschland wurden in den letzten 50 Jahren 25 Steuerarten

[mehr] Die Welt leidet unter der Corona-Pandemie, deren Kosten viele Staaten an den Rand der Exixtens bringen konnte. Wie konnte es in Deutschland dazu kommen? Die Welt leidet unter der Corona-Pandemie, deren Kosten viele Staaten an den Rand der Exixtens bringen konnte. Wie konnte es in Deutschland dazu kommen? Lehrte 29.05.2020 In Deutschland wurden in den letzten 50 Jahren 25 Steuerarten

Pressemitteilung: 16. Juni und 18. Juni um 15 Uhr CEST europaischer Zeit Real-Time Innovations (RTI) organisiert zwei neue Webinare speziell fur den europaischen Markt. Hier geht es um die Themen Konnektivitat von Elektrofahrzeugen sowie Landfahrzeugplattformen in Kombination mit Software-Systemen und DDS. Sie finden zu europaischer Zeit um 15 Uhr CEST statt und sind im Anschluss on Demand verfugbar. Sunnyvale (USA)/Munchen, Mai 2020 - Real-Time Innovations (RTI) organisiert zwei neue Webinare speziell fur

[mehr] Real-Time Innovations (RTI) organisiert zwei neue Webinare speziell fur den europaischen Markt. Hier geht es um die Themen Konnektivitat von Elektrofahrzeugen sowie Landfahrzeugplattformen in Kombination mit Software-Systemen und DDS. Sie finden zu europaischer Zeit um 15 Uhr CEST statt und sind im Anschluss on Demand verfugbar. Sunnyvale (USA)/Munchen, Mai 2020 - Real-Time Innovations (RTI) organisiert zwei neue Webinare speziell fur

Pressemitteilung:

[mehr] MCM Investor: Wohnen in Deutschland bis 2060 teuer Laut einer aktuellen Untersuchung der Universitat Freiburg wird das Wohnen bis 2060 vorrausichtlich. Magdeburg, 28.05.2020. In dieser Woche analysiert die MCM Investor Management AG aus Magdeburg eine aktuelle Untersuchung der Uni Freiburg uber die zukunftige Entwicklung des deutschen Immobilienmarktes. Demnach gehe die Bevolkerungszahl hierzulande zwar tendenziell zuruck, die Nachfrage nach Wohnraum steige aber weiter an. In der Studie geht

Pressemitteilung: Latest in Electronic Test & Measurement Equipment MICHIGAN - May, 2020 - An international provider of electronic test and measurement equipment, AAATesters has announced that it now offers the INNO View 500 SM Fiber Optic OTDR w/ V20 Fiberscope (https://www.aaatesters.com/Inno_View_500_OTDR_Model_View500_Inno_500_1.html). This new addition to AAATesters expanding inventory of electronic test and measurement equipment, will assist consumers save time and money with greater testing proficiency and success. AAA

[mehr] MICHIGAN - May, 2020 - An international provider of electronic test and measurement equipment, AAATesters has announced that it now offers the INNO View 500 SM Fiber Optic OTDR w/ V20 Fiberscope (https://www.aaatesters.com/Inno_View_500_OTDR_Model_View500_Inno_500_1.html). This new addition to AAATesters expanding inventory of electronic test and measurement equipment, will assist consumers save time and money with greater testing proficiency and success. AAA

Pressemitteilung: Thomas May ist neuer Chefredakteur fur Perfect Eagle Thomas May ubernimmt mit 1. Juni 2020 die redaktionelle Leitung der fuhrenden multimedialen Golf-Lifestyle-Plattform im deutschsprachigen Raum. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank:  Mato Johannik https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/Es4aLP2m5bhHtlEPowWj1SEB5hhgDDEv96D9i9Z_Ok9ajA?e=Xi0L1x Wien (LCG)  Perfect Eagle hat heuer allen Grund zum Feiern. Nachdem das Golf-Lifestyle-Magazin mit der Marz-Ausgabe seine erste Dekade feierte, begrut Herausgeber Thomas Wasserburger nun Thomas May als neuen Chefredakteur fur das multimediale Golf-

[mehr] Thomas May ubernimmt mit 1. Juni 2020 die redaktionelle Leitung der fuhrenden multimedialen Golf-Lifestyle-Plattform im deutschsprachigen Raum. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank:  Mato Johannik https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/Es4aLP2m5bhHtlEPowWj1SEB5hhgDDEv96D9i9Z_Ok9ajA?e=Xi0L1x Wien (LCG)  Perfect Eagle hat heuer allen Grund zum Feiern. Nachdem das Golf-Lifestyle-Magazin mit der Marz-Ausgabe seine erste Dekade feierte, begrut Herausgeber Thomas Wasserburger nun Thomas May als neuen Chefredakteur fur das multimediale Golf-

Pressemitteilung: Frische fur den Sommer mit UNIKA Kalksandstein Frische fur den Sommer mit UNIKA KalksandsteinFur die einen ist es eine Wohltat, fur die anderen eine Herausforderung: sommerliche Warme. Keine Frage, Menschen lieben die Sonne. Aber nicht jeder mag hohe Temperaturen, schon gar nicht in den eigenen vier Wanden. ... Fur die einen ist es eine Wohltat, fur die anderen eine Herausforderung: sommerliche Warme. Keine Frage, Menschen lieben die

[mehr] Frische fur den Sommer mit UNIKA KalksandsteinFur die einen ist es eine Wohltat, fur die anderen eine Herausforderung: sommerliche Warme. Keine Frage, Menschen lieben die Sonne. Aber nicht jeder mag hohe Temperaturen, schon gar nicht in den eigenen vier Wanden. ... Fur die einen ist es eine Wohltat, fur die anderen eine Herausforderung: sommerliche Warme. Keine Frage, Menschen lieben die

Pressemitteilung:

[mehr] Humor und Lachen - ein ernstes Thema Humor und Corona Rechtzeitig zu einer Zeit, in der vielen das Lachen vergangen ist, mit oder ohne Corona, erscheint das 14. Buch von Jurgen W. Goldfu. Wahrend sich die bisherigen Werke des Autors mit Themen der Fuhrung (von sich und anderen) sowie Wirtschaftsthemen beschaftigten, geht es nun ums Lachen, die Welt und sich selbst mit lachenden Augen zu betrachten. Auf

Pressemitteilung: ...einfach, schnell und effizient ...einfach, schnell und effizientUberall da verkaufen, wo die Kunden sind, ist das Ziel aller Handler. plentymarkets bietet als Softwarehersteller eine E-Commerce-Losung, die genau diese Philosophie im Markenkern tragt. ... Uberall da verkaufen, wo die Kunden sind, ist das Ziel aller Handler. plentymarkets bietet als Softwarehersteller eine E-Commerce-Losung, die genau diese Philosophie im Markenkern tragt. Eine, die alle relevanten Marktplatze unterstutzt

[mehr] ...einfach, schnell und effizientUberall da verkaufen, wo die Kunden sind, ist das Ziel aller Handler. plentymarkets bietet als Softwarehersteller eine E-Commerce-Losung, die genau diese Philosophie im Markenkern tragt. ... Uberall da verkaufen, wo die Kunden sind, ist das Ziel aller Handler. plentymarkets bietet als Softwarehersteller eine E-Commerce-Losung, die genau diese Philosophie im Markenkern tragt. Eine, die alle relevanten Marktplatze unterstutzt

Pressemitteilung:

[mehr] Neuer Corona-Mitarbeiterschutz - digitaler Abstandshalter Auch nach den Lockerungen beeinflusst die Corona-Pandemie die Weltwirtschaft tiefgreifend. Die Betriebe sollen wieder sicher anlaufen. Die Schlusselrolle spielen dabei die Einhaltung der Hygieneregeln und des Mindestabstands fur Mitarbeitende. Auch nach den Lockerungen beeinflusst die Corona-Pandemie die Weltwirtschaft tiefgreifend. Die Betriebe sollen wieder sicher anlaufen. Die Schlusselrolle spielen dabei die Einhaltung der Hygieneregeln und des Mindestabstands fur Mitarbeitende. Dazu

Pressemitteilung: HUP aktiviert neuen Geschaftsbereich ready2boxx my-buddy-app  die HUP Reminder App. Schutzt vor Verlust des iPhones. Mit den ersehnten Lockerungsmanahmen rund um die Coronavirus-Pandemie steigt ein ganz anderes Risiko: der Verlust des iPhones auf Geschaftsreise, beim Einkauf oder etwa dem Besuch von Oma und Opa. Einfach, weil man das mittlerweile nahezu unverzichtbare Device schlicht und einfach liegen lasst. Das Braunschweiger Software-Entwicklungsunternehmen HUP hat fur Apple

[mehr] my-buddy-app  die HUP Reminder App. Schutzt vor Verlust des iPhones. Mit den ersehnten Lockerungsmanahmen rund um die Coronavirus-Pandemie steigt ein ganz anderes Risiko: der Verlust des iPhones auf Geschaftsreise, beim Einkauf oder etwa dem Besuch von Oma und Opa. Einfach, weil man das mittlerweile nahezu unverzichtbare Device schlicht und einfach liegen lasst. Das Braunschweiger Software-Entwicklungsunternehmen HUP hat fur Apple

Pressemitteilung: Das Lernen, wie wir es kennen, andert sich immer mehr. Online ist die neue Ara der Weiterbildung, die Freude macht und die viel leichter in den eigenen Lebens-Zyklus integrierbar ist! Ayurveda-Seminare und Ayurveda-Ausbildungen fordern ein gesundes Leben und geben viel Sinn-Erfullung. Viele Menschen sind wissbegieriger geworden und wollen ihr volles Potenzial durch Bewusstseinsveranderungen ausschopfen. Durch die digitale Welt ist es einfacher und schneller denn je geworden an Informationen zu kommen. Ich stelle

[mehr] Online ist die neue Ara der Weiterbildung, die Freude macht und die viel leichter in den eigenen Lebens-Zyklus integrierbar ist! Ayurveda-Seminare und Ayurveda-Ausbildungen fordern ein gesundes Leben und geben viel Sinn-Erfullung. Viele Menschen sind wissbegieriger geworden und wollen ihr volles Potenzial durch Bewusstseinsveranderungen ausschopfen. Durch die digitale Welt ist es einfacher und schneller denn je geworden an Informationen zu kommen. Ich stelle

Pressemitteilung:

[mehr] Gasnetz Hamburg pruft monatlich 1.200 Hausanschlusse  Arbeiten unter umfassenden Schutzmanahmen  Haushalte erhalten detaillierte Informationen zum Corona-Schutz  Sichere Gasanschlusse stehen im Mittelpunkt Hamburg. Ab sofort klingelt an vielen Hamburger Hausturen wieder der Gasanlagen-Prufer. Die turnusgemae Inspektion der Anschlusse in Kellern oder Wirtschaftsraumen von Ein- und Mehrfamilienhausern ist alle zwolf Jahre vorgeschrieben. Seit Marz hatte Gasnetz Hamburg die Hausbesuche unterbrochen. Nun schickt das Unternehmen wieder seine Fachleute zu den Anschlusskunden

Pressemitteilung: Wie COVID-19 unsere Kommunikation verandert Sprachexpertin Tatjana Lackner von Die Schule des Sprechens analysiert, wie sich das Kommunikationsverhalten in der COVID-19-Zeit verandert und welche Kommunikations-Trends daraus entstehen. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EuP2VeRtjsdPpxlLUzBimIsB-GcG-m5aFr4de0hEQ_WCPw?e=s2GwN1 Wien (LCG)  Die Manahmen zur Eindammung der COVID-19-Verbreitung verandern durch Physical Distancing und zahlreiche neue Verhaltensregeln den personlichen Umgang miteinander. Korpersprache, Social Codes und Rituale bekommen eine wichtig Bedeutung in der neuen

[mehr] Sprachexpertin Tatjana Lackner von Die Schule des Sprechens analysiert, wie sich das Kommunikationsverhalten in der COVID-19-Zeit verandert und welche Kommunikations-Trends daraus entstehen. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EuP2VeRtjsdPpxlLUzBimIsB-GcG-m5aFr4de0hEQ_WCPw?e=s2GwN1 Wien (LCG)  Die Manahmen zur Eindammung der COVID-19-Verbreitung verandern durch Physical Distancing und zahlreiche neue Verhaltensregeln den personlichen Umgang miteinander. Korpersprache, Social Codes und Rituale bekommen eine wichtig Bedeutung in der neuen

Pressemitteilung: Facebook diskutiert Strategie in der COVID-19-Pandemie Beim Moving Forward-Round-Table sprechen Facebook-Manager uber die Zusammenarbeit mit der WHO, die Intensivnutzung in Italien und andere Strategien gegen Falschmeldungen. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank:  JMC https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EsGAMdDUM2lNt4Jo2RfF_R4BhwzfZ8LXK305xeAAjGcAdw?e=EyC94A Video zur Meldung auf Facebook https://www.facebook.com/movingforwardconference/videos/973105823109354 Dublin/Wien (LCG)  Die Verbreitungsgeschwindigkeit der sozialen Medien war in den letzten Wochen essenziell, um Informationen zu COVID-19 zu streuen. Auch Fake News fanden in diesem Umfeld einen fruchtbaren

[mehr] Beim Moving Forward-Round-Table sprechen Facebook-Manager uber die Zusammenarbeit mit der WHO, die Intensivnutzung in Italien und andere Strategien gegen Falschmeldungen. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank:  JMC https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EsGAMdDUM2lNt4Jo2RfF_R4BhwzfZ8LXK305xeAAjGcAdw?e=EyC94A Video zur Meldung auf Facebook https://www.facebook.com/movingforwardconference/videos/973105823109354 Dublin/Wien (LCG)  Die Verbreitungsgeschwindigkeit der sozialen Medien war in den letzten Wochen essenziell, um Informationen zu COVID-19 zu streuen. Auch Fake News fanden in diesem Umfeld einen fruchtbaren

Pressemitteilung: Musikfestival Steyr: Kulturgenuss trotz Pandemie Als kultureller Impulsgeber fur die Region ermoglicht das Musikfestival Steyr auch heuer Kulturgenuss und wartet mit einem neuen Programm auf. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EnbiYHVH3KNOg_ZakCqco3wBz529TPFExmEgRThtSEHHQA?e=fAzk1G Steyr (LCG)  In den vergangenen Wochen und Monaten haben die Manahmen der osterreichischen Bundesregierung zur Eindammung der COVID-19-Verbreitung die Kulturnation Osterreich in einen regelrechten Stillstand versetzt. Seit Anfang Mai 2020 setzt die neue Normalitat

[mehr] Als kultureller Impulsgeber fur die Region ermoglicht das Musikfestival Steyr auch heuer Kulturgenuss und wartet mit einem neuen Programm auf. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EnbiYHVH3KNOg_ZakCqco3wBz529TPFExmEgRThtSEHHQA?e=fAzk1G Steyr (LCG)  In den vergangenen Wochen und Monaten haben die Manahmen der osterreichischen Bundesregierung zur Eindammung der COVID-19-Verbreitung die Kulturnation Osterreich in einen regelrechten Stillstand versetzt. Seit Anfang Mai 2020 setzt die neue Normalitat

Pressemitteilung: OstseeResort Olpenitz bei Kappeln/ Schlei Private Vermietung von ausgefallenen Ferienobjekten an der Ostsee - "Nie mitten drin, aber immer ganz nah dran!" ist hierbei die Devise. Auch wenn die Corona-Pandemie Urlaub und Ferienvermietung weltweit lahm gelegt hat  das Leben im OstseeResort Olpenitz ist trotzdem weitergegangen, und Ferienobjekte in diesem neuen Ferienresort bei Kappeln/ Schlei verkaufen sich weiterhin gut. Oder aber jetzt erst Recht? Das

[mehr] Private Vermietung von ausgefallenen Ferienobjekten an der Ostsee - "Nie mitten drin, aber immer ganz nah dran!" ist hierbei die Devise. Auch wenn die Corona-Pandemie Urlaub und Ferienvermietung weltweit lahm gelegt hat  das Leben im OstseeResort Olpenitz ist trotzdem weitergegangen, und Ferienobjekte in diesem neuen Ferienresort bei Kappeln/ Schlei verkaufen sich weiterhin gut. Oder aber jetzt erst Recht? Das

Pressemitteilung: Gut vernetzt: Ceresana-Report zum Markt fur Kunststoff-Rohre Die Nachfrage nach Kunststoffrohren steigt in vielen europaischen Landern. Besonders in Ballungsraumen werden derzeit neue Wohnungen gebaut. Allerdings boomt die Bauwirtschaft nicht uberall: Ausgelastete Kapazitaten, steigende Preise, Fachkraftemangel, fehlendes Bauland und zunehmende wirtschaftliche Unsicherheit bremsen die Dynamik. Dabei konnen sich Hochbau, Tiefbau und Infrastrukturbau sehr unterschiedlich entwickeln: Die verschiedenen Bausegmente sind in hohem Mae von den offentlichen Investitionen im jeweiligen

[mehr] Die Nachfrage nach Kunststoffrohren steigt in vielen europaischen Landern. Besonders in Ballungsraumen werden derzeit neue Wohnungen gebaut. Allerdings boomt die Bauwirtschaft nicht uberall: Ausgelastete Kapazitaten, steigende Preise, Fachkraftemangel, fehlendes Bauland und zunehmende wirtschaftliche Unsicherheit bremsen die Dynamik. Dabei konnen sich Hochbau, Tiefbau und Infrastrukturbau sehr unterschiedlich entwickeln: Die verschiedenen Bausegmente sind in hohem Mae von den offentlichen Investitionen im jeweiligen
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Bettembourg terminal has four times the capacity of the Eurohub Sud terminal it replaces, to complement road and waterways traffic and also target Asia opportunities

Luxembourg's national railway, Chemin de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL), has inaugurated its new intermodal freight hub in Bettembourg, which offers four times the handling capacity of the former terminal it has replaced.

Strategically positioned on the freight corridor linking Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, the hub has attracted investment of 221 million and became fully operational last month, a spokesperson for CFL told Lloyds Loading List.

It is equipped with four 700-metre platforms dedicated to combined road-rail freight, two mobile cranes, a storage area for more than 800 trailers and a 30,000sqm multi-purpose shed, the spokesperson added.

The former hub, known as Eurohub Sud, has been converted into a secure parking and service centre for trucks.

A scheduled rail freight motorway service, operated by SNCF Logistics' affiliate, Lorry Rail, currently transports unaccompanied semi-trailers and swap bodies between Bettembourg and Le Boulou, near Perpignan, at the foot of the French Pyrenees.

CFL is also targeting the development of intercontinental rail-borne container traffic at the new hub through the growth in freight train services linking Europe and China.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Luxembourgs Minister for Sustainable Development and Infrastructures, Francois Bausch, said: Given the possibilities of the new multimodal platform for Luxembourg, the country is playing a precursor role in Europe. Luxembourg is taking a different approach to the future than other countries. We are not basing our development on gigaliners but rather on the transfer of freight onto trains, not by going against the road but by collaborating with transport by road and by waterways.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved two pieces of legislation intended to keep lower- and middle-class residents in the city, each requiring a hard-won compromise between the boards moderate and progressive wings.

The first law lays out several proof-of-residency requirements for landlords who evict their tenants, saying they want to occupy a dwelling themselves. The supervisors approved it unanimously on the first reading. It is expected to come back for final passage next week.

The second law requires developers of large properties to make a portion of their units  18 percent for rentals and 20 percent for condominiums  affordable, dividing them up among low-, moderate- and middle-income families.

On Tuesday, the supervisors added two amendments to the law and passed them on first reading. One mandated that at least 25 percent of all new units have two or three bedrooms, and that 10 percent of those be three bedrooms. The other required that every below-market-rate studio set aside for a higher income tier be inhabited by at least two people.

The law would not apply to large parts of the Mission or Tenderloin, where property owners still have to rent or sell a quarter of their units at below-market-rate prices.

Months in the making, the law became a drawn-out piece of political theater at City Hall, as progressive Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Jane Kim haggled with their moderate counterparts, London Breed, Ahsha Safai and Katy Tang. The five supervisors rallied outside City Hall before Tuesdays meeting to show that they had come together to support working families.

Everything we fought for with this legislation was to expand the definition of affordable to include working people, Safai said after the meeting. He said the new law would help a wide range of struggling San Franciscans  from barristas and restaurant servers to firefighters with well-paying union jobs.

The board on Tuesday also approved a $120,000 settlement with an electrician who claimed he was sexually harassed by a fellow city employee while doing repairs at the Hall of Justice.

Plaintiff Bernard Sandoval said the city forced him to work alongside Geoffrey Graham for years, even though Sandoval complained several times about Grahams inappropriate comments and about an alleged assault in 2014.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
"Wish Upon" revives the Orientalist mysticism at the heart of the teen-friendly "Gremlins" - an enigmatic Asian artifact leads to mayhem and murder - but it's nowhere as entertaining as the 1984 horror classic.

The movie opens, ominously, with a melancholy suburban mom (Elisabeth Rohm) placing a canvas-wrapped item in the trash as her young daughter tools around the block on her bike. Moments later, the girl returns home to discover that her mother has hanged herself in the attic.

Twelve years later, that girl, Clare (Joey King), is a bullied high-schooler embarrassed by her widowed, pack-rat dad, Jonathan (Ryan Philippe, with little to do except look concerned), who scavenges dumpsters for junk to sell.

Jonathan's rummaging turns up an intricately carved box covered with Chinese characters. He gives it to Clare, who has learned enough Chinese at school to read part of the box's inscription: It grants seven wishes. Fresh from a public fight with the school's queen bee, Darcie (Josephine Langford), Clare makes a childishly mean-spirited wish: "I wish Darcie would just go rot." The box eventually opens, plays a creepy melody and closes. The next morning, Darcie wakes up with necrotizing fasciitis consuming her body.

News of Darcie's blackened flesh leads Clare to suspect that her Chinese music box might have real power, so she proceeds to wish for what many teens desire: love (granted, from the cutest boy in school); wealth (granted, from a recently deceased relative's estate); and for dad to stop being "so embarrassing." Now dating a beautiful boyfriend, rich and entertained by a father who plays smooth-jazz sax - which somehow qualifies as not embarrassing - Clare is finally the most popular girl in school. (Yes, that's another one of her wishes).

What Clare fails to understand is that her wishes aren't free, even after she is confronted by a classmate (the charming Ki Hong Lee, from "The Maze Runner") whose cousin has managed to translate more of the inscription. A demon inside the music box, it seems, demands a "blood price" for each wish and has begun exacting it from those around Clare. You'd think a girl with so much death surrounding her would immediately dump the box. But she inexplicably doubles down, figuring that if she already feels guilty for the calamities the box has caused, why should she go back to being poor and miserable?

Working from a lackluster script by Barbara Marshall ("Viral"), director John R. Leonetti targets a younger audience than with his R-rated "Annabelle," in what amounts to an unsatisfying combination of "Final Destination" and "The Box." Beyond middle-schoolers, it's unclear who would enjoy this derivative, cliche-filled exercise in horror lite.

For all its flaws, "Wish Upon" at least passes the Bechdel Test (a valuable contribution in a movie aimed at teen girls). Clare's two truth-telling best friends, June and Meredith (Shannon Purser and Sydney Park), are the best things about the film. Park is particularly notable for her performance as a snarky gamer who doesn't put up with Clare's nonsense. Purser, best known as Barb in "Stranger Things," once again side-eyes a best friend too interested in the cool crowd to see who's genuinely loyal.

Unlikable Clare makes so many awful decisions that by the time June yells "This is all your fault," viewers may be ready to demand their own blood price.

---

1.5 stars. PG-13. Contains violence, scary images, mature thematic material and strong language. 87 minutes.

Ratings Guide: Four stars masterpiece, three stars very good, two stars OK, one star poor, no stars waste of time.

End advance fri july 14
Snapshot: Big Hops' no-frills aesthetic  concrete floors, picnic tables  keeps the focus on the beer. That's obviously true at the craft beer bar's newest location on Bitters, where the most noteworthy wall decor is the tap wall from the original  now closed  Big Hops on Broadway. The Bitters store has a few extras, though, plus a friendly, low-key vibe, room to spare and a convenient North Side location near the Embassy Theater, all of which make it a great place to hang out, even if you dont really know what a kolsch or a gose is.

Behind the bar: Craft beer, all from independent brewers, on 32 taps, with the majority from San Antonio and Texas. The variety of styles  from sour beers and hoppy IPAs to middle-of-the road wheat beers, lagers and stouts  means there should be something for every palate. When a keg pops, its replaced by something new, so the bar may not have the Bells Pooltime Ale you enjoyed last time, but likely has addded something equally quaffable on a hot summer day to the tap lineup  Southerleighs Orange Cream Ale, for instance.
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A country legend's former Tennessee home is up for sale.

Dolly Parton's old abode at 3146 Glencliff in Nashville is on the market for $1.2 million. According to the seller, Parton acquired the home during the 1980's and sold it in 1996.

HOUSTON MANSION: River Oaks manse built for a prince hits the market

"It's a very comfortable house, very private," said owner Oveta Pyburn, who ran a bed and breakfast in the home.

Story continues below...

The 4,795 square-foot house was built in 1941, according to Realtor Donna Brewer. It comes with four bedrooms and three full bathrooms. The house has a carport, covered porch and wood floors.

"Although the price may seem high to some, this is not just a house but an amazing home on 2.4 acres," Brewer told Chron.com. "The property is gated, with plenty of parking and the 'building out back' that my sellers dearly love is where many great times have been had singing and entertaining over the years."

Click through the gallery above to see inside Dolly Parton's former Nashville home.
It seems like every month brings news of another border wall going up.

Europes Baltic states, worried about invasive neighbors, are raising a fence along their eastern frontier. Meanwhile, in Asia, Chinese President Xi Jinping is calling for the building of an iron wall around the Xinjiang region.

In Latin America, Ecuador appears to have begun erecting concrete panels along the Peruvian state line. In Africa, a barrier between Somalia and Kenya, made of barbed wire, concrete and posts, is nearing completion.

This is a far cry from the illusion generated by the fall of the Berlin Wall  and by the utopian dream of a world without borders that emerged in the 1990s.

The proliferation of border walls

At the end of the Cold War there were just 15 walls delimiting national borders; today, with 70 of them in existence around the world, the wall has become the new standard for international relations.

With the proliferation of border walls and their normalization in the rhetoric of U.S. President Donald Trump, democracies have adopted the tactic as though it were a classic policy tool in foreign relations and defense.

And yet these rampant fortifications come at a hefty price, as much for the governments and international relations as for the local economies and populations affected. For those most vulnerable, for the middle class, for those pushed out by the walls (Saskia Sassens expelled peoples), the cost is exorbitant.

As symptoms of a rift in the world order, as manifestations of the failings of international cooperation, these barriers also come at a cost to those they shut out  the worlds untouchables.

The reality is that, despite being entrenched in international law, their freedom of movement is not as valuable as others, each passport carrying its own set of rights.

The financial cost of border walls

First, we must consider the financial cost of border walls. Each one is a boon to the security and construction industries (many players from the former having adapted to changes in the postCold War defense market).

The experience in the United States provides many examples of the cost of a massive border infrastructure. This typically involves not just a physical wall with stone foundations, posts, and even concrete panels, but also razor wire, cameras, heat sensors, movement detectors, drones and patrol personnel, dogs or robots, among other things.

Thats because a wall, by itself, doesnt really work: its easy to scale it, put up a ladder, place ramps over the barrier to get a car across, fly drugs over it with drones, or use hydraulic fracturing to dig out narrow tunnels to circumvent it.

In fact, in 2009, the U.S. Government Accountability Office placed the cost for building just a fence along Californias border at between $1 million Cdn (U.S. $775,700) and $6.4 million Cdn ($5 million) per kilometer. In harsher terrain jurisdictionally and geologically, such as the Texas state line, the building cost could be as much as $21 million a kilometer.

Maintaining it for 20 years will cost an estimated $8.5 billion; it is, therefore, a massive public infrastructure, akin to a giant highway, that eats away at a countrys public finances and, in turn, at overall disposable income (whether funding comes from public sources or in part from private sources).

So this financial burden is also an economic weight that drags down the countrys aggregate income as well as the local economy. The latter, often significantly affected by the slowing down and redefining of cross-border activity, legal or otherwise, is sometimes put on life support in the form of an influx of military or patrol personnel, construction crews and staff for related services (restaurants, hotels, and so on).

Walling our countries: The human cost



There is also a human component to the economic cost. There is, in fact, a proven correlation between the fortification of borders and the number of people who die trying to cross them. In the United States, where local advocacy groups actively seek out and disclose this information, 6,000 deaths in the desert) along the border have been recorded in the last 16 years.

Since the tightening of European policies, the Mediterranean has become a dead sea, to paraphrase cartographer Nicolas Lambert, who maps tragedies befalling migrants in the region, where the number of deaths continues to climb despite a decline in the total number of crossing attempts.

In fact, to get across a fortified and tightly controlled border, the available routes are often far more treacherous, pose greater threats and require resorting to smugglers, who are sometimes linked to organized crime groups like the Mafia.

DANIEL BEREHULAK/NYT

Violence is amplified when the border is militarized. First and foremost, because such militarization legitimizes the perception of the border zone as a theater of operations, a war zone, where paramilitary groups feel justified to act, as in their deployments along the Hungarian border.

Secondly, by adding military personnel or army veterans to border patrol forces (they account for a third of such teams in the U.S.), the tactics come to match those used in war zones, bringing with them patent impunity and violence, as reported by authors Todd Miller, Reece Jones and others.

Lastly, by forcing clandestine border crossing to become even more hidden, by pushing migrants deeper underground, these measures reinforce the power of Mafia and organized crime groups, and increase the violent extortion or coercion of vulnerable migrants (through kidnappings and ransom demands, for example). From the borders of Southeast Asia to the Sahel Region, and from the corridors leading from Central America to the U.S. or from Turkey to continental Greece, it is the most vulnerable migrants who suffer the repercussions of the worlds border walls.

Thus, sexual assault has become a common event in womens migratory journey, with 80 per cent of them being assaulted along their route to the United States; the NGOs they encounter along the way systematically dole out contraceptives.

Division as a political cost

Constructing walls also comes at a political price. Since putting up a wall is a one-sided act  the farthest thing from the bilateral reasoning behind drawing state lines  it induces a separation from the neighboring state, rather than fostering co-operation with it.

The rift created by the wall sends shock waves through other facets of the relationship between the nations. In the case of Trumps wall, the cost of the split with Mexico is high, given this trade partners importance to the U.S. economy as well as to the other bordering states. Within the migratory channels that are increasingly popular with refugees, the neighboring countries often serve as filters.

Erecting a wall at the border may influence not just how these other countries play their role as advanced border checkpoints, but also how they set their own defense and security policy, which can sometimes lead to a form of extroversion, that is, a kind of appropriation of the discourse of the walled State at the expense of the national interests of the other.

Canada is not immune to any of this, either. In fact, in response to the presidential transition teams request for information on the borders in December 2016, U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the need to fence off more than 640 kilometres of the countrys southern border, but also some of its northern border between Canada and Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Montana, Idaho and Washington.

Fundamentally flawed

On June 3, The Economist published an article on the need to build a wall at the border with Canada, mainly to prevent drug smuggling.

Yet no wall has ever succeeded in permanently eliminating contraband. Ramps, catapults, drones, tunnels, submarines, mules or even corrupt border guards can always undermine its effectiveness; or the traffic merely shifts elsewhere. A wall simply pushes us farther from getting to the heart of the matter, from addressing the root problem, from treating the illness and not just the symptoms.

As border walls erode the potential for international cooperation and community, the worlds problems keep growing: food insecurity, ethnic conflicts, environmental crises, climate change, massive displacements of people. Many different problems bring nations to build walls, but we should recognize them as pointless facades that must, in the end, come tumbling down.

***

Elisabeth Vallet is the director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal. This article was originally published on The Conversation.

For comments and tips, write to Olivia P. Tallet
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The top 100 commercial water users in Laredo used close to 1 billion gallons of water during an 11-month period, according to data from the Laredo Utilities Department.

From June 2016 to May 2017, the top 100 commercial consumers of water in the Gateway City used 945,682,400 gallons of water. The top 25 commercial consumers made up more than half (52.8 percent) of that total with 499,712,800 gallons used.

Click through the gallery above to see the 25 properties that used the most water in Laredo over the last year.

The No. 1 user in the Gateway City was Laredo Medical Center, which used a whopping 83 million gallons of water.

For context, if you combined the amount of water the No. 18 through No. 25 users used, you would still have about 5 million gallons to spare before reaching Laredo Medical Center's usage.



"Laredo Medical Center strives to conserve water as part of our commitment in being a good environmental and fiscal steward of resources. We are a full-service hospital providing patient care around the clock every day of the year and are utilized by hundreds of employees, physicians and visitors each day," the hospital's Director of Marketing Priscilla Salinas said in a statement.

Salinas said LMC uses 1-gallon low flow toilets in all their restrooms, and the hospital has its own well, which supplies water for irrigation and the large pond in front of the complex.

RELATED: Here are Laredo residents who used the most water in the last year

Five years ago, LMC used 135.6 million gallons of water a year, so they have decreased their usage by about 40 percent in that time.

In a statement to Laredo Morning Times, Texas A&M International University President Pablo Arenaz said the school is committed to being a responsible steward. The year before last, the campus used 77 million gallons of water, so they are already improving, he said.

TAMIU currently uses cooling towers to capture condensation and recycle it, and in March they installed a smart irrigation system, he said.

"We expect that over time this will reduce our usage, but still preserve our campus green space," Arenaz said.

TAMIU is also interested in using effluent water, and has spoken to the city about their options.

"We would note that this level of water consumption supports a 300-acre complex that includes on-campus housing and residents, daily office operations, landscaping investments, construction and 24/7 infrastructure support. Like all Laredoans, we must maintain our property in high-heat situations to guarantee safety and reduce the likelihood of fire. Our beautiful campus grounds are part of our campus experience, and we want to aggressively protect them for generations to come," Arenaz said.

READ MORE: 88 behind-the-scenes photos from Miss Laredo 2017

Three Laredo-area schools cracked the top 25. Two high schools, United High School and Lyndon B. Johnson High School, were both among the top-10 users, while Veterans Memorial Elementary came in at No. 20.

Enrique Rangel, UISD's assistant superintendent for Facilities and Construction, noted that United High School is the largest school in Laredo, with over 3,500 students, 400 staff members, and the largest property: 60 acres and a campus close to 450,000 square feet.

"Consumption per student, per acre  it's well within the guidelines of what's recommended or acceptable," Rangel said.

Five years ago United High School used 38.6 gallons of water in a year, according to UISD records.

Rangel said for the last 2-3 years UISD added automated irrigation systems that keep track of consumption, and they have been xeriscaping and using trees that suck up less water.

This coming school year, UISD will provide feedback to each campus on their water, electrical and gas usage on a monthly basis and rank them in comparison to other campuses, according to Manuel Menchaca, UISD's director of Energy and Environmental Management.

LMTonline.com web producer Jordan Ray contributed to this report.
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A call regarding a shoplifting offense in Cotulla resulted in the arrest early Tuesday of a fugitive charged with multiple felony kidnapping, robbery, assault and weapons offenses in Webb County.

Ricardo Alberto Gonzalez, of Laredo, was approached by a La Salle County Sheriff's deputy after staff at the Stripes truck stop and convenience store said they saw Gonzalez pocketing a phone charger he hadn't paid for, La Salle County Sheriff's Office Spokesman Marc Robertson said in a release Tuesday.

Deputies said Gonzalez, 37, admitted to having forgotten to pay for the phone charger during a brief interview while he was refueling a black 2013 Toyota Camry sedan.

"Sheriff's deputies examining the Toyota reported discovering a plastic bag containing crystal methamphetamine that appeared to have been wedged between one of the front seats and the car's center console," Robertson said.

READ MORE: 'What the f--k are you looking at?': 3 Laredo women arrested after alleged drug sale goes wrong

A pipe allegedly seen protruding from Gonzalez's trouser pocket was later found to contain crystal methamphetamine.

Gonzalez was accompanied by a 34-year-old San Antonio man identified as Jacobo Palestrant.

Palestrant is listed as the owner of the Toyota, Robertson said. He allegedly denied ownership of the methamphetamine and drug-related paraphernalia in the vehicle, including a number of digital scales.

Gonzalez gave officers a false name and date of birth before he was correctly identified, according to a deputy's report. He also allegedly claimed that the drugs and paraphernalia in the vehicle belonged to Palestrant.

Records show a long history of indictments in local county and state courts for Gonzalez, including ten open cases with both felony and misdemeanor charges.

RELATED: 'People are jealous': Mami Chulas representative speaks out on liquor permit cancellation

"Both men were taken into custody Tuesday morning on state jail felony drug possession charges related to the crystal methamphetamine. Gonzalez was subsequently charged with theft and with failing to identify himself as a fugitive from justice. He is being held without bond on the outstanding felony warrants," Robertson said.

Gonzalez is listed as being wanted on active felony warrants in Webb County for aggravated kidnapping, three counts of aggravated robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, and family violence assault causing bodily injury, according to the Sheriff's Office.

He is also listed as wanted on a felony warrant in Bexar County for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in Penalty Group 1.

Court records indicate warrants were issued for Gonzalez's arrest after he failed to appear in May in court for hearings in several cases.
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As law enforcement continues to crack down on the smuggling of firearms into Mexico, a man has been sentenced to serve over four years in prison for his attempt.

Iram Abel Buentello, a U.S. citizen who was residing in Nuevo Laredo at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty in March to attempting to export five rifles, two shotguns, six handguns, and six ammunition magazines through the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Diana Saldana sentenced Buentello, 23, to serve 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervision upon his release, records state.

When announcing Buentello's indictment, Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations said stopping the smuggling of weapons, ammunition and other related items is a top priority for HSI.

READ MORE: 'What the f--k are you looking at?': 3 Laredo women arrested after alleged drug sale goes wrong

"We will continue working with law enforcement partners in this effort, Folden said.

Special Agent in Charge Fred Milanowski of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said "Reducing border violence by interfering with the smuggling of firearms into Mexico provides an additional layer of safety for our community."

Buentello has been in custody since Feb. 1, when he was arrested at the bridge.

On that day, Buentello attempted to exit the country in a 2006 Dodge Dakota.

U.S. Custom and Border Protection officers selected the vehicle for inspection. Buentello gave a negative declaration for ammo, weapons or money over $10,000.

RELATED: These 25 properties used the most water in Laredo in the last year

Buentello told CBP officers he had come to Laredo to purchase cologne and was heading back home to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, records state. He allegedly said he picked up the Dakota at his aunt's home in Laredo.

While inspecting the vehicle, CBP officers spotted non-factory rolling bearings under the bed of the truck. In addition, a K-9 unit also alerted to possible contraband in the bed area.

"(CBP officers) cut open the non-factory compartment and discovered five rifles, two shotguns, six handguns, six ammunition magazines and four scopes," a criminal complaint filed in Buentello's case states.
Gray Reisfield, niece and sole heiress to the estate of the reclusive Swedish screen star Greta Garbo, has died.

Mrs. Reisfield died Sunday following a brief illness at her home in Corte Madera, according to her son, Derek Reisfieldof San Francisco. She was 85.

As the only child of Sven Gustafson, older brother and only surviving sibling of Garbo, Mrs. Reisfield was the closest blood relative and, in the end, the closest friend of the actress who was 27 years her senior.

Kata (family nickname for Garbo) taught my mother to swim in the Pacific Ocean, said Derek Reisfield. As an adult, my mother would see her once a week in New York and they would go to the Caribbean every spring for three weeks.

Ann-Marguerite Gustafson was born April 13, 1932 in Stockholm. Her father was a fine arts colorist, and when he saw the war coming, he moved his family to Los Angeles to be near his younger sister, already a star with MGM and rechristened Greta Garbo.

Mrs. Reisfield was only 10 or 11, but she remembered meeting Fred Astaire and other Hollywood luminaries, Reisfield said. At about the time she was meeting stars with her aunt, she changed her name just as her aunt had done, from Ann-Marguerite to the easier to handle Gray.

From Los Angeles, the family moved to the Santa Fe artists community, and Mrs. Reisfield rode a horse 3 miles or more to Santa Fe High School, from which she graduated in 1950.

Always academic, she went east for college at Bryn Mawr and advanced from there to Yale Law School, where she was among three women in her class.

While there, she took sick and was admitted to the Yale infirmary, where she was attended by an intern named Donald Reisfield. She used to say he got my blood and my phone number on the first try, her son said. Within six months they were engaged, and Mrs. Reisfield had transferred to the law school at Columbia.

They were married in 1955, the same year Mrs. Reisfield graduated from Columbia School of Law. They lived in New York City before moving to East Brunswick, N.J., to raise four children. By then Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafson), was still considered one of the great screen goddesses of the 20th century, but she hadnt made a film since the comedy flop Two-Faced Woman in 1941. Garbo turned her back on Hollywood and was trying to turn her back on her public in New York City, where she took refuge. But until her death in 1990, Garbo was often spotted striding the streets of Manhattan. Many may have recognized her, but few tried to speak to her.

Kata would come visit us fairly often, either by car and driver, and very often she took the bus, said Derek Reisfield. My mother became her confidante, and in later years she managed Katas affairs.

Though never practicing law, Mrs. Reisfield had an expert touch as a stock picker. She was quite canny, said Reisfield, a management consultant, technology investor and co-founder of MarketWatch, the financial news and information site.

He made news earlier this spring when he and his brother, Craig Reisfield of Tiburon, got into a lawsuit over possession of Garbos Oscar statuette and a carved whale tooth given to the actress by President John F. Kennedy. Derek Reisfield had no comment on the suit.

Garbo never married or had children. When she died, Mrs. Reisfield was named executor of her estate. A big part of it was dealing with the legacy of Greta Garbo which is a full-time occupation, said Reisfield.

The estate closed in 1994, but Mrs. Reisfield continued on as the unpaid guardian of the Garbo legend. She did not even have a picture of the two of them to show for it.

Ive seen pictures taken by paparazzi of Kata walking in New York with a person identified as my mother, but it isnt. Reisfield said. Kata did not like having her picture taken, and my mother would never ask.

In 2005, during the centenary of Garbos birth. Mrs. Reisfield did interviews, was featured in a television documentary and was an adviser to Garbo museum exhibits in New York and Santa Barbara.

My mother came to an appreciation that Garbo was the first modern woman, Reisfield said. She revolutionized the depiction of women in society as confident and feminine at the same time they were independent.

Five years ago, Mrs. Reisfield and her husband returned to California, to be near two of her children living in the Bay Area. Dr. Reisfield died in November. They had been married for 62 years.

Services are pending. Survivors include sons Scott of Ann Arbor, Mich., Craig of Tiburon, and Derek of San Francisco; and a daughter, Lian Horan, of Providence, R.I.
For months, President Donald Trump and his aides have forcefully rejected any suggestion that they sought or received help from Russia to win last year's election.

But the release Tuesday of a 2016 email exchange in which the president's eldest son welcomed the assistance of a "Russian government lawyer" offered the clearest contradiction of the White House's denials - marking an escalation in the controversy that has engulfed the Trump presidency.

The email exchange was aimed at setting up a June MM2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin-connected lawyer who was said to have damaging information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The meeting at Trump Tower was also attended by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

During the email exchange, Trump Jr. was told by an intermediary that the "high level" information he would be offered about Clinton was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump," and would be "highly useful for your father."

The younger Trump appeared to relish the opportunity. "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," he wrote back.

Trump Jr. posted the exchange on Twitter, saying he was revealing the correspondence "in order to be totally transparent," although the New York Times reported that the disclosure came after the newspaper informed him that it had reviewed the emails and intended to publish their content.

During an interview that aired Tuesday night on Fox News Channel's "Hannity" show, Trump Jr. said that the meeting came when "things are going a million miles per hour" in the campaign and that nothing concrete resulted.

"In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently," Trump Jr. said, adding: "For me, this was opposition research. They had something, you know, maybe concrete evidence to all the stories I'd been hearing about, probably underreported for years, not just during the campaign, so I think I wanted to hear it out."

But rather than stemming the scrutiny, Trump Jr.'s disclosures Tuesday seemed to complicate matters further for the White House and undercut past efforts by the president to rebut allegations that his campaign colluded with the Kremlin.

The email exchange showed clearly that Trump Jr. - a key figure in his father's campaign - had reason to understand that he was accepting the meeting as a way to channel to his father's campaign information directly from the government of a nation hostile to the United States.

The revelation, coming amid investigations by Congress and a special counsel, sparked immediate calls by Democrats for the meeting participants to testify under oath and raised questions about legal jeopardy that Trump Jr. and other associates could face.

The revelation also could heighten pressure on Republicans, many of whom on Tuesday either dismissed the significance of the Trump Jr. email exchange or declined to comment.

"Anytime you're in a campaign and you get an offer from a foreign government to help your campaign, the answer is 'no,' " said Sen. Lindsey Graham, S.C., one of the few GOP lawmakers to offer criticism, adding that Trump Jr. "definitely" must testify as part of investigations of Russia's election meddling.

The White House on Tuesday offered a brief defense of Trump Jr., with deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders reading a statement from the president in which he said his son "is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency."

Sanders referred most questions to lawyers for Trump and his son but relayed that the president is frustrated that Russia "continues to be an issue" and declined to answer a question about whether the president is now aware of Russia's efforts to help his campaign.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a campaign to assist Trump, including the release of hacked emails stolen from Democratic officials.

Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who took part in the meeting, denied in an interview Tuesday that she had represented the Russian government, suggesting that she sought the meeting on an entirely different subject: Russian adoptions.

"I did not have an assignment from the Kremlin, there were no orders from the government," Veselnitskaya said, adding that "someone in America really wants to overthrow their president."

The meeting occurred at a critical time for the Trump campaign. The New York businessman was securing the Republican nomination but was widely considered a long shot to defeat the more organized and politically experienced Clinton.

The email came from Rob Goldstone, a music publicist who represented Emin Agalarov, whose father, Aras Agalarov, is a major real estate developer close to Putin.

"Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting," Goldstone wrote to Trump Jr. "The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."

It is not clear who Goldstone was referring to in his mention of the "Crown prosecutor." There is no such position in the Russian government.

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government support for Mr. Trump - helped along by Aras and Emin," Goldstone wrote.

Goldstone offered to send the information directly to the elder Trump but said that because it was "ultra sensitive," he wanted to contact Trump Jr. first.

Trump Jr. appears to have forwarded the exchange to Kushner and Manafort. And he wrote that he had invited the two fellow campaign advisers to the meeting. "It will likely be Paul Manafort (campaign boss) my brother in law and me," Trump Jr. wrote. A person close to Manafort who was not authorized to speak publicly said Manafort did not read the entire chain.

A spokesman for the president's lawyer has said that Trump was not aware of the meeting and did not attend. On Fox News, Trump Jr. said he did not tell his father about the meeting, saying, "There was nothing to tell."

Goldstone did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment on the email exchange. He confirmed that he has hired an attorney, Bob Gage, to handle Russia-related inquiries.

Scott Balber, a New York lawyer retained by Emin and Aras Agalarov, denied that Goldstone's emails accurately outlined the origins of the meeting. He said that Emin Agalarov is an acquaintance of Veselnitskaya and that she asked him if he could secure a meeting for her with Trump officials. Balber said Aras Agalarov never met with a Russian prosecutor and did not have access to information about Clinton.

"It is certainly not the case that either [Emin or Aras] was in possession of any information that was relevant to the campaign or was using Natalia as some kind of conduit to the campaign. That's fantasy land," he said. "It is not the case that we had any understanding that the purpose of the meeting was anything related to Hillary Clinton or to the election."

Balber said his understanding was that the meeting was meant to be a conversation about the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 law that punishes certain Russian human rights abusers by allowing the United States to seize their assets and keep them from entering the country. Putin retaliated by barring American families from adopting Russian children.

In his statement Tuesday, Trump Jr. said he "wanted to just have a phone call but when that didn't work out, they said the woman would be in New York and asked if I would meet."

"I decided to take the meeting. The woman, as she has said publicly, was not a government official," he said.

Although Trump Jr. said the meeting took place before intense scrutiny on the Russia issue, in fact his father's warm comments toward Putin had started a year earlier and had grabbed significant attention among his opponents and foreign policy experts.

Five days after the June meeting in Trump Tower with the Russian lawyer, The Washington Post reported that hackers thought to be associated with the Russians had penetrated the computer systems of the Democratic National Committee and stolen internal records a few months earlier.

The next day, the first DNC documents were released publicly by Guccifer 2.0, an online persona the U.S. government has concluded was Russian-controlled.

WikiLeaks dumped a much larger cache of internal DNC emails on July 22, as the Democratic National Convention opened, causing internal party dissension that led the party chairman to resign.

Trump's reaction was to ask Russia at a public news conference if it could locate the 30,000 emails Clinton had deleted and not turned over the State Department from her time as secretary of state, deeming them purely personal.

In a July interview on CNN - the month after the meeting with Veselnitskaya - Trump Jr. dismissed as "disgusting" and "phony" a suggestion that the Russians were attempting to aid his father's campaign.

He told the New York Times in March that although he was sure he had held meetings with Russians, there were "certainly none" in which he "was representing the campaign in any way, shape or form."

Such comments were part of a pattern from Trump's team, which has repeatedly denied coordination with Russia but then has been forced to acknowledge undisclosed contacts with Russians.

During a January appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation," Vice President Mike Pence was asked if "any adviser or anybody in the Trump campaign [had] any contact with the Russians who were trying to meddle in the election?"

"Of course not," he replied. In a statement Tuesday, Pence's spokesman said the Trump Jr. meeting had occurred before Pence joined the campaign.

In recent days, Trump Jr.'s explanation for what transpired has evolved.

On Saturday, when the meeting was first reported by the Times, he said that it was about an adoption program that the Kremlin had cut off in retaliation for the Magnitsky Act.

But in a statement Sunday, Trump Jr. said an acquaintance asked him to meet with someone who "might have information helpful to the campaign." Trump Jr. said that the meeting was set up by an acquaintance and that he was not told the name of the person he was meeting.

"It quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information," Trump Jr. said in his Sunday statement. "She then changed subjects and began discussing the adoption of Russian children."

---

The Washington Post's Abby Phillip, Tom Hamburger, Ashley Parker, Matt Zapotosky, Elise Viebeck, Karoun Demirjian and Ed O'Keefe in Washington, and David Filipov in Moscow contributed to this report.

---

The email images Trump Jr. posted are on The Washington Post link:

http://wapo.st/2u4Vibu
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A federal judge on Friday tossed the civil-rights lawsuit filed by Larry Swearingen, the man sentenced to death for the young coed's 1998 rape and murder, paving the path to an execution date being set in his case.

Swearingen was sentenced to death 17 years ago Tuesday for murdering Melissa Trotter, an 18-year-old Montgomery College student. Trotter went missing Dec. 8, 1998, and was found dead in the Sam Houston National Forest north of Lake Conroe days later.

The lawsuit's dismissal means Montgomery County prosecutors are hopeful they can get an execution order signed, and they're pushing for a late November date. Montgomery County District Attorney's Office Legal Services Bureau Chief Bill Delmore is consulting with the Texas Attorney General's Office to make sure the November date is available, and if not, when the next available date is for Swearingen's execution.

But for Trotter's mother, that same hope is met with an equal amount of skepticism.

"I try to not let Swearingen take any more of my days," Melissa's mother Sandy Trotter told the Courier Tuesday. "It's like we're in limbo."

Swearingen has dodged four execution dates  in 2007, 2009, 2011 and most recently in 2013  that were all stayed by the Court of Criminal Appeals. While prosecutors hoped visiting 9th state District Court Judge J.D. Langley would sign off on a Sept. 21 execution date for Swearingen, no such order came down as the federal case went on.

Judge Phil Grant, having previously worked on the Swearingen case during his time with the DA's Office, was recused from the case in June 2016.

The possibility of a Sept. 21 execution date is long gone, too, as state law mandates there be 90 days between the moment a judge signs the death warrant and the inmate is executed.

"How many more 90 days is he going to get?" Sandy Trotter said. "I wish there was more, as a victim or the victim's family, you could do to speed up the process so the victim or the family doesn't get caught up in this."

She complimented the DA's Office, saying they have been with her and her family throughout the last few years as Swearingen fought his execution.

"I hope this year can be the end of this part of life with Swearingen," she said. "It doesn't bring Melissa back. At least it's closure for this phase of life."

December will mark the 19th anniversary of Melissa Trotter's murder.

Federal Ruling

Swearingen has been in and out of the appellate process for more than a decade, including four previous motions for post-conviction DNA testing which lost momentum in appeals courts each time. He sought testing on Trotter's sexual assault collection kit; hairs recovered from her body, the gloves used to move her body and a hairbrush found on the ground near her body; all hairs collected from her clothing; the ligature and the pantyhose used to strangle Trotter, among other evidence his appellate attorneys believe contain biological evidence that has not been tested.

At one point, then-9th state District Court Judge Kelly Case approved the testing in August 2014. But subsequent appeals filed by Montgomery County prosecutors blocked it all the way to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Swearingen's Houston-based attorney James Rytting appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court in February 2016, which refused to hear the case in October 2016. Rytting did not return calls before press time.

Rytting has previously proclaimed Swearingen's innocence.

"The bottom line is we believe firmly that Mr. Swearingen is innocent," Rytting said in an Oct. 6 Courier article. "Under those circumstances, you have to act. It's really a tragedy in the making."

After years of losing appellate fights over the DNA testing, Swearingen filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Montgomery County District Clerk Barbara Adamick, former Montgomery County Sheriff Tommy Gage and Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw in October 2016 claiming he should be entitled to that DNA testing.

But U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of Texas Lee Yeakel sided with prosecutors Friday, repeating what previous courts have called a "mountain of evidence" that even favorable DNA testing could not overcome.

"In this case, the uncontested evidence in the record belies Swearingen's claim that exculpatory DNA evidence would change the analysis of whether or not he is actually innocent," Yeakel wrote. "Even assuming the DNA evidence yielded a hypothetical match, this would in no way exclude Swearingen from having committed the murder."

Yeakel's ruling also called Swearingen's suit frivolous and said he failed to show how state law regarding post-conviction DNA testing was unconstitutional in his case.

Delmore has previously said the DA's Office is ready to fight for Swearingen's execution in the courts.

"I would like to think we're done litigating the validity of his conviction," Delmore said. "I'd be surprised if his attorneys did not file something to continue to delay the execution."
Donald Trump Jr. said Tuesday that he agreed to a meeting with a Russian lawyer during last year's campaign because he believed that the individual had information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

"I thought [the information] was Political Opposition Research," Trump Jr. wrote on Twitter, in a statement explaining why he'd agreed to meet the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya.

At the same time, Trump Jr. released emails showing that he was told Veselnitskaya was a "Russian government attorney" whose information about Clinton was part of "Russia and its government's support" for his father.

On Tuesday, ethics lawyers and veterans of past Washington, D.C., campaigns said this sort of encounter - a campaign's core officials meeting with a foreigner, to talk about dirt dug up by a foreign government - is highly unusual, even in the take-no-prisoners world of opposition research.

In most campaigns, what's referred to as "opposition research" is usually more mundane: Paid researchers comb through public records and legislative histories, looking for information that makes a rival candidate look bad.

The intent is usually to produce a report that can be handed to reporters, along with documentation that would stand up to a journalist's scrutiny. Campaign lawyers said it was very uncommon to have a foreign state offer to provide incriminating information.

Could the meeting also have been against the law? Legal experts said that depends on whether the aid promised by Veselnitskaya could be counted as a "thing of value" for legal purposes and whether Trump Jr. could be said to have "solicited" it by agreeing to the meeting.

It is illegal, under U.S. law, for a campaign to solicit or accept any contributions from foreign nationals or foreign governments.

Election lawyers and campaign veterans said they would have advised the younger Trump to avoid a meeting with someone identified as an emissary of the Russian state.

"He knew" that the lawyer's information came from the Russian government, said Larry Noble, of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. "This is clear. In this case, any question we had about what he knew has been removed. Because the email says the Russian government is helping."

Even those who doubted that the meeting posed any legal problems called it unusual.

Gary Maloney, a longtime GOP opposition researcher, said he was surprised that Trump Jr. attended the meeting in person, along with the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort.

Maloney said he would have expected a consultant or a researcher to go instead. That way, if the meeting caused political blowback, it would not be connected to the candidate's family or top campaign officials.

"I do not fault Donald Jr. for wanting to win. He seeks more data, more leads - nothing wrong there," Maloney wrote in an email. "But where was the campaign team? The manager's job is to protect the candidate and family from blowback. I worked in Bush '88 - would [campaign manager] Lee Atwater have allowed George W. at such a sitdown? Inconceivable. Would John Podesta have allowed Chelsea Clinton in this meeting? Impossible."

The emails released by the younger Trump show that he was approached by a music publicist, Rob Goldstone, who represented a Russian pop star, Emin Agalarov. The pop star's father, Aras Agalarov, is a Russian real estate developer close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Agalarovs and President Trump had met through previous business dealings, and they were close enough that Trump made a cameo in one of Emin Agalarov's music videos, filmed when Trump visited Moscow in 2013.

Goldstone had written to invite the younger Trump to meet with Veselnitskaya, who he said had damaging information about Clinton.

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump - helped along by Aras and Emin," Goldstone wrote.

Trump Jr. responded enthusiastically. "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," he wrote.

Both the younger Trump and his attorney have portrayed this meeting as a brief, unproductive and ultimately unimportant episode in a long, busy campaign. "The bottom line is that Don, Jr. did nothing wrong," Alan Futerfas, Trump Jr.'s attorney, said in a statement Monday night, before the emails were released.

President Trump's lawyer has said the president was not aware of the meeting and did not attend. On Tuesday, the only response from Trump himself was a statement issued through White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders: He called his son a "high-quality person" and praised him for his transparency.

On Monday, even before the emails were released, the watchdog group Common Cause filed a complaint with the Justice Department and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, asking Mueller to investigate whether the younger Trump had violated election law.

The complaint says there is "reason to believe that Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. and Donald Trump Jr. violated [a federal ban] on soliciting a contribution from a foreign national."

Paul Ryan, a Common Cause lawyer, said this argument was based on the law's definition of "contribution" as "anything of value . . . for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office."

He said Tuesday that the emails only strengthened this case, since they showed that Trump Jr. was explicitly told that the information he would get came from the Russian government.

Campaign-law attorneys said what Trump Jr. was offered might be considered a "thing of value," if the information he was seeking had cost someone money to produce - or if it was something that a campaign might have paid for.

In this case, what Goldstone offered was, in his words, "some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia."

Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California at Irvine, wrote on his Election Law Blog that this might fit the definition of "anything of value." He pointed to a 1990 Federal Election Commission advisory opinion that said polling data - provided to a campaign by a volunteer - could be counted as a thing of value.

In this case, Trump Jr. said he received nothing valuable, arguing that the lawyer "had no information to provide" and instead steered the conversation to a U.S. law that has imposed sanctions on some Russian officials because of human rights violations.

But the unusual nature of the meeting led many campaign veterans to recall how a similarly fraught situation was handled during the 2000 presidential campaign.

That September, as then-Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic nominee, prepared for a debate, his staff received a package with materials stolen from Republican George W. Bush's campaign. Tom Downey, a former congressman and Gore adviser, recalled an internal debate about what to do.

They decided to call the FBI.

"I'll never forget the agent coming over here and saying to me, 'Congressman, what's the crime?' I said to him: 'Well, right now this is probably worth a small fortune to somebody. . . . This is somebody sending illegal property to me,' " Downey said in a phone interview Tuesday.

He said some Gore supporters were unhappy with that decision, which forfeited a possible advantage in the debate.

"All I could see was myself before some panel of senators," he recalled, "with my hand raised in the air, [being asked,] 'And why didn't you turn it over to the FBI?' "
Federal prisoners, including those with mental illness, are being kept in solitary confinement for long periods of time in violation of federal policy, according to a new report.

Although the Bureau of Prisons states that it does not practice solitary confinement, the Justice Department inspector general found inmates, including mentally ill prisoners, housed in single-cell confinement for extended periods and "with limited human contact," the 96-page report said.

The Bureau of Prisons, part of the Justice Department, does not put a limit on the maximum amount of time that inmates can spend in what is known as "restrictive housing." Inmates, including those with mental illness, may spend years and even decades in these types of cells.

At one prison, investigators found inmates who were confined to their cells for more than 22 hours a day and did not engage in recreation with each other or with other inmates.

"You have no contact, you don't speak to anybody, and it's a form of torture on some level," a psychologist at one prison told the inspector general's investigators.

In one case, a prisoner had been placed in single-cell confinement for about four years. In another case, a mentally ill inmate was placed in restrictive housing for 1,912 consecutive days, or five years. One mentally ill prisoner was there for six years. Investigators also found a mentally ill inmate who had spent 19 years in a maximum security facility until he was transferred to a residential mental health treatment program.

By contrast, officials in six of eight state departments of corrections contacted by the inspector general said that they limit the length of time inmates with mental illness can be placed in restrictive housing. In 2015, according to the report, Massachusetts, Mississippi and New York had at least a 30-day limit, while three other states - Colorado, Maine and Pennsylvania - no longer place inmates with serious mental illness in restrictive housing.

The Bureau of Prisons does not track its housing of inmates in solitary confinement, nor does it always document inmates' mental disorders, leaving the agency unable to ensure that inmates with mental illness are receiving appropriate care.

As of 2015, for example, only 3 percent of federal inmates were being treated regularly for mental illness. Yet an internal Bureau of Prison study suggested that about 19 percent of federal inmates had a history of mental illness, the report said. And a 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics report concluded that 45 percent of federal inmates had symptoms or a recent history of mental illness.

"We found that the BOP cannot accurately determine the number of inmates who have mental illness because institution staff do not always document mental disorders," the report by Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said.

Horowitz's report said that "equally concerning" was the finding that 13 percent of the inmates in the sample the investigators studied were released by the Bureau of Prisons directly back into the community after spending nearly 29 months in restrictive housing before release.

The Bureau of Prisons adopted a new mental health policy under President Obama in 2014, which increased the standards of care for prisoners with mental illness. But the inspector general's investigation found that after the new policy was implemented, there was a 30 percent reduction in the number of inmates who receive regular mental health treatment.

"It appears that mental health staff may have reduced the number of inmates . . . who must receive regular mental health treatment because they did not have the necessary staffing resources to meet the policy's increased treatment standards," the report says.
WASHINGTON - The White House has been thrust into chaos after days of ever-worsening revelations about a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a lawyer characterized as representing the Russian government, as the president fumes against his enemies and senior aides circle each other with suspicion, according to top White House officials and outside advisers.

President Donald Trump - who has been hidden from public view since returning last weekend from a divisive international summit - is enraged that the Russia cloud still hangs over his presidency and is exasperated that his oldest son and namesake has become engulfed by it, said people who have spoken with him this week.

The disclosure that Trump Jr. met with a Russian attorney, believing he would receive incriminating information about Hillary Clinton as part of the Kremlin's effort to boost his father's candidacy, has set back the administration's faltering agenda and rattled the senior leadership team.

Even supporters of Trump Jr. who believe he faces no legal repercussions privately acknowledged Tuesday that the story is a public relations disaster - for him as well as for the White House. One outside ally called it a "Category 5 hurricane," while an outside adviser said a CNN graphic charting connections between the Trump team and Russians resembled the plot of the fictional Netflix series "House of Cards."

Even Vice President Mike Pence sought to distance himself from the controversy, with his spokesman noting that Trump Jr.'s meeting occurred before Pence joined the ticket.

Inside a White House in which infighting often seems like a core cultural value, three straight days of revelations in the New York Times about Trump Jr. have inspired a new round of accusations and recriminations, with advisers privately speculating about who inside the Trump orbit may be leaking damaging information about the president's son.

This portrait of the Trump White House under siege is based on interviews Tuesday with more than a dozen West Wing officials, outside advisers and friends and associates of the president and his family, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid.

The makeup of Trump's inner circle is the subject of internal debate, as ever. Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and senior adviser; Jared Kushner, her husband and another senior adviser; and first lady Melania Trump have been privately pressing the president to shake up his team - most specifically by replacing Reince Priebus as the White House chief of staff, according to two senior White House officials and one ally close to the White House.

The three family members are especially concerned about the steady stream of unauthorized leaks to journalists that have plagued the administration over the nearly six months that President Trump has been in office, from sensitive national security information to embarrassing details about the inner-workings of the White House, the officials said.

Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's communications director, said: "Of course the first lady is concerned about leaks from her husband's administration, as all Americans should be. And while she does offer advice and perspectives on many things, Mrs. Trump does not weigh in on West Wing staff."

Lindsay Walters, a deputy White House press secretary, disputed reports about Priebus's standing. "These sources have been consistently wrong about Reince and they're still wrong today," she said.

After this story first published, Josh Raffel, a White House spokesman, said in a statement on behalf of Kushner and Ivanka Trump: "Jared and Ivanka are focused on working with Reince and the team to advance the President's agenda and not on pushing for staff changes."

Trump recently publicly praised Priebus's work ethic, and the chief of staff's allies note that Priebus has done as good a job as can be expected under the unique circumstances of this administration. Defenders of Priebus have long said they expect him to make it to a year in the position, and Trump is said to be hesitant to fire him or any other senior staffer amid the escalating Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

The mind-set of Trump Jr. over the past few days has evolved from distress to anger to defiance, according to people close to him. He hired a criminal defense attorney, but maintains that he is innocent of any wrongdoing. After his tweets commenting on the matter drew scrutiny, he agreed to his first media interview - with his friend, Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, Tuesday night on his show.

One friend of Trump Jr.'s said the presidential son saw the Hannity appearance as an opportunity to give his version of Richard Nixon's "Checkers" speech, a 1952 address in which the then-vice presidential candidate defended himself against accusations of financial improprieties.

Trump has had no public events since returning Saturday night from Germany, but has been closely monitoring developments with his eldest son in the news.

Trump continues to view the Russia controversy as an excuse used by Democrats for losing an election they thought they would win - and an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of his victory, aides said. They said that the president's frustration is based on the media coverage of his son's actions, as opposed to the actions themselves.

"He just looks at this as the continuum of taking a group of unrelated facts and putting them together in concentric circles and saying, 'Aha - look what happened!' " said Thomas Barrack, a longtime friend of the president who was chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. "With Don Jr., whatever set of facts there are may not lead to the conclusion that the establishment media is making."

Trump and his advisers are deeply frustrated that the disclosure by Trump Jr. has overshadowed the positive coverage they expected to receive from the president's trip abroad, as well as other issues they hoped to spotlight this week, such as the Senate health-care bill and trade.

A handful of Republican operatives close to the White House are scrambling to Trump Jr.'s defense and have begun what could be an extensive campaign to try to discredit some of the journalists who have been reporting on the matter.

Their plan, as one member of the team described it, is to research the reporters' previous work, in some cases going back years, and to exploit any mistakes or perceived biases. They intend to demand corrections, trumpet errors on social media and feed them to conservative outlets, such as Fox News.

But one outside adviser said a campaign against the press when it comes to Trump Jr.'s meeting could be futile: "The meeting happened. It's tough to go to war with the facts."

In the West Wing, meanwhile, fear of the Mueller probe effectively paralyzed senior staffers as they struggled to respond.

No official has yet delivered a robust defense of Trump Jr., although Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the principal deputy press secretary, told reporters Monday, "I would certainly say Don Jr. did not collude with anybody to influence the election."

At Tuesday's press briefing, Sanders read a brief statement from the president - "My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency" - but declined to speak further on the issue, referring all questions to Trump Jr.'s lawyer.

Other senior White House officials were hesitant to talk about Trump Jr. - even on the condition of anonymity - for fear of exposing themselves legally.

Some top officials, as well as outside advisers, had earlier suggested that the White House conduct its own internal review to identify any potential problem areas related to Russia so that it can release the information on its own rather than be caught unaware by news reports. But that notion went nowhere, in part because officials were afraid to discuss any potential Russia interactions that could make them targets of Mueller's probe.

One White House official went so far as to stop communicating with the president's embattled son, although this official spoke sympathetically about his plight, casting Trump Jr. as someone who just wants to hunt, fish and run his family's real estate business.

"The kid is an honest kid," said one friend of Trump Jr. "The White House should've never let that story go out on the president's son. . . . What he's upset about was that it was a minor meeting and the media glare - anything that's Russia-related, gets picked up the way roaches get caught in a roach motel."

Eric Trump, another son of the president, defended his older brother Tuesday night by retweeting a message from British politician Nigel Farage, who said Trump Jr. was under attack because he is "the best public supporter" of the president. Eric Trump tweeted: "This is the EXACT reason they viciously attack our family! They can't stand that we are extremely close and will ALWAYS support each other."

Critics of Trump Jr. counter that he should have known better than to accept a meeting with someone who was explicitly described in an email as a "Russian government attorney."

"It wasn't naivete," said Michael McFaul, the U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama. "It was, 'Oh, they have some dirt on our opponent and I'm eager to receive it.' Nobody thought to think, 'Well, how did they obtain that? Is this coming from the Russian government, Russian intelligence?' Those are the kinds of obvious questions that should have been asked, in my opinion."

Pence found out about Trump Jr.'s meeting with the Russian attorney Friday evening in advance of the first Times story, said one person familiar with the discussions. Both Pence and his team view the Russia coverage as a distraction, and are working to keep the vice president clear of it and focused on Trump's policy goals - such as health care, the subject of his scheduled visit Wednesday to Kentucky.

"The vice president is working every day to advance the president's agenda, which is what the American people sent us here to do. The vice president was not aware of the meeting," said Pence's press secretary Marc Lotter in a statement. "He is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket."

On Capitol Hill - where Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Tuesday that he is delaying his chamber's August recess by two weeks - Republican senators were becoming increasingly frustrated with the White House, which they blame for Congress's inability to pass any major legislation.

A growing number of senators believe that the widening Russia probe, as well as the Trump-fueled tumult that seems to dominate nearly every news cycle, have stalled their legislative agenda, leaving them nothing to offer their constituents by way of achievements when they head home over the break.
The first batch of 1.2THP engines, produced by Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co Ltd, departed from the Yangluo Port in Wuhan, on July 6, 2017. [Photo/dpca.com.cn]

The first batch of 1.2THP engines, produced by Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co Ltd, have been shipped for the European market, the Chutian Metropolis Daily reported.

The containers, carrying 936 engines, departed from the Yangluo Port in Wuhan on July 6, and will arrive at the Antwerp Port, in Belgium, through the Marine Silk Road.

The 1.2THP engine has won the "International Engine of the Year" award by Engine Technology International magazine in the 1.0 liter to 1.4 liter category for three consecutive years.

The PSA Group has five engine factories worldwide, among which only two can produce the 1.2THP engine. The first factory is in France and the second is the Xiangyang factory of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile.

As cars equipped with the 1.2THP engine sell well in Europe, the French factory's capacity is insufficient and needs more imports from China.

In September, the Xiangyang factory received an order for 60,000 engines from the PSA Group. The factory assembled six sample engines in November and did not receive any complaint. "It means Chinese engines have reached the same manufacturing level as Europe," Fu Weimin, Xiangyang factory director, said.

The engines have been equipped in Peugeot 2008, 308 and 408 models, as well as Citroen C4L models. After being exported to Europe, the engines will be put onto the European market and used in the European version 3008 and C4L models.
While Harris County officials are complaining that a federal judge's bail order threatens public safety, the county has failed to provide more than 100 low-level defendants with pretrial services aimed at ensuring they make their court dates.

The latest revelations come amid criticism from District Attorney Kim Ogg, who accused county officials of trying to deliberately undermine the success of defendants released on personal bonds to bolster the county's argument.

"Clearly the hope is that the reformed bail process fails," Ogg said in a June 30 email obtained by the Chronicle. "This is necessarily a violation of their ethical duty and certainly not in the best interest of ordinary Harris County citizens."

Ogg's email did not identify which officials she believed might be responsible, and her office referred a request for additional comment to a court filing in which she supported changes to the county's cash-bail system for misdemeanor offenses.

Several county commissioners Tuesday continued to bemoan the new bail system, which they say leads to release of potentially dangerous criminals into the community without requiring cash bail.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack said Ogg's accusations are too vague to merit a response.

"This is the first time I've ever heard of it," Radack said. "If there's something like this going on, why hasn't Kim Ogg told any members of commissioners court?"

Dozens of misdemeanor defendants did not receive pre-trial services because they were released directly on a personal bond by the sheriff's office without going before a judge, said Robert Soard, first assistant to County Attorney Vince Ryan.

He blamed the slip-up on workflow problems in the five weeks since the court's order went into effect. The county is working on it, he said.

"It just takes a while to get a system as large as Harris County operating the way it should be operating," he said. "You just can't flip a switch to make these things happen overnight."

Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal in Houston threw out the county's prior cash-bail system, saying it discriminated against low-level indigents who could not afford to get out of jail while awaiting trial.

The April 28 order, which came after a protracted injunction hearing in March, stems from a lawsuit filed on behalf of Maranda ODonnell, a 22-year-old mother who was jailed for two days because she couldn't afford $2,500 bail for driving without a valid license. Two others arrested on low-level offenses joined ODonnell's lawsuit against Harris County.

After the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stop the judge's order, county officials began releasing inmates on June 7.

The county is appealing Rosenthal's order, which allows misdemeanor defendants to be released on personal bonds if they do not have the financial means to post cash bail. Those who have other, more serious charges or who are facing immigration detainers or are awaiting mental health determinations are not required to be released.

The order requires release within 24 hours of the arrest. Some are able to appear before a hearing officer, but others have been released by the sheriff's office if they cannot get in to see a judge by the deadline.

The order has resulted in approximately 1,400 defendants being released from the county jail, according to Soard at the county attorney's office. Some portion of those defendants over the past five weeks left the jail without seeing a hearing officer. Soard said very recent improvements in the process had reduced the percentage of those who don't see a magistrate to 10 percent.

By missing court, the defendants also miss out on the assistance provided by the county's Pre-Trial Services Division, such as text reminders about upcoming court dates that other defendants get seven days in advance and again on the day of the hearing.

Kelvin Banks, director of pretrial services, said a vendor, Voice4Net, manages the text messages for the county. He said his office is working with the vendor to set up reminders for those who are released by the sheriff, and is moving forward with plans for an additional staff member and training at the jail.

He said Monday he was reviewing resumes.

"We want to make sure we're doing everything we can do to give defendants the best opportunity to be succesful on pretrial release," Banks said.

Another vendor, called Uptrust, met with county officials on June 28, two days before Ogg sent her email, proposing a two-way messaging system that allows defendants to respond and provides information on childcare options and transportation.

Uptrust offered a six-month trial of its system for $3,000 per month, according to a June 9 email obtained by the Chronicle.

Ogg indicated in the June 30 email that she supports using the Uptrust system, "in spite of the county's determination to thwart our efforts to improve offender court appearance."

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez also supports the system, he indicated in a June 20 email.

Neal Manne, one of the attorneys for ODonnell, offered to foot the bill for the service.

"If the county worked as hard at fixing its broken system as it does on fear-mongering, everyone would be better off," Manne said Tuesday. "Apparently the county isn't doing the things its own consultant has said are simple and effective ways to ensure that defendants appear in court."

County officials, however, said they plan to remain with the current vendor.
Most Republicans and right-leaning independents believe colleges and universities have a negative effect on how things are going in the country, a new Pew Research Center survey found.

Fifty-eight percent of those respondents told Pew they believed higher education had a negative effect, up from 45 percent last year. Two years ago, more than half of right-leaning respondents held positive views of college and university campuses, and Pew notes that more conservative Republicans than moderate Republicans believe college negatively affects the country.

Its the latest survey  locally and nationally  to show that opinions toward higher education and college are increasingly splitting along demographic and political lines.

In May, the Public Religion Research Institute and The Atlantic published a new analysis of surveys that found 54 percent of working Anglo Americans said getting a college education is a risky gamble that might not pay off.

Rice Universitys Kinder Institute this year found that black and Hispanic Houstonians were more likely than Anglos to say that education beyond high school is necessary  and that Trump voters were far more likely than Clinton voters to affirm that there are many ways to succeed in todays economy with no more than a high school diploma.

Nearly 75 percent of Democrats told Pew they believed colleges and universities have a positive effect on the countrys direction, according to Pews survey. That percentage has steadily risen since 2010, and overall 55 percent of respondents held positive views of colleges and universities.

Other institutions Pew asked about brought similarly split opinions. Republicans viewed religious institutions more positively than did Democrats, and Democrats viewed the national news media more positively than did Republicans.

There is a generalized distrust of whats going on in America and pessimism of where the country is going, said Stephen Klineberg, co-director of the Kinder Institute, which directed Rices study. Colleges have suffered some in the perception of the general public because of the tremendous indebtedness. The payoff to college is dropping.  Theres no longer that same confidence that going to college provides a (practical) education.

Changing attitudes toward college attendance may be worrying for universities, who have worked on overdrive trying to get students to enroll and then graduate from two- and four-year programs.

By 2020, 65 percent of all American jobs will require education beyond high school, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
Minorities in Texas are facing uphill battles in getting proper representation in the state as the Legislature continues passing laws that are biased toward them, according to witnesses for civil rights groups challenging the states 2013 political boundaries.

Allan Lichtman, a social scientist and history professor at American University, analyzed patterns in the state, including events leading to the 2013 special session that resulted in the latest congressional and state House maps.

Though Republicans have admitted that prior redistricting decisions were designed to increase the Republican Partys electoral prospects at the expense of the Democrats, Lichtman testified that his analysis shows that isnt true.

What was done here was to knowingly and intentionally impede the opportunity for African-Americans and Latinos to elect candidates of their choice, Lichtman testified. What we see here is intentional discrimination.

Partisan gerrymandering  adjusting boundaries to favor the party in power  is not illegal, a point state lawyers have argued in their defense of the maps during a redistricting trial in San Antonio.

But Lichtman was among a series of experts to testify Wednesday for minority groups trying to convince a three-judge panel that the state House maps and congressional maps the state adopted in 2013 carried similar discriminatory intent as the 2011 maps and diluted minority voting strength.

The state denies there was discriminatory intent.

This spring, the same San Antonio-based panel  Judges Orlando Garcia and Xavier Rodriguez, both of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, and Judge Jerry E. Smith of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals  ruled that Republicans racially gerrymandered some congressional districts to weaken the growing electoral power of minorities when it drew its 2011 maps.

The panel also ruled in April that Texas lawmakers in 2011 violated either the U.S. Constitution or the Voting Rights Act by intentionally diluting the strength of minority voters statewide  specifically in some House districts including Bexar, El Paso, Nueces, Harris, Dallas and Bell counties.

Among the congressional districts the judges pointed to are Congressional District 23, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, covers much of the Texas-Mexico border and is represented by Republican Will Hurd of Helotes; Congressional District 27, represented by Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi; and Congressional District 35, which stretches along Interstate 35 from Austin to Bexar County and is represented by Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin.

In examining CD 23 during Wednesdays testimony, St. Marys University political science professor Henry Flores testified that Hispanics candidate of choice, Democrat Pete Gallego, lost his bid to regain the seat in 2016  despite a stronger Latino turnout than when he won in 2012  because of an apparent rise in racial polarization at the polls.

Gallego performed more (among Latinos) in the 2016 election but still lost, Flores said. There was a drop in non-Latino support from 2012 to 2016 for Mr. Gallego.

The states lawyers argue that the 2011 maps are moot because it took interim maps drawn by the panel ahead of the 2012 primaries and implemented them during the Legislatures 2013 special session.

But the plaintiffs argue that there was little to no change in some of the questionable districts, and the discrimination from the 2011 maps carried over to the 2013 maps, which are still in use.

Lichtman also testified that although Latinos and blacks contributed nearly 90 percent of the states explosive growth in recent years, they remain under-represented by nearly four congressional districts. Anglos, whose population decreased, are overrepresented by 5 districts, Licthman said.

Another plaintiff witness, Orville Burton, a historian from Clemson University, testified that Texas has a history of passing discriminatory laws detrimental to minorities that has yet to stop. He prepared a report amid a redistricting cycle in 2003 and had similar conclusions.

The racial discrimination in laws in Texas has continued since my 2003 report, Burton testified. The actions make it more difficult for minorities to vote and participate in the electoral process.  The courts have found that in every redistricting cycle the Legislature left minorities at a disadvantage.

The testimony magnified statistics in a graphic Luis Vera, legal counsel for the League of United Latin American Citizens, showed the court: Despite contributing to most of Texas explosive growth, resulting in the state gaining four new congressional districts, Latinos today control only 16.7 percent of congressional districts in Texas  the same percentage they held in 1970.

In other action, the panel ordered lawyers for the state to turn over to the plaintiffs about half of 113 documents related to redistricting that recently came into dispute. State lawyers over the weekend released 7,000 pages of documents from the 2013 legislative session but held on to 113 the state argued are protected by legal privilege.

Judge Rodriguez told Mark Gaber, a lawyer for one group of plaintiffs, that I dont believe theres anything in there thats going to be earth-shattering to you.

gcontreras@express-news.net

Twitter: @gmaninfedland
Former executives of fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui go on trial in Kaifeng, Central China's Henan province, on Wednesday for allegedly fraudulently obtaining loans and bill acceptances.

It is the second trial related to Guo. The Kaifeng Intermediate People's Court will broadcast information of the case hearing via its official account on Sina Weibo, Chinese Twitter-like platform.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has come under some needed scrutiny  and shake-up  following disclosures in the Texas Tribune of extravagant spending and regulatory overreach.

The agencys top lawyer, Emily Helm, resigned effective Monday. The resignations of chief of enforcement, Earl Pearson, and the head of internal affairs, Andy Pena, were announced Thursday. These follow the resignations of Executive Director Sherry Cook in April and TABC Commissioner Steven Weinberg in May.

And these all follow Gov. Greg Abbotts appointment of Kevin Lilly, a Houston businessman, to reform the agency.

The resignations were necessary. The only question is whether more should follow.

The Tribunes reporting revealed lavish trips to out-of-state resorts, use of peace officer status by top agency officials, records failures having to do with state-owned vehicles, and allegations of onerous regulatory tactics against alcohol permit holders.

The agency is not always a darling of the beverage and hospitality industry. But it appears this has not been mere knee-jerk whining.

One of the victims of apparent TABC over-regulation was Specs Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods, the states largest liquor store chain. The agency reportedly tried to strip the retailers liquor permits and fine it up to $713 million. TABCs actions would have put the chain out of business.

But Texas administrative law judges, the Texas Tribune reported, said the agency failed to prove dozens of allegations, rebuked agency lawyers for failing to disclose evidence to their own witness (and the court) and called out the agency for stacking charges, a tactic commonly used to pressure defendants into settlement.

In the end  $1 million in legal fees for Specs later  the multiyear investigation found that the company paid a $778 invoice from a wine supplier a day or two late in 2011. The administrative law judges recommended a warning but no fines.

We are not in the all-regulation-is-bad camp, but this has all the earmarks of dramatic overreach.

An agency spokesman said TABC simply proposed the maximum penalties for the alleged violations, and that it had no intention of imposing the penalties and sanctions. OK, then why propose them at all?

TABC provides a valuable function  though the states alcohol laws are byzantine by any stretch. But, at the moment, it serves as a bad model for other state agencies.

That reform is needed  as long as the industry doesnt get to call the regulatory shots.
1 NATO exercises: Major NATO exercises in Eastern Europe began in Bulgaria on Tuesday involving 25,000 military personnel from more than 20 allied and partner countries as the U.S. seeks to reassure NATOs European allies. The Saber Guardian 17 exercises are being led by U.S. Army Europe and run until July 20. The training will also take place in Hungary and Romania. The drills aim to increase the interoperability of participating countries and demonstrate resolve and readiness to act in support of security and stability in the Black Sea region.

2 China overseas base: China on Tuesday dispatched members of its Peoples Liberation Army to the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti to man the rising Asian giants first overseas military base, a key part of a wide-ranging expansion of the role of Chinas armed forces. China says the logistics center will support antipiracy, U.N. peacekeeping and humanitarian relief missions in Africa and western Asia. It says it will also facilitate military cooperation and joint exercises as the navy and other services seek to expand their global reach in step with Chinas growing economic and political footprint.
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Vice-Admiral Shen Jinlong, commander of the PLA Navy, presents a flag to the Djibouti Logistics Support Base garrison at their departure ceremony at a naval port in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, on Wednesday. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

The People's Liberation Army officially established its Djibouti Logistics Support Base on Tuesday, according to a news release from the PLA Navy.

Troops designated for the base in the Horn of Africa left for the facility, the first of its kind for the Chinese military, after a departure ceremony at a naval port in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, the Navy said.

The PLA Djibouti Logistics Support Base, located in Djibouti City, the African nation's capital, is a result of friendly negotiations by the governments of China and Djibouti and is in the interests of the two peoples, the PLA Navy said.

The base will support the Chinese military's naval escort, peacekeeping and humanitarian missions in Africa and western Asia, the news release said. It will also help China to improve its capabilities in terms of international military cooperation, joint exercises, emergency evacuation and overseas rescue.

Moreover, the base will enable the nation to better safeguard the safety of international strategic maritime passages with other countries, it said.

Vice-Admiral Shen Jinlong, commander of the PLA Navy, announced an order on the base's establishment and conferred a flag to the base garrison at the ceremony.

The troops are carried by two shipsthe CNS Jinggangshan, an amphibian landing craft, and CNS Donghaidao, a semi-submersible support ship, the news release said.

In November 2015, the Chinese military confirmed for the first time its interest in having a "support facility" in Djibouti. At the time, Wu Qian, a Defense Ministry spokesman, told a news conference that China was in talks with the African nation on this matter.

In February 2016, Wu said the two sides had reached an agreement on the base and the construction had begun.

In November, Yang Yujun, another spokesman for the ministry, said China plans to use the base to better implement its international obligations and to protect the nation's overseas interests but not to seek "military expansion".

Djibouti is a very small but stable nation in a vital area. It lies on a gateway to the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping routes. It provides a vital port for Ethiopia, its landlocked neighbor, and it is a key refueling center.

The United States, France and Japan now have military bases in Djibouti.

General Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission, made a two-day visit to Djibouti in November 2016. It was the first time that the top officer in the PLA had visited the African country.
'Ghost in the Shell' Director Praises Scarlett Johansson on Tom Needhams The Sounds of Film

Music, Movies & Entertainment, Local News, Arts & Culture, Seasonal & Current Events

By Tom Needham Published: July 12 2017

The director of Ghost in the Shell, Rupert Sanders, will be Tom Needhams special guest this Thursday at 6 P.M. on WUSBs The Sounds of Film.

Stony Brook, NY - July 12, 2017 - Rupert Sanders, the director of Ghost in the Shell, will join Tom Needham this Thursday on Rupert Sanders, the director of Ghost in the Shell, will join Tom Needham this Thursday on The Sounds of Film on WUSB

Scarlett Johansson stars in Ghost in the Shell, a film set in a world where people are enhanced with technology. Johansson plays Major, who is a human mind inside an artificial body designed to fight the war against cyber-crime. When Major discovers that a corporation lied about her past life in order to control her, she sets out to unravel the mystery of her true identity. The Paramount Blu-ray and DVD also stars Takeshi Kitano, Michael Carmen Pitt, Pilou Asbaek, Chin Han, and Juliette Binoche. The Ghost in the Shell Blu-ray also features bonus material with acclaimed-director Rupert Sanders, other cast members, and crew.

Rupert Sanders made his feature directing debut with Universals Snow White and the Huntsman. The film grossed nearly $400 million worldwide. Before directing features, he was an award-winning commercial director. In 2008, he swept the Clios, ANDYS, Addys, AICP, D&AD and Cannes awards for his Halo spots.

About the Sounds of Film
Local News, Business & Finance, Health & Wellness, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: July 12 2017

Announces Up to $10 Million in Grant Funding to Advance Research and Provide Resources to Future Processing Businesses.

Albany, NY  July 12, 2017  Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed legislation and announced new actions to support the emerging industrial hemp industry and boost the agricultural economy in New York State. This legislation solidifies the status of industrial hemp as an agricultural commodity under New York Agriculture and Markets Law and creates an industrial hemp working group to advise the State on research and policies concerning the crop. It also creates a one-stop shop to help producers and processors better understand state and federal regulations and requirements. In addition, the Governor announced up to $10 million in grant funding will be available through two initiatives to advance industrial hemp research and economic development opportunities for industrial hemp businesses.

By expanding industrial hemp research and development for both farms and businesses, New York is embracing our legacy of innovation to lead the way on this economic engine that will create jobs from the field to the factory, Governor Cuomo said. Industrial hemp is a promising commodity that, with the necessary support and resources, can provide a tremendous boost to our communities by increasing the profitability of our farms, creating new jobs in Upstate New York, and laying the groundwork for future growth.

Research Grants for Research Institutions and Farmers

A centerpiece of Governor Cuomos agenda is a $5 million commitment to support research into the production of industrial hemp in New York. This initiative will begin immediately with a $1 million partnership among New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Empire State Development, and Cornell Universitys College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The Department of Agriculture and Markets, in cooperation with College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, conducted an open solicitation for farmers interested in growing industrial hemp, in Cornell's research trials, during the 2017 growing season.

As a result of this research grant program, industrial hemp will be planted on nearly 2,000 acres across the state for research purposes, expanding industrial hemp production in New York nearly 6,000 percent from 30 acres in 2016.

Empire State Development and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets are also partnering with SUNY Morrisville to support industrial hemp research on an anticipated 85 acres. Both Cornell University and SUNY Morrisville will be reimbursed for the administration of these research trials and the production of annual research reports.

Additional components of the $5 million research commitment include:

Industrial Hemp Seed Breeding Program: To support the development of local, high-quality seed that is consistent with New York and federal laws, Cornell University will expand its New York Seed Improvement Project to design industrial hemp seed certification standards for New York State. Similar to existing State benchmarks on seed quality for other commodities, this will ensure that the local hemp cultivars are developed to be well adapted for New York States climate and farm management practices, and maintain low levels of THC. The State will also seek additional opportunities to partner with research institutions to develop domestic seed resources and germplasm repositories in New York.

Continued Investment in Successful Industrial Hemp Research: New York State will continue to advance new opportunities in basic agronomic, market and manufacturing research to ensure New Yorks leadership in the hemp production and manufacturing industry.

Capital Grants for Industrial Hemp Processors

New York State will also launch a $5 million Industrial Hemp Processors Grant Fund. Administered by Empire State Development, in consultation with the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, the program will provide funding to eligible businesses for capital costs related to the processing of industrial hemp, including new construction and the purchase of equipment. Grants of up to $250,000 will be available to qualifying applicants. Program guidelines and applications will be available at https://esd.ny.gov/industrial-hemp on July 20, 2017.

Industrial Hemp Working Group

To further support the development of industrial hemp as an agricultural product, the legislation Governor Cuomo signed today will clarify that industrial hemp will be treated the same as other crops and seed under state law. The legislation also establishes the Industrial Hemp Working Group and One-Stop Shop. The working group includes researchers and key industry leaders who will serve two-year terms and will make recommendations concerning research, opportunities to promote industrial hemp, and policy and program changes.

Members of the Industrial Hemp Working Group include:

Richard A. Ball, Commissioner, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets (Chair)

Senator Thomas OMara

Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo

Mike Barnhart, Plant Science Laboratories

Susie Cody, NYS Hemp Industries Association

Benjamin Banks-Dobson, Old Mud Creek Farm LLC

Dan Dolgin, JD Farms

Ira Fair, 21st Century Hemp

Liisa Fiedelholtz, formerly of Ann, Inc.

Jennifer Gilbert Jenkins, SUNY Morrisville

David Grusenmeyer, New York Farm Viability Institute

Marc Privitera, PreProcess, Inc.

Larry Smart, Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Julie Suarez, Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Nicholas Vita, Columbia Care LLC

Steven Wood, SUNY Research Foundation

Jeff Williams, New York Farm Bureau

One-Stop Shop for Technical Assistance

The State today also debuted its One-Stop Shop and webpage https://esd.ny.gov/industrial-hemp to help producers and processors navigate industrial hemp industry regulations and requirements under state and federal law. The One-Stop Shop is modeled after a similar and successful initiative to support the craft beverage industry, and will provide a single point of government contact for assistance with the States newly launched grant programs, as well as regulations, permitting, and any other questions or issues facing the industry.

New York producers and businesses interested in participating in New York States Industrial Hemp Agricultural Research Pilot Program for the 2018 growing season, or the Industrial Hemp Processors Grant Fund should visit the One-Stop Shop, email IndustrialHempNYS@agriculture.ny.gov , or call toll-free at 877-249-6841.

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, New York is in a great position to lead in the revival of the industrial hemp industry in the U.S. With our excellent research institutions paving the way, the States growers have a unique chance to tap into this emerging market. Today, especially, when many of our farmers have faced challenges due to extreme weather conditions and may be looking to diversify their crops, the industrial hemp research program presents a great opportunity for our farmers, as well as our researchers and businesses to expand into new areas.

Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky said, The industrial hemp initiative highlights one of the many ways New York State benefits from being home to world-class educational institutions as new academia-industry partnerships utilize the innovations from research and development, generating economic opportunities and more jobs for New Yorkers.

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who convened New Yorks first Industrial Hemp Summit in Ithaca on April 18 on behalf of Governor Cuomo, said, There are so many promising applications for industrial hemp, the possibilities for unprecedented innovation in a variety of industries are truly limitless. The Southern Tier is Soaring with new opportunity, and with this bill signing Governor Cuomo is solidifying his commitment to growing the States agricultural industry and creating opportunities to strengthen the economy.

Senator Thomas F. O'Mara said, "I am excited to be taking another step to expand the hemp industry, advance new research and fuel economic growth across New York. Thanks to Governor Cuomo and my colleagues in the legislature, the hemp industry will prosper and support economic success for farmers, researchers, and local businesses throughout the state."

Senator Patty Ritchie, Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said, "The success of the agricultural industry in New York depends on connecting our states hardworking farmers with new and emerging opportunities, and these investments in the hemp industry do precisely that. The ability to diversify and make new crops available to farmers will provide myriad economic benefits, complementing the Governors continued commitment to the economies of Upstate New York."

Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo said, "This bill is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication, designed to position the state to take full advantage of this multi-purpose crop. I am pleased that the Governor has championed this legislation and strongly supported our efforts to position New York as the hemp capital of the nation. Farmers, processors, manufacturers, and researchers will all reap the rewards from the actions being taken today."

Assemblyman Bill Magee, Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, said, "The agricultural sector is a vital contributor to economic growth across the state and by welcoming new opportunities and markets, we help make this key industry even stronger. These investments in growing and expanding the hemp industry will create jobs and new economic activity, and I commend Governor Cuomo for his leadership in promoting the hemp industry."

Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton said, "By investing in the growth of the industrial hemp industry, we will create new jobs and opportunity in our community. Thank you Governor Cuomo for your leadership in expanding the hemp industry and to all who have made industrial hemp a viable part of New York agriculture that will help support job growth and economic development in our region for generations to come."

Kathryn J. Boor, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, said, Making industrial hemp a success in New York depends on smart investment in research in the agricultural sciences. Backed by Cornell researchers and our strong network of agricultural expertise in every county in the state, New York is poised to be a national leader in this emerging crop. Governor Cuomos continued support provides our states farmers the opportunity they need to innovate and compete in this exciting new market.

Dr. David Rogers, President of Morrisville State College, said, It is exciting to lead in the return of industrial hemp production in New York State. Morrisville State College was fortunate to receive one of the first permits to conduct research on industrial hemp. Our faculty member, Dr. Jennifer Gilbert Jenkins, led the Morrisville effort and collaborated with JD Farms to grow the first successful crop under this permit in New York this past year. Our faculty and students are excited to continue conducting research on something that has such potential for New York State agriculture and industry.

Industrial hemp generates more than $570 million per year nationally and has tremendous potential to grow the agricultural economy in New York State. Recognizing the impact the industrial hemp industry can have on manufacturing, the creation of new jobs and the profitability of farms across New York, the State, at the Governors direction, launched its Industrial Hemp Agricultural Research Pilot Program in 2015. The program permitted 10 educational institutions and farms to grow and research industrial hemp.
Not that long ago, it was easy to rack up bills of hundreds or thousands of dollars in data roaming charges when traveling with your mobile phone. Now, its possible to contain your costs, thanks to new offers from carriers, SIMs you can buy int he country you are visiting, or even mobile hotspots.

For Americans, Mexico and Canada are the easiest countries to travel to and call home from without a fuss. Any further abroad, and youll have to work harder for deals. It all comes down to planning ahead, and well show you how in this article.

Here are the best options for keeping your mobile data costs down while traveling.

Work with your carrier

Many U.S. carriers have plan levels that extend a domestic plan to Canada and Mexico. T-Mobile is the only one with a plan that works worldwide for data and text with an upgrade option. The other carriers offer day passes (and some have week or month ones, too) for roaming.

But note that with a plan instead of a pass, carriers will cancel or limit non-U.S. access if more than 50 percent of your usage is outside the U.S. for a two-month period. If youre traveling for an extended period, its better to put your U.S. plan on hiatus (many carriers will suspend your plan, which prevents cancellation fees and other penalties) while you use a carrier in other countries.

AT&T only includes Canada and Mexico for data (up to your data plan limits) and unlimited text calling in its Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Choice plans. The company sells $10 day passes that include unlimited text and calling within and among over 200 countries and use of your data plan. It also has $40, $60, and $120 monthly passes that work in the same countries, but come with a small data allotment (200, 300, and 800MB) and high per-minute voice rates. AT&T customers traveling outside Canada and Mexico should shop around.

Sprint includes Sprint Global Roaming as a free feature you can enable, and then includes 2G (like 128Kbps) data rates in about 180 countries, and within and among those countries, free texting plus $0.20 a minute voice calling. But it also sells 4G LTE high-speed data passes in about 50 countries: $2 a day or $10 a week in Canada or Mexico; $10 a day or $50 a week in China; and $5 a day or $25 a week in other places. This could be cheaper for short trips than anything you can find where youre going.

T-Mobile has several plansT-Mobile One, Simple Choice, New Classic, and Select Choicethat include unlimited texting and 128Kbps data in over 140 countries. Calls are $0.20 a minute within and between those countries, and very expensive otherwise, so find an alternate. A $5-per-month Plus upgrade takes that to 256Kbpsand includes unlimited in-flight Gogo Wi-Fi for domestic flights. Its T-Mobile One plan includes data, text, and calls in Canada and Mexico under the same terms as your U.S. plan, and unlimited calling to the U.S. as well. (T-Mobile says it offers data passes as well, but it currently has no information about this on its site, despite pointing to pages that should have details and dont.)

Verizon has the Verizon Plan Unlimited for bringing your plan and its limits at no extra cost to Mexico and Canada. However, 4G LTE data is limited to 512MB a day. It also offers a Travel Pass, which is $5 a day in Mexico or Canada (without the unlimited plan) and $10 a day in over 100 other countries. It also lets you apply your U.S. calling plans text, voice, and data limits wherever you are with the same daily limit.

Theres one more option, too:

Project Fi from Google is a great option for frequent global travelers based in the U.S. You have to purchase an Android phone, which can be a non-starter for iPhone users, but plans start at $30 a month for 1GB of 4G LTE data that can be used in the U.S. and in over 135 other countries, unlimited texting in those same countries, and unlimited calling within the U.S. (Data speeds may not always be LTE; theyll be at the fastest rate available with partners in those countries.) It costs $10 for each additional gigabyte, and signing up ahead of time for a higher level of usage doesnt come with an opportunity cost, as Google credits unused data forward. Cell calls within or among those countries are $.20 a minute.

Buy a SIM

If youre using an iPhone that can be internationally unlocked or that comes unlocked, you can drop in a GSM-based SIM wherever you land or arrive.

I asked frequent travelers to Asiaincluding to China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwanand the universal recommendation was to wait until you arrived at the airport, and purchase a SIM from a shop there. Because so many people recommended this option, Im passing it along, even though we all know from experience that many other kinds of airport shops fleece unwary tourists! In this case, apparently not.

Check for tourism office deals, too. One friend pointed out that Discover Hong Kong has a SIM targeted specifically to short-term tourists sold at the airport. For about $11 to $15 (HK$88 to HK$118), you can get a SIM with 1.5GB or 5GB of LTE data for a five-day or eight-day period, including Wi-Fi hotspot usage, local calls within Hong Kong, and preloaded international call credit. They also offer data roaming to mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan at $5 a day.

IDG iPhone 3GS and a China Unicom SIM.

(China also has the challenge of its Great Firewall. Youll need a VPN to work around it. You can read about a Macworld editors experience using his iPhone in China to get an idea of what youre in for.)

While I didnt rack up any specific recommendations in Europe and other destinations, one colleague pointed me to a detailed, constantly updated wiki that provides eye-watering detail about prepaid SIMs. Check the country or countries youre visiting and it may help prepare you for what plan to buy. Some carriers will sell a SIM online and ship it to you internationally ahead of your trip, too, but make sure the timing works.

In the 28 countries of the European Union, roaming fees among those nations for texts, call, and data evaporated on June 15 after over a decade of pressure and rule making by the EU. As a result, buying a SIM in any EU country lets you use it in all the others. This helps immensely for a trans-European trip, but make sure you know which countries arent in the EUlike Switzerland.

Once youve purchased a SIM, you should be able to recharge it if you visit the same country or region that it covers again, avoiding future one-time costs.

While you can purchase SIMs that work worldwide or in large regions via a number of websites in advance of travel, these are no longer the deals they were even two years ago, when you could spend hundreds of dollars a gigabyte. Now, its almost always possible to spend vastly less for multi-gigabyte data plans.

If your phone cant be unlocked, you may be able to rent a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot for about $3 to $15 a day with large data allotments, depending on the airport at which you arrive.

Find Wi-Fi for data, texts, and calls

You might not need international data, text, or calls at all. Wi-Fi may be abundant where youre traveling, and you could use it for free or with modest purchases in cafes. You can also purchase a subscription from Boingo Wireless for unlimited access to paid Wi-Fi hotspots in certain regions, like Asia-Pacific or England and Ireland, or 2,000 minutes (over 33 hours) per month anywhere in the world.

With Wi-Fi, you should be able to manage nearly everything you could with voice and text messaging service:

iMessage and FaceTime work over Wi-Fi for your iOS and macOS interactions.

WhatsApp has hundreds of millions of users, and offers text, audio, and video; check with those you want to reach and install and signup for the free service before you travel.

Skype can make calls to other people with Skype, but also has cheap per-minute and unlimited calling plans to other countries. You can also pay for incoming phone numbers in different countries and send and receive texts.

Google Hangouts can fill in gaps for those who dont use any of the above.

Most of these services are designed to work at low data rates, but you may find Wi-Fi speeds in many places are too slow or erratic for video, but work fine for audio or text.

How to unlock your phone

A SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) identifies your phone to a cellular network, and confirms the billing relationship.

If your iPhone (or other phone) is more than a few years old, make sure it has a SIM slot. Phones sold in America for Verizon or Sprint networks at one time only included support for their format of network (CDMA), which doesnt use a SIM. Look up your phone model if you have any confusion.

Swapping the module is straightforward (you need a special tool or an unbent paperclip). Because the SIM card has shrunk (from regular to micro to nano), an older phone might need an adapter to hold a newer, smaller card. However, wherever you buy a SIM, they should have these adapters since theyll be used to people with phones of all vintages.

Many phones are locked to a carrier at purchase, and a new SIM cant be activated immediately. Its critical you check on this and unlock the phone before traveling as you may be unable to unlock it outside your home country.

If you have a phone with active carrier service, you can search for the carriers FAQ or unlock page, and see if your phone is unlocked, or give them a call to check. Verizon doesnt lock its iPhones and Sprint generally unlocks on request (with some provisos). T-Mobile has a pile of requirements: it doesnt separately unlock internationally, and requires you pay off your phone first. AT&T also requires payoff, but has fewer other restrictions.

If your phone isnt on a plan, you will need to figure out the previous carrier and use an online unlock request (via links above) or call directly. If you cant figure out, call the most likely carrier, and they should be able to tell you which network the phone was sold on even if its not theirs.

Some carriers will require extra documentation to unlock a phone that was formally on the network. And phones reported lost, stolen, or used for fraud cant be unlockedyou could accidentally buy a used phone that met one of those criteria. (Apple removed a tool to check whether an iPhone is unlocked, reportedly because of criminal abuse.)

We have more details on how to unlock your phone.
Pine trees by Wu Guanzhong [Photo provided to China Daily]

The late painter Guan Shanyue led his peers at the Lingnan School of Painting, formed in the early 20th-century in the southern city of Guangzhou, to revolutionize the classic Chinese mountain-and-water paintings. Guan also donated some 800 of his paintings to build an art museum named after him in Shenzhen in 1997.

Guan Shanyue and His Age, an exhibition to mark the 105th anniversary of Guan's birth, is now on at the museum and will run through July 21.

In addition to Guan's paintings, also on show are paintings of other masters, such as Gao Jianfu, Huang Binhong and Lin Fengmian, who worked to modernize the ink-brush painting.

The exhibition also shows works by later-generation artists like Liu Guosong.

The exhibits are from the collections of the museum and several other institutions in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Hangzhou.
Jackson Owens follows up his hit single Cant Make It Right, with a new track from his debut EP, For The Better
The next person to be appointed will be the thirteenth to hold the role in 12 years  and the third in just two months
Two Chinese tourists were killed and 24 others injured after a bus carrying 32 Chinese tourists overturned on Thailand's Phuket Island at 11:30 pm local time on Monday, according to China's consular office in Phuket.

A man rushes to help rescue the injured in a bus accident in Patong, Phuket, Thailand, July 10, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

As Thai local media reported, a 10-year-old boy died on the spot and 25 others were injured, but one of them died later.

The accident happened on the way back to their hotel after the Chinese tourists enjoyed a trip to a spa, according to local police.

The bus driver said that the bus's brakes didn't work when the bus was driving down a ramp, which caused the driver to lose control as the vehicle crashed into motorcycles, cars, auto repair shops and houses along the road.

Police brought the bus driver to the police station as part of the investigation and inspected the bus to clarify the cause of the accident.

On June 29, a bus carrying 33 Chinese tourists was in a crash with a motorcycle on the same section of road. The accident left the motorcycle's driver, a Thai woman, dead and injured 24 Chinese tourists. That accident was due to brake failure.
New Delhi : External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today held extensive talks with the Deputy Prime Minister of Yemen during which she conveyed Indias concern over the safety of Father Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted in the Arab country last year, the ministry said. On his part, Abdulmalik Abduljalil Al-Mekhlafi told Swaraj that Father Tom was alive and the Yemen government was making all efforts to secure his release. "The External Affairs Minister stressed the governments concern for the safety and well-being of Father Tom Uzhunnalil who was abducted in April 2016 from Aden and reiterated the request for continued assistance from the Yemeni authorities in securing his safe and early release," the ministry said in a statement after the meeting.

Al-Mekhlafi, who is also the foreign minister of Yemen, assured all cooperation to secure release of Father Tom, a resident of Kerala. The internal situation in Yemen as well as the overall atmosphere in the gulf region are believed to have figured in the talks. Terror groups like the al Qaeda and the Islamic State are said to have bases in parts of Yemen resulting in instability in the country. Swaraj and Al-Mekhlafi held discussions in a cordial and friendly atmosphere, covering bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest, the MEA said. "The visiting minister appreciated Indias steadfast support for Yemen during difficult times, including Indias humanitarian assistance," the MEA said.

In the meeting, Swaraj thanked the Yemeni government for its whole-hearted cooperation and support in evacuation of Indian and foreign nationals from Yemen under the Operation Raahat in March-April 2015. India had evacuated 6,700 people, including the nationals of 41 countries, under the operation when internal strife in the Arab nation grew out of control. The Yemeni deputy prime minister appreciated India for continuing to welcome Yemeni nationals, especially for higher studies and medical treatment. "He requested increase in slots for Yemeni students as also facilitation of medical visas for the Yemeni patients as India has been their most preferred destination. The External Affairs Minister assured all possible assistance, including through supply of much-needed medicines at Yemen?s request," the MEA said. Swaraj hosted a lunch in honour of the visiting dignitary. PTI
Mumbai : In a dig at the BJP over the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray today asked the senior ally of his party to send 'gau rakshaks' to face terrorists in the Valley. Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district last evening. While five of the deceased hailed from neighbouring Gujarat, two were from Maharashtra.

"They (the BJP) used to say that do not bring sports, culture etc. in the political issues. Today, religion and politics came together in the form of the terror attack. Should we understand that none of those terrorists would have been alive today if they had the cow meat in their bags than weapons?"

"The issue of 'gau rakshaks' is raging today. Why don't you send these cow vigilantes to face terrorists?" Thackeray asked while addressing representatives of various Ganesh mandals for the upcoming festival. He chaired the meeting of the Ganesh mandals here. Thackeray, whose party shares an uneasy relationship with the BJP, further said, "If the BJP government can talk to separatists in the Kashmir Valley to resolve their issues, they can certainly talk with those wishing to celebrate the Ganesh festival amidst fanfare". PTI
Kochi : Actor Dileep, booked for conspiracy in the sensation actress abduction was sent to two days in police custody by the Angamaly Judicial Magitrate court on Wednesday. While the police demanded Dileep;s custody for three days for further questioning and collection of evidence, the court allowed custody for two days.

Hundreds of people assembled outside the court and booed and raised slogans against the actor. The 48-year-old actor is accused of

conspiracy behind the abduction and assault of the actress, an incident that has sent shock waves in the state. ( With PTI inputs )
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MARTINSVILLEHenry County Public Safety Director Matt Tatum has been appointed to a Virginia panel that will look into how to implement the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network in Virginia.

Governor Terry McAuliffe on Monday signed a letter of intent declaring that the commonwealth will allow the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and A&T to proceed with deployment of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network in Virginia, according to the Virginia Office of the Governor website. Virginia will be the first state to opt in to FirstNets National Public Safety Broadband Network.

FirstNet resulted from the 9/11 Commissions recommendation that a high-speed, nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety be created to enable continued communication during a disaster or other large-scale event.

I recently learned of the news that Virginia was a leading state for implementation, Tatum said. The concept of a nationwide communication tool has been discussed now for many years. Its success will result in a very complex system as there are so many variables to overcome. Henry County is closely watching the progress with an open mind and if proves to be beneficial to our community, we will certainly consider implementing it.

He added that currently, I feel there are too many unanswered questions to give an opinion of its benefit. [The] concept is great but we (will be) working to make it real.

According to the FirstNet/Virginia Public Safety Broadband Network website, first responders are beginning to rely on smart phones, tablets or other devices, but commercial networks are unreliable for use during an emergency. FirstNet aims to create a reliable, resilient broadband network dedicated to public safety and to make it easier to use rugged devices and applications to meet public safety requirements and increase ability to respond.

To develop a public safety broadband network, FirstNet will take into account information provided to FirstNet in a detailed consultation process that is directed toward the design of a public safety broadband network for a particular state or territory. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has established grant program to support the efforts of states, territories and their public safety agencies to prepare plans to deploy this network.

FirstNet will work with the state point of contact during state and local planning consultation to gather requirements from key stakeholders for developing the deployment plan. States will gather data to help FirstNet in developing a final build-out plan that will make sure the needs of users are met.

In order for FirstNet to be a nationwide network, all states must have a public safety broadband network that connects to the FirstNet core. A state can choose to have FirstNet construct the public safety broadband network, or the state can opt out and seek the required approvals to build its own public safety broadband network that meets stringent FirstNet requirements.

A state has 90 days from the date the governor receives the FirstNet build-out plan to notify FirstNet, National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission in writing whether it prefers to engage FirstNet to build its public safety broadband network or build its own network. If a state chooses to construct its own public safety broadband network, it has 180 days to complete a request for proposal for its public safety broadband network. The state also must submit and alternate plan to the Federal Communications Commission for consideration.

In Virginia, the FirstNet Virginia team (secretary of public safety and homeland security with Center for Innovative Technology partner) is collecting stakeholder thoughts, ideas, data and feedback to help create a plan for FirstNet deployment and operation within the commonwealth. That data will be shared with the federal FirstNet team so they can work with Virginia to design a network plan that meets the needs of Virginias first responders and public safety community.

According to the Office of the Governors website: Public safety subscribers to AT&T will be able to take advantage of priority service on AT&Ts existing LTE network nationwide. Localities will have full control to identify their responders and assign priority as needed based on the circumstances. By the end of 2017, public safety subscribers will also have preemption capability on the network, helping to further ensure their ability to communicate.
Federal officials are rethinking a plan to build new high-speed railroad tracks through parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island after complaints that the project would devastate neighborhoods, marshlands and tourist attractions.

The Federal Railroad Administration dropped the proposal from the latest version of a $120 billion to $150 billion master plan, released Wednesday, to rebuild the congested Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C., over the next 30 years.

Instead, the agency said it would continue studying options for adding track capacity and speeding service in the 100-mile stretch from New Haven, Connecticut, to Providence, Rhode Island, and that it's seeking input from residents and officials in both states.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, a Democrat, called the idea of running tracks through historic Old Lyme and other communities on Connecticut's southeastern shoreline "misguided," poorly conceived" and "untethered from reality." The FRA's retreat, he said, is a testament local residents' and town leaders' perseverance.

Construction couldn't begin without the support and agreement of state leaders, FRA project manager Rebecca Reyes-Alicea said.

"We proposed an informed option that we wanted to put on the table and get reaction," Reyes-Alicea said of the now-shelved plan. "We really see the study as a positive move in the right direction."

The master plan Wednesday calls for enhancing capacity, performance and reliability on the Northeast Corridor through updated infrastructure, more trains and new tracks that would allow speeds of up to 220 mph. It's the first comprehensive look at the future of the 500-mile corridor, which handles about 2,200 trains and 750,000 passengers each day on commuter and intercity trains.

The next steps will be deciding how the plan will be implemented and how it will be funded, all while making sure construction doesn't cripple day-to-day operations, Reyes-Alicea said.

"That's one of the greatest challenges," she said.

The FRA estimates rebuilding the Northeast Corridor would cut travel times between Washington and New York by 35 minutes, to about 2 hours and 10 minutes, on the fastest trains and save more than an hour on trips between Boston and New York, which now take close to 4 hours.

Work has already begun on some projects incorporated into the FRA's plan. They include a project to build new, expanded tunnels under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, so far pegged to cost $12.9 billion, and a project to replace a 143-year-old tunnel in Baltimore.
The city's first nurses strike in three decades is scheduled to start early Wednesday morning, after Tufts Medical Center and its union nurses failed yet again to reach consensus on a new contract.

Approximately 1,200 nurses will begin the one-day strike starting Wednesday at 6:59 a.m. The hospital has said it will allow nurses to cross the picket line on the first day, but if they do not, it would lock the nurses out for a subsequent four days.

"We came to the table today hoping to reach an agreement, but Tufts management is determined to force a strike and a subsequent lockout of our nurses," said Mary Havlicek Cornacchia, an operating-room nurse and bargaining unit co-chair, in a statement. "This decision really shows administration's lack of respect for its nurses and for the safety of our patients."

Hospital officials said they came to the table ready to reach an agreement, but the nurses union insisted on a retirement plan for the nurses that the hospital does not want.

"We're extremely disappointed there will be a strike tomorrow, but we are going to be here for our patients," said hospital spokeswoman Brooke Tyson-Hynes. "We have more than 320 talented nurses that will begin caring for our patients and delivering the care Tufts Medical Center is known for."

The sides have met more than 30 times over the course of 15 months, and met again on Tuesday in eleventh-hour talks to try to avoid a strike. Despite meeting for hours, the sides were unable to come to a consensus around how to change the nurses' retirement plan, the primary sticking point in discussions.

The hospital has spent weeks preparing for a strike, including hiring 320 replacement nurses in a number of specialty areas. (For more on how Tufts has prepared for a strike, click here)

Unlike other hospitals that have experienced strikes or the threat of a work stoppage, the hospital said that it wouldn't disrupt operations, and had not diverted any volume or rescheduled any appointments.

Talks have mainly swirled around three issues: wages, staffing and retirement benefits.

Tufts had initially offered its nurses between a 5 percent and 10.5 percent raise, but had reduced that raise to between 3 percent and 5 percent because of the strike costs.

The nurses had said they are the lowest paid in the city by a $9 an hour margin. Nurses also wanted increased staffing, calling for a ratio of four patients to every one nurse, instead of five or six patients per nurse.

The primary sticking point in recent negotiations had been about the retirement plan.

Tufts wanted to move 341 of its nurses from a defined pension plan to the hospital's 403(b) retirement plan. The hospital said 86 percent of all the money it spends on employee retirement has been going toward the defined pension of the 341 nurses -- $7.8 million this year alone.

The hospital said nurses joining the 403(b) retirement plan would get 100 percent of what they would have achieved in the previous pension plan, while the remaining nurses would receive at least a 50 percent increase in their retirement match.

"Management has also proposed freezing the defined-benefit pension plan for approximately 350 RNs and instituting a divisive, inequitable, and complex catchup mechanism as part of a proposed higher-risk 403(b) matching program," the nurses union said in the statement. "That change would result in significant losses in retirement funding for most nurses. Meanwhile, RNs already in the defined-contribution plan would continue to receive the lowest employer contribution of all nurses in the city."

Union representatives had rejected the offer, claiming that most individuals would experience "significant losses" under the new plan. Instead, the union had proposed an alternative type of defined-benefit plan known as a multi-employer pension plan. The nurses said the plan would save the hospital $11 million immediately, and would reduce the hospital's liabilities by $85 million.

"They continued to bring forth a retirement plan that would be costly to the hospital and risky to nurses," Tyson-Hynes said. "It does not have the savings they proclaim."

Even before final news of the strike came, Tufts was already swimming in bills related to its preparations for a possible strike. So far, strike preparations have cost the hospital $6 million in additional security and staffing expenses.
WESTFIELD -- The abandoned New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad bridge over the Westfield River parallel to Elm Street will reopen as a pedestrian bridge as part of a $3.7 million extension of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail.

Work began July 3. Crews have already started prepping the site and building a scaffold under the bridge. Fencing blocks access to the bridge.

The majority of the bridge rehabilitation will be completed in 2017. Sidewalk and landscape improvements on either end of the bridge are expected to be installed in the spring and summer of 2018, according to an email from the city's engineering department.

The project includes construction of the portion of the trail from Cowles Court northward to the Westfield River, including work on the bridge crossing the river. The length is 853 feet, or 0.16 miles, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The engineering department said the work includes cleaning and painting the existing bridge, minor structural repairs, adding a concrete deck for the trail, new railings, and new lighting.

Contractors will build sidewalk and make landscaping improvements on the north and south sides of the bridge to unite existing parks: Half Mile Falls Park and Women's Temperance Park to the north and Kane/Wojtkiewicz Park and Whitney Field to the south.

An area of the rail trail to the south has new benches, bocce courts and other amenities completed last year.

Atsalis Brothers Painting of Warren, Michigan, is doing the work, the city said.

The railroad built the bridge in 1910 and raised it in 1919, according to the enthusiast website Bridgehunter.com. It was abandoned as a through-route in 1976 and was last used in the 1990s by the Pioneer Valley Railroad to service industry south of the river.

In recent years the bridge has attracted trespassers and thrill seekers..

The city is paying $46,850 toward the bridge and trail project, all of it for lighting, according to the engineering department. The remainder of the cost is from federal funding.

The Columbia Greenway Rail Trail follows much of the old New Haven rail line north and south through town, a route that itself followed the old canal.

Now, the trail ends at Main Street near Stop & Shop.

City planners also hope to build the trail in the middle, linking Stop & Shop with the bridge on the Westfield River through downtown.

Last month, the City Council cut from its 2017-18 budget the local matching funds for another $6.2 million in federal transportation funding. That $6.2 million is still on the table, said Peter J. Miller of the city's community development office. The city hopes to use $250,000 from the Community Preservation Act to fund the local match.

The Westfield Community Preservation Committee will discuss the $250,000 for the middle of the rail trail at its next meeting, 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Room 201 of City Hall, 59 Court Street.
Three California friends who foiled an alleged terror plot on a Paris-bound train in 2015 will play themselves in the upcoming Clint Eastwood-directed film about the attack.

Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler to portray themselves in "The 15:17 to Paris," an upcoming film about the moments Ayoub El Khazzani opened fire on the crowded train out of Amsterdam, according to Variety.

The film is the 87-year-old Eastwood's followup to "Sully" with Tom Hanks.

Eastwood reportedly began a wide-ranging search for the actors to portray the three Americans before deciding to have Sadler, Skarlatos and Stone portray themselves.

The trio were awarded Legion of Honor medals, France's highest recognition.
Philanthropist Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, called contraceptives "one of the greatest anti-poverty innovations the world has ever known" during an all-day global summit designed to raise funds and share strategies on family planning programs on Tuesday in London.

She referred to President Donald Trump's proposed budget cuts to foreign aid that will impact the delivery of contraceptives to millions of women in developing countries "deeply troubling," and called "this a difficult time for family planning," according to media reports.

At least $2.5 billion in monies for rights-based family programs was pledged during the summit, whose attendees included policymakers, advocates and donors. Most of that money was pledged by countries in Asia and Africa.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a co-host of the summit, and the biggest private donor, will give an additional $375 million for family planning over the next four years, a 60 percent increase in the foundation's family planning funding.

Gates told attendees "this additional funding can't begin to close the gap that the U.S. budget cuts could create," but said the commitments represents a desire to "partner with the private sector to ensure contraceptives are in stock when women need them -- and that women have access to a range of options."

Other summit co-hosts included the United Kingdom's international development department and the United Nations Population Fund in collaboration with Family Planning 2020 and in partnership with United States Agency for International Development and Global Affairs Canada.

Family Planning 2020 is a global partnership organization formed after a similar summit in 2012, that is working to enable 120 million more women and girls to be able to use contraceptives by 2020.

As a result of the current summit, 38 partner countries made renewed commitments to accelerate family planning progress, and four new countries joined the FP2020 partnership.

Sixteen private companies and 11 partner organizations also announced commitments to improving access to affordable contraception in developing countries.

American global healthcare company Mylan made a first-time commitment that includes aiming to register its contraceptive portfolio, which includes oral pills and injectibles, in 80 percent of 69 of the world's poorest countries targeted by FP2020.

A public-private collaboration that includes the Gates Foundation, USAID and others, with American pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which has research headquarters in Connecticut, aims to broaden access to Pfizer's single-use, three-month injectable contraceptive, Sayana Press.

Sayana Press is currently being introduced, scaled-up, or piloted in more than 15 FP2020 countries, with Pfizer continuing to support additional country registrations. The donor consortium is supporting the collaboration with more than $270 million in investments between now and 2020.

The product's design means that community health workers, pharmacists, and women themselves can be trained to administer it - where approved by national health authorities - according to the summary of the summit's commitments from its partners.

In January, President Donald Trump reinstated a ban on American foreign aid to reproductive health providers abroad who discuss abortion as a family planning option - U.S. law already prohibits foreign aid for abortions - and expanded the ban to nongovernmental organizations in developing countries who include abortion as a family planning option or who advocate for abortion rights in their country.

In April, the administration said it would withhold $32.5 million in funding that had been earmarked this current fiscal year for the United Nations Population Fund, the world's largest provider of contraceptives, accounting for 42 per cent of all contraception procured by donors on behalf of developing countries.

In May, Trump announced plans to cut the U.S. annual global health budget by about 26 percent, or around $2.2 billion in the 2018 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The cut would all but eliminate some $607.5 million per year in USAID funding for contraception and reproductive healthcare for women in developing countries.

According to the World Health Organization, some 214 million women of reproductive age in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy are not using a modern contraceptive method. Reasons include limited access to contraception, particularly among young people, poorer segments of populations, or unmarried people.
Le Dr Renganaden Payayachy a repondu a une question parlementaire du depute du MMM de la 19e circonscription. destinee au ministre de la Sante, lors de la seance parlementaire du 29 mars 2022.

B/23 The Honourable Second Member for Stanley and Rose Hill (Mr Nagalingum)

To ask Dr the Honourable Minister of Health and Wellness 

Whether, in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, he will state the quantum of funds received from the levy of Rs2 per litre on MOGAS and Gasoil for the purchase of vaccines and since the application of the said levy to date, indicating the quantum thereof disbursed as at to date?

Monsieur le President,

Jai ete informe par la State Trading Corporation que le prelevement de 2,00 roupies par litre sur lessence et le diesel est en application depuis le 1er juillet 2021 afin de permettre a tous les citoyens de ce pays davoir acces gratuitement aux vaccins contre la Covid-19.

Le National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme Fund a recu un montant de 372 937 550 roupies de la STC.

Le montant total a ete transfere au Ministere de la Sante et du Bien-etre pour lachat des vaccins contre la COVID-19.

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Investigators with the McDowell County Sheriffs Office are looking for this couple, believed to have stolen a painting from the tourism office in Old Fort.

It was reported on Monday, June 26 that, when the pair came into the agency, the woman swiped the small painting, valued at $50, from a table and put it in a bag.

Anyone with information about the crime or the identity of the suspects is asked to call Detective Billie Brown at 652-2237 or McDowell County Crime Stoppers at 65-CRIME (652-7463). Now, you can also text your tips to Crime Stoppers. Text MCDOWELLTIPS and your information to 274637 (CRIMES). With Crime Stoppers, your identity remains anonymous, and you could receive a cash reward.
An Old Fort man was arrested with assaulting an officer with a stun gun after being pulled over for driving recklessly, authorities said Wednesday.

Deputy David Jones of the McDowell County Sheriffs Office charged Michael Jay Rhodes, 36, of 5278 Bat Cave Road in Old Fort, with aggravated assault on an officer, resisting a public officer, careless and reckless driving and assault on a female.

At 7:48 a.m. on Wednesday, July 12, Jones was traveling north on Catawba Avenue in Old Fort, when a blue Saturn Ion 2 pulled from Hardees onto East Crawford Street at a high rate of speed. The driver was operating the vehicle in a reckless manner, at times crossing a double yellow line and nearly hitting a pedestrian, deputies said.

The driver, later identified as Rhodes, stopped the car on Catawba Avenue, jumped out of the automobile and started coming toward the deputy. Rhodes failed to comply with commands to stop, and then began moving toward a woman that had been in his vehicle.

Old Fort Officer Steven Corns arrived on the scene and a struggle ensued between the suspect and the two officers. During the encounter, Rhodes used a stun gun on Jones but was cuffed and taken into custody moments later.

Rhodes received a $1,000 bond.
Morgan County Veterans Day Parade slated Nov. 11 Audio Article The Morgan County Veterans Day Parade will be held on Friday, Nov. 11. The parade will form at the Commons, in McConnelsville, at 9:30 a.m. and set out at 10 a.m. The American Legion Post 24 will render honors at the monuments at the Commons, Riecker Building, the Square, at...

A concert with two purposes Audio Article Wednesday, Nov. 30, a concert with dual purposes is being held at the Twin City Opera House in McConnelsville, Ohio. Its a thank-you to healthcare workers, who can attend for free, and its a benefit for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. In September 2021, Rick Shriver contracted COVID-19. He collapsed...

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When your patient is a fellow physician, the rulebook might have to go out of the window; assumptions on both sides can get in the way. But both physicians can stand to gain from this relationship. Share on Pinterest Clear communication is key when your patient is also a physician. One minute, you may be working with a colleague to care for a critically ill patient in the hospital. But in the next minute, this same colleague could be in your waiting room. What is more, they may be seeking your advice on a sensitive medical issue, such as a sexually transmitted infection or prostate cancer. Providing care to other physicians has its own unique set of challenges that extend beyond those encountered when caring for patients that you might know at a personal level. These intertwined relationships can be hard to navigate; they have the potential to create an awkward, anxiety-provoking environment for many physicians. In a study in Family Medicine, Amy Domeyer-Klenske, M.D., and colleagues reported how physicians most commonly deal with the challenges of caring for physician-patients. According to Dr. Domeyer-Klenske, treating the physician-patient the same as any other patient is key. This can be done by ignoring their background, acknowledging their background up front and negotiating a treatment plan that both physicians can agree with, or allowing the physician-patient to determine their own healthcare plan. What are some assumptions about your colleagues that can affect how you care for them? Medical News Today spoke to some experienced physicians to find out how they work through these potentially complicated relationships.

How assumptions can affect care Dr. Domeyer-Klenske found three common areas that were consistently listed as causing the most difficulty when caring for their fellow physicians: assumptions about patient knowledge and the health choices they make

medical care driven by the physician-patient

boundaries between relationships with colleagues, or between roles as physician/colleague/friend It is not uncommon for physicians to assume that their physician-patient knows more about their diagnosis or treatment than they really do. Because of this, physicians are more likely to assume that their physician-patients are completing all of the recommended follow-up appointments and monitoring their symptoms at home. They also assume that their peers are making the right lifestyle and behavior choices, which isnt always true. Courtney Younglove, M.D.  medical director of the Kansas Weight Loss and Wellness Center in Overland Park  felt that the level of medical care she provides is the same whether the patient is a physician or not. I treat the physicians I see similarly to my non-physician patients but I probably do explain things a little bit less, Dr. Younglove told MNT. She did acknowledge that this assumption might not be accurate, but she also felt that most physicians are already pretty knowledgeable and dont need to be re-educated about basic medical concepts. This opinion was shared by Alka Mittal, M.D., a gastroenterologist in Shawnee, KS. I am more inclined to provide my physician-patients with the primary medical literature than to discuss the basics of their problem, she said. But making assumptions can create problems when caring for physician-patients. Physicians surveyed by Dr. Domeyer-Klenske reported that the level of care they provided their peers differed from their non-physician patients. Some assumed that their fellow physicians would automatically tell them all of the important information they needed to accurately care for them. These physicians tended to ask fewer questions and avoided asking about sensitive issues, leading to reduced or incomplete care. Others felt that their peers had a higher expectation of them than their other patients. It felt as if they were being evaluated on their performance as a physician. This caused them to perform more thorough examinations and evaluations than necessary, leading to too much care. In order to avoid the problems associated with either approach, physicians need to strive to provide appropriately managed healthcare to all of their patients, whether they are physicians or not. One question worth asking is, Can involving physicians in their own care help?

Care driven by the physician-patient Physician-patients naturally have access to more medical information and knowledge than other patients. While this is often a good thing, it can also be challenging for both the physician and the physician-patient to incorporate this knowledge into patient care. Conflicting opinions about the best approach to care can lead to frustrations on both parts. Whether you take your patients opinion into consideration but ultimately make the call, or you allow them to make the majority of decisions, open communication is key to agreeing on the level of involvement of the physician-patient in their own care. I come up with things that I think are going on and things that I think might be the answer. I then listen to what the other physician has to say and see what their opinion is. But ultimately, it is my body and I have to decide what I want to do. Alka Mittal, M.D. Dr. Mittal purposely chooses physicians that she regards highly and that she knows are unlikely to dismiss her knowledge. As with all medical care, shared decision making is important. So it makes sense to include patient-physicians knowledge into directing their own medical care. The challenge is finding the right balance. But what can you do if you run into problems? According to Dr. Younglove, Approaching a challenging physician-patient is best done by being direct and honest. She finds that when she does address problems directly, most physicians respect this approach and respond well to it.
Have you ever wondered how many cells your body is made up of? You are not alone. Scientists are still debating the exact number, which currently remains a conundrum. Share on Pinterest Cells are the building blocks of the human body. But what is the total number of cells in a typical human? The short answer is that the body of an average man contains around 30 to 40 trillion cells. The long answer is that scientists do not yet know the exact number. Plus, it depends on whether or not you include the bacteria that are present in and on our bodies. The majority of the cells in our bodies are actually red blood cells. Although they make up over 80 percent of our body in number, they constitute only around 4 percent of total body mass. This is because red blood cells only measure on average 8 micrometers in diameter, which is 10 times smaller in diameter than an average human hair . In contrast, the average size of a fat cell is 100 micrometers. Although fat cells make up nearly 19 percent of body mass, they contribute under 0.2 percent to the total cell number. But why is it so difficult to figure out the exact number of cells in the body?

Lack of coordinated effort In 2013, a team of researchers from Greece, Italy, and Spain published an estimation of the number of cells in the body. They used data reported by others about individual organs and some mathematical modeling to obtain their results. This paper put the number of cells at 37.2 trillion, plus or minus around 0.81 trillion. Senior author Pierluigi Strippoli, an associate professor of applied biology at the University of Bologna in Italy, told Medical News Today that it was difficult to obtain exact data for diffuse systems, such as blood vessels and nerves. In fact, it was impossible for the team to investigate all of the organs and cell types in the body, so this number is an initial effort, Prof. Strippoli explained. He added that he and his team hope that further contributions published by organ specialists will help improve the human body cell count estimation. Did other scientists take up this call?
Recent research suggests that iron may have a protective effect against heart disease. These promising findings could pave the way for new treatments.

Share on Pinterest New research suggests that low levels of iron may lead to coronary artery disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among people in the United States, responsible for approximately 610,000 deaths each year.

A team of researchers from Imperial College London and University College London, both in the United Kingdom, set out to examine the link between levels of iron in the body and the risk of developing the most common type of CVD: coronary artery disease (CAD).

The findings were published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

CAD , also known as coronary heart disease, occurs when the flow of blood is blocked or slowed down and becomes unable to reach the heart properly.

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Previous research has put forth the idea that levels of iron in the body may be linked to heart disease. But the studies that investigated this link yielded inconsistent results, with some of them suggesting that high iron levels can protect against heart disease and others indicating the exact opposite.

The new research uses Mendelian randomization to investigate this link more closely. More specifically, the scientists  led by Dr. Dipender Gill, a Wellcome Trust Clinical Fellow at Imperial College London  tried to establish causality, examining whether or not iron status has a direct effect on CAD risk.

In order to do this, the scientists turned to peoples individual genetic variations. As Dr. Gill explains, Previous studies have suggested a link between iron levels and heart disease, but it has been difficult to pick this apart from other confounding factors.

As our genes are randomly allocated before we are born, their impact on our systemic iron status is less affected by the lifestyle or environmental factors that can confound observational studies.
A global study based on daily steps counted by smartphones discovers "activity inequality." It's similar to income inequality, except that the "step-poor" are prone to obesity while the "step-rich" tend toward fitness and health.

Stanford researchers using smartphones to track the activity levels of hundreds of thousands of people around the globe made an intriguing discovery: In countries with little obesity, people mostly walked a similar amount per day. But big gaps between people who walked a lot and those who walked very little coincided with much higher levels of obesity.

Considering that an estimated 5.3 million people die from causes associated with physical inactivity every year, these researchers looked for a simple and convenient way to measure activity across millions of people to help figure out why obesity is a bigger problem in some countries than others.

The ground-breaking study, appearing in Nature, used data captured from smartphones to analyze the habits of 717,000 men and women from 111 countries, whose steps were studied for an average of 95 days.

The researchers, led by computer scientist Jure Leskovec and bioengineer Scott Delp, dubbed this phenomenon "activity inequality" to evoke the well-established concept of income inequality.

"If you think about some people in a country as 'activity rich' and others as 'activity poor,' the size of the gap between them is a strong indicator of obesity levels in that society," Delp said.

A related finding was the powerful role that gender played in country-to-country differences. Prior studies of physical activity, done mainly in the United States, have shown that men walk more than women, and this was borne out in the global findings. What surprised researchers, however, was how greatly this gender step gap varied from country to country with negative consequences for women.

"When activity inequality is greatest, women's activity is reduced much more dramatically than men's activity, and thus the negative connections to obesity can affect women more greatly," Leskovec said.

The researchers, who are sharing their findings on an activity inequality website, hope their work will help improve public health campaigns against obesity and support policies to make cities more "walkable."

Smartphones and steps

Smartphones are equipped with tiny sensors called accelerometers that can automatically record stepping motions. The researchers acquired the data for this study from the Azumio Argus app, which tracks physical activity and other health behaviors. Azumio anonymized the data but provided key health demographics: age, gender, height and weight. The last two data points enabled the researchers to calculate each person's body mass index.

The findings leaned most heavily on data from the 46 countries for which Azumio provided at least a thousand anonymized users, enough to form the basis for statistically valid inferences. The analysis disclosed strong correlations among activity inequality, the gender-activity gap, and obesity levels.

"For instance, Sweden had one of the smallest gaps between activity rich and activity poor, and the smallest disparity between male and female steps," said Tim Althoff, a doctoral candidate in computer science and first author on the Nature paper. "It also had one of the lowest rates of obesity."

Meanwhile, the United States ranked fourth from the bottom in overall activity inequality, indicating a large gap between activity rich and activity poor. It was fifth from the bottom in the gender step gap and it has high levels of obesity.

Walkable cities

To better understand the causes and consequences of activity inequality in urban settings, the researchers analyzed a large subset of data from the United States to investigate how the built environments of 69 cities related to activity, obesity and health.

Prior research had scored each city by how walkable and pedestrian-friendly it is, using factors such as ease of walking to shops, restaurants, parks and other destinations. The researchers then correlated this walkability index to their smartphone activity data.

Team member Jennifer Hicks, director of data science for the Mobilize Center at Stanford, said the results make clear that city design has health impacts: The cities that were most conducive to walking had the lowest activity inequality.

"Looking at three California cities in close geographic proximity - San Francisco, San Jose and Fremont - we determined that San Francisco had both the highest walkability score and the lowest level of activity inequality," she said. "In cities that are more walkable everyone tends to take more daily steps, whether male or female, young or old, healthy weight or obese."

A new research instrument?

The technological star of the project was the increasingly ubiquitous smartphone. Nearly 70 percent of adults in developed countries now carry smartphones; in developing nations, the percentage is close to half.

"This opens the door to new ways of doing science at a much larger scale," Delp said.

But qualifying the smartphone as a tool for this type of research was no cakewalk.

"The methodology was so new that the reviewers were dubious at first," Leskovec said.

But strong data and rigorous computational methods ultimately proved the validity of this new approach. Now, having qualified the smartphone for research of this sort, the Stanford researchers are looking for new ways to leverage this tool.

"With the appropriate apps and sensors we can push this research in exciting directions," said team member Abby King, a professor of medicine and of health research and policy. "We could better link activity within and across populations with food intake, or examine the ways activity and inactivity may affect stress or mental health, as well as investigating how best to fine-tune our environments to promote increased activity."
VANCOUVER, British Columbia

July 12, 2017

Miss Canada Casar Jacobson

July 9th

Casar Jacobson

Miss Canada

Having personally experienced hearing loss herself,

Brand Ambassador Conference Ceremony

Vancouver, Canada

commented:

deal

In addition, Casar Jacobsen said

She said this as part of the ongoing Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.

USD

USD

August 6th

/PRNewswire/ -- Ufirst Inc., has appointed Canadian activist and formeras a NUGUNA Neckband brand ambassador on2017.is a formerand United Nations WOMEN Youth Champion as well as a Planet 50/50 champion with increasingly engaged work in gender equality, diversity advocacy, and Deaf culture.she developed an interest in technology in order to enrich the lives of disabled people. From this interest was born the collaboration between her and the NUGUNA Neckband brand.At thewhich took place in, Casar"Having tried the NUGUNA Neckband I am convinced that it could help many others whowith hearing loss." "I gladly accept the honor of being the NUGUNA Neckband brand ambassador," she added.: "For any pledge under the new 'Casar donation Reward,' 10% of the funding will go towards foundations that support people with hearing loss."Ufirst's CEO, Fedora Lee, announced:" I am very pleased that Casar is joining us as a brand ambassador, and hope that together we can assist many elderly people and those dealing with hearing loss."Even in cases where a hearing device is not used, NUGUNA Neckband assists people with hearing loss by detecting high-pitched sounds and alerting the wearer of the direction of the sound through vibrations. Live on Kickstarter, the NUGUNA Neckband OFF (NNF-001) which usually retails for198 is offered for99 (a 50% discount) until. This is offered under the new Casar donation Reward and 10% of these pledges will go towards foundations that benefit those with disabilities.Overview of Ufirst Inc.Ufirst Inc. is a Korea based start-up company established in 2015 that manufactures wearable devices combined with IT technology. It received recognition by winning numerous awards, and plans to successfully enter the global market.Web page: http://www.theufirst.com Kickstarter page: https://goo.gl/epi9kw

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ufirst-inc-names-disability-rights-activist-and-former-miss-canada-casar-jacobson-as-nuguna-neckband-brand-ambassador-300486909.html



SOURCE Ufirst Inc.




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They stress that while these tools cannot yet be used to accurately predict individual patients' survival, at a group level they could help to compare the effectiveness of treatment options, and tailor healthcare to an individual's needs."Our research shows that by answering a set series of questions, patients can have an important role in predicting long-term prognosis in diseases like MS, and that these types of questionnaire should be used by doctors to get a better idea of the patient's health," said Dr Joel Raffel, from the Department of Medicine and who led the research, published today in PLOS Medicine.MS is a degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system. It is caused by the immune cells turning on the nerves and damaging the fatty layer of insulation which protects them, leading to a range of symptoms. The condition affects an estimated 100,000 people in the UK, with patients normally diagnosed between the ages of 20 to 40.In the study, patients completed a standardised questionnaire which graded to what degree their symptoms impacted on their lives. The multiple sclerosis impact scale (MSIS-29) asks patients a series of 29 questions to find out how their MS has affected them in the previous two weeks. It uses a scale from one to five -- with five being most affected.A total of 2,126 patients registered with the UK Multiple Sclerosis Society Tissue Bank completed the questionnaire in 2004, with 872 of this group completing a second survey one year later. Within 10 years, 264 of the original patient group had died.Researchers found that those patients who scored highest on questions relating to physical health - i.e. 'In the past two weeks, how much has your MS limited your ability to carry things?' -- were 5.7 times more likely to die from the disease within 10 years, compared with the lowest scoring patients. What's more, mortality risk was 2.2 times higher still in those whose score increased on their second questionnaire, compared to those with a stable or decreasing score.According to Dr Raffel, adding a tool like the MSIS-29 questionnaire to clinical assessments can help patients tell their doctor how MS is affecting their quality of life, giving more insight into how the disease is progressing and how their prognosis is changing over time."Traditionally, in medicine, doctors will decide if a patient is getting better or worse," explained Dr Raffel. "We hope that using patient-reported outcomes like these more and more will mean a shift towards empowering patients. They will be able to provide their own data, so rather than the doctor telling the patient how they are doing, it's the other way around. What's more the questionnaire can be completed online and not in the presence of a doctor."The researchers highlight that the study had limitations, with most patients involved being in the later stages of disease. For those with early-stage MS, the disease often has a lesser physical impact, which might make the questionnaire less predictive of future outcomes.The hope is that patient-reported outcomes could be another tool to add to the clinical toolkit used by doctors to assess patients. Incorporating questionnaire responses, which can be easily filled out by patients online, with imaging data such as MRI scans and other clinical assessments, could help the doctor and patient to choose the best course of treatment.Dr Raffel added: "Ideally, these questionnaires should be administered routinely, once a year in the clinic or online. This could help doctors to understand what issues the patients are facing and could also help to answer big research questions around prognosis and which of the available treatments we have for MS are working."Source: Eurekalert
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Eugene B. Chang, MD et al. Peripartum Exposure to Antibiotics Promotes Persistent Gut Dysbiosis, Immune Imbalance, and Colitis in Genetically Prone Offspring. Cell Reports, July (2017) DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.06.060

When treated with antibiotics, lasting changes were observed in the gut microbiome of mothers, which were also passed on to their offspring. While their offspring developed the disease, an increase in IBD was not seen in the adult mice who were given antibiotics. This shows that the timing of antibiotic exposure is crucial, especially when the immune system is undergoing maturation during the early developmental period after birth ."The newborn mice inherited a very altered, skewed population of microbes, and none of the mothers developed IBD, but even though they had the same genetic background, the offspring with an altered microbiome during this critical period of immune development became highly susceptible to the development of colitis," said Eugene B. Chang, MD, Martin Boyer Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, Director of the Microbiome Medicine Program of the Microbiome Center, and senior author of the study.Chang cautioned, that pregnant women or those nursing newborn infants need not avoid antibiotics based on these results from an animal study. Antibiotics help in treating dangerous bacterial infections and should serve as a reminder to be safe from things like common cold caused by a virus. He also said that antibiotics can be used judiciously when indicated and physicians should keep in mind the importance of antimicrobial stewardship, as this study suggests that it may have long term consequences that impact health and increases risk for certain diseases.According to several epidemiological studies, exposure to antibiotics during late pregnancy and the nursing period increases the risk for IBD in humans. Direct evidence has been lacking in this area due to vast differences in individual gut microbiomes, problems in controlling for variables, and limiting clinical trials in pregnant women and infants.Jun Miyoshi, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar, and Alexandria Bobe, a graduate student in Chang's lab, designed a series of experiments to address these issues. A standard genetic mouse model for IBD was designed to study the timing of antibiotic treatment during the late pregnancy and nursing period, its impact on gut microbes and development of immune system in offspring.A commonly-used antibiotic called cefoperazone was given to mouse mothers in their later stage of pregnancy till the period they nursed their little one's. This resembles the early antibiotic exposure in humans, which is a common clinical scenario.None of the mother mice treated with antibiotics developed colitis. But the risk for developing colitis was higher in their pups, when compared to those pups from mothers who were not treated with antibiotics.The team analyzed the gut microbial population structures of mothers and their offspring, using high-throughput sequencing technologies. A decrease in the diversity of bacteria was seen among the mothers and certain groups of bacteria demonstrated changes in their relative numbers. For example, there were fewer populations of Bacteroidetes and more from the phyla Firmicutes and Verrucomicrobia.Surprisingly, these changes persisted even after stopping the antibiotic treatment, for four to eight weeks. Similar changes were also seen in the mouse pups in their gut bacteria, where the microbial communities matched their mothers at birth. The diversity of microbes in the pups were seen later in adulthood, and was found to be significantly different from that of mice not treated with antibiotics."When they're used during pregnancy or early childhood, they can disturb the development of a normal gut microbiome which would otherwise be essential for proper immune development. In genetically susceptible hosts, the inability to develop the immune system properly can have negative consequences like inflammatory bowel disease or any other kinds of complex immune disorders."Researchers Working towards Reducing The Risk of DiseasesUnderstanding more about the microbiome in an unhealthy system helps scientists learn how to promote the development of a microbiome to live in a healthy immune system. This study showed what an 'unhealthy' microbiome exactly looks like."What we want to eventually develop is a microbial cocktail we can give to infants that ensures that they develop properly, metabolically and immunologically. That's going to have a significant impact on human health, by reducing risk for many types of diseases and by promoting wellness," said Chang.Source: Medindia
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Researchers examined the data to identify the genetic variants associated with lung cancer risk.During the study, published in Nature Genetics, more than 29,200 lung cancer cases and more than 56,000 samples taken from people without lung cancer (controls) were examined. Researchers identified 18 genetic variations that could make people more susceptible to lung cancer and also 10 new gene variations.Professor John Field, Clinical Professor of Molecular Oncology and the Chief Investigator of the UK Lung Cancer Screening Trial, said: "This study has identified several new variants for lung cancer risk that will translate into improved understanding of the mechanisms involved in lung cancer risk."Samples taken from the major Liverpool Lung Project, funded by the Roy Castle Foundation, was conducted by experts at the University of Liverpool, were used in this study."These results will help us to further improve the way we can screen for lung cancer in high risk individuals in the UK. Further studies will help in the targeting of specific genes to influencing lung cancer risk, smoking behaviour and smoking effects on brain biology."The co-lead of the study was Christopher Amos, Chair and Professor of Biomedical Data Science, Professor of Community and Family Medicine, and Professor of Molecular and Systems Biology at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, and interim Director and Associate Director for Population Sciences at Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Centre. Of the study he said: "What is particularly exciting is the magnitude of the study along with the new findings of genes influencing lung cancer which have not previously been reported."This study definitely leads to new ideas about mechanisms influencing lung cancer risk."Source: Eurekalert
N. KOTZIAS: Thank you, Mr. President. You know that, in my Parliamentary presence, I am a man of few words, as a Foreign Minister should be. Yet, since the subject is what it is, allow me to say a few things.



First of all, I want to thank the political parties for the stance they maintained during the negotiations, allowing the Greek negotiating team to work without insecurity or doubts about how the majority of Greeks saw the negotiations. I want to thank all of them officially from this podium.



I also want to say that this morning we have the UN Secretary-General's first draft to the Security Council. It is the draft he has submitted. In this, he makes three interesting observations. First, he says that the Geneva Conference marked an historic and decisive stage in the talks. That is, he doesn't make the assessment that it failed or won't continue, and he believes it was the first time that the two communities and the three guarantor powers met to discuss the chapters of security and guarantees. It's paragraph 4 of the draft to the Security Council.



In the same paragraph, he says that the fact that the issue of guarantees was highlighted in these negotiations constitutes a big step , and in paragraph 42 he underscores that the UN remains at the disposal of the sides  all of us who participated  in the context of its role to further facilitate the process for the Cyprus problem. So, he offers us an open road to continue and strive for a correct and right solution to the Cyprus problem.



Second, and I will submit this for entry into the minutes, paragraph 21 of the latest EU Summit Meeting is dedicated exclusively to the Cyprus problem, following a discussion prompted by the President of Cyprus and the Prime Minister of Greece in the European Council. I submit this because there was a question concerning why the Prime Minister did not deal with this issue. It is in writing, in paragraph 21 of the Conclusions.



We also ensured that the European Union be present as an observer, for the first time, at this five-sided conference, and, third, we had its express will and opinion, during the bilateral meetings, that in no case will the European Union accept rights of intervention on its territory, in a member state, as Turkey pursued and demanded. That's what I have to say regarding the two clarifying documents.



I will now share my thoughts with you. The lesson I learned, because we all continue to learn, is that a well-planned and persistent negotiation, in strong cooperation with the Cypriot government  and we have often stressed, as Mr. Anastasiades repeated yesterday in his press conference, how strong and firm this cooperation was  enables us to promote an agenda different from the one in past negotiations on the Cyprus issue.



Also, that when you have documented written and oral positions and you promote and pursue them, it is easier for your view to be understood. From this perspective, on the two treaties, of London and Zurich, which concern Greece because it co-signed them, we proposed, regarding the Treaty of Guarantee, an implementation and a monitoring mechanism to oversee the withdrawal of the Turkish troops, and this proposal was elaborated personally  with the proposals of Cyprus and Greece  by the UN Secretary-General, and it was the proposal he presented on Thursday through Friday night, in the final negotiation, where he was caught unawares by Turkey's hypocrisy and doublespeak.

That is, because the Turkish side, in the meetings it had with the UN Secretary-General, promised to accept compromise solutions. And when the UN Secretary-General, in the early-morning hours, at 2 in the morning, faced with Turkey's refusal to submit in writing the proposals it had presented to him, undertook to set them down himself in a paragraph, Turkey denied having had such a discussion with the Secretary-General. It withdrew any compromise proposal and obliged the UN Secretary-General to state, on the spot, that the Conference had ended, because Turkey "said one thing to me and is saying something else here, and I take upon myself the burden of having misunderstood Turkey's proposals."

As a result, , when there are very clear statements from the Secretary-General, I do not consider it courteous that these be called into doubt in the Hellenic Parliament.

Moreover, with regard to the Treaty of Alliance, which has two additional protocols, I remind you that this Treaty provided for the presence of 950 and 650 Greek and Turkish troops respectively, for shared headquarters, and placed under rotating command. Cyprus the first year, Greece the second, Turkey the third.



And when the Turks were asked what they meant by Treaty of Alliance with precisely this content, they were not in a position even to agree with their own demand for maintaining this Treaty. That is because they didn't have a precise picture of what it meant. The UN adopted  and this, again, was thanks to our negotiating tactic  our proposal for a friendship pact that would sustain the cultural, economic and educational relations among the three countries  Greece, Turkey, Cyprus  but at the same time would eliminate any potential for anyone's intervention and any such military aspect that would facilitate such a situation.



I want to note, second, that this policy of ours, these proposals of ours, enjoyed, at times, the support of the overwhelming majority at the conference. The British were compelled to adopt them, the UN and the EU supported them, and it is the first time the Turks found themselves isolated at negotiations on the Cyprus issue.



And I think that is a major step. Because, thanks to this major step, the fact that Cyprus must become a normal state, without foreign troops or guarantees, became part of the Cyprus issue agenda.



And I must say, with satisfaction, that this wording we introduced  that Cyprus must be a normal state  was accepted and adopted by the UN Secretary-General. That is, we don't have to carry out a variety of interpretations here or listen to the specific well-meaning individuals who have another kind of relationship with the channels concerning Cyprus and who met in the evening with a specific person from the UN, against the will of the Secretary-General. We have to follow precisely what the Secretary-General said. That the Turkish troops must leave, that the rights of intervention must cease, that there has to be a friendship pact. And he himself proposed a monitoring mechanism for all of this.

And this is significant, because in the negotiations the Turks were forced, by our persistence, to explain why they wanted all these things. For hours, Mr. Cavusoglu said, "I have explained it all to the Secretary-General." I asked Mr. Cavusoglu why he wanted the right of intervention. And in the end he said, "I'll tell you why I want it. So that Turkey can intervene whenever it wants to and whenever necessary." Intervene how? Militarily. These are revelations.

And it is also a revelation that, when President Anastasiades persisted in asking the Turkish Foreign Minister to tell him why, in the end, he was as flexible as he described -and whether he simply wants an agreement that says that, regarding the Turkish army, Turkey will be flexible as concerns the guarantee rights, Turkey will be flexible as concerns interventions-, that's what President Anastasiades said to him  Cavusoglu was forced to admit that Turkey does not want to take its troops out of Cyprus, doesn't want to relinquish its so-called rights of intervention, and that these must be preserved for 15 years, and after that, a review should be carried out regarding how ready things were for Turkey to leave or not.



In other words, he wanted to preserve all of these interests and all of these rights in the new state of affairs in Cyprus. We didn't want to put the blame on anyone. We went there because we wanted to resolve the Cyprus problem. And the proof that we wanted to resolve the Cyprus problem is that we had prepared and submitted to all of our partners specific proposals on all the issues, and with the support of corresponding proposals from Cyprus.



But we went to the Cyprus negotiations with a principle, a principle that it appears not all of the political parties agree with de facto. What is this principle? That the internal affairs of Cyprus, the internal dimension of the Cyprus problem does not concern Greece. Because Greece is only a guarantor power, beyond emotional and historical ties. Notwithstanding the fact that all of us became politicized, in my generation, thanks and due to the Cyprus problem.



Greece does not have the right to intervene in Cyprus's internal affairs. And whenever it tried to do so in the past, it paid dearly. Cyprus, the Cypriot people and Hellenism as a whole paid dearly. As a result, it is not our country's job to evaluate the negotiations on the internal aspects of the Cyprus problem. And we argued this persistently, because we were endeavouring to keep Turkey far from the internal aspect.To have everyone accept what the UN wanted and achieved: that the internal aspect of the Cyprus problem is the subject of negotiations between the two communities, in which one party was simultaneously the leader of the Republic of Cyprus.



We didn't get involved in the internal aspect. And if the Greek government is criticized for any agreements that some consider good and others not, regarding the internal aspect of the Cyprus problem, I see that they are not criticizing the policy we followed on the issues of guarantees and security. They are not criticizing the way we included the European Union at the negotiating table or the fact that the UN, for the first time, officially stated, from the lips of the Secretary-General, that a third country cannot have rights of intervention in Cyprus. And this is a major step.



The era when they accused us of not wanting a solution has passed. As has the era when it was considered a given that the Turkish side would maintain these "rights". We are now in the era when no one, except the Turks, considers it self-evident that someone can maintain troops in a third country, against the will of that third country and can intervene in that third country.



That is why  in order to achieve what we achieved, the upgrading of these issues, freeing the Greek Cypriots from blame and the blame game played against them in the past  we faced all of the pending issues jointly with the Republic of Cyprus. It is crystal clear that the Cyprus problem did not end with the conference in Switzerland.



It is crystal clear that the problems are there and are awaiting solution. But the position of Cyprus and Greece is stronger from what it was before the Switzerland Conference. As is the agenda of the Cyprus issue.



It has now been accepted that the core of the problem is what had been forgotten: guarantees and security. Will we see Turkish provocations? Probably. Do not think the Turks are invincible . Look at how easy it was for the jihadists to destroy a large part of the Turkish military machine within Syria itself, and look at the major problems the Turkish military machine faces there.



I neither underestimate nor overestimate anyone. One has to shape one's alliances, adopt the required strategy. We need to have close cooperation with Cyprus. This is why, next Monday, following the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, the Greek delegation that was in Switzerland  fewer people, of course  will travel to Cyprus so that we can discuss how we should pursue the solution of the Cyprus problem. How we will capitalise on the current new potential, as well as face any problems arising. To discuss the customs union and the European policy on Turkey, and to chart a common course together with the Republic of Cyprus.



We will discuss how we will capitalise on the new potential we have for public diplomacy and our endeavour to hold high-level contacts everywhere in the world, so as to explain what really happened and enhance the international forces that want a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem.

That is, a solution without occupation forces, without treaties of third-party guarantees, with the Cypriot people deciding for themselves. And when I say the Cypriot people deciding for themselves, I mean the two communities and the three minorities. During the two and a half years of the negotiations, Greece defended the right of the Turkish Cypriot community to feel as much as possible that its future lay on the island, in Cyprus. Because the Turkish Cypriots, too, felt the boot of the Turkish army, and half of them were forced to flee abroad.



We aim to consolidate the sense of security for all Cypriots. But we also want to restore the rights of the three small minorities, which is our duty.



And I make a reminder. In the future, in Cyprus  as I said to the Secretary-General there may be citizens who just want to be called Cypriots. We have seen similar legal cases in Bosnia. We need to be careful here, as well, because the democracy in Cyprus must be a democracy of communities, but also a democracy of citizens who have their own individual interests. Thank you very much.
Ladies and Gentlemen, colleagues, I considered it necessary to ask that the Plenary Session be convened today, based on the relevant article of the Standing Orders, to brief Parliament on the course of the Cyprus issue following the termination of the talks in Switzerland in the early morning hours of last Friday.



Moreover, it is clear, as I repeatedly had the opportunity to highlight in my one-on-one meetings with the heads of the parliamentary parties, that the just, viable solution of the Cyprus problem is an objective of national importance, the achievement of which hinges on dialogue and continuous communication between the political parties.



In this context, the Greek government, the Greek delegation during the talks, firmly supported our country's longstanding positions throughout the negotiations:



First, that a just and viable solution of the Cyprus issue, to the benefit of the Cypriot people as a whole, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, can be achieved based only on the Resolutions of the UN Security Council and on the capacity of the Republic of Cyprus as a member-state of the European Union.



Second, that Greece firmly supports the efforts of the Republic of Cyprus in the intercommunal talks, but is involved only in the negotiation of the Chapter on Security.



Third, that in the context of the talks, Greece is in ongoing coordination with the Republic of Cyprus, whose people will be called upon to make the final decision.

Based on these longstanding positions, we persistently and resolutely highlighted the fact that a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem entails, first and foremost, the elimination of the consequences of the invasion and occupation of a portion of Cyprus. In short, it entails the abolition of the rights of intervention and the guarantees, and the withdrawal of the occupation forces.



At this point, allow me to highlight in particular the decisive effort, of historic importance I would say, of the Foreign Ministry's negotiating team and of the Foreign Minister, Mr. Kotzias, personally, for which I would like to thank him publicly today. Because the Greek side made it absolutely clear in all the fora and in our international meetings that no state in the 21st century, and in particular no member state of the European Union, can be considered sovereign and independent if third countries have guarantee and intervention rights over it.



Because the Greek side also made it absolutely clear that no state of the European Union  and certainly not Greece  could accept and be a signatory to Turkey's right to intervene in a reunited Republic of Cyprus; that is, in a member state of the European Union. It also pointed up the fact that a reunited Cyprus under a system of guarantees would never be able to express itself with an independent voice on a European level, with all of the repercussions this would have for the European Union itself, and the fact that the perpetuation of guarantees and the presence of the occupation troops in a reunited Cyprus would undermine daily any effort for peace and reconciliation on the island.



Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, I believe that, to a degree  perhaps for the first time to such a degree  we were able to persuade the international community to adopt these positions, and I think it is equally important that we convinced them of our intentions; that is, that we did not take part in the negotiations and talks to waste negotiating time and play the blame game regarding the failure of the talks, but rather that we were sincerely striving for a solution that can benefit all of the people of Cyprus, ensuring that the mistakes of the past are not repeated and that the security of one Community will not be created to the detriment of the security of the other.



About a year ago, we began submitting a number of proposals, among which was the conclusion of a trilateral friendship pact and the creation of a UN monitoring mechanism. These are proposals that, together with the change in the structure of the state, the police measures and the participation of the European Union, would also bolster the Turkish Cypriot community's sense of security.



In this context, we repeatedly invited Turkey  including in the first phase of the talks in Switzerland, this past January, but also now, in the second phase  to preparatory consultations. Unfortunately, there was no response. And I say this with real dismay, because, as we saw, had we managed to make prior substantial progress on this chapter  as progress was made on other chapters  the prospects for a solution in Switzerland would have been much better.



But what became apparent, despite certain hopeful indications, was that, in the end, Turkey did not intend to commit to a solution that would allow for a reunited Cyprus to be truly independent and sovereign; that is, a solution without third-country rights of intervention or, of course, the withdrawal, if only gradual, of the occupation army.



I don't want to go into further detail about the outcome of the negotiations. The floor will now be taken by the Foreign Minister, who yesterday briefed the representatives of the political parties in detail. But I think the coming time is very important, making resolve and composure imperative on a number of issues related to our discussion today.



Allow me to prioritize them briefly:

First, the cooperation between Greece and the Republic of Cyprus is and will continue to be a critical axis of Greek foreign policy. This fact is not limited to the talks on the Cyprus issue, in which our coordination was exceptional, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank President Anastasiades and the negotiating team of the Republic of Cyprus for this. The cooperation between Greece and the Republic of Cyprus has wider dimensions. It concerns, in general I would say, our diplomatic cooperation in the European Union, in the group of southern European countries, and the strategically vital trilateral cooperation configurations we have with countries of the Middle East and other countries. It certainly entails support of the Republic of Cyprus in its exercising of its sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone.



As a sovereign state, the Republic of Cyprus has the inalienable right to choose the manner in which it exercises its rights; rights deriving from International Law and the Law of the Sea.



And it goes without saying that, in this choice, it will have the support of Greece and the European Union, as well as the support of the international community as a whole, against any threat.



Second, I want to stress that the termination of the talks in Switzerland is not the end of our effort. The just and viable solution of the Cyprus problem within the framework of the UN Resolutions is, and will continue to be, a central axis of Greek foreign policy, a central objective for a country that is a pillar of peace, stability and security in the wider region. In this context, we are always open to the reopening of the talks under the UN, to the extent, of course, that interest is expressed by all sides. And we will continue to move in the same direction: Defence of our principles, in combination with a diplomacy that is not based on phobias and obsessions of the past, but on constructive proposals and the building of international support.



And of course we will capitalise on the fact that the abolition of the guarantees and the withdrawal of the occupation forces is now, thanks to the Greek side's efforts, part of the international community's agenda for the settlement of the Cyprus problem, as was confirmed by the UN Secretary-General, a person held in very high global regard. A political figure who is, I would say, of very high standing and can continue  and we hope will continue  this important effort to find a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem.



Point three: the just and viable solution of the Cyprus problem is not and must not be the central imperative for Greece and Greek-Turkish relations, but the central imperative for the European Union itself and the future of the Union. And I had the opportunity to stress this at the latest EU Summit, not just because it concerns the termination of the illegal occupation of part of an EU member-state, not just because the implementation of the European acquis is a necessary prerequisite for the resolution of the issue, and not just because, thanks to our coordinated efforts, it has now been accepted by everyone that the European Union has a place at the negotiating table. But mainly because, by contributing to the resolution of the Cyprus problem, the European Union opens the way to enhancing its own international and regional role.



Point four: our message to Turkey, which was also pointed up during the talks on the Cyprus issue, must remain firm, particularly in these difficult moments. We are determined to defend our principles and rights against any threat or illegal claim. At the same time, we are committed to pursuing issues on which we are divided and to building a relationship based on respect for international law and on mutual respect.



It remains to be seen, of course, whether and to what extent Turkey will recognise the importance of a just and viable settlement of the Cyprus issue for Turkey itself, for our bilateral relations, its relations with the EU and for Turkey's European perspective, as well as its importance for security and stability in the wider region.



Ladies and gentlemen MPs, following my briefing, I would like to close  hopefully without going too much over the time limit set in the Standing Orders  by welcoming the decision of the Greek and Cypriot Parliaments, dating from January 2016, for shared access to all of the documents that came to the knowledge and into the possession of the Hellenic Parliament between 1986 and 1988, during the proceedings of the Investigation Committee of the time, regarding the "Cyprus File".



The testimony provided at that time by witnesses to everything related to the Cyprus tragedy is a rich and useful resource of great historical importance. Twenty-nine years after the Investigation Committee and forty-three years after the invasion, the Hellenic Parliament will give the full series of these documents to the Cypriot House of Representatives, so that, as is its right, it can open up an issue that concerns mainly the Cypriot people; an issue  the period under investigation  that the Cypriot people have a right to know about and to open up, for scientific and historical reasons, of course.



I would like to highlight  and you will already be aware of this  that this decision of the two national assemblies was taken some time ago. Consequently, it has nothing to do with the course of the talks on the resolution of the Cyprus problem. In fact, I would say that, irrespective of the talks and their outcome, it is a obligation of the Greek state to the Cypriot people; an obligation that has gone unfulfilled for decades now. It is the very least in the way of tribute to and an historical vindication of those who fought, resisted and made sacrifices during the coup against Makarios and the invasion and occupation of a part of Cyprus by operation Attila.



In that spirit, I would like to believe that all of the democratic political forces will support this historic gesture of the Hellenic Parliament, just as, a short time ago, they approved the cooperation protocols between the two national assemblies; protocols through which this initiative was launched.



Thank you.




UPPER THUMB  Short-term home rentals in rural communities are seeing a spike in the number of reservations, according to a report from online hospitality service Airbnb.

Airbnb is an online community marketplace that connects people looking to rent their homes with people who are looking for accommodations.

The company recently released a global report illustrating the capacity of home sharing to deliver valuable supplemental income to residents of rural areas in Michigan. And some of that extra cash has been making its way into Thumb area property owners' pockets too.

According to statistics released by Airbnb, there were 78,000 guest arrivals to Michigan rural listings in the past year, giving the state a year-over-year increase of 149 percent.

The number of active rural Michigan hosts is 1,700, with the average annual earnings for rural Michigan hosts coming in at $6,000.

"Ultimately the most important thing to keep in mind is that there is no one quality (that sets apart a listing)," said Ben Breit, public affairs representative for Airbnb. "Part of the beauty of the platform is people establish their own hosting identities and they do what's most comfortable for them, because it is their home after all."

Breit told the Tribune that in Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola counties, there are a total of 58 listings on Airbnb. Topping the list for the Thumb area are popular beach towns, including Lexington (20), Port Austin (12), Caseville (11) and Harbor Beach (four).

Some traits Breit pointed out that the company finds makes for hosts that get good reviews and repeat customers are great communication, willingness to help and subtle touches of hospitality, such as maybe leaving a bottle of wine for guests upon arrival.

"Everyone sort of establishes their own identity when it comes to stuff like that," Breit said. "Hosts that try to do the little things that kind of go above and beyond  that tends to be very much appreciated by the guests."

To learn more, visit www.airbnb.com or download the app on iTunes or Google Play.
UPPER THUMB  Periods of heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected over the next 24 hours, which has the area under a flood watch from the National Weather Service.

A portion of southeast Michigan is under the watch, including Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola counties, from 2 p.m. this afternoon through Thursday morning.

Rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are likely, with stronger thunderstorm activity. Heavy rainfall may cause flash flooding issues within low-lying areas, river and stream basins and in urban areas.

A flood watch means there is a potential for flooding based on current forecasts. Residents should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible flood warnings.

Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.
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...
A change that would have increased the number of military families who qualify for food stamps is unlikely to be considered this year due in part to an administrative decision by a U.S. congressman.

Currently, Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is counted as part of total household income when a military family applies for the food stamp program, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

But anti-hunger advocates say that including the allowance in the calculation creates a disparity between families because BAH levels fluctuate by location. For example, a BAH rate in a high cost-of-living area, such as San Diego, can bump a family out of SNAP eligibility when the help is most needed because food costs are also higher, advocates say.

BAH is calculated by Defense Department officials to cover housing costs, not food costs.

Advocates say the cost-of-living adjustments families receive in high-cost areas don't make up for the increased cost of food. BAH is not considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service and is not counted as income for a variety of other public assistance programs, including the Women, Infants and Children program.

The number of military members who suffer what anti-hunger advocates call "food insecurity" is notoriously difficult to quantify or track, in part because it is unknown how many military families use the SNAP program or food banks. A 2016 Government Accountability Office report citing U.S. Census Bureau data said that about 23,000 active-duty troops received food stamps in 2013.

About 751,000 food stamp transactions, or almost $80 million in purchases, were completed at military commissaries in 2015, the latest year for which data were readily available. But it is unclear whether those users were active-duty shoppers who regularly receive BAH, or other patrons, such as retirees, National Guard members or reservists.

The proposal, the Military Hunger Prevention Act, would block BAH from being counted as income for SNAP eligibility calculations. Doing so would likely dramatically increase the number of military families who qualify for food assistance. Lawmakers proposed paying for those cost increases through higher Tricare pharmacy co-pays. Proponents had sought to roll the new proposal, sponsored by Rep. Susan Davis, a California Democrat, into the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.

But to do so, the House Armed Services Committee needs an administrative waiver from the House Committee on Agriculture, which has legislative oversight of the SNAP program.

The chair of that committee, however, told members of the House Armed Services Committee last week that he will wait to consider the bill next year as part of the notoriously controversial Farm Bill because he objects to paying for the increase through a Tricare fee change.

"The problem we've got with this is that it pits SNAP benefits with increased Tricare costs," Rep. Mike Conaway, a Texas Republican who chairs the Agriculture Committee and sits on the Armed Services Committee, said in early July. Conaway promised to consider the issue in the Agriculture Committee in the future.

But anti-hunger advocates decried his decision, saying that granting the waiver to consider the proposal now does automatically mean there will be a Tricare pharmacy fee increase -- it simply gets the issue debated.

"Struggling military families shouldn't have to wait for help another year or more for the next Farm Bill," said Abby Leibman, president of Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger, a primary supporter of the change.

The current Farm Bill, which authorizes a variety of agriculture programs, expires in 2018. Lawmakers will likely attempt to pass a new one and debate other unrelated changes to the SNAP program next year.

-- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com.
At a Tuesday morning confirmation hearing for Marine veteran and businessman Richard V. Spencer, nominee for secretary of the Navy, it was quickly clear that he would sail through the approval process.

Several lawmakers, however, were anxious to secure his word that he will be different from his predecessor, Ray Mabus, whose dramatic social reforms and tendency to act suddenly and unilaterally alienated some peers and made enemies on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas and former Army captain, was the first to mention Mabus' legacy.

"The morale and welfare of sailors and Marines is of utmost concern for me," Cotton said. "Your predecessor displayed what I think is questionable, indeed strange, judgment on some matters. That left him as one of the most unpopular service secretaries of the modern era."

Among Mabus' questionable decisions, Cotton said, were changes to make the Navy's uniform items more gender neutral that "caused a revolt among female sailors;" his frequently controversial decisions regarding ship-naming, including his move to name fleet replenishment oilers after civil rights activists Harvey Milk and Cesar Chavez; his public dismissal of a Marine Corps study that found small combat teams that included women were slower and less effective; and his efforts in 2012 to build a "Great Green Fleet" powered with biofuel that cost $28 per gallon.

"I think it's unfortunate that you've inherited this legacy, and it's going to make it somewhat hard, as you start out, to restore the credibility of the secretariat," Cotton said. "But do you think making these kind of changes is going to enhance the Navy's ability to deter war and, if necessary, fight and win war?"

Spencer didn't comment on Mabus' legacy, but assured Cotton that he believed readiness should come before any social changes.

"I testified before this committee, I believe in 2015, that it was my belief that the Department of Defense -- specifically, individual services -- was not to be a Petri dish for social experiments," he said. "I totally believe that policy should be developed at the DoD level, and then discussed and socialized and deployed and then obeyed. We have to work together, including all our service people, to make sure that they are given what they need, whether that be spiritually, whether that be psychologically, whether that's materialistically, to fight forward so that -- so readiness is the key and lethality is the product."

Later, Sen. Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican and Marine Reserve lieutenant colonel, pressed the issue once again.

Mabus, Sullivan said, had made a "ridiculous" demand of the Corps when he ordered the service to integrate its boot camp by gender in the space of two weeks. After a meeting with Marine brass, Mabus would ultimately retract this request.

"I want to associate my concerns that Senator Cotton raised about your predecessor, who took his eye off the ball on many things -- readiness, but particularly training," Sullivan said.

If confirmed, Spencer said, he would advocate a singular focus for the Department of the Navy.

"The tone will be set from the secretary's office -- that we are all here for one purpose, and that's the pointy end of the spear," he said. "All urgency, all focus, whether a dental hygienist, whether motor pool, whether pilot, whether flag officer, we are all here to attain the goal, and the goal is to deliver the fight."

While Mabus feuded behind the scenes with many Pentagon offices, his actions drew praise from those who saw him as the strongest advocate in years for women in combat and for gay troops.

In answers to policy questions provided to the Senate Armed Services Committee ahead of the hearing, Spencer made clear he did not intend to break with Mabus on the issue of women in combat.

"I believe without reservation that every patriot, with a desire to serve, should be afforded that opportunity, with the singular caveat that all must meet the standards of the Navy and Marine Corps," he wrote in the document. "Maintaining warfighting advantage requires diversity of experience, background and ideas. The Services must pull from the widest pool of talent and backgrounds to maximize warfighting capability, adapt to emerging threats and challenges, and leverage new opportunities."

At the start of the hearing, Spencer was joined by former Navy secretary and senator John Warner, who gave a glowing endorsement to the nominee.

Spencer, he said, had gone out of his way to seek out advice from 10 men who had served in the post before, including Warner and Acting Navy Secretary Sean Stackley. The list stretched back to the early 1980s with John Lehman and included recent presidential candidate Jim Webb, among others.

But Mabus, by Warner's account, was not one of them.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
Tal Afar will be targeted next in the roll-up of remaining ISIS enclaves in Iraq following victory in the terror group's last major stronghold of Mosul, Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said Tuesday.

Townsend, the U.S. coalition commander for Iraq and Syria, said he could not confirm reports that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who proclaimed the creation of a "caliphate" in Mosul's Al Nuri grand mosque in June 2014, had been killed.

"I don't have a clue, simple as that," he said of the most recent report of Baghdadi's possible death from the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, a monitoring group based in London.

"Don't have a reason to believe he's alive, don't have a reason to believe he's dead," Townsend said. "I am unable to confirm or deny where he is or whether he is alive or dead."

In a briefing to the Pentagon from Baghdad, Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, said control of Mosul by the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) is complete with the exception of a few small, isolated groups of ISIS holdouts.

He said one group of holdouts contacted an ISF commander Monday seeking to bargain on terms of surrender but was told that "unconditional surrender" was the only choice.

Townsend said the Iraqi commander immediately suspected a ploy that would allow the ISIS fighters to get close to ISF positions to launch an attack. The ISIS fighters were told to come out in small groups, but they rejected that offer.

"We saw later in the day a wave of suicide attacks," he said.

Townsend said he received word Tuesday that the ISIS holdouts again were seeking to surrender. He said the decision belongs to ISF commanders, but he sees no reason "to entertain any demands. Unconditional surrender is the only option."

The ISF and its Counter-Terror Service units, which led the way in the street fighting, will need a respite to recover and refit after the grueling nine-month siege of Mosul, but Tal Afar to the west will be their next target, Townsend said.

Assuming success in Tal Afar, which has already been encircled by government forces, the ISF would then move against ISIS enclaves in Hawija, in Kirkuk province north of Baghdad, and in areas still controlled by ISIS in western Anbar province, Townsend said. "How long it takes, I wouldn't guess. We'll be at it 'til it's done."

He gave no timeline for the start of the additional operations, saying the main concern currently is consolidating the victory in Mosul and establishing security for returning residents.

Townsend said U.S. troop withdrawals are not under consideration following the victory in Mosul.

"This fight is far from over," he said. "So I wouldn't expect to see any significant change in our troop levels in the immediate future because there's still hard work to be done by the Iraqis and the coalition."

Much of the hard work will be political, stabilizing secured areas and establishing security that draws local support to avoid the re-emergence of the sectarian disputes that splintered Iraqi society and set the conditions for ISIS to push to the gates of Baghdad in June 2014, he said.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were instrumental in securing the eastern approaches to Mosul for the ISF, but the general said the Kurds' intention to hold a referendum on independence for their region in September raised concerns that Iraq could fracture into Shia, Sunni and Kurdish factions.

"I think all of us can look back to the end of 2011 when the U.S. and coalition forces left Iraq the last time and saw what played out in the intervening three years," Townsend said. "I don't think we want to replay that. There's a lot of work to be done in that area."

In a statement from the White House on Monday night, President Donald Trump hailed the victory and gave credit to his administration for accelerating the campaign against ISIS.

"We have made tremendous progress against ISIS -- more in the past six months than in the years since ISIS became a major threat," Trump said. "The victory in Mosul, a city where ISIS once proclaimed its so-called 'caliphate,' signals that its days in Iraq and Syria are numbered. We will continue to seek the total destruction of ISIS."

Townsend attributed the advances against ISIS to the "turnaround" in the ISF from the summer of 2014 when its troops dropped their equipment, shed their uniforms and fled at the appearance of ISIS fighters in pickup trucks.

He said the ISF's success came from the training provided by the U.S. and coalition troops, and the advise and assist support the ISF received from U.S. troops in the field, in addition to the relentless air campaign carried out by the coalition.

The ISF "that's on the field now -- is that army different than the one that was struggling to hold their capital three years ago? It certainly is," Townsend said.

Whether the ISF can maintain its current unity of purpose will depend on "their willingness to promote leaders on ability rather than political affiliation. I'm optimistic about it," he said.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

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China loaded up ships with troops and supplies Tuesday bound for the first People's Liberation Army overseas military base in the tiny and strategic Horn of Africa state of Djibouti, a move that is causing "very significant security concerns" for the U.S.

The Chinese base -- about four miles from U.S. Camp Lemonnier, a hub of operations for U.S. Africa Command in the East African country -- will "assist China's contribution to peace and stability both in Africa and worldwide," according to China's official Xinhua News Agency. Djibouti is also host to French and Japanese military bases.

The African outpost will be "conducive to China's performance of international obligations" in anti-piracy sea patrols in the region and other commitments with the United Nations, Xinhua said.

In addition to the troops posted to Djibouti, China has about 2,200 troops serving throughout Africa in peacekeeping operations.

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the Djibouti base "will better serve Chinese troops when they escort ships in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast, perform humanitarian rescue, and carry out other international obligations."

The deployment of ships and troops to Djibouti was seen as another step in the transformation of the Chinese navy from its traditional coastal defense role to a blue-water, power projection force.

China's state-run Global Times noted, "It is indeed the People's Liberation Army's first overseas base. China will station troops there, and it is not a commercial re-supply point."

"Foreign public opinion focuses on the base for good reason -- this base will support China's navy to go farther afield, and it is of great significance," the Global Times said.

The U.S. has already expressed its concerns about the Chinese base to the Djibouti government, which last November received a $400 million investment from the Chinese Merchants Group, a Hong Kong conglomerate, to develop a free trade zone.

Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, commander of U.S. Africa Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March that he had conveyed those concerns to Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh.

Without giving details, Waldhauser said he had "expressed our concerns about some of the things that are important to us about what the Chinese should not do at that location."

Camp Lemonnier is one of the Pentagon's largest and most important foreign military installations, where about 4,000 U.S. military personnel and contractors are assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

It is also home to Special Operations Command (Forward)-East Africa, which has carried out operations against Al Shabab militants in Somalia and the Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula group in Yemen.

Personnel at Camp Lemonnier have been involved in highly secretive missions, including targeted drone killings in the Mideast and the Horn of Africa, and in the Jan. 29 raid in Yemen in which Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens was killed in the first military action ordered by President Donald Trump.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
A Marine Corps KC-130T transport aircraft that went down over Mississippi on Monday left not one, but two major impact sites, located roughly a mile apart, the commander of the reserve unit that owned the aircraft said Wednesday.

In a press conference held in LeFlore County, Mississippi, Brig. Gen. Bradley James, commander of the 4th Marine Air Wing, said officials first had indications that something was wrong on the flight when the air traffic control tower lost contact with the plane, nicknamed Yankee 72, around 4 p.m. Central Time on Monday.

The aircraft, which belonged to Marine Aerial Refueling Squadron (VMGR)-452, out of Newburgh, New York, had been tasked with transporting six Marines and a sailor belonging to Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command from Cherry Point, North Carolina to Yuma, Arizona, for team-level pre-deployment training. The route of the flight would take it through Naval Air Facility El Centro, California, James said.

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Shortly after air traffic controllers lost contact, James said, large plumes of smoke were discovered in the area of Itta Bena, Mississippi. The two impact areas were located half a mile north and south of Mississippi's U.S. Route 82.

"Indications are, something went wrong at cruise altitude," James said. "There is a large debris pattern."

All 16 troops aboard the aircraft, including the seven from MARSOC's 2nd Marine Raider Battalion and nine Marine aircrew from VMGR-452, perished in the crash. Their names are being withheld by the military in observance of a 24-hour period following family notification.

It remains unclear what event could have caused the aircraft to break apart prior to impact, as the evidence indicates.

James took no questions Wednesday but expressed thanks to, among others, the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Mississippi Department of Homeland Security; and Army and Air Force explosive ordnance disposal teams, all of which have provided assistance in the wake of the crash.

Marine officials said yesterday EOD teams had been posted at the crash sites as a safety precaution. Officials are preserving the impact sites in order to conduct an investigation into what caused the crash, James said.

Marshall Fisher, commissioner of Mississippi's Department of Public Safety, warned the public to avoid touching pieces of plane wreckage they might encounter and to report any such findings to state officials. The crash area has been secured, he said.

Marine Corps officials are expected to announce the names of the fallen in coming days.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
In 2010, Richard V. Spencer, then a member of the Pentagon's business board, made a modest proposal: Close all domestic military commissaries and contract with a major logistics company to offer a grocery benefit instead, saving the Defense Department roughly $1 billion per year in the process.

When the idea was revealed in The Washington Post, the backlash from military families and veterans service organizations was immediate and decisive. The idea never went anywhere.

But during a confirmation hearing this week before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Spencer, now the nominee for secretary of the Navy, hinted that tough and even unpopular choices may be ahead for the military when it comes to benefits.

"The personnel factor is growing at an unsustainable rate, where the discretionary budget is being eaten up by personnel costs," Spencer told Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina. "We owe our uniformed members and our retirees the best that we can offer. We're going to have to think of different ways to deliver just as good, if not better, services."

Reminded by Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, of the commissary episode, Spencer said the proposal was made public before it was formalized. But he never suggested he regretted the idea or had written it off for good.

"If I'm confirmed, I will look everywhere in the Navy, under every single rock where we can find efficiencies," he said. "And when I've shared with you that we're going to have to work lockstep together with the Senate Armed Services Committee, there's going to be some big boulders we might have to move."

Spencer noted he had also gotten a taste of the military and veterans' lobbying machine through his work on retirement modernization, which the Pentagon is in the process of rolling out. A veterans service organization published his personal number, he said, and he ultimately fielded 127 heated phone calls on the issue.

"And it was fascinating," he said. "Once you got through anger and frustration and you started talking to people, you came away with the following approach: You have a dollar to spend on your benefits. Your retirement costs 60 cents, your health care costs 40 cents, your commissary costs 15 cents, your morale and welfare costs 7 cents. Where do you want to spend your dollars?"

As Navy secretary, Spencer's authority would be somewhat limited. Benefits are approved and regulated across the Department of Defense, and changes are made through the Pentagon, with collaboration from the services.

But previous Navy Secretary Ray Mabus bucked tradition and pushed boundaries in that regard, developing a reputation for his unilateral decisions. Late in his tenure, Mabus announced he was tripling maternity leave for the Navy and the Marine Corps from six weeks to 18.

The move was short-lived, but ultimately prompted then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter to update the Pentagon's maternity leave policy, giving troops in each branch of service 12 weeks of paid leave. Those granted 18 weeks in the Navy were grandfathered in as the policy was revised downward.

Following the hearing, Spencer told Military.com he wants troops and veterans to weigh in on what they value most.

"We're going to have to find ways to work with everybody to make sure that we have equal or better products at more efficient cost pricing," he said. "When we addressed the military retirement system, educating everyone to what the benefits cost and conversely what the recipient, how the recipient values it is key. I don't think we've really done that. If we go out and find out that someone goes, 'My health care is more important than my commissary,' we can weigh that in there."

Some people will say they want to keep everything they currently receive, Spencer acknowledged.

"And we're going to have to come to the reality of, 'Can we afford all of it?' " he said. "And these are discussions that we're going to have to have."

Would Spencer ever return to his proposal to close the commissaries?

"I turn it the other way around: Does the community want the commissary?" he said. "If the answer's a resounding yes, you say, 'Fine, OK, how can we maximize that?' "

Spencers nomination is expected to receive a committee vote Thursday.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
Every year, 10 Russian officials travel to either the Ellsworth or Dyess global strike air bases in the United States to review the fastest bomber in the Air Force's arsenal: the B-1B Lancer.

It's no surprise, since the routine visit marks whether the Lancer -- capable of carrying the largest bomb-load of all the bombers -- complies with the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty negotiations, which specifies the once-nuclear bomber remains disarmed of nukes.

It's why the "nuclear capable" description often given to the Lancer is erroneous -- it will never be a nuclear-capable bomber again, officials recently told Military.com.

"The exterior attachment points, or the hard points, on the aircraft, were modified to prevent nuclear pylons from ever being attached to the jet," said Master Sgt. Brian Hudson, a B-1 avionics manager at Air Force Global Strike Command.

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"Within the weapons bays themselves, there were wire bundles that were cut and removed to prevent arming of the nuclear weapons. Finally, the last step was to destroy the pylons themselves," Hudson said of the external equipment mounted to aircraft.

The conversion process was initiated under the START Treaty, and the final conversion took place in 2011, he said.

Since that final bomber-jet conversion, "as part of the treaty now, [the Russians] are allowed to look at each base once a year, Ellsworth [in South Dakota] and Dyess [in Texas], they go every other year to each of those locations ... and confirm that we haven't unconverted them," added Kenneth Vantiger, senior arms control analyst at the command.

"It's a moot point," Vantiger said of what it would cost, or what it would take to make the B-1 nuclear capable again.

But is it impossible?

"Anything is possible with money and time," Vantiger said. "But it's nothing the U.S. government is looking to do."

"It isn't so much the cost of converting the plane to carry nukes; that would be relatively minimal," added Richard Aboulafia, vice president and analyst at the Teal Group, a defense consultancy in Virginia.

The bigger issue is "the costs associated with giving the plane the ability to penetrate defended airspace, which would be $2-3 billion dollars, at least," Aboulafia said in an email.

So far, there have been no plans to do defensive upgrades other than ongoing modifications to the aircraft.

The Air Force in late 2002 canceled the B-1B's intended Defensive System Upgrade Program, known as DSUP, because of cost overruns and schedule slips.

DSUP, which would have enhanced the aircraft to better survive in a hostile environment, fell under the bomber's switch to become a conventional-only platform. But the program was already roughly $1 billion, with the likelihood of being 17 months delayed and $175 million more over budget, the Air Force said at the time.

So the conversation once again turns to keeping the B-1B around longer -- at least until 2040, officials have said. And keeping planes flying still comes at a price.

Stayin' Alive

Lately, the B-1B, which made its first flight in 1984, has been the face of deterrence in the Pacific Command's area of responsibility. Since the aircraft replaced the B-52 Stratofortress in the theater for the U.S.' continuous bomber presence mission last August, it has had a few runs near the Korean Peninsula, as well as the South China Sea.

The shift marks the first time the B-1B has been housed at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, since 2006.

Just one month into its PACOM deployment, for example, the bomber, nicknamed the Bone, performed a low-level flight near the Demilitarized Zone, the closest a Lancer has ever flown to the border of the Republic of Korea and North Korea since 1996, the Air Force said at the time.

More recently, Japanese and South Korean fighter jets escorted two B-1 bombers during a show of force after North Korea fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile test, this time dropping dummy bombs in South Korea's Pilsung Range.

To keep it viable in such situations, the Air Force in 2012 initiated the largest-ever modification the bomber will see -- at least, in the near term.

The modifications, part of upgrades known as the Integrated Battle Station, or IBS, "integrates three developmental programs already in the works: the central integrated test system, a fully integrated data link, and the vertical situation display upgrade," Hudson said.

"The IBS program is focused on sustainment, but it significantly enhances the operator's situation awareness," he said.

The central integrated test system, or CITS, works as a diagnostic and recording system to give crew more information while in flight, as well as diagnostic information for maintainers on the ground, Hudson explained.

The plane is already outfitted with the Joint Range Extension Applications Protocol, known as JREAP, which extends tactical data link communications over long-distance networks.

But the Fully Integrated Data Link, or FIDL, gives "the addition of Link 16, so really what FIDL [does] is to add Link 16 and integrate with beyond-line-of-site JREAP, and merge those two together and push that information onto the displays inside a cockpit," said Maj. Jeremy Stover, the B-1 program element monitor and instructor weapons systems officer.

Link 16 supports digital exchange of imagery and data in near-real time with aircraft, ships and some ground vehicles.

The total program cost for IBS is estimated at $1.1 billion, officials said.

Col. Robert Lepper, chief of the combat aircraft division at AFGSC, said there are 33 aircraft slated for IBS conversion by 2020; the Air Force currently has 62 B-1B Lancers.

"This brings us into the 21st century with digital information out there in the cockpit -- it reduces our need for both old, unobtainable and unsupportable parts," he added.

Lepper said this streamlines how the B-1B -- now a Boeing craft, previously Rockwell -- receives upgraded systems and parts should they too deteriorate over time.

The bombers are also undergoing a service life extension of their engines, Stover said. "It's mostly internal parts, and the kit includes ... commonality with the F101 engines," he said.

The Air Force has completed work on 14 engines, with the rest slated to be done by December 2019.

New Bombs

Stover said crews are getting ready to test-fire the air-launched Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, or GM-158C LRASM.

"We should field that by October 2018," he said of the estimated $1.5 billion Navy program, also being tested on the F/A-18 Super Hornet.

Once launched from the aircraft, the cruise missile will be able to autonomously sensor-locate and track targets while avoiding friendly forces.

The weapon will enhance not just the B-1, but the U.S. military's targeting capabilities while protecting at-risk assets in a high-threat environment, Stover said.

He noted, "No jet has been modified" physically to carry LRASM, because "it's part of a software update."

"This is just the next weapon we're looking to integrate, and we're going to continue to look at integrating future weapons as they get developed," Stover said.

Currently, the B-1 can carry 75,000 pounds -- 5,000 pounds more than the B-52 -- of both precision-guided and conventional bombs, to include: the Mk-82 or Mk-84 general purpose bombs; the Mk-62 or Mk-65 Quick Strike naval mines bombs; cluster munitions such as the CBU-87, -89, -97 or Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispensers like the CBU-103, -104, -105; the GBU-31 or GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions; the AGM-158A Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles; and the GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions.

For LRASM, "The B-1 is the only Air Force platform scheduled to receive this, and we are the threshold platform for [it]," Stover said.

The B-1 may be capable of carrying more than 20 LRASMs at a given time.

Where It's Needed

The B-1s returned from Operation Inherent Resolve, the Pentagon's name for the air operation against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, in early 2016. Months later, the B-52s arrived to take over in the bomber role, and have been taking the lead on "attacking everything from vehicles to large-site targets," officials told Military.com in October.

But the Lancer's departure has been noted by a few who say its long-range, large payload is needed to aggressively strike deliberate or dynamic targets in an ever-increasing and changing environment.

For one, it had deployed the most weapons of any aircraft involved in the campaign before its departure, according to statistics provided to Air Force Times last March. Recent statistics provided to Military.com show the F-15E Strike Eagle has usurped that title.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein addressed the B-1's return to the ISIS fight in February, saying the aircraft "will go back in, but we're remaining pretty flexible on the timeline on that."

"You're just going to see a continual rotation of both of those weapons systems," Goldfein said at the time.

Lepper said that a handful of B-1s are often out of rotation for the IBS modification, making its aircraft availability rate lower than its bomber counterparts. The aircraft availability rate "right now is just over 40 percent," he said, "but like I said, we're taking a 10 percent hit -- six out of 62 airplanes -- to do this modification."

"We use [all the bombers] where they make the most sense," Lepper said. "The B-2 [Spirit] has stealth, B-1 has speed, B-52 has capabilities to include the highest mission capable rates, so it's availability," he said.

He added, "For us, the B-1's specific advantages [often] make it the [aircraft] of choice: speed, its ability to stay overhead for long periods of time -- it is the largest payload-carrying bomber in the fleet."

Where or how it is used tactically in future missions doesn't concern officials readying the fleet, but rather how it stays relevant.

It's about "getting a fully functioning fleet of entire B-1s IBS-modified  that is where our focus is at right now," Lepper said.

"That is significant in the logistic arena to make sure the airplane is sustainable but, as a weapons system, it remains a significant deterrent for our adversaries all across the globe," he said.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
[July 11, 2017] FE CREDIT Cards and Grab Launch a New Offer in Vietnam to Promote Cashless Transactions

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- VPBank Finance Company Limited (FE CREDIT), one of the largest credit card issuers in Vietnam focused on category entrants, has launched a new offer with Grab in Vietnam to promote cashless transactions. All of FE CREDIT's cardholders now have to simply add their card as a funding source on GrabPay and get a whopping 8 free rides on GrabCar, GrabCar 7 Seater or GrabBike. The process is very simple. Grab users have to just add their FE CREDIT PLUS+ or GOLD card on GrabPay and get 8 free rides by inputting the special promo code. Launching on July 15th this offer is valid until August 14th and is exclusively for FE CREDIT cardholders. Mr. Kalidas Ghose, CEO of FE CREDIT said "FE CREDIT is prud to partner with Grab to bring a fast and easy benefit for our valued cardholders. We look forward to many such initiatives with Grab in the future."



Mr. Nimish Dwivedi, Credit Card Business Director of FE CREDIT added "FE CREDIT has always endeavored to pioneer unique benefits aimed at attracting category entrants and enabling their cashless journey powered by our card. The Plus Card and the ready to use Instant Credit Card are examples of that. This offer with Grab is another initiative that provides a usage benefit and allows cardholders to go cashless." Mr. Jerry Lim, Grab Vietnam's Country Head, said, "We are excited to partner with FE CREDIT and make it easier for their and our customers to pay and get rewarded when they travel with Grab."

About FE CREDIT A pioneer in Consumer Finance, FE CREDIT has established a solid foundation to become the market leader of the unsecured consumer loans market. FE CREDIT currently provides consumer lending services such as personal loans, two-wheeler loans, consumer durables loans and credit cards. www.fecredit.com.vn About Grab Grab is Southeast Asia's leading ride-hailing and mobile payments platform. Grab solves critical transportation challenges to make transport freedom a reality for 620 million people in Southeast Asia. Grab's core product platform includes transport solutions for drivers and passengers with an emphasis on convenience, safety and reliability, and its proprietary mobile payments platform, GrabPay. Grab currently offers services in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. http://www.grab.com Media Contact: FE CREDIT - VPBank Finance Company Limited

+84-08-3911-5212

[email protected] Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20170711/1896559-1 SOURCE VPBank Finance Company Limited

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Sub: Notice of the 30th Annual General MeetingRef: Reg. 30(2) read with para A of part A of Schedule III of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015This is in continuation of our letter dated May 26, 2017, please find attached Notice of the 30th Annual General Meeting to be held on Thursday, August 10, 2017 at 11.00 A.M at Trinity Hall, Vivanta by Taj, 41/3, M.G.Road, Bangalore  560 001.Please bring the above to the notice of your members.Source : BSE
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Pursuant to Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Disclosure and Obligation Requirements) Regulation 2015, we are enclosing a copy of Notice for Convening 23rd Annual General Meeting of the company to be held on Wednesday 9th August, 2017 at 09:45 A.M at PHD House Lakshmipat Singhania Auditorium, 4/2 Siri Institutional Area, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi-110016 to transact the Ordinary and Special Businesses as set out in the Notice.Further, Pursuant to the Regulation 42 of SEBI (Listing Disclosure and Obligation Requirements) Regulation 2015, The Register of Members and Share Transfer Books of the Company will be closed from Thursday 3rd August, 2017 to Wednesday 9th August 2017 for the Purpose of Annual General Meeting and payment of Dividend, if any approved by the Shareholders.As per Section 108 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 20 of the Companies ( Management and Administration ) Rules, 2014 and Regulation 44 of the SEBI ( Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulation ,2015 , the Company is pleased to provide to its members the facility to cast their Vote(s) on all resolutions set forth in the Notice by electronic means ( 'E-voting' ) The Remote E-voting Period begins at 9:00AM on 6th August, 2017 and ends at 5:00 PM on 8th August, 2017. The instructions for E-voting are mentioned in the Notice attached.Source : BSE
The Chhattisgarh government has signed four Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) to attract an investment of Rs 386 crore in electronics and food processing sectors in the state.

The agreements were signed in the presence of Chief Minister Raman Singh at his official residence late last evening, an official here said.

MoUs were inked with Smartron India Pvt Ltd, Forstar Techno Solutions Pvt Ltd, Wattson Electronics for investment in electronics sector and with ArkasBiocon India Pvt Ltd (BEC Foods) for food processing sector, he added.

The companies, deals in electronics, will establish manufacturing units in the upcoming Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) in Naya Raipur and will bring cumulative investments of around 286 crores in the State, the official said.

Smartron India will set up a manufacturing unit of smart phones and other smart devices based on ultra modern technology.

Similarly, Forstar Techno Solutions will establish assembly plant for tablet PC (personal computer), desktop PC, smart phone, biometric devices, netbooks and notebooks while Wattson Electronics shall manufacture consumer and industrial electronics products, he said.

The agreement will bring smart technology and product ecosystem to help transform the technological infrastructure of the state, he added.

Likewise, ArkasBiocon India has agreed to set up liquid glucose and derivative manufacturing unit in the state which will bring investments of Rs 100 crore, he said.

The investment would create employment opportunities for 2,800 people in the state particularly to local youth.

Speaking on the occasion, chief minister Singh congratulated entrepreneurs and said the proposed units under the agreements area expected to start functioning at the earliest.

States additional chief secretary, department of commerce and industries N Baijendra Kumar signed the MoU on behalf of Government of Chhattisgarh with chairman Smartron Mahesh Lingareddy, whole time director Forstar K P Roy, CEO Wattson Electronics Vikram Dewangan and director ArkasBiocon Arvind Jain, he said.
Luxottica

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given its nod to ophthalmic lens developer Essilor International's acquisition of Luxottica Group, which owns popular sunglass brand Ray-Ban.

In a tweet, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that it has approved "acquisition by Essilor International S.A. of Luxottica Group".

As per the notice submitted to the CCI, the transaction would entail a combination of Essilor International S.A. and Luxottica Group S.p.A. businesses consisting of Delfin S.a.r.l. contributing its entire stake in Luxottica, approximately 62 percent, to Essilor in return for newly- issued Essilor shares.

Essilor is engaged in ophthalmic lens development and its flagship brands are Varilux, Crizal, Transitions, Eyezen and Xperio.

Luxottica designs, manufactures and distributes eyewear and its portfolio includes many proprietary brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley.

In another tweet, the regulator said it has cleared share acquisition by Deere & Company in certain companies of Wirtgen Group and certain assets of Wirtgen Group Holding.

Deere is a US-corporation and mainly operates in India through its subsidiary, John Deere India Pvt Ltd, which is active in the agricultural equipment industry like tractors, tillers, harvesters, etc.

Wirtgen is active in the construction equipment industry and in India, it operates through Wirtgen India Pvt Ltd.
Maruti Suzuki India has cut prices across several models to pass on the benefits of lower goods and services tax (GST) to consumers.

This whole process of ushering in the GST system has proceeded far more smoothly than what either government or people thought it would happen, RC Bhargava, Chairman of the company told CNBC-TV18.

The company was able to start invoicing on GST formats from the first day. All the vendours, suppliers and dealers got registrations done and also have their systems giving their invoices on the GST compatible format, he said.

Exactly what was the difference in the tax compared to what was existing before GST, we passed on that benefit to the customer and it has varied from state to state because the value added tax (VAT) in the state is different from one state to another, he added.

Another Tryst With Destiny! How GST Will Change Your Life

According to him, it is too early to talk of demand pickup. In the month of June retail sales were high partly because of the uncertainty of what will happen post GST and partly because of the overtime working of auto companies to see that stocks at the end of the month were as low as possible with dealers.

He expects retail sales for the month of July to be lower than last month however the wholesale sales to be much higher than last month.

We will get double digit growth which means around 10 percent or little bit over 10 percent for the year as a whole, said Bhargava.

In his opinion, it will take a little time before one can work out what the actual impact on cost is because of GST.

Overall GST will be beneficial to companies, to the economy and over time it will be reflected in growth and possibly prices will not go up in the near future, he mentioned.

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview.

Latha: Was there anything reception at all due to GST or for you was it a time when sales roared?

A: No, this whole process of ushering in the GST system has proceeded far more smoothly than what either government or people thought it would happen.

We, at Maruti, were able to start invoicing on the GST formats right from the first day of sales. All our vendours, suppliers, dealers, they have all got registrations done and they also the systems working for giving their invoices on the GST compatible formats. All of that is going. The price reduction was something which was anticipated by us although some sections of the media had said prices of small cars will go up and all that but that was all a mistake somewhere. Sales proceeded quite normally.

Reema: You have reduced the prices of your vehicles on an average by close to about 3 percent. Is this going to be margin neutral for Maruti Suzuki now?

A: No, the policy of the government was that GST should not result in any company gaining profit from GST. So what we have done is exactly what was the difference in the tax compared to what was existing before GST we passed on that benefit to the customer and it has varied from state to state because the VAT in the states was different from one state to another.

So this is absolutely neutral as far as margins are concerned.

Anuj: Has that led to a bit of a pickup in demand? Is this quantifiable in terms of demand surge?

A: It is too early to talk of demand pick up but let me put it this way that in the month of June, retail sales were very high. Partly because the customers were uncertain what was going to happen, whether prices are going to go up or go down and partly because auto companies were also working overtime to see that stocks at the end of the month were as low as possible with dealers.

As a result our retail sales in June were very high at about over 140,000 cars and as a result, the retail sales this month are likely to be lower than last month. But the wholesale figures will be much higher because last month wholesales were kept low to reduce the inventory and this month because the stocks at the end of June with dealers was only about 40,000-42,000 cars, this month the wholesale sales will be much higher than last month.

Latha: Your June numbers came as a bit of a disappointment, 1.06 lakh, the street was working with close to almost 1.15 lakh or rather a 14 percent growth, so that just gets ironed out? You have deliberately sold less to wholesalers?

A: Yes, it will get ironed out. We were deliberately having a policy that stocks with dealers on June 30 should be as low as possible and we are down to 42,000 cars, which is roughly one-third of what the stock should normally be with the dealers.

Latha: What would your runrate therefore be?

A: Overall what we said in the beginning that we will get double digit growth which means we will be around 10 percent or little bit over 10 percent for the year as a whole. So these month to month figures of retail and wholesale should not be read by themselves. They have to be looked at over a total period of time and I think overall you will find that at the end of the year, it wont be very different from what we are projecting.

Anuj: Give us a word on the product mix as you move forward, the analyst view is that  Maruti still has a lot of cars and the bread and butter is still the entry level car but there is a lot of move towards premiumisation, so the new products are getting introduced in that particular segment, would that be right that you could be making a bit of a move towards the product mix slightly on the premium side?

A: No, we will have to keep putting new products in all segments. It cannot be that we ignore one segment or the other segment and concentrate on new products only in some segments. That is not going to happen, it cannot happen, it will be counterproductive for that to happen. The company has to make sure that in all the segments where it operates, it periodically renews its product mix.

Latha: Therefore the percentage of the whole doesnt change?

A: Yes, that will continue. I dont see that changing very much.

Reema: While the tax difference on account of GST has been completely passed on to the customers, what about costs savings under GST for the company in particular? Are we going to see some cost savings for Maruti because of easier way of doing business which can be accretive to your margins?

A: I think it will take a little time before we can work out what the actual impact on costs is because of GST.

I dont think it can be calculated in ten-fifteen days or even a month or two months. I think it will take a little bit longer to work out the whole system because people had been used  I am not talking about Maruti, I am talking about people we interact with  to a certain way of working whether it is logistics or whether it is in various other agencies we interact with and it is going to take some time for them to adjust to the new environment, to the new way of working and it will take a little time for us to work out but overall GST will be beneficial to companies, to the economy and over time it will be reflected in growth and possibly prices will not go up in the near future.
Moneycontrol Research

The sharp slide in the share price of Religare Enterprises has been halted, but not before it touched an all-time low of Rs 92.20. The stock has nearly halved since June 20, 2017 when it traded at Rs 183. During this period the company lost around Rs 1,800 crore in market capitalization.

The sharp fall in value has been attributed to three reasons.

The slide in Religare Enterprises can effectively said to have begun following an India Ratings report on June 20 which pointed out that the company would be facing short-term liquidity crunch after it would be redeeming bonds worth Rs 155 crore. The redemption date was set at June 30. The company however, redeemed the bonds when it came up for maturity.

However, on June 29, Religare announced its annual numbers. On a consolidated basis the company posted a loss of Rs 174 crore for year ending March 2017 as compared to a loss of Rs 47.65 crore in the previous year. But for March quarter, the company posted a loss of Rs 50.59 crore. Higher losses werer on account of write-offs in its lending arm Religare Finvest.

Finally, reports have attributed the fall in Religare stock to pledged shares being sold by the lenders as its share price fell. However, the company has denied such claims. Nearly 87.8 percent of promoters' holding has been pledged. Normally, lenders take a hair-cut of 50 percent of the value of shares. But as the share prices started to tumble, markets expectation of the lender selling the shares is not entirely wrong. The management could have avoided it by bringing in more margin.

Religares promoters Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh have been on a sell mode for sometime now. It started with the sale of their flagship venture Ranbaxy Laboratories, which did not go as smoothly as they would have expected. The buyer Daiichi has filed a case against them after a whistle blower disclosed all that was wrong in the company leading to a huge fine by US authorities. The Japanese pharma major ultimately sold Ranbaxy to Sun Pharma.

The hospitality business of the Singhs  Fortis  has recently been cleared by the Delhi High Court. Even in the case of Religare the company has sold its insurance, asset management and wealth management business and will be selling their health insurance business.

In the 2016 annual report the chairman in his speech has pointed out that company will be focused on lending, health insurance and capital market business. However, following RBI's clamp-down on lenders, Religare's auditor, Price Waterhouse, raised concerns around creditworthiness of borrowers, credit appraisal and loan sanctioning mechanism followed by the company. The auditors have also pointed out the possibility of collusion or improper management override of controls and material misstatements.

With health insurance to be sold and the process of lending in question, Religare will only have to rely on its broking business for survival and growth. With its equity base meant to service a number of businesses, it will be tough for the company to generate enough numbers to justify it.

At a time when big brokers are entering new areas for growth to reduce their dependence on broking to capitalize on financial inclusion, Religare will be falling behind in the rat race. If the company continues to post numbers as it did in the March quarter, the share price can come under pressure which can make the lenders with whom the shares are pledged jittery.
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The noose around corporate defaulters is tightening further as market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is scrutinising the books of firms with high non-performing assets (NPA). The regulator wants to ascertain whether the companies disclosed accounts properly or hid losses in past.

SEBI has also approached lenders (banks) seeking details of the companies that may have under-reported NPAs in the past. The regulator is of the view that some of the companies may not have disclosed losses on time or may have inflated their receivables and assets.

SEBI is checking the accounts of companies for irregularities in past disclosures. We have seen in the case of Bhushan Steel and Reliance Communications (RCom). While Bhushan Steel did not disclose accounts properly to investors, RCom had informed stock exchanges about default on non-convertible debentures after two months, a source close to the development told Moneycontrol.

Further, SEBI may take action against such companies if it finds irregularities in timely disclosures. SEBI is first looking at the books of accounts of those companies against whom cases have been registered in National Company Law Tribunal, the source said.

SEBI is keeping a close watch on the defaulters.

The RBI has a list ready of 48 major corporate defaulters. Only 12 companies have come up so far, but the central bank is expected to announce a second, third and fourth list in due course. The 12 defaulted borrowers include steel and infrastructure companies such as Lanco Infratech, Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power and Steel, Essar Steel, Electrosteels Steel and Alok Industries among others.

Besides, SEBI has asked IDBI, Axis Bank, Yes Bank and ICICI Bank to submit reply on companies that reported fewer losses as compared to the Reserve Bank of Indias assessment. SEBI is concerned about only listed banks which reported a deviation in their bad loans compared to the RBIs assessment, another person privy to the developments told Moneycontrol. Banks have been asked to explain the reason behind the huge deviation in their bad loans compared to the RBIs assessment.

IDBI didn't respond to email queries sent by Moneycontrol.

Yes Banks bad loan classification for 2016-end varied from that of RBIs by Rs 4,176 crore a sharp 558 percent more than the Rs 748.9 crore of bad loans it had reported for FY17. Similarly, as per RBI, Axis Banks bad loans were 156 percent or Rs 9,478 crore more than the banks disclosure in FY16. For ICICI Bank, the divergence was 19.5 percent or Rs 5,105 crore more.
Drug maker Vista Pharmaceuticals has received a warning letter from the US drug regulator for significant violations of current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations for finished pharmaceuticals at its formulation plant in Telangana.

The US Food and Drug Administration inspected the plant of the Hyderabad-based company located at Narketpalli in Nalgonda district from September 19 to 23, 2016 and issued Form 483 observations.

Vista responded to the observations in October last year with a corrective action plan, but has since failed to convince the US FDA.

Because your methods, facilities, or controls for manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding do not conform to CGMP, your drug products are adulterated, US FDA said in its warning letter posted on its website.

Moneycontrol reviewed a copy of the warning letter that US FDA addressed to Dhananjaya Alli, Managing Director of Vistas.

US FDA also stated a labelling violation related to Vistas generic vasodilator isoxsuprine hydrochloride, 20 mg tablets marketed in US.

Vasodilan tablets, generically known as isoxsuprine hydrochloride, are the subject of pending Drug Efficacy Study Implementation (DESI) proceeding by US FDA.

The approval for Vasodilan was withdrawn effective March 13, 2009. While it is generally FDAs policy to allow drug products subject to an ongoing DESI proceeding to remain on the market during pendency of the proceeding, the side effects need to be mentioned on the labels.

Until you correct all violations completely and we confirm your compliance with CGMP, FDA may withhold approval of any new applications or supplements listing your firm as a drug manufacturer, US FDA said.

The US drug regulator gave 15 days for Vistas to respond to its warning letter.

For Vista, the Narketpalli plant is the sole facility exporting drugs to US market.

Shares of Vistas dropped 4.93 percent to close at Rs 32.75 on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex gained 0.18 percent to end at 31,804.82 points.
Kolkata-based Savetur Digital, which owns and runs the aggregator app TYGR (pronounced Tiger), on Wednesday made an official foray into Mumbai to compete against the big two in the segment - Ola and Uber.

With a fleet of 5,000 cabs, TYGR, which has had a soft launch in Mumbai, aims to expand to 10,000 cabs in the city over the next two to three months, a top official told Moneycontrol.

We run a subscription-based service wherein the cab partner pays us only Rs 500 a month as against the 25-30 percent fees charged on the turnover by other aggregators. We do not do pricing surge either, said Aditya Poddar, Co-founder and Chief Executive, TYGR.

Last year, the company announced it had secured seed funding of USD 3 million (about Rs 20 crore) from Franchise India. Franchise India is a franchise and retail solution provider established in 1999.

Ola and Uber have faced mass exodus of cab partners over the past several months after the companies gradually reduced the incentives doled out by them initially to lure partners. Bengaluru, which alone drives 30 percent of app-based aggregator business in the country, has seen maximum dropouts.

With TYGR, Poddar hopes that cab partners will find a better alternative to Ola and Uber. We showcased our model in Bengaluru and the response has been very enthusiastic. They are eagerly waiting for us to launch the app there, said Poddar.

TYGR does not intermediate payments and customers can pay directly as per their preferred method such as meter, fixed rate, cards and even negotiate price.

TYGR is presently available only on the Android platform. It will be extended to Apples iOS platform in the coming months. We are looking to have an average of 5000 cabs in every city in the next three to four months. We would be targeting 10 cities initially, added Poddar.

According to Poddar, the cab aggregator business in India has around 500,000 vehicle partners, of which about 300,000-400,000 units belong to Uber and Ola.

In the immediate future, TYGR aims to enter the commercial logistics marketplace through the aggregator way. This space recently got increased action with the entry of heavyweight Mahindra & Mahindra-backed Smart Shift.

In reality, TYGR is an omni-platform logistics operator that offers a wide spectrum of logistics solutions including cabs, auto-rickshaws, shuttle vans, buses and luxury vehicles. Additional services for ambulances, delivery and intercity logistics will be rolled out in Mumbai at a later stage.
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Former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court A.P. Shah has written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to take immediate action against PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India for allegedly posing threat to national interests.

Shah heads the Citizens Whistle Blowers Forum (CWBF).

In a letter, the Delhi-based forum said: "A number of highly disconcerting issues involving PwC, which pose serious threat to national interests, safety of investments of common man, result in significant losses to the public exchequer and which expose lack of efficacy of controls in the banking system have come to the notice of the CWBF."

"Further PwC has been found guilty of criminal acts by the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO) and by the Special CBI Court. Despite this, PwC is being rewarded with significant government business including those where there are direct conflicts of interest."

The Forum has members such as former Finance secretary  Economic Affairs E.A.S. Sarma, Senior Advocate and PIL activist Prashant Bhushan, former IAS and social activist Aruna Roy, former Finance Secretary EAS Sarma, former Professor at IIM A Jagdeep Chhokar, former Indian Navy chief Admiral Lara Ramdas and former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, former Chief Election Commissioner.

The letter, sent on Monday, highlights major scams like the Satyam scam (which involved Pricewaterhouse and not Pricewaterhouse coopers), Global Trust Bank scam, Kingfisher/USL/Vijay Mallya scam involving PwC and other violations of FDI policy, evasion of income tax, falsification of their own books of accounts by PWC, alleging some of the violations amount to criminal offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Yet not only does it continue to go scot free but is rewarded with significant government business!

The copies of the letter had also been sent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), retired Justice M.B. Shah who is the chairman of SIT on black money, Reserve Bank of India and the Enforcement Directorate.

Reacting to the letter, PWC in a statement told Moneycontrol: "We deny the allegations made. Price Waterhouse has always complied and will continue to comply with applicable laws and regulations and any suggestion to the contrary is merely speculative"

Last month, SEBI chairman Ajay Tyagi had said that the Bombay High Court has ruled that SEBI does have jurisdiction on auditors as public shareholders can be affected by their actions.

When asked if SEBI had powers to ban an auditor from dealing with listed companies, he said that theoretically, it can happen... SEBI can issue directions if an audit has not been done properly as shareholders were dependent on it.

In 2010, SEBI had issued a show-cause notice to Price Waterhouse, among many other entities, after it emerged that the accounts of Satyam were falsified and inflated.

In Satyam scam, it points out that Raju (Satyam founder and then chief) and their PWC auditors managed to get their sentences suspended and obtained bail within a month from a Sessions court, Hyderabad. In the Global Trust Bank scam cost of inaction by ICAI was extremely high. Thousands of public investors lost their hard earned savings.

The letter (accessed by Moneycontrol) noted that a lot of benami transactions and violations of norms were overlooked and there was leniency on the part of regulators, banks and the government and if left unaddressed will pose serious threats to public interest and national security.

It has urged the government to immediately implement the Joint Parliamentary Committee recommendations to take action in the GTB scam, various litigations in the Satyam scam, order a time-bound investigation and terminate all existing government contracts to PwC among others.
The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday heard the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) against the plea by Essar Steel challenging the banking regulator's directive to lenders to refer the debt-laden company to National Company Law Tribunal. It will continue hearing the cast tomorrow when it is expected to deliver its verdict.

CNBC-TV18 reports suggest that the central bank presented its case today said saying it is not treating Essar Steel differently but following a statutory process to resolve the NPA (non-performing asset) mess and the company was far from reaching its restructuring stage. If Essar claims it has a resolution plan already, the turnaround story will be considered in the insolvency proceedings at the the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

In many ways, the verdict will have a bearing on the future course of resolution proceedings under the IBC.

The central bank said that the previous insolvency process delayed the resolution while the new IBC aims at quick resolution and recovery of NPAs

On Friday last week, the High Court had adjourned the case to July 12 after hearing out the lawyers of Essar Steel.

Experts believe that the verdict could favour the regulator as the company is focussing on technical gaps to delay the legal action against them.

Lawyers also believe that RBI could come out winning in this case as the bankruptcy code makes it clear that no civil court could get to weigh in on the matter.

As per the ordinance, if NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) admits it, it can only further be contested with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) and further be moved to the Supreme Court.

Last month, the RBI had directed Essar Steel lenders to refer the debt-laden steel company to the NCLT for insolvency proceedings. Essar had moved the court against proceedings and a special bench on July 4 had posted the case for hearing on July 7. The RBI was also ordered to file its reply by then.

Essar Steel is among the 12 stressed companies that the RBI has identified to be taken to the insolvency courts on priority basis.

On June 13, the RBIs internal advisory committee (IAC) recommended for IBC reference all accounts with fund and non-fund based outstanding amount greater than Rs 5,000 crore, with 60 percent or more classified as non-performing by banks as of March 31, 2016.

The debt-ridden steel producer had questioned the cut-off date of March 31, 2016 fixed by the RBI for selecting those 12 accounts.

Meanwhile, foreign lender Standard Chartered Bank had also demanded that the Essar's request to stay the proceedings be quashed.

However, the high court's single-judge bench had asked the RBI to submit its reply on the matter and ordered the NCLT to hold back insolvency proceedings until the next hearing.

Essar Steel, with a debt of about Rs 42,000 crore, had contended before the court that after months of negotiations with its lenders, the company had reached a settlement with the creditors.

The company was trying to restructure the package approved by its board of directors but before any concrete decision was arrived at with the creditors, RBI released the circular on June 13 to take it to the insolvency proceedings.

Essar Steel has demanded that the overseeing committee (independent 5-member panel set up by RBI) take into account its interest payments of Rs 3,500 crore to the lenders, higher capacity utilisation at 80 percent in its steel plant and a resultant 42 percent rise in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) in FY17.

The steel producer has also stated before the court that RBI has given six months time to many other large defaulters to come clean and that they should also be given the same opportunity.
The communications ministry will set up working groups to deliberate on the new telecom policy (NTP) and hopes it will become a reality in 2018, Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said today.

The policy in the offing, will focus on areas such as Internet for all, next-generation technologies (like 5G and Internet of Things), skills development, and security, among others.

"We are commencing the work (on NTP)...and we will be setting-up the working groups and committees for this," Sundararajan said on the sidelines of an event on 'ICT: Engendering New Governance Structure'.

Asked if the telecom department hopes to bring the new policy in the sector sometime in 2018, she replied in affirmative saying, "yes, we are indeed hopeful".

Speaking at a seminar, Telcom Minister Minister Manoj Sinha said the upcoming policy will be application driven as compared to connectivity driven at present.

The policy has to focus on the end users and should look at the newer opportunities for expanding the availability of telecom services, the minister added.

He further pointed out that the advent of high-speed data services and enhanced user expectation of getting real time on-demand band-width to run live applications has set the tone for new policy.

Sundararajan said that the ministry will initiate the "widest possible public consultation" involving the industry, and that a series of regional workshops have also been planned to get inputs from local stakeholders on the new policy.

The department will work "intensively" on the policy over the next 3-4 months, she pointed out.

On whether Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will be consulted on the policy, she said, "we will be in touch with TRAI for their policy inputs also".

The policy will focus on areas like Internet for all as well as new-age technologies like 5G and Internet of Things or IoT.

"Technologies like 5G and IoT will form the basis of the new Digital India. Other areas of focus will be skills development, getting more investments into telecom since we need to continuously upgrade our networks, and the aspect of security," she said.

India -- which is the second largest telecom market in the world with over one billion mobile subscribers -- saw FDI equity inflow of USD 5.56 billion between April 2016 to March 2017. This is more than four times the average inflow of about 1.3 billion dollars every year since 2013-14.

However, the sector is now reeling under a staggering Rs 4.6 lakh crore of debt. The industry players, both large and small, are complaining of pressure on revenue and profitability due to intense competition in the market, and disruptive voice and data offerings of newcomer Reliance Jio.

Sundararajan said the inter-ministerial group - constituted to suggest ways to ease the industry's financial stress - is expected to give its recommendations in ten days.

She further added that the department is also considering setting up telecom Computer Emergency Response Team or CERT.

"We intend to start work on its soon...as telecom industry grows and telecom network security becomes more important, we will need a dedicated organisation which can look into the aspects of that," she said.

The standards for telecom security and the modalities of emergency response mechanism would be part of the new architecture of the telecom CERT, she added.
An employee writes on a register inside the Tata Motors car showroom in Ahmedabad, India, November 6, 2015. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo - RTX2HWSR

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The midnight switch to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) sucked out a lot of momentum from demand for passenger cars, with only a handful of models reporting growth last month.

Five of the ten best-selling cars reported a fall, while the remaining five reported a healthy double digit jump in sales. These top ten models make up 55 percent of Indias domestic sales. On a regular basis, only 1-2 models are in the negative, in a month, from the top ten list.

In June, no model clocked sales in excess of 15,000 units, even as Marutis aging workhorse Alto remained the leader clocking in sales of 14,856 units, a 6 percent drop compared to the same month last year.

Must watch: Another Tryst With Destiny! How GST Will Change Your Life After July 1

Hyundais Grand i10 and Creta, and Maruti Suzukis Dzire and Wagon R were the other four that reported a fall in sales in June. Maruti's Dzire is in ramp-up mode as the new model is getting dispatched to dealers and cannot be strictly compared to the older model, same month last year.

Maruti Suzuki launches all new Dzire. Built on a fifth generation B platform the Dzire is built using high tensile steel making it light weight to deliver better environmental performance and fuel efficiency.

The dream run of Marutis Baleno and Vitara Brezza continued unabated with growth of 30 percent and 24 percent, respectively. Their volumes remained unaffected because of their strong order book leading to waiting periods extending to 6-8 weeks.

Hyundais Elite i20, Maruti Suzukis Swift and Celerio were other models that reported a growth in sales in the last month. Maruti is testing the new Swift, which would be ready for launch later this financial year. The new Swift will be based on the same platform as the Baleno on which the current Dzire is also housed.

The biggest surprise last month was Tata Motors' Tiago. The compact hatchback, which is into its 15th month of sales, climbed five spots to settle at the 13th spot. Tiago, which sold just one unit less than Renaults Kwid in June, grew 29 per cent, selling 5,438 units.

Of the 13 companies in total, only three companies  Maruti Suzuki, Honda and SkodaAuto  reported growth in the last month. Sales of Toyota Kirloskar crashed 85 percent, the most in recent years, followed by that of General Motors-owned Chevrolet.

With sales of just 1,973 units (as against 13,567 units) Toyota slipped through the rankings to settle at the 10th spot compared to the 5th spot in May. Renault's sales dipped 42 percent in June primarily due to the fall in demand for Kwid.

As per data shared by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, passenger vehicle volumes dipped 11 percent to 1,36,895 units  the sharpest drop since May 2013.

However, with a price reduction ranging from 2.5-14 percent on all cars and SUVs following the implementation of GST, consumers are expected to flock back to showrooms before the start of the festive season in the last week on August.
Fintech firm Innoviti today said it has raised Rs 120 crore from a clutch of investors, including the SBI-FMO private equity, for business expansion activities.

The Bengaluru-based company raised the money from Singapore-based SBI FMO Emerging Asia Financial Sector Fund (jointly setup by SBI Holdings Group of Japan and FMO of the Netherlands), Bessemer Venture Partners and existing investor Catamaran, Innoviti said in a statement.

This is the second round of funding after a USD 5 million infusion in June 2015.

"Innoviti is a company focused on developing unique solutions for the Indian payments context and we like companies with the ability to create intellectual property," SBI-FMO Fund's manager Suramya Gupta said.

He further said the same solutions can be used in other markets in Asia and the fund will extend its network to the new company in its portfolio.

The money raised in the current round will be used for market expansion of its payments platform as well as small businesses finance platform, the release said.

The company counts Reliance Retail, Titan, Landmark Group, Inox, Indigo, Walmart, and banks like HDFC, ICICI, Axis, SBI, Standard Chartered, Kotak and Citibank as its clients.
IPO

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Company is a provider of customised steel fabrication and infrastructure solutions in India for Telecommunication Towers, Transmission Towers & Substation Structures and Solar Module Mounting Structures. The objective of Company is to supply customized, high-quality material to its impressive and ever-growing clientele. Co provide 360 degree solutions by carrying out engineering, designing, fabrication, galvanization and deployment. Cos products include Telecommunication Towers, Power Transmission Line Towers, Smart Lighting Poles, Mono-poles, Guard Rails, Substation Structures, Solar Module Mounting Structures and Customized Galvanized & Non-galvanized steel structures. Cos services include providing complete engineering, procurement and control for projects such as Rural Electrification, Power Transmission Lines, and Solar Power Plants.

Reasons to Subscribe:

Salasar has a strong customer profile and some of its major customers are Bharti Infratel Ltd, Indus Towers Ltd, Huawei Technologies Nepal Company Pvt Ltd, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, Acme Cleantech solution Pvt Ltd, ATC Telecom Infrastruc-ture Pvt Ltd, U.P. Power Transmission Corporation Ltd, Indus Towers Ltd, Prayatana Developers Pvt Ltd, Unitech Power Transmission Ltd, Today Green Energy Pvt Ltd, Viom Networks Ltd, Welspun Renewables Energy (P) Ltd etc.

Cos Promoter and Managing Director, Mr. Alok Kumar has over 41 years of experience in trading, manufacturing and fab-rication of iron & steel and Mr. Shalabh Agarwal, Promoter and Whole-Time Director of company, has over 18 years of experi-ence in sugar industry and trading, manufacturing and fabrica-tion of iron & steel.

ValuationAt price of Rs 108/share, co is bringing the issue at p/e multiple of 6.91 on post issue FY17 eps of Rs 15.62.

With decent fundamentals, cos valuation look reasonable at cur-rent level. Hence we recommend Subscribe on issue.

For all IPO stories, click here

The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions
A bird flies by the Vedanta office building in Mumbai August 16, 2010. India-focused miner Vedanta Resources said it will buy 51-60 percent of Cairn India for about $8.5-9.6 billion in cash to be funded via debt and cash resources, a move that would represent Vedanta's first foray into oil and gas, and help Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy fund an expensive drilling programme in Greenland. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS ENERGY) - RTXSAAV

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JP Morgan has retained overweight rating on Vedanta with a price target of Rs 310 on the back of diversified resource mix and volume growth across segments.

The research firm sees a strong growth potential in its oil & gas segment over the next tree years based on FY19-20 estimates of USD 55/barrel oil.

It is of the view that Vedanta has an aggressive vision of growth from its oil segment and is targeting a 500kboepd versus 165kboepd with a near-term target of 300kboepd.

JP Morgan believes that Vedanta's key oil asset is the Barmer basin which has seven hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir systems has started exploration.

Production to date has been greater than 800 mmboe, with capex investment of greater tha USD 8 billion and USD 24 billion of gross contribution to the exchequer.

Vedanta's announced growth plans include total capex of USD 955 million with the two large projects being RDG Gas project for total capex of USD 440 million and Aishwarya Barmer Hill project for a total of USD 195 million. These projects are scheduled to start from this year and into next year and would have a cumulative peak of 100kboepd. The RDG Gas project is expected to increase gas volume for sale by 100mmscfd by end CY'19, it said.

JP Morgan is also of the view that the company's vision for the oil is to take production up to 500kboepd with reserves of more than 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent and establish a diversified and sustainable portfolio. Interestingly, the company highlighted that given it could potentially be embarking on a significant capital expenditure program, it has accordingly formulated its Org structure and staffing. The near-term target of Vedanta is to take production to 300kboepdand; while the company did not specify the timeframe, but highlighted it should be within three years.

The key field of Mangala field could see production increase by 50kboepd in the next two years on ASP EOR program with slightly higher costs. For the key Rajasthan block, the MBA fields have HIIP of 2.2 billion boe with 18 percent recovered so far and the plan is to take the recovery rate to 50 percent. The tight Oil and satellite fields have HIIP of 3.7 billion boe and the company has a target recovery rate of 15 percent. The Raageshwari deep Gas has a GIIP of 110 4 billion scf and the targeted recovery rate is 60 percent. While the amounted capex program amounts to USD 955 million, progress on the above projects should take spending higher though the company did not quantify the same, the research firm added.

Vedanta expects the PSC (production sharing contract) to be extended soon. The company has disputed the 10 percent increase in government share.

At 10:39 hrs Vedanta was quoting at Rs 258.90, up Rs 1.00, or 0.39 percent. It has touched an intraday high of Rs 261.75 and an intraday low of Rs 258.00.
Valuations of the market have been expensive and the market is likely to stay richer for longer, says Deutsche Equities.

While maintaining December 2017 Sensex target at 29,000 levels, Abhay Laijawala, Head, India Research, Deutsche Equities told CNBC-TV18 that the research house is not looking to change the Sensex target given the lack of earnings pick-up.

Consensus earnings growth expectations for FY18 are pegged at 20 percent, which looks difficult, he feels.

"Our sense is that the first half of FY18 is pretty adverse; hence, there is a strong likelihood that 20 percent earnings growth is unlikely," he said.

Currently, the market is trading at 19 times one-year forward, with an assumption of 20 percent earnings growth.

Abhay said if earnings growth comes at 10 percent in the current financial year, then the market is expected to trade 21x PE.

The 50-share NSE Nifty surged more than 19 percent year-to-date (2017) and crossed another milestone of 9,800 level on Tuesday. That was majorly by short covering in sectors like technology, PSU banks and healthcare stocks, especially after market regulator SEBI modified P-Notes rules.

If rules and regulation will change, the market is likely to see this kind of impact, Laijawal feels.

Actually, there were a lot of expectations that the SEBI could enforce some modifications in P-Notes and investors may get more grace time, he said.

According to Securities and Exchange Board Of India (SEBI), now, participatory notes or offshore derivative instruments (ODIs) can be issued only for the purposes of hedging with respect to equity shares held.

Besides, the market regulator said that existing positions on unhedged P-Note derivatives have to be liquidated by end of December 2020.

Inflows from institutional investors slowed down for a month recently, which suggest that FIIs are keenly looking at events like possible Federal Reserve unwind, he said, adding the US employment is back.

Last week, the US added 2.22 lakh jobs against an expected of 1.79 lakh.

According to Laijawala, central banks will have to move towards normalisation and unwinding of Federal Reserve balance sheet is more likely.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams in Sydney on Tuesday said that he expected the Fed to start unwinding its massive balance sheet in the next few months. He also said that the US Fed will be raising rates one more time this year.

Meanwhile, in India, "We are seeing a massive flow from physical savings to financial savings. We are seeing whole host of factors rebalancing the economy," Laijawala said, adding the government's recent policies have been extremely positive.

He is very bullish on India with long term perspective.

Stocks and sectors

Laijawala is positive on IT stocks. BFSI segment, which has been hurting revenue growth of IT companies, is expected to grow, he feels.

Last month, big US banks planned for share buybacks and dividend payouts, especially after the Federal Reserve approved capital plans for all 34 financial firms that took part in annual stress tests. This is an indication that these US firms may come back to pre-crisis days soon.

Hence, US financial companies' IT budgets are likely to increase, he said. Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) segment contributes 40 percent to Indian IT companies' revenue.

He is also positive on auto, industrials and commercial vehicle sectors.

He said in the first two months of FY18 (April-May), the government spent 50 percent of expenditure on rural economy, including Rs 1 lakh crore on fertiliser subsidy, diesel subsidy etc. Even procurement of rabbi crops increased 30 percent.

Hence, Laijawala said the research house is positive on stocks that are more reliant on agriculture economy like auto, energy (particularly refinery) IT, consumer sector.

Recently, banking & financials rallied smartly on hopes of early NPA resolution and likely normal monsoon.

He is not overweight on banking sector as a whole because he is positive only on private banks. He believes private sector banks will continue to gain market share at the expense of government banks.

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview.

Anuj: Last time when we spoke to you the market was having a bit of a momentum, there was a bull charge and you raised some warning signs. Would you say something similar right now as well? Do you think the recent run-up is a bit too steep?

A: The run-up has to be seen in conjunction with the key transformation that is happening in the Indian savings profile. I think what we have to see right now is that with real interest rates staying sustainably in the positive zone, 1.7 percent or so and staying sustainably there, we are seeing a massive flow of savings from physical to financial savings. Within financial savings as well, we are witnessing a transformation with liquidity at the banks leading to fixed deposit rates coming down. Investors are moving from fixed income towards safer quasi equity products. So what we have seen in the last four months is a massive surge into balanced funds.

Now balanced funds are 60-65 percent invested in equity. So if you see the flows into equity funds as well as the equity component of the balanced funds, we are talking of USD 2-2.5 billion every month coming from retails investors into domestic mutual funds. So despite the fact that we are seeing a massive transformation in the economy, we are seeing rebalance of the economy, what you are seeing in the savings profile is completely independent of that. So answer to your question is, with such a backdrop, market is likely to stay richer for longer.

Reema: We just flashed your December Sensex target and it still stands at 29,000. It seems a bit out of sync now considering where the Sensex currently is. So, any chance you would look to revise it and how would you read this valuation versus liquidity conundrum that we are facing right now?

A: We have been at 29,000 and we continue to stay at 29,000. Our entire premise for the 29,000 is that we need to see earnings growth once again recovering. We waited for three years for double-digit earnings growth, we haven't seen that. We are now in the fourth consecutive year, we are waiting for that to come in. I think what we are seeing this year particularly is a whole host of factors leading to a rebalance of the economy.

At the end of the last year we had demonetisation. Now, we are going to see the impact of the Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA), we have just gone ahead and passed the Goods and Services Tax (GST). So, effectively when so many things are happening at the same time, these are all dramatic, these are all extremely positive and these all have the potential to change and transform the country including a very positive impact on the return on equity, but we will have to be patient.

Reema: So no double-digit earnings growth even this year, for the fourth year in a row?

A: Consensus is for 20 percent earnings growth. It is looking increasingly difficult like the last three years and our sense is that the hurdle in the first half of the year, the base effect in the first half of this year, is pretty adverse. So, there is a very strong likelihood that the near 20 percent earnings growth that the street is expecting looks unlikely.

So, at this point in time, the market is trading at 19 times one year forward with the assumption that the earnings will grow at 20 percent. However, if actual earnings growth is going to be only 10 percent, then we are already looking at the market trading at close to 21 times one year forward earnings.

Anuj: Let us also look at couple of recent news points and which are technical indicators for the market. Since you have a lot of foreign institutional investor (FII) clients, what did you make of the Sebi circular on p-notes having to unwind the naked positions? What are your thoughts on how that is going to impact the market, whether there is more short covering which is possible and whether that damage is the inherent structure of the market?

A: We have obviously seen the market react on Monday particularly and we had this mishap with the NSE having trading issues. So, to a large extent the short covering could not happen and we did see that continue into the next day. We think that short covering is going to continue to happen and we have seen that three particular sectors where there were likely a lot of shorts have really seen stock prices move as a result of this announcement. So I guess there is little you can do. Regulation is regulation and if regulation is going to change, we will see this kind of an impact.

Anuj: The issue here is that you cover shorts because you have been told to cover shorts. However, if stocks rally and inherently there is no strength then at higher levels do we see some of the other investors using that as an opportunity to short? For example names in pharmaceutical, IT, or PSU banks where we did see that short covering, is that then an opportunity for others to short then?

A: I did not understand.

Anuj: Let us look at couple of sectors; because of forced short covering you saw a rally of say 8-10 percent, but that was purely technical in nature. So some of these stocks then exceed their fair value. So in that case do we see fresh shorts entering from some of the other FIIs, not necessarily using the p-note route?

A: That will depend on what happens next. It is very difficult to take that call at this point in time. Let us see how this situation pans out. There is a lot of expectation in the market that Sebi could probably announce some modifications over here, probably give the investors more grace time to go ahead and make the adjustments. So, let us watch the situation. At least the market at this point in time is expecting that there will be some modification.

Anuj: In general what is the FII view because we have not seen too much participation from FIIs? Of course that is only in the recent rally. They have been staying invested in India for long now and that way they are making a lot of money. However, in the recent rally, we have not seen any participation from FIIs.

A: Yes, in the last I guess one month or so, we have seen a slowdown in terms of FIIs. It is really the locals, domestic investors who have been keeping the market going. We think that FII investors are looking at events like the possible Fed unwind. There has been a lot of talk about the Fed unwinding the balance sheet and I think we will have some indications today when Janet Yellen at Humphrey-Hawkins Testimony probably gives some kind of a guidance on the timing of this unwind including the trajectory of interest rates.

We at Deutsche, our global chief economist has been highlighting that USD 13 trillion of excess liquidity needs to be unwound and his view is that in this entire bull run, US market growth has been 4x the gross domestic product (GDP) growth. So, clearly there is a big variance between the real economy and the financial economy. With the news flow over a stablisation in the economy with US employment coming back, with a normalisation of growth in Europe, central bankers world over will have to move to normalisation. So, investors at this point in time, emerging market investors are basically looking at what could be the potential of this unwinding. While the Fed is likely to move conclusively, but not aggressively, it will not be without any impact.

Let me make one more point which is very important, the institute of international finance has just come out with the latest global debt numbers and global debt has risen to USD 217 trillion. This is 327 percent of GDP. When the global central bankers look at the huge increase in debt that has taken place, and the fact that normalisation is happening, it is more likely than not that the Fed balance sheet unwind is more likely than not. Therefore -- I have probably gone about the rather long winded manner, but the point is this is exactly what FIIs are watching.

As far as India is concerned, they continue to stay very bullish on the longer term prospects. However, clearly this generic worry over emerging markets and the impact of the Fed unwind is the reason for the slowdown in flows.

Reema: You also have a small overweight on IT. You turn bullish I think in the month of January or the start of the year. Are we done with the earnings downgrade cycle for IT?

A: For IT, we will have to look at what happens with the rupee. In the June quarter, the adverse currency movements had an impact on earnings and if the rupee stabilises, and shows no further appreciation and there are no adverse cross currency headwinds as well, as we head into the second quarter, it is likely that sequential growth will pick up. In addition we are enthused by the improving health of financial institutions globally. As we saw recently, the Fed gave a clean chit to US banks to go out and raise dividend payouts or pursue buybacks.

If the banks are going to pursue buybacks and if they are going to give out higher dividends, they are definitely going to go out and raise the discretionary IT spend. As we know, the financial sector constitutes close to 40 percent of the revenues of Indian IT companies. So, we continue to stay positive and we do believe that all these events including the movement of the rupee, will have a bearing on IT sector earnings. We have a small overweight on the sector.

Anuj: What about domestic economy facing sectors, we saw good numbers from Ashok Leyland for example, so, commercial vehicle (CV) cycle picking up, is the capex picking up. Is that a sector where you would put your bets on?

A: We are positive on autos, we are positive on industrials, we are positive on commercial vehicles and one point I would like to make over here is in the last two months I do not know if -- this has not really been reported as I think it should have been given how significant it is, in the first two months of the current financial year, the government has frontloaded pump priming. Total government expenditure is up 50 percent. Most importantly there has been a huge amount of pump priming to the rural economy.

We saw that close to Rs 100,000 crore has been spent between the food ministry releasing a fertiliser subsidy payments and releasing a diesel subsidy payments. We have also correspondingly seen that the procurement of the rabi crop is up 30 percent. This is likely to provide a very strong tailwind to the rural economy which has been complaining of severe stress. So, consequently we think it is time to look again very closely at the rural plays and the all the stocks that are reliant on the rural economy and the agrarian economy.

So the stocks we like right now, the sectors we like right now, are autos, energy, particularly refining, we like IT as I mentioned, we like the consumer sector. That is what we like.

Reema: It does not include financials, and being underweight financials seems a bit like a contra call right now because the rally is being led by financials.

A: It has, but in financials our preference is more towards private sector banks and therefore it is difficult to be positive on financials across the board. Our preference is very clear, we like the private sector banks and our banks analyst believes that private sector banks will continue to see market share gains at the expense of the government banks. So, as a sector, we cannot be overweight because the positivity is only on one part of the sector.
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Oil marketing majors, ONGC and HPCL, gained around 3 percent intraday on Wednesday as investors cheered the buzz of a merger taking place soon.

Oil minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, said that the merger between the two companies will be completed in the current financial year, CNBC-TV18 reported, quoting agencies.

Meanwhile, the rally in these two stocks spilled over to Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals (MRPL), which rose 4 percent intraday as ONGC and HPCL both hold stakes in the firm. The former holds 71.63 percent stake in the firm, while HPCL has a shareholding of 16.969 percent.

The oil and gas index on Sensex was up over 1.5 percent, while the Nifty Energy index was up over a percent.

It was reported by news agency PTI earlier this month that the government was looking to sell 51 percent stake in HPCL to ONGC for over Rs 26,000 crore,

After the Cabinet nod, the government could move to appoint valuation and transaction advisers while ONGC too may decide to hire merchant bankers to arrive at the valuation of government shareholding.

ONGC is said to have a cash reserve of Rs 13,014 crore and to fund the government stake acquisition in HPCL, it will have to borrow at least Rs 10,000 crore, the source said.

At 11:53 hrs Oil and Natural Gas Corporation was quoting at Rs 165.00, up Rs 4.70, or 2.93 percent on the BSE. Meanwhile, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation was quoting at Rs 351.60, up Rs 9.65, or 2.82 percent. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, on the other hand, was quoting at Rs 126.60, up Rs 3.90, or 3.18 percent.
IRB Infrastructure Developers | In 2020 so far, the share price has moved up 76 percent to Rs 131.20. It's trailing twelve months (TTM) P/E was 6.40 multiple while 5-year average P/E was 8.30 multiple.

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The National Company Law Tribunal will be hearing the insolvency petition filed by Era Infra Engineering's lender on July 25. Originally set for hearing on Tuesday, the case against the debt-laden company has been postponed as about 18 winding-up petitions are still pending against it in the Delhi High Court.

On Tuesday, the debt-laden company questioned the Delhi bench of the NCLT over whether insolvency proceedings can be initiated by the Union Bank of India (UBI) considering there were as there were pending winding-up petitions in the High Court.

The company is among 12 loan defaulters identified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to be taken up for insolvency proceedings by creditors under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Manoj K. Singh, Founding Partner of Singh and Associates, a law firm that represents Era Infra Engineering, told Moneycontrol that the company has no issues regarding insolvency proceedings, but the overlap with winding-up petitions pending in the court needs to be addressed. If the High Court has a winding-up judgment which is contradictory to the NCLT, then there can be a conflict.

These pending petitions are filed by a number of creditors of the company.

If the winding-up petitions are admitted by the High Court, the application under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code filed by the bank may become infructuous as NCLT would first look at a resolution process of 6-9 months.

As per rules, the tribunal will have to be notified of winding-up petitions, if any, which are still pending against the company referred for bankruptcy proceedings. These petitions are not transferred to the Tribunal (NCLT).

Singh said there would be lakhs of cases which will be decided based on this.

The insolvency proceedings at the NCLT would help the company repay its debt as there is an attempt at the resolution process first and a liquidation if the resolution fails. On the other hand, petitions favour winding up when the debtors are unable to pay for liabilities.

Era Infra has a large amount of funds tied up in arbitration claims that could help in the revival of the company and enable it to repay debt, he added.

The default amount claimed by the bank is Rs 681.04 crore, along with an overdue external commercial borrowing of USD 11.97 million up to May 31, 2017. Era has contested the amount and it will be decided by the insolvency professional.

Era Infra Engineering owes over Rs 10,000 crore to its creditors.

Last week, the company appointed its Managing Director Hem Singh Bharana as its new CEO on July 3.
A technician is pictured inside a desalter plant of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, September 30, 2016. Picture taken September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave - RTSS6X9

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Continuing their opposition to the ONGC's oil exploration project in their village near here, residents resorted to a novel protest by setting up a community kitchen and used firewood for the same.

Around 200 residents of Kathiramangalam village had yesterday set up a community kitchen and used firewood instead of LPG in a bid to rebuff ONGC's statement that it had to drill wells to supply LPG to households, police said.

Women gathered in the open yard of an Ayyanaar temple in the village and prepared food from the morning using firewood. The protesters said they could manage with firewood as they had been doing so before the advent of LPG.

The villagers have been up in arms against crude oil exploration by ONGC and a protest by them had turned violent on June 30, leading to use of "minimum force" by police, which was criticised by opposition parties in the state. Also, shops remained shut for several days in the village to express solidarity with the protesting residents.
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Vivek Rege

Global health insurance is gaining popularity with rising frequency of international travel among corporates and tourists. Apart from travel, many high-networth individuals now prefer to get treated abroad in case of critical illness or in case of life-threatening diseases. Even employers who send their employees abroad are interested in global health covers. To address the evolving needs of their customers, many Indian health insurance providers have launched policies having a global coverage. Along with the regular cover, these policies additionally cover you against any medical emergency when you are travelling abroad. Some policies even offer a cover for planned international hospitalization.

These policies are different from travel insurance, which is valid only for a limited period, does not cover any treatment in your home country and excludes any pre-existing diseases or planned hospitalization in a foreign country.

Getting a treatment abroad can be a costly affair. Having a policy that covers your overseas medical expenses seems to be an attractive proposition. However, there are various critical pointers one should know before they sign on the dotted line. Do not assume that these policies pay for each and every treatment abroad. There are various costs and restrictions which you need to be aware of.

Take the case of Religare Health Insurance Co. The company offers global health insurance cover for sum insured of Rs 1-6 crore, for both planned and emergency hospitalisation. However, the plan does not insure you for hospitalisation in the US. You need to pay an additional premium for it. A mandatory co-payment of 10 percent per claim is also applicable. Moreover, the risk coverage period is only 45 continuous days from the date of travel in a single trip and maximum 90 days on a cumulative basis in a policy year. So, in case there is a medical emergency on the 50th day of your trip, the policy will not cover you. The global cover of the policy does not insure you for pre and post hospitalization expenses.

Also, note that the hospitalization expenses borne are limited to inpatient hospitalization treatment only. In case there is no hospital admission required and the treatment is dispensed in an OPD  Out Patient Department -- of the hospital, such expenses would not be covered in the policy benefits, unless the customer opts for an optional cover to include OPD treatments by paying an extra premium. Moreover, overseas maternity benefit is applicable only if the cover opted is a floater cover as per the company terms and conditions. Therefore, if the policy is a standalone policy and not a floater policy then the maternity benefit, which requires an inpatient treatment in a foreign country, would not come under the purview of this coverage.

The ProHealth plan by Cigna TTK Health Insurance Co., offers worldwide cover but only for emergency in-patient treatments. It is applicable only if the policyholder is not in a position to return to India for the treatment. This means that it requires a certification from a medical practitioner at the place of treatment that the case is one of emergency. The claim is admissible only in event of this certification. The insurance claim is paid on reimbursement basis only and no cashless facility is available. This means the expenses have to be incurred by the patient or his accompanies in case of emergency and the same will be reimbursed only in India. The claim is settled in Indian Rupees and only after the patient returns to India.

Max Bupa Health Insurance Company offers international coverage under the platinum version of its Heartbeat Health Insurance plan. The policyholder can avail treatment abroad for 9 specified illnesses. They are covered only if detected in India by a medical practitioner within the policy period on cashless basis. Emergency hospitalization is also covered under the policy and sum insured is upto Rs 1 crore. However, the coverage does not include treatment in USA and Canada. You need to pay extra premium for it. It also has a co-payment clause of up to 20 percent of the sum insured.

Royal Sundaram offers a worldwide emergency hospitalization cover under its Lifeline elite health insurance plan. The sum insured under this plan ranges from Rs 25-150 lakh. However, the policyholder can claim only 50 percent of the base sum insured up to a maximum of Rs 20 lakh under this plan. Plus, there is a clause for deductible of USD 1,000 per hospitalization. The policy also includes international treatment for 11 specified critical illnesses with coverage on hospitalization and reimbursement of return airfares up to Rs 3 lakh. But critical illness needs to be diagnosed in India and customer needs to take pre-authorisation before proceeding for treatment. And there is a co-payment clause of 20 percent of sum insured. The cover does not include treatment in USA and Canada. The policyholder can pay additional premium to include these two countries.

While each policy has different terms and conditions pertaining to the global cover, all policies have a waiting period for pre-existing illness. So, if one has been diagnosed with a critical illness at the time of buying the policy, one will not be paid for the treatment till the waiting period is over. The waiting period ranges from 2-4 years.

Health insurance companies offer global cover only for large sum insured from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Therefore, these plans can also be very expensive. Take the case of Max Bupa heartbeat plan with global cover - the premium for Rs 50 lakh sum insured comes to Rs 48,114 per annum for a 35 year individual with a co-payment option of 20 percent. Whereas, the plan from the same company for domestic cover with sum insured Rs 50 lakh costs only Rs 9,541, almost 1/5th of the cost for global cover.

Along with high cost, the benefits that these policies offer are sharply defined and there are stringent terms and conditions, where the policyholder may not be able to derive the maximum benefit that the plan offers. Sometimes the sum insured available is insufficient for overseas treatment, which along with post-hospitalization expenses, shoots up the out-of-pocket expenses that the policyholder has to bear.

So, while health insurance plans that offer global coverage may look attractive, customers need to read the fine print before they actually buy one.

Here are a few key pointers to keep in mind while purchasing health insurance with global cover

 The plans cover only in-patient hospitalization treatment and exclude all other pre and post hospitalization expenses and OPD treatments.

 Treatments in US and Canada are excluded. To avail insurance in these countries you have to pay extra premium.

 These covers have 10-20 percent co-payment clause, which means the insured has to pay for the entire amount initially, post that once the person comes to India the company will pay 80-90 percent of the total cost.

 There is a waiting period of 2-4 years for all pre-existing diseases and illness.

 The cost of policies with global cover is almost 3-4 times the cost for domestic health insurance policy.

 Insured needs to intimate the health insurance company before travelling abroad for treatment in case of planned hospitalization, and the same needs to be certified by the doctor in India.

 An emergency overseas treatment requires a certification from a medical practitioner at the place of treatment that the case is one of emergency. The claim is admissible only in event of this certification.

 The claims are usually settled on a reimbursement basis as it is difficult for insurers to maintain a global network of associated hospitals. This means the expenses have to be incurred by the patient or his family initially, which will be later reimbursed by the insurer.

 The insured is exposed to the risk of adverse movements in exchange rate as the claim is settled in Indian Rupees and the customer pays for the treatment in foreign currency.

 Overall, the benefits that these policies offer are sharply defined and there are stringent terms and conditions, where the policyholder may not be able to derive the maximum benefit that the plan offers.
SREI Infrastructure, the stock year to date has outperformed with gain of around 53 percent. To discuss the outlook going forward and other happenings in the company, CNBC-TV18 spoke to Sunil Kanoria, Vice Chairman, SREI Infra.

The company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Russian State Development Institution, Vnesheconmbank for USD 200 million Innovation Fund.

Kanoria said the above development is in regards with the company's fund management business, which as of now is a small business. With the above fund they will manage investments into both the countries and will manage to earn fee income.

The company manages third party funds, he said.

The money into the Innovation fund will come from the Russian company and some will be raised from third parties as well and gradually built up the fund management business, said Kanoria.

Talking about the core infrastructure business, he said in the last one year growth has started to come back. So, gradually there has been a reduction in their non-performing loans (NPLs) on a quarter-to-quarter basis for the company.

There are lot of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) projects coming from government, which is increasing the need for equipment. Moreover, road sector projects too have seen a pick up and majority of equipment is going there, said Kanoria.

Irrigation is also seeing good traction along with small improvement in mining sector, he said, adding that in the last one-two months there has been some movement in the railway sector.

He also confirmed that Bharat Road Network, a company promoted by SREI would come out with an IPO in the near future. The process is on, he said.
The need to focus on innovation and improving the ease of doing business took centre stage at the 16th edition of Young Turks here in Delhi.

In a session titled Startup India 2.0, government and private stakeholders came together to discuss what ails and works in favour of the Indian startup ecosystem.

Our target should be to have 100,000 startups in the next five years with a valuation of USD 75 billion, said NITI Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant, setting the stage for a discussion that included him, Karnatakas IT minister Priyank Kharge, one of Indias IT services industry architects Pramod Bhasin, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion secretary Ramesh Abhishek, and Helion Ventures founder Sanjeev Aggarwal.

Taking the stage, Kharge spoke abut the initiatives Karnataka government has taken to help foster a vibrant startup ecosystem. We have matured as an IT services economy. Now, the aim is to be thought leaders in new & emerging technologies, he said.

He also spoke about the recently announced Elevate 100 programme to boost the startup ecosystem in the state. As part of Elevate, Karnataka government will go to tier 2 and3 towns, curate 1,000 startups and elevate 100 of them, he said.

Kant encouraged Indian startups to start building products not just for the domestic but foreign markets too. The big bucks are out there. No country in the world has ever grown without exporting, he said, adding that the important thing for startups is to have a sustainable business model.

Learn the art of scaling up, he said.

Bhasin, a former chief executive of BPO firm Genpact, and president of TiE Delhi-NCR, enumerated some of the roadblocks that startups face in the country  red tape, too many checkpoints, ease of shutting a company down, and long-winded legal processes.

The biggest challenge is the ease of doing business...there are many state governments which are doing better than central government (for startups), DIPP's Abhishek said.

He added that the department was carving out a special place for startups on the government e-marketplace, which will provide for a more transparent regime.

Agarwal added that India is still an unproven scale up nation, and to build a real company it takes a decade. Therefore, it is good business to be long term investor in the country.
Moneycontrol News

Shares of Aksh Optifibre rose nearly 10 percent intraday Wednesday as it has been awarded Jaipur smart city project.

The company has been awarded with the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from Jaipur Smart City Limited, who invited a bid for development of smart road in ABD areas of Jaipur.

The order includes deployment of the OFC network to install the smart city wi-fi network, smart led lighting system for energy efficiency, ip based surveillance system with vehicle identification & counting, environment sensors for monitoring the environment, smart parking system, and smart communication.

Satyendra Gupta, deputy managing director at Aksh Optifibre said, Aksh is committed towards playing a pivotal role in the development of cities by bringing innovation and technology coupled with planned implementation in order to benefit the citizens at large.

At 10:59 hrs Aksh Optifibre was quoting at Rs 23, up Rs 1.35, or 6.24 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
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Shares of Biocon gained over 13 percent intraday on Wednesday as investors turned bullish ahead of the regulator meeting to discuss its breast cancer drug filing.

The US drug regulators Advisory Committee (Adcom) will be meeting on July 13 to disucss trastuzumab filing done by Mylan, Biocons partner. Trastuzumab is used to treat metastatic (spread) breast cancer. It is effective against tumors that overexpress the HER2/neu protein, according to chemocare.com.

According to Sharekhan, investors could monitor the outcome of this meet closely and if the product is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, it will be the first Herceptin biosimilar in the US market.

Further, it highlighted that Roches Herceptin brand generated global sales of USD 6.7 billion in last calendar year and is slated to lose US patent exclusivity in 2019.

Morgan Stanley views the FDAs briefing document for the drug as favourable. It expects higher chances of a positive recommendation by the Advisory Committee on July 13. The research firm has given the stock an overweight rating with a target of Rs 421.33.

Further, it added that this was just FDAs view on the clinical data submission and not product approval.

For the Biologics License Application (BLA) approval, the agency will consider wider data submission, including Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) clearance at the Bengaluru site, where there are open 483s. The Biosimilar User Fee Act (BsUFA) date for trastuzumab is September 3, 2017, it said in its report.

If the approval from the regulator goes through, Morgan Stanley said that it should 1) validate Biocon's underlying biosimilar capabilities and 2) help in getting marketing approvals in a few emerging markets.

The stock had reacted negatively recently after the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM) had found lapses at Biocon's Bommasandra facility in Bengaluru with respect to good manufacturing practices (GMP) for activities related to three biosimilar products. It had inspected the plant on behalf of the European Medicine Agency (EMA) between March 13 and March 17.

The ANSM raised 35 deficiencies, including 11 major deficiencies, concerning biosimilar products. As a result, the stock had taken a beating of around 9 percent. However, brokerages were largely in support of the stock, stating that it could be a beneficiary of the overall global biosimilar opportunity.

The stock fell around one third of a percent in the past one month, while its three-day gain stood at over 2 percent. At 09:48 hrs Biocon was quoting at Rs 343.85, up Rs 20.75, or 6.42 percent on the BSE. It touched an intraday high of Rs 351.10 and an intraday low of Rs 343.00.
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, Ruchit Jain, Kunal Saraogi and Vishvesh Chauhan battle it out for top honours.

Below their top stock picks and analysis:

Ruchit Jain of Angel Broking

Buy GSFC with a stoploss at Rs 118 and target of Rs 137

Buy Cholamandalam Investment with a stoploss at Rs 1082 and target of Rs 1190

Sell Reliance Infrastructure with a stoploss at Rs 523 and target of Rs 490

Sell Sun TV Network with a stoploss at Rs 842 and target of Rs 785

Kunal Saraogi of Equityrush

Buy NIIT Technologies with a stoploss at Rs 580 and target of Rs 600

Buy Indraprastha Gas with a stoploss at Rs 1105 and target of Rs 1140

Buy Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) with a stoploss at Rs 135 and target of Rs 142

Buy Hexaware Technologies with a stoploss at Rs 248 and target of Rs 257

Vishvesh Chauhan of Monarch Networth Capital

Buy Himatsingka Seide with a stoploss at Rs 369 and target of Rs 415

Buy Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) with a stoploss at Rs 379.5 and target of Rs 405

Buy Bajaj Auto with a stoploss at Rs 2744 and target of Rs 2900

Buy Bodal Chemicals with a stoploss at Rs 172 and target of Rs 190
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Shares of Camlin Fine Sciences rose 7 percent intraday Wednesday as it has acquired 51 percent stake in an entity in China.

The company along with its subsidiary CFS Europe SpA, Italy has jointly acquired 51 percent stake in Ningbo Wanglong Flavors and Fragrances Company (NWFFCL).

NWFFCL is a joint venture between the company and Wanglong Technology Company.

The said acquisition has done through cash consideration for an amount of USD 6.28 million.

The companys 24 the annual general meeting is scheduled to be held on July 21.

At 09:41 hrs Camlin Fine Sciences was quoting at Rs 91, up Rs 1.15, or 1.28 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
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Taipei, July 12 (CNA) With increasing tourism exchanges between Taiwan and Japan, both airlines and cruise operators saw an increasing number of passengers traveling between the two countries in the first three months of this year, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).
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Angel Broking's currency report on EURINR

Yesterday, EURINR spot strengthened by 0.38 percent owing to weakness in the American currency after the US President s son released a series of emails about events that transpired during a meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June last year. Moreover, Frances top central banker has pleaded with Germany to loosen its fiscal policy as part of a deal with his country to strengthen the Euro - zone. Today, EURINR spot is likely to trade lower as lack of important economic datasets from the nation shall keep the trading volumes a bit light.

Today, EURINR spot is likely to trade lower as lack of important economic datasets from the nation shall keep the trading volumes a bit light.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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In an interview to CNBC-TV18's Anuj Singhal and Varinder Bansal, SP Tulsian of sptulsian.com shared his views and outlook on the fundamentals of the market and specific stocks.

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview.

Anuj: Thoughts on Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) first? You have been bullish on oil marketing company stocks.

A: I have been keeping my bullish stance on oil marketing companies and more specially on HPCL. And in fact if you see in this last one month, the kind of pessimism which was built by the experts and all that that company is getting acquired by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and that will be seen negative, if you all recall at that time, I have said that I do not understand that how the metrics for HPCL will really be changing because HPCL will continue to remain as an independent company and maybe the status will change of the shareholding of 51 percent being held by government of India, instead of that will be held by ONGC and it will remain a subsidiary company of ONGC.

So I continue to have a positive bias on the oil marketing company and going forward, in fact if you see, maybe the dynamic pricing which we have seen having implemented by the oil marketing companies, that is seen proven to be beneficial, maybe marginal for all the oil marketing companies.

So the kind of transparency, the kind of valuations which we have been seeing of all three oil marketing companies with share ruling at a single digit price-earnings ratio (P/E). And amongst all three, if you take a valuation call considering the outlets also closer to 15,000 of HPCL, 15,000 of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), about 28,000 of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), amongst all of them, you find HPCL as the cheapest stock with a market cap of closer to about Rs 50,000 crore against market cap of BPCL at about Rs 1 lakh crore.

So on valuation parameter, on earning parameter, on going forward visibility and even the corporate developments, from all these angles the HPCL is looking good. Maybe the share has gone ex-bonus and because of that, again the trading interest may be seen coming back at the lower level at Rs 353-355. But purely on fundamentals and on a valuation metrics, I always held HPCL as the best buy amongst all three in spite of having positive view on all three oil marketing companies.

Varinder: What is your view on Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) in this case, in this entire three-way merger?

A: Again if you take a call on MRPL, 88-89 percent stake is held as a promoter stake. And obviously, that promoter stake has to come down. Not any corporate move has seen having taken place. 70-71 percent is held by ONGC. So even if continued to remain as a standalone and if you see the MRPL valuation, again at Rs 23,000-24,000 crore market cap, I agree that still the share is looking good.

So maybe as a, it is difficult to say whether it will get merged with HPCL or not, because it does not make any difference. Even if it gets merged with HPCL, the major portion of that will flow to ONGC because obviously as I said that 71 percent is held by ONGC so proportionately, those number of shares will get issued to ONGC and maybe the share of 17-18 percent held by HPCL in MRPL will get extinguished.

So maybe once you have this merger which seems logical because when there is a consolidation move by the government which is rightly so that merge all the refineries along with the oil marketing companies because that is the right synergy, why you have a standalone Chennai Petro, maybe MRPL, maybe in Chennai Petro because the Iranian partner is there again holding some 17-18 percent stake.

So probably that will be a difficult call. But at least one can go ahead, the ministry can go ahead with merger of MRPL with HPCL. So in that event, eventually, if that merger happens, as I said that 17-18 percent of HPCL stake held in MRPL can get extinguished. Balance shares which will get issued to the ONGC.

So effectively, ONGC may land up holding maybe about 60-65 percent stake in HPCL because if you take a call on the valuations, HPCL market cap Rs 50,000 crore, MRPL market cap, Rs 22,000-23,000 crore and generally, whenever we have seen this merger happening, they are more seen having happened on the market price.

So effectively, in this whole equation the effective ownership of ONGC will increase in HPCL to the extent of 65-70 percent which will be seen a logical move instead of continuing with MRPL as a standalone entity. So yes, all the logic to merge MRPL with HPCL because there is no other space or other company where it can really get merged.

Anuj: I wanted your thoughts on the way Biocon has moved 14 percent higher. Is it getting over extended or do you think it is a good buy?

A: Actually, the stock having gone ex-bonus, a couple of months back with 200 percent bonus, since then the stock seemed to be in the good grip of the value investors and probably that is the reason that we are seeing momentum. I am not denying on the fundamentals because yesterday or day before, we had a negative news, in spite of that share did not correct.

But if you take the situation now going forward, unless and until we see the monetisation seen happening from all these new drugs, it is not advisable to take a further upside on the stock from here on going forward.

Anuj: One of our viewers wants to invest Rs 1 lakh for up to one year. What are your views?

A: Under the SEBI rules also and as an investment strategy also, you must know the risk profile of any investors. And failing that, it will be very difficult whether the kind of temperament, whether they have the way, the risk profile our customers on our site, giving them conservative growth and balanced profile. So it is very difficult for to advise.

But still if I just want to make a wild advice to her, I can only say that auto ancillaries are really looking a good space to be in and the stock which I have recommended in the morning, that is GNA Axles, though it is 6-7 percent up today, still it looks a good buy. Second because I do not advise entire amount to be invested in one stock and second could be Century Textiles at the current level. Or if she wants to go for the lower priced stocks, then the second could be maybe stocks like Rico Auto again in the auto ancillary space. So both these stocks can be chosen, can be picked up by her for making investments of Rs 1 lakh.

Anuj: I wanted your thoughts on one of your favourite stocks. PTC India, if I am not wrong, we were discussing this on Closing Bell about 2-3 months back when we discussed this entire space. Rs 111 now on the stock. How should investors approach this stock from here and can we expect similar move in other stocks like Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) or Power Finance Corporation (PFC)?

A: Actually, PTC India story is yet to unfold. In fact if you take a call, maybe if I just go quickly on the recap or revisit the reasonings which are given at that point of time, holding company of PTC India financial services, consolidated earnings per share (EPS) of Rs 15, book value of 130 and the way the situation is improving on the power availability front with the DISCOM health improving, PTC India has tremendous potential, number one.

Number two, I do not think there is any point in comparing because PTC can be treated more as an exchange and indeed it is a power exchange and one can start giving the valuation, the multiples which we give to the BSE or maybe the stocks like MCX and all sort of things, because REC and PFC are purely the financiers of the power, but this company, if you take a call, though they have a book of about maybe Rs 10,000-12,000 crore largely for working capital, their fixed assets are less than Rs 100 crore.

So you can imagine the kind of power they have by way of this power trading consumption going to go up, availability, better financials or better backing for the receivables and all sort of things. So we continue to have a positive bias with one year view on PTC India. So I will not be comparing PTC India strictly with REC, PFC because both are in a different league. But extremely positive view on PTC India, even from the current level going forward.
Integra Engineering India | The company's RoE for FY18: 33.00%, FY19: 63.33%, and FY20: 22.22%. On September 7, the share price closed at Rs 25.50 which is -45 percent below its 52-week high of Rs 46.70.

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Indias home textile businesses have been successfully cashing in on growth opportunities in international markets in recent times. Himatsingka Seide, amongst the most well-known vertically integrated home textile majors and export-oriented houses in the country, has seen decent traction in earnings and is now expanding capacity to grow further.

So despite the stock outperformance, does it deserve attention?

Incorporated in 1985, Himatsingka Seide (HSL) operates through two divisions - manufacturing, retail and distribution. On the manufacturing front, HSL is one of Indias leading manufacturers of bed linen products (bed sheets in particular), upholstery and drapery fabrics. The companys retail & distribution arms cater to diverse requirements of varied clientele across North America, Europe, and Asia through branding activities and private label programmes.

While the stock has had its fair share of success in terms of financials and price returns, we continue to like quite a few moats that it offers.

The expanded sheeting capacity (23 mmpa), should see utilisation improving from 35-40 percent during Q3 & Q4FY17 to 50 percent in FY18, and close to 60 percent by end of FY19.

The additional output will meet the steadily rising demand from clients in the North American & European regions, where HSL already has its front-end offices established.

Moreover, the company is working towards increasing the percentage contribution of fashion bedding products, which command superior value over the non-fashion types and are margin-accretive, too.

HSLs yarn manufacturing unit is likely to be fully operational by the end of Q3FY18, thus reducing the dependence on outside suppliers for yarn inputs by approximately 50 percent.

The entire yarn output will be captively consumed for manufacturing sheeting products, thereby saving raw material costs.

Since the companys focus is on manufacturing ultra high count yarn (whose realisations are superior compared to the basic variants), the new spinning unit would facilitate better pricing per unit of the final product (i.e., bed sheets) as well, consequently causing EBITDA margins to expand.

The retail & distribution segment of HSL supplies home textile products to reputed retailers (mainly in North America) and high-end exclusive brand/multi-brand/departmental stores (in Europe and Asia) through over 7000 points of sale globally.

The companys Karnataka-based manufacturing facilities supply bed linen products and drapery/upholstery fabric material periodically to the respective offshore subsidiaries, thus saving logistics and storage costs, while simultaneously ensuring working capital efficiency.

Currently, out of HSLs sales effected through its retail channels abroad, about 40-45 percent of the output is sourced from external parties, whereas the rest is procured from the manufacturing units in India.

With the new sheeting capacity now functional, HSLs international subsidiaries would be able to sell a higher percentage of the companys domestically manufactured sheeting output without the need to incur substantial promotion costs since the distribution channels are already in place. Eventually, the retail segments operating margins are projected to inch up to 6 percent or more from the current level of 4-4.5 percent.

Brand Leverage

HSLs licensing agreements with some of the worlds leading retailers enable it to leverage its supply network optimally and enhance the shelf life of its products in a highly competitive environment. Buoyed by the optimism, the company targets achieving sales of Rs 1200 crore from the brands business by end of FY18, ie. around 50 percent of the overall annual turnover.

US annual home textile market, worth roughly USD 28-30 billion, constitutes nearly 40 percent of the worlds market size of USD 70-75 billion, and continues to grow by the day.

Indias share of home textile exports to the US has grown from 17 percent in 2008 to over 35 percent in recent years, most of it at the expense of the Chinese competitors.

In the US, the organised retail entities (HSLs primary customers) have been playing a prominent role in reaching out to the masses across all states, and this trend is unlikely to change anytime soon.

However, HSLs overdependence on the US clients exposes it to a concentration risk. A strong rupee vis-a-vis the US dollar could also hurt performance.

Peer Comparison & Valuation

Prima facie, though HSLs valuations seem expensive versus its peers, a closer look at the key parameters of the company underscores the fact that the stock has been rewarded by way of multiple rerating for its consistency over the years. At 14.7x FY19 estimated earnings, HSL is surely a stock you wouldnt want to overlook.
Representational image

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Reliance Industries, the biggest company by market capitalisation, rallied 2 percent intraday Wednesday to hit fresh nine-year high after it announced new tariff plans to retain subscribers.

The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 1,524.50, the highest level since January 17, 2008.

With reiterating a buy call and target price of Rs 1,710 (implying 15 percent upside), CLSA said, "While we await clarity if Reliance will start expensing Jio from Q2FY18, we believe investors will overlook initial losses during promotional periods and focus on subscriber retention and slow monetisation in coming months."

Upcoming AGM on July 21 is the next key event to watch out for as it may provide more clarity on new legs to Jio's growth, i.e., Broadband and 4G feature phones, it added.

With just few days remaining for promotional period of Summer Surprise to end, Reliance Jio has announced new tariff plans for Prime members. Under Summer Surprise, Jio offered unlimited voice and 1GB daily 4G data for 112 days at promotional price of Rs303 after one-time annual membership fees of Rs 99 for Jio Prime. This has been raised to Rs 399 for 84 days for Prime members.

CLSA said ignoring one-time fees, this is an effective 75 percent increase in tariffs for existing prime members, implying promotional period ARPU (average revenue per user) of Rs 133 per month. This tariff is at a smaller around 30 percent premium to Dhan Dhana Dhan which started from early April 2017 after subscription to Summer Surprise ended and offered 1GB daily data and unlimited voice for 84 days at Rs 309.

Jio has also reiterated its assurance of offering 20 percent more value than the best plan of competitors.

After making Jio's services paid from April 17, this is another step ahead to reduce discounts and improve monetisation in a gradual manner to ensure maximum retention from over 100 million subscribers acquired during the free service period, CLSA feels.

As compared to initially-announced tariff of Rs 303 per month for Jio Prime members, this new tariff is now at a promotional discount of 56 percent from 66/75 percent discount under Dhan Dhana Dhan/Summer Surprise offers.

The research house believes an extended affordable promotional period should further cement consumer habits of high data usage. These promotional tariffs are attractive enough to ensure high share for Jio amongst new 4G subscribers, it feels.

Jio has been able to address the initial voice interconnection issues and deliver consistently high data speeds.

Continuation of this appreciable data experience over the prolonged promotion period should also persuade consumers to make Jio their primary connection even as discounts reduce, it believes.

Reliance Industries outperformed Nifty in last six months period:

At 13:01 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 1,506.60, up Rs 11.40, or 0.76 percent on the BSE.

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.

Posted by Sunil Shankar Matkar
Tata Global Beverages rose over 2 percent to hit a fresh 52-week high on the BSE on Wednesday on media reports which said that the company decided to sell its stake in various Tata group listed companies to its parent, Tata Sons, in the next few months.

The restricting is a welcome step if it happens as restructuring could be a big trigger for Tata Global Beverages, Porinju Veliyath, founder, and CEO of Equity Intelligence India said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

I am very bullish on the branded consumer business of Tata Group and hold Tata Global Beverages and Tata Coffee for a long time in my personal portfolio, he said.

Tata Global Beverages owns close to Rs 755 crore worth of stake in other Tata group firms, especially in Tata Chemicals, said the media report.

The news is not new as the management has talked about it in the past. Both Tata Global and Tata Coffee have a long way to go and if you believe in the business model, restructuring could well be a very good trigger, said Porinju.

These are very old bluechip companies but are still trading at 1x sales largely because of Tatas. If these companies were handled by dynamic and good management they would be trading at 3x sales, he added.
ICICI Direct's currency report on USDINR

Debt marketGovernment bonds fell, as investors booked profit after a three - day rally even as the benchmark yield slipped below the key 6.50% level  The GoI benchmark 6.79 % 2027 bond yield rose to 6.49 % from 6.47 % in the previous session  Yield on the US 10 - year fell to 2.36 % from 2.37 % in the previous session.

The rupee fell against the US$, amid caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellens Congressional testimony  The US$ fell sharply against major currencies including Japanese Yen , which was supported by safe haven demand. Reports of the US Presidents sons Russian contact during the election campaign weighed on the US$ ahead of Fed chief testimony. Euro gained almost 0.60% while the British pound continue d to see selling on weak economic data.

In the currency futures market, the most trade d dollar - rupee July contract on the NSE ended at 64.59. The July contract open interest increased 0.21% from the previous day  August contract open interest increased 5.70% in the previous session  We expect the US dollar to meet supply pressure at higher levels. Utilise up sides in the pair to go short on the US$INR pair.

Intra-day strategy

US$INR July futures contract (NSE) View: Bearish on US$INR Sell US$INR in the range of 64.68 - 64.78 Market Lot: US$1000 Target: 64.45 / 64.35 Stop Loss: 64.88 Support Resistance S1/ S2: 64.55 / 64.35 R1/R2:64.75 /64.95

The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Tata Steel

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Shares of Tata Steel touched 52-week high of Rs 561.95, gains 1% percent in the early trade on Wednesday after the company has sold its stake in the joint venture company.

The company has divested its entire equity stake in a 50 percent joint venture company Tata Elastron S.A. to Elastron S.A.

The company has entered into an agreement for stake sale on July 10 and received Euro 0.368 million from the divestment of stake.

Elastron S.A, who was Tata Steels joint venture partner in Tata Elastron, is engaged in steel processing and reselling of steel products, predominantly in Greece.

The buyer does not belong to Tata Steels promoter / promoter group / group companies.

On July 11, Tata Steel UK has signed a definitive sale agreement to sale its 42 and 84-inch pipe mills in Hartlepool to Liberty House Group.

At 09:16 hrs Tata Steel was quoting at Rs 560.80, up Rs 3.75, or 0.67 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
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Tata Motors said it is expanding portfolio of its small commercial cargo vehicles under Ace brand with the addition of three new products priced between Rs 3.08 lakh and Rs Rs 4.78 (ex-showroom Mumbai).

The company is introducing 'XL series' in its Ace Mega, Ace Zip and Ace range, offering 15 per cent longer loading deck as compared to the standard versions, Tata Motors said in a statement.

"With the introduction of BS-IV compliant XL range of SCV (small commercial vehicles), we are offering a complete portfolio of last mile delivery solutions," Tata Motors Head  Sales & Marketing (Commercial Vehicles) RT Wasan said in a statement.

These new additions will address the emerging needs for a safer, economical, and more reliable business transport solutions, he added.

With the implementation of GST, the hub and spoke model of transportation will become even more prominent, which in turn will fuel growth of both heavy duty trucks and last mile transportation SCVs, he added.

The company said Ace XL, with a payload of 710kg is priced at Rs 4.23 lakh, while Ace Mega XL that has a 1,000 kg payload is tagged at Rs 4.78 lakh. The Ace Zip XL with a payload of 600 kg will cost Rs 3.08 lakh ( all prices ex- showroom Mumbai).

"These will be available from tomorrow across all our 1,400 sales points across the country," Wasan said.

Ever since its launch in 2005, the Tata Ace range has sold over 20 lakh units.

"We have been the leaders in the SCV segment and with the addition of these new XL series we are hopeful of strengthening our market share even further," Wasan said.
Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court today sought to know the stand of the Centre on BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's plea for a court-monitored probe by the CBI-led SIT into the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar.

A bench of Justices G S Sistani and P S Teji, who did not issue notice in the matter, has said that it needs to hear the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the CBI and the Delhi Police on the plea.

The court has fixed the matter for hearing on July 20.

Swamy has alleged that "inordinate delay" has been caused in the investigation "which is a blot on the justice system".

Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a five-star hotel in south Delhi here on the night of January 17, 2014.
Mangesh Tendulkar, the popular cartoonist, who passed away on Monday was known, among other things, for handing out postcards on Diwali with traffic awareness messages. These postcards were illustrated with his trademark funny cartoons driving home a point or two about traffic safety. As a cartoonist, and social activist, Tendulkar put his heart and soul into everything he did.

He also worked with the Pune Traffic Department to spread traffic rules awareness. His satirical cartoons kindled many and pushed followers to correct the wrongs in the society. He believed that 'painting speaks more than words' to bring in change. His caricatures and works are compiled in his 'Bhuichakra' and 'Sunday Mood'.

Mangesh Tendulkar, born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, was younger brother to Vijay Tendulkar, a leading playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator.

"More than a cartoonist, I know him as a social activist, who with the use of his brush, used to highlight the issues and the wrong things in the society effectively," renowned artist Ravi Paranjape told News18.

His peers and seniors believed that he was a born artist. "Though he spoke softly, his words created ripples and conveyed the message, Veteran cartoonist Murali Lahote told the Indian Express.

At a very young age, he shifted to Pune and attended Bhave School in the city. After his schooling, he did his BSc and then started working at the Ammunition Factory in Khadki. Even with his qualifications, his passion was unable to separate him from his brush. This is where the twist came in  he put in both his passions, politics, social issues, in his artistic works and became social celebrity who will always be remembered.

(Image Source: http://www.mangeshtendulkar.com/
West Bengal got the highest share of funds from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme for the year 2016-2017 up to last November.

The large allocation of funds comes as a counter to the claims of West Bengal political leadership that has time and again accused the Center of step motherly treatment.

West Bengal received over a tenth of the funds with the total allocation being Rs 3945.28 crore. Rajasthan came in second with an allocation of Rs 3571.15 crore followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

MGNREGA, which was earlier named National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, ensures a minimum of hundred days of employment annually to rural households.

The wage guaranteed employment is provided to rural population who volunteer for unskilled manual work. As per the data published, India has spent Rs 36873.95 crore until 16th November.

(Source: Government of India)

Ten states who topped the chart for the highest volume of funds over 70 percentage of the allocated funds.

The states of West Bengal, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh got nearly half of the total allocated funds.
New launches and residential sales have both taken a hit across India with developers trying to grapple with RERA rules and registration. And despite Maharashtra having a working RERA website and a regulator from May 1, 2017, only 300 odd real estate projects from the 15000 plus ongoing projects have managed a RERA registration.

Manisha Natarajan caught up in this exclusive interview with the chairman and regulator of Maha RERA, Gautam Chatterjee, to find out the reason for the poor number of registrations, and whether RERA will be effective enough in pulling up developers for delayed projects.

Q: More than 15,000 projects currently ongoing in Maharashtra. How is that despite the fact that you had a working website in place only about 300 are registered. Developers are claiming that rules have to be understood and theres a lot of paperwork.

You see I would not say that what they are saying is valid. Especially because if there is one developer who was challenging me on 30th April night that I am into readiness, I want to upload my project. He managed to upload his project without much difficulty. He is on record saying that it took him only 40 minutes to upload his project for registration and we also could issue him a digitally signed certificate within two-3 days. I dont see there is any reason for any developer to say I was still studying the rules. If we talk about ongoing projects, they have been in an unregulated setup where there were no disclosures and even if there were any disclosure under MOFA, they were only violated. You are moving into a regime of transparency and disclosures which will be out in public domain for everybody to see.

It is possible developers may have running projects with certain parameters, features, which have been violated and that may be causing delays in registration. There also has to be fiscal discipline. There has to be an account where 70% money has to get in. Now obviously industry may be thinking, if there is a window of 90 days, can I not buy some more time and actually start working on it after the 45th day? And then try and put it in place. This could also be one of the reasons for delays.

I am sure there will be rush in the last fortnight of this month. But all the projects have no choice but to come and get themselves registered. Because beyond 90 days we will open up a dedicated email ID where a person as a source -- informer -- can inform me that here is a project where third party rights have got created. I have invested money there, I have actually been promised that house will come up but nothing has come up. I cant actually see the project in the list on your website. So it is an unregistered project. Violation of section 3, please take action.

Q So only after July 31, it will be opened up to all buyers to register a complaint? What happens to hugely delayed ongoing projects? They may not even come to register.

A: They have no choice they have to register within 90 days. On Day 91, even if someone tells me that is a project that is not registered, I can charge the builder 10% penalty. Can you imagine what a 10% cost of a project is? Thats what the act expects me to do. If I can do that for a broker who went around advertising an unregistered project, why will I not charge a builder? That's what the government expects me to do by putting me in charge.

Q. There is going to be huge rush in the last fortnight with 15,000 projects trying to register. Is manpower going to be a problem? Because if a project is not registered, it is deemed approved in 30 days.

A. Don't underestimate our capacity. We will be toiling hard to see that how to meet the 30-day deadline. The best part of our software the information that is fed in at the time of registration has inbuilt checks and balances for the mandatory fields. It is in a way that if you do not fill in those fields you won't be able to go ahead on to the next page. So when you fill information, our circular very clearly says that you own up to that information. So if tomorrow there is anyone has a problem and someone makes a complaint then you as a developer will have to stand by what you have declared.

With that in place I don't think a huge amount of manpower is required here to examine everything. This is truly digital no footfall coming in my office. As an officer, I have had unique experience. I have done 3,000 registrations and 300 applications are coming in and not a single paper is floating around.

Q. Coming back to the buyers, they claim rules have been diluted on CC versus OC. Central RERA Act says projects must have completion certifcates, why do Maha RERA rules make CC interchangeable with OC.

A. I think there is some misunderstanding on that. Basically, the term OC and CC are used in a similar manner between different corporations in Maharashtra. For example in Mumbai, we have the concept of building completion certificate. In Pune, the certificate that is given is OC which is occupation certificate.

Q: Can it be misused by the builders?

A. There is no question of any dilution. That is the final certificate which the planning authority issues. Different terms are used by different urban local bodies in different contexts under their development control regulations.

Q: What about developers who claim delays are also caused by local authorities. Recently the Wadala & Matunga developer body filed a complaint to CBI against a junior engineer harassing them for graft.

A: One of the fundamental tenants of this act apart from transparency, efficiency, consumer centricity is also accountability. When we say accountability, it includes every stakeholder, every decision maker in this whole change of real estate industry, right from the registration process till the completion of the building whoever is there should be held accountable.

As a regulator in this sector, if we come to know there is someone who is actually being delinquent, its our job to identify the delinquent and name and shame him. That itself will put a check on these people and make them accountable. This is also a challenge we face as a regulatory body and I will not don't brush it aside.

Q. Youve also made a comment at the CII-JLL conference that MOFA (Maharashtra Ownership Flat Act) should be done away with. Why?

A. The problem with apartment ownership act and RERA is that apartment is differently defined. Then there is section 89 in the Central Act which says that whenever there is a provision in the Central Act and also similar provision in the state act and if there is any sort of inconsistency the central act will prevail. Most of the provisions of MOFA are similar to that of RERA. There should be disclosure, model form of agreement etc. But there are also certain discrepancies. MOFA allows 20% advance to be taken before the agreement is signed. RERA says only 10%. There was a defect liability of three years under MOFA. Under RERA it is 5 years. So my request to the government is that the Maharashtra title of ownership of transfer act should say that the competent authority to deal with those projects under that act should also be MAHA RERA. Everything will be brought under the ambit of one authority so that people dont have to look around to go to different places. That's the proposal.

Q: Now the question of advertising ongoing projects without RERA registration. The central government says you cannot advertise projects which are not registered. Maharashtras take is that you can until 31st July- after that you cannot. On the weekend we saw a full page ad by one of the big developers which is actually quite boldly saying the project is not RERA registered.

A. It is quite ridiculous to come out with such ads. So let me deal with it later. In Maharashtra, we felt that we should not stall the whole real estate industry for all ongoing projects by saying that all advertisements, all sales should stop on May 1. So the government of Maharashtra in the rules said that yes, if a 90-day window is given, within that 90 days period, you continue to do your work. We have also clarified that after 1st of May any new agreement that you sign even in an ongoing project has to be under RERA. So all those aspects of the Act will apply.

Now the point of advertisements like we saw on Friday 7th July, it makes me feel that the industry has still not come to terms of the good effects of RERA. RERA is not something which is going to strangulate you. RERA is going to give you brand equity. Lenders like HDFC etc have told me RERA registration gives them a new comfort level now. A RERA logo or registration for a project should be a big plus for an advertiser.

But an advertisement which says I am not covered under RERA -- I fail to understand: is the developer expecting new buyers to go and rush and actually go and book a flat right now because it has still not come under RERA? On the contrary suppose he has not put in application for registration if he has boldly said I am applying for RERA two days later that would have earned him some brownie points. Maybe I think his creative guys need some training. And he is one of the big players of the industry.

And let me tell you the other big players who were advertisements have all come in for registration. Lodha is registered, Hiranandani, Runwals, Nahar, Hubtown these are all big players in the market. Godrej has registered, Mahindras have registered. All the big players have registered from Pune. And they are saying it was a 'sukhad anubhav' (happy experience)
Srinagar: Kashmiri people hold placards during a protest against the militants attack on Amarnath Yatri bus, in Srinagar on Tuesday. PTI Photo (PTI7_11_2017_000179B)

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday complimented the Kashmiri people for condemning the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, saying it had restored the faith in the composite culture of Kashmir and vindicated everything the country and the state stand for.

"I have to congratulate the civil society, the people of Kashmir, in fact the people of the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, for the kind of resilience and discipline they have maintained over the last 25 years," he told reporters here.

Singh said there were certain elements, which "look forward to fish in the troubled waters of Jhelum with the hope that something goes wrong", and added that the civil society had proved every mischief wrong.

"They have vindicated our faith in everything that India stands for, Jammu and Kashmir stands for," said the Union Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

He added that the people of the Valley deserved to be complimented for the way they came out to condemn the terror attack on the pilgrims.

"People have come forward not only to denounce this (the attack), but also with a very aggressive plea that such incidents should not be allowed to take place in the future and the guilty should be brought to book. This is something which was perhaps not very visible for quite some time," said Singh.

He also said "supplementary" measures and hi-tech methods such as the use of warning gadgets were being discussed to secure the ongoing annual pilgrimage, which will conclude on August 7.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when their bus came under terrorists' gunfire in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday night.

Singh said earlier, there were complaints that while denouncing the acts of violence, there was a tendency of "selective condemnation", but this time, the way the people of the Valley criticised the terror attack, it would "restore the faith of the world" in the composite culture of Kashmir.

"Certain acts of violence were vociferously condemned, while some others were apologetically condemned. But, this is one incident which has vindicated us," said the BJP leader.

He added that this time, there were no apologies in condemning the attack and the people of the Valley were also keen that the guilty were brought to book.

Terming the United Jihad Council (UJC)'s condemnation of the attack as "healthy", Singh said one "good thing which came out of the attack" was that nobody was "apologetic" while denouncing it.

He also asserted that the government would "take a lesson" from the terror attack.

"The incident of course will be looked into by the security forces. We have to leave it to the wisdom of the security forces and experts, instead of jumping into conclusions and no political functionary, however highly placed, enjoys the prerogative to sit on judgement on security-related matters," said Singh.

Stating that the investigating agencies would look into "all the aspects", the Union minister said the last word must come from the experts in the field of security.

"Let us wait for the inferences to come from the security agencies and it is our responsibility to carry that forward. We will find answers and learn from this incident," he added.

Singh said "supplementary" measures and hi-tech methods such as the use of warning gadgets were being discussed to secure the ongoing 40-day pilgrimage.

Asked if terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was behind the attack, he said it had been confirmed by the security agencies, but the investigation was still on.

"The investigation is going on and the information available with you (LeT's involvement in the attack) has been confirmed by the security agencies," he added.

The Union minister complimented the security agencies and the Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) for identifying the mastermind of the attack within a few hours.

He said whenever an untoward incident took place in Kashmir, it echoed across the country.

"That is the kind of sensitivity with which every citizen of India looks up to Kashmir and therefore, it is not unbecoming that whenever an incident like this happens, there is a huge surge of emotion all over the country," he added.

Singh said the prime minister kept himself abreast of the entire sequence of events after the attack and personally intervened to ensure that the bodies of the deceased and the injured were airlifted.

"The (Union) home minister is monitoring the developments and we are here at the behest of the Government of India," he added.

Singh asserted that the incident had not created any fear among the pilgrims or dampened their spirit.

"The morale of the people, the civil society, not only here but across the country, is so high that even after this incident, the pilgrims are insistent that the yatra should not be suspended even for a single moment," he said.

Asked about Congress leader Karan Singh's statement that Governor's Rule should be imposed in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said it should be left to the discretion of the home ministry.

"Anybody saying anything may have a view, but there are certain mechanisms in place, which have the prerogative to take certain decisions," he added.
After making a comeback with the launch of three Android operating smartphones last month, handset-maker Nokia's mid-range phone Nokia 5 will be out in stores by August 15. In addition to this, Nokia 6 will be sold exclusively on Amazon, reported Gadgets Now.

Nokia 6 registration starts on July 14 on Amazon. It will be available for sale on Amazon in mid-August.

HMD Global, the Finnish company affiliated with Nokia, mentioned in the company statement that they are prioritising to wind up the production of Nokia 3 "to meet the existing consumer demand" and will then begin the production of Nokia 6 and 5 next week, "to get them ready for sales starting by mid-August."

Speaking to a Croma customer representative, she said that Nokia 3 is not available on their online store because of lack of stock. She also said that Nokia 3 is very fast moving in all the Croma stores.

This may be because the handsets range between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 and offer the latest Android updates.

Also read: Nokia appoints Sanjay Malik India head



A 5.2 inch IPS LCD of 720 x 1280 pixels resolution. The phone offers 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass. It is in available in 4 colours - Tempered Blue, Copper, Black and Silver.



It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC. With a 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. You will be able to extend your phone memory with a microSD cards up to 128GB in size.



It comes with 13 MP back camera and 8 MP front camera.



It is backed by a 3,000mAh battery and gives the options of 4G LTE and Wi-Fi.



offer Android 7.1.1 out of the box with Google Assistant.

#The 3 phones will be updated to Android O later this year.

Nokia, earlier, lost its grip over the market with Window-based phones. According to Business Line, Nokia missed a chance to pair up with Google's operating system, which is popular among consumers.

Nokia is now confident that with its brand loyalty and Android's popularity, Nokia will regain its market grip.
By CNBCTV18.COM

KFC made the announcement about the partnership with Huawei in a post on its Weibo account on Friday. An accompanying video on KFC's Weibo account highlighted how far both brands had come since their humble beginnings when they first opened for business in 1987.

Kentucky Fried Chicken celebrated its 30th anniversary of operations in China by unveiling a limited edition smartphone it had collaborated on with Chinese smartphone maker Huawei.

KFC made the announcement about the partnership with Huawei in a post on its Weibo account on Friday. An accompanying video on KFC's Weibo account highlighted how far both brands had come since their humble beginnings when they first opened for business in 1987.

KFC opened its first restaurant in China a short distance from the Tiananmen Square in Beijing in November 1987. Today, Yum China, which counts KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in its stable of brands, has more than 7,600 restaurants in the country.

Huawei  a telecommunications equipment company best known for its smartphones  was founded in 1987 in Shenzhen. The company ranked third in terms of market share in the global smartphone market in the last quarter of 2016, according to 2016.

Launched in tribute to KFC's thirty-year milestone in China, the commemorative version of the bright red KFC Huawei 7 Plus smartphone came complete with a logo of Colonel Sanders and plenty of pre-installed freebies.

The limited edition model included KFC's mobile app and 100,000 "K dollars" (virtual credits on the KFC app in China). The phone also provided access to K-music  KFC's new jukebox function available on the KFC app, trade magazine Campaign Asia said.

A total of 5,000 units of the limited edition phone will be released, KFC said on Weibo. The phones cost 1,099 yuan ($161.91) per unit and will be available for sale on the fast food company's Tmall store from July 13.

Quarterly sales at Yum China came in below analyst forecasts in the second quarter this year, with the poorer-than-expected performance of the company's Pizza Hut brand blamed.
Bullet train

China has received the first overseas order to export its bullet train technology as Thailand approved a USD 5.5 billion high-speed railway project aimed at linking Bangkok with southern China.

The project is part of China's huge regional infrastructure plan to build a high-speed rail network connecting the southern city of Kunming with Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Construction has already begun in Laos but the Thai segment of rail has been stymied for years by tussles over financing, loan terms and protective labour regulations in Thailand, China's state-run television CNTN has reported.

The high-speed railway is set to start operations in 2021.

The Thai order is a breakthrough of sorts for the Chinese multibillion high speed train technology as China's attempts to export the bullet train technology were bogged down due to political issues, finance or stiff competition from Japan.

China is also trying to get the New Delhi-Chennai route for the high-speed train and started feasibility study for it.

Beijing was upset after India's first bullet train route was bagged by Japan which is currently building Mumbai- Ahmedabad bullet train to operate its Shinkansen bullet trains.

China has already built a massive network of bullet trains connecting most of its cities.

It has the world's longest railway network, 22,000 kilometres by the end of 2016, about 60 per cent of the total. network.
Total and Qatar Petroleum unveiled a 25-year joint venture to develop the vast offshore Al-Shaheen oil field.

The firms' bosses told a Doha press conference that their North Oil Company would operate the field from July 14.

"Joining Al-Shaheen is a major milestone and accomplishment in the long history of the group's partnership with Qatar," Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and chief executive of Total, told reporters.

"Qatar is very important to Total, that is very clear," he said.

Total, which holds a 30 per cent stake in the North Oil Company to state-owned QP's 70 per cent, will take over operations from Maersk Oil.

The deal comes just over a week after the French energy giant defied US pressure by signing a multi-billion dollar gas contract with Iran, the first by a European firm with Tehran in more than a decade.

The Al-Shaheen field, some 80 kilometres off Qatar's northeastern coast, sits atop the North Field, one of the world's largest oil and gas fields.

The head of QP, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, said the deal reflected his company's desire to expand over the coming years.

"Qatar Petroleum is going to be much, much bigger than we are now," he said.

He later told AFP that his company would be looking to work with "good partners".

"We are looking everywhere in the world. Our method is working discreetly," he said.

While the contract was announced last year, the project's launch comes amid the worst diplomatic crisis in years to hit Qatar, the world's largest exporter of natural gas.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain last month cut diplomatic, political, and economic ties with the emirate, which they accuse of supporting Islamist extremism.

Doha denies the accusations.
The fee hike is set to be implemented from October 2, 2020

Following stricter regulations on work visa rules for the coveted H1-B visa, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a delay in the startup visa program on Monday in the US.

An Economic Times report states that before the announcement of the delay, the visa program was given the nod by former US president Barack Obama, and was slated to be released on July 17 this year. The move is going to be detrimental to the Indian I-T sector.

According to the visa guidelines, entrepreneurs can stay stateside with a renewable 30-month visa.

Foreign nationals, who had begun ventures in the United States, were eligible for the visas if they received USD 100,000 in government grants or USD 250,000 in a venture capital investments.

However, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services said that the Obama-era regulation had no basis in law.

Obamas main intention with the policy was to retain bright minds who study in the United States only to return to their home countries to set up successful ventures.

The Economic Times reported that entrepreneurs of Indian-origin spoke against the delay. They said the US government is not seeing the bigger picture of creating more jobs and revenue for the American economy.

Also read: Pew Research Report says Indians have 12-year waiting-list for Green Cards

National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), a non-partisan, non-profit think-tank, compiled a report in 2016 from survey of 87 startups companies that are valued at over USD 1 billion each. Of the 87 companies, 14 were found by Indian-origin entrepreneurs, collectively valued at USD 19.6 billion.

Another study conducted in 2012 showed that startups set up by immigrants in the US earned USD 4.5 trillion in annual revenues and created 10 million jobs.

On Monday, the US Department of Homeland Security issued a memo saying that the rule will now be launched on March 14, 2018 and it will solicit comments from the public about rescinding the rule, and "may ultimately eliminate the program".
Send items for Worship News to religion@thereporteronline.com. Address questions to Nancy March, editor, at nmarch@thereporteronline.com. Deadline is noon Thursday to appear in the Saturday Worship News and Notes. Presentation of Our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church has one more Sidewalk Ukrainian...
Friends In Pink is still on the radar and growing every year
Rabbis installation at Keneseth Israel will get a boost of student creativity
July 12, 2017

Open Thread 2017-29

News & views ...

Posted by b on July 12, 2017 at 18:56 UTC | Permalink

Comments
Jonathan Miller: Welcome to the Morningstar Manager Check-up where we cover the latest fund updates from our research team.

We start with the Veritas Global Focus fund where the duo of Charles Richardson and Andrew Headley employ a thematic framework. This helps them identify global industries they believe will benefit from long-term structural drivers. At the company level, they then search for those with durable competitive advantages and sustainable cash flows.

The portfolio is managed with little regard to an index, and its actually capital preservation and growth that are deemed as most important. This has helped drive the funds strong returns in a variety of market conditions. For investors seeking global equity exposure with the aim of growing the real value of their investment through time, this remains one of our highest conviction funds in its sector and it maintains its analyst rating of Gold.

Next is the Baring Europe Select Trust where Nick Williams has over a decade at the helm. He targets companies with unrecognised growth opportunities that have low gearing, high return on equity and high historical earnings. Company visits are then key to assess management. Williams trims positions back to their purchase level after a 40% rise.

Then the sell discipline sees a stock reviewed if it falls 10% from its purchase price, and a 20% fall typically results in a sale. Williams has executed his process well over the years and has shown he has what it takes to navigate both up and down markets. Were confident the fund can outperform over the long term and we affirm its Morningstar Analyst Rating of Silver.

Finally Old Mutual UK Alpha run by Richard Buxton. Buxton joined Old Mutual Global Investors from Schroders in 2013 and is a seasoned manager with over 30 years investment experience. Hes built a strong reputation involving a long-term approach to identifying undervalued firms, often incorporating a contrarian angle to his stock selection.

Buxton uses a process thats established and proven, combining stock-level analysis with top-down insights. What I need to mention here is Buxton also took on the role of CEO a couple of years ago. This means theres extra reliance on other team members, but we take comfort from the fact theyve worked together for around 10 years, and weve maintained the funds analyst rating at Silver.
Peter Brunt: Welcome to the Morningstar Manager Check-up, where we take a look at some of our recent fund updates. First up is Fidelitys Global Special Situations fund, which is managed by the experienced Jeremy Podger. Backed by Fidelitys vast analytical resources, he applies the same style-agnostic investment approach with which he has had so much success in the past, albeit within a framework that he introduced specifically for this strategy.

We are pleased to see that he continues to make highly effective use of both internal and external stock research. This is reflected in the funds attribution, which shows superior stock selection across most sectors since Podgers arrival in 2012. Podger received our European Fund Manager of the Year award for global equities in recognition of his achievements on this fund and throughout his career. It retains a Morningstar Analyst rating of Silver.

Next, we look to the far east, in particular Japan, with the Lindsell Train Japanese Equity fund. We like this fund for its long-standing manager, Michael Lindsell, and his consistent application of what we find to be a clear and thoughtful investment approach. This is founded in the belief that a highly concentrated portfolio of high quality, cash-generative, strong and easily understood franchises will outperform the market and reduce volatility over the long term.

We believe that one of the funds main strengths lies in Lindsells deep understanding of company strategies, and his ability to see through the noise and buy and hold companies that are best placed to defend their business over the long term. Investors should note that the fund can exhibit periods of short term volatility, typically underperforming in strongly rising markets. It is our belief that investors who share the long-term time horizon will reap considerable rewards. The funds Morningstar Analyst Rating of Silver stands.

Finally, we look at bit closer to home with the Aviva Investors UK Equity fund. Chris Murphy has managed this core UK equities fund since 2006, using the same bottom-up investment approach that he has applied over most of his investment career. While Avivas UK equities team has seen some turnover over the last few years, it has experienced more stability over the last 12 months and remains adequately resourced. We believe that Murphy is a talented investor, whose genuinely long-term perspective has served investors well over the years. The fund retains a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Bronze.
HUD Suspends Lender; CFPB News; The Importance of Compliance Training

Millions of parents around the nation will be sending their ex-high school seniors off to college this autumn. And what better thing to teach them is how to fold a t-shirt in 5 seconds. (No matter how many times I've seen this, I still can't do it...)

Compliance

Compliance officers are supposed to keep banks, lenders, hedge funds, etc., out of trouble. And yes, often that means telling the owner or CEO that they have to follow the rules, which might mean that they make less money. What happens when compliance officers don't do their job correctly? We read about some lawsuit, some settlement, some penalty. And so compliance folks live in fear of missing something. What is a good day? Not missing something, or misinterpreting a regulation.

Of course compliance departments rose up primarily during the Obama Adminstration, which required companies to have internal watchdogs. What about the Trump Adminstration? What does, "We're going to do a big number on Dodd-Frank" mean? The tone has certainly changed, and that change filters down to lenders' compliance departments. But regulations help promote ethical behavior. It is important to be compliant. And until rules change, taking liberties with them is not a successful long-term strategy.

Ken Perry, President & Founder of The Knowledge Coop, observes, "I read every case I can get my hands on and spend quite a bit of time analyzing the activities of the regulators. I want to know why they do things, what they are thinking, and where they are going. If you read the DOJ false claims acts cases, the state enforcement actions through the MMC, and the constant CFPB press releases and enforcement actions you will notice a major trend in their work. They are shifting away from, 'Did you do it?' to 'Why did you do it?' Everything flows back to the compliance management system. What was your policy? How did you communicate that policy? How did you monitor for compliance? What was your plan for success?

"I spoke for a whole day to 85 state regulators at regulator school in Kentucky and I thought it would be fun to ask how many examiners in the room had seen a company using a policy that was a template and hadn't been updated for the company. They all raised their hands. I asked if they had seen policies with another company's name on it and many had. That's a huge problem they are finding, and it shows the company hasn't focused at all on doing it right, because they haven't even defined 'right.'

"Our highest recommendation right now is for companies look at what their policies say and how they train on those policies. Template training without any customization is a recipe for disaster, and the regulators are figuring that out! It's time to get the executives and/or board together to document a plan for compliance success. Hand that to your regulator along with proof of company specific policies and training and watch them smile!"

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has certainly been busy. It published a blog post of the country's top 5 financial services complaints. Interestingly, the top mortgage complaint was being unable to pay the monthly payment. These complaints probably range from being unable to access resources the mortgage servicer has available to not knowing what to do when you realize you'll miss a payment. Jeremy Potter asks, "What's the appropriate amount of responsibility on the consumer, on the servicer and on the mortgage origination company/organization that made the loan (may or may not still be the servicer)?"

The CFPB also finalized updates to its "Know Before You Owe" mortgage disclosure rule with amendments that are intended to formalize guidance in the rule, and provide greater clarity and certainty. The changes will facilitate implementation of the Know Before You Owe rule by the mortgage industry. The CFPB is also releasing a limited follow-up proposal to address an additional implementation issue.

Let's not forget the CFPB's new rule banning financial companies from using arbitration clauses to restrict consumers' right to file class-action lawsuits. In its rule, the CFPB noted its authority does not extend to broker-dealers, investment advisers and other SEC-regulated entities. This new rule makes it easier for class-action suits against lenders. Financial firms will be restricted in their ability to use mandatory arbitration clauses to protect themselves against lawsuits. Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has 60 days to overturn the new rule. The OCC has asked the CFPB for their data, and Republican Jeb Hensarling has already come out against it.

But it isn't as if some thought and research didn't go into it. The Rule is a product of the CFPB's rulemaking process, which received more than 110,000 comments on its May 2016 proposed arbitration rule, and the CFPB's March 2015 Arbitration Study. But it certainly caught the attention of the industry since it prohibits the use of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses in certain contracts for consumer financial products and services. The Rule has the potential to profoundly impact the way disputes concerning consumer financial products and services are resolved. Law firm Buckley Sandler did a write up of it: Click here to read full special alert.

What do lawyers think of it? The headline says it all.



Bond Markets

Agency mortgage-backed securities tagged along Tuesday with U.S. Treasuries higher in a curve-steepening move as Fed Governor Brainard said that the Fed may not have much more hiking to do to get policy rates to a neutral stance. And we had a decent $24 billion 3-year Treasury auction. The 10-year note, 5-year note, and agency MBS prices all improved a few ticks (32nds).

Today we've already had last week's read on residential mortgage applications. Yes, there was a holiday, but a drop of 7.4% is noticeable. (Refis were -13%, purchases -2.5%.) Fed Chair Yellen (voter, dove) will appear before the House Financial Services Committee when she delivers her semi-annual monetary policy testimony. Her prepared comments with be released at 8:30AM ET with her testimony and subsequent Q&A beginning at 10AM ET. We also have a $20 billion 10-year note auction, and the release of the Beige Book which the FOMC uses to gauge economic activity around the U.S. To start the day, we find rates slightly better than last night with the 10-year, which closed Tuesday yielding 2.36%, at 2.34% and agency MBS prices better by almost .125.



Company News

Home Point Financial Corporation announced that Chad Patton has been named Executive Managing Director-Chief Strategy Officer focusing on funding and capital planning, business intelligence and strategic initiatives. Home Point recently announced the expansion of its Third-Party Origination (TPO) channel following the acquisition of Stonegate Mortgage Corporation. "This new structure will allow Home Point to increase its wholesale client base by expanding the geographic reach and number of third party originators the channel will serve. Lisa Patterson, Executive Managing Director - TPO Production, will continue to lead Home Point's TPO channel and report to Chief Production Officer Brian Brizard."

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) set a new milestone last month, as it closed more than 10,000 loans in the month of June. "The mark is an all-time monthly production record for UWM, as it also recently announced plans to move into a new 600,000-square-foot headquarters in the summer of 2018. The move will support UWM's rapid growth, as it has expanded from 400 team members to 2,100 since 2010." In 2016, UWM set a company record with $23 billion in loan volume, and is on pace to surpass $30 billion in 2017.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that the Department's Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) is immediately suspending Pennsylvania-based mortgage lender Seckel Capital, LLC from originating and underwriting new mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). "In addition, HUD's Departmental Enforcement Center suspended owner John Seckel from doing business with the Federal government" because of an investigation by HUD into the financial practices of Seckel and his company, based in Newtown, Pennsylvania. "Specifically, that Seckel knowingly and fraudulently submitted false financial statements to the government certifying there were audited by an independent accounting firm when, in fact, they were not. HUD found that Seckel Capital and John Seckel engaged in a years-long pattern of submitting false financial statement to FHA, representing them as properly audited by independent certified public accountants. Read more about HUD's Mortgagee Review Board.



Jobs, Products, and Personnel

Planet Home Lending, LLC's correspondent division is now offering the following products to meet the needs of its fast-growing customer base: 203k, FHA manufactured housing, and FHA sponsorship for banks and credit unions. For more info, visit www.phlcorrespondent.com, contact your regional sales manager, or contact Jim Loving, Director of National Sales, at 414-270-0027. In addition, Planet's correspondent division welcomes Kat Cunningham as NW Regional Sales Manager where she will use her extensive correspondent experience to serve customers in San Francisco North, AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, and WY.

The Wholesale division of Finance of America Mortgage, which was ranked #8 for wholesale lenders by volume by Scotsman Guide, is expanding its team of top producing Account Executives across the country. Expansion into new markets offers new AEs access to open territories with no account overlap or internal competition. FAM Wholesale AEs have access to a diverse suite of products including Renovation, Commercial (Fix & Flip, Investor Line of Credit) HELOC product and Non-Delegated Correspondent. FAM Wholesale offers a consistent, competitive pricing model along with customer-centric operations centers. To learn more, visit Elevate your Career or contact Brady Shepard at 317-727-9493 or email Brady Shepard.

In job news, I am happy to share an update on US Mortgage Corporation, a National IMB client I am working with that is making 2017 all about Expansion, Investing, and Giving Back. So far management has successfully opened an additional 4 branches in 3 states (SC, FL, CA) since we started our relationship. I am happy to say they are committed to opening new offices in any state as per your request. Whether you are an Area, Branch or Sales Manager, or an Originator looking to step up; I encourage you to reach out to them. This Bank is eager to chat with you and learn more about what you want and need to make 2017 an even more successful year, and is looking to connect with individuals and teams that understand the importance of giving back to a local charitable organization within the community. Management has the infrastructure to support you with Marketing, Technology, Business Development and More. Please send all inquiries directly to Scott Milner, Bank President.

"Continuing its aggressive expansion efforts in California, Academy Mortgage is pleased to welcome Patrick Dudum as Area Manager in Santa Clara County. Patrick comes to Academy with over 14 years of retail mortgage management experience and has a proven track record of building and growing production in his marketplace, and demonstrates a high level of integrity and professionalism in his career, always supporting his teams, clients and referral partners. In his new role, he will be recruiting branch managers, loan officers and operations personnel. Patrick will be reporting to Leif Boyd, Regional Manager for California/Nevada. Academy is excited about the opportunity to grow with a proven leader. Please reach out to Pat (408.499.4348) if you would like to join the Academy team!"

Are you tired of your LOS dictating your company's loan processes and roles within workflows? If so, you should consider Path, the first fully-configurable LOS designed for your workflow, not the other way around. Path is the hottest, truly multi-channel LOS on the market utilizing the latest cloud-based technology to provide role-based functionality designed to improve your specific processes in all channels - wholesale, retail and correspondent. With an advanced data-driven platform, you can quickly and easily increase efficiencies and transparency, ensure data integrity, mitigate risk, and improve loan origination process management. Path transforms the way mortgages are originated from beginning to end. Learn more about Path here.

"DocProbe, the nation's premier providers of trailing document fulfillment services, is thrilled to welcome Cissy Larkin to our Team! She brings years of experience in the Mortgage Industry which will enable her to showcase our outstanding services and contribute to DocProbe's Revolution of the Post-Closing scene in the Banking and Mortgage world! We will be attending the Western Secondary Market Conference next week to present our services. Please contact Libi (below) to schedule an appointment with a specialist. DocProbe is currently looking to further expand our nationwide close-knit Business Development team. The is an exciting opportunity for Account Executives with experience selling to Mortgage Bankers, who possess the drive and ambition to make calls, network, and have the face-to-face visits necessary for success. The ideal candidate possesses outstanding interpersonal skills and has an established mortgage banker client base within which they can network. Interested contenders may confidentially submit resume for consideration to Libi Pruzansky."
Four Texas A&M University alumni currently serve as CEOs of the nation's biggest publicly traded companies. That is more than all but one other university, a new report showed.

A&M is tied with the University of Michigan for having the most current graduates serving as CEO in the top 100 companies of the Fortune 500, the U.S. News & World Report survey said. The publication examined the educational backgrounds of top leaders at the 100 biggest companies ranked by Fortune magazine by revenue.
For Gary Kennedy, theres satisfaction in helping those who have post-traumatic stress disorder. The veteran and former first responder wants to spread the word about local recreational activities and mental health services.

Were trying to get awareness out to people about alternatives to PTSD, such as exercise and scuba diving, Kennedy said. There are so many things out there.

Kennedy, founder and executive director of the local nonprofit Healing Emotions Above Reasons and Thoughts (HEART), is hosting PTSD Awareness Day at the Park on Saturday. The event at Hogan Park highlights options available locally.

K.C. Blackketter, clinical director at Agape Counseling Services of West Texas, said an event focusing on PTSD could help people with the diagnosis to network with others and find resources. He has noticed clients find peace through therapy.

PTSD Awareness Day Time: 8 a.m. - noon Date: Saturday Location: Hogan Park pavilion The event will feature informational booths, food trucks, jumpers and a 5K walk and run. For more information, contact Gary Kennedy at 230-9078. See More Collapse

PTSD in essence is a cluster of symptoms oftentimes associated with an event  a harmful event, a traumatic event, Blackketter said. Symptoms can be a great deal of anxiety, flashbacks [or] dreams.

Agape and Samaritan Counseling Center of West Texas use Lifespan Integration, a technique that directs people to remember other experiences. Therapy wont eliminate memories about traumatic events, but the method can help people process them.

The problem is when people have PTSD, (memories) get stuck in your brain and can get constantly recalled, said Brian Wingfield, licensed marriage and family therapist at Samaritan. You live it over and over again. Therapy can get them unstuck.

Wingfield said PTSD can happen to people who experience traumatic events, including tragedies and situations related to military or law enforcement duties.

I encourage people if they need help to go and seek help, Wingfield said. For a lot of people out in this area, theres a stigma about seeking help. They may think its a weakness.

Some who have experienced traumatic events, including sexual assault survivors, use drugs or alcohol to cope, according to Maura Jarldane, therapy director at Midland Rape Crisis and Childrens Advocacy Center. She stresses the importance of early treatment.

Once they learn coping kills and being able to talk about the traumatic event theyve gone through, its definitely going to help them in the long run, Jarldane said.

In addition to introducing resources available to the public, PTSD Awareness Day will highlight some that specifically cater to veterans. Kennedy, who experienced PTSD triggers related to his work as a police officer, also served in the U.S. Army.

Its not just ... vets and first responders, Kennedy said. Its for everybody. There are a lot of vets that need help. This is one avenue that can do that.

Each veteran who has PTSD experiences it differently, according to Chris Molsbee, senior vice commander of the Disabled American Veterans Permian Basin Chapter 58. The organization helps them receive VA benefits and connects them to mental health resources.

Most feedback is very positive, Molsbee said. Were helping people get their lives together and pay bills.

In Midland County, there were 8,464 veterans, according to U.S. Census Bureau five-year estimates.

In the region, the oil and gas industry draws some younger veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Connie Ponce, chief of mental health for the West Texas VA Health Care System. The VA attempts to work around the industrys job schedules.

We try to accommodate them the days they are off to try to bring them in, Ponce said.

Services are available at the Permian Basin Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Odessa as well at the VAs sister facility, the Midland Vet Center.

Locally, Alex Jurado connects veterans to resources while serving as an advocate for 22KILL, an organization that brings awareness to veteran suicide. He said theres a need to tell veterans about options available.

West Texas loves vets  they just do, Jurado said. Any opportunity to help, theyre going to do it. [Veterans] dont know it.

At the PTSD Awareness Day, Kennedy hopes those who have PTSD will discover treatment options. Though some people contact HEART, he thinks theres room to reach others.

Its becoming more and more people getting a hold of me who realize they have PTSD and need help, Kennedy said. Theres still a lot out there who dont realize they need help.






'The big truck is still on ...
A former Orlando police officer, struggling to overcome post-traumatic stress disorder after the shooting at Pulse, is now waging a new fight: to get paid by the city of Orlando.

Gerry Realin wants the city to grant him his retirement benefits. The city will consider his petition at a disability hearing before the pension board in City Hall at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.



I dont think that someone who serves our community, who lives their life on the line, should have to worry about losing everything," said his wife, Jessica. Im hoping that they will take into account what the doctors have said, and they will retire my husband.

The fight of their lives

The road to Thursday has not been easy for the family. Soon after the shooting at Pulse, doctors diagnosed Gerry with PTSD. He launched into therapy sessions; his recovery, according to Jessica, hindered by constant battles against Florida law, which does not grant worker's compensation benefits to first responders suffering solely from PTSD.

While having to battle that, we were battling the system as well," Jessica remarked. Its just been incredibly difficult. We went to the city-assigned doctors; we never challenged them.

But in June, the officer exhausted his sick and vacation time. Paychecks stopped, and the family began living on donations to stay afloat.

We could lose everything; its that real," Jessica said.

Attorney Geoff Bichler is fighting to make sure that doesnt happen, representing the Realins at Thursday's hearing.

We feel pretty good that the pension should be awarded," Bichler said. This has been almost a pattern of harassment from the beginning of this case, where they didnt want to acknowledge the nature and severity of the condition; they wanted to force him back to work.

Congressman backs Realin



Others offered their support to the family, including Democratic Rep. Darren Soto, who represents the 9th District. Soto wrote a letter to the pension board on Realin's behalf. That letter can be viewed here.

This isnt some whimsical claim for benefits; this is someone whos been clinically diagnosed," said Soto in a phone call Tuesday.

Orlando said in a statement that it's committed to helping the officer in his recovery but met its limit to reimburse. It also said that it took into account his doctors recommendations and made other jobs available to Realin, which he did not take.

It just seems like theres this vendetta against my husband," Jessica said. I think theyre afraid of a floodgate situation. They think a lot of people are going to come forward and claim that they have PTSD that do not have injuries."

Jessica insists much comes down to the city not understanding her husband's suffering or what the family has been through.

She has a lot riding on Thursday.

Were right now in a downward spiral, but hopefully well be moving forward and closing this chapter," she said.

The disability hearing takes place on the second-floor Sustainability Room in City Hall and is open to the public.

If you'd like to help the Realin family, go to their GoFundMe fundraising page.

Police department responds

In a statement to News 13, the Orlando Police Department mentioned that police pensions are granted by an independent board and that board will make the determination in this case.

The department also mentioned its support for Realin.

"The City of Orlando has supported Officer Realin by insuring that he received full pay through the interim disability committee, whose ability to reimburse officers is limited by policies and procedures, and in Officer Realin's case, those limits have been met. Officer Realin has also had  and continues to have  full access to and use of all of the City of Orlando's resources through the Employee Assistance Program," the police department stated.

The Gofundme.com site is not managed by Bay News 9/News 13. For more information on how the site works and the rules, visit http://www.gofundme.com/safety
The emails released by Donald Trump Jr. about the meeting with a Russian lawyer before the election has social media unraveling.

Democrats are saying emails are proof of collusion

Republicans believe emails clear Trump Jr. of wrongdoing

The bombshell revelation that Trump Jr. was eager to accept information from the Russian government landed hard on weary White House aides.

While staff people have grown accustomed to a good news cycle being overshadowed by the Russia investigations, Trump aides and outside advisers privately acknowledged that this weeks developments felt more serious.

Some say the emails are proof of collusion, while others believe they clear Trump Jr. from any wrongdoing.

Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

His father came to his defense:

My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

Some Republicans like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee say think there's nothing wrong with what was in the emails.

Liberal media in a frenzy because Donald Trump Jr released all his emails. Should've just deleted them. We know that's fine with them!  Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) July 11, 2017

And former FOX News commentator Bill O Reilly tweeted:

Trump, Jr. smart to release emails. Tabloid guy set him up w Russian lawyer who promised Hillary dirt. She didn't deliver. That's the story.  Bill O'Reilly (@billoreilly) July 11, 2017

However, Democrats have also been tweeting out. U.S. Congressman Elijah E. Cummings sent a letter to Trump Jr. along with Jared Kushneer and Paul Manafort asking for more information about what went on in that meeting.

And many democrats like U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California want Trump Jr. want a further investigation into this:

I agree with my intel colleagues - Donald Trump Jr, Kushner and Manafort should come before the Senate Intel Committee. We need answers.  Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) July 11, 2017

The public has not laid eyes on President Donald Trump since his return from Europe Saturday. But in private, Trump has raged against the latest Russia development, with most of his ire directed at the media, not his son, according to people who have spoken to him in recent days.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
COLLEGE STATION  Insect damage to crops is ramping up across Texas, said Dr. David Kerns, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service integrated pest management state coordinator in College Station.

We have been seeing a great deal of bollworm activity in Bt cotton and there have been quite a few insecticide applications going out, he said. A lot of these reports have been coming out of the Wharton and Corpus Christi areas, but the problem is not confined to just those locations or to only cotton.

In the Brazos River Bottom, we had a field of WideStrike cotton that virtually had a worm in every terminal and as much as 40 percent fruit loss in the upper third of the canopy. We have reports of unacceptable injury in some TwinLink and Bollgard 2 varieties as well.

Kern is asking producers with Bt cotton exhibiting unacceptable bollworm injury to let him know as he would like to make further collections. Contact him at 979-845-2516, dlkerns@tamu.edu.

Be sure to give the technology the opportunity to work, though, he said. Our research has shown that if you are running 6 percent injured fruit with live larvae present, it pays to spray. That said, if I had a very large egg lay in WideStrike technology, I would be inclined to spray. Make sure you check blooms, bracts and bloom tags for eggs and small larvae. A great many of the egg lays we are seeing are not so much in the terminal but in the canopy.

Kerns said the most common insecticide choices for bollworm control are pyrethroids. Blackhawk at 3.2 ounces per acre, Prevathon at 14-19 fluid ounces per acre and Besiege at 7-10 fluid ounces per acre are common treatments.

Be careful with the pyrethroids, he said. Granted, they are inexpensive, but we have had some reports of control failures, especially if the bollworms are second instar or larger when sprayed, plus they can flare aphids and spider mites.

Grain sorghum is also on the bollworms menu this summer, Kerns said.

Bollworms are also hitting grain sorghum and if you catch them small  in the first and second instar stage  pyrethroids usually will control them, but rely on Blackhawk, Prevathon or Besiege if very many large worms are encountered.

AgriLife Extension district reporters compiled the following summaries:

SOUTH PLAINS: The area received rain and hail storms that resulted in significant crop losses. Total losses have yet to be reported due to adjusters inability to get into the fields. Subsoil and topsoil moisture were at a surplus level. Pastures and rangelands were expected to improve with recent moisture levels. Producers were waiting for conditions to improve to replant fields lost in the storms. Cattle were in good condition.

PANHANDLE: Above-average temperatures were experienced across most of the area. Some moisture was received early in the week, but the soil moisture was rated short to adequate. Some producers were replanting hailed-out corn. Irrigation was active on summer crops, which were stressed by hot conditions. Ranges were drying out. Wheat harvest was winding down. Some livestock producers were hauling water to cattle due to lack of wind to turn windmills.
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How many online activists does it take to save Silicon Valleys favorite Obama-era regulation?

Organizers of an online protest aimed at derailing a Republican plan to roll back net neutrality rules are hoping the magic number is 70,000. Thats the number of sites and organizations  including Amazon.com, Google, Facebook and even President Donald Trumps favored medium, Twitter  that have pledged to participate.

Today, the big commercial sites will join scores of online activists and businesses in telling users about the change planned in Washington ask the visitors to contact Congress and the Federal Communications Commission where Republican Chairman Ajit Pai, a Trump appointee, commands a majority and is moving toward gutting the rule against interfering with web traffic.

The protest comes as Democratic lawmakers bring renewed focus on the issue. Democratic senators Ron Wyden, of Oregon, and Brian Schatz, of Hawaii, on Monday asked the FCC to ensure its computer system is prepared to withstand the expected surge of comments. Both senators support the embattled rule.

Already the FCC has received 5.6 million comments on the issue, ahead of a July 17 deadline for remarks. In May, televised commentary from comedian John Oliver sparked a surge of comments to the FCC.

Mark Wigfield, an FCC spokesman, declined to comment on the protests.

Organizers hope for an outpouring that can change a seemingly certain trajectory toward action by the FCC to roll back the rule that forbids broadband providers led by AT&T Inc., Comcast Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. from blocking or slowing data  to hinder rivals, for instance, or to favor affiliated services.

Were trying to make it easier for real people to comment and make their voices heard, said Evan Greer, campaign director for Fight for the Future, a nonprofit advocacy group that helped organize the protest. Ajit Pai has made it clear he has no interest in listening to the public. Hes listening to the cable companies and plans to give them what they want.

Protest organizers say that if Pai succeeds in weakening or eliminating the rule, broadband companies will slow web traffic, block rivals internet content, censor unpopular viewpoints and charge extra fees.

Backers of Pais move say the net-neutrality rule claims too much authority over private broadband providers, discourages investment needed to spread fast internet service to more people, and that a competitive market will ensure broadband providers treat traffic fairly.

The protest is not going to stop the FCC, Berin Szoka, founder of TechFreedom, a policy group that supports Pais move, said in an interview.

Their entire agenda is simply to jump up and down at the FCC, and jump up and down on the Hill, and try to obstruct a legislative deal that could see Congress resolve the years of debate over net neutrality, Szoka said.

AT&T in a blog post Tuesday said it will join the day of action with TV and print advertisements.

We agree that no company should be allowed to block content or throttle the download speeds of content in a discriminatory manner, Bob Quinn, senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs, said in the post. So, we are joining this effort because its consistent with AT&Ts proud history of championing our customers right to an open internet.

Quinn said AT&T hasnt been in contact with day of action organizers. They, in turn, scoffed.

This is so ridiculous Im laughing out loud, Greer said in an email when asked his reaction. AT&T and other companies like Comcast and Verizon have waged an all out war on net neutrality protections, because they want to be able to charge internet users and startups extra fees, and squeeze all of us for more money for less internet.

AT&T accepted an earlier version of FCC net neutrality rules. The company joined other broadband providers in a failed court challenge to the FCCs 2015 rules that are at the center of the current debate. Comcast and Verizon had won earlier legal challenges.

AT&T supports Pais effort to remove the strong legal authority underpinning the 2015 rules, Quinn said in a news conference. He said the company supports rules against blocking or slowing web traffic, and expressed hope Congress can act to write rules that arent subject to swings of party control at the FCC. Democratic and Republican lawmakers havent been able to agree.

Among the nearly 70,000 people, sites, and organizations that have signed on to the effort are online music service Spotify Ltd., crafts website Etsy Inc., and IAC/InterActiveCorps video-sharing site Vimeo, according to Greer. Spokesmen for Facebook Inc., Netflix Inc.and Alphabet Inc.s Google confirmed participation and declined to offer details. Amazon.com Inc. is taking part, according to protest organizers.

Websites taking part will display prominent messages on their home pages on Wednesday and encourage users to take action. Sample messages distributed by organizers included warnings that were stuck in the slow lane and this site has been blocked.

An online protest in 2012 was credited with helping persuade Congress to abandon legislation backed by movie studios to combat online piracy.

All lawmakers in Washington should oppose the FCCs anti-net neutrality proposal that will do immeasurable harm to free speech and innovation, and is deeply unpopular, Mark Stanley, a spokesman with Demand Progress, a group helping to organize the protest, said in an emailed statement today.

But lawmakers arent running the net neutrality proceeding as Pai heads toward a vote possibly later this year at the FCC. Pais antipathy to the rule passed in 2015 was well known when Trump elevated him to chairman in January. And in 2014 while the FCC prepared the rule, Trump in a tweet called the regulation Obamas attack on the internet.

Democratic representatives are agitating against the change. The @ FCC wants to get rid of the rules that protect # net neutrality. Thats a threat to destroy the internet as we know it, Senator Al Franken, of Minnesota, said in a tweet. Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy also tweeted, saying, Ending # net neutrality would allow internet providers to slow certain websites or charge more for preferential service.

Others are organizing to support the FCC. Americans for Prosperity, American for Tax Reform, the Center for Individual Freedom, and the National Taxpayers Union are among policy groups sponsoring a website unlockthenet.com. The site is a resource for those who support a free and open internet, not one strapped with needless regulations from government, according to a news release about the effort.
Pennsylvania frac sand mining company Preferred Sands is moving the site of a proposed mine that created an uproar among residents in Atascosa County to a location thats already in operation  winning over community support.

The group that formed in opposition to the project said the company has addressed all of its concerns  everything from creating buffers between homes and sand mining activity, to moving truck traffic off of dusty, gravel county roads and onto larger highways. Residents have issued a letter in support of the project.

It was more than we expected, said Russell Wilson, president of the citizens group called Not Just Dust, which formed to fight the proposed mine. Basically Preferred Sands has acquiesced to everything we asked them to do.

Preferred Sands planned a mine and plant that could process 300 to 400 tons of sand per hour through a Texas company it set up last fall, Sand Mining of Texas LLC. It already has its permit from the states environmental regulator and could have started construction, but it voluntarily halted its plans in May and said it will redraw site plans while it worked with residents.

Its the right thing to do, said T.J. Doyle of Preferred Sands at the time. Were trying to be as respectful and patient as possible.

A representative of Preferred Sands said the company wasnt ready to talk yet about its new plans, but would have announcements soon.

A column by Atascosa County Judge Bob Hurley, published Wednesday in the Pleasanton Express, said that Preferred Sands would move its operations onto property owned by Martin Marietta, which has operated a sand mine in the community for decades.

The move would shift the mine and plant to the north and away from many homes. It would also give the mining company access to State Highway 16 and address one of the biggest issues residents had  that large trucks would bump down dusty roads and pass their homes 24 hours a day.

Neighbors organized quickly after learning about the site. Not Just Dust worked with the local groundwater district to start baseline water well testing, and was encouraging nearby residents to have their health checked. Wilson paid for air monitoring around the proposed site himself.

Elected officials and residents sent more than 200 letters this year to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the states environmental agency, in protest or to ask for a hearing about the proposed mine. The TCEQ didnt grant them a hearing, but did hold a a public meeting in Atascosa County. Preferred Sands met several times with community leaders and held a public meeting of its own.

We held our line, Wilson said. We let people know were not against the oil industry or the frac sand industry. We want them to be responsible in the placement of the types of facilities theyre putting in there.

Sand mining has long been a part of the economy in Atascosa County and southern Bexar County, and its a business residents are familiar with, but they are bracing for more activity.

Not Just Dust hopes to keep communicating with Preferred Sands  and any other mining companies that are looking to locate or expand in the area  because residents realize the mines are something thats likely to be around for a long time.

State. Rep. Ryan Guillen has helped representatives of Not Just Dust meet with TCEQ officials to talk about aquifer protection. Wilson said the group is hearing from residents around the state who are dealing with similar facilities, and wants to make sure the state has adequate regulation in place.

The frac sand from the new mine, and others, are destined for the nearby Eagle Ford Shale oil field where fracking uses a mixture of water, sand and chemicals pumped at high pressure to crack tight rock and extract hard-to-get oil. In the past decade, a boom in shale drilling has set off a boom in sand, too.

In recent years, companies have started using an increasing amount of sand to frack wells after finding that more sand equals more oil. And theyve found that while Texas sand isnt as good as that from Wisconsin and Minnesota, its good enough, and has far cheaper transportation costs.

The original location planned for Preferred Sands  near a historical marker for the 1813 Battle of Medina, known as the bloodiest fight in Texas history  will remain a hay field for now.

Preferred Sands converted the water well permit on the site from industrial back to agricultural.

jhiller@express-news.net

Twitter: @Jennifer_Hiller
Houston-based NRG Energy plans to substantially reduce its renewable energy business as part of an effort to divest $4 billion in assets, the company said Wednesday.

Over the next three years, NRG is looking to divest 50 to 100 percent of its renewable assets owned by NRG Yield, a subsidiary, as it seeks to cut 70 percent of its $13 billion debt. NRG owns a utility-scale solar farms and wind farms in Texas, California, Hawaii and Maine.

The announcement comes several months after NRG won a bid of up to $188 million to acquire a West Texas solar farm and other renewable energy projects from the bankrupt SunEdison.

The planned divestments follow an exhaustive four-month review of the company's business, triggered by a shake-up on the company's board. NRG seems to be pushing away from renewable energy after former CEO David Crane, a proponent of electric car-charging stations and residential solar panels, was ousted in 2015.

He was replaced by Mauricio Gutierrez, who favors more traditional sources of power such as natural gas-fired power plants. Still, other divestments would include traditional power plants the with a combined generating capacity of 6,000 megawatts.

NRG would also slice its debt through the bankruptcy of GenOn, a subsidiary that operates coal-fired power plants in the Middle Atlantic states and has $2.5 billion in debt.

The sale of power plants and renewable energy resources would bring NRG $6.3 billion, the company said during a conference call with investors.

"With this plan we now have a clear path to success in this industry. Our business will be simplified and able to thrive under any market structure," said Gutierrez. "Importantly, we will have created the financial flexibility to respond to the market in the future."

RELATED GALLERY: Texas energy companies in the Fortune 500
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The wife of disgraced ex-San Antonio lawyer Todd Prins, Paula, who went on a $30,000 shopping spree at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus in the months leading up to the couples bankruptcy filing, will have to actually pay for her new Jimmy Choo shoes.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta on Wednesday refused to allow Paula Prins, 41, to wipe out her bills through bankruptcy. Paula Prins agreed to repay her debt to avoid having her bankruptcy case contested at a trial, according to a court filing.

Gargottas ruling comes two weeks after Todd Prins pleaded guilty to wire fraud for fabricating court papers and other documents, forging judges signatures and taking money from his law firms trust account for his own use. Todd Prins, 51, gave up his law license earlier this year.

Todd Prins faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced Sept. 18.

Martin Seidler, the couples bankruptcy lawyer, didnt respond to a request for comment.

The Prinses filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in September. They have reported almost $1.6 million in assets and about $934,000 in liabilities in bankruptcy schedules.

Bankruptcy court records show that on the day of the filing, Paula Prins was at Saks Fifth Avenue buying a Gucci handbag and accessories for $3,125, Louboutin pumps for $731 and skinny jeans for $436.

The purchases capped a roughly seven-month, $30,000 shopping spree at Saks and Neiman Marcus, where she spent almost $11,000 on Prada, Jimmy Choo and other designer shoes, as well as $6,700 on high-end handbags and accessories  all charged to her credit cards.

Paula Prins extravagant lifestyle was detailed in a March lawsuit filed by the U.S. trustee overseeing the bankruptcy case. The trustee had filed suit seeking a court order blocking her from getting her debts released. In waiving the release of her debts, Paula Prins did not admit to the trustees allegations.

The couple valued their clothing and and accessories at $2,500 in a March filing. The trustee alleged that Paula Prins repeatedly testified falsely to questions about the clothing and accessories she bought last year.

A May court filing shows that if the case had gone to trial, Paula Prins was prepared to testify about the values of property set forth in her schedules and her lack of intent to mislead or misstate anything.

The couple took a European vacation after they filed for bankruptcy. It later was revealed that Todd Prins spent about $800,000 of $2.4 million in proceeds from an Oct. 4 foreclosure sale his firm conducted without a Houston courts approval. The remaining $1.6 million was later seized by the government. As of part of his plea agreement, Todd Prins forfeited any rights and interest to the $1.6 million.
Donald Trump's starring role on the reality television show "The Apprentice" transformed the mogul's image in the public eye, establishing him as a frank, tell-it-like-it-is businessman capable of making tough decisions.

Each episode's most dramatic moment ended in the corporate boardroom, with Trump decisively eliminating a contestant by delivering his famous catchphrase, "You're fired."

But reality television, of course, doesn't always depict reality.

According to one former competitor on the "Celebrity Apprentice," Trump didn't actually decide when to fire a contestant.

"He didn't make those decisions, he didn't fire those people," said Clay Aiken, 38, who competed on the show in 2012 and was also a contestant on "American Idol."

The show's producers from NBC made those calls, giving Trump instructions through a teleprompter on his desk that looked like a phone, Aiken said in an interview on Domecast, a podcast from the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., his hometown.

It isn't the first time the veracity of "The Apprentice" has been questioned. As The Post has reported, Trump frequently offered to give away thousands of his own dollars, often to console a fired or upset celebrity. The Post examined all of the "personal" gifts that Trump promised during 83 episodes and seven seasons, and could not confirm a single case in which Trump actually sent a gift out of his own pocket.

Now, seeing Trump as president frequently reminds Aiken of the Trump he knew on the show.

"The man as president definitely has a teleprompter sitting on his desk right now, with people telling him, 'such and such is in the health care bill,'" Aiken said on the podcast. "I feel like half the time, his teleprompter has broken down as president and he doesn't know what's going on."

"He probably is leading the country in the same way that he did 'Apprentice,'" Aiken added. "Donald Trump isn't the businessman that people believe he is because we saw him on TV, playing in 'The Apprentice.' And he did look like he was leading, but on 'The Apprentice' he doesn't lead."

Clay Aiken: Phone on Trump's 'Apprentice' desk was a teleprompter

- The Hill (@thehill) July 11, 2017

---

Aiken, who finished as runner-up on the show to comedian Arsenio Hall, also unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat for Congress in North Carolina in 2014.

Despite his critical comments about the president, Aiken said he "always liked" Trump, and that members of his family voted for and continue to support him.

"I imagine that in person if I saw him again today I would be charmed by him," Aiken said. "Because he's a very gracious person . . . he's a nice guy."

In fact, after he announced he was running for Congress, Aiken said the second person he called was Trump. This was, in part, because Aiken had "enough respect for him in the political world" at the time, but also because "I was worried he was going to go on Fox News that morning and say something, and I knew if he was one of the first people I called, he'd feel honored and he'd say wonderful things."

On "Celebrity Apprentice," Trump was unaware of which contestants picked fights during the week, Aiken said. Producers would need to give him updates on what happened and how the contestants were doing. Aiken said he sees a similar pattern in Trump as president, arguing Trump doesn't appear to "be willing to do the work and the research to figure out what's going on."

Trump spent 14 seasons as host of the NBC show, and its popularity helped Trump expand his business empire and brand recognition around the world.

As The Washington Post's Marc Fisher wrote: "He didn't run for president because of 'The Apprentice,' but according to the show's executives and producers, without 'The Apprentice' there would be no candidacy."

Trump was given 50 percent ownership stake on the show and paid, at first, $100,000 per episode, the Post has reported. He has made claims that he made more than $213 million for the show over the years.

"Celebrity Apprentice" took a two-year hiatus in 2015 and 2016, but returned this year with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former Republican governor of California, as its host. In March, Schwarzenegger announced he would be leaving the show. He blamed its dwindling ratings on the show's ongoing association with President Trump. (Trump blamed the lower ratings on Schwarzenegger.)

Trump continued to hold the title of executive producer of the show after taking office, spurring criticism from ethics experts who argued the relationship presented potential conflicts of interest.

"With Trump being involved in the show, people have a bad taste and don't want to participate as a spectator or as a sponsor or in any other way support the show," Schwarzenegger said in an interview. "It's a very divisive period now, and I think this show got caught up in all that division."
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Conservative columnist Ben Shapiro  whose pro-Israel musings have pleased the right and angered the left  has accepted an invitation to speak at UC Berkeley on Sept. 14, student groups announced Tuesday.

Shapiro is the third in a string of conservatives invited this year to the famously liberal campus by the Berkeley College Republicans. The first two talks never took place.

On Feb. 1, rioters caused $100,000 of damage on the UC Berkeley campus  smashing windows and setting police equipment ablaze  to stop a scheduled speech by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.

In April, UC Berkeley administrators canceled an anti-immigration speech by right-wing pundit Ann Coulter, saying they couldnt protect participants from rioting if it went ahead. Campus officials had offered to let Coulter speak during the day rather than at night, as Yiannopoulos had expected to do, and in a place away from the center of campus.

The campus Republicans said the rules were designed to minimize Coulters audience, and they rejected it.

The Berkeley College Republicans and the conservative Young Americas Foundation  whose efforts to promote conservative speakers on campuses have accelerated since last years election of President Trump  have sued the University of California in federal court over Coulters canceled speech.

Berkeley has a choice: To uphold the First Amendment rights of all students, or once again cave under pressure from extreme leftists and unconstitutionally censor conservative speech, Spencer Brown, spokesman for the Young Americas Foundation, said in a statement.

He warned: Berkeley administrators would be wise to offer the same platform to Ben Shapiro and the conservative students hosting him that theyve given the parade of leftist speakers who've appeared at Berkeley.

The groups have invited Shapiro to speak at 7 p.m. and have asked the campus to provide a place that will accommodate 500 attendees.

Shapiro, a 33-year-old graduate of Harvard Law School, is less of a provocateur than Yiannopoulos or Coulter. Instead, Shapiro uses his Web-based Ben Shapiro Show and other online columns to offer straightforward support for Trump and criticism of the latest Trump/Russia revelations by a self-righteous media, or to declare it an outright lie that Palestinians want peace in the Middle East.

The two-state solution is stupid, Shapiro declares on YouTube, before delivering a lecture on the Middle East from his perspective.

Shapiro and the Young Americas Foundation sued Cal State Los Angeles in 2016 when campus officials barred Shapiro from speaking on that campus. Shapiro and the group dropped the suit this year after California State University changed its policies to welcome a broader range of speakers.

UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said Tuesday that Shapiro is welcome at UC Berkeley.

We will work with the student organization to ensure they can host a safe and successful event, Mogulof said in a statement.

However, he reiterated the same rules that the campus made clear in the Yiannopoulos and Coulter visits: Campus police will perform a security assessment, and the campus will then determine where and when Shapiro will be allowed to speak.

We are confident that arrangements can and will be made for Mr. Shapiro to speak on the Berkeley campus, with the exact date and time depending only on the availability of an appropriate venue and the recommendations of law enforcement professionals, Mogulof said in the statement.

UC officials have asked the courts to throw out the students lawsuit. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 25.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
Every time Susan Laniewski made one of her frequent trips to downtown Houston hospitals for doctor appointments, her parents were anxious about the safety of the trips.

That was before God's Garage handed her a new set of keys to a donated 2007 Toyota Matrix in May.

Transportation issues have frustrated Laniewski, who commutes as a single mother from her government home to Houston for treatment of her numerous disabilities and ailments, including fibromyalgia, diabetes and hypertension, as well as ongoing tests to confirm whether she has lupus. She also drives daughter Abigail "Abby" Laniewski, who survived brain cancer but is seeing her 11th specialist at the Houston-area hospital.

On multiple occasions, she has had to cancel appointments due to her 2000-model passenger car's mechanical issues. While the car needed to be repaired or replaced, Laniewski, who also lost her health insurance, was unable to afford a solution to her transportation woes with a limited source of income: her disability checks.

"It was rough," Laniewski said. "My parents would call us or text because they wanted to make sure we made it to our destination."

One day, a fellow The Woodlands First Baptist Church member who was aware of her circumstances, handed Laniewski an application to a new nonprofit car repair shop in Conroe, God's Garage, which is revving up to help single mothers, widows and wives of deployed military at no labor cost.

After a review, God's Garage surprised Laniewski with her Matrix, which she said runs like new.

"Now I feel like I'm abandoned because I'll tell them I'm leaving and they'll say 'OK, we'll see you when you get here.'" she laughed. " (God's Garage's) will never know how much they helped my family."

Operated strictly off of donations and volunteers, God's Garage was started by former Lone Star Cowboy Church Children's Pastor Chris Williams III, 49, of Montgomery. The team of 20 volunteers not only repairs cars for the women, they also donate cars to those who qualify, help find parts when they can, offer spiritual needs of guidance and financial budgeting.

"While we would like to help everybody, we just don't have the capacity," Williams said. "We focus on these ladies who are down on their luck and need assistance, so that's the need we fulfill. ... We are offering more than a vehicle that is running, we are offering hope and dignity for these ladies."

Williams started assisting others with their car issues, such as simple brake repairs, about 15 years ago and even held Hotrods and Harleys meetings at his former home in Atascocita.

"Five years ago, we built a shop at my house," he said. "It had one lift, it was a 40-by-40 (foot) building. In my limited vision, I thought it was amazing and all we ever needed. I think God had other plans for us."

The next year, Williams saw a student and her mother from his church who were walking along Texas 105 due to car trouble. The sight fueled Williams' motivation to open God's Garage.

"That's what really pushed us forward," said Williams, who had prayed to God while enduring his own car trouble in the past and vowed to help others one day. "Up until then, it was here and there and wasn't really formal.  I prayed, that if I could help other people one day when I got out of this situation that I would. I heard that quiet still voice  'help them now. Do what you can now.'"

This year, William estimates 18 cars like Laniewski's have been donated and he anticipates 30-40 more cars will be donated this year. The garage has cost about $250,000, including out-of-pocket expenses, tools, donations and purchases.

"One of our biggest needs is monetary donations," Williams said. "We have almost 100 ladies on the waiting list for repair or to get new car. The need is endless."

The team includes cooks and counselors who feed and spend time with the women. The vetting team makes calls, checks references and develops relationships with the clients to ensure the need. Instead of just applying a Band-Aid, Williams, who emphasized God's Garage is not a government program, said the shop focuses on teaching the women about their cars, how to care for it and how to help manage finances to help them move forward.

God's Garage also is connecting with community groups and businesses such as the Montgomery County Homeless Coalition, Love Fosters Hope and Buckalew Chevrolet. While the team has been focused on helping women, it also has stepped in to service some donated cars and offer some classes for young men who are foster alumni and interns at Hope's Path.

"We are super excited about this partnership with Hope's Path and his (William's) commitment to caring for our community's most vulnerable population and making sure they can get jobs and maintain those jobs so they can transport themselves to school and work, which is amazing," Hope's Path founder Terri Jaggers said. "As a result, we had a guy graduate from Sam Houston State University and a local vocational school here."

Williams hopes God's Garage will expand nationwide where he can hand a license to anybody to start the shop free of charge.

"I am getting out of the way," he said. "I'm not trying to control it anymore. I just want to see people getting help. My fundamental belief is that we are not here to make ourselves happy by accumulating goods or fame. I think we are here to help each other."

The God's Garage grand opening will be from 2-5 p.m. Sunday at 12340 FM 2854 in Conroe. There will be giveaways, including a Yeti raffle, hot dogs, sno cones and a special surprise.

Among those who plan to attend includes Laniewski, who is now a volunteer hoping to help give back to others.

"To be able to give back is an amazing feeling," she said.

For more information, visit https://godsgaragecar.com/ or search for God's Garage on Facebook.
A Maryland correctional officer has been charged with forcing an inmate to perform a sex act in her jail cell, according to police allegations filed Wednesday in a case that could hinge on DNA evidence the inmate allegedly saved and hid for investigators.

Authorities said the incident unfolded Tuesday morning at Montgomery County's main jail, near Clarksburg, about 30 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. Later in the day, authorities questioned the suspect, Olukunle A. Oyekanmi, 41, at his residence, where they say in court filings that he admitted to the sexual assault.

Oyekanmi was charged with second-degree sex offense, assault, malfeasance in office and other counts, and booked into the county's intake detention center in Rockville, according to court records. He posted a $20,000 bond Wednesday and was released.

Oyekanmi could not be reached for comment. It is not clear from online court records whether he has an attorney.

Robert Green, director of the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, said Oyekanmi began working for the facility in December but is "no longer an employee of the department," an employment status that changed Wednesday.

Green said that after corrections officials learned of the inmate's allegations, they cooperated with detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department.

"We fully support investigations of this nature," Green said. "It does not reflect the values of the men and women of the department who do this work every day. . . . We have great correctional officers."

According to the inmate's account, Oyekanmi walked into her cell at 6:20 a.m. Tuesday. She was wearing pants and no shirt but was under the sheets in bed. Oyekanmi allegedly removed the sheet, fondled her and said he "wanted her now," according to an arrest affidavit filed by investigators.

The inmate "ignored Oyekanmi's statement," and he left the cell, according to court papers.

The inmate, identified only by initials in the court papers, said Oyekanmi returned to her cell a short time later and repeatedly ordered her to stand up. When she did, he grabbed her, she tried to pull away, and he directed her to sit on a toilet seat, where he sexually assaulted her, according to the affidavit.

"Oyekanmi then ordered [the inmate] to gather up her clothes and bring them down to the laundry," detectives wrote in court papers. While collecting her clothes, though, the inmate hid a pair of pants in her cell that contained possible evidence.

In their affidavit, detectives described information they say confirmed various parts of the victim's account.

The detectives said they watched video footage from the pod where the inmate was housed, and it showed Oyekanmi entering her cell several times -- the last time for an extended period.

"When he exits," investigators wrote, describing the video footage, "the victim is seen exiting her cell and bringing what appeared to be clothing to the laundry located in the pod. Detectives had the victim's cell secured and documented, and collected items of evidentiary value."

The inmate was taken to a hospital for a forensic sex assault exam.

Green said his agency has about 360 uniformed staff members across its facilities.

Oyekanmi underwent a background check before he was hired. "Had there been any indication of such behavior, he wouldn't have been hired," Green said.

Green said the correctional facility in Clarksburg was one of the first local jails in the country to comply with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, and has worked to create a culture that supports the reporting of sexual assaults involving inmates or staff.

"Part of being a good organization is policing your own organization," he said. "You've got to get the facts, and the facts must prevail."

- Eddy Palanzo contributed to this report.
The Marine Corps cargo plane that crashed in Mississippi, killing 16 earlier this week, appears to have suffered some sort of failure while flying at a normal altitude, according to a senior Marine officer.

Brig. Gen. Bradley James, commander of the 4th Marine Air Wing told reporters during a press conference in LeFlore County, Mississippi, that there were two impact sites roughly a mile apart.

"Indications are, something went wrong at cruise altitude," James said. "There is a large debris pattern."

Marine and law enforcement officials are working to preserve both scenes for evidence collection, he said.

Monday evening about 4 p.m. local time, air traffic control lost contact with the four-engine aircraft, a KC-130T from Marine Aerial Refueling Squadron 452. Shortly after that, the plane crashed near the town of Itta Benna in western Mississippi.

Residents on the ground told local news stations and the Associated Press that they heard a boom and looked up to see the aircraft tumbling out of the sky with one of its engine's aflame. The plane went down in a rural area of soybean fields and low lying vegetation. Fires from the wreckage burned into the night.

The Newburgh, New York-based aircraft - call sign Yankee 72 - was carrying 16 service members including six Marines and one sailor from the elite 2nd Marine Raider Battalion and nine crew members when it went down. All aboard were killed. The aircraft was ferrying the team of Marine Raiders from an airfield in North Carolina to pre-deployment training in Yuma, Ariz., and was also carrying the group's small arms and accompanying ammunition.

The KC-130T is one of the older variants of the aircraft in use with the Marines Corps. It can be configured to refuel aircraft in mid-air in addition to being a general purpose cargo and personnel transport. It is based off the C-130 Hercules, a Cold-War era stalwart that has appeared in every American conflict zone since Vietnam.

Following the crash, more than a dozen agencies have responded to the scene and surrounding countryside, James said, including personnel from the FBI, ATF, and Department of Homeland Security. Military bomb disposal technicians were also dispatched to deal with possible unexploded ordnance among the debris. The FBI is not leading the investigation, a Marine official said, but was on the scene to help with recovery efforts.

The service has yet to release the names of the dead as it is still in the process of notifying next of kin.

The incident is the deadliest aviation accident for the Marine Corps since a 2005 helicopter crash in Iraq that killed 30 Marines and one Navy sailor. The Yankee 72 crash also marks the latest blow to the tight-knit Marine Corps Special Operations community. In March 2015, seven Marine Raiders from the 2nd Raider Battalion died when the Army helicopter they were riding in crashed off the Florida panhandle, killing all 11 aboard.
NEW CANAAN  The recent efforts to increase the salary of the towns part-time Treasurer 14 times its current level hit a snag Tuesday.

I intended at that point not to even bring it to the agenda, said Board of Finance Chairman John Sheffield at a Tuesday meeting. Sheffield said he was convinced to add it to the agenda by First Selectman Robert Mallozzi III, in the spirit of collaboration.

Town Councilman Kathleen Corbet, who has spearheaded the effort to create a more robust position of town treasurer, pitched the idea to both the Board of Selectmen (BOS) and then the Board of Finance at desperate meetings June 11.

Corbet and was part of a subcommittee, including Town Councilmen Kevin Moynihan, Cristina Aguirre-Ross and Penny Young and Board of Finance (BOF) members Neil Budnick and Colleen Baldwin researching the town treasurer position.

Sheffield all but said the request by Town Council for a special appropriation to raise to the treasures salary from $1,392, to $20,000 after talks between meetings with members of his board that led him to believe that a majority opposed the increase.

For various reasons, the nine members of the BOF present expressed their unwillingness to set forward and suggest a special appropriation.

Robert Spangler expressed that, because the BOS hadnt yet endorsed the appropriation, it would be unique for the BOF to initiate the expense. Neil Budnick worried that appropriating money for a salary adjustment was bad practice, and might set a bad precedent.

Colleen Baldwin, with Spangler, felt that the timing of the salary change, after the budget season and in an election year was awkward, and added that New Canaan was already the gold standard.

Amy Carroll wondered what financial shortcomings precipitated such a change. Sheffield argued against data collected by Corbet comparing the roles and salaries of treasurers across the state, saying that because each municipality is unique, the role of the treasurer in one town does not necessarily apply to the role of the treasurer in another.

George Blauvelt worried that making a stronger treasurer, with more robust responsibilities, would provide an unnecessary check.

Im really troubled by having yet another, separate set of eyes, said Chris Le Bris another board member.

Corbet, for her part, noted her research, conducted both by calling treasurers and finance directors from surrounding towns and through data provided by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.

Out of 169 Connecticut municipalities, 106 have elected treasurers, 95 of which have two-year terms. In area towns, excluding full-time treasurers and one instance in which a town treasurers salary was not available, Corbet found that the average salary was roughly $19,000.

She added also that, given the money spent in the last year-and-a-half on the towns Audit Committee  an estimated $120,000  a stronger treasurer, providing better checks and balances, could potentially save the town money long term.

Members of the BOF countered that she had no proof that there would be any positive correlation between a stronger town treasurer and stronger town finances, though Corbet did note that the Audit Committee mentioned the role of the town treasurer as an issue in need of a fix.

Im not saying anything negative about how other towns do it. But just because everybody else does it, doesnt mean we de facto have to if we have a system that works well, Carroll said. Its not clear to me what incredible gap, or shortcoming, or failing, were trying to fill by adding an additional fixed cost to our budget every year.

Carroll added that New Canaan was best in class, in terms of its finances.

Were best in class, but we also have some history of financial difficulty and material weaknesses, Corbet said.

Ultimately, the BOF suggested that the First Selectman, Chief Financial Officer, and Town Treasurer discuss the best path forward before the issue comes back for consideration.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjappp1
The Spanish Parliament approved Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's spending proposals for 2018, the first step toward passing a budget, after the minority government agreed to tax cuts and more funding for regions to bring its rivals onside in an effort to cement his term.

Lawmakers voted 175 to 173 to endorse the government's plan setting government spending at 119.8 billion euros ($137 billion) next year, a 1.3 percent increase on the 2017 budget. The parliament in Madrid also voted in favor of the government's deficit-reduction plan, which should see Spain reducing its shortfall to 3.1 percent of output this year from 4.5 percent in 2016. The government is targeting 2.2 percent in 2018.

The vote follows two weeks of flip-flopping that exposed the fragility of Rajoy's minority administration. Pushing through his financial plan is a key test for the 62-year-old prime minister, who aims to serve a full second term despite being stripped of his overall majority in December 2015. Getting a budget for next year approved matters because it would place Rajoy on a stronger foot to serve until at least 2019, when regional elections are due.

"The economic backdrop could not be better for Rajoy -- he has no incentive to risk an early election," said Antonio Barroso, a political risk analyst at Teneo Intelligence, in a telephone interview. "He's going to sit down and negotiate to get a budget approved and meet his deadlines. This is a stick-to-business government."

The green light from parliament came after Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro ceded to pressure from the liberals of Ciudadanos to introduce a tax cut of approximately 2 billion euros for lower-income workers after initially rejecting their demand. Montoro also agreed to give regions more space to bring down their deficits, raising their target to 0.4 percent from an initial goal of 0.3 percent he'd set less than a week earlier.

Speaking to legislators on Tuesday, Montoro said getting the plan approved was crucial to maintaining Spain's economic recovery, which is now entering its fourth year, and to continue reducing the deficit. The government aims to present its budget plan for 2018 in September, as it prepares to face off a challenge from the Catalan regional government over a referendum of independence in October, which officials in Madrid oppose.

The 2018-2020 fiscal plan envisions economic growth of 3 percent this year compared with a previous forecast of 2.5 percent in March. Unemployment is seen dropping by the final year to 11.8 percent from 18.8 percent in the first quarter of 2017. Despite the decline, the jobless rate would still be higher than the record-low 7.9 percent registered in 2007, before the collapse of the housing bubble.
Cass County Commissioners are looking into rebuilding the storm-battered road shop at Mynard.

High winds tore the roof off the building starting at 8 p.m. June 16.

The building was totaled, said Cass County Department of Roads Superintendent Lenny Thorne. There are two by fours sticking out of the ground.

Cass County Commissioners are moving ahead on rebuilding the shop. They authorized Thorne to start soliciting bids for constructing another shop during their Tuesday morning meeting.

Thorne said he hoped the board would allow him to reach out a little further and see where the numbers are on different styles of buildings.

Id like to go to Wick to get a bid, Thorne said.

We should look and see the cost difference on maybe doing an upgrade, said Commissioner Jim Peterson.

Peterson also addressed insurance issues regarding the building.

Were waiting for NIRMA (Nebraska Intergovernmental Risk Management Association) to make complete payment to the county, he said.

The road shop is a design-build structure, which means it was constructed by a team of contractors working under a single contract to provide the design and build services. It is an alternative to the design-bid-build project method in which services are split into separate entities working under separate contracts.

Peterson said there can be legal difficulties with design-build projects.

Concerns have been expressed about the road shop not being built according to specifications regarding the type of wind-breaking supports used.

We decided to go with knee braces and those braces are still in place, said Cass County Zoning Administrator Mike Jensen.

Cass County Attorney Nathan Cox asked how aggressive staff was in ensuring the building was constructed to plan.

Inspections were done, Jensen said.

Cass County Board Chairman Dan Henry asked Peterson if insurance would cover the loss of the building. Peterson said the countys insurance through NIRMA would cover it.

The only coverage a contractor would have is errors and omissions policy, he added. If this building was deemed a total loss, that policy might be what to go with.

It was totaled, Thorne reiterated.

Henry recommended Jensen hire an engineer to inspect the shop, which the board approved.

Thorne said he talked to Pete Eiden, NIRMAs property/liability claims adjuster. He is working with the insurance company. Pete plans on coming to a board meeting. As for demolition, NIRMA will handle that, Thorne said.

Henry and Thorne estimated the cost to rebuild at $400,000.

The board also discussed purchasing the former American National Bank Building at 602 Ave. A, in Plattsmouth, for a county office at the $200,000 asking price.

We cant build anything for that amount of money, and well need something if we have to take the annex down, said Commissioner Duane Murdoch.

Commissioner Dale Sharp agreed. It is a decent buy, but all it will do is open up one office. If I vote for it, Id vote to put the probation office there, he said. I understand were short of space.

Commissioner Janet McCartney said the shortage of space was in the annex building.

Im not sure this is the building that will fit the need. The price makes it look attractive, Peterson said.

Henry strongly recommended each department determine how much square footage their offices take now. He said he asked this to be done two weeks ago, but no one responded. He urged commissioners table a decision on buying the building until departments determined their current space size.

Commissioners agreed to table a decision.
The United States surpassed the Trump administration's 50,000-person cap on refugee admissions Wednesday as a group of about 160 people landed in airports across the country to beginnew lives.

The State Department allowed all refugees scheduled to fly on July 12 to be admitted, "to ensure an orderly, effective implementation of the 50,000 cap," a spokesman said by email. By Wednesday afternoon, 50,086 people had entered the country as refugees this year.

The 50,000-person limit is more than a 50 percent reduction in the number of refugees that had been authorized by President Barack Obama and Congress for this fiscal year, ending Sept. 30.

President Donald Trump ordered the cap as part of a January executive order that also sought to suspend the entire refugee resettlement program for 120 days. The order, which called for a temporary ban on entry of citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries, was blocked in multiple iterations by federal courts. The Supreme Court last month ruled that a partial version of Trump's order could take effect, allowing for the 50,000-person limit on refugees.

The cap isn't a hard line, however. The Supreme Court ruled that people with a "bona fide" relationship to a person or entity in the United States could still enter, a standard that the administration has since defined to mean those with immediate family in the United States. As a result,thousands of people who have been cleared in background checks to resettle in the United States still could be denied entry.

"Beginning July 13, only those individuals who have a credible claim to a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States will be eligible for admission through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program," the State Department spokesman said in an email.

This month, the State Department issued new guidance to the agencies, such as HIAS, that are contracted by the federal government to resettle refugees, saying that applicants must provide evidence of a relationship with a close family member before departing for the United States.

Homeland Security officials and refugee resettlement advocates have said the U.S. government's refugee admissions program - a process of applications and background checks by multiple agencies that can take months or years - largely has ground to a halt since January.

"They're doing death by procedure," Becca Heller, the director of IRAP, which has sued the federal government over the restrictions, said of the administration. "They've realized they can just use bureaucracy to delay so long that no one ever gets in, de facto."

Among Wednesday's arrivals were a Syrian family of three who landed in New England and a Congolese couple who landed in the Midwest, none of whom would have made it into the country had they been scheduled to arrive one day later, said Mark Hetfield, the president of HIAS, the resettlement agency that handled their cases. That's because neither family has immediate relatives in the United States.

Hetfield said some scheduled to arrive in coming days have had their flights canceled despite having completed the government's vetting process because they don't meet the new restrictions. That includes a man from Ukraine who had been approved to be resettled, joining his grandmother, Hetfield said. Grandmothers don't count as providing a "bona fide" relationship under the administration's guidelines.

Resettlement officials said they don't know how many of those people will make it in this year, but predicted it won't be many.

The State Department has also notified resettlement agencies that there will be a temporary pause before the government starts booking additional refugees for travel.

"You're going to have a significant slowdown. You're going to have far fewer people arriving in the next four months, and we're basically waiting to see how fast the guidance around bona fide relationships can get put into travel packages and then accepted at the airports," said Kay Bellor, the vice president for programs at one of the resettlement groups, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, which handled 18 of Wednesday's arrivals.

"Right now we have booking dates through August 15. So we're assessing whether we're going to need cancellations," she added.

Sean Piazza, a spokesman for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), estimated that between 3,500 and 4,500 refugees abroad "are likely completely ready for departure at this time - meaning that they have cleared security checks and medical exams, and have been assured," he said.
WASHINGTON  Houston Democrat Al Green, the first member of Congress to call for President Donald Trump's impeachment on the House floor, signed his name to a resolution Wednesday to do just that.

Green joined a longshot bid initiated by California Democrat Brad Sherman which accuses Trump of obstructing justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey over an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

"I don't see this as a long shot or a sure shot," Green told the Chronicle in an interview. "I see this as the right thing to do. I've always felt that if I'm doing the right thing, my conscience is clear, and I think history will vindicate me regardless of how the House votes."

Sherman said in a statement that the article of impeachment in a Republican-led Congress is "the first step on a very long road."

So far, the only sponsors of the impeachment resolution are Sherman and Green. Democratic leaders generally have distanced themselves from impeachment talk, fearing that it could be either premature or politically counterproductive.

Houston Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee has called for the House Judiciary Committee to launch an impeachment inquiry, but has stopped short so far of calling for impeachment. Separately, she also has called on Trump to resign on his own.

Green's prior calls for Trump's impeachment in May were met with racist death threats, prompting protests by black community leaders in Green's defense.

Green said his motives are not political.

"This is not about the right or the left," he said. "It's not about Democrats, it's about democracy It's not about Republicans, it's about the Republic."

He suggested that he and others in the House may eventually file additional impeachment resolutions, but that in any case he is committed to his course.

"I don't know what the vote will be if I bring this to the floor of the House," he said. "But I can assure you of this: There will be one vote for impeachment, because I will vote for the resolution."

Calls for impeachment have become an increasingly common part of presidential politics since President Bill Clinton's various sex scandals, which led to impeachment charges in the House but acquittal in the Senate.

His successor, George W. Bush, faced 35 articles of impeachment filed by Democratic U.S. Reps. Dennis Kucinich and Robert Wexler. The House voted to refer the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee, but no further action was taken.

There also were frequent calls for the impeachment of President Barack Obama, including one by former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. But no formal resolutions were filed.

The Trump impeachment bid comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings on Christopher Wray to replace Comey as FBI director.

It also comes a day after reports that the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., met with a Russian lawyer during the campaign in the belief that she would have damaging information from the Russian government about Democrat Hillary Clinton.

But Green said it was Comey's firing, as well as Trump's threatening admonitions to Comey on Twitter, that form the basis of the impeachment case against the president. "When you combine those things, you have an impeachable act, and for that the president has to answer to Congress," he said.
Law enforcement officials are searching for a 15-year-old who was last seen earlier this month at his far Northwest Side home, they said.

Joshua Koob was last seen around 1 p.m. on July 7 in the 11400 block of Lago Vista, officials from the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Koob lives with his grandmother in San Antonio and has family in Shreveport, Louisiana.
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A 19-year-old San Antonio man was arrested Monday in connection with two separate shootings at the same location, one of which wounded a woman, according to police records.

Oscar Massiate-Herrera was arrested on a charges of deadly conduct with a firearm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He remains in the Bexar county Jail on a $65,000 bond.

RELATED: 'It's getting out of hand,' neighbor says after woman is shot in apparent West Side drive-by

According to court records, Massiate-Herrera's first attack came on May 22 in the 6700 block of Monterey Street on the West Side, when he apparently got into a fight with some residents of the area and opened fire on them from his car.

The bullets were fired in the direction of a woman sitting on her porch, causing her to jump on top of her youngest son to protect him, according to an arrest affidavit.

Someone was able to obtain the license plate number of the vehicle Massiate-Herrera was allegedly in at the time of the shooting, and police later located the vehicle. The engine was still hot upon discovery, and a shell casing was found inside, officials said.

Two days later, on May 24, Massiate-Herrera allegedly returned to the same address and shot the same woman from the first incident in the foot.

RELATED: Meet the SAPD officer who moonlights as an MMA fighter - and is a heavyweight champion

Police contacted the victim, a 35-year-old woman, at University Hospital. She told them she had seen Massiate-Herrera down the street from her house prior to the second shooting, according to the affidavit. He was standing outside of a white BMW, she said.

The car later traveled by the house on Monterey, Massiate-Herrera allegedly in the backseat with a rifle pointed out the window. He opened fire, striking the victim in the foot, according to a witness to the incident.

The witness and victim in the shooting later identified Massiate-Herrera as the shooter, according to the affidavit.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

cdowns@mysa.com

Twitter: @calebjdowns
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A Mexican model was killed while shopping at a grocery store earlier this week multiple Mexican media outlets have reported.

El Debate reported Lizeth Portillo Rodriguez, 24, was shot and killed outside of a grocery store and butcher shop in Chihuahua, Mexico Sunday. Chihuahua is in the Northern part of Mexico and borders Texas.

RELATED: Accused Sinaloa Cartel operative in S.A. gets 63 months in prison

The grocery and butcher store, Abarrotes y Carniceria Lorely, is located on the southern end of the Mexican state. It is owned by Rodriguez's father.

The publication reported Rodriguez was in the store, when an armed person entered the business and shot her several times before fleeing in a Volkswagen Bora.

Rodriguez recently appeared in a music video for Herencia Mtz, according to the publications.

The Latin Times reported that a motive behind the shooting is not yet clear, though it does not appear to be robbery-related.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
The Fremont City Council during Tuesday evenings meeting unanimously approved and had the first reading of an ordinance that will amend Chapter 9 of the Fremont Municipal Code, which deals with regulating and governing the conditions and maintenance of property, building and structures.

Don Simon, chief building inspector for the City of Fremont, said that the ordinance needs to be fully approved by Aug. 1 to comply with the State of Nebraskas language in regard to maintenance of property, buildings and structures.

Simon noted that additional amendments could be made between now and the Councils July 27 meeting, and at that time, the second and third reading of the ordinance will likely be waived. The new ordinance would be in place 15 days after full approval.

After meeting with the Building Code Advisory and Appeals Board, both entities came to the following conclusions regarding amendments, information contained in a Staff Report says:

The NFPA 70 National Electric Code 2014 would be updated with the NEC 2017 to coincide with the State of Nebraska adopting same code as of Aug. 1, 2017.

Application for permits on Commercial projects would need to be submitted to the State Fire Marshall and plan review notes received from State prior to City of Fremont issuing a permit.

The requirement for landings on other than main exit/entry doors would be increased to four risers before a landing is required.

Appendix G would be amended in International Residential Code regarding pool barriers to read 72 inches for pool barriers and pools having the capacity to hold 24-inches of water or greater.

Plumbing fixture counts would be amended by replacing 2012 Uniform Plumbing Code Fixture Count Table with the 2012 International Plumbing Fixture Count Table.

In other Council news:

The Council unanimously approved an amended resolution accepting an agreement from Motorola Solutions Inc. for an eight-year software/hardware system upgrade agreement for PSAP equipment.

The Council approved a resolution for Amendment No. 1 reimbursement and indemnification agreement with Costco Wholesale, Inc. for building plan review services.

Mayor Scott Getzschman said the initial reimbursement was initially set around $41,000, but now is upward of $61,661. The money will go back into the citys General Fund.

*The Council approved and had the second reading of an ordinance establishing an electric rate rider for the Community Solar Farm.

The project, being built on a 10-acre plot of land located south of Jack Sutton Drive, is available for use by customers of the Fremont Department of Utilities. These people have the opportunity to purchase solar shares that will cover upward of 80 percent or their used Kilowatt hours.

First National Bank Fremont is providing financing for the Community Solar Farm, and all shares of the farm have officially been sold, City Administrator Brian Newton said during Tuesdays meeting.

Newton said that he is working on acquiring an additional 1,500 panels because the demand has been so great from DU customers. Ten to 15 people are signing up for slots in the farm daily, he added.

The plan is to take it from around 1 megawatt, which is 3,382 panels, to near 5,000 panels, which is about 1 1/2 megawatts, he said. So that is really good news.

GenPro Energy Solutions based out of Piedmont, S.D., is installing the farm, which would currently produce 1,712,719 kilowatt hours annually.
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STAMFORD  A man wanted in New York on drug charges and two stabbings was apprehended Wednesday during a raid of a Hall Place home, police said.

Capt. Richard Conklin said the Narcotics and Organized Crime squad and other officers conducted the raid at 6 a.m.
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STAMFORD  Three men were arrested this week after police say they left a gun wrapped in more than $10,000 in a grocery cart at Fairway Market.

But what the men were up to remains a mystery.

Red flags started going up for the responding officers and we figured we had something, but we still dont know what it is at this time, said Sgt. Paul Guzda, the lead investigator on the case.

Omar Allen, 22, of Stamford, was charged with criminal possession of a pistol or revolver, carrying a pistol without a permit and reckless endangerment. Kimoy McDonald, 25, and Jovoni Coombs, 27, of Bronx, N.Y., were each charged with reckless endangerment.

Police were called to the Fairway Market about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday when the three men had trouble buying about $80 worth of groceries with a credit card. The group left the store after the card was declined several times.

The store clerk spotted a plastic bag in their shopping cart and saw a gun inside, Guzda said. Two of the men then came back into the store looking for the bag, saying they left a phone inside, Guzda said.

A store manager called police and the three men were taken into custody without incident but have refused to cooperate with investigators, Guzda said.

We realize there is a lot more to this story and we are trying to uncover the details, Guzda said. But their carelessness appears to be their undoing.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com;
SACRAMENTO  Gov. Jerry Brown and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Wednesday a climate-change initiative that will track and showcase how much states, cities and businesses in the United States are doing to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to show the world that Americans are still on board with the goals outlined in the landmark Paris Agreement.

The announcement comes as Californias Democratic governor leads efforts to push back against President Trumps decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, a 2015 deal made among nearly 200 nations that committed each country to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The deal was seen as a historic breakthrough when it was signed after decades of international efforts fell short.
The small, former mill town of Johnsonville, Connecticut, is finally off the market after sitting abandoned for nearly 20 years.

International religious organization Iglesia Ni Cristo, also known as INC or Church of Christ, bought the property earlier this month, "with plans to turn it into a recreation and sporting center for members," Business Insider reported.
Boutique Hospitality Company, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, will open its first Canadian property in the high-end neighborhood of Bloor-Yorkville in Toronto, slated to open in mid-2018.

Owned and developed by InnVest Hotels LP, one of the largest hotel owners in Canada, Kimptons new boutique hotel in Toronto will be a full conversion of the current Holiday Inn Toronto Bloor Yorkville. The revitalized and reconcepted 13-story property will comprise 189 well-appointed guest rooms, including 18 suites and one Presidential Suite, 2,000 square feet of ground level meeting space and a Bloor Street-facing leased restaurant and bar. Additional amenities will include a fitness center, complimentary PUBLIC bikes, yoga mats in every room, morning coffee and tea, and nightly social hour.

Mike DeFrino, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants' CEO said: Were looking forward to entering the Canadian market and introducing our unique heartfelt service to Toronto. Were thrilled to be working with InnVest to open the first boutique hotel that speaks to the citys dynamic cultural scene.

One of Torontos most dynamic neighborhoods, Bloor-Yorkvilles mastered the unique cross-section of exclusivity and historic charm. The heart of the countrys bohemian culture in the 1960s has evolved to become an artistic enclave with many art galleries alongside posh boutiques and critically acclaimed restaurants in historic Victorian houses.

Andrew Higgs, Vice President of Asset Management for InnVest Hotels, explained: We see Kimpton as the perfect partner for our new four-star boutique hotel. Kimptons known as a leader in adaptive reuse and a company with a proven track record of inclusivity and diversity. Both of these will make the new Kimpton Bloor-Yorkville a successful and positively contributing member of the neighborhood, setting the property up for success from the start.
The number of cruise passengers and cruise ships in 2016 sharply increased compare to 2015 and the increase is expected to continue in 2017 according to new cruise ship arrivals to Honduran ports.

Per official port statistics, 1,052,738 cruise passengers docked in Honduras in 2016, a 14.7 percent increase over the previous year's figure of 917,938. Approximately 85 percent of these passengers disembarked on Honduran shores to enjoy some of the country's natural beauty. Per the Honduran Institute of Tourism (IHT) a 3 percent increase in cruises is expected during 2017.

In total, 341 cruise ships called at Honduran ports during 2016, 6.6 percent more than the 320 ships that docked in the country in 2015. The largest of these cruise ships carried 6,882 passengers. Per-passenger average cruise spend reached US$80 in 2016.

New vessels calling at Honduran ports this season included Azamara Cruises' Azamara Quest, with a visitor capacity of 690 people, Swan Hellenic Cruises' Minerva welcoming 350 tourists per ship, and Tui Cruises' Mein Schiff 4, with a total capacity of more than 2500 passengers.

With the recent addition of these three lines, 18 different cruise ship companies now stop in Honduran ports of call, including: Carnival Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises, Holland American Line, Thomson Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Tui Cruises, MSC Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, P&O Cruises, Silver Sea, Noble Caledonia, Swan Hellenic Cruises, Azamara Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and Sea Cloud Cruises.

Cruise passengers wishing to visit Honduras can now choose departure locations from Miami, Tampa, Port Everglades (near Fort Lauderdale), New Orleans and Galveston (near Houston).
By Jeff Lenard

This article in its entirely is featured in the July 2017 issue of NACS Magazine.

It only takes one instance of food borne contaminationor rumor of contaminationto essentially kill your brand and business. A long list of companies have struggled or failed to come back from a high-profile contamination case.

Protection of the food supply chain and the new food safety initiatives and regulations are increasingly important to the convenience retailing industry as it grows foodservice sales. In 2016, foodservice (prepared foods and dispensed beverages) accounted for 21.7% of in-store sales and 35.2% of gross profits for our industry.

NACS and convenience retailers play a critical role in protecting the food supply chain through food safety measures. This September, Kwik Trip is hosting its eighth Annual Food Protection/Food Safety In-Service Event. The company hosts the annual event to address the four key elements of Food Protection:

Food Safety: Chemical, physical and biological hazards entering the food supply chain

Chemical, physical and biological hazards entering the food supply chain Food Quality: Cooking to the right temperature, holding food for the right amount of time, etc.

Cooking to the right temperature, holding food for the right amount of time, etc. Food Security: Intentional acts to degrade the quality/safety of food products

Intentional acts to degrade the quality/safety of food products Food Science: Using science to validate and verify processes and programs to protect the food supply chain and public health

Kwik Trips owner, Don Zietlow, feels this event is very important to the companys business model and for its business partners. There are three major threats to Kwik Trips success: a food-related illness, decay of our culture, and burdensome and unnecessary government regulations. Kwik Trips culture, managing our food-related risks, and working with all levels of the government on regulations are all critical components of our Food and Brand protection, he said.

The event, held annually in La Crosse, Wisconsin, brings together Kwik Trip, Inc.'s growers, processors, manufacturers/suppliers, distributors, other retailers, academia and governmental agencies to hear from experts in the field and to see food protection practices in place at some of Kwik Trips facilities. There is no registration fee.

For more information, contact Jay L.E. Ellingson at jellingson@kwiktrip.com or Marty Putz at mputz@kwiktrip.com.
Yves here. This post gives an idea of how difficult it will be to come up with post-Brexit trade arrangements.

By William Davison, a British freelance journalist based in the UK and Ethiopia. He was the Bloomberg News correspondent in Addis Ababa for 6 years until January 2017 and has also contributed to The Guardian, The Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy, Al Jazeera and others. Originally published at OpenDemocracy

In many ways the hi-tech firm just outside Cambridge fits into a vision of an optimistic future for the British economy sketched out by breezy Brexit advocates.

In a leafy business park, highly educated workers dart around a lab fine-tuning the operation of a robot that could soon be performing keyhole surgery across the globe. A technician wearing 3-D goggles grips a surgeon console that looks as if it belongs in a virtual-reality arcade, not an operating theatre, and guides a mechanical arm on his screen so an instrument plucks a suture. Health industry representatives from the UK and Europe are due to arrive later that day to cast their eye over the prototype.

Brexit visionaries like Conservative European parliamentarian Daniel Hannan have argued that when the economy breaks free from the clutches of the European Unions overbearing bureaucracy, many such value-adding innovators will explore global markets from their newly deregulated, low-tax, UK base.

Others, like Chief Executive Officer of Cambridge Medical Robotics (CMR), Martin Frost, have somewhat more mundane views about impending departure from the EU. Those centre on what the separation will mean for the medical devices regulatory system, which ends in products receiving a CE (European Conformity) mark, allowing them to be sold across the European Single Market without further checks.

We always built our product to be relevant to Europe and the United States. And thats when we get concerned about what that regulatory regime will look like in Europe in 2020, he says.

For a company like CMR, which is developing a complex device, the uncertainty is a problem, as it needs to know, for example, what safety features to design almost a decade in advance. A dramatic change in the regulatory environment could cost the company millions of pounds. Unfortunately for Frost, and thousands of businesses with similar concerns, certainty about what even the outlines of Brexit will amount to is in short supply.

The reason for that is primarily because there has been precious little substantive national debate about the post-separation trade options that the government can pursue. The referendum was fought on political rather than economic grounds and the bitter divisions it exacerbated still very much shape media reporting and public attitudes.

After the referendum, Prime Minister Theresa Mays new government could have decided that, while it had to take the country out of the EU, leaving the Single Market was an unnecessarily daunting and risky challenge. However, May embraced the idea of a clean break in order to focus on controlling immigration and reclaiming sovereignty, which includes ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The Single Market

Since the surprise loss of a Conservative majority in the June election, that strategy has come under increased scrutiny. But the discussion of Brexit options in the interests of protecting the economy is poorly defined and ill-informed, partly because of the complexities of the multi-layered single market.

The resulting lack of clarity from a weakened, divided, and distracted political class means even staunch Brexit supporters acknowledge the path to a smooth departure is increasingly strewn with obstacles. And a large proportion of those come from the ending of painstakingly constructed regulatory unions that are key to freeing up trade.

The Single Market has been at the core of the European integration project since its inception. Todays arrangements stem from the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957 which aimed to build a common market according to freedom of movement principles. The UK joined France, Germany and four others in the EEC in 1973 after the existing members had completed a Customs Union in 1968 to abolish internal tariffs. Successful efforts to revitalize integration in the 1980s led to the formal declaration of the Single Market in 1993.

Superficially, the Single Market appears straightforward and finite. It facilitates borderless trade between member states by creating an economic zone for Europe as if it is one country. For example, it gives a printing cartridge manufacturer in Leicester as much right to set up an office and do business in Lyon as it has to do so in Liverpool. Crucially, participating countries have to accept in principle the freedom of movement of goods, people, services and capital.

While that overview is accurate, the Single Market is also an evolving, fragmented, labyrinthine process to set rules and standards across almost all sectors in order to regulate economic interactions and thereby try and facilitate cross-border business in the EU and connected trade blocs. Despite considerable progress at harmonisation, the effort is continuous. For example, the EU Commission is trying to improve internal energy, capital and digital markets and is incorporating international plans to reduce corporate tax avoidance. Many EU standards stem from the work of other multinational bodies.

To ensure the markets laws are followed there is an accompanying apparatus of organisations to inspect, verify and certify, while the ECJ is the arbitrator of disputes. Leaving means undoing this work and undertaking a laborious effort to replace it, rather than, for example, pushing ahead to try and establish common markets in significantly non-integrated service sectors like healthcare or construction.

Regulatory Union

Although CMRs robot surgeon is indeed at the frontier of technological advances, the market for medical devices is well established, as is the EU regulatory system for them. The barriers to trade erected by leaving that system are just one example among thousands of the costly disruption that will be caused by leaving the Single Market.

For CMR, the path to the CE mark is complying with the UKs Medical Devices Regulations, which stem from EU directives with instructions such as: the measurement, monitoring and display scale must be designed in line with ergonomic principles. As its a high-risk product, it would then apply to one of five EU notified bodies in the UK who assess compliance and issue the CE mark.

If Brexit occurs as planned, the UK will no longer have EU notified bodies, which means applying to one based in Europe. Frost would therefore like the status quo maintained, even if the UK exits the Single Market, but that appears to be impossible: ending membership means rupturing the regulatory union. There are comparable dilemmas for the valuable chemicals industry and many other heavily regulated sectors.

One of the organisations responsible for medical devices is the British Standards Institute (BSI), which said it is confident a deal can be struck whereby UK assessors would be treated as equivalent to EU notified bodies. After negotiating trade deals, seven non-EU rich nations have similar arrangements for some industries. But despite the BSIs bullishness, which echoes the governments Brexit aspirations, this option has the same downsides as other Single Market alternatives: regardless of the existing convergence, negotiating and then implementing fresh regulatory regimes for all industries simultaneously as part of a UK-EU trade deal will probably take years, and the result will be less smooth trade anyway. Its also currently unclear what transitional arrangements could be set up in the meantime, especially without May relaxing her stance on the ECJ.

While the BSI position elicits queries, Frosts notion that medical device regulations can be dealt with separately from the Single Market, which he sees as primarily about eliminating tariffs, is, at best, optimistic. Such views are symptomatic of a muddled debate about Brexit and the global economy, according to Matthew Bishop, a senior lecturer in international politics at Sheffield University.

Bishop argues that modern trade deals are less about tariffs on finished products  its estimated, for example, that 80 percent of global trade is within value chains controlled by multinationals  and much more focused on the arcane regulatory arrangements that govern market interactions, including associated issues like labour and environmental rules.

And trade in Europe isnt shaped solely by Single Market rules. Instead it stems from a fiendishly complicated cornucopia of bilateral and multilateral agreements, including the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Bishop said. The Brexiteer idea that deregulating will boost UK exports is therefore largely a fallacy, he believes, as market access through trade deals always means adhering to detailed rules.

Massive Risks

Given this messy, precarious reality, Bishop is bewildered by the blase approach from nominally pro-business Conservatives to the Single Market, which anchors the UKs position in the global trading system. I personally just cannot believe that a Conservative government especially is taking such massive risks with the British economy, he said.

As the onerous realities of separation loomed after the referendum, there was already uncertainty about the best way forward among Conservatives. Since the election, Treasury minister Philip Hammond has become prominent in stressing the need for a Brexit that protects the economy. But, so far, he has not proposed any tangible deviations from the governments February position paper.

This lack of clarity among Conservatives is matched by Labour under left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn. In its election manifesto the party supported ending the freedom of movement of people while retaining the benefits of the Single Market. That is against the principles of the EU project, and nobody is suggesting Brussels will make a positive exception for the UK. Indeed, many people think European leaders want the separation deal to serve as a warning for others tempted to follow the UKs path.

Still, the Labour leadership may maintain its fuzzy stance and let the Conservatives grapple with Brexit while it focuses on pressing home its domestic advantage by continuing to oppose austerity. A senior party source said the emphasis will be on opposing Conservatives efforts to use the excuse of Brexit to slash taxes and regulations in order to maintain competitiveness.

Although Labour attracted many Remain voters, long-term Eurosceptic Corbyn has concerns about some Single Market rules, such as limiting state aid to industry and banning government procurement favouring local firms, the source said. That makes a change in approach unlikely, despite the growing pressure from other factions in the party.

Gradual Decoupling

A long-term EU critic who has a clearer strategy is researcher, author and blogger Richard North. He has been plotting a practical decoupling for over a decade. North, a UK Independence Party candidate in northern England for European elections in 2004, exudes contempt for a London-centric establishment he says is incapable of learning from outsiders.

He believes this elites lack of detailed understanding of the EU has led to misconceptions surrounding Brexit snowballing. Some of his research illustrating this point is striking. For example, it became received wisdom that staying in the Customs Union was an option and that exiting it would mean the reintroduction of border checks. These claims are misleading, according to North, despite their being underpinned by research from the Treasury.

Instead, while the Customs Union abolished internal tariffs, it was the development of other elements of the Single Market that eliminated border checks as regulations were standardized. So, if the UK left the Single Market, livestock exports, for example, would need inspecting at the border, unless regulatory harmonization was re-established. A Customs Union would not prevent that and, regardless, leaving it is set to occur automatically upon Brexit. US investment bank J.P. Morgan has arrived at similar conclusions, while the EU lead negotiators comments also support this type of view.

Still, despite such confusion, as the process staggers forward, North has at least planned for it. The thrust of his preferred approach is that because the current level of integration took 44 years to achieve, separation should be incremental. For him, this means leaving the EU, but not immediately exiting the Single Market. That can be done by applying to re-join the European Free Trade Area (EFTA). EFTA members Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are part of the Single Market through the Agreement on the European Economic Area. If the EU agreed, the UK could re-join the EEA through EFTA. Some commentators think this option could form the basis of a transitional arrangement, but an EFTA source said that was unlikely.

In Norths opinion, other paths are riskier. The governments plan to negotiate and implement a comprehensive trade deal is likely to take years, despite existing regulatory convergence. Trading on WTO terms means another complex period of haggling as, for example, the UKs duty-free import quotas are cleaved out of the EUs. And it would, again, also mean ending regulatory union, which would stifle access to an EU market that accounts for around 45 percent of UK exports, or 222 billion in 2015. Richard North worries that a failure to follow the EFTA/EEA strategy risks derailing Brexit entirely as the process gets bogged down in years of talks.

Negotiating Pain

However, deciding to pursue that option, which has been lurking somewhere on the national agenda since the referendum campaign, would only be a baby step. The government would still have to sell the deal to Conservatives who want a clean break. That would be tough, as remaining part of the Single Market via EFTA/EEA means abiding by relevant EU regulations, contributing to the unions budget, accepting decisions of a non-British court, and accepting in principle the freedom of movement of people.

Helping the cause would be the fact that once part of the EEA as an EFTA member, the agreement allows the parties to unilaterally take measures that could plausibly be used to control immigration. Uncontrollable movement from the EU, it should not be forgotten, was a significant factor in the referendum.

Amid the fallout from the Grenfell fire tragedy, which highlighted the importance of effective regulation, Mays minority government has begun negotiations with Brussels, but trade is not yet on the table.

Instead, the parties are focusing first on the future rights of UK citizens living in the EU and vice-versa, agreeing the financial accounting of the separation, and the plan for the Irish border, which is currently relatively open, but is set to become the EU and single market frontier. If progress is made in these tricky initial discussions, talks on trade could occur this year, but its unclear how much detail the EU is willing to go into before the UK departs. Meanwhile, a group of Labour parliamentarians have broken ranks with Corbyn to say the UK should stay in the Single Market. Included in that faction was Daniel Zeichner, the member for strongly pro-EU Cambridge, who resigned from the shadow cabinet in late June over the issue.

On the fringes of this wealthy, liberal city, in the weeks after the shock election, Frost, an experienced tech entrepreneur, has been hosting busloads of Chinese health industry types, eager to scrutinize CMRs ground-breaking surgeon-robot. Hes planning to tap into financing to get his device to market within a year or so and is confident the globally focused venture will succeed, whatever Brexit brings. Like many in the UK, he hopes that the hung parliament and a chastened government mean a less economically disruptive deal.

But despite the reassuring noises from ministers and their opposition counterparts about seeking a separation that is in the interests of jobs and business, Frost recognizes that there is still a lack of clarity and lots of unhelpful uncertainty around. Brexit is just a pain for us, he said.
By Andrew W. Lo, the Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor, a Professor of Finance, and the Director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His new book is Adaptive Markets: Financial Evolution at the Speed of Thought. Cross posted from Evonomics

After 2008, the wisdom of financial advisers and academics alike seemed naive and inadequate. So many millions of people had faithfully invested in the efficient, rational market: what happened to it? And nowhere did the financial crisis wound ones professional pride more deeply than within academia. Th e crisis hardened a split among professional economists. On one side of the divide were the free market economists, who believe that we are all economically rational adults, governed by the law of supply and demand. On the other side were the behavioral economists, who believe that we are all irrational animals, driven by fear and greed like so many other species of mammals.

Some debates are merely academic. This one isnt. If you believe that people are rational and markets are efficient, this will largely determine your views on gun control (unnecessary), consumer protection laws (caveat emptor), welfare programs (too many unintended consequences), derivatives regulation (let a thousand flowers bloom), whether you should invest in passive index funds or hyperactive hedge funds (index funds only), the causes of financial crises (too much government intervention in housing and mortgage markets), and how the government should or shouldnt respond to them (the primary financial role for government should be producing and verifying information so that it can be incorporated into market prices).

The financial crisis became a battleground in a greater ideological war. One of the fi rst casualties was the former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, the man who journalist Bob Woodward called the Maestro in his biography of that name published in 2000. As the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank from 1987 to 2006, Greenspan was one of the most respected central bankers in history, serving an unprecedented five consecutive terms, strongly supported by Democratic and Republican presidents alike. In 2005, economists and policymakers from around the world held a special conference at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to review Greenspans legacy. The economists Alan Blinder and Ricardo Reis determined that, while there are some negatives in the record, when the score is toted up, we think he has a legitimate claim to being the greatest central banker who ever lived.

Greenspan was a true believer in unfettered capitalism, an unabashed disciple and personal friend of philosopher- novelist Ayn Rand, whose philosophy of Objectivism urges its supporters to follow reason and self-interest above all else. During his tenure at the Fed, Greenspan actively fought against several initiatives to rein in derivatives markets. The financial crisis humbled him. Before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on October 23, 2008, while the crisis was happening in real time, Greenspan was forced to admit he was wrong: Those of us who have looked to the self- interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief. In the face of the financial crisis, the rational self- interest of the marketplace failed catastrophically.

Greenspan wasnt alone in expressing shocked disbelief. The depth, breadth, and duration of the recent crisis suggest that many economists, policymakers, regulators, and business executives also got it wrong. How could this have happened? And how could it have happened to us, here in the United States, one of the wealthiest, most advanced, and most highly educated countries in the world?

Its the Environment, Stupid!

The short answer is that financial markets dont follow economic laws. Financial markets are a product of human evolution, and follow biological laws instead. The same basic principles of mutation, competition, and natural selection that determine the life history of a herd of antelope also apply to the banking industry, albeit with somewhat different population dynamics.

The key to these laws is adaptive behavior in shifting environments. Economic behavior is but one aspect of human behavior, and human behavior is the product of biological evolution across eons of different environments. Competition, mutation, innovation, and especially natural selection are the basic building blocks of evolution. All individuals are always vying for survival even if the laws of the jungle are less vicious on the African savannah than on Wall Street. Its no surprise, then, that economic behavior is often best viewed through the lens of biology.

The connections between evolution and economics are not new. Economics may have even inspired evolutionary theory. The British economist Thomas Malthus deeply influenced both Charles Darwin and Darwins close competitor, Alfred Russell Wallace. Malthus forecast that human population growth would increase exponentially, while food supplies would increase only along a straight line. He concluded that the human race was doomed to eventual starvation and possible extinction. No wonder economics became known as the dismal science.

The good news for us is that Malthus didnt foresee the impact of technological innovations which greatly increased food production including new financial technologies like the corporation, international trade, and capital markets. However, he was among the first to appreciate the important relationship between human behavior and the economic environment. To understand the complexity of human behavior, we need to understand the different environments that have shaped it over time and across circumstances, and how the financial system functions under these diff erent conditions. Most important, we need to understand how the financial system sometimes fails. Academia, industry, and public policy have assumed rational economic behavior for so long that weve forgotten about the other aspects of human behavior, aspects that dont fit as neatly into a mathematically precise framework.

Nowhere is this more painfully obvious than in financial markets. Until recently, market prices almost always seemed to reflect the wisdom of crowds. But on many days since the financial crisis began, the collective behavior of financial markets might be better described as the madness of mobs. This Jekyll- and- Hyde personality of financial markets, oscillating between wisdom and madness, isnt a pathology. Its simply a reflection of human nature.

Our behavior adapts to new environments it has to because of evolution but it adapts in the short term as well as across evolutionary time, and it doesnt always adapt in financially beneficial ways. Financial behavior that may seem irrational now is really behavior that hasnt had sufficient time to adapt to modern contexts. An obvious example from nature is the great white shark, a near- perfect predator that moves through the water with fearsome grace and efficiency, thanks to 400 million years of adaptation. But take that shark out of the water and drop it onto a sandy beach, and its flailing undulations will look silly and irrational. Its perfectly adapted to the depths of the ocean, not to dry land.

Irrational financial behavior is similar to the sharks distress: human behavior taken out of its proper evolutionary context. The difference between the irrational investor and the shark on the beach is the shorter length of time the investor has had to adapt to the financial environment, and the much faster speed with which that environment is changing. Economic expansions and contractions are the consequences of individuals and institutions adapting to changing financial environments, and bubbles and crashes are the result when the change occurs too quickly. In the 1992 election, Democratic strategist James Carville prioritized matters succinctly for Clinton campaigners: The economy, stupid! I hope to convince you that biologists should be reminding economists, Its the environment, stupid!

It Takes a Theory to Beat a Theory

Weve all seen the photos: crowds of people congregating outside distressed banks, hoping to withdraw their savings before the bank collapses. Its an international phenomenon. Sometimes the crowd is in Greece; sometimes its in Argentina. In older black- and- white photos, the crowd might be in Germany or the United States. The crowd might be orderly, assembling itself into neat lines or queues. At other times, however, the crowd will be visibly unsettled or on the knife- edge of violence, and the next series of images will be of riots, burning ATMs, and looted banks.

Economists call this form of behavior a bank run, and when many banks are involved, we call it a banking panic. However, if an alien biologist with no experience of Homo sapiens were to see this behavior, s/he/it would be hard pressed to distinguish the crowd of humans from a flock of geese or a herd of gazelle or springbok. Qualitatively, theyre engaging in the same behavior. Both are adaptations to environmental pressures, products of natural selection. In fact, economists have unconsciously realized the biological nature of these behaviors when they describe them as runs and panics.

From the biological perspective, the limitations of Homo economicus are now obvious. Neuroscience and evolutionary biology confirm that rational expectations and the Efficient Markets Hypothesis capture only a portion of the full range of human behavior. Th at portion isnt small or unimportant it provides an excellent first approximation of many financial markets and circumstances, and should never be ignored but its still incomplete. Market behavior, like all human behavior, is the outcome of eons of evolutionary forces.

In fact, investors would be wise to adopt the Efficient Markets Hypothesis as the starting point of any business decision. Before launching a venture, asking why your particular idea should succeed, and why someone else hasnt already done it, is a valuable discipline that can save you a lot of time and money. But the Efficient Markets Hypothesis can only do so much. After all, successful ventures do get launched all the time, so markets cant really be perfectly efficient, can they? Otherwise someone else would have already brought the same idea to the market. Thats the counterintuitive nature of the Efficient Markets Hypothesis. In fact, there are economic theories that prove markets cant possibly be efficient: if they were, no one would have any reason to trade on their information, in which case markets would quickly disappear because of lack of interest!

So its easy to poke holes in the Efficient Markets Hypothesis. But it takes a theory to beat a theory, and the behavioral finance literature hasnt yet offered a clear alternative that does better. Weve also explored aspects of psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and artificial intelligence, but while each field is of critical importance to understanding market behavior, none of them offer a complete solution. If we want to find an alternative, were going to have to look elsewhere.

The Adaptive Markets Hypothesis

Weve travelled millions of years into our past, looked deep inside the human brain, and explored the cutting edge of current scientific theories. Although the Efficient Markets Hypothesis has been the dominant theory of financial markets for decades, its clear that individuals arent always rational. We shouldnt be surprised, then, that markets arent always efficient, because Homo sapiens isnt Homo economicus. Were neither entirely rational nor entirely irrational, hence neither the rationalists nor the behavioralists are completely convincing. We need a new narrative for how markets work, and now have enough pieces of the puzzle to start putting it all together.

We begin with this simple acknowledgment: market inefficiencies do exist. When examined together, these inefficiencies and the behavioral biases that create them are important clues into how that complicated neurological system, the human brain, makes financial decisions. Weve seen how biofeedback measurements can be used to study behavior, and thanks to new technological developments like magnetic resonance imaging, we can now actually watch how the human brain functions in real time as we make these decisions. However, neuroeconomics is only one layer of the onion. We know that human behavior, both the rational and the seemingly irrational, is produced by multiple interacting components in the human brain, and we now have a deeper understanding of how those components work.

This is where a skeptical economist might raise his hand and say, like our NBER discussant, I really enjoyed your account of evolution and neuroscience, but . . . To the skeptic, this explanation might seem like sweeping the details of financial economics under the behavioral carpet of neurophysiology and evolutionary biology. For example, neuroscience can tell us why people with dopamine dysregulation syndrome become addicted to gambling, but it doesnt explain anything about the larger picture of financial decision making. And although the work of Damasio and his collaborators have given us a much deeper understanding of what we mean by rational behavior, economists believe they already have an excellent theory of economic rationality: expected utility theory.

To this sort of skeptic, the peculiar behaviors described in these neuroscientific case studies are really just bugs in the basic program of economic rationality. Its interesting to know what the typical bugs are, but theyre a sideshow to the main event, the exceptions that prove the rule.

This is the point where we turn the standard economic view of human rationality on its head. We arent rational actors with a few quirks in our behavior instead, our brains are collections of quirks. Were not a system with bugs; were a system of bugs. Working together, under certain conditions, these quirks often produce behavior that an economist would call rational. But under other conditions, they produce behaviors that an economist would consider wildly irrational. These quirks arent accidental, ad hoc, or unsystematic; theyre the products of brain structures whose main purpose isnt economic rationality, but survival.

Our neuroanatomy has been shaped by the long process of evolution, changing only slowly over millions of generations. Our behaviors are shaped by our brains. Some of our behaviors are evolutionarily old and very powerful. The raw forces of natural selection, reproductive success or failure in other words, life or death have engraved those behaviors into our very DNA. For example, our fear response, controlled by the amygdala, is hundreds of millions of years old. Our primitive animal ancestors who didnt respond to danger quickly enough through the gift of fear passed fewer of their genes on average to their descendants. On the other hand, some of our ancestors, whose fear response was more finely tuned to their circumstances, passed more of their genes to their descendants. Over millions of generations, the selective pressure of life- or- death worked through our ancestors genes to create the human brain that produces our behavior.

Natural selection, the primary driver of evolution, gave us abstract thought, language, and the memory- prediction framework, new adaptations in human beings that were critically important for our evolutionary success. These adaptations have endowed us with the power to change our behavior within a single lifespan, in response to immediate environmental challenges and the anticipation of new challenges in the future.

Natural selection also gave us heuristics, cognitive shortcuts, behavioral biases, and other conscious and unconscious rules of thumb the adaptations that we make at the speed of thought. Natural selection isnt interested in exact solutions and optimal behavior, features of Homo economicus. Natural selection only cares about differential reproduction and elimination, in other words, life or death. Our behavioral adaptations reflect this cold logic. However, evolution at the speed of thought is far more efficient and powerful than evolution at the speed of biological reproduction, which unfolds one generation at a time. Evolution at the speed of thought has allowed us to adapt our brain functions across time and under myriad circumstances to generate behaviors that have greatly improved our chances for survival.

This is the gist of the Adaptive Markets Hypothesis. Its taken us a while to get to this point, but the basic idea can be summarized in just five key principles:

1. We are neither always rational nor irrational, but we are biological entities whose features and behaviors are shaped by the forces of evolution.

2. We display behavioral biases and make apparently suboptimal decisions, but we can learn from past experience and revise our heuristics in response to negative feedback.

3. We have the capacity for abstract thinking, specifically forward-looking what- if analysis; predictions about the future based on past experience; and preparation for changes in our environment. This is evolution at the speed of thought, which is different from but related to biological evolution.

4. Financial market dynamics are driven by our interactions as we behave, learn, and adapt to each other, and to the social, cultural, political, economic, and natural environments in which we live.

5. Survival is the ultimate force driving competition, innovation, and adaptation.

These principles lead to a very different conclusion than either the rationalists or the behavioralists have advocated.

Under the Adaptive Markets Hypothesis, individuals never know for sure whether their current heuristic is good enough. They come to this conclusion through trial and error. Individuals make choices based on their past experience and their best guess as to what might be optimal, and they learn by receiving positive or negative reinforcement from the outcomes. (After a snide comment from a colleague, Ill never wear my yellow striped tie with my red pinstriped shirt again.) As a result of this feedback, individuals will develop new heuristics and mental rules of thumb to help them solve their various economic challenges. As long as those challenges remain stable over time, their heuristics will eventually adapt to yield approximately optimal solutions to those challenges.
Smart atomic cloud solves Heisenberg's observation problem (Nanowerk News) Quantum physics: Scientists at the Niels Bohr Institute by University of Copenhagen have been instrumental in developing a 'hands-on' answer to a challenge intricately linked to a very fundamental principle in physics: Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. The NBI-researchers used laser light to link caesium atoms and a vibrating membrane. The research, the first of its kind, points to sensors capable of measuring movement with unseen precision.

Our lives are packed with sensors gathering all sorts of information - and some of the sensors are integrated in our cell phones which e.g. enables us to measure the distances we cover when we go for a walk - and thereby also calculate how many calories we have burned thanks to the exercise. And this to most people seems rather straight forward.

When measuring atom structures or light emissions at quantum level by means of advanced microscopes or other forms of special equipment, things do, however, get a little more complicated due to a problem which during the 1920's had the full attention of Niels Bohr as well as Werner Heisenberg. And this problem - which has to do with the fact that in-accuracies inevitably taint certain measurements conducted at quantum level - is described in Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle.

In a Scientific report published in this week's issue of Nature ("Quantum back-action-evading measurement of motion in a negative mass reference frame"), NBI-researchers - based on a number of experiments - demonstrate that Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle to some degree can be neutralized. This has never been shown before, and the results may spark development of new measuring equipment, new and better sensors.

Professor Eugene Polzik, head of Quantum Optics (QUANTOP) at the Niels Bohr Institute, has been in charge of the research - which has included the construction of a vibrating membrane and an advanced atomic cloud locked up in a minute glass cage.

Light 'kicks' object

Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle basically says that you cannot simultaneously know the exact position and the exact speed of an object.

Which has to do with the fact that observations conducted via a microscope operating with laser light inevitably will lead to the object being 'kicked'. This happens because light is a stream of photons which when reflected off the object give it random 'kicks' - and as a result of those kicks the object begins to move in a random way.

This phenomenon is known as Quantum Back Action (QBA) - and these random movements put a limit to the accuracy with which measurements can be carried out at quantum level.

To conduct the experiments at NBI professor Polzik and his team of "young, enthusiastic and very skilled NBI-researchers" used a 'tailor-made' membrane as the object observed at quantum level. The membrane was built by Ph.D. Students Christoffer Mller and Yegishe Tsaturyan, whereas Rodrigo Thomas and Georgios Vasikalis - Ph.D. Student and researcher, respectively - were in charge of the atomic aspects. Furthermore Polzik relied on other NBI-employees, assistant professor Mikhail Balabas, who built the minute glass cage for the atoms, researcher Emil Zeuthen and professor Albert Schliesser who - collaborating with German colleagues - were in charge of the substantial number of mathematical calculations needed before the project was ready for publication in Nature.

Over the last decades scientists have tried to find ways of 'fooling' Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Eugene Polzik and his colleagues came up with the idea of implementing the advanced atomic cloud a few years ago - and the cloud consists of 100 million caesium-atoms locked up in a hermetically closed cage, a glass cell, explains the professor:

"The cell is just 1 centimeter long, 1/3 of a millimeter high and 1/3 of a millimeter wide, and in order to make the atoms work as intended, the inner cell walls have been coated with paraffin. The membrane - whose movements we were following at quantum level - measures 0.5 millimeter, which actually is a considerable size in a quantum perspective".

The idea behind the glass cell is to deliberately send the laser light used to study the membrane-movements on quantum level through the encapsulated atomic cloud BEFORE (Italics!) the light reaches the membrane, explains Eugene Polzik: "This results in the laser light-photons 'kicking' the object - i.e. the membrane - as well as the atomic cloud, and these 'kicks' so to speak cancel out. This means that there is no longer any Quantum Back Action - and therefore no limitations as to how accurately measurements can be carried out at quantum level".

How can this be utilized?

"For instance when developing new and much more advanced types of sensors for various analyses of movements than the types we know today from cell phones, GPS and geological surveys", says professor Eugene Polzik: "Generally speaking sensors operating at quantum level are receiving a lot of attention these days. One example is the Quantum Technologies Flagship, an extensive EU program which also supports this type of research".

The fact that it is indeed possible to 'fool' Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle may also prove significant in relation to better understanding gravitational waves - waves in Space moving at the speed of light.

In September of 2015 the American LIGO-experiment was able to publish the first direct registrations and measurements of gravitational waves stemming from a collision between two very large black holes.
New evidence in support of the Planet Nine hypothesis

(Nanowerk News) Last year, the existence of an unknown planet in our solar system was announced. However, this hypothesis was subsequently called into question as biases in the observational data were detected. Now Spanish astronomers have used a novel technique to analyse the orbits of the so-called extreme trans-Neptunian objects and, once again, they point out that there is something perturbing them: a planet located at a distance between 300 to 400 times the Earth-Sun separation.

Scientists continue to argue about the existence of a ninth planet within our solar system. At the beginning of 2016, researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech, USA) announced that they had evidence of the existence of this object, located at an average distance of 700 AU or astronomical units (700 times the Earth-Sun separation) and with a mass ten times that of the Earth. Their calculations were motivated by the peculiar distribution of the orbits found for the trans-Neptunian objects (TNO) of the Kuiper belt, which apparently revealed the presence of a Planet Nine or X in the confines of the solar system.

Will another planet be added to the list of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in our solar system? (Image: NASA)

However, scientists from the Canadian-French-Hawaiian project OSSOS detected biases in their own observations of the orbits of the TNOs, which had been systematically directed towards the same regions of the sky, and considered that other groups, including the Caltech group, may be experiencing the same issues. According to these scientists, it is not necessary to propose the existence of a massive perturber (a Planet Nine) to explain these observations, as these are compatible with a random distribution of orbits.

Now, however, two astronomers from the Complutense University of Madrid have applied a new technique, less exposed to observational bias, to study a special type of trans-Neptunian objects: the extreme ones (ETNOs, located at average distances greater than 150 AU and that never cross Neptune's orbit). For the first time, the distances from their nodes to the Sun have been analysed, and the results, published in the journal MNRAS: Letters ("Evidence for a possible bimodal distribution of the nodal distances of the extreme trans-Neptunian objects: avoiding a trans-Plutonian planet or just plain bias?"), once again indicate that there is a planet beyond Pluto.

The nodes are the two points at which the orbit of an ETNO, or any other celestial body, crosses the plane of the solar system. These are the precise points where the probability of interacting with other objects is the largest, and therefore, at these points, the ETNOs may experience a drastic change in their orbits or even a collision.

Like the comets that interact with Jupiter

"If there is nothing to perturb them, the nodes of these extreme trans-Neptunian objects should be uniformly distributed, as there is nothing for them to avoid, but if there are one or more perturbers, two situations may arise," explains Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, one of the authors, to SINC. "One possibility is that the ETNOs are stable, and in this case they would tend to have their nodes away from the path of possible perturbers, he adds, but if they are unstable they would behave as the comets that interact with Jupiter do, that is tending to have one of the nodes close to the orbit of the hypothetical perturber".

Using calculations and data mining, the Spanish astronomers have found that the nodes of the 28 ETNOs analysed (and the 24 extreme Centaurs with average distances from the Sun of more than 150 AU) are clustered in certain ranges of distances from the Sun; furthermore, they have found a correlation, where none should exist, between the positions of the nodes and the inclination, one of the parameters which defines the orientation of the orbits of these icy objects in space.

"Assuming that the ETNOs are dynamically similar to the comets that interact with Jupiter, we interpret these results as signs of the presence of a planet that is actively interacting with them in a range of distances from 300 to 400 AU," says De la Fuente Marcos, who emphasizes: "We believe that what we are seeing here cannot be attributed to the presence of observational bias".

Until now, studies that challenged the existence of Planet Nine using the data available for these trans-Neptunian objects argued that there had been systematic errors linked to the orientations of the orbits (defined by three angles), due to the way in which the observations had been made. Nevertheless, the nodal distances mainly depend on the size and shape of the orbit, parameters which are relatively free of observational bias.

"It is the first time that the nodes have been used to try to understand the dynamics of the ETNOs", the co-author points out, as he admits that discovering more ETNOs (at the moment, only 28 are known) would permit the proposed scenario to be confirmed and subsequently constrain the orbit of the unknown planet via the analysis of the distribution of the nodes.

The authors note that their study supports the existence of a planetary object within the range of parameters considered both in the Planet Nine hypothesis of Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin from Caltech, and in the original one proposed in 2014 by Scott Sheppard from the Carnegie Institute and Chadwick Trujillo from the University of North Arizona; in addition to following the lines of their own earlier studies (the latest led by the Instituto de Astrof?sica de Canarias), which suggested that there is more than one unknown planet in our solar system.

Is there also a Planet Ten?

De la Fuente Marcos explains that the hypothetical Planet Nine suggested in this study has nothing to do with another possible planet or planetoid situated much closer to us, and hinted at by other recent findings. Also applying data mining to the orbits of the TNOs of the Kuiper Belt, astronomers Kathryn Volk and Renu Malhotra from the University of Arizona (USA) have found that the plane on which these objects orbit the Sun is slightly warped, a fact that could be explained if there is a perturber of the size of Mars at 60 AU from the Sun.
Find the newest releases to watch from National Geographic on Disney+, including favourite documentary series and films Free Solo, The Rescue, Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth and The World According to Jeff Goldblum.
(Natural News) On the early morning of Aug. 26, 2016, 20-year-old Abbey Parkes suffered from a cardiac arrest at her home in Tunstall, Staffordshire. Her live-in boyfriend, Liam Grocott, immediately contacted emergency services and paramedics found her slumped in the living room, unconscious and not breathing. After an hour and a half in the emergency room, Abbey Parkes had died. The cause of her death: her contraceptive pill.

According to DailyMail.co.uk, Abbey Parkes had been taking Logynon for six years under the advice of her general practitioner. The oral contraceptive was intended to help the legal secretary control her dramatic mood swings during her periods. However, the post-mortem revealed that Abbey Parkes had blood clots in her lungs; it was then discovered that she had Factor V Leiden, a rare genetic disorder that increases the risk of developing a blood clot.

The illness had gone undiagnosed, even after Abbey Parkes had been to a hospitals accident and emergency (A&E) department two weeks earlier. Recalling the weeks prior to Abbey Parkes death, her mother, Amanda Parkes, stated that Abbey Parkes had been feeling nauseous, breathless at certain points, and complained of a pain in the right side of her body. She was prescribed an inhaler and steroids for her breathlessness.

They seemed to perk her up a lot, which made her lull into a false sense of security and she went to work the next day, said Amanda Parkes. She was determined to press on through her sickness, but her colleagues were very concerned because she was clearly struggling quite severely. She didnt go to work again after that, she was just too sick. Ill never forget the day that she died, it will live with me forever.

The combination of her condition and her medication led to Abbey Parkes developing a pulmonary embolism, or a blockage in one of the pulmonary arteries in the lungs. As a result of the blockage, her lungs were not receiving enough oxygen, and her body forcibly entered into cardiac arrest. Doctor Alexander Hart, A&E consultant at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, described the combination as a perfect storm.

Her mother only found this out during the inquest. Furthermore, Amanda Parkes was informed that people who were taking contraceptives were 35 times more likely to have a blood clot if they suffered from Factor V Leiden. (Related: 21-year-old woman suffers fatal blood clot one month after starting on birth control pills)

Amanda Parkes has recently been campaigning for increased awareness of the condition. She has undergone tests to determine whether the condition was passed down from her family or from that of Abbey Parkes father, Stephen Gordon, who died at the age of 33 in 1997.

People need to be aware of the dangers that come from taking the pill. It does increase the risk of clots and carries other health risks, the 43-year-old former A&E worker stated.

On Factor V Leiden, Amanda Parkes remarked: Its staggering that this condition isnt more publicized. Yes, its incredibly rare, but as Abbeys case goes to show, theres always a risk. 250 people were at her funeral, and there were many more who werent able to make it but wanted to be there. She didnt deserve to pass away in this way, but hopefully by raising awareness we can prevent it from happening to other people too.

Visit MindBodyScience.news for similar stories.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Metro.co.uk
(Natural News) Chemotherapy has long been considered an effective treatment against cancer. However, a recent study has suggested otherwise: according to researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, chemotherapy may actually help spread the disease.

For the purposes of their study, the researchers analyzed the effects of chemotherapy on patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer. Although the treatment was found to be effective in shrinking tumors, this was only for the short term. They discovered that the drugs used in chemotherapy could, in fact, encourage the spread and growth of cancer cells throughout the body.

The researchers noted that, apart from increasing the chances of cancer cells moving to another part of the body, the drugs could also provoke a repair mechanism. This mechanism works two ways: first, it could allow the tumors to grow back stronger; secondly, it could increase the amount of blood vessel doorways that would make it easier for the cancer cells to spread.

This particular effect was notable in 20 patients who were receiving two commonly used chemotherapy drugs, paclitaxel and doxorubicin. Both paclitaxel and doxorubicin work by blocking cancer cell growth. Doxorubicin is typically used alongside other chemotherapy medication, in this case cyclophosphamide.

Lead author Dr. George Karagiannis further added that, in mice, breast cancer chemotherapy raised the number of cancer cells moving around the lungs and the rest of the body.

Speaking to the Telegraph.co.uk, Karagiannis remarked that he and his colleagues plan on undertaking more research into the effects of chemotherapy. We are currently planning more extensive trials to address the issue, Karagiannis stated. In this study we only investigated chemotherapy-induced cancer cell dissemination in breast cancer. We are currently working on other types of cancer to see if similar effects are elicited. (Related: Find more news on chemotherapy at Chemo.news.)

What is chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is a form of cancer treatment that uses strong drugs to combat the disease. For some people, chemotherapy is the only treatment they receive, while others undergo chemotherapy in conjunction with surgery and radiation therapy. There are hundreds of chemotherapy drugs on the market with a variety of uses. Certain chemotherapy drugs are used to slow growth, while others prevent cancer cells from spreading; others are given to patients to help them deal with the side effects of cancer.

Although thought of as safe, chemotherapy itself comes with numerous, dangerous side effects. The most common of these are hair loss, nausea, bone marrow changes, fertility problems, and affected memory and thinking.

Because of these side effects, many people believe chemotherapy to a gamble, if not an outright sham.

In addition to the recent study by Karagiannis and his colleagues, a 2012 study came to a similar conclusion. Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle discovered that chemotherapy turned healthy cells into cells that supported cancerous ones. Specifically, they found that healthy cells that have been exposed to chemotherapy secrete a protein (WNT16B) that encourages aggressive tumor growth.

The researchers themselves called their findings nothing less than completely unexpected, and stated that they came to these findings by scrutinizing patients with prostate cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer.

Visit CancerScams.com for similar stories.

Sources include:

Telegraph.co.uk

STM.ScienceMag.org

Cancer.org 1

Cancer.org 2

NaturalNews.com
Munich Airport is hosting an international symposium on security issues in civil aviation. The more than 200 renowned security specialists, conflict researchers, politicians and representatives from the European Commission, NATO, Europol and Eurocontrol experts in attendance will discuss current challenges in addressing dangers in aviation.

Topics on the agenda include the importance of a transnational data transfer between security authorities as well as the threats posed by drone or cyber attacks on airports. The focus of the M-Sec conference at Munich Airport, initiated by Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, the chairman of the Munich Security Conference, is on the specific security requirements faced by international airports in their capacity as critical infrastructure.

In his welcoming address, the Bavarian State Minister Dr. Markus Soder stressed the growing importance of security awareness in aviation. He said, We will have to redouble our efforts in aviation security, not only on the ground and in the air, but especially in the field of information technology. We are constantly updating our security strategies, for example to defend against cyber attacks on aircraft. Munich Airport, Bavarias gateway to the world, has already set new standards in security and we will continue leading the way. Andrea Gebbeken, executive director for Commercial and Security at Munich Airport, stressed the opportunities presented to everyone by the exchange of ideas at the expert level. With this new forum, Munich Airport is fostering an in-depth exchange of international experience in the field of aviation security. We hope all participants will take advantage of the findings presented at the conference to enhance aviation security.
(Natural News) Ever heard of the 250,000 cotton farmers in central India who took their own lives after being manipulated by promises made by Monsanto? Monsanto claimed to be able to put an end to famine and promised unheard of riches and crop prosperity if the farmers would switch from their conventional farming methods to the use of GM seeds. Many farmers had to borrow money to purchase these seeds, and after several failed harvests, they were left with no income and out of control debt. After going bankrupt from Monsantos Ponzi scheme the farmers fell into an endless cycle of depression, hopelessness and despair. It is also believed that, aside from the obvious issue of loss of income, the daily contact with the poisonous pesticides and herbicides also led to the depression these farmers suffered from. They believed the only way out was suicide, many even poisoning themselves with the same pesticides they used to spray on their failed crops.

Do you really believe that dementia and depression caused by consuming toxic pesticides are limited to occupational hazards? What U.S. medical doctors ever test their patients blood or urine for pesticides before recommending chemical-based prescription medicines to relieve symptoms of pesticide poisoning, heavy metal toxin overload and the resulting nutritional deficiencies?

According to the Alzheimers Association and a controlled study that was done at Emory Universitys Alzheimers Disease Research Center, elevated serum pesticide levels are directly correlated to increased risk of dementia. Currently, at least five million Americans are living with Alzheimers disease  the most common form of dementia and a progressive, fatal brain disease. Is this a coincidence? More and more American crops are being dosed with known carcinogens manufactured in laboratories by Monsanto, Dow, Dupont, Syngenta, Cargill and Bayer. Still, hundreds of thousands of U.S. doctors give zero nutritional advice to their patients who come to them suffering from the obvious symptoms, diseases and disorders caused by ingesting pesticides, including those toxins found in genetically modified corn, soy and canola. Go figure.

Are your body and brain suffering from consuming chemicals? Then why on earth would you listen to a doctor who pushes chemical-based medicines for a living?

Besides naturopathic doctors, there is hardly a doctor in America who carefully examines everything their patients eat, drink and put on their skin before diagnosing health problems. Can you lay a tarp over a volcano and hope to cap the molten lava? Would you put a band aid on your stomach if you ate rotten meat and were suffering from food poisoning? These chemical prescription meds simply dont make sense.

If we, as Americans, are never educated about the dangers of health-altering chemicals found in conventional produce, GM crops and popular personal care products, why wouldnt we believe that doctor recommended chemicals could solve our health problems?

Most Americans bodies are like a volcano about to erupt, showing all the signs of chemical consumption disorder. Will you solve your health problems by ending your chemical consumption, or will you exacerbate your health ills by continuing to eat, drink and inject more toxins? Who are your doctors and do they know anything at all about nutrition? You better check.

Five kinds of chemical pushing hucksters who know good and well prescription drugs make health matters worse

#1. Addiction psychiatrists  these are medical doctors who mainly prescribe SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) for people with addictions to alcohol, illegal drugs or other experimental prescription medications. Pharmacological strategies are used by psychiatrists to target individuals suffering from anxiety or attention deficit disorders due to substance abuse. Could anxiety and depression also stem from chemical-laced foods? Of course it can, but is there even one addiction psychiatrist in America who tests their patients blood or urine for poisoning from insecticides and herbicides? Instead of searching for the root cause, many addiction psychiatrists sling experimental, dangerous mind-altering drugs like Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil on tens of millions of Americans, including children and teens, because its easy money. Evidence continues to accumulate that these drugs induce suicidal and murderous actions, not to mention strokes for women after menopause.

#2. Pediatricians and adolescent medicine specialists  Ever heard of Dollars for Docs? Pharmaceutical and medical device companies are now required by law to release details of their payments to all kinds of U.S. doctors that push pills on infants, children and teens (over $6 billion every three years). Why are there no payments to doctors to promote organic foods and natural remedies?

#3. Oncologists (including radiation oncologists)  Did you know chemotherapy can backfire and cause healthy cells to feed the growth of cancer tumors? So why then do oncologists use chemo as a mainstream method of treating a cell disorder thats mainly caused by the consumption of chemicals? It doesnt make sense.

#4. Dermatologists  Most dermatologists perform surgery as a standard function for treating cancer spots on the skin, but cancer is a disorder of the cells, with a deeper-rooted cause. Would you go around your yard chopping off the tops of weeds and expecting them to stop growing? It doesnt make sense.

#5. Surgeons  Should surgeons keep removing the malfunctioning organs of Americans who eat all the wrong foods daily? Is this cost effective and wise? Maybe every surgeon, radiologist, pediatrician and oncologist in America needs to go back to college and study nutrition, then reassess their fundamental approach to medicine.

Sources for this article include:

SeattleOrganicRestaurants.com

BeyondPesticides.org

NaturalNews.com

CDC.news

Projects.propublica.org

NaturalNews.com
A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age

Jimmy Soni & Rob Goodman. Simon & Schuster: 2017. 9781476766683

The US mathematician and electrical engineer Claude Shannon, whose life spanned the tumultuous, technologically explosive twentieth century, is often called the father of information theory. This is no exaggeration: Shannon crafted the idea that information can be quantified independently of its meaning and content. Working mainly in a world of analog technology, he laid the foundations of our digitized universe. Claude Shannon in 1952 with Theseus, his electromechanical mouse, which could navigate a maze. Credit: Keystone/Getty

In A Mind at Play, journalist Jimmy Soni and political theorist Rob Goodman tell Shannon's story engagingly, from the perspective of a lay reader wrestling with the sophisticated ideas that Shannon explored with dedication and panache. The book is a boon for those eager to know more about his incredibly influential life  whimsical, independent and curiosity-driven.

Shannon was only 21 when, in 1937, he put forward a theory of digital circuit design in a momentous thesis  later published as a paper  for his master's degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge. He laid out how Boolean logic (a type of algebra in which variables can take only one of two values, 'true' or 'false') could be mechanically realized using the relays of telephone-switching systems. This marked the dawn of digital computer design.

In 1948, Shannon published his even more influential mathematical theory of communication. His idea  that any signalling channel has a maximum capacity for delivering perfect information in the presence of noise  is a fundamental property of all communications today. In this paper, he introduced the quantified measure 'bits', short for binary digits, a name that he attributed to mathematician John Tukey. Shannon's brilliance also spilt over into inveterate tinkering and a lifelong fascination with mechanical devices.

Soni and Goodman have done their research. Their vivid portrayal of Shannon is well contextualized by the intellectual ferment that led to the eruption in the development of computing and communication during his lifetime. We meet Shannon's parents (his father a probate judge, his mother a language teacher and high-school principal), and follow his interactions with giants of the time. Among them were Albert Einstein, Vannevar Bush, John von Neumann, Alan Turing  and movers and shakers at MIT, Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, and farther afield. Many of these encounters undoubtedly affected Shannon's thinking. In 1940, at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, he met von Neumann, a seminal figure in computer design. His occasional meetings with Einstein and the logician Kurt Godel also probably had a formative impact on his work.

The chapter on Shannon's time as a visiting professor at MIT was personally satisfying for me. A number of the scientists mentioned, many of them students of Shannon's, are acquaintances and colleagues: computer scientist Leonard Kleinrock; Irwin Jacobs, founder of mobile-technologies company Qualcomm; Lawrence Roberts, pioneer of Internet-forerunner ARPANET; and information theorist Thomas Kailath.

Soni and Goodman also show how Shannon helped to solve practical problems that plagued the US military and government during the Second World War, such as how to encrypt covert communication. It was during this period that Shannon came into contact with Turing, now famed for his code-breaking efforts at Bletchley Park, UK. Turing's work on computation and Shannon's on information theory are pillars of modern computer science.

As its name suggests, A Mind at Play also revels in the quirks that made Shannon such an endearing character. As a would-be inventor, he created many working models, including a flame-throwing trumpet. He crafted a series of idiosyncratic unicycles, trying to see how small they could be before they became impossible to ride. His Ultimate Machine was an unassuming box with an onoff switch; when it was turned on, a hand reached out, turned the switch off and disappeared back inside. There was a rocket-powered Frisbee and a computer using Roman numerals, THROBAC (Thrifty Roman-Numeral Backward-Looking Computer). In 1950, Shannon invented an electromechanical mouse, Theseus, that could learn to negotiate a maze and then replicate its path from anywhere inside. He enjoyed juggling tins of paint, loved jazz and played the clarinet.
Stalin's Meteorologist: One Man's Untold Story of Love, Life and Death Olivier Rolin (Transl. Ros Schwartz) Harvill Secker: 2017. 9781910701003 | ISBN: 978-1-9107-0100-3

The title Stalin's Meteorologist hints that we might expect some grand overview of the experience of scientists under the abuses of Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union. But the story that prolific French commentator and writer Olivier Rolin presents is also personal. It uses the experience of one researcher as a lens on the arrest, incarceration and ultimate demise of a generation of Soviet intellectuals in the 1930s. Alexey Wangenheim's letters home included drawings and riddles about science and nature. Credit: Memorial/Editions Paulsen

In this translation from the French (the original won the 2014 Prix du Style), Rolin recovers the story of meteorologist Alexey Feodosievich Wangenheim, who in 1929 became the first head of the Soviet Hydrometeorological Centre. Five years later, he was sent to a Gulag forced-labour camp. Shot through that harrowing narrative is the extraordinary story of how Wangenheim sent sketches and letters from prison to teach his daughter about science and nature. She grew up to become a palaeontologist.

Wangenheim  like many Soviet intellectuals educated before the Revolution  had to tread a tightrope as he made his way upwards in the new bureaucracy. As Rolin shows, this demanded both a commitment to the socialist cause and restraint in activities such as attendance at international conferences, which were necessary for professional advancement but suspect in the eyes of the regime. Wangenheim's arrest in 1934 was not the result of a central edict, although Stalin approved much of the paperwork. It stemmed from heightened professional jealousies, poisoned by paranoia and fuelled by the institutionalized violence of the state: in a move all too common at the time, Wangenheim was accused of counter-revolutionary activities by colleagues. An Arctic fox drawn by Wangenheim. Credit: Memorial/Editions Paulsen

Many hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens suffered similar fates in the 1930s. During the Great Terror of 193638 alone, some 1.5 million people were arrested and about 700,000 shot in a paroxysm of state-directed violence. In the journey to Wangenheim's own end, the letters he sent from prison to his daughter Eleonora  just short of four years old at the time of his arrest  offer a counterpoint of hope. It was these that inspired the book.

Rolin came upon Eleonora's compilation of the letters in 2012, while visiting Russia. There are dozens of beautiful still-life sketches made by the meteorologist in prison  of clouds, aurorae, animals, fruit, aeroplanes, boats, leaves, trees. The colour drawings, some reproduced in the book, were partly a chronicle of life in the Gulag, but also a pedagogical tool. As Rolin notes, Wangenheim was using plants to teach his daughter the basics of arithmetic and geometry through riddles outlined in accompanying text. In one, the lobes of a leaf represented the elementary numbers, its shape symmetry and asymmetry, while a pine cone illustrated the spiral.

The Solovki prison camp, in which Wangenheim crafted these lessons, was housed in a former Russian Orthodox monastery on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea. Although his time there was unimaginably harsh  with forced labour, poor food and grossly inadequate health care  the prison was unusual in having a well-stocked library and access to a radio, art supplies and stationery. Wangenheim was also permitted to give scientific lectures to fellow prisoners. His irregular letters to Eleonora and his wife Varvara describe his longing for home, yet display unwavering devotion to the Stalinist cause. Rolin attributes this to self-censorship: the letters were probably read by the authorities. But such allegiance was not uncommon, even among those most brutalized by the system, stemming from a belief that it was not the exalted Stalin but his minions who had corrupted the purity of the socialist cause.

By his own admission, Rolin's tone is lyrical and impressionistic rather than scholarly. He intersperses his own thoughts on Russian history, geography and culture, at times threatening to overwhelm the biography. (He frequently reflects, for instance, on his attraction to Russia: so much time stolen from more pleasant destinations.) He uses Wangenheim's letters to Eleonora to reconstruct life at Solovki, but it is not always clear whether he is directly quoting them or imaginatively reconstructing the meteorologist's thoughts. Fact, fiction and speculation commingle as tenses constantly change.

Yet although a historian might approach the book with some scepticism, the overall effect is moving  not least, in the chilling passages on the 1937 deportation from Solovki of more than 1,100 prisoners, including Wangenheim, for execution. Rolin's reconstruction of the meteorologist's last hours is masterful, integrating the lives of the executioners, the eerie geography of the mass extermination site in Karelia on the mainland, and the recovered memory of this horrific event  a ghost echo for six decades, until given form when the mass grave was discovered in the mid-1990s. A house a few centimetres in size/Sisters live in it/Guess what they're called, Wangenheim wrote. Credit: Memorial/Editions Paulsen

Wangenheim's story is known to us largely through the diligence of researchers at the Memorial in St Petersburg, a Russian civil-rights society dedicated to chronicling the abuses of Stalinism. Rolin rightfully mentions three of its researchers  Irina Flighe, Yury Dmitriev and the late Veniamin Iofe  who uncovered the tragic, often lurid details of Wangenheim's life and death. Because Rolin's book lacks references or footnotes, it is hard to evaluate the broader historical research that grounds this slim volume. It should be pointed out that much of Wangenheim's story has been published in a Russian book (Alexei Feodosevich Wangenheim: Restoring a Name; Tablitsy Mendeleev, 2005) that also reproduced all of Wangenheim's drawings and letters.
Alastair Loutit had a lot on his plate in the first months of his neuroscience PhD at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He had to get acquainted with the lab, plan his first experiments and find the best places to train for his bicycle road races.

But as a newcomer to the city, Loutit also had something else preying on his mind: finding a place to live that wouldn't destroy his budget. My girlfriend and I looked around for about two months, he says. It's ridiculous in Sydney. There are one-bedroom apartments with no kitchen and a bathroom that you share with other people for Aus$450 (US$337.90) a week. Working or studying in an expensive city can often mean compromising on space or sharing with roommates. Credit: STR/AFP/Getty

From Sydney to Paris, London to San Francisco, junior researchers run up against the same problem: some of the most prestigious and sought-after places to study and work also have the highest housing costs. Whether graduate students and postdocs are looking to rent or buy, putting a roof over their heads can be a challenge on their often modest incomes (see page 249).

Yet many scientists jump into PhD programmes or postdoc positions without ever considering local housing costs, says Emily Roberts, who co-founded the Evolving Personal Finance blog with her husband Kyle in 2014. Its sister site, gradstudentfinances.org, offers financial tips for PhD students. You can go into a programme that fits your passion and gives you the best training, but you should keep your eyes open about costs, she says. To survive, Roberts adds, researchers need to familiarize themselves with the local housing markets (see 'Room for rent'), find out about available subsidies and support programmes and be willing to compromise. And that may mean setting the bar for accommodation lower than they might hope. Credit: Source: Numbeo

Roberts, who has a PhD in biomedical engineering from Duke University in the relatively budget-friendly city of Durham, North Carolina, had to do some number crunching herself when her husband secured a postdoc position in much pricier Boston, Massachusetts. After we adjusted for cost of living and taxes, his pay would have been less than what he was making as a graduate student in Durham, she says. Faced with that reality, he declined the offer.

Living in a pricey city almost always involves trade-offs, Roberts says. She recently gave financial talks to PhD students in New York City and Palo Alto, California  two of the most expensive science hubs in the United States. The choices there are hard and really unpalatable, she says. Many graduate students and postdocs live with roommates or opt for tiny flats in no-frills buildings. Others choose a place far from the lab, but that decision has its own costs. Long commutes, she says, can really affect your career progress.

Making ends meet

Lengthy home-to-lab trips were a daily nuisance for Gary McDowell during his postdoc. He travelled from Providence, Rhode Island, to Boston, a trip of at least an hour each way. McDowell and his husband had rented a single room in a two-bedroom apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for $1,300 a month, but they discovered that they could have a whole apartment in Providence for the same price. The commute forced him to boost his productivity at work, says McDowell, now executive director of Future of Research (FOR), an advocacy organization for junior scientists that is based in San Francisco, California. He had to keep his work and home life separate: it was no longer convenient to pop to the lab at nights or weekends, so he needed to get his experiments done during the week.

Researchers in some pricey areas can get help to ease the burden. Postdocs at Columbia University in New York City can apply for subsidized housing near the campus, but demand always outstrips supply. In the United Kingdom, recipients of Medical Research Council PhD stipends get an extra 2,000 ($2,586) per year if they study in London. Cramped living spaces are common in cities such as Hong Kong that lack affordable housing. Credit: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg via Getty

The unionized postdocs in the University of California system used the high cost of living as a bargaining tool when they negotiated a contract that pays new researchers a minimum of $48,216 a year, which is equivalent to the US National Institutes of Health's scale for postdocs with two years of experience. In addition, the University of California, San Francisco, offers eligible students a cost-of-living supplement of $2,400 for the school year. Considering that one-bedroom flats in the city generally cost more than $3,000 a month, that generosity doesn't go far.

Oxford, UK, is another place where it's hard to make ends meet. According to an analysis by The Guardian newspaper in February 2017, the average price of a house in Oxford is 385,372. That is 10.7 times the average annual wage in the city  the largest such disparity in the country. For young researchers looking to rent, the picture isn't much brighter. You can rent a two-bedroom house in Oxford for 1,200 to 1,500 a month, says Emma Davies, a psychology lecturer at Oxford Brookes University. But the first job after a PhD might only pay 35,000 a year. That's a huge chunk of your salary going to housing costs. There's no way to save.

We've had people say, 'There's no way I can come and work with you, because it costs too much'.

The Oxford housing crunch has complicated the university's recruitment efforts, Davies says. We've had people say, 'There's no way I can come and work with you, because it costs too much', she says.

At the University of Cambridge, UK, Ewan St John Smith says that he hasn't had trouble recruiting postdocs for his neuropharmacology lab. Still, he recognizes that a postdoc salary doesn't go far in the city, especially if someone is supporting a family. In some places, it's really tough. Despite the university's prestige, housing prices have cost Cambridge some potential recruits. If you're coming from up north where you have a nice big house and see what you can afford in Cambridge, that's an issue, he says. Old, rundown houses are also a turn-off, he says.We have Victorian housing that hasn't been updated since the 1970s, he says. There's no pressure on landlords to renovate.

Poor-quality dwellings also abound in Paris, says Juliane Klamser, a physics PhD student at the Ecole Normale Superieure in central Paris (see Nature 546, 317319; 2017). A lot of apartments have broken glass, mould growing in the showers and old, broken furniture, she says. As soon as you walk in, you just want to run away. But they are still very expensive.

Klamser, who is from Germany, says that non-French people tend to end up with the worst housing in the country. Most of the PhD students in my department are foreigners she says. French laws strongly protect tenants, so landlords are very particular about whom they let housing to. As a rule, she says, landlords prefer to have a French person guarantee the lease, and they don't make exceptions for PhD-level researchers. Many foreign students ask their PhD advisers to be guarantors, but Klamser says that she didn't know her supervisor well enough to ask. She endured a tiny, mould-tainted apartment for nearly a year before taking over a better place from a colleague.

Foreign students in Sydney often face an extra challenge when it comes to finding affordable housing, says Loutit, who is from Canberra. They can't be over here looking around ahead of time, he says. The long distances between Sydney and cities in Europe or North America make doing so unfeasible. And student housing runs out fast.

But expatriates fare better in other places. In Singapore, foreign postdocs at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) the country's largest research agency, receive substantial housing stipends. A lot of them have a much nicer place than I do, says Ang Siang Yun, a Singapore citizen and biomedical postdoc at the Institute of Medical Biology. They live in condos with swimming pools and fitness centres. She says that some international postdocs get a monthly stipend of 1,000 Singapore dollars ($720) or more. An A*STAR spokesperson would not disclose details.

Still, she concedes that housing is more affordable in Singapore than it is elsewhere. She spent six years as a postdoc in San Francisco, and is struck by the contrast. In San Francisco, the pay-to-rent ratio was harsh, she says. In Singapore, it works out. She says that her postdoc salary is about double what she received in San Francisco, and she's paying about 1,000 Singapore dollars a month for a room in a three-bedroom flat that she shares with two other people.

Take hold of your finances

Roberts advises scientists to research the costs of living when considering a career move. Once settled on a destination, she says, they should check out online groups, including Facebook, or university websites to find short-term housing options, whether that is a room in an flat or a campus dormitory. That helps with the transition of going to a new city and grappling with a new market, she says. Researchers need to understand all the housing options before committing to a long-term lease.

Those who think that they've found an affordable place can still run into trouble if their pay rises don't keep pace with housing costs. You might think you're doing OK in the first year in a new city, but things could get tighter in year five, Roberts says. When raising the issue with a supervisor, offer data, she advises. If you say, 'My rent has gone up 10%, but my stipend went up by 3%', they might listen, she says. Give them real numbers. Junior researchers also shouldn't hesitate to talk numbers with their peers, Roberts says. It can help them to work out if they are getting value for money or to hear about other options. Such a strategy helped Roberts to make two moves during her graduate programme that significantly reduced her rent.

Of course, choosing to work or study in a relatively inexpensive city could relieve much of the pressure. St John Smith says that he had no trouble affording a flat in Berlin while he was a postdoc at the Max Delbruck Centre for Molecular Medicine. The science is great, and you can have a high quality of life as a normal academic.
Elena Tobolkina, from St Petersburg, Russia, followed a PhD in Switzerland with a move in 2015 to the University of Oxford, UK, for her dream postdoc in chemistry. But just one year later, the high costs of UK housing and childcare drove her out. Now she is trying to forge a career in industry.

How did your career path lead you to Oxford?

After I got my undergraduate degree in physical chemistry at St Petersburg State University, I moved to Switzerland to do my PhD in bioanalytical chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). I published eight papers and received a patent for a mass-spectrometry technique. I completed my PhD in three and a half years, and was eight months pregnant when I graduated. While on maternity leave, I got the opportunity to work with the chemist Ben Davis at Oxford. It was a dream to get there, but a very difficult decision as my husband had a full-time job in Switzerland. We decided I would go and that we'd determine later whether he would join me or I would return.

What did you study during your postdoc?

My project was in cooperation with the French cosmetics company L'Oreal. We were creating a methodology to develop products and detect age-related skin changes from their use. I can't overstate how much I loved my project.

Why did you leave after a year?

My postdoc salary was around 1,900 (US$2,470) a month. Most off-campus housing requires you to rent a two-bedroom flat if you have a child, but I managed to get a one-bedroom for 1,650. That was still double what my lab-mates paid to rent a room in a large home, but with a 5-month-old I couldn't be in a loud place. Then I needed to find childcare. As soon as I committed in March 2015 to going to Oxford, I applied for the nursery on campus  but they were full, and it would have been 1,100 per month. So when we moved in May 2015, I arranged for a nanny from Russia to come with us. But she was deported during the Christmas break. I ended up sending my daughter to my parents in Russia and flew to see her once a month. It was impossible to live on my salary and was a very stressful, difficult time. I terminated my three-year contract after one year.

What was your adviser's response?

When I explained all my financial difficulties and that I had a child, he was shocked and extremely helpful. He suggested I write official letters to the university, and he wrote a letter of support. He wanted me to continue but couldn't raise my salary much.

What was the university's response?

The big issue for housing is that postdocs are considered staff, not students, so there simply is no way to access affordable student accommodation through campus housing. The university said it was trying to increase the number of places in the nursery and was thinking of building other nursery schools, but that it would take time. As I wrote last year in Times Higher Education, it felt like I had to choose between my postdoc and my child.

What did you do after you left Oxford?

I worked on clinical trials related to Parkinson's disease at the EPFL, but I left in June and started as an associate scientist at the tobacco company Philip Morris International in Neuchatel, Switzerland. I determine whether chemicals in future liquid smoking products will be harmful for people.

Have you explored other opportunities in industry?

I was losing my motivation after leaving Oxford, but then I remembered my patent and have decided to try entrepreneurship. I took business and management classes while I was at the EPFL. My goal now is to launch a company and produce affordable technology that will help pharmaceutical or biomedical companies to run quality controls on their samples. Right now, I'm trying to create a business plan, put together a strong team and secure financing. It's all new to me.
The propeller of a Coast Guard twin-engine plane on Tuesday clipped a runway at San Francisco International Airport, the Coast Guard confirmed late Tuesday.

The Sacramento-based Coast Guard C-27 Spartan aircraft was at San Francisco International Airport for a logistics flight. After taxiing to a runway and while preparing for takeoff, one of the plane's propellers made contact with the runway and the crew aborted the flight, the Coast Guard said.



A runway was closed briefly as officials inspected for damage and debris, the source added.

The plane will be moved to Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco, adjacent to San Francisco International Airport, where crews will inspect the damage.

There were no reported injuries to the four crew members.

Tuesday's incident was not an accident, Coast Guard officials said, but was some kind of failure that occurred when the plan was taxiing.

Separately, the National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into an Air Canada plane that on Friday narrowly missed landing on a crowded taxiway instead of its designated runway at SFO.
A great white shark attack in Santa Cruz has triggered a four-day beach ban by city officials.



The decision comes after a shark on Tuesday chomped on a man's kayak near a popular surfing spot next to West Cliff in Santa Cruz. The kayaker managed to escape without injury.

Steve Lawson was paddling about a quarter mile away from Steamer Lane when the shark lurched toward his kayak and bit the front end, knocking him into the water, as reported by NBC affiliate KSBW.

"I felt like I hit a rock," Lawson said. "I saw a shark biting the front of my boat. When he let go, it rocked the kayak and I fell out."

For the next 10 minutes or so, Lawson floated in the water wondering if the 12-foot long shark would double back.

"I was frightened," he recalled. "I was trying to climb on top of the kayak, but I was not able to do that."



Fortunately for Lawson, people in the area and a U.S. Coast Guard crew plucked him from the ocean and towed in the kayak, which now features brand new bite marks.

Despite the attack, Lawson vows to return to the water. Only this time, he plans to stay a little closer to shore.

NBC Bay Area

News of the attack prompted scores of surfers enjoying the waves near Steamer Lane to hop out of the water.

The Santa Cruz Fire Department received a call about the attack at 11:01 a.m.



In accordance with the Santa Cruz County Shark Incident Action Plan, the city will close access to Main Beach, Cowell Beach and other beach access points within a one mile radius of the attack for four days. All water activities at the beach will be prohibited until sunrise July 15 morning.

In the meantime, Marine Safety staff and lifeguards will monitor the area. The city has notified partner agencies in the area and Santa Cruz Junior Guard activities will be modified for the week.

"Attacks like these are extremely rare in Santa Cruz County, and we are so thankful that the kayaker was uninjured," said Santa Cruz Fire Chief Jim Frawley. This is a reminder that swimming in the ocean does carry some risk and we encourage all swimmers, surfers, and kayakers to be mindful of their surroundings and follow directions of lifeguards and Marine Safety staff.

This is not the only shark sighting in Santa Cruz in recent weeks. A few surfers at Sundays memorial paddle out for legendary surfer and wetsuit pioneer Jack O'Neill said they spotted a 15-foot shark breaching the surface of the water.


The Medical Board of California  responsible for investigating and disciplining physicians  is in danger of being dismantled at the end of the year.

The state Legislature must reauthorize the medical board every four years if the agency is to continue serving as Californias top medical watchdog. The medical board, however, has been plagued with criticism for failing to adequately regulate doctors and protect patients. The ongoing debate on how to best reform the agency reached a tipping point Tuesday during the Assemblys Business and Professions Committee hearing.

While lawmakers were scheduled to vote on a bill reauthorizing the Medical Board of California, a lack of support for the proposed reforms resulted in a stalemate. Lawmakers opted not to cast their votes on the bill, which now threatens the very existence of the medical board.

There are some in the Legislature that would rather support and protect doctors than patients, said Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo. Thats what we saw today.

Hill, who chairs the Senates Business and Professions Committee, authored the medical boards reauthorization bill. As the Investigative Unit first reported in May, the legislation includes a list of major reforms.

Among them is a requirement for doctors to tell their patients if they have been placed on probation by the medical board for harming patients through poor medical care or even sexual abuse.

However, Assembly members on the committee and the California Medical Association have voiced concerns that the notification process would put some doctors out of business without due process.

We opposed the probation notification language as it was written because it eroded basic due process rights in the disciplinary process, said Joanne Adams, associate director of communications for the California Medical Association, who provided a statement to NBC Bay Area's Investigative Unit.

There was a clear breakdown in the committee process today, and the Assembly prudently chose to take adequate time to address the policy concerns in this complex sunset review bill," Adams said. "We look forward to working with the Legislature to reauthorize the Medical Board and find solutions to consumer concerns that do not violate the basic right to due process."

While a physicians probation status is posted on the medical boards website, critics argue most patients are unaware of where to find the information and should, therefore, be informed directly from their doctor.

As of April, more than 600 doctors were practicing while on probation. That represents less than 1 percent of the states 110,989 physicians, according to data obtained from the medical board. The related offenses include deadly medical errors, drug use, and sexual assault against patients.

Hill says the legislation would require doctors to disclose their violations to patients if the physician is found guilty of a serious offense or accepts probation as part of a plea. Those provisions would apply to about 40 percent of those on probation. During Tuesdays Assembly committee hearing, however, other lawmakers, including committee Chair Evan Low, supported a less restrictive plan that would require doctors to disclose their probation only after their cases have been fully adjudicated and the medical board can verify a violation occurred. This would apply to only 10 percent of doctors on probation and does not include those who accept probation as part of a settlement without an admission of any wrongdoing. The two sides refused to budge, so the vote never happened.

The Assembly now has until Friday to act on the bill before it officially dies. While lawmakers could author a new bill to keep the medical board going, theyd still need to reach some kind of compromise to get it passed. If a deal cant be reached, Californias watchdog agency thats supposed to protect patients will be disbanded at the end of the year.

Absolutely, this was a loss for patients across California, Hill said. This is a terrible step that weve taken, and its because of the power of the California Medical Association and the influence they have in this building.

______________________________________

Watch the entire series in this NBC Bay Area investigation:
SITA announced that Sergio Colella has joined as President, Europe, responsible for driving a refocused strategic direction for the region. Reporting to CEO Barbara Dalibard, he will be based in Geneva, Switzerland and will be part of the Executive Team.

He joins SITA from HP where he was the Vice President and General Manager of HP Enterprise Services EMEA South. Sergio joined HP in 2014, responsible for leading a significant transformation to align the organization, processes and talents to the fast-changing, solution-led enterprise services business.

Prior to joining HP, Sergio was with Accenture, where he was Managing Partner in charge of the Automotive, Industrial Equipment, Infrastructure and Transportation practice for Europe & Latin America (EALA). He began his career in 1988 as management consultant at Accenture, where he held a variety of leadership positions.

Sergio comes to SITA with an extensive background in managing complex, large scale international IT transformations within leading companies in several industrial sectors in Europe.
One police officer was injured Tuesday evening at the scene of a skateboarders' street rally in San Francisco's Dolores Park that turned into a standoff lasting more than one hour, according to police.

San Francisco police were warning the public to avoid the area of Dolores and 19th streets after multiple skateboarders traveling at high speeds down Dolores refused to comply with officers' attempts to shut down the rally, police said.

The rally started at 7:11 p.m., police said. The skateboarders were being towed up the hill by vehicles and then riding down the hill on the boards, some performing tricks on the way down.

The police response initially was for a call reporting someone needing medical attention. But the crowd did not allow the officers to tend to a person in the street with a head injury, police said.

One police officer was injured Tuesday evening at the scene of a skateboarders street rally in Dolores Park that turned into a standoff lasting more that one hour, according to San Francisco police. Pete Suratos.

A large fight broke out at some point, with multiple officers involved, so SFPD tried to clear the park, police said. For more than an hour, skaters shouted and threw objects such as bottles.

Police described the scene as a hostile environment, but one skateboarder who didn't want to be identified claims officers overreacted.

A police spokeswoman said two patrol cars were vandalized and one officer was injured and transported to a hospital. The extent of the officer's injury was not known.

Skateboarders took over Dolores Street in San Francisco on Tuesday evening, speeding down the street and sidewalk before police arrived to break it up.

Ambulances were called for skateboarders who lost control, police said. Multiple skateboarders were taken to hospitals with head injuries, police said.

One video posted to social media appears to show an officer on foot bumping into one traveling skateboarder, causing the skateboarder to crash into a parked patrol car. That skateboarder also was treated for injuries, police said.

It appears as though a similar skateboarding event also took place this time last year in San Francisco. It's not clear if Tuesday's event was a repeat performance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A San Jose teenager was arrested at the Mexico border Tuesday in connection with the killing of a Marina woman near San Jose State University last week, police said.

Daniel Gebrehiwet Zeratsion, 19, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and will be transported back to San Jose to be booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of homicide.

Police believe Zeratsion shot and killed 20-year-old Myla Thi Dang around 5:07 p.m. on July 3, just two blocks away from the campus.

After a caller reported loud bangs coming from inside a home in the 600 block of South 10th Street that evening, officers found Dang suffering from at least one gunshot wound. She died at the scene.

Police said last week that they had identified a suspect who knew Dang.

Anyone with information about the woman's death has been asked to call San Jose police Detective Sgt. Mike Montonye or Detective Jason Tanner at 408-277-5283. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call 408-947-7867.
Police say a search of schools in a town has concluded and no threats were located after an administrator received a threatening email.

Wareham Police said an email was sent anonymously on Monday from someone claiming to be inside a school with a gun. Wareham High School, Wareham Middle School and Minot Forest Elementary School were evacuated and searched by police out of an abundance of caution, according to police.

No injuries have been reported, and police have found no evidence of a gunman inside any of the schools.

Each facility had summer school and other educational activities going on. Students and school officials were transported to the Gleason Family YMCA, where children will be released to their parents or guardians.

The Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council SWAT team responded, with mutual support coming from the Cape Cod Law Enforcement Council SWAT team and the Massachusetts State Police STOP team. State police also sent its air wing, K9 units and troopers from the Bourne barracks.

"We understand that the large police presence may be alarming to some, but our number one priority is that the children and school officials are safe, and we do not take any chances when it comes to that," Wareham Police Chief Kevin Walsh said in a statement. "I want to thank everyone in the community for their support and patience."

Police do not believe there is any danger to the public, Walsh added.

"This morning an email was received by a school administrator that threatened the safety of students," Wareham Public Schools said in a statement. "Buildings have been placed on lockdown as the police are in the process of searching the buildings."
Same day voter registration just got tougher in New Hampshire.

Governor Chris Sununu signed a new bill into law Monday that is stirring up a bit of controversy at the State House.

Its simply a matter of making sure that we have accountability within that system and integrity in the first in the nation primary, Sununu said.

Same day voter registration is a luxury Granite Staters have enjoyed for more than two decades and while thats not changing, residents now have to provide evidence that you live where you say you do.

Even if you move in that day and you have a rental agreement, you have paperwork from your moving, then you can bring that in and that will be proof, said Republican Senator Regina Birdsell who sponsored the bill.

Currently, voters just need to sign an affidavit swearing that they live in the town in which theyre registering.

Under the new law, even if you cant provide proof of residency on Election Day, you can still vote. You have ten days to produce the paperwork.

We have some very greys areas of the law thats all, and thats simply what we are trying to tighten up, said Sununu.

Governor Sununu said Tuesday theres no evidence of voter fraud in New Hampshire. So, democrats are asking why they're fixing a system that isnt broken.

This is a Trump styled initiative to make voting more difficult, said the Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn.

This has been one of the most controversial bills this session  passing along party lines without any support from Senate democrats who claim its voter suppression.

Its trying to put a gated community around our voting booths so poor people and working class people dont have the same access as rich people, Woodburn said.

Sununu strongly disagreed.

Show me a bit of evidence of voter suppression, Sununu said. How can you make that claim when we wont turn a single person away from the polls.

The new law will take effect in sixty days.
A 62-year-old Hartford man who was accused of threatening the judge presiding over his case pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to a federal law enforcement agent investigating threats against a U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge.

Dusan Mladen, also known as David Mladen, 62, of Hartford, was arrested and charged with threatening a federal official, according to the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Officials said Mladen was a party in a proceeding that was pending before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

He previously owned Eternal Enterprise, Inc., the owner of eight apartment buildings in Hartford, and has continued to be active in the management and decision making for the company, according to federal officials.

On July 5, the judge presiding over the Eternal Enterprise case found a handwritten note in the mailbox at her home and it said BACK OFF, YOU ARE OVERSTEPPING AUTHORITY and JUST WARNING FOR NOW, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Then, on July 10, the judge received a phone call at her home and the caller said he had gone to the judges house last week and I left a message for you, officials said.

He then said that he wanted her to file an order extending the deadline to September 30, and then maybe everything will be OK, federal officials said.

The caller refused to identify himself, but the judge recognized the voice as Mladens, officials said.

The U.S. Marshal Service then determined that the cell phone the call was placed from was in the vicinity of Mladens residence, officials said.

Deputy marshals spoke with Mladen at his home and federal officials said he was arrested after making additional threatening statements about the judge.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 15.
A 52-year old Sandy Hook man is dead after a boat crash on Lake Zoar Tuesday night, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Randall Pineau, of Sandy Hook, was operating a pontoon boat on the lake near Mohawk Trail in Sandy Hook when a ski boat hit his vessel around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to DEEP.

Pineau was taken to Danbury Hospital, where he was pronounced dead by the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Environmental Conservation Police.

Officials said four people were on the pontoon boat and two were on the ski boat when the crash happened. Pineaus wife suffered minor injuries and was also transported to that hospital. She was treated and released.

One other person suffered minor injuries and refused treatment at the scene.

The ENCON Boating Accident Reconstruction Unit is investigating.
Doses of Narcan, which counters the life-threatening effects of an opioid overdose, will soon be in all school nurse's offices in Lebanon.

Whatever we can do to help students, I'm for it," said Sandy Belisle, who has been the nurse at Lyman Memorial High School in Lebanon for 16 years.

Belisle supports a new plan to have doses of Narcan at the ready in her office as well as in the nurse's offices at Lebanon middle and elementary schools.

It is a safeguard and that's what we should look at it as," Belisle said.

Narcan, or Naloxone, is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

Though overdoses have not been an issue within Lebanon schools, district leaders said they want to follow other Connecticut school systems in getting this safeguard in place now.

This is just another drug tool available to our school nurses in case the need arises," said Robert Angeli, Lebanon Superintendent of Schools.

Starting this fall, the elementary, middle and high schools will each have two doses of Narcan nasal spray on hand at a cost of about $50 per dose.

Belisle, meanwhile, stresses that there is a movement to make Narcan available to school nurses nationwide to confront a problem that can creep into any community.

Narcan has been beneficial, has saved lives," said Belisle. "If we have that potential in our medicine cabinet in school nurses office, I think that's a great thing.

Each dose of Narcan will expire after about 18 months. The superintendent said it is an inexpensive way to make these schools safer.
A 29-year-old West Haven woman has pleaded guilty to three bank robberies in Connecticut, according to the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Courtney Worthington was charged with robberies at TD Bank at 636 Campbell Ave. in West Haven on Dec. 19, 2016; the Peoples Bank at 198 Amity St. in Woodbridge on Jan. 2; and the TD Bank at 184 Route 81 in Killingworth on Jan. 5. During each robbery, Worthington handed the teller a note containing threats and demanding money, according to federal officials.

State police found Worthington at the Quality Inn in East Haven on Jan. 5, where they took her into custody.

Worthington will be sentenced on Oct. 11.
Wherever you travel, you are going to eat. In recent years, many travelers select their travel destination according to what the destination offers for foodies. A new study says that almost half (44%) of global travelers consider exploring global cuisines a hobby of theirs. With over half of people (51%) admitting to indulging in a local delicacy within 24 hours of arrival on holiday and seven in ten (69%) within two hours of arrival. Here are the top destinations to explore for your favorite gastronomic pleasures in 2017.

Pizza lovers should head to Naples, Italy, as Booking.com travelers rank this the best destination for the perfect pizza in their reviews. Celebrated for culinary know-how, Naples offers not only the best pizza but is a Unesco World Heritage Site with impressive archaeological riches to explore before a break for the iconic Neapolitan pizza with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, a slice of heaven!

For sensational seafood check out Los Abrigos found on Spanish Canary Island, Tenerife's south coast. The sun soaked coastal village is awash with colorful fishing boats and the charming harbor is the perfect backdrop to enjoy the local shellfish.

Try delectable dim sum in Trang, Thailand. This tranquil hideaway offers secluded beaches and sublime turquoise waters on Thailand's far southern coast. Ahead of a day spent relaxing on the fine white sands or uncovering the lagoons, waterfalls and hidden caves, enjoy a local tradition of dim sum for breakfast alongside some real Thai coffee.

Tokyo takes the first place for both sushi and ramen, no surprise as one of the world's most exhilarating dining destinations and the city boasts the world's highest volume of Michelin stars in any city. Beyond savoring these popular specialty dishes there is so much to see and do in this neon-bright lively city.

Travelers can also get a thrill from taking photos of their food and sharing with others.

The nationalities, who are snapping and posting the most photos when it comes fanciful food in Booking.com reviews, are the artistic English, followed by the tech-savvy Americans and true food aficionados the Italians.

Top 10 nationalities posting the most photos of food in their reviews
Firefighters are battling wildfires throughout southern Italy, including along the slopes of the volcano Mount Vesuvius near Naples.

Wildfires have been raging for days, and Italy's civil protection agency on Tuesday said it was responding with helicopters to 18 blazes, including four in Campania, the region which includes Naples, and two each in Sicily and Basilicata.

Authorities say many are believed to be caused by human activity and have urged people to be especially careful, but have not so far said that arson is suspected. Italy has been experiencing a heatwave combined with drought.

Some people have been evacuated as a precaution from near Mount Vesuvius, where the smoke emitted from the blaze some 2 kilometers (a mile) wide deceived some observers who thought the volcano was erupting.
Dozens of complaints involving tenant issues in Hartford all trace back to the same property owner, and now residents are demanding action of city leaders and housing officials.

The complaints include things like windows being nailed shut, doors broken, mice infestation issues and more.

The NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters requested documents from the city of Hartford and learned that 22 of 30 properties owned by Ah Min Holding, LLC of New York City have complaints on file.

Residents are threatening a rent strike.

The Troubleshooters poured through hundreds of pages of open and closed complaints and violations from Hartford's License and Inspections office.

There were a total of 129 complaints since 2011 for apartments owned by Ah Min Holding - a dozen of which remain active. Five were unfounded. Mice issues topped the list at 19 - followed by other rodents - eight, and roaches - seven.

Complaints also included no heat, broken refrigerator, no lights in hallway, bad smells in basement, clogged drain.

Tenant Yolanda Gonzalez told NBC Connecticut, there's issues, there's mices in the properties. When you tell them they do nothing about it."

Dozens of other tenants living in these apartment buildings across Hartford's north end say conditions are deplorable.

"For over two years I complain about the roaches and mice, manager didn't respond," said resident Joshua Serrano.

The company Ah Min Holding, LLC out of New York City, has 30 properties in Hartford, 26 of which are subsidized by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Milagros Ortiz is another resident who has filed a complaint.

My windows were broken. They fixed them by nailing them shut. If theres a fire blocking my door how will my children escape?" she said.

Some tenants said they are afraid to show their faces, out of fear they'll get evicted.

One unidentified mother of four who spoke with NBC Connecticut has a brand new baby and ceiling leak.

The landlord you barely see him, you gotta argue and deal w/the office. Nothing getting fixed. There's mold," she said.

Others shared photos of mice traps and droppings.

Teri Morrison, I've experienced mice on my stove while I'm cooking."

Many of the tenants are now banding together with the Christian Activities Council filling a local church to demand action.

On Tuesday Reverend AJ Johnson put community and HUD housing leaders on the spot.

"Will you provide apartments free from mice and mold, do you agree? he asked of city leaders and HUD leaders.

HUD leaders in Hartford and out of Boston now promise change.

As you've heard we've committed to all you've asked us to do. we don't want you to be afraid to speak up to your local HUD office, said Suzanne Piacentini with HUD.

Joe Crisafulli of HUD actually apologized to the residents and said things would change.

NBC Connecticut also reached out to Ah Min Holding for comment.

This is the full statement from Emmanuel Ku, owner of Ah Min Holding.

Ah Min Holding, LLC is aware that several tenants have issues with housing at Clay Arsenal Renaissance Apartments (CARA). In particular Ah Min is aware and concerned about the increased rodent activities in the last several months due to the recent demolition of the meat packing building close by. Ah Min has worked continuously with the exterminating company to combat the problem. Progress is being made but the issue is not yet resolved. Ah Min encourages all tenants to sign up and partake in the free exterminating services for their apartments which Ah Min offers twice a week when the exterminator comes to provide treatment in the common areas of the property. We have undertaken recommendations irrespective of the cost by the exterminator. It is our mission to provide a safe and clean living environment to all tenants at CARA. Similarly, in 2011-2012 Ah Min fought to combat crime in the neighborhood by installing surveillance cameras on the property. The problem was not solved overnight but working together with the tenants and the police department, CARA became a safe place to live, walk and play. In 2012, 2013 and again in 2016 CARA received written commendations from the City of Hartford Police for their cooperation and efforts to combat crime in the community. CARA cares about the community and on a daily basis assist with cleanup of the surrounding neighborhood.

Christian Activities Council (CAC), a community base advocacy group, has complained to Ah Mins owner and staff about the rodent problem. Ah Min welcomes the opportunity to work with CAC to resolve this and other issues. Ah Min has held tenant meetings in the past which have proven to be very productive in engaging tenants to learn about issues and working together to resolve them. Unfortunately, CAC unilaterally scheduled a meeting for Tuesday July 11th with less than one week notice. Due to a scheduling conflict, I am unable to attend. I have requested CAC on two separate occasions to work with me to reschedule to a new date but no one at CAC has responded to my requests. I look forward to meeting with the representatives of CAC. In the meanwhile, Ah Min will continue to hold tenant meetings to resolve issues at CARA.

The City of Hartford also responded to the concerns:

Several weeks ago, we were made aware of the severity of unreported violations at this group of properties. Since then we have been in touch with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development as they have begun a thorough inspection process. The conditions in many of these apartments remain absolutely unacceptable, and we are grateful to residents for raising their concerns. We encourage residents to contact the city to report their complaints and allow our inspectors to review their property because it helps us build a record of problems we can refer to. Property owners have an obligation to provide safe and secure housing, and we will be as aggressive as possible in making sure these problems are addressed effectively, Hartford Kiley Gosselin, Deputy Director of Hartford's Department of Development Services said in a statement.
Federal prosecutors said a Texas doctor wrote unnecessary prescriptions for powerful drugs that contributed to the overdose deaths of at least seven people over a four-year period.

Howard Gregg Diamond, 56, was arrested Tuesday on charges that include conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

Prosecutors contend that Diamond began issuing prescriptions in 2010 that had no legitimate medical purpose. The prescriptions were for drugs such as hydrocodone and morphine.

Authorities said the overdose deaths occurred in McKinney; Abilene; Ardmore, Oklahoma; Yukon, Oklahoma; and elsewhere.

Diamond, based in Sherman, appeared in court Friday.

Kaylynn Curtis-Rhodes, the sister of 48-year-old victim Tammy Curtis Betterton, said Diamond needs to pay for what he's done.

"I think a lot of families, and not just our family, have suffered the loss of not prescribing medication the way it should," she said.



Diamond could not be immediately reached by phone or email Wednesday for comment.
An Escondido man suspected of sneaking into the bedrooms of children and sexually assaulting them could face 300 years to life, the San Diego County District Attorney (DA) said.

Gilbert Andrew Chavarria pleaded not guilty to 22 felony charges on Monday, including assault during a burglary, burglary, lewd acts on a child, to possession of child pornography.

According to officials, Chavarria, dubbed "the Creeper," broke into homes in Escondido and San Marcos during early morning hours in June and July of 2013 to sexually assault children. He would apparently cut pieces of their pajamas during the assaults.

Many of the incidents happened while parents were sleeping in the same room, according to officials. Most of the victims were teens, though the youngest victim was five years old.

On June 23, 2013, a window screen was cut open and a man shined a light onto a 13-year-old's face, then tried to reach inside and touch her.

One week later, police said a man forced entry into a residence in the Oak Hill neighborhood of Escondido and sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl. He apparently cut holes in the victim's pajamas and underwear.

Investigators said another similar incident took place July 7, 2013, when a man assumed to be "the Creeper" forced his way into a home through another cut screen. He then sexually assaulted a 12-year-old and 15-year-old girl and cut holes into their clothing, police said.

The fourth incident of forced entry, sexual assault and cut clothing took place shortly thereafter. A 5-year-old girl and a 9-year-old girl were victims in that case.

Investigators were able to recover evidence and DNA from a family member that linked all of the crimes to the same individual, pinning down a suspect that lived in the vicinity and had been acting suspiciously.

Officers said when they tried to make contact in August 2013, he fled. There were no more "creeper" cases that they knew of after the foot chase.

Officials then submitted the DNA evidence to the California Department of Justice for the Familial DNA Testing Process. On February 5, 2015, the Sheriff's Department and Escondido Police were notified by DOJ officials that Chavarria was their suspect.

Officers conducted a surveillance sting and pulled DNA from a discarded item for testing. Eight hours later, the Sheriff's crime lab matched the DNA from the item to the DNA recovered from the crime scenes.

Police said they do not have an exact number of victims yet, and are seeking the public's help in finding others. Anyone with information about Chavarria or possible victims are urged to call the Sheriff's Department at (858) 565-5200 or the Escondido Police at (760) 839-4722.

Chavarria will next appear in court on Sept. 22 for a readiness conference. He could face 300 years to life if convicted.
California Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman has filed an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump in a longshot bid to remove the president from office.

Sherman, who represents communities in the San Fernando Valley, filed the article Wednesday. In it, he accuses Trump of obstructing investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, in part by firing former FBI Director James Comey.

Sherman acknowledges that filing the article is "the first step on a very long road." It is unlikely to move forward in a House and Senate controlled by Republicans, and Democratic leaders have distanced themselves from the effort, believing that it energizes Trump's base.

He has one co-sponsor, fellow Democrat Al Green of Texas.

"I have no illusions," he said in a statement last month to the Los Angeles Times. "Articles of Impeachment will not pass the House in the near future. But given the risk posed to the Republic, we should move things forward as quickly as possible."

Sherman issued a draft article in June.

"As the investigations move forward, additional evidence supporting additional Articles of Impeachment may emerge," Sherman said in a statement. "However, as to Obstruction of Justice... the evidence we have is sufficient to move forward now. And the national interest requires that we do so.

"Introducing Articles of Impeachment will have two possible outcomes. First, I have slight hope it will inspire an 'intervention' in the White House. If Impeachment is real, if they actually see Articles, perhaps we will see incompetency replaced by care. Perhaps uncontrollable impulses will be controlled. And perhaps the danger our nation faces will be ameliorated.

"Second, and more likely, filing Articles of Impeachment is the first step on a very long road. But if the impulsive incompetency continues, then eventually -- many, many months from now -- Republicans will join the impeachment effort."

Sherman filed the article a day after the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., acknowledged that he met with a Russian lawyer during the campaign. The lawyer promised damaging information from the Russian government about Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The President has expressed his support for his son, saying that the emails were released to "be totally transparent."

Trump has repeatedly described the ongoing investigation by the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller into questions about Russia's involvement in the 2016 election as a "hoax" and a "witch hunt." In a tweet Wednesday morning, he against referred to the investigation as "the greatest Witch Hunt in political history."

The Constitution allows Congress to remove officials from high office, including the president. The process starts with the filing of an article or articles of impeachment, which may then be voted on by the House of Representatives.

If one or more articles receives a majority vote, the official is impeached. The impeachment is then tried in the Senate in a proceeding overseen by the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Only two presidents have been impeached in U.S. history. Bill Clinton was impeached by the House in 1998 on charges of lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstruction of justice. In 1868, Andrew Johnson was impeached on charges of violating the tenure of office act. Both were later acquitted by the Senate and stayed in office.

In July 1974, lawmakers were preparing for a possible impeachment trial involving President Richard Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal after members of the House Judiciary Committee voted to submit three articles of impeachment to the House. The House never voted on those articles -- Nixon announced his resignation in August 1974 and no further action was taken.
The recent suicide of a Texas teenage boy who participated in a dangerous social media campaign, called Blue Whale Challenge, has police sending a warning to parents.

Miami Police issued a video in May encouraging teens to not fall from the challenge, which encourages kids to complete 50 tasks, with each subsequent challenge proving more dangerous. The final challenge is to commit suicide, according to the Miami Police video.

Participants search for a game administrator, who issues the challenges, on social media sites or can be recruited in hidden or secret groups on Facebook and Reddit. A photo or video of the challenge is taken to prove it was completed.

When users agree to participate, the administrator receives personal information that could be used to expose them if they want to end the challenge, according to the video.

Isaiah Gonzalez, 15, committed suicide Saturday in San Antonio after his family said he participated in the challenge.

Wed never heard about it until my dad brought it up at dinner, Alexis Gonzalez, Isaiahs sister, said. It wasnt his time to go. He was way too young. He had his whole life ahead of him.

Family members described Isaiah as happy and kindhearted, and he recently joined the ROTC program.

Now, his father is urging parents to monitor their kids social media accounts.

Look at it because you can catch it, Isaiahs dad, Jorge Gonzalez, said.
It was a chaotic scene at a Southwest Florida Chick-fil-A Tuesday as animal rights activists clashed with customers and employees during the fast food chain's annual Cow Appreciation Day celebration.

Customer Tina Lealock posted a video to Facebook showing the group of advocates rallying inside the Pinellas Park Chick-fil-A with customers and employees inside. Some demonstrators wore cow and chicken costumes with fake blood splattered on their clothes. One protester was seen carrying what appeared to be a fake knife as the group chanted, "It's not food; its violence!"

Some parents were outraged by the group, including Lealock. She wrote in her Facebook post that some activists went too far when they pretended to cut costumed demonstrators in front of children eating at the restaurant.

People running in with knives, bleeding. Like bleeding on their shirts and just bloody knives. It scared the kids, Nichole Kretchmar said.



One woman is seen on video yelling at the protesters, "Why y'all acting like this? Stop!" Other patrons screamed, "Get out!"

The group eventually left the restaurant before police officers arrived.

Tampa NBC 6 affiliate WFLA reported that the group was part of Direct Action Everywhere Pinellas, an organization that opposes eating meat or anything else from animals.

People might be upset, but I think that putting it out on the table and showing people, like this is the reality of where the animals are coming from and how bad the animals are suffering, spokeswoman Kayla Leaming told WFLA.
A public patio area outside of the News Corp. building is the scene of a 100-hour anti-Fox News protest, calling for the resignation of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

The protest began midday Tuesday and will last through Saturday. It will culminate in a rally and march on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Trump Tower.

Refuse Fascism, a New York-based group, is behind the protest and hopes to start a national campaign of resistance.

Protesters took over a patio on the News Corp building for a 100 hour long Anti-Fox News and Anti-Trump protest beginning Tuesday.

The protesters had one clear message with their microphones and signs, they want Trump and Pence to go.

On the signs, there are a series of what the protesters call indictments of Trump and Pence. Some of the accusations relate to domestic issues, such as mass incarceration, others are about foreign policy.

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The protesters are also criticizing Fox News for their coverage of the president. One protester screaming, Fox News, this is what you call lies incorporated.

One goal of the protest is to highlight what the protesters consider to be the promotion of "fascism" by the network, according to Sunsara Taylor, a spokesperson for Refuse Fascism.

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Professional piano player Matt Shipp was one of the protesters in attendance and urged those who oppose the president to keep resisting and fighting.

When the protest first started, onlookers had mixed reactions. Several people in the crowd cheered as the protesters called for the resignation of Trump and Pence. However, there were a few people who yelled Make America Great Again as they walked by.

Tensions at the protest came to a boil when two members of the crowd got into a verbal argument about the president and his administration.

A representative from Fox News was not immediately available for comment on the protest.

Top Tri-State News Photos
What to Know All 16 people aboard died when the military refueling plane crashed into a field in rural Mississippi Monday

Fifteen Marines and a Navy corpsman were on board the KC-130 plane that spiraled and crashed into a soybean field

The plane was based out of VMGR-452, the reserve squadron stationed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh

Two Marines who grew up in the tri-state, and a third Marine who lived in New York, have been identified after they were killed earlier this week when their New York-based military plane crashed in Mississippi.

Dan Baldassarem, Owen Lennon and Julian Kevianne were among the 16 people killed in Monday's crash. All of the victims were based at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York.



Baldassarem was a 20-year-old Marine from Colts Neck, New Jersey. He was a hometown athlete who talked of joining the military early on.

"He was a good son, a good brother and very proud to be a Marine," said neighbor Eileen Dial.

Lennon was a 26-year-old Marine from Pomona, New York. His neighbors were stunned to hear of his death.

"This shouldn't happen to anybody, especially people  especially people as nice as the Lennons," said neighbor Jeff Scheer through tears.



Kevianne, a 31-year-old Marine, was a Detroit native who lived in New Windsor, New York, with his family.

Fifteen Marines and a Navy sailor were killed Monday in a plane crash that spewed debris for miles, authorities said. They were headed to Yuma, Arizona, for pre-deployment training when the KC-130 transport plane, based out of New York, went down in a soybean field.

Authorities said it had some sort of problem at cruise altitude, but an exact cause of the crash remains under investigation. No criminality is suspected. With debris scattered for miles across the flat countryside of the Mississippi Delta, federal and local officials may be combing soybean fields for up to a week for clues, a sheriff said Wednesday.

Several bouquets were left at the main gate of Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, where the plane was based. Officials said some of those killed were from the base, but Stewart was closed to reporters and did not issue a statement.

"We're feeling the pain that everybody else is," Robert Brush said after dropping off three pots of red, white and blue petunias. He works for a landscaping company that serves the base.

Military officials said they planned to release the names of the victims at a news briefing Wednesday.

"While the identities of my Marines whose lives were lost in this accident are still being withheld, I request we respect their loved ones' privacy in the days immediately after the identities of our deceased Marines are publicly disclosed," said Marine Lt. Col. Joshua E. Izenour, the commander of Marine Aerial Refueling and Transport Squadron 452.

Witnesses said they heard low, rumbling explosions when the plane was still high in the sky over Mississippi on Monday. They said they saw the aircraft spiraling toward the flat, green landscape and spotted an apparently empty parachute floating toward the earth.



It was the deadliest Marine Corps air disaster since 2005, when a transport helicopter went down during a sandstorm in Iraq, killing 30 Marines and a sailor.

The crash happened outside the small town of Itta Bena about 85 miles north of the state capital of Jackson. Bodies were found more than a mile from the plane.
"How I Met Your Mother" star Neil Patrick Harris came to the defense of a young boy Tuesday after he was insulted on Twitter by actor James Woods over the weekend.

Woods, known for taking conservative political stances, targeted a boy labeled "gender creative" by his parents. The family posted a picture from the Orange County, California, pride parade holding signs reading "I love my gender creative son!" and "My son wears dresses & makeup  Get over it!!"

This is sweet. Wait until this poor kid grows up, realizes what you've done, and stuffs both of you dismembered into a freezer in the garage pic.twitter.com/1k3ITApFsF  James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) July 10, 2017

The image apparently offended Woods.

"This is sweet. Wait until this poor kid grows up, realizes what you've done, and stuff both of you dismembered into a freezer in the garage, " he wrote on Twitter.

Harris blasted the transphobic comments on Twitter, calling Woods "ignorant and classless," and noting that he knew the family of the boy.

Utterly ignorant and classless, Mr. Woods. I'm friends with this family. You know not of what you speak, and should be ashamed of yourself. https://t.co/ZrbtZH49sp  Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) July 11, 2017

The mother of the boy targeted in the Woods tweet, Lori Duron, called Harris a "class act" on her blog, "Raising My Rainbow," about raising her son.
What to Know The uprising in Newark that began July 12, 1967 was the latest in a series of civil disorders in cities from Boston to Los Angeles

The rioting left 26 dead, more than 700 injured and nearly 1,500 arrested, mostly black

The clashes with local, state and federal authorities led to a presidential commission to explore the reasons behind the riots

The rumor spread quickly: A man had been beaten to death by police. For blacks  frustrated by high unemployment, inadequate schools, substandard housing  yet another abuse by police was too much to bear, and they erupted.

There were no shouts that black lives mattered. This was Newark in 1967, long before deaths at the hands of police in cities like Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, gave birth to another movement in another era.

For four days in July, Newark was the epicenter of black rage. The rioting left 26 dead, more than 700 injured and nearly 1,500 arrested, mostly black. In addition to the $10 million in property damage, the riots left economic and emotional scars on Brick City that, in many ways, have not yet healed.

Newark was a deadly entry in the long list of major urban areas that exploded over a five-year period, among them Watts in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston and New York's Harlem. Days after Newark burned, Detroit followed. The disorders exposed  for the first time to much of white America  racial and economic disparities that went far beyond the familiar scenes of segregation in the South.

"A riot is at the bottom of the language of the unheard," the Rev. Martin Luther King wrote in his last book, "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" in 1967. "The amazing thing about the ghetto is that so few Negroes have rioted."

The rioters spoke loudly, but were they heard? The echoes of 1967 in today's America would suggest they were not, and the lessons not learned linger for a new generation where racial tensions, indifference and inaction persist.



___



"People were thinking about who they were, and thinking that they deserved more as American citizens," said Komozi Woodard, who grew up in Newark and was 18 years old at the time of the riots. "It went from a situation that was unbearable, to the community feeling it was unacceptable."

As a 12-year-old black boy, Woodard was beaten by a street gang in his neighborhood. His mother called the police for help, and when they arrived, the officers beat her son, too.

It was 1961, and Woodard had learned his first lesson about the relationship between police and his community.

"I believed in the system, and the system came out and beat me up," said Woodard, now 68 and a history professor at Sarah Lawrence College. "It was an everyday occurrence for police to just beat people up. There was no place you could go."

By 1967, as whites fled for the suburbs and were replaced with a wave of black and brown residents, Newark was New Jersey's largest city and the country's first majority-black city aside from Washington. Many blacks were part of the Great Migration to escape the de jure Jim Crow of the Deep South, only to find de facto segregation in the North.

Most of Newark's power structure remained white. Only 11 percent of its police force was black; citizen complaints about treatment by police routinely went unanswered and the few black officers on the force had little opportunity for advancement or leadership.

By July 12, Newark's black residents had had enough.

John W. Smith, a black man, was driving his cab when he was pulled over by two white Newark police officers. Smith and the officers' version of events diverged  there were no body cameras then to record the exchange  but Smith was badly beaten during his arrest.

Smith was taken to a police precinct directly across from Hayes Homes. Residents who saw him dragged inside assumed he'd been killed by the officers, and word spread quickly through the crowded housing project.

Though Smith was treated at a hospital and later released, a riot broke out that night, followed by looting. The unrest continued for three more nights. State police and National Guard troops were called in to quell the uprising.

Fred Means, a teacher and activist with the Congress of Racial Equality in Newark at the time, recalled seeing police join in the looting along with some residents.

"That really symbolized the whole tenor and system of corruption that was going on," said Means, now 84 and living in Monroe, New Jersey. "It was like a war scene. There was that fear, there was that possibility, that the police would shoot you and nothing would happen  much the same as what happens today."

Many of the scenes that unfolded in Newark have resembled the conflict of the last few years: Residents clashing with police wearing riot gear and driving armored vehicles down city streets, mass arrests, and government officials calling for curfews in an attempt to restore order and frustrated citizens burning neighborhood storefronts.

Junius Williams was a law student at Yale University fighting gentrification in Newark when the riots broke out. He was driving back from a "black power" conference in Philadelphia when news of the riots came across his car radio.

"This was the rebellion that people had predicted because it had been happening all over the country, and Newark was no different," said Williams, 73, now a professor at Rutgers University in Newark. "There was no representation in government and people were taking advantage of black folks and it was only so much people were going to take. It was on."

As he was driving friends home on the second night of the riots, Williams faced down a police officer wielding a shotgun during a traffic stop. He was spared, he says, when a sergeant defused the situation by searching Williams' car for guns. He found only law books.



___



The 1967 riots prompted President Lyndon Johnson to launch an inquiry into the cause of the racial disorders. Among the findings of the Kerner Commission were that the country "is moving toward two societies, one black, one white  separate and unequal." The report identified police practices as among the primary factors that led to the unrest in black communities.

"The abrasive relationship between the police and the minority communities has been a major  and explosive  source of grievance, tension and disorder," the report read. "The blame must be shared by the total society."

The commission recommendations to improve police-community relations included a review of police operations to eliminate abrasive practices, more police protection to inner-city residents, more hiring and promotion of black officers and a means for residents to file complaints against the police.

Nationally, there are now greater systems of accountability for police officers, who are the best trained generation of law enforcement officers in the country's history, said Phillip Atiba Goff, co-founder of the Center for Policing Equity. Still, a lack of national metrics to track police behavior shows an uneven progress.

"What it says is that we have not taken seriously the problem of race in America on a number of fronts, including policing," Goff said. "As a result, we're doomed to repeat the history from which we have not learned."

The conclusions reached in the 2015 Justice Department report on Ferguson sounded similar to the Kerner Commission's findings.

In 1970, Newark became the first Northeastern city to elect a black mayor. Its police force became more diverse, and more officers lived in the city they were charged with serving. Today, 38 percent of the police department is black and 40 percent is white. The city's overall population is much the same as in 1967: 52 percent black and 26 percent white.

In the immediate aftermath of the riots, more affordable housing was built and the city was forced to provide better health care in a deal to build a new medical center.

"We could not have done that without that invisible brother with the brick standing with us in the negotiating room," said Williams. "The power structure was afraid. They thought it was going to happen again."

In other ways, progress has been slow to arrive.

In the wake of the riots, economic development was largely limited to the city's downtown, where whites worked. The poverty level for black residents is 33 percent, and Newark residents hold only 18 percent of all jobs in the city.

In 2016, the police department was put under federal consent decree after a Justice Department investigation found officers were making unlawful stops and arrests, using excessive force and retaliating against residents. Fifty years after Newark, similar recommendations are still being made as part of the federal consent decrees reached between cities and local police departments  including Ferguson, Chicago, Cleveland and New Orleans  found to have discriminatory practices against minority residents.

"We are a long way from 1967, but we are even further away from where we need to be to prevent 1967 from happening again," said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, whose father, poet and activist Amiri Baraka, was badly beaten during the riots. "There were a myriad of things that were suggested, and frankly they were ignored. People need to feel like the government and the police are there to protect them and not to prey on them."
A young boy from New Jersey who had just celebrated his 11th birthday died while at a summer camp on Tuesday, police said.

Daniel Beer, of Norwood, was attending Camp Nah-Jee-Wah in Milford, Pennsylvania, when he experienced gastrointestinal symptoms on Sunday night, camp administrators said.

The camp infirmary initially treated Beer, then transferred him to a local hospital Monday morning when his condition worsened, the camp director said.

Beer was pronounced dead at Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, officials said. He had just turned 11 on July 4.

Mark Keyes, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police, said there is nothing suspicious about the boys death at this point but that every death is treated as a concern, especially that of an 11-year-old boy.

The Jewish sleepaway camp is part of the New Jersey Y Camps organization.

Leonard Robinson, the executive camp director of New Jersey Y Camps, offered his condolences in a statement.

There are no words to describe the sudden loss of a young life. As we grieve together, please be assured we will be offering our full support to the family who has lost a son and to our camp community who has lost a fellow camper, Robinson said.

The camp has provided grief counselors for the campers and staff.

A full autopsy report is pending.

CORRECTION:

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Daniel Beer's last name.
A man who spent 21 years behind bars for murder was set free Wednesday after prosecutors abandoned his conviction, acknowledging they unfairly withheld information and jurors got misleading testimony about an eyewitness.

Jabbar Washington, 43, broke into a smile as a Brooklyn judge dismissed the case against him.

He had confessed but long since recanted in a deadly 1995 robbery at a drug den. Six other men also were convicted and remain so.

Washington walked out of court to applause from his supporters.

The case is the 23rd conviction that the Brooklyn district attorney's office has disavowed in the last 3 1/2 years, as it revisits over 100 often decades-old convictions in one of the most sweeping review efforts of its kind nationwide. Washington's case is one of dozens involving a once prominent detective, now retired, whose tactics have come under scrutiny.

Prosecutors didn't weigh in Wednesday on Washington's claim that detectives beat him into confessing, and they stopped short of saying they believe he's innocent in the gunslinging holdup that killed Ronald Ellis and wounded five other people during a violent era in one of Brooklyn's most crime-wracked neighborhoods.

But prosecutors conceded that Washington's trial was unfair and agreed to drop the case, saying they can't retry it now. The eyewitness died in 2006.

It is critical that all defendants receive a fair trial and I am fully committed to reviewing and correcting miscarriages of justice in Brooklyn," Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. "Following a thorough and fair investigation by my Conviction Review Unit, it was determined that Mr. Washington did not receive a fair trial and crucial information that would have been useful to the defense was withheld."

"Therefore, I am moving, in the interest of justice, to have his conviction vacated," the statement continued. "Given the unresolved issues of credibility in this case, we cannot prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt so we will not seek a retrial and move to dismiss the indictment."

The eyewitness, who'd been shot in the robbery, identified Washington in a 1996 lineup as one of the men involved in the robbery in an apartment in the Brownsville neighborhood. But two days later, she clarified to a prosecutor that she was just identifying Washington as someone she'd seen around the building, not as one of the robbers, the prosecutor's office said.

Prosecutors at the time made a note that she'd recanted, and she didn't repeat the identification at the grand jury or trial. But they didn't tell Washington's then-lawyer that the eyewitness had backtracked, despite legal obligations to turn over exculpatory information.

And then-Detective Louis Scarcella, who'd obtained Washington's confession and helped conduct the lineup, suggested at trial that Washington had been identified as a suspect, prosecutors said.

When asked whether getting a confession was particularly important in the case, Scarcella said: "If he didn't get ID'd, it would have been."

Scarcella, who retired in 2000, has denied any wrongdoing during a career that built him a reputation as a stellar investigator before the Brooklyn DA's office began reviewing roughly 70 of his cases in recent years. So far, prosecutors have abandoned about a half-dozen convictions in his cases but stood by nearly three dozen others.

While they characterized his testimony in the Washington case as misleading, they haven't accused him of breaking any laws.
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What to Know Police continue to search for four young men who went missing in Bucks County last week.

Cosmo DiNardo, the person of interest in the case, was arrested a second time Wednesday.

DiNardo is accused of trying to sell the car of Tom Meo, one of the missing men.

UPDATE: The Bucks County District Attorney announced human remains were found during the search for the four missing men. One set of remains was identified as 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro, of Middletown Township. New details HERE >>



The man named a person of interest in the disappearance of four young men in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly stealing and trying to sell a car owned by one of the missing men, the county's top prosecutor said.

The announcement of Cosmo DiNardo's arrest marks the second time in recent days he's been arrested since the missing persons investigation began.



District Attorney Matt Weintraub said DiNardo, 20, tried to sell Tom Meo's 1996 Nissan Maxima for $500 after he went missing Friday. The car was found on property DiNardo's family owns in Solebury Township.

Bucks County District Attorney's Office

Meo, a diabetic, left his insulin kit and glucose meter in the vehicle, Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said. His family told the DA he would be at risk of going into diabetic shock without the medical supplies.

DiNardo, who is from Bensalem, has been charged with receiving stolen property and was arraigned via video Wednesday afternoon by a district court judge. His bail is set at $5 million cash.

Wearing a dark blue tank top, black shorts, and silver shackles, DiNardo shuffled alongside two officers  his head down  as he was led into the Bucks County jail Wednesday evening.

Cosmo DiNard, considered a person of interest in the disappearance of four missing young men in Bucks County was arrested Wednesday, accused of trying to sell one of the missing mens car to a friend. Hes being held on $5 million cash bail.

It's the second time he's been inside the lockup this week. DiNardo was arrested Monday on an unrelated weapons charge but left the Bucks County jail Tuesday night after his father, Antonio DiNardo, posted 10 percent of $1 million bail.

A family lawyer released a statement Wednesday on behalf of DiNardo's parents.

"As parents, Mr. and Mrs. DiNardo sympathize with the parents and families of the missing young men and they are cooperating in every way possible with the investigation being conducted by law enforcement," the lawyer wrote.

High-powered attorney Fortunato Perri Jr., who has represented several local celebrities, including Philadelphia hip hop artist Beanie Sigel, was also hired to represent DiNardo in court.



According to an affidavit obtained by NBC10, DiNardo was accused of possessing a 20-gauge shotgun and ammunition in February despite being barred from owning a firearm due to a history of mental illness that included an involuntary commitment. A district judge dismissed the charge in May, but the district attorney authorized for it to be refiled on Monday.

DiNardo was named a person of interest in the disappearance of Mark Sturgis, 22, of Pennsburg, Montgomery County; 21-year-old Meo, of Plumstead Township; 19-year-old Dean Finocchiaro, of Middletown Township; and 19-year-old Jimi Tar Patrick, of Newtown Township after they all vanished last week.

The missing men and DiNardo all appear to know one another, prosecutors said.

Newtown Township Police, Middletown Township Police

Bucks County District Attorney's Office

According to Sturgis' father, Mark Potash, Sturgis and Meo are longtime friends who work in construction for him. Finocchiaro is a mutual friend of theirs, Potash said. Investigators began looking at DiNardo after they received tips indicating he was seen with the men shortly before they went missing.

Patrick went missing on Wednesday, July 5. He has not contacted family or friends or shown up for work, police said. Finocchiaro was last seen Friday around 6:30 p.m. getting into a vehicle on Hampton Drive.

According to a newly obtained criminal complaint, Meo's mother reported him missing Saturday. Meo's girlfriend said she last texted him Friday at 6:53 p.m. and didn't hear from him after.

Sturgis, who was last seen leaving his home on Walt Road in Pennsburg, around 6 p.m. Friday, told his father he was going to meet with Meo in Doylestown.

On Sunday at 2:10 a.m., Sturgis' vehicle was found in the area of Peddler's Village in Buckingham Township, about two miles away from a DiNardo family home on Aquetong Road.

Less than two hours later, Meo's car was discovered at the DiNardo home. Detectives say they found Meo's car keys hanging up on the wall of the garage. They also found Meo's diabetic supplies inside the vehicle.

On Sunday at 4:30 p.m., Bucks County detectives interviewed DiNardo's friend whose identity police are withholding. The friend told police DiNardo had called him Saturday at 5 p.m. The two then met on Bristol and Galloway roads in Bensalem where DiNardo allegedly offered to sell Meo's Nissan Maxima to him for $500, the criminal complaint reads.



Police also interviewed DiNardo Sunday. DiNardo allegedly told detectives he was driving a silver Ford pickup truck Friday night.

A search Solebury Township police mobile license plate reader data found DiNardo's Ford pickup truck was on 2541 Street Road in Solebury Township Friday at 7:49 p.m. Within a few seconds, the license plate reader also captured Meo's vehicle at the same location.

The location where both vehicles were captured is within two miles away of the DiNardo home and less than one mile away from where Sturgis' vehicle was found.

Based on the information, investigators say they had probable cause that DiNardo did "unlawfully take and retain control" of Meo's vehicle.

The revelations come as investigators hone in on new evidence described by Weintraub as "valuable."

No human remains were found as dozens of law enforcement members scoured another one of the DiNardo family's properties, a sprawling 90-acre farm, along Lower York Road in Solebury Township about 30 miles north of Philadelphia, on foot. Investigators also used heavy equipment to dig on the property and deployed canines to search for clues they hope will lead them to the missing men.

Susan Coleman, a woman who lives near the farm, told NBC10's Deanna Durante that she heard gunshots from around the property on Saturday  hours after Meo and others were last seen.

"We heard a series of blasts, they were loud," Coleman said.

Coleman said she was sitting outside with her husband when she heard the gunfire but at first didn't think much of it since people go hunting in the area. But, she decided to talk to investigators after hearing what sounded like more gunshots then yelling and commotion.

[PHOTOS]Timeline: Murder of Four Young Men in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Officials said they were chasing "incredibly hot" leads as they spent much of the week focused on the agrarian property. Law enforcement sources said there are six sites on the ground investigators dug up first.

Some 50 people actively searched for clues, Weintraub said. Montgomery County lent police cadets to aid in the investigation.

Weintraub said the search has been "really, really rough on everybody involved" due to heat, humidity and the property's expanse.

Weintraub has described the search an "all hands on deck" situation with the FBI, state police and five local law enforcement agencies assisting with the case. He also said that based on information that he "can't share," foul play was likely involved in the disappearance of the young men.

Multiple sources told NBC10 that cellphone tower records in the area have been subpoenaed to see if any of the missing men used their phones in the area over the weekend.

Sources also tell NBC10 a grand jury has been convened and that multiple people, including DiNardo's parents, were issued subpoenaes. Weintraub said he was prohibited by law from confirming such information.



Weintraub continued to encourage the public to provide information that could aid in the investigation.

Patrick stands 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs around 150 pounds. He was last seen wearing gray shorts and a polo shirt with a multi-colored design.

Finocchiaro has brown hair and hazel eyes, standing 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds.

Sturgis stands 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 240 pounds with black hair and a black beard.

Meo stands 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. He has diabetes and his diabetic kit was found in the car.

Cosmo DiNardo, 20, was released on bail and remains a person of interest in the investigation related to four missing young men in Bucks County. District Attorney Matthew Weintraub says crews conitnue to search for clues.

The missing men's photos have begun to appear on digital billboards along highways in the area.



Family members continued to keep vigil Wednesday at the search site, prosecutors said. Asked if the four missing men could still be alive, Weintraub said, "I think it's very important to hang on to hope."

About 50 students, faculty and staff also gathered at a chapel at Loyola University in Maryland where Patrick was a rising sophomore to pray for him and the three other missing men. Director of Campus Ministry Sean Bray told the Baltimore Sun the group wanted to honor the request of Patrick's grandmother to "storm heaven with our prayers for Jimi's safe return."

Police ask anyone with information to call 215-297-8201 or submit a tip online.

NBC10 journalists Deanna Durante, Denise Nakano, Pamela Osborne and Lauren Mayk contributed to this report.


Eighty people were arrested at the U.S. Capitol complex Monday as protesters occupied the offices of various U.S. House and Senate members, demonstrating against the GOP effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Protesters were carried out of the rooms and hallways in or near the offices of Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). The Senate returned Monday from a recess, during which many lawmakers had also faced protesters in their home states.

A group of demonstrators tried pushing through the door and into a waiting area outside of House Speaker Paul Ryan's office, according to NBC News. A staffer tried to keep them out, and there was a sign on the door that read "only scheduled appointments will be admitted."

Capitol Police officers carried the protesters away from 13 different locations in the House and Senate Office Buildings, according to a statement from police. Twenty-one people were arrested in the House Office Building, and 59 people were arrested from the Senate Office Building.

Capitol Police said those arrested would be charged under a D.C. law for crowding, obstructing or incommoding.
For frequent Disneyland-goer Alexander Rodriguez, the hand stamps at the amusement park remind him of the excitement he felt as a child about which character or design he would be wearing that day.



So the news that Disney Resorts has done away with its lemon-scented re-entry hand stamps struck him as bittersweet.

"It's sad because I remember getting hand stamps as a kid and now my kids won't be able to have the same enjoyment," Rodriguez said.

Starting this week, every park visitor who visits Disneyland or California Adventure will have to take a photo, which will then be encrypted into the barcode of his or her ticket, according to park officials.

When park-goers try to re-enter the park after leaving, staff members will scan their tickets and check their identities against the photo they took earlier, rather than checking their hand under ultraviolet light for a stamp.

Annual pass-holders have not needed hand stamps for several years because Disneyland already keeps photos of them in their system.

Rodriguez thinks that the change is just part of the natural progression of technology in the park. With the old policy, people would try to duplicate the stamps to get into the parks for free.

Walt Disney World in Florida fingerprints visitors for re-entry and Disneyland's Shanghai location puts visitors' photos directly onto their tickets.

Similarly, at Universal Studios Hollywood, a fingerprint is required for guests to gain entry to the theme park.

Universal Studios and NBC-owned TV stations operate under the same parent company, NBCUniversal.


Crews extinguished a fire that damaged two houses in Tijuana, near the U.S.-Mexico border, Wednesday afternoon, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The fire broke out in the Canon Zapata area of Tijuana, close to Otay Mesa and San Ysidro and to the south of Pacific Gateway Park, sending thick smoke into the air. The fire started just before noon, the Tijuana Fire Department said.

Two people lived in one of the homes that caught fire. The residents weren't there at the time of the fire. The other house damaged in the fire was abandoned.

#Tijuana fire department battling the blaze. Homes threatened. pic.twitter.com/XgnhpkpJ5p  CBP San Diego (@CBPSanDiego) July 12, 2017

Tijuana fire crews battled the flames and were able to put the fire out within 15 minutes, according to the department.

Social workers are currently trying to find a place for the two residents whose home was damaged, said Tijuana Fire Department officials.

There were no injuries, and the scene was cleared.
Nearly a half a dozen king cobras and a handful of geckos were seized by border agents at Kennedy Airport, authorities said.

The reptiles were detected by Customs and Border Protection officers scanning an express mail package from Hong Kong late last month.

The contents of the package were described as a plastic tray, but an x-ray revealed the slithering outlines of snakes.

U.S. Customs

The officers contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to examine the package further.

The FWS officers opened the container and found a Styrofoam casing with rows of holes. The parcel was filled with five juvenile king cobras and three geckos.

The animals were all alive, and the package was turned over to the FWS for further investigation, authorities said.

The Intrepid (and Hungry) Animals of New York City
The Washington, D.C., regions residential permit parking system is being widely ignored or cheated, the News4 I-Team found.

Citation records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed 40,000 violations of residential permit parking restrictions over the past two years.

Residential permit parking is a system employed in a growing number of local communities to prevent commuters from clogging residential streets with their vehicles. The permit system restricts parking on neighborhood roads to homeowners or their visitors.

Without permit parking, residential areas would be overrun by parkers who dont live in that community, Prince Georges County Revenue Authority Community Relations Director Dianne Harris said.

Neighborhood groups must submit a petition to add permit parking in their community. A fast rising number are doing so, including more than 30 in Montgomery County.

The permitting system is particularly important in communities near high schools and WMATA Metro stations, where parking is coveted during daytime hours.

The permitting system requires drivers obtain a cardboard placard  or electronically-submitted placard  before parking curbside on restricted streets.

But the systems are increasingly cheated or dodged, according to a review by the I-Team.

The I-Team obtained logs of violations from five major communities: D.C., Fairfax County, Arlington, Montgomery County and Prince Georges County. Between January 2015 and December 2016, parking enforcement teams issued more than 40,000 citations for violations of the residential parking permit system. In most communities, violations increased noticeably between 2015 and 2016.

Arlington: $50 fine | Map

D.C.: $30 fine (first offense) | Map

Fairfax County: $75 fine | Map

Montgomery County: $50 fine | Locations

Prince Georges: $50 fine | Map

In Prince Georges County, revenue authority officers issued 2,832 citations in 2016, up from 886 in 2015.

Its been 20 or 30 (violations) a night on Saturday, Revenue Authority Officer Marlon Ellerbe said. Its 15 to 20 a night on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

In Montgomery County, transportation officials said violators are ignoring posted no parking signs in residential permit areas. County Parking Management Division Chief Jose Thommana said there is also a set of black market permit placards bought and sold to circumvent the permit parking restrictions.

There were instances in which these permits were being sold, Thommana said. We did see cases where permits were being photocopied.

Montgomery County recently instituted an electronic permit system, in which they replaced cardboard placards with an electronic permitting system operated through an internet portal. County officials said they did so in part to combat the trafficking of counterfeit placards.

Prince Georges and Montgomery counties use inspectors equipped with license plate readers to patrol neighborhood streets for possible violators. Prince Georges County uses officers from its county revenue authority. Montgomery County hires contractors for the work.

During normal daytime hours, we see the most violations near the Metro areas because there is concentration of dining and shopping and people will park near them to commute, Arlington County Police spokeswoman Ashley Savage said. High schools have larger violations during evening sporting events, when we see a larger influx of parents and students in the area.
Abandoning a decade-long plan to move the FBI from its deteriorating downtown D.C. headquarters wastes time and taxpayer dollars, and endangers national security, officials in Maryland say.

"I've never seen a decision handled with more mismanagement and more negligence," Sen. Chris Van Hollen said.

"This is another incredibly disappointing example of the dysfunction that has been typical of Washington, D.C. for too long, and we share the deep frustration of everyone impacted by this shortsighted decision," a spokeswoman for Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement.

The General Services Administration (GSA) announced Tuesday that the government does not have enough money to move forward on the plan to relocate the FBI to Maryland or Virginia. The Obama administration had sought $1.4 billion for the project, but Congress left it underfunded by about $882 million.

In a joint statement, Sen. Ben Cardin, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Rep. Anthony Brown and Rep. Steny Hoyer -- all Democrats -- called the GSA's decision wasteful and urged the president to include funding for the move in his budget.

Canceling the current request for proposals for a fully consolidated FBI headquarters puts Americas national security at risk. The Hoover Building is crumbling around the FBI," the statement said. "It is unfathomable that the Trump Administration would fail to move forward on a secure headquarters for the FBI workforce that serves on the front lines of our nations law enforcement and counter terrorism efforts."

Pulling the plug on the plan "is a waste of hundreds of millions of federal, state and local taxpayer dollars," the statement continued.

Local governments in both Maryland and Virginia were vying for the new headquarters, which was expected to drive economic growth.

"I thought we were turning a corner," Maryland resident Cliff Holly said. "I still think we're turning a corner. It's just a disappointment."


A second person has been arrested and charged in the death earlier this year of a retired FBI special agent.

Laurel police previously charged Anne Reed Allen, 62, in the death of her estranged husband, Scott Alan Horn, 62.

Police said they arrested Jason Allen Byrd, 42, of Westminster. He is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and the use of a handgun in a crime of violence.

Police said Byrd is an acquaintance of that family who did work as a handyman. An online court record did not list an attorney for Byrd.

Detectives said Horn was found dead on March 16 in the yard of his home in Laurel. Authorities said Horn had major trauma to his upper body.
A portion of property from Vermonts former Burlington College sold Wednesday in a foreclosure auction, to the sole bidder, for $3.1-million.

The buyer was Peoples United Bank, which is owed money from the now-defunct school.

The bank still needs approval from the civil division of the Vermont Superior Courts Chittenden division to close the sale, said Matt Carter of Peoples United Bank.

The parcel auctioned Wednesday consisted of a 29,500 square foot building, six acres of land and development rights.

Assuming it receives that approval and obtains the title to the property auctioned off Wednesday, the bank is likely to turn around and unload the parcel of land and any structures on it.

A sale would generally be looked for by the bank, Carter said, acknowledging the business models of most banks do not tend to include holding onto property.

The foreclosure auction came as federal investigators are reportedly taking a close look at Burlington College and the $10-million land deal that greatly expanded its campus.

Back in 2010, Jane Sanders was the colleges president. Shes the wife of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. president as a Democrat.

Critics of Jane Sanders suspect she got a loan for the prime real estate on North Avenue in Burlington, overlooking Lake Champlain, by overstating donations the college was promised  money that never came.

Burlington College folded in 2016, under a different president, because the school was burdened by debt and lacked sufficient tuition revenue to support its new, larger operation.

The Associated Press reported the office of Vermonts U.S. attorney wont confirm whether the matter of the loan is being investigated. However, the AP also reported that former college officials say they have been questioned formally by federal agents.

Vermont Digger, an online investigative news organization, and the newspaper Seven Days have aggressively covered the situation at the former college.

Both outlets have interviewed former college employees who told them they were approached by FBI agents seeking information pertaining to an investigation.

Last month, Jane and Bernie Sanders acknowledged they had hired lawyers, the AP wrote.

GOP power player Brady Toensing pushed for a fraud probe.

In a letter sent in January of 2016 to the then U.S. Attorney for Vermont, Toensing claimed there was real harm done to the community by the problems at Burlington College.

Toensing singled out the charitable Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington as one entity that was affected, because it sold the land to the college and lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest, he wrote.

Toensing wrote that he hopes Jane Sanders will not be able to rely on her prominence and political connections to avoid the scrutiny and accountability that would come from a federal investigation into what he described as apparent financial misconduct.

That is an absolute lie, countered Sanders in a recent appearance on All In With Chris Hayes on MSNBC.

Sanders has defended his wife as supremely honest, saying during her tenure, Burlington College got better.

He dismissed this as a politically-motivated smear campaign led by Toensing, whom the Vermont political icon said was a key figure in President Donald Trumps election effort in the Green Mountain State.

Thats what you expect from the Trump administration and people associated with Donald Trump, Sanders told Chris Hayes of Toensings approach to going after his wife.

Connor Casey, the executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party, told the AP that Toensing has a history of filing frivolous complaints. He called the complaints against Jane Sanders a political witch hunt.

This is another notch in Bradys belt, a waste of time and a politically-motivated attack, Casey said.

As the reported investigation continues behind closed doors, developer Eric Farrell said he expects to buy the portion of the Burlington College property which Peoples United Bank bid on Wednesday.

Hopefully, well buy it from the bank sometime this fall, Farrell said.

Farrell said he plans to add hundreds of mixed-style housing units on the site, as well as some commercial space.

He already bought much of the former campus, turning a building on an adjoining parcel into upscale apartments.

Its an unbelievable piece of property, Farrell said, smiling.

The developer says he knows little or nothing about the Feds reported probe into the propertys past, adding hes primarily interested in its future, to add to the housing options in Burlington.
After several days of violence in Brockton, Massachusetts, the Plymouth County District Attorney and Mayor Bill Carpenter are getting proactive.

"These have not been random events," Carpenter said Wednesday. "We know the most effective way to stop any retaliation shootings or stop any more violence is to get that shooter off the street."

Early Monday morning, 26-year-old Stephen Cabral was murdered. Several other people were shot in separate shootings.

Now, District Attorney Timothy Cruz is requesting State Troopers join Brockton Police in patrolling streets. Patrols will be increased, especially on impact shifts, mainly Thursday to Sunday nights.

"When we do that, we are able to get a significant number of individuals off the street which will drive down the gun violence and will take the bad guys and put them where they belong, which is in jail," Cruz said.

In addition, more detectives have been added to Cabral's murder investigation.

"I think that it sends a message that we have responded with additional personnel, and you are going to have to think twice about carrying a gun around in this city," Carpenter said.

The mayor says the additional troopers will focus on high-visibility traffic stops and patrolling areas prone to crime.

"It is what we would call a surge, we are putting a law enforcement surge on right now to send a message that someone has to really think twice before heading out on the street with a gun," Carpenter said.

According to the mayor, gun violence is down 30 percent in the city over the last three years. The hope is that this weekend's "surge" will continue that downward trend.
A driver had to be rescued from his car after crashing into a utility pole in Spencer, Massachusetts early Wednesday morning.

Police say the 26-year-old driver crashed into a pole at 24 Wire Village Road around 2:45 a.m.

The driver was not injured, but was trapped in the vehicle until National Grid could turn the power off in the area.

The road was closed and the power remained shut off in the area for a few hours.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but police believe that speed may have been a factor.
The nation's governors gather this week amid great uncertainties for their states on health care, solutions to the opioid overdose epidemic, even how to address the effects of climate change without help from the federal government.

Proposed changes to the nation's existing health care law will be front and center as Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate seek ways to salvage their overhaul effort.

Governors from both parties have spoken out against elements of the most recent bill, which could have enormous consequences for the states. Their nonpartisan group, the National Governors Association, has called on the Senate to give governors a say in shaping any reforms.

Their summer meeting begins Thursday in Providence and will include an address by Vice President Mike Pence.

Governors in states that expanded Medicaid under former President Barack Obama's health care law are especially concerned as Republicans in Congress try to make good on their repeated promises to repeal and replace the law.

A bill that passed the House and one proposed in the Senate eventually would phase out the federal subsidy that most states used to expand Medicaid coverage to low-income adults who don't have children at home. The expansion has provided coverage to about 11 million Americans in 31 states.

The GOP bills also would cap how much the federal government would pay for state-run Medicaid programs in the future while giving states more say over how to use the money they do receive. Medicaid is the biggest source of federal revenue for states and is among the largest expenses in most state budgets.

"It's important for us to figure out a way to speak with one voice to the Trump administration to explain that this is going to hurt a lot of people in a lot of states, regardless of whether there's a Democrat or Republican in the governor's mansion," said Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, a Democrat who is hosting the summit.

Reaching a consensus on the future of the Affordable Care Act is proving difficult, in part because some states expanded their Medicaid programs while others did not. Those that did not also would have to grapple with the cuts to Medicaid overall.

In either case, states would have to figure out how to afford coverage for low-income residents or deal with people who would go without insurance and turn up in emergency rooms when they needed care.

Yet many governors also face turmoil in their state's private health insurance market, as people who do not get coverage through their employer or Medicaid have faced skyrocketing premiums and fewer choices.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, said she wants Congress ``to get something done'' on replacing the Affordable Care Act but declined to offer specifics. In Iowa and many other states, steep losses have forced carriers to exit the insurance exchanges set up under the Obama-era law.

Governors prefer a bipartisan approach to any changes, said Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who works with a Legislature controlled by Democrats.

"Many times, one of the big messages we deliver to our colleagues in Washington is you should all try to work a little harder to get along with one another and find common ground," he told reporters Tuesday when asked about the health care debate.

Governors from more than 30 states and the territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have said they will attend the gathering in Rhode Island. A governors-only session will give the chief executives a chance to ask questions of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Seema Verma, the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Medicaid funding is a key topic for governors for another reason: It's become essential in states' ability to address the opioid addiction crisis. Discussing the widespread problem of overdoses from prescription painkillers and illicit drugs such as heroin and fentanyl is on the meeting's agenda.

Also up for discussion is how to move forward on ways to combat climate change after the Trump administration said it would pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate pact.

Raimondo, the Rhode Island governor, said she wants to see governors collectively say they will commit their states to the Paris standards and thinks they can work directly with world leaders to address the problem.

Among those expected to attend is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is scheduled to speak about international collaboration and has said he wants to find common solutions on climate change.

Trudeau has said he was "deeply disappointed" with Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement. Foreign dignitaries have attended the association's meetings in recent years, though not heads of government.
The man who inspired the ice bucket challenge to raise millions of dollars for Lou Gehrig's disease research could be released from the hospital this week, according to his family.

Pete Frates' father, John, told NBC Boston that doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital make decisions on releases day by day, but they are hopeful it will be soon.

"Fingers crossed for tomorrow's release," said John Frates.

He went on to say that his son has been frustrated since last week's insensitive tweet from a Boston journalist about his death.

Following the tweet, Pete Frates responded by posting a 45-second video on Twitter showing him lying in a hospital bed while the song "Alive" by Pearl Jam played in the background.

Pete Frates was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2012. The disease weakens muscles and impairs physical functioning. There is no known cure.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than $220 million when it took off worldwide on social media in 2014.
Police in several communities are on the hunt for the BB gun vandals who have been targeting the windows of vehicles and damaging homes.



A few days ago, Wayne Parker, of Whitman, says he woke up to shattered glass and hundreds of dollars in damage to the SUV parked outside his house on Auburn Street. He immediately called 911, and thats when Parker found out he wasnt the only victim.

First thing I thought was vandalism, said Parker.

In the past couple of weeks, police said a dozen cars within a half mile square radius, were shot by BBs, leaving a trail of broken windows.

Our guess is its more than one person, said Whitman Deputy Police Chief Timothy Hanlon.

Most of the cars with damage were parked in driveways next to busy roads, which is why investigators suspect the incidents were all drive by shootings.

Its happening all over town, so they are most likely in a car, said Hanlon.

During this same time frame, authorities in nearby East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater and Hanson say the vandalism has also been going on in their communities, with vehicle windshields and even some homes being hit.

Police say the victims appear to be randomly targeted during all hours of the day, and there are no eye witnesses.
A proposal from Maine governor Paul Lepage to end the sale of alcohol in tiny nip bottles was shot down Tuesday evening.

The Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations rejected the governors proposal, which came after a disagreement with with the legislature over adding a 5 cent deposit to the nips, according to WCSH.

The proposal was rejected by a 4 to 1 vote.

Director of the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations Greg Mineo said at Tuesdays hearing that these nips are making it too easy for drivers to drink behind the wheel.

The 5 cent deposit on nips will go into effect in January of 2019.
After failing to reach a contract agreement on Tuesday night, nurses at Tufts Medical Center, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, say they will conduct a one-day strike on Wednesday.

The strike, which will involve more than 1,200 registered nurses, will begin at 7 a.m. and run until 6:59 a.m. on Thursday.

Officials at Tufts met with the Massachusetts Nurses Association at a federal mediator's office on Tuesday for a final attempt at avoiding a strike but the two sides could not come to an agreement.

We came to the table today hoping to reach an agreement, but Tufts management is determined to force a strike and a subsequent lock out of our nurses, said Mary Havlicek Cornacchia, an OR nurse and bargaining unit co-chair. This decision really shows administrations lack of respect for its nurses and for the safety our patients.

Nurses are seeking improvements in staffing levels, pension benefits and an increase in salary.

Tufts Medical Center released a statement on the strike saying, "The MNA had an opportunity to reach an agreement tonight; they instead chose to strike and have our nurses walk out on patients. We went to the table today and offered a path forward that met the needs of our nurses.

The union recycled their retirement proposal that is risky for nurses and expensive for the hospital. We have more than 320 experienced nurses here to care for patients beginning tomorrow morning. We will deliver the same exceptional care that we always have at Tufts Medical Center."

Tufts officials had said if nurses didnt show up for work on Wednesday, they would not be allowed to work for the following four days when the strike was over, because the replacement nurses coming in required a minimum five days of work.

The strike will be the first one by nurses in Boston in over 30 years, and the largest nurses strike in Massachusetts history.
More than 1,200 nurses at a Boston hospital are waging a one-day strike after last-minute negotiations between their union and hospital administrators were unsuccessful.

The strike by Tufts Medical Center nurses started at 7 a.m. Wednesday with picket lines outside the hospital and will continue until 6:59 a.m. Thursday.

Nurses say the hospital needs to adjust its priorities and put patients and staff first. They are seeking improvements in staffing levels, pension benefits and an increase in salary, saying they are the lowest paid and have the worst pensions of any nurses in the city.

A union representative said hospital management was "determined to force a strike."



The hospital issued the following statement Tuesday night:

"We went to the table today and offered a path forward that met the needs of our nurses. The union recycled their retirement proposal that is risky for nurses and expensive for the hospital."

Tufts Medical Center has hired more than 320 replacements to work four days in addition to the day when nurses will strike. Officials told nurses that those that didnt show up for work on Wednesday would not be allowed to work for the following four days when the strike was over, because the replacement nurses coming in required a minimum five days of work.

In a press conference Wednesday morning, Chief Nursing Officer Terry Hudson-Jinks said the work to hire the replacements has benefitted the patients.

"We've had some very brave nurses who came to work today," said Hudson-Jinks. "Given the intimidation that I know they've felt, I've heard it and I've seen it in print myself, we're extremely proud of those nurses.

Tufts CEO Michael Wagner said they made significant concessions in negotiations, but that MNA did not look at the proposal before striking.

"It's not about staffing. It's about money and the pension," he said.

He added that the strike has cost Tufts $6 million in costs associated with covering travel, housing and pay for nurses brought in to cover.

In a statement from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, the mayor said, "I encourage both sides to get back to the table and continue having a dialogue. A prolonged strike or lock out does not help Boston, does not help the patients and does not help find a resolution."

Nurses on the picket line said it was a hard decision to strike.

"There's a lot of patients that I care deeply about a lot of my coworkers care deeply about," said Colleen Barry, one of the Tufts nurses on strike. "I hope they're doing OK. It's difficult to know they are inside and we're outside."

Despite the walkout on Wednesday, Wagner was not budging either.

"We will not be held hostage," he said. "It's disappointing that the MNA would have made this choice."

The sides have been negotiating a new contract since April 2016.

The strike is the first by nurses in Boston in over 30 years, and the largest nurses strike in Massachusetts history.
Police are looking for the publics help to identify a suspect in the armed robbery of two CVS stores in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The armed robberies occurred at a CVS located at 400 Park Avenue on the evening of July 9 and in a location at 115 Stafford Street during the afternoon on July 11.

The suspect is described as a 5'7" male with a heavy build. A black handgun was used during both robberies.

Anyone with information can send an anonymous text to 274-637-TIPWPD or send an anonymous message at worcesterma.gov/police. Tips can also be called in to Worcester Police Detective Bureau at 508-799-8651.
Not made your Christmas pudding yet? Don't know where to start? Come along to a Christmas pudding workshop at Norwich Central Baptist Church on November 21 with MasterChef contestant Jane Wyndham.

Not made your Christmas pudding yet? Don't know where to start? Come along to a Christmas pudding workshop at Norwich Central Baptist Church on November 21 with MasterChef contestant Jane Wyndham.

Norwich Foodbank provides over 4,700 food parcels Norwich Foodbank gave out 4,793 emergency food parcels to people across Norwich in the last year  with 1,790 of these going to children. Read more

Poppies cascading in Sheringham church A fall of poppies cascades from the pulpit in St Andrews Methodist Church in Sheringham, and anyone is welcome to come and see them. Read more

Bishop Graham's prayers for COP27 climate conference Bishop Graham is publishing daily prayers on social media for the current COP27 climate conference, and is asking all to join. Read more

Discovering the Orange in your life The vibrant colours of autumn have been inspiring regular contributor Jane Walters to focus on the positive. Read more

YMCA annual celebration set to inspire YMCA Norfolk is set to hold its much anticipated 2022 annual celebration and awards ceremony on November 17, after almost 3 years since the last event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

Hub manager vacancy at community shop Earlham Community Shop Community Interest Company is looking to appoint a manager for this new venture being developed in the heart of NR5 Norwich. Read more

Abbey Days brings Christmas Magic to Wymondham Visitors to Wymondham Abbeys Christmas fair will be able to treat their children to a magic show and fun baking workshop while they browse more than 60 stalls. Read more

Salvation Armys new Christmas Appeal in Norfolk The Salvation Army has launched their new Christmas appeal across Norfolk which, this year, has evolved from the much-loved Toys and Tins appeal. Read more

Are we storing up treasures on earth? Rising prices affect us all, and Anna Heydon urges us to spare a thought for those who will be struggling with the cost of living this winter. Read more

Latest Norfolk Christian community events Events of interest to the Norwich and Norfolk Christian community happening over the next few weeks are listed. Read more

Covid leaf memorial at Norwich church St Peter Mancroft Church Norwich Presents The Leaves of the Trees an installation by sculptor Peter Walker which provides a memorial for those who died of Covid-19 Read more

Community Chaplaincy Norfolk begins a new chapter Community Chaplaincy Norfolk (CCN) celebrated the beginning of a new chapter this week, as the new chair of trustees Chris Tomlinson led his first annual meeting. Read more

Lowestoft Christians launch on-line bible helps app The Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth branch of Good News for Everyone (GNFE), formerly the Gideons, have introduced a new mobile phone app called On-line Bible Helps. Read more

Addicts' rehabilitation centre plan for Drayton Hall Christian addiction charity Teen Challenge London is planning to turn Drayton Hall near Norwich into its headquarters and a rehabilitation centre for men, after it was gifted the freehold of the hall by its owner, the Lind Trust. Read more

The power of positive protest Philip Young encourages us to take a stand for what we believe, and has just written to Therese Coffey regarding climate change and the forthcoming COP 27. He explains why we should be prepared to protest. Read more

Norwich church celebrates with cribs and trees Rosebery Road Methodist Church in Norwich will be holding its annual Cribs and Trees Festival in December. Read more

Transforming Norwich lunch offers ministry tips Ex-Brighton vicar, Rev Phil Moon, will offer tips on how to keep going in ministry to the Transforming Norwich leaders lunch on Wednesday November 16. Read more
Police appeal after material found in subway

Offensive stickers have been found in a subway in Newbury.

Police are appealing for information after the stickers were placed onto light fittings of the north subway on Kings Road between Newbury Police Station and KFC on Bear Lane.

Investigating officer PCSO David Maggs said: We are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident or seen anyone acting suspiciously in the subway during this period.

The stickers were posted between 7am and 3.30pm on Monday, July 10.

Thames Valley Police has not disclosed the nature of the stickers or any pictures of them at this stage.

Anyone with information should call 101 quoting reference 43170202978 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously.

The stickers follow racist posters being posted in the town in November last year.

'White Zone' flyers depicting a masked man performing a Nazi salute were discovered in Chestnut Crescent and the A4 underpass leading to Almond Avenue.

The posters were linked to National Action, a British youth action movement.
100 tickets already sold for glittering ceremony at Newbury Racecourse in November

The launch of the NWN Best in Business Awards 2017

THE response to the first Newbury Weekly News Best in Business Awards has been huge  with more than 20 companies from West Berkshire and North Hampshire already entered.

More than 100 tickets have also been sold for the black tie gala dinner at Newbury Racecourse on Friday, November 3, where the awards will be presented.

If you want to be a part of what promises to be the biggest night in the business calendar, you have until July 14 to enter for an award.

The Newbury Weekly News Best in Business awards follow on from the West Berkshire Business Awards, which had been held for the past four years.

They will celebrate all that is great about business in West Berkshire and North Hampshire and this year there will be nine award categories, each sponsored by a local business.

An overall Best in Business winner will then be chosen from the category winners (excluding the not-for-profit/charity category) to receive the star award at the gala celebration dinner.

Shortlisted applicants will be contacted and visits by the sponsor judges will be arranged to assess each application and decide on the category winners.

Recently, the Newbury Weekly News invited sponsors and representatives from businesses across West Berkshire to attend the launch of the awards at its offices.

At the event, NWN chief executive James Gurney and editor Andy Murrill highlighted the important role of newspapers and businesses in the local community.

Awards coordinator John Hampson then gave a presentation, saying: The awards themselves are not only designed to allow us to identify business superstars, but to remind the wider community and the business world of the breadth of talent that exists here.

Mr Gurney said: The Best in Business Awards will allow us to truly celebrate everything that is great within the local business community.

Commerce thrives in this part of the world and to be able to open the doors and share some of its incredible success can only enhance local businesses.

We are putting the full might of our online and offline products behind the awards, allowing entrants to publicise their businesses to our entire social, digital and paper audience, the largest by a mile within the area. This alone will give a welcome boost to the local economy.

The main Best in Business 2017 award will be sponsored by The Vineyard Group.

The other categories are: Innovation (sponsored by Santander), Small Business (PBA Accountants), Start Up (new) Business (Dick Lovett), Not-for-Profit/Charity (Greenham Trust), Rural (West Berkshire Brewery), Independent Retailer (Newbury BID), Digital and Social Media Apple Print & Creative) and Entrepreneur (Jones Robinson).

Newbury-based estate agents Jones Robinson knows what it means to pick up a prize.

Last year it won the Mercedes Benz Customer Care Award and this year it will be back  this time as sponsor of the Entrepreneur Award.

Director Charles Robinson said: I think it is good from a recognition point of view, to recognise businesses for their accomplishments.

It also gives people a platform to chat about what they are doing. A lot of companies in West Berkshire are doing great things that people arent necessarily aware of.

This is their chance to shout out about them.

We have seen the benefits of winning an award and we think it is important that other businesses look for that recognition too.

Enter your business for an award now by visiting the new website www.bestinbusinessawards.co.uk
Highwood Primary will cope with demand separate to Sandleford, council says

A NEW school to cope with demand in Newbury  which West Berkshire Council insists is independent of the proposed 2,000-home Sandleford Park development just a stones throw away  has been given the go-ahead.

Councillors on the western area planning committee unanimously approved the councils own plans for the 210-pupil school at a meeting last Wednesday.

The council said that Highwood Copse Primary would cater for demand as local schools are at capacity and there is no room for expansion.

The school will be built on land to the south of Newbury College  right on the doorstep of Sandleford Park.

But when asked whether the school would cater for Sandleford at last weeks meeting, the councils education development officer Greg Bowman said: Sandleford will wash its own face when it comes about.

The council said that Sandleford had never been part of the business case for Highwood and was to ensure capacity in Newbury.

It said that 495 primary school places had been allocated when current capacity stood at 489, demonstrating the need for the new school.

Highwood has the potential to expand to take 420 pupils, should demand for places continue.

The council intends to open the school in September 2018, starting with an intake of 30 foundation pupils and increasing to 30 pupils year-on-year until the school reaches capacity.

A temporary access road will connect the school through the college for the first two years after it opens.

A proposed new link road off the A339 will then serve as the primary route to the school, and possibly Sandleford itself if plans are approved.

The councils property services project manager Bill Bagnell said that the temporary route would cost between 100,000 and 110,000, while the link road would be an expensive piece of work.

The school includes a kiss and drop facility to allow parents to pick up and drop off children from the day it opens.

Recalling experiences during peak hours outside schools in his ward Garth Simpson (Con, Cold Ash) urged council officers to conduct further work on the scheme.

He said that St Finians School ran a rigorous drop-off system during the morning, but had lots of problems in the afternoon because the women want to park up their cars and chat.

Mr Bagnell replied: This system works on a constant moving of cars and will have to be managed by the school.

It does break down if you just let it run itself.

Further concerns came from Anthony Pick (Con, St Johns) who said he was worried about a backlog of traffic on the A339 once the link road opened.

Mr Pick said that parents might be inclined to drop their children off at the college and let them walk to the new school to avoid tackling the A339.

Mr Bagnell admitted there was nothing to stop this from occurring, but added that he didnt think it would be a problem.

Highways officers had said that the proposals would have a severe impact on the northbound carriageway of the A339  already busy at peak periods  and would further increase queues.

Addressing Mr Picks concerns, the councils senior engineer, Gareth Dowding, said that the predicted queues related to the school being fully operational.

He said: By that time its anticipated we will have our Monks Lane and Pinchington Lane scheme in place, traffic lights or a large roundabout, which will allow traffic to flow.

Its a fully signal-controlled junction.

You dont have to go up and u-turn at either end. We have all movements catered for.

The Grenfell Tower tragedy came up at the meeting, with Hilary Cole (Con, Chieveley) asking what fire safety measures would be in place at the new school.

Mr Bagnell said that sprinklers would be installed in the school under Department for Education requirements.

When asked about cladding, Andy Vernon of Kier Construction said that it would be different from the type used on Grenfell Tower.

He added that, in his opinion, wood cladding was not a fire risk.

Billy Drummond (Lib Dem, Greenham) said he supported the new school as The Willows, where he is a governor, was oversubscribed.

Jeff Beck (Con, Clay Hill) said: I do feel that the council are to be commended in the work they have put in bringing forward this school.

Theres a tremendous amount of work going on with highways etc and I feel that the council is really working on behalf of the residents of Newbury and possibly North Hampshire.

Council spokesman Martin Dunscombe said: We are still in discussions with developers as to the number of houses at Sandleford and this will inform the education requirements associated with the project.
School delighted with total raised at Race for Life event

CHILDREN at Francis Baily Primary School have helped raise more than 6,000 towards the fight against cancer.

All year groups took part in a sponsored race, with 547 children, alongside some teachers and parents, racing around the school field.

Their combined efforts raised 6,003.24 for the Race For Life charity, Cancer Research UK.

Race organiser Nikki Nunn said: This charity is very close to my heart and I wanted to organise an event that would support the remarkable work that they do.

I am delighted that so much was raised and that is a great credit to the children.

Headteacher at Francis Baily, Chris Davis, said: I am absolutely astounded at the support our parents and children gave to this event. This is a record-breaking sum for us from our charity endeavours.

I would also like to thank Ms Nunn for suggesting the idea and for all the work in making it a reality.

Its great to know that our children and parents care so much about others.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Communications ministry will set up working groups to deliberate on the new telecom policy (NTP) and hopes it will become a reality in 2018, Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan said today.

The policy in the offing, will focus on areas such as Internet for all, next-generation technologies (like 5G and Internet of Things), skills development, and security, among others.

"We are commencing the work (on NTP)...and we will be setting-up the working groups and committees for this," Sundararajan said on the sidelines of an event on 'ICT: Engendering New Governance Structure'.

Asked if the telecom department hopes to bring the new policy in the sector sometime in 2018, she replied in affirmative saying, "Yes, we are indeed hopeful".

Speaking at a seminar, Telcom Minister Minister Manoj Sinha said the upcoming policy will be application driven as compared to connectivity driven at present.

The policy has to focus on the end users and should look at the newer opportunities for expanding the availability of telecom services, the minister added. He further pointed out that the advent of high-speed data services and enhanced user expectation of getting real time on-demand band-width to run live applications has set the tone for new policy.

Sundararajan said that the ministry will initiate the "widest possible public consultation" involving the industry, and that a series of regional workshops have also been planned to get inputs from local stakeholders on the new policy. The department will work "intensively" on the policy over the next 3-4 months, she pointed out.

On whether Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will be consulted on the policy, she said, "we will be in touch with TRAI for their policy inputs also". The policy will focus on areas like Internet for all as well as new-age technologies like 5G and Internet of Things or IoT.

"Technologies like 5G and IoT will form the basis of the new Digital India. Other areas of focus will be skills development, getting more investments into telecom since we need to continuously upgrade our networks, and the aspect of security," she said.

India -- which is the second largest telecom market in the world with over one billion mobile subscribers -- saw FDI equity inflow of USD 5.56 billion between April 2016 to March 2017. This is more than four times the average inflow of about 1.3 billion dollars every year since 2013-14.

However, the sector is now reeling under a staggering Rs 4.6 lakh crore of debt. The industry players, both large and small, are complaining of pressure on revenue and profitability due to intense competition in the market, and disruptive voice and data offerings of newcomer Reliance Jio.

Sundararajan said the inter-ministerial group - constituted to suggest ways to ease the industry's financial stress - is expected to give its recommendations in ten days. She further added that the department is also considering setting up telecom Computer Emergency Response Team or CERT.

"We intend to start work on its soon...as telecom industry grows and telecom network security becomes more important, we will need a dedicated organisation which can look into the aspects of that," she said.

The standards for telecom security and the modalities of emergency response mechanism would be part of the new architecture of the telecom CERT, she added.

NEW DELHI: The Communications ministry will set up working groups to deliberate on the new telecom policy (NTP) and hopes it will become a reality in 2018, Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan said today. The policy in the offing, will focus on areas such as Internet for all, next-generation technologies (like 5G and Internet of Things), skills development, and security, among others. "We are commencing the work (on NTP)...and we will be setting-up the working groups and committees for this," Sundararajan said on the sidelines of an event on 'ICT: Engendering New Governance Structure'. Asked if the telecom department hopes to bring the new policy in the sector sometime in 2018, she replied in affirmative saying, "Yes, we are indeed hopeful". Speaking at a seminar, Telcom Minister Minister Manoj Sinha said the upcoming policy will be application driven as compared to connectivity driven at present. The policy has to focus on the end users and should look at the newer opportunities for expanding the availability of telecom services, the minister added. He further pointed out that the advent of high-speed data services and enhanced user expectation of getting real time on-demand band-width to run live applications has set the tone for new policy. Sundararajan said that the ministry will initiate the "widest possible public consultation" involving the industry, and that a series of regional workshops have also been planned to get inputs from local stakeholders on the new policy. The department will work "intensively" on the policy over the next 3-4 months, she pointed out. On whether Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will be consulted on the policy, she said, "we will be in touch with TRAI for their policy inputs also". The policy will focus on areas like Internet for all as well as new-age technologies like 5G and Internet of Things or IoT. "Technologies like 5G and IoT will form the basis of the new Digital India. Other areas of focus will be skills development, getting more investments into telecom since we need to continuously upgrade our networks, and the aspect of security," she said. India -- which is the second largest telecom market in the world with over one billion mobile subscribers -- saw FDI equity inflow of USD 5.56 billion between April 2016 to March 2017. This is more than four times the average inflow of about 1.3 billion dollars every year since 2013-14. However, the sector is now reeling under a staggering Rs 4.6 lakh crore of debt. The industry players, both large and small, are complaining of pressure on revenue and profitability due to intense competition in the market, and disruptive voice and data offerings of newcomer Reliance Jio. Sundararajan said the inter-ministerial group - constituted to suggest ways to ease the industry's financial stress - is expected to give its recommendations in ten days. She further added that the department is also considering setting up telecom Computer Emergency Response Team or CERT. "We intend to start work on its soon...as telecom industry grows and telecom network security becomes more important, we will need a dedicated organisation which can look into the aspects of that," she said. The standards for telecom security and the modalities of emergency response mechanism would be part of the new architecture of the telecom CERT, she added.
By Reuters

DUBAI - Saudi Arabia will cut crude oil shipments to its customers in August by more than 600,000 barrels per day to balance the rise in domestic consumption during the summer, while staying within its OPEC production commitment, a Saudi industry source said.

"There is strong demand for our crude but we are sticking to our OPEC commitments," the source, who is familiar with the kingdom's oil policy, said on Wednesday.

"In order to meet its OPEC quota and meet its domestic demand during summer, Saudi Arabia has made big cuts in allocations internationally by more than 600,000 bpd for the month of August," the source said.

Crude exports for August will fall to their lowest level this year at around 6.6 million bpd, the source added.

Crude allocations to Asia for August will be reduced by about 200,000 bpd to 3.5 million bpd, while allocations to Europe will be down by around 70,000 bpd at 520,000 bpd.

Oil majors were allocated some 200,000 bpd less in August at 780,000 bpd.

Exports to the United States will be below 800,000 bpd in August, the source said.

Saudi Arabia told the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries its oil production in June rose to 10.07 million bpd, slightly above its OPEC target, mainly due to an increase in domestic crude burning for power during summer.

The source also cited late May port closures as pushing some cargoes into June, which may have resulted in higher June exports. The source said July oil output would be lower than June, without providing details.

"Saudi Arabia is keen to see an improvement in the oil market and accelerate the balancing process, and expects other producers to do the same," the Saudi source said, adding that there are signs of improvement in market fundamentals.

"While supply is not increasing except from exempt countries such as Libya and Nigeria, demand is picking up and we are starting to see inventory draws in total petroleum stocks in recent weeks.

Saudi Arabia will continue to work closely with other producers to monitor and stabilise the market by making sure that production cuts are continuing," the source said.

A joint ministerial committee from OPEC and non-OPEC countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's biggest oil producers, will meet on July 24 to discuss compliance with a supply-cut pact and review the rise in output from Nigeria and Libya. Both countries were exempted from the production cuts.

The Saudi source said ministers would discuss several ideas at the meeting and that the recent rise in output from Nigeria and Libya "is not big in a way that should disturb the market".

He declined to comment on further steps OPEC could take to rebalance the market.

DUBAI - Saudi Arabia will cut crude oil shipments to its customers in August by more than 600,000 barrels per day to balance the rise in domestic consumption during the summer, while staying within its OPEC production commitment, a Saudi industry source said. "There is strong demand for our crude but we are sticking to our OPEC commitments," the source, who is familiar with the kingdom's oil policy, said on Wednesday. "In order to meet its OPEC quota and meet its domestic demand during summer, Saudi Arabia has made big cuts in allocations internationally by more than 600,000 bpd for the month of August," the source said. Crude exports for August will fall to their lowest level this year at around 6.6 million bpd, the source added. Crude allocations to Asia for August will be reduced by about 200,000 bpd to 3.5 million bpd, while allocations to Europe will be down by around 70,000 bpd at 520,000 bpd. Oil majors were allocated some 200,000 bpd less in August at 780,000 bpd. Exports to the United States will be below 800,000 bpd in August, the source said. Saudi Arabia told the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries its oil production in June rose to 10.07 million bpd, slightly above its OPEC target, mainly due to an increase in domestic crude burning for power during summer. The source also cited late May port closures as pushing some cargoes into June, which may have resulted in higher June exports. The source said July oil output would be lower than June, without providing details. "Saudi Arabia is keen to see an improvement in the oil market and accelerate the balancing process, and expects other producers to do the same," the Saudi source said, adding that there are signs of improvement in market fundamentals. "While supply is not increasing except from exempt countries such as Libya and Nigeria, demand is picking up and we are starting to see inventory draws in total petroleum stocks in recent weeks. Saudi Arabia will continue to work closely with other producers to monitor and stabilise the market by making sure that production cuts are continuing," the source said. A joint ministerial committee from OPEC and non-OPEC countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's biggest oil producers, will meet on July 24 to discuss compliance with a supply-cut pact and review the rise in output from Nigeria and Libya. Both countries were exempted from the production cuts. The Saudi source said ministers would discuss several ideas at the meeting and that the recent rise in output from Nigeria and Libya "is not big in a way that should disturb the market". He declined to comment on further steps OPEC could take to rebalance the market.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Tata Steel has agreed to sell its pipe mills in Hartlepool, England to UK-based metals and industrial group Liberty House for an undisclosed sum.

The sale agreement pertains to the companys 42 and 84-inch pipe mills in Hartlepool to Liberty House Group, also known as the Submerged Arc Weld (SAW) mills. These mills manufacture steel used in oil and gas pipelines projects and employ around 140 employees.

According to the company, the transaction is expected to be completed within the next few months and both parties will be completing consultations with employees and trade unions along with transfer of supplier and customer contacts.

Tata Steel, Britains largest steelmaker, has been selling off parts of its UK business since last year, when it announced talks to merge its British and European steel assets with those of Germanys Thyssenkrupp.

The company has invested more than 1.6 billion in its UK business since acquiring Corus in 2007, including 100m over the last year to enable advanced steel manufacturing in a number of UK sites. The company will continue to be the largest steelmaker in the UK following the sale of the 42- and 84-inch pipe mills. It will employ almost 8,500 people in the UK for sectors like automotive and construction.

With this sale, Tata Steel UK will complete its portfolio restructuring to focus on the strip products supply chain linked to Port Talbot, said Bimlendra Jha, CEO of Tata Steel UK.

The company also has a 20-inch tube mill at the same site, which it will retain. As many as 270 people work at this site. To further strengthen the mill, Tata Steel will be making a 1 million investment to increase its capability to make high-strength steel tubes.

BENGALURU: Tata Steel has agreed to sell its pipe mills in Hartlepool, England to UK-based metals and industrial group Liberty House for an undisclosed sum. The sale agreement pertains to the companys 42 and 84-inch pipe mills in Hartlepool to Liberty House Group, also known as the Submerged Arc Weld (SAW) mills. These mills manufacture steel used in oil and gas pipelines projects and employ around 140 employees. According to the company, the transaction is expected to be completed within the next few months and both parties will be completing consultations with employees and trade unions along with transfer of supplier and customer contacts. Tata Steel, Britains largest steelmaker, has been selling off parts of its UK business since last year, when it announced talks to merge its British and European steel assets with those of Germanys Thyssenkrupp. The company has invested more than 1.6 billion in its UK business since acquiring Corus in 2007, including 100m over the last year to enable advanced steel manufacturing in a number of UK sites. The company will continue to be the largest steelmaker in the UK following the sale of the 42- and 84-inch pipe mills. It will employ almost 8,500 people in the UK for sectors like automotive and construction. With this sale, Tata Steel UK will complete its portfolio restructuring to focus on the strip products supply chain linked to Port Talbot, said Bimlendra Jha, CEO of Tata Steel UK. The company also has a 20-inch tube mill at the same site, which it will retain. As many as 270 people work at this site. To further strengthen the mill, Tata Steel will be making a 1 million investment to increase its capability to make high-strength steel tubes.
By IANS

NEW DELHI: Stressing upon maintaining quality in service delivery of family planning products, the Health Ministry on Tuesday launched a slew of initiatives, including injectible contraceptives, in the public health system.



Deoxy medroxyprogestrone acetate injections will be able to prevent pregnancy for three months and will be available among other alternatives to prevent pregnancy.



To bring down the Total Fertility Rate (TFR), the ministry has launched 'Mission Parivar Vikas' with a stratified approach for substantially increasing access to contraceptives and family planning services in the country. The launch coincides with the observance of World Population Day, observed on July 11 every year, to raise awareness of global population issues.



The ministry has identified 146 high fertility districts, where the TFR is 3 and above, spanning across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam.



With around 28 per cent of the total population in India, these districts contribute to around 30 per cent maternal deaths and 50 per cent infant deaths.



For a stable population, a country needs a TFR of 2.1.



"There is need for rightful implementation of initiatives in India. We need to eliminate the 'chalta hai' (casual) attitude in services delivery system," Health Minister J.P. Nadda said while launching the initiatives here.



Nadda has also sought a review report of implementation of initiatives in every six months.



The government has expanded the basket of choices under family planning, which now include injectible contraceptives under a programme named Antara, followed by Progesterone pills and centchroman pills.



According to experts, currently only 6 per cent of the health ministry's budget is spent on family planning, which is not enough.



Problems due to the rising population are believed to further grow because India -- with a 1.3 billion population -- has approximately 17 per cent of the world's population but only 4 per cent of world's renewable water resources and resides on 3 per cent of earth's land area.



The total water consumption in India is expected to rise by 20-40 per cent over the next 20 years.



According to National Population Stabilisation Fund, India is in the middle of a demographic transition, both fertility and mortality rates have started declining throughout the country, though the pace and magnitude of the decline varies considerably across its states.

NEW DELHI: Stressing upon maintaining quality in service delivery of family planning products, the Health Ministry on Tuesday launched a slew of initiatives, including injectible contraceptives, in the public health system. Deoxy medroxyprogestrone acetate injections will be able to prevent pregnancy for three months and will be available among other alternatives to prevent pregnancy. To bring down the Total Fertility Rate (TFR), the ministry has launched 'Mission Parivar Vikas' with a stratified approach for substantially increasing access to contraceptives and family planning services in the country. The launch coincides with the observance of World Population Day, observed on July 11 every year, to raise awareness of global population issues. The ministry has identified 146 high fertility districts, where the TFR is 3 and above, spanning across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam. With around 28 per cent of the total population in India, these districts contribute to around 30 per cent maternal deaths and 50 per cent infant deaths. For a stable population, a country needs a TFR of 2.1. "There is need for rightful implementation of initiatives in India. We need to eliminate the 'chalta hai' (casual) attitude in services delivery system," Health Minister J.P. Nadda said while launching the initiatives here. Nadda has also sought a review report of implementation of initiatives in every six months. The government has expanded the basket of choices under family planning, which now include injectible contraceptives under a programme named Antara, followed by Progesterone pills and centchroman pills. According to experts, currently only 6 per cent of the health ministry's budget is spent on family planning, which is not enough. Problems due to the rising population are believed to further grow because India -- with a 1.3 billion population -- has approximately 17 per cent of the world's population but only 4 per cent of world's renewable water resources and resides on 3 per cent of earth's land area. The total water consumption in India is expected to rise by 20-40 per cent over the next 20 years. According to National Population Stabilisation Fund, India is in the middle of a demographic transition, both fertility and mortality rates have started declining throughout the country, though the pace and magnitude of the decline varies considerably across its states.
By PTI

JAMMU: The Jammu region today witnessed a complete shutdown, led by at least 13 political parties and other organisations, over the terrorist attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag last night.

The Congress, National Conference, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, and NCP staged protests at several places and demanded the resignation of the Mehbooba Mufti government.

The protesters burnt tyres, effigies, Pakistani flags and blocked the Jammu-Srinagar highway at several places in Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua and Samba districts.

All shops and market places were closed and vehicles remained off the roads in Jammu city, Udhampur, Samba, Vijaypur, Kathua, Reasi, Katra and Kishtwar. Authorities ordered closure of schools and educational institutions for two days, an official said.

Internet services in the region have been suspended as a precautionary measure following the killing of Amarnath pilgrims in the terrorist attack in Anantnag district last night, the SSP control room said. "A peaceful shutdown was observed but there were protests.

There were no reports of any untoward incident from anywhere," a police officer said. Congress activists took out a march through the main bazaar of Old City, raising slogans against Pakistan and the PDP-BJP government in the state. The protesters alleged the governments in the state and at the Centre failed to contain militancy and ensure incident- free pilgrimage, and demanded that the Mufti dispensation resign.

They burnt effigies of Pakistan at city chowk, saying the neighbouring country "is the mother of terrorism". Addressing the protesters, senior vice president of J&K Congress Sham Lal Sharma said inspite of serious threats and inputs from various intelligence agencies about a possible attack on the yatra, the state and the Centre failed to protect the pilgrims.

"The state government is trying to dodged responsibilities by claiming that the bus was not part of the yatra caravan. It is very unfortunate. The government should immediately step down," he said. Hundreds of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party activists, led by chairman Harsh Dev Singh, staged a protest against the dastardly attack at Dogra Chowk. They shouted anti-BJP slogans and demanded that the state government be dismissed. Singh said there were no signs of government on the ground in the state and the coward act of the militants had exposed the communal character of the secessionist forces operating in Kashmir. Several organisations of Kashmiri Pandits led by All Party Migrant coordination Committee (APMCC) staged a demonstration at Tawi brige and blocked the highway for half- an-hour in protest against the killing of pilgrims.

They burnt Pakistani flags and raised anti-Pakistan and anti-government slogans. "We condemn the attack. We demand that the government probe the security lapse and sack those responsible," APMCC Chairman Vinood Pandita said. National Conference activists led by provincial president Devender Singh Rana took out a protest rally on residency road demanding the imposition of Governor's rule in the state.

JAMMU: The Jammu region today witnessed a complete shutdown, led by at least 13 political parties and other organisations, over the terrorist attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag last night. The Congress, National Conference, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, and NCP staged protests at several places and demanded the resignation of the Mehbooba Mufti government. The protesters burnt tyres, effigies, Pakistani flags and blocked the Jammu-Srinagar highway at several places in Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua and Samba districts. All shops and market places were closed and vehicles remained off the roads in Jammu city, Udhampur, Samba, Vijaypur, Kathua, Reasi, Katra and Kishtwar. Authorities ordered closure of schools and educational institutions for two days, an official said. Internet services in the region have been suspended as a precautionary measure following the killing of Amarnath pilgrims in the terrorist attack in Anantnag district last night, the SSP control room said. "A peaceful shutdown was observed but there were protests. There were no reports of any untoward incident from anywhere," a police officer said. Congress activists took out a march through the main bazaar of Old City, raising slogans against Pakistan and the PDP-BJP government in the state. The protesters alleged the governments in the state and at the Centre failed to contain militancy and ensure incident- free pilgrimage, and demanded that the Mufti dispensation resign. They burnt effigies of Pakistan at city chowk, saying the neighbouring country "is the mother of terrorism". Addressing the protesters, senior vice president of J&K Congress Sham Lal Sharma said inspite of serious threats and inputs from various intelligence agencies about a possible attack on the yatra, the state and the Centre failed to protect the pilgrims. "The state government is trying to dodged responsibilities by claiming that the bus was not part of the yatra caravan. It is very unfortunate. The government should immediately step down," he said. Hundreds of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party activists, led by chairman Harsh Dev Singh, staged a protest against the dastardly attack at Dogra Chowk. They shouted anti-BJP slogans and demanded that the state government be dismissed. Singh said there were no signs of government on the ground in the state and the coward act of the militants had exposed the communal character of the secessionist forces operating in Kashmir. Several organisations of Kashmiri Pandits led by All Party Migrant coordination Committee (APMCC) staged a demonstration at Tawi brige and blocked the highway for half- an-hour in protest against the killing of pilgrims. They burnt Pakistani flags and raised anti-Pakistan and anti-government slogans. "We condemn the attack. We demand that the government probe the security lapse and sack those responsible," APMCC Chairman Vinood Pandita said. National Conference activists led by provincial president Devender Singh Rana took out a protest rally on residency road demanding the imposition of Governor's rule in the state.
Anand ST Das By

Express News Service

PATNA: Its a Nitish-on-the-wall scenario in Bihar right now as the Chief Minister has given the scam tainted son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is currently serving as the deputy CM, four days to voluntarily resign from the post before he cracks the whip. The alliance, he however claimed, was intact.

Theres a growing clamour for Tejaswi to step down from his ministerial post after the CBI booked him and his father Lalu Prasad for rigging maintanence contracts of Railways hotels. The probe has strained the relationship within the ruling coalition government.

Senior JD(U) leaders held a meeting at Nitish Kumars residence on Tuesday and in an hour-long address, the Chief Minister made it clear that he would not compromise his governments zero-tolerance policy towards corruption. The Chief Minister expects Tejaswi, who has been named in the CBI FIR, to resign by himself in the best interest of the grand alliance government, said party sources. Our party expects those facing allegations to put their defence with documentary evidence in the peoples court and before the media, said JD(U) spokesperson Niraj Kumar.

Sources added that Nitish had spoken to Lalu over phone on Sunday night and had given time till Saturday (July 15) for his younger son to resign from the government. A decision would be taken by the CM after four days, said senior leader Ramai Ram after the meeting. Kumar is also reported to have told four senior leaders of his party on Monday that Tejaswis removal from Cabinet was just a matter of time. If Tejaswi doesnt resign, the Chief Minister himself would seek his resignation, said another senior leader.

Nitish, however, made it clear that he doesnt want the grand alliance government to fall over the issue. He said the law would be allowed to do its work while the government would do its work. The alliance would continue, said legislator Rajkishore Kushwaha.

The development sent RJD leaders scurrying to its chief Lalu Prasad Yadavs residence. They waited for their leaders return from Ranchi where he appeared in court over the fodder scam case. The party had unanimously said on Monday that there was no question of Tejaswi resigning from his post.

While the BJPs State wing had said that it would extend outside support to Nitish if Lalu pulls out, the partys Central leadership denied it on Tuesday. However, sources told Express that the Bihar unit chief was cautioned not to speak on matters which require concurrence of the Central leadership.

PATNA: Its a Nitish-on-the-wall scenario in Bihar right now as the Chief Minister has given the scam tainted son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is currently serving as the deputy CM, four days to voluntarily resign from the post before he cracks the whip. The alliance, he however claimed, was intact. Theres a growing clamour for Tejaswi to step down from his ministerial post after the CBI booked him and his father Lalu Prasad for rigging maintanence contracts of Railways hotels. The probe has strained the relationship within the ruling coalition government. Senior JD(U) leaders held a meeting at Nitish Kumars residence on Tuesday and in an hour-long address, the Chief Minister made it clear that he would not compromise his governments zero-tolerance policy towards corruption. The Chief Minister expects Tejaswi, who has been named in the CBI FIR, to resign by himself in the best interest of the grand alliance government, said party sources. Our party expects those facing allegations to put their defence with documentary evidence in the peoples court and before the media, said JD(U) spokesperson Niraj Kumar. Sources added that Nitish had spoken to Lalu over phone on Sunday night and had given time till Saturday (July 15) for his younger son to resign from the government. A decision would be taken by the CM after four days, said senior leader Ramai Ram after the meeting. Kumar is also reported to have told four senior leaders of his party on Monday that Tejaswis removal from Cabinet was just a matter of time. If Tejaswi doesnt resign, the Chief Minister himself would seek his resignation, said another senior leader. Nitish, however, made it clear that he doesnt want the grand alliance government to fall over the issue. He said the law would be allowed to do its work while the government would do its work. The alliance would continue, said legislator Rajkishore Kushwaha. The development sent RJD leaders scurrying to its chief Lalu Prasad Yadavs residence. They waited for their leaders return from Ranchi where he appeared in court over the fodder scam case. The party had unanimously said on Monday that there was no question of Tejaswi resigning from his post. While the BJPs State wing had said that it would extend outside support to Nitish if Lalu pulls out, the partys Central leadership denied it on Tuesday. However, sources told Express that the Bihar unit chief was cautioned not to speak on matters which require concurrence of the Central leadership.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: THE Supreme Court on Tuesday began its final hearing on the appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the 2007 award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT) on sharing of water.

The Tribunal was set up in 1991. In 2007, it ordered the allocation of 419 tmcft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, 270 tmcft to Karnataka, 30 tmcft to Kerala and 7 tmcft of to Puducherry.

During the day-long arguments, Karnataka government counsel Fali S Nariman told the court about the agreements drawn between 1852, 1924 and 1974 and said during those years no dispute arose between the states.

Citing various judgments on water sharing, Nariman informed the bench that the dispute between the states increased only after the expiry of those agreements.

For 50 years there was no dispute, Nariman told the court. We are entitled to the natural flow of water and there must not be any interference in the same. People of Bangalore have the first right to have supply of drinking water to them from Cauvery, Nariman added. The arguments remained inconclusive and will continue on Wednesday.

Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal

The Tribunal was set up in 1991 and in 2007 it had ordered the allocation of Cauvery water to the four States of Cauvery basin and allocated 419 tmc ft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, 270 tmc ft to Karnataka, 30 tmc ft to Kerala and 7 tmc ft of water to the Union Territory of Puducherry.

NEW DELHI: THE Supreme Court on Tuesday began its final hearing on the appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the 2007 award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT) on sharing of water. The Tribunal was set up in 1991. In 2007, it ordered the allocation of 419 tmcft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, 270 tmcft to Karnataka, 30 tmcft to Kerala and 7 tmcft of to Puducherry. During the day-long arguments, Karnataka government counsel Fali S Nariman told the court about the agreements drawn between 1852, 1924 and 1974 and said during those years no dispute arose between the states. Citing various judgments on water sharing, Nariman informed the bench that the dispute between the states increased only after the expiry of those agreements. For 50 years there was no dispute, Nariman told the court. We are entitled to the natural flow of water and there must not be any interference in the same. People of Bangalore have the first right to have supply of drinking water to them from Cauvery, Nariman added. The arguments remained inconclusive and will continue on Wednesday. Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal The Tribunal was set up in 1991 and in 2007 it had ordered the allocation of Cauvery water to the four States of Cauvery basin and allocated 419 tmc ft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, 270 tmc ft to Karnataka, 30 tmc ft to Kerala and 7 tmc ft of water to the Union Territory of Puducherry.
By PTI

KOLKATA: A documentary on Amartya Sen has been stalled by the Censor Board with its film maker Suman Ghosh being told to mute words like 'cow', 'Gujarat' and "Hindutva' uttered by the Nobel Laureate in the film.

The planned release of the film titled 'The Argumentative Indian' for this weekend in Kolkata is now uncertain with Ghosh today refusing to mute four words asked by the Central Board of Film Certification(CBFC) regional office here for getting the censor certificate. The words also included 'Hindu India'.

The move by the CBFC came in for sharp condemnation with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee voicing concern while Ghosh said he was shocked and taken aback. "Every single voice of the opposition is being muzzled. Now, Dr Amartya Sen. If somebody of his stature cannot express himself freely, what hope does the common citizen have," she said in a tweet.

Taking out certain words from the discussion between Sen and the interviewer--economist Kaushik Basu, would remove the soul of the documentary, Ghosh said. "The CBFC's regional office here wanted me to mute words like Gujarat, cow, Hindutva view of India and Hindu India," Ghosh, who directed the film documenting the life of 83-year-old Sen, told PTI here. "I expressed my inability to do it. It is a documentary and it is on a person who has an international stature. I am shocked," he said, adding he had planned to release the documentary this weekend. "I am waiting for the written communicaton and whether they (CBFC regional office) will send the film to CBFC, Mumbai. In any situation my response will be the same," the film director said. Ghosh said, "After sitting for three hours at the Censor Board office in Kolkata last evening during which my documentary was screened and the members scrutinised every single shot, I was verbally told to mute four words 'Gujarat', 'cow', 'Hindutva view of India' and 'Hindu India' for getting U/A certificate."

In the documentary, Sen speaks of social choice theory, development economics, philosophy and the rise of right wing nationalism across the world including India. The film covers a span of 15 years (2002-2017) and is structured as a conversation between Sen and his student economist Kaushik Basu. "These days films get online certification. So I hope the issue gets resolved quickly.

But no question of taking out some words," he added. Sen, who is a fierce critic of the Modi government, for his part, refused to be drawn into a discussion on the issue. "It is a documentary film on me. I have not made it. I have nothing to say on it. You ask Suman Ghosh about it," he said, adding, "If the authorities have any objection, they can discuss it."

A top CBFC source here said, "The documentary was previewed by the CBFC Kolkata and the examination committee has recommended 'U' certification with certain amendments as per the online certification norm." A private screening of the documentary was held at state-owned 'Nandan' early this week in the presence of Amartya Sen himself and a host of luminaries. Criticising CBFC's stand, Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Soumitra Chatterjee said, "It is nothing but a foolish move. In a way it is fascism". "We are a democratic country. Why should such a thing happen ?

He(Sen) is respected all over the world. He has the liberty to express his views. I feel outraged," he said. Director Goutam Ghosh said, "What I hear makes me shocked. Any such recommendation is absurd. There should not be censorship of feature films and documentaries or any work in the first place."

Recalling that the Shyam Benegal Committee, set up last year to lay down rules and regulations for film certification, had suggested gradation of films, he wondered if the union information and broadcasting ministry was sitting on the recommendations.

KOLKATA: A documentary on Amartya Sen has been stalled by the Censor Board with its film maker Suman Ghosh being told to mute words like 'cow', 'Gujarat' and "Hindutva' uttered by the Nobel Laureate in the film. The planned release of the film titled 'The Argumentative Indian' for this weekend in Kolkata is now uncertain with Ghosh today refusing to mute four words asked by the Central Board of Film Certification(CBFC) regional office here for getting the censor certificate. The words also included 'Hindu India'. The move by the CBFC came in for sharp condemnation with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee voicing concern while Ghosh said he was shocked and taken aback. "Every single voice of the opposition is being muzzled. Now, Dr Amartya Sen. If somebody of his stature cannot express himself freely, what hope does the common citizen have," she said in a tweet. Taking out certain words from the discussion between Sen and the interviewer--economist Kaushik Basu, would remove the soul of the documentary, Ghosh said. "The CBFC's regional office here wanted me to mute words like Gujarat, cow, Hindutva view of India and Hindu India," Ghosh, who directed the film documenting the life of 83-year-old Sen, told PTI here. "I expressed my inability to do it. It is a documentary and it is on a person who has an international stature. I am shocked," he said, adding he had planned to release the documentary this weekend. "I am waiting for the written communicaton and whether they (CBFC regional office) will send the film to CBFC, Mumbai. In any situation my response will be the same," the film director said. Ghosh said, "After sitting for three hours at the Censor Board office in Kolkata last evening during which my documentary was screened and the members scrutinised every single shot, I was verbally told to mute four words 'Gujarat', 'cow', 'Hindutva view of India' and 'Hindu India' for getting U/A certificate." In the documentary, Sen speaks of social choice theory, development economics, philosophy and the rise of right wing nationalism across the world including India. The film covers a span of 15 years (2002-2017) and is structured as a conversation between Sen and his student economist Kaushik Basu. "These days films get online certification. So I hope the issue gets resolved quickly. But no question of taking out some words," he added. Sen, who is a fierce critic of the Modi government, for his part, refused to be drawn into a discussion on the issue. "It is a documentary film on me. I have not made it. I have nothing to say on it. You ask Suman Ghosh about it," he said, adding, "If the authorities have any objection, they can discuss it." A top CBFC source here said, "The documentary was previewed by the CBFC Kolkata and the examination committee has recommended 'U' certification with certain amendments as per the online certification norm." A private screening of the documentary was held at state-owned 'Nandan' early this week in the presence of Amartya Sen himself and a host of luminaries. Criticising CBFC's stand, Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Soumitra Chatterjee said, "It is nothing but a foolish move. In a way it is fascism". "We are a democratic country. Why should such a thing happen ? He(Sen) is respected all over the world. He has the liberty to express his views. I feel outraged," he said. Director Goutam Ghosh said, "What I hear makes me shocked. Any such recommendation is absurd. There should not be censorship of feature films and documentaries or any work in the first place." Recalling that the Shyam Benegal Committee, set up last year to lay down rules and regulations for film certification, had suggested gradation of films, he wondered if the union information and broadcasting ministry was sitting on the recommendations.
By IANS

PANAJI: The Goa Police on Wednesday booked state BJP Vice President Anil Hoble, his wife and son for dowry-related harassment and assaulting his daughter-in-law.

Hoble and the others were booked after an FIR was filed at the women's police station here by the victim's mother Suchitra Shirodkar, who is based in Mumbai.

They were booked under sections 498 (a), 323 (causing hurt), 506 (ii) (Criminal intention) and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

Citing the complaint, a senior woman police officer told IANS that the victim's mother received a call from Hoble at round 2 a.m. on Tuesday, asking her to pick up her daughter from his home near Panaji.

"When we arrived there, my daughter had injury marks. Hoble also threatened to shoot us and chop us up with a knife," Shirodkar alleged in the complaint.

The complainant also alleged that Hoble and his family had been making dowry demands since 2009 when his son Milind and her daughter got married.

Speaking to IANS, Hoble called the accusations "baseless".

"There is no basis to these accusations. We have done nothing. I will speak the truth at the right time," Hoble said.

The police official said the case was under investigation.

PANAJI: The Goa Police on Wednesday booked state BJP Vice President Anil Hoble, his wife and son for dowry-related harassment and assaulting his daughter-in-law. Hoble and the others were booked after an FIR was filed at the women's police station here by the victim's mother Suchitra Shirodkar, who is based in Mumbai. They were booked under sections 498 (a), 323 (causing hurt), 506 (ii) (Criminal intention) and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Citing the complaint, a senior woman police officer told IANS that the victim's mother received a call from Hoble at round 2 a.m. on Tuesday, asking her to pick up her daughter from his home near Panaji. "When we arrived there, my daughter had injury marks. Hoble also threatened to shoot us and chop us up with a knife," Shirodkar alleged in the complaint. The complainant also alleged that Hoble and his family had been making dowry demands since 2009 when his son Milind and her daughter got married. Speaking to IANS, Hoble called the accusations "baseless". "There is no basis to these accusations. We have done nothing. I will speak the truth at the right time," Hoble said. The police official said the case was under investigation.
By PTI

HISAR (HARYANA): A Muslim trader from UP was allegedly slapped by an unidentified person when he refused to raise 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogan during a protest by Bajrang Dal activists here against the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, police said today.

The activists of the Dal took out a march near a mosque here yesterday to protest the attack on pilgrims in Kashmir Valley.

The Muslim trader hailing from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh had come to the mosque to offer prayers yesterday when the Dal activists were taking out a march.

As the Bajrang Dal activists were raising 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogans, someone in the crowd asked the trader who was at the gate of the mosque, to raise the slogan.

When he refused, he was allegedly slapped by someone in the crowd, police said today, adding a complaint was filed by the trader against around 100 unidentified people who were part of the crowd.

A Bajrang Dal leader here said no one from the Dal had slapped the trader.

WATCH VIDEO BELOW:

After the incident, the people in the mosque closed the main door of the religious place and informed the police.

The activists of Bajrang Dal, in the meanwhile, also dispersed after burning effigies and raising slogans against Pakistan.

A case of rioting, promoting enmity between classes, maliciously insulting religious beliefs of any class, causing disturbance to an assembly engaged in religious worship, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation has been registered against 100-125 unknown persons, police said.

Lalit Kumar, SHO, City Police Station said no arrest has been made so far.

HISAR (HARYANA): A Muslim trader from UP was allegedly slapped by an unidentified person when he refused to raise 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogan during a protest by Bajrang Dal activists here against the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, police said today. The activists of the Dal took out a march near a mosque here yesterday to protest the attack on pilgrims in Kashmir Valley. The Muslim trader hailing from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh had come to the mosque to offer prayers yesterday when the Dal activists were taking out a march. As the Bajrang Dal activists were raising 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogans, someone in the crowd asked the trader who was at the gate of the mosque, to raise the slogan. When he refused, he was allegedly slapped by someone in the crowd, police said today, adding a complaint was filed by the trader against around 100 unidentified people who were part of the crowd. A Bajrang Dal leader here said no one from the Dal had slapped the trader. WATCH VIDEO BELOW: window.__ventunoplayer = window.__ventunoplayer||[];window.__ventunoplayer.push({video_key: 'OTY1MTQyfHw4fHw2fHwxLDIsMQ==', holder_id: 'vt-video-player', player_type: 'vp', width:'100%', ratio:'4:3'});After the incident, the people in the mosque closed the main door of the religious place and informed the police. The activists of Bajrang Dal, in the meanwhile, also dispersed after burning effigies and raising slogans against Pakistan. A case of rioting, promoting enmity between classes, maliciously insulting religious beliefs of any class, causing disturbance to an assembly engaged in religious worship, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation has been registered against 100-125 unknown persons, police said. Lalit Kumar, SHO, City Police Station said no arrest has been made so far.
Pradip R Sagar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Amid tension on borders with Pakistan and China, the Centre has allowed the Army to make emergency procurements, without going through the red-tape, to be prepared for a short and intense war.

A notification issued by the government last week empowered Vice Chief of the Army to make hardware procurements up to Rs 40 thousand crore to meet critical deficiencies. Army has identified critical deficiencies in 46 types of ammunition and certain spares for 10 types of weapon platforms.

According to Defence Ministry sources, after the Uri attack, an internal audit was conducted to review Armys preparedness.

Though the Special Forces carried out surgical strikes 10 days later, the audit exposed several lapses in Armys critical procurement in order to fight a short and intense war that would last 15 days.

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Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during last years interactions with top military commanders, had said prospects of full-scale wars would be rare and future battles would be short and intense and need to be fought with clinical precision. Hence, soon after Uri attack, Army made emergency procurements worth `12,000 crore through 19 separate contracts  11 of which were exclusively on ammunition and spares.

With this notification, Army does not have to go through the Defence Acquisition Council or Cabinet Committee on Security. All purchases under the category of emergency procurement will be done at the office of the Vice Chief of Army, said a ministry official.

The government feels the Army should be made self-sufficient to meet its own requirements, they said, adding that the Navy and Air Force would be given similar powers soon.

Now, China wants to be the mediator on Kashmir, between India and Pakistan

China has offered to mediate between India, with which its currently engaged in a border standoff, and Pakistan, its all-weather friend where it has invested millions of dollars in building an economic corridor, to resolve the conflict in Kashmir. The situation in Kashmir has attracted the attention of the international community, Chinas Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The statement came days after the Chinese governments mouthpiece media said, Indias logic in stopping the Chinese military from constructing a road in the Doklam area of Sikkim sector on behalf of Bhutan can be applied to Kashmir as well.

ALSO READ: China to downsize army to under a million in biggest troop cut

The conflict near LoC would not only impact peace and tranquillity of India and Pakistan but also affect the region, Beijing said on Wednesday. Interestingly, the offer comes from a nation that has standing border or territorial disputes with almost every neighbouring country.

NEW DELHI: Amid tension on borders with Pakistan and China, the Centre has allowed the Army to make emergency procurements, without going through the red-tape, to be prepared for a short and intense war. A notification issued by the government last week empowered Vice Chief of the Army to make hardware procurements up to Rs 40 thousand crore to meet critical deficiencies. Army has identified critical deficiencies in 46 types of ammunition and certain spares for 10 types of weapon platforms. According to Defence Ministry sources, after the Uri attack, an internal audit was conducted to review Armys preparedness. Though the Special Forces carried out surgical strikes 10 days later, the audit exposed several lapses in Armys critical procurement in order to fight a short and intense war that would last 15 days. ALSO READ:India of 2017 more equipped to deal with China: Minister of State PMO Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during last years interactions with top military commanders, had said prospects of full-scale wars would be rare and future battles would be short and intense and need to be fought with clinical precision. Hence, soon after Uri attack, Army made emergency procurements worth `12,000 crore through 19 separate contracts  11 of which were exclusively on ammunition and spares. With this notification, Army does not have to go through the Defence Acquisition Council or Cabinet Committee on Security. All purchases under the category of emergency procurement will be done at the office of the Vice Chief of Army, said a ministry official. The government feels the Army should be made self-sufficient to meet its own requirements, they said, adding that the Navy and Air Force would be given similar powers soon. Now, China wants to be the mediator on Kashmir, between India and Pakistan China has offered to mediate between India, with which its currently engaged in a border standoff, and Pakistan, its all-weather friend where it has invested millions of dollars in building an economic corridor, to resolve the conflict in Kashmir. The situation in Kashmir has attracted the attention of the international community, Chinas Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The statement came days after the Chinese governments mouthpiece media said, Indias logic in stopping the Chinese military from constructing a road in the Doklam area of Sikkim sector on behalf of Bhutan can be applied to Kashmir as well. ALSO READ: China to downsize army to under a million in biggest troop cut The conflict near LoC would not only impact peace and tranquillity of India and Pakistan but also affect the region, Beijing said on Wednesday. Interestingly, the offer comes from a nation that has standing border or territorial disputes with almost every neighbouring country.
By PTI

KOLKATA: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has verbally communicated to a filmmaker to mute four words including 'cow' in his documentary on Amartya Sen, the director said.

The four words CBFC's regional office here wanted to be muted are 'Gujarat', 'Cow', 'Hindutva view of India' and 'Hindu India', Suman Ghosh, director of the documentary 'The Argumentative Indian', told PTI.

"After sitting for three hours at the Censor Board office in Kolkata, during which my documentary was screened and the members scrutinised every single shot, I was verbally told last night to mute four words 'Gujarat', 'Cow', 'Hindutva view of India' and 'Hindu India' for getting U/A certificate," Gosh said. "I expressed my inability to them," he said.

Taking out certain words from the discussion between Sen and the interviewer, economist Kaushik Basu, would remove the soul of the documentary, Ghosh said. "I am waiting for their written communication and whether they will send the film to review committee in Mumbai. In any situation my response will be the same," He said.

"These days films get online certification. So I hope the issue gets resolved quickly. But no question of taking out some words," he added. Contacted, a member of the CBFC here said, "Nothing to comment to the media on what the director said. In the documentary, Sen speaks of social choice theory, development economics, philosophy and the rise of right wing nationalism across the world including India.

It has been made over a span of 15 years from 2002 and is structured as a conversation between Sen and his student economist Kaushik Basu.

KOLKATA: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has verbally communicated to a filmmaker to mute four words including 'cow' in his documentary on Amartya Sen, the director said. The four words CBFC's regional office here wanted to be muted are 'Gujarat', 'Cow', 'Hindutva view of India' and 'Hindu India', Suman Ghosh, director of the documentary 'The Argumentative Indian', told PTI. "After sitting for three hours at the Censor Board office in Kolkata, during which my documentary was screened and the members scrutinised every single shot, I was verbally told last night to mute four words 'Gujarat', 'Cow', 'Hindutva view of India' and 'Hindu India' for getting U/A certificate," Gosh said. "I expressed my inability to them," he said. Taking out certain words from the discussion between Sen and the interviewer, economist Kaushik Basu, would remove the soul of the documentary, Ghosh said. "I am waiting for their written communication and whether they will send the film to review committee in Mumbai. In any situation my response will be the same," He said. "These days films get online certification. So I hope the issue gets resolved quickly. But no question of taking out some words," he added. Contacted, a member of the CBFC here said, "Nothing to comment to the media on what the director said. In the documentary, Sen speaks of social choice theory, development economics, philosophy and the rise of right wing nationalism across the world including India. It has been made over a span of 15 years from 2002 and is structured as a conversation between Sen and his student economist Kaushik Basu.
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRI NAGAR: There were probably two groups of terrorists attacking the bus carrying Amarnath yatris on Monday, Kashmir government has said in its report to the Ministry of Home Affairs. One group, the report says, fired at the bus from the front, trying to kill the driver while the other attacked from the right side, killing seven passengers and injuring 19 others. Five of those killed were from Gujarat and two others from Maharashtra.

When the bus kept on moving, the other group also hit from the right side at about 75 yards near Sumji Automobile Workshop near Khanabal, said the report. At Khanabal, a Police party rescued the passengers and took them to the hospital. The report added that tyre of the bus got punctured soon after it left Srinagar at around 4:40 pm. The bus, as a consequence, missed the convoy that is guarded by security forces and was delayed by over two hours. The vehicle was travelling on the highway after 7 pm, well past Road Opening Patrols duty time.

CRPF rules out security lapse in militant attack on Amarnath yatris

Intelligence officials claim preliminary assessments suggest Lashkar-e-Toiba was behind the attack, and its Pakistan-occupied Kashmir-based operative Mohammad (Abu) Ismail was the mastermind.

Investigations have revealed that some local Kashmiri militants were also accompanying Ismail during the attack. State police are probing if the local militants belonged to LeT, Hizbul Mujahideen or Zakir Musas group. Zakir, a former close aide of slain Hizb commander Burhan Wani, had recently split vowing to fight for establishment of caliphate in the State.

While several top leaders including Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Governor N N Vohra and Army Chief General Bipin Rawat reviewed the security arrangements and situation in the State, the CRPF denied any lapses on its part.

The attack on Monday was not a security lapse, Special DG of CRPF SN Srivastava told Express.

If the bus had travelled in the convoy, the passengers would have been safe. Everybody, including yatris have to be responsible for their safety, Srivastava said.

Amarnath attack: Militants will be hunted down says BJP

Sources claimed the death toll could have been worse had the bus driver Sheik Saleem Gafoor not been alert. He, the victims claimed, continued to drive the bus to safety despite coming under heavy gunfire. It was only a few moments later that I realised the horror as I saw my fellow passengers hit by the bullets, said 55-year-old Abhyankar, a native of Maharashtra and one of the lucky survivors of the attack.

Had it not been for the driver, the toll would have been more, she said. The survivors flew out of Srinagar today at 10.15 am by a special plane of the Indian Air Force and landed in Surat at around 1.30 pm, agencies reported.

Bus driver's bravery saves lives of many Amarnath pilgrims

He (Saleem) braved the bullets and continued to drive the vehicle for more than a kilometer. He stopped the vehicle near Khanabal area, said a police official. The State Cabinet praised Saleems valour and alertness and announced an award of `3 lakh for his bravery. State Governor N N Vohra, who is also chairman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), announced a special reward of `2 lakh for the driver.

52 yatris killed in last 18 years

The killing of seven pilgrims is the latest bloody statistic in Jammu & Kashmir, which has witnessed a 45% rise in terrorism-related deaths and 164% increase in civilian deaths alone-over the year ending June 30, 2017 according to an IndiaSpend analysis of data from the South Asian Terrorism Portal, run by the Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, a non-profit organisation. In the last 18 years, at least 52 pilgrims were killed in five terror attacks. The deadliest was by LeT on August 1, 2000, that left 21 dead in Pahalgam.

Saleem the saviour

Survivors recounted how their driver Saleem had saved their lives by continuing to drive through the hail of bullets.

God gave me the strength, he gave me the strength to save lives, said Saleem recounting the episode.

SRI NAGAR: There were probably two groups of terrorists attacking the bus carrying Amarnath yatris on Monday, Kashmir government has said in its report to the Ministry of Home Affairs. One group, the report says, fired at the bus from the front, trying to kill the driver while the other attacked from the right side, killing seven passengers and injuring 19 others. Five of those killed were from Gujarat and two others from Maharashtra. When the bus kept on moving, the other group also hit from the right side at about 75 yards near Sumji Automobile Workshop near Khanabal, said the report. At Khanabal, a Police party rescued the passengers and took them to the hospital. The report added that tyre of the bus got punctured soon after it left Srinagar at around 4:40 pm. The bus, as a consequence, missed the convoy that is guarded by security forces and was delayed by over two hours. The vehicle was travelling on the highway after 7 pm, well past Road Opening Patrols duty time. CRPF rules out security lapse in militant attack on Amarnath yatris Intelligence officials claim preliminary assessments suggest Lashkar-e-Toiba was behind the attack, and its Pakistan-occupied Kashmir-based operative Mohammad (Abu) Ismail was the mastermind. Investigations have revealed that some local Kashmiri militants were also accompanying Ismail during the attack. State police are probing if the local militants belonged to LeT, Hizbul Mujahideen or Zakir Musas group. Zakir, a former close aide of slain Hizb commander Burhan Wani, had recently split vowing to fight for establishment of caliphate in the State. While several top leaders including Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Governor N N Vohra and Army Chief General Bipin Rawat reviewed the security arrangements and situation in the State, the CRPF denied any lapses on its part. The attack on Monday was not a security lapse, Special DG of CRPF SN Srivastava told Express. If the bus had travelled in the convoy, the passengers would have been safe. Everybody, including yatris have to be responsible for their safety, Srivastava said. Amarnath attack: Militants will be hunted down says BJP Sources claimed the death toll could have been worse had the bus driver Sheik Saleem Gafoor not been alert. He, the victims claimed, continued to drive the bus to safety despite coming under heavy gunfire. It was only a few moments later that I realised the horror as I saw my fellow passengers hit by the bullets, said 55-year-old Abhyankar, a native of Maharashtra and one of the lucky survivors of the attack. Had it not been for the driver, the toll would have been more, she said. The survivors flew out of Srinagar today at 10.15 am by a special plane of the Indian Air Force and landed in Surat at around 1.30 pm, agencies reported. Bus driver's bravery saves lives of many Amarnath pilgrims He (Saleem) braved the bullets and continued to drive the vehicle for more than a kilometer. He stopped the vehicle near Khanabal area, said a police official. The State Cabinet praised Saleems valour and alertness and announced an award of `3 lakh for his bravery. State Governor N N Vohra, who is also chairman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), announced a special reward of `2 lakh for the driver. 52 yatris killed in last 18 years The killing of seven pilgrims is the latest bloody statistic in Jammu & Kashmir, which has witnessed a 45% rise in terrorism-related deaths and 164% increase in civilian deaths alone-over the year ending June 30, 2017 according to an IndiaSpend analysis of data from the South Asian Terrorism Portal, run by the Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, a non-profit organisation. In the last 18 years, at least 52 pilgrims were killed in five terror attacks. The deadliest was by LeT on August 1, 2000, that left 21 dead in Pahalgam. Saleem the saviour Survivors recounted how their driver Saleem had saved their lives by continuing to drive through the hail of bullets. God gave me the strength, he gave me the strength to save lives, said Saleem recounting the episode.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Stepping up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today accused him of pursuing policies that created space for terrorists in Kashmir.

He also said that the prime minister's pursuit of short-term political gains from the BJP-PDP alliance in the state has cost the country dear and resulted in sacrifices of innocent Indians.

"Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India.

Modis policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India#AmarnathTerrorAttack  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

"Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively," he said in a series of tweets.

Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

Gandhi also tweeted, "Modi's personal gain = India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood."

Modis personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

The Congress vice president had yesterday termed the attack on Amarnath pilgrims as a "grave and unacceptable security lapse" and asked the prime minister to accept responsibility.

He had also said that India will never be intimidated by terrorists.

Opposition parties had also asked the government to introspect on its failure to prevent the "cowardly and ghastly" terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims despite reports of advance intelligence inputs.

"The government needs to introspect as to why, despite advanced intelligence inputs, was there a failure to prevent this attack?" a resolution passed by 18 opposition parties yesterday said.

The BJP, however, asked Gandhi to "rise to the occasion"

and not do politics over the Amarnath terror strike after he attacked the PM.

NEW DELHI: Stepping up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today accused him of pursuing policies that created space for terrorists in Kashmir. He also said that the prime minister's pursuit of short-term political gains from the BJP-PDP alliance in the state has cost the country dear and resulted in sacrifices of innocent Indians. "Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India. Modis policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India#AmarnathTerrorAttack  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017 "Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively," he said in a series of tweets. Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017 Gandhi also tweeted, "Modi's personal gain = India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood." Modis personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017 The Congress vice president had yesterday termed the attack on Amarnath pilgrims as a "grave and unacceptable security lapse" and asked the prime minister to accept responsibility. He had also said that India will never be intimidated by terrorists. Opposition parties had also asked the government to introspect on its failure to prevent the "cowardly and ghastly" terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims despite reports of advance intelligence inputs. "The government needs to introspect as to why, despite advanced intelligence inputs, was there a failure to prevent this attack?" a resolution passed by 18 opposition parties yesterday said. The BJP, however, asked Gandhi to "rise to the occasion" and not do politics over the Amarnath terror strike after he attacked the PM.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that its orders on the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue have to be respected and executed and that the governments of Punjab and Haryana have a duty to obey them.

The court directed the two states to ensure that no agitation takes place over the issue. Welcoming the Supreme Courts decision, Punjab chief minister capt Amarinder Singh once again urged New Delhi to facilitate a dialogue between the two states for its early resolution of the issue.

Lauding New Delhi for showing keenness to forge a consensus on the issue, Amarinder expressed confidence that the matter could be resolved if all parties involved sit across a table and discuss amicably all aspects of the issue.

The chief minister said that while Punjab did not want to deprive Haryana of water, which he called a vital resource, the critical shortage of water in Punjab left him with no options. Punjab was taking all possible steps to conserve the depleting groundwater resource, he said.

The Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar thanked the Supreme Court for its verdict on the SYL Canal issue, and appealed to the Punjab chief minister to take immediate steps to start the construction of the SYL Canal for the benefit of farmers of both states.

CHANDIGARH: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that its orders on the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue have to be respected and executed and that the governments of Punjab and Haryana have a duty to obey them. The court directed the two states to ensure that no agitation takes place over the issue. Welcoming the Supreme Courts decision, Punjab chief minister capt Amarinder Singh once again urged New Delhi to facilitate a dialogue between the two states for its early resolution of the issue. Lauding New Delhi for showing keenness to forge a consensus on the issue, Amarinder expressed confidence that the matter could be resolved if all parties involved sit across a table and discuss amicably all aspects of the issue. The chief minister said that while Punjab did not want to deprive Haryana of water, which he called a vital resource, the critical shortage of water in Punjab left him with no options. Punjab was taking all possible steps to conserve the depleting groundwater resource, he said. The Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar thanked the Supreme Court for its verdict on the SYL Canal issue, and appealed to the Punjab chief minister to take immediate steps to start the construction of the SYL Canal for the benefit of farmers of both states.
DES MOINES | Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett, a 2018 GOP candidate for governor, pledged Wednesday not to raise or accept any D.C., special-interest swamp money in his underdog June 5 primary challenge, and called upon Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to do the same.

Corbett, 56, told reporters he has raised $804,020 mostly from individual Iowans in three weeks since he announced his run for governor, and has another $219,000 in hard commitments that make him a financially viable challenge to Reynolds  who became governor in May when Terry Branstad resigned to become U.S. ambassador to China.

What this shows is that people around the state of Iowa arent bought into this establishment narrative that the race is over before it starts. The race is just beginning, he said. I think it shows that Iowans around the state arent exactly comfortable with Kim Reynolds carrying the status-quo baton for the next four years, that theyre really open to new faces with a new agenda and a new game plan.

Corbett said he expects hell have to raise another $1 million to build a campaign treasury of about $2.3 million to run a very strong challenge to Reynolds GOP establishment-backed campaign.

During a Wednesday news conference, he challenged Reynolds to join him in refusing donations from political action committees, federal lobbyists and special interest groups as well as denouncing in advance any outside attack ads financed by independent groups not required to divulge donor names.

We dont need Washington, D.C., money meddling in Iowa politics. We dont need the special-interest groups trying to influence Iowa voters. We dont need this swamp money sponsoring fake TV ads two and three months out before the election, Corbett said. If were going to change how much money is in politics, it has to start with the candidates.

The GOP challenger noted that Reynolds already has banked $1 million in campaign money, but did so with the help of Branstad and contributions she likely garnered during trips to the nations capital. He called upon Reynolds to sign the pledge not to accept swamp money from D.C. and return any special-interest contributions she may have accepted already, including assistance from the Republican Governors Association.

The establishment has jumped on the bandwagon behind Kim Reynolds. I realize the establishment is trying to not have a primary and theyve done a lot of work trying to convince people that I dont have a chance. That narrative is a fake narrative. I do have shot, said Corbett.

Reynolds has hired a campaign staff and said she plans to run with acting Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, a former state public defender. This week she announced that Iowas two Republican senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, will serve as her 2018 campaigns co-chairs, joining Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey and more than 1,050 county chairs from all 99 counties in support of the Reynolds-Gregg camp.

Corbett, a former Iowa House speaker elected seven times before becoming a two-term mayor since 2010, is running on a core four platform of issues, saying Iowa has receded in K-12 education, has an unfair, uncompetitive and complicated income tax system, has failed to address water quality issues and needs more compassion and concern about the well-being of Iowans.

He has been traveling the state since 2015 with his conservative think tank Engage Iowa and more recently on a book tour for Beyond Promises to discuss his vision.

Phil Valenziano, manager for the Reynolds-Gregg campaign, said Reynolds filed a campaign finance report as lieutenant governor last January indicating that 95 percent of the money she raised were contributions from people within Iowa and the rest were former Iowans or from border areas. So I guess thats right in line there, he said.

Valenziano said he wasnt familiar with the details of Corbetts proposal, which he viewed as very vague, but he noted that the governor is thrilled with the support she has received, especially with the addition of Grassley and Ernst as campaign co-chairs. If the intent is to keep support coming from Iowans, obviously weve sort of checked that box with 95 percent of support of our financial contributions in 2016 coming from Iowa.

Reynolds and Gregg are focused on building the strongest grassroots campaign in Iowa history with a goal of lifting all Republicans to victory in November of 2018.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Giving a push to Southeast Asian road connectivity, cabinet approved upgradation of Imphal-Moreh Section of NH-39 in Manipur at a cost of Rs 1630.29 crores. The project corridor is part of the Asian Highway 1 and acts as India's Gateway to the East as it will connect Myanmar.

The project is being developed with ADB's loan assistance under the South Asian Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Road Connectivity Investment Program which aims at upgradation of road infrastructure in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India (BBIN) in order to improve the regional connectivity among BBIN nations.

"The section will connect India to Myanmar and we can further go to Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. So it is the section that connects India internationally," said Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.

The connectivity is expected to boost trade, commerce and tourism in the region. For fulfilling India's "Look East" Policy and to promote and enhance trade link with South East Asia, India has notified an Integrated Custom Post (ICP) at Moreh.

The development of this project is essential in order to support the increased traffic volume due to coming up of ICP.

The minister said that the better road connectivity will boost trade, commerce and tourism and there is likelihood that it will create 2.67 lakh man days of employment in Manipur. Besides socio-economic development the project will also lead to reduction in average travel time along the project road by nearly 40 percent.

NEW DELHI: Giving a push to Southeast Asian road connectivity, cabinet approved upgradation of Imphal-Moreh Section of NH-39 in Manipur at a cost of Rs 1630.29 crores. The project corridor is part of the Asian Highway 1 and acts as India's Gateway to the East as it will connect Myanmar. The project is being developed with ADB's loan assistance under the South Asian Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Road Connectivity Investment Program which aims at upgradation of road infrastructure in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India (BBIN) in order to improve the regional connectivity among BBIN nations. "The section will connect India to Myanmar and we can further go to Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. So it is the section that connects India internationally," said Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. The connectivity is expected to boost trade, commerce and tourism in the region. For fulfilling India's "Look East" Policy and to promote and enhance trade link with South East Asia, India has notified an Integrated Custom Post (ICP) at Moreh. The development of this project is essential in order to support the increased traffic volume due to coming up of ICP. The minister said that the better road connectivity will boost trade, commerce and tourism and there is likelihood that it will create 2.67 lakh man days of employment in Manipur. Besides socio-economic development the project will also lead to reduction in average travel time along the project road by nearly 40 percent.
Anand ST Das By

Express News Service

PATNA: Bihars embattled deputy chief minister Tejaswi Yadav of RJD, under pressure to resign after the CBI registered an FIR against him for alleged corruption, on Wednesday made an impassioned plea of innocence and hinted that he would not resign.

A day after chief minister and JD(U) national president Nitish Kumar gave a four-day ultimatum to the RJD to ensure Tejaswi Yadav puts in his papers, the 28-year- attended a cabinet meeting chaired by Nitish Kumar to show that all is well with him and the ruling alliance. But at the cabinet meeting, which lasted for an unusual 25 minutes, Kumar reportedly barely exchanged a word despite sitting next to him.

When this (Railways hotel tender scam and subsequent land transfer) happened, I was a boy of only 14 or 15, and I did not even have a moustache at the time. Is it possible that I would commit any wrong act like this at that age? said Tejaswi Yadav to journalists.

Claiming that his tenure of nearly two years as deputy chief minister with three portfolios has been clean and effective, Tejaswi Yadav said RJDs opponents have been conspiring to destabilise Bihars JD(U)-RJD-Congress grand alliance government. Since I assumed charge, I have been sincerely performing my duties and serving Bihars people, and I have not done anything illegal. Our government has zero tolerance for corruption from day one. All three departments under me have done exceedingly well, he added.

These people (BJP) were afraid of Lalu Prasad Yadav. But now it is clear they are afraid of a 27-year-old youth who is challenging them, said Tejaswi Yadav. This FIR by the CBI and all these allegations are results of political vendetta. They are politically motivated by Amit Shah and the BJP as a conspiracy to defame and weaken us. These are their plots to defame Bihar, he added, his elder brother and health minister Tej Pratap Yadav standing beside him.

WATCH VIDEO BELOW:

BJP is trying hard to destabilise the grand alliance government by creating rifts between the allies. But both the grand alliance and the government are standing strong and they will remain strong, he said. The BJP-supported goons in the media are frustrated because the government is not crumbling, he added as his security guards pushed journalists away, allegedly manhandling some of them.

RJD leaders, who had another meeting at Lalu Prasad Yadavs residence said the party stands by Tejaswi Yadav and that he would not resign. Nitish Kumar, who left after the cabinet meeting without speaking to journalists, also met senior party colleagues to discuss the emerging situation.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who levelled a string of corruption charges against Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family members over the past three months, rubbished Tejaswi Yadavs charges of vendetta and his claim of being too young to have done anything illegal.

His talk of having no moustache is laughable. He became the owner of three acres of land in Patna, on which Bihars biggest mall is being built at the age of 24. Let him say this plot of land does not belong to him and his family, said Sushil Kumar Modi. Why is BJP not chasing Naveen Patnaik or Nitish Kumar? There is proof against Lalu Prasad and his family. People have seen how they became billionaires from being extremely poor, added the former deputy chief minister.

PATNA: Bihars embattled deputy chief minister Tejaswi Yadav of RJD, under pressure to resign after the CBI registered an FIR against him for alleged corruption, on Wednesday made an impassioned plea of innocence and hinted that he would not resign. A day after chief minister and JD(U) national president Nitish Kumar gave a four-day ultimatum to the RJD to ensure Tejaswi Yadav puts in his papers, the 28-year- attended a cabinet meeting chaired by Nitish Kumar to show that all is well with him and the ruling alliance. But at the cabinet meeting, which lasted for an unusual 25 minutes, Kumar reportedly barely exchanged a word despite sitting next to him. When this (Railways hotel tender scam and subsequent land transfer) happened, I was a boy of only 14 or 15, and I did not even have a moustache at the time. Is it possible that I would commit any wrong act like this at that age? said Tejaswi Yadav to journalists. Claiming that his tenure of nearly two years as deputy chief minister with three portfolios has been clean and effective, Tejaswi Yadav said RJDs opponents have been conspiring to destabilise Bihars JD(U)-RJD-Congress grand alliance government. Since I assumed charge, I have been sincerely performing my duties and serving Bihars people, and I have not done anything illegal. Our government has zero tolerance for corruption from day one. All three departments under me have done exceedingly well, he added. These people (BJP) were afraid of Lalu Prasad Yadav. But now it is clear they are afraid of a 27-year-old youth who is challenging them, said Tejaswi Yadav. This FIR by the CBI and all these allegations are results of political vendetta. They are politically motivated by Amit Shah and the BJP as a conspiracy to defame and weaken us. These are their plots to defame Bihar, he added, his elder brother and health minister Tej Pratap Yadav standing beside him. WATCH VIDEO BELOW: window.__ventunoplayer = window.__ventunoplayer||[];window.__ventunoplayer.push({video_key: 'OTY1MTM0fHw4fHw2fHwxLDIsMQ==', holder_id: 'vt-video-player', player_type: 'vp', width:'100%', ratio:'4:3'});BJP is trying hard to destabilise the grand alliance government by creating rifts between the allies. But both the grand alliance and the government are standing strong and they will remain strong, he said. The BJP-supported goons in the media are frustrated because the government is not crumbling, he added as his security guards pushed journalists away, allegedly manhandling some of them. RJD leaders, who had another meeting at Lalu Prasad Yadavs residence said the party stands by Tejaswi Yadav and that he would not resign. Nitish Kumar, who left after the cabinet meeting without speaking to journalists, also met senior party colleagues to discuss the emerging situation. Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who levelled a string of corruption charges against Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family members over the past three months, rubbished Tejaswi Yadavs charges of vendetta and his claim of being too young to have done anything illegal. His talk of having no moustache is laughable. He became the owner of three acres of land in Patna, on which Bihars biggest mall is being built at the age of 24. Let him say this plot of land does not belong to him and his family, said Sushil Kumar Modi. Why is BJP not chasing Naveen Patnaik or Nitish Kumar? There is proof against Lalu Prasad and his family. People have seen how they became billionaires from being extremely poor, added the former deputy chief minister.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: With numbers overwhelmingly in favour, the BJP has restricted consultations for picking up Vice Presidential nominee amongst the office-bearers, with the party chief Amit Shah and Organisational Secretary Ram Lal wrapping up the exercise to allow the Parliamentary Board to unveil the most likely successor of the incumbent Hamid Ansari within a few days.

The BJP chief and parts organisational secretary have completed the consultations with the office bearers and senior leaders. They asked each of the leaders separately of the kind of person who should grace the office of the Vice President. With the internal exercise done, the Parliamentary Board meeting could be called any day to announce the nominee, sources close to the BJP chief told EXPRESS.

The consultation exercise for the top two Constitutional posts is, incidentally, in sharp contrast. The BJP chief had constituted a panel of three Union ministers  Rajnath Singh, M Venkaiah Naidu and Arun jaitely  to hold wide consultations with all political parties for the Presidential election. But the saffron outfit has restricted the consultation for the Vice-Presidential nominee internal though sources said that the BJP chief will speak to the leaders of the NDA allies on the days of making the name public.

Its going to be a great occasion for the party, as all top four protocol posts  President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker  will be held by persons of the Jansangh (predecessor of BJP) ideology, said a senior BJP functionary.

One of the top BJP leaders consulted by the party chief expressed his choice, saying that the party should not pick a bureaucrat for the post of the Vice President. Now that we are very close to declaring the nominee for Vice-Presidential election, it seems that the choice could be one from the southern parts of the country.

However, theres a remote chance of the Prime Minister surprising us by picking up a nominee from the North-east to send out a loud message to the region at a time when the BJP is seeking to replace the Congress and also for the fact that the war of perception with China needs to be won, added the BJP functionary. Incidentally, the Southern and North-eastern parts of the country are regions high on BJPs electoral expansion plan.

While the BJP had been in power in Karnataka, the party chief has set high ambition for Telangana and Kerala. In the North-east, the BJP led NDA is in power in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, while the partys Sherpa for the region Hemant Bisse Sharma is reportedly working overtime to deliver the whole region to the saffron kitty.

NEW DELHI: With numbers overwhelmingly in favour, the BJP has restricted consultations for picking up Vice Presidential nominee amongst the office-bearers, with the party chief Amit Shah and Organisational Secretary Ram Lal wrapping up the exercise to allow the Parliamentary Board to unveil the most likely successor of the incumbent Hamid Ansari within a few days. The BJP chief and parts organisational secretary have completed the consultations with the office bearers and senior leaders. They asked each of the leaders separately of the kind of person who should grace the office of the Vice President. With the internal exercise done, the Parliamentary Board meeting could be called any day to announce the nominee, sources close to the BJP chief told EXPRESS. The consultation exercise for the top two Constitutional posts is, incidentally, in sharp contrast. The BJP chief had constituted a panel of three Union ministers  Rajnath Singh, M Venkaiah Naidu and Arun jaitely  to hold wide consultations with all political parties for the Presidential election. But the saffron outfit has restricted the consultation for the Vice-Presidential nominee internal though sources said that the BJP chief will speak to the leaders of the NDA allies on the days of making the name public. Its going to be a great occasion for the party, as all top four protocol posts  President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker  will be held by persons of the Jansangh (predecessor of BJP) ideology, said a senior BJP functionary. One of the top BJP leaders consulted by the party chief expressed his choice, saying that the party should not pick a bureaucrat for the post of the Vice President. Now that we are very close to declaring the nominee for Vice-Presidential election, it seems that the choice could be one from the southern parts of the country. However, theres a remote chance of the Prime Minister surprising us by picking up a nominee from the North-east to send out a loud message to the region at a time when the BJP is seeking to replace the Congress and also for the fact that the war of perception with China needs to be won, added the BJP functionary. Incidentally, the Southern and North-eastern parts of the country are regions high on BJPs electoral expansion plan. While the BJP had been in power in Karnataka, the party chief has set high ambition for Telangana and Kerala. In the North-east, the BJP led NDA is in power in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, while the partys Sherpa for the region Hemant Bisse Sharma is reportedly working overtime to deliver the whole region to the saffron kitty.
Prabhakaran Nair By

Makka ki roti aur sarson ka sag is a popular food item in northern India, in particular, Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh where both maize and mustard are widely grown. All vegetarian dishes made in much of northern, eastern and western India are cooked in mustard (sarson) oil. Why, suddenly, has mustard taken centre stage? GM mustard has begun to stir both the scientific and activist lobbies, the latter vehemently against it, while the former is keeping its fingers crossed. This piece is about the now controversial Dhara GM mustard hybrid-11 or DMH-11, developed by scientists of Delhi University, with former Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental in the lead.

Why is the DMH-11, the herbicide tolerant mustard, which received the green signal from the GEAC (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee) dangerous? The WHO has labelled glyphosate as a carcinogen and there is incontrovertible field evidence from Argentina, which cultivates a lot of GM soybean, commercially known as Round Up Ready soybean. The herbicide Round Up led to multitudes of grave birth defects in children. When a sarson farmer grows DMH-11, he is advised to spray the herbicide Basta which kills weeds and plants, except the GM mustard. The herbicide is manufactured by Bayer, the German agro-chemical company which recently acquired Monsanto. Bastas chemical constituent is glufosinatea neurotoxin on the same platform as glyphosate.

A parallel is GM brinjal, peddled by Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company), an arm of Monsanto, during UPA-II. Late Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal, responding to a PIL, noted that the entire question of GM crops must be examined by an independent expert committee. A committee was formulated by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Hyderabad; I was unanimously chosen as its chairman. The committee found several lapses, in field data and laboratory biosafety evaluation, and submitted its report to the Supreme Court in October 2006. I also wrote an open letter to the Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh against Bt brinjal, published in The New Indian Express on February 9, 2010. All of these efforts led to the clamping of an indefinite moratorium on Bt brinjal on February 10, 2010, which stands to date. And now, the haste and secrecy with which the GEAC is moving on mustard gives rise to much suspicion.

Weeding is done by women farm labourers in mustard fields. Think of the loss of livelihood of these poor women. A conservative estimate shows that even 25 per cent adoption of GM mustard in India would lead to the loss of a crore employment days for women.

Terminator technology (GURT, where a GM plant makes its own seeds sterile), in GM mustard is a potential threat to Indian farming, like in Bt cotton, which has been proved unsustainable in recent years due to widespread white fly attack devastating entire cotton fields in Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh. A layman or mustard farmer must understand that mustard is a self pollinated crop and the seed rate is very low (1.5-2 kg/acre), so, it is very liable to mix the diverse genetic blood through time-tested traditional methods and then release open-pollinated varieties in various combinations. Further, there is no dearth of traditional technologies to produce mustard hybridsthus making Pentals claims (the Barnase-Barstar-Bar Gene technology) hollow.

I suggest that the Centre take cue from Jairam Ramesh on GM mustard. Let there be an open debate whether India needs GM mustard or not. Jairam Ramesh went round the country meeting farmers, scientists and activists. This needs to be repeated to arrive at a consensus on this important oil crop.

Setting aside needless activism and emotions, what is important is to discuss if India needs GM mustard. One must remember that mustard is a food crop, and any genetic tampering with it must pass rigorous bio- safety tests. Obviously, that has not been the case with DMH-11.

As every part of the mustard plant is used as food, including as green fodder for cattle, Pental was questioned about his data for safe usage: Data pertaining to socio-economic issues, including cost of cultivation and if India would end up promoting the carcinogenic herbicide, glyphosate/glufosinate, through GM technology.

More pertinently, as mustard is an oil crop, there is danger of mixing/contamination of oils from GM and non-GM crops. The critical policy issues concerning labelling, extraction and traceability need to be addressed well in advance of commercialisation. In this context, it is important to note that the principal difference between a GM soybean and a non-GM soybean is that in the former, the toxic compound formaldehyde stays put in the cells while in the latter it is excreted.

Agriculture ministry experts question the need for a GM hybrid as the yield advantage claimed by DMH-11 is at par with contemporary high yielding non-GM varieties of mustard. As better yielding varieties are now available (RH 749 being the highest yielding), DMH-11s yield must be compared with the varieties released recently, not the one that has not been in cultivation for more than three decadesas has been the case.

Thereafter, the GM mustard must be tested in different agro-climatic conditions for differential climate impact in representative mustard growing regions of the country. Only after that can a cost-benefit analysis be done. This rigorous procedure has not been adhered to, nor a metabolomic profilinga tool to understand mechanisms of toxicitybeen undertaken.

The GM mustard team is reportedly ill-equipped in hard data. It floundered when questioned about the methods of seed production and price, and means of preventing seed monopoly. The latter is the real end-game of GM technology, which is why it is the kill switch of agriculture.

Prabhakaran Nair

Former Professor, National Science Foundation

Email: drkppnair@gmail.com

Makka ki roti aur sarson ka sag is a popular food item in northern India, in particular, Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh where both maize and mustard are widely grown. All vegetarian dishes made in much of northern, eastern and western India are cooked in mustard (sarson) oil. Why, suddenly, has mustard taken centre stage? GM mustard has begun to stir both the scientific and activist lobbies, the latter vehemently against it, while the former is keeping its fingers crossed. This piece is about the now controversial Dhara GM mustard hybrid-11 or DMH-11, developed by scientists of Delhi University, with former Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental in the lead. Why is the DMH-11, the herbicide tolerant mustard, which received the green signal from the GEAC (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee) dangerous? The WHO has labelled glyphosate as a carcinogen and there is incontrovertible field evidence from Argentina, which cultivates a lot of GM soybean, commercially known as Round Up Ready soybean. The herbicide Round Up led to multitudes of grave birth defects in children. When a sarson farmer grows DMH-11, he is advised to spray the herbicide Basta which kills weeds and plants, except the GM mustard. The herbicide is manufactured by Bayer, the German agro-chemical company which recently acquired Monsanto. Bastas chemical constituent is glufosinatea neurotoxin on the same platform as glyphosate. A parallel is GM brinjal, peddled by Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company), an arm of Monsanto, during UPA-II. Late Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal, responding to a PIL, noted that the entire question of GM crops must be examined by an independent expert committee. A committee was formulated by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Hyderabad; I was unanimously chosen as its chairman. The committee found several lapses, in field data and laboratory biosafety evaluation, and submitted its report to the Supreme Court in October 2006. I also wrote an open letter to the Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh against Bt brinjal, published in The New Indian Express on February 9, 2010. All of these efforts led to the clamping of an indefinite moratorium on Bt brinjal on February 10, 2010, which stands to date. And now, the haste and secrecy with which the GEAC is moving on mustard gives rise to much suspicion. Weeding is done by women farm labourers in mustard fields. Think of the loss of livelihood of these poor women. A conservative estimate shows that even 25 per cent adoption of GM mustard in India would lead to the loss of a crore employment days for women. Terminator technology (GURT, where a GM plant makes its own seeds sterile), in GM mustard is a potential threat to Indian farming, like in Bt cotton, which has been proved unsustainable in recent years due to widespread white fly attack devastating entire cotton fields in Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh. A layman or mustard farmer must understand that mustard is a self pollinated crop and the seed rate is very low (1.5-2 kg/acre), so, it is very liable to mix the diverse genetic blood through time-tested traditional methods and then release open-pollinated varieties in various combinations. Further, there is no dearth of traditional technologies to produce mustard hybridsthus making Pentals claims (the Barnase-Barstar-Bar Gene technology) hollow. I suggest that the Centre take cue from Jairam Ramesh on GM mustard. Let there be an open debate whether India needs GM mustard or not. Jairam Ramesh went round the country meeting farmers, scientists and activists. This needs to be repeated to arrive at a consensus on this important oil crop. Setting aside needless activism and emotions, what is important is to discuss if India needs GM mustard. One must remember that mustard is a food crop, and any genetic tampering with it must pass rigorous bio- safety tests. Obviously, that has not been the case with DMH-11. As every part of the mustard plant is used as food, including as green fodder for cattle, Pental was questioned about his data for safe usage: Data pertaining to socio-economic issues, including cost of cultivation and if India would end up promoting the carcinogenic herbicide, glyphosate/glufosinate, through GM technology. More pertinently, as mustard is an oil crop, there is danger of mixing/contamination of oils from GM and non-GM crops. The critical policy issues concerning labelling, extraction and traceability need to be addressed well in advance of commercialisation. In this context, it is important to note that the principal difference between a GM soybean and a non-GM soybean is that in the former, the toxic compound formaldehyde stays put in the cells while in the latter it is excreted. Agriculture ministry experts question the need for a GM hybrid as the yield advantage claimed by DMH-11 is at par with contemporary high yielding non-GM varieties of mustard. As better yielding varieties are now available (RH 749 being the highest yielding), DMH-11s yield must be compared with the varieties released recently, not the one that has not been in cultivation for more than three decadesas has been the case. Thereafter, the GM mustard must be tested in different agro-climatic conditions for differential climate impact in representative mustard growing regions of the country. Only after that can a cost-benefit analysis be done. This rigorous procedure has not been adhered to, nor a metabolomic profilinga tool to understand mechanisms of toxicitybeen undertaken. The GM mustard team is reportedly ill-equipped in hard data. It floundered when questioned about the methods of seed production and price, and means of preventing seed monopoly. The latter is the real end-game of GM technology, which is why it is the kill switch of agriculture. Prabhakaran Nair Former Professor, National Science Foundation Email: drkppnair@gmail.com
By Express News Service

SALEM: Even as the Tamil Nadu government repeatedly assured the agitating farmers that it was opposed to hydrocarbon extraction project at Neduvasal in the fertile Cauvery delta, it's police on Wednesday detained two women, including a post graduation student, for distributing pamphlets to college students seeking support for the protest.

The Q Branch of the State Police, the wing that deals with Maoists, Islamists, Tamil separatists and other extremist outfits, which detained Valarmathy (23) and Jayanthi (40) apparently suspected them of being part of a Left extremist group.

Valarmathy, said to be a mass communication student, and her friend Swathy's mother, Jayanthi, were distributing pamphlets to Government Womens Arts and Science College students in Salem on Wednesday morning. It urged the student community to support Neduvasal protest, where a group of farmers, activists and youth including students are staging an agitation against a proposal to dig wells to extract oil.

Based on information, Hasthampatti police and Q branch police went to the college at Gorimedu where they found the two women distributing the pamphlets to students. The two were detained on suspicion that they belonged to a Left extremist group; police sources added they were probing their background.



SALEM: Even as the Tamil Nadu government repeatedly assured the agitating farmers that it was opposed to hydrocarbon extraction project at Neduvasal in the fertile Cauvery delta, it's police on Wednesday detained two women, including a post graduation student, for distributing pamphlets to college students seeking support for the protest. The Q Branch of the State Police, the wing that deals with Maoists, Islamists, Tamil separatists and other extremist outfits, which detained Valarmathy (23) and Jayanthi (40) apparently suspected them of being part of a Left extremist group. Valarmathy, said to be a mass communication student, and her friend Swathy's mother, Jayanthi, were distributing pamphlets to Government Womens Arts and Science College students in Salem on Wednesday morning. It urged the student community to support Neduvasal protest, where a group of farmers, activists and youth including students are staging an agitation against a proposal to dig wells to extract oil. Based on information, Hasthampatti police and Q branch police went to the college at Gorimedu where they found the two women distributing the pamphlets to students. The two were detained on suspicion that they belonged to a Left extremist group; police sources added they were probing their background.
By AFP

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait, the United States and Britain Monday called on all sides in the Gulf crisis to resolve their dispute through dialogue and expressed "deep concern" over the continued rift.

Their call was issued in a joint statement following talks between US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his Kuwaiti counterpart and Britain's national security adviser at the start of a Gulf tour in a bid to defuse the crisis.

The three nations appealed to the Gulf foes "to quickly contain the current crisis and resolve it at the earliest through dialogue," according to a statement cited by the KUNA news agency.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on June 5 severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and accused Doha of funding extremist groups.

The four Arab nations also imposed tough economic sanctions on the tiny emirate with Saudi Arabia closing the sole border exit for Qatar.

A defiant Qatar has rejected a list of 13 demands from the Saudi-led coalition that included shutting broadcaster Al-Jazeera, downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran and closing a Turkish military base.

Qatar has categorically denied the charges.

During his tour, Tillerson is scheduled to visit Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the first serious US mediation in the Gulf crisis.

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait, the United States and Britain Monday called on all sides in the Gulf crisis to resolve their dispute through dialogue and expressed "deep concern" over the continued rift. Their call was issued in a joint statement following talks between US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his Kuwaiti counterpart and Britain's national security adviser at the start of a Gulf tour in a bid to defuse the crisis. The three nations appealed to the Gulf foes "to quickly contain the current crisis and resolve it at the earliest through dialogue," according to a statement cited by the KUNA news agency. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on June 5 severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and accused Doha of funding extremist groups. The four Arab nations also imposed tough economic sanctions on the tiny emirate with Saudi Arabia closing the sole border exit for Qatar. A defiant Qatar has rejected a list of 13 demands from the Saudi-led coalition that included shutting broadcaster Al-Jazeera, downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran and closing a Turkish military base. Qatar has categorically denied the charges. During his tour, Tillerson is scheduled to visit Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the first serious US mediation in the Gulf crisis.
By PTI

BEIRUT: Rebel groups shot down a Syrian government warplane today near a ceasefire zone in the country's south, the factions and a monitoring group said. Two rebel groups that operate in Southeast Syria, the Lions of the East Army and the Ahmad al-Abdo Forces, issued a joint statement saying they had downed the aircraft.

"The plane was shot down and crashed in regime-controlled territory. We have no information on the pilot," said Fares al-Munjed, communications head for the Ahmad al-Abdo Forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor confirmed that the rebel groups had hit the plane near a village on the administrative border between the provinces of Rural Damascus and Sweida. Sweida province is part of a new ceasefire deal negotiated by the United States, Russia, and Jordan that went into effect on Sunday.

The deal has brought relative quiet to most of the provinces covered -- Daraa, Quneitra and Sweida -- though outbreaks of violence have been reported. In Sweida, government forces launched an attack yesterday on the Ahmad al-Abdo Forces and the Lions of the East Army. Fighting continued into today over a series of hilltops and villages in the province, the Observatory and rebels said. Two shells also landed in Daraa city, but no casualties were reported, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests. Multiple attempted ceasefires, including nationwide truces, have failed to bring a long-term end to the war.

BEIRUT: Rebel groups shot down a Syrian government warplane today near a ceasefire zone in the country's south, the factions and a monitoring group said. Two rebel groups that operate in Southeast Syria, the Lions of the East Army and the Ahmad al-Abdo Forces, issued a joint statement saying they had downed the aircraft. "The plane was shot down and crashed in regime-controlled territory. We have no information on the pilot," said Fares al-Munjed, communications head for the Ahmad al-Abdo Forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor confirmed that the rebel groups had hit the plane near a village on the administrative border between the provinces of Rural Damascus and Sweida. Sweida province is part of a new ceasefire deal negotiated by the United States, Russia, and Jordan that went into effect on Sunday. The deal has brought relative quiet to most of the provinces covered -- Daraa, Quneitra and Sweida -- though outbreaks of violence have been reported. In Sweida, government forces launched an attack yesterday on the Ahmad al-Abdo Forces and the Lions of the East Army. Fighting continued into today over a series of hilltops and villages in the province, the Observatory and rebels said. Two shells also landed in Daraa city, but no casualties were reported, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests. Multiple attempted ceasefires, including nationwide truces, have failed to bring a long-term end to the war.
By PTI

HARARE: Air Zimbabwe has laid off 200 employees -- nearly half its workforce -- to try to stay in the air, Zimbabwe state media reported today, as the country's economic troubles deepen.

Under long-time leader President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe has suffered mass unemployment, a collapse of many public services and banknote shortages as foreign investors have fled.

According to Bloomberg News, the southern African country's economy has halved since 2000. "We have retrenched 200 employees out of the 424," Air Zimbabwe chairman Chipo Dyanda was quoted as saying in the Herald newspaper.

"The organisation is over-bloated." This is the latest bad news to hit the troubled national carrier, which in May was added to a list of airlines banned from EU airspace over safety concerns.

The airline, which flies to South Africa and Tanzania as well as on domestic routes between Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, has over USD 300 million in debts.

According to a letter seen by AFP, the state-owned company said it was acting "to contain operational costs and save the national airline's viability as a going concern."

Affected workers were sent on paid leave yesterday and will receive three months' salary and compensation for loss of employment, the letter said.

The 93-year-old Mugabe, currently on a medical trip to Singapore, has sometimes chartered Air Zimbabwe planes, forcing the cancellation of scheduled flights.

HARARE: Air Zimbabwe has laid off 200 employees -- nearly half its workforce -- to try to stay in the air, Zimbabwe state media reported today, as the country's economic troubles deepen. Under long-time leader President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe has suffered mass unemployment, a collapse of many public services and banknote shortages as foreign investors have fled. According to Bloomberg News, the southern African country's economy has halved since 2000. "We have retrenched 200 employees out of the 424," Air Zimbabwe chairman Chipo Dyanda was quoted as saying in the Herald newspaper. "The organisation is over-bloated." This is the latest bad news to hit the troubled national carrier, which in May was added to a list of airlines banned from EU airspace over safety concerns. The airline, which flies to South Africa and Tanzania as well as on domestic routes between Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, has over USD 300 million in debts. According to a letter seen by AFP, the state-owned company said it was acting "to contain operational costs and save the national airline's viability as a going concern." Affected workers were sent on paid leave yesterday and will receive three months' salary and compensation for loss of employment, the letter said. The 93-year-old Mugabe, currently on a medical trip to Singapore, has sometimes chartered Air Zimbabwe planes, forcing the cancellation of scheduled flights.
By PTI

US President Donald Trump has lauded the "transparency" of his eldest son over the release of a chain of emails showing a Russian source offering "sensitive information" about his White House rival Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the presidential election.

In an email to 39-year-old Donald Trump Jr, who is in the middle of a political storm over his meetings with a Russian source, his music publicist Rob Goldstone said the information "would incriminate Hillary (Clinton) and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father".

"My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," Trump said in a statement which was read out by the White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during her daily news conference.

While Trump Jr said he hopes that by releasing these emails would bring an end to the controversy, the opposition political leaders called for investigation and claimed that this is yet another indication of the connection between the Trump campaign and the Russians.

"Donald Trump Jr has admitted and documented that he, Jared Kushner, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer with the understanding that she was a Russian government lawyer providing damaging information on Hillary Clinton as part of Moscow's effort to help President Trump's campaign," said Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi.

"The attempt by these top Trump advisors - to solicit the support of a hostile foreign power to win the American presidency - is unprecedented in our history," he said.

"The need for Special Counsel Mueller's investigation and our Congressional inquiries to continue has never been more clear.

"Pending any investigation, no one who participated in the Trump Tower meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya should have access to any classified information, especially material relevant to our national security," Krishnamoorthi said.

Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the email shows that Trump Jr clearly understood the intent of the meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya.

"Instead of welcoming information from the Russian government, the Trump team should have immediately notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"I'm not a prosecutor, but I think this is an extremely serious issue and needs to be followed up on by Robert Mueller's investigation and the Congressional Intelligence Committees immediately," Cardin demanded.

Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein said these emails are deeply disturbing.

"They appear to show direct coordination between the Trump campaign and possibly the Russian government itself," she said.

"There's no escaping it: the Trump Campaign's inner circle met with an agent of a hostile foreign power to influence the outcome of an American election.

The American people face a White House riddled with shadowy Russian connections and desperate to hide the truth," said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

"One after another, senior Trump officials have been caught hiding secret meetings with Russian agents. The incendiary news of the meeting arranged by Donald Trump Jr is a grave development in the investigation of Trump officials' possible collusion with Moscow," she said.

The New York Times, which first broke the story, said the emails show just how eager Trump Jr was to accept what he was explicitly told was the Russian government's help in his father's campaign against Hillary Clinton.

"The Justice Department, as well as the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, is examining whether any of President Trump's associates colluded with the Russian government to disrupt last year's election. American intelligence agencies have determined that the Russian government tried to sway the election in favour of Trump," the report said.

The daily claimed that Trump Jr released the entire chain of emails on Twitter after it told him that they were publishing the emails that they had in their possession.

Several Congressional committees were reportedly considering to question Trump Jr about his meeting with a Russian offer of providing compromising information about Hillary Clinton.

Congresswoman Grace Meng sent a letter to the US Federal Election Commission urging that it perform an official investigation into the actions of the Trump campaign to determine whether they violated federal election and criminal law.

Congressman Elijah E Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said the email chain confirms that the president's son was both aware of and supported the Russian government's efforts to help the president get elected.

"Our country has a fundamental principle that a foreign adversary should not and cannot interfere with our sacred elections, period. The soul of our very democracy depends on it. I remind my colleagues from both partiesthe Constitution does not give Congress the right to remain silent in the face of this threat. We must investigate. And we must act on our findings," he said.

The Washington Post said these emails clearly showed that Trump Jr understood he was taking the meeting as a way of channeling information directly from the government of a nation hostile to the United States to his father's campaign.

"It is the most concrete public evidence to date suggesting that top Trump campaign aides were eager for Russia's assistance in the campaign," the daily reported.

Sanders told reporters that President Trump is frustrated that Russia continues to be an issue.

"I think that the President is, I would say, frustrated with the process of the fact that this continues to be an issue," she said in response to a question.

"And he would love for us to be focused on things, like the economy, on healthcare, on tax reform, on infrastructure. And that's the place that his mind is, and that's what he'd like to be discussing," Sanders said

US President Donald Trump has lauded the "transparency" of his eldest son over the release of a chain of emails showing a Russian source offering "sensitive information" about his White House rival Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the presidential election. In an email to 39-year-old Donald Trump Jr, who is in the middle of a political storm over his meetings with a Russian source, his music publicist Rob Goldstone said the information "would incriminate Hillary (Clinton) and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father". "My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," Trump said in a statement which was read out by the White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during her daily news conference. While Trump Jr said he hopes that by releasing these emails would bring an end to the controversy, the opposition political leaders called for investigation and claimed that this is yet another indication of the connection between the Trump campaign and the Russians. "Donald Trump Jr has admitted and documented that he, Jared Kushner, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer with the understanding that she was a Russian government lawyer providing damaging information on Hillary Clinton as part of Moscow's effort to help President Trump's campaign," said Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. "The attempt by these top Trump advisors - to solicit the support of a hostile foreign power to win the American presidency - is unprecedented in our history," he said. "The need for Special Counsel Mueller's investigation and our Congressional inquiries to continue has never been more clear. "Pending any investigation, no one who participated in the Trump Tower meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya should have access to any classified information, especially material relevant to our national security," Krishnamoorthi said. Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the email shows that Trump Jr clearly understood the intent of the meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya. "Instead of welcoming information from the Russian government, the Trump team should have immediately notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "I'm not a prosecutor, but I think this is an extremely serious issue and needs to be followed up on by Robert Mueller's investigation and the Congressional Intelligence Committees immediately," Cardin demanded. Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein said these emails are deeply disturbing. "They appear to show direct coordination between the Trump campaign and possibly the Russian government itself," she said. "There's no escaping it: the Trump Campaign's inner circle met with an agent of a hostile foreign power to influence the outcome of an American election. The American people face a White House riddled with shadowy Russian connections and desperate to hide the truth," said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. "One after another, senior Trump officials have been caught hiding secret meetings with Russian agents. The incendiary news of the meeting arranged by Donald Trump Jr is a grave development in the investigation of Trump officials' possible collusion with Moscow," she said. The New York Times, which first broke the story, said the emails show just how eager Trump Jr was to accept what he was explicitly told was the Russian government's help in his father's campaign against Hillary Clinton. "The Justice Department, as well as the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, is examining whether any of President Trump's associates colluded with the Russian government to disrupt last year's election. American intelligence agencies have determined that the Russian government tried to sway the election in favour of Trump," the report said. The daily claimed that Trump Jr released the entire chain of emails on Twitter after it told him that they were publishing the emails that they had in their possession. Several Congressional committees were reportedly considering to question Trump Jr about his meeting with a Russian offer of providing compromising information about Hillary Clinton. Congresswoman Grace Meng sent a letter to the US Federal Election Commission urging that it perform an official investigation into the actions of the Trump campaign to determine whether they violated federal election and criminal law. Congressman Elijah E Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said the email chain confirms that the president's son was both aware of and supported the Russian government's efforts to help the president get elected. "Our country has a fundamental principle that a foreign adversary should not and cannot interfere with our sacred elections, period. The soul of our very democracy depends on it. I remind my colleagues from both partiesthe Constitution does not give Congress the right to remain silent in the face of this threat. We must investigate. And we must act on our findings," he said. The Washington Post said these emails clearly showed that Trump Jr understood he was taking the meeting as a way of channeling information directly from the government of a nation hostile to the United States to his father's campaign. "It is the most concrete public evidence to date suggesting that top Trump campaign aides were eager for Russia's assistance in the campaign," the daily reported. Sanders told reporters that President Trump is frustrated that Russia continues to be an issue. "I think that the President is, I would say, frustrated with the process of the fact that this continues to be an issue," she said in response to a question. "And he would love for us to be focused on things, like the economy, on healthcare, on tax reform, on infrastructure. And that's the place that his mind is, and that's what he'd like to be discussing," Sanders said
By PTI

MAIDUGIRI: At least 15 people were killed when four female suicide bombers detonated their explosives in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, police said today, in the latest violence to hit the strategic city. Borno state police commissioner Damian Chukwu told reporters the four struck in the suburb of Molai Kalemari last night and that most of the victims were civilian militia manning security posts.

"The bombers detonated IEDs (improvised explosive devices) strapped to their bodies at different locations of the area, killing 19 people, including the bombers," he said. "A total of 23 people were injured." Bello Danbatta, a spokesman for the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) militia and chief security officer at the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said it appeared his men were the targets.

Two of the bombers blew themselves up at checkpoints manned by militia members, who assist the military with security and sometimes accompany soldiers on operations against Boko Haram jihadists. "In all we lost 12 of our gallant JTF," he said. He added: "Civilian JTF have sacrificed their lives to protect their people and the life and property of the citizens of Borno state. "We sacrificed our life, inshallah (God willing), we continue to fight this insurgency." SEMA operatives in face-masks and white overalls were seen removing body parts from the scene of the attacks today.

Victims were covered with rugs awaiting burial, as local people looked on. Suicide bombings have become a feature of Boko Haram's eight-year insurgency in northeast Nigeria, which has killed at least 20,000 people and made more than 2.6 million others homeless. Young women and girls have frequently been used to attack security checkpoints, as well as civilian "soft targets" such as mosques, markets and bus stations. Nine people were killed in a string of suicide bomb attacks in the city last month around the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The University of Maiduguri, which lies on the edge of the city, has become a frequent target since the start of the year, as it teaches the "western" education despised by the Islamic State group affiliate. Nigeria's military and government maintain the group is a spent force and on the verge of defeat as a result of sustained counter-insurgency operations since early 2015. But sporadic fighting still occurs, while mines and blasts remain a constant threat. Boko Haram this week released a video showing executions and amputations for alleged infringements of its strict interpretation of Islam, suggesting it still holds territory in some areas.

MAIDUGIRI: At least 15 people were killed when four female suicide bombers detonated their explosives in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, police said today, in the latest violence to hit the strategic city. Borno state police commissioner Damian Chukwu told reporters the four struck in the suburb of Molai Kalemari last night and that most of the victims were civilian militia manning security posts. "The bombers detonated IEDs (improvised explosive devices) strapped to their bodies at different locations of the area, killing 19 people, including the bombers," he said. "A total of 23 people were injured." Bello Danbatta, a spokesman for the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) militia and chief security officer at the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said it appeared his men were the targets. Two of the bombers blew themselves up at checkpoints manned by militia members, who assist the military with security and sometimes accompany soldiers on operations against Boko Haram jihadists. "In all we lost 12 of our gallant JTF," he said. He added: "Civilian JTF have sacrificed their lives to protect their people and the life and property of the citizens of Borno state. "We sacrificed our life, inshallah (God willing), we continue to fight this insurgency." SEMA operatives in face-masks and white overalls were seen removing body parts from the scene of the attacks today. Victims were covered with rugs awaiting burial, as local people looked on. Suicide bombings have become a feature of Boko Haram's eight-year insurgency in northeast Nigeria, which has killed at least 20,000 people and made more than 2.6 million others homeless. Young women and girls have frequently been used to attack security checkpoints, as well as civilian "soft targets" such as mosques, markets and bus stations. Nine people were killed in a string of suicide bomb attacks in the city last month around the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The University of Maiduguri, which lies on the edge of the city, has become a frequent target since the start of the year, as it teaches the "western" education despised by the Islamic State group affiliate. Nigeria's military and government maintain the group is a spent force and on the verge of defeat as a result of sustained counter-insurgency operations since early 2015. But sporadic fighting still occurs, while mines and blasts remain a constant threat. Boko Haram this week released a video showing executions and amputations for alleged infringements of its strict interpretation of Islam, suggesting it still holds territory in some areas.
By AFP

HERAT: Afghan authorities on Wednesday recovered the bullet-riddled bodies of seven passengers kidnapped by gunmen in the western province of Farah a day earlier, in an attack blamed on Taliban insurgents, police said.

The violence, which underscores the fragile security situation in Afghanistan, came after Taliban fighters closed a highway connecting provincial capital Farah to Herat city late Tuesday, stopping a bus and forcing 16 passengers to dismount, Farah police spokesman Iqbal Baher told AFP.

They shot at least seven of them, while the remaining nine were taken hostage, he said.

Government forces launched an operation early Wednesday to free the hostages and open the highway, clearing roadblocks set up by the militants, Baher said.

They recovered the bodies of seven passengers, he continued, adding that six were civilians and one a police officer.

"It is not clear why the Taliban kidnapped and killed them, and we are still unsure about the fate of the remaining kidnapped passengers," he stated.

The Taliban have so far not commented on the incident in Farah province, which has witnessed an increase in the militant group's activities recently, according to provincial officials.

Highways around Afghanistan passing through insurgency-prone areas have become exceedingly dangerous, with the Taliban and other armed groups frequently kidnapping or killing travellers.

Civilians are increasingly caught in the crosshairs of Afghanistan's worsening conflict as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive, launched in April against the Western-backed Kabul government.

Six civilians seeking work in Farah, capital of western Farah province, were killed earlier this month when their pickup truck hit a roadside bomb.

Authorities blamed the Taliban for the attack.

HERAT: Afghan authorities on Wednesday recovered the bullet-riddled bodies of seven passengers kidnapped by gunmen in the western province of Farah a day earlier, in an attack blamed on Taliban insurgents, police said. The violence, which underscores the fragile security situation in Afghanistan, came after Taliban fighters closed a highway connecting provincial capital Farah to Herat city late Tuesday, stopping a bus and forcing 16 passengers to dismount, Farah police spokesman Iqbal Baher told AFP. They shot at least seven of them, while the remaining nine were taken hostage, he said. Government forces launched an operation early Wednesday to free the hostages and open the highway, clearing roadblocks set up by the militants, Baher said. They recovered the bodies of seven passengers, he continued, adding that six were civilians and one a police officer. "It is not clear why the Taliban kidnapped and killed them, and we are still unsure about the fate of the remaining kidnapped passengers," he stated. The Taliban have so far not commented on the incident in Farah province, which has witnessed an increase in the militant group's activities recently, according to provincial officials. Highways around Afghanistan passing through insurgency-prone areas have become exceedingly dangerous, with the Taliban and other armed groups frequently kidnapping or killing travellers. Civilians are increasingly caught in the crosshairs of Afghanistan's worsening conflict as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive, launched in April against the Western-backed Kabul government. Six civilians seeking work in Farah, capital of western Farah province, were killed earlier this month when their pickup truck hit a roadside bomb. Authorities blamed the Taliban for the attack.
By PTI

LONDON: India is among the countries ready to forge an "ambitious" new trading relationship with the UK after Britain leaves the European Union (EU), Prime Minister Theresa May has told the Parliament. In a statement in the House of Commons on the recently concluded G20 summit in Hamburg, May said that her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi involved discussions on a wide range of issues, including tackling modern day slavery.

"At this summit, I held a number of meetings with other world leaders, all of whom made clear their strong desire to forge ambitious new bilateral trading relationships with the UK after Brexit. This included America, Japan, China and India," May said in her statement on Monday. In response to Opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn on the issue of striking new trade deals, she added: "I am very happy to tell him (Corbyn) that we are already working with the Americans on what a trade deal might look like. We already have a working group with the Australians, and we have a working group with India as well. "We are working on trade in three areas. Obviously, one area is looking ahead to the trade agreements we can have with those countries we do not currently have them with as a member of the European Union. "The second is ensuring that, where there are trade agreements with the EU, we are able to roll those forward as we leave the EU. "The third area is working with countries such as India and Australia to discuss what changes we can make now, before we leave the EU, to improve our trade relationship."

Labour MP Graham Jones asked May if she had raised the issue of modern day slavery and child prostitution in India during her meeting with Modi, to which she said that it was an issue "previously" raised with the Indian PM as the UK wants "people around the world to address it". "We are very clear that we want to see this issue being dealt with. That is one of the reasons why we have put into legislation the requirement for companies here in the UK, which will be manufacturing and will be sourcing products from around the world, to look at their supply chains and report on what they find in them and whether or not modern slavery is taking place within them," she told Parliament.

Modi and May had held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany last week, during which the Indian leader had raised the issue of Indian economic offenders like liquor baron Vijay Mallya and former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi and sought the UKs cooperation in extraditing them to face the Indian courts.

LONDON: India is among the countries ready to forge an "ambitious" new trading relationship with the UK after Britain leaves the European Union (EU), Prime Minister Theresa May has told the Parliament. In a statement in the House of Commons on the recently concluded G20 summit in Hamburg, May said that her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi involved discussions on a wide range of issues, including tackling modern day slavery. "At this summit, I held a number of meetings with other world leaders, all of whom made clear their strong desire to forge ambitious new bilateral trading relationships with the UK after Brexit. This included America, Japan, China and India," May said in her statement on Monday. In response to Opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn on the issue of striking new trade deals, she added: "I am very happy to tell him (Corbyn) that we are already working with the Americans on what a trade deal might look like. We already have a working group with the Australians, and we have a working group with India as well. "We are working on trade in three areas. Obviously, one area is looking ahead to the trade agreements we can have with those countries we do not currently have them with as a member of the European Union. "The second is ensuring that, where there are trade agreements with the EU, we are able to roll those forward as we leave the EU. "The third area is working with countries such as India and Australia to discuss what changes we can make now, before we leave the EU, to improve our trade relationship." Labour MP Graham Jones asked May if she had raised the issue of modern day slavery and child prostitution in India during her meeting with Modi, to which she said that it was an issue "previously" raised with the Indian PM as the UK wants "people around the world to address it". "We are very clear that we want to see this issue being dealt with. That is one of the reasons why we have put into legislation the requirement for companies here in the UK, which will be manufacturing and will be sourcing products from around the world, to look at their supply chains and report on what they find in them and whether or not modern slavery is taking place within them," she told Parliament. Modi and May had held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany last week, during which the Indian leader had raised the issue of Indian economic offenders like liquor baron Vijay Mallya and former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi and sought the UKs cooperation in extraditing them to face the Indian courts.
By AFP

RIYADH: Eleven migrant labourers died of asphyxiation in Saudi Arabia today in a fire that engulfed the windowless house they shared, Saudi authorities said.

"Firefighters put out a blaze in an old house lacking windows for ventilation. Eleven people died of asphyxiation, and six others were injured" in the southern province of Najran, the civil defence said in a tweet.

The casualties all hailed from India and Bangladesh, it said.

Nine million foreigners work in the kingdom, many of them from South Asia, according to the last official figures released in 2015.

Rights groups have called on Saudi Arabia and other Arab states to end the widespread kafala -- or sponsorship -- system, which severely restricts the rights of migrant labourers.

These workers cannot leave the country or switch jobs without written permission from their current employer under kafala, and employers often confiscate their passports and travel documents

RIYADH: Eleven migrant labourers died of asphyxiation in Saudi Arabia today in a fire that engulfed the windowless house they shared, Saudi authorities said. "Firefighters put out a blaze in an old house lacking windows for ventilation. Eleven people died of asphyxiation, and six others were injured" in the southern province of Najran, the civil defence said in a tweet. The casualties all hailed from India and Bangladesh, it said. Nine million foreigners work in the kingdom, many of them from South Asia, according to the last official figures released in 2015. Rights groups have called on Saudi Arabia and other Arab states to end the widespread kafala -- or sponsorship -- system, which severely restricts the rights of migrant labourers. These workers cannot leave the country or switch jobs without written permission from their current employer under kafala, and employers often confiscate their passports and travel documents
By AFP

PARIS: A trillion-tonne iceberg, one of the largest ever recorded, has snapped off the West Antarctic ice shelf, scientists who have monitored the growing crack for years said on Wednesday.

"The calving occurred sometime between Monday, July 10 and Wednesday, July 12, when a 5,800-square kilometre (2,200-square mile) section of Larsen C (ice shelf) finally broke away," the Swansea University said in a statement.

The massive ice cube, larger than the US state of Delaware, has a volume twice that of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes. It is about 350 metres (1,100 feet) thick.

"The iceberg weighs more than a trillion tonnes, but it was already floating before it calved away so has no immediate impact on sea level," the team said. It will likely be named A68.

WATCH: The trillion-tonne iceberg snapping off the Antarctic shelf

With the calving, the Larsen C ice shelf lost more than 12 percent of its total surface area.

Icebergs calving from Antarctica are a regular occurrence. But given its enormous size, the latest berg will be closely watched as it travels, for any potential risk to shipping traffic.

The calving may have heightened the risk of the remaining ice shelf disintegrating, the Swansea team said.

Ice shelves float on the sea, extending from the coast, and are fed by slow-flowing glaciers from the land.

They act as giant brakes, preventing glaciers from flowing directly into the ocean.

If the glaciers held in check by Larsen C spilt into the Antarctic Ocean, it would lift the global water mark by about 10 centimetres (four inches), researchers have said.

The calving of ice shelves occurs naturally, though global warming is believed to have accelerated the process.

Warmer ocean water erodes the underbelly of the ice shelves, while rising air temperatures weaken them from above.

The nearby Larsen A ice shelf collapsed in 1995, and Larsen B dramatically broke up seven years later.

The final break was detected by a NASA satellite.

"We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C ice shelf and the fate of this huge iceberg," said lead investigator Adrian Luckman of the universitys MIDAS project.

The fate of the berg is hard to predict. It may stay in one piece, but could also break into fragments.

"Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters," said Luckman.

The team said the calving at the iceberg cannot be directly placed at the door of global warming, describing it as a "natural event".

Human actions have lifted average global air temperatures by about one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial levels, according to scientists.

Antarctica is one of the world's fastest-warming regions.

PARIS: A trillion-tonne iceberg, one of the largest ever recorded, has snapped off the West Antarctic ice shelf, scientists who have monitored the growing crack for years said on Wednesday. "The calving occurred sometime between Monday, July 10 and Wednesday, July 12, when a 5,800-square kilometre (2,200-square mile) section of Larsen C (ice shelf) finally broke away," the Swansea University said in a statement. The massive ice cube, larger than the US state of Delaware, has a volume twice that of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes. It is about 350 metres (1,100 feet) thick. "The iceberg weighs more than a trillion tonnes, but it was already floating before it calved away so has no immediate impact on sea level," the team said. It will likely be named A68. WATCH: The trillion-tonne iceberg snapping off the Antarctic shelf With the calving, the Larsen C ice shelf lost more than 12 percent of its total surface area. Icebergs calving from Antarctica are a regular occurrence. But given its enormous size, the latest berg will be closely watched as it travels, for any potential risk to shipping traffic. The calving may have heightened the risk of the remaining ice shelf disintegrating, the Swansea team said. Ice shelves float on the sea, extending from the coast, and are fed by slow-flowing glaciers from the land. They act as giant brakes, preventing glaciers from flowing directly into the ocean. If the glaciers held in check by Larsen C spilt into the Antarctic Ocean, it would lift the global water mark by about 10 centimetres (four inches), researchers have said. The calving of ice shelves occurs naturally, though global warming is believed to have accelerated the process. Warmer ocean water erodes the underbelly of the ice shelves, while rising air temperatures weaken them from above. The nearby Larsen A ice shelf collapsed in 1995, and Larsen B dramatically broke up seven years later. The final break was detected by a NASA satellite. "We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C ice shelf and the fate of this huge iceberg," said lead investigator Adrian Luckman of the universitys MIDAS project. The fate of the berg is hard to predict. It may stay in one piece, but could also break into fragments. "Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters," said Luckman. The team said the calving at the iceberg cannot be directly placed at the door of global warming, describing it as a "natural event". Human actions have lifted average global air temperatures by about one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial levels, according to scientists. Antarctica is one of the world's fastest-warming regions.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: The United Nations today urged Singapore to halt the execution of a Malaysian drug trafficker, saying it should not go ahead while an appeal was pending in his home country.

Prabagaran Srivijayan was sentenced to death in 2012 for trafficking 22.24 grams (0.8 ounces) of heroin, but has consistently maintained his innocence. He is expected to be hanged Friday, according to the UN's human rights body which cited family members.

Trafficking certain volumes of illegal drugs carries the mandatory death penalty in Singapore, unless certain conditions are met for it to be commuted to a life sentence. The UN rights body's Southeast Asia office "calls on the Singaporean government to halt the imminent execution of Malaysian national Prabagaran Srivijayan for a drugs-related offence, and urges the government to immediately instate a moratorium on the use of the death penalty", it said in a statement.

"We are gravely concerned that the execution will proceed despite a pending appeal," the statement said. Prabagaran's lawyers have filed a case in Malaysia where the Court of Appeal is considering an application to refer Singapore to the International Court of Justice over concerns about the trial, according to activists. His legal team has also raised concerns about the fairness of his trial.

Amnesty International said this included the alleged failure of the authorities "to follow up leads and call on key witnesses that would corroborate his version of events". James Gomez, Amnesty International's Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, added: "The Singaporean authorities must immediately halt his execution before another person suffers this inhumane and irreversible punishment."

Both Malaysia and Singapore execute murderers and drug traffickers by hanging, a system which dates back to British colonial rule. Singapore, however, has consistently maintained that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime and has rejected calls to abolish capital punishment. The city-state last November hanged two foreigners - a Malaysian and a Nigerian - for drug trafficking after their last-minute appeals were rejected.

SINGAPORE: The United Nations today urged Singapore to halt the execution of a Malaysian drug trafficker, saying it should not go ahead while an appeal was pending in his home country. Prabagaran Srivijayan was sentenced to death in 2012 for trafficking 22.24 grams (0.8 ounces) of heroin, but has consistently maintained his innocence. He is expected to be hanged Friday, according to the UN's human rights body which cited family members. Trafficking certain volumes of illegal drugs carries the mandatory death penalty in Singapore, unless certain conditions are met for it to be commuted to a life sentence. The UN rights body's Southeast Asia office "calls on the Singaporean government to halt the imminent execution of Malaysian national Prabagaran Srivijayan for a drugs-related offence, and urges the government to immediately instate a moratorium on the use of the death penalty", it said in a statement. "We are gravely concerned that the execution will proceed despite a pending appeal," the statement said. Prabagaran's lawyers have filed a case in Malaysia where the Court of Appeal is considering an application to refer Singapore to the International Court of Justice over concerns about the trial, according to activists. His legal team has also raised concerns about the fairness of his trial. Amnesty International said this included the alleged failure of the authorities "to follow up leads and call on key witnesses that would corroborate his version of events". James Gomez, Amnesty International's Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, added: "The Singaporean authorities must immediately halt his execution before another person suffers this inhumane and irreversible punishment." Both Malaysia and Singapore execute murderers and drug traffickers by hanging, a system which dates back to British colonial rule. Singapore, however, has consistently maintained that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime and has rejected calls to abolish capital punishment. The city-state last November hanged two foreigners - a Malaysian and a Nigerian - for drug trafficking after their last-minute appeals were rejected.
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: The nation's top law enforcement agency will continue operating out of its deteriorating downtown Washington headquarters for the foreseeable future after the federal government announced today it had scrapped a decade-long plan to look for a new building in Maryland or Virginia.

The General Services Administration, which oversees federal office space, said it does not have enough money to move forward on a new location.

The agency had sought USD 1.4 billion for the project, but Congress left it underfunded by about USD 882 million.

"Moving forward without full funding puts the government at risk for cost escalations" and could reduce the value of the existing building, the GSA said in a statement.

"The cancellation of the project does not lessen the need for a new FBI headquarters. GSA and FBI will continue to work together to address the space requirements of the FBI."

The hulking J. Edgar Hoover building overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue has long been the government building everyone loves to hate.

The FBI has complained that the blocky, concrete behemoth -- named for the agency's first and longest-serving director -- is obsolete, inefficient and no longer meets the needs of an organization that has grown dramatically in the last 40 years.

Those concerns were confirmed by a 2011 Government Accountability Office report that agreed the building didn't meet the agency's long-term security needs.

Despite the Hoover building's unquestionable sentimental value, the FBI had been pushing to move thousands of employees spread among leased annexes in the region into a secure consolidated headquarters that would fit with an agency whose focus has evolved to intelligence and counterterrorism.

Three finalist sites in Maryland and Virginia were announced in 2014, but the General Services Administration delayed its choice multiple times. One of the finalists for the USD 1.7 billion contract was Vornado Realty Trust, which owns buildings with Donald Trump and the family of Jared Kushner. A Vornado spokeswoman did not immediately return a call for comment.

Local and federal officials in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. had been intensely jockeying for the new 2.1 million square-feet facility, which would have been a massive economic development project with the potential to bring thousands of jobs, expand the tax base and boost area retail and service industries.

Some lawmakers decried the decision to scrap the move.

"The Hoover building is crumbling around the FBI," Maryland's Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin, Chris Van Hollen, and Reps. Steny Hoyer, and Antony Brown said in a statement.

"Our national security mandates that we move forward with building a secure, fully consolidated FBI headquarters."

Emmett Jordan, mayor in Greenbelt, Maryland, the location of one of the possible sites, was holding out hope that the government would reconsider.

"All these delays, all these years really have had a chilling effect," he said. Jordan said Greenbelt could have moved on to other options had the city known sooner. "How's local government supposed to function when the federal government can't follow through on its commitment?"

In Virginia, local officials had hoped to lure the FBI to redevelop an antiquated GSA warehouse that now sits on a prime piece of real estate near the Springfield Metro station.

Brian Coy, spokesman for Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said, "it's a shame that the dysfunction of the Trump administration killed this project and will likely make it harder for the FBI to do its job."

But District of Columbia Councilmember Jack Evans said the proposed plans to relocate the headquarters have been unworkable for years.

"I applaud the fact that somebody pulled the plug," Evans said in a telephone conversation last evening.

Evans said the city has other locations that could work.

"I see no reason to ship it out to the outer regions,"

Evans said of plans to move to Virginia or Maryland. "Nobody wants to go out there."

Hardly praised as architecture, the iconic Hoover building has become part of American culture, serving as the backdrop for news broadcasts, novels, television dramas and movies. Agents moved into it in 1974 from cramped quarters in the Justice Department across the street.

WASHINGTON: The nation's top law enforcement agency will continue operating out of its deteriorating downtown Washington headquarters for the foreseeable future after the federal government announced today it had scrapped a decade-long plan to look for a new building in Maryland or Virginia. The General Services Administration, which oversees federal office space, said it does not have enough money to move forward on a new location. The agency had sought USD 1.4 billion for the project, but Congress left it underfunded by about USD 882 million. "Moving forward without full funding puts the government at risk for cost escalations" and could reduce the value of the existing building, the GSA said in a statement. "The cancellation of the project does not lessen the need for a new FBI headquarters. GSA and FBI will continue to work together to address the space requirements of the FBI." The hulking J. Edgar Hoover building overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue has long been the government building everyone loves to hate. The FBI has complained that the blocky, concrete behemoth -- named for the agency's first and longest-serving director -- is obsolete, inefficient and no longer meets the needs of an organization that has grown dramatically in the last 40 years. Those concerns were confirmed by a 2011 Government Accountability Office report that agreed the building didn't meet the agency's long-term security needs. Despite the Hoover building's unquestionable sentimental value, the FBI had been pushing to move thousands of employees spread among leased annexes in the region into a secure consolidated headquarters that would fit with an agency whose focus has evolved to intelligence and counterterrorism. Three finalist sites in Maryland and Virginia were announced in 2014, but the General Services Administration delayed its choice multiple times. One of the finalists for the USD 1.7 billion contract was Vornado Realty Trust, which owns buildings with Donald Trump and the family of Jared Kushner. A Vornado spokeswoman did not immediately return a call for comment. Local and federal officials in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. had been intensely jockeying for the new 2.1 million square-feet facility, which would have been a massive economic development project with the potential to bring thousands of jobs, expand the tax base and boost area retail and service industries. Some lawmakers decried the decision to scrap the move. "The Hoover building is crumbling around the FBI," Maryland's Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin, Chris Van Hollen, and Reps. Steny Hoyer, and Antony Brown said in a statement. "Our national security mandates that we move forward with building a secure, fully consolidated FBI headquarters." Emmett Jordan, mayor in Greenbelt, Maryland, the location of one of the possible sites, was holding out hope that the government would reconsider. "All these delays, all these years really have had a chilling effect," he said. Jordan said Greenbelt could have moved on to other options had the city known sooner. "How's local government supposed to function when the federal government can't follow through on its commitment?" In Virginia, local officials had hoped to lure the FBI to redevelop an antiquated GSA warehouse that now sits on a prime piece of real estate near the Springfield Metro station. Brian Coy, spokesman for Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said, "it's a shame that the dysfunction of the Trump administration killed this project and will likely make it harder for the FBI to do its job." But District of Columbia Councilmember Jack Evans said the proposed plans to relocate the headquarters have been unworkable for years. "I applaud the fact that somebody pulled the plug," Evans said in a telephone conversation last evening. Evans said the city has other locations that could work. "I see no reason to ship it out to the outer regions," Evans said of plans to move to Virginia or Maryland. "Nobody wants to go out there." Hardly praised as architecture, the iconic Hoover building has become part of American culture, serving as the backdrop for news broadcasts, novels, television dramas and movies. Agents moved into it in 1974 from cramped quarters in the Justice Department across the street.
FORT DODGE | A judge has overruled a defense motion to throw out the jury pool in a double homicide case involving a Lake Mills man.

Attorneys for Peter Veal, who is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in the Mason City case, had hoped to throw out the jury panel to have more time to investigate whether black people were systematically excluded.

The defense filed the motion to strike the jury pool Monday after the jury selection process began in Webster County, where the trial had been moved due to pre-trial publicity.

Defense in Mason City double homicide trial wants jury thrown out MASON CITY | The defense in the trial of Peter Veal, the defendant in a Mason City double ho

Judge Rustin Davenport overruled the motion Tuesday morning.

He said although the under-representation of African-Americans on the jury panel is "concerning," it wasn't caused by systematic exclusion.

The black population in Webster County is estimated at 5.5 percent.

The first jury panel brought in Monday included only one African-American.

A second panel was called, bringing the total number of African-Americans in the pool to four. This brought he percentage of African-Americans to 2.5 percent.

Public defender Steven Kloberdanz said that percentage is "still woefully short" of being an accurate representation of the black population in the county.

Kloberdanz said he and public defender Nellie O'Mara looked at Webster County juror questionnaires from all of 2016 and January of this year, and found black people were underrepresented on jury panels throughout that 13-month period.

Kloberdanz accused the state of turning "a blind eye" toward the issue of race.

O'Mara questioned the method of using voter registration lists as part of the process for obtaining a jury pool. She said this excludes 37 percent of the adult population.

Once non-voters chosen through driver's license records are taken into account, "you are missing about 30 percent of the population," she said. "This is not a fair way to pick people."

Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown said the defense arguments in this case are similar to those made in another North Iowa case involving a black defendant.

Tyrone Washington, who was accused of fatally stabbing Justina Smith in 2013 in a park in Northwood, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the summer of 2015. That trial also had been moved to Webster County.

Four people on the jury panel of 224 individuals identified themselves as black. One of the them was chosen for the jury.

Brown said the judge overruled a defense motion to strike the jury panel, stating there was no evidence of systematic exclusion of African-Americans.

He said the prosecutor in the Washington case told him that decision is being considered for further review.

Davenport acknowledged the need to address racial disparity on jury panels.

"We can do better," he said.

However, Davenport said there's legal precedent for using voter registration and driver's license records to form lists of potential jurors.

Veal was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Nov. 17 deaths of Mason City residents Mindy Kavars and Caleb Christensen at a residence in the 1600 block of North Hampshire Avenue.

An additional count of attempted murder was filed due to Veal's allegedly trying to kill another person.

Jury selection is expected to continue through Wednesday morning.
MASON CITY | A Mason City man accused of trying to strangle someone with a belt is now being held on a immigration detainer.

Police say Leonardo Elivar Trejo, 34, Mason City, assaulted an individual by placing a fabric belt around the person's throat and applying pressure, leaving visible injury.

Trejo was charged with felony domestic assault (strangulation) in the incident, which was reported around 3:06 a.m. Tuesday at a residence in the 10 block of 14th Street Southeast.

A trial date hasn't been set.

Trejo is being held without bond in the Cerro Gordo County Jail due to an immigration hold placed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

 Ashley Miller
What's next for Chase Marina? RIDEM has received plenty of proposals

Bob Ballou, assistant to the director of RIDEM, spoke about the goal of establishing a state port in Tiverton similar to Newports State Pier #9.
Since 2015 artificially-intelligent systems surpassed human accuracy in many tasks including image recognition, voice recognition, autonomous driving and strategy games such as GO. Early experiments such as Beauty. AI beauty contest developed by Youth Laboratories and Aging.AI predictor of chronological age developed by Insilico Medicine uncovered the various biases with the AI systems as well as the many opportunities for using AI to detect and report human biases. Advances in artificial intelligence and specifically in the fields of deep learning and reinforcement learning present the many threats and opportunities.

"Bias, be it race, sex, age or any other type, is a huge contributing factor that shapes science and society. This paper is important, not only because it demonstrates the apparent and permeating prejudice that exist in executive boards around the globe, but also because it shows how AI and deep learning can visualize bias in complex systems.", said Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, MD, PhD, Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen.

Scientists from diverse backgrounds ranging from computer science to genetics from Youth Laboratories, University of Copenhagen, University of Virginia, Insilico Medicine and University of Oxford started series of studies to understand the opportunities presented by the deep learning systems in uncovering human bias.

The first research project of Diversity.AI is focused on using the deep neural networks to evaluate the race and sex diversity in the world's largest companies. Scientists from diverse backgrounds are invited to contribute to the work in progress paper titled "research project. Scientists of diverse backgrounds are invited to contribute to improving the datasets and methods presented in this study.

"Recently a number of publications have reported significant racial and gender bias in artificially intelligent systems. It has been suggested that the detected bias is not intentionally introduced but is an artifact of human-generated training data which contains such biases. In this paper we have demonstrated AI designed to detect human biases and it is our hope that AI itself can be used to mitigate problems of contaminated datasets in training of future AIs." Dr. Roman Yampolskiy, PhD, Computer Science and Engineering.

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Diversity is one of the fundamental properties for survival of species, populations, and organizations. Recent advances in deep learning allow for the rapid and automatic assessment of organizational diversity and possible discrimination by race, sex, age and other parameters. Automating the process of assessing the organizational diversity using the deep neural networks and eliminating the human factor may provide a set of real-time unbiased reports to all stakeholders.

In this pilot project deep-learned predictors were used to detect the race and sex in the executive management and board member profiles of the 500 largest companies from the 2016 Forbes Global 2000 list and compared the predicted ratios to the ratios within each company's country of origin and ranked them by the sex-, age- and race- diversity index (DI). While the study has many limitations and no claims are being made concerning the individual companies, it demonstrates a method for the rapid and impartial assessment of organizational diversity using deep neural networks.

"Systems trained on biased data sets or in biased environments may be discriminative to specific population groups discriminating on race, religious attributes and clothing, sex, age and other features. On the other hand, systems trained on diverse data sets to rapidly and accurately detect these features may assist in uncovering human bias in the various organizations, communities and even governments. In the future it may be possible to apply AI detect and prevent discrimination, harassment and other faulty human behaviors", said Konstantin Chekanov, PhD, Diversity AI Lead at Youth Laboratories, Ltd.

"A picture is worth a thousand genes and provides a vast amount of information about the person's health status. While studying organizational diversity is important, using AI to accurately identify the various features on pictures and videos may help us diagnose and prevent diseases and personalize the various interventions", said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, CEO of Insilico Medicine and advisor to Youth Laboratories.
Seamless. Secure. Simple. Ask any company's Information Technology department what a healthy, reliable computer network looks like and it often boils down to those three words.

But when thousands of doctors, nurses and families need access to hundreds of thousands of patient records from multiple locations across Los Angeles County and across the nation, it takes quite a bit of work to ensure seamless connections, secure channels and simple interfaces.

That's why Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) receiving a Health Care's Most Wired 2017 designation today from the American Hospital Association's (AHA) Health Forum is especially meaningful.

"Most Wired hospitals are recognized not only because they hit industry benchmarks, but more importantly because they stay ahead of the curve for technology adoption and innovation," says CHLA President and CEO Paul S. Viviano. "This recognition is a testament to the unceasing work of our Information Services team, a confirmation of the technological roadmap we've laid out for the future of our health system, and an affirmation to our patients and families that their medical records are secure and complete across our entire continuum of care."

Hospitals & Health Networks, an AHA publication, annually assesses the level of health information technology (IT) adoption in U.S. hospitals and health systems through an extensive survey. The survey measures how each organization's investment in technology supports patient safety, quality care and best practices. This year's Most Wired list included 461 of the 698 total participants surveyed. CHLA was one of 21 children's hospitals to receive the designation.

"Safeguarding each child's health, safety and privacy is at the core of Children's Hospital Los Angeles' mission to offer transformative, compassionate care," says Steve Garske, PhD, CHLA's chief information officer. "This means each patient family - as well as our entire network of clinicians and specialists - must be able to depend on an intuitive, robust technology infrastructure."

In the past few years, the CHLA Information Services team (IS) has implemented several new systems and technologies, including:

Launching mobile and web patient portals in 2015 to give parents more immediate access to their child's health record.

Introducing barcode medication scanning in 2016 to ensure the right child gets the right dosage of the right medication at the right time. CHLA is expanding this system in 2017 and 2018 to cover blood transfusion verification, milk administration and lab specimen identification.

Unifying the electronic health records (EHR) system across nearly all inpatient and outpatient services in 2016, reducing delays and virtually eliminating handwritten or phone referrals.

Piloting limited remote telemedicine consults in certain hospital clinics, such as The Vision Center.

Behind-the-scenes improvement of intrusion detection and data governance infrastructure to protect health data from cyberattacks.

As a result of these and other initiatives, CHLA has been able to better consolidate and analyze the vast amount of data generated by the hospital, which in turn has helped drive policies and procedures leading to noticeable, beneficial results for patients and for hospital efficiency. For example, Garske says, "Clinical operations improvements to standardize care over the last few years have resulted in a significant improvement in care coordination (reducing unnecessary time in the hospital) and in pharmacy costs."

"The Most Wired hospitals are using every available technology option to create more ways to reach their patients in order to provide access to care," said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. "They are transforming care delivery, investing in new delivery models in order to improve quality, provide access and control costs."

Health care organizations participating in the Most Wired survey are required to submit comprehensive information about health information technology investments in four key areas: infrastructure; business and administrative management; clinical quality and safety; and clinical integration between ambulatory services, physicians, patients and community partners. If any advanced capability requirements are not met, the organization does not receive a Most Wired designation. The 2017 Most Wired Survey was conducted in cooperation with the AHA and Clearwater Compliance, LLC.

CHLA will be honored at a ceremony for Most Wired recipients on July 28, 2017, during the AHA's annual Health Forum and Leadership Summit. Detailed results of the survey and a full list of winners can be found in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks.
MASON CITY | Three Mason City residents were arrested after a traffic stop early Tuesday yielded a mobile meth lab, according to law enforcement.

A Cerro Gordo County Sheriffs deputy stopped a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday near the intersection of 12th Street Northwest and North Pierce Avenue in Mason City, according to a news release from the department.

The driver of the vehicle, James Jassie Mejia, 49, Mason City, was initially arrested for driving under suspension and providing false information.

A female passenger, Stephanie Michelle Stroud, 27, Mason City, was also arrested for interference with official acts during the initial investigation.

A one pot methamphetamine lab was discovered inside the car during investigation of the vehicle, according to the deputy.

Law enforcement said Stroud was also found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia, an unlabeled prescription drug and a substance suspected to be meth. She was charged in all three crimes, with the possession of meth as a second offense.

The deputy also discovered another passenger in the car, Levi Jacob Mahaney, 22, Mason City, was in possession of drugs, according to the news release. Mahaney was also arrested.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Mejias residence, 2403 S. Taft Ave., apartment No. 4, which they say resulted in further charges.

Mejia has also been charged with felony manufacturing meth and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Stroud was also charged with manufacturing meth.

Stroud, Mejia and Mahaney were taken to the Cerro Gordo County Jail, where they are being held for bond. Law enforcement says the investigation is ongoing and further charges are possible.

The Mason City Police Department and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement provided assistance.
In the 1970s and 80s thousands of people were infected with hepatitis C and HIV due to transfusion of contaminated blood that contained these viruses. A spokesperson for Theresa May, James Slack, today said that she, her health secretary Jeremy Hunt and the MPs sat together to announce a full review and inquiry into this disaster.

There is to be a wide-ranging inquiry said the Prime Ministers spokesperson to address and investigate this appalling injustice. The families of those who were affected due to the contaminated blood would be contacted and consulted on the decision if they wish for a more private statutory inquiry with a private judge or a more public independent panel inquiry said the spokesperson. Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn believed a broad, public, inquisitive inquiry was need of the day. Prosecution and actions need to be taken against those at fault add various MPs.

An earlier parliamentary report that came out in 2015 by the APPG, it was said that that nearly 7500 people had been infected with viruses that could be transmitted via blood. If these 2,400 people died due to infections that blood related products could carry. Of those infected, 4800 were infected with hepatitis C, a virus that affects the liver and can lead to severe liver damage that can be life threatening or may even cause liver cancer. Around 1200 were infected with HIV AIDS that leads to severe immunodeficiency and death.

For persons who require regular blood transfusions such as those with haemophilia, these contaminated blood and blood products were highly dangerous. Haemophiliacs required regular infusions of Factor VIII, a clotting factor present in blood to prevent bleeding out. They were given regular transfusions of these blood products from the contaminated blood and thus many of them were infected.

The use of the factor concentrates started in around the 70s. Pharmaceutical companies developed methods to remove clotting factors from whole blood and freeze-dry them into a powder that could be given to the patients. The demand for blood was thus huge and substantial supplies were thus sought from donors. The donor blood samples were mixed to create these concentrates. This made diagnosing which batch was infected and which was not difficult. Much of the blood was coming from the United States from people and prisoners. They were selling their blood and since many of these were drug addicts they were likely to be infected with deadly infections such as hepatitis B, C, HIV AIDS etc. that they passed on in their blood.

Many family members of the victims who received this contaminated blood were not informed of the risks that they could be taking by consenting to blood transfusions. For several years now, there have been allegations that the whole this was being covered up. This announcement followed a letter to Mrs. May by leaders of all the main political parties earlier this month that called for an investigation into this disaster. The letter from various politaical parties including Labour, Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru, DUP, Green Party and the SNP demanded that those involved should be brought into light. It read, We believe those affected have a right to know what went wrong and why. It is also alleged that the origin or cause of the infections was not mentioned in the victims medical records to cover up for this gaffe.

Hepatitis C cases came to notice in 1970s while HIV cases being blood borne became known in the 80s. It was then that UK government stopped the inflow of blood and blood products. But some campaigners claim that up until 1983, the Department of Health was aware or suspected blood being the cause of the infections but did not do anything to stop the transfusions that were still being given to the haemophiliacs.

The letter to the PM claims that the main incriminating documents that were associated with this accident were destroyed by Department of Health officials. The Department however has issued a statement saying, We recognise the importance of full transparency, which is why we have published all the information we hold on blood safety from the relevant period, between 1970 to 1995.
A new study led by University of Pennsylvania researchers has found that the oral microbiome is affected by diabetes, causing a shift to increase its pathogenicity. The research, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe this week, not only showed that the oral microbiome of mice with diabetes shifted but that the change was associated with increased inflammation and bone loss.

"Up until now, there had been no concrete evidence that diabetes affects the oral microbiome," said Dana Graves, senior author on the new study and vice dean of scholarship and research at Penn's School of Dental Medicine. "But the studies that had been done were not rigorous."

Just four years ago, the European Federation of Periodontology and the American Academy of Periodontology issued a report stating there is no compelling evidence that diabetes is directly linked to changes in the oral microbiome. But Graves and colleagues were skeptical and decided to pursue the question, using a mouse model that mimics Type 2 diabetes.

"My argument was that the appropriate studies just hadn't been done, so I decided, We'll do the appropriate study," Graves said.

Graves co-authored the study with Kyle Bittinger of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who assisted with microbiome analysis, along with E Xiao from Peking University, who was the first author, and co-authors from the University of Sao Paulo, Sichuan University, the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the University of Capinas. The authors consulted with Daniel Beiting of Penn Vet's Center for Host-Microbial Interactions and did the bone-loss measurements at the Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Diseases.

The researchers began by characterizing the oral microbiome of diabetic mice compared to healthy mice. They found that the diabetic mice had a similar oral microbiome to their healthy counterparts when they were sampled prior to developing high blood sugar levels, or hyperglycemia. But, once the diabetic mice were hyperglycemic, their microbiome became distinct from their normal littermates, with a less diverse community of bacteria.

The diabetic mice also had periodontitis, including a loss of bone supporting the teeth, and increased levels of IL-17, a signaling molecule important in immune response and inflammation. Increased levels of IL-17 in humans are associated with periodontal disease.

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"The diabetic mice behaved similar to humans that had periodontal bone loss and increased IL-17 caused by a genetic disease," Graves said.

The findings underscored an association between changes in the oral microbiome and periodontitis but didn't prove that the microbial changes were responsible for disease. To drill in on the connection, the researchers transferred microorganisms from the diabetic mice to normal germ-free mice, animals that have been raised without being exposed to any microbes.

These recipient mice also developed bone loss. A micro-CT scan revealed they had 42 percent less bone than mice that had received a microbial transfer from normal mice. Markers of inflammation also went up in the recipients of the diabetic oral microbiome.

"We were able to induce the rapid bone loss characteristic of the diabetic group into a normal group of animals simply by transferring the oral microbiome," said Graves.

With the microbiome now implicated in causing the periodontitis, Graves and colleagues wanted to know how. Suspecting that inflammatory cytokines, and specifically IL-17, played a role, the researchers repeated the microbiome transfer experiments, this time injecting the diabetic donors with an anti-IL-17 antibody prior to the transfer. Mice that received microbiomes from the treated diabetic mice had much less severe bone loss compared to mice that received a microbiome transfer from untreated mice.

The findings "demonstrate unequivocally" that diabetes-induced changes in the oral microbiome drive inflammatory changes that enhance bone loss in periodontitis, the authors wrote.

Though IL-17 treatment was effective at reducing bone loss in the mice, it is unlikely to be a reasonable therapeutic strategy in humans due to its key role in immune protection. But Graves noted that the study highlights the importance for people with diabetes of controlling blood sugar and practicing good oral hygiene.

"Diabetes is one of the systemic disease that is most closely linked to periodontal disease, but the risk is substantially ameliorated by good glycemic control," he said. "And good oral hygiene can take the risk even further down."
The controversial practice has been standard in many teaching hospitals for decades, its safety and ethics largely unquestioned and its existence unknown to those most affected: people undergoing surgery.

But over the past two years, the issue of overlapping surgery  in which a doctor operates on two patients in different rooms during the same time period  has ignited an impassioned debate in the medical community, attracted scrutiny by the powerful Senate Finance Committee that oversees Medicare and Medicaid, and prompted some hospitals, including the University of Virginia's, to circumscribe the practice.

Known as "running two rooms"  or double-booked, simultaneous or concurrent surgery  the practice occurs in teaching hospitals where senior attending surgeons delegate trainees  usually residents or fellows  to perform parts of one surgery while the attending surgeon works on a second patient in another operating room. Sometimes senior surgeons aren't even in the OR and are seeing patients elsewhere.

Hospitals decide whether to allow the practice and are primarily responsible for policing it. Medicare billing rules permit it as long as the attending surgeon is present during the critical portion of each operation  and that portion is defined by the surgeon. And while it occurs in many specialties, double-booking is believed to be most common in orthopedics, cardiac surgery and neurosurgery.

The issue was catapulted into public consciousness in October 2015 by an exhaustive investigation of concurrent surgery at Harvard's famed Massachusetts General Hospital by The Boston Globe. The validity of the story has been vehemently disputed by hospital officials who defend their care as safe and appropriate.

The article detailed concerns by some doctors and other hospital staff about complications  including one patient who was paralyzed and two who died  possibly linked to double-booking over a 10-year period. It described patients waiting under anesthesia for prolonged periods and surgeons who could not be located, leaving residents or fellows to perform surgeries without supervision.

Patients who signed standard consent forms said they were not told their surgeries were double-booked; some said they would never have agreed had they known.

The practice has also figured prominently in cases in South Florida, Nashville and, most recently, Seattle.

Critics of the practice, who include some surgeons and patient-safety advocates, say that double-booking adds unnecessary risk, erodes trust and primarily enriches specialists. Surgery, they say, is not piecework and cannot be scheduled like trains: Unexpected complications are not uncommon.

All patients "deserve the sole and undivided attention of the surgeon, and that trumps all other considerations," said Michael Mulholland, chair of surgery at the University of Michigan Health System, which halted double-booking a decade ago. Surgeons might leave the room when a patient's incision is being closed, Mulholland said. A computerized system records the doctor's entry and exit.

"It doesn't do any good to check out your surgeon if they're not even going to be in the room," said Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project. "We all know about the dangers of multitasking. This adds a layer of danger if you have the most expert person coming in and out."

Indiana orthopedic surgeon James Rickert regards double-booking as a form of bait-and-switch. "The only reason it has continued is that patients are asleep," said Rickert, president of the Society for Patient-Centered Orthopedics, a doctor group.

"Having a fellow so you can run two rooms helps augment your income," he added. "You can bill for six procedures: You do three and the fellow does three." The critical portion of the operation required by Medicare and designated by the surgeon can mean "running in and checking two screws for 10 seconds."

Defenders of the practice, which has been the subject of a handful of studies with mixed results, say it can be done safely and allows more patients to receive care.

"It's extremely important for us to make sure [all surgeries are] done with the highest quality," said Peter Dunn, Mass General's executive medical director of perioperative administration. Officials at his hospital, Dunn said in a recent interview, have "never traced back a quality issue" to concurrent surgery, which involves a minority of procedures.

Mass General complies with all applicable guidelines and regulations, Dunn said. The hospital now explicitly requires doctors to inform patients if an operation will overlap as part of the consent process, which may occur just before the start of surgery.

In January, a Boston jury found that a Mass General spine surgeon who failed to inform a 45-year-old financial analyst that he was running two rooms was not responsible for the patient's subsequent quadriplegia.

Divided Attention

No one knows how many of the nation's 4,900 hospitals that receive Medicare payments  about 1,000 of which are teaching hospitals  allow the practice, the Senate Finance Committee noted in a recent report. The committee called on hospitals to adopt stronger policies and consent forms that go beyond opaque boilerplate statements that grant broad permission without specifying who is doing what. And the report noted that concurrent surgery may also occur in outpatient surgery centers and non-teaching hospitals and that it can involve patients who are not covered by Medicare.

The practice surprised some primary care doctors and a veteran medical ethicist.

"I certainly knew that for many procedures, residents might be involved," said Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at NYU School of Medicine. (NYU Langone Medical Center does not permit concurrent surgery.) "But I was a little taken aback that the attending surgeon was not in the room."

Proponents say that overlapping operations can improve efficiency and better utilize a surgeon's valuable time.

"Much of surgery is team-based," said David Hoyt, executive director of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), which last year issued guidelines governing concurrent surgery. Largely similar to Medicare rules, the guidelines state that surgeons should inform patients of overlapping operations.

Robert Cima, a colorectal surgeon and medical director of surgical outcomes research at the Mayo Clinic, agrees. Overlapping surgery has been used safely since Mayo's inception more than 100 years ago, he said. A recent study he co-authored found that 11,000 overlapping operations at Mayo did not have a higher death rate than non-overlapping surgeries.

Allowing qualified junior doctors to perform parts of an operation, Cima said, is vital in "training the next generation of surgeons." Determining what portion of an operation is critical should be left to the individual surgeon, he said, not defined by Medicare or insurers, because it can vary from patient to patient.

But L.D. Britt, a past president of the ACS and chairman of surgery at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, says that efficiency has little to do with concurrency. "Unless you're closing, that surgeon should be there," he said. "Most [surgeons] are doing it for lifestyle."

Indiana's Rickert and Britt say they are troubled by what they regard as a double standard: Very few surgeons would consent to the practice for themselves or a relative. "This happens to the Medicaid patient," Rickert said, "not the partner's wife."

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He advocates that Medicare and insurers define the critical portion requiring the presence of an attending surgeon as being everything between the making of an incision and the start of its closure, a task frequently performed by residents. "The critical components should not depend on whether the surgeon has opera tickets that night."

Ghost Surgery?

Some surgeons say they are troubled by the resemblance of double-booking to a practice known as "ghost surgery," in which patients learn, usually after something goes wrong, that someone other than the surgeon they hired performed their operation.

In April, a Seattle jury awarded an anesthesiologist and her husband $8.5 million for botched abdominal surgery that disfigured his penis. After his operation, the couple discovered that a crucial part of the procedure was performed by a fellow, not the senior surgeon to whom he had explicitly granted consent.

"I always prided myself in telling patients I would be there from the moment they went to sleep to the moment they woke up," said Stanley Shapshay, a head and neck surgeon in Albany, N.Y., who co-authored a 2016 editorial opposing simultaneous surgery.

Many things can go wrong during "noncritical" portions of an operation, particularly if a resident or fellow is unsupervised, said Shapshay, a professor of otolaryngology at Albany Medical College. A major artery or nerve can be cut accidentally, he said. "By the time the surgeon [arrives, the damage] has already been done."

Trainees, Shapshay observed, vary. "Some are very good, some are OK and some need more experience."

His view was reinforced by his experience at a hospital in the Southeast several years ago. A senior surgeon he was visiting left in the middle of an operation, after telling a family that surgery had gone well. While he and Shapshay were having coffee, the surgeon received an urgent page and had to rush back to the OR to deal with a serious breathing problem. The family was later told only that an unexpected event had occurred, not that the attending had been out of the room.

"That illustrated to me very clearly that you don't leave the OR until the patient has left the OR," Shapshay said.

Adequate informed consent is essential, said Robin Diamond, senior vice president for patient safety and risk management at the Doctors Company, a California-based malpractice insurer that has begun tracking malpractice claims related to overlapping surgery. She expects such lawsuits will increase.

"I think it can be done safely and has been safe in many cases," said Diamond, who has degrees in nursing and law. But surgeons who plan to run two rooms should obtain explicit consent from patients at least a week ahead of surgery, she said, not the day before or the day of, as is common, to allow time to reconsider.

"It's a basic patient right to know" who is doing their operation, Diamond said.

Patients don't seem enamored of overlapping surgery. A recent study based on an online survey by Harvard researchers found that fewer than 4 percent of 1,454 people had heard of concurrent surgery and that only 31 percent supported the practice; 95 percent said it should be disclosed in advance.

A Surprising Result

After the fallout at Mass General, officials at U.Va. decided it was time to largely eliminate concurrent surgery in all specialties; the practice had been most common in orthopedics.

In return for an end to simultaneous surgeries, hospital executives agreed that orthopedic surgeons would not be "disadvantaged," said Richard Shannon, executive vice president for health affairs at U.Va. Part of the process involved overhauling the way surgeries were scheduled.

"It was an important wake-up call," Shannon said of the controversy. "We wanted to redesign our system to eliminate the risk" as part of a larger patient-safety push.

Eliminating most concurrent procedures, Shannon said, actually resulted in an increase of 560 surgeries in 2016 over 2015, using the same number of operating rooms. "Concurrency was masking an efficiency problem," said Shannon, who plans to publish the results of U.Va.'s efforts. "There was a lot of waste."

"This debunks the urban legend" that overlapping surgery is more efficient, he said. "Like many things in health care, if you apply a rigorous disciplined approach, you may get an answer you didn't expect."

Rickert and others advise patients who want to avoid overlap to ask detailed questions well in advance and to put their request in writing and on the consent form.

"If you say, 'I want only you to do the surgery,' doctors will typically do it,'" Rickert said. "They want the business."

He also recommends asking, "Are you going to be in the room the entire time during my surgery?" and then repeating that statement in front of the OR nurses the day of surgery. "If the doctor's not willing to say yes, vote with your feet."

If a surgeon says he or she will be "present" or "immediately available," a patient should ask what that means. It may mean that the surgeon is somewhere on a sprawling hospital campus but not in  or even near  your operating room.
ERYTECH Pharma, a French clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for rare forms of cancer and orphan diseases, today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with Queen's University in Canada to advance the preclinical development of ERYTECH's eryminase program specifically for the treatment of arginase-1 deficiency, a rare and severe metabolic disorder related to arginine metabolism. The collaboration will leverage the expertise of Queen's University and ERYTECH's ERYCAPS platform technology with the goal of generating in vivo proof-of-concept data in an arginase-1 deficiency animal model.

Arginase-1 deficiency is a rare, inherited disorder of the urea cycle caused by a mutation in the arginase-1 gene, resulting in the accumulation of toxic levels of the amino acid arginine in the blood. Symptoms generally appear in early infancy and include intellectual disability, non-ambulatory muscle stiffness and seizures. It is a debilitating, progressive disease with very limited treatment options currently available.

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The collaboration between ERYTECH and Queen's University aims to demonstrate the potential of ERYTECH's eryminase to lower arginine in the inducible arginase-1 deficiency mouse model developed by the laboratory of Prof. Colin Funk of Queen's University. Eryminase, a product candidate being developed by ERYTECH, consists of an arginine deiminase enzyme encapsulated in red blood cells using ERYTECH's proprietary ERYCAPS platform technology. ERYTECH believes the encapsulation of the therapeutic enzymes in the red blood cells can provide effective, long-acting therapeutic activity with reduced toxicity.

Prof. Colin Funk, PhD, Queen's University, commented, "Arginase-1 deficiency is a severe, rare disorder affecting a biochemical pathway that disposes of toxic ammonia. Normally, our bodies are very efficient at removing any ammonia that accumulates after eating a protein-rich meal. However, in patients with arginase-1 deficiency, the ammonia is 'partially detoxified' leading to a large accumulation of the amino acid arginine in the patient's blood and brain. ERYTECH's product candidate eryminase aims to reduce the level of arginine in blood and thus, has significant potential to reduce negative consequences of this disorder. We look forward to working with ERYTECH to advance their preclinical program."

Dr. Alexander Scheer, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of ERYTECH, added, "This is our second collaboration in the field of rare metabolic diseases that underscores the scope of our platform and its applicability to highly specialized and rare conditions beyond oncology. We are very pleased to enter this collaboration with Queen's University and look forward to working closely on this important program with Dr. Funk who specializes in research related to urea cycle disorders."
Women who have high-risk pregnancies or complications in childbirth are up to eight times more likely to suffer heart disease later in life. And many mothers  and their doctors  are unaware of the danger.

Emerging research shows heart disease is a long-term threat for women who develop diabetes or high blood pressure during pregnancy, for example, or those whose babies are born prematurely or precariously small.

Yet doctors do not typically advise women about their risk or counsel them to watch for symptoms, said Noel Bairey Merz, a cardiologist and director of the Barbra Streisand Womens Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles.

Bairey Merz said doctors can see heart attacks and strokes coming, often 10 or 20 years ahead of time, if they are on the lookout. "This isn't rocket science," she said. "We just have to figure out how we can find the women who are at risk."

Heightened awareness of the link between pregnancy complications and heart disease is prompting greater outreach to the public and collaborative research between cardiologists and obstetricians. That could help "make tremendous strides toward reducing and preventing heart disease in women," said Bairey Merz.

Cedars-Sinai recently started following a small group of women who've had pregnancy or labor complications to further explore the heart disease connection. In a separate study, Bairey Merz and other researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health are tracking 5,000 new moms at eight sites nationwide  including Cedars  to fill gaps in knowledge about heart health and develop recommendations for physicians.

The Women's Heart Alliance, an advocacy group started by Cedars-Sinai and New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, also works with obstetricians and other providers to raise awareness among women and their doctors.

"We've got a big advocacy and education piece that we should be doing together," said Barbara Levy, vice president of health policy for the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Levy said education is critical because it reduces the likelihood that women or their doctors will dismiss symptoms and concerns that should be taken seriously. Cardiologists and women's health care providers are in a unique position to drive the research agenda, Levy said. About 80 percent of U.S. women give birth to at least one baby, and one-fourth have complications during their pregnancies or labor. Researchers are still trying to determine why such complications are linked to later heart problems. Among hypotheses: Pregnancy might contribute to vascular problems or unleash preexisting tendencies.

"Pregnancy can really mimic the stressors of age," said Margo Minissian, a nurse scientist and researcher at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. "Pregnancy could essentially be serving [as] a woman's first physiological stress test."

Minissian said that women who have had pregnancy or labor complications should tell their primary care doctors and have annual screenings for high blood pressure or other potential health problems. The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association recommend, for example, that women who have had preeclampsia  a potentially life-threatening spike in blood pressure during pregnancy  be evaluated for heart disease risk within one year of giving birth. Some women will need to be medicated and may be referred to a cardiologist.

But most women who have had complicated pregnancies need not see a cardiologist right after giving birth, Levy said  they should just eat healthfully, be active and get enough sleep. Immediately referring all of these women to cardiologists could result in undue anxiety and unnecessary medical tests, she said. "It will cost a lot of money and a lot of her time while she is dealing with a baby."

As part of the Cedars-Sinai project, Minissian screens certain women for cardiovascular risk within six months of delivery and follows up with them every year. She also tries to help them understand their risk and lead healthy lives to "avoid the whole heart disease trajectory altogether."

"These women are going to have their eyes wide open," Minissian said. "They are going to be looking for it and they won't allow people to pat them on the back and say, 'Oh don't worry about that high blood pressure.'"

One of Minissian's patients, Lara Hogan, gave birth to her son, Zion, in May 2016.

Sitting in her living room in Topanga, Calif., Hogan recounted how she had been monitoring her blood pressure during the pregnancy because she was treated for hypertension in the past. Then, during her 36th week, her pressure spiked  a sign of preeclampsia.

Women are up to eight times more likely to develop heart disease if they have high blood pressure or diabetes during pregnancy  or if their babies are born too small or too early. Lara Hogan gave birth to son Zion prematurely in May 2016 and now regularly monitors her blood pressure. (Anna Gorman/KHN)

Hogan and her husband, Chad, headed to Cedars-Sinai, where doctors told her they needed to deliver the baby that night. But her blood pressure did not come down after giving birth. In fact, it kept rising.

"They had someone standing at my bedside monitoring me in case anything happened, Hogan recalled. I guess they were so nervous that I was gonna have a stroke.

Zion stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit for eight days before he was released. Hogan went in and out of the hospital as doctors tried to lower her pressure.

"It was a nightmare," she said. "All I dreamt about was this moment for so many years. It was like the opposite of everything I thought it would be."

Finally, doctors succeeded in bringing her pressure down and referred her to a postpartum heart health program that Minissian leads. Over the next several weeks, Minissian and others helped Hogan take the right dose of medication and avoid the hospital.

Now, Hogan checks her pressure on most days and plans to continue seeing doctors to manage her long-term cardiac risk. Zion, who recently celebrated his 1st birthday, just started walking and likes to play with his toy xylophone and drums.

Hogan hopes to have another baby soon, so she has been seeing Minissian to ensure her pressure is well-controlled before she gets pregnant again. She knows she is at risk for heart disease later in life because of her complications in pregnancy.

"As much as I don't want to be thinking about my future heart health or worrying about what's going to happen when I am older, this is priority No. 1 for my health right now," Hogan said. "For the sake of my son and my future children."
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that there was no chance the agency would attempt to vaccinate Yemen against cholera due to the fact that the disease has spread so widely there that such an effort would be fruitless. This is a U-turn on a decision made by the organization a month ago. On June 15th this year, the WHO had decided to send one million doses of cholera vaccine to Yemen in collaboration with some other partners. This was following a request from Yemens internationally recognized government. This new decision revokes the earlier plans.

According to Christian Lindmeier, a spokesman for the organization, said that the vaccine dosages that were prepared for Yemen would not be shipped to other parts of the world where there is still a high risk of cholera. He reiterated that this decision was not final but there was little chance that Yemen would receive those vaccines. Instead they would be sent to other areas/countries who may need them more urgently right now, he added. Mr. Lindmeier was speaking at a regular news briefing at the United Nations headquarters complex in Geneva.

At present Yemen is gripped with a cholera outbreak of massive proportions. The number of cases has crossed 313,000 and over 1700 persons have already died of this highly infective disease. This decision was met with surprise as a consequence. Yemen has been battling civil wars for over two years between a Saudi-led military coalition and Houthi insurgents backed by Iran. This unrest is already responsible for killing 10,000 people leading to severe damage to the healthcare system. Thousands of residents face famine and rise of infective diseases in Yemen that is considered to be the poorest country in the Arab world.

Cholera is a bacterial infection that spreads through contaminated water and hands from human waste that comes from an infected person. Cholera spreads rapidly and leads to intense cases of vomiting and diarrhoea that can lead to severe dehydration in the patient within a span of a very short time. This dehydration may be fatal if not corrected especially in children and in the elderly. Vaccines may help protect individuals who are at risk before an outbreak occurs.

Mr. Lindmeier explained the organizations decision by saying that vaccination campaigns are usually effective in normal countries that are not ravaged by war and uncertainties. The security situation in Yemen is out of control making vaccination efforts difficult and to an extent impossible. He added that, Medical workers are not even sure what parts of the country would benefit from it. Cholera now has affected all 21 governorates in Yemen at present. The vaccines need to reach places where the outbreaks are yet to start. However most of these areas in Yemen are remote and are rife with conflict that has made access to them even more difficult.

The vaccine campaigns need to be ahead of an outbreak he explained. With failing healthcare system, lack of access to food, clean drinking water, a vaccination effort would be ineffective. Those need to be addressed before vaccinations he added. He explained that cholera vaccines are difficult to administer even in countries that are at peace. The vaccines are delicate and need to be stored in cold storage. They fail to work unless the patients have received the follow-up vaccination after the first one.

The World Health Organizations new director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia, would be briefing the United Nations Security Council regarding the situation in Yemen today via video conference.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), the countrys second largest car manufacturer and largest passenger car exporter launched a Digital Marketing Initiative- HyBuy, redefining the car buying experience. Under HyBuy experience, customers can book a car online and refer friends/relatives, hence earning rewards points. Hyundai is cashing on their rich social media presence for the success of the campaign. Hyundai has the largest Facebook fan base in India among all the auto manufacturers with over 8.9 Mn fans.Speaking on HyBuy initiative, Mr. Puneet Anand, Sr. General Manager (Marketing) & Group Head, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said: The time is right as Digital India is growing incrementally. Hyundai always strives to set Industry benchmarks and offer unique experiences to customers adding Brilliant Moments to their lives. HyBuy is the most innovative and unique digital initiative in the Auto Industry. It is aimed to redefine car buying journey of customers and support the futuristic mass movement of governments Digital India.HyBuy utilizes the Social Media Connectivity and benefits the customers in a convenient manner. Giving customers the power to incentivize their own purchase journey to gain maximum benefits is essence of gamification to engage customers.The campaign has been designed to adopt an approach to create buzz on digital. HyBuy initiative requires a customer to sign up and join the deal on the HyBuy website. The customer can avail benefits by depositing a certain amount of money and gain more rewards on sharing this deal with his friends and family to participate in this program.HyBuy provides attractive offers and these benefits increase when more people join the deal. The campaign is going to be just for a limited number of cars only, set with a pre-defined duration in real time and benefits are over and above the current Market Offer. Only booking is done online, rest of the buying experience continues at the dealership end.
Startup Faraday Future said it would move production of its luxury electric SUV to a new location, from a planned $1 billion Las Vegas factory where construction has ground to a halt amid financial woes of key investor Chinese entrepreneur Jia Yueting. Faraday is part of a network of young electric vehicle (EV) firms in China and the United States backed by Jia, who has said his company LeEco - that grew from a Netflix-like video website to a business empire spanning consumer electronics to cars within 13 years - is facing a severe shortage of cash after expanding too fast and in too many directions.Struggling to support goals that included beating Elon Musk's Tesla Motors in premium EV making, Jia is now trying to ride out the cash crunch by taking measures such as halting work on the Las Vegas factory and selling a Silicon Valley property less than a year after buying it from Yahoo Inc.On the decision to shift the production site of Faraday's luxury electric SUV FF 91 to a new site, the startup said: "This will allow product production to be realized faster, as well as allow our future strategy to be implemented more effectively."Jia, who posted this Faraday statement on his social media account, did not name the location of the new FF 91 factory.The FF 91 has been described by its designer as "weird-pretty" and Faraday executives say it will be the most technologically advanced vehicle of its kind on the market when it goes into production in early 2018. But cash shortages have raised questions about the company's prospects.According to estimates from mutual fund investors, LeEco could see the market value of its listed unit, Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp Beijing, fall around $2.5 billion should its shares resume trading.The company is set to hold an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on July 17 in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
New Delhi: Tata Steel on Tuesday said it has signed definitive agreement with Liberty House Group to sell its Submerged Arc Weld (SAW) mills at Hartlepool in the UK for an undisclosed sum.



The sale agreement covers the 42-inch and 84-inch pipe mills, also known as the SAW mills, where about 140 employees manufacture pipeline for gas and oil projects around the world, the company said in a statement.



Tata Steel, however, said it would retain its 20-inch tube mill at the same Hartlepool site, where a further 270 people work.



"With this sale, Tata Steel UK will complete its portfolio restructuring to focus on the strip products supply chain linked to Port Talbot," Tata Steel UK CEO Bimlendra Jha said.



The sale is also an important step towards developing a more sustainable future for the rest of our UK business, he added.



The two parties will work to complete consultations with employees and trade unions, as well as transfer of supplier and customer contracts. The transaction is expected to be completed within the next few months, the statement said.



Earlier in February,Tata Steel had announced signing a definitive agreement to sell Speciality Steel business in the UK to Liberty House Group for 100 million pounds (about Rs 840 crore).



Tata Steel said the two SAW mills to be sold to Liberty Group are fed with steel plate sourced from outside Tata Steel and hence are independent of the company's strip products supply chain.



With a view to strengthen its 20-inch mill, Tata Steel said it will invest one million pound to increase capability to make high-strength steel tubes.



The 20-inch mill is supplied with steel coils from Tata Steel's European steelworks and is part of its strip products supply chain.



Tata Steel said it would continue to be the largest steelmaker in Britain even after the sale of the mills and will employ almost 8,500 people in the UK, manufacturing advanced products for sectors like automotive and construction.



The company has invested more than 1.6 billion in its UK business since acquiring Corus in 2007, including 100 million pounds over the last year to enable advanced steel manufacturing in a number of UK sites, it added.
FORT DODGE | Jurors in the trial of a man accused of a double homicide in November in Mason City were given graphic details about the case during opening statements Wednesday.

One victim was shot in the neck and the other was stabbed 25 times, a prosecutor said during opening statements.

Jurors were shown photos of the crime scene, including bodies of the victims.

Peter Veal of Lake Mills is facing two counts of first-degree murder. He's accused in the Nov. 17 deaths of Mason City residents Mindy Kavars and Caleb Christensen at a residence in the 1600 block of North Hampshire Avenue.

A defense attorney told the jury not to take the state's case at face value.

The trial has concluded for Wednesday and will resume Thursday at the Webster County Courthouse in Fort Dodge.

Our earlier story:

FORT DODGE | The jury has been selected in the trial of a man accused of a double homicide in Mason City in November.

Trial proceedings are expected to resume around 2 p.m. at the Webster County Courthouse in Fort Dodge.

Our earlier story:

FORT DODGE | Jury selection is still underway in the third day of the trial of a man accused of a November double homicide in Mason City.

Peter Veal of Lake Mills was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Nov. 17 deaths of Mason City residents Mindy Kavars and Caleb Christensen at a residence in the 1600 block of North Hampshire Avenue.

An additional count of attempted murder was filed due to Veal's allegedly trying to kill another person.

Veal's trial was moved to Webster County due to pre-trial publicity.

Jury selection began Monday, but was halted due to a defense motion to strike the jury panel to allow more time to investigate whether African-Americans were being systematically excluded.

Judge rejects striking jury for Mason City double homicide trial FORT DODGE | A judge has overruled a defense motion to throw out the jury pool in a double h

District Court Judge Rustin Davenport overruled that motion Tuesday morning and jury selection resumed in the afternoon.

This is a developing story. Check back later for more details.
): At least two army personnel were killed on Wednesday in firing by Pakistani troopers in Kupwara's Keran sector.Sniper fire from Pakistan killed the soldiers on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district.Defence Ministry sources said the soldiers from the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles were killed in Furkiya area of Chowkibal sector.Furkiya area has been a known route used by militants infiltrating into the Kashmir Valley from Pakistan.More details awaited.
New Delhi: A 27-year-old old businessman was shot at by three masked men at his house in Uttam Nagar, west Delhi.



Police said the accused approached went to the victims house and asked about Akash. When the victim said he is Akash, they thrashed him. Akashs wife came out hearing his cries for help and raised an alarm. One of the accused slapped her, threatened her with dire consequences and left the place.



An officer said that the accused then came back and fired a few shots. One of the bullets hit Akashs leg.



Two people, Pankaj and Praveen, have been arrested and the third one is absconding. Police said a financial dispute could be the reason behind the incident that occurred last week.




Hyderabad: An aerospace engineer was one among two people arrested, along with 16 units of LSD seized, following a police crackdown against drug abuse in the city.



Dundu Anish, a 29-year-old aerospace engineer from United States, had worked with NASA earlier.



The arrest came as Hyderabad police are conducting raids and shutting down all illegal hookah parlours in the city.



Mahender Reddy, Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, said, "Youngsters are found smoking in these hookah centres and then getting addicted to other bad habits. To ensure our children remain healthy, we aim to make Hyderabad a hookah-free city. We have asked all zonal police officers to crackdown on illegal hookah centres which are operating in the city.



The arrests by the Excise Department recently exposed the harsh reality about school and college going students being addicted to high-end narcotics like LSD.



Taking a serious note, the police, schools and the government are taking all steps to curb the menace.



Vasireddy Amarnath, Educationist & Director of Slate school chains in Hyderabad, said, Teenagers going to pubs, hookah centres and even consuming drugs has been going on for last five years. Its very easy for young minds to get induced into wrong acts. These days drinking and smoking has become acceptable and if you are not part of the group, you are considered outdated. This is a very dangerous trend."



Couple of years back, an incident was reported in an international school where students were getting vodka to school, mixing with water and drinking during breaks. Last year, even we got to know an instance where our student was visiting hookah parlour. We immediately took corrective measures and counselled our students. We reported the problem of Hookah centres to city police also," he added.



Experts say it's peer pressure that drives youngsters into smoking or drinking activities. It starts with one person and then multiplies. The drug rackets have been operating on the principle of multi-level marketing. When one person gets addicted, they are asked to bring more people by offering discounts or commission.



Concerned over the issue, the schools have issued advisories to parents to watch out for erratic behaviour in children. Schools are also appealing parents to track the expenditures of their children and their social media activities. Many schools have taken up counselling sessions to sensitise students, parents and teachers about the issue.



Stressing on the need of sustained campaign and action against drug abuse, Amarnath said, "Schools should not just promote elitism but also impart good education and moral values. Regular counselling must be conducted in schools to ensure our kids dont fall prey. The prime responsibility lies with the schools but equal support of parents is also needed. Parents should behave like friends and share every emotion of their child. Parents have to be alert about their kids' activity."



Notices have been sent to various people in the Telugu film industry, after names from the industry came forward during investigation. Leading Telugu film producer, Suresh Babu, said, "We do not want negative image for our industry. We will create awareness and do whatever is needed. Because of few people, industry is getting a bad name. Its our responsibility to save the future generation."




J&K: MoS PMO Dr Jitendra Singh and MoS Home Hansraj Ahir visited #AmarnathYatra pilgrims camp at Pantha Chowk in Srinagar pic.twitter.com/OqCMjjiUqJ  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

The Union government said on Wednesday that the Amarnath Yatra will not be suspended despite the terrorist attack on pilgrims.We condemn the attack on Amarnath yatris. India is with Kashmir and Kashmir with India. The yatra will continue, Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh and Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said.The two ministers visited a camp set up for Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Srinagar.We are here on behalf of the PM to express our solidarity. The yatra hasnt been suspended even for a single day, Singh said.Ahir said, We have come (to the camp) to review and get feedback after the incident. We went to the camp and found that the yatris are happy. No one is frightened by that incident. The number of yatris coming here are increasing day by day.Seven people have been killed in this attack, it is a challenge for us. But the CM has handled the situation well and all the injured have been sent to their respective homes. People from Kashmir has also condemn this attack, he added.Singh also appreciated the people of Kashmir for protesting against the attack. I congratulate people of Jammu and Kashmir for the kind of resilience they have shown in last 25 years, he said.He said that the attack signifies that militancy in the Valley is going to outlive its life soon.
Kolkata: The West Bengal CID on Tuesday night arrested BJPs IT Cell secretary Tarun Sengupta for posting fake images and videos on social media.



This comes days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged people not to post objectionable photos on social media.



Sengupta was arrested for allegedly posting fake images and videos which could further flare up communal tension in Bengal.



He was charged with non-bailable sections of IPC. He was arrested following a complaint lodged by a local politician at Suri police station. He will produced him at Suri court on Wednesday, a police source said.



BJP State General Secretary Sayantan Basu condemned the arrest and demanded a fair inquiry into the matter.



This is third such arrest in the recent past. Recently the police arrested a man from Sonarpur (South 24-Parganas) for posting a still photo from a Bhojpuri movie which showed a group of men trying to molest a woman. The photo was shared by several BJP leaders claiming that this happened in Basirhat.



Mamata then asked the DGP to launch a crackdown against those who are trying to malign the image of Bengal.



We have also registered two non-bailable cases against Nupur Sharma, BJP spokesperson in Delhi, for sharing a photo of the 2002 Gujarat riots and claiming it to be taken from Bengals Basirhat. Our investigation is on and soon she will be examined, a senior Kolkata police officer said.



The CM during her recent public meetings hit out at BJP for uploading highly objectionable pictures on social media to create communal disharmony in the state.



The people of Bengal will not tolerate the fact that some people are turning Facebook into Fakebook by posting fake pictures and fake news for their political ends. We respect Facebook, but not any Fakebook, she had said.
Chennai: Actor Kamal Haasan, who is hounded by a fringe outfit in Tamil Nadu, has expressed hope his government would take some inspiration from neighbouring Kerala and support him.



Haasan's reference was to how the Left government in Kerala acted decisively and brought to book prominent actor Dileep over charges that he conspired to get an actress abducted and sexually assaulted.



"She (the actress) got the full support of the law and justice system in Kerala. That's the difference between her situation and mine," Kamal said indicating the Tamil Nadu government was not doing much to support him.



A fringe outfit, Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK), has filed a complaint against "Bigg Boss" saying it denigrated Tamil culture. The outfit sought legal action against Haasan and the actors participating in the show that is being telecast on Vijay TV since June 24, saying it ridiculed the "Invocation to Tamil mother (Tamil Thaai Vazhthu)".



The participants (actors) in the show allegedly conversed in an obscene fashion and sported revealing outfits, the outfit alleged.



The complaint sought legal action against the show's host and 14 other actors.



Kamal Haasan, using this attack by the right wing group against him, said he is left to the elements in Tamil Nadu but his neighbouring state (Kerala) takes care of people.



HMK representatives told reporters that the city police have acknowledged getting their complaint.


: Pulling up the Centre over its "continued silence" on the appointment of judges, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday warned the government and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad that "appropriate action" will be taken if vacancies are not filled on a priority basis.HC warns Govt, Law Min of 'appropriate action' if judges not appointedThe HC's observations came as it dealt with bail plea of Bengali actor Vikram Chatterjee who has been arrested in connection with the death of model Sonika Chauhan in a car crash on 29 April, 2017."This Bench is of the opinion that the concerns expressed in this order should reach the Honourable Law Minister of the Union immediately so that the matter relating to appointment of Judges in this Court is given topmost priority. The Registrar General shall do the needful without wasting any time," said a bench of Justices comprising Dipankar Dutta and D P Dey.The court also questioned the government if Lok Sabha would function without suitable strength.The court made it clear that non-appointment of judges in the court will mean interference in the course of administration of justice and will be viewed "seriously" as there is a burning need to increase the number of judges at all levels."The politeness of this Bench may not be understood as weakness on its part to be firm. It is made clear that continued silence of the Central Government in the matter of appointment of Judges in the near future despite the concerns expressed in this order, would certainly be viewed seriously as interference in the course of administration of justice and followed by appropriate action as authorised in law," the court added.Blaming the apathy and the indifference by political executive, the court said the law ministry must give "top-most priority" to the appointment of judges, adding that the continuing impasse may lead to a collapse of justice delivery system."In such grave and ominous situation, this Bench expresses hope and trust that the authorities wielding power would spare a thought for this Court and take immediate ameliorative measures so as to prevent the system from collapsing with the ensuing retirement of 7 (seven) more Judges by early November, 2017 and 3 (three) more by early February, 2018," said the court.Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court faces acute shortage of judges. Currently, the court has a functional strength of 34 judges, against a total sanctioned strength of 72.
: A court in Angamaly has sent Dileep to police custody for two days for further questioning and evidence collection even as his lawyer argued there was no evidence that the actor had a role in the abduction and sexual assault of a prominent actress.Dileep's bail plea was reserved for orders and will be considered by the court after his police custody ends.Dileep's counsel argued in court there was prime facie no evidence against the actor and that it was a conspiracy hatched by the prime accused and some others to implicate him."The so-called conspiracy is just the imagination of a fertile mind. This is the best script the actor has ever seen," lawyer Ramkumar said.Dileep was arrested on Monday and sent to Aluva sub jail a day later on charges that he hired prime accused Sunil Kumar aka 'Pulsar' Suni to sexually assault an actress who was once his leading lady and a close friend of the family.The prominent South Indian actress was abducted on February 17 and assaulted while being driven around Kochi with her attackers also filming the act.According to police, the conspiracy was hatched at a meeting between Dileep and Suni in the actor's car, but his lawyer argued there was no evidence on that. The lawyer said that there was not even oral evidence to what the conversation was about.The lawyer also said that in the remand report the police have said that Sunil Kumar was present on Dileep's shooting sets. the lawyer asked what can be proved by this as there will be many peopel on the sets.Ramkumar also said that the remand report mentions that Dileep was 20 days late to file the blackmail complaint. He asks how can a delay in filing a complaint seen as an inclination of one's criminality.He also mentioned that even the actress in her complaint had not mentioned about a conspiracy.The film star has been charged with gang rape, abduction and criminal conspiracy and will be made the second accused in the case when the additional charge sheet is filed.Dileep's arrest has shocked the Malayalam film industry as he is one of the topmost stars with many hits over the last two decades. The actor was the target of public outrage on Wednesday too with a large crowd of onlookers jeering him when he was produced in court.
New Delhi: Home Ministry officials on Thursday said that four terrorists, two of them Pakistanis, are suspected to have attacked the bus, ferrying the Amarnath pilgrims, in which seven devotees were killed.



The officials, quoting intelligence inputs, said Pakistani national and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Ismail was the mastermind of Monday's attack. He was assisted by another Pakistani and two local militants.



A massive manhunt has been launched for the four terrorists, who are also believed to have used two motorcycles to escape from the scene after attacking the pilgrims bus, officials said.



They said the Gujarat registered bus, which was attacked, reached at Jammu on July 7 and got registered at Amarnath shrine facilitation centre.



Initially, the bus was part of the regular convoy of the pilgrims and travelled together till Baltal. The pilgrims in the bus paid their obeisance at the cave shrine on July 8 and returned. On the way back, the pilgrims left the convoy and drove to Srinagar.



The Gujarati pilgrims stayed in Srinagar for two days as tourists. On July 10, around 4:30 PM, they left Srinagar for Katra.



The vehicle got punctured at a place 10 km away from Khanabal around 6:30 PM. Then the passengers went down and had food at a roadside eatery.



When the bus resumed its journey, it came under attack from the terrorists at Khanabal around 2017 hours. Facing the bullets, the driver of the bus, Salim Sheikh, charged past the area but had to face another group of terrorists after crossing just 75 metres.



The driver again did not stop the bus despite facing the terrorist attack for the second time in quick succession.



The bus was finally stopped at a police point after a fewkilometres and the policemen on duty took the pilgrims to the Anantnag police line where the injured were given first aid before being shifted to a hospital, officials said.



(With inputs from PTI)
London: One of the biggest icebergs on record has broken away from Antarctica, scientists said on Wednesday, creating an extra hazard for ships around the continent as it breaks up.



The one trillion tonne iceberg, measuring 5,800 square km, calved away from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica sometime between July 10 and 12, said scientists at the University of Swansea and the British Antarctic Survey.



The iceberg has been close to breaking off for a few months. Throughout the Antarctic winter, scientists monitored the progress of the rift in the ice shelf using the European Space Agency satellites.



"The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict," said Adrian Luckman, professor at Swansea University and lead investigator of Project MIDAS, which has been monitoring the ice shelf for years.



"It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments. Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters," he added.



The ice will add to risks for ships now it has broken off. The peninsula is outside major trade routes but the main destination for cruise ships visiting from South America.



In 2009, more than 150 passengers and crew were evacuated after the MTV Explorer sank after striking an iceberg off the Antarctic peninsula.



The iceberg, which is likely to be named A68, was already floating before it broke away so there is no immediate impact on sea levels, but the calving has left the Larsen C ice shelf reduced in area by more than 12 percent.



The Larsen A and B ice shelves, which were situated further north on the Antarctic Peninsula, collapsed in 1995 and 2002, respectively.



"This resulted in the dramatic acceleration of the glaciers behind them, with larger volumes of ice entering the ocean and contributing to sea-level rise," said David Vaughan, glaciologist and director of science at British Antarctic Survey.



"If Larsen C now starts to retreat significantly and eventually collapses, then we will see another contribution to sea level rise," he added.



Big icebergs break off Antarctica naturally, meaning scientists are not linking the rift to manmade climate change. The ice, however, is a part of the Antarctic peninsula that has warmed fast in recent decades.



"In the ensuing months and years, the ice shelf could either gradually regrow, or may suffer further calving events which may eventually lead to collapse  opinions in the scientific community are divided," Luckman said.



"Our models say it will be less stable, but any future collapse remains years or decades away."
LAKE MILLS | A Lake Mills native is competing on a hit reality show this summer.

Cody Nickson, 32, is one of 16 house guests on Big Brother, a CBS show that follows a group of people living together in a house outfitted with high-definition cameras and microphones recording their every move.

Each week, the house guests vote someone out of the house, and at the end, the last house guest receives a grand prize of $500,000.

Nickson, now a construction sales representative in Plano, Texas, describes himself as confident, charming and sweet, and said his life motto is Semper Fidelis in his biography on www.cbs.com.

There are two Iowa natives competing on the show. The other is Jason Dent, a rodeo clown from Humeston.

The show aired its 19th season on June 28. It airs on Thursdays, Wednesdays and Sundays on CBS.

 Ashley Stewart
New Delhi: A 32-year-old man with suspected ISIS links has been arrested by the Delhi Polices Special Cell from IGI airport.



Shahjahan Velluva Kandy, a resident of Keralas Kannur, was arrested after the Indian intelligence agencies received an input from CIA on June 30.



Kandy was deported by Turkey police for travelling with a fake passport. Sources said he was planning to enter Syria through Turkey.



Investigations have revealed that this was Kandys second attempt to go to Turkey. In February, he went to Turkey from Chennai, also with a fake passport. He was deported after which he made another fake passport in the name of Mohammed Ismail Mohideen from Chennai. However, his plan was busted by the Turkish police.



The Special Cell also found hundreds of telegram IDs of ISIS sympathisers on Kandys mobile phone. He was in touch with several ISIS sympathisers in India and Syria through the Telegram application. The data from his phone has been sent for verification.



The police are also looking for the travel agents who helped Kandy get fake passports. A team has been sent to Tamil Nadu to nab the agents.



Kandy was arrested at IGI a week ago. Police said he was accompanied by another man.




Hisar: A Muslim trader from UP was allegedly slapped by an unidentified person when he refused to raise 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogan during a protest by Bajrang Dal activists against the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, police said on Wednesday.



The activists of the Dal took out a march near a mosque in Hisar on Tuesday to protest the attack on pilgrims in Kashmir Valley.



The Muslim trader hailing from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh had come to the mosque to offer prayers on Tuesday when the Dal activists were taking out a march.



As the Bajrang Dal activists were raising 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogans, someone in the crowd asked the trader who was at the gate of the mosque, to raise the slogan.



When he refused, he was allegedly slapped by someone in the crowd, police said on Wednesday, adding a complaint was filed by the trader against around 100 unidentified people who were part of the crowd.



A Bajrang Dal leader here said no one from the Dal had slapped the trader.



After the incident, the people in the mosque closed the main door of the religious place and informed the police.



The activists of Bajrang Dal, in the meanwhile, also dispersed after burning effigies and raising slogans against Pakistan.



A case of rioting, promoting enmity between classes, maliciously insulting religious beliefs of any class, causing disturbance to an assembly engaged in religious worship, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation has been registered against 100-125 unknown persons, police said.



Lalit Kumar, SHO, City Police Station said no arrest has been made so far.






The people of Kashmir have strongly condemned the terror attack on Amarnath yatris. It shows the spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much alive.

 Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 11, 2017

      ,     !!!   geeta phogat (@geeta_phogat) July 10, 2017



     ......                    ..   https://t.co/Qhuthk2sB6

 geeta phogat (@geeta_phogat) July 11, 2017

Home Minister Rajnath Singh won praise from across party lines for his statesman-like responses to the Amarnath terror attack, in which he hailed the spirit of Kashmiriyat. Many, including former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, were all praise for the veteran leader. Not all, however, were impressed by the Home Ministers measured response, indicating that they preferred tough action over tough words.At 12:37 am on Tuesday, Singh tweeted from his handle @RajnathSingh, The people of Kashmir have strongly condemned the terror attack on Amarnath yatris. It shows the spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much alive.In a strongly-worded reply to the Home Minister, author and Twitter user Suchi Singh Kalra tweeted, Who gives a f*** about the spirit of Kashmiriyat at this moment? Its not your job to placate. Just drag those cowards out and cull them. Butto the tweet was both measured and firm. Ms Kalra I certainly do. It is absolutely my job to ensure peace & tranquility in all parts of the country. All Kashmiris are not terrorists, he said.Following this exchange, Kalra deleted her Twitter account. While many praised Singh for shutting down trolls, his detractors included former India wrestler Geeta Phogat, who in an apparent dig at the Home Minister tweeted, Bahut ho gayi ab aatank ki ninda, jalana padega inko zinda (Enough criticism of terrorism now, we must burn them alive).The tweet landed Phogat into a Twitter spat with many on the other side of the Twitter divide, including Gujarat Files author Rana Ayyub. These are our alleged national icons. @rajnathsingh pls take note, Ayyub tweeted, eliciting a response from Phogat, Log bekasoor mare ja rahe hain. Yeh dekh kar sacche Bharatwasi ke dil mein aag lagna laazmi hai. Aur yeh Bharat ki beti aapki tarah kayar nahi. Jai Bharat. (Innocent people are being killed. It is natural that it will light a fire in the heart of a true Indian. This daughter of India is not a coward like you. Hail India.)Phogat was not alone in her criticism. Others, in fact, were more direct in targetting Singh. Swarajya Magazine columnist Shefali Vaidya said, Absolutely sickened w d way d libtard brigade hounded Shuchi Kalra off twitter n disappointed with @rajnathsingh 4 throwing her to d wolves.Another Twitter user said, Finally @RajnathSingh ji took strong against #AmarnathTerrorAttack.. by targeting a person who asks to take action against terrorists. Bravo.
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's plan to widen the roads in the Dadar Parsi Hindu Colony has been opposed by the Shiv Sena and the people residing there.



According to a report in The Indian Express, the civic body has proposed to widen around 80 roads less than 9 metre wide to 9 metre in the city.



The BMC officials said the roads department had summited a list of around 80 names to the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee for a no-objection certificate, as some roads and structures abutting them fall under the heritage precinct.



Meanwhile, The Mumbai Heritage Committee has expressed concern over cutting of trees for the project and sought a report from the roads department.



Reacting to the road-widening plan, local Sena corporator Amey Ghole has written to the Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar and heritage committee and civic chief Ajoy Mehta.



He said the colony, known for its green cover, is an integral part of the city "If the roads are widened, it will not only reduce the playgrounds, recreational grounds but some of the trees may need to be cut. So, it will ruin the heritage character of the area, he said.



Ghole has requested the mayor to convene a joint meeting of all stakeholders to scrap the proposal.



The Mancherji Edalji Joshi Colony Residents Association has also written to the civic chief and heritage committee, demanding the proposal be scrapped as it would ruin the greenery of the area.
J&K: Three terrorists killed by security forces near Budgam, arms and ammunition recovered pic.twitter.com/XZx9itR2dA  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

Three terrorists were killed on Wednesday morning during an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district."Three terrorists were killed this morning in the encounter," a police official said. The terrorists have been identified as Javed Ahmad Sheikh of Narbal, Aaquib of Goripora (Hyderpora) and Dawood of Zainakoot HMT. All three belong to Hizbul Mujahideen.The officials said no security personnel were injured in the incident. A heavy cache of arms and weapons have been recovered.The gunfight broke out in Radpug village of Mahagam area around 7.30 pm on Tuesday when the militants opened fire at a joint security team undertaking cordon and search operations in wake of the attack on the Amarnath pilgrims on Monday, a police official said.The security team comprised personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), army's counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles and Jammu and Kashmir Police's Special Operations Group.A CRPF official said that troopers of 176 Battalion were involved in the operation along with 2nd RR and SoG when the shootout broke out. Three terrorists are trapped, he added.This comes a day after the Amarnath Yatra attack, where seven people were killed and 19 were injured when terrorists attacked a bus carrying the pilgrims in Batingu, near Anantnag.
A lot can change in an instant. The course of our lives changed when we first moved from our family home in Mysore to a small room five minutes away from the hospital after our six-year-old was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the fall of 2015.With the scanty money and prayers for a miracle we began our journey of getting the best treatment for her. Our only strand of hope now is the contribution made by caring strangers through Ketto.org It was the month of October, just before her mid-term exams, Syeda had already missed three days of school on the pretext of high fever. My husband and I were very concerned, so after the fifth day when her fever did not reduce and stayed steady at a 104-105 degrees, we rushed her to the JSS hospital in Mysore. She had already lost a few kilograms and looked frail, her hands were covered in big bruise marks which she scratched at incessantly till blood oozed out. The doctors were concerned about her sudden weight loss and put her on the drip immediately. They increased her dose of antibiotics and suggested that we run a few blood tests.He explained that she was suffering from cancer of the blood and bone marrow which affected the rate of production of her red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets and that it needed to be treated immediately. The very next day my husband quit his job, we gathered our belongings and left for Bangalore in the hope that more qualified doctors and better hospitals would save our darling daughter from the most dangerous of childhood cancers.My husband Syed worked seven days a week as a salesman at a silk saree emporium in Mysore with a monthly income of Rs 15,000 which paid for the schooling of the kids and other household expenses. Savings were low and mostly in the form of gold that we acquired when we wed 17 years ago. We have since sold our family home in Mysore to pay for Syedas treatment and now live in a small rented room five minutes from the hospital and spend most of our days at the childrens ward there. Syeda has since, undergone multiple rounds of blood transfusions and three rounds of chemotherapy. The road to her recovery has been challenging, filled with equal measure of hope and despair. She was believed to be reacting positively to her treatment with an increase in her RBC count and low recorded number of leukemia blasts up until December 2016 when the bone marrow reported suggested a sudden relapse. Her lymphoblasts were recorded at 80% - considerably high, reflecting the persistence of the disease. Dr. Sunil Bhat, the Head of Pedeatric Haemotology Oncology and Bone Marrow, who is overseeing her treatment suggested that we opt for a Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) as curative treatment.The BMT suggested by the doctors costs a staggering Rs 30 lacs  an amount we cant dream of collecting. As a last resort we have decided to start a fundraising page with Ketto.org in her name, in the hope that kind individuals will come forward and contribute to help fund this life saving surgery. The money will be used to pay for the extensive surgery and other medical bills. Just yesterday we got a call from the doctor saying they have found a willing donor whose bone marrow matches that of Syedas and we now have one month to get the finances in place.Please help us pay for her BMT by logging on to Ketto.org
A popular seaside town in Spain has passed a raft of new bylaws banning everything from playing ball on the beach, biking along the waterfront, and weeing in the sea.



San Pedro del Pinatar, in southeastern Spain's Murcia province, is cracking down on tourists behaving badly with a slew of rules aimed at teaching holidaymakers some manners.



After putting a definitive end to nudity on their beaches earlier this spring, the local town council has been on a banning binge, imposing a hefty 750 fine for various offenses.



But not everyone is happy with the new bylaws, reports local publication Murciatoday.com, with some critics calling the new measures overzealous and overly restrictive.



For instance, to the dismay of some, the popular game of pala, a type of Basque racquetball, will be banned, along with pets and bikes, including the popular tourist activity of tandem biking on the seafront.



Beachgoers caught weeing on the beach or in the sea, playing loud music, and leaving an umbrella unattended, in order to reserve their spot, will also be slapped with fines. The new rules come into effect as of July 18.



The Spanish town is the latest to try to restore civility amongst discourteous holidaymakers.



Over the weekend, Hvar in Croatia also started a public awareness campaign targeting their young, mostly British visitors who flock to the popular resort island in search of drunken benders and various forms of debauchery.



Visitors caught walking around without T-shirts, in their swimsuits, and drinking, eating and sleeping in public spaces face fines of up to 700.



Similarly, the Italian coast guard was deployed to sail along the Tuscan coastline last summer to restore order amongst beachgoers, after fielding one too many complaints about sunbathers who unfairly reserve the best spots on the beach with towels and lounge chairs hours in advance.
Thailand's military government on Tuesday approved $5.2 billion to build the first stretch of a high-speed railway that will ultimately link Bangkok to southern China, a massive joint infrastructure project with Beijing that has been dogged by delays.



The project is part of China's huge regional infrastructure plan to build a high-speed rail network connecting the southern city of Kunming with Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.



Construction has already begun in Laos but the Thai segment of rail has been stymied for years by tussles over financing, loan terms and protective labour regulations in the Southeast Asian kingdom.



The funding approval from Thailand's cabinet came after junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha invoked his absolute powers last month to clear a series of legal and technical hurdles standing in the way of the deal.



"The Cabinet has approved phase one of the high speed railway... from Bangkok to Korat with 179 billion baht ($5.2 billion) budget for a four-year plan," said Kobsak Pootrakool from the Prime Minister's office.



The first stage of the high-speed line will run 250 kilometres (150 miles) between Bangkok and the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat.



The plan is to then extend the track to Nong Khai on the border with Laos.

Thailand will cover the construction costs but the vast majority of technical expertise will come from Chinese engineers -- something that has disgruntled local firms who were angered by Prayut's decision to loosen restrictions placed on foreign engineers.



"Thailand will be responsible for the construction, while China will be responsible for design," Thai Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said Tuesday.



The rail deal is one of the biggest foreign investment projects in Thailand in years and is part of Beijing's 'One Belt, One Road' infrastructure drive which aims to revive ancient Silk Road trading routes.



China's largesse and increased investment presence in Asia comes as rival power the United States becomes more isolationist under President Donald Trump.



Thailand's junta has cosied up to Beijing since its 2014 power grab, shelling out billions on Chinese arms and welcoming investment from the regional superpower.
Star Akshay Kumars much-awaited social drama Toilet-Ek Prem Katha hasnt just been making headlines for its content, but also for its songs that have an interesting way of taking the story forward.After unveiling the song Hans Mat Pagli that too in three versions, and Bakheda, the makers have now released the new song Gori Tu Latth Maar.Visibly devastated after Bhumi Pednekar abandons him, Akshay is desperate to get her back. And the song features Akshay showing no pain on being hit with a lath by Bhumi while the villagers are busy celebrating the festival of colours.Even though Bhumis angst is fairly evident in the song, her pain while hitting Akshay doesnt remain hidden either.Dressed in traditional attires, the couple is also successful in explaining their chemistry despite the conflict in their relationship.Toilet: Ek Prem Katha slams the issue of open defecation that is still prevalent in villages across India. The story revolves around Keshav (Akshay) who married Jaya (Bhumi) a strong woman whom he love unconditionally. During her first day at her in-laws, she realizes that the house lacks a proper toilet and the members have no option but to answer the nature's call in the fields. Jaya kicks off a battle against the issue which is later continued by Keshav.Composed by Manas-Shikhar, the song has been sung by Sonu Nigam and Palak Muchhal. Its lyrics have been written by Siddharth-Garima.Directed by Shree Narayan Singh, Toilet-Ek Prem Katha will be released on August 11.
: It was one of those rare occasions when parivar-chief and the party-chief shared the dais. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and BJP president Amit Shah came on stage in New Delhi on Wednesday to release a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi  'The Making of a Legend'.As is the practice in Sangh Parivar  or an unwritten code  party president spoke first. The right to have the last word is reserved for the Sarsanghchalak.For someone so closely associated with PM Modi, Amit Shah vividly spoke of a journey which started as an RSS pracharak; of the responsibilities Modi took thereafter, once deputed to the BJP."Party sent him to Gujarat as state CM even though he had not contested even panchayat elections," Shah reminisced. And then he went on to describe in detail the achievements of CM Modi, especially in employment creation, irrigation and creation a conducive environment to attract private investments.There was despair and decay before the 2014 general elections, he said. Youth were out on the streets, women felt insecure and investors' sentiment had touched a rock bottom.The mandate of 2014 can't be achieved by an election campaign alone, it can't be achieved by a party, Shah said. "Ye jo prachand janadhesh mila wo 125 crore logon ke man ka ashirvaad hai," he concluded.It was now Mohan Bhagwat's turn to make the valedictory remarks. And the RSS chief took the cue from where the Amit Shah had left.Bhagwat spoke of two journeys: one of Narendra Modi as RSS pracharak. And the other as CM of Gujarat and Prime Minister of India.That journey before Modi took center stage in politics still holds great importance to the swayamsewaks and workers as we know the importance of that journey, Bhagwat averred."His tenure as CM and PM became so bright only because of his journey as a pracharak," Bhagwat added with a touch of finality to his submission.
HANLONTOWN | No serious injuries were reported after suspected flat tire led to a single-vehicle rollover on Interstate 35 near rural Hanlontown Tuesday afternoon.

The Iowa State Patrol says a 2003 Pontiac Montana van drive by James Crouthamel, 58, Webster City, drove off the roadway into the median, causing Crouthamel to overcorrect.

The vehicle entered the west ditch and rolled, resting on the driver's side, facing north, according to the State Patrol. The accident was reported around 3:44 p.m. Tuesday on I-35 southbound near the 201 mile marker.

Troopers say evidence on the highway and vehicle showed a right side tire possibly went flat before the van rolled into the ditch.

Crouthamel and his passenger, Emily Claman, 32, Webster City, sustained minor injuries that didn't require transport, according to the State Patrol. Both were wearing seatbelts.

Mason City Fire medics and Hanlontown Fire provided assistance at the scene.

 Ashley Miller
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy was on Wednesday summoned by the CBI in connection with Narada sting case.



Earlier, CBI sent a letter to Roy and asked him to appear for examination on Wednesday. He was summoned after he was seen - in the tapes - accepting money from Narada News CEO Mathew Samuel in exchange for favours.



Samuel is also been asked to appear on Wednesday and both of them are likely to reach CBI office at Nizam Palace around 11 am in South Kolkata.



CBI summoning senior party leaders for questioning in Narada case has left the state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee embarrassed  who is already facing serious law and order challenges in Bengal.



The senior leader was elected to the 15 and 16 Lok Sabha from Dum Dum constituency. He had earlier been elected from Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency in 1977.



During Charan Singh ministry he was the Union Minister of State for Petroleum. He was also the Union Minister of State for Urban Development during Manmohan Singh government from 2009 to 2012.



On January 11, 2017, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Babul Supriyo filed a complaint against Roy along with AITC MP Tapas Paul and MLA Mahua Moitra for alleging that he is involved in the Rose Valley chit fund scam.



After Sultan Ahmed, Roy will be the second MP to be examined by the probe agency in Narada case.



The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked Trinamool MLA and Deputy Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation Iqbal Ahmed to appear before the court on Wednesday. Iqbal Ahmed is the younger brother of Sultan Ahmed. Both the CBI and the ED are probing the case separately.



On Tuesday, Sultan and Iqbal refused to give their voice samples and Voice Spectrographic Test (VST) to the CBI.

Iqbal Ahmed, MLA from Khanakul in Hooghly district was seen in the video allegedly accepting bribe in the sting operation.



The sting operation case was conducted by Narada news in West Bengal to expose the alleged corrupt practices of ministers in the Mamata Banerjees government. The sting was conducted under the supervision of its (Narada news) founder Mathew Samuel for a period of two years.



Ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections in West Bengal, Narada news released videos of sting operations, which sent ripples across the political fraternity across the country.



Videos showed 13 TMC ministers and leaders accepting bribes in return of favours/misusing official positions.

Narada sting operation caused a major embarrassment for the state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee because it came at time when TMC is already under criticism from the opposition parties in Saradha chit-fund scam.



Mathew Samuel of Narada news formed a fictitious company and approached several TMC ministers asking them for favours in return of money. Those who were seen in the Narada sting tapes were: Firhad Hakim, Mukul Rai, Saugata Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sultan Ahmed, Subrata Mukherjee, Subhendu Adhikari, Sovan Chatterjee, TMC MP Aparupa Poddar, Madan Mitra, Iqbal Ahmed, Prasun Banerjee and H.M.S. Mirza.



On March 17, 2017, Calcutta High Court ordered a preliminary probe to be conducted by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the sting operation case. The court also directed the CBI to register an FIR against those who were involved in the case, if required.



On April 17, CBI has filed charge sheet against 13 and others TMC leaders in the Narada sting case. All of them were booked under Section 120 B of IPC (criminal conspiracy), Section 13 (2), 13 (1D) and Section of 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act.
Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav have categorically rejected Nitish Kumars advice to come clean on corruption charges, throwing serious doubts over the future of the alliance.



Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raids and an FIR against Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, and son Tejashwi compelled image-conscious Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar to call a meeting of his party leaders. The Bihar chief minister vowed not to compromise his principles for the sake of saving the government.



JD(U) MLA Ramai Ram claimed on Tuesday that Nitish wants Tejashwi, who is the deputy chief minister of the state, to resign within four days i.e 96 hours, but his deadline did not find mention in official briefing after party's meeting.



I was just 14-15 years old. How could I have indulged in such activities? It is a political conspiracy against me by the BJP and its leaders Amit Shah and Narendra Modi, Tejashwi told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.



Lalu Prasad, in an interview to a TV channel, ruled out that Tejashwi was going to resign from Nitish Kumar's cabinet. "There is no question of him resigning. People of Bihar have given Tejashwi a responsibility and he is doing his duty well," Lalu told the TV channel.



The RJD patriarch has described the CBI raids as part of a conspiracy hatched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah to "finish off him and his party - RJD".



Tejashwi has been named as an accused in the land-for-hotel case, which is related to transfer of three acres of prime land in Patna to the family by two businessmen, allegedly in return for licences to run two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri when the RJD chief was railway minister.



Nitishs party told Tejashwi to come clean and make a point-wise clarification on allegations levelled against him and his family. JD(U) spokesman Ajay Alok went a step ahead, saying it was imperative for Tejashwi to come clean for him to continue as a minister in Nitishs cabinet.



CBI raids may prove to be the tipping point in the already strained relationship between RJD and JD(U). Before the raids, Lalu tried to quell the storm within the Mahagathbandhan, which also accommodates Congress as the third party. Lalu said there was no trouble in the grand alliance and continuing in power was his priority.



His efforts and thoughts were centred on establishing his younger son as his heir apparent. But things have changed after CBI directly named Tejashwi as an accused.



Veteran journalist and JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Hariwansh, in an opinion piece published in a local daily, praised Nitish Kumars stance, saying he is a combination of Gandhi, Jai Prakash and Lohia. He also mentioned his days with the NDA, and when contacted, said that re-engagement with BJP is not ruled out but depends on the leadership.



Sensing the inevitable, Lalu Camp, it seems, has upped the ante and become defiant to the demands of JD(U). Bolstered by the support from Congress and other regional satraps, Lalu has decided to hit the street instead of bowing down to Nitish.



Tejashwi himself indicated this after the cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Ruling out the possibility of resigning from the cabinet, Tejashwi chose to play a victim by accusing PM Modi and BJP President Amit Shah of targeting him because he belongs to OBC: the card and social engineering his father Lalu is a master of.



The body language and defiance of Tejashwi, whom Lalu is grooming as his successor, has directly challenged Nitish Kumar as he again lobbed the ball in the latter's court.



After deciding not to side with a tainted face, Nitish Kumar would be bound to take action. After the raids, both were together in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday but did not interact. Discomfort was evident even after the meeting. Nitish left the venue in a hurry but agitated Tejashwi preferred to talk to media, recounting his successful stint as minister, and ruled out putting in papers.



Nitish has limited time to decide as Lalus August 27 rally is fast approaching. Nitish, after making his stance over corruption loud and clear, will not share the dais with Lalu Prasad. He is left with three options. First, he might sack Tejashwi from the cabinet which in turn will compel RJD to withdraw support or nominate someone else in Tejashwi's place, but Lalu camp has already ruled out this scenario.



The second option comes into play in case of withdrawal of support. Nitish, then, could take support from BJP which is more than ready to embrace Nitish.



The third option for Nitish, which is the least expected, is to tender resignation and recommend the dissolution of the Assembly.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is not happy with the special arrangements - red carpet, sofa, air-conditioner - that his officials make every time he pays a visit to a district.



The Chief Minister has warned officials of stern action if the practice is repeated in future. SP Goel, Yogi Adityanath's Chief Secretary, has sent instructions to all the commissioners, DMs, SSPs and SP of the state to avoid such arrangements in future.



Goel said it's been seen that special arrangements have been made by the administration, despite the directions against doing any such thing, during chief minister's visit to various districts.



He said that CM Yogi has given clear instructions that there should not be any special arrangements. Nothing that causes inconvenience to a common man should be done.



In the past, during the CM's meeting with martyrs family members in Deoria and Gorakhpur, the administration had made several arrangements such as AC, Sofa, Red Carpet, etc. on a temporary basis. The Chief Minister has expressed grief over such incidents and instructed that such things should not be repeated.
Patna: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah of conspiring against him.



The RJD leader is under investigation by the CBI for amassing benami properties in 2004.



I didnt have moustache in 2004. How can a 13 to 14-year-old kid can do all this. he told the media after attending a state cabinet meeting.



He said that earlier the BJP was afraid of his father Lalu Prasad Yadav and targeted him. "Now they are targeting me."



Tejashwi ruled out any possibility of resignation saying there is not a single allegation against him during his stint as a minister.



"We have worked for the people of the state. My party worked for the weaker and deprived section of society. No one can raise fingers on me as a road construction minister. So why should I resign? he asked.



He called CBI raids and FIR against him as politically motivated and said he would continue to fight against anti-state forces.



Tejashwi also announced that his party would go go to the Janata ki Adalat (people's court) and expose the saffron party.



They (BJP) are conspiring to break the alliance. But they will not succeed. We will root out BJP not only from state but from the country. Mahagathbandhan will continue to serve people of the state. Our alliance is intact, he said.


Modis personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

Modis policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India#AmarnathTerrorAttack  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the PDP-BJP-led government in Jammu and Kashmir, just two days after a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims came under a terror attack killing seven people.In a series of tweets, Rahul Gandhi highlighted "India's strategic loss", and "grave strategic blow" due to "PM Modi's policies"."Modis policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India," Rahul wrote on Twitter.In another tweet, accusing PM Modi of seeking "personal and political gain", Rahul wrote, "Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively.""Modis personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood," read another tweet.On July 10, after the terror attack on the Amarnath pilgrims, Rahul had tweeted, asking the Prime Minister to own up responsibility."This is a grave & unacceptable security lapse. The PM needs to accept responsibility and never allow it to happen again," Rahul had tweeted.The security forces suspect the operation was carried out jointly by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. There were reportedly three assailants, and one of them, Ismail, arrived on a motorbike and emptied two magazines on pilgrims.Jammu and Kashmir tourism minister Priya Sethi told CNN-News18 that the attack could be one of the repercussions of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani's death anniversary this year.The annual yatra to Amarnath had started on June 29 from Pahalgam and Baltal amid tight security arrangements. Over 6,000 pilgrims were allowed to move towards the shrine from north Kashmir's Baltal base camp while 5,000 pilgrims started moving from the Pahalgam route. A total of 1.5 lakh pilgrims had registered for this years yatra. Over 40,000 CRPF personnel were deployed to guard the route.This years yatra was being organised under the highest-ever multi-tier security setup as intelligence agencies had warned that militants were planning to target 100 policemen and as many pilgrims participating in the Amarnath Yatra.
Bengaluru: A senior IPS officer in Karnataka has alleged AIADMK leader VK Sasikala is getting VIP treatment in jail, and that there are rumours she paid huge bribes to officials for this.



DIG Roopa, in her recent report to her boss, said Sasikala - who is housed at a prison in Bengaluru in a corruption case - is getting facilities, including a special kitchen counter to cook food for her.



The letter to DGP of prisons HSN Rao said there were rumours that Sasikala paid Rs 2 crore as bribe to jail officials, including the DGP himself, to get these illegal benefits.



The report, accessed by CNN-News18, also said other convicts, like stamp paper scam accused Abdul Kareem, too get special facilities. Telgi has three undertrials assigned to give him a massage.



"Since such grave allegations and rumours are doing the rounds and even cast aspersions at you, I urge you to take heed of this and take strict action against any jail staff or officials or others who are involved," her letter concluded.



Following are the important excerpts from her letter:



1) A special kitchen set up for VK Sasikala, violating jail rules.



2) There are rumours that this issue was brought to your (DG's) notice and yet this is being continued. It is being said that Rs 2 crore bribe has been paid by her to ensure her comfort in the jail. Such accusations are grave, and I request you to pay heed and take action against errant officials.



3) You (DGP) have been interfering with my work ever since I took charge. On 11th July, I got your memo that sought explanation on why I went to Central Jail on 10th July. I have full powers to enquire into happenings in the Central Jail -- but such memos sent by you require introspection on the functioning of the jail administration itself.



4) Convicts like Abdul Kareem Telgi have enjoyed the comfort of three or four undertrials to serve him, even do tasks like massage his feet. Six months ago, he needed assistance of a wheelchair, and court allowed it. But why are undertrials assigned to help him in his cell now? I believe you too are able to watch this on the CCTV connected to your chamber. Why has no action been taken?



5) On 29th June, ten medical staff, including the chief medical officer, were attacked by one inmate. The inmate even tried to hit the chief medical officer with an iron stool. The guard on duty was missing. No action against him as yet.



6) We tested 25 inmates for drugs on suspicion; shockingly, 18 of them tested positive for ganja. However, no action has been taken to curb free flow of ganja in jail premises.



7) Jail inmates are deployed to manage medical records -- so some records to be presented in court go missing.



8) Jail inmates are also deployed at the jail pharmacy -- and certain medicines like sleeping pills are given out easily.



9) Doctors are threatened by inmates to give reports that enable them to be admitted to hospitals outside the jail -- they even face life threats. No action by jail officials.







10) HSN Rao said he is not aware of such allegations as the report never reached him. He told News18 it is impossible that Sasikala could get a special treatment. He also said he had asked DIG Roopa for an explanation, which he hasn't received till date.
Washington: The terror attack that killed seven Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir is reprehensible, the Trump administration has said as several lawmakers joined in to condemn the dastardly act.



Seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 19 others were injured in a terrorist attack in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday night.



The bus, bearing Gujarat registration number, was on way from Baltal to Jammu when the attack took place.



"We consider it to have been a terrorist attack in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in which seven religious pilgrims were killed. That's of great concern to us," the State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at a news conference.



"These were civilians, they were killed as they were exercising their right to worship and that is, in large part, what makes this so reprehensible. That is a great concern to us and our thoughts and prayers go out to those people and to their families as well. Our prayers are with the victims and those who were affected," she said.



Meanwhile several US lawmakers condemned the terrorist attack. "My thoughts and prayers to all of the Amarnath Yatra terror attack victims and their families. The attack is reprehensible and must be condemned," said Congressman Will Hurd.



"The terrorist attack on Amarnath Pilgrims is outrageous," said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. "Religion is a fundamental right and human right #AmarnathYatra #ReligiousFreedom," she tweeted.



Congressman John Ratcliffe in his tweet, sent his prayers to the families of those killed in the "horrific terrorist" attack. Congressman Jim Costa said he is "Deeply saddened at the cowardly attack" on innocent Amarnath Yatra pilgrims. "My thoughts and prayers are with you," he said.



"The terrorist attack on AmarnathYatra is reprehensible and must be condemned," tweeted Congressman Ted Poe. "Our hearts go out to the victims of the terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra. We must stand united against these deplorable acts of terror," said Congressman John Culberson.



Hindus and pilgrims of every religion should be able to visit their holy places without fear of attacks by terrorists, said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
Beijing: Ships carrying personnel for China's first overseas military base, in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, have set sail to begin setting up the facility, as China's rapidly modernising military extends its global reach.



Djibouti's position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worry in India that it would become another of China's "string of pearls" of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.



China began construction of a logistics base in Djibouti last year. It will be used to resupply navy ships taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular.



It will be China's first overseas naval base, though Beijing officially describes it as a logistics facility.



State news agency Xinhua said late on Tuesday the ships had departed from Zhanjiang in southern China "to set up a support base in Djibouti".



Navy commander Shen Jinlong "read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti", but the news agency did not say when the base would begin operations.



Xinhua said the establishment of the base was a decision made by the two countries after "friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides".



"The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia," it said.



"The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways," Xinhua said.



Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing the base would enable China to make "new and greater contributions" to peace in Africa and the world and would benefit Djibouti's economic development.



Djibouti, which is about the size of Wales, is at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal. The tiny, barren nation sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts US, Japanese and French bases.



'NOT MILITARY EXPANSIONISM'



The People's Liberation Army Daily said in a front-page commentary the facility was a landmark that would increase China's ability to ensure global peace, especially because it had so many UN peacekeepers in Africa and was so involved in anti-piracy patrols.



China would not seek military expansionism or get into arms races no matter what happened, the newspaper said.



"These promises will not change because of the construction of the overseas logistics base," it said.



The state-run Global Times said in an editorial there could be no mistake that this was in fact a military base.



"Certainly this is the People's Liberation Army's first overseas base and we will base troops there. It's not a commercial resupply point. It makes sense there is attention on this from foreign public opinion," said the paper, which is published by the official People's Daily.



China's military development was about protecting its own security, it said.



"It's not about seeking to control the world."



There has been persistent speculation in diplomatic circles that China would build other such bases, in Pakistan for example, but the government has dismissed this.
Washington: President Donald Trump called his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., a "high-quality person" on Tuesday after disclosures about the latter's meeting last year with a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have information incriminating Trump's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.



"My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," Trump said in a brief statement read to reporters by White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.



Sanders told reporters that all other questions on the matter should be referred to either his son's lawyer or the president's outside counsel.



Earlier on Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. posted on Twitter a chain of emails between himself and Rob Goldstone, a publicist who helped to arrange the June 9, 2016, meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya, who says she is a private lawyer and denies having Kremlin ties.



"If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," Trump Jr. replied in the email exchange after Goldstone said the information offered was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."



The disclosures could provide ammunition for U.S. investigators probing whether there was collusion between the Kremlin and Trumps Republican presidential campaign. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Moscow sought to hurt Clinton and help Trump in the 2016 presidential election.



Sanders said Trump was "frustrated" by the focus on Russia.



"The president is, I would say, frustrated with the process of the fact that this continues to be an issue, and he would love for us to be focused on things like ... the economy, on healthcare, on tax reform, on infrastructure," Sanders said.



Asked about the fact that the words "perjury" and "treason" were now being used in the public conversation about the Trump campaign's contacts with Russians, Sanders said, "I think those new words are ridiculous."
Houston: An Indian-origin psychiatrist couple was killed when their private plane crashed in the US state of Ohio, police officials said on Wednesday.



Umamaheswara Kalapatapu, 63, and his wife Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu, 61, both of Logansport, were killed in the crash, according to a media release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.



The Piper Archer PA-28 piloted by Umamaheswara is believed to have crashed sometime between 10:36 AM and 12:30 PM on Saturday, July 8, the release said.



The release goes on to report that Ohio State Highway Patrol Aviation with the assistance of the Civil Air Patrol located the crash scene in an abandoned retention pond near the village of Beverly in southeastern Ohio.



Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Garic Warner said in an interview on Monday, July 10, that the crash occurred about 3 miles northwest of Beverly.



Searchers found the wreckage Saturday afternoon.



There was no word on what caused the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.



The Bowen Center replied to a NewsChannel 15 tweet to offer condolences to the Kalapatapu family- "It is with great sadness we have been informed about the loss of Dr. Kalapatapu and his wife. We offer our condolences to friends & family".



The Kalapatapus were psychiatrists and owned Raj Clinics, with offices in Logansport, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Lafayette and Kokomo.



Heather Geisler, Logansport, said she's done data entry, scanning and "a little bit of everything" for the Logansport clinic for the past eight years.



"They were generous to a fault, extremely hardworking and dedicated to their patients," Geisler said of the Kalapatapus.



Umamaheswara Kalapatapu was a talented photographer while Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu was a gifted musician and "fantastic cook," Geisler said.



Umamaheswara Kalapatapu received multiple state, national and international awards and recognitions for his photography and had been a certified professional photographer by the Professional Photographers of America since 2005, according to Pharos-Tribune archives.



"They were just two people that were so full of life.



It's hard to imagine that they're not there anymore. They were wonderful people, absolutely wonderful. Two of the kindest people I've ever known and I'm going to miss them," Geisler said.



Raj Clinics' Logansport location opened in 1995, she added.


Mosul: Iraqi forces clashed with Islamic State terrorists holding out in Mosul's Old City on Wednesday, more than 36 hours after Baghdad declared victory over the jihadists in what they had made the de facto Iraqi capital of their self-declared caliphate.



Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's victory announcement signalled the biggest defeat for the hardline Sunni group since its lightning sweep through northern Iraq three years ago. But pockets of Mosul remain insecure and the city has been heavily damaged by nearly nine months of gruelling urban combat.



About 900,000 people fled the fighting, with more than a third sheltered in camps outside Iraq's second largest city and the rest living with family and friends in other neighbourhoods.



Civilian activity has quickly returned to much of Mosul and work to repair damaged homes and infrastructure is underway, but authorities have not prepared a post-battle plan for governance and security in the city, officials say.



Iraqi forces exchanged gunfire with the militants in their final Mosul redoubt just before midnight and into the morning hours, three residents living just across the Tigris River from the area told Reuters.



Army helicopters strafed the Old City and columns of smoke rose into the air, though it was unclear if these came from controlled explosions or from bombs set off by Islamic State, the residents said by phone.



"We still live in an atmosphere of war despite the victory announcement two days ago," said Fahd Ghanim, 45. Another resident said the blasts shook the ground around half a kilometre away.



An Iraqi military official attributed the activity to "clearing operations".



"There are Daesh (fighters) hiding in different places," he said, using an acronym for Islamic State. "They disappear here and pop up there, then we target them."



Media access to the area has been heavily restricted since Abadi claimed victory on Monday, hailing "the collapse of the terrorist state".



Footage released by the Islamic State news agency Amaq entitled "Fighting till the last gasp" and allegedly filmed in Mosul's Maydan district showed militants mixed in with civilians and unidentified corpses lying amid the rubble of an urban battlefield. Reuters could not authenticate the video.



ASYMMETRIC ATTACKS



The Iraqi official declined to estimate the number of militants or civilians remaining in the Old City, but the top U.S. general in Iraq said on Tuesday that as many as a couple of hundred IS insurgents could still be in Mosul.



"There are bypassed holdouts. We haven't cleared every building in this city the size of Philadelphia. That's going to have to be done, and there are also hidden IEDs (improvised explosive devices)," Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend told reporters. "There are still going to be losses from the Iraqi security forces as they continue to secure Mosul."



The U.S.-led coalition said it had conducted three air strikes on IS in the Mosul area on Tuesday, targeting militants, machine-gun emplacements and rocket-propelled grenade systems.



South of the city, Iraqi security forces repelled an IS attack launched from western desert areas on the village of al-Jaran, a tribal fighter said.



Reinforcements also arrived to help government forces oustmilitants armed with machine guns and mortars from the village of Imam Gharbi, further to the south. IS had taken around 75 percent of the village since storming it last week.



These are the kind of asymmetric, guerrilla-style strikes Islamic State is expected to concentrate on now as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces regain control over cities the group captured during its shock 2014 offensive.



Another attack on a border guard convoy in western Anbar province, near the Syrian border, killed two soldiers and wounded four on Tuesday, military sources said.



Separately, 28 Sunni Muslim civilians were kidnapped in the Iskandariya district south of Baghdad this week and 20 of them were found dead later, a police officer told Reuters.



Suspects detained by the authorities said they belonged to the Shi'ite Muslim Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia. A Baghdad-based spokesman for the group, whose fighters are taking part in the Shi'ite-led government's campaign against Islamic State, said he had no knowledge of the incident.



The government's victory in Mosul may rekindle revenge attacks and fresh violence between Sunnis and Shia, a sectarian divide that tipped Iraq into civil war after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO THE U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

CALGARY, Alberta, July 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Value Capital Trust (Value Capital or the Trust) (TSXV:VLU.P) is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed its initial public offering of 5,000,000 trust units of the Trust (Units) at a price of $0.10 per unit for gross proceeds of $500,000 (the Offering). After completion of the Offering, the Trust now has 11,600,000 Units issued and outstanding.



Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. (the Agent) acted as the agent for the Offering and in connection therewith, the Trust granted the Agent warrants (the Agents Warrants) which entitle the Agent to purchase 500,000 Units at an exercise price of $0.10 per Unit. The Agents Warrants will expire 24 months from the date the Units are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange). The Agent also received a cash commission equal to 10% of the gross proceeds of the Offering.

The completion of the Offering marks the first CPC income trust IPO in Canada. Thane Ritchie, one of the individuals who founded and organized the Trust, commented We are very excited to have been involved with the first CPC income trust IPO in Canada and we look forward to exploring Qualifying Transaction opportunities.

Concurrent with the closing of the Offering, the Trust also granted options to acquire an aggregate of 1,021,180 Units at an exercise price of $0.10 per Unit to the trustees and officers of the Trust, which expire five years from the date of grant.

The Trust is a capital pool company and intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to identify and evaluate assets or businesses for acquisition with a view to completing a Qualifying Transaction under the policies of the Exchange. The Exchange has conditionally approved the listing of the Units and the Trust has made an application to the Exchange for final listing approval. It is expected that the Units will commence trading on the Exchange under the trading symbol VLU.P.

Investors are cautioned that trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.

Forward-Looking Information Cautionary Statement

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or the Trusts future performance. The use of any of the words could, expect, believe, will, projected, estimated and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Trusts current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, the Trusts stated expectation as to the listing of the Units on the Exchange is forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by this forward-looking information. The Trust disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be expressly required by applicable securities laws.

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Trini-Venezuelans fear migration crisis

Javier Ramirez told Newsday he was closely monitoring the situation through correspondence with relatives who have already expressed their intention to leave Venezuela and come here before the end of the year.

Its really out of anyones control now, Ramirez said.

Theres no food, water is available on only some days and the violence is getting worse as the days go by. My brother is a police officer in the capital and he is in serious danger just because of his job. Ramirez, who has been living legally in Trinidad for the past eleven years, works as a machine operator and vendor. He said while the majority of Venezuelans coming to Trinidad are only seeking work and refuge from the ongoing crisis, he was concerned that a minority of criminals may ruin the chances of law-abiding Venezuelans living here.

This is a serious problem for us who only want to live in peace because anything they do reflects badly on us. Another man who asked only to be identified as Romero said he was living here illegally and was afraid local authorities may become overwhelmed by an influx of immigrants from the mainland.

When I left home two years ago, it wasnt as bad as it is now and yet there was still a large number of people leaving.

I have to ask what is going to happen now that people are rioting in the streets, of course it will only get worse! Asked if he was optimistic that the release of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez from prison would be the first step to ending the violence, he said, Theres a lot of ego on both sides. Too many of these politicians are playing games with peoples lives and its the responsibility of the man and woman in the street to put aside their differences and work for a better life.

All this fighting and rioting isnt going to put food on your table. Newsday attempted to contact officials at the Venezuelan Embassy but was unsuccessful.
Danish English

PRESS RELEASE, Copenhagen, Denmark

FLSmidth has reached an agreement to acquire a part of Sandvik Mining Systems. This includes continuous surface mining and minerals handling technologies and competences that will strengthen the Group's core minerals business.

The pending acquisition enables FLSmidth to improve productivity for its customers by closing a gap and cover a wider range of the full mining value chain - from the primary crushing point in the mining pit and the transport from mine to plant all the way through the minerals processing plant to the tailings handling - "Pit to Plant". By obtaining direct access to all key processes and equipment, the acquisition will allow FLSmidth to digitalise the full value chain and enables a better utilisation of existing leading technologies.

Facts about the pending acquisition

The part of Sandvik Mining Systems that is closest to the mine. This includes all products for continuous surface mining and minerals handling technologies and related intellectual property, including drawings and reference lists.

The transfer of employees with strong experience, competences and customer insights.

FLSmidth to provide project management and aftermarket services to Sandvik on the majority of ongoing projects to be delivered during 2017 - 2019.

The agreement is subject to certain conditions, including regulatory authority clearance, and closing is expected by the end of 2017.

Contact Media Relations

Michael Duricko, +1 484 274-0963, michael.duricko@flsmidth.com

Contact Investor Relations

Nicolai Mauritzen, +45 30 93 18 51, nicm@flsmidth.com

FLSmidth is the market-leading supplier of productivity to the global mining and cement industries. Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, and with offices in more than 50 countries, FLSmidth delivers engineering, equipment and service solutions to customers worldwide. Productivity, sustainability, and quality are focus areas for FLSmidth and its 12,000 employees. The company generated revenue of DKK 18 billion in 2016. Read more on www.flsmidth.com.
No One Will

Ever Smash

Stuff Quite

Like He Did
New York is out with an assessment of climate change, and the piece by David Wallace-Wells is drawing attention for its blunt language. Witness the very first line: "It is, I promise, worse than you think." Wallace-Wells begins by noting that most people, assuming they believe that global warming poses a threat, worry most about rising seas and what they might do to coastal cities such as Miami. They're right to worry, he says, but that's not the half of it. "Indeed, absent a significant adjustment to how billions of humans conduct their lives, parts of the Earth will likely become close to uninhabitable, and other parts horrifically inhospitable, as soon as the end of this century." Not helping, he adds, is that scientists sometimes play it too safe in their writing instead of laying out how dire they think the situation actually is. They become "timid" in the face of critics.

The piece runs through a litany of potential problems, including Bahrain-like temperatures in New York, unbreathable air, food shortages as crop land turns to desert, perpetual war, plagues unleashed by melting permafrost, economic collapse, and poisoned oceans. No matter how well-informed you are, you are surely not alarmed enough," he writes. Wallace-Wells makes clear he's not making predictions of what will happen but what could happen unless things change. And he closes with the view of more optimistic sorts who think that human ingenuity, which got us into the mess in the first place, could someday get us out of it, too. But for that to happen, people first need to "truly see the world we've made." Click for the full story, or a view in the Atlantic that argues Wallace-Wells is overstating certain points. Failing that, read a happy story about a rescued dog. (Read more Longform stories.)
First Amendment advocates are suing President Donald Trump, saying some of his critics have been unconstitutionally blocked from following him on Twitter, the AP reports.The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. The lawsuit says Twitter has become an important public forum for the president and he frequently makes public announcements on his @realdonaldtrump account. The lawsuit asked a judge to stop Trump and his media team from blocking critics from following his personal account.

The lawsuit says blocking people from following Trump's account was a viewpoint-based restriction that the Constitution doesn't permit. The director of the Knight First Amendment Institute is Jameel Jaffer, who worked for years with the American Civil Liberties Union. A spokeswoman for government lawyers declined to comment. (Read more President Trump stories.)
The Donald Trump Jr. Russia email controversy will, according to a US official who spoke to CNN, be probed by Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators. The investigators will look into Trump Jr.'s emails with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 US presidential election as part of its broader probe into Russian meddling with the election, the sources say. President Trump spoke out for the first time on the controversy today, as critics said it may be a "smoking gun" since the lawyer was allegedly going to give Trump Jr. dirt on Hillary Clinton. (Read more Donald Trump Jr. stories.)
A 3-year-old Florida boy is in a cast from the waist down for an injury suffered while jumping at a trampoline park, his family said Tuesday, in a case that has circulated nationally on social media and raised questions about age restrictions for the activity, the AP reports. Kaitlin Hill said her son Colton broke his thigh bone late last month while bouncing on a trampoline at an indoor park in Tampa that promoted the use of trampolines by toddlers, despite the recommendations of some medical organizations. Hill warned other families not to allow young children on trampolines in a heartfelt Facebook post that has been shared more than 235,000 times. Hill, a 29-year-old nurse, said an orthopedic surgeon told them the repetitive pressure from jumping may have caused the fracture. Doctors put Colton in a hip spica cast for six weeks, and he has to wear diapers again and travel in a special wide car seat.

"We don't leave the house other than going to doctors' appointments. You can imagine what is like for an active 3-year-old to be constrained in almost a full-body cast. It's traumatic," Hill told the AP. "Every single night, he gets only four or five hours of sleep because he wakes up reliving the incident." The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons says children younger than 6 years old should not be allowed on trampolines. Meanwhile, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against recreational trampoline use for any age, but says the smallest jumpers are at greater risk. The pediatrics group warned last year that emergency-room visits from trampoline parks users have soared from 581 in 2010 to 6,932 in 2014 as the popularity of the facilities has grown. Home trampolines are still behind most of the injuries with more than 90,000 cases, but that number has remained steady for years. (Read more trampoline stories.)
After more than 20 years without an army, Haiti is recruiting for a new one. Disbanded in 1995 following a violent period of military rule, the army was afterward replaced by United Nations security forces. Those forces, however, are now preparing to leave Haiti in October. To fill the gap, the Haitian government is looking to recruit 500 male and female soldiers between the ages of 18 and 25 to form its first army in two decades. The stated purpose of the army is to respond to natural disasters and keep tabs on the country's borders, reports the BBC. But critics are uneasy, fearing the army could fall under the control of political leaders, teleSUR reports.

After all, "for much of Haiti's history, the army has been used to crack down on political dissent by a series of authoritarian presidents," reports the BBC. With fresh memories of the 4,000 or so killings that followed the army deposing President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in a 1991 coup, critics say military funding would be better spent on Haiti's national police force, which includes some 15,000 officers. Politicians and other supporters of the plan counter that the army will handle duties outside of police jurisdiction and provide jobs for young people. (Read more Haiti stories.)
Even when a History documentary claimed a photo showed that Amelia Earhart had survived a 1937 plane crash in the Marshall Islands and was taken prisoner, Kota Yamano didn't buy it. "I have never believed the theory that Earhart was captured by the Japanese military, so I decided to find out for myself," the military history blogger from Japan tells the Guardian. "I was sure that the same photo must be on record in Japan." He was right. In fact, it took only minutes to find in the archives of Japan's national library. In what may be the final nail in the coffin for the much-debated theory, Yamano says the same photo shown in the documentary was published in a travel book about the South Seas in October 1935two years before Earhart vanished.

"I find it strange that the documentary makers didn't confirm the date of the photograph or the publication in which it originally appeared. That's the first thing they should have done," says Yamano, who describes his discovery in a blog post. If the finding is true, it means the History documentary not only misidentified Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan in the photowhose Japanese-language caption describes a bustling harbor on Jabor in the Jaluit atoll in the Marshall Islandsbut also the Koshu Maru, a vessel that was only launched in 1937, reports NPR. According to a rep, the History Channel now has "a team of investigators exploring the latest developments about Amelia Earhart and we will be transparent in our findings." (The photo raises other doubts.)
12.07.2017 (UKRAINE) - The Chairman of world-leading commodities business Fedcominvest, Alekszej Fedoricsev, dismisses the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine's (NABU) recent inflammatory statements as a "misguided and misleading" smear campaign. The controversial agency, which continues to pursue Mr Fedoricsev as part of a politically motivated crusade of harassment against him and his businesses, may not even have competence to make formal requests to international authorities in the first place.

The NABU statement, reported in Ukrainian News on the 7th July 2017, claims that the agency will attempt to progress their investigation into Mr Fedoricsev and his company Fedcominvest via the Monaco authorities. However, it does not acknowledge Ukraine's various obligations under international law[1] which are likely to ban NABU from legally issuing a Notice of Suspicion via the Monaco authorities in the first place.

This is not the first time that NABU has acted beyond its legal powers. For several months now, NABU has pursued an unjustified and politically motivated investigation into Fedcominvest and Mr Fedoricsev. NABU's baseless allegations centre on commercial disputes between the State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine (SF&G) and various private firms. Fedcominvest is not a party to any dispute with SF&G.

NABU has been criticised extensively throughout their investigation. The discredited anti-corruption agency previously arbitrarily applied to the court for freezing of Mr Fedoricsev's accounts, however this action was reversed by a Judge in Kyiv's Solomyansky District Court. The Judge confirmed that NABU unreasonably and prematurely requested to froze the accounts of Mr Fedoricsev without following the proper legal procedures. The Judge also held that Mr Fedoricsev could not be a formal suspect in NABU's investigations as the agency had disregarded due process.

NABU have also pursued an unjustified media campaign against Mr Fedoricsev and have harassed the company's employees, including Fedcominvest's Vice President Marco Garzone. Mr Garzone was removed from an international grain conference earlier this year and questioned by NABU representatives for 12 hours. He has not been charged and is not under investigation.

Mr Fedoricsev says,

"All I have ever wanted is to run my businesses in Ukraine peacefully and successfully. I have invested over one billion US dollars in in Ukraine, including building some of the most advanced grain terminals in the region which have provided employment to thousands of hard-working Odessans. I want to continue to make a positive difference to the lives of the Ukrainian people.

"NABU's campaign of harassment against me and my businesses clearly show a politically motivated smear campaign designed to interfere with my legitimate business operations and the lives of the people I employ. NABU do not have the power to bully me and my employees in the way that they are doing now. They are operating with increasing impunity and I will not stop fighting this arbitrary harassment against me and my businesses."









[1] Under Rule 15 of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters 1959




A judge in Ohio has decided that data from the pacemaker of a man accused of setting his Ohio house on fire in 2016 can be presented as evidence at his trial, reports the AP. The Hamilton-Middletown Journal News reports that the judge ruled Tuesday in Ross Compton's case. The 59-year-old Middletown man has pleaded not guilty to aggravated arson and insurance fraud charges.

Police say Compton described packing belongings when he saw the fire, throwing them out of a window and carrying them to his car. Investigators say a cardiologist reviewed Compton's cardiac device and concluded his medical condition made the actions he described "highly improbable." Ross's attorney had argued that the data should be thrown out because searching the device violated Compton's constitutional rights, but the judge disagreed. (Read more pacemakers stories.)
President Trump returned to a familiar phrase Wednesday morning in tweeting about the Russia investigation that has now enveloped his oldest son. He tweeted that the inquiry is "the greatest Witch Hunt in political history" and said Donald Trump Jr. was "open, transparent and innocent" after the younger Trump's Fox News appearance on Tuesday night. Behind the scenes, however, Trump is said to be seething because the Russia story continues to command so much attention and because leakers keep feeding the fire. The Washington Post quotes an anonymous Trump supporter outside the White House who calls the PR mess a "category 5 hurricane," and the story says infighting is at a fever pitch. Axios also takes note of the "tense environment" and says one of the top concerns inside the White House is figuring out who leaked news of the Trump Jr. meeting.

BuzzFeed takes a specific look at the leaker angle and quotes Trump adviser Roger Stone as betting on former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. "Donny was a vocal critic of Coreyhe walked him towards the exits," says Stone, who clashed with Lewandowki himself. "Im not unbiased, but hed be my choice." Lewandowski did not comment. As for the president, Politico reports that he's "using his relatively light schedule to watch TV and fume about" the new twist. Meanwhile, a statement from VP Mike Pence in response to the latest revelations is raising eyebrows, with some suggesting that he's trying to distance himself from the mess. "The Vice President was not aware of the meeting," says a statement, per the Hill. "He is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket." (Read more President Trump stories.)
When Chisako Kakehi took the stand during her murder trial Monday, she vowed to remain silent. But that's not what happened. In what the New York Times calls a "cinematic turn," the so-called black widow of Japan admitted to killing her fourth husband, one of at least six men to have died while in a relationship with Kakehi. "I killed my husband" because "I wasn't given any money after I married him," Kakehi, 70, announced, per the Japan Times. "I have no intention of hiding the guilt. I will laugh it off and die if I am sentenced to death tomorrow." She added she poisoned Isao Kakehi, 75, with cyanide she'd received from a supplier while operating a T-shirt printing business, hoping she'd receive her husband's money after his death.

Authorities quickly focused on Chisako Kakehi after traces of cyanide were found in her husband's body just a month after the couple had married in 2013. She's now on trial for his murder, as well as for the murders of two boyfriends and the attempted murder and robbery of another, who later died of cancer, reports the BBC. Prosecutors say Kakehi inherited millions of dollars as a result of the crimes between 2007 and 2013. Despite her confession Monday, Kakehi's defense attorneys don't appear to be giving up. She has mild dementia and "barely remembers things that happened recently, let alone the incidents," they remarked at the start of the trial last month. It's expected to run until November, with more than 50 witnesses testifying. (Read about Kakehi's other alleged victims here.)
Quentin Tarantino may have found his next movie, one that's already proving controversial despite scarce details. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Tarantino has written and will direct "a unique take" on the murders carried out by Charles Manson and his followers in the 1960s. Details of the script aren't clear, but the film will reportedly include the brutal Aug. 9, 1969, killings of five people, including a pregnant Sharon Tate, at the Los Angeles home she shared with her husband, Roman Polanski. Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lawrence, Margot Robbie, and Samuel L. Jackson have reportedly been approached. Deadline reports Robbie is eyed to play Tate, while Pitt may take on the role of the detective investigating the murders.

Filming isn't scheduled to begin until 2018, but Josh Dickey is already convinced the movie is a "disgusting idea." There will be no sensitivity from the director who "made killing seem stylish and cool," he writes at Mashable, predicting a distasteful "gore-fest." At the Washington Post, however, Travis M. Andrews notes the "no-holds-barred, blood-soaked epics" Tarantino is famous for make this pairing "seem like a perfect fit." Joanna Robinson at Vanity Fair even hopes for more than a feature film: Only a miniserieswhich Tarantino has suggested he might be interested in at some pointcan capture "the slow creep of [Manson's] mania and the long unraveling of his tight-knit 'family,'" Robinson writes. (One of the killers involved in the Tate murder scene was just denied parole.)
Introducing EBLM J0555-57Ab, which now has the distinction of being the smallest star ever discovered. In fact, scientists at the University of Cambridge say stars cannot possibly get much smaller and still function as stars, per a release at Phys.org. This one is 600 light-years away from Earth and 2,000 to 3,000 times dimmer than our own star, aka the sun. In terms of size, it's more like a planet than a starby way of comparison, it's slightly bigger than Saturn but smaller than Jupiter. Scientists spotted it while hunting for exoplanets and figured, based on its size, that it was an exoplanet itself. Their thinking changed, however, when they looked beyond the object's radius and focused on its mass.

As it turns out, 57ab has 85 times the mass of Jupiter, "which makes it just massive enough to fuse hydrogen into helium and become a true star," per Popular Mechanics. If it were any smaller in mass, 57ab wouldn't be able to pull off the feat of nuclear fusion in its core and thus wouldn't qualify as a star. Instead, it would be a measly brown dwarf. "Our discovery reveals how small stars can be," says the lead author of the study in Astronomy and Physics. A co-author tells the CBC he was surprised to find one so small. It "likely represents the smallest natural fusion reactor that we know of," he says. "We're trying to replicate fusion on Earth in labs, but that's basically as small as it gets in nature." (Scientists have identified Lord Byron's famous "star.")
Hippocrates is considered the father of Western medicine, and now researchers in Egypt have found what they say is one of his original texts, reports National Geographic. The discovery came during restoration of the library at the ancient St. Catherine's Monastery in South Sinai, and it took some sleuthing. The medical recipe attributed to the Greek physician was found on a leather parchment known as a palimpsest, but it had actually been overwritten by a later recipe. Spectral imaging, however, revealed the original text, believed to have been laid down by Hippocrates in the fourth or fifth century BC and then preserved by scholars on the parchment in the sixth century.

The 1,500-year-old manuscript "will be enlisted among the oldest and the most important manuscripts in the world," says a researcher with the Early Manuscripts Electronic Library, per the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. One drawback: While Egyptian authorities celebrated the discovery of the medical recipe, they apparently didn't reveal the recipe itself. The manuscript contains other recipes penned by an anonymous early writer and adorned with drawings of herbs. So why did later scholars write over them? It seems that leather was pretty expensive back then, per Ahram Online. (In Mexico, a tunnel found beneath a pyramid is intriguing.)
German police raided buildings in Berlin early Wednesday, arresting four suspects in connection with the brazen heist of a 221-pound Canadian gold coin stolen from one of the city's museums earlier this year. The raids of 13 different buildings lasted several hours, but, alas, the gold coin was not recovered. Police arrested the suspects in Berlin's Neukoelln neighborhood, per the AP, and another nine people were being questioned. All suspects are related to one another and aged between 18 and 20.

"We assume that the coin was partially or completely sold," Carsten Pfohl of the Berlin state criminal office told reporters. (It may have been melted down.) He added that police also confiscated clothes and cars to comb for traces of gold. The Canadian "Big Maple Leaf" coin was stolen from the Bode Museum in March. The coin, which is 1.2 inches thick and has a diameter of 20.9 inches, has a face value of $750,000 in American dollars. By weight alone, however, it would be worth almost $4.5 million at current market prices. (Read more Germany stories.)
President Trump's pick to replace James Comey as head of the FBI appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday for his confirmation hearing and testified that his loyalty would be to the law, not to the White House. "No one asked me for any kind of loyalty oath during any part of this process," Christopher Wray said, referencing the supposed loyalty oath Trump wanted from Comey before he fired him. Wray said that were he to be asked for one, he wouldn't give it. USA Today notes that during his opening remarks, Wraya former assistant attorney general and current lawyernever mentioned Trump by name, but said, "I believe to my core that there is only one right way to do this job and that is strict independencewithout fear, without favoritism and certainly without regard to any partisan influence."

Wray also testified that, though he wouldn't oversee the investigation into Russia's tampering with the 2016 US election, he'd protect the probe headed by special counsel Robert Mueller from outside tampering, ABC News reports. He was also asked about Donald Trump Jr.'s controversial emails with a Russian lawyer, noting he was "not in a position" to comment in detail about it, CBS News reports. Wray, who was the head of the Justice Department task force that convicted former Enron execs, has so far seen support from both sides of the aisle, but he worked on counterterrorist operations post-9/11, and the ACLU's national political director says he should be questioned about the Bush administration's detainee torture, per USA Today. Wray's ex-colleagues speak highly of him, and one says he knows of no reason his nomination would be blocked. Fox News has live updates on the hearing. (Read more Christopher Wray stories.)
Sudan on Wednesday announced it was freezing negotiations with the United States in retaliation for the Trump administration's move to postpone permanently lifting US sanctions on the African country. Earlier, Washington said it wanted more time to determine whether the government of President Omar al-Bashir had made enough progress after decades of isolation, war, and abuses. Following the US announcement, al-Bashir decided "to suspend the work of the negotiating committee with the US until Oct. 12," according to a brief announcement carried by the official SUNA news agency. Sudan has been under US financial sanctions since the 1990s, when it was briefly home to Osama bin Laden and accused of sponsoring terrorism, reports the AP.

Just before leaving office, former President Barack Obama issued an executive order that immediately lifted the sanctions on a probationary basis. It was to become permanent on Wednesday unless the Trump administration acted to stop it. President Trump, in a new executive order issued later Tuesday, moved that deadline back by three months, while keeping the temporary sanctions relief in place. The sanctions will permanently expire on Oct. 13 unless the administration acts to snap them back into place. The Obama administration justified lifting the sanctions by citing improved counterterrorism efforts, and al-Bashir and his government had previously said they met all requirements and expected sanctions to be lifted. But human rights activists have opposed the move. Al-Bashir has for years evaded arrest and a trial at the International Criminal Court. (Read more Sudan stories.)
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva went from poverty in his childhood to two terms as president of Brazil ... to, soon, prison. The former leader was convicted of corruption charges Wednesday and sentenced to nine and a half years behind bars, though he remains free for now on appeal, Reuters reports. He was found guilty of accepting $1.2 million worth of bribes from an engineering firm in return for helping the company get contracts with the state oil company; he faces four more trials on graft charges in a political corruption investigation that has gripped Brazil for more than three years. Lula, the country's first working-class president, left office in 2011 with an 83% approval rating and remains a popular figure in Brazil. He maintains his innocence. (Read more Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stories.)
ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Women account for a far smaller share of employees in the oil and gas industryroughly one-fifththan they do in most other industries. The oil and gas industry has a range of potential actions it can take to address the imbalance, according to a new report from the World Petroleum Council (WPC) and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report, Untapped Reserves: Promoting Gender Balance in Oil and Gas, is being released today.



The report is based on proprietary research that included in-depth interviews with more than 60 male and female senior industry executives, a survey of approximately 2,000 male and female industry professionals, and primary quantitative data provided by major international and national oil companies that collectively account for $1.9 trillion in revenues and more than 25% of industry employment. The study examines gender balance at three stages of women's career developmententry level, midcareer, and senior managementand draws on different perspectives to provide new insights into the challenges that women and companies interested in advancing gender balance face at each stage. Critically, the report also provides pragmatic recommendations for how these challenges can be addressed.

"The oil and gas industry faces substantial challenges in the years ahead and will need to be able to attract and retain the best talent it can if it hopes to surmount them," said Katharina Rick, a BCG partner and coauthor of the report. "This means, necessarily, a greater focus on women, a segment the industry has long underemphasized. It is our hope that this report, by providing greater insight into the status quo and identifying a potential path forward for these companies, can help the industry succeed on this front."

The authors plan to update the report every three years in conjunction with the triennial World Petroleum Congress. This will provide the sector with information against which companies can benchmark their performance related to gender balance and monitor their progress in this area.

The report's key findings include the following:

The percentage of women in the industry's workforce drops over time and falls particularly sharplyfrom 25% to 17%between the middle-management and senior-leadership career stages. This trend won't change unless CEOs make gender diversity a higher strategic priority.

Although men and women start out on an equal footing, women rarely reach the top of the organization. This isn't owing to a lack of ambition on the part of women. Rather, it is largely due to the fact that, among women who have spent many years in the industry, relatively few have been offered the technical and operating roles that their male colleagues have, positions that allow employees to accumulate the critical experiences necessary for advancement to senior management.

Unless oil and gas companies develop a critical mass of women across all types of roles, meaningful change in the industry's gender balance will not occur. Female employees work disproportionately in business support roles; they have a very limited presence in technical roles, which are often considered prerequisites for career advancement, and in upper management.

There are wide gaps in perception between men and women regarding the gender-related challenges that women face. The differences of opinion are particularly evident with regard to women's underrepresentation in the senior ranks. Fifty-seven percent of women surveyed said that female employees receive less support for advancement into senior positions than male employees; only 24% of men agreed. Fifty-six percent of women said that women are overlooked for senior positions; only 23% of men agreed.

The industry can take action in a variety of areas to increase the number of female employees and accelerate its progress toward greater gender balance. These include the following:

At the entry level, the industry can expand the talent pool it draws from by taking steps to increase women's participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs. It can enhance its attractiveness to women as a career choice by promoting the wide range of jobs available and making career paths more flexible, working with governments to remove structural barriers that make it difficult for women to work in the industry, and increasing the number and visibility of senior female role models.



At the midcareer level, the industry can work to ensure that women have the same career opportunities as men, that each woman has a sponsor who can offer career guidance, and that work-life-balance policies are available and applied equally to male and female employees.



At the senior-leadership level, the industry can provide stretch goals for women and the necessary support to help them succeed, broaden the range of career paths from which senior leaders are picked, and ensure that standards for promotion are applied equally to men and women.

Greater gender balance is a worthwhile and attainable goal for the industry, and one that it has the means to achieve. Provided that leadership commitment, especially from CEOs, remains sufficiently strong, the industry could boost women's representation steadily and materially over timeand reap a host of benefits, including improved organizational performance, creativity, decision making, and morale.

"Support for gender balance at the top is critical," says Ivan Marten, a BCG senior partner and coauthor of the report. "Our study found that when men believe that the CEO considers gender diversity to be very unimportant, only 34% of them view it as important or very important. But when men believe that the CEO views the issue as very important, 86% of them likewise consider it important or very important. In the end, a commitment to gender balance needs to be part of the corporate strategyand that commitment needs to be clearly communicated by the CEO."

A copy of the report can be downloaded here.

For press inquiries, please contact BCGs Eric Gregoire at gregoire.eric@bcg.com or +1 617 850 3783, or WPCs Ulrike von Lonski at ulrike@world-petroleum.org or +44 20 7637 4995.

About The Boston Consulting Group

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the worlds leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their enterprises. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 85 offices in 48 countries. For more information, please visit bcg.com.

About the World Petroleum Council

The World Petroleum Council was established in 1933 and provides a forum for discussion of the issues facing the oil and gas industry worldwide. It is a non-advocacy, non-political organization, dedicated to the application of scientific advances in the oil and gas industries, technology transfer, and the sustainable use of the world's petroleum resources for the benefit of all. The WPC is registered as a charity in the UK. Its nearly 70 member countries represent 96% of the world's oil and gas production and consumption. The triennial World Petroleum Congress, also known as "the Olympics of the oil and gas sector," is the oil and gas industry's largest and most prestigious international event. For more information, please visit http://www.world-petroleum.org/.
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SAN FRANCISCO, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In October of last year, the RiskIQ Threat Research team released "Compromised E-commerce Sites Lead to Magecart," a report profiling the e-commerce threat they discovered and dubbed 'Magecart,' which injects JavaScript code into e-commerce sites running outdated and unpatched versions of shopping cart software from Magento, Powerfront, and OpenCart. By logging consumer keystrokes, these attackers capture large quantities of payment card information.



Now, by following a new strain of Magecart, the team has discovered a direct link to the outcome of the stolen credit cards for threat actors, offering rare insight into the physical world operations of actors tied to digital threats.

The report, "Magecart Part II: From JavaScript Injects to Reshipping for Financial Gain," highlights how threat actors targeting e-commerce sites cash out by reshipping items purchased with stolen cards via a physical reshipping company, operating with mules in the U.S.

In light of the recent Krebs on Security blog post, which ties Magecart infrastructure listed in our original report to a credit card dumps website known as Trumps Dumps, its clear that these actors have a diversified portfolio of rackets for monetizing their plunder.

"Magecart activity is still going strong, affecting new sites and continuing to register new domains to host the injected web skimmer scripts," said Yonathan Klijnsma, threat researcher at RiskIQ. "New insight into the sophisticated way these actors are monetizing their activities in the physical world shows the broadness of their scope of operations."

By pivoting on a domain related to known Magecart activity in RiskIQ PassiveTotal, the team found that the server behind its IP address, currently used for the injects of the Magecart script, also links to a reshipping company website falsely advertised as a freight/logistics provider.

Via false employment ads on Russian job websites for U.S.-based job seekers, mules are recruited under the pretense of transport agents, tasked with receiving shipments of electronics and other goods bought with stolen credit cards to ship to an address in Eastern Europe. This technique is similar to more traditional schemes involving money mules, but rather than a direct transfer of funds, the actors behind Magecart transfer funds into higher-priced goods, which can be shipped across borders without suspicion then sold for a hefty profit.

Magecart Part II: From JavaScript Injects to Reshipping for Financial Gain takes a deep dive into:

The evolution of payment card theft

Magecart infrastructure: what it looks like, how to detect it, and how its evolving

Why e-commerce sites and consumers are at risk

The Magecart operators' offline rackets and why they work

Guidance for e-commerce site owners and why having a dynamic view of their digital footprint is key to defending themselves

To conduct this and other web research, RiskIQ applies its proprietary virtual user web crawling technology. This advanced internet reconnaissance acts like a user would, thoroughly interrogating websites and web apps, as well as respective browser session communications. It processes more than 2 billion HTTP requests per day to surface, identify, and connect internet elements to malicious campaigns.

RiskIQ sees what appears on social media pages, websites, and mobile sitesjust as it appears in users browsers. RiskIQ virtual users capture the DOM and find the dynamic links and changes made by JavaScript that could signify a potential attack.

"This new report shows how Magecart is an effective and lucrative operation for these actors, Klijnsma said. It may well indicate a burgeoning trend of keylogging threats affecting e-commerce sites.

To learn more, attend RiskIQs Magecart Part II Threatcast, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 9 a.m. PT. Register here: https://www.riskiq.com/webinar/magecart-part-ii-javascript-injects-reshipping/.

About RiskIQ

RiskIQ is the leader in digital threat management, providing the most comprehensive discovery, intelligence, and mitigation of threats associated with an organizations digital presence. With more than 80 percent of attacks originating outside the firewall, RiskIQ allows enterprises to gain unified insight and control over web, social, and mobile exposures. Trusted by thousands of security analysts, RiskIQs platform combines advanced internet data reconnaissance and analytics to expedite investigations, understand digital attack surfaces, assess risk, and take action to protect business, brand, and customers. Based in San Francisco, the company is backed by Summit Partners, Battery Ventures, Georgian Partners, and MassMutual Ventures. Visit RiskIQ.com or follow us on Twitter.

Try RiskIQ Community Edition for free by visiting https://www.riskiq.com/community/. To learn more about RiskIQ, visit https://www.riskiq.com.
New Delhi:

Ruckus was witnessed outsideA Mahagun Moderne Society at Sector 78 inA Noida when locals pelted stones at the buildings, leading to riot-like situation. The mob of few hundreds was enraged as a maid was allegedly beaten up by one of the residents of the society on charges of theft.

The attackers were domestic helps and neighbours of a maid who was allegedly beaten up by one of the residents of Mahagun Moderne, police said.

Noida: Locals hold protest outside a residential complex in Sec-76 after reports of a maid being kept captive in a house inside the complex a ANI UP (@ANINewsUP)A July 12, 2017

The mob gathered outside the main gate of the society at 7 am and tried to breach the security. They also blocked the main Dadri-Surajpur-Chhalera (DSC) road at Barola, halting traffic towards Noida Phase 2 Industrial Area.

Noida: People protest outside a residential complex in Sec-76 after reports of a maid being kept captive in a house inside pic.twitter.com/GZTlUj51Im a ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 12, 2017

Superintendent of police (city) Arun Kumar Singh reached the spot along with a posse of policemen. aMost of the protesters are domestic helps, who are angry that a maid has been allegedly beaten up. We are trying to contain the protest,a the SP said.

On the other hand, aA residentA said that a maid was caught stealing from one of the apartments and was handed over to police. aThis is what enraged her villagersa.

In another matter, a Gym trainer was shot dead in Noida Sector 39. Relatives of the person blocked the Salarpur Road in protest.
New Delhi:

Television actress Achint Kaur has rubbished the news of her contesting in the popular reality show Bigg Boss 11, and clarified that she hasn't been approached for the show. It was reported that Achint has been approached for Bigg Boss 11 which will have superstar Salman Khan as its host.



However, clearing the air, Achint told ABP, I am not sure of it and to be honest I havent even been approached by the makers.



Interestingly, she isn't the only one who has been rumoured to be one of the contestant of BB11.



Earlier, renowned wrestler Geeta Phogat, Ayaaz Ahmed and Devoleena Bhattacharjee too were speculated to participate in the reality show. While Geeta and Ayaaz vehemently denied their participation, Devoleena is yet to react to the reports.

Also Read | Bigg Boss 11: Salman Khan's show this season may witness these 11 celebrity contestants vying for top prize



Talking about Bigg Boss 11, just like the previous season, the show will have a blend of celebs and commoners. Although, the makers are yet to release the final list of celebrity contestants, the auditions for the commoners have already begun.



According to the media reports, BB11 is expected to go on air in September this year.
Srinagar:

A massive manhunt has been launched by the security forces to nab Abu Ismail, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander and Pakistani national, who masterminded the deadly Amarnath terror attack that left at least 7 pilgrims dead.



The security forces have launched proactive operations, mainly in south Kashmir, to track down Ismail. Investigations including communication intercepts have pointed out that he was involved in the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, a senior police official said.



Terrorists had targeted a bus in Kashmirs Anantnag district on Monday evening. At least 7 pilgrims, including six women, were killed in the attack.



The official said the attack in Anantnag appears to be a reprisal for killing of several Lashkar militants including Bashir Lashkari in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.



The terrorists are frustrated at the back to back losses suffered by them during counter-insurgency operations over the past month or so and have now resorted to attacking civilians and tourists, he said.

ALSO READ | Amarnath terror attack: Centre announces Rs 7 lakh compensation for next of kin of deceased



According to the official, Ismail has been active in Kashmir for several years and had moved base to south Kashmir more than a year ago.



The Anantnag attack on Amarnath pilgrims came the same day when police announced arrest of a module of LeT including a Hindu terrorist hailing from Muzaffaranagar area of Uttar Pradesh.



Lashkar has not only distanced itself from the attack on Amarnath pilgrims but also condemned the attack.

ALSO READ | Terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims 'reprehensible', says US



LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi, while condemning the attack on pilgrims, has said, It is against Islamic teachings.



The attack on the pilgrims is highly reprehensible act. Islam does not allow violence against any faith, he said.

(With inputs from PTI)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday protested against the Amarnath terror attack in Agra. While holding a protest march, they brandished weapons including pistols, rifles and swords.

"Would like to say to government of India, if Amarnath don't get revenged within 15 days, will have to take law in our hands to protect pilgrims," said an activist Govind Prashar.

The Amarnath terror attack has been condemned by many in the political circle.

Condemning the attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Pained beyond words on dastardly attack on peaceful Amarnath Yatris in J&K. The attack deserves strongest condemnation from everyone.

India will never get bogged down by such cowardly attacks & the evil designs of hate, tweeted PM Modi.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi also expressed sorrow over the Anantnag attack targeting Amarnath Yatra pilgrims, asked for investigation into lapses in security.

Terrorists killed seven pilgrims from Gujarat, including six women, and injured 32 others as they struck at abus in the district, in the worst attack on the annual pilgrimage since the year 2000.

#WATCH: Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad protest against #AmarnathTerrorAttack in Agra brandishing weapons (pistol, rifle and swords) pic.twitter.com/FMj4zC0MMp  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 12, 2017

Also read: Amarnath Yatra: Several measures taken to beef up security following terror attack, says Hansraj Ahir

Also read: Terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims 'reprehensible', says US

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Balmoral Resources Ltd. (Balmoral or the Company) (TSX:BAR) (OTCQX:BALMF) today released the final drill results from the Companys spring drill program on its Detour Gold Trend Project in Quebec. A series of holes testing the Bug South gold deposit (see Figure 1), on its wholly owned Martiniere Property successfully extended the Bug South deposit to a vertical depth of approximately 385 metres with a broad intercept of 14.28 metres grading 3.51 g/t gold, including a very high grade interval of 0.46 metres grading 66.60 g/t gold (see Figure 2). The Bug South deposit remains open down-plunge to the south-southeast. Drilling is currently focused on additional expansion of the deposit to depth.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9cddd121-5744-424a-a7de-d38d6480d2a8

The near surface continuity of broad zones of gold mineralization at Bug South was further confirmed with intercepts of 48.70 metres grading 1.26 g/t gold and 38.78 metres grading 1.77 g/t gold in two infill holes testing the deposit between 150 and 200 metres vertical depth (See Figure 3 and Figure 4). Both intercepts (in holes MDE-17-287B and MDE-17-288) contain several higher grade sub-intervals (see Table below).

The summer program is now in full swing. It is designed to continue the growth of the Bug Lake gold deposits, while also exposing our shareholders to the broadest range of discovery opportunities since 2014 when the Grasset discovery resulted in significant share price appreciation, said Darin Wagner, President and CEO of Balmoral Resources. Gold exploration targets throughout the Martiniere Property, and the broader Detour Gold Trend Project, are on tap for drill testing. This includes a number of targets located on the Detour East Property which covers over 20 kilometres of the same geological environment which hosts the multi-million ounce Detour Lake gold mine on adjoining property to the west.

Hole Section Azimuth Dip From To Interval* Gold Zone # (Degrees) (Metres) (Metres) (Metres) (g/t) Bug South MDE-17-283 2+95 S 245 -51 436.10 442.92 6.82 1.10 485.07 487.41 2.34 0.73 Upper Bug 512.07 522.09 10.02 0.44 Lower Bug MDE-17-285 3+25 S 245 -51 469.34 470.39 1.05 0.80 Upper Bug 493.88 512.51 18.63 2.84 Lower Bug including 493.88 508.16 14.28 3.51 " which includes 493.88 494.34 0.46 66.60 " MDE-17-286 3+55 S 240 -51 29.62 30.08 0.46 5.49 New 480.88 504.21 23.33 0.79 Upper Bug including 481.74 485.63 3.89 3.70 " which includes 481.74 482.28 0.54 20.80 " MDE-17-287B 2+35 S 248 -53 200.49 239.27 38.78 1.77 Upper Bug including 214.76 228.31 13.55 3.33 " which includes 214.76 221.00 6.24 4.30 " and 226.44 228.31 1.87 6.50 " 256.94 263.04 6.10 1.20 Lower Bug including 258.51 259.32 0.81 4.98 " 292.60 299.56 6.96 0.81 Footwall MDE-17-288 2+05 S 249 -51 102.82 103.82 1.00 2.50 156.18 156.96 0.78 3.08 183.72 200.52 16.80 0.47 221 Zone including 186.45 190.23 3.78 1.21 " 216.22 218.97 2.75 12.76 including 216.68 217.40 0.72 46.80 232.16 280.86 48.70 1.26 Upper Bug including 246.89 250.81 3.92 4.13 " and 257.42 259.38 1.96 5.05 " 279.28 279.77 0.49 6.31 " 317.61 328.97 11.36 0.23 Lower Bug Bug North MDE-17-282 0+00N 235 -50 29.68 30.43 0.75 3.12 360.17 361.47 1.30 3.28 ME23 428.91 438.95 10.04 0.48 Bug Flat 518.02 518.88 0.86 8.61 MDE-17-284 0+25 S 235 -50 21.92 37.24 15.32 0.43 including 21.92 22.93 1.01 5.19 58.19 62.74 4.55 1.17 including 59.83 61.02 1.19 3.40 394.76 396.13 1.37 9.23 HW

* Reported drill intercepts are not true widths. At this time there is insufficient data with respect to the shape of the mineralization to calculate true orientations in space. All values presented uncapped.

Two holes, MDE-17-282 and MDE-17-284, were also completed to better define the eastern and western margins of the Bug North gold deposit at intermediate depths in order to better target the central plunge line of the deposit during the summer program. Both holes intersected near surface intervals of gold mineralization in the largely untested area between the ME-23 Zone and the recent high-grade Horsefly gold discovery.

Quality Control

Mr. Darin Wagner (P.Geo.- B.C., Ont., Res. Permit Que.), President and CEO of the Company, is the non-independent qualified person for the technical disclosure contained in this news release. Mr. Wagner has supervised the work programs on the Martiniere Property since inception, visited the property on multiple occasions, discussed and reviewed the results with senior on-site geological staff, reviewed the drill core from this holes contained in todays release and reviewed the available analytical and quality control results.

Balmoral has implemented a quality control program for all of its drill programs, to ensure best practice in the sampling and analysis of the drill core, which includes the insertion of blind blanks, duplicates and certified standards into sample stream. NQ sized drill core is saw cut with half of the drill core sampled at intervals based on geological criteria including lithology, visual mineralization and alteration. The remaining half of the core is stored on-site at the Companys Martiniere field camp in Central Quebec. Drill core samples are transported in sealed bags to ALS Minerals Val dOr, Quebec analytical facilities. Gold analyses are obtained via industry standard fire assay with atomic absorption finish using 30 g aliquots. For samples returning greater than 5.00 g/t gold follow-up fire assay analysis with a gravimetric finish is completed. The Company has also requested that any samples returning greater than 10.00 g/t gold undergo screen metallic fire assay. Following receipt of assays, visual analysis of mineralized intercepts is conducted and additional analysis may be requested. ALS Minerals is ISO 9001:2008 certified and the Val dOr facilities are ISO 17025 certified for gold analysis.

About Balmoral Resources Ltd.  www.balmoralresources.com

Balmoral is a well-funded, Canadian-based company actively delineating and expanding a series of gold deposits on its Martiniere Property located within the prolific Abitibi greenstone belts in Quebec, Canada. The Martiniere Property is just one of several large, highly prospective properties comprising the Companys wholly owned, 1,000 km2 Detour Gold Trend Project. Employing a drill focused exploration strategy in one of the worlds preeminent mining jurisdictions, Balmoral is following an established formula with a goal of maximizing shareholder value through discovery and definition of high-grade, Canadian gold and base metal assets.

On behalf of the board of directors of

BALMORAL RESOURCES LTD.

Darin Wagner

President and CEO

For further information contact: John Foulkes, Vice-President, Corporate Development

Tel: (604) 638-5815 / Toll Free: (877) 838-3664

E-mail: jfoulkes@balmoralresources.com

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, forward looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, duration and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the timing of the receipt of assay results, the visual continuity of certain mineralized intervals and business and financing plans and trends, the potentially open nature of the mineralized zones on the property and the potential for future discoveries of additional mineralization on the property are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions or are those which, by their nature, refer to future events. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from the Companys expectations include those related to weather, equipment and staff availability; performance of third parties; timing of receipt of assay results from third party analytical facilities; risks related to the exploration stage of the Companys projects; market fluctuations in prices for securities of exploration stage companies and in commodity prices; and uncertainties about the availability of additional financing; risks related to the Companys ability to identify one or more economic deposits on the properties, and variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located on the properties; risks related to the Companys ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities on the properties; and risks related to the Companys ability to produce minerals from the properties successfully or profitably. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. All of the Companys public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical reports filed with respect to the Companys mineral properties.

This news release contains information with respect to adjacent or similar mineral properties in respect of which the Company has no interest or rights to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any such properties, and that mineral deposits on adjacent or similar properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Companys properties.

This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.
New Delhi:

Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday rubbished all corruption charges levelled against him, saying that it is vendetta politics and Bharatiya Janata Party is at the helm of the affairs.

While talking to media after attending the cabinet meeting, Tejashwi said FIR against him is a political vendetta. He alleged that PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are conspiring against him from day one and they are trying to break Mahagathbandhan.

The deputy chief minister said all allegations are false in nature.

FIR against me is political vendetta. Conspiracy by Amit Shah and PM Modi. From day 1 they have tried to break our alliance: Tejaswhi Yadav  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

He questioned that how a kid at the age of 13-14 could do corruption as they have brought up cases of 2004. He said even he had not mustache at that time.

They are bringing up cases of 2004 against me. I was 13-14 yr old that time. How could a kid do all this?: Tejashwi Yadav pic.twitter.com/rPf7C1PGMa  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

Tejashwi said that he had pledged zero tolerance to corruption when he took over as minister. He said not a single case of corruption has emerged in his three departments so far.

I had pledged zero tolerance to corruption when i took over as minister. Not one case of corruption in my 3 depts so far: Tejashwi Yadav  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

Tejashwi vowed that they will give BJP a befitting reply and the Mahagathbandhna will continue in the state. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had convened a meeting of JD(U) MLAs and MPs during which the party decided to give more time to Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav after CBI registered an FIR against him.

Also Read: Nitish Kumar talks to Lalu Yadav on phone; RJD says no to Tejashwi Yadav quitting

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New Delhi:

The Special Cell of Delhi Police on Wednesday arrested a person with a fake passport at Delhi airport. He had been deported from Turkey.

After getting the inputs from CIA, the police arrested one Shahajahan Kandi, who is native of Kannur district of Kerala.

It is said that Kandi was living in Syria and Turkey. Of late, Turkey has deported him back to India after discovering his passport as fake. Kandi had obtained his fake passport from Chennai.

The police officials are investigating the matter and also trying to ascertain of his links with ISIS.

Delhi Police Special cell have arrested a person with a fake passport at Delhi airport. He had been deported from Turkey  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

Also Read | Delhi: Terrorists may target foreigners in Hauz Khas Village, police beef up security

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New Delhi:

The security forces killed three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists in overnight encounter in Budgam district of Kashmir. The forces also recovered arms and ammunition from the spot. The encounter broke out on Tuesday evening between security forces and militants.

Col A Achuthan said all three terrorists killed in Budgam identified as Javed Sheikh, Adil of Budgam and Sajjad of Srinagar.

T Singh, SSP, informed that the security forces killed and recovered bodies of three terrorists and identity of one terrorist has been ascertained.

After receiving inputs from intelligence, the security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Redbug area of Budgam about the presence of terrorists, a police official informed.

Operation lasted entire night, killed and recovered bodies of three terrorists, identity of one terrorist has been ascertained: T Singh, SSP pic.twitter.com/UOC29lZHtc  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

He said the search operation turned into an encounter as the security forces were fired upon by the militants. Earlier, it was believed that there were two militants who had taken shelter in the area.

J&K: Three terrorists killed by security forces near Budgam, arms and ammunition recovered pic.twitter.com/Ma4mB9OKgX  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

Also Read | J-K: Indian Army guns down two terrorists, foils infiltration bid in Kupwara's Keran sector

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New Delhi:

Two Army jawans were killed on Wednesday as Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire in the Keran sector of Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, an Army official said in Srinagar.

The jawans were killed in the Pakistani firing, the official said while refusing to be identified.

Earlier, the same official said that an Indian Army patrol party was ambushed and fired upon by the Pakistani troops, resulting in killing of two soldiers.

On Tuesday, three militants were killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in central Kashmir's Budgam district.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Redbug area of Budgam last evening after receiving specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in the area.

The search operation turned into an encounter as the search party of the security forces was fired upon by the militants.

On June 22, the Indian Army gunned down two terrorists and foiled an infiltration bid in Kupwara's Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir along the LoC.

Also read: Budgam encounter: Three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists killed in J&K arms recovered

Also read: Terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims 'reprehensible', says US



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Patna:

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday refused to buy the defence of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav that he was a minor without a moustache at the time of the land-for-hotels deal.

When Tejaswi Yadav became the owner of the property, he had turned an adult with a moustache and a beard, he said in a statement in Patna.

He cannot put a veil on his crime by pleading that he was a minor at that time, added Modi.

The BJP leader claimed that the Kochhar brothers had sold a commercial property on February 25, 2005 in the form of a three-acre land in Patna, through 10 sale deeds for Rs 1.47 crore, to Delight Marketing, in which Sarla Gupta, the wife of former Union minister Prem Chand Gupta, was a director.

After the tender was awarded to Sujata Hotel, owned by the Kocchars, the ownership of Delight Marketing also changed hands from Sarla Gupta to Rabri Devi and Tejaswi Yadav between 2010 and 2014, he alleged.

Modi dared Tejaswi to announce that he did not own the said land, on which Bihars biggest mall was coming up.

Tejaswi should also announce that he does not own a four-storied building at New Friends Colony in Delhi, the value of which is Rs 115 crore today, he said.

The BJP leader once again urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to sack Tejaswi.

When Tejaswi Yadav and his family have refused to resign, should the CM not show the courage to sack him?, he wondered.

Bihar BJP chief Nityanand Rai also dismissed Tejaswis defence of being a minor at the time of the land deal and alleged that he was putting the blame on his father (RJD supremo Lalu Prasad).

Earlier in the day, Tejaswi virtually ruled out the possibility of resigning from the state cabinet and dubbed the FIR against him as a part of a political vendetta.

The FIR (in the land-for-hotels case) is part of a political vendetta. BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are conspiring against me and my family members because of political reasons, he told reporters.

Can you believe that a 14-year-old child, whose moustache is yet to come, will indulge in corruption?, he asked and dubbed the FIR as a farzi (fake) one.

Also read: Will wait for JDUs action against Tejashwi Yadav, says BJP leader Sushil Modi

Also read: Rabri has benami plot worth Rs 30.90 lakh, blames Sushil Modi



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New Delhi:

A mediaperson belonging to news agency ANI was among others who were manhandled by security personnel of Tejashwi Yadav at Bihar Secretariat on Wednesday.A

#WATCH Media persons manhandled by security personnel of Tejashwi Yadav at Bihar Secretariat (Patna) pic.twitter.com/efMDg7QdQ2 a ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

Earlier in the day, Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav rubbished all corruption charges levelled against him, saying that it is vendetta politics and Bharatiya Janata Party is at the helm of the affairs.A

Patna: ANI reporter among media personnel manhandled by security personnel of Tejashwi Yadav at Bihar Secretariat pic.twitter.com/RaO4ZQFpLv a ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

While talking to media after attending the cabinet meeting, Tejashwi said FIR against him is a political vendetta. He alleged that PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are conspiring against him from day one and they are trying to break Mahagathbandhan.A

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New Delhi:

A recent study has revealed to researchers that depression has differing consequences on the brain activity of male and female patients in certain areas of the brain.

The results imply that teenage girls and boys may undergo depression differently and that treating each gender differently might be useful for adolescents.

When researchers showed the depressed adolescents happy or sad words and did imaging of their brains, they discovered that depression had different effects on the brain activity of male and female teenagers in specific regions of the brain.

Men and women seem to suffer from depression in different ways, and this is especially evident in adolescents. By the age of 15, girls are twice as more expected to suffer from depression as boys.

There could be many reasons for this, including body image issues, changes in levels of hormones or hereditary factors, where girls have more chances of inheriting depression.

However, differences between the sexes is not just restricted to risk of experiencing depression, but also how the disorder displays and its effects.

"Men are more liable to suffer from persistent depression, whereas in women depression tends to be more episodic. Compared with women, depressed men are also more likely to suffer serious consequences from their depression, such as substance abuse and suicide," said Jie-Yu Chuang, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, and an author on the study.

This inspired Chuang and her colleagues to conduct this latest study to find dissimilarities between depressed men and women.

They involved adolescent volunteers for the study, aged between 11 and 18 years. This comprised 82 females and 24 male patients who were depressed, and 24 females and 10 male healthy volunteers.

The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging on the patients brains while blinking happy, sad or neutral words on a screen in a particular order.

The volunteers clicked a button when specific types of words appeared and did not press the button when others were exhibited, and the researchers gauged their brain activity during the experiment.

When the researchers flashed particular mixtures of words on the screen, they observed that depression affected brain activity in different ways in boys and girls in areas of the brain such as regions such as the supramarginal gyrus and posterior cingulate.

"Our finding suggests that early in adolescence, depression might affect the brain differently between boys and girls. Sex-specific treatment and prevention strategies for depression should be considered early in adolescence. Hopefully, these early interventions could alter the disease trajectory before things get worse," explained Chuang.

The brain regions emphasised in the study have been earlier associated with depression, but further work is required to know why they are affected differently in depressed boys, and if this is connected to how boys experience and handle depression. Chuang and her colleagues would like to investigate this phenomenon further.

Chuang concluded by saying, "I think it would be great to conduct a large longitudinal study addressing sex differences in depression from adolescence to adulthood."

The study was published in journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.
New Delhi:

A massive, trillion-tonne iceberg has broken off an ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula, according to scientists. The giant iceberg is now adrift in the Weddell Sea, they said.



Last month, the iceberg was reported to be a hanging by a thread. On Wednesday morning, it was found to be split off from the Larsen C section of the Larsen ice shelf. The scientists discovered this after analysing latest satellite data from the area.

The Larsen C ice shelf has now become 10 per cent smaller than before the iceberg broke off. According to scientists, this event has changed the shape of Antarctic Peninsula. The Larsen C ice shelf now stands at its lowest extent ever recorded.



The new iceberg, at 5,800 sq km, is now expected to be called as A68. The iceberg is half as big as the B-15, which holds the record after it split off from the Ross ice shelf in 2000. However, the new iceberg is believed to be one of the 10 largest icebergs ever recorded.



It is a really major event in terms of the size of the ice tablet that weve got now drifting away, said Anna Hogg, an expert in satellite observations of glaciers from the University of Leeds.



The huge crack grew during several years. However, between May 25 and May 31, it grew by 17 km, which was the largest increase since January. The movement of ice took pace between June 24 and June 27 and reached a rate of more than 10 meters per day for the already-severed section.

In the end, it was found that it was not a simple break. The break had branched multiple times, data collected just days before the iceberg calved revealed.



We see one large [iceberg] for now. It is likely that this will break into smaller pieces as time goes by, said Adrian Luckman, professor of glaciology at Swansea University and leader of the UKs Midas project which is focused on the state of the ice shelf.

The ice shelves are actually floating masses of ice that are hundreds of metres thick and are attached to huge, grounded ice sheets. These shelves act like buttresses and hold back and slow down the movement into the sea of the glaciers that feed them.



There is enough ice in Antarctica that if it all melted, or even just flowed into the ocean, sea levels [would] rise by 60 metres, said Martin Siegert, professor of geosciences at Imperial College London and co-director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change & Environment.

According to experts, the birth of this iceberg will not lead to rise in sea level. Its like your ice cube in your gin and tonic  it is already floating and if it melts it doesnt change the volume of water in the glass by very much at all, said Hogg.

The Larsen A ice shelf collapsed in 1995 and Larsen B in 2002.

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New Delhi:

The US on Wednesday strongly condemned the Amarnath terrorist attack in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on July 10. The White House extended condolences to victims families and people of India.

"US strongly condemns the cowardly terrorist attack on religious pilgrims in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on July 10. We extend condolences to victims families and people of India," said the White House.

The White House said that attack on religious freedom is attack on most fundamental right of liberty and the United States and India will continue to fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world.

Terrorists killed seven pilgrims from Gujarat, including six women, and injured 32 others as they struck at a bus in the district, in the worst attack on the annual pilgrimage since the year 2000.

Earlier, condemning the attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he was pained beyond words on dastardly attack on peaceful Amarnath Yatris in J&K. The attack deserves strongest condemnation from everyone.

India will never get bogged down by such cowardly attacks & the evil designs of hate, tweeted PM Modi.

Also read: Terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims 'reprehensible', says US

Also read: Amarnath terror attack: Centre announces Rs 7 lakh compensation for next of kin of deceased

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Beijing:

China has dispatched PLA personnel to man its first overseas military base at Djibouti in the strategic Indian Ocean region, a move likely to spark concerns in the US and India.

Ships carrying Chinese military personnel departed Zhanjiang in southern Chinas Guangdong Province on Tuesday to set up a support base in Djibouti, located in the Horn of Africa, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

China, however, on Wednesday sought to playdown reports that its naval facility at Djibouti was its first military base.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing that the Djibouti base is a support base which will serve Chinese troops when they escort ships for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, perform humanitarian rescue, and carry out other international obligations.

The base will be conducive to driving Djiboutis economic and social development, and assist Chinas contribution to peace and stability both in Africa and worldwide, he claimed.

Dispatching the military personnel yesterday, Shen Jinlong, commander of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, had read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti, and conferred the military flag on the fleets.

The establishment of the PLA Djibouti base was a decision made by the two countries after friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides, the PLA navy had said.

Djibouti base, which China says is more of a logistical and resting centre than a military base, was under construction since 2011.

It is the first such base being set up by China. The second base is coming up in Gwadar, Pakistan, which links up with China through the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

In March this year, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post had reported that China plans to increase the size of its marine corps from 20,000 to one lakh personnel for overseas deployment, including at Gwadar and Djibouti.

The expansion is planned to protect Chinas maritime lifelines and its growing interests overseas.

Some members would be stationed at ports China operates in Djibouti and Gwadar in southwest Pakistan, the report had said.

In addition, China also plans to take over the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka as part of a debt swap to firm up its naval operations in the Indian Ocean, much to the disquiet of India.

The bases were being set up as China operationalised its first aircraft carrier and launched the second one which was expected to be ready for operations by next year.

The move to set up base in Djibouti is also likely to raise concerns in the US as the military base is just a few kilometres from Camp Lemonnier, one of the Pentagons largest and most important foreign installations.

With increasing tensions over Chinas island-building efforts in the South China Sea, American strategists worry that a naval port so close to Camp Lemonnier could provide a front-row seat to the staging ground for American counter-terror operations in the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, the New York Times reported.

Besides the US, the base could also spark concerns in India as it is located in the strategic Indian Ocean region.

Also read: Sikkim standoff: Sino-India dispute could be part of China's salami-slicing tactics, says expert

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MINNEAPOLIS, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FISION Corporation (OTCQB:FSSN), a leading provider of cloud-based digital asset management and sales enablement technology, has launched a new investor relations dashboard at www.fisiononline.com/ir/.



Our new investor relations dashboard represents an important extension of our brand building, stated Mike Brown, president and CEO of FISION. In light of recent advancements in our technologies, including being awarded our first patent, it is time to strengthen our corporate brand. It is also more important than ever to actively communicate with our investors, business stakeholders, and followers by creating a place where they can access all of the information they are looking for in one easy-to-use place.



The site also reflects our commitment to our stakeholders for transparency, added Brown, providing comprehensive facts and information, from stock data and news releases, to regulatory filings and corporate governance.

The site includes an easy way to sign up for timely alerts about news and upcoming events. FISION followers can sign up for alerts here: www.fisiononline.com/ir/email-alerts/.

Recent news and events include the companys acquisition of Volerro Corporation, a leading innovator in cloud-based content collaboration and agile marketing technology. In addition to complementary technology and technical resources, the acquisition added major enterprise clients that include a top five U.S. bank and the $3.2 billion U.S. retailer, Shopko Stores.

FISION was also recently awarded its first U.S. patent that protects the proprietary systems and methods-of-use surrounding its digital asset management technology. The patent validates the exceptional level of innovation and capability represented in the FISION platform, as well as the unique value proposition it offers enterprise customers and channel partners worldwide.

For more information about FISION, visit www.fisiononline.com/ir/.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cb417ff4-a007-42b0-807b-0486313f01b3



About FISION Corporation

Founded in 2011, Minneapolis-based FISION is a leading provider of cloud-based digital asset management and sales enablement technology. FISION specializes in managing an enterprises brand and marketing content, enabling marketing and sales people to quickly and easily create, distribute and measure the performance of compelling, localized, on-brand communications. With more than 65,000 users across 21 countries, FISIONs patented technology brings unrivaled capabilities and marketing agility to clients that include some of the worlds largest corporations in healthcare, hospitality, financial/insurance, software and technology industries. For more information, visit FisionOnline.com, or connect with the company at www.facebook.com/fisiononline or www.twitter.com/fisiononline. Information on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

Important Cautions Regarding Forward-looking Statements

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, forecast, intend, may, plan, project, predict, should and will and similar expressions as they relate to FISION Corporation (or the Parties) are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The Parties undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect future financial results are discussed more fully in the Parties respective filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the their most recent Annual Report on filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
Washington:

The Trump administration has expressed concern over the reprehensible terrorist attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir that killed seven persons.

Several US lawmakers also condemned the dastardly act. Seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 19 others were injured in a terrorist attack in south Kashmirs Anantnag district on Monday night.

We consider it to have been a terrorist attack in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in which seven religious pilgrims were killed. Thats of great concern to us, the State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at a news conference.

These were civilians, they were killed as they were exercising their right to worship and that is, in large part, what makes this so reprehensible. That is a great concern to us and our thoughts and prayers go out to those people and to their families as well. Our prayers are with the victims and those who were affected, she said.

My thoughts and prayers to all of the Amarnath Yatra terror attack victims and their families. The attack is reprehensible and must be condemned, said Congressman Will Hurd.

The terrorist attack on Amarnath Pilgrims is outrageous, said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Religion is a fundamental right and human right #AmarnathYatra #ReligiousFreedom, she tweeted.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and to their families as well: Heather Nauert,US State Dept #AmarnathTerrorAttack pic.twitter.com/rX0DLPUrqN  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

Congressman John Ratcliffe in his tweet, sent his prayers to the families of those killed in the horrific terrorist attack. Congressman Jim Costa said he is Deeply saddened at the cowardly attack on innocent Amarnath Yatra pilgrims. My thoughts and prayers are with you, he said.

The terrorist attack on AmarnathYatra is reprehensible and must be condemned, tweeted Congressman Ted Poe. Our hearts go out to the victims of the terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra. We must stand united against these deplorable acts of terror, said Congressman John Culberson.

Hindus and pilgrims of every religion should be able to visit their holy places without fear of attacks by terrorists, said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. My prayers are with the victims & their families of thissenseless, vicious attack on the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims,? tweeted Congresswoman Anna G Eshoo.

In a statement, Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) USA severely condemned the dastardly attack on the innocent Amarnath pilgrims.

Indian American community is very sad and shocked to hear this barbaric attack on innocent pilgrims travelling to Amarnath shrine and pray for all victims and their families, said Krishna Reddy Anugula, president of OFBJP-USA.

Also Read | Amarnath terror attack: Centre announces Rs 7 lakh compensation for next of kin of deceased

Pakistan has been openly harbouring the terrorists of various organizations including LET for the last several decades and there has been a push to declare Pakistan as a Terror sponsoring nation in the US Congress, said its vice president Adapa Prasad. Chandrakant Patel, immediate past president, said the

Indian Diaspora condemns this cowardly and monstrous attack on the peaceful pilgrims by Pakistan directed terrorists.

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Chadds Ford, PA, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Andrew Wyeth, one of the most prominent artists of the 20th-century  whose realistic style defied artistic trends  was commemorated today on his birth centennial with the issuance of 12 Forever stamps highlighting his paintings.

The Andrew Wyeth Forever stamps were dedicated in his home town of Chadds Ford, PA, at the Brandywine River Museum of Art. The public is asked to share the news on social media using the hashtags #WyethStamps and #MyBrandywine.

Mastering a realistic style, Wyeth (July 12, 1917  Jan. 16, 2009) created haunting and enigmatic paintings based largely on people and places in his life, a body of work that continues to resist easy or comfortable interpretation.

The Postal Service takes tremendous pride in its stamp program, which celebrates the very best of American life, history and culture, said Patrick Mendonca, U.S. Postal Service Senior Director, Office of the Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer, who dedicated the stamps. And since today is the centennial of Andrew Wyeths birth, its the perfect occasion to celebrate the man whose masterful works have found a place in our homes  and in our hearts. Wyeths work resonated with millions of art enthusiasts around the globe. Now, these miniature works of art can touch many.

Joining Mendonca in the ceremony was Wyeths son and acclaimed artist Jamie Wyeth and Brandywine River Museum of Art Executive Director Virginia Logan.

My father, a prolific letter writer, would indeed be proud that a selection of his paintings now appears on U.S. postage stamps, said Jamie Wyeth. He would have relished using them!

In a year filled with celebrations marking the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Arts 50th anniversary, we are honored to help the United States Postal Service commemorate Andrew Wyeths remarkable career with a set of 12 Forever stamps on what would have been his 100th birthday, said Logan. This is an apt moment in time to reassess this artists incredible contributions to American art, and we are thrilled to have over 100 of his works currently on display in the Museum as part of the Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect exhibition.

The Andrew Wyeth Forever stamp pane includes 12 stamps that feature details of different Wyeth paintings. First row, L to R: Wind from the Sea (1947), Big Room (1988) and Christinas World (1948). Second row, L to R: Alvaro and Christina (1968), Frostbitten (1962) and Sailors Valentine (1985). Third row, L to R: Soaring (19421950), North Light (1984) and Spring Fed (1967), Fourth row, L to R: The Carry (2003), Young Bull (1960) and My Studio (1974). The selvage shows a photograph of Wyeth from the 1930s.



Christinas World, inspired by Christina Olson, a disabled neighbor in Maine, is a rich and enigmatic work that inspired decades of interpretation. The Museum of Modern Art in New York City purchased the painting in 1948. Today, Christinas World is one of the iconic works of 20th-century American art.

From the sale of Christinas World to the sensational Helga pictures unveiled in the 1980s, Wyeth captured the imagination of the American public and established himself as one of the most prominent American artists of the 20th century.

Finding endless inspiration both in his hometown of Chadds Ford, PA, and in rural Maine, he scrutinized the lives, houses, and personal belongings of the people around him, sometimes painting their portraits but just as often using objects and places to represent them. Conveying emotions that were difficult to put into words, Wyeths work stood out for its startling austerity and stark lack of color  the artists way of reflecting memories, associations, and echoes from his life, including his own distinctive sense of the wondrous and the strange.



In 2017, the centennial of Wyeths birth offers an occasion to look anew at a lifetime of remarkable art. With its subtle symbolism and eerie implications, his work invites us to reinterpret his personal vision  and to learn to see layers unnoticed before.

Wyeths Inspiration

The son of renowned illustrator N.C. Wyeth, Wyeth was born and raised in Chadds Ford. He and his wife lived there while typically spending each summer and early fall in Maine. In both places, he scrutinized the lives, houses, and personal belongings of the people around him, finding particular inspiration in the German immigrants on a nearby Chadds Ford farm and often painting portraits of them and views in and around their home. By this time, the tendencies that define much of his work were taking shape, among them a focus on death and loss; the use of places and objects to serve as stand-ins for people; an intense and unsentimental scrutiny of nature; and an often startling austerity and stark lack of color.

Rather than depict nature with photographic accuracy, however, Wyeth used painting to convey emotions that were difficult to put into words. His work often reflected memories, associations, and echoes from his personal life, including his own distinctive sense of the wondrous and the strange.



Wyeth received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1990. Sites in Pennsylvania and Maine that influenced his work were recently designated National Historic Landmarks.

Issued as Forever stamps, they will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.

Ordering First-Day-of-Issue Postmarks

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others, and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI  Andrew Wyeth Stamps

USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services

8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300

Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by Sept. 12, 2017.

Ordering First-Day Covers

The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic, online at usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. Customers may request a free issue of USA Philatelic at usps.com/philatelic, by calling 800-782-6724, or by writing to:

U.S. Postal Service

USA Philatelic Request

PO Box 219014

Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products

Philatelic products for this stamp issue are as follows:

475006, Press Sheet with Die-cut, $52.92.

475010, Digital Color Postmark Keepsake (2 panes), $13.95.

475016, First-Day Cover (set of 12), $11.16.

475021, Digital Color Postmark (set of 12), $19.68.

475024, Framed Art, $39.95.

475030, Ceremony Program, $6.95.

475033, Panel, $17.95.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

# # #

Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf. Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/usps), Instagram (instagram.com/uspostalservice), Pinterest (pinterest.com/uspsstamps), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/usps), subscribe to our channel on YouTube (youtube.com/usps), like us on Facebook (facebook.com/usps) and view our Postal Posts blog (uspsblog.com).

For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and usps.com/postalfacts.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d7d5e376-2d19-4e1a-ab4a-e870723b3cbe

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ac02e546-789b-43b1-bb9a-e91ae5825dc6
REYKJAVIK, Iceland, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CCP Games has added the ability for players of its massively multiplayer online game EVE Online to help search for distant planets outside of our solar system (AKA exoplanets) from within EVEs virtual universe in the newest phase of its citizen science effort called Project Discovery. This unique scientific crowdsourcing effort is a collaboration between EVE Online developers, Massively Multiplayer Online Science (MMOS), Reykjavik University, and the University of Geneva and honorary professor Michel Mayor, who recently won the prestigious 2017 Wolf Prize for Physics. Together with Didier Queloz in 1995, Mayor discovered 51 Pegasi b  the first exoplanet orbiting a main sequence star.



A photo accompanying this release can be found at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bfdbc1fa-4f69-4bf9-8949-1ccc7cf77fab

A video accompanying this release can be found at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/13a8d951-3c3d-457b-87bc-fdfb80acd59d

EVE Online players of all skill levels and character ages can now interact with and analyze real-world astronomical datalong term measurements of luminosity of distant starsfrom the CoRoT telescope, which was launched into outer space in late 2006 as part of its continued mission to discover extrasolar planets. Before being available in EVE Online, the CoRoT telescope data already lead to the discoveries of 37 exoplanets with transit photometry, the same method used to find exoplanets in the star system of Trappist-1.

While interacting with Project Discovery in EVE Online and contributing to consensus classification of the data that is then sent back to the MMOS Citizen Science Platform and the University of Geneva for verification, players can earn in-game rewards as well, such as PLEX, SKINs, and blueprints of prestigious CONCORD ships.

This data set is particularly suitable for citizen science efforts, as the collective power of many human brains provides a huge advantage in being able to detect strange light curves that computers can sometimes misunderstand. EVE Online players have a proven track record of providing communal accuracy by churning through over 20 million images in the successful first version of Project Discovery that contributed human cell classifications to the Human Protein Atlas. Thanks to the work of EVE players, scientists managed to identify several examples of proteins as belonging to a new cellular structure called Rods & Rings.

Yves Fluckiger, the Rector of the University of Geneva, lauds the effort. The University of Geneva is proud to pioneer this new way to interact with so many people. The image of the ivory tower is long gone when hundreds of thousands are invited to participate to scientific discoveries.

Professor Michel Mayor adds, I discovered a new world 20 years ago with a telescope and another one this year when I learned about EVE Online and its players at EVE Fanfest.

Professor Michel Mayor introduces you to this latest exciting chapter of Project Discovery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeUEQlWXxSk

The July release to EVE Online includes other changes of a more traditional EVE Online nature, including a complete rebalance of Tech 3 Cruisers, new models for the Rupture, Muninn and Broadsword, and more. Head to http://updates.eveonline.com and the patch notes for more information.

More about Project Discovery can be found on the Project Discovery website, in the dev blog detailing in-game rewards and how the system works, and in Michel Mayors EVE Fanfest 2017 presentation, which describes in more detail the science behind the search for exoplanets. More information about EVE Online is available at www.eveonline.com. The EVE Gameplay video, a recent trailer, and many more videos can be found on EVEs YouTube channel.

This project has received funding from the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement Nr 732703. Among 12 granted projects, the European Commission has given the maximum possible points to GAPARS, which is a key part of Project Discoverys development.

Media Contact

Journalists seeking information about CCP or its products, wanting to set up interviews, needing assets, or interested in review copies should contact: sean@zebrapartners.net .

View the EVE Online Media Kit here, including Project Discovery assets and EVE Online screenshots.

About CCP

CCP is a leading independent game developer and has been praised for its artistry, game design and unique player-driven, infinitely scalable storytelling narratives. CCP is the creator of the critically acclaimed science-fiction game EVE Online (PC/Mac), EVE: Valkyrie, a multiplayer virtual reality spaceship dogfighting shooter for PCs and the PlayStation4, and the Gunjack series, virtual reality arcade action games for PCs, PlayStation 4, Google Daydream, and the Samsung Gear VR mobile platform. Founded and headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1997, CCP is privately held, with additional offices in Atlanta, London, Newcastle, and Shanghai. For more information, visit www.ccpgames.com.

About MMOS

MMOS is a Swiss start-up engaging online communities in real-life challenges for science and education. It created the Massively Multiplayer Online Science concept - which is the seamless integration of citizen science with major videogames using the MMOS Platform as the connecting service. MMOS first implementation, EVE Onlines Project Discovery, has been proven to be a major success. For more information, visit www.mmos.ch.

About University of Geneva

The University of Geneva enjoys worldwide recognition and ranks amongst the top 60 best universities in the world. Founded in 1559 by Jean Calvin and Theodore de Beze, it welcomes more than 16 000 students from 150 countries in its nine faculties. A member of the League of European Research-intensive Universities, The University of Geneva fulfills three missions: education, research and knowledge-sharing. For more information, visit www.unige.ch
Rescuers have been expanding search areas for missing residents one week after record rains wreaked havoc across the northern Kyushu region in western Japan.

At least 29 people were killed in Fukuoka and Oita prefectures because of mudslides and floods. In Fukuoka, about 20 people still remain unaccounted for.

Rescue teams from the police and the Self-Defense Forces are looking for the missing, expanding their search to areas along rivers and other places near their homes.

Some 300 members have been sent to one of the districts in worst-hit Asakura City for search and rescue. Piled-up wood and waist-deep mud hamper the search.

A rescuer said he will do all he can so that the missing people can return to their relatives.

A farmer in the area said he feels very worried as his acquaintance is unaccounted for. He said he hopes all the missing people would be found as soon as possible.

Jul 13 (ANNnewsCH) - aazaeaeaaYeecsaaea12aaYa4aaaaceaaaaaYacaaaaacaea29aaaSaaaaaaecaaa13acsaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeaaa
Japan's revised Penal Code stipulating tighter penalties against sex offences went into force Thursday.

Through the first major overhaul of sex crime-linked provisions since the code was established in 1907, the amended law now includes the crime of "forcible sex and similar acts," under which not only women but also men can be recognized as victims, instead of the crime of rape, which regarded only women as victims.

The minimum prison term for forcible sex is five years, up from three years for rape and the same as that for homicide. The shortest term for forcible sex resulting in injury and death is set at six years, against five years for injury- and death-causing rape.

The revised law will also allow public prosecutors to charge sex offenders with or without the filing of complaints by victims, which was necessary before the amendment.
LOS ANGELES, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- City National Bank, Americas Premier Private and Business Bank, today announced that it has reached a significant milestone in the history of its Reading is The way up Literacy Program. The bank is celebrating its 15th Anniversary of this award-winning literacy-based educational outreach program, which has provided financial support to numerous schools and nonprofit organizations focused on literacy.



What began in 2002 as a California focused educational program has grown to include Nevada, New York, Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia. With the banks recent expansion into Minneapolis, Minnesota, and soon to be Washington, D.C., City National will expand its Reading is The way up literacy program to include these markets as well. Such programs as the Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive, the banks Teacher Literacy Grant program, Author Visits, Back-to-School Drive, Dollars & Sense financial literacy program and more will be introduced to schools and educators in these states markets.

City National has been such a strong supporter of education and advocate in helping Solano Elementary and so many other schools with monetary and program support for literacy based projects, said William Bertrand, principal of Solano Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles. Its true when they say it takes a village to raise a child, and we are so proud to have City National as an integral part of our village. Its very obvious that educational support is at the forefront of City Nationals community outreach programs.

Since the inception of the banks Reading is The way up literacy program, City National has donated more than 500,000 new books to school libraries and nonprofits, and has awarded over $1.4 million to teachers at elementary, middle and high schools through its literacy grant program for creative literacy projects in five states. The bank has also hosted countless school visits with renowned authors speaking to students about becoming an author and getting published along with teaching thousands of hours of financial literacy courses.

Were very proud of what we have been able to accomplish in our schools and with students through our literacy program, but theres so much more to do and City National is committed to helping more schools and students develop a love of reading over the next 15 years, said Chris Warmuth, president of City National. Literacy is the key to our childrens future and the future of our communities. As Principal Bertrand said, it truly does take a village to not only raise, but to educate a child.

City National will launch this month its 8th Annual Back-to-School Drive that collects backpacks filled with school supplies from bank colleagues. Last year colleagues collected over 1,400 backpacks filled with erasers, highlighters, round-tip scissors, packs of wide ruled paper, colored pencils, folders, notebooks, pencil sharpeners, rulers, boxes of crayons, glue sticks, #2 pencils, three ring binders, and more. The backpacks were donated to 54 elementary and middle schools along with a few nonprofits throughout City Nationals footprint.

City National views itself as an extension of the classroom through the many educational programs we offer to schools in the markets we serve, said Carolyn Rodriguez, vice president and program administrator for City National. Were committed to providing teachers and students with the resources they need to be successful in and out of the classroom. We will also continue to bring more corporate partners, like Barnes & Noble, to the table in an effort to increase the scope of our educational programs so we can reach more educators and students.

During the past 15 years, City National has received a number of awards for its many educational programs related to its Reading is The way up literacy program. Some of these awards include the following:

Received the 2005 Presidents Volunteer Service Award, the 2005 Corporate Philanthropy Award from the Los Angeles Public Library, the 2006 Corporate Award from the Getty House Foundation, the Hugh OBrien Youth Leadership Corporate Citizen Award, and honored as the 2007 Corporate Visionary Partner by the Wonder of Reading;

Received the 2013 Innovations Reading Prize Award presented by the National Book Foundation;

Received the 2013 Outstanding Corporation of the Year Award presented by the Clark County School District-Community Partnership Program in Las Vegas, NV;

Received the 2013 Angel Light Foundation Award for excellence in community service and educational outreach presented by the Angel Light Academy in Orange County, CA.

For more information about City Nationals literacy and other educational outreach programs, go to the following websites:

https://www.cnb.com/about/literacy-program/

https://www.cnb.com/about/literacy-program/ritwu.asp

https://www.cnb.com/backtoschool/

About City National

With $45.0 billion in assets, City National Bank provides banking, investment and trust services through 72 offices, including 17 full-service regional centers, in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, New York City, Nashville, Atlanta and Minneapolis. In addition, the company and its investment affiliates manage or administer $58.5 billion in client investment assets.

City National is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), one of North Americas leading diversified financial services companies. RBC serves more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the United States and 35 other countries.

For more information about City National, visit the companys website at cnb.com.
A former millionaire nicknamed the "Black Widow" over the untimely deaths of her lovers admitted poisoning her last partner at her trial this week in a multiple murder case that has gripped Japan.

Chisako Kakehi, 70, has become notorious over accusations she killed a number of elderly men she was involved with, drawing comparisons with the spider that kills its mate after copulation.

Kakehi is on trial for the murders of three men a including a husband a and the attempted murder of another, all to allow her to collect on insurance policies.

Prosecutors suspect she used cyanide to get rid of her lovers, amassing a reported A1bn (A6.9m) in payouts over 10 years.

Her trial began in late June, but this week she stunned the court by telling judges she had murdered another man in 2013.

"I was waiting for the right timing as I wanted to kill him out of deep hatred," the Asahi newspaper quoted her as saying on Monday.

The Fuji television network quoted her saying the crime was just "an issue of money".

But on Wednesday, Kakehi appeared to retract her statements. "I don't remember [what I said]," she testified, according to the Mainichi newspaper.

Kakehi's lawyers argued she was not guilty of murdering Isao Kakehi on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Kyoto district court said last year that medical examinations found that Kakehi had early-stage dementia but was fit to stand trial. If convicted of murder she could face the death penalty.

Jul 13 (ANNnewsCH) - aeaaaaecYcaaaeaaaeeYeaSaaaaaaeaaaaeeaacaaaecsaaaaaacaaaaaaaaacaaaeaSi70ia10aeaaaaacaaaaaaaeaaaYaaaaaaaeaaaaYa
Japan's buses and taxis will be freer to carry packages along with passengers starting in September as the government cuts regulations to battle an increasingly severe shortage of drivers at the nation's shippers.

The transport ministry currently favors the use of trucks for cargo delivery and buses and taxis for carrying passengers, with this specialization meant to ensure passenger safety. Though mixed-use projects have been attempted, buses by law may carry only up to 350kg of cargo at any time, and taxis may not transport cargo without a passenger riding along.

But in September, the ministry intends to issue a notice breaking down these divisions. Though specifications on factors such as cargo load have yet to be revealed, the 350kg limit for buses will be abolished, enabling fixed-route buses across Japan that receive the proper permits to create specialized cargo bays and carry large loads in addition to their passengers.

The government's panel on regulatory reform has recommended such steps to cope with a labor shortage in the logistics industry. Yamato Holdings unit Yamato Transport, Japan's leading door-to-door delivery service, has said a combined passenger-cargo approach will create new possibilities for the transport business outside major cities.
TORONTO, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alacer Gold Corp. (Alacer or the Corporation) (TSX:ASR) (ASX:AQG) plans to release its second quarter 2017 operating results, financial statements and the related managements discussion and analysis before the TSX market opens on Tuesday, August 1, 2017 (North America).



The Company will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the results at 7:00 a.m. on August 2, 2017 (Australian Eastern Standard Time) / 5:00 p.m. on August 1, 2017 (North America Eastern Daylight Time).

You may listen to the call via webcast at http://services.choruscall.ca/links/alacer20170801.html. The conference call presentation will also be available at the link provided prior to the call commencing.

You may participate in the conference call by dialing:

1-800-319-4610 for U.S. and Canada 1-800-423-528 for Australia 800-930-470 for Hong Kong 800-101-2425 for Singapore 0808-101-2791 for United Kingdom 1-604-638-5340 for International Alacer Gold Call Conference ID

If you are unable to participate in the call, a webcast will be archived until November 1, 2017 and a recording of the call will be available on Alacers website at www.AlacerGold.com or through replay until Tuesday, September 12, 2017 by using passcode 1542# and calling:



1-855-669-9658 for U.S. and Canada 800-984-354 for Australia

The corresponding financial statements, managements discussion and analysis, press release, and presentation will be posted on Alacers website and on www.SEDAR.com.



About Alacer

Alacer is a leading intermediate gold mining company, with an 80% interest in the world-class Copler Gold Mine in Turkey operated by Anagold Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Anagold), and the remaining 20% owned by Lidya Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Lidya Mining). The Corporations primary focus is to leverage its cornerstone Copler Mine and strong balance sheet to maximize portfolio value, maximize free cash flow, minimize project risk, and therefore, create maximum value for shareholders.

The Copler Mine is located in east-central Turkey in the Erzincan Province, approximately 1,100 kilometers southeast from Istanbul and 550 kilometers east from Ankara, Turkeys capital city.

Alacer is actively pursuing initiatives to enhance value beyond the current mine plan:

Copler Oxide Production Optimization  Expansion of the existing heap leach pad to 58 million tonnes continues to advance. The Corporation continues to evaluate opportunities to extend oxide production beyond the current reserves, including a new heap leach pad site to the west of the Copler Mine.





Copler Sulfide Expansion Project (the Sulfide Project)  The Sulfide Project is under construction with first gold production projected in the third quarter 2018. The Sulfide Project is expected to deliver long-term growth with robust financial returns and adds 20 years of production at Copler. The Sulfide Project will bring Coplers remaining life-of-mine (LoM) gold production to 4 million ounces at All-in Sustaining Costs averaging $645 per ounce 1 , 2 .





. The Corporation continues to pursue opportunities to further expand its current operating base and to become a sustainable multi-mine producer with a focus on Turkey. The systematic and focused exploration efforts in the Copler District, as well as in other regions of Turkey, are progressing. A maiden Mineral Resource estimate was released for Cakmaktepe and Bayramdere3, and the Copler District remains the focus with the potential to add oxide production from the existing Copler infrastructure in 2018. In the region, work has commenced on a Definitive Feasibility Study for the Gediktepe Project4 and is expected to be complete in June 2018.



Alacer is a Canadian company incorporated in the Yukon Territory with its primary listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Company also has a secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange where CDIs trade.

For further information on Alacer Gold Corp., please contact:

Lisa Maestas  Director, Investor Relations at +1-303-292-1299



___________________

1 All-in Sustaining Costs per ounce is a non-IFRS performance measure with no standardized definition under IFRS. For further information and a detailed reconciliation to IFRS, please see the Non-IFRS Measures section of the current MD&A.

2 Detailed information regarding the Sulfide Project, including the material assumptions on which the forward-looking financial information is based, can be found in the Technical Report dated June 9, 2016 entitled Technical Report on the Copler Mine and Copler Sulfide Exploration Project, available on www.sedar.com and on www.asx.com.au.

3 Detailed information regarding the Copler District Mineral Resource can be found in the press release entitled Alacer Gold Announces Additional Exploration Results for Cakmaktepe and an Initial Mineral Resource in the Copler District, dated December 19, 2016, available on www.sedar.com and on www.asx.com.au.

4 Additional information on the Gediktepe Project can be found in the press release entitled Alacer Gold Announces a New Reserve for its Gediktepe Project Providing Future Growth, dated September 13, 2016, available on www.sedar.com and on www.asx.com.au.
Dallas, Texas, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Corporate Summit, organized by Metroplex Director of Operations Bill Bishop, the three fold corporate training session held in Dallas and Chicago, is designed to boost corporate morale, expand associate knowledge on client promotions and allow for regional recognition for top performers.

The Irving Convention Center in Dallas, Texas hosted the Southwest Summit on June 7. Nearly a week later, the Regency Ohare hosted the Midwest Summit in Oakbrook, Illinois.

Over 400 associates, managers and future partners were in attendance at each of the regional conferences.

Bill explains, This is one of the most motivating and fulfilling aspects of my job. Educating the leaders of our organization and providing a clear and concise business plan for their future is incredibly rewarding.

Each of the Summits had six, hand selected guest speakers flown in to speak about core topics held in high regard for the companys foundation. These topics included progressive leadership, sales and team management, business development, direct marketing and promotions, and much more.

The meetings are not only designed to educate and motivate, but to congratulate the associates who are making their mark with our clients on a national scale, says Bill.

Last year on average, 20 associates were promoted to the Assistant Director position at each of the Summits. Due to client mergers and newly acquired contracts, projections depicted those numbers would by more than 50% this year. The projections proved to be right on par.

As the Southwest and Midwest Summits wrap up the record setting first half of 2017, Metroplex Management Group is expected to rapidly expand into three new markets including Phoenix, Arizona, Fort Worth, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Two new campaigns are projected to roll out in the upcoming months, furthering the imminent growth for the second half of the year.
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WASHINGTON  Christopher Wray, Donald Trump's choice to replace ousted FBI Director James Comey, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that he would sooner resign than follow presidential directions to do something unethical or unlawful.

I believe to my core that there is only one right way to do this job, and that is with strict independence, he said during his confirmation hearing. Without fear, without favoritism and certainly without regard to any partisan, political influence.

Wray, a former federal prosecutor, scooped up the president's nomination last month after Trump reportedly considered several other candidates to be the FBI's top cop  including Connecticut's former Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Among others, Wray fielded questions from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Judiciary Committee. During his questioning, Blumenthal told Wray that he will support him as he works against a firestorm brewing that will threaten the FBI. After the hearing, Blumenthal said he intends to vote in favor of Wrays confirmation.

I do believe that you will provide the kind of independence and integrity that the FBI needs based on your record and your experience and expertise, Blumenthal said. We will be counting on you to protect the FBI.

Blumenthal also echoed questions targeting Wray's commitment to an independent FBI, asking him if he would be willing to take appropriate action if the Bureaus independence is put at risk.

You cannot take on a position like this without resolving in advance that you have to be willing to quit or be fired at a moment's notice in order to stand up for what you think is right, Wray, who spent years in Connecticut pursuing bachelors and law degrees at Yale, told Blumenthal.

During a fiery back-and-forth between Wray and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the nominee dodged questions about Donald Trump Jr.'s June 2016 emails about meeting a government-connected Russian lawyer with damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

Wray said he had not heard about the interaction until Wednesday, a day after Trump Jr. disclosed the email chain himself.

In one of the emails, Trump Jr. was told the lawyer had high-level and sensitive information that was part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. The presidents oldest son replied: I love it.

Later, when Blumenthal pursued the subject, Wray said he could not comment on whether Trump Jr.'s emails qualified as evidence of criminal intent, because I'm really not up to speed on it.

But Wray also said he had no reason to doubt the intelligence community's conclusions that Russia interfered with the 2016 elections.

I think Russia is a foreign nation that we have to deal with very warily, he said. I think an effort to interfere with our elections is an adversarial act.

If confirmed, Wray would replace Comey, whom Trump fired in May and later explained that he was irked by Comey and this Russia thing.

In an exchange with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Wray also dismissed reports that he was involved with a series of so-called Department of Justice torture memos advising officials to use enhanced interrogation methods, like waterboarding, on terrorists in the early 2000s after the 9/11 attacks.

An American Civil Liberties Union database on the memos includes redacted emails to and from Wray, then a senior-level DOJ official.

My view is that torture is wrong, its unacceptable, its illegal and I think its ineffective, he said, adding that he does not recall reviewing or approving the memos, and that's the kind of thing I would remember.

Feinstein quipped back: I would hope so.

Cayla.harris@hearstdc.com
STAMFORD -A federal appeals court has upheld the $28 million verdict for a Connecticut woman who claimed she was harmed by smoking.

The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judgment against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for damages sustained by Barbara Izzarelli, formerly of Norwich, CT. The appeals court also remanded the case for a further award of punitive damages.
DANBURY  Christopher Kukk has been correcting the record about Charles Darwin since March, when the Western Connecticut State University professors new book about compassion was published.

To wit: Darwin did not coin the phrase survival of the fittest, nor did he believe in it. The father of evolution believed in something more like survival of the kindest, Kukk says.

But the science Kukk likes to surprise people with is what happens in the brain when people exercise compassion.

When we think with compassion our bodies produce a peptide hormone called oxytocin, which releases the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, and gives us that high feeling, said Kukk. The science is built into us when we act with compassion.

Kukk, a professor of political science and a Brookfield father of three, has been leading the call for more compassion in Connecticut since he founded the Center for Compassion, Creativity and Innovation in 2012, following the Dalai Lamas visit to the university.

The center promotes programs that integrate compassion into everyday life.

Although Kukk has always believed compassion builds better people and better communities, he had been losing his argument to proponents of the competition culture, who say compassion doesnt get people ahead in a world where only the strong survive.

More Information The discussion "The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success" Begins 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Farioly Program Room at the Danbury Library, 170 Main St. See More Collapse

So Kukk started reading Darwin.

In his book, Kukk quotes from Darwins On the Origin of Species: (I)t hardly seems probable that the number of men gifted with such virtues (as bravery and sympathy) ... could be increased through natural selection, that is, by the survival of the fittest.

The result is his book about the scientific foundation of compassion: The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success, which he will discuss during a presentation at the Danbury Library on Tuesday.

As a society we discount compassion, even though Charles Darwin said compassion is one of the key reasons why humankind moved up the evolutionary chain, Kukk said. We think we know how success is obtained  that we have to be ruthless  but we are absolutely wrong.

Compassion, which Kukk defines as caring about another persons pain and making a commitment to help, builds better relationships, increases intelligence and improves peoples ability to rebound from hardship, he said.

When oxytocin is released in the body you have more trust, and that helps build resiliency, Kukk said. We know from research that dopamine acts act like a Post-it note for the memory system, and that is why social and emotional learning is so important in the classroom.

Social and emotional learning is an increasingly popular curriculum concept about the role of compassion in managing emotions. Kukk helped a mother who lost a son in the 2012 Sandy Hook shootings develop a program based on the social and emotional learning concept she is offering to schools through her foundation, the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement.

Kukks free discussion at the library, will feature Kukks four steps to compassionate achievement: listening, understanding, connecting and acting.

I dont know how we can understand if we dont listen, Kukk says. We have to learn to listen to understand and not listen to reply.

Kukk added the last step is implied in the definition of compassion.

Compassion is more than just a value or a virtue, he says. Its a verb.

rryser@newstimes.com; 203-731-3342
If you feel like youre starting to outgrow your current position, you may want to watch your behavior carefully.

Researchers at Florida Atlantic University's College of Business found that people who think that they are overqualified for their job often feel unsatisfied with their work and place within their organization. This leads to a mental frustration, which in turn, kind of makes them act like a jerk.

Related: A Dozen Ways You Don't Realize You Are Making a Bad Impression at Work

"We invest effort at work and we expect rewards in return, such as esteem and career opportunities. And for an overqualified employee, that expectation has been violated, FAU management professor Michael Harari explained in a summary of the findings. "This is a stressful experience for employees, which leads to poor psychological wellbeing, such as negative emotions and psychological strain."

If you are feeling stressed and underappreciated, its more likely that youre going to act out and treat others around you poorly.

Related: 7 Types of Jerks Found in Every Office

The researchers found that workers who think they are overqualified engage in deviant behaviors such as cutting out early, arriving late, bullying and even theft. Basically, if there are ways to make things function less effectively around the office, those who think that they are overqualified may very well do those things.

Now, not everyone who thinks that they need to level up will behave this way. The researchers noted that those workers who were on the younger side, highly educated and narcissistic were the ones that reported higher levels of perceived overqualification.

Just remember: If youre feeling stuck, think about what you need to do you achieve your goals. Dont take it out on everyone else.

Related:

# 5 Things We Learnt After Moving to India to Start Our Business

Thinking Through What Growth is

How This Immigrant Created a Successful Marketing Agency



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


Embattled blood-testing startup Theranos has listed its Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters for rent.

Real estate company CBRE posted a listing on the marketplace LoopNet in mid-June, dividing the 116,172-square-foot office building into four listings by floor. The subleases extend through August 2029, and rates are negotiable, according to the listing.

Related: What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Theranos's Fall From Grace

On July 11, Twitter user @HarryBeanBag2 tweeted the listing, mentioning @JohnCarreyrou, the Wall Street Journal reporter who launched the investigation into the validity of the companys claims in October 2015.

Carreyrou followed with a tweet of his own -- and a prediction.

Theranos building in Palo Alto for lease. How long before a bankruptcy filing? https://t.co/8yMdXFj1LU  John Carreyrou (@JohnCarreyrou) July 11, 2017

"Theranos continues to focus on effectively managing our resources as we progress towards the commercialization of the miniLab platform. Accordingly, the Company has retained CBRE to explore subleasing options for all or portions of our Palo Alto facility," the company said in a statement to Business Insider. "Manufacturing will continue to be located in the Newark, CA facility." A spokesperson also said that the companys Palo Alto employees would likely relocate to the Newark location if Theranos were to sublease the entire building.

Over the past two years, Theranos, a company previously valued at $9 billion, has faced scrutiny, shutdowns and lawsuits. The October 2015 Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that Theranos was using its proprietary Edison technology to conduct only a fraction of the blood tests it had claimed and outsourcing the rest of its test processing. Meanwhile, accounts of faulty test results surfaced, as did the news that Theranos was operating below health, safety and scientific standards.

Last summer, the federal government shut down one of Theranoss labs and banned founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes from owning or operating a clinical lab for two years. Theranos shut down all of its labs and its Wellness Centers located in Walgreens stores, as well as laid off 340 workers. The company also had to pay $30,000 in fines for failing to comply with federal regulations.

Related: Theranos: The House of Cards That Elizabeth Holmes Built

In March, Theranos offered shares to investors in exchanges for promises not to sue. In May, it settled lawsuits with Partner Fund Management, a hedge fund that invested $96.1 million in the company.

The state of Arizona sued the company for fraud. Theranos will pay $4.65 to refund every test it sold in the state, even if it subsequently corrected any results. The company will also pay $225,000 to cover civil penalties and attorneys' fees, the Associated Press reported in April.

As of three weeks ago, a breach of contract lawsuit by Walgreens was also nearly settled, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Related:

Theranos Has Listed Its Headquarters for Rent

Theranos: The House of Cards That Elizabeth Holmes Built

Theranos Is Laying Off Another 155 Employees



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


An estimated 43.4 million American adults 18 and older were reported as being affected by mental illness in 2015, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Thats a whopping 17.9 percent of the entire U.S. adult population.

Related: This Robot Therapist Talks to Patients Via Facebook

Companies across the country are beginning to recognize the importance of mental health care, including software company Olark.

Olark employee Madalyn Parker has struggled with anxiety and depression since her teens, she shared in a 2015 Medium post. When she needed to take a mental health day, all she had to do was notify her work.

Related: These 8 Companies Know the Impact of Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace

Last month, after sending an email to her co-workers and boss notifying them that she would be out for mental health reasons, Olark CEO Ben Congleton responded by not only encouraging that she take the time off to focus on herself, but thanking her for her openness and strength. "You are an example to us all, and help cut through the stigma so we can all bring our whole selves to work," he wrote in his email.

Parker shared her bosss encouraging response on Twitter, which reviewed more than 14,000 retweets.

When the CEO responds to your out of the office email about taking sick leave for mental health and reaffirms your decision. ? pic.twitter.com/6BvJVCJJFq  madalyn (@madalynrose) June 30, 2017

Related:



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


Hamilton, Bermuda, July 12, 2017

For the interest it may have, below is a press release from Nordic American Offshore Ltd. that was announced today.

------------------

Nordic American Offshore Ltd. (NYSE:NAO) - the immediate Hansson family increases its holding in NAO to 10.8%.

Hamilton, Bermuda, July 12, 2017

Alexander Hansson, the son of the Executive Chairman, Herbjorn Hansson, today bought 300,000 shares in NAO at an average price of $1.18 per share. Following the transaction today, the immediate Hansson family holds shares equivalent to 10.8% of NAO.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the PSV market, as a result of changes in the general market conditions of the oil and natural gas industry which influence charter hire rates and vessel values, demand in platform supply vessels, our operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry docking and insurance costs, governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities as well as potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, the availability of financing and refinancing, vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hire and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.



Contacts:

Herbjrn Hansson, Executive Chairman

Nordic American Offshore Ltd.

Tel: +1 866 805 9504 or + 47 90 14 62 91

Web-site: www.nao.bm
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PIMCO, a leading global investment management firm, will be a Founding Partner of IMPACT 2030, an initiative that contributes to the achievement of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through volunteerism. PIMCO has a potential volunteer base of 2,150 employees, which will be working to support these goals.



A coalition of global companies worked in partnership to create IMPACT 2030 to support the 17 SDGs through the focused efforts of employee volunteers. The goals - set by 193 world leaders in 2015 - aim to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and address climate change by the year 2030.

We are honored to be a founding partner of IMPACT 2030. We firmly believe in the transformation that can be achieved through volunteering and giving back, said Emmanuel Roman, PIMCO CEO and PIMCO Foundation Board President. Through IMPACT 2030, we can direct the private sectors abundant resources towards achieving these crucial goals.

IMPACT 2030 is the only business-led effort designed to marshal the power of human capital investments  and the first time that companies proactively connect their corporate volunteering efforts to address the United Nations Development Agenda through collaboration across sectors and industries, said Grady Lee, Chair of the Executive Committee for IMPACT 2030 and the co-founder of CorpsGiving.

In order to effect real change in the world, we need to make service a global movement, said PIMCO Foundation Executive Director Sarah Middleton. IMPACT 2030 is the only initiative of its kind and scale, and we are so proud to be a part of it. Through cross-sector partnerships and collective efforts, we can take action, promote corporate volunteering and make a real difference in the world.

About PIMCO

PIMCO is a leading global investment management firm, with offices in 11 countries throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Founded in 1971, PIMCO offers a wide range of innovative solutions to help millions of investors worldwide meet their needs. Our goal is to provide attractive returns while maintaining a strong culture of risk management and long-term discipline. PIMCO is owned by Allianz S.E., a leading global diversified financial services provider.

About IMPACT 2030

IMPACT 2030 is the only private sector, partnership-led initiative focused on leveraging employee volunteer programs to directly and substantially contribute to the achievement of the United Nations global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The initiative takes a collective and multi-sector approach to impact the SDGs and leverages economies of scale by encouraging collective and cooperative volunteering efforts of member organizations globally.

Learn more about IMPACT 2030 and join the global movement to leverage human capital to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals at www.IMPACT2030.com.

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of PIMCO's sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. PIMCO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.
As part of Canada 150, the Government of Canada is investing $1,000,000 to support events and celebrations of Acadian culture, including National Acadian Day, in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador

MONCTON, July 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced $1,000,000 in funding for 59 projects for National Acadian Day celebrations and related activities in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

This includes funding for the Festival acadien de Caraquet ($400,000 for its project Viens voir le pays) and for Grand-Pre 2017 ($250,000 for its project Un rassemblement de paix et d'amitie du peuple mi'kmaq et du peuple acadien). The remainder of the funding will support celebrations in 57 communities across the Atlantic provinces.

Thanks to the Canada 150 Fund, Canadians will be able to mark this memorable year by taking part in local and regional activities that showcase Acadian cultural diversity during the National Acadian Day celebrations in Atlantic Canada.

Quotes

"Canada 150 is an opportunity to shine a light on the many communities and cultures that make up this amazing country. The Acadian communities throughout Atlantic Canada will showcase their culture during National Acadian Day celebrations. I invite everyone to come out and experience these exciting celebrations."

The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

"Our Acadian communities across New Brunswick and throughout Atlantic Canada are a proud and diverse group of people who have helped to shape and build our great country. As we celebrate this year of Canada 150, I am extremely pleased to recognize the investments by our government toward these Acadian communities."

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard; and Member of Parliament for Beausejour

"The Acadian culture and language are vibrant in CumberlandColchester. We have the country's most intact Acadian village in Cumberland County at Beaubassin, where a view park will open later this year. I am very pleased that our government is making investments to help celebrate the rich history and culture of the Acadian community in Nova Scotia and across Atlantic Canada."

Bill Casey, Member of Parliament for CumberlandColchester

"I am pleased that the Carrefour de L'isle-Saint-Jean will be receiving funding to help celebrate Acadian culture and diversity in Charlottetown. The Celebrons L'Acadie: Charlottetown En Fete 2017 festival will be a celebration on National Acadian Day, giving Islanders the opportunity to learn more about the vibrant Acadian culture in PEI. These types of events are extremely important for sharing the traditions of such a rich heritage and for looking to our future, as we continue to preserve Acadian culture on Prince Edward Island."

Sean Casey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Member of Parliament for Charlottetown

"I am proud that the Government of Canada is supporting projects that recognize the important contribution of the Acadian people and communities in the building of Canada."

Serge Cormier, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; and Member of Parliament for AcadieBathurst

"This fund is a wonderful opportunity for our community members to express themselves, encourage participation at local events, inspire a better understanding of Canada's vast cultural diversity and build a greater relationship between all Canadians, including Indigenous Peoples, newcomers, youth and officiallanguage minorities. Local projects such as Celebrations du 15 aout 2017: Fete nationale des Acadiens dans la Capitale provinciale allow us to underline the significance of Acadian culture in our region and celebrate its contribution to our country's diversity, rich history and proud heritage."

Matt DeCourcey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for Fredericton

"The Acadian community is an important part of Nova Scotia's rich culture. I'm proud of the many organizations in DartmouthCole Harbour and across the province that are working hard to provide leadership within the vibrant and dynamic Nova Scotian Acadian and Francophone community. The Government of Canada is proud to support and fund these organizations so that they may continue their good work in our communities."

Darren Fisher, Member of Parliament for DartmouthCole Harbour

"On August 15, Acadia celebrates! Each year, National Acadian Day celebrates the resilience, tenacity and dynamism of Acadian communities. In this year of Canada 150, I am delighted with the support provided to the numerous festivities by Minister Joly, including those in West Nova, which highlight the important past and present contributions of Canada's Acadian people."

Colin Fraser, Member of Parliament for West Nova

"The Association regionale de la cote ouest (ARCO) provides exceptional educational services throughout Long Range Mountains and beyond. I am thrilled for the funding that they are receiving from the Canada 150 Community Projects for their Celebrons la Fete des Acadiens festival. These types of events highlight the wonderful diversity we have here in Newfoundland and Labrador. I encourage everyone to join the festivities on August 15th."

Gudie Hutchings, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and Tourism and Member of Parliament for Long Range Mountains

"As the celebration of Canada 150 continues, it is wonderful to see organizations honouring Acadian heritage and what it means to New Brunswick. I look forward to taking part in the National Acadian Day festivities in Saint JohnRothesay."

Wayne Long, Member of Parliament for Saint JohnRothesay

"From Labrador City, to the Port-au-Port Peninsula to Ecole Des Grands Vents overlooking St John's, Francophones contribute immensely to our cultural heritage and our economy. Community organizations such as those mentioned by Minister Joly today, along with all Canada 150 community projects, help to grow a diverse and prosperous Atlantic Canada."

Nick Whalen, Member of Parliament for St. John's East

Quick facts

Through the Canada 150 Fund, the Government of Canada is providing a total of $1,000,000 in funding for 59 organizations in the Atlantic region to support celebrations for National Acadian Day and related activities.

150 Fund, the Government of is providing a total of in funding for 59 organizations in the Atlantic region to support celebrations for National Acadian Day and related activities. The Canada 150 Fund has an overall budget of $200 million . Through the Fund, the Government of Canada makes investments in activities that support the community-based vision of Canada 150 and that encourage Canadians to participate.

150 Fund has an overall budget of . Through the Fund, the Government of makes investments in activities that support the community-based vision of 150 and that encourage Canadians to participate. The Acadian people have been celebrating National Acadian Day on August 15 since 1881, the year in which the Acadian leaders received the mandate to set the date of this celebration at the first National Convention of the Acadians at Memramcook, New Brunswick .

since 1881, the year in which the Acadian leaders received the mandate to set the date of this celebration at the first National Convention of the Acadians at . The Government of Canada passed the National Acadian Day Act in 2003.

Related products

News release announcing funding for Grand-Pre 2017 https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2017/03/mi_kmaq_and_acadianpeoplesgathertocelebratecanada150.html

Associated links

Festival acadien de Caraquet  Viens voir le pays http://festivalacadien.ca/fr/canada-150

Grand-Pre 2017 http://www.grandpre2017.ca/

Data table







City Organization Amount Caraquet, New Brunswick Festival Acadien de Caraquet 400 000 $ Grand-Pre, Nova Scotia Grand-Pre 2017 250 000 $ 57 other communities Various (local announcements to follow) 350 000 $ Total

1 000 000 $

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

For further information: (media only), please contact: Pierre-Olivier Herbert, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, 819-997-7788; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.pch.gc.ca


RICHMOND, BC, July 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Starting today, Boston Pizza restaurants across British Columbia will be accepting donations, in support of communities in British Columbia affected by the wildfires. Boston Pizza Foundation Future Prospects (BPFFP) will also match donations, up to $25,000. BPFFP will work with community leaders and charitable organizations to not only provide immediate relief for those affected, but to also provide support in rebuilding efforts following the crisis.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all British Columbians impacted by this tragedy," said Mark Pacinda, President and CEO, Boston Pizza International. "With the increasing severity of wild fires throughout Central British Columbia, our franchisee community and corporate staff are eager to provide support to those in need."

About Boston Pizza

Boston Pizza International Inc. is Canada's No. 1 casual dining brand with more than 380 restaurants in Canada and more than $1 billion in sales. Annually, Boston Pizza serves more than 40 million guests. The company has been recognized as a Platinum Member of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies. Boston Pizza believes that strong role models inspire kids to be great, and in 2014, the Boston Pizza Foundation created Future Prospects to help support organizations that mentor kids to reach their full potential. Boston Pizza International Inc. is located in Richmond, B.C., and has regional offices in Mississauga, Ontario and Laval, Quebec. For more information, visit www.bostonpizza.com.

About Boston Pizza Foundation Future Prospects

Boston Pizza Foundation Future Prospects was established in 2014 to raise funds and awareness for organizations that provide kids in Canada with role models and mentoring programs. BPF Future Prospects is proud to partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Kids Help Phone, Live Different, JDRF and the Rick Hansen Foundation. Since its inception in 1990, the Boston Pizza Foundation has raised and donated more than $24 million to directly improve the health and well-being of children and families.

SOURCE Boston Pizza International Inc.

For further information: Alexandra Cygal, Senior Director of Communications, Boston Pizza International, 905-848-2700 - office, [email protected]
CALGARY, July 12, 2017 /CNW/ - ECO Canada's Internship Program received substantial funding that provides up to 50% in salary for environmental jobs in Natural Resource Sectors. The program will result in the fulfillment or creation of 650 environmentally focused career opportunities for new graduates and corporations.

"Canadian youth have the talent and drive to succeed in the labour market", says the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of Natural Resources Canada. "To help them make the transition from school to work and get a strong start in their careers, the Government of Canada continues to invest in the Youth Employment Strategy, a government-wide initiative to help support Canada's newest workers".

Funded through Natural Resources Canada's Green Jobs  Science and Technology Internship Program (STIP), eligible employers who work in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) can receive up to $15,000 to onboard new environmental positions.

"This program really helps new grads break into that first job and makes them a compelling candidate because their position can be subsidized. At the same time, employers can grow the capacity of their teams where they may not be able to otherwise" explained Jennifer Neuman, Senior Program Manager.

Eligible interns must intend to lead an environmental career related to STEM, be 30 years of age or younger and be eligible to work in Canada. Eligible employers in the natural resources industry must offer a fulltime, permanent position, provide an environment-related position in STEM, and plan to hire a new employee.

"Our 15+ years of experience in managing internship funding programs has resulted in many success stories from the over 5,000 jobs that have been created to date. We are pleased to be able to continue building green jobs with the support of NRCan" said Angie Dzwonkiewicz, Marketing Director.

This program is available to participants across Canada. For more information or to get started with an application, visit http://www.eco.ca/employers/internship-program.

About ECO Canada

For over 20 years, ECO Canada has studied the environmental labour market and examined ways to improve access for new graduates and individuals entering mid-career. The data it collects provides insights on green career trends, from top jobs to skills gaps to high-growth sectors.

SOURCE ECO Canada

For further information: Angie Dzwonkiewicz - Director, Marketing & Customer Engagement, Suite 200, 308 - 11 Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta T2G 0Y2, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.eco.ca


FORTALEZA, Brazil, July 12, 2017 /CNW/ -- Multinational telecommunications company, Angola Cables, announced today that construction had begun on its South American data centre, located in Fortaleza, Brazil. The data centre is an important next step in the company's roll-out of promoting the digital inclusion and empowerment of Africa by the use of subsea internet cable connecting Africa to the Americas and providing high speed internet at some of the lowest latency speeds between the two continents.

Angola Cables was launched in 2009 with the mission of becoming the leading driver of digital enablement in Africa. The Fortaleza centre represents another important step in developing international routes for digital traffic between the Americas and Africa.

Two key routes will run from the Data centre. The SACS system will connect the Fortaleza centre to Luanda and is expected to be completed by mid-2018. The Monet Cable will connect Miami with both Fortaleza and Sao Paulo Brazil and is due to be completed by the end of 2017. However, the Data Centre aims to accommodate more cables from the cable dense region of Fortaleza.

Antonio Nunes, CEO of Anglo Cables says, "The systems will enhance Africa's global communications networks, provide a 'meet me' point with high connectivity and access to larger markets. They will also deliver the lowest latency routing between Africa and South America."

He said partnering with Brazil to establish this Data centre has been a productive journey so far. "We were delighted to be a part of the ceremony to mark the start of the building of the centre. This is a Brazilian tradition we were honoured to share in." Clients who have already signed in Brazil include Prefeitura de Fortaleza, Claranet and AmLight.

Angola Cables' product manager Fabio Jose said that the centre is a Tier 3 DC from a design and construction perspective, this will account for the different layers of security, humidity and environment controls and all the pre-cautions required to operate the DC with safety, efficiency and reliability. We are creating a digital gateway between the closest point to Africa in South America."

Angola Cables is focused on the 15 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), having established itself as the main international telecom service provider for the Angolan market.

The WACS system, which Angola Cables is a partner in with 11 other companies and which links Yzerfontein in South Africa to London in the United Kingdom is already in operation greatly enhancing Africa's connectivity to Europe and Asia.

About Angola Cables

Angola Cables is a multinational telecommunications company founded in 2009, which operates in the wholesale market and whose core business is the commercialisation of capacity in international circuits for voice and data through Submarine Cable Systems. SACS and the Monet cable system will interconnect three continents (South America, North America and Africa) as well as a Tier III data centre in Fortaleza to interconnect the cable systems. Angola Cables also runs Angonix, a neutral Internet Exchange Point located in Luanda, which interconnects global networks and content providers. Angola Cables also manages Angonap, a neutral data centre located in Luanda and the company's traffic exchange point in Angola. For more information, visit http://www.angolacables.co.ao.

For further information, contact:

Andrew Cole

Atmosphere Communications

Cel: +27 (0)79 483 3208

[email protected]

SOURCE Angola Cables

Related Links

http://www.angolacables.co.ao


ST. JOHN'S, July 12, 2017 /CNW/ - PAL Aerospace is pleased to announce that a $30 million, two-year contract extension with the Netherlands will continue to ensure operational surveillance and search and rescue capabilities are provided to the Caribbean region until February 2020.

"PAL Aerospace has a strong partnership with the Government of the Netherlands  one of Canada's allies in operations around the world. We are committed to assisting the Netherlands with the delivery of key capabilities and we are honored this important client appreciates our approach to providing a flexible, proven, reliable and low-risk solution," says Brian Chafe, Chief Executive Officer, PAL Group.

PAL Aerospace owns and operates two Dash 8 aircraft based in Curacao on behalf of the Netherlands. In cooperation with Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard, this contract offers strategic services that protect the Caribbean region by providing actionable intelligence concerning illegal immigration, illegal fishing, drug operations and other matters of interest to law enforcement agencies. PAL Aerospace has held this contract since 2008.

Brigadier General de Vin, the senior Dutch military commander in the Caribbean Region stated, "As the director of the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard, I can say that I am extremely pleased with the continuation of the current contract with PAL Aerospace. As an intelligence-collecting asset, the Dash 8 is a critical enabler for our intelligence-based operations."

About PAL Aerospace

PAL Aerospace is a Canadian aerospace and defence company with a focus on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) solutions. Recognized by governments and militaries for on time/on budget delivery, and high reliability rates, the company has grown globally. This track record of success has led to on-going operations around the world.

For more information, please visit www.palaerospace.com

About Exchange Income Corporation

Exchange Income Corporation is a diversified acquisition-oriented company, focused in two sectors: aerospace and aviation services and equipment, and manufacturing. The Corporation uses a disciplined acquisition strategy to identify already profitable, well-established companies that have strong management teams, generate steady cash flow, operate in niche markets and have opportunities for organic growth. The Corporation currently operates two segments: Aerospace & Aviation and Manufacturing. The Aerospace & Aviation segment consists of the operations by Perimeter Aviation, Keewatin Air, Calm Air International, Bearskin Lake Air Service, Custom Helicopters, Regional One and Provincial Aerospace. The Manufacturing segment consists of the operations of Overlanders, Water Blast, Stainless Fabrication, WesTower Communications in Canada and Ben Machine.

For more information on the Corporation, please visit www.ExchangeIncomeCorp.ca. Additional information relating to the Corporation, including all public filings, is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com)

SOURCE PAL Aerospace

For further information: Media contact: PAL Aerospace, Darlene Stone, 613-809-6537, [email protected]; Stephen Dinn, 709-725-0027, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.palaerospace.com/


OTTAWA, July 11, 2017 /CNW/ - It is with sadness that I offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Joe Howlett. Mr. Howlett was a member of a non-governmental organization, Campobello Whale Rescue, who tragically lost his life yesterday while taking part in a rescue operation to disentangle a North Atlantic Right whale off the coast of New Brunswick.

Taking part in whale rescue operations requires immense bravery and a passion for the welfare of marine mammals. Mr. Howlett's notable experience and contribution to whale rescue include his very recent and critical role in successfully freeing an entangled whale on July 5.

At the time of the fatal incident, Mr. Howlett was on a Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) fast response vessel. DFO's Conservation and Protection officers and the Canadian Coast Guard took part in responding to the situation.

There are serious risks involved with any disentanglement attempt. Each situation is unique, and entangled whales can be unpredictable.

I am mindful of the other individuals who were on board the vessel at the time this tragic incident occurred. I recognize it is a very difficult thing to lose a friend and colleague. My thoughts are also with them during this time. I would also like to express my gratitude to all those involved in responding to the emergency.

We have lost an irreplaceable member of the whale rescue community. His expertise and dedication will be greatly missed.

Internet: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Follow us on Twitter! www.Twitter.com/DFO_MPO

SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada

For further information: Media Relations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Gulf Region, 506-851-7045, [email protected]; Kevin Lavigne, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 613-992-3474, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca


TORONTO, July 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Unifor is responding to the wildfire crisis in BC's Interior with a $100,000 donation to the Canadian Red Cross, and is encouraging its local unions and members to give.

"Unifor members have been following the devastation caused by the fires very closely and we feel compelled to act," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. "We encourage Unifor members and all Canadians to make a donation to the Red Cross so that the affected families can rebuild and recover."

Unifor has several hundred members spread out across the affected area, including 100 Mile House, 150 Mile House, Dog Creek, Lac La Hache, Quesnel, Soda Creek, Wildwood, and Williams Lake.

Unifor's initial donation of $100,000 could grow if the fires continue to spread and displace more communities.

"I don't think anyone has a complete picture yet of the fallout from the fires, so we'll be listening to our members in the area and working closely with the Red Cross to ensure that we are doing everything we can to support these communities," said Joie Warnock, Unifor Western Regional Director.

Donations can be made online at www.redcross.ca/donate

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing more than 310,000 workers. It was formed Labour Day weekend 2013 when the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unions merged.

SOURCE Unifor

For further information: please contact Unifor Communications Representative Ian Boyko at [email protected] or 778-903-6549 (cell).
Chicago, IL; Salisbury, MD, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Edgewater Funds, Duchossois Capital Management and CEO of Air Filtration Holdings Brandon Ost announced today that they have collectively acquired Viskon-Aire Corp. in Salisbury, MD.

Founded in 1979, Viskon-Aire is a leading manufacturer of air and paint filtration products used in a wide variety of applications in commercial and industrial HVAC as well as paint spray booths worldwide.

Brandon Ost stated, We are excited to partner with Viskon-Aire CEO Chip Meyer and President Rob Johnson to continue the companys tradition of excellent service to distributors and commitment to product innovation. This is the first acquisition and a critical piece of our overall strategy to build a world class filtration business focused on serving the needs of our customers through a broad portfolio of solution based filtration products.

Chip Meyer and Rob Johnson noted, With this strategic investment, we believe Viskon-Aire has never been better positioned to address the changing needs of our customers through the introduction of innovative new products. All our employees are excited about the possibility of expanding our manufacturing capabilities in Salisbury, MD as well as in other regions of the United States in support of our customer focused strategy.

Dave Tolmie, Partner with Edgewater Funds stated, Our strategy is to partner with proven executives like Brandon Ost to create industry leading companies through acquisitions and organic growth. Viskon-Aire is a first class company and we are very pleased to launch our platform investment in partnership with Chip Meyer and Rob Johnson.

Mike Flannery, CEO of Duchossois Capital Management, remarked, We are thrilled to team up with Edgewater and Messrs. Ost, Meyer and Johnson to build a premier air filtration business. This acquisition aligns well with our strategy to partner with best in class investors and operating executives.

About Brandon Ost

With over 25 years in the filtration business, most recently as CEO of Filtration Group, Brandons mission is to capitalize on new and emerging technologies and, apply these solutions to real world filtration problems facing distributors and end users worldwide.



About Edgewater Funds

The Edgewater Funds is a Chicago-based private equity firm with $2.7 billion in committed capital. Through Edgewater Growth Capital Partners, we partner with management to help accelerate growth in their business. Edgewater focuses on funding high quality middle market companies where we can add substantial value through capital, our experience and our broad network. Edgewater leverages the experiences of its Partners and Executive Advisory Board who have distinguished themselves as successful CEOs and business leaders.

About Duchossois Capital Management

Duchossois Capital Management is a privately held, family owned investment company that creates long term value by applying its extensive industry knowledge, operational expertise and permanent capital base to a variety of investment opportunities. DCM invests in a wide array of asset classes including private and public companies, private investment funds and real estate. For more information, visit www.dcmllc.com.
UPDATE - Seven of the U.S. troops killed in the Mississippi plane crash were special operations forces based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Six were Marines and one was a sailor.

The Marine Corps refueling and cargo plane went down in a soybean field on Monday and killed 16 military members in all. The Marines said Tuesday that the air tanker was based at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, and headed to California.

One of the plane's stops was in North Carolina, presumably to pick up the seven commandos. The plane was scheduled to drop them and their equipment off for training at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, and fly on to a naval air field at El Centro, California. The seven commandos were from the Camp Lejeune-based 2nd Marine Raider Battalion.

Officials have not released the names of those killed. The crash is under investigation.

Earlier story



ITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) -- A Marine Corps refueling plane crashed and burned in a soybean field in the Mississippi Delta, killing all 16 military members aboard in a wreck that scattered debris for miles and sent a pillar of black smoke rising over the countryside.

It was the deadliest Marine crash -- in the U.S. or abroad -- since 2005.

Fifteen Marines and a Navy corpsman were on board the KC-130 tanker when it corkscrewed into the ground Monday afternoon about 85 miles (135 kilometers) north of Jackson, the state capital, military officials said. A witness said some bodies were found more than a mile away.

Some of the Marines killed were from a reserve squadron based in Newburgh, New York, in the Hudson Valley, the military said.

The Marines gave no immediate details on the cause of the crash.

The KC-130 is used to refuel aircraft in flight. The flight originated from the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, and was taking people and equipment to Naval Air Field El Centro, California, when it went down, officials said.

Andy Jones said he was working on his family's catfish farm just before 4 p.m. when he heard a boom and looked up to see the plane spiraling downward with one engine smoking.

"You looked up and you saw the plane twirling around," he said. "It was spinning down."

Jones said that by the time he and others reached the crash site, fires were burning too intensely to approach the wreckage. The force of the crash nearly flattened the plane, Jones said.

"Beans are about waist-high, and there wasn't much sticking out above the beans," he said.

Jones said a man borrowed his cellphone to report to authorities that there were bodies across U.S. Highway 82, more than a mile from the crash site.

Greenwood Fire Chief Marcus Banks told the Greenwood Commonwealth that debris was scattered in a radius of about 5 miles (8 kilometers).

Jones said firefighters tried to put out the fire but withdrew after an explosion forced them back.

The fierce blaze, punctuated by small explosions, produced black smoke visible for miles across the flat region and continued to burn after dusk, more than four hours later.
Analysts Bet on Lafarge, Forte Oil, Others for High Returns

Investors looking for high returns on investment should include Lafarge Africa, Forte Oil and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc in their portfolios, investment analysts have said.Investment advisory reports by Afrinvest Securities and GTI Securities-two leading investment and stock broking firms, said Lafarge Africa, Forte Oil and Julius Berger Nigeria have potential for high returns in the period ahead.Afrinvest Securities, which placed a buy ticker on Lafarge Africa, said the cement company has an upside potential of 42.4 per cent, a direct reference to extent of capital gain that could accrue to investors in the company.According to Afrinvest, recent debt restructuring, energy source diversification and Nigeria price action remain positive drivers of forward earnings for Lafarge Africa.Analysts noted that Lafarge Africas last audited report comfortably outperformed analysts estimates on key earnings metrics pointing out that earnings had also stayed resilient in 2017.Lafarge Africa grew sales by 55.1 per cent and reversed its negative bottom-line with a pre-tax profit of N9.45 billion in the first quarter of 2017 as the cement company ramped up the use of alternative and logistics efficiency to drive growth.Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Lafarge Africa for the three-month ended March 31, 2017 showed that sales rose to N81.31 billion in first quarter 2017 as against N52.42 billion recorded in comparable period of 2016. Gross profit jumped by 168.5 per cent from N7.78 billion in first quarter 2016 to N20.89 billion in first quarter 2017.Compared with pre-tax loss of N2.22 billion in first quarter 2016, the cement company recorded a pre-tax profit of N9.45 billion within the first three months of 2017. Profit after tax also improved significantly to N5.16 billion in first quarter 2017 compared with net loss of N1.87 billion in corresponding period of 2016. Earnings per share thus reversed from a loss of 19 kobo in 2016 to a positive of 92 kobo in 2017.The report also showed improvement in the balance sheet of the cement group. Total assets rose to N523.76 billion by March 2017 from N502.49 billion recorded by the period ended December 31, 2016. The balance sheet growth was driven by improvements in both fixed and current assets. Total equity funds also increased from N248.95 billion by December 2016 to N263.38 billion by March 2017.Another investment advisory report by GTI Securities highlighted Forte Oil and Julius Berger Nigeria as two of the best stocks for investors looking for high returns within a 12-month period.According to the report, Forte Oil has potential to generate capital appreciation of about 250 per cent with an expected target price of N170.41 by the end of the period as against its current price at the stock market.The report also indicated that Julius Berger Nigeria could post a return of about 117.80 per cent within the period as the share price of the construction firm is expected to rise from its current level to close the period at about N70.Analysts noted that the 414 megawatts Geregu Power Plant of Forte Oil has started to contribute significantly to the groups top-line as power generation contribution to revenue increased by 118.61 per cent year-on-year and accounted for 19.79 per cent of total revenue in first quarter of 2017 compared to 8.39 per cent of total revenue in comparable period of 2016.Forte Oil has 51 per cent stake in a 414 megawatts gas-fired independent power plant, which is selling power to the Nigerian power grid on a guaranteed basis.This trend is expected to continue with the power generation business further boosting revenue growth especially with the present drive by the government to ensure that power generation in the country increases. Forte Oil also has the capacity to push higher fuel and lubricants volume sales through its recent retail outlet expansion financed through its issued bonds, GTI Securities stated.The report noted that Julius Berger Nigeria has a huge public sector portfolio which includes several high-profile projects including permanent site of the National Institute for Legislative Studies, Abuja, new residences for presiding officers of the National Assembly, Abuja; rehabilitation and extension of Airport Expressway, Abuja; rehabilitation of Badia Roads, Lagos; LagosBadagry Expressway, Lagos and LagosIbadan Dual Carriageway, Section 1, LagosShagamu among others.We expect that with the focus of the government on infrastructure development a lot of the allotted N1.8 trillion, 30 per cent of the total budget for 2016, will go to ongoing projects across the country.
When I was playing with other kids at school, some mothers whisked them away from me, saying things like, Dont play with a kid like that, said Han.

As the child of a Nigerian father and Korean mother, he was regularly stared at in public, with an elderly woman once asking him: What are you doing in someone elses country?

I wanted to become invisible, he said.

I hated my looks that stand out from everyone else.

A Nigerian teenager who is South Koreas first black model is rising through the ranks of the fashion world despite facing widespread racism.Han Hyun-Mins powerful strut has made him a star on the countrys catwalks, but his agent knew his heritage would be a problem in the ethnically homogenous country.And while the 16-year-old is becoming a regular on the runways and glossy magazines, he suffers the legacy of discrimination against mixed blood Koreans.He found his escape in fashion, taking part in modelling auditions and posting his photos on social media until Youn spotted the images. (Youn a pageant tycoon)After seeing Han (then 14-year-old) demonstrate his electrifying stride on a Seoul street for five minutes, Youn signed him up immediately.Being a fashion model helped build my confidence tremendously, said Han. Now I enjoy being looked at by other people, instead of being ashamed or embarrassed.He hopes to become a role model for multiracial children. I want to be more successful, not just for myself but also for people whom I represent.The duo were initially stonewalled by designers and magazine editors, some of whom openly dismissed the dark-skinned model as bad luck and urged Youn to recruit whites instead.Some of them told me, We dont do dark-skinned models, or, For us, non-Korean models mean white models with blue eyes and blonde hair,But a handful of designers found Hans look unique and charismatic, and he hit the runways at more than 30 shows at the two Seoul Fashion Weeks after his debut last year  an unusually high number for a novice.  Youn said.Hans slim physique had a good combination of strengths of both Asian models and Western models said designer Cho Young-Jae, who used him to display his mens clothing line, Chaos From Undermind.Neighbouring Japan has a similarly homogenous population, Cho said, but a longer history of immigration and already has a number of biracial star fashion models.Most foreigners in the country are from China and Southeast Asia, migrant workers or women who marry rural South Korean men unable to find local spouses willing to live in countryside.Discrimination against them is widespread. Many are openly mocked at public transport for being dirty or smelly, or refused entry to fancy restaurants or public baths.A government survey in 2015 showed that 25 percent of South Koreans do not want a foreigner as a neighbour  far higher than the 5.6 percent in the US and Chinas 10.5 percent.Mixed-race children are bullied at school and constantly taunted as tuigi, a derogatory term that literally means cross-bred animals.DAILYMAIL Reports that many complain of poor opportunities in many aspects of life, including difficulties socialising, getting a job or finding a spouse.South Koreans have until recently been taught at school to take pride in the countrys single ethnicity, with one race and language enduring for centuries.Commentators on social media, though, have warmed to Han.He has such good aura around him, said one. I hope that our society will become more open to people like him.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has returned to Abuja, Nigerias capital after visiting President Muhammadu Buhari in London Tuesday night. Spokesman Laolu Akande, announced Osinbajos arrival in a tweet this morning. He said the acting President will be presiding over a Federal Executive Council meeting at 11am today.It means the briefing promised about the visit would have to wait for now.Akande had announced Tuesday night that the Acting President would jet to London to see his boss, who had gone on medical vacation since 7 May.In London, Osinbajo reportedly spent one hour at the Abuja House, where President has been staying since his arrival in the British capital on 8 May.Osinbajo did not speak to newsmen in London, but Akande tweeted later that the meeting was good and that more information will be shared later.




Nigerias Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, yesterday explained why the country supplies electricity to neighbouring Benin Republic and Niger.The two countries enjoy better electricity than Nigeria.The Minister, who spoke yesterday during the Presidency Quarterly Business Forum in Abuja, said the countries got the supply with the agreement that they wont dam the river that sustains Kainji Dam.He said Nigeria sells the power in exchange for a guarantee that they wont dam the rivers that sustain Kainji Dam.The forum was attended by members of President Muhammadu Buharis Economic Management Team, EMT, headed by Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
A Queens pastor was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for raping two girls in the basement of his church, Nydailynews reports.



A Queens pastor was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for raping two girls in the basement of his church, Nydailynews reports.



Through manipulation and conniving control, he sexually abused his two young victims for nearly two years, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.





What the defendant forced his victims to endure was horrendous  and as punishment he now will be spending a lengthy term behind bars. Trial testimony last month revealed that on July 27, 2011, Chizor took the 14-year-old victim to the church basement, where he lived, and raped her.

On Aug. 22, 2011, he raped the 12-year-old. Chizor, 56, continued abusing one or both of the girls through May 2013, Brown said.

In July 2015, the girls confided in each other they'd been raped by Chizor, and police were notified.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday expressed sadness over the death of Madam Omowunmi Akande, wife of the former Interim Governor of Osun State and All Progressives Congress Chieftain, Chief Bisi Akande.Omowunmi died on Tuesday at the age of 73 in a private hospital in Ibadan.The governor, in a condolence message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, described late Omowunmi as an epitome of humility, uprightness and one who was a pillar of support for her husband.She was a shining example of a virtuous woman, who stood by her husband through thick and thin especially during the period he was incarcerated. She kept the home front together and ensured that his absence did not affect their children adversely, the governor said.While praying for the peaceful repose of her soul, he urged her husband, Chief Bisi Akande, to take solace in the fact that she has gone to a better place and draw strength from the joyful years they shared together.Ambode also commiserated with the children and relatives of the deceased, just as he prayed to God to grant them the fortitude to bear the great loss.On behalf of the good people of Lagos, I want to express our heartfelt condolence to the family of Chief Bisi Akande on this great and irreparable loss, he said.
The appeal filed by the wife of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, to discharge a court order which temporarily seized the sum of $5.9m found in her Skye Bank account, was stalled on Wednesday as one of the three appeal court justices meant to hear the appeal in Lagos withdrew from the case.The three-man appeal court panel, comprising Justices John Ikyeh, Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo and Abraham Georgewill, had earlier fixed Wednesday to hear the appeal.But when the case was called on Wednesday morning, Justice Ikyeh, who presided over the panel, told the counsel on both sides that the appeal could no longer be heard as one of the three justices had decided to withdraw for personal reasons.Justice Ikyeh, however, did not mention the name of the member of the panel who withdrew but said the appeal had to be further adjourned in the circumstances.One of us is going to recuse himself from this case for personal reasons, so we are not complete. Two of us cannot make a quorum. So, well give you a date, Justice Ikyeh said.In the circumstances, counsel for the Economic and Financial Commission, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, urged the appellate court to fix a new date during the courts long vacation which would last till September.Oyedepo said the EFCC, which is seeking a court order permanently forfeiting Patiences $5.9m to the Federal Government, had been handicapped because the Federal High Court in Lagos, which is hearing the case, had already stayed proceedings to await the decision of the Court of Appeal.But Justice Ikyeh reiterated that nothing could be done because two justices could not form a quorum.We cant write anything because we are incomplete. One of us cannot sit over this appeal, he said.The case was subsequently adjourned till September 18, 2017, after the courts vacation.Patience, through her lawyer, Chief Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), is urging the Court of Appeal to overturn an April 26, 2017 interim order of Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court in Lagos, who ordered that the $5.9m found in her Skye Bank account should be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government.The forfeiture order was made in favour of the EFCC, which took an ex parte application before the judge.Apart from Patiences personal account with $5.9m, the court also froze a number of accounts linked with her including an Ecobank account, with a balance of N2.4bn, opened in the name of one La Wari Furniture and Bath Limited.In a supporting affidavit attached to the ex parte application, the EFCC told Justice Olatoregun that the funds were suspected to be proceeds of Patiences alleged criminal activities.An EFCC operative, Musbahu Abubakar, who deposed to the affidavit, stated that Patience opened the Skye Bank account on February 7, 2013, and used it to allegedly warehouse proceeds of crime.According to Abubakar, the former first lady made several cash deposits in United States dollar into the account, through a former Special Assistant to ex-President Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, and a State House steward, Festus Iyoha.He said as of January 30, 2015, the Skye Bank account had a balance of $6.7m but Patience subsequently withdrew it down to $5.9m.The EFCC had prayed the court to urgently freeze the account so as to prevent Patience for moving the funds.Justice Olatoregun had then granted the interim forfeiture order and adjourned till May 22, 2017, for anyone interested in the funds to appear before her to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.On May 22, Patiences lawyer, Adedipe, appeared in court in company with counsel for La Wari Furniture and Bath Limited, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), and told Justice Olatoregun that their clients had appealed the temporary forfeiture order.They urged the judge to suspend further proceedings pending the outcome of the appeal.They argued that it would be disrespectful for Justice Olatoregun to proceed with the case after the appeal had been entered and the appellate court had issued a hearing notice.Justice Olatoregun had then consequently adjourned the case till September 24, 2017, to give the parties time to ventilate their views in the appellate court.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has expressed his sadness over Ademola Adelekes victory on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.The Senate President made this known on Wednesday shortly after he had sworn-in Adeleke as the Senator representing Osun-West.Adeleke had defected from the All Progressives Congress to run as the opposition partys flagbearer in last weekends by-election.In a Facebook post, Saraki said though he is happy with Adelekes victory, he, however, was sad that he was not coming in as an APC Senator.Saraki said Adelekes defection was caused by a mishandling of pre-election matters in the APC.He said it should serve as an eye-opener to the APC that the will of the people should always be respected.I was filled with emotions today as I swore in the brother of Late Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke as Senator representing Osun West. Im sure that my late friend, his family, good people of Ede and Osun West Senatorial District are delighted that the legacy of Guv can continue.I am sure my departed colleague will, in his grave, be happy and filled with joy today and always.My only sadness is that Senator Ademola Adeleke is not coming in as an APC member. This is the result of mishandling of the pre-election matters by our party.I hope Senator Ademola Adeleke will very soon return to his natural fold, the APC, where he rightly belongs.I hope this development will serve as an eye opener to our party at all levels that the will of the people must always be respected. We all have a good lesson to learn from this.Once again, I congratulate Senator Ademola Adeleke and I hope he will live up to his brothers expectations and further uplift the legacy established by their late father, Senator Ayoola Adeleke.
Brooklyn, NY, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Misdemeanor Bar & Lounge, NU Hotel Brooklyns on-site bar, lounge and sidewalk patio, celebrates summer with an expanded menu featuring lite bites inspired by the neighborhood along with an updated selection of signature cocktails, local beer and wine. NU Hotel partnered with a number of Brooklyn-based food and beverage artisans in developing the new menu, which also further cultivates the bars regionally-focused beer, wine and spirit options. At the same time, Misdemeanor Bar & Lounge is offering a daily summer happy hour.

The addition of great local food really elevates Misdemeanor Bar & Lounge to the next level. At NU Hotel, we are always trying to find new ways to connect with and promote our amazing neighborhood, the new lite bites and drinks menu is another outlet for us to curate the best of Brooklyn for our guests and customers, said Regional Senior Director of Operations for HHM NYC, Hiram Negron. We welcome more than just our guests of the hotel, Misdemeanor Bar & Lounge is a great neighborhood spot for locals to grab a drink before a game at Barclays Center or on the way home from work.

The lite bite menu focuses on simple, classic and satisfying fare that is best enjoyed with a drink in hand. Emphasizing high-quality and locally produced ingredients, the menu is sophisticated but not fussy or stuffy, just like Brooklyn. Menu highlights include pimento cheese spread from Stinky BKLYN, a local cheese company in walking distance from NU Hotel that is served with pretzels and beef sliders topped with blue cheese and bacon from Paisanos Meat Market, a family run butcher shop only three blocks from the hotel. For desert, the menu features delicious and rich Italian-style ice cream from Dolce Brooklyn Artisanal Gelatto, which is made in small batches in Red Hook with milk from the Hudson Valley.

The enhanced drink menu includes a selection of local wine, beers and hand-crafted cocktails. The revamped cocktail menu boasts a range of dangerously good cocktails that play homage to the bars law-breaking inspired name, Misdemeanor. The Mafiosa made with Brooklyn Republic Vodka, Limoncello and basil is the perfect refreshing drink to enjoy on the patio. The drink menu features local beer from Sixpoint Brewery, Brooklyn Brewery, Coney Island Brewing Company and KelSo Beer Company and wine from Red Hook Winery, Brooklyn Oenology and Brooklyn Winery.

All summer long, Misdemeanor will offer a happy hour promotion from 4:30-7:00pm Tuesday through Saturday. All beer, wine and cocktails are two for one and can be enjoyed outside on the sidewalk patio or in the bar. The expansive sidewalk patio is open daily and offers some of the best people watching in the neighborhood.

NU Hotel Brooklyn holds artistic events in the space from gallery launches and theme-parties to live performance art and music. Check NU Hotels website for upcoming events and specials at Misdemeanor Bar & Lounge. Misdemeanor is also available for private events and meetings.

###

About HHM: HHM, formerly known as Hersha Hospitality Management, operates nearly 130 hotels across the United States. It provides turnkey hotel management, asset management and receivership for properties with leading 4 brand affiliations through Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Intercontinental Hotel Group. HHM also operates 28 independent hotels ranging from The Rittenhouse Hotel, a Forbes Four-Star property in Philadelphia, to the Larkspur Landing hotels, all-suite extended stay properties in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. Its highly experienced team is accustomed to serving as a fiduciary to publicly traded companies, joint ventures, institutional real estate owners and private investors. Additional information on HHM can be found at hhmhospitality.com.

About Independent Collection Hotels: The IC is a growing collection of cultivated lifestyle hotels located in unique residential neighborhoods of gateway cities across the US. Founded in New York, first in Tribeca and then in Brooklyn, it has grown to Philadelphias Midtown Village, Bostons West End and Cambridge, Washingtons Capitol Hill and Dupont Circle, down to South Florida in Miamis South Beach and Key West, and west to Santa Barbara and Santa Monica across the last five years. This distinctive hotel concept is renowned for its simple sophistication, authentic connection to local communities and personalized service. Independent Collection hotels are created for the independently minded traveler and invite guests to experience the true spirit of the city. For more information on Independent Collection, please visit www.independentcollection.com.

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Attachments:

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Attachments:

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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, has insisted that its members would not re...

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, has insisted that its members would not return to work, unless their demands from Oyo and Osun State Governments are met.

This was disclosed by the Chairman of ASUU, LAUTECH, Dr Abiodun Olaniran, while speaking in Ibadan yesterday.

Issue of ultimate survival of the institution as a proper university in the comity of other universities elsewhere was never negotiable.

While ASUU is eager to put this ugly situation in LAUTECH behind us, we are interested in a honest and holistic address of the issues that forced us to proceed on the current strike.

It is gratifying that even the visitation panel set up by the owner states clearly called attention to this problem, Olaniran said.

In response to the call by Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, he added: For the Governor to be calling on the striking staff who have been reduced to paupers due to months of unpaid salaries is the peak of insensitivity to the plight of the workers.

LAUTECH has almost lost a session as a result of the strike.
The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday said he was convinced that with the right focus, Nigeria would experience a turnaround i...

The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday said he was convinced that with the right focus, Nigeria would experience a turnaround in 18 months.He said his conviction was based on the fact the present administration had been toiling day and night to address the various issues facing the country.Osinbajo said this while addressing the Quarterly Presidential Business Forum at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.He said the country was fortunate to have a leader like President Muhammadu Buhari, who he described as straightforward and upright.With Buhari in charge, Osinbajo said the nation had the right environment in form of government discipline.He said, I have said this repeatedly that in some sense, we are fortunate to have a leader like the President who, at least we know, is straightforward and honest and committed to ensuring government expenditure is spent the way it should be spent and that people dont do what they like.To that extent, I think we have the right environment at least in terms of government discipline to be able to deliver on the promises that we have made.All that I will just want to say to the private sector is to be sure that we have enough willing and able partners. There is no way we can ever be perfect. I mean government is a behemoth, where there are so many problems and issues.He urged Nigerians to trust that the government would fulfill its promises, saying, Do not doubt for one moment at all our commitment to ensuring that we are able to deliver on the promises that we have made.Day after day, night after night, we are working on these things. Practically every night, we work on these issues.I believe very strongly that Nigeria will turn around. I have no doubt in my mind that if we are focused, even in the next 12 to 18 months, we will certainly see a turnaround. And I really would want you to join us in being able to ensure that this happens to the Nigerian economy.The Acting President assured Nigerians that despite the problems facing the country, progress was still possible.Osinbajo said government had identified certain critical things that must be done to move the country forward. These, he said, included stabilising the macro-economic environment, energy sufficiency, power and petroleum, improving transportation infrastructure as well as achieving food security.On each and every one of these items, certainly progress is being made, and of course fighting corruption, controlling government expenditure, controlling leakages and all of that. On every one of these items, progress is being made.When Mr. President launched the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan sometimes in April, one of the things that he emphasised was the fact that we have made up our minds as to where we are going, he added.
In continuation of ongoing efforts to rout Boko Haram terrorists in its area of responsibility, troops of 7 Brigade Special Forces, 8 Ta...

In continuation of ongoing efforts to rout Boko Haram terrorists in its area of responsibility, troops of 7 Brigade Special Forces, 8 Task Force Division have dislodged terrorists who have been gathering in Dawashi Gari village, in an area bordering the Lake Chad.In an engagement this morning, gallant soldiers of the division killed 4 terrorists, while others fled, abandoning their motorcycles, which were recovered and destroyed, to prevent their being used to perpetrate terror on innocent villagers. Similarly, as part of the theater wide and ongoing clearance operations, troops of 145 Bn, 5 Brigade, 8 Task Force Division have cleared Gashigar, Asaga, Bukarti and neighbouring villages.In the process, troops made contact with terrorists in Kanama village and killed 2 terrorists, arrested 2 more, while 1 AK 47 riffle, 4 magazines and 4 motorcycles were recovered. Please, disseminate this information to the general public
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo spent one hour with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in London and then swiftly left to begin the ...

Osinbajo leaves Abuja House in London for the homeward journey. Reuters photo

We will soon share more information about AgP Osinbajo's London meeting with President Buhari. It was a very good meeting. God bless Nigeria  Laolu Akande (@akandeoj) July 11, 2017

According to Reuters, Osinbajo arrived in the night at the Abuja House, where Buhari has been living since he arrived 8 May, from Nigeria for medical vacation.Osinbajo spent one hour and left without making any comment on his meeting with President Buhari.Spokesman for the Acting President tweeted after the visit that information about what transpired will be made known soon. He said it was a good meeting.Akande had announced the visit Tuesday night and that Osinbajo would return immediately after. A Federal Executive Council Meeting takes place every Wednesday in Abuja.Osinbajo meeting with President Buhari in London today, and returning to Abuja immediately afterwards, the vice presidents spokesman, Laolu Akande, said in a Twitter message posted earlier on Tuesday. No details were given.President Buhari, 74, left Nigeria the night of 7 May after welcoming a group of 82 Chibok schoolgirls released by the militant group Boko Haram.It was President Buharis second medical visit to Britain this year. The first began in January and lasted nearly two months.
Leaders of the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have taken possession of the partys National Secretariat in Abuja, following Supreme Court judgement which affirmed the former Kaduna State governor as the partys leader.Photographs of members of the Makarfis committee taking possession of the partys secretariat were posted on PDPs official Twitter handle.Recall that the apex court had earlier put an end to the lingering leadership crisis rocking the opposition party.In a landmark judgment, the apex court held that Markafi remains the authentic National Chairman of PDP and consequently sacked Sheriff.The Supreme Court also ordered Sheriff to vacate the National Secretariat of the party.PDP has been experiencing leadership crisis since it lost the 2015 presidential election.The crisis, however, heightened earlier in the year when an Appeal Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State affirmed Sheriff as the National Chairman of the party while sacking the Makarfis Caretaker Committee.
Mr Joe Emenaha, a chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former lawmaker, said on Wednesday that the Supreme Court judgment validating the chairmanship of Ahmed Makarfi, was a demonstration of the independence of the judiciary.Emenaha said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja while reacting to the judgment.He said that the judgment was not only a new dawn for Nigerias democracy but also a road-map towards a better and stronger opposition.The judgment shows that our judiciary, no matter what people say, is not corrupt and very determined to strengthen our democracy.Every form of corruption and lack of integrity must be stamped out now with this judgment because we have seen an unbiased court ready to uphold justice.The former lawmaker, who described PDP as the reliable alternative, said that it was time for the party to bounce back to the advantage of Nigerians.Emenaha expressed confidence in the integrity and capability of Makarfi to lead the party to glory, saying that PDP had resurrected from the gallows.He urged party faithful to rise to the occasion by supporting Makarfi, adding that it was time to close ranks and unite for a formidable party.We should all look forward to a national convention in which the future of the party will be decided.The lawmaker congratulated Makarfi on his victory, but advised him to embrace all factions for a progressive political party.Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour of the Supreme Court, validated the PDP National Convention held in Port Harcourt on May 21, 2016.Rhodes-Vivour said that the Sheriff-led National Executive Committee was dissolved at that convention in line with the partys constitution.
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, on Wednesday asked Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to declare the health status of President Muhammadu Bu...

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, on Wednesday asked Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to declare the health status of President Muhammadu Buhari.Shortly after he arrived from London, where he had gone to see the President, Osinbajo told journalists that Buhari was recovering and would soon return to the country.But Fayose said the Acting President was not telling Nigerians the truth about Buharis health, insisting that the President is incapacitated.Asked for proof of his assertion on the Presidents health, Fayose threatened to release 11 different photographs depicting Buharis incapacitation.The governor accused the administration of running the country by deceit and propaganda, insisting that the acting President must declare to Nigerians the true state of the Presidents health.Fayose, who is the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, said Osinbajos claim that President Buhari is fast recuperating was not true.He described the acting Presidents trip to London as diversionary.Fayose said: We pray for his ( Buharis) health and for him to come back in one piece. However, the claim of the Acting President that Buhari is recuperating fast was not true. The President is incapacitated, sick. There is no iota of truth that the President is in good condition.In this age of technology, Osinbajo should be able to show Nigerians pictures and short videos of the President to show that he is okay. Nigerians want to see their President.If they are not careful, I will release 11 photographs about the real health status of the President any moment from now.The governor recalled his earlier warning on Buharis health in the build up to the 2015 general elections and regretted that the warning was ignored.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the election of a former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi, as the authentic chairman of the Peopl...



The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the election of a former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi, as the authentic chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, after a protracted legal battle that ruptured the unity of the party.

A three-member panel of the court presided by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, upbraided Mr. Makarfis contender, Ali Sheriff, for demonstrating infantile desperation to lead the party.

Reading out the judgement after weeks of compilation, a member of the panel, Rhodes Vivour, said Mr. Sheriff was not within the category of an unimpeachable leader, stressing that the removal of the former governor was not necessarily expected to follow a vote of no confidence.





Mr. Vivour added that there was no clause in the constitution of the party that made it mandatory for Mr. Sheriff to be removed using a vote of no confidence.





He demonstrated an infantile desperation to lead the PDP by filing almost 10 different applications in various courts. They shall forever gather dust in judicial archives, the judge said, referring to the various applications filed by Mr Sheriff regarding the matter over the last few months of intense legal wrangling.

Mr. Vivour cited relevant sections of the PDP constitution which made it imperative for members of the party to respect the proceedings of the PDP national convention.

The subject matter in the issue is Article 33; 35 and 47, said Mr. Vivour, who then went ahead to state the contents of the aforementioned articles.

There shall be a national convention. All members of the party shall be bound by the decisions of leaders from the National convention. Article 33 states the supremacy of the National convention.









Mr. Vivour added that the PDP constitution allows the deputy national leader of the party to stand in for his principal adding that when Mr Sheriff abandoned the national convention in May 2016, the party asked his deputy to stand in for him, making his attendance noted at the convention.





The apex court further said that although the PDP constitution allows the party to remove the National leader after two years through a vote of no confidence, the word used to denote Vote of no confidence was may, which does not signify compulsory adherence.

May is not the same thing as shall, therefore a national officer could be removed without a vote of no confidence.

There can be no doubt that the National convention has enormous powers over the party, said Mr. Vivour, who thus faulted the lower court for declaring the conduct of the national convention as illegal.

The apex court subsequently ordered Mr. Sheriff to pay a fine of N250,000 for abuse of court processes.

A long-drawn battle

The rift between both leaders of the party began with a ruling of a Federal High Court in Lagos on May 17 2016, which resulted in contrasting court judgements which subsequently led to troubled days for the PDP and led to the loss of many members of the former ruling party.

In the said ruling, the Federal High Court, FHC, in Lagos gave an order restraining the PDP from conducting election into some national offices at the National Convention that was to be held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State that month.

But shortly before the date of the said convention on May 21, the PDP received a different judgement from another FHC in Port Harcourt allowing the convention to hold as scheduled.

After the meeting, on May 25, two courts in Lagos and Port Harcourt gave conflicting judgements: one allowing, the other nullifying the proceedings of the meeting.

Then on August 15, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, gave an order suspending a planned national convention of the PDP on August 17, after the Port Harcourt branch of the same court gave an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the police to ensure the conduct of the convention.





After months of traversing the trial courts, the Sheriff faction approached the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt to contest a decision of the lower court which on July 4, 2016 affirmed the emergence of Mr. Makarfi as the authentic leader of the PDP during the May 21 convention of the party.

Again, on February 17, the Port-Harcourt Division of the Appeal Court upturned the decision of the lower court and affirmed the appointment of Mr. Sheriff as the authentic leader of the party.

After that judgement, the Makarfi-led faction approached the Supreme Court in what could be regarded as last ditch effort to wrest control of the party from Mr. Sheriff.
NEWARK -- An Elmwood Park man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 13 years in prison for taking part in a heroin ring operating in New York and New Jersey, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Edwin "Pan" Lopez, 31, was part of a ring that stockpiled the drug at locations in the Bronx before being sent by courier in large quantities to dealers in Paterson. The drug was sold there or sold to other dealers operating in suburban areas including Morris County and Rockland County, N.Y.

Lopez belonged to the ring from June 2015 to April 2016, when he was arrested while purchasing 150 bricks of heroin for $13,500.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, reminds investors in Tahoe Resources Inc. (Tahoe or the Company) (NYSE:TAHO) of the September 5, 2017 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

If you invested in Tahoe stock or options between April 13, 2013 and July 5, 2017 and would like to discuss your legal rights, click here : www.faruqilaw.com/TAHO. There is no cost or obligation to you.

You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to rgonnello@faruqilaw.com.

CONTACT:

FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP

685 Third Avenue, 26th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Attn: Richard Gonnello, Esq.

rgonnello@faruqilaw.com

Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330

The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all those who purchased Tahoe securities between April 13, 2013 and July 5, 2017 (the Class Period). The case, Cabrera Jr. v. Tahoe Resources Inc. et al. No. 1:17-cv-05155 was filed on July 7, 2017.

The lawsuit focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by failing to disclose material adverse information regarding its Escobal mining operation in Guatemala. In particular, the lawsuit alleges that the Company failed to disclose that the consultation obligations regarding its Escobal mining license had not been met, that this failure had the potential to subject its mining license to suspension, and that as a result revenue associated with the Escobal mine was unlikely to be sustainable.

Specifically, after market close on July 5, 2017, the Company announced that the Supreme Court of Guatemala issued a provisional order suspending its license to operate the Escobal mine. The suspension followed a legal action taken against Guatemalas Ministry of Energy and Mines for violating the indigenous Xinca peoples right of consultation prior to granting the Company its mining license.

Following this news, Tahoes share price fell from its previous close of $8.30 per share on July 5, 2017, to a closing price of $5.56 on July 6, 2017a $2.74 or a 33.01% drop.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Tahoes conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.
ALPINE - A billionaire developer from Russia with ties to the Trump election scandal has placed his posh Alpine mansion on the market for more than $1 million less than he bought it for a decade ago.

Aras Agalarov

Aras Agalarov, who purchased 159 Anderson Ave. for $8 million in April 2006, has listed the seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom home for $6.98 million, according to public records.

Agalarov is a businessman and real estate developer with close ties to Vladimir Putin.

Agalarov's son, Emin, is a singer-songwriter described as a Russian "Michael Buble."

According to The Washington Post, Emin Agalarov helped set up -- through his music publicist Rob Goldstone -- a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer and Donald Trump Jr.

Also at the meeting was then-campaign manager Paul Manafort and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

During an email exchange to set up the meeting, Trump Jr. was told that he could obtain high-level information that would be useful for Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

The meeting occurred as the elder Trump was securing the Republican nomination but was widely considered a long shot to defeat Clinton, reports The Washington Post.

Emin Agalarov owns a home at 98 Anderson Ave. in Demarest, just down the street from his father's house, which he purchased with his father for $3 million in 2008, according to public records. That home is for also sale with a $2.9 million asking price, according to Zillow.

Alpine's Anderson Avenue is one of the most prominent streets in one of the wealthiest towns in America. Aras Agalarov counted rap mogul Sean Combs and legendary musician Stevie Wonder among his neighbors.

In 2013, Aras Agalarov partnered with Trump to bring the Miss Universe Pageant to Moscow. At the time, Agalarov also signed a letter of intent to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. As a gesture of good faith, Trump even made a guest appearance in one of Emin's videos, reports The Washington Post.

According to public records, Aras Agalarov's home was built in 2001 on 2.6-acres of property.

According to the listing, the home includes a double-bridal staircase with oversized windows looking out onto a fountain in the "beautifully landscaped yard."

The first-floor contains a library, butler's pantry, full bar with aquarium and a gourmet kitchen.

On the second floor, there are two master suites and three bedrooms. The finished basement includes a recreation room, media room, gym with sauna, wine cellar and another bedroom.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A 61-year-old South Hackensack man has died from injuries he sustained when he was struck by a vehicle driven by a Bergen County Prosecutor's Office employee, authorities said.

The man, whom police have not yet identified, was hit while walking within a shopping center at 500 South River Street in Hackensack Monday afternoon. He was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center in critical condition. Authorities said Tuesday evening that he died.

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Tuesday evening that "To avoid any appearance of conflict, at the BCPO's request, the Office of the Attorney General ... has directed the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office to oversee the investigation, which is presently being conducted jointly by the Hackensack Police Department and the Bergen County Sheriff's Department.

Questions submitted to the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office were not immediately answered.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MOUNT HOLLY -- A Willingboro man received a 21-year prison sentence for shooting his friend in a park and leaving his body along a wooded path there, authorities said.

Abdullah H. Sheriff was sentenced to 21 years in prison Tuesday for shooting his friend in 2014.

Abdullah H. Sheriff, 22, was sentenced Tuesday for killing 21-year-old Abenego Wesseh in March of 2014 in Willingboro's Fairmount Park, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor's office.

Wesseh worked as a maintenance associate at Walmart and had attended both Willingboro and Williamstown High Schools. Sheriff was a senior at Willingboro High School when authorities arrested him just days after the shooting.

The two were connected on Facebook, and the prosecutor's office referred to them as friends.

Sheriff pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in April in exchange for a 25-year sentence. Judge Philip Haines lowered that to 21 years Tuesday, 85 percent of which Sheriff must serve before he is eligible for parole, authorities said.

Because Sheriff is a native of Liberia, he will be deported when his prison term comes to a close.

"This was a calculated, depraved killing, made even more galling by the betrayal by a friend whom Abenego trusted," Prosecutor Scott A Coffina said in a statement. "The defendant certainly will be deported after serving his sentence and Burlington County will face no further risk from him."

Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amahoover. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
PALMYRA -- The Burlington County Bridge Commission rightfully fired a police officer after he tested positive for amphetamines, despite his claims that he mistakenly ingested the drug, a judge has found.

Burlington County Superior Court Judge Janet Z. Smith affirmed the firing of Officer Garry Church, Jr. in a May 8 order, according to a copy obtained by open government advocate John Paff, who runs the blog Random Notes on NJ Government.

The Burlington County Bridge Commission is responsible for maintaining the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge and Burlington-Bristol Bridge across the Delaware River, as well as six smaller county bridges.

In April of 2016, Church, who had served the commission for around a year and half, was charged with failing to pass a urinalysis drug test by his department, according to legal documents also obtained by Paff. The results allegedly showed he had an amphetamine level of 6,870 ng/ml, which is more than 13 times the positive threshold of 500 ng/ml.

He was immediately suspended without pay.

But Church argued that the test results did not reflect a drug dependency, but a mistake: he believed he had taken his father's amoxicillin for a sore throat, when he had in fact taken Adderall, which is an amphetamine, twice a day for five days, according to court documents.

While Church had previously had his own Adderall prescription around 10 years prior, he did not currently have any prescriptions for either Adderall or amoxicillin. He offered to submit to a hair follicle test, which he believed would provide better results about his habits.

But the results of that test did not outweigh the first, the commission said.

"The Bridge Commission has since reviewed the results of that investigation, and has determined that the hair follicle test did not establish a defense to the violation in this matter, nor did it absolve you of liability," a human resources representative wrote in a July letter to Church.

The commission maintains that Church was aware of the regular, random drug tests that generally subject one officer per month to testing, and also that failing the test could result in termination, and scheduled a July hearing for Church.

Officer James D. Fattorini presided over the hearing, and eventually recommended the commission move to fire Church, stating that his delays in responding to charges against him and in providing a hair follicle for testing undercut his explanations for the positive test.

He also emphasized the recklessness Church exhibited by taking drugs that were prescribed to another individual, and how his negligence to read the bottle could have endangered the public he swore to serve.

"Through either blind ignorance or blatant disregard of the laws of this State, by possessing and ingesting ten (10) prescription bills admittedly not belonging to him, Officer Church not only violated the law and his oath, he put the lives of those he was sworn to protect and serve in jeopardy," Fattorini wrote in his findings.

In September, the commission voted to take Fattorini's recommendations, and fired Church. Church appealed the decision in September, and after an April trial, his termination was affirmed by Smith.

Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amahoover. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
English French

Availability of the Pre-quarterly Results Communication

Paris, France - July 12, 2017 - Sanofi announced today that its Pre-Quarterly Results Communication document is available on the "Investors" page of the company's corporate website:

http://en.sanofi.com/investors/events/Results/2017-07-31_Results_Q2_2017.aspx

As for each quarter, Sanofi prepared this document to assist in the financial modeling of the Group's quarterly results. This document includes a reminder on various non-comparable items and exclusivity losses as well as the foreign currency impact and share count. Sanofi's second quarter results will be published on July 31, 2017.

About Sanofi

Sanofi, a global healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients' needs. Sanofi is organized into five global business units: Diabetes and Cardiovascular, General Medicines and Emerging Markets, Sanofi Genzyme, Sanofi Pasteur and Consumer Healthcare. Sanofi is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).

Contacts:
Greensboro, N.C., July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- More than 2,000 student musicians from 21 states and Bermuda will attend the 35th annual UNCG Summer Music Camp, making this years music camp the largest in UNCG history.

During the two weeklong sessions, which run July 9-21, campers in grades 5-12 receive individual and group instruction from top musicians, including many UNCG students and alumni. Each week culminates with camper performances at venues across campus  an opportunity for students to show off what theyve learned to their families and the general public.

Since the camps founding in 1983, more than 60,000 musicians have attended UNCG Summer Music Camp, widely known as the largest university summer music camp in the nation.

This years camp features 15 concert bands, five orchestras, four choirs and 160 pianists. According to Camp Director Dr. John Locke, a professor of music in UNCGs College of Visual and Performing Arts, the demand this year was even greater than in previous years. Approximately 1,400 campers applied on the first day of registration, Feb. 1.

For Locke, the ultimate goal is to light a spark in these young musicians.

When they return home, we want them to be fired up about practicing their instrument, he said. I hope we can provide instruction that theyve never had before  we want to open their eyes to new techniques.

Performances will take place on Friday, July 14, and Friday, July 21, at 6:15 p.m. in Elliott University Center (Cone Ballroom and Auditorium), Taylor Theatre, UNCG Auditorium and the Recital Hall in the Music Building. All performances are free and open to the public.

To learn more about UNCG Summer Music Camp, visit www.smcamp.org. For more information about the UNCG College of Visual and Performing Arts, visit vpa.uncg.edu.

About The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a high-research activity university as classified by the Carnegie Foundation. Founded in 1891 and one of the original three UNC system institutions, UNCG is one of the most diverse universities in the state with 20,000 students and 2,500 faculty and staff members representing more than 90 nationalities. With 86 undergraduate degrees in over 100 areas of study, as well as 52 masters and 28 doctoral programs, UNCG is consistently recognized nationally among the top universities for academic excellence and value, with noted strengths in education, health and wellness, the performing arts, business and the arts and sciences, among others. For additional information, please visit uncg.edu and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

###

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9cfe80e7-6f0a-4c2b-a939-e1c0511b542c
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Qu Biologics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSIs), a unique platform of immunotherapies designed to restore the bodys innate immune system, is pleased to announce that CEO Dr. Hal Gunn, was invited to present at the US National Cancer Institutes Microbial-Based Cancer Therapy Conference at NCI in Bethesda, Maryland July 11-12th. As the first US National Institute of Health (NIH) sponsored conference of its kind on this topic, this comprehensive meeting brought together an audience of 550 scientists from academia, industry and government. The meetings objective was to review the latest evidence to stimulate discussion and new research on the unique potential of microbial-based cancer therapies.



The conference highlighted the important potential of microbial-based therapeutic approaches to cancer and brought together thought-leaders in the field. As Dr. Gunn stated, It is very encouraging to see this recognition of the importance of microbial-based therapies to stimulate a robust anti-cancer response and the unique potential of these potentially safe and effective therapies. It was an honor to contribute to this important discussion.

The progress and the contribution to the field of immunotherapy that Qu has made in harnessing the immune systems capacity to safely and effectively fight cancer using microbial stimulation is significant, said Dr. Shirin Kalyan, Qu Biologics Director of Scientific Innovation. The invitation extended to Dr. Gunn to speak at the National Cancer Institutes first conference on Microbial-Based Therapy in Bethesda, Maryland is an important recognition of this work.

Qu recently completed a phase 1/2 study in non-small cell lung cancer using QBKPN SSI, which is designed to stimulate an anti-cancer innate immune response in the lungs. The trial demonstrated the ability of QBKPN to safely induce promising immunological response and immune activation in patients with lung cancer.

About Qu Biologics

Qu Biologics is a Vancouver-based private clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSI), a novel class of immunotherapies. SSIs are designed to stimulate an innate immune response in targeted organs or tissues to reverse the chronic inflammation underlying many conditions including cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, inflammatory lung disease and arthritis. SSIs are a broad platform technology being tested in multiple disease indications, including Health Canada approved clinical trials in lung cancer, Crohns disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Backed by a prestigious group of scientific advisors and board members, Qu Biologics is led by a management team that includes co-founder and CEO Dr. Hal Gunn, a physician and expert on the bodys immune response to chronic disease; and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, former CEO of the BC Cancer Agency and a distinguished clinician, scientist and leader in cancer control in Canada and internationally.

Qu Biologics Inc. cautions you that statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based upon current expectations and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of release of the relevant information, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, Qu Biologics forward-looking statements due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in Qu Biologics business including, without limitation, statements about: the progress and timing of its clinical trials; difficulties or delays in development, testing, obtaining regulatory approval, producing and marketing its products; unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate therapeutic efficacy of its products that could delay or prevent product development or commercialization; the scope and validity of patent protection for its products; competition from other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies; and its ability to obtain additional financing to support its operations. Qu Biologics does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law.
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Welcome to non league daily news now - your number one spot for all things relating to the National League System. Our dedicated reporters have come straight from the sidelines to bring you news fresh from the dugout - but not before theyve stopped off at the burger van first!

We know that non league football fans are full of heart, passion, and belief. You trust the manager, you believe in the team, and, for some strange reason, you trust those rickety stands, too! Here at Non League Daily, we hope we can become your trusted non league news resource - a platform thats just as passionate about non league daily news now as you.

Come rain or shine, well be out reporting on the latest non league fixtures. Well also be scouring the news, refreshing social media, and sourcing information from team websites in the hopes of finding the latest breaking non league daily news for our readers.

As youll soon see, weve got exclusive match reports on the Vanarama National League, weve got transfer speculation thatll affect the National League South, weve found great stories thatll spice up the National League North, and weve even got news on the latest giant killers of the FA Cup.

We may not be able to agree on who is going up this year, but we can all agree that any news on the NLS worth knowing will be published here, at Non League Daily.
The driver of a semi-tractor trailer that overturned Monday morning at eastbound Interstate 80 and the Interstate 29 southbound split was cited, according to authorities.

The Council Bluffs Police and Fire Departments were dispatched to the area at 9:11 a.m. The 2011 Peterbilt semi-tractor pulling a trailer was driven by David Raper of Newton when, for unknown reasons, he lost control and sideswiped a concrete barrier.

The truck hit a Department of Transportation portable electric sign on the shoulder of the interstate before driving into the grassy median, hitting an embankment, overturning and skidding across four lanes of oncoming traffic.

The truck hit a light pole and stopped on the southwest shoulder of the I-80 eastbound and I-29 southbound split. Raper was taken to Jennie Edmundson Hospital for treatment of minor injuries and has since been released. He was cited for failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle.

Police credited two separate semi-tractor drivers who were headed eastbound who saw Rapers truck cross the median. They stopped to hold back traffic behind them, possibly preventing multiple accidents or injuries, police said.

Police were assisted by the Iowa State Patrol. Both groups are continuing their investigation. As of Tuesday afternoon, the two far right lanes of I-80 eastbound and I-29 southbound split remain closed, along with the on-ramp from the South Expressway. All other lanes are open for eastbound traffic.
The Treynor Community School District has officially hired a new interim superintendent, according to an announcement posted on the districts website.

During an open session meeting in June, school board members selected Lou Howell, current executive director of the nonprofit Iowa Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Superintendent Kevin Elwood stepped down from his role June 30, the end of his contract with the district.

Grundmeyer Leader Search LLC, the firm hired to assist the board in the search for a superintendent, said contract negotiations were finalized last week after a background check on Howell was approved.

Howell was also required to complete classes to renew her superintendency license, which she last held in the 1990s.

Lou has already provided a very detailed overview of her plan and has asked feedback from the board on direction, Trent Grundmeyer said.

Howell has roots in Treynor, having served as a French and language arts teacher there from 1969 to 1983, according to a resume she provided The Nonpareil. She also was the cheerleading adviser.

In the fall, Grundmeyer Leader Search will begin discussions with Treynors school board on hiring a permanent superintendent.

Grundmeyer said the board has plans to also hire a business manager as soon as possible. The board will conduct interviews with potential candidates this week.

Lou Howell is a well respected educator and a leader in her field that will provide guidance to the school district during this interim time, board president Amy Graber said.
NEW DELHI  Nearly six years after her son slipped and fell around 100 meters into a raging mountain river in India, never to be seen again, Elizabeth Brenner is still wondering how such an accident could have happened.

Brenners son, Thomas Plotkin, was one of the millions of American students who have studied abroad on university-sponsored programs in the last decade  part of a growing global youth travel industry estimated to be worth $183 billion a year.

He wanted to experience another culture, unlike anything that hed ever known, Brenner said.

Others want to study a new language or learn about different political systems. Universities generally encourage study abroad because they believe it improves leadership skills and employment prospects.

When her son died, Brenner began looking into how many other students died overseas, and who might be keeping track of the deaths.

The answer was that nobody was keeping track of this at all, she said.

The number of American students studying abroad each year has doubled in the last decade. But while U.S. colleges and universities must report deaths on their campuses, they are not required to disclose most student deaths that occur abroad, and data collected by industry organizations are incomplete.

More than 313,400 American students earned academic credit for studying abroad in 2014-15, according to the Institute of International Education, which creates study-abroad programs and manages U.S. government study-abroad scholarships.

Most student deaths or injuries overseas are only briefly discussed or mentioned in local newspaper reports. The U.S. Department of Education keeps no such statistics.

A group called the Forum on Education Abroad has attempted to gather such data for 2014 from two insurance companies, which together cover half of the U.S. study-abroad market. The group  with about 100 study-abroad companies and 570 schools as members  used the partial data from only one year to argue in a 2016 report that students are less likely to die overseas than on a U.S. campus, and to understand more about the student experience, so that programs can be improved and risk can be mitigated, its chief, Brian Whalen, told The Associated Press.

It calculated a mortality rate of 13.5 deaths for every 100,000 college students studying abroad, versus 29.4 deaths on campus, to argue that studying overseas was actually safer.

Brenner and other parents slammed the report , saying the findings are misleading because a full half of the study-abroad market was ignored, giving parents the idea that programs are safer than they may actually be.

The Forum on Education Abroad has since expanded its study to cover the five-year period from 2010 to 2015, and will be releasing a new report in the fall. A preliminary analysis of that report was presented in June and showed a mortality rate for college students studying abroad of 18.1 deaths per 100,000. However, the report will still cover only half the number of students studying abroad.

Whalen said his group tried to get the exact number of student deaths overseas from the U.S. State Department, but it was not available.

* * *

Ros Thackurdeen hasnt been able to sleep through the night since her youngest son, Ravi, drowned while on a school-sponsored excursion to a beach in Costa Rica in 2012.

I began searching the internet, Thackurdeen said. Within five years, she amassed seven binders of newspaper articles and travel alerts counting 3,200 other students who had died or been kidnapped, drugged, injured or assaulted abroad over the last few decades.

For 2014, she counted 14 student deaths  far higher than the four listed by the Forum on Education Abroad among the nearly 150,000 students it was able to track that year. The forum calculated a mortality rate of 13.5 per 100,000 from those four deaths in an effort to compare on-campus deaths with those during study-abroad programs, which often last less than a full school year.

What I discovered about study-abroad safety was disturbing, Thackurdeen said from her home in Newburgh, New York. The numbers of incidents and deaths on study abroad are overwhelming.

She and other grieving mothers began demanding more transparency about what happens when students go overseas.

Coffee beans and bowling balls have more rules than any program, school, professor or teacher escorting our kids into foreign countries, said Sheryl Hill, who has built a business called Depart Smart around providing safety advice to students going abroad after her 16-year-old son, Tyler, fell ill and died while studying in Japan in 2007. She said he had Type-1 diabetes and died from dehydration when he did not receive medical attention in time.

Grieving parents successfully lobbied for legislation in Minnesota in 2014 and in Virginia two years later to regulate the study-abroad industry. A similar measure has been introduced in New York, and one member of Congress is now pushing a nationwide bill.

Knowing which areas are hotspots for violent crime is important information for kids and parents to know when theyre making decisions on where theyll study abroad, said Rep. Sean Maloney, a Democrat from New York, who first introduced the Ravi Thackurdeen Safe Students Study Abroad Act in Congress in 2014. The bill failed to pass in the Republican-led House of Representatives, and Maloney plans to reintroduce it in September.

If our kids are consistently getting hurt in a particular city or at a particular university, American families have a right to know that information so they can make informed choices about where to study, Maloney said.

Gregory Malveaux, study-abroad coordinator at Montgomery College in Maryland, published a 2016 book titled Look Before Leaping: Risks, Liabilities, and Repair of Study Abroad in Higher Education, covering study-abroad risks and preventative measures that could offset them.

Malveaux backs the idea of mandating institutions to release data on student deaths and injuries while studying abroad.

If this data exists on-campuses, it needs to also cover off-campuses, Malveaux said. Study abroad is no more dangerous for students than on-campus activities and occurrences. But it is beneficial to know the level of safety, and safety measures available, for the entire institution, including study abroad.

* * *

The lure of studying abroad is as strong as ever, and universities are eager to accommodate. At least 1,000 American universities and colleges currently offer credit for studying overseas, up from 700 a decade ago, according to the Institute of International Education. In addition, many campuses with fewer than 10 students studying abroad arent on the list, institute spokeswoman Sharon Witherell said.

Last year, new federal legislation was introduced by Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, and Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican, to make studying abroad an integral part of higher education by creating more university grants and incentives. The goal of the bill is to increase the number of Americans studying overseas to 1 million a year.

Educators believe the experience increases students chances of landing management-level employment.

Study abroad is a priority at the University of Iowa, said Downing Thomas, the dean of international programs at the school, which sends more students to India than any other U.S. institution. Far too few executives have the skills to be truly successful in unfamiliar cultural waters.

But the benefits of study abroad are not limited to landing good jobs.

It contributes to personal growth through greater independence, deeper self-knowledge and greater tolerance for ambiguity, said Brad Farnsworth, vice president of the American Council on Education. There is evidence that study abroad is a high-impact practice that contributes to overall academic success.

* * *

There is much about study-abroad programs that parents may not know  including that their childs university may not actually be overseeing the program. Many American universities and colleges find it too expensive or difficult to manage such programs. Instead, they refer students to independent, third-party operators such as the Institute for the International Education of Students, the Council on International Educational Exchange or Semester at Sea.

These independent program operators are not authorized to give college credits. So they partner with accredited institutions, often different from the school where the student is enrolled.

Thackurdeen said the setup was duplicitous. These universities offer these programs as if its theirs, she said.

Her 19-year-old son had been studying chemistry and pre-med at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, but his tropical medicine course in Costa Rica was being accredited through Duke University. They give you a sense that they have done their due diligence, she said.

After Ravi Thackurdeen died, Swarthmore stopped backing the program hed been on, offered by the Organization of Tropical Studies, but continued backing others offered through that same nonprofit consortium.

When Plotkin died on his 2011 trip to the Indian Himalayas, the University of Iowa, where he had been enrolled, cut off all ties with the National Outdoor Leadership School and stopped accepting academic credits earned from its courses.

Thackurdeen and Brenner both sued the program providers for negligence, and their cases were moved to courts in the states where the programs were based. Thackurdeens case is pending in North Carolina, while Brenner was forced to settle after a court ordered mediation.

It is as if the state itself doesnt want you to prevail, Brenner said. Safety will come from transparency.

Earlier this year, Brenner spent two months tracing the winding, 1,670-kilometer (1,037-mile) trail along the Goriganga and Ganges rivers to where the water empties into the Bay of Bengal.

Brenner said she believed this was the path her 21-year-old sons body traveled after he fell more than 90 meters (300 feet) from the trail in September 2011.

He lived 30 days after I put him on the plane and sent him to India, said Brenner, from Minnetonka, Minnesota. Now fatigued and unsure of what she was searching for, she said she was trying to gain any knowledge she can about those 30 days leading up to his death.

Did he suffer? Was he awake when he hit the river? That part breaks my heart over and over again, thinking about him being alone during those last few seconds, said Brenner.

I still feel a tremendous amount of grief. Ill have to figure out how to carry that for the rest of my life.
This editorial, distributed by The Associated Press, was published July 6 in The Sioux City Journal.

With the first Fourth of July holiday since the Legislature legalized fireworks in Iowa and the City Council adopted a fireworks ordinance for Sioux City having passed, its time for a review by local leaders.

Based on what we saw and heard ourselves and heard from other city residents, we believe changes are warranted.

Our thoughts?

1) The City Council should significantly shorten the window of days during which residents can shoot off fireworks for the July 4 observance.

Ten days strikes us as far too many days to force residents who dont like fireworks to tolerate those who do. America isnt celebrating its independence on June 25.

One suggestion: Two days of fireworks  July 3 and 4.

2) Police should beef up enforcement of the local ordinance. By beefed-up enforcement, we mean a no-tolerance policy toward fireworks offenders. In other words, no warnings; you violate the fireworks ordinance, you get a citation and fine.

The police department should publicize its get-tougher approach. Sometimes, the simple act by law enforcement of telling the public it intends to crack down harder on something can have a positive impact.

Finally, the police department should consider providing a hotline to make it easier for residents to report fireworks violations.

3) Individual citizens must exercise greater personal responsibility. That includes communicating with and extending courtesy to neighbors, practicing safety, not discharging fireworks on public property, only discharging fireworks during the time frame allowed by the local ordinance and cleaning up. No one possesses a constitutional right to shoot off fireworks. Its a privilege city leaders can and should rescind if widespread abuses continue.

As we have said before in this space, our view of legalized fireworks in Iowa is mixed. We understand both sides of this discussion.

We acknowledge majority support for fireworks among Iowans and appreciate the economic benefits of capturing part of a business Iowa loses to border states (including Nebraska and South Dakota) each year, but we sympathize with residents who want their neighborhoods free of them.

As a community, we should strive to strike a better local balance between supporters and opponents of fireworks before our country marks its next birthday.
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A Nottingham-based animal charity has rescued an eight-year-old cow called Maisy from a farm due to close its doors.

Maisy, a Limousin heifer, was taken in by Brinsley Animal Rescue and she now lives with the sanctuary's other rescued beef and dairy cows.

Jon Beresford co-founded the 22 acre sanctuary with his partner Beth Hewis in 2008, and the charity rescues wild animals, pets and farm animals.

Mr Beresford said, Maisy was born on a farm in Bedford where sadly her mother died during Maisys birth. So Maisy was hand-reared by the farmers grandchildren who became attached to her and decided to keep her as a pet.

"More recently the farmer has had to close the farm due to ill health and we agreed to take her in, theres very few rescue centres in the UK that take in cows and offer them life-long homes.

Last year, the charity, based on Hobsic Close in Brinsley, rescued more than a thousand animals of all kinds, and they already have three bulls.

Beth Hewis said We already have rescue cows. and we think Maisy will make a great girlfriend for Boris, our blind bull who weighs in at 1.5 tonnes.

The sanctuary is not normally open to the public, however there is an open day on Sunday, August 13, when the public will be able to visit the sanctuary and see the animals including Maisy.
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One of Nottinghams most-famous companies, Boots, has banned an advert from its stores after an online campaign.

The advert for Benefits Boing concealer caused uproar online, and now Boots and Debenhams have banned the promotional advert from their stores.

The poster shows a young woman having just woken up, holding an alarm clock.

Above the woman a message reads: Skip class not concealer.

Hundreds of people took to social media to voice their anger at the ad.

Labour MP for Rotherham and Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, Sarah Champion slammed the campaign for encouraging girls to value make-up over education".

Twitter user Arctic Josh, agreed and commented: @BenefitUK the most despicable advert.

Targeting insecurity of children and valuing looks over education

Natalie Leached added: Skip class not concealer. Because being pretty is more important than being educated. Really?! @BenefitUK"

Sarah Champion posted the letter she received from Boots online which read Supporting young people to excel and reach their full potential is and always has been really important to us.



"On Friday last week, we issued an alert to our stockist stores to remove the campaign immediately, an action that was completed within 24 hours.

We have contacted Benefit UK for a comment but they were unavailable for comment.

In a letter to Sarah Champion, the managing director Ian Marshall said the company was "confident that our customers everywhere would know that this message was totally tongue in cheek".

He also apologised "if our messaging has been misinterpreted".

Other companies, including Debenhams, have also dropped the advert from their stores.
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A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted rape after an incident in the Arboretum area of Nottingham.

A 22-year-old woman was walking home from work in the early hours of Saturday morning (July 8) and had got to Waverley Street at the junction with Raleigh Street when a man assaulted her.

Nottinghamshire Police said she managed to fight him off and run away.

Following a media appeal, a 25-year-old man was arrested this morning and remains in police custody.

Officers would like to thank everyone who has been in touch with information so far.

The Post has launched a Whatsapp group to help you keep up to date with the latest news. If you'd like to receive one daily message with the main headlines, as well as breaking news alerts, text NEWS to 07790 586202. Then add the number to your phone contacts book as 'Nottingham Post'. Your phone number won't be shared with other members of the group.
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Nottinghamshire Police have charged a 20-year-old man in connection with a number of incidents in Hucknall - including a stabbing.

It was alleged that a group of men were being abusive and threatening violence outside the Plough and Harrow pub, on High Street, just before 8.30pm on June 4.

Later, at approximately 10.30pm, two men were allegedly stabbed in High Street. Both suffered minor injuries.

Police officers then received reports of a man threatening people with a knife at The Chequers pub in High Street, just before 11.15pm that same night.

Aaron Brandham, 20, of Nursery Close, Hucknall, was arrested and has since been charged.

He is charged with attempted robbery at The Chequers pub in High Street, three offences of aggravated possession of a bladed article on High Street and assault occasioning actual bodily harm on High Street.

Brandham is also charged with theft of petrol from a garage on Derby Road, Annesley, on June 7, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault in a nightclub in Bristol on May 7.

Brandham appeared at Nottingham Magistrates' Court yesterday (July 11) and was remanded into custody.

He will next appear in court on August 8 for a plea and case management hearing.

Officers also arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of affray and assault in connection with the incidents in Hucknall.

He was released under investigation and has now been reported for summons for a common assault.

Detective constable Mark Titley, said: "We always investigate these types of crime robustly and would like to thank the members of public who assisted in this enquiry."
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A man is liable for immediate arrest after failing to face court on charges relating to dodgy cigarettes and tobacco in the city.

After an application by Nottingham City Council, a warrant was issued for Adam Sam, 35, whose address was given on court papers as Windermere Road, Forest Fields.

City magistrates were told that council officers had checked that location when he did not appear in court for a hearing on June 14.

The door was answered by an Iranian woman "who could not speak much English. They said he moved out of the address and say he has moved back to Iran," said Sarah Mills for the council.

Sam faces seven charges from November and December last year. Two relate to having 508 packets of cigarettes which had no health warnings.

Others involve allegations of breach of trade marks for Richmond and Mayfair cigarettes as well as Golden Virginia and Amber Leaf hand rolling tobacco.

The charges are brought under the Trade Marks Act and are too serious to be handled in the absence of the defendant.
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Nottingham Forest have been given a final batch of tickets for Wednesdays friendly at Notts County.

Reds fans have been keen to snap up tickets to get their first glimpse of Mark Warburtons men in action this summer and the remaining 305 tickets have gone on sale.

Once those tickets have been sold, Forest supporters will have snapped up a total of 6,359 for the eagerly anticipated Meadow Lane clash.

It will be Forests first action on English soil, after winning their first training game of the summer against Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa on Sunday.

That game saw Jason Cummings net his first Reds goal, while Zach Clough added a lovely second with a curling finish to seal a 2-1 victory.

Notts and Forest met at Meadow Lane a year ago in Mike Edwards testimonial, with the visitors winning that game 2-1 under then boss Philippe Montanier.

Tickets for next Wednesdays affair are priced at 10 for adults, with under-7s free with a paying adult.
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One of Nottingham's most successful businessmen has lost a court battle with his neighbours over a one-yard strip of land between their homes.

The row began after Professor Nat Puri, 77, objected to his neighbours' "ugly" security fence between their substantial houses in Mapperley.

He is now expected to be landed with thousands of pounds of court costs after losing the case.

The fence had been erected by John and Gabrielle Gibney as a precaution in 2006 due to security concerns at their home in Plains Road.

Business tycoon Professor Puri, who was awarded a CBE in 2015, claimed he was first aware of the fence in 2011.

But, according to the the Gibneys, the "catalyst" for the court row was the "sudden and unannounced" arrival of contractors in June 2014.

The couple said that, on Professor Puri's instructions, workmen started removing part of the fence and digging the footings for a new wall.

What followed was a three-year legal battle as the parties argued about where one property stopped and the other started.

(Image: Paul Keogh)

And now it has ended at the Court of Appeal with the Gibneys victorious and Professor Puri facing substantial lawyers' bills.

Following a hearing at Nottingham County Court in April 2016, Judge Robert Owen QC accepted the Gibneys' claims as to where the boundary lay.

And after an application by Professor Puri to an appeal judge in London, that decision has now been upheld.

At the county court, Judge Owen said of Professor Puri: "I do not consider him to be a reliable witness of fact."

Although he gave his evidence "with sincerity for the most part and tried to assist the court", he was "simply not reliable".

And the judge said he "felt unable to place any confidence in his testimony".

The Gibneys said that they had spoken about the fence with Professor Puri at a social event at his house prior to erecting it in 2006.

The judge accepted their evidence, saying he was "unable to place any weight" on Professor Puri's claim that there was no prior discussion.

And despite Professor Puri's "sincere belief" as to the true line of the boundary between the properties, the correct line was that claimed by the Gibneys.

At the Court of Appeal, his barrister Rupert Reed QC argued that he should be given permission for a full appeal against the county court decision.

But Lord Justice Briggs said his arguments were not strong enough to justify an appeal.

"Having had time to look at the underlying evidence, I have concluded that I ought not to give permission to appeal," he said.

"The main obstacle is that the judge made no error of law in his precise and accurate explanation of the circumstances which the court must take into account.

"It seems to me that this is not a case in which, if it went to a full appeal, the defendants (Professor and Mrs Puri) would have a real prospect of success.

"There is certainly no other compelling reason why permission should be granted."

Professor Puri's appeal application was refused, leaving him to foot lawyers' bills for the case, which are expected to run well into six figures.
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A prolific thief who threatened workers with violence has been given a three-year ban from a Nottinghamshire town centre.

Due to his "offending history" in Retford dating back to May 2014, Alex Kinsey, of Gomersall Close in the town, has been handed a Criminal Behaviour Order.

Workers and shoppers in several retail outlets have been "intimidated, scared and alarmed" by the 30-year-old's behaviour, say police, and are fearful of approaching him when they see him stealing, reports Lincolnshire Live .

The Criminal Behaviour Order, which is in place until June 14, 2020, bans Kinsey from entering any retail premises in Retford town centre, except for Riverside Surgery, Lloyds Pharmacy and Retford Job Centre.

The order also prohibits him from possessing any "new psychoactive substances", commonly known as legal highs, in any public place in Worksop town centre.

A spokesman for the Retford police beat team said: Alex Kinsey is a prolific offender who by the end was targeting shops on almost a daily basis.

"His behaviour was getting progressively worse and when staff did make attempts to detain him, they were being threatened with violence.

"It was important we took action to prevent Kinsey committing these offences in future and hopefully by banning him from entering the places he targeted, this will help to reduce the amount of crime and reduce the fear felt by staff.

Since 2002 Kinsey has been convicted 31 times for theft and related offences.

Nottinghamshire Police applied for the order on June 15 this year, and were reliant on evidence from shop staff who had been subjected to "verbal aggression and threats of violence" when trying to detain him.

If anyone spots Kinsey breaching the order, they are urged to call Notts Police on 101.
Andrew Voss tips James Tedesco, Jarryd Hayne and James Maloney to thrive in Origin III, farewells a Warriors legend, and says the Eels are smokeys.

Who wins the Origin decider?

New South Wales.

I am chasing a rare origin tipping clean sweep after selecting the Blues in the series opener, and hopping onto the Maroons bandwagon for Game Two.

Now I'm going back the other way again.

The loss of Johnathan Thurston and Darius Boyd is just too big of a setback. I still go back the fact that for 133 minutes of this year's series, New South Wales had outscored Queensland 44 to 10.

I think they can again post at least 20 points tonight and that will be too many for the home team to chase.

Lock me in for a 24-16 scoreline.

Who will produce the big plays?

If James Tedesco is fit, I believe he can match his outstanding performance at Suncorp Stadium of six weeks ago.

The Tigers fullback is my tip for man of the match.

I'm predicting Jarryd Hayne to make it a try in each game of this year's series. Put me on the Hayne Plane for the opening four-pointer tonight.

I think the goalkicking boot of James Maloney will also be a thorn in the side of the Maroons tonight. He'll turn every four into six. He's coming off an eight-out-of-eight effort for the Sharks against the Roosters last Saturday week.

On the Queensland side of things, I have had a feeling Ben Hunt might even start. I don't see his value off the bench.

And I am confident in whatever role Cameron Munster plays on debut he will handle it.

And what about some more number crunching?

Origin is a rugby league statistician's dream.

There are plenty of facts and figures from the last decade that would indicate the Maroons will do it again. The Maroons' 12-4 record in deciders is fairly emphatic.

However, of the most telling stats in the overall 35 year history of Origin series, there is one I can't move past.

In those 35 years since three-game series began in 1982, the team winning game one has managed to claim the shield on 26 occasions. It's also been that way in seven of the past eight series.

For New South Wales, 11 of their 13 series wins have come in years where they won the opening match.

Tonight it will be their 12th.

How do we sum up the NRL career of Manu Vatuvei?

The big fella will go down as a great of New Zealand rugby league.

These are some of the words that come to mind when I think of Manu the player.

Unique. Smiling. Tries. Big. Beast.

What's more he's a fantastic bloke. I have been lucky enough over the years to call many of his 152 tries.

While I am sad that he won't get to play a farewell match for the Warriors, the renaming of the ground this Friday night to Manu Vatuvei Stadium is a wonderful touch by the club.

Is this it for Canberra?

I'm anticipating they will have to win seven of their last eight to make the playoffs, so we're getting close.

At the very least, they have to win all their remaining home games and that includes Friday night's clash against the Dragons. But as their fans know, four wins and four losses at the home of the Viking clap has been a major disappointment in 2017.

Oh 'hoodoo' don't desert the Raiders now. Admittedly the Dragons won on their last trip to Canberra in 2015, but that was only their fourth win in 15 visits.

I'm tipping the Raiders, but I'm not confident.

How serious is the challenge of the Eels?

There is some serious potential in this team, dare I say a touch of the Sharks of 2016.

If they can all hit their best form on the one night  Norman, Moses, Gutherson, Radradra, French, Jennings  the Eels will pose a big threat to any side.

They haven't got the runs on the board this year in the same manner as Melbourne or Cronulla, but with a good build up to the playoffs, I believe their fans have reason to be just a bit excited.

Have a great Origin night folks.

Giddy Up!

Twitter: @AndrewVossy
PORTAGE  A plan exploring ways to make U.S. 30 safer for non-motorists advanced Tuesday with support of the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission's Technical Policy Committee.

The committee's vote sends the 210-page study to NIRPC's full commission for approval July 20. The study covers a stretch of the highway between Merrillville Road in Merrillville to Clay Street in Hobart.

That stretch of U.S. 30 sees 55,000 vehicles daily, on average, "separated into single use districts, oriented to the personal automobile rather than to the pedestrian scale," according to the study.

Tuesday's vote followed a public comment period that collected several generally positive comments.

"I fear for their lives," one commenter wrote about pedestrians who walk along U.S. 30. Another referred to the "chaotic nature of this U.S. 30 corridor."

Study goals include:

12 miles of new walking/biking trails

Six at-grade highway crossings

Four grade-separated highway crossings

A new trailhead south of U.S. 30

Extensions of 78th Place in the Silverstone Crossings development, and of 93rd Avenue to Colorado Street, as well as other local roadwork

Relocating utility lines along the north side of U.S. 30 out of sight of the roadway

Rain-garden style medians in U.S. 30

Native plantings at the Interstate 65 and U.S. 30 interchange

Plantings along the new trails.

The safety study, written by Ratio Architects and Butler, Fairman & Seufert, lists nine sets of projects with an estimated total cost of $57.2 million.

The plan also suggests the possibility of local bus service in the shopping-, lodging- and office-heavy area. David Wright, planning and marketing director for the Gary Public Transportation Corp., said the study should have, but didn't, include a cost estimate for that.

A mix of federal, state and local funding would be sought for the various projects in the plan, which would be undertaken as funding becomes available.
The Region's largest and best known independent supermarket chain will remain under local control after the original families that owned it banded together and placed a successful bid in a bankruptcy court-supervised auction.

Strack & Van Til President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Strack said he, the Strack family, the Van Til family and a few others put in a successful bid for 20 Strack & Van Til stores.

"We won!" Jeff Strack said in an email. "We are getting our stores back!"

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Illinois Judge Pamela S. Hollis will have to approve the sale at a hearing next Tuesday.

"We were qualified as a bidder last Thursday to participate at the auction for the stores and today we were announced as the winner of the auction," Strack said in an email.

Strack did not disclose how much the group will spend to buy the stores.

Strack, who already owns 10 percent of the Highland-based supermarket chain, said the new ownership group is called the Indiana Grocery Group. It includes the families that previously owned Strack & Van Til before it was sold to the Joliet-based cooperative Central Grocers in 1997.

The Central Grocers wholesaler, which produced the generic Centrella brand and served 400 independent neighborhood grocers throughout the Chicago area, was the seventh largest grocery cooperative in the country with more than $2 billion in annual revenue. Under pressure from creditors after amassing $225 million in debt, it filed for bankruptcy in May after an unsuccessful months-long search for a buyer.

This year, it's closed 14 Ultra Foods and Strack & Van Til stores, laying off 1,900 workers.

Jewel-Osco put in an initial bid of $100 million for 19 remaining Strack & Van Til stores as a stalking horse bidder, a common practice during bankruptcy court-supervised auctions that's meant to set a floor for the price.

Strack said his group bid for 20 stores and other assets.

According to court records, the bankruptcy court was entertaining a bid for Strack & Van Til stores in Cedar Lake, Chesterton, Crown Point, East Chicago, Hammond, Highland, Hobart, Lowell, Munster, Rensselaer, St. John, Schererville, Valparaiso and Whiting, as well as for Town & Country Markets in Portage and Valparaiso, an Ultra Foods store on Broadway in Merrillville, a central bakery in Valparaiso and the corporate headquarters in Highland. The bid covers two Strack & Van Til locations apiece in Crown Point, Hobart and Valparaiso.

Jewel had indicated it wanted to buy the stores to expand its own brand in the Midwest. Indiana Grocery Group's successful bid will preserve a local brand that's been part of the fabric of Northwest Indiana since German immigrant Ernie Strack and Griffith resident Nick Van Til, already both successful grocers in their own right, partnered in 1960 to open their flagship supermarket at Cline Avenue and 45th Street in Highland.

The chain outlasted many other bygone local grocers like WiseWay, PayLow, Burger's, Key Market, Wilco County Market and Thrifty Mart, and was an early pioneer with the introduction of its Ultra Foods discount and Mega-Mart concepts in the 1980s.

Strack & Van Til grew steadily over the years, to the point where it once had 38 locations and more than $1.1 billion in annual revenue. It's affectionately known throughout the Region as "Stracks" and is famed for its fried chicken, baked goods and attentive customer service that includes tie-wearing bag boys who bring customers' groceries out to their cars.

"The Strack and The Van Til families are excited for the opportunity to continue to serve the communities of NWI as we have for over 80 years," Strack said. "While this will be a new company, we will continue to have the same connection to NWI as Ernie Strack and Nick Van Til did when they started their partnership years ago. Our associates, vendor partners and most importantly our customers are why we continue to work so hard. They are the reasons we are here and we appreciate them and will work hard for them. When it comes to it  we are Indiana Made."

Check back later at nwi.com for more details concerning this story.
Great Lakes steel production dropped to 654,000 tons last week, a decrease of just over 2 percent.

Steel mills in the Great Lakes region cranked out 668,000 tons of metal the previous week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Most of the steel made in the Great Lakes region is produced in Lake and Porter counties in Northwest Indiana.

So far this year, U.S. steelmakers have produced 46.8 million tons of steel, about 2.2 percent more than they did during the same period in 2016. Steel mills have been running at a capacity of 74.4 percent so far this year, up from 72.4 percent through the same time last year.

Domestic steelmakers used about 74.3 percent of their steelmaking capacity in the week that ended July 8, up from 73.6 percent the previous week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Some analysts say 90 percent would be considered healthy for the industry.

Steelmaking capacity utilization was just 71.3 percent during the same time period in 2016.

Overall, U.S. national steel output rose by 16,000 tons last week to 1.73 million tons, a 0.9 percent increase, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Production in the Southern District, nearly always the country's second-largest steel-producing region, which spans mini-mills across the South, rose to 630,000 tons last week, up from 608,000 tons the previous week.
CROWN POINT  The father of a 3-month-old child who starved to death last summer was sentenced Tuesday to 48 years in prison for his role in the child's death, as well as the neglect of five other children in his home.

Jarod T. McMillan, 32, said at the sentencing hearing he was aware he failed as a father and asked Judge Samuel L. Cappas to understand he was sorry for his actions.

I made some huge mistakes, but God knows I didn't mean to endanger them, he told the judge.

Cappas said he gave little weight to McMillan's remorse.

It is horrendous and appalling that in this day and age, in this country, a child can starve to death, Cappas said.

A jury found McMillan guilty of neglect of a dependent, a level 1 felony, and seven lesser counts of neglect after a week-long trial that concluded June 30.

McMillan was accused of depriving Kannon McMillan of support, which caused the child to die of malnutrition and dehydration July 5, 2016, at McMillan's home in the 800 block of East 36th Avenue in Gary.

Five other children in the bug-infested, cramped home were also allegedly malnourished and mistreated. Those children are now in the custody of the state.

The children's mother, Katherine Holmes, was sentenced in April to 40 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to the same offenses in a plea agreement with the state.

Prosecutor Infinity Baulos told the judge at the sentencing hearing the children, whose ages ranged from 3 months old to 9 years old, were entirely reliant on McMillan and Holmes.

Kannon suffered the entire time he was alive, Baulos said.

The judge remarked he doubted whether Kannon's brief, brutal existence could even be considered "a life."

McMillan said he intended to appeal the jury's verdict.
SOUTH HAVEN  Police say they uncovered what they believe to be a drug trafficking organization after arresting a 23-year-old and busting a meth lab Tuesday morning.

A confidential informant  along with anonymous tips and an uptick in meth-related overdoses  led police to execute a search about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday of a residence in the 700 block of Eagle Creek Road in South Haven, according to a news release from the Porter County Sheriff's Department.

Inside, several items associated with narcotics use and methamphetamine manufacturing were discovered, police said.

Timothy Jetmund, 23, who lives at the residence, was found and arrested at a nearby business after he was found in possession of meth, according to the release.

Jetmund faces charges of methamphetamine manufacturing, maintaining a common nuisance, narcotics possession and possession of a hypodermic needle, according to the release.

The search was executed by the Porter Country Multi-Enforcement Group and several Porter County patrol officers while Indiana State Police assisted in processing evidence at the residence, police said.

Based on information gathered previously and at the scene Tuesday, detectives said in the release they believe the house was at the center of a drug trafficking operation.

Two individuals were manufacturing methamphetamine and organizing others to purchase pseudoephedrine and lithium batteries in exchange for methamphetamine, police said.

This case is still under investigation.

Indiana State Police's Clandestine Mobile Unit remained on scene for about eight hours to gather evidence and assure the residence was safe, police said.
*

CALUMET TWP.  Township Trustee Kimberly Robinson is defending her trip last year to the Caribbean island of Aruba as appropriate job training.

"It was a four-day conference about learning the different aspects of treating people of color, which we do down here daily," she said Wednesday.

Expenses for her and a staff member attending the 30th annual Counseling and Treating People of Color Conference: An International Perspective were reimbursed by the township, which has raised questions.

Robinson said Thursday afternoon she and a single staff member were reimbursed for for $2,868 in travel expenses. She said earlier, "There are travel appropriations in my budget, and the trip was well within that figure."

The Township Board, which oversees the trustee's expenses, questioned her travel during a meeting early this year. "They simply said they didn't think I should have traveled that far. It was duly noted in the (board) minutes," Robinson said.

Board Member Darren Washington said late Wednesday he voted against approving the reimbursement because Robinson didn't get approval from the board to make that trip.

Robinson said the Indiana State Board of Accounts has reviewed the travel documents, apparently at the request of an unidentified Township Board member.

Debbie Gibson, director of audits for the state board of accounts, said they have no immediate report of this matter to be issued.

Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said Wednesday she too attended the convention, but her expenses were paid by the federal government through the Washington, D.C.-based American University, a private research institution established by the U.S. Congress. "I certainly didn't use any city dollars," she said.

The trip was the topic of a Live Facebook conversation Gary City Councilwoman Lavetta Sparks Wade and Lake County Councilman Jamal Washington, D-Merrillville, posted Tuesday.

Sparks-Wade told The Times early Wednesday she is critical of the trip, because the conference had nothing to do with the trustee's official duties.

"Apparently, Lavetta Sparks-Wade is waging a campaign against me on Facebook," said Robinson, who would be running for re-election next year. Sparks-Wade said she hasn't made any decisions about running for a local office in 2018.

"It was about drug treatment, employment, education, and the responsibilities we have as elected officials to do innovating programming in the community," Freeman-Wilson said. "It was worth to attend," she said.

The trustee's office is required to provide assistance to low-income residents of the township, including those in Gary and Griffith.

Aruba is an island in the southern Caribbean and a five-hour flight from Chicago. It is home to white-sand beaches and 82-degree days, according to an island website.

"It doesn't make (Griffith residents) happy," Griffith Town Council President Rick Ryfa said Wednesday. "It doesn't make the people in the rest of the township happy, either. The township has had to cut its budget, and they still do that."

Griffith is petitioning to hold a voter referendum to secede from Calumet Township and transfer to another one to avoid the high cost of property taxes that town residents pay to support the trustee's office. Robinson is challenging the petition in court.

"This just gives us more justification to go forward," Ryfa said. "We may even petition the Township Board to let us out. We tried six to seven years ago and they said no, but maybe they are so mad they will say yes now."

Robinson said of her critics, "They can say that if they want, but not one person has come here who has asked for services and was unable to get service because of anything I've done outside of my duties."

Robinson said she has been providing services and has still cut the trustee's budget between $3 million and $4 million since taking office three years ago. "I can tell you that I am very frugal and am cognizant of being a good steward," she said.

 This story has been updated
CROWN POINT  The attorney for a developer who had his request to subdivide one lot into two denied by the Plan Commission has threatened to sue.

"We'll see you in court," attorney Joe Svetanoff told the commission.

Svetanoff represents CNJ Properties LLC, which on Monday was seeking the primary subdivision approval from the commission to build two single-family homes at 501 E. Clark St. after demolishing a long-vacant, uninhabitable house currently occupying the lot.

CNJ owns the current home on the lot, which became uninhabitable about five years ago after fire burned the inside of the house.

Svetanoff said his client's plan has each lot falling within the 6,000-square-foot minimum requirement for lots with R-3 zoning in that area. Svetanoff said, and Joe Irak, attorney for the commission, confirmed, property ownership extends to the center of the road, which therein provides the minimum square footage requirements.

Commission member Chad Jeffries said he knows the property shows that CNJ owns to the center of the road, but if they went by today's development standards and were to subdivide the lot, the new lot farthest north would be short of the 6,000-square-foot minimum requirement.

Irak said all he could do is look at the law.

"The owner owns to the middle of the road," he said. "Right or wrong, he owns to the middle of the road. Based on that, it's my legal opinion that it is adequate square footage if you divide the lot into two. Is it a strange situation? Certainly. When I break it down to the legal element, he owns to the center of the road. He pays property taxes to the center of the road."

Irak said the legal petition in front of the commission is to divide a lot into two lots and it meets the requirements of the ordinance.

"The petitioner can sue us if voted down," he said.

Commission member Dan Rohaley said the developer meets all the criteria.

"I don't know if we have the discretion to say no," he said.

Several residents who live near the property spoke out against the plan to build two homes on the property. Bill Feder said neighbors would rather see the vacant house remain because there could be a future potential buyer who would tear it down and build one home on the lot.

Feder also said what CNJ is proposing does not meet the city ordinance because the minimum living square footage that is required is smaller when taking into account such things as the petitioner's plan for a two-car garage.
LAPORTE  Cars crashing into each other with mud flying into the stands from the tires is a family tradition for some demolition derby drivers.

Jessica Ungerank, 22, took part in her first demolition derby Monday night at the LaPorte County Fair after growing up watching her father, Randy, frequently participate in the sport.

"I feel like it's my turn. It's my turn to drive," said Jessica Ungerank, who lives just outside LaPorte.

Randy Ungerank, who plans to compete in the fall, looked on in anticipation as she headed from the infield and into the ring.

"Hopefully, she can run out there and run with the big boys," said Randy Ungerank, who hopes to get his 24-year-old son, Randy Jr., involved in demolition derby at some point.

Jessica Ungerank was one of three drivers knocked out early in the first heat won by Jake McGowan, of Crumstown, Indiana, who barely outlasted Larry Hooper in a showdown that left both cars badly damaged with loud engines that kept stalling near the end.

She did win the "best looking car" contest in her red, white and blue Toyota Avalon thanks to the applause from the nearly packed stands in the Motor Sport Arena.

Jessica Ungerank said she painted the car herself in honor of her late grandfather, Ernest Ungerank, a U.S. Army veteran.

Another driver, David Coates, of LaPorte, said he's competed for over 20 years because there's nothing quite like the action. He gets banged up from time to time but has never been seriously injured.

"I just enjoy the excitement and the competition that's out here," he said.

"Wow. Wow," was the reaction from Tracy Mashburn, of Michigan City, on the amount of mud the cars were slinging into the stands.

Her 3-year-old grandson, Thomas Salyer, took second place in the kiddie tractor division of the demolition derby.

"It's so much fun. I love to see the guys crashing into each other and getting all dirty," said Carla Pillai, a longtime fan from LaPorte.

A third demolition derby is scheduled at 7 p.m. Friday at the fair, which ends Saturday night.
HEBRON  Students will see some new teachers when school resumes Aug. 14, but one retiring teacher will be missed.

The Boone Township School Board and administrators bid farewell this week to retiring Hebron Elementary School music teacher Wanda Vawter, after 38 years of service.

Id worked with her for a short three years, and its been a pleasure to work with her, Superintendent Nathan Kleefisch said. Were going to miss her very much.

Elementary school Principal Jim Martin said Vawter went above and beyond her duties as music teacher at the schools.

Everyone is going to have to step up a little to cover things that shes done. We're really going to miss her, Martin said.

New teachers include Emma Hamann, kindergarten; Kelsey Feese, elementary school music; Angie Milcarek, sixth-grade math; and Ashley Shell, a high school counselor covering another teachers leave.

At Tuesday's board meeting, Kleefisch asked the board to reverse its decision last month to sell the districts Chromebooks to pay off the fourth and final years lease of the devices. Kleefisch had planned to use the proceeds of that sale to lease new devices for the 2017-2018 school year. However, demand for Chromebooks is so high that the company could no longer offer the buy-back deal and could not guarantee the district would receive the new Chromebooks by the beginning of the school year, Kleefisch said. The board rescinded its decision. The schools will use the Chromebooks for the last year of the lease, then enter into a new three-year lease agreement for Chromebooks for the 2018-2019 school year.

Kleefisch also reminded the board and administration that random drug testing for high school students who engage in extracurricular activities and those who drive to school will begin in August.

This provides students with an excuse not to get involved with drugs or alcohol, Kleefisch said. It is meant to be a deterrent for kids when they know they might get randomly tested. We want to identify students who abuse substances and provide an opportunity for them to get help as opposed to looking the other way and hoping for the best. The intention is to provide help to students.
Stephanie Kadletz carefully pulled back a drape Monday morning to reveal an adult coyote in a small metal kennel brought in over the weekend with a fractured leg.

In the same hallway, an orphaned fawn lay quietly in a dog kennel.

Two large Trumpeter Swans  one that had been shot and the other hit by a car  waited in a nearby building to be transferred to a zoo after it was determined they, as endangered species, could no longer survive in the wild.

The animals are just a few of the roughly 250 on site at the Moraine Ridge Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Washington Township in Porter County. The center provides care to native migratory birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians with the goal of releasing them back into the wild when possible, said Kadletz, the center's director.

The center, founded in 1979, has undergone a few incarnations and now is celebrating its third anniversary as a subsidiary of the Humane Society Calumet Area in Munster. This affiliation allowed the one-time volunteer effort to up its game by hiring a small professional staff of three full-time and two part-time employees, and gaining access to more sophisticated infrastructure. Two veterinarians volunteer their services.

From her office, which doubles as the center's laundry room, Kadletz said the demand for this type of rehabilitation service continues to grow as human activity clashes with wildlife. These clashes include animals injured by domestic animals, vehicles, discarded fishing gear and development, she said.

The center accepts only native injured or orphaned wild animals, as opposed to exotic species, she said. More than 3,500 animals have been taken in over the last three years from 16 counties, including 410 during the month of May.

The ideal is to rehabilitate as many animals as possible and then release them back into the wild, Kadletz said. The center has a 40 percent release rate, dictated by the poor shape of the animals brought in.

Valparaiso resident Kathy Wood is among the center's long-time volunteers, who help feed all the hungry mouths and clean up after the animal guests.

"I firmly believe in what they're doing," she said.

Wood feels wild animals too often are pushed aside by people.

"We're all in this together," she said.

The center relies on the help of 40 active volunteers, Kadletz said. She said volunteers dealing directly with wildlife operate under the permits she holds for the center and she is ultimately responsible.

When helping becomes kidnapping

Moraine Ridge began on two acres donated by a neighboring landowner and since has expanded to 28 acres, with an education center and walking trails in the works, Kadletz said.

The hallways within the small rehabilitation center are stacked high with various size cages containing a variety of different animals that outnumber the available room space.

Loud chirps emanated from the nursery Monday morning as a worker hand-fed the very youngest visitors.

Kadletz said baby birds are an example of a caring public sometimes doing more harm than good. When baby birds are learning to fly, they can take several days to find their way skyward, during which time people believe them to be abandoned.

"We want to make sure we're not kidnapping the baby and taking it away from its parents," she said.

The same is true with other species.

"The first instinct is, 'There is a baby by itself. I want to pick it up,' " she said.

Kadletz suggested observing the animal for a day or so to make sure they are truly abandoned.

Another concern is interfering with nature by rescuing creatures that have fallen prey to other animals, Kadletz said.

She pointed out two young screech owls at the center, who were brought in after someone found them targeted by hawks that already had killed their mother.

"It can be a tricky balance of when to help and when not to help," Kadletz said.

She suggested calling the center to ask for advice before picking up an animal that appears to be orphaned or in distress. If an animal is clearly injured, they can be brought in.

Labor of love

Wildlife rehabilitators are licensed through the state in a process that requires experience, a test, facility inspections and continuing education, Kadletz said. Her background is in Interdisciplinary Zoo Sciences, which led her to rehabilitation work.

"I just fell in love with it my first day," she said.

Kadletz relocated from Florida to take over at Moraine Ridge.

There are about 100 wildlife rehabilitators across the state, and all but 10 or 12 are independent home-based operations, said Kristen Heitman, executive director of Providence Wildlife Rehabilitation in Westfield, Indiana. The center is one of the stand-alone sites, but relies entirely on volunteer help.

Wildlife rehabilitation work proves to be too much for some, she said.

"It's very demanding," Heitman said. "You get no days off."

She said calls come in around the clock, the number of animals in need continues to grow and there is no government funding for support. Licensing prohibits centers from advertising or charging for their services.

Kadletz said Moraine Ridge is funded almost entirely from donations from the public, in addition to receiving a few small grants.

"It's a labor of love," said Heitman, who has been at it since 1999.
CHICAGO  An Illinois appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that's preventing Cook County's sweetened beverage tax from taking effect.

The 1st District Appellate Court's decision Monday comes ahead of a planned hearing Wednesday on a preliminary injunction in the case.

Cook County is counting on raising $67.5 million with the tax through Nov. 30. Circuit Judge Daniel Kubasiak recently imposed a temporary restraining order that's preventing the penny-per-ounce tax from being levied.

The Illinois Retail Merchants Association and several grocers say the tax is vague and unconstitutional.

Cook County officials have warned that a 10 percent budget cut is possible if the tax isn't allowed to take effect by August. County President Toni Preckwinkle says the county respects the appellate court's decision and is prepared to defend the tax.
SOUTH BEND  The St. Joseph County Council won't approve a property tax hike that had been considered for 2018 to help pay for capital needs such as equipment, as a council member chose to withdraw the measure Tuesday from a vote.

Democratic council member Corey Noland, who sponsored the measure, said his decision to withdraw it came after he and other council members decided that it wasn't the proper time to increase property taxes. Increases would have been relatively small for many homeowners, ranging from about $4 to $12.

The council had considered increasing the property tax rate for the county's cumulative capital development fund. Among other things, the fund is used for building repairs and to buy computers, police cars and equipment.

Council members "have expressed a desire to examine and monitor the expenditures of this and other taxpayer-funded accounts over an extended period of time to gain a better understanding of the individual expenditures of those funds and the revenue required to support them," Noland said, adding that funds will be reviewed closely over the next several months. "We'll be developing a broad consensus on what action, if any, is needed."

The council had considered the move because the county is under financial pressure as a result of a state law passed in 2008 called the "Circuit Breaker," which caps property taxes paid by homeowners and businesses.

Because of tax caps, the measure would have impacted fewer than half of the county's property owners. It would have primarily impacted property owners in rural areas that haven't yet reached the tax cap.

The three Republicans on the council  Jamie O'Brien, Mark Telloyan and Mark Root  had opposed the measure before Tuesday's meeting. Noland's decision to withdraw the measure came after he and some other Democrats had previously expressed their support for it.

The property tax rate for the fund has gradually fallen for more than a decade because of a state law that has a formula for lowering rates. The law is supposed to prevent funds from increasing too much when assessed values climb.

County officials have allowed the rate for the fund to fall for several years, causing reserves to diminish.

County Auditor Mike Hamann, a Democrat, had urged the council to approve the measure. He'd said the move would have enabled the fund to cover all costs for the county's information technology department. That would have freed up money for other departments that have been compelled to make budget cuts.

"On one level I am disappointed but am very appreciative of Councilman Noland's leadership," Hamann wrote in a text message. "My job as auditor is to present policy choices that I deem most fiscally prudent. Granted, they may not be politically expedient, but they are in my opinion the best in the long run fiscally."

In other business, the council voted 9-0 to approve a funding agreement for the county to commit $18.25 million toward a project that would shave an hour off the South-Bend-to-Chicago train trip on the South Shore Line.

The countys money has been committed toward a $290 million project to double-track a 16-mile stretch of the South Shore Line between Gary and Michigan City, eliminating the need to wait for freight trains.

Last month, county commissioners approved a separate agreement indicating their support for the project.
For two years, NY1 has been fighting in court to get a glimpse at videos from the NYPDs body camera program. We now have the first tapes, with more to come soon. NY1's Courtney Gross filed the following report.

"Are you Hollywood right now?" It's a phrase you may hear more often as police officers turn into cameramen.

For the first time, New Yorkers can get a glimpse behind the scenes of the NYPD.

NY1 has obtained 125 videos from the department's body camera pilot program, which ran from December of 2014 through early 2016.

Just 54 officers in a handful of precincts wore cameras, testing the technology.

It's an experiment that will soon be rolled out to 22,000 officers on patrol by the end of 2019.

NY1 requested this footage back in 2015 through the state's Freedom of Information law. More than two years later and a protracted battle in court, NY1 has finally seen the first tapes, all seemingly routine police work.

In one tape, officers respond to a radio call for an alleged assault in Queens. They leave the scene and check out an address nearby.

The NYPD declined to discuss this footage with NY1. So we will let the video speak for itself.

In the video, you can hear officers saying, "People moving around upstairs. They might be coming down." No one does.

An officer checks out the back door. You can see him in the distance take out his gun.

"There is definitely people upstairs," someone is heard saying.

Still no one answers.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," someone says.

Moments later, the video ends.

"Guy ain't coming out," someone says.

Routine police work, says former NYPD sergeant Joseph Giacalone.

"He does what he is trained to do, keeps the gun pointed straight down," Giacalone said.

NY1 showed some of the footage to Giacalone. He retired from the NYPD in 2012. He now teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

"There is very little exciting sometimes in policing," Giacalone said. "It's not like television. You are sitting around a lot. You'll watch videos where they get a call and they have nothing. They didn't have the right apartment number."

Something similar happens in footage from January 22, 2015. In it, you can hear two people talking. One says, "You got the right apartment number?" An officer says "23 or 26." The first person says, "It can't be a 23 or a 26."

More than a half dozen officers respond to a call at one apartment building. They find nothing.

"I do see a couple of instances where the cops can use some better tactics," Giacalone said. "So when they walk into the one location and they are looking for somebody apparently, you can see the cop with the camera, he looks up to someone at the landing and then they don't go up there right away. You got to clear that entire thing first, especially if you have all those cops mulling around there. Because if there is a bad guy there, he is going to have the high ground, and that's not something you ever want."

The videos show the fundamentals of police work at the NYPD, like whats known as a vertical patrol. Police patrol from the roof to the bottom floor of a public housing development, going step by step, floor by floor.

Take another video responding to a call for underage drinking. Two officers enter this Mexican restaurant in East Harlem. They don't stay longer than a minute.

Mundane, perhaps, but necessary. All part of the job of lowering crime and rooting out bad actors.

Another take, a search for a perpetrator in the basement of a bodega. One officer draws his weapon. No one is there.

"The old saying in policing, it's seven hours of sheer boredom and one hour of sheer terror," Giacalone said.

Of course, the whole point of the body camera program is to capture the terror, not necessarily the boredom.

This footage comes from the very early stages of the program, at a point when police departments across the country were slapping cameras on officers, arguing it would solve the rift between the police and the community.

It was a reaction to the high-profile shootings of unarmed black men across the country.

But it's a policing tool, too.

For the first time, body camera footage from the pilot program was used as evidence in a criminal trial in Queens. Those three men on trial were found guilty of robbery and burglary last month. They face decades in prison.

Outside of the courtroom, the public has not seen any of the footage until now. Nor have we heard much about the program's impact or success.

In fact, a professor at New York University who helped evaluate it has signed a confidentiality agreement. He cannot discuss it.

"It was our understanding that the purpose of that pre-pilot was to test different technology, to see if the cameras were easy to use or what technological obstacles that there were. That, in theory, would inform the cameras they would use for the court ordered pilot," said Darius Charney of the Center for Constitutional Rights. "I am not sure what they learned because they never provided us with any results from that pilot."

Charney was the lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit against the NYPD's practice of stop-and-frisk. That lawsuit spurred the NYPD to get body cameras.

He now has concerns over how the public, those in the videos themselves, will access all of that footage.

"If the goal of the cameras is to increase transparency and to show people, you know, this is what police are doing, this is how they are doing their work, you shouldn't make it so difficult for them to see those videos," Charney said.

NY1 is expected to get more body camera video this summer. Already, the NYPD is saying it will not hand over footage that is the subject of a Civilian Complaint Review Board or internal affairs investigations, as well as footage that could interfere with a pending criminal investigation.

It means the footage the public will see, at least for now, may only be routine police work. Or perhaps a coffee break of sorts.

The tours will continue. Footage will stack up. And these officers will keep rolling.
A murder conviction has been overturned, freeing a city man who has spent more than two decades behind bars.

Jabbar Washington had been convicted of second-degree murder back in March of 1997 for the death Ronald Ellis.

Prosecutors said Washington had taken part in an armed robbery in Brownsville, Brooklyn which claimed the lives of five people.

However, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office says a witness who identified Washington later recanted her testimony, saying she thought she was identifying him as being in the building, not as a criminal suspect.

The DA's office says the jury was influenced by the initial identification.

Investigators say Washington, now 43 years old, also signed a confession, but later retracted it as well.

The six other men involved in the 1995 robbery will not have their convictions overturned.

This all stems from a larger investigation into the career of former NYPD detective Louis Scarcella, who is accused of fabricating evidence in dozens of cases.



The Brooklyn DA's conviction review unit determined Washington did not have a fair trial. There were problems with the detective's testimony, as well as issues with the way its own prosecutors, the defense, and the judge's handling of Washington's case.

Important evidence was not turned over to the defense, and the jury could have been misled.

"When Det. Scarcella was being cross-examined by defense counsel, he was asked if getting a confession was of particular importance in this case," Mark Hale of the Brooklyn DA's office said in court.



"Scarcella answers, 'If he didn't get ID'ed, it would have,'" Hale continued.



The DA is not asking for a new trial.
UPDATED JULY 12, 2017, 5:30 PM: A suspect has been identified in the murder of Shaquille O. Jones that took place Tuesday in the 500 block of North Antioch Circle in Opelika.

The Opelika Police Department said Wednesday afternoon that it is looking for Vantavious Quintez Hughley.

Hughley, age 20, has been charged with murder in this case, Opelika police said. He is a black male and is described as being 6-foot and weighing approximately 135 pounds.

Opelika police said Hughley should be considered armed and dangerous and advised citizens to notify law enforcement if his whereabouts if known. People are advised not to approach Hughley if he is spotted.

Jones was discovered with gunshot wounds Tuesday evening in a parking lot off North Antioch Circle. His identity was confirmed by police Wednesday morning.

Jones, 23, was shot sometime around 6:15 p.m., shortly before an Opelika police officer was flagged down and told about the incident while on patrol in the 500 block of North Antioch Circle, according to Opelika Police Captain Bobby Kilgore.

The officer responded, said Kilgore, and did locate a victim lying in a parking area in that block. He [the victim] did suffer from a gunshot.

The officer immediately called for rescue personnel and paramedics, but Jones "succumbed to his wounds" and was pronounced dead at the scene by Lee County Coroner Bill Harris, according to police and Harris.

Individuals with information on the case or on Hughley's location can contact the Opelika Police Departments Investigative Services Division at 334-705-5220. Callers may remain anonymous.

Staff members Lindy Oller and Todd Van Emst contributed to this report.
An undercover FBI operation conducted partially at Alabama's Fort Rucker last year eventually led to the arrest Monday of a soldier in Hawaii on charges of supporting radical Islamic terrorism.

According to court documents unsealed Monday in United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, Ikaika Erik Kang, 34, was arrested after an investigation revealed Kang kept classified U.S. military files on his computers at Fort Rucker as well as videos and documents that referenced ISIS and violence.

The investigation later revealed Kang, a Sergeant First Class (E-7) and a trained air traffic controller, attempted to assist ISIS.

The story was first reported Monday evening by CBS News.

Some of the information was found, according to court documents, after an undercover FBI agent posed as a guest lecturer at Fort Rucker, east of Enterprise, in October of 2016 while Kang was on post for a six-week Air Traffic Control Operator Senior Leadership Course.

The FBI had previously been alerted about Kangs possible radicalization and obtained warrants to search Kangs belongings.

According to court documents, the FBI agent posing as the lecturer befriended Kang and later accompanied him to a mosque. The court documents did not indicate the location of the mosque. Documents indicate Kang expressed a desire to travel to Turkey to go to the ISIS consulate.

The federal complaint against Kang indicates he swore allegiance to ISIS and expressed a desire to kill a bunch of people.

Kangs interest in assisting ISIS went beyond a mere desire, according to federal court documents.

According to an affidavit unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court and prepared by the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation, Kang attempted to provide material support to ISIS by providing both classified military documents, and other sensitive but unclassified military documents, to persons he believed would pass the documents to ISIS. Kang did so with the intention that the documents would assist ISIS, including with fighting and military tactics. Additionally, Kang contributed to the purchase of a drone with the intention that it would be provided to, and used by, ISIS during fighting.

Court documents further indicate Kang had shown signs of radicalization several years ago.

While in the U.S. Army, as far back as 2011, Kang has made threatening statements. He was reprimanded on several occasions for threatening to hurt or kill other service members, and for arguing pro-ISIS views while at work and on-post. Due to these remarks and threats, Kangs security clearance was revoked in 2012, but reinstated the following year after Kang complied with military requirements stemming from the investigation. In early 2016, it appeared that Kang was becoming radicalized, and in or about August 2016, the Army referred this matter to the FBI, the affidavit further states.

Kangs radicalization continued to progress, according to the affidavit.

In March 2017, (a confidential informant) and Kang were discussing the shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Kang told (the informant) that the shooter did what he had to do and later said that America is the only terrorist organization in the world.

Later in March 2017, Kang told (the informant) that Hitler was right, saying he believed in the mass killing of Jews, the affidavit states.

According to the federal complaint, Kang is not believed to be a part of an organized terrorist cell. It appears Fort Ruckers only involvement is the location in which Kang was at the time in 2016 that allowed the FBI to plant an undercover agent.

According to information obtained by CBS News, Kang joined the U.S. Military after 9/11. He served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was highly decorated. CBS affiliate KGMB reported Kang was awarded the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Kang was arrested in Hawaii and made his first court appearance Monday. He was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu, according to reports.

Kangs official charge is providing material support or resources to terrorists. He has been assigned a court-appointed attorney.
TALLASSEE -- A kayaking incident Tuesday afternoon claimed the life of a Tallassee man.

Charles Edward Stewart, 31, was pulled from the Tallapoosa River on Tuesday and pronounced dead, according to a Wednesday news release from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA).

Stewart, who was not wearing a personal flotation device, was displaced from his kayak on the river below Thurlow Dam, according to the ALEA's Marine Patrol Division.

The ALEAs Marine Patrol Division and Aviation Unit were assisted by: the Tallassee Fire Department, Tallassee Police Department, Friendship Fire Department, Elmore County EMA, Haynes Ambulance, Haynes Lifeflight, Elmore County Sheriffs Office Dive Team, Division Delta Dive Team, Montgomery Fire Department Dive Team, Search and Rescue of Elmore County, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, as well as civilian bystanders.

Nothing further is available as troopers from ALEA's Marine Patrol continue to investigate.
Legislation that the Department of Transportation predicted could shave years and millions of dollars off of critical Brooklyn Queens Expressway repairs floundered in Albany this session, to the frustration of local politicians, policy groups, labor unions, pro-business groups, and residents who live alongside the decaying BQE triple cantilever in Brooklyn Heights.

Currently, New York City seeks a designer for an infrastructure project, then puts out a separate bid for construction. "That separate company is allowed to say, 'Well that design had problems,'" DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said last month. This can lead to delays and lawsuits, she added. A process called design-build, which requires state authorization, requires engineers and construction firms to bid jointly on contracts, forcing accountability, supporters say. The state-run Kosciuszko Bridge replacement, on time and on budget, is a design-build project.

Legislation introduced in the Senate by Brooklyn Republican Marty Golden would have authorized design-build for the BQE and other city-run projects, after similar legislation passed the Assembly. It didn't make it to a floor vote.

"The whole thing has just really puzzled me," said Jonathan Bowles, director of the Center for an Urban Future, a nonpartisan policy group. "It kind of seems like apple pie to me. It saves money, it would reduce time, why not support it?"

The steel and concrete BQE trip cantilever carries roughly 123,000 vehicles per day, according to the DOT. Designed by Robert Moses and constructed in 1948, the roadway has already surpassed its intended 50 year lifespan by more than a decade. According to the city, design-build would shave $300 million off of an earmarked $1.89 billion in DOT and Parks Department funding for the BQE overhaul. It would also push up the estimated completion date two years, to 2022.

"This was really a case where the opposition came from outside New York City," said Kathy Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York, a business interest group that has lobbied for design-build for the last three years.

"There is a basic resistance in Albany, and upstate generally, to what is considered privatization of the state contracting process," she added. "The main opposition comes from public service unions that are concerned about their jobs somehow disappearing or being diminished." (Emily Cote, director of communications for the Civil Service Employees Association, said the union did not take a position on the NYC-specific legislation, but has historically opposed design-build for state agencies. "We wanted to ensure that men and women in the state workforce, who are perfectly trained and qualified to do the work, didn't lose their jobs because of design build outsourcing," she stated.)

Design-build for NYC has also been a sticking point for the Associated General Contractors of New York State, a contractor lobbying group, because the NYC-specific legislation would have required contractors to settle terms with union construction workers. "It makes it hard for nonunion contractors to compete," AGC president Mike Elmendorf told Gothamist, adding that he fears that mandatory project labor agreements would "set a precedent."

On state-run projects, project labor agreements only apply after the relevant agency conducts a study to confirm that a labor agreement would be cost effective, according to the Governor's Office.

NYC Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Feniosky Pena-Mora said last month that design-build timing is "critical" for the BQE. "If we don't get it now, we may miss the opportunity to be able to use design-build on this project. Because we will have to move forward with a design firm [soon]."

The DOT, however, was more measured this week. "New York City remains committed to securing design-build authority and is exploring all possible options," a spokesperson said. "We intend to leave no stone unturned when it comes to saving time and taxpayer dollars on this critical project."

The next legislative session starts in January. The DOT spokeswoman said that the city will "stand by our support of project labor agreements as included in this year's legislation," suggestion the possibility of a continuing stalemate between upstate and down.

"I think that if design-build is granted to the city [next year] that they can implement it on a project like the BQE, even if some of the preliminary work is already done," Brooklyn Councilman Steve Levin predicted. "It's really silly if the holdup is political, because this is just regular quality of life for eight-and-a-half million New Yorkers. It's totally across the board. I don't care how you interact with the city, you have some interaction with this infrastructure."

In a statement, Cuomo spokesman Morris Peters described the governor as a major proponent of design-build. "In the past, the legislature has rejected expansions of design-build for local governments and unfortunately they did so again this year," he said.

Senator Golden did not respond to requests for comment on his bill, or the Governor's placing of blame on the legislature.

An earlier version of this story said that the Civil Service Employees Association opposed the NYC design-build legislation. In fact, the union opposed design-build for state agencies.
Vice president Edward Ssekandi

The vice president, Edward Ssekandi, and Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga will lead a high-profile delegation to the Uganda Investment Convention UK due in London later this year.

The annual convention, organized by the Ugandan diaspora in the United Kingdom, is set for September 16 to 22 in East London. Willy Mutenza, the main architect of the event, says more than 1,000 delegates including government officials, private sector leaders and entrepreneurs will attend.

According to Mutenza, the meeting will provide a unique platform for Ugandan entrepreneurs and international business community experts to discuss ventures, investment opportunities and ways to achieve sustainable economic development.

Ugandan officials, who will include trade minister Amelia Kyambadde, her deputy Evelyn Anite (the state minister for privatization and investment) and Works State Minister Edward Katumba Wamala have the chance to convince potential investors to seek business opportunities in Uganda. The country expects much interest in priority sectors such as mining, agribusiness, tourism and health.

With Bank of Uganda deputy governor Dr Louis A. Kasekende also on the delegation, discussions on key foreign direct investments are expected to take centre stage during the five-day gathering.

For the last six years, the convention has provided a forum for Ugandans in the UK to learn about investment opportunities back home. Mutenza says more than $5 million (Sh 18 billion) has been invested in a maize processing plant in Uganda after last years meeting.

Another $8 million (Shs 29 billion), he says, has been invested by a UK-based property developer into modern up-market apartments.

Furthermore, Mutenza notes that several Ugandans from the diaspora have relocated to Uganda and are enjoying successful ventures.

Speakers at the convention from the private sector will include NBS Television chief executive officer Kin Kariisa, Centenary bank executive director Simon Kagugube and Barbara Mulwana Kulubya, executive director of Nice House of Plastics.



mugalu@observer.ug
Kekst recently advised Sweden-based private equity group EQT Partners on two major transactions, its acquisition of Princeton, New Jersey-based pharmaceutical services firm Certara and the acquisition of Global Gateway South, a leading container terminal in the Port of Los Angeles.

EQT acquired drug development software and services company Certara in July for $850 million, including debt, from private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners, who retains a minority ownership stake.

The private equity and venture capital firm in July also acquired a 90 percent interest in Global Gateway South for $875 million and will now partner with port infrastructure investment company P5 Infrastructure to increase the terminals capacity and efficiency.

The Kekst team counseling EQT in the transactions includes managing director Daniel Yunger, associate Ross Lovern and analyst Cathryn Vaulman.

The corporate, financial and M&A communications advisory giant last year also provided PR counsel for EQT's $2.35 billion acquisition of healthcare consultancy Press Ganey Holdings, its first direct equity investment in North America.
Juan Rivera

FTI Consulting appointed Juan Rivera senior managing director in Madrid. Heading FTIs Spain strategic communications operation, hell collaborate with colleagues to provide a suite of solutions to local and multinational companies. Rivera joins FTI from Llorente & Cuenca in Mexico, where he was a partner and managing director.

Didit of Mineola (NY) hired John Plate as VP of fulfillment services for Didit DM, its direct marketing division in Plainview, He was president of CPW Group, a direct marketing firm based in Bohemia, NY, that he co-founded in 1996. In 2011, he was inducted into the Direct Marketing Association of Long Island Hall of Fame. Plate will oversee Didit DMs fulfillment services team, as well as development of new fulfillment projects.

John Plate



Dix & Eaton recruited Brady Cohen for the chief digital officer slot at the Cleveland-based shop. He will handle client engagements, build digital capabilities, drive best practices and advance the firms infrastructure. Cohen had led digital consumer marketing at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

Brady Cohen



Hemsworth Communications added two staffers in its Atlanta outpost. Jennifer Rosa joins as a bilingual account executive. She was at ABM Franchising Group, where she supported the company's network of more than 250 international franchise locations with internal and external communications, media relations, thought leadership and trade show/event management. Amanda Parham joined Hemsworth as account executive from Cohn & Wolfe, where she worked on consumer, corporate, government, healthcare and technology business.
Change is good. Ten years ago, when the new Jeep JK was introduced to the market, one company stepped up as the first to offer a long arm suspension system for it: Skyjacker. We here at off-road.com were lucky enough to be one of the first to test and review that suspension kit. While we reviewed the Skyjacker long arm suspension for the JK, mostly favorably, much has changed over the course of ten years. Skyjacker has now come back to the table with some changes to the long arm kit that make it even better and we got the chance to test the new improvements.

The front components included in the Skyjacker long arm kit for the Jeep Wrangler JK are almost unchanged and the kit still offers the highest ground clearance that we know of. The arms are tucked up to the level of the frame rails, keeping them out of harms way, and many of us know that long arms on a long JKU have a tendency to smack just about everything when off road.

The only real change to the front was also done to the rear. Gone are the polyurethane bushings that were used in the lower control arms at the frame ends. In the original kit, these two piece bushings were notorious for wearing prematurely due to the binding nature of the suspension movement.

Skyjacker now uses a rubber sleeve, flexible bushings that not only hold up better to torture but they also help in reducing road noise that can travel to the Jeep's cab.

The Drive

The front suspension works well, allows excellent road manners and is a joy to have on the trail. Handling is smooth and predictable, whether we are traveling at high speeds or crawling through twisty terrain and rocks. If we had one request to improve the kit, we'd ask for a geometry redesign of the upper arms. We like the simplicity of using the factory link mounts but by using near factory length upper arms with much longer lower arms, it creates a problem.

The travel is not as linear as it could be on droop and articulation bind occurs earlier than it could as well. It also rotates the pinion angle downward during droop that could lead to unjoint bind depending on shock length. While this suspension geometry causes some minor issues, we wouldn't say it's a major hindrance. In fact, it allows for quick and easy installation that any shade tree mechanic can install.

The rest of the front Skyjacker long arm kit comes with all the usual parts that are to be expected in a high end suspension upgrade, including upper adjustable control arms with flex joint, stainless brake lines, front adjustable track bar, bump stops, sway bar disconnects, etc. Everything you need is included, except a front drive shaft, which Skyjacker highly recommends when using this long travel suspension.

We also must note the track bar mount braces that Skyjacker includes. These braces keep the wimpy JK track bar mounts attached to the axle tubes during extreme wheeling. Most JK owners know how easily these factory brackets can break off! We did have to modify our braces a bit to accommodate our Dynatrac differential covers.

The rear of the Skyjacker Long Arm Suspension is where most of the changes took place. While the kit utilizes the factory upper arm mounting locations with new adjustable links, it does have completely redesigned lower link mounts and new "curvy" arms. The first generation rear link mounts included in the Skyjacker long arm kit were less than desirable due to the mounting location, which was on the bottom of the frame rail. They were bulky and hung down too low and placed the lower arms in the danger zone of even smaller obstacles.

We got hung up on rocks more than a few times with this set up and the new mounts worked excellent. They are tucked up flat against the bottom of the frame and place the link mount outboard and high up on the side of the frame rail.

Great design for avoiding trouble, but even this clever design caused a problem. By mounting the link at the side of the frame, contact between the tire and control arm became constant. Skyjacker outsmarted this geometric dilemma by creating a curved arm that bends out of the frame and tire's way, allowing for up and down travel without any interference.

This major change in design also changed our thoughts in the Skyjacker kit, taking it from a very good kit, to a great kit, that should be considered by any potential long arm kit shopper.

Our daily driven JKU, with its updated changes that Skyjacker has made to its long arm kit, is an absolute joy to drive. Washboard and ruts are now taken in stride with very little jolting and jarring. We no longer avoid expansion joints on our local highways. Hitting fire roads at speed is now an enjoyable experience and death wobble isn't even a thought that crosses our minds anymore. We love the changes to our Jeep and appreciate the changes Skyjacker has made to the original long arm kit for the JK.

As you can see in the photos, Bach Crawlers Inc., in southern Colorado, built this Jeep with many details. The Jeep was built for ultimate comfort, unsurpassed road manners and a craving for the rough and rocky dirt roads in Colorado. This RIPP supercharged JKU was in need of a durable long arm kit that could take a beating on the trail and drive home at the end of the day without drama. It had to be the ultimate daily driver and still be an animal off road. While performance was key, an eye catching look was also required, so each control arm was custom painted to match the red rock pearl paint job on the Jeep's body and you can easily do the same if so desired.

The 4" Skyjacker coils ride nicely in conjunction with the long arms and easily fit our 37-inch tire. If you are looking to take your JK one step further, Skyjacker now offers their Curt LeDuc Series Fox Coil Over upgrade to their JK kits as well. Check back soon for a new installment review that details this coil over set up from Skyjacker. Change..it's good.

For more information visit: www.skyjacker.com
Agricultural News

Latest National Beef Quality Audit Results to be Released at the 2017 Summer Cattle Industry Business Meeting

More than 700 cattle industry leaders are gathering at the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in Denver this week to help create direction for industry programs. The meeting runs July 13-15.

The event includes sessions of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, Cattlemen's Beef Board, American National CattleWomen and National Cattlemen's Foundation. Among the purposes of the yearly conference is to create a framework for checkoff and policy efforts on behalf of U.S. cattle producers for the 2018 fiscal year, which for NCBA and the Cattlemen's Beef Board begins October first.





Keynote speaker at Thursday's Opening General Session is Eric Baumgartner, executive vice president of VML, a global marketing ad agency. Baumgartner will provide insight into the advent of technologies that are changing how consumers purchase almost everything they buy, from hamburgers to vacations. General Session I is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.





But the true highlight of the 2017 Summer Business Meeting will come Thursday morning as the results from the 2016 National Beef Quality Audit are unveiled. About every five years since 1991 the NBQA has delivered a set of guideposts and measurements for cattle producers and others to help determine quality conformance of the U.S. beef supply. To review past audit results, click or tap here.





"While cattlemen and women continue to improve their operations and the beef they produce, here has been tremendous volatility in our industry over the past couple of years," said Craig Uden, a beef producer from Nebraska and NCBA president. "To maximize their success cattle producers need to understand not only the impact of their own operations but everything in the world that affects how they do business today."



The Cattlemen's Beef Board has a pair of Oklahoma cattlemen in their leadership ranks. The 2017 Chairman of the CBB is Brett Morris of Ninekah, while Chuck Coffey serves this year as the Secretary-Treasurer.





Joint Committees and Subcommittees will meet on Thursday and Friday to develop proposals for 2018 checkoff-funded research, education and promotion programs. Also on Friday NCBA policy committees will meet to determine priorities and discuss strategies for 2018. The NCBA Board will hold its board meeting on Saturday. The meeting of the Cattlemen's Beef Board will take place on Friday, July 14.





"Cattlemen and women from across the country are taking time out of their busy lives to help make decisions that will have an impact on the direction our industry takes," said Uden. "Meetings like this are a testament to the unselfish dedication these individuals have for the future of the beef cattle industry."











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Roundtable for Sustainable Beef Working to Improve the Value Chain and Develop Consumer Trust







Just ahead of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association summer business meeting in Denver this week, the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is in session, being held at the Denver Convention Center. Helping to organize the Roundtable, is NCBA's Senior Director of Sustainability Ashley McDonald. She spoke with Ron Hays, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network farm director, this week on what the roundtable is really all about, and what it has become since it was formed nearly three years ago in 2015.





"It was started as an effort to have a multi-stakeholder collaboration," McDonald said. "We have all segments of the supply chain together to have those discussions about how we can improve the sustainability of the beef industry."





The members meet periodically to continue their mission of inspiring sustainable beef production practices throughout the entire US beef supply chain, but also hear from scientists with the latest research as well as producers from the field who offer vital feedback to the Roundtable on their efforts that have been implemented.





"When we come together, it's really a great forum to discuss what consumers are talking about, what producers are doing on farms and ranches and feedlots across this country - and to share that knowledge between these different sectors," she said. "We need that feedback so that collectively we can all move forward as a beef value chain to improve the sustainability of our industry and to develop trust with consumers."





Listen to McDonald and Hays discuss the mission of the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and how its work is helping to grow consumer confidence in the beef industry, on today's Beef Buzz.





The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.



















Listen to McDonald and Hays discuss the mission of the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, below

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When 39-year-old actor Nelsan Ellis died Saturday, his manager Emily Saines said he died from "complications with heart failure."

On Monday, though, Saines released a new statement showing the story to be much darker and complicated than that. The heart failure was caused by Ellis' attempt to stop abusing alcohol on his own, which had been a lifelong but private struggle for the actor. The subsequent withdrawal led to his death.

"Nelsan's father has bravely agreed for me to share the circumstances of Nelsan's heart failure," Saines' statement to the Hollywood Reporter began. "Nelsan has suffered with drug and alcohol abuse for years."

Though he was in and out of rehab, his sobriety never lasted. So finally, "After many stints in rehab, Nelsan attempted to withdraw from alcohol on his own."

Attempting to detox from alcohol without medical attention, particularly after sustained use for a long period of time, is extremely dangerous. As WebMD stated, "Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is a potentially life-threatening condition that can occur in people who have been drinking heavily for weeks, months, or years and then either stop or significantly reduce their alcohol consumption."

Its symptoms, which can begin "as early as two hours after the last drink," include shaky hands, sweating, anxiety, vomiting, seizures and death. Many believe musician Amy Winehouse may have died from attempting to quite alcohol cold-turkey, meaning stopping immediately rather than tapering off use.

That's because alcohol disrupts the brain's neurotransmitters, suppressing the production of some such as glutamate, which "produces feelings of excitability," WebMD noted. "When heavy drinkers suddenly stop or significantly reduce their alcohol consumption, the neurotransmitters previously suppressed by alcohol are no longer suppressed. They rebound, resulting in a phenomenon known as brain hyperexcitability."

Indeed, Ellis experienced many of these symptoms. In his statement, his father said that "during his withdrawal from alcohol he had a blood infection, his kidneys shut down, his liver was swollen, his blood pressure plummeted, and his dear sweet heart raced out of control."

Unlike some celebrities whose visits to rehab are splashed across the trade publications and tabloids, Ellis's battle was a private one. Most of his fans likely never suspected a thing. His father said Ellis "was ashamed of his addiction and thus was reluctant to talk about it during his life."

There's a sad irony, then, that the character Ellis was best known for playing was Lafayette Reynolds on HBO's vampire show "True Blood."

In the show, Lafayette was a gay short-order cook with a penchant for taking and selling "V" - vampire blood, which in the show's mythology produces extreme, euphoric highs. He's also often seen with a half-drunk bottle of liquor in his hand or within arm's length.

Drinking and drug use, in fact, is a major feature of the show. It's set in a fictional town called Bon Temps, La., the name being a play on the Cajun French phrase, "laissez les bons temps rouler" or "let the good times roll." The show presents many stereotypes of the area - including the idea that Louisianians spend life on a Mardi Gras-type bender, as if life in the bayou is one big bacchanal.

Even so, he didn't publicly discuss his substance abuse issues.

But in the wake of his sudden and unexpected death, his family chose to tell the world in hopes of helping anyone else who might be struggling with addiction. They believed "that in death he would want his life to serve as a cautionary tale in an attempt to help others.

Finally, his family reiterated "Nelsan was a gentle, generous and kind soul. He was a father, a son, a grandson, a brother, a nephew, and a great friend to those that were lucky enough to know him."
SIDNEY, Neb.  Cabelas shareholders have voted to sell the homegrown Nebraska business to Bass Pro Shops, the company announced Tuesday at a special meeting at its headquarters.

The vote brings the outdoors retailer one step closer to consummating its deal with Bass Pro, in which Cabelas stockholders will receive $61.50 per share.

Roughly 35 people attended the open-and-shut meeting, which lasted 20 minutes. No one asked questions during the question-and-answer session.

About 54 million votes, or 78 percent, were cast in favor of the sale. Most of the remaining shares were not voted, but 155,000 were cast against.

Cabelas announced last October that its top competitor, Bass Pro, would buy it and consolidate the companies in Bass Pros home of Springfield, Missouri.

That leaves Sidney, an isolated town of 6,800 located about six hours west of Omaha, in a possible lurch. Its still unclear how many of Cabelas jobs will remain once Bass Pro looks to cut jobs. Cabelas had employed around 2,000 before several rounds of cost-cutting efforts.

Thats one reason Don Benisek of Sidney said hes flat against the sale, and he voted his shares as such.

He especially protested bonuses for Cabelas executives, which he called not right.

Benisek said hes concerned for the town hes called home since 1965, although he plans to stay.

I just hope Sidney doesnt go bankrupt, Benisek said.

Hes been a Cabelas shareholder since the company went public in 2004.

Elaine Wendler of Lakewood, Colorado, said she also voted her 100 shares of Cabelas stock against the sale.

It does sound like theyre going to keep the Cabela name, but for how long? Wendler said. Itll leave a lot of empty buildings.

Bass Pro said in a statement that the shareholder approval is an important milestone that brings us one step closer to finalizing this exciting opportunity.

Bass Pro has said it plans to maintain important bases of operation in Sidney. But in a meeting with Cabelas employees last year, Bass Pro Chief Executive Johnny Morris said there would be cuts.

Strategic buyers like Bass Pro are typically able to pay a higher price to acquire competitors because the company can save money once the deal has closed by eliminating dual functions, such as accounting or human resources departments.

The deal is still awaiting the go-ahead from the Federal Reserve, which has jurisdiction over the sale of Cabelas credit card operation, Worlds Foremost Bank. The bank must be sold before Bass Pro can close on the retail arm of Cabelas.

Under the deal announced in October, the bank was to be sold to Capital One, and shareholders were to receive $65.50 per share.

But due to an unrelated regulatory issue with Capital One, the bank will instead be sold to Synovus Financial Corp., a Georgia bank that will then offload the credit card receivables to Capital One for a fee. Analysts have called it a clever regulatory workaround.

The merger deadline, when all parties can walk away, is Oct. 3. Cabelas said it expects the sale to close in the third quarter.

RECENT HISTORY OF CABELA'S

2015

As early as June 4: Cabelas board and management discuss a sale of the company  or parts of it.

Sept. 24: Cabelas lays off 4 percent of its corporate workforce, about 70 people, including Sidney Mayor Mark Nienhueser, a vice president.

Oct. 22: Cabelas announces dismal third-quarter earnings.

Oct. 28: Activist hedge fund Elliott Management reveals an 11.1 percent stake in Cabelas. It calls for changes, including selling the business.

Nov. 5: Reuters reports that Bass Pro Shops could buy Cabelas.

Nov. 19: Bloomberg reports that Cabelas is shopping itself around to private equity firms.

Dec. 2: Cabelas announces that it will undergo a strategic review, which is often Wall Street speak for selling the company or parts of it.

2016

Jan. 5: Cabelas changes its bylaws to delay director nominations in 2016, a sign, some say, that Elliott was giving Cabelas breathing room to pursue a sale.

Feb. 9: Cabelas splits the roles of chief executive and president, promoting Scott K. Williams to president. Tommy Millner remains CEO.

Feb. 10: Chairman Jim Cabela reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that he moved about 11.2 million Cabelas shares into a charitable trust sometime in 2015.

April 28: Cabelas will pay $1 million to the SEC to settle claims that the Sidney retailers chief financial officer, Ralph Castner, misled investors regarding the companys profitability ratios in 2012. Castner himself also will pay $50,000 to the regulatory agency. As part of the settlement, Castner and Cabelas did not admit or deny wrongdoing.

May 26: Cabelas will outsource its division that produces catalogs and other advertising to Quad/Graphics. Quad/Graphics, based in Sussex, Wisconsin, will open a Sidney office in early August.

June 16: Cabelas acknowledges for the first time that the company  or parts of it  are for sale in a document filed with the SEC.

July: Cabelas is ranked 491 of the years Top 500 U.S. brands, according to the British company Brand Finance, which measures the economic value of commercial names. Cabelas is valued at $1.2 billion.

August: Elliott Management, the hedge fund that owns a big stake in Cabelas, now owns about 2.2 million more of the companys shares than it did at the end of 2015. The recent buys bring Elliott Managements ownership of Cabelas to 9.3 percent of the company, up from its initial stake of 8.9 percent. It still has options to buy more  up to about 11 percent of Cabelas.

Oct. 3: Outdoor gear giants Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas will combine in a $5.5 billion deal.

December: Federal Trade Commission makes a second request for information about a Bass Pro-Cabelas deal due to potential antitrust questions.

2017

January: Capital One withdraws bid for Cabelas credit card operation, Worlds Foremost Bank.

April: Cabelas reaches a proposed deal with Synovus Financial Corp., a Georgia bank, to aid in the sale of Worlds Foremost Bank. Also, under the new terms, Bass Pro would pay $61.50 per share to acquire Cabelas, down from $65.50.

July 5: The FTC, after investigating the deal for possible antitrust violations, approves the sale.

July 11: Cabela's shareholders vote to approve the sale of the company to Bass Pro Shops.
BANCROFT, Neb. (AP)  Two men have pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from a northeast Nebraska bank robbery.

Court records say Jeffrey Bonneau and Lenn Zuhlke entered the pleas Monday in U.S. District Court in Omaha. Both are charged with bank robbery. Bonneau also is charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Both men live in Bancroft.

Authorities say Bonneau robbed the First Bank of Bancroft of more than $6,700 on April 20 and later crashed on an all-terrain vehicle as he tried to flee the area. Court documents don't describe the basis of the charge against Zuhlke.
Soon after an Omaha man was slain, a 22-year-old man told police that he was the person they were looking for, a police detective testified Wednesday.

A judge decided that the 22-year-old, Benjamin Guevara, will stand trial on charges of first-degree murder and use of a gun to commit a felony in the slaying of Oziel Vazquez-Serrano, 21.

Authorities say Vazquez-Serrano was shot about 6:30 p.m. May 13 inside a car parked near 36th and H Streets.

After the shooting, Omaha Police Detective Matthew Backora testified, two witnesses saw a young man pull Vazquez-Serrano out of the car.

Vazquez-Serrano was found in the middle of the street. He was transported to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The witnesses remembered the license plate number of the car that fled from the scene and told police.

With that information, officers arrived at the home of Benjamin Guevara and his family.

Guevara was entering the home, but saw officers and walked toward them with his hands behind his back.

I know, I know, Im the one youre looking for, Backora said Guevara told police.

Guevara also took officers to a wooded area where he said he had thrown the .40-caliber gun and to the spot in his house where he had ditched the gun magazine.

Guevaras parents told police that their son had arrived home after work, borrowed his mothers cellphone, took his fathers car  a black Honda Accord  and said he had to go to the store.

Vazquez-Serranos mother told police that he said he was going to a party. She saw him get into a dark-colored vehicle with one person inside.

Officers searched the car Guevara was driving and found two .40-caliber shell casings and one bullet. There was blood on the inside and outside of the top of the passenger-side door.

A square-shaped stone earring was on the windows edge.

During the autopsy, Vazquez-Serrano was found to have a similar earring in his left ear, but no earring in the right ear.

The autopsy also showed Vazquez-Serrano had been shot three times  in his right lung and spinal cord. He had THC  the active ingredient in marijuana  and meth in his system, but no weapons were found on his body.

Police found Vazquez-Serranos phone in a closet in Guevaras home.

Authorities think the bullets were fired from the drivers side of the car to the passenger side, Backora said.

During cross-examination Wednesday, Backora said Guevara never outright admitted to shooting Vazquez-Serrano. Backora said he thought Guevaras statements to the police had been made in English, but he wasnt sure.

Guevara used a Spanish translator during the hearing.

A prosecutor has said that Guevara is from Mexico, but it was unclear whether he had legal status in the United States.
Omahas substandard streets are proving to be a complicated issue with no easy answers, and any fix is going to be expensive.

That was apparent at Tuesdays City Council meeting, where council members considered Mayor Jean Stotherts proposed solution to the problem.

Stothert has suggested that the city pay half the cost to bring a neighborhood street up to city standards or pay a quarter of the cost of repaving such a street one time to lower standards.

The council was set to vote on the 10-page policy Tuesday, but instead delayed a decision for two weeks because council members wanted to make some changes.

The council considered some big questions, such as, whats most fair to taxpayers citywide? And whats most fair to homeowners on affected streets?

Council members in particular discussed Elkhorn, which was annexed by Omaha a decade ago, and whether it and other similar areas should be treated differently.

A street built to city standards is made of concrete and has storm drains, curbs and gutters. There are 300 lane miles of substandard streets within the Omaha city limits, and the city estimates that it would cost $300 million to fix them all. Thats on top of $500 million of other street needs.

The citys longstanding policy has been to require homeowners to pay to upgrade those streets.

But in recent years that policy came under scrutiny after the city started grinding up substandard streets and turning them into dirt roads.

After complaints, Stothert put a moratorium on that practice, and she appointed a committee to come up with a proposal for a new policy.

The committee suggested the cost-sharing proposal, and Tuesday was the councils turn to weigh in.

The reasoning for requiring homeowners to pay is that, generally, a developer will construct a street as part of a housing division, then pass those costs to the homeowners. So homeowners on substandard streets never bore the cost of constructing a sturdier street.

And substandard streets, such as those made only of asphalt, cost more than a standard street to maintain. So those extra costs are getting pushed to taxpayers citywide.

On the flip side, others argue that its not fair to require homeowners to pay the full cost of upgrading a public road decades after the street was constructed.

To illustrate the complexity of the debate, consider Elkhorn, home to many streets considered to be substandard by Omaha.

The City of Omaha annexed Elkhorn in 2007, over the strong objections of its residents.

When the city annexes an area, its required to perform a cost analysis of the area and show that its cost-neutral over 10 years.

The Elkhorn annexation analysis performed by a previous administration, according to Stotherts deputy chief of staff Cassie Paben, took into account the maintenance of the streets. But it didnt take into account the cost of upgrading those streets to city standards.

Council member Brinker Harding, who represents that area, asked whether the City of Elkhorns streets standards matched Omahas. In other words, he wanted to know if Elkhorn-area homebuilders were constructing streets according to the rules that were set for them at the time.

I dont know what Elkhorns standards were at the time when their (sanitary and improvement districts) were developed, said Public Works Director Bob Stubbe.

If they had been following the rules, would the residents not have the expectation that those would be maintained for the life of the road? Harding asked.

We will continue to maintain those roads until they are no longer serviceable, Stubbe said.

Elkhorn resident Robert Peterson told the council that requiring homeowners to pay even a portion of the upgrade would be an abdication of the citys responsibility to maintain streets.

If youre going to abdicate your responsibility, then at least turn the wheel tax back to us, he said.

Council members, staffers and the administration have acknowledged that the problem is large and the current proposal is a first step.

This is a step in the right direction, and were trying to find a place to start on a $300 million problem, said Councilman Pete Festersen. But I dont want anyone to think were going to stop working on it.

Council members had several other suggestions and comments:

Councilman Chris Jerram wanted to see a provision to allow residents to appeal to the city and receive more than the amount laid out in the policy under extraordinary circumstances.

He also wanted to see a provision that said the city would continue to monitor substandard streets even after it stops maintaining them in order to address potential safety issues.

Festersen and public works officials said they have concerns that high-poverty areas wont be able to participate in the program, even though the city would pay more in those areas.

Festersen also said hes worried that Stotherts allocation of roughly $800,000 per year wont be enough to cover the projects that come in. In fact, the council approved six projects for 2017 and agreed to address a seventh in two weeks. Those seven projects will likely end up taking up the entire 2017 budget for unimproved streets and eat into the 2018 budget by roughly $300,000.

Several council members thanked Stothert and her committee for working on the proposal. But they said they wanted more time to draft changes to the policy.

They voted 6-0, with council member Vinny Palermo absent, to hold off for two weeks.
LINCOLN  A federal panel seeking voter records has asked Nebraska and other states to wait to share any data.

In a letter sent earlier this week, President Donald Trumps voting commission said states should wait to share voter registration records until a judge rules on a lawsuit that challenges the commissions request.

The White House also said it would delete the data already sent in by Arkansas, the only state so far to comply.

The lawsuit argues that the commissions request violates Americans constitutional right to privacy. The suit was filed by the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center.

The commissions original request had asked states to submit voter data by Friday.

Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale has said he will share voter registration data with the commission, but only if he receives assurances about how the data will be used and secured.

His office has not sent any communication to the commission as of yet, spokeswoman Laura Strimple said Wednesday.

The commission, which Trump created to investigate allegations of voter fraud, has asked for each states publicly available voter roll data, including names, party affiliations, addresses and portions of Social Security numbers.

Some states have reported receiving an influx of voters requesting to withdraw their voter registrations in an effort to keep their personal information private.

Election officers in Nebraskas three most populous counties said they have received some calls about the commissions request for data, but have had few voters cancel their registration.

About a dozen people in Douglas County have canceled their voter registrations since the commissions request came to light, said Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse. The county has more than 344,000 registered voters.

One thing were cautioning people on is, if you do cancel your voter registration and dont re-register to vote, you wont have the opportunity to have your voice be heard, Kruse said.

Kruse said his office is telling people that its unclear whether canceling a voter registration now would remove the persons information from the secretary of states records.

Sarpy County Election Commissioner Wayne Bena said his office has received a few phone calls, while the Lancaster County office has received five or six cancellations.

In a response issued last week, Gale said that Nebraskas voter registration file is a public record and may be released for certain purposes, such as political activities. The file includes a registered voters name, address and birth date, among other information.

Gales statement seemed to indicate that Nebraska voters Social Security numbers would not be shared with the commission. He pointed to Nebraska laws that say the numbers, including the last four digits, can be withheld from the public. His office has not clarified whether he would shield Social Security numbers.

Other information requested by the commission, including data about felony convictions and military and overseas registration status, will not be provided, Gale said.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.
As many as 100,000 people could flow into the North Platte, Nebraska, area on or about Aug. 19 for the total solar eclipse two days later.

With area hotels and campgrounds booked, officials are looking for alternative lodging for the influx of visitors.

First of all, all of our hotels are sold out for Sunday night, Aug. 20, said Lisa Burke, executive director at the North Platte/Lincoln County Visitors Bureau. We have 1,200 motel rooms that are full, and the local campgrounds that take reservations are all full as well.

Because the motels and campground are full, Burke and assistant director Muriel Clark are advocating for area residents to look into renting rooms in their homes through Airbnb-type arrangements.

We use the term Airbnb, it is a specific company, but there are others that do it as well, Clark said. Airbnb is perfect for rural Nebraska  and the eclipse is a perfect example of it  because there are so many areas that have a fabulous place to visit, a great festival one weekend a year.

However, Clark said, such events usually don't warrant the investment and infrastructure of a new hotel.

You think about our aging population and how many people have homes with those two and three extra bedrooms, Clark said. So Airbnb, and any of these home-sharing platforms that are out there, is a way to build that lodging capacity to increase tourism without that investment in the infrastructure.

Clark said there may be some angst about opening up ones home.

Airbnb really vets those people for you and you can choose who to rent to, Clark said. That really takes away that fear.

Thinking of renting out space in your home? There's one thing you might overlook.

The one thing I will say though is you are renting a lodging room and you must pay sales tax and lodging tax in Lincoln County, Clark said. Its got to be a level playing field. If our hotels have to collect and pay sales and lodging tax, then you do, too. You cant circumvent that.

Burke said it is difficult to know for sure how many people will be in the North Platte area during the eclipse weekend.

Weve been told to expect 100,000 people coming to the area, but its hard to plan because we just dont know, Burke said.
WASHINGTON  The emails released Tuesday by Donald Trump Jr. prompted strong denunciations from Capitol Hill Democrats, but Republicans representing Nebraska and western Iowa had much less to say.

The emails show Trump Jr. was informed about Russian efforts to support his fathers election bid and that he embraced what was billed as a meeting with a Russian government lawyer who could provide information on Hillary Clinton.

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., was on her way to an afternoon meeting with EPA administrator Scott Pruitt when she told The World-Herald that shed heard people talking about the emails but hadnt read them herself.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said through a spokeswoman simply that its important that we let the Special Counsel and bipartisan congressional investigations continue in earnest and follow the facts where they lead.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that the content of the emails raises important questions but he also suggested that their release shows Trump Jr. is inclined to transparency.

"I hope that he continues to be as open as we work to get answers for the American people, Grassley said.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., had nothing to say about the emails themselves but rather provided a statement that he is looking forward to the results of various investigations.

Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said in a statement hes confident this information will be closely examined by special counsel (Robert) Mueller and the congressional committees investigating Russian interference in our election.

Rep. David Young, R-Iowa, provided a statement that did not address the substance of the emails.

Young said said he will "continue to monitor the ongoing work of the House and Senate committees and Department of Justice Special Counsel who will no doubt look closely into this development."

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., had no comment on the emails. Others did not respond to requests for comment.
The nations economy can be helped significantly if the pace picks up in boosting the number of skilled workers for the tech sector, labor analysts report.

Take the example of computer science. The U.S. Department of Labor projected last year that by 2020 the country will likely be producing fewer than one-third of the new computer specialists needed by private industry.

An important strategy to address the tech-sector challenge is to increase the number of women and minority graduates in science, technology, engineering and math fields.

Theres considerable opportunity. The National Science Foundation points out that while only 18 percent of bachelors degrees in computer science go to women at present, 45 percent of eighth-grade girls scored at proficiency level on a national test of technology and engineering skills.

In 2015, the Washington Post reported that the field of statistics has had greater success at recruiting and retaining women than have most other STEM fields.

Ingredients for success, experts said, include creating more welcoming environments, establishing a critical mass of female students and promoting qualified female leaders. The article pointed to the statistics department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a successful example.

World-Herald staff writer Rick Ruggles has reported on efforts in Nebraska and Iowa to boost outreach to female and minority students in tech-related majors.

Frantzlee LaCrete, an award-winning graduate of Chadron State College, will start medical school this fall at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, for example. A biracial student from Lewellen, a small town in western Nebraska, he is a participant in the Rural Health Opportunities Program, a collaboration of UNMC and Nebraskas state college system to encourage rural residents to go into health care professions.

LaCrete has long shown a scientific aptitude and cites the importance of mentors in encouraging him.

A number of schools in Nebraska and Iowa are offering outreach programs in hopes of encouraging more women and minority students to explore science and related fields. Among them:

 Creighton University funds undergraduate and graduate-level scholarships for women studying science or math and established the Clare Boothe Luce Faculty Chair for Women in Science.

 The University of Nebraska at Omaha partners with Girls Inc. to provide a girls summer camp focusing on STEM opportunities.

 The College of St. Mary gives scholarships annually through its Marie Curie scholarship program for women in biology, chemistry or math.

 Nebraska Wesleyan University offers STEM scholarships to low-income students.

 Minority students receive dozens of scholarships in engineering, agriculture and other disciplines at Iowa State University. The scholarship program is named after prominent African-American scientific inventor George Washington Carver, who attended Iowa State and served on its faculty.

The country fortunately is seeing progress. Between 2008-09 and 2014-15, total degrees in STEM were up 39 percent for women, 30 percent for blacks and 76 percent for Hispanics.

Thats the kind of progress thats needed. Encouragement from mentors and support from institutions of higher learning are opening up important opportunities to help students and our economy.
DigiLocker users can now store Ayushman Bharat health records: Here's how to do it

2012 judges assault case: 3 accused get 10 years rigorous imprisonment

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, July 12: A Delhi court has sentenced three convicts to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for assaulting three trial court judges in 2012 road rage case.

Police has said that the the convicts attacked the judges car after seeing a "judge" sticker on the vehicle while the judges were going to their home to Faridabad.

The sessions court noted that judges are "vulnerable to murderous assaults for their verdicts which always go against one of the parties in a case".

Additional Sessions Judge R. K. Tripathi said: "The act of the convicts has shaken the conscience of society and wrongful act of the convicts sends the message that nobody is safe."

"Judges are more vulnerable to attacks as they pass judgement which may be in favour of a party or not," the court said observing that aggrieved party may have grudge against a judge and may target him whenever they find a chance.

The court in an order delivered last week sentenced Anil Raj, Prashant and Rohit, who were convicted under various charges dealing with an attempt to murder and assault on a public servant to deter him from discharge of duty under Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

The convicts were facing trial for attacking then three judges in Saket district court - Ajay Garg, M. K. Nagpal and Inderjeet Singh and hit the rear window of the judges' car near Dakshinpuri in south Delhi in May 2012.

The court further said that it was a matter of grave concern that despite seeing the sticker of judges on the car and knowing fully well that they are judges, the convicts did not show any sign of respect or restraint, rather became more violent and aggressive.

IANS

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 11:06 [IST]
3 reasons why Lashkar broke the rule and targeted Amarnath yatra

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Amarnath yatra attack has shocked the nation. Seven persons were killed in the most brutal fashion by terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. It was an act of desperation by the Lashkar which finds itself cornered in the Valley.

There are three reasons why the Lashkar went ahead and decided to break an unwritten code not attack the yatra. The former chief of the Research and Analysis, C D Sahay decodes for OneIndia the possible reasons why the Lashkar would have gone ahead and carried out the attack.

Reason A: The hype around the so-called Kashmir struggle has been built so intensely by Pakistan that the terrorists have lost their mental balance to distinguish. They crossed the red line and no go area. It ultimately became a mix of both. The terrorists from Pakistan mingle with the locals and dish out support. Now what most of the locals do not realise is that that the Pakistani militants are so highly radicalised that they do not care for Kashmiriyat or the yatra.

Reason B: Over the past couple of months there have been very strong counter terrorism operations in the Valley. Everyday we get to read about one or the militant being killed. All raids are based on specific and actionable intelligence. This kind of pin-pointed counter terror operations has put the terrorists on the defence.

Reason C: Terrorists and separatists had planned major events during the first death anniversary of Burhan Wani. However nothing went as per plan as the security mechanism was in place. There was a sense of desperation that built up due to this failure. The terrorists knew very well that the yatris were not protected by any convoy and this made them vulnerable. The failure to make any noise during the Wani death anniversary led these terrorists to carry out the attack. They decided to hit and make headlines.

OneIndia News
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5 dead as heavy rains pound Uttarakhand; Met dept warns heavy to very heavy rains

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Lucknow, July 12: At least five persons were reported dead on Wednesday as heavy rains continued to pound most parts of Uttarakhand.

The Regional Met Office warned of heavy to very heavy rains till Friday. Educational institutions were closed in Chamoli and Rudraprayag.

Some buildings were damaged in Dehradun outskirts, Chamoli and Almora due to cloud bursts, official said.

More than a hundred link roads across the hill state continued to be blocked due to landslides triggered by the incessant rains over the past few days.

Many rain-fed rivers and other rivers like Alaknanda, Saryu, Gomti, Pindar, Mandakini, Gori and Nandakini were in spate. People living in low lying areas and banks were asked to leave for higher and safer places.

District administrations are on high alert asked travellers to remain cautious amid forecast of heavy rain falls till Friday.

IANS

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 10:19 [IST]
Abu Ismail took help of local Kashmiri terrorists to plot Amarnath yatra attack

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The investigations being conducted into the Amarnath yatra attack have zeroed in on the role of Abu Ismail, a commander of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. Hailing from Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Ismail was put in charge of the outfit in South Kashmir.

A senior Home Ministry official told OneIndia that they are looking into the role played by multiple groups and not just the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. Our assessment is that the Lashkar planned the attack with the help of the Hizbul Mujahideen which provided the logistics.

Abu Ismail, the man who masterminded the Amarnath yatra attack

Investigations have also revealed that the Lashkar had deployed its fidayeen squad to carry out the attack on the yatris. Seven persons were killed in a horrific Monday night strike. While the role of the Lashkar has been confirmed, the role of the local terrorists too are being looked into by the investigators.

The forces have also launched a manhunt for Ismail, a Pakistani in his 20s. He took over as the commander from Abu Dujana who is currently on the run. The police say that the Monday strike was an act of revenge. The intercepts that were picked up are being analysed over and over to find the exact link between Ismail and the local terrorists in Kashmir.

Ismail's proximity with the local Hizbul leadership came to light when he went on a joint recruitment drive in South Kashmir. Both the Lashkar and the Hizbul which have come under immense heat from the security agencies also set up a camp in Gilgit Baltistan. The camp comprising at least 200 terrorists are being trained to launch another offensive in Kashmir.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 6:26 [IST]
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Amarnath attack: J&K BJP demands NIA probe

India

pti-PTI

Jammu, Jul 12: The Jammu and Kashmir BJP spokesperson Anil Gupta on Thursday demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency into terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims which killed seven persons.

J-K BJP spokesperson Anil Gupta said that an NIA probe becomes all the more necessary in view of the inputs on public domain.

"The local police has reportedly held Lashkar terrorist Abu Ismail responsible for carrying out the attack with the assistance of local Hizbul Mujahideen cadre.

"There is adequate suspicion of Pakistan and PoK-based international terrorist Syed Salahuddin, Chairman of United Jihad Council (UJC), also being involved in masterminding the terror attack," he said.

He claimed that the role on sleeper cells of the Lashkar-e-Taiba or the Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence operating outside the state cannot be ruled out.

"Keeping in view the involvement of not only the terrorists but many other hidden hands, it becomes imperative that the investigation is entrusted to a specialised agency like the NIA," Gupta said.

PTI
Explained: Why did the ECI freeze the symbol of the Shiv Sena

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Amarnath terror attack: Send gau rakshaks to face terrorists, says Uddhav

India

pti-PTI

Mumbai, July 12: Taking a dig at the BJP over the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday asked the senior ally of his party to send 'gau rakshaks' to face terrorists in the Valley.

"The BJP used to say that do not bring sports, culture etc. in the political issues. Today, religion and politics came together in the form of the terror attack. Should we understand that none of those terrorists would have been alive today if they had the cow meat in their bags than weapons?"

"The issue of 'gau rakshaks' is raging today. Why don't you send these cow vigilantes to face terrorists?" Thackeray asked while addressing representatives of various Ganesh mandals for the upcoming festival.

He chaired the meeting of the Ganesh mandals. Thackeray's party Shiv Sena shares a strained relationship with the BJP in Maharashtra where the two parties are in power. "If the BJP government can talk to separatists in the Kashmir Valley to resolve their issues, they can certainly talk with those wishing to celebrate the Ganesh festival amidst fanfare," he said.

He requested the Devendra Fadnavis government to bring out an ordinance against the restrictions imposed by the Bombay High Court on noise level during the festivals.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district last evening.

While five of the deceased hailed from neighbouring Gujarat, two were from Maharashtra.

PTI

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 8:38 [IST]
Amarnath yatra attack: Terrorists had tried to storm into bus

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The terrorists who attacked the Amarnath yatra managed to dodge the security forces as they were dressed in police fatigues. Investigators are still not able to give an exact number as to how many terrorists were part of the attack.

Investigations have shown that the bus was attacked from both sides. While speaking to the survivors, the police learnt that the bus was attacked by terrorists from both sides.

The terrorists had come up with a clear plan to kill everyone on the bus. While one group fired from one end, one of the terrorists even tried entering into the bus. However the cleaner managed to shove the terrorist away and close the door. The bus was then driven to a military area where the Army came to the rescue of the pilgrims.

According to eye witness accounts, the same bus came under attack from stone pelters a day before the attack. The account given by Pradip Thakur, son of Nirmala Thakur, 67 who died in the attack suggests that some persons had on Sunday pelted stones at the bus.

The police meanwhile are probing all angles. They are trying to re-create the crime scene with the accounts given by the survivors. Meanwhile a massive manhunt has been launched to find the terrorists. Sources say that the security forces have already zeroed in on the persons and it is only a matter of time before they are either captured or killed.

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Amarnath Yatra Attack: Revelations from investigation | Oneindia News

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 6:05 [IST]
Amarnath yatra attack avenged: How the terrorists were taken down one by one

Amarnath yatra bus moved around without cover for 2 days and terrorists trailed it

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Abu Ismail, the Category A terrorist who carries a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head had directed his overground operatives to find an easy target during the Amarnath yatra. Based on his instructions, first a reconnaissance for three days was conducted.

When the overground operatives informed him that they had found a bus full of yatris which could be an easy target, he told them to tail it for two days. During the two days, the operatives kept a close tab of the bus and its movements.

It was found that the bus was moving without any security cover. The yatris on the ill-fated bus had completed the pilgrimage. They stayed on to do some sight seeing and this was the time that the bus came under attack following which seven persons were killed.

Officers part of the investigation say that there may have been around 5 to 6 terrorists who were part of this attack. It is confirmed that the bus was fired upon from both sides.

Even those who survived the attack told the police that they heard firing from both sides.

Top sources in Delhi told OneIndia that Ismail oversaw the entire attack. He stayed constantly in touch with the terrorists through the operation. He urged them on to kill all the yatris in the bus. The possibility of a hostage crisis was also discussed. However when one of the terrorists tried entering into the bus, he was pushed away by the cleaner.

Meanwhile the investigators are also exploring the possible role played by the elusive Lashkar-e-Tayiba commander Abu Dujana. Ismail had come into the Valley two years back and took over from Dujana recently when the heat on the latter shot up. Officials say that they are checking to find out a possible role that Dujana too may have played in the attack.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 8:15 [IST]
Based on tip off, Delhi police arrest 'Thak-Thak' gang member

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, July 12: Acting on a tip-off, the Delhi police arrested an active member of the 'Thak-Thak' (knock- knock) gang and Rs 70,000 recovered from his possession.

The accused, identified as Rohit (19), was arrested in a joint operation of the Delhi and the Haryana police, they said.

The modus-operandi of the gang is to distract people driving cars and decamp with their belongings kept inside the vehicle, police said.

Police said that Rohit along with his accomplices was actively involved in criminal activities in Delhi-NCR. "The police, on a secret information that the accused would come to the Outer Ring Road near the ESI Hospital to meet one of his friends, laid a trap and arrested him. "We have recovered Rs 70,000 and a motorcycle from his possession," DCP (west district) Vijay Kumar said.

Arrested man was an active member of Delhi's Madangir-based 'Thak-Thak' gang and involved in stealing Rs 1.5 lakh from a car in Haryana's Kurukshetra area on July 7 along with his associate. However, their act was captured by a CCTV camera while fleeing on their motorcycle.

PTI
Modi's policies create space for terrorists in Kashmir says Rahul Gandhi

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Congress party vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies for 'creating space for terrorists in Kashmir.'

Rahul Gandhi in his tweet said 'Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively.' He was referring to terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims on Monday, which left seven people dead.

Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

In his tweet, he gave a formula which equated Modi's personal gain with India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood.

Modis personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

Modi's Grave strategic blow for India: Rahul Gandhi

Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India

Modis policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India#AmarnathTerrorAttack  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

After the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, Rahul had said the PM "needs to accept responsibility" for the attack.

He had also said that India will never be intimidated by terrorists. Opposition parties had also asked the government to introspect on its failure to prevent the "cowardly and ghastly" terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims despite reports of advance intelligence inputs.

"The government needs to introspect as to why, despite advanced intelligence inputs, was there a failure to prevent this attack?" a resolution passed by 18 opposition parties yesterday said. The BJP, however, asked Gandhi to "rise to the occasion" and not do politics over the Amarnath terror strike after he attacked the PM.

(With agency inputs)
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Amid border standoff Chinese official assuage fears over India-China economic ties

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, July 11: China on Tuesday assuaged the fears of India-China economic ties being affected due to the current border standoff in the Sikkim sector between to the countries, reports said.

"Both India and China enjoy long cooperation as our lands are connected," Li Rongrong, Second Secretary in the Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Office of the Chinese Embassy in India said on Monday at a promotion conference of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road International Expo to be held in the city of Dongguan in the Chinese province of Guangdong from September 21 to 24.

Li said Chinese investments in India rose from $219 crore in 2000 to $7,000 crore in 2016.

Last year alone, Li said, foreign direct investment from China to India was over $100 crore.

She also referred to the On Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping and said it resonated with India's major infrastrcture projects like the East-West Corridor and the Indian Railways' Diamond Quadrilateral.

The India-China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) signed a deal with the Dongguan municipal government for the expo during the event.

Chen Qingsong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Dongguan municipal government, said that 104 Indian companies attended the exposition last year and invited more Indian exhibitors to this year's event.

Mohammad Sadiq, Secretary-General of the ICEC, said that the current border standoff was an issue that would pass off quickly.

He assured that despite an advisory issued by the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, all Chinese businesspersons in India were safe as before.

Both India and Bhutan alleged that China was trying to unilaterally change a status quo that has been maintained at the Bhutan-China-India trijunction.

Indian and Chinese forces are in a standoff position in the Doklam area of Bhutan where a large construction contingent of Chinse Army entered on June 16 to apparently build a road.

IANS
Explained: The new guidelines which mandate TV channels to telecast content of national interest

Cabinet approvals include cooperation with Palestine in health and medicine

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a range of initiatives including the cooperation with Palestine in the fields of health and medicine.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Palestine on cooperation was signed on May 16 this year.

The agreement involves capacity building of health staff, prevention and control of communicable diseases, physiotherapy and rehabilitation and cooperation in drugs, pharmaceuticals and medical equipments.

The Cabinet has also approved development of four-laning of Solapur-Bijapur Section of New NH-52 in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The development of four-laning of about 110 km is estimated to cost approximately Rs.1889 crore including the cost of land acquisition and pre-construction activities.

Signing of a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) between India and Germany on cooperation in the field of health has also been approved. The JDI was signed on June 1, 2017.

The cabinet has approved enhancement of the age of superannuation of Medical Officers of Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles. The retirement age of General Duty Medical Officers and Specialist Medical Officers of the two forces has been raised from 60 to 65 years.

Creation of three posts of director for new AIIMS institutes in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra was also approved by the cabinet.

The cabinet has given its approval for the Joint Interpretative Notes (JIN) on the agreement between India and Bangladesh for the promotion and protection of Investments. The JIN would impart clarity to the interpretation of the existing Agreement between India and Bangladesh for the Promotion and Protection of Investments (BIPA).

The Union Cabinet has been apprised of the MoU between India and Palestine on cooperation in the field of Information Technology and Electronics.

India has strong political support to the Palestinian cause at international and bilateral levels. India has been contributing material and technical assistance to the Palestinian people.

Besides these, several other agreements have also been approved like upgradation and widening of 65 kms of Imphal-Moreh Section of NH-39 in Manipur and establishment of the International Rice Research Institute , South Asia Regional Center (ISARC), at the campus of National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC) in Varanasi.

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 15:11 [IST]
Congress to gherao Parliament on July 18 in protest against GST

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, July 12: The Congress will gherao the Parliament House on July 18 to protest against the Goods and Services Tax, claiming that the implementation of the tax regime in its present form will affect traders as well as the common people.

"A gherao of Parliament House would be held to protest against GST in its present form on July 18," Congress' Delhi Chief Ajay Maken told reporters at a press conference.

"Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has opposed the GST in its present form because the BJP-led central government has created six slabs in the GST with a 40 per cent outer limit whereas the party was in favour of GST with 14 per cent as the outer limit," he said.

He also said that the traders of the city were fed up with GST and from time to time, the traders' associations of Delhi had informed about their plight and problems.

Maken said that "the adverse impact of GST was not only affecting the traders, but also the common people."

Hitting out at the centre, he said: "The world over, wherever GST has been implemented, an outer limit has been set, but the BJP-led Central government has created six GST slabs with an outer limit of 40 per cent."

He further said that "after implementing the GST by the BJP-led Central Government, the "roti, kapada aur makan" of the common people have been affected as prices have soared sky-high, and the prices of essential commodities have gone beyond the reach of the common people."

On July 8, Surat, the economic capital of Gujarat, witnessed an unprecedented protest against the new tax regime, the Goods and Service Tax.

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 9:06 [IST]
Darjeeling: Indefinite bandh to continue, pro Gorkhaland movement leaders to fast unto death

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Darjeeling, July 11, 2017: The Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee (GLMCC) resolved to continue with the ongoing bandh in the Hills. Along with the bandh the GLMCC leaders have decided to sit in a fast unto death from July 15.

The GLMCC (a conglomeration of pro Gorkhaland forces) sat in a meeting in Mirik on Tuesday. "2 front rung leaders of the 14 constituent parties of the GLMCC will sit in a fast unto death from July 15" stated Binay Tamang, Assistant Secretary, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. An indefinite bandh had been clamped in the Hills of North Bengal since June 15.

The fast unto death list includes Tamang along with GNLF Spokesperson Neeraj Zimba. July 13- The birth anniversary of Nepali poet Bhanubhakta Acharya will be commemorated as "Gorkhaland Unity day."

"Recipients of the Bhanubhakta Award of the West Bengal Government will be urged to return the awards" added Tamang. The GLMCC has also issued an ultimatum to the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the 15 odd Development and Cultural Boards to resign from the posts by 6pm on July 14. If they fail to resign they will be labeled anti-Gorkhaland.

On 14th July District Magistrate Offices, SDO and BDO offices will be gheraoed in Darjeeling and Kalimpong district. "Supply of essential commodities including medicines and ration to the Hills and Sikkim is being stopped from the plains. On July 14, as a mark of protest we will take out a rally in Siliguri carrying empty bags on July 14" stated Tamang.

GLMCC has demanded a CBI probe into the alleged police firings which has left 7 pro Gorkhaland activists dead. "BJP MP from Darjeeling SS Ahluwalia will be raising these issues in Delhi and will be corresponding with the Ministers of the Union Government. He will prompt a Central team visit to the Hills. He will also raise the issues in Parliament also" added Tamang. The next date of meeting of the GLMCC has been fixed on July 18.

Meanwhile in Darjeeling, the GJM took out a "Khukuri" (Traditional Gorkha sword) rally in Darjeeling. Brandishing Khukuris GJM youths took pledge to fight till the last breadth and drop of blood to free motherland - Gorkhaland from the "slavery" of West Bengal.

OneIndia News
Fadnavis agrees to Chief Ministers' meet on Mahadayi, Parrikar undecided

India

oi-Anusha

Chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, has given his consent to tripartite meeting over the Mahadayi river water sharing row. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who initiated the efforts to organise the meeting has now written to Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Devendra Fadnavis who had called off a similar meeting last year has this time around agreed to hold talks. The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal had suggested an out of court agreement between the three riparian states on the issue. The Congress government in Karnataka, stuck between two BJP governments in Goa and Maharashtra had been pushing for talks to solve the issue amicably.

Responding to a letter of invitation to hold talks over the issue by Siddaramaiah, Devendra Fadnavis has sought tentative dates that are convenient to Chief Ministers of all three states. "I appreciate your initiative for organising a meeting of Chief Ministers of three states in response to the possibility of arriving at an amicable solution to the pending issue of Inter State Mahadayi Basin Water Distribution," read the letter from Devendra Fadnavis' office.

Following the Maharashtra Chief Minister's consent, Karnataka has now written again to Manohar Parrikar seeking a convenient time for the meeting of all chiefs of states.

In 2016, Fadnavis had taken the initiative to host the Chief Ministers' meeting but had backtracked at the last moment. Fadnavis' move had come as a disappointment to Karnataka that had even conducted all party meets to prepare for the meet. This time around, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has taken the initiative of organising the meet.

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 15:21 [IST]
'FIR against me political vendetta,' says Dy CM Tejashwi Yadav

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

After the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswhi Yadav reiterated that the RJD-JD (U) alliance is unbreakable and termed the FIR registered against him as 'political vendetta'.

Tejaswhi told media, 'Alliance is strong and the BJP will get a fitting reply,' and said the FIR against him is a 'political vendetta'. He slammed BJP for trying to break the alliance from day one.

'It is a conspiracy by Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,' Tejaswhi alleged.

'They are bringing up cases of 2004 against me. I was 13-14 year old that time. How could a kid do all this?' Tejaswhi questioned the conspiracy to drag his name corruption charges.

Tejaswhi defended his clean image amid reports of JD (U) reportedly seeking his resignation for his alleged involvement in corruption cases. He said ''Not one case of corruption in my three departments so far.'

He further said that he had pledged zero tolerance to corruption when he took over as minister.

Tejashwi Yadav attended a meeting of the Bihar cabinet along with his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav. This is Tejashwi's first meeting with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar since the Yadav family was raided last week by the CBI over charges that as Railways Minister, Lalu Yadav exploited his position to acquire three acres of land in Patna at cheaper rates. Tejashwi is also one of the owners of the land.

OneIndia News
KALISPELL  The additional crews and engines that arrived Tuesday to help battle five blazes burning along the Highway 2 corridor southwest of Kalispell gave firefighters a bit of breathing room before the return Wednesday of hotter, drier conditions..

The 1,140-acre Lazier Creek Fire burning south of Highway 2 and west of the Thompson River Road is now considered 30 percent contained.

Heavy equipment and hand crews will continue to build and improve fire lines around the fires perimeter with some help from two helicopters dropping water on hot spots.

Crews will also begin working to lay hose and pumps around the historic Bend Guard Station. That station and other nearby structures remain under voluntary evacuation.

Fire crews continue to make good progress on the 69-acre Rogers Mountain Fire burning north of Loon Lake off Highway 2 and west of the N. ACM Road. On Wednesday morning, that fire was considered to be 45 percent contained with firefighters continuing to lay hose on the north end of blaze and more hand line construction occurring on the southern reaches.

The incident management team that took command of the Rogers Mountain-Lazier Creek 3 fire complex Tuesday added another fire to its responsibilities.

The 3.5-acre 2645 was burning alongside the road firefighters were using to access the NW Meadow Peak Fire.

They just added that one to the list, said fire information officer Mark Vosburg.

The 12-acre Meadow Peak Fire is 75 percent contained. Mop up work will begin Wednesday. The 15-acre Grubb Fire north of Pleasant Valley is now 100 percent contained. Firefighters remain on the scene to complete mop-up work.

There are currently 135 people assigned to the fire complex.

A fire behavior specialist said Wednesday morning the hotter and drier weather conditions expected for the rest of the week will likely result in more aggressive burning during the heat of the day.

Vosburg said the specialist was surprised at how dry the conditions were considering last winters ample snowpack and the plentiful early spring rains.

The moisture levels in the 4-inch diameter fuels was already down to 11 to 13 percent.

Theres still some green grass here, but he said in five to 10 days it will be cured out too, Vosburg said.

Fire officials are asking the public to be very careful with anything that could cause a spark when they are out in the woods. Without any lightning in the near forecast, the main danger for new fire starts comes from humans.
Shocking! Govinda took Dawood's help to defeat me in 2004 polls, alleges Ram Naik

Govinda's slapping case finally closed after he tenders unconditional apology

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The case against Bollywood actor Govinda, who had slapped a fan in 2008, was closed on Wednesday after the actor tendered an unconditional apology to both the Supreme Court and the victim.

The apex court had in 2016 asked the actor to meet the victim, Suresh Rai, in person and apologise within two weeks. The actor had also offered Rs five lakh compensation to the victim.

Rai had then told news agency ANI that that he was not happy with the compensation offered and insisted that he would first meet the actor and then decide on the future course of action.

The incident had taken place in 2008 during shooting of the movie 'Money hai toh honey hai' at the Filmistan Studio.

Rai had initially approached a trial court with his complaint after which Govinda was summoned.

The Bombay high court later quashed a trial court order summoning Govinda as an accused in the assault case.

The complainant then approached the Supreme Court, which asked the actor to tender an unconditional apology.

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 15:49 [IST]
Today, Mahatma Gandhi is most ignored in his home state Gujarat, says historian Ramachandra Guha

Guha calls for change in Congress leadership, sugguests Nitish face for UPA

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, July 12: Noted historian Ramachandra Guha has called for a massive change in Congress leadership, suggesting that the party can only regain its prominence by projecting Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the face of the United Progressive Alliance.

Known for his sharp comments against the Congress, Guha at the 10th anniversary celebrations of his book "India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Decomcary", said India's oldest political party was without any leader and that there is little chance of its revival under the present dispensation.

"Nobody has got any doubts that the Congress is not going to rise again any time soon. Two years to the next Lok Sabha election is a long time in politics. If you get away with the Gandhi family in the leadership and if the Congress has a new leader, things can change.

"There is a genuine leader in India. That is Nitish Kumar. He is a leader without a party, the Congress is a party without a leader. If Congress gives him a chance to lead the UPA, it might have a future," Guha maintained.

The UPA was in power for two terms from 2004 to 2014 before being ousted by the current Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, with Narendra MOdi, then the Gujarat Chief Minister, leading the charge.

Guha, who was in conversation with journalist Barkha Dutt at the event organised by Pan MacMillan India on Tuesday evening said that like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar too is a leader without a "family burden" but unlike Modi, he is not a "megalomaniac".

"There is a problem with single party dominance; it made even the great democrat Jawaharlal Nehru unpersuasive, it made the instinctively authoritative Indira Gandhi more authoritative. So what single party dominance would do to Narendra Modi and Amit Shah I have started to think(about," Guha noted.

"Forty years of Left rule in West Bengal was a disaster, 25 years of BJP rule in Gujarat is a disaster. We are in the 70th year of Independence and have failed in emulating a stable two party module of western democracy," he added.

Guha also reiterated that single party dominance in a democratic country like India is not good as it makes a leader more authoritative.

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 17:35 [IST]
Gujarat is a tough election but BJP can't do a Uttar Pradesh in Karnataka, says Congress

India

oi-Anusha

With the Congress and BJP slated for a head-on fight in assembly elections in major states of Gujarat and Karnataka in a matter of months, both parties are working overtime. OneIndia caught up with AICC spokesperson and Karnataka Congress Working President Dinesh Gundu Rao to get a peek into the Congress' strategy to counter the BJP.

Is Congress considering the possibility of the BJP doing an Uttar Pradesh in Karnataka?

It is impossible for the BJP to do an Uttar Pradesh in Karnataka. This is a Southern state and not a Northern state. Secondly, there was anti-incumbency about different parties over the last 15 years but in Karnataka, there is no anti-incumbency. In fact, we have a lot of confidence, strength and unity within the ranks. Communal politics will not work here. We have given a government that has taken everyone along. There is no question of Uttar Pradesh repeating here.

We have a strong Chief Minister. Siddaramaiah is a very strong leader, unlike the BJP that has no leader in Karnataka. Yeddyurappa's leadership has weakened and now they are harping about Modi and Amit Shah. But our leader is more than capable of taking on the Prime Minister in this election. We know the BJP will bring its dirty tricks department to the fore to raid and detain our leaders and try to divide us. Siddaramaiah's leadership and approach will be more than a match to whatever Narendra Modi wants to do here.

What are Congress' chances of winning Gujarat assembly elections?

Gujarat will be a tough election. It is not like Karnataka and it is the home state of Amit Shah and Narendra Modi. But there is a lot of resentment against the government and its policies. There is huge disappointment among many communities in Gujarat. Dalits are being neglected, the Patidar community issues are present and traders have been affected by economy taking a beating with demonetisation and GST. Livelihoods have been affected. Where is the Gujarat model? Where is the development? There is hype. Yes, there are issues within the Congress party in Gujarat but this is the time to come together. We are confident of forming the govermment in Gujarat.

Is the Congress concerned about the BJP's Vistarak program?

Yes, they have been able to organise themselves better in recent elections. They have been able to get their members to campaign but we are also working at booth levels. Committees are being formed and we have been giving them programs to reach out to people and appraise them if the government's achievements. We have a lot to talk about and our achievements are being promoted.

The BJP does more of falsifying campaigns, using emotional issues to draw people to their side in the name of religion and communal tactic but Congress' plank is harmony and development. Our new General Secretary K C Venugopal is doing a lot, the secretaries are touring the state. Working presidents are visiting as many blocks as possible. The Congress machinery will be much ahead of the BJP machinery in terms of going to the people and ensure that the lies being spread do not work. We will ensure that facts about our work reach the people.

Are Congress and BJP building their narrative for election over Mangaluru unrest?

The BJP is trying to polarise votes. For the BJP this is an election agenda because they have nothing else to say about our performance or our government. They are trying to bring in divisive elements into the narrative. They are trying to create a Hindu-Muslim divide and are trying to polarise the voters. Provocative statements are being made not just by BJP leaders but all Sangh Parivar elements. VHP, ABVP are putting up provocative posts on social media and so are organisations like PFI. But BJP is a political party and they speak the same language. It shows that they are promoting it and this is their agenda.

The Congress wants communal harmony and peace in the district but BJP wants to provoke people and make it a state issue. They incite people to indulge in violence and are in a way responsible for the death of so many people. Now to blame it on Congress is a classic tactic ones who created trouble are now saying that the Congress is responsible.

BJP alleges that casualties have been higher on Sangh Parivar side

This is first of all false. The BJP's agenda is exposed right here. By saying this they have already taken a side. They are saying that when a Hindu dies they will raise their voice but when a Muslim dies they will remain quiet. There have been many instances of Muslims being attacked and killed by gaurakshaks and when that happens the voices are very few but when a Sangh Parivar member is killed, the voices are very loud.

Has Karnataka Congress changed under K C Venugopal?

He is a very hands-on persona and very direct. He is an experienced man who has been an MLA, MP and union minister. He comes with a lot of authority and experience. His team of four secretaries are on the ground. Nobody is camping in Bengaluru and then going back. They are visiting villages, travelling to the nook and corner of Karnataka. Definitely, it has had a very positive impact for us. There have been good interactions and exchanges. Meetings were held in the Congress office where even the Chief Minister was present to sort out district issues. His coming here has benefited the organisation.

Will there be early elections in Karnataka?

No, there won't be. We have been given a term of five years and we will complete it and elections will be held as per schedule. Whatever speculation by media or party is just that, speculation. Elections will be held sometime in April.

BJP hopes to win 150 seats in Karnataka. What is the Congress target?

BJP talks in the air. Their 'Mission 150' is no longer spoken of. BJP claimed that they will win the Gundlupet and Nanjangud bypolls and it will set the tone for the 2018 elections but after being humbled there, they are seeing what Congress has delivered. They talk without facts and figures in hand. Their mission 150 is bogus and for us, there is no such mission. We will get a majority. We will take our achievements to the people and we are confident that we will win a majority.

OneIndia News
PFI ban 'dangerous' as every Muslim who speaks his mind can now be arrested: AIMIM chief Owaisi

'Appears to have lost its mental balance': Min Karandlaje on Opposition's demand to ban RSS

Ban on hijab in schools, colleges to continue in Karnataka: Minister

Hindu group demands ban on 'Bigg Boss Tamil', arrest of Kamal Hassan

India

oi-Madhuri

Hindu Makkal Katchi, a Hindu organisation on Wednesday, demanded ban on the Tamil version of reality show Bigg Boss and wanted its host Kamal Haasan to be arrested for tarnishing Tamil culture.

According to the complaint filed by the group with the Chennai Police Commissioner, they claimed that the show is obscene. "The participants are mouthing obscene statements and are acting 75 per cent nude. It is also derogation of Tamil culture and hurt the sentiments of seven crore Tamilians," read the statement.

They also demanded the contestants of the show, Oviya, Namitha, Ganja Karuppu and Harathi among others also be arrested.

On June 30, the group had carried out a protest outside Star Vijay TV's office demanding a ban on Big Boss.

This isn't the first time that the HMK had earlier filed a case against the actor for his remarks on the Mahabharatha.

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 19:07 [IST]
How did terrorists attack Amarnath yatra despite specific intel?

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

A week before the Amarnath yatra commenced, there was a specific intelligence warning about the same being under threat from the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. The alert was too specific in nature and even warned that it would the Lashkar which will carry out the attack.

It may be recalled that OneIndia had reported that the the yatra was under threat from Lashkar militants and the alert was Grade A.

Amarnath Yatra under threat as Lashkar plans big strike

There are many questions being asked as to how this attack took place despite the alert being so specific in nature. Officials say that all arrangements were in place and security was tight. The Director General of the CRPF, R R Bhatnagar told reporters that the pilgrims had not registered themselves with the Amarnath shrine board. Moreover they were not part of the yatra convoy that is escorted by the security forces. He also said that they had violated the 7 pm curfew on movement of yatris.

Officials say that a tragic incident had taken place and it was not the time to play the blame game. There were lapses and they need to be looked into so that a fix is found. While all accounts leading up to the incident will be taken stock of, the top priority as of now is to find the terrorists, the officer also added.

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 6:19 [IST]
PM Modi's one appeal to voters in Himachal today is 'to participate'

In UP, couple calls off wedding after heated debate over PM Modi

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Lucknow, July 12: Often in our daily life we see people engaging in debates over Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies. It looks like the whole country is divided into two groups--pro and anti-Modi camps.

The fissure in the public life of the nation became apparent after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) decided to field the then Guajarat chief minister as its prime ministerial candidate. Since then the 'division' continues.

The latest episode of fight over Modi led to the end of a relationship between a couple in Uttar Pradesh. The bride and the groom decided to call off their wedding as they seriously disagreed on PM Modi's economic policies.

All was well between the groom, a businessman, and bride, a government servant, till the topic of the PM and his economic policies were discussed by the two.

In fact, the discussion over PM Modi took place when they went to a temple to make arrangement for their wedding. While the groom supported the PM, his former 'sweetheart' had serious issues about the current economic slowdown of the country under the Modi regime.

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PM Modi breaks marriage of a couple in Lucknow, UP | Oneindia News

The news was first reported by The Times of India. However, the daily did not mention the names of the man and woman and their exact location. All the report stated is that the couple is from UP.

After their heated debate, the two decided to part their ways. The decision of the couple shocked both the families as the reason cited by them to end the alliance sounded 'bizarre' to several people.

While we respect the decision of the former couple to call off their wedding, at the same time PM Modi, without any fault of his own, is unwittingly being blamed for souring relationships between various people.

Our advice is that it is healthy to discuss the current political scenario of the country, but it's a sign of 'poisonous' discourse to end association because of varying political views.

Till then, India, unlike its television channels, should only engage in friendly banter over politics.

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 8:21 [IST]
India's biggest weapon against China is not the Army, it is trade

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The cry for a ban on Chinese goods has once again hit the air in the wake of the standoff between India and China. There has been no diplomatic solution in sight to the four week old standoff.

The social media in particular is ablaze with demands of a ban on trade with China. There is ample reason for Indians to be angry with China. First and foremost it does not chide its all weather Pakistan friend enough for sponsoring terrorism against India. China does not allow a ban on Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar. China blocks India's entry into the NSG. Now China is involved in a standoff with India.

India's most powerful weapons against China is not the Army. It is trade. Brahma Challaney a well known Geostrategist says that it is time that India must use its most powerful weapon against India-trade as quoted by Business Today.

Last year when Nirmala Sithram was flooded with questions on banning trade with China, she said, " we cannot block imports from that country. We could impose anti-dumping duties, but there are established ways to go about it and dumping has to be proved, she had also said.

She also said in the Rajya Sabha that it was not possible for India to put a 'blanket ban' on Chinese products due to WTO rules. India on the other hand has allowed trade surplus with China to double to almost 60 billion US Dollars.

Does China follow the norms:

In December 2016, China blocked Mongolian trucks from cross its border. The retaliation was after Mongolia allowed the Dalai Lama to pay a visit to the country.

After the Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, the export of Norwegian salmon fish exports were banned in 2010.

South Korea too faced the wrath of China when it banned cosmetics and Lotte. When South Korea deployed the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense of the United States, China slapped a ban on South Korean cosmetics. In a bid to pressurise South Korea to abandon the THAAD, China went ahead and also banned the operations of Lotte in the country.

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 7:30 [IST]
Kerala court sends actor Dileep to 2 days police custody

India

oi-Anusha

A court in Kochi sent Malayalam actor Dileep to two days police custody on Wednesday. The court also decided that the bail hearing will be held in open court.

Dileep is currently lodged in Aluva sub-jail. Prominent advocate K Ramkumar appeared for Dileep on Wednesday. Dileep's advocate alleged that the actor had been charged under Section 120(B) of IPC amounting to conspiracy but had been framed in the case.

Dileep was arrested on conspiracy charges in the Malayalam actress molestation case. The court had sent the actor to judicial custody on Tuesday, however, after investigators appealed for police custody, the actor was sent to two days police custody.

Officials probing the case intend to take Dileep to various locations in Thrissur and Kochi where they suspect that the plan to abduct and attack the actress was hatched over weeks. As part of evidence gathering, the police want to take Dileep to the locations already identified by Pulsar Suni, the prime accused in the case.

Dileep who was arrested on Monday evening was expelled from the Malayalam film Association on Tuesday after he was sent to judicial custody. Dileep is accused of hiring Pulsar Suni on 'quotation' basis to abduct and assault the popular actress over personal rivalry.

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 11:32 [IST]
Stampede at Vaishno Devi shrine: Jitendra Singh rushes to Katra to take stock of situation

Jitendra Singh backs Rajnath's 'Kashmiriyat' statement

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Backing Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for his remark that 'All Kashmiris are not terrorists', Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh on Wedenesday said terrorism was in its last phase and would soon be wiped out.

Singh spoke to media before visiting Pantha Chowk in Srinagar to meet the Amarnath Yatris along wioth MoS Home Hansraj Ahir.

"Militancy is going to outlive its life soon, we are in the last phase of militancy," he told media.

"Anything that happens in Kashmir finds echo across the country. People of the Valley want the guilty to be punished. We are here on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express our solidarity. The common youth of Kashmir is keen to be a part of the development journey led by Prime Minister Modi," he added.

He said that government is acting swiftly and is serious about the incidents that are happening in the state.

"We met the Governor and the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief Minister has handled the situation well. All injured have been sent to their respective homes. We will review the security arrangement. We will overcome the security lapses," he added.

He came out in firm support of Rajnath Singh's remarks on Kashmiris following the deadly attack of Amrnath Yatris on Monday evening.

Responding to a tweet on 'Kashmiriyat', the Home Minister responded, "Ms Kalra I certainly do. It is absolutely my job to ensure peace and tranquility in all parts of the country. All Kashmiris are not terrorists."

The Union Home Minister was responding to a tweet by @huchikalra who said, " who gives a f*** about Kashmiriyat at this moment? It is not your job to placate. Just drag those cowards out and cull them."

Singh found support for his reply from various quarters.

On Tuesday, the Home Minister reviewed the situation in Kashmir. He held a high-level meeting in Delhi in which he ordered the enhancement of security for the Amarnath pilgrims. The yatra had come under attack by terrorists. Seven persons were killed by terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. OneIndia News

OneIndia News
PFI ban 'dangerous' as every Muslim who speaks his mind can now be arrested: AIMIM chief Owaisi

Muslim man can't remarry if he's unable to take care of family: Allahabad HC

Muslim man donates his land for temple in UP

Why a terror angle should not be ruled out in the Coimbatore cylinder blast case

What if Owaisi had? Muslim users on Twitter blast Kejriwal for asking for Hindu God images on currency notes

Muslim youth thrashed in Haryana over Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogan

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

A video of a group of youths assaulting a Muslim man while asking him to raise "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" slogan surfaced in Haryana.

The incident took place in Hisar on Tuesday during a march by Bajrang Dal activists to protest the attack on Amarnath pilgrims.

The victim, Abid Ali, had stepped out of a Mosque when the mob assaulted him. Ali has filed a complaint with the police against unknown persons.

According to reports, the police is in the process of filing an FIR.

Reports also say that a protest march was being taken out in Hisar against Amarnath attack in which effigies of terrorists were also burnt. When the protestors reached Lahori Chowk, they stopped in front of the Mosque and repeatedly raised slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki jai'.

Recommended Video

Muslim youth thrashed by Bajrang Dal activists in Haryana | Oneindia News

[Giriraj Singh asks Indians to chant Bharat Mata ki Jai and wear khadi]

At that very instance, Abid Ali came out of the Mosque following which an argument ensued. This led the group of youth to assaut Ali. Video shows attackers slapping him.

OneIndia News
BILLINGS  The amount of marijuana in someone's system that constitutes a DUI is "arbitrary" and not supported by science, according to an attorney for a man charged in a fatal crash.

Montana public defender Gregory Paskell put forth this argument in an attempt to dismiss a charge of vehicular homicide while under the influence against Kent Roderick Jensen, 20.

Jensen was charged after a crash on March 7, 2016, that killed a motorcyclist named Jashua Fry. Court documents say that Jensen pulled out onto a Billings frontage road without seeing the motorcycle and caused the crash.

Jensen's blood contained 19 ng/mL of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly known as THC, according to court documents. The limit for driving under the influence of marijuana in Montana is 5 ng/mL.

THC is the primary psychoactive chemical compound in marijuana.

Starting in January, Paskell challenged the constitutionality of Montana's 5 ng/mL threshold in an attempt to undermine the charge. Some studies have concluded that it's difficult to standardize the amount of THC that creates impairment because it varies widely among people.

"Because of this lack of scientific support, the use of the 5 ng/mL level in the vehicular homicide statute is unconstitutional as a denial of substantive due process ... " Paskell wrote, arguing for the dismissal of the charge against Jensen.

The prosecutor in the case, Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney Victoria Callender, has disputed Paskell's claims. In a response filed Friday, she wrote that Montana legislators approved the 5 ng/mL limit based on research and a desire to keep DUI drivers off the road.

THC as DUI

Montana is among 18 states with marijuana-specific impaired driving laws, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Now that a majority of states have allowed the use of either medical or recreational marijuana, enforcement of marijuana DUIs has gained more attention. The debate is whether police can enforce marijuana-impaired drivers like those who drank alcohol.

The Montana Legislature took action in 2013, passing the 5 ng/mL THC limit for drivers. The decision was backed by law enforcement testimony about the rise in DUIs involving marijuana, as well as specific stories.

The testimony in 2013 included that of then-Missoula County Sheriff Carl Ibsen. His wife, Judy Wang, died in a 2009 crash caused by a man whose blood content included THC.

In the ongoing Jensen case, Callender, the deputy county attorney, reviewed the testimony at the Montana Legislature to show what informed lawmakers' decision to pass the bill.

It included a determination by the Montana Crime Lab that the 5 ng/mL benchmark can separate impaired and non-impaired drivers, as well as those who ingested marijuana recently from those who did so long ago.

Paskell argued that other research disputes this. He cited a widely publicized 2016 report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The report sowed concern for specific levels of THC that determine marijuana impairment.

Impairment depends largely on the individual and differs widely between occasional and regular users. Moreover, more THC may be in a frequent user's blood for a longer time than someone who doesn't ingest marijuana as often, according to multiple reports. The risk is that these factors could lead to legal troubles for prosecutors.

"There is no science to back up the 5 ng/mL level as a level that indicates impairment in a sizable enough portion of users to make it a standard for everyone," Paskell wrote in his court brief.

The AAA study suggested that law enforcement rely on training to spot impairment in the field rather than blood tests.

While Paskell attacked the validity of Montana THC limit to underpin his argument, Callender countered that the intended effect has always been the enforcement of DUI laws as determined by the Legislature.

"But under our constitutional scheme, the policy decisions rest with the Legislature," Callender wrote. "And so long as the law is reasonable to a legitimate government function, the law must be upheld."

Both sides made their arguments in person during a hearing on June 2.

District Judge Gregory Todd has not ruled on the case. Jensen is scheduled for trial in late August.
Top posts of President, VP will be held by people from same ideology: PM

Nitish's clear message to RJD, asks Tejsahwi come clean or quit

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Patna, July 13: Strain in the grand alliance in Bihar did not stop the Janata Dal (U) from supporting Gopalkrishna Gandhi's candidature for the Vice-President's post, but the party simultaneously gave alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) an ultimatum on scam-tainted Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.

The Chief Minister also refused to endorse his partner Lalu Prasad's charge that a probe by central agencies into the assets acquired by his son and other family members was part of a political conspiracy.

"Those facing corruption charges should face the public and come clean. We are confident that it will happen," said a spokesperson for the JD(U).

Addressing a meeting of the JD(U) executive, Nitish Kumar said RJD needs to come up with a detailed explanation to the allegations of CBI and ED that members of Lalu's family - wife Rabri Devi, son and deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and daughters, including RS member Misha Bharti - illegally acquired properties worth hundreds of crores in different parts of the country.

"What has been said so far may have satisfied your constituents, but is inadequate so far as convincing the larger public is concerned," a source, quoting Nitish telling his JD(U) colleagues at the in-camera meeting.

JD(U)'s alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD has been teetering since his family became the target of various investigations into land scams and corruption. Coupled with the Chief Minister's recent decisions to support the BJP on issues like demonetisation and surgical strikes and, more significantly, their choice for the President Ram Nath Kovind, the RJD's corruption scandals were seen as pushing Nitish Kumar towards the BJP.

This came amid indications that CBI and ED which are probing several charges of corruption against the deputy CM and more crucially Lalu's putative political successor, and other members of his family, are pressing ahead with the investigation.

In the JD(U) meeting in Patna, Nitish Kumar met party ministers, legislators and office-bearers at his 1, Anne Marg residence to discuss the political situation in Bihar arising out of the growing demand for the resignation of Tejashwi Yadav.

Those present at the meeting said Nitish Kumar was clear about what he expected from Lalu Yadav.

Oneindia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 10:02 [IST]
Osmania University warns of strict action against students overstaying in hostels

India

pti-PTI

Hyderabad, Jul 12: The Osmania University administration has warned of strict action against those overstaying in the hostels after completion of the course. The varsity asked the "non-boarders" to vacate the hostels and warned of stern action if they do not move out.

Non-boarders are former students who have completed their courses in the university, but are still staying in the hostels.

"There are 18 hostels, including girls hostels and each hostel is over-burdened by nearly 200-300 non-boarders. They have been asked several times in the past to voluntarily vacate the place. However, they continue to illegally stay in the hostels," a university official said.

The university has warned of cutting the power and water supply and seeking police help to evacuate the "non- boarders" from the hostels. These measures would be initiated to refurbish the hostels and provide better amenities to the legitimate boarders, the university said in a statement.

The university plans to seek police help to evacuate the non-boarders and has cautioned them that the authorities would not intervene in case of police raids, it said.

The university maintained that such measures would prompt the students to move out and enable the administration to undertake renovation work.

The university said it continues to bear the financial burden on account of power and water supply though regular courses are yet to take off, barring research activities.

"This is the opportune time to fix all problems related to amenities in the hostels when classes have not yet commenced for the second year and admissions for the 2017-2018 session are in progress," it said.

The administration also pointed out that some hostels are in a 'dilapidated and deplorable' state as they were built several decades back. The facilities in the hostels have come under a great strain and overcrowding has compounded the problem, it said. Reacting to the reports about the vacant faculty quarters being occupied by unauthorised and illegal persons, the university decided to snap power and water connections to them and to take action against the "trespasssers."

The university security has the record of illegal stay by several people in the vacant faculty quarters and also of unauthorised entry into campus and residential quarters.

The university has directed its security personnel of the situation and also urged the police to first issue a warning to all members and lock the premises, the statement said.

PTI
Now, users can shop from JioMart via WhatsApp

Reliance Jio data leak: 1 arrested in Rajasthan

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

A 35 year old computer science dropout has been detained by the police in connection with the Reliance Jio customer data leak case. The Maharashtra police is questioning the person who was initially apprehended by the Rajasthan police.

The accused has been identified as Imran Chimpa and was picked up from the Churu district of Rajasthan.

Based on the analysis conducted by the Maharashtra police, the location of the accused was zeroed in on. They then sought the help of their counterparts in Rajasthan to nab the accused.

The suspect's computer, mobile and storage devices have been seized and will be sent for a thorough examination and a formal arrest will be made soon.

At present, a team of Maharashtra Cyber Police, Navi Mumbai police and Reliance Jio officials are conducting search and seizure operations in Rajasthan.

There were reports on Sunday which claimed customer data, including mobile numbers and other details of Reliance Jio users, were allegedly leaked on an independent website.

But the newcomer Jio had said the claims of the website were "unverified" and "unsubstantiated".

Jio had also said its subscriber data "is safe and maintained with highest level of security".

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 6:10 [IST]
Sasikala paid Rs 2 crore bribe for special privileges in jail, says DIG Prisons report

India

oi-Anusha

An explosive report filed by Karnataka IPS officer Roopa D, has alleged that Sasikala Natarajan, currently lodged in the Bengaluru central prison, is being given special treatment. The report states that Rs 2 crore may have been paid in bribes to jail authorities to ensure that Sasikala Natarajan received special privileges. The Chief Minister of Karnataka has now ordered a probe into the allegations made by DIG Roopa D.

OneIndia has accessed the four-page report that contains observations made by Roopa D, DIG prisons, alleges that a special kitchen has been set up for Sasikala who is convicted in a disproportionate assets case. "A special kitchen is functioning for Sasikala Natarajan, an aide of former Tamil Nadu chief minister who is now convicted in a disproportionate assets case. The special kitchen is in violation of the jail rules. There are rumours that you are in the know of it but the violation has continued. I am told that Rs 2 crores were given in bribes to provide special privileges to her and unfortunately the allegation is on you," the report addressed to DGP Prisons, HN Satyanarayana Rao says.

DG Prisons denies all allegations

The report further seeks action on jail authorities who have been hand in glove with convicts to violate jail regulations. "There is an urgent need for intervention and stringent action against those involved," the DIG's report urges. The chief of prison staff in Karnataka, DG H N Satyanarayana Rao, however, rubbished all allegations. HE added that legal action will be initiated against Roopa D DIG prisons for making allegations without evidence. "The DIG is not aware of rules. We have kept strict vigil and conduct crackdowns on any irregular activity. There is no special kitchen for Sasikala as alleged by Roopa D," he said.

Recommended Video

Sasikala bribes prison officers, gets luxury treatment in jail | Oneindia News

Rao also denied taking any bribes and claimed that he was open for any probe. "Forget Rs 2 crore, I have never taken Re 1 as bribe. There is no truth in any of the allegations made. If there were issues in the prison, the DIG should have discussed with me instead of leaking the report to the media," Rao said.

The special treatment being meted out to Sasikala Natarajan was highlighted previously when she was allowed to meet visitors frequently. After the media questioned frequent visitors, DG Rao had assured that no special treatment was being given to Sasikala. A report by the police department's senior official now paints a different picture. Despite being convicted for disproportionate assets case, Sasikala continues to get VVIP treatment in jail after bribing officials, according to the report that was submitted to Karnataka's DG and IGP on Wednesday.

OneIndia News
SC chides EC for going back on lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, July 12: The Supreme Court on Wednesday chided the Election Commission for retracting from its earlier position supporting a plea for lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers from contesting elections.

"It is within the domain of the Election Commission, if you don't want to be independent, (and remain) constrained by the legislature, (then) say so," said a bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Navin Sinha as counsel for EC told the court it was supporting the cause of the petitioner to decriminalise politics.

"When a citizen comes to the EC seeking lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers, is silence an option? Either you can say 'yes' or 'no'. Can you afford to be silent?" the bench said as it read a paragraph from the response of the EC which supported the plea for lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers on contesting elections.

However, the counsel for the EC told the bench that the said paragraph should not be read in isolation and should be read as a part of the entire response of the Commission.

The court said that the EC wanted the court to read in between the lines, and there was no reason why they should do so.

The court said this in the course of the hearing of a PIL by BJP leader Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay seeking lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers and setting up of special courts for trying lawmakers accused of criminal offences.

IANS

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 15:36 [IST]
SC sets up 5 judge Bench to decide if Aadhaar violated right to privacy

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Supreme Court has decided to set up a 5 judge Bench to decide on whether Aadhaar violated right to privacy. A batch of petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the decision to make Aadhaar mandatory. The petitioners contended that it amounted to violation of the provisions under right to privacy. The petitioners had alleged that collection of personal details like finger prints and iris scan violated the right to privacy.

Attorney General of India, K K Venugopal told the Bench headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar that that matter must be referred to a nine judge bench. He explained that an 8 judge Bench of the SC had earlier ruled that right to privacy is not a fundamental right. Hence a five judge bench cannot hear the matter, he also said.

The court however said that the 5 judge will have to weigh in the Aadhaar issue with the decision of the 8n judge Bench. It would then be decided whether a nine judge Bench would be required to hear the matter, the court also said. The court also indicated that the 5 judge Bench will commence hearing on the petitions from Tuesday, July 18 onwards.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 10:50 [IST]
Should Kashmir be given to Pakistan: Row erupts after this question appears in MP civil service exam

Stop blaming Kashmiris for terror attacks. They too detest violence like rest of us

India

oi-Maitreyee

By Maitreyee

What do you call those social media trolls who love to vitiate the political atmosphere as soon as the country is hit by a crisis? Hours after India witnessed horror on Monday night as terrorists gunned down seven pilgrims of Amarnath Yatra in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, instead of condemning the terror attack, many including politicians and journalists, have started hitting out at Kashmiris and the "liberal brigade" of the country on social media on Tuesday.

The trolls did not even spare union home minister Rajnath Singh. Singh was targeted by the "hyper-nationalists" after he highlighted how Kashmir in unison condemned the terror attack on devotees --which showcases the spirit of "Kashmiriyat" (the term signifies the centuries-old indigenous secularism of Kashmir).

While on one hand, trolls were busy bullying the sane voices like that of the home minister, some well-known journalists and politicians raked up the issue of--"Where are the #NotInMyName protesters now?" and "Where is AwardWapsi brigade now?".

These kinds of blame games which many love to engage in further create animosity among various communities in the country.

Probably, those who decided to target #NotInMyName and AwardWapsi groups thought that "liberal" Indians only protest when a person from a minority community or religion are being killed or targeted.

However, that is not the case. The #NotInMyName group, which was started recently after 16-year-old Junaid Khan was stabbed to death on a train after he was called a "beef-eater" and an "anti-national", announced on Tuesday that the members of the collective will host a rally at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to express their condemnation against the dastardly Amarnath Yatra attack.

Similarly, scores of people of the Valley, who are often called as "stone pelters" and "terrorists" came out in the open with placards in hands to protest against the killings of Amarnath pilgrims.

Such kind of a united condemnation against terror in Kashmir was not seen in recent times. Even after Mohammed Ayub Pandith, deputy superintendent for the security wing of the J&K state police, was stoned to death by a mob in June on suspicion of being a spy, people in Kashmir, including those staying in his neighbourhood, remained silent.

After years of witnessing violence, most of the Kashmiris have become mute spectators to the spectre of "crime and punishment" unfolding in front of them on a daily basis.

It is true that many disgruntled youth of Kashmir have taken up guns to fight for their "freedom", but how could we blame the whole of the Valley as a terror-loving people?

Likewise, not everyone in India's IT hub Bengaluru is a techie. There are teachers, doctors and journalists in Bengaluru too. Similarly, not all Kashmiris are terrorists as home minister Singh stressed on Tuesday when venom-frothing angry mob on social media is not ready to have a civilised debate over the ills plaguing the Valley.

It is this kind of branding--calling all Kashmiris as terrorists (similar kind of marking of the northeastern people were done earlier when militancy was at its peak in the region)--which we need to avoid if we want to defeat terrorists and their nefarious designs.

It is true terror has to be dealt with a heavy hand to save innocent lives, but not at the cost of throwing muck at each other to score political points. So, let our soldiers fight against terrorists at the border, we need to stay united as a nation which since its birth has pledged to give equal rights and respects to people belonging to different religions, castes, sects and genders.

OneIndia News
Sunanda Pushkar's Death: Experts to examine documents, Arguments on charges on Aug 20 and 22

Sunanda Pushkar's death: Cops say she was in mental agony because of Tharoor-Mehr affair

Delhi police gets time to go through Sunanda Pushkars tweets

Swamy's plea prompts HC to seek Centre's stand on Pushkar's death

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Jul 12: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought to know the stand of the Centre on BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's PIL seeking a time-bound court-monitored probe into the death of Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a luxurious Delhi hotel on January 17, 2014.

A bench of Justices G S Sistani and P S Teji, who did not issue notice in the matter, has said that it needs to hear the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the CBI and the Delhi Police on the plea.

The court has fixed the matter for hearing on July 20.

Swamy has earlier sought a time-bound probe in the case, saying "very influential people are involved in the case, leading to attempts to protect them, and the matter has faced a lot of unnecessary delay already".

Swamy alleged that "inordinate delay" has been caused in the investigation "which is a blot on the justice system".

[Swamy seeks court-monitored probe into Sunanda Pushkar's death]

The PIL said that even three years after Pushkar's death, no charge-sheet has been filed and no arrests have been made.

PTI
Alert Bihar chief secy foils bid to withdraw money from his bank account

Lalu Yadav to get kidney from daughter Rohini: Report

Bihar govt asks Centre to release pending Rs 4050 crore of MGNREGA and PMAY-G funds

Bihar: Over 200 students sick, claim they saw 'dead lizard' in mid-day meal

Tejashwi Yadav's security personnel manhandle media persons in Patna

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Security personnel of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav manhandled media persons at the premises of Bihar Secretariat office in Patna.

A video posted by ANI showed security personnel dragging the media personnel out of the Secretariat building amid the commotion. But, what exactly caused the manhandling of media personnel is not clear.

News agency ANI claimed that one of their reporters was among media personnel manhandled.

#WATCH Media persons manhandled by security personnel of Tejashwi Yadav at Bihar Secretariat (Patna) pic.twitter.com/efMDg7QdQ2  ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

Tejashvi Yadav, already under pressure to resign as deputy chief minister, is likely to media backlash for the incident.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 16:10 [IST]
This day that year, how the IB saved 1,000 Amarnath yatris from terror

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

All rules were humanity were broken when Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists killed seven Amarnath yatris. In this context it would be interesting to recall an operation undertaken by the Intelligence Bureau in 2016.

Had it not been for this operation, at least a 1,000 lives would have been lost. Let us recall the operation.

Rewind 2016:

There were several thousand Amarnath Yatris (pilgrims) who were stranded in Jammu and Kashmir owing to the protests that erupted following the death of Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen Commander.

While the pilgrims were stranded at Anantnag arrangements were being made to move them in buses to Pahalgam. It was at this time that an Intelligence Bureau alert was picked up which suggested that there were nearly four militants waiting with arms to attack the buses.

The information was quickly shared with the local authorities who put the travel on hold.

IB officers picked up an alert which stated that there were four armed persons waiting to carry out an attack on the yatris at Anantnag. There were scores of yatris who were to be transported to Pahalgam, but they were unable to proceed immediately due to this warning.

There were nearly 70 buses that were waiting to move out of the area with the pilgrims. However the IB officials informed the authorities not to move the buses until there was a green signal. The militants continued to wait at the same spot.

However at around 10.30 the green signal from IB came. The militants moved away from the spot as they may have thought there would be no movement of the buses. It was only once it was completely confirmed that the militants had moved away did the the IB give the green signal for the movement of the buses.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 16:36 [IST]
Two Army personnel martyred in firing at J&K

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Two Army personnel have been martyred in firing by the Pakistan army at Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan resorted to a ceasefire violation at the Keran sector in North Kashmir's Kupwara.

The incident comes just two days after the Amarnath yatra was targeted in which seven persons were killed. The Army is in a state of high alert in the Valley and is carrying out search and cordon operation to nab the terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.

It may be recalled that Pakistan had violated the ceasefire last Wednesday too. There have been 23 ceasefire violations, 1 BAT attack and 2 incidents of infiltration attempts in June.

OneIndia News
Amarnath cloudburst: What we know so far

Amarnath Yatra may resume within a day or two

Undeterred, fresh batch leaves for Amarnath Yatra

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

Jammu, July 12: Undeterred by Monday's dastardly terror attack, a fresh batch of Amarnath pilgrims left for the holy shrine under heavy security cover on Wednesday.

"Another batch of 3,791 yatris left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in 101 vehicles, including 55 buses and 46 light motor vehicles for the valley around 4 a.m. today (Wednesday) in an escorted convoy," police said.

The annual 40-day long Amarnath Yatra has continued uninterrupted despite Monday's terror attack in Khanabal area on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in which seven pilgrims were killed and 19 others were injured.

The attack was carried out despite deployment of a multi-layered security cover provided by nearly 35,000 security men drawn from the Army, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal and the state police.

Authorities said the bus attacked by the terrorists was moving after the security deployment was withdrawn at 7.30 pm and the attack had taken place at 8.20 pm

It was also said that the bus and its pilgrims were not registered with the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board that manages the affairs of the annual Yatra.

So far, 1.57 lakh pilgrims have performed the Yatra and paid obeisance inside the Amarnath cave situated 3,888 metres above the sea-level.

The shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that waxes and wanes with the size of the visible moon.

Devotees believe the ice stalagmite structure called the 'Lingam' symbolizes mythical powers of Lord Shiva.

As many as 21,000 paramilitary personnel in addition to state police forces have been deployed for security of the pilgrimage routes.

IANS

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 10:48 [IST]
Why Taj Mahal will not be illuminated with tricolor lights this Independence Day

Uttar Pradesh Budget leaves Taj Mahal out of cultural heritage site

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

The Uttar Pradesh government has left the Taj Mahal, an UNESCO world heritage site, out of cultural heritage site in its maiden budget speech presented on Tuesday.

The annual budget for 2017-2018 makes no mention of Taj Mahal in the special section 'Hamari Sanskritik Virasat' (Our Cultural Heritage) incorporated in the finance minister's 63-page speech, the Hindustan Times reported on Wednesday.

However, as per reports, a number of schemes were announced for Hindu pilgrimage towns of Ayodhya, Varanasi, Mathura, and Chitrakoot.

Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal after invoking Hindu god Ram in the assembly said that the government has formulated schemes for maintenance of places of cultural and historical importance to promote tourism.

The exclusion of Taj Mahal from the budget speech has not gone down well with academics and historians. They opined that the government should promote the composite multi-faith culture of India's largest state.

Professor Rajesh Mishra of Lucknow University advised the government to either completely delink the state from all religious establishments or be more considerate to sentiments of people of all religions. "There is no room for appeasement for people of one religion and complete disregard for others," he told Hindustan Times.

It may be recalled that Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has often pointed out that the Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, did not reflect India's ancient culture.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 17:25 [IST]
Lack of development in J&K for decades was one of the reasons behind rise of terrorism: Rajnath Singh

His contributions ignored: Why Rajnath Singh said Netaji was first PM of India

Who gives a f*** about Kashmiriyat? This is Rajnath Singh's response

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Who gives a F*** about Kashmiriyat was a message posted on Twitter and Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh was tagged in it. Singh shot back, " Ms Kalra I certainly do. It is absolutely my job to ensure peace and tranquility in all parts of the country. All Kashmiris are not terrorists."

The Union Home Minister was responding to a tweet by @huchikalra who said, " who gives a f*** about Kashmiriyat at this moment? It is not your job to placate. Just drag those cowards out and cull them." Following the reply given by Singh, the Twitter account of Shuchi Singh Kalra was found deleted.

Singh found support for his reply from various quarters. One tweet read, " @rajnathsingh not only shows how to deal with hateful trolls, but also provides a fine example of humanity for many in his own party."

Another tweet said," thank you for saying this," while another user stated," excellent statement, thank you sir."

On Tuesday, the Home Minister reviewed the situation in Kashmir. He held a high-level meeting in Delhi in which he ordered the enhancement of security for the Amarnath pilgrims. The yatra had come under attack by terrorists. Seven persons were killed by terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 5:50 [IST]
Why did the Lashkar deny the Amarnath yatra attack

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

There was a quick denial from the Lashkar-e-Tayiba following the Amarnath yatra attack. While the writing is on the wall that the attack was staged and executed by its commander in South Kashmir, Abu Ismail, the outfit still went ahead and denied it. Worse, it blamed the Indian agencies for the attack.

There are two very good reasons for the Lashkar denying the attack so vehemently. C D Sahay, the former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing tells OneIndia that Pakistan is under immense pressure. The chief of the Lashkar, Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen boss, Syed Salahuddin are under investigation for terror funds.

More than the pressure from the rest of the world, they fear that they will lose local support if they claim the attack. A large number of the local Kashmiris rely on the Amarnath yatra for their bread and butter. None in Kashmir support any sort of action of this nature.

If the Lashkar had not issued such a statement, then it would it would have amounted to admitting to the attack. This would have gone horribly wrong for the Lashkar and the Hizbul and they would have ended up losing local support, Sahay also points out.

OneIndia News
Media playing role of kangaroo court; we are against media trial: Mamata Banerjee

Kalinga Literary Festival to celebrate India and the World at its 2022 edition

Calls echo for Pakistan PM's resignation in light of JIT report

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Islamabad, July 12: A leading Pakistani newspaper on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to "do the right thing (in) democracy and step aside, at least temporarily" in view of the corruption charges he and his family facing.

The Dawn admitted in an editorial that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report submitted to the Supreme Court on the Sharif family's assets held abroad as revealed by the Panama Papers was not a perfect document.

"But the JIT report has laid out a number of very serious and specific allegations against Prime Minister Sharif and his children. Simply, no democratic order ought to have a Prime Minister operating under such a dark cloud of suspicion," it said.

It said the ruling PML-N party may urge Sharif to stay on in office and Sharif may be tempted to do so, "but the toll on democracy would be too great.

The JIT, which is probing allegations of money laundering against Sharif and his family, said Maryam Nawaz, her brothers Hussain and Hassan Nawaz as well as her husband Captain Mohammad Safdar (retd), had signed false documents to mislead the Supreme Court.

'PM should resign for the sake of democracy'

Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah has said Prime Minister must resign for the sake of democracy in light of charges levelled in the Panama case Joint Investigation Team's (JIT) report.

He made these remarks while chairing the meeting of the Public Accounts Committee in the National Assembly on Tuesday.

A peaceful democratic transition of power occurred smoothly for the first time in the country's history, said Shah.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader said the premier has to resign as the Parliament is in danger, adding that he is concerned over the way the government is reacting to the issue.

Earlier, Shah held a meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Shah Mahmood Qureshi in his chambers.

The opposition parties will soon request for a Joint Session of Parliament to discuss the JIT's report and the matter of the prime minister's resignation, sources added.

'Nawaz should step down, he has lost all moral, legal authority'

Awami Muslim League (AML) President Sheikh Rasheed renewed calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

"For the sake of this country, I ask Nawaz Sharif to step down. He has lost all moral, political and legal authority to rule. This situation has resulted in a political funeral for him and his family," the AML leader remarked.

PM should resign on legal grounds, says Bilawal

Pakistan Peoples Party Co-Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also demanded resignation from the premier, saying Nawaz Sharif will have to resign on legal grounds.

"Yesterday, we had asked for Nawaz Sharif's resignation on moral grounds, but today, after studying the JIT report, we are asking for his resignation on legal grounds," Bilawal said.

As per JIT report, PM no longer honest and trustworthy: Siraj

Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Siraj-ul Haq said that the PM is no longer Sadiq and Ameen (Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution) and should resign resign on moral grounds.

He said that the JIT report has come against the premier and there exists disparity between the rulers' assets and means of income.

OneIndia News (with agency inputs)

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 16:09 [IST]
China setting up naval base in Djibouti, a concern for India

International

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

In an effort to assert its presence in Africa and Indian Ocean region, China has sent its troops to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa to setup its first overseas military base.

This is a cause of concern for India not only from military and defence point of view but also in terms of trade with Africa, which has become a bone of contention for both India and China.

The naval base is strategically located on the eastern edge of Africa, which means that movement of Chinese ships will increase in the Indian Ocean region. China has ramped up investment in Africa, as well as rapidly modernised its military in recent years.

Although China officially terms the Djibouti base as a 'logistics facility', Beijing's recent move to send ships carrying military personnel clearly indicates that it would also serve as strategic defence facility.

Reprots say that on Tuesday the ships had departed from Zhanjiang in southern China "to set up a support base in Djibouti".

China began construction of this base in strategically located Djibouti last year when its naval vessels were taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia.

In terms of trade, China, at a major summit with African nations in 2015, pledged to invest $60bn in Africa's development. It has started to invest heavily in Africa, especially in infrastructure projects like railways and improving connectivity.

China's keen interest in Africa is due to the fact that it has abundance of natural resources. China is not only eying to tap African market but also looking at it as a supplier of minerals and energy.

India, on the other hand, has been a little late in approaching Africa for trade. Although, Indian companies have presence in Africa, New Delhi's push for furthering relations has been somewhat delayed.

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya with a focus on on deepening cooperation in hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

In May this year, Modi pitched for an "Asia-Africa growth corridor" supported by Japan and India which was seen as an move to counter China's OBOR (One Belt, One Road) initiative.

OneIndia News
Donald Trump sued for blocking some of his critics on Twitter

International

oi-PTI

New York, July 12: First Amendment advocates sued President Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying it is unconstitutional to block his critics from following him on Twitter.

The Manhattan federal court lawsuit from the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University cited seven individuals rejected by Trump or his aides after criticizing the president. Besides Trump, the lawsuit also named as defendants White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Dan Scavino, White House director of social media.

Jameel Jaffer, the institute's director, said that dozens of people reached out after his organization told the White House three weeks ago that it wasn't permitted to block individuals from following the president's 8-year-old @realdonaldtrump account.

Trump doesn't seem to be the only politician trying to limit his audience. Jaffer said numerous people have said they were blocked from the accounts of Republican and Democratic politicians after posting critical comments.

A federal judge in Washington, DC. recently ruled that a local official's Facebook account was a public forum under the First Amendment, but higher courts have not yet addressed the issue, Jaffer said.

"It's fair to say that this is a new frontier," Jaffer said. "The First Amendment principle is well-settled, but the applicability of that principle to this context isn't an issue that the courts have yet had many occasions to address."

The lawsuit has asked a judge to stop Trump and his media team from blocking critics from following his personal account, which has 33 million followers, 14 million more than @POTUS and 19 million more than @WhiteHouse.

Dawn Dearden, a spokeswoman for government lawyers, declined to comment.

According to the lawsuit, blocking people from following Trump's account was a viewpoint-based restriction the US Constitution doesn't allow.

Others to be blocked included Philip Cohen, a University of Maryland sociology professor who called Trump a Corrupt Incompetent Authoritarian.

PTI

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 11:53 [IST]
In regular touch, trying for consular access: MEA on detention of 8 Indians in Qatar

Egypt insists that Qatar should not be member of anti-IS bloc

International

ians-IANS

By Ians English

Cairo, July 12: In a scathing attack on Qatar, Egypt on Tuesday said that the US-led anti-Islamic State coalition should not include member states that support terrorism.

"It is unacceptable for the coalition to have amongst its members states that support terrorism or advocate for it in their media," said Egyptian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid in a statement, Xinhua reported.

Zeid is heading the Egyptian delegation to the anti-IS coalition meeting held in Washington on Tuesday.

He added that the victory over the IS on the battlefield should be expanded to uproot all terrorist and extremist organisations and those that support them.

"Based on that principal, the decision by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain to boycott Qatar, was made in light of the latter's support of terrorism in the region, especially in Libya, Syria and Yemen," he said in the statement.

He further urged the coalition members to take the issue into serious consideration, as some countries "wear two masks": one in front of the international community as a partner in combating terrorism, while the other reflected suspicious relations with terrorism.

"The coalition should be open only to those countries with similar thoughts in dealing with terrorism," Zeid underlined.

The Foreign Ministry statement came one day before the meeting among the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and foreign ministers of the Arab countries boycotting Qatar in Saudi Arabia.

[US, Qatar sign MoU against financing terrorism]

Tillerson arrived in Qatar on Tuesday to try to find a way out of the crisis, which began more than a month ago, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut off diplomatic relations with Doha and imposed a land, naval and air blockade about the country.

IANS
G20 Summit: Modi leaves for Japan, likely to hold bilaterals with Trump, Shinzo Abe on Day 1

Trump and Biden race to woo voters in final hours before US Election 2020

FBI nominee Christopher Wray says Russia probe not witch hunt

International

pti-PTI

Washington, Jul 12: US President Donald Trump's pick Christopher Wray who is going to lead the FBI has rejected the president's depiction of a probe into alleged Russian meddling in the US election as a witch hunt.

Christopher Wray, Trump's pick to lead the FBI after firing director James Comey, gave his support to independent prosecutor Robert Mueller, the former FBI chief now in charge of the politically explosive probe.

"I do not consider director Mueller to be on a witch hunt," Wray told a Senate hearing, hours after Trump, in a tweet, called the investigation "the greatest Witch Hunt in political history."

PTI
SPRINGFIELD  Brad Elvis has kept a log of every gig he has played.

From shows he did as a junior high student in Central Illinois during the 1970s to today's performances with his current band, The Handcuffs, Elvis takes note of the date, city, venue, even the crowd's reaction.

I'm getting pretty good, he said, joking about his performances.

Elvis will be able to add another show to his journal after his band performs during the Amaranth Apple Music Fest Saturday, July 15, in downtown Springfield.

The music festival will feature 10 bands Friday, July 14, and Saturday, July 15, and local restaurant fare. Along with The Handcuffs, national bands include Chuck Mead, Bruiser Queen, Captain Ivory and headliner Matthew Sweet.

They are a great fit, said Sean Burns, music coordinator for the festival. It will be nice days of multi-generational music.

The name for the Amaranth Apple Music Fest is based on the fictional fruit from the 1920 novel The Golden Book of Springfield by Vachel Lindsay.

Last year, the festival was named Bacon Throwdown Festival, but the name was changed and music variety added for broader audience appeal, he said.

Burns invited The Handcuffs to the festival not only because of the band's glam and alternative image, but also because of Elvis' solid reputation and popularity in Central Illinois.

They just know me and my past, Elvis said.

The Handcuffs currently are based in Chicago and tour throughout the world, but often travel to Central Illinois for shows and festivals.

After more than 40 years, Elvis has gained many fans.

Not everybody knows The Handcuffs, but they will recognize Brad in other bands like Screams, Elvis Brothers, Big Hello. They morphed into The Handcuffs, Burns said. And he still plays drums for The Romantics.

Elvis began his careers as a bandleader with the group Jetz. Their first show was at Mr. B's in Decatur. The band was inspired by the glam and punk era of the 1970s, such as David Bowie and Mott the Hoople. Other influences throughout the years included the Beatles, Blondie and more contemporary musicians such as P.J. Harvey and Queens of the Stone Age.

We are all over the map, Elvis said.

In their home base of Chicago, Elvis believes the band is considered one of the best-dressed in town, an image he attempts to recreate during all of his shows.

We have a look, and we like to dress the part, he said. Still, we are just three gals and two dudes.
India is great place for innovation, start-ups could work with Microsoft

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Jul 12: Software giant Microsoft said India is a great place for innovation and there is a lot of opportunity for Indian firms and start-ups to work with the company and to develop cloud-based tools and platforms for a global marketplace.

Alyssa Fitzpatrick, general manager of Microsoft's worldwide channel sales, on the sidelines of the ongoing annual partnership meet of Microsoft 'Inspire', said that some of the great things have been happening in the Indian market from an innovation perspective. She said that Microsoft was going to market with solution maps. "That's gonna give us an opportunity to bring some of the innovation from India into those solution maps and really highlight it for the rest of the world's consumption," she said.

A recognised leader for transforming global direct and indirect sales in the software industry, Fitzpatrick has carried responsibility for over 50,000 global partners, encompassing management consultancies, global systems integrators, and services partners.

Fitzpatrick, a frequent traveller to India when the Indian IT sector was in its infancy stage, cited the example of a small time app developer in India, which now has global presence.

"India is a great place of innovation, she said. "I think there is a lot of opportunity in the Indian market to join together with Microsoft, as we're going through this transformation and really give opportunity to develop in our Cloud and produce in our Cloud, so that they can be sold globally in the Cloud," she said.

Noting that it is a very exciting time in India, she said it is because they have gone through the entire maturity of the Cloud, and starting to adopt the Cloud. "Where we're at right now is, there is a much quicker adoption happening than has happened in the past.

We are seeing an acceleration. It is a very exciting time in India, from an innovation perspective, but also from an adoption of the Cloud, and really embracing that Cloud model," she said. Fitzpatrick said she really enjoyed watching India become a global force.

"We definitely see that there is a very strong skill-set that comes in India. And, by working together, it is a very complementary relationship between Microsoft and the Indian market. "We absolutely see that as a very, very positive journey, as the last decade and a half, seeing how India has really stepped up on the global stage from a technology innovation and technology development but also technology implementation prospective.

And so, being able to collaborate is a very rich experience with Microsoft, Fitzpatrick said. Chris Hallum, senior product marketing manager, Windows Commercial of Microsoft, said that the company was entering into the endpoint protection market with a complete holistic suite of protection detection and response tools to address the issue of cyber security.

"All with one experience for managing it, observing what's going on, the security operations perspective, and we're now a serious contender for endpoint protection," Hallum told PTI in an interview. "We call it intelligence driven protection detection response," he said.

Unlike others who are providing cyber security tools, the official said Microsoft has the unique advantage that the people that build the features at Windows are also chartered to understand security and chartered to secure them.

"McAfee, as an example, can only hope to understand. They do a good job, so I'm not trying to disparage them, but we do have a unique advantage in our ability to secure our own systems," he said. "We also have the unique advantage, in that we can build the protection deep in the system. When you build protection features that sit on top of Windows, if Windows get compromised I can compromise on things running on top.

"If I bait the security features very, very deep in the system then the attacker has to find a way to penetrate very deep so they can compromise those features. By building it deep in the system, it gives us another advantage, Hallum said. Microsoft, he said is also dramatically improving its RS3 called Device Guard in Windows 10.

Hallum said Windows Defender Exploit Guard is a brand new feature that will make it very, very difficult for vulnerabilities and for the system to be exploited and for the types of host intrusion types of attacks to succeed as well.

He said the steps being taken by Microsoft would drastically reduce the cost of cyber security while noting that the average cost of security breach is estimated to be USD 3.5 million.

PTI

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 17:33 [IST]
Refusing to let girls go to school in their hijabs is horrifying: Malala Yousafzai

Lets celebrate World Malala Day to promote the cause of female education

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

London, July 12: Millions of girls across the world don't go to schools. Be it poverty or gender discrimination, girls are often denied their rights to get education and fulfill their dreams.

Probably, nobody took so much risk like Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani-girl--who took bullets--as she raised her voice against the dreaded Taliban for denying girls to go to schools in the Swat valley in 2012. At that time, Malala was just 15 years old.

Thereafter, bravery of Malala (as she survived the horrific fatal attack against her) and her determination to educate all women and girls have been witnessed by all.

Malala and her family shifted to Birmingham, United Kingdom, after the attack to help her get her medical treatment. Since then her entire family is settled in Birmingham, fearing backlash from radical groups in Pakistan.

In spite of witnessing so much pain and trauma, Malala continued with her crusade and advocated the importance of education for all girls and women.

After Malala delivered an impassioned speech at the United Nations (UN) headquarters on the need for gender equality in education on July 12, 2013, the day has been declared as the World Malala Day by the UN.

Moreover, July 12 is also her birthday, Today, Malala has turned 20. Within a short span of time, the young woman has not only won many awards and accolades, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, but over the years, Malala has become a strong voice for women empowerment across the globe. Malala is the youngest person to win the Nobel Prize at the age of 17.

In order to ensure that girls across the globe get a chance to attend schools, the Nobel laureate founded the Malala Fund, a non-profit organisation.

If you want to know more about this young woman, then you can read her bestselling book, I am Malala. Several films were made on her too, including, He named me Malala, which was shortlisted for the Oscars in 2015.

Recently, Malala joined Twitter after graduating from school. On the micro-blogging site also, Malala promoted the cause of education for girls. Keep spreading your message, Malala.

In the end, let us wish Malala a grand birthday like her grand dreams of building a world where all girls get education.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 12:24 [IST]
Internet Explorer to retire on June 15, 2022 after serving netizens for over 25 years: Microsoft

Microsoft officially ends support for Windows 8.1 Phone

International

ians-IANS

By Ians English

San Francisco, July 12: Microsoft has ended all support to Windows Phone 8.1 and millions of devices running on this operating system, just over 3 years after its April 2014 debut.

According to a report in the Verge on Tuesday, nearly 80 per cent of all Windows-powered phones are still running Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 8, or Windows Phone 8.1.

"All of these handsets are now officially unsupported, and only 20 per cent of all Windows phones are running the latest Windows 10 Mobile OS," the report noted.

When Windows Phone 8.1 update was announced for Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system, it was seen as the company's biggest effort to compete with the Android and iOS, but it did not turn out successful.

It is rumoured that Microsoft is having new Windows 10 mobile handsets in the works. It already has mobile extension of Microsoft's desktop OS and successor to Windows Phone 8.1 still kicking.

"While Microsoft still supports Windows 10 Mobile, it's not clear what that support will include in the future. Microsoft is adding a number of features to the upcoming Windows 10 Fall Creators Update for PCs, but the company has not extended these to the mobile version in testing," the report said.

Users faced a huge problem when Windows 7 phones could not upgrade to Windows 8.

IANS
Trump didnt know about my meeting with Russia lawyer, says son

International

ians-IANS

By Ians English

Washington, July 12: Maintaining that US President didn't know about my meeting with Russian lawyer, Donald Trump Jr said that the meeting was "just a nothing."

Donald Trump Jr told Fox News that his meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in June last year was "just a nothing", but in retrospect, he would have done things differently.

Asked by Fox News if he had told his father about the meeting, Trump Jr said: "No. It was just a nothing. There was nothing to tell."

The President's son, defending his actions and the allegations that Russia tried to sabotage Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign, said he did not have any knowledge of this.

Russia has also repeatedly denied interfering in the November 8 US presidential election.

Trump Jr on Tuesday released emails showing that he welcomed an offer to meet the lawyer, who was allegedly linked to the Kremlin and had material damaging to Clinton.

"I mean, I wouldn't have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame."

Trump Jr, his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort met Natalia Veselnitskaya after he received an email from an intermediary, British publicist Rob Goldstone, promising documents from Russia that would incriminate Clinton.

At that time, Donald Trump was the presumptive Republican nominee and heading towards an election fight against Clinton.

One email from Goldstone said the information they had been promised was "obviously very high-level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Trump".

Trump Jr's response email read: "If it's what you say I love it."

He said the meeting went nowhere, the woman provided them with nothing of use and it only lasted 20 minutes.

"This is before the Russia mania, this is before they were building this up in the press. For me this was opposition research, they had something you know, maybe concrete evidence to all the stories I'd been hearing about."

"Someone sent me an email. I can't help what someone sends me. I read it, I responded accordingly, and if there was something interesting there, I think that's pretty common."

Trump in a brief statement supported his son, describing him as a high-quality person and applauding his transparency.

IANS

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Story first published: Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 15:10 [IST]
In regular touch, trying for consular access: MEA on detention of 8 Indians in Qatar

US, Qatar sign MoU against financing terrorism

International

ians-IANS

By Ians English

Cairo, July 12: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the US Secretary of State and his Qatari counterpart on Tuesday against the financing of terrorism, Qatari media reported.

Rex Tillerson and Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani signed the pact, which they had been working on for a year, Tillerson explained, Efe news reported.

The head of US diplomacy added that this step seeks to "revive" the agreements adopted at the Riyadh summit in 2014, from which several steps have been taken in favour of the fight against terrorism and its financing.

Al Thani stressed in a press conference offered before the signing that this is a bilateral agreement and has nothing to do with the current crisis between Qatar and the four Arab countries that have broken diplomatic relations with Doha.

Tillerson arrived in Qatar on Tuesday to try to find a way out of the crisis, which began more than a month ago, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut off diplomatic relations with Doha and imposed a land, naval and air blockade about the country.

He said he was in the Persian Gulf to support the efforts of Kuwait, a country that is mediating among its Arab neighbours.

The secretary of state added that he will travel on Wednesday to Saudi Arabia to explore possible ways out of the crisis, but he does not want to generate expectations regarding a near solution.

Prior to his visit, Tillerson has maintained contacts with all countries involved in the dispute and other regional actors and has asked, without success, Saudi Arabia and its allies to soften the blockade by warning that it hampers operations against the Islamic State.

[Gulf crisis: Qatar threatens to withdraw from GCC]

Earlier, Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani threatened to withdraw from Gulf Cooperation Council, by setting conditions for the Saudi-led bloc. Qatar officils sent a letter to Secretary General of the GCC Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani, setting his country's conditions so as not to withdraw from the GCC, Xinhua reported citing MENA news agency.

IANS
VP Pence distances himself from probe over Russian involvement in elections

International

pti-PTI

Washington, Jul 11: Amid rising clamour of alleged Russian interference in US elections, Vice President Mike Pence sought to distance himself from the snowballing scandal.

After Trump's son Donald Jr. admitted to meeting a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton last June, Pence declared in a statement that he knew nothing of the meeting -- which took place well before he became Trump's running mate in the election.

"The vice president is working every day to advance the president's agenda, which is what the American people sent us here to do," his office said in a statement.

"The vice president was not aware of the meeting. He is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket," the statement added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump Jr. released emails showing he had arranged to meet with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya over her offer of "incriminating" material on Clinton ostensibly sourced from the Russian government.

Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner also attended the meeting. Trump Jr. said Veselnitskaya ultimately had "no meaningful" information on Clinton and instead wanted to talk about US sanctions on Russia.

He labelled it a "nonsense meeting." But critics say the meeting suggests the Trump campaign was prepared to collude with Russian efforts, not clearly understood at the time, to undermine Clinton's run for president. The meeting took place on June 9, five weeks before Pence was officially chosen as Trump's vice presidential running mate.

[Putin has denied involvement in election, it is time to move forward: Trump]

On Monday, US President Donald Trump had said it is time to move forward in a constructive United States-Russia relationship after Russian President Vladimir Putin denied meddling in the last year's US presidential election.

PTI
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DECATUR  The girlfriend of one of the three accused murderers of Demesheo M. Lovelace is now facing an obstruction of justice charge after Decatur police said she helped set up the homicide.

The preliminary charge against the 30-year-old woman, described as dating Darelle Fox, was filed Monday and is subject to review by the Macon County State's Attorney's Office.

Police said she made a false police report, held the keys to the vehicle used in the killing, supplied information on Lovelace's location and helped Fox get away after the crime.

Police said Lovelace was chased down in the 900 block of South Main Street about 4:30 p.m. July 2 and shot dead execution style, according to a sworn police affidavit filed against the girlfriend.

It was the latest development in the wake of the Lovelace murder, which has sparked a violent aftermath.

Detective Sgt. Chris Copeland said Tuesday that Fox's home in the 1000 block of West King Street was shot up with in a hail of 19 bullets between Wednesday and Monday, when the shooting was reported by his 54-year-old mother.

Copeland said Darelle Fox probably wasn't around to report the damage to his house because he was on the run from us for murder.

Fox, 31, his 27-year-old brother Joseph Fox and Shawn Eubanks, 25, were all arrested at the same address on North Calhoun Street on Sunday and jailed on preliminary charges of first-degree murder.

Darelle Fox's girlfriend is charged with filing a false police report claiming her vehicle had been damaged in a hit-and-run accident. Police said she then changed her story to say it was struck by Lovelace who had been trying to run over Darelle Fox. Police said the minivan linked by witnesses to the shooting was later found burning in the 6800 block of West Cantrell Street.

Police said cellphone records show the girlfriend searched the internet about Lovelace, but did not provide information about his location on the day of the murder.

Detective Barry Hitchens, writing in the affidavits, also said she picked Darelle Fox up after the van arson and fled with him toward Lincoln. She denies the charges and is now free on $100,000 bail; she's due to be arraigned Aug. 11.

As all three of Lovelace's accused killers went into hiding during the police search, revenge attacks against them began: A house in the 700 block of West King Street associated with one of the suspects was torched within hours of the murder, and a pet dog was found shot to death nearby.

And the 56-year-old mother of Shawn Eubanks said she had received harassing phone calls and threatening text messages Friday with the phrase get your daughter. Police said the daughter fled town with her family.

This story has been clarified to show the suspect did not provide information about the victim's location the day of the homicide.
DECATUR  Under brewing rain clouds at the intersection of Eldorado and North Main streets, Jeff Holmes' sign read "Homeless Christian. Please help."

Holmes said rainy weather usually ups the number of "hits" he gets from nearby drivers.

"You call it a hit when somebody stops and gives you couple dollars," he said.

The 51-year-old man confirmed what many Decatur drivers have noticed: Different people using the same location, even the same sign to ask for money.

He said about 10 people share the intersection and a couple other spots around town, some with serious mental and physical conditions, some he suspects could find work but have just gotten used to life on the street.

"Probably half of them (don't need to panhandle)," Holmes said.

But Decatur police and social service providers who work with the homeless population would argue none of them need to ask for money, giving to panhandlers encourages people to ignore services and keeping afloat and alone.

City council members are expressing renewed concern over panhandlers potentially driving people away from businesses downtown.

City Manager Tim Gleason said he's receiving more complaints about panhandlers downtown, and "with my own eyes, it seems that there are more throughout primarily the downtown area," he said at a recent city council meeting.

Holmes told the Herald & Review he's currently homeless and has been sleeping in an abandoned house. He said he gets shelter and food from organizations like Oasis Day Center and Good Samaritan Inn but still likes to come out to the street for his own cash  to buy some beer, cigarettes, some food if he doesn't like what the shelter offers that day.

The group that shares time at the corner doesn't have any formal arrangement but tries to simply share the real estate.

"It's not really on how long you can be out there, it's kind of like, 'Yell at me when you're done, so I can go out there and use that same spot,'" Holmes said.

"I like to refer to is as 'manipulative entrepreneurship.' Most of them are not homeless. Anybody can get a cardboard sign and a marker and write 'homeless' on it," said Christine Gregory, executive director of Dove Inc., a Decatur-based coalition of religious social service organizations and volunteers.

According to Gregory, panhandlers have reported getting about $100 a day. Holmes said it all depends, but a decent pull would be $50 in three hours with the sign.

The latest Point in Time Survey of the Decatur-area's homeless population conducted in January showed that of 130 who were homeless, 23 were chronically homeless. At the July 3 city council hearing, Gregory put the chronically homeless count of 26.

City council members have requested a review of potential laws or enforcement options that could stem the perceived increase of panhandling, especially downtown where there are more pedestrians on foot.

"Anything we can do to make it legal, but put a little more punch into it," said City Councilman Pat McDaniel.

A long-existing Decatur ordinance is already on the books, which bans solicitation in public buses, within 15 feet of a bank or ATM, any private property, and to solicit any money in public "in an aggressive manner," which could include touching, asking after being denied, or trying to stop someone's walking or even driving path. Any of these are an offense that Police Chief James Getz said at the council hearing warrant a 911 call.

Holmes said he and others stay out with a sign because they don't want to bother pedestrians.

"To stand downtown and say 'Hey sir, do you have a dollar?" I consider to be a panhandler, if you're going up bugging people," he said.

Courts have routinely struck down laws aimed at removing people from public spaces, citing the constitutional right to assemble in public spaces and free speech.

From the law enforcement side, police routinely arrest and book the chronically homeless, only to find a choice few back on the streets.

"Just on two of our main solicitors that have been down there for many many years. We have Subject A: has been arrested 83 times ... been fined, served time," Getz said.

Holmes said holding a sign on the street and getting some cash is a way of helping oneself. "It's either that or you can sit in the Oasis and drink coffee and watch TV all day. I mean at least we're trying to make a couple of dollars," he said.

Police and social service organizations all say the same thing: Don't give panhandlers money.

Instead, Debbie Bogle, executive director of United Way of Decatur and Mid Illinois stressed a service started this year, 211. Police, emergency responders and concerned passersby can call 211, and United Way will help connect people with the proper social services operated in the area.

"Probably, it's not familiar to people yet like 911, but we hope it will be soon," Bogle said at the council meeting.

Bogle said recently a provider went to the same corner as Holmes' to talk to the people after a 211 call.

"Of three people (there), he got one to come back with him. Some of them are truly in need. Just don't give them money. When you see somebody call 211, get the information to call and help this person. If they're in need the're going to take the help," she said.
Jerusalem Post 11 Oct 2022

Lavrov also said on Tuesday that Russia will not turn down a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden at..
DECATUR  A city of Decatur worker was injured Wednesday morning after an accident involving a firecracker, the Decatur Fire Department said.

Battalion Chief Todd McKenzie said the incident happened within a fenced city property in the 2800 block of East Main Street.

McKenzie said at about 10:10 a.m., firefighters at Fire Station 2, located nearby at 2707 E. William St., heard an explosion in the area.

Soon after, other city workers came over from the scene and asked the firefighters for help, McKenzie said. McKenzie said fire crews and police were then dispatched to the area.

McKenzie said the worker suffered a hand injury and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. He also said police are currently investigating the incident.

This story will be updated.
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By Izunna Okafor, Awka

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, on Saturday, flagged of the renewed last Saturday of the month sanitisation exercise in the state, where he literally packed wastes with shovels for evacuation.

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Governor, Soludo, while performing the symbolic flag off of the exercise at the Eke Awka Market, said the state government is reactivating the end-of-month sanitation with renewed vigour, with the ultimate goal of achieving a cleaner, greener, and healthier environment.

The Governor, who performed drainage desilting at the market, also flagged off the door-to-door system of waste collection in the state.

He further charged Ndi Anambra to imbibe the habit of clearing up their environment, including the drainage system in front of their residents, shops and offices, for a cleaner, greener and healthier state.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Environment, Engr. Felix Odimegwu frowned at the rate of indiscriminate dumping of refuse observed in various markets and among the residents, which, he noted sabotages and jeopardizes the governments efforts to clean up the state.

While charging the residents to regularly keep their environments neat, he also underscored the importance of participating in the end-of-month sanitation exercise, as the government would not hesitate to punish any defaulter in accordance with the provisions of law.

In a vote of thanks, the Chairman of Eke Awka Market, Chief Jude Agummadu appreciated the Governor for commencing the exercise from the market. He also assured that the market leadership and the traders will accord his administration the highest support, especially in the area of maintaining clean and healthy environment.

Present at the event were the Deputy Governor, Dr. Onyekachi Ibezim; the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Ernest Ezeajughi, among other top government functionaries.

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Amid terror scare across the country, the Police Command in Lagos State has placed its operatives on red alert over intercepted plans by gunmen to attack the commercial capital of the country.

This was contained in a statement issued, yesterday, by the Commands spokesman, SP Benjamin Hundeyin. According to him, the Command is not unmindful of intelligence reports suggesting that Lagos could be on the radar of some persons planning attacks across the country.

To this end, the Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alabi, has placed the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) of the Command on high alert. Also placed on alert are all Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers and Tactical Commanders, in a bid to ensure that any planned attack is promptly and decisively nipped in the bud.

The command is also working closely with other sister security agencies to ensure that no person or group of persons succeed in destabilising the peace and serenity enjoyed in Lagos, the CP said in the statement.

Hundeyin added that in all the border towns, persons coming in and going out were under serious surveillance to ensure that there was absolutely no breach of peace in the state.

He, therefore, enjoined residents not to fear, assuring them that all human, material and operational resources had been fully and optimally deployed across the length and breadth of the state.

Consequent upon the carefully laid down security plans and strategies, all residents of Lagos State are urged to go about their lawful duties without panic or fear.

Lagos residents are equally enjoined to remain very vigilant and report suspicious movements and persons to security agencies, he said.

Hundeyin had earlier stated that the police and other security agencies are prepared for any planned terrorists attack on Lagos. Speaking during a Twitter Space webinar, on Saturday, he said: We are working seriously with other security agencies. The Department of State Services (DSS) keeps sending intelligence reports to us.

All resources are available. Our equipment has been optimally deployed to ensure that we dont have any attack in Lagos, the police spokesman said.

Last week, security agencies got a security report that the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram planned to attack Lagos, Kaduna, Kogi, Katsina and Zamfara states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

It also emerged yesterday that ISWAP was behind the attack on a military checkpoint in Madalla area on the outskirts of Abuja.

The terrorist group had on Thursday night attacked soldiers of the Guards Brigade stationed near Zuma rock.
August 01, (THEWILL)  Popular flutist and former President of the Performing Musicians of Nigeria ( PMAN), Tee Mac Iseli has said that he will offer his service by form of advise should the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerge the president of Nigeria in 2023.

Iseli, who made this promise on The Morning Show on Arise TV said he will be willing to offer valuable advice to Tinubus government from his pool of knowledge.

Tinubu knows me. He knows what Im capable of. I will be there to advise. That will be my duty.

He expressed confidence that Nigeria is blessed with Tinubu as one of the three major presidential candidates, who could move the Nigerian entertainment industry up to the mountain.

Recall that the renowned flutist had earlier expressed his reservation about the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu being the next Nigerias President.

Tee Mac had claimed that Tinubu is 86 years old and unfit to become Nigerias President.

But Iseli has dismissed the reports, saying that the statement was neither given by him to the press nor in a press conference.

He maintained that his viral remark was a personal conversation with an acquaintance which was taken out of context.

Iseli who noted that he has no negativity towards Tinubu, said he felt uncomfortable the statement went viral on social media and the mainstream media.

He said, I was a little bit shocked at how the statement was taken out of context. It was somebody, who took out of a conversation a short statement and made it go viral. He went into my Instagram, took a picture and it went into all the blogs and newspapers. It was me placing it.

I respect Alhaji Tinubu. He is an in-law and I have known him very closely for over 20 years. I may not be a member of his party, but I believe anybody can choose a candidate of his choice. Thats the freedom we have in a democracy, he added.
Diana Ghazaryan, Larisa Paremuzyan, Saro Baghdasaryan

Adam Simonian dream that one day his friends and relatives will return to their native village of Akner in Armenias Lori Province.

I dream of them returning, that there is work here and the area develops again. I dream of living here. Al the money I make in Yerevan is spent on fixing up the house here, says Adam.

Adam studies in Yerevan, but spends his weekends in Akner, not far from Alaverdi, with his parents.

A student of economics, Adam has some ideas about developing the village and has proposed them to the provincial and local governments.

The young man says the village revenues would increase tenfold if it had irrigation water. People would farm the land instead of leaving.

He says it would be great to build a berry cannery in the village. It would create jobs and utilize the fertile land in the village.
Automotive End-Point Authentication Market: Vehicle Type - Conventional Vehicles and Hybrid &Electric Vehicles; Connectivity Type - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Cellular Network) Outlook 2025

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Automotive End-Point Authentication Market: OverviewThis market research study analyzes the automotive end-point authentication market on global basis and provides estimates in terms of revenue (US$ Mn) from 2016 to 2025. It describes the market dynamics affecting the industry and analyzes their impact through the forecast period. Moreover, it highlights the significant opportunities for market growth in the next eight years. The market is segmented on the basis of geography into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America.End-point authentication is a type of mechanism, which is used to detect or verify a networks external source or remote connecting device. This allows only authorized end-point devices to be connected to specific networks. Through the use of security systems, authentication mechanisms are implemented, which identify and grant access in specific network environments to the frequent remote users. End-point authentication helps in not only identifying the user but also the connecting device logged on to the network.Get More Information :In order to have access to the network, the connecting device has to comply with the security standards of the network. In automobiles, there are several features for end-point authentication such as service and maintenance updates, door lock status, real time diagnostic monitoring, navigation, battery status and advanced driver assistance systems.Automotive End-Point Authentication Market: SegmentationThese segments have been estimated in terms of revenue (US$ Mn). In addition, the report has been segmented based on authentication type, which includes, smart phone application, wearables and biometric vehicle access. By vehicle type the market is categorized into conventional and hybrid and electric vehicles. For better understanding of the automotive end-point authentication market, the study comprises market attractiveness analysis, where the vehicle type segment is benchmarked based on their market scope, growth rate and market attractiveness. Competitive rivalry is projected to be high among key players to acquire higher share of the market in the coming years.Automotive End-Point Authentication Market: Competitive AnalysisThe global automotive end-point authentication market is fragmented with few medium and large companies. Entry into this market is not restricted as there is no monopoly of business and the market has huge scope and opportunity. However, setting up of manufacturing units for automotive end-point authentication require huge capital and resource, which is not feasible for most of the small and medium sized companies. Increasing private equity investments and merger and acquisitions of companies in the automotive sector has been of great influence to the automotive end-point authentication market.Significant growth in the automotive sector coupled with economic reforms in major developing countries has been able to bolster the growth of this market. In addition, government regulations relating to vehicular safety is one of the major driving factors motivating the growth of this market across the globe. Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America are key markets for the future and are expected to provide huge opportunities to the global automotive end-point authentication manufacturers because of the increasing application of end-point authentication system in vehicles of the aforementioned regions.Browse The Report :The report also provides company market share analysis of the various industry participants. Acquisition is the main strategy being widely followed by leading market players. In case of an acquisition, the acquirer takes advantage of existing synergies. As a result, both companies are expected to emerge more profitable and stronger than before. Key players in the global automotive end-point authentication market have been profiled and their company overview, financial overview, business strategies and recent developments have been covered in the report. Major market participants profiled in this report include: Continental AG, Garmin Ltd., Fujitsu Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., VOXX International Corporation, Symantec Corporation, Synaptics Incorporated, Valeo S.A., and Sonavation, 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.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global All-Season Tents Market 2017 : Wenzel, Ozark, AmazonBasics, Kodiak Canvas, Browning Camping, Coleman

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Influenza Drugs and Vaccines Trends, Status, Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin Global Market Professional Survey Report Forecast 2017 to 2022

Influenza Drugs and Vaccines Market

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Global Influenza Drugs and Vaccines Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Influenza Drugs and Vaccines Market 2017 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2022reports to its database.WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On Executive Summary:A comprehensive research report created through extensive primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, stakeholders) and secondary research, the report aims to present the analysis of Global Influenza Market on the basis of Segment Type (Vaccine and Drugs), By Vaccine (Trivalent and Quadrivalent), By Drugs (Zanamivir, Oseltamivir Phosphate, Peramivir), By Region (North America, Europe, APAC and ROW) and By Country (U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, China, India, Japan).Rising awareness in relation to influenza virus, surging investment by companies in R&D and increasing number of immunization programmes organized by the government have been some of the factors backing the growth of Global Influenza Market.According to Azoth Analytics research report, Global Influenza Drugs and Vaccines Market  By Drugs (Zanamivir, Oseltamivir Phosphate, Peramivir), By Vaccine (Trivalent, Quadrivalent) - Analysis By Region, By Country: Opportunities and Forecast (2016-2021) - By Region (North America, Europe, APAC, ROW), By Country (U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, China, India, Japan), global market is projected to display a steady growth rate represented by a CAGR of 10.24% during 2017  2022, chiefly driven by increasing spending over various immunization programmes.The report titled Global Influenza Drugs and Vaccines Market  By Drugs (Zanamivir, Oseltamivir Phosphate, Peramivir), By Vaccine (Trivalent, Quadrivalent) - Analysis By Region, By Country: Opportunities and Forecast (2016-2021) - By Region (North America, Europe, APAC, ROW), By Country (U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, China, India, Japan), has covered and analysed the potential of Global Influenza Market and provides statistics and information on market size, shares and growth factors. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyses the emerging trends along with major drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global influenza market. Additionally, the report also highlights key development and new drugs launched by various companies across the globe.Request Sample Report Here @...Global Influenza Market(Actual Period: 2012-2016E, Forecast Period: 2017-2022)By Segment Type: Influenza Vaccine Market, Influenza Drugs MarketBy Vaccine Type: Trivalent, QuadrivalentBy Drug Type: Zanamivi, Oseltamivir Phosphate, PeramivirRegional Markets  North America, Europe, APAC, RoW(Actual Period: 2012-2016E, Forecast Period: 2017-2022)By Segment Type: Influenza Vaccine Market, Influenza Drugs MarketBy Vaccine Type: Trivalent, QuadrivalentBy Drug Type: Zanamivi, Oseltamivir Phosphate, PeramivirCountry Analysis - US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Japan, China, India(Actual Period: 2012-2016E, Forecast Period: 2017-2022)By Segment Type: Influenza Vaccine Market, Influenza Drugs MarketOther Report Highlights Market Dynamics  Trends, Drivers, Challenges Pipeline Analysis Company Analysis - Falvogen, Gilead Science and Bio CrystCustomization of the ReportThe report could be customized according to the clients specific research requirements. No additional cost will be required to pay for limited additional research.Enquiry Before Buying @Some Major Points from Table of Content:Table of Contents1. Influenza Market: An Introduction1.1. Research Methodology1.2. Executive Summary1.3. Strategic Recommendations1.4. Product Overview2. Global Influenza Market Overview2.1. Global Influenza Market Size, By Value, Historic, 2011-20152.2. Global Influenza Market Size, By Value, Forecast, 2016-20213. Global Influenza Market, Product Analysis3.1. By Product-Actual(2015)3.2. By Product-Forecast(2021)3.3. Global Influenza Therapeutics Market , Historic, 2011-20153.4. Global Influenza Therapeutics Market , Forecast, 2016-213.5. Global Influenza Vaccines Market, Historic, 2011-163.6. Global Influenza Vaccines Market, Forecast, 2016-20213.7. Global Influenza Therapeutics Market, By Drug Type3.7.1. Global Zanamivir Market , Historic, 2011-20153.7.2. Global Zanamivir Market , Forecast, 2016-20213.7.3. Global Oseltamivir Phosphate Market , Historic, 2011-20153.7.4. Global Oseltamivir Phosphate Market , Forecast, 2016-20213.7.5. Global Peramivir Market , Forecast, 2016-20213.8. Global Influenza Vaccines Market, By Vaccine Type3.8.1. Global Trivalent Vaccines Market , Historic, 2011-20153.8.2. Global Trivalent Vaccines Market , Forecast, 2016-20213.8.3. Global Quadrivalent Vaccines Market , Historic, 2011-20153.8.4. Global Quadrivalent Vaccines Market , Forecast, 2016-20214. Global Influenza Vaccines & Drugs - Pipeline Analysis5. Global Influenza Market, By Region5.1. By Region-Actual(2015)5.2. By Region-Forecast(2021)6. North America Influenza Market Overview6.1. North America Influenza Market Size, By Value, Historic, 2011-20156.2. North America Influenza Market Size, By Value, Forecast, 2016-20216.3. North America Influenza Therapeutics Market Size, By Value, Historic, 2011-20156.4. North America Influenza Therapeutics Market Size, By Value, Forecast , 2016-20216.5. North America Influenza Vaccines Market Size, By Value, Historic 2011-20156.6. North America Influenza Vaccines Market Size, By Value, Forecast, 2016-20216.7. North America Influenza Therapeutics: Segment Analysis6.8. North America Influenza Therapeutics Market, By Drug Type, Historic, 2011-20156.9. North America Influenza Therapeutics Market, By Drug Type, Forecast, 2016-20216.10. North America Influenza Vaccines: Segment Analysis6.11. North America Influenza Vaccines Market, By Vaccine Type, Historic, 2011-20156.12. North America Influenza Vaccines Market, By Vaccine Type, Forecast, 2016-2021List of Tables and FiguresFigure 1: Global Influenza Market Size, By Value, 2011-2015 (USD Billion)Figure 2: Global Influenza Market Size, By Value, 2016E-2021F (USD Billion)Figure 3: Global Influenza Market Size and Share, By Product, 2015Figure 4: Key DriversFigure 5: Global Influenza Market Size and Share, By Product, 2021FFigure 6: Key DriversFigure 7: Global Influenza Therapeutics Market Size, By Value, 2011-2015 (USD Billion)Figure 8: Global Influenza Therapeutics Market Size, By Value, 2016E-2021F (USD Billion)Figure 9: Global Influenza Vaccines Market Size, By Value, 2011-2015 (USD Billion)Figure 10: Global Influenza Vaccines Market Size, By Value, 2016E-2021F (USD Billion)Figure 11: Global Zanamivir Market Size, By Value, 2011-2015 (USD Billion)Figure 12: Global Zanamivir Market Size, By Value, 2016E-2021F (USD Billion)Figure 13: Global Oseltamivir Phosphate Market Size, By Value, 2011-2015 (USD Billion)Figure 14: Global Oseltamivir Phosphate Market Size, By Value, 2016E-2021F (USD Billion)Figure 15: Global Peramivir Market Size, By Value, 2016E-2021F (USD Billion)Figure 16: Global Trivalent Vaccines Market Size, By Value, 2011-2015 (USD Billion)Figure 17: Global Trivalent Vaccines Market Size, By Value, 2016E-2021F (USD Billion)Figure 18: Global Quadrivalent Vaccines Market Size, By Value, 2011-2015 (USD Billion)Figure 19: Global Quadrivalent Vaccines Market Size, By Value, 2016E-2021F (USD Billion)Figure 20: Global Influenza Market Size and Share, By Region, 2015Figure 21: Key DriversFigure 22: Global Influenza Market Size and Share, By Region, 2021FFigure 23: Key DriversFigure 24: North America Influenza Market Size, By Value, 2011-2015 (USD BillionFigure 25: North America Influenza Market Size, By Value, 2016E-2021F (USD Billion)Figure 26: North America Influenza Therapeutics Market Size, By Value, 2011-2015 (USD Billion)Figure 27: North America Influenza Therapeutics Market Size, By Value, 2016E-2021F (USD Billion)Figure 28: North America Influenza Vaccines Market Size, By Value, 2011-2015 (USD Billion)Figure 29: North America Influenza Vaccines Market Size, By Value, 2016E-2021F (USD Billion)Figure 30: North America Influenza Therapeutics Market: By Product, By Value, 2011-2015 (USD Billion)CONTINUEDFor accessing accurate and deep understanding and to gain latest insights and key developments in the area of your interest, we also have a list of conferences in which you will be interested in, for more information, cordially check :For updating knowledge or for thoroughly understanding various terminologies, we also have vast list of seminars for your reference, for more information cordially check :More about WiseGuyReports:Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. 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. LTD.Office No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune  411028Maharashtra, India
Global 4D Printing Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022

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ReportsWeb.com has added a new report titled Global 4D Printing 2017 Market Report, to the database, the report focuses on Product Price, Profit, Capacity, Production, Capacity Utilization, Supply, Demand and Industry Growth.4D Printing Report by Material, Application, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2021 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, united Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China) .Get more information about this reportThe report firstly introduced the 4D Printing basics: definitions, Classifications, plications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturingProcesses; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) basic information;2.) the Asia 4D Printing Market;3) the North American 4D Printing Market;4) the European 4D Printing Market;5.) market entry and investment feasibility;6.) the report conclusion.Get free Sample Copy of ReportFew Points from Table of ContentPart I 4D Printing OverviewChapter One 4D Printing OverviewChapter Two 4D Printing Up and Down Stream Industry AnalysisPart II Asia 4D Printing (The Report Company Including the below Listed but Not All)Chapter Three Asia 4D Printing Market AnalysisChapter Four 2012-2017 Asia 4D Printing Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and ForecastChapter Five Asia 4D Printing Key Manufacturers AnalysisChapter Six Asia 4D Printing Development TrendPart III North American Chapter Seven North American 4D Printing Market AnalysisChapter Eight 2012-2017 North American 4D Printing Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and ForecastChapter Nine North American 4D Printing Key Manufacturers AnalysisChapter Ten North American 4D Printing Development TrendPart IV Europe 4D Printing Analysis (The Report Company Including the below Listed but Not All)Chapter Eleven Europe 4D Printing I Market AnalysisChapter Twelve 2012-2017 Europe 4D Printing Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and ForecastChapter Thirteen Europe 4D Printing Manufacturers AnalysisChapter Fourteen Europe 4D Printing Development TrendPart V 4D Printing Marketing Channels and Investment FeasibilityChapter Fifteen 4D Printing Marketing Channels Development Proposals AnalysisChapter Sixteen Development Environmental AnalysisChapter Seventeen 4D Printing y New Project Investment Feasibility AnalysisPart VI Global 4D Printing ConclusionsChapter Eighteen 2012-2017 Global 4D Printing Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and ForecastChapter Nineteen Global 4D Printing Development TrendChapter Twenty Global 4D Printing Research ConclusionsGet Discount on Report Purchase -Contact 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.Pune:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Global Trenbolone Acetate Market Professional Survey Report 2017

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Ask a report sample or have any requirement, please contact tinaning@qyresearch.com or visit atThe Trenbolone Acetate Industry Market Research Report 2017 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Trenbolone Acetate industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Trenbolone Acetate 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 Trenbolone Acetate industry development trends and marketing channels Aare 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.In a large and developing economy, rapid changes in the industry make it necessary for professionals to keep themselves updated with the latest market dynamics. QYResearch can offer the ability to quickly respond to these changes determines the success of a business enterprise.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringCompany 1Company 2Company 3Company 4Company 5Company 6Company 7Company 8Company 9Company 10......Table of contents:1 Industry Overview of Trenbolone Acetate2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Trenbolone Acetate3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Trenbolone Acetate4 Global Trenbolone Acetate Overall Market Overview5 Trenbolone Acetate Regional Market Analysis6 Global 2012-2017E Trenbolone Acetate Segment Market Analysis (by Type)7 Global 2012-2017E Trenbolone Acetate Segment Market Analysis (by Application)8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Trenbolone Acetate9 Development Trend of Analysis of Trenbolone Acetate Market10 Trenbolone Acetate Marketing Type Analysis11 Consumers Analysis of Trenbolone AcetateRelated Reports:Global Trenbolone Acetate Market Professional Survey Report 2017Europe Trenbolone Acetate Market Professional Survey Report 2017China Trenbolone Acetate Market Professional Survey Report 2017USA Trenbolone Acetate Market Professional Survey Report 2017India Trenbolone Acetate Market Professional Survey Report 2017Korea Trenbolone Acetate Market Professional Survey Report 2017Japan Trenbolone Acetate Market Professional Survey Report 2017Contact Details:Company Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITED | focus on Market Survey and ResearchTina| Sales ManagersEmail: tinaning@qyresearch.com Tel: 0086-20-22093278(CN)Web:QYResearch focus on Market Survey and ResearchQYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business.Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe District
Aerospace Filters Market Size 2017 Parker Hannifin, Pall, Freudenberg & Co. Kg, Donaldson

Aerospace Filters

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Aerospace Filters Market Research ReportA market study  Global Aerospace Filters Market  examines the performance of the Aerospace Filters market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Aerospace Filters market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Aerospace Filters market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Aerospace Filters Market 2017 report includes Aerospace Filters market Size, Revenue, market Share, Aerospace Filters industry volume, market Trends, Aerospace Filters Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Aerospace Filters Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Aerospace Filters Market 2017:1. Parker Hannifin Corporation2. Pall Corporation3. Freudenberg & Co. Kg4. Donaldson, Inc.5. Clarcor, Inc.6. Amphenol Corporation7. Camfil8. Porvair PLC9. Swift Filters, Inc.10. Holllingsworth & Vose........Firstly, the report covers the top Aerospace Filters manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Aerospace Filters report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Aerospace Filters industry, Aerospace Filters industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Aerospace Filters Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Inquiry Before Purchasing Report:The Aerospace Filters 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 Aerospace Filters market revenue worldwide.Finally, Aerospace Filters 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, USA
Buckwheat Products Market Size 2017 Homestead Organics, Birkett Mills, Wels Ltd, Ladoga LLC

Buckwheat Products

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Buckwheat Products Market Research ReportA market study  Global Buckwheat Products Market  examines the performance of the Buckwheat Products market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Buckwheat Products market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Buckwheat Products market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Buckwheat Products Market 2017 report includes Buckwheat Products market Size, Revenue, market Share, Buckwheat Products industry volume, market Trends, Buckwheat Products Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Buckwheat Products Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Buckwheat Products Market 2017:1. Homestead Organics2. Birkett Mills3. Galinta IR Partneriai4. Wels Ltd5. Krishna India6. Ningxia Newfield Foods Co. Ltd7. Ladoga LLC8. UA Global Inc9. Sichuan Huantai Industrial Co., Ltd10. Jinan Jinnuoankang Biotech Co., Ltd.....Firstly, the report covers the top Buckwheat Products manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Buckwheat Products report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Buckwheat Products industry, Buckwheat Products industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Buckwheat Products Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Complete Report:The Buckwheat Products 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 Buckwheat Products market revenue worldwide.Finally, Buckwheat Products 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, USA
Car Bumpers Market Size 2017 Plastic Omnium, Magna, SMP, Tong Yang, Hyundai Mobis, Benteler

Car Bumpers

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Car Bumpers Market Research ReportA market study  Global Car Bumpers Market  examines the performance of the Car Bumpers market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Car Bumpers market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Car Bumpers market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Car Bumpers Market 2017 report includes Car Bumpers market Size, Revenue, market Share, Car Bumpers industry volume, market Trends, Car Bumpers Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Car Bumpers Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Car Bumpers Market 2017:1. Plastic Omnium2. Magna3. SMP4. Tong Yang5. Hyundai Mobis6. Benteler7. Jiangnan MPT8. Toyoda Gosei9. Flex-N-Gate10. KIRCHHOFF11. Huayu Automotive12. Seoyon E-Hwa13. Zhejiang Yuanchi14. AGS15. Rehau16. Ecoplastic....Firstly, the report covers the top Car Bumpers manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Car Bumpers report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Car Bumpers industry, Car Bumpers industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Car Bumpers Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Complete Report:The Car Bumpers 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 Car Bumpers market revenue worldwide.Finally, Car Bumpers 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, USA
RF Amplifier Chips Market Share 2017 Analog Devices, Microsemiconductor, Avago, NXP, Texas Instruments, Qorvo

RF Amplifier Chips

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RF Amplifier Chips Market Research ReportA market study  Global RF Amplifier Chips Market  examines the performance of the RF Amplifier Chips market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the RF Amplifier Chips market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of RF Amplifier Chips market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global RF Amplifier Chips Market 2017 report includes RF Amplifier Chips market Size, Revenue, market Share, RF Amplifier Chips industry volume, market Trends, RF Amplifier Chips Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, RF Amplifier Chips Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global RF Amplifier Chips Market 2017:1. Analog Devices (Linear Technology)2. Microsemiconductor3. Avago Technologies4. Microchip Technology5. NXP6. Texas Instruments7. Qorvo8. API Technologies9. ON Semiconductor10. Maxim Integrated11. IDT....Firstly, the report covers the top RF Amplifier Chips manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the RF Amplifier Chips report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of RF Amplifier Chips industry, RF Amplifier Chips industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. RF Amplifier Chips Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Complete Report:The RF Amplifier Chips 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 RF Amplifier Chips market revenue worldwide.Finally, RF Amplifier Chips 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, USA
RF Amplifiers Market Share 2017 MACOM, Texas Instruments, Microship Technology, Panasonic Electronic

RF Amplifiers

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RF Amplifiers Market Research ReportA market study  Global RF Amplifiers Market  examines the performance of the RF Amplifiers market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the RF Amplifiers market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of RF Amplifiers market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global RF Amplifiers Market 2017 report includes RF Amplifiers market Size, Revenue, market Share, RF Amplifiers industry volume, market Trends, RF Amplifiers Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, RF Amplifiers Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global RF Amplifiers Market 2017:1. MACOM2. Analog Devices (Linear Technology)3. NXP Semiconductor4. Texas Instruments5. ON Semiconductor6. Integrated Device Technology (IDT)7. Microship Technology8. Panasonic Electronic9. Broadcom10. Renesas Electronics11. Skyworks Solutions12. Atmel13. STMicroelectronics14. Fairchild Semiconductor15. Infineon Technologies16. Sillcon Labs17. Diodes Incorporated18. NJR Corporation19. Intersil.....Firstly, the report covers the top RF Amplifiers manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the RF Amplifiers report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of RF Amplifiers industry, RF Amplifiers industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. RF Amplifiers Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Inquiry Before Purchasing Report:The RF Amplifiers 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 RF Amplifiers market revenue worldwide.Finally, RF Amplifiers 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, USA
Smartphone Power Management ICs Market Size 2017 Qualcomm, Dialog, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, Maxim

Smartphone Power Management ICs

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Smartphone Power Management ICs Market Research ReportA market study  Global Smartphone Power Management ICs Market  examines the performance of the Smartphone Power Management ICs market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Smartphone Power Management ICs market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Smartphone Power Management ICs market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Smartphone Power Management ICs Market 2017 report includes Smartphone Power Management ICs market Size, Revenue, market Share, Smartphone Power Management ICs industry volume, market Trends, Smartphone Power Management ICs Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Smartphone Power Management ICs Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Smartphone Power Management ICs Market 2017:1. Qualcomm2. Dialog3. Texas Instruments4. STMicroelectronics5. Maxim6. ON Semiconductor7. Freescale (NXP)8. Fujitsu9. Richtek....Firstly, the report covers the top Smartphone Power Management ICs manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Smartphone Power Management ICs report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Smartphone Power Management ICs industry, Smartphone Power Management ICs industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Smartphone Power Management ICs Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Inquiry Before Purchasing Report:The Smartphone Power Management ICs 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 Smartphone Power Management ICs market revenue worldwide.Finally, Smartphone Power Management ICs 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, USA
Linear Alkyl Benzene Market Share 2017 CEPSA Group, Reliance Industries, Sasol, Bisotun Petrochemical

Linear Alkyl Benzene

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Linear Alkyl Benzene Market Research ReportA market study  Global Linear Alkyl Benzene Market  examines the performance of the Linear Alkyl Benzene market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Linear Alkyl Benzene market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Linear Alkyl Benzene market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Linear Alkyl Benzene Market 2017 report includes Linear Alkyl Benzene market Size, Revenue, market Share, Linear Alkyl Benzene industry volume, market Trends, Linear Alkyl Benzene Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Linear Alkyl Benzene Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Linear Alkyl Benzene Market 2017:1. CEPSA Group2. Jintung Petrochemical Corp. Ltd.3. PetroChina Fushun Petrochemical Co.4. Reliance Industries Ltd..5. Sasol Ltd.6. Amreya Petroleum Refining Co.7. Bisotun Petrochemical8. Chemische Fabrik WIBARCO9. Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.10. Deten Quimica11. EMALAB12. Formosan Union Chemical13. Gulf Farabi Petrochemicals14. Huntsman15. Indian Oil16. Iran Chemical Industries Investment Co.17. ISU Chemical18. LUKOIL Neftohim Burgas19. Nippon Petrochemicals20. OHIS....Firstly, the report covers the top Linear Alkyl Benzene manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Linear Alkyl Benzene report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Linear Alkyl Benzene industry, Linear Alkyl Benzene industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Linear Alkyl Benzene Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Inquiry Before Purchasing Report:The Linear Alkyl Benzene 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 Linear Alkyl Benzene market revenue worldwide.Finally, Linear Alkyl Benzene 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, USA
Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) Market Share 2017 Kraft, Coca-Cola, Britvic, Britvic, Nestea, Beverage Industry

Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE)

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Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) Market Research ReportA market study  Global Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) Market  examines the performance of the Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) Market 2017 report includes Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) market Size, Revenue, market Share, Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) industry volume, market Trends, Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) Market 2017: Kraft, Coca-Cola, Britvic, Britvic, STUR DRINKS, Nestea, Beverage Industry, MiO , Skinnygirl, Crush, DASANI, Natures Way, Sqwincher, AriZonaFirstly, the report covers the top Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) industry, Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Inquiry Before Purchasing Report:The Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) 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 Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) market revenue worldwide.Finally, Liquid Water Enhancers (LWE) 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, USA
Bale Netwrap Market Size 2017 Tama, RKW Group, KARATZIS, UPU Industries, Piippo Oyj

Bale Netwrap

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Bale Netwrap Market Research ReportA market study  Global Bale Netwrap Market  examines the performance of the Bale Netwrap market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Bale Netwrap market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Bale Netwrap market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Bale Netwrap Market 2017 report includes Bale Netwrap market Size, Revenue, market Share, Bale Netwrap industry volume, market Trends, Bale Netwrap Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Bale Netwrap Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request For Sample Report:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Bale Netwrap Market 2017:1. Tama2. RKW Group3. KARATZIS4. UPU Industries5. Piippo Oyj6. Bridon Cordage7. TENAX8. Syfilco9. Changzhou Xinhui Netting10. Ruian Jiacheng11. Qingdao Agri12. Changzhou LiBo...Firstly, the report covers the top Bale Netwrap manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Bale Netwrap report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Bale Netwrap industry, Bale Netwrap industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Bale Netwrap Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Inquiry Before Purchasing Report:The Bale Netwrap 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 Bale Netwrap market revenue worldwide.Finally, Bale Netwrap 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, USA
Sandwich Panels Market Trends Global Industry Analysis, Top Manufacturers, Share, Growth, Statistics, Opportunities & Forecast up to 2022

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In this report, the global Sandwich Panels 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.Global Sandwich Panels Market Research Report 2017 estimates the drivers, restraints, and opportunities pertaining to the global Sandwich Panels market over the timeframe of 2017-2022. Delivering the key insights pertaining to this industry, the report provides an in-depth analysis of the latest trends, present and future business scenario, market size and share, and commercialization potential of the Sandwich Panels industry over the coming five years.Request Simple for Global Sandwich Panels Market Research Report @The industry is analyzed in terms of products, applications, regions, and the key manufacturers holding a prominent share of the global revenue.In terms of end-user or applications, the report is segmented into Residential, Commercial and Other. A detailed analysis of the contribution of these application segments to the overall market revenue and volume has been included in the report.The product landscape of the EPS Panels, PUR/PIR Panels, Mineral/Glass Wool Panels, PF Panels and other. Each product has been analyzed in terms of its production, capacity, and consumption. The report further details the market share to be procured by each of these products over the coming years.Request Discount for Sandwich Panels Market Research Report @The regional segmentation of the report includes North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and India. Detailing the consumption and production rate of Sandwich Panelss in these regions, the report outlines the growth curve of this industry in terms of market volume and share over 2017-2022.The competitive landscape of the Sandwich Panels market profiles the key players participating in the global business space. These include Kingspan, Metecno, Isopan, NCI Building Systems, TATA Steel, ArcelorMittal, Romakowski, Lattonedil. The report also details the market positioning, strategies, and revenue procured by each of these manufacturers.For More Info on Market Research @Related Reports: -2017 Top 5 Engine Mounts Manufacturers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and AfricaThis report studies Engine Mounts in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa, focuses on the top 5 Engine Mounts Players in each region, with sales, price, revenue and market share for top 5 manufacturerMarketSizeForecasters.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:
Feeding System Market Size, Competitors Strategy, Regional Analysis and Growth by Forecast to 2023

Feeding System Market

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https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/feeding-system-market-3756

Market HighlightsThe study reveals that Feeding Systems are trending in North America region. The increasing demand of various types of feeding system is expected to open up new growth opportunities in the US is one the key factors driving this market growth. Moreover, the feeding systems market has been segmented on the basis of the offering, the feeding systems market has been classified into hardware, software, and service. Several other factors, such as standardization of hardware and software systems has enhanced the performance of these hardware and software systems. The hardware offering segment is marked to lead the feeding systems market during the forecast period.The study indicates that the Feeding Systems Market has been classified into rail guided system, conveyor belt system, and self-propelled system. The manual feeding of livestock is very costly and time-consuming process due to large-scale labor involvement in it. And the hardware and software feeding solutions enable automatic identification of livestock and data capturing, which result in accurate and quick tracking of livestock and their feeding.The Feeding System market is growing rapidly over 8.6% of CAGR and is expected to reach at USD 1,411.21 Million by the end of forecast period.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 30 market data tables and figures spread over 100 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Feeding System Market - Forecast to 2023.Major Key Players: Cormall AS (Denmark) GEA Group AG (Germany) Lely Holding S.A.R.L (Netherlands) Agrologic Ltd (Israel) DairyMaster (Ireland), Rovibec Agrisolutions Inc. (Canada) DeLaval Holding AB (Sweden) Trioliet B.V. (Netherlands Cormall AS (Denmark)Request a Sample Report @Feeding System Market Segmentation:The Feeding System Market has been segmented on the basis offering, product, analysis, end users and region. Looking through the end-user segment it has been observed that the feeding systems have proven extremely reliable and robust. Various solutions are tailored to meet the needs whether it be mounted in a feeding barge, at a hatchery or be installed as a complete package in the container solution. All the components are made in order to have a long life and our experiences are so good that it has given us the necessary confidence to offer the best guarantee on the market.Market Research Analysis:On geographic basis, Feeding System market is studied in different regions as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of world. It has been observed that North America region is leading with the highest growth rate in the Feeding System market as the reduced time and cost associated with feeding management are encouraging the livestock owners to adopt different types of feeding systems has boosted the growth & demand of Feeding System in this region. Europe is expected to show slower growth rate compared to other regions in the Feeding System market.The developing economies in Asia-pacific regions like China, Japan, India and others are propelled to good growth in the Feeding System market.Regional Analysis:The regional analysis of Feeding System market is being studied for region such as Asia pacific, North Americas, Europe and Rest of the World. The feeding systems have been used in Europe for many years, but the usage in the US has increased in recent years.These systems allow for increased social facilitation among calves, redirection of labor from feeding to management of calves, consistency of milk delivery, and consumption of additional milk in smaller meals. Asia-Pacific region is contributing high with the growing demand of feeding system due to perceived benefits of the systems by dairy farmers considering adopting them need to be evaluated based on research and experiences by those using such systems.Browse Full Report Details @Intended Audience: Feeding System device manufacturers Technology Providers of Feeding Systems Technical Universities Research Institutes and Organizations Component Suppliers Feeding Equipment Manufacturers Suppliers and Distributors of Feeding System Standardization and Testing Firms Livestock Research and Consulting Firms Manufacturers of Dairy Farm Equipment Safety equipment manufacturers Distributers InvestorsTable of Contents1 Market Introduction1.1 Introduction1.2 Scope of Study1.2.1 Research Objective1.2.2 Assumptions1.2.3 Limitations1.3 Market Structure:1.3.1 Global Feeding System Market: By Offering1.3.2 Global Feeding System Market: By Product1.3.3 Global Feeding System Market: By Analysis1.3.4 Global Feeding System Market: By End User1.3.5 Global Feeding System Market: By RegionContinued..List of TablesTable 1 Feeding System Market, By OfferingsTable 2 Feeding System Market, By ProductTable 3 Feeding System Market, By AnalysisContinued..List of FiguresFigure 1 Research MethodologyFigure 2 Feeding System Market: By Offerings (%)Figure 3 Feeding System Market: By Product (%)Continued..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 FutureMarket Research FutureOffice No. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Point of Use Water Purifier (POU) Market in MENA to Witness a CAGR of 7.6% by 2020

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Future Market Insights (FMI) announced the release of a latest report titled, POU Water Purifiers Market: MENA Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020. FMI estimates that the Point of Use (POU) water purifier market in Middle East and North Africa is expected to reach US$ 471 Mn at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2014 to 2020.Residential water purification system includes point of use water purifiers (POU), point of entry (POE) water purifiers, portable water purifiers. Moreover, the demand for POU water purifiers is high among consumers in MENA region as compared to POE and portable water purifiers.In the POU water purifiers market, products with high purification capabilities such as combination of reverse osmosis (RO) and Ultraviolet (UV) technologies are more preferred. It has also been observed that a majority of the demand is coming from urban centres in GCC when compared to the entire MENA region.Market SegmentsThe POU water purifiers market is segmented on the basis of technology which includes RO, UV and media-based. RO technology based water purifiers segment is estimated to account for slightly over 40% of the total POU water purifiers market in MENA region in 2014. Media-based water purification, which is a conventional water purification technology has also witnessed technological advancements, and is estimated to display a CAGR of 9.3% during the forecast period, in terms of volume. The third technology, UV based water purifiers, is estimated to exhibit a sluggish growth rate during the forecast period due to its limitation in removing only organic contaminants from water. Additionally, UV-based water purifiers are also priced higher in comparison to media-based water purifiers and hence the product preference for UV based water purifiers is comparatively low.Request For Sample@Region-wise, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Algeria are the promising markets for POU water purifiers. In addition, a cumulative scenario has been highlighted for rest of MENA (includes smaller countries like Kuwait, Jordan etc.). Among the aforementioned regions, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is estimated to be the prominent market for POU water purifiers, followed by Turkey, due to its growing population and rapid urbanization, and increasing awareness for safe drinking water forecast period.In addition, penetration of bottled water is a challenge for the POU water purifiers market in Anatolia. As a result, Anatolia is estimated to demonstrate a sluggish growth rate in the near future. Furthermore, POU water purifiers market in UAE is anticipated to reach 149.2 thousand units by 2020, exhibiting a CAGR of 10% between 2014 and 2020.Drivers and RestraintsDeteriorating water quality, rising cost of bottled water, increasing population coupled with increasing per capita income are some of the prominent factors which will catalyse the point of use water purifiers in the region. Though the MENA market is attractive in terms of absolute dollar opportunity, low awareness about safe drinking water and product unavailability are major challenges for the MENA POU water purifier market.Send An Enquiry@Competitive LandscapeKey players operating in the MENA water purifier market are LG, Eureka Forbes, Strauss Water, Panasonic, WaterLife and Coolplex. The report sheds light on their key growth strategies and recent developments. In addition, the report also discusses the value chain followed by multinational companies in MENA for POU water purifiers.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 :
Ready to Mix Food Market in India Projected to be Worth US$ 284.4 Mn by 2020

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Future Market Insights (FMI), with sharp focus on emerging trends, delivers key insights on the India Ready to Mix Food market in its recent report titled, Ready to Mix Food Market - India Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2014  2020. FMI estimates that the India Ready to mix food market will expand at a CAGR of 15.7% and reach a valuation of US$ 284.4 Mn by 2020.Consumer convenience is the key factor driving the India ready to mix food market. Additionally, increase in working women population due to increased standards of education, high disposable income of households, and growing organised retailing in India are other factors contributing to the growth of the market. Furthermore, increase in overall disposable income and private label penetration is expected to strengthen the growth of the Indian Ready to Mix food market in the next five years. In order to sustain in the competitive market and cater to increasing consumer demand, key ready to mix food companies are focusing on widening their offerings.The India ready to mix food market is segmented on the basis of application and distribution. By application type, the India ready to mix food market is segmented into snacks mix, dessert mix, and curry mix. Among these, snacks mix segmentis projected to account for around 50.9% market share by 2020, owing to the consumer demand. The curry mix sub-segment on the other hand, is expected to record a double-digit CAGR of around 15.8% during the forecast period.Request For Sample@By distribution channel, the India ready to mix food market is segmented into retailers, kirana shops, online purchase, and others. In terms of market share contribution to the overall ready to mix market, the retailers sub-segment is expected to record highest CAGR of 16.2%, followed by online purchase during the forecast period.FMI lead analyst sheds light on why India ready to mix food market will become a mainstream product in convenience food industry in the near future. Hectic lifestyle, growing demand for packaged food coupled with increasing disposable income is expected to fuel the growth of the ready to mix market in India over the next five to six years, she said.Although, weak distribution channel, price sensitive consumers, and low awareness level among the consumers in India are expected to hinder the market growth; adoption of new technology for better cooking performance of the products and increased exhibitions, seminars, workshops to promote it are the key trends expected to drive growth of the India ready to mix food market in the near future.Send An Enquiry@Recently, MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd. introduced new range of snacks variants such assalty banana chips, pepper banana chips, spicy banana chips, and Huli Thengols (snack made of yogurt) for consumers who are constantly looking for varieties in authentic snacks. Apart from MTR Food Pvt. Ltd. The other prominent players in the India ready to mix food market include ITC Ltd., Gits Food Products Pvt. Ltd., Kohinoor Foods Ltd., Ushodaya Enterprises Private Ltd.,and BambinoAgro Industries 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 :
Yacht Charter Market to Grow at a CAGR of 3.3% Through 2026

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Future Market Insights, in its recently published market research report titled Yacht Charter Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026, discusses the global market for yacht charter and delivers valued insights into all the critical factors impacting the market growth. The report considers a 10-year period for yacht charter market assessment and offers market estimations for various segments and regions over 2016-2026.Future Market Insights projects passive growth for the global yacht charter market over the entire assessed period. The US$ 637 Mn yacht charter market is likely to expand at a CAGR of 3.3% through 2026. Eastern Europe, especially Croatia and Turkey, remain the top yacht charter destinations. Boat shows in the U.S., Italy, Fort Lauderale, and Genoa are identified to lure the maximum number of boat lovers.Global Yacht Charter Market: Driver and Trend AnalysisRising adoption of boating and sailing vacations by affluent consumers in developed markets will continue to sustain the demand for yacht charter over the next decade. Collaborations of online yacht charter service providers with leading airline companies is one of the most sought after trends in the market.Growing inclination of young travellers toward sailing holidays will remain a prominent drive to market growth. While booking large yachts to avail of attractive group discounts highlights a growing trend among U.S. consumers, providing advanced services through latest technologies, such as mobile applications will be a trend among yacht companies.Request For Sample@Global Yacht Charter Market: Segmentation AnalysisBy Yacht Type:Motor YachtDisplacement TypeSemi-DisplacementPlaningCatamaranTrimaranSailing YachtSloopSchoonerCatamaranKetchBy Consumer Type:CorporateRetailBy Yacht Size:Large (over 50m)Medium (30m  50m)Small (up to 30m)By region:North AmericaEuropeMiddle EastRest of the WorldBy type of yacht, motor yacht segment will remain dominant with over 78% share in 2026, accounting for the revenues worth US$ 690 Mn at the end of the forecast period. However, sailing yacht segment is identified to grow at a slightly higher rate during the decade. Posh interior designs and comfort will remain the top preferences of consumers while selecting the yacht type, whereas a trend of eco-friendly, fuel-efficient yachts is foreseen to propel over the next few years.Based on consumer type, retail segment will gain a significant boost of around 100 BPS over the assessment period, possibly accounting for over 88% share of the market in 2026. Corporate segment is poised for sluggish growth throughout the forecast period.On the basis of yacht size, medium sized yacht segment (30m-50m) will retain dominance with over 60% market value share in 2026, followed by small sized yacht segment (up to 30m). Large yacht segment (over 50m) will continue to gain limited traction through 2026. According to Future Market Insights research, large and medium sized yachts will gain traction in retail consumers who prefer group holidays with booking discounts. On the contrary, small yachts will experience demand from families and couples.Send An Enquiry@By region, Europe will continue to rule the market with roughly 70% share of the total revenues in 2026, followed by North America. However, growth of the yacht charter market in the Middle East is expected to demonstrate a higher CAGR over the assessed period.Global Yacht Charter Market: Key Players AnalysisMost of the key players in the global yacht charter market are embracing social media marketing strategy for online promotion. In addition, they are indulging in video advertising, online customer reviews/testimonials, and virtual tours provision on respective websites. Some of the leading companies include Yachtico Inc., Sailogy S.A., and Boatbookings (Enitiative.biz, Ltd.). The competitive landscape includes a few other notable companies - Antlos S.r.l., Collaborative Boating Inc., Zizooboats GmbH, Fraser Escape Bareboat Charters, Princess Yacht Charter (Princess Yachts International PLC), and TUI Group (The Moorings Limited and Sunsail Worldwide Sailing Ltd.)Yachtico Inc. caters to all types of sailing vacations with a fleet of over 16,000 yachts, including houseboats, sailing yachts, and catamarans. The companby aspires to gain a strong foothold in the U.S.Boatbookings has a massive operating network that spans several regions across the globe, including London, Cannes, Newport, Athens, Singapore, Thailand, and Ft Lauderdale.Sailogy, though has a prominent presence in the Mediterranean region, operates in nearly 1,000 global locations. The company also enjoys benefits through collaborations with some leading online travel retailers.Antlos continue its collaborations with leading European travel platforms, such as Boats.com, airBaltic, and Skyscanner.Apart from the aforementioned players, the global yacht charter market is expected to witness emergence of various new entrants active in yacht management. Moreover, some of the key players are concentrating more on vertical integration with yacht manufacturing behemoths, such as Rodriguez Group.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 :
Asia Pacific Excluding Japan Automotive Aftermarket Poised to hit US$ 218.73 Bn by 2025

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Future Market Insights (FMI) announces release of its latest market outlook forecast titled Automotive Aftermarket: Asia-Pacific Excl. Japan (APEJ) Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015 - 2025. According to this report, automotive aftermarket components in Asia Pacific is anticipated to account for US$ 218.73 Bn by 2025, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1% throughout the forecast period.The automotive aftermarket is a secondary market, which plays a pivotal role post-sale of a vehicle, as it entails remanufacturing, manufacturing, distribution and installation of automobile components and accessories for vehicles. Components and accessories are installed post sale of a new vehicle by the dealer or service provider and this is termed as automotive aftermarket. Accessories include customized parts for convenience, safety, comfort and performance. These are designed as add-ons after vehicles are assembled by the original manufacturer. Services on the other hand include maintenance and repairs to ensure vehicles continue functioning, and providers offer options with regard to where vehicle owners can avail such offerings.Request For Sample@The replacement part segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 9.7%, accessories at 8.9% and services at 7.3% during the forecast period. Components segment is further sub-segmented into oils & lubricants, tyres, batteries, wear & tear parts, filters, collision body parts, starters & alternators, lighting components, exhaust components and spark plugs. Among these, exhaust components and tires dominate the other segments. Demand for interior accessories is expected to register a CAGR of 8.4%, owing to increasing demand from automobile owners to enhance functionality and appearance of their vehicles, and this trend is expected to further drive overall market growth in the near future. Services is further sub-segmented into general automotive repairs and automotive transmission and other repairsAsia Pacific automotive aftermarket is majorly driven by growing vehicle parc, boom in vehicle sales and demand for general automotive repairs. This includes repairs and services related to transmissions, starters & alternators, brakes, lubricants, tyres, filters and batteries among others. Apart from this, increasing safety and security needs and favourable GDP growth in developing economies are major growth drivers for the ASEAN automotive aftermarket. However, despite certain technological challenges acting as growth restraints, the ASEAN automotive aftermarket is expected to experience rapid growth over the forecast period.This market forecast covers analysis and market value of each segment and respective sub-segment and potential of the connected automotive aftermarket in specific countries. Asia Pacific is forecast to emerge as the fastest growing market, owing to the large number of vehicles in operation and is expected to witness a steady growth during forecast period 20152025.Send An Enquiry@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 :
Dental Consumables Market Research Report by Geographical Analysis and Forecast to 2024

Dental Consumables Market

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The leading players operating in the global dental consumables market held a share of 62% in the overall market. Danaher Corporation, Dentsply Sirona, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., and Henry Schein Inc. have been leading the market due to their low pricing strategy and excellent brand recognition, states Transparency Market Research. These players are expected to focus on mergers and acquisitions to improve their presence in the global market.According to Transparency Market Research, the global dental consumables market is expected to be worth US$33.4 bn by the end of 2024 as compared to US$19.6 bn in 2015. During the forecast years of 2016 and 2024, the global market is expected to surge at a CAGR of 6.1%.The various products available in the global market are crowns and bridges, dental implants, orthodontics, retail dental care essentials, periodontics, endodontics, and dental biomaterials among others. Amongst all of these products, the crowns and bridges segment is expected to show remarkable progress in the coming years. This segment alone is expected to rise at a CAGR of 7.2% between 2016 and 2024.This 120 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Dental Consumables Market. Browse through 12 data tables and 36 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market:Geographically, this market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. Europe is anticipated to lead the global market in the coming years due to improving oral health care facilities across countries such as Norway, Greece, Spain, and the U.K. By the end of 2024, Europe is projected to acquire a share of 41.1% in the global dental consumables market by 2024.The emergence of services such as dental tourism in developing countries of India, Turkey, and Hungary have triggered a massive demand for dental consumables over the past few years. The low cost of oral health care services provided in these emerging economies has lured in several consumers over the past few years for treatment. The low labor cost, effective treatment methods, and minimum government intervention pertaining to healthcare industries in developing countries are expected to boost dental tourism, which in turn is expected to have a positive reflection on the demand for dental consumables.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Dental Consumables Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:The improving success rates of dental implants, especially for the upper jaw is also likely to play a crucial role in the development of the global market. This has led to increased uptake of several procedures that use dental implants. The market is also thriving due to the growing incidence of dental diseases such as tooth decay, gum diseases, tooth erosion, and mouth sores. Furthermore, high prevalence of periodontal diseases have also fueled the growth of the global dental consumables market. The rising disposable incomes in emerging economies and changing lifestyles, which have inclined patients toward improved oral health care, are expected to drive the demand for dental consumables.The increasing expenditure on the research and development of dental consumables has spiked the prices of products. Thus, the high cost of products has also made the treatment costlier, which is likely to have a negative impact on the sales. The poor reimbursement policies of in developed countries of France, the U.S., Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, and Japan is also hampering the growth of the overall market as it is coaxing patients to migrate to cheaper places to seek treatment.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.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems Market to Record Sturdy Growth by 2025

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Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems are widely used in the military and aerospace industry which require data storage and visualization of Day/Night-Vision helmets or goggles. The information is displayed on the screen of the lenses, mirror or screen created specifically for viewing the data and also stored the data in a drive. The Day/Night-Vision equipments are of various types including night vision goggles, Day/Night-Vision helmets, periscope, guns and rifle scope, night vision binocular and others which has applications in various industries such as military, aerospace, aviation, police, security and surveillance and others.To View Complete Report @ :This technology is initially developed for military purposes and later found application in air force and civil aviation. With the advancement of technology, this technology have found applications in several other industries. Most of the equipments has a display attached in it where some products such as periscope used in tanks has a separate visual screen which can be removed. Portable display units has gained a significant market share which is used in combat operations. These portable displays can be installed anywhere away from the equipment. These displays usually has a range of 50 to 100 meters and come with a receiver which receives signals transmitted by Day/Night-Vision equipment. Some of the displays has large ranges and can catch signals coming from few meters to kilometers. Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems market is expected to witness an escalating demand among various industries because of its broad applications and features.A sample of this report is available upon request @Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems is used by pilots, military personnels and police. This technology has gained importance due to its varied applications. The military of all the developed and most of the developing countries have Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems and using the same for various purposes. North America is the largest market and manufacturer for Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems. Many new applications are springing in the market every day which requires Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems because of its unique properties.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems market is expected to grow during the forecast period due to its versatile benefits and vast usage. However, Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems comes along with some restraints. Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems is costly and sold to only organizations with legitimate registrations in their respective country. The cost of research and development of these products is great and hence the products turns to be costly. The demand of Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems is always low as compared to the supply due to the high prices. Accuracy and efficiency is also a constraint for Day/Night-Vision Data Display systems.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:
Gastrointestinal Drugs Market is expected to grow to US$61.1 billion during the period from 2016-2024

Gastrointestinal Drugs Market

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The global gastrointestinal drugs market demonstrates a consolidated landscape with top three players, namely, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Janssen Biotech Inc., holding the market with majority share, finds a report by Transparency Market Research (TMR). These three players, collectively, accounted for a share of 61% in 2016. The market is moderately competitive as of now; however, the degree of competition within this market is likely to increase remarkably over the next few years, reports the study.As per the research report, the global market for gastrointestinal drugs presented an opportunity worth US$45.5 bn in 2015. Analysts estimate it to swell at a CAGR of 4.90% during the period from 2016 to 2024 and increase to US$61.1 bn by the end of the forecast period. Acid neutralizers have been registering a higher demand from consumers and are projected to remain doing so over the forthcoming years, thanks to the growing prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) across the world.This 217 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Gastrointestinal Drugs Market. Browse through 41 data tables and 87 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market:Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa are the key regional markets for gastrointestinal drugs across the world. In this research report, a comparative analysis of these markets has been carried out in order to identify the leading and the most lucrative among these. According to this study, North America led the global market in 2016 with a share of 41%, thanks to the presence of favorable reimbursement policies concerning the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. With the significant increase in the number of elderly people, who are prone to gastrointestinal disorders, the North America market for gastrointestinal drugs is likely to maintain its lead over the forthcoming years.Europe, which also reported impressive growth over the past few years, is likely to witness continued progress during the forecast period. The introduction of biosimilars for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases by various patent-protected brands is projected to boost the market for gastrointestinal drugs in Europe over the next few years.Among others, Asia Pacific is likely to provide the most lucrative opportunities to for the growth of the gastrointestinal drugs market in the years to come. The infrastructural improvements in the medical and healthcare industry, significant increase in the investments and funding in life sciences research, and the technological advancements in the therapies for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases in emerging countries, such as India and China, are anticipated to drive the gastrointestinal drugs market in Asia Pacific in the near future, states the research study.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Gastrointestinal Drugs Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:The global market for gastrointestinal drugs derive much of its growth from the increasing prevalence of gastrointestinal diseases across the world, says an analyst at TMR. According to a report by the World Gastroenterology Organization, the gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), is having a worldwide prevalence of approximately 15% to 25% with a high pace of incidence. This, consequently, is reflecting greatly on the demand for gastrointestinal drugs greatly. Along with this, the augmenting level of awareness about the availability of the treatments and the rise in investments to increase research activities for the development of these drugs are also driving this market substantially.On the other hand, the unknown etiology of IBD and IBS and the dearth of a permanent cure for gastrointestinal drugs may restrict the growth of this market in the years to come. However, the continual technological advancements in the treatment therapies are expected to impact positively on this market in the long terms, notes the study.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.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Micro Actuator Market Significant Profits Estimated to be Generated by 2024

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Transducers are those devices which helps to convert one form of energy to another form of energy. Actuator is a type of transducers which helps in producing mechanical movement through converting a source of energy. Here the source of energy may include electric current, pneumatic pressure or hydraulic fluid pressure. Whereas micro actuator helps to transmit a measure or fixed amount of energy for the operation of other mechanism. In other words it is mainly used to produce small forces in entities of small sizes and motions at over small distances. Growing advancement in industries such as automotive, healthcare and wellness is expected to drive the demand of micro actuator in the forecast period.To View Complete Report @ :On the basis of types micro actuator can be segmented as electric micro actuators, functional material based micro actuators, shape memory alloy (SMA) micro actuator, and others. Electric micro actuator can be further sub segmented as electromagnetic micro actuators and electrostatic actuators. Among both these sub segments electromagnetic micro actuator is expected to account for larger market share as compared to electrostatic actuator. Rising wide application of electromagnetic micro actuator devices especially in space crafts is expected to support the demand of electromagnetic micro actuator across the globe. Furthermore, functional material based micro actuator is further sub segmented as piezoelectric micro actuator.A sample of this report is available upon request @Rising application of piezoelectric devices in various applications ranging from energy generation in medical instrument, or gathering of pedestrian traffic to power localized street lightening or portable devices to power the sensors in vehicles is expected to support the demand of functional material based micro actuator in the forecast period. Moreover, shape memory alloy (SMA) micro actuator is further sub segmented as electroactive polymer (EAP) based micro actuator. Rising considerable attention for the use of sensors for micro fabricated devise is driving the growth of electroactive polymer (EAP) based micro actuator in the near future. In addition, the others segment of micro actuator includes bimetallic thermal actuator and magnetostrictive actuators.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @The micro actuator market can also be segmented on the basis of region which includes North America, Latin America, Easter Europe, Western Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Japan. Among all the regions North America is expected to account for the highest market share followed by Europe. In North America United States is expected to be the major contributor as compared to other countries in the region. Rising demand of automotive products and, health and wellness industry is expected to support the growth of micro actuator market across the region.Moreover, Asia Pacific is expected to register a substantial growth in the forecast period. Among all the countries in Asia Pacific China is expected to be the major contributor. Rising number of aging population have led to the increased production of innovative medical instruments, which is expected to support the growth of micro actuator market in China in the forecast period.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 Material Handling Equipment Market predicts favourable growth and forecast till 2017

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Global Material Handling Equipment Market overview, top manufacturers, revenue, share, industry chain structure, demand and projections to 2022.For this report, the Material Handling Equipment 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 Material Handling Equipment covering Construction & manufacturing, Oil & gas, Public works & rail road, Mining and Others are studied in this research. Share of Material Handling Equipment is covered by applications as well supported with potential applications in the future.Buy the complete Window Film report with Comprehensive table of contents @An extensive analysis methodology is involved for this Window Film research report. The research methodology used to estimate and forecast the Material Handling Equipment involves a primary and a secondary research. A systematic procedure has been used to arrive at the global size of the Material Handling Equipment 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 Material Handling Equipment, their suppliers' information as well as analysis of downstream major consumers for Window Film 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 Material Handling Equipment 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 Window Film 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 Material Handling Equipment.The research compiles profiles of small and big Material Handling Equipment 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 Window Film 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 Material Handling Equipment. Some of the Key vendors profiled in this research include: Caterpillar, Deere, Komatsu, Terex, Volvo, CNH Industrial, Doosan Infracore, Manitou Americas, Guangxi Liugong Machinery, Hidromek, JCB, Guangxi Liugong Machinery, Lonking Holdings, Sany Heavy Industry, Shantui Construction Machinery, Sumitomo Heavy Industriesand XCMGPartial list of Tables and Figures for this report include:Figure North America Window Film Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Europe Window Film Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure China Window Film Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Window Film Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Southeast Asia Window Film Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure India Window Film Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Global Window Film Revenue (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Window Film Capacity, Production (K Units) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Window Film Major Players Product Capacity (K Units) (2012-2017)Table Global Window Film Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Window Film Capacity Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Figure Global Window Film Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers in 2016Figure Global Window Film Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers in 2017Figure Global Window Film Major Players Product Production (K Units) (2012-2017)Table Global Window Film Production (K Units) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Window Film Production Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Contact Details:Ronald Aldensales@emarketorg.cominfo@emarketorg.comAbout Us:eMarketOrg.com aims to provide businesses and organizations market intelligence products and services that help in making smart, instant and crucial decisions. Our database offers access to insights from industry leaders, experts and influencers on global and regional sectors, market trends, user behaviour, for companies as well as products. With data and information from reputable and trusted private and public sources, our clients are never short of statistics and analysis that are up to date.F/3, 4A Bharat Pushpa Apt.,Subhash Nagar, Shukrawar Peth,Pune  411002
Market Research on Aroma Ingredients Market 2016 and Analysis to 2026

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Aroma chemical is a complex fusion of natural and/or synthetic ingredients that are added to various products in order to incorporate desired odor. These ingredients are widely used in consumer care and personal care products. Personal care industry is one of the major application industry for aroma ingredients market. The global aroma ingredients market has witnessed steady growth over the recent past owing to increasing demand for natural aroma ingredients. Soaps and detergent is estimated to account for a significant share in the global aroma ingredients market followed by cosmetics and toiletries applications. The global aroma ingredients market is expected to register a steady growth during forecast period.Global Aroma Ingredients Market: DriversIntroduction of innovative and novel products especially in cosmetics, toiletries, and skin care and hair care products has driven the overall growth of the global aroma ingredients market. The increasing demand for natural ingredients coupled with change in consumer preferences are considered to be the important driver for global aroma ingredients market. Furthermore, significant technological advancements have also fuelled the growth of the market. Moreover, the increase in demand from the emerging and developing nations for natural fragrance due to health concerns related to synthetic chemicals is likely to act as an opportunity for the growth of the global aroma ingredients market. These factors are likely to drive the global aroma ingredients market during the forecast period. A key trend witnessed in global aroma chemicals market is that the key aroma chemical producers are responding to growing opportunities by expanding their global presence. One of the major factor that is likely to restrict growth in demand for natural aroma ingredients is high costs associated with switching from synthetic chemical to natural ingredients.Request For Report Sample@Global Aroma Ingredients Market: SegmentationThe global aroma ingredients market can be segmented on the basis of type, application and region. On the basis of type, the global aroma ingredients market can be segmented intoessential oilsaroma chemicalsEssential oils segment can further be sub-segmented into menthe arvensis, cedar wood, orange, eucalyptus, citronella and others (basil, clove, jamrosa, litsea cubica, sassafras, coriander, patchouli, camphor and lemon grass) Whereas, aroma chemicals segment can further be sub-segmented into turpenes, musk chemical, benzenoids and others (alicyclic, heterocyclic and aliphatic compounds).On the basis of application, the global aroma ingredients markets can be segmented intocosmetic and toiletriessoap and detergentsfine fragranceOthers (household products, aroma therapy and pesticides).Request For TOC@Global Aroma Ingredients Market: Region Wise OutlookOn the basis of regions, Europe is expected to be a promising revenue generating region for the global aroma ingredients market and is expected to grow at steady growth rate during forecast period. Latin America and Asia Pacific are anticipated to witness relatively faster growth both in terms of value and in terms of volume. Potential opportunities in Asia Pacific and Latin America due to availability of labor and low cost of raw materials are expected to drive growth in these regions over the forecast period. North America and Middle East & Africa are also expected to show positive growth in the near future.Global Aroma Ingredients Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified in the global aroma ingredients market are as follows:BASF SEMane SAInternational Flavors and Fragrances Inc.Givaudan SAFermenich International SAFrutarom Industries Ltd.Symrise AGAgilex Flavors and Fragrances, Inc.Hindustan Mint & Agro Products Pvt. 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:
Emerging Opportunities in Connected Aircraft Market with Current Trends Analysis

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In airline industry, customers across the globe are demanding for high speed internet access during their travel. In order to meet rising demand from passengers, the operators around the world are implementing broadband and satellite based connectivity solutions to their airplanes. Currently, concept of connected aircraft has gone far beyond from just a provision of internet access over 30,000 feet to travellers. Connected aircrafts has ability to send and receive the real time data from ground based operating systems, that provides the critical information related to avionic system in real time. In order to facilitate the real time data capturing, Airplanes are used as node in the sky to capture the hundreds of gigabytes of data from take-off to landing that helps to improve safety and efficiency of flight.Connected Aircraft Market: Drivers and RestraintIn addition to inflight connectivity, airline industry also has the need of real time weather data gathering systems to ensure flight safety from changing weather conditions. Growth in demand for internet connectivity by passengers, need for real time communication system with ground based operations & maintenance team and growth in demand for real time data gathering system in order to improve safety and efficiency of aeroplane are the major drivers for connected aircraft market.Request For Report Sample@Major operators across the globe are using relatively slow VHF connections and data is being stored in broader ecosystem. Replacement of traditional data connections and data optimisation, are the major challenges for connected aircraft market.Connected Aircraft market: SegmentationConnected aircraft market is categorised on the basis of components and connectivity technologies.On the basis of components, connected aircraft market can be segmented in to Aircraft communication & reporting system (ACRS), aircraft condition monitoring system (ACMS) and electronic fleet bag. Aircraft communication and reporting system is used to communicate with ground based operations team in real time. ACRS is consists of antennas, wireless access points, modems and on-board server. Aircraft condition monitoring system (ACMS) is used to monitor the health of equipment and devices on plane.On the basis of connectivity technologies, connected aircraft market is classified into L band, Ka- Band and Ku-Band. Ka-Band applications are specifically operates in the frequency range of 26.5 to 40 GHz electromagnetic spectrum, whereas Ku-Band applications uses the 12 to 18 GHz range of electromagnetic spectrum. Size of the antenna used for Ka-Band services is smaller than that of Ku-Band services.Request For TOC@Segmentation on basis of regions:Connected Aircraft Market is sub-segmented into 7 key regions- North America, Latin America, East Europe, West Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and Middle East & Africa.Connected Aircraft Market: Region wise outlookCurrently, North America is the largest region in overall connected aircraft market. US is the largest market followed by Canada, as there is growth in demand for inflight internet by air passengers across the region.Middle East and Africa was the fastest growing market in 2015, due to huge investment by key players in business airlines in the region.China and Germany were the leading connected aircraft markets of Asia pacific and Europe region respectively.Connected Aircraft Market: Key PlayersHoneywell International, Inc (US), Inmarsat plc (UK), Iridium Communications Inc (US), Intelsat, S.A (Luxemburg), Eutelsat S.A.(France), Gogo Inc (US), Panasonic Corporation (Japan), Kontron AG (Germany), Rockwell Collins, Inc.(US), Zodiac Aerospace (France), Thales Group (France).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:
United States Industrial Security Systems Market 2017 - Johnson Controls, Cisco Systems, Bosch Group, Honeywell International, Securitas AB

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The Report describe Industrial Security Systems Introduction, product scope, market overview, opportunities, risk, driving force also to analyze the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue, and price, market type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2017 to 2022The research report titled Industrial Security Systems has adopted an analytical approach to evaluate the dynamics of the Industrial Security Systems market. It provides a detailed analysis comprising an in-depth research on the Industrial Security Systems market growth drivers, restraints, and potential growth opportunities, with key focus on United States. In a chapter-wise format, the report evaluates the demand and supply trends observed in the Industrial Security Systems market, complete with relevant statistics and graphical representation. A detailed investment feasibility analysis and market attractiveness analysis is included in the report, which makes it an executive-level document for players in the United States Industrial Security Systems market.Access Full Report @To obtain the Industrial Security Systems market feasibility report, industry leading analytical tools are used and market-specific database is evaluated. Based on the results acquired through this research methodology, the report presents refined growth forecasts for the Industrial Security Systems market. Factors such as historical statistics and upcoming trends observed in the United States Industrial Security Systems market is analyzed to estimate market behaviour during the forecast period.The report is separated in sections dedicated to analyzing distinct aspects of the Industrial Security Systems market. It encompasses the varied product types available in the market and their respective price structure, the factors driving demand for the products, and the future prospects for the same. Other market segments included are elaborated on the basis of application and geography. The report also presents import and export figures for the United States Industrial Security Systems market.Download Free Sample Report @To present a detailed analysis of the competitive hierarchy of the Industrial Security Systems market, the report profiles the leading market player around the world. Market shares registered by the prominent players are estimated to study the business strategies that have significantly impacted the Industrial Security Systems market. With its chapters interspersed with tables and figures, the study provides a comprehensive overview of the Industrial Security Systems industry.A detailed segmentation evaluation of the Industrial Security Systems market has been provided in the report. Detailed information about the key segments of the market and their growth prospects are available in the report. The detailed analysis of their sub-segments is also available in the report. The revenue forecasts and volume shares along with market estimates are available in the report.Fior 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.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Plum Extract Market Strongly Driven by Rising Global Demand

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Plum is a fruit which belongs to the genus-Prunus and can be clustered along with other fruits such as peaches, cherries, and apricots in the rose family. The prime characteristics which differentiate all these fruits into different subgenera are the orientation of shoots, leaves, and flowers. The taxonomists have approximated the number of existing species of plum to be between 19 and 40. From this diversity, only two species, namely the European plum (Prunus domestica) and the Japanese plum or Japanese apricot (Prunus mume) are of worldwide commercial significance and have gained major popularity amongst people. Prior to when plums started to be consumed as a fruit, they were used for medicinal purposes in ancient China. When it comes to making an extract or a concentrated juice out of plums, the dried Japanese plums which also goes by the name of Umeboshi or when translated into English: Japanese salted plums or pickled plums. The Umeboshi plums are made by the lactic fermentation process using Japanese plums, shiso leaves, and sea salt. Although on the backdrop of exceeding demand of the extract, the companies may or may not use artificial dyes or preservatives.Browse Market Research Report @Segmentation:-The plum extract has gained widespread popularity as a product itself amongst consumers as well as an ingredient among the manufacturers thereby making it a successful B2B and B2C product. The plum extract market can be segmented on the basis of application, form, product type and distribution channels. On the basis of application, the plum extract market can be segmented into culinary, nutraceuticals, foods & beverages, cosmetics as well as confectionary. On the basis of form, the plum extract market can be segmented into liquid, paste, powder as well as solid. On the basis of the product type, the plum extract market can be segmented into natural, organic as well as artificial. On the basis of distribution channels, the plum extract market can be segmented into online retailing, specialty stores, hypermarkets/supermarkets and convenience stores.Global market drivers and trends:-The plum extract is a reservoir of natural minerals such as sodium, magnesium, iron, phosphorous and potassium owing to its support in dealing with a vast number of issues such as obesity, diabetes, Osteoporosis, constipation, Alcohol poisoning, age-related cognitive impairment, atherosclerosis, cancer, hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipidemia, weight loss, anemia, anxiety, influenza, muscular degeneration and others.The plum extract market is gaining widespread recognition owing not only to its medicinal properties but also of its culinary application such as using the plum extract as dressings, dips, and marinades. The salty and sour properties of Umeboshi plum extract make it an excellent accompaniment to rice dishes. Furthermore, vinegar can also be made from the plum extract owing to the presence of a considerable amount of citric acid in it. The plum extract can also be added to jams, puddings and jellies. The plum extract is also visible to be employed in the preparation of alcoholic beverages. Moreover, the plum extract concentrate works deliciously well as a filling for candies and confectionery products.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Regional outlook: -The leading countries in terms of the manufacture and export of plum extract are the ones belonging to Europe viz. Spain, France, Italy followed by the Asian countries like China, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and others. Significant production of the plum extract is noticeable in countries like Australia, Germany, United States of America as well as Netherlands.Market Key players:-Some of the key players who are driving the plum extract market globally are Swanson Health Products, Hong SsangRi, HUZHOU N.B.C. BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL CO, LTD., MUSO co., Ltd., NATIVE EXTRACTS, MIKI Corporation 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:
United States Computer Workstation Market Volume, Revenue, Product Price, Top Players, Market Share And Growth Rate 2017

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"The Report United States Computer Workstation Market Report 2017 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Computer Workstation MarketIn this report, the United States Computer Workstation 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 splits the United States market into seven regions:The WestSouthwestThe Middle AtlanticNew EnglandThe SouthThe Midwestwith sales (volume), revenue (value), market share and growth rate of Computer Workstation in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast).Get Sample Copy of this report @United States Computer Workstation market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Computer Workstation sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingBOXXCorvalentStrongarm DesignsDellIPO TechenilogieFujitsuEIC SolutionsClearcube TechnologyAcnodes corpoationAsusHangzhou Jinjiang GroupOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue, product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoDesktop WorkstationsMobile WorkstationsView Full Report @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 Computer Workstation for each application, includingEnterpriseResearch institutionsOthersIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsUnited States Computer Workstation Market Report 20171 Computer Workstation Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Computer Workstation1.2 Classification of Computer Workstation by Product Category1.2.1 United States Computer Workstation Market Size (Sales Volume) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 United States Computer Workstation Market Size (Sales Volume) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Desktop WorkstationsSend An Enquiry Request @1.2.4 Mobile Workstations1.3 United States Computer Workstation Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 United States Computer Workstation Market Size (Consumption) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Enterprise1.3.3 Research institutions1.3.4 Others1.4 United States Computer Workstation Market by Region1.4.1 United States Computer Workstation Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 The West Computer Workstation Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Southwest Computer Workstation Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 The Middle Atlantic Computer Workstation Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 New England Computer Workstation Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 The South Computer Workstation Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 The Midwest Computer Workstation Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 United States Market Size (Value and Volume) of Computer Workstation (2012-2022)1.5.1 United States Computer Workstation Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 United States Computer Workstation Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)2 United States Computer Workstation Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1 United States Computer Workstation Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 United States Computer Workstation Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.3 United States Computer Workstation Average Price by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.4 United States Computer Workstation Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.4.1 United States Computer Workstation Market Concentration Rate2.4.2 United States Computer Workstation Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Players/Suppliers2.4.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion in United States Market2.5 United States Players/Suppliers Computer Workstation Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Type3 United States Computer Workstation Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 United States Computer Workstation Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 United States Computer Workstation Revenue and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 United States Computer Workstation Price by Region (2012-2017)4 United States Computer Workstation Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Type (Product Category) (2012-2017)4.1 United States Computer Workstation Sales and Market Share by Type (Product Category) (2012-2017)4.2 United States Computer Workstation Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)4.3 United States Computer Workstation Price by Type (2012-2017)4.4 United States Computer Workstation Sales Growth Rate by Type (2012-2017)MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Salivary Gland Infection Market is expected to Reach USD 3622.6 million, Globally by 2023

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Market HighlightsThe global salivary gland infection market has been evaluated as a moderately growing market and it is expected to continue growing in the near future. Increasing prevalence of salivary gland infections are major driver for the market growth. Some other factors such as changing disease patterns, smoking, and changing environment are driving the growth of global salivary gland infection market.The market for salivary gland infection was around USD 2300.8 million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 3622.6 million which is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.7% by 2023.Key Players for global salivary gland infection market: AbbVie Inc. (US), Allergan (Republic of Ireland), AstraZeneca (UK), FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation (Japan), General Electric Company (US), GlaxoSmithKline plc. (UK), Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. (US), Merck & Co., Inc. (US), Pfizer Inc.(US), Siemens Healthcare GmbH (Germany), othersRequest a Sample Copy @Segmentation:Global salivary gland infection market has been segmentedOn the basis of diagnosis which comprises of Plain radiography, sialography, high-resolution ultrasonography, Computed tomography (CT), Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), radionuclide scintigraphy, and others. Sialography is further sub-segmented into CT sialography (ultrafast technique), fluoroscopic/conventional sialography (with or without digital subtraction), and MR sialography.On the basis of treatment, the market has been segmented into medication, surgery, aspiration, home care, and others. Medication is further sub-segmented into antibiotics and others. Antibiotics are further sub-segmented into dicloxacillin, cephalosporins, clindamycin, and others. Surgery includes removal of part of the parotid salivary gland, removal of all of the parotid salivary gland, removal of the submandibular salivary gland, and others. Home remedies includes increased water intake, rest, refraining from smoking, massaging the gland with heat, and others.On the basis of end user, it is segmented into hospitals & clinics, medical research centers, academic institutes, and others.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 50 market data tables and figures spread in 110 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Salivary Gland Infection Market Research Report- Global Forecast till 2023Browse full report @Table of Content1. Report Prologue2. Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 Limitations2.3 Market Structure2.4. Market Segmentation3. Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size Estimation3.5 Forecast Model4. Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restraints4.3 Opportunities4.4 Mega Trends4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators5. Market Factor analysisContinue.Considering the global scenario of the Salivary Gland Infection market, North America is known to be the largest market. Due to presence of many top global pharmaceutical companies such as AbbVie Inc., Pfizer Inc, and General Electric Company are leading the market growth in this region by increasing their investment in research and advanced product development. Governments are collaborating with companies, research centers, and academic institutes to promote research to derive effective solution for this disease that is also one of the major factors for the market growth.Increasing prevalence of this disease is a key driver for the market growth. Some other factors like smoking, unhealthy eating habits, and changing disease patterns also driving the market growth. Strict regulations and high standard of new product development are leading the market growth.Key questions answered in this report What will the market size be in 2023 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?About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Speakerphones Market 2017 Key Players - Sennheiser, Panasonic, Cisco, Ployton, Logitech

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Global Speakerphones Market 2017 Consumption Research Report, Analysis and Forecast to 2022The report titled Speakerphones is an in-depth and a professional document that provides a comprehensive overview of the global Speakerphones market.The report provides an executive-level blueprint of the Speakerphones market beginning with the definition of the market dynamics. The analysis classifies the Speakerphones market in terms of products, application, and key geographic regions. Presenting a detailed value chain analysis, the study evaluates the set of region-specific approaches forged by the industry. To determine the market potential for Speakerphones in the international scenario, the study delves into the competitive landscape and development landscape exhibited by the key geographic regions.Download Free Sample Report @The reports analysis is based on technical data and industry figures sourced from the most reputable databases. Other aspects that will prove especially beneficial to readers of the report are: investment feasibility analysis, recommendations for growth, investment return analysis, trends analysis, opportunity analysis, and SWOT analyses of competing companies. With the help of inputs and insights from technical and marketing experts, the report presents an objective assessment of the Speakerphones market.This report also presents product specification, manufacturing process, and product cost structure etc. Production is separated by regions, technology and applications. Analysis also covers upstream raw materials, equipment, Downstream client survey, Marketing channels, Industry development trend and proposals. In the end, the report includes Speakerphones new project SWOT analysis, Investment feasibility analysis, Investment return analysis, and Development trend analysis. In conclusion, it is a deep research report on Global Speakerphones industry. Here, we express our thanks for the support and assistance from Speakerphones industry chain related technical experts and marketing engineers during Research Teams survey and interviews.Access Full Report @Other important aspects that have been meticulously studied in the Speakerphones market report are: Demand and supply dynamics, import and export scenario, industry processes and cost structures, and major R&D initiatives. The new opportunities they present to market players have been mentioned in the report.If 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.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerOffice-102, Sanskriti AspirationsBaner Road, Pune,MH 411045IndiaPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Greenhouse Horticulture Report on Global and United States Market, Status by Players, Types and Applications Forecast 2022

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A new research document with title '2017-2022 Greenhouse Horticulture Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications' covering detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like North & South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and important players/vendors such as Atlas Greenhouse, Rough Brothers, Inc. Agra Tech, Inc ................The report will help user gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast period of 2022Request a sample report @SummaryThis report studies the Greenhouse Horticulture market status and outlook of global and United States, from angles of players, regions, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global and United States market, and splits the Greenhouse Horticulture market by product type and applications/end industries.The global Greenhouse Horticulture market is valued at XX million USD in 2016 and is expected to reach XX million USD by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.The Asia-Pacific will occupy for more market share in following years, especially in China, also fast growing India and Southeast Asia regions.North America, especially The United States, will still play an important role which cannot be ignored. Any changes from United States might affect the development trend of Greenhouse Horticulture. United States plays an important role in global market, with market size of xx million USD in 2016 and will be xx million USD in 2022, with a CAGR of XX.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share (%) and growth Rate (%) of Greenhouse Horticulture in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East and AfricaThe major players in global and United States Greenhouse Horticulture market, including Atlas Greenhouse, Rough Brothers, Inc., Agra Tech, Inc., Conley's Manufacturing, Venlo, Palram, RBIThe On the basis of product, the Greenhouse Horticulture market is primarily split intoGlass GreenhousePlastic GreenhouseOthersOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report coversFor VegetablesFor FlowersFor FruitFor TransplantsGet customization & check discount for report @Table of Contents2017-2022 Greenhouse Horticulture 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 DisclaimerBuy this report @2 Greenhouse Horticulture Market Overview2.1 Greenhouse Horticulture Product Overview2.2 Greenhouse Horticulture Market Segment by Type2.2.1 Glass Greenhouse2.2.2 Plastic Greenhouse2.2.3 Others2.3 Global Greenhouse Horticulture Product Segment by Type2.3.1 Global Greenhouse Horticulture Sales (K Units) and Growth (%) by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.3.2 Global Greenhouse Horticulture Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.3 Global Greenhouse Horticulture Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.4 Global Greenhouse Horticulture Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)2.4 United States Greenhouse Horticulture Product Segment by Type2.4.1 United States Greenhouse Horticulture Sales (K Units) and Growth by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.4.2 United States Greenhouse Horticulture Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.3 United States Greenhouse Horticulture Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.4 United States Greenhouse Horticulture Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)3 Greenhouse Horticulture Application/End Users3.1 Greenhouse Horticulture Segment by Application/End Users3.1.1 For Vegetables3.1.2 For Flowers3.1.3 For Fruit3.1.4 For Transplants3.2 Global Greenhouse Horticulture Product Segment by Application3.2.1 Global Greenhouse Horticulture Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.2.2 Global Greenhouse Horticulture Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)3.3 United States Greenhouse Horticulture Product Segment by Application3.3.1 United States Greenhouse Horticulture Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.3.2 United States Greenhouse Horticulture Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)4 Greenhouse Horticulture Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1 Global Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1.1 Global Greenhouse Horticulture 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 States....ContinuedView Detailed Table of Content @Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218 (US)
Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 - L3 Technologies, Orbital ATK, Kaman

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022" to its huge collection of research reports.This report on the global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes market, compiled by a group of professional market research analysts, aspires to serve as a credible business tool for the stockholders, representing the current scenario of the market as well as future prospects. The report has been produced using proven research methodologies and offers qualitative and quantitative analysis of all major factors that may influence the demand in the global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes market. To gauge the potential of smaller aspects of the Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes market, the report has segmented it on the basis of application, end users, products, services, types, and others, whichever applicable. It also takes stock of the prospects of Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes market in all important regions across the globe, such as North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). For each region, the report presents the potential of the Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes market by assessing their demand percentage, growth prospects, and related government policies.Get sample report @One of the noteworthy feature of the report is the chapter on company profiles, wherein a number of leading vendors have been analyzed in order to understand the competitive landscape existing in the global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes market, as well as detect the chances of entry for the new players. In this section, the report picks out the top three and top five companies in Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes market, and analyzes their recent strategic decisions such as mergers and acquisitions, collaborations, new product announcements, and investment in research and development. For each company, the report provides information such as business sales price, margin, and market share.The major players in global market includeL3 TechnologiesOrbital ATKKamanExpal (Maxam Group)JUNGHANS Microtec GmbHAction ManufacturingAnhui Great Wall Military IndustryReutech Fuchs ElectronicsDIXI MicrotechniquesBinas d.d. BugojnoSandeep MetalcraftReshef TechnologiesBrowse Complete Report with TOC @Table of Contents1 Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes1.2 Classification of Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes by Product Category1.2.1 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Market Size Comparison by Types (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Types in 20161.2.3 Mortar Fuzes1.2.4 Artillery Fuzes1.2.5 Rocket and Missile Fuzes1.2.6 Aircraft Fuzes1.2.7 Others1.3 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Market by Applications/End Users1.3.1 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Applications (2012-2022)1.3.2 Civil Applications1.3.3 Military Applications1.3.4 Others1.4 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Market by Regions1.4.1 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Market Size (Million USD) Comparison by Regions (2012-2022)1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Status and Prospect (2012-2022)2.1 L3 Technologies2.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors2.1.2 Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Product Category, Application and Specification2.1.2.1 Product A2.1.2.2 Product B2.1.3 L3 Technologies Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)2.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview2.2 Orbital ATK2.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors2.2.2 Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Product Category, Application and Specification2.2.2.1 Product A2.2.2.2 Product B2.2.3 Orbital ATK Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)2.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview2.3 Kaman2.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors2.3.2 Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Product Category, Application and Specification2.3.2.1 Product A3 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Market Competition, by Manufacturer3.1 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales and Market Share by Manufacturer (2012-2017)3.2 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Revenue and Share by Manufacturer (2012-2017)3.3 Market Concentration Rate3.3.1 Top 3 Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Manufacturer Market Share3.3.2 Top 6 Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Manufacturer Market Share3.4 Market Competition Trend4 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes (Value and Volume) by Regions4.1 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales Volume, Value (Revenue) and Market Share by Regions4.1.1 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales by Regions (2012-2017)4.1.2 Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Revenue by Regions (2012-2017)4.2 North America Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.4 Asia-Pacific Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.5 South America Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.6 Middle East and Africa Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5 North America Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales Volume and Value by CountriesFigure Product Picture of Mechanical and Electronic FuzesFigure Structure Picture of Mechanical and Electronic FuzesTable Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales (K Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product TypeFigure Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales Volume Market Share by Types in 2016Figure Mortar Fuzes Product PictureFigure Artillery Fuzes Product PictureFigure METAE / METAE-AI Rocket Fuzes PictureFigure MILAN ER Missile Fuzes PictureFigure Aircraft Fuzes Product PictureFigure M8953 Electronic Proximity Fuzes (Naval Fuzes) PictureTable Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales (K Units) by Application (2016-2022)Figure Global Sales Market Share of Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes by Applications in 2016Figure Civil Applications ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in Civil ApplicationsFigure Military Applications ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in Military ApplicationsFigure Others ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in OthersTable Global Market Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Revenue (Million USD) Comparison by Regions 2012-2022Figure North America Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Europe Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Asia-Pacific Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure South America Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Middle East and Africa Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Global Mechanical and Electronic Fuzes Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)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 UsBrooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:
Bonding Adhesive Market Intelligence Report Offers Growth Prospects

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The use of adhesives and glues as a bonding agent between glass and other materials is increasing now a days. The glass bonding adhesives has a wide renege of applications in automotive industry for bonding the glass in vehicles, manufacturing of water tanks and optical glasses, bonding of window glass to frame or structure etc. The selection of a suitable adhesive for proper bonding of glass depends upon various factors such as loads and stresses at which the glass must resist, functional and technical requirement of a joint etc.Glass bonding adhesive Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe growth of glass bonding adhesives market is driven by the growing investments in new manufacturing plants for automotive, rail, wind, aerospace, infrastructure development industries, and various structural projects. The demand from end use industries such as transportation, electronics and furniture for high quality glass bonding adhesives is also driving the glass bonding adhesives market. The increasing demand from medical industry for glass bonding adhesives is likewise driving the market. The growing end use industries in developing regions such as India, China, Mexico is anticipated to drive the glass bonding adhesives market during the forecast period.Silicon is on the fastest growing segment in the global glass adhesives market. The developments in the silicon type glass bonding adhesives has increased its demand in medical, electronics application and glass bonding industries. The increasing prices of raw material may act as a restraint for the glass bonding adhesives market.Request For Report Sample:Glass bonding adhesive Market: SegmentationOn the basis of Type,UV Curable AcrylateSiliconeUV Curable EpoxyPolyurethaneOthersOn the basis of End-use Industry,FurnitureElectronicsTransportationMedicalIndustrial ApplicationsOthersGlass bonding adhesive Market: Region Wise OutlookThe global Glass bonding adhesive 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). APEJ is the fastest growing market for glass bonding adhesives. The countries such as Taiwan, China, and South Korea are the major hubs for the manufacturing of electronic equipment and components are expected to drive the glass bonding adhesive market in APEJ region. The major manufacturers of glass bonding adhesives have presence in North America region. The growing end use industries like transportation, electronics, and medical in U.S. and Canada is likely to drive the glass bonding adhesives market in this region.Request For TOC:Glass bonding adhesive Market: Key PlayersHenkel AG & Co. KGaAH.B. Fuller CompanyAshland Inc.Dymax Corporation3M CompanyPermabond Engineering AdhesivesThe Dow Chemical CompanyBohle GroupKIWOThreeBond Holdings Co., Ltd.Sika A.G.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:
Blood Clot Retrieval Devices Market Global Industry Analysis, size, share and Forecast 2016-2026

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A stroke is a sudden loss of blood circulation in an area of the brain which may result in loss of neurological functioning. Strokes are generally of three types Ischemic Stroke (caused due to blood clots), Hemorrhagic stroke (caused when there is a rupture in arteries) and lastly transient ischemic attack (caused when blood flow to the brain is blocked for a short time).In early 1980s the blood clot retrieval devices used for endovascular revascularization were based on intra-arterial and selective thrombolytic agents. Another methodology proposed was the use of a combination of intra-arterial thrombolytic and use of ultrasound to disrupt the clot. The clot retrieval process is performed within eight hours of the onset of stroke symptoms, the whole process of blood clot retrieval takes about two hours.Blood Clot retrieval devices were first developed to extract errant coils and foreign bodies which became immobilized in the cerebral circulation during endovascular procedures. Over a period these devices were used remove thromboembolic clots using guide catheters. The first treatment for clot retrieval was done using local micro-catheters as blood clot retrieval devices. These processes were mostly intravenous thrombolysis or endovascular revascularization. Blood clot retrieval devices of the first generation mainly targeted cerebral ischemia.Request Report Sample@The first generation blood clot retrieval devices comprised of Mechanical Embolus Removal in Cerebral Ischemia (MERCI), MERCI blood clot retrieval devices was used in individuals who had moderate to severe stroke. The second blood clot retrieval device used for clot retrieval was Penumbra clot aspiration system. The Penumbra blood clot retrieval device uses a large lumen catheter attached to a vacuum pump. The second generation of blood clot retrieval devices uses of non-detachable neurovascular stents for removal of the clot. The primary objective of these blood clot retrieval devices was to assist the coiling during revascularization in individuals. Stent-based blood clot retrieval devices operate by firstly, by deploying the stent into the clot which immediately restores the blood flow and the mesh embedded on the stent retriever remove the clot. Over the past few years with the help of technological advancements in the development of blood clot retrieval devices tremendous progress has been made in the endovascular management of acute ischemic stroke.Blood Clot Retrieval Devices Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe global market for blood clot retrieval devices is expected to be driven by the advancement in technology and increased the prevalence of stroke. Moreover, increased use of blood clot retrieval devices in elderly patients, improved patient selection using imaging and clinical results, use of an advance instrument for guiding catheter placement are some factors anticipated to fuel the growth of global portable ultrasound scanners market within the forecast period of 2016-2026.The restraining factor for the blood clot retrieval devices market is a lack of trained professionals, futile recanalization procedures which occur due to unfavorable result and device malfunctioning during blood clot retrieval.Blood Clot Retrieval Devices Market: SegmentationThe global blood clot retrieval market is classified on the basis of stroke type, device type, end user and geography.Based on stroke type, the global blood clot retrieval devices market is segmented into the following:Ischemic Stroke (blood clot)Hemorrhagic Stroke(rupturing of arteries)Transient Ischemic AttackBased on device type, the global blood clot retrieval devices market is segmented into the following:Mechanical EmbolusRemoval DevicesPenumbra Blood Clot Retrieval DevicesStent RetrieversUltrasound Assisted DevicesBased on end user, the global blood clot retrieval device market is segmented into the following:HospitalsDiagnostic centersClinicsAmbulatory Surgical CentersBlood Clot Retrieval Devices Market: OverviewCost-affectivity of blood clot retrieval devices and ongoing researches on improving the quality of care for continence would create an attractive growth opportunities for the Blood Clot Retrieval Devices market. The hospitals end user segment is expected to hold the highest market share in the global market for blood clot retrieval devices. Deaths occurring because of stroke is third highest in countries like United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan.According to American Heart Association, there are about 800,000 new strokes reported each year, out of which 80% are ischemic strokes rest are hemorrhagic strokes.Blood Clot Retrieval Devices Market: Regional OverviewRegion wise, the global Blood Clot Retrieval Devices market is classified into regions namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America dominated the global market for blood clot retrieval devices because of better reimbursement policies for diagnostic procedures. Increasing number of local players providing blood clot retrieval devices at lower cost in countries such as China is expected to boost the market growth in APEJ region.Visit For TOC@Blood Clot Retrieval Devices Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in global Blood Clot Retrieval Devices market include Bayer HealthCare LLC, Boston Scientific Corp., Argon Medical Devices Inc., Medtronic plc. Teleflex Incorporated, Penumbra Inc., AngioDynamics, Inc., Terumo Corporation, Johnson and Johnson, Inc., ECKOS Corporation and others. Most of the providers of blood clot retrieval devices are adopting the strategy of providing these products through e-commerce, so that buyers can browse the products according to their needs.About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. 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US Healthcare Lighting Market Report 2017 - Market Size, Shares, Trends, Growth, Survey and Forecast

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Latest Research Report titled " United States Healthcare Lighting Market Report 2017 " features Key Market Players, Segments, Applications. Report Presents Global Market Survey, Growth, Challenges and Forecast.In this report, the United States Healthcare Lighting 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 splits the United States market into seven regions:- The West- Southwest- The Middle Atlantic- New England- The South- The Midwestwith sales (volume), revenue (value), market share and growth rate of Healthcare Lighting in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast).Get a Sample Research PDF with TOC:United States Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players including- Fugro- Keller Group PLC- Nova Metrix LLC- Geokon, Incorporated- Geocomp Corporation- SISGEO S.R.L.- Cowi A/S- James Fisher and Sons- Deep Excavation- RST Instruments- Geomotion Singapore- Eustis Engineering- DST Consulting Engineers- Geosig- Smart StructuresOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue, product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into- Wired- WirelessOn 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 Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring for each application, including- Buildings & Infrastructure- Energy & Power- Oil & Gas- MiningBrowse more details at:Table of Contnts:2 United States Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1 United States Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 United States Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.3 United States Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Average Price by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.4 United States Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.4.1 United States Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Market Concentration Rate2.4.2 United States Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Players/SuppliersAbout UsResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Winches Market : Key Players, Growth, Analysis by 2017 - 2025

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A winch is a power-driven equipment used to wind a rope or a cable. Winches are widely used for lifting and moving all kinds of loads in various applications, such as marine, industrial, renewables, automotive and civil engineering, among others. Winches range in design from hand-cranked spools to enormous hydraulic devices used for industrial loading applications. Simple winches consist of a basic structure such as a spool and an attached hand crank, whereas for bigger applications, winches form a major part of machinery used for moving and lifting loads.On the basis of material used, stainless steel winches are estimated to hold a dominant market share and theyre widely used in applications, such as boating. In industrial applications, stronger steel alloys are widely preferred for industrial winch drums & frames and in low weight operations, synthetics and aluminium are used.To view complete report @Winches are categorized as manual, hydraulic, pneumatic and electric winches on the basis of working mechanism. As the global load lifting needs are evolving, there is a growing demand for more advanced systems offering high quality and better efficiency with ease of use. To meet these demands, manufacturers are constantly striving to develop new systems. Hydraulic winches were developed to meet the requirements of modern-day application needs in the winches market. Manual winches are preferred for low lifting weight applications, owing to simplicity and cost effectiveness. Electric winches are estimated to hold a dominant market share over the forecast period, attributing to the high demand from marine and oil & gas applications.The global market is estimated to grow at a stable rate, owing to the use of winches in a wide variety of applications.Global Winches Market: DynamicsDrivers:Growth in end use applications, such as mining, construction, utility, freight, oceaneering and others is expected to be a key growth driver for the global winches market. In automotive applications, winches are used as front or rear mounts to tow heavy weight. Construction cranes use winches to lift & dangle loads and sailboats of all sizes use winches to facilitate the rapid winding and unwinding of the rigging line. The global winches market is estimated to be driven by technological advancements, such as remote control clutch system in advanced winches for better handling & transfer of loads, quick installation and availability of good quality winches with cost-effective prices.A sample of this report is available upon request @Restraints:The high cost of hydraulic systems might act as a growth restraint for this market over the forecast period.Global Winches Market: SegmentationOn the basis of type, the global winches market is segmented into: electric winches, hydraulic winches and manual winches.The global winches market can be segmented on the basis of capacity as: below 7500 lbs, 7500 lbs to 15000 lbs, 15001 lbs to 45000 lbs, 45001 lbs to 60000 lbs, 60001 lbs to 100000 lbs, and above 100000 lbs. Winches are evaluated by line pull weight and gear ratio.On the basis of application, the global winches market can be segmented into: mining, construction, utility, freight, oceaneering and others.Global Winches Market: Regional OutlookNorth America and Western Europe collectively are estimated to account for a relatively large market share in the global winches market during the forecast period. The major demand for winches arises from end use industries, such as marine, industrial machinery and freight. The U.S. winches market is anticipated to grow at a stable pace, owing to it attaining the maturity stage in the product life cycle. On the other hand, the Canada winches market is estimated to register significant growth. In Europe, countries, such as the U.K., Germany, Russia, Poland and France are projected to drive the Europe winches market.Latin America and the Middle-East & Africa winches markets are estimated to witness high growth opportunity over the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific market is forecasted to grow at a rapid pace, owing to growth in urbanization, growing industries and stable economic growth in the region.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Global Winches: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global winches market are:Ingersoll-Rand plcRamsey WinchWarn Industries Inc.Harken Inc.TWGPaccar WinchFukushima Ltd.Brevini U.K. LtdNaust Marine ehf.Maxwell Marine International Ltd.Appleton Marine 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:
United States Solar Mounting System Market Report 2017 - Current Trends, Growth, Key Players Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast

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Latest Research Report titled " United States Solar Mounting System Market Report 2017 " features Key Market Players, Segments, Applications. Report Presents Global Market Survey, Growth, Challenges and Forecast.This report studies sales (consumption) of Solar Mounting System in United States market, focuses on the top players, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player, covering- Schletter GmbH- Renusol GmbH- UNIRAC- SolarWorld- K2 SYSTEMS- SnapNrack- Quick Mount PV- Landpower Solar Technology- RBI Solar- Mounting Systems, Inc.- Xiamen Grace Solar Technology- Versolsolar- Jiangsu Akcome Science & Technology- Clenergy- Changzhou Zixu Solar Power- Solar First- Chiko Solar- Suzhou Radiant Photovoltaic Technology- Xiamen Sunforson Power Co.Get a Sample Research PDF with TOC:Market Segment by States, covering- California- Texas- New York- Florida- IllinoisSplit by product types, with sales, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided into- Type I- Type IISplit by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Solar Mounting System in each application, can be divided into- Roof- Ground- Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)- OtherTable of Contnts:2 United States Solar Mounting System Competition by Manufacturers2.1 United States Solar Mounting System Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 United States Solar Mounting System Revenue and Share by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.3 United States Solar Mounting System Average Price by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.4 Solar Mounting System Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.4.1 Solar Mounting System Market Concentration Rate2.4.2 Solar Mounting System Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.4.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, ExpansionBrowse more details at:3 United States Solar Mounting System Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by States (2012-2017)3.1 United States Solar Mounting System Sales and Market Share by States (2012-2017)3.2 United States Solar Mounting System Revenue and Market Share by States (2012-2017)3.3 United States Solar Mounting System Price by States (2012-2017)4 United States Solar Mounting System Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Type (2012-2017)4.1 United States Solar Mounting System Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)4.2 United States Solar Mounting System Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)4.3 United States Solar Mounting System Price by Type (2012-2017)4.4 United States Solar Mounting System Sales Growth Rate by Type (2012-2017)About UsResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Make Home Shifting In Bangalore Easily

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Home shifting is a no joke. The tasks and the stress associated with it is way too tedious than any other day at office. Organising, packing and then unpacking and again organising  all of them need someone who is pro at it. While talking about home shifting in Bangalore, it is not much tough to find a professional packer here. Lately a number of companies emerged in the said business in India. Most of these companies are associated with the industry best packers.While exploring some of the leading concerns in India, householdpackers.com has caught our eyes here. It is one of those leading agencies that help you to find industry best packers and movers in Bangalore. While talking with their executive, the fact gets highlighted that how the trend of this business has changed overtime. Now people dont get stressed to shift from one city to other. It has become much easier with these agencies.Householdpackers.com is a certified agency that introduces you to the best fitted movers and packers in your city. Make a note here householdpackers.com does not move your stuff. They introduce you to the movers in Bangalore that will do your job. This is a simple process that one needs to go through with our web portal. People just need to click on our website, let us know their requirement and ask for the quotes. We provide the best possible services and quotes to our clients to compare. Then they can settle down with one with their choice, says the executive at householdpackers.com.In the era of online business, it is extremely time saving to order anything online. These agencies are helping you with this as well. This is not a mere pizza or a dress material that you are ordering; however it is as simple as that only. Most of the packers in Bangalore now have their online booking and checking process. Householdpackers.com is one of those modern agencies that provide you everything under one roof. Over 1500+ certified transporters are associated with this company at this moment.Householdpackers.com is one of the largest shifting connect in India at this moment. From household items to vehicles, everything can be safely shifted to the final destination through them. They offer best rates in the industry. The most important part here is that they allow the users to get quotes from various transporters so the users can easily compare them without running from one to another brick and mortar office. We are aiming at creating the largest customer base in near future. As the time is changing we want to cope up with the time and ready to take up any challenge coming our way said the executive of householdpackers.com.House Hold PackersJ 17, South City 1,2nd floorGurgaon, Haryana 122001Contact No - +91-8130995752
Vinegar And Vinaigrette Market Growth and Forecast 2017-2027

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Vinegar is made by fermenting dilute alcoholic liquid such as beer, cider and others. It contains acetic acid and is sour in taste. Vinaigrette is made by mixing edible oil such as olive oil, soybean oil, cider oil, walnut oil, corn oil and others with vinegar or lemon juice. To achieve better taste this mixture can also be enhanced by adding various spices, herbs, or salt. The vinaigrette is used as a salad dressings and marinade. Rising demand for snacks items such as salads, sandwiches and others coupled with increased interest in bold flavors and gourmet cooking is expected driving vinegar and vinaigrette market over the forecast period.Vinegar & Vinaigrette Market SegmentationThe market is segmented the basis of type which includes vinegar & vinaigrette. Vinegar segment is further sub-segmented as balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, sherry vinegar, garlic vinegar, cava vinegar, honey vinegar, red wine vinegar, malt vinegar and others. Among all these sub-segment balsamic vinegar is expected to have major market share in terms value during the forecast period. Availability of wide variety of product variant in balsamic vinegar sub-segment is expected to drive the sub-segment growth over the forecast period. Furthermore red wine vinegar sub-segment is expected to account for favorable growth during the forecast period. Rising health awareness among the consumers regarding the consumption of red wine vinegar is expected to drive the red wine vinegar sub-segment growth in the near future. Vinaigrette segment is further sub-segmented as emulsified and biphasic. Among all these sub-segment emulsified sub-segment is expected to account for major value share over the forecast period. However, biphasic sub-segment is expected to register relatively higher growth. Increasing consumption olive oil based vinaigrette is expected to support sub-segment growth over the forecast period.Request Report Sample@Global vinegar & vinaigrette market is further segmented on the basis of distribution channel which includes hypermarket/supermarket, convenience stores, specialty stores, grocery stores and online retailing. Among all these segments hypermarket/ supermarket is expected to register relatively higher value share during the forecast period. Increasing penetration of hypermarket/supermarket especially in developing countries coupled is expected to drive the segment growth over the forecast period. Online retailing is expected to register relatively higher growth in vinegar & vinaigrette market over the forecast period. Rising consumer inclination towards online purchasing of products is expected to support the segment growth over the forecast period.The vinegar & vinaigrette market is further segmented on the basis of end-use which includes end consumer, hotel and restaurant/bar. Among all these segments end consumer segment is expected to occupy major share in terms of volume consumption followed by restaurant and bar.Vinegar & Vinaigrette Regional OutlookGeographically vinegar & vinaigrette market is segmented on the basis of region which includes North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Middle East & Africa and Japan. Geographically, Europe is expected to be the major market in terms of value owing to increasing consumer shifting preference towards convenient healthy food options. Among the countries, U.K. is expected to remain major markets in terms of consumptions for vinegar & vinaigrette followed by Germany. North America is expected to represent the favorable market for vinegar & vinaigrette in terms of consumption. In the region the U.S. is expected to represent major value share during the forecast period. Increasing demand for natural and organic ingredients, and products without additives or preservatives is expected to support the market growth in the country. Asia Pacific is expected to represent a rapid growth in vinegar & vinaigrette market. Countries such as China and Japan is expected to be the major consumer for vinegar & vinaigrette across the region.Vinegar & Vinaigrette Market DriversContinuous product launch with variety of flavors is a key trend in the market. In addition organic and gluten free vinegar is the emerging trend in the market. The growing demand of salads coupled with increasing number of fast food restaurants across the globe is expected to support the market growth over the forecast period.Visit For TOC@Vinegar & Vinaigrette Market Key PlayersSome of the key players operating in vinegar & vinaigrette market includes Borges Branded Foods, Fleischmann's Vinegar Company, Inc, The Kraft Heinz Company, Mizkan Group, Annie's Homegrown, Inc and Borges Branded Foods S.L.U. among others.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:
Research report covers the Automotive Tires Market Size and Growth, 2017-2027

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The automotive tires play a very important role in vehicle performance along with the vehicle engine. A tire should be fine enough to carry vehicle weight and pressure on any road with superior breaking performances. The manufacturers focus on enhancing the production and performance capabilities of tires to meet with the growing demands of OEMs as well as secondary market.The automotive tires market is expected to grow rapidly in the coming decades. The Asia-Pacific tire market is expected to contribute 1/4th of the total global market growth as the Asia-Pacific economies are growing rapidly and hence the transportation segment.The global automotive tire market is estimated to grow rapidly owing to increasing automotive vehicle production and vehicle parc.When it comes to increasing demands for the automotive tires globally, tire manufacturers need to focus on availability of the raw materials primarily.Rubber, tire fillers (for tire fortification) and chemical supplements are the three main raw materials required for tire manufacturing and the smooth supply of the raw materials is an important aspect of the tire manufacturing process, as each of the above raw materials is an influential factor in tire manufacturing. There are two kinds of rubber used in tire manufacturing, Natural Rubber and Synthetic Rubber. Natural rubber is mainly produced and supplied from Asian countries such as India and China mostly, as the countries are having favourable climatic conditions for the growth of rubber plants whereas Synthetic Rubber is the produce of petroleum. The fluctuations in crude oil prices affect the production of synthetic rubber and as a result, it will increment the input costs in tire manufacturing.The main focus of the automotive tire manufacturers is always upon OEMs as they are the primary consumers of tires in terms of volume. Each OEM has some sanctioned tire manufacturers from whom they source tires. OEMs conduct some prompt sanctioning processes to sanction the vendor, which the tire manufacturers need to follow. The OEMs evaluate the vendors on the basis of quality of material, packaging, manufacturing and supply capabilities of tire manufacturers.Request For Report Sample:Global Automotive Tires Market: DynamicsDrivers:The hike in automotive demand and production in recent years are estimated to be the key drivers of global automotive tires market. The large fleet size is expected to be replaced with new automotive tires, which in turn will spur the global demand for automotive tires.Additional factors such as rapid global expansion, increasing demands for better durability & mileage, high quality production and growing demand for eco-friendly tires, are also estimated to fuel the demand for global automotive tires market.Restraints:Fluctuating prices of raw materials are expected to hamper the growth of global automotive tires market.Global Automotive Tires Market: SegmentationFollowing is the segmentation for the global automotive tires market:The global automotive tires market segmented on the basis of seasons is as follows: winter, summer and all-season tires.The global automotive tires market segmented on the basis of sales channel is as follows: OEMs and Aftermarket.The global automotive tires market segmented on the basis of vehicle type is as follows: Passenger Car, LCV, and HCV.The global automotive tires market segmented on the basis of type is as follows: Radial and Bias/Cross plyThe global automotive tires market segmented on the basis of sales channel is as follows: Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and AftermarketGlobal Automotive Tires Market: Regional OutlookAsia-Pacific Automotive Tires Market is estimated to grow rapidly over the forecast period owing to increasing automotive production and vehicle parc. In Asia Pacific region, India and China are the countries driving the growth owing to low production costs and growing demand for light and heavy vehicles. North America and Europe are matured markets in global automotive tires market.Request For TOC:Global Automotive Tires: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global automotive tires market identified are:Bridgestone CorporationThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber CompanyContinental AGMichelinSumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.Pirelli & C. S.p.A.The Yokohama Rubber Company, Limited.Hankook Tire Co., LtdCheng Shin Rubber Industry Co.Zhongce Rubber Group Co., LtdCooper Tire & Rubber CompanyKumho Tire Co., Inc.Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd.MRF LimitedApollo Tyres 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:
Hygiene Monitoring System Market : Growth, Demand and Key Players to 2025

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Effective environmental hygiene management helps to reduce levels of contamination in finished products which led to improvement in quality, lower risk of products and fewer batch rejection. Hygiene monitoring system provides simple, rapid, reliable solutions to monitor biological contamination of surfaces and water in real time which in turn protects a companys brands, reputation and in turn its customers due to this feature of hygiene monitoring system many companies are adopting hygiene monitoring system. The companies prefer hygiene monitoring system worldwide due to its performance, the cost and the ease of use. The hygiene monitoring system are used widely in health care as well as food and beverage processing industries, hospitals, pharmaceutical industries, supermarkets, restaurants and other facilities where fast detection of contaminated is essential. There are two more hygiene monitoring system hand and washroom, the hand hygiene monitoring system is a good quality indicators for hospital patients safety programmes. Hand hygiene monitoring system is a major infection and control prevention intervention. The washroom hygiene monitoring system is used to track facility cleaning time and attendance.To view complete report @Global Hygiene monitoring system Market: Market DynamicsThe global hygiene monitoring system market is driven by food and beverage processing industry and healthcare industry. As the hygiene monitoring system are widely used to monitor the contamination of the surrounding and finished products in real time. Preventing microbial contamination of food supply is one of the underlying principles of ensuring food safety and quality of products. The increased safety and the environment requirement and cost effectiveness are the factors fuelling the growth of hygiene monitoring system. However the factors restraining the growth of hygiene monitoring system would be the lack of awareness and lack of technical knowledge.A sample of this report is available upon request @Global Hygiene monitoring system market: Segment overviewThere will be growth in hygiene monitoring system market as there is anticipated improvements in hospitality, the hygiene monitoring system market growth is driven majorly by healthcare and food & beverage industry.Global Hygiene monitoring system market: regional overviewBased on the geographies, the global hygiene monitoring systems market is fragmented into seven key regions- North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Asia-Pacific except Japan, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. Among the regions mentioned above North America is currently contributing to leading shares in hygiene monitoring system. Western Europe is also contributing a moderate share to the global hygiene monitoring system market due to developed infrastructure and advanced medical facilities. Asia-pacific region is expected to show a robust growth rate to the global hygiene monitoring system market. Whereas Middle East and Africa is at promising growth stage and is anticipated to show a decent growth over the forecasted period. Overall the global hygiene monitoring system market has a positive growth rate owing to the increase in awareness among people and knowledge.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Global Hygiene monitoring system Market: Market PlayersSome of the market players identified in the global hygiene monitoring systems market includes:3MKikkoman CorporationThe Hygiene CompanyHygiena, LLCAbout 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:
Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market size and forecast, 2017-2027

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Biopharmaceuticals are biological preparations which are intended to treat range of diseases. The market for biopharmaceuticals is robust with the availability of several biologics, biosimilars, and biobetters in the market. Biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing services include development of large and small biologics from stage of clinical development to commercial scale. Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMO) offers wide range of services such as cell line development, process optimization, fermentation biotechnology, analytical characterization, cGMP manufacturing, and validation in each stage of clinical development and commercialization. The success of CMO measured by its production capacity and reproducibility. Biopharmaceutical CMOs must over the complexity of large molecule manufacturing through sophisticated cell line development, cell culture manufacturing and quality control. Apart from developmental services, several biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing organizations offers marketing, regulatory and analytical expertise to the clients.Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: Drivers and RestraintsGlobal biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is continue to witness positive growth owing to growing demand for outsourced services in pharmaceutical industry and rising investments by pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies in research and developmental activities for biologics would expected to fuel demand for biopharmaceutical outsourcing over the forecast period. The market for biopharmaceutical outsourcing driven by both biologics and biosimilars. Exiting developmental pipeline across multiple therapies, rise in venture capital funding, increasing regulatory approvals for biologics and orphan drugs will help to bolster growth of biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market. Increasing pressure from governments, patient groups, and general public for affordable and sustainable model of pricing, which prompt developer to outsource the development process to reduce cost of development and this in turn boost the biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market positively over forecasted period. However, increasingly stringent regulations, which increases the overhead cost, time to market and meagre venture funding for early stage clinical development companies may hamper the growth of the biopharmaceutical outsourcing market over the forecast period.Request Report Sample@Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: SegmentationGlobal biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market has been segmented on the basis of manufacturing process, services, drug type, and molecule type, phase of development, end user and region.Based on the manufacturing process, the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is segmented into the following:Mammalian Based ManufacturingMicrobial Based ManufacturingBased on the services, the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is segmented into the following:Fill and Finish ServicesCell bankingAnalytical ServicesFormulationDown streaming ProcessProcess DevelopmentBased on the drug type, the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is segmented into the following:New Biological Entities (NBE)BiosimilarsBased on the molecule type, the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is segmented into the following:Large MoleculesSmall Molecule BiologicsBased on the phase of development, the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is segmented into the following:PreclinicalPhase IPhase IIPhase IIIPhase IV (Post Marketing Surveillance)Based on the end user, the global biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is segmented into the following:Bio-Pharmaceutical companiesPharmaceutical CompaniesDrug Discovery CompaniesBiopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: OverviewGlobal biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is highly competitive where the speed to market is imperative along with efficient process and low costs. Market for biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing is consistently witnessing newer challenges as several drug discovery and biopharmaceutical companies increasingly demanding for newer services like production, formulation, analytical services apart from conventional services. As there is growing demand for drugs for smaller indications (like orphan) players in the market need to create small production batches which creates flexibility in the manufacturing process.Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: Region-wise OutlookGeographically, biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market is segmented into regions viz. North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America and Europe will remain key markets for biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market. Europe region is expected to witness strong growth owing to increased approval of biosimilars by the regulators in the market. Asia Pacific is anticipated to register positive growth owing to presence of several small players offering different services, low cost of development, and availability of skilled manpower and expertise in the region.Visit For TOC@Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market: Key PlayersSome players in biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing market include Lonza Group Ltd., Boehringher ingelheim, Sandoz, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnology, Rentschler Biotechnologie, Celonic GmbH, BIOMEVA GmbH, ProBioGen AG to name a few.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:
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Global Engine Nacelle Market 2017 Key Players - Nexcelle, Triumph, Boeing, Safran, GKN

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Global Engine Nacelle Market 2017 Consumption Research Report, Analysis and Forecast to 2022The report titled Engine Nacelle is an in-depth and a professional document that provides a comprehensive overview of the global Engine Nacelle market.The report provides an executive-level blueprint of the Engine Nacelle market beginning with the definition of the market dynamics. The analysis classifies the Engine Nacelle market in terms of products, application, and key geographic regions. Presenting a detailed value chain analysis, the study evaluates the set of region-specific approaches forged by the industry. To determine the market potential for Engine Nacelle in the international scenario, the study delves into the competitive landscape and development landscape exhibited by the key geographic regions.Download Free Sample Report @The reports analysis is based on technical data and industry figures sourced from the most reputable databases. Other aspects that will prove especially beneficial to readers of the report are: investment feasibility analysis, recommendations for growth, investment return analysis, trends analysis, opportunity analysis, and SWOT analyses of competing companies. With the help of inputs and insights from technical and marketing experts, the report presents an objective assessment of the Engine Nacelle market.This report also presents product specification, manufacturing process, and product cost structure etc. Production is separated by regions, technology and applications. Analysis also covers upstream raw materials, equipment, Downstream client survey, Marketing channels, Industry development trend and proposals. In the end, the report includes Engine Nacelle new project SWOT analysis, Investment feasibility analysis, Investment return analysis, and Development trend analysis. In conclusion, it is a deep research report on Global Engine Nacelle industry. Here, we express our thanks for the support and assistance from Engine Nacelle industry chain related technical experts and marketing engineers during Research Teams survey and interviews.Access Full Report @Other important aspects that have been meticulously studied in the Engine Nacelle market report are: Demand and supply dynamics, import and export scenario, industry processes and cost structures, and major R&D initiatives. The new opportunities they present to market players have been mentioned in the report.If 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.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerOffice-102, Sanskriti AspirationsBaner Road, Pune,MH 411045IndiaPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Aircraft Ground Support Equipment Market Segments and Supply Demand 2017-2027

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Aircraft ground support equipment and vehicles are used to transport passengers, freight & baggage and support repair & maintenance functions. In airports, equipment fall into two broader categories, i.e. land side (passenger entry side of airport) and air side (boarding/departure side). Ground support equipment includes vehicles used for fueling on the air-side and airplane maintenance. Aircraft ground support equipment doesnt include aircraft engine maintenance.In California, most airports have internal combustion engines (ICE) powered aircraft ground support equipment. Owing to stringent emission norms in North America and Europe, electric aircraft ground support equipment is made available by most of its manufacturers. There are many airports in various countries with a high percentage of aircraft ground support equipment (electric). For example, the Denver International Airport was designed for all electric ground support equipment. Similarly, Logan International Airport (Boston) progressed and switched from ICE to electric aircraft ground support equipment.Aircraft ground support equipment could be owned by cargo handlers, airports, airlines, management companies or parcel & mail companies. Airports usually own stationary infrastructure and lease equipment with airlines.Owing to an increase in passenger and cargo traffic, terminal infrastructure plays a vital role in airports as it affects the turnaround time and flight delay. In order to run their operations on time, existing airports have started undergoing modernization and expansion with new technologies. Increase in modernization and terminal expansions are expected to generate significant demand for the aircraft ground support equipment market. Additionally, modernization of aircraft ground support equipment are also expected to enhance safety measures and efficiency of airline operations.Request For Report Sample:Aircraft ground support equipment: DynamicsThe increased use of storage systems and warehouse operations at airports will have a positive impact on the aircraft ground support equipment market. Also, rising number of airports and airlines will drive demand for aircraft ground support equipment products. However, there are a few market players who are expected to dominate the market owing to their advanced technology.Aircraft ground support equipment: SegmentationBroadly, the aircraft ground support equipment market is segmented on the basis of handling as: aircraft handling, passenger handling, cargo handling.The global ground support system market is dominated by the aircraft handling segment, which accounted for more than forty percent of the total market share. Constantly growing passenger traffic and increase in aircraft movement are forecasted to fuel demand for the aircraft ground support equipment market.Additionally, the global ground support equipment market can be segmented by type as: hybrid, electric, non-electric. The electric segment is estimated to dominate the market owing to the increase in expenditure by aviation authorities and ecofriendly aircraft ground support equipment, which conforms to latest emission norms. Furthermore, the market for airports is larger in Western Europe, Asia Pacific and North America, owing to the increasing number of airport expansions and rise in the number of airports.Aircraft ground support equipment: OutlookOver the forecast period, the global ground support equipment market is expected to grow at a high rate with the increase in demand for airports. Recently, EMEA has seen rapid growth in numbers with respect to cargo and passenger traffic. That, along with the burgeoning number of new aircrafts and expansions are anticipated to boost demand for the global aircraft ground support equipment market.Owing to the increase in emission norms, the U.S. currently represents the largest ground support equipment market. In 2015, foreign and domestic airlines in the U.S. approximately carried 895.5 million passengers system wide. However, the increasing demand for cargo shipments and air travel in countries such as Brazil, India and China is expected to represent a massive potential growth opportunity.Request For TOC:Aircraft ground support equipment: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global aircraft ground support equipment market identified across the value chain include:JBT AeroTechCargoTecAERO SpecialtiesCavotec SABharat Earth MoversTUGDouglas equipment servicesFgFlightline supportJiangsu Tianyi Airport Special EquipmentMallaghanABOUT 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:
PharmaPoint: Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Market 2017 - Abbott Laboratories, Alere, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Antibodies Incorporated

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Latest Research Report titled " Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Market Research Report 2017 " features Key Market Players, Segments, Applications. Report Presents Global Market Survey, Growth, Challenges and Forecast.In this report, the global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing 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 is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering- North America- Europe- China- Japan- Southeast Asia- IndiaGet a Sample Research PDF with TOC:Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players including- Abbott Laboratories- Alere- Bio-Rad Laboratories- Thermo Fisher Scientific- Antibodies Incorporated- Biocom Biotech- Erba Diagnostics- F. Hoffmann-La Roche- HOB Diagnostics- HUMAN Diagnostics- IMMCO- ImmunArray- Phadia- Seramun Diagnostica- Trinity BiotechOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into- Immunofluorescence- Elisa- MultiplexOn 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 Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing for each application, including- Hospitals- Clinics- OthersTable of Contents:2 Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Market Competitive Situation and TrendsBrowse more details at:3 Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Testing Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)About UsResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Alpha Methyl Styrene Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook

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Alpha methyl styrene (AMS) or isopropyl benzene is colourless liquid having sharp odour and used as co monomer in various polymerisation processes to improve impact and heat resistance of products. These are produced as by product in phenol production process of cumene oxidation. It undergoes purification by continuous distillation at reduced pressure to decrease cumene, phenol and butyl benzene impurities. To enhance cost efficiency of the process, companies like UOP and Kellogg recycle it by hydrogenation. It can easily be copolymerized with monomers like acrylates and benzene. Its pricing depends on benzene price trends.Purchase This Report by calling Global Market Insights, Inc. at 1-888-689-0688 (Toll Free) or 1-302-846-7766.Alpha Methyl Styrene Market size shall witness a healthy growth in forecast period with application in adhesives, resins, and chemical intermediates. These are extensively used for production of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins. ABS market is growing at a CAGR of around 4.5% owing to its application in automotive and protective equipment that has increased product usage. Further, its production output will increase with processes like involvement of dehydrogenation in FSU. These factors are expected to propel alpha methyl styrene market.The bisphenol and polycarbonate product segment is growing above 6% that has increased its utilization. These are obtained as by product in phenol production and its availability has enhanced with increase in phenol production capacity. AMS is preferred over styrene as these provide better heat stability and impact strength. Such factors are expected to further boost alpha methyl styrene market.Request for table of contents of this research report @Major restraint for alpha methyl styrene market is its incompatibility with strong oxidising agents such as mercury, copper and alkaline pesticides. It can cause some health issues like irritation in eyes, skin and throat. These can lead to environmental pollution as on burning it releases toxic gases and vapours like carbon monoxide that increases greenhouse gases. Further it is highly flammable and vapours form explosive mixture with air.Based on application, alpha methyl styrene market is segmented into ABS manufacturing, plastic additive, adhesives, plasticizers, chemical intermediate and others. These are primarily used for production of ABS resins to impart heat distortion property. ABS has major share and accounts for around one third of its demand. It finds application in diverse products like lubricating oils, drying oils, antioxidants and perfumes.Browse Full Report summary @Further, these are used for manufacturing low molecular weight polymers that forms viscous liquid and employed in coatings, adhesives, plasticisers and waxes. The adhesives market is growing with a CAGR above 5% that is driving the product consumption. Plasticizers are used to improve the flexibility and durability of materials. Super plasticizers are employed in cements to decrease water to cement ration in concrete mixtures. These are added in paint coatings to improve viscosity and adhesion property.Reasons to Buy This Report:1. Alpha Methyl Styrene Market size & share forecast by product & application 2017-20242. Growth drivers, pitfalls & industry challenges3. Alpha Methyl Styrene Market growth opportunities & emerging business models4. Competitive benchmarking with market share analysis and company profilesNorth America led by the U.S. has significant share in global alpha methyl styrene market with its use in waxes. The region is second largest producer of wax and is growing at a CAGR of around 4.5%, and is expected to increase the product penetration.The Alpha Methyl Styrene Market Report Consists of:1. Methodology and Scope2. Executive Summary3. Alpha Methyl Styrene Industry Insights4. Industry segmentation5. Industry size, forecast and growth expectations, 2017 - 20246. Industry ecosystem analysis Raw material insights7. Technology insights8. Regulatory framework9. Industry dynamics10. Key growth opportunities11. Porter's analysis12. Company market share, 201713. PESTEL analysis14. Regional price trends15. Alpha Methyl Styrene Product Insights16. Alpha Methyl Styrene Application Insights17.Alpha Methyl Styrene Regional Insights18. Competitor ProfilesMake an inquiry for purchasing this report @Prominent players of alpha methyl styrene market are Ineos, Honeywell, Cespa, SANORS, Novapex, United Petrochemical Company, Mitsubishi Chemical, Taiwan Prosperity Company, Axiall, Solway, Rhodia and DOMO Chemicals to name a few. Companies are adopting merger and acquisition strategy to enhance their share. Ineos has acquired 50% share of BASF in Styrolutin and increased its production of alpha methyl styrene by constructing new plant at Altamira, Mexico.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone:1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Connect with us: Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Increased Demand for Copper for Power Infrastructure Development to Drive Base Metal Mining Activities

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Base Metal Mining Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2015 - 2023" to its huge collection of research reports.This research study analyzes the market for base metal mining in terms of volume (million metric tonnes). The market has been segmented on the basis of type and region. The global base metal mining market has been segmented into five regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America. For the research, 2014 has been taken as the base year, while all forecasts have been given for the period from 2015 to 2023. Market data for all the metal types has been provided at the regional as well as country-specific level from 2015 to 2023. The report provides a broad competitive analysis of companies engaged in the base metal mining business. The report also includes the key market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities affecting the global base metal mining market. These market dynamics were analyzed in detail and are illustrated in the report with the help of supporting graphs and tables. The report also provides a comprehensive analysis of the global base metal mining market with the help of Porters Five Forces model. This analysis helps in understanding the five major forces that affect the market structure and market profitability. The forces analyzed are bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and degree of competition.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The high-level analysis in the report provides detailed insights into the base metal mining business globally. There are currently numerous drivers of the market. One of the most prominent drivers is the rise in infrastructure development. Market attractiveness analysis was carried out for the base metal mining market on the basis of geography. Market attractiveness was estimated on the basis of common parameters that directly impact the market in different regions.The base metal mining market was segmented on the basis of type into copper, nickel, zinc-lead, aluminum, and tin. Base metals vary according to physical properties and applications.Aluminum held the significant market share in 2014 on account of its wide applications in various areas such as packaging, transportation, construction, consumer durables, machinery equipment, electrical systems, etc. Zinc is another most widely consumed base metal in the world due to its various physical properties such as galvanizing properties and capability of bonding with various metals. Zinc has been growing due to its anti-corrosion property which helps prevent corrosion in metals. Corrosion is a major hindrance to the base metal applications. Lead is primarily used in portable batteries, which are used in vehicles and emergency systems. Expanding portable batteries market, is driving the demand for lead. Demand for copper is projected to grow with increase in population as it would require expanding power infrastructure which is copper-intensive. Copper market would be boosted by the increase in number of infrastructure facilities such as buildings and complexes.Nickel is used in highly-specialized sectors such as industrial, aerospace, and military. Nickel plating is one of the important industries, wherein the usage of nickel is essential; expanding nickel plating industry would boost the demand for nickel in the next few years. Utilization of tin-coated electronic components is increasing in motor vehicles, which in turn, is boosting the consumption of tin. Tin is being used as an alternative to other materials. It is also used in various industries, such as food and beverage and packaging.The base metal mining market was analyzed across five geographies: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America. Regional data has been provided for each sub-segment of the base metal mining market. Key players in the market include Alcoa Inc., Anglo American plc, Antofagasta plc, BHP Billiton Ltd., Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO), First Quantum Minerals Ltd., Freeport-McMoRan Inc., Glencore plc, Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, Rio Tinto plc, Southern Copper Corporation, Teck Resources Limited, and Vale SA. The report provides an overview of these companies, followed by their financial details, business strategies, and recent developments.Base Metal Mining Market: By TypeCopperNickelLead-zincAluminumTinBase Metal Mining Market: By RegionNorth America- U.S.- Canada- MexicoEurope- Russia- Kazakhstan- Rest of EuropeAsia Pacific- China- India- Australia- Japan- Indonesia- Rest of Asia PacificMiddle East and Africa- South Africa- Rest of Middle East and AfricaSouth and Central America- Chile- Peru- Argentina- Rest of South and Central AmericaTable of ContentChapter 1 PrefaceReport DescriptionResearch ScopeMarket SegmentationResearch MethodologyChapter 2 Executive SummaryGlobal Base Metal Mining Market: SnapshotChapter 3 Global Base Metal Mining Market  Industry AnalysisIntroductionValue Chain AnalysisMarket DynamicsMarket DriversMarket RestraintsMarket OpportunitiesPorters Five Forces AnalysisBargaining Power of SuppliersBargaining Power of BuyersThreat from New EntrantsThreat from SubstitutesDegree of CompetitionMarket Attractiveness AnalysisMarket Attractiveness Analysis, by Regional Segment (2014)Company Market Share Analysis (2014)Chapter 4 Global Base Metal Mining Market  Metal Type Segment, by Volume (Million Metric Tons), 2014-2023OverviewCopper MiningNickel MiningLead-Zinc MiningAluminum MiningTin MiningChapter 5 Global Base Metal Mining Market  Regional Segment, By Volume (Million Metric Tonnes), 2014-2023OverviewNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaMexicoEuropeRussiaKazakhstanRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaAustraliaJapanIndonesiaRest of Asia PacificMiddle East & Africa (MEA)South AfricaRest of Middle East & Africa (MEA)South & Central America (SCA)ChilePeruArgentinaRest of South & Central AmericaChapter 6 Company ProfilesAlcoa Inc.Company OverviewFinancial OverviewBusiness StrategyRecent Development(*Note: Similar segmentation will be provided for each companies mentioned below)Anglo American PlcAntofagasta plcBHP Billiton LtdCorporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO)First Quantum Minerals Ltd.Freeport-McMoRan Inc.Glencore plcKaiser Aluminum CorporationRio Tinto plcSouthern Copper CorporationTeck Resources LimitedVale SAMake 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 Construction Equipment Market 2017 - Features Industry Trends and Key Players ( Caterpillar Inc., Liebherr AG, Terex, Volvo and Others )

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Latest Research Report titled " Global Construction Equipment Market Research Report 2017 " features Key Market Players, Segments, Applications. Report Presents Global Market Survey, Growth, Challenges and Forecast.In this report, the global Construction Equipment 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 is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Construction Equipment in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering- North America- Europe- China- Japan- Southeast Asia- IndiaGet a Sample Research PDF with TOC:Global Construction Equipment market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players including- Caterpillar Inc. (U.S.)- Liebherr AG (Switzerland)- Terex (U.S.)- Volvo Construction Equipment AB (Sweden)- Komatsu (Japan)- Doosan Infracoe (South Korea)- Hitachi Machinery Construction (Japan)- JCB (U.K.)- Sany (China)- CNH (U.K.)On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into- Earth moving equipment- Material handling- Heavy construction vehicles- Others( Pavers/Asphalt Finishers/Compactors and Road Rollers)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 Construction Equipment for each application, including- Construction & manufacturing- Oil & gas- Public works & rail road- Mining- Others (forestry & agriculture and military)Table of Contents:2 Global Construction Equipment Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Construction Equipment Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Construction Equipment Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Construction Equipment Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Construction Equipment Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Construction Equipment Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Construction Equipment Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Construction Equipment Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Construction Equipment Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Construction Equipment Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, ExpansionBrowse more details at:3 Global Construction Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Construction Equipment Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Construction Equipment Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Construction Equipment Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Construction Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Construction Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Construction Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Construction Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)About UsResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Infrastructural Growth in Developing Regions Encourages Usage of High Performance Anti-Corrosion Coatings

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings (Epoxy Coatings, Urethane Coatings, Acrylic Coatings, and Others) Market for Oil & Gas, Marine, Construction, Tanks & Pipes, Power Generation, and Other End-users - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023" to its huge collection of research reports.High performance anti-corrosion coatings are advanced materials that are applied on metal and concrete components in various manufacturing plants that are exposed to severe corrosive surroundings. Epoxy coatings, acrylic coatings, and urethane coatings are major product segments of the global high performance anti-corrosion coatings market. These coatings are broadly consumed in core industries. Oil & gas, tanks & pipes, construction, marine and power generation are major end-users of the high performance anti-corrosion coatings market. Oil & gas held the largest demand for high performance anti-corrosion coatings in 2014. However, the power generation segment is expected to create substantial growth opportunities for the high performance anti-corrosion coatings market during the forecast period. Use of waterborne process technology is likely to be one of the potential substitutes for solvent-borne coating systems in the high performance anti-corrosion coatings market by 2023.The report estimates and forecasts the high performance anti-corrosion coatings market on the global, regional, and country level. The study provides forecast from 2015 to 2023 based on volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn).To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The study offers a comprehensive view of the high performance anti-corrosion coatings market by dividing it into product segments such as epoxy coatings, acrylic coatings, urethane coatings, and others. In terms of end-user, the global high performance anti-corrosion coatings market has been segmented into oil & gas, marine, construction, tanks & pipes, power generation, and others. End-user segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends, and the market has been estimated from 2015 to 2023 in terms of volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn). Regional segmentation includes current and forecast demand for high performance anti-corrosion coatings in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Additionally, the report includes country-level analysis in terms of volume and revenue for product and end-user segments. Key countries such as the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Russia, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, as well as ASEAN and GCC are incorporated in the study. Market segmentation includes demand for individual products and end-users in all regions and countries.The report comprises a comprehensive value chain analysis that provides a broad view of the market. Value chain analysis also provides detailed information about value addition at each stage of the value chain. The report covers drivers and restraints for the high performance anti-corrosion coatings market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. Additionally, it includes the study of opportunities in the high performance anti-corrosion coatings market at the global level.The report includes Porters Five Forces Model to gauge the degree of competition in the high performance anti-corrosion coatings market. The report encompasses a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein end-users have been analyzed based on their attractiveness, growth rate, market size, raw material availability, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated to derive general attractiveness of the market. The report also includes price trend analysis of raw materials derived from petrochemicals such as propylene, ethylene, and aromatics as well as high performance anti-corrosion coatings from 2014 to 2023.Secondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.In-depth interviews and discussions with a wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of the 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 reinforcing our secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.The report covers a detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. Akzo Nobel N.V., The 3M Company, Chugoku Marine Paints, Ltd., Nippon Paint Co., Ltd., Hempel A/S, Jotun A/S, PPG Industries Inc., and The Sherwin-Williams Company are key players profiled in the report. 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.This report segments the global high performance anti-corrosion coatings market as follows:High Performance Anti-Corrosion Coatings Market  Product Segment Analysis- Epoxy Coatings- Urethane Coatings- Acrylic Coatings- Others (Alkyd Coatings, etc.)High Performance Anti-Corrosion Coatings Market  End-User Analysis- Oil & Gas- Marine- Construction- Tanks & Pipes- Power Generation- Others (Paper & Pulp, etc.)High Performance Anti-Corrosion Coatings Market  Regional Analysis- North America- U.S.- Rest of North America- Europe- Germany- France- U.K.- Italy- Russia- Rest of Europe- Asia Pacific- China- India- ASEAN- Rest of Asia Pacific- Latin America- Brazil- Rest of Latin America- Middle East & Africa (MEA)- GCC- South Africa- Rest of Middle East & AfricaTable of ContentsChapter 1 PrefaceReport DescriptionResearch ScopeAssumptionsMarket SegmentationResearch MethodologyChapter 2 Executive SummaryGlobal High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market, Volume and Revenue, 2014 - 2023, (Kilo Tons) (US$ Mn)High Performance Anti-Corrosion Coatings: Market SnapshotChapter 3 High Performance Anti-Corrosion Coatings Market  Industry AnalysisIntroductionValue Chain AnalysisMarket DriversDriver 1  Global Oil & Gas Industry Likely To Boost Demand for High Performance Anti-corrosion CoatingsDriver 2  Construction and Marine Industries in Asia Pacific to Propel Growth of High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings MarketRestraintsRestraint 1  Price Volatility of Petrochemical Feedstock to Hinder High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market GrowthRestraint 2  Strict Government Regulations on VOC Emissions to Restrict Demand for High Performance Anti-corrosion CoatingsOpportunities Opportunity 1  Power Generation Industry Expected to Provide Growth Opportunities to High Performance Anti-corrosion CoatingsOpportunity 2  Technological Breakthrough Likely to Boost the Market for High Performance Anti-corrosion CoatingsPorters Five Forces AnalysisBargaining Power Of SuppliersBargaining Power Of BuyersThreat Of New EntrantsThreat Of SubstitutesDegree Of CompetitionHigh Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings: Market Attractiveness AnalysisMarket Attractiveness Analysis By End-userMarket Attractiveness Analysis By CountryChapter 4 Raw Material and Price Trend AnalysisRaw Material Price Trends, 2014  2023 (US$/Ton)High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Price Trends, 2014  2023 (US$/Ton)Chapter 5 Market Segmentation  Product AnalysisGlobal High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market: Product OverviewGlobal Epoxy Coatings MarketGlobal Urethane Coatings MarketGlobal Acrylic Coatings MarketGlobal Other High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings MarketChapter 6 Market Segmentation  End-user AnalysisGlobal High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market: End-user OverviewGlobal High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market for Oil & GasGlobal High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market for MarineGlobal High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market for ConstructionGlobal High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market for Tanks & PipesGlobal High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market for Power GenerationGlobal High Performance Anti-Corrosion Coatings Market For OthersChapter 7 Market Segmentation  Regional AnalysisGlobal High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market: Regional OverviewNorth America High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisNorth America High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisU.S. High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisU.S. High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisRest Of North America High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisRest Of North America High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisEurope High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisEurope High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisGermany High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisGermany High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisFrance High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisFrance High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisU.K. High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisU.K. High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisItaly High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisItaly High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisRussia High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisRussia High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisRest Of Europe High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisRest Of Europe High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisAsia Pacific High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisAsia Pacific High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisChina High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisChina High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisIndia High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisIndia High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisASEAN High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisASEAN High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisRest Of Asia Pacific High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisRest Of Asia Pacific High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisLatin America High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisLatin America High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisBrazil High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisBrazil High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisRest Of Latin America High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisRest Of Latin America High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisMiddle East & Africa High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisMiddle East & Africa High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisGCC High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisGCC High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisSouth Africa High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisSouth Africa High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisRest Of Middle East & Africa High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  Product AnalysisRest Of Middle East & Africa High Performance Anti-corrosion Coatings Market  End-user AnalysisChapter 8 Company ProfilesThe 3M CompanyAkzo Nobel N.V.Chugoku Marine Paints, Ltd.Jotun A/SNippon Paint Co., Ltd.Hempel A/SPPG Industries Inc.The Sherwin-Williams CompanyTnemec Inc.SokemaAICA Kogyo Co., Ltd.AnCatt Inc.Chapter 9 Primary Research  Key FindingsChapter 10 List of Key CustomersMake 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 Database as a Service Market 2016-2020 - Key vendors Amazon Web Service, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Database as a Service Market 2016-2020" to its huge collection of research reports.Organizations across industries embrace cost-effective DBaaS solutions to meet their complex database management requirement and outperform their competitors. The need to gain flexibility while driving down data costs, the exponential growth in data due to increased implementation of enterprise mobility, and the rapid adoption of cloud computing positively impact the market growth.In todays world of information, every industry is experiencing disruptive changes in the way businesses are done worldwide. The generation of exponential data volumes in the digital universe is driven by the higher adoption of cloud services. Organizations will continue creating and consuming data on multiple devices. Some of the industry verticals such as healthcare, retail and financial services are among the most data-driven industries.Technavios analysts forecast the global database as a service (DBaaS) market to grow at a CAGR of 65.49% during the period 2016-2020.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global database as a service (DBaaS) market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, we considered revenue generated from both SQL and Non SQL (NoSQL) databases.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEAGlobal Database As A Service (DBaaS) 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 vendorsAmazon Web ServiceIBMMicrosoftOracleOther prominent vendorsAccentureCenturyLinkCSCEMCGoogleHOSTINGHPRackspaceRedcentricSalesforce.comSAPTesoraMarket driverEase of useFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeData integration issuesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendProliferation of digital dataFor 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?Table Of ContentPART 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 end-userSegmentation of global DBaaS market by end-userPART 07: Market segmentation by type of serviceSegmentation of global DBaaS market by type of servicePART 08: Geographical segmentationSegmentation of global DBaaS market by geographyAmericasEMEAAPACPART 09: Market driversEase of useEffective disaster managementReduced spending on IT infrastructureIncreased collaborationPART 10: Impact of driversPART 11: Market challengesPrivacy and security issuesBandwidth and connectivity issuesData integration issuesImplementation challengesPART 12: Impact of drivers and challengesPART 13: Market trendsProliferation of digital dataIncrease in mobility solutionsRise in demand for data recovery servicesEmergence of cloud brokerage servicesStringent monitoring compliancesPART 14: Vendor landscapeCompetitive scenarioMajor vendorsOther prominent vendorsPART 15: Key vendor analysisAmazon Web Services (AWS)IBMMicrosoftOraclePART 16: AppendixList of abbreviationsMake 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 @
PDFProtectFree.com Released New Free Software to Global Users: PDF Password Locker & Remover

http://www.pdfprotectfree.com

PDFProtectFree.com announced that their new free software product PDF Password Locker & Remover has been released. As a free security utility, this program protects PDF files with user password and owner password or both, prevents PDF files from unauthorized access. It also prevents PDF content from being copied with its anti-copy technology. Whats more, it could enable users to remove password of protected PDF files.PDF Password Locker & Remover is an intuitive software solution designed to help users to protect their PDF files and remove the password. With high encryption technology, users can secure and encrypt the PDF files and protect them from unauthorized access. Eight permissions could be choosed according to the users' need. Meanwhile, if users want to remove the password, just a few clicks are required to remover the user password and owner password.Benefits and features list:- Quick and easy - get started right away- Drag and drop your multiple PDF files- Encrypt PDF files with user password- Encrypt PDF files with owner password- Eight permissions could be choosed to prevent from unauthorized access- Anti-copying technology prevents other readers from copying text within - your PDF files- High encryption level: 128-bit- Remove the owner password- Remove the user password- Effortless manufacture process with only several clicks- Batch process support- 100% Free- 100% CleanHomepage:AboutPdfprotectfree.com is a professional software company. We take a very strict process from developing products to putting into the market. We have released flagship products like PDF Converter, PDF Merge Pro and PDF Password Recover. We have got thousands of customers from all around the world. We will continue to provide software that is useful and superior in performance!Press ContactShane StevenMarketing Manager5-2-6# YunTongWangChengYuHang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang,ChinaPhone: +86 15397504838Email: support@pdfprotectfree.com
Flight Simulator Market - Global Application, Classification, Revenue, Growth Rate, Opportunities and Forecast 2017-2022

ReportsWeb

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ReportsWeb.com added Global Flight Simulator Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 to its vast collection of research Database. The report is spread across 105 pages and supported by 18 company leaders.The Global Flight Simulator Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Flight Simulator industry. In a word, This report studies Flight Simulator in Global market, especially in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer. Key companies included in this research are Alenia Aeronautica, Boeing, CAE, Cassidian, DiSTI, Fidelity Technologies Corporation, HAVELSAN, Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, L-3 Link Simulation and Training, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Meggitt Training Systems, Rockwell Collins, SaaB, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Teledyne Brown Engineering, Thales, VirTra Systems and ZedaSoft.Browse complete report @Market Segment by Region, this report splits Global into several key Region, with sales, revenue, market share and growth rate of Flight Simulator in these regions, from 2011 to 2022 (forecast), like United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. Firstly, Flight Simulator Market segment by Type, Flight Simulator can be split into Full Flight Simulator (FFS) and Fixed Flight Training Devices (FTD). Market segment by Application, Flight Simulator can be split into Military & Defense and Civil.Request for Sample @Major points from Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview of Flight Simulator2 Global Flight Simulator Competition Analysis by Players3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Alenia Aeronautica3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Flight Simulator Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Boeing3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Flight Simulator Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 CAE3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Flight Simulator Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments4 Global Flight Simulator Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)5 United States Flight Simulator Development Status and Outlook6 EU Flight Simulator Development Status and Outlook7 Japan Flight Simulator Development Status and Outlook8 China Flight Simulator Development Status and Outlook9 India Flight Simulator Development Status and Outlook10 Southeast Asia Flight Simulator Development Status and Outlook11 Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2017-2022)12 Flight Simulator Market Dynamics13 Market Effect Factors AnalysisList of Tables and FiguresFigure Flight Simulator Product ScopeFigure Global Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) (2012-2017)Table Global Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Global Flight Simulator Market Share by Regions in 2016Figure United States Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure EU Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Japan Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure China Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure India Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Southeast Asia Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Global Flight Simulator Market Share by Type in 2016Figure Full Flight Simulator (FFS) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Figure Fixed Flight Training Devices (FTD) Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Figure Global Flight Simulator Market Share by Application in 2016Figure Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate in Military & Defense (2012-2017)Figure Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate in Civil (2012-2017)Figure Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate in Applications 3 (2012-2017)Table Flight Simulator Market Size (Million USD) by Players (2016 and 2017)Figure Flight Simulator Market Size Share by Players in 2016Figure Flight Simulator Market Size Share by Players in 2017Table Alenia Aeronautica Basic Information ListTable Flight Simulator Business Revenue (Million USD) of Alenia Aeronautica (2012-2017)Figure Alenia Aeronautica Flight Simulator Business Revenue Market Share in 2016Table Boeing Basic Information ListTable Flight Simulator Business Revenue (Million USD) of Boeing (2012-2017)Figure Boeing Flight Simulator Business Revenue Market Share in 2016Table CAE Basic Information ListTable Flight Simulator Business Revenue (Million USD) of CAE (2012-2017)Figure CAE Flight Simulator Business Revenue Market Share in 2016Table Cassidian Basic Information ListTable Flight Simulator Business Revenue (Million USD) of Cassidian (2012-2017)Figure Cassidian Flight Simulator Business Revenue Market Share in 2016Table DiSTI Basic Information ListTable Flight Simulator Business Revenue (Million USD) of DiSTI (2012-2017)Figure DiSTI Flight Simulator Business Revenue Market Share in 2016Table Fidelity Technologies Corporation Basic Information ListTable Flight Simulator Business Revenue (Million USD) of Fidelity Technologies Corporation (2012-2017)Figure Fidelity Technologies Corporation Flight Simulator Business Revenue Market Share in 2016Place a Direct Purchase Order of Complete Report @Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comOrganization: ReportsWebPhone: +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
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Global Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers Market Trends and Industry Intelligence Report

ReportsMonitor.com has added Global Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers Market Professional Survey Report 2017 to its database.

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ReportsMonitor.com has added Global Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers Market Professional Survey Report 2017 to its database of market research reports.This report identifies the Global Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers market size for the years 2014-2017, and forecast of the same till the year 2022. It also highlights the market drivers, restraints, growth indicators, challenges, and other key aspects with respect to the Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers market.Download Sample Report @Global Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers Market Research Report 2017 tracks the major market events including product launches, technological developments, mergers and acquisitions, and the innovative business strategies opted by key market players. Along with strategically analyzing the key micro markets, the report also focuses on industry-specific drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges in the Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers market. This research report offers in-depth analysis of the market size (revenue), market share, major market segments, and different geographic regions, the forecast for the next five years, key market players, and premium industry trends. It also focuses on the key drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges.View Entire Report @This report focuses on top manufacturers in Global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringNXP Semiconductor (Freescale)Cypress SemiconductorMicrochip (Atmel)SemtecNeocortecQorvoSilicon LaboratoriesTexas InstrumentsMarvellARMSTMicroelectronicsInfineon TechnologiesThe competitive landscape of the Global market for Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers is determined by evaluating the various market participants, production capacity, Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers markets production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Global market.This report segments the Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers marketOn the basis of types :Wi-Fi IoT ControllersBluetooth IoT ControllersZigBee IoT ControllersOthersOn the basis of application:Home ApplianceHVAC MonitoringFire/Gas/Leak DetectionRomote ControlsOthersFor comprehensive understanding of market dynamics, the market is analyzed across key geographies namely :North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaEach of these regions is analyzed on the basis of market findings across major countries in these regions for a macro-level understanding of the market.Some points from TOC:1 Industry Overview of Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers1.1 Definition and Specifications of Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers1.1.1 Definition of Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers1.1.2 Specifications of Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers1.2 Classification of Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers1.2.1 Wi-Fi IoT Controllers1.2.2 Bluetooth IoT Controllers1.2.3 ZigBee IoT Controllers1.2.4 Others1.3 Applications of Internet of Things (IoT) Controllers1.3.1 Home Appliance1.3.2 HVAC Monitoring1.3.3 Fire/Gas/Leak Detection1.3.4 Romote Controls1.3.5 OthersAbout Us:Reports Monitor (ReportsMonitor.com) is a platform to meet the market research and business intelligence requirements. Our aim is to change the dynamics of the Market Research industry by providing quality intelligence backed by data. Your requirement for market forecasting is fulfilled by our exclusive quantitative and analytics driven intelligence. We have a vast collection of reports, covering maximum industries worldwide. Our process is meticulously planned and executed in order to use maximum resources and explore the market for getting genuine insights. Decision makers can now rely on our distinct data gathering methods to get factual market forecasting and detailed analysis.Contact UsINDIA OFFICE:008, Mihir Co-operative,Above Bharat Suzuki showroom,Fatima Nagar,Pune - 411013,Maharashtra,IndiaJay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911Email: sales@reportsmonitor.comWebsite:
Galla Chinensis Extract Market Driven by Rising Demand in Industrial Applications

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Galla chinensis extract is used in food and pharmaceutical industries due to its strong antibacterial, antiviral, hepatoprotective, anticancer, antidiarrheal and antioxidant properties. Galla chinensis extract is derived from Rhus chinensis, or the nutgall tree, which is primarily cultivated in mainland China, and is traded regionally and globally. Since, the galla chinensis extract is used in several other industries such as, chemical industries, petrochemical industries, water treatment industries, timber industries and ink industries, the growth and demand for galla chinensis extract has higher correlation with the overall performance of mentioned industries. Apart from this, galla chinensis extract is also used in cosmetic industries for its antioxidant properties. Attributed to its health benefits which include lowering blood pressure, acid regulation, etc., the product has witness increased traction.Obtain Report Details @Galla Chinensis Extract Market Segmentation:Galla chinensis extract market can be segmented on the basis of application as:Food industry:Galla chinensis extract is used in food industry as preservative and anti-foul ant in the food industry. Cheaper and easier availability of the product as compared to other preservative is improving the market for Galla chinensis. Recently Galla chinensis extract is also being used as health supplement, fueling the market for Galla chinensis extract.Petrochemical engineering:Galla chinensis extract is used in petrochemical engineering as filler and additive.Water treatment industry:Galla chinensis extract is used in water treatment as adsorbent and flocculent.Timber industry:Galla chinensis extract is used in timber industry as surface coating and adhesive.Ink industry:Galla chinensis extract is used in the manufacturing of blue ink and tanned leather.Galla chinensis extract market can be segmented on the basis of distribution channel asSupermarketSpecialty storesOnline salesRetail storesFill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Galla Chinensis Extract Market Regional Outlook:Galla chinensis has been traditionally used in China as herbal medicines. Galla chinensis extract market is considerably growing more in Asia Pacific region in comparison to other regions. China is the prominent consumer for the product, apart from this it is also the prominent manufacturer of Galla chinensis extract. The market for Galla chinensis extract is slowly expanding to other regions like North America and Europe. A few suppliers and manufactures are strengthening their distribution network to increase market foothold in markets that has high potential and are unorganized.Galla Chinensis Extract Market Drivers & Opportunities:Galla chinensis extract has various industrial applications, which is significantly driving the market for Galla chinensis extract. Apart from this recent studies on Galla chinensis extract published in NCBI and other reputed science journals suggests that several traditional medicinal applications and properties of Galla chinensis extract are true and can be used in pharmaceutical industries for drug development for diseases like diarrhea, which is significantly increasing the market growth for Galla chinensis.Galla chinensis extract market in North America and Europe is fairly unorganized with lots of room for improvement. These are high potential market for Galla chinensis extract, leading to the development for opportunities of gala chinensis manufacturers.Galla Chinensis Extract Market Restraints:Galla chinensis extract manufacture is mainly limited to mainland China. Although there are a lot of Chinese manufactures who are exporting Galla chinensis extract in global market but poor distribution channel is a major setback for Galla chinensis extract market. Galla chinensis extract has been introduced to the new potential markets like Europe, but the lack of proper advertisement and information among the consumers and buyers is a significant restraint for Galla chinensis extract market.Galla Chinensis Extract Market Key Players:Some of the key players in galla chinensis extract market are Hanson TRG Biotech Co.,Ltd, Shaanxi NHK Technology Co., Ltd., Hunan Nutramax Inc., Xi'an Hygethy Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Nutra Green Biotechnology Co.,Ltd. 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:
Mylan explores the patient-centric road to biosimilars

www.biosimilars-northamerica.com/openpr

www.biosimilars-northamerica.com/openpr

http://www.smi-online.co.uk

SMi Group has announced that Mr Chrys Kokino, Head Biologics Commercial at Mylan has joined the speaker line-up for the 4th annual Biosimilars North America conference in New Jersey.Chrys will present a talk entitled "The Road to Biosimilars: Reaching our destination with the patient in mind". This session, focusing on biosimilar usability and effectivity, will look into strategies, obstacles and lessons learned from the global market and adapting these for future US launches.Chrys joins a speaker lineup comprised of experts shaping up the biosimilars landscape in North America including representatives from Sandoz, Harvest Moon Pharmaceuticals, Momenta, FUJIFILM Diosynth, Oncobiologics, Adelio, Covance, Zuckerman & Spaeder and more.The full roster of speakers and their topics can be found onThis year, the conference will also explore significant developmental topics within the sector including the impact of FDAs newly implemented biosimilar interchangeability guidelines, the US market access landscape, and biosimilars of orphan drugs.Registration is now live on the event website and there For more information visit:4th Biosimilars North AmericaNovember 15 & 16, 2017Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel, Iselin, NJ, USA--- END ---For delegate registration enquiries, contact Fateja Begum on fbegum@smi-online.co.uk. For media enquiries, contact Honey de Gracia at hdegracia@smi-online.co.uk.About SMi Group:Established since 1993, the SMi Group is a global event-production company that specializes in Business-to-Business Conferences, Workshops, Masterclasses and online Communities. We create and deliver events in the Defence, Security, Energy, Utilities, Finance and Pharmaceutical industries. We pride ourselves on having access to the worlds most forward thinking opinion leaders and visionaries, allowing us to bring our communities together to Learn, Engage, Share and Network. More information can be found at1 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7XW
Electric Power Steering System (EPS) Market 2017 - Parker, Profile, BYD, Chroma ATE Inc., Delta Electronics

Electric Power Steering System (EPS) Market

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https://goo.gl/7dnidu

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Apex Research, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the "Electric Power Steering System (EPS) Market" across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of "Electric Power Steering System (EPS) 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 Electric Power Steering System (EPS) industry, and estimates the future trend of Electric Power Steering System (EPS) market on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares "Electric Power Steering System (EPS) Market" performance both in terms of volume and revenue.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportCanadian Electric Vehicles LtdParkerKelly Controls, LLCShanghai E-drive Co., Ltd.Shenzhen Inovance Technology Co., Ltd.ProfileZhongshan Broad-Ocean Motor Co., Ltd.United Automotive Electronic Systems Co., Ltd. (UAES)Hunan CRRC Times Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd.BYDZhuhai Enpower Electric Co., Ltd.Shenzhen V&T Technologies Co., Ltd.Fujian Fugong Power Technology Co., Ltd.Chroma ATE Inc.Delta ElectronicsJing-Jin Electric Technologies (Beijing) Co., Ltd.DEC Dongfeng Electric Machinery Co., Ltd.Nidec (Beijing) Drive Technologies Co., Ltd.Time High-Tech Co., Ltd.The market research report explores the Electric Power Steering System (EPS) market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of "Electric Power Steering System (EPS) 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 Electric Power Steering System (EPS) market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Electric Power Steering System (EPS). Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Electric Power Steering System (EPS) 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 Electric Power Steering System (EPS) is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Electric Power Steering System (EPS) market's production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Electric Power Steering System (EPS) market globally.Enquire Before Buying @The worldwide Electric Power Steering System (EPS) market 2017 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Electric Power Steering System (EPS) production volume, data pertaining to demand and Electric Power Steering System (EPS) supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Electric Power Steering System (EPS) 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 Electric Power Steering System (EPS) across the world.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. 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 ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
Hear from FEMA, World Bank, World Vision and UNHCR at Global Disaster Relief & Development Summit

Global Disaster Relief & Development Summit

http://disaster-relief.aidforum.org

World Population Day, 11 July, brings population-related issues to the forefront of international discussion. Thirty years since the observation of the Day of Five Billion in 1987 the world is filled with 7.6 billion people, demonstrating the need for further consideration of environmental and development challenges.The mortality rates in the U.S. will increase by 5.4 per 100,000 for every rise of 1C in average temperatures and could cost 1.2% of GDP, according to a study by the University of California Berkeley. The researchers predict that climate change will disproportionately impact communities in poverty as they will be battling against extreme heat as well as flood and hurricane damages with comparatively less access to resources.To discuss in further detail the concerns surrounding population issues, development and disasters, the Aid and International Development Forum will hold the Global Disaster Relief & Development Summit on September 6-7 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C. This years programme will expand its scope beyond disaster response and will look into global challenges, latest innovations, partnerships and opportunities in international development. Heres who you can look forward to hearing from at the Global Disaster Relief & Development Summit 2017: Christopher Smith, Director of Individual Assistance, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Department of Homeland Security Dr Joe Leitmann, Lead Disaster Risk Management Specialist, Resilient Recovery and Urban Resilience, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), World Bank Group Anna Spindler, Head of Supply Chain & Logistics Service, UNHCR Joseph Burton, Counselor for Technology and Security Policy, U.S. Department of State Keith Kall, Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships, World Vision Hani Shannak, Chief, Information Technology Operations Services, UNICEF Adefela Adelekan, Senior Manager Disaster Response Programme, GSMA Richard Leach, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Food Program USA Gemma Bulos, Director, Global Womens Water Initiative Jacqueline Bass, Director Livelihoods, Social and Economic Development (SED), FHI360Join the Global Disaster Relief & Development Summit 2017 for two days full of learning and ideas, topic-specific discussions, themed roundtables and networking as senior representatives from UN and government agencies, development banks, NGOs, civil societies and the private sector gather together to take humanitarian aid and development to a new level.For more details about the summit or to register, visitFor all enquiries, please contact Alina OKeeffe, Head of Marketing, AIDF at marketing@aidforum.orgThe Aid and International Development Forum (AIDF) is the world leading forum specialising in disaster relief, resilience, mobile for development, food security and water security.We unite all stakeholders from government, UN agencies, intergovernmental agencies, NGOs and the private sector by providing a platform for independent debate and knowledge exchange, and for establishing long-lasting partnerships. For over 13 years, AIDF has been committed to improving aid and international development through research and high profile events held at the UN and government buildings in Asia, Africa, North America and Europe.3rd Floor, Two America Square, London, EC3N 2LU
Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer Market 2017 - Agrium Inc,Israel Chemical Ltd,K+S AG,SQM,The Mosaic Company,PotashCorp

Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer Market

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Apex Research, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the "Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer Market" across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of "Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer 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 Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer industry, and estimates the future trend of Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer market on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares "Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer Market" performance both in terms of volume and revenue.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportYara International ASA(Norway)Agrium Inc(Canada)Israel Chemical Ltd(Israel)K+S AG(Germany)SQM(France)The Mosaic Company(Canada)PotashCorp(Canada)Coromandel International Ltd(India)Haifa Chemicals Ltd(Israel)Arihant Bio FertichemThe market research report explores the Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of "Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer 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 Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer 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 Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer market's production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer market globally.Enquire Before Buying @The worldwide Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer market 2017 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer production volume, data pertaining to demand and Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer 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 Nitrogenous Water Soluble Fertilizer across the world.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. 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 ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
Become an Immigration Adviser with the Immigration Advice Services

IAS expand their OISC training courses

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Being stuck in a stagnating career can often feel disheartening as its hard to explore your options while working a full-time job. But the Immigration Advice Services have now found a solution to this; with their two-day training courses, you can receive all the information you need to train to be an Immigration Adviser.WHY BECOME AN IMMIGRATION ADVISER?With a starting salary of 20k that rises with the more experience you have; immigration advice is a very lucrative business. And as an immigration adviser, you will be helping people in one of the most important parts of their lives: their home and their familys homes. You will be able to specialise in your favoured areas such as working with children or refugees.HOW TO BECOME AN IMMIGRATION ADVISER?You dont need a background in law or a law degree to become an Immigration Adviser, the OCIS training courses provide you with all the knowledge and study materials youll need to complete the Office of Immigration assessment. This whole process is exponentially quicker than typical the typical route into a law career and you can get started asap.So, what are you waiting for?Start the next chapter in your life today with IAS, contact us now ator phone us on 0203 468 9949Leading experts in immigration law, if you're looking for visa services to the UK then we're here to help.Conavon Court, 12 Blackfriars St, Salford
Global Software as a Service (SaaS) Market- Size, Trend, Share, Opportunity Analysis & Forecast, 2014-2025

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As per new report published by Progressive Markets, titled, Global Software as a Service (SaaS) Market- Size, Trend, Share, Opportunity Analysis & Forecast, 2014-2025, it is anticipated that industry would grow at a CAGR of 28% during the period, 20172025. It provides great opportunity to key stakeholders and manufacturers to identify opportunities that are present in the market.Sample Report Available @The study gives description of the global software as a service market in terms of product, scope, and research methodology. It encompasses summary of the industry in reference to market attractiveness, trends, and competitive scenarios. The experts incorporate the Porters Five Forces Analysis (PFFA) to have a comprehensive know-how of competition scenario in the industry. The research evaluates the landscape of the market based on bargaining power of customers & buyers, threat of substitutes & new entrants, and industry rivalry. It segments the market into deployment model, application, region, and end user.Based on deployment model, the report classifies the global software as a service market into public cloud, hybrid cloud, and private cloud. The industry finds its application in human resource management (HRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), and customer relationship management (CRM). Its other applications include web conferencing platforms, business intelligence, compliance, and messaging & collaboration. End-users of the market are large enterprise and small & medium enterprises (SMEs). Based on geography, the study divides the industry into North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America Middle East & Africa (LAMEA).The report further classifies the global software as a service market which includes Canada, U.S., and Mexico in the North American region. In the Europe, nations discussed are France, U.K., Russia, and Germany. In the Asia-Pacific region, nations assessed are Japan, China, India, and Australia. The LAMEA countries included are Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and South Africa. The study analyzes market share by deployment models, geographies, end users, and applications for the period, 20142025.Enquire @The research evaluates size of the global software as a service market by each deployment model by region during the historic as well as forecast period, 20142016 and 20172025, respectively. It assesses the aforementioned parameters by every application, end user, and region for the historic period and forecast period. It discusses major manufacturers of the industry, such as Amazon.com, Inc., Google, Inc., ADP, LLC, Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Workday, Inc., IBM Corporation, Salesforce.com, Inc., Fujitsu Limited, and SAP SE.The analysts assess each vendor based on different strategies adopted by them in order to keep themselves updated about evolvement in market trends. These strategies include collaboration, product development, acquisition, and product approval. Further, they business & finance segments and recent development. They also offer an overview of every top vendor. In addition, the research helps to explore factors that drive and impede growth of the global software as a service market. The aspects that propel progress of the industry include rise in mobile penetration to SaaS. Apart from this, other aspects that harbor growth of the industry are increase in business outsourcing for software & services and growth in number of specialized SaaS applications.The analysts also highlight factors that restrict growth of the global software as a service market are less integration and apprehensions for data security. Alternative aspect that hampers prosperity of the industry is need for constant internet connectivity with high speed. Further, it offers numerous takeaways of the industry, such as it provides great edge to manufacturers, stakeholders, and new entrants. It offers comprehensive evaluation of aspects that are have potential to restrict or drive the industry. The experts explore competitive scenario which helps them to understand the present rivalry within the geographical locations. Further, they assess the opportunities that prevail within these regional distributions. An in-depth assessment of developments in the market aids manufacturers and new entrepreneurs to understand the industry behavior. The research thoroughly follows the status of the products and also provides a substantial examination of top manufacturers of the market framework.The study illustrates the abovementioned parameters of the global software as a service market through tables and figures. For instance, there are table that depict market value of each deployment model, application, and end user by region for the forecast period. There a few tables that show market share by geographies, applications, end users, and deployment models during the historic period. It depicts the same characteristics through figures.Read More @About Us:Progressive Markets is the answer to every possible business query. It is a market research and business consulting firm, headquartered in India with an aim to deliver up-to-date executive support to foster overall growth of an organization in its domain. With more than 442 syndicate and customized research reports for 11 industry verticals at hand, the plausible resolutions to your business concerns are just one-query away. The company offers client-centric customizations on research reports to cater to their operational segment and geography.Progressive Markets was found with an initiative to bridge the gap between enterprises and global opportunities. It is driven by the sole motive to build an effective channel to communicate up-to-date qualitative and quantitative market intelligence with all-scale participants. The company makes use of primary corporate research and secondary inputs from trusted sources to build its own reference base. It maintains consistency in quality as it keeps itself updated with changes in market dynamics and gauging its net effect on global business trends.5933 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
ResearchMoz - United States Tequila Market Continues To Grow At A CAGR Of 3.67% From 2016 - 2020

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "ResearchMoz - United States Tequila Market Continues To Grow At A CAGR Of 3.67% From 2016 - 2020" to its huge collection of research reports.Tequila is distilled from the blue agave plant, which native to Mexico. It is made either from 51% or 100% agave, and the resultant spirit is priced accordingly. Tequila usually contains 38%-40% alcohol content depending on the government regulations or laws. The tequila market in the US accounts for a small market share in the global alcohol industry.Technavios analysts forecast the tequila market in the US to grow at a CAGR of 3.67% by revenue during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the tequila market in the US for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers revenue generated from the retail sales of tequila in terms of revenue and volume.Technavio's report, Tequila Market in the US 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsBeam SuntoryBrown-FormanDiageoTequila Cuervo la RojeaThe Patrn Spirits CompanyTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Other prominent vendorsArta TequilaCia Tequilera Los ValoresHacienda La CapillaJuarez TequilaPernod RicardProximo SpiritsBorco InternationalTequila CazadoresTequila QuioteMarket driverGrowing cocktail cultureFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeAvailability of counterfeit products and adulterated drinksFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendNew product launchesFor 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?Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Dr. Nipun Pauranik launches Pauranik Neuro Center in Indore for neurological treatments.

Indore, Madhya Pradesh July 12 2017- Pauranik Neuro Center at Indore is unique for comprehensive services for patients suffering from neurological and related disorders.Neurological disorders are the diseases within the brain, spine and the nerves that connect them. There are number of diseases caused on the nervous system. There are various treatment options for neurological disorder, medications (oral, topical and intravenous), device based surgeries, surgeries, physical therapies and rehabilitation.Dr. Nipun Pauranik is a specialised Doctor for neurological disorder treatments. The treatments performed are less invasive, relatively safer and offers new hope to patients. Pauranik Neurocenter is like a last resort for the patients who were told previously that they had no further treatment options. Dr. Nipun Pauranik is the only doctor in M.P. who is trained in the field of Neurovascular Intervention. In this treatment the disorder (stroke) are treated within the blood vessels or endovascularly.Pauranik Neuro Center at Indore is a unique one stop facility center for neurological disorder. Dr. Nipun Pauranik is the main head of the center. He is blessed by the guidance of his father Dr. Apoorva Pauranik, a senior neurologist himself. Dr. Nipun and Dr. Apoorva are one of the handful father son duo neurologists in India practicing in same premises as a team.Senior Dr. Apoorva Pauranik is available on the recommendation of Dr. Nipun for expert opinion and counseling for selected patients whose problem is complex and challenging for diagnosis and therapy.Dr. Nipun Pauranik is currently the only neurologist in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh who is trained in Neuro-vascular Interventions.The services provided by Pauranik neurocenter are consultation, Electrophysiology LAB, Physiotherapy and occupational therapy, Botox treatment, Pain management and Blood investigation.74 EC SCH NO 94, Opposite Bombay Hospital Square, Ring Road ,Indore, Pushp Vihar Colony, Scheme 94 Sector EC, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 452010
Global Specialty Printing Consumables Sales Market Report 2017

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Specialty Printing Consumables Sales Market Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.The report on global Specialty Printing Consumables market presents a detailed assessment of the key factors and trends affecting the current dynamics and growth of the Specialty Printing Consumables market. The study is prepared with the help of numerous insights from leading industry experts and is based on the inputs by a wide spectrum of primary and secondary sources. The market participants looking for evidence-based analysis of the current and emerging trends will find the study out and out useful. Various emerging and establishes players gleaning through the study will be benefitted from the in-depth analysis of the various aspects of the competitive trends in the Specialty Printing Consumables market. The report offers a granular understanding of various country-specific data estimated over the forecast period. [20172022]. A variety of technology trends underpin recent product development initiatives of players of all sizes, the analysis of which is covered in the report. Furthermore, the study takes a closer look at the recent technological advances in various end-use industries.Market participants hoping to get a clear idea of the regulatory landscape prevailing in various countries will find the study useful, reliable, and updated. The evidence-based findings offered in the research help companies devise impactful targeting strategies, in order to expand their consumer base across major regions. Furthermore, the report highlights key changes in the governmental policies of various regions and their role in shaping revenue share and size of key players. A number of useful insights offered in the study help stakeholders understand key operational and strategic risks and gives an idea of emerging threats. In addition, the study covers the advent of disruptive technologies in recent years and assesses their impact on the business outlook of major regions.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @This report studies sales (consumption) of Specialty Printing Consumables 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, coveringDICCanonXeroxHPEastmanFlint InkNazdar Ink TechnologiesTable of Contents1 Specialty Printing Consumables Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Specialty Printing Consumables1.2 Classification of Specialty Printing Consumables1.2.1 Toner1.2.2 Ink1.2.3 Specialty Substrate1.2.4 Chemicals1.3 Application of Specialty Printing Consumables1.4 Specialty Printing Consumables Market by Regions1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Specialty Printing Consumables (2012-2022)Browse Market Research Report @2 Global Specialty Printing Consumables Competition by Manufacturers, Type and Application2.1 Global Specialty Printing Consumables Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1.1 Global Specialty Printing Consumables Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Specialty Printing Consumables Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Specialty Printing Consumables (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Specialty Printing Consumables Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Global Specialty Printing Consumables Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.3 Global Specialty Printing Consumables (Volume and Value) by Regions2.4 Global Specialty Printing Consumables (Volume) by Application9 Global Specialty Printing Consumables Manufacturers Analysis9.1 DIC9.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.1.2 Specialty Printing Consumables Product Type, Application and Specification9.1.2.1 Toner9.1.2.2 Ink9.1.3 DIC Specialty Printing Consumables Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.2 Canon9.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.2.2 Specialty Printing Consumables Product Type, Application and Specification9.2.2.1 Toner9.2.2.2 Ink9.2.3 Canon Specialty Printing Consumables Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.2.4 Main Business/Business OverviewList of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Specialty Printing ConsumablesTable Classification of Specialty Printing ConsumablesFigure Global Sales Market Share of Specialty Printing Consumables by Type in 2015Figure Toner PictureFigure Ink PictureFigure Specialty Substrate PictureFigure United States Specialty Printing Consumables Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure China Specialty Printing Consumables Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Europe Specialty Printing Consumables Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Specialty Printing Consumables Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Southeast Asia Specialty Printing Consumables Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)QYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States
Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Sales Global Market For 2017: By Top Manufacturers/Players - Schott, IQ Glass, Groglass, Saint-Gobain & Corning

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Sales Global Market For 2017: By Top Manufacturers/Players - Schott, IQ Glass, Groglass, Saint-Gobain & Corning" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass 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 MT), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass sales volume, Price (USD/MT), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingSchottIQ GlassGroglassSaint-GobainCorningAbrisa TechnologiesAVIC SANXINOn 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 intoSingle Surface AR (Double Layer) GlassDouble Surface AR (Four Layer) GlassMultilayer AR GlassOn 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 Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass for each application, includingDisplay Screen of Consumer ElectronicsMedical InstrumentsCameraDisplay Screen in MilitaryShowroomsOtherTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Table of ContentsGlobal Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Sales Market Report 20171 Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass1.2 Classification of Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass by Product Category1.2.1 Global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Single Surface AR (Double Layer) Glass1.2.4 Double Surface AR (Four Layer) Glass1.2.5 Multilayer AR Glass1.3 Global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Display Screen of Consumer Electronics1.3.3 Medical Instruments2 Global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Global Anti-Reflective (AR) Glass Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Security Screen Doors Market Research Report 2017 - Larson, Grisham, Precision Door, Provia, Andersen Corporation

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Latest Research Report titled " Global Security Screen Doors Market Research Report 2017 " features Key Market Players, Segments, Applications. Report Presents Global Market Survey, Growth, Challenges and Forecast.In this report, the global Security Screen Doors 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 is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Security Screen Doors in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering- North America- Europe- China- Japan- Southeast Asia- IndiaGet a Sample Research PDF with TOC:Global Security Screen Doors market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players including- Larson- Grisham- Precision Door- Provia- Andersen Corporation- RB- Dierre- Hormann- ASSA ABLOYOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into- Wood Security Door- Metal Security Door- Other Material Security DoorOn 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 Security Screen Doors for each application, including- Residential Use- Commercial UseTable of Contents:2 Global Security Screen Doors Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Security Screen Doors Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Security Screen Doors Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Security Screen Doors Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Security Screen Doors Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Security Screen Doors Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Security Screen Doors Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product TypeBrowse more details at:3 Global Security Screen Doors Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Security Screen Doors Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Security Screen Doors Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Security Screen Doors Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Security Screen Doors Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Security Screen Doors Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Security Screen Doors Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Security Screen Doors Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)About UsResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Sales Market: By End Users/Applications - Industrial, Commercial & Residential

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Sales Market: By End Users/Applications - Industrial, Commercial & Residential" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights 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 sqm), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights sales volume, Price (USD/sqm), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingOnyx Solar EnergySuper Sky ProductsML SystemPolysolarErtl-Glas-GruppeEnergyGlassSunovationWuxi Suntech PowerSOLARWATTGalaxy EnergyScheuten GlasMegasol EnergieRomagSapa Group (Sapa Building System)asola TechnologiesKaneka CorporationAGC SolarISSOLClearVue Technologiesg2e glass2energyInterpane Glas IndustrieKURARAY, SolarnovaTAIYO KOGYOLumos SolarHeliatekThermosashTULiPPS BVSolarWorldAsahi GlassPrism SolarOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K sqm), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/sqm), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoCrystalline PanelThin Film PanelTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @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 Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights for each application, includingIndustrialCommercialResidentialTable of ContentsGlobal Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Sales Market Report 20171 Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights1.2 Classification of Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights by Product Category1.2.1 Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Crystalline Panel1.2.4 Thin Film Panel1.3 Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Industrial1.3.3 Commercial2 Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Skylights Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Rise In Demand : Electric Vehicle Market in China Will Expand At a CAGR Of 115.84% By 2020

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Albany, New York, July 12, 2017 : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Electric Vehicle Market in China 2016-2020" globally.China has been aggressive in its efforts to promote EV adoption, primarily to cope with the growing pollution scenario. China was placed at the top of the nations with the most carbon dioxide emissions in 2011. Chinas tremendous economic growth has been riding on the countrys manufacturing sector, which has been a key contributor to the emissions. Apart from the manufacturing sector, industrial segments such as thermal power plants have also contributed largely to the countrys carbon emissions. The share of the transportation sector in carbon emissions has increased significantly in the past two decades.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @Technavios analysts forecast the electric vehicle charging station market in China to grow at a CAGR of 115.84% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the electric vehicle charging station market in China for 2016-2020.In order to arrive at the market size, we have considered the total installed EV charging units. The report considers the different modes of charging. For market size calculation, the report considers the total stock of electric cars and buses in China. There is another category of EVs, which are the low-speed EVs. This category of cars was not considered since they are not recognized by Chinas central government and are not counted in the official automotive statistics.The market is divided into the following segments based on cities:ShanghaiJiangsuHong KongShenzhenBeijingTechnavio's report, Electric Vehicle Charging Station Market in China 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 vendorsBYDHong Kong EV PowerShangaHai Xundao New Energy TechnologySORO ElectronicsABBOther prominent vendorsSGCCCSPGZhejiang Wanma GroupUTEK New Energy TechnologyMarket driverNeed for energy independenceFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMake an Enquiry of this report @Market challengeGrowing market for low-speed EVsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendIncreased adoption of V2G systemsFor 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 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.ResearchMoz90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States
U.S. Industrial Boiler Market Share is projected to surpass USD 600 million by 2024.

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U.S. Industrial Boiler market size is estimated to witness a CAGR of 2% over the period of 2016-2024. According to Global Market Insights, Inc.U.S. Industrial Boiler Market has gained popularity over the past years due to stringent environmental norms towards eliminating carbon footprints and harmful pollutant emissions. Shifting focus of industrialists towards curtailing the use of fossil fuel-based plants will stimulate the U.S. industrial boiler industry. Moreover, rising clean-energy fuel demand coupled with favorable government initiatives in the region will push the industry growth.Fluctuating fuel prices over the past few years has triggered the demand for high efficiency boilers, which ensure significant reduction of fuel costs. Fuel accounts for 80% of the total operational cost in boilers. These high efficient boilers will drastically cut down the expenditures on fuel cost which will boost their adoption across the globe. High costs of fuel will encourage the replacement of old boilers with advanced ones driving the U.S. industrial boiler industry revenue.Request for Sample Copy of this Report:Industrial boilers find applications in food, chemical, paper, and refinery industries, which are likely to be the major revenue generators for the boiler industry. The most lucrative industry contributing significantly to the U.S. industrial boiler market is the chemical industry, owing to the rising chemical production. The statistical study conducted by the American Chemical Council stated that the chemical production will witness a surge by 1.6% in 2016 and 3.7% in 2017. Furthermore, the increasing demand from the food processing and paper industry is also poised to benefit the U.S. industrial market share.Below are the key highlights pertaining to the U.S. industrial boiler applications: The chemical application is estimated to be the largest revenue generator for the U.S. industrial boiler industry and is predicted to beat USD 150 million by 2024. Favorable government initiative to reduce environmental hazards will augment the U.S. industrial boiler market growth in chemical sector. Paper application is projected to exhibit an annual growth rate of 3%, owing to favorable demand from shale gas, dyes and cosmetics industry. Food industry is estimated to be the third most lucrative sector favoring U.S. industrial boiler market revenue. It has contributed over 27% of the total revenue for 2015. Refinery and metal industry will bring a huge set of opportunities for U.S industrial boiler business space. Growing demand for refinery products and steel consumption will influence the U.S. industrial boiler market growth in the coming seven years.Browse key industry insights spread across 202 pages with 374 market data tables & 10 figures& charts from the report, U.S. Industrial Boiler Market Size By capacity, By Application, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook, Application Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2024 in detail along with the table of contents:Taking into consideration the regional landscape, following are leading US States offering a positive push to the U.S. industrial boiler market in the coming timeframe: North Carolina boiler industry is anticipated to surpass USD 25 million by 2024. North East dominated by New Jersey contributed 13% of regional industrial boiler market share. Expansion of sturdy industrialization in the regions synced with stringent rules set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) towards eliminating the air toxic standards will complement the overall U.S. industrial boiler industry share. The escalating gains and constructive growth of the paper industry has led Alabama industrial boiler market revenue to surpass USD 10 million by 2024. The growth in chemical and food processing industries has led Ohio industrial boiler market size to witness 2% industry expansion.U.S. Industrial Boiler Market Press Release @With increasing focus on new technologies, the market players will invest more in R&D and accentuate on offering advanced products with higher heat transfer rates and lower fouling. Leading key companies operating in the U.S. industrial boiler market include Hurst & Welding Company, Inc., Clayton Industries, Unilux Advanced Manufacturing, Parker Company, Acme Engineering Prod. Ltd., Vapor Power International, Hurst & Welding Company, Inc., Superior Works, Inc., Bryan Steam LLC., Cleaver-Brooks, Inc, etc.About Global Market Insights, Inc.Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.29L Atlantic Avenue, Suite L 105Ocean View Delaware 19970 United StatesEmail: sales@gminsights.com
Global Agriculture Tires Industry Market Research Report 2017

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SummaryThe Global Agriculture Tires Industry 2017 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Agriculture Tires industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Agriculture Tires 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 Agriculture Tires 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):MichelinBridgestoneTitan InternationalPirelliTrelleborgAGTBKTMitasSumitomoNokianHarvest KingJ.K. TyreCarlisleSpecialty TiresDeltaCEATXugong TyresTaishan TyreShandong ZhentaiDouble CoinKey Topics Covered:Chapter One Industry Overview of Agriculture TiresChapter Two Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Agriculture TiresChapter Three Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Agriculture TiresChapter Four Capacity, Production and Revenue Analysis of Agriculture Tires by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Five Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Agriculture Tires by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Six Consumption Volume, Consumption Value and Sale Price Analysis of Agriculture Tires by Regions, Types and ApplicationsChapter Seven Supply, Import, Export and Consumption Analysis of Agriculture TiresChapter Eight Major Manufacturers Analysis of Agriculture TiresChapter Nine Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Agriculture TiresChapter Ten Industry Chain Analysis of Agriculture TiresChapter Eleven Development Trend of Analysis of Agriculture TiresChapter Twelve New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Agriculture TiresChapter Thirteen Conclusion of the Global Agriculture Tires Industry 2017 Market Research ReportRelated Reports:US Agriculture Tires Industry Market Research Report 2017Europe Agriculture Tires Industry Market Research Report 2017India Agriculture Tires Industry Market Research Report 2017China Agriculture Tires Industry Market Research Report 2017Korea Agriculture Tires Industry Market Research Report 2017Japan Agriculture Tires 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 seminar services. the company owned a large basic database (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business. Through the companys years of effort and a lot of customer support, QYResearch consulting group creative design method of many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch brand has become the consulting industry with quality assurance consulting brand. The company has 2500 global well-known customers, covering energy automobile pharmaceutical chemical agriculture more than 30 industries, services from the data analysis and recommendations-Consulting landing one-stop solution, and research regions cover China,US,EU,Asia,Middle East and Africa,South America,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.Media ContactCompany Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITEDContact Person: HebeEmail: hebe@qyresearchglobal.comPhone: +86-20 2209 3278Address: Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe DistrictCity: GuangzhouCountry: ChinaWebsite:(US) |(EU) |(JP)
Automotive Anti-theft device Industry Region, Market Size, Share and Trends To 2017

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In 2016, the world economy expanded by just 2.2 per cent, the slowest rate of growth since the Great Recession of 2009. Underpinning the sluggish global economy are the feeble pace of global investment, dwindling world trade growth, flagAnti-theft deviceg productivity growth and high levels of debt. World gross product is forecast to expand by 2.7 per cent in 2017 and 2.9 per cent in 2018, with this modest recovery more an indication of economic stabilization than a signal of a robust and sustained revival of global demand. Given the close Anti-theft devices between demand, investment, trade and productivity, the extended episode of weak global growth may prove self-perpetuating in the absence of concerted policy efforts to revive investment and foster a recovery in productivity. This would impede progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , particularly the goals of eradicating extreme poverty and creating decent work for all.For More Information About This Report:Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Automotive Anti-theft device 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 marAutomotive Anti-theft device by regions (United States, EU, China, India 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. What's more, the Automotive Anti-theft device industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Request Sample Copy At:Table of Content2 Industry market structure analysis2.1 Supply & Consumption Analysis 2012-20172.1.1 North America2.1.2 Europe2.1.3 Japan2.1.4 India2.1.5 China3 Industry market environment analysis3.1 Industry requirements for resources and technology3.2 Industry technology development trend3.3 The impact of national macro policy on Industry3.4 Other influencing factors4 Competitive pattern analysis4.1 Industry competitive structure analysis by Region 2012-2017 344.2 Industry competitive structure analysis by Manufacture 2012-20174.3 Market barriers to entry analysis4.4 Threat of substitutesInquire For This Report At:Contact 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
United States Infant Formula Foods Information and Market Trend Report 2017

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"United States Infant Formula Foods Market Report 2017" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-Notes:Sales, means the sales volume of Infant Formula FoodsRevenue, means the sales value of Infant Formula FoodsThis report studies sales (consumption) of Infant Formula Foods in United States market, focuses on the top players, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player, coveringMead JohnsonNestleDanoneAbbottFrieslandCampinaHeinzBellamyTopferHiPPGet Sample Report With TOC @PerrigoArlaHolleFonterraWestland DairyPinnacleMeijiYiliBiostimeYashiliFeiheBrightdairyBeingmateWondersonSynutraWissunMarket Segment by States, coveringCaliforniaTexasNew YorkFloridaIllinoisSplit by product types, with sales, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoStarting Formula FoodsFollow-on Formula FoodsSpecial Formula FoodsSplit by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Infant Formula Foods in each application, can be divided into16 Month Baby79 Month Baby1012 Month Baby1318 Month BabyAbove 18 Month BabyResearchMoz 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
Zonal Isolation market is forecast to touch USD 31.18 billion by 2024.

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The graph of Zonal Isolation Market is expected to display a high surge over the next few years, pushed by growing number of drilling operations carried out across the offshore and onshore destinations. Technological innovations have helped the industry players explore new oil & gas wells and this has significantly contributed towards the industry growth. Increase in number of shale gas exploration along with heavy crude oil demand due to high energy requirements, will propel zonal isolation industry growth in the near future.Moreover, rise in the number of drilling rigs across the globe is projected to increase the demand for exploration and production of oil & gas wells, thereby driving the industry trends over the coming timeframe. For instance, world drilling rig count improved by 74 units in July 2016 in comparison to June 2016. In fact, the U.S. rig count had numbered to 449 rigs from 32 rigs while Canada contributed nearly 31 units to 94 rigs. Developed countries like the U.S. and Canada are investing heavily in oil & gas exploration projects which is expected to drive the zonal isolation industry growth over the next few years.Request for Sample Copy of this Report:Offshore sector is a major application area, projected to offer high growth opportunities for zonal isolation industry over the coming seven years. As per the research, offshore application is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7% over the coming timeframe, driven by huge investments in the exploration and production activities carried out offshore. Moreover, zonal isolation market share in onshore sector, will experience a high growth, due to the enormous rise in onshore drilling activities.Browse key industry insights spread across 90 pages with 69 market data tables & 9 figures & charts from the report, Zonal Isolation Market Size by Application (Offshore and Onshore Zonal Isolation), By Technology (Chemical and Mechanical Zonal Isolation), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, UK, Norway, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Iran) Estimated to Reach USD 31.18 Billion by 2024. Application Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2015  2024 in detail along with the table of contents:Below are the regional trends influencing zonal isolation industry over 2016-2024 Rise in number of shale gas exploration activities along with high requirements for oil & gas is expected to spur Europe zonal isolation market growth over the coming years. UK and Norway are expected to be the major regional revenue contributors. Middle East & Africa zonal isolation market is projected to witness significant gains of 6.53% over 2016-2024, driven by rise in regional drilling rig count. Iran and Saudi Arabia are projected to be the major regional revenue pockets. North America zonal isolation industry will attain maximum growth over the coming seven years, driven by rise in the number of drilling offshore activities along with the discovery of unexplored oil & gas basins/reserves. U.S. is expected to contribute substantially towards the regional share. Zonal isolation industry will obtain optimum growth across the nations such as China, Canada, UAE, Mexico, Russia, and Brazil, driven by the increase in oil & gas exploration and production activities.Zonal Isolation Market Press Release @Market players will try to enhance their ROI through technological innovations, R&D investments, and strategic alliances. Key industry players include TAM International, Expro International Group Holdings Limited, Schlumberger Limited, Tendeka, FMC Technologies, Baker Hughes, Weatherford International, Halliburton Company, Superior Energy Services, C&J Energy Services Incorporation, and Oilsery.About Global Market Insights, Inc.Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.29L Atlantic Avenue, Suite L 105Ocean View Delaware 19970 United StatesEmail: sales@gminsights.com
Global Energy Storage Software Market Trends up to 2022: ReportsWeb

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ReportsWeb.com added Global Energy Storage Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 to its vast collection of research Database. The report is spread across 103 pages and supported by 19 company leaders.The Global Energy Storage Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Energy Storage Software industry. In a word, This report studies Energy Storage Software in Global market, especially in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer. Key companies included in this research are Adara Power, Greensmith, Stem, Demand Energy, Doosan GridTech, EnSync Energy Systems, Green Charge Networks, Sunverge, Win Inertia, Younicos, Growing Energy Labs, Inc., IHI Corp., Intelligent Generation, JLM Energy, SolarCity, Sonnen, Lockheed Martin, Advanced Microgrid Solutions and Ampard.Browse complete report @Market Segment by Region, this report splits Global into several key Region, with sales, revenue, market share and growth rate of Energy Storage Software in these regions, from 2011 to 2022 (forecast), like United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. Firstly, Energy Storage Software Market segment by Type, Energy Storage Software can be split into BTM Energy Storage Software and Utility-Scale Energy Storage Software. Market segment by Application, Energy Storage Software can be split into Power Plant, Residential, Military and Other.Request for Sample @Major points from Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview of Energy Storage Software2 Global Energy Storage Software Competition Analysis by Players3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Adara Power3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Energy Storage Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Greensmith3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Energy Storage Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Stem3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Energy Storage Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments4 Global Energy Storage Software Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)5 United States Energy Storage Software Development Status and Outlook6 EU Energy Storage Software Development Status and Outlook7 Japan Energy Storage Software Development Status and Outlook8 China Energy Storage Software Development Status and Outlook9 India Energy Storage Software Development Status and Outlook10 Southeast Asia Energy Storage Software Development Status and Outlook11 Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2017-2022)12 Energy Storage Software Market Dynamics13 Market Effect Factors AnalysisList of Tables and FiguresTable Ampard Basic Information ListTable Energy Storage Software Business Revenue (Million USD) of Ampard (2012-2017)Figure Ampard Energy Storage Software Business Revenue Market Share in 2016Table Global Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Type (2012-2017)Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Type in 2012Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Type in 2013Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Type in 2014Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Type in 2015Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Type in 2016Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Type in 2017Table Global Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Application (2012-2017)Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Application in 2012Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Application in 2013Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Application in 2014Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Application in 2015Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Application in 2016Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Application in 2017Table Top Consumer/End Users of Energy Storage SoftwareFigure United States Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Table United States Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Players (2012-2017)Figure United States Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2016Figure United States Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2017Figure EU Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Table EU Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Players (2012-2017)Figure EU Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2016Figure EU Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2017Figure Japan Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Table Japan Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Players (2012-2017)Figure Japan Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2016Figure Japan Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2017Figure China Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Table China Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Players (2012-2017)Figure China Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2016Figure China Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2017Figure India Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Table India Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Players (2012-2017)Figure India Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2016Figure India Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2017Figure Southeast Asia Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Table Southeast Asia Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Players (2012-2017)Figure Southeast Asia Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2016Figure Southeast Asia Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Players in 2017Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Regions (2017-2022)Table Global Energy Storage Software Market Size (Million USD) by Regions (2017-2022)Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Regions in 2017Figure Global Energy Storage Software Market Size Share by Regions in 2022Place a Direct Purchase Order of Complete Report @Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comOrganization: ReportsWebPhone: +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
Corded Circular Saw - Market Worldwide Share, Growth, Trends and 2021 Forecast

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Publisher's Corded Circular Saw market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability.The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.The report includes the forecasts, Analysis and discussion of important industry trends, market size, market share estimates and profiles of the leading industry Players.The players mentioned in our reportMakitaBoschSKILMilwaukeeRidgidCraftmanPorter CableRockwellRyobiDewaltHitachiDongchengAobenDayouFor More Information About This Report:Global Corded Circular Saw Market: Application Segment AnalysisDIY ApplicationConstruction IndustryWood Product Manufacture IndustryOthersGlobal Corded Circular Saw Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAPACSouth AmericaRequest Sample Copy At:Table of ContentChapter 1 About the Corded Circular Saw IndustryChapter 2 World Market Competition LandscapeChapter 3 World Corded Circular Saw Market shareChapter 4 Supply Chain AnalysisChapter 5 Company ProfilesChapter 6 Globalization & TradeChapter 7 Distributors and CustomersChapter 8 Import, Export, Consumption and Consumption Value by Major CountriesChapter 9 World Corded Circular Saw Market forecast through 2021Chapter 10 Key success factors and Market OverviewInquire For This Report At:Contact 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
WiFi Thermostats Market 2017 - Nest, ecobee, Carrier, Emerson, Honeywell, Lux Products, Schneider Electric

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Global WiFi Thermostats Market Report 2017 provides detailed analysis of WiFi Thermostats market, enclosing detailed study of WiFi Thermostats market for last few years and forecast up to year 2022. The WiFi Thermostats market report analyses the global WiFi Thermostats market from different angles to understand various factors impacting the global WiFi Thermostats market.The reports enlightens the user with various applications, product type, end user of WiFi Thermostats market. Moreover, the WiFi Thermostats market report helps to understand the market trends, WiFi Thermostats growth aspects, utilization ration, supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, raw material price trend and WiFi Thermostats price trend during the forecast period 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global WiFi Thermostats Market 2017:NestHoneywellecobeeSchneider ElectricEmersonLux ProductsCarrierWiFi Thermostats Market Analysis: By ProductBattery-poweredHardwiredBy Blocking ConditionOpen-circuitClosed-circuitWiFi Thermostats Market Analysis: By ApplicationResidentialCommercialInitially, the WiFi Thermostats market report provides detailed information about major industry active into this market across all regions including the U.S., Europe, China, Japan, etc. Furthermore the market is characterized based on top geographical regions.In the later part, the WiFi Thermostats market report shares information pertaining to the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of WiFi Thermostats industry, WiFi Thermostats industry rules and policies, factors driving the growth of WiFi Thermostats Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Enquiry Report Click Here:Global WiFi Thermostats market report incorporates the major products which are in high demand currently along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the WiFi Thermostats market revenue worldwide.Finally, the report provides us with detailed market research finding and conclusion which helps the subscriber to develop profitable market strategies which will help to gain competitive advantage.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. 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 ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
Worldwide Electric Vehicles Battery Market Revenue, Major Players, and Forecast To 2021

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Publisher's Electric Vehicles Battery market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability.The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.The report includes the forecasts, Analysis and discussion of important industry trends, market size, market share estimates and profiles of the leading industry Players.The Players mentioned in our reportPanasonicPEVELG ChemBYDLEJSamsung SDIHitachiLishen BatteryA123 SystemsAESCCATLToshibaGS Battery (USA) IncDaimler AG.ACCUmotiveBoston PowerLishen BatteryWanXiangGuoXuan High-TechFor More Information About This Report:Global Electric Vehicles Battery Market: Product Segment AnalysisLithium Ion BatteryNI-MH BatteryGlobal Electric Vehicles Battery Market: Application Segment AnalysisHEVPHEVEVGlobal Electric Vehicles Battery Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaRequest Sample Copy At:Table of ContentChapter 1 About the Electric Vehicles Battery IndustryChapter 2 World Market Competition LandscapeChapter 3 World Electric Vehicles Battery Market shareChapter 4 Supply Chain AnalysisChapter 5 Company ProfilesChapter 6 Globalization & TradeChapter 7 Distributors and CustomersChapter 8 Import, Export, Consumption and Consumption Value by Major CountriesChapter 9 World Electric Vehicles Battery Market forecast through 2021Chapter 10 Key success factors and Market OverviewInquire For This Report At:Contact 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
Smoke Alarms Market 2017 - Tyco, Kidde, Halma, Hochiki, Xtralis, Siemens, X-SENSE, Panasonic, Smartwares, BRK Brands

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Global Smoke Alarms Market Report 2017 provides detailed analysis of Smoke Alarms market, enclosing detailed study of Smoke Alarms market for last few years and forecast up to year 2022. The Smoke Alarms market report analyses the global Smoke Alarms market from different angles to understand various factors impacting the global Smoke Alarms market.The reports enlightens the user with various applications, product type, end user of Smoke Alarms market. Moreover, the Smoke Alarms market report helps to understand the market trends, Smoke Alarms growth aspects, utilization ration, supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, raw material price trend and Smoke Alarms price trend during the forecast period 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Smoke Alarms Market 2017:BRK BrandsKiddeHoneywell SecurityTycoJohnson ControlsHalmaHochikiSprue AegisXtralisSiemensEi ElectronicsNohmi BosaiPanasonicX-SENSESmartwaresSmoke Alarms Market Analysis: By ProductPhotoelectric Smoke AlarmsIonization Smoke Alarms?Combination Smoke AlarmsBy MaterialAluminum AlloyABSPlasticSmoke Alarms Market Analysis: By ApplicationHome Smoke AlarmPublic Places Smoke AlarmInitially, the Smoke Alarms market report provides detailed information about major industry active into this market across all regions including the U.S., Europe, China, Japan, etc. Furthermore the market is characterized based on top geographical regions.In the later part, the Smoke Alarms market report shares information pertaining to the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Smoke Alarms industry, Smoke Alarms industry rules and policies, factors driving the growth of Smoke Alarms Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Enquiry Report Click Here:Global Smoke Alarms market report incorporates the major products which are in high demand currently along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Smoke Alarms market revenue worldwide.Finally, the report provides us with detailed market research finding and conclusion which helps the subscriber to develop profitable market strategies which will help to gain competitive advantage.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. 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 ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
Global Avocado Oil Industry Market Research Report 2017

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SummaryThe Global Avocado Oil Industry 2017 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Avocado Oil industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Avocado Oil 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 Avocado Oil 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):SesajalYasinBella VadoChosen FoodsGrupo Industrial BatelleroLa TourangelleAvoolioAhuacatlan Avocado OilMt. Kenya Fresh AvocadosKevalaBio Planete...Key Topics Covered:Chapter One Industry Overview of Avocado OilChapter Two Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Avocado OilChapter Three Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Avocado OilChapter Four Capacity, Production and Revenue Analysis of Avocado Oil by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Five Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Avocado Oil by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Six Consumption Volume, Consumption Value and Sale Price Analysis of Avocado Oil by Regions, Types and ApplicationsChapter Seven Supply, Import, Export and Consumption Analysis of Avocado OilChapter Eight Major Manufacturers Analysis of Avocado OilChapter Nine Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Avocado OilChapter Ten Industry Chain Analysis of Avocado OilChapter Eleven Development Trend of Analysis of Avocado OilChapter Twelve New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Avocado OilChapter Thirteen Conclusion of the Global Avocado Oil Industry 2017 Market Research ReportRelated Reports:US Avocado Oil Industry Market Research Report 2017Europe Avocado Oil Industry Market Research Report 2017India Avocado Oil Industry Market Research Report 2017China Avocado Oil Industry Market Research Report 2017Korea Avocado Oil Industry Market Research Report 2017Japan Avocado Oil 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 seminar services. the company owned a large basic database (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business. Through the companys years of effort and a lot of customer support, QYResearch consulting group creative design method of many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch brand has become the consulting industry with quality assurance consulting brand. The company has 2500 global well-known customers, covering energy automobile pharmaceutical chemical agriculture more than 30 industries, services from the data analysis and recommendations-Consulting landing one-stop solution, and research regions cover China,US,EU,Asia,Middle East and Africa,South America,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.Media ContactCompany Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITEDContact Person: HebeEmail: hebe@qyresearchglobal.comPhone: +86-20 2209 3278Address: Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe DistrictCity: GuangzhouCountry: ChinaWebsite:(US) |(EU) |(JP)
Ginseng Extract Market 2017 - Ortis, Boots, Elemis, Molinari, Erborian, Ginsana, Pharmaton, Vitastore, Orkla Health

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Global Ginseng Extract Market Report 2017 provides detailed analysis of Ginseng Extract market, enclosing detailed study of Ginseng Extract market for last few years and forecast up to year 2022. The Ginseng Extract market report analyses the global Ginseng Extract market from different angles to understand various factors impacting the global Ginseng Extract market.The reports enlightens the user with various applications, product type, end user of Ginseng Extract market. Moreover, the Ginseng Extract market report helps to understand the market trends, Ginseng Extract growth aspects, utilization ration, supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, raw material price trend and Ginseng Extract price trend during the forecast period 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Ginseng Extract Market 2017:BootsOrkla HealthPharmatonAllcura Naturheilmittel GmbHGinsanaNATURE ESSENTIALOxford?VitalityOrtisVitastoreElemisMolinariErborianGinseng Extract Market Analysis: By ProductCappsuleTabletPowderOtherGinseng Extract Market Analysis: By ApplicationPharma & HealthcareCosmetic & Skin CareFood & Feed AdditivesInitially, the Ginseng Extract market report provides detailed information about major industry active into this market across all regions including the U.S., Europe, China, Japan, etc. Furthermore the market is characterized based on top geographical regions.In the later part, the Ginseng Extract market report shares information pertaining to the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Ginseng Extract industry, Ginseng Extract industry rules and policies, factors driving the growth of Ginseng Extract Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Enquiry Report Click Here:Global Ginseng Extract market report incorporates the major products which are in high demand currently along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Ginseng Extract market revenue worldwide.Finally, the report provides us with detailed market research finding and conclusion which helps the subscriber to develop profitable market strategies which will help to gain competitive advantage.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. 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 ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
Bauxite Mining Market to Discern Magnified Growth by 2020

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Bauxite popularly known as aluminum ore is the major source of aluminum. Bauxite is a mixture of minerals such as gibbsite, boehmite and diaspore, iron oxides such as goethite and hematite, clay mineral kaolinite and some amounts of anatase. Bauxite are found majorly in the tropical and sub-tropical regions such as Africa, West Indies, South America, Australia, Asian countries such as India and China and some parts of Europe (in small quantity). Australia is the largest producer and exporter of bauxite globally, with five bauxite mine contributing more than one fourth of the global bauxite production. There are five steps involved in the extraction of bauxite starting with preparation of bauxite area, secondly, bauxite mining, crushing, ore transportation and lastly rehabilitation of land. On an average one square meter of land can extract one metric ton of aluminum.To access full report @...Around 85% of bauxite mined globally is converted to alumina which is further used for the production of aluminum metal. Other major application of bauxite mining is for commercial purpose such as abrasives and refractorys. Automobile industry is the major end-user of aluminum metal owing to associated benefits of aluminum metals such as corrosion-free, high-density and lightweight features.North America has the largest market share for bauxite mining owing to increased aluminum demand in the region. Europe and Asia Pacific region follows North America in bauxite demand. North America is expected to maintain its dominance in the forecasted period. Europe is expected to witness marginal growth. However, Asia Pacific region is expected to witness highest growth in the coming future owing to the increasing domestic demand from the automobile industries in the emerging markets of India, China and Japan.A sample of this report is available upon request @Due to corrosion-free, high-density and lightweight features, aluminum metal is gaining its important in the automobile industries to manufacture lightweight vehicle parts. This is driving the global demand for bauxite mining. Additionally, growth in the transportation sector such as airplanes, trucks, railcars and marine is further expected to increase the global bauxite mining demand.Owing to the increasing demand of aluminum by the automobile industry have influence the aluminum manufacturing companies to invest more in bauxite extraction business. Some of the major companies operating in the global clinical nutrition products market are Aluminum Corporation of China Limited, Access Industries, Tata Steel Europe Ltd., Halco Mining, Tajik Aluminium Company, Mitsubishi Aluminum Co., Ltd., Queensland Alumina Limited, Nippon Light Metal Company, Ltd., Australian Bauxite Limited, Iranian Aluminium Company and Alumina Limited.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Key points covered in the reportReport segments the market on the basis of types, application, products, technology, etc (as applicable)The report covers geographic segmentationNorth AmericaEuropeAsiaRoWThe report provides the market size and forecast for the different segments and geographies for the period of 2010 to 2020The report provides company profiles of some of the leading companies operating in the marketThe report also provides porters five forces analysis of the market.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:
North America Blood Pressure Monitoring Device Market by Type and by Region

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According to the report North America Blood Pressure Monitoring Device Market, published by Market Data Forecast, the global market is projected to reach USD 1.65 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2016 to 2021.Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition, wherein blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. It is a chronic condition and a leading cause of death and responsible for cardiovascular diseases and heart attacks globally. Blood Pressure Monitoring devices are those which automatically obtain and usually record the blood pressure at certain intervals, using the direct or indirect method of determining pressure. Hence, is user friendly and can be used at home easily.Blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate and body temperature within a normal range are necessary for the survival of human life. Wherein blood pressure various rapidly specifically in the aged people which needs to be monitored regularly. Increased condition of blood pressure is referred as hypertension which is a chronic condition and a leading cause of death and responsible for cardiovascular diseases and heart attacks globally. Devices used to monitor blood pressure are BP monitoring devices which automatically obtain blood pressure at certain intervals. End users for the device include Physicians, doctors, ambulances and also can be used at home.Get a comprehensive overview of the North America Blood Pressure Monitoring Device Market:North America Blood Pressure Monitoring Device Market: Drivers & RestraintsNorth America blood pressure monitoring devices market is majorly driven by rising prevalence of heart disorders. Advanced handheld and automated blood pressure monitors offer features such as safety, efficacy, and portability, thereby boosting market growth. Furthermore, recent developments in the field of devices such as mobile-based BP monitoring systems are anticipated to drive the industry growth.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the North America Blood Pressure Monitoring Device Market.Request a sample to stay up-to-date on the main trends affecting this marketNorth America Blood Pressure Monitoring Device Market: SegmentationBy Type Automated BP Monitors Ambulatory BP Monitors Sphygmomanometerso Mercuryo Aneroido Digital BP Transducers BP instruments accessoriesFrom simple data collation through secondary and primary research to ad-hoc research requests relating to specific information, we provide our services via customization.Get customization atNorth America Blood Pressure Monitoring Device Market: OverviewNorth America led the global market for blood pressure monitoring devices in 2015, accounting for a share of 38% in the overall market. The growing prevalence of blood pressure and hypertension in North America will fuel demand for blood pressure monitoring devices in the region. Moreover, the awareness about these diseases, Technological advancements and availability of various monitoring and therapeutic devices is also increasing, further accelerating the growth of market. North American market is further segmented into US and Canada. In terms of revenue share, sphygmomanometer segment dominated the product type and is expected to show lucrative growth over the forecast period.Increasing popularity of mHealth platform in healthcare sector is additionally, propelling the market growth. Rising patient awareness levels pertaining to advantages associated with portable monitoring devices is expected to positively reinforce market growth. In 2014, North America was the key regional market in terms of revenue share. Key factors attributing to its large share include presence of advanced healthcare infrastructure and increasing prevalence of lifestyle associated diseases with high risk of hypertension. In addition, rapidly improving healthcare facilities are anticipated towards the market growth.North America Blood Pressure Monitoring Device Market: Region-wise OutlookOn the basis of geography North America market for cardiovascular diagnostic and monitoring devices market is analysed under various regions namely United States and Canada. North America dominates the overall industry followed by Europe. Factors such as increasing prevalence of chronic and acute diseases such as hypertension and cardiac diseases, technological advancements, acceptability of the non-invasive pressure monitors among the patients, and existence of key market players in North America are driving the growth of this market followed by Asia-Pacific, on the other hand, is expected to grow at a rapid pace over the forecast period.Key Questions Answered What will be the market growth till 2021 and what will be the resultant market forecast in the year? What was the market size from 2016 to 2021 ? What is the current and future Blood Pressure Monitoring Device Market outlook in North America? What trends are affecting the North America market? What is the competitive landscape and market share of major players in the Blood Pressure Monitoring Device space in North America? What are the key, high growth markets that Blood Pressure Monitoring Device manufacturers should expand into? Which market segments are growing the fastest? What are the unmet needs with the Blood Pressure Monitoring Device currently on the market? How will emerging technologies fulfil these unmet needs? What is physician perception and market outlook of Blood Pressure Monitoring Device? What are the challenges and barriers that have hindered widespread adoption of Blood Pressure Monitoring Device?North America Blood Pressure Monitoring Device Market: Key PlayersSome of the major companies dominating the market, by their products and services include GE Healthcare, Welch Allyn, Inc., A&D Medical Inc., SunTech Medical, Rossmax International Ltd., Spacelabs Healthcare Inc., Panasonic Corporation, Philips Healthcare, Contec Medical Systems Co.,Ltd, Omron Healthcare and Microlife AG.Reasons to buy North America Blood Pressure Monitoring Device Market Report: Global, regional and country-level analysis and forecasts of the study market; providing Insights on the geographical areas in which this industry is prospering Segment-level analysis on basis of product type, application, colour along with market size forecasts and y-o-y estimations to detect key areas of industry growth in detail Identification of key drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges (DROC) in the market and their impact on shifting market dynamics Study of macro and micro environmental factors that affect the market presented in an extensive strategic analyses section containing PESTLE and Porters Five Forces Analyses A comprehensive listing of key market players along with company overview, product portfolios, key financial information (subjected to availability), SWOT analysis and Analyst overview to study and sustain the market environment Competitive landscape analysis listing out the mergers, acquisitions, collaborations in the field along with new product launches, comparative financial studies and recent developments in the market by the major companies Expertly devised Market Outlook along with Investment opportunities to provide both individuals and organizations a strong financial foothold in the marketAbout Market Data Forecast:Market Data Forecast is a firm working in the area of market research and business intelligence. With rich experience in research across various business domains, they cater to the needs of both individual and corporate clients. From all-encompassing umbrella markets to extremely specific niche markets covering all the major regions across the globe as part of the research scope, their research services offer one of a kind specialities with competitive pricing optionsContact:Abhishek ShuklaSales ManagerMarket Data ForecastDirect Line: +1-888-702-9626Mobile: +91 998 555 0206Mail: abhishek@marketdataforecast.comIndia
World Scrubbers Market  Evolving Product Type, Market, and Regions & Includes Players Edlon Inc., Hamon Research Cottrell Inc Forecast to 2021

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HTF Market Report released a new research document of 115 pages on industry titled as 'World Scrubbers Market by Product Type, Market, Players and Regions-Forecast to 2021' with detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like USA, Europe, Japan, China, India, South East Asia and important players/vendors such as Edlon Inc., Hamon Research Cottrell Inc., Croll Reynolds Company Inc...................Request a sample report @SummaryThe Scrubbers market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability.The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.The report includes the forecasts, Analysis and discussion of important industry trends, market size, market share estimates and profiles of the leading industry Players.Global Scrubbers Market: Product Segment AnalysisWet ScrubberOtherGlobal Scrubbers Market: Application Segment AnalysisChemical/gas scrubbersParticulate/venture scrubbersAmmonia scrubbersChlorine scrubbersParticulate/dust scrubbersSulphuric acid scrubbersGlobal Scrubbers Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaThe Players mentioned in our reportKCH Services Inc.Met-Pro Environmental Air Solutions, Inc.Edlon Inc.Hamon Research Cottrell Inc.Croll Reynolds Company Inc.Beltran Technologies Inc.Fabritech EngineersContinental BlowersSevern Trent ServicesWith no less than 15 top producersGet Customization in the Report, Enquire Now @Table of ContentChapter 1 About the Scrubbers Industry1.1 Industry Definition and Types1.1.1 Wet Scrubber1.1.2 Other1.2 Main Market Activities1.3 Similar Industries1.4 Industry at a GlanceBuy this report @Chapter 2 World Market Competition Landscape2.1 Scrubbers Markets by Regions2.1.1 USAMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2011-2021Sales and Growth Rate 2011-2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20162.1.2 EuropeMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2011-2021Sales and Growth Rate 2011-2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20162.1.3 ChinaMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2011-2021Sales and Growth Rate 2011-2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20162.1.4 IndiaMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2011-2021Sales and Growth Rate 2011-2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20162.1.5 JapanMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2011-2021Sales and Growth Rate 2011-2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20162.1.6 South East AsiaMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2011-2021Sales and Growth Rate 2011-2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20162.2 World Scrubbers Market by TypesWet ScrubberOther2.3 World Scrubbers Market by ApplicationsChemical/gas scrubbersParticulate/venture scrubbersAmmonia scrubbersChlorine scrubbersParticulate/dust scrubbers2.4 World Scrubbers Market Analysis2.4.1 World Scrubbers Market Revenue and Growth Rate 2011-20162.4.2 World Scrubbers Market Consumption and Growth rate 2011-20162.4.3 World Scrubbers Market Price Analysis 2011-2016Chapter 3 World Scrubbers Market share3.1 Major Production Market share by Players3.2 Major Revenue (M USD) Market share by Players3.3 Major Production Market share by Regions in 2016, Through 20213.4 Major Revenue (M USD) Market share By Regions in 2016, Through 2021....ContinuedView Detailed Table of Content @Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218 (US)
Gov. Scott Walker trades his Harley-Davidson motorcycle for an elephant on June 25 at Circus World. The governor ended his state motorcycle ride to promote tourism in Wisconsin with a stop at the Baraboo museum.
Soda Ash Market to Witness Growth Acceleration by 2021

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Soda ash also known as sodium carbonate is a salt of carbnoic acid. Soda ash is hygroscopic in nature and forms strong alkaline solution in water.Soda ash is manufactured via three different process viz. Leblanc process, Solvay process and Hous process. Solvay process is most preffered manufacturing process in the industry due to its efficiency and cost. In this process, sodium chloride to sodium carbonate in presence of ammonia. Soda ash finds applications in various end-user industries such as glass, detergents, food and beverages, chemicals and dyeing among others.To access full report @...The market for soda ashwas driven by various factors from different end-user industries. Huge demand from buildings & constructionindustry is driving the soda ash market in past few years. Soda ash is used in manufacturing of flat glass which is used in modern construction activities.Increasing demand from end-user industries such as automotive from emerging countries has been one of the major factors for the growth of flat glass, subsequently increasing demand for soda ash.Another, major factor driving the soda ash market is increasing demand for powder detergents from developing countries.Soda ash is also used in various applications such as metallurgy, personal care and water treatment among others. Rising demand for personal care and water treatment industry is expected to open new markets for the soda ash market during the forecast period. Increasing demand for soda ash from fiberglass and silicates is likely to provide major opportunities for soda ash market in next few years to come. However, stern regulations faced by soda ash industry are anticipated to hider the growth of the market in next few years.A sample of this report is available upon request @In terms of demand, Asia Pacific was the leading region insoda ashmarket. Asia Pacific is anticipated to be one of the fastest growing markets for soda ash due to increasing demand for glass and detergents from emerging countries such as India, Indonesia and Korea among others. The demand for soda ash is huge especially from buildings & construction, automotive and personal care end-user industry. The market for soda ash in Asia Pacific was led by China. However, India is likely to provide better opportunity for soda ash market owing to increasing consumption from various end-user industries. Asia Pacific was followed by Europe. Increasing demand from modern construction activities has been driving the market for flat glass in Europe, thus driving the demand for soda ash in this region. Germany, the UK, France and Italy were the major consumers of soda ash in Europe. However, certain regulations related to soda ash industry is likely to stagnant the growth of the market in this region. North America had the third-largest demand for soda ash in 2012. Increasing demand from glass and detergent industry were driving the growth of the market in this region. The U.S. had the largest demand for soda ash owing to huge demand from end-user industries such as buildings & construction, personal care and automotive among others. Rest of the World market is anticipated to show potential growth for the soda ash market in near future.Latin America is anticipated to show fastest growth for the soda ash market in this region. The demand is huge owing to increasing applications in personal care and water treatment applications.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @The market for soda ash is fragmented and however, various manufacturers have dominated in particular regions. Some of the key manufacturers in thesoda ashmarket areGujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd., Solvay Chemicals Inc., OCI Chemicals Corporation and Tata Chemicals among others.Key geographies evaluated in this report are:North AmericaU.SCanadaEuropeFrance, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UKEastern EuropeCISAPACChinaIndiaJapanAustraliaOthersLatin AmericaArgentinaBrazilOthersKey features of this reportDrivers, restraints, and challenges shaping the Soda Ash market dynamicsLatest innovations and key events in the industryAnalysis of business strategies of the top playersSoda Ash market estimates and forecasts(2015 -2021)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:
Ferrochromium Market Estimated to Soar Higher by 2022

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Ferrochromium, also known as Ferrochrome, is an alloy of iron and chromium containing 50 to 70% of chromium. It is produced by electric arc melting of chromium ore and chromite. Ferrochromium is consumed extensively in the manufacturing of steel to achieve the qualities such as corrosion resistance, tensile strength, heat resistance and yield strength. The global ferrochromium market is anticipated to be in deficit to cater the increasing global steel market in near future. Ferrochromium is mostly produced in India, China, South Africa and Kazakhstan because of large chromite resources found in these countries. The global ferrochromium market is witnessing a modest single digit CAGR growth up till now and is expected to continue in future.To access full report @...Ferrochromium is having its maximum share of consumption in steel industry and due to the ever increasing construction and demand of steel the global ferrochromium market is forecasted to flourish. In order to get a continuous supply of raw material for ferrochrome, China has established its operations in the countries like Turkey, South Africa, Philippines and Zimbabwe which would boost the global ferrochromium market in future. Due to the favourable conditions like lower electricity price and lower labour cost in upcoming markets like China, the production cost reduces comparatively. This will boost the production of ferrochrome to suffice its increasing demand and will contribute in global ferrochromium market.The global ferrochromium market can get hampered because of the increase in the export tax and fixed export quotas imposed by South Africa on chrome ore, owing to the concern of losing ferrochromium market to China. South Africa is having a significant market share in global ferrochromium market but there are concerns of power supply and higher production cost which would lead to the closure of small competitors and is estimated to slowdown the global ferrochromium market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Based on the carbon percentage, the global ferrochromium market is segmented as -Extra low carbon ferrochromium powderLow carbon ferrochromium powderHigh carbon ferrochromium powderExtra high carbon ferrochromium powderBased in the available form, the global ferrochromium market is segmented as Ferrochromium slagFerrochromium powderBased on the application, the global ferrochromium market is segmented as Ball bearing steelsAcid resistant steelsCast ironsPowder metallurgyOthers (civil engineering, refractory materials)The global ferrochromium market can be divided into five regions, namely North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific is having the maximum market share in global ferrochromium market, China and India are the countries having an excellent steel market, so these countries are significant in the consumption of ferrochrome. China is expanding its capacity to import chrome ore for the production of ferrochrome from the countries like South Africa, Turkey, Zimbabwe. Middle East and Africa are also marking a significant growth in the global ferrochromium market, Especially South Africa is having plenty of chromite resources for the production of ferrochrome. Europe is an emerging market in the field of ferrochrome and is anticipated to have a considerable market in future due to the flourishing automobile sector in the region. North America and Latin America is at a nascent stage in the global ferrochromium market.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Some of the key players in global ferrochromium market are, Nava Bharat Ventures Limited, VISA STEEL, Balasore Alloys Limited, Aarti Steels Ltd, SR Group, Vyankatesh Metals & Alloys Pvt. LtdThe report covers exhaustive analysis on:Ferrochromium Market SegmentsFerrochromium Market DynamicsHistorical Actual Market Size, 2012 - 2014Ferrochromium Market Size & Forecast 2015 to 2025Supply & Demand Value ChainFerrochromium Market Current Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedTechnologyValue ChainFerrochromium Market Drivers and RestraintsRegional analysis for Ferrochromium Market includesNorth AmericaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia Pacific & JapanThe Middle East and AfricaReport Highlights:Shifting Industry dynamicsIn-depth market segmentationHistorical, current and projected industry size Recent industry trendsKey Competition landscapeStrategies of key players and product offeringsPotential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective towards market performanceAbout 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:
Pregelatinized Flour Market Size, Status and Forecast, 2017 - 2025

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Key PlayersThe key players manufacturing pregelatinized flour are Didion Milling, Sage V Foods, LLC, Ingredion, Emsland-Starke GmbH, Archer Daniels Midland Company, C.E. Roeper GmbH, Kroner- Starke Bio, The Caremoli group, Visco Starch, and Belourthe S.A. The key players are focusing on business expansion through new product launches and through tapping the untapped geographical footprint.Pregelatinized flour is made from ground cereals and blended with guar flour or alginates. Pregelatinized flour is a fine white powder used as a binding and thickening agent in bakery products, confectionary items, and in various snacks like pasta. It comes in creamy white color. The flour is fully soluble in cold water which helps in the coating and extending shelf life of food. Increasing consumer demand for pasta and for other snack foods is expected to increase the market of pregelatinized flour.Pregelatinized flour consumption is perceiving a steady growth across the globe owing to the rising demand for bakery and fast food products among different classes of consumers. The increasing number of fast food restaurants and cafes worldwide is driving the pregelatinized flour market. Moreover, the expansion of pregelatinized flour industry in the emerging markets such as Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa the growing population and decreasing prices along with the establishment of new flour mills are supporting the demand for flour in these regions, which in turn is increasing the overall market.It improves perishability of baked goods, promotes water absorption and dough hydration, and stabilizes batters, dough, and emulsions. This flour is used in fine bakery wares, choux paste, bread, fine yeast-raised dough, soups, and sauces.Market SegmentationPregelatinized flour market is segmented by its source, by distribution channel, and by application. By its source, the market is segmented into wheat, rice, and corn.The pregelatinized flour market can be further segmented by distribution channel used by manufacturers to supply pregelatinized flour products to end-users. By distribution channel, the pregelatinized flour market can be segmented into Hypermarket, Departmental Stores, Specialty Stores, and Others (includes foodservice). Hypermarket segment is expected to represent the highest growth rate.By its applications, a market is segmented into food, pet foods, and industrial applications. The food segment is further segmented into bakery products, confectionary items, and dairy products. By industrial applications, it is segmented into food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industry. The growing demand for pregelatinized flour from food industry is enhancing the market growth.Regional Outlook:The pregelatinized flour market is geographically segmented into Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East and African region. Pregelatinized flour consumption is currently significant in North American, European, and Asia-pacific regions. The growing health benefits from consumption of pregelatinized flour are anticipated to promote the market growth globally. The market in Asia-Pacific is forecasted to grow at rapid pace with growing demand from developing economies such as China and India.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @Market driversThe pregelatinized flour market is growing exponentially due to the growth in the food industry, changing food habits across geographies, and increasing preference for healthy foods. The demand for pregelatinized flour is growing as it is a rich source of protein and has high fiber content, so it is highly preferred by health conscious consumers. Increasing demand for nutritious and healthy food is leading to growing demand for pregelatinized flour. Pregelatinized flour is water soluble which increases the shelf life of food and food products that are made from it. However, the market is growing due to rising awareness of health hazards of gluten. Due to high gluten content in other types of flour, consumers are shifting to its substitutes such as pregelatinized flour.Request to View Tables of Content @Pregelatinized flour market has an opportunity to diversify its food product so that it is readily offered for consumption. These flour have a high demand because of delicious taste, high nutritious value; the manufacturers have an opportunity of using the pregelatinized flour as a raw material in ready to cook meals.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.To view complete report @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 and China High Capacity Power Banks Market 2017- 2022: Lenmar Enterprises, Philips, Poweradd, VINSIC

High Capacity Power Banks Market

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The market research report Global and China High Capacity Power Banks Market 2017- 2022 in Global market Professional Survey 2017 : Size, Share, Trends, Industry Growth, Opportunity, Application, Production, Segmentation, Cost Structure, Company Profile, Product Picture and Specifications during the Forecast period by 2022.For sample Free download Full Report with Toc:The recent report on Global and China High Capacity Power Banks Market 2017- 2022 offers insightful information about the present scenario of the market across the globe. The report, titled Global and China High Capacity Power Banks Market points out the key factors affecting the growth of the market. Latest market trends as well as the future growth opportunities have been mentioned in the report. The report takes into account the various micro- and macro-economic factors governing the overall growth of the Global and China High Capacity Power Banks 2017- 2022 Market market and assesses the valuation and size of the market in the coming yearsInquiry Before Buying:Global and Global and China High Capacity Power Banks Market 2017- 2022 Key Manufacturers AnalysisCharles IndustriesEC TechnologyEpctekINTECROLenmar EnterprisesPhilipsPoweraddVINSICAccess Full Report With TOC @MRS Research Group is the worlds giant collection of the Market research Reports. Where we specialized in global publisher, tailor made reports and specialists consulting. Global Publisher provides in-depth analysis of global and Chinese market. Tailor-made reports represent methodologies deliverable to proper insight of the client.3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,
Lanolin Market to Register Unwavering Growth by 2025

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Lanolin Market: IntroductionLanolin, also called wool wax or wool grease is manufactured from sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals such as sheep. Lanolin was introduced in the market in 1992 and was used for the production of pesticides. In todays scenario, lanolin and its derivatives are used for manufacturing pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Lanolin as a medicine is used as a moisturizer to prevent rough, dry, itchy and scaly skin. Lanolin also has the healing properties to cure skin irritations like diaper rashes, skin burns caused by radiation therapy, etc.To access full report @Lanolin is often mixed with various esters, fatty acid and alcohols and is a soft, yellow, waxy substance which acts as a waterproofing agent to protect wool. Furthermore, lanolin offers moisturizing property for dry skin which results in the wide consumption of lanolin in production of cosmetic products such as moisturizers and body lotions by cosmetic manufacturers.Lanolin also finds its application in technical sector in the form of lubricants or protective preparations for ferrous metals. For example, strongly corroded ships, sea water tanks, etc. can be protected by using lanolin oil as a low-viscous fluid. In the automotive industry, anti-corrosive preparations that contain lanolin are in ample demand.Global lanolin market is highly fragmented due to the presence of a large number of companies in the arena. However, production of lanolin is quite concentrated in matured regions due to the presence of multinational companies.A sample of this report is available upon request @Global Lanolin Market: Market DynamicsRapid urbanization along with the substantial demand of cosmetic products are expected to fuel the growth of global lanolin market. Rising demand for personal care products, high disposable incomes and growth of pharmaceutical sector are the major driving factors fuelling the growth of lanolin market. Furthermore, the adoption of lanolin in cosmetic sector for manufacturing pocket size products at low cost triggers the growth of lanolin market. Whereas, rising prevalence of chronic diseases and high geriatric population promoting the development of advanced pharmaceuticals and healthcare facilities drive the broadening of global lanolin market. All these factors directly or indirectly enhance the demand of global lanolin market.Stringent government regulations on protection of animals in major developed countries result in increasing substitution of lanolin by bio-based alternatives and further is expected to hamper the growth of global lanolin market.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Growing consumption of lanolin derivatives in industrial and automotive sectors for various applications such as manufacturing of anti-corrosive solutions, etc. act as opportunities for the global lanolin market.Global Lanolin Market: Market SegmentationGlobal lanolin market is segmented based on its application and by end-use.Global lanolin market is segmented into the following, on the basis of application:ConditionersOintmentsEmollientsMoisturizersSolventOthers (Emulsifying agents, slip agents etc.)Global lanolin market is segmented as follows, based on the end-use industries:Cosmetic and personal carePharmaceuticalIndustrial sectorAutomotiveOthersGlobal Lanolin Market: Region-wise OutlookAsia Pacific is expected to dominate the global lanolin market, increasing consumption of lanolin from cosmetic and personal care manufacturers is expected to boost the demand for lanolin market in the upcoming years. In addition, advancement of health care and pharmaceutical industries in the developing countries of this region such as India and China are significantly contributing to the growth of the global lanolin market from past few years.North America is expected to witness moderate growth in the global lanolin market. Growth in cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors are expected to drive the lanolin market. Whereas, stringent government regulations is expected to hamper the growth of the market in the aforementioned region. In addition, Western Europe is expected to have a relatively lower share in the global lanolin market followed by Latin America and Middle East & Africa.Global Lanolin Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global lanolin market includes,Quimica Del Centro S.A De C.V.Nippon Fine Chemical,Lubrizol Corporation,Lanotec,Lansinoh,Tallow Products Pty LtdLanolin Products Ltd.Croda International PlcThe participants of global lanolin market are focusing on further expansions and strategic collaborations to increase their capacities in developing countries.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.Report Highlights:Detailed overview of parent marketChanging market dynamics in the industryIn-depth market segmentationHistorical, current, and projected market size in terms of volume and valueRecent industry trends and developmentsCompetitive landscapeStrategies of key players and products offeredPotential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective on market performanceMust-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprintAbout 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:
Puffed Food Market By New Report For The Forecast, 2017  2025

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Puffing of food is done by using high temperature, pressure, or extrusion. In puffing process expansion of seed is carried out and at that period the vapor pressure escapes through the micropores of the grain structure due to high pressure or thermal gradient. There are different methods of puffing viz. dry heat, sand and salt treated, hot air popping, gun puffing, popping in hot oil, and microwave heating. A wide range of cereals and millets used for puffing such as rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, and ragi.Puffed food has a primary role in human consumption. Consumer demand is increasing for puffed foods due to various health benefits such as weight loss., therefore increasing the market share of puffed food market. Increasing demand for flavor food products is expected to increase the puffed food market over the forecast period. Consumers believe in ready to eat products which have high nutrients like popcorns and cheetos. The growing puffed market attributed to the shift in consumer demand for various flavors and nutritious food.Market SegmentationPuffed food segmented by category type, application and region. By category, puffing comes in wheat, rice, corn, sorghum, and ragi. Puffed wheat is prepared by heating wheat grains under pressure and then rapidly releasing pressure when the superheated steam in the grain expands grain is puffed. It is a good source of copper, protein, and iron. Puffed rice used in breakfast cereal or snack foods served as popular street food. It is made by heating rice kernels under high pressure in the presence of steam. Puffed food is segmented by applications as Bakery Industry and Snacks Industry. In bakery it uses in in making puffed backed pancake, puffed baked potato and others. Puffed food market is further segmented by region such as Latin America, North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. Latin America and North America possess significant potential, whereas Europe and other developing markets such as Asia-Pacific and MEA possess the growth opportunities for quinoa over the forecast period. There is a high consumption of puffed food in Asia-Pacific regions like India and China as growing young population prefers street food and snacks like cheese doodles.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @Drivers:Puffed food provides a multitude of health benefits, as these are rich source of protein, fiber, magnesium, iron, and potassium, and which are anticipated to contribute to the growth of global puffed market over the coming years. Puffed food has low calories which easily gets digested and absorbed quickly which acts as one of the factors of popularity among consumers.Increasing demand for healthy snack food in breakfast is fuelling the market for puffed food. The shift is now leading to growing demand for nutritious street food. Thus puffed food are expected to see higher market share related to its various health benefits. Puffed food market is also growing due to its innovations in packaging. Packed puffed foods attracted consumers to buy the products such as Popcorns, Cheetos, etc. due to different packaging style which is also fuelling the demand for puffed food market. Online shopping among consumers is increasing which gives manufacturers an opportunity to start selling puffed food through online channels.Request to View Tables of Content @The big challenge for puffed products is product recalls, a defect in product is the biggest problem for manufacturers. Retrieving product from consumer and providing those consumers with compensation is a loss to the manufacturer. As a result, safety concerns over a manufacturing defect in the product may harm its user. Another challenge for manufacturer is inadequate infrastructure and storage facilities for puffed foods.Key PlayersKey global market players manufacturing different types of puffed food include Kraft and Heniz,Wise Foods Inc, Rude Health, Good Grain, Nurture Inc, Kallo foods LimitedTo view complete report @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:
E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket Market -(Offering - Product and Service; Consumer - B2C and B2B) Outlook 2025

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Global E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket Market: OverviewThe E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket Market report provides analysis for the period 2015  2025, wherein the period from 2017 to 2025 is the forecast and 2016 is the base year. The report covers all the major trends and technologies playing influential role in the E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket markets growth over the forecast period. It also highlights the drivers, restraints, opportunities and trends expected to impact markets growth during the said period. The study provides a comprehensive perspective on global E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket markets evolution throughout the above mentioned forecast period in terms of revenue (in US$ Mn).The market overview section of the report demonstrates the market dynamics such as the drivers, restraints, opportunities, trends that is expected to influence the current nature and future status of this market. Key indicators mentioned in the report, provide a robust view about the vital factors that led to the strong adoption of E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket around the globe. The key indicators also provide significance of the factors which are capable of changing the market scenario. These indicators are expected to define the market position during the forecast period. An attractiveness analysis has also been provided for every segment in the report, in order to provide a thorough understanding of the overall scenario in the E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket market. Moreover, the report provides an overview of various strategies adopted by the key players present in the market.Get More Inforamation :Global E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket Market: SegmentationThe report segments the market on the basis Offerings, Consumer Type and Product Type. The Offerings segment includes Product E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket and Services E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket. Consumer Type segment include B2C E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket and B2B E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket. The Product Types considered in the E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket market include Interior accessories, Exterior accessories, Performance parts, Wheels & tires, Tools & garage, Auto body parts, Oil, coolants and fluids, Others (paints, custom modifications). The report provides in-depth segment analysis of the global E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket market, thereby providing valuable insights at the macro as well as micro levels.Global E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket Market: Competitive AnalysisThe report also highlights the competitive landscape of the global E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket market, thereby positioning all the major players according to their presence in different regions of the world and recent key developments initiated by them in the E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket market. The comprehensive E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket market estimates are the result of our in-depth secondary research, primary interviews, and in-house expert panel reviews. These market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the impact of different political, social, economic, technological, and legal factors along with the current market dynamics affecting E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket market growth.This report provides all the essential information required to understand the key developments in the technology used in E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket market, growth trend of each segment and strategy of each company that help them to efficiently compete in the market. Also, the report provides insights related to trends and its impact on the market. Furthermore, Porters Five Forces analysis explains the factors which are currently affecting the E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket market. This report also provides comparative analysis of predictive and continuous E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket on the basis of various parameters namely, cost, application area, time required for configuration and hardware requirementBrowse The Report :Advance Auto Parts, Alibaba Group, Amazon.com, Inc., American Tire Distributors Holdings, Inc., Auto Zone, Inc, Denso Corporation, EBay Inc., National Automotive Parts Association, Pep Boys, Tire Rack, U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. are some of the major players operating within the E-commerce Automotive Aftermarket market profiled in this study. Details such as financials, SWOT analysis, business strategies, recent developments, and other such strategic information pertaining to these players have been duly provided as part of company profiling.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 CPL camera lens optical filter Industry 2017 Market Research Report

CPL camera lens optical filter

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CPL camera lens optical filterA market study based on the " CPL camera lens optical filter Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global CPL camera lens optical filter Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide CPL camera lens optical filter industry, and makes predictions on the future status of CPL camera lens optical filter market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here :The report studies the industry for CPL camera lens optical filter across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in CPL camera lens optical filter market & dynamics of demand and supply of CPL camera lens optical filter into consideration. The ' CPL camera lens optical filter ' research study covers each and every aspect of the CPL camera lens optical filter market globally, which starts from the definition of the CPL camera lens optical filter industry and develops towards CPL camera lens optical filter market segmentations. Further, every segment of the CPL camera lens optical filter market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the CPL camera lens optical filter market. The geographical segmentation of the CPL camera lens optical filter industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for CPL camera lens optical filter is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, CPL camera lens optical filter market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the CPL camera lens optical filter market worldwide.Browse FULL Report @The global CPL camera lens optical filter market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, CPL camera lens optical filter production volume, data regarding demand and CPL camera lens optical filter 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 CPL camera lens optical filter across the globe.About Us:QYResearch Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. QYResearch Group also carries the capability to assist you with your customized market research requirements including in-depth market surveys, primary interviews, competitive landscaping, and company profiles. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics. QYResearch Group is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651
Softgel Capsules Market Estimated to Flourish by 2016  2026

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Softgel Capsules Market  Key PlayersThe key players of the global soft gel capsules market are as follows:Amway CorporationWeihai Baihe Biology Technological Co., Ltd.Capsugel Inc.Captek Softgel International Inc.Catalent, Inc.Qingdao Donghai Pharmaceutical Co LtdEurocaps LtdGuangDong Yichao Biological CO., LTD.IVC Industries Inc.Nature's Bounty, Inc.Softgel Capsules are a capsule, having a solid outer shell which is filled with the liquid or semi-solid active ingredient. The soft gel capsules can be incorporated into the outer shell and the inner filled ingredients. The soft gel capsules are utilized to improve the bioavailability of poorly food effect and improve API stability. The soft gel capsules are available with many specifications such as molds, content range, and diameter range. The demand of the soft gel capsules is increasing due to the available customization facilities for the molds and content as per customer needs. The soft gel capsules have many application areas out of which pharmaceutical, cosmetics and health supplements contribute the major shares to the growth of the global soft gel capsules market.Softgel Capsules Market  Drivers and RestraintsThe global soft gel capsule market is expected to register a significant CAGR over a forecast period. The increasing demand of the soft gel capsules from the growing cosmetics industry to deliver the cosmeceutical in the form of capsule drives the growth of the global soft gel capsules market. The increasing intake of the supplements through capsules, also boost the demand of the soft gel capsules and drives the global soft gel capsules market. The developments in the soft gel capsules in terms of the outer shell and compatibility with the inner ingredients, also propel the use of soft gel capsules by the pharmaceutical industry and become one of the key factors of the global soft gel capsules market.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @However, the stringent rules and regulations of the FDA and EU commission about the packaging of the drugs or ingredients through soft gel capsules may hamper the demand of the soft gel capsule and hamper the growth of the global soft gel capsules market.The global soft gel capsule market is segmented into the seven regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). The APEJ is dominating the global soft gel capsule market and contributing a major share in terms of revenue and volume to the global soft gel capsule market. The increasing demand of the soft gel capsules from the rising pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry contributes to the APEJ market. The North America and Western Europe regions are also the fastest growing soft gel capsules markets due to the increasing use of soft gel capsules in the medicine and cosmetic industry. Eastern Europe and Japan are expected to register a moderate growth rate to the global soft gel capsule market. MEA is at a nascent stage in the global soft gel capsule market. Overall the global soft gel capsule market is expected to register a significant market growth over the forecast period 2016 to 2026.Request to View Tables of Content @The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections 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.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.To view complete report @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:
Internet of Things Devices Market 2017 Trends, Growth and Forecast to 2021

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IoT devices are instruments that can be connected to the internet to offer remote controlled connectivity. These devices sense and analyze their surroundings to offer inputs about the designated area. IoT is a network of physical objects interconnected through various network technologies. The devices in this network can communicate among themselves and with the external environment when required. Kevin Ashton, a British entrepreneur, coined the term IoT in 1999, while dealing with networked radio-frequency identification (RFID) and emerging sensing technologies. This technology can connect devices, systems, and services in an advanced manner that goes beyond machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. The interconnection of the devices including smart objects will propel automation in nearly all fields, leading to further technological advances such as smart grids, smart meters, and smart cities.Publisher's analysts forecast the global IoT devices market to grow at a CAGR of 3.72% during the period 2017-2021.For more information about this report:Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global IoT devices market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of IoT devices.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:- Americas- APAC- EMEAPublisher's report, Global IoT Devices Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- Samsung Electronics- Google- LG Electronics- Sony- Seiko Epson- Honeywell InternationalRequest Sample Copy atMarket driver- Large-scale benefits of using IoT devices- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge- Growing privacy and security concerns- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend- Development of high-power processors for IoT devices- For a full, detailed list, view our reportInquire for Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
STURTEVANT  An inmate who had an alleged sexual relationship with a Racine Correctional Institution contract employee now faces a felony charge for allegedly selling contraband to other inmates. The goods, according to prosecutors, were supplied to the inmate by the employee.

Jose A. Meraz, 34, who recently had been in custody at the state prison in Boscobel, is charged with delivering illegal articles to an inmate, a felony punishable by up to 18 months behind bars. In February, RCI contract employee Loralie Schultz, 52, of the 3000 block of 21st Street, Racine, was charged with the same crime as well as second-degree sexual assault for reportedly having a relationship with Meraz.

According to Merazs criminal complaint:

Meraz originally simply requested that Schultz bring mail directly to him instead of having prison guards read the mail first. However, over time, Schultz allegedly brought Meraz tweezers, sewing kits, at least 10 cans of chewing tobacco and a cellphone.

Meraz and Schultz also allegedly had a sexual relationship during the time she was bringing Meraz the contraband.

Inmates interviewed by investigators said they used the phone Schultz allegedly brought Meraz. One inmate said he believed Meraz brought in and sold more than 40 cans of chewing tobacco through Schultz.

Meraz made his initial appearance on the contraband charge Tuesday in Racine County Circuit Court and had his bond set at $1,000 cash. Jail records show that Meraz would not be allowed to go free if he posts bail due to a probationary hold.

Schultzs case is still open, according to court records. She next has a motion hearing scheduled for Aug. 4.
Global DC Brushless Fans Industry Market Research Report 2017

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SummaryThe Global DC Brushless Fans Industry 2017 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the DC Brushless Fans industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The DC Brushless Fans 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 DC Brushless Fans 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):ADDA CorporationJamicon CorporationSunonMechatronics...Key Topics Covered:Chapter One Industry Overview of DC Brushless FansChapter Two Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of DC Brushless FansChapter Three Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of DC Brushless FansChapter Four Capacity, Production and Revenue Analysis of DC Brushless Fans by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Five Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of DC Brushless Fans by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Six Consumption Volume, Consumption Value and Sale Price Analysis of DC Brushless Fans by Regions, Types and ApplicationsChapter Seven Supply, Import, Export and Consumption Analysis of DC Brushless FansChapter Eight Major Manufacturers Analysis of DC Brushless FansChapter Nine Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of DC Brushless FansChapter Ten Industry Chain Analysis of DC Brushless FansChapter Eleven Development Trend of Analysis of DC Brushless FansChapter Twelve New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of DC Brushless FansChapter Thirteen Conclusion of the Global DC Brushless Fans Industry 2017 Market Research ReportRelated Reports:US DC Brushless Fans Industry Market Research Report 2017Europe DC Brushless Fans Industry Market Research Report 2017India DC Brushless Fans Industry Market Research Report 2017China DC Brushless Fans Industry Market Research Report 2017Korea DC Brushless Fans Industry Market Research Report 2017Japan DC Brushless Fans 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 seminar services. the company owned a large basic database (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business. Through the companys years of effort and a lot of customer support, QYResearch consulting group creative design method of many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch brand has become the consulting industry with quality assurance consulting brand. The company has 2500 global well-known customers, covering energy automobile pharmaceutical chemical agriculture more than 30 industries, services from the data analysis and recommendations-Consulting landing one-stop solution, and research regions cover China,US,EU,Asia,Middle East and Africa,South America,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.Media ContactCompany Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITEDContact Person: HebeEmail: hebe@qyresearchglobal.comPhone: +86-20 2209 3278Address: Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe DistrictCity: GuangzhouCountry: ChinaWebsite:(US) |(EU) |(JP)
Sodium Sulfide Market 2017 - Solvay, Novochrom, Xinxing Chem, Sankyo Kasei, Longfu Group, Jiaxin Chemical, ISSC (IRSS)

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Apex Research recently launched global Sodium Sulfide market report which focuses on a detailed and precise study of Sodium Sulfide industry. Global Sodium Sulfide Market 2017 report concentrates on both present and historical scenario of Sodium Sulfide market. This comprehensive research document will help to understand the Sodium Sulfide market scenario from the year 2017 to 2022 and expected changes to take place in this industry.The Sodium Sulfide industry report focuses on all aspects of industry such as Sodium Sulfide market segment, Sodium Sulfide product categories, revenue, product cost, etc. Besides, the report also provides the Sodium Sulfide market volume for every category during the forecast period.Request for Sample Report Here :Competitive Research of Global Sodium Sulfide Market 2017 Based on Key Vendors :SolvayTessenderlo GroupPPG IndustriesISSC (IRSS)ICS Industriechemikalien SchwefelnatriumSankyo KaseiNovochromRahul Barium ChemicalsNafine Chemical IndustryShenhong ChemicalLongfu GroupYabulai Salt ChemJiaxin ChemicalHaMi HongShan ChemistryGuangxin ChemicalXinji Chemical GroupShaanxi Fuhua ChemicalInner Mongolia Lichuan ChemicalSichuan Meishan Tianhe ChemicalXinxing ChemGlobal Sodium Sulfide Market 2017: Product Type Segment AnalysisLow Ferric Sodium SulfideAnhydrous Sodium SulfideCrystal Sodium SulfideGlobal Sodium Sulfide Market 2017: Applications Segment AnalysisDye IndustryLeather IndustryMetal Smelting IndustryIn the first section, the Sodium Sulfide market report provides information pertaining to various market strategies, production capacity, market share of major players, driver, restraints opportunities and cost structure. The Sodium Sulfide report further segments the global Sodium Sulfide market based on various product category, applications, end-users, etc. Further the Sodium Sulfide report also segments global Sodium Sulfide market based on geographical regions like United States, Japan, China, and EU.Secondly, the report provides detailed information about all major players active into this market. The reports provides information pertaining to company profile, revenue, geographical presence, production capacity, global market share, business strategies, etc. Further, the report provides information about import/export, supply and consumption, price and gross margin of Sodium Sulfide market by regions. Moreover, any other region/country information can also be provided for Sodium Sulfide market.For more information about this report visit at :Lastly, the Sodium Sulfide report provides detailed information about major drivers, restraints and opportunities in Sodium Sulfide market during the forecast period. This information can help major players operating into Sodium Sulfide market to take prime importance business decisions. Finally, the Sodium Sulfide market report evaluates the major geographical sectors upcoming in Sodium Sulfide market.Apex Research 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.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. 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 ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
Caviar Market to Witness an Outstanding Growth by 2017  2025

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Caviar Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified in the coffee bean market are:-GourmanoffPeter PanOlmaMarkysDartagnanVolzhenkaROYAL TRANSMONTANUS CAVIARCaviar is a delicacy which consist of salt cured fish eggs from Acipenseridae fish family. The fishes of that specific family from Caspian & Black Sea are harvested for caviar. Out of the twenty-six species of sturgeon found in the world, caviars those most valued are from the four that dwell in the Caspian Sea, including, from largest to smallest in size, the beluga (Huso huso ), the osetra or Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedti ), the sevruga or stellate (Acipenser stellatus ), and the sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus ). With rapid globalization and better connectivity the momentum of import and export of goods has increased vastly. Demand for caviar has been rising across globe with increase in consumers purchasing power and desire for exotic cuisines which will establish the caviar market more prominently which will yield a better CAGR over the forecast period.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @Caviar Market: Drivers & RestraintsUpscale premium restaurants and luxurious hotel chains are growing across globally in order to meet customers demand and desire for various authentic cuisines. Modern retail chains, supermarkets and hypermarkets are increasing with adoption of better urban infra and city modernization which has proven to be a key channel for making availability of various premium and exotic goods to consumers. Trade links among countries are being established for boosting business and trade relations among nations which in a way is also boosting export and import of caviar to places where it is not cultivated. Modernization of harvesting techniques for caviar cultivation is also gearing the market with growth.Construction of hydroelectric dams, over cultivation of sturgeon, slaughtering and illegal fishing, and increase in contamination with toxic waste of rivers and seas are few of the possible factors which has reduced Acipenseridae fish family population in last few years to a great extent. Fall in population of fishes has pull down the market of caviar to a worrisome extent.Request to View Tables of Content @Regarding geography, coffee bean market has been categorized into five key regions including North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APEJ, Japan, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Coffee bean market is expected to register healthy CAGR during the forecast period. North America represents significantly high market share and grow with comparatively high CAGR in forecast period. The high CAGR of North America market is due to the fact a large of premium restaurants, luxurious hotels and large number of modern retail chains, hypermarket are established there which makes caviar available at consumers end. Next to North America Eastern Europe stands for caviar market. It is a fact that worlds costliest and rarest of caviar are done in Russia and Bulgaria. This region is endowed with resources where these caviars are mostly formed. And the rich and influential masses consumes caviar as an exotic dish in countries of Eastern Europe. Next to Eastern Europe, Western Europe is the most prominent market for caviar. Few countries of Western Europe has started cultivating caviar and the market is gaining a good amount growth. In APEJ caviar market is mostly dependent on imports as countries of this region is not endowed with resources for caviar formation. MEA and Latin America also do possess a similar trend like APEJ. But over the forecast period with better innovation and technology adoption in agricultural, farming and horticulture caviar market will gain a significant growth in these regions as wellTo view complete report @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:
Major Progress : The Insurance Industry in the Republic of the Congo, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2021

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Albany, New York, July 12, 2017 : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of " Insights of Insurance Industry in the Republic of the Congo : Trends, Analysis, Growth and Status 2017 " globally.Timetrics 'The Insurance Industry in the Republic of the Congo, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2021' report provides detailed analysis of the market trends, drivers and challenges in the Congolese insurance industry.It provides key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20122016) and forecast period (20162021).The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Congolese economy and demographics, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.The report brings together Timetrics research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @SummaryTimetrics 'The Insurance Industry in the Republic of the Congo, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2021' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Congolese insurance industry, including:The Congolese insurance industry's growth prospects by segment and categoryA comprehensive overview of the Congolese economy and demographicsThe detailed competitive landscape in the Congolese insurance industryThe various distribution channels in the Congolese insurance industryDetailed regulatory policies of the Congolese insurance industryAnalysis of natural hazards in the Congolese insurance industryScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the insurance industry in the Republic of the Congo:It provides historical values for the Congolese insurance industry for the reports 20122016 review period, and projected figures for the 20162021 forecast period.It offers a detailed analysis of the key segments in the Congolese insurance industry, along with market forecasts until 2021.It covers an exhaustive list of parameters, including written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions.It analyzes the various distribution channels in the Republic of the Congo.It profiles the top insurance companies in the Republic of the Congo and outlines the key regulations affecting them.Reasons To BuyMake strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Congolese insurance industry and each segment and category within it.Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Congolese insurance industry.Assess the competitive dynamics in the Congolese insurance industry.Identify the growth opportunities and market dynamics in key segments.Gain insights into key regulations governing the Congolese insurance industry and their impact on companies and the industry's future.Make an Enquiry of this report @Key HighlightsIn Feb 2017, Royal and Sun (RSA) collaborated with African insurance network Globus to offer services to customers with operations in five African countries, including the Republic of the Congo.In February 2016, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) signed a contract to build a new port in Pointe Noire.In May 2016, the CRCA issued a draft regulation on the e-distribution of insurance products in CIMA Member States.ResearchMoz 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.ResearchMoz90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States
Global Digital Textile Printing Ink Industry Market Research Report 2017

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SummaryThe Global Digital Textile Printing Ink Industry 2017 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Digital Textile Printing Ink industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Digital Textile Printing Ink 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 Digital Textile Printing Ink 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):DupontHuntsmanJK GroupKornitDyStarSPGprintsBASFJay ChemicalMarabuDow CorningEFISensientMagna ColoursAnajetPrint-RiteLanyuHongsamINKBANKTrendVisionINKWINKey Topics Covered:Chapter One Industry Overview of Digital Textile Printing InkChapter Two Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Digital Textile Printing InkChapter Three Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Digital Textile Printing InkChapter Four Capacity, Production and Revenue Analysis of Digital Textile Printing Ink by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Five Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Digital Textile Printing Ink by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Six Consumption Volume, Consumption Value and Sale Price Analysis of Digital Textile Printing Ink by Regions, Types and ApplicationsChapter Seven Supply, Import, Export and Consumption Analysis of Digital Textile Printing InkChapter Eight Major Manufacturers Analysis of Digital Textile Printing InkChapter Nine Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Digital Textile Printing InkChapter Ten Industry Chain Analysis of Digital Textile Printing InkChapter Eleven Development Trend of Analysis of Digital Textile Printing InkChapter Twelve New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Digital Textile Printing InkChapter Thirteen Conclusion of the Global Digital Textile Printing Ink Industry 2017 Market Research ReportRelated Reports:US Digital Textile Printing Ink Industry Market Research Report 2017Europe Digital Textile Printing Ink Industry Market Research Report 2017India Digital Textile Printing Ink Industry Market Research Report 2017China Digital Textile Printing Ink Industry Market Research Report 2017Korea Digital Textile Printing Ink Industry Market Research Report 2017Japan Digital Textile Printing Ink 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 seminar services. the company owned a large basic database (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business. Through the companys years of effort and a lot of customer support, QYResearch consulting group creative design method of many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch brand has become the consulting industry with quality assurance consulting brand. The company has 2500 global well-known customers, covering energy automobile pharmaceutical chemical agriculture more than 30 industries, services from the data analysis and recommendations-Consulting landing one-stop solution, and research regions cover China,US,EU,Asia,Middle East and Africa,South America,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.Media ContactCompany Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITEDContact Person: HebeEmail: hebe@qyresearchglobal.comPhone: +86-20 2209 3278Address: Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe DistrictCity: GuangzhouCountry: ChinaWebsite:(US) |(EU) |(JP)
Introduction of New Onychomycosis In US Market Analysis,Trends, Size, Share,Growth, Market Forecast 2017

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"The Report The US Onychomycosis Market (2017 Edition) provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Scope of the ReportThe report entitled The US Onychomycosis Market (2017 Edition), provides analysis of the US onychomycosis market, with detailed analysis of market size and growth, market share and economic impact of the industry. The analysis includes the market by value, by volume and by segments. The report also includes the detailed analysis of the segments of the onychomycosis market, comprising of market by value, by volume and by average prices.Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Inc., Novartis AG and Johnson & Johnson are some of the key players operating in the US onychomycosis 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 providedGet Sample Copy Of This Report @Company CoverageValeant PahrmaceuticalsPfizer, Inc.Johnson and JohnsonNovartis AGExecutive SummaryOnychomycosis is a condition of fungal nail infection. Onychomycosis begins in the nail bed and progresses to the nail plate, causing the nail to become discolored, deformed, and even separated from the nail bed. Onychomycosis has a significant chance of reoccurrence. Of all the nail abnormalities in the world, around 50% are the case of onychomycosis. In most of the cases it occurs in the toenails. Onychomycosis is not a life threatening disease but, may persist or worsen if not treated. Symptoms of onychomycosis are changes in appearance of the nail, interference with standing, walking, and exercising, pain, discomfort, etc. The causative pathogens of onychomycosis include dermatophytes (most common), Candida, and nondermatophytic molds.View Report @There are five types of Onychomycosis: Distal Subungual Onychomycosis, White superficial onychomycosis, Proximal subungual onychomycosis, Endonyx onychomycosis and Candidal onychomycosis. Two types of treatments are available of onychomycosis: Oral Treatment and Topical Treatment. Oral treatment includes: Terbinafine, Itraconazole, etc. and topical treatment includes Kerydin, Jublia, etc. Nonpharmacologic approaches are also there, which includes the following: Laser treatment, Photodynamic therapy, etc.The US onychomycosis market (prescription drugs) has increased with a healthy growth rate over the years and is expected to increase further during the forecasted period. The US onychomycosis market is supported by various growth drivers, such as rising per capita healthcare expenditure, increasing diabetic patients, ageing population, introduction of new drugs, etc. Yet, the market faces certain challenges, such as, reimbursements, low awareness, side effects, etc.About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Rose Hip Fruit Extract Market Growth, Demand and Key Players to 2017  2025

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Key Market Players in Rose hip Fruit Extract MarketSome of the key players of the Rose hip Fruit Extract market include Parchem Fine & Specialty Chemicals, Afriplex, ParkAcre Enterprises Ltd., Foodchem International Corporation, Spectrum Chemicals & Laboratory Products Co., Ltd, DM Pharma, etc.Rose hip is the accessory and edible fruit of the rose plant. Rose hip extract is a high source of vitamin C and has traditionally been used to treat common ailments such as cold, digestive issues and also aids in weight loss and kidney disorders. Rose hip is also referred to as rose haw or rose hep. The extract finds widespread and increasing applications in the preparation of various beverages and supplements.Market Dynamics of Rose Hip Fruit Extract MarketThe growing consumer interest in organic foods with beneficial medicinal properties and a strong nutrient profile is a major driver for the rose hip extract market. The high levels of vitamin C can be gauged by the fact that rose hips contain 50% more vitamin C than oranges. Such high presence of a single beneficial component also makes rose hip fruit extract an ideal ingredient for food fortification. Food fortification, wherein food products are fortified with a particular set of nutrients or minerals, is a predominant trend in the overall food and beverage sector.An important end-use of rose hip is in its treatment of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a medical condition which causes joint pains and stiffness and is common among the elderly population. Rose hip has been historically used to treat such condition not as a primary form of treatment but as a long-term solution with minimal side effects.Low market awareness regarding the product is a key constraint for the market and limits the usage of rose hip extract. Rose as a plant is popular for its ornamental and aesthetic value, and in certain food preparations in the form of rose oil but extraction from the rose hip is severely limited. Increasing consumer knowledge beyond citrus fruits is expected to negate this trend in the long run.The marketplace for extracts rich in vitamin C is highly competitive and fragmented. The use of natural extracts in more prominent applications such as supplements is limited by cost and operational issues. The rose hip extract market is expected to face competition from emerging products such as acerola and citrus fruits.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @Market Segmentation of Rose hip Fruit Extract MarketThe Rose hip Fruit Extract market is segmented on the basis of type, application, and form.On the basis of type, the market is segmented into Rosa rugosa and Rosa canina (Dog Rose). Both these types of roses enjoy a high market value due to widespread cultivation and usage. Similar to other types of roses, both these plants are mainly used for ornamental with increasing usage as raw materials for extraction. On the basis of form, the market is segmented into liquid and powder form. The powder form occupies a significant market share due to an increased life, uniform consistency and ease of transportation.On the basis of application, the market is segmented into beverages, bakery products, jams, jellies, and syrups; soup, supplements and others. The beverages segment is further divided into herbal tea and others. Herbal tea is a major application for rose hip extract. Similar to other botanical extracts, supplements is a rapidly growing application for rose hip extract. Jams, jellies and syrups segment occupies a significant market share due to a historically high usage in several countries.Request to View Tables of Content @Regional Outlook of Rose hip Fruit Extract MarketThe rose hip fruit Extract market in North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, and MEA is covered in the report.Developed regions account for a significant part of the rose hip fruit extract market revenues due to high consumption of bakery goods, an increasing interest in organic and natural ingredients and a highly developed distribution network. The market for rose hip fruit-based products has significant potential in the emerging countries of Asia-Pacific and Latin America due to increasing awareness and e-commerce trade.To view complete report @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:
Lead Frame Market by Manufacturing Process, Layer and Application - Global Analysis and 2025 Forecasts

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The Insight Partners, Global Leadframes Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Leadframes industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Leadframes market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Leadframes market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Leadframes players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Request Sample Copy atThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Leadframes market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Leadframes 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 and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Inquire for Discount Copy atAlso, key Leadframes market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Key Company Profiles1. NINGBO HUALONG ELECTRONICS CO.,LTD2. Precision Micro3. ENOMOTO Co. Ltd.4. Veco Precision Metal5. SHINKO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES CO.,LTD6. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.,7. Hitachi Cable, Ltd.8. STATS ChipPAC Ltd.9. Amkor Technology10. Mitsui High-tec, IncView Complete Report atReason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Leadframe market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire before Buying atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout 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.Pune, India
Latest Development : Life Insurance in China, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020

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Albany, New York, July 12, 2017 : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of " Development of Life Insurance in China : Trends and Application 2017 " globally.Timetrics 'Life Insurance in China, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides detailed analysis of the market trends, drivers and challenges in the Chinese life insurance segment.It provides key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20112015) and forecast period (20152020).The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Chinese economy and demographics, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.The report brings together Timetrics research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @SummaryTimetrics 'Life Insurance in China, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Chinese life insurance segment, including:The Chinese life insurance segments growth prospects by life insurance categoryKey trends, drivers and challenges for the life insurance segmentA comprehensive overview of the Chinese economy and demographicsThe various distribution channels in the Chinese life insurance segmentDetails of the competitive landscape in the life insurance segment in ChinaDetails of regulatory policy applicable to the Chinese insurance industryScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the life insurance segment in China:It provides historical values for the Chinese life insurance segment for the reports 20112015 review period, and projected figures for the 20152020 forecast period.It offers a detailed analysis of the key categories in the Chinese life insurance segment, and market forecasts to 2020.It analyzes the various distribution channels for life insurance products in China.It profiles the top life insurance companies in China and outlines the key regulations affecting them.Reasons To BuyMake strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Chinese life insurance segment, and each category within it.Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Chinese life insurance segment.Assess the competitive dynamics in the life insurance segment.Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key product categories.Gain insights into key regulations governing the Chinese insurance industry, and their impact on companies and the industry's future.Make an Enquiry of this report @Key HighlightsAt the end of 2016, China overtook Japan to become the worlds second-largest insurance market, after the US.The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) increased the guaranteed interest-return cap from 2.5% to 3.5% for traditional and participating products in October 2015. In September 2016, the return cap was reduced to 3.0% for universal products.In June 2016, the government established the Shanghai Insurance Exchange (SHIE), Chinas first insurance exchange platform. In September 2016, the CIRC allowed Chinese insurers to invest in Hong Kong shares through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program.In January 2016, 46 corporate entities, including 27 domestic insurers and 15 insurance asset-management companies, formed the China Insurance Investment Company to invest in infrastructure and transport projects.In July 2016, the CIRC issued licenses to HeTai Life Insurance, the first online-only life insurer in China; it received approval to start operations in January 2017.In June 2016, the CIRC approved the establishment of three mutual insurance associations for the first time.ResearchMoz 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.ResearchMoz90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States
Global Clinical Nutrition Market to hit $80 billion by 2024

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The research report Clinical Nutrition Market Size By Product [Infant Nutrition (Milk, Soy, Organic), Parenteral Nutrition (Amino Acids, Fats, Carbohydrates), Enteral Nutrition (Standard Composition, Disease Specific Composition)], Regional Outlook (US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Japan, China, India, Australia, Malaysia, Mexico Brazil, South Africa, UAE, Saudi Arabia), Application Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017  2024 by Global Market Insights, Inc. says Clinical nutrition industry revenue, worth USD 40 billion in 2015, is anticipated to double in terms of value and will hit USD 80 billion by 2024.Order This Report by calling Global Market Insights, Inc. at 1-888-689-0688 (Toll Free) or 1-302-846-7766.The differentiating factor of Clinical Nutrition Market report by Global Market Insights, Inc. when compared with other, similar syndicated research studies includes a 360-degree synopsis of trends for a period of more than 10 years including historic information as well as future outlook. Business focussed multiple trends for Clinical Nutrition industry are discussed along with regional trends to offer an overall view of the market. The industry insights chapter of this research provides the most comprehensive analysis of Clinical Nutrition Market covering segmentation, size, forecasts, ecosystem analysis and more. Industry impact forces (regional and global) that cover growth drivers and challenges, growth potential analysis, a strategy dashboard for competitive landscape of Clinical Nutrition Market support this sector specific data and information points.Request for a sample of this research report @The world has been witnessing a continuous rise in the number of metabolic disorders and pre-mature deaths due to malnutrition. Clinical nutrition market expansion can be primarily credited to the aforementioned factors, as per research analysis. Rising health consciousness and an escalating preference for home healthcare has led to swift improvements in clinical nutrition design & composition, which will ultimately push clinical nutrition market size. The pharmaceutical and food & beverage sectors are the major end-use domains that will experience a widespread usage of this product. Both the aforementioned sectors are growing with renewed gusto, which will generate lucrative avenues for the market players to expand their business and product portfolio.Considering the geographical trends, Asia Pacific industry, which contributed over 40% of clinical nutrition market share in 2015, is set to hit a targeted revenue of over USD 30 billion by 2024. Rising population, GDP growth, the high occurrence of chronic ailments, and an increase in the consumer purchasing power will impel the growth. India and China are slated to be major revenue pockets.Latin America clinical nutrition industry is projected to surpass a revenue of USD 6 billion by 2024, registering a CAGR of more than 8% over 2017-2024. Mounting incidences of malnourishment coupled with improvement in healthcare services are predicted to contribute towards the industry revenue. Mexico and Brazil are slated to be key growth drivers of the region.Browse key industry insights spread across 140 pages with 115 market data tables & 9 figures & charts from the report Clinical Nutrition Market in detail along with the table of contents:Germany and UK, both of which contributed to over 18% and 17% of Europe clinical nutrition industry revenue respectively in 2015, are also expected to make notable contributions toward the industry development in the future. Growing aging population along with high expenditure on healthcare activities will boost the growth.U.S. clinical nutrition industry market, which was evaluated at USD 8 billion in 2015, is projected to record significant gains of over 6% during 2017 to 2024. Favorable compensation schemes and advanced healthcare infrastructure will drive the expansion.Enteral nutrition, infant nutrition, and parenteral nutrition are some of the major products of clinical nutrition market. Infant clinical nutrition industry, which dominated the product landscape in 2015, is expected to register a CAGR of 9% over the coming timeline. A high birth rate in emerging economies along with the rise in the baby boomer population base affected by metabolic syndromes will propel the growth.Make an inquiry for buying this report @Parenteral clinical nutrition market, worth USD 4.2 billion in 2015, is anticipated to hit USD 7 billion by 2024. The growth can be attributed to rise in the frequency of chronic disorders such as diabetes, cancer, and HIV. Enteral clinical nutrition industry is predicted to reach the targeted revenue of more than USD 20 billion by 2024, growing at a rate of 5% over the coming seven years. The rising trend towards the enteral route of administering food among the patients along with new innovations in enteral feeding instruments will cater to the segment growth.Abbott Laboratories, B Braun Melsungen AG, Hospira, Danone, Fresenius Kabi, Nestle S.A., and The H. J. Heinz Company are the key participants of clinical nutrition market.Browse Related Reports:Protein A Resins Market Size By Application (Immunoprecipitation, Antibody Purification), By Product (Natural protein A, Recombinant Protein A), By Matrix (Agarose, Glass/Silica Gel, Organic Polymer), By End Use (Biopharmaceutical, Clinical Research, Academic Research, CRO), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, Spain, Italy, Russia, Poland, Japan, China, India, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt), Growth Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2024About Fractovia.org:Fractovia.org is one of India's leading in-house and free news portal. It is fully automated, and operates on a constant premise, interfacing with news sites and offering redesigned breaking features to readers across the globe. Our mission is to offer individuals opportunities for connections with news writers and distributors which they can pursue. We operate by mapping articles pertaining to breaking news, constantly and progressively, against a pre-determined word-based theme, offering important connections to readers and clients, as well as distributors.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAFractovia.orgPhone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@fractovia.orgWebsite:Connect with us: Facebook | Twitter
RACINE  The Racine man accused in a crash that killed a city worker has pleaded no contest to two criminal charges.

Prosecutors charged Benjamin J. Bell, 20, of the 800 block of Valerie Court, with homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and first-degree recklessly endangering safety in connection with the Dec. 14 crash that killed Mark Gates, a Racine Department of Public Works employee and part-time local pastor.

Bell entered the no-contest plea on Tuesday. The Racine County District Attorneys Office recommended prison time but did not specify an amount. Judge Emily Mueller noted she does not have to follow recommendations by Bells attorney or the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Dirk Jensen.

Bell faces up to 12 years behind bars. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 18.

Bell has been in the Racine County Jail since Dec. 14, the day prosecutors allege his reckless driving led to the crash that caused Gates death.

The crash occurred at about 9:50 a.m. that day in a westbound lane of Washington Avenue between Illinois and Oregon streets, just a few blocks west of Lathrop Avenue.

A Racine Police Department traffic investigator testified in January that Bell was definitely going faster than Washington Avenues 30-mph speed limit before the crash. Surveillance footage of Washington Avenue showed Bells Mustang pass two other vehicles at high rate of speed just prior to the crash, the investigator said during the preliminary hearing.

There also were significant skid marks on the street near where the incident occurred, as well as serious damage to Bells car, according to the state.

Gates had worked for seven years with the Racine Department of Public Works and also was a pastor at Christ Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, 815 Park Ave.

The 1986 graduate of Horlick High School also was a certified chef, having received his culinary degree from Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville.
Digital Genome Market share to reach $45bn by 2024

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The global industry report "Digital Genome Market Size By Product (Sequencing & Analyzer Instruments, DNA/RNA Analysis Kits, Sequencing Chips, Sequencing & Analysis Software, Sample Prep Instruments), By Application (Microbiology [Biological, Clinical, Industrial], Reproductive & Genetic, Transplantation, Livestock and Agriculture, Forensics, Research and Development), By End-Use (Diagnostics & Forensic Labs, Academic Research Institutes, Hospitals, Bio-pharmaceutical Companies), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Russia, France, China, Japan, India, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico South Africa, Saudi Arabia), Application Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2024" by Global Market Insights, Inc. says Digital Genome Market size is set to exceed USD 45 billion by 2024.On-going research activities along with supportive regulations across the globe will revolutionize digital genome market. The growing implementation of this technology in the field of personalized medical care for efficient disease management will noticeably favor digital genome industry share.Request for a sample of this research report -Order This Report by calling Global Market Insights, Inc. at 1-888-689-0688 (Toll Free) or 1-302-846-7766.The differentiating factor of Digital Genome market report by Global Market Insights, Inc. when compared with other, similar syndicated research studies includes a 360-degree synopsis of trends for a period of more than 10 years including historic information as well as future outlook. Business focussed multiple trends for Digital Genome industry are discussed along with regional trends to offer an overall view of the market. The industry insights chapter of this research provides the most comprehensive analysis of Digital Genome market covering segmentation, size, forecasts, ecosystem analysis and more. Industry impact forces (regional and global) that cover growth drivers and challenges, growth potential analysis, a strategy dashboard for competitive landscape of Digital Genome market support this sector specific data and information points.The prominent applications of digital genome industry are microbiology, reproductive & genetic, research & development, transportation, and livestock & agriculture sectors. Microbiology application segment accounted for more than 22% of the revenue share in 2015 and will surpass a revenue collection of USD 10 billion by 2024. The growing demand for microbes across clinical, biological, and industrial sectors should drive the revenue. Research & development dominated the application landscape in 2015 and will contribute a revenue of more than USD 23 billion by 2024. The growth can be attributed to heavy investments by private and public sector firms in research activities.Sequencing and analysis software, one of the product bifurcations of digital genome market, will register an annual growth rate of 9.8% over the period of 2016 to 2024, owing to the increasing efforts to upgrade software packages. High investments in life science research will favor sequencing and analyzer instrument industry, which covered more than 40% of the global digital genome market contribution in 2015. Sample prep instruments, sequencing chip, and RNA or DNA analysis kits are the other notable products in digital genome industry.China digital genome market size will grow at an annual growth rate of more than 10% over the period of 2016 to 2024. The growth can be attributed to the supportive governmental activities in the favor of human genetic development. Moreover, the strategic partnerships between the biobanks and research institutes will influence the industry share noticeably.Browse key industry insights spread across 150 pages with 95 market data tables & around 8 figures & charts from this 2017 report Digital Genome Market in detail along with the table of contents at:U.S. digital genome market covered over 80% of the North America regional share in 2015 and will generate significant revenue over the coming seven years, owing to the genome sequencing technological enhancements along with availability of advanced healthcare infrastructure.Brazil digital genome market is anticipated to record a considerable growth rate over the coming timeframe. The supportive rules and regulations regarding genetic and clinical testing will augment the business growth.Russia digital genome market collected a revenue of around USD 290 million in 2015 and will exhibit lucrative growth over the coming years of 2016 to 2024, primarily driven by the fierce competition prevalent in the region. The Genome Russia project launched by St. Petersburg State University in Russia, aims to collect and scrutinize genome sequences from different regions across the country, which is also expected to generate a noticeable revenue over the coming seven years.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Collaborations, acquisitions, and novel product innovations are the business growth strategies of industry giants. The corporations operating in digital genome market are Becton Dickinson, Agilent Technologies, Qiagen, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Illumina, Pacific Biosciences, Perkin Elmer, Sigma-Aldrich, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Fluidigm Corporation, Bio-Reference Laboratories, AVEO Oncology, and Agios.Browse Related Reports:Gene Editing Market Size By Technology (CRISPR/Cas9, Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs), Meganucleases, TALENS), By Application (Hematology, Infectious Disease, Oncology, Muscular Disorders), By End User (Biotech and Pharma, CRO, Research Institutes), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, UK, Spain, Russia, Poland, China, Japan, India, Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Israel), Growth Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2024About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:
Cloud IAM (Identity and Access Management) Market Report 2017, Trends, Analysis, Share, Estimates and Forecasts to 2022.

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According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Cloud IAM (Identity and Access Management) Market is poised to reach $5.32 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 25.48% during the forecast period. Some of the major factors driving the cloud IAM market are rising rates owing to cyber-crime detection and recuperating from consequent losses. The boost in the number of small and medium scale businesses in countries such as the China, South Korea, Japan, U.K., and India are other factors contributing to the growth of the cloud IAM market. Some of the major factors hampering the market are absence of trust and inefficiency in assurance of identity for cloud services and applications. Additionally, the growing adoption of solutions among enterprises and the budding IoT trends are poised to offer new opportunities to the market in the coming years.Industries such as healthcare, BFSI, energy and oil & gas, telecom & IT are anticipated to witness a considerable growth for cloud IAM during the forecast period. North America is poised to hold the biggest market share, whereas Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.Some of the key players in global Cloud IAM market are Sailpoint Technologies Inc., Ping Identity Corporation, Onelogin Inc., Okta, Microsoft, Intel, IBM Corporation, EMC Corporation, Dell, CA Technologies, Centrify Corporation, HP and Oracle.For More, Please Visit:End Users covered: SMB EnterprisesApplications Covered: Public Sector and Utilities Telecom & IT Retail BFSI Manufacturing Healthcare Energy, Oil and Gas Education OthersTypes Covered: User provisioning Single Sign-On (SSO) Password Management Directories Audit governance and Compliance Management Access ManagementRegions Covered: North Americao USo Canadao Mexico Europeo Germanyo Franceo Italyo UKo Spaino Rest of Europe Asia Pacifico Japano Chinao Indiao Australiao New Zealando Rest of Asia Pacific Rest of the Worldo Middle Easto Brazilo Argentinao South Africao EgyptWhat our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsFor More, Please Visit:We offer wide spectrum of research and consulting services with in-depth knowledge of different industries. We are known for customized research services, consulting services and Full Time Equivalent (FTE) services in the research world. We explore the market trends and draw our insights with valid assessments and analytical views. We use advanced techniques and tools among the quantitative and qualitative methodologies to identify the market trends. Our research reports and publications are routed to help our clients to design their business models and enhance their business growth in the competitive market scenario. We have a strong team with hand-picked consultants including project managers, implementers, industry experts, researchers, research evaluators and analysts with years of experience in delivering the complex projects.STRATISTICS MRC17049 King James Way, Gaithersburg,MD, 20877, USA
2024 Global Smart Fleet Management Market - Analysis and Trends : Global Market Insights Inc.

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Smart Fleet Management Market size is expected to gain momentum during the forecast timeframe owing to the rise in demand for fleet monitoring and real-time tracking to reduce the transportation cost. The increase in stringent government regulations pertaining to safety is expected to propel the demand for these systems.Smart fleet management systems market enables operators to keep a check on factors such as route management, fuel consumption, vehicle maintenance, and driver performance. These systems provide a dedicated server for fleet data and security in a single system, which is anticipated to increase the customer inclination toward these solutions. The adoption of this technology allows operators to monitor the driver behavior and measure maintenance costs. Furthermore, these systems ease the downloading of fleet data to analyze, measure, and make cost-effective decisions or enhance safety. For instance, managers can analyze the fuel efficiency of a vehicle based on the route opted. These factors are expected to drive the smart fleet management market during the forecast timeframe.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @Increased emphasis on energy/fuel efficiency in vehicle operations in addition to the need for high-speed networks is encouraging the adoption of these systems. Advancements in Internet of Things (IoT) and wireless technology are expected to bring new capabilities to these systems, thus fueling the demand. An increase in the mobile connectivity to deliver safer, cost-effective, and greener services is expected to augment the smart fleet management market over the forecast period.The high cost of these systems and their complexity are anticipated to be the factors restraining the smart fleet management market size. Continuously increasing fleet sizes and the routes traveled increase the complexity of the system. The abundant amount of data generated by continuous location tracking of the vehicles is likely to challenge the industry growth.The smart fleet management market is segmented based on hardware, transportation, connectivity, and solutions. Based on transportation, the smart fleet management market is segmented into automotive, marine, and rolling stock. The automotive segment is expected to grow during the forecast timeframe owing to the increasing adoption of roadways for domestic and international transportation.Based on hardware, the smart fleet management market is segmented as tracking, ADAS, optimization, and remote diagnostics. ADAS systems are expected to grow at a significant rate, owing to the high adoption of these systems in passenger cars, particularly in North America and Europe. Governments of countries in the Asia Pacific region, including India and China are focused on mandating these systems to enhance passenger safety.Based on connectivity, the smart fleet management market is classified as long-range communication, short-range communications, and cloud. With advancements in the cloud technology, the smart fleet systems vendors are focused on providing cloud solutions to the customers, owing to its reliability and better performance, compared to other connectivity modes. Based on solutions, the industry is segmented as vehicle tracking and fleet optimization. Fleet operators are increasingly leveraging the advent of Internet of Things by equipping vehicles with wireless technology to improve connectivity and scalability. This is anticipated to favor the growth of fleet optimization solutions, thus boosting the smart fleet management market.Make an inquiry for buying this report @The smart fleet management market in the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at a remarkable pace owing to increasing stringency in regulations and rising transportation facilities in countries including India, China, and Japan. The governments in these countries are compelling the OEMs to implement these systems in vehicles owing to the changing approach toward the safety of drivers, passengers, fleet operators, and goods. Improving trade and socio-economic conditions in Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia have increased the demand for premium fleets with high safety features, thus positively impacting the smart fleet management market growth.Industry players in the smart fleet management market include Harman International Industries, Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH., Siemens AG, Denso Corporation, IBM Corporation, Continental AG, Cisco Systems, Inc., Sierra Wireless, Inc., Calamp Corp., OTTO Marine Ltd., Precious Shipping Co. Ltd., and Globecomm Systems, Inc. The presence of primarily big players characterizes the smart fleet management market. However, new startups are entering the market with more specialized fleet management and optimization solutions for specified applications. For instance, KeepTruckin, a startup based in the U.S. is focusing on improving the efficiency of the trucking industry by connecting drivers and vehicle freights on road.Telematics service providers and OEMs in the smart fleet management market are developing solutions to ensure compatibility with future standards to increase ease-of-maintenance and scalability. Telematics providers are developing integrated modules and SIMs to connect to cellular networks as vehicles travel between urban & rural areas, network provider boundaries, and cellular network boundaries from 2G to 3G and 4G. These modules are intended to achieve scalability and optimum coverage that remain compatible with the changing technology.The technology providers are investing in developing solutions with special and customized features in the smart fleet management market. For instance, P&L Software, a firm based in the UK focuses on developing software for the waste management industry. The company has developed an integrated waste system that comprises a software suite with modules consisting of tailored features catering to specific customer requirements. Increasing government subsidies are attracting new companies that are entering this market.Browse Related Reports: Application Security Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia, China, Japan, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa), Application Development Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017  2024About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:Connect with us: Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter
Log Management Market Share, trends and Analysis, 2024 : Global Market Insights Inc.

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Log Management Market size is expected to grow at a significant rate over the future owing to its ability to offer enhanced security by identifying security breaches in an organization. It is the process of collection and administration of data generation processes, which helps in the transmission, analysis, and storage of log data in systems and also deals with a large amount of computer-generated log data.The log management market is providing a variety of services such as log collection, log rotation, log analysis, log search, and reporting. The software is helping enterprises to improve the security and regulatory compliance. These systems help in protecting devices from several risks, malicious attacks, cybercrimes, viruses, and advanced persistent threats. Due to the implementation of these platforms, public and private enterprises can prevent security threats, reduce business costs, and enhance information security infrastructure. In addition, they are helpful in tracking employee actions, which is fueling the log management market demand in the industry.Increasing complexity of the systems, inflated costs, and time-consuming processes are challenging the log management market growth. Moreover, the easy accessibility to free solutions may hamper the industry growth over the forecast timeline. The speed at which logs are created can make their collection difficult, which is also a challenge faced by the industry. Log events are not always accurate, which makes its use difficult for detection systems.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @In the log management market, some tools have the additional advantage of automatic protection systems such as shutting down systems, immobilizing USB storage capabilities, blocking IP addresses, removing accounts, and completely shutting down machines that are expected to offer ample growth opportunities for the industry.Moreover, managing of services is helping in decreasing work risks and in handling the network operational processes by combating the difficulties involved in the infrastructure of the systems. The log management market is facing complexity in the integration of IoT and operating systems. To overcome this complexity, the users require training thereby providing an impetus to consulting services, which is expected to witness a substantial growth over the forecast time span. Log management market is also being used to produce technical information to help in detecting and solving various bugs present in the system and examining new features in the development phase.End users in the log management market include various retail firms, telecommunication departments, healthcare industries, government administrations, and BFSI providers. The BFSI providers are expected to have a large market share over the forecast timeline. Banks are liable for cybercrimes and security issues. Banks, as well as financial service providers, are relying on the log data for preventing fraud and to make sure various activities occurring on the network meet the necessary regulatory requirements. Increasing usage of IoT devices, BYOD concept, and a growing usage of mobile apps for banking payments are offering ample opportunities for the BFSI segments growth in the industry.The log management market service providers are mainly found in North America and Asia Pacific. North America is expected to have the highest market share owing to its advancements in technology, growth in innovation, and high technology adoption rate. In 2017, the U.S. and Canada are anticipated to be the highest revenue-generating economies for log management market services mainly owing to the presence of businesses, which are majorly focused on the security technologies and R&D.Make an inquiry for buying this report @Asia Pacific industry is expected to grow on a large-scale. Emerging economies in this region are adopting log management systems on a large-scale. The growing demand due to increasing population and availability of labor at minimal costs are the main reasons behind the increasing industry share in countries such as India, China, and Singapore for the log management market.The key industry players involved in the log management market include Dell, IBM, Trend Micro, Inc., Juniper Networks, Cisco, Symantec, Intel, Solar Winds Worldwide, LLC, Splunk, Inc., Log Rhythm, Inc., Alert Logic, Loggly, Inc., Alien Vault, Veria, Inc., and Black Stratus, Inc. These players are investing huge funds in R&D and are coming up with innovative technologies and new products to maintain their position in the log management market. For instance, Alert Logic is a cloud security provider acquired by Welsh Carson. Through this acquisition, Alert Logic will enhance the scale of the business and meet the rising demand for IT security in the virtualized data centers and cloud platform.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:Connect with us: Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter
DRaaS Market (Disaster Recovery as a Service) by Services, Applications, Technology and Regions - Global Analysis and 2025 Forecasts

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The Insight Partners, Global Disaster Recovery as a Service Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Disaster Recovery as a Service industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Disaster Recovery as a Service market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Disaster Recovery as a Service market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Disaster Recovery as a Service players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Request Sample Copy atThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Disaster Recovery as a Service market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Disaster Recovery as a Service 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 and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Inquire for Discount Copy atAlso, key Disaster Recovery as a Service market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Key Company ProfilesIBM CorporationHewlett-Packard EnterpriseMicrosoft CorporationAmazon Web Services, Inc.VMWare, Inc.Verizon TerremarkNTT Communication CorporationRackspace Hosting, Inc.Sungard Availability ServicesIland Internet Solution CorporationView Complete Report atReason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Disaster Recovery as a Service market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire before Buying atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout 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.Pune, India
Global Cloud Computing Stack Layers Market 2017 - Amazon Web Services, Salesforce, Microsoft Azure, IBM, SAP, Rackspace, H&P Helion

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"Cloud computing describes wide range of useful services.For example, cloud computing allows you to move compute and data services off-site to a location-transparent facility.Cloud-based data can be made accessible via the Internet anytime, anywhere and is often less costly than locally hosted data.To decide how you  or your organization  will use cloud computing to best advantage, it is important to understand the services that make up cloud computing.The three major categories of services are Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)."Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Cloud Computing Stack Layers in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Request For Sample Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversAmazon Web ServicesSalesforceMicrosoft AzureIBMGoogle Cloud PlatformSAPRackspaceH&P HelionOVHAvayaOracleMarket 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, coversIaaSSaaSPaaSAccess Full Report With TOC @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoCommercial UsePublic ServicesOthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Cloud Computing Stack Layers market.Chapter 1, to describe Cloud Computing Stack Layers Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Cloud Computing Stack Layers, with sales, revenue, and price of Cloud Computing Stack Layers, 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 Cloud Computing Stack Layers, 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, Cloud Computing Stack Layers market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Cloud Computing Stack Layers sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.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.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
eDiscovery Software Market by Components, Deployment Type and Industry Verticals - Global Analysis and 2025 Forecasts

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The Insight Partners, Global EDiscovery Software Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the EDiscovery Software industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global EDiscovery Software market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global EDiscovery Software market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the EDiscovery Software players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Request Sample Copy atThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global EDiscovery Software market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall EDiscovery Software 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 and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Inquire for Discount Copy atAlso, key EDiscovery Software market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Key Company Profiles1. Accessdata2. Exterro, Inc.3. FTI Consulting, Inc.4. Guidance Software, Inc.5. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP6. IBM Corporation7. kCura LLC8. Nuix9. Xerox Corporation10. ZyLABView Complete Report atReason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the EDiscovery Software market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire before Buying atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout 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.Pune, India
New Commitment of Traders Indicators for Three Major Platforms

COT Disaggregated report

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DarkMindFX extends its free package of economic indicators with new ones: COT disaggregated report for non-financial instruments. Now it is possible to observe net positions for Commercial, Non-Commercial and Speculator traders using MetaTrader, cTrader and NinjaTrader terminalsCommitment of Traders: Reports for Non-Financial InstrumentsDarkMindFX extends its set of Commitment Of Traders (COT) indicators displaying disaggregated reports for non-financial instruments. These reports display the net positions for the following participants: Producer-Merchant-Processor-User, Swap Dealers, Managed Money and Other Reportables.In order to utilize the new set of Commitment Of Trader indicators the users need to follow the steps:1. Download the package for the proper platform from2. Run the setup and follow the instructions  the indicators will be inserted into the terminal automatically3. Run the terminal and add the COTDisaggrCommoditiesData indicators.4. In case of MetaTrader  open Inputs tab and select the commodity from the drop down list5. For cTrader and NinjaTrader  just specify the COT market code  its the same code which is used and published by CFTC in its weekly reportsAs the result the user gets the windows with the seven lines displaying the following values: Producer-Merchant-Processor-User (Net positions), Swap Dealers (Net positions and Spreading ), Managed Money (Net and Spreading) and Managed Money and Other Reportable (Net and Spreading).DarkMindFX performs regular updates of its indicators package for all three platforms  the latest news and announcements can be found at our Facebook pageDarkMindFX is a financial analytical and data company working on the new approaches to bring financial information to Forex and Stocks traders.Grunwaldska 441, Gdansk, 80-290, Poland
Global Monorail Systems Market 2017 - Top Players Saertex, Johnson Controls, Dow Automotive Systems, Gamut Services, Hexion Inc., Monorail Systems, Longwall Monorail Systems

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Monorail Systems Market Research Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Monorail Systems 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 is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Monorail Systems in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Monorail Systems market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingSaertexJohnson ControlsDow Automotive SystemsGamut ServicesHexion Inc.Monorail SystemsLongwall Monorail Systems...On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoStraddleSuspendedOn 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 Monorail Systems for each application, includingElectricMagnetic LevitationIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Table of ContentsGlobal Monorail Systems Market Research Report 20171 Monorail Systems Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Monorail Systems1.2 Monorail Systems Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Monorail Systems Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Monorail Systems Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Straddle1.2.4 Suspended1.3 Global Monorail Systems Segment by Application1.3.1 Monorail Systems Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Electric1.3.3 Magnetic Levitation1.4 Global Monorail Systems Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Monorail Systems 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)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Monorail Systems (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Monorail Systems Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Monorail Systems Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)2 Global Monorail Systems Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Monorail Systems Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Monorail Systems Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Monorail Systems Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Monorail Systems Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Monorail Systems Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Monorail Systems Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Monorail Systems Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Monorail Systems Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Monorail Systems Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Monorail Systems Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Monorail Systems Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Monorail Systems Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 Southeast Asia Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 India Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Monorail Systems Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Monorail Systems Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Monorail Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Monorail Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Monorail Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Monorail Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Monorail Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Monorail Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Monorail Systems Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Monorail Systems Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Monorail Systems Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Monorail Systems Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Monorail Systems Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Monorail Systems Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Monorail Systems Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Monorail Systems Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/Countries7 Global Monorail Systems Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Saertex7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Monorail Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Saertex Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Johnson Controls7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Monorail Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Johnson Controls Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Dow Automotive Systems7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Monorail Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Dow Automotive Systems Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Gamut Services7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Monorail Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Gamut Services Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Hexion Inc.7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Monorail Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Hexion Inc. Monorail Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinued...Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global DSL Chipsets Market 2017 - Broadcom, MediaTek, Intel, Qualcomm, NXP, Cavium, Sckipio

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"DSL or digital subscriber line is a family of technologies that provide digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network.1.DSL is available in every region of the world, and ADSL owns the majority of the market though VDSL and ADSL2plus are gaining ground2.DSL is capable of providing up to 100 Mbp, and supports voice, video and data.3.The new DSL network is IP-centric4.There is broad equipment interoperability and there are currently established test specifications for ADSL, ADSL2plus, SHDSL, and soon VDSL2 will join the list5.Finally, ADSL and home networking are a natural fit as DSL effectively supports multiple applications for multiple uses via each DSL connection."Request For Sample Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the DSL Chipsets 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 coversBroadcom (Avago)MediaTek (Ralink)Intel (Lantiq)Qualcomm (Ikanos)NXP (Freescale)CaviumSckipioMarket 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, coversADSL TypeVDSL TypeG.fast TypeAccess Full Report With TOC @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoInternet Access & File SharingVideoTelecommutingOnline Education & ShoppingTelemedicineOnline GamingThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global DSL Chipsets market.Chapter 1, to describe DSL Chipsets Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of DSL Chipsets, with sales, revenue, and price of DSL Chipsets, 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 DSL Chipsets, 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, DSL Chipsets market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe DSL Chipsets sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.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.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Having a baby can be one of the most joyous times for any family, but if a child is born too early it can spin a jubilant moment into uncertainty and chaos.

A lot of people have a plan in place and when a baby starts to come early it isnt part of it, said Ashley Mucek, senior development manager for the March of Dimes western Wisconsin market.

According to the March of Dimes website, a baby is considered preterm if they are born under 37 weeks gestation. Those born between 36 and 34 weeks gestation are classified as late preterm while those born between 32 and 28 weeks gestation are considered very preterm. A baby born less than 28 weeks gestation is considered extremely preterm.

Recent data released from the Center for Disease Control, shows preterm birth rates increased two percent throughout the nation in 2016. Preterm and late preterm birth rates have risen in 17 states, including the state of Wisconsin.

According to the March of Dimes, each year in Wisconsin one in 11 babies are born premature and 417 will die before they reach their first birthday.

When a preemie is born, parents are thrust into the world of the neonatal intensive care unit for weeks or months while their baby overcomes setbacks from brain bleeds to lung complications. Many of these setbacks may continue long after a family has left the NICU.

Besides possible medical setbacks, families of premature babies face several other challenges from access to medical care to transportation to NICUs  especially if they live in a rural area.

Causes

While some causes of preterm birth can be preventable, for others there isnt a clear answer.

Dr. Suzanne Welsch, an OB-GYN at Sauk Prairie Healthcare Hospital in Prairie du Sac and Prairie Clinic in Sauk City, said about 15 percent of the patients in her practice are categorized as a high risk pregnancies. She said there are many different ways for women to be considered at high risk, from a preexisting medical condition to other circumstances.

Its not a same recommendation for everyone because theres so many different ways people can be considered high risk in a pregnancy, Welsch said.

While smoking and alcohol use can cause preterm labor and preterm birth, she said the most common cause is considered idiopathic.

Meaning we have no idea, she said. Thats really hard to try to deal with and all we can do as obstetrician is really be on the lookout and educate our patients what to look for at visits.

Welsch said some relatively common categories for preterm deliveries are twin pregnancies, previous preterm delivery and miscarriage. Hypertension and high blood pressure disorders may cause preterm delivery.

The only way to deal with severe high blood pressure in a pregnancy is to deliver the baby, Welsch said.

Jodi Tomaszewski of Mauston, developed hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count syndrome (HELLP) and preeclampsia, which caused her to have her daughter, Charli Tomaszewski , 15 weeks early. According to the March of Dimes, both complications can lead to high blood pressure and organ failure. About two in 10 pregnant women who develop preeclampsia have HELLP.

My hands were swollen, my face was swollen and I looked like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man, Jodi Tomaszewski said.

The doctors couldnt give her a clear answer why she developed the symptoms.

They (the doctors) said, 'Your body is just not made to incubate babies,' Jodi Tomaszewski said.

Kally Kohl, of Portage, had a normal pregnancy for about 18 weeks. Then she her doctor said she was already six centimeters dilated. She was transported to Meriter Hospital in Madison and, three days later, her son Mason was born at 23 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound, 8 ounces.

"It was my body that wasn't tolerating the pregnancy," Kohl said. "That was harder for me to wrap my head around and to not be able to carry past 24 weeks was really tough."

Medical obstacles

When a baby is born too early, there are several medical obstacles which may have life lasting effects.

Because the lungs are one of the last components of the body to develop in the womb, a breathing tube is inserted to preemie babies' lungs develop.

Paola Fliman, medical director and neonatologists at St. Marys in Madison, said Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is common because preemies lungs cant produce surfactant, which is a protein to keep the lungs expanded. Because preemies cant receive medication orally, they have to receive surfactant through the breathing tube.

Fliman compared the experience of a when a preterm baby takes their first breath to blowing air into a balloon.

You need to use a lot of effort to get that balloon to open, she said. If a baby doesnt have surfactant, every single time they take a breath its like blowing into a balloon for the first time.

Dr. Jason Ankumah-Saikoom, a pediatrician at St. Clares in Baraboo, said if a child is born under 30 weeks gestation some significant medical obstacles may occur.

The main thing is they are more susceptible to being sick, Some general respiratory illnesses and they tend to get sicker more severely, Ankumah-Saikoom said.

Ankumah-Saikoom said former preemies may also have challenges with growth and development when they come home from the NICU. But respiratory and growth problems arent the only challenges preemies can face.

Fliman said preemies born below 32 weeks may have other significant medical challenges such as brain bleeds, anemia of prematurity and Necrotizing enterocolitis.

After she was born, Charli Tomaszewski received two blood transfusions and was resuscitated twice. She had bradycardia, a collapsed lung, pneumonia spells, a heart murmur and other pulmonary complications. Eventually, she had to be transferred to American Family Childrens Hospital in Madison and later to Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee to have additional surgeries.

While she is full of confidence at five years old, because the functional heart murmur and chronic lung disease, Charli Tomaszewski can have challenges handling heat in the summer time. She also has gestational intestine complications from a feeding tube and is attending a feeding clinic in Milwaukee to assist her with properly ingesting food. She is taking occupational therapy to help her grow and develop.

There are some muscles they are working on to stretch and get stronger, Jodi Tomaszewski said.

Stephanie and Steven Anderson, of Reedsburg, were living in St. Louis at the time their son Elijah Anderson, now six-years-old, was born. Elijah Anderson was born 10 weeks early, weighing 3 pounds, 12 ounces and 17 inches long.

In order to leave the NICU, he had to gain weight, bottle feed on his own, sleep in an open crib and maintain his body heat. Stephanie Anderson said before coming home, Elijah has complications with maintaining his body heat in a crib and also had a heart murmur.

He ended up having a balloon angioplasty at nine months, she said.

While medical setbacks were very stressful in the NICU, Stephanie Anderson considers him very lucky. Stephanie Anderson recalled one family who had a set of twins who had been in the NICU for ten months due to digestive and feeding complications. The only major setback Elijah Anderson had was growth challenges and last year he had hernia surgery.

There were kids that were almost a year old that were still (in the NICU) when we left, she said. There were kids going home on oxygen  we feel very lucky and blessed that he did not have a lot of things that other babies had.

Kally Kohl and her husband Ben, would commute to Madison for all 118 days Mason Kohl was in the hospital. One of the most "traumatic looking" procedures for Kally Kohl to watch was holding her son through eye exams for retinopathy of prematurity, a disease where abnormal blood vessels can cause loss of vision.

"You can't explain to a baby that they need to sit very still and they need to keep their eyes open," she said.

Throughout every exam Mason Kohl would cry and his oxygen and breathing levels would decrease. While a lot of the procedures were difficult, Kally Kohl said it was very important for her and her husband to be there for him.

"We wanted to let him know no matter what happens at the end of it we are still going to be there," Kally Kohl said.

Societal cost

Every battle comes at a cost. When a preemie is fighting for their life in the NICU, the high medical expenses cause a heavy financial impact on families, businesses and even taxpayers.

According to the March of Dimes, a premature baby can cost families up the thirteen times more than a baby born at full-term. This ranges from medical care costs in the NICU to any medical costs after the family leaves the NICU. Each year in Wisconsin, the medical and societal costs of preterm birth is around $323 million, with each premature and low birth weight baby costing employers over $50,000  compared to over $4,300 for a baby born without complications.

In the nation, 11 percent of premature babies are covered under employer health plans with businesses paying up to twelve times as much in health care costs.

Mucek said while medical expenses slightly decrease after a family leaves the NICU, the cost of having a premature baby is astronomical for everyone involved.

If youre employed and you have insurance through your employer, (the employer) ends up paying a lot of that insurance cost of a preterm baby, Mucek said.

Stephanie Anderson estimates her sons stay in the NICU cost around $130,000. The family had insurance and she only saw medical bills with for a couple hundred dollars worth of copays.

If it wasnt for insurance it would be so unaffordable, she said.

Jodi Tomaszewski didnt have insurance and nearly fainted when she received a $1.5 million medical bill in the mail. She was told by the social workers at the NICU said her daughters medical expenses would be covered.

Elizabeth Goodsitt, communications specialists for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said in an email if the mother is not eligible for Medicaid and the premature baby meets a certain gestation age or birth weight the baby, may have met the eligibility criteria to receive Medicaid, even if parents are covered by insurance.

Medicaid coordinates with commercial coverage for members who have both Medicaid and private insurance, Goodsitt said. Medicaid pays after private insurance.

Even though Kally Kohl's insurance through her employer covered a majority of the medical costs, because Mason Kohl was born so small and early, he qualified for Medicaid. Medicaid picked up some of the surgical costs which weren't covered by insurance. In his first year of life, Mason Kohl's care and appointment costs reached $2.3 million.

"Without it we literally would have lost everything," Kally Kohl said.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Information and Enrollment Benefits web page, to qualify for BadgerCare Plus recipients must be under the age of 18, with an income at or below 300 percent of the poverty level. The recipient must be a Wisconsin resident and a U.S. citizen.

Goodsitt said based on gestation age and birth weight premature babies may be eligible for Medicaid because they qualify for Supplemental Security Insurance, which is a program administered by the Social Security Administration.

SSA does take birth weight and gestational age into account when determining if a child meets disability requirements, Goodsitt said.

Jodi Tomaszewski said her daughter is on her fathers insurance plan, but it doesnt cover much of her medical needs.

Shes got two health care benefits, Jodi Tomaszewski said. If the first one doesnt cover the benefits, Medicaid covers it.

Both Jodi Tomaszewski and her daughter still receive SSI benefits because both of them are classified as disabled.

Its definitely a hard subject to talk about, she said.

But with changes to the health care laws, funding for Medicaid programs could change. The Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 which is waiting to be approved by the Senate, proposes a cap on the amount of money the federal government gives in to states for Medicaid. The March of Dimes estimates the cuts could result in an estimated of 6.5 million women of childbearing age losing health coverage.

Mike Murray, policy director for the Wisconsin Alliance for Womens Health in Madison said federal funding of Medicaid would decrease by $800 billion over the next ten years.

It would be a very relevant thing to someone who had a newborn in the NICU because those NICU cost can go over what those caps are pretty quickly, Murray said. Wisconsin would have to make some type of very difficult decision of who they would continue covering under Medicaid and what services they are going to continue covering.

Transportation and Housing

Because most rural hospitals dont have the medical equipment to properly care for babies born below 37 weeks, families will be transported to a hospital in the Madison area with a NICU.

They require specialized nursing and pediatric care, Susan Davidson, a high-risk obstetrician at St. Marys in Madison, said. These babies have to be monitored.

Because of the level of care a premature baby requires, it may be weeks or months before a baby graduates from the NICU and is able to go home.

When Stephanie Anderson was discharged from the hospital a week after Elijah was born, he remained in the NICU for a month.

She was told she could call anytime and the doctors would provide updates on how Elijah was progressing. Even though she knew he was in good hands she still felt he wasnt where he was supposed to be.

After I was wheeled out and got in the car thats when it hit me the most, she said. I thought Wait a minute, Im forgetting something. Why is he still here? I need to be here with him.

In the coming days, she said developed postpartum disorder because of feeling helpless for her son being born so early as well as feeling guilty for having not having a normal pregnancy.

I could shut it out, but I couldnt, she said. You just sit there and cry and be depressed and not speak to anybody. My mom would be asking, 'Arent you glad you had a baby?' And I couldnt answer her. I just didnt have that emotion.

The Andersons lived 20 minutes away from the NICU and Stephanie Anderson visited her son almost every day.

My husband would take me up there before he went to work or a friend of mine would, she said. I would be up there all day until he was done with work so he could come see him.

When her family moved back to Reedsburg, she had to find doctors outside of the Reedsburg area because the nearby hospitals didnt have the staff or resources to accommodate her son.

We dont have any pediatric cardiologists (in Reedsburg), Stephanie Anderson said. Within a bigger city you have so many different options. You do not have to drive an hour away like we have too.

Davidson, who also practices at St. Clares Hospital in Baraboo every other week, said providing childcare can also be a challenge for those who live in a rural area.

Its hard for them to leave home, Davidson said. Its hard for them to get to Madison. They dont have anybody to take care of the children they already have. If they have a car they dont have gas money.

Because Jodi Tomaszewski was living in Reedsburg at the time she had Charli, she often stayed at the Ronald McDonald house in Madison.

At that time it was the ultimate and most safe place for me to heal and rest while she was in the NICU, Jodi Tomaszewski said.

Fliman said a lot of NICUs, including the one at St. Marys, have advanced to single patient rooms to help families and babies feel more comfortable. Fliman also said the NICU at St. Marys has four Ronald McDonald rooms in the hospital for parents to stay if the 18 bedroom Ronald McDonald House in Madison is full.

Its a special place for the parents to be able to sleep and stay if their babies are in the NICU, she said.

Fighting back

While the recent data from the CDC may seem daunting, organizations at the national and county level are working hard to reduce the number of preterm births.

With the most recent data available on premature birth, Columbia county had the lowest premature birth rate in 2013 at 4.6 percent, an over four percent decrease from the year before.

Susan Lorenz, Health Administrator and Public Health Officer for the Columbia County Health Department said one of the reasons for the decrease is the health department offers Women, Infant and Childrens clinics in Portage and satellite clinics in the city of Columbus and the village of Cambria.

So people dont have to drive to Portage, she said. Were trying to get to the other part of the county.

Health departments from Juneau, Sauk and Columbia counties have been offering programs to help women have healthy pregnancies through Prenatal Care Coordination. Healthy Beginnings is offered in Columbia County and Sauk County offers additional assistance through their maternal child health program.

All three counties offer WIC programs and Nurse-Family Partnership, a program where a first time, low-income mom living in the county the program is offered are assigned a public health nurse until the child reaches two years old.

The NFP is different from both PNCC and Healthy Beginnings where a public nurse is with the mother and child for two months after birth. Additional NFP agencies in Wisconsin are in Adams, Dane, Madison, Eau Claire, Chippewa, Kenosha and Milwaukee counties.

Lorenz said independent research has shown for every dollar invested in NFP society can yield as much as $6 in return.

Some of the benefits of the program range from a decrease in food share and welfare by age five to a 44 percent reduction in maternal behavior problems due to substance abuse.

Welsch said she strongly advises women who have early signs of preterm labor to immediately seek medical help. She also advises women to have a preconception consultation with their doctor before getting pregnant, especially if patients have underlying health problems such as preexisting high blood pressure and diabetes.

At that point we can optimize their health before they even get pregnant, she said.

The March of Dimes has launched a prematurity campaign to reduce the percentage of national preterm birth to 8.1 percent by 2020 and 5.5 percent by 2030. Some of the interventions of the campaign include expanding group prenatal care and reducing tobacco use among pregnant women.

For 2017, the March of Dimes Western Wisconsin Market has a goal to raise $592,000. Around 87 percent of the money raised will go towards research and grants to find out why premature birth happens.

We want to make sure we raise as much funds as we can so we can get answers, Mucek said.

To help raise money for the prematurity campaign, Kristie Maurer, who owns Maurers Market in the Wisconsin Dells, will be doing a round up campaign. Through the month of September and October, with any purchase made at Maurers Market customers will be asked to round up their purchase to the nearest dollar.

If its $10.12 they can round it up to the next dollar and those additional cents will go to the March of Dimes Campaign, Maurer, who also serves on the March of Dimes Wisconsin Board of Directors, said.

Maurers Market will also participate in the Signature Chefs Auction in Madison this coming November, to help raise money for prematurity research and provide awareness of premature birth.

We (all) know one family whether its a family member of ours, or an employee of ours, or someone who shops in our store, she said. If they have a child who is born premature that has an impact. We want to do whatever we can do to end prematurity.

Families are also telling their stories to provide awareness.

Stephanie Anderson, participates in March for Babies events with her family around Wisconsin. She said its important to tell her and her sons story to educate other families about premature birth.

All parents need to be educated in case something was to happen because you dont think its going to happen to you until it does, she said.
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Global Interactive Terminals Market 2017 Top Manufacturers - EMSE, INURFACE MEDIA, NEC Display Solutions, Nantian Electronics Information, Itenal, Shang Rong Tech

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growth rate of Interactive Terminals in each application, can be divided intoSubway StationTrain StationAirportBankOtherTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Table of ContentsGlobal Interactive Terminals Market Research Report 20171 Interactive Terminals Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Interactive Terminals1.2 Interactive Terminals Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Interactive Terminals by Type in 20151.2.2 Floor-Standing1.2.3 Countertop1.2.4 Wall-Mounted1.3 Interactive Terminals Segment by Application1.3.1 Interactive Terminals Consumption Market Share by Application in 20151.3.2 Subway Station1.3.3 Train Station1.3.4 Airport1.3.5 Bank1.3.6 Other1.4 Interactive Terminals Market by Region1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Korea Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Interactive Terminals (2012-2022)2 Global Interactive Terminals Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Interactive Terminals Production and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global Interactive Terminals Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.3 Global Interactive Terminals Average Price by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.4 Manufacturers Interactive Terminals Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Interactive Terminals Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Interactive Terminals Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Interactive Terminals Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Interactive Terminals Production by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Interactive Terminals Production Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Interactive Terminals Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 Korea Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 Taiwan Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Interactive Terminals Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2012-2017)4.1 Global Interactive Terminals Consumption by Regions (2012-2017)4.2 North America Interactive Terminals Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Interactive Terminals Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Interactive Terminals Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Interactive Terminals Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Korea Interactive Terminals Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 Taiwan Interactive Terminals Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Interactive Terminals Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Interactive Terminals Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Interactive Terminals Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Interactive Terminals Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Interactive Terminals Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Interactive Terminals Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Interactive Terminals Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/Countries7 Global Interactive Terminals Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 EMSE7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.1.2 Interactive Terminals Product Type, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Floor-Standing7.1.2.2 Countertop7.1.3 EMSE Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 INURFACE MEDIA7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.2.2 Interactive Terminals Product Type, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Floor-Standing7.2.2.2 Countertop7.2.3 INURFACE MEDIA Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 NEC Display Solutions7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.3.2 Interactive Terminals Product Type, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Floor-Standing7.3.2.2 Countertop7.3.3 NEC Display Solutions Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Nantian Electronics Information7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.4.2 Interactive Terminals Product Type, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Floor-Standing7.4.2.2 Countertop7.4.3 Nantian Electronics Information Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Itenal7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.5.2 Interactive Terminals Product Type, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Floor-Standing7.5.2.2 Countertop7.5.3 Itenal Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Shang Rong Tech7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Its Competitors7.6.2 Interactive Terminals Product Type, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Floor-Standing7.6.2.2 Countertop7.6.3 Shang Rong Tech Interactive Terminals Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview8 Interactive Terminals Manufacturing Cost Analysis8.1 Interactive Terminals Key Raw Materials Analysis8.1.1 Key Raw Materials8.1.2 Price Trend of Key Raw Materials8.1.3 Key Suppliers of Raw Materials8.1.4 Market Concentration Rate of Raw Materials8.2 Proportion of Manufacturing Cost Structure8.2.1 Raw Materials8.2.2 Labor Cost8.2.3 Manufacturing Expenses8.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Interactive TerminalsMake 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 LED Lighting Market (2017-2021 Edition) | Now Available at Researchmoz.us

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global LED Lighting Market (2017-2021 Edition)" to its huge collection of research reports.The report entitled Global LED Lighting Market (2017-2021 Edition), provides an in-depth analysis of the global LED Lighting market with detailed analysis of market size and growth, market share and economic impact of the industry. The report also provides market size of the global lighting market and its segments.The report provides detailed regional analysis of North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific (China and India) for the LED lighting market. 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 global lighting market and global LED lighting 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. The market for global LED lighting is facing a tough competition due to price wars and entry of small firms. Further, key players (Cree, Philips and Osram) of the global LED lighting market are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Country CoverageNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific (China and India)Company CoverageCreePhilipsOsramExecutive SummaryThe LED lighting can be segmented according to its application into lighting, backlighting, signage, automotive lighting and others. Some of the advantages of LED lights over the traditional light sources are long life, energy efficient, ecologically friendly, durable, zero UV emission, design flexibility, low voltage, etc.The major growth drivers for the LED lighting market are increasing shipment and penetration of LED TVs, growing automobile industry, increasing LED penetration, phasing out of incandescent bulbs in many countries, supportive government policies and focus on energy efficiency. Despite the market is governed by various growth drivers, there are certain challenges faced by the market such as temperature dependence, high initial costs of LED, high research and development costs, etc.Table Of Content1. Executive Summary2. Introduction2.1 Light Emitting Diode: An Overview2.1.1 Light Production in LEDs2.1.2 Light Production in LEDs2.2 History of LED2.3 LED Lighting Segments: An Overview2.4 Advantages of LED Lighting2.5 Comparison of LED Lighting with Other Source of Lighting3. Global Market Analysis3.1 Global Lighting Market: An Analysis3.1.1 Global Lighting Market by Value3.1.2 Global Lighting Market by Application3.1.3 Global General Lighting Market by Segments3.2 Global LED Lighting Market: An Analysis3.2.1 Global LED Lighting Market by Value3.2.2 Global LED Lighting Market by Segments3.2.3 Global LED Lighting Market by Region3.2.4 Global LED Lighting Market by Adoption Rate3.2.5 Global LED Lighting Market Adoption Rate by Products3.3 Global LED Backlight Market: An Analysis3.3.1 Global LED Backlight Market by Value3.3.2 Global LED Backlight Market by Products3.4 Global LED General Lighting Market: An Analysis3.4.1 Global LED General Lighting Market by Value4. Regional Market Analysis4.1 North America LED Lighting Market: An Analysis4.1.1 North America LED Lighting Market by Value4.2 Europe LED Lighting Market: An Analysis4.2.1 Europe LED Lighting Market by Value4.3 Asia Pacific LED Lighting Market: An Analysis4.3.1 China LED Lighting Market by Share in General Lighting4.3.2 China LED Lighting Market by Value4.3.3 Indian LED Lighting Market by Value5. Competitive Landscape5.1 Financial Comparison of the Players of Global LED lighting Market6. Company Profiling6.1 Cree, Inc.6.1.1 Business Overview6.1.2 Financial Overview6.2 Philips6.2.1 Business Overview6.2.2 Financial Overview6.3 OSRAM6.3.1 Business Overview6.3.2 Financial OverviewMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Coffee Market Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report (2017-2021 Edition)

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Coffee Market (2017-2021 Edition)" to its huge collection of research reports.The report titled Global Coffee Market (2017-2021 Edition) provides an in-depth analysis of the global coffee market with detailed analysis of market sizing and growth, market share and economic impact of the industry. The report also provides the production and consumption analysis of the market. The report provides detailed market analysis of the global retail coffee market by value and volume along with the segments of the market.The report provides detailed regional analysis of Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ethiopia and India. It provides the production and consumption analysis along with the export-import trend in each of the above mentioned countriesTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Growth of the global retail coffee 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. The competition in global coffee market is stiff and dominated by the big players like Nestle. Further, key players of the coffee market The J.M. Smucker Company, Mondelez International Inc. and Strauss Group Ltd. are also profiled with their financial information.Country CoverageThe USWestern EuropeBrazilVietnamIndonesiaEthiopiaIndiaCompany CoverageThe J.M. Smucker CompanyMondelez International Inc.Strauss Group Ltd.Table Of Content1. Executive Summary2. Introduction2.1 Coffee: An Overview2.2 Classification of Coffee2.2.1 Classification of Coffee on the Basis of Types2.2.2 Classification of Coffee on the Basis of End-Product2.3 Coffee around the Word2.3.1 North America & Caribbean2.3.2 Central America2.3.3 South America2.3.4 South Africa2.3.5 East Africa2.3.6 The Arabian Peninsula2.3.7 Asia3. Global Market Analysis3.1 Global Coffee Market: An Analysis3.1.1 Global Coffee Market Growth by Volume3.2 Global Retail Coffee Market: An Analysis3.2.1 Global Retail Coffee Market by Value3.2.2 Global Retail Coffee Market by Volume3.3 Global Coffee Production: An Analysis3.3.1 Global Coffee Production by Volume3.3.2 Global Coffee Production by Region3.3.3 Global Coffee Production by Types3.4 Global Coffee Consumption: An Analysis3.4.1 Global Coffee Consumption by Volume3.5 Global Coffee Exports : An Analysis3.5.1 Global Coffee Exports by Volume4. Regional Market Analysis4.1 The US and Western Europe Coffee Market: An Analysis4.1.1 The US and Western Europe Coffee Market by Segments4.2 Brazil Coffee Market: An Analysis4.2.1 Brazil Coffee Production by Volume4.2.2 Brazil Domestic Consumption by Volume4.2.3 Brazil Coffee Exports and Imports by Volume4.3 Vietnam Coffee Market: An Analysis4.3.1 Vietnam Coffee Production by Volume4.3.2 Vietnam Domestic Consumption by Volume4.3.3 Vietnam Coffee Exports and Imports by Volume4.4 Indonesia Coffee Market: An Analysis4.4.1 Indonesia Coffee Production by Volume4.4.2 Indonesia Domestic Consumption by Volume4.4.3 Indonesia Coffee Exports and Imports by Volume4.5 Ethiopia Coffee Market: An Analysis4.5.1 Ethiopia Coffee Production by Volume4.5.2 Ethiopia Domestic Consumption by Volume4.5.3 Ethiopia Coffee Exports by Volume4.6 India Coffee Market: An Analysis4.6.1 India Coffee Production by Volume4.6.2 India Domestic Consumption by Volume4.6.3 India Coffee Exports and Imports by Volume5. Competitive Landscape5.1 Financial Comparison of the Players of Global Coffee Market6. Company Profiling6.1 The J.M. Smucker Company6.1.1 Business Overview6.1.2 Financial Overview6.2 Mondelez International, Inc.6.2.1 Business Overview6.2.2 Financial Overview6.3 Strauss Group Ltd.6.3.1 Business Overview6.3.2 Financial OverviewMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Industrial Internet of Things Market Size, Share, Trends, Analysis and Forecast Report 2017-2025

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The Insight Partners, Global Industrial Internet of Things Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Industrial Internet of Things industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Industrial Internet of Things market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Industrial Internet of Things market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Industrial Internet of Things players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Request Sample Copy atThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Industrial Internet of Things market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Industrial Internet of Things 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 and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Inquire for Discount Copy atAlso, key Industrial Internet of Things market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Key Company ProfilesAT&T Inc.Cisco Systems, Inc.General Electric CompanyGoogle, Inc.IBM Corp.Intel CorporationMicrosoft CorporationOmron CorporationRemote Technologies Inc.Robert Bosch GmbHRockwell Automation, Inc.View Complete Report atReason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Industrial Internet of Things market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire before Buying atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout 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.Pune, India
Rectifier Diode Market by Type, Application, Technology and Regions - Global Trends, Analysis and 2025 Forecasts

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The Insight Partners, Global Rectifier Diode Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Rectifier Diode industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Rectifier Diode market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Rectifier Diode market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Rectifier Diode players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Request Sample Copy atThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Rectifier Diode market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Rectifier Diode 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 and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Inquire for Discount Copy atAlso, key Rectifier Diode market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Key Company ProfilesFairchild Semiconductor International, Inc.Infineon Technologies AGNXP SemiconductorsON SemiconductorPANJIT International Inc.Renesas Electronics CorporationROHM SemiconductorSTMicroelectronicsToshiba CorporationVishay Intertechnology, Inc.View Complete Report atReason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Rectifier Diode market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire before Buying atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout 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.Pune, India
Fragrance Market Headed for Growth and Global Expansion by 2020

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Fragrance in the western countries is mostly applied to the pulse point of the body such as behind the ears, nape of the neck and insides of wrists, elbows and knees. The pulse part of the body is warm as compare to other body parts, it provide warmth to the perfume which allow it to release continuous fragrance. Fragrance industry manufactures various types of perfume depending upon the usage. Lightly scented products such as bath oil, shower gel and body lotion are used in the morning, eau de toilette for afternoon and perfume for evening. Perfume can hold its scent for longer period of time as compare to other scented products.Get access to full summary @:Commonly known as perfume, fragrance is a mixture of essential oils or aroma compounds, fixatives and solvents commonly used to provide pleasant scent to the human body, animals, food, objects and any living space. Over the years, people used herbs and spices such as almond, coriander, myrtle, conifer resin or and bergamot as well as flowers to provide pleasant aroma or scent to their food ingredients.Fragrance oil also known as aromatic oil is used to provide aroma/pleasant scents to the products. These oils are blended with synthetic aroma compounds or natural essential oils which are diluted with scented oil such as, propylene glycol, vegetable oil or mineral oil. Aromatic oils are mostly used for perfumery, cosmetics and flavoring of food.Global fragrance market can be bifurcated into three categories such as perfume, deodorant and others. Households user has the largest market share for fragrance products, followed by personal care. North America has largest market share for fragrance products, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. Asia-Pacific region is expected to show highest growth for fragrance products in coming future owing to increasing domestic demand in the developing countries such as India and China.Increasing population coupled with increasing disposable income in the developing countries such as India and china is expected to drive the global fragrance market. Increasing disposable income allow the customer to spend more on luxury products among which fragrance plays key role.A sample of this report is available upon request @According to the National Bureau of Statistics China, annual per capita disposable income of urban households in China increased from USD 2,271.0 in 2008 to USD 3408.5 in 2012. The overall annual disposable income in India medium household income increased from USD 1,366.2 billion in 2010 to USD 1,587.6 billion in 2013. Additionally, use of fragrances for reduction of stress and change in moods and increasing use of fragrances by household is expected to provide ample growth opportunities for the global fragrance market.Appearance and personal care have become sense of pride, self reliance and confidence. From being non-essential product fragrance/perfume have emerged as an essential product in todays era. Also, economic development in growing markets coupled with increased demand for youth-oriented fragrances and celebrity scents are expected to drive the global fragrance market.Owing to the better growth prospect in the fragrance market many multinational companies have started entering the market. The companies do not manufacture the products on their own but sell the fragrance product by their brand name and distribute the profit margin with the original manufacturer. Some of the major companies operating in the global fragrance market are Revlon, Inc., The Raymond Group, Estee Lauder Inc., LOreal Group, Beiersdorf AG, Christian Dior S.A., Calvin Klein, Inc., Burberry Group plc, Giorgio Armani S.p.A, Unilever, NIKE, Inc. and LacosteTo view TOC of this report is available upon request @Key points covered in the reportReport segments the market on the basis of types, application, products, technology, etc (as applicable)The report covers geographic segmentationNorth AmericaEuropeAsiaRoWThe report provides the market size and forecast for the different segments and geographies for the period of 2010 to 2020The report provides company profiles of some of the leading companies operating in the marketThe report also provides porters five forces analysis of the market.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Liquid Sugar Market: Incremented Trading Activities Augur Well for Future, says TMR

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The global liquid sugar market will expand at a healthy CAGR during the forecast period of 2017 to 2027, primarily owing to growing important of international trade, as per the findings of a recent report by Transparency Market Research (TMR). The report, titled Liquid Sugar Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017  2027, takes stock of the current scenario and assesses all important factors that the market is dependent on.Browse Market Research Report @The report has been created by a group of professional market analysts, for targeted audiences such as farmers and raw material suppliers, refinery owners, manufacturers, millers, and factory corporate owners, government agencies, and commodity importers and exporters. The report divides the market for liquid sugar into smaller aspects to understand the valuation different segments of the market as well as profiles a number of leading companies to represent the competitive landscape.Apart from incremented international trade, the global liquid sugar market is also expected to gain traction from other factors such as rising average international prices, expanding sugar crop-production, value addition of by-products, and increasing industrial beet sugar market. On the other hand, the consumption of water during monoculture production, growing demand for alternative sweeteners, and pricing pressure on industrial sugar despite increasing costs of production are some of the important factors challenging the market for liquid sugar from attaining its true potential. Nevertheless, the market is expected to open new opportunities with improved production methods, building cooperative structure, and preferential trade agreements.On the basis of product type, the global liquid sugar market can be segmented into brown sugar, white sugar, and liquid sugar. Based on form, the market can be categorized into granulated, syrup, and powdered. Application-wise, the market for liquid sugar can be classified into bakery, dairy, beverage, confectionery, pharmaceuticals, and canned and frozen foods. Source-wise, the liquid sugar can be from cane or beet. Geographically, the report represents the potential of all important regions, such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. Currently, vastly populated country of India makes Asia Pacific the most profitable market for liquid sugar.For more information on this report, fill the form @Cargill Inc., Raizen SA, Archer Daniels Midland, Tereos, and Sudzucker AG are some of the key companies currently operating in the global industrial sugar market. Currently, the competitive landscape is largely fragmented with the presence of vast number of local and regional players. In the near future, strategic collaborations, product innovation, promotional activities, and social media is expected to help the key vendors in order to expand their demand horizon.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:
Washable Shoes and Clogs Market Demand is Increasing in Most Part of World 2025

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Washable shoes & clogs, as the name suggests, can be easily washed to disinfect them and they are available in a wide variety of sizes and colours to suit every need and want. Nursing can be an immensely demanding job. It is imperative that nurses should be as comfortable as possible to ensure that they are able to perform their duties effectively and efficiently. A quality pair of Washable shoes or clogs will guarantee comfort, which is why it is recommended for every nurse. A large number of them complain of feet or back pain every year. Most of these cases can be squarely blamed on wearing uncomfortable or inappropriate shoes.Get access to full summary @:Washable shoes & clogs Market OverviewA clog is a type of footwear that is either partially or completely made of wood. While they are used as traditional wear in countries as far apart as the Netherlands, Sweden and Japan, they are seen quite frequently in the medical sphere nowadays as they are ideal for busy healthcare professionals. Both doctors and nurses need to attend to patients that require them to be on their feet round the clock. Their jobs involve either walking around incessantly or standing for hours at a time in an extremely hygiene focused environment.They need shoes which are comfortable, easy to clean, and practical. To cater to their demands, the washable shoes & clogs market has grown exponentially over the past few years. These shoes can be used by both men and women, and provide protection and comfort in an equal measure. They are indispensable for millions of doctors, nurses and medical support staff worldwide.A sample of this report is available upon request @Washable shoes & clogs Market driversAn ageing population in developed countries is anticipated to be the primary washable shoes & clogs market driver. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), at least 116 million American adults, i.e. more than a third of the entire population, suffer from chronic pain. They outnumber those afflicted by diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. There is a very strong likelihood that they will visit hospitals or other medical institutions to get some kind of pain relief administered. They may even wish to be treated from the comfort and privacy of their own homes. Thus, there will be a large requirement for doctors and nurses, who will indirectly demand washable shoes & clogs.These shoes are far more lightweight than running or walking shoes, making it easier to serve patients for almost the entire day. They also make a massive difference in how medical staff feel at the end of the day. In addition to this, they are protected from water or any other liquid spill due to the material they are made from. They have grips that allow the foot to remain stable even when walking across slippery hospital tiles. Their sole is made to decrease the stress around the spinal cord and knees since many nurses complain of these medical ailments. Most of these shoes do not have laces and are simply meant to be slipped on, saving a great deal of time in any emergency.Washable shoes & clogs Market Key Market PlayersSome of the Washable shoes & clogs Market Key Market Players are Dansko, Skechers, Alegria, Crocs, Klogs, Timberland, Nurse Mates, KEEN, Merrell, Calzuro, and Birki.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @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, types 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:
Basal Cell Carcinoma Therapeutics Market Opportunities and Forecasts, 2017  2025

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Some of the players in the global Basal Cell Carcinoma Therapeutics market include Allergan, Inc., Genentech USA, Inc., Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Perrigo Company plc, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., Apotex Inc., Sandoz AG, Strides Arcolab Ltd., TOLMAR Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and G&W Laboratories, Inc.Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) is a form of non-melanocytic skin cancer that arises from basal cells, the small, round cells present in the lower epidermis. Around 85% of BCCs occur on the face, head and neck. BCCs usually do not spread or metastasize to other parts of body, they become life threatening by metastasis only in extremely rare cases. According to the American Cancer Society, BCCs constitute around 80% of all non-melanoma skin cancers. Australia has been found to have the highest rate of basal cell carcinoma across the globe. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation is considered as the major cause behind BCC. Use of immunosuppressant drugs further enhance the chances of BCC as the immune system is compromised. White people are more vulnerable to BCC comparatively, according to a research published in the British Medical Journal. The symptoms of BCCs include waxy papules (slightly transparent bump) with pearly appearance and central depression and bleeding from the papules.The factors driving the growth of the global Basal Cell Carcinoma Therapeutics market is increasing incidence of Basal cell carcinoma by up to 10% annually across the globe. The incidence rate is much higher specifically in White population. Expanding geriatric population pool will also add to the market growth since the elderly people are more sensitive to BCCs. Changing habits of the urban population living in the developed countries such as the USA and European countries and a shift of population in the US from northerly cool areas to the sunbelt of the Southern and South-western United States will definitely give rise to incidence rate, leading to market growth.Global Basal Cell Carcinoma Therapeutics market has been segmented on the basis of therapy, route of administration, distribution channels and region.Global Basal Cell Carcinoma Therapeutics market is consolidated due to the lack of number of available treatment options and companies. The market is expected to increase globally owing to increasing incidence rate and environmental factors leading to exposure of UV radiation. According to a published article in the journal Deutsches Arzteblatt International, 115 cases of BCC per 100,000 of population are reported in the Great Britain annually, similarly 7080 BCC in Germany, Switzerland and Italy; 170 BCC in the USA; and over 800 BCC cases in Australia are reported annually. Last 3 decades have observed the rise in incidence at a minimum 23 fold.Geographically, Basal Cell Carcinoma Therapeutics market is segmented into regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The market in North America is expected to grow due to increase in the incidence in white population and ageing population. European market is also expected to grow because of their fair toned skin. Currently, Australia is the leading market globally because of the highest incidence rate. Asian and African countries would report a slow market growth rate as the incidence rate and prevalence of BCC is uncommon in Asians and Black African races. However, Chinese and Japanese have a higher incidence rate in Asia.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @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 categories such as market segments, geographies, types, technology and applications.Request to View Tables of Content @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.To view complete report @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:
Winter Care Creams Market is Expected to Continue Flourishing in Developed and Developing Regions of World, 2025

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Winter Care Creams Market: Advantages and disadvantagesAppropriate use of winter care creams boost hydration in skin and creates the protective layer of moisturiser which prevents the face skin from flaking. Every region has different winter pattern. In some areas, winters meant for chilled nights and sunny days. In such condition, winter care creams not only moisturise the face skin but also work as a sunscreen which protects the face skin from UV radiation. Many winter care creams have medicinal qualities and apart from only moisturising the face skin, they have the ability to reduce a pimple and have antiseptic/ anti-fungal qualities. The winter care cream, however, has disadvantages too and the heavy hand with it lead to breakouts, clogged pores and dull skin. Facial skin is very sensitive and delicate and therefore excessive use of winter care creams suffocates the skin instead of giving a glow on the face in winters.Get access to full summary @:When the temperature drops down, cold and windy weather takes the toll on skin and the most affected part of a body is the face. The only saviour when the face skin becomes dry and dull due to cold weather is winter care creams. The skin cream which is generally enriched with vitamin E, natural oils such as jojoba and olive oil, rose petals and various fruit extracts particularly grape seed, protect the face skin from getting dry and provide a glow, softness and fairness. It, therefore, becomes necessary for the consumers to keep a face cream in winter cosmetic kitty. Winter care creams are suitable for the three types of face skins, i.e. normal, oily and dry. Many winter care face creams are designed to reduce the signs of peeling and repair fragile face skin due to winter dryness. The strong moisturising formula in face cream also fulfils the therapeutic purpose of consumers during winters.Winter Care Creams Market: Drivers and restraintsHuge promotion of winter care creams is one of the important factors which is fuelling the growth of the winter care creams market across the globe. Whether it is Television, newspaper, magazine or social media websites, the worldwide luxurious brands are competing with each other by hammering their products into the minds of consumers. Increasing per capita income and lavish lifestyle are also creating the lucrative market for winter care creams across the globe. Earlier, the cosmetic products were mainly meant only for women, however, now-a-day men are equally interested in using various cosmetic products which are creating robust development in the global winter care cream market.A sample of this report is available upon request @However, there are some hindrances which are adversely affecting on the growth of the winter care cream market. For example, none of the winter care cream is entirely herbal. There are certain chemicals elements included in the winter care cream which gives temporary glow but affects adversely on the skin. Many countries such as India and Israel and the European Union have banned the sale of any cosmetics that have been tested on animals. This banned will certainly hamper the growth of the winter care lotion market in few regions of the world. All these factors are acting as restraints for winter care creams market.Winter Care Creams Market: Region and forecastWestern and Eastern Europe are likely to dominate the winter care creams market in the forecasted period. North America is a close competitor of Eastern and Western Europe in the case of leading the winter care creams market. Young population, the especially huge population of teens is likely to be a reason for fuelling the growth of winter care creams market in these regions. The countries in Asia-Pacific region are also likely to be the fastest growing economies during the projected period.Winter Care Cream Market: Global brandsNivea, Shiseido, LOreal, Lancome, Clarins, Ponds and Aesop are some of the worldwide winter care cream brands.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @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, types 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:
Global X-ray Inspection Systems Market 2017 - YXLON International, Nikon Metrology, Nordson, Ishida, Loma, Shimadzu

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"This report studies the X-ray Inspection Systems market.X-ray Inspection Systems as one of the most promising methods of non-destructive testing (NDT). The systems are also viewed as important screening tools for quality control and risk management, with their ability to detect contaminants, defects and inconsistencies in products. X-ray imaging offers superior precision, repeatability and high-speed capabilities."Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the X-ray Inspection Systems in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Request For Sample Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversYXLON InternationalNikon MetrologyNordsonGE Measurement & ControlAnritsu Industrial SolutionsNorth Star ImagingIshidaMettler-Toledo InternationalVJ TechnologiesBosello High TechnologySesotec GmbHAolong GroupLomaDanDong HuariShimadzuThermo Fisher ScientificDylogMeyerMinebea IntecMesnacMarket 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)Access Full Report With TOC @Market Segment by Type, coversDigital Radiography (DR)Computed Tomography (CT)X-ray filmMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoGeneral industryAutomotive industryPackagingOthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global X-ray Inspection Systems market.Chapter 1, to describe X-ray Inspection Systems Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of X-ray Inspection Systems, with sales, revenue, and price of X-ray Inspection Systems, 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 X-ray Inspection Systems, 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, X-ray Inspection Systems market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe X-ray Inspection Systems sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.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.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Wireless Fetal Monitoring Systems Market is Expecting Worldwide Growth by 2017  2025

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The key players in the global wireless fetal monitoring systems market include GE Healthcare, Philips, OBMedical, Huntleigh, Sunray, Biocare, Dixion, Airstrip, Creative Medical, Ambisen, Unicare and Comen.Wireless foetal monitoring systems (WFMS) are medical devices intended to be used for monitoring of maternal and fetal activities such as fetal heart rate (FHR) and intra-uterine pressure (IUP) during pregnancy through labour and delivery. The device consists of an ultrasound doppler, transducers and sensors. The use of wireless foetal monitoring systems has been increased tremendously due to their advantages over conventional cable monitors. WFMS have helped doctors to get rid of electrical cables, which used to interfere medical procedures and typically get in the way of the patient wearing them. Additionally, cables limit the mobility of the patient and cause discomfort. WFMS perform superior to portable doppler ultrasound (US) transducers and tocodynamometers (TOCO) as well especially in monitoring the activities in pregnant women with high body mass index (BMI). Ability of wireless fetal monitoring systems to monitor physiological parameters for twins and triplets simultaneously outclass them from conventional cabled fetal monitors.Wireless fetal monitoring systems allow ppatients more freedom to walk and move around during the procedure of delivery which gives them more satisfaction with labour process, a key driver for market growth. Additionally, increased space in labour room has made the job of clinicians easy, a major reason to shift from cabled to wireless monitors. The broad range of applications such as monitoring of blood pressure, heart rate of mother and foetus and intra uterine pressure is again a contributor to the growth of the market. Their ability to detect the vital signs simultaneously for multiple is a clear advantage over cabled monitors. Their availability at affordable prices have also added to the growth. However, complex interface associated with use of WFMS may limit the market growth.Global wireless fetal monitoring systems market has been segmented on the basis of application, end user and region.Based on the application, the wireless fetal monitoring systems market is segmented into:CardiotocographyFetal Distress SyndromeBased on the end user, wireless fetal monitoring systems market is segmented into the following:HospitalsGynecological/Obstetrics clinicsThe global wireless fetal monitoring systems market is highly consolidated. GE Healthcare and Philips are the major multi-national players. Acquisition is the key strategy of to grow in the market as recently cited by GE Healthcare by acquiring Monica Healthcare and AirStrip acquiring Sense4Baby.Geographically, wireless fetal monitoring systems market is segmented into regions viz. North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America and Europe will remain key markets for wireless fetal monitoring systems market due to presence of key players in the region. Asia Pacific registered strong growth in 2010 in fetal monitoring market but the market is shrinking due to drastic decrease in birth rate. China, Japan and Korea, however may witness strong growth as birth rates are expected to rise due to government initiatives to support family growth. The market is also expected to grow in African countries due to government initiatives and funding from major philanthropists such as Gates Foundation.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @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 categories such as market segments, geographies, types, technology and applications.Request to View Tables of Content @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.To view complete report @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:
Graphene Market trends for 2016 & industry forecast to 2023

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Global Market Insights has a new study based report titled " Graphene Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Germany, UK, Italy, Russia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa), Application Potential, Price Trend, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2023".The global Graphene Market share report provides numbers for applications and regional segments of the industry covering historical as well as forecast data for decision makers.Electronics & optoelectronics was the largest application and accounted for more than 25% of the total graphene market size in 2015. Graphene nanocomposites market size accounted for over 20% of the total volume and is likely to witness significant gains over the forecast period. Other applications include energy (oil & gas), aerospace, automotive, paints & coatings, academic research and sensors.Request for Detailed Table of Contents of this report@Increasing application scope in electronic industry is likely to drive demand. Properties such as flexibility, wide range optical transmittance, electrical & thermal conductivity and excellent mechanical strength are expected to fuel growth in existing and potential electronics applications. These applications include printed & flexible circuitry, advanced batteries, supercapacitors, ultrafast transistors & lasers, photodetectors and touch screens.1. Graphene Market size & forecast by product & application2. Growth drivers, pitfalls & industry challenges3. Key Graphene Market growth opportunities & emerging businessmodels4. Competitive benchmarking with market share analysis and company profilesGraphene nanocomposites market is likely to witness an increase in demand from applications such as energy storage devices, manufacturing sensors and biomedical. In energy storage applications, they provide stability for longer duration in devices such as lithium-air and lithium sulfur batteries. They are used in biomedical applications which include bio-imaging, nanomedicine and gene & drug delivery.The industry is still at infancy stage and graphene market price trend is likely to drop with increase in production capacity. Sheets manufactured through CVD (chemical vapor deposition) on substrates are expensive and several companies offer this product for R&D purposes. Graphenea, a Spain-based company, offers monolayer, bilayer and trilayer sheets based on substrates such as silicon, copper, and quartz.Inquire About to purchase this research report@The Graphene Market Report Consists of,1. Methodology and Scope2. Executive Summary3. Graphene Market Industry Insights3.1 Industry segmentation3.2. Industry size, forecast and growth expectations, 2012 - 20233.3. Industry ecosystem analysis3.4. Raw material insights3.5. Technology insights3.6. Regulatory framework3.7. Industry dynamics3.8. Key growth opportunities3.9. Porter's analysis3.10. Company market share, 20153.11. PESTEL analysis3.14. Regional price trends4. Graphene Market Product Insights5. Graphene Market Application Insights6. Graphene Market Regional Insights7. Competitor ProfilesBrowse Graphene Market report summary@Graphene oxide (GO) can be combined with ceramic or polymer matrixes to improve their electrical and mechanical properties. GO functions as electrical insulator and is important to obtain it in its reduced form known as r-GO which are used in composites and energy related materials. Bluestone Global Technology offers product under the brand name Grat-GO sized between 1 um and 20 um.Conductive inks market finds potential applications such as biosensors, touch screens, RFID tags and heating elements such as car windshields. Vorbeck Materials offers the product under the brand name VOR-INK Gravure, VOR-INK Screen and VOR-INK Flexo. Haydale, a UK based company, offers the product under the brand name HDPlas InkSc 213 which are optimized for solid contents and viscosity, ensuring conductivity and coverage.Graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) are considered building block for devices and can find scope in applications such as photodetectors, chemical sensors and electronic circuits. In 2013, Bluestone Global Technology launched GFETs under the brand name Grat-FET which are used by industrial and academic customers. Six Frontiers was launched in 2014 with a limited volume for diagnosing diseases such as cancer which is currently used by ELISA technologies. The company is planning to enter into diagnostic & consumer health market which may require chips in larger quantities.About Global Market Insights, Inc.:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone:1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:
Laboratory Automation Systems Market Size, Status and Forecast 2017  2025

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Laboratory Automation Systems Market: Key PlayersThe major players in laboratory automation systems market include Agilent Technologies, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.., Hamilton Robotics, Tecan Group, HighRes Biosolutions, Becton, Dickinson and Co., Roche Holding AG, Abbott Diagnostics, Biotek Instruments Inc., Perkinelmer Inc., Siemens Healthcare, Beckman Coulter Inc., Labware Inc. among others. Companies have several ongoing kinds of research for the development of new drugs. It has been found that companies have various molecules in the pipeline which ensures market growth during the forecast period. The market for laboratory automation is dominated by the leading companies owing to the increased technicality involved in the manufacturing of such laboratory automation systems.Laboratories are involved in rigorous research and development processes and to develop, research, optimize, and capitalize processes are moving towards laboratory automation systems. Laboratory automation ensures improved productivity, reducing the time of operations, increased workflow, and enhanced quality of data. The process substitutes manual handling of reagents and products at this moment reducing the error in any process and leading to more accurate results. Laboratory automation enables processing of a large number of samples and faster turnaround times.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @Laboratory Automation Systems Market: OverviewLaboratory automation processes are expanding in proteomics and genomics owing to improve reproducibility, creating new solutions, increasing sensitivity for the purification and separation of products and solutions. Laboratory automation can be segmented into two, such as total laboratory automation and modular automation. Total laboratory automation involves automation of process from the start till the end. However modular automation includes task specific automation.The market for laboratory automation is poised to grow during the coming years owing to shortage of highly skilled laboratory personnel's, cost effectiveness, increased funding from government and corporate sector. Regulatory and stringent control over research labs in healthcare and pharmaceutical industry is also boosting laboratory automation. However several factors restrict the growth of the market such as lack of planning for technology and less priority in low and medium scale labs.Request to View Tables of Content @Laboratory Automation Systems Market: Region-wise OutlookGeographically, the laboratory automation systems market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa. North America leads the market for laboratory automation systems market owing to the highest rate of adoption of laboratory automation systems by end user segments. Europe is the second leading market for laboratory automation systems market due to increased funding and support for international organizations and government focus on research. The Asia Pacific Laboratory automation systems market is also anticipated to grow at an increasing rate owing to the demand for standardization in biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Asia Pacific region is accounted as a fastest growing region for laboratory automation systems market as many players have invested in the development of new drugs. These factors are likely to drive the market growth of laboratory automation systems market during the forecast period globally. The growing needs to outsource laboratory processes has also created a need for laboratory automation in emerging economies such as India, China, Brazil and other developing countries.To view complete report @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 Infant Incubator Market: Fanem, Shvabe, Dison, Mediprema, JW Medical, Phoenix Forecast to 2022

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An Infant Incubator is a piece of equipment common used for new born babies. While the unit may serve several specific functions, it is generally used to provide a safe and stable environment for newborn infants, often those who were born prematurely or with an illness or disability that makes them especially vulnerable for the first several months of life.Get a Sample of Infant Incubator Market research report from @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Infant Incubator in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Major Players Included in Infant Incubator Market:GE HealthcareDraegerAtom MedicalNatus MedicalDAVIDFanemShvabeDisonMedipremaJW MedicalPhoenixCobamsWeyerBeijing JulongsanyouMedicorGinevriOlidefV-Care MedicalPT. FYROMErtunc `zcanAnd Many OthersScope of the Global Infant Incubator Market on the basis of region: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 Infant Incubator Market Report @Market Segment by Type, coversTransport Infant IncubatorNormal Infant IncubatorMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoPublic SectorPrivate SectorThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Infant Incubator market.Chapter 1, to describe Infant Incubator Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Infant Incubator, with sales, revenue, and price of Infant Incubator, 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 Infant Incubator, 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, Infant Incubator market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Infant Incubator sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceCheck for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Infant Incubator Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Transport Infant Incubator1.2.2 Normal Infant Incubator1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Public Sector1.3.2 Private Sector1.4 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)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 GE Healthcare2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Infant Incubator Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 GE Healthcare Infant Incubator Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 Draeger2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 Infant Incubator Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 22.2.3 Draeger Infant Incubator Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3 Atom Medical2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 Infant Incubator Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Type 12.3.2.2 Type 22.3.3 Atom Medical Infant Incubator Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4 Natus Medical2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.2 Infant Incubator Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Type 12.4.2.2 Type 2ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @No. of Report Pages: 119Price of Report (Single User Licence): $3480About Global Info Reports:GIR Market Research is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. 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Measure of CAGR of US Commercial Refrigeration Equipment by End of 2025 is 5.5% .

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Future Market Insights (FMI) delivers key insights on the commercial refrigeration systems market in its latest report titled, Commercial Refrigeration System Market: U.S. Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2015-2025. According to the report, the U.S. commercial refrigeration systems market is projected to expand at a healthy CAGR of 3.2% in terms of value over the forecast period. Commercial refrigeration systems are refrigerators with remote or self-contained condensing units. These refrigerators are designed especially for commercial use with a wide range of temperature control (typically from -18C to +10C) options. Commercial refrigeration systems are mainly used in hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, warehouses and distribution centres, foodservice industry and food & beverage production units. Commercial refrigeration systems include products such as ice machines, vending machines, beverage refrigeration equipment, refrigerated display cases, trailers, trucks, containers and walk-in and reach-in refrigerators. Commercial refrigeration systems also include various components such as compressors and refrigerants. Refrigerants mainly used in commercial refrigeration systems include R507A, R417A and R422A. The selection of a refrigerant depends on various properties such as non-corrosiveness, global warming and ozone depletion potential, inflammability, toxicity, cost, erosional properties, leak-detection capability and thermodynamic properties.Growing demand for frozen and chilled products, expansion of cold chain capacity, technological advancements in commercial refrigeration systems and rebates for energy-efficient products and practices are some of the major underlying factors anticipated to fuel growth of the U.S. commercial refrigeration systems market between 2016 and 2025. This is forecast to create unprecedented opportunities for commercial refrigeration systems manufacturers, distributors and HVAC contractors. The U.S. commercial refrigeration systems market is segmented on the basis of application and product type. By application, the market is segmented into foodservice, food & beverage distribution, food & beverage retail and food & beverage production. On the basis of product type, the market is classified into transportation & refrigeration systems, refrigerator & freezers, beverage refrigeration equipment, refrigerated display cases, ice machines and refrigerated vending machines.Request For Report Sample@By application, foodservice segment accounted for the highest share of 30% in terms of value in the U.S. commercial refrigeration systems market in 2014. This segment is expected to remain dominant in the market over the forecast period. Ice machines segment and beer dispensing equipment sub-segment are projected to play an important role in the foodservice industry due to various factors such as increasing per capita food consumption and rising number of foodservice restaurants in the country. By product type, transportation refrigeration systems segment is projected to expand at the highest CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period due to expansion of cold chain capacity in the U.S. By region, Southeast region represents the largest market potential, followed by the Middle-east and Far West regions. California, Texas and Florida represent a huge potential for refrigerated systems due to high density of restaurants and convenience stores in these states. Other high-growth markets include Arizona, Georgia and Utah due to rapid growth in the restaurant industry in these states.Key trends identified in the U.S. commercial refrigeration systems market include rapid adoption of Internet of Things (IoT), compatible commercial refrigeration systems for enhancing system output, government initiatives to support utilisation of eco-friendly refrigerants and continued advancements in energy-efficient products. However, declining replacement rate of commercial refrigeration equipment and stringent government regulations could pose major challenge for tier II & III players.The report analyses the U.S. commercial refrigeration systems market in terms of value (US$ Mn) and volume (000 units) by product type and end-use application, and provides insightful information regarding market dynamics, value chain, competitive landscape, current trends, market estimations and forecast.Send an Enquiry @It is observed that customisation holds the key for tier 2 and tier 3 players in order to further penetrate into the market, thus creating a competitive threat for tier 1 suppliers in the market. Meanwhile, key players are strengthening their market positions through both organic and inorganic growth. Also, acquisition of HVAC contractors is leading to the addition of a new customer base for commercial refrigeration systems manufacturers. Key market participants covered in the report include Daikin Industries, Ltd., Standex International Corporation, Whirlpool Corporation, United Technologies, Dover Corporation, Ingersoll-Rand Plc, Hussmann Corporation, Lennox International Inc., Manitowoc Company, Inc., Emerson Electric Co. and Illinois Tool Works Inc.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 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid Market 2017- Ansm, Wella, Perflavory, Anray Research Inc.

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The worldwide 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid Market report is an in-depth research on the current situation of the 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid industry. The research study of Global 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid Market 2017 offers a strategic assessment of 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid market. The industry report focuses on the growth opportunities, which will help the 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid industry to expand operations in the existing markets globally.Firstly, 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid Market report introduces a basic overview of the 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid industry, which includes 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid definitions, applications, classifications and 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid industry chain structure. Worldwide 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid market analysis is provided for the international market including 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid industry competitive analysis, 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid market development history and major sectors development status on 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid industry scenario.Do Inquiry Before Purchasing Report Here:Global 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid Market 2017: Competitive Landscape and Key Vendors1 Ansm2Wella3Perflavory4Anray Research Inc.5The Good Scents Company2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid Market 2017: Type Segment AnalysisHair DyePigmentOther2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid Market 2017: Applications Segment AnalysisHair DyePigmentOtherThe 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid market covers the geological regions including US, EU, China, and Japan. Other regions can also be added efficiently as per customers need. The report also displays the market size for each category during the forecasting period from 2017 to 2022.Further, the report guides the client according to the various aspects of 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid industry like supply chain analysis, 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid industry rules, and policies, along with product cost, product images, the cost structure, import/export information and utilization figures. The detailed competitive plan of 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid industry report will help the clients to systematically specify better business strategies for a desired business payoff.To Purchase Complete Report Click Here:At the end, report Global 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid Market 2017 focuses the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered on 2-Hydroxyethyl Picramic Acid market scenario.QY Research is the terminal where all industrial, commercial and profit making 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-
C4ISR Market  Evolving Global Countries, Type and Application, Manufacturers Thales Group, Harris Corporation, DRS Technologies Forecast to 2022

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A new research document with title 'Global (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa) C4ISR Market 2017 Forecast to 2022' covering detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like USA, Europe, Japan, China, India, South East Asia and important players/vendors such as Thales Group, Harris Corporation, DRS Technologies................The report will help user gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast period of 2022Request a sample report @Summary""C4ISR is a military terminology, it is by the C2 (Command, Control) evolved, usually translated as command automation system. It is abbreviated of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence Surveillance, Reconnaissance.C4ISR system to provide military information command and management system, improve command efficiency. Now C4ISR has become the nerve center of modern army.Kosovo war is the first large-scale military use of C4ISR system by US.""Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the C4ISR 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 coversLockheed Martin CorporationBoeingRaytheonNorthrop Grumman CorporationL-3 Communications HoldingsElbit SystemsBAE SystemsThales GroupHarris CorporationDRS TechnologiesMarket 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, coversCommand & ControlCommunicationsComputersIntelligenceSurveillanceMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoLand Based SystemNaval SystemsAir Force SystemSpace SystemBuy this report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global C4ISR market.Chapter 1, to describe C4ISR Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of C4ISR, with sales, revenue, and price of C4ISR, 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 C4ISR, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the market by countries, by type, by application and by manufacturers, 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, C4ISR market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe C4ISR sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceGet customization & check discount for report @Table of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 C4ISR Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Command & Control1.2.2 Communications1.2.3 Computers1.2.4 Intelligence1.2.5 Surveillance1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Land Based System1.3.2 Naval Systems1.3.3 Air Force System1.3.4 Space System1.4 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)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force....ContinuedView Detailed Table of Content @Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218 (US)
As malls nationally address bad behavior and incidents, Madisons two biggest shopping malls soon may impose new policies that would prohibit anyone under 18 from being in the malls without a parent or guardian on Friday and Saturday evenings.

City officials on Tuesday evening confirmed the malls owner, CBL Properties of Chattanooga, Tennessee, which owns many shopping centers across the nation, would soon be coming out with a new policy. CBL officials could not be reached Tuesday night.

The city officials were responding to a post on Facebook by Michael Johnson, president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County, asking whether youth under 18 should be allowed in shopping malls on weekends after 4 p.m. without parents who are 21 or older.

This policy might be coming to Madison very soon. Is it the right or wrong call? Johnson wrote in the post late Tuesday afternoon, which elicited scores of responses.

There is something that is coming along these lines, Mayor Paul Soglin later confirmed, stressing that the policy would be from the malls owners, not the city.

We have raised some very serious concerns about its legality and our reservations about how its going to be equitably managed, Soglin said. Were raising questions about whether or not it would be in conformance with current ordinances regarding (racial) equity.

City officials also have concerns about being asked to enforce such a policy, the mayor said.

Police Chief Mike Koval, informed of the Facebook post, said he believes CBL will make an announcement to the community by the end of the week.

Koval could not provide data on incidents involving police at the mall, but he said police contacts with youth are primarily at schools, bus transfer stations and in and around retail areas, including the malls.

Ald. Paul Skidmore, 9th District, who represents the West Towne area, said discussions with mall officials had been ongoing. This is not a surprise, he said. This is really thought out and well vetted.

Ald. Samba Baldeh, 17th District, who represents the area that includes East Towne, also confirmed that the malls were looking at a policy to limit when unaccompanied minors can enter the properties. He said he opposed any such move, but conceded its a private decision the mall owners can make.

Other malls, including some in Wisconsin, have instituted similar bans.

The Mayfair Mall and Bayshore Town Center in Milwaukee County both have policies that require minors to be accompanied by adults starting in the afternoon on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Mayfair, in Wauwatosa, first instituted a parental policy for Friday and Saturday evenings in 2007 after several incidents involving teens. Bayshore, in Glendale, began a similar policy in 2010 after a disturbance. Both malls expanded policies to Sundays in 2011.

Restrictions on teens in malls arent new. The Mall of America in Minnesota instituted such an approach in the 1990s, and minors cannot wander Americas largest mall unaccompanied on Friday and Saturday nights.

A spokesperson for the International Council of Shopping Centers has said versions of such an approach have sprung up across the country and that the trade organization is aware of at least 105 of the 1,222 shopping malls in the U.S. having some policy limiting access by minors.

State Journal reporter Logan Wroge contributed to this report.

This policy might be coming to Madison very soon. Is it the right call or the wrong call? Michael Johnson CEO, Boys and Girls Club of Dane County
Global Wind Power Coating Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022

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Latest Research Report on Global Wind Power Coating Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 added by OrbisResearch, In-depth Analysis by Industry Experts Report Covers Market Size, Share, Growth Factor, Sales, Consumption, Manufacturers Analysis, Key Regions, Strategies, Challenges and Economical Growth.The erosion and corrosion of Wind Towers and blades is not a surprise given the variety of and often harsh environmental conditions encountered at sea and on land. If not protected, this erosion and corrosion will reduce the structures strength, reliability, life span and, ultimately, its economic value. So coating plays an important role in protecting blades, tower and other components from environment.Download PDF Sample of Wind Power Coating Market Report@Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Wind Power Coating 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 Hempel PPG AkzoNobel BASF Jotun Mankiewicz Dupont Bergolin Duromar 3M Teknos Group Aeolus CoatingsBrowse Full Report with TOC:Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, covers Polymer Coating Ceramic Coating Metal CoatingsMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into Offshore(Including Offshore Blades, Offshore Tower, Offshore Interior) Onshore(Including Offshore Blades, Offshore Tower, Offshore Interior)Place Purchase Order for this Report@There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Wind Power Coating market. Chapter 1, to describe Wind Power Coating Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force; Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Wind Power Coating, with sales, revenue, and price of Wind Power Coating, 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 Wind Power Coating, 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, Wind Power Coating market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022; Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Wind Power Coating sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceTable of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 Wind Power Coating Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Polymer Coating1.2.2 Ceramic Coating1.2.3 Metal Coatings1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Offshore1.3.2 (Including Offshore Blades, Offshore Tower, Offshore Interior)1.3.3 Onshore1.3.4 (Including Offshore Blades, Offshore Tower, Offshore Interior)1.4 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)2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Hempel2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Wind Power Coating Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 Hempel Wind Power Coating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 PPG2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 Wind Power Coating Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 22.2.3 PPG Wind Power Coating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3 AkzoNobel2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 Wind Power Coating Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Type 12.3.2.2 Type 22.3.3 AkzoNobel Wind Power Coating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)3 Global Wind Power Coating Market Competition, by Manufacturer3.1 Global Wind Power Coating Sales and Market Share by Manufacturer3.2 Global Wind Power Coating Revenue and Market Share by Manufacturer3.3 Market Concentration Rate3.3.1 Top 3 Wind Power Coating Manufacturer Market Share3.3.2 Top 6 Wind Power Coating Manufacturer Market Share3.4 Market Competition Trend4 Global Wind Power Coating Market Analysis by Regions4.1 Global Wind Power Coating Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Regions4.1.1 Global Wind Power Coating Sales by Regions (2012-2017)4.1.2 Global Wind Power Coating Revenue by Regions (2012-2017)4.2 North America Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)4.4 Asia-Pacific Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)4.5 South America Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)4.6 Middle East and Africa Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)5 North America Wind Power Coating by Countries5.1 North America Wind Power Coating Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries5.1.1 North America Wind Power Coating Sales by Countries (2012-2017)5.1.2 North America Wind Power Coating Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)5.2 USA Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)5.3 Canada Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)5.4 Mexico Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)6 Europe Wind Power Coating by Countries6.1 Europe Wind Power Coating Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries6.1.1 Europe Wind Power Coating Sales by Countries (2012-2017)6.1.2 Europe Wind Power Coating Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)6.2 Germany Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)6.3 UK Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)6.4 France Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)6.5 Russia Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)6.6 Italy Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)7 Asia-Pacific Wind Power Coating by Countries7.1 Asia-Pacific Wind Power Coating Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries7.1.1 Asia-Pacific Wind Power Coating Sales by Countries (2012-2017)7.1.2 Asia-Pacific Wind Power Coating Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)7.2 China Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)7.3 Japan Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)7.4 Korea Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)7.5 India Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)7.6 Southeast Asia Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)8 South America Wind Power Coating by Countries8.1 South America Wind Power Coating Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries8.1.1 South America Wind Power Coating Sales by Countries (2012-2017)8.1.2 South America Wind Power Coating Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)8.2 Brazil Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)8.3 Argentina Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)8.4 Columbia Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)9 Middle East and Africa Wind Power Coating by Countries9.1 Middle East and Africa Wind Power Coating Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries9.1.1 Middle East and Africa Wind Power Coating Sales by Countries (2012-2017)9.1.2 Middle East and Africa Wind Power Coating Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)9.2 Saudi Arabia Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)9.3 UAE Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)9.4 Egypt Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)9.5 Nigeria Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)9.6 South Africa Wind Power Coating Sales and Growth (2012-2017)10 Global Wind Power Coating Market Segment by Type10.1 Global Wind Power Coating Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)10.1.1 Global Wind Power Coating Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)10.1.2 Global Wind Power Coating Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)10.2 Polymer Coating Sales Growth and Price10.2.1 Global Polymer Coating Sales Growth (2012-2017)10.2.2 Global Polymer Coating Price (2012-2017)10.3 Ceramic Coating Sales Growth and Price10.3.1 Global Ceramic Coating Sales Growth (2012-2017)10.3.2 Global Ceramic Coating Price (2012-2017)10.4 Metal Coatings Sales Growth and Price10.4.1 Global Metal Coatings Sales Growth (2012-2017)10.4.2 Global Metal Coatings Price (2012-2017)11 Global Wind Power Coating Market Segment by Application11.1 Global Wind Power Coating Sales Market Share by Application (2012-2017)11.2 Offshore Sales Growth (2012-2017)11.3 (Including Offshore Blades, Offshore Tower, Offshore Interior) Sales Growth (2012-2017)11.4 Onshore Sales Growth (2012-2017)11.5 (Including Offshore Blades, Offshore Tower, Offshore Interior) Sales Growth (2012-2017)12 Wind Power Coating Market Forecast (2017-2022)12.1 Global Wind Power Coating Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)12.2 Wind Power Coating Market Forecast by Regions (2017-2022)12.2.1 North America Wind Power Coating Market Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.2 Europe Wind Power Coating Market Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.3 Asia-Pacific Wind Power Coating Market Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.4 South America Wind Power Coating Market Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.5 Middle East and Africa Wind Power Coating Market Forecast (2017-2022)12.3 Wind Power Coating Market Forecast by Type (2017-2022)12.4 Wind Power Coating Market Forecast by Application (2017-2022)13 Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers13.1 Sales Channel13.1.1 Direct Marketing13.1.2 Indirect Marketing13.1.3 Marketing Channel Future Trend13.2 Distributors, Traders and Dealers14 Research Findings and Conclusion15 Appendix15.1 Methodology15.2 Analyst Introduction15.3 Data SourceList of Tables:Figure Wind Power Coating PictureTable Product Specifications of Wind Power CoatingFigure Global Sales Market Share of Wind Power Coating by Types in 2016Table Wind Power Coating Types for Major ManufacturersFigure Polymer Coating PictureFigure Ceramic Coating PictureFigure Metal Coatings PictureTable Wind Power Coating Sales Market Share by Applications in 2016Figure Offshore PictureFigure (Including Offshore Blades, Offshore Tower, Offshore Interior) PictureFigure Onshore PictureFigure (Including Offshore Blades, Offshore Tower, Offshore Interior) PictureFigure USA Wind Power Coating Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Canada Wind Power Coating Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Mexico Wind Power Coating Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Germany Wind Power Coating Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure France Wind Power Coating Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure UK Wind Power Coating Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Russia Wind Power Coating Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Italy Wind Power Coating Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure China Wind Power Coating Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Wind Power Coating Revenue (Value) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Orbis Research 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 customised 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 specialisation. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required Market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com
Global Warehouse Management System Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 - Epicor Software, JDA, Manhattan Associates, Oracle, SAP, TECSYS, Infor

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This report studies the global Warehouse Management System market, analyzes and researches the Warehouse Management System development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeEpicor SoftwareJDAManhattan AssociatesOracleSAPInforTECSYSMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Warehouse Management System can be split intoAdvancedIntermediateBasicMarket segment by Application, Warehouse Management System can be split intoAutomotiveHealthcareChemicalsMetal & MachineryOthersRequest a Free Sample Copy of this Research Report @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Warehouse Management System1.1 Warehouse Management System Market Overview1.1.1 Warehouse Management System Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Warehouse Management System 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 Warehouse Management System Market by Type1.3.1 Advanced1.3.2 Intermediate1.3.3 Basic1.4 Warehouse Management System Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Automotive1.4.2 Healthcare1.4.3 Chemicals1.4.4 Metal & Machinery1.4.5 Others2 Global Warehouse Management System Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Warehouse Management System 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
Contact Center Market  Evolving Global Countries, Type and Application, Manufacturers Arvato, West Corporation, Acticall Forecast to 2022

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A new research document with title 'Global (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa) Contact Center Market 2017 Forecast to 2022' covering detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions like USA, Europe, Japan, China, India, South East Asia and important players/vendors such as Arvato, West Corporation, Acticall................The report will help user gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast period of 2022Request a sample report @SummaryA contact center (also referred to as a customer interaction center or e-contact center) is a central point in an enterprise from which all customer contacts are managed. The contact center typically includes one or more online call centers but may include other types of customer contact as well, including e-mail newsletters, postal mail catalogs, Web site inquiries and chats, and the collection of information from customers during in-store purchasing. A contact center is generally part of an enterprise's overall customer relationship management (CRM).Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Contact Center 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 coversTeleperformanceConvergys (Stream)Sykes Enterprises Inc.TranscomAtentoArvatoWest CorporationActicall (Sitel)TeleTech Holdings Inc.Comdata GroupSercoConcentrixMarket 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, coversType 1Type 2Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoTelecommunicationBanking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI)Government and Public SectorHealthcare and Life SciencesRetail and Consumer GoodsOthersBuy this report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Contact Center market.Chapter 1, to describe Contact Center Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Contact Center, with sales, revenue, and price of Contact Center, 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 Contact Center, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the market by countries, by type, by application and by manufacturers, 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, Contact Center market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Contact Center sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceGet customization & check discount for report @Table of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 Contact Center Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Type 11.2.2 Type 21.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Telecommunication1.3.2 Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI)1.3.3 Government and Public Sector1.3.4 Healthcare and Life Sciences1.3.5 Retail and Consumer Goods1.3.6 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)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force....ContinuedView Detailed Table of Content @Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218 (US)
Occupational Medicine Market Forecast over 2017  2025

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Occupational Medicine is a concept of providing medical assistance and other healthcare services to the workers or employees focused on prevention, assessment, treatment and resolution of health conditions caused by the workplace environment. Occupational medicine protects workers from diseases and injuries as the employers regularly provide services such as health check-up, diagnosis and monitoring etc. as per the regulatory policies. It reduces the burden of healthcare expenditure and increase productivity as the workers are provided proper training and assistance for both prevention and treatment of any disease or injury. The occupational medicine specialists are trained to evaluate the origin of injury and illness so that treatment could be earlier and better. These specialists also provide training and assistance through education programmes on workplace hazards and confirming workplace compliance with regulatory rules and safety norms.The key factor driving the growth of the global Occupational Medicine market is the rising awareness of working people about the impact of working environment and the disease and disorders associated with it along with mass awareness programs organized by either government or NGOs. Across the world, the governments are paying a significant attention towards the occupational health and have framed new policies or renewed the existing policies to raise the health level of all workers. However, instead of rising number employers providing these services, health insurance providers and expanded coverage of health services in the past decade the adoption rate is still sub-optimal for a number of different reasons, which is impeding the market growth. Some of employers do not follow the regulatory norms strictly and hence, they do not provide quality occupational medicine services to their employees, which impacts the market growth negatively.Global Occupational Medicine market has been segmented on the basis of interventions, specialities, end user and region.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @Global Occupational Medicine market is highly fragmented due to presence of numerous players. The overall market is expected to grow in the future as governments have been focusing on reforming healthcare services. According to the statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 100 million workers are deceased and 200,000 die annually in accidents while on work and 68-157 million new cases of occupational disease are ascribed to hazardous exposures or workloads. Occupational injuries and diseases can worse affect developing countries having 70% of the working population of the globe.Geographically, Occupational Medicine market is segmented into regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Developed countries such as North America and European countries have a well-established occupational medicine market due to the awareness of people. Rules and regulations in the developed regions imparting significant importance to the health of working population also promote the growth of the market. The market in Asian countries will witness rapid growth as the governments are paying attention to it and are focused on reforming overall healthcare services. African countries are lagging behind owing to poor healthcare infrastructure but it is expected to improve as the region is getting funding from all over the world for betterment of healthcare.Request to View Tables of Content @The key players in the global Occupational Medicine market include Occucare International, C-HCA, Inc, Concentra Operating Corporation, Proactive Occupational Medicine Inc., Workwell Occupational Medicine, Healthcare Success, LLC. Holzer Health System and U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group.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 categories such as market segments, geographies, types, technology and applications.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.To view complete report @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:
Asia-Pacific Solar PV Power Market Report 2017 - Ascent Solar, Solibro Solar, Wuerth, SolarWorld, Sunpower, Kyocera, Sanyo Solar, Miasole

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Geographically, this report split Asia-Pacific into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Solar PV Power for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), includingChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanIndiaSoutheast AsiaAustraliaAsia-Pacific Solar PV Power market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Solar PV Power sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingBosch Solar EnergyMitsubishi ElectricPanasonicSanyo SolarHondaKyoceraSunedisonSunpowerSolarWorldFirst SolarCanadian SolarSunivaGlobal Solar EnergyWuerthNanosolarManzAscent SolarSolibro SolarAUOMiasoleSharpRECOdersunSolopowerFlisomTSMCYingliTrina SolarSuntechAT&MRequest a Free Sample Copy of this Research Report @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 intoCrystalline Silicon Solar PV PowerMonocrystalline Solar PV PowerPolycrystalline Solar PV PowerOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume (K Units), market share and growth rate of Solar PV Power for each application, includinResidentialCommercialIndustrialTable of Contents1 Solar PV Power Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Solar PV Power1.2 Classification of Solar PV Power by Product Category1.2.1 Asia-Pacific Solar PV Power Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Types (2012-2022)1.2.2 Asia-Pacific Solar PV Power Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Crystalline Silicon Solar PV Power1.2.4 Monocrystalline Solar PV Power1.2.5 Polycrystalline Solar PV Power1.3 Asia-Pacific Solar PV Power Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Asia-Pacific Solar PV Power Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Applications (2012-2022)1.3.2 Residential1.3.3 Commercial1.3.4 Industrial1.4 Asia-Pacific Solar PV Power Market by Region1.4.1 Asia-Pacific Solar PV Power Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 South Korea Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.8 Australia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Asia-Pacific Market Size (Value and Volume) of Solar PV Power (2012-2022)1.5.1 Asia-Pacific Solar PV Power Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 Asia-Pacific Solar PV Power Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)QYresearchreports.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
Smart Mirrors Market Share, Analysis and Forecast to 2023

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Market HighlightsOn the basis of regional analysis, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World. North America region is generating highest market share in the Smart Mirrors Market owing to better network infrastructure, higher technology implementation and implementation of smart mirrors in healthcare sector. Adoption of smart mirrors in North America is mainly due to the invention of advanced technology and economies benefitting from it. North America region is leading due to presence of major players from the region in the smart mirrors market. The increased adoption of smart mirrors in healthcare, retail and automotive sector is driving the market in the region. The rise in demand for self-cleaning in dental treatment is driving the smart mirrors market in the region.Smart Mirrors Market SegmentationThe smart mirrors market has been segmented on the basis of component, technology and end-user. End-user segment consists of retail, healthcare, consumer and household and automotive. In North America region, retail sector is witnessing considerable market share owing to adoption of smart mirrors in upscale stores and shopping malls. Smart mirrors in some of the mirrors are able to capture video of customer in trail room, so that it can compare image side by side with other colorful dress in one try.According to Market Research Future Analysis, smart mirrors market has been valued at approximately USD 1057 Million by the end of forecast period with approx. 12% of CAGR during forecast period 2017 to 2023.Smart Mirrors Market Players: Gentex Corporation (U.S.) Magna International Inc. (Canada) ACEP France SAS (France) Panasonic Corporation (Japan) Seura Solutions (U.S.) Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (South Korea) Keonn Technologies (Spain) Mirrus Corporation Inc (U.S.) Perseus Mirrors (U.S.) Electric Mirror, LLC (U.S.)Request a Sample Report @Market Research Analysis:The smart mirrors market in North America region is growing due to high adoption of smart mirrors in retail and healthcare sector. The invention of smart mirrors is gaining popularity among youth due to busy work schedule and changing lifestyle which is driving the market in the region. According to the study, Europe region is one of the prominent player in smart mirrors market due to hike in motor vehicle production. Asia-Pacific market is estimated to be one of the fastest growing market as government is continuously investing into research and development of smart mirrors market. Increasing IT landscape is boosting the market in the region. Developing countries such as India and China are adopting smart mirrors at a large scale owing to increasing IT infrastructure, robust industrialization that is boosting the market in the region. By end-user segment, retail, automotive and healthcare sector is driving the smart mirrors market.By end-user segment, smart mirrors market is segmented into retail, healthcare, automotive, consumer and household among others. Retail and healthcare sector is expected to be highest growing segment in smart mirrors market. Smart mirrors has wide application in healthcare, they can be used to detect the cardiovascular disease including stroke and heart disease which are the main reason behind most human deaths occurring in the world. The study indicates, in future the image provided by the camera will be able to detect change in facial features and markers of stress, anxiety and disease. Images displayed by the smart mirrors can be used to access person heart beat rate and blood oxygenation.Access Report Details @Intended Audience- Investors and consultants- System Integrators- Government Organizations- Research/Consultancy firms- Technology solution providers- IT Solution Providers- Original Equipment Manufacturers- Automotive ManufacturersAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors Market Forecast 2022 Qinetiq, Bandweaver, Omnisens, Brugg Kabel, AFL, Ziebel As

Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors

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Global Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 provides Market information about Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application.This Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors Industry report also states Company Profile, sales, Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors Market revenue and price, market share, market growth and gross margin by regions.The following summary will give an overview of the causes, processes, and possible effects of the market research proposal.Request for sample copy of report @Top Manufacturers/Key Players:-1. Schlumberger2. Halliburton3. Yokogawa Electric4. Weatherford International5. Qinetiq6. Luna Innovations Incorporated7. Ofs Fitel8. Bandweaver9. Omnisens10. Brugg Kabel11. AP Sensing12. AFL13. Ziebel AsThe Global Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors report gives a thorough situation of the present and gauge Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors showcase procedures, improvement methodologies and development openings. Starting a discussion on the contemporary condition of Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors showcase, the report extra dissects the market powerful moving each area begun in it.The report additionally concentrates the Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors bits of knowledge of the organizations and suggestions that will help the perusers to have progressive learning of the Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors showcase.Browse Report @A principal diagram of the Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors market is introduced to the perusers with the assistance of market definition, order, different applications, and production network examination. The Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors report covers the investigation of conventional and the developing markets. The report more expresses the Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors showcase rivals, their business profiles, freshest news, their piece of the overall industry, developing arrangements and methodologies, client volume and creating strategies.In next part, the Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors Report assesses the gross edge examination of various locales i. e. (US, EU, China and Japan). Different areas can be included according to the prerequisite.All in all, it is an exhaustive research report which will help perusers to break down the possibility of interest in Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors advertise.About Us:'Depth Market Research' is 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,United States
Folding Cartons Market Analysis, Share, Trends and Forecast by 2024

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Folding cartons are used for packing materials of different sizes and shapes, and can be said to be the pioneers in the packaging industry. Folding cartons are available in the form of paperboard with creasing, and are folded, cut, printed, and laminated to achieve a particular structure as per the packing requirements of the material. These cartons can be made from recycled paper stock, virgin wood pulp, or other fibres. These folding cartons find application in the field of food and beverages, cosmetics, confectionaries, pharmacy, and others. The healthcare industry is the largest user of folding cartons, followed by the tobacco industry.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Carton manufacturing companies are coming up with new designs, processes, and innovative techniques to enable the brand owners to distinguish their products from competitors through attractive packaging. Similarly, there has been an advent of innovative printers and converters in the market, which adopt new printing technologies that are capable of offering more impactful finishing techniques such as spot varnishing, embossing and hot foiling.The constant significant growth witnessed in the healthcare, tobacco, and food processing industries is the major driving force for the anticipated growth of the global folding cartons market in the near future. Introduction of migration barriers to avoid contamination of carton board materials as a result of the food packed inside it, has made folding cartons a safer packaging option in the food industry. With technological advancements, carton packaging of products can now be modified and made more attractive and handy for the customers, thereby giving a competitive edge to the brand owners, thereby driving its market growth. However, folding cartons producing unit is an expensive project to start up. Hence, many entrepreneurs are not easily willing to invest in this industry. Also, these units need to achieve high volume production in order to recover their investment as well as to achieve a wafer-thin profit margin. These economic limitations related to folding cartons manufacturing could hinder growth of the global folding cartons market over the forecast period.Browse Market Research Report @The growth opportunity for players in the global folding cartons market lies in achieving cost savings on packaging materials by packing the products in folding cartons. The trend of industries to move towards single serve packs and introduce smaller packs of their products are increasingly driving them towards using folding cartons. However, the availability of substitutes for folding cartons packaging, such as plastics packaging materials, that offer a more flexible packing option than the folding cartons is a major factor that could hamper growth of the folding cartons market over the forecast period. The global folding cartons market is expanding at a modest growth rate currently, and is anticipated to expand at a single digit CAGR over the forecast period.The global folding cartons market is segmented based on product type, structure, and application. By product type, the global folding cartons is segmented into paperboard folding cartons, green folding cartons, and plastic folding cartons. By structure, the global folding cartons is segmented into rectangular sleeve, french reverse tuck, standard reverse tuck, airplane style straight, standard straight tuck, mailer lock, bellows tuck, and tuck & tongue. By application, the global folding cartons is segmented into tobacco, dairy products, hardware and electrical, personal care, confectionary, frozen food, dry food, and others.By geography, the global folding cartons market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. Asia Pacific is currently the leader in the global folding cartons market, owing to the flourishing industries in this region, such as food and beverages, tobacco, and pharmacy. North America is the second largest contributor to growth of the global folding cartons market currently, due to the thriving healthcare industry in the region. The upcoming personal care and confectionary industries in Europe and Latin America mark their significant presence in the global folding cartons market. The Middle East and Africa market is still at a nascent stage; however, it is anticipated to account for a considerable share of the global folding cartons market over the forecast period.Some of the key players in the global folding cartons market are Amcor Limited, Graphic Packaging International, Inc, WestRock Company, All Packaging Company, Artistic Carton Company, Bell Packaging, Caraustar, Cherokee Packaging Inc, Craftsman Packaging, Inc, F.P.Woll & Co, Menasha Packaging Company, LLC, and Midlands Packaging Corporation.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 Hyper-converged Infrastructure Market Forecast 2022 Vmware, Nutanix, Simplivity, Pivot, Maxta

Hyper-converged Infrastructure

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Global Hyper-converged Infrastructure Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 provides Market information about Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application.This Hyper-converged Infrastructure Industry report also states Company Profile, sales, Hyper-converged Infrastructure Market revenue and price, market share, market growth and gross margin by regions.The following summary will give an overview of the causes, processes, and possible effects of the market research proposal.Request for sample copy of report @Top Manufacturers/Key Players:-1. Vmware2. Nutanix3. Simplivity4. Scale Computing5. Pivot6. Maxta7. Nimboxx8. Cisco Systems9. Gridstore10. Hewlett Packard EnterpriseThe Global Hyper-converged Infrastructure report gives a thorough situation of the present and gauge Hyper-converged Infrastructure showcase procedures, improvement methodologies and development openings. Starting a discussion on the contemporary condition of Hyper-converged Infrastructure showcase, the report extra dissects the market powerful moving each area begun in it.The report additionally concentrates the Hyper-converged Infrastructure bits of knowledge of the organizations and suggestions that will help the perusers to have progressive learning of the Hyper-converged Infrastructure showcase.Browse Report @A principal diagram of the Hyper-converged Infrastructure market is introduced to the perusers with the assistance of market definition, order, different applications, and production network examination. The Hyper-converged Infrastructure report covers the investigation of conventional and the developing markets. The report more expresses the Hyper-converged Infrastructure showcase rivals, their business profiles, freshest news, their piece of the overall industry, developing arrangements and methodologies, client volume and creating strategies.In next part, the Hyper-converged Infrastructure Report assesses the gross edge examination of various locales i. e. (US, EU, China and Japan). Different areas can be included according to the prerequisite.All in all, it is an exhaustive research report which will help perusers to break down the possibility of interest in Hyper-converged Infrastructure advertise.About Us:'Depth Market Research' is 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,United States
Global Street and Roadway Lighting Market Forecast 2022 Cree, Eaton, Osram Licht, Hubbell

Street and Roadway Lighting

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Global Street and Roadway Lighting Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 provides Market information about Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application.This Street and Roadway Lighting Industry report also states Company Profile, sales, Street and Roadway Lighting Market revenue and price, market share, market growth and gross margin by regions.The following summary will give an overview of the causes, processes, and possible effects of the market research proposal.Request for sample copy of report @Top Manufacturers/Key Players:-1. Cree2. General Electric3. Eaton4. Osram Licht5. Acuity Brands6. Hubbell7. Kingsun Optoelectronic8. Thorn Lighting9. LED Roadway Lighting10. Syska LED11. Virtual ExtensionThe Global Street and Roadway Lighting report gives a thorough situation of the present and gauge Street and Roadway Lighting showcase procedures, improvement methodologies and development openings. Starting a discussion on the contemporary condition of Street and Roadway Lighting showcase, the report extra dissects the market powerful moving each area begun in it.The report additionally concentrates the Street and Roadway Lighting bits of knowledge of the organizations and suggestions that will help the perusers to have progressive learning of the Street and Roadway Lighting showcase.Browse Report @A principal diagram of the Street and Roadway Lighting market is introduced to the perusers with the assistance of market definition, order, different applications, and production network examination. The Street and Roadway Lighting report covers the investigation of conventional and the developing markets. The report more expresses the Street and Roadway Lighting showcase rivals, their business profiles, freshest news, their piece of the overall industry, developing arrangements and methodologies, client volume and creating strategies.In next part, the Street and Roadway Lighting Report assesses the gross edge examination of various locales i. e. (US, EU, China and Japan). Different areas can be included according to the prerequisite.All in all, it is an exhaustive research report which will help perusers to break down the possibility of interest in Street and Roadway Lighting advertise.About Us:'Depth Market Research' is 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,United States
A former Madison police officer testified in a federal courtroom Tuesday that stress hormones caused him to jerk the trigger wildly as he and another officer shot a suicidal woman who had emerged from her bedroom pointing a gun at her head.

Justin Bailey, as well as Madison police officers Carey Leerek and Gary Pihlaja, each described the chaotic events that led to the shooting of 26-year-old Ashley DiPiazza at her Far East Side apartment in May 2014. The three face a federal trial stemming from a civil lawsuit filed against them by DiPiazzas family.

DiPiazza, a former military veteran, was shot while suffering an emotional crisis following the breakup with her live-in boyfriend, who called police to report she was drinking and locked herself in their apartment bedroom with his 9mm handgun. She was shot about 45 minutes later despite not making any verbal threats or pointing the gun toward anybody but herself.

The lawsuit claims that Di- Piazzas constitutional rights against unreasonable searches and seizures were violated when Bailey and Pihlaja shot her 11 times inside her small apartment in the 1100 block of MacArthur Road. The lawsuit also alleges police negotiator Leerek did nothing to stop them.

An internal review by Madison police determined that the officers did not violate departmental policy.

District Attorney Ismael Ozanne also cleared the officers of any criminal liability following an investigation by the state Department of Justice.

But during testimony Tuesday, attorneys for DiPiazzas family questioned why the officers didnt follow department procedure in such a situation, such as ensuring they had protective cover.

The officers also were questioned about why they didnt create or follow a plan during the approximately 30 minutes after DiPiazza first appeared at the door of her bedroom with a gun to her head.

When DiPiazza first came out, on-site supervisor Sgt. Jason Sweeney, who had just entered DiPiazzas apartment with Bailey and Pihlaja providing cover, abruptly ordered the officers out and told nobody to re-enter. He also told Leerek to take his place as the negotiator with DiPiazza.

All three officers testified that DiPiazza never made a verbal threat or aimed or fired her gun at them after she re-emerged, so she didnt pose an imminent threat.

Situation seen as improving

Leerek testified that she began building rapport with DiPiazza despite a communication problem as the distraught DiPiazza hid behind her bedroom door while Leerek talked to her from the hallway.

Eventually, DiPiazza opened her bedroom door a crack and talked to Leerek about wanting to see her father and boyfriend again just before emerging a second time.

I felt like I was improving the situation, Leerek said.

Leerek testified that people going through an emotional crisis can repeat actions, but she didnt discuss with Bailey and Pihlaja about what to do if DiPiazza re-emerged with a gun pointed at her head. Unlike Sweeney, she did not order Bailey and Pihlaja to retreat when DiPiazza emerged from her bedroom again.

When asked by DiPiazza family attorney Andrea Ferrell if there was enough time for her to order the retreat between when DiPiazza re-emerged until the shots were fired, Leerek said, That thought never occurred to me. It would be conjecture on my part.

Bailey, who lives in California and is no longer a police officer, testified that he was in a tactically ready position near the door to the apartment with no protective cover when DiPiazza re-emerged.

Bailey, who fired his 9mm handgun first, testified that he fired after DiPiazza ignored orders to drop the gun and took several steps out of the bedroom. He said he was jerking the trigger wildly because I was shooting under stress.

Pihlaja testified his finger hit the trigger to fire his AR-15 assault rife at almost the same time. He also said DiPiazza ignored commands to drop the gun and took one or two steps away from her bedroom door.

He also testified that he had heard Bailey later say, I had no cover and that he responded by saying, We did what we had to do.
Global Thin Film and Printed Battery Market Forecast 2022 Panasonic, Samsung SDI, Enfucell OY, Ultralife, Brightvolt

Thin Film and Printed Battery

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Global Thin Film and Printed Battery Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 provides Market information about Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application.This Thin Film and Printed Battery Industry report also states Company Profile, sales, Thin Film and Printed Battery Market revenue and price, market share, market growth and gross margin by regions.The following summary will give an overview of the causes, processes, and possible effects of the market research proposal.Request for sample copy of report @Top Manufacturers/Key Players:-1. Panasonic2. Samsung SDI3. Stmicroelectronics4. Enfucell OY5. Imprint Energy6. Ultralife7. Blue Spark Technologies8. Brightvolt9. Cymbet10. Excellatron Solid State11. Flexel12. Jenax13. NEC Energy Solutions14. ProtoflexThe Global Thin Film and Printed Battery report gives a thorough situation of the present and gauge Thin Film and Printed Battery showcase procedures, improvement methodologies and development openings. Starting a discussion on the contemporary condition of Thin Film and Printed Battery showcase, the report extra dissects the market powerful moving each area begun in it.The report additionally concentrates the Thin Film and Printed Battery bits of knowledge of the organizations and suggestions that will help the perusers to have progressive learning of the Thin Film and Printed Battery showcase.Browse Report @A principal diagram of the Thin Film and Printed Battery market is introduced to the perusers with the assistance of market definition, order, different applications, and production network examination. The Thin Film and Printed Battery report covers the investigation of conventional and the developing markets. The report more expresses the Thin Film and Printed Battery showcase rivals, their business profiles, freshest news, their piece of the overall industry, developing arrangements and methodologies, client volume and creating strategies.In next part, the Thin Film and Printed Battery Report assesses the gross edge examination of various locales i. e. (US, EU, China and Japan). Different areas can be included according to the prerequisite.All in all, it is an exhaustive research report which will help perusers to break down the possibility of interest in Thin Film and Printed Battery advertise.About Us:'Depth Market Research' is 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,United States
Global Water Quality Monitoring Market Forecast 2022 Horiba, Xylem, Danaher, Libelium

Water Quality Monitoring

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Global Water Quality Monitoring Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 provides Market information about Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application.This Water Quality Monitoring Industry report also states Company Profile, sales, Water Quality Monitoring Market revenue and price, market share, market growth and gross margin by regions.The following summary will give an overview of the causes, processes, and possible effects of the market research proposal.Request for sample copy of report @Top Manufacturers/Key Players:-1. Thermo Fisher Scientific2. Teledyne Technologies3. General Electric4. Horiba5. Xylem6. Agilent Technologies7. Danaher8. Libelium9. Geotech Environmental Equipment10. Optiqua Technologies PTEThe Global Water Quality Monitoring report gives a thorough situation of the present and gauge Water Quality Monitoring showcase procedures, improvement methodologies and development openings. Starting a discussion on the contemporary condition of Water Quality Monitoring showcase, the report extra dissects the market powerful moving each area begun in it.The report additionally concentrates the Water Quality Monitoring bits of knowledge of the organizations and suggestions that will help the perusers to have progressive learning of the Water Quality Monitoring showcase.Browse Report @A principal diagram of the Water Quality Monitoring market is introduced to the perusers with the assistance of market definition, order, different applications, and production network examination. The Water Quality Monitoring report covers the investigation of conventional and the developing markets. The report more expresses the Water Quality Monitoring showcase rivals, their business profiles, freshest news, their piece of the overall industry, developing arrangements and methodologies, client volume and creating strategies.In next part, the Water Quality Monitoring Report assesses the gross edge examination of various locales i. e. (US, EU, China and Japan). Different areas can be included according to the prerequisite.All in all, it is an exhaustive research report which will help perusers to break down the possibility of interest in Water Quality Monitoring advertise.About Us:'Depth Market Research' is 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,United States
Global Wearable Sensors Market Forecast 2022 mCube, Sensirion, ams, Analog Devices, ARM Holdings, Panasonic

Wearable Sensors

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Global Wearable Sensors Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 provides Market information about Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application.This Wearable Sensors Industry report also states Company Profile, sales, Wearable Sensors Market revenue and price, market share, market growth and gross margin by regions.The following summary will give an overview of the causes, processes, and possible effects of the market research proposal.Request for sample copy of report @Top Manufacturers/Key Players:-1. Stmicroelectronics2. Infineon Technologies3. NXP Semiconductors4. Robert Bosch5. Invensense6. Knowles Electronics7. TE Connectivity8. mCube9. Sensirion10. ams11. Texas Instruments12. Broadcom Limited (Avago)13. Analog Devices14. ARM Holdings15. Panasonic16. Asahi KaseiThe Global Wearable Sensors report gives a thorough situation of the present and gauge Wearable Sensors showcase procedures, improvement methodologies and development openings. Starting a discussion on the contemporary condition of Wearable Sensors showcase, the report extra dissects the market powerful moving each area begun in it.The report additionally concentrates the Wearable Sensors bits of knowledge of the organizations and suggestions that will help the perusers to have progressive learning of the Wearable Sensors showcase.Browse Report @A principal diagram of the Wearable Sensors market is introduced to the perusers with the assistance of market definition, order, different applications, and production network examination. The Wearable Sensors report covers the investigation of conventional and the developing markets. The report more expresses the Wearable Sensors showcase rivals, their business profiles, freshest news, their piece of the overall industry, developing arrangements and methodologies, client volume and creating strategies.In next part, the Wearable Sensors Report assesses the gross edge examination of various locales i. e. (US, EU, China and Japan). Different areas can be included according to the prerequisite.All in all, it is an exhaustive research report which will help perusers to break down the possibility of interest in Wearable Sensors advertise.About Us:'Depth Market Research' is 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,United States
Global Workwear/Uniforms Market Scope and Revenue Outlook for 2017-2022

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Global Workwear/Uniforms Market 2017 report spread across 121 pages gives Market Segment Analysis by Key Manufacturers, Regions, Types and Applications. Workwear/Uniforms is defined as apparel bought by enterprises/institutions which given to their employees to perform their work. Often those employed within trade industries elect to be outfitted in Workwear/Uniforms because it is built to provide durability and safety.Complete report is available atScope of the Report:This report focuses on the Global Workwear/Uniforms 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: Williamson Dickie, VF Corporation, Aramark, Carhartt, UniFirst, Cintas, G&K Services, Strategic Partners, Wolverine, Berne Apparel, CornerStone Workwear, ML Kishigo, Superior Uniform Group.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers: North America (USA, Canada and Mexico); Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy); Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia); South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.); Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa). Market Segment by Type, covers: General Workwear, Corporate Workwear, Uniforms & Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into: Manufacturing Industry, Service Industry, Mining Industry, Agriculture & Forestry Industry, Others.Request for discount atThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Workwear/Uniforms market.Chapter 1 to describe Workwear/Uniforms Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force.Chapter 2 to analyze the top manufacturers of Workwear/Uniforms, with sales, revenue, and price of Workwear/Uniforms, 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 Workwear/Uniforms, 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.Order copy of report atChapter 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 Workwear/Uniforms market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022.Chapter 13, 14 and 15 to describe Workwear/Uniforms sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.ReportsnReports.com is your single source for all market research needs. Our database includes 500,000+ market research reports from over 95 leading global publishers & in-depth market research studies of over 5000 micro markets.Ritesh Tiwari,+ 1 888 391 5441sales@reportsandreports.com
SCADA Market 2016-2023 Global Industry Outlook Research Report Added By DecisionDatabases

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DecisionDatabases.com offers SCADA Market Research Report. This Report covers the complete Industry Outlook, Growth, Size, Share and Forecast Till 2023. The report on global SCADA market evaluates the growth trends of the industry through historical study and estimates future prospects based on comprehensive research. The report extensively provides the market share, growth, trends and forecasts for the period 2016-2023. The market size in terms of revenue (USD MN) is calculated for the study period along with the details of the factors affecting the market growth (drivers and restraints).The major market drivers are Adoption of cloud computing in SCADA system and Developing infrastructural activities with respect to smart cities and transportation. The market growth might be restricted due Volatility in the cost of oil and gas and High settling cost of SCADA software.Get FREE Sample Report Copy With FULL Segmentations and TOC @The comprehensive value chain analysis of the market will assist in attaining better product differentiation, along with detailed understanding of the core competency of each activity involved. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report aptly measures the potential value of the market providing business strategists with the latest growth opportunities.The report also covers the complete competitive landscape of the worldwide market with company profiles of key players such as ABB, Ltd., Afcon Holdings Group, Emerson Electric, Co., General Electric, Co., Honeywell International, Inc., OMRON Corporation, Rockwell Automation, Inc., Schneider Electric SE, Siemens AG, and Yokogawa Electric Corporation. Geographically, the SCADA market has been segmented into regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa. The study details country-level aspects based on each segment and gives estimates in terms of market size.The report classifies the market into different segments based on components, architecture and end-user. These segments are studied in detail incorporating the market estimates and forecasts at regional and country level. The segment analysis is useful in understanding the growth areas and probable opportunities of the market.Major Table Of Contents:1. Introduction2. Executive Summary3. Market Analysis4. Scada Market Analysis By Component5. Scada Market Analysis By Architecture6. Scada Market Analysis By End-User7. Scada Market Analysis By Geography8. Competitive Landscape Of The Scada Companies9. Company Profiles Of The Scada IndustryPurchase Complete Global SCADA Market Research Report At:About Us:DecisionDatabases.com is a global business research reports provider, enriching decision makers and strategists with qualitative statistics. DecisionDatabases.com is proficient in providing syndicated research report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains.Our expert research analysts have been trained to map clients research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed.3rd Floor,Fountain chambers,Nanabhai Lane,Fort, Mumbai - 1E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.comPhone: +91 99 28 237112Web:
Global Strollers Sales Market Research Report 2022

Strollers Sales Market Growth

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SummaryThis report helps to analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Global Strollers Sales market.DescriptionThe Global Strollers Sales Market report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Strollers Sales industry. This report evaluates the Global market for " Global Strollers Sales".The Global Strollers Sales Market report provides complete analysis of the Global Strollers Sales Market by analysing all round market dynamics such as regional market opportunities, drivers, challenges, constraints, threats, and other market trends.The Global Strollers Sales Market report contains latest Business Data resulting from various Research sources that helps Decision Makers to deliver a Distinctive and Trustworthy Analysis for Companys Growth.Get a PDF Sample of Global Strollers Sales Market report at:The Global Strollers Sales Market Survey starts with Industry overview of Global Strollers Sales Market covering Major Regions Status, Industry Chain Structure, Definitions and Specifications, with a detailed focus on Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis including Raw Material Suppliers, Equipment Suppliers and Manufacturing Process.In Next Part, the researchers has collected and presented information on Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis which comprises of Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source of Major Manufacturers in 2015.In following segment, with Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin, Business Region Distribution Analysis, Competition between various Company Profile has been given along with Product Pictures and Specifications in Global Strollers Sales Industry Report.The Key Players Mentioned in Global Strollers Sales Market Report are: Good Baby NEWELL RUBBERMAID Artsana S.p.A. Combi Corporation Stokke AS Hauck Dorel ABC Design Emmaljunga UPPAbaby Peg Perego Seebaby Shenma Group BBH Mybaby Aing RoadmatePlace Purchase Order for this Report@:The Global Strollers Sales Industry Report is also a Great Source of Marketing Type Analysis consisting:1. Global Strollers Sales Regional Marketing Type Analysis2. Global Strollers Sales International Trade Type Analysis3. Traders or Distributors with Contact Information of Global Strollers Sales by Regions4. Global Strollers Sales Supply Chain AnalysisMajor Points from Table of Contents:Chapter One: Strollers Market OverviewChapter Two: Global Strollers Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and ApplicationChapter Three: United States Strollers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter Four: China Strollers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter Five: Europe Strollers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter Six: Japan Strollers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter Seven: Southeast Asia Strollers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter Eight: India Strollers (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter Nine: Global Strollers Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales DataChapter Ten: Strollers Maufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter Eleven: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter Twelve: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter Thirteen: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter Fourteen: Global Strollers Market Forecast (2017-2022)Chapter Fifteen: Research Findings and ConclusionChapter Sixteen: AppendixFor Any Query, before Purchasing Report Click Here:Lastly, the Report provides Development Trend Analysis for 2016-2021 years which will forecast Market Size (Volume and Value), Sales Price, Consumption Forecast, Market Trend (Product Type) and Market Trend (Application). Also the List of Major Consumers is analyzed and Contact Details are provided to easy communicating.Finally, the Report is concluded with Various Methodology, Analyst Introduction and Data SourcesOrbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:
Stunning Growth of Automotive Remote diagnostics Market 2022: CAGR of 16.90%

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Pune, India, July, 2017/MRFR Press Release/- Market Research Future published a research report on Global Automotive Remote diagnostics Market Research Report - Forecast to 2022  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2022.Global Automotive Remote Diagnostics Market Information by Vehicle Type (Commercial Vehicle and Passenger Vehicle), Application (Automatic Crash Notification, Vehicle Tracking, Vehicle Health Alert, and Roadside Assistance), Connectivity (3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth), and by Region - Forecast to 2022Automotive remote diagnostics is an answer for screen the strength of a vehicle, figures the main driver of the issues and furthermore empowers the client to get to data about the vehicle. The mindfulness in regards to vehicle diagnostics, the rising interest with respect to wellbeing and security of vehicles, and the developing slant towards premium vehicles are a few elements anticipated that would drive the market. In availability portion, bluetooth is required to have biggest offer in the car remote diagnostics showcase. As bluetooth offers different components and one of them is it associates the vehicle to the web through advanced mobile phone to exchange information from and with server. There are different patterns in the market, for example, mix of cell phones with telematics frameworks and vehicle symptomatic based protection programs. The worldwide Automotive Remote diagnostics advertise is relied upon to demonstrate a development at CAGR of around 16.90% from 2016 to 2022.Get a Copy of Sample Report @Key Players Robert Bosch GmbH, Continental AG, Delphi Automotive PLC, Onstar LLC, Snap-On Inc., Magneti Marelli, Softing AG, VOXX International Corporation, Vector Informatik, Vidiwave Ltd. And Many MoreStudy Objectives of Global Automotive Remote diagnostics Market To give nitty gritty examination of the market structure alongside gauge for the following five years of different fragments and sub-sections of the worldwide Automotive Remote diagnostics showcase To give bits of knowledge about elements influencing the market development To break down the worldwide Automotive Remote diagnostics advertise in light of different elements, for example, production network investigation, and Porter's five strengths examination To give verifiable and figure income of the market sections and sub-portions as for four fundamental geologies and their nations - North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and ROW. To give nation level examination of the market regarding the present market size and future planned To give nation level examination of the market for fragment by vehicle sort, application, network, and locale To give key profiling of the key players in the market, exhaustively breaking down their center skills, and drawing a focused scene for the market To track and examine focused improvements, for example, joint endeavors, key partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, new item advancements, and research and advancements in the worldwide automotive Remote diagnostics marketBrowse Full Report Details @Regional Analysis of Global Automotive Remote diagnostics MarketThe North America region has a largest share in the automotive remote diagnostics market. Also, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This region is led by China and India due to increasing population, increasing per capita income, improving living standards, and hence increasing demand for purchase of high end vehicles. And this will significantly drive the market of automotive remote diagnostics.Target Audience Remote vehicle diagnostics solution providers Remote vehicle diagnostics solution software developers Distributors and suppliers of remote vehicle diagnostics solutions Government and research organization Investment bankers and M&A ConsultantsGeographic Analysis Geographical analysis across 17 countriesCompany Information Profiling of 10 key market players SWOT analysis, and strategy information of top five players in the market Competitive landscape including emerging trends adopted by major companiesGet Discount @The report for Global Automotive Remote diagnostics Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market.ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Global Automotive Remote diagnostics Market Research Report - Forecast to 2022chain 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
Infrastructure investment supports rising Dominican cement demand

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Greenwich (CT), USA, July 12, 2017  According to CW Researchs Dominican Republic Cement Market Report (2017 update), domestic cement demand shows a projected annual increase of 4.5%, reaching nearly five million tons by 2021. Large-scale infrastructure projects, such as highways, roads and bypasses, coupled with affordable housing initiatives and tourism-enabling construction will boost the construction sectors share of GDP to more than ten percent by 2021.In 2016, supported by the governments continued investment in public works and infrastructure, the construction sector recorded a nine percent increase. Most of the investment has been channeled towards the Duarte Corridor, a complex of underpasses and connecting roads intended to improve circulation in the capital, Santo Domingo. Housing and concrete usage in road building have also contributed to boost cement demand. The countrys geographical location makes it susceptible to adverse weather conditions, thus requiring large-scale road maintenance every other three to four years.However, as the CW Researchs Senior Consulting Analyst Raluca Cercel stresses, despite the strengths and opportunities of the highly consolidated Dominican cement market, there are some possible impending threats, such as high levels of red tape, electricity supply issues, as well as tense relations with Haiti, its largest foreign consuming market.Cement trade plays important roleHeavily reliant on cement exports, the Dominican market is susceptible to both national and global economic fluctuations. Domestically, variations in the price of gold are particularly influential, since the commodity ranks among the countrys top exports. The global economic environment also proved detrimental to the cement industry, when, in 2009, consumption recorded a sharp decline, falling below three million tons as remittances from the US fell sharply. In 2014, cement consumption recovered, reaching mid-three million tons.The Dominican cement market is the single largest manufacturer and consumer in the Caribbean. As of 2017, the industry has an installed capacity of more than eight million tons. Over the same period, demand is projected to surpass four million tons, whereas imports will near one million tons of cement.Today, there are seven cement companies operating in Dominican Republic. Cementos Cibao, Cemex, Domicem and Estrella operate integrated cement plants, whereas Argos, Cementos La Union and Cementos Andinos Dominicanos operate grinding facilities. Cemex Dominicana operates the largest cement plant in the market, contributing to 30% of the countrys installed cement capacity, followed by Cementos Cibao and Domicem.Trade-wise, the markets geographical position enables domestic cement manufacturers to rid of excess production through exports to both other Caribbean islands, and Central and South American markets. Relative to many of the islands in the Caribbean, the lower ex-works pricing of cement in the Dominican Republic makes the market well placed to export to islands that need to source their cement externally.Consequently, Dominican manufacturers export to several smaller markets throughout the Caribbean. Among them, Haiti emerges as the largest importer of Dominican cement. In 2016, the Haitian government sought to stem the imports from Dominican Republic arriving by road, despite the fact that domestic cement production is not sufficient to meet local demand. Nevertheless, out of the almost one million tons of cement exported in 2016, more than 80% of the volume was channeled to Haiti.****For more information, placing an order, or interview inquiries, please contact Liviu Dinu, Market Services & Marketing Consultant, CW Group, by phone at +40-744-67-44-11, or e-mail at ld@cwgrp.com.About the ReportThe Dominican Republic Cement Market Report, part of CW Researchs Cement Industry Country Report series, meets the country-level cement market research needs of small and large businesses, analysts and governments. The reports cover cement volume trends in detail, analyzing trade flows, cement demand and production (historical and a five-year outlook), per capita consumption, and the competitive landscape, including company profiles, cement production facility details, including past and announced brownfield production increases and greenfield projects. Cement Industry Country Reports also cover demand drivers, including macro-economic and construction sector dynamics, for the specific country. Industry reports are presented in an objective, easy-to-understand format, providing hard-to-find answers to top market research questions.More information about the report can be found here:About CW GroupThe Greenwich (Conn.), USA-headquartered CW Group is a leading advisory, research and business intelligence boutique with a global presence and a multi-industry orientation. CW Group is particularly recognized for its sector expertise in heavy-side building materials (cement), light-side building materials, traditional and renewable power & energy, petrochemicals, metals & mining, industrial minerals, industrial manufacturing, bulk cargo & shipping, among others. We have a strong functional capability, grounded in our methodical and quantitative philosophy, including due diligence, sourcing intelligence, feasibility studies and commodity forecasting.PO Box 5263, Greenwich, CT 06831, USALiviu DinuMarket Services & Marketing ConsultantM: +40-744-67-44-11E: ld@cwgrp.com
High CAD Prevalence Increases Demand for Interventional Cardiology Devices Market

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Global Interventional Cardiology Devices Market: SnapshotThe primary driver of the demand for interventional cardiology devices is the increasing prevalence of coronary artery diseases. Organizations such as the WHO and CDC are consistently calling out the rampant growth in the number of patients suffering from heart problems and coronary artery complications. It has been predicted by the WHO that coronary artery disease will be responsible for almost 23.3 mn deaths by 2030. The causes of this growth in projected patients range from the increasing geriatric population to the obesity epidemic that has especially gripped the developed economies of the world. Both causes are at very high priority in terms of being causes for heart complications and relevant steps need to be taken to treat the increasing number of patients.Read Report Description of Interventional Cardiology Devices Market:From the technological perspective, a lot of focus has been given to the development of existing interventional cardiology devices and the innovation of new ones. For instance, the advancements in diagnostic tools and monitoring tools have drastically improved the success rate of coronary artery disease treatment. Another parallel aspect driving the demand for interventional cardiology devices is the increasing demand for minimally invasive surgeries. Such procedures can dramatically reduce pain of surgery and healing period for heart problem treatments. Therefore, the inculcation of minimally invasive interventional cardiology devices into the healthcare industry on larger scales will certainly promote their use.The global market for interventional cardiology devices is, however, currently subject to an intense level of competition. Market players are locked in a battle to increase sales volumes and are resorting to price cuts in order to achieve this. This practice is followed largely by regional players and globally prominent companies have to follow suit to hold the majority in global market values. This severely reduces the funds available for further research and development of interventional cardiology devices.The global market for interventional cardiology devices is expected to be valued at US$9.36 bn by the end of 2016 and US$11.16 bn by the end of 2022. It is projected at a CAGR of 2.9% from 2014 to 2022.North America to Dominate Interventional Cardiology Devices DemandNorth America is expected to continue leading the consumption of interventional cardiology devices. By the end of 2022, North America is expected to generate a revenue of US$4.04 bn through its demand for interventional cardiology devices. This dominant share in the market is attributed to an advanced healthcare infrastructure that largely provides premium medical devices and is more open to incorporating innovative devices. This allows interventional cardiology device manufacturers to maintain profits while achieving a higher rate of research and development, thereby creating a constant cycle of improvements. The North America market for interventional cardiology devices is, however, expected to saturate over the coming years owing to a slower growth in the demand for relevant surgical procedures.On the other hand, the growth of demand for interventional cardiology devices in Asia Pacific has just begun. This region houses a rapidly developing healthcare infrastructure. Coupled with the rising rate of medical tourism and the introduction of minimally invasive interventional cardiology devices, Asia Pacific is projected to show a CAGR of 4.8% from 2014 to 2022 in this market.Drug-eluting Stents to Remain Leading Type of interventional cardiology device UsedStents have consistently taken up the majority share in interventional cardiology device types. By the end of 2022, a projected US$6.89 bn will be generated through the sale of stents. Bare-metal, drug-eluting, and bio-absorbable stents are now commonly found. However, drug-eluting stents currently hold the greater demand, primarily due to their higher efficiency of treatment and the significantly reduced chances of the patient needing in-stent restenosis. The overall advantages of using drug-eluting stents are far greater than their predecessors, the bare-metal stents. At the same time, bio-absorbable stents have not caught on yet, although they are showing a steep increase in demand. This currently puts drug-eluting stents and their manufacturers at an advantage till 2022.Request for the Sample Report:The top providers of interventional cardiology devices in the world include Boston Scientific, Abbott Vascular, Medtronic, St Jude Medical, and Volcano Corporation.About TMRTransparency 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.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Heparin Market to Reach US$14.3 by 2023, Rising Incidence of Coagulation Disorders to act as Growth Driver

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Global Heparin Market: Key TrendsThe prevalence of coagulation disorders such as venous thromboembolism (VTE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and pulmonary embolism (PE) has remarkably increased in both Europe and North America. Since heparin is one of the foremost clinical anticoagulants, the rising incidence of coagulation disorders will in turn fuel demand for heparin products, finds Transparency Market Research (TMR). Currently, heparin manufacturers are focusing on the development of generic versions of heparin to gain a competitive advantage in the market.Read Report Description of Heparin Market:Naturally derived heparin products can cause severe side-effects in the event of an overdose. Scientists are therefore developing synthetic heparin products, which are both safer and cheaper. While declining imports from China will emerge as a major growth bottleneck, with the advent of biosimilars, heparin manufacturers will witness improved scope for expanding their product portfolio.According to TMR, the global heparin market stood at US$8.2 bn in 2014. Exhibiting a CAGR of 6.3% between 2015 and 2023, the market is expected to reach US$14.3 bn by the end of 2023.North America Reports Highest Demand for Heparin Due to Rising Prevalence of Coagulation DisordersRegionally, North America emerged as the largest market for heparin products in 2014. As per the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 900,000 people in the U.S. are affected by DVT and PE every year. Moreover, due to the sophisticated healthcare infrastructure the country boasts, the U.S. is visited by an increasing number of medical tourists annually. The overall number of surgical procedures conducted in the country is thus comparatively higher. This fuels demand for heparin products from North America. TMR projects the North America heparin market to rise at a CAGR of 6.3% between 2014 and 2023.Europe emerged as the second largest market for heparin products in the same year. The U.K., Germany, and France are the most lucrative markets for heparin in the region. However, as per Transparency Market Research, the heparin market in Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit the fastest growth during the forecast period. The incidence of VTE has nearly doubled in India in the last decade.Despite economic growth witnessed across the emerging nations of Asia Pacific, the unavailability of appropriate diagnostic centers and lack of awareness are leading to a lesser number of cases of DVT being reported. Nevertheless, GDP growth, increasing spending in healthcare infrastructure, and rising geriatric population are expected to fuel demand for heparin from Asia Pacific in the forthcoming years.Low Molecular Weight Heparins Emerge as Standard Choice of Drug Care for Arterial and Venous ThrombosisThe most commonly used heparin products include ultra-low molecular weight heparin (ULMWH), low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), and unfractionated heparin. Although the demand for LMWHs is higher, the choice of heparin depends on the disease and patients condition. Low molecular weight heparins offer proven benefits over unfractionated heparins, due to which the demand for the former is rising at a higher pace.Currently, LMWHs are considered the standard choice of care drugs for the treatment of arterial and venous thrombosis. This category of heparins also exhibits comparatively lesser side-effects, which is expected to bolster their sales in the forthcoming years. According to TMR, the LMWHs segment is expected to reach US$12.3 bn by the end of 2023. Demand from the ULMWHs segment is expected increase due to the rising use of these anticoagulants as an alternative to unfractionated heparin in dialysis.Request for the Sample Report::Some of the leading players operating in the market are Fresenius Kabi AG, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., Mylan N.V., LEO Pharma A/S, Pfizer, Inc., Syntex S.A., Sanofi S.A., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.About TMRTransparency 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.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Changes to a $3 billion incentive plan for electronics giant Foxconn Technology Group, a potential new $100 fee for electric vehicle owners and tax cuts that could benefit Wisconsin businesses are all teed up for consideration as the Legislature's budget committee hopes to complete its work this week.
Global Sunken Lights Market 2017 by top Manufacturers - Mullan Lighting, Egoluce, Masiero, Landa Illuminotecnica, Pujol Iluminacion, Roger Pradier

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Sunken Lights market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability also lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.Access Full Report With TOC :The report scrutinizes the Sunken Lights market and gives an intricate examination of its applications. The report includes a cost evaluation analysis of products that are available in the worldwide Sunken Lights market with regard to manufacturer profit margins. It helps figure out the primary driving forces of the Sunken Lights market in significant end-use organizations around the world. It likewise constitutes a broad investigation of the restraints on the market, business sector structure and the business pattern of the Sunken Lights market. Meetings and interviews with leading market participants have been used to present primary information regarding the market.The report is characterized into numerous parts dealing with diverse aspects of the Sunken Lights market. This research report inspects the present situation and development prognosis of the Sunken Lights market around the globe during the forecasting horizon. To determine the market size, the report analyzes revenue produced in the Sunken Lights market worldwide alongside demonstrating the segmentation of the prime producers.Trusted current state analysis tools, such as Porters five forces analysis and SWOT analysis are employed in the report to assess the Sunken Lights market data to deploy a complete overview of the market. Furthermore, this report gives a complete review of the magnitude and application scope of the Sunken Lights market around the world. A detailed overview of the purchasing criteria and difficulties confronted in the Sunken Lights business sector is also elaborated in this report.To Get Sample Report:The market share evaluation of the primary players of the Sunken Lights market given in the report offers a thorough evaluation of the market shares of the companies profiled in this report. The report fuses an analysis of the company profiles as well as the industry patterns for Sunken Lights market used transversely over diverse end-use businesses.ABOUT USFior 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.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerOffice - 102, Sanskriti Aspirations,Near Post 91, Baner Road,Pune, MH, India - 411045Phone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Asia Pacific Corporate Wellness Market is Driven by the Increasing Number of White Collar Employees

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The corporate wellness market in Asia Pacific is led by a slew of global and local companies, such as Central Corporate Wellness, ComPsych Corporation, Optum, Inc., JLT Australia (Recovre Group), Truworth Wellness, SOL Wellness, Sodexo, ConneXions Asia, and Bupa Wellness Pty Ltd. Transparency Market Research has observed that the number of companies venturing into this avenue has been steadily rising owing to the growing presence of MNCs in several developing countries.Read Report Description of Asia Pacific Corporate Wellness Market:The opportunity in the corporate wellness market in Asia Pacific was pegged at US$3.4 bn in 2015 and is expected to be worth US$7.4 bn by the end of 2024 at a strong CAGR of 9.0%. Geographical expansions, expansion of product portfolio, mergers and acquisitions, and investing in extensive wellness programs are some of the key growth strategies adopted by the leading players in the Asia Pacific. For instance, in March 2016, Sodexo signed a 10-year contract with Rio Tinto to expand its operations in Australia.Increase of Non-communicable Diseases Driving Need for Health and Wellness ProgramsThe prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer has increased significantly in Asia Pacific in recent years. The report has found that these diseases account for at least 8.5 million deaths in Southeast Asia each year. Employers are, as a result, driven to promote as well as maintain the health and well-being of their employees and offering corporate wellness programs and services has turned out to be the most effective method of doing so, the lead analyst states. These services not only boost productivity but also reduce overall medical costs.The corporate wellness market in Asia Pacific is also fueled by government support and initiatives, the rising number of white-collar employees, the willingness of employers to invest in wellness programs, and growing health consciousness among the population.High Cost of Implementation Restricting Widespread AdoptionImplementing corporate wellness programs in organizations is a costly affair and companies need to utilize a certain portion of their budget from the revenue generated, the author of the study comments. Services such as fitness and health risk assessment need high investments and as a result, are cut down by the companies. This restricts the growth of the corporate wellness market.In addition, the inefficient execution of corporate wellness services is a major restraint to the market and is likely to increase costs for the companies.Request for the Sample Report:China to Lead APAC Corporate Wellness Market throughout Forecast PeriodBy type of service, the fitness segment led the overall corporate wellness market, accounting for a 38.6% share in 2015, reaching US$2,793.5 mn by 2024. The smoking cessation segment, although the smallest in terms of revenue in 2015, is anticipated to register a strong CAGR of 9.6% during the forecast period. By country, China emerged as the leading revenue generator in 2015 and is projected to retain its position throughout the forecast period. India, on the other hand, is expected to expand at the fastest pace by 2024.About TMRTransparency 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.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Rising Demand for Value-based Reimbursement Modules to Drive Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare Market

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Global Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare: SnapshotThe healthcare industry has witnessed a huge transformation from principally paper-based and manually-operated procedures to digitally-enabled connected processes and operations in the past few years. Factors such as growing government interventions to encourage technology-driven affordable healthcare services and improving healthcare infrastructure across developing countries have led to a vast rise in the money spent on making core administration in the healthcare sector technologically-rich and more effective. Moreover, rising patient-base across the globe and increasing healthcare spending will drive the need to outsource IT solutions for optimal healthcare management and a greater focus on core administrative operations.Read Report Description of Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare Market:Transparency Market Research states that in terms of value, the global technology spending on core administration in healthcare will increase at a CAGR of over 5.7% during the period between 2016 and 2024.Healthcare Payers Take Lions Share in Global Spending on Technology on Core AdministrationOn the basis of end users, the global technology spending on core administration in healthcare market is segmented into payers and providers. The payer segment is further divided into insurance companies, and government whereas the provider segment is further segmented into hospitals and other providers.The payers segment accounted for the larger chunk of spending on core administration in healthcare, holding a nearly 88% of the overall market in 2015. The segment is also expected to remain the most lucrative end-user segment over the forecast period, with the segment expected to exhibit a 5.9% CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024. The usage of a variety of data management and processing solutions for core administrative services such as fraud detection, claim management, and research and development has significantly increased across private and public insurance companies and government agencies in the past years.The trend is expected to remain strong over the forecast period as well, with the payer end-use segment accounting for over 89% of the total spending on technology for core administration across the healthcare sector over the forecast period. Spending on technology for core administration across healthcare providers such as hospitals is expected to expand at a 4.4% CAGR from 2016 through 2024.North America to Continue to Remain Leading SpenderGeographically, North America is the leading spender on technology for core administration in healthcare. Of the total funds devoted for making core administration technology-rich in the healthcare industry, over 50% were spent in North America. The region is expected to remain ahead of other regional markets in terms of technology spending the core administration in the healthcare sector over the forecast period as well. Factors such as rising scarcity of resources for undertaking patient-centric processes and the lack of technologically skilled healthcare staff for managing administrative processes will play a key role in highlighting the need for technological optimization of healthcare processes in the region.North America is a steadily growing market, but will continue to account for a bigger stake compared to other regional markets, expanding at a 5.7% CAGR from 2016 through 2024. Asia Pacific will emerge as the most promising investment destination for technology in core administration for the healthcare industry over the said period. Technology spending in this area will swell at a promising 6.7% CAGR from 2016 to 2024 in Asia Pacific.The region has emerged as the IT outsourcing destination due to growing publicprivate funding structures and low in-house expertise for healthcare IT. The robust and active medical tourism industry, rising spending power of the consumer on technologically advanced services, and rising international investments in the healthcare industry will continue to drive spending on technology in the Asia Pacific healthcare sector.Request for the Sample Report:Some of the players in the global core administration system in healthcare are Plexis Healthcare Systems, DST Systems, Inc., HealthEdge Software, Inc., ikaSystems Corporation, TriZetto Corporation, Health Solutions Plus, Inc., Aldera Holdings, Inc., Wonderbox Technologies, UPP Technology, Inc., and HealthAxis Group, LLC.About TMRTransparency 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.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Microsoft Dynamics 365 users can now edit PDFs, build forms, and sign documents with DaDaDocs

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The new DaDaDocs integration by PDFfiller is the only app at the AppSource to combine a PDF editor, eSignature solution and form builder - all without having to leave Dynamics. Now Dynamics 365 users can generate business documents pre-filled with data stored in Dynamics entities and create customized templates in minutes.BOSTON, MA - June 30th, 2017 - PDFfiller releases DaDaDocs for Microsoft Dynamics 365 - a suite of document management tools incorporated into one of the worlds most popular CRMs. This is PDFfillers latest integration following other successful integrations that include Salesforce, Xero, Slack and the Google Suit.The DaDaDocs integration for Dynamics is aimed at solving the problems that ordinary users have. A lot of PDFfiller customers use Dynamics and they wanted to have all of PDFfillers powerful features within their CRM, says Gal Steinberg, VP Channels and Business Development at PDFfiller.The DaDaDocs add-on brings faster document workflow, PDF Editing, eSignature Requests, a Form Builder and an automatic form generator to Microsoft Dynamics: the new integration edits PDFs, adds and requests eSignatures, and automatically creates documents filled with customer data taken from Dynamics Entities. DaDaDocs also collects new customer data through fillable forms and displays them in Dynamics for further analysis or to generate new forms such as shipping orders and invoices.Im excited to see how easy it is to edit PDF documents and send for eSignature directly from Microsoft Dynamics 365. Previously our customers needed multiple offline and online tools to achieve the same result." said Steinberg. Through a combined cloud-based PDF Editor, eSignature solution and form builder companies can now manage their entire document workflow straight from Dynamics."With DaDaDocs, editing any PDF agreement and contract is as easy as editing a Word document. The intuitive Signature Wizard makes creating and adding e-Signatures easy and secure. Dynamics users can send a document out for signing and collect signatures in seconds from a computer or any mobile device.To ensure the security of their documents, users can protect access to their documents with a password and two-factor authentication.Now sales teams, real estate agents, law professionals - anyone using Microsoft Dynamics can easily generate forms filled with customer data. Lets say you have a contact base of your leads in a Dynamics entity and you need to send out 100 proposals, explains Steinberg. With DaDaDocs you can add fillable fields to the proposal template, assign a certain field to a corresponding field in your database (say Name field to the Name line in your data file), automatically generate 100 copies filled with Dynamics data in seconds and then send them out for signature or data capturing.The DaDaDocs Form Builder turns documents into fillable web forms with original company branding. They can be hosted on a companys website, sent via email, QR code or text message. Once the customer fills out the web form, data is extracted into a designated folder in a Dynamics account. Managers can use it later for their reports or generate pre-filled contracts without having to type a single character manually.Get started and speed up your document workflow today.Tags: PDF editing API, e-Signature API, form generation API, document management integrationResources:PDFfiller is a Boston based company that has been providing its 280,000 customers with a complete digital document management solution since it was founded in 2008. PDFfillers web-based editing platform is available for iOS and Android. Visit our website to try it out for free.PDFfiller inc.,1371 Beacon st.Suite 301Brookline MA, 02446USA
Global String Inverter Market 2022 Key Manufacturers  Huawei Technologies, Schneider, Sungrow Power Supply, SolarMax

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Market Research Future adds new report of Global String Inverter Market Research Report- Forecast 2022 it contains Company information, geographical data and Table of ContentMarket Synopsis of String inverter MarketMarket Scenario:Each installations requires a mean of conversion from DC to AC such as solar inverter systems, which facilitate generated electricity to be fed into the power grid. Rising demand for continuous and reliable power sources as well as easy installation & customization are some of the factors which drives the market of string inventor. String inverters are used in residential, commercial & industrial, and utilities. Increasing consumption of solar energy across the world is referred as one of the major driving factor for the market. The string inverter market is expected to be driven by decreased cost, removing systems monitoring capabilities. Moreover, Reliability, accessibility and high efficiency will propel global string inventors market share in the forecasted period. Increasing renewable integration in Utility scale large projects is further accelerating the growth of string inverters market. On the other hand, heat loss due to the large size of the inverter is acts as a major restraint of the global string inverter market.Global String inverter Market: Segmentation By Product; On-grid, off-grid By Phase; Single, Three By Application; Residential, Commercial, Industrial, utilitiesRequest a Sample Report @Study Objectives of String inverter markets Market. To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast of the various segments and sub-segments of the String inverter markets Market. To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth. To analyze the String inverter markets market based porters five force analysis etc. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW) To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segment by, and sub-segments To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Conveyor system.Browse Report Details @Key PlayersThe major player operating in the market of Global String inverter are SolarMax Huawei Technologies Sungrow Power Supply Fronius International KOSTAL Solar Electric Growatt New Energy Technology Schneider Ingeteam Ginlong Technologies Advanced Energy Industries KACO New EnergyTarget Audience Organizations Manufacturer Research Institute / Education Institute Potential InvestorsRequest Table of Contents for this Report @Regional AnalysisAsia-Pacific is expected to dominate the global string inverter market during the forecast period, owing factor such as growth on account of increasing clean fuel electricity demand. Moreover, Government initiative such as Jawaharlal Nehru National solar mission in India, to encourage solar system adoption as well as policies such as feed-in tariffs referred as motivating factor for the growth of the market. Whereas, Americas expected to be the fastest growing market due to increasing demand for electricity combined with the areas high irradiation levels, making the region ideal for PV installations.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
Mexico Glycerine Market Analysis 2023: Key Findings, Regional Analysis, Key Players Profiles and Future Prospects

Mexico Glycerine Market

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Market Synopsis of Mexico Glycerine Market:The market for Mexico Glycerine Market has been increasing tremendously, specifically in East Mexico, owing to rise in the populations in this region resulting to increasing in demand for cosmetics & Personal Care industry. Additionally, food industry growth typically follows the growth of these key end markets. The demand from cosmetics & personal care industry for glycerine is increasing day by day in Mexico due to the constant innovation of the product in these industry. West Mexico is the second largest consumer of glycerine especially in terms of food & beverages and cosmetic products. However, the production of glycerine in Mexico is very low. To fulfil the consumption demand, Mexico imports glycerine in bulk quantity. In-addition, According to, market research, there is a tremendous opportunity for new comers or glycerine manufacturers to collaborate and expand the business to fulfil the gap between supply and demand in this sector.Mexico Glycerine Market Information-by Source (Natural & Synthetic), by Grade (Crude & Refined),by Application (Cosmetics and Personal Care, Food, Tobacco, Polyurethane, Pharmaceutical, Alkyd Resins and Others) and by Region (North Mexico, South Mexico, East Mexico, West Mexico) - Forecast to 2023Market SegmentsGlobal Glycerine Market can be segmented as follows: Segmentation by Source: Natural and Synthetic Segmentation by Grade: Crude and Refined Segmentation by Application: Cosmetics and Personal Care, Food, Tobacco, Polyurethane, Pharmaceutical, Alkyd ResinsRequest a Sample Report @Key PlayersThe key players in market includes: Cargil Inc. Kao Chemicals Quimic SA de CV Quimica Delta Pemex Oxiteno Mexico SA de CVKey Findings Mexico glycerine market is projected to reach 106.4 USD million by 2023 with 5.1% CAGR during the forecast period of 2017-2023. East Mexico accounted for largest share due to relatively high consumption and industries in the region. However, West Mexico accounted for second largest share in the region. East Mexico market is estimated to exhibit highest CAGR of 5.39% owing to increasing population and consumption demand.Browse Report Details @Intended Audience Manufacturers and distributors of glycerine Suppliers and traders of glycerine. Government, associations and industrial bodies. Investors and Trade experts. Consulting in chemical experts.Segmentation AnalysisThe market of Mexico glycerine market is segmented into natural and synthetic glycerine based on the source. Natural glycerien accounted for the largest market share of 90% in 2016, and is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Synthetic glycerine accounted the market share of 10% in 2016. The demand for natural glycerine has been increasing in past decade due to increasing application in food industry and recent advancement in the cosmetics & personal Care products. If the development in the products of food and personal care continues, the growth rate migh increase the forecasted period.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.Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Ophthalmic Lasers Market : Worldwide Industry Analysis and New Market Opportunities Explored

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Global Ophthalmic Lasers Market: SnapshotIn the recent times, the global market for ophthalmic lasers has witnessed a tremendous increase in its size and valuation. The significant rise in the number of elderly people, who are more prone to vision defects and ophthalmic disorders, is acting as the key factor behind the growth of this market. Apart from this, the increasing awareness among people regarding eye care, together with the technological advancements enhancing the level of accuracy of laser treatments, is also propelling this market substantially.View Report @With a CAGR of 4.60%, the global ophthalmic lasers market is moving towards a thriving future during the period from 2016 to 2024. Analysts expect the opportunity in this market to increase from US$0.97 bn in 2015 to US$1.44 bn by the end of 2024.Ophthalmic Clinics to Remain Key End Users of Ophthalmic Laser SurgeriesHospitals, ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), and ophthalmic clinics have surfaced as the key end users of ophthalmic laser surgeries. With a remarkable expansion rate, ophthalmic clinics have been reported as the leading contributors to the overall revenue generated in this market.Analysts predict the demand for ophthalmic lasers from this segment will remain increasing at a greater pace than others over the years to come, owing to the increasing preference for specialists among patients for laser procedures. Hospitals and ASCs are also expected to witness a steady increase in the demand for ophthalmic lasers in the forthcoming years.Demand for Ophthalmic Lasers to Remain Higher in North AmericaOn the basis of geography, the worldwide market for ophthalmic lasers is classified into Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. Thanks to the presence of key players in a large number, North America occupied the leading position in this market with a share of more than 40% in 2016.Over the forthcoming years, the strong focus of these players on research and development and the availability of a state-of-art healthcare infrastructure and a well-established regulatory structure for timely approval of the products are likely to support this regional market to retain its position. However, it is the ophthalmic lasers market in Asia Pacific, which is anticipated to register the growth at a higher than other pace in the next few years. Due to its large base of the population, China is expected to emerge as the most attractive domestic market for ophthalmic lasers in Asia Pacific.The Middle East and Africa and Latin America are also projected to witness a considerable rise in their respective markets for ophthalmic lasers in the near future, thanks to the thriving medical tourism and the low cost of laser eye surgeries in these regions. Mexico and Columbia are likely to drive the Latin America ophthalmic lasers market while the Middle East and Africa market is anticipated to be heavily supported by Turkey in the years to come.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Ophthalmic Lasers Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Some of the key players in the global market for ophthalmic lasers are Lumenis Ltd., Ellex Medical Lasers Ltd., IRIDEX Corp., Novartis AG, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Topcon Corp., Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems AG, Quantel Group, NIDEK Co. Ltd., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions GmbH & Co. KG, and Carl Zeiss Meditec 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:
Tissue Diagnostic Market Regulations and Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2024

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Global Tissue Diagnostic Market: SnapshotWith the increased prevalence of cancer, the market for tissue diagnostics has a gained significant impetus across the world. The infrastructural development in the medical and healthcare industry is another important factor that has boosted the global tissue diagnostics market substantially over the past few years.Over the forthcoming years, the rising trend of the quantitative and qualitative analyses of tissue samples, discovery of target specific antibodies in the biopharmaceutical industry, and the growing awareness about tissue diagnosis in emerging economies are expected to act as the most prominent factors behind the growth of this market. Thanks to these factors, the market, which stood at US$3.57 bn in 2015, is estimated to expand at a 9.50% CAGR between 2016 and 2024 and touch a value of US$8.02 bn by the end of 2024.View Report @Tissue Diagnostic Instruments to Continue Enjoying Strong DemandThe two main products available in the global tissue diagnostic market are instruments and kits. Among the two, instruments surfaced as the key contributor to this market in 2015, holding a share of more than 77%. With the high usage of tissue diagnostic instruments in labs, hospitals, and diagnostic centers for faster and accurate analysis, their demand is anticipated to increase remarkably over the next few years, maintaining the lead of this product segment. The continual advancements in these instruments, such as reduction in equipment size and increased functionality, coupled with reasonable pricing, are projected to add to the growth of this segment in the years to come.Hospitals, research laboratories, ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), and diagnostic centers are the prime end users of tissue diagnostic products and services. Hospitals, with a majority share, has acquired the position of the leading contributor to this market and is anticipated to retain this over the forthcoming years. The increasing prevalence of cancer, especially various forms of tissue sarcoma, rising healthcare expenditure in emerging as well as developed countries, and the expanding base of the geriatric population are expected to drive the demand for tissue diagnostic products and services in hospitals and other end users in the near future.North America to Report Continued DominanceThe Middle East and Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia Pacific have emerged as the predominant geographical segments of the worldwide tissue diagnostic market. With a share of around 40%, North America registered dominance over these in 2015, thanks to a well-established pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry and the increase in research activities. Analysts predict that this regional market will remain on the top over the next few years on the grounds of the surging research capital, introduction of improved and technologically advanced tissue diagnostic devices, and the presence of the leading market players in a large number.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Tissue Diagnostic Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.In the recent times, the North America market for tissue diagnostics has been closely followed by Europe and Asia Pacific and the scenario is likely to remain more or less the same over the forthcoming years. The market for tissue diagnostics in Europe, which was primarily driven by the escalating investments from various research organizations for the advanced study of cancer, is likely to benefit further from the change in healthcare reforms, increasing implementation of government regulations, growth in the pharmaceutical industry, and the technological advancements in diagnostic technology. Asia Pacific, on the other hand, is expected to gain substantially in the years to come from ongoing industrialization and the continual drug discovery.Abbott Laboratories, Becton Dickinson & Co., Genomic Health Inc., 3DHISTECH, Danaher Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., GE Healthcare, Cell Signaling Technologies, Agilent Technologies, and Roche Diagnostics are some of the key players in the global tissue diagnostic market.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Tumor Ablation Market : Advanced Technologies & Growth Opportunities in Global Industry by 2024

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Global Tumor Ablation Market: SnapshotThe tumor ablation market is showcasing an enormous potential for growth across the world. The alarming increase in the incidence of cancer and, particularly, the rising prevalence of tumor in humans. The continual advancements in ablation technology, leading to the increased development of new and innovative products that are the safe, efficient, and have minimal side effects., are also boosting the growth of the global market for tumor ablation significantly.View Report @Going forward, the growing cases of bile duct cancer and primary liver cancer are anticipated to drive this market substantially over the forthcoming years. Along with this, the rise in the geriatric population base and the escalating consumption of alcohol and smoking are also projected to propel this market in the near future. The worldwide market for tumor ablation offered an opportunity worth US$702.9 mn in 2015, which is likely to increase to US$1.9 bn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 12.20% over the period from 2016 to 2024.Increasing Popularity of Radiofrequency Ablation to Ensure its DominanceBased on technology, the global market for tumor ablation has been categorized into radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation, cryoablation, high-intensity focused ultrasound, and laser interstitial thermal ablation. Among these, the radiofrequency ablation technology segment has been leading the global market in terms of revenue. Expanding at a CAGR of 10.90% between 2016 and 2024, the segment is likely to maintain its lead in this market in the near future.The growing awareness about the benefits of tumor ablation through radiofrequency, such as its efficiency, less risk of tissue damage, and faster recovery, is likely to fuel its demand substantially over the next few years. The fact that the patient requires going through only one treatment session for tumor destruction when radiofrequency ablation technology is used, is adding significantly to its popularity, which is also anticipated to push its adoption rate upwards in the years to come. Apart from this, the uptake of microwave technology for tumor ablation is also increasing considerably, which is expected to reflect positively on the market share of this segment over the forthcoming years.Technological Advancements to Propel North America Tumor Ablation MarketGeographically, the worldwide market for tumor ablation has been classified into Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, North America, Latin America, and Europe. In 2015, North America dominated the overall market with a share of 30% due to the early adoption of the treatment procedure. The regional market is likely to remain on the top over the forthcoming years, thanks to the technological advancements, rising base of geriatric population, and the high prevalence of cancer.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Tumor Ablation Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Europe stood second in the global tumor ablation market in 2015. Driven by the increasing tobacco and alcohol consumption, rise in research activity, presence of a large base of the geriatric population, and the growing awareness among consumers, the Europe market for tumor ablation is anticipated to retain its position in the years to come.Among other regional markets for tumor ablation, Asia Pacific is predicted to present the most promising growth opportunities in the near future on the ground of soaring unmet medical needs, rising medical expenditures in emerging economies, rapidly expanding capital in research and development in medical and healthcare, and the increasing focus of global players on this region.EDAP TMS S.A., St. Jude Medical Inc., BVM Medical Ltd., SonaCare Medical LLC, AngioDynamics Inc., Boston Scientific Corp., BTG International Ltd., Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp., and Medtronic plc. are some of the key enterprises functional in the global tumor ablation market.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Prostate Cancer Therapeutics Market : Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts 2016 - 2024

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Global Prostate Cancer Therapeutics Market: SnapshotProstate cancer is a serious health issue among men and has a large socioeconomic impact on the society. It is the most common cancer diagnosed among men in developed regions, while it is the fourth-most common cancer diagnosed globally. Routine screening, early diagnosis, and recent treatment options have enabled increased survival of prostate cancer patients. Prostate cancer is an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells in prostate gland of a male individual.Approximately 75% of prostate cancers are developed sporadically, in which genetic changes occur after birth. Although, the real cause of prostate cancer is largely unknown, some of the prime factors associated with the disease include obesity, overweight, and past history of certain cancers. The global prostate cancer therapeutics market was valued at US$8.78 bn in 2015. Rising at a CAGR of 8.1% between 2016 and 2024, the market is expected to reach US$17.53 bn by the end of 2025. The overall market is segmented on the basis of therapy type, and distribution channel segments.View Report @Hormone Therapy to Remain Dominant Segment Based on Therapy TypeBased on therapy type, the global prostate cancer therapeutics market is segmented into hormone therapy, chemotherapy, biologic therapy, and targeted therapy. Of these, the hormone therapy segment dominated global prostate cancer therapeutics market with a share of 82.7% in 2015. Hormone therapy offers excellent efficacy in castration resistant prostate cancer patients, which is a chief factor fuelling its demand in the treatment of prostate cancer patients. The dominance of the segment is thus forecast to remain unaffected through the forecast period.Besides this, the targeted therapy segment is anticipated to gain market share during forecast period due to expected new product launches in this segment. The biologic therapy segment is expected to have a moderate market share and is likely to expand with a high CAGR during the forecast period due to introduction of novel therapy products in prostate cancer therapeutics market and increase in prevalence of prostate cancer globally.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Prostate Cancer Therapeutics Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Based on distribution channel, the global prostate cancer therapeutics market is segmented into hospital pharmacy, online sales, retail pharmacy, and others. Of these, the hospital pharmacy segment emerged dominant in 2015. The segment is gaining momentum on account of the rising incidence of prostate cancer around the world and advancements in diagnosis techniques. As an increasing number of patients seek medical care in hospitals, the hospital pharmacy segment will witness accelerated pace of gains in response. In addition, the online sales segment is forecast to witness significant growth over the forecast period. This segment will gain from the rising use of mobile based applications for placing online orders for medicines.North America and Europe Cumulatively Hold Leading Market ShareRegionally, North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa constitute the key segments in the global prostate cancer therapeutics market. Among these, North America and Europe cumulatively held the leading market share in 2015. This trend is likely to continue through the forecast period. While in 2015, North America emerged dominant holding a marginally higher share of 39.8% as compared to Europe, in the coming years the table is expected to turn in favor of Europe.The rising diseased population and a sophisticated healthcare infrastructure will support growth of the prostate cancer therapeutics market in North America and Europe. Besides this, Asia Pacific and Latin America are expected to emerge as promising market owing to the increasing awareness about prostate cancer and the available treatment and diagnosis options. The rising healthcare spending will also support the markets expansion in Asia Pacific and Latin America.Pfizer, Inc. dominated the global prostate cancer therapeutics market in 2015. Major factors attributed to its dominance are acquisition of leading brand, and widespread market presence. Other players in the global prostate cancer therapeutics market include Amgen, Inc., Johnson & Johnson (Janssen Biotech, Inc.), AstraZeneca, AbbVie, Inc., Bayer AG, Ipsen Group, Sanofi, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Dendreon Corporation (Sanpower Group Co. Ltd.) and othersAbout 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:
The Department of Corrections wont appeal or ask to delay a federal order issued Monday to drastically cut its use of solitary confinement, restraints and pepper spray on teen inmates, according to a memo obtained by the Wisconsin State Journal.

And DOC officials are developing an implementation plan to carry out the terms of the order to change practices at the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls juvenile correctional facility in Irma, including reducing the time inmates there are kept in isolation and held in shackles, according to the July 12 memo from DOC Division of Juvenile Corrections administrator John Paquin to his staff.

The order comes after a two-day June hearing in a lawsuit brought against DOC by nine current and former inmates at the youth prison represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. The lawsuit alleges their rights were violated by DOC staff when they were repeatedly held in solitary confinement and pepper sprayed.

Judge James Peterson ordered a number of drastic changes in practices at the facility  many of which must be implemented by July 21.

We recognize that this is a major effort, much of which will occur in a relatively short period of time, Paquin wrote. The order contains many requirements, some with implementation dates that are earlier than we requested. However we believe that (state Corrections and juvenile prison) leadership and staff can successfully rise to the challenge.

Peterson ordered that teen inmates at the prison may not be held in solitary confinement for longer than seven days  a sharp decrease from the states current practice of sometimes keeping teen inmates in isolation for longer than two months.

Also under the order, staff members are barred from using pepper spray unless inmates present a threat to others, and Lincoln Hills staff must cease keeping offenders in solitary confinement when they arrive at the prison while they await evaluation unless they pose an immediate and substantial risk of harming others.

By Aug. 14, inmates there may no longer be kept in isolation unless they hurt or try to hurt others.

Peterson also ordered that inmates in isolation must be out of their cells for at least 30 hours per week for educational and therapeutic activities and to eat meals unless the inmates pose a safety risk. But no matter what, the inmates must be out of their cells for two hours per day.

And by July 21, prison staff can use pepper spray on inmates only when they are causing physical harm to others or to prevent a youth from causing bodily harm to another and prison staff must stop restraining inmates without evaluating the need to do so first.

Goal: Safe and secure

DOC spokesman Tristan Cook said Wednesday the plan is still being crafted, and that DOC officials will consider changes to staffing levels and patterns at the prison.

Ultimately, our goal is to maintain a safe and secure environment for DOC staff and youth while prioritizing education, treatment, and programming, Cook said. Department, division, and institution leadership are working collaboratively to ensure that Copper Lake School/Lincoln Hills School has the necessary resources to successfully implement the changes.

He also noted the state budget lawmakers are writing includes additional staff for the facility, which will further aid our efforts to comply with the injunction.

The facility is the subject of a number of lawsuits alleging abuse and has been under investigation by state and federal authorities for two years.

In December 2015, dozens of state investigators began interviewing staff and inmates about the conditions there over a number of allegations including child abuse, second-degree sexual assault and misconduct in public office. The Federal Bureau of Investigation now oversees the investigation.

Nearly all DOC officials overseeing juvenile corrections  including former Secretary Ed Wall  have either resigned or been fired in that time.

Secretary Jon Litscher has, since he was hired in 2016, made a number of changes to staffing and practices at the prison, but Peterson said in June he would order additional changes because he did not believe significant reforms were under way.

Peterson also said then that the prisons top administrators, Wendy Peterson and Brian Gustke, were not skilled or experienced enough to turn around a facility that is failing like Lincoln Hills and that prison and DOC officials have demonstrated a callousness and indifference to the harm inmates are suffering, prompting his order.

Cook said the administrators will remain in their positions.
Human Microbiome Market Size 2016 Industry Trend and Forecast 2024

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Global Human Microbiome Market: SnapshotWith ample unmet needs, the global market for human microbiome exhibits high potential of growth. The market is set to emerge as a lucrative business in the near future, thanks to the increasing emphasis on diagnosis and treatment of various underrated diseases. The worldwide human microbiome market will be US$2.2 bn in 2020. The lack of targeted drugs for specific conditions, such as ulcerative colitis and C.difficile infection across the world makes this market highly opportune for players to set their innovative drug ideas on the path to commercial success. Driven by these factors, the opportunity in this market is slated to rise at a CAGR of 9.80% between 2020 and 2024 and reach US$3.2 bn by the end of 2024.View Report @Microbiome diagnostics and microbiome therapeutics are the two prominent sections of the global human microbiome market. Currently, the market is in the budding phase, with most of the therapies still being in preclinical or clinical (phase I or phase II) stage. The diagnosis technology is also in the development phase and the leading companies have begun to allocate funds for the research and development and the management of clinical studies for their innovative class of therapies. All these factors are likely to propel this market significantly over the next few years. The human microbiome therapeutics market is likely to report a CAGR of 9.20% during the period of 2020 to 2024, whereas the market for human microbiome diagnostics is anticipated to rise at an 8.60% CAGR between 2018 and 2024.North America to Report Continued LeadershipNorth America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Latin America are the key regional markets for human microbiome across the world. Thanks to the presence of a state-of-art medical and healthcare industry and early adoption of technology, North America has occupied the top position in the global market. Researchers expect that the rising number of venture-capital funded start-ups and the increasing investments by leading players for research and development of drugs will support the North America market for human microbiome over the forthcoming years, ensuring its dominance. The human microbiome therapeutics market in North America is anticipated to report a rise at a CAGR of 9.10% between 2020 and 2024 while the regions human microbiome diagnostics market will progress at an 8.80% CAGR from 2018 to 2024.Europe, which acquired the second position in the global human microbiome market, is projected to maintain its position over the years to come. The U.K. and France have emerged as the key domestic markets for human microbiome in Europe. The high investments by companies in this domain are expected to boost both these domestic markets in the next few years. Apart from this, countries, such as Sweden and the Netherlands, are also anticipated to contribute well to the Europe market for human microbiome market in the near future.Metagenomic Sequencing to Outpace 16s rRNA in FutureOn the basis of technology, the global market for human microbiome is classified into 16s rRNA sequencing and metagenomic sequencing. Both the technology are equally popular platforms for detection in the microbiome-based diagnostics. However, the metagenomic sequencing segment is likely to surpass the 16s rRNA segment over the next few years, albeit by a small margin, as a large number of companies are opting for the diagnosis of a more comprehensive microbiome profile.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Human Microbiome Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.At the forefront of the global market for human microbiome are Vedanta Biosciences, Synthetic Biologics Inc., Seres Therapeutics, Second Genome, uBiome Inc., Rebiotix Inc., Osel Inc., MicroBiome Therapeutics LLC., Metabiomics Corp., Enterome Biosciences SA, and AO Biome LLC. Some of the other prominent participants in this market are Metabogen AB, Becton Dickinson & Co., Evelo Biosciences, ARTPred, MaaT Pharma, Blue Turtle Bio Technologies, Axial Therapeutics, Whole Biome, 4D Pharma, Symbiotix Therapies, Phi Therapeutics, Synlogic, and Biospherex 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:
Biological Safety Testing Market size demand will increase by 2016 - 2024

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Global Biological Safety Testing Market: SnapshotThe global market for biological safety testing is set to exhibit exponential growth in the years to come owing to rise in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. The other factors that will drive the market include increase in geriatric population, increase in prevalence of cancer, and increasing awareness towards health in emerging economies. The North America biological safety testing market is expected to grow moderately during the first half of the forecast period, primarily due to the effect of the expiry of patents for leading brands and price erosion in the market. However, by 2020, entry of technologically advanced and more cost effective devices and reagents are expected to enter biological safety testing market, which are likely to increase future growth of the market.View Report @The global biological safety testing market will expand at a CAGR of 10.0% over the forecast period between 2016 and 2024. Driven by the rise in increase in technological advancement and rising geriatric population, the market is expected to reach US$ US$3.08 bn by the end of 2024, from US$1.31 bn in 2015.Launch of Advanced Technologies by Leading Companies to Fuel Demand from Reagents & Kits SegmentBased on product type, in 2015, the instruments segment held the dominant share of over 29.2% of the global biological safety testing market. This segment comprises biological safety cabinet (class I, class II, class III), autoclaves, laboratory centrifuges, and others. The segment is expected to witness a moderate growth during the forecast period when compared to the reagents & kits segment. The high growth of the kits segment is due to the increasing popularity and launch of more efficient technologies and newer instruments which are in pipeline by companies such as Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific and Merck KGaA.The global biological safety testing market by application is divided into vaccines & therapeutics, blood & blood products, tissue & tissue products, stem cell products, gene therapy, and cellular therapy. Vaccines & therapeutics and blood & blood products are the major shareholder in biological safety testing market with an aggregated share of approximately 52.7% in 2015.Based on test type, the global biological safety testing market is segmented into endotoxin tests, sterility tests, cell line authentication and characterization tests, bioburden tests, residual host contaminant detection tests, adventitious agent detection tests, and other tests (toxicity tests, stability tests, etc.). The endotoxin tests and sterility tests market have a dominant share in the market due to the increasing awareness and implication of stringent regulatory scenario.North America Emerges as Leading Market, followed by EuropeRegionally, the global biological safety testing market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Among these, North America accounted for major share of 42.2% in the global market in 2015, followed by Europe. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market but Latin America is expected to emerge as a lucrative region due to increasing awareness, increasing participation of global manufacturers in the region to increase their global foot print and increase in healthcare expenditure through government initiatives, the industry will enhance the demand for biological safety testing system in this region.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Biological Safety Testing Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Others factors supporting the markets growth are flourishing pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in Mexico and Brazil, which are creating lucrative prospects for the biological safety testing market in the region. The MEA biological safety testing market is expected to grow under the influence of increasing applications of these technologies and enhanced participation of the respective governments to promote academic research to improve these technologies.Some of the leading players in the biological safety testing market are Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., Merck KGaA, Lonza Group, Avance Biosciences, SGS SA, WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc., Toxikon, Inc., Nordic Scientific & Natural Solutions AB, Paragon Bioservices, Inc., and NuAire among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Medical Grade Silicone Market: Growth, Demand, Supply, SWOT, Consumption, ROI to 2024

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Global Medical Grade Silicone Market: General DescriptionMedical grade silicone is used in implantable and disposable medical devices which require high performance and safety standards when in contact with the human body. Medical Grade Silicone include instruments with critical functions such as defibrillators, heart pumps, and surgical reconstructive components which employ the biocompatible and hydrophobic properties of silicone. It has gained widespread acceptance because of its negligible levels of toxicity and low risk of unfavorable biological reactions. Liquid silicone rubber is a highly common variety owing to its high bacterial and chemical resistance, excellent transparency, gas permeability, clarity, elongation feature, superior dielectric strength, high tensile strength, and ability to function in extreme temperatures.Browse Market Research Report:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global medical grade silicone 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 global medical grade silicone market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Global Medical Grade Silicone Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe growing need for disposable devices has led to an increased demand for medical grade silicone. Liquid rubber silicone, for instance, is utilized in sealing membranes, electric connectors, seals, and infant care products such as bottle nipples, besides several other medical applications. Lifestyle shifts and changing concepts of beauty resulting in the rising incidence of cosmetic and plastic surgeries are considered to be significant drivers of the global medical grade silicone market. Modern food habits often associated with cardiovascular diseases play a role as well in the growth of the global medical grade silicone market.Global Medical Grade Silicone Market: Key SegmentsIn terms of products, medical grade silicone is divided into four categories: gels, medical adhesives, medical coatings (hydrophilic or hydrophobic), and liquid silicone rubbers. Based on application, the four segments of the medical grade silicone market are: prosthetics, orthopedic components, medical devices, and medical tapes. The former two are major applications, whereas the latter two could be further distributed into the following sub-segments: medical electronics and device assemblies, medical tubes, catheters, medical rings and gaskets, and miscellaneous accessories such as drugs, gels, and oral care products; and wound care, drug delivery, personal hygiene, and component joining, respectively. In terms of molding processes, the segments are liquid injection molding, transfer molding, compression molding, micro-molding, silicone to metal bonding, and silicone infused with desiccant molding.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Medical Grade Silicone market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Global Medical Grade Silicone Market: Regional AnalysisThe global medical grade silicone market has shown a significant growth in 2015 and is expected to exhibit the same trend during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is projected to be a rapidly expanding market of medical grade silicone due to applications such as prefilled syringes, prosthetics, surgical implants, catheters, and medical tapes. North America and Europe are major consumers thanks to the technological advancements and mounting health concerns in these regions. The developmental activities in Latin America and Middle East & Africa make them emerging regions in the global medical grade silicone market.Global Medical Grade Silicone Market: Companies Mentioned in the ReportKey players in the global medical grade silicone market include Dow Corning, Wacker Chemie AG, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., Bluestar Silicones, 3M Company, Nusil Technology Llc, and Applied Silicone Corporation.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog : http://cmfeglobalreports.blogspot.com/
Carbon Disulfide Market Size, Share | Industry Trends Analysis Report, 2024

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A new research report by Transparency Market Research offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global Carbon Disulfide Market. The study, titled Carbon Disulfide Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Global Carbon Disulfide Market: OverviewCarbon disulfide is a volatile colorless compound with molecular formula CS2. It smells akin to ether and is generally used in the liquid state. Carbon disulfide occurs naturally in small amounts in volcanic eruptions. Earlier, carbon disulfide was manufactured by mixing coke and sulfur at a high temperature. Currently, the production process is carried out at a much lower temperature, using natural gas as carbon source and combining it with sulfur and either silica gel or aluminum acting as a catalyst. Carbon disulfide is used as a fumigant, insecticide, non-polar solvent, and optical dispersant in spectroscopes. It is also employed as building block in the production of various chemicals. Furthermore, carbon disulfide is used in the production of chemicals such as agricultural chemicals, rubber chemicals, cellophane, rayon, and carbon tetrachloride.Browse Market Research Report @Global Carbon Disulfide Market: Trends and OpportunitiesProduction of new chemicals such as cellophane, rayon, and carbon tetrachloride accounts for significant share of the carbon disulfide market. Carbon disulfide acts as building block in the production of these chemicals. High demand in end-use industries such as food packaging, textile, and refrigeration is expected to boost the demand for chemicals such as cellophane, rayon, and carbon tetrachloride. This, in turn, is anticipated drive the carbon disulfide market. Usage of carbon disulfide as non-polar solvent is another major application. Carbon disulfide is used as a solvent for phosphorus, sulfur, bromine, selenium, iodine, asphalt, rubber, resin, and fats. Therefore, it is used in cleaning carbon nanotubes. Rising demand for nanomaterials, especially carbon nanotubes, is anticipated to propel the demand for carbon disulfide as bipolar cleaning solvent. This, in turn, is estimated to augment the carbon disulfide market. Increasing demand for carbon disulfide in the agriculture end-use industry is projected to drive other niche applications such as insecticide and fumigant, thereby boosting the carbon disulfide market.Global Carbon Disulfide Market: Geographical and Competitive DynamicsAsia Pacific was the largest market for carbon disulfide in 2014. The region accounted for significant share of the carbon disulfide market in the year. This trend is likely to continue during the next few years owing to growth in end-use industries in emerging economies such as China and India. Application of carbon disulfide in the production of various chemicals is expected to be the major market driver in the region due to expansion in end-use industries such as textile, food packaging, refrigeration, and agriculture in countries such as China and India. China held the largest share of the global carbon disulfide market in 2014. This trend is anticipated to continue during the forecast period. Europe is estimated to witness a similar trend, led by presence of the well-established food packaging industry in the region.Premium clothing and rayon textile industries are projected to further augment the carbon disulfide market in Europe owing to high disposable income of consumers in the region. The food packaging industry is likely to drive the carbon disulfide market in North America due to stringent food packaging norms in the region. The carbon nanotubes industry is expected to be a highly attractive market for carbon disulfide owing to increase in research activities related to nanomaterials in the region. The carbon disulfide market in Latin America is anticipated to witness steady growth rate during the next few years owing to expansion in textile and agriculture industries in economies such as Brazil. Middle East & Africa is projected to be a highly lucrative market for carbon disulfide due to expansion of textile and packaging industries in GCC and growth in the agricultural industry in South Africa during the forecast period.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Carbon Disulfide market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Major players in the carbon disulfide market include Shanghai Baijin Chemical Group Co., Ltd., Akzo Nobel N.V., Arkema Group, PPG Industries, Inc., Alfa Aesar, and Univar Inc.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.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)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. TMR's 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.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Carbon Nanomaterials Industry Trends and key Insights by 2024

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A new research report by Transparency Market Research offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global Carbon Nanomaterials Market. The study, titled Carbon Nanomaterials Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Carbon Nanomaterials Market: OverviewCarbon nanomaterials have exceptional electrical, chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties. Carbon nanomaterials find application in energy storage and conversion, composite materials, sensors, field emission devices, drug delivery, and nanoscale electronic components. Carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, and mesoporous carbon structures are major carbon nanomaterials, having properties that differ substantially from other forms of carbon, such as graphite and diamond. The distinguished electronic properties of carbon nanotubes have been a major driver for the demand of carbon nanomaterials. Applications of fullerenes in superconductivity, supramolecular assembly and thin films have led to significant growth in preference of use of carbon nanomaterials in a wide range of end-use industries. The carbon nanomaterials market can be segmented into carbon nanofibers, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, graphene, and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane.Browse Market Research Report @Carbon nanomaterials possess semiconductor properties, which give them a competitive edge over conventional graphite. The semiconductor property of carbon nanomaterials induces catalysis by direct participation in the charge transfer process. Furthermore, carbon nanomaterials enable variation of their charge transfer properties and can be used in designing of catalysts for hydrogenation, fuel cells, and sensors. Carbon nanomaterials find application across various end-use industries such as aerospace and aviation, automotive, energy, electronics, medicine, defense, plastics, sports, and telecommunications.Carbon Nanomaterials Market: Trends and OpportunitiesApplication of carbon nanomaterials as catalysts, superconductors etc. in industries such as automotive, defense, electronics, and telecommunications is expected to be major market driver for the carbon nanomaterials market over the forecast period. Electronics was the largest end-use industry for the carbon nanomaterials market for the past few years, accounting for a substantial share of the market. The trend is expected to continue over the forecast period, on account of growing demand for electronics around the globe. The automotive and defense industries are also expected to witness a similar trend over the forecast period on account of growing demand for electronics in these industries. Industries such as aerospace and energy, which remained untapped, offer vast potential in the carbon nanomaterials market.Carbon Nanomaterials Market: Geographical and Competitive DynamicsAsia Pacific is expected to be the leading regional market during the next few years on account of the growing application of carbon nanomaterials in emerging economies such as China and India. Japan has been the largest supplier of carbon nanomaterials over the past few years, followed by China and South Korea. Electronics, automotive, and defense are expected to be the major end-use industries in the region on account of growth in disposable incomes and rising concerns over defense and border securities in countries such as China and India. Europe is expected to witness a similar trend on account of the presence of a well-established automotive industry in the region. The electronics, automotive, and defense industries are expected to drive the carbon nanomaterials market in North America on account of increasing defense research in the region. Latin America is anticipated to witness a steady rate of growth during the next few years due to the expansion of the automotive and electronics industries in countries such as Brazil. Middle East and Africa is expected to be a highly lucrative regional segment for the carbon nanomaterials market on account of high investment in the defense sector by GCC countries and the growth of the automotive industry in South Africa over the forecast period.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Carbon Nanomaterials market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Some of the key players in this market are Ahlstrom Corporation, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Hollingsworth & Vose, and Kuraray Co., Ltd.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)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. TMR's 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.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Propanol Market SWOT Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecasts To 2025

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Global Propanol Market: SnapshotPropanol is a colorless alcohol typically available in two types of isomers: iso-propanol and n-propanol. Isopropanol was one of the first petrochemicals discovered in the 1960s. Isopropanol, also known as isopropyl alcohol (IPA) or rubbing alcohol, is a colorless, flammable alcohol with a distinct odor. It is used in various applications such as cosmetics, personal care products, deicers, resins, paints, pharmaceuticals, inks, and adhesives, as also as a chemical intermediate to manufacture various chemicals such as methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), isopropyl esters, isopropyl amines, acetone, glycerol, and isopropyl acetates. N-propanol is a colorless oxo-alcohol widely used as a solvent in flexographic and other printing ink applications.Growth in the chemicals, agriculture and cosmetics & personal care industry is likely to drive the global propanol market in the next few years. According to Transparency Market Research, the global propanol market, valued at US$2.19 bn in 2016, will exhibit a CAGR of 2.3% from 2017 to 2025 and rise to US$2.68 bn by 2025.View Report @Use of Propanol as Solvent to Help Global Market Generate Maximum RevenueIn terms of applications, solvent was the dominant segment of the global propanol market, accounting for more than 49% of the global market in 2016. Expected to exhibit a CAGR of 2.3%, the segment of solvents is anticipated to remain the leading application segment for the global propanol market during the forecast period due to steady rise in demand from the global paints and coatings industry. However, it is expected to witness a small reduction in its share in the global market by the end of the forecast period owing to the sluggish growth of key end-use sectors such as printing ink.Propanol is used as an intermediate in the manufacture of various industrial chemicals. It reacts with halogen to produce propyl halide, with ammonia to produce propylamines, and with acetic acid to produce propyl acetate, hence chemical intermediate is another key application segment of propanol market. This segment accounted for the second-leading share in the global propanol market in 2016 and is expected to retain its spot over the forecast period as well. The steady increase in demand from well-established chemical industries in developed and certain emerging economies will help the segment expand at a healthy pace over the forecast period.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Propanol Market Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Asia Pacific to Continue to Dominate Global Propanol MarketThe propanol market in North America is expected to expand at a significant rate whereas, the propanol market in Europe is projected to expand at a moderate pace during the forecast period. Propanol market in Europe is predicted to be driven by the uplifting chemical industry in the region. Whereas, the propanol market in North America is predicted to be driven by the cosmetics, personal care, and pharmaceuticals industries in the region.In terms of volume, the Asia Pacific market held the dominant share of over 40% of the global propanol market in 2015. The propanol market in the region is anticipated to expand notably in the next few years and is expected to retain dominance over the forecast period as well. China is projected to be one of the largest consumers of propanol in the next eight years. Countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and India in Asia Pacific are likely to be the fastest-growing markets for propanol during the forecast period.High demand for propanol in the chemical industry and as solvent in the paints and coatings industry are expected to be the key factors propelling the propanol market in Asia Pacific. The global shift of productions sites from developed countries to emerging nations is the key driving factor of the growth of these regions.Some of the leading players operating in the global propanol market are BASF SE, The Dow Chemical Company, Eastman Chemical Company, Mitsui Chemicals, Inc, ExxonMobil Corporation, Tokuyama Corporation, LyondellBasell Industries N.V., and Oxea GmbH.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:
Electroactive Polymers Market: Latest Trends,Analysis & Insights 2024

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A largely fragmented landscape of electroactive polymers manufacturers implies a high level of competition between both globally prominent and regional companies. In 2015, the top three manufacturers of electroactive polymers were PolyOne Corporation, BASF SE, and Heraeus Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG. Their collective share in the global market for electroactive polymers in terms of its value in 2015 was 20.4%, this leaving a large scope for regional players to try their hand at increasing market value.As stated in a new publication by Transparency Market Research, the differentiation between electroactive polymer products is very large and allows companies to specialize in certain products rather than try to produce multiple types. This is more common among regional players, while globally prominent manufacturers have the capital to produce multiple electroactive polymers.This 185 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Electroactive Polymers market. Browse Market Research Report @The threat of new entrants into electroactive polymer production is very high, especially in Asia Pacific where the concept of electroactive polymers has not caught on yet. This region holds a very high scale of opportunities in the near future, thus attracting both global players as well as new regional players to take up market shares.The global market for electroactive polymers is projected at a CAGR of 7.6% within a forecast period from 2016 to 2024. This revenue is expected to reach US$3.15 bn by the end of 2016 and US$5.69 bn by the end of 2024.North America to Prevail as Leading User of Electroactive PolymersOver 80% of the total volume of electroactive polymers produced annually has gone into producing conductive polymers. By the end of 2024, this share is expected to settle at 82.7% of the overall market volume.A key point to consider when looking at the global use of electroactive polymers is its dependence on the North American demand. At the moment, North America holds a massive share of total consumption of electroactive polymers. Two reasons for this are the market itself being in a nascent stage mostly consolidated in the U.S., and a very low awareness of the benefits of electroactive polymers in other regions.By the end of 2024, a whopping 62.3% of the total electroactive polymers volume will be utilized within North America.ESD and EMI Protection Offered by Electroactive Polymers Considered Leading Advantage for ManufacturersThe key application of electroactive polymers lies against the protection of electronic equipment from electrostatic discharge and electromagnetic interference. With both ESD and EMI being leading causes of electronic device failure, the introduction of electroactive polymers as a protective measure has and will continue to work in the manufacturers favor, states a TMR analyst.By the end of 2024, 34.9% of the total electroactive polymers volume produced will be used in protective measures against ESD and EMI.An additional driver for the global demand for electroactive polymers is the growing demand for lighter materials that can be used in automotive sensors and actuators. The booming auto industry is chasing down targets of making cars and commercial vehicles lighter to improve their performance and cut down emissions. The use of electroactive polymers is one of the more effective ways to achieve this target.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Electroactive Polymers market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Product Awareness Continues to be an Issue for Electroactive Polymer SalesThere is, however, still the challenge of low product awareness that still severely hampers the use of electroactive polymers on a global level. The manufacture of electroactive polymers is still at an early stage and mostly prominent in North America. It will take a much higher rate of awareness among application industries in APAC and Europe for global players to make full use of these regions.The information presented in this review is based on a Transparency Market Research report, titled, Electroactive Polymers Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024.Key Takeaways:Conductive polymers to lead product segments of electroactive polymers, expected to be valued at US$4.6 bn by 2024.Use of electroactive polymers in ESD and EMI protection estimated to procure US$2 bn in global value.North America expected to generate US$3.5 bn in revenue from consumption of electroactive polymers by 2024.Key segments of the Global Electroactive Polymers MarketGlobal Electroactive Polymers Market, by Product TypeConductive PolymersICPIDPOthersGlobal Electroactive Polymers Market, by ApplicationESD & EMI ProtectionActuatorsSensorsAntistatic PackagingPlastic TransistorsOthers (Including coatings, inks etc.)Global Electroactive Polymers Market, by RegionNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificLatin AmericaMiddle East & AfricaAbout 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. TMR's 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.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN) Resins Market 2016 Trends, Research, Analysis and Review Forecast 2024

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Global Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN) Resins Market: SnapshotThe growth of the consumer electronics industry is the primary factor driving the demand for styrene acrylonitrile resins. SAN resins are widely used in consumer electronics, including PCs, TVs, most handheld devices, and personal care products. Consequently, the current growth in smartphone sales is providing SAN resins manufacturers a good chance for generating optimum revenues. Additionally, the future demand for styrene acrylonitrile resins could come from its growing use in packaging for personal care products.The global styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) resins market is thus expected to be valued around US$2.8 bn by the end of 2024. This market was recorded at US$2 bn in 2015 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 4.0% within a forecast period from 2016 to 2024, in terms of revenue. By volume, this global market is progressing at a CAGR of 3.0% within the same forecast frame..View Report @Asia Pacific Holds Better Part of Demand for SAN ResinsIn 2015, the Asia Pacific region accounted for nearly 54% of the global styrene acrylonitrile resins volume. This market share is expected to rise even further by 2024, owing to the massive demand for SAN resins shown by China. China has been the largest consumer of SAN resins in the past ten years and is expected to remain the dominant consumer till 2024. The nations holds major opportunities for SAN resins producers due to its low cost of operations in the plastics industry, coupled with the heavy investments in it. Most players regard China as the most attractive market in the world for styrene acrylonitrile resins.North America and Europe are showing similar trends in SAN resins demand. Both regions are ramping up their SAN resins consumption in the industries of consumer goods and packaging. Consumer goods will remain the fastest growing end user across all regions.The U.S. is the largest country in North America, in terms of SAN resins consumption, and was the second-largest consumer of SAN resins in the world in 2015, after China. The U.S. is expected to maintain a high growth rate of SAN resins production over the coming years in terms of volume. On the other hand, Japan as a consumer of SAN resins has already matured and will show a sluggish rate till 2024.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN) Resins Market Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.SAN Resins Manufacturers to Profit from High Consumer Goods DemandConsumer goods was the top consumer of SAN resins in 2015. The fact that the rate of sales of consumer goods have improved across the world have opened new avenues for manufacturers to invest in SAN resins demand. The consumer electronics industry has an especially large hand to play in the development of SAN resins demand. This can be seen through the extremely high demand for styrene acrylonitrile resins in the manufacture of handheld devices, personal computers, and televisions. The consumer goods industry is expecting a positive future owing to improving economic conditions and disposable incomes in emerging economies, the growing use of advanced technologies and materials, and the reduction in product prices through healthy competition. Some of the top manufacturers of SAN resins globally, are LG Chem, Techno Polymer Co., Ltd., SABIC, and INOES Styrolution Group GmbH.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:
UV Coatings Market: Latest Trends,Analysis & Insights 2024

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A new research report by Transparency Market Research offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global UV Coatings Market. The study, titled UV Coatings Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Global UV Coatings Market: OverviewUV coatings are type of coatings that are cured with ultraviolet radiation. It can be deployed on various substrates such as inks, paper, glass, plastics and wood products. UV coatings market can be segmented based on composition as PU dispersions, monomers, photo initiators and oligomers. Based on type of coatings, the market can be segmented as paper coatings, over print varnish, display coatings, plastic coatings, conformal coatings and others. End-use industries of UV coatings are graphics, electronics, packaging and various other industries that use industrial coatings.Browse Market Research Report @Currently UV coatings market is dominated by wood coatings product type. This trend is expected to remain same in the next few years due to increasing demand for wood coatings from its applications such as furniture, door skins, parquet, decorative panel and others. Wood coatings offer excellent strength and durability, hence is demand is expected to remain high. Among the end-use industries type, industrial coatings occupies the largest share in the total UV coatings market. The growth rate of industrial coatings is expected to be the fastest as compared to other types.Global UV Coatings Market: Drivers and RestraintsGrowing electronics industry globally is expected to drive the UV coatings market. Display coatings are the major type coatings used in the electronics across the globe. Rising disposable income and changing lifestyle in the developing countries is driving electronics industry across the globe. Additionally, internet of things is the new trend in the market that includes various electronic devices. These electronic devices use display coatings that are cured with ultraviolet. Furthermore, rising environmental awareness among consumer groups is expected to boost the UV coatings market. Chemical curing method emits volatile organic compounds that are harmful to environment and human health. UV curing of the coatings is photomechanical method of curing, hence does not involve any organic compounds in the curing process.However, availability of substitutes in the curing process is expected to hamper the UV coatings market. Chemical curing is among the strong competitor of UV curing process. Development of new products and applications is anticipated to provide immense opportunities for the players in the market. Additionally, development of bio-based UV coatings would open up an opportunity in the next few years.Global UV Coatings Market: Geographical DynamicsAsia Pacific dominated the UV coatings market in terms of production and consumption. Burgeoning electronics industry due to high demand for high performance electronics in the region is driving the UV coatings market. China is contributing highest to the demand of UV coatings in the region. Europe followed Asia Pacific in terms of consumption. Demand in the region is mainly for wood coatings, plastic coatings and paper coatings from industrial coatings industry. North America emerged as the third-largest market for UV coatings in terms of consumption. The demand in the region is primarily driven by rising use of UV coatings in printing varnishes. Rest of the World is expected to exhibit strong growth in the UV coatings marketing due to rising demand from electronics industry.Global UV Coatings Market: Competitive LandscapeGlobal UV coatings market is moderately fragmented with major players having presence across the value chain. Players in the market adopt backward integration and strategic alliances as key strategies to sustain their market position in the UV coatings market.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the UV Coatings market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Key players in UV coatings market include The Dow Chemical Company, BASF SE, Akzonobel N.V., DIC Corporation, PPG Industries Inc., Dymax Corporation, Royal DSM N.V., Centexbel, Actega Coatings & Sealants, Eternal Chemical Co. Ltd., Axalta Coatings Systems, The Valspar Corporation, Ashland Inc., Croda, Brilliant Coatings Solutions and Soltech Ltd.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)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. TMR's 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.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Well Test market is expected to register a CAGR of about 6% by 2022

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Well Test Market Information Report by Well Type (Onshore and Offshore), by Services (Surface testing, Reservoir testing, Downhole Well Testing) and by Region - Global Forecast to 2022One of the primary factors that are driving the Well Test market is the increasing spending in the E&P industry. The well testing market growth was affected by the price crisis in the Oil & Gas industry. With the recent stabilization in the prices and the O&G industry the market has portrayed immense growth potential. Global increasing demand for energy has resulted in rapid increase in the offshore drilling activities to meet the increasing demand, which ultimately has provided significant boost to the well testing market.Get a sample copy of this report atStudy Objectives of Well Test Market To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 6 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the Global Well Test Market To analyze and provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To Analyze the Global Well Test Market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to respect to regions and their respective key countries To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segments by Well type, by Services and by region To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Global Well Test Market.Intended Audience Well testing service companies Well Testing service providers Well Testing Consultants and Investment bankers Government as well as Independent Regulatory AuthoritiesBrowse Complete Report atKey Players AGR Group ASA (Norway) FMC Technologies Inc. (U.S.) Schlumberger Ltd. (U.S.) Halliburton Company (U.S.) Tetra Technologies Inc. (U.S.) Weatherford International Ltd. (Ireland) Expro International Group Ltd (U.K.) Greene's Energy Group (U.S.) Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. (U.S.)SegmentsThe Well Testing market has been segmented on the basis of well type as Onshore and Offshore. On the basis of services the market has been segmented as Surface testing, Reservoir testing, Downhole Well Testing.Regional Analysis of Well TestOwing to the shale and drilling activities in the North America region, the market is the leading region for the Well Testing market. Increased exploration activities in this region specifically in Canada have boosted the demand for Well Testing. Increased Infrastructural and Manufacturing activities in the Asia-Pacific region have resulted in increasing demand in the Oil & Gas market translating into Well Test market achieving high growth in this region.Request for Discount at1. REPORT PROLOGUE2. INTRODUCTION1. DEFINITION2. SCOPE OF THE STUDY1. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE2. ASSUMPTIONS3. MARKET STRUCTURE4. MARKET SEGMENTATION3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY1. RESEARCH PROCESS2. PRIMARY RESEARCH3. SECONDARY RESEARCH4. MARKET SIZE ESTIMATION5. FORECAST MODEL4. MARKET DYNAMICS1. DRIVERS & OPPURTUNITIES2. CHALLENGES & RESTRAINTS3. VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS4. PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS5. WELL TEST MARKET, BY Services1. INTRODUCTION2. Surface Testing3. Downhole Well Test4. Reservoir Testing6. WELL TEST MARKET, BY Well Type1. INTRODUCTION2. Onshore3. Offshore7. WELL TEST MARKET, BY REGION1. INTRODUCTION2. NORTH AMERICA1. U.S.2. CANADA3. MEXICO3. EUROPE1. U.K.2. GERMANY3. FRANCE4. RUSSIA5. REST OF EUROPE4. ASIAPACIFIC1. CHINA2. INDIA3. JAPAN4. SOUTH KOREA5. AUSTRALIA6. REST OF ASIA5. SOUTH AMERICA1. BRAZIL2. ARGENTINA3. REST OF SOUTH AMERICA6. MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA1. SAUDI ARABIA2. UAE3. KUWAIT4. SOUTH AFRICA5. ALGERIA6. NIGERIA7. REST OF MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA8. COMPANY LANDSCAPE1. INTRODUCTION2. COMPETITIVE STRATEGY ANALYSIS3. PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS4. MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS5. BUSINESS EXPANSION6. WELL TYPE LAUNCH/DEVELOPMENT9. COMPANY PROFILE1. AGR Group ASA.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW2. WELL TYPE/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW3. FINANCIAL UPDATES4. KEY DEVELOPMENTS2. FMC Technologies Inc.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW2. WELL TYPE/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW3. FINANCIAL UPDATES4. KEY DEVELOPMENTS3. Schlumberger Ltd.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW2. WELL TYPE/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW3. FINANCIAL UPDATES4. KEY DEVELOPMENTS4. Halliburton Company1. COMPANY OVERVIEW2. WELL TYPE/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW3. FINANCIAL UPDATES4. KEY DEVELOPMENTS5. Tetra Technologies Inc.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW2. WELL TYPE/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW3. FINANCIAL UPDATES4. KEY DEVELOPMENTS6. Weatherford International Ltd1. COMPANY OVERVIEW2. WELL TYPE/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW3. FINANCIAL UPDATES4. KEY DEVELOPMENTS7. Expro International Group Ltd1. COMPANY OVERVIEW2. WELL TYPE/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW3. FINANCIAL UPDATES4. KEY DEVELOPMENTS8. Greene's Energy Group1. COMPANY OVERVIEW2. WELL TYPE/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW3. FINANCIAL UPDATES4. KEY DEVELOPMENTS9. Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW2. WELL TYPE/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW3. FINANCIAL UPDATES4. KEY DEVELOPMENTS10. MRFR CONCLUSION11. APPENDIXAt Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Akash AnandP: +1 646 845 9312W:
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Sterility Testing Market | Industry Analysis, Opportunity Assessment and Forecast up to 2025

Sterility Testing Market

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Sterility testing is used for routine quality control, sterilization validation, as well as to detect contamination in a batch. It is an exceptionally tough process designed to eliminate false positive results caused by laboratory contamination from the testing environment or technician error. Sterility testing of cell lines, media, in-process material, and final products must be demonstrated during the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Products necessary for sterilization include injections, implants, syringes, and surgical instruments. Sterility testing is of three types: direct inoculation (immersion), membrane filtration, and direct transfer. In the former, the test articles are inoculated directly into tubes or bottles containing an appropriate medium and incubated for a period of 14 days. In the second method, the test article first passes through a size exclusion membrane capable of retaining microorganisms. Different tests exhibit different advantages.Factors such as the prevalence of chronic diseases, rapid population growth, increasing research and development activities, and government initiatives are predicted to drive the sterility testing market globally. Growing demand for high quality products, technological advancements, and the burgeoning pharmaceutical & biotechnological industries are bound to play a role too. Singapore invested US$ 2.8 Mn in research and development in biomedical sciences from 2011 to 2015. On the other hand, strict government regulation may hinder the development of the sterility testing market.The market has been segmented by product type into the following categories: instruments and kits & reagents. The latter are expected to register a higher growth rate due to their ease of use and affordability. In terms of test type, the membrane filtration segment is projected to witness significant growth owing to new product launches and growth in the pharmaceutical & biotechnology industries. Based on end-user, the market is divided into the following groups: pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmeceuticals, and biotechnology.View Report-Geographically, the sterility testing market is distributed over North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America dominated the market due technological advancements, the burgeoning pharmaceutical & biotechnology industries, and increasing geriatric population in the region. Geriatrics represent about 14.5% of the U.S. population. According to the U.S. department of health and human services, by 2060, this number is likely to rise to 98 million  which is twice that of 2014. Europe is the second leading market for sterility testing on account of the increasing number of research and development activities. Asia Pacific is estimated to develop at a higher rate due to the rapid population growth, high prevalence of chronic diseases, government initiatives, and rising research & development in the region. According to SIRO Clinpharm, by 2050, Asia is likely to account for 60% of the worlds population, thereby offering tremendous opportunities for recruiting patients and expanding research of new lifestyle diseases treatment drugs.Key players operating in this market include Merck KGaA, Bioquell UK Ltd, bioMerieux SA, Sartorius AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., SGS SA, Charles River Laboratories, and WuXi Biologics.Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Sterility Testing 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.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:
Virus Filtration Market | Industry Insights, Trends and Forecast up to 2024

Virus Filtration Market

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Virus filtration is an important procedure in the pharmaceutical industry. It ensures the purity and steady consumption of valuable products, besides optimizing the economic process and preventing loss. Virus filtration feed streams generally exhibit high purity and heavy product concentrations. Retrovirus and parvovirus filtration membranes are two ultrafiltration membranes tested (and their performances compared) using realistic model feed streams consisting of minute virus of mice (recommended from FDA). This approach provides an industry-relevant benchmark for the engineering competence of virus filters. Asymmetric membranes operate in direct flow and in a constant pressure mode in accordance with the industrial practice of virus filtration. However, new developments in research and development using flux method allow to image at the performance of virus filtration and similar ultrafiltration membranes, which also provides insights into designing virus filtration membranes.Hike in R&D expenditure, development of the biopharmaceutical industry, and increasing government funding for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are driving the global virus filtration market. According to the parenteral drug association, parvovirus filters in the downstream process have become an industry standard and a common regulatory expectation in the recent years. The filters consistently demonstrate highly effective retrovirus retention without impacting the quality of the product across a wide range of parameters and are an effective method to reduce virus risks in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. The filtration technique needs to be approved by the U.S. food and drug administration (FDA). Regulatory agencies in Germany and France require the manufacturing processes to be evaluated and the units to be cleared of the multiple models of relevant viruses before being marketed as authorization. These stringent government validation practices are expected to be a hindrance for the global virus filtration market.The market has been segmented by product type, application, end-users, and geography. In terms of product type, it is classified into the following categories: virus filters, kits and reagents, filtration systems, and others. It majorly has biological applications, besides being employed in medical devices, water purification, stem cell products, vaccine & therapeutics, and others. Based on end-user, its divisions include pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies (which use virus filtration techniques in order to prevent unavoidable contamination in products), medical device companies, and contract research organizations. Filtration systems and devices are becoming popular because they deliver a high level of retention assurance and productivity across a broad range of feed stream characteristics. Rising industrialization coupled with the rapid evolution of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and water purification sectors, along with demand for medical devices & implants are likely to propel the virus filtration market by 2024.View Report-Geographically, the market is distributed over North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is the dominant region due to the increasing modern industrialization, sophisticated infrastructure, patient awareness, and high per capita health care expenditure here. Moreover, the emerging trend of single-use techniques provides a boost to the pharmaceutical & biotechnology market, in turn motivating the virus filtration market. This is followed by Europe where there exist favorable government policies regarding health care infrastructure and awareness programs about the various diseases which can spread among the population through the air, water, or even products generated from industries. In 2013, the ICH (international conference on harmonization of technical requirements for registration of pharmaceuticals for human use), a project that brings together the regulatory authorities of Europe, Japan, and the U.S., discussed the scientific and technical aspects of drug registration in order to streamline the testing requirement for research and development of new medicines and eliminate unnecessary delays in their global development. The market in Asia Pacific is projected to expand swiftly due to rising population, changing lifestyles, rising number of awareness programs for patients, and the ever-increasing per capita expenditure. In addition, economic growth supports pharmaceutical and biotechnology units in developing countries such as India, China, and Singapore. All these factors collectively support the virus filtration market in Asia Pacific.Key players operating in the market include Merck KGaA, GE Healthcare, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Lonza Group Ltd., Pall Corporation, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, Sartorius AG, Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd., and WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc.Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Virus Filtration Market during 2016- 2024About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Neuropathic Pain Market | Industry Insights, Outlook and Forecast up to 2026

Neuropathic Pain Market

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Global Neuropathic Pain Market: OverviewNeuropathic pain refers to a condition of chronic pain that is caused by a primary lesion such as trauma, infection, or other dysfunction in the nervous system. Prominent syndromes of neuropathic pain include root avulsions, postherpetic neuralgia, painful traumatic mononeuropathy, painful polyneuropathy, postsurgical pain syndromes, central pain syndromes, and complex regional pain syndrome. Some of the usual medications prescribed for neuropathic pain are anesthetics, anticonvulsants (also called neuroleptic medications), and antidepressants (also known as tricyclic antidepressants). Common antidepressants include amitriptyline and nortriptiline whereas valproic acid, carbamazepine, felbamate, phenytoin, and clonazepam a few of the most common anticonvulsants used for the treatment of neuropathic disorders. Tocainide or Mexiletine and Idocaine are some of the major anesthetics used to reduce neuropathic pain.This report on global neuropathic pain market is a thorough study of the market in its current scenario and based on all the major factors that may impact the growth rate in the near future, it estimates the state of the market until 2024. It also notes and explores some of the trends of the market as well as highlights a few opportunities available. Among the key features of the report is the section on company profiles, wherein several key players in the global market have been analyzed for their product portfolio, market share, global presence, and recent developments including mergers, acquisitions, and collaborations.The global market for neuropathic pain can be segmented on the basis of drug class, by indication, distribution channel, and region. By drug type, the market can be divided into tricyclic antidepressant, anticonvulsants, local anaesthesia, opioids, steroids, and others. On the basis of indication, the market can be categorized into diabetic neuropathy, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, and others. By distribution channel, the market can be segmented into retail pharmacies, drug stores, and online pharmacies. Geographically, the report studies the opportunities available in the regions of Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World.View Report-Global Neuropathic Pain Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe report observes that diabetes is the usual indication of neuropathic pain, while cancer comes second. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 422 million people were suffering from diabetes in 2014 and this number will continue to expand in the near future, especially among the middle to low-income countries. This vast population is the primary driver in the global neuropathic pain market. Moreover, rising geriatric population, who commonly suffer from neuropathic pain, is another driver for this market. In addition to that, factors such as approval of novel treatment options, increasing demand for neuropathic pain, improving healthcare infrastructure in emerging economies, increased investment by pharmaceutical companies for research and development of improved drugs, and rising number of pain management centers will further fuel the market in positive direction. Conversely, side effects of opioids and steroids as well as cost of branded drugs are some of the factors that will hinder the growth rate of the market during the forecast period.On the basis of drug class, the segment of anticonvulsants are most popular whereas the demand for tricyclic antidepressant is expected to expand at the best CAGR. By indication, diabetic neuropathy segment serves maximum demand while chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy is projected for most prominent growth rate. In terms of distribution channel, retail pharmacies are most profitable and is expected to remain the leading segment during the forecast period.Global Neuropathic Pain Market: Region-wise OutlookNorth America currently is the most lucrative regional market, owing to strong healthcare infrastructure and higher buying ability of the consumers. However, Asia Pacific is projected for the most significant growth rate, due to increasing prevalence of diabetes in countries such as China and India.Companies mentioned in the research reportSome of the key companies currently operating in global neuropathic pain market are Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., Depomed Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb and Company, Sanofi S.A., Biogen Idec Inc., Eli Lily and Company, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, and Baxter Healthcare Corporation.Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Neuropathic Pain Market during 2016- 2026About 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:
Bladder Cancer Market | Industry Insights, Outlook and Forecast up to 2025

Bladder Cancer Market

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Bladder cancer is a urologic malignancy occurring in the tissues of the urinary bladder. It is characterized by the uncontrolled, rapid growth of cells arising from the epithelial lining and can be proliferating to the muscular wall of urinary bladder. The bladder or urinary bladder is a hollow organ located in the pelvis (lower abdomen) which stores the urine drained from kidney. It is connected to the kidney by ureters, a tube like structure. Bladder cancer is ranked as the ninth most frequently diagnosed cancer. Region such as North America, Western and Southern Europe along with certain countries in Western Asia or Northern Africa have recorded highest incidence rates in men. Bladder cancer is more prevalent in men as compared to women; however, the sex ratio varied with different countries.The exact causes for bladder cancer are not known. However, some of the risk factors such as excessive smoking, tobacco consumption, continuous exposure to radiation, chronic bladder infection, and previous cancer treatments are considered to cause bladder cancer. Bladder cancer can affect any age group; however, it is more prevalent in adults aged over 50 years. Furthermore, the observed trends and patterns worldwide reflect tobacco smoking as the prevalent cause of bladder cancer. Infection with schistosoma haematobium along with other risk factors are also the major causes of bladder cancer in selected population.The global bladder cancer market is driven by increasing incidence of bladder cancer, leading to drug innovations for treatment and technological advancements. Bladder cancer is more common in adults aged over 50 years. Hence, increasing geriatric population also contributes to market growth. Furthermore, government initiatives, increasing awareness about bladder cancer and the available treatments, and progressive health care services with growing health care expenditure are expected to propel the global market. However, cancer being an asymptomatic disease at initial stage, needs accurate diagnosis at early stage. Inaccurate and unaffordable diagnosis could hamper the growth of the market. Increasing use of generic drugs and growing patent expirations are factors responsible for the sluggish growth of the market.The global bladder cancer market can be segmented based on diagnosis, therapy, and region. Bladder cancer can be diagnosed by urine lab tests, cystoscopy, biopsy, and imaging test. Urine lab tests can be further divided into urinalysis, urine cytology, urine culture, and urine tumor marker test. The imaging tests segment can be further divided into intravenous pyelogram (IVP), computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, and ultrasound. In terms of therapy, the market can be segmented in to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and surgery.View Report -Geographically, the bladder cancer market can be segmented into five major regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America holds the major share of the global bladder cancer market. Major share of the region is attributed to the rise in incidence of bladder cancer, innovative health care solutions, advanced health care infrastructure, and increasing concern about bladder problems. Europe accounts for the second largest share of the market. The global bladder cancer market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a high growth rate. This rise is primarily due to growing awareness about bladder disease and innovative diagnostic and treatment options. Major players in the market find countries in Asia to be lucrative markets for bladder cancer and are making significant investments, leading to market growth.Key players in the global bladder cancer market include AstraZeneca plc, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene Corporation, Eli Lilly and Co., F. Hoffmann-La Roche, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis International AG, Pfizer Inc., and Sanofi.Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Bladder Cancer 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.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:
Q1 2017 Production and Capital Expenditure Outlook for Key Planned Upstream Projects in Global Offshore Industry - Petrobras Leads Globally with Most Offshore Planned Oil and Gas Projects

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Globally, a total of 279 key planned offshore crude and natural gas projects are expected to start operations in 46 countries. They are expected to contribute around 6,990 mbd to global crude production and about 48 bcfd to global gas production in 2025. Among countries, the highest capex spending is expected to be majorly contributed by Brazil, Mozambique, and the US. About US$586 billion is expected to be spent between 2017 and 2025 to bring the planned projects online. Among companies, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. would be the highest capex spending company followed by Eni S.p.A. and Royal Dutch Shell plc.For more information about this report:Report Scope- Oil and gas production outlook by key countries and companies in the global offshore industry up to 2025- Planned projects count and starts by key countries and companies in the industry- Details of key planned crude and natural gas projects in the global offshore industry- Capex and opex outlook by key countries and companies in the industryRequest Sample Copy atTable of ContentsTable of Contents 11.1. List of Tables 21.2. List of Figures 32. Key Planned Upstream Projects in Global Offshore Oil and Gas Industry 42.1. Key Highlights 42.2. Key Offshore Planned Projects Count by Country 52.3. Planned Offshore Project Starts by Country 62.4. Production Outlook for Key Global Offshore Planned Projects 72.5. Key Global Planned Offshore Crude Projects 102.6. Key Global Planned Offshore Gas Projects 132.7. Key Global Offshore Discovered Fields 162.8. Capex Outlook for Key Global Offshore Planned Projects by Country 172.9. Opex Outlook for Key Offshore Planned Projects by Country 182.10. Global Key Planned Offshore Projects by Company 192.11. Production from Key Global Planned Offshore Crude and Gas Projects by Company 202.12. Capex and Opex Outlook for Key Global Offshore Planned Projects by Company 223. Appendix 233.1. Abbreviations 233.2. Methodology 233.2.1. Coverage 233.2.2. Secondary Research 233.3. Contact Us 243.4. Disclaimer 24Inquire for Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Food Processing Machinery Global Market Trend, Research Approach, Data Analysis and Forecast to 2022

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According to Publisher, the Food Processing Machinery Market accounted for $53.22 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $92.51 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2015 to 2022. Increasing disposable incomes and growing awareness about processed food are the key factors fueling the market growth. The bakery processing held the largest share in terms of revenues during the forecast period. The baked food (bakery) processing industry represents the largest segment of the global food processing machinery market. This segment is expected to retain its leadership during the forecast period.Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness highest CAGR due to ample number of meat, seafood and poultry machinery manufacturing players in the region. China leads the highest volume of food processing machinery market due to the robust growth of food processing industry.For more information about this report:Some of the key players in the market include Spx Corp., Bean (John) Technologies Corp., Hosokawa Micron Corp., Tomra Systems, Anko Food Machine Co. Ltd., Meyer Industries Inc., Atlas Pacific Engineering Co. Inc., Heat and Control Inc., Ziemann International, Mallet & Co. Inc., Satake Corp., AFE Group Ltd., Bucher Industries, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Nichimo Co. Ltd., and BMA Group.Processing Types Covered:-Meat/Poultry Processing-Beverage Processing-Dairy & Milk Processing-Fruit and Vegetable Processing-Chocolate & Confectionery Processing-Bakery-Other Processing TypeRegions Covered:-North America-US-Canada-Mexico-Europe-Germany-France-Italy-UK-Spain-Rest of Europe-Asia Pacific-Japan-China-India-Australia-New Zealand-Rest of Asia Pacific-Rest of the World-Middle East-Brazil-Argentina-South Africa-EgyptRequest Sample Copy atWhat our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements1 Executive Summary2 Preface3 Market Trend Analysis4 Porters Five Force Analysis5 Global Food Processing Machinery Market, By Processing Type6 Global Food Processing Machinery Market, By Geography7 Key Developments8 Company Profiling8.1 Spx Corp.,8.2 Bean (John) Technologies Corp.8.3 Hosokawa Micron Corp.,8.4 Tomra Systems8.5 Anko Food Machine Co. Ltd.,8.6 Meyer Industries Inc.8.7 Atlas Pacific Engineering Co. Inc.,8.8 Heat and Control Inc.,8.9 Ziemann International8.10 Mallet & Co. Inc.,8.11 Satake Corp.,8.12 AFE Group Ltd.,8.13 Bucher Industries,8.14 Berkshire Hathaway Inc.,8.15 Nichimo Co. Ltd.,8.16 BMA Group,Inquire before Buying atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Wind Power in Sweden Market Outlook to 2030 Update 2017

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"Wind Power in Sweden, Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2017 - Capacity, Generation, Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) , Investment Trends, Regulations and Company Profiles" is the latest report from Publisher, the industry analysis specialists that offer comprehensive information and understanding of the wind power market in Sweden.The report provides in depth analysis on global renewable power market and global wind power market with forecasts up to 2030. The report analyzes the power market scenario in Sweden (includes conventional thermal, nuclear, large hydro and renewable energy sources) and provides future outlook with forecasts up to 2030. The research details renewable power market outlook in the country (includes wind, small hydro, biopower and solar PV) and provides forecasts up to 2030. The report highlights installed capacity and power generation trends from 2006 to 2030 in Sweden wind power market. A detailed coverage of renewable energy policy framework governing the market with specific policies pertaining to wind power is provided in the report. The research also provides company snapshots of some of the major market participants.The report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, secondary research and in-house analysis by Publisher's team of industry experts.For more information about this report:ScopeThe report analyses global renewable power market, global wind power (Onshore and Offshore) market, Sweden power market, Sweden renewable power market and Sweden wind power market. The scope of the research includes -- A brief introduction on global carbon emissions and global primary energy consumption.- An overview on global renewable power market, highlighting installed capacity trends, generation trends and installed capacity split by various renewable power sources. The information is covered for the historical period 2006-2016 (unless specified) and forecast period 2016-2030.- Renewable power sources include wind (both onshore and offshore) , solar photovoltaic (PV) , concentrated solar power (CSP) , small hydropower (SHP) , biomass, biogas and geothermal.- Detailed overview of the global wind power market with installed capacity and generation trends, installed capacity split by major hydropower countries in 2016 and key owners information of various regions.- Power market scenario in Sweden and provides detailed market overview, installed capacity and power generation trends by various fuel types (includes thermal conventional, nuclear, large hydro and renewable energy sources) with forecasts up to 2030.- An overview on Sweden renewable power market, highlighting installed capacity trends (2006-2030) , generation trends (2006-2030) and installed capacity split by various renewable power sources in 2016.- Detailed overview of Sweden wind power market with installed capacity and generation trends and major active and upcoming wind projects.- Deal analysis of Sweden wind power market. Deals are analyzed on the basis of mergers, acquisitions, partnership, asset finance, debt offering, equity offering, private equity (PE) and venture capitalists (VC) .- Key policies and regulatory framework supporting the development of renewable power sources in general and wind power in particular.- Company snapshots of some of the major market participants in the country.Request Sample Copy atReasons to buy- The report will enhance your decision making capability in a more rapid and time sensitive manner.- Identify key growth and investment opportunities in Sweden wind power market.- Facilitate decision-making based on strong historic and forecast data for wind power market.- Position yourself to gain the maximum advantage of the industry's growth potential.- Develop strategies based on the latest regulatory events.- Identify key partners and business development avenues.- Understand and respond to your competitors' business structure, strategy and prospects.Companies Mentioned:Vattenfall ABStatkraft SCA Vind ABE.ON Sverige ABArise ABInquire for Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Mexico Crude Oil Refinery Outlook to 2022

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"Mexico Crude Oil Refinery Outlook to 2022" is a comprehensive report on crude oil refinery industry in Mexico. The report also provides details on oil refineries such as name, type, operational status, operator apart from capacity data for the major processing units, for all active refineries in Mexico for the period 2012-2022. Further, the report also offers recent developments, financial deals as well as latest contracts awarded in the country's oil refinery industry.For more information about this report:Scope- Updated information related to all active refineries in the country, including operator and equity details- Information on CDU, coking, catalytic cracking and hydrocracking capacities by refinery in the country, where available- Key mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, private equity and IPOs in the country's crude oil industry, where available- Latest developments, financial deals and awarded contracts related to crude oil refineries in the countryReasons to buy- Gain a strong understanding of the country's crude oil refining industry- Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast capacity data- Assess your competitor's major crude oil refining assets and their performance in the country- Analyze the latest developments, financial deals and awarded contracts related to the country's crude oil refining industry- Understand the country's financial deals landscape by analyzing how competitors are financed, and the mergers and partnerships that have shaped the marketRequest Sample Copy atTable of Content:1. Table of Contents 11.1. List of Tables 31.2. List of Figures 42. Introduction 52.1. What is This Report About? 52.2. Market Definition 53. Mexico Refining Industry 63.1. Mexico Refining Industry, Key Data 63.2. Mexico Refining Industry, Overview 63.3. Mexico Refining Industry, Total Refining Capacity 63.4. Mexico Refining Industry, Crude Distillation Unit Capacity 83.5. Mexico Refining Industry, Coking Capacity 83.6. Mexico Refining Industry, Catalytic Cracking Capacity 93.7. Mexico Refining Industry, Hydrocracking Capacity 93.8. Mexico Refining Industry, Asset Details 103.8.1. Mexico Refining Industry, Active Asset Details 104. Recent Contracts 294.1. Detailed Contract Summary 294.1.1. Awarded Contracts 295. Financial Deals Landscape 405.1. Detailed Deal Summary 405.1.1. Debt Offerings 405.1.2. Asset Transactions 456. Recent Developments 476.1. Other Significant Developments 476.1.1. Apr 04, 2017: Pemex Plans To Form Alliances For Hydrogen Plants At Mexican Refineries 476.1.2. Jan 25, 2017: Pemex: Inauguration Of Tula Training Centre In Miguel Hidalgo Refinery 476.1.3. May 30, 2016: Pemex Takes Mexico's Salamanca Refinery Units Back Online 486.1.4. Apr 14, 2016: Exxon Mobil Ships Crude From Julia Field To Rotterdam Refinery 486.1.5. Apr 08, 2016: Ecopetrol To Buy Four Crude Oil Cargoes For Cartagena Refinery 486.1.6. Mar 31, 2016: Pemex May See 6.3% Increase In Crude Oil Processing In 2016 496.1.7. Mar 29, 2016: Mexico's Pemex In Process Of Restarting Catalytic Plant Of Salamanca Refinery 496.1.8. Jan 27, 2016: Pemex Looks For Private Partners To Enhance Margins At Mexican Refineries 496.2. New Contracts Announcements 506.2.1. Feb 23, 2017: Pemex Finalises its First Alliance In Refinery Auxiliary Services For Supply Of Hydrogen 506.2.2. Nov 18, 2015: ICA Fluor Awarded Miguel Hidalgo Refinery Upgrade Contract In Mexico 507. Appendix 527.1. Abbreviations 527.2. Methodology 527.2.1. Coverage 527.2.2. Secondary Research 527.3. Contact Us 537.4. Disclaimer 53Inquire for Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Oceania IT Services Market 2017 by Segment, Region, Registered Businesses, Analysis and Forecast to 2020

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Where is the largest and fastest growing market for IT Services? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward? The IT services global market report from Publisher answers all these questions and many more.The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography. It places the market within the context of the wider IT services market, and compares it with other markets.-The market characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market.-The market size section gives the market size ($b) covering both the historic growth of the market and forecasting the future. Drivers and restraints looks at the external factors supporting and controlling the growth of the market.For more information about this report:-Market segmentations break down market into sub markets that are hardware support services, software and BPO services, cloud services.-The regional and country breakdowns section gives an analysis of the market in each geography and the size of the market by geography and compares their historic and forecast growth. It draws comparisons with country populations and economies to understand the importance of the market by country and how this is changing.-Competitive landscape gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in recent years are identified.-The trends and strategies section highlights the likely future developments in the market and suggests approaches companies can take to exploit this.-The IT services market section of the report gives context. It compares the IT services market with other segments of the IT services market by size and growth, historic and forecast. It analyses Expenditure Per Capita, Expenditure Per Household, IT Services Indicators Comparison, Internet Penetration, Internet Hosts across selected countries.ScopeMarkets covered: Hardware Support Services, Software And BPO Services, Cloud ServicesCompanies mentioned: IBM, Accenture, HPE, Microsoft, SAP, Fujitsu, TCS, Oracle and NTT dataRequest Sample Copy atCountries: Australia and New ZealandRegions: OceaniaTime series: Five years historic and forecast.Data: Ratios of market size and growth to related markets, population, GDP, IT services Indicators Comparison, Internet Penetration, and Internet Hosts across selected countries.Data segmentations: country and regional historic and forecast data, market share of competitors, market segments.Sourcing and Referencing: Data and analysis throughout the report is sourced using end notes.Companies Mentioned:IBMAccentureHPEMicrosoftSAPFujitsuTCSOracleNTT data ,CapGeminiInfosys Ltdand Wipro LimitedInquire for Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Telecommunication Market 2017 Market Competitive Landscape Analysis

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ReportsWeb.com has announced the addition of the Global Telecommunication Industry Market Research 2017 The report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification.In this report, we analyze the Telecommunication industry from two aspects. One part is about its production and the other part is about its consumption. In terms of its production, we analyze the production, revenue, gross margin of its main manufacturers and the unit price that they offer in different regions from 2012 to 2017. In terms of its consumption, we analyze the consumption volume, consumption value, sale price, import and export in different regions from 2012 to 2017. We also make a prediction of its production and consumption in coming 2017-2022.Request a Sample atAt the same time, we classify different Telecommunication based on their definitions. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. What is more, the Telecommunication industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.Browse Complete Report atMajor Points of this report:1. To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast of the various segments and sub-segments of the global Telecommunication market.2. To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth. To analyze the Telecommunication market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porte five force analysis etc.3. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World.4. To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective.5. To provide country level analysis of the market for segment by application, product type and sub-segments.6. To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market.7. To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the global Telecommunication market.Get discount on report purchase atKey Point from Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview of Telecommunication1.1 Brief Introduction of Telecommunication2 Industry Chain Analysis of Telecommunication3 Manufacturing Technology of Telecommunication3.1 Development of Telecommunication Manufacturing Technology4Major Manufacturers Analysis of Telecommunication5 Global Production, Revenue and Price Analysis of Telecommunication by Regions, Manufacturers, Types and Applications5.1 Global Production, Revenue of Telecommunication by Regions 2012-20176 Global and Major Regions Capacity, Production, Revenue and Growth Rate of Telecommunication 2012-20177 Consumption Volume, Consumption Value, Import, Export and Sale Price Analysis of TELECOMMUNICATION by Regions20178 Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Telecommunication9 Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Telecommunication10 Global and Chinese Economic Impact on Telecommunication Industry10.1 Global and Chinese Macroeconomic Environment Analysis11 Development Trend Analysis of Telecommunication 12 Contact information of TELECOMMUNICATION13 New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Telecommunication13.1 New Project SWOT Analysis of Telecommunication14 Conclusion of the Global Telecommunication Industry 2017 Market Research ReportPurchase Complete Report atContact Information: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. The market research industry has changed in last decade. As corporate focus has shifted to niche markets and emerging countries, a number of publishers have stepped in to fulfil these information needs. We have experienced and trained staff that helps you navigate different options and lets you choose best research solution at most effective cost.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Caught off guard by its pleasant pitter-patter, passers-by stopped at the 60-year-old Hagenah Fountain on Tuesday to take pictures, snap selfies, and examine the wealth of bugs sunbathing in its shallow waters.

The sudden appearance of the fountain on Library Mall was a surprise to many. Through the morning's sticky heat, multiple people stopped mid-stride when they heard the playful trickle of the fountain amidst the typical cacophony of campus construction.

The Hagenah Fountain, a fixture at the heart of the UW-Madison campus, began operating again Monday after about six years of silence, though it functioned intermittently between 2007 and 2010.

It resides in the intersection of concrete pathways between Memorial Library and the Wisconsin Historical Society, and across the street from Memorial Union, with a backdrop of chain-linked fence and leftover construction materials marring its discreet, dull prettiness.

Ethan Warden, a graduate student studying musical performance, found the fountain to be "pretty dope." Coming into his second year at UW-Madison, Warden also had no idea a fountain had been there  hidden  all along.

"I wonder if they've been making it," he said, referring to the past few years of construction.

Craig Jacobsen, event manager at the Wisconsin Historical Society and longtime Madison resident, said the fountain goes "way, way back."

He recalls that Quonset huts, which were set up on campus after World War II, had previously dominated the space.

The fountain took over just a few years after the huts were removed, in 1958, becoming a quiet, drizzling observer to the many penny-pitchers, mischievous water-dyers and 1960s protesters, who would use the fountain's stream to clean the tear gas from their eyes.

Now, for Jacobsen, the return of the fountain is a pleasant touch.

"I think it's nice," he said. "It's always refreshing to hear water, see water."

William John Hagenah, the fountain's namesake who received his law degree from UW in 1905, donated $16,500 for its construction. About 25-30 feet in diameter and composed of red granite, the inside wall of the fountain is inscribed with its donor's name, and a message teeming with aquatic metaphor: "Teachers and books are the springs from which flow the waters of knowledge."

Resembling the unremarkable tile of a bathroom stall or gym room shower, the bottom of the fountain is checkered with miniature blue, teal and white ceramic tiles. The water itself emerges from an amphibious bronze structure referred to as a "toadstool," an umbrella-shaped surface draped in sculpted leaves.

The fountain has endured its share of criticism. In 2006, a correspondent for the Wisconsin State Journal called it a "perfect symbol of mediocrity in a posture of self-righteousness."

It was dubbed a "piddling puddle" upon its unveiling, due to its underwhelming spew. The spray pattern has changed four times, the latest installed in 2006.

And although the fountain, originally designed by state architect Roger Kirchhoff, now boasts a three-tiered design of waterworks, it is still plain to some.

"It's fine," said graduate student Ann Sojka, who has lived in Madison for six years. "They could do better."

However, Steven Wagner, UW-Madison Facilities Planning & Management spokesman, has received a passionate response regarding the return of the fountain.

"People see construction coming to an end on Library Mall, and all of the questions and feedback we've had recently is, 'When is the fountain going to be turned on?'" Wagner said. "Now that it's turned on again ... people are happy."
By Megan McArdle

On Monday, the New York Times published a jaw-dropping story alleging that a 2016 meeting between a Russian attorney and Donald Trump's son-in-law had been arranged to discuss dirt on Hillary Clinton that a Kremlin-connected lawyer might be willing to provide to the Trump campaign. Donald Trump Jr. had been informed via email that this compromising information was part of a Russian government operation to help his father win the presidency.

Facing an accusation like that, Donald Trump Jr. obviously didn't want to sit around while the Times dribbled out information bolstering the speculation that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia. He confirmed it himself, tweeting out the email chain. His response to being informed that Russia was trying to engineer the outcome of an American election, with efforts that included providing damaging information about Clinton? "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer." Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was copied on the email.

Is this illegal? Does getting opposition research from a foreign power count as an in-kind campaign contribution from a foreign national, one that might leave Jr. and Kushner vulnerable to criminal prosecution? I have no idea; I am not a lawyer. But it hardly ceases to be a problem if this somehow manages to squeak through some hole in our federal election laws. What they did is so obviously wrong that a 10-year-old child would know better.

Social media indicates that there are some people out there still trying to defend the Trump camp's relationship with Russia, so it bears spelling out why this is wrong.

Donald Trump is an American who ran for office under a slogan of patriotic pride and love of country. People who love their country do not help rival powers intervene in their country's elections, even if that intervention might have the lovely side effect of getting them elected. Americans running for American office must pick sides: the will of American voters or the influence of a foreign power. (Hint: You choose your fellow Americans.)

What happened at the meeting could ultimately be irrelevant. The sin to which Donald Trump Jr. has already confessed is egregious enough. A decent person would not give an audience to a foreign power promising to help tear down the opposition. A decent person certainly would not contemplate and suggest timing of any document release -- which moves this revelation beyond merely "taking a meeting you shouldn't have" and into the territory of "a presidential campaign actively coordinating with foreign agents."

Even Trump supporters seem to be having trouble mustering much of a defense. There was a lot of irrelevant sputtering on social media Tuesday morning. Others mounted standard complaints about leaks and sly implication.

We are now past the point of anonymous sources and innuendo. Donald Trump Jr. showed us the primary sources, pleading guilty in the court of public opinion.

The president's supporters have already retreated to what now looks to be their last rhetorical stand: to say that this isn't collusion, but just politics. They get creative and postulate that this isn't unlike what Clinton's campaign would have done.

Here's the reality: Once you are given the details of a Russian attempt to change the outcome of an American election, there is only one patriotic thing you can do, and that is to get on the phone to the FBI and say, "I have some very disturbing news." End of story.

But no, no, Trump's supporters continued to insist; it's not really collusion with a potential enemy of the U.S. They submitted close parsings of the legal definition of collusion and claimed that any other usage of this common word was wrong. They suggested that in fact Donald Trump Jr. was doing his moral duty to find evidence of criminal behavior by Clinton, though they could not explain why, if he was so concerned about her possible criminality, he did not get the relevant authorities involved.

These dogs won't hunt. And the fact that this is where supporters have ended up after mere hours of social media badinage tells you just how weak the defense is. As a general rule, at the point where you are pretending to have a shaky command of ordinary English words, you are losing the argument. Just ask Bill Clinton how convincing anyone found his creative interpretations of the verb "to be."

After months of suggesting that all the fears of Russian scheming to interfere in our elections were just so much hype and hysteria from a hopelessly biased media, the Trump family has now confirmed that they were not only aware of these efforts but were hoping to help. It seems wildly implausible that news of both the Russian efforts, and his own campaign's fellow-traveling, failed to reach Donald Trump Sr.

Whether Russian efforts made a difference in the vote tally, they should certainly make a difference in America's view of its president.

-- Megan McArdle is a Bloomberg View columnist who founded the blog Asymmetrical Information.
By Rachel E. Bowen

Some Americans and members of Congress have called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

What happens after a president is impeached?

The vice president would take his place, but other parts of the government continue unchanged. That may not be a bad thing. However, partisan polarization can be magnified in the process. Many Americans already think the government is too divided along partisan lines and that corruption has reached the highest levels of government. These beliefs fuel declines in public trust and dissatisfaction with the government in general.

In my book on the rule of law in Central America, I discuss several occasions in which presidents were removed from office before their terms ended. The current political crisis in the United States shares similarities with political issues in Latin America. We are seeing radical partisanship, public dissatisfactionand perceived poor government performance. Since only one U.S. president has left office due to wrongdoing, examples from Latin America can give us some perspective.

Lasting reforms after Watergate came from a Congressional committee's investigation and recommendations, rather than from the simple resignation of President Nixon. Impeachment is inherently political and, as I have observed in Latin America, does more to punish enemies than clean up politics. Removing a president who is a "bad apple" may help, but a real cleansing takes more effort.

After impeachment

Take Brazil as a case in point. Former President Dilma Rousseff was impeached in 2016 in the midst of an anti-corruption investigation known as "Operation Car Wash." There were already pending corruption investigations against 37 of 65 members of the congressional impeachment commission, but none of them were forced from office. It is no surprise that Rousseff's impeachment appeared to many to be inspired by sexism rather than just anti-corruption efforts.

Rousseff's replacement, President Michel Temer, was charged with corruption-related offenses in June 2017. However, Temer's political party and their allies control the majority of the Congress and the president of the Congress is an ally of Temer's. A formal impeachment is unlikely to go forward.

We see a similar failure to pull out the root of corruption in the "Guatemalan Spring" of September 2015. Then Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina was forced to resign in the face of massive popular protests. He was implicated in an investigation into corruption at the national customs agency, for which he was arrested the day after his resignation. He had also been accused of taking bribes from a Spanish firm in exchange for granting it a lucrative long-term contract with the government of Guatemala.

An election was held just four days after Perez Molina's resignation. Jimmy Morales, a television comedian with no political experience, won the presidency over a former first lady. Morales ran as an outsider with the slogan "not corrupt, not a thief." After his first year in office, which opponents have derided as "inefficient," Morales is also facing a corruption scandal involving accusations that his son and brother had fraudulent dealings with a government agency.

Take an older example, from Honduras. The military coup against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya in 2009 was authorized by that country's Supreme Court and was backed by the majority of its Congress. The Honduran Supreme Court argued that Zelaya was planning to reform the constitution to give himself more power as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had done.

Some eight years after Zelaya was removed, Honduran political elites continue to participate in widespread corruption, including direct ties between some political elites and organized crime. Because so many of the elites are corrupt, none of them rock the boat.

Even prosecuting and jailing presidents for corruption doesn't seem to solve the problems that lead up to these crises. Often the rest of government continues to be overly partisan and even corrupt - and public satisfaction with government drops even lower.

In Nicaragua and Costa Rica, for example, former presidents have been jailed on corruption charges, but those convictions were ultimatelyoverturned on appeal. In 2013, Guatemala became the first country to convict a former head of state of genocide in a national court. Ten days later, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court reversed General Efrain Rios Montt's conviction over an evidentiary matter - although 2017 may yet see a new trial. The point is, it is extraordinarily difficult to make charges stick against even a former president, especially if he or she still has sizable support in the government.

Beyond impeachment

Problems with governance are rarely fixed by going after even an unpopular or corrupt president if fundamental institutional problems are allowed to continue unchecked. Impeachment's weakness is compounded by its often partisan deployment.

What else can be done to clean up politics?

The hard work of demanding transparency more generally may help get at the root of the problem. Progress in Guatemala has been buoyed by aninternational anti-corruption commission that has helped local officials shine a light on official wrongdoing at every level of government.

Ultimately, using legal channels to improve political institutions, rather than focusing on just one bad politician, can enhance the rule of law.

-- Rachel E. Bowen of Ohio State University

The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
A federal judge Wednesday ordered that the names be kept private of all law enforcement and FBI agents questioned or identified as witnesses in the investigation of an indicted FBI agent accused of concealing that he fired two gunshots during the stop of refuge occupier Robert "LaVoy" Finicum.

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones barred the defense lawyers for FBI Agent W. Joseph Astarita from sharing government documents received as evidence. Astarita faces a five-count indictment charging him with making false statements and obstruction of justice.

"Threats have been made against the officers and agents who were present when Finicum was shot. Their identities have not been released in order to protect their safety,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Maloney wrote in a motion seeking the protective order.

Instead of redacting all their names from investigative reports before sharing the documents with Astarita's lawyers, the prosecutors asked for the order, citing a need "to protect the safety of law enforcement agents and officers and the integrity of ongoing law enforcement operations.''

Jones agreed, noting there's a "significant possibility'' that the disclosure of the officers' names could jeopardize their safety. He ordered that the documents not be shared with any member of the public, the media or disclosed in a publicly filed document.

Astarita's lawyers didn't object to the protective order.

On June 29, Astarita made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Portland and pleaded not guilty to three counts of making a false statement and two counts of obstructing justice.

Between Jan. 26, 2016, and Feb. 6, 2016, Astarita is accused of concealing from Oregon investigators that he fired his weapon and lying to three supervisory FBI agents about his shots to avoid a required investigation by the FBI's Shooting Incident Response Team.

Astarita fired twice at Finicum, investigators said, as Finicum, spokesman for the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, emerged from his white Dodge truck after swerving into a snowbank to avoid a roadblock on U.S. 395 in Harney County. Finicum had just sped away from state police and FBI agents who stopped occupation leaders traveling in a two-car convoy earlier on the highway. Finicum nearly struck another FBI agent when he crashed at the roadblock, police said.

Astarita's bullets didn't hit Finicum, 54. Oregon investigators concluded that Astarita fired twice at the truck, hitting it in the roof and missing on the second shot.

Numerous FBI agents as well as Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward were identified by name and took the witness stand in court during two trials in the last year of refuge occupiers. None of them, however, were members of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team involved in the Jan. 26, 2016, stop of Finicum. The state troopers who shot and killed Finicum also weren't called during either trial.

Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson has indicated that his office and the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Justice are continuing to investigate the hostage team agents with Astarita at the roadblock. The sheriff previously has said his office was concerned that other federal agents may have tampered with evidence to conceal Astarita's shooting.

The Sheriff's Office, the lead agency in the Finicum shooting investigation, has declined to release the names of the two state troopers who killed Finicum. Police said Finicum was shot after he reached at least twice inside his jacket, where he had a loaded 9mm pistol.

"They are considered witnesses in an ongoing investigation and revealing their identities can jeopardize the integrity of any ongoing investigation,'' Nelson wrote in a response to a recent Oregonian/OregonLive request for the names. "In addition, we have documented threats against OSP, and I also have significant concerns over their (and their families') safety as law enforcement officers who took appropriate and justified deadly use of force action.''

Astarita remains employed as an FBI agent, placed on administrative duty. The FBI declined to say when Astarita joined the bureau, how long he had served on the elite Hostage Rescue Team or when he was placed on administrative duty.

His trial date has been set for Aug. 29.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
A police officer who fatally shot a motorist in Bend, Oregon, last December will not be charged with a crime, the Oregon Department of Justice said Tuesday.

Michael Tyler Jacques

The agency said in a letter obtained by The Bulletin newspaper that Officer Scott Schaier was justified in using deadly force because Michael Jacques was trying to escape, putting the lives of Schaier and others at risk.

According to the Justice Department:

Jacques, 31, was pulled over Dec. 23 because of reports he was driving erratically. He had glassy, bloodshot eyes and was unresponsive to questions from Schaier and Officer Marc Tisher.

After Schaier opened the driver's side door, the motorist pulled Schaier into the vehicle and began punching him in the head, authorities said. Both officers deployed Tasers to no avail. Schaier then sprayed pepper gel on Jacques, also with no effect, according to authorities.

The van lurched forward; the tires screeched and spun in place. Schaier yelled out, "Put the car in park now!"

Schaier told investigators he was afraid that he or Tisher would get run over or dragged by the van. He drew his handgun and fired five shots, killing the unarmed Jacques.

"He used deadly force against Mr. Jacques because he believed that his life, Officer Tisher's life, and the lives of the numerous pedestrians nearby were at risk from Mr. Jacques," the letter states.

The state Justice Department took over the investigation because the Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel had a conflict of interest. He previously had hired the attorney retained by Jacques' mother.

Before reaching their conclusion, investigators reviewed interviews with 50 witnesses and more than 80 reports.

In a statement, Bend police chief Jim Porter thanked witnesses who testified or provided video recordings of the shooting.

"The officers serving the citizens of Bend do so with pride and compassion, placing themselves in harm's way on a daily basis to save lives, to help those in distress to keep Bend a safe community," he said.

Jacques' family has suggested they plan to sue the Bend Police, according to The Bulletin.

 The Oregonian staff and wire reports
Nearly half of the 188,736 inmates now in federal prison were convicted of drug offenses. Most are young, minority men, with Latinos and blacks making up the largest group, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Sentencing Commission released.

Nearly 88 percent of the population pleaded guilty to the crimes, the figures show.

The numbers represent a snapshot of the federal prison population in February of this year.

The illegal drug trade accounted for 48 percent of offenses that landed people in federal prison, with distribution of methamphetamine, followed by powder cocaine and crack cocaine, responsible for the most convictions.

Gun-related crimes were next, representing 19 percent of the convictions, although guns were involved in nearly a quarter of crimes that resulted in federal prison time for offenders.

After drugs and gun cases, immigration, pornography/prostitution, fraud and robbery made up the other offenses leading to prison time, with each of those representing 8 percent or less of the total.

Ninety-three percent of the federal prison population is male. The average age of an offender is 41. One in five offenders, or 20 percent, are 50 years or older. Federal inmates who are 60 years old or older make up 6 percent of the population.

Half of all the prisoners last year were sentenced to more than 10 years, with a quarter of the inmates sentenced to five to 10 years. About 5 percent were sentenced to 30 years or longer and nearly 3 percent were sentenced to life.

More than half, or 56.4 percent, of the prisoners were convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty.

In a separate report, the Inspector General's office of the U.S. Department of Justice faulted the federal Bureau of Prisons for not providing proper treatment to inmates who suffer from mental illness.

The report said the bureau also fails to track or document inmates' mental disorders and needs and allows some to be in solitary confinement for over 22 hours a day even though the bureau says it doesn't practice solitary confinement.

Bureau of Prisons policy doesn't limit the time inmates spend in restrictive housing or track the confinements.

"This was particularly concerning given that the BOP recognizes that inmates' mental health can deteriorate while in restrictive housing,'' Inspector General Michael Horowitz said in prepared remarks.

The report found about 12 percent of the federal prison population has a history of mental illness, including 22 percent who are in restrictive housing units. But the study also found that the Bureau of Prisons doesn't adequately document the number of inmates who have mental illness.

"Without an accurate count of all inmates with mental illness, the BOP is unable to ensure that it is providing appropriate mental health care for its inmates,'' Horowitz's statement said.

Further, the investigation found that though the Bureau of Prisons adopted a new mental health policy in 2014, increasing the standard of care for inmates with mental illness, the total number of inmates who received mental health treatment has since decreased by 30 percent.

As of October 2015, more than half of the prisons' authorized psychiatrist positions nationwide remained unfilled, the report said.

The report includes 15 recommendations to improve the bureaus' screening, treatment and monitoring of inmates with mental illness, such as creating a policy that sets out when an inmate should be placed in solitary confinement and sets limits on how long the placement can last.

Thomas R. Kane, the acting director of the Bureau of Prisons, responded that his agency agrees with each of the recommendations. Records indicates some new policies already have been adopted.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
As they prepared to fight a small brush fire, volunteer firefighters in Washington's Klickitat County headed to Station 32 to hop on firetrucks early Tuesday morning. But when they arrived, they found the trucks' compartment doors open and equipment strewn across the floor.

Someone, fire officials said, had broken in.

Officials believe the break-in occurred overnight Monday, said Klickitat County Fire Chief Wesley Long. The Husum, Washington, station north of White Salmon, serves 10 volunteer firefighters and medics.

The firefighters realized gear was missing when they first got to the station at about 4:30 a.m., Long said. After they returned from the brush fire, they took an inventory of equipment and found several items, including a thermal imaging camera, a defibrillator and portable flashlights, were missing, Long said.

Firefighters in the area are in the midst of battling a 320-acre fire. The Dry Creek Fire prompted evacuation notices for some residents south of Pine Flats Road and north of Meyers Road.

"Having life-saving equipment stolen from our citizens is extremely difficult to comprehend and has created a huge financial burden during a time when we are hosting a significant wildland fire in our jurisdiction," Long said.

Officials ask that anyone with information about the theft contact the Klickitat County Sheriff's Office.

 Samantha Matsumoto

503-294-4001; @SMatsumoto
A Lane County sheriff's deputy has filed a nearly $1 million lawsuit against the man convicted of shooting him.

Deputy Todd Olson says in the suit that he's still suffering physical and mental pain from the September 2015 attack by Carlos Roa.

Roa was sentenced to 35 years in prison last August after a jury found him guilty of attempted murder.

Roa shot Olson when Lane County deputies responded to a report of shots fired in Cottage Grove on Sept. 25, 2015. Olson and another deputy saw Roa and another man arguing, then heard a gunshot, the lawsuit said.

When he saw the deputies, Roa fired an AK-47 rifle at them, the lawsuit said. The deputies fired back. Olson was injured in the exchange.

Roa was arrested after a six-hour manhunt. Though no shots were fired during his arrest, he was taken to a hospital with an apparent gunshot wound.

Olson's injuries required hospitalization and an extended recovery that caused him to miss work, according to the lawsuit, filed Friday in Lane County Circuit Court. He also has suffered anxiety, fear and loss of sleep, it said.

He is seeking $250,000 in economic damages and $749,999 for pain and suffering.

 Samantha Matsumoto

503-294-4001; @SMatsumoto55
The traditional free end-of-summer Oregon Symphony performance that draws thousands to the Portland waterfront won't happen this year.

The symphony canceled the concert after Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler left money to pay for it out of his first city budget.

The city has historically provided $190,000 for the event, which culminates in fireworks and howitzer blasts over the Willamette River, said Assistant City Budget Director Claudio Campuzano.

Without that money, which pays two-thirds of the tab, the show won't go on, said Oregon Symphony spokeswoman Rebekah Phillips

"It's a citywide event, and it requires citywide support.," Phillips said. "We're not able to do that on our own."

Former Mayor Charlie Hales also cancelled the special allocation for the event in 2013 but restored funding the following year after blow-black from the community. Wheeler also excluded the event from the city budget he proposed in May.

"We had to make a lot of tough budget choices," mayoral spokeswoman Michelle Plambeck said in a text.

She suggested the symphony could apply for some of the $1 million the city has flagged for grants Portland community groups.

But applications are due August 15 and the concert usually takes place at the end of that month or early in September. The symphony does not plan to apply.

"We know (city officials) support the arts, and we hope they'll support it again in the future," Phillips said.

The Oregon Symphony is preparing to make its first appearance of the summer at the Oregon Zoo, where it will top off the concert by playing the 1812 Overture traditional to the waterfront concert, Phillips said.

But the zoo concert does not replace the free event. Tickets will range from $30 to $90.

"Nothing can replace the waterfront model," Phillips said.

--Jessica Floum

503-221-8306
The Stoughton Area School District will be getting a mental health crisis team in the coming school year, joining six other school districts in Dane Countys Building Bridges program.

The Stoughton team will serve four schools in the district, River Bluff Middle School and Fox Prairie, Kegonsa and Sandhill elementary schools.

The program will have two mental health experts to serve kindergarten through eighth-grade students who are in immediate need of mental health help.

A policy initiative of County Executive Joe Parisi, Building Bridges started in 2014 as a pilot program in Madison, Sun Prairie and Verona. It expanded to DeForest, Middleton-Cross Plains and Wisconsin Heights school districts.

Proactively reaching out to students and making sure we address mental health issues at the earliest signs is a smart and healthy initiative to take part in, not only for a school district but for Dane County as a whole, Parisi said.

Investing in Dane Countys younger residents mental health shows we take their futures seriously and want to see them grow to thrive in our community, Parisi said.

Dane County and Stoughton will share the $126,000 cost of the program.

The Stoughton Area School District has been faced with students who are coming to school with various challenges, including mental health and trauma, and, as with any public school, we accept all children in our community of learners, said Keli Melcher, director of student services for the Stoughton district.

The Building Bridges mental health crisis teams not only work with students but also with staff to help them understand mental health issues, as well as get families, schools and students connected to the necessary resources.

There is no cost to families for the services provided by the mental health crisis teams.

Dane Countys budget has close to $500,000 for the crisis teams this year.
The passenger in a pickup truck who was killed in a crash early Tuesday in Dodge County has been identified as Jessica Miller, 43, of Evansdale, Iowa.

Miller was killed when she was thrown from the pickup truck that had crashed into the back left corner of a semi on Highway 151 near Gunn Road in the town of Calumus, the Sheriff's Office said.

Miller founded Karsyns Krusaders, a nonprofit to battle childhood cancer, in 2010, according to this story in the Courier of Waterloo, Iowa, that said the community is mourning her loss.

"She touched a lot of lives, and thats something thats going to be hard to replace, Aaron Buzza told the paper.

The pickup truck was towing an enclosed trailer and was driven by Levi Nielsen, 25, also of Evansdale.

The sheriff's report said Nielsen was going north on Highway 151 in the right lane, and approached a semi also in the right lane.

He tried to swerve to the left to avoid a crash but the right side of the pickup truck hit the left rear and left side of the semi trailer.

Nielsen suffered minor injuries and refused medical treatment. The semi driver, Jasvir Kattara, 29, of California, was not injured.

The Sheriff's Office said fog was not a factor in the crash, which is still under investigation.
Wednesday 12 July 2017 10:29am



Dr Davinia Thornley

Some of the most prolific and central figures of the New Zealand film industry have been attracted to the countrys first international conference dedicated to screenwriting, being held at the University of Otago.

The Department of Media, Film, and Communication at the University of Otago in Dunedin, and the New Zealand Writers Guild are co-hosting the conference, from 28 to 31 August.

There are a host of unique conditions facing screenwriters in New Zealand that pose particular challenges that this conference needs to grapple with, such as telling local and indigenous stories in a commercial marketplace, says conference co-organiser Allan Baddock, of the Writers Guild.

Its highly significant this is the country's first international conference dedicated to screenwriting, coming at a time when Hollywood has just agreed to a host of new payments and conditions for screenwriters that writers here are denied. It raises a host of questions about what is happening here and how serious we are about fostering local production.

It is significant that the city of Dunedin and the University are hosting this ground-breaking conference. Dunedin is consolidating itself as a haven for the arts and writers in line with being named as UNESCO City of Literature, and the citys new strategy to become a New Zealand arts capital.

Conference co-organiser Dr Davinia Thornley from Media, Film and Communications at Otago, says the conference is incredibly exciting for Dunedin.

The line-up is really a whos who of the NZ screenwriting industry, and we have some challenging and fascinating themes and speakers to showcase. This is a first for Otago University and a first for the country, she says.

She adds that the aim of the Screenwriting Research Network 2017 (SRN) Conference is to consolidate our growing global screenwriting research network while, at the same time, provide a forum to investigate screenwriting as a trans-national phenomenon.

So far, about 70 screenwriters from nations around the world have been attracted to the event.

The line-up also includes feature sessions with New Zealand writers Rachel Lang (of Outrageous Fortune fame), Tusi Tamasese, (The Orator, One Thousand Ropes), Fiona Samuel (Consent, the Louise Nicholas story), Born to Dance writers Steve Barr and Casey Whelan, and Arts Laureate Gaylene Preston.

Head of the NZ Film Commission Dave Gibson, and head of NZ on Air, Jane Wrightson, will outline the challenges in developing and taking New Zealand screen voices to the world.

They have been asked to spell out their vision for the future of the NZ screen industry and detail what they are doing for local screenwriters and local content, says Baddock.

Another keynote speaker is new talent, Alejandro Davila, who is pioneering in New Zealand the rapidly emerging realm of making movies as virtual reality.

In 2016, Alejandro Davila and his team made New Zealand's first Virtual Reality movie, which proved to the country that it is possible to tell stories in this medium. This has led to a ripple effect across the country, resulting in government grants for interactive storytelling and a nationwide distribution model for VR content.

Other speakers include prominent Dunedin or former Dunedin film-makers, Catherine Fitzgerald, Mike Riddell, Patrick Gillies, and Phil Davison, and well-known national figures Christina Milligan and Caroline Grose.

Conference themes and panels

It is expected there will be up to 15 conference sessions per day over the four days, generally featuring three international speakers per session on related topics.

There will also be a number of special sessions deliberately aimed at helping local writers break into the industry:

"Fitting and/or Breaking Hollywood's Norms": an invited NZ screenwriters panel on telling indigenous stories using indigenous structures

How to tell a story in VR - Alejandro Davila outlines how to create movies that allow audiences to step inside a movie to experience stories first-hand.

New voices panel: an invited NZ screenwriters panel, including Tusi Tamsese, Casey Whelan and Steve Barr on "How It Starts and What You Learn from your first film"

Issues facing screenwriters in NZ and the way ahead: The NZ Writers Guild, NZ Film Commission, & NZ On Air lock horns on the challenges facing the screenwriters and the solutions.

Challenging gender stereotypes in the screen industry: Veteran NZ screenwriters Fiona Samuel and Kathryn Burnett will offer insights from their long experience.

New and emerging screenwriters will be offered advice on "Getting Started" by the Short Film Otago and the NZ Film Commission.

Crowdfunding for filmmakers: How to harness crowdfunding to build a screen career.

For more information, contact:

Dr Davinia Thornley

Email: davinia.thornley@otago.ac.nz

Mob: 0211639822

Skype: davinia.thornley

Allan Baddock

Organising Committee,

International Screenwriting Research Network Conference,

Email: baddock@earthlight.co.nz

Mob: 021 588 545

Skype: albaddock
Mid Michigan Community College has awarded competitive full ride scholarships to eight exceptional high school seniors.

Laker Distinction Scholarships are offered at two levels, with four of each being awarded.

The scholarship's traditional level provides for 31 credits worth of tuition and fees. Presidential LD Scholarships, the highest awards, include 62 credits (the equivalent of an associate degree) worth of tuition and fees. The Presidential LD Scholarship is renewable and includes a $500/semester stipend for books and school supplies. To qualify for LD Scholarships, applicants must be Michigan high school seniors with a 3.5 GPA or better.

Area students who were honored included Carley Hickey, of Gladwin High School, who received a LD Scholarship and Haley Heldt, of Bullock Creek High School, who received the Presidential LD Scholarship.

Selection for the 2017 scholarships occurred over the course of two months, and applicants attended two events at MMCC as they progressed through the process.

Final determinations were based on applicants' leadership, service and academic performance, which were assessed through a variety of measures. Students submitted creative response pieces, wrote on-campus essay responses, and, for those moving to the final round of selection, underwent a series of short interviews with MMCC personnel.

"We know that a lot of these high caliber students see MMCC as a gateway to their future educations, so we took the selection process very seriously," said Brent Mishler, MMCC director of admissions. "We wanted to ensure that review was impartial, fair, and considered the scope of abilities that students have-- we really wanted a chance to get to know the applicants as much as possible."

"It's impossible to convey how challenging final selection was," said Jessie Gordon, MMCC's executive director of communications and enrollment management. "The applicants were outstanding, and I think that all of us who spent time with these students have renewed hopes for our future leaders. Our local communities include some truly remarkable young people."

To learn more about the Laker Distinction Scholarships at MMCC, visit midmich.edu/distinction or contact Brent Mishler at bmishler@midmich.edu
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Recovery efforts have not ceased since historic floods swamped mid-Michigan in late June.

Some spots in Midland County are still under water. Early estimates peg the number of houses damaged at more than 3,000, with hundreds unlivable and dozens reportedly completely destroyed. Damage costs exceed $100 million in Isabella and Midland counties.

Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, state police, Small Business Administration and city and county divvied up into teams, going door to door. They wrapped up damage assessments last week.

Many businesses and philanthropic foundations have chipped in, as have many residents. The American Red Cross sent a couple dozen volunteers to the area. Some restoration businesses are reportedly backlogged with customer inquiries.

The Midland landfill saw triple the activity levels compared to normal in the week after the flooding as residents lugged waterlogged furniture, carpet, electronics and more to the curb from basements and houses soaked with anywhere from 5 inches to 5 feet of water.

And a pesky residual remains in what the Midland County Mosquito Control is calling "historic mosquito populations": crews fogged the city of Midland on Sunday and are scheduled to treat every surrounding township, working every day of the week.

So, another source of help couldn't hurt. Right?

That's where Team Rubicon comes in.

With national headquarters in Los Angeles, Team Rubicon founded in 2010 and is a network of veteran and first responder volunteers working in a non-government, nonprofit, donor-funded organization to bridge a gap between first response and long-term recovery after disaster strikes.

A map on the Team Rubicon website plots hundreds of disaster sites across the world that volunteers are either actively working at or have completed over the years -- from floods and tornados stateside to a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Ecuador, raging wildfires in Canada, the Ebola epidemic in eastern Africa and typhoons in Indonesia.

One of the most recent disaster zones: Midland and Isabella counties.

Harvey Graham-Green is leading a team of 39 volunteers who since arriving in the area on July 2 from locales and states across the nation report logging more than 2,400 hours of work.

They've torn out wet carpets and insulation, mucked out mud from basements - at one, mud was gunked four feet high - and removed debris from homes in Midland and Isabella.

"It's slow, heavy work," Graham-Green said. "It's filthy."

Keeping with the organization's militaristic theme, the effort is dubbed "Operation TRidge,"an acronymic play on the three-way landmark bridge in downtown Midland.

"This is our 200th operation," said Graham-Green, a 32-year-old grad school student of Cleveland heading his first "operation" as incident commander.

Team Rubicon quickly learned of conditions in the region after the flood - some members live in Midland and were flooded, he said.

The first task was reconnaissance. Which came natural to Graham-Green, a veteran of the British Army who served as a recon sergeant. Team Rubicon uses the same incident command system that FEMA does. Teams scoped out the area, worked with local emergency management and got the go-ahead from the organization's national administration. Then they determined where to get local resources to help.

Home base is Eastlawn Elementary.

"We sleep in the gym," said Bob Pries, 67, a U.S. Army veteran from Medina, Ohio, who served in Vietnam.

Rows of cots line the gym. Fans keep air moving in the school. Volunteers go across the street to the Midland Community Center to shower.

Pries calls the setup "wonderful."

"Sometimes we've had showers four or five miles away," he said.

After the groundwork, a "warno" is issued - a warning order to Team Rubicon members within a 450-mile radius of the disaster sites, which helps identify manpower numbers. Then there's an "oporder" (operations order) to determine spending, consult with local authorities and get support in place.

Last week, the team decided to fly people in from all over the country, Graham-Green said. And on Monday, Team Rubicon extended its mission in Midland and Isabella by two days, noting the work needed was "more than we originally planned for."

"We said, 'The need is here and the work is here,'" Graham-Green said, calling flood relief in this area a "mid-size operation."

Isabella had "more complex, hard-hitting work there, particularly around Shepherd," he said.

Midland has fared better: "There isn't a site we've not been able to get to, which is unusual. We've been lucky the infrastructure here is very good."

Still, "it's been a bit challenging because we're operating in both counties," he said.

Team Rubicon gets information for those who have reported damage through 2-1-1 and Crisis Cleanup, which plots sites on a map with descriptions submitted by residents. Members are taking on 55 work orders and 62 properties within both counties. Crews of five or six take a work order and pack themselves and a load of tools in a truck and go.

"We will literally just give them the address, the scope of work and tools and they will go out and make it happen," Graham-Green said.

Once the operation is up and running, a nucleus of command staff forms. At Eastlawn, members huddle inside a former classroom. A chalkboard is etched with numbers, formulas, plans -- the "battle rhythm" -- and a hierarchy of command.

They'll try to get all the work orders done safely before July 18. If not, the work orders are transferred back to Crisis Cleanup, but aren't forgotten: FEMA crews and others may use the documentation to pick up where Team Rubicon has left off.

Peggy Sue, 53, and Mike Ginter, 58, have lived on Atwell Street at the southwest edge of the city of Midland for almost three decades.

In the yard on Tuesday, Peggy Sue held the couple's 12-year-old teacup poodle, Jesse, as a Rubicon crew 10 strong, Mike, and family members hauled out drywall, swung hammers and operated drills to remove the now flood-tainted parts of their home and lives.

"Where do you want your trim from the kitchen?" Cindy Ullery, a relative, asked.

Someone exited the house to tell Peggy Sue her refrigerator had been emptied. Doors and a bed frame sat on the porch. The kitchen sink and a treadmill were laid to waste on the lawn.

Peggy Sue, an equine waste management technician at Meadow Ridge Farms, remembers all was quiet before the flood. There were no birds or squirrels scurrying. Their horses -- Sonny, a massive, 30-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse, and Sam, a 9-year-old pony -- retreated to their stalls.

The flood left nearly two feet of water on the main floor of their home, she said.

"We've been here 27 years and the main floor has never flooded," she said.

(The Ginters own 3 acres. They suspect the home was built in the 1870s; there are newspapers in the walls from the era.)

As the water rose, Peggy Sue sought shelter with family nearby. Mike, a disabled veteran, stayed. He waded the watery yard by canoe to get into the house to pump water from the basement. Peggy Sue pointed out scuffmarks on a post above stairs that led to a deck where the canoe had made contact.

The couple lost a plow truck that was parked in the yard. The water reached over the hood, Peggy Sue said, noting insurance will cover most of it. They also found a hot tub, which had floated in from somewhere down the road and hurdled a 4-foot fence, landing in the pasture.

The water receded enough the Tuesday after the flooding for Peggy Sue to park again in the driveway. She walked with waders up to the house.

"We've got to live here," she said. "We put everything in here ourselves. Everything that's done in here has our blood, sweat, and tears in it."

On Tuesday, flies and sweat-soaked shirts clung to bodies in the swampy heat. Lines of green trees along Whitman Drive, which curves south to Atwell, are stained a dusty pale brown from ground level nearly halfway up. The murky watermark rises higher than passing cars.

Three city trucks arrived to collect another pile of rubble at a neighbor's house that Rubicon cleared the day before. For the Ginters, Peggy Sue said an initial estimate for repairs was $44,000. They don't have flood insurance, which she said would cost $2,000 a year.

The Christian Celebration Center donated a hot water heater. The American Red Cross gave them a $250 card. Team Rubicon, in its second day at the house, was helping the Ginters get back on their feet.

"These guys are heroes," Peggy Sue said of Team Rubicon. "We could have never done that."

She said there have been tears, but she sees the disaster as opening a new chapter of her life.

"I've got a roof, shoes on my feet, most of my walls, food in my belly, good family and friends, and we're going to come out good," she said.

Midland has made sure Team Rubicon has come out good, too.

"We've been very looked after by Midland," Graham-Green said.

The community has donated "so much food" and support. Supplies -- masks, earplugs, hard hats -- are stocked at the school in a 40-foot trailer donated by Bierlein. Tables of snacks and coffee sit outside the gym.

"This has been a lot more streamlined than most operations," he said. "We haven't had to buy most of our food. It's been almost overwhelming."

Team Rubicon measures one rate of success with the number $69,244. That amount represents "costs saved," or the personnel and hours contributed by the nonprofit, based on a $53 per hour manpower rate for Team Rubicon's command staff and $23 per hour for laborers -- those slinging mud out of basements or shifting debris. These numbers, Harvey-Graham said, are based on reimbursement rates through FEMA.

Another indicator is less tangible.

Members often use a week or more of vacation time from their jobs to volunteer at sites across the world. They work together in "filthy, miserable, rotten places doing nasty work," Pries said. The relationships and bonds that form between career veterans, those in the Vietnam generation, like Pries, and younger veterans who had served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, are "remarkable to see."

"It gives us a sense of purpose," Pries said, lauding Team Rubicon's mission to integrate veterans with society. "They get to show what veterans are capable of in communities."
To the editor:

The week was fantastic for the iCan Shine Bike Camp. The Arc of Midland is proud to have hosted such a wonderful event at Midland Evangelical Free Church during the week of June 19.

The Arc is grateful to our sponsors the Midland Area Community Foundation and Midland Noon Rotary. Thank you to Dow Employees' Community Outreach Team and Tri-City Cyclist for rider scholarships. Thank you to Dow Corning Build a Bike Team for the donation of bicycles. Thank you to MidMichigan Medical Center for its donation of helmets. Thank you to Junia Doan of Uncommon Sense. Thank you to Elco Water for your donation. Your generosity and support is amazing and so very appreciated. Our bike camp gets better and more successful each year with your help.

The Arc could never have such a wonderful, well-organized event without all of our fantastic volunteers: Midland Noon Rotary, PNC Bank, the day treatment students and staff from the Midland County Juvenile Care Center, Hobart Barker with Tri-City Cyclist and Recycle a Bicycle, Officer Paul McDonald of the City of Midland Police Department and numerous members of the community who gave many hours of their week to help.

We are ever grateful to the volunteers for their boundless energy and commitment, and to The Arc Board of Directors whose continued direction and support helps this organization to passionately continue the mission. The Arc expresses our profound gratitude to the individuals who are extremely generous supporters of The Arc of Midland with their time and talents.

The Arc of Midland is a non-profit group whose mission is to advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; to promote their general welfare and to foster their presence, participation and inclusion in the community. The Arc is delighted that the iCan Shine Bike Camp brought together so many community members to participate in a wonderful week which will forever have an impact on each individual.

Plans are underway for next years Bike Camp. Check our website www.thearcofmidland.org for more information in the near future.

JAN LAMPMAN

The Arc of Midland executive director

RACHEL BAKER

SUSAN DRUMRIGHT

LAUREL BUCCI

Camp co-coordinators
Burns Church of Christ builds an inclusive ministry where deaf members can fit in, find Christ and make friends.

The Church: Burns Church of Christ in Burns, Tennessee

The Challenge: Connect with and supporting the hearing-impaired community in a rural setting.

One Big Idea: Build an inclusive ministry where deaf members can fit in, find Christ and make friends.

Anthony Grissom, a deaf member of Burns Church of Christ, is a bit of a jokesteras is Matthew Hiatt, the rural churchs minister. One Sunday morning during fellowship hour, Hiatt, in a flash of frivolity, placed his 2-year-old daughters frilly unicorn skirt on top of his head. Anthony stealthily snapped a picture, then conspired with the tech guy to insert the photo into the sermons PowerPoint presentation. The following week, as Hiatt was preaching, up popped a slide of him with a pink tutu adorning his head.

It was both a moment of laughter and distinction, as the prank indicated that the deaf community at Burns Church of Christ felt right at home.

Located in Burns, Tennessee, a farming community 30 miles west of Nashville, the small-town congregation had suffered the same fate as other rural churches whose hearing-impaired ministries had collapsed when their deaf members moved to larger cities in an effort to find connection.

In 2015, however, Gary and Lynn Chadwick began attending Burns Church of Christ. Gary, who is deaf, wore high-powered hearing aids but could hear only about 50 percent of what Hiatt said. So, Hiatt began to print out his sermons. Gary would sign the sermons to Lynn, who is deaf and blind, using her own handsa remarkable thing to watch, says Hiatt.

Fate intervened a few weeks later, when sisters and sign-language interpreters Deb Klahn and Vicki Drummond started worshipping at Burns.

I wish I could tell you that we launched this ministry, but its more like we landed it, says Hiatt, noting that now the 150-member congregation consists of about a dozen deaf people.

Though those who can hear are often leery of approaching deaf people, Gary Chadwick says that keeping ones distance only serves to isolate the hearing-impaired, making them feel more misunderstood.

Deaf people think, act and feel like everyone else does, says Chadwick. Connecting with us is the first step to forming friendships.

Hiatt has found that partial communication is viable via lip reading, note writing, exchanging texts and reading facial expressions. Still, nothing takes the place of sign language. Therefore, an interpreter signs for the hearing-impaired on the second Sunday of the month, and on the other three Sundaysat the request of the deaf membersthey hold their own service in another part of the building. Then, on the fourth Sunday of the month, the entire congregation comes together to share a fellowship meal.

To help merge their worlds, two deaf members of the congregation started offering 12-week sign language classes in the community. The church is also in the process of putting together a string of short tutorial videos that explain conversational signs, which will be posted on the churchs Facebook page. In addition, last December the children of the congregation learned three Christmas carols in sign language and signed them at the homes of deaf members. They hope to expand that ministry this year.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), 30 million people aged 12 and older have hearing loss in both ears. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 37.2 million adults suffer from hearing trouble.

Hiatt says that although he wants to do all he can to provide support to the deaf community, schooling himself on how they feel can be challenging.

My tendency is to view deafness as a problem to be solved, but this line of thinking does not generally reflect how the deaf population feels, says Hiatt, noting that many hearing-impaired people refuse to wear cochlear implants because theyre proud of their heritage and language.

Bridging that gap in cultures is a work in progress. Still, Hiatt enjoys the journey and is thrilled to offer a ministry that no other church in the community has provided.

Weve found our niche, says Hiatt. Im glad God opened this door for us.

Find more ways to serve your community 

BURNS CHURCH OF CHRIST

Burns, Tennessee

BurnsChurchOfChrist.org
Paducah, KY (42003)

Today

Cloudy skies early followed by a mixture of light rain and snow overnight. Low 31F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 100%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early followed by a mixture of light rain and snow overnight. Low 31F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 100%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected.
BLOOMINGTON  Police say one man was injured in a stabbing early Wednesday afternoon on Bloomingtons east side.

The incident is still under investigation, said BPD spokesman Elias Mendiola.

Several police cars and first responders were called to the 1900 block of Peach Street at 12:46 p.m. One man was transported to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries, he said.

The investigation is still in the early stages and the circumstances are unknown at this time, he added.

Police cars and the Bloomington Fire Department were also seen at in the 1700 block of East Empire Street service road, where police appeared to be talking with several different people of interest.

There have been no arrests, Mendiola said.

This story will be updated.
NORMAL  Children's literature today shows more caring and more presence of fathers, observes an Illinois State University professor who was recently recognized for her literary research.

Roberta Trites, a distinguished professor and interim department chair in the College of Business, is only the third American to receive the International Grimm Award for Research into Children's Literature from the International Institute for Children's Literature in Osaka, Japan.

The award, first given in 1987, is presented every other year to someone who has performed outstanding work in research into children's literature and picture books, or one who has contributed remarkably to such research and to the promotion of such research, according to the organization's website.

The award was named in honor of the Brothers Grimm, whose collections of folk tales include such children's classics as Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.

Children's literature won't go away, even though many things are vying for the attention of today's young people, said Trites.

They're reading, but they're reading on different platforms, she said. They read very extensive narratives online.

The focus of Trites' research is on feminism in children's literature. Her first book, Waking Sleeping Beauty: Feminist Voices in Children's Novels, was published in 1997. Her latest book, which will be published soon, Twenty-First Century Feminisms in Children's and Adolescent Literature, looks at what's changed in the past two decades.

Trites sees a lot more emphasis on caring in today's literature.

There's a lot more presence of fathers in the home and fathers who are more emotionally involved with their children, she said. I find that to be a positive change.

Another trend she sees is mothers as the supporters of their children  not standing in the way, said Trites, noting that in some older literature mothers are absent because they're seen as interfering with adventure.

Ideally, literature both reflects culture and changes culture, she said.

The series of books by J.K. Rowling made young people in the 21st century more creative and team-oriented, Trites said, and helped them believe in infinite possibilities.

The books fostered in them a desire to be a team like Harry, Hermione and Ron, she said.

Trites had been a semifinalist for the Grimm Award before but was absolutely overwhelmed and speechless when told she had won. She has been a faculty member and administrator at ISU since 1991.

She was already an avid reader when she came down with pneumonia at age 7.

Her grandfather bought her a copy of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, even though the bookseller thought it would be too difficult for her, she recalled.

I wanted to prove that bookseller wrong, said Trites, who dove into the book.

She sees Alcott as the first American feminist author, but women's issues in literature go back to our most ancient texts, said Trites, citing Greek drama, the Bible and Mideastern texts.

These books recognized that a female's experience is different, she said.

Trites sees children's literature evolving on multimedia platforms, with a continuation of interest in fantasy and dystopic literature and a continuation of series books, like Harry Potter.

She also thinks there will be a lot more young authors because they can publish on the internet.
BLOOMINGTON  About 185 low-income, older adults who receive state assistance to remain in their homes in McLean County will transition to another service provider as YWCA McLean County ends its long-standing, state-assisted home care services.

Home-care services for 24 private-pay older adults will remain.

"It's true that we now have a state budget," Liz German, YWCA McLean County vice president of operations, told The Pantagraph on Wednesday. "But the damage has been done. We can't turn back the clock."

YWCA is owed $500,000 by the state and $300,000 of that is for state-assisted home-care services, German said.

YWCA's last day providing state-assisted home care services for people 60 and older will be Aug. 5, German said.

The agency has been been providing state-assisted home-care services for 45 years and has been the largest provider in McLean County, said Vicki Hightower, YWCA senior director of adult services. Two companies  Addus HomeCare and Help At Home  also accept state-assisted home-care clients in McLean County. Several companies work with private pay clients, who aren't affected by the transition.

Seventy-five part-time home care aides are being affected, Hightower said.

"We can keep 10 to 12 of the 75 for our private pay clients," she said. The remaining employees are being urged to apply for other open positions at the YWCA and to Addus and Help At Home, Hightower said.

Addus and Help At Home will interview YWCA home care aides who apply. The goal is for those companies to hire as many of the former YWCA aides as possible so aides can continue to provide care to the same clients.

"Both companies have agreed to hire staff," Hightower said. Affected staff and clients have been informed. "We have been working to make sure that it's a smooth transition."

Assisting is Community Care Systems, Inc., which does care coordination for people 60 and older who need community-based services to remain at home.

"We'll talk with each participant (client) to tell them about Addus and Help At Home," said Marsha Johnson, director of Community Care Systems' case coordination unit. "We'll work with them so they can get the help they need."

"It's really sad," Johnson said. "YWCA has been a quality provider. It's a loss to the community."

"It's upsetting but it's completely understandable," said Christy Lear, case coordination unit supervisor. "The (state) budget has put a strain on agencies."

Home-care services include light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders and bathing assistance. Older adults who quality for state assistance because they are on Medicaid and have low income and assets receive an average of five hours of help a week without charge.

When the state budget impasse began more than two years ago, five organizations provided state-assisted home care in McLean County, German said. Two left with the budget crisis, so YWCA's number of state-assisted clients rose from 100 to 185 and its number of aides grew from 30 to 75.

But YWCA has not been fully reimbursed for the service, and payments have been delayed, meaning YWCA has been covering more of the cost of services.

YWCA leaders went to the Illinois Department on Aging twice and asked if YWCA could cap its number of clients served and the department said no, German said. After the second rejection, YWCA concluded it could no longer provide the service and terminated its contract with the state, she said.

"We do our best to work with every valued vendor's circumstances, and, in fact, reached out to the YWCA only yesterday to ask if they'd reconsider closing their program in light of the new state budget," Illinois Department on Aging spokesman Mike Deering said later Wednesday. "However, in this case, the nature of the client cap it requested is not permissible within the terms laid out in the General Assembly's administrative rules."

The cut  and the recent elimination of Medivan services  mean that the YWCA will be down to 130 employees, 40 of them full time. YWCA is not considering cutting other services because the home-care program and Medivan were the most reliant on state money, German said.
100 years ago

July 12, 1917: Fire nearly destroyed the home at 711 Sudduth Road (now College Avenue) in Normal. The house is owned by Palmer Moore, but is occupied by the George Scotchell family. Once again, Normal firefighting suffered for lack of proper equipment and not enough hose.

75 years ago

July 12, 1942: The scrap rubber campaign for the war effort closed with 225,000 pounds collected in the Twin Cities. Thats above goal, but not much when the nations needs are considered. So residents are asked to keep collecting scrap rubber until told otherwise.

50 years ago

July 12, 1967: ISU will soon host the new St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Student Center. Construction of the new center is set to begin immediately at 501 S. Main St., opposite Hamilton-Witten and Atkin-Colby halls. The center is projected to cost $150,000.

25 years ago

July 12, 1992: Two new airlines are adding flights to the Bloomington-Normal Airport. Northwest Airlink will fly between Bloomington and Detroit. Direct Air will fly from Bloomington to Midway Airport in Chicago.
The mixtape illustration for 2016's Lil Uzi Vert Vs. The World is the kind of image that you come back to. Interracial couples kiss amidst flashing cameras. Expectant eyes watch in awe or jealousy. Hands--brown, white, and taupe--are outstretched, ready to give away hard-earned cash. Uzi, the center of the image, towers over everyone. And there, perched on the top of his purple head like a crown, is Brittany Byrd.

Under a particular lens, Byrd's placement on such an inescapable piece of art would be the subject of much discussion. It would be explicated, her likeness analyzed. Like many aspects of black life, music created by black bodies often goes unexamined by the mainstream. A critical lens is not applied to subjects perpetually rendered inapt. Pale women are able to inspire, influence, and inform sartorial choices, artworks, and beauty trends with careful detail and endless profit. They are able to be respectable muses, noted for their ability to inspire. They stand in contrast to black women, the world's most generous muse, who's stripped of her likeness and bleached with deceit.

With nearly 200,000 Instagram followers, Byrd is changing all that and claiming her fame as the muse of one of music's biggest young names. Byrd's not just in Lil Uzi Vert's album art, but also appears as the centerpiece of his video " Money Longer," and frequently on his social media channels. And the Internet as a whole has embraced her as well. Fan pages are dedicated to her style and hair color, drunken partygoers recite "my brittany got mad" with the same affectation as her famous lover on "XO Tour Llif3." 22-year-old Byrd developed her unique style at a young age, and moved from her native Los Angeles to study at the elite Parsons School of Design in New York after a stint working as Lindsay Lohan's personal stylist.

Images by Marcelo Cantu

Over sushi in New York's East Village, we spoke about fashion, her relationship with Lil Uzi Vert, and her plans for the future.



You're known for your style, which is incredibly distinct and avant-garde. What inspires some of your looks?

The Harajuku vibe and Japanese culture inspires a lot of my looks. Gwen Stefani was a really big point of influence for me growing up. "Hollaback Girl" was my favorite song in the fifth grade and it stuck with me forever. I initially discovered what Harajuku was through the international kids at my school. The Harajuku vibe was created during the postwar Allied occupation of Japan, when American soldiers and civilians lived in the area. Curious Japanese youths came to experience a different culture and browse the Western goods in local stores catering to the Americans. I find that really cool because it's something that came naturally, out of curiosity. Seeing the Harajuku culture become mainstream inspired me even more.

Ever since I can remember my style has been off-kilter; I started dying my hair in fifth grade. During middle school we had to wear uniforms, and I was always that girl finding ways around looking like everyone else. I grew up watching anime, Spirited Away, Sailor Moon, Naruto. I live for juxtaposition and playing with different price points, silhouettes, and textures.

Is there a story behind the pink hair?



It started with Hello Kitty. When I was younger there was a Momoberry store in the Beverly Center. Everything was pink but so expensive, so I would save my allowances for big purchases. I gave myself the goal of buying everything in the store, but that was so unrealistic. I bought a leather backpack, one that I still have and wear, and I always carried that association with me. When I met Uzi, that's when I decided to dye it. We both merged our anime influences and it's crazy because now we look like Team Rocket when he has his purple hair. I'm not interested in changing it anytime soon.

Who are your favorite designers?

That's what got me in with Japanese cultures and designers. Learning about Junya Watanabe and Rei Kawakubo, the way they deconstruct the notion of what clothing is and can be. So much of my wardrobe is made up of their pieces. I also really love Alexander McQueen. He didn't believe in fear in design; he turned runway into theater.

Where are your favorite places to shop?

Dover Street Market. Star Struck Vintage in the West Village always has gems. I always find a great designer piece or a sick tee. Totokaelo is great too, their interior design is incredible.

How did you end up working with Lindsay Lohan?

I was her stylist first and then became her personal assistant. I used to work at Art Partner and handled editorial portfolios for Mario Testino, Alasdair McLellan and Glen Luchford. I would study their images; they were their own worlds. The focus wasn't on the girl's identity, it was a work of art, all for the sake of commerce. There was something so beautiful about that to me, and it made me more interested in styling.

I started working for Kode Magazine and the Editor-in- Chief, Allan Troy Watson, couldn't make it to style [Lohan] and asked me to go. That's when we just clicked. We ended up traveling all across the world. She was the first person I ever tried cryotherapy with in Monaco.

You just graduated from Parson's School of Design, what's next?

Infinity and beyond! I really want to create from an honest place. I don't have a desire to just make something for the sake of making it. That's never been something that motivates me. Everything has to be of quality, of emotion. Whether it's clothing, art pieces, or furniture, it has to be genuine. A few months ago I opened a design studio where I've been working on upcoming pieces for my furniture line, called BYRDLORE. And in 2016 I made an art book called Glitter Tears, composed mainly of behind-the-scenes photos.

Dating a musician can sometimes lead to people neglecting your individual accomplishments. Many publications cite women involved with musicians as "the rapper's girlfriend" and never as an individual. What do you think of that?

I get that a lot--or simply "Uzi's girl ." There's no comparison to the sun and the moon. That's the biggest misconception, the girlfriend label. My name is Brittany Byrd and I'm pretty rad. I'm many things and for him, I'm the coolest lover of all time.

How did you and Uzi meet?

It's actually quite regular, we met through a mutual friend, and just had an instant connection.

What do you think attracted you to one another?

Knowing we are both not of this planet; that was the main thing. I'm a very spiritual person and when we met one another, there was like this moment of recognition. Two aliens in America.

What was it like going from behind the scenes to becoming a social media star?

It was so exciting. I was balancing school and then traveling all over the state. The energy of all the crowds inspired me so much, especially getting to interact with them, and connecting. But I was always studying like crazy for finals and making sure all my assignments were submitted on time.

You have 333, which seems to be a recurring motif for you, tatted on your hand. What does it mean?

I would see it all the time my first year of college. Everywhere I went, I kept seeing that number. License plates, clocks. I started getting into numerology and put together all the pieces. I was born in March, my birthday is the 23rd. I did my research and learned that 33 is a master number. It confirms that you're on the path to ascension. Whenever I was in doubt, I would see it, and it keep me motivated. This random night in New York City, I decided to get it tatted.

You're a muse to one of the biggest stars in the world. What inspires you?

Right now, design. I'm inspired by Virgil Abloh and his overall artistic expression with clothes, furniture and couture. I'm inspired by Vener Panton's mid-century furniture design. His work creates a mood, a very groovy mood while being visions of the future. And of course, Uzi. He's my muse. His work ethic is unsurpassed.
Back in 2003, Eyal Feldman started his then coconut oil-based lube brand, Boy Butter, with a 16-ounce butter tub-shaped container that he officially launched at the International Mr. Leather competition, the largest "pageant" within the leather community. "My whole goal with it was to make something that was as long lasting as silicone but washed off like a water based lube," Feldman says of the launch, which saw him selling on three continents (Europe, North America and Australia) within a year. Benefiting in part from the mainstreaming of sex culture during those earlier years, which saw lubes make their way out of sex shops and into convenience stories, Feldman's business steadily grew.

But now, as the company begins to ride the mainstreaming wave of gay culture, exemplified by RuPaul's Drag Race moving from Logo to VH1, it's hitting some unexpected bumps and even having to fight censorship. Here, the Boy Butter creator and former Nasty Pig employee talks about the intricacies of the gay market, what demographic has the most sex, and what happened when his ad got censored.

How and why did you start the brand?

Well, I graduated from college at the University of California in San Diego in 2000 and I wanted to move to New York after graduation. Before I did so, I met the owners of Nasty Pig , which is a gay men's clothing company. I got a job working with them and that way I was introduced to the gay men's fashion and fetish industry. While there I learned about the industry and business. I realized I really thrived there and in the trade shows we were going to.

While I was working at Nasty Pig, I came up with the idea of boy butter kind of as a euphemism for cum. I had heard of the term baby batter which is the straight euphemism for cum but gay guys don't have babies so it would be boy butter. When I said that I thought "that's a really good name for a lube. Somebody should do that."

Then September 11 happened and I decided to leave the States. I moved to Spain, and lived about a year there. I learned Spanish fluently in about six months and decided if I could do that I could do anything. The idea of Boy Butter came back to me and instead of the idea that somebody should make it, I thought I should make it. So I moved back to the States and went back to Nasty Pig full time and started Boy Butter as a hobby.

[In 2005] my parents lent me money to become a manufacturer and I was able to manufacture Boy Butter on my own and reduce the cost of the products because I could make a larger volume. I was also able to expand my product line and I went full time.

Having worked for Nasty Pig and starting Boy Butter, what have you learned about gays as consumers?

Well I'm a proud gay man, I came out when I was in the 10th grade. I've lived in the gay community since I've lived on my own when I was 19. When I worked at Nasty Pig, I felt very much a part of that and learned about the gay demographic and gay business. What I find that's different is that it's more intimate in a way. It's kind of like you know each other.

All of my marketing and my advertising, I put into the gay community. I don't really advertise outside of it because I've found the gay community is very loyal. If they like something, they stick with it and it's just more effective for me to market to that community specifically and it kind of branches out from there because gay men are the authors of culture. We push what's cool, what's in, what's now. I think if you get in good with the gays, you've got it made. The message just ripples out from there.

What do you make of others that say that the gay community is quite limiting and you can't have a sizable business targeting them.

That is a very valid statement, but I'll contest that since the very first year, 40 to 50 percent of my clients have been women and I call it the Will and Grace effect: I market to Will, and Grace uses it. Usually a gay man's best friend, or amongst his closest friends, are women. Word of mouth spreads organically through the tastemakers and women ended up liking it.

How important is the fetish community to your business?

Well, when you look at the gay communities it's really divided into subsets: there's twinks, there's bears, there's all these others. But of those, the community that has the most sex is the fetish community, which is the demographic Nasty Pig had. They use the most lube of any demographic and it made sense for me to target to them because I was well known already from my work with Nasty Pig. It was easier to introduce my own product within that community and they are like walking billboards.









Let's talk about Comcast censoring your commercial during RuPaul's Drag Race in certain markets.

RuPaul's Drag Race has gone mainstream as per the move to VH1. I celebrate when gay people are accepted everywhere, and that's what happens when you mainstream, but I also believe in being proud of your community and standing for what we always have and our uniqueness. I could not imagine any other gay show in history that commands so many gay eyes. Just the name Boy Butter alone, no matter what kind of project I'm putting forth, when I'm working with someone like Comcast I have to overcome that obstacle of being a gay brand. I think what happened is [the commercial] rubbed them the wrong way and they didn't feel it was a fit so they rejected it, maybe because they thought it was too gay or whatever. But it's not. Spectrum has been airing it before and there was really no reason not to air. There's much more salacious and graphic things on television. I, on purpose, made it as G-rated as I could just to avoid this thing. But I think it's important for everybody to see what it is we do, what we like and what we sell.

But they ended up changing their minds later about that right?

I knew, because of prior experience, when I was going to submit this to them that they were probably going to reject it. So when they officially did I said, "OK, let me talk to the manager and get an explanation." He said, "It''s just not a good fit for our viewers." So I put that in my pocket and waited for the show to begin to air. Once it did I brought it back up again in public with a blog post and told all my friends to share. Within six days, Comcast reversed their decision and said that they wanted to air the ad for free.

That's all I wanted to do was just run my ad. But you know, thank god they actually said "No" because I could take that and write an article about it. There are gay stores in Chicago that don't even get a response and now it's different. It isn't just for us, this makes it a little bit easier for any gay business in the country who wants to run ads on Comcast.
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In November Patently Apple posted a report titled "Chinese Cyber Security Law goes into Effect in June 2017." Today we're learning that Apple is now setting up its first data center in China, in partnership with a local internet services company, to comply with tougher cyber-security laws introduced last month. The center will reside in the southern province of Guizhou with data management firm Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry. China launched its first big data pilot zone in Guizhou in May 2014.

An Apple spokesman in Shanghai told Reuters the center is part of a planned $1 billion investment into the province.

"The addition of this data center will allow us to improve the speed and reliability of our products and services while also complying with newly passed regulations," Apple said in a statement to Reuters.

"These regulations require cloud services be operated by Chinese companies so we're partnering with GCBD to offer iCloud," it said, referring to its online data storage service.

Apple is the first foreign firm to announce amendments to its data storage for China following the implementation of a new cyber-security law on June 1 that requires foreign firms to store data within the country.

In November Bloomberg reported that "China has green-lit a sweeping and controversial law that may grant Beijing unprecedented access to foreign companies' technology and hamstring their operations in the world's second-largest economy.

The requirement on certification could mean technology companies will be asked to provide source code, encryption or other critical intellectual property for review by security authorities. This is something Microsoft already does with its software, under controlled conditions."

With that in mind, Apple was quick to point out today that "No backdoors will be created into any of our systems." For more read the full Reuters report here.

On Monday Patently Apple reported that Apple announced it will setup its second Data Center in Denmark in the first half of 2019.





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IDC published tablet and detachable tablet statistics on May 4, 2017 wherein it was made clear by the chart shown below that Apple held 24.6% market share placing them in the top spot for Q1 2017. Samsung was clearly #2 at 16.5% market share. Today a Digitimes report states that "The sources also cited IDC's figures and pointed out that Samsung Electronics was the largest slate tablet maker worldwide with a 19% market share in the first quarter of 2017, followed by Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) at 16%, Compal Electronics at 13% and Huawei at 6%." The report in its current form is Fake News.







(Click on Image to Enlarge)

A partial screen shot of the Digitimes report is presented below quoting wrong data for Q1 2017 for worldwide shipments. More bizarre is that they quote Foxconn and don't even list Apple. We wanted to provide a screen shot should Digitimes alter their report later today.





The error is pure propaganda and the Digitimes editor should officially pull the story in its current form. It's obvious that the report's "sources" are Samsung slanted propagandists.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
The odds are pretty good that you havent heard about this devastating humanitarian crisis:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/10/536440875/suspected-cholera-cases-pass-300-000-in-yemen-red-cross-says

See also Yemen: War in the time of cholera.

If you want to help, donations to the organizations mentioned in the articles (e.g., the Red Cross and UNICEF) would not be amiss.

And donations to LDS Charities are always appropriate. I cant tell if theyre active right now in Yemen or not, but they do a lot of good internationally  and with very little overhead. One of their specialties is the provision of clean water.

Posted from Honolulu, Hawaii
Patna: In a tragic accident, two boys aged 12 and 13 died when they drowned while swimming in a pond inside Dragon Park near Pataliputra Roundabout in Patna on Tuesday.

Praveen Kumar and Deepak Kumar, both 5th grade students of Kamala Nehru School, allegedly jumped over the closed park fence to swim in the pond inside the Dragon Park. However, they misjudged the depth of the pond due to flooding caused by incessant rain for the past few days and went underwater never to come out again.

Seeing them drowning, a woman who happened to be in the area, cried for help. Some people then jumped into the pond and pulled back the two boys to surface. They were sent to a nearby hospital where both died shortly.

Praveen was the son of Kashi Rai and Dipak was the son of Harihar Rai  both neighbors in Bindeshwari Nagar under Pataliputra police station.

Grieving family members said they were not aware that the District Magistrate had ordered closure of schools for children up to Class VIII. The two friends went to school on Monday morning only to find school closed. The two then returned home, dropped their school bags and left to swim in the pond in the Dragon Park.

The bodies of the two boys were sent for autopsies and later handed over to their families.
Patna: newly-elected Mayor of Patna Sita Sahu on Tuesday, with more than half of the state capital reeling under severe water-logging due to dilapidated, non-functioning underground sewage system, suggested forming a permanent committee on water-logging to deal with the hellish situation that the city is currently faced with.

"In next 3-4 days, we will form a permanent committee to review the water-logging situation in Patna. I have personally visited many areas including Rajendra Nagar, Ram Nagar, Khas Mahal Road etc. on Monday and the situation is grim in these areas. The public has high hopes from this new administration and we will take all ward councilors into confidence to get their inputs in this matter," Sahu said.

The first woman mayor of Patna further said that she had directed the officials to come up with a plan to keep Patna free from water-logging.

"If needed, I will go to war with the government to get them approve plans to keep Patna clean and free from water accumulation on roads. I do, though, feel this government is also very concerned about keeping the city clean," Sahu said while visiting several pumping stations.

Residents of Dariapur, however, were not pleased with Mayor's plan.

"If the PMC, after 40 years, is still in the planning stage to rid Patna from water-logging then only God can save this city," said a shop-owner whose small restaurant remains under dirty water for the last five days.
Patna: After four days of suspense over whether he would comment on the future of his deputy Tejaswi Yadav who is now embroiled in a CBI criminal probe over shady land and property deals, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday played it safe saying he would never compromise on the issue of crime and corruption and those who stand accused of such crimes will have to prove their innocence.

Speaking at the party working committee meeting convened to decide about the party's relationship with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the wake of the CBI raids at various properties of party President Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and their son and Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav, Kumar said that he did not believe in hearsay and those who remain accused will have to answer themselves.

"I am never going to compromise on crime and corruption issues. The law will take its own course," the Chief Minister said without ever mentioning the name of Lalu's son.

Kumar then went on a rant about how he had built his character by doing the right things in his life based on truth, justice, and morality.

"I resigned from my post on moral grounds after a train accident when I was the Railway Minister in the Vajpayee government in spite of the fact that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee did not want me to resign," he said.

The Chief Minister also mentioned names of other party leaders, including former ministers Ramadhar Singh and R N Singh, who in the past had resigned in the face of allegations against them.

The Chief Minister's use of metaphors and allegories were seen as clear signals to his Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav who is under pressure to resign from his post in the wake of corruption charges against him.

Later, at a press conference, JD-U spokesperson Neeraj Kumar repeated Kumar's words almost verbatim about making no compromise over crime and corruption.

"Those who are accused need to respond. We believe in zero tolerance when it comes to crime or corruption," he said.
Political Debate Heats Up in Iran

07/12/17

By Ali Reza Eshraghi (source: LobeLog)



Iran's President Hassan Rouhani next to portrait of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

(photo by ISNA)



A popular joke was bouncing around in South Africa in the early 1990s. Given the country's overwhelming challenges, people have two options, a practical one and a miraculous one. The practical option is for everyone to get down on their knees and pray for a band of angels to come down from heaven and solve the problems. The miraculous option is that people and politicians talk with each other and work things out.

Today, this joke applies to both Iran and America-despite their many differences. Both countries suffer from a pathology of overwhelmingly polarized, adversarial, and acrimonious politics in which reaching consensus has become a vice rather than a virtue. In both countries, presidents who proclaimed themselves as fixers were elected. The US chose Donald J. Trump and his "art of the deal," though it turned out that his method heavily relied on bluffing and bullying. In May 2017, Iran re-elected Hasan Rouhani, whose mantra and mandate has been deal-making and negotiation since his first term.

In late 2015, Rouhani succeeded in negotiating a nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the US and five other world powers, and immediately afterwards stressed his hope to use the same method to achieve a national deal - or what he called a "domestic JCPOA." Now where does Rouhani stand? His American counterpart and the Republican Party are desperately looking for a pretext to scrap the nuclear deal and are openly talking about regime change in Iran. He also has to face Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who has a hammer in hand and treats every issue like a nail. Rouhani's domestic rivals are getting bolder and harsher to undermine his authority at every passing opportunity, as if they had not just recently lost both presidential and city council elections.

Add to this mix Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has been creating new challenges for Rouhani since spring.

The Role of Khamenei

On May 7, less than two weeks before Election Day and during the most crucial days of campaigning, Khamenei accused the Rouhani administration of quietly implementing UNESCO's non-binding Education 2030 Framework for Action. Without putting his finger on a specific issue, he dismissed the entire document as being un-Islamic. His move was peculiar because Iran's Supreme Leader customarily refrains from public engagement with candidates during election season. Unprecedented, however, was also Rouhani directly responding to Khamenei that he had been influenced by "fake reports." And here started a heated and lengthy public debate. As typical in Iran, a non-issue suddenly became an issue exhausting the energy of all political players.

On June 8, a month after his initial remarks, Khamenei struck back by saying, "No! Our reports are reliable." This time, however, he cunningly replaced his Islamic frame with national sovereignty: "Let's say, there is nothing that is blatantly against Islam in this document [...] what I'm saying is that the country's educational program should not be decided by outsiders."

In Iran, it is usually said that the Supreme Leader has fasl-ul-khitab, or the final say, in all matters of dispute. But Khamenei's remarks are increasingly becoming a starting point for public debate in which, unlike in the past, he is forced to participate. In another example, about a month ago, the Leader, who enjoys using military metaphors, stated in a meeting with his student supporters to "fire at will" whenever they "feel that there is something wrong" with government bodies. Rouhani's frightened supporters perceived these ambiguous remarks as an indication that Khamenei was giving radicals the green light to disrupt the government.

Again, the Leader's remarks sparked another debate between different political factions, forcing Khamenei to explain that he did not mean to encourage "anarchy," and that "revolutionary forces must uphold law and order in the country more than ever before."

Khamenei's behavior has been as puzzling and erratic in the private discussion forums of politicians. As always, reliable information about the Supreme Leader is incredibly scarce and speculation is rife. Highly circulated rumors have a tendency to become facts, and right now popular belief attributes Khamenei's behavior to his illness, his advanced age, or his frustration over the uncertain and complex circumstances surrounding his succession. Even when Khamenei makes a relatively amenable remark, such as asking the head of the judiciary to support and promote "the people's legitimate freedoms," it is lost in the commotion, and reformists make no effort to appropriate or invest in it.

The Role of Rouhani

Just like Khamenei, the increasingly contentious rhetoric of Rouhani that started in the midst of his presidential campaign has caught many of his supporters off guard. He proactively picks fights and criticizes Revolutionary Guard commanders for trying to "run the country's economy" like a government but "with rifles." His remarks were so hard to stomach that the infamously hardline Kayhan Daily, instead of attacking-its usual course of action-tried to diffuse the situation by writing in its editorial: "We all know that in reality neither the government wants to weaken the IRGC, nor does the IRGC want to weaken the government."

Even prominent reformist pundits and politicians like Abbas Abdi, Saeed Hajjarian, and former Tehran Mayor Gholam Hossein Karbaschi have advised the president against verbal confrontation with officials from other branches of the regime. But it takes two to tango, and there is no indication that even if Rouhani settles down, his hardline rivals would follow.

Moderate members of the Conservative/Principlist camp, like Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani who is currently Rouhani's strategic ally, are also worried about this situation. In a recent public meeting, Larijani asked Gholam Hossein Mohseni Eje'i, the deputy chief of the judiciary, to privately resolve his problem with the government, and to "Refrain from fueling tensions, [because] the people need peace." Two former Principlist lawmakers, Alireza Zakani and Ahmad Tavakoli, have also voiced their concern about continued fiery feuds and have even proposed that their camp declares "unilateral ceasefire" so that the Rouhani administration can implement its agenda. However, within 72 hours of this proposal, Zakani himself used his official Telegram channel to attack Iran's new South Pars gas deal with Total, calling it a "huge betrayal of national interests."

The Role of Confrontation

The quarrelsome culture of politics is nothing new in Iran. Since 1997-and reformist Mohammad Khatami's presidency-society has witnessed fervent public debates and fierce argumentation between the two rival political camps. But today, this confrontation has different symptoms.

First, it has become ubiquitous. Unlike in the past, almost every public policy, persona, and even fact is grounds for contention. Second, it has become more direct and blatant. For centuries, Iran's rhetorical culture has relied on figures of speech such as allusions and innuendos to make confrontations indirect and subtle. But now, adversaries do not shy away from openly criticizing and lambasting one another. Lastly, if in the past it was the rank and file who feuded while leaders and generals watched from a distance, now the heads directly challenge one another. They even use their social media accounts to respond to one another to the point that Ali Motahari, the outspoken Tehran lawmaker, mockingly said that it would be "better to talk face-to-face."

The majority of Iranian pundits and politicians from both sides of the aisle argue, at least publicly, that this amount of contentious debate is not healthy for the country. Regardless, it is a safe bet to assume that Iranians will continue to watch this political reality show where different parties and factions engage in the war of words while talking about the necessity of maintaining "unity" and "solidarity." This also comes at a time when the country is at a "critical juncture," as Mohammad Khatami, Iran's former president and the spiritual leader of the reformists, put it, in reference to threats by the Islamic State, Saudi Arabia, and the increasingly hawkish United States.

The fact that political actors continue their engagement in verbal contention does not necessarily indicate a sign of internal weakness or an inability to recognize looming external threats. On the contrary, it could suggest that Iran's political system has gained enough maturity and capacity to handle such disputation while closely monitoring perils from abroad. After all, the US is dealing with the same symptoms of impasse and cantankerous politics, but no one is predicting imminent collapse.

There is no natural and innate sequence, no prewritten script of how rhetorical conflicts evolve or are dissolved. Rather, it depends on the actual balance of power, the decisions and judgment calls elites make, and the political opportunity structure (the discursive, "institutional and cultural access points that actors can seize upon to attempt to bring their claims into the political forum," as Ferree et al have explained).

In certain instances, very controversial policies have eventually been implemented, such as designing a new model for Iran Petroleum Contracts (IPC) and the ensuing energy deal with the French Total. On other occasions, the war of words has escalated to physical assaults, like the March 2000 assassination attempt on influential reformist strategist Saeed Hajjarian followed by the massive crackdown on the reformist press in May. Under other circumstances, the situation devolved into a full-fledged confrontation, such as the rise and suppression of the Green Movement after the disputed 2009 presidential election. This traumatic event has been etched into Iranian public memory.

Perhaps the only point of consensus among Iran's political players and the public since the presidential election was the IRGC's missile blitz in retaliation for the Islamic State attacks in Tehran. But the very day after, Rouhani's government and the Revolutionary Guard (and by proxy, Iran's Supreme Leader) squabbled for about 10 days over who deserved credit for the decision. Finally, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, intervened and said, "Both sides are right, but neither is telling the whole story." This example underscores the elasticity of Iranian politics: ready to come to agreement when needed, and to resume contention the very next day.



About the author:



Ali Reza Eshraghi is the Iran Projects Director at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and a teaching fellow in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was a senior editor at several of Iran's reformist dailies. During his more than 15-year career in journalism, he has published hundreds of articles and op-ed pieces in various Persian, Arabic and English media including the New York Times, CNN and Al Jazeera. Eshraghi is an alumnus of the Duke-UNC Rotary Center for International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution. Formerly, he was a visiting scholar at the UC Berkeley School of Journalism and The Institute of International Studies (IIS). He was also a research fellow at the Religion, Politics and Globalization Program at UC Berkeley. Eshraghi studied Political Science and Islamic Studies at Imam Sadiq University in Tehran.
Google has been dabbling in photo hosting for years, but it wasnt until it released the revamped Google Photos in May 2015 that it really took photo archiving seriously. We can now back up all our photos for free, and even get our images printed in Photo Books. But Photos leverages Googles machine learning muscle to do a lot of other cool thingsyou just need to know where to look.

Favorite photos

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

Google Photos makes it easy to save all your photos, but there are probably some you like more than others. When you come across those pics, you can add them to your favorites for easy access in the future. To mark something as a favorite in Photos, just tap to view it and look for the star at the top of your screen. Tap the star, and your photo appears instantly in the Favorites album. This is a special album visible only to you inside Google Photos, but you can still share the items inside it.

Assistant tab

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

Youre probably familiar with Assistant as the voice-activated AI in your phone and Googles smart speakers. However, theres a different Assistant in Google Photos. Just slide over to the Assistant tab to see what it can do.

The Assistant tab includes basic housekeeping suggestions like archiving screenshots or receipts. However, it also generates suggested edits to your photos. For example, you might get a fun filtered version of a pic or a little collage of similar images. You might even get a fancy color pop image that highlights the subject in color and fades the rest of the photo to monochrome. When you see something you like in the Assistant tab, just tap the Save button to add it your library.

Create custom collages

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

Should you poke around in the Assistant tab, youll probably see collages. If you want to make your own, there are tools for that in the app. Open the overflow menu and select collage. You can also go over to the Assistant tab and tap collage at the top of the screen. You can pick between two and nine photos for Photos to drop into the collage. Unfortunately, you dont have control over which images go in which frames. Googles AI optimizes the composition for you.

Google Lens

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

Google uses machine learning to catalog all your pics in Google Photos, but you can take it a step further with Google Lens. This image analysis tool goes beyond simply figuring out whats in a photo, and actually provides actionable information. Its not perfect, but Lens already has some very cool capabilities.

To use Lens, find a picture to analyze and expand it to full-screen. Tap the Lens icon at the bottom of the display to turn Googles neural network loose on the image. Currently, Lens is great at identifying books, logos, landmarks, addresses, and some more esoteric things like dog breeds. Youll get useful web links and other actions based on the recognized objects. You can also use Lens to copy text from an image.

Edit your videos and movies

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

The photos in Google Photos get most of the attention, but lets not forget that the platform also backs up your videos. Google even included some basic video editing tools in the app. These tools come in two versions. When looking at one of your videos, you can tap the settings button at the bottom of the screen. This page lets you rotate and stabilize the videogreat if you were holding the phone at an awkward angle to capture the moment.

The other editing interface resides in the movie creation section of the app. This is accessible from the overflow menu in the main photo tab. You can choose one or more video (under Select Photos and Videos), and then splice them together, trim the ends, and export the project as a new file. Also, dont ignore the automatic movie options in this menu like Selfie Movie, Doggy Movies, and so on. These are generated using Googles AI, so they take a while to process on Googles servers.

Free up storage

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

So, now youve gotten all your images in Google Photos, do you really need them all locally on your phone as well? If youre in need of space, Google Photos makes it easy to clear out the clutter. Scroll up to the top of your main photo tab and tap on the line that says Free up [some amount of space] from device. After confirming on the popup, Google Photos will remove all photos and videos from your phone that have already been backed up to Googles cloud. You can still access those images at any time in Google Photos.

Name people

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

Face detection was one of earliest examples of Google Photos machine-learning. From the very beginning, can could open the Photos search interface, type in people, and see groupings of all the faces that commonly appear in your photos. Thats neat, but you can make this feature even more useful by attaching names to those faces.

To add names, open the search screen and type peoplethe app should suggest People & Pets. You can also tap the arrow next to the line of portraits under the search box. This opens a series of thumbnails of all the common faces that appear in your Photos archives. Tap a face (or pet), and then select Add a name to add a private label. With that done, you can use that label to search for photos of that person. For example, Rachel in Florida will pull up photos of someone youve labeled Rachel that were taken in Florida.

Quick select photos

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

Google Photos makes it easy to save every photo you take, but that can add up to a lot of photos. If you need to select multiple photossay, for batch deletionthe default way in most apps is to long-press then tap on additional items. However, you can select multiple items in Google Photos without a bunch of tedious tapping.

To select multiple photos, simply long-press and drag up or down. Photos will be selected as you go, and the further you drag, the faster photos will be selected. When you release, you can tap individual photos to add or remove them from the selection. This is great for bulk actions when sharing, creating albums, or just clearing out unwanted pics.

Shared libraries

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

A recent Photos addition that really shows off Googles machine learning is Share your library, which you can access from the apps navigation slide-out menu. You can share your entire photo library with someone else, but there are a number of options that make it a more targeted and useful experience.

The first step is deciding which contacts you want included in the share. Once you pick a recipient, the app will ask you to narrow down your sharing parameters. The default setting is All photos, but you can limit the share to only photos of specific peopleperfect for parents who want to share photos of their kids with other family members. Just pick your kids face from a list of all detected faces, and thats it. You can also set a date from which photos will be shared going forward. It can be the current day or some day in the past.

Your recipients will get instant access to matching photos as you take them, and can choose to copy them into their own library. You can also turn off the shared library at any time.

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

When you share a photo in Google Photos, it pops up the standard Android share menu. However, theres a special option hidden in there. Tap Create link, and you instantly create a link that works for anyone with the URL. This works with multiple images, and theres also a toggle to allow others to add photos to the album at that link.

The link is copied to your clipboard, so you can send it to any app you want. Only those with access to the link will be able to see the album. Should you ever want to discontinue access to that shared image or images, just head over the shared tab in the Photos app. Your links are shown here, alongside regular albums. Tap on the link and use Menu > Delete. This is also where you can add more images to your shared link, if you so choose.

Shared albums

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

Its easy to share individual images with Google Photos, but you can also share entire albums. This gives you expanded sharing capabilities, and its much simpler when you need to share a lot of photos.

The first step is simply to pick an album. This can be something youve made yourself manually or an automatically generated album from Photos. This second point is key because Google Photos is great at organizing photos from an outing or event. When viewing the album, tap the share button at the top of the screen. You can use any method you like to let people see the photos in your album, but you should choose the direct Photos sharing option if your friend is also a Photos user.

You can allow others to add photos to the album, and if you connect to someone via Photos, they get notifications when new pics are added. You will always see user icons at the top of shared albums to remind you of who has been invited. Those viewing the album can even leave comments for everyone to see. Like link sharing, you can shut off access to the shared album at any time.

Archiving photos

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

Google Photos uploads everything, and sometimes you dont want all the stuff it backs up to be in the main feed. That doesnt mean you want to delete it, though. Thats why archiving was added to Google Photos.

To archive photos, open them or select multiple images at once using the quick-select trick explained above. Then, go to Menu > Archive. Archived photos will remain in your private archive, accessible via the navigation menu. Archived images are kept in any shared albums, but they wont clutter up your main feed. This is great for screenshots and images of receipts.

Google Photos had been getting plenty of attention because its the perfect place to show off machine learning. That means well probably see new innovations on a regular basis. These tips are only the beginning.
Former President, John Agyekum Kufuor, has disclosed that the economic challenges facing Ghana are as a result of the countrys poor leadership. He made this disclosure during a policy forum organized by the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA).



According to him, though Ghana has the requisite human resources, the country suffers leadership deficiency.



What is left is the leadership that would use public sector. Build the public sector for the public sector to become aware that It should form infrastructure and move with the private sector which must be overseen so that at the end of the day we build the resources for the people, the former President posited.



The whole globe is one market. The African Union is talking of the New Partnership for African Development. They see that we are in the era of PPP  Public Private Partnership to move growth; to grow wealth. Without which even with the best intentions, social interventions would not work. The partnership is not limited to domestic entities or African countries. We should welcome other people from Korea, from America whoever will come and negotiate fairly, he added.



The policy forum themed Destiny or Policy?  Development Prospects for Ghana took place at the Amb. Birgit Storgaard Dialogue Centre, IEA. The Director of the Centre of Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, Dr. Ha-Joon Chang, was the principal speaker at the event.

Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Undocumented Ghanaians living in the United States of America (USA) can hope for a sign of relief following a step by the Government of Ghana to negotiate with the President Donald J. Trump administration to allow the rest of deportees take their belongings along with them when they are deported.



The diplomatic talk, if successful, will ensure that deportees do not come home with nothing except what they wear when arrested.



Speaking exclusively in an interview with the DAILY HERITAGE, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said Ghana as a sovereign state could not make any input to stop the American government from deporting undocumented Ghanaians as the action is backed by the legal requirements of the US.



She said unless President Trump changes his stands on issues of deportation, Ghanaians could only hope and pray that they are not arrested in the US and deported.



The Minister said the attempt by the government to hold discussions with the US government is to ensure that deportees could have something to begin life with when they come home.



The Foreign Minister disclosed this to the paper after attending the 2017 Diaspora Homecoming Summit held in Accra on Friday, July 7, 2017.



The issue of deportation of undocumented immigrants was a key campaign message of then candidate Trump, who led the Republican Party in the 2016 US elections.



In June this year, 75 Ghanaian immigrants who had lived in the USA for a number of years without being documented were deported.



They arrived at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra in handcuffs.



They had applied for asylum in the USA but their applications were rejected and were subsequently deported.



In April this year, the US Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Robert P. Jackson, said about 7,000 Ghanaians living illegally in the US were being processed for deportation.



In fact, about 7,000 of them are currently at different stages of the deportation process. And we are not apologetic about that, Mr Jackson told journalists in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Source: Daily Heritage









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Mr Alex Kwame Boakye-Sremah, a morning show host with a Takoradi based radio station has been appointed by the Regional Population Council as Ambassador for Family planning services.



The Ambassador, by his appointment would promote the use of birth control methods in regulating population growth and also mop up campaign in terms of road shows and work at getting more men and women to voluntarily adopt family planning practices and the other birth control modes to mitigate the impact of rapid population growth on the economy.



Mrs Eugenia Kusi, the Deputy Regional Minister, conferring the honour on him at this year's Regional population day celebration charged him to execute his mandate by integrating all stakeholders concerned to maximise gains in population control and the overall national development.



Family planning is now touted as one of the key areas in ensuring healthy people for sustainable development and better resource allocation.



In Ghana, high population occurred in urban areas such as Accra, Kumasi and Sekondi Takoradi which has strong implications on the economy.



The Deputy Minister said government would have to spend more on terms of the provision of social amenities to match up with the growth of the Population.



It is estimated that Ghana's population would rise to 40.8 million in the year 2040 which present a big economic challenge to government to meet the various needs of population and therefore proper planning and birth control schemes to ensure effective and efficient resource allocation by government and families.



Mrs Kusi added that collective efforts must be harnessed to ensure a better future for both present and yet unborn generation adding that rapid population growth undermines strategies to sustain investment in social amenities.

"Rather it's exacerbate the challenges of poverty, maternal and child deaths, HIV and AIDS and puts pressure on natural resources", she added.



She said involving men in the campaign for Family planning was one of the many options of meeting the targets of reducing national population growth rate from 3.0 to 1.5 in the next 10 years.

The Deputy Minister noted that there was the need to intensify efforts in a more coordinated approach in order to yield the expected outcomes.



Reverend Ernest Kwofie, Western Regional Chairman of the National Peace Council mentioned that population issues were complex due to its stressing impact on the economy.



He was worried about teenage pregnancies, early marriages and high abortion rates among young people and called for escalated actions to stem the practice in the bud.



Ms Freda Owusu-Ansah, officer with the Population Council said the UN in 1987 instituted the day when the World recorded its fifth billion child to raise awareness on issues of population growth and its implications on economies.

Source: GNA









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Kennedy Agyapong who appears unstoppable in his recent attacks at some members of his own party, has vowed to bring down the New Patriotic Party (NPP), before he is disgraced.



If you are not careful with people who helped you or us to come to power and give them this reward there is this boy called Siriboe whose father is a council of state member. How much did his father pay? You are there undermining him.NPP boy. I mean those NPP people who have vowed to collapse my business saying they will bring me downIf they joke the things I will say In Ghanathe way we won the elections. We did not win the elections on fair grounds. I am warning them for the last time. If they say they will bring me down, I will be the first to bring the NPP down before I am disgraced, he revealed on Oman Fm, his own radio station.



According to him, he is among those who want the betterment of the party for fear that when the NDC returns to power it will spell his doom.



Those of us who have shown our faces and ready to die for the party, if care is not taken and the NDC returns to power we are finished, he disclosed.



This is not the first time Mr Kennedy Agyapong is raising concerns about what the NDC might subject him to should luck smile on the party in 2020.



Last month, he revealed that jailing him is among three options the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is weighing in the event it wins back power 2020.



My life is on the line. Why is that when Ibrahim Mahama commits a crime I should speak about it but when my own party member commits same I should be quiet, he asked.



Commenting on recent developments in the NPP with some bigwigs scheming to bring him down with planned meetings at Alisa Hotel in Accra, he said he will not sit down while persons who did little to improve the fortunes of the party bring the current administration under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo down.



God has blessed me and they will all be disgraced. Whatever they are doing will fall flat because I am fighting a just course. Na true I go talk, he explained.



I will correct all wrongs in NPP because should NDC come into power now, they will either kill me, collapse my business or find a flimsy charge against me to be jailed, he alleged.

Source: adomonline









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Audio Attachment: Listen to Kwesi Pratt Jnr.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reaffirmed his commitment to end illegal mining (galamsey) in the country.



Addressing the issue, the President vowed to clamp down on illegal miners even if it will cost his Presidency.



He called on the nation's traditional leaders and the entire citizenry to support his course against the galamsey operators.



We cant win the fight without the support of the traditional authorities. Any serious social mobilization of Ghana . . . you the chiefs of our country if you are not involved doesnt happen. You are here today to have the opportunity to be part of our strategy. We need your support to bring this menace of galamsey to an end, President Akufo-Addo said at the opening ceremony of a two-day sensitization workshop on illegal mining for traditional leaders.



I have great confidence in the Ghanaian people, especially our traditional leaders that they have always stood out in our history when the white people wanted to take our lands when the time came that we have had enough of British rule it was you who stood out. So Ghanaians are counting on you...this is the time to all of us to say we have to do something for ourselves and the future. I have no doubt that if there is one thing to do is the mobilization to stop this galamsey. I have come here to ask and plead for your support in this fight. Im fully committed, but I know that mine is not enough, I need your commitment as well.



No matter how difficult it will take we will win this fight. We are going to reclaim our heritage.  We are going to do that across the length and breadth of our country. We are going to green our country again and reclaim the space. We will write a glorious chapter in this history of Ghana," he further stated.



Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', Kwesi Pratt lauded President Nana Akufo-Addo for his determination to curb the menace.



Kwesi Pratt expressed profound admiration for the President, saying he is glad he (Nana Akufo-Addo) made such bold statements.



To him, Ghana needs such leaders as President Nana Addo.



Mr. Pratt noted that he's looking out for leaders who are ready to forfeit their second term in office for a worthy course because they would have already fought a good fight that a second term wouldn't be very necessary.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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HOLY SHIT: a one trillion tonne iceberg has broken off from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

The Larsen C Ice Shelf, between 200 and 600 metres thick, floats on the ocean at the edge of the Antarctic Peninsula, holding back the flow of glaciers that feed into it.

The new iceberg, literally twice the size of Luxembourg, is just gone now, off on its new adventure floating in the Weddell Sea, endangering the Titanic.

Meanwhile the Antarctic Peninsula is forever changed, the Shelfs area reduced by more than 12 percent by the calving of the 5800km ice hunk.

And the fear is, that without the iceberg, Larsen C, even as it regrows, could become unstable enough to collapse altogether, just like Larsen B did in 2002, seven years after its own calving event in 1995. You know what else happened in 1995? The Larsen A shelf completely disintegrated.

Apparently it had already been floating, as a rift between it and the shelf developed over the course of this past year, before it completely broke away  kinda like when youre treading water and spend a whole year clinging to a dead relationship or perhaps to Roses door, before you/Leo finally just let go.

That at least means the change wont immediately affect sea levels.

Two NASA satellites detected and confirmed the calving, placing the event as occurring sometime between Monday and today.

Lead investigator Professor Adrian Luckman said:

The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict. It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments. Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters.

How far north, huh? All the way to Tasmania? We just dont know*.

*Probably not, no. That was a joke.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald / Project MIDAS / The Guardian.

Photo: 20th Century Fox
PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with Mercedes-Benz to introduce you to Grow Up  a four part series telling the true stories of how unique people have grown up differently and redefined traditions. Mercedes-Benz are constantly innovating and challenging the norm  they welcome these untold stories of challenging the traditional world with unconventional thinking. Head HERE to learn more.

These days, however, were moving away from this crusty, neolithic-seeming ideology. Why? Well, besides obvious factors like it clearly being a heteronormative-swinging concept, were finally cottoning on to the notion that we should kinda be focusing on living in the now, rather than preparing for a future that might not even exist when were expecting it to (read: who doesnt think about randomly getting run down by a bus?).

Given this shift away from the traditional, what does settling down mean nowadays? And what role  good, bad or otherwise  should it play in our lives? We turned to David Freeman for answers.

Freeman is the entrepreneurial weapon responsible for the healthy shakeup to Australias beverage offering with his brand H2coco (and recently, H2melon). What you might not expect, seeing as these products are strongly geared to the more #fitspo sect of society, is that he used to be heavily involved in Sydneys nightlife  having owned / partially owned several clubs in Surry Hills and Kings Cross. This rather drastic life change is why hes more equipped than most to discuss what settling down means in 2017.

To begin with, Freemans had to overcome a whopping amount of adversity. His dad passed away when he was five, and he notes that hes gone most of his life without the guidance of a father figure. Additionally, his sister is intellectually disabled and required a lot of support from his family. This built a drive in him to ensure his family was properly taken care of  an internal force thats still clearly visible today.

Everything I do goes towards the support of my family, to support my sister, Freeman told PEDESTRIAN.TV.

Freemans high school years were spent focused on sport. After graduating, he decided to pursue architecture at uni. Being extremely in tune with himself, however, meant that he knew these academic pursuits were sending him on the wrong trajectory. He had, and still has, a solid grip on what it means to grow up.

Life is a process of growth, really. As the world evolves, processes change with growing up.

Growing up, to me, has two characteristics. One being physical and one being spiritual. These, the foundations, remain the same but other things change over time. Nowadays, its much different to what it was 20 or 30 years ago but the characteristics of the physical and spiritual remain the same. If you can characterise what those are you can really determine your path and growth in life.

While he was studying, a family friend offered him a gig at one of the clubs on Surry Hills Oxford St. As soon as his involvement began, he knew that this was something he wanted to be involved in.

When I started working there, I had this vision of owning my own nightclub.

Ship it in, ship it out Time to get back to OZ, this crew has once again made everything so special. Love you all #noamateurs A post shared by DAVID FREEMAN (@davidgfreeman) on Apr 24, 2017 at 7:17pm PDT

He began at the bottom of the food chain by collecting email addresses for the venues mailing list. He thanks these early days as they allowed him to learn everything from the ground up. This dedication, however, meant that he had to sacrifice his more formidable years  the ones most of us spend drinking a lil too much, staying out too late  in order to focus on his work.

When I first started in clubs at 18, I was always working. Everyone of my friends were coming into the venue, enjoying themselves, having a few drinks, but I was there working. When youre working and committed to something, youre not really enjoying the benefits of it to that extreme. I treated the nightlife as a business, not a party. Just because youve got a party destination doesnt mean you can party.

It was obvious that uni wasnt his jam, and he left his architecture degree after two years.

I realised that everything that I was doing couldnt be taught from a text book.

He moved from the promotions / marketing / events side of the venue game, to general manager, before eventually buying / partially owning several popular nightclubs. Oh, and while all that was happening, Freeman was involved in several other businesses on the side as well. Yes, the man is essentially a professional juggler.

This line of worked consumed Freemans life for over 10 years, until Sydneys nightlife sadly took a turn for the worst  transitioning into the sad state it currently is now. He battled this for a few years but was sensible enough to recognise this wasnt a battle he was going to win.

Freeman had a new vision as he was battling for his venues. After finishing a Bikram Yoga class in New York, the instructor gave him a fresh coconut to drink. Seeing as he was offensively dehydrated after such an activity, the coconuts water went down a treat. The teacher explained to him the benefits of liquid, but added that coconuts are probably the most inconvenient things to open on the fly. He began noticing packaged coconut water in NY after this class and realised there wasnt anything like it on the Australian market.

Wanting to seize this opportunity, Freeman decided to throw himself in the deep end. He noted that his experience was rooted in booze, so there was going to be a lot of self teaching involved to get this up and running. He spent the next three months immersed in research  where to source it, how to produce it  and travelled to manufacturers in Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil and the Philippines to see how he could make it happen. Lastly, he developed a business plan off the back of a template he downloaded somewhere on the internet.

A family member gave him a small amount of funding, which he threw together with his own cash, and the now-thriving H2coco was born.

So, what can we learn from Freemans journey? Well, to put it simply, we can learn a shitload.

Growing up is a time for gathering information. Building habits and attitudes, laying down the foundation for the life that youre about to build. The stereotypical idea of adulthood that youre meant to be doing  going to uni, getting a job, have kids, settle down  has definitely changed. It doesnt have to be that way. Its more about building your own foundations and doing whats best for yourself, but also understanding everybody elses position as well. Its really important to understand and establish your position in the world. You dont have to go to university to become successful. Theres a lot of people out there who have done so without going. You get to choose your own path these days.

Freeman also has a pretty solid perspective on what settling down means in 2017. Hes a firm believer that settling down isnt about the whole white picket fence scenario  rather, its about getting stuck into your passion.

Settling down has often meant having kids, bunking down and focusing on their lives. Its definitely something that I want, but I do believe that life is extremely long and that weve got plenty of time to do that. My focus right now, on a personal level, is my business. Its about establishing a future and making a difference in what Im trying to develop. My belief is to focus on what Im currently doing, focusing on my business, focusing on setting myself up, so that when I am ready for that stereotypical kids-family life, Ill be able to bring a family into an amazing world.

Back from South Africa to find the NEW @h2coco office coming along just fine. #h2cocoHQ #h2coco #newoffice #CocoHills A post shared by DAVID FREEMAN (@davidgfreeman) on Mar 15, 2015 at 11:00pm PDT

So, when you think about it, Freemans been settled down since he started working in the club scene. Hes thrown himself into everything hes ever cared about, even if thats come at a cost to what we believe 20-somethings should be doing during those partying years.

Settling down isnt a bad thing. I do believe you need to set your vision, and that will help you on your path of settling down or achieving. Itll help you know when the right time is to settle down. In the meantime, you do need to make sure you enjoy your life. Set yourself goals and ensure that youre trying to achieve them to the best of your abilities.

Sure, this isnt going to be the path for everyone. Some of us need more time to ascertain what our own vision for life is. In saying that, theres something admirable about this new-age approach to settling down. It doesnt exclude anyone. Focusing on your goals is, without a shadow of a doubt, a beneficial exercise. From where were sitting, this is an ideology we can get around.

In addition to this ethos, Freeman reckons educating yourself (on your own terms) and being surrounded by a tight knit support network are the other two keys to success.

Im a big believer of self teaching, he says. You can teach yourself a lot by having different mentors, reading online, going to seminars.

Surround yourself with a strong, passionate team. Listen to them, ask them lots of questions and actually accept their advice  dont get stuck in your own mindset. It can be friends, it can be family  ask for advice, dont be shy.

We reckon settling downs never looked this good, folks.

Keen for another perspective? Dominic had life all figured out. The only problem is that his life was her. Now alone for the first time since he can remember, Dominic has to pick up the pieces and begin the most important relationship of all. Watch his story below.

To see even more stories about what growing up means, head to Mercedes-Benzs website HERE.

Photo: @davidgfreeman / Instagram.
Since it first became apparent that Donald Trumps presidential run was more than just a bombastic real estate goofus posturing to gain exposure, some of the worlds most respected journalists have worked tirelessly to expose his shady dealings.

Take, for example, The Washington Posts David Fahrentold, who exposed the infamous grab em by the pussy story, among others. Or, The New York Times Michael S. Schmidt, who broke the fact Trump asked former FBI chief James Comey to end his investigation into the Trump teams alleged Russian ties.

Then theres Jared Yates Sexton, a writer whose work has also featured in the Times and Politico. By his Sextons own admission, hes been keeping tabs on the possible links between Trump campaign associates  including Donald Trump Jr  and the Russian government.

And, uh, his work seems to have been impacted by Juniors insane decision to publish an email thread confirming he was deeply interested in anti-Hillary Clinton information that had clearly-stated links back to the Russian government.

A quick gander at his Twitter reveals exactly how idiotic Trump Jrs move has been  and how its impacted the work of a level-headed journo.

This is the dumbest and biggest crime in the history of American politics. Theres not even a close second.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

The son of the president just released the smoking gun and the people are laughing about it on the news.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

Then, the real incredulity set in.

I chased this story for a year and he justtweeted it out.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

Iworked on this story for a yearandhe justhe tweeted it out.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

Like. I spent hours and days and weeks and months. And his son just, hit tweet.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

I tracked down sources. Followed so many dead leads. Labored over this. And then, he just, you know, tweeted out the proof.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

Im not entirely convinced Im not having a break from reality.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

For the record, Im beside myself in relief that this stuff is out there its justmy god. I cannot believe this.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

Like, so many people out there were trying to track this down. And it justgot delivered on a tweet. What the hell.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

Im an independent journalist and I can tell you, theres a lot of us who have just gone after this thing in our free time.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

Ive talked to so many people whove put in hours and hours on this story. And sometimes you just feel like its never going to happen.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

Hey. Im good. I feel great. Im justabsolutely baffled at the moment.  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

Sexton took a breather, presumably stared wistfully out of his apartment window, and then continued to be publicly stumped by the entire fiasco.

Hey, so dont get me wrong. I am incredibly happy that the presidents son, um, tweeted out proof of collusion. 1/  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

Its just so bizarre. As an independent journalist you work crazy hard hoping something will fall into your lap andhe tweeted it? 2/  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

And its so strange. Last year there were those of us who were all over this story and being called paranoid. And nowthis? 3/  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

I mean. He just tweeted it. Like it was nothing. Like, it was just another Tuesday. 4/4  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

I just met you /

And this is crazy /

If youre interested in collusion /

Call me maybe?  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

This is all truly unprecedented territory, and the United States has never had to deal with the son of the sitting president admitting he wanted to collude with a foreign power to influence an American election.

Amid all of that insanity, Sextons Twitter feed is a little reminder that yes, there are other people who recognise how patently wild this all is, and theyre still working to bring this shit to light  even if it does cause them to have an existential crisis.

If you dont see something wrong with a pres. campaign meeting with a foreign power knowing its actively working to help himI mean  Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) July 11, 2017

Source: Jared Yates Sexton / Twitter.

Photo: Jeff Vinnick / Getty.
Brisbane City Council have set aside a whoppin $300K over three financial years to pay the rent on a to-be-established creative hub in South Brisbane until July 1, 2019.

The two-level, 550-square-metre site boasts several studios, workshops, meeting spaces and a massive warehouse.

The project, announced in Councils 2016-17 budget, aims to make the site available for artists, musos, actors, designers, dancers and other creative professionals, looking for an affordable space to create and ply their wares.

As per this years Council budget, $111,000 has been set aside for 2017-18, $114K for 2018-19, and $118K for 2019-20.

The new hub was promised to the community after new developments forced creative tenants out, including the $800-million West Village development at the former Absoe Furniture factory in the West End.

Council is now looking to find a non-profit organisation to sub-lease the property starting August this year. The head tenant will be responsible for the management, operation and maintenance of the creative spaces, including the setting of reasonable rent for creative persons.

Matthew Bourke, Councils community services chairman, is straight up stoked on the opportunity presented by the new hub:

The new creative hub highlights councils commitment to small arts enterprises and contributes to our vision of promoting Brisbane as the premier location for talented people to live, work and play.

But the councillor representing South Brisbane, Jonathan Sri, took to Facebook on the weekend to note the possible challenges, citing the need for the non-profit to ultimately be able to pay commercial rents once Council funding lapsed; and the v. v. short three-week timeframe for expressions of interest.

Irregardless, Sri reckons its a great opportunity, and to be frank, so do we. Having an affordable space to, for example, rehearse and record music can make the difference between playing forever in your parents basement and actually breaking into the music biz.

Good luck to em.

Source: Brisbane Times.

Photo: Realcommercial.com.au.
Electric car company Faraday Future just shitcanned its ambitious plans to build a gigantic factory in the US state of Nevada just 5 months after restarting construction.

The company had stopped production 11 months prior to that due to ongoing issues with money, the most important ingredient for making business soup.

For those who dont know, Faraday Future burst onto the electric car scene back in January 2016 with an impressive vehicle that was much faster than Teslas similar model.

Theyve got some gnarly plans and taking Teslas position at the top of the industry is definitely one of them. The other? They wanted to build a very, very large factory to start pumping out some cars.

The Apex site in North Las Vegas was set to cost $1 billion and cover a spacious 1 million square feet, the only problem is their Chinese financier is having major cash troubles. Oh dear.

Jia Yueting, the founder of FFs major investor, LeEco, just had $182 million in assets frozen by a Chinese court for not making loan payments. At the time, FF said these issues wouldnt affect production of their first vehicle, the FF91, which is due for release in 2018, but things are looking dire.

We have decided to put a hold on our factory at the Apex site in North Las Vegas. We remain committed to the Apex site in Las Vegas for long-term vehicle manufacturing, said Stefan Krause, Faraday Futures chief financial officer for the past four months. We at Faraday Future are significantly shifting our business strategy to position the company as the leader in user-ship personal mobility  a vehicle usage model that reimagines the way users access mobility. As a result of this shift in direction, we are in the final stages of confirming a new manufacturing facility that presents a faster path to start-of-production and aligns with future strategic options.

But a senior-level source told Business Insider that theyre probably far more fucked than anyones letting on, calling it a precarious situation. According to this mystery source, the companys operations at their LA headquarters have also been scaled back.

One former executive even said FF is in danger of missing its payroll which, as you can imagine, would lead to employees quitting en masse.

Its a shame because the company are actually capable of making an incredibly efficient and powerful electric car, evidenced by their recent record-breaking time in the recent Pikes Peak uphill race. But that may also the problem, says the ex-executive.

Theyve burned through cash on unimportant things (Formula E racers, polished videos, fake race cars), they said. They did set a new record for the Pikes Peak climb which I feel exemplifies the brilliance of those engineers theyve brought on its just a shame that it seems it may all go to waste.

Source: The Verge .

Photo: Faraday Future.
Children's apparel chain, Gymboree has announced it will close hundreds of stores including a number of stores in Pennsylvania.

Gymboree Corporation announced in a press release that following an evaluation of its stores, the company intends to close around 350 stores.

The company operates 582 Gymboree stores, 172 Gymboree Outlet stores, 149 Janie and Jack shops and 378 Crazy 8 stores. The majority of the store closing will include Gymboree and Crazy 8 stores.

None of the stores in central Pa. are expected to close.

The Gymboree stores expected to close in Pennsylvania include:

Exton Square, 342 Exton Square Parkway, Exton

Johnstown Galleria, 500 Galleria Drive, Johnstown

Oxford Valley, 2300 E Lincoln Highway, Langhorne

Beaver Valley, 528 Beaver Valley Road, Monaca

Lycoming Mall, 300 Lycoming Mall Circle, Suite 644, Muncy

The Mall @ Steamtown, 124 The Mall at Steamtown, Scranton

Penn's Purchase, 5861 York Road, Lahaska

The Crazy 8 stores expected to close in Pennsylvania include:

The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, 3045 Center Valley Pkwy, Center Valley

Susquehanna Valley Mall, 1 Susquehanna Valley Drive, Selinsgrove

Westmoreland Mall, 5256 Rt. 30, Greensburg

Monroeville Mall, 200 Monroeville Mall, Monroeville

Shoppes at Montage, 2221 Shoppes Blvd., Moosic

No Janie and Jack shops are expected to close in Pennsylvania.

The closing sales are scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

In June, Gymboree announced it was restructuring and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Daniel Griesemer, president and CEO of Gymboree said the following in a statement:

"This was a difficult decision to make, but we are confident that it is in the best long-term interest of our company, our customers and our broader employee base. I am deeply grateful to our team, their exceptional ongoing dedication and their focus on continuing to put our customers at the center of all we do."
Good Wednesday Morning, Fellow Seekers.

Today is Wednesday, July 12, 2017. We're officially 12 days into the new fiscal year. And, as of this writing, rank-and-file lawmakers are at home cooling their jets until the grown-ups can figure out a way to break a worsening stalemate.

Republicans who control the General Assembly and the Democratic Wolf administration are still looking for a way to pay for a $32 billion spending proposal that landed on Gov. Tom Wolf's desk on June 30. Right now, Pennsylvania remains one of six states without a finished budget plan.

As we already know, lawmakers are eyeing up expanded gambling, possibly some expanded booze privatization and hitting up smokers (kinda) to balance the books.

So, with that in mine, we'd like to throw one more vice on the table as a potential revenue-raiser: Legalizing recreation marijuana.

Yeah ... we know. Wolf opposes it. There's probably little to zero appetite to do it in the House or Senate. And it looks like Attorney General Jeff Sessions is going to be a serious pain in the posterior to states who ignoring federal marijuana law.

But stick with us for a second here.

According to an analysis that wafted in through the windows here on a cloud of suspicious smoke and to the lilting strains of "Casey Jones," there's cash in them there buds.

Okay - the analysis really came from state Sen. Daylin Leach's office, but the cumulative effect is the same.

Anyway, Leach, D-Montgomery, had his wonks take a look at tax revenues in Colorado, a state where recreational marijuana is famously legal, and game out what Pennsylvania could expect to net if it, too, went the legalization route.

Regardez:

Now, just a cursory look at the chart above will tell you that there's a whole lot of speculation going on, but consider a couple of things.

First off, and this is no shocker: Pot is a cash cow for the Rocky Mountain State. Projected sales are expected to grow from a little more than $1 billion in fiscal 2016-17 to $1.7 billion by fiscal 2019-2020. That's based on a 20 percent growth rate in sales.

Leach's office projects that sales in Pennsylvania, were they to be legalized in time for the 2017-18 budget year (and growing at the same rate) is $2.8 billion, growing to more than $4 billion by 2019-2020.

Now here's the interesting part: Colorado sales tax is a comparably paltry 2.9 percent, bringing in a mere $29 million in revenue in 2016-17. But it also hits sellers with an excise (15 percent) and special marijuana sales tax (10 percent). Taken together, these two levies brought in more than $231 million in the most recent fiscal year.

All told, Colorado raised about $261 million in taxes from recreational pot sales in fiscal 2016-17, according to Leach's chart. That revenue is expected to grow to $451 million by fiscal 2019-2020.

Assuming a similar tax structure in Pennsylvania, but with a higher excise tax (18 percent), sales tax (6 percent in most parts of the state) and that same, 10 percent "special" sales tax (10 percent), Leach projects Pennsylvania nabbing an entirely hypothetical, but still worth talking about, $871 million in fiscal 2017-18, rising to $1.25 billion by 2019-2020.

Again, a couple of caveats: That's assuming 100 percent of the revenue goes to the state. Much as Pennsylvania does with gambling money and the shale impact fee, Colorado kicks back 15 percent of its tax revenue to municipalities.

Leach's projections also exclude medical marijuana sales, which are similar expected to be lucrative.

Leach's projections aren't entirely fanciful. As CBS MarketWatch reported last year, American marijuana sales "sales grew 30 percent in 2016, according to data from Arcview Market Research.

"And using research from cannabis business intelligence and market research firm BDS Analytics, Arcview forecasts cannabis sales will grow at a compound rate of 25 percent, from $6.7 billion in 2016 to $20.2 billion by 2021," MarketWatch reported.

In a statement, Mason Tvert, the Marijuana Policy Project's Denver-based communications director, told CBS last year that the "money is just the tip of the iceberg."

"Hopefully this will be a wake-up call for the 42 states that still choose to force marijuana sales into the criminal market and forego millions of dollars in tax revenue," Tvert said at the time. "The state received nearly $200 million in marijuana tax revenue, whereas just a decade ago it was receiving zero."

With Pennsylvania lawmakers wrestling with how to close a $1.5 billion deficit, and with an agreement on revenue still eluding them, this might be the time to at least start a conversation.

A few other things:

WolfWatch:

Gov. Tom Wolf will join with officials from Clarion University to announce a new opioid treatment specialist certificate program. That's at 10:30 a.m. in The Governor's Reception Room at the Capitol. Expect one question on that matter, 10 more on the budget.

What Goes On.

As noted above, the House and Senate are on a six-hour call, awaiting any word on a budget resolution.

Heavy Rotation.

This will just make you smile.

And now you're up to date. See you all back here in a bit.
A violent, head-on crash involving a Pennsylvania State Trooper has left the other driver dead in western Pennsylvania.

As WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh reports, the victim is Joseph Hufnagel, 47, of Butler, Pa., who was ejected from his pickup truck and pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the state police SUV was taken to a local hospital with minor to moderate injuries, WTAE reports.

The trooper was not publicly identified in the story.

The cause of the crash, including both driver's rate of speed, remains under investigation.

But state police say the pickup was eastbound on Route 228 in Butler County when it went into the opposite lane and collided with the state police vehicle, headed in the opposite direction.

The crash occurred around 6:15 a.m. Tuesday on a sharp curve known locally as Ball's Bend, WTAE reports.
You won't find this in any firefighter's manual, but it turns out a bucket of urine is highly effective at extinguishing flames.

So says a man in western Pennsylvania from his hospital bed, who says his girlfriend accused of setting him on fire actually saved his life instead by dousing the flames with a bucket of urine that the couple used as a toilet in their basement.

Accused girlfriend Leigh Ann Sepelyak, 38

In a hospital bed interview, Grady Spencer III told TribLive.com/Tribune-Review he accidentally burned himself and his girlfriend accused of the crime is the one who saved his life with her quick thinking regarding the urine bucket.

His account is that he was drunk, spilled gasoline on his lower body while attempting to fix a "weedwhacker" over the weekend, then lit a cigarette and caught himself on fire - only to have his girlfriend, Leigh Ann Sepelyak, 38, save the day by dousing the flames with the now-famous bucket full of urine.

"If she didn't use urine, it would have been a lot worse. My crotch would have been melted if she didn't," Spencer is quoted by TribLive.com as saying. "I can only thank her for that."

(Spencer tells TribLive.com the basement the couple rents in Penn Hills, Allegheny County, Pa., doesn't have a bathroom so they use the bucket, instead.)

This version differs sharply with the account from Penn Hills police:

They say Sepelyak waited until Spencer dozed off following an argument, then poured gas on him, lit a cigarette and set him on fire. She then did douse the flames with the urine bucket, leaving Spencer with serious burns to his lower body.

Sepelyak has been charged with attempted homicide.

As Penn Hills police Chief Howard Burton told TribLive.com at the time:

"I can't see how that's an accident when it happens at 4:40 a.m. and the gas was 25 to 30 feet away from the bed. It had to be carried."

Burton added police filed the charges based on the information they received - that Sepelyak dumped gasoline on Spencer following an argument and set him aflame. In light of the new information, the chief told TribLive.com he's willing to let the case play out in court.

"If (Spencer) wants to tell his side of the story, he'll have to testify in front of (Penn Hills District Judge Anthony DeLuca) and ultimately (DeLuca) will have to decide," Burton told TribLive.com, which added:

Sepelyak has been released from the Allegheny County Jail on a $100 bond and her preliminary hearing before DeLuca is set for July 17.
Clint Eastwood seems to be ending his career by making films about people many consider real-life heroes, as evidenced by "Sully" and "American Sniper."

Of course, in true Hollywood tradition, actors played the lead roles - Tom Hanks as Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger and Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, the sniper.

His next film follows a similar pattern. "The 15:17 to Paris" will present the true story of the three young California men, including a National Guardsman and a U.S. Airman, who stopped a suspected ISIS terrorist attack on a train traveling from Brussels to Paris in 2015. Only this time, in an rare Hollywood move, the heroes will play themselves in the movie.

Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone, the three men who thwarted the attack, will join a cast of seasoned actors including Jenna Fischer, Judy Greer and Ray Carasani, Variety reported.

The movie is based off a book the three men co-wrote about their experience, titled "The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes."

The three, friends since middle school, were traveling in Europe when they found themselves on a high-speed train with a heavily armed man named Ayoub el-Khazzani, a suspected Islamist militant, attempting a mass shooting on Aug. 21, 2015.

And they helped stop it, all because they decided to switch seats. As The Washington Post's Michael Birnbaum wrote days after the thwarted attack:

" 'We decided to get up because the WiFi wasn't so good on that car," said Sadler, 23, a college student. 'We were like, 'We have a ticket to first class. We might as well go sit in first class.'

"About half an hour after the train pulled away from Amsterdam, they switched to the car where the shooter soon opened fire, he said.

"Along with two other men, they tackled, then disarmed, a suspected Islamist militant who packed two guns, a knife and nine clips of ammunition into his rucksack.

" 'He seemed like he was ready to fight to the end. So were we,' said Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone, his left arm in a sling, his right eye bloodshot and watering."

Eventually, they tied up el-Khazzani and began tending to the wounded.

Stone then "saw that another passenger had been severely wounded by a bullet during the attack and was 'squirting blood' from his neck. Stone said he barely felt any of his own injuries, so he focused on saving the other victim's life. He stuck two of his fingers into the passenger's wound to hold an artery closed until paramedics showed up."

Their actions were met with worldwide praise. They were publicly lauded by President Barack Obama, who invited them to the White House, and they received the Legion of Honor, France's highest decoration, from former French President Francois Hollande.

Skarlatos even competed on "Dancing with the Stars," where he opened up about his crush on dancer Emma Slater.

The movie will follow the three young men's lives over many years. Though they will portray their most recent selves, Paul-Mikel Williams, Max Ivutin, Bryce Gheisa, Cole Eichenberger and William Jennings will play young versions of the three.

Rarely do people play themselves in films. When they do, as the Associated Press pointed out, they're generally already actors - such as John Malkovich in "Being John Malkovich" or Bill Murray in "Zombieland."

Production on the film is "underway," according to a news release by Warner Bros., but it does not yet have a release date.
In July 1937 men working in a quarry in Adams County found something spectacular - fossilized dinosaur footprints.

From the Aug. 3, 1937 Evening News: "The dinosaur footprints uncovered by workmen last week in Trostle's Quarry, near York Springs, were described today as the 'finest collection ever found in Pennsylvania' by Arthur B. Cleaves, state paleontologist and junior geologist, who examined them yesterday with George H. Ashley, state geologist."

The men were working in the quarry to acquire stone for construction of bridges on the Gettysburg battlefield.

On July 30, 1937, The Evening News reported that workers had found eight footprints in addition to two dozen slabs of stone with prints on them that were previously found.

"The workmen, who reach the rocks by descending a steep cliff on ropes, have found all of the imprints in rock in the same strata. They expected to find more footprints when they resume their work this afternoon. [J.L. Thomas, superintendent of the Highway Engineering and Construction company] said they will complete their work at the quarry in about a week.

Late today the men planned to remove a ledge about 10 feet long and six feet wide in which four footprints were embedded. Superintendent Thomas was doubtful, however, whether the entire slab of rock could be moved without cracking it. It is expected that experts from the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University will come here in the near future to examine the specimens. Mrs. Gertrude B. Fuller, assistant director of the State Museum, Harrisburg, said this morning that her office plans to send representatives to the quarry within a day or so to take photographs of the findings and to see if a slab can be obtained for display purposes in the museum.

Two slabs of stone containing dinosaur footprints for some time have been on display in the State Museum, Mrs. Fuller said this morning. They were found one mile east of Yocumtown, York County, and are not nearly so large as those found near York Springs.

Thomas announced today that the slabs bearing numerous types of impressions will be placed on exhibition within several days in the Gettysburg National Military Park office in the post office building here.

When the first of the footprints were discovered by Elmer R. Haile Jr. of Towson, Md., an engineer employed by the Bureau of Public Roads, U.S. Department of Agriculture, a letter was written to the National Museum in Washington inviting authorities to inspect the rocks and to identify the impressions. It is believed experts will be sent by the museum."

The discovery was the second time dinosaur tracks had been found. In 1933, according to a story in The Evening News, tracks were found near Yocumtown in York County.

"All but one of the dinosaur tracks are gone from the Yocumtown district, York County. They had been there for 180,000,000 years according to George H. Ashley, state geologist, who went out yesterday [June 30] to check them over, but the fossilized traces of the prehistoric monsters - with a single exception - that were known to have been there several months ago are either lost, strayed, stolen or shattered by dynamite used on a road construction project.

Doctor Ashley is of the opinion that several of the missing footprints of the dinosaur, more less familiarly known as 'Podokesaurus Holyokensis Talbot'are now in the possession of souvenir hunters who snitched them from their resting places for a couple of million centuries.

The moulded footprint that remains intact is on the property of P.B. Smith, professor of English at the William Penn Senior High School, who has a summer home near the old Wentz Mill which was built in 1808. Smith said many persons made inquiry during the last several months as to the exact location of the dinosaur foot tracks, and it is believed the obscure location of the surviving print, which is difficult to access, saved it from the hands of pilferers.

The sizes of the members of the branch of the dinosaur family that once inhabited the vicinity of Yocumtown ranged from four to 40 feet, according to Ashley. He said the specimen that left its footmarks on the Smith property was about 4 feet long and 20 inches high. The reptile was formed somewhat according to the specifications of a kangaroo.

With Ashley on the inspection trip were John H. Troup, 2138 N. Third St., a native of York County, who has on many occasions accompanied the state geologist on trips of investigation; John W. Troup; and a reporter and photographer of The Evening News. The cameraman took several good pictures of the remaining footprint."
MILFORD, Pa. (AP) -- Police are investigating the death of a New Jersey boy who fell ill at a summer camp in Pennsylvania.

Daniel Beer

Eleven-year-old Daniel Beer of Norwood, N.J., died at a hospital on Monday. Pennsylvania State Police say Beer had complained of severe stomach pains.

Beer was staying at Camp Nah-Jee-Wah in Milford.

Three other boys who were in Beer's cabin were taken to the hospital as a precaution after showing signs of stomach illnesses. They were later released.

An autopsy was performed. Police are awaiting the results of a toxicology test.

Beer's uncle told NJ.com that the family wasn't ready to talk about Beer's death.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, participates in a ministerial meeting with the foreign ministers of Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Tillerson has held talks with the king of Saudi Arabia and other officials from the countries lined up against Qatar, but there has been no sign of a breakthrough so far in an increasingly entrenched dispute that has divided some of America's most important Mideast allies. (U.S. State Department, via AP)
Family members of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and Coalition Co-chairs greet each other prior to a press conference calling for a re-organization of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) in Winnipeg, Wednesday, July 12, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
Ontario deputy NDP leader Jagmeet Singh launches his bid for the federal NDP leadership in Brampton, Ont., on Monday, May 15, 2017. Climate change will likely emerge as a key component of the latest NDP leadership debate as the candidates square off in a province where the government is in a fight with Ottawa over carbon pricing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
This screen grab of a video recorded on May 10, 2017, released by the Parana Federal Justice department, shows Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, front left, testifying in the Car Wash investigation in Curitiba, Brazil. A federal judge convicted the ex-president of corruption and money laundering on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 and sentenced him to nine and a half years in jail. Silva will remain free while an appeal is heard. (Parana Federal Justice department via AP)
Truck driven into Charlevoix's Round Lake, driver taken to hospital

The driver was alive when retrieved from the vehicle and taken to hospital.
FESTIVALS

Bastille Day at Eastern State Penitentiary

This Saturday, relive a revolution. Eastern State Penitentiary's playful annual celebration of Bastille Day features experimental cabaret group the Bearded Ladies; a drag impersonator of the french star Edith Piaf leading a show filled with singing, dancing, political commentary; and guest appearances by such public figures as Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Franklin. The festival reaches a frenetic finale with a reenactment of the storming of the Bastille and a shower of Tastykakes from the penitentiary walls. (As in, "Let them eat Tastykake.")  Thea Applebaum Licht

5:30 p.m. Saturday, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave. Free. 215-236-3300, easternstate.org.

Join fellow sci-fi buffs for the Colonial Theatre's yearly celebration of the 1958 film The Blob. Featuring a gooey and unstoppable alien life form of the same name, The Blob was filmed in part in the Colonial itself, and will be commemorated by a three-day festival including screenings of the movie and a reenactment of the classic "run-out" sequence filmed there. If you didn't snatch a ticket for the sold-out Run Out event, you can still wait outside the theater at around 9 p.m. to see film-goers spill out, fleeing The Blob. T.A.L.

Run Out 7-9 p.m. Friday, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville. Sold out. 610-917-1228, thecolonialtheatre.com.

Martha Graham Crackers Made in Philadelphia Festival

Conceived by "the world's tallest and hairiest drag queen" herself, Martha Graham Cracker's festival is a riff on Made in America. Instead of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, this two-day festival will be held at Johnny Brenda's and features Philly-born talent. The lineup, unique each night, is set to include Martha Graham Cracker's own cabaret and an all-female teenage Judas Priest tribute band, Judith Priest.  T.A.L.

9 p.m. Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 21 and over. $15-$20. 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.

FILM

 READ MORE: "Dawson City: Frozen Time"

In 1978, a worker ripping up the parking lot of a former skating rink in Canada's Dawson City found more than 500 canisters of film buried and mostly preserved in the Yukon permafrost. It seems that the Gold Rush town was the terminus for film distribution in the early 20th century and the cost of return was prohibitive, so they piled up and were forgotten, ending up as landfill. In his new film, documentarian Bill Morrison uses clips from the degraded but still watchable films  news reels (including the 1919 World Series ) and forgotten features with titles such as Giuseppe's Good Fortune, The Stolen Paradise, and Polly of the Circus  to examine the history of the town and the nature of film.  Michael Harrington

7 p.m. Friday, International House's Lightbox Film Center, 3701 Chestnut St., $10; $8 seniors and students, 215-387-5125, ihousephilly.org

 READ MORE: Berserk!

The AIDS Law Project teams up with the Secret Cinema to present its 18th annual benefit summer movie party, and they have a doozy in this whacked-out 1967 British horror film, starring Joan Crawford in her penultimate motion-picture appearance (the last was Trog, also produced by B-movie king Herman Cohen). In this one, Crawford is the owner and ringmistress of a small circus touring the English countryside while various performers are being murdered one by one. As if that's not enough, Crawford has to deal with her rebellious daughter (who shows up after being kicked out of school), a suspicious (but buff) high-wire walker, and a trouble-making (but pneumatic) magician's assistant (Diana Dors, always great). Refreshments will be served at the screening.  M.H.

6 p.m. Friday, the William Way Community Center, 1315 Spruce St., $25, 215-587-9377, aidslawpa.org

 READ MORE: "Tampopo"

Juzo Itami called his 1985 comedy a "ramen Western," but though there's a hero in a cowboy hat and a couple of fistfights, it's really centered on a universal theme: Everybody loves food. It's a simple tale, told in a convoluted manner, in which a truck driver sets out to help a widow make her decrepit noodle shop into the top shop  but first they need the perfect recipe.  M.H.

2 p.m. Sunday, Mount Laurel Library, 100 Walt Whitman Ave., Mount Laurel, free, 856-234-7319, http://www.mtlaurel.lib.nj.us/

STAGE

"The New and Improved Stages of Grief"

In her one-woman show, Mary Carpenter looks at coping with loss and the emotions it causes, with a surprising emphasis on what's funny. Really.  M.H.

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave. Ambler, $21-$25. 215-654-0200, act2.org

"Hamlet"

Shakespeare's tale of the melancholy Danish prince given to spouting soliloquies while struggling with love, murder, and revenge is given a feverish site-specific production by REV Theatre Company amid the gravestones, tombs, and mausoleums of Laurel Hill Cemetery.  M.H.

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Laurel Hill Cemetery, 3822 Ridge Ave., $25; reservations required, thelaurelhillcemetery.org

VROOM

"Doylestown at Dusk" car show

The eighth annual gathering of awesome autos features more than 400 antique, classic, and custom vehicles, with awards for best detail and cleanliness, workmanship and unique design. In addition to the cool cars, there will be food, live bands, and more. It all benefits Doylestown Rotary's programs and initiatives in the community.  M.H.

5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, downtown Doylestown (West State Street, Clinton Street and West Court Street). Free. doylestownrotary.org

MUSIC

Pokey LaFarge

Still in his early 30s, Pokey LaFarge made his name creating music built on an amalgam of styles  from early jazz to country blues and Western swing  that long predate him. On his new album, Manic Revelations, the musician from St. Louis continues to evolve. He adds some new touches (like Memphis soul) while overall inching toward a more modern sound. He remains steadfastly rootsy, but the vibrancy of the music and his deeply personal songwriting ensure he never sounds dated.  Nick Cristiano

With Kelsey Waldon. 8 p.m. Friday at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. Tickets: $20. 215-222-1400, worldcafelive.com/philadelphia.

The Spinto Band

Wilmington singing-songwriting guitarist Nick Krill formed the Spinto Band with a handful of high school student pals in 1996; started recording music compiled throughout his youth; and by 1998, was releasing nervous, fizzy art-pop albums on his own Spintronic label. Nice and Nicely Done (2005), however, was a different animal, as that Bar/None record  its first beyond Spinto's own label  took away the nerves, replaced it with a Ray Davies-ish wit, and presented the band with its first smash in "Oh, Mandy." The Spintos still make records  Krill works as a producer and recording engineer for Philly acts The Dove and The Wolf, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and The War On Drugs  but they don't play out too often, so consider this Boot & Saddle show a treat.  A.D. Amorosi

8 p.m. Friday, Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St. $12-$15. 267-639-4528, bootandsaddlephilly.com

Lenape Chamber Ensemble

Superb area players come together to have fun and mine the depths of the chamber repertory. The opening bill of the ensemble's 31st season includes Mendelssohn's Op. 44/1 String Quartet, Chausson's Op. 30 Piano Quartet and the spiky, rhythmically throbbing "L'Histoire du Soldat" ("The Soldier's Tale") by Stravinsky. Tom DiNardo

8 p.m. Saturday, Delaware Valley University, 700 E. Butler Pike, Doylestown. $18. 610-294-9361, lenapechamberensemble.org.

Reggae In The Park

While the fifth annual Reggae In The Park festival ranges from the safely reliable (headliner Ziggy Marley; veteran lovers rock vocalist Beres Hammond) to the controversial (Sizzla and Capleton, who have both been condemned for anti-gay rhetoric), let us here praise Culture, touring to commemorate the 40th anniversary of their classic debut Two Sevens Clash. The roots-reggae harmony record, with songs such as "Calling Rasta Far I," "Black Starliner Must Come," and the apocalyptic title track, is widely recognized as one of the greatest reggae albums of all time. Culture's current incarnation is led by Kenyatta Hill, son of the late Joseph Hill, and features original member Albert Walker. The all-day festival boasts two stages, DJ sets, and food and craft vendors.  Steve Klinge

1 p.m. Sunday, Mann Center for Performing Arts, 5201 Parkside Ave. $39.50-$129.50. 800-745-3000, manncenter.org.

Esperanza Spalding and the Philadelphia Orchestra

The charismatic, fabulously talented vocalist and bassist solos and performs four of her own works. This free collaborative concert brings the Orchestra side-by-side with the New Young Orchestra, who together will play favorites by Copland, Falla and, of course, Stravinsky's Suite from "The Firebird."  T.D.

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets. Free; reserve tickets at 215-893-1999, philorch.org.

Kendrick Lamar

Unquestionably the indoor hip-hop show of the summer. (Made In America, which brings Jay-Z, J. Cole, and many other rappers to town on Labor Day weekend, happens without a roof.) This will be Kendrick Lamar's biggest ever Philadelphia gig, after he did an undersized gig at the Trocadero on his 2015 To Pimp A Butterfly tour. With this year's wide ranging and emphatic and all-caps DAMN., the Compton rapper continues the winning streak that began with 2012's hip-hop bildingsroman good kid, M.A.A.D. City, in which he first made a compelling argument that, this decade anyway, the "Who's the greatest rapper alive debate?" begins with him. With openers D.R.A.M. and Travis Scott.  Dan DeLuca



7 p.m. Wednesday, Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St. $59.50-$139.50. 215-336-3300. wellsfargocenterphilly.com

Philadelphia Orchestra

The annual Tchaikovsky spectacular, led by Stephane Deneve, includes "Nutcracker" selections, the sizzling "Francesca da Rimini" and Greenfield Student Competition winner Yljla Wang soloing in the familiar Piano Concerto No. 1. As pr tradition, the program will wrap with the "War of 1812" Overture and fireworks.  T.D.

8 p.m. Wednesday, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, 52nd Street and Parkside Avenue. $20-$45. 800-745-3000, manncenter.org.
Tom DiGiovanni, chief financial officer of Canndescent, at the cannabis company's cultivation site in Desert Hot Springs, Calif. Read more

LOS ANGELES  Slip a fresh $20 bill under the bulletproof teller window of Donnie Anderson's Medex marijuana dispensary  perhaps for a gram of cannabis or some THC-infused toffees  and the legal tender is transformed into something else: drug money.

Though the transaction is legal in California, under federal law that bill is not much different from the contents of a drug cartel's safe  cash that most banks won't touch.

So how is Anderson supposed to pay his employees, suppliers or business taxes? He deposits cash, in drips and drabs, into an account held by a limited liability company that his bank thinks is a property management firm.

"The bank doesn't know what we do," he said.

If this sounds like money laundering, you're not far off.

Yet consider this: That same $20 exchanged at Canndescent, another cannabis company, takes a direct and transparent route into the financial system.

When the marijuana cultivator sells its product to a dispensary, one armored car drops off the pot and another picks up the cash payment  and then heads to a downtown Los Angeles branch of the Federal Reserve Bank.

There the cash is deposited into the account of a local credit union, one that's eager to do business with Canndescent.

"After all the horror stories I've heard, it does seem like a little bit of magic," said Tom DiGiovanni, Canndescent's chief financial officer.

Indeed, though the same laws apply to Anderson's dispensary and Canndescent's farm, the world of cannabis banking is so full of contradictions that one business can truck money to a federal facility while the other is left to play a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek with its cash.

"It's the early stages of the Wild West," said California Treasurer John Chiang, who is leading an effort to reform cannabis banking, a problem dating back to 1996 when California legalized medical marijuana.

With recreational use set to become legal next year under Proposition 64, cannabis sales in the state are expected to top $7.5 billion in 2020, up from about $3.3 billion last year, according to data provider New Frontier and cannabis investor network Arcview Group.

But while Proposition 64 broadened the legal use of pot, it did nothing to relax banking regulations.

"It left significant questions unresolved," Chiang said. "How do you handle the taxation of cannabis dollars and the banking of billions of dollars of transactions that are going to take place here in California?"

Last year, Chiang created a group of cannabis and banking industry trade groups, attorneys, regulators and others, trying to figure out how to bring the cannabis industry into the financial mainstream. But it's a vexing challenge, and one that cannot be solved by the state alone.

Marijuana is legal for medical use in 29 states and for recreational use in eight, yet the federal Controlled Substances Act lists it alongside heroin and LSD as both dangerous and having no accepted medical use.

And for banks, federal laws are paramount.

Banks and credit unions can guarantee deposits because they have federal deposit insurance. They rely on Federal Reserve systems to make wire transfers, handle electronic payments, and process checks. And they all answer to at least one federal regulator.

Banks and credit unions also are required to tell federal authorities if they suspect that their customers might be engaged in illegal activity. And when it comes to following those rules, the stakes are high.

"The FDIC could step in and shut down a bank, and it can do that with very little notice," said Julie Hill, a law professor at the University of Alabama and former finance industry attorney who has studied cannabis banking. "Nobody's ever gotten their bank brought back to life after it's been closed by regulators."

Because of that, many banks won't even take the risk.

"From a federal level, it's illegal," Jim Brush, chief executive of Summit State Bank in Santa Rosa, Calif., told Chiang's working group in May. "It really doesn't matter what California does."

Still, federal officials have cracked open the door for banks and credit unions.

In 2013, the Justice Department said it would focus its marijuana-enforcement efforts on preventing sales to minors, interstate trafficking, and a handful of other crimes.

The following year, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, part of the U.S. Treasury Department, released guidelines for financial institutions that want to work with marijuana companies. They require additional reporting and demand that banks monitor companies for activities that remain Justice Department priorities.

FinCEN reported that 368 banks and credit unions were serving the industry in March, up from fewer than 300 at the beginning of 2016. But that's a tiny fraction of the nation's nearly 12,000 banks and credit unions.

Hill said so few institutions are playing along because FinCEN's guidelines don't offer clear legal protection. And some banks don't want to be in the uncomfortable position of policing cannabis companies.

"How would you know a business isn't selling to minors unless you're in the store all the time?" Hill said.

What's more, with a new administration in the White House and avowed marijuana opponent Jeff Sessions running the Justice Department, it's not clear whether the feds will take a harder line on pot.

With many cannabis companies unable to get bank accounts, they are often left to deal in cash, which is inconvenient and dangerous.

Take Jerred Kiloh, owner of Higher Path Collective. His Los Angeles dispensary had sales of about $4 million last year, so he owed more than $200,000 in taxes to Los Angeles alone, he told Chiang's group.

Imagine, Kiloh said, carrying that much cash.

"Right now, at the downtown office of finance, there's a six-story parking structure 500 yards away," he said. "I have to walk through what is essentially a homeless encampment with a duffel bag full of cash, walk across the street, go through security and then sometimes stand in line."

Kyle Kazan, a former area police officer who runs a firm that invests in cannabis growers and retailers, said the lack of access to banking poses big safety risks.

"Real lives are in danger because there's so much cash in play here," Kazan said.

In one infamous case from 2012, an Orange County dispensary owner was kidnapped, tortured, and had his penis cut off by assailants who thought that the businessman was burying cash in the desert outside Palm Springs.

Burying cash might seem ridiculous in the 21st century, but it's not unheard of in the cannabis industry.

"We get lots of cash, and sometimes it has been washed  actually washed  because it had been buried out in the backyard," said John Bartholomew, treasurer-tax collector for marijuana-rich Humboldt County, speaking to Chiang's group last year.

Cash payments are a hassle for governments too. Todd Bouey, LA's assistant director of finance, told Chiang's group that the city had to buy new currency-counting machines because office workers were spending so much time counting and recounting cash tax payments from marijuana businesses.

"No one comes in with the type of cash they come in with," Bouey said. "It was taking hours to get through one deposit."

Still, Bouey said that only about 20 percent of marijuana businesses that pay taxes are doing so in cash. Most pay with checks, indicating that they have bank accounts  either openly or on the sly.

Even though they are few, and mostly small, there are banks and credit unions that are hungry for customers and willing to quietly open accounts for cannabis businesses.

The Los Angeles-area credit union serving Canndescent has been losing traditional members, and hopes that by serving young, growing companies in a booming industry, it will be able to offer checking accounts, home loans, and auto loans to the companies' employees.

"We'll probably max out at about 200 businesses, and we're basically at capacity," said an executive, who provided details of the institution's cannabis banking operations on the condition that neither his name nor the institution's be used. "I don't need to get inundated with phone calls."

Finding a willing institution is just the first challenge. Next, companies have to qualify for an account  and be able to afford it.

At the credit union, cannabis companies have to pay an up-front fee of as much as $10,000 to cover the cost of independent financial audits and criminal background checks for the owners.

The credit union also charges recurring fees to cover the cost of ongoing due diligence and reporting required by FinCEN. For growers, the credit union charges $5,000 a month. For dispensaries, it's $7,500.

"We're verifying that they're not breaking any laws, not evading taxes, not doing anything that could be a legal or ethical violation," the executive said. "We assume we're going to be investigated at some point by our regulators and maybe by the IRS or the DEA."

Companies also have to hire the armored car services to take their cash directly to a Federal Reserve Bank branch. "We don't want cash coming to the credit union," the executive said. "If we did, then we'd have people signing up to rob the place."

Other businesses that handle lots of cash, such as big-box stores, often have their cash sent directly to the Federal Reserve.

Matthew Schiffgens, a spokesman for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said in an email that it's no different for marijuana businesses  with the understanding that the credit union must make sure that its clients are following FinCEN guidelines and other rules.

The National Credit Union Administration, the industry's insurer and chief regulator, also has taken an agnostic approach to cannabis, telling credit unions to proceed with caution.

"We've said, look, this is your business decision," spokesman John Fairbanks said. "We expect you are going to analyze the risks of doing business with these companies and take prudent and necessary steps to mitigate that risk."

To that end, the LA-area credit union is not making loans to cannabis businesses. It's easy for the credit union to close down a checking account if it thinks that a business is breaking the rules, but unwinding a loan could be trickier. And if federal authorities go after a business and seize its assets, the credit union might be unable to collect.

Despite the high fees, plenty of companies are signing up for accounts.

Dan Grace, chief executive of Dark Heart Nursery in Oakland, which supplies cannabis plants to dispensaries and commercial growers, figures that two of his company's 50 employees spend all their time on cash management. He said a bank account that would cost him $60,000 a year in fees would more than pay for itself.

"When we have employees handling so much cash, we have to have lots of checks and balances," said Grace, who is not one of the credit union's clients.

Others, though, balk at the price. Anderson said there's no way it would make sense to pay $7,500 a month for a checking account for his dispensary.

"They're trying to rob the industry," he said. "They all look at us like cash cows. I'd rather take my chances and do what we've been doing."

Chiang's working group has focused largely on the problems faced by cannabis businesses because of shaky access to banking, but is now turning to potential solutions.

Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the California Growers Association and a working group member, said one idea that's caught his interest is the creation of a "bankers' bank"  some kind of private entity that could do up-front due diligence and compliance work.

"Our members would go through a week or 10-day-long screening process and, if they meet the requirements, they'd be able to open an account with one of a dozen banks," Allen said.

Nicole Howell Neubert, an attorney who works with cannabis businesses and a member of Chiang's group, said at this point she hopes that the state can simply find a way to make a few more banks and credit unions feel more comfortable.

"Ultimately, it requires a federal fix to address the issue," she said. "But, I think there will be some enterprising, smaller financial institutions that will see this as an opportunity and, I hope, move forward."
CHICAGO  When Peter Champlin, an auto mechanic for nearly 15 years, popped the hood on a 2003 Jeep Liberty, he fixed a leak with a new clamp on the lower radiator hose and installed a new ignition coil. The bill was $189.33.

Routine stuff for an experienced mechanic like Champlin, who is certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence as a master technician, with one exception: The repairs were done in the owner's driveway in suburban Chicago, not in a repair shop or dealership service department.

At a time when few medical doctors still make house calls, a growing number of car doctors are driving to customers' houses or places of business to perform repairs and maintenance while the customers continue their usual daily routines.

For the customer, there's no waiting around at a repair shop or shuttling back and forth to drop off and pick up the car. They come to you.

Independent mechanics began advertising mobile services several years ago on Craigslist and similar sites. Now, though, start-up companies have set up shop online offering mobile repair services, rosters of experienced mechanics available seven days a week, instant online price quotes for a variety of repairs, and 12-month/12,000-mile guarantees on parts and labor.

Champlin, for instance, works for Otobots, a company based outside Chicago that has mobile mechanics in Illinois, California and Texas and plans to expand into several more states in the next few years.

A more established and much larger competitor, YourMechanic, based in Mountain View, Calif., operates in most major metro areas, including Philadelphia, and 33 states, with plans to add more areas in the near future.

Both claim to perform maintenance and repairs at lower cost than dealerships and repair shops.

Arun Simon, the CEO of Otobots and a cofounder of the company, said he came up with the idea three years ago after spending considerable time trying to find a mechanic on Craigslist. The solution, he thought, was to use technology to make it more convenient for consumers to find a mechanic and schedule service online and have the mechanic come to them.

"The biggest problem we're solving here is the actual inconvenience that is associated with the hours of waiting at a repair shop," Simon said in a telephone interview.

The online scheduling process works like this: The customer enters the year, make, model and engine of the vehicle, chooses what's needed from lists of available services and repairs and receives a price quote. If the customer decides to go ahead with the repair, he or she can choose among available time slots for when the mechanic should come. Customers have to enter a credit-card number to schedule an appointment.

If a customer's car won't start or the cause of a problem is unknown, Otobots charges a $64.99 diagnostic fee, and YourMechanic charges $70 to $80, depending on location.

For John Scalet, the owner of the Jeep Liberty that Champlin repaired, Otobot's mobile service allowed him to keep working at home without taking time away from running his graphics and sign business.

"I wanted to try something a little different. I feel it's safer than Craigslist. When you go online you can read the credentials of the people who are going to be working on the car, so it's not like you're blind to the people that are working on it," Scalet said.

Anthony Rodio, CEO of YourMechanic, said in addition to the convenience factor, consumers like the instant online price quote with comparisons to what local dealers and repair shops would charge.

"That price transparency is a big part of our value proposition, because historically consumers have felt that (auto repair) is a very opaque experience. They didn't know what they were going to pay until after they dropped the car off and got a call a few hours later with an estimate that might not be the final bill," Rodio said in a telephone interview.

YourMechanic says they can perform most services a shop can complete. A referral process is in the works for customers whose cars can't be repaired after initial investigation.

Both companies screen mechanics by verifying their credentials and conducting background checks, and they say they match the skills and experience of the mechanic to specific jobs or types of vehicles, such as diesel engines. The mechanics supply their own tools and work vehicles, and they work as contractors who are paid by the job, not as salaried employees.

Rodio said YourMechanic relies heavily on technology to schedule mechanics and order parts so that most jobs are completed within 48 hours of a customer placing an online order.

When a customer books an appointment online, parts are ordered for the job at the company's headquarters in California through parts stores such as Advance Auto Parts, Auto Zone and O'Reilly Auto Parts. The assigned mechanic picks up the parts from a local store on the way to do the repairs.

"Our technology kicks out what the parts need to be, and then we have a parts department that actually reviews them and makes sure we have the right parts for the job," he said. "A large part of our value proposition is that we want to use technology to be able to do this at scale in a more efficient way than the traditional model."

Ordering parts in volume enables YourMechanic and Otobots to negotiate lower prices from suppliers. Rodio said YourMechanic also is working directly with parts manufacturers to make them exclusive suppliers. Castrol, for example, is their exclusive supplier of motor oil and lubricants.

Moreover, neither company bears the cost of maintaining a repair shop or dealership service department, which they say enables them to charge less. Instead, they perform repairs on private property such as driveways and office parking lots (not on public streets).

Both mobile mechanic services do dozens of maintenance and repair jobs, such as oil changes, batteries, timing belt replacement, brakes and air-conditioning repairs, but they don't do internal engine or transmission repair or other jobs that require specialized equipment or a shop setting.

Labor charges vary by location, and both companies use standard rates based on industry guides for specific tasks.

For example, based on online quotes, in the Chicago area Otobots charges $117.62 to install a serpentine drive belt on a 2010 Toyota Camry, with $80 for labor and the rest for parts and tax; YourMechanic charges $130.58, with $77 for labor.

To replace the front brake pads and rotors on a 2012 Honda CR-V, Otobots charges $384.78 (with $128 for labor) and YourMechanic charges $303.30 ($112 for labor).

Though mobile mechanics currently take only a small slice of the auto repair business, Rodio said they are part of a "massive disruption" of the auto industry. Part of the shift, he adds, is desire for alternatives to the traditional, bricks-and-mortar repair shops.

"People are much more open at this point to a better way or different way of doing things, instead of just the way it's always been done," he said.
West Goshen Township says Sunoco should construct a valve control station for its Mariner East 2 pipeline at this existing Sunoco facility at the intersection of Boot Road and Route 202. Read more

State regulators have rejected West Goshen Township's request for an emergency hearing to block construction of a valve-control station for the Mariner East 2 pipeline project, saying the hotly contested matter will be addressed at a previously scheduled hearing Tuesday.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Wednesday ratified a letter sent to West Goshen on Tuesday, declining to immediately address the dispute over Sunoco Pipeline's valve station. West Goshen says that Sunoco began work on the contested facility on Boot Road near Greenhill Road in violation of a 2015 agreement.

The township says the valve station should be located on Boot Road on the west side of Route 202, where Sunoco already operates a pump station for its Mariner East 1 pipeline. Sunoco said it had notified the township of plans to relocate the facility to the new location, east of Route 202, because it would be "more prudent and safe." Sunoco also maintains that the relocation complies with the 2015 agreement with the township.

The PUC declined to take immediate action, noting that "the facts are vigorously disputed by the parties." The issue, part of a long-standing case between the township and Sunoco, will be addressed Tuesday in Harrisburg before a PUC administrative law judge.

The dust-up is the latest in a series of controversies Sunoco has encountered over its $2.5 billion, 350-mile-long Mariner East project to transport gas liquids from Marcellus Shale fields in Western Pennsylvania to a terminal in Marcus Hook.

The Newtown Square company, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners LP, this week appears to have calmed an outbreak of anxiety in another Chester County community, where construction of the pipeline last week impaired the private wells of about a dozen residences.

On Tuesday, Sunoco agreed to pay for the extension of Aqua Pennsylvania's public water service to an enclave of homes in West Whiteland Township where residents said their private water wells had gone cloudy or were interrupted after the company began drilling beneath the neighborhood.

That neighborhood near Township Line Road is one of five locations in West Whiteland where Sunoco is conducting horizontal directional drilling, said George Turner, a township supervisor. Rather than cutting trenches through congested neighborhoods, Sunoco is threading much of its 20-inch-diameter pipeline under lawns, streets, and streams through lateral bore holes it is drilling through the bedrock.

The drilling method apparently disturbed the aquifer serving the neighborhood of homes built around 1960, one of the last remaining areas of West Whiteland still served by private wells rather than municipal water, Turner said.

Tests conducted on cloudy water indicated the turbidity was not caused by bentonite clay used as drilling mud in the construction, as first suspected, Turner said. Rather, he said, experts believe the cloudiness was the result of silt in the private wells that was stirred up by changes in the aquifer caused by the drilling.

West Whiteland told residents that the cloudy water was not a health concern, but Turner said the township insisted that Sunoco pay to extend public water mains to head off any potential future concerns about water quality.

Residents do not have to hook up to the new water service, he said, and Sunoco is negotiating with residents individually to support the cost of water service if they become utility customers.

The new water mains will have an added benefit for the township, Turner said.

"I'm also the township's fire chief, and I'm happy because we'll be getting two more hydrants out of the deal," he said.
Airport workers and members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) marched from Philadelphia International Airports Terminal F to Terminal B in 2013. Read more

The union representing skycaps, wheelchair attendants, cabin cleaners, and baggage handlers at the luggage carousels said it has called off plans to strike at Philadelphia International Airport starting Wednesday.

The SEIU Local 32BJ, which represents 1,400 people at the airport, said early Wednesday that the union, American Airlines and other stakeholders had entered last-minute discussions and talks would take place later in the morning.

Workers were to start leaving their jobs at 9 a.m., said Julie Blust, spokeswoman for SEIU Local 32BJ. Pickets at Terminal B and C departure gates and a rally had also been planned.

The workers could strike at a later time if a resolution isn't reached, the union said.

"While the strike is suspended as negotiations get underway, the airport workers are ready to go back on strike should talks fall apart," Rob Hill, vice president of 32BJ, said in a statement.

Mary Flannery, spokeswoman for the airport, said the group had been issued a permit to march for four days, through Saturday. She said flight operations wouldn't be interrupted. Many PHL workers, including maintenance staff, janitors, and employees who work directly for airlines, belong to labor unions. The workers who were to go on strike are employees of independent contractors hired by the airlines to perform passenger services.

In April, these employees voted to affiliate with SEIU, and the National Labor Relations Board approved the election. At issue now, the union says, is the unwillingness of the contractors, particularly the two largest contractors, to bargain a first contract. On Tuesday, the union filed unfair labor practice charges against Prospect Airport Services and PrimeFlight Aviation Services. Clint Smith, eastern vice president for Prospect Airport Services, which employs about 400 workers, had no comment, nor did Bill Stejskal, PrimeFlight's senior vice president for human resources. PrimeFlight employs 250.

Headquartered in Manhattan, Local 32 BJ of SEIU, the Service Employees International Union, has 163,000 members, primarily in property service jobs, also known as janitors, along the East Coast.
Is there anything more shocking than a woman wearing a straight-laced uniform of navy sheath and neutral pumps with  gasp  her collarbone showing? Read more

Since when are a woman's shoulders or legs counted among her most private of parts?

Since never.

But those making decisions at some of our public institutions  especially our schools and government  are reacting to women and girls in sleeveless sheaths and to-the-knee skirts as if they were men wearing Speedos in court.

Many have played the inappropriate card lately based on some archaic rules. Because really, I ask you, is there anything more shocking than a woman wearing a straight-laced uniform of navy sheath and neutral pumps with  gasp  her collarbone showing?

It's hard to believe that women are having to fight for the same rights they did 10 to 20 years ago. They are having to fight for reproductive control of their bodies, and they're fighting for health care that honors their specific needs. They also are fighting for equal pay and maternity leave so they can take care of those families their Republican leaders want so desperately for them to have.

So I guess it goes hand-in-hand that we still have to fight to choose appropriate school and work attire. If you don't think this is so important, consider that we get dressed every day. It's an expression of how we define ourselves. And many of us started in high school to refine our identity through clothes.

Maybe that's part of the reason that high school dress codes have come under fire of late.

Of course, nipple-baring tops shouldn't be worn in algebra class  that's true for boys and girls. But the bulk of these dress codes are directed at young girls by school officials concerned that teenage boys cannot control themselves in the presence of a collarbone or thigh muscle. For that reason, countless numbers of schools have been enforcing ridiculously strict dress codes instead of teaching boys that it's inappropriate to catcall, stare, or touch their classmates.

Thankfully, officials at Bishop Shanahan in Downingtown undid a new rule it tried to apply in June that would require girls to wear tights all year long. What the what? I went to Catholic school in the 1980s, and even then we had the option of wearing knee socks in the dead of winter.

The school's principal, Michael J. McArdle, argued that tights created the best impression or the best look. (Of course, only for girls. I'm betting if a young man wanted to look his best, the school wouldn't allow boys to don a pleated skirt and tights.)

Parents hip to the malarkey called the new policy what it was: an attempt to cover up female students' lower legs because the young men were apt to ogle. They started an online petition and collected 1,363 signatures.

If only women who are journalists, lawmakers, and staff in the House of Representatives could get a similar sort of reprieve.

On Thursday, several women, many of whom were journalists, were banned from the Speaker of the House's lobby after wearing sleeveless blouses or dresses. One woman attempted to remedy her cold shoulders by using newspaper to make capped sleeves.

In all fairness, this rule is not new for the House: Women must have their arms and shoulders covered. Close-toed shoes are a must. Men must wear jackets and ties.

But these rules weren't really enforced. House Speaker Paul Ryan decided it it was high time to do just that last week. I can't help but suspect that Ryan and his crew are so bent on eviscerating President Obama's legacy that they are going after the cornerstone of Michelle Obama's high-style cred: baring her sculpted, empowered arms.

There is no better way to control how a woman feels about herself, what she does, and how she behaves than to control what she can and cannot wear. It's at the very root of women's history.

"It's not surprising that those who are trying to create a culture based on a society of conservative values would glorify a way of life we saw before feminism, or desegregation," said Salamishah Tillet, a professor of gender, sexuality, and women's studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

"It's a restriction of progress, and it makes it very difficult for massive progress to be made."
Mayor Kenney on Wednesday added two schools to one of his signature initiatives  community schools.

Gompers Elementary, in Overbrook, and George Washington High School, in the Northeast, will join the nine existing community schools, which embed social services and other supports inside existing Philadelphia School District buildings.

Officials had hoped to tap more schools to join the program, but said the ongoing soda-tax litigation hampered their ability to add more to the fold. The program's roughly $3.75 million budget is covered by the sugary-drinks tax.

Flanked by Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. and City Council President Darrell L. Clarke, Kenney made the announcement Wednesday at City Hall. He has said he plans to spend $40 million in four years on the program.

"We'd love to add more, but have to be mindful of expansion," said Otis Hackney, Kenney's chief education officer. "We thought we could add two schools without significant impact to our budget."

Kenney ran on a pledge to create 25 community schools over four years. Hackney said that even with the small number of schools added in year two, the city would still be on track to reach that goal.

Come September, Gompers and George Washington will each get a city-paid coordinator to assess student and family needs and match them to resources in the community.

Each school gets to decide what its focus will be. Some now concentrate on nutrition, others on jobs, others on safety. South Philadelphia High School has a clothes closet and a food pantry. Gideon Elementary, in North Philadelphia, now sends students home with backpacks of healthy food monthly.

George Washington's and Gompers' focuses will be narrowed after the schools analyze needs and survey the community, officials said.

The goal of the model is to strip away children's barriers to academic achievement, and to allow principals and teachers to focus on instruction rather than social and emotional needs. Critics say the community school model barely moves the needle on academics, but the first cohort of Philadelphia community schools say the designation has made a difference in their buildings.

Kenney has said he sees community schools  and expanded prekindergarten, another of his main pushes  as economic development strategies.

Phillip DeLuca, Gompers' principal, is elated by his school's selection, he said.

Gompers, a K-6 at 57th Street and Wynnefield Avenue, already has partnerships with St. Joseph's University, the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children, and others. But DeLuca wears many hats as principal, and the amount of time he can spend cultivating such relationships is limited.

"It's going to be great," said DeLuca, who has been principal of the 400-student school for 15 years. "I can never say no to more people helping me. It's another person to problem-solve with."

At first, he was wary of the program, DeLuca acknowledged; as a longtime district employee, he's seen initiatives come and go. Would asking to be a community school mean his school wouldn't be a public school? (Not at all.) But DeLuca asked around, talked to current community school principals, and ultimately completed and aced an extensive application process.

DeLuca grew up in the city, hanging out and later working at rec centers. He still lives in Philadelphia and sends his three children to its public schools. That his school was picked by the mayor means a great deal, he said.

"I believe in our kids and our system," said DeLuca. "I don't think people realize how good our schools are. With this program, I think the sky's the limit."

In all, 24 schools applied to be community schools. Hackney said he hopes the lawsuits clear soon and the city can add significantly more schools next year.

The initiative has the full-throated support of Clarke and of Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan, both of whom were early evangelists for community schools.

A
If you want to hear Latin music on a regular basis, you can find its glossy, commercial end in the music of Jennifer Lopez or Pitbull. If you want to hear rawer, more alternative Latin music  live, and in the Philadelphia area  you can look for whatever Rahsaan Lucas and Marangeli Mejia-Rabell have booked. The curators behind Philly's 11-year-old AfroTaino Productions have long booked not only respected elders of Latin alternative sound (e.g. Joe Bataan), but also its new-school practitioners (think Dayme Arocena) and recordings that DJ Lucas himself spins around town. Then there's the AfroTaino pair's Nuevofest  its fifth iteration, now held in tandem with WXPN's LatinRootsLive series and free-of-charge  all-day Sunday, July 16, at FringeArts.

"Nuevofest emerged as a space to explore creative synergies  a core component of AfroTaino's work  by curating a lineup of emerging and established acts to celebrate the Sounds of Latin America," said Mejia-Rabell. "Our team is extremely proud of how the festival has evolved, each year marked by its own flavor, which is key to keep the audiences' appetite for it while maintaining the essence of the experience." (The show is free, but you must register at latinroots.org.)

Along with finding seven innovative acts representing Venezuela, Chile, Colombia, and Puerto Rico  as well as El Mariachi Manchester from East Los Angeles, a five-piece mariachi ensemble that plays covers of Morrissey and The Smiths  Lucas crows about how two of the acts, Pielago and Rubio, will be playing for the first time in the U.S. For Balun, Tribu Baharu, and Javiera Mena, it will be their first Philly appearances.

"This year's lineup is not just a powerhouse in terms of selection  with eight bands, it's our largest Nuevofest yet  but also an important one, as some of its artists are cultural ambassadors for underrepresented communities," Lucas said. Besides WXPN's coverage, the concert will be streamed live on Vuhaus.com, reaching online communities across the globe.

"Colombia's Tribu Baharu will bring down the house with their 'champeta'  an original Afro-Colombian genre  that, like hip-hop and reggaeton, faces backlash from conservative politicians," said Lucas. "With all of this talk of walls and borders enforced, Mariachi Manchester will bring their A-game. Venezuela's La Vida Boheme will have plenty to express in regards to the stifling situation in their homeland." Nuevofest patrons looking for conscious sociopolitics with a Latino-arena-rock feel must be on the lookout for La Vida Boheme who, Lucas assures, will be an elegant and important must-hear. "La Lucha, their new album, will make them one of the most important Latin American bands in history," he says. "Think about what 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' did for U2."

As several bands that played past Nuevofests have gone on to to win Grammys, Lucas knows what he's talking about, and takes pride in knowing that AfroTaino's programming reflects the larger accents of the region's international communities and provides a cultural oasis for often-ignored Latin American and world-music aficionados.

"The thing of America is more recent, a given in a very organic way, after having focused my career in South America, Mexico, and Spain," said Jimena Mena, whose new album, Otra Era, shows off her dance-pop side. "It is very nice to begin to know this public who enjoy music in Spanish because it is a very beautiful and musical language" she said. "Nuevofest responds to an audience in Philadelphia looking for Latin music with an alternative tinge."

"AfroTaino and WXPN joining forces," said Lucas, "is a powerful union with a simple goal: to bring the best musical experiences to the people. And we've only just started."

NUEVOFEST is Sunday, July 16 at 1 p.m. at FringeArts, 140 N Christopher Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia. Free with registration http://www.latinroots.org/nuevofest-2017-rsvp
There is currently a wing-ding of an argument among scientists regarding nonhuman primates and speech.

Some believe ape species don't have the physical capacity to speak. Others believe they just haven't gotten around to it, or don't see the point, and, from watching cable news, who can blame them?

Hollywood, of course, believes fervently in talking apes and has turned them into a major profit center  the latest iteration is the trilogy that culminates in War for the Planet of the Apes, a movie in which panicked humans are gradually losing the power to speak, and emboldened apes are gradually gaining it.

This has caused the human war on apes to grow more desperate and deranged. A military madman (Woody Harrelson) has launched a campaign of punitive extermination aimed at the apes, whose leader, Caesar (a motion-captured Andy Serkis), has led them deep into the forest in a vain attempt to avoid confrontation with the violent, unhinged race of men.

Chrome-domed Harrelson is the latest homage to Apocalypse Now and Brando's Col. Kurtz (we glimpse graffiti in the movie referencing Ape-Pocalypse Now): He rules over his remote outpost like a bonkers warlord and has constructed a concentration camp for captured apes, used as slave labor to reinforce his fort's defenses.

Caesar arrives with a small contingent of apes who look for a way to free the prisoners, and deal, once and for all, with the colonel and his small army.

The rest of the story  the movie runs an ape-ic 2 hours and 20 minutes  is best left unspecified, not least because War for the Planet of the Apes actually has one. The special effects in the movie are used to create convincing ape-like characters, and they in turn leverage a complex story that builds to a coherent conclusion, helped along by an unusually imaginative and effective score by Michael Giacchino.

This is happily against the grain of the modern blockbuster, wherein story gives way to a grand finale of effects that overwhelms and obliterates what's left of the narrative.

In War for the Planet of the Apes, the motion-capture techniques that blend physical performance and animation have reached an impressive level, especially in facial close-ups that have the actors (Steve Zahn, Terry Notary, Karin Konoval) and animators collaborating on subtle emotions. At this point I actually see no technical barrier to Andy Serkis playing Woody Harrelson. Harrelson, incidentally, is one of (gulp) only two unanimated actors in the movie with a major speaking part.

The contributions of the actors now blend more seamlessly with the animation to create digital characters, and the characters are being integrated more successfully and believably into the landscape  director Matt Reeves works on a big widescreen canvas of sweeping, picturesque exteriors.

They suggest a natural world gradually reclaiming itself. The movie nods in the direction of interspecies solidarity, but in Reeves' sardonic summation, nothing in the life of men becomes us like the leaving it.

MOVIE REVIEW

The War for the Planet of the Apes

Directed by Matt Reeves. With Andy Serkis, Steve Zahn, Woody Harrelson, Terry Notary and Karin Konoval. Distributed by 20th Century Fox.

Running time: 140 minutes.

Parent's guide: PG-13 (violence).

Playing at: area theaters.
Strath Haven High School alumnus Zinzi Clemmons says she has written the standard debut novel, a semiautobiographical coming-of-age story about a young, artistically inclined outsider contending with the loss of a parent.

Clemmons, 32, who speaks with a delightful mix of modesty and wry humor, will probably claim just as much when she visits the Free Library of Philadelphia's Central Library at 7:30 p.m. Thursday to talk about What We Lose.

There's nothing standard about Clemmons' novel, a gorgeous, taut narrative about grief, identity, race, and sexuality enhanced by rap lyrics, archival photos, drawings, graphs, and charts.

Hailed by Vogue as the literary debut of the year, Zinzi's powerful testament is a beautiful example of self-reflexive postmodern fiction that plays with generic conventions without coming off as precious.

Born to a mixed-race South African mother named Dorothy and a black Trinidadian father named Michael who grew up in Jamaica, Queens, Clemmons spent her childhood first in Yeadon, then in Swarthmore. She said in a recent interview that she grew up not feeling she belonged.

"I grew up in Swarthmore, and I was from this family who wasn't exactly upper-class and who was visually very mixed-race," Clemmons said in a phone interview from her home in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband, poet and translator Andre Naffis-Sahely.

"We were mixed-race," she said, "but also from Africa, you know. No one from where I grew up had been to Africa. Heck, no one had been to the inner city. And here I was with a dad who grew up in a working-class neighborhood."

Clemmons' mom was a kindergarten teacher and her dad was an engineer at Boeing. She said that she became interested in photography and painting in high school, but that she knew her parents didn't envision her becoming an artist.

"Like most children of immigrants  the emphasis always was on getting me to find a lucrative career," she said. "And I was going to become a medical doctor. So I entered college as a premed major."

Something happened while she was at Brown University. "After taking so many biology and chemistry courses, I realized I just couldn't go through with it. I was just so bored with it.

"And no," Clemmons added with a laugh, her parents "weren't happy. You know, they were like, 'We didn't send you to an Ivy League school so you could be an artist.' "

Freed from the expectations of medical school, Clemmons took courses in philosophy, African American studies, and literature.

"Most of the books I had read are written by people who have very little relation to my life," she said. "It was when I took African American lit courses that I felt writing could be a real possibility for me."

Clemmons said she had never really written before, but discovered she had a knack for it while studying under novelist John Edgar Wideman.

"This was really the turning point for me at Brown," she said. "Not only did he write about things and people I could relate to, here he was, this artist from Philadelphia, and he really became my first mentor as a writer."

Clemmons studied creative writing in the Columbia University MFA program and planned to write a first novel about the politics of HIV and AIDS. But "it wasn't something I really knew about that well, and I had no real feeling for the characters." By this point, she had moved back to Swarthmore to take care of her mother, who was dying of cancer. That turned her attention back to her own life, and she abandoned the first novel because it felt far too contrived.

"I had written about my mother before this, and things about my mom kept cropping up in the [AIDS] novel," said Clemmons. When she turned in her manuscript, her editor was drawn to the parts about her mother and suggested she expand on them. When her mother died in late 2012, Clemmons refocused on the novel with renewed energy. Now titled What We Lose, it now concerned a young woman's coming of age through the experience of losing her mother.

"It was immensely difficult" to write about such a painful topic when it was still so raw, said Clemmons. "But I had realized that this was the one thing in my life I had experienced that really was worthy of being written about."

She laughed when asked if she's uncomfortable discussing the book's autobiographical elements. "I have always tried to be transparent about the autobiographical elements of the book, that it was inspired by my life," she said. "I mean, it is in a sense a very traditional coming-of-age novel about life, about growing up, about sex and death."

Zinzi Clemmons, What We Lose. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 13. Library of Philadelphia, Central Library, 1901 Vine St.

Free. Information: 215-567-4341, freelibrary.org/authorevents
Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz has moved away from his position as chief meteorologist at NBC10, with the title now going to fellow meteorologist Tammie Souza.

The NBC10 website now lists Souza as the station's new chief meteorologist, with Schwartz taking Souza's former meteorologist position. An NBC10 spokesperson indicated via a statement that the change in positions was made online late last month.

The swap in titles, the spokesperson added, is related to Souza's move to the 11 p.m. newscast, and does not represent a demotion for Schwartz. The longtime forecaster will continue providing weather reports for the station on the 11 a.m., 4 p.m., and 6 p.m. newscasts, but will not appear on the 11 p.m. newscast. NBC10's statement on the change is as follows:

"Tammie Souza's bio was updated to chief meteorologist in late June. The title change coincides with her move to the 11PM newscast. Tammie and Glenn, along with Bill Henley, Krystal Klei and Erika Martin, will continue to provide NBC10 viewers with the most accurate First Alert forecasts for their neighborhoods."

Schwartz joined NBC10 more than 20 years ago, and has since become one of the most recognizable faces in local Philadelphia media as a result of his weather coverage. According to his NBC10 bio, prior to joining the station, Schwartz served as The Weather Channel's first storm chaser following his graduation from Penn State in 1972.

Souza joined NBC10 earlier this year as a replacement for former meteorologist Sheena Parveen, who left the station for a spot at NBC4 in Washington, DC in late 2016. Souza comes to Philly from Fox32 in Chicago, where she also worked as a meteorologist.

Prior to that, Souza served as the first female chief meteorologist in Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla. while at 10News WTSP.

Philly.com has a partnership with NBC10 meteorologist, who occasionally contribute weather posts to the site.
HARRISBURG  Gov. Wolf on Wednesday joined Clarion University officials to announce the launch of an online certificate program in opioid treatment, which they said is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania.

"Education is a powerful thing," Wolf said at a news conference at the Capitol. "Armed with facts, health-care providers, drug counselors, EMTs, school counselors, therapists, anyone interested in learning more will be able to take this online course."

In 2015, 3,500 Pennsylvanians died of drug overdoses, Wolf said. He said it appears that the toll in 2016 was even higher.

Clarion president Karen Whitney said society was being overwhelmed by the problem.

"We wanted to provide a very direct and immediate way to be of help," she said.

The four-course program is open to anyone, and the certificate can be earned in one academic year. The courses address topics such as prevention and treatment, as well as advocacy and public policy.

Clarion, in Western Pennsylvania, is one of 14 universities in the State System of Higher Education.
made a surprising move in 2015 when she left her principal contract at Boston Ballet without plans to join a new company. Some feared she would quit dancing. Instead, Jensen, now 24, took time to reflect on her next move. In February, she signed on as a dancer with Norwegian National Ballet, where shell perform the lead in Balanchines Theme and Variations on October 29. Pointe caught up with her to talk about her career move and how shes adjusting to life in Oslo.



Whitney Jensen for Dance Spirit. Photo by Jayme Thornton.

You were in Boston Ballet for six years, your last season as a principal dancer. Why did you decide to leave?

A little bit before my last year there, I started having these feelings of whats next? We join companies with a goal to succeed and to get promoted, and then when you become a principal youre like, how do I maintain this growth? I think its important to always feel like youre progressing. I was 17 when I joined Boston Ballet, so thats all I knew. I loved the company and the people there. But I felt it was time for me to take a breather and reflect on what I wanted and how I can progress in my own wayand not measure roles or promotions as success. So I left, without a job or a plan.

What did you do next?

I went home to Utah. I was teaching a little bit, taking class, giving myself class. But after about a month I realized that I wasnt in the right place to progress in the way I needed. My dad said, Youre young, take your time, you dont have to have everything figured out. That was a really important lesson. As dancers, everythings kind of mapped out for usyour schedule for the day is listed, you learn this ballet, you tour there, you go to galas. Theres no what are you going to do yourself?

So I moved to New York for about 6 months. I took singing and acting lessons, I took ballet every single day, and I rented space after class to work on my own. I had some guestings lined up, so I would rehearse, or work on variations or improv, just to feel like I was moving.

What was it like to be on your own?

In a company you dont physically have a choiceyou go to work and do your job. But when you dont have a job or a schedule, you have to be like, okay, this is what I need to do. It requires a lot more perseverance. But I was confident that whatever happened was meant to be and would work out. I learned so much. After about six months, I felt ready to be in a company again.

How did you land the job at Norwegian National Ballet?

I reached out to my friend Osiel Gouneo, who dances at Norwegian National, and he encouraged me to contact the director, Ingrid Lorentzen. I had inquired about auditioning there a few years ago, but they didnt have any openingsI figured they wouldnt this time, either. But within two days Ingrid responded and said, When can you start? So it really fell into place. I got my paperwork together and joined in February.

Whats the company like?

One of the coolest things is the diversity of the dancers. Were on contract until were 40, so we have older and younger dancers, as well as some amazing contemporary artists. The repertoire is also super diverse. This season were doing a Paul Lightfoot/Sol Leon program, a Balanchine triple bill, a new Nutcracker, Alexander Eckmans A Swan Lake, Liam Scarletts Carmen and Nureyevs Don Quixote. In Boston, it sometimes felt like we were separated into contemporary dancers and classical dancers. I always thought I could do both, but felt like I was put more in the contemporary box. In Norway, Im more viewed as a classical dancer. But they see that I can do both, which is kind of nice.

How do you like living in Norway?

Oslo is really clean and beautiful, especially in the summerIve never seen anything quite like it. It has the midnight sun, which is gorgeous. (I havent experienced the winter yet, which Im a little nervous about.) Its a quieter, more reserved city, which Im still adjusting to. Especially coming from Boston Ballet, where we would all hang out together outside work. In Europe, it feels like theres more of a work/life separation. It forces me to be more outgoing, though, so I still feel a sense of family. I also go to church here, which provides friends and community, as well. And my brother is moving to Paris to go to school, so Ill be able to visit him.

For more news on all things ballet, dont miss a single issue.
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On her MSNBC program, Rachel Maddow pointed out that the Russians knew about the Donald Trump Jr. meeting before The New York Times ever did, and asked the vital question, did the Russians use their information to blackmail anyone in the White House?

Video:

Maddow: Potential for Russian coercion of Kushner adds urgency to investigation. https://t.co/D7a5RSq9ZM  Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) July 12, 2017

Maddow said, We learned about this meeting with a Russian emissary between Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner who still works at the White House. We learned about it from The New York Times, but the Russians before The New York Times ever knew about it, the Russians knew about that meeting too. Have they used that to blackmail anybody before it became public today? Is there anything else that they know about in terms of the behavior of the Trump campaign, the behavior of Jared Kushner that they are using, or they could use to blackmail to use coercion to get the United States to do stuff that is not in the United States interest, but is in Russias interest, because Russia knows what they did, and they dont want it known?

The question that Maddow asked goes to the core of why the Russia scandal is delegitimizing force for the Trump administration. If Trump or people in his administration are compromised, they cant be legitimate. They cant govern effectively and represent the interests of the United States.

Republicans continue to whistle through the graveyard and pretend like nothing is wrong, but presidency may be compromised, and the fact that these questions can be asked with legitimacy and credibility suggests that the Russia scandal is slowing swallowing Trump.
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Trump is reported to be consumed by rage over the fact that his son Donald Jr. has been caught up in the Russia scandal, while the White House has kept the President hidden from any domestic public appearances as they fear what might happen if they let him out in public.

The Washington Post reported, President Trump  who has been hidden from public view since returning last weekend from a divisive international summit  is enraged that the Russia cloud still hangs over his presidency and is exasperated that his oldest son and namesake has become engulfed by it, said people who have spoken with him this week.

Trump still believes that the Russia scandal is a Democratic plot, and his family is urging him to do what he does best, blame an underling for his problems and fire someone. The person whose neck is on the line is White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, who is most definitely not the person who is responsible for this mess.

Since Donald Trump refuses to take any personal responsibility for his own behavior or that of his staff and family, someone else is going to have to take the fall for the Russia scandal. The Russia investigation is getting to Trump. The President is even less stable than usual, and Republicans are getting sick of the daily Trump world drama that prevents them from accomplishing anything.

Donald Trump is enraged, which means that it is only a matter of time until he explodes and goes completely off the rails, which is why the White House is keeping him hidden. A publicly talking Trump is a president who will give investigators enough rope to impeach him.
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By Julia Edwards Ainsley

WASHINGTON (Reuters)  Christopher Wray, President Donald Trumps nominee to head the FBI, pledged on Wednesday to lead the agency with independence and without regard to partisan politics as he testified during his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing.

Trump nominated Wray on June 7 to replace James Comey, who he fired May 9, with the president later citing the Russia thing as his reason. Comey was overseeing the Federal Bureau of Investigations investigation of potential collusion between Trumps presidential campaign team and Russia.

Theres only one right way to do this job, and that is with strict independence, by the book, playing it straight, faithful to the Constitution, faithful to our laws, and faithful to the best practices of the institution, without fear, without favoritism and certainly without regard to any partisan political influence, Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Anybody who thinks that I would be pulling punches as the FBI director sure doesnt know me very well, Wray added.

In the aftermath of Comeys firing, the Justice Department named Robert Mueller, himself a former FBI director, to serve as special counsel looking into the Russia matter.

Wray said he spoke with no one at the White House about Comeys firing. Wray said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the appointment of Mueller would create a better landscape for Wray to assume the role of FBI chief. Wray told the committee he considered Mueller a consummate straight shooter.

Wray is a former U.S. Justice Department lawyer who has prosecuted and defended white-collar crime cases and represented New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in a political scandal.

Wrays confirmation hearing came as Washington was in an uproar over 2016 emails released on Tuesday showing that the presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., eagerly agreed last year to meet a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have damaging information about Democratic White House rival Hillary Clinton as part of Moscows official support for his father.

Comey testified before the same committee that Trump had asked him in private meetings to pledge his loyalty and drop his investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn.

In his opening statement, Wray promised to never allow the FBIs work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period.

In his opening statement, Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said that it is vitally important for the FBI director to be independent and that he saw in Wrays background a commitment to that independence.

Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the committee, said in her opening statement, The director of the FBI must be a leader who has the integrity and strength that will enable him to withstand any attempts at political interference.

Will Mr. Wray and the FBI pursue investigations with independence and vigor regardless of who may be implicated? Will he stand up for what is right and lawful? Will be tell the president no if improperly directed to pursue or end certain investigations? Feinstein asked.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, both Democrats, endorsed Wray in a letter to the committee on Tuesday.

Wray must be confirmed to the post by the Senate. Wray and Comey served together in the Justice Department under Republican former President George Bush, and both worked on the governments case in the Enron Corp fraud scandal in the early to mid-2000s.

The allegation involving Trump pressing Comey over the Flynn probe raised questions about whether Trumps behavior amounted to obstruction of justice, a potential issue in any potential future effort in Congress to impeach the Republican president and remove him from office.

(Reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley; Editing by Will Dunham)
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Trump claims that he didnt know anything about the meeting where his son tried to collude with a representative of the Russian government. If evidence surfaces that Trump did know, the President will be linked to collusion with a hostile foreign government and could be impeached.

Reuters reported:

Asked if he knew that his son was meeting with the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June last year, Trump said in a White House interview: No, that I didnt know until a couple of days ago when I heard about this.

Donald Trump lies with the same reflexive ease that other people breathe. The idea that Trump is telling the truth this time on Russia is hard to believe. One of the things that the nation has learned about Trump as president is that he is a terrible liar. If Trump isnt telling the truth and he did know, the President could face impeachment.

Axios reported that Trump is receiving regular briefings from Jared Kushner about his meetings with special counsel Robert Mueller, which is why the idea that a notorious micromanager like Trump would want regular updates about the special counsel, but wouldnt know about the Russia meeting involving his son, son in law, and campaign manager makes zero sense.

Someone is not telling the truth and based on his track record; the liar is probably Donald Trump. The difference between this lie and the ones that Trump has previously told is that the lie about the Russia meeting could get him impeached. Trumps lies always come back to haunt him, but this lie could get him booted out of the White House.
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There are signs that President Trump has retreated to his mental happy place of the 2016 election as Trump took to social media to defend himself against the Russia scandal by claiming that Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with crimes while complaining that he should be allowed to get away with crimes too.

Trump tweeted:

Why aren't the same standards placed on the Democrats. Look what Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with. Disgraceful!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2017

Trumps defense that he should be allowed to get away with crimes, because Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with crimes too has all the hallmarks of someone who has become unhinged from reality. If I went to the police and complained that I should be allowed to rob a bank because other people have gotten away with bank robbery, they would think I was insane, and at best explain to me that this is not how the law works.

There is no evidence that Hillary Clinton committed crimes. Trump imagines Hillary Clinton crimes so that he can justify his very real potential crimes.

The man who ran on locking Hillary Clinton up oversees an administration that has declined to investigate Clinton because she hasnt done anything wrong.

However, Trumps tweet reads like a man who is confessing to crimes, because he is upset that he cant get away with them too.

The American people are watching the President mentally crumble under the strain of the Russia scandal.
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Instead of defending Donald Trump Jr. releasing his emails, President Trumps own lawyer Jay Sekulow said that he had nothing to do with it because he represents Donald Trump. In other words, dads lawyer just left Trump Jr. to fend for himself.

Video:

 from Lauer w/ Sekulow: "Thats not being transparent. Thats trying to appear as if youre transparent after being backed into a corner." pic.twitter.com/sBOtuZeIUv  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 12, 2017

When Todays Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie pressed Sekulow on the timing of the release of the emails and transparency, his answer revealed that the White House might be willing to let Donald Trump Jr. take the fall.

Sekulow said, Number one, the meeting was about the adoption issue, so that was a correct statement, so thats what the meeting was aboutThats what the meeting was about. Number two, when you say we can release. I represent the President Of The United States. We were not aware of this, obviously the email. We were not aware of the meeting. The President did not attend the meeting and was only made aware of this email. In fact, you know when the President saw this email? When everybody else did.

Trumps lawyers are trying to create daylight between the President and his son for the purpose of plausible deniability. What was missing in Sekulows answer was a denial that Trump was aware of the meeting or communications of the Russians. Trumps lawyer says that his legal team was not aware of the meeting, but he doesnt say that Trump wasnt aware of any communications with Russia.

Sekulow claimed that the meeting was not illegal, which is true, but it is the product of the meeting and the fact that a communications channel with a hostile foreign power existed that leads to legal consequences.

What is happening here is that the united Trump front is splintering to isolate and save this presidency.

Sekulow defended the innocence of the meeting, but not the emails. Donald Trump Jr. could be thrown under the bus if that is what team Trump thinks it will take to save his presidency.
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The White Houses daily guidance for Wednesday included an update that Principal Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders would give an off-camera press briefing at 3:00PM.

This marks the third day in a row that the White House has gone dark with their press conferences. A point not missed by many.

For the third day in a row this week, the White House press briefing today will be off-camera.  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 12, 2017

Why does this matter? It matters because answering questions on camera allows the public to see whats going on. Its part of a transparent government.

On Monday, the White House listed no events for President Trump, thereby disproving Sean Spicers argument that he cant answer questions or wont and the cameras are banned because hes letting the Presidents words carry the day.

The public has no way of hearing answers on policy, let alone the storm of Russia collusion swirling around Trump and his son, Donald Trump, Jr after reports surfaced that he, as campaign manager for his father, met last summer with a Kremlin lawyer who promised dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Additionally, President Trumps first meeting as president with Russian President Vladimir Putin didnt go over very well, especially after Trump let Putins people float the idea that Putin simply told Trump that Russia didnt interfere in the 2016 election and Trump believed him.

The White House is doing dark as the Russia scandal picks up steam. But they were also doing versions of this before the latest Russia storm  its just much worse now. This White House is not interested in relaying information to the public. More and more they are trying to emulate Putins treatment of the press, which is to say the treatment of a dictator, not the president of a free country.

Trump and Putin even colluded against the free press during their first meeting, with Putin gesturing at the journalists being ushered out of the room, asking Trump, These are the ones that insulted you?

This might seem like nothing but its the opposite. Its the slow shuttering of transparency, which is the bedrock of democracy, coupled with the open demonizing of the press in order to keep the Trump base enmeshed in the cult-like atmosphere of believing no one but Trump himself.

This White House is in full bunker mode, so afraid of the growing Russia storm that they are simply hiding from the public.

The questions surrounding Trumps possible collusion with Russia wont end until the facts have been fully investigated.

Donald Trump is hiding under the virtual covers, only surfacing to tweet or issue propaganda from his bunker when it serves his purposes. This behavior doesnt scream innocence; it only exacerbates the perception that he is hiding something.

The Trump administration should be the first people calling for a real investigation into Russias interference in our election and into their own campaign and administrations possible collusion with Russia. Wouldnt someone who won the election fair and square want to make sure Russia couldnt interfere again?

What if Trump doesnt manage to appease Putin and Putin turns on him. What then.
Brussels nods on Hungarian support scheme for renewable electricity

The European Commission has found the new Hungarian support scheme for renewable electricity to be in line with EU state aid rules. The scheme will help Hungary to reduce CO2 emissions, in line with EU energy and climate goals, whilst preserving competition.

Hungary notified plans to support electricity from renewable energy sources in April 2017. The Commission found that the scheme will help Hungary increase the share of renewable energy sources in its energy mix. It promotes the integration of such electricity into the market, in line with the Commission's 2014 Guidelines on State Aid for Environmental Protection and Energy, while limiting distortions of competition due to the state support.

We want to make progress towards clean energy for the sake of our environment but also for European economic growth. The Hungarian support scheme will increase the share of green energy in Hungary's energy mix, whilst preserving competition in the electricity market. We approved the scheme today

Support with a feed-in tariff will be limited to small installations (below 500 kilowatt) and demonstration projects.

will be limited to small installations (below 500 kilowatt) and demonstration projects. Installations with a capacity above 500 kilowatt will receive a premium on top of the market price of electricity, exposing them to market signals. For installations with a capacity above 1 megawatt and wind installations the premium will be determined and beneficiaries selected in a competitive bidding process.

, commented Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner responsible for competition policy.The scheme, with a yearly budget of up to HUF 45 billion (cc. EUR 146 million), foresees state support either through a feed-in tariff or through a price premium, in line with the Guidelines.The EC said Hungary has demonstrated that the aid is limited to what is necessary for the projects to move forward, in line with the Guidelines. This will minimise potential distortions of competition created by the public funding and help keep electricity costs at bay for consumers.The Hungarian scheme will be financed through the renewables support levy currently in place in Hungary. In order to avoid any discrimination against foreign renewable energy producers resulting from the financing mechanism, as of 2017 Hungary will partially open up the renewables support scheme to foreign producers.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 64F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 64F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
PHILADELPHIA  In a darkened room at CHOP Primary Care, Cobbs Creek, physician Chris Renjilian set up a projector and debriefed doctors, nurses, and other staff on a new intervention that the office will begin offering to patients in its care.

The medical breakthrough in question? Prescription-strength outdoor play.

"As primary-care pediatricians, one of our goals is to help children get more active. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 60 minutes a day of outside play," he said. "This is something we already spend a lot of time screening for and talking to families about."

Now, they'll actually be able to prescribe it, in the form of customized, detailed action plans that are tailored to connect kids with Philadelphia's park system at a time when children are spending far less time in nature than doctors say is needed for healthy development of motor skills, social competence, problem-solving abilities, and even eyesight. It's an antidote to the plague psychologist Richard Louv described as nature-deficit disorder.

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The initiative, called NaturePHL, is a collaboration between CHOP, the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Department, and the National Forest Service.

Launching in August in the form of a pilot program at CHOP's primary-care offices in Cobbs Creek and Roxborough, NaturePHL will be a standard part of all check-ups for kids age 5 to 12, integrated right into their electronic medical records.

Every patient will be screened, given a brief message about the importance of outdoor play, and referred to a new website, NaturePHL.org, that provides a guide to local parks. Some  perhaps those struggling with obesity or attention-deficit disorder  will get more comprehensive counseling; a detailed park prescription for an outdoor activity such as a hike, a scavenger hunt, or a visit to a playground; and a referral to a "nature navigator." That's a community health worker who will help create a detailed plan, figure out how to overcome barriers to getting outside, or even join the patient on a park visit.

It's not the first park-prescription program: Similar ones have launched around the country, including one in Washington, D.C., created by a network of community health centers and the National Park Service that reported a 22-minute average boost in weekly activity.

The Philadelphia organizers intend to undertake the most comprehensive study yet of whether such programs work and how best to undertake them. They hope to analyze whether the program will lead doctors to talk about the importance of outdoor play more, whether kids in the program actually spend more time outdoors, and what effect, if any, it has on their health and well-being.

"There really isn't any research out on parks-prescription programs, their effectiveness and their impact on health," said Michelle Kondo, a scientist with the National Forest Service. "We're still figuring out what's important to measure and what you can quantify."

It might involve using GPS trackers to check whether kids are complying with the prescriptions, or monitoring changes in a patient's heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol levels (which indicate stress), core strength, and attention.

Until now, she said, "these studies have been done with college students, for example, taking them on a bus ride out to the forest and hooking them up to machines as they sit or walk in the forest  not often with urban residents in their own neighborhoods."

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'Shared goals'

Renjilian was a pediatric resident at CHOP when he began talking about the idea with staff at the Schuylkill Center.

"The story of NaturePHL is really a story of shared goals. Philadelphia parks advocates want to encourage use of green space," he said. "And I think a lot of pediatricians struggle because they know they have a responsibility to talk to their patients and families about physical activity and physically active play, but that's really hard to do. We fall short in giving advice that is efficient, but also sufficiently personal, local, and specific. There's a knowledge gap there. Most pediatricians don't live in the same neighborhoods as their patients, and we're very aware of that."

NaturePHL aims to fill that gap with a website that maps Philadelphia parks and lists such features as playgrounds, bathrooms, swimming pools, and wheelchair accessibility. Mary-Grace Gorman of the Parks & Recreation Department said the hope was that a new demographic would also get connected to activities and programs the department was already running in city parks.

The NaturePHL interface starts with a map through which visitors can click into pages dedicated to each park.

As Renjilian presented the initiative to CHOP staff, physician Nicole Jaffe asked what organizers expected, based on focus groups, to be the most common question. "Are the parks on here screened for safety? That's the biggest concern I get from my patients, and if I'm endorsing it," Jaffe said, "I want to know that there is a low probability of something going down there."

There's no simple answer, though. "What is safe?" Renjilian asked.

The hope is that the website will help families evaluate that. A team from the Schuylkill Center has been conducting "park audits" to list the features of each park, and the center plans to add photos and a forum for user reviews and user-submitted photos.

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"The idea is, maybe if you can see what the park looks like, you might think it's safer," said Elisa Sarantschin, the NaturePHL program coordinator for the Schuylkill Center.

Good to grow

Although the website was designed in collaboration with CHOP, Sarantschin hopes that the general public will look to it as a resource and that pediatricians in other health systems around the city can begin introducing the program to patients over the next several years.

Kondo is thinking even bigger. "The Forest Service would also like to be part of providing tools to other cities and other groups wanting to start parks-prescription programs."

Such nationwide initiatives have shown success in the past. One, Reach Out and Read, targeted literacy by providing a brief message from a pediatrician, along with a new book, to young children during checkups. Researchers found that the result was children's language development advanced by three to six months.

Wedging these conversations into a 15-minute pediatrician visit may be challenging, but the hope is, if there's a patient whose body-mass index has been creeping up over several visits, the doctor might set aside a couple of minutes to talk about options.

"We're the ones who are going to have to do this. This has to be practical," Renjilian told the group at CHOP. "But for kids with obesity, other than telling them to go outside, there was nothing to give them. Now we have NaturePHL."
Less than 24 hours after two masked suspects  one wielding a knife  robbed a local liquor store, Rochester police have solved the case.

The owner of Joe's Liquor, 2215 Second St. SW, called law enforcement about 7:45 p.m. Monday to report the robbery.

He said two people wearing ski masks, hoodies and dark clothing entered the store; one approached him with a large knife and demanded the money from the cash register, said Lt. Mike Sadauskis.

The other went directly to "a specific aisle" and began loading a duffel bag with liquor, the report says.

The man with the knife also had a duffel bag, Sadauskis said, and filled it with liquor from behind the counter.

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Later Monday night, a van was stolen from Stewartville, setting off a twisted chain of events that led to the capture of both suspects.

A Minnesota State Patrol officer spotted the stolen van early Tuesday morning in the Zumbrota area, prompting a short pursuit. The driver pulled over and three people bailed out and ran, the report says.

Two of the three were caught, including a 17-year-old male from Red Wing. The pair were taken to a juvenile facility in Red Wing and held for a court appearance later Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, an investigator with the Rochester Police Department was back at the liquor store that morning, continuing the investigation.

That included surveillance video from about an hour before the robbery occurred, which showed an incident in which a young man walked into the store and appeared to check out a specific type of liquor.

When the owner asked to see identification to confirm he was 21 years old, the man couldn't produce any, and was asked to leave.

On Tuesday, with the investigator still in the store, three young men walked past the storefront at about 10 a.m. The investigator had watched the surveillance video from the incident several times, and thought one of the men "appeared to be" one of the suspects, Sadauskis said.

The investigator followed the young men and spoke with the group. One man he recognized from the video, another had a bottle of liquor in his pants. It was the same kind of liquor that had been stolen the night before, the report says, confirmed by the store owner.

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The third man in the group was wanted on an unrelated charge; all three were arrested and taken to the law enforcement center for questioning.

Adam Mohamed Hassan, 19, is the person the investigator believed he recognized from the surveillance video of the incident prior to the robbery. During his interview, he provided enough information to confirm his involvement, Sadauskis said, as well as the identity of the other suspect, the one who'd wielded the knife: The 17-year-old who'd bailed out of the stolen van earlier that morning.

When authorities contacted officials in Red Wing, however, the teenager had already been released from custody.

About 10 p.m. Tuesday, Rochester police were dispatched to the 1900 block of Scott Road Northwest for a report of a large fight. En route, they received word it had broken up and the participants were leaving the scene.

But moments later, officers heard a request for assistance in the 3300 block of 19th Street Northwest from a trooper with the State Patrol. He'd made a traffic stop on a vehicle that left the fight  and found the 17-year-old robbery suspect  the one who had been released earlier from Red Wing  inside.

Also inside the vehicle was a 16-year-old male from Dover who's accused of stealing the van from Stewartville.

Both were arrested at the scene, and remain in custody at the Juvenile Detention Center in Rochester.

Hassan was released after questioning; formal charges are expected as early as today.
Two years into its agreement with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, Rochester Public Schools say the district is making progress.

Superintendent Michael Munoz read through a seven-page, 18-item update to report to the school board that the district is in compliance with the federal office's requirements for monitoring how it handles discipline and other things during a three-year period.

The agreement stems from a September 2015 finding that students of color in the district were disproportionately disciplined compared with their white peers.

Munoz said the district still needs to talk with OCR about how it analyzes discipline data at each school building and has to make additional updates to policies in the student handbook.

While specific details of how both of these will be resolved weren't provided at Tuesday's meeting, Munoz said he's confident in the district's progress.

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"We see this as a very good report," Munoz said. "But that doesn't mean our work is done. We'll continue looking forward on the work that we're doing, but it's good to know that we're meeting the requirements of the agreement."

Similar frustrations with the inconsistencies in how discipline is handled, tracked and reported at each school were previously expressed by community members .

School board members were pleased with the progress, and asked the district to make the letter public by posting it on the district's website.

"I think you get an idea of the depth of reporting ... and how we're doing this systematically throughout the whole district," school board member Gary Smith said. "I think sharing it would be a good thing."

School board members added that even though requirements of the agreement were met, it doesn't mean the work of the district will stop.

"I know that we feel strongly that we're just beginning," said school board member Jean Marvin. "But until we can we can really show that our kids have equity, both in terms of achievement, and referral, that this district is not going to rest."
MANTORVILLE  Dodge County officials feel their end of the stick in state transportation funding keeps getting shorter.

Consequently, county commissioners unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday to approve a $10 increase  totaling $20  to its local wheelage tax. The increase, which takes effect on Jan. 1, is intended to raise an additional $200,000 per year for road and bridge projects. The tax is collected on vehicle registrations by the state's Driver and Vehicle Services division and distributed to the counties.

"(Funding for transportation) is always going to be an issue," said Jim Elmquist, county administrator. "It's not getting better."

The state-approved bonding bill this year includes $48 million for local bridge construction, but $30 million of that was earmarked for metro-area bridges. The remaining $18 million is left for projects in the rest of Minnesota. Dodge County's share of that is likely to be small.

"The Legislature thinks they accomplished something, and although we appreciate what little they did, it is insignificant," Dodge County Engineer Guy Kohlnofer said. "It will barely slow the decay. Much like if your entire roof is leaking, and 'I am so generous as to give you two shingles to fix it.'"

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Dodge County received $4.3 million in state gas taxes. Some 40 percent of that goes for road maintenance and 60 percent for construction. But the amount doesn't keep up with rising construction costs. On average, it costs about $300,000 per mile to resurface roads. Road reconstruction costs about $750,000 per mile.

Dodge County is responsible for about 327 miles of road and 241 bridges. Two of them have been closed due to instability, and one major bridge, leading to Al-Corn on County Road T south of Claremont, might face further weight restrictions.

"We do not plan projects ahead of funding," Kohlnofer said, "but we are short $1.5 million per year to do projects to keep us at the average pavement condition we are now at. The state bill will have very little effect to (taxpayers' taxes), but their vehicle maintenance costs and shipping costs will likely continue to increase."

County officials expressed reluctance to consider a local option sales tax, noting the largely agriculture-based county doesn't generate much sales tax revenue.

How does your area stack up?

State funding concerns are not unique to Dodge County. Many other Minnesota counties also are struggling to fund their own road and bridge maintenance projects. They resort to implementing a wheelage tax, local option sales taxes and sometimes both.

Within the Minnesota Department of Transportation District 6, seven of the 11 counties have a half-cent sales tax in place, while nine of the 11 counties have a wheelage tax.

See what your region uses to help fund its growing needs in addressing crumbling infrastructure, according to the May 2017 Association of Minnesota Counties report and the Minnesota Department of Vehicle Services and Minnesota Department of Revenue:

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Fillmore County

The county approved a half-cent sales tax hike in 2016 to pay for transportation projects.

Goodhue County

The county is leaning toward implementing a half-cent sales tax this year but hasn't yet adopted it. It already has a $10 wheelage tax in place and is considering an increase to $20.

Houston County

The county has a $10 wheelage tax in place.

Mower County

Mower County implemented a half-cent local option sales tax. The county board affirmed the continuation of the tax next year during its July 11 meeting, moved to reject an addition of an aggregate tax and rejected an increase to the county's $10 wheelage tax.

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Recently, the county collected about $2.4 million in wind tax revenue to help fund local roads and bridges.

Olmsted County

In February, the county approved an increase to its quarter-cent sales tax. The county also has a $10 wheelage tax.

Wabasha County

The county board voted July 5 to increase its wheelage tax to $20, a move expected to generate an additional $240,000 per year. The county also added a sales tax for road construction that started in 2016.

Winona County

The county has not adopted a wheelage tax. It has a local option sales tax in place that was approved in 2016.
If you are tired of seeing things continue to go down the drain, it is essential that you understand how liberals dominate our government. Madigan's budget deal was the straw that broke camel's back for many conservatives.

What might be done to salvage Illinois after ten Republicans joined Madigan and 60 other Democrats in voting for a permanent, 32 percent income tax increase and 33 percent corporate tax hike, when Illinois residents already shoulder the heaviest local and state tax burden in the country?

Irresponsible is that a three-fifths majority of state lawmakers, including Republicans, sold out their constituencies to reward the special interest groups (public employee unions, trial lawyers and other political insiders) that have been paying to keep them in office for decades.

Understanding the seven laws of American government, set forth in an essay by Phyllis Schlafly in the early 90's -- The Most Powerful Office in The World Is NOT The President of the United States! -- is essential to change Illinois from a failed state to one that will live up to its potential, where people feel proud to live and work and where businesses can grow and prosper. The lack of good people at the grass roots is why we get so many bad apples that call themselves "Republicans".

E-mail Andy Schlafly to order copies of Phyllis Schlafly's article.

Phyllis Schlafly (August 15, 1924 - September 5, 2016) was a founding member of the modern conservative movement. She was described by the New York Times as the one of the most relentless and accomplished platform debaters of any gender to be found on any side of any issue.

Following are excerpts from Phyllis' article, which is as powerful today as it was back in the early 90's:

1. To change things, you have to change the law.

Are there things about our country you want to change? Taxes? Deficits? Schools? Crime? Abortion? Gay rights? Government funding of anti-social projects? Government over-regulation of business?

Are you satisfied with the way the present Congress is raising our taxes, spending our money, and reducing our liberties?

Our Constitution makes Congress the most powerful branch of government. It can pass laws, impose taxes, and spend our money. State Legislatures are powerful, too, especially over public schools.

2. To change the laws, you have to change the people who make them.

Congress and the State Legislatures pass thousands of laws every year. No citizen or group can possibly read them all, research them to find out their effect in advance, or alert their friends to go into action with letter-writing and phone-calling. Congressmen and state legislators who have been elected by liberal and anti-family groups will not be receptive to your messages anyway.

If you want to change the laws or taxes, you must elect representatives you can reliably count on to vote conservative and pro-family all the time.

3. To be elected, your candidate must be on the ballot.

How often have you voted for "the lesser of two evils" when you didn't like either of the two candidates running for an important office? Have you ever wondered why, despite the rhetoric, both candidates seem to back the same anti-conservative, liberal and anti-family agenda? How many times is a good conservative, pro-family candidate not even on the ballot?

4. To get on the ballot in a general election, you have to be nominated for an office in a Party Primary Election or Convention.

The winners in the Party Primary or Convention will be the candidates who appear on the ballot in November. Except in very rare cases, all candidates must first win a Party Primary or Convention. Write-in campaigns are theoretically possible, but they rarely succeed. Third-party candidates are theoretically possible, but unless a candidate has as much money as Ross Perot, running as a third-party candidate probably won't be successful and the votes may not even be counted or reported

5. Candidates endorsed by the Party usually win the Primary Election.

Most voters don't investigate the Primary candidates, or even find out who they are. Sometimes, many candidates run in the Primary for nomination to the same office and the voters are confused. Only a small minority of Americans vote in Primary elections. One of the reasons for the small turnout in Primary elections (in addition to voter apathy) is that you usually must declare yourself a member of one Party or another in order to vote in the Primary. Primary Election rules vary from state to state, but in most states, in order to vote in a Primary you either have to pre-register as a Republican or a Democrat OR ask for a Republican or a Democratic Party ballot on Primary Election day.

6. Primary endorsements are often made by the Party's "County Committee" (or Township Committee, etc.), which is elected by the Precinct Committeemen of the Party.

Each political party has national state, county, township, and (in the big cities) ward organizations (usually called committees or central committees). The county and township committees frequently endorse candidates in the Primary, and that endorsement is often the key to a Primary victory.

7. It's easy to be elected a Precinct Committeeman.

The way you get elected a Precinct Committeeman is usually very simple. In a typical state, you can call your county clerk and get the necessary forms, get ten of your friends to sign a Petition requesting that you be on the ballot in the primary.

As a typical county may have dozens of precincts without any Precinct Committeeman because no one has bothered to run, it is sometimes easy to be appointed to one of these positions by calling your Party Chairman. Many precincts have do-nothing Committeemen who can easily be defeated because they don't do their job.

To be remembered (Phyllis continues):

To change things, we must change the laws.

To change the laws, we must change the people who make them.

To get elected, your candidate must be on the ballot.

To get on the November ballot you must win the Primary.

To win the Primary, you must get the support of people who make endorsements in the Primary, who reliably vote in the Primary, and who get out the vote of others in the Primary. Those people are the Precinct Committeemen.

Therefore, Precinct Committeeman is the most powerful office in the world because Precinct Committeemen determine who gets the chance to be elected to office at every level of government. Remember, if your candidate is not on the ballot, he will not be elected.

Duties of the Precinct Committeeman

The Precinct Committeeman is the person who is legally charged with getting out the vote on election day. If he does his job well, he will ring the doorbell of every household in the precinct and ask polite questions to find out the Party and other political views of every voter. (That's called canvassing.) Then, before each election, the Precinct Committeeman will personally deliver campaign literature (such as a marked sample ballot) to every voter who is expected to vote for your Party or candidate. Then the Precinct Committeeman makes sure that all his voters get to the polls on election day. This is the way elections are won.

Powers of the Precinct Committeeman

Friendly access to neighbors. Most people are eager to know more about their government and the people who run it. When you introduce yourself as their "Republican Precinct Committeeman," they assume you have something to say. You can provide them with information on candidates and issues. Of course, you don't waste your time on those who would rather get their information from the Precinct Committeeman of the other Party. Respect from elected officials. Since a Precinct Committeeman represents, on average, 500 voters, and has the power to vote for other Party officials and to make endorsements of candidates, any call or letter from a Precinct Committeeman gets the attention of elected officials. Launching pad for other offices. You would be amazed at how many of our Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, and state and local officials started as Precinct Committeemen, and still serve as Precinct Committeemen even though they hold a higher elected office. That's because they know the power of a Precinct Committeeman. Direct influence over Party Platform, policies, and selection of candidates. At state, district, county, and township caucuses and conventions, the Precinct Committeeman is an active player. He can have a tremendous influence on the adoption of the Party Platform and policies, support of or opposition to issues, and selection of candidates.

End of Phyllis Schlafly excerpts

Lake County where Nancy Thorner lives, is typical among U.S. counties. 25-50% of the committeeman spots of the dominant party are normally "vacant". In these precincts, if you get on the primary ballot with no primary opponent, the only way you can lose is an opponent with a very hard write-in campaign. In the other 50-75% of precincts, you will probably have to oust an incumbent committeeman (sometimes they withdraw rather than fight). But most incumbent committeemen are patronage hacks who do little besides drop off party literature and endorsements. (When was the last time any committeeman came to your door?). $50 for literature, a few weekends visiting the hundred or so homes that might vote in your party's primary and any dedicated conservative can win.

For Illinois outside Cook County: call or go to the Internet site of your County Clerk for your party's nominating papers and filing rules for precinct committeeman. Also get a list of your precinct's voters. Filing deadline is 90 days before the primary. Try to file the first minute possible to get the advantageous first ballot position. File at least 15 signatures to avoid challenges that knock your off the ballot. You need a minimum of 10 primary electors of your party (primary electors of the party are people who voted in your party's primary in previous elections.) After filing, print a campaign leaflet that you can leave if people are not home with your name, address, phone number, job description, family picture, anything you have done for your neighborhood and your party. Then concentrate on meeting in person the voters of your party that live in your precinct.
"Illinois is on fire." That's how Comptroller Susana Mendoza earlier this year described her state's financial situation. With no budget for two years until just last week, a $14 billion backlog in unpaid bills and $5.7 billion deficit, Illinois saw its latest Standard & Poor's credit rating come in just shy of junk status.

Large states like Illinois (49th in our Mercatus Center state fiscal health rankings), New York (39th), California (43rd) and Pennsylvania (45th) struggle financially compared with smaller states. Even business-obsessed Texas (23rd) has long-term, pension-fueled concerns. But at No. 1, Florida  similar in size and economic potential to Illinois  defies the big-state curse.

Before we address how Florida achieves, how does an appealing and otherwise dynamic state like Illinois achieve No. 49?

As in Puerto Rico and Detroit, the alarm bells were sounding or years, if not decades. Illinois' unfunded pension liabilities  generously calculated at $130 billion, but more accurately $345 billion when fully accounting for constitutional guarantees and uncertain investment returns  are both a driving force and a symptom of something bigger explaining the difference with Florida.

That something bigger is basic state institutions that either make it easier or harder to govern them.

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Illinois has hamstrung lawmakers by carving pension and health care liabilities into constitutional stone, leaving no easy fixes. Powerful public sector unions apply pressure to protect the status quo, regardless of financial reality or fairness. A history of political patronage and corruption lingers.

No state is immune from these problems, but they're especially virulent in Illinois.

The budget passed last week, which largely relies on an income tax increase, is the type of measure taken by lawmakers whose hands are tied. New tax dollars will provide the state with a temporary revenue infusion but will do nothing to address the underlying cause of Illinois' crisis  and may make it worse.

When the tax burden grows on residents and businesses, those who can most afford to leave do just that. A downward spiral ensues, with shrinking revenues and increasing pressure on government services. And people are leaving. Illinois has led the nation in population loss in every year since 2014.

Florida's fiscal institutions are supported by a different sensibility. It's a destination state, thanks in part to geography, with the population growing at about 1.7 percent annually since 2013. Some of that is due to its climate and natural amenities, but it also presents residents and businesses with other attractions: no personal income tax and no estate tax, and per capita spending among the lowest in the nation.

As economist Randall Holcombe notes, over the past 20 years, "Florida's state government has become increasingly lean" even as quality of life generally remains high.

Florida's fiscal leanness stems from some healthy practices: keeping a balanced budget, relatively low taxes and expenditures, and  notably  maintaining institutions that allow for both. Legislative term limits and the ability to amend the Florida constitution through citizen initiatives make it easier for policymakers to maintain fiscal responsibility.

That's not to say Florida has no room for improvement. A large retiree population puts pressure on government services, while the state's economy relies heavily on tourism, generally a source of lower-wage service jobs. But it lacks the structural impediments Illinois has.

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A state cannot afford to be a financial trap for businesses and residents. The politics are difficult, but if Illinois policymakers signaled that they are serious about long-term solutions  through regulatory reform, sound tax policy and pension reform  businesses and residents might stop the exodus.

Although no state is perfect, large states can look to Florida for a way to grow while maintaining fiscal health.
Housing is as basic as it gets. We cannot live without a safe place to sleep every single day. We cannot have a community or an economy without shelters in which to sleep and eat.

It seems crazy that I need to lead with these statements, yet we take housing so much for granted that we seem to think the looming affordability crisis will magically resolve itself. Housing experts have been telling us that for families with incomes below $50,000 annually, finding shelter cannot be taken for granted. We will need innovation, collaboration and financial contributions from our government and business community, if we want to continue to have the benefits of a thriving productive community.

I appreciate Rochester City Council Member Nick Campion's commitment ("Time for 'creative thinking' is long past," Post Bulletin, June 30) to receive proposals for fee and regulatory modifications from our home-builder industry. In my view, however, setting a deadline of October and loading the obligation on our builders alone is unworkable. Nobody's crystal ball to the future is that clear. We cannot know all the changes that may be required by a date-certain deadline.

Rather, I ask local and state government to be open to change on a continual basis. Decades-old zoning and building codes should be always subject to review and refinement. Fees currently consume 25 percent of the cost of a new house. New and well-intentioned building codes add expense. The National Association of Realtors reports that every $1,000 increase in the cost of a house eliminates 139 households from qualifying for a mortgage to buy a house.

Certainly, consistency and predictability is necessary for business to work, but we should not be enslaved by outdated rules and concepts. We need to be receptive to innovations in house design and neighborhood structure. Past practices will not produce the number of homes we need at prices affordable to the majority of the workforce in our community.

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This is a very complex crisis with multiple causes and uncertain solutions. New and different housing concepts must evolve, and it will require that we be open to adjusting fees and regulations.

Here's the big fact: According to the U.S. Census in 2015, 36 percent of households in Olmsted County have a gross annual income of $50,000 or less. That's right, 36 percent of our workforce is being priced out of shelter. Jobs with wages of $35,000 to $50,000 are not "starter" or unskilled labor jobs. Annual pay of $35,000 is a nearly $17 per hour job, full-time; $50,000 is a $24 per hour job. These are career jobs providing services that are essential to our economy and our daily lives.

A few years ago, a person could count on being able to afford decent housing on that wage. Not so anymore for 36 percent of the households in our county.

We know there is a growing workforce shortage. "Help wanted" signs are posted all over town. Projections are that Destination Medical Center and related business growth will import 20,000 to 40,000 new workers in the next 20 years. These residents will require goods and services, and many of these jobs will pay under $50,000 per year. These new workers need to sleep somewhere. Commuting to smaller surrounding towns will be an option for some, but many will not be able to absorb the transportation cost.

A vibrant economy requires a housing inventory that offers choices.

The Rochester Area Builders Association has accepted this challenge to design and build a house that can be sold for $190,000 to $225,000. They have assembled a task force of local experts in home design, construction, sales and finance. The goal is to make it affordable for someone with a $50,000 annual income and also desirable to someone with higher incomes. It will be smaller on a smaller lot in a higher density neighborhood.

A concept known as "pocket neighborhoods" is catching on around the country. It includes multi-sized houses organized in clusters around shared common open space rather than traditional linear rectangular lots.

Is southeast Minnesota ready for concepts such as these? How about the labor force that we will import? Will they expect these concepts to be available? Who will make it happen?

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The city of Rochester has a great history of strong support for housing via tax-increment financing and zoning innovation, and Olmsted County has been forward-thinking with their HRA housing programs. The Rochester Area Foundation is pleased to work with other nonprofit agencies, Rochester Area Builders and Southeast Minnesota Realtors to create solutions.

We will need more from all sectors of our community. This housing crisis will affect everyone; nobody is immune. I challenge our government and our employers to own this opportunity to create a new kind of housing in our hometown, to lean forward aggressively seeking solutions, to share the risk and control our destiny.

This is not a time to sit back and hope someone else from somewhere else will impose magical solutions upon us.
Natalia Veselnitskaya is the Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump, Jr. at Trump Tower in June 2016. Trump, Jr. met with her because he thought she might have information damaging to Hillary Clinton. Apparently, she had none and wanted to talk instead about the Magnitsky Act, about which more later.

These facts are well known to anyone who has been following the news recently. Whats less known is that Veselnitskaya was not in the U.S. lawfully.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley has written to Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to complain about this and related matters. Grassley informs Kelly and Tillerson:

According to her sworn declaration, former Russian prosecutor Natalia Veselnitskaya was denied a U.S. visa to travel to the United States from Russia to participate in litigation. Although she was subsequently granted immigration parole to make the trip, her parole was set to expire on January 7, 2016. Her request to extend was denied on January 4, 2016.

Yet she was still in the U.S. in June when she met with Trump, Jr. Grassleys letter seeks information about how could have happened.

Grassleys letter also notes that Veselnitskaya used the meeting with Trump, Jr. to lobby against the Magnitsky Act, a U.S. law that blacklisted Russians who were determined to have engaged in certain human rights violations. Veselnitskayas role in the Russian lobbying effort to undermine this Act was later cited in a complaint alleging that she and others promoting the same cause failed to register as Russian agents under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA).

According to Grassley, the same complaint cited Fusion GPS as also lobbying against the Magnitsky Act without having registered as Russian agents. Fusion GPS is the firm hired originally by an anti-Trump Republican and then retained by Democrat backers to develop the bogus anti-Trump dossier.

The complaint called Veselnitskaya, Fusion GPS, and Rinat Akhmetshin  reportedly a former Russian GRU counterintelligence officer  the cohort of Russian agents allegedly involved in the ongoing effort to undermine the Magnitsky Act. That Act of Congress, by the way, is named for Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian attorney who, after reporting large-scale Russian corruption, was arrested and died in custody under suspicious circumstances.

Is it just a coincidence that Veselnitskaya was aligned with a group that was developing a dossier on Donald Trump?

In his letter, Grassley says that Veselnitskayas unlawful presence in the U.S. at the time of the meeting at Trump Tower raises serious questions about whether the Obama administration authorized her to remain in the country, and if so, why? I agree.

It seems unlikely, however, that the Obama administration was trying to set the Trump campaign up. If it had been, wouldnt we have heard about this meeting long ago?

Its true, or so it appears, that nothing came out of the meeting. However, the fact that Trump, Jr. met with the Russian lawyer at all, after expressing a strong interest in obtaining negative information about the opposition, likely would have been deemed embarrassing enough for Clinton to use during the campaign or for Democrats to use soon after Clinton lost the election, when the collusion chorus began singing.

If we learn the nature of Secs. Tillerson and Kelly response to Chairman Grassleys letter, well report it.
ATLANTIC CITY  A New York City-based private equity firm has tendered a $220 million offer to purchase the former Revel, according to Alex Fredericks, director of operations for Digital Launch, the company representing the firm.

The offer by the firm, which Fredericks declined to name, was made in the last 10 days, he said.

Glenn Straub, owner of the more than 6 million-square-foot Boardwalk property, said he was unaware of any offer for the resort, which he has renamed TEN.

Straub also said he has never talked to any equity firms regarding a sale.

I dont know any private equity firms, Straub said.

Straub bought the $2.4 billion Revel for $82 million in bankruptcy court in August 2015.

Since then he has repeatedly talked about reopening the property, and has set several deadlines for doing so, but it remains closed.

Digital Launch is a development and management firm that designs and implements innovative strategies to effectively market product and talent through both the hard goods and digital commerce landscape, according to its website. The firm has done ad work with Geico, Coke and Pepsi.

State gaming officials have told Straub he is required to get some type of gaming license if there is going to be a casino on the property, but he maintains he shouldnt be required to apply for one since hes leasing the casino area to a third-party vendor. Straub previously talked about opening the facility as a resort without a casino.

Straub has appealed the Casino Control Commission ruling that required him to have some level of casino license.

If they rule in our favor, we will open the casino, Straub said. If they rule against us, maybe we will have to look for someone else.

The closed casino sits at the end of the Boardwalk near the Inlet, where few people were walking Wednesday. But Jean Muchanic, executive director of the Absecon Lighthouse that sits a couple blocks behind the closed casino at Rhode Island and Pacific avenues, walked past and said the prospect of a sale is exciting.

We saw it from scratch to the place that it is now, she said. It would be amazing if it could go from nothing for the past two years to once again a thriving attraction and a fun place to visit.

That area of the Boardwalk is described as a hidden gem, she said, adding the idea of a potential buyer makes her hopeful.

Calls for Straub to sell the property have continued to grow as inaction at the property has continued. Last month, Mayor Don Guardian said several groups of investors have expressed interest in the property over the past couple months.

Gov. Chris Christie also has raised the idea of a change in ownership. Christie, on his June Ask the Governor radio show on New Jersey 101.5, said he hopes Straub sells the casino because he hasnt been able to deliver.

Before buying the closed Trump Taj Mahal, Hard Rock International and its investors looked at purchasing Revel.

Recently, rumors of the impending sale of Revel have circulated in the city. Straub, when contacted regarding those rumors, has steadfastly denied the property was being sold, although he has said there is no question that all of our properties are for sale for the right price.

Al Craig, who lives at The Ocean at 101 Board-walk apartments, which sit next to the former Revel, said he hopes a sale goes through to bring some life to the area.

Hopefully it will open and bring some activity to this end of the Boardwalk, he said. Its a magnificent building.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  Five people were charged with possession of heroin in an early morning drug bust Tuesday, police said.

An investigation by township detectives led to members of the Police Department, the Atlantic County SWAT team and Linwood and Brigantine police executing a search warrant at a condominium in the Landon Court complex in Farmington.

According to a press release, detectives seized 456 bags of heroin, 10.7 grams of suspected crack cocaine, the prescription drug Suboxone and drug paraphernalia. Authorities also seized $500 cash and two motor vehicles.

Michael Eger, 34, of Brigantine and Amanda Sciullo, 42, of Somers Point were charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute and other related charges. Eger and Sciullo were in the Atlantic County jail in Mays Landing. They were previously arrested on similar drug-possession charges in March during a raid of a home in Brigantine, police said.

Brandon Hill, 42, of New Brunswick, Bashir Chrim, 30, of Hamilton Township, and Corinne Pinchasov, 52, of Brooklyn, New York, were charged with possession of heroin, conspiracy to distribute heroin and related charges. They all were released on summonses pending court dates.
Local agencies aim to give teens the tools and experience to become future leaders of their communities, and other organizations are investing in those efforts.

The Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City and the Tri-County Community Action Agency, based in Bridgeton, are two of 10 agencies in New Jersey that will get grants from New Jersey Health Initiatives to fund programs for youth leadership.

New Jersey Health Initiatives is the grantmaking arm of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Each agency or organization will get $200,000 over three years to develop youth civic engagement skills, involve teens in summer employment and identify solutions to health needs in their communities.

In New Jerseys vulnerable communities such as Bridgeton and Newark, up to 40 percent of the population is under the age of 18, said Bob Atkins, director of New Jersey Health Initiatives. However, adults dont always view them as valuable community resources.

Bridgeton Mayor Albert Kelly led a similar pilot initiative with foundation grant money last year.

About 20 Bridgeton High School students spent the summer tackling hunger and food insecurity in Cumberland County by getting families to sign up low-income children for summer meal programs.

The Bridgeton Youth: Helping to Feed, Learning to Lead program was funded with a grant to the Gateway Community Action Partnership. Kelly said because of the teens work, he saw more children attend summer feeding sites throughout the city.

The mayor plans to lead the new Bridgeton project called Next Gen Leaders with selected teens ages 14 to 21. Other civic and government leaders, health and human services officials and universities also will be involved with awarded agencies and projects.

This work will enable young people to acquire a sophisticated understanding of the barriers to health they see impacting their families, friends and neighbors and provide the resources to affect meaningful, sustainable change both now and in the future, Atkins said.
ATLANTIC CITY  A 28-year-old city man died following a Tuesday night shooting, and first responders say they had to run for cover after they heard gunfire while trying to help him.

Anthony S. McCrae was found shot multiple times at the scene and was later pronounced dead following the 9:18 p.m. Tuesday shooting in the 1800 block of Lincoln Avenue, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner said in a statement Wednesday.

No arrest was made Wednesday in the shooting.

While first responders were treating McCrae, additional shots were heard, police Sgt. Kevin Fair said in a news release.

First responders, including Atlantic City police, Atlantic City fire, Exceptional Medical Transportation and AtlantiCare, heard several gunshots that were fired in their direction, the release said.

Atlantic City Fire Chief Scott Evans said firefighters had to retreat from gunfire while treating the man.

They heard additional gunfire and had to take cover, Evans said. They were applying a pressure bandage to the wound.

Gunfire evidence was found at the 500 block of Hobart Avenue, which is more than a block from the original shooting, the release said.

McCrae was transported to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus in Atlantic City, and was pronounced dead at 9:39 p.m., Tyners statement said.

Jakire Hossain works at Ohio Food Mart, a store near where the shooting took place. He could hear the shots, even though the windows and doors of the store were closed, he said.

Hossain said he then heard a group of people crowding the area, along with first responders, and closed the store an hour early at 11 p.m.

The Atlantic County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit and the Atlantic City police are investigating the incident. The Atlantic City Police Departments Violent Crimes Unit is investigating the additional shots fired, officials said.

Anyone with more information about the homicide should call the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at 609-909-7666 or the Atlantic City Police Department Violent Crimes Unit at 609-347-5788.

People can also anonymously text tip411 (847411), beginning the text with ACPD, call Crime Stoppers at 609-652-1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS) or go to the website at crimestoppersatlantic.com to provide additional information on crimes. The service offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment on crimes in the county.

The Atlantic City Police Department is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of a person responsible for either incident, the release said.
Aaron Carter, the singer-rapper who began performing as a child and had hit albums starting in his teen years, was found dead at his home in Southern California. He was 34. Representatives for Carters family confirmed the singers death Saturday. They did not provide any immediate further comment. A sheriff's official says deputies responding to reports of a medical emergency found a person deceased at the home in Lancaster. Aaron Carter, the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, performed as an opening act for Britney Spears as well as his brothers boy band, and appeared on the familys reality series, House of Carters.
Cigna launches new phase of operations as the premier provider of health and wellness services to Individuals, Employers and Government entities across the Middle East

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI), a global health services company, today announced the acquisition of general insurer, Zurich Insurance Middle East (SAL). The acquisition, which was successfully completed in June marks the beginning of a new phase of operations for Cigna as the premier provider of both health and wellness services to individuals, employers and government entities across the Middle East. With this acquisition, Cigna will operate in the UAE, Lebanon, Kuwait and Oman, further complementing its capabilities across the region.

In line with regulatory compliance, the newly acquired entity will be called 'Zurich Insurance Middle East, a Cigna-owned company.' The company will assume a name that aligns with the Cigna brand once all formalities have been completed.

In the Middle East region Cigna delivers group health products and services for small businesses and family-owned enterprises through to multinational companies. Through its new entity, Cigna will be able to provide even more personalized products to individuals, employers, and government entities; 24/7 customer support; multilingual call centres located across nine global locations; specialized clinical services, and access to one million medical and healthcare professionals and facilities worldwide.

Jason Sadler, President of Cigna International Markets said: "Cigna has enjoyed a strong presence in the Middle East for more than 15 years through our local partners. Today, we mark a significant new phase of our journey and commitment to the region. Cigna aims to improve the health, well-being and sense of security of our regional customers by providing full access to our global expertise and wide range of specialized healthcare benefits, products and wellness programs."

Cigna has named Arthur Cozad, former CEO of Cigna Taiwan, as CEO for Middle East markets. Earlier this year, Cigna opened offices at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to serve as its regional headquarters, providing management support and specialist services to its regulated entities across the GCC.

Howard Gough, CEO of Cigna for the MENA Region, Global International Private Medical Insurance (GIPMI), and Global Government segment, added: "We are witnessing a dynamic change within the GCC region's healthcare sector, defined by regulatory reform and national agendas that prioritize the importance of quality healthcare. Cigna's healthcare benefit products and its preventive wellness solutions meet a vital need for companies, and local and globally mobile individuals."

About Cigna Middle East Insurance

Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense of security. With a heritage of over 200 years, Cigna is committed to its promise of being together all the way in providing healthcare, clinical management and wellness programs to employers, individuals and governments around the world.

Operating for more than 15 years in the MENA region, Cigna serves the GCC markets and Lebanon, through its locally regulated entities and regional headquarters in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The company delivers both health and wellness services to individuals, employers and government entities in the region.

The company maintains a global sales capability in 30 countries and jurisdictions, employing over 40,000 people that service more than 95 million customer relationships throughout the world. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, Cigna is a Fortune 100 company with a total revenue of US$39.7 billion in 2016.

To learn more about Cigna Middle East, visit www.cigna-me.com

For media enquiries, please contact:

Lianne Braganza-D'Sylva

Head of Marketing & Communications, MENA

+971-52-690-0081

Lianne.Braganza@cigna.com

Related Links

http://www.cigna-me.com



SOURCE Cigna International
The All Party Parliamentary Group discussion was hosted by Co-Chairmen Khalid Mahmood MP and Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne and built upon British Prime Minister Theresa May's call earlier this year to increase funding for technical education in light of Britain's shortage of skilled laborers, and the Queen's Speech to both Houses of Parliament in June. The event also featured as guest speakers Professor Sir Keith Burnett CBE, FRS, Vice Chancellor University of Sheffield and The Rt Revd Stephen Conway, The Lord Bishop of Ely and Member of the House of Lords.

"This is a very important issue for Great Britain," said Baroness Nicholson. "We've expanded our take of university students right up to 50 percent of the young population, which has meant we've left behind 'technical education.' We had fantastic panelists that complemented each other while tackling this whole great problem  this gulf between vocational and academic education. The discussion resulted in one of our most robust Q&A sessions, where President Holland, Sir Keith Burnett and the Bishop fielded so many questions from such a diverse audience. I count this as an important step."

"It is a distinct honor and lifetime opportunity to address Members of Parliament and other innovators concentrating on education reform at Parliament," said President Holland. "During my stay at Pembroke and in London, I have been thrilled by the level of interest and engagement in debating the value and opportunities surrounding vocational education. The U.K. is very focused on enhancing its vocational education system and I am pleased to share insights gained during my stay while also discussing lessons learned at UVU in combining vocational arts with advanced four-year degrees. That UVU's founding 75 years ago was tied to supporting the war effort with skilled laborers makes this meeting particularly meaningful for the UVU family."

The event filled the committee room to standing room capacity, attracting a broad mix of attendees, including members from both Houses of Parliament, scholars from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, graduate students, media and NGOs. The proceedings included 45 minutes of remarks from the guest speakers followed by a vigorous question and answer session conducted in parliamentary style that lasted 75 minutes.

About Utah Valley University

Utah Valley University is home to more than 35,000 students. UVU began as a vocational school during World War II, and in the seven decades since has evolved into a technical school, community college, state college, and, finally, a comprehensive regional teaching university. UVU is one of Utah's largest institutions of higher learning and offers programs ranging from career training to high-demand master degrees.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/534813/Utah_Valley_University_Baroness_Emma_Nicholson_of_Winterbourne_President_Matthew_S_Holland.jpg

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SOURCE Utah Valley University
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, July 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Organised by UBM Asia, VIETWATER continues to hold its 9th edition at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from 8 to 10 November 2017. As an integrated business platform, VIETWATER 2017 will gather more than 450 leading companies to showcase their advanced solutions and innovative products in all segments of the water industry.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/530935/Vietwater_2016_exhibition.jpg

According to VIETWATER, more than 90% of booth spaces have been booked by leading players in the water supply, wastewater treatment, sewerage, purification and sanitation industry.

Participating in the exhibition are international brands that include Bueno, CL Waterware, Ebara, Dow, Haus, Hydro Vacuum, Manila Water, Metawater, Prominent, JFE, Sereco, Swing, Tabuchi, Tecomen, TSK, Tsurumi, VAF, Veolia, Warmgroup, and many more. VIETWATER 2017 also welcomes some big local players, such as Binh Minh, Hoa Sen, Nhat Anh, Quang Minh, Son Ha, Vucico and so on. It can be said that VIETWATER 2017 is an all-in-one platform to connect international enterprises with local companies, trade professionals, government delegates, key decision-makers and consultants.

"Considering the potential development of Vietnam in environment-related industries; especially the water industry, we have decided to join VIETWATER for the second time, marking a unique partnership between Germany and Vietnam," said Mr. Nguyen Dac Hoan, Representative of German Water Partnership in Vietnam, Director of DEVIWAS project. "This year, we will bring in a German Pavilion, allowing German enterprises many opportunities to meet up with 14,000 trade visitors and learn about the Vietnam's growing market for their further investment."

Beyond an exhibition, VIETWATER is valued as one of the leading water forums to give insights into Vietnam's water operation and management, as well as the water-related information and trends from around the world. With the theme "Improving the quality of Water Supply and Sanitation Services through Innovation, Technologies upgrading and effective utility management", the exhibition promises to bring some well-known local and international speakers.

The 9th edition, VIETWATER continues to be co-located with Vietnam's Leading Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Exhibition -- RE & EE Vietnam 2017. This is the third time the water and energy industries will come together under one roof, showcasing a rich spectrum of water resources and energy generation.

Mrs. Phan Thi My Linh, Vice Minister, Ministry of Construction, said the coming together of these industries has strengthened business cooperation and attracted financial support from domestic and foreign organisations to help develop the water supply and energy industries of Vietnam.

Don't miss your chance to be a part of VIETWATER and RE & EE Vietnam 2017!

To get more information about VIETWATER, please visit our website: http://www.vietwater.com/en-us/ .

Notes to Editors:





About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com)

With a track record spanning over 30 years and a strong global presence in 24 major cities across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia is the largest trade show organiser in the region, and the largest commercial organiser in China, India, Malaysia and Thailand. We provide you with a one-stop diversified global platform for high value business matching, quality market news and online trading networks. Every year, we connect over 2,000,000 buyers and sellers from 150 countries and regions.

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SOURCE UBM Asia (Malaysia)
PHILADELPHIA, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aberdeen Global Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE MKT: FCO) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund, today announced that it will pay on July 31, 2017, a distribution of US $0.07 per share to all shareholders of record as of July 24, 2017.

Your Fund's distribution policy is to provide investors with a stable monthly distribution out of current income, supplemented by realized capital gains and, to the extent necessary, paid-in capital.

Under U.S. tax rules applicable to the Fund, the amount and character of distributable income for each fiscal year can be finally determined only as of the end of the Fund's fiscal year. However, under Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act") and related Rules, the Fund may be required to indicate to shareholders the source of certain distributions to shareholders.

The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the sources of the distribution for purposes of Section 19 of the 1940 Act and the Rules adopted thereunder. The table has been computed based on generally accepted accounting principles. The table includes estimated amounts and percentages for the distribution to be paid on July 31, 2017 as well as the estimated cumulative distributions declared fiscal year to date (11/01/2016 - 06/30/2017), from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short-term capital gains; net realized long-term capital gains; and return of capital. The estimated composition of the distributions may vary from month to month because the estimated composition may be impacted by future income, expenses and realized gains and losses on securities and currencies.



Estimated

Amounts of

Current Monthly

Distribution

per share ($) Estimated

Amounts of

Current Monthly

Distribution

per share (%) Estimated

Amounts

of Fiscal

Year to Date

Cumulative Distributions

per share ($) Estimated

Amounts

of Fiscal

Year to Date

Cumulative Distributions

per share (%) Net Investment Income $0.0112 16% $0.1008 16% Net Realized Short-Term Capital Gains* - - - - Net Realized Long-Term Capital Gains - - - - Return of Capital $0.0588 84% $0.5292 84% Total (per common share) $0.0700 100% $0.6300 100%

*includes currency gains

The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."

Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of the Fund's current distributions or from the terms of the distribution policy (the "Distribution Policy").

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The final determination of the source of all distributions in 2017 will be made after year-end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to change based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

The following table provides the Fund's total return performance based on net asset value (NAV) over various time periods compared to the Fund's annualized and cumulative distribution rates.

Average Annual Total Return on NAV for the 5 Year Period Ending 06/30/20171 0.98% Current Fiscal Period's Annualized Distribution Rate on NAV2 9.15% Fiscal Year to Date (11/01/2016 to 06/30/2017) Cumulative Total Return on NAV1 6.38% Cumulative Distribution Rate on NAV2 6.10%

1Return data is net of all fund expenses and fees and assumes the reinvestment of all

distributions reinvested at prices obtained under the Fund's dividend reinvestment plan. 2 Based on the Fund's NAV as of June 30, 2017.

While NAV performance may be indicative of the Fund's investment performance, it does not measure the value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund. The value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund is determined by the Fund's market price, which is based on the supply and demand for the Fund's shares in the open market.

Pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2010, the Fund may distribute any long-term capital gains more frequently than the limits provided in Section 19(b) under the 1940 Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder. Therefore, distributions paid by the Fund during the year may include net income, short-term capital gains, long-term capital gains and/or a return of capital. Net income dividends and short-term capital gain dividends, while generally taxable at ordinary income rates, may be eligible, to the extent of qualified dividend income earned by the Fund, to be taxed at a lower rate not to exceed the maximum rate applicable to your long-term capital gains. Distributions made in any calendar year in excess of investment company taxable income and net capital gain are treated as taxable ordinary dividends to the extent of undistributed earnings and profits, and then as a return of capital that reduces the adjusted basis in the shares held. To the extent return of capital distributions exceed the adjusted basis in the shares held, capital gain is recognized with a holding period based on the period the shares have been held at the date such amount is received. Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the terms of the distribution policy. The final determination of the source of all distributions will be made after year-end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the fiscal year and may be subject to change based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report distributions for federal income tax purposes.

The payment of distributions in accordance with the Distribution Policy may result in a decrease in the Fund's net assets. A decrease in the Fund's net assets may cause an increase in the Fund's annual operating expense ratio and a decrease in the Fund's market price per share to the extent the market price correlates closely to the Fund's net asset value per share. The Distribution Policy may also negatively affect the Fund's investment activities to the extent that the Fund is required to hold larger cash positions than it typically would hold or to the extent that the Fund must liquidate securities that it would not have sold, for the purpose of paying the distribution. The Fund's Board of Directors has the right to amend, suspend or terminate the Distribution Policy at any time. The amendment, suspension or termination of the Distribution Policy may affect the Fund's market price per share. Investors should consult their tax advisor regarding federal, state and local tax considerations that may be applicable in their particular circumstances.

Circular 230 disclosure : To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the U.S. Treasury, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

Closed-end funds are traded on the secondary market through one of the stock exchanges. The Fund's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares may be worth more or less than the original cost. Shares of closed-end funds may trade above (a premium) or below (a discount) the net asset value (NAV) of the fund's portfolio. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

If you wish to receive this information electronically, please contact [email protected]

aberdeenfco.com

SOURCE Aberdeen Global Income Fund, Inc.

Related Links

http://aberdeenfco.com


"The eclipse is a truly rare moment that the whole country is able to experience together," said Christopher Quinn, O.D., AOA President. "As America's primary eye health and vision care doctors, the AOA and our member doctors of optometry are excited to help educate everyone about how they can enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience while safely protecting their eyes."

To ensure spectators won't miss the remarkable sight, the AOA is sharing a few tips for safe viewing:

Get centered and enjoy the view. Within the path of totality, you can safely witness the two or more minutes when the moon completely covers the sun with the naked eye. Otherwise, your eyes should always be protected by verified viewing tools. Never look directly at the sun without eye protection, even briefly. Visit eclipse.aas.org to access eclipse duration charts.

Within the path of totality, you can safely witness the two or more minutes when the moon completely covers the sun with the naked eye. Otherwise, your eyes should always be protected by verified viewing tools. Never look directly at the sun without eye protection, even briefly. Visit eclipse.aas.org to access eclipse duration charts. Know your duration. Outside of the path of totality, always use solar filters. O.D.s want to reinforce that the only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters or other ISO-certified filters, such as "eclipse glasses" or handheld solar viewers. The AOA encourages ordering solar eclipse glasses in advance and recommends referring to the American Astronomical Society's (AAS) site for a list of manufacturers.

Outside of the path of totality, always use solar filters. O.D.s want to reinforce that the only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters or other ISO-certified filters, such as "eclipse glasses" or handheld solar viewers. The AOA encourages ordering solar eclipse glasses in advance and recommends referring to the American Astronomical Society's (AAS) site for a list of manufacturers. Be aware of harmful solar exposure. If you stare at the sun without protection, you may experience damage to your retina (the tissue at the back of your eye) called "solar retinopathy." This damage can occur without any sensation of pain, since the retina does not have pain receptors. The injury can be temporary or permanent. Visit your local doctor of optometry immediately if an accident occurs.

If you stare at the sun without protection, you may experience damage to your retina (the tissue at the back of your eye) called "solar retinopathy." This damage can occur without any sensation of pain, since the retina does not have pain receptors. The injury can be temporary or permanent. Visit your local doctor of optometry immediately if an accident occurs. Visit your doctor of optometry. Check in with your doctor of optometry for information about safely viewing the eclipse. If you experience any problems with your eyes or vision after the eclipse, your optometrist will be able to provide you with the medical care you need. To find a doctor of optometry near you, visit the AOA's doctor locator at aoa.org.

To access additional information and educational materials on the solar eclipse, visit aoa.org/2017eclipse.

About the American Optometric Association (AOA): The American Optometric Association, founded in 1898, is the leading authority on quality care and an advocate for our nation's health, representing more than 44,000 doctors of optometry (O.D.), optometric professionals and optometry students. Doctors of optometry take a leading role in patient care with respect to eye and vision care, as well as general health and well-being. As primary health care providers, doctors of optometry have extensive, ongoing training to examine, diagnose, treat and manage ocular disorders, diseases and injuries and systemic diseases that manifest in the eye. Doctors of optometry provide more than two-thirds of primary eye care in the U.S. For more information on eye health and vision topics, and to find a doctor of optometry near you, visit aoa.org.

SOURCE American Optometric Association

Related Links

http://www.aoa.org


NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential securities fraud at Amec Foster Wheeler plc ("Foster Wheeler" or the "Company") (NYSE:AMFW).

The investigation focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws. Specifically, during market trading on July 11, 2017, the Company filed a Form 6-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing that the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office informed the Company that it has "opened an investigation into Amec Foster Wheeler, predecessor companies and associated persons in respect of the Foster Wheeler business." Furthermore, Foster Wheeler disclosed that the "investigation focuses on the past use of third parties and possible bribery and corruption and related offences."

On this news, Foster Wheeler's American Depository Receipt ("ADR") price declined, causing harm to investors.

If you invested in Foster Wheeler ADRs and would like to discuss your legal rights, click here : www.faruqilaw.com/AMFW. There is no cost or obligation to you.

You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

CONTACT:

FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP

685 Third Avenue, 26th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Attn: Richard Gonnello, Esq.

[email protected]

Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.







SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP

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ANNAPOLIS, Md., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Bell, a renowned artist, 3x national award-winning art educator, and owner of MBELLART Productions, believes it's up to us to find 'our why' in order to fight for what we believe in and all we dream of. He believes finding 'our why' will help us determine whether our journey is defined by our origins, or by our maniacal drive to fight our way out of them and be all we're destined to be.

"I always wanted to catch kids before they fall.

That's my motto in education.

Do what nobody ever did for me."

DUAL LIVES: from the Streets to the Studio by Michael Bell. Foreword by Peter J. Gotti. Commentary by John A. Gotti Michael Bell delivering an inspiring keynote on 31 Nights

Bell was doing that for twenty years, but then tragedy hit his personal life hard and fast. His young son Carmen was just officially diagnosed with Autism and ADHD, specifically with what was once labeled Asperger's Syndrome. He and his wife researched heavily and had to come to grips with one major takeawaythere is no cure.

School also turned into a battleground filled with its own set of wars to fight, from bullying to widespread accountability problems that are becoming more prevalent within a US public school system more focused on "data mining" than on "building relationships".

"I've always fought hard for kids in my classroom.

Now we're fighting for our son.

That's why I wrote DUAL LIVES."

DUAL LIVES is an inspiring and brutally candid memoir that chronicles Bell's meteoric rise to becoming one of the most highly decorated public school teachers in America, all the while, living out a storied painting career as "Mob Artist" to America's most infamous, from John Gotti to numerous actors from hit mob shows like the Sopranos. It's the ultimate story of overcoming extreme adversity and being a true champion for today's youth from someone still in the trenches, still in the classroom, still at the top of his game.

"Will DUAL LIVES inspire another teacher out there to help our son find his 'why' and realize his dreams the way I've helped so many others realize theirs? Only time will tell . . . but for me, the time is now."

DUAL LIVES: from the Streets to the Studio is available on Amazon and is a #1 NEW RELEASE in Educator's Memoirs. It is passionately written, and just as courageously vulnerable as the compelling narratives found within Bell's paintings. It's also backed by an impressive list of contributors, with a Foreword by Peter J. Gotti to Commentary from his infamous clientele and world-renowned Artists, Art critics, Education Columnists, Pulitzer Prize winners, NY Times Best-Selling Authors, Actors and Boxers even . . . from John A. Gotti, Dominic Capone, Eric Fischl, Jerry Saltz, Jay Mathews, Daniel Pink, David J. Leeson to Paulie Malignaggi.

www.DUALLIVES.com

Visit Michael Bell at http://mbellart.com Follow @mbellart

on Twitter & Instagram and facebook.com/mbellartlive

Contact: Michael Bell

Tel.: (410) 812-7323

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.mbellart.com

SOURCE MBELLART Productions, LLC
ORANGE, Calif., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Argosy University is pleased to announce the launch of the Master of Law in Compliance online degree program with a Health Law Concentration.

The Master of Law in Compliance degree program with a Health Law Concentration is a 100% online degree program that can be completed in as few as 12 months. The program gives working professionals the opportunity to learn about and experience how the law intersects with their line of work in ways that are uniquely responsive to their needs.

This degree program is intended for non-lawyer healthcare professionals who are looking to increase their knowledge of compliance issues with respect to health care law and thereby enhance their value in the workplace.

Offered through Argosy University, Online Programs, the Master of Law in Compliance degree program with a Health Law concentration was developed by the dean and faculty of Western State College of Law at Argosy University*. It is a contemporary and accessible online degree program that leverages the considerable knowledge and experience of the Western State staff.

This program is designed to teach non-lawyer healthcare professionals how to identify legal issues that arise in their jobs, minimize legal risks in decisionmaking and communicate effectively with lawyers when necessary.

Program learning outcomes include knowledge of the legal system; research, analysis and workplace communication; communication with legal counsel; risk management; compliance programming and application of regulatory standards.

Classes begin on September 14, 2017. For more information about the program and admissions requirements, please visit https://succeed.argosy.edu/master-of-law-in-compliance.

About Argosy University

Programs, credential levels, technology, and scheduling options vary by school and are subject to change. Not all online programs are available to residents of all U.S. states. Argosy University, Online Programs 2233 West Dunlap Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85021  2017 Argosy University. All rights reserved. Our email address is [email protected].

See ge.argosy.edu/programoffering/4580 for program duration, tuition, fees and other costs, median debt, salary data, alumni success, and other important info.

*Western State College of Law is fully approved by the American Bar Association (321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60610, (312) 988-5000). Western State College of Law at Argosy University is a campus of Argosy University.

For information about accreditation and licensing, visit https://www.argosy.edu/about/accreditation-and-licensing.

SOURCE Argosy University

Related Links

https://www.argosy.edu


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Browse 62 Market Data Tables and 72 Figures spread through 217 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Automated Material Handling Equipment Market - Global Forecast to 2023"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/automated-material-handling-manufacturing-market-92483121.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report



The factors driving the growth of the market include the reduction in labor cost through the advancement in robotics, growing emphasis on safety of workers on the production floor, rising e-commerce industry, and the increasing need for automation in various industries.

"Robots to hold the largest size of the overall automated material handling equipment market by 2023"

Robots accounted for the largest share of the automated material handling equipment market in 2016. The end-user industries using robots in their production processes have typically seen a significant transformation in their productivity and efficiency with higher levels of output, product quality, and flexibility. The Qianmo robots were deployed by Shentong Express Co., Ltd. (China), a Chinese shipping company. With the implementation of Qianmo robots, Shentong Express Co., Ltd. was able to reduce 50% of labor cost.

Download PDF Brochure : http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=92483121

"Automated material handling equipment market for packaging to grow at a high rate between 2017 and 2023"

The automated packaging systems are capable of working with various packaging designs and multiple pack sizes for different products. They can optimize packaging of small, large, and fragile products in a speedy manner by eliminating human error while ensuring zero variation in the packaging process. This factor is expected to increase their adoption in the future.

"APAC expected to hold the largest size of automated material handling equipment market between 2017 and 2023"

The increasing popularity and superior results of automation encourage more companies in APAC to install automated material handling equipment. Furthermore, in countries such as China and Japan, the manufacturers and suppliers are increasing their investments for installing automated material handling equipment at warehouses and distribution centers, which is contributing to the growth of the market in APAC.

Inquiry Before Buy @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=92483121

The major players operating in the automated material handling equipment market are Daifuku Co., Ltd. (Japan), Hyster-Yale Material Handling, Inc. (US), Jungheinrich AG (Germany), KION Group AG (Germany), and Toyota Industries Corporation (Japan), among others. Some of the key innovators in the market are Addverb Technologies (India), Avancon SA (Switzerland), and iFuture Robotics Private Ltd. (India).

Browse Related Reports

Automated Guided Vehicle Market by Type (Unit Load Carrier, Tow Vehicle, Forklift Truck, Pallet Truck, Assembly Line Vehicle), Navigation Technology, Battery Type, Industry, Application, & Region - Global Forecast to 2022

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/automated-guided-vehicle-market-27462395.html

Warehouse Robotics Market by Type (Mobile, Articulated, Cylindrical, SCARA, Parallel, Cartesian), Software, Function (Pick & Place, Palletizing & Depalletizing, Transportation, Packaging), Payload Capacity, Industry, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/warehouse-robotic-market-128876258.html

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Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.



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MarketsandMarkets

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Visit Our [email protected] http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/electronics-and-semiconductors

Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets

SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
GAITHERSBURG, Maryland, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Genetic Health Solution platform helps chronic disease patient management

Patient-centric biomarker-based wellness programs designed to improve outcomes

Avant Diagnostics, Inc. ("Avant") (OTC: AVDX), an oncology-focused Healthcare-IT company commercializing the proprietary Theralink phospho-protein biomarker platform across multiple cancers, acquired an exclusive option to license the patient-delivery technology platform from Genetic Health Solution ("GHS", website: http://www.genetichealthsolution.com). GHS is a functional medicine practice that specializes in the aggregation and analysis of advanced biomarker testing data to provide tailored product recommendations for health optimization.

As part of the agreement, the management teams of both companies will endeavor to build an oncology-focused personalized health optimization program to improve health outcomes for patients based upon oncology drugs' side effect profiles combined with advanced blood biomarker monitoring. Taken together, the companies believe they can establish a best-in-class personalized cancer patient management program tailored to allow physicians and patients to proactively mitigate potential negative drug side effects, as well as boost overall health.

Concurrent with this announcement, the Company is evaluating an initial Theralink product launch in breast cancer that will focus on a specific treatment paradigm where our proprietary assay can immediately impact a large population of patients who may be prescribed ineffective treatments due to the insufficient biomarker testing methods currently available. The patient population of interest, with the additional Theralink information, would receive a different prescription therapy that is likely to lead to a well-defined improvement in outcomes based upon the published literature.

About Avant Diagnostics, Inc.

Avant is a healthcare information solutions company that specializes in biomarker tests that are being developed in the areas of oncology and neurology. Avant provides personalized medicine diagnostic testing capabilities through its TheraLink diagnostic assays, initially for breast cancer, to assist clinical oncologists in identifying likely responders for over 30 FDA-approved drug treatment regimens. Avant is the leading developer of phospho-proteomic technologies for measuring the activation status of key signaling pathways, with applications across several different cancer types, including breast, ovarian, colorectal and pancreatic, that are instrumental in the development of companion diagnostics for molecular-targeted therapies. Avant has used these proteomic technologies to support the drug development programs of many of the top biopharmaceutical companies in the world. More information can be found at the website for the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary Theranostics Health at http://www.theranosticshealth.com.

Avant is also developing OvaDx for use in monitoring women diagnosed previously with ovarian cancer. OvaDx is a sophisticated proteomic microarray-based test that measures the activation of the immune system markers in blood samples in response to ovarian tumor cell development.

Avant's neurology division was recently acquired from Amarantus Bioscience Holdings, Inc. (OTC: AMBS) and owns certain rights to next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) assay for the identification of patients with autoimmune disorders, and has an exclusive license to The LymPro Test for Alzheimer's disease, which was developed by Prof. Thomas Arendt, Ph.D., from the University of Leipzig. The Company also owns intellectual property for the proteomic-based diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (NuroPro), and other cell-cycle-related disorders.

For further information please visit http://www.Avantdiagnostics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "forecast," "estimated" and "intend," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Avant's current expectations and actual results could differ materially. There are a number of factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, substantial competition; our ability to continue as a going concern; our need for additional financing; uncertainties with respect to lengthy and expensive clinical trials, that results of earlier studies and trials may not be predictive of future trial results; and risks related to failure to obtain FDA clearances or approvals and noncompliance with FDA regulations. There are no guarantees that future clinical trials discussed in this press release will be completed or successful, or that any product will receive regulatory approval for any indication or prove to be commercially successful. Avant does not undertake an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement except as required by law. Investors should read the risk factors set forth in Avant's Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 13, 2016, and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.



Investor and Media Contact:

Ascendant Partners, LLC

Richard Galterio

732-410-9810

[email protected]



SOURCE Avant Diagnostics, Inc.
CELAYA, Mexico, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Industrias Bachoco S.A.B. de C.V. ("Bachoco" or "the Company") (NYSE: IBA; BMV: Bachoco), Mexico's leading producer and processor of poultry and other food products, announced today that it reached an agreement to acquire "La Perla" a Pet Food company located in the Mexican state of Queretaro.

This acquisition comprises all the assets, which are located in the State of Queretaro in Central Mexico, including La Perla's Brands, like CanPro, Choice Nutrition and Cat-trina, among others.

These assets have the capacity to produce over 65,000 tons a year of dry pet food and also comprise a facility for producing Pet Food Treats.

Rodolfo Ramos, Bachoco's Chief Executive Officer, stated:

"With this acquisition we are increasing significantly our Pet Food capacity, a product line in which we have had satisfactory results so far, and in which we see an interesting future. Furthermore, this acquisition will allow us to enter into the Pet Food Treats market, a growing sector in this business line.

We will look to integrate this operation, as soon as possible, into our normal operations and capture the opportunities we have identified."

The company expects to close the deal shortly, through its subsidiary Campi Alimentos S.A. de C.V.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Industrias Bachoco is the leader in the Mexican poultry industry, and one of the largest poultry producers globally.

The Company was founded in 1952, and became a public Company in 1997, via a public offering of shares on the Mexican and The New York Stock Exchange. Bachoco is a vertically integrated Company headquartered in Celaya, Guanajuato located in Central Mexico. Its main business lines are: chicken, eggs, balanced feed, swine, and other products. Bachoco owns and manages more than a thousand facilities, organized in nine productive complexes and 64 distribution centers in Mexico, and a productive complex in the United States. Currently the Company employs more than 25,000 people. The Company is rated AAA (MEX) , the highest rating awarded by Fitch Mexico, S.A. de C.V., and HR AAA which signals that the Company and the offering both have the highest credit quality by HR Ratings de Mexico S.A. de C.V.

DISCLAIMER

The document contains certain information that could be considered forward looking statements concerning anticipated future events and performance of the Company. The statements reflect management's current beliefs based on information currently available and are not guarantees of future performance and are based on our estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those described in our Annual Information Form, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this document. Those risks and uncertainties include risks associated with ownership in the poultry industry, competition for investments within the poultry industry, shareholder liability, governmental regulation, and environmental matters. As a result, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law Industrias Bachoco, S.A.B. de C.V. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Contact:

Maria Guadalupe Jaquez

+011-52-461-618-3555

[email protected]

SOURCE Industrias Bachoco, S.A.B. de C.V.

Related Links

http://www.bachoco.com.mx


The hospital expects to make more than a dozen offers for immediate hire on Monday July 24th at 12 noon at a NURSING CAREER FAIR on their main campus at 2000 Stadium Way, Los Angeles 90026 (next to Dodger Stadium).

Experienced nurses, particularly those with current license and critical care experience, and newly graduated Registered Nurses are welcome to attend. Barlow Respiratory Hospital's Nursing Residency Program provides nurses with the training and support they need to serve chronically critically ill patients with complex respiratory conditions.

"Barlow Hospital's Nursing Residency Program is an in-depth three month program with hands-on acute care and classroom training. Nurses care for patients at all three of our locations; Barlow Main in Los Angeles, Barlow at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys and Barlow at PIH Health Hospital  Whittier," said Director of Nursing, Gladys D'Souza, RN.

About Barlow Respiratory Hospital Nurses: Nursing is essential to the exceptional level of patient care that Barlow Respiratory Hospital is known for. The hospital's professional multidisciplinary healthcare team includes Board Certified Physicians, Registered Nurses and Licensed Respiratory, Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists. Barlow Respiratory Hospital is the only not-for-profit respiratory hospital in Los Angeles and is recognized for excellence in treating medically complex patients dependent on a ventilator to breathe. Barlow is a national leader in Ventilator Weaning, and is an affiliated teaching facility for USC's Keck School of Medicine. Patients are referred by nearly 100 regional hospital Intensive Care Units. In 2016, Barlow was awarded the Gold Seal of Approval for Respiratory Failure Certification by the Joint Commission. There are less than one dozen hospitals nationwide that have achieved this certification and Barlow is only one in California. Also in 2016, Barlow was awarded the designation as the only West Coast Passy-Muir Center of Excellence, recognized for treating patients with tracheostomies, on and off the ventilator.

2017 Barlow Respiratory Hospital Barlow Respiratory Hospital 2000 Stadium Way Los Angeles, CA 90026 www.barlowhospital.org Contact: 213-202-6832 [email protected]

SOURCE Barlow Respiratory Hospital

Related Links

http://www.barlowhospital.org


Ukraine was one of the earliest countries to support the BRI, having signed a bilateral protocol confirming their participation in associated development projects in 2014. Since then the country has witnessed rapid development in its trade with China, including food goods. 90 percent of corn and 95 percent of sunflower oil imports into China came from Ukraine in 2015. In 2016, China was the second-largest export market for Ukraine with turnover reaching US$ 1.026 billion.

Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of Ukraine in China, Viktor Tanasiychuk, is confident about the prospects for the continued growth of China-Ukraine food trade. He told Food to China that establishing more effective communication between producers and importers should help more consumers learn about Ukrainian food.

Roman Kryvosheyev, CEO of Fialan, who has been attending the Canton Fair since 2012, spoke highly of the positive role that the BRI plays in promoting business between China and Eastern European countries. He commended the strategy as "a new way that should significantly decrease costs and time of delivery from Ukraine to China".

"Thus, Chinese consumers will receive the freshest organic food from Ukraine at acceptable prices," he said.

International food trade promoted at the Canton Fair

Fialan has been introducing premium Chinese goods to Ukraine from 2004 and bringing Ukrainian food to China since 2013. "Canton Fair will help Ukrainian companies to find goods in China and facilitate better Sino-Russian and Sino-Ukraine cooperation," commented Kryvosheyev.

"Canton Fair gives us a wider range of procurement options and presents opportunities to find more partners as the amount of product categories and exhibits increase," he said.

To view all products at the Fair, visit: http://i.cantonfair.org.cn/en/Categories/Index

With more countries within the BRI sphere signing bilateral and multilateral agreements with China, the country's imported food market is embracing new development opportunities that are commiserate with its growing national spending power.

"230 buyers and food trading, cross-border E-Commerce companies and retailers attended the 'Global Import Food Promotion' last year at the Canton Fair," said Maggie Pu, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Canton Fair. "The fair creates on-site negotiation opportunities for global food exhibitors and buyers so that they can better understand China's food trade policies and processes."

"With China having a closer relationship with B&R countries, we as a platform will play a more crucial role in helping international food companies expand their cross-border business."

For more information, please visit: http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/index.aspx

About Canton Fair

The China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is held biannually in Guangzhou every spring and fall. Established in 1957, the fair is now a comprehensive exhibition with the longest history, highest level, largest scale and largest number of products as well as the broadest distribution of buyer origins and the highest business turnover in China.

SOURCE Canton Fair
SEATTLE, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bindlestiff Tours, the award-winning small group adventure specialists in America's Southwest and Western North America, has announced a new seven-day tour of the Canadian Rocky Mountain National Parks for 2018, including a unique combination of both camping and lodging accommodation.



Departing from Seattle on a fortnightly basis and available for groups of up to 14 guests, this fantastic tour showcases some of Western Canada's most stunning scenery offering travelers the chance to take in the world-famous national parks and mountain towns. Highlights include canoeing on the glacier-fed waters of Lake Louise, exploring the Icefield Parkway, hiking through Jasper National Park as well as visits to the alpine resorts of Whistler and Vancouver. For those eagle-eyed travelers looking to experience the local nature, the tour also provides once in-a-lifetime opportunities to spot local wildlife such as cougars, bears and elk.



Further details on the tour include:



Seven-Day Tour of Canadian Rocky Mountain National Parks  from $1295 per person



This seven-day tour departs from Seattle and itinerary highlights include canoeing on Lake Louise, exploring the Icefield Parkway including an optional helicopter ride over the Columbia Icefield, overnight stay in Banff National Park, hiking or biking in Jasper National Park and tours of Whistler and Vancouver. Tour is available from June  August 2018.



Rachel Frampton, Owner of Bindlestiff Tours said, "The experiential travel market is growing significantly and as a result, we've seen a huge increase in requests for more trips around Western North America especially the Canadian Rocky Mountain National Parks. We've therefore created this tour to allow clients to take in the highlights of this world-renowned region, providing groups not only with a tailor-made trip to suit their requirements but also with our unique offering of both camping and lodging accommodation."



For further information on Bindlestiff Tours, please visit www.bindlestifftours.com.



About Bindlestiff Tours



Founded in 2011, Bindlestiff Tours specializes in operating small group adventure tours in Western North America with a focus on the Southwest USA, Western Canada and Alaska, offering a range of one to seven-day experiences. Based in Las Vegas, the company offers clients the opportunity to explore world-famous landscapes and National Parks, which are home to some of the most breathtaking scenery in the US, including Monument Valley, Bryce and Antelope Canyon, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon.

Contact:

Rachel Frampton

1 800 557 6989

[email protected]



Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/12651631



Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Bindlestiff Tours

Related Links

https://www.bindlestifftours.com


SCHLIEREN, Switzerland, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Biognosys, a leading proteomics company, announced today that it has secured USD 5m funding from new and existing investors in an extended series C round. Biognosys' contract research services and tools are successfully applied in biomarker research, drug and target discovery, pathway modeling, mechanisms of action studies and many other areas. Its market leading expertise in next-generation proteomics is recognized by top pharma and biotech companies like Novartis, AstraZeneca, Moderna Therapeutics, and world's leading academic institutions.

Biognosys is using the funds to extend its commercial operations and to accelerate the development of next generation proteomics workflows and products for high-content and high-throughput protein analysis.

Proteomics refers to the large-scale study of proteins, biomolecules that govern most of the functions of any organism. Analyzing proteins and how their expression changes under different conditions offers major advantages when studying biological systems. However, for many years the development of large-scale proteomics techniques has lagged behind genomics and researchers have been using gene expression as a proxy for protein expression. This has recently changed with the introduction of high resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) instruments that enable the simultaneous quantification of thousands of proteins in a single experiment.

"The feedback that we get from our customers shows there is a shift in the perception of proteomics, away from a highly specialized analytical tool and towards a universally applicable technology for mode of action studies and biomarker development" says Dr. Oliver Rinner, CEO and co-founder of Biognosys.

He adds: "Until recently the only option to get a broad picture of protein expression across different conditions or over time was to look at RNA expression as a proxy for the proteome. Now we can directly analyze the proteome with high depth and throughput. The funds will help us to further extend our technological lead, to accelerate the development of new products and workflows, and to better address the life science research market outside the classical proteomics field".

About Biognosys

Biognosys is the leading proteomics company offering innovative services and products for highly multiplexed protein quantification. We are dedicated to transforming the life sciences with superior proteomics solutions. Biognosys' next generation technology quantifies proteins with unbeatable precision and depth. Our solution relies on mass spectrometry, which allows simultaneous quantification of thousands of proteins in a single experiment. This new generation protein quantification technology is available to researchers worldwide through our contract research services or our portfolio of innovative reagent and software products. For more information, please visit http://www.biognosys.com.

SOURCE Biognosys
"The debut of the QUATRUS R15 is really iconic for BLANCO as a brand because we are the only manufacturer to offer the on-trend, high demand apron front style in all three materials, Fireclay, SILGRANIT  and Stainless Steel," states Tim Maicher, Director of Marketing for BLANCO. "The QUATRUS R15 is an expansion of our fastest growing and best performing program in Stainless Steel at a very attainable price point."

The BLANCO QUATRUS R15 is available in 18 gauge Stainless Steel. Accessories sold separately include a bottom sink grid.

To download images and press release, click here.

QUATRUS R15 Details:

304 series 18 gauge Stainless Steel Material

Bowl Depth: 9"

Apron Dimensions: 32"L x 2"W x 9"H

Apron Front style

Single Bowl

MSRP: $1,195

Satin Finish

Limited Lifetime warranty

Accessories:

Bottom Grid

About BLANCO

For three generations, BLANCO has quietly and passionately elevated the standards for luxury sinks, faucets and decorative accessories. Proud of its European heritage and award-winning German engineering, BLANCO is steadfastly committed to their tradition of high quality, innovative design and unsurpassed service since 1925. Dedicated to quality without compromise, every sink is closely inspected many times before it receives the BLANCO name.

A remarkable history of firsts emphasizes BLANCO's zeal for innovation including the first stainless steel sink to achieve a 10mm radius STEELART  the first to market colored hard composite sinks in North America  BLANCO's pioneering MicroEdge technology with its virtual flushmount edge  and the first apron front sink in composite granite.

BLANCO has a long tradition of environmental stewardship and their production facilities operate to strict DIN EN ISO 14001 environmental performance standards.

BLANCO is the brand of choice in the luxury sink and faucet category for its unparalleled quality and an inspirational breadth of design possibilities. From the precision craftsmanship and artistic creativity of its STEELART brand to the stunning durability of its ground breaking SILGRANIT collection, BLANCO has proven that the sink is far more than a mere functional element in the kitchen.

Since 1994, BLANCO has been a member of the Caux Round Table (CRT), an international network of principled business leaders and companies working to promote a moral capitalism.

For more information, visit www.blancoamerica.com.

SOURCE BLANCO

Related Links

http://www.blanco-germany.com


"Erik and Tamas recognized a growing need for high-quality plumbing services in the Fort Lauderdale area," said Jeff Moody, president of bluefrog Plumbing + Drain. "We are committed to finding high-caliber franchise partners, and with their decades of experience in the plumbing industry, we are confident that they will fill the needs of the local communities they serve."

Menendez, a veteran who served in the U.S. Army for six years, was previously involved in big general contractor projects, building mid-rise and high-rise buildings in South Florida. He has been involved in the plumbing industry for more than 12 years, owning two plumbing businesses. He partnered with Krisztian who has more than 15 years' experience in the construction industry. Born and raised in Hungary, Krisztian's strong work ethic helped him become an expert in water damage restoration for residential and commercial properties.

The new bluefrog office will provide plumbing and drain services to residential and commercial clients. Their team of licensed professionals is available 24/7 and have no overtime charges. They also offer free plumbing evaluations to catch problems before they become emergencies.

"The bluefrog perspective to customer care is stellar," Menendez said. "When we were studying the marketplace, we found there to be a major gap in what the other plumbing companies are doing in South Florida. Our goal was to partner with an organization that carries the same work ethic and perspective to customer service and quality of work that we value. We were attracted to the way bluefrog operates its individual locations, the company culture, client care and quality of work. We're ready to kick off in Fort Lauderdale and give local homeowners and businesses the level of service they deserve."

The new bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of Fort Lauderdale is located at 37 NE First Terrace, Unit E, Deerfield Beach, Florida, 33443. For those interested in employment opportunities, applications are being accepted now. To find out more, call 954-417-7731 or visit http://www.bluefrogplumbing.com/ft-lauderdale/.

For more information about bluefrog Plumbing + Drain and national franchise business opportunities, visit www.bluefrogfranchise.com.

About bluefrog Plumbing + Drain

For years, bluefrog has been recognized as a trusted name in plumbing repair and installation. bluefrog Plumbing + Drain is ready to leap into action at any time of the day, any day of the year to provide emergency services that helps keep customers' pipes working perfectly.

bluefrog Plumbing + Drain is one of the fastest growing service companies in the U.S. With a focus on helping each franchise partner build a profitable fleet of service vehicles in their local market, bluefrog's franchise partners are supported by an executive team with decades of experience in both the plumbing and franchise industries. Take control of your future by learning more about the benefits of being a franchise partner in the frog army at bluefrog Plumbing + Drain.

For more information, visit www.bluefrogfranchise.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE bluefrog Plumbing + Drain

Related Links

http://www.bluefrogfranchise.com


SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Brand Buddha, a creative marketing agency that delivers strategic branding, advertising, and digital marketing services to large and small companies alike, is proud to announce the opening of its new office location at the landmark Montgomery Motorcycle building in south San Clemente. The larger, more central office will assist in better serving Brand Buddha's diverse lineup of clients, strengthening its scope of brand building in-house capabilities, which include a complete range of traditional and digital marketing services.

Brand Buddha's clientele ranges from global healthcare organizations and Fortune 500 companies, to smaller up-and-coming challenger brands. Recent client additions for Brand Buddha include Cure-One (formerly MED-C), a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing precision medicine by making critical data and life-saving information globally accessible. Brand Buddha was pivotal in shaping Cure-One's image by developing the company's new name and their digital presence through a newly designed website and marketing program. Brand Buddha is also developing and launching The Cure Cartel, an uncompromising healthcare movement lead by Cure-One, through social media to raise awareness and funding for precision molecular medicine.

Other notable new clients include ClearGage, Inc., an innovative healthcare payment solutions and financial services firm for whom Brand Buddha was influential in creating a new, more appropriate brand that runs parallel to the company's breadth of services; and CupriDyne Clean, an industrial odor remover and subsidiary of BioLargo, Inc. Brand Buddha has been essential in designing, building and launching the upcoming CupriDyne website and in establishing a strong, active social media presence.

The newest addition to Buddha's client roster is Catalina Island Conservancy, a non-profit organization that is one of the oldest private land trusts in Southern California. Brand Buddha will revamp Catalina Island Conservancy's brand with an initial focus on the Conservancy's 45th year anniversary identity. And finally, 47 Hills Brewing Company, the only large-scale production brewery and tap room in South San Francisco. Brand Buddha will help create and strengthen the brewery's brand, conveying the company's mission and direction.

Brand Buddha also continues long-standing relationships with market leaders such as: Freedom Innovations LLC, a cutting-edge company focused on developing world-class lower limb prosthetic solutions; Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC, the seventh largest generic manufacturer in the United States, by prescription volume, and the fastest-growing global generics company with offices in Australia, Spain, Germany, Ireland, India, United Kingdom and Scandinavia; and Trivec Avant Corporation, a subsidiary of British manufacturing company Cobham plc. Trivec Avant is the leader in design and manufacturing of advanced antenna systems for U.S. and foreign militaries, as well as commercial integrators and manufacturers.

The new Brand Buddha office building is located at 2110 S. El Camino Real, San Clemente, California 92672. The historic building was built in the 1950's and previously home to the Montgomery Motorcycle Inc., along with internationally acclaimed mixed media and conceptual artist, James Verbicky.

About Brand Buddha

Based in San Clemente, Brand Buddha helps businesses translate ideas into game-changing initiatives. The full-service marketing agency specializes in strategically positioning brands to improve market awareness, engagement, customer loyalty, and ROI through creative strategy, design, product photography, content and copywriting, web development, digital marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), and social media outlets. The Brand Buddha team brings a practical, grounded, yet enlightened approach to marketing and branding, with a Zen-like collaborative style that delivers the right branding strategy for the individual success of each client.

SOURCE Brand Buddha

Related Links

http://www.brandbuddha.com/


SAN DIEGO, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California Forward and the California Economic Summit have launched a public conversation on how we can improve upward mobility in California. The ideas and perspectives expressed by a diversity of California leaders will feed into policy discussions at the annual Summit meeting in San Diego on November 2-3.

The discussion--called Elevate CA--is designed to inform a policy strategy to help the 18 million Californians who live in or near poverty achieve the California dream as part of the 2018 Roadmap to Shared Prosperity.

"The educational opportunity offered by the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges uniquely positions our state to improve upward mobility," said UC President Janet Napolitano. "I hope the California Economic Summit, with its emphasis on regional collaboration, can foster increased support of public higher education as it takes on this important issue."

Californians from different regions and different occupations are adding their voices by writing columns that are published on ElevateCA.org, and distributed to the thousands of regional civic, business and elected officials that are part of the Summit's robust network.

"California was built on the still-revolutionary idea that education leads to socioeconomic prosperity and upward mobility  regardless of background or beliefs. Unfortunately today, the promise of upward mobility is out of reach for far too many families in the Golden State," said Timothy White, chancellor of the California State University. "We owe it to future generations to build a California that educates, works for and lifts up its people. I'm thankful that the Summit is addressing this crisis head-on."

Napolitano, White and California Community College Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley will all attend the Summit again this year and have endorsed the Elevate CA effort.

"As we've discussed this idea with leaders from the left, right and center, they all agree, it's time to act and the Summit is the right place to do this," said Oakley. "We have to increase the number of jobs paying livable wages and train many more Californians with the skills to succeed in those jobs."

The Summit--which has identified workforce preparation, more affordable housing and updating our aging infrastructure as key economic drivers in California--played a major role in the approval of an additional $200 million in Career Technical Education funding for the Community Colleges.

The stark truth is that the lack of upward mobility is keeping Californians from achieving all they want for themselves, their children and their grandchildren.

"The Summit, with its regional infrastructure and state influence is uniquely positioned to develop and promote a unifying approach to this issue," said Jim Mayer, CA Fwd CEO and President. "The entire nation is struggling to restore economic security. By restoring an upward path for Californians, we can lead by example and provide a positive model for others to follow."

In addition to the leaders of higher education, others concerned about the future of the Golden State--foundations, business leaders, labor leaders--have also expressed interest in supporting Elevate CA.

To see what Californians are already saying about this issue, visit ElevateCA.org.

To support this work through content and/or financial contributions, please contact the California Economic Summit.

Contact: Jania Palacios, CA Fwd

[email protected], 520.404.7643

SOURCE California Economic Summit

Related Links

http://www.caeconomy.org/


NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, California Governor Jerry Brown and Michael Bloomberg launched America's Pledge on climate change, a new initiative to compile and quantify the actions of states, cities and businesses in the United States to drive down their greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Since the White House announcement of its intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, an unprecedented number of U.S. states, cities, businesses, and colleges and universities have reaffirmed their support for the Paris Agreement through collaborations including the "We Are Still In" declaration, the Climate Mayors coalition of cities, the U.S. Climate Alliance group of states, and others.

Building on this positive momentum, the America's Pledge initiative will for the first time aggregate the commitments of these and other "non-Party actors" in a report on the full range of climate-related activities across the whole of U.S. society. The process of developing America's Pledge will also provide a roadmap for increased climate ambition from U.S. states, cities, businesses and others, and will transparently demonstrate to the international community how and in which ways these entities can help the U.S. deliver on its pledge under the Paris Agreement.

"In the U.S., emission levels are determined far more by cities, states, and businesses than they are by our federal government  and each of these groups is taking action because it's in their own best interest," said Michael Bloomberg, the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change. "Reducing emissions is good for the economy and good for public health. The American government may have pulled out of the Paris Agreement, but American society remains committed to it  and we will redouble our efforts to achieve its goals. We're already halfway there."

In 2015, during the lead-up to the Paris conference on climate change, the U.S. submitted its "Nationally Determined Contribution" committing to reduce emissions 26-28% against 2005 levels by 2025. Last weekend, the G20 Leaders' Declaration took note of the Trump Administration's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, confirming that "it will immediately cease the implementation of its current nationally-determined contribution" while underscoring that "the Leaders of the other G20 members state that the Paris Agreement is irreversible." Through the America's Pledge initiative, Brown and Bloomberg will work to demonstrate continued climate leadership across U.S. society, and that subnational action can significantly reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a time of limited federal leadership.

"Today we're sending a clear message to the world that America's states, cities and businesses are moving forward with our country's commitments under the Paris Agreement -- with or without Washington," said Governor Jerry Brown, who was recently named Special Advisor for States and Regions ahead of the United Nations' 23rd Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP23).

Commissioned by Brown and Bloomberg, the Rocky Mountain Institute and the World Resources Institute will jointly lead an inclusive analytical effort supporting America's Pledge, with involvement by a broad set of stakeholders to be announced later this year. In November, Brown and Bloomberg, along with other U.S. governors, mayors, and business leaders, will compile and showcase existing climate commitments of U.S. subnational and non-state actors at COP23, to be hosted by the Government of Fiji in Bonn, Germany.

In addition, the America's Pledge initiative will work to quantify the aggregate impact of these commitments on projected future emissions, comparing against both a business-as-usual (BAU) trajectory of projected greenhouse gas emissions under likely Trump Administration policies, and the U.S. Nationally Determined Contribution of 26-28% reductions against a 2005 baseline by 2025.

Finally, the America's Pledge will present a game plan for raising the bar and expanding the map when it comes to non-Party actors driving down U.S. emissions. This set of options, which will highlight the significant levers available to states, cities, and businesses to further reduce U.S. emissions, will serve as a playbook for enhanced ambition among U.S. climate leaders who are committed to meeting America's commitments under the Paris Agreement.

"I am convinced that to be effective, action to address climate change must be taken at all levels of society, including by mayors, governors, local leaders, chief executive officers and others," said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "This is demonstrably not an issue that can be addressed by national governments alone. The effort to aggregate and quantify the actions of subnational authorities and non-Party stakeholders in the United States via 'America's Pledge' is welcome."

For organizations that would like to become involved in America's Pledge, visit: http://www.americaspledgeonclimate.com

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies works in more than 120 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg's charitable activities, including his foundation and his personal giving. In 2016, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed over half a billion dollars. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter @BloombergDotOrg.

Contact

Rebecca Carriero, [email protected] +1 212-205-0182

SOURCE Bloomberg Philanthropies

Related Links

http://bloomberg.org


NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Calspan is pleased to announce the award of a 5-year contract worth more than $20 million by the United States Air Force.

Calspan will provide services that include support for the Variable Stability In-Flight Simulator and Test Aircraft (VISTA) for the United States Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Under this contract, Calspan will provide maintenance, operations support, engineering, and curriculum development for the USAF TPS VISTA/F-16.

"Calspan is proud to continue a relationship with the USAF TPS that has lasted over 50 years," said Lou Knotts, CEO & President of Calspan.

Since its inception in the 1980s, the VISTA/F-16 program has been instrumental in developing and testing new flight technologies that affect operational readiness and force projection. The VISTA/F-16 testbed is a unique fixture in aerospace and defense, offering fully programmable flight controls and avionics systems. These systems provide an outlet to safely simulate environments not available with any other airframe or system.

About Calspan

For more than 70 years, Calspan has been providing research and testing services in the aviation and transportation industries and is internationally recognized for research and innovation. Calspan is privately owned with its headquarters located in Buffalo, New York where they maintain a variety of testing facilities including a transonic wind tunnel, a vehicle crash test operation, a HYGE sled used for child seat testing, and a high performance tire testing facility. Calspan also operates a flight research and testing facility at the Niagara Falls International Airport where they own and operate a number of aircraft used as in-flight simulators and airborne testbeds. For more information about Calspan, please visit http://www.calspan.com.

Calspan Contact: Matthew Kraska

p. 716.393.6472

[email protected]

SOURCE Calspan

Related Links

http://www.calspan.com


TORONTO and CALGARY, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Canada Pension Plan Investment Board ("CPPIB") and Vermilion Energy Inc. ("Vermilion") (TSX, NYSE: VET) are pleased to announce a strategic partnership in the Corrib Natural Gas Field in Ireland ("Corrib"), whereby CPPIB will acquire Shell Exploration Company B.V.'s ("Shell") 45% interest in the project, with Vermilion operating the assets after completion of the acquisition. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, CPP Investment Board Europe S.a.r.l., CPPIB has entered into a definitive purchase and sale agreement with Shell, to acquire 100% of Shell E&P Ireland Limited ("SEPIL"), which holds Shell's 45% interest in Corrib (the "Acquisition") for total cash consideration of 830 million, subject to customary closing adjustments and future contingent value payments based on performance and realized pricing. The Acquisition, which remains subject to customary conditions and receipt of all necessary government consents, has an effective date of January 1, 2017 with closing anticipated in the first half of 2018.

At closing, Vermilion will assume operatorship, and CPPIB plans to transfer SEPIL along with a 1.5% working interest to Vermilion for 19.4 million (before closing adjustments).

Following the transfer to Vermilion, ownership in Corrib would be as follows:

CPPIB would hold a 43.5% non-operated interest

Vermilion would hold a 20% operated interest

Statoil ASA would continue to hold a 36.5% non-operated interest

The transaction also contemplates two contingent payments; one linked to price and one linked to produced volumes:

Up to 150 million contingent on NBP prices being above 2.03 Euro cents/kWh on an annual basis from 2018 to 2022; and

cents/kWh on an annual basis from 2018 to 2022; and Up to 100 million subject to exceeding certain production thresholds through 2025.

Corrib is located 83 kilometers off the northwest coast of Ireland. The field has a gross plant capacity of approximately 350 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, provides approximately 60% of Ireland's natural gas consumption and constitutes approximately 95% of Ireland's gas production.

Avik Dey, Managing Director and Head of Natural Resources at CPPIB said, "Ireland is an attractive destination for a long-term investor like CPPIB, and through this investment in the Corrib gas field, we are able to further our strategy of investing in high-quality natural resources assets alongside highly regarded and experienced operating partners such as Vermilion. Vermilion has a strong operational track record in both onshore and offshore projects and we look forward to working with them and are confident that this investment will benefit the CPP Fund by delivering strong risk-adjusted returns over the long-term horizon of the Fund."

Anthony Marino, President and CEO of Vermilion said, "We welcome CPPIB as a strategic partner in this world-class gas field, and we look forward to a productive long-term relationship. Our ownership in Corrib and investment in Ireland date back to 2009, and we are proud to be a part of the energy industry in this stable jurisdiction. Our extensive experience in Europe, North America and Australia over our 23-year history will serve us well in Corrib. We look forward to working with SEPIL employees and Corrib stakeholders to implement our best-in-class approach to safety, environmental protection and strategic community investment."

Pro forma for the transfer of SEPIL from CPPIB, Vermilion's incremental 1.5% ownership of Corrib would represent approximately 850 boe/d at current production rates and approximately 2.0 million boe of 2P reserves(1) based on an independent evaluation by GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd. with an effective date of December 31, 2016. Assuming a purchase price of 19.4 million ($28.4 million at current exchange rates), before closing adjustments, the transaction metrics are estimated at approximately $33,400 per boe per day, $15.40 per boe of proved plus probable reserves(1) including future development capital (generating a 2P recycle ratio of 1.9 times based on projected 2017 netbacks), and 3.3 times estimated 2017 operating cash flow(2) using the current forward commodity strip. Vermilion expects the acquisition to be accretive for all pertinent per share metrics including production, fund flows from operations(2), reserves and net asset value. Vermilion intends to fund this acquisition with existing credit facilities.

The acquisition would significantly increase Vermilion's degree of operating control of its asset base. Following the assumption of operatorship of Corrib, Vermilion estimates that it will operate 87% of its production base as compared to 72% currently.

About Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to pay current benefits on behalf of 20 million contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, CPPIB invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, Sao Paulo and Sydney, CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. At March 31, 2017, the CPP Fund totalled $316.7 billion.

CPPIB's Natural Resources group focuses on direct private investments in the oil and gas, energy midstream, power and renewables, and metals and mining industries. The team invests directly in companies, strategic partnerships and direct resource interests with an investment size of $500 million or more. At March 31, 2017, the Natural Resources portfolio consisted of nine direct investments valued at $4.3 billion.

For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

About Vermilion

Vermilion is an international energy producer that seeks to create value through the acquisition, exploration, development and optimization of producing properties in North America, Europe and Australia. Our business model emphasizes organic production growth augmented with value-adding acquisitions, along with providing reliable and increasing dividends to investors. Vermilion is targeting growth in production primarily through the exploitation of light oil and liquids-rich natural gas conventional resource plays in Canada and the United States, the exploration and development of high impact natural gas opportunities in the Netherlands and Germany, and through oil drilling and workover programs in France and Australia. Vermilion currently holds an 18.5% working interest in the Corrib gas field in Ireland. Vermilion pays a monthly dividend of Canadian $0.215 per share, which provides a current yield of approximately 6.5%.

Vermilion's priorities are health and safety, the environment, and profitability, in that order. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the public and those who work with us, and the protection of our natural surroundings. We have been recognized as a top decile performer amongst Canadian publicly listed companies in governance practices, as a Climate "A" List performer by the CDP, and a Best Workplace in the Great Place to Work Institute's annual rankings in Canada, France, and the Netherlands. In addition, Vermilion emphasizes strategic community investment in each of our operating areas.

Employees and directors hold approximately 6.5% of our fully diluted shares, are committed to consistently delivering superior rewards for all stakeholders, and have delivered over 20 years of market outperformance. Vermilion trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VET.

(1) Estimated proved plus probable and proved developed producing reserves attributable to the Assets as evaluated by GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd. in a report dated February 27, 2017 with an effective date of December 31, 2016.

(2) Non-standardized and non-GAAP financial measures: This news release includes references to certain financial measures which do not have standardized meanings prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Fund flows from operations is a non-standardized financial measure that is calculated as cash flows from operating activities before changes in non-cash operating working capital and asset retirement obligations settled. We analyze fund flows from operations both on a consolidated basis and on a business unit basis in order to assess the contribution of each business unit and our ability to generate cash necessary to pay dividends, repay debt, fund asset retirement obligations and make capital investments. Free cash flow and operating cash flow are non-GAAP financial measures. Free cash flow is calculated as fund flows from operations less capital expenditures. Operating cash flow is calculated as fund flows from operations before general and administration expense, interest and income taxes. We consider free cash flow and operating cash flow to be key measures as they are used to determine the funding available for investing and financing activities, including payment of dividends, repayment of long-term debt, reallocation to existing business units, and deployment into new ventures. For additional information on non-standardized and non-GAAP financial measures, please refer to the Management's Discussion and Analysis contained in Vermilion's 2016 Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2016 available on SEDAR or at the Company's website (www.vermilionenergy.com).

DISCLAIMER

Certain statements included or incorporated by reference in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements or information typically contain statements with words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward looking statements or information in this press release may include, but are not limited to:

the anticipated closing date of the Acquisition;

the sources of existing production and future development drilling opportunities;

the annual decline rate of the Assets;

the number and classification of future development drilling opportunities;

the pricing received for production, and resulting operating and after-tax cash flow netbacks for the Assets;

the estimate of annualized 2017 production;

the anticipated acquisition metrics;

the expectation that the Assets will generate free cash flow positive;

the expectation that fiscal and regulatory policies in Ireland remain supportive of continued investment;

remain supportive of continued investment; development plans and strategic objectives.

Statements relating to reserves are deemed to be forward-looking statements as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, that the reserves described exist in the quantities predicted or estimated, and can be profitably produced in the future. Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions all or any of which may prove to be incorrect. In addition to any other assumptions identified in this document, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things:

satisfaction of all conditions to the proposed Acquisition and receipt of all necessary approvals.

the ability of Vermilion to obtain equipment, services and supplies in a timely manner to carry out planned development activities;

the ability of Vermilion to integrate the Assets in the Company's current operations

the ability of Vermilion to market oil and natural gas successfully to current and new customers;

the timely receipt of required regulatory approvals;

currency, exchange and interest rates;

future oil and natural gas prices; and

Management's expectations relating to the timing and results of development activities.

Although Vermilion believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward looking statements because Vermilion can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements or information are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by Vermilion and described in the forward looking statements or information. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to:

the ability of management to execute its business plan;

the risks of the oil and gas industry, both domestically and internationally, such as operational risks in exploring for, developing and producing crude oil and natural gas and market demand;

risks and uncertainties involving geology of oil and natural gas deposits;

risks inherent in Vermilion's marketing operations, including credit risk;

the uncertainty of reserves estimates and reserves life;

the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses;

potential delays or changes in plans with respect to proposed acquisitions (including the Acquisition), exploration or development projects or capital expenditures;

Vermilion's ability to enter into or renew leases;

fluctuations in oil and natural gas prices, foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates;

health, safety and environmental risks;

uncertainties as to the availability and cost of financing;

the ability of Vermilion to add production and reserves through development and exploration activities;

general economic and business conditions;

the possibility that government policies or laws may change or governmental approvals may be delayed or withheld;

uncertainty in amounts and timing of royalty payments;

risks associated with existing and potential future law suits and regulatory actions against Vermilion; and

other risks and uncertainties described elsewhere in this document or in Vermilion's other filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities.

The forward-looking statements or information contained in this document are made as of the date hereof and Vermilion undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Vermilion Energy Inc.

Related Links

http://www.vermilionenergy.com


NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Captain D's, the leading fast casual seafood restaurant, announced today the signing of franchise development agreements that will expand its presence in four states. This growth will bring five new restaurants to San Antonio, Texas, one to Jackson, Tennessee and four to the Mobile, Alabama/Pensacola, Florida market over the next several years. This surge in franchise development has fueled Captain D's ongoing success, achieving six consecutive years of same-store sales increases and four successive years of record high system-wide average unit volume (AUV).

Captain D's

"The significant brand building accomplishments we've achieved over the last six years have solidified Captain D's as a leader in the fast casual segment and showcased our unlimited potential for success," said Michael Arrowsmith, chief development officer of Captain D's. "Our commitment to supporting our franchisees has not only driven interest from new candidates, but also fueled growth from within, with existing franchisees continuing to develop more restaurants. We look forward to building on this momentum to continue driving the brand's franchise development."

The new and existing Captain D's franchise agreements signed include:

Driving Captain D's growth in Alabama and Florida are new franchisees Sam and Gus Abusaleem of GSA Food Group, who will be opening four locations in the Mobile - Pensacola market over the next five years. The Abusaleems have been working in the industry since the early 1990s, having previously owned and operated local convenience stores in their community, as well as several restaurant franchises, including Popeye's and Marco's Pizza. After developing their initial four locations, the partners plan to continue expanding within their territory and opening more Captain D's restaurants throughout the Mobile region.

and are new franchisees Sam and Gus Abusaleem of GSA Food Group, who will be opening four locations in the - market over the next five years. The Abusaleems have been working in the industry since the early 1990s, having previously owned and operated local convenience stores in their community, as well as several restaurant franchises, including Popeye's and Marco's Pizza. After developing their initial four locations, the partners plan to continue expanding within their territory and opening more Captain D's restaurants throughout the region. Existing franchisees International Restaurant Group have signed a franchise agreement to develop five new restaurants throughout San Antonio , with the first location expected to open later this year. The franchise group is also driving Captain D's expansion in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, most recently opening the first of three planned locations in Dallas in June.

, with the first location expected to open later this year. The franchise group is also driving Captain D's expansion in the region, most recently opening the first of three planned locations in in June. First-time Captain D's franchisee Chad Vaughn will be opening a new location in Jackson, Tennessee within the next year, with plans to develop additional locations in the market over the next several years. This is Vaughn's first venture into franchising, after spending decades as the owner and operator of a multi-million dollar construction firm.

Coupled with its menu diversification and expanded array of offerings, Captain D's credits its new restaurant beach design with contributing to the brand's compounding success. To date, nearly 60 percent of all restaurants have been reimaged to the brand's new vibrant, coastal design, with another 50 locations to be remodeled by the end of this year. With these efforts, Captain D's has remained true to what it does best  serving high-quality seafood with warm hospitality at an affordable price in a welcoming atmosphere.

With 521 restaurants in 21 states, Captain D's is the fast-casual seafood leader and number one seafood franchise in America ranked by average unit volume. The company is currently seeking single- and multi-unit operators to join in the brand's rapid expansion. For more information about franchise opportunities, visit http://www.captaindsfranchising.com or call 800-550-4877.

ABOUT CAPTAIN D'S

Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Captain D's has 521 restaurants in 21 states. Captain D's is the nation's leading fast casual seafood restaurant and was named the #1 seafood chain in the QSR 50, ranked by AUV. Founded in 1969, Captain D's has been offering its customers high-quality seafood at reasonable prices in a welcoming atmosphere for more than 47 years. Captain D's serves a wide variety of seafood that includes freshly prepared entrees and the company's signature hand-battered fish, which is cooked to order. The restaurants also offer premium-quality, grilled items such as shrimp, and surf and turf, as well as hushpuppies, desserts and freshly brewed, Southern-style sweet tea, a Captain D's favorite. For more information, please visit www.captainds.com.

Contact:

Samantha Russo

Fish Consulting

954-893-9150

[email protected]

SOURCE Captain D's

Related Links

http://www.captainds.com


"Our drivers are just as important as our customers," said Kabessa. "The loyalty of Carmel's affiliated drivers to the mission of Carmel is second to none in the industry  a fact we neither take for granted or allow it to go unappreciated," added Kabessa.

For 35 years, New York City-based Carmel Car and Limousine Service, has been the transportation service of choice for New Yorkers and for visitors, providing affordable, safe, reliable, private transportation to and from all destinations in any of 360 major cities around the world. Carmel also boasts a free worldwide mobile App that comes with $36 car cash and the ability to earn airline miles each time a Carmel ride is taken using the app (available on the App Store for iPhone and Google Play for Android) or booking online at carmellimo.com.

SOURCE Carmel Car and Limousine Service

Related Links

https://www.carmellimo.com


DOVER, N.J., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Casio America, Inc., a leading projector manufacturer, is proud to announce that its LampFree XJ-UT351WN Ultra Short Throw Projector has received the prestigious "Best of Show" award from Tech & Learning magazine (a NewBay Media publication) during the 2017 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) show in San Antonio, Texas. Products that were submitted to this award program were judged by panels of professional users and editors who decide on which technologies could have the most impact in the classroom and thus deserves the "amazing" moniker.

"We know how important it is for educators to have the most advanced and innovative tools at their fingertips so they can focus on what is most important in the classroom  educating and instilling a love of learning among today's students," said Joe Gillio, Senior Director Strategic Planning and Marketing of Casio's Business Projector Division. "This is why we strive to develop useful products that can support any teacher's curriculum and teaching method. We are incredibly thankful to Tech & Learning for bestowing us with a Best of Show award so we can continue to raise awareness for our innovative LampFree projectors among administrators and educators."

The Tech & Learning "Best of Show" award recognizes great products exhibited at ISTE 2017 and celebrates the products and services that show the greatest promise according to the country's most tech-savvy educators. The award process consists of panels of professional users and editors who are chosen in advance to evaluate all product nominations and select the winners during the show.

Casio's LampFree XJ-UT351WN Ultra Short Throw projector is ideal for educators and school administrators because of its two HDMI ports, dust resistant design and ability to generate large images over a very short projection distance such as in classrooms. In particular, the built-in short throw lens and advanced mirror system provides an extremely close throw ratio (0.28:1) and projects an 80" image from just 1.5 feet away. It provides an output of up to 3,500 lumens, yet doesn't impact the teacher or student even if they're standing close to the screen. The hybrid Laser and LED light source eliminates the need for expensive and hazardous mercury lamps while delivering a 20,000 hour estimated operating life. The wireless adapter (optional) gives educators the ability to control the projector from a smartphone or tablet through Casio's C-Assist app.

The XJ-UT351WN is available for purchase through Casio's National Pro AV dealer network and authorized distributors with a MSRP of $1,799.99.

For additional information on Casio and its full portfolio of LampFree projectors, visit www.CasioLampFree.com.

About Casio LampFree Projectors

Casio's portfolio of LampFree projectors combines a laser, a fluorescent element and an LED light to deliver a mercury-free hybrid light source that lasts up to 20,000 hours while sustaining a high brightness and keeping maintenance costs to a minimum. Casio has five series of LampFree projectors that are available for home, business, education and commercial applications - Core, Advanced, Slim, Ultra Short Throw, and 4K Ultra HD. For additional information on Casio's projector series and LampFree technology, please visit www.CasioLampFree.com.

About Casio America, Inc.

Casio America, Inc., Dover, N.J., is the U.S. subsidiary of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and business equipment solutions. Established in 1957, Casio America, Inc. markets calculators, keyboards, digital cameras, mobile presentation devices, disc title and label printers, watches, cash registers and other consumer electronic products. Casio has strived to fulfill its corporate creed of "creativity and contribution" through the introduction of innovative and imaginative products. For more information, visit www.casiousa.com.

About NewBay

NewBay is positioned at the center of the world's most dynamic industries  Music, AV/Pro Audio, Consumer Electronics/Gaming, Video & Broadcast and Education. We connect and inform millions of constituents in these industries through our award-winning content, integrated media capabilities, and high-profile network-building and informative events. NewBay proudly serves some of the broadest B-to-B professional and music enthusiast communities in the world through over 35 print and digital publications, more than 35 integrated web and mobile applications, more than 60 e-newsletters, over 50 conferences and conventions, custom marketing services, and e-commerce capabilities. Find out more at http://www.newbaymedia.com.

SOURCE Casio America, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.casiousa.com


TEL AVIV, Israel, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

ICL (NYSE:ICL & TASE:ICL), a leading global specialty minerals and specialty chemicals company, updates that Spain's Catalan Supreme Court has approved a request by ICL's Spanish subsidiary, ICL Iberia, to continue its use of the Cogullo salt pile at ICL Iberia's potash operations located in Sallent, in the Bages region of Catalonia, Spain.

ICL Iberia previously submitted a request for approval of additional solutions regarding its handling of the salt pile and an extension of the period for its dealing with the Sallent site beyond June 30, 2017. The court's decision enables the Company to continue its activities at the Sallent mine for an additional period of one year, until June 30, 2018, with an option for an additional year, subject to jurisdictional approval, while ICL Iberia completes its construction of a mining ramp at Cabanasses, Suria, and consolidates its mining operations at that location. Following the decision, the Catalan regulatory authorities have adopted the position of the court and amended its regulations accordingly.

The interim measures proposed by the Company - and accepted by the Catalan court - will result in a reduction in the amount of salt transferred by ICL Iberia to the Cogullo deposit, and will not exceed maximum height and volume requirements.

The court's decision allows ICL Iberia's continued operations at Sallent, which currently accounts for approximately half of ICL Iberia's potash production, until the Company ramps up its production at the Cabanasses mine.

The decision follows a resolution passed by the Catalan parliament in June calling upon the Catalan government to support the Bages mining industry. The resolution, which passed by a large majority (124:10), included a call for acceptance of the interim measures proposed by ICL Iberia and its continued salt piling at the Cogullo deposit for an additional two years. The resolution and court ruling demonstrates a reasonable balance between the interests and concerns of industry, government, the community and the environment.

ICL Iberia's phasing out of its operations at Sallent and its expansion at Cabanasses will not only increase ICL Iberia's efficiency and establish it as a competitive potash producer, it will also significantly improve ICL Iberia's environmental footprint and its efforts to engage in sustainable mining.

About ICL

ICL is a global manufacturer of products based on specialty minerals that fulfill humanity's essential needs primarily in three markets: agriculture, food and engineered materials. ICL shares are dual listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (NYSE and TASE: ICL). The company employs approximately 13,000 people worldwide, and its sales in 2016 totaled US$5.4 billion. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.icl-group.com.

PRESS CONTACT

Maya Avishai

Head of Global External Communications

+972-3-684-4471

[email protected]

INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT

Dudi Musler

Investor Relations Manager

+972-3-684-4448

[email protected]

SOURCE ICL
PLANTATION, Florida, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

CD International Enterprises, Inc. ("CD International, or the Company") (OTC: CDII), a U.S.-based company that sources industrial commodities and provides business and management corporate consulting services, today announced that CD International has entered into a purchase contract to purchase 10,000 tons of copper concentrate (30% Cu) per month or 120,000 tons over 12 months with a Chile-based company.

Per the purchase contract, CD International agrees to purchase 10,000 metric tons of copper concentrate (30% Cu) per month over a period of 12 months. The total shipment over a period of 12 months will be 120,000 metric tons of copper concentrate. The initial 12 months contract of 120,000 metric tons of copper concentrate values approximately US $260 million on basis of the current copper future price on the London Metal Exchange.

China imported 4.74 million metric tons of copper concentrate from Chile in 2016, up 26.7% year-on-year, the latest data released Tuesday by the General Administration of Customs showed.

Chile is China's top source of imported copper concentrate. China imported 17.05 million metric tons of copper concentrate in 2016.

Dr. James Wang, Chairman and CEO of CD International commented on the purchase contract, "We are very excited to enter this purchase contract, as we continue to source mineral commodity for our Chinese clients. We have delivered copper concentrate from Chile and Bolivia to China in the past, as demand by China for copper concentrate continues to grow substantially. Under our new mineral trading model, we are confident we can create a profit center while limiting exposure of our capital to market risk. We believe a successful completion of this transaction will fundamentally change our company's future for years to come."

About CD International Enterprises, Inc.

CD International Enterprises, Inc. (OTC: CDII) is a U.S.-based company that sources industrial commodities and provides business and management corporate consulting services. For more information about CD International, please visit http://www.cdii.net.

Disclosure Notice:

In connection with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, CD International Enterprises, Inc. ("CDII") is hereby providing cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements (as defined in such act). Any statements that are not historical facts and that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, indicated through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result," "are expected to," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimated," "intends," "plans," "believes" and "projects") may be forward-looking and may involve estimates and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, our expectations regarding CDII and the completion of agreements with other potential investors and partners for this effort, our ability to arrange financing, our expectations regarding profits, if any, and future operating results of CDII and growth in our operations.

We caution that the factors described herein could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements we make and that investors should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of such factors. Further, we cannot assess the impact of each such factor on our results of operations or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. This press release is qualified in its entirety by the cautionary statements and risk factor disclosure contained in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016.

Contact:

Peisha Shen

CD International Enterprises, Inc.

Email: [email protected]



SOURCE CD International Enterprises, Inc.
PORTLAND, Ore., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cedexis, the leader in crowd-optimized application and content delivery for clouds, CDNs and data centers, today announced Tony Esposito as its new Vice President of Worldwide Sales. As organizations worldwide make the transition from traditional datacenter architectures to public/private cloud infrastructures, Mr. Esposito will lead a global team of sales and support professionals engaged in solving customers' rapidly evolving application delivery challenges.

Tony has more than 20 years' experience in the technology industry, building high-performance global teams that have delivered outstanding results for their customers around the world. He served most recently as the Senior VP of Sales for UpGuard, the leading cyber resilience platform. In that role, he grew company revenues by nearly 1000 percent, helping companies including NYSE, NASA, and Home Depot to achieve their cyber security goals. His career also includes a long and highly successful tenure at Portland-based Tripwire, which provides advanced threat, security and compliance solutions used by over 9,000 organizations, including over 50 percent of the Fortune 500.

"The technology world is undergoing a fundamental shift from data centers to cloud and hybrid architectures," noted Mr. Esposito. "I am excited to join Cedexis at this pivotal moment, as the company delivers on the promise of software-defined application delivery, to ensure organizations retain cost and operational control of their environments, while delivering the highest quality of experience for their customers."

The worldwide Sales team includes professionals located in Portland, San Francisco, New York, Paris, London, and Singapore, and has provided valuable solutions for some of the world's most innovative firms, including Microsoft, LinkedIn, Hudl, Le Monde, L'Oreal, Bloomberg, and Rosetta Stone. Cedexis maintains the world's largest user experience monitoring community (collecting some 14 billion user experience quality measurements every day), and provides a unique global traffic management decisioning engine that ensures content, data, and applications are delivered to end customers quickly, at high quality, and at the lowest possible cost.

"The deep skills and experience Tony Esposito brings to our organization make us a stronger, deeper, more versatile team," commented Ryan Windham, Cedexis CEO. "Cedexis is rapidly growing, and is at the heart of application delivery transformation. Tony's proven ability to help companies reach hyper-growth as a sales leader, makes him a critical addition to the Cedexis leadership team. Tony has an established relationship with the DevOps discipline that will be instrumental in our growth into the application delivery space."

About Cedexis

Cedexis provides web-scale, end-user-experience monitoring and real-time traffic routing across multiple clouds and networks. Cedexis Radar crowd sources billions of real user measurements (RUM) a day from a community of 1,000s of popular websites and mobile apps, with traffic routing services based on the insights this data provides, for the best performance, availability, or cost. Trusted by nearly 1,000 global brands including Microsoft, A&E, Accor Hotels, Airbus, Hudl, Comcast, LinkedIn, Mozilla, and Nissan. Cedexis is headquartered in Portland, Oregon with offices in Paris, France, San Francisco, CA, Brooklyn, NY and London, UK.

Press contact (USA-Canada):

Jacqueline Velasco

Lumina Communications on behalf of Cedexis

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: (408) 680-0564

SOURCE Cedexis
SANTIAGO, Chile, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cencosud S.A. (BCS: Cencosud) (the "Company") announced today (1) the expiration of its previously announced tender offer (the "Any and All Tender Offer") to purchase for cash any and all of its outstanding 5.500% Senior Notes due 2021 (the "Any and All Notes") and (2) the early tender results for its previously announced tender offer (the "Maximum Tender Offer" and, together with the Any and All Tender Offer, the "Tender Offers") to purchase for cash up to the Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount of its outstanding 4.875% Senior Notes due 2023 (the "Maximum Tender Offer Notes"). The "Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount" is U.S.$750,000,000 less the aggregate principal amount of the Any and All Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase in the Any and All Tender Offer.

Any and All of the Outstanding Securities Listed Below

Title of Security CUSIP and ISIN

Numbers Principal Amount

Outstanding Any and All Total

Consideration(b) Principal Amount

Tendered 5.500% Senior Notes

due 2021 CUSIP: P2205J AE0 15132H AA9 ISIN: USP2205JAE03 US15132HAA95 U.S.$750,000,000 U.S.$1,098.75 U.S.$492,801,000(c)

Up to the Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount(a)

of the Outstanding Securities Listed Below

Title of Security CUSIP and ISIN

Numbers Principal Amount

Outstanding Late Tender Offer

Consideration(b) Early Tender Payment(b) MTO Total

Consideration(b) Principal Amount

Tendered at Early

Tender Date 4.875% Senior

Notes due 2023 CUSIP: P2205J AH3

15132H AD3 ISIN: USP2205JAH34 US15132HAD35 U.S.$1,200,000,000 U.S.$1,052.50 U.S.$30.00 U.S.$1,082.50 U.S.$882,156,000





(a) The offer with respect to the 4.875% Senior Notes due 2023 is subject to an Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount equal to U.S.$750,000,000 less the aggregate principal amount of the Any and All Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase in the Any and All Tender Offer, U.S.$257,199,000. This number does not account for U.S.$52,000 aggregate principal amount of Any and All Notes tendered pursuant to the guaranteed delivery procedures. The Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount will be reduced by the principal amount of such Any and All Notes delivered pursuant to the guaranteed delivery procedures on or prior to the delivery deadline. Cencosud will allocate the Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount to purchase Maximum Tender Offer Notes as more fully set forth herein.



(b) Per U.S.$1,000 principal amount.



(c) This amount excludes U.S.$52,000 aggregate principal amount of Any and All Notes tendered pursuant to the guaranteed delivery procedures described in the Tender Offer Documents, which remain subject to the holders' performance of the delivery requirements under such procedures. If these Any and All Notes are delivered pursuant to the guaranteed delivery procedures on or prior to the delivery deadline, the amount of Maximum Tender Offer Notes accepted for purchase will be decreased by such amount.

Expiration of the Any and All Tender Offer

The Any and All Tender Offer was made pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in the offer to purchase, dated June 27, 2017, and the related letter of transmittal and notice of guaranteed delivery (the "Tender Offer Documents") to purchase for cash any and all of the Any and All Notes listed in the table above.

The Any and All Tender Offer expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on July 11, 2017 (such time and date, the "Any and All Expiration Date"). Holders of Notes were required to validly tender and not validly withdraw their Any and All Notes prior to or at the Expiration Date to be eligible to receive the total consideration for the Any and All Tender Offer (the "Any and All Total Consideration"). The Any and All Total Consideration offered per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Any and All Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Any and All Tender Offer will be U.S.$1,098.75.

According to information provided by Global Bondholder Services Corporation ("GBS"), the tender and information agent for the Tender Offers, U.S.$492,801,000 aggregate principal amount of the Any and All Notes were validly tendered and were not validly withdrawn prior to or at the Any and All Expiration Date. This amount excludes U.S.$52,000 aggregate principal amount of Any and All Notes tendered pursuant to the guaranteed delivery procedures described in the Tender Offer Documents, which remain subject to the holders' performance of the delivery requirements under such procedures. If these Any and All Notes are delivered pursuant to the guaranteed delivery procedures on or prior to the delivery deadline, the amount of Maximum Tender Offer Notes accepted for purchase will be decreased by such amount. Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all remaining conditions to the Any and All Tender Offer, the Company expects to accept for purchase all Any and All Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Any and All Expiration Date.

The settlement date for the Any and All Notes, including those tendered pursuant to the guaranteed delivery procedures, is expected to be July 17, 2017 (the "Any and All Settlement Date"), subject to the terms and conditions described in the Tender Offer Documents, including the Financing Condition (as defined in the Tender Offer Documents). Holders will also receive accrued and unpaid interest on the Any and All Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase from the applicable last interest payment date up to, but not including, the Any and All Settlement Date, including those tendered by the guaranteed delivery procedures.

Maximum Tender Offer Early Tender Results

As of the previously announced early tender date and time of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on July 11, 2017 (the "Early Tender Date"), according to information provided by GBS, a total of U.S.$882,156,000 aggregate principal amount of Maximum Tender Offer Notes had been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn in the Maximum Tender Offer.

Holders of Maximum Tender Offer Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Date are eligible to receive U.S.$1,082.50 per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Maximum Tender Offer Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase (the "MTO Total Consideration"), which is inclusive of an amount in cash equal to the amounts set forth in the second table above under the heading "Early Tender Payment" (the "Early Tender Payment"). Holders will also receive accrued and unpaid interest on the Maximum Tender Offer Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase from the applicable last interest payment date up to, but not including, the date the Company makes payment for such Maximum Tender Offer Notes tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Date.

Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all remaining conditions to the Maximum Tender Offer, the Company expects to accept for purchase, on a prorated basis, Maximum Tender Offer Notes up to the Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount. Assuming an Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount of U.S.$257,199,000, the proration factor will be 25.6%. The Maximum Tender Offer Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase on or prior to the Early Tender Date are expected to be purchased on the "Early Settlement Date", which date is anticipated to be July 17, 2017, subject to the terms and conditions described in the Tender Offer Documents, including the Financing Condition.

The Maximum Tender Offer will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on July 25, 2017, unless extended or earlier terminated. Because the Tender Offers have been fully subscribed as of the Early Tender Date, the Company will not accept for purchase any Maximum Tender Offer Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date. Any Maximum Tender Offer Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date will be returned to the holders thereof as described in the Offer to Purchase.

Information Relating to the Tender Offers

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated are acting as the dealer managers for the Tender Offers. The information agent and depositary is GBS. Copies of the Tender Offer Documents and related offering materials are available by contacting GBS at (866) 470-3800 (toll-free), (212) 430-3774 (banks and brokers) or www.gbsc-usa.com/Cencosud/. Questions regarding the Tender Offer should be directed to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Latin America Debt Capital Markets, at (212) 834-7279 (collect) or (866) 846-2874 (toll-free) or Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Liability Management Group, at (646) 855-8988 collect or (888) 292-0070 (toll-free).

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy or an offer to purchase or sell any securities. The Tender Offer is being made only pursuant to an Offer to Purchase dated June 27, 2017, which set forth the terms and conditions of the Tender Offer, and only in such jurisdictions as is permitted under applicable law.

Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Included herein are forward-looking statements, including statements with respect to an anticipated financing. There are many factors that affect management's views about future events and trends of the business and operations of the company, all as more thoroughly described in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstance included in this release or any of its public filings.

About Cencosud S.A.

Cencosud is a leading multi-brand retailer in South America, headquartered in Chile and with operations in Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Colombia. The Company operates in supermarkets, home improvement stores, shopping centers and department stores and maintains a financial services portfolio through wholly-owned subsidiaries in Peru and Argentina and joint ventures with third parties in Chile, Brazil and Colombia.

SOURCE Cencosud S.A.
ZURICH, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb Limited (NYSE: CB) announced today that it has named Ross Bertossi Vice President of Global Underwriting for Chubb Group. In this capacity, he will have responsibility for advancing underwriting excellence across the company, including general underwriting policy and underwriting management best practices. He will also have oversight of Chubb's global product boards and portfolio management process. Mr. Bertossi will report to John Keogh, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Bertossi has more than 30 years of insurance and underwriting management experience. Since ACE's acquisition of Chubb in 2016, he has served as Executive Vice President, Excess Casualty, North America Insurance, with responsibility for Chubb's umbrella and excess casualty product lines serving large commercial customers in the United States and Canada.

"The craft of underwriting is a hallmark of the Chubb brand," said Mr. Keogh. "Throughout his tenure with ACE and Chubb, Ross has demonstrated underwriting excellence in his business and contributed to our underwriting portfolio management efforts. His continued contributions to Chubb will be important to our future underwriting performance."

Mr. Bertossi succeeds Jacques Bonneau who, after a distinguished career over nearly four decades in insurance and reinsurance, announced his retirement, effective at year-end. In the interim, he will work closely with Mr. Bertossi to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities. Mr. Bonneau joined ACE in 1999 as Division President, ACE Tempest Re USA, the company's U.S.-based reinsurance business. He was named President of ACE Tempest Re Group in 2005. He assumed his current responsibilities as Executive Vice President, Global Underwriting in 2014. Prior to joining ACE, he was Chief Underwriting Officer and Member of the Board of Directors at Chartwell Re Corporation. He began his career in 1978 at General Reinsurance.

"For over 15 years Jacques led the company's reinsurance business with underwriting discipline and distinction and, more recently, under his leadership, Chubb developed increasingly sophisticated underwriting processes, methods and insights to improve our core risk-taking business," said Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Jacques has been a trusted partner and a respected leader in our industry. On behalf of the entire management team, I would like to thank him for his many years of service and countless contributions. We wish him the very best during his retirement."

Mr. Bertossi joined ACE in 2002 as Executive Vice President, ACE Medical Risk and later assumed the role of Executive Vice President, ACE Casualty Risk. Before joining ACE, he was a Senior Vice President at CNA HealthPro. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Mary Washington University, in Fredericksburg, Va., and holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriting (CPCU) designation.

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at www.chubb.com.

SOURCE Chubb Limited

Related Links

http://new.chubb.com


LOS ANGELES, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloud Constellation Corporation announced today that it has partnered with Teknomobil, a leading satellite communications company based in Turkey. Under the terms of the agreement, Teknomobil will sell SpaceBelt orbital data communications and storage services to customer markets in Turkey and the Middle East.

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Securing data in space: Cloud Constellation's SpaceBelt service offers a key market differentiator for data infrastructure providers, internet service providers and telecommunications organizations, delivering an ultra-high degree of network security to clients reliant on moving sensitive, mission-critical data around the world on a daily basis.

Cloud Constellation's SpaceBelt service offers a key market differentiator for data infrastructure providers, internet service providers and telecommunications organizations, delivering an ultra-high degree of network security to clients reliant on moving sensitive, mission-critical data around the world on a daily basis. Comprehensive technology platforms: Teknomobil specializes in satellite communications, including hand-held satellite terminals, IP modems, helicopter- mounted and airborne satellite communication systems and vessel tracking systems. Thousands of private subscribers include government and commercial customers in the construction, tourism, communications, banking, logistics, mining, petroleum and media markets.

Teknomobil specializes in satellite communications, including hand-held satellite terminals, IP modems, helicopter- mounted and airborne satellite communication systems and vessel tracking systems. Thousands of private subscribers include government and commercial customers in the construction, tourism, communications, banking, logistics, mining, petroleum and media markets. Targeted channel offerings: Cloud Constellation will be responsible for the design, launch and operational space-based orbital storage and transmission components for SpaceBelt. Teknomobil will develop customer distribution channels and operate ground terminals that provide the interface communication link to the SpaceBelt network.

Selim Gencler, chairman, Teknomobil, said: "We are excited to take part in this strategic partnership with Cloud Constellation. Our combined expertise will provide flexible and innovative solutions to meet our unique customer needs, and we look forward to exploring the exciting possibilities of space-based services."

Cliff Beek, president of Cloud Constellation, said: "We created SpaceBelt to address the serious gaps in current network infrastructure of data transport and storage. With Teknomobil's strong customer base and proven technology, we can quickly build a robust channel for services that can help customers move mission-critical information to any site in the world in less than a third of a second."

About Cloud Constellation Corporation

Cloud Constellation's SpaceBelt is a patent-pending high-speed global cloud storage network of space-based data centers, each seamlessly interconnected together to provide exclusive and secure cloud infrastructure to service providers, enterprises and governments around the world. Additional information is available at www.SpaceBelt.com

Media Contact:

Laura Schaub

Nadel Phelan, Inc.

831-440-2414

[email protected]

SOURCE Cloud Constellation Corporation

Related Links

http://www.SpaceBelt.com


BEIJING, July, 11 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloudera, Inc. (NYSE: CLDR), the leading provider of the modern platform for machine learning and advanced analytics, announced that Midea Group, a leading global home appliance provider headquartered in Guangdong, China, has deployed Cloudera Enterprise for its advanced analytics platform to support the company's digital transformation.

With Cloudera, Midea has been able to resolve three core issues, namely finding users, creating products that meet demands and identifying reasonable prices in order to complete sales. This has allowed Midea to successfully transform its business model from a large-scale low-cost production model to an innovative, technology-driven model. The success of Midea's digital transformation has led to high income growth for the business in 2016, with profit growth reaching more than 20%. As a result of Midea's solid foundation using their "Turn on Midea" strategy, they aim to explore new industries with technology innovations.

Previously, the company's technology system was slow compared to currently available solutions. All the data collected from over 10,000 flagship stores, over 300 million users and numerous partners, suppliers and channels needed to be fully integrated. The company ultimately decided to restructure and centralize its IT system.

"Selecting the right advanced analytics platform and vendor is critical to ensuring a successful big data strategy. Through a rigorous selection process among several vendors, we decided to work with Cloudera as they offered the best value, technical ability and infrastructure support," said Huang Kan, General Manager of the Cloud Data Business Unit at Midea. "Cloudera demonstrated its support for Spark 2.0, improved data security control, metadata management capabilities, and data recovery and backup capabilities. It also helped us complete Midea's big data security assessment and provide regular system inspections to maintain its high level of integrity and availability. Through our efforts, we are transforming the practical experience we've gained from working with advanced analytics into new techniques that can help other manufacturing enterprises in China."

Cloudera has been a key partner in helping Midea to implement its big data strategy since 2014. With strengthened data analysis capabilities, the advanced analytics platform has enabled smoother and safer operation of Midea's core applications, including the "crystal ball" data integration application for business management, the "star-gazing platform" application for external market analysis platform, and the "seismograph" application for customer service system.

"Cloudera is working with Midea and assisting in its digital transformation," said Qi Ling, General Manager and Vice President of Cloudera Greater China. "Cloudera is committed to using innovative technology to help enterprises improve product and services efficiency by building better data-driven products to drive overall business value for our customers. We look forward to working together with more manufacturing enterprises and making advanced analytics the industry's 'smart' driving force and achieve even more innovative results."

About Cloudera

Cloudera delivers the modern platform for machine learning and advanced analytics built on the latest open source technologies. The world's leading organizations trust Cloudera to help solve their most challenging business problems by efficiently capturing, storing, processing and analyzing vast amounts of data. Learn more at cloudera.com.

Connect with Cloudera

About Cloudera: https://www.cloudera.com/more/about.html

Read our VISION blog: https://vision.cloudera.com/ and Engineering blog: https://blog.cloudera.com/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cloudera

Visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cloudera

Join the Cloudera Community: https://community.cloudera.com/

Read about our customers' successes: https://www.cloudera.com/more/customers.html

Cloudera, Hue and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloudera Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

This press release contains forward-looking statements including, among other things, statements regarding the expected performance and benefits of Cloudera's offerings. The words "believe," "may," "will," "plan," "expect," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. If the risks materialize or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. Risks include, but are not limited to, risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our Form S-1 Registration Statement, and our future reports that we may file with the SEC from time to time, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. Cloudera assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

SOURCE Cloudera, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cloudera.com


STOCKHOLM, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The correction relates to that Peter Fredell's employment has not been terminated by agreement. Correct information follows below.

Seamless Distribution AB appoints new CEO

The Board of Seamless Distribution AB ("Seamless") has today terminated Peter Fredell's employment as CEO of Seamless. The Board thanks Peter Fredell for all his valuable efforts as CEO over the years and wishes him well for the future.

Tomas Jalling, who has been employed by Seamless as Head of Legal since December 2012, will become Seamless' new CEO effective immediately. The Board, led by John Longhurst who will engage as executive chairman, will work closely together with Tomas Jalling and Seamless' management to ensure that appropriate actions are taken to implement critical strategies.

For further information, please contact:

John Longhurst

Chairman of the Board

[email protected]

+46-8-564-878-00

This information is information that Seamless Distribution AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 11:00 a.m. CET on July 12, 2017.

About Seamless

Seamless is one of the world's largest suppliers of payment systems for mobile phones. Founded in 2001 and active in 35 countries, Seamless handles more than 5.3 billion transactions annually through 675 000 active sales outlets. Seamless has three main business areas including the transaction switch, the technology provider for the distribution of e-products and the mobile payment platform, Seqr.

www.seamless.se.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/seamless-distribution-ab/r/correction-of-press-release-2017-07-10--seamless-distribution-ab-appoints-new-ceo-,c2306296

The following files are available for download:

http://mb.cision.com/Main/4815/2306296/699413.pdf Press release (PDF)

SOURCE Seamless Distribution AB

Related Links

http://www.seamless.se


PHILADELPHIA, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Covenant Security Services, the nation's premier provider of comprehensive security services, was named by Forbes Media and Statista as one of America's Best Midsize Employers in 2017 and for the second consecutive year. Covenant is again the highest ranked security services company on the list and 95th overall out of 300 companies with over 1,000 employees.

As one of 300 companies on the list, Covenant was selected based on the attitude of its employees towards Covenant as well as the public perception of Covenant by industry employees. According to Forbes, the selection process is "based on an independent survey conducted by statistics portal Statista from a sample of 30,000 American employees working for large or midsize firms or institutions." Over 1,800 organizations were analyzed for this project.

"To be named to this prestigious list for a second straight year is very rewarding," Covenant President Greg Iannuzzi said. "It shows the consistency with which we engage our employees in our unique culture, benefits, and care programs. Our security professionals are the core of the Covenant family and this is a tribute to them."

Covenant provides security services to over 160 client locations with over 3,500 security professionals throughout the country. Covenant is known within the security industry for its strong employee retention program, offering full medical, dental, and vision insurance along with free life insurance, a generously matched 401(k) program, flexible paid time off, transportation and commuter benefits, and career advancement opportunities.

In the survey conducted by Forbes and Statista, one of the most important metrics of the assessment was an employees' willingness to recommend their employer.

"Our team works extremely hard to find new ways to keep our employees invested in Covenant's organizational values and goals," Iannuzzi said. "This recognition that they are doing it the right way."

For more information, please contact William Alton at [email protected].

About Covenant Security Services, LTD

Founded in 1992, Covenant Security Services (CSS) is a certified woman-owned security services provider with certification from the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). As the largest American-owned security company not owned by a private equity firm, CSS delivers high quality, multi-site national programs for Fortune 500 clients and manages sophisticated protective force operations for the U.S. Government. CSS builds professional security teams focused on safety, training, and customer service. Covenant provides its security officers with the best benefits within the industry, including medical, dental, vision, 401k, life insurance, and succession and development programs.

SOURCE Covenant Security Services

Related Links

http://www.covenantworldwide.com


LOUISVILLE, Ky., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Creative Realities, Inc. ("Creative Realities", "CRI", or the "Company") (OTCQX: CREX), a leading digital asset management and shopper marketing solutions provider, announced today the Company has made a number of important additional hires in its strategic account management, operations, and sales and marketing teams in the past month.

Adrian Weidmann joins CRI as Director of Strategic Account Management. As a digital media workflow transformation consultant, Adrian bridges the 'business objective' gap between the Chief Marketing Officer and Retail IT. Spanning more than 30 years of introducing various emerging digital media technologies, Adrian now assists brands, retailers and agencies designing and creating digital media strategies and activating intelligent, pragmatic shopper marketing and merchandising experiences that connect brands and shoppers whether at home, in life or in-store.

Adrian has spent the past 20 years pioneering all aspects of digital media communication and in-store shopper experience from content creation, curation, configuration, publishing and delivery to digitally empowered shoppers by way of media channels of their choice.

He co-authored and published the first book for in-store digital media, Lighting Up The Aisle, Principles & Practices For In-Store Digital Media that remains the only existing resources on why and how brands can harness emerging technologies to transform their in-store experiences. He has merged his unique perspective and insight to the art and science of digital media with analytical business fundamentals to assist brands, retailers and their agencies alike to realize the full potential of integrated multi-channel and interactive digital media solutions to enable integrated marketing conversion with measurable results.

His brand and digital media experience includes Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Dairy Queen, 7-Eleven, Estee Lauder, Citibank, Lowe's, The World Bank, Conde Nast, Best Buy, Cisco, PRN/Walmart, Nike, and UnitedHealth Group.

Bill Lawrence joins the Company as VP of Services, and brings over 16 years of establishing new services and capabilities, transforming business operations, building customer relationships, and delivering sustainable, profitable performance. Bill is tasked with leading CRI's entire services team including installation, Network Operations Center, customer services representatives, as well as our Project Management department.

Prior to joining our team, Bill served as VP of Cloud Strategy and Commercial Operations at CompuCom Systems, where he was promoted through eight progressive leadership roles. Bill has almost 20 years of management experience in the Telecom and IT Services Industry. During his tenure at CompuCom Systems he built a new global cloud services capability from that eventually delivered $150 million in annuity revenues, consolidated two acquired business' and returned them to growth, and modernized the monitoring and management suite to a state of the art AI enabled cloud platform streamlining services and delivering best in class outcomes to customers.

The new members of the sales and marketing team are:

Brandon Harp, Sales Account Executive, is a digital signage industry veteran with a successful track record of developing enterprise communications solutions. His experiences while working for a few of the digital signage industries leading CMS providers, has built his reputation for being a true thought leader amongst his peers and customers. He has been involved in many complex implementations for leading enterprise customers in Financial Services, Retail, Manufacturing, Higher Education, Transit, Hospitality and Health Care. His strengths revolve around designing and developing unique employee communications experiences. What most interests him are Digital Workplace Technologies, Briefing/Innovation Centers and Smart Cities.

Lorie Callahan, Sales Account Executive, is results-proven with a broad portfolio of "wins" in Fortune 100s. She is a thought leader who will engage confidently with a broadcast of technology customers, consultants, and peers at all levels. Prior to her most recent role as VP of Sales at InfoFusion, Lorie spent five years with Four Winds Interactive. Her success extends globally as she managed key accounts in the UK, Asia, Australia, South America, etc. with Miranda Technologies/Omnibus Systems. Lorie's portfolio of clients includes Oracle, Microsoft, Salesforce, Amazon, Time Warner, Pepsico, Kraft, Comcast and Discovery.

Chris Stuart, Sales Account Executive, is a high impact sales professional who consistently exceeds aggressive gales goals, retains and grows revenue, identifies new profitable channels for expansion and cultivates relationships to secure valuable market share. He joins us with his most recent experience from Tensator Group where he developed the business managing the digital call-forwarding solutions. As VP at Promotion Technology Group, Chris delivered audio-visual/digital signage solutions to retailers. Chris managed accounts including Kroger, Jimmy Johns, CVS, and Big Lots.

"We are excited to further expand the CRI sales and marketing team," said Rick Mills, Chief Executive Officer. "We expect these new members of the CRI team to make an immediate contribution to our capabilities and institutional knowledge, and longer term will allow CRI to improve sales opportunities with new customers and additional industry verticals."

About Creative Realities, Inc.

Creative Realities helps retailers and brands use the latest technologies to inspire shopper engagement in and around the Store. Founded 16 years ago, the firm's evolving client base has led to recognized leadership in deploying technology aligned with strategic and consumer behavior goals at Retail. The firm has delivered consumer/shopper experiences, and is actively providing recurring services today, across diverse categories: Automotive, Apparel & Accessories, Banking, Baby/Children, Beauty, CPG, Department Stores, Electronics, Fashion, Fitness, Foodservice/QSR, Financial Services, Gaming, Luxury, Mass Merchants, Mobile Operators, and Pharmacy Retail. The Company's ConeXus subsidiary designs, installs and services high-end audio-visual networks for global retailers, luxury brands, digital out-of-home (DOOH) companies, advertising networks, and outdoor clients. The Company has five offices across North America and active installations in 40 countries.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements that would be deemed "forward-looking statements" under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and includes, among other things, discussions of our business strategies, future operations and capital resources. Words such as "may," "likely," "anticipate," "expect" and "believe" indicate forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements may reflect management's present expectations and estimates regarding future expenses, revenue and profitability, trends affecting our financial condition and results of operations, operating efficiencies, revenue opportunities, potential new markets, and the ability of the Company to effectively compete in a highly competitive market. Nevertheless, and despite the fact that management's expectations and estimates are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable and data management believes to be reliable, the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements are subject to future risks and uncertainties, any of which could materially affect the Company's actual performance. Risks and uncertainties that could affect such performance include, but are not limited to: the adequacy of funds for future operations; future expenses, revenue and profitability; trends affecting financial condition and results of operations; ability to convert proposals into customer orders; the ability of customers to pay for products and services; the impact of changing customer requirements upon revenue recognition; customer cancellations; the availability and terms of additional capital; ability to develop new products; dependence on key suppliers, manufacturers and strategic partners; industry trends and the competitive environment; the impact of the Company's financial condition upon customer and prospective customer relationships; and the impact of losing one or more senior executives or failing to attract additional key personnel. These and other risk factors are discussed in Company reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Given these uncertainties, and the fact that forward-looking statements represent management's estimates and assumption as of the date of this press release, you should not attribute undue certainty to these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, even if new information becomes available in the future.

SOURCE Creative Realities, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cri.com


GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Secure64, the leading provider of Genuinely Secure DNS servers, announced today that Dr. Dan Massey, cyber security expert and co-author of multiple DNSSEC RFCs, has joined the Secure64 executive team as Chief Scientist.

"Dan brings a uniquely qualified background to Secure64," says Joe Gersch, Secure64 CEO and President. "His intimate knowledge of DNSSEC; his deep experience in cyber security, particularly around DNS data and behaviors; his prolific publishing and his passion for a secure internet; all of these qualities indicate that he is the ideal person to provide the technology direction for the company."

Dr. Massey has more than 25 years of research and management experience and has authored over 100 peer reviewed publications on networking and cyber security, including co-authorship of multiple DNSSEC RFCs. He is also a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Prior to joining Secure64, Dan was a Program Manager in the Cyber Security Division, Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At DHS, he developed and managed the Cyber Physical Systems (CPSSEC) program that focused on cyber security for automobiles, medical devices, building controls, and other systems that combine the cyber and physical worlds. He also developed and managed the Distributed Denial of Service Defense (DDoSD) that includes security solutions for both traditional IT environments and key telephony services such as 911 and NG911. Dr. Massey has served as the Principal Investigator on research funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Homeland Security. He earned his doctorate in computer science from the University of California, Los Angeles.

About Secure64 Software Corporation

Secure64 brings trust to the internet through its suite of purpose-built, secure, DNS-based network security products. The company was built on a foundation of security and has forged solutions that are self-protecting and immune to malware. Secure64 secures the DNS infrastructures of leading service providers, government agencies and enterprises globally, Secure64 is a privately held company founded by technology and financial veterans and boasts deep technical and global experience in its leadership and staff. It is the only DNS solution provider that has authored a secure micro OS, automated the deployment of DNSSEC and built self-protecting DNS servers. For more information, visit www.secure64.com

SOURCE Secure64 Software Corporation

Related Links

http://www.secure64.com


LONDON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

London-based charity Decision Time Ministries is continuing to help people in need thanks to a vehicle donation from Dajon Data Management.

The charity, founded by Phil Cartlidge, works with people the benefits system are unable to reach, in particular the homeless, those suffering from addiction or sex workers. Phil and his charity travel to various parts of the UK providing food, hot drinks and support to those in the greatest need.

The donation of the van from Dajon, a scanning and robotic process automation company based in the capital, means his charity will be able to get out and help even more people. In the past, the charity has provided items such as suits for job interviews with the aim of helping someone finally get off the streets and into work.

Phil has said of his decision to start the charity: "I started this organisation to help the needy, the homeless and fill the gap where the government has failed to do so between the homeless and the benefits system."

Although the charity has a current van, the one donated by Dajon - which was handed over following a social media appeal on the LinkedIn networking site, will help to spread the work of the charity further, enabling them to reach even more people.

Damien Andrews, Managing Director of Dajon Data Management, said: "We're happy to donate the van, which we no longer need for our business, as it is always good to help those in need whenever possible."

Donations can be made to Decision Time Ministries at: http://www.decisiontimeministries.co.uk/donate/

People can also donate good such as toiletries, clothes, sleeping bags etc, by phoning Phil on +44-7415-109951 or [email protected]

Decision Time Ministries was founded in 2016.

Dajon Data Management donated this vehicle free of charge to Decision Time Ministries.

Phil will be using the vehicle with other volunteers to reach additional areas of the UK which they were unable to do with only one vehicle.

Media Contact:

Amy Charman

Dajon Data Management

[email protected]

+44-2077-3232-23



SOURCE Dajon Data Management
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Revenue Ireland introduced additional taxonomies (FRS 101, FRS 102 and EU IFRS with Irish extensions) on 16th December, 2016, as a Public Working Drafts (PWD). Interested parties were invited to review the PWDs for the three additional taxonomies and provide feedback by 28th February 2017.

From June 23rd 2017, XBRL Ireland has made available the final 2017 taxonomies for reporting under FRS101, FRS102, and IFRS accounting standards in the Republic of Ireland. This release is intended to provide reporting entities and solution providers a stable framework for modelling financial reporting in the Republic of Ireland under various accounting standards and the technical reflection of these reports in the iXBRL format. The Phase 1 and Phase 2 Corporation Tax filers are expected to apply this standard with immediate effect, and early adoption is encouraged from the rest of the filers.

In an earlier publication, Aine Brennan, of Revenue Commissioners, had outlined Revenue's perspective on the key corporate tax considerations that will arise when a company transitions from Irish GAAP to FRS 102.

Accounting experts predict an increase in effort and therefore cost. The new Irish GAAP (FRS 102) is semantically different from the existing Irish GAAP. Challenges to Irish business when adopting FRS 102 (or Irish GAAP) include notes to the financial statements involving 'accounting for intercompany loans', 'pensions' and 'derivatives'. Applying FRS 102 will need more planning as the transition from existing systems will be more time-consuming than may have been expected. This impacts the effort and cost for creating the iXBRL documents as well. Experts advise that it is best to plan early and involve valuation experts, tax advisors or other managed tagging specialists.

DataTracks team has helped more than 8,000 companies successfully complete the iXBRL transition to the new FRS accounting standards in the UK. They can help companies plan and prepare for iXBRL tagging under New Irish GAAP for filing with Revenue.

Arjun Ram, Business Development Manager at DataTracks says, "In this introductory year of filing new Irish GAAP iXBRL files, managed tagging services could be a more meaningful choice for companies and firms that are looking to reduce time efforts and optimise the compliance report preparation cost without compromising on the quality."

DataTracks, recognised by HMRC in the UK, makes it very easy and simple for their clients to prepare iXBRL reports for Revenue Ireland compliance. Companies and Accounting Firms can simply register online, choose turnaround time, pay the fees and upload financial statements. iXBRL files will be ready for download within the promised turnaround. This is complemented by competitive pricing and world-class customer support all the way till successful filing with Revenue.

About DataTracks:

DTracks Limited is a subsidiary of DataTracks Services Limited. DataTracks is a global leader in the preparation of financial statements in XBRL and iXBRL formats for filing with various regulators. With a track record exceeding twelve years, DataTracks prepares more than 12,000 XBRL statements annually for filing with regulators such as HMRC in the United Kingdom, Revenue in Ireland, SEC in the United States, ACRA in Singapore and MCA in India.

Website for Ireland: https://www.datatracks.ie

For business enquiries: [email protected] or call +353(0)766-805078

Media contact:

T R Santhanakrishnan

[email protected]

+44(0)20-3608-8035

SOURCE DataTracks Services Limited
WASHINGTON, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Several recent news stories about the tragic deaths of children using incorrect terms, such as "dry drowning," "delayed drowning," or "secondary drowning," have prompted the nation's emergency physicians to reassure parents who might be alarmed if their child develops a cough after swimming or spending time in the water.

"Parents are being unduly alarmed by media reports suggesting that children can die from drowning a week after swimming," said Rebecca Parker, MD, FACEP, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians. "Some children can experience complications from swimming. For example, it is possible for a child to inhale water and develop an infection, such as pneumonia, which can become very serious and cause breathing problems. If a child has breathing problems at any time, the parent should take him or her to the emergency department. But there are no cases of completely normal, asymptomatic patients who suddenly die because they went swimming a few days ago. It's also time to retire those incorrect terms, because it is inaccurate and incorrect to say a child was initially fine after a water event and then "dry drowned" a day or week later."

There are no medically accepted conditions known as "near-drowning," "dry drowning," and "secondary drowning." The World Health Organization, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, the Wilderness Medical Society, the International Lifesaving Federation, the International Conference on Drowning, the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) all discourage the use of these terms. These terms are often used instead of the proper term which would be drowning. Drowning is a process, with a spectrum of effects ranging from mild to severe with fatal and nonfatal outcomes.

Dr. Parker added that you should take your child to the nearest emergency department if they develop respiratory problems or other symptoms of a medical emergency at any time, for any reason.

Every day, about 10 people die from drowning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It ranks as the fifth leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States.

Several factors can contribute to a person drowning and obviously not all of them can be controlled. However, here are some tips for keeping children and adults as safe as possible when near or in the water.

Supervise Young Children  They must be watched at all times when near water. It can involve very little water and take only a matter of seconds for a child to accidentally drown when an adult turns away.





Learn to Swim  Formal swimming lessons can help prevent all people, but especially young children, from drowning.





Learn CPR  It can take paramedics several minutes to arrive. Having CPR skills can mean the difference between life and death or permanent brain damage.





Use the "Buddy System"  Always swim with a buddy, and only swim in areas that have lifeguards on duty, if possible.





Avoid Alcohol  Drinking alcohol while on a boat or swimming in the water can severely impair a person's judgment. Never consume alcohol while supervising children around water.





Use Life Jackets  When on a boat, make sure the number of (Coast Guard-approved) life jackets matches the number of passengers and that they are easily accessible. Young children should have a life jacket on at all times when on a boat or in the water. According to the CDC, potentially half of all boating deaths might be prevented by the use of life jackets.





Do not Use Air-Filled or Foam Toys As Safety Devices  These toys are not substitutes for life jackets and are not designed to keep swimmers safe.





Know Weather Conditions  If strong winds or heavy thunderstorms and lightning are rolling in, get out of the water and seek shelter immediately.





Be Aware of Waves and Rip Currents  If on the beach, watch for dangerous waves and rip currents. If caught in a rip current, swim parallel to shore. Once free of the current, swim toward the shore.

ACEP is the national medical specialty society representing emergency medicine. ACEP is committed to advancing emergency care through continuing education, research and public education. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ACEP has 53 chapters representing each state, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. A Government Services Chapter represents emergency physicians employed by military branches and other government agencies.

www.EmergencyCareForYou.org

SOURCE American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)

Related Links

http://www.acep.org


ATLANTA, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dunkin' Brands, the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, named National DCP (NDCP) as the 2016 Partner of the Year at the 11th annual Dunkin' Brands Franchisee & Enterprise Awards Ceremony held recently in Boston. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, National DCP is the $2 billion supply chain management company that provides strategic sourcing, distribution and business services to Dunkin' Donuts franchisees.

"National DCP has been an outstanding partner to Dunkin' Brands since its inception as a national entity in 2012," said David Gill, Vice President, U.S. & Canada Supply Chain, Dunkin' Brands. "From driving down the cost of goods, improving perfect order metrics and providing excellent support of Dunkin's promotional activities, NDCP played a key role in 2016 being a transformative year for our organization."

National DCP's partnership with Dunkin' Brands Supply Chain generated more than $25 million in cost savings to the Dunkin' Donuts system last year. These savings, along with active commodity management and operational savings, drove the lowest food cost since Dunkin' began reporting. Service levels have continued to improve year-over-year, with new systems being implemented and new distribution centers coming online. NDCP was also able to generate close to $3 million in contributions from suppliers for the Joy in Childhood Foundation (formerly The Dunkin' Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation).

"We are deeply honored to win Dunkin' Brands' Partner of the Year Award," said Scott Carter, Chief Executive Officer of National DCP. "Strong collaboration with Dunkin' Brands is critical in delivering value to our cooperative's membership, which is comprised of Dunkin' Donuts franchisees. Our team members have worked tirelessly to deliver the best possible service at the lowest sustainable costs."

About National DCP, LLC

National DCP, LLC (NDCP) is a $2 billion supply chain management company serving the franchisees of Dunkin' Donuts. They provide comprehensive business solutions including food, beverages, supplies, packaging, technology and healthcare to more than 8,900 Dunkin' locations in the U.S. and customers in 51 countries. Each year, NDCP purchases more than 100 million pounds of coffee, 112 million pounds of sugar and 24 million gallons of milk, and drives 30 million miles delivering approximately 75 million cases of product to Dunkin' stores. The organization was formed as a membership cooperative following the successful merger of five different operating companies in 2012 to support Dunkin' Brands' growth and expansion plans. NDCP's innovative practices have been recognized with the 2015 Supply Chain Pioneer Award from Partnership Gwinnett, the 2016 InformationWeek Elite 100 List and the 2017 Food Logistics Rock Stars of the Supply Chain designations.

About Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc.

With more than 20,000 points of distribution in more than 60 countries worldwide, Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. is one of the world's leading franchisors of quick service restaurants (QSR) serving hot and cold coffee and baked goods, as well as hard-serve ice cream. At the end of the first quarter 2017, Dunkin' Brands' 100 percent franchised business model included more than 12,200 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants and more than 7,800 Baskin-Robbins restaurants. Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. is headquartered in Canton, Mass.

SOURCE National DCP, LLC

Related Links

http://nationaldcp.com


eBrake is the only distracted driving solution in the market that completely blocks a driver from using their device while driving, but grants passengers unrestricted use. It is a new, Canadian-made mobile innovation for Android and iOS smartphones developed by Vancouver-based eBrake Technologies Inc.

When eBrake detects vehicle-related motion, it locks any device it is installed on and blocks incoming notifications. To unlock the device, one must complete eBrake's patent pending Passenger Unlock Test, something a driver cannot complete while driving. It is this test that distinguishes eBrake from other distracted driving solutions in the market. eBrake requires no in-vehicle hardware to operate - it's a 100% software-based solution.

"We are thrilled to be working with TELUS and their team members to combat the distracted driving crisis," said Colin Osing, Co-Founder and CMO of eBrake Technologies. "Distracted driving causes too many accidents and destroys too many families. Working with a community leader like TELUS is definitely a positive step in the fight."

"As a provider of the network that powers mobile devices, we have a responsibility to encourage Canadians to make safe smartphone decisions," said Andrea Goertz, Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer at TELUS. "This pilot program will provide additional insights into this new technology so that it can be introduced to all Canadians, underscoring the dangers of phone use while driving and encouraging others to support the cause to end distracted driving."

Distracted driving is now considered by most to be a global epidemic. Globally, nearly 1.6 million people die and 50 million are injured each year from crashes due to distracted driving.

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, 8 out of 10 crashes in Canada are now caused by distracted driving and in the U.S., the National Highway Safety Administration blames distracted driving for the biggest jump in highway deaths in 50 years. Here in BC, it is estimated that almost $1 billion in insurance claims are paid annually due to distracted driving; a number that, left unattended, is expected to continue to grow in the coming years.

To learn more about eBrake, visit www.ebrake.ca. Click here to learn more about TELUS' distracted driving initiatives.

About eBrake

eBrake Technologies Inc. is mobile application development company founded June 2016 in British Columbia, Canada. eBrake is a technology upgrade for Android and iOS smartphones developed to combat the accelerating epidemic that is distracted driving. Unlike other distracted driving solutions that allow drivers to use their smartphone while driving, eBrake is the only technology that automatically locks the driver's device when motion is detected but grants passengers unrestricted use. eBrake requires no in-vehicle hardware to operate - it's 100% a mobile solution. The eBrake solution is for wireless carriers, insurance companies, fleets, and families looking to protect customers, employees, and young drivers from distracted driving.

SOURCE eBrake Technologies Inc.
AMSTERDAM, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Group-IB, a global leader in high-grade threat intelligence and best-in-class anti-fraud solutions, and EclecticIQ, the leading vendor of products and services dedicated to augmenting threat analysts' capabilities, today announced a partnership to integrate Group-IB's unique data on Russian-language hackers into EclecticIQ Platform. With this new integration, threat analysts, threat hunters, SOC analysts, and incident responders can add detailed context and immediately refine their investigations into cyber threats originating from Russian-speaking cybercriminals.

Russian underground communities are dominating the cyber world. These communities are defined by their native language and their technical and logical peculiarities, rather than by affiliation with nation-state actors.

"Detailed threat intelligence is always localnot in the geographical sense, but in terms of the communities the bad guys belong to," says Dmitry Volkov, Co-Founder of Group-IB and Head of Group-IB's Investigation Department and Intelligence Service. "It's impossible to get valuable information about an underground community without a deep understanding of the region and of cybercriminals' motives, psychology, and language."

"The devil is in the detail," Volkov adds. "It takes years to build an effective intelligence network into a regular channel of reliable information. We've been following Russian-language underground hacking communities since 2003, making Group-IB the absolute leader in the field."

EclecticIQ has now integrated Group-IB's unique intelligence on Russian-speaking hackers into EclecticIQ Platform, which helps IT security professionals and threat intelligence analysts to optimize their efforts in analyzing huge amounts of information from different sources; and EclecticIQ Fusion Center, which fuses and configures intelligence feeds, automatically enriches this data, and delivers threat intelligence directly into IT security controls.

"Russian-speaking cybercriminals are considered among the most advanced in the world, and taking that into account forms an essential component of any threat intelligence strategy for organizations targeted by these groups," says Joep Gommers, CEO & Founder of EclecticIQ. "By partnering with Group-IB, we're benefitting our customers with the most reliable information for analysis and proactive cyber defense against Russian-language attackers."

From within EclecticIQ Platform, threat analysts, threat hunters, SOC analysts, and incident responders now have access to timely intelligence on Russian-language hackers sourced from underground communities. Using intelligence including patterns of behavior, motives, methods, and techniques, cybersecurity professionals can build effective defensive strategies that help their organization to stay one step ahead of the criminals.

Threat intelligence from Group-IB will also be packaged into thematic bundles of cyber threat intelligence available through EclecticIQ Fusion Center.

Threat Intelligence is one of the fastest-growing areas in cybersecurity across multiple industries including financial services, government, oil and gas, and defense.

Considering the increasing frequency and severity of attacks by Russian cybercriminals on bank ATMs and other channels, financial institutions continue to be one of the largest consumers of threat intelligence. Cybersecurity analysts at financial institutions proactively identify threats and reduce operational risks with comprehensive threat intelligence that encompasses statistics, damage evaluations, trend reports, forecasts, detailed attack analyses, and analytics tailored to an organization's operational footprint.

About Group-IB

Group-IB, a global leader in preventing and investigating high-tech crimes and online fraud, runs the largest computer forensics laboratory in Eastern Europe and is recommended by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Group-IB products and services are used by global clients, including Fortune 500 companies in the US, Western Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia. Group-IB's clients include top-tier banks and financial intuitions, FMCG brands and industrial corporations, oil and gas companies, software and hardware vendors, and telecommunications service providers from Australia, Canada, Latin America, EU, Russian Federation, UK, and USA. Read more at www.group-ib.com

About EclecticIQ

EclecticIQ helps organizations to turn cyber threat intelligence into business value through products built for cyber security professionals in threat intelligence, threat hunting, SOC, and Incident Response.

EclecticIQ Platform is the analyst-centric threat intelligence platform based on STIX/TAXII that meets the full spectrum of intelligence needs.

EclecticIQ Fusion Center enables the acquisition of thematic bundles of cyber threat intelligence from leading suppliers with a single contract.

The company won Deloitte's Technology FAST50 Rising Star Award for "Most Disruptive Innovator."

EclecticIQ is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Read more at: www.eclecticiq.com.

PRLog ID: www.prlog.org/12651633

SOURCE EclecticIQ

Related Links

http://www.eclecticiq.com


The report found most U.S. companies remain profitable (77 percent), and 73.5% of companies reported revenue growth in 2016. Seventy-six percent expect revenue growth in 2016, but only 55% of companies increased their investment in 2016, lower than the levels observed two to three years ago of about 64-65%, and 74% in 2013. Five-year optimism levels were flat at 80%, or 10% below the levels observed several years ago.

Sixty percent of our members reported that China's regulatory environment lacks transparency. Lack of IPR protection and enforcement (64%), obtaining required licenses (63%), and data security and protection of commercial secrets (58%), were the top regulatory hindrances.

With the U.S.-China investment playing field still uneven and no significant Chinese market barriers coming down, 40% of respondents believed that the U.S. government should use investment reciprocity as tool to gain greater market access to China for U.S. companies.

The report is based on the results of AmCham Shanghai's 2017 China Business Survey which was done with support from PwC China, one of the longest running surveys of U.S. business in China. This year 426 companies responded to the survey, which included questions about company performance, investment, operational challenges, hiring conditions, and regulatory and trade policy.

"Most American companies are prospering in China, and we hope this trend continues. However, companies are cautious about the long-term, with many unsettled by a regulatory environment that continues to favor domestic firms. In sectors like network security this bias is especially acute, limits Chinese consumers' choice, and deprives them of best-in-class products," said Ker Gibbs, Chairman of AmCham Shanghai.

"American businesses will continue coming to China, but if China wants to keep foreign jobs and investment, it should pay more attention to those companies' concerns."

AmCham Shanghai President Jarrett said that the government still needs to address deeper economic problems and let market forces determine which industries succeed.

"AmCham members benefitted from the economic stimulus of mid-2016, and many industries were more profitable than they were in 2015. Revenues have also recovered. However, short-term stimulus packages won't solve China's deeper economic problems. The government needs to get serious about economic reform and let the market decide which industries succeed," said AmCham Shanghai President Kenneth Jarrett.

"American companies in China are not afraid of local competitors, but they want to compete on a level playing field. This will only happen if China eliminates market barriers and provides a transparent and stable regulatory framework for everyone. Otherwise, calls for reciprocity in U.S.-China trade will get louder."

Mark Gilbraith, Management Consulting leader for PwC China, highlighted the issue of economic reform while also suggesting that U.S. firms are adjusting their business models to become more responsive to market changes.

"While US companies in China are feeling mounting pressure from headquarters to drive growth, they are also facing an increasingly complex China policy and business environment. Without doubt, economic reform is a necessity for American firms to sustain investment and operations in China. In the meantime, they are focused on removing commercial barriers by structuring organizations that are agile and market-responsive," said Mark Gilbraith, Management Consulting leader for PwC China



About the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai

The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), known as the "Voice of American Business" in China, is one of the largest American Chambers in the Asia Pacific region. Founded in 1915, AmCham Shanghai was the third American Chamber established outside the United States. As a non-profit, non- partisan business organization, AmCham Shanghai is committed to the principles of free trade, open markets, private enterprise and the unrestricted flow of information.

AmCham Shanghai's mission is to enable the success of our members and strengthen U.S.-China commercial ties through our role as a not-for-profit service provider of high quality business resources and support, policy advocacy, and relationship-building opportunities.Visit www.amcham-shanghai.org for more information about us.

About PwC - Globally



At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We're a network of firms in 157 countries with more than 223,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.



PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.



PwC - Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau

PwC China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau work together on a collaborative basis, subject to local applicable laws. Collectively, we have around 700 partners and 18,000 people in total.

We provide organisations with the professional service they need, wherever they may be located. Our highly qualified, experienced professionals listen to different points of view to help organisations solve their business issues and identify and maximise the opportunities they seek. Our industry specialisation allows us to help co-create solutions with our clients for their sector of interest.

We are located in these cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenyang, Dalian, Tianjin, Jinan, Qingdao, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau, Taipei, Chungli, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung.

SOURCE The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai
BETHESDA, Md., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Enviva, the world's largest producer of wood pellets, announced that it is extending its contracts with the Panama City Port Authority, the Bay Line Railroad, LLC and SSA Gulf, Inc. through 2023. This commitment to the port and the Panama City region supports operations at the company's Cottondale facility, which has a production capacity of approximately 720,000 metric tons a year.

Enviva will continue to ship its products through Port Panama City, with two to three ships a month carrying approximately 30,000 metric tons each. The Bay Line Railroad will continue to provide short line freight services, transporting approximately 7,200 railcars per year.

SSA Gulf, Inc. will continue to provide stevedoring services, loading and unloading Enviva's products at the port.

"We are pleased that Enviva has committed to continue shipping wood pellets from Port Panama City," said Wayne Stubbs, Executive Director of the Panama City Port Authority. "The wood pellet industry provides tremendous economic benefits throughout the region. We are looking forward to supporting this trade by providing Enviva with a safe and efficient port operation that meets their needs now and for years to come."

All pellets produced at Enviva's Cottondale plant are exported from Port Panama City to international customers who use Enviva's product to reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. The renewable energy resource is used in power plants across the globe, enabling the reduction of their lifecycle carbon footprint by close to 80 percent.

About Enviva Partners, LP

Enviva Partners, LP (NYSE: EVA) is a publicly traded master limited partnership that aggregates a natural resource, wood fiber, and processes it into a transportable form, wood pellets. The Partnership sells a significant majority of its wood pellets through long-term, take-or-pay agreements with creditworthy customers in the United Kingdom and Europe. The Partnership owns and operates six plants with a combined production capacity of nearly three million metric tons of wood pellets per year in Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Florida. In addition, the Partnership owns a deep-water marine terminal at the Port of Chesapeake, Virginia, which is used to export wood pellets. Enviva Partners also exports pellets through the ports of Wilmington, North Carolina; Mobile, Alabama; and Panama City, Florida.

To learn more about Enviva Partners, LP, please visit our website: www.envivabiomass.com.

Contact:

[email protected]

301-657-5560

SOURCE Enviva Partners, LP

Related Links

http://www.envivabiomass.com


CHICAGO, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Esquify, the breakthrough legal technology for human document review, has secured a $710,000 seed round of funding to aggressively accelerate growth. Network Ventures led the investment round with participation from existing and new investors including Foley Ventures, the investment arm of national law firm Foley & Lardner LLP, and Bridge Investments, a Chicago-based venture capital firm. The investment brings Esquify's total funding since launching its revolutionary platform to $1.25 million. Network Ventures' Managing Director, Jeff Maters, will join Esquify's Board of Directors.

In an industry struggling to contain costs and achieve reliable results, Esquify employs proprietary, machine learning technology in eDiscovery to deliver productivity benchmarking tools and analytics that heighten cost efficiency in legal document review and increase overall accountability and quality.

"We're excited to be bringing a fresh perspective with tangible efficiencies to the world of law," said Scott Stuart, Esq., Esquify Founder and Co-CEO.

Esquify transforms the document review experience by employing cutting-edge productivity technology which supervises reviewer teams remotely, simultaneously and at scale. Employing communications features and real-time analytics on performance and progress, the solution drives 25%+ more efficient reviews and cost-savings of 25%45% or more.

"We're growing the next big thing in legal discovery, using technology to power human reviewers for large to small firms and Fortune 100 companies," added Drew Stern, Esquify Founder and Co-CEO.

"With so much spent on document review in eDiscovery, Esquify is going after a massive market with a ton of inefficiencies," said Jeff Maters. "Scott and Drew bring their legal and technology backgrounds to build an offering that is exactly what the industry needs."

The seed financing builds on an exceptional year for Esquify, which saw rapid growth of over 500%. The company also added marquee firms to their client roster and received national attention via market and award recognition in the world of legal technology.

About Esquify

Based in Chicago, Esquify was born from the belief that technology could revolutionize how attorneys practice law, particularly in eDiscovery. Esquify passes on unprecedented savings, efficiencies and real-time analytics, giving clients the peace of mind needed to focus on what matters most - winning the case. As a 2017 Chicago Moxie Award finalist as Chicago's Best B2B Start-up, Esquify is transforming law through technology. For more information, please visit www.esquify.com.

CONTACT: Tom Hord, PR Director, 1-847-372-7776, [email protected]

SOURCE Esquify

Related Links

http://www.esquify.com


LOUISVILLE, Ky., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ChromaLuxe, the global leader in dye-sublimation metal prints, is pleased to announce that its ChromaLuxe metal prints will be used to display all winning work for the Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards 2017 Exhibition.

Image featured is "Majed in Gaza, Palestine. 2016" by Johanna-Maria Fritz

The exhibition will run July 13  29 at United Photo Industries in New York City. An open reception will be held on Thursday, July 13, 2017 to celebrate the winners and their work. More than 700 award submissions were received between October 2016 and February 2017. All winning prints will be displayed on ChromaLuxe by Brooklyn-based fine art print lab, Ken Allen Studios.

"We are excited to have ChromaLuxe as a partner for the first time for the awards," said Alison Zavos, Feature Shoot Founder and Editor. "With their beautiful image quality and durability, ChromaLuxe metal prints are the perfect media to display the winning images."

Now in its third year, the Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards is an international photography competition for up-and-coming artists and documentarians to highlight their contributions to a constantly shifting industry and medium.

"At ChromaLuxe, we believe in supporting the work of talented emerging photographers to foster growth for fine art photography," said Steve Flores, ChromaLuxe Global Brand Manager. "The opportunity to support the Feature Shoot Awards provides a perfect partnership for ChromaLuxe to further pursue this goal."

Click the following link to view the winning work: http://www.featureshoot.com/2017/04/announcing-winners-feature-shoot-emerging-photography-awards.

Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards 2017 Exhibition

Opening reception: 6pm  9pm EST, Thursday, July 13, 2017

Exhibition: July 13  29

Location: United Photo Industries

16 Main Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

About ChromaLuxe

ChromaLuxe is the global manufacturer of premium print media, supplying high quality blank substrates for a variety of applications that require superb image quality and durability. All coatings and substrates are made in the USA with manufacturing and fabrication done in Louisville, KY. With additional locations in Belgium and Australia, ChromaLuxe serves its global customer base and provides products to more than 80 countries.

ChromaLuxe is an extension of Universal Woods, the world's leading manufacturer of hard surface sublimatable products and mezzanine decking. It is also a sister brand to Unisub, which provides the highest quality custom sublimatable products. To learn more about ChromaLuxe, please visit: ChromaLuxe.com. Connect with ChromaLuxe on Facebook (facebook.com/realchromaluxe), Instagram (instagram.com/realchromaluxe) and Twitter (twitter.com/realChromaLuxe).

About Feature Shoot

Feature Shoot showcases the work of international emerging and established photographers who are transforming the medium through compelling, cutting-edge projects. With contributing writers from all over the world and a wide range of interests, we feature contemporary work in all genres of photography: fine art, documentary, portrait, still life, landscape and more. We believe that photography is a powerful mode of storytelling and share works that have a strong narrative vision. Started in 2008 by Alison Zavos, Feature Shoot has now amassed an archive of over 4,000 posts of exceptional photography from around the globe. http://www.featureshoot.com

Note: ChromaLuxe is a registered trademark of Universal Woods, Inc. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. ChromaLuxe disclaims any and all rights in these marks.

Contact:

Alesha Yaney, ChromaLuxe

502-855-3227

[email protected]

SOURCE ChromaLuxe

Related Links

http://www.ChromaLuxe.com


The FIAT Brand North America is taking the Abarth name back to its racing roots with the creation of a 124 Spider Abarth rally car. Recognizing the breadth of female driving talent in the racing community, FIAT is working with Hoonigan, a motorsport-lifestyle brand, to find the next great female driver to race the 124 Spider Abarth rally car. This 400-horsepower specially made coupe roadster calls back to the origin of the brand with racing icon Karl Abarth.

From over 150 entries, six accomplished female drivers  Michelle Abbate (Las Vegas, Nevada), Collete Davis (San Francisco, California), Sally McNulty (Phoenix, Arizona), Sara Price (Canyon Lake, California), Rathyna Gomer (Colton, California) and Suzanne Valdivia (Modesto, California)  were chosen to compete for the title of "Next Female Hoonigan" and the opportunity to race the 124 Spider Abarth rally car. The road trip and competitions at Bondurant can be viewed here.

The winner will be named on Friday, July 14 following additional competition, including the prestigious Mount Washington Hill Climb  a perfect venue given the hill climb heritage of the Abarth.

Stay tuned to Hoonigan and FIAT social and digital channels to watch the rest of the competition unfold and to find out which driver will ultimately represent FIAT and be the next female Hoonigan.

Hoonigan athlete and Top Fuel drag racer Leah Pritchett helped kick start the search, hosting the program launch video. Phase one of the driver search, which launched April 18 and concluded May 10, called for applicants to make their case in a one-minute video demonstrating what makes them rad enough and fast enough to get behind the wheel of Fiat's competition vehicle.

Contestants arrived at Hoonigan headquarters on May 24 and completed some fun, warm-up challenges before pairing off and road-tripping in production 124 Spider Abarth vehicles to the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Phoenix, Arizona. At Bondurant, the racers competed and proved their worth in 124 Spider Abarth production cars, aiming to earn the right to race in the rally car.

About Hoonigan Media Machine

Hoonigan Media Machine is the creative team behind the viral Ken Block Gymkhana film series. Hoonigan Media Machine is focused on content creation and is fully equipped to handle production on a wide range of video projects in the automotive community. Led by Hoonigan Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder Brian Scotto, the production team ideate and produce highly sharable, award-winning content from photos to short viral clips to long-form video for both top athletes and personalities and influential brands. For more information on Hoonigan Media Machine, please visit www.hoonigan.com and remember to Hoon Responsibly.

What does Hoonigan mean?

It's a portmanteau (Look it up, yo!): the combination of "hooligan" and "hoon," the Australian term for screwing about in cars. A person who operates a motor vehicle in an aggressive and unorthodox manner, consisting of, but not limited to, drifting, burnouts, donuts, as well as acts of automotive aeronautics. One who Hoons.

SOURCE FCA US LLC

Related Links

http://www.fcanorthamerica.com


LEXINGTON, Ky., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NASPO ValuePoint, a unified, nationally focused cooperative alliance that provides the highest standard of excellence in public cooperative contracting, now quantifies fire apparatus with the services and equipment you need from suppliers you can trust.

The NASPO ValuePoint Fire Apparatus (Trucks) portfolio provides awards based on the highest scoring proposers for each of the following categories: Pumpers, Aerials, Brush, Special, Tenders and Aircraft/Airport. The awarded seven suppliers providing nationwide coverage for fire apparatus are Deep South Fire Trucks Inc, E-One Inc, Ferrara Fire Apparatus Inc, HME Incorporated, Kovatch Mobile Equipment Corp, Pierce Manufacturing Inc, and Rosenbauer South Dakota LLC.

These suppliers have a passion to provide the safest, most reliable and highest performing vehicles to serve our first responders in protecting our communities. They offer the best equipment at the best prices; the support for sales, parts, and training; are close at hand and are ready when you need them. We understand that newer equipment needs to be reliable and durable, not just environmentally safe.

"The State of Mississippi was proud to lead the Fire Apparatus cooperative contract for NASPO ValuePoint. We were able to award contracts to the leading manufacturers in the industry as well as a regional manufacturer located in Mississippi. This contract has allowed the state agencies, as well as our governing authorities, to work with any of the awarded manufacturers in the purchase of a fire truck. I personally think the main benefit of this contract is the ease in obtaining the fire truck with the options and equipment desired. The purchaser simply submits their specifications to their chosen vendor, receives their pricing, and submits their PO to begin the build process. I don't think we could have made it any easier to use." Billy Beard, a Staff Officer for the Bureau of Fleet Management.

"Leading the way in custom fire apparatus manufacturing, Ferrara has made a niche in the market by staying true to our core values of custom building each truck with the strongest materials and construction methods available. Our engineers work closely with each fire department to customize every truck to meet their exact needs and performance capabilities which allows our customers to get the most out of their investment. Heavy Duty is more than a saying, it is a culture that thrives on keeping our customers safe while building the strongest and most dependable fire trucks available." Robert Selleck, Ferrara Fire Apparatus.

How does this fire apparatus cooperative contract work?

By expanding the scope of service providers, NASPO ValuePoint greatly benefits state and local authorities in the ease in obtaining the fire apparatus with the options and equipment desired. The procurer submits their specifications to their chosen vendor, receives their pricing, and directs their purchase order to begin the build process.

Benefits?

Nationwide leverage equals more favorable pricing for governing authorities, than by doing your own procurement for fire trucks. With a multi-state awarded vendors, participating entities have more options to meet their individual fire apparatus needs.

About NASPO ValuePoint

NASPO ValuePoint is a unified, nationally focused cooperative aggregating the demand of all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the organized US territories, their political subdivisions and other eligible entities spurring best value, innovation and competition in the marketplace. The NASPO ValuePoint Cooperative Purchasing Organization (formerly WSCA-NASPO) provides the highest standard of excellence in public cooperative contracting. By leveraging the leadership and expertise of all states with the purchasing power of their public entities, NASPO ValuePoint delivers best value, reliable, competitively sourced contracts. Since 1993 NASPO ValuePoint has been the cooperative purchasing arm of NASPO (the National Association of State Procurement Officials) encouraging, fostering and guiding the nation's most significant public contract cooperative.

Contact:

Amanda Graves

[email protected]

(859) 514-9824

SOURCE NASPO ValuePoint

Related Links

http://www.naspovaluepoint.org


DRAPER, Utah, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc. (FLXT) and HTK Safety today announced a strategic relationship with Waste Equipment Sales & Services (WESS) which will begin offering an integrated Anti-Rollaway System featuring the Bend Sensor to customers in Q3 2017. Over the last 17 years, WESS has become one of the leading waste equipment and services companies catering exclusively to the waste industry, (private and municipal), across the Maryland, Delaware and Washington D.C. region.

The HTK Safety System is a fully patented, failsafe system which prevents truck rollaways caused by failure to set the parking and/or work brake systems. Unfortunately, rollaways are a pervasive problem industry wide. WESS has always been the "go to" solution provider in their region for high quality waste equipment solutions, and boasts of an impressive customer base including large truck fleet owners such as Baltimore City Department of Public Works and Ocean City Public Works Department.

According to WESS CEO, Mike Adcock, "The HTK Safety solution adds an element of safety our industry has been needing for a long, long time. Eliminating rollaways reduces significant risk for the fleet owner and dramatically reduces the possibilities of property damage and/or personal injury. We believe the HTK System will deliver tremendous value to our customers and continue to set us apart as innovative thought leaders and solution providers in our industry."

In addition to sales of custom, integrated Bend Sensors, Flexpoint provides overall sales, marketing and system (order) fulfillment services to HTK. According to Paul Sexauer, Flexpoint VP  Sales & Marketing, "We are all pleased to add WESS as a distributor and service provider. The WESS reputation for quality craftsmanship and service delivery is unparalleled. We are very proud to be able to work with the team at WESS in bringing the HTK solution to their customers. Their focus on customer service and safety is exactly what we are all about."

Possessing a tremendous customer service company culture and "safety first" orientation, WESS is a model for the type of partners HTK will continue to seek out and add to their growing distributor base. HTK and Flexpoint reiterate that additional new strategic relationships are being formalized. In the future, the company anticipates finalizing contracts with various suppliers across North America including OEM's and Parts & Service providers that will add the HTK Safety System to their solution portfolios.

Please visit http://htksafety.com and http://www.flexpoint.com/ for more information.

About Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc.

Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc. (FLXT) is an innovative technology firm specializing in developing products that feature the Company's patented Bend Sensor and related technology. The Bend Sensor is a groundbreaking sensing solution that is revolutionizing applications in the automotive, safety, medical and industrial industries. The Bend Sensor single-layer, thin film construction cuts costs and mechanical bulk while introducing a range of functions and stylistic design possibilities that have never before been available in sensing technology. Flexpoint's technology and expertise have been recognized by the world's elite business and academic innovators for over 17 years. The company is setting a new standard for sensing solutions in the "smart" age of technology.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that certain statements in this release are "forward-looking statements" and involve both known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such uncertainties include, among others, certain risks associated with the operation of the company described above. The Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results.

Contact Information:

Flexpoint Sensor Systems

Clark Mower, President

801-568-5111

Brokers and Analysts

Chesapeake Group

410-825-3930

SOURCE Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.flexpoint.com


SALT LAKE CITY, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The founders of Western Governors University (WGU)including former Utah Governor and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt, former Colorado Governor Roy Romer, and former Wyoming Governor Jim Geringerare joining the nonprofit, online university as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this week in Salt Lake City. In addition to these honored guests, more than 3,000 WGU faculty, staff, students, and graduates will mark this milestone at a special commemorative event on July 14 at 3:00 p.m., MDT, at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center. The event will be streamed live at www.wgu.edu/20.

In just 20 years, WGU has grown from an idea, conceived by 19 U.S. governors, to one of the largest universities in the United States. Today, WGU has more than 82,000 students and 87,000 graduates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and military bases overseas.

WGU is fully online, and all of the university's 60+ bachelor's and master's degree programs are competency-based. The university's founding governors were looking for a way to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education for busy adults using technology and a different modelone that measures learning rather than time in class. Today, more than 600 K12 and post-secondary institutions are using or developing competency-based programs. For many, WGU has been the model.

"We had to reinvent an alternative process, not to replace traditional higher education, but to supplement, to serve populations that were not properly served by the existing system," said Governor Leavitt. "We believed that this new, more innovative approach to higher education needed to include both new technology and a fundamental shift in what we measure."

The university was initially funded by government, foundations, and private industry, and today is self-sustaining on tuition of about $6,000 per year. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and has been nationally recognized for innovation and excellence.

About Western Governors University

Driving innovation as the nation's leading competency-based university, WGU has been highlighted by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. The university has also garnered national media attention and has been recognized on Fast Company's "Most Innovative Companies" list.

Follow WGU:

http://www.facebook.com/wgu.edu

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/western-governors-university

http://twitter.com/wgu

http://www.youtube.com/WesternGovernorsUniv

http://google.com/+wgu

http://news.wgu.edu/news/news.xml

Contact for media inquiries:

Joan Mitchell  VP of Public Relations

801-428-5463

[email protected]

Contact for enrollment information:

866-225-5948

wgu.edu

SOURCE Western Governors University

Related Links

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FRANKFURT, Germany, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The growth trend at Fraport AG's home base Frankfurt Airport (FRA) continues unabated: In June 2017, some 5.8 million passengers passed through FRA, representing an increase of 5.3 percent year-on-year. Helped by the early start of the summer school vacation in some parts of Germany this year, FRA thus reported its busiest June ever  with passenger traffic rising for the eighth consecutive month. Cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail) also increased by 4.7 percent to 188,256 metric tons, supported by ongoing economic growth, particularly in the eurozone's industrial sector. Aircraft movements rose slightly by 0.9 percent to 41,533 takeoffs and landings. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) also expanded slightly by 0.6 percent to 2.6 million metric tons in June 2017.

In the first half of 2017, Frankfurt Airport welcomed almost 30 million passengers. This represents an increase of some 1.3 million passengers (or 4.5 percent) compared to the same period in 2016, thus marking a new historic record for Frankfurt Airport. Aircraft movements rose slightly by 0.2 percent from January-to-June 2017, to 227,558 takeoffs and landings. MTOWs declined by 1.0 percent to 14.4 million metric tons. FRA's cargo volume grew by 4.8 percent in the first half of 2017, reaching almost 1.1 million metric tons  the highest first-half volume achieved in the past six years.

Fraport's international portfolio of airports showed positive performance in the first half year of 2017. Ljubljana Airport (LJU) in the capital city of Slovenia welcomed 722,943 passengers in the first six months of 2017, a 20.8 percent jump compared to the same period in the previous year (June 2017: 156,092 passengers, up 15.0 percent). Peru's Lima Airport (LIM) posted an 8.4 percent traffic increase to almost 9.7 million passengers (June 2017: 1.6 million passengers, up 9.5 percent). The Fraport Twin Star airports of Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast also experienced strong growth. Combined, BOJ and VAR served almost 1.3 million passengers, a gain of 9.4 percent (June 2017: 852,399 passengers, up 9.3 percent). The 14 Greek airports achieved combined traffic growth of 11.9 percent or a total of 9.6 million passengers in the first half of 2017 (June 2017: 3.9 million passengers, up 16.0 percent). During the June 2017 reporting month, the busiest of the Greek airports included Rhodes Airport (RHO) with 795,470 passengers (up 9.5 percent), Thessaloniki Airport (SKG) with 653,227 passengers (up 20.5 percent), and Kerkyra Airport (CFU) on the island of Corfu with 477,099 passengers (up 8.0 percent passengers). On the Turkish Riviera, Antalya Airport (AYT) served nearly 9.5 million people in the first half of 2017, a noticeable gain of 29.4 percent year-on-year (June 2017: 3.3 million passengers, up 77.6 percent). In northern Germany, Hanover Airport (HAJ) registered about 2.6 million passengers in the January-to-June 2017 period, an increase of 4.9 percent (June 2017: 573,827 passengers, up 10.0 percent). Pulkovo Airport (LED) in St. Petersburg, Russia, recorded strong traffic growth of 25.4 percent to 7.1 million passengers (June 2017: 1.7 million passengers, up 23.8 percent). China's Xi'an Airport (XIY) continued its dynamic growth with traffic rising by 14.4 percent to 20.1 million passengers (June 2017: 3.4 million passengers, up 15.2 percent).

Fraport Traffic Figures June 2017















































Fraport Group Airports1

June 2017







Year to Date (YTD) 2017















Fraport Passengers Cargo* Movements Passengers Cargo Movements Fully-consolidated airports share (%) Month  % Month  % Month  % YTD  % YTD  % YTD  % FRA Frankfurt Germany 100.00 5,797,653 5.3 185,094 5.1 41,533 0.9 29,954,669 4.5 1,079,716 5.3 227,558 0.2 LJU Ljubljana Slovenia 100.00 156,092 15.0 1,043 18.7 3,280 1.6 722,943 20.8 5,655 13.0 16,315 8.0 LIM Lima Peru2 70.01 1,641,088 9.5 19,909 -1.4 14,840 4.1 9,694,303 8.4 122,681 0.1 89,248 4.0 Fraport Twin Star 60.00 852,399 9.3 1,195 7.9 6,412 2.7 1,294,725 9.4 6,863 3.7 11,298 1.5 BOJ Burgas Bulgaria 60.00 545,600 7.5 1,185 7.9 4,068 4.8 719,786 5.2 6,715 3.0 6,072 0.7 VAR Varna Bulgaria 60.00 306,799 12.7 11 2.8 2,344 -0.9 574,939 15.0 148 57.9 5,226 2.4 Fraport Regional Airports of Greece A+B 73.40 3,945,992 16.0 n.a. n.a. 31,053 14.2 9,640,323 11.9 n.a. n.a. 82,051 8.4 Fraport Regional Airports of Greece A 73.40 2,117,261 15.2 n.a. n.a. 16,208 13.8 5,777,486 11.1 n.a. n.a. 47,444 8.4 CFU Kerkyra (Corfu) Greece 73.40 477,099 8.0 n.a. n.a. 3,435 6.2 898,040 6.6 n.a. n.a. 6,977 -0.1 CHQ Chania (Crete) Greece 73.40 439,185 11.3 n.a. n.a. 2,749 7.3 1,169,360 6.3 n.a. n.a. 7,742 4.4 EFL Kefalonia Greece 73.40 107,048 12.1 n.a. n.a. 888 14.1 182,181 9.6 n.a. n.a. 1,790 6.5 KVA Kavala Greece 73.40 48,841 17.2 n.a. n.a. 470 10.8 103,905 10.7 n.a. n.a. 1,321 5.8 PVK Aktion/Preveza Greece 73.40 98,415 23.1 n.a. n.a. 869 24.1 155,091 18.4 n.a. n.a. 1,647 8.1 SKG Thessaloniki Greece 73.40 653,227 20.5 n.a. n.a. 5,760 19.5 2,792,961 12.3 n.a. n.a. 24,148 11.0 ZTH Zakynthos Greece 73.40 293,446 21.4 n.a. n.a. 2,037 17.9 475,948 24.9 n.a. n.a. 3,819 21.6 Fraport Regional Airports of Greece B 73.40 1,828,731 16.9 n.a. n.a. 14,845 14.7 3,862,837 13.1 n.a. n.a. 34,607 8.3 JMK Mykonos Greece 73.40 188,404 26.9 n.a. n.a. 2,376 45.2 361,907 31.6 n.a. n.a. 4,237 34.7 JSI Skiathos Greece 73.40 76,807 15.2 n.a. n.a. 724 13.5 116,375 13.6 n.a. n.a. 1,216 9.5 JTR Santorini (Thira) Greece 73.40 281,944 17.2 n.a. n.a. 2,354 15.6 686,406 13.6 n.a. n.a. 5,892 21.4 KGS Kos Grecce 73.40 374,359 27.5 n.a. n.a. 2,604 19.7 681,993 22.0 n.a. n.a. 5,664 10.6 MJT Mytilene (Lesvos) Greece 73.40 51,548 24.0 n.a. n.a. 632 9.3 182,700 -5.3 n.a. n.a. 2,606 -7.3 RHO Rhodes Greece 73.40 795,470 9.5 n.a. n.a. 5,434 3.2 1,699,865 8.7 n.a. n.a. 12,669 -1.3 SMI Samos Greece 73.40 60,199 28.2 n.a. n.a. 721 17.0 133,591 13.1 n.a. n.a. 2,323 11.4









































At equity consolidated airports2

























AYT Antalya Turkey 51.00 3,347,235 77.6 n.a. n.a. 18,809 51.8 9,487,679 29.4 n.a. n.a. 59,790 20.0 HAJ Hanover Germany 30.00 573,827 10.0 1,121 -27.8 7,080 2.5 2,561,598 4.9 8,864 -8.5 36,133 -1.0 LED St. Petersburg Russia 25.00 1,700,237 23.8

n.a. 15,031 16.0 7,142,970 25.4 n.a. n.a. 70,673 17.5 XIY Xi'an China 24.50 3,387,036 15.2 21,630 20.8 25,896 12.2 20,060,399 14.4 122,513 11.1 154,077 10.8

Frankfurt Airport3











June 2017 Month  % YTD 2017  % Passengers 5,798,139 5.3 29,956,521 4.5 Cargo (freight & mail) 188,256 4.7 1,095,907 4.8 Aircraft movements 41,533 0.9 227,558 0.2 MTOW (in metric tons)4 2,617,564 0.6 14,427,930 -1.0 PAX/PAX-flight5 149.6 4.1 141.1 4.2 Seat load factor (%) 81.3

77.6

Punctuality rate (%) 71.2

77.7





















Frankfurt Airport PAX share  %6 PAX share  %6 Regional Split Month YTD Continental 64.1 4.1 62.0 4.5 Germany 11.2 0.3 11.7 3.6 Europe (excl. Germany) 52.9 4.9 50.4 4.7 Western Europe 43.6 5.0 42.0 4.8 Eastern Europe 9.2 4.4 8.4 4.3 Intercontinental 35.9 7.6 38.0 4.5 Africa 3.5 30.5 4.2 13.9 Middle East 4.3 7.0 5.7 3.7 North America 14.9 5.9 12.9 3.0 Central & South America 3.0 1.4 3.9 0.8 Far East 10.3 5.7 11.3 4.8 Australia 0.0 n.a. 0.0 n.a.





















Definitions:

1 According to ACI definition: Passengers: commercial traffic only (arr+dep+transit counted once), Cargo: commercial and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep excluding transit, in metric tons), Movements: commercial and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep); 2Preliminary figures; 3According to Fraport definition: Passengers: commercial and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep+transit counted once, incl. general aviation), Cargo: commercial and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep+transit counted once, in metric tons), Movements: commercial and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep); 4Inbound traffic only; 5 Scheduled and charter traffic; 6absolute change vs. previous year in %; 7 HCAA Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (1. -10.4.) & Fraport Regional Airports of Greece (11. - 30.04.) ; *Freight and mail

Print-quality photos of Fraport AG and Frankfurt Airport are available for free downloading via the photo library located in our Press Center on the Fraport Web site. For TV news and information broadcasting purposes only, we also offer free footage material for downloading. If you wish to meet a member of our press team when at Frankfurt Airport, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our contact details are available here.

Fraport AG

Torben Beckmann Telephone: +49 69 690-70553 Deputy Head of Press Office, E-mail: [email protected] Spokesperson for Business & Finance Internet: www.fraport.com 60547 Frankfurt, Germany Facebook: www.facebook.com/FrankfurtAirport

For further information about Fraport AG please click here.

SOURCE Fraport AG

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NEW YORK, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Future of the Australia Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2022



Summary



Australian defense budget recorded a CAGR of 0.28% during the historic period (2013-2017), from US$26.2 Billion in 2013 to US$26.5 Billion in 2017. Modernization initiatives and advanced equipment procurement programs - as outlined in white papers published by the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) - will drive expenditure. According to one white paper, the country is expected to undertake a number of modernization and procurement programs over the coming decade. Participation in a number of UN peacekeeping operations will also fuel the country's defense expenditure, propelling the budget from US$27.5 Billion in 2016 to US$35.4 Billion in 2022, at a CAGR of 6.54%.



During the historic period, other expenditure - which comprises intelligence capabilities, chief operating officers, defense support and reforms, chief information officers, science and technology - accounted for 41.6% of the total defense budget and valued at US$10.90 Billion in 2017. It will average 44.0% over the forecast period. Due to security threats from terrorist organizations and the deployment of troops in overseas peacekeeping missions, Australia will focus on the acquisition of multirole aircraft, helicopters, nuclear attack submarines, patrol ships, frigates, and armored vehicles.



To accelerate exports, the government established the Defense Export Unit (DEU), which assists domestic companies in gaining access to the export market. The Australian Industry Capability (AIC) plan was designed to provide domestic firms with access to external global supply chains and foreign firms' technology.

The preferred entry route for most foreign OEMs looking to enter the Australian defense market has been to establish a subsidiary or acquire a domestic firm. Increasingly, foreign OEMs are entering the market by sub-contracting business to the domestic industry or entering into a foreign direct investment (FDI) scheme. In recognition, the DoD launched a scheme rewarding those defense suppliers that maintain a successful relationship with the Australian Defense Organization.



The report "Future of the Australia Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2022" offers detailed analysis of Australia defense industry with market size forecasts covering the next five years. This report will also analyze factors that influence demand for the industry, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participants.



In particular, this report provides an in-depth analysis of the following -

- Australia defense industry market size and drivers: Detailed analysis of Australia defense industry during 2018-2022, including highlights of the demand drivers and growth stimulators for the industry. It also provides a snapshot of the country's expenditure and modernization patterns.

- Budget allocation and key challenges: Insights into procurement schedules formulated within the country and a breakdown of the defense budget. It also details the key challenges faced by defense market participants within the country.

- Porter's Five Force analysis of Australia defense industry: analysis of the market characteristics by determining the bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitution, intensity of rivalry, and barriers to entry.

- Import and Export Dynamics: Analysis of prevalent trends in the country's imports and exports over the last five years.

- Market opportunities: Details of the top five defense investment opportunities over the next 10 years.

- Competitive landscape and strategic insights: Analysis of the competitive landscape of Australia defense industry. It provides an overview of key players, together with insights such as key alliances, strategic initiatives, and a brief financial analysis.



Companies mentioned in this report: Thales Australia, Boeing Defence Australia, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Australia, Austal Ltd, Saab Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems Australia, Navantia, Airbius Group Australia, ASC.



Scope



- The Australian government remains committed to building strong defense capabilities. The country's defense budget recorded a CAGR of 0.28% during the historic period (2013-2017), from US$26.2 billion in 2013 to US$26.5 billion in 2017. Modernization initiatives and advanced equipment procurement programs - as outlined in white papers published by the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) - will drive expenditure. According to one white paper, the country is expected to undertake a number of modernization and procurement programs over the coming decade.

- During the historic period, an average of 27.9% of the total defense budget was allocated to capital expenditure; this will reach 39.4% over the forecast period. This is predominantly due to Australia's planned armed force modernization program and procurement plans. Specifically, investment will be allocated to replacing ageing armored vehicles with infantry fighting and combat reconnaissance vehicles.

- The MoD is expected to invest in Multi-role aircraft, submarines, frigates, multi-role aircraft MRO, land-based C4ISR, and armored fighting vehicles



Reasons to buy



- This report will give the user confidence to make the correct business decisions based on a detailed analysis of Australia defense industry market trends for the coming five years

- The market opportunity section will inform the user about the various military requirements that are expected to generate revenues during the forecast period. The description includes technical specifications, recent orders, and the expected investment pattern by the country during the forecast period

- Detailed profiles of the top domestic and foreign defense manufacturers with information about their products, alliances, recent contract wins, and financial analysis wherever available. This will provide the user with a total competitive landscape of the sector

- A deep qualitative analysis of Australia defense industry covering sections including demand drivers, Porter's Five Forces Analysis, Key Trends and Growth Stimulators, and latest industry contracts

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04978321/Future-of-the-Australia-Defense-Industry-Market-Attractiveness-Competitive-Landscape-and-Forecasts-to.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com





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Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

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BEIJING, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The mild breezes and pleasant temperatures that accompany early summer are the perfect backdrop for the celebration of HNA Group's 24th anniversary. Founded on Hainan Island at the southernmost tip of China, HNA Group transformed from a local air transportation company to a Global Fortune 500 company with operations spanning tourism, finance, logistics and ecological technology.

For this key anniversary moment, many partners of HNA Group sent their regards and expressed their support for the group's continued development.

Xiang Weiming, Vice President of GE and President of GE Aviation Greater China stated: "As an important long-term partner of HNA Group, GE provide the most reliable engines as well as comprehensive services solutions and technical support to the HNA Group as part of our commitment to HNA's fleet operation safety and smoothness. We will continue to enhance our cooperation in terms of corporate culture, leadership training and digital development as well to achieve an across-the-board strategic collaboration."

Partnership that dates back 24 years

On the morning of May 2, 1993, the Hainan Airlines' first Boeing 737-300 aircraft took off from Haikou in Hainan province, announcing the call sign "HU" flying all over China and a new airline taking off. On the same day, GE, along with its joint venture CFM International which provides the engines that power the aircraft, began what became a long-term, close-knit cooperation with the airline.

Over the past 24 years, HNA has evolved from a local airline in Hainan Island to a large multinational conglomerate. GE, has been a supportive partner of the group throughout the courses of the rapid development process.

"I visited Hainan Airlines for the first time on Nov.18th,1992 which was my 2nd day after I joined in GE. By that time, HNA was still in the preparation phase for the airline operation. It is a significant achievement that HNA has grown from a small airline with a fleet of only three leased Boeing 737s to a multinational company with diversified businesses," Xiang Weiming commented, "We are very excited to see the growth of HNA over the past 24 years. "

Helping make dreams come true

In the aviation field, GE has always been a large part of HNA's success by providing excellent engine products and support. As of the end of March 2017, HNA Group operates and manages more than 1,250 aircraft (with 740+ as company assets and 550 leased aircraft), of which more than 50% are equipped with engines built by GE or CFM, the 50/50 joint venture between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines. At present, Hainan Airlines, a HNA Group subsidiary, operates 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which is the largest Boeing 787 fleet among all China's airlines. The GEnx, GE's best-selling engine, powers Hainan Airlines' entire 787 fleet.

Learn from each other as mutual mentors and friends

In addition to product collaboration, HNA and GE together take on various different projects. More importantly, by forming a cooperation model, HNA and GE help and learn from each other along the way.

"Over the past 20+ years, GE and HNA have constantly been learning from each other, and we value the partnership with HNA," said Xiang. In July 2016, HNA sent 20 high-level employees to a 12-day leadership training program at the GE learning center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The training focused on leadership, corporate management strategies, financial practices and aviation technologies. The training program played a significant role in improving the employees' level of knowledge base as well as their management and leadership skill set.

The great partnership between GE and HNA has been best exemplified by the Six Sigma project.

GE was an early adopter of Six Sigma and one of the companies that implemented the program when it was first released back in 1990s. GE was a model to the companies who were targeting the improvement on corporate core competitiveness and economic benefits through Six Sigma. When HNA decided to bring the program in, GE asked Weiming Xiang to take the lead, together with GE Six Sigma trainer launched Six Sigma program in HNA. Over the last decade, GE has assisted HNA in training thousands of its executives, many of whom are now Six Sigma Green Belts and Black Belts.

With the help of GE, HNA launched its own Six Sigma program in 2001 and became one of the first airlines in China to apply such concept. Today, Six Sigma has become part of HNA's corporate culture, improving wide range of areas including work quality and efficiency.

"HNA Group has maintained an excellent corporate culture along with its rapid growth. Employees are encouraged to have open minds on acquiring knowledge and new skillsets. This is indeed all very valuable," said Xiang.

The successful implementation of Six Sigma at HNA brought a great impact on its business management, and has been further promoted to much broader teams in the whole group. In addition to leading-edge business management techniques, HNA's unique development strategy and corporate culture have also become models that have been and continue to be emulated by industry peers and partners.

The Chinese business culture is going abroad

HNA has been and continues to be a dynamic and innovative company in China's civil aviation sector. Through business expansion, HNA goes beyond aviation and has a strong presence in tourism, finance, logistics and eco-technologies.

Over the company's 24 years of existence, HNA has risen to No. 353 on the Fortune Global 500 list from a small airline, having started out with a tiny fleet consisting of only three aircraft. In 2016, the company posted revenue of more than 600 billion yuan (approx. US$88 billion), providing more than 410,000 jobs.

As Xiang Weiming said, "HNA possesses its unique strategy and powerful leadership, which will lead to their continuous business growth."

In addition to the continuous expansion of the business scope, in this new era characterized by rapid change, HNA is committed to reshaping what it means to be a business-oriented enterprise in the second decade of the 21st century, by creating and building a unique operation and management mechanism.

HNA, by integrating the interests of the greater society, its partners and itself, has created a novel management model emphasizing personnel training has always been an important part of HNA's corporate culture. The group advocates to its employees the need to embrace change and enhance one's skillsets, so that the employees will survive the transformation that is taking place across every industry. Along with that thought, HNA has developed and implemented a unique program for selecting, employing, training, evaluating and retaining talented individuals. The group's various talent training systems are designed to develop human resources based on different needs and goals, opening up a clear development channel for employees. The company has in place a rotation plan for employees with diversified management roles to move across several departments while diversified leadership improvement training programs create an international growth platform for executives and staff.

"As a partner, GE and HNA are all global companies now, and there are more best practices we can share in term how to conduct the business globally, talent & leadership development, corporate govern & compliance policy etc. GE Aviation would like to continue to cooperate with HNA and grow together globally," Xiang added.

SOURCE HNA Tourism Group
NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- General Mills executives updated investors and analysts on its global priorities for fiscal 2018 at the company's annual Investor Day event at the New York Stock Exchange.

General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening, who transitioned to the role June 1, said the company remains committed to its Consumer First strategy and will look to global prioritization to unlock growth opportunities including opportunities in e-commerce.

"We'll remain laser-focused on knowing our consumer and what's driving them," said Harmening. "While the biggest shift in our industry in the last five years was driven by changing consumer food values, I believe the most significant change that will impact the next five years will be in how consumers get their food, driven by the rapid acceleration of e-commerce. We see this as an exciting opportunity for General Mills."

E-commerce represents about 1.5 percent of the company's total sales in the U.S. today. The company expects this number to grow to 5 percent by fiscal year 2020. It also continues to see strong double-digit growth ahead for its global e-commerce business, led by the U.S.

Priorities for topline growth

Harmening identified four key priorities for fiscal 2018 as the company works to improve its topline growth trends:

Grow cereal globally, including the company's joint venture Cereal Partners Worldwide;

Improve its U.S. Yogurt business through innovation;

Invest in differential growth opportunities including the company's global Haagen Dazs and Old El Paso businesses, global snack bars platform, and its portfolio of Natural and Organic brands across North America ; and

; and Manage its foundation businesses with appropriate investment.

Grow global cereal

The company has seen recent benefits from both wellness and taste improvements in cereal. Successful wellness initiatives have included gluten-free news, the removal of artificial flavors and colors, and whole grain messaging. The company will deliver new great-tasting cereals across U.S. brands including new varieties of its "Toast Crunch" line, new Blueberry Chex and Banana Nut Cheerios, and global new products including Nesquik and Cheerios all-family granolas, as well as expansion of successful recent global innovation like Lion Wild.

U.S. Yogurt innovation

General Mills is reshaping its U.S. yogurt portfolio through product news and renovation on its core Yoplait and Go-Gurt products, expanding its presence in organic with Annie's and Liberte, and developing a new "simply better" yogurt segment. The company recently introduced Oui by Yoplait, inspired by a traditional French recipe that delivers remarkable taste with simple ingredients like whole milk and real fruit. The product is carefully cultured in individual glass jars over an 8-hour period. The result is a thick and creamy yogurt with a remarkable, subtly sweet taste that is different from any national-brand yogurts in the market today.

Investing for differential growth

Haagen-Dazs, snack bars, Old El Paso and the company's Natural & Organic business in North America are four key areas Harmening pointed to as investment priorities. With roughly $4 billion dollars in combined net sales, they're a meaningful portion of the company's overall business.

Haagen-Dazs has been renovating key shops, expanding its line of stick bars to new markets, and growing distribution in existing regions and new geographies. The brand recently entered five new markets including, Australia. This summer Haagen Dazs is launching a global brand refresh that encompasses everything from the packaging to the advertising to the shop experiences.

The global snack bar category is another global growth area with brands including Nature Valley, Fiber One and LARABAR. The company will expand much of its U.S. innovation success to Europe with Nature Valley Nut Butter Biscuits and growing the Fiber One franchise.

Old El Paso continues to see success around the world as the global leader in Mexican food. Plans are focused on expanding product innovation, such as Stand 'N' Stuff Mini soft taco boats and new product innovation like Stand 'N' Stuff Mini kits in Europe and Blue Corn Stand 'N' Stuff shells in the U.S.

The fourth area where the company is investing for differential growth is its Natural & Organic business in North America, which has been growing aggressively since General Mills first acquired the Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen brands in 2000. With nine brands today, including Annie's and EPIC, LARABAR and Liberte, the company expects this portfolio to generate $1.5 billion dollars in net sales by 2020.

Foundation businesses

Foundation businesses, which include refrigerated dough, soup, and baking mixes amongst others, deliver consistent profit to fund topline growth initiatives. General Mills will make strategic investments on key brands including a new line of Progresso organic soups and new Pillsbury pizza dough that takes the dough 'out of the can' in a new rolled format.

The company also sees opportunity for further margin expansion, driven by continued Holistic Margin Management, continued benefits from incremental cost-savings initiatives as well as benefits from global sourcing and process transformation initiatives. The company's efforts helped drive more than 200 basis points of expansion in adjusted operating profit margin over the last two years. General Mills will moderate the pace of expansion in fiscal 2018 as it invests to restore topline growth.

The replay of today's General Mills presentation is available on investors.generalmills.com.

About General Mills

General Mills is a leading global food company that serves the world by making food people love. Its brands include Cheerios, Annie's, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2017 consolidated net sales of US $15.6 billion, as well as another US $1.0 billion from its proportionate share of joint-venture net sales.

SOURCE General Mills

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ATLANTA, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With the addition of six new faculty members, Georgia School of Orthodontics (GSO) advances its commitment to offer an advanced specialty education program in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics while providing quality orthodontic care to patients. The school operates two clinics located in metro-Atlanta.

"Our faculty consists of a talented group of doctors who have experience in the areas of full-time academics as well as full-time private practice in the orthodontic profession," said Dr. Ricky Harrell, Program Director of GSO. "They include the best in the field of orthodontics and are dedicated to providing residents with exceptional didactic and clinical training."

The faculty includes Diplomates of the American Board of Orthodontists, academicians with years of experience, and a world-renowned researcher with over 15 specialty degrees and designations.

New faculty members include:

Holland Maness, D.M.D. is a forensic odontologist, nationally recognized lecturer, and an immensely experienced professor and course director. She received her residency training in orthodontics from the Medical College of Georgia and her Fellowship training in Forensic Odontology from the University of Texas Health Science Center. Dr. Maness is dual certified by both the American Board of Orthodontics and the American Board of Forensic Odontology, making her one of approximately 90 board-certified forensic dentists in the country. Prior to joining GSO, Dr. Maness served as a part-time Orthodontic Instructor at Georgia Regents University and as the full-time Graduate Clinic Director of the Department of Orthodontics at the University of Tennessee, College of Dentistry.

Deborah Borden D.M.D., M.S. brings more than 30 years of expertise to her Associate Professor role at GSO. Dr. Borden is a graduate of the University of Louisville, where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology, Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD), and her Master of Science in Oral Biology. Dr. Borden is dual trained and holds a Certificate in both Orthodontics from the University of Louisville and Pediatric Dentistry from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Gabriele Herrera D.D.S., M.S. has an extensive international background in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics. She began her dental education in Venezuela, where she graduated Universidad Santa Maria (USM) in 2004, completed her fellowship in endodontics through USM in 2005, and became a specialist in dentofacial functional orthopedics through the Venezuelan Society of Functional Orthopedics in 2006. In 2008, Dr. Herrera continued her education in the United States, where she attended New York University to become a specialist in orthodontics. She completed cleft lip and palate advanced training at New York University Medical Center in 2008 and obtained her masters in orthodontics with a three year post-graduate program. Dr. Herrera also served as a faculty member at USM from 2011-2015 for their pre-doctoral pediatric/orthodontic dentistry program.

Michael Hebert, D.D.S., M.S. is a Louisiana native and received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Loyola University New Orleans. After graduation, he served for two years in the United States Air Force as a Captain in the Dental Corps, treating Vietnam-era troops at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado. Upon finishing active duty, he resumed his education at St. Louis University School of Orthodontics, graduating with a Master's Degree in Orthodontics. Dr. Hebert has more than 40 years of experience in the private practice of orthodontics in Colorado and Louisiana.

Damon Wilkerson, D.D.S. most recently served as the Director of Orthodontics at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System Advanced Education in General Dentistry. Dr. Wilkerson's educational and teaching experience includes the positions of Associate Professor, Assistant Clinical Professor, and Assistant Director of Graduate Clinical Care at the University of Colorado School of Dentistry. He has also served as Assistant Clinical Professor at Baylor College of Dentistry, Department of Restorative Sciences. He is a graduate of the University of Texas San Antonio School of Dentistry. In addition to a Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree and Certificate in Orthodontics, Dr. Wilkerson holds an Associate's Degree in Dental Laboratory Technology. After completing a one-year Pediatric Dental Hospital G.P.R. at Oklahoma Memorial Children's Hospital, he returned to the University of Texas at Houston and completed his residency in orthodontics and then attended the University of Michigan to pursue advanced training in Human Growth and Development.

Jose Garcia D.D.S. joins Georgia School of Orthodontics with 41 years of clinical experience. He received his orthodontic certificate from the University of Illinois School Of Dentistry and entered private practice in his hometown of Mexicali, Baja California. Dr. Garcia taught in the undergraduate program at the University of Baja California Dental School for six years while working part-time in his son's private orthodontic practice in Temecula, CA. He is a member of the American Association of Orthodontists and the Mexican Association of Orthodontists.

Georgia School of Orthodontics established its presence in Georgia with a state-of-the-art academic campus and patient care center in Fulton County. The inaugural class of 18 residents and two fellows will begin their second year of graduate orthodontic study in late summer, and the new class of residents and fellows will begin this fall. Earlier this year, GSO hosted a ground breaking ceremony for its second technologically advanced campus and clinic located in Gwinnett County, which will open in September.

Georgia School of Orthodontics faculty includes over 20 doctors who have experience in the areas of full-time academics as well as full-time private practice in the orthodontic profession. They include the best in the field of orthodontics and are dedicated to providing residents with exceptional didactic and clinical training. The resident doctors exhibit diverse backgrounds and strong academic credentials. They come from all over the country and include pediatric and general dentists who have private practice experience.

"Combined, the inaugural class and the incoming second class represent over 35 outstanding dentists that will be proficient in the clinical specialty of orthodontics to serve our communities and provide affordable care to the underserved population," said Dr. Harrell.

About Georgia School of Orthodontics

Georgia School of Orthodontics (GSO), based in Atlanta, Ga., offers an advanced specialty education program in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics. The 36-month residency program is structured to provide collaborative and evidence-based learning for residents while providing quality orthodontic care to patients in the school's two patient clinics located in metro-Atlanta. GSO's mission is to educate outstanding dentists to be proficient in the clinical specialty of orthodontics while providing Georgians with the highest level of patient care available. GSO faculty and staff are dedicated to diversity in both education and practice. For more information about GSO, visit GSOrthodontics.org. To schedule a complimentary consultation, visit bracestoday.com or call 770. 351.7737.

SOURCE Georgia School of Orthodontics

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MILL VALLEY, Calif., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Perhaps it's time to rethink age-old hiring questions like, "How much do you/did you make?" According to a new survey from Glassdoor, one of the world's largest and fastest growing job sites, more than half of U.S. workers1 (who are employed or unemployed but looking) (53 percent) believe employers should not ask candidates about their current or past salary history when negotiating a job offer. This survey, conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Glassdoor among more than 1,300 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, comes at a time when new laws are being adopted to address this inherent gender bias in long-standing hiring practices. Several states and cities are currently considering laws that would ban employers from asking about salary history, following similar laws recently passed in New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Massachusetts, Delaware and Oregon, among others.

Significantly more working women (60 percent) than working men (48 percent) believe salary history questions should not be asked. On average, women in the U.S. earn about $0.76 for every $1.00 men earn on an unadjusted basis2, according to Glassdoor Economic Research. This documented pay gap, compounded by the fact that more than two-thirds (68 percent) of women do not negotiate pay compared to half (52 percent) of men, can quickly put women at pay disadvantages, especially when prior salary history is used to determine starting pay in job offers.

"The time of looking backward to go forward to determine pay is over. Asking prior salary history questions can trigger unintended consequences and introduce bias into the hiring process that disadvantages women from day one," said Dawn Lyon, Glassdoor chief equal pay advocate and senior vice president of global corporate affairs. "We need to reframe the conversation to pay expectations around the value of the job and the skills and relevant experience required to do it. Many companies are already doing this without legislation or regulation because it's the right thing to do. And, candidates can help change the conversation by offering answers that address their pay expectations based on the role and their current market value, while also taking into account how the company structures its overall pay and benefits package."

While most Americans do not think employers should ask about current or past pay, most do want more pay information up front from employers. Nearly all U.S. workers (98 percent) say it would be helpful to see pay ranges included in open job listings, and 95 percent say it is important to be thoughtful and informed about a company's pay philosophy (e.g., how pay and pay increases are determined) prior to accepting a job offer3. This is valuable for employers to consider given that nearly three in four U.S. workers (72 percent) report that a salary and compensation package is among their top considerations when determining whether to accept a job offer3.

"Pay is a key area where implicit bias can creep into people processes," said Lori Nishiura Mackenzie, executive director of the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University. "Women are often implicitly assumed to be less qualified and thus, have to work harder to demonstrate their worth, especially in roles that are male-dominated. The same negotiation tactics can have different returns for different employees depending on their race, gender, and other dimensions. Due to stereotypes and bias, past salary is not an accurate measure of an employee's value and putting all the onus on the candidate to negotiate their salary is not the answer either. It is critical to base offers on what the job is worth, starting with clear criteria and qualifications for the role when making decisions about a total compensation package."

For job seekers, Glassdoor offers several resources to help them better understand fair pay and determine their current market value, along with tips and advice on how to shape conversations about pay during the interview process. Resources include:

For employers, Glassdoor also offers resources to help them navigate conversations around pay and pay philosophy including a total rewards package, in addition to advice on how to respond to new laws prohibiting employers from asking about salary history. Resources include:

More Data + Interviews

For more data, including breakdowns of survey results by age, gender and location, and/or to speak with a Glassdoor spokesperson, please contact: [email protected].

1 U.S. workers refers to adults who are either employed or unemployed but looking for a job

2 Unadjusted basis refers to the unadjusted wage gap found between men and women after controlling for differences in education, work experience, location, industry, job title and company

Methodology

3 The 2017 survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Glassdoor from March 30 - April 3, 2017 among 1,329 U.S. workers (who are employed or unemployed but looking) ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact [email protected].

About Glassdoor

Glassdoor is one of the largest and fastest growing job sites in the world today. Set apart by the tens of millions of reviews and insights provided by employees and candidates, Glassdoor combines all the jobs with this valuable data to make it easy for people to find a job that is uniquely right for them. As a result, Glassdoor helps employers hire truly informed candidates at scale through effective recruiting solutions like job advertising and employer branding products. Launched in 2008, Glassdoor now has reviews and insights for approximately 700,000 companies in more than 190 countries. For labor market trends and analysis, visit Glassdoor Economic Research. For company news and career advice and tips, visit the Glassdoor Blog and for employer-related news and insights to help employers hire, visit the Glassdoor for Employers Blog. Visit Glassdoor.com or download our apps on iOS and Android platforms.

"Glassdoor" and logo are proprietary trademarks of Glassdoor, Inc.

SOURCE Glassdoor

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DETROIT, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Stratview Research announces the launch of a new research report on Global Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) Market in Aircraft Engines by Aircraft Type (Commercial Aircraft, Business Jet, Military Aircraft, and Helicopter), by Engine Type (Jet Engine and Helicopter Engine), by Component Type (Static Components and Rotational Components), by Application Type (Combustor Liner, Shrouds, Blades, Nozzles, and Others), by Engine Zone Type (High Pressure, Low Pressure, and Combustor), by Material Type (SiC/SiC, Ox/Ox, and Others), by Manufacturing Process (Chemical Vapor Infiltration, Melt Infiltration, Sintering, and Others), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2017-2022.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160831/402975LOGO )



This 199-page strategic report, from Stratview Research, studies the CMC market in the global aircraft engines industry over the period 2016 to 2022. The report provides detailed insights on the market dynamics to enable informed business decision making and growth strategy formulation based on the opportunities present in the market.

Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in the Global Aircraft Engines Industry: Highlights

The global CMCs market in aircraft engines is characterized by a wide array of factors which are directly or indirectly stimulating the growth of the market. The biggest factor is the sheer interest of major engine manufacturers for the commercial development of CMCs in the hottest zone of engines by replacing nickel-based super-alloys. Among all the engine makers, GE Aviation developed the first CMC application in commercial aircraft engine LEAP.

As per Stratview Research, the global ceramic matrix composites market in aircraft engines offers an exceptional growth opportunity during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022 and reach an estimated $393.2 million in 2022. The author of the report stated that development of CMC applications in the best-selling aircraft or their variants owing to their intrinsic advantages, such as temperatures resistance up to 260C higher than Nickel alloys at just one-third weight, increasing aircraft deliveries and demand for fuel-efficient aircraft, upcoming engines, such as GE9x and Passport 20, with CMC components, Expected increase in the production of LEAP engines to meet the surging demand coming from A320neo, B737 Max, and C919 are some of the key drivers of the CMC market in aircraft engines.

The research's findings suggest that military aircraft dominates the global CMCs market in aircraft engines, followed by commercial aircraft, helicopter and business jets. Commercial aircraft is projected to surpass military aircraft in 2017 to become the largest market for CMCs in aircraft engines and is expected to remain the largest type during the forecast period.

In terms of component type, static component is projected to remain the largest segment of CMCs market in aircraft engines during the forecast period. Most of the commercial CMC developments, such as shrouds for the LEAP engine; exhaust nozzle for the F135; and combustor liners, shrouds, and nozzles for GE9x engine are static components.

Based on the application type, shrouds are projected to surpass nozzle and become the largest application of CMCs in aircraft engines, driven by their usage in the LEAP engines. LEAP engine is certified for the B737 Max, A320neo, and C919 aircraft. Furthermore, development of CMC-based shrouds in upcoming aircraft engines, such as GE9x, would further accelerate the demand over the next five years. All major applications (combustor liner, shrouds, blades, and nozzles) are projected to witness healthy growth rates during the forecast period.

In terms of engine type, jet engine is projected to remain the largest segment of CMCs market during the forecast period, driven by the introduction of CMC-made components in the existing as well as upcoming jet engines, such as LEAP, Passport 20, and GE9x. The major existing and upcoming aircraft, such as F-35, F-16, Rafale, A320neo, B737 Max, C919, and B777x, fly with jet engines.

Based on process type, melt infiltration process is likely to surpass CVI process in 2017 to become the most dominant process for the manufacturing of CMCs for aircraft engines, driven by preference of jet engines for the commercial and military aircraft.

As per the study, North America is projected to remain the largest CMC market in aircraft engines during the forecast period. The region has been investigating the potential of CMCs in aircraft engines since the last two decades. The key CMC players worked along with government institutions to be sure of the commercial viability of CMCs in aircraft engines. The region also owns presence of all the major CMC part manufacturers, such as GE Aviation. These players are also rolling out their dedicated CMC plants in North America to address the surging demand for CMCs in aircraft engines.

The global CMCs market in aircraft engine is highly consolidated with the presence of less than a dozen players. The top five players are GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney, Composite Horizons, Safran Herakles, and COI Ceramics, Inc. They are expected to remain the dominant players during the forecast period as well. Development of new applications, long-term contracts, and collaboration with OEMs are the key strategies adopted by companies to gain a competitive advantage over others in the market.

Click Here and Ask for Free Sample on the 199-Page Report on Global CMC Market in Aircraft Engines

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights on the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis.

Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis.

Market trend and forecast analysis.

Market segment trend and forecast.

Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.

Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities.

Emerging trends.

Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players.

Key success factors.

This report studies the CMC market in the global aircraft engines industry and has segmented the market in eight ways, keeping in mind the interest of all the stakeholders across the value chain. The following are the eight ways in which the market is segmented:

Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Aircraft Type:

Commercial Aircraft

Business Jet

Military Aircraft

Helicopter

Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Engine Type:

Jet Engine

Helicopter Engine

Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Component Type:

Static Components

Rotational Components

Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Application Type:

Combustor Liner

Shrouds

Blades

Nozzles

Others

Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Engine Zone:

High-Pressure Zone

Low-Pressure Zone

Combustor

Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Material Type:

SiC/SiC

Ox/Ox

Others

Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Manufacturing Process Type:

Chemical Vapor Infiltration (CVI)

Sintering

Melt Infiltration (MI)

Others

Global Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Region:

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

Rest of the world

Stratview Research has number of high value market reports in the global aerospace & defense industry. Please refer to the following link to browse through our reports:

Click Here for Other Reports from Stratview Research in the Aerospace & Defense Industry

Some of our other premium market reports in the aerospace & defense industry:

Global Aerospace Floor Panel Market by Aircraft Type (Narrow-Body Aircraft, Wide-Body Aircraft, Very Large Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, and General Aviation), by Core Material Type (Nomex Honeycomb, Aluminum Honeycomb, and Others), by End-User Type (OEM and Aftermarket), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2017 - 2022

Global Aerospace & Defense Composite Ducting Market by Aircraft Type (Commercial Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, General Aviation, Helicopter, Military Aircraft, and Others), by Pressure Type (Low Pressure and High Pressure), By Reinforcement Type (Glass Composites, Carbon Composites, and Other Composites), by Matrix Type (Epoxy Composites, Phenolic Composites, Thermoplastic Composites, and Other Composites), by Application Type (ECS, APU, Avionics Ventilation, and Others), by Manufacturing Process (Mandrel Layup, Rotation Molding, and Others), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2017-2022

About Stratview Research

Stratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas.

We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies.

Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making.

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SOURCE Stratview Research
NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fixed broadband is a key infrastructure for future progress

It has become very clear that innovation related to ICT and digital technologies is one of the key components for future economic and social strength. Countries with a sophisticated fixed and mobile telecoms infrastructure are well placed to take advantage of these future technological and societal developments.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03948160/Global-Fixed-Broadband-Market-Trends-Statistics-and-Progress.html

Countries without the necessary infrastructure however are expected to lag behind, especially once innovations around the Internet of Everything, M2M and Big Data gather pace. We are already seeing the beginnings of sophisticated Smart Cities emerge in some parts of the world.



Asia makes a strong claim to be leading the world when it comes to the general development of broadband internet. While mobile broadband is already a large and fast growing segment of the region's internet market, fixed broadband continues to underpin the delivery of internet services to households and businesses. Fibre-based fixed broadband services have taken on a major significance and are shaping up to define the broadband market of the future.



This BuddeComm report aims to capture the progress of the current fixed broadband market around the world, supported by statistics, case studies and analysis. In addition, the report includes unique regional case studies written by BuddeComm's senior analysts, and includes: Europe, USA, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.

Key developments:



South Korea and Japan are the leading two countries in Asia in regards to internet penetration with levels reaching over 90% in 2017.

The legacy and impact of Google Fiber has been profound.



International bandwidth continues to be primarily connected via US and Canada  however North America's long held dominant position in this regard is declining and Europe's role is increasing.



Many countries from the Middle Eastern region are aware that fixed broadband infrastructure is important for economic growth and keeping pace with technological advancements. While mobile broadband is often the leading access technology in many markets  there are still enormous investments in fixed broadband infrastructure taking place.



The European Commission (EC) has for some years promoted a vision to provide broadband as a universal service.



The Irish government is poised to award a contract as part of its National Broadband Plan by which all premises will receive a service of at least 30Mb/s by 2022.



With IP networks forming the foundation of the burgeoning market for bundled services, broadband has become one of the fastest growing sectors of the overall telecoms market in the USA.



On the whole, the size of the overall Latin American market, and its potential for prolonged growth, continues to attract investment from international telcos.



The results of these investments can be seen in upgraded networks, particularly in relation to LTE and FttP infrastructure.

Many African nations have advanced National Broadband Plans in progress. To a great extent this infrastructure has been made possible by the increased bandwidth enabled by new and upgraded subsea cables.



New Zealand - Progress in FTTH deployment continues unabated. It is rapidly becoming one of the leading FTTH countries.



Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03948160/Global-Fixed-Broadband-Market-Trends-Statistics-and-Progress.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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CHICAGO, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Goby, a data and analytics platform for real estate portfolio optimization, announces first profitable month. Goby has become profitable on an operational basis within 18 months of its series A funding from GreenSoil Building Innovation Fund.

In Q1 2017, Goby increased its entire customer base by 10%, expanding to nearly 1 billion square feet in paid subscribers. Through this growth, Goby has maintained 99% revenue retention. Goby's SaaS revenue alone grew 120% last year, surpassing the budgeted projections by 17%.

"The Series A investment has created an opportunity for growth, powering accelerated product innovation, enhancement of team capabilities, and expansion of our global outreach," says Ryan Nelson, COO.

"Goby's consistent progress towards profitability was achieved by following a diligent, methodical approach to value creation and responsible business practices. Our adherence to this mission has fueled laser sharp focus on our SaaS roadmap and core solutions. We have reached this important milestone as a direct result of this focus, and expect our profitability and cash flow generation to continually increase as our thriving customer base and international footprint expands."

About Goby

Goby is the leading energy management, sustainability reporting, and invoice automation platform for the corporate and commercial real estate industries. Goby helps investors and owners save time, mitigate risks, and increase NOI with powerful analytics. Founded in 2008, Goby has 50 employees and hundreds of clients who manage nearly 1 billion square feet from the cloud. Goby had been recognized by the U.S. EPA with an ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award and is the first GRESB Premier Partner as well as an Associate Member. Additionally, Goby is a LEED Proven Provider and a SASB Advisory Partner. In 2015, Goby raised $5M in series A funding, backed by Toronto-based GreenSoil Building Innovation Fund (GBIF), with participation from existing investor, Second Century Ventures, the venture arm of the National Association of Realtors. Learn more at http://www.gobyinc.com/.

Goby Media Relations

Danna Hileli

312.698.4387x120

[email protected]

SOURCE Goby

Related Links

http://www.gobyinc.com/


TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The government of Honduras has successfully completed its second periodic report to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In his testimony, Rolando Argueta Perez, President of the Supreme Court of Justice of Honduras, shared the concrete steps that the Central American nation has taken to protect human rights within its borders.

Republic of Honduras

"We are pleased that the U.N. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner has recognized our tireless efforts to address corruption and impunity in Honduras," said Ricardo Cardona, minister of the presidency of Honduras. "This official testimony provides a strong rebuke to the misinformation that several non-governmental organizations have disseminated about the state of human rights in our nation."

Chief Justice Argueta delivered his report before a panel of 18 human rights experts in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 5. He detailed Honduras's progress regarding human rights, security, the fight against organize crime and corruption, and the treatment of vulnerable sectors of society.

The government currently has eight suspects in custody, including two criminal organizers, for the 2016 murder of well-known Honduran environmental activist Berta Caceres, and has issued an executive order to provide her family with official protection from special security forces.

In addition, President Juan Orlando Hernandez decided to elevate the current office of the undersecretary for Human Rights to a national cabinet department. He also has enacted the Law on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, Media Professionals and Judicial Officers, which provides government protection to activists and journalists who request it.

Honduras has also made strides tackling crime and corruption. The nation's homicide rate plummeted 30 percent between 2011 and 2015, and a national purge of the police force has been underway since April 2016.

Honduras is committed to issuing accurate and transparent information on its human rights progress, its fight against organized crime, and on the Berta Caceres case.

"We recognize that we have work to do, but we are steadfastly committed to improving the respect for and protection of human rights in Honduras," said Cardona. "The U.N. has recognized the progress that we have made. It's time for the rest of the international community to take notice."

Media Contact:

Yael Wollstein

[email protected]

202-471-4228 ext. 118

SOURCE Republic of Honduras
THE WOODLANDS, Texas, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) will hold a conference call to discuss its second quarter 2017 financial results on Thursday, July 27, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Second quarter 2017 results will be released to the public at approximately 6:00 a.m. ET that day via PR Newswire.

Call-in numbers for the conference call: U.S. participants (888) 713 - 4211 International participants (617) 213 - 4864 Passcode 244 268 82#

In order to facilitate the registration process, you may use the following link to pre-register for the conference call. Callers who pre-register will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator. You may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time. To pre-register, please go to: https://www.theconferencingservice.com/prereg/key.process?key=PEW6BPNM6 .

Webcast Information

The conference call will be available via webcast and can be accessed from the company's website at ir.huntsman.com.

Replay Information

The conference call will be available for replay beginning July 27, 2017 and ending August 3, 2017.

Call-in numbers for the replay: U.S. participants (888) 286 - 8010 International participants (617) 801 - 6888 Replay code 29385180

About Huntsman

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals with 2016 revenues of approximately $10 billion. Its chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets. The company has more than 100 manufacturing and R&D facilities in approximately 30 countries and employs approximately 15,000 associates within 5 distinct business divisions. For more information about Huntsman, please visit the company's website at www.Huntsman.com.

Social Media:

Twitter: twitter.com/Huntsman_Corp

Facebook: www.facebook.com/huntsmancorp

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/huntsman

Forward Looking Statements:

Statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current beliefs and expectations. The forward-looking statements in this release are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances and involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the company's operations, markets, products, services, prices and other factors as discussed in the Huntsman companies' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Significant risks and uncertainties may relate to, but are not limited to, volatile global economic conditions, cyclical and volatile product markets, disruptions in production at manufacturing facilities, reorganization or restructuring of Huntsman's operations, any delay of, or other negative developments affecting, the IPO of Venator Materials PLC, the ability to implement cost reductions and manufacturing optimization improvements in Huntsman businesses, to consummate or achieve the expected benefits of the proposed transaction with Clariant and to realize anticipated cost savings, and other financial, economic, competitive, environmental, political, legal, regulatory and technological factors. The company assumes no obligation to provide revisions to any forward-looking statements should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by applicable laws.

SOURCE Huntsman Corporation

Related Links

http://www.huntsman.com


Prior to the ceremonial cutting, the Ice Mobility team celebrated the event by hosting its 3rd Annual Summer Cookout inviting all employees, BGLCC members and new business neighbors. Choosing to relocate to Lincolnshire was an easy decision for Ice Mobility. "To meet the demand for our services growth, Ice sought a location that was expansive enough to not only accommodate today's customers success, but also exceed the expectations of new partners," said Sherry White, Chief Operating Officer at Ice. "Although there were several properties that met our requirements, the professionalism and focus on business development exhibited by the Village of Lincolnshire as well as the ease of working with Cushman & Wakefield who secured the full-building headquarters lease on behalf of property owner, Industrial Property Trust, Inc., were differentiators in our site selection process."
NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The stars of Broad City, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, debut on the cover of NYLON's August issue to discuss their upcoming season premiering Wednesday, September 13 on Comedy Central. In the issue, which hits newsstands August 18, 2017, the duo detail some of the surprises in store for season four.

See select highlights from the interview below, and read the full story, now live on NYLON.com.

Ilana Glazer says they are "on a f***ing roll" while editing the show together:

"Over time, we've just gotten more on our game and need to say less. In the beginning we were learning on the job, so we had to spend more time verbalizing what we wanted."

Ilana Glazer's thoughts on Trump impacting their script:

"This season is infused with what they're feelingand what we're feelingwhich is something along the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance."

Ilana Glazer's thoughts on people who criticize those who talk about politics on social media:

"I don't care. Yass. Unfollow. Kill it."

Their thoughts on Broad City's success:

"I love this product we've made and I'm so happy to put it out in the world," says Abbi Jacobson. Ilana Glazer feels the same: "Who knows how much we'll give a shit later about the other things we do. Down the line, maybe we'll just be making garbage for as much money as possible. But the fact that we have this level of precise passion right now, this time of giving this much of a shit, is very much its own high."

Press contact: [email protected]

NYLON's August 2017 issue is on sale Tuesday, July 18, 2017

SOURCE NYLON Media Inc.

Related Links

https://nylon.com


WASHINGTON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 25th annual food drive by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), held on Saturday, May 13, collected 75 million pounds, the third-highest total in the event's history.

Combined with last year's record of 80.1 million pounds, that makes a two-year total of 155 million pounds  the highest back-to-back total in the drive's history.

"It's an honor to be able to help people in need by leading an effort that brings out the best in so many Americans," NALC President Fredric Rolando said.

Hunger affects about 50 million people around the country, including millions of children, senior citizens and veterans.

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is the country's largest single-day food drive. It is held annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.

Customers leave their donation of non-perishable goods in paper bags next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail that day. The nation's 175,000 letter carriers collect the food donations left and distribute them to local food agencies.

The timing is important, with food banks, pantries and shelters running low on donations from the winter-holidays and with summer looming, when most school meal programs are suspended.

Several national partners assisted the NALC in this year's food drive: the U.S. Postal Service, United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, National Rural Letter Carriers' Association, United Way Worldwide, AARP Foundation, AFL-CIO, Valpak and Valassis.

In the quarter-century since it began, the annual food drive has collected almost 1.6 billion pounds of food.

********

The 280,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers represents letter carriers across the country employed by the U.S. Postal Service, along with retired letter carriers. Founded by Civil War veterans in 1889, the NALC is among the country's oldest labor unions.

SOURCE National Association of Letter Carriers

Related Links

http://www.nalc.org


BOSTON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Indigo Ag, Inc., a company dedicated to harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet, announces today the appointment of Dr. Mehmood Khan, Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer of PepsiCo, to its Board of Directors. Alongside other members, Dr. Khan will help support the company's mission with his years of experience leading innovative and sustainable agriculture and nutrition initiatives.

"It's an honor to be a part of Indigo and its impressive team as they redefine what it means to be an agriculture company today," said Dr. Khan. "Not only is this startup defined by its cutting-edge research and technology, but also by its proven commitment to growers, consumers, and the environment."

As Chief Scientific Officer of Global Research and Development at PepsiCo, Dr. Khan oversees PepsiCo's global Performance with Purpose sustainability initiatives, inspired by the fundamental belief that business success is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world we share. In his role leading PepsiCo's research and development efforts, Dr. Khan develops novel technologies in food and beverage products, nutrition, manufacturing, packaging, and distribution. Dr. Khan is also Chair of PepsiCo's Sustainability Council, where he oversees the company's three core priorities: helping to improve health and well-being through the products they sell, protecting the planet, and empowering people around the world.

Before his role at PepsiCo, Dr. Khan led Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company's worldwide research and development efforts as President of Takeda Global Research & Development Center. Dr. Khan also has extensive medical experience in diabetes, endocrinology, metabolism, and nutrition, having served as a faculty member at the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Medical School, as well as the Director of the Diabetes, Endocrine, and Nutritional Trials Unit in Mayo's endocrinology division.

Dr. Khan joins industry leaders Robert Berendes, David Perry, John Gehring, Peter Innes, and Ignacio Martinez on Indigo's Board of Directors.

"Dr. Khan is celebrated for pushing the boundaries of innovation while championing sustainability. We are honored to have him join Indigo's Board of Directors," said Robert Berendes, Indigo's Chairman. "We are confident that Dr. Khan's unique experience and knowledge will further advance our commitment to helping farmers sustainably feed the planet."

About Indigo

Indigo Ag, Inc. is a company dedicated to harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet. The company utilizes beneficial microbes residing within plant tissues to improve crop health and productivity. Indigo's 2017 portfolio is focused on water use efficiency and yield in cotton, wheat, rice, corn, and soybeans. The company is headquartered in Boston, MA, with commercial and customer service based in Memphis, TN. (www.indigoag.com)

Media Contacts





Indigo Kwittken for Indigo Lauren Ashbrook [email protected] [email protected] + 1 (646) 747-9390 + 1 (617) 909-939



SOURCE Indigo

Related Links

http://www.indigoag.com


NEW YORK, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Synopsis

The report provides a detailed look into the infrastructure sector in Vietnam, including analysis of the state of the current infrastructure, the regulatory and financing landscapes, and the major projects in the construction pipeline.



Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04956461/Infrastructure-Insight-Vietnam.html



The report covers all key infrastructure sectors: roads, railways, electricity and power, water and sewerage, communication, and airports and ports.



Summary

Vietnam's infrastructure construction industry will continue to expand at a strong pace over the forecast period (20172021) reflecting higher investments in infrastructure projects, especially in critical projects in the transport, energy, telecommunication and water sectors.



According to Timetric's Infrastructure Intelligence Center (IIC), the infrastructure construction market's value increased from US$188.4 billion in 2011 to US$326.1 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach US$572.2 billion by 2021, in nominal value terms.



This is based on the assumption that a number of large-scale projects will proceed as planned, including the NorthSouth Express Railway, Long Thanh International Airport and the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Metro Rail System.

Scope

A concise analysis of the administrative, economic and political context for infrastructure in Vietnam.



An in-depth assessment of the current state of infrastructure in Vietnam, including roads, railways, electricity and power, water and sewerage, communications, airports and ports.



A focus on main political and financial institutions involved in the infrastructure market, as well as the competitive and regulatory environment.

For each infrastructure sector, an explanation of the key drivers of growth in new investment and an analysis of the project pipeline, with a detailed look at the prospects for major projects and the companies that have secured contracts.

Reasons To Buy



- Assess the current state of Vietnam infrastructure, and the main drivers of investment, including the key institutions and financing methods.



- Investigate forecasts and gain an understanding of key trends in each of the main infrastructure sectors.



- Analyze the main project participants operating in each sector, to better understand the competitive environment.



- Identify top projects by sector, development stage and start date, to inform your expansion strategy.



Key Highlights

Timetric is currently tracking 208 strategic infrastructure construction projects in Vietnam, at all stages of development from announcement to execution. These projects have a total investment value of US$300.1 billion.



Electricity and power projects account for the largest share of infrastructure projects in the pipeline, with a total project value of US$135.6 billion; this is followed by railway projects with a pipeline value of US$89.1 billion. The pipeline value for airports and other infrastructure construction projects amounts to US$35.5 billion, and for road infrastructure projects it stands at US$35.4 billion. For water and sewerage projects, the total pipeline value stands at US$6.4 billion.



While significant investments in infrastructure have made progress in the last few decades, more productive infrastructure is required. In the 20162017 World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report, Vietnam ranked 85 out of 138 countries surveyed for the overall quality of its infrastructure, ahead of the Philippines (112) but behind Thailand (72) and Indonesia (80).



In April 2016, the prime minister approved the Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP) for 20162020. The SEDP lays out strategies under which the government expects to achieve an average GDP growth of 6.57% per year, and lift GDP per capita to US$3,2003,500 by 2020. Key strategies focus on private sector development, urban infrastructure integration, industrial restructuring, service sector development and developing the agricultural sector.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04956461/Infrastructure-Insight-Vietnam.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com



__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

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SAN JOSE, Calif., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Intacct, the innovation and customer satisfaction leader in cloud ERP software, today announced it has been named for the second year in a row to the Forbes Cloud 100 list. Notably, Intacct placed in the Top 50 as well. This is considered the definitive list of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world, published by Forbes in collaboration with Bessemer Venture Partners.

Intacct and the other top companies on the 2017 Forbes Cloud 100 will be celebrated in San Francisco at The Cloud 100 Celebration, an exclusive event hosted by Bessemer Venture Partners, Forbes and Salesforce Ventures.

"This recognition from Forbes, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Salesforce Venture is further validation of Intacct being at the forefront of innovation in the cloud ERP market," said Rob Reid, CEO of Intacct. "Intacct is committed to innovation in the cloud ERP space, advancing our leadership in the software industry, and continuing to provide our customers with the best software on the market."

As part of the rigorous selection process for the 2017 Forbes Cloud 100, Forbes' data partner, Bessemer Venture Partners, received hundreds of submissions from cloud vendors of all sizes. With that data, the Forbes Cloud 100 judging panel, made up of a majority of public cloud company CEOs, was then responsible for selecting and ranking the top 100 companies from all over the world. The evaluation process involved four factors: estimated valuation (30%), operating metrics (20%), people & culture (15%), and market leadership (35%) -- which the panel then weighed to select, score, and rank the winners.

"Our inaugural Cloud 100 list in 2016 showed the tech and venture capital community just how many standout private cloud companies there are to watch, and this year's list is no exception," said Forbes editor of the Cloud 100 list Alex Konrad. "Forbes has a keen eye for businesses, and combining that with Bessemer Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures' deep knowledge of the cloud industry, any company's inclusion on the 2017 Forbes Cloud 100 list is cause to celebrate."

"These companies are leading the cloud technology revolution!" said Byron Deeter, a top cloud investor and partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. "The founders and teams behind the 2017 Forbes Cloud 100 companies are of another caliber and we are beyond excited to celebrate the hard work and enormous value these companies are creating as they propel the trillion-dollar software industry forward."

"The business opportunity for cloud computing is tremendous as the spend on cloud computing and the rate of adoption continues to grow and advance the ecosystem," said John Somorjai, EVP Salesforce Ventures and Corporate Development. "We're thrilled to highlight the potential of these top-tier private companies in the field and see where they take their businesses and the economies around the world."

The 2017 Forbes Cloud 100 and 20 Rising Stars lists are published online at www.forbes.com/cloud100 and will appear in the July 27, 2017 issue of Forbes magazine.

About Intacct

Intacct is the innovation and customer satisfaction leader in cloud ERP software. Bringing cloud computing to finance and accounting, Intacct's innovative and award-winning applications are the preferred financial applications for AICPA business solutions. In use by organizations from startups to public companies, Intacct is designed to improve company performance and make finance more productive. Hundreds of leading CPA firms and Value Added Resellers also offer Intacct to their clients. The Intacct system includes accounting, cash management, purchasing, vendor management, financial consolidation, subscription billing, contract management, revenue recognition, project accounting, fund accounting, inventory management, and financial reporting applications, all delivered over the Internet via cloud computing.

Intacct is headquartered in San Jose, California. For more information, please visit www.intacct.com or call 877-437-7765. Connect with Intacct on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Intacct and the Intacct logo are trademarks of Intacct Corporation. All other company and product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Intacct

Related Links

http://www.intacct.com


"Investing in America and putting America first is the foundation of this Administration, and by signing this agreement, MBDA is helping to expand equal access to resources and tools that foster a business climate where minority businesses can thrive," said MBDA Acting National Director Chris Garcia. "We are operating in an ever-changing complex global economy and we're proud to work with The Latino Coalition to support their efforts and to create programs, strategies and partnerships that truly support minority entrepreneurs and help them effectively compete in the marketplace."

The Latino Coalition is a national non-partisan advocacy organization representing Hispanic businesses and consumers, in conjunction with the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (CHCC).

"The Latino Coalition is proud to partner with the Minority Business Development Agency," says Hector Barreto, Chairman of The Latino Coalition and former U.S. SBA Administrator. "Seeking to promote the growth of minority-owned business through various programs and access to capital, contracts, and markets, this partnership will serve entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to expand their endeavors. Together, we share a commitment to further engage the Latino community in an increasingly competitive market, and we look forward to building on this relationship for the long-term benefit of our community."

About the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

MBDA, www.mbda.gov, is the only Federal agency dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of U.S. minority-owned businesses. Our programs and services better equip minority-owned firms to create jobs, build scale and capacity, increase revenues and expand regionally, nationally and internationally. Services are provided through a network of MBDA Business Centers. Established in 1969, MBDA continues to be a dedicated strategic partner to all U.S. minority-owned businesses, committed to providing programs and services that provide greater access to capital, contracts and markets. Follow us on Twitter @usmbda.

Contact: Dijon Rolle

Phone: (202) 482-1375

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

Related Links

http://www.mbda.gov


SAO PAULO, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (B3: ITUB4 and ITUB3 andNYSE: ITUB) is pleased to invite you to participate in our conference calls about the 2017 - 2nd quarter result.

To join the event on the internet, please visit: www.itau.com.br/investor-relations. The audio webcast works with Internet Explorer 9 or above and the new versions of Chrome, Firefox and mobile devices (IOS 8, or superior, and Android 3.0, or superior).

In order to better serve our investors and shareholders, as of this quarter, we will request the identification of those who join our conference calls on the internet.

Time

English

09:00 AM (EDT)

10:00 AM (Brasilia Time)

(1-866) 262 - 4553 (toll free from USA)

(55-11) 2820 - 4001 or (55-11) 3193 - 1001 (in Brazil)

(1-412) 317 - 6029 (other countries)

Portuguese

10:30 AM (EDT)

11:30 AM (Brasilia Time)

(55-11) 2820 - 4001

(55-11) 3193 - 1001



Presentation

Candido Bracher

Executive President and CEO (Chief Executive Officer)

Caio Ibrahim David

Executive Vice President, CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and CRO (Chief Risk Officer)

Macelo Kopel

Investor Relations Officer



The conference calls will also be archived in audio format on the same website. To access an audio replay of the conference calls, which will be available until August 8, 2017, dial (55 11) 3193-1012 or (55 11) 2820-4012. Access codes: 2886528# (call in Portuguese) and 4283325# (call in English). On the morning of the conference call, the slide presentation will be available for viewing and downloading. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Doris Pompeu at GlobalRI, at (55 11) 5042-6700 or [email protected].

Access code: Itau Unibanco

www.itau.com.br/investor-relations

SOURCE Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.

Related Links

http://www.itau.com.br/investor-relations


CHICAGO, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE: JLL) will release its second quarter 2017 results Wednesday, August 2, 2017, at approximately 7:30 a.m. Eastern time, followed by a live webcast and teleconference call at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time.

The link to the webcast and audio replay can be accessed at the Investor Relations website, ir.jll.com.

The teleconference is available by dialing into one of the following phone numbers:

United States callers: +1 844 231 9804

callers: +1 844 231 9804 International callers: +1 402 858 7998

Passcode: 53929354

For further information, please contact JLL's Investor Relations department at: [email protected]am.jll.com

About JLL

JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. A Fortune 500 company, JLL helps real estate owners, occupiers and investors achieve their business ambitions. In 2016, JLL had revenue of $6.8 billion and fee revenue of $5.8 billion and, on behalf of clients, managed 4.4 billion square feet, or 409 million square meters, and completed sales acquisitions and finance transactions of approximately $136 billion. At the end of the first quarter of 2017, JLL had nearly 300 corporate offices, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 78,000. As of March 31, 2017, LaSalle Investment Management had $58.0 billion of real estate under asset management. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit www.jll.com.

Connect with us

https://www.linkedin.com/company/jll

https://www.facebook.com/jll/

https://twitter.com/jll

https://plus.google.com/+joneslanglasalle

SOURCE JLL

Related Links

http://www.joneslanglasalle.com


The partnership is a perfect extension of the company's year-round retail presence in Sturgis, featuring the J&P Cycles store on Lazelle Street. J&P's 2017 Rally experience adds a mobile customization shop featuring Kuryakyn, Dunlop, Vance & Hines, Mustang Seats, and dozens of other leading brands.

"J&P Cycles was built on being where riders love to go," said Zach Parham, President of MAG Retail Group and son of J&P Cycles founder John Parham. "Sturgis is always a pilgrimage for motorcycle riders, and we're proud to have a year-round presence in the Black Hills. Being named the "Official Motorcycle Aftermarket Retailer of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally" is a testament to our commitment to the city and the half million riders visiting the granddaddy of all motorcycle rallies."

"J&P Cycles is the first name in retail for motorcycle customizers," said Mark Carstensen, Mayor of Sturgis. "Here in Sturgis we see riders come from all over the world to visit the J&P Cycles flagship store. They are an anchor in our community and they've earned the right to be the Official Motorcycle Aftermarket Retailer of the Sturgis Rally."

The fun continues after the Rally, as well. The 2017 tour of the J&P Cycles' pop-up motorcycle customization shop will continue at Delmarva Bike Week, Salisbury, Md., Sept. 14-17; Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 18-22; and the Lone Star Rally in Galveston, Texas, Nov. 2-5. Tens of thousands of riders each year visit the mobile motorcycle shop to see, try and buy new bike accessories. More information about the tour is available at www.jpcycles.com/events.

About J&P Cycles: Founded by John and Jill Parham in 1979, J&P Cycles is the world's largest aftermarket motorcycle parts and accessories retailer. J&P Cycles operates retail locations in Anamosa, Iowa, Daytona Beach, Florida, and Sturgis, South Dakota. The company's Rider Service Center is located in Daytona Beach, Florida. J&P Cycles supports motorcyclists with retail pop-up stores at over a dozen motorcycle rallies, races and events throughout the U.S. each year.

SOURCE J&P Cycles

Related Links

http://www.jpcycles.com


BOCA RATON, Fla., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) is proud to welcome Julian Schink, MD, as Chief of Gynecologic Oncology. He will also serve as Medical Director of Gynecologic Oncology and Medical Oncology at CTCA at Midwestern Regional Medical Center, Zion, Ill. A nationally renowned, board certified gynecologic oncologist, Dr. Schink brings more than 30 years of oncology experience to the organization, specializing in surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and targeted therapy treatments for patients with gynecologic cancers.

Dr. Schink will oversee the national Gynecologic Oncology Program at CTCA, serving patients in the treatment of cervical, ovarian, uterine, and vaginal and vulvar cancers and gestational trophoblastic diseases. In partnership with his team of distinguished CTCA gynecologic oncologists across the country, CTCA will meet the unique treatment needs of each patient  with precision medicine at its core.

"As a gynecologic oncologist, my single, most important goal is to fight cancer, and I am honored to join a premier leader in treating people living with cancer and one that shares my commitment to delivering high-quality, personalized care to patients," Schink said. "Advances in gynecologic oncology, including robotic surgery, have helped cancer patients become survivors and are evolving every day. Through the national Gynecologic Oncology Program at CTCA, my goal is to ensure we help advance these innovations to meet the needs of patients when they need us most."

Under the guidance of Dr. Schink, the CTCA Gynecologic Oncology Program will include:

Robotic surgery: The da Vinci  Surgical System offers a minimally invasive alternative to both open surgery and laparoscopy. Because it requires only a few tiny incisions and offers greater vision, precision and control for the surgeon, patients can often recover sooner, move on to additional treatments if needed, and get back to daily life quicker. Potential benefits of the da Vinci system for patients include: reduced pain, lower risk of infection or complications, less blood loss (fewer transfusions), shorter hospital stays, less scarring due to smaller incisions and faster return to normal activities (e.g., sexual function, urinary continence).

The da Vinci Surgical System offers a minimally invasive alternative to both open surgery and laparoscopy. Because it requires only a few tiny incisions and offers greater vision, precision and control for the surgeon, patients can often recover sooner, move on to additional treatments if needed, and get back to daily life quicker. Potential benefits of the da Vinci system for patients include: reduced pain, lower risk of infection or complications, less blood loss (fewer transfusions), shorter hospital stays, less scarring due to smaller incisions and faster return to normal activities (e.g., sexual function, urinary continence). National gynecologic tumor board: Dr. Schink and his team will focus on harnessing the collective expertise of all CTCA gynecologic oncologists by establishing a national tumor board to break down barriers and provide physicians with access to the perspectives and insights of their colleagues across the country. Several national tumor boards are already in practice at CTCA and have proven successful at ensuring patients receive the highest standard of care.

Dr. Schink and his team will focus on harnessing the collective expertise of all CTCA gynecologic oncologists by establishing a national tumor board to break down barriers and provide physicians with access to the perspectives and insights of their colleagues across the country. Several national tumor boards are already in practice at CTCA and have proven successful at ensuring patients receive the highest standard of care. Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC): Dr. Schink and his team will focus on the expanded use of HIPEC as a treatment option for gynecological cancer. This treatment option is for people who have advanced surface spread of cancer within the abdomen, without disease involvement outside of the abdomen. Unlike systemic chemotherapy delivery, which circulates throughout the body, HIPEC delivers chemotherapy directly to cancer cells in the abdomen. This allows for higher doses of chemotherapy treatment. Heating the solution may also improve the absorption of chemotherapy drugs by tumors and destroy microscopic cancer cells that remain in the abdomen after surgery.

"The addition to our team of an outstanding and distinguished physician such as Dr. Schink ensures the national Gynecologic Oncology Program will continue to provide patients with cutting-edge treatments as precision medicine continues to have a greater emphasis on the field," said Maurie Markman, MD, President of Medicine and Science, CTCA.

Dr. Schink joins CTCA from Spectrum Health, where he served as vice president of improvement and integration. He has held numerous academic positions, including vice chair of obstetrics and gynecology and professor at the University of Wisconsin Medical School; an endowed professorship as the John I Brewer Professor of gynecology and cancer research at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Michigan State University. He has also served as principal investigator and co-investigator for many large clinical trials responsible for improving and expanding cancer treatment options.

Licensed in Illinois and Michigan, Dr. Schink has been a member of and held leadership positions at several medical organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists and the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation.

To learn more about the national Gynecologic Oncology Program, visit cancercenter.com.

About Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global, Inc. (CTCA), headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., is a national network of five hospitals that serves adult patients who are fighting cancer. CTCA offers an integrative approach to care that combines advancements in genomic testing and precision cancer treatment, surgery, radiation, immunotherapy and chemotherapy, with evidence-informed supportive therapies designed to help patients physically and emotionally by enhancing their quality of life while managing side effects both during and after treatment. CTCA serves patients from around the world at its hospitals in Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Tulsa. Reflecting our patient-centered approach to cancer care, our patient satisfaction scores consistently rank among the highest in the country for cancer care providers, and CTCA is also rated one of the most admired hospital systems in the country in national consumer surveys. For more information, visit cancercenter.com, Facebook.com/cancercenter and Twitter.com/cancercenter.

Contact:

Abigail Obre

[email protected]

(561) 923-3198

SOURCE Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Related Links

http://www.cancercenter.com


SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- McClatchy (NYSE: MNI) today named Kelly Mirt as publisher and vice president of advertising for The Wichita Eagle. He will assume his new role July 31. Mirt replaces Roy Heatherly, who retired in May. Mirt previously served as the vice president of advertising for The Charlotte Observer, also owned by McClatchy.

"Kelly's expertise in digital product line development and marketing is a tremendous asset during this transformative period across the company," said Tony Berg, McClatchy's Regional Publisher for the Midwest. "His ability to revolutionize organizations and commitment to the community will serve The Wichita Eagle well."

Mirt has spent 35 years in the industry in a variety of sales executive and leadership roles. In 2002, he built an extremely successful and specialized sales department for the Dallas Morning News from the ground up. Mirt joined the Tampa Tribune-WFLA TV in 2006 as vice president of digital advertising and led them to national prominence within the Yahoo and Zillow consortium. Prior to rejoining McClatchy in 2012, Mirt was the director of operations at GrowthWeaver, a marketing solutions company. His first job was an advertising representative at the Eagle.

"I am proud to rejoin the Eagle and help strengthen its position as the preeminent digital media and marketing company in Wichita," said Mirt. "We will continue the digital transformation and assure that the Eagle's long tradition of high quality journalism is not jeopardized but advanced."

This is a homecoming for Mirt. He grew up in Wellington and graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor's Degree in Personnel Administration. He and his wife Lisa have three sons, a daughter and one granddaughter.

About McClatchy

McClatchy is a publisher of iconic brands such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, The Sacramento Bee, The Charlotte Observer, The (Raleigh) News and Observer, and the (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram. McClatchy operates 30 media companies in 29 U.S. markets in 14 states, providing each of its communities with high-quality news and advertising services in a wide array of digital and print formats. McClatchy is headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI.

SOURCE McClatchy

Related Links

http://www.mcclatchy.com


Teleflora donates more than 25,000 Be Happy Mugs, a year-round bestselling product to Teleflora's 40 florist units across the country. Member florists then work with local wholesalers and growers in their area to secure donations of flowers. The donated flowers help local Teleflora florists and teams of volunteers design the cheerful Be Happy Bouquets, full of vibrant flowers and deliver them to residents and charities of their choosing in their neighborhoods.

"Teleflora's Make Someone Smile Week is a true testament of 'flower power,' and how a simple act of kindness can make a big difference to someone in need of a smile," says Rich Salvaggio, vice president of industry relations and publications at Teleflora. "Since its inception in 2000, Teleflora member florists have put their heart into this program, rallying local volunteers and working tirelessly to share the unexpected gift of receiving flowers with many individuals who may have never received flowers in their lives. It's about brightening someone's day, watching their face light up and making them feel special; that's the greatest gift to a florist."

Last year's program spanned over 140 cities and 380 facilities throughout the United States and Canada; with more than 1,000 florists donating their time to make and deliver Be Happy Bouquets. Teleflora's program delivered more than 27,000 bouquets to those most in need of a smile.

As Teleflora florists are making deliveries again this year for Make Someone Smile Week, consumers can also share in the spirit of gifting a smile to someone in need by visiting http://www.teleflora.com.

About Teleflora

Teleflora brings together the time-honored tradition of sending flowers with the modern benefits of an advanced florist network. By tapping over 10,000 member florists in North America alone, Teleflora offers the kind of personal touches, artistry and expertise you expect from a trusted neighborhood floristeven if that neighborhood is across the country. No prepackaged flowers in nondescript boxes dropped on your doorstepTeleflora's network of professional florists create artistic arrangements personally delivered in a vase, often on the same day. And, with the organization's pioneering "Flowers in a Gift" Collection, the recipient gets a keepsake that turns the treasured gesture of a bouquet into a lasting memento. Luxe yet affordable, aspirational yet accessible, Teleflora makes every day an occasion. Follow Teleflora on Facebook and Teleflora Industry Relations on Facebook.

SOURCE Teleflora

Related Links

WWW.TELEFLORA.COM


ROCKVILLE, Md., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TissueGene, Inc. ("TissueGene"), a Maryland-based regenerative medicine company, announced today that Kolon Life Science, TissueGene's exclusive licensee for Asia, including Korea, has received marketing approval for Invossa-K Inj., the world's first cell and gene therapy for degenerative arthritis from the Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).

Kolon Life Science filed for a Biologics License Application (BLA) for Invossa-K Inj. with MFDS in August 2016 based on efficacy results from its Phase III clinical trials conducted at 12 major university hospitals in Korea. Invossa-K Inj. will be manufactured by Kolon Life Science, and marketed by Mundipharma and Kolon Pharmaceuticals for the Korean market.

"We are excited to launch the world's first cell and gene therapy for knee osteoarthritis and potentially the world's first disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD)," stated Mr. Woosok Lee, CEO of TissueGene. "This approval is the first critical step towards a global launch for this innovative, novel cell and gene therapy technology that will address one of the most pressing unmet medical need affecting millions of people suffering from osteoarthritis worldwide."

Invossa is a first-in-class cell and gene therapy drug designed to conveniently and effectively treat osteoarthritis of the knee through a single intra-articular injection. Clinical trials completed in Korea and on-going in the US have demonstrated pain relief, increased mobility, and potentially game-changing improvements in joint structure  offering substantial relief and convenience for osteoarthritis patients who would otherwise be in need of surgery.

Through its national US Phase III clinical trials, TissueGene will be using the results to seek a DMOAD designation for Invossa from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), potentially making Invossa the first and only cell and gene therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee.

In November last year, Kolon Life Science signed a license agreement with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharmaceutical Corporation, and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma is proceeding with the preparation of clinical trials through its exclusive development and commercialization rights in Japan.

TissueGene, Inc.

TissueGene, Inc., is a Maryland-based regenerative medicine company specializing in cell and gene therapy. TissueGene's lead product is Invossa, an allogeneic, cell and gene therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee that is preparing for Phase III clinical trials in the US pursuant to a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) agreement reached with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Information about the trials can be found at the NIH registry, ww.clinicaltrials.gov. For additional information about TissueGene, Inc., please visit www.tissuegene.com.

Kolon Life Science

Kolon Life Science has been developing innovative cell and gene therapies including Invossa K Inj., the world's first cell-mediated gene therapy for osteoarthritis, since its founding in 2000. In addition to its biopharmaceuticals business, the company is also engaged in the business of providing active pharmaceuticals ingredients (API), eco-chemicals including antimicrobials for personal-care and industrial applications, as well as water-treatment solutions. For more information, please visit www.kolonls.co.kr/eng

SOURCE TissueGene, Inc.
CINCINNATI, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) announced today the appointment of Liz Ferneding to Ruler division president, effective July 31. Ms. Ferneding succeeds Paul Bowen, who retired in May.

Ms. Ferneding is a graduate of the Farmer School of Business at Miami University and joins Kroger from ALDI, where she has served in a variety of leadership roles for the last 11 years, including an international assignment in Australia. Upon her return to the U.S., Ms. Ferneding was promoted to marketing director and then earlier this year, she was promoted to director of corporate buying.

"Liz's extensive grocery retail experience in procurement, marketing, advertising, management and operations will be an asset to our Ruler associates, customers and community," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "We have a lot of respect for the Ruler format and the customer it serves. Liz's talent and insights will help us sharpen our value-centric, small-format store."

The Ruler division is headquartered in Seymour, Indiana, with 48 stores operating in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee. Ruler stores, which average 19,000 square feet, offer low prices and an expansive selection of Our Brands foods. Ruler will open two new stores later this year.

"I'm excited to join the Ruler team to help further develop the format, grow the brand and enhance customer engagement," said Ms. Ferneding. "I have admired the Kroger Co. both as a consumer and a competitor and have looked to the company throughout my tenure in the industry as a benchmark in grocery retail."

At The Kroger Co., we are dedicated to our purpose: to Feed the Human SpiritSM. We are 443,000 associates who serve eight and a half million customers every day in 2,792 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Our Family of Companies operates an expanding ClickList offering  a personalized order online service  in addition to 2,255 pharmacies, 782 convenience stores, 311 fine jewelry stores, 220 retail health clinics, 1,453 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Our Company has been recognized as one of America's most generous companies for its support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. As a leader in supplier diversity, we are a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable.

SOURCE The Kroger Co.

Related Links

http://www.kroger.com


CHICAGO, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Landmarks Illinois has awarded the first round of funding through the Landmarks Illinois World War I Monument Preservation Grant Program. The City of Aurora and the Second Indianhead Division Association are recipients of the recently launched grant program that provides monetary assistance to preserve World War I outdoor monuments and memorials in Illinois.

The City of Aurora will use the grant funding to restore the "Branches of Services Plaque" on the city's New York Street Bridge, which was constructed in 1931 as a tribute to WWI soldiers. The bridge's bronze plaque has suffered corrosion from the weather and prolonged exposure to chemical compounds since its dedication. Restoring the plaque is part of the City of Aurora's multi-year project to restore all historic elements of the New York Street Bridge.

The Second Indianhead Division Association will use the grant funding for cleaning and restoration of the Belleau Wood WWI monument, located within the Cook County Forest Preserve in Des Plaines. The monument commemorates the three-week Battle of Belleau Wood of 1918 that is credited as having a significant impact on stopping a German offensive that threatened Paris. It is the largest memorial to honor the U.S. 2nd Division outside of Washington, D.C. The Second Indianhead Division Association wishes to clean the monument in preparation for a rededication ceremony in August.

"Landmarks Illinois is proud to support our grant recipients as they put these dollars to work restoring important honorific monuments to soldiers of the Great War," said Bonnie McDonald, President & CEO of Landmarks Illinois. "The City of Aurora and the Second Indianhead Division Association are ensuring that our veterans, even those that fought a century ago, are not forgotten. This is the important work of historic preservation: ensuring that we never forget."

The Landmarks Illinois WWI Monument Preservation Grant Program is made possible with generous support from the Pritzker Military Foundation. Nonprofits and government agencies are encouraged to apply to the grant program to help fund their WWI monument restoration projects. Visit our Grants webpage for full eligibility rules and additional guidelines for grant applicants. The next round of applications is due Nov. 15, 2017.

About Landmarks Illinois

Landmarks Illinois is a membership-based nonprofit organization serving the people of Illinois. Visit www.Landmarks.org to learn more.

Contact: Kaitlyn McAvoy, 1-312-922-1742, [email protected]

SOURCE Landmarks Illinois

Related Links

http://www.Landmarks.org


Organised by United Business Media (M) Sdn Bhd, the event is supported by Malaysia's Ministry of Home Affairs, Royal Malaysia Police, CyberSecurity Malaysia, Asian Professional Security Association (APSA) Malaysia Chapter, British Security Industry Association (BSIA) and ASIS International (Malaysia Chapter).

In his support message, the Inspector General of the Royal Malaysia Police, Tan Sri Dato' Sri Khalid Bin Abu Bakar said: "I believe a major international event such as IFSEC Southeast Asia is an essential platform for all industry players to continue sharing experiences, creating partnership and promoting the overall development of the security industry. This is an invaluable opportunity to get up to speed on the latest technological advances and develop regional co-operation."

Leading brands from around the globe are utilising IFSEC Southeast Asia 2017 as the platform to meet with industry players from the region. Some of the leading brands on the show floor are Seagate, Dahua, Comnet, Nemtek, BFT, Entrypass, Falcon Safe, Golmar, Mobotix, MicroEngine, Senzo, Ozak, Stratel, Union Light, Videx and many more. Visitors will have an abundance of choice with a variety of product categories including CCTV, access control and biometrics, cybersecurity, fire alarms/detection/protection, data protection systems, intelligent home systems, remote monitoring systems, signalling services, surveillance equipment, wireless alarm security, and many more.

For the fifth edition, IFSEC Southeast Asia is introducing an all-new free-to-attend seminar sessions that will highlight security, fire, safety and cybersecurity. The three-day sessions will feature industry experts discussing the latest case studies, technology updates and overview of the market in ASEAN. For more details on product updates, visitors may attend the annual IFSEC Technology Showcase that consists of IFSEC Southeast Asia exhibitor's presentations.

CyberSecurity Malaysia will organise its annual seminar on the show floor, highlighting the latest cybersecurity case studies and protection methods. Seminar admission is free for all visitors.

Meanwhile, for the first time, ASIS International (Malaysia Chapter) will also organise a free seminar that will talk on Technical Surveillance Countermeasures, Legal Perspective to Computer/Cyber Crimes and other interesting topics.

IFSEC Southeast Asia 2017 is a must-attend event for purchasers, specifiers, industry professionals and other related industry players from architecture, banking/financial services, communication, construction, data centre, distributor/exporter/importer, hotel, installer, system integrator, IT, manufacturer, oil and gas, property developer, utilities, and more.

Be sure not to miss the fifth edition of IFSEC Southeast Asia this coming September. Admission is free for all industry players. Take the opportunity to meet directly with experts representing world-renowned brands and listen to them at the seminars.

We are looking forward to have you at IFSEC Southeast Asia 2017 from 6 to 8 September 2017 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. For more information, please go to www.ifsecsea.com.

About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com)

Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is the largest trade show organiser in Asia and the largest commercial organiser in China, India, Malaysia and Thailand. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global network of 32 offices and 1,300 staff in 24 major cities. We operate in 19 market sectors with 230 events, 28 trade publications, 18 online products for over 2,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world.

UBM Asia was awarded 'Asia's Most Reliable Trade Show Organizer Award' in Hong Kong's Most Valuable Companies Awards (HKMVCA) 2016.

SOURCE UBM Asia (Malaysia)

Related Links

http://www.ifsecsea.com


INDIANAPOLIS, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) has entered into a settlement agreement with generic companies to resolve pending patent litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia regarding the Cialis (tadalafil) unit dose patent. This patent was previously set to expire on April 26, 2020. As part of the agreement, Cialis exclusivity is now expected to end at the earliest on September 27, 2018.

"The unit dose patent for Cialis is valid and infringed by companies seeking to market a generic version of Cialis. This is a royalty-bearing license agreement that provides us with more certainty regarding our U.S. exclusivity," said Michael J. Harrington, senior vice president and general counsel for Lilly. "Protection of intellectual property and the assurance of market exclusivity are extremely important to Lilly as we work to support the development of the next generation of innovative medicines."

Patent expiration for Adcirca (tadalafil) is still expected on November 21, 2017, or on May 21, 2018, if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration grants the company's application for pediatric exclusivity.

There will be no change to the company's 2017 financial guidance or mid-term expectations through the remainder of the decade as a result of this settlement.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and http://newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels. C-LLY

This release contains forward-looking statements regarding Cialis patent litigation and related settlement. There can be no guarantees as to the outcome and results of the settlement. These statements are based on management's current expectations, but actual results may differ materially. Other risk factors that may affect the company's results can be found in the company's latest Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company

Related Links

http://www.lilly.com


Lollicup USA will break ground for construction within 120 days, said Yu.

The company will invest an estimated $50 million for the new plant, which is scheduled for completion in October 2018.

The plant will allow the company to better service the region, while also making it possible for Lollicup to surpass its annual sales goals and production capacity.

More details will be provided at a later date.

About Lollicup USA Inc.

Lollicup USA manufactures and distributes Karat paper and plastic disposable foodservice packaging products. It also supplies Tea Zone beverage products for thousands of retail business accounts, including several Fortune 500 restaurant franchises. Lollicup USA has proudly manufactured in the United States since 2014. Please visit LollicupUsa.com for more information, or contact us at [email protected].

Contact: Julia Gutierrez

Phone: (626) 965-8882

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Lollicup USA Inc.

Related Links

http://lollicup.com


TSX: MFI

www.mapleleaffoods.com

TORONTO, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Maple Leaf Foods Inc. will report its financial results for the second quarter on July 27, 2017. The financial results will be released by CNW newswire service.

What: Maple Leaf Foods 2017 Second Quarter Financial Results Conference Call



Who: Michael H. McCain, President and Chief Executive Officer

Debbie Simpson, Chief Financial Officer



When: July 27, 2017 at 2:30pm. Eastern



Where: Go to http://investor.mapleleaf.ca/ for webcast link

Live over the Internet -- Simply log on to the above link.





To participate via conference call, please call 416-340-2218 / 1-800-273-9672. For those unable to participate, playback will be made available an hour after the event at 905-694-9451 / 1-800-408-3053, passcode: 1365285#.

If you are unable to participate, the webcast will be archived and available on the Company's website at www.mapleleaffoods.com under the Presentations & Webcasts section.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a leading consumer protein company, making high quality, innovative products under national brands including Maple Leaf, Maple Leaf Prime, Maple Leaf Natural Selections, Schneiders, Schneiders Country Naturals, Mina and Lightlife. Maple Leaf employs approximately 11,500 people and does business in Canada, the U.S. and Asia. The Company is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario and its shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (MFI).

[(Minimum Requirements to listen to broadcast: The Windows Media Player software, downloadable free from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/EN/default.asp and at least a 28.8Kbps connection to the Internet. If you experience problems listening to the broadcast, send an email to [email protected]).]

SOURCE Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

Related Links

http://www.mapleleaffoods.com


REYKJAVIK, Iceland, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Men & Mice, experts in software overlay DNS, DHCP and IP Address Management (DDI), announces the release of Men & Mice xDNS Redundancy, a revolutionary approach to maintaining DNS high availability.

xDNS Redundancy mitigates DDoS attacks and other forms of DNS failure by providing centralized management of critical DNS services across multiple DNS service provider platforms.

DNS on multiple platforms with Men & Mice xDNS Redundancy Consolidated views, secure monitoring and integrated management of all your network spaces, across platforms and on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid or multi-cloud environments.

Unprecedented on the DDI market, Men & Mice xDNS Redundancy enables the replication and synchronization of multiple DNS zones on diverse external DNS platforms. xDNS Redundancy:

Reduces the risk of exposure to a single point of DNS failure

Bolsters network reliability and performance and

Defuses the impact of DDoS attacks and other potentially harmful DNS incidents.

As part of the enterprise-class, back-end agnostic Men & Mice DDI Suite, xDNS is integrated with NS1, Azure DNS, Amazon Route 53, Dyn, BIND, and Windows DNS.

NS1, the leading intelligent DNS and traffic management provider, has joined forces with Men & Mice in improving the efficacy of external DNS redundancy.

Kris Beevers, NS1 co-founder and CEO, said: "Leveraging multiple managed DNS networks is the clear best practice for maintaining 100 percent uptime in today's rapidly evolving operational environment. Configuring and operating multiple managed DNS services can be a complex, time-consuming process. NS1 is excited to partner with Men & Mice to help enterprises minimize management overhead and seamlessly enable redundant DNS. xDNS Redundancy is well-suited to enable multi-network DNS without the usual headaches."

For Magnus Bjornsson, Men & Mice CEO, delivering DDI products that boost business performance by bridging the gap between on-premises, cloud, hybrid cloud and multi-cloud network environments, is a challenge happily accepted.

"Recent prominent network outages once again illustrate the critical importance of building more effective network resiliency through a powerful and secure system of DNS Redundancy. Providing DNS availability across service provider platforms with xDNS Redundancy is a great step towards strategically reinforcing the most critical of a company's IT assets  its network. We are looking forward to cooperating with NS1 on developing xDNS and extending DNS Redundancy offerings."

About Men & Mice:

Almost three decades of expert innovation in DNS, DHCP and IP Address Management (DDI) has garnered Men & Mice a reputation as the go-to, enterprise-class, software overlay DDI solution best suited to help enterprises capitalize on infrastructure investment, on-premises and in the cloud. The Men & Mice DDI Suite, used to run some of the largest corporate networks on the planet, is built to give you the freedom and flexibility to use the back-end platform you want, to build the network you need.

Contact:

Dagmar Hilmarsdottir

Men & Mice

+354 4121500

[email protected]

SOURCE Men & Mice
Moe's has been serving its queso for 17 years and our rich ribbons of liquid gold are famous for a reason. Moe's was struck with this news when cups of nacho-cheese-esque dips were roaming around, pretending to be southwestern-inspired queso. As a courtesy to our awesome fans and with a promise to serve and protect all queso lovers, Moe's is issuing this public warning. If you have been duped by any of these queso copycats serving yellow, grainy, nacho cheese-like "queso" dishes, please snap a photo or share your feedback by reporting it directly to @Moes_HQ using #QuesoImposters.

Think you might have fallen victim to this? Here's how to tell:

Imposter queso is said to be yellow in color, resembling a block of faux cheddar cheese, rather than smooth, white queso blanco

The texture is grainy, devoid of the velvety queso goodness you've come to know and love

When snapping a gram-worthy pic for #foodporn, nothing happens. No magical cheese pulls or beautiful, bold drippings off the end of a perfect chip

As the experts on queso, Moe's wants to make sure your next queso experience isn't a bust. For New Yorkers that may have experienced a queso imposter this week, visit Moe's Avenue of the Americas (1029A Avenue of the Americas) to get a FREE cup of queso with any purchase tomorrow, July 13 only.

For all consumers across the nation, instead of risking a poor substitute, we invite you to experience the authentic perfection Moe's created 17 years ago: Download our Rockin' Rewards app and enjoy your first cup of queso on us!

About Moe's Southwest Grill

Welcome to Moe's! Founded in 2000 and based in Atlanta, GA, Moe's Southwest Grill is a fast-casual restaurant franchise that serves high quality and fresh southwestern food. Moe's has an extensive variety of menu items to please the entire family  from burritos to specialty items like quesadillas, nachos and stacks. Whether you visit one of our 700 franchised locations or have us cater your next event, free chips and salsa come with every order, and each restaurant has a salsa bar and serves our famous queso. Moe's Southwest Grill has been recognized as the Brand of the Year in the Fast Casual Mexican Restaurant category for two years in a row based on the 2016 & 2017 Harris Poll EquiTrend Studies. Check us out online at www.moes.com to find a store near you, and then connect with us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook .



About FOCUS Brands Inc.

Atlanta-based FOCUS Brands Inc., through its affiliate brands, is the franchisor and operator of over 5,000 ice cream shoppes, bakeries, restaurants and cafes in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 60 foreign countries under the brand names Carvel, Cinnabon, Schlotzsky's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Auntie Anne's and McAlister's Deli, as well as Seattle's Best Coffee on certain military bases and in certain international markets. Please visit www.focusbrands.com to learn more.

SOURCE Moe's Southwest Grill

Related Links

http://www.moes.com


NEW YORK, July 12 , 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine were awarded a $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to implement a smoking cessation study for people with opioid use disorder (OUD). The study will examine a novel approach: incorporating a medication that reduces tobacco cravings into an opioid rehabilitation program. Conducted at Montefiore-affiliated clinics in the Bronx, the project will provide smoking cessation support to a diverse population that often lacks resources to quit tobacco and is disproportionately affected by tobacco-related diseases.

"As the opioid epidemic skyrockets, smoking has become the leading cause of death for people struggling with substance use," says Shadi Nahvi, M.D., M.S., attending physician at Montefiore and associate professor of medicine and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Einstein. "By simultaneously treating opioid and tobacco addiction, we can help people who are often left out of smoking cessation programs achieve their goals of leading healthier lives."

In earlier research, Dr. Nahvi and her team found that 10 percent of opioid-dependent smokers who were given varenicline (Chantix), a prescription drug that decreases cravings and the pleasurable effects of tobacco products, were able to quit smoking. They also determined that the success rate doubled when patients were offered adherence support. Using "directly observed therapy," the medication was dispensed and taken in-person by opioid treatment program nurses. These results inspired Dr. Nahvi's team to launch this program to further optimize smoking cessation success rates for patients receiving opioid treatment.

Dr. Nahvi and her team will recruit 450 patients who smoke from Montefiore's Division of Substance Abuse (DoSA) to:

Compare success rates of patients who take varenicline on their own, to those who receive directly observed varenicline therapy, from nurses at their opioid treatment programs.

Compare long-term varenicline use (6 months) to short-term varenicline use (3 months) in helping people quit smoking.

Better understand how psychological, social and genetic factors affect a patient's success of quitting smoking.

In a 2006 survey, Montefiore researchers found that 83 percent of patients in its substance abuse clinics were current smokersfive times the rate found in the overall New York City population. Nearly half of the smokers in the Montefiore survey were thinking about quitting in the next six months, and an additional 22 percent were immediately ready to quit.

Dr. Nahvi will have collaborators on the study: Einstein investigators Julia Arnsten, M.D., M.P.H (Co-I), professor of medicine (general internal medicine); of epidemiology & population health; and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; chief, Division of General Internal Medicine; and Director, Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research; and Moonseong Heo, Ph.D., (Statistician), professor of epidemiology & population health; as well as researchers from Fordham University, the University of Kansas, the University of Toronto, and the University of California, San Francisco.

About Montefiore Health System

Montefiore Health System is one of New York's premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 11 hospitals, including the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and close to 200 outpatient care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information please visit www.montefiore.org. Follow us on Twitter and view us on Facebook and YouTube.

About Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2015-2016 academic year, Einstein is home to 731 M.D. students, 193 Ph.D. students, 106 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 278 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 1,900 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2015, Einstein received $148 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Through its extensive affiliation network involving Montefiore, Jacobi Medical CenterEinstein's founding hospital, and three other hospital systems in the Bronx, Brooklyn and on Long Island, Einstein runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu, read our blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and view us on YouTube.

SOURCE Montefiore Medical Center

Related Links

http://www.montefiore.org


NEW YORK, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

"Motor Management Market expected to exhibit significant growth potential between 2017 and 2023."

The Motor Management Market is expected to reach USD 4.03 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 5.35% between 2017 and 2023. The major factors propelling the market growth are the rising demand for smart, multifunctional, integrated motor control and protection devices, as well as the need for reducing unplanned industrial downtime.



Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04988918/Motor-Management-Market-by-Product-Service-Type-Control-Voltage-Range-Application-Industry-and-Geography-Global-Forecast-to.html



"Motor management software & solution services market likely to grow at the highest rate between 2017 and 2023"

Based on product and service, the Motor Management market for software & solution services is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2017 and 2023. Motor management software & solution services include sensing and fault detection; overload protection; voltage and current regulator; and start, stop, and control of an electric motor. The major drivers of the market for the motor management in software & solution services include the increasing industrial automation and the growing demand for electric motors from various industries, increasing number of manufacturing processes, hassle-free installation, and enhanced overall effectiveness of the equipment.



"Motor management for asynchronous motors held the larger market size in 2016"

Motor management for asynchronous motors held a larger market size than asynchronous motors in 2016. The asynchronous nature of the motor derives from the difference between the rotational speed of the armature field and rotor. The speed of an asynchronous motor reduces with the increase in the load, which is affected by the applied change in the voltage. Asynchronous motors are widely used in centrifugal fans, blowers, pumps, compressors, conveyors, and various other applications due to their high speed. Motor management devices such as circuit breakers, soft relays, and switches are used to control the power factors and voltage loads. This drives the market for motor management for asynchronous motors.



"Motor Management Market in North America likely to grow at the highest rate between 2017 and 2023"

The industrial infrastructure installed in North American industries is a couple of decades old, and companies in the region are currently focusing on upgrading the aging infrastructure. The replacement of existing control systems with a modern version of motor management would increase the plant efficiency and reduce the plant downtime for maintenance. Moreover, North America aims to reduce its emissions by 30% from 2005 to 2030 as part of a clean power plan proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The steady growth in industries such as food & beverages, construction, power generation, and also some mining projects in the region are key drivers for the Motor Management Market.



Breakdown of the profiles of the primary participants in the report are as follows:



 By Company Type: Tier 1  65%, Tier 2  14%, and Tier 3  21%

 By Designation: C-Level Executives  31%, Directors  44%, and Others  25%

 By Region: North America  45%, Europe  31%, APAC  20%, and RoW  4%



Key players in the market include General Electric (US), Texas Instruments (US), Siemens AG (Germany), Schneider Electric SE (France), ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Analog Devices, Inc., (US), Eaton Corporation Plc (Ireland), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Japan), Rockwell Automation (US), and Hitachi, Ltd (Japan).





Research Coverage:

The research report on the global Motor Management Market covers segments such as type, product & service, voltage range, control, application, industry, and region. The market has been segmented on the basis of types into synchronous motor and asynchronous motor. Based on product & services, the motor management market has been classified into hardware and software & solution services. The report covers three voltage ranges of motor management and control devicelow, medium, and high voltage. The Motor Management Market has been segmented on the basis of controls into automatic, semi-automatic, and manual. Based on applications, the Motor Management Market has been segmented into pumps, compressors, material handling, and others. The end-user industries of motor management include oil & gas, metals & mining, power generation, chemicals, cement, food & beverages, agriculture, water supply and wastewater treatment. The report covers four major geographic regions, namely North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW).





Key Benefits of Buying the Report:

Illustrative segmentation, analysis, and forecast for the marketby type, product & service, voltage range, control, application, industry, and regionhas been conducted to provide an overview of the Motor Management Market.

Value chain analysis has been provided in the report to depict the hardware manufacturers, software providers, and system integrators involved in the Motor Management Market.

The major drivers, opportunities, and challenges for the Motor Management Market have been detailed in this report.

The detailed competitive landscape includes key players, in-depth analysis, and competitive leadership mapping of the key players by determining their product offerings and business strategies.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04988918/Motor-Management-Market-by-Product-Service-Type-Control-Voltage-Range-Application-Industry-and-Geography-Global-Forecast-to.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com





__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

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COIMBRA, Portugal, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 16th International Photodynamic Association (IPA) World Congress in Coimbra, Mr. Colin Hopper was the recipient of the 2017 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN PDT CLINICAL RESEARCH.

Mr. Colin Hopper is currently the Senior Lecturer/Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon and unit head off oral and maxillofacial surgery at University College London (UCL), Eastman Dental Institute London. He is a Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon, University College London Hospitals and until recently Senior Research Fellow at the National Medical Laser Centre London.

Mr. Hopper spent his early career pioneering clinical protocols to confirm safety and efficacy of PDT for oncological and antimicrobial applications. Since 1991, Mr. Hopper has been working in the National Medical Centre leading a variety of research projects on the use of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma. This clinical PDT program is currently one of the world's largest and longest running programs, documenting over 400 treatments involving the three main photosensitizers.

Mr. Hopper, long recognized for his expertise in clinical PDT, is the principal investigator on a series of ethically approved projects, including in a number of developing countries. His work has resulted in numerous publications helping to establish a clear role for PDT treatment in a variety of neoplastic conditions in the head and neck. This work has advanced rapidly by the development of interstitial treatment of tumours using image guidance systems developed with the department of imaging and medical physics. Other related areas of research include fluorescence diagnostics (optical techniques for tissue interrogation), the use of PDT in the treatment of non-malignant conditions such as lymphangioma and the use of PDT for antimicrobial applications. Mr. Hopper dedicates considerable personal time to lecturing, mentoring and training next generations of PDT clinicians globally.

The Coimbra World Congress was the 16th conference held by the International Photodynamic Association, marking 32 years of this global meeting. The IPA World Congresses, held every two years, are the leading PDT meetings bringing together members of the global photodynamic community in order to advance scientific and clinical research relating to photodiagnosis and photodynamic therapies. The next IPA World Congress is to be hosted in Boston, USA and will be led by Dr. Tayyaba Hasan, Professor of Dermatology at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Harvard Medical School (HMS) and a Professor of Health Sciences and Technology (Harvard-MIT).

About Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a combination therapy involving light activated photosensitizers to diagnose and treat various types of cancers and pre-cancers, macular degeneration and multidrug resistant biofilm infections involving bacteria, viruses and fungi.

please contact: [email protected]

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/535180/ColinHopper.jpg

SOURCE International Photodynamic Association
My Shining Moment is a celebration of the moments in life when people look and feel their best, with clear and comfortable eyes  the moments when they truly shine. It is the first brand equity spot to bring to life the emotional benefits of the Clear Eyes product portfolio. In addition to the television ad, Clear Eyes will debut a new digital gallery (cleareyes.com/myshiningmoment) featuring photos and videos of shining moments told by a variety of creative influencers, including professional eye portrait photographer Bridges Aderhold, beauty blogger Rachel Anise, travel videographer Taylor Fischer and world renowned magician and mentalist, Adam Wilber. Clear Eyes fans are also invited to share their own Shining Moment via Facebook as well as Twitter and Instagram using #MyShiningMoment.

"To me, shining moments represent the points in time when our authentic selves shine through  when others can see us as we were truly meant to be," said Vanessa Williams. "After being a part of the Clear Eyes brand for over 5 years, it's an honor to be part of the first-ever brand equity campaign, My Shining Moment, and help celebrate the emotional role that eyes, and taking care of our eyes, play in our lives."

"As the #1 selling brand of eye drops, we know our consumers rely on our products to ensure their eyes look and feel their best," said Craig Rudner, Senior Brand Manager for Clear Eyes. "With My Shining Moment, we're celebrating our commitment to our consumers and the role we play in their lives by creating a platform to share their meaningful stories and shining moments."

All fans who submit Shining Moment photos and videos will be entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to receive an all-expense paid trip to Miami, FL for a private photo shoot with Bridges Aderhold. The digital gallery and sweepstakes is running today through October 15, 2017.

For more information on My Shining Moment and Clear Eyes, please visit cleareyes.com/myshiningmoment.

About Clear Eyes

Clear Eyes has a wide line of eye drops, each specially formulated for different types of eye conditions, and provides fast-acting relief for irritated eyes. Clear Eyes products are available over the counter at drug, grocery, mass retail, club and convenience stores nationwide. For more information, visit www.cleareyes.com or www.facebook.com/cleareyes.

About Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc.

The Company markets and distributes brand name over-the-counter and household cleaning products throughout the U.S. and Canada, Australia, and in certain other international markets. The Company's brands include Monistat women's health products, BC and Goody's pain relievers, Clear Eyes eye care products, DenTek specialty oral care products, Dramamine motion sickness treatments, Chloraseptic sore throat treatments, Compound W wart treatments, Little Remedies pediatric over-the-counter products, The Doctor's NightGuard dental protector, Efferdent denture care products, Luden's throat drops, Beano gas prevention, Debrox earwax remover, Gaviscon antacid in Canada, and Hydralyte rehydration products and the Fess line of nasal and sinus care products in Australia. Visit the Company's website at www.prestigebrands.com.

Media Contact:

Jessica Van Horn

Golin New York

[email protected]

212-373-3063

SOURCE Prestige Brands Holdings

Related Links

http://www.prestigebrands.com


Nanotronics has expanded the range of its capabilities to enhance metrology features, including critical dimensions in the same convergent system that optimizes defect inspection and process control. Nanotronics advanced computer vision, machine learning, and artificial intelligence software automates manual inspection that previously required human-level intelligence to accurately detect and classify defects.

Nanotronics will be exhibiting nSpec 3.0 at SEMICON West in booth #6648

Nanotronics is an Inc 5000 company founded in 2010 by Matthew Putman, PhD and has offices in California, Ohio, and New York. The company is venture backed by Founders Fund, Morgan Stanley, and is a personal investment of Gordon Moore, Jaan Tallinn, and Howard Morgan. Nanotronics customers include Amazon, Apple, Western Digital, Broadcom, Avago, ST Micro, IQE, II-VI, Soraa, Applied Optoelectronics, CrystalIS, and others. All Nanotronics products are designed and manufactured in California.

Nanotronics

Contact: Alexis Stoller

Phone: 202-997-9862

Email: [email protected]

Website: nanotronics.co

SOURCE Nanotronics

Related Links

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LAS VEGAS, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- New Jersey's online casinos have now generated nearly $600 million in gross revenue since the online gambling was legalized and regulated in November 2013, according to analysts from PlayNJ.com. In June, New Jersey's online casinos collected more than $20 million in gross revenue for the fourth consecutive month, propelling legal online casinos to $599 million in lifetime revenue.

"At its current pace, New Jersey's online gambling industry will blast past the $700 million milestone before it celebrates its fourth birthday in November," said Steve Ruddock, lead analyst for PlayNJ.com. "Instead of listening to agenda-driven hypotheticals and what-ifs about online gaming, lawmakers considering online expansion in states such as Pennsylvania should focus on the sustained and prodigious growth occurring in New Jersey."

New Jersey's Monthly Internet Gross Revenue Report released Wednesday showed that legal online casinos generated $20.23 million during the 30 days in June.

Combined, New Jersey's legal online casinos equate to the fifth-largest casino in Atlantic City in terms of gross revenue.

"The continued success of New Jersey iGaming shouldn't be a surprise," Ruddock said. "The synergies between online and land-based gaming are indisputable at this point, prompting casinos to step-up their commitment to iGaming. Frankly, it would be a dereliction of duty for an Atlantic City casino to not take full advantage of the many benefits online gaming affords."

Also in June, New Jersey online casinos collected $3.54 million in tax revenue, and the Golden Nugget Atlantic City led all casinos with in $5.58 million in revenue.

For more information and analysis on regulated online gaming in New Jersey, visit PlayNJ.com.

About The PlayUSA Network:

The PlayUSA Network is a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated online gaming in the United States. With a presence in over a dozen states, PlayUSA.com and its state-focused branches (including PlayNJ.com, PlayNY.com, PlayPennsylvania.com, and PlayCA.com) produce daily original reporting, publish in-depth research, and offer player advocacy tools related to the advancement of safe, licensed, and legal online poker and gaming options for consumers.

Contacts:

Zack Hall, DVA Advertising & PR, 541-389-2411, [email protected]

SOURCE The PlayUSA Network
WASHINGTON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, ONE HUNDRED released research (http://bit.ly/2tJ8SOR) that examines the ways in which philanthropy is changing and the new forces behind these changes. Four themes emerge from a series of in-depth discussions and research with leaders from well-established organizations and start-ups. The themes, which range from strong reminders about breaking down silos to embracing the choice between innovation and closing down, came with valuable advice and words of caution. ONE HUNDRED, launched in April 2016 by Omnicom, is a multi-disciplinary, marketing communications offering designed to connect the nonprofit sector with leading experts in brand reputation, marketing and fundraising from across Omnicom's DAS portfolio of brands.

"We often hear of the passion and strength of 'the people' as the critical factor that enables nonprofits to have a positive impact on society. Through our discussions and research  as well as in our day-to-day work  it became evident that while 'the people' are certainly an asset, it is integration across the organization, and throughout the community, that can truly maximize impact," says Brian Crimmins, Managing Partner, ONE HUNDRED and CEO Changing Our World, Inc.

More specifically, the research reveals:

Harness Feedback: Don't Just Listen , Hear What Your Stakeholders are Saying;

, Hear What Your Stakeholders are Saying; Smash Silos: Lack of Integration Puts the Mission at Risk;

Measure the Mission: Demonstrating ROI is a Table Stake;

Shift or Shut: Be Willing to Pivot Direction.

"Whether you are a company, political official, NGO or Foundation, we are all competing for mind share," says Monica Marshall, Partner, ONE HUNDRED and SVP, Director Ketchum Purpose. "To truly break through, you cannot underestimate the need to break down silos and have programs, marketing, communications and fundraising work hand in hand."

The study also reveals that philanthropic leaders are struggling to balance a challenging communications and fundraising environment with an increased need  and desire  to help more people. There is a strong push to innovate, but scaling success to benefit larger populations  whether geographically or simply in greater numbers  is posing challenges to new charities and well-established organizations alike. To address these pressing issues, organizations need strong, dedicated and passionate teams. While these organizations generally benefit from strong senior leadership, they struggle to build bench strength.

ABOUT ONE HUNDRED

ONE HUNDRED is a multi-disciplinary offering designed to connect the nonprofit sector with leading experts in brand reputation, marketing and fundraising from across Omnicom's DAS portfolio of agency brands. The fully integrated service collective addresses the growing needs of the nonprofit sector, which today represents one of the largest and most vibrant industries in the country. We are comprised of the best and brightest agency partners across Omnicom Group  providing efficient and impactful solutions  making our clients more successful than any other partner in the market. Our collective includes Changing Our World, Critical Mass, Ketchum, Interbrand, Porter Novelli and Russ Reid. We provide integrated teams who think, create and execute together, providing solutions that are seamless, more efficient and more engaging. ONE HUNDRED is part of the DAS Group of Companies. (www.onehundredagency.com)

ABOUT THE DAS GROUP OF COMPANIES

The DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), is a global group of marketing services companies. DAS includes over 200 companies in the following marketing disciplines: specialty, PR, healthcare, CRM, events, promotional marketing, branding and research. Operating through a combination of networks and regional organizations, DAS serves international, regional, national and local clients through more than 700 offices in 71 countries.

SOURCE ONE HUNDRED
The summer program will consist of a minimum of 25,000 m of diamond drilling utilizing seven drill rigs. Six rigs are drilling expansion and delineation targets at the Arrow Deposit. The seventh rig is testing the newly identified area 300 m southeast of Arrow (Figure 1).

There are three primary objectives of summer activities:

Inferred mineral resource growth through continued systematic step-out drilling around the current resource domains in the A1 through A4 shears, primarily in the southwest and northeast 'gaps'. These areas, among others, represent key resource growth opportunities.



Indicated mineral resource growth in high impact areas of the High Grade Domains in the A3 Shear through targeted infill drilling.



Development activities that include geotechnical, hydrogeological, metallurgical and environmental work as the project is advanced rapidly towards the pre-feasibility stage.

In addition, further upgrades to the Rook I camp have been completed during the Spring drilling pause.

NexGen continues to advance Arrow towards development while concurrently expanding the resource base. The Company will undertake further advanced geotechnical, hydrogeological, metallurgical and environmental studies at preliminary feasibility levels. The Company's commitment to community engagement also continues to expand through a number of community supported initiatives targeting employment, education, recreation and health. Rook I camp facilities will continue to expand in 2017 to accommodate all current and near-term development activities.

Winter 2017 Assay Results

Drilling in winter 2017 designed to expand Indicated mineral resources in the A2 and A3 shears was successful with widespread mineralization being intersected in both shears.

A2 Infill Holes

AR-17-114c2 (115 m northeast and down-dip from AR-15-44b) intersected 33.0 m at 4.58% U 3 O 8 (681.5 to 714.5 m) including 11.0 m at 8.78% U 3 O 8 (697.5 to 708.5 m).





(115 m northeast and down-dip from AR-15-44b) intersected (681.5 to 714.5 m) including (697.5 to 708.5 m). AR-17-117c1 (25 m southwest and up-dip from AR-15-44b) intersected 49.0 m at 2.93% U3O8 (519.5 to 568.5 m) including 12.0 m at 10.35% U3O8 (538.0 to 550.0 m).

A3 Infill Holes

AR-17-121c1 (45m up-dip from AR-15-57c2) intersected 29.0 m at 2.39% U3O8 (519.0 to 548.0 m) including 4.0 m at 13.46% U3O8 (528.0 to 532.0 m).

A2 High Grade Domain Step-Out Drilling

Step-outs from the A2 High Grade Domain have returned high impact assay results. Holes AR-17-118c2 and AR-17-121c1 both intersected strong mineralization in the A2 shear.

AR-17-118c2 (180 m northeast and down-dip from AR-15-44b and 60 m below the A2 High Grade Domain) intersected 62.0 m at 1.27% U3O8 (681.0 to 743.0 m) including 12.0 m at 5.13% U3O8 (728.0 to 740.0 m).

Northeast Gap A2 and A3 Expansion Drilling

Expansion drilling northeast of the Arrow resource domains in the northeast gap has retuned areas of broad mineralization. The northeast gap continues to represent a key resource growth opportunity at Arrow.

A3 Northeast Expansion

AR-17-116c1 (115 m northeast and up-dip from AR-15-57c2) intersected 43.0 m at 1.19% U 3 O 8 (469.0 to 512.0 m) including 18.0 m at 2.43% U 3 O 8 (474.5 to 492.5 m).





(115 m northeast and up-dip from AR-15-57c2) intersected (469.0 to 512.0 m) including (474.5 to 492.5 m). AR-17-119c2 (240 m northeast and down-dip from AR-15-57c2) intersected 12.5 m at 1.61% U3O8 (715.5 to 728.0 m).

Arrow, Activities & Financial

Assay results remain pending for 31 holes from Arrow and 8 exploration holes drilled near Arrow.





A maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment is imminently scheduled.





Upon completion of the previously announced financing with CEF Holdings Limited, the Company will have cash on hand of approximately $200 million (see News Release dated June 30, 2017 ).

A longitudinal section highlighting target growth areas for summer 2017 is shown in Figure 1. Longitudinal sections and a map showing drill hole locations are shown in Figures 2 to 4. Table 1 shows complete assay results for holes included herein.

Garrett Ainsworth, Vice-President, Exploration and Development, commented: "These latest results confirm and exceed our previously reported drill hole radioactivity results, which we expect will be accretive to the ultimate size of the Arrow Deposit. Much of the winter 2017 program was focused on a first pass of the Northeast and Southwest Gaps, which we plan on following up and expanding with the summer 2017 drill program."

Leigh Curyer, Chief Executive Officer, comment: "On the back of the success of the winter program we now look ahead to our summer activities which include 25,000 m of drilling as well as advanced engineering and environmental studies. Arrow's current resource base makes it the largest uranium deposit in Canada on a net to operator basis and we look forward to the delivery of the maiden preliminary economic assessment imminently. Combined with the strategic investment by CEF, we are in the strongest position the Company has ever been in and are well positioned to meet our objective of becoming a major global uranium production source."

Table 1: Arrow Deposit Assay Results





Drill Hole Athabasca Group -

Basement

Unconformity Depth

(m) SRC Geoanalytical Results Hole ID Azimuth Dip Total

Depth

(m) From (m) To (m) Interval

(m) U3O8 (wt%) AR-17-114c1 327 -70 849.50 130.00 436.00 456.00 20.00 0.22









472.00 474.50 2.50 0.25









482.00 489.00 7.00 0.07









493.00 494.00 1.00 0.05









502.50 509.50 7.00 1.10









514.00 517.00 3.00 7.10









532.50 533.50 1.00 0.03









606.50 609.50 3.00 0.13









612.00 617.50 5.50 0.15









623.50 632.50 9.00 2.24









635.00 640.00 5.00 0.44









645.50 679.00 33.50 1.64









682.50 699.00 16.50 0.15









701.50 713.00 11.50 0.28









735.00 739.00 4.00 0.04 AR-17-114c2 327 -70 823.50 130.00 432.50 444.00 11.50 0.02









447.00 454.00 7.00 0.16









462.00 463.00 1.00 0.27









468.00 469.00 1.00 1.48









477.00 478.00 1.00 0.05









482.00 484.00 2.00 0.14









491.00 504.00 13.00 1.07









507.00 515.00 8.00 0.12









521.00 522.00 1.00 0.25









526.00 528.00 2.00 2.26









531.00 533.00 2.00 0.31









536.00 562.00 26.00 2.59







incl. 542.00 547.00 5.00 13.14









566.00 568.00 2.00 0.06









572.50 574.00 1.50 0.02









622.50 623.50 1.00 0.05









636.00 636.50 0.50 0.02









641.50 643.50 2.00 0.27









667.00 670.50 3.50 0.01









674.50 677.50 3.00 0.02









681.50 714.50 33.00 4.58







incl. 697.50 708.50 11.00 8.78









730.50 733.00 2.50 0.28 AR-17-114c3 327 -70 792.50 130.00 639.00 651.50 12.50 0.31









673.00 674.00 1.00 0.01









677.00 681.00 4.00 0.03









684.00 687.50 3.50 0.03









694.50 695.50 1.00 0.01









701.50 714.50 13.00 0.34









723.00 727.50 4.50 0.87 AR-17-115c1 327 -70 714.50 118.40 451.50 452.00 0.50 0.13









459.00 461.00 2.00 0.07









478.50 488.50 10.00 0.14









509.50 510.00 0.50 0.04









524.50 525.50 1.00 0.08









533.50 534.00 0.50 0.15









536.50 537.50 1.00 0.19









560.00 560.50 0.50 0.04









603.00 619.00 16.00 0.39









642.50 643.50 1.00 0.02









658.00 663.50 5.50 0.07









674.00 675.00 1.00 0.07 AR-17-115c2 327 -70 786.50 118.40 458.50 459.00 0.50 0.06









465.00 465.50 0.50 0.11









468.50 469.00 0.50 0.08









495.00 496.00 1.00 0.27









500.50 501.50 1.00 0.68









516.50 520.50 4.00 0.04









533.50 534.50 1.00 0.05









539.50 542.00 2.50 0.23









550.50 551.00 0.50 1.11









572.50 576.00 3.50 0.02









580.00 582.50 2.50 0.06









600.50 603.00 2.50 0.05









608.00 610.00 2.00 0.76









614.00 628.00 14.00 2.23







incl. 614.00 617.00 3.00 8.38









632.00 640.00 8.00 0.06









644.00 656.50 12.50 0.17









672.50 676.50 4.00 0.09









698.00 701.50 3.50 0.07 AR-17-116c1 327 -70 879.50 132.00 425.50 443.00 17.50 0.16









449.00 449.50 0.50 0.73









452.50 466.00 13.50 0.23









469.00 512.00 43.00 1.19







incl. 474.50 492.50 18.00 2.43









605.00 608.50 3.50 0.90









625.00 625.50 0.50 0.11









636.00 637.50 1.50 0.03









657.00 661.00 4.00 0.04









705.50 707.00 1.50 0.04









796.50 799.00 2.50 0.10









802.00 806.50 4.50 0.07 AR-17-116c2 327 -70 897.50 132.00 440.00 440.50 0.50 0.09









443.50 445.50 2.00 0.10









455.00 459.00 4.00 0.15









485.00 485.50 0.50 0.03









488.50 493.50 5.00 0.93









497.50 500.00 2.50 3.58









518.00 526.50 8.50 0.53









532.00 532.50 0.50 0.03









536.50 540.00 3.50 0.08









545.50 550.00 4.50 0.03









565.50 574.00 8.50 0.05









578.00 582.00 4.00 0.04









641.00 645.50 4.50 0.03









663.50 675.00 11.50 0.08









678.00 688.00 10.00 0.03









693.50 710.50 17.00 2.35







incl. 700.00 708.00 8.00 4.92









720.50 735.50 15.00 0.62









747.00 747.50 0.50 0.03









752.00 754.00 2.00 0.07









860.00 861.50 1.50 0.06 AR-17-117c1 327 -70 621.50 124.20 395.00 400.50 5.50 0.02









407.50 409.00 1.50 0.06









418.00 419.00 1.00 0.05









426.00 454.50 28.50 0.06









457.50 504.50 47.00 0.04









519.50 568.50 49.00 2.93







incl. 538.00 550.00 12.00 10.35









572.50 573.50 1.00 0.01









578.50 579.50 1.00 0.01









588.50 590.50 2.00 0.08









605.50 612.50 7.00 0.21 AR-17-118c1 327 -70 873.00 129.90 427.00 427.50 0.50 0.01









462.50 464.00 1.50 0.09









467.00 475.00 8.00 0.05









534.00 543.50 9.50 0.42









571.50 577.00 5.50 0.29









585.50 586.00 0.50 0.13









606.50 612.50 6.00 2.17









616.50 622.50 6.00 0.60









627.50 650.50 23.00 2.01







incl. 631.50 642.50 11.00 4.04









654.50 670.50 16.00 0.14









675.00 675.50 0.50 0.02









687.00 688.00 1.00 0.02









695.00 713.50 18.50 0.07









716.00 719.50 3.50 0.01









743.00 747.50 4.50 0.01









758.50 759.00 0.50 0.04









814.50 815.00 0.50 0.02









839.00 840.00 1.00 0.90 AR-17-118c2 327 -70 828.50 129.90 440.00 440.50 0.50 0.02









511.00 513.00 2.00 0.13









524.00 525.00 1.00 0.17









534.00 537.50 3.50 1.73









551.50 555.50 4.00 0.45









568.00 571.50 3.50 0.83









579.50 588.00 8.50 4.51







incl. 580.00 584.00 4.00 9.10









591.00 593.50 2.50 3.69









602.50 604.00 1.50 0.55









613.50 645.00 31.50 0.97







incl. 624.00 629.00 5.00 5.45









649.00 650.00 1.00 0.02









658.00 661.00 3.00 0.01









669.00 677.00 8.00 0.02









681.00 743.00 62.00 1.27







incl. 728.00 740.00 12.00 5.13









746.00 749.00 3.00 0.07









752.00 753.50 1.50 0.02









756.50 757.50 1.00 0.01 AR-17-119c1 147 -67 825.50 119.50 354.00 358.00 4.00 0.07









418.00 436.00 18.00 0.21









456.00 456.50 0.50 0.15









462.50 471.50 9.00 0.14









487.50 489.50 2.00 0.17









504.00 506.50 2.50 7.59









509.50 510.50 1.00 0.13









514.00 514.50 0.50 0.13









529.00 529.50 0.50 0.03









536.00 536.50 0.50 0.06









543.50 560.50 17.00 0.53









569.00 570.50 1.50 0.02









580.50 581.50 1.00 0.07









591.00 592.00 1.00 0.06









596.00 596.50 0.50 0.08









605.50 608.50 3.00 0.14









613.00 624.50 11.50 0.03









679.00 687.50 8.50 0.50









715.50 716.00 0.50 0.01 AR-17-119c2 147 -67 1065.50 119.50 381.50 396.50 15.00 0.19









403.50 404.50 1.00 0.06









411.50 413.00 1.50 0.07









461.50 469.00 7.50 0.27









475.00 479.00 4.00 0.03









488.00 500.00 12.00 0.25









507.00 507.50 0.50 0.10









515.50 516.50 1.00 0.07









520.50 534.00 13.50 0.15









539.00 541.50 2.50 0.03









546.50 575.00 28.50 0.64









602.00 615.00 13.00 0.09









627.00 630.00 3.00 0.02









715.50 728.00 12.50 1.61









891.00 891.50 0.50 0.06









970.00 970.50 0.50 0.02









1011.50 1012.00 0.50 0.03 AR-17-120c1 327 -70 846.50 114.80 534.00 536.00 2.00 1.74









620.00 620.50 0.50 0.02









625.50 626.00 0.50 0.12









635.00 639.00 4.00 0.45









664.50 665.00 0.50 0.01









715.00 716.00 1.00 0.03 AR-17-120c2 327 -70 864.50 114.80 552.00 552.50 0.50 0.03









633.00 634.50 1.50 0.29









691.00 691.50 0.50 0.05









717.00 719.00 2.00 0.08 AR-17-121c1 327 -70 816.50 134.10 455.00 464.00 9.00 0.15









481.00 482.00 1.00 1.02









485.00 505.00 20.00 0.28









509.00 514.00 5.00 0.37









519.00 548.00 29.00 2.39







incl. 528.00 532.00 4.00 13.46









551.00 583.00 32.00 0.19









586.00 587.00 1.00 0.32









593.00 598.00 5.00 0.01









636.50 665.00 28.50 1.09







incl. 660.00 663.00 3.00 9.25









669.00 681.00 12.00 1.27









684.00 693.50 9.50 0.20









714.00 735.00 21.00 0.95









785.00 786.00 1.00 0.14 AR-17-121c2 327 -70 813.50 134.10 473.50 474.00 0.50 0.04









479.00 479.50 0.50 0.01









483.50 491.00 7.50 0.79









497.00 562.00 65.00 1.23







incl. 532.00 534.00 2.00 11.33









616.50 631.00 14.50 0.48









642.50 668.50 26.00 0.44









684.50 685.00 0.50 0.02









689.50 691.00 1.50 0.09









710.50 713.00 2.50 0.19









734.50 735.50 1.00 0.12









754.50 759.50 5.00 0.10 AR-17-126c1 327 -70 831.00 131.70 397.50 398.00 0.50 0.14









404.50 405.00 0.50 0.01









408.00 411.50 3.50 0.24









424.00 424.50 0.50 0.07









429.50 430.50 1.00 1.88









436.50 448.50 12.00 0.10









451.50 468.50 17.00 0.66









474.50 491.50 17.00 0.06









561.00 562.50 1.50 0.04









574.00 577.50 3.50 0.07









584.00 586.00 2.00 0.23









597.00 613.50 16.50 0.11









616.50 629.00 12.50 0.06









749.50 756.50 7.00 0.23









804.00 806.50 2.50 0.06 AR-17-126c2 327 -70 543.00 131.70 426.50 430.00 3.50 0.84









433.00 434.00 1.00 0.98









437.00 445.00 8.00 0.24









451.00 453.00 2.00 0.14









460.00 468.00 8.00 0.98









474.00 476.00 2.00 0.02









479.00 481.00 2.00 0.57









486.00 514.00 28.00 0.49







incl. 488.00 500.00 12.00 1.00









524.00 527.50 3.50 0.02 AR-17-127c1 147 -67 882.50 117.90 475.50 482.00 6.50 0.50









486.00 492.00 6.00 0.07









512.00 515.00 3.00 0.45









543.00 544.50 1.50 0.79









553.50 555.50 2.00 0.04









588.50 596.00 7.50 0.18









601.00 613.00 12.00 0.04









619.00 621.00 2.00 0.09









625.00 629.00 4.00 0.05









638.00 648.00 10.00 0.13









670.50 680.00 9.50 0.03









740.50 741.50 1.00 0.12









757.50 764.00 6.50 0.07









767.00 779.00 12.00 0.03









782.00 785.50 3.50 0.04









807.50 811.50 4.00 0.03









856.00 856.50 0.50 0.30 AR-17-127c2 147 -67 954.50 117.90 507.00 508.50 1.50 0.05









531.50 534.50 3.00 0.04









568.00 569.00 1.00 0.05









662.50 666.00 3.50 0.03









668.50 669.50 1.00 0.05









677.50 687.50 10.00 1.79







incl. 682.00 684.00 2.00 8.52









761.50 765.50 4.00 0.10









788.50 791.00 2.50 0.16









842.50 845.00 2.50 0.04









849.50 850.50 1.00 0.03









861.00 870.00 9.00 0.10









872.50 884.50 12.00 0.27









888.50 891.50 3.00 0.16 AR-17-133c1 147 -67 864.50 110.45 436.50 438.50 2.00 0.04









492.50 504.50 12.00 0.04









513.00 537.00 24.00 0.08









604.50 607.00 2.50 0.05









611.50 615.00 3.50 0.39









618.00 619.00 1.00 0.14









621.50 622.50 1.00 0.01









631.50 632.50 1.00 0.43









676.00 679.50 3.50 0.12









697.00 697.50 0.50 0.11









708.00 709.00 1.00 0.02









732.50 737.00 4.50 0.13









749.50 751.00 1.50 0.06 AR-17-133c2 147 -67 981.50 110.45 479.00 479.50 0.50 0.05









485.00 488.50 3.50 0.09









494.50 497.00 2.50 0.07









532.00 573.50 41.50 0.11









578.50 584.50 6.00 0.07









587.50 588.50 1.00 0.04









592.50 598.50 6.00 0.06









601.50 632.50 31.00 0.09









644.50 658.50 14.00 0.04









661.50 667.50 6.00 0.05









673.50 690.00 16.50 0.14









705.00 705.50 0.50 0.01









715.50 723.50 8.00 0.06









726.50 729.00 2.50 0.02









759.50 761.00 1.50 0.09









771.00 772.50 1.50 0.05









796.50 799.50 3.00 0.04









896.00 897.50 1.50 0.03 AR-17-138c1 147 -70 936.00 102.80 532.00 532.50 0.50 0.11









559.00 559.50 0.50 0.10









562.00 563.50 1.50 0.11









581.00 584.00 3.00 0.02









613.00 613.50 0.50 0.04









630.50 635.00 4.50 0.05









638.00 664.50 26.50 0.06









676.00 712.50 36.50 0.20









715.00 720.00 5.00 0.03









725.50 726.00 0.50 0.04









728.50 730.50 2.00 0.07









743.50 746.00 2.50 0.39









749.00 766.00 17.00 0.09









771.00 775.00 4.00 0.05









777.50 778.00 0.50 0.08









863.50 864.00 0.50 0.01









878.50 888.50 10.00 0.07









893.50 894.00 0.50 0.20









897.00 904.00 7.00 0.18 AR-17-138c2 147 -70 879.50 102.80 468.00 469.00 1.00 0.10









490.50 496.50 6.00 0.21









503.50 512.00 8.50 0.13









541.50 564.00 22.50 0.94









647.00 650.00 3.00 0.04









659.00 659.50 0.50 0.23









666.50 674.00 7.50 0.04









680.00 681.00 1.00 0.22









695.00 697.50 2.50 0.03









754.00 755.00 1.00 0.02 AR-17-138c3 147 -70 660.50 102.80 425.50 430.50 5.00 0.05









438.50 440.50 2.00 0.04









486.50 496.00 9.50 0.20









499.00 506.50 7.50 0.06









519.50 520.50 1.00 0.04









568.50 571.50 3.00 0.50









600.50 602.50 2.00 0.46









617.00 621.50 4.50 0.13

Parameters:

Maximum internal dilution 2.00 m downhole

Minimum thickness 0.5 m downhole

Cutoff grade 0.01% U3O8

U3O8 analyzed by ICP-OES at SRC Laboratories, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

All depths and intervals are meters downhole, true thicknesses are yet to be determined. Resource modelling in conjunction with an updated mineral resource estimate is required before true thicknesses can be estimated.

About NexGen

NexGen is a British Columbia corporation with a focus on the acquisition, exploration and development of Canadian uranium projects. NexGen has a highly experienced team of uranium industry professionals with a successful track record in the discovery of uranium deposits and in developing projects through discovery to production.

NexGen owns a portfolio of prospective uranium exploration assets in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada, including a 100% interest in Rook I, location of the Arrow Discovery in February 2014 and Bow Discovery in March 2015 and the Harpoon discovery in August 2016. The Arrow deposit's updated mineral resource estimate with an effective date of December 20, 2016 was released in March 2017, and comprised 179.5 M lbs U3O8 contained in 1.18 M tonnes grading 6.88% U3O8 in the indicated mineral resource category and an additional 122.1 M lbs U3O8 contained in 4.25 M tonnes grading 1.30% U3O8 in the inferred mineral resource category.

Technical Information

All scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared by or reviewed and approved by Mr. Garrett Ainsworth, P.Geo., Vice President  Exploration & Development for NexGen. Mr. Ainsworth is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") of the Canadian Securities Administrators, and has verified the sampling, analytical, and test data underlying the information or opinions contained herein by reviewing original data certificates and monitoring all of the data collection protocols. For details of the Rook I Project including the quality assurance program and quality control measures applied and key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate the mineral resource set forth herein please refer to the technical report entitled "Technical Report on the Rook 1 Property, Saskatchewan, Canada" dated effective March 31, 2017 (the "Rook 1 Technical Report") prepared by Mark B. Mathisen and David A. Ross, each of whom is a "qualified person" under NI 43-101. The Rook I Technical Report is available on NexGen's issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All intersections are downhole, true thicknesses are yet to be determined. Resource modelling in conjunction with an updated mineral resource estimate is required before true thicknesses can be estimated.

Split core samples were taken systematically, and intervals were submitted to SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories (an SCC ISO/IEC 17025: 2005 Accredited Facility) of Saskatoon for analysis. For non-infill holes, samples were analyzed using ICP-MS for trace elements on partial and total digestions (non-radioactive samples), ICP-OES for major and minor elements on partial and total digestions (radioactive samples), and fusion solution of boron by ICP-OES. All mineralized samples were analyzed for U3O8 by ICP-OES and selected samples were analyzed for gold by fire assay.

U.S. investors are advised that while the terms "indicated resources" and "inferred resources" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize these terms. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the material in these categories will ever be converted into mineral reserves.

Forward-Looking Information

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, without limitation, the completion of the proposed preliminary economic assessment.. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof.

Forward-looking information and statements are based on the then current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about NexGen's business and the industry and markets in which it operates. Forward-looking information and statements are made based upon numerous assumptions, including among others, that the proposed transaction will be completed, the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the price of uranium, the cost of planned exploration activities, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment, supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct NexGen's planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner and that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward looking information or making forward looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate.

Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performances and achievements of NexGen to differ materially from any projections of results, performances and achievements of NexGen expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others, negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of the availability of additional financing, the risk that pending assay results will not confirm previously announced preliminary results, imprecision of mineral resource estimates, the appeal of alternate sources of energy and sustained low uranium prices, aboriginal title and consultation issues, exploration risks, reliance upon key management and other personnel, deficiencies in the Company's title to its properties, uninsurable risks, failure to manage conflicts of interest, failure to obtain or maintain required permits and licenses, changes in laws, regulations and policy, competition for resources and financing, specific risks relating to the negotiation and execution of the definitive agreements for the financing, the use of proceeds from the financing, the satisfaction of each party's obligations in accordance with the terms of the definitive agreements for the financing; failure to receive any required regulatory approvals (including stock exchange) or other approvals, and other factors discussed or referred to in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2017 under "Risk Factors".

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.

There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE NexGen Energy Ltd.

Related Links

www.nexgenenergy.ca


SEATTLE, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Seattle-based Nordstrom, Inc. announced plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at The Promenade at Town Center in Santa Clarita, California. The approximately 30,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open in spring 2018.

Just 35 miles from downtown Los Angeles, The Promenade at Town Center is located off I-5 at the intersection of Magic Mountain Parkway and McBean Parkway. The new Nordstrom Rack store will join more than seven existing retailers in the area.

"We've been fortunate to serve customers in the Los Angeles area for many years and we're thrilled to add a new Nordstrom Rack location in beautiful Santa Clarita," said Karen McKibbin, president of Nordstrom Rack. "We're excited to offer local customers a more convenient location to shop great brands at great Rack prices."

This will be the first Nordstrom Rack store in Santa Clarita. This fall the company is also opening a new Nordstrom Rack at FIGat7th in downtown Los Angeles and relocating a full-line store to Los Angeles' Westfield Century City.

"Nordstrom Rack is a strong operator, with offerings that are well aligned with the local demographics," said Ben Green, Asset Manager at Barings, LLC. "We are confident that the store will be embraced by the community and have strong sales volumes. We are excited to have Nordstrom Rack join The Promenade's existing roster of tenants, including HomeGoods, Party City, and Tilly's. With the addition of Nordstrom Rack, The Promenade at Town Center is the preeminent community shopping center in the Santa Clarita Valley and continues to be a solid investment for our fund."

Nordstrom Rack is the off-price retail division of Nordstrom, Inc., offering customers a wide selection of on-trend apparel, accessories and shoes at an everyday savings of 30-70 percent off regular prices. Nordstrom Rack stores offer convenient mobile check-out, allowing customers to skip the lines and purchase their items from a salesperson anywhere in the store. Nordstrom Rack merchandise comes from Nordstrom stores and Nordstrom.com, as well as specially purchased items from many of the top brands available at Nordstrom. Customers can shop an even larger selection of merchandise on nordstromrack.com or through the Nordstrom Rack + HauteLook mobile app, which features a Scan and Shop button to easily locate and order items not available in the store. The Rack is designed to provide the ultimate treasure hunt to style-savvy customers.

About Nordstrom

Nordstrom, Inc. is a leading fashion specialty retailer based in the U.S. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 354 stores in 40 states, including 122 full-line stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico; 221 Nordstrom Rack stores; two Jeffrey boutiques; and two clearance stores. Additionally, customers are served online through Nordstrom.com, Nordstromrack.com and HauteLook. The company also owns Trunk Club, a personalized clothing service serving customers online at TrunkClub.com and its seven clubhouses. Nordstrom, Inc.'s common stock is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol JWN.

About Barings Real Estate Advisers

Barings Real Estate Advisers is part of Barings LLC, one of the world's largest diversified real estate investment managers. The group is an active investor in private and public, equity and debt markets, and provides core, value-added, and opportunistic investment and advisory services to institutional and other qualified investors around the globe.

About Barings

Barings is a $280+billion* global asset management firm dedicated to meeting the evolving investment and capital needs of our clients. We build lasting partnerships that leverage our distinctive expertise across traditional and alternative asset classes to deliver innovative solutions and exceptional service. A member of the MassMutual Financial Group, Barings maintains a strong global presence with over 600 investment professionals and offices in 17 countries. Learn more, at www.barings.com.

*As of March 31, 2017.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Brenna Sussman

Nordstrom, Inc.

(206) 303-2316

[email protected]

Ben Green

Barings LLC

(310) 234-2525

[email protected]

SOURCE Nordstrom, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.nordstrom.com


EAST HANOVER, N.J., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Novartis announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) unanimously (10-0) recommended approval of CTL019 (tisagenlecleucel), an investigational chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy, for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (r/r) pediatric and young adult patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

"The panel's unanimous recommendation in favor of CTL019 moves us closer to potentially delivering the first-ever commercially approved CAR-T cell therapy to patients in need," said Bruno Strigini, CEO, Novartis Oncology. "We're very proud to be expanding new frontiers in cancer treatment by advancing immunocellular therapy for children and young adults with r/r B-cell ALL and other critically ill patients who have limited options. We look forward to working with the FDA as they complete their review."

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia comprises approximately 25% of cancer diagnoses among children under 15 years old and is the most common childhood cancer in the US1. Effective treatment options for patients with r/r ALL are limited. In pediatric and young adult patients with B-cell ALL that have relapsed multiple times or become refractory to treatment, the five-year disease-free survival is less than 10-30%2,3,4.

The ODAC recommendation is based on review of the CTL019 r/r B-cell ALL development program, which includes the Novartis-led ELIANA study (NCT02435849), the first pediatric global CAR-T cell therapy registration trial. Findings from a US multicenter trial and a single site trial examining the safety and efficacy of CTL019 among pediatric and young adult patients with r/r B-cell ALL also supported the recommendation and the Biologics License Application (BLA)5.

CTL019 was first developed by the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and uses the 4-1BB costimulatory domain in its chimeric antigen receptor to enhance cellular responses as well as persistence of CTL019 after it is infused into the patient, which may be associated with long-lasting remissions in patients. In 2012, Novartis and Penn entered into a global collaboration to further research, develop and commercialize CAR-T cell therapies, including CTL019, for the investigational treatment of cancers. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) was the first institution to investigate CTL019 in the treatment of pediatric patients and led the single site trial.

"It is encouraging to see the FDA panel's recommendation and continued momentum behind this innovative therapy, which has potential to help young patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell ALL," said the Penn team's leader, Carl June, MD, the Richard W. Vague Professor of Immunotherapy, director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies in Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Penn. "We look forward to continuing to work with Novartis to help make a lasting impact on the way this disease is treated."

"We know firsthand from treating children and young adults with relapsed/refractory B-cell ALL that they desperately need innovative medicines that provide a new approach to managing this aggressive disease," said Stephan Grupp, MD, PhD, the Yetta Deitch Novotny Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at Penn, Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Frontier Program and Chief of the Section of Cellular Therapy and Transplant at CHOP. "Today's vote in favor of CTL019 is a positive step and we appreciate Novartis' commitment to pediatric patients."

Earlier this year, Novartis submitted a BLA for CTL019 to the FDA, marking the first submission by Novartis for a CAR-T cell therapy. CTL019 previously received FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation and is under Priority Review by the FDA. The FDA will consider the vote as it reviews the BLA, although it is not obligated to follow the recommendation. Novartis continues to invest in the necessary infrastructure for the potential commercialization of CTL019, including manufacturing and the establishment of a network of certified treatment centers.

Novartis plans additional filings for CTL019 in the US and EU later this year, including applications with the FDA and European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of adults with r/r diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

About CAR-T and CTL019

CAR-T is different from typical small molecule or biologic therapies because it is manufactured for each individual patient using their own cells. During the treatment process, T cells are drawn from a patient's blood and reprogrammed in the manufacturing facility to create T cells that are genetically coded to express a chimeric antigen receptor to recognize and fight cancer cells and other B-cells expressing a specific antigen.

ELIANA (NCT02435849) is the first pediatric global CAR-T cell therapy registration trial, with study enrollment having occurred across 25 centers in the US, Canada, EU, Australia and Japan.

Because CTL019 is an investigational therapy, the safety and efficacy profile has not yet been established. Access to investigational therapies is available only through carefully controlled and monitored clinical trials. These trials are designed to better understand the potential benefits and risks of the therapy. Because of the uncertainty of clinical trials, there is no guarantee that CTL019 will ever be commercially available anywhere in the world.

About CTL019 Manufacturing

The Novartis leukapheresis process using cryopreservation allowed for manufacturing and treatment of patients from around the world. Cryopreserved leukapheresis involves removing white blood cells from a patient's blood and preserving them at very low temperatures. Cryopreserved leukapheresis gives physicians the flexibility to schedule apheresis at a time that is in the best interest of their patients. Novartis commercial manufacturing for CTL019 continues to build on its experience in its Morris Plains, New Jersey facility, which has already manufactured CTL019 for hundreds of patients in global clinical trials. Novartis believes that experience is important in cell therapy manufacturing, and the experience gained at the Morris Plains, New Jersey facility will be a foundation for commercial manufacturing of CAR-T therapies. Novartis has made and continues to make investments in manufacturing.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for CTL019 and the other investigational products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that CTL019 or the other investigational products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Neither can there be any guarantee that Novartis will successfully implement and maintain commercial manufacturing for CTL019 or the other investigational products described in this press release, or successfully build a network of treatment centers to offer CTL019 or the other investigational products described in this press release. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; our ability to successfully implement and maintain commercial manufacturing and build a network of treatment centers; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures; general economic and industry conditions, including the effects of the persistently weak economic and financial environment in many countries; safety, quality or manufacturing issues, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Located in East Hanover, NJ Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation is an affiliate of Novartis which provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic and biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care. Novartis has leading positions globally in each of these areas. In 2016, the Group achieved net sales of USD 48.5 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.0 billion. Novartis Group companies employ approximately 118,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are sold in approximately 155 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.

Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis and @Novartis Cancer at http://twitter.com/novartiscancer.

For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library

For questions about the site or required registration, please contact [email protected]

References

Howlader, N., Noone, A.. M, Krapcho, M., et al. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 19752010. National Cancer Institute, April 2013 ; Section 28.9 (12). Oudot, C.., Auclerc, F.., Levy, V., et al. Prognostic Factors for Leukemia Induction Failure in Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Outcome After Salvage Therapy: The FRALLE 93 Study. Journal of Clinical Oncology, March 2008 ; Volume 28 (9). Chessels, J., Veys, P., Kempski, H., et al. Long-term follow-up of relapsed childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. British Journal of Hematology, 2003; 123 (3). Reismuller, B., Peters, C., Dworzak, M., et al. Outcome of children and adolescents with a second or third relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL): a population-based analysis of the Austrian ALL-BFM ( Berlin -Frankfurt-Munster) Study Group. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. July 2013 ; 35 (5). Novartis CTL019 ODAC Briefing Document.

Novartis Media Relations

Central media line: +41 61 324 2200

E-mail: [email protected]





Eric Althoff Novartis Global Media Relations +41 61 324 7999 (direct) +41 79 593 4202 (mobile) [email protected] Fiona Phillips Novartis Oncology Communications +1 862-778-7705 (direct) +1 862-217-9396 (mobile) [email protected]

SOURCE Novartis
RESTON, Va., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology company, was awarded one of six GSA Federal Supply Schedule Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to compete for BPA calls to provide information technology (IT) support under the GLobal INfrastructure and Development Acquisition (GLINDA) Enterprise Services program. The BPA has a base period of performance from date of award through September 29, 2019 plus three one-year options, and a maximum potential value of $679 million for all awardees if all options are exercised. Work under resultant BPA calls will be performed primarily at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, Md. and will also support each of NRC's Regional Offices in King of Prussia, Pa, Atlanta, Ga., Lisle, Ill., Arlington, Texas., and a Technical Training Center in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The scope of the BPA includes mobility support services, end-user computing services, network support services, data center and cloud services, and application operations and maintenance support. For BPA calls that it wins, Leidos will leverage alternatives to existing services and approaches for efficiency improvements, and offer a full complement of IT services to support the NRC's goals and objectives. The work will contribute to the modernization and rebalancing of the NRC's information management and IT functions to provide greater product innovation to the workforce.

"The Leidos team understands the NRC's mission as well as their IT strategy," said Leidos Civil President Angie Heise. "We look forward to providing the domain expertise and innovation required to propel them on their IT services transformation journey."

About Leidos

Leidos is a FORTUNE 500 science and technology solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 32,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $7.04 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2016. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 30, 2016, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

SOURCE Leidos

Related Links

http://www.leidos.com


LAS CRUCES, N.M., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As debates rage over the future of health care in America, a new book claims that the government's current system for overseeing nursing homes allows unhealthy nursing home conditions to persist or recur year after year.

"The oversight system has blind spots," said retired journalist and certified internal auditor William J. Beerman, Sr., who has just released a 380-page book entitled "Mary Regina's nursing home."

"Sometimes nursing home inspectors see the violations. Sometimes they don't," Beerman said.

For example, he said, confidential witnesses in lawsuits ongoing in 2017 reported that it was not unusual for nursing homes to cover up deficiencies after they somehow found out in advance that inspectors were coming for "unannounced" inspections. "Some nursing homes bring in extra staff before 'surprise' inspections and scramble to conceal violations. Inspectors don't always see how residents normally live," said Beerman.

Beerman spent 20 days at his mother's bedside in a nursing home. He was disappointed by the way the state health department handled his complaints about the care she received. After her death in 2011, Beerman began researching how nursing homes are regulated. His book is named for his mother, Mary Regina.

Beerman's research covered lawsuits filed against nursing home chains by attorneys general in New Mexico and Pennsylvania, and audits by Pennsylvania auditors general and the U. S. Government Accountability Office. The lawsuits encompassed 65 nursing homes and more than a million patient-days of nursing home care.

"Enforcement fluctuates wildly," Beerman said. "In one state, under one governor, the health department took 171 enforcement actions against nursing homes in 2003, but in 2012, under the next governor, it took only two." In 2015, the enforcement number was 52. Nationally, consumer complaints rose 21 percent from 2005-2014 while citations went down 41 percent, Beerman said. Fines in the U.S. were down 10 percent from 2015-2016.

Nursing homes are rated on a scale of one to five stars, with many above average (three stars) and many below. Beerman said he was surprised to discover that the Medicare.gov Five-Star rating system does not incorporate evaluations from nursing home residents.

An outline of the book, including a list of notable issues covered, is posted on Beerman's website, https://www.wbeerman.com

The book was published July 9 on Amazon.com.

SOURCE William J. Beerman, Sr.

Related Links

https://www.wbeerman.com


NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC) will publish its second quarter 2017 results on Thursday, July 20, 2017. The company will host a conference call to review second quarter results on Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 8:30 AM (EDT). The dial-in numbers for the conference call are (800) 230-1074 (domestic) and (612) 234-9960 (international). In addition, the conference call will be simulcast and archived at http://investor.omnicomgroup.com/investor-rel ations/news-events-and-filings .

About Omnicom Group Inc.

Omnicom Group (www.omnicomgroup.com) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries. Follow us on Twitter for the latest news.

SOURCE Omnicom Group

Related Links

http://www.omnicomgroup.com


PHOENIX, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Underscoring their long-standing commitment to the community, OneAZ Credit Union and OneAZ Community Foundation are seeking nominations for their Community Impact Grants program, which will award a total of $55,000 in much needed funds to non-profit organizations across Arizona that are actively helping communities thrive and prosper.

Building upon the success of the inaugural year of the program, the Community Impact Grants' goal is to fund initiatives that provide a direct benefit to the communities the credit union serves and enhance their quality of life. More specifically, OneAZ is seeking programs that align with its key focus area of economic development, while making a measurable local impact. Grants range between $500 and $2,500.

"Giving back to the communities we serve is an integral cornerstone of the credit union's culture," said Dave Doss, CEO of OneAZ Credit Union. "Through the Community Impact Grants program, we are continuing to support the tireless efforts of local non-profits to improve the lives of our members and enhance both the character and quality of life in their communities."

Arizona-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations are invited to share details about the program or initiative for which they are seeking a grant by completing an online application available at OneAZcu.com/grants. Submissions will be accepted through 5 p.m. MST on August 21. OneAZ Credit Union and OneAZ Community Foundation will publicly announce grant recipients the week of October 10, 2017.

"Last year, we had the honor of awarding a total of $50,000 in grants to 33 local non-profits from across the state that are positively working to enhance the fabric of their community," said Sam J. Wheeler, Chairman of the OneAZ Community Foundation Board. "Seeing the positive effect these programs are having in our communities fuels our desire to help further the missions of many respected and deserving non-profits with a proven track-record of serving those in need."

OneAZ Credit Union is a full-service, non-profit credit union, with 140,000 members and more than $1.9 billion in assets. At its 22 branches across the state, the credit union offers an array of services to help members during the most important stages of life  from preparing for college to buying a home and planning for retirement.

About OneAZ Credit Union and OneAZ Community Foundation

OneAZ Credit Union is a $1.9 billion full-service, not-for-profit, local financial institution with a statewide branch network serving members since 1951. More than 140,000 Arizonans turn to OneAZ for its comprehensive business and personal financial services. OneAZ Community Foundation will play an important role in providing much-needed funding to non-profit and community organizations throughout the state. OneAZ Credit Union is a 10-time winner of Arizona Business Magazine's Ranking Arizona and a six-time recipient of the Peter Barron Stark & Associates Award for Workplace Excellence. The credit union is headquartered in Phoenix and welcomes members from throughout the state. For more information, call 844.663.2928 or visit oneazcu.com.

SOURCE OneAZ Credit Union

Related Links

https://www.oneazcu.com


Pakistani national and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Ismail was the mastermind of the Amarnath Yatra attack.

By Press Trust of India: Four terrorists, two of them Pakistanis, are suspected to have been involved in the attack on Amarnath pilgrims in which seven devotees were killed, home ministry officials said today.

Quoting intelligence inputs, the officials said Pakistani national and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Ismail was the mastermind of Monday's attack and he was assisted by another Pakistani and two local militants.

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A massive manhunt has been launched for the four terrorists, who are also believed to have used two motorcycles to escape from the scene after attacking the pilgrims bus, officials said.

They said the Gujarat registered bus, which was attacked, reached at Jammu on July 7 and got registered at Amarnath shrine facilitation centre.

Initially, the bus was part of the regular convoy of the pilgrims and travelled together till Baltal.

The pilgrims in the bus paid their obeisance at the cave shrine on July 8 and returned. On the way back, the pilgrims left the convoy and drove to Srinagar.

The Gujarati pilgrims stayed in Srinagar for two days as tourists. On July 10, around 4:30 PM, they left Srinagar for Katra.

The vehicle got punctured at a place 10 km away from Khanabal around 6:30 PM. Then the passengers went down and had food at a roadside eatery.

When the bus resumed its journey, it came under attack from the terrorists at Khanabal around 2017 hours.

Facing the bullets, the driver of the bus, Salim Sheikh, charged past the area but had to face another group of terrorists after crossing just 75 metres.

The driver again did not stop the bus despite facing the terrorist attack for the second time in quick succession.

The bus was finally stopped at a police point after a few kilometres and the policemen on duty took the pilgrims to the Anantnag police line where the injured were given first aid before being shifted to a hospital, officials said.

Also read:

Massive hunt on in Kashmir to nab Amarnath terror attack mastermind Abu Ismail Was Amarnath pilgrim bus original target of Anantnag attack? Cops wade through maze of clues

Amarnath Yatra terror attack: Army chief tells jawans to keep up pressure on terrorists

Amarnath attack: How the hero bus driver drove through bullets to save many lives

Also watch:

Arrested Lashkar terrorist Sandeep Kumar gives info on Amarnath attack mastermind Ismail

--- ENDS ---
DAYTON, Ohio, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Falls are the leading cause of death and disability in the construction industry. Nearly 1 in 4 falls involve ladders, and a fatal fall can happen from under 15 feet. Vandalia Rental , Mid-America OSHA, and the Ohio Valley Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. are educating workers and employers about safety precautions aimed at saving lives and protecting the construction workforce. OSHA's campaign called "Plan, Provide, Train", endeavors to reduce accidents associated with falls in the construction industry.

Vandalia Rental Delivering Genie Lifts

Planning is the first step in protecting workers from injury. When work must be completed at a height, employers and supervisors must develop safety plans that include budgeting for and providing protective equipment needed for safe completion. Managing hazards at heights will require project managers to evaluate potential hazards in advance, such as skylights that create holes in roofs, leading edges, and stability challenges; then plan the correct method for work which will include the use of the correct ladders, safely built scaffolding, guardrail systems, or harnesses.

Providing the correct tools as well as necessary gear and training will significantly minimize fall risk. Providing workers with proper protective equipment may include personal fall arrest systems (PFAS), harnesses for each worker to anchor, and well-fitting safety gear. Properly built scaffolding, guardrails on elevated platforms, and monitoring trip hazard from construction materials or exposed rebar will also reduce fall risks. Ensuring that tools and construction materials get to the height needed safely will reduce incidents of falling tools which can throw workers off balance.

Training must also be provided on proper set up at work sites, safe use of protective equipment and PFAS, safe ladder use, and safe scaffolding construction and load capacity, as well as safe height conduct. Regular inspection of equipment is essential to safety.

OSHA promotes the concept of role-modeling at work. Employers that lead by example set the tone for project safety, and supervisors should practice and monitor safe use and conduct on the job site. Alisha Lange, the Marketing Director at Vandalia Rental stated, "Vandalia Rental leads by example and trains workers and contractors in the safe use of all aerial rental equipment, scaffolding, and tool that is rented. Safety is always our top priority. Genie Fall Arrest Bars, Operator Protective Structures, Contact Alarms, and Panel Cradles are a few of the optional aerial work platform safety compliant accessories that we carry. They are always in high demand."

Falls can be prevented with proper planning, safe equipment, and training. Go to www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3755.pdf to learn more about how to prevent falls on the job. For more information on equipment rental, aerial work platform safety accessories, or safety training with Vandalia Rental, call 1-800-321-5061, email [email protected], or visit vandaliarental.com.

Press Contact:

Alisha Lange, Marketing Director

PO Box 160

Vandalia, OH 45377

Phone: 937.665.2110

E-mail: [email protected]

Twitter: www.twitter.com/vandaliarental

Facebook: www.facebook.com/vandaliarental

www.facebook.com/vandaliarentalfranklin

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Related Links

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Related Video

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SOURCE Vandalia Rental
SEOUL, South Korea, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- KT's international solution of preventing and blocking the world health crisis through telecommunication operator's Big Data has been successfully adopted to the G20 Joint Declaration.

KT's idea of using technology to contribute in raising South Korea's status through the G20 Joint Declaration process. The economic and social losses and human loss from infectious diseases are very high and is a significant problem in need of a resolution within the international community. Therefore, KT is working to secure international corporation to spread this idea to the world and to reduce this crisis.

In the Joint Declaration (page 8), 'Building Resilience' part, shows prevention and correspondence against the World Health Crisis. Especially, in the 'Safeguarding against Health Crises and Strengthening Health System', it highlights the importance of building a strong health system to prevent an international health crisis.

In the agreed documents, G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development's 'global health' p18, it supports international efforts, including WHO Health Emergencies Program to manage health risks and crisis. Moreover, it highlights importance of early identification of disease outbreak to response effectively.

In 2016, KT with Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning, constructed a 'smart quarantine system' that analyzes the roaming data of travelers visiting the infected area to follow quarantine procedures. Currently under the leadership of the CDC, it is being implemented with other telecommunication companies.

KT CEO Chang gyu Hwang stated "as global cooperation enhancement is stipulated in G20 Summit Joint Statement, a stepping-stone is set for preventing global communicative diseases by utilizing big data. KT will continuously show its best endeavor to improve national status and pride while working closely with the ministries of Health and Welfare, Science, ICT, and Future Planning."

Furthermore, at the UN Global Compact (UNGC) conference in New York 2016, KT CEO Chang gyu Hwang proposed a project to prevent the global spread of infectious diseases by analyzing the roaming information of mobile phone users (about 7.3 billion people) for the first time in the world with 800 international telecommunication companies.

SOURCE KT
ATLANTA, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE: APTS) ("PAC" or the "Company") today announced that on July 11, 2017 it closed on a loan investment of up to approximately $22.4 million. This investment is in connection with 360 Residential's plans to develop a 356-unit multifamily community located in the Atlanta, Georgia MSA. Additionally, with this investment, PAC received an option to purchase the multifamily community following stabilization at a discounted price to market. "We are pleased to be part of this exciting new multifamily development in such a growing and vibrant submarket," said John A. Williams, the Company's Chief Executive Officer.

About Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc.

Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. is a Maryland corporation formed primarily to acquire and operate multifamily properties in select targeted markets throughout the United States. As part of our business strategy, we may enter into forward purchase contracts or purchase options for to-be-built multifamily communities and we may make real estate related loans, provide deposit arrangements, or provide performance assurances, as may be necessary or appropriate, in connection with the development of multifamily communities and other properties. As a secondary strategy, we may acquire or originate senior mortgage loans, subordinate loans or real estate loans secured by interests in multifamily properties, membership or partnership interests in multifamily properties and other multifamily related assets and invest a lesser portion of our assets in other real estate related investments, including other income-producing property types, senior mortgage loans, subordinate loans or real estate loans secured by interests in other income-producing property types, membership or partnership interests in other income-producing property types as determined by our manager as appropriate for us. At March 31, 2017, the Company was the approximate 96.8% owner of Preferred Apartment Communities Operating Partnership, L.P., the Company's operating partnership. Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, commencing with its tax year ended December 31, 2011.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "trend", "will", "expects", "plans", "estimates", "anticipates", "projects", "intends", "believes", "goals", "objectives", "outlook" and similar expressions. Because such statements include risks, uncertainties and contingencies, actual results may differ materially from the expectations, intentions, beliefs, plans or predictions of the future expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include, but are not limited to, those disclosed in PAC's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. PAC undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required by law.

Additional Information

The SEC has declared effective the registration statement (including prospectus) filed by the Company for each of the offerings to which this communication may relate. Before you invest, you should read the final prospectus, and any prospectus supplements, forming a part of the registration statement and other documents the Company has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Company and the offering to which this communication may relate. In particular, you should carefully read the risk factors described in the final prospectus and in any related prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference in the final prospectus and any related prospectus supplement to which this communication may relate. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Company or its dealer manager, Preferred Capital Securities, LLC, with respect to PAC's mShares Redeemable Preferred Stock Offering and Series A Redeemable Preferred Stock and Warrant Unit Offering, and JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC, with respect to PAC's ATM Common Stock Offering, will arrange to send you a prospectus if you request it by calling Leonard A. Silverstein at (770) 818-4100, 3284 Northside Parkway NW, Suite 150, Atlanta, Georgia 30327.

The ATM Common Stock Offering prospectus, dated July 18, 2016, including a base prospectus, dated May 17, 2016, can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1481832/000148183216000152/atmprospectus.htm

The mShares Redeemable Preferred Stock Offering prospectus, dated January 19, 2017, can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1481832/000148183217000008/a424prospectus-mshares1.htm

The Series A Redeemable Preferred Stock and Warrant Unit Offering prospectus, dated March 16, 2017, can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1481832/000148183217000061/a424prospectus-15bseriesar.htm

SOURCE Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc.
The fourth annual U.S. Intern Day of Service. Protiviti's interns, joined by nearly 600 of the firm's employees, will volunteer on Friday in 25 cities concurrently for non-profit organizations including: Blessings in a Backpack, Ronald McDonald House, Room to Grow, Harbor House and Meal on Wheels, among several others.

In Houston, interns will spend the afternoon volunteering for the Center for Hearing and Speech, where they will assist in organizing and cleaning the facilities as well as creating new pieces of art to be displayed.

WHY:
LOS ANGELES, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Radianz line of surfaces and countertops from LOTTE Advanced Materials offers an extensive array of colors, patterns and visual textures. With an industry-leading 51 colors ranging from neutral to vibrant tones, the Radianz line offers the precise hue that's ideally suited for virtually any interior application, including kitchens and work spaces in both residential and commercial environments.

With its vast range of colors and designs, Radianz quartz surfaces cater to individual styles and preferences while providing a surface that is engineered to be ultra-durable. For example, those with traditional tastes can find colors ranging from light shades such as Denali Cloud, to the dark tones of Impala Black, both from the Marble Collection. The extensive color, pattern and visual texture options of the Radianz line open the door for creative, highly personalized designs.

"The Radianz palette of colors is the most extensive and imaginative in the industry," said Brandon Choi, marketing manager, LOTTE Advanced Materials USA, Inc. "With new Breton manufacturing technology, the line can be engineered in a multitude of unique patterns and shades, giving customers endless design possibilities."

Many Radianz colors and textures are designed to reflect the beauty of natural stone. Each of the five Radianz collections features its own nature-inspired design aesthetic:

Noble Collection  combines neutral tones with jewel-like embellishments for an authentic stone-like appearance.

 combines neutral tones with jewel-like embellishments for an authentic stone-like appearance. Marble Collection  features rich shades of white, black and grey with realistic, marbled vein patterns.

 features rich shades of white, black and grey with realistic, marbled vein patterns. Vivid Collection  a blend of bold and bright monotone colors with small, speckled patterns.

 a blend of bold and bright monotone colors with small, speckled patterns. Coastal Collection  includes neutral colors with translucent patterns inspired by coastal elements.

 includes neutral colors with translucent patterns inspired by coastal elements. Classic Collection  consists of subtle, neutral colors that vary in tone, texture and style.

Comprised of more than 93% natural quartz, the hardest component derived from granite, the physical properties of Radianz surfaces and countertops ensure long-lasting color consistency and continuity. Key benefits of Radianz quartz material include:

High durability  resistant to scratches and marring, stains, fading, physical impact and high temperatures.

Color uniformity and consistency  precision in color and pattern for a uniform installation.

Eco-friendly  select colors contain post-industrial recycled content that reduce waste and energy consumption during the production process.

LOTTE Advanced Materials delivers Radianz through select distributors and channel partners.

For more information on Radianz premium quartz surfaces, please visit www.radianz-quartz.com.

About LOTTE Advanced Materials

LOTTE Advanced Materials manufactures and markets high-performance decorative surfacing materials for homes and businesses around the globe. Originally part of the Samsung family of companies, LOTTE Advanced Materials is rapidly expanding its North American presence through the company's solid-surface brand, Staron, a seamless and thermo-formable, acrylic product suitable for a wide range of commercial applications. The quartz surface brand, Radianz, is a premium, color-controlled countertop alternative that is designed and engineered to be ultra-durable. Through cutting-edge technology and insights into worldwide market trends, LOTTE Advanced Materials continues to excel in today's surface industry. LOTTE Advanced Materials

Contact:

Ray Vincenzo

(206) 290-4431

[email protected]

SOURCE LOTTE Advanced Materials

Related Links

https://www.lotteadms.com


HERNDON, Va., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- REAN Cloud, an AWS Premier Partner and global Cloud Systems Integrator, has acquired 47Lining, a well-recognized AWS Advanced Consulting Partner in the big data space. This acquisition gives REAN Cloud a strong presence in Big Data analytics, IOT and Machine Learning and extends its U.S. footprint, adding key locations like Denver's fast-growing tech corridor and the West Coast.

BV Investment Partners continues to play a key role supporting REAN Cloud's vision and has increased its stake in the company by leading the second round of funding to support the acquisition. REAN Cloud was advised by MVP Capital, an investment banking firm serving companies in the technology, media, telecom and renewable energy sectors.

"The strategic acquisition of 47Lining will help REAN Cloud scale to meet increased customer interest in Data Lakes, Redshift migrations, real-time analytics and data platforms for extreme event volumes," said Sekhar Puli, Managing Director and Co-founder of REAN Cloud.

"REAN Cloud's demonstrated ability to wield its engineering capabilities and resources, combined with its strong IP in infrastructure automation, will play a major part in scaling the Big Data practice, leveraging 47Lining IP around big data and analytics," said Sri Vasireddy, Managing Partner and Co-founder.

Combining 47Lining's big data proficiency with REAN Cloud's expertise in cloud security, migration and DevOps provides our customers with the enhanced breadth of capabilities from one of the strongest cloud services portfolios on the market. 47Lining will continue to operate as a distinct business unit, which will ensure that the 47Lining brand and team remains intact. 47Lining's former CEO, Mick Bass, will lead this new business unit, continuing to drive world-class big data and analytics engineering capabilities and expanding REAN's customer reach into the West Coast and beyond.

"Joining a proven AWS Premier Partner like REAN will help us to rapidly scale our proven Big Data capabilities and help more enterprises create business value through data as part of their cloud adoption journey," said Mick, SVP of the Big Data Practice at REAN Cloud. "By combining our knowledge and experience with REAN Cloud's array of cloud-based solutions, we create a company with unrivaled capabilities and the scale required to help any enterprise get the most out of its cloud investment."

REAN Cloud, which achieved Premier Consulting Partner status in the AWS Partner Network faster than any other company in the network's history, now adds 47Lining's AWS Big Data Competency to its existing Security, Financial Services, Government, Education, Life Sciences, Storage, Migration, DevOps and Microsoft Workloads AWS competencies.

Recently recognized in Gartner's Magic Quadrant report on Public Cloud Infrastructure Managed Service Providers, 2017, REAN Cloud's extensive domain expertise, proprietary compliance tools and end-to-end service offering enables customers to operate securely in even the most highly-regulated environments while enabling them to unleash innovation and accelerate time to value from their cloud investments.

For more information about REAN Cloud, please visit www.reancloud.com, email [email protected] or call +1 (844) 377-7326.

About REAN Cloud

REAN Cloud, a global cloud systems integrator and Managed Service Provider (MSP), is a Premier Consulting Partner in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN). REAN Cloud offers managed and professional services and solutions for hyperscale integrated IaaS and PaaS providers and is one the few systems integrators capable of supporting the entire cloud services lifecycle. Backed by extensive security DNA and deep compliance IP and expertise, REAN Cloud specializes in helping enterprise customers that operate in highly regulated environments  Financial Services, Healthcare/Life Sciences, Education and the Public Sector to get the most from their cloud investment while enabling them to accelerate the value gained from the cloud once there. REAN Cloud's team has worked with global organizations including the American Heart Association, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Ditech Mortgage, Ellucian, Globus Genomics, Philips, PierianDx, SAP, Symantec, Teradata and Veritas. REAN Cloud solutions are bundled with advanced security features to help address clients' compliance needs.

SOURCE REAN Cloud

Related Links

https://www.reancloud.com


STONEHAM, Mass., July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The harmful effects of conventional LED lights at night, which disrupt circadian clocks and increase appetite, insulin resistance and diabetes risk, may be avoided by removing bio-active blue wavelengths from white LED light, according to a research study titled "Taking the Obesity and Diabetes Risk out of Light at Night" to be presented by Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, CEO of Circadian Light at the "Light for Health and Wellbeing" Conference in Newport Beach, CA on July 27, 2017.

Dr. Moore-Ede, the former Harvard Medical School professor who led the team that located the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) circadian clock in the human brain, will present the results of cross-over pilot studies comparing insulin resistance and appetite levels in healthy volunteers working simulated 12-hour night shifts under conventional LED lights, or under Circadian Light LED fixtures which maintain high quality white light while regulating the dosage and timing of the bio-active blue content across the 24 hour day-night cycle by time of day, location and season.

"The preliminary results show that blue-depleted LED light at night minimizes circadian disruption and also appears to prevent the elevated appetite and insulin resistance seen in the same subjects exposed to conventional LED lights at night," said Dr. Moore-Ede. "The Circadian LED lights remove over 90% of the 430-500 nm harmful blue content at night while producing quality white light with a color temperature (CCT) above 3200K, and a color rendering index (CRI) above 80". "For the first time, we do not have to choose between energy efficient LED lights and health, we can have both!" concluded Dr. Moore-Ede.

The Light for Health and Wellbeing Conference will bring together leading researchers from Harvard, Stanford, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) with lighting industry innovators to discuss the latest science on how light influences human health. The conference will be held on July 27, 2017 at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa, Newport Beach, California. Dr. Moore-Ede's presentation is at 9:30 am.

About Circadian Light

Circadian Light (www.circadianlight.com) is a member of the worldwide CIRCADIAN group of companies, bringing health, productivity and safety solutions to the 24/7 business workplaces around the globe. Born out of breakthrough research on human circadian clocks at Harvard Medical School, CIRCADIAN has led in the transition of medical science breakthroughs into the 24/7 workplace.

For over 30 years, CIRCADIAN has been the leading global provider of health, safety and productivity solutions to the 24/7 operations of over half the Fortune 500 and many other international companies from offices in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. Our science-based solutions boost productivity, reduce errors and injuries, decrease absenteeism and employee turnover, and reduce health care costs.

Contact

Alex Fudukidis

Russo Partners LLC

[email protected]

Tel: (646) 942-5632

or

Karen Chase

Russo Partners LLC

[email protected]

Tel: (646) 942-5627

SOURCE Circadian Light
HOUSTON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc., a worldwide provider of forensic consulting services, today announced the strategic expansion of its business operations with the formation of a new company, Rimkus Building Consultants. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the firm will help clients from coast-to-coast proactively extend the life of their facilities by helping to identify, mitigate and eliminate the complex risks inherent in procurement, design, construction and operation of large-scale facilities.

"Rimkus Building Consultants combines our deep bench of technical expertise  engineering, architecture, design and construction  with our forensic backgrounds to proactively identify those important details that provide for a lasting facility," said Jack Dolan, president of Rimkus Building Consultants. "From building envelopes and structural systems to roadways, bridges, electrical systems and the entire range of built environments, we bring a personalized approach and innovative thinking to our clients to help mitigate risks and defects and maximize life cycles."

With a full-service portfolio and all engineering disciplines under one roof, Rimkus Building Consultants will provide professional consultation and support on a wide range of project-specific issues for both private and public sectors. The firm's suite of services spans the life of the project, including Property Condition Assessments (PCA), risk assessments, design services, pre-construction services, construction services, project close-out and post-construction services, maintenance and operations as well as building sciences.

"Rimkus has more than 30 years experience investigating what goes wrong with buildings and projects, and it's a natural next step for us to use this expertise to help developers, building owners and managers proactively optimize and extend the life of their facilities," said Curtis Brown, president and chief executive officer of Rimkus Consulting Group. "The new company fits well with our overall business strategy and supports our mission to deliver value-driven and client focused services for every aspect of the built environment."

Rimkus Building Consultants is managed by a team of seasoned experts with deep experience across a diverse range of commercial, industrial and institutional projects. Dolan, the firm's president, has more than 25 years experience in all phases of planning, design and construction for a diverse list of projects, ranging from business parks to large-scale commercial and industrial facilities to multi-family dwellings, as well as bridge, infrastructure and roadway projects. Senior Vice President Peter Doffing also brings 25 years experience in the engineering, construction and insurance sectors to the firm.

About Rimkus Building Consultants

Rimkus Building Consultants combines extensive expertise in design, construction, operations and maintenance with more than 30 years of forensic investigations experience gained from Rimkus Consulting Group. From building envelopes and structural systems to roadways, bridges, electrical systems and the entire range of built environments, the company applies engineering skills and innovative thinking to proactively help mitigate risks and defects and maximize life cycles. For more information, visit www.rimkusbuildingconsultants.com.

About Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc.

Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc. is a worldwide provider of forensic consulting services to insurance companies, law firms, corporations and government agencies. Rimkus assists clients in the responsive and timely resolution of claims and disputes. The company's team of professional engineers, scientists, and technical specialists is recognized for its commitment to service excellence by local, national and international business communities. For more information, visit www.rimkus.com.

Media Contact:

Victoria Cook

Pierpont Communications

[email protected]

713-627-2223

SOURCE Rimkus Building Consultants

Related Links

http://www.rimkusbuildingconsultants.com


HERZLIYA, Israel, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Safe-T Data (TASE : SAFE), the leading provider of secure data exchange and access solutions, and Stratoscale, the hybrid cloud infrastructure company, announced today a joint partnership designed to allow Stratoscale's customers to enhance their existing on-prem software-defined and AWS-compatible cloud region with a software-defined perimeter (SDP).

The cloud paradigm enables enterprises to accelerate and boost application innovation, while meeting business and technical goals. IaaS and PaaS have proven to offer enterprises elasticity, flexibility, scale-out capabilities and short time-to-market.

Indeed, IT organizations are continuously shifting their focus and efforts to provide the right building blocks to deliver scalable and reliable infrastructure as well as easy-to-use services. But, the adoption of an 'all-in' cloud strategy bares significant challenges as enterprises are required to align on-prem and cloud strategies while managing various types of applications, both cloud-native and legacy, as well as data.

"Symphony, Stratoscale's data center infrastructure product, offers a holistic software-defined AWS-compatible cloud infrastructure solution that enables enterprises to transition towards a hybrid and AWS-driven strategy," said Ariel Maislos, Stratoscale's Co-founder and CEO. "By adopting a unified hybrid approach and offering AWS-compatible cloud capacity and services on-prem, enterprises can now expand cloud native application development methodologies for all workloads, delivering agility and short time-to-market across the entire organization."

With the joint solution, Stratoscale customers using Symphony can enhance their existing on-prem software-defined cloud region with software-defined perimeter (SDP) capabilities. Customers can seamlessly deploy Safe-T's Secure Data Access (SDA) solution as an integral part of the Symphony-governed environment, adding an SDP layer to their SDDC. This allow Symphony users to essentially hide cloud hosted services from the Internet until it is absolutely necessary to allow someone to access them.

"IT team can now expose cloud services on-demand and only to authenticated users," explained Shachar Daniel, CEO at Safe-T. "The seamless integration between Symphony and Safe-T supports any type of application or services and ensures only authenticated users access services, preventing DDoS attacks and significantly reducing client-server VPN overhead."

Read here to learn more about the joint solution.

About Stratoscale

Stratoscale is the cloud infrastructure company, allowing anyone to deploy an AWS-compatible region in any data center. Stratoscale Symphony, can be deployed in minutes on commodity x86 servers, creating an Amazon Web Services (AWS) compatible region and offering AWS-compatible services including EC2, S3, EBS, RDS, ELB and Kubernetes. Stratoscale was named a "Cool Vendor in Servers and Virtualization" by Gartner and raised over $70M from leading investors including: Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Cisco, Intel, Qualcomm Ventures, SanDisk and Leslie Ventures.

About Safe-T

Safe-T Data (www.safe-t.com) is the provider of solutions designed to mitigate attacks on business-critical services and data for a wide range of industries, including: financial, healthcare, government, etc. Safe-T's High-risk Data Security (HDS) Solution mitigates data threats: un-authorized access to data, services, networks, or APIs; as well as data related threats, including data exfiltration, leakage, malware, ransomware, and fraud. Companies and Governments around the world trust Safe-T to secure their data, services, and networks from insider and external data threats. Focused on providing security solutions for the enterprise market, Safe-T enables organizations to benefit from enhanced productivity, efficiency, heightened security, and improved regulatory compliance. Safe-T operates in North America, APAC, Africa, Europe, and Israel.

Follow us @SafeTData on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Contact: Yifat Avikasis  Marcom Manager

[email protected]

SOURCE Safe-T Data

Related Links

http://www.safe-t.com


SAN FRANCISCO, and TORONTO, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today announced that it is now live on Amazon Web Service (AWS) Cloud infrastructure in Canada. Customers in Canada can access the Salesforce Intelligent Customer Success Platform, including Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, App Cloud, Community Cloud, Analytics Cloud and more, on the AWS Canada (Central) Region.

The company also announced that Salesforce is the #1 CRM software provider in Canada  based on total software revenue for 2016  and the fastest growing among the three largest enterprise software vendors in the region according to Gartner's worldwide all software markets market share report.

Comments on the News

"As the global leader in CRM, Salesforce is committed to delivering the most trusted, reliable and resilient infrastructure available to our customers," said Parker Harris, Co-Founder and CTO, Salesforce. "Our alliance with AWS, an industry-leading global public cloud infrastructure, allows us to expand our infrastructure presence more quickly and efficiently so we can support our fast-growing customer base in Canada and around the world."

"The shift to cloud and customer-centricity combined with the rapid pace of digital transformation is driving unprecedented growth of our Intelligent Customer Success Platform in Canada," said Richard Eyram, Country Manager, Salesforce Canada. "With the availability of our powerful platform on AWS, we're poised to further accelerate cloud and CRM adoption in the country and drive innovation and success with our Canadian customers and partners."

"We are excited to welcome Salesforce and their customers to the AWS Canada (Central) Region," said Eric Gales, Director, AWS Canada. "The investment in cloud technology by companies like Salesforce is driving adoption across the country and we are proud to work with them to facilitate innovative and agile services to its growing customer base."

Customer and Salesforce Ecosystem Growth Driving Strong Canadian Business Momentum

With strong customer momentum across the country and Salesforce now live on the AWS Canada Region, located in Montreal, Salesforce is set to further accelerate its growth in Canada. Canadian companies of all sizes including Vidyard, Wealthsimple and Xplornet are using Salesforce to connect with their customers in entirely new ways.

Salesforce is also driving the Canadian economy and job creation. According to research by IDC, Salesforce and its ecosystem of customers and partners in Canada will drive more than 46,000 new direct and indirect jobs and nearly $1.6 billion USD in new GDP in Canada by 2020. Additionally, with Trailhead  Salesforce's online learning environment  Canadian Salesforce administrators, developers, users and partners have earned 87,000 badges, acquiring valuable skills to succeed in today's technology-driven economy and be a part of Salesforce's flourishing ecosystem.

AWS and Salesforce's Global Strategic Alliance

AWS and Salesforce formed a strategic alliance to simplify and expand how customers capture, analyze and take action on data, delivering five service integrations for mutual customers. Additionally, as part of the alliance, Salesforce selected AWS as its preferred public cloud infrastructure provider. In addition to Canada, Salesforce will also leverage AWS infrastructure to support its growing customer base in Australia, as part of its international infrastructure expansion. The AWS Asia Pacific (Sydney) Region is expected to be generally available to Salesforce customers in the second half of 2017.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: http://www.salesforce.com.

Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase Salesforce applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information please visit http://www.salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.

SOURCE Salesforce

Related Links

http://www.salesforce.com


By PTI: Kota (Raj), Jul 12 (PTI) The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today caught a junior engineer of the Rajasthan Watershed department red-handed while she was accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from a contractor, an official said.

Along with the engineer, the secretary of the department and a gram panchyat sarpanch were allegedly involved in demanding a bribe of Rs 45,000 from the contractor, ACB Additional Superintendent of Police Thakur Chandrasheel said.

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The trio was arrested during a raid carried out at the Watershed department office in the citys Zila Parishad by an ACB sleuth, Chandrasheel said.

Engineer Priti Sain, secretary Suresh Mali and Mawasa sarpanch Suresh had demanded a bribe of Rs 45,000 from contractor Farukh for sanctioning the pending bill of Rs 2.40 lakh for the construction of anicuts under a water shade programme in Mawasa gram panchayat.

While Sain was arrested when she was accepting the bribe, Mali was arrested with Rs 18,000, which was to be shared with Suresh, he said.

Suresh was later arrested from his village. He was one of the signatories for sanctioning the pending bill of the contractor.

The raid was conducted by the ACB following a complaint by Farukh.

"The first instalment of the bribe amount was to be paid today. A trap was laid to nab the accused," the ASP said.

The three accused will be produced before the ACB court tomorrow, he added. PTI CORR PRG BDS BSA

--- ENDS ---
NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Amec Foster Wheeler plc ("Amec" or the "Company") (NYSE: AMFW). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.

The investigation concerns whether Amec and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here to join a class action]

On July 11, 2017, Amec advised investors that the Company was under investigation by the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office ("SFO"). In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Amec disclosed that the SFO's investigation "focuses on the past use of third parties and possible bribery and corruption and related offences."

On this news, Amec's American Depositary Receipt price fell $0.27, or 4.57%, to close at $5.64 on July 11, 2017.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP

Related Links

http://www.pomerantzlaw.com


STABIO, Switzerland, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

As one of the largest apparel and footwear companies in the world, VF has a responsibility to help build a better future for the industry, company, employees, and the communities where we operate. One way VF does this is by encouraging and empowering associates to get involved in initiatives in the communities where they live, work and play. In 2016, 1600 EMEA employees from VF's corporate headquarters and its brands volunteered more than 15,000 hours in their local communities.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/534414/VF_Corporation_Logo.jpg )



VF strongly believes that an actively engaged local citizen is good for both the community and business: for this reason, employees give their time and experience to volunteer in the local community. Each region and brand creates their own programs based upon community needs and employee desires.

"We are happy and proud to see so many of our employees rally to support the various projects, dedicating an entire day to the community," commented Anna Maria Rugarli, Senior Director, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility EMEA. "Our VF Community Days are part of a series of voluntary initiatives that our group organizes all over the world to support the communities where we work."

Some examples of the projects include the following:

VF Community Day in Ticino , on July 11 th , 12 th , 13 th : Three days of environmental and social volunteering during which hundreds of employees of VF Corporation will support local causes and charities. VF employees in Stabio ( Switzerland ) office held their first VF Community Day in July 2014 .

, on , 12 , 13 : Three days of environmental and social volunteering during which hundreds of employees of VF Corporation will support local causes and charities. VF employees in Stabio ( ) office held their first VF Community Day in . VF Community Day in Italy , in Pederobba, on April 6 th in celebration of Earth Day . The project involved employees in different activities supporting LIPU (Italian League for Bird Protection), an Italian organization protecting nature and biodiversity. A group of volunteers helped restore the LIPU center for education while others cleaned up park trails.

, in Pederobba, on in celebration of . The project involved employees in different activities supporting LIPU (Italian League for Bird Protection), an Italian organization protecting nature and biodiversity. A group of volunteers helped restore the LIPU center for education while others cleaned up park trails. My Playgreen by Timberland : Timberland has teamed up with the King Baudouin Foundation to create a grant program supporting the creation, maintenance and improvement of greenspaces in five European cities over the course of five years. In March, My PlayGreen funded 14 projects across London . In May, it was launched in Milan , where it will provide grants of up to 5,000 for local grassroots projects which improve access to green spaces for children of all backgrounds. To kick off the Milan edition of My Playgreen, 120 Timberland employees volunteered at 3 urban greening projects in Milan .

: Timberland has teamed up with the King Baudouin Foundation to create a grant program supporting the creation, maintenance and improvement of greenspaces in five European cities over the course of five years. In March, My PlayGreen funded 14 projects across . In May, it was launched in , where it will provide grants of up to 5,000 for local grassroots projects which improve access to green spaces for children of all backgrounds. To kick off the edition of My Playgreen, 120 Timberland employees volunteered at 3 urban greening projects in . VF Community Day, in Nottingham , coinciding with UK National Volunteering Week: last May, approximately 80 employees from across all major brands joined several service projects across Nottinghamshire to support the local communities in which employees work and live.

, coinciding with UK National Volunteering Week: last May, approximately 80 employees from across all major brands joined several service projects across to support the local communities in which employees work and live. #VFit: last year, VF Corporation partnered with London -based grassroots non-profit organisation, PhotoView PVCL Creative Learning Company (PVCL), to support at-risk students in gaining vital skills to help them get work. The initiative, #VFit, targeted students between the ages of 16 and 20 who were at risk of falling behind or dropping out of mainstream education. The goal was to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the city. A total of 16 students have completed a range of photography, film, editing and writing tasks as well as creating a real-life business brief with support from specially-trained VF store managers who served as business coaches.

Sustainability and Responsibility are an integral part of VF's operations. By dedicating ourselves to using the earth's resources efficiently and thoughtfully, VF will remain competitive in a resource-conscious marketplace and will help to ensure the future generations live in a cleaner, healthier world.

For VF, focusing on sustainability is the only possible key to the overall growth of the business in a responsible manner: by the way the products are made, to projects preserving environmental resources, to supporting local communities in which VF operates.

VF Corporation recently announced several initiatives supporting the environment. A few highlights include:

Planet: VF is committed to source 100% renewable energy by 2025 (including owned and operated facility) VF Corporation released its first-ever Forest Derived Materials Policy , setting formal guidelines for the company's purchasing preferences and use of sustainable forest materials and products. VF's forestry policy aims to avoid the issues associated with deforestation and forest degradation including the loss of ancient and endangered forests, loss of biodiversity and habitat, use of forced labor in making forestry products and loss of indigenous peoples and local community rights. VF Corporation supports the Paris Climate Agreement , the 2015 landmark accord aimed at combating climate change.

Sustainable Products: VF Corporation also released its Animal Derived Materials Policy : VF brands will no longer use fur, angora or exotic leather in their products. The progressive new policy, developed in partnership with The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International, outlines which animal materials are prohibited and sets formal guidelines for the procurement and use of approved materials by the company's brands and global supply chain partners. "Make It Better" represents Napapijri 's mindset to embrace product innovation to enable solutions that improve the lives of those around us, while making a meaningful contribution to the world. The brand's entire FW17 collection is proudly 100% fur and down free. VF signed a commitment letter during the last Copenhagen Fashion Summit in May 2017 to define a circular strategy . With this letter, they have agreed to set targets for 2020 and to report on the progress of implementing the commitment. The company is committed to being a part of a fashion industry that can lead the transition to a circular system, which restores and regenerates materials while offering new opportunities for innovative design, increased customer engagement and the capturing of economic value.



VF brands launched an in-store take back initiative to recycle and extend the lifecycle of clothing and footwear.

"Clothes the Loop", by The North Face is a project first started in the US in 2013, aimed at helping customers recycle their unwanted clothing and footwear. The North Face has rolled the program out to all owned & operated stores in Germany and UK. At the end of July 2017 , the program will also be launched in all stores owned and operated in France , Italy , Spain and Denmark ."

is a project first started in the US in 2013, aimed at helping customers recycle their unwanted clothing and footwear. The North Face has rolled the program out to all owned & operated stores in and UK. At the end of , the program will also be launched in all stores owned and operated in , , and ." "Second Chance", by Timberland is an initiative activated across Timberland stores in Europe to re-use or recycle shoes brought in by consumers. In less than one year, Timberland helped to recycle more than 1,800 kgs of unwanted shoes.

is an initiative activated across Timberland stores in to re-use or recycle shoes brought in by consumers. In less than one year, Timberland helped to recycle more than 1,800 kgs of unwanted shoes. "Skate and Donate", by VANS was established in December 2016 . This program gives customers the opportunity to return unwanted shoes to participating Vans stores in Germany and Austria .

was established in . This program gives customers the opportunity to return unwanted shoes to participating Vans stores in and . VF headquarters in Stabio promoted "Time to Give Back", which gave associates a chance to donate old clothes for recycling or reuse, supporting "VestiTiVesto", a project promoted by charity association Fondazione Amici della Vita.

VF Corporation

VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC) outfits consumers around the world with its diverse portfolio of iconic lifestyle brands, including Vans, The North Face, Timberland, Wrangler and Lee. Founded in 1899, VF is one of the world's largest apparel, footwear and accessories companies with socially and environmentally responsible operations spanning numerous geographies, product categories and distribution channels. VF is committed to delivering innovative products to consumers and creating long-term value for its customers and shareholders.

VF International, based in Stabio (Switzerland), serves as the headquarters for the company's EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and APAC (Asia-Pacific) business.

For more information, visit http://www.vfc.com

SOURCE VF Corporation
TAMPA, Fla., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Soumitra Dutta, founding dean of SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University, began a one-year term on July 1, 2017, as chair of the board of directors of AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). Dutta succeeds Santiago Iniguez, president of IE Business School in Madrid, Spain.

"Soumitra is known for his contribution to and authority on new technology in the business world, and on innovation policy," said Thomas R. Robinson, president and chief executive officer of AACSB International. "His insight to driving growth across the digital economy will help AACSB to guide itself, and business schools worldwide, into a new era of innovation and transformation."

Dutta's volunteer work with AACSB International (AACSB) has spanned more than six years, and his insight on strategies for driving growth and innovation has provided important direction for the future of business education. Dutta was elected to the AACSB International Board of Directors in 2014 as a member, and as vice chair-chair elect in 2016. In addition, he served on multiple committees, including the 2020 Committee and the Committee on Accreditation Policy.

Most recently, Dutta served as chair of the Innovation Committee (formally the Committee on Issues in Management Education, or CIME), which helps to incubate ideas and a continued vision for business education. The Innovation Committee aims to explore emerging innovations and effective practices and report on challenges and opportunities within the industry.

Dutta has also played an active role in the AACSB accreditation process by serving as a participant in the AACSB Accreditation Volunteer Community and as a member of accreditation peer review teams. He is a prominent speaker and has presented at many high-profile events, forums, and conferences around the world, including many editions of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"I am very pleased to serve as chair of the AACSB International Board of Directors, and look forward to supporting the organization and advancing its mission," said Dutta. "In addition, I am looking forward to building new networks with leaders and business schools across the globe to further our goals."

As an authority on new technology and on innovation policy, Dutta is the co-editor and author of two influential reports: the Global Information Technology Report, published by the World Economic Forum, and the Global Innovation Index, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. Both reports are used extensively by governments worldwide for planning their technology and innovation strategies. As a prominent author, Dutta's research includes more than 150 published articles and more than 60 case studies. His research has also been cited widely in the global media, and Dutta has been awarded over 8 million USD in research grants.

Previously, Dutta served as dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Prior to that position, he held multiple roles at INSEAD, including dean of external relations, dean of executive education; and dean of technology and e-learning. He has also served as a visiting professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, and at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge.

Dutta is a non-executive member of the board of two listed companies: Sodexo, a global food services and facilities management company, and Dassault Systemes, a leading technology company in 3D modeling and virtual reality. In addition, he is a member of the advisory boards of SWIFT Institute and several global business schools, including HEC Montreal (Canada), ESADE (Barcelona, Spain), and ESCP (Paris, France). He has co-founded two firms, including Fisheye Analytics (later acquired by WPP group). He is also a member of the Davos Circle, an association of longtime participants in the Annual Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum, and has engaged in a number of multi-stakeholder initiatives to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.

Dutta received a B. Tech. in electrical engineering and computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi; an MS in both business administration and computer science; and a PhD in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.

For more information on AACSB International's governance, visit aacsb.edu/about/governance.

About AACSB International

As the world's largest business education alliance, AACSB International (AACSB) connects educators, students, and business to achieve a common goal: to create the next generation of great leaders. Synonymous with the highest standards of excellence since 1916, AACSB provides quality assurance, business education intelligence, and professional development services to over 1,500 member organizations and more than 785 accredited business schools worldwide. With its global headquarters in Tampa, Florida, USA; Europe, Middle East, and Africa headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, AACSB's mission is to foster engagement, accelerate innovation, and amplify impact in business education. For more information, visit aacsb.edu.

About the SC Johnson School of Business at Cornell University

Cornell University has created a reimagined model for business education that reflects the future of business itself: flexible, collaborative, and cross-disciplinary. The Cornell SC Johnson College of Business unites the strengths of three business schoolsSchool of Hotel Administration, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Managementso that every student can benefit from the combined power of business at Cornell: more degrees, faculty, resources, and expertise. Whether the focus is creating great customer experiences, solving real-world challenges, or deeply immersing in a particular industry, each of our schools offer something unique and meaningful.

SOURCE AACSB International

Related Links

http://www.aacsb.edu


NEW YORK, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Specialty Zeolites Market: Overview

Specialty zeolites are types of zeolites that require specialty synthesis, primarily high-pressure synthesis. Some specialty organic additives are also added during crystallization/synthesis. Small quantity of specialty zeolites are used for adsorption purposes in paints & coatings, plastics, personal care, and construction materials.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04711305/Specialty-Zeolites-Market-Global-Industry-Analysis-Size-Share-Growth-Trends-and-Forecast.html



The report estimates and forecasts the specialty zeolites market on the global, regional, and country levels. The study provides forecast between 2016 and 2024 based on volume (tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) with 2015 as the base year. The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the end-use segments. It provides a comprehensive view of the market. The study includes drivers and restraints for the specialty zeolites 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 specialty zeolites market on the global and regional level. Furthermore, the report analyzes substitutes of specialty zeolites. It also provides the global average price trend analysis.

Global Specialty Zeolites Market: Research Methodologies

The report includes Porter's Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the specialty zeolites market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein end-use 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 study provides a comprehensive view of the specialty zeolites market by dividing it into end-use and geography. In terms of end-use, the specialty zeolites market has been segmented into plastics, paints & coatings, construction materials and personal care. End-use segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends, and the market has been estimated in terms of volume (tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) between 2016 and 2024.

Global Specialty Zeolites Market: Regional Outlook

Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for specialty zeolites in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Additionally, the report comprises country-level analysis in terms of volume and revenue for end-use segments. Key countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, the U.K., Spain, Italy, Japan, India, China, Argentina, South Africa, and Brazil have been included in the study. Market segmentation includes demand for individual end-use in all the regions and countries.

Global Specialty Zeolites Market: Competitive Analysis

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 Tosoh Corporation, Arkema Group, BASF SE, Clariant, W. R. Grace & Co., Albermarle Corporation, Zeochem AG, Zeolyst International, Eurecat and Honeywell UOP. 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).

Global Specialty Zeolites Market: Scope of the Study

In-depth interviews and discussions with 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 team's expertise and market understanding.

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.

The report segments the global specialty zeolites market as follows:

Specialty Zeolites Market: End-use Analysis

Plastics

Paints & Coatings

Construction Materials

Personal Care

Specialty Zeolites Market: Regional Analysis

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

Germany

Spain

Italy

France

U.K.

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

ASEAN

Rest of APAC

Latin America

Brazil

Argentina

Rest of LATAM

Middle East & Africa

GCC

South Africa

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04711305/Specialty-Zeolites-Market-Global-Industry-Analysis-Size-Share-Growth-Trends-and-Forecast.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

http://www.reportlinker.com

__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

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CHICAGO, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sterling Trading Tech (STT) announced today that its professional trading platforms are now available from Interactive Brokers Group (IB), one of the largest global broker-dealers. Under terms of the agreement, individual traders can now use the STT suite of trading platforms to trade with an IB account.

Sterling Trading Tech (STT) is a leading provider of trading platforms, risk and compliance technology and trading infrastructure products for the global equities, equity options, and futures markets.

"We are thrilled to start this new relationship with Interactive Brokers. As an industry leader, STT has stayed on the forefront of the ever-changing global market environment by understanding the complex needs of our customers. Our relationship with Interactive Brokers opens up exciting possibilities for active traders on a global scale by giving them the opportunity to use our professional trading platforms," states Jim Nevotti, President of STT.

STT's premier trading platforms; Sterling Trader Pro, Sterling Trader Elite and Sterling VolTrader will be available on IB. Sterling Trader Pro is used by over 5,000 professional traders worldwide to trade equities, options, and futures. Sterling Trader Elite is used by buy-side firms and hedge funds that need superior trading technology and sophisticated order management. Sterling VolTrader (formerly CBOE's Livevol X platform) is one of the most advanced option analysis platform available with portfolio analysis, sophisticated volatility modeling tools, and complex option order entry.

Interactive Brokers provides direct market access to over 120 market destinations and associated clearing and custodial services. The firm is well known for its low commissions and financing rates and for not selling or trading against its customers' orders.

Additional Information on Sterling Trading Tech and its products can be found at www.sterlingtradingtech.com or 312.346.9600.

About Sterling Trading Tech (www.sterlingtradingtech.com)

Sterling Trading Tech (STT) is a leading provider of technology solutions for the global equities, equity options and futures markets. With over 100 clients with thousands of traders including leading brokers, clearing firms and prop groups in over 30 countries and trading is supported in 10 countries, STT provides solutions tailored to our client's needs including connections to over 80 execution venues in the US. STT is committed to providing fast, stable technology along with outstanding customer service.

Sterling Trading Tech Media Contact:

Melinda Joseph

(312) 517-3569

[email protected]

SOURCE Sterling Trading Tech

Related Links

http://www.sterlingtradingtech.com


Stoli Vodka and Universal Pictures are partnering on a co-branded multi-media campaign that includes television advertising, out-of-home, print, digital, and social media content beginning now and running through August. The national campaign includes a 1980s-themed Pandora digital station that celebrates the music from the Atomic Blonde soundtrack. Stoli and Universal are also partnering with movie theater chains to bring a full consumer experience  through a menu of four signature Atomic Blonde Stoli cocktails in limited edition cups  to theater chains nationwide such as Cinepolis and Movie Tavern. Furthermore, retail-themed displays and in-bar parties celebrating the film's iconic style will be held across the U.S. As well, Stoli is hosting a sweepstakes at www.atomicstoli.com for fans to win a trip to Berlin, Germany.

Russell Pareti, Vice President of Marketing at Stoli Group USA said, "Upon reading the script and identifying the shared similarities between the Stoli brand and Agent Broughton, we knew this was a natural and organic opportunity that matched our brand's unapologetically bold character. It also reinforces our quality and authentic heritage  as this was a specific choice made to fit her character. Indeed, Stoli has been an icon since 1938 and her call for Stoli on ice is the quintessential way of drinking vodka  pure and cold with no fuss. We are excited to be a partner of Atomic Blonde which sets a new genre and level in style."

Stoli Vodka will serve as the official sponsor of the film's red-carpet premiere in Los Angeles in late July, 2017.

For more information on Stoli's Atomic Blonde promotion, please visit Stoli.com or follow Stoli on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Stoli, on Instagram @Stoli and on Twitter @Stoli.

About Stoli Group USA, LLC

Stoli Group USA is the proud importer and marketer of the Stolichnaya brand of premium vodkas and Stoli Ginger Beer, ultra-premium elit Vodka, Louisiana-distilled Bayou Rum, Kentucky Owl Bourbon founded in 1879, Achaval-Ferrer from Argentina, and Arinzano wines of Spain. Formed in 2013, Stoli Group USA is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of SPI Group in Luxembourg.

About Atomic Blonde

Oscar winner Charlize Theron explodes into summer in Atomic Blonde, a breakneck action-thriller that follows MI6's most lethal assassin through a ticking time bomb of a city simmering with revolution and double-crossing hives of traitors.

The crown jewel of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, Agent Lorraine Broughton (Theron) is equal parts spycraft, sensuality and savagery, willing to deploy any of her skills to stay alive on her impossible mission. Sent alone into Berlin to deliver a priceless dossier out of the destabilized city, she partners with embedded station chief David Percival (James McAvoy) to navigate her way through the deadliest game of spies.

A blistering blend of sleek action, gritty sexuality and dazzling style, Atomic Blonde is directed by David Leitch (John Wick, upcoming Deadpool 2). Also starring John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella and Toby Jones, the film is based on the Oni Press graphic novel series "The Coldest City," by Antony Johnston & illustrator Sam Hart. Kurt Johnstad (300) wrote the screenplay. www.atomicblonde.com

SOURCE Stoli Group
AUSTIN, Texas, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. (NYSE: INN) (the "Company") today announced that it will report financial results for the second quarter of 2017 on Wednesday, August 2, 2017, after the market closes.

The Company will conduct its quarterly conference call on Thursday, August 3, 2017, at 9:00 AM ET. To participate in the conference call, please follow the steps below:

On August 3, 2017 , dial 877-930-8101 approximately ten minutes before the call begins ( 8:50 AM ET ). Enter conference identification code 51692345. Please state your full name and company affiliation and you will be connected to the call.

A live webcast of the quarterly conference call will be available through the Company's website, www.shpreit.com. A replay of the quarterly conference call webcast will be available until 11:59 PM ET Thursday, August 10, 2017, by dialing 855-859-2056, conference identification code 51692345. A replay will also be available in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website until October 31, 2017.

About Summit Hotel Properties

Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. is a publicly-traded real estate investment trust focused on owning premium-branded hotels with efficient operating models primarily in the upscale segment of the lodging industry. As of June 30, 2017, the Company's portfolio consisted of 81 hotels with a total of 11,608 guestrooms located in 24 states.

For additional information, please visit the Company's website, www.shpreit.com, and follow on Twitter at @SummitHotel_INN.

SOURCE Summit Hotel Properties, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.shpreit.com


PORTLAND, Ore., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time when consumers worldwide are increasingly seeking more socially and environmentally responsible products, the non-profit Food Alliance is celebrating 20 years as the most comprehensive certification for sustainable agriculture and food handling in North America.

"Working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders to develop sustainability standards and criteria, Food Alliance has shown that greater transparency and continuous incremental improvement of management practices benefit farmers, the food industry, consumers, and the planet," said director Matthew Buck. "We remain committed to partnering with the research, advocacy, and business communities to define and deliver Good Food for a Healthy Future."

"Food Alliance has conducted over 1,000 farms, ranch, and facility audits," he added. "That experience has given us insights into how farm and food businesses benefit from the implementation of more sustainable practices, what values retailers and consumers want to be represented in the food they buy, and what social and environmental marketing claims are both credible and compelling."

Food Alliance started in 1994 as a project of Oregon State University, Washington State University, and the Washington State Department of Agriculture, with a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, to develop standards for sustainable agriculture. Food Alliance was launched as an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 1997. Stahlbush Island Farms outside Corvallis, Oregon became the first Food Alliance certified farm in September that year -- and now markets Food Alliance certified frozen fruits and vegetables nationwide. Director of Agriculture Quality & Compliance Tina Galloway said, "Now there is a growing chorus of claims about where food comes from and how it is grown. Food Alliance was there back at the beginning of the conversation and has always been a steadfast, credible and authentic advocate for sustainability."

Over the last two decades, Food Alliance has diversified by product category and geography. Criteria for livestock were introduced in 2000. Certification for food handlers, including packers, processors, and distributors, debuted in 2006. Programs followed for grassfed livestock claims (2009), farmed shellfish (2011), and nursery products (2012). Food Alliance certification has also spread from the Pacific Northwest to 25 US states. An update to Food Alliance standards and criteria implemented in 2015 now allows certification anywhere in North America.

In 2016, Food Alliance partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rainforest Alliance to develop a Grasslands Alliance standard for regenerative grazing in North America. That draft standard is posted for public review and comment at grasslandsalliance.org. Starting in 2017, Food Alliance will also be providing audits for the National Audubon Society's Conservation Ranching program for restoration and enhancement of habitat important to grassland birds.

In 2016 sales of Food Alliance Certified products reached $160 million, a figure representing the farm gate value of fresh products, and added a wholesale value of processed products. Since the inception of the program, over $1.2 billion in Food Alliance Certified products have been sold.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact: Matthew Buck, Director, Food Alliance

Cell: 503-267-4667

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: foodalliance.org

Related Files

Food Alliance July 12 2017 Release.pdf

Related Images

image1.jpg

image2.jpg

Related Links

Food Alliance website

Grasslands Alliance website

SOURCE Food Alliance

Related Links

http://foodalliance.org


NEW YORK, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Syngas and Derivatives Market: Overview



Syngas is a mixture comprising of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and very often some carbon dioxide. It normally contains carbon in it as it is derived from feedstock such as coal, petroleum, natural gas and others. It is majorly used as a fuel and for manufacturing of other chemicals. Chemicals, power generation, liquid fuels and gaseous fuels are the major end-user industry where syngas finds application.





Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04781977/Syngas-and-Derivatives-Market-Global-Industry-Analysis-Size-Share-Growth-Trends-and-Forecast.html







The report estimates and forecasts the syngas and derivatives market on the global, regional, and country levels. The study provides forecast between 2016 and 2024 based on volume (MWth) 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 syngas and derivatives 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 syngas and derivatives 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.



The report includes Porter's Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the syngas and derivatives market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein applications and countries have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region. Growth rate, market share, raw material availability, 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.



Global Syngas and Derivatives Market: Segmentation



The study provides a comprehensive view of the syngas and derivatives market by dividing it on the basis of end-user and geography segments. The syngas and derivatives market has been segmented into chemicals, power generation, liquid fuels and gaseous fuels based on end-user. End-user segment have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends.



Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for syngas and derivatives in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Additionally, the report comprises country-level analysis in terms of volume for end-user segments. Key countries such as the U.S., Germany, France, the U.K., Spain, Italy, India, China, South Africa, Mexico, and Brazil have been included in the study. Market segmentation includes demand for individual end-user in all the regions and countries.



Global Syngas and Derivatives Market: Competitive Analysis



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 includes Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Air Liquide SA, BASF SE, Sasol Limited, Siemens Ag 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 team's expertise and market understanding.



The global syngas and derivatives market has been segmented as follows:



By Feedstock



Coal

Petroleum

Natural Gas/Biomass Waste

Others



By Production Technology



Partial Oxidation

Steam Reforming

Biomass Gasification

Others



By End User



Chemicals

Power Generation

Liquid Fuels

Gaseous Fuels



By Region



North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

Germany

France

U.K.

Italy

Spain

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

ASEAN

Rest of Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

GCC

Egypt

South Africa

Rest of Middle East & Africa

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04781977/Syngas-and-Derivatives-Market-Global-Industry-Analysis-Size-Share-Growth-Trends-and-Forecast.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com





__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

http://www.reportlinker.com


NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Summary



Cash is the preferred payment instrument in Russia, accounting for 60.3% of total transaction volume in 2016. But despite economic turmoil the Russian payment card market grew substantially in terms of both volume and value during the review period (2012-16). The uptake of electronic payments can be attributed mainly to government initiatives such as financial inclusion programs, regulations to cap cash payments, and the introduction of the National Payment Card System (NPCS). In October 2013, the Russian Ministry of Finance introduced regulation that dictates retailers with annual sales of over $1.0m (RUB60m) are required to install point of sale (POS) terminals to accept card payments. In addition, the cap on cash payments was reduced from $9,793.30 (RUB600,000) to $4,896.70 (RUB300,000) in 2015.



Debit cards dominated the payment card market in terms of transaction volume and value during the review period. Growth was supported by the increased banked population, consumer awareness about the benefits of debit cards, improved banking infrastructure, and growing awareness of debt control. Payroll programs are a leading way of issuing cards, and have led to the widespread issuance of debit cards. All major banks in the country - Sberbank, VTB24, OTP Bank, and Raiffeisen Bank - offer payroll cards.



Consumers in Russia mostly opt for traditional payments such as payment cards to pay for online purchases. To further boost e-commerce transactions via payment cards, banks are offering virtual cards, and with the availability of alternative payment solutions such as PayPal, Yandex.Money, Masterpass, and MTS Money Wallet, digital wallets are slowly gaining popularity among Russian consumers. In terms of e-commerce transaction value, the stake of digital wallets increased marginally from 25.5% in 2012 to 26.7% in 2016.



Value of e-commerce transactions has grown rapidly in Russia, increasing from $11.9bn (RUB730.5bn) in 2012 to $23.5bn (RUB1.4tn) in 2016 (18.5% compound annual growth rate [CAGR]). The value is expected to increase further at a forecast-period (2016-20f) CAGR of 7.9%, to reach $31.9bn (RUB2.0tn) by 2020. An increased number of internet users in Russia, a growing preference among consumers for online shopping, and the availability of online sites all supported growth in e-commerce. Digital wallets are gaining popularity among Russian consumers, accounting for 26.7% of the total e-commerce transaction value in 2016.



Contactless technology is expected to gain prominence among Russian consumers. Almost all the major banks - including Sberbank, Alpha-Bank, MTS Bank, Russian Standard Bank, Tinkoff Bank, Gazprombank, and Raiffeisen Bank - issue contactless cards in the country. According to a Visa survey conducted in September 2016, 41% of Russian consumers own a contactless payment card, out of which 38% use them. The Russian government and scheme providers are actively involved in the promotion of contactless technology, especially in the public transport space. For example, Mastercard collaborated with the St Petersburg government in 2015 to introduce contactless payments via Mastercard PayPass technology on the St Petersburg subway.



The report "The Cards and Payments Industry in Russia: Emerging trends and opportunities to 2020" provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Russian cards and payments industry.



In depth, this report provides the following -

- Current and forecast values for each market in the Russian cards and payments industry, including debit, and credit cards.

- Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfers, cash, cheques, direct debit, 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 Russian cards and payments industry.

- Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit, and credit cards.



Companies mentioned in this report: Sberbank, VTB24, Raiffeisen Bank, Russian Standard Bank, OTP Bank, Tinkoff Bank, Alfa-Bank, Global Payments, Gazprombank, Credit Europe Bank, Visa, Mastercard, Golden Crown, American Express.



Scope



- Alternative payments are gaining prominence in Russia with the launch of global payment solutions including Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay, and Masterpass. Google launched Android Pay in Russia in May 2017. The solution enables users to make in-app, in-store, and online payments by storing debit, credit, loyalty, and gift cards on the wallet. The solution is now supported by 15 banks. Apple and Samsung previously launched their payment solutions Apple Pay and Samsung Pay in the country in October 2016. And in 2014, Mastercard launched the Masterpass digital wallet in Russia. Masterpass users can shop online without providing payment and shipping information with every purchase. The service allows merchants a faster and easier way to process payments, and helps decrease checkout abandon rates.

- To disrupt the debit card market, which is currently being dominated by international scheme providers Visa and Mastercard, the Russian government launched the Mir national payment card in December 2015 under the NPCS. 376 banks (including all of the country's major banks) have joined the system and started to issue these cards. As of April 2017, more than 5 million Mir national payment cards had already been issued in the country. The escalating number of Mir cards is anticipated to pose serious competition to Visa and Mastercard in the long run.

- To provide acceptance of international cards in Russia, domestic merchant acquirers have entered into agreement with international schemes. For instance, the leading Russian acquirer Sberbank partnered with Chinese scheme UnionPay International in May 2017, allowing Asia Pacific and China tourists to make payments with UnionPay cards at Sberbank's merchant network in Russia. In the same month, Sberbank entered into a similar agreement with JCB International to allow merchants to accept payments with JCB cards by 2018.



Reasons to buy



- Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Russian cards and payments industry and each market within it.

- Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Russian cards and payments industry.

- Assess the competitive dynamics in the Russian cards and payments industry.

- Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Russia.

- Gain insights into key regulations governing the Russian cards and payments industry.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03854075/The-Cards-and-Payments-Industry-in-Russia-Emerging-Trends-and-Opportunities-to.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com





__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

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Bajrang Dal and Vishva Parishad protested against Amarnath terror attack in Agra brandishing weapons. They even threatened the Centre to take action in 15 days else they will take law in their hands.

By India Today Web Desk: The terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims has pushed the nation into grief. While many condemned decorously, various Indian political organisations have taken the mourning to the next level.

In Agra, Uttar Pradesh today, Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) held a protest against Amarnath terror attack brandishing weapons like pistol, rifle and swords.

Agra (UP): Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) protest against #AmarnathTerrorAttack brandishing weapons (pistol, rifle and swords) pic.twitter.com/fYst21eAJc- ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 12, 2017

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Bajrang Dal leader Govind Parashar said that 'if Centre does not avenge Amarnath terror attack within 15 days, Bajrang Dal will have to take law in their hands to protect pilgrims.'

#WATCH: Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad protest against #AmarnathTerrorAttack in Agra brandishing weapons (pistol, rifle and swords) pic.twitter.com/FMj4zC0MMp- ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 12, 2017

Incidentally, in another show of protest, Bajrang Dal activist Digvijayanath Tiwari recently made a statement opposing Haj yatra.

According to a Patrika report, Tiwari said that the Centre should take direct action against terrorism and failing to do so will result in Bajrang Dal and Hindu Vishva Parishad considering to oppose Haj yatra.

Bajrang Dal has demanded that India should oppose Pakistan. Apart from raising anti-Pakistan slogans, they also burnt effigies.

Also Read || Watch: Muzaffarnagar Bajrang Dal activists thrash 2 youths who had come to meet their female Facebook friends ||

Also Read || Bajrang Dal worker attacked with sword in Karnataka's Ullal, critical ||

--- ENDS ---
SAN FRANCISCO, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced additional keynote speakers for Open Source Summit North America, taking place September 11-14 in Los Angeles, CA.

The Linux Foundation Open Source Summit is the premier open source technical conference in North America, gathering 2,000 developers, operators and community leadership professionals to collaborate, share information and learn about the latest in open technologies, including Linux, containers, cloud computing and more.

Initial keynote speakers were announced in June. In addition to those, the following have been confirmed as keynotes:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Actor, Founder and Director of HITRECORD - an online production company that makes art collaboratively with over 600,000 artists of all kinds - will share his views on the evolution of the Internet as a collaborative medium, and key technological lessons learned since the company's launch

, Actor, Founder and Director of HITRECORD - an online production company that makes art collaboratively with over 600,000 artists of all kinds - will share his views on the evolution of the Internet as a collaborative medium, and key technological lessons learned since the company's launch Wim Coekaerts, Senior Vice President, Linux and Virtualization Engineering, Oracle

Chris Wright , Vice President & Chief Technologist, Office of Technology at Red Hat

The full lineup of all Open Source Summit North America speakers and 200+ sessions can be viewed here.

Open Source Summit North America also features tutorials and summits, all included with registration:

In addition, there will be a wide variety of additional activities including:

Evening social and networking events include:

Partner Reception (invitation required) - Sept 11 , 6:30-8:30pm , The Rooftop at The Standard Downtown

, , The Rooftop at The Standard Downtown Onsite Attendee Reception + Sponsor Showcase - Sept 12 , 5:15-7pm , Platinum Ballroom at JW Marriott LA Live

, , Platinum Ballroom at JW Marriott LA Live All-Attendee Reception - Sept 13 , 6:30-9pm , Paramount Studios Hollywood

Registration is discounted by $150 through July 30, and academic and hobbyist rates are also available. In addition, applications are being accepted for diversity and needs-based scholarships.

Members of the press who would like to request a complimentary press pass to attend should contact Dan Brown at [email protected].

Open Source Summit North America is made possible by Diamond Sponsors IBM, Intel and Microsoft; Platinum Sponsors Cisco, Google Cloud Platform, Red Hat and SUSE; and Gold Sponsors Cloud Native Computing Foundation, {code} by Dell EMC, CoreOS and VMware.

Additional Resources

YouTube: The Linux Foundation Event Experience (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WUeelICQ2U )

LinuxCon North America 2016 Event Recap

(https://events.linuxfoundation.org/events/linuxcon-north-america)

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world's top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page:

https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Media Contact:

Dan Brown

The Linux Foundation

415-420-7880

[email protected]

SOURCE The Linux Foundation

Related Links

http://www.linuxfoundation.org


Open for one week only, from Wednesday, July 12  Sunday, July 16, the space will feature original work from Perrier's partner artist, AKACORLEONE, and plenty of ways to find your flavor inspiration  from live DJ sets and an interactive art wall, to an Instagram-worthy bubble ball pit and Perrier mocktail bar. Visitors can also indulge in special treats like nail art manicures from Vanity Projects (7/12 and 7/13), macaroons from Dana's Bakery on Bastille Day (7/14 and 7/15) and scoops from Big Gay Ice Cream on National Ice Cream Day (7/16). Samples of the full range of Perrier flavors will be provided throughout the entire event.

Perrier Strawberry and Perrier Watermelon are the latest additions to the growing family of Perrier offerings, which currently includes Lime, L'Orange, Pink Grapefruit and Green Apple flavors, in addition to the iconic Original.

WHAT: The Perrier Flavor Studio

WHERE: 63 Greene Street (between Spring St. and Broome St) New York, NY 10012

WHEN: Wednesday, July 12  Sunday, July 16, 2017 10:00 AM  6:00 PM

WHO: Free & open to the public  all ages.

For more information on The Perrier Flavor Studio and Perrier Flavors and upcoming events, visit here, and follow on social media with @PerrierUSA. Be sure to share your flavor inspiration using #PerrierFlavors.

About Perrier Sparkling Natural Mineral Water

For over a century Perrier has collaborated with some of the world's most famous and distinguished artists, including Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali and Bernard Villemot. First bottled in the south of France in 1863, Perrier's iconic green bottle is recognized as an icon of extraordinary style worldwide. Perrier is a sugar-free and calorie-free sparkling natural mineral water. With its refreshingly unique bubbles and low mineral content, Perrier is perfect on its own, with a slice of lemon, or mixed with juices or spirits. Perrier also offers a tempting selection of natural flavors including Lime, L'Orange, Pink Grapefruit, Green Apple, Strawberry and Watermelon. Discover more at www.perrier.com.

SOURCE Perrier
"Every day we wake up with the same mission: to be number one to our guests," said General Manager Fernando Flores. "To be rewarded for our commitment as the number one resort in Mexico is a crowning achievement for all of us. We will forever shine brighter with this coveted 1 st place honor."

The majestic Resort at Pedregal offers the sophisticated traveler a number of luxurious accommodations including ocean view guestrooms, beachfront suites, bi-level casitas and hillside villas, each with its own private plunge pool and Personal Concierge. Guests can spend their days indulging in the beachfront boutique's large main pool, the 12,000-square-foot spa, Luna y Mar, where signature treatments are based on the cycles of the moon, enjoy champagne and mole pairings at the Champagne Terrace, and more. The backdrop is a stunning location nestled on the region's most coveted parcel of land  an extraordinary, 24-acre site at the southernmost tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula.

Guests at The Resort at Pedregal will enjoy the incredible natural ambiance of El Farallon, the resort's award-winning alfresco cliff-side and oceanfront restaurant. Stocked daily with bounty from local fishermen, El Farallon has become a hallmark of exquisite dining. The resort's sought-after restaurant, Don Manuels, is designed in the style of an authentic Mexican hacienda and serves dishes with a focus on local, organic products grown specifically for the restaurant and prepared using old world techniques in a modern setting.

With the new Beyond the Beach: Baja Luxploration program, the resort offers discerning jetsetters the ultimate in curated travel with a variety of new, one-of-a-kind experiences highlighting the magical spontaneity of Baja's diverse landscape. From swimming with whale sharks and snorkeling with sea lions to surfing coveted breaks, the elite destination has enlisted a roster of naturalists and pro adventurers to check off the boldest of bucket lists. The resort has insider access to naturalists, adventurers, farmers and artisans, who lend their know-how and personal narrative, adding substance and character to each experience. And in the true Resort at Pedregal spirit, itineraries are luxuriously tailored from high-level culinary menus to post-journey pampering.

"Travel + Leisure's annual World's Best Awards provide a picture of what the world's most discerning travelers are finding most satisfying in travel right now. What's clear to me this year is how much they are drawn to experiences that aren't just enjoyable but provide something richercultural immersion, mental and physical wellbeing, a true sense of adventure," said Travel + Leisure Editor in Chief Nathan Lump. "It's not easy to satisfy this group, but the destinations, hotels, and companies that are doing it know that today's traveler cares about a lot more than creature comforts."

The 2017 World's Best Awards lists, as well as survey methodology, are currently featured on www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest and will appear in the August issue of the magazine. For more information visit www.theresortatpedregal.com.

About The Resort at Pedregal, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

The majestic Resort at Pedregal lies on Cabo San Lucas' most coveted parcel of land  an extraordinary, 24-acre site at the southernmost tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. The exclusive haven, accessible only by the private Dos Mares tunnel, is just minutes from bustling downtown Cabo San Lucas, yet seemingly worlds apart. The Resort at Pedregal offers unprecedented luxury, sophistication and personalized service from a team of Personal Concierges who are available around- the-clock to assist guests with their requests. The property boasts 113 rooms, suites and multi-bedroom residential style villas including the Dos Mares suites, two beachfront villas, Casa Bella Vista, and the presidential villa. The resort also features an award-winning signature spa, Luna y Mar, in addition to a distinctive dining program with culinary offerings including Don Manuel's, El Farallon, Crudo and Beach Club.

About Travel + Leisure

Travel + Leisure is the preeminent voice for the sophisticated, insatiable traveler, serving up expert intelligence and the most immersive, inspiring travel lifestyle content anywhere. Travel + Leisure captures the pure joy of discovering the pleasures the world has to offerfrom art and design to shopping and style to food and wine. Whether the experience is in print or digital, T+L offers compelling reasons to get up and go. With a total global audience of more than 9 million, the Travel + Leisure portfolio includes the U.S. flagship and five international editions in Mexico, Turkey, China, India/South Asia and Southeast Asia. The U.S. edition of T+L, which launched in 1971, has an authoritative website, TravelandLeisure.com, and an extensive social media following of more than 11 million. Travel + Leisure, a Time Inc. brand, also encompasses newsletters, clubs, retail stores, and media collaborations.

SOURCE The Resort at Pedregal

Related Links

https://www.theresortatpedregal.com/


NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Use this report to:

- Examine the present status and future prospects for thermal barrier coating technologies

- Evaluate thermal barrier coating technology markets with keen potential for growth

- Gain insight into the issues concerning the merits and future prospects of the thermal barrier coating technologies business





Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04754984/Thermal-Barrier-Coatings-Global-Markets.html





- Identify the economic and technological issues regarded by many as critical to the industry's current state of change



Highlights

- The global market for thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) totaled $834.9 million in 2016 and should total nearly $1.1 billion in 2021 at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6%, through 2021.

- Aircraft gas turbine industry as a segment totaled $501.7 million in 2016 and should total

- $694.8 million by 2021, a CAGR of 6.7% through 2021.

- Power generation gas turbine industry as a segment totaled $312.2 million in 2016 and should total $376.5 million by 2021, a CAGR of 3.8% through 2021.



INTRODUCTION



STUDY GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

The study focuses on key thermal barrier coating (TBC) technologies and applications, and provides data about the size and growth of numerous thermal barrier coating technology markets, company profiles and industry trends. The goal of this report is to provide a detailed and comprehensive multi-client study of the market for thermal barrier coating technologies and potential business opportunities in the future.



The objectives include thorough coverage of the growing need for increased intake gas temperature in gas turbines used in aircraft, power generation and industrial applications in order to gain efficiency, which is driving the thermal barrier coating technology business. An assessment of new and potential products and services that companies are developing is also provided.



Another important objective is to provide realistic market data and forecasts for the market for thermal barrier coatings. This study provides a complete account of ongoing thermal barrier coating technologies currently available in a multi-client format. It provides a thorough and up-to-date assessment of the subject. The study also provides extensive quantification of the many important facets of market developments in the market for thermal barrier coatings.



This, in turn, contributes to the determination of the type of strategic responses that companies may adopt in order to compete in this dynamic market. TBCs used in aircraft, power generation and marine diesel engines are also covered in this study.



REASONS FOR DOING THE STUDY

Maximizing business opportunities in the thermal barrier coating technologies arena is a challenging task. Significant changes are taking place within this industry, which in the past, has been dominated by a few multinational OEM (original equipment manufacturers), MRO (maintenance repair and overhaul) and PMA (Parts Manufacturer Approval) equipment providers and surface technology expert coating companies with a "niche" technology to address the hot section of aircraft, power generation gas turbines and marine diesel engines. Many external forces, including new developments in gas turbine technology, new thermal barrier solutions and new coating architectures, have driven the shift in the industry trend that is taking place.



INTENDED AUDIENCE

Audiences for this study include marketing executives, business unit managers and other decision-makers in the business of thermal barrier coating technologies used in the hot section of gas turbines used in aircraft and for power generation and industrial gas turbines and marine diesel engines. This report will also be of interest to other companies peripheral to this business.



SCOPE OF THE REPORT

The scope of this report is comprehensive, covering the present status of and future prospects for thermal barrier coating technologies. The scope of the report includes thermal barrier coating technologies applied to gas turbines for aircraft, gas turbines for power generation and industrial gas turbines and diesel engines for marine and other application.



The report identifies and evaluates thermal barrier coating technology markets with keen potential for growth. The study also provides extensive quantification of the many important facets of market developments for advanced thermal barrier coating technologies development.



In addition to thermal barrier coating technologies, it also covers the many issues concerning the merits and future prospects of the thermal barrier coating technologies business, including corporate strategies, information technologies and the means for providing these highly advanced products and service offerings. It also covers in detail the economic and technological issues regarded by many as critical to the industry's current state of change.



The report provides a review of the thermal barrier coating technologies industry and its structure, and the OEMs, MROs, manufacturers of PMA equipment and surface technology expert coaters involved in providing these coatings. The competitive position of the main players in the TBC market is well protected due to license restrictions by OEMs (e.g., GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, Safran) for sharing TBC solutions for hot section gas turbine for aircraft, particularly the high-pressure blades and vanes.



Manufacturers of PMA parts have received approval through aircraft regulating agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and National Aero and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (Nadcap). This has narrowed down the competition in TBC related solutions applied to gas turbines used in aircraft. On the other hand, gas turbines used in the power generation industry and other industrial stationary applications have a large number of approved MROs globally to repair and recoat the thermal barrier coatings on the hot section of gas turbines that undergo high-pressure blade/vane repair. These MROs follow approved quality certification procedures of OEMs (e.g., GE, Siemens, Rolls-Royce) for the bond coat and top coat.



The forecast tables represent the estimated value of the thermal barrier coating technologies added to the components of gas turbines and diesel engines as manufactured by the OEMs, MROs, PMA parts companies and coaters. In this report, the term revenue is equivalent to, and is used interchangeably with purchases, demand and sales. All growth rates mentioned in the tables and text are based on compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) from 2016 through 2021. Because current 2016 dollar measures are used, these growth rates thus reflect the growth in volume or real growth, including the effects of price changes and changes in product/service mix.



METHODOLOGY

The research methodology was qualitative in nature and employed a triangulative approach, which aids in establishing validity. Initially, a comprehensive and exhaustive search of the literature on the application of thermal barrier coating technologies in the hot section of aircraft gas turbines, power generation gas turbines industrial gas turbine (IGT) and marine diesel engines was conducted. These secondary sources included thermal barrier coating technology journals and related books, trade literature, marketing literature, other product/promotional literature, annual reports, security analyst reports and other publications. A patent search and analysis were also conducted.



In a second phase, a series of semi-structured telephone interviews and email correspondence was conducted with marketing executives, product sales engineers, international sales managers, application engineers and other personnel of companies that offer thermal barrier coating technologies. Other sources include thermal barrier coating technology magazines, academics, technology suppliers, technical experts, trade association officials, government officials and consulting companies. These were a rich source of data. Subsequent analysis of the documents and interview notes was iterative.



To understand the TBC market for gas turbines, the research study measured total number of blades, vanes, nozzles and combustors used for gas turbines along with their average price. Similarly, to understand the TBC market for diesel engines for marine application, the study measured the total number of piston, cylinder liners and exhaust pipes and their associated average price. All measurements were derived from manufacturers' total revenues from three types of providers, namely, OEMs, MROs providers and manufacturers of PMA equipment.



INFORMATION SOURCES

Initially, a comprehensive and exhaustive search of the literature on thermal barrier coating technologies was conducted. These sources included latest the press releases on company websites, including application news, company news, marketing news, product news, brochures, product literature, thermal barrier coating technology magazines (e.g., Aircraft Commerce), technical journals, technical books (Handbook of Thermal Spray Technology published by ASM International), marketing literature, other promotional literature, annual reports, security analyst reports and other thermal barrier coating technology business digest publications.



Publications related to the aviation industry, power industry and marine industry, on thermal barrier coating technologies that were consulted include the Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, Thermal Spray Society (ASM International), Acta Materialia, Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A, Surface and Coating Technology, Journal of Porous Materials, Materials Science and Engineering A, Journal of American Ceramic Society, Journal of European Ceramic Society, MRS Bulletin, The Society of Vacuum Coaters. The ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power and journal articles, conference papers, books and data information, developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) and online research papers published by various U.S., European, Chinese and Korean universities and research institutes. The latest issues of magazines such as Aircraft Commerce were also studied to extract the desired information related to TBC.



There is very little specific data in the available literature that analyzes the thermal barrier coating technology industry as a whole, and the data that do exist, for the most

part, present thermal barrier coating technologies as part of the hot section components of turbine parts such as blades, vanes, combustors and the hot section components of diesel engines such as piston tops and exhaust pipes. The challenge was to identify the thermal barrier coating technology market and evaluate where it fits in with the gas turbines used in aircraft and gas turbines used in power generation, IGT and in the marine diesel engine industry. An extensive patent analysis was conducted to gauge technological innovation and to determine research activity as it applies to new product development.



The second phase involved formal and informal telephone interviews/emails correspondence with personnel in companies that offer thermal barrier coating technologies for application in gas turbines and diesel engines. Gas turbine and diesel engine suppliers, design engineers, consulting companies, other technical experts, government officials and trade association officials were also interviewed, as well as the personnel of the thermal barrier coating technology companies.



ANALYST'S CREDENTIALS

Since 2004, BL Gupta had authored more than 34 market research reports on cutting edge technology pertaining to the emerging technologies connected with piezoelectric actuators, piezo motors, piezo sensors, PVDF sensors, automotive semiconductors, energy storage devices such as lithium ion batteries, ultracapacitors and electrical equipment such as power and distributing transformers, materials such as permanent magnets, soft magnetic materials and the Internet of Things (IoT) related to manufacturing and other topics focused on the U.S. and global market.



Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04754984/Thermal-Barrier-Coatings-Global-Markets.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com





__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

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NEW YORK, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Transfix, the logistics intelligence software and truckload marketplace enabling efficient commerce, today announced that they have closed a $42 million Series C round of funding, led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Additional participants in the round include Canvas Ventures, Lerer Hippeau Ventures and other strategic investors. Transfix will use the funds to further develop its software platform and grow its technology and enterprise sales teams.

Transfix creates value for its customers, carriers, drivers, and society at large by eliminating waste in the supply chain through mobile technology, machine learning, and big data analytics. The platform enables shippers to amplify their existing carrier relationships with Transfix's contracted carriers, and provides real-time visibility, exception management, and data analytics to facilitate informed decision making. This speeds delivery of goods while lowering costs throughout the supply chain.

"Long haul trucking and logistics make up almost one percent of the U.S. economy," said Scott Sandell, managing general partner, NEA. "Trucking as a job classification outnumbers any other in the country. At the same time, this industry remains incredibly fragmented and opaque, and has not yet enjoyed the benefits of technology and innovation like most other industries. Transfix is poised to change all that, providing better transparency and visibility to shippers and truckers alike, and in the process improving efficiency overall. The Transfix team brings a unique combination of deep domain expertise and technical sophistication. Not surprisingly, they have met with a tremendous reception in the marketplace, working with marquis customers as well as tens of thousands of truckers."

Transfix is currently working with many of the world's largest retailers, consumer-packaged goods (CPG) brands and manufacturers to streamline and optimize full truck load shipment logistics. This complete view of truckload freight allows for lower costs for both shippers and carriers and dramatically fewer miles driven empty. In turn, it increases the availability of goods, with less impact on infrastructure and the environment.

"There is a lot of misinformation in the freight industry which creates pressure, impossible - and sometimes dangerous  deadlines, misdeliveries, and ultimately the failure to satisfy customers. It's a problem that's ecosystem-wide, not just limited to a single part or parcel. That's why we're focused on providing a comprehensive solution for the supply chain," said Drew McElroy, founder and CEO, Transfix. "We're thankful to our partners for enabling us to provide our customers with opportunities to uncover hard and soft cost savings and new revenue opportunities for shippers and carriers alike."

Earlier this year, Transfix launched the first automated, online load booking capabilities for carriers.

"The supply chain has so many variables, making it an exceptionally difficult  and exciting  dilemma to solve," said Jonathan Salama, co-founder and chief technology officer, Transfix. "Automation and machine-learning are at the core of our solution. We look forward to expanding our capabilities and resources with the best and brightest software engineers to offer the most advanced logistics technology available."

About Transfix

Transfix provides a new level of transparency, automation and efficiency to the $726 billion full-truck- load shipping industry, which until now has been largely dependent on paper, phone and fax for booking and managing loads. We simplify the supply chain for shippers by streamlining data for all shipments on a single platform to empower them to make informed decisions that optimize time and revenues. Launched in August 2013, Transfix has raised $78.5 in capital and is backed by top VC firms in NYC and San Francisco, including Canvas, NEA, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Founder Collective and Bowery Capital. Transfix is headquartered in New York City.

About NEA

New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With over $19 billion in cumulative committed capital since the firm's founding in 1977, NEA invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company's lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm's long track record of successful investing includes more than 210 portfolio company IPOs and more than 360 acquisitions.

For additional information, visit www.nea.com

Contact:

Sarah Leibowitz

Spark for Transfix

[email protected]

516.384.4531

SOURCE Transfix
BOSTON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 1,200 registered nurses at Tufts Medical Center, who are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, will conduct an historic one-day strike today as the latest round of negotiations held at the federal mediator's office failed to achieve a settlement that ensures patients have the highly skilled nursing care they deserve. The strike will begin at 7 a.m. on Wednesday and run until 6:59 a.m. on Thursday, July 13. It will be the first strike by nurses in Boston in over 30 years, and the largest nurses' strike in Massachusetts history.

"We came to the table today hoping to reach an agreement, but Tufts management is determined to force a strike and a subsequent lock out of our nurses," said Mary Havlicek Cornacchia, an OR nurse and bargaining unit co-chair. "This decision really shows administration's lack of respect for its nurses and for the safety our patients."

The nurses are seeking much needed improvements in staffing levels to ensure nurses have more time to spend with patients as well as an increase in their salary to keep them competitive with other Boston hospitals (Tufts nurses are the lowest paid nurses in the city) and to preserve and enhance their pension benefit (which is also the worst in the city).

"Instead of caring for our patients, the nurses of this hospital will be out on the strike line tomorrow to demonstrate our resolve and our commitment to fight for what is best for our patients and our professional practice," said Barbara Tiller, union co-chair and an IV/PICC/CRN nurse. "We have been trying for months to convince Tufts management that our patients and nurses are suffering because they refuse to provide us with the resources, appropriate patient assignments, and the compensation we need to ensure quality patient care. We will be on the street tomorrow, Tufts nurses will not back down."

RN Public Schedule for Tuesday-Thursday

7 a.m. Wednesday, July 12: One-day strike begins. Nurses and supporters will gather outside the main entrance of the hospital at 800 Washington St. in Boston. Picketing will begin and continue through the duration of the 24-hour strike.

12 p.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 12: Rallies outside the hospital at 800 Washington St. in Boston with nurses, staff, community supporters, and local leaders.

6:59 a.m. Thursday, July 13: One-day RN strike ends. Nurses will gather outside the hospital at 800 Washington St. in Boston and those scheduled to work plan to enter Tufts to care for their patients. The hospital has threatened to lock out nurses for four days.

The Truth about Tufts Strike Replacement Nurses

During the planned 24-hour strike by Tufts nurses, TMC management plans to bring in mercenary replacement nurses from all over the country who do not know the hospital, are not highly specialized like the Tufts nurses, and who the Massachusetts Nurses Association believes will endanger patient care.

History, academic studies and unionized registered nurses can all testify to the fact that mercenary replacement nurses cannot make up for the temporary loss of nurses who are specialized in their fields and knowledgeable of their patients and the hospital systems. A 2010 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded, "Hiring replacement workers apparently does not help: hospitals that hired replacement workers performed no better during strikes than those that did not hire substitute employees."

During the 2000 strike by the MNA nurses at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, three replacement nurses recruited by the same strike replacement nurse agency Tufts plans to use were fired after separate incidents in which they left a patient alone after surgery and also gave the wrong baby to a nursing mother, according to news reports by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and WCVB Channel 5. Another patient was given a nearly fatal overdose of morphine because a replacement nurse misunderstood a doctor's order, according to Channel 5.

"It can take several weeks to train even an experienced nurse to provide quality care under normal conditions in a new hospital setting," said Havlicek Cornacchia. "How can they possibly expect to safely operate this hospital with nurses drawn from all parts of the country who have no experience with our facility? It is irresponsible. Instead of issuing ultimatums and spending millions of dollars to ignore us, they should have listened to us and offered a fair settlement."

Key Issues in Dispute

The need for improved nurse staffing with safer patient assignments for nurses throughout the hospital

The need for more IV nurses and clinical resource nurses

The need to have charge nurses who are free of patient assignments at the start of all shifts, in all units. A charge nurse is an RN who is responsible for managing all aspects of nursing responsibilities during each shift, from processing patients in and out to delegating nursing rounds. Being free of an initial patient assignment will allow Tufts' charge nurses to provide desperately needed support to patients and nurses at the busiest time (i.e., change of shift)

charge nurses to provide desperately needed support to patients and nurses at the busiest time (i.e., change of shift) The need for wage improvements that will make the hospital market competitive, thereby improving nurse recruitment and retention

The need for pension protections/improvements that will make the hospital market competitive

Concerns over Safe Staffing and Safe Patient Care

In the current environment at Tufts, nurses across all units and floors are contending with unsafe staffing situations on a daily basis, with many units reporting constant unsafe staffing levels. The result is too many RNs are regularly carrying patient assignments that are too large and unsafe. Every day, the hospital sends RNs blast-text messages asking them to pick up shifts that are open due to the bare-bones approach management uses to staff the hospital.

Simultaneously, hospital management insists on using a fragmented and broken system of temporary reassignment as a way of trying to deal with its chronic staffing challenges. This results in RNs being directed to work on units and floors where they are unfamiliar and/or untrained to safely care for patients. In addition, there are not enough specialty nurses to help with patients' IV needs or in an emergency.

"We have offered a variety of proposals  and amended proposals, and doubly amended proposals  that would address staffing," said Tiller. "But management's responses have been so inadequate that they don't get to the heart of the problem. They insist on offering us staffing proposals that are disjointed and superficial. What we need from them is simple: more full-time RNs and specialty nurses, and charge nurses without an initial patient assignment. That's what will keep our patients safe."

Market Competitive Compensation

In addition to having some of the worst staffing conditions in Boston, Tufts Medical Center has also become the hospital that offers its nurses the lowest wages and retirement benefits in the city. "The hospital's proposals have not adequately addressed these issues," said Havlicek Cornacchia. "Without market competitive wages and benefits, Tufts cannot recruit and retain the nurses it needs, and the staffing problem spirals downward."

Management has also proposed freezing the defined benefit pension plan for approximately 350 RNs and instituting a divisive, inequitable, and complex catchup mechanism as part of a proposed higher-risk 403(b) matching program. That change would result in significant losses in retirement funding for most nurses. Meanwhile, RNs already in the defined contribution plan would continue to receive the lowest employer contribution of all nurses in the city.

The nurses have countered with an innovative proposal that would benefit all RNs while still saving the hospital millions of dollars annually. This proposed plan, which is a multi-employer defined benefit pension plan, would add as much as $11 million to Tufts' bottom line, would eliminate more than $85 million in pension liability. Management has refused to engage in any real talks on this issue.

"The pay and retirement benefits at Tufts just aren't competitive," said Tiller. "We know it, Tufts knows it, and the other hospitals in the city know it. As a result, we've become the nurse training ground for all the other facilities. New graduates come here, they get their experience, and they move on. This cycle won't stop until the hospital makes us competitive. And in the meantime, our patients suffer."

MassNurses.org  Facebook.com/MassNurses  Twitter.com/MassNurses

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association

Related Links

http://massnurses.org/


WASHINGTON, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Stephen Coyle, CEO of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT), today received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Ulster University for his decades-long support for economic regeneration and peace building in Northern Ireland.

Ulster University cited Mr. Coyle's role in development of the $85 million Foyleside Centre, a grand marketplace in Derry that was one of the first major regeneration projects since the "Troubles" erupted in the late 1960s. The 30-year conflict caused more than 3,500 deaths, many of them civilians, thousands of grave injuries, and led to aggressive violations of civil and human rights.

This "statement" project as it was called by its planners - the Honorable John Hume, Minister Richard Needham and Mr. Coyle  led to a major shift in U.S. policy by President Clinton, who advocated for peace after he visited the mall shortly after it opened in 1995. When Mr. Hume accepted his Nobel Prize for being an architect of peace in Ireland, he said in an aside: "In the late 1980s, some Men from Boston came to Derry and helped develop and build a project that let us start trading guns for jobs." The mall project created more than 1,000 jobs and economic impact of $100 million, demonstrating that jobs and economic development could lead to peace.

"Steve Coyle is committed to helping all people regardless of their race or ethnicity, where they live in this world or whether they are rich or poor," said Raymond Flynn, the former Mayor of Boston, who hired Mr. Coyle to be his Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). "I've seen first-hand his dedication to our homeland in Ireland. This award is appropriate as recognition of his decades of work to make a better society in Ireland, in Boston, and across the country. The love, respect and appreciation that the people of Boston have for Ireland is boundless."

In the United States, Mr. Coyle has impacted cities and working families during his 50-year career in urban planning, housing production and finance, and economic development. As Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Mr. Coyle is widely credited with providing the vision that reshaped Boston's downtown, financial district and neighborhoods during the 1980s building boom. With innovative programs such as Boston's "Linkage" program, Mr. Coyle was a strong voice for racial equity and channeling resources to distressed communities.

Since 1992, Mr. Coyle has been HIT's CEO, where he has led its significant growth. During that time, the HIT has invested more than $6.3 billion, creating an estimated 90,000 housing units and nearly 60,000 union construction jobs. These investments have helped provide affordable housing for an estimated 100,000 families.

In an encomium, Prof. Brandon Hamber, the John Hume & Thomas P. O'Neill Chair in Peace at Ulster University's International Conflict Research Institute, declared, "In short, four words capture the essence of Steve Coyle: Bostonian-Family-Ireland-Housing. Steve's Irish roots trace back to Galway (his mother was a Flaherty) and Donegal on the Coyle side. Anyone who comes from the North West of Ireland, and Derry in particular, knows that Coyle is a common name in these parts."

Prof. Hamber noted that Mr. Coyle is well known as a voracious student of far ranging topics. "In any conversation, he is as likely to quote Doxiadis (a "famous" town planner) or the Illiad, as a contemporary architect, playwright or politician. You would want Steve on your team in University Challenge."

Regardless, Prof. Hamber said that Mr. Coyle never forgot his Irish roots.

"He roamed Sligo with the head of the Yeats Society in the 1970s, visited several times in the 1980s and recently, and he is prone to singing Irish folk songs with passion that brings a tear to the eye," Prof. Hamber said. "Steve is a prominent and public Irish-American advocating for development on the island of his ancestors. He was a Chair of the American Ireland Fund's Washington, DC Galas in 2016 and 2017, raising significant sums for community work in Ireland. Steve has developed close ties with Ulster University and led the development of a significant philanthropic scholarship program  the John J. Sweeney Scholarship  which supports one US student a year to study at the University."

In accepting his degree, Mr. Coyle said, "I accept humbly this magnificent honor that you have conferred on me this day. I will never be able to repay you for letting me share this great day with you."

Moreover, Mr. Coyle talked about his history of visiting Ireland, and working to spur economic development despite the challenges caused by the tension related to the Troubles.

Recalling one trip in the late 1980s, Mr. Coyle said, "One evening, way too late, after a dinner in the South with the Catholic and Anglican Bishops of Ireland, the British at the Strabane Crossing questioned us. It was not an uncommon thing to be stopped then. On any day, in the middle of the day, on the main streets of Derry, we would be stopped and frisked. Strabane Crossing was different. It was Orwellian in design and enforcement. That night, as my papers were being "reviewed" for the Nth time that trip, a young soldier asked me why I didn't just go home and stop meddling in Derry's affairs. I answered: "My name is Coyle. My people have lived in Derry since the 6th century. I am home."

Speaking to the Ulster University's graduates, who gave Mr. Coyle and standing ovation for his passionate address, Mr. Coyle left them with three life lessons.

"First. You are special people, a special generation. You are the ones that years ago your families, your neighbors, your teachers, your friends, your spiritual leaderscame together and decided to change Derry's future for you. Embrace that understanding and that responsibility. There are no great burdens that come with it other than just doing your job for your family, your profession, for Derry, for Ireland, for the world beyond. Maybe it's being an entrepreneur and creating a start-up that eventually employs hundreds. Maybe it's writing the next great Irish drama or becoming a successor to Seamus Heaney. Maybe it's following in the footsteps of a parent, or family member or friend into business you've thought about for years. Whatever it is that you do with your energy and talents, and the powerful education you celebrate today--remember as often as you can, the sacrifices of others who wanted you to have this day.

"Second. Don't run from the big challenge, the big problem, the big moment or the big idea. Embrace them. If your gut and your training, your knowledge and instincts tell you that you are up to the challenge, take it. It was once observed, that we all have failures at one time or another. But, as Bacon observed, it's better for you to be the one who fails because you did not succeed, rather than the one who fails for not trying at all. Give back in proportion to what you have received, and more. Be the one others can count on to get the "impossible" done. Whatever walk of life you choose, be a difference maker.

"Third. I am sure you can't count the number of times that you've been told that the Devil is in the details. But, so is the joy and so is the path of knowing. The great power of the education you have received at the University of Ulster is not limited to what you have learned no matter how considerable. The great value is that you have learned how to learn. This is the "pearl of great price."

CONTACT:

Michael K. Frisby

202-625-4328/[email protected]

SOURCE AFL-CIO HIT
ANN ARBOR, Mich., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This week, the Desai Accelerator, a joint venture between the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and the College of Engineering, kicked off its Summer 2017 cohort.

"There's no shortage of entrepreneurial spirit here in Michigan or elsewhere," said Angela Kujava, managing director of the Desai Accelerator. "The number of talented founders seeking our support and guidance continues to grow each year."

The Summer 2017 selected companies are:

Ascape Audio, which creates audio products that bring music to your ears, no strings attached! Ascend-1 is the first pair of "truly" wireless earbuds, which play music for 14 hours and can be stored inside a small charging case. The product has a unique "Twist-to-Lock" shape, which allows the buds to fit securely in the ears and never fall out. SoundFlow, Ascape Audio's second product, arrives later in 2017. SmartFlow is a smartphone battery case that stores a pair of the wireless earbuds right on top of your phone. SoundFlow's battery doubles your phone's life, and the hard-shell case provides added protection.

Find Your Ditto, a mobile platform that connects individuals living with the same chronic illnesses to reduce patient depression and poor self-efficacy that results in $442 billion unnecessary healthcare dollars spent annually. Healthcare institutions and employee wellness programs can provide patients and employees access to an illness-specific Find Your Ditto peer support community. In exchange, users can opt-in to share their anonymized and randomized survey data.

unnecessary healthcare dollars spent annually. Healthcare institutions and employee wellness programs can provide patients and employees access to an illness-specific Find Your Ditto peer support community. In exchange, users can opt-in to share their anonymized and randomized survey data. Gwydion, a VR/AR software production for post-secondary education and research. Their platform, Arthea, is built to service the needs of educators and researchers in the sciences, engineering, design, and medicine. With this software, post-secondary institutions are able to offer their students superior conceptualization resources, and save on prototypes and simulation expenses, manpower, and time.

TwoScoreTwo, an enterprise blockchain technology company with products for secure data storage and transfer, payments and money transfer, and unhackable identity and access management that enable faster, more secure, and lower friction commerce for organizations and networks.

The innovative companies participating in the summer cohort were chosen from a diverse set of technology focused startup applicants: 25% were led or founded by women, 54% were from outside of Michigan, 19% were from a country other than the United States, and 47% had a connection to the University of Michigan.

Now in its third year, this is the first time that the accelerator, which also ran a Winter 2017 program, will host two cohorts in the same year. The Desai Accelerator, managed by the Ross School's Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and the College of Engineering's Center for Entrepreneurship, nurtures ventures as they reach the critical phase between early-stage development and the point at which they seek external investors. The current program runs through October 5, 2017, and provides each company with a $25,000 investment, support from mentors, access to University of Michigan interns, as well as office space in downtown Ann Arbor.

"Expanding to multiple cohorts a year enables us to cater our program to a small group setting, offering exceptional attention and resources while increasing the number of startups we're able to serve," said Kujava. "The four companies we're welcoming to this cohort have demonstrated the drive and passion to be successful in today's demanding startup environment, and we're excited to help them achieve their goals."

The 13-week curriculum kicks off with a visioning and reflection week, which assists each company in establishing milestones and creating a plan that will guide their progress for the remainder of their time in the accelerator. Each startup will benefit from the guidance of entrepreneur and venture capital mentors, including Desai entrepreneur-in-residence Michael Godwin, founder and managing director of Resonant Venture Partners. In addition to showcasing their progress at the Desai Demo Day, they will also have the opportunity to participate in high-profile entrepreneurial events in Ann Arbor, such as the North American Tech Tour in August and the Rise of the Rest in October.

Since its launch in 2015, funding and support for the accelerator has been provided by the Desai Sethi (DS) Family Foundation, the Davidson Foundation, the Wadhams family and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). Alumni companies include MySwimPro, named 2016 Apple Watch App of the Year, and Companion, which was featured on Apple's Planet of the Apps and received a $1 million investment from Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Applications for the first 2018 cohort will open in October. Visit http://desaiaccelerator.umich.edu/ for more information.

About the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies

The Institute and its Center for Venture Capital and Private Equity Finance bring together an impactful combination of deep-seated knowledge, enriching experiences and strategic opportunities from the front lines of entrepreneurship and alternative investment. Students' learning experiences are further enhanced through internships, entrepreneurial clubs, business competitions and campus-wide events that foster valuable networking and engage the business community. The Institute's five student-led investment funds, with over $8.5M under management, immerse students in the entrepreneurial business sourcing, assessment and investment process while pursuing their graduate or undergraduate degree at the Ross School of Business. Zell Lurie advisory board members include Samuel Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments, and Pamela Applebaum, of Arbor Drugs Inc. For more information, visit the Institute's website at www.zli.umich.edu.

About the Center for Entrepreneurship

The Center for Entrepreneurship's (CFE) mission is to inspire and transform the Michigan community into entrepreneurial thinkers and doers. As a part of the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan, the CFE provides academic and training programs that broadly support students, faculty and community members. Among its many initiatives, CFE co-developed and co-teaches the undergraduate Program in Entrepreneurship, the Master of Entrepreneurship and the National Science Foundation I-Corps program. CFE co-manages the TechArb Student Venture Accelerator, the Desai Accelerator, and provides overall support to Michigan's economic development efforts. Its teaching philosophy focuses on experiential learning with an emphasis on the development of an entrepreneurial mindset, with resources such as structured ventureprograms, global access to mentors, as well as funding. For more information, please visit cfe.umich.edu.

SOURCE Zell Lurie Institute

Related Links

http://www.zli.umich.edu/


STELLENBOSCH, South Africa, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

AzarGen Biotechnologies (Pty) Ltd (Stellenbosch, South Africa) announced that it has received grant status for the patent application: SYNTHETIC PROMOTER CONSTRUCT FOR TRANSGENE EXPRESSION (US9670497) from the US Patent office.



(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/534951/AzarGen_Biotechnologies_Logo.jpg )



With special emphasis on the genetic enhancement of tobacco for high-value compound production, AzarGen's synthetic promoters have been designed for high level transgene expression in transient and transgenic systems. AzarGen aims to further expand the utility of these synthetic promoters in various dicot and monocot plant species.

AzarGen has recently been featured on CB Insights' top global synthetic biology start-up companies market map list. AzarGen also recently expanded its collaboration with iBio, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IBIO), a leader in developing plant-based biopharmaceuticals, for the development of a "bio-better" version of a therapeutic monoclonal antibody product for the South African market.

"For this project, AzarGen's synthetic promoters are being tested with the objective of including the top performer in iBio's proprietary protein production vector for expression of AzarGen's candidate therapeutic monoclonal antibody," said Robert Erwin, iBio's President. "We are confident that by working together, AzarGen and iBio will succeed in providing an important "bio-better" version of a therapeutic monoclonal antibody for the South African market."

"With the anticipated success in combining iBio and AzarGen's advanced genetic engineering and synthetic biology technologies for plant-made pharmaceutical applications, we expect to grow our biological drug product pipeline for several therapeutic areas." said Dr. Mauritz Venter, CEO of AzarGen. "In addition to applying plant-based synthetic biology techniques for healthcare, we aim to play a role in food security and bio-fuel sectors."

About iBio, Inc.

iBio, a leader in developing plant-based biopharmaceuticals, provides a range of product and process development, analytical, and manufacturing services at the large-scale development and manufacturing facility of its subsidiary iBio CMO LLC in Bryan, Texas. The facility houses laboratory and pilot-scale operations, as well as large-scale automated hydroponic systems capable of growing over four million plants as "in process inventory" and delivering over 300 kilograms of therapeutic protein pharmaceutical active ingredient per year. Facility capacity can be doubled by adding additional plant growth equipment in a space already reserved for that purpose.

iBio applies its technology for the benefit of its clients and the advancement of its own product interests. The Company's pipeline is comprised of proprietary candidates for the treatment of a range of fibrotic diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, systemic sclerosis, and scleroderma. IBIO-CFB03, based on the Company's proprietary gene expression technology, is the Company's lead therapeutic candidate being advanced for IND development.

Further information is available at: www.ibioinc.com

About AzarGen Biotechnologies (Pty) Ltd

AzarGen is a biotechnology company focused on developing human therapeutic proteins using advanced genetic engineering and synthetic biology techniques in plants. The company's lead product is a recombinant human surfactant protein (based on rh-SPB) targeted for various respiratory disease conditions. AzarGen has developed proprietary synthetic DNA promoters for various expression platform applications in plant-made pharmaceuticals, synthetic biology and GMO-crop improvement. The AzarGen management team is supported by an experienced advisory board for strategic guidance and intellectual property management. Based in Stellenbosch, South Africa, AzarGen has made great progress to move a portfolio of proprietary biopharmaceutical products forward with support from South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

Further information is available at www.azargen.com

Contact: Mauritz Venter, +27218082764, [email protected]

SOURCE AzarGen Biotechnologies
The Dewan called upon Indian Muslims and Kashmiri youth to send out a precise and meaningful message to the world that Indian Muslim is a true messenger of peace.

By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: Ajmer Dargah Dewan Sayeed Jainul Aabedin Ali Khan has strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Amarnath pilgrims. The Dargah Dewan termed it as a cowardly act of the terrorists and an ugly blot of terrorism on Kashmiris.

The Dewan called upon Indian Muslims and Kashmiri youth to send out a precise and meaningful message to the world that Indian Muslim is a true messenger of peace and Quran by raising their voice against Pakistan vis-a-vis terrorism.

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He mentioned that in Islam, violence and killing of innocent people is against Shariat and humanity. He also claimed that it is about time that everyone should come together and respond to these terrorists and terror organisations in their own language.

"It is absolutely wrong to term these kind of incidents as Islamic terrorism or Hindu terrorism because any terror organisation based on religious fanaticism should not be linked to any religious sect or section because people who indulge in terror activity cannot be connected to religion. They only make use of religion for accomplishing their selfish motives," the Dewan added.

At least seven pilgrims were killed and several injured in a dastardly attack as terrorists had attacked a bus of Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir's Anantnag on Monday.

ALSO READ:

Amarnath attack: Lashkar-e-Taiba over-ground workers tailed pilgrims for 2 days

Post Amarnath Yatra terror attack, Sangh wants Valley under president's rule

ALSO WATCH:

Kashmiris' heads hang in shame: Mehbooba Mufti after attack on Amarnath pilgrim

--- ENDS ---
DENVER, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vision Care Specialists announced today that Denver eye-care firm Accent Optics has become the latest member of the growing Vision Care family.

Accent Optics was founded by Frederick "Rick" Hurlbut, Jr., OD, a leading Denver optometrist who's been in private practice for more than 25 years.

"This is an exciting time for everyone in the VCS family," said Vision Care Specialists Chief Executive Officer Jeff Poe. "Dr. Hurlbut's vision is to merge the best clinical eye care with the best retail optics to create an exceptional eye-care experience for customers and patients alike. This is identical to what we work toward every day, which is why this new practice will fit so well within our group."

Dr. Hurlbut and his staff, including optician Stacy Vasquez, will continue to provide vision care and personalized optometric service to patients at their office at 2795 S. Colorado Blvd. That location will become the sixth in the VCS group, which also includes offices in Aurora, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Parker and downtown Denver.

In joining Vision Care Specialists, Dr. Hurlbut becomes part of Denver's leading group of eye-care doctors, who've been providing cutting-edge optometry services in Colorado for more than forty years.

A University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate who went on to receive his Doctor of Optometry degree from the Southern California College of Optometry, Dr. Hurlbut says he is looking forward to working with Poe's team.

"I'm thrilled about the opportunity to join such an illustrious practice," said Dr. Hurlbut. "This is a perfect fit for Stacy and I, since Jeff Poe and his team share our vision of making patient care our top priority. Their large network of doctors and staff will help us offer even more services to our patients."

Founded in 1974, Vision Care Specialists has earned a reputation for making a difference in its patients' lives. While many eye-care practices have followed the industry trend of private equity buyouts or have joined franchises and hospital-owned physician groups to gain advantages of scale, VCS believes strongly in physician-defined standards of care. That dedication to an independent medical practice model allows VCS to invest in state-of-the-art technologies; in 2014, it became the first private practice in Denver to offer laser cataract procedures.

Poe said management responsibilities for the Accent Optics office will be assumed by Julie Bartik, who will also continue to oversee VCS's downtown Denver location.

For more information, please visit https://www.visioncarespecialists.com/.

Media Contact:

Rudi Fields

303.991.9628 (Direct)

303.991.9644 (Fax)

[email protected]

www.visioncarespecialists.com

SOURCE Vision Care Specialist

Related Links

https://www.visioncarespecialists.com


NEW YORK, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the Board of Directors of Bankrate, Inc. ("RATE" or the "Company") (NYSE: RATE) in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by Red Ventures Holdco, LP. Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, the Company's shareholders will receive $14.00 in cash for each RATE share they own.

WeissLaw is investigating whether RATE's Board acted to maximize shareholder value prior to entering into the agreement. Notably, the offer price is $1.00 less than the analyst target price of $15.00, and represents a meagre 8.52% premium over the Company's June 30 trading price of $12.90. Additionally, prior to the acquisition agreement, RATE announced impressive financially results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2017. It reported a remarkable 27% year-over-year growth in total revenue. RATE also announced a 35% revenue increase in its credit card segment, an 18% revenue increase its banking segment, and an astounding 70% increase in adjusted EBITDA.

Given these facts, WeissLaw is investigating whether RATE's Board acted in the best interests of RATE's public shareholders to maximize shareholder value prior to entering into the agreement. If you own RATE shares and would like more information about your rights or our investigation, or if you have information to share with us, please contact Joshua Rubin by telephone at (888) 593-4771 or by email at [email protected].

WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected] or fill out the form on our website, http://www.weisslawllp.com/bankrate-inc/

SOURCE WeissLaw LLP

Related Links

http://www.weisslurie.com


PRYOR, Okla., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In a continuing push for new state certifications, Xcaliber International has announced two additional brand certifications in the state of Pennsylvania. Cigarette brands Berley and 24/7 have been added to Pennsylvania's Tobacco Product Manufacturers Directory, joining two other brands already approved for retail sales.

"Given Pennsylvania's increase in cigarette taxes last year, we noticed growing consumer demand for more low-cost cigarette options in that state," said Xcaliber COO, Derrick Taylor. "That's exactly the type of market we look for when deciding where to focus our attention and introduce new products."

Xcaliber International, based in Pryor, Oklahoma, is the leading Tier Four cigarette manufacturer in the United States. Xcaliber International is built on the foundation of providing the highest value products in the Tier Four category.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE Xcaliber International

Related Links

http://www.xcaliberinternational.com


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Fedora Update Notification

FEDORA-2017-372bb1edb3

2017-07-11 18:56:33.218594

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Name : libdb

Product : Fedora 25

Version : 5.3.28

Release : 24.fc25

URL : http://www.oracle.com/database/berkeley-db/

Summary : The Berkeley DB database library for C

Description :

The Berkeley Database (Berkeley DB) is a programmatic toolkit that

provides embedded database support for both traditional and

client/server applications. The Berkeley DB includes B+tree, Extended

Linear Hashing, Fixed and Variable-length record access methods,

transactions, locking, logging, shared memory caching, and database

recovery. The Berkeley DB supports C, C++, Java, and Perl APIs. It is

used by many applications, including Python and Perl, so this should

be installed on all systems.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

Update Information:



Security fix for DB_CONFIG parsing when db_home is not set. This update also

introduces modified fixes for rhbz#1394862 once again and additionally fixes

ppc

specific hangs described in rhbz#1460003. Please be aware that this update is

expected to cause **DB_VERSION_MISMATCH** errors during installation if you are

still running an older release of libdb. These errors are a result of packages

calling rpm commands during installation and have so far been found harmless.

You can also run into issues with dnf plugins that do the same. As these

plugins

are run after the rpm transaction has already gone through successfully they

should also be harmless. However, in this case a rebuild of rpmdb's

environment

will be needed. Detailed information on how to achieve this can be found in the

links below. For more information please take a look at:

https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Common_F26_bugs#upgrade-libdb

https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Common_F26_bugs#libdb-rebuilddb

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

References:



[ 1 ] Bug #1464032 - libdb: Reads DB_CONFIG from the current working

directory

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1464032

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-



This update can be installed with the "dnf" update program. Use

su -c 'dnf upgrade libdb' at the command line.

For more information, refer to the dnf documentation available at

http://dnf.readthedocs.io/en/latest/command_ref.html#upgrade-command-label



All packages are signed with the Fedora Project GPG key. More details on the

GPG keys used by the Fedora Project can be found at

https://fedoraproject.org/keys

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

_______________________________________________

package-announce mailing list -- package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org

To unsubscribe send an email to package-announce-leave@lists.fedoraproject.org


Security officials believe that the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, a first in 17 years, shows that terrorists were desperate to seek revenge after killings of several Lashkar militants.

Security forces have launched a massive manhunt in south Kashmir to nab Abu Ismail, the mastermind of attack on Amarnath pilgrims. (Photo/PTI)

By India Today Web Desk: A massive manhunt is underway in Jammu and Kashmir to nab Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Ismail who plotted Monday's (July 10) attack on a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims. Seven people were killed and several were injured in the attack in Anantnag.

Security officials believe that the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, a first in 17 years, shows that terrorists were desperate to seek revenge after killings of several Lashkar militants including top commander Bashir Lashkari in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.

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HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Security forces have launched special operation in south Kashmir to hunt down Abu Ismail. Ismail, who is a Pakistani local, has been active in Kashmir for several years and had moved base to south Kashmir more than a year ago. The attack on Amarnath pilgrims came the same day when police said it has busted a module of LeT and arrested one Sandeep Sharma alias Aadil who belongs to Mizaffarnagar in Uttar Pardesh. Sandeep has been working for Lashkar since past many years and was involved in several ATM loot cases. Interestingly, Lashkar has denied its involvement in the Anantnag attack. The terror group not only distanced itself from the attack on Amarnath pilgrims but also condemned the attack. "It is against Islamic teachings. The attack on the pilgrims is highly reprehensible act. Islam does not allow violence against any faith," Lashkar spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi said. Meanwhile, the Centre today said it is working to improve security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and overcome the lapses. Minister of State (MoS) in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh and Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir were in Srinagar today to take stock of the situation. "Anything that happens in Kashmir finds echo across the country. People of the Valley want the guilty to be punished. We are here on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express our solidarity," Jitendra Singh said. Responding to Home Minister Rajnath Singh's assertion that "every Kashmiri is not a terrorist", Jitendra Singh said, "Yes, Home Minister Rajnath ji is absolutely right - every Kashmiri is not a terrorist." Echoing similar sentiment, Hansraj Ahir Amarnath Yatris are unfazed by the attack. A fresh batch of 3,791 pilgrims today left for the Himalayan cave shrine amid tight security.

ALSO READ:

Was Amarnath pilgrim bus original target of Anantnag attack? Cops wade through maze of clues

Amarnath Yatra terror attack: Army chief tells jawans to keep up pressure on terrorists

Amarnath attack: How the hero bus driver drove through bullets to save many lives

When 30 Amarnath pilgrims were killed in terror attack 17 years ago

WATCH: Amarnath terror attack: God gave me courage and I kept moving, says bus driver Salim Sheikh

--- ENDS ---
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Hong Kong, July 7 : China's first operational aircraft carrier Liaoning arrived in Hong Kong on Friday for its maiden visit as part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from the UK to Beijing.

Accompanied by a combat group comprising two destroyers, a frigate, a squadron of fighters, helicopters and 2,000 crew members, the giant 60,900-tonne ship arrived in Hong Kong waters at 7 a.m., reports Efe news.

The carrier's arrival is being interpreted as a display of sovereignty and territorial integration, as well as a show of military might by the Chinese government, especially in Hong Kong where there is a growing clamour for more autonomy, as witnessed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's official visit to the city last weekend.

China has been locked in a sovereignty dispute with many countries of the region over the resource-rich waters of the South China Sea and the East China Sea, and also over control of uninhabited archipelagos such as the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands (administered by Japan) and the Spratly/Paracel Islands.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Hong Kong residents stood in line for hours for a chance to get the 2,000 tickets that would allow them a rare tour of the aircraft carrier over the weekend.

A ferry will shuttle visitors to the Liaoning, where they will be able to view the J-15 fighter jets, among others.

The ship has over 3,500 rooms, including bedrooms, dining rooms, ten cafeterias, gymnasiums, laundry rooms, a shop and separate accommodations for men and women.

Fingerprint scanners restrict entry to the women's living quarters.

Beijing's decision to open the ship to the public could be in line with the People's Liberation Army's strategy of combining soft power with military prowess to inspire nationalist sentiments.

China bought the Liaoning -- built in the erstwhile Soviet Union -- from Ukraine, and made it operational in 2012.
Hyderabad, July 8 : Actor Junior NTR is excited about making his television debut with the Telugu version of widely popular reality television show "Bigg Boss". He says he sees this as an opportunity to explore himself.

"Bigg Boss" in Telugu is slated to go on air on July 16 on Star Maa.

Talking to the media here on Saturday, Jr NTR said he accepted the show because he likes challenges.

"Challenges excite me. When Star Maa approached me with the offer, I didn't think even for a minute to say yes. I was intrigued because I saw it as an opportunity to explore myself," he said.

"I don't know anything about hosting, and I see this as a challenge I would like to take head on. It's also the kind of show where the contestants can also explore themselves," he added.

The show will have 12 celebrity contestants brought together for 70 days, surrounded by 60 cameras and cut off from the outside world in one huge house.

Jr NTR said he didn't watch the show in other languages.

"My cousin sister had once introduced me to the show. I must have watched a few minutes of one episode where Salman (Khan) was hosting. I decided not to watch the show in other languages because I didn't want to get influenced by what they (other hosts) did," he said, assuring the show has been programmed keeping in mind Telugu sensibilities and culture.

Asked if he received a fat paycheck for the new role, he said: "They have paid me enough. Honestly, I didn't worry much about remuneration. I was more excited about the challenge," he added.

While the names of the 12 contestants are being heavily guarded, the industry grapevine is that actors Posani Krishna Murali and Tejaswi Madivada are part of the show.

"Bigg Boss" is the Indian version of the international format "Big Brother", one of the most successful reality television series ever. The Endemol-owned format has had 10 blockbuster seasons in Hindi.
Security agencies are piecing together clues to understand if a bus ferrying Amarnath pilgrims was the actual target of Monday night's terrorist attack in which seven people lost their lives.

By Sudhi Ranjan Sen: Was the bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims the main target in Anantnag or was the attack incidental? Security agencies are wading through a bewildering maze of clues.

Seven pilgrims, including five women, were killed and 19 others injured when terrorists opened fire at a bus carrying Amarnath yatris on Monday.

The attack on the bus - one of the worst in several years - lasted for a few seconds only, senior officials associated with the investigations told Mail Today.

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A police post in the area was attacked by the terrorists earlier. However, security personnel posted there resorted to heavy retaliation.

"The ill-fated bus stopped en route because of a flat tyre," a senior official said. "We are trying to establish whether the bus carrying the pilgrims was being tracked and attacked."

"It is possible the terrorists did choose to target a lone bus travelling without protection," the official added.

PROTOCOL BROKEN

The bus wasn't supposed to be travelling through the highway after sunset. Pilgrims are shepherded with at least two layers of security; a road opening party that guards accesses to the highways and an escort.

According to the sequence of events pieced together by the police, the bus was attacked once again near a petrol pump a few kilometres from where it broke down.

Security agencies are examining why a single bus moving along the highway after security cover was withdrawn was not noticed at several police checkposts.

The terrorists - most likely a group of five - had divided themselves into two groups and attacked the bus from both sides, initial investigations suggest. About 100 empty bullet shells have been recovered from the site of the attack.

The driver of the bus - Salim Sheikh Gafoor - kept driving despite being fired from both sides till be he spotted an army installation. His presence of mind saved the lives of several pilgrims, most of whom were from Gujarat and Maharashtra.

LeT BEHIND ATTACK

Jammu & Kashmir Police and security agencies believe the attack was the handiwork of Abu Ismail - a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorist of Pakistani nationality, who had infiltrated into India last year after Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Buran Wani was killed in an encounter.

Ismail is based in Pampore - a few kilometres away from Srinagar - and had a close shave when he was nearly trapped by the Indian Army in an operation.

For once, there was clear intelligence to suggest that the Amarnath Yatra would be a target. About 90,000 troops comprising seven battalions of the the Indian Army, about 400 companies of central paramilitary Forces and Jammu & Kashmir Police were deployed from Lakhanpur in Jammu to the holy shrine to prevent any attack.

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The deployment of security forces was reviewed on Tuesday in a meeting chaired by Home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. Two additional battalions of CRPF will also be deployed.

Army chief General Bipin Rawat, who rushed to the Valley on Tuesday, reviewed counterinsurgency operations. Sources said operations will be intensified in areas such as Anantnag, Pulwama and Srinagar.

ALSO READ | Amarnath Yatra terror attack: Army chief tells jawans to keep up pressure on terrorists

ALSO READ | When 30 Amarnath pilgrims were killed in terror attack 17 years ago

ALSO WATCH | Amarnath terror attack: God gave me courage and I kept moving, says bus driver Salim Sheikh

--- ENDS ---
Kolkata/New Delhi, July 8 : A three-member BJP delegation of MPs headed for communal violence-hit Basirhat in West Bengal were detained by state police near Kolkata airport on Saturday, one of the members said.

BJP's New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi, a member of the team, told IANS on phone: "We were detained one km from the airport as we were heading towards Basirhat."

Besides Lekhi, the other members comprise Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Baghpat Satyapal Singh and Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan Om Mathur.

The team was set up on Thursday by party President Amit Shah to visit Basirhat and look into incidents of communal violence in the state.

Lashing out at the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government, Lekhi said: "There was no Section 144 imposed in the area, no papers were shown to us on why we were being detained when we hadn't committed any offence."

"Truth won't change whatever the Chief Minister (Mamata Banerjee) says. A BJP worker who has been stabbed (in the communal violence) is hospitalised," Lekhi told reporters there.

As the police stopped the BJP delegation, Om Mathur engaged in a verbal spat with the policemen.

"Do you know who are we? We are MPs and if you stop us a privilege motion will be filed in Parliament and you will land in trouble," Mathur told the West Bengal Police.

The MPs were taken to Kolkata Airport Police station.

On Friday, a delegation of Left parties, Congress and BJP were not allowed to visit Basirhat.
Hamburg, July 8 : Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe reviewed the progress in bilateral ties, including important projects, during their meeting here -- eight months after the two nations inked a landmark civil nuclear cooperation pact.

The Modi-Abe meeting comes as the navies of the two nations, along with the US, are engaged in a major naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal, where some of their frontline warships are deployed. China has been watching the Malabar trilateral exercise with unease.

Japan's bullet-train technology is being used by India for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor in western India, besides Japan is India's largest bilateral donor. Japan is possibly the only country involved in connectivity projects in India's northeast, where some states share a border with China.

"The two leaders briefly reviewed progress in bilateral relations, including in important projects, since their last meeting in Japan during Prime Minister's (Modi's) visit in November 2016," the Indian External Affairs Ministry said in a statement following the meeting between the two leaders on Friday.

"Prime Minister Modi expressed satisfaction at developments in bilateral relations since then."

Modi also said that he looked forward to Abe's visit to India later this year for the next annual bilateral summit and hoped that it would further strengthen cooperation between the two countries, according to the statement.

Japan is India's largest bilateral donor. Japanese Overseas Development Agency (ODA) supports India's efforts for accelerated economic development, particularly in priority areas like power, transportation, environmental projects and projects related to basic human needs.

The Ahmedabad-Mumbai High Speed Rail, the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor with 12 new industrial townships, and the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor are all mega projects on the anvil.
New Delhi, July 10 : Congress and other major opposition parties will meet here on Tuesday to decide on their vice presidential candidate while the ruling BJP is expected to finalise its nominee by July 13.

If the President's election in which both the BJP-led NDA and Congress-led opposition have fielded their respective nominees is an indicator, a contest is expected for the vice presidential election also.

Opposition sources claim that no name has cropped up even in informal discussions. The Congress itself is said to be not keen on putting up its own candidate, they said.

The meeting of opposition parties, convened at the Parliament Library Building, is likely to be attended by 18 parties including Janata Dal-United, which is backing NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind in the July 17 presidential election.

However, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not attend the meet and his party will be represented by senior leader Sharad Yadav.

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D. Raja, SP General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav and BSP leader Satish Mishra are among prominent opposition leaders who will attend the meeting.

Sources in the opposition camp said their choice of candidate will be preferably from south India and non-Congress.

"If the name of the candidate is finalised tomorrow (Tuesday), we will announce it," a senior opposition party leader told IANS.

Meanwhile, the BJP is likely to hold its parliamentary party meeting on July 13 or the day after. Sources in the BJP said the name of the NDA candidate will be announced after the parliamantary party meet, which will also be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Assured of support from the allies, the BJP is confident that its candidate will easily sail through the August 5 election.

"Except JD-U, all the parties which have supported our candidate Ram Nath Kovind in the presidential election have assured us of their support in the vice presidential election," a BJP functionary told IANS.

He also said that the candidate would be a politician and that too from the Bhartiya Janata Party. Sources said that BJP is looking for a candidate from south India.

The last date for filing nomination for the vice presidential election is July 18, while scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on July 19. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is July 21.

Hamid Ansari has been Vice President and ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha since August 11, 2007. He won the second term on August 11, 2012. His current term ends on August 10.
Doha, July 11 : US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Qatar on Tuesday to seek a solution to the diplomatic crisis between Doha and the four Arab countries which had cut diplomatic ties with it since June 5.

Tillerson and delegation were welcomed by Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, the official Qatari news agency QNA reported.

The US Secretary of State will meet the Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and then travel to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday where he will hold meetings with senior Saudi officials, Efe news reported.

Tillerson's visit to Doha followed a meeting with Kuwait's Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the main mediator in the Gulf crisis, to find a strategy that satisfies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain on one side and Qatar on the other.

The four-country bloc announced last week that they will not resume diplomatic relations or lift the trade blockade against Qatar which they accuse of supporting terrorism.

The countries justified their stance by stressing that Qatar responded negatively to their demands to resume relations, including the closure of the Qatari television channel Al-Jazeera, the end of diplomatic relations with Iran and the closure of a Turkish military base in the small Persian Gulf country.

Tillerson has had frequent contact with the countries involved in the dispute in June and had unsuccessfully asked Saudi Arabia and its allies to soften the blockade imposed on Qatar by warning that it hampers operations against the Islamic State terror organisation.
Jaipur, July 12 : Police in Rajasthan's Churu district were questioning a man suspected of Reliance Jio data leak.

"We are questioning Imran Chimpa in the case. He belongs to Sujangarh in Churu. As the case has been registered in Mumbai, we are waiting for the investigators from Mumbai police to arrive and take over the investigations," a senior police official from Churu told IANS on phone.

Imran was brought to police station on Tuesday evening, official said.

Sources in the police said that Mumbai police was expected to arrive later.

A website, titled magicapk.com, claimed late on Sunday it has hacked into Jio database and has made personal details of its over 100 million users available on the website but Jio refuted reports of a breach into its database.

"We have come across the unverified and unsubstantiated claims of the website and are investigating it. Prima facie, the data appears to be unauthentic," a Jio spokesperson said in a statement.

"We want to assure our subscribers that their data is safe and maintained with highest security. Data is only shared with authorities as per their requirement," the spokesperson added.

The account of the website now stands suspended.

The domain name appeared to be registered somewhere in India. Various IP tracking websites track the geographic location of magicapk.com to Maharashtra.
Ramallha, July 12 : Palestinian and US officials met in Jerusalem on Tuesday to revive the peace process that has been stalled since April 2014, according to a Palestinian official statement.

The statement of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said the meeting tackled the possibilities of reviving the stalled peace process in a bid to reach a permanent peace treaty, Efe news agency reported.

"Our position is based on the international laws and legitimacy," said the statement, adding "during the meeting, we demanded a full cessation of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem."

The delegation included PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat, Majed Farraj, chief of the Palestinian intelligence and Mohamed Mustafa, chairman of the PLO Fund.

Jason Greenblatt, the special American envoy for peace in the Middle East started on Monday a new tour in the Middle East and held talks with both Israeli and Palestinian officials as part of his mission to revive the stalled peace talks between the two sides.

The last peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians had stopped in April 2014.

It was sponsored by the United States and went on for nine months, without achieving any breakthrough due to differences on Israeli settlements.
Los Angeles, July 12 : Actress Charlize Theron says Hollywood is "caveman-like" for not allowing women to helm big-budget movies.

"I am ashamed that I'm part of an industry that has never allowed a woman to work with a budget higher than what the budget has been on 'Wonder Woman.' That's so f***ing caveman-like," variety.com quoted Theron as saying.

She added: "I am always hoping that this is the movie that's going to change it and keep it for us."

At the moment, the actress is looking forward to "Atomic Blonde", which will release in India on August 11. The film is being brought to India by PVR Pictures.
Jammu, July 12 : A fresh batch of pilgrims on Wednesday left for the Himalayan cave shrine amid tight security as the Amarnath Yatra continued post a Lashkar terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

"Another batch of 3,791 yatris left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in 101 vehicles, including 55 buses and 46 light motor vehicles for the valley around 4 a.m. today (Wednesday) in an escorted convoy," police said.

The annual 40-day long Amarnath Yatra has continued uninterrupted despite Monday's terror attack in Khanabal area on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in which seven pilgrims were killed and 19 others were injured.

The attack was carried out despite deployment of a multi-layered security cover provided by nearly 35,000 security men drawn from the Army, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal and the state police.

Authorities said the bus attacked by the terrorists was moving after the security deployment was withdrawn at 7.30 p.m. and the attack had taken place at 8.20 p.m.

It was also said that the bus and its pilgrims were not registered with the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) that manages the affairs of the annual Yatra.

So far, 1.57 lakh pilgrims have performed the Yatra and paid obeisance inside the Amarnath cave situated 3,888 metres above the sea-level.

The shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that waxes and wanes with the size of the visible moon.

Devotees believe the ice stalagmite structure called the 'Lingam' symbolizes mythical powers of Lord Shiva.
Rio De Janeiro, July 12 : Palmeiras have struck a deal with Spain's Levante to sign forward Deyverson on a five-year contract, the reigning Brazilian Serie A champions.

The 26-year-old, who is still in Spain, will undergo a medical and complete paperwork in Sao Paulo later this week, Xinhua news agency quoted Palmeiras as saying on their official website on Tuesday.

The club did not reveal the financial details of the transfer.

Deyverson scored seven goals in 32 La Liga appearances last season for Alaves, where he was on a season-long loan.

His career has also included spells at Germany's FC Koln and Portugal's Benfica.

Palmeiras are currently fifth in Brazil's Serie A standings, 13 points behind leaders Corinthians.
Los Angeles, July 12 : Actor Steve Zahn had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea of playing a chimpanzee in the forthcoming film "War for the Planet of the Apes".

Zahn says creating a fully developed, three-dimensional simian character using performance-capture technology was a different experience, reports stuff.co.nz.

"I had no clue whatsoever what it entailed. I was like, 'Oh, they can't just make me an ape -- I really have to be an ape'. Then I got nervous," he said.

"War for the Planet of the Apes" is the third installment of the "Planet of the Apes" reboot series. The movies of the franchise will be aired on the small screen in India on Star Movies and Star Movies HD on Saturday.
State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said that These were civilians, they were killed as they were exercising their right to worship and that is, in large part, what makes this so reprehensible at a news conference.

By Press Trust of India: The terror attack that killed seven Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir is reprehensible, the Trump administration has said as several lawmakers joined in to condemn the dastardly act.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 19 others were injured in a terrorist attack in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday night.

The bus, bearing Gujarat registration number, was on way from Baltal to Jammu when the attack took place. "We consider it to have been a terrorist attack in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in which seven religious pilgrims were killed. That's of great concern to us," the State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at a news conference.

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"These were civilians, they were killed as they were exercising their right to worship and that is, in large part, what makes this so reprehensible. That is a great concern to us and our thoughts and prayers go out to those people and to their families as well. Our prayers are with the victims and those who were affected," she said.

WHAT THE US LAWMAKERS SAID ABOUT IT

Meanwhile, several US lawmakers condemned the terrorist attack. "My thoughts and prayers to all of the Amarnath Yatra terror attack victims and their families. The attack is reprehensible and must be condemned," said Congressman Will Hurd.

"The terrorist attack on Amarnath Pilgrims is outrageous," said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. "Religion is a fundamental right and human right #AmarnathYatra #ReligiousFreedom," she tweeted.

Congressman John Ratcliffe in his tweet, sent his prayers to the families of those killed in the "horrific terrorist" attack. Congressman Jim Costa said he is "Deeply saddened at the cowardly attack" on innocent Amarnath Yatra pilgrims. "My thoughts and prayers are with you," he said.

"The terrorist attack on AmarnathYatra is reprehensible and must be condemned," tweeted Congressman Ted Poe. "Our hearts go out to the victims of the terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra. We must stand united against these deplorable acts of terror," said Congressman John Culberson.

Hindus and pilgrims of every religion should be able to visit their holy places without fear of attacks by terrorists, said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

ALSO READ:

Amarnath attack: Lashkar-e-Taiba over-ground workers tailed pilgrims for 2 days

When 30 Amarnath pilgrims were killed in terror attack 17 years ago

Amarnath Yatra terror attack: Army chief tells jawans to keep up pressure on terrorists

ALSO WATCH:

Amarnath bus attack survivor narrates tale of terrorist strike

--- ENDS ---
Washington, July 12 : A group of Twitter users blocked by President Donald Trump have sued him, arguing that his account amounts to a public forum that he as a government official cannot bar people from.

The blocked Twitter users, represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, filed suit against Trump, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Dan Scavino -- the White House Director of social media on Tuesday, CNN reported.

The group claimed that the President's blocking of users on the social network is "unconstitutional".

The suit argued that Twitter is a public forum and as the President's Twitter is used for official government announcements, the tweets should be accessible to everyone. The suit asked Trump to unblock the users.

"Twitter enables ordinary citizens to speak directly to public officials and to listen to and debate others about public issues, in the same way they could if they were gathered on a sidewalk or at a city council meeting," the lawsuit said.

By blocking people from reading his tweets, or from viewing and replying to message chains based on them, Trump was violating their First Amendment rights because they expressed views he did not like, the lawsuit stated.

Twitter did not comment on the lawsuit and the White House could not be reached for comment.

In a decision last month, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said that "cyberspace," specifically the social media, is the most important platform for exchanging views, citing Twitter as a place for petitioning elected officials.

The lawsuit against Trump and his aides, filed in the Southern District of New York, followed a letter sent by the Knight First Amendment Institute to the White House in June, asking the President to unblock people. But the White House did not do so, the CNN report said.

The letter sparked debate over the constitutionality of elected officials blocking constituents.

Some people argued that the account, @realDonaldTrump, was personal and therefore blocking people did not violate the Constitution.
New Delhi, July 12 : Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "policies created the space for terrorists" in the Kashmir Valley and called it a strategic blow for India.

"Modi's policies have created the space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India," Gandhi said on Twitter.

He also said that the short-term political gain for Modi from the alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir had cost India dear.

"Short-term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively. Modi's personal gain equals India's strategic loss plus sacrifice of innocent Indian blood."

Gandhi's latest salvo against the Prime Minister came two days after seven pilgrims were killed when militants opened fire at a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.
Srinagar, July 12 : Security forces shot dead three militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district, sparking street clashes in Srinagar which injured several civilian protestors and security personnel on Wednesday, officials said.

Police said one of the killed Hizbul Mujahideen militants was also involved in the lynching of Deputy Superintendent of Police Muhammad Ayub Pandit outside a mosque here last month.

The three militants were killed after a gunfight with security forces in a village that began the previous day, officials said. The battle started on Tuesday evening after security forces laid a cordon around Radbug village, some 30 km from here.

The militants opened fire when the cordon around the house in which they were hiding was tightened, a police officer said.

The operation, carried out jointly by the police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Army, was halted after it got dark overnight. The exchange of fire resumed on Wednesday morning.

The militants rushed out of their hideout firing indiscriminately in a bid to escape. The security forces returned the fire and killed all the three, the officer said. Two security personnel were also injured and have been admitted to hospital.

Police said that the militants were asked to surrender through their family members, but had refused.

The slain men were identified as Javed Sheikh, Dawood and Sajad Ahmed Gilkar. Sheikh was the Hizbul district commander. Sheikh and Gul were residents of Budgam district, CRPF DIG M. Dinakaran said. Gilkar hailed from Srinagar's Nowhatta. Police however identified one as Aaqib Gul.

Police spokesman Manoj Pandita said that Gilkar played a key role in the murder of DSP Pandit of Security Wing, who was lynched to death at Jamia Masjid Nowhatta here and had been also involved in grenade attacks on CRPF at Nowhatta on April 2 and police at Khanyar on April 3, on the CRPF camp in Safa Kadal area of Srinagar on June 11 and an attack on an army convoy near Bemina area of Srinagar on April 1.

The killed militants were also said to be involved in recent weapon snatching incidents and attacks on security forces in south and central Kashmir as well as damaging of government property and stone pelting incidents.

Dinakaran said an AK-56 assault rifle, a self-loading rifle, a pistol and seven magazines were recovered from the shootout site.

During the fighting, the security forces came under attack from villagers who hurled stones at them in a bid to help the militants escape.

"Villagers resorted to heavy stone pelting at the security forces to disrupt our operation. However, they were chased away," Dinakaran told IANS.

Clashes broke out in Nowhatta in Srinagar's Old City area on Wednesday after stone pelters clashed with security forces as news of Gilkar's death in Badgam became known.

Authorities then imposed curfew in the areas of Rainawari, Nowhatta, M.R. Gunj, Khanyar and Safa Kadal in Srinagar.

Several protestors and security personnel in addition to a photo journalist were injured in the clashes.

Meanwhile, scores of people offered funeral prayers for Javed Sheikh in Sadpora village of Badgam district, reports reaching here said.

Authorities have suspended mobile Internet services in Badgam and Srinagar districts to check the spread of militant propaganda.
New Delhi, July 12 : Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju will lead a high-level central team to supervise rescue and relief in flood-hit northeastern states where lakhs have been affected by heavy rains and floods.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked Rijiju to personally supervise the relief operations and facilitate all possible help to the affected states.

The team comprises members from the National Disaster Management Authority, the NITI Aayog, and National Disaster Response Force. It will visit Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur from Thursday to Sunday.

"All defence and paramilitary forces along with state agencies are involved in rescue and relief operations in these states. If such situation arises, additional central forces can be deputed there from other parts of the country," a Home Ministry statement said.

A PMO release said Modi spoke to Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minsiter Pema Khandu and other officials both in Delhi and the states on the flood situation.

He said the entire nation stands with the people of Northeast and the central government would provide all possible help to normalise the situation.

Heavy rains in the past one week have wreaked havoc in Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh. Floods have claimed several lives in Assam, where over 12 lakh persons in over 2,000 villages in 20 districts have been affected. The total number of deaths in this year's flood-related incidents have climbed to 33.

The deaths in devastating landslides triggered by heavy rains in Arunachal Pradesh have risen to seven.
New Delhi, July 12 : Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter, questioning his policies and his pursuit of "short-term political gain" that he said "created space for terrorists" and cost India strategically.

In a series of tweets, Gandhi imitated the Prime Minister's style of describing his achievements in mathematical equations and said the growing terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir was the fallout of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aligning with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to form government in the state.

"Short-term political gain for Modi from the PDP alliance has cost India massively. Modi's personal gain India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood."

With the hashtag AmarnathTerrorAttack, the Congress leader lashed out at the Prime Minister over the increasing number of terror incidents in Kashmir.

"Modi's policies have created the space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India," Gandhi said.

Gandhi's latest salvo against the Prime Minister came two days after seven pilgrims were killed when militants opened fire on a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

The Congress leader had called the attack a "grave and unacceptable security lapse" for which the Prime Minister needed to "accept responsibility and never allow it to happen again".
Kolkata, July 12 : Protesting against rising communal tension and unrest in West Bengal and demanding restoration of peace and harmony, state units of 19 Left parties took out a rally here on Wednesday.

Shouting slogans and carrying banners and flags, over 1,000 cadres of parties like the Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India, Socialist Unity Centre of India, Students Federation of India, and All India Forward Bloc rallied and marched from Mahajati Sadan to Dharmatala in central Kolkata.

"Bengal has a history of communal harmony and understanding for centuries. We are alarmed to see attempts to break that atmosphere of mutual coexistence," Left Front legislative party leader Sujan Chakraborty told IANS.

Urging both the state and the central governments to take necessary steps to maintain peace in West Bengal, the state CPI-M leader said the authorities should be held responsible if communal harmony gets disrupted.

"The state and the central governments should take responsibility if long standing atmosphere of harmony is disrupted. We urge them to do everything possible to maintain communal amity," Chakraborty added.
Amaravati, July 12 : The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday approved the final master plan for state's capital city Amaravati.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu gave his nod for the master plan at a meeting of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA)

He, along with Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana and Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, reviewed the final design.

Representatives from British architectural firm Foster & Partners presented detailed designs for the new assembly building, high court and the city infrastructure plan, after having worked on inputs provided by the CRDA officials.

After discussing different aspects of the city plan, like environment friendliness, energy infrastructure and the waste disposal system, Naidu gave the final nod.

The architecture firm will meet the ministers in two days, to officially commence the execution, after meeting the Chief Justice for more inputs.

"I am excited that we have reached the final stage. People all over the world have high expectations of this city. No one has ever built a city of this scale from the scratch," said the Chief Minister.

The architectural firm designed the high court building like a diamond, and the assembly building like a Buddhist stupa, both symbolic of the region.

Naidu made a key suggestion to interchange the two designs of the buildings, thus structuring the assembly building like a diamond.

"The stupa signifies happiness, and justice is the greatest happiness I want my people to feel, reflected by the high court. The assembly building, at the centre of the city plan, should be inspired by the historic Kohinoor, which happens to be born in this very land," a statement from his office quoted him as saying.

He also said that "Justice City", comprising the high court and the judiciary residency complexes, would be comparable to the standards set by London and Hong Kong.
Kolkata, July 12 : Up in arms against the CBFC's move to red flag a documentary on Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen because of some words uttered by him in the film, West Bengal's civil society on Wednesday minced no words in terming it "fascism" and a "shameful example of audacity" of the powers that be.

Writers, thespians, historians, film makers were univocal in their condemnation after the Central Board of Film Certification raised objections to four words and expressions - "Gujarat", "Hindu India", "Hindutva" and "cow" - used by the renowned economist and writer in the course of an interview that was part of an hour long documentary by Suman Ghosh.

With Ghosh refusing to mute even a single word, the documentary "An Argumentative Indian" has not been cleared by the censor authorities.

"It is utter foolishness. If people can't express their views, then how can India be called democratic? And the person saying these words in the documentary is globally acclaimed and respected," said thespian Soumitra Chatterjee who was present at a special screening of the documentary on Monday.

"It is not grief, its anger. What else can you expect from those who are dictating what food to eat? This is a form of fascism," he said.

Octogenarian writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay urged the director to move the highest judiciary on the issue.

"There is no question of muting those words as they are not at all objectionable. I feel the director should challenge the CBFC's move in the Supreme Court to teach them a lesson," said Mukhopadhyay, a Sahitya Akedemi awardee.

"The people who cannot take the words of a world famous person like Amartya Sen are not just idiotic but also the flag bearers of a certain political ideology. Everyone should condemn it," he said.

Jnanpith awardee poet Sankha Ghosh was equally severe in his criticism.

"This is a shameful example of the extent to which their audacity has gone," said Ghosh.

Claiming that none of the four words in the film that has triggered the dispute are "obscene", veteran Bengali writer Nananita Deb Sen said by censoring these words the Centre is trying to censor the freedom of speech of Amartya Sen.

"These four words are not obscene or objectionable from any angle. They are used in common conversations all the time. The CBFC is trying to curb freedom of speech without bothering about the logic. Through this censorship they are actually trying to censor Amartya," claimed Deb Sen, also the first wife of the economist.

Historian and academician Sugata Bose said such form of censorship was "undesirable".

"In the present disturbing times, we need to attentively listen to every word that Amartya Sen says. He always gives the message of unity and amity.

"I heard objection was raised about his use of the word 'Gujarat'. But it is a historic truth. Why only Amartya Sen, we all have the right to mention it and criticise it."

Bose, a parliamentarian and Harvard university teacher, also rubbished the CBFC view that use of the words would sully the country's image.

"People are being killed now. I feel people who are orchestrating such incidents are damaging India's image worldwide. But if a message goes out that there are protests and resistance against these vile acts, this will prove that there is still freedom of expression in our country. This will in turn enhance our image worldwide".

The documentary has been structured as a free flowing conversation between Sen and his student and Cornell economics professor Kaushik Basu.
Thane (Maharashtra), July 12 : In a major crackdown, the Maharashtra Police have busted a multi-crore-rupee international scam involving siphoning off fuel by petrol vendors in the state and arrested 23 persons, an official said on Wednesday.

The racket involved replacing the oil marketing company's Integrated Circuits (IC) with unauthorized ICs made by the accused and implanting them in the dispenser unit of the petrol pumps.

"With this illegal IC, despite the dispenser unit showing a certain display to the buyers, at least 4 to 30 percent less petrol/diesel per litre was actually dispensed without altering the metre reading," said Police Commissioner Parambir Singh.

The matter came to light following a confidential tip received from the Uttar Pradesh Police who had arrested one of the kingpins of the racket in May, Vivek Harishchandra Shetye, 47, of Dombivli (Thane) in Lucknow district.

Thane police investigation took them to a petrol pump, Arman Sales, on the outskirts of the city where such an illegally altered IC, sold by Shetye and his associates, was implanted in the dispenser units. It was raided and sealed on June 16, said Singh.

Thane Crime Branch's Senior Police Inspector Nitin Thakare, who played a key role in the investigation, said the accused procured such ICs from China and after programming them, sold them to petrol vends in Maharashtra and the rest of India, besides petrol outlets in South Africa, Saudi Arabia and other countries.

The Thane police arrested the mastermind of the racket, Prashant Nulkar, 56, from Karnataka's Hubli and produced him before a court here which remanded him to police custody till July 15.

After the expose, Thane Police set up multiple probe teams which fanned out across Maharashtra and have so far raided 96 petrol pumps in 16 districts.

"They include 48 petrol pumps of Indian Oil Corp Ltd, 36 of Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, eight of Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and four of Essar,"

The police seized 195 pulsar cards, 22 sensor cards, 71 control cards and 61 keypads which have been sent for testing by the respective companies labs.

The police have arrested 23 accused including two petrol pump owners, six managers, 12 technicians and three software engineers involved in the huge scam - from Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and other places.

They are on the lookout for another 14 accomplices.

Singh said the accused conspired to cheat customers by implanting such illegal ICs to dispense petrol and diesel much less than what was actually displayed on the dispenser unit, thereby skimming off hundreds of litres of valuable fuel daily.

"Since the metre reading showed the correct dispensation of the fuel demanded, the customer had no idea he was being cheated and paid the full amount though he was given lesser quantity," Thakare explained.

Some of the accused were former employees of big fuel dispensing unit manufacturers.

They used their expertise with the manufacturers to tamper with the various components of the fuel dispenser units like nozzle, pulsar cards, sensor cards and control cards to cheat customers.

Singh said as the probe deepened, several petrol pump owners shut down their dispensing units and some replaced the ICs. But all such suspects shall be fully investigated and will be booked.
Mumbai, July 12 : The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA)'s Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind will arrive here on Saturday on a brief campaign visit for the ensuing July 17 presidential elections, an official said on Wednesday.

Kovind will reach Mumbai airport by 10 a.m. where he will be welcomed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Raosaheb Danve.

Later, he will go to the Garware Club at Churchgate, where top BJP leaders and other NDA leaders will receive him. He will address a meeting of legislators and parliamentarians there.

He will depart from Mumbai in the afternoon.

In Maharashtra, the NDA constituents, comprising BJP, Shiv Sena, Republican Party of India (A) and other smaller parties, have announced support for Kovind.

Polling for the Presidential election -- in which Kovind is challenged by the united opposition candidate Meira Kumar -- will be held on July 17 and the results will be announced on July 20.
A White House statement said the United States and India will continue to fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world.

By India Today Web Desk: After seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed in Anantnag, US President Donald Trump today promised to continue the fight against terrorism with India.

"An attack on religious freedom is an attack on the most fundamental right of liberty," a White House statement said. "The United States and India will continue to fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world."

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Investigations have revealed that out of the four terrorists who carried out the barbaric attack, two of them were Pakistanis.

The statement issued by Trump's Press Secretary Sean Spicer made a clear reference to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, dispelling an earlier controversy over the State Department calling it "Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir."

"The United States strongly condemns the cowardly terrorist attack on religious pilgrims in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on July 10," the statement said. "We extend condolences to the victims' families and the people of India."

The United States strongly condemns the cowardly terrorist attack on religious pilgrims in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on July 10. pic.twitter.com/SnPEEkqBZq; Sean Spicer (@PressSec) July 12, 2017

Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Trump last month, the State Department sparked a controversy with a referenced to "Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir" while announcing the designation of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as a global terrorist.

Seven Amarnath Yatra pilgrims were killed and 19 others injured in a terror attack on a bus full of yatris in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday night.

Also read:

Amarnath Yatra terror attack: 2 Pakistanis among 4 terrorists involved

Massive hunt on in Kashmir to nab Amarnath terror attack mastermind Abu Ismail

Was Amarnath pilgrim bus original target of Anantnag attack? Cops wade through maze of clues

Amarnath Yatra terror attack: Army chief tells jawans to keep up pressure on terrorists

Also watch:

Arrested Lashkar terrorist Sandeep Kumar gives info on Amarnath attack mastermind Ismail

--- ENDS ---
Panaji, July 12 : A minister in the BJP-led coalition government in Goa has endorsed a probe ordered by the state Public Works Department (PWD) Ministry into allegations of graft against some National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials.

As per the charge, a Boston-based consultancy firm paid the NHAI officials a bribe of $1.18 million for facilitation of four contracts, one of which was executed in Goa.

Speaking to reporters in Panaji on Wednesday, Town and Country Planning Minister and Goa Forward president Vijai Sardesai said the PWD Ministry had done the right thing by ordering a probe into the alleged bribes paid by the US-based consultant CDM SMith to officials in Goa.

"We welcome the probe. Let him complete it in ten days and we will see what comes out of it," Sardesai said.

The bribery scandal in Goa was discovered after the NHAI earlier this week ordered an inquiry into the allegation that CDM Smith paid $1.18 million as graft to officials in order to get the four contracts.

The consultancy firm, as a matter of self-disclosure, had earlier informed in writing to the central government agency that between two per cent to four per cent of the contract value had been paid to officials, to secure the contract.

PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar on Tuesday said he had ordered a probe into the allegations of graft. The PWD, which oversees water supply works in the state, also executes road infrastructure-related works in tandem with the NHAI.

"We will carry out a probe into the allegations. I have asked the PWD Chief Engineer to submit a report within 10 days," Dhavalikar told reporters.
Kolkata, July 12 : Supporting CBFC's decision to red flag director Suman Ghosh's documentary on Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh on Wednesday said the board had the power to pass a movie or stall it based on its evaluation.

"The board has the right to decide which film to censor and which to pass. I do not think any film should be passed just because someone special has appeared in it," Ghosh said.

"I was also a member of the board. There can be many controversial aspects of a film. The importance and significance of certain things can change depending on the situation and context. The reactions to them might also vary," he added.

The Central Board of Film Certification has stalled the release of the documentary, objecting to four words used by Sen -- cow, Gujarat, Hindu, and Hindutva.

According to the documentary's maker, officials verbally asked him to mute those four words to get a U/A certification.

The director opposed the suggestion, stating it would kill the essence of the documentary.

The hour-long documentary titled 'The Argumentative Indian', shot over a span of 15 years and featuring several notable economists like former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is primarily structured as a freewheeling conversation between Sen and his student and Cornell Economics Professor Kaushik Basu. It has already been screened in New York and London.

A special screening was held in Kolkata on Monday and the documentary was scheduled for release at a number of theatres on Friday.
New Delhi, July 12 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called upon all Chief Secretaries to work towards ensuring that all traders are registered under Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime by August 15.

Modi, who chaired his twentieth interaction through PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) platform, began with a review of the situation caused by flood and other natural calamities in the northeastern states and assured all possible help from the Central government.

He also urged the Central Public Works Department to encourage all vendors to come aboard the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) platform, a paperless and cashless system to enable procurement of common use goods and services with minimal human interface.

"The Prime Minister urged all Chief Secretaries to work expeditiously towards ensuring that all traders register under the GST regime, and this task is completed before August 15," a PMO release said.

It said that Modi reviewed the progress of vital and long-pending infrastructure projects in the railway, road and petroleum sectors across several states and urged the Chief Secretaries to take all possible steps to avoid delays and the resultant cost escalations.

Noting that several of the projects reviewed had been pending for decades, and in one case, over four decades, he emphasised on speedy implementation of such infrastructure projects, the release said.

The release said that the pending infrastructure reviewed are spread over several states including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh.

The projects reviewed include the Chennai Beach-Korukkupet third line and Chennai Beach-Attippattu fourth line and Howrah-Amta-Champadanga new Broad Gauge line. They also included four-laning of Varanasi bypass and four-laning of Muzaffarnagar-Haridwar section of NH-58.

Modi reviewed the progress towards resolution of grievances related to Central Public Works Department and Directorate of Estates and asked the Urban Development Ministry to "proactively monitor" them with sensitivity.

He also reviewed the progress of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and urged the departments concerned to accelerate the adoption of new construction technologies at the earliest.
Washington/New Delhi, July 12 : Joining the condemnation pouring in from across the world, the White House on Wednesday strongly condemned the "cowardly" Amarnath terror attack and said the US and India will continue to fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world.

In a statement, the White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer also said that an attack on religious freedom is an attack on the most fundamental right of liberty.

"The United States strongly condemns the cowardly terrorist attack on religious pilgrims in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on July 10. We extend condolences to the victims' families and the people of India. An attack on religious freedom is an attack on the most fundamental right of liberty. The United States and India will continue to fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world," the statement said.

Seven Amarnath Yatra pilgrims were killed and 19 others injured in a terror attack on a bus full of yatris in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday night.

On Tuesday, Mary K. Carlson, Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in New Delhi had tweeted her condemnation. "We deplore the attack on Amarnath pilgrims and condemn all acts of terrorism. Deepest condolences to the families and all those affected," she said.
Kolkata, July 12 : A documentary on Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen was refused a green signal by the Indian censor board over the use of words 'cow', 'Gujarat', 'Hindu India' and 'Hindutva', used by Sen in the film, generating anger, shock and cries of "fascism" from the opposition, auteurs and writers.

The Central Board of Film Certification's (CBFC) move was prompted by documentary maker Suman Ghosh's refusal to bow to its diktat that the four words uttered by the Bharat Ratna awardee during an interview in the film "An Argumentative Indian" be muted.

While the world renowned economist refused to be drawn into the controversy, Ghosh expressed shock over the recommendations of the panel, which held that the words would "damage the country's image".

"They say these words, for example, 'Gujarat' have to be muted with a beep as Sen made some comments about the Gujarat riots. They also wanted that the word 'cow' be muted. I found these ridiculous," said Ghosh.

Ghosh said when words used by a person of such international stature were being deleted, "then it only shows up to what extent things can go. As a first hand witness to such a thing, I can only say I am a bit shocked".

The censor board, which has stoked controversy in recent times by recommending a whopping 12 cuts in Madhur Bhandarkar's forthcoming "Indu Sarkar", as also by running its scissors over films like "Lipstick Under My Burkha" and "Jab Harry Met Sejal", drew all round flak after its latest decision.

National Award winning film director Goutam Ghose and other eminent persons were aghast that the censorship now extends to somebody like Sen, recipient of India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.

Ghose, part of a panel led by veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal that submitted its report on revamping the censor board, stressed on the urgency for quick implementation of recommendations.

"I am totally against censorship. We submitted our report where we mentioned there would be no scissor, only gradation. I hope the ministry takes quick action," Ghose told IANS, adding the present proposal is "ridiculous".

The panel was constituted in the backdrop of the increasingly controversial decisions by CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani, whose role in censoring films has been widely criticised.

Thespian Soumitra Chatterjee, who was present at the screening of the documentary here on Monday, termed the CBFC's move as an "extent of fascism on the society" and "utter foolishness".

"It is not grief, it's anger. What else can you expect from those who are dictating what food to eat," said Soumitra.

Jnanpith awardee poet Sankha Ghosh said: "This is a shameful example of the extent to which their audacity has gone."

Sahitya Akademi winner Nabanita Deb Sen, also the first wife of the famed economist, said by censoring these words the Centre is trying to censor the freedom of speech of Amartya Sen.

Bengali author Sirshendu Mukherjee suggested the director challenge the CBFC's move in the Supreme Court "to teach them a lesson".

Bhandarkar refused to comment on the development specifically but averred that filmmakers should be given the freedom to work on their subject.

Raising the political pitch, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, flayed the Centre for "trying to muzzle every opposition voice in the country".

CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury dubbed the CBFC move as "preposterous".

"On what basis can a documentary on an Indian Nobel Prize winner be stopped just because it mentions cow or Hindutva?," he asked.

However, Sen suggested that the government speak to the stakeholders about its disapproval.

"What can I say about this? This film is not made by me. I am the subject of the film and the subject should not be talking about these things," said Sen.

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh backed the CBFC decision.

"Censor board has the right to decide which film to censor and which to pass. I do not think any film should be passed just because someone special has appeared in it," Ghosh said.

Calls to CBFC went answered.

The hour-long documentary, structured as a free flowing conversation between Sen and his student and Cornell economics professor Kaushik Basu, has already been screened in New York and London. It had a special screening in Kolkata on Monday.

In an earlier controversial decision by the NDA government, Amartya Sen was removed from the governing board of Nalanda University (NU), of which he was founding Chancellor, in November 2016.

Sen, who has been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had resigned as Nalanda University Chancellor in February 2015 and publicly attacked the BJP-led NDA government after stepping down.
Mehsana (Gujarat), July 12 : Young Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, former Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union President Kanhaiya Kumar and Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti woman activist Reshma Patel were detained on Wednesday for holding a public meeting defying police orders.

The group held a public meeting at Somnath Chowk in this town in north Gujarat as part of 'Azadi kooch' (freedom march) from Mehsana to Dhanera in Banaskantha district. Mevani had planned this march to mark one year of public flogging of four Dalit youths at Una by self-styled cow protection group on July 11, 2016.

The four victims, however, neither joined the proposed public meeting nor a gathering of Dalits from different parts of Gujarat in Ahmedabad on Tuesday to mark one year of the attack on them.

Police detained as many as 200 persons, including Mevani and Kanhaiya Kumar from Nani Dau village on Palanpur-Mehsana highway before the public meeting could take place. Police also filed an FIR against Mevani, Kanhaiya and Reshma Patel.

Mevani said later that his organization Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch was not granted permission to hold the rally under instructions from Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who hails from Mehsana.

Mevani claimed in a message on the social media message that an attempt was made to assault him in the presence of police. The group was to march to Dhanera, also in north Gujarat, and till the fields of Dalit farmers who were yet to be officially handed over land which was already allotted to them.
New Delhi, July 12 : Wearing a blood-stained white pyjama and drenched in rain, a a Noida villager on Wednesday recalled the horror of watching the fatal shooting of his young son by four men a day ago and rued police inaction on their earlier complaints.

Gajraj Singh, 48, recounted how his son Sajan Bhati was shot outside their house in Salarpur village in Noida by Gajraj's cousins over a property dispute.

The grieving villager rued that they had filed multiple complaints with police against 'criminals' who had attacked Bhati earlier also, but no action was taken.

"We had complained many times earlier also, but police did nothing. They're taking money from these criminals," he claimed.

Bhati, 25, a gym instructor, had just reached his house after work in an Accent car around 8.30 p.m. on Tuesday when he was attacked.

"I was standing in the balcony. Before my son parked his car, a car too parked ahead of him and a Scorpio SUV behind him," Gajraj Singh said.

Even before Bhati could get out, five persons alighted from the car parked ahead of him and rushed towards his vehicle. While one of them took away the car key, four others opened fire.

Gajraj Singh said he rushed downstairs to confront the assailants, but they fled the spot.

"My son was covered in blood with gunshot wounds all over his body," the grieving man said.

Though Bhati was rushed to a nearby hospital, he was declared brought dead.

On Wednesday morning, Gajraj Singh along with other villagers blocked a highway in the area by placing Bhati's body there to protest police inaction.

The blockade was removed after senior police officers promised action, though Singh sid he is not optimistic about any action.

Gajraj Singh said his accused relatives had taken over his land along the main road and were constructing a building there, against which he had obtained a court stay.

"Police did nothing when my son was alive. Do you think they're going to do something after he is dead?" the former Delhi Transport Corporation driver said while shaking his head from side to side.

At their house, around 50 women mourners sat on the ground, most of them crying. Loud wails broke out when someone called out Bhati's name.

Sajan is survived by his wife and two sons, agaed three and five.

"His wife Ratna has been crying all along and has been taken to a doctor after she fainted," a person standing among a group of onlookers outside the house said.
New Delhi, July 13 : Theatre is a great medium to talk about existing social evils and create awareness among people, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said on Wednesday.

"Social evils existing in our society cannot be resolved through any law or by any minister. It can only be done by creating awareness among people. Earlier it used to be 'nukkad nataks' (street plays) and now theatre does it. The Theatre Olympics is also a great platform to showcase India's rich culture at international platform," he said at an event organised by National School of Drama (NSD) to announce the 8th edition of Theatre Olympics to be hosted in India.

The 8th Theatre Olympics which is scheduled to start from February 17 and end on April 8 will showcase more than 500 plays. The event which will be held in 15 cities across India is supposed to bring the well-known theatre artists from around the world under one roof.

"It is a great feeling of joy and happiness that the prestigious event of Theatre Olympics is taking place in India. I feel that theatre serves as a confluence of river of modernity, the past, present and future where very important issues, complex, aesthetics and philosophical challenges are negotiated," said NSD Chairperson Ratan Thiyam.

NSD Director Waman Kendre said: "When it comes to theatre, it doesn't get any bigger than the Theatre Olympics. NSD is all geared up to play the perfect host as India will be the cynosure of the theatre world."

The Theatre Olympics was first established in the year 1993 at Greece's Delphi. Japan hosted the second edition in 1999, followed by Russia in 2001. The last edition was held in China in 2014.
Washington, July 13 : Christopher Wray, who has been nominated to be the next director of the FBI, told the Senate during his first confirmation hearing on Wednesday that he would uphold the Constitution and ensure the federal law enforcement agency's independence.

"The role of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the FBI director needs to be one that is independent of partisan politics," Wray said, Efe news reported.

"I believe to my core that there is only one right way to do this job, and that is with strict independence, by the book, playing it straight, faithful to our Constitution, faithful to our laws, faithful to the best practices of the institution," the 50-year-old Wray said.

In May, President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who later alleged that the president had asked him for a pledge of personal loyalty.

"No one asked me for any kind of loyalty oath during this process, and I would sure as heck not offer one," Wray said in response to questions from senators.

"My loyalty is to the Constitution and the rule of law," Wray said.

Wray led the Department of Justice's Criminal Division between 2003 and 2005 under President George W. Bush. At the time, Comey was deputy attorney general.

This was the first hearing on Wray's nomination to become FBI director and started a day after Trump's eldest son, Donald Jr., released an email chain showing his interest in obtaining from suspected Russian sources information harmful to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The president has described the investigation of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election as "the greatest witch hunt in history."

Wray told senators that he did not consider the investigation, which is being led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller, a "witch hunt".
Riyadh, July 13 : US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson left Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after talks with Foreign Ministers of the four anti-Qatar countries on the month-long dispute among Gulf states, with no announcement released so far.

He met the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain - the four countries boycotting Qatar - in Jeddah to discuss the escalating issues, Xinhua reported.

The meetings came after Tillerson visited Kuwait and Qatar, during which he signed an agreement with the Qatari government aiming at combating the financing of terrorism.

The four countries responded to the US-Qatari agreement by releasing a joint statement on Tuesday stating: "We believe that the Memorandum of Understanding between the US and the Qatari authorities is a result of repeated pressures and demands over the past years to Qatar to stop supporting terrorism."

"But that such a step is not sufficient and we will closely monitor the seriousness of Qatar in combating all forms of funding, supporting and fostering terrorism," the statement said.
Muslims said that Indians have lived in harmony for more than a thousand years and persons spreading the message of communal harmony and national integration outnumber those spreading hatred and divisiveness in the society.

By Siraj Qureshi: In the backdrop of the terrorist attack on innocent pilgrims in Amarnath, widespread discussion has started resurfacing whether Islam is inherently violent or it preaches peaceful co-existence in its core. Many believe that although religio-ethnically Islam emanated from a tribal background and had adopted many of its rituals from the older religions like Judaism and Christianity, the religion is methodologically based on peace and harmony and as such, the Amarnath attack should be termed as a satanic attack.

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Talking to India Today, Sami Aghai, president of Bhartiya Muslim Vikas Parishad said that a seeker of Islamic ideology should know that the study of Islam is not like the study of a branch of science, rather it should always be studied within two parameters, Islam as a religion and Muslim as a religious community.

"These two factors should be looked upon simultaneously while keeping in view, the history, and prophetic teachings. Indeed Islam as a principle is the name of ideology that originated through the Quran containing revelations from Allah to his 'Rasool' Muhammad and although Muslims by heart and mind follow the Quranic guidelines, the social aspects vis-a-vis scriptures including contemporary needs, should be taken into account," he said.

TRUE PICTURE OF ISLAM

"The violence is merely a phenomenon in the social sense, affecting Muslims being basically from a tribal conflicting atmosphere, thus confrontations were more or less, of historic importance and had nothing to do with Islamic teachings or ideology. A differentiation must be studied between the two aspects, otherwise the true picture of Islam cannot be drawn," he further added.

Shiv Kumar Sharma, a member of Hindustani Biradari said that though certain verses in Uran command for war, this injunction was not meant to be taken as a general principle. It appears in Quran only as a justification for engaging in self-defense.

"These verses are applicable only when there is an external threat. In the absence of such a threat, these verses would be inapplicable. Thus, the acts by some errant followers of Islam as well as by proscribed outfits with radical ideology should be condemned, rather than holding Islam, as a religion, responsible for violence and terrorism," he said.

Syed Irfan Salim, district president of Sarvdaleey Muslim Action Committee said that Indian people belonging to different faith/religion have lived in harmony for more than a thousand years and and persons spreading the message of communal harmony, national integration, and peaceful coexistence outnumber those spreading hatred and divisiveness in the society.

"Muslims who had migrated to Pakistan during the partition are yet to get dignity/prominence in that country unlike those who remain in India, enjoying complete liberty. This raises the need of strengthening the communal harmony in this country through spreading and propagating effective counter-narratives against divisive campaigns," he said.

Salim further added, "true Islam has always stood for harmony and coexistence and the evil propaganda that is spreading against Islam is being spread by people having vested interests in destabilizing this country. In fact, every true Muslim is against the meaningless violence being spread by terrorists, in Kashmir and elsewhere in the world."

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ALSO READ:

Amarnath terror attack a reprehensible act: US

Amarnath Yatra terror attack: Army chief tells jawans to keep up pressure on terrorists

Post Amarnath Yatra terror attack, Sangh wants Valley under president's rule

ALSO WATCH:

Terrorists threatened before firing on Amarnath yatris: Where did govt go wrong

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Gaza, July 13 : The only power plant in Gaza stopped operation on Wednesday night due to severe shortage of fuel, causing a complete blackout in the coastal enclave, officials in Gaza said.

Officials in the Hamas-run power corporation told Xinhua that they have turned off the last of four turbines of the station in southern Gaza.

The Gaza Strip, with a population of more than two million, has been going through a severe power crisis since mid April due to disputes between Hamas movement, which rules the enclave, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on taxes.

The Gaza power corporation officials said the coastal enclave that has been under a tight Israeli siege for more than ten years needs around 500 megawatts of power.

If the station fully operates with its four turbines, it will generate around 80 megawatts, with 120 megawatts received from Israel and around 30 megawatts received from Egypt.

This situation has been going on since 2007, when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, where the power supplies to the civilians were cut off constantly.

The power station since April has not generated any megawatts, while Israel reduced its power supplies to the Gaza Strip to 55 megawatts and the Egyptian power lines are always damaged due to the security situation in Sinai.

Two weeks ago, Egypt shipped around 4 million litters of fuel to Gaza to make the only station operative, however, the power shortage in the Gaza Strip has never been solved.
The importance of giving back to those who are less fortunate is a big reason why REX was started and is continuing to grow

REX Real Estate Exchange is building its third home in Sihakouville, Cambodia as a part of their social mission to build a home in an impoverished community for every 40 homes sold. REX partners with World Housing and Cambodian Children Fund on this initiative.

We are thrilled to be building our third home for a Cambodian family in need, says REX Co-Founder Jack Ryan. The importance of giving back to those who are less fortunate is a big reason why REX was started and is continuing to grow.

Families living in the Sihakouville region of Cambodia face flooding and other environmental challenges due to rising sea levels. The homes REX provides are constructed from steel and are estimated to last more than 20 years with regular maintenance. By using stilts to elevate the homes 6.5 feet above ground, REX creates space for socializing beneath the more private, lockable area for cooking and sleeping. By building stable homes, REX is helping families in this area to provide their children with a more stable and safe environment in which to go to school and continue their educations.

Established in LA in 2015, REX was founded on a belief that good business is built upon a strong moral value system. In addition to providing homes for those in need, REX employees have pledged to contribute a portion of their salaries to help provide a variety of resources for children in unstable environments.

CEO and Co-founder, Jack Ryan, has always gravitated towards helping others. His experiences range from volunteering at a refugee camp on the Texas-Mexico border to teaching high schoolers on the South Side of Chicago, where some students were often living in a different house every week. Driven by a desire to do more for others, Jack partnered with REX Co-founder, CMO, and COO, Lynley Sides, to build a philanthropic mission into REXs business model. Sides has a background in building successful businesses that are both good for consumers and good for the world.

The social mission of REX is discussed with every employee before they are hired, says Sides. Everyone who joins REX shares in the belief that the success of the company should be reflected in the work we do helping others.

In addition to its social mission, REX is also committed to advocating for the home buyers and sellers it serves. By leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics, REX can reach home buyers directly online and sell homes more efficiently and more affordably. REX is the only company in the industry that does not use the MLS or traditional real estate agents. By circumventing the MLS, REX saves sellers an average of $25,000 in fees.

For media inquiries, please contact Nikki Brown at Melrose PR Nikki(at)melrosepr(dot)com or call (310) 260-7901.

About REX

REX is the only real estate company transforming the real estate industry by applying big data analytics, AI, and machine learning to market homes directly to buyers instead of relying upon traditional agents. By leveraging advanced digital marketing technologies, REX can find the right buyers and sell homes faster than MLS-listed homes for a 2% fee instead of the industry standard of 5-6%. REX is committed to helping families in need by building a home for every forty homes sold.
Jordan Search Consultants (JSC), a healthcare, executive, and higher education recruitment firm, announces the acquisition of Health Search New England (HSNE), a search firm specializing in the recruitment of healthcare providers throughout the Northeast. HSNE has been serving clients in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island for more than two decades. The agreement was officially signed on June 30, 2017.

The acquisition allows Jordan Search Consultants to expand its geographic reach into a key area, heavily populated with hospital systems and healthcare organizations. HSNE has facilitated healthcare recruitment in the New England states since 1984 and has successfully completed over 1,000 placements in hospitals, healthcare systems, private practices, and community clinics. Because HSNE has such a positive reputation in the area, the company will be publicly presented as a division of Jordan Search Consultants, and will maintain its office in Bangor, Maine. All New England searches will continue to be staffed by current HSNE professionals.

Jordan Search Consultants has been successful in gaining market share throughout the west coast and southeast, but knew we needed a strong partner to penetrate New England, said Kathy Jordan, Founder and CEO of Jordan Search Consultants. Celena [Celena Knapp, President of HSNE] and I have known each other for almost a decade and I have great respect for her and HSNE; it felt like the right match at the right time.

Knapp worked at HSNE as a recruiter and then in marketing for many years before taking over as President in January 2017. She says the expanded administrative and operational infrastructure that the acquisition provides will allow HSNE to offer additional services and recruitment models to clients.

We will now be able to recruit for executive and academic positions, and can offer high-volume and retained search models that may be more cost-effective for organizations throughout our region, said Knapp.

In addition to helping JSC penetrate a new geographic region, this acquisition will increase both staff and revenue numbers. According to Jordan, the acquisition will provide an approximate 15% increase in revenue by the end of 2017. By the end of 2018, she expects a 25% increase in revenue and the addition of 3-5 staff members.

Jordan Search Consultants was founded in 2003 as a physician and healthcare executive recruitment firm and this is the companys third acquisition. In August 2012, the company acquired another St. Louis-based search firm to add higher education, academic leadership, and executive-level corporate position sourcing and recruiting to their service offerings. In February of 2014, Jordan Search Consultants acquired Sacramento-based Levison Search Associates to expand their geographic reach and their capabilities to include recruitment for managed care and health plan physician/nurse leadership, hospice organizations, and non-profit community health centers. The company has more than doubled revenue over the past two years.

About Jordan Search Consultants

Founded in 2003, Jordan Search Consultants provides healthcare, executive, and higher education recruitment services to clients throughout the nation. By understanding the unique culture of each client organization and the professional and personal goals of each candidate, the professionals at Jordan Search Consultants are able to develop effective solutions to staffing needs. With solutions that range from candidate sourcing services to complete outsourced recruitment models, Jordan Search Consultants provides a customized level of support. For more, visit http://www.jordansc.com, call 866-750-7231, or email kjordan(at)jordansc(dot)com.
The event is being held in honor of Mandela Day, celebrated each year on July 18 to commemorate the late Nelson Mandelas legacy.

Rise Against Hunger is calling on the Houston community to join them in the fight against world hunger. On Saturday, July 15, Rise Against Hunger's Houston program will host a meal packaging event with volunteers of all ages who will package over 10,000 meals for the worlds most vulnerable. The meals packaged during the event will be delivered to Nicaragua to nourish children in school feeding programs.

The event will be held at Rise Against Hunger, 8901 Jameel Rd. Suite 130, Houston, TX 77040 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., and is open to the public. Volunteers can register for the event here. Registration in advance is requested.

Rise Against Hunger meal packaging events are a volunteer-based program that coordinates the streamlined packaging of highly nutritious dehydrated meals comprised of rice, soy, vegetables and 23 essential vitamins and minerals.

The event is being held in honor of Mandela Day, celebrated each year on July 18 to commemorate the late Nelson Mandelas legacy. In 2009, the United Nations General Assembly designated "Nelson Mandela International Day" in honor of the former South African president to recognize his contribution to the culture of peace and freedom. During the week of July 18, volunteers in South Africa and around the world will join a global movement to package millions of meals.

Around the world, 792.5 million people lack adequate food. One in nine people in the world go to bed hungry each night. These meal packaging events give community volunteers, civic groups, faith groups and businesses the opportunity to make a hands-on difference in helping to end world hunger.

About Rise Against Hunger

Rise Against Hunger (formerly Stop Hunger Now), an international hunger relief organization based in Raleigh, N.C., works to implement immediate and long-term solutions to hunger worldwide. With program locations in 20 U.S. cities and five international offices, Rise Against Hunger has engaged volunteers to package more than 330 million nutrient-rich meals for distribution to 74 countries around the globe. To find out more about Rise Against Hungers efforts to end hunger worldwide, please visit http://www.riseagainsthunger.org.
Advantage Communications Group The Bezeq team understands Israels competitive landscape and technology trends, and their services offer fully redundant, high bandwidth connectivity options between Israel and the world.

Advantage Communications Group, LLC (Advantage), a leading provider of enterprise technology solutions for customers worldwide, today announced they have reached a partnership agreement with Bezeq International ("BI"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bezeq Israeli Telecommunications Corp. Ltd, Israel's leading telecom and Internet service provider. This agreement enables Advantages direct and partner sales channels to immediately offer BIs full portfolio of unified communications, Internet, hosting and security solutions to their global base of clients.

Founded in 1996, Bezeq Internationals global platform includes ten fully-redundant, carrier neutral data centers, three of which are in Israel, and a global MPLS/VPLS network that extends to Europe and the United States via submarine cables. The 2,300 km optical cable systems connect BI's physical network to landing stations in Italy and France, where it then extends terrestrially to major internet hubs in Europe and the US, including BI's Points of Presence in London, Frankfurt, and New York. This platform positions Bezeq International as the only provider with an independent infrastructure connecting Israel to the world.

Adding Bezeq International to our portfolio is a tremendous win for both our sales channels and our customers, stated Jesse Bernstein-Ansaldi, Director of International sales for Advantage. Their team understands Israels competitive landscape and technology trends, and their services offer country-wide coverage for voice, data and cloud, and fully redundant, high bandwidth connectivity options between Israel and the world.

Partnering with an experienced, knowledgeable and well-respected organization like Advantage is an integral part of Bezeq Internationals corporate growth strategy, added Nissan Arieh, VP of Global Business at Bezeq International. We are excited to collaborate with the Advantage team to address the needs of their global partners and clients.

Advantage has established relationships with over 40 international service providers spanning six continents.

ABOUT ADVANTAGE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, LLC:

Advantage takes a proactive approach to solving our clients technology challenges. Leveraging relationships with over 100 of the worlds strongest telecom, cloud and managed service providers, we architect, implement and manage innovative solutions at the most competitive rates. Our experienced customer service team supports all the services we recommend, so clients can focus their time and energy on running their core business. Our services also include proprietary management software, which offers clients customizable visibility and reporting of all their telecom, cloud and mobility data. Thats why businesses that rely on their critical IT infrastructure also rely on Advantage to help them reduce costs and improve efficiencies. To learn more about how Advantage can help your business, please visit http://www.advantagecg.com.

ABOUT BEZEQ INTERNATIONAL:

Bezeq International Ltd., Israel's leading Internet and International Telecommunications provider, was founded in 1996 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bezeq, the Israeli Telecom Corp. and is part of the country's largest and leading telecom group. Bezeq International provides comprehensive communication solutions in Internet, International Domestic and Organizational Telephony, IT, Hosting, Data Communication and Information Security Solutions. Please visit Bezeq International on the Internet: http://www.bezeqint.net
onShore Security announced this week that Chris Johnson will be joining the company as their Security Compliance Strategist to further develop onShores portfolio of cyberdefense and governance services. Chris brings more than 14 years of experience in IT and Infosec to onShore.

Chris joins onShore as they complete the reorganization of their offerings, consolidating their security services into four main offerings: Panoptic Cyberdefense SOC, Cybersecurity Leadership, Cybersecurity Insurance, and Cybersecurity Assay.

Chris comments, Joining the Cybersecurity Leadership team at onShore is an incredible opportunity. With the pooled talent here, I know we will be able to innovate, offer outstanding Cybersecurity solutions, and keep our clients protected, so they have the freedom to do what they do best.

Stelios Valavanis, CEO of onShore Security said, Demand for security increases as attackers become more brazen and larger breaches become more commonplace. Our monitoring requires clear policy direction. Chris deep knowledge and passion for cybersecurity, compliance, and governance will be an asset as we continue to provide exceptional security service.

About onShore Security:

Founded in 1991, onShore Security is one of only a handful of managed cybersecurity providers, nationwide, that provide 24/7 real-time monitoring, correlation, and analysis of organization-wide network data. onShores offerings fall into four groups: Panoptic Cyberdefense SOC, Cybersecurity Leadership, Cybersecurity Insurance, and Cybersecurity Assay. They collect logs from your systems, IDS on your site, cloud-placed sensors, netflow collectors, firewalls, network devices including encrypted payloads, and correlate this data to achieve an end-to-end security view. onShore Security specializes in banks, handling large regional institutions.

For more news and information on onShore, please visit http://www.onshore.com
This is a great win for both Metrasens and the DPSCS, and serves as a vital partnership as we work together to enable advanced detection technology to greatly improve contraband screening outcomes

Metrasens is pleased to announce that the Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services (DPSCS) has selected the Cellsense Plus contraband detection system to address the ongoing contraband interdiction efforts of correctional facilities across the state. In total, 163 Cellsense Plus systems will be deployed across 24 site/group locations over the next several weeks.

This is a great win for both Metrasens and the DPSCS, and serves as a vital partnership as we work together to enable advanced detection technology to greatly improve contraband screening outcomes, said James Viscardi, Vice-President of Global Security for Metrasens. This is a testament to the dedicated talent and expertise across the Metrasens organization that has developed and delivered the most capable solution for the task. Metrasens has mobilized resources to deploy product and provide extensive in-facility training to allow all locations to be fully operational with Cellsense Plus by the end of July.

Correctional institutions across the globe are demanding more advanced detection systems that feature high throughput screening, better detection results, and deployment flexibility for mobilized screening. Cellsense Plus was selected by Maryland DPSCS, and many international customers alike, for demonstrating these benefits in an attractive, functional design. The contraband epidemic continues to adapt as evidenced by the continued entry into correctional facilities. Yet, through the use of Cellsense Plus, more and more institutions are making advances to address gaps where they are exposed by other security technologies and manual screening practices.

Cellsense Plus is fundamentally different in its technology and resulting effectiveness in screening for banned contraband items, from very small items such as razor blades and tattoo needles up to larger items such as cell phones, including those that are internalized. The deployment of technology by Metrasens in the Cellsense Plus has benefitted 36 State Department of Corrections systems, over 150 US county jail systems, and has been deployed in over 40 countries.

ABOUT METRASENS

Founded in 2005, Metrasens develops advanced magnetic technology built on the belief that we can make the world a safer place. Our products are carefully designed to address deficiencies in conventional security practices. Metrasens provides industry leading expertise in the field of magnetics for use in MRI safety, corrections security, and other security applications. Metrasens operates its technology and manufacturing centre in the UK, along with a North American sales and customer service hub in Chicago, and a global network of distribution partnerships. For more information, visit http://www.metrasens.com.
A vast iceberg has broken off from Antarctica and scientists think it is premature to say that is an outcome of global warming.

By India Today Web Desk: A massive iceberg weighing 1 trillion tons has broken off from a key floating ice shelf in Antarctica, a UK based research team said.

And climate change might not be the reason behind this. Scientists from Project MIDAS who have been monitoring a break in the Larsen C ice shelf said that this is quite normal. It is a part of normal behaviour of ice shelves. But what makes it unusual is its size.

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The scientists and noticed some major changes in the past one year but the process known as claving occurred in the last few days when a 5,800-square-kilometer (2,240-square-mile) section broke away.

The iceberg is likely to be named A68.

"We have been anticipating this event for months, and have been surprised how long it took for the rift to break through the final few kilometers of ice," told Adrian Luckman of Swansea University to AP. "We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, and the fate of this huge iceberg."

NASA and European Space Agency satellites have been monitoring the shelf - offering dramatic pictures of the break that heightened interest beyond the scientific community. The final break was first revealed in a thermal infrared image from NASA's Aqua MODIS satellite instrument.

Researchers from the U.K.-based Antarctic project, MIDAS, have been monitoring the rift in Larsen C for years, following earlier research on the collapse of the Larsen A shelf in 1995 and the break up of the Larsen B shelf in 2002.

The project, which is investigating the effects of a warming climate through a combination of fieldwork, satellite observation and computer simulation, describes the iceberg as one of the largest ever recorded.

They researchers suggest the iceberg is likely to break into fragments and say that while some of the ice may stay nearby for decades, parts of it may drift north into warmer waters. But researchers say much more study needs to be done to determine the cause.

"At this point it would be premature to say that this was caused by global warming," said Anna Hogg of the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at the University of Leeds.

(With inputs from AP)

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Co-Owners and Operators of Caribbean Luxury Rentals Creating Unforgettable Memories in Puerto Rico!

Caribbean Luxury Rentals, a leader in luxury travel and excursions in Puerto Rico, is celebrating ten years of welcoming visitors and guests to its first rental property, Villa Tuscany in Puerto Rico. To celebrate the occasion Diana Norniella-Burke, part-owner and operator, teamed up with local artist Jonathan Melendez of Airtistry, brand consultant Julian Falgons with JF Representation, and spoke with various family members to create a marketing campaign highlighting the magic felt and shared by guests and employees alike.

The collaboration of Airtistry with Caribbean Luxury Rentals lead to the creation of two videos. The first video commemorates ten years of serving guests at one of Puerto Rico's premier properties, Villa Tuscany. The second features the most popular and repeated visitor add-on, the private chef service provided by local "In House Chef" Jose. Both videos can be found on their respective pages on Caribbean Luxury Rentals website and will also be distributed through their social media channels during the coming weeks.

Working with family members and Julian, Diana created a timeline of events that lead up to the construction of Villa Tuscany. Her father and co-owner, Jesus Norniella, fled Cuba to Puerto Rico in the 1960s. In a short period of time he created his own millwork business and would go on to be involved in some of the most extravagant wood projects in the Caribbean, including Necker Island & the Ritz Carlton Dorado Beach. You can read more about his story, other projects, and how Villa Tuscany came to exist on the History of Caribbean Luxury Rentals page.

Caribbean Luxury Rentals has been working on increasing and improving engagement. Responding to feedback they created and formally introduced their Puerto Rico All-Inclusive deals as well as excursion packages. During the last year they also began distributing a newsletter containing special offers as well as increasing the frequency in which they engage and post on Instagram and Facebook.

Future

Caribbean Luxury Rentals is planning its first yoga and mindfulness retreat for early 2018. Diana encourages potential guests that would like to remain informed as this evolves to sign up for Caribbean Luxury Rentals newsletter where information and special offers are shared first.

About

Caribbean Luxury Rentals is a luxury vacation agency based in Coral Gables, Florida representing extravagant vacation properties inside of the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach resort and Spa in Rio Grande Puerto Rico. For reservations or more information contact Diana Norniella via email Diana(at)caribbeanluxuryrentals(dot)com or by calling 305-790-6619.
TESOL Im hooked! Ill be back next year. . . . I was amazed at how accessible Congressional offices are. This whole experience made me feel like I was being really helpful and participating in our democracy by sharing my story with [my elected officials].

TESOL International Association, the largest professional organization for English language teachers in the United States, held its 2017 TESOL Advocacy & Policy Summit 1820 June. The event drew a record crowd of 110 English language professionals from 30 states to the U.S. capital to discuss numerous policy issues affecting English learners and English language teachers. On the final day of the summit, participants went to Capitol Hill for meetings with their legislators in the House and Senate to advocate for issues such as increased funding for key provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and passage of the BRIDGE Act, a bipartisan immigration reform bill. By the end of the summit, TESOL members had visited the offices of more than 140 Senators and Representatives.

The 2017 summit featured a variety of speakers, presenting on a number of key issues in the TESOL field, such as adult English language education, immigration reform, and national K12 English learner initiatives. Giving the summit keynote, recently appointed Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director Jose Viana and Deputy Director Supreet Anand, of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) at the U.S. Department of Education, gave participants a full update on current OELA initiatives and progress reports for English learners across the nation.

In addition to OELA, representatives from the Office of Career, Adult, and Technical Education at the U.S. Department of Education, as well as the Student & Exchange Visitor Program at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, each presented updates from their respective offices. The Summit also included presentations from the American Federation of Teachers, National Skills Coalition, and Migrant Legal Action Program. Diane Staehr Fenner, author of Advocating for English Learners: A Guide for Educators, gave a luncheon keynote highlighting the leadership skills needed to advocate for English learners during challenging times.

Following a full day of productive meetings on Capitol Hill, participants gathered one last time to cap-off the summit and share their congressional meeting experiences. Recounting her experiences from meeting with her California representatives in Congress, Danielle Pelletier enthusiastically said, Im hooked! Ill be back next year. . . . I was amazed at how accessible Congressional offices are. This whole experience made me feel like I was being really helpful and participating in our democracy by sharing my story with [my elected officials]. Continuing the theme of civic responsibility, Brian Lemos of Colorado noted, Walking away today gave me a renewed sense of hope in our countrys participatory government and its system of checks and balances.

TESOL gratefully acknowledges and thanks its strategic partner the American Federation of Teachers for their continued sponsorship of the TESOL Advocacy & Policy Summit, as well as Corwin Press for providing complimentary copies of Staehr Fenners book to participants.

The TESOL Advocacy & Policy Summit is held each June in the Washington, DC, area. For more information and highlights from this years event, please visit the Advocacy & Policy Summit webpage.
Z-Medica, LLC, a leading developer and marketer of hemostatic devices, announces that QuikClot Control+ has been cleared for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the de novo classification process and is designated as a Class II medical device.

QuikClot Control+ is the first and only non-absorbable hemostatic dressing cleared for internal organ space use in severely bleeding patients. QuikClot Control+ is indicated for temporary control of internal organ space bleeding for patients displaying class III or class IV bleeding. It may also be used for control of severely bleeding wounds such as surgical wounds and traumatic injuries.

This clearance marks another major milestone in the growth of our company and expansion of the QuikClot brand, says Z-Medica President and CEO Stephen J. Fanning. Z-Medica has worked tirelessly with the FDA during the de novo process. The availability of QuikClot Control+ will fill a critical unmet need for hospitals across the country.

Uncontrolled bleeding is a major cause of preventable deaths1 and various studies have shown that bleeding-related complications or transfusions due to significant blood loss lead to increased risk of infection,2,3 longer ICU stay,3,4 longer hospital stay,3,4 higher total hospital costs3,4 and increased postoperative morbidity & mortality.3 Safe and intuitive devices like QuikClot Control+ that improve hemorrhage control5 can potentially save lives and reduce healthcare costs.

In a preclinical study, we saw significantly less blood loss after packing with QuikClot Control+ compared to packing with laparotomy sponges, 5 said Dr. Joshua P. Hazelton, Director of Trauma Research at Cooper University Hospital, who was the principal investigator in the study. The development of a non-absorbable hemostatic dressing that can be used internally during surgery only enhances our ability to stabilize a severely injured patient. Control+ will become a necessary piece of equipment in our trauma bays and operating rooms.

Domestically, Z-Medica has already obtained several patents for QuikClot Control+ and has numerous patents granted and pending internationally. QuikClot Control+ will be manufactured in the United States.

About Z-Medica, LLC

Z-Medica, LLC is a privately-held medical device manufacturer based in Wallingford, CT that is focused on the development, sale, and marketing of innovative hemorrhage control products for healthcare providers, military personnel, the law enforcement community, first responders, and consumers around the globe. For over a decade, Z-Medica has helped save lives and improve medical outcomes with a growing portfolio of QuikClot hemostatic products that include 4x4 Hemostatic Dressing, Radial, Interventional, Combat Gauze, Belt Trauma Kit, Bleeding Control Bag and now Control+. QuikClot products are manufactured in the United States. For more information, visit QuikClot.com and Z-Medica.com. Follow us on Twitter @QuikClot and Facebook @QuikClotFans.

1. Curry N, Hopewell S, Doree C, Hyde C, Brohi K, Stanworth S. The acute management of trauma hemorrhage: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Crit Care. 2011;15(2):R92.

2. Carson JL, Altman DG, Duff A, et al. Risk of bacterial infection associated with allogenic blood transfusion among patients undergoing hip fracture repair. Transfusion. 2999 Jul; 39(7):694-700.

3. Morton J, Anastassopoulos KP, Patel ST, et al. Frequency and outcomes of blood products transfusion across procedures and clinical conditions warranting inpatient care: an analysis of the 2004 healthcare cost and utilization project nationwide inpatient sample database. Am J Med Qual. 2010 Jul/Aug; 25(4):289-296.

4. Stokes ME, Ye X, Shah M, et al. Impact of bleeding-related complications and/or blood product transfusions on hospital costs in inpatient surgical patients. BMC Health Serv Res. 2011; 11:135.

5. Koko KR, McCauley B, Hagaman A, et al. Kaolin-based hemostatic dressing improves hemorrhage control from a penetrating IVC injury in coagulopathic swine [published online April 27, 2017]. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. doi:10.1097/TA.0000000000001492

Company Contact:

Dave Schemelia

dschemelia(at)gmail(dot)com / 609-468-9325
When you are on the go, ease of use is important. Our world class mobile app, in conjunction with Lyft, provides easy entry of ride share receipts into the Nexonia app.

Lyft and Nexonia today announced a partnership to simplify the expense report process for business travelers. Lyft, the fastest growing rideshare company in the U.S., introduced the number one most requested feature for business travelers: automatic ride expensing. Now, business travelers using Lyft can can set up their business profiles to automatically forward receipts into Nexonia, eliminating the need for receipt screenshots and email forwarding.

Setup is quick and easy. Users simply open the Lyft app, tap Business profile or create one, tap Expense management and select Nexonia. Once completed, all business ride receipts going forward are automatically sent to users Nexonia Expense accounts. Nexonia then converts the receipts into itemized expense receipts.

Nexonia has partnered with Lyft to help improve the expense workflow for the business traveler, says Paul Thedinga, Vice President of Strategic Alliances at Nexonia. When you are on the go, ease of use is important. Our world-class mobile app, in conjunction with Lyft, automates the receipt entry process.

This integration supports Nexonias commitment to simplifying expense management. Building the best time and expense management software for business travelers is an essential part of that focus. By automating the ride expensing process, Nexonia eliminates busywork and empowers business travelers to concentrate on real work.

We will continue to partner with companies such as Lyft to make business travel a hassle-free experience, says Paul Thedinga. Nexonia is committed to bringing expanded functionality to the market.

About Nexonia

Nexonia is a leading provider of web and mobile Expense Reports and Timesheets solutions. Nexonias easy-to-use applications are fully integrated with ERPs, credit cards, and other systems supporting a variety of businesses. Nexonia solutions are designed to streamline the reporting and approval process, improve human resource management, and enhance operational efficiency. Recently, Nexonia joined forces with Certify, Tallie, and ExpenseWatch to form the largest independent expense management company in the world. For more information about Nexonia, please visit http://www.nexonia.com.
Dr. Deb Carlson will become the next president and CEO of Nebraska Methodist College on Aug. 1, 2017.

Dr. Deb Carlson is set to become the next president and CEO of Nebraska Methodist College on Aug. 1. The NMC Board of Directors unanimously selected her in January to succeed Dr. Dennis Joslin, who is retiring effective July 31 after a total of 41 years at the college.

Dr. Carlson is an outstanding and accomplished educator and administrator who brings over 35 years of higher education experience to this position, Joslin said. As a cognitive psychologist, she really understands people and excels in building relationships and culture, organizational development, strategic planning and accreditation. Deb is committed to serving the community with a focus on community-based healthcare, a direct reflection of the NMC mission.

Carlson has been with NMC since 2004 and has served as a faculty member in the Arts and Science division, president of the Faculty Senate, director of the Office of Institutional Research, vice president of operations and, for the past three years, executive vice president. She is the first female president of the college since its founding in 1891 and the third since it became a degree-granting institution in 1985.

This is an exciting time at NMC, and I am honored to serve as the new president, Carlson said. Our faculty and staff invest daily in our students as evidenced by the exceptional pass rates on licensing/registry exams and outstanding student retention and graduation rates. We are expanding the scope and range of academic program offerings and are preparing for our 16th consecutive year of record enrollment. As part of our strategic planning efforts, we are preparing to launch a long-range, comprehensive master campus plan that will ensure our position as a leader in healthcare education well into the 21st century. I look forward to strengthening the rich, 126-year legacy and mission of NMC.

Prior to joining NMC, Carlson was a research professor at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in the Educational Psychology program and the Center for Instructional Innovation. She started her career teaching at Wayne State College, where she received bachelors and masters degrees in psychology and sociology. She also holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

ABOUT NEBRASKA METHODIST COLLEGE

Nebraska Methodist College  the Josie Harper Campus, based in Omaha, has been teaching the meaning of care for 125 years and counting. An affiliate of Methodist Health System, NMC offers certificate, bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees both on campus and online. Nebraska Methodist College is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Women in Automotive Convention It was such a wonderful feeling to hear so many of our guests say they learned a great deal from the conference and it meant a lot to them to be part of it.

Attracting attendees from all automotive categories, the 2017 Women in Automotive (WIA) conference concluded today with a rousing keynote presentation from award-winning industry pioneer Lisa Copeland. In just its third year, the conference has rapidly become the premier forum for accelerating the role of women in the automotive industry.

More than 350 men and women attended the three-day conference in Orlando and departed with a wealth of knowledge and the opportunity to establish lasting relationships with fellow colleagues and insiders. Other speakers of note included Ralph V. Gilles, Head of Design for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles; Shari Fitzpatrick, Founder of Sharis Berries; and Sharon Lechter, Best-Selling Author and Founder of Pay Your Family First.

The continuing support we receive is such an honor, said Women in Automotive Founder Christy Roman. It was such a wonderful feeling to hear so many of our guests say they learned a great deal from the conference and it meant a lot to them to be part of it. We are grateful to everyone who attended and wish to give a special word of thanks to our generous sponsors.

The overwhelming popularity of the Orlando conference led to the creation of a winter conference for 2017, scheduled for December 10-11 in Palm Springs, CA.

The WIA Conference is recognized as the destination for the automotive community to gain insight on recruiting, retaining and developing female employees and leaders; and also touches on the all-important aspects of selling and marketing to female consumers.

Again this year, the event drew attention from top industry brands, including Google, Facebook, CDK Global, Cars.com, Cox Automotive, GM Womens Retail Network, Mercedes-Benz, Ally Auto and TrueCar.

Early Bird registrations for the West Coast conference are available at the WIA Website, http://www.womeninautomotive.com. The Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa in Palm Springs will host the California event.
Zagoria Law, an Atlanta-based law firm specializing in personal injury cases, today announced it has filed suit in the case of Kathy Hendricks and Anthony Hendricks, Sr. and Anthony Hendricks (AJ), Jr. v. Charles King and Nicholas (Chase) Espinosa for Negligent Entrustment (King) and Negligence (Espinosa). The suit, State Court of Hall County, civil action file number 2017SV149D, was filed after Anthony Hendricks, Jr. was injured while swimming behind a pontoon boat owned by King and operated by Espinosa.

The suit alleges that Espinosa was consuming alcohol while driving the boat owned by King and that after stopping so guests on the boat could swim, Espinosa suddenly engaged the engine, causing the propeller to hit AJ Hendricks' legs. Hendricks suffered deep lacerations that required surgical repair.

"Safe boating requires operators to be in complete command of both their faculties and the vessels they pilot at all times," said Zagoria Law Founder and Principal David Zagoria. "Furthermore, boat owners have a legal obligation to ensure their property is operated in a safe and lawful manner."

"The injuries my client sustained were incapacitating and may cause him lifelong suffering," Zagoria concluded. "We are confident a Hall County jury will agree."

About Zagoria Law

Zagoria Law is an Atlanta-based personal injury law firm dedicated to providing unyielding representation to its clients. Founder David Zagoria has more than 20 years of experience as a prosecutor and trial attorney litigating injury cases in State and Federal Courts throughout Georgia. Honored as a Georgia Super Lawyer, Zagoria's focus on personal injury cases, specifically dog bites and serious injury-premises liability cases, ensures unparalleled service and dedication from the very beginning of clients' cases until the end. For more information, please visit http://www.lawzagoria.com.
Dr. Scott D. Miller My mission continues to be providing the best possible treatment I can by advancing my skill in robotic prostate surgery.

Dr. Scott Miller, M.D., of the Glenridge Robotics office (5730 Glenridge Drive, Suite 200, Atlanta) and Midtown office (1 Baltimore Place, Suite 350, Atlanta) of Georgia Urology, appears on Atlanta magazines 2017 list of Top Doctors, which arrives annually in its July issue. This is Dr. Millers ninth year in a row on the prestigious list.

In addition, Dr. Miller, who serves as medical director of Northside Hospitals Advanced Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery Program, also owns the distinction of being ranked in a pair of national categories Americas Top Doctors and Americas Top Doctors for Cancer by established healthcare research firm Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. According to Castle Connolly, its national guides aim to identify the top 1 percent of specialists and sub-specialists in the United States.

Atlanta magazine uses a database of top doctors compiled by Castle Connolly to assist in its annual Top Doctors issue. This year, the publication honors 720 physicians. Doctors are nominated for consideration through both a nationwide survey and a peer nomination process open to licensed physicians in Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, and Rockdale counties. Castle Connollys physician-led team of researchers then select the Top Doctors through a rigorous screening process that includes an evaluation of educational and professional experience.

As a longtime recipient, Dr. Miller greatly appreciates the acknowledgment.

I cherish the honor of being recognized as a top urologist in the state, Dr. Miller said. My mission continues to be providing the best possible treatment I can by advancing my skill in robotic prostate surgery. Caring for patients and bringing greater visibility to prostate cancer is an honor and privilege.

About Dr. Scott D. Miller:

Dr. Scott Miller was the first urologic laparoscopist in the state of Georgia. Specializing exclusively in laparoscopic and robotic urologic surgery, he performs approximately 200 procedures of this type annually. He actively develops new surgical techniques and shares his methods and results with surgeons around the world. His most recent development is LapaRobotic Surgery (LapaRobotics). The technique involves the melding of two separate but related surgical techniqueslaparoscopic surgery and robotic surgery. Dr. Miller has been board certified by the American Board of Urology since 1997. Dr. Miller is the founder of ProstAware, a nonprofit group that seeks to use the worlds of music, sports, and technology to engage men and their loved ones to create awareness about the dangers of prostate cancer.

Interviews available upon request.
By India Today Web Desk: From Sonakshi Sinha to Athiya Shetty, Arjun Kapoor's name has been linked with a bevy of beauties. However, the actor would have you believe that he is single and ready to mingle.

Arjun told Mid-Day that he misses having a real-life romance. "Anyone would want to have someone whom you can talk to about nothing. I'd love to pass out next to someone who will tuck me in, or may be surprise someone by taking her out for dinner. I keep saying that it will happen soon and I hope it does," he said.

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He probably would have been in a relationship already if it weren't for the gruelling demands of his profession. "Since I started working in 2012, I haven't had time for myself, let alone someone else. The only time I took a break was before I started working on Ki & Ka (2016). In fact, after Mubarakan, I have two months when I will be busy prepping for Dibakar Banerjee's Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar. So, my personal life has always taken a back seat," Arjun candidly confessed.

The 32-year-old is a believer in the institution of marriage. Arjun said, "I feel I have two years before I get married. I'd love to be in a steady relationship and consolidate it. Marriage, to me, is a step that needs to be taken when you are 200 per cent sure."

On the work front, Arjun Kapoor is gearing up for the release of Anees Bazmee's Mubarakan. The actor will be seen in a double role in the film, which will release on July 28.

ALSO READ: Arjun Kapoor opens up on his equation with half-sisters Jhanvi-Khushi

ALSO READ: All you need to know about Malaika Arora and Arjun Kapoor's rumoured affair

ALSO WATCH: Up, close and personal with Arjun Kapoor

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Draper is Boston's startup partner of choice. We believe in the importance of an integrated innovation community, said Nathan Wiedenman, Director of the Sembler office at Draper

Theres never been a better time to want to take your business into space. Private companies are exploring how to fly to Mars, how to create new satellite networks, how to launch orbiting cell towers and how to make the Moon livable. In 2015 alone, the U.S. aerospace industry added $144.1 billion in export sales to the economy, and entrepreneurs are bullish on the prospects of the new space economy.

Setting your sights on space is one thing. Launching a successful space-based business is another, which is one reason why Drapers Sembler office is sponsoring the 100th Mass Innovation Nights (MIN) at the Museum of Science, Boston.

We believe in the importance of an integrated innovation community, said Nathan Wiedenman, Director of the Sembler office at Draper. Sembler is Drapers way of fostering the development of technology entrepreneurs by giving them a way to leverage Drapers extensive resources and 80+ years of expertise in solving the worlds toughest engineering problems.

Draper occupies a special position within the space ecosystem that gives the company deep expertise in whats requiredand how to delivercommercial technologies that will perform in space. Draper helped put a man on the moon and continues to provide technology, systems and consulting to all three regions of spaceterrestrial, in-space and planetary.

A range of companies plan to participate in the MIN event.



Accion Systems, an in-space propulsion company, is developing novel solutions for low earth orbit, geostationary earth orbit and interplanetary missions. We hope to support the space ecosystem by providing critical capabilities to satellites and spacecraft of all sizes, said Accion Systems CEO Natalya Bailey.

Analytical Space is creating a network of small satellites that will provide a data relay service for remote sensing satellites. ASI COO Dan Nevius said: Most remote sensing satellites get only a couple of hours of connectivity with the Earths surface per day. ASI is creating the infrastructure to allow them to get 24/7 connectivity.

Lunar Station is focused on making the Moon livable. Our MoonWatcher Mission will bring the Moon closer to everyone by providing low-latency, near real-time, continual imaging and analysis of the Moon to anyone, anytime and anywhere, said Lunar Station CEO Blair DeWitt.

VALT Enterprises is developing a small launch vehicle for nanosatellites, a business model that promises to dramatically shorten the time it takes to get nanosatellites into orbit. Karl Hoose, CEO and CTO of VALT, said, We hope to bring space launch to New England with a launch site off the coast of Maine.

Additional organizations participating in the MIN event at the Museum of Science include Guardion, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Tellus Labs, The Quantly Group and Upstream Tech.

Drapers contributions to these startups build on the companys legacy of support to commercial space companies and to NASA, which began with Drapers design of the Apollo guidance computer, and has continued with programs including the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle and the Sierra Nevada Corporations Dream Chaser spacecraft.

Draper

At Draper, we believe exciting things happen when new capabilities are imagined and created. Whether formulating a concept and developing each component to achieve a field-ready prototype or combining existing technologies in new ways, Draper engineers apply multidisciplinary approaches that deliver new capabilities to customers. As a not-for-profit research and development company, Draper focuses on the design, development and deployment of advanced technological solutions for the worlds most challenging and important problems. We provide engineering solutions directly to government, industry and academia; work on teams as prime contractor or subcontractor; and participate as a collaborator in consortia. We provide unbiased assessments of technology or systems designed or recommended by other organizationscustom designed, as well as commercial-off-the-shelf.

http://www.draper.com
The workforce development nonprofit Year Up South Florida (YUSFL) announced today that its Class 9 graduation ceremony will take place on Wednesday, July 12, at Miami Dade Colleges Wolfson Campus.

The graduation will recognize the hard work and determination of 29 students who have successfully completed Year Ups rigorous job training program. Students take one semester of technical and professional skills classes, followed by a semester-long internship at a top local company like American Express and JPMorgan Chase. Throughout the year, students earn college credits towards a degree from Miami Dade College.

The ceremony will also honor YUSFLs 2017 Business and Community Partners, including: Nancy Ancrum, Editorial Board Member of the Miami Herald, who will receive the Champion Award; Hugo Perez, Managing Director for United Data Technologies (UDT), who will receive the Community Partner Award; Malcolm Browne, Director of the Commercial Acquisition Group at American Express, who will receive the Business Partner Award; and Fernando Ruiz, Market Director at JPMorgan Chase, who will receive the Urban Empowerment Award.

YUSFL will also introduce the members of Year Up South Floridas Founding Local Board of Directors, who held their inaugural meeting on February 21, 2017. The members include: Michael A. Carpenter, Chairman and CEO of Southgate Holdings, Inc.; Licenia Rojas, Vice President of Technology at American Express; Martin G. Burkett, Co-Chair of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice at Akerman; Daniel J. Salazar, Vice President of Middle Market Banking & Specialized Industries at JPMorgan Chase; Josselyn Ruiz, Programmer Analyst at American Express; and Edward D. Jardine, Management Consultant and Executive Advisor, and Former Regional CEO of Procter & Gamble.

As Year Up South Florida commemorates its five-year anniversary, were thrilled to celebrate the continued success of our young adults and the growth of our program, which will expand to serve more than 220 students by 2019, said Leopoldo Polo Coronado Sada, Executive Director of Year Up South Florida. Our new Board of Directors will help guide us as we scale to meet the demand for our skilled, motivated talent among businesses in South Florida, which continues to increase through the hard work of our graduates and the support of our business and community partners.

Year Up South Florida currently serves 120 young adults each year, and plans to serve 220 students annually by 2019. Since its launch on the campus of Miami Dade College in 2012, YUSF has helped more than 360 young adults (ages 18-24, without college degrees) gain in-demand technical, professional and communication skills in Information Technology, Sales Support and Business Operations. As college students, young adults have access to the library, tutoring resources, and other services offered by the college, in addition to the services offered by Year Up. As students work toward completing a degree at Miami Dade College, Year Up prepares graduates to launch a professional career. Learn more about YUSFL by visiting us on Facebook.

About Year Up Inc.

Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Year Up achieves this mission through a high support, high expectation model that combines marketable job skills, stipends, internships and college-level coursework. Its holistic approach focuses on students' professional and personal development to place these young adults on a viable path to economic self-sufficiency. Year Up currently serves more than 3,600 students annually across 24 campuses in Arizona, Baltimore, Bay Area, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Greater Atlanta, Greater Boston, Greater Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, National Capital Region, New York City, Providence, Puget Sound, South Florida and Wilmington. To learn more, visit http://www.yearup.org, and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter: @YearUp
"Our ability to attract and retain top talent directly contributes to our consistent and award-winning growth, our profitability and our industry-leading products and solutions," - Kevin Ortner, CEO of Renters Warehouse.

Renters Warehouse, one of the largest and highest reviewed property management companies in America, is thrilled to announce that its Phoenix, Arizona office and team have been named one of the 2017 azcentral.com Top Companies to Work for in Arizona.

All participating companies completed a two-part assessment process conducted by the independent workplace research firm, Best Companies Group, including an Employer Questionnaire (benefits, HR policies, and culture) and the Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Survey, measuring the employee experience.

This Top Company list gets more competitive each year, said Denise Gredler, Founder and CEO of BestCompaniesAZ and consulting partner for the program. The list of winners had very impressive employee survey results averaging an overall favorable rate of 90 percent and an overall employee engagement score of 92 percent, which is more than double the national average. These winners should be very proud of their engaged workforces. This presents a powerful opportunity for award-winners to promote their company culture to retain and attract the best talent.

Renters Warehouse is equally proud of its team and its unique culture. We are proud to be yet again recognized as one of Arizonas 'Top Companies to Work for' this year, shared Renters Warehouse CEO, Kevin Ortner. "Our ability to attract and retain top talent directly contributes to our consistent and award-winning growth, our profitability and our industry-leading products and solutions. Its pretty incredible that our employees experiences and feedback are at the core of this honor and recognition.

The Phoenix office opened its doors in 2009 as the companys first franchise and with then franchisee, Kevin Ortner at the helm. Eight years later, Kevin is now the CEO of Renters Warehouse and author of the companys cornerstone book for the masses, Rent Estate Revolution. The Arizona office played an integral role in the growth of the company to where it is today. When we opened the Phoenix office, it was in the midst of the recession, shared Ortner. People were on the verge of losing their homes and the situation in Phoenix was not good. We knew we had an opportunity to help in a big way in Arizona, but I never could have imagined how much wed grow since then.

Nationally, Renters Warehouse can be found in 42 markets and 25 states, managing more than $3 billion in residential real estate and servicing 13,000+ investors across 19,000+ residential homes. In Arizona, Renters Warehouse currently manages over 2,000 properties.

The 100 Top Companies" were honored at an awards breakfast reception on June 29, 2017, at the Fairmount Scottsdale Princess. To learn more, visit http://www.topcompanies.azcentral.com.

Renters Warehouse Arizona is also a two-time member of the prestigious Inc. 500|5000 of fastest growing privately held companies in the US and is the winner of numerous Best Places to Work awards locally in Arizona.

Renters Warehouse exists to help homeowners and investors create wealth and financial freedom through Rent Estate. To learn more about Rent Estate, visit http://www.rentestaterevolution.com and order your copy of Rent Estate Revolution, Renters Warehouses cornerstone book for the masses authored by Kevin Ortner and with a foreword by Dr. Arthur B. Laffer, Phd., Economic Policy Advisor to President Ronald Reagan.

About Renters Warehouse

Renters Warehouse is one of the fastest growing and highest reviewed residential property management companies in America. Backed by growth equity investor and majority stakeholder Northern Pacific Group, and under the leadership of President and CEO Kevin Ortner, Renters Warehouse now manages more than $3 billion in residential real estate, servicing 13,000+ investors across 19,000+ residential homes over 42 markets and 25 states. NPG Managing Partner Scott Honour, who in 1999 was a founder of YapStone, a leading online rental property payment service provider, serves as Chairman.

Renters Warehouse expertly serves everyday single-property homeowners as well as real estate investors. In 2015, the company officially trademarked the term Rent Estate to redefine the entire SFR (Single Family Rental) industry as more traditional real estate gives way to this new lucrative asset. Through their dedicated Portfolio Services Division led by Chief Investment Officer Anthony Cazazian, the company also brings professional, scalable and efficient single property management solutions to investment portfolios with both centralized services and local market expertise and staff. Not only has Renters Warehouse received the prestigious honor of being included on the Inc. 500 | 5000 list of fastest-growing privately held companies in America seven consecutive years in a row, it was also named one of the Best Places to Work in Minnesota (where they are headquartered) by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The company was also honored as a best place to work in Arizona (a centralized corporate services center) by the Phoenix Business Journal in 2013 and 2014, and achieved a spot on the prestigious 2016 Top Companies to Work for in AZ list. Nationwide, Renters Warehouse has been honored as one of America's "Best Places to Work" in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016 by Outside Magazine. Recognized as pioneers in real estate, business management and innovation, Renters Warehouse has been awarded 22 Business Stevie Awards both internationally and stateside.

In 2017, Renters Warehouse received an A rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) after meeting the BBBs eight Standards of Trust and earning BBB Accreditation. In 2016, Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC, a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) offering a wide array of services including operational risk assessments, assigned its MOR RV2 residential-vendor ranking to Renters Warehouse as a residential property manager, indicating that the company demonstrates proficiency in managing key areas of operational risk.

In 2017, Renters Warehouse published its first book - Rent Estate Revolution. Authored by CEO Kevin Ortner, the book shares the Renters Warehouse philosophy and business expertise around single-family rentals and the power of Rent Estate to drive long-term wealth creation, retirement security and financial freedom for the everyday person. Sign up for updates now at: http://www.rentestaterevolution.com.
QualDerm Partners, a company that creates market-leading dermatology practice partnerships through affiliations and de novo development, today announced the Center for Surgical Dermatology & Dermatology Associates has joined the company as an affiliate practice.

Based in Westerville, Ohio, the Center for Surgical Dermatology & Dermatology Associates (CSD/DA) provides state-of-the-art general dermatology and skin cancer care to patients throughout Central Ohio. The practices clinical staff includes 5 general dermatologists, 3 Mohs surgeons, and 2 certified nurse practitioners.

Were excited to join the QualDerm network of affiliated dermatology practices, says Ronald Siegle, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of CSD/DA. QualDerms focus on patient-centric, high-quality care perfectly aligns with our practices mission. We look forward to working together with their leadership team to grow our practice.

The CSD/DA partnership marks QualDerms first in the Ohio market. Under this partnership agreement, QualDerm will provide the management support, guidance, and capital to expand the practices services and geographical reach. QualDerm currently has 12 affiliated practices located in North Carolina and Virginia, with plans to expand into other regions by year end.

The caliber of the CSD/DAs physicians and supporting team is top-notch, says Bill Southwick, Chief Executive Officer of QualDerm. Their reputation for delivering outstanding patient care is one of the reasons we chose to partner. Were eager to help them expand their reach to increase patients access to high-quality dermatological care.

About QualDerm Partners

QualDerm Partners helps top-tier dermatologists position their practices for sustainable growth and profitability. The company creates market-leading practice partnerships through affiliations and de novo development. QualDerm provides the management support, capital, and guidance for growth. Under QualDerms True Partnership(SM) model, physicians are partners, not employees, and retain their own practice brand. This doctor-driven model is designed to maintain physicians clinical autonomy and ensure the highest-quality patient care. QualDerm offers physicians tailored partnership structures to meet their needs, as well as the option to sell their practices. For more information, visit http://www.QualDerm.com.

About Center for Surgical Dermatology & Dermatology Associates

The Center for Surgical Dermatology & Dermatology Associates (CSD/DA) provides highly professional and experienced dermatology care in Westerville, Ohio. The practice has a staff of Board-certified dermatologists and Fellowship-trained Mohs surgeons. Founded in 1998, CSD/DA gives patients access to general dermatology and advanced skin cancer care, as well as a variety of aesthetician services. For more information, visit http://www.dermatologistwestervilleoh.com.

Contact:

Andy Mitzen

QualDerm Partners

Chief Development Officer

andy.mitzen(at)qualderm(dot)com

615.250.6756

Media Contact:

Nikki Cary

6 Columns Marketing Group

nikki(at)6Columns(dot)com

615.500.2924
Matrix Solutions Logo

Matrix Solutions, the leader in media ad technology, has released Monarch, an online platform for media sales enterprises, including digital, publishing, broadcast, cable, and out-of-home. Built for the modern sales workflow, Monarch is customizable to match the changing needs of media clients. With highly specific and native integrations, a robust and intuitive CRM, customization options and world-class support, Matrix Solutions has revolutionized the media ad sales experience, building on their historic foundation with a new underlying, modern architecture, expanded digital functionality and a host of new features designed to meet the changing world of media ad sales.

A Completely New Architecture

Monarchs architecture is fast, intelligent, and flexible to the unique workflows of the current media ad sales teams. Matrix Solutions is committed to providing clients with the most up-to-date technology, which is why Monarch is built on Azure. Each function is individually housed and connected via APIs, allowing for faster development, easier deployment and enhanced integrations. The new architecture provides the ability to understand, integrate, manipulate and report on 1st and 3rd party data providing value from day one.

A Library of Digital Integrations

Monarch launches with support for digital selling tools, as well as built-in integrations to assist throughout the media sales workflow. These integrations include DoubleClick for Publishers, Katz, Strata, LinkedIn, Localead, Office 365, MailChimp, Twitter and more. Monarch also integrates with proprietary and generally available OMS platforms. The robust number of integrations ensures that the modern salesperson can complete their job, whether they need to prospect, log sales activity, track campaigns, or pull reports.

New Features for the Modern Media Ad Sales Team

The platform has many native features that include:



Intelligent Alerts - Build out custom alerts based on 1st or 3rd party data inside Monarch.

Data Cards - Hyper-customize the information and data you see on accounts and contact pages.

Reporting & Analytics - Newly developed reporting tools to quickly build robust and complex reports.

Deal Pipeline - A visual representation of your deal pipeline, complete with time to close and deal weighting.

Team Dashboards - A series of dashboards to showing how the sales teams is performing, whos selling what kind of advertising, and who could use assistance.

Matrix Monarch is a revolutionary next step for modern media ad sales, Mark Gorman, CEO of Matrix Solutions said. We engineered every aspect of this platform to help media sales organizations thrive and grow revenue through automation, intelligence, and a suite of integrations. Monarch delivers unmatched value in the world of media sales technology.

For more information about Matrix Monarch, visit MatrixForMedia.com/Monarch

About Matrix Solutions

Matrix Solutions cloud-based Media Ad Sales Platform serves as an effective, enterprise-wide solution for managing advertising revenue. Functioning as a fully-integrated layer within a companys workflow it enables users to aggregate, access, and interact with their pertinent sales data including insights, revenue, and analytics. Furthermore, the extensive sales capabilities and revenue-generating proficiency of the platform provides users a valuable return on investment. For more information on the Pittsburgh-based Matrix Solutions visit http://www.matrixformedia.com.
Girl Splash Pool Party With year-round, women-centered events and groups like the Women Innkeepers, Provincetown has always been a haven and hot spot for all women.

Provincetown is gearing up for an influx of women this July with two sun-soaked, women-centered eventsGirl Splash and Bride Pride. Girl Splash, which runs July 18-22, is geared toward a younger crowd. The annual, weeklong extravaganza packs the beach and bars with dance parties. In the midst of Girl Splash, Bride Pride returns to Provincetown on July 22 in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the Largest Lesbian Wedding and Renewal Ceremony. Now in its second year, Bride Pride brings visitors and residents of Provincetown together in a shared celebration of love and equality. With year-round, women-centered events and groups like the Women Innkeepers, Provincetown has always been a haven and hot spot for all women.

Girl Splash runs July 18-22 and features concerts, outdoor events, and lively parties from dawn to dusk. On Friday morning, spot a majestic humpback at the all womens whale watch, then bust a gut later that evening at the hilarious Kate Clintons Knock! Knock! Whos There? Zombie Apocalypse comedy show. Saturdays jam-packed schedule includes innovative events like The Crawlengerpart pub-crawl, part scavenger huntand favorites like the sunset dune tour and the epic white party, which will close out Girl Splash.

As Girl Splash winds down on Saturday, Bride Pride returns to Provincetown to set a Guinness World Record for the Largest Lesbian Wedding and Renewal Ceremony. The beautiful outdoor ceremony is a joyous declaration of love and equality, as the crowd gathers to watch the happy couples take their vows.

The ceremony begins at 11:00 a.m. on July 22 at the Pilgrim Monument. Kate Clinton, the award-winning political humorist and LGBTQ icon, will perform the nuptials and the event will feature guest performances by Amy Bishop, Catie Curtis, and Suede. Following the ceremony, a celebratory parade will proceed down Commercial Street and Girl Splash events will serve as the reception.

Launched in 2016 at Provincetown Womens Week, Bride Pride is the creation of Allison Baldwin and Ilene Mitnickspouses and co-owners of the Roux Bed and Breakfast in Provincetown. 106 women participated in Bride Pride last year, with 25 marriages and 28 vow renewals. To set a record for the worlds largest lesbian wedding, 100 couples must participate in the ceremony.

A portion of the proceeds from Bride Pride will be donated to Cyndi Laupers True Colors Fund, which works to end homelessness among LGBTQ youth. While Bride Pride attendance is free and open to the public, you must register to participate. Register here: http://www.rouxprovincetown.com/registration.

About Provincetown

Provincetown, Massachusetts is a true melting pot. Located on the tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown boasts beautiful beaches, Zagat-rated restaurants, art galleries and charming shops. A top LGBTQ destination, this open-minded community celebrates individuality and freedom of expression. Provincetown has a rich creative history and is home to one the oldest continuous art colony in the country. The diverse population of artists, sailors, fishermen, authors, and more, makes Provincetown unique. From Carnival in August to Womens Week in October, Provincetown is thriving 365 days of the year.
Were thrilled to partner with an organization that supports our communities and the environment."

Calypso Communications, an integrated creative and PR agency, partnered with Bags 4 My Cause (B4MC) to help B4MC strengthen its brand and digital identity. Working closely with B4MC, Calypso modernized the B4MC brand and redesigned and developed a new website to help B4MC tell its story, engage the community and continue its environmental efforts.

Bags 4 My Cause partnered with Calypso to help raise digital brand awareness and educate prospective partners. Calypso believed by illustrating a brand story through a comprehensive and understandable website, B4MC could more easily grow and use its website as a tool for building partnerships.

Were excited about our recent collaboration with Calypso Communications, said Jim Brennan, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Bags 4 My Cause. Our mission is to empower communities to be environmentally safe while supporting local charities. The Calypso team helped us tell our story and form new partnerships that will help our local communities thrive.

Over the last four years, Bags 4 My Cause has partnered with retailers to provide reusable shopping bags. A portion of each bag sold is then donated to a local nonprofit of the retailers choosing. Since its inception, B4MC has sold over a million bags, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars for community nonprofits.

The redesigned website brings the B4MC story to life by incorporating touching community testimonials and highlighting the positive environmental impacts of the platform. By incorporating a friendly interface, the new site will help to encourage partnerships. Along with refreshing the B4MC logo and updating the brands color palette to create a more captivating style, Calypso increased the user experience by creating a fully responsive site.

Were thrilled to partner with an organization that supports our communities and the environment, said Houssam Aboukhater, Managing Partner of Calypso Communications. We believe in the organizations mission and we wanted to help Bags 4 My Cause tell its story and gain new partners.

About Calypso Communications

Calypso Communications is an award-winning premier public relations studio that combines strategy, content, and creative to solve business challenges. For 17 years, Calypso has delivered radical acts of communication to local, regional, and global companies across a wide array of sectors, including energy, health care, sporting goods, technology, and higher education. With offices in Portsmouth, N.H. and Portland, Maine, the Calypso team of experts uses an integrated communications approach to help clients achieve their objectives.

About Bags 4 My Cause

Bags 4 My Cause (B4MC), located in Portsmouth, NH, partners with retailers to provide reusable shopping bags. B4MC is committed to the mission of empowering retailers to be the best they can be while supporting nonprofit causes, businesses, and the planet. The reusable bag program is designed to support local nonprofit causes and foster a movement aimed towards eliminating the environmentally harmful use of paper and plastic single-use bags.
Map shows states with highest and lowest ROI Whether your college degree pays off comes down to how well you limit your initial costs and debt and how much you maximize your earning potential after graduating.

Is college worth the investment? That depends on where you live, according to a new study. Student Loan Hero, a leading financial education website, conducted a study to find the state-by-state return on investment (ROI) of a college degree five years after graduation.

These findings show that a college degree is still a good bet, said Elyssa Kirkham, lead researcher on the study. A bachelors degree results in annual wages that are $19,356 higher, on average, and most college graduates break even on their investment within 3.7 years. But in the 10 states with the highest ROIs for a bachelors degree, the initial expense of college is low compared to the pay bump that usually follows graduation.

Most and Least Expensive States

In the No. 1 state, Wyoming, college graduates will triple their initial investment in a degree within five years of graduation. In the top 10 states, graduates will recoup the cost of college in just 2.6 years or less.

The 10 states with the highest college ROIs over five years:

--Wyoming: 203 percent

--New Mexico: 151 percent

--Arkansas: 120 percent

--Texas: 114 percent

--Georgia: 105 percent

--Arizona: 102 percent

--California: 102 percent

--Alabama: 96 percent

--Alaska: 95 percent

--Montana: 92 percent

SEE THE FULL RANKINGS>>

Seven states have negative returns on college at the five-year mark, including Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. In the lowest-ranked state of Vermont, a college degree puts a graduate $75,000 in the hole five years after graduation (with a five-year ROI of negative 57 percent). And it takes 11.5 years for a graduate to break even given the high initial costs of a degree in the state.

"Whether your college degree pays off comes down to how well you limit your initial costs and debt and how much you maximize your earning potential after graduating," Kirkham said. Fortunately, today's college students are increasingly focused on minimizing college costs and debt. Knowing the ROI of a degree in their state can help college students make important decisions, such as whether to attend an in-state college or how much student debt to take on.

Study Methodology

Student Loan Hero sourced wage data by state and educational attainment from the U.S. Census Bureau. College costs were calculated by multiplying the average cost of a college credit in each state by the typical 120 credit hours required for a bachelors degree.

ROI data was calculated by finding the difference in average wages between a high school graduate and a worker with a bachelors degree in a given state and multiplying it over five years. It was then compared to the initial cost of a bachelors degree in that state by calculating the five-year ROI.

About Student Loan Hero

Student Loan Hero combines easy-to-use tools with financial education to help the millions of Americans living with student loan debt manage and pay off their loans. Student Loan Hero has helped more than 150,000 borrowers manage and eliminate over $3 billion in student loan debt since 2012 and assists over 3.5 million people in becoming more financially healthy every year.

Student Loan Hero offers both current and former students free loan calculators as well as unbiased, personalized advice and repayment plans through an easy-to-use online dashboard. Founded in 2012 by CEO Andrew Josuweit, who himself had over $100,000 in student loans, Student Loan Hero operates on the belief that all loan help and recommendations should come with honesty and no hidden agenda.

For more information, visit https://studentloanhero.com.
Islands Restaurants, known for its signature burgers, ice-cold drinks and laid-back tropical atmosphere, is celebrating summer  and the companys 35th anniversary year  with the return of fan favorite menu items. Beginning July 12, guests can cheers to warmer weather with the Islands Golden Ale and seasonal menu items including the Waimea Burger.

Handcrafted exclusively by Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Islands Golden Ale is a medium-bodied draft beer with roasted malt flavors, floral hop aromas and a crisp, clean finish. Available only at Islands restaurants for a limited time, the craft beer was created to pair well with Islands signature burgers and fare.

Over the years weve received a lot of requests from guests to bring back our Golden Ale, so we thought this would be a great beer to help us kick off summer and our 35th year, said Islands President Michael Smith. We hope guests will enjoy the celebratory brew with us all summer long!

Perfect for a post-beach meal, the Waimea Burger is also returning for a limited time. Topped with Kalua pork, fresh grilled pineapple rings, Swiss cheese and caramelized onions smothered in a tangy teriyaki sauce, the sweet and savory flavors pair well with the ice-cold Golden Ale, or one of Islands many tropical cocktails.

In addition to the summertime menu items, guests can add a little paradise to their week with Islands happy hour deals in the bar area every Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m., and late night happy hour available at select locations. Happy hour selections include drinks like margaritas, mai tais and mojitos, and menu items including Beachside Sliders, Island Nachos and Cheddar Fries.

First opened in Los Angeles 35 years ago, Islands founder Tony DeGrazier started the company with a simple vision  to serve great food in a friendly atmosphere. From one location to 56 across Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii, the company has stayed true to that original vision, has more than 3,800 employees and sells approximately 4 million burgers each year.

For more information, follow Islands on Twitter and Instagram via @IslandsBurgers and like Islands at http://www.facebook.com/IslandsRestaurants.

About Islands Restaurants

Founded in 1982, Islands focuses on providing the finest quality food and an outstanding guest experience. The companys philosophy that eating out should not be complicated is reflected in the simple, fresh ingredients found in its signature burgers that are never frozen, daily fresh cut fries and the best tropical drinks around  all served in a laid back, beach-inspired environment. The Carlsbad-based company operates 56 restaurants throughout California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii. For more information visit http://www.islandsrestaurants.com.
A group of Honduran children sample the clean drinking water filtered through a Sawyer PointONE clean water filter. When communities do not have access to clean water, children cannot attend school, parents cannot work, and regions cannot participate in solving their own clean water and health issues.

Two elite, veteran-led, nonprofit aid organizations that work in some of the most remote and high-risk regions of the world will create a new strategic partnership to maximize the impact of their humanitarian missions.

Veterans Without Orders (VWO), a nonprofit focused on combatting the world water crisis, and Team 5 Medical Foundation, a nonprofit that provides medical care to the most overlooked areas of the world, will merge capabilities for their "Water and Wellness" initiative. The partnership reflects a more holistic approach to addressing both the causes and consequences of the water crisis.

Every year, 1.5 billion people suffer from water-borne diseases and 3.4 million  mostly children  die as a result, making it the leading cause of disease and death worldwide. When communities do not have access to clean water, children cannot attend school, parents cannot work, and regions cannot participate in solving their own clean water and health issues.

There is no better partnership for this purpose - both VWO and Team 5 bring equipment, treatment and education that is sorely needed in these regions, said Rob Parish, Team 5s Water and Wellness Program Manager. We share the passion of creating a long-term, sustainable impression on these communities, which is only made possible by our supporters and strengthened through this partnership. I am truly excited to see the difference it will make in the lives of the people we serve.

VWO leads teams of skilled, volunteer Civil Affairs veterans to regions suffering from water scarcity and crippled by water-borne diseases. Serving as the tip-of-the-spear for addressing clean-water issues, VWO mission teams provide clean-water filters and sanitation training to women and children in the communities they visit.

Team 5 Medical Foundations team of volunteer Special Ops veterans consists of medical and survival experts who educate local healthcare workers, provide medical and dental assistance (including plastic surgery and reconstructive procedures), and deliver supplies that support these regions in becoming self-sufficient.

Our focus on clean water filtration has always been to provide the most immediate and easy-to-implement remedy to bring a community back to health, said Wilson Suarez, a Civil Affairs veteran who has joined several clean water missions with Veterans Without Orders. This partnership will be transformational in what were able to accomplish on our clean water missions, both short-term through on-the-ground medical care and long-term through the education and training we provide.

The first joint mission will kick-off at the end of July, when Parish will join VWO on their clean water mission to Livingston, Guatemala. With a population of 16.3 million, over 1 million Guatemalans lack access to clean water and 6 million lack access to proper sanitation. The Water and Wellness mission team will deliver clean water filters, medical aid, training and education to remote villages only accessible by foot and canoe. Looking forward, upcoming Team 5 medical missions will be supplemented by a VWO volunteer delivering clean water filters and sanitation training.

To learn more or donate to the Guatemala mission, visit https://veteranswithoutorders.networkforgood.com/projects/26972-clean-water-mission-to-guatemala-summer-2017.

About Team 5 Medical Foundation

The Team 5 Medical Foundation is officially certified by the World Health Organization to support international healthcare efforts led by the organization. Team 5 has conducted over 10 medical missions in 5 countries since its inception in 2010. Team 5 has achieved GuideStar's Platinum Level of Transparency, the highest level of recognition. To learn more about Team 5, visit:

http://www.team-5.org

https://www.facebook.com/Team5Foundation/

About Veterans Without Orders

Veterans Without Orders is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to leverage a worldwide network of skilled Civil Affairs veterans to address the world water crisis. VWO teams travel to regions around the world suffering from water crisis to deliver cost-effective Sawyer PointONE Water Filtration Systems. Each water filter produces up to 1 million gallons of clean drinking water  enough to sustain 3 families for 10 years. VWO dedicates every mission in the name of a fallen military serviceman or woman. To learn more about VWO and the world water crisis, visit:

http://www.veteranswithoutorders.org

https://www.facebook.com/veteranswithoutorders/
By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) Union health minister J P Nadda today assured all help to the Assam government in dealing with the flood situation and asked his ministry officials to keep in touch with the states health department.

"Asked officials of @MoHFW_INDIA to be in touch with health officials of Assam. We are with our brothers & sisters of Assam in this situation," Nadda tweeted.

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Nadda also spoke to Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal to enquire about the flood situation in the state.

The flood situation in Assam worsened today as five more deaths were reported in the deluge which has affected over 17 lakh people in 24 districts. PTI TDS DIP SMJ

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We are honored to have Paul join our Advisory Board. His expertise will bring a valuable perspective, and we look forward to collaborating with him, says Corinne Burton, President of Teacher Created Materials.

Teacher Created Materials (TCM) is proud to announce the addition of Paul McFall to their Advisory Board. Paul has an extensive and impressive background in education and educational publishing. In addition to a variety of company-focused leadership roles, Paul was an influential member of the American Association of Publishers School Division. He has served on state-level technology panels and worked with groups such as the National Association of State Boards of Education.

Paul started his career as an educator in Escambia, Florida. After leaving the classroom, Paul joined Harper Row Publishers in a sales role. His success led to management roles not only at Harper Row, but at Macmillan/McGraw-Hill and Scott Foresman where he rose to the office of President. His most recent role was Senior Vice President of the Pearson School Group with responsibility for not only sales, but product development and government relations.

Paul joins a prestigious Advisory Board that includes individuals such as, Leanna Landsmann, former President of Time for Kids; Michael Ross, Senior Vice President and Education General Manager at Encyclopedia Britannica; Marlowe Teig, retired Managing Director of Berkery, Noyes & Co; Barbara Russell, Founder, President and CEO (retired) of OPTIONS Publishing; and Marilyn Alexander, who has held executive positions with firms including the Marriott Corporation and the Walt Disney Company, and who currently sits on a variety of boards, including the Board of Trustees for Brandman University.

We are honored to have Paul join our Advisory Board. His expertise will bring a valuable perspective, and we look forward to collaborating with him, says Corinne Burton, President of Teacher Created Materials.

Teacher Created Materials is a privately held, 40-year old educational publisher based in Huntington Beach, California. TCM employs over 160 full-time employees and has won numerous awards for both its products and for its community and civic engagement. They are excited to welcome Paul to their Board and to begin to work with him on a variety of topics.

About Teacher Created Materials

Teacher Created Materials develops innovative and imaginative educational materials for all grade levels and curricular areas. Everything the company does is created by teachers for teachers and students to make teaching more effective and learning more fun. For more information about Teacher Created Materials and their products, visit http://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com.
Quadrotech Worldwide Partner of the Year: Insentra

Quadrotech Emerging Partner of the Year: ReSoft International LLC

As we gather in Washington, D.C. this week for Microsofts renowned partner conference, Inspire, were reminded of our strong partnerships in every corner of the world. While we have many distinguished and capable partners whom were proud to work with, two organizations have set the bar and particularly impressed us this year with their ability to seamlessly deliver migration and reporting projects for organizations everywhere, regardless of size, industry, and environment complexities, shared Thomas Madsen, Quadrotech CEO.

Quadrotech is pleased to announce Insentra as its Worldwide partner of the year. Insentras outstanding ability to deliver migration projects globally using Quadrotech tools has proven time and again that when a partner has the right tools, coupled with excellent service and process, the outcome of any migration project results in success. Together, Insentra and Quadrotech have migrated roughly 1 PB of data in the past 18 months.

We are thrilled to receive this award for the third concurrent year. Our team, under the leadership of Simon Altit, look forward to continuing the global delivery of complex archive migrations with Quadrotech and providing our partners with office 365 reporting, discovery and audit capabilities leveraging the Cogmotive reporting engine, said Ronnie Altit, Insentra CEO.

Quadrotech also recognizes ReSoft as emerging partner of the year. ReSoft has consistently worked with customers to educate, develop, and deliver migration projects in regulated and complex organizations. Clive Horton, CEO at ReSoft International LLC said, It is an honor to receive such recognition from one of our most valued partners. For many of our clients migrating to Office 365, one of the biggest inhibitors is capturing legacy PST and Archive data onto the new platform. Quadrotechs solution addresses this issue for us very effectively.

Peter Parker, Chief Operating Officer at Quadrotech, said, With partners like Insentra and ReSoft, Quadrotech continues to grow from strength to strength. It is with partners like these that Quadrotech can continue to fulfil its mission to provide expert migration, reporting and auditing services to those looking to move to Microsoft Office 365.

About Quadrotech

Quadrotech specializes in email migration projects of all sizes. In the past two years alone, we have migrated over 11.6 Petabytes of data and almost 4.7 million mailboxes. Our single-vendor approach allows the management and co-ordination of migration across four email content locations. We provide direct export and import connectors for the major on-premises, cloud email, and archive platforms. Our services dont stop at migration. We are also the market-leading provider of Office 365 reporting, analytics and auditing tools. Offering a suite of over 100 reports covering all major Office 365 services, our reporting solutions help customers gain the business insight to control their Office 365 environment on a global scale.
Adam Blake recently traveled to Honduras to help install over 400 water filters. The new FiltaCares philanthropic initiative is another way for us to give back to the community and support the efforts of our employees who give their time, talent, and treasures to so many outstanding charities.

The Filta Group recently announced a new giving program designed to support the charities and foundations that its employees are most passionate about. Tom Dunn, COO at Filta, made the announcement during a recent company meeting. As part of the new program, every employee at the corporate office will receive funding to engage in a charitable activity, or to make a contribution to the charitable organization of their choice.

The new FiltaCares philanthropic initiative is another way for us to give back to the community and support the efforts of our employees who give their time, talent, and treasures to so many outstanding charities. At Filta, we truly want to make a difference whether its contributing to great causes or helping companies reduce their environmental impact on a day-to-day basis, said Tom Dunn, COO at Filta

At Filta, employees are passionate about many different causes. Filtas own Danny Paltjon, Inside Sales representative, even started his own Foundation, Oceans of Hope, which provides adaptive ocean sport opportunities to individuals with limited mobility. Over the years, Filta has been a primary sponsor of their surfing events which gives many the unique opportunity to experience the thrill of riding ocean waves.

Adam Blake, Vice President of Franchise Development, is passionate about providing clean drinking water and meals to citizens of impoverished nations and regularly travels on mission trips with his church to deliver much needed supplies to these countries. In fact, Blake recently traveled to Honduras to help install over 400 water filters that will provide clean water to around 2,200 people for the next 5-7 years. In addition, his team hand delivered thousands of pre-packaged meals with vital nutrients to further enhance their aid for this nation.

Towanda Taylor, Inside Sales representative, is passionate about children. Taylor recently traveled to Costa Rica where she delivered much needed school supplies and a portable air conditioner to a local K-7 school. The school she visited had only three classrooms where the kids go to school in shifts to accommodate all grades. In fact, parents in the region often have to take out loans just to buy school-related items for their children, so these supplies were much needed and welcomed.

Since the beginning, giving back has been part of the corporate philosophy at Filta as a percentage of profits are donated to charity each year. The company proudly displays a large sign with its motto Always do the right thing on the wall of the corporate office in Orlando. The saying is a philosophy that employees take to heart and think of when making decisions every day.

Over the coming months, Filta will feature the various causes and foundations selected by company employees on its social media using the hashtag #FiltaCares in hopes of inspiring others to give back as well. Below, is a list of charitable organizations or causes chosen by staff members that will receive a contribution from Filta as part of the new program.

Oceans of Hope, Treasure Coast Community Church Honduras Mission Trip, Give Kids the World, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, March of Dimes, Street Survival, Pathkeepers, Orange County Animal Services, Pet Rescue by Judy, ASPCA, and the American Breast Cancer Society

About Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions

Established in the United Kingdom in 1996 and brought to the USA in 2002, Filta is the worlds leader in commercial fryer and cooking oil management services and offers its services through a worldwide franchise network. Filta is dedicated to saving its clients money, creating a safer working environment, and providing customers with the tools to increase the quality of their product, all while preserving the environment. Filta services over 5,500 customers every week and has recycled over 2/3 of a billion pounds of oil and counting! http://www.gofilta.com
Dr. Zara Harutyunyan MSN, AGNP Less is More.

Haute Beauty welcomes acclaimed injector and clinician Dr. Zara Harutyunyan MSN, AGNP to its exclusive network of beauty and wellness experts.

Her motto is: Less is More.

Doctor of Medicine, Ms. Zara Harutyunyan MSN, AGNP is an expert injector and leading clinician at Cosmetic Rejuvenation Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Doc. Zara believes aesthetic treatments should be used for preventative measures or simple enhancements, and her unique natural method has made her an expert at fixing overly done procedures and a favorite with her celebrity clientele.

As one of the most highly sought after injectors in Hollywood, her clients come to her from all around the nation and world  from New York to Australia, London and Dubai.

Doc. Zara offers non-surgical blepharoplasty (eyes), non-surgical nose jobs, fat reduction, acne scars treatment, laser hair removal, vitamin shots, IPL/Photo facials, skin tightening, fractional skin resurfacing and much more.

Doc. Zara is also a National Trainer for advanced injection techniques for Allergan Pharmaceutical, maker of Botox, Juvederm, Voluma and Kybella, and specializes in the AquaGold Treatment, a powerful micro-needling process that only a select few practitioners perform, as well as PDO Threadlifting.

About Haute Beauty:

Haute Beauty is affiliated with luxury lifestyle publication Haute Living. A subsidiary of Haute Living magazine, Haute Beauty covers the latest advancements in beauty and wellness and provides readers with expert advice in the most innovative aesthetic and reconstructive treatments through its network of acclaimed surgeons.
National Housing Tides Index Infographic July 2017 With a Housing Tides Index score of 76.8, Virginia Beach, VA has held the top spot in our rankings for the fifth straight month.

This week marks the release of the July Housing Tides Report, featuring an update to the Housing Tides Index, an objective and sophisticated approach to quantifying and comparing the health of U.S. housing markets. This months Index update reveals an improvement in housing market health as loan performance improved to the best levels in nearly a decade.

Understanding the health of a housing market and its relationship to other top markets requires an aggregated, comprehensive view of the industry. The Housing Tides Index provides a succinct monthly measure of market health across the top 41 U.S. markets. Referencing 18 market indicators ranging from unemployment rates and housing permits to rental vacancy and mortgage foreclosure rates, the Tides Index helps users understand exposure at a deeper level than is currently possible.



Its important to note the considerable local variations in the Housing Tides Index. With a score of 76.8, Virginia Beach, VA held the top spot in our rankings for the fifth straight month, largely due to new construction levels that have matched employment and household growth, moderate home price and rent affordability, and strong mortgage performance. On the other hand, with an Index value of 62.9, New York City has languished at or near the bottom of our rankings for the last seven months, suffering from rental costs that require nearly 50% of the median local income, a net exodus of households from the metro area according to latest Census data, and the highest rate of homes in foreclosure in the country.

The ratio of U.S. housing permits to employment growth in the previous year fell to 0.45 in April from 0.51 in March, with 2.57 million workers added to payrolls but just 1.17 million housing permits approved. The Housing Tides team suggests a target healthy range of 0.5 - 1.5 housing permits per job added. As such, the number of homes permitted in the last year is well short of whats needed to attain balance in the market. Economists estimate that the U.S. needs approximately 1.5 million housing units per year to keep up with household growth and the loss of obsolete units.

As a consequence, housing inventory fell to 2.7 months of supply in May, its lowest level since Redfin began tracking the market in 2010. Six months of supply is generally regarded as a balanced, healthy level of inventory. There is some variation among major metro areas; 28 of the 41 metropolitan areas tracked by the Tides team totaled less than 2.7 months of supply, with the Seattle, Denver, and San Jose markets all containing less than one month at the current sales pace. The shortfall of homes for sale signals continued price appreciation throughout the year barring any unforeseen economic shock.

The U.S. construction unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in April and is now better aligned with anecdotal evidence of industry labor shortages.

Last month we noted that the mortgage delinquency rate fell to 3.62% in March, its lowest level since 2007. April data show that delinquencies spiked in April, with 4.08% of all mortgages 30 or more days past due. However, we should remember that delinquencies also rose in April 2016 from the previous month.

Single-family housing permits rebounded in aggregate across the metro areas we track, totaling 40,300 in May after falling to 35,600 in April. Multi-family permits dropped slightly in May, totaling 23,700, and the six-month moving average fell for the fourth straight month to a rate of 23,300 permits per month.

Please reference the attached graph to view the Ten Healthiest U.S. Housing Markets - July, 2017.

Click here to view the complete Housing Tides Index of the top 41 U.S. markets.

Media Exclusive! Housing Tides Media Monthly Pulse

Subscribe to our email service exclusively created for media which delivers an updated infographic depicting the latest monthly Housing Tides Index, the complete Index as it appears in the Housing Tides Report, and a brief executive summary. All content can be shared in print and digital publications, with attribution to the Housing Tides Report.

Members of the media can subscribe to the Housing Tides Media Monthly Pulse here.

About Housing Tides

Housing Tides (Tides) is the only monthly report that provides a comprehensive measure and aggregated understanding of the health of the U.S. housing and home building industry. Designed to take the guesswork out of the vast amount of forecasting information published about this sector, Tides is a sophisticated report that delivers city-specific, updated information when market conditions change. It is the only report that uses natural language processing and machine learning to correctly understand and synthesize large volumes of data, making it more comprehensive, balanced, and reliable than any other report of its kind. For further information, please visit housingtides.com and connect on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Housing Tides is proudly partnered with IBM Watson.
Heritage Woods of Yorkville, a Gardant affordable assisted living community, will host a birthday party from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on July 20.

The community, which is located at 242 Greenbriar Rd. in Yorkville, Illinois, serves older adults who need some help to maintain their independence.

Local performer Babette Dean will entertain guests with songs from the Roaring Twenties and the Big Band Era.

Refreshments will be served during the party, which is free and open to the public.

For more information about the event or Heritage Woods of Yorkville, call 630-882-6502.

Heritage Woods is the only community in Kendall County that is certified to operate through the Illinois Supportive Living program. The affordable assisted living community is managed by Gardant Management Solutions., of Bradley, Illinois.

We provide older adults with a wonderful alternative to a nursing home or to struggling alone at home, says Director of Marketing Julie Freza.

The community combines residential apartment-home living with the availability of personal assistance, help with medications, and a variety of convenience and support services.

Residents live in private apartments that they furnish and decorate to their tastes. Each of the studio and one-bedroom floor plans include a kitchenette, spacious bathroom with shower and grab bars, individually-controlled heating and air conditioning, and an emergency alert system.

Certified nursing assistants are on-duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Meals, housekeeping and laundry are among the included services.

Residents also benefit from all of the opportunities that are available to socialize with friends and neighbors and participate in activities and special programs, says Freza.

Gardant Management Solutions, the company that operates Heritage Woods of Yorkville, is the largest provider of assisted living in Illinois.

Our focus, says Rod Burkett, CEO of Gardant, is to provide residents of Heritage Woods with the love, compassion and dignity they deserve and the help and assistance they need. Our emphasis is on helping each resident achieve and maintain as much independence as possible for as long as possible.

Communities managed by Gardant include the Heritage Woods affordable assisted living communities in Batavia, Bolingbrook, Chicago, Dwight, Gurnee, Manteno, McHenry, Ottawa and Plainfield.

Gardant also manages the Heritage Woods assisted living community in Huntley, the Churchview affordable assisted living community in Chicago and the Heritage Woods affordable assisted living and memory care community in South Elgin.

Gardant is the management company for Lacey Creek Supportive Living, the new affordable assisted lifestyle community that opened in Downers Grove this year.

For more information about Gardant Management Solutions; the assisted living, senior living and memory care communities that Gardant operates; and the companys management, development and consulting services, visit http://www.gardant.com or call 1-877-882-1495.
Photo Courtesy: Bishop House

Bishop House, makers of high-end luxury housewares, today announces the availability of its premier collection of elevated teaware. Designed to enhance the experience of tea and coffee drinking, this first collection includes three glasses by renowned Portland-based designer James Owen. Each glass incorporates modern and classical design elements, inspired by the flowing, spiral decorative motifs reminiscent of the Art Nouveau period. Each piece includes a handblown borosilicate glass bowl nested in a cantilevered stainless steel base plated in a choice of either 24-karat gold or pure silver.

The initial elevated teaware line includes three designs named for each of the three Greek Graces, representing good cheer (Thalia), mirth (Euphro), and splendor (Aglaea), respectively. The subjects of works by renowned artists from Sandro Botticelli to Pablo Picasso, the Graces were said to bring joy to the world and are considered alongside the Nine Muses as divine sources of artistic inspiration.



Thalia (available Fall 2017)  The first design in the series, chronologically, Thalia's cantilevered structure and swirling design creates the illusion of a floating, mesmerizing spiral with no beginning or end. As with all three glasses, the unique handle design ensures that no heat is transferred from cup to surface, while a handblown glass bowl insulates hot beverages and helps maintain a consistent temperature.

Euphro (available Fall 2017)  Inspired by Thalias spiral motifs, Euphros finely-etched supporting structure embodies the core principles of modern design, with subtle classical touches in the scalloping along the rim.

Aglaea (available Fall 2017) - A modest departure from the aesthetic of its siblings, Aglaea features an understated yet distinctive interwoven design, reminiscent of a fine Faberge egg. The result is a sophisticated piece of glassware thats perfect to enhance a morning coffee or evening tea.

After nearly two years of collaboration and persistence, I could not be more excited to introduce our first-ever line of elevated teaware. We set out with the goal to create stunning objects that would elevate the tea drinking experience, and the result is truly special, said Brian Sunderland, Founder of Bishop House. Thalia, Euphro, and Aglaea are the perfect complement to any celebration and make memorable gifts. We invest a lot of time, thought and money to enhance the enjoyment of the things we love, and its our mission to capture that philosophy for the tea and coffee drinking experience as well.

Bishop House tapped Portland designer James Owen to spearhead the distinctive design of their elevated teaware line. Owen brings more than a decade of design experience to the project, including work with brands like Nike, Pioneer, Yakima, Mattel, Philips and more. He has also received praise for his recent work developing the Ratio Coffee Machine, a high-end precision brewing system.

Working with Bishop House offered a new design challenge for me. This is my first endeavor with decorative glassware, and I could not be happier with the result, said Owens. By working directly with Brian, we were able to collaborate and create an impactful design that carries throughout the collection. From the quality of the materials we selected to the more ornate aspects of the design, I am excited to see how customers react to this new, elevated experience of enjoying hot beverages.

The Thalia is now available for pre-order in sets of two for $329, with an expected delivery of Fall 2017. The Euphro and Aglaea designs will be available Fall 2017. To pre-order, please visit http://www.bishophouseglass.com.

About Bishop House

Founded in 2016, Portland-based Bishop House provides artfully-designed housewares, including a line of elevated teaware to enhance the tea and coffee drinking experience. Each item in Bishop Houses line of beautiful, decorative glassware is an instant conversation piece, and an ideal gift no matter the special occasion, whether a wedding, anniversary or house-warming. The company commits to honest and original designs, and to using the finest materials, creating modern classics for the home that will stand the test of time. To learn more, please visit http://www.bishophouseglass.com.

Media Contact:

Julianna Sheridan

Matter Communications

978-518-4520

bishophouse [at] matternow [dot] com
An inventor from Toney, Ala., has developed the patent-pending LOOK NO MORE, a novel organization station that safely stores a pair of eyeglasses, a pen or pencil and a notebook or notepad in a convenient location. A prototype is available.

"I often work in my garage and misplace my glasses and writing accessories. My handy organizer will hold these often misplaced items so they can be easily located," said the inventor. LOOK NO MORE provides a unique organization station for glasses and writing accessories when not in use. It will prevent glasses lenses from becoming scratched or damaged.

This convenient organizer will eliminate frantic and time-consuming searches for these often misplaced items. It will free up space within drawers, on countertops and other surfaces, and thus provide a clutter-free environment.

The original design was submitted to the Birmingham office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 16-BRK-1233, 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

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Performance discovery company Vosaic is hosting a one-day conference that will allow users and prospective users the opportunity to network, interact with Vosaic team members, and maximize product use. The Vosaic suite of products includes Vosaic Connect, Studiocode, and iCoda, all of which can be leveraged to enable users to discover patterns and insights.

The conference will include speakers in the field of teacher preparation, education training, and education research who are leveraging Vosaics video markup and annotation products to discover performance indicators that lead to valuable insights. Other sessions will include updates on new and upcoming features, as well as breakouts and sessions with Vosaic trainers.

Our user conferences continue to be one of the most effective ways for the Vosaic community to talk with others in their fields about how theyre using the features our products offer, said Will Callanen, vice president of sales. Weve heard wonderful feedback from previous user conferences that attendees came away with a lot of new skills and some valuable professional connections.

The all-day event will be held on October 6, 2017 at the University of Maryland College of Education in College Park, MD. Speakers and the official agenda will be announced soon. The event is free, though space is limited, and registrations can be made via Vosaics website.

About Vosaic

Vosaic, formerly Studiocode Group, is a Lincoln, Nebraska-based performance discovery company that provides video recording and markup tools that help educators, learners, and researchers discover indicators valuable to performance improvement and research outcomes. More information about Vosaic and performance discovery can be found at Vosaic.com.
A BJP leader serving as a secretary in party's IT cell in West Bengal has been arrested for posting fake photos and videos on social media.

By India Today Web Desk: A BJP leader, also serving as secretary of ruling party's IT cell, has been arrested for allegedly posting fake photos and videos on internet.

Secretary of BJP IT cell Tarun Sengupta from Asansol in West Bengal posted media that could stir communal tension in the state that is already witnessing clashes between Hindus and Muslims.

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Tarun Sengupta was held by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the state government and has been smacked with non-bailable sections of the IPC in Suri police station of Birbhum district, Hindustan Times reported.

Screenshot: Twitter/CID West Bengal

Trinamool Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of posting fake photos on social media to stirring up communal violence.

"The people of Bengal will not tolerate the fact that BJP is using social media platforms by posting fake pictures and fake news to meet their political ends," HT quoted Mamata Banerjee.

Sengupta also allegedly uploaded a video of IPS officers brutally thrashing a man.

He passed the video off as "Muslim IPS officers for performing their religious duties of destroying the Kafirs & idol worshippers without even thinking of their service".

BJP WORKERS ON FAKE NEWS SPREE

Recently, saffron brigade's Nupur Sharma, the BJP's national spokesperson, was booked under non-bailable sections for posting an old photo to call people for protest against Bengal violence.

She had posted pictures of 2002 Gujarat riots on Twitter and passing it off as that of the violence in Baduria.

The image used by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma in her tweet

"A case has been registered against Nupur Sharma, who is a resident of Delhi. The accused had posted fake pictures, which were liked by 2,000 people," said Joint CP (Crime) Vishal Garg.

Sharma has been booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc.), 295A (deliberate acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 465 (punishment for forgery) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the IPC.

In another incident, a man uploaded a still image from a Bhojpuri film to depict the situation in Basirhat-Baduria has been arrested for allegedly inciting communal violence.

Photo via Facebook

The same photo was separately shared by Haryana BJP leader Vijeta Malik in a similar context but was not booked for the same as the Hindu man.

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Malik while condemning the treatment meted to Hindus in the state, shared a picture of woman getting disrobed in public.

Also Read || BJP leader shares photo from 2002 Gujarat riots to call people for protest against Bengal violence ||

Also Read || West Bengal: Man who posted Bhojpuri film still to depict Basirhat violence arrested ||

Also Read || Fake alert: BJP's Vijeta Malik posts image from Bhojpuri film to show plight of Hindus in West Bengal ||

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Though Shiv Sena came back to the alliance fold again, developments since then clearly state that it has always been an uneasy alliance with the party, its leaders and cadre taking on both, the Devendra Fadnavis government and the BJP led central government.

By Santosh Chaubey: They were fellows for decades. They had similar ideological planks of nationalism and Hindutva to unite them. But the growing bickering saw them breaking their 25-year old alliance in September 2014, a month before the Maharashtra assembly polls in October 2014. Elections made BJP the single largest party in Maharashtra and thus Shiv Sena's senior partner, a first in state politics. Shiv Sena happened to be BJP's big brother in state politics before it.

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Though Shiv Sena came back to the alliance fold again, developments since then clearly state that it has always been an uneasy alliance with the party, its leaders and cadre taking on both, the Devendra Fadnavis government and the BJP led central government. Shiv Sena's mouthpiece Saamana regularly comes up with editorials slamming the BJP. Threatening to break alliance even on slightest of pretext has become a routine. Both allies fought the recently held Mumbai civic polls (BMC) separately, where again, they were ruling partners for many years.

How strained the relation between the allies has become can be gauged from words of Manohar Joshi, former Maharashtra CM and veteran Shiv Sena leader. In an interview published today, Joshi said, "Shiv Sena was no longer in an alliance with the BJP. Rather, it was just an adjustment. And if we scan through the developments of even just last two months, we can see the contradictions of BJP-Sena alliance getting deeper with Sena slamming the BJP on almost every other issue."

AMARNATH YATRA ATTACK

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray slammed the BJP led central government for terror attack on a bus of Amarnath Yarta pilgrims that left seven killled and in a satirical comment said that the so-called Gau Rakshaks (or cow vigilantes) should be sent there to fight terrorists.

AIR INDIA DISINVESTMENT

Drawing a Kashmir parallel, Shiv Sena criticised the decision saying tomorrow the government may proceed to sell Kashmir citing the huge security cost involved. Shiv Sena termed Air India, national carrier, India's icon and pride.

FARMERS' PROTESTS AND FARM LOAN WAIVER

The Shiv Sena has supported farm protests demanding total farm loan waiver. When the Fadnavis government announced last month its farm loan waiver scheme, Shiv Sena took credit saying the pressure put by it worked but at the same time ratcheted up its attack demanding a total waiver.

The Rs 34000 crore farm waiver announced by the Fadnavis government is aimed at the most needy small and marginal farmers with loan amount up to Rs. 1.5 lakh. The debt waiver covers 40 lakh farmers completely but other 49 lakh farmers who have higher debt have been left out of its ambit beyond the cap of Rs. 1.5 lakh.

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But Uddhav Thackeray has been demanding a blanket farm loan waiver without any condition and has vowed to raise the issue till every farmer become debt free and as recently as July 10, Shiv Sena organized protests in Maharashtra districts to reiterate its demand for the blanket waiver.

KASHMIR UNREST

Shiv Sena has blamed the Centre and the BJP-PDP alliance government in Jammu & Kashmir for letting the situation spiral out of control and has demanded imposition of President Rule. Blaming J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti for making reckless statements while the state is burning, Shiv Sena says it is sad the BJP still backs her.

DEVENDRA FANDAVI'S ASSERTION ON MID-TERM POLLS

First it was Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. Then it was BJP President Amit Shah. Last month, they both issued a veiled warning to Shiv Sena saying that the BJP was prepared for mid-term polls if the same was 'imposed upon them'.

Shiv Sena hit back saying BJP might care for mid-term polls, Shiv Sena's priorities of the moment were issues like Kashmir and Darjeeling.

ALSO READ

Shiv Sena's message to Modi after Amarnath attack: Show some courage, fight terrorism sternly

Amarnath Yatra attack: Terrorists acted out of desperation, early assessment shows

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Amarnath attack: How the hero bus driver drove through bullets to save many lives

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This assurance was given by the Board Chairman of the Ghana COCOBOD, Hackman Owusu Agyeman.

His comments follow the reaction of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD to the falling of cocoa prices on the international market.

READ ALSO: Farmers who cut down unproductive cocoa trees to be compensated

Joseph Boahen Aidoo asked cocoa farmers to brace themselves for a potential drop in the producer price of cocoa because Ghana stands to lose about 1,000 dollars per tonne of cocoa.

Currently, cocoa is being sold at 7,600 Ghana cedis per tonne.

However, Owusu Agyeman said they are doing all they can to ensure farmers do not get affected by the development.

READ ALSO: The sad story behind the collapse of fruit juice factories in Ghana

Prices are falling. So far we have not touched the producer price for the farmers. We are doing everything possible to achieve some economies of scale and make sure that the farmers dont get shortchanged. So for now, we are keeping the prices as they are. We have assured them that this government is prepared to do that. Nobody is talking about reducing prices. We are going to do everything possible as the farmers are our primary focus.

Boahen Aidoo earlier argued that about 1,000 dollars has been lost from the international market. But the imperative[thing] is that we are doing forward sales therefore even as the cocoa trees are flowering now we have already sold our cocoa and then again we are currently selling the lack rob beans that is for next year, plus we are selling them at 1,900 cedis which will further be discounted at 20%.
Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, on Tuesday tweeted an email chain from June 2016 in which he entertained accepting damaging information from a "Russian government attorney" about Hillary Clinton as part of the Kremlin's support for his father's campaign.

That attorney, Natalia Veselnitskaya, represents the family of Pyotr Katsyv, the former vice governor of the Moscow region, whose son, Denis, owns the real-estate company Prevezon. The DOJ had been investigating whether Prevezon laundered millions of dollars through New York City real estate when the case was unexpectedly settled two days before going to trial in May.

"Last summer, Donald Trump Jr. met with a Kremlin-connected attorney in an attempt to obtain information 'that would incriminate Hillary,'" the Democrats wrote, citing the emails he published. "Earlier this year, on May 12, 2017, the Department of Justice made an abrupt decision to settle a money laundering case being handled by that same attorney in the Southern District of New York.

"We write with some concern that the two events may be connected  and that the Department may have settled the case at a loss for the United States in order to obscure the underlying facts."

The Prevezon case garnered high-profile attention, given its ties to a $230 million Russian tax-fraud scheme and the Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, whose suspicious death aroused international media attention and spurred the passage of the Magnitsky Act in 2012. Denis Katsyv and Veselnitskaya have become the face of Moscow's lobbying efforts against the Magnitsky Act in recent years.

Democrats now want to know whether Veselnitskaya was "involved at any point in the settlement negotiations," and they have asked Sessions to provide the committee "with the prosecution files and any other explanatory materials related to the settlement."

They also want to know whether there was "any contact between President Trump, White House personnel, the Trump family, or the Trump campaign with the Department of Justice" regarding Prevezon, and whether Sessions discussed the case "with anyone associated with the transition team," or with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, while he was being considered for attorney general.

Both the US government and Prevezon claimed victory in the wake of the settlement.

A spokesman for the US attorney's office told Business Insider at the time that the settlement saved taxpayers the expense of a trial, and he reiterated that the settlement was for "many multiples more" than the amount in fraud proceeds the government alleged were laundered through the New York real-estate purchases. He characterized it as a "very good outcome" for the government.

But Prevezon described the settlement as proof that the company had done nothing wrong. It said it considered the offer from prosecutors "too good to refuse."

"It was a surprise," John Dillard, a spokesman for Prevezon's attorneys, told Business Insider at the time. "We were getting ready for opening statements and fully expected to try the case. In fact, we were looking forward to it.

"We reluctantly agreed to accept the government's offer when it became clear that the fine proposed was no more than we would have spent fully litigating the case, and that no admission of guilt, forfeiture, or continued seizure of any assets was required," Dillard added. "Essentially, the offer was too good to refuse."
Speaking on Accra-based Starr FM, Ababio said the Deputy Ministers remarks were not meant to irritate anybody present.

That is how we engage each other. It was nothing meant to antagonise anybody [or] disrespect anybody.

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According to him, the heated exchange between the Deputy Minister and the participants was a friendly one.

Deputy Trade Minister Robert Ahomka-Lindsay speaking an event organised by the diaspora community in Accra said nobody likes whiners, people that spend all the time whining really get on peoples nerves. So, stop whining; stop saying this doesnt work, that doesnt work; please, we know it doesnt work so stop whining all the time saying it doesnt work. If it worked, you probably wont be sitting there.

READ ALSO: How to calculate your SSNIT pension

His comments have been met with some unhappy reactions from some Ghanaians in the diaspora.
This is according to the Deputy Trade Minister Robert Ahomka-Lindsay.

The Deputy Minister was speaking at an event organised by the diaspora community held at the Accra International Conference Centre.

He said the diaspora community must not always insist on seeing a minister or top government official before engaging in any meaningful business in Ghana.

Nobody likes whiners, people that spend all the time whining really get on peoples nerves. So stop whining; stop saying this doesnt work, that doesnt work; please, we know it doesnt work so stop whining all the time saying it doesnt work. If it worked, you probably wont be sitting there.

It is not always that when you have to make a decision you have to see the minister, the deputy or every head; what is this thing, where did it come from? Do you know how many people actually sit down and want to see the minister every day; hundreds of them, he added.

READ ALSO: How to calculate your SSNIT pension

After the minister had spoken, a member of the returnees, yet to be named, responded to the remarks in a similar fashion and tone.

We came here to sit with the decision makers to help us formulate policies that will integrate us into the system, where are the decision makers, where are they, they are nowhere around here to listen to us."
By PTI: (With additional inputs)

New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) Accusing the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal of practising "politics of appeasement", the BJP today said it would take out a "Save Bengal" march from Raj Ghat here tomorrow.

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi attacked the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in Bengal over the recent communal clashes in Basirhat in the North 24 Parganas district, alleging that Banerjee was practising the "two-fold politics of appeasement and repression" in the state.

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The saffron party had earlier claimed that Hindus were targeted in the Basirhat violence.

Lekhi claimed that the Basirhat incident was not an isolated one and referred to similar incidents of communal clashes at Kaliachak and Dhulagarh in West Bengal earlier.

The New Delhi MP alleged that the TMC government had also not allowed the immersion of Durga idols in the state on the scheduled day.

"What we see in Bengal is a very twisted manner of implementing secularism," she said at a press meet here.

Lekhi alleged that the Bengal government was not providing the land to the security forces, which was required to seal the border with Bangladesh at a certain place.

She said that while the Bengal government "sent back" four of the eight companies of central forces sent by the Union government, claiming that the situation was normal in Basirhat, it did not allow a BJP delegation, which included her, to visit the area.

To a question about Banerjees attack on the government over a documentary involving Amartya Sen being censored, Lekhi said he was not even an Indian resident.

When told by a reporter that Sen was an Indian citizen, she said she had no knowledge about it nor did she know about the documentary.

"And so far as voices of opposition are being muzzled, we can pick up newspapers and read. And fact is that when people like Sandip Dikshit and Rahul Gandhi are tweeting the kind of tweets, I dont think its a question of opposition voices being muzzled, but its a question of opposition voices not talking sense," she said. PTI KR ENM SMJ

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Michael Okyere Baafi was speaking on the sidelines on the Annual CEOS conference held at Koforidua in the Eastern Region.

Okyere Baafi said the agenda to strengthen local investors and companies is top on his outfits priorities.

READ ALSO: New head office for Free Zones Board

It is our key priority to help in any way we can to strengthen the local investors because we believe in them and know perfectly that the hold the future economy of this country, he said.

We as a body have three key areas we want to champion and the first is working with speed. We want fast track all dealings and activities in the processes of documentations because we do not want to be like our public institutions where delays in processes occurs all the time, we want to do things differently so we will not create artificial traffic and bureaucracy so we have engaged with other stakeholders like the immigration services and they are prepared to process our emergency visas and work permits very fast.

He added that they cannot do this without the help of the media. He, therefore, called on the media to help in making them realise their objectives.
The President was addressing the president of Switzerland, Doris Leuthard, who is on a days official visit to Ghana.

He said that there are too many unemployed youth in the country because the economy has not been growing as expected for so long. He said this makes it impossible to create jobs.

READ ALSO: 6 ways to make extra money aside your regular income

Our biggest challenge is how to find work for our young people. Too many young people in Ghana, West African and the African Continent do not have work to do because our economies are not growing and expanding at a sufficient rate to absorb them Akufo-Addo told the Swiss President.

He, therefore, called on the Swedish government to come to the aid of Ghana and other African countries to solve the youth unemployment challenge.

READ ALSO: How to calculate your SSNIT pension

In her response, Mrs Leuthard was hopeful that through her efforts more Swiss companies will invest in Ghana to help solve the unemployment challenge.
The actor is pleading with all Ghanaians to pray for her because in his opinion she is going through a tumultuous time judging from the nude photos circulating on social media.

In his latest Instagram video, Prince, who is currently in the United States of America, has condemned the harm-joys who relished in the current predicament of the actress should be ashamed of the actress.

Im not happy with people circulating Christabels nude photos on social media Prince disclosed.
The accused are facing a three-count-charge of conspiracy, kidnapping and receiving stolen child.

The three of them, who are residents of Ayobo area of Ipaja, a Lagos suburb, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Police Prosecutor, Insp Simeon Imhonwa, told the court that the accused committed the offence with others still at large, sometimes in November 2014 at Idi-Orogbo, Ayobo, Lagos.

Inhonwa alleged that the trio kidnapped the baby, the son of Chioma Nwakwu, the complainant in the case.

He told the court that the complainant used to live with Ezeala, her aunt, before she became pregnant and the supposed father denied responsibility of the pregnancy.

At the time of Nwakwus delivery at Ifako- Ijaiye General Hospital, Agege, which was through caesarean section, the complainant could not afford the hospital bills and care of the baby.

The second accused, Oparaocha, a nurse, then approached Ezeala to sell the baby to Ifeanyi, who was willing to adopt the baby at a price, the prosecutor said.

Inhonwa said that without the knowledge of the complainant, Ezeala and Oparaocha sold the baby for N500,000 to Ifeanyi.

The whereabouts of the baby was not disclosed to Nwakwu after she was discharged from the hospital until recently, when the accused were apprehended by the police, the prosecutor said.

The offence contravened Sections 275, 326 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 275 prescribes 10 years imprisonment for anyone, who unlawfully captures and detains another against his or her will.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs B.O. Osunsanmi, granted the accused bail in the sum of two million naira, each with two sureties in like sum.

Osunsanmi said the sureties must be property owners within the court jurisdiction and should also provide evidence of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
The Director-General at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare said the country owed the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the international body that procures the vaccine across the globe, huge sums of money.

The vaccines are given to newborn babies to fight the deadly childhood disease, but for some time now nursing mothers are being turned away when they want to have their babies vaccinated due to the shortage.

Dr Asare said that the country will, however, receive supplies of the vaccines soon because almost $10 million has been paid to UNICEF for the procurement of the vaccines.

The fact is that we get the polio vaccines procured for us through UNICEF. There was an outstanding bill from last year which was not paid. God being so good, just this week we have managed to clear that bill and as we speak now they will be airlifting the polio vaccine to the country.

The one that we are transferring is about 10 million dollars which we are going to use to get all the consignment we need for the next year or so and we will then schedule and clear all the outstanding bills, he added.

READ ALSO: Local pharmaceutical firms beg Nana Addo to intervene after GSK terminates contract with them

Touching on whether the shortages could pose health risks to babies and infants who needed them most, Dr. Asare said that his outfit has put in place measures to mitigate such issues.

What we are doing to mitigate it is that we call other districts and regions where they have stock then we forward to places where the stock had gone low. So a day or two difference will not make much difference so we will sort it out Im sure by the close of the week, he said.

Polio (poliomyelitis) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus and it mainly affects children under 5 years of age.

It invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours.

READ ALSO: Ejaculating 21 times a month can lower risk of prostate cancer

Ghana often receives vaccine supply that could last for about a year from UNICEF.

But Dr Asare said that the country would have to clear outstanding debts before receiving new consignment.
The staff had embarked on the industrial action on Monday over what they called the governments failure to take action against private developers encroaching on the hospitals land.

Elvis Akuamoah, a senior staff of the hospital earlier indicated that attempts by management to have their issues addressed had proved futile.

He added that the situation was putting the lives of patients and workers at risk.

The staff subsequently embarked on a demonstration on Wednesday over the matter.

But after a meeting with the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, the workers of the hospital said that they have decided to call off the strike and resume work on Thursday.

Addressing the media after the meeting, a senior staff, Elvis Akuamoah, said that the Health Minister had intervened to stop the developers from building on the land while a lasting solution is found.

We are encouraged by the fact that he [Health Minister] considers this as a very important matter and he said that he hasnt seen any situation where individuals and private developers should take over the frontage of a hospital.
The affected persons include petty traders, flower and pots dealers, as well as, a construction company (name withheld).

The Ghana Highway Authority is expected to begin the expansion work right after the traders have moved.

Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta, the Ministry of Roads and Highways announced during a recent tour that another tunnel would be constructed to ease the vehicular traffic for motorists on that route.

Within the next six months, I have directed the team to create a second tunnel so that there will be continuous flow of traffic instead of the current alternating flow that we are experiencing.
The vice president, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who announced this, said that the move is to address the wide gap in the ratio of prisons to officers.

Speaking at the inauguration of a 13-member council for the Prisons Service on Tuesday, Dr Bawumia said that the situation about the ratio of personnel to inmates in the Ghana Prisons Service is the reason why the performance of our prisons service falls far below the required UN recommended standard.

To address this gap, government has requested the prisons service to initiate the process of recruitment to increase the personnel level and improve on our services. The Ghana Prisons Service has been given approval to recruit 1,000 personnel to make progress to meet international best practices in prison administration, he indicated.

The vice president further charged the newly-inaugurated 13-member Prisons Council to ensure the implementation of prison reforms to change the inhumane nature of Ghanas prisons.

Our facilities are inhumane, over-populated and crowded with the attendant threat of outbreaks of diseases, negative survival behaviours and human rights abuses, he said.
By PTI: Shillong, Jul 12 (PTI) The Border Security Force (BSF) today said it has taken up the matter of cattle smuggling with its counterparts in Bangladesh during the bi-annual meeting of the two forces here.

"During the conference, the BSF mainly focused on the issues of smuggling of cattle, the activities of Indian insurgents in Bangladesh, smuggling of gold and fake currency besides other trans-border crimes," a BSF spokesperson said here.

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The construction of single row fencing and developmental works at the border besides discussing on issues relating to maintain peace and tranquility along the border was also discussed, he said.

On the other hand, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) emphasised on the issues of firing, apprehension of unarmed Bangladesh nationals and illegal trespassing by Indian nationals into Bangladesh territory, the BSF official said.

The Bangladesh delegation was led by Additional Director General of Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB) M Zahid while BSF was represented by Tripura Frontier Inspector General U C Sarangi and IGs of Meghalaya and Mizoram and Cachar Frontier.

Both the border guarding forces agreed on finding out ways and means to keep the international border crime free and stressed upon the need of uplifting the border population residing on either side of the border, the BSF spokesperson said.

He said both the forces also agreed to render co-operation in sharing real time intelligence regarding presence and trans-border movement of the Indian insurgents. The last conference was held at Sylhet in November last year. PTI JOP RG PS

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The Toyota 44 SUV Land cruiser with registered number GV 2155-14, was found in a mechanic shop at Lebanon in Ashaiman.

READ ALSO: Tafo Police officer commits suicide

Reports from the residents of where the incident occurred say they felt quite suspicious and questioned the mechanic when they saw him dismantle the fairly new car although it was in proper condition.

The dubious residents reported their hunch of the vehicle being stolen to the police.

When the police arrived at the shop, the doors of the vehicle had been dismantled with the batteries also removed.

According to the residents, Daniel Korletey who owns the shop, told the police that the purpoted stolen vehicle was from his relative in Sunyani.

The Divisional Commander of the Ashaiman Police Unit, ASP Adika confirmed to journalists that the incident had occurred but it was too early to make any conclusions as investigations into the issue are still ongoing.
Residents who were still in shock over the incident told Accra FM that they heard a gunshot from the room of the deceased, Kofi Owusu on Wednesday morning.

It is still not clear what led to the suicide, but one of the residents said the police officer had received a call in the early hours of today [Wednesday] right after he had asked his girlfriend to leave him room.

His girlfriend agreed and left the room, the resident said.

But immediately after she had left, a gunshot was heard from the police officers room.

Residents subsequently rushed to his room and found him in a chair with a gunshot wound to his neck.
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The General Services Administration announced on Tuesday that it had removed Kaspersky from the list of approved vendors government agencies can use to obtain technology-related services.

"GSAs priorities are to ensure the integrity and security of U.S. government systems and networks and evaluate products and services available on our contracts using supply chain risk management processes," a GSA spokesperson told Politico.

Kaspersky is currently under active FBI counterintelligence investigation, and the Senate Intelligence Committee is also probing the nature of its relationship to the Kremlin, and called it an "important national security issue."

After it emerged last month that the FBI was interviewing American employees who work for Kaspersky, a company spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement that the firm had not been "officially approached or notified by the bureau about an investigation," and denied having any ties to the Russian government.

"The company has a 20 year history in the IT security industry of always abiding by the highest ethical business practices, and Kaspersky Lab believes it is completely unacceptable that the company is being unjustly accused without any hard evidence to back up these false allegations," the statement said.

The White House, Department of Homeland Security, General Services Administration, and other agencies were engaged in an "interagency review" of Kaspersky's possible risks for weeks before coming to a final decision, sources told ABC News.

Federal agencies will still be able to acquire Kaspersky's services if they choose, but it would need to be done outside of GSA contracts, and the process can be complex, Politico reported.

Kaspersky's products are widely used across the US, and officials worry that Russian state actors could exploit Kaspersky's software and gain access to sensitive user data as well as critical infrastructure.

Russia has increasingly emerged as a central figure following a slew of high-profile cyberattacks over the past few years. In addition to interfering in the US election, Russia is also thought to be the culprit behind an elaborate effort to turn Ukraine into a cyber-weapon testing ground.

In 2015, a massive cyberattack leveled against the country's power grid cut electricity to almost 250,000 Ukrainians. Cybersecurity experts linked the attack to IP addresses associated with Russia.

Since then, Wired magazine's Andy Greenberg reported, Ukraine has seen a growing crisis in which an increasing number of corporations and government agencies have been hit by cyberattacks in a "rapid, remorseless succession."

Officials also believe Russia may have been behind last month's "Petya" cyberattack that crippled countries and corporations across the globe.

And most recently, investigators have linked Russia to attacks on at least a dozen US nuclear facilities. The hacks, though confined to the enterprise side of the nuclear plants, raised red flags as they could be a preliminary step toward an attack against the US power grid, cybersecurity experts previously told Business Insider.

If that were the case, it would fit into a pattern adopted by Russia in the past, particularly as it relates to Ukraine.

Alex McGeorge, the head of threat intelligence at Immunity Inc., told Business Insider that instead of imposing economic sanctions in response to cyber threats, the US should retaliate by targeting key players in Russia's cyber industry. The Trump administration's move against Kaspersky may do just that.
Several White House aides and backers of President Donald Trump have in the days since the Trump Jr. bombshell dropped have pointed to a story involving a Democratic operative to claim that the Democratic presidential nominee was the beneficiary of information that originated in Ukraine.

The story: a Politico report from January.

The report detailed how veteran Democratic operative Alexandra Chalupa, a former Clinton administration staffer who maintained "strong ties to the Ukrainian-American diaspora and the US Embassy in Ukraine," met with Ukrainian ambassador Valeriy Chaly and Oksara Shulyar, one of his aides, at the Ukrainian embassy in March 2016 to discuss revealing information on Paul Manafort's connections to Russia. The conversation happened just days before Manafort, a former adviser to ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, was brought on as Trump's campaign chairman.

"The day after Manaforts hiring was revealed, she briefed the DNCs communications staff on Manafort, Trump and their ties to Russia, according to an operative familiar with the situation," Politico reported.

The report said Chalupa attempted to arrange an interview with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to discuss Manafort, but the embassy did not arrange such an interview.

But Chalupa told Politico the embassy was still "helpful."

"If I asked a question, they would provide guidance, or if there was someone I needed to follow up with," she said, but added that "there were no documents given, nothing like that."

White House push

White House rapid response director Andy Hemming blasted out the story to a press email list on Monday.

This, he said, was "active coordination" with a foreign government.

"Given the news that has been swirling today, I just wanted to remind everyone that the DNC explicitly worked with the Ukrainian government to undermine then-candidate Trump," he said of the Politico report. "This constitutes clear, active coordination between the DNC and a foreign government."

Some conservative outlets began to latch on. The report was highlighted in pieces from The Daily Caller and The Washington Times, as well as far-right, pro-Trump sites like The Gateway Pundit.

Trump Jr. himself voiced his opinion on the story, sharing The Daily Caller's write-up on Twitter.

"No outrage???" he wrote Tuesday morning, just hours before he self-published an email exchange that suggested he was promised damaging information on Clinton as part of the Russian government's support for Trump's candidacy.

Trump backers in and out of the White House repeated that sentiment in a number of settings.

Fox News host Sean Hannity asked on his Monday program "why" media outlets and Democrats didn't "freak out in January at a story that had real evidence."

"None of them will talk about" the Politico story, he said.

During an interview with NBC News host Stephanie Ruhle on Tuesday, Sebastian Gorka, a deputy assistant to Trump, cited the Politico story to deflect questions about Trump Jr.

After being asked about comments the Russian lawyer made about Trump Jr. hoping to glean damaging information on Clinton, Gorka said he could not speak to it. But what he did "know for a fact" was "that Democratic Party operatives went to the Ukrainian Embassy to coordinate oppositional research and attacks against our campaign."

"So that's a story that's not somebody meeting under false pretenses to talk about another issue," he continued. "That is Democratic operatives meeting with representatives of another government not people."

White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also pointed to the story on Monday and Tuesday.

"Ive been on several campaigns and people call offering information," she said in Monday's press briefing. "As I know many of you receive similar calls of people offering information. Don Jr. took a very short meeting from which there was absolutely no follow-up. Frankly, I think something that may make sense is looking at the Democrat National Committee coordinated opposition research directly with the Ukrainian Embassy."

"This is not an accusation, thats an on-the-record action that they took," she said. "So if youre looking for an example of a campaign coordinating with a foreign country or a foreign source, look no further than the DNC who actually coordinated opposition research with the Ukrainian Embassy. And no one in this room to my knowledge really had a big problem with that."

On Tuesday, when pressed deeper about her comments, she said she was "talking about simply the process and nothing beyond that."

I dont even want to justify it with a response

While multiple White House sources did not respond to requests for further comment from Business Insider, Democrats were quick to shoot down the comparisons.

"Meeting with Russians during the peak of their interference campaign is a betrayal of our country, and it should be fully investigated by the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees," Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, told Business Insider. "I don't even want to justify it with a response because the order of magnitude of what the Trump campaign is alleged to have done and what he is using as a defense  there's such a difference there."

One Clinton campaign veteran said "there is just no equivalence whatsoever," calling the latest defense a "haphazard attempt to muddy the waters."

The former Clinton staffer said he was unaware of any coordination between Clinton aides and Ukrainian officials on anti-Trump efforts. He said Clinton herself met with Poroshenko once in New York at the United Nations General Assembly last September, "the one contact I know the campaign had with Ukrainian officials."

"Separately, it's worth noting that unlike Russia, Ukraine is an American ally  and it's not surprising that they would've preferred Hillary Clinton win the presidency rather than a man who constantly praised Putin and whose campaign manager had an unsavory history in Ukraine," the former staffer added.

Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic staffer who was a top spokesperson for the Clinton campaign, told Business Insider in an email that "it's honestly just sad" the Trump team "can't explain partnering with a hostile foreign power to win the White House, so they're trying to distract with conspiracy theories about someone who isn't in the White House."

"Can you imagine if Nixon defended himself during Watergate by talking about how the McGovern campaign visited offices?" he continued. "Not only don't the American people buy it, but it confirms for everyone that the Trump administration has no defense for recruiting the aid and comfort from our enemies to help get elected."

It was that last point on which Liz Mair, a Republican communications consultant who has been critical of Trump, zeroed in as important in this debate.

"The big difference between Clinton/Ukraine and Trump/Russia is that Ukraine is not our enemy; Russia pretty obviously is, per common sense," she tweeted.
Longtime Trump attorney Marc Kasowitz and his team have directed their grievance at Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior White House adviser.

Citing a person familiar with Trump's legal team, The Times said Kasowitz has bristled at Kushner's "whispering in the president's ear" about stories on the Russia investigation without telling Kasowitz and his team.

The Times' source said the attorneys, who were hired as private counsel to Trump in light of the Russia investigation, view Kushner "as an obstacle and a freelancer" motivated to protect himself over Trump. The lawyers reportedly told colleagues the work environment among Trump's inner circle was untenable, The Times said, suggesting Kasowitz could resign.

Kushner has long had Trump's ear and it is not the first time his familial connection to the president has ruffled feathers among outsiders. Kushner clashed with White House chief strategist Steve Bannon early in Trump's administration, which briefly stirred rumors that Bannon could be pushed out.
While discussing Russian President Vladimir Putin's veiled campaign against ISIS, which experts largely believe is focused on keeping the government of Russia's ally Syria in power, Carlson said: "I'm not vouching for Putin's character. He seems like a shady guy, a strongman for sure.

"Hard to see why he's a threat to us," he continued. "Why not just accept that people who are bad people share our interest and side with them?"

"You sound like Charles Lindbergh in 1938 saying, 'Hitler hasn't attacked us,'" Peters said.

Although Lindbergh warned the US of Germany's advancement in aviation technology in the 1930s, he received criticism after he was honored by the Nazi government and suggested the US ought to negotiate a neutrality pact.

"I beg your pardon," Carlson said. "Hey, slow down, colonel. You cannot compare me to someone who can make apologies for Hitler. And I don't think Putin is comparable to Hitler."

"I think Putin is," Peters replied.

"I think it's a grotesque overstatement, actually," Carlson said. "I think it's insane."

"Fine, you can think it's insane all you want," Peters said.

"You just compared me to a Nazi apologist because I asked a simple question," Carlson said. "Which is: Why does it contravene American interests to make common cause with a group that's trying to kill ISIS?"

"Because he invaded his neighbors, broken the long peace in Europe," Peters said of Putin. "He assassinates dissidents and journalists. He bombs women and children on purpose in Syria. He is as bad as Hitler."

The US has imposed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Crimea in 2014. Putin has been accused of ordering the killings of people who have criticized the Russian government, and Russia has been accused of targeting Syrian civilians in its bombing campaign in the country last year.

"And I'm sorry, if you don't like the Charles Lindbergh thing, I will retract that," Peters said. "But let's just say you sound like someone in 1938 saying, 'What's Hitler done to us?'

"Putin is the equivalent of Hitler," he continued.

"I would hate to go back and read your columns assuring America that taking out Saddam Hussein will make the region calmer, more peaceful, and America safer when, in fact, it has done exactly the opposite, and it has empowered Russia and Iran, the two countries you say you fear most," Carlson said, referring to Peters' support of the US's invasion of Iraq in 2003.

"Let's just be totally honest here: We don't always know the outcomes," Carlson continued. "So maybe we should lower the moral tone a little bit, rather than calling people 'accomodationists.'"

"You made your career being an American conservative patriot, and now you're suddenly cheering for Vladimir Putin?" Peters said.

"I'm not in any sense cheering for Vladimir Putin," Carlson said. "I am cheering for America as always. Our interests ought to come first. And to the extent that making temporary alliances with other countries serve our interests, I am in favor of that. Making sweeping moral claims, grotesque ones, comparing people to Hitler, advances the ball not one inch."

"Vladimir Putin is comparable," Peters said. "He hates America. He wants to hurt us. And I'm sorry, all this suddenly 'Vladimir Putin is a good guy, Russia's OK'  not it's not. Russia is evil. Russia is our enemy."

"You're not talking about dealing with them," Peters said later. "You're talking about an alliance, an anti-terror alliance."

"A good deed is a good deed, no matter who commits it," Carlson said. "Why not just say that?"

National-security experts have said that Russia's claim that it's fighting ISIS, especially in Syria, is disingenuous, and that its interference in the country's six-year civil war aims to ensure Syrian President Bashar Assad, an ally, remains in power.

"Whatever they do against ISIS is done to protect themselves or to support Assad," said Jim Townsend, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy, according to Vox. "It's a different kind of fight for them."

The heated exchange between Carlson and Peters lasted over six minutes. Toward the end, the interview took a lighter tone after Carlson asked Peters, "And do you speak Arabic, by the way?"

"No, I don't," Peters said. "How's your Russian?"
The complainant was trying to separate a fight between the accused and her mother.

Ukwaugu, 57, of No. 31, Oyebanjo St., Ketu in Lagos State, is facing a two-count charge of causing grievous harm and wounding.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Lucky Ihiehie, told the court that the offence was committed on June 30, at Oyebanjo Street, Ketu, Lagos.

He said the complainant of Oladunni Street, Soteyi-Gbadaga, on behalf of the victims came to the Ifako Police Station to report a case of assault.

Ihiehie said the complainant, 26- year-old Chinonye Okoro, reported that at 7.30 p. m. she heard her mother shouting, she went downstairs and saw the accused and his son holding her mothers dress.

She went to separate them from harming her mother (the landlady of the compound) and in the course of that, the accused used a pestle to hit the back of her head and the force drove her to hit her forehead on a wall.

The son of the accused used a knife to chase the Landlady, a 52- year-old woman, round the compound and when she saw blood gushing from her daughters head, she took her to the police station."

He said the offence committed contravened Sections 243 and 244 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

The accused, who went on his knees, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Magistrate, Mrs O. Sule-Amzat, however, granted him bail in the sum of N50, 000 with two reliable sureties.
According to reports, CBI is carrying out raids at 14 locations in Kolkata and 16 in Ranchi.

By Atir Khan: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting raids at 30 locations in Ranchi and Kolkata in connection with shell companies suspected of being involved in hawala dealings.

According to reports, CBI is carrying out raids at 14 locations in Kolkata and 16 in Ranchi. Raids are also being conducted at premises ofTapas K Dutta, principal secretary, Income Tax-Department at Salt Lake in Kolkata and Ranchi.

West Bengal: CBI raids premises of Tapas K Dutta, principal secretary, IT-department-Ranchi, in Salt Lake, Kolkata pic.twitter.com/xQV2WNEChV- ANI (@ANI_news) July 12, 2017

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More details awaited.

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After CBI raids on Lalu Prasad Yadav, ED searches farms of Misa Bharti, husband Shailesh in Delhi

Despite CBI, ED raids and corruption taint, Nitish Kumar unlikely to break ties with Lalu Prasad Yadav

Tejashwi Yadav won't resign as Bihar Deputy CM, say RJD MLAs over raids on Yadav properties

--- ENDS ---
Daily News reports that Idris, a resident of Maska village in Funtua Local Government Area of the state, was accused of using charms to hypnotize the women and having sexual intercourse with them without their consent.

The accused who is facing charges of rape and 'attempt to commit an offense to wit causing miscarriage', was said to have lied to his victims that their husbands were wizards and members of the occult.

While recommending that he should be remanded in prison, Senior Magistrate Abdulkareem Umar, adjourned the case till July 24, 2017, for mention while waiting for advice from the Department of Public Prosecutions [DPR].

The police had told the court that the husband of one of the victims, Muntari Samaila, lodged a complaint against Idris at the Funtua Central Police station.

Samaila reportedly told the police that his wife, Maimunatu, 19, had informed him that Idris who claimed to be a soothsayer, had called her on phone, asking her to come down to his house located also at Maska village.

He added that on getting to the house, Idris allegedly told Maimunatu that her husband was a wizard and that he would help her to tackle him.

The accused was said to have thereafter prepared some concoction for Maimunatu to drink to abort her one-month pregnancy after which he recited some incantations.

Sumaila further told the police that the accused subsequently had sex with his wife and warned her not to tell anyone.
Punch reports that Emeobi was arrested in Nnewi following a tipoff, alongside her friend, Nchedoch Richard, 26, after they connived to sell the baby to a female child trafficker simply identified as First Lady who is now at large.

While parading the suspects alongside other suspects, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Garba Umar, disclosed that they were nabbed on July 8, 2017, at about 11 am by detectives attached to the Nnewi Police Division.

Umar said that to conceal her dastardly act, Emeobi reported at the police station that she left her baby with a yet to be ascertained woman who absconded with the baby.

But on investigations, it was discovered that she was actually the one who sold her baby and used the proceed to buy herself a motorcycle.
ANDI was established in 2008 to create a sustainable platform for Research, Development and Innovation in Africa to address Africas own health needs.

ANDI Executive Director, Mr Solomon Nwaka, made this known when he visited the Dr Onu Ogbonnaya, the Minister of Science and Technology on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that the organisation, therefore, was seeking partnership with Federal Ministry of Science and Technology toward symbiotic relationship to promote research.

According to him, ANDI will achieve the aim through discovery, development and delivery of affordable new tools, including those based on traditional medicines.

The African Network for Drug and Diagnostics recognises the importance of African entrepreneurship, especially to sustainably address the burden of neglected tropical diseases of poverty.

It will intensify effort in facilitating the contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in biopharmaceutical innovation in Africa, he said.

Nwaka observed the need to invest in the translation of Africa innovations from bench to market by the advancing existing capacity.

He said that the focus of ANDI was to build capacity and strengthen partnerships to address the health needs of the African population through intra-African collaboration.

Responding, Onu affirmed the readiness of the ministry to collaborate with any organisation aimed at promoting development in the nation.
It was learnt that three persons sustained injuries in the bombing which was said to have occurred around Molai Kalamari at exactly 10 pm on Tuesday, July 11.

The two bombers detonated their explosives around Molai Kalamari - the second explosion took place at Sabongari Polo area of the state capital, The Cable reports, citing a security source.

"I cannot specifically tell you whether the suicide bombers were male or female. But we have deployed emergency response team to the scene," the source said.

A resident of Molai Kalamari, Ibrahim Baba, also 'confirmed' the attacks.

"We all woke up in fear and shock. The sound was loud as if it happened inside my house," he said.

Boko Haram has recently renewed attacks in Maiduguri and its environs, the last being the attack on a male hostel in the University of Maiduguri on Friday, July 7.

ALSO READ: Civilians in the crossfire of terrorists and the military
"Mama Akande was a caring and loving mother not only to her biological children but also to all of us who have come in contact with her while until her demise, she was an obedient, caring, loving, dutiful and loyal wife to our dear Chief Akande," Obasa said.

He also noted that those who have come in contact with her will attest to her humility, wisdom, care and courage especially the solid support she had provided for her husband all through.

ALSO READ: Bisi Akande loses wife in Ibadan

"We will really miss Mama because I know we still need her wisdom and words of advice. But we are happy that she lived a good life worthy of emulation," Rt. Hon. Obasa said.

While commiserating with the Akande family of Ila Orangun in Osun State, Rt. Hon. Obasa prayed that God gives the family the fortitude to bear the loss.

Chief Akande, a former Governor of Osun State and ex-National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), lost his wife on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at the age of 73.
Speaking at a public hearing organised by the House Ad hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution at the National Assembly, Dogara also revealed that the parliament will not constitute a stumbling block to the wishes and aspirations of Nigerians for genuine changes in the Constitution.

The Speaker explained that the process of amending the Constitution by the 8th House of Representatives is in phases and that it is a continuous exercise as envisaged under Section 9 of the Constitution.

He said, "Agitations for restructuring of the Governance framework for Nigeria can only be done through alterations of the Constitution. I wish to say, that the House of Representatives and indeed the National Assembly is ready to do its part in terms of amending the Constitution when consensus have been reached on any matter by stakeholders and Nigerian citizens."

The public hearing was organised to get stakeholders' input on "A Bill For An Act to Alter The Constitution Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria, 1999 (s Amended) To Reflect The Proposals Initiated By The Judiciary (HB858)" which was presented to the House by Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice W. S. N. Onnoghen, CFR and is said to be a consolidation of all the recommendations requiring Constitution alterations by Heads of Courts and Judicial Bodies. The primary purpose is to alter the provisions of the Constitution to effect some Judicial reforms.

"Furthermore, we note that the age limit for various offices currently contained in the Constitution is the minimum not maximum. The wisdom of raising the minimum ages for various offices should be appraised further to ensure that brilliant and exceptional persons are not shut out on grounds of age," Dogara said.
According to Reuters, she questioned the planned foreign loans of $2 billion from lenders like the World Bank.

The Federal Government had planned to borrow extensively from overseas to fund a record budget aimed at helping the country spend its way out of its first recession in 25 years.

But plans to borrow the $2 billion the World Bank and the African Development Bank have been stalled for over a year as frustrations from organisations mounted at the Nigeria's refusal to impose key fiscal reforms such as allowing its foreign exchange rate to float freely.

Adeosun, who spoke at a business forum in Abuja, suggested that the government would no longer seek such loans, or an additional $1.5 billion it had planned to raise from international debt markets.

"We cannot borrow any more, we just have to generate funds domestically enough to fund our budget and mobilise revenue to fund the necess

ary budget increase," she said.

In May, the Nigeria's Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, said the country had a shortfall of $7.5 billion for the 2017 budget expenditure, and added that would be addressed with $3.5 billion from the aforementioned loans and debt.

ALSO READ: Federation revenue shrinks by N52.1 billion in April

The government also planned to raise $4 billion from the local debt market, Udoma had said.

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo signed the N7.44 trillion 2017 budget in June, after numerous delays.
While China commented on the LoC firing, it was silent on Monday's terrorist attack targeting Amarnath yatra pilgrims.

By Ananth Krishnan: China on Wednesday in unusual comments on Kashmir said the recent firing across the LoC between India and Pakistan had "attracted international attention", but was silent on the terrorist attack on Amarnath pilgrims.

Responding to a question at a daily briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said, "The situation in Kashmir has attracted attention of international community. Both India and Pakistan are important countries in South Asia. Conflicts occurred near the LoC in Kashmir. This will not only harm peace and stability of two countries but peace and tranquility of region."

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But even as China commented on the LoC firing, it was silent on Monday's terrorist attack targeting Amarnath yatra pilgrims that left at least seven people killed and many injured.

Beijing also said it was "willing to play a constructive role in improving relations between India and Pakistan," although India will be cool to such a prospect considering Beijing's increasing intervention in Kashmir through its investments in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (Pok).

"We hope relevant sides can do more things that are conducive to peace and stability in the region and avoid escalating tensions," said Geng.

ALSO READ:

Post Amarnath Yatra terror attack, Sangh wants Valley under president's rule

Amarnath Yatra terror attack: Army chief tells jawans to keep up pressure on terrorists

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Kashmir inching towards President's Rule: Omar Abdullah to India Today

--- ENDS ---
The industrial action embarked upon by the school's Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has gotten the attention of the senator representing Lagos East.

In a statement by Temitope Atiba, a media aide to Ashafa, the Senator made the call while contributing to a motion Sponsored by the Senator representing Oyo North, Senator Buhari Abdulfatai on the Urgent need for the Federal Government to intervene in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology debacle in order to save the future of innocent Youths.

Ashafa, who is also a co-sponsor of the motion, stated that both the Oyo and Osun State Governments have failed the Students of LAUTECH who have been at home for a long time due to the inability of the State Governments to meet the demands of the Academic Staff. 

In his words, there are so many consequences for idleness, most importantly the vices that these students have become susceptible to; including prostitution and cultism even off campus like the Badoo group which we have witnessed in Ikorodu and its environs in the recent past.

ALSO READ:LAUTECH SUG president appeals to FG to take over university

I urge my colleagues to support this motion and call on the Federal Government to intervene through the Ministry of Education, Nigerian Universities Commission or any relevant department of Government to bring the strike action to an end.

Ladoke Akintola University jointly owned by the Oyo and Osun State Governments has been on strike for over a year now, following the inability of both state governments to pay the salaries of the academic and non- academic staff of the higher institution.
The Senate had slashed the budget of Fashola's ministry for key projects such as the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in the 2017 Appropriation Act.

The lawmakers also inserted projects outside ministry's purview in the budget, a move the minister protested.

Speaking to State House correspondents on Tuesday, July 11, Fashola said he is not fighting with the National Assembly but admitted that there was a misunderstanding.

He stressed that the disagreement should not be seen as personal but one geared towards finding best ways to implement the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

"There is no problem between me, as an individual, and the National Assembly. And let me make that very clear, many of the Senators and honourable members are my personal friends. So, you dont fight your friends," he said.

Fashola said the National Assembly leadership had expressed "enormous support" for the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan but there is a disagreement over how to implement it.

He added, "Now, there is also a disagreement, which I dont think should make us disagreeable, about the best way to implement that plan. And I think that is all that there is to it.

"It is, perhaps, possible that in the heat of the moment, while trying to canvass our different positions, we are misconstrued as fighting but I am not fighting anybody.

"I have a disagreement; it shouldnt make us disagreeable. And the way I see it, even in homes, between husband and wife, there are disagreements about which school their children should go to, how much to pay for education, how much to spend on food. That doesnt mean they reach out for the divorce courts.
Ajao, Chairman, Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps (LNSC), made the appeal during a security town hall meeting organised by the corps for communities in and around Ikorodu.

He described the killing of suspected badoo members by a mob as uncivilised.

If anyone arrests any suspect, he should hand him over to the police for investigation and possible prosecution.

Juggle justice is not the solution to crime and criminality.

I, therefore, appeal that such an action should stop. The police in Lagos are doing well and they have all it takes to handle the situation.

All they need is information. That is the reason for this meeting. Badoo boys are human beings, they live with us; people must say what they know about them.

I want all private security organisations to register with LNSC so that we can work together, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that traditional rulers, religious leaders, transporters, traders, the youth, military, paramilitary and private security organisations attended the meeting.

The traditional ruler of Imota, Oba Mudasiru Agoro, who spoke on behalf of traditional rulers, urged security agencies, particularly the police, to deploy intelligence officers to the grassroots to get information.

He also urged security agencies to share information, while urging the communities to know people around them.

Other speakers at the meeting agreed to any measure the government and security agencies were taking to address the badoo menace.

NAN reports that more than six persons suspected to be members of badoo cult have be killed by a mob in Ikorodu in the past two months.
This followed a motion moved by Mr Bisi Yusuff, the Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts (Locals) and seconded by Mr Segun Olulade, the Chairman, House Committee on Health.

The motion co-sponsored by some lawmakers and passed on Tuesday, July 11, 2017, was entitled: Need To Curb Indiscriminate Cutting of Roads In Lagos State.

Yusuf said: The House is disturbed by indiscriminate cutting of roads for laying of pipes and cables, among others without approval.

A person shall not dig across any road or setback purpose without a written approval or permit of the relevant authority.

It shall be the duty of the person, who lawfully digs a road or setback to reinstate the part of the road dug within seven days.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, in conjunction with relevant agencies, should embark on enlightenment campaign of the public.

This should be done with a view to educating residents on indiscriminate cutting of roads, penalties for defaulters and the danger inherent in such action.

The lawmaker said that if indiscriminate cutting of roads was not checked by the appropriate authorities, it might jeopardise the good intention of the state government for expending huge amount on roads.

Yusuff commended Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode for delivering the construction of 114 roads across the 57 local government areas as well as the planned construction of another 181 roads.

He said that all these were parts of the efforts of the state government to sustain the Lagos Mega City status.

The House then called on Ambode to direct the Commissioners for Works and Infrastructure, as well as Local Government and Community Affairs to ensure strict compliance with the provision of Environment Management and Protection Law, 2017.

The assembly also called on the governor to direct the Commissioner for the Environment and other relevant agencies to ensure strict monitoring of all roads within the state to apprehend offender(s).

The Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, urged the community leaders to join hands with the state government to protect public facilities from damage.

The community leaders should call the attention of the appropriate authorities whenever they discover any cutting of the roads, he said.

Obasa said that leaders in Community Development Associations (CDAs), Community Development Committees (CDCs) and others should report any offender to appropriate authorities to curb the menace.

The speaker, after a voice vote, passed the motion and directed the Clerk of the House, Mr Azeez Sanni, to communicate the Houses resolution to the governor.
Okorocha gave the directive while handing over letters of recognition and staffs of office to 19 newly recognized traditional rulers in the State in Owerri on Tuesday.

He directed that every monarch must only speak in Igbo at functions and in their palaces, adding that interpreters could be employed if the need arises.

He also told traditional rulers in the state to be agents of peace, progress and prosperity in their respective domains instead of being tools of disunity and destabilization.

He warned that any traditional ruler who could not show genuine leadership in his autonomous community would have his Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office withdrawn.

The governor further encouraged the new traditional rulers to help the government to develop the resources of the state while urging them to rule equitably.

Every community requires an Eze to function effectively as the head of the Community Government Council. Today, that responsibility has fallen on you.

I urge you not to fail as failure is not an option and I encourage you to help the government in developing the resources of our land.

Remember that to whom much is given much is expected. This whole exercise you must understand is not an election or appointment to enable you distinguish between those who love you and those who hate you.

Today, you are an Eze, and you must be the Eze for everyone both those against you and those who were for you. I advise you to take all of them along and embrace peace.

Your first assignment should be to invite those who were against you to make peace in your land as no Eze can function effectively if there is no peace in your land, he said.

Delivering a vote of thanks vote of thanks, Eze Lucky Ajoku of Ihiagwa Autonomous Community, promised that they will embrace peace.
According to Osinbajo's spokesperson, Laolu Akande, the acting president will be meeting with the ailing president in London in a couple of hours.

It's the first time Osinbajo will be jetting out of the country to see Buhari since the latter commenced his stop-start medical vacations last year.

While there is little information concerning how long the acting president will be with president Buhari, Akande said his principal will be returning to Nigeria immediately afterwards.

The tweet from the account of Akande read: "AgP Osinbajo meeting with President Buhari in London today, and returning to Abuja immediately afterwards."

ALSO READ: Acting President backs discourse on terms of national existence

Buhari left Nigeria for London on May 7, 2017 and was last heard in a Sallah audio that underscored just how gravely ill he's become.

Buhari's ailment has also not been disclosed.

First Lady Aisha Buhari just returned from a trip to see her husband as well. She has promised that 'Hyenas and Jackals' will soon be kicked from within yards of the nation's corridors of power in Abuja.

Buhari last returned to Nigeria from a medical vacation on March 10 after spending 51 days in a London apartment.

He's spent 65 days on his latest trip thus far.
In a statement, Spokesman of the commission, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said the protesting group came under the aegis of Most Aggrieved Pensioners.

According to Uwujaren, the pensioners demanded investigation into the utilisation of bailout funds received by the State Government from the Federal Government.

They reportedly bore placards with inscriptions such as; Mr Governor, Fulfil your 2017 May Day promises to Edo State pensioners without further delay, Care for human life and happiness is good governance, among others.

Mr G. Osemwenkha, who led the group, said the non-payment of their pension by the state government had turned them into beggars and destitutes.

Osemwenkha said the government had no excuse for failing to fulfill its pension obligations having received bailout funds from the Federal Government.

We are aware that the Federal Government gave the state government the sum of N11.38 billion and another N12.18 billion to pay all outstanding bills in the state.

But as we speak, we have not been paid our pensions. We cant pay our bills nor take care of our families.

We request that the EFCC investigate what the sum sent by the federal government was used for, he said.

The EFCC Zonal Head, Mailafia Yakuba, commended the protesters for their peaceful conduct.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the deceased, who was 73, died on Tuesday evening at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, following a brief illness.

NAN reports that among the dignitaries who were at the Ila-Orangun country home of the Akandes were Mr Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Chief John Oyegun, the APC National Chairman and Alhaji Lawan Shuaibu, the partys National Deputy Chairman.

Also in attendance were Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun and his Oyo State counterpart, Gov. Abiola Ajimobi, as well as Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture.

Dr Kayode Fayemi, the Minister of Solid Minerals and Mr Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Works, Power and Housing were also there.

Kyari, who led the presidential delegation, described the deceased as a loss to the nation.

Yesternight, I received a call from Acting President Yemi Osinbajo while he was with President Muhammadu Buhari in London.

 He gave me the news of Madam Akandes death and said that the president and himself are very sad over the sudden death of Mrs Akande.

 He there after directed that I lead a presidential delegation to Ila-Orangun immediately to condole with Chief Akande, he said.

Kyari, however, said a formal communication from the presidency would reach Chief Akande in a few hours.

Oyegun, on his part, stated that though sad, gratitude must be expressed to God as the deceased passed on peacefully into eternity.

The APC is very sorry and deeply touched about the death of your wife. It is clear that she has found favour.

We thank God that she was not subjected to sufferings and did not suffer humiliation. While we mourn, we give glory to God, he said.

Ajimobi expressed sadness at the demise of the deceased, saying he was, however, pleased that she witnessed the marriage of her last child two weeks ago.

On behalf of the people of Oyo State, I want to register our sadness on the loss of Madam Omowunmi Akande.

I am particularly pleased that Mama achieved three things before her death; Mama witnessed the marriage of her last child, she had a glorious exit and she left a legacy of godliness, he said.

Aregbesola described the death as sad and an irreparable loss to a great leader, Osun and the country.

This development is overwhelmingly painful because we need Baba Akandes attention now more than ever.

Baba knows more than we do about lifes entry and exit. The entry is always with joy, while the departure is with grief and sadness, he said.

NAN learnt that the news of the death was broken to her husband in Ibadan on Tuesday at exactly 7.30pm.
THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

Osinbajo holds secret meeting with President Buhari in London

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday secretly travelled to London in the United Kingdom where he held a meeting with ailing President Muhammadu Buhari.This is coming as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) holds tomorrow. The Acting President presides over the Council.

Osinbajo appoints 19 judges for national industrial court

The Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has approved the appointment of 19 judges for National Industrial Court of Nigeria.The appointment was based on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC).

'Etisalat must change domain name in three weeks'

As part of the restructuring process and to keep its over 20 million customers afloat, Etisalat Nigeria must change its domain name, the www. etisalat. com.ng within the next three weeks.

__________________________________________________

VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

Osinbajo rushes to U. K to see BuhariACTING President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo Tuesday travelled to London to see President Muhammadu Buhari who has been on medical vacation for about two months now.

Failed politicians beating war drums in Nigeria  Gen. Abubakars Peace CtteeThe National Peace Committee headed by former Head of State, Gen. AbdulSalam Abubakar, has chided promoters of division and hate speeches for trying to cause apprehension and trouble in the land.

Nigeria can't borrow, needs alternative sources of funds - Adeosun

The Federal Government said, yesterday, that Nigeria can no longer borrow money to fund its budget.

__________________________________________________

THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

Osinbajo flies to London on Buharis invitation

The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday left Nigeria for London, United Kingdom, where he is scheduled to meet ailing President Muhammadu Buhari.

Herdsmen convert Abuja stadium into grazing field

Fulani herdsmen have converted the National Stadium, Abuja, into a fertile land for cattle pasture as weeds overtake the package B section of the $360m facility.

Two OSBC workers suspended for supporting Adeleke

Two workers of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation have been suspended indefinitely by the management of the corporation for allegedly calling Governor Rauf Aregbesola an unprintable name on a WhatsApp group, You and I.

__________________________________________________

THE BUSINESSDAY NEWSPAPER

Dollar flow raises capacity utilisation in manufacturing sector to 60%

Capacity utilisation in Nigerias manufacturing sector spiked to 59.18 percent in the second half of 2016, the highest in more than five years.

Nigeria plans to slow down on borrowing

Nigerias minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, on Tuesday hinted of plans to slow down borrowing, as the countrys debt profile balloons.

Gencos accused of rejecting gas supply
China began construction of a logistics base in strategically located Djibouti last year that will resupply naval vessels taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular.

By Reuters: Ships carrying Chinese military personnel for Beijing's first overseas military base, in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, have left China to begin setting up the facility as China's rapidly modernising military hones its global reach.

Djibouti's position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worries in India that it would become another of China's "string of pearls" of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

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China began construction of a logistics base in strategically located Djibouti last year that will resupply naval vessels taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular.

This will be China's first overseas naval base, although Beijing officially describes it as a logistics facility.

State news agency Xinhua said in a short report late on Tuesday the ships had departed from Zhanjiang in southern China "to set up a support base in Djibouti".

Navy commander Shen Jinlong "read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti" but the report did not say when the base might formally begin operations.

Xinhua said the establishment of the base was a decision made by both countries after "friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides".

"The base will ensure China's performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia," it said.

"The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways," the Xinhua report.

NOT MILITARY EXPANSIONISM

The People's Liberation Army Daily said in a front-page commentary this was a landmark move that would increase China's ability to ensure global peace, especially because it has so many United Nations peacekeepers in Africa and is so involved in anti-piracy patrols.

China would not seek military expansionism or get into arms races no matter what happened, it said.

"These promises will not change because of the construction of the overseas logistics base," it said.

The state-run Global Times said in an editorial on Wednesday there could be no mistake that this was in fact a military base.

"Certainly this is the People's Liberation Army's first overseas base and we will base troops there. It's not a commercial resupply point. It makes sense there is attention on this from foreign public opinion," said the paper, which is published by the official People's Daily, said.

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However, China's military development was about protecting its own security, it said. "It's not about seeking to control the world."

Djibouti, which is about the size of Wales, is located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal. The tiny, barren nation sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts U.S., Japanese and French bases.

There has been persistent speculation in diplomatic circles that China would build other such bases, in Pakistan for example, but the government has dismissed this.

ALSO READ:

Doklam standoff won't hit India-China economic, cultural ties: Chinese embassy official

Another armed conflict with India not out of question, says China expert

ALSO WATCH:

China shuts down Nathu La pass in Sikkim: All you need to know

--- ENDS ---
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tinubu arrived Ila-Orangun at exactly 5.40 pm in a chopper.

Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, was welcomed to Ila-Oragun by Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun.

He told the former Interim National Chairman of the APC that Omowunmi, his late wife, lived a fulfilled life worthy of emulation.

Tinubu said that the deceased was a God- fearing woman who lived an exemplary life.

Amosun, who arrived the Ila-Orangun country home of the Akandes at exactly 6.15 pm, also paid tributes to the late matriarch of the family.

NAN reports that the remains of the deceased were received by Aregbesola, Ajimobi and Tinubu in Ila-Orangun.
Olumegbon said this at the resumed hearing of a suit challenging the legitimacy of Akiolu as the Oba of Lagos.

Olumegbon, who in his evidence explained the process for the selection by kingmakers, said: We received the application of those who were selected by their various ruling houses.

To ensure transparency, we requested that the names be submitted through the Olori Omo Oba.

All the envelopes containing the names of the applicants as received were sent for Ifa divination and one by one, the names were screened.

When the name containing Akiolus name was done, they shouted ejiogbe, that is, this is the man that will rule well and bring the desired changes.

Apart from that, Akiolu was the first Oba unanimously selected by all the six kingmakers, in fact, he scored 6-0.

The kingmaker added that when a particular name was investigated by the ifa priests, it was outrightly rejected because the candidate was an alcoholic and a womaniser and that he would not handle the throne properly as a result of the vices.

While being cross-examined by Mr Babatunde Fashanu (SAN), the counsel to the claimants , Olumegbon, said that a 90-day rule where an Oba could not be selected until after 90 days did not exist in the selection of Obas in Lagos State.

Oba Dosunmu was chosen same day his predecessor died, same for my grandfather, Olumegbon told the court.

Fashanu also enquired why minutes of the kingmakers meeting were being recorded contrary to customary practice.

Responding, Olumegbon said the minutes were not being kept in previous times because the kingmakers of old were not literate.

What is happening today would have not been easy to defend if not for the records of minutes.

He added that he followed due process in the selection of Akiolu as Oba.

Any kingmaker could crown the Oba and Oba Akiolu was crowned by a member of Eletu Edibo family, he noted.

He explained that every eligible prince must trace his lineage to Ado, the first Oba of Lagos, through the two ruling houses of Olugunkutere and Akinsemoyin, excluding the Sokun family that was settled with special title.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Akiolus title is being challenged by Prince Adedoyin Adebiyi and Prince Rasheed Modile, both of the Akinsemoyin Ruling House of Lagos.

Adebiyi and Modile were candidates chosen by the Akinsemoyin Ruling House to contest the Obaship in 2003 after the demise of Oba Adeyinka Oyekan, in 2003.

They lost the race to Akiolu, who they alleged had no rightful claim to the throne.

Joined in the suit as respondents are the state governor and the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Prince Awobade Pearse.

Others are the representative of the Ologun Kutere Ruling House and Chief J.J. Junaid-Eko and the head of the traditional white cap chiefs of Lagos.

Other respondents include Prince Kola Balogun and Mr Musibau Kelani, who are the respectively the Head and Secretary of the Eshilokun Royal Family.
In a recent interview with Pulse Nigeria, the actress who is making her return to the movie industry with the Moses Inwang movie spoke about how she created her chemistry with her co-actors, Wale Ojo and Kunle Remi.

"I was meeting all these guys for the first time. So, it was... I won't say awkward. It was just new, fresh," she said.

"You know, like you are meeting someone for the first time and you're going to have these heavy scenes with them. So you want to see where their head is at and stuffs like that."

"But like I said, I felt like I was working with professionals, so I didn't feel like I needed to put them straight. I hung out with them.

"The first day we were on set, I remember we joked a lot and talked about thing, so he [Remi] relaxed. So when it was time, he just did his job flawlessly.

"Wale, I'm sure you already know he is a crazy man."

The actress who took time off the movie industry to rediscover her passion, also spoke about what makes the character different from her past roles.

According to her, she did her research before she could believed the existence of extreme post traumatic stress disorder as in the case of Ada Igwe.

"When I first got the script, I actually thought it was not real. I thought why would anyone play out that way because of that," she explained.

She also spoke about the relevance of the sex scenes interpreted in the upcoming movie, "Alter Ego."

According to her, the scenes were necessary and some changes were also made.

"There were some [sex scenes] we tweaked, some we changed. Also having in mind the society we are in, so how could we push the envelope and do what we needed to do without looking funny, and still not come out to be unnecessarily vulgar?

"It was a very difficult line to thread on, but I think we did the best we possibly could."

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde described the movie as something Nigerians would be proud of.

"Go see "Alter Ego," I'm sure it's going to be extremely worth your time. I don't want to be all braggy braggy, but we worked, we enjoyed the process. I think it's something people would be really proud of."

The actress also spoke about cheating for the camera, how much role she played in creating and developing her character, Ada Igwe.
In a statement, the constituents of Kwara Senatorial District from where Saraki emerged, announced plans to recall the senate president.

In a press statement on Tuesday, July 11, 2017, the group apologized to Nigerians for electing the senate president; alleging he hasn't represented them as much as they would have liked.

The statement reads: Realizing the extent of damages done by the man we supplied to Nigeria as our contribution, we take full responsibility for his stay in the Senate while representing us, though we regret his actions.

It further read: We voted for the wrong people, when we should have voted for change, they lamented. We are therefore declaring that, in line with the provisions of Nigerian constitution, we the people of Kwara Central under the Kwara Must Change platform have decided to commence the process of recall against the Senate President to pave way for a more responsible senator that will represent us well, so we can begin to get better results from Nigeria.

Signed by the President of the group, Abdulrazaq O Hamzat, the group said: "We the people of Kwara State are not happy with what we are getting from Nigeria, but we realized that from Nigeria, we can only get what we give. Since we are not satisfied with the result we are getting from the leadership of our nation, we have decided to review our input.

"During the just concluded Sallah Celebration, KwaraMust Change group uses the opportunity of the public holiday to meet and deliberate on the state of the nation, as well as the current state of things in our dear Kwara state.

"The leaders of our group, from across the length and breathe of the state all contributed to the discussion and in the process, we heard different tales of agony being experienced by our people on daily basis. Tears were visible in the eyes of many.

"After careful consideration of all factors that are responsible for the stagnation of our nations progress, both at the state and national level, we came to a very sad conclusion that indeed, what ever suffering we are experiencing today in Kwara State is a self inflicted one made out of wrong choices. We voted for the wrong people, when we should have voted for change.

"We came to the realization that, while the rest of Nigeria were voting change from one candidate to the other, bringing in new ideas and hope, we in Kwara didnt vote for change, we voted for the same people raping our state with impunity.

"Our own change in Kwara, was supposed to be away from the corrupt ruling Saraki dynasty, which has remain a menace since our return to democracy in 1999, but we didnt vote for change during the 2015 election, we voted for hunger, unemployment, more suffering and extreme hardship. The result is what we are witnessing today.

"Furthermore, we in Kwara, particularly in Kwara Central Senatorial District didnt only voted for leader of the dynasty Mr. Bukola Saraki to represent us at the Senate, he is our contribution to the nation and with him as the head of the legislative arm of government, we have inflicted unimaginable damage on the psychology of the Nigerian people by contributing, arguably the most corrupt politician Nigeria has today. And to make matter worse, he became the senate President, a sensitive position capable of truncating any positive stride being made by the sincere and most patriotic anti-corruption president.

"We are sad that our contribution to Nigeria is the reason why the nation is bleeding; using the position of the Senate Presidency to hinder sincere fight against corruption, preventing genuine infrastructural development through misplaced budget allocation, while promoting fraudulent budget padding and now holding the nation to ransom, through acts of legislative impunity that is capable of derailing our fragile democracy.

"Additionally, the leader of Saraki dynasty, who is also the senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District has abandoned his primary responsibility of representing us in Kwara Central. He is more concerned in pursing personal interest, which adds no value to our well being as a people. His over ambition and quest for personal enrichment is driving him nut, leading to several questionable actions and unnecessary confrontation with the executive arm of government. This selfish pursuit has now made the Nigerian Senate abandon its constitutional responsibility of screening political appointment to score cheap political point, by way of forcing the removal of the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through self help. But this is not what we sent him to do," members of the group said.
Fayose said that PDP would make maximum use of the judgment to reposition the party, adding that the forum would not fight Sheriff and his loyalists.

We will not fight them. We should just come back together so that we can celebrate 2019 together.

The governor also assured the Makarfi-led leadership of corporation of the governors, saying where we need to speak we will speak, where we need to spend money we will spend.

ALSO READ: Supreme Court sacks Sheriff, declares Makarfi authentic PDP Chairman

The Supreme Court sacked Sheriff as the party's chairman after a long party's leadership tussle that saw Makarfi and Sheriff contesting the seat through judicial judgements.
He made this known in Abuja on Tuesday while speaking with newsmen on his desire to re-contest the Anambra governorship election slated for November 18.

I have gathered the necessary experience and I have come again to offer myself to serve my people, am confident that I have something to offer.

Because of our capacity and untapped potential, Anambra State if well managed should be a state to look up to as a starting point, he said.

According to him, there is a lot to be done in the state to take it to the next level of development.He said that there was the need to create an environment for the private sector to grow while changing its narrative.

Moghalu said there was quite a lot to be done in the state in terms of governance, infrastructural development as well as expanding its agricultural base. There is quite a lot to be done and that is why I have taken time to prepare my manifesto.

There are issues that have to do with the power sector, the industrial base, infrastructural development, agriculture and even education.

Our infrastructure is totally decayed, never mind what you see on television, he said.

The governorship aspirant said he was optimistic that he would win the election even with the incumbent governor and other big wigs contesting it.

He said that the power of incumbency had since 2015 been demystified in the country, when a sitting government was voted out of power.

Speaking on the chances of the APC winning the election considering that the state was being governed by a member of the All Progressives Ground Alliance (APGA), Moghalu said that election mostly was about individuals.

Let me emphasise it again, for every election, apart from the party, the individual candidate you present has a very strong role to play.

For APC as a party, we are very acceptable in the state and I have a credible record that the people of the state can trust.

I am seen as a credible and consistent politician in the state and whenever I say something, I stick to it and whenever I enter a commitment, I do everything humanly possible to keep to it.

It is about the person not the party, so when you join the credibility of the person and that of the party, then you have a candidate that can be easily sold to the people.

But if you choose the wrong candidate believing that because of one reason or the other, it becomes a party issue, you may run into a difficult situation, he said.

He decried the continued dependence of states on federal allocation, saying that such did not make political and economic sense and was not healthy for development.

According to Moghalu, because the country is presently a one product economy, it is being controlled by external forces, especially as it cannot determine the price of crude.

He said he would effectively harness agricultural potential in the state, especially in rice production by expanding its base and possibly export it to increase the state`s revenue if elected.

The governorship hopeful also said that he would create enabling environment for the private sector in the state to grow by addressing issues of road and power infrastructure.

He expressed optimism that elections would hold in Anambra in November, as well as the South East generally in 2019, in spite of the threat by Biafra agitators.

I am sure that the Federal Government has the capacity to organise elections and provide enough security for lives and properties in the state and the country generally, he said.

He noted that the emphasis on certificated education was the reason a lot of people go to any length to buy certificates they could not defend.
In a press statement by the former deputy governor of Osun State, Omisore said the judgement of the Supreme Court open up deep introspection for the party's leadership.

Omisore said: "Today marks a watershed in our fledging democracy. It should ordinarily be a day of celebration for democracy, rule of law and due process and in measured way, we should all celebrate the new beginning in our quest to make Nigeria great again and reclaim the precious time the nation has lost to maladministration and purposeless governance being currently witnessed at the centre. By the grace of the Almighty, this period of locusts will soon end.

"But today should largely be a day of deep introspection for our leaders in the rejuvenated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Without doubt, today's judgement has taken us out of the wilderness but we can only get to the promised land by taking over in 2019, immediate take over of Anambra in 2017 and osun and Ekiti in 2018 Governorships if we quickly close ranks and seamlessly move together as one indivisible party."

Continuing, the Osun politician said: "In this regard, I'm recommending the peace, unity and reconciliation model we adopted in Osun State which saw the hitherto two factions fusing together to face a common enemy in the disaster known as APC ruling government in Osun State, a state which has been completely grounded by Rauf Aregbesola.

ALSO READ: Supreme Court verdict will bring back PDP - Goodluck Jonathan

"For us in Osun, everyone was united in a singular purpose of ending the reign of terror and nuisance, foisted on the state by the Ajele governor. Our unity encouraged the disgruntled, traumatized, raped, grounded, dehumanized and abandoned Osun people to simply queue behind us. The result was the 9-1 trouncing we handed APC in Osun West Senatorial District bye-election last weekend. That is the power of unity. That is purpose of reconciliation."

In conclusion, the Senator said Nigerians are ready to embrace PDP again and with a proper reconciliation, the party will triumph again at polls in 2018 and 2019.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, July 12, the apex court sacked Ali Modu Sheriff who was previously pronounced the authentic chairman of the party by an Appeal court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The Makarfi-led caretaker committee took the matter to the Supreme Court, and got the final nod to assume leadership of the party.

Makarfi and Sheriff have been involved in a tussle for the leadership position of the opposition party.

The party's leadership crisis deepened when Sheriff was removed at the party's May 21, 2016 convention, and a national caretaker committee chaired by Makarfi was appointed.

Many members of the PDP including former governors and current lawmakers have always backed the Makarfi faction even after the appeal court judgment that authenticated Sheriff's leadership.
The five-man panel reached a unanimous decision on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 to put an end to the leadership crisis that rocked the party since May 21, 2016 when it attempted to remove Sheriff as chairman.

The judgement was read by Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, who accused Sheriff of displaying "infantile desperation to cling to office at all cost".

In addition to the judgement, the court also awarded the sum of N200,000 against Sheriff, as well as Prof. Wale Oladipo who was the party's National Secretary under him.

In May 2017, the court had struck out an appeal by Sheriff to prevent it from hearing Makarfi's appeal which he filed after the Appeal Court declared Sheriff the authentic chairman of the party in February.

Sheriff had been installed as the party's National Working Committee (NWC) chairman in an acting capacity until he was removed during the party's 2016 National Convention.

Makarfi replaced him then as the party's caretaker chairman.

Sheriff, a former governor of Borno state, rejected the convention's decision, declaring that any other chairman was a 'counterfeit'.

In February, he said, Any other chairman is a counterfeit, a carbon-copy, a photocopy. I was eating and drinking in the comfort of my home when the elders and the leaders of the party from across the country came to beg me to take the mantle of leadership of the party."
By PTI: (EDS: Updating with Chinese foreign ministry reax)

By K J M Varma

Beijing, Jul 12 (PTI) China has dispatched PLA personnel to man its first overseas military base at Djibouti in the strategic Indian Ocean region, a move likely to spark concerns in the US and India.

Ships carrying Chinese military personnel departed Zhanjiang in southern Chinas Guangdong Province yesterday to set up a support base in Djibouti, located in the Horn of Africa, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

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China, however, today sought to playdown reports that its naval facility at Djibouti was its first military base.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing that the Djibouti base is a support base which will serve Chinese troops when they escort ships for anti- piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, perform humanitarian rescue, and carry out other international obligations.

The base will be conducive to driving Djiboutis economic and social development, and assist Chinas contribution to peace and stability both in Africa and worldwide, he claimed.

Dispatching the military personnel yesterday, Shen Jinlong, commander of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, had read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti, and conferred the military flag on the fleets.

The establishment of the PLA Djibouti base was a decision made by the two countries after friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides, the PLA navy had said.

Djibouti base, which China says is more of a logistical and resting centre than a military base, was under construction since 2011.

It is the first such base being set up by China. The second base is coming up in Gwadar, Pakistan, which links up with China through the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

In March this year, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post had reported that China plans to increase the size of its marine corps from 20,000 to one lakh personnel for overseas deployment, including at Gwadar and Djibouti.

The expansion is planned to protect Chinas maritime lifelines and its growing interests overseas.

Some members would be stationed at ports China operates in Djibouti and Gwadar in southwest Pakistan, the report had said.

In addition, China also plans to take over the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka as part of a debt swap to firm up its naval operations in the Indian Ocean, much to the disquiet of India.

The bases were being set up as China operationalised its first aircraft carrier and launched the second one which was expected to be ready for operations by next year.

The move to set up base in Djibouti is also likely to raise concerns in the US as the military base is just a few kilometres from Camp Lemonnier, one of the Pentagons largest and most important foreign installations.

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With increasing tensions over Chinas island-building efforts in the South China Sea, American strategists worry that a naval port so close to Camp Lemonnier could provide a front-row seat to the staging ground for American counter- terror operations in the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, the New York Times reported.

Besides the US, the base could also spark concerns in India as it is located in the strategic Indian Ocean region. PTI KJV ASK AKJ ASK

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The suspects  Samuel Onuora, Patrick Nwodo, Effiong Joseph and Chijioke Nwachu  were arraigned before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a 13-count charge bordering on fraud and cyber crime.

The quartet, according to the prosecuting counsel, Mr P. A. Amadi, illegally gained access into WAEC website and printed questions meant for the May/June 2017 Secondary School Certificate Examination, and sold same to students.

Also printed and sold to the students, according to Amadi, were solved answers to the said questions.

He said that the offences contravened section 28(3) of the Cyber crime Prevention and Prohibition Act 2015.

The accused persons, who were arrested in Uyo, Umuahia, Enugu and Owerri and transferred to the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

In view of their not guilty plea, Amadi prayed that they be remanded in Kuje prison, pending the determination of the case against them.

Counsel to the defendants, Mr Christopher Eichie, applied for their bail on the grounds that the offences were bailable.

Arguing further, Eichie reminded the court that the defendants had been in police custody for close to two months.

Justice Dimgba agreed with Eichies submission, and admitted the defendants to bail.

He added that the bail was based on self-recognizance of the defendants counsel, and ordered him (counsel) to deposit his call to bar certificates with the court.

He, however, said that the counsel could apply for the certificate each time it was needed.
Politics involves joining a political party, engaging in debates, discussing with your colleagues and campaigning for issues, amongst other things.

The thing with all of that is that is it both stressful, difficult and time consuming (even dangerous sometimes). To make maters worse, Nigerias political parties do not have the most basic information framework targeted at citizens interested in politics.

Unlike in finance and work, we are yet to adopt technology for fine tuning our political process. That is what Nonso Obikili wants to change with a new initiative called The Nawo Project.

It is an open-source framework  complete with an API and web app  that lets you do anything from joining a political party and taking part in debates, to voting and monitoring finances.

The idea is to let you participate actively in politics from the comfort of your space and the basic prototype is already up and running. In a medium post explaining the thinking behind the Project, Obikili also calls for volunteers in whatever capacity for the project.

To be clear, The Nawo Project is not an attempt to start a political party but a means with which to give Nigerians access to the entire political process by leveraging technology.
There have been near-endless reports of driver vs rider skirmishes, assault and other related issues. This updated version of Ubers community guidelines aim to provide guidelines on how drivers and riders should engage each other on trips.

Uber drivers have often complained about Ubers lack of provision for rider abuse against them and it seems the company has been paying attention. These new guidelines reflect the first time Uber will be explicitly explaining why rider can lose access to the ride-hailing platform.

Ubers updated Community Guidelines help explain whats not acceptable on an Uber trip. Many of these are obvious to most of us but they should be noted  whether its throwing up in the backseat or leaving rubbish in the car, the below list of guidelines is one that everyone using Uber should understand  driver-partners, and riders as well as those travelling with other riders / friends, says the company in a statement made available to Pulse Tech.

The new guidelines cover safety, children, personal space and respect for both drivers and riders on the Uber platform. On safety, Uber says, "Riders should play their part by wearing their seatbelts and not trying to cram in extra people when there arent enough seat belts. Riders also need to refrain from bringing alcohol or banned substances into the vehicle and should not ask a driver to go faster than the speed limit.

It also urges drivers to adhere to all safety guidelines and laws including seatbelts, sticking to speed limits and not driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

For child safety, Uber says it will deactivate the accounts of users who leave their kids unattended with similar penalties for minors under 18 (it will warn the account holder of its policy and deactivate after the second warning).

The new policy also places an emphasis on both driver and rider feedback. Your account could be suspended (depending on the nature of the complaint laid against you) during investigations of bad behaviour gotten from driver feedback. Same goes for rider feedback on drivers.

As far as personal space is concerned, Uber says it has a strict no sex policy. It also encourages both drivers and riders to refrain from any kind of sexual conduct and respect each others space by not making each other uncomfortable during a trip.

Finally, the new policy touts respect as a focal point. In Ubers words, Unruly behaviour such as damaging the vehicle is not tolerated. Using bad language is also not allowed. Being aggressive or discriminatory can also get a rider banned from using the app. Uber does not discriminate against gender or race and any rider that does not share the same sentiments is not welcome on the app.

These new policy guidelines will also be implemented in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania following a global rollout that started with the US.
The dispute over where the two countries' sea borders should be drawn has poisoned relations since both declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

The international arbitration court recommended that Slovenia should have uninterrupted access to international waters, allowing "freedom of communication" to all ships seeking access to the small country.

It also awarded Slovenia a larger stake of the Piran bay -- currently divided in half by Slovenia and Croatia -- and ruled on many tiny disputes along their 670-kilometre (415-mile) land border.

The ruling -- based on an EU-backed agreement signed between the two countries in 2009 -- was rejected by Zagreb which said it was not binding.

Cerar said Wednesday he hoped Croatia would relent and that the two EU members would not have to take up an offer from the European Commission to help facilitate the process.

Plenkovic told a joint news conference said that Brussels "has no competence in the drawing of borders. European law is not a substitute for international law."

"Croatia wants to put on the table, through an open dialogue, all the border-related issues, and to search a solution that will be acceptable for both sides," Plenkovic said.
Trump was to decide by Wednesday whether to permanently lift Washington's sanctions on Sudan after his predecessor Barack Obama eased the embargo in January but kept Khartoum on a six-month review period.

In his executive order Trump amended the deadline to October 12, 2017.

Obama made the permanent lifting of sanctions dependent on Khartoum's progress on five areas of concern at the end of the review period.

"I have decided more time is needed for this review to establish that the Government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action across all of those areas," Trump's order said, adding that "the Government of Sudan has made some progress".

Washington imposed a complex set of economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its alleged backing of Islamist militant groups.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011, was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

Washington also justified the embargo with accusations of scorched-earth tactics by Khartoum against ethnic minority rebels in war-torn Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since a brutal conflict erupted in Darfur in 2003, the United Nations says.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes related to the conflict in Darfur, charges he steadfastly denies.

Prior to Trump's measure, the United Nations said it hoped the United States would make a "positive decision" on sanctions against Sudan for allowing more humanitarian aid access across war zones as sought.

Giving more access to humanitarian workers was one of the five conditions Obama insisted Sudan must meet before the sanctions can be lifted permanently.

Obama's other conditions included counterterrorism cooperation with the United States, an end to hostilities against armed groups in Sudan and halting support for insurgents in neighbouring South Sudan.

Several think tanks had called for extending the review period, saying Khartoum needed to do more for the embargo to be lifted.

After Trump delayed the decision, Washington-based think tank Enough Project said the Trump administration should now devise a new set of "smart and modernised" sanctions that would spare the Sudanese people.
"Italy has done and will continue to do its part in rescuing and welcoming (refugees). But it is fighting at the same time a migration policy that does not rest on only a few countries, and that is shared by the entire European Union," he said.

Several Italian officials and aid groups have called for help in handling the influx, with the authorities already registering 85,000 arrivals on its coasts in the first six months of the year.

That has put mounting pressure on Gentiloni's centre-left government from rightwing and populist opposition parties ahead of legislative elections set for early 2018 at the latest.

He urged EU countries to pursue joint solutions such as economic programmes in Africa and cooperation in the Mediterranean and in Libya, as well as "a common effort to guide the activities of NGOs" carrying out rescue operations along the Libyan coasts.

Macron expressed his "solidarity" with Italy even as he acknowledged that France had "not always done its part".

"We are in the process of accelerating relocations and we will continue to do so," he said.

'Will not give ground'

But Macron also insisted that there was a difference between "political refugees and economic migrants".

"Each time that refugees, people to whom we grant asylum, are identified, France must be able to welcome them," he said, but "our countries cannot accept women and men who, for economic reasons, want to come live in our countries."

"These two realities are profoundly different. They do not impose the same rights, they do not impose the same moral responsibilities, and will not give ground on this point."

Merkel, emphasised economic accords with African nations from where most of the migrants arriving in Italy are coming from.

"We must fight the reasons for migration through partnership, in particular with Niger," she said.

She also underscored the need for political stability in Libya, which most migrants cross to reach the Mediterranean.

The three leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to building a more closely integrated Europe, ahead of the Western Balkans summit of seven EU and six regional countries.
Edwin Rivera Paz was followed by gunmen and shot dead in broad daylight Sunday in the eastern city of Acayucan, said local authorities and the media rights group Reporters Without Borders.

The TV news cameraman is the seventh journalist killed this year in Mexico, where more than 100 reporters have been murdered since 2000.

The situation is almost as dangerous in his native Honduras, where 69 journalists have been killed since 2003 -- most recently Rivera's boss, Igor Padilla.

Padilla, a journalist for news channel HCH in the Honduran capital, was killed in a drive-by shooting in January as he filmed a commercial.

That prompted Rivera, who was his close collaborator, to flee to Mexico. He had just been granted refugee status before he was killed, according to Reporters Without Borders.

He had been working on a documentary about the problems facing migrants and refugees, said fellow asylum-seekers from Central America.

Honduras called on Mexico to bring Rivera's killers to justice.

"We are asking the state prosecutor to investigate. Do not let this crime go unpunished," the Honduran consul in Mexico, Raul Otoniel Morazan, told AFP.

Reporters Without Borders urged both countries to investigate.

"Do not let this hateful crime go unpunished like so many others," the watchdog group's Latin America director, Emmanuel Colombie, said Tuesday in a statement.

Mexico is the third deadliest country for journalists in the world, after the war zones of Syria and Afghanistan, according to the organization.
Singaporean Yeo Jiawei, a former wealth manager with Swiss bank BSI, was sentenced to 54 months after admitting charges of money-laundering and cheating.

The jail term will run concurrently with a 30-month sentence for trying to tamper with witnesses involved in the probe into the scandal, which was handed down last year.

Allegations that huge sums were misappropriated from 1MDB through money-laundering triggered a corruption scandal that has embroiled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who founded the fund. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Yeo is one of several bankers in Singapore jailed over the affair. Court documents show he worked closely with Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, who helped set up 1MDB. Low has also denied wrongdoing.

Passing sentence Wednesday, judge Ong Hian Sun said Yeo had taken "considerable effort" to conceal his criminal wrongdoing and had exploited his position for personal gain.

He added that the courts must take an "uncompromising stance" to protect the integrity of Singapore's financial system.

The convictions related to Yeo's time at BSI. While there, he was involved in a series of elaborate cross-border transactions involving shell companies and bank accounts belonging to his parents, court documents showed.

Yeo and a colleague made $466,000 in profit by syphoning off commission that was meant to go to BSI for facilitating the transactions, which were linked to 1MDB and its associated projects.

In mitigation, Yeo's defence lawyer Derek Kang said his client would never work again in the finance industry and that he would give up profits made from the offences.

The scandal has been described by prosecutors as the "largest ever money-laundering case" investigated by Singapore's white-collar crime unit.

The city-state's financial regulator said in March that it has barred seven bankers linked to the case, several of whom had been convicted of various offences involving 1MDB.
"We ask the central government and the European Commission to ban the consumption of alcoholic drinks on flights and in airports," said Pilar Carbonell, in charge of tourism for the local government of the Balearic Islands.

In a statement, she said authorities were asking that these measures be taken "to guarantee security... and tackle anti-social tourism."

The statement did not say if the local authorities were asking for alcohol to be banned on all EU flights, or simply those going to the Balearic Islands.

"The aim of the measure is to improve passenger security and also that of security forces in planes and airports in our islands, who are often faced with drunk passengers," it said.

The Balearic Islands have long been a magnet for visitors looking for sun and fun on a cheap budget, but some of its resorts have now become notorious examples of a dark underbelly of tourism, with drink and drug binges that have at times proved deadly.

The "balconing" craze, for instance, in which people jump from a hotel or apartment balcony into a pool, is endemic in the archipelago.

Fuelled by alcohol or drugs, the jumpers sometimes miss the pool, ending up in hospital or dead.

According to a study carried out by doctors at the Son Espases hospital in Palma de Majorca, most of those who end up in the trauma centre due to "balconing" are British, followed by Germans.

But tourists sometimes get the party started before they even get to the resorts, while still on the planes taking them there.

In May, Spain's Guardia Civil police force had to board a Ryanair flight in Palma to drag away three drunk men who had brawled all the way from Manchester in Britain, according to The Manchester Evening News.

The newspaper published a video of the police agents marching onto the plane to applause from the rest of the passengers.
Their detention caused international alarm and amplified fears of declining freedom of expression under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The police detention will now last until July 19, Amnesty's Turkey researcher Andrew Gardner told AFP.

They then must appear before a judge who rules whether they should be formally charged and placed under arrest ahead of trial.

Eight of those detained are Turkish human rights defenders, including Ilknur Ustun of the Women's Coalition and Veli Acu of the Human Rights Agenda Association.

Two are foreign trainers -- a German and a Swedish national -- who were leading the digital information workshop.

They are accused of membership of an "armed terrorist organisation", an allegation Amnesty said was "unfounded".

But it is not clear which organisation they are accused of belonging to, Gardner said.

The extension is allowed under the state of emergency imposed after last year's failed coup.

A prosecutor can extend the detention of an individual held on terror-related charges for up to seven days. Previously, the maximum number of days of pre-charge detention was four.

Gardner argued the first part of their detention was illegal because they were denied access to lawyers for 24 hours, could not contact family members where they were and authorities refused to give their location.

"For them to be entering a second week in police cells is a shocking indictment of the ruthless treatment of those who attempt to stand up for human rights in Turkey," Amnesty's Europe director John Dalhuisen said.

Erdogan compared the activists to coup plotters, saying they were trying to fulfil the aims of those involved in the July 15 coup bid.

"They gathered for a meeting which was a continuation of July 15," he said on Saturday.

Last month, Amnesty International's Turkey chair Taner Kilic was arrested, accused of links to US-based Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of ordering last year's failed coup.
By PTI: Srinagar, Jul 12 (PTI) Clashes rocked Srinagar today during the funeral procession of the militants killed in an overnight encounter in Budgam district this morning, official said.

Several persons including a photo-journalist were injured in the clashes between protesters and law enforcing agencies in the Nowhatta area in downtown Srinagar.

When the body of Sajid Ahmad Gilkar was handed over to his family for last rites at Malaratta, hundreds of people defied restrictions and took part in his funeral procession, officials said.

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They said the mourners attempted to offer Namaz-e- Janazah (prayer before burial) at the Jamia Masjid, but were prevented by police which lead to clashes.

The photo-journalist with a local daily was on duty when he received pellet injuries in head and arms.

Later, the prayer for the slain militant was offered at a nearby stadium. Gilkar was buried at his ancestral graveyard in the locality, the officials said.

The clashes continued quite long, even as police used pellet guns and fired dozens of teargas shells to restore order, the officials said.

Earlier in the day, clashes also took place between protesters and security forces during the funeral of another militant Aaqib Gul at Hyderpora chowk on the Srinagar-Airport road.

Authorities imposed strict restrictions in five police station areas of the old city as a precautionary measure in an attempt to prevent violence.

"Restrictions have been imposed in police station areas of Maharajgunj, Safakadal, Rainawari, Nowhatta and Khanyar as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order," a police official said.

Gilkar and Gul, along with another associate Javaid Ahmad Shiekh of Beerwah were killed in an overnight gunbattle with security forces in Redbugh area of Budgam district this morning. PTI MIJ TA PRG ZMN PRG ANB

--- ENDS ---
"I am distressed by the current Hungarian regime's use of anti-Semitic imagery as part of its deliberate disinformation campaign," the 86-year-old said in a rare statement.

The posters show a large picture of the Hungarian-born Jewish emigre laughing, alongside the text: "Let's not let Soros have the last laugh", a reference to government claims that Soros wants to force Hungary to allow in migrants.

Since the posters appeared on billboards and at public spaces around the country last week, as well as on television, several incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti such as "Stinking Jew" or Stars of David daubed on them have been reported.

Hungary's largest Jewish organisation, Mazsihisz, has called on Orban to stop the campaign, with its head Andras Heisler writing to Prime Minister Viktor Orban that the "poisonous messages harm the whole of Hungary".

Some opposition activists and citizens have also begun taking down some of the posters from billboards.

Soros said he was "heartened that together with countless fellow citizens the leadership of the Hungarian Jewish community" have spoken out.

Earlier Tuesday his spokesperson Michael Vachon called the campaign "reminiscent of Europe's darkest hours" with "clearly anti-Semitic overtones".

Those defacing the posters with graffiti "(understood) the government's intent," he said.

"The government has consistently and wilfully misrepresented Soros's views on migration and refugees," he added.

On Friday Orban accused Soros of being a "billionaire speculator" who wanted to use his wealth and civil groups that he supports to "settle a million migrants" in the European Union.

Orban and government officials say that Hungary has a policy of "zero tolerance" of anti-Semitism, and that the poster campaign is about increasing awareness of the "national security risk" posed by Soros.

On Saturday, Israel's ambassador in Budapest Yossi Amrani also criticised the poster campaign, saying it "evokes sad memories but also sows hatred and fear".

But late Sunday -- reportedly at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office -- Israel's foreign ministry issued a separate "clarification" that criticism of Soros was legitimate.

This said that while Israel "deplores" anti-Semitism, Soros "continuously undermines Israel's democratically elected governments by funding organisations that defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself."
The humanitarian crisis "is a direct result of the conflict and serious violations of international law," he said.

More than 320,000 suspected cholera cases have been reported in nearly all of Yemen's districts and at least 1,740 people have died from the outbreak, said O'Brien, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs.

Describing the humanitarian crisis as "appalling", Yemen's UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the country was in the throes of not "a single emergency but a number of complex emergencies".

More than seven million people are at risk of famine including 2.3 malnourished children under the age of five in Yemen, already among the Arab world's poorest countries.

Yemen's health system has collapsed during the war pitting the Saudi-led coalition backing the internationally recognized Yemeni government and Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels since March 2015.

The Huthi rebels still hold the capital Sanaa and Taez, the country's third largest city.

O'Brien appealed for $250 million in funding for the UN response to the cholera crisis. So far, only $47 million has been received.

He also urged council powers to take action to ensure public servants are paid so that health facilities can reopen.

The airport in Sanaa, which closed last year, must be reopened and the port of Hodeida, a crucial lifeline for deliveries of food and medicine, must be kept safe from attack, O'Brien said.

The aid chief urged Saudi Arabia to allow mobile cranes left in Dubai to arrive at Hodeida port.

Riyadh has accused the Huthi rebels of using the port to smuggle weapons into the country.

"You will have to lean much more heavily and effectively on the parties and those outside Yemen who are leading this policy and action," O'Brien told the council.
The demonstrators carried placards calling for free and fair elections.

Dozens of demonstrators were injured and some were arrested by the police.

We are still trying to determine the number of people arrested; the number might be above 100, the partys youth leader Lovemore Chinoputsa, said.

The Police spokesman Paul Nyathi, said that some people who had been causing disturbances were arrested.

The protest was sparked off by the refusal by the state electoral commission to allow citizens living abroad and those without proof of residence to vote in the 2018 elections.

President Robert Mugabe, (93 years), who had been in power since 1980 when the country gained independence from Britain is seeking a new term in office.
The First Hospital of China Medical University in the northeastern city of Shenyang said Liu's family declined to have him put on artificial ventilation, which was necessary "to maintain life".

"The hospital has explained the necessity of tracheal intubation to the patient's family, the family refused the tracheal intubation," the hospital said on its website.

The hospital, which earlier reported that he had suffered organ failure, said the 61-year-old democracy advocate's liver function had deteriorated despite three days of anti-infection and blood treatment.

Liu, who has been held since 2008 for "subversion", risks becoming the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to die in custody since German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who passed away in a hospital under the Nazis in 1938.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Berlin was "very concerned" about Liu's health and that it "stands ready to host and medically" treat him.

The Chinese government has rebuffed international appeals to let Liu seek treatment abroad, saying he is getting the best possible care from top domestic doctors.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang repeated his standard answer earlier on Wednesday that other countries should respect the country's judicial sovereignty and "not interfere in China's internal affairs under the pretext of an individual case".

A German and a US doctor visited Liu last weekend and said he was still strong enough to fulfil his wish to go abroad, but the hospital has issued increasingly pessimistic reports every day since then.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen took to Twitter to call on Beijing to free Liu and "allow him to seek treatment wherever he wishes". She reiterated her offer to have Liu treated in Taiwan, which China considers a rebel province.

The United States repeated calls on Tuesday for Liu to be released and said it was ready to welcome him if he chose to be treated there.

'Manipulation' of information

Liu, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2009, was admitted to the hospital early last month after he was transferred from prison due to late-stage liver cancer.

Human rights groups said it was nearly impossible to obtain independent information about Liu's health given that he is in a heavily guarded hospital and his wife, who is with him, is also not free.

"What is on display is still the manipulation and control of information and dishonesty of the Chinese government," Human Rights Watch's Asia researcher Maya Wang told AFP.

"The couple has not been allowed to speak freely to anyone," Wang said. "There are some reasons to continue to cast doubt on the assessment of the hospital."

Amnesty International's China researcher Patrick Poon said the information is hard to verify but if it is true, "Liu Xiaobo is in his last hours of life".

"Even in his last moments, the Chinese government doesn't seem to loosen their grip of control of Liu Xiaobo and his family," he said.

Leaked video

A video leaked earlier this week showed the Western doctors praising their Chinese counterparts as they stood by Liu's bedside.

The video was denounced as propaganda by rights groups while the German embassy said Monday it "seems that security organs are steering the process, not medical experts".

But in an editorial, the state-run Global Times newspaper said the video aimed to show the Chinese doctors' efforts to help him and said "Western forces are politicising Liu's cancer treatment".

Liu was arrested in 2008 after co-writing Charter 08, a bold petition that called for the protection of basic human rights and reform of China's one-party Communist system.

At the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo in 2010, he was represented by an empty chair.

Hu Jia, a Beijing-based activist and family friend, sobbed as he heard the latest update, but he said the family may have declined the ventilator out of hope he could survive.

"Perhaps Liu Xiaobo's family still hopes that there can be a ray of light -- hopes that there can be a turnaround," Hu told AFP.
US President Donald Trump prolonged a review period overnight to October 12 before his administration decides whether or not to permanently lift the decades-old sanctions.

His predecessor Barack Obama had eased the sanctions in January, but kept Sudan on review for six months, a period that ended on Wednesday.

Obama had made the permanent lifting of the sanctions dependent on the East African country's progress in five areas of concern at the end of the review period.

In his executive order issued on Tuesday, Trump extended the deadline, saying "more time is needed" for the review.

And on Wednesday, Bashir decided to suspend the talks between Washington and Khartoum.

Bashir "issued a presidential decree ordering the suspension of the committee that was negotiating (the lifting of the sanctions) with the United States until October 12," the official news agency SUNA said, quoting a presidential decree.

The committee has been negotiating for more than a year with US officials on lifting the American trade embargo in force against Khartoum since 1997.

A senior US administration official told reporters in Washington that the United States wanted with Sudan a "positive relationship going forward".

"The key focus, I think, for the Sudanese has been working to achieve the full revocation of the sanctions and if at the end of the three months, just a relatively short extension... the stated intent, as our statement indicates, is to lift the sanctions," he said.

'Five tracks'

Prior to Bashir's decree, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour voiced Khartoum's disappointment over Trump's order.

"We regret such a decision that came out after long negotiations between Sudan and the United States," he said.

"The United States, Europe, Africa and the international community admit that Sudan has fulfilled its commitments when it comes to the five tracks, which is why we don't see any reason for extending the review period," he told reporters.

"But we are still hoping that the sanctions will be lifted permanently."

Top US envoy to Sudan, Steven Koutsis, had told AFP in June that barring few exceptions, Khartoum had made "positive" steps on these concerns.

The areas of concern -- or "five tracks" -- include giving more access to humanitarian workers in war zones, counterterrorism cooperation with the United States, an end to hostilities against armed groups in Sudan and halting support for insurgents in neighbouring South Sudan.

"I have decided more time is needed for this review to establish that the government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action across all of those areas," Trump's order said, noting that "the government of Sudan has made some progress".

'Smart' sanctions recommended

Washington imposed a complex set of economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its alleged backing of Islamist militant groups.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011, was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

Washington also justified the embargo with accusations of scorched-earth tactics by Khartoum against ethnic minority rebels in war-torn Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since the Darfur conflict erupted in 2003, the UN says.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes related to the conflict, charges he steadfastly denies.

The UN said it had hoped the United States would make a "positive decision" on the sanctions against Sudan for allowing more humanitarian aid access across war zones.

But a Washington-based campaign group had called for the review period to be extended, saying Khartoum needed to do more for the embargo to be lifted.

The Enough Project said the Trump administration should now devise a new set of "smart and modernised" sanctions that would spare Sudan's people.
Beatification is the first step on the path toward sainthood and has in the past been reserved for three categories of people: martyrs, those who have lived a life of heroic values and others with a clear saintly reputation.

"The heroic offering of life, suggested and sustained by charity, expresses a true, full and exemplary imitation of Christ," read an an Apostolic Letter from Francis.

Candidates for beatification under the new pathway could include Christians who tended to sick people with the plague who later died because of the disease, said the the Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's official journal.

It could also apply to Chiara Corbella, the I-Media agency said. Corbella was a 28-year-old Italian woman who refused treatment for carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, while pregnant because it would have risked the life of her unborn child.

She died in 2012, nearly a year after giving birth when the cancer had become terminal and treatment was ineffective.

Such Christians, Francis' letter said, are "worthy of that admiration which the community of the faithful has usually reserved for those who have voluntarily accepted the martyrdom of blood or have exercised the Christian virtues to a heroic degree."

To be beatified, the "free and voluntary offering of life" must be defined by "the heroic acceptance out of charity of certain death in a short term," it noted.

The letter also said that possible candidates must have practised Christian values in their life before their selfless act and have a holy reputation. They must also be credited with a miracle after their death.
Congress has 30 days to raise objections to the sale, though this is unlikely given that Romania is a NATO partner with important geo-strategic access to the Black Sea, where Russia-seized Crimea is located.

"Romania will use the Patriot missile system to strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats," the State Department said.

"The proposed sale will increase the defensive capabilities of the Romanian military to guard against aggression and shield the NATO allies who often train and operate within Romania's borders."

The Patriot is a mobile air-defense system made by Raytheon and designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, low-flying cruise missiles and aircraft.

The possible sale comes as the US military temporarily deployed a Patriot battery in Lithuania as part of multinational NATO exercises in the Baltic country.
She was then shot dead in broad daylight only metres away from the school, by a man whose marriage proposal she had rejected.

The 29-year-old was among 210 Turkish women killed or forced to commit suicide in 2012 in misogynist attacks by men, according to the women's rights group We Will Stop Femicide.

Since then there has been a chilling increase in the number of women killed, often at the hands of men they know.

Newspapers report almost daily on murders of women by men they knew, and the rights group says 328 women were killed last year.

In the first five months of 2017, 173 women were killed across Turkey compared with 137 in the same period of 2016, the group said in its monthly report in May.

"When a woman is killed, I feel the same pain. I see them as my daughters," Pinar's father, Zeki Unluer, told AFP.

"When my daughter was laid to rest, my wife and I died."

'Crisis'

Since 2010, 118 women have been killed in Izmir alone, even though the city, Turkey's third-largest, is considered its most progressive and a bastion of secular society.

Women's activists told AFP that the rise in killings had come as more women sought to exercise their rights, including divorcing abusive partners.

"Women are changing but men are not. Men cannot keep up and there is a crisis," said Gulsum Kav, a founding member of We Will Stop Femicide.

The Turkish government has said that the number of women killed every year is unacceptable, but activists warn that the problem is getting worse.

'Our women are dying'

The notorious attempted rape and murder of a 20-year-old student, Ozgecan Aslan, by a minibus driver in southern Turkey in 2015 sparked nationwide protests and hopes that action would finally be taken to reduce the killings.

But even though Pinar Unluer's killer is now serving a life sentence in prison, her father said he had seen no change, and denounced what he called legal loopholes that let perpetrators escape long sentences.

"I would ask (to a minister): 'If it were your children, your daughters, your mothers, what would you think? Our women are dying, you are doing nothing'."

He said that Pinar's killer had sought a reduced sentence by claiming he had been provoked, a tactic often used in such cases.

Activists also say the killers try to get reduced sentences by claiming insanity, alleging that a woman had insulted them or that they had been cheated on.

Eda Okutgen, described by her sister Nazli Okutgen as having "a heart of gold", was stabbed multiple times in November 2014 by her ex-husband in Izmir.

He was initially given life in prison for her murder, but a higher court annulled the sentence, and he is now claiming insanity in a retrial, Nazli Okutgen told AFP.

'Can be stopped'

Over 37 percent of Turkish women said they had experienced physical or sexual violence -- or both -- according to an exhaustive 2014 survey of 15,000 households by the country's family ministry.

And according to the Ankara-based Foundation for Women's Solidarity, the state of emergency imposed after last July's attempted coup has worsened the situation.

In a report, the group says that many women's complaints are treated dismissively by police officers, who claim they are too busy or handling "more important" affairs.

In one example in the report, an officer tells a victim: "There has been a coup, the police have other business."

Turkey has ratified the Council of Europe's 2011 Istanbul Convention, the world's first binding instrument to prevent and combat violence against women.

There are also Turkish laws to protect women and punish perpetrators of assault, including law 6284 -- passed in 2012 to protect families and prevent violence against women.

But according to Kav, of We Will Stop Femicide, officials were not putting the law into practice.

"These murders are something that can be stopped. There are solutions," she said, pointing to the drop in women's murders from 180 in 2010 to 121 the following year, a decline she attributed to the law's debate which shone a spotlight on the problem.

"The law is there giving women the right to be protected," she said, "but when women go to police or the prosecutor for protection, they are either sent back home, they try to reconcile (couples) or they receive a protection order only on paper."

Conservative mentality

Activists also say government officials have, on occasion, failed to help by making inflammatory remarks on how women should behave: Last year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan infuriated many by saying a woman was "incomplete" if she failed to reproduce.

And while gender equality should be a pillar of the secular republic, as set up by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, the only female cabinet member is Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, and women make up just 79 of the 548 lawmakers in parliament.

Reyhan Kaplan, of the Izmir Women's Solidarity Association, criticised the government for a "conservative mentality which intervenes in a woman's life".
Shortly after she read the statement -- said to be in the name of the armed forces -- war planes bombed Ankara and tanks surged into the streets of Istanbul in a night of violence that left 249 people dead.

But 12 hours later, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim was able to appear outside his offices to declare that this "ignominious bid" to seize power "has been defeated".

The coup's defeat was rapid and the consequences merciless, as the biggest crackdown in Turkish history targeted supporters of the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, who was blamed for the coup but denies the charges.

Yet questions remain over the timeline of the events on July 15, with Turkey's opposition looking for answers with increased stridency.

How come the coup erupted undetected by Turkey's vast intelligence service and was then put down so quickly?

Why was information garnered on the afternoon of July 15 that something serious was afoot not shared with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan?

And why have key figures failed to give personal testimony to a parliamentary commission supposed to investigate the failed coup bid?

"We are not seeing an open investigation. It's been very, very disappointing and in fact very frightening," Gareth Jenkins, Istanbul-based non-resident senior research fellow at the Silk Road Studies Program told AFP.

The government insists that it is not hiding anything and has decried claims of a cover-up as an insult to those who lost their lives defeating the coup.

'Massive action'

Witness testimonies published in Turkish media from a parliamentary commission and trials of suspects showed intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and the head of the military, General Hulusi Akar, were aware of a plot as early as the afternoon of July 15.

An army helicopter pilot, identified only as Major O.K. went to the headquarters of the spy agency in Ankara at 2:20 pm on the afternoon of July 15 and warned officials that some action -- at least against the National Intelligence Service (MIT) -- was afoot.

"I said there could be a massive action and even a coup," the witness reportedly said. "I remember very well that I used the word 'coup'."

The warning was passed on by the MIT to the army at around 4:30 pm. Fidan then met with Akar.

Yet Erdogan said he found out about the failed putsch from his brother-in-law late in the evening of July 15, not from the secret service.

Akar was held by the coup plotters throughout the night. He returned to central Ankara by helicopter in the morning, accompanied by General Mehmet Disli, who was later arrested on charges of being one of the key plotters.

Special forces commander Zekai Aksakalli reportedly criticised the top military commander for his failure to shut Turkish airspace to all flights while he has also been criticised for not confining soldiers to barracks that night.

'Question marks'

In October, a parliamentary committee made up of lawmakers from political parties represented in the parliament started investigating the failed coup.

The opposition demanded both Fidan and Akar be called to appear. But the calls were rejected by the ruling party.

"We are not prosecutors, nor judges. We will not convict anyone. We only wanted to receive a response to our questions," Sezgin Tanrikulu, MP from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told AFP.

"Unfortunately, they kick this opportunity away... and the question marks will continue to hang," Tanrikulu, who is a member of the committee, said.

After listening to former army chiefs, a former spy chief as well as bureaucrats and witnesses, the committee was ordered to wrap up its work in December, one month earlier than scheduled.

"It may be that the government has something sinister to hide. Maybe it is just hiding its own incompetence because of the response to the coup. It was very, very chaotic, it was not well organised," said Jenkins.

"We hope eventually that the truth will come out," he added.

The CHP's leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, had infuriated the government by using the term "controlled coup" -- claiming the authorities knew in advance about the plot, allowed the coup to play out in order to profit from it later.

Testimony has suggested that in fact the plotters wanted to launch the coup at 3:00 am on the morning of July 16 but brought forward the plan to around 10:00 pm on July 15 after authorities got wind of it.

The government says that the plot was a straightforward attempt to take over power by Gulen's group, which it calls the "Fethullah Terror Group (FETO)".
The subject, however came up during US President Donald Trump's first face-to-face meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin last week.

Obama closed Russian facilities in New York and Maryland in response to purported cyber hacking attacks targeting parts of the US government, infrastructure, think tanks and political organisations.

The Russian diplomats and their families were given 72 hours to leave.

"If Washington decides not to solve this issue, we will have to take counter actions, and this is the rule of diplomacy, of reciprocity, of international affairs," Lavrov said in Brussels.

"We are still hopeful that the US, as a proponent of the rule of law, will finally respect international obligations," he added, during a press conference with EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini.

But the resurfacing of the expulsions row comes amid a much larger focus on alleged Russian meddling in last year's US election campaign, which is the subject of major investigations in Washington.

Speaking earlier in Moscow, Lavrov said Obama's "outrageous" move was designed "to poison Russian-American relations to the maximum and do everything to put the Trump administration in a trap."

"We are thinking about specific steps, and I don't believe that this should be discussed publicly," Lavrov told journalists of the potential diplomatic response.

Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, meanwhile, told the RIA-Novosti news agency that "there were several variants of a response and a harsh reaction is prepared."

The expelled diplomats were based in Washington and San Francisco.

'Property should be returned'

Russian newspaper Izvestia said Monday, citing sources, that Moscow may expel 30 American diplomats and seize US property in the country.

Putin in December ruled out kicking out American diplomats, a move interpreted as Moscow's intention to build ties with a new White House administration, over the alleged cyber hacking, dubbed Grizzly Steppe by US officials.

Trump himself hailed Putin's restraint -- he even invited US diplomats' families to a party in the Kremlin -- as a "great move" and "very smart".

However, Russia wants to regain its properties in the United States and the subject was on the agenda of Putin's meeting with Trump at the G20 summit in Hamburg last week, according to the Kremlin.

Ryabkov reiterated Monday that "diplomatic property should be returned to us," RIA-Novosti reported.

Trump said he had pressed Putin over alleged meddling in the US election that catapulted him to power. He said the Russian leader "vehemently denied it."

In the latest twist to the election hacking row, however, Trump's eldest son Donald Jr on Tuesday released emails showing he embraced Russia's efforts to support his father;s campaign, saying he would "love" to get dirt from Moscow on Hillary Clinton.

The US Senate last month approved additional tough sanctions on Russia aimed at punishing Moscow for alleged election interference.

Lavrov warned that those steps threatened "the whole relationship" between Russia and the United States.

The sanctions led Moscow to cancel a meeting in June between US Under Secretary of State Tom Shannon with Russia's Ryabkov.
By PTI: By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Jul 12 (PTI) Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa today defended controversial multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying it is a harbinger of economic development, peace and prosperity in the region.

Addressing a seminar on CPEC Logistics in Rawalpindi, he said the CPEC is also affirmation of Pakistans efforts for a peaceful and prosperous region, according to Radio Pakistan.

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"Unlike some other countries of South Asia, we believe in focusing our energies on peace and inclusiveness, rather than divisive competition," he said, without naming any country.

The army chief said that CPEC will bring increasing economic integration among regional economies and reduce the development gap within various regions of Pakistan.

He said the Chinese investment in various fields, including energy, infrastructure, Gwadar Port, and special economic zones can lay the foundation of a fast development Pakistan, if the opportunity is optimally utilised.

The CPEC is a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking southern Pakistan, and the Gwadar Port, to Chinas restive Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region. As it passes through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), India has raised objection to the project.

Commenting on prevailing security situation in Pakistan, Bajwa said the country is much safer today than before as peace has been restored in tribal region and the adjoining areas.

He said normalcy is returning to Pakistans economic hub of Karachi. Similarly, the law and order situation has improved significantly in Balochistan and there is great focus on socio-economic development in the province.

Gen Bajwa said Pakistan is making steady, but sure-footed progress to get rid of the menace of terrorism and extremism. PTI SH ZH

--- ENDS ---
"We continue to call on China to release him so that he can receive medical treatment wherever he desires. If it's in the United States, I think we would certainly welcome that," the spokeswoman said.

Nauert said the United States was pleased that US and German medical experts have been able to visit the terminally-ill cancer patient.

"The State Department was involved in helping to get a US doctor.... to China to be able to take a look at him," she said. "There was also a German doctor that was in attendance, too."

Nauert added that Washington is worried not only about the welfare of Liu, 61, but of other dissidents held by China.

"The State Department remains deeply concerned about the continued detention of at least seven defense lawyers and rights defenders, and reports of their alleged torture and denial of access to independent legal counsel," she said.

"We urge the Chinese authorities to immediately release those still in detention and drop the charges."

Liu's heath has deteriorated since authorities revealed last month that he had been transferred from prison to a hospital due to late-stage liver cancer.

But Chinese officials have ignored calls by international human rights groups, Western governments and local activists to grant the prominent democracy advocate's wish to be treated abroad.

Liu has an abdominal infection, organ dysfunction and he went into septic shock, the hospital said in a statement on its website.

He is undergoing kidney dialysis, and is getting anti-infection and organ function support therapy.

Liu was arrested in 2008 after co-writing Charter 08, a bold petition that called for the protection of basic human rights and reform of China's one-party Communist system.
Trump was to decide by Wednesday whether to permanently lift Washington's sanctions on Sudan after his predecessor Barack Obama eased the embargo in January but kept Khartoum on a six-month review period.

In his executive order Trump amended the deadline to October 12, 2017.

Obama made the permanent lifting of sanctions dependent on Khartoum's progress on five areas of concern at the end of the review period.

"I have decided more time is needed for this review to establish that the Government of Sudan has demonstrated sufficient positive action across all of those areas," Trump's order said, adding that "the Government of Sudan has made some progress."

Washington imposed a complex set of economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 for its alleged backing of Islamist militant groups.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a US commando raid in Pakistan in 2011, was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

Washington also justified the embargo with accusations of scorched-earth tactics by Khartoum against ethnic minority rebels in war-torn Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since a brutal conflict erupted in Darfur in 2003, the United Nations says.

Prior to Trump's measure the UN said it hoped the US would make a "positive decision" on sanctions against Sudan for allowing more humanitarian aid access across war zones as sought.
Southlake Security was founded by Dan Barnes 39 years ago and has grown to nearly 1,800 customers. Mr. Barnes said he is looking forward to retirement.

"It has been a pleasure to work with Dan Barnes over the past several months finalizing this transaction," said Brian Duffy, president of electronic security for Per Mar Security Services. "Dan has been doing things the right way for 39 years, and we are honored that he has placed his trust in Per Mar to treat his customers well for many more.
Growing up in the Southwest, a tortilla was a thin flatbread used to wrap around grilled meat and make tacos. I was in my 30s before I visited Barcelona, Spain, and was served a Spanish tortilla  a completely different dish  and I fell in love instantly.

A Spanish tortilla is something like an incredibly tasty frittata made from sliced potatoes, vegetables and usually a flavorful cured meat, like Spanish chorizo or sausage. The tortilla is served hot or cold, cut into wedges  small pieces for an appetizer, or larger ones for a main dish. It's perfect at room temperature for picnics, warm for a lazy Sunday supper, or chilled in the fridge, for an easy-to-graze protein-filled snack.

I was surprised to discover how many calories were packed into one serving of this Spanish favorite. I decided to give it a little makeover by making three changes. First, given the current trendiness of trading out potatoes for cauliflower, I couldn't help but wonder if this swap would hold up for my beloved Spanish tortilla.

The answer is yes. The trick is to cut the cauliflower head into thin planks (chunky florets that fall away can be used for another recipe.) Steam the planks in a covered shallow saute pan with a little bit of water just for a few minutes to tenderize, and the cauliflower planks can be layered into the tortilla just as you would use cooked potato slices.

The second change was in the egg batter itself: I used reduced fat milk instead of the full fat version (or cream, depending on the recipe), and removed yolks from half the eggs, leaving the tortilla decidedly yellow enough and eggy, not egg whitey.

Lastly, I used reduced fat soy chorizo, which gives a ton of flavor for a fraction of the fat and calories of the regular version. (It's fresh chorizo, which is Mexican, not Spanish, but it works beautifully.) Surprisingly, you can buy this at many regular grocery stores, but if not, substitute reduced fat Italian sausage for a nice, if different, flavor.

The combination of shredded zucchini and onion, cooked until tender and sweet, made the body of the tortilla both tasty and nutritious. The result is an inexpensive, quick dish loaded with protein and veggies.

Lightened sweet zucchini and chorizo Spanish tortilla

Servings: 8

Start to finish: 30 minutes

1 small head of cauliflower, cut into thin planks, about 1/4-inch each

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped, about 1 cup

2 medium zucchini, shredded with large holes on a box grater, about 3 cups

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 ounces soy chorizo, or reduced fat chorizo (or other reduced fat sausage)

2 eggs

2 egg whites

1/2 cup reduced fat milk

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

olive oil in a mister, or nonstick spray

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In an 8-inch nonstick saute pan, place the cauliflower planks and cover with 1/4 cup water and a pinch of salt. Place on medium high heat, cover and steam until the cauliflower is tender, about 6 minutes. Remove the cauliflower, blot dry, and set aside.

Wipe the pan dry and add the olive oil and onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onions soften, about three minutes. Add the grated zucchini, and cook until tender, stirring often, about five minutes. Add the chorizo and smoked paprika, and cook another five minutes, stirring often, and then remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, the egg whites and milk. Add the zucchini and chorizo mixture and stir. Add the cheese and stir.

Spray the pan with a little olive oil in a mister (or nonstick spray). Pour the egg mixture into the pan, and then layer in the cauliflower planks, gently pressing into the eggs. Bake until egg is completely set, about 15-18 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow to cool for at least five minutes. Use a spatula to loosen the tortilla from the pan gently, and then carefully flip the whole tortilla onto a large plate or cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve. May be served warm or chilled.

Nutrition information per serving: 117 calories; 54 calories from fat; 6 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 62 mg cholesterol; 253 mg sodium; 9 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 8 g protein.
MOLINE -- Police are warning local businesses of a new scam that has already claimed one local victim.

According to Moline Police Detective Michael Griffin, the most recent ruse is for a caller with a blocked number to contact a shift manager at a local business, stating the upper management at the business is was under investigation for embezzlement. The shift manager is asked to complete an emergency deposit over the phone using Green Dot cards, which are prepaid gift cards.

"The caller requested the (local) manager to obtain the days deposit to purchase the gift cards and then provide the gift card information over the phone," Detective Griffin said.

He noted no legitimate government entity or business will request payment be made to them in the form of gift cards, Western Union money transfers or other electronic payments.

"When in doubt, the shift manager is encouraged to contact their immediate supervisor or their local police department with questions before distributing any money," he said.

For more details, contact Moline police at 309-797-0401 or Crime Stoppers of the Quad Cities at 309-762-9500.
Two men face federal charges for allegedly robbing a man and forcing him to arrange a drug deal so they could rob others.

Keenan Jewon Lewis, 21, address unavailable, and Dalonta Larenz Levy, 19, of Davenport, are charged with robbery, according to court documents filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

Court documents state that, on March 24, a man identified only as J.O. tried to buy marijuana in the area of 7th and Myrtle streets in Davenport. Mr. Lewis and Mr. Levy allegedly got into his car and robbed him at gunpoint of $177 before demanding he take them to his home. When J.O. said his grandmother was there, the two men threatened to kill him if he did not but said they would not harm him or his grandmother if he cooperated.

Court records alleged Mr. Levy and Mr. Lewis put items they took from J.O.'s home -- including a laptop computer, jewelry and frozen meat -- into a black duffel bag and demanded he arrange a marijuana buy so they could rob the seller.

After trying to talk the men out of it and pretending he couldn't reach a seller, J.O. arranged a meeting, according to court records, and the three men met the seller and another man. At the meeting, the three men got into the seller's vehicle and Mr. Levy and Mr. Lewis allegedly tried to grab the marijuana, court records state.

During a struggle, the seller and his friend were struck and the bag containing the marijuana was ripped open, with marijuana thrown about the vehicle, according to court records. As the alleged seller tried to drive away, one of robbers fell from his vehicle and J.O. jumped from it. A short time later, the alleged seller stopped and the remaining robber, armed with a revolver, got out and was picked up by a green Ford Explorer.

By this time J.O. had contacted police, court records state, and officers found the Explorer. Court records state the Explorer tried to flee but was damaged during the attempt, with several occupants of the Explorer detained by police, including Mr. Lewis. Police also allegedly recovered a handgun identified as being used in a fight earlier that night. Police also recovered another vehicle involved in alleged incidents, court records stated, and it contained a black duffel bag with frozen meat.

Mr. Lewis and Mr. Levy were identified in police lineups, according to court records. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Lewis allegedly was wearing jewelry J.O. identified as his and was carrying a holster for a pistol on his body.

Mr. Lewis and Mr. Levy were initially charged in Scott County, their cases later were dismissed, according to court records. Both men have federal court appearances scheduled on Friday.
PLAINFIELD, Ill. (AP)  A school band in suburban Chicago is raising money to feed horses that were injured in a barn fire that killed 18 other animals.

Twelve horses survived the fire last week at Del Real Stables near Plainfield. Since then, stable and horse owners have been helping care for the animals.

The Herald-News reports the daughter of the Del Real Stables owners is a band member at Plainfield South High School. When band director Jerrod Cook asked how the community could help, the family said the most immediate need was grain for the injured horses.

Cook says he decided to have a "food drive" for them.

On Wednesday the band will accept donations of cash and gift cards to farm supply stores, which will be used to buy grain.
By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) The Delhi Cabinet has approved the Health Departments proposal to increase the bed strength of Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) from existing 155 to 549 beds in total.

"The Cabinet also approved the revision of project estimates from Rs 389 crore to Rs 497.72 crore as per the latest estimates furnished by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) incorporating statutory taxes, all essential services and utilities and cost of fixed furniture and general furniture (which was not included earlier) and provision for additional beds," the government said in a statement today.

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There has been a tripartite agreement between DMRC, Directorate of Health Services and ILBS for the construction of phase-II of ILBS.

Besides, the increase in number of beds, super speciality, teaching and training facility and advance research facility with semi-automated parking and emergency facilities like helipad are being created in the institute, it said. PTI KND SMJ

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DES PLAINES, Ill. (AP)  A former suburban Chicago police officer fired five years ago amid accusations that he beat up handcuffed suspects may soon be going back to work.

The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reports that John Bueno will also receive $200,000 in back pay and will be eligible for a pension if the Des Plaines City Council approves a tentative settlement the city reached with Bueno.

But Bueno won't be back in uniform. Instead, he'd be allowed only to do administrative work from home and he must retire in 2019 when he becomes eligible for his pension.

An arbitrator previously ruled the city was wrong in firing Bueno because officials delayed investigating the allegations. The city manager says the city agreed to the settlement rather than risk losing a court case.
WHEATON, Ill. (AP)  A 55-year prison sentence has been handed a suburban Chicago man convicted in the 2013 shooting death of his mother.

DuPage County Circuit Judge Daniel Guerin on Tuesday sentenced Michael Bassaly to 30 years for the fatal shooting of 61-year-old Yvonne Zaky Bassaly. The judge added 25 years to the sentence for discharge of the weapon.

The woman's body was found by police in a car parked outside a Coptic church they attended in Burr Ridge. The 30-year-old Bassaly was found guilty of first-degree murder after a three-day trial in February.

Prosecutors say at the time of the killing, the Department of Homeland Security was investigating Bassaly on suspicion of filing fake asylum applications.

Bassaly has been held without bond at the DuPage County jail since the killing.
Today is Wednesday, July 12, the 193rd day of 2017. There are 172 days left in the year.

1867 -- 150 years ago: Advertisement: Use Hofflans German Bitters and order your coffin from Holst & Co.

1892 -- 125 years ago: B. Winter was marshal of the Rock Island section of the Twin City Columbian celebration.

1917 -- 100 years ago: Charles Long was installed noble grand of Lodge 18, I.O.O.F.

1942 -- 75 years ago: F.E. Peters was in Rock Island arranging to exhibit Colossus, a 68-ton whale.

1967 -- 50 years ago: Nikita Khrushchev, ruminating on his years in power, assesses the late President John F. Kennedy as a real statesman but calls former Vice President Richard Nixon a good for nothing an unprincipled puppet. The former Soviet premier claims the Kremlin helped Kennedy to victory over Nixon in the 1960 election by ignoring Nixons request that U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers be released from a Soviet prison. Khrushchev said Nixon had asked that Powers be released and if that had been done, he would have received half a million votes just for that.

1992 -- 25 years ago: Lucky birthdays and persistence resulted in a $65,571 payoff for a retired Moline couple last Friday when they matched all five numbers of the Illinois Little Lotto. Daniel and Arlene Roman, Moline, didnt discover they had won until Sunday, after returning home from church. Mr. Roman, 74, said he was flipping through the morning paper when he decided to glance at the lottery numbers. Mrs. Roman, 72, called the win shocking. The ticket was bought at the Yankee Doodle Liquor Store.
It seems that by September this year, the first information on how much money came back due to the bank exercise, will be revealed.

The nation might have emerged from the disruptive surge of the demonetisation exercise but the question - how much of the demonetised Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes came back into the system? - continues to haunt the government.

But now it seems that by September this year, the first information on how much money came back due to the bank exercise, will be revealed.

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RBI governor Urjit Patel today deposed before the Parliamentary panel for finance. During the deposition members of the panel from opposition parties repeatedly asked the governor to divulge the quantum that came back. The RBI governor was categorical, he said that the amount cannot be stated as the verification process was still on.

But there is a catch now, due to which, it's expected that the first indication on how much cash was mopped up by note ban will become clear by September.

Top sources in the government said today that this will be possible due to a procedural necessity. By June 30 the RBI closes its books, this is followed by an audit process which usually takes two months.

Today at the meeting of the Parliamentary committee, the chairman of the panel M Veerappa Moily raised this issue when the RBI governor was informing the members that the counting of notes process was on and more counting machines were being procured to speed up the process.

What sources are saying is that the book keeping exercise will give two clear indications come September - one the amount of demonetised currency that came back and also the counterfeit or fake currency that got into the system, as the RBI in its books has to mention its liability, and fake currency is a liability for the RBI.

On November 4, 2016, four days prior to the demonetisation announced by the PM, currency with the public was Rs 17.97 trillion. It had dropped to a low of Rs 8.98 trillion as on January 6 which amounted to around 86 per cent of the total currency in circulation by value.

Also Read:

Demonetisation: Can't ban people from depositing old notes, says Supreme Court; Centre to reply in 2 weeks

The good and bad of demonetisation

Watch Video: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's currency revamp: Full speech

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Celebrating Our Service Members

Friday, November 11 is Veterans Day, when we honor and show gratitude to all members of our Armed Forces  those currently serving, those who...

Transit Equity Starts With QueensLink

For decades Queens has seen a disinvestment in the necessary transit infrastructure the borough needs to promote equity and sustainability. Most of the time, transformative...
The DKr 55m ($US 8.45m) grant funding programme will enable freight operators to equip new and existing locomotives with ETCS as Denmark prepares for the rollout of ERTMS across the national network.

The EC says it has assessed the compatibility of the scheme under the 2008 Commission Guidelines on state aid for railway companies, concluding that the measures were proportionate, in accordance with EU state aid rules.

In April 2016 DB Cargo warned that it could be forced to pull out of the Scandinavian rail freight market because of the cost of equipping its locomotives with ETCS.
CN announced it will make a donation of C$25,000 to the Canadian Red Cross in support of relief efforts to aid victims of the fires in British Columbia.

The devastating impact of the wildfires in British Columbia saddens us all, said Doug Ryhorchuk, CNs Vice President of the Western Region. We want to help relief efforts and we are encouraging our employees to support their colleagues, customers and neighbors in British Columbia. We hope our donation to the Red Cross will encourage others to support those in need.

As of July 12 the Environment Ministry said 198 wildfires were burning in just under 400 square kilometers of B.C.s interior. Smoke has blanketed all but a small portion of the province.

The Montreal-based railroad is encouraging employees to donate to the relief efforts through the CN Employees and Pensioners Community Fund.
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NHS England's Five Year Forward View says, The traditional divide between primary care, community services and hospitalslargely unaltered since the birth of the NHSis increasingly a barrier to the personalised and coordinated health services patients' need. There seems to be an important opportunity for community hospitals within new care models being developed, but limited evidence of their explicit involvement in England.

There is a growing interest in the 300 community hospitals in England, 219 of which have beds, despite some facing an uncertain future. This is partly the result of an increased focus on shifting services closer to people's homes and delivering more integrated care locally.

Timely Advancement

RAND Europe, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and Bournemouth University were funded by the National Institute for Health Research to explore how NHS England can advance community hospitals and services in England.

The study drew on lessons from comparable hospital models in five other countriesNorway, Finland, Italy, Australia and Scotland. Overall, the evidence suggests that a more strategic role for community hospitals might be timely within the NHS in England.

The study's findings show that there is potential for community hospitals to address challenges within the NHS, notably through easing the pressure on acute hospitals and offering an effective and efficient alternative for people living with long term conditions. Currently 15 million people in England have a long term condition, which takes up 50 per cent of general practitioner visits, 70 per cent of the days patients spend in hospitals and 70 per cent of the overall NHS budget.

Community hospitals can offer a wide range of services that can be responsive to the needs of the local population.

Community hospitals can offer a wide range of services that can be responsive to the needs of the local population. These cover the entire spectrum of care provision, from preventative and primary care, through to inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical care.

Available evidence suggests that patients and staff value community hospitals. Patients express a positive experience and satisfaction with the service. The close proximity of community hospitals to the homes of patients was another positive feature in many contexts.

Both patients and staff valued the closer relationship that exists in community hospitals as compared to the larger acute hospitals. In fact, staff value key aspects of the community hospital setting, which include ease of access and a sense of homeliness.

Where Do They Fit

However, at a time when some other countries are seeking policies to strengthen the role of community hospitals, their role within the health system in England is not properly defined. Often community hospitals will be reactive to the needs of the larger hospitals rather than taking on the established role of acting as an interface between primary and secondary care and between health and social care or community services.

Indeed, the tension between the overall health system and where community hospitals fit in was present across all five countries studied.

Further challenges faced by community hospitals, which are often based in remote locations, include attracting and retaining suitable staff and maintaining a diverse employee skill set. Infrastructure and IT can also be a challenge, particularly where community hospitals are seeking to deliver integrated care.

In addition, the cost effectiveness of community hospitals is not clear, with the current evidence being limited. This is likely to be an area that warrants further exploration if NHS England continues to seriously consider the role of community hospitals within the health system. Ongoing research will look in more detail at the performance of community hospitals in relation to inpatient care for older people.

NHS England will need to directly address the challenges associated with community hospitals, particularly around the workforce and its cost.

Overall, there is potential for community hospitals to be better integrated into the current healthcare system in England. Indeed, they can play an important role in the middle of the patient journey between the home and the hospital and the hospital and the home. However, NHS England will need to directly address the challenges associated with community hospitals, particularly around the workforce and its cost.

If these challenges are addressed and the role of community hospitals within the English health system is properly defined, it could provide positive benefits to the health service. It seems that, if done correctly, community hospitals could be a traditional solution to help address some of the modern day challenges of the NHS.

Emma Pitchforth is a senior healthcare researcher at RAND Europe. Edwin van Teijlingen is Professor of Reproductive Health Research at Bournemouth University. Ellen Nolte is Head of London hubs at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. All three were involved in the study Community hospitals and their services in the NHS: identifying transferable learning from international developments scoping review, systematic review, country reports and case studies.

This commentary originally appeared on Health Service Journal on July 11, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
One issueone health care issue, no lesshas brought together a small alliance of congressional Democrats and Republicans in recent years: the need to better help people with chronic health conditions.

A new RAND study shows why, and adds a note of urgency to the effort. It found that 60 percent of American adults now live with at least one chronic condition; 42 percent have more than one. They account for hundreds of billions of dollars in health care spending every year.

The problem is only going to get more urgent. As the RAND study showed, chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure increase with ageas an entire generation of baby boomers is about to find out.

The RAND report comes just as several years of Senate hearings on the state of chronic care in America have led to a bipartisan bill that promises reform. As Sen. Ron Wyden, then-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, put it during a 2014 hearing: The strongest, richest country on earth can do better by those who have these kinds of chronic conditions.

Chronic Conditions Affect Millions of Americans

In just two words, the term chronic condition captures a huge swath of what ails America. As used in the RAND study, it includes any physical or mental health condition that lasts more than one year and either limits ability or requires ongoing treatment. That means high cholesterol and high blood pressure, anxiety and arthritis, heart disease and diabetes.

RAND researchers used data from a national survey on health care expenditures to compile a chartbook with the most up-to-date numbers on the cost and prevalence of such chronic conditions. Their estimates suggest that nearly 150 million Americans are living with at least one chronic condition; around 100 million of them have more than one. And nearly 30 million are living, day in and day out, with five chronic conditions or more.

Those at the highest end of the scale, with five or more conditions, represent about 12 percent of the U.S. adult population, but account for more than 40 percent of U.S. health spending, the RAND study showed.

Percentage of U.S. Adults, by Number of Chronic Conditions Number of Conditions Percentage of U.S. Adults 5+ 12% 3+ 28% 1+ 59% Percentage of U.S. Health Care Spending Number of Conditions Percentage of U.S. Health Care Spending 5+ 41% 3+ 67% 1+ 90%

That could translate into more than $1 trillion a year, based on current estimates of overall health care costs.

But prevalence rates and health care spending provide only a partial measure of the cost of chronic illness. Just ask Jenni Grover.

Living with Chronic Disease Is Hard Work

Jenni was 25 when she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic inflammatory disease that wrenched her fingers and sent bolts of pain shooting up her arms. She remembers her doctor handing her a pamphlet about the condition with the words, Get ready for a life of pain.

Photo by Alix Kramer

For her, multiple chronic conditions means nine prescriptions a day, for fibromyalgia as well as asthma, anxiety, a thyroid disorder, and irritable bowel syndrome. It means one or two doctor visits a week, missed work, the hikes that she can't go on with her new husband. She compares it to waking up with a bad case of the flu, every morning, for the rest of her life: When I wake up, she says, I feel like I'm a million years old. Everything hurts.

It's like a part-time job for me, just to stay well, she says. I dedicate a solid couple of hours a day just to maintain my health. That's not curing anything, that's not getting better. That's just maintaining.

She's 44 years old now, a freelance writer in Chicago, andwith bright orange hair, stylish glasses, and a nose ringnot at all the usual face of chronic disease. Even that pamphlet her doctor gave her featured a gray-haired senior citizen on the front. The RAND study showed that people 65 and older are by far the most likely to have chronic health problems, but it found something else as well. Around half of people in their mid-40s to mid-60s are living with multiple health conditions, too.

Unsustainable Stress on the Health Care System

The researchers found that women are more likely to have multiple diagnosed conditions than men, but that might be because women tend to see their doctors more often. Likewise, white people were more likely to report having chronic conditions than black or Hispanic people, but that could be because they have more access to insurance and health services.

The study used the most recent data available, from 2014too early to detect any possible impact from the Affordable Care Act, whose major provisions were only just starting to take effect. It found little change since 2008 in the overall prevalence of people living with multiple chronic conditions, but that masks some troubling increases in specific conditions. Rates of hypertension jumped 2.5 percentage points among men, for example; among women, rates of anxiety disorders increased by 4.4 percentage points.

People 65 and older will make up nearly a quarter of the population by 2060.

It's still a struggle for the health system as a whole to help people manage these conditions, said Christine Buttorff, an associate policy researcher at RAND and lead author of the study. The issue is slowly starting to gain traction. But as the baby-boom generation ages into Medicare, it's going to become even more important.

Federal census estimates provide some idea of what that will look like. They project that people 65 and older will make up nearly a quarter of the U.S. population by 2060, up from around 15 percent now. A separate study calculated that, as early as 2030, roughly two of every five people in that age bracket will be living with three chronic conditions or more.

Congress Is Paying Attention to the Problem

Numbers like those have the attention of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Since 2014, the Senate Finance Committee has been working on proposals to improve care for people with chronic conditions. The bipartisan bill that committee members introduced in April seeks to better coordinate care for people on Medicare with multiple chronic conditions, and help them manage their diseases.

Committee members called it the CHRONIC Care Act of 2017, for Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic Care. It has not yet made it to the Senate floor for a vote.

A coalition of patients, health care providers, and advocates, the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, sponsored the RAND study as part of its effort to raise awareness, on Capitol Hill and elsewhere, about the burden of chronic disease. We've got a long way to go, but we are starting to see some very positive steps, said Candace DeMatteis, the policy director of the organization.

Her interest is not just professional. Her 79-year-old father Jim is a diabetic with high blood pressure and such painful arthritis in his hands that it wakes him up at night.

It's just hard to see, she says. He's never been a complainer. But I've noticed, he's really kind of slowing down, having to take breaks more often. And the painit really forces him to slow down, to not do things he used to do. He hasn't been fishing in six months, and that was one of the joys of his life.

Living with Chronic Conditions: Attitude Matters

Jenni Grover likes to say that she doesn't suffer; she endures. She decided long ago to laugh at her multiple chronic conditions whenever she can, a perspective she shares on a blog she has written since 2005 called ChronicBabe. Sample advice: Shout out Hey-oh! rather than groaning whenever the pain gets badto take some of the air out of this big hot-air balloon that is chronic illness. She signs her emails, Be AWAPAs Well As Possible.

We can't be as well as we want to be, but we are working really hard.

She has 6,000 followers on Twitter, and 1,500 subscribers on YouTube.

I think it's important for people to know that there are so many of us who want to be well, she says. We can't be as well as we want to be, but we are working really hard.

She has a tattoo on the inside of her left arm, a quote from a favorite Buddhist teacher, a reminder on her worst days that shenot her chronic conditionsdetermines how to live her life. It reads, Peace is every step.

 Doug Irving
By PTI: Mumbai, Jul 12 (PTI) Praja Foundation, an NGO and a watchdog of civic affairs today said dengue cases have seen a massive rise of 265 per cent in Mumbai in the last five years.

Dengue cases have spiralled from 4,867 in 2012-13 to 17,771 in 2016-17, the NGO said.

Issuing a white paper on health, today, the NGO said, "As per the RTI data, dengue cases in government hospitals, dispensaries have increased from 4,867 in 2012-13 to 17,771 in 2016-17. Besides, tuberculosis (TB) cases have also seen a rise from 36,417 in 2012-13 to 50,001 in 2016-17."

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Milind Mhaske, project director of Praja Foundation, said, "Nearly 18 people are estimated to have died each day from TB in 2016-17."

"However, DOTS, the flagship government programme to tackle TB, saw a dramatic drop in enrolment, decreasing from 30,828 patients in 2012 to 15,767 patients in 2016," he said.

"Astonishingly, municipal councillors asked only 45 questions in the past five years on TB, compared to 68 questions on naming, renaming of hospitals, cemeteries in the same period," he said.

Commenting on the findings, Mhaske added, "The continuing increase in cases of major diseases such as these indicates that various authorities in Mumbai have much to worry about. We have a long way to go towards achieving goals of sustainable development."

Every year, Praja commissions a household survey to Hansa Research to incorporate health related perspectives of citizens. This year, the survey was conducted with over 20,000 households.

"The BMC needs to step out of denial mode and tackle the ongoing health crisis head on. The same goes for other governmental authorities, who must step up to the challenge and ensure a healthier city," Shivali Bagayatkar, project officer at Praja Foundation, said. PTI APM RMT

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Treason trial of former Ukrainian president Yanukovych to resume in August - report

MOSCOW, July 12 (RAPSI)  The Obolonsky District Court of Kiev has postponed the trial of ex-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, who stands charged with treason, until August 3, UNIAN agency reported Wednesday.

The court adjourned the hearing giving a new attorney of the accused time to study case materials.

On July 5, Yanukovych told Russian journalists that he refused to take part in the trial. According to Yanukovych, he does not want to participate in a trial with a predetermined outcome adding that lawyers are powerless in a country of annihilated justice. He also recalled his defense team.

However, prosecutors asked the court to appoint a defense attorney for Yanukovych.

In December, Ukraines Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko read charges against Yanukovych in a court through videoconference link. According to Lutsenko, Yanukovych, who was involved in violation of Ukraines territorial integrity, is held responsible for a 1.8-trillion-hryvnia (about $70 billion) damage caused to the country.

Shortly after, the Pechersky District Court in Kiev issued an arrest warrant for Yanukovych in absentia.

The Ukrainian prosecutors accuse the former president of using fire arms against protesters in Kiev in late 2013 and early 2014.

The political crisis erupted in Ukraine in late November 2013 after the government announced that it had halted the countrys association with the European Union. Protests, called Euromaidan, swept across the country and led to violent clashes between armed activists and law enforcement officers in late 2013 and early 2014.

Fighting between radical anti-government protesters and police culminated in mass riots on February 18, 2014. On February 20, fire was opened on protestors. Over 100 people died those days on both sides, according to RIA Novosti.

Ukraine's authorities claim "Berkut" officers to be blamed for the shootings.

Russia says that militants of Right Sector, a far-right Ukrainian group banned in Russia, may have been behind the attack.

Yanukovych said he did not give order to law enforcers to use fire arms against protesters when testifying about the events in Kiev.

Ukraine went through a regime change on February 22, 2014, when President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country and Euromaidan activists rose to power in Kiev.

In early 2015, it was reported that the Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office addressed Russia with a request to extradite the former president.

On June 6, 2016, Russia declined to extradite Yanukovych, according to the Prosecutor Generals Offices spokesman Alexander Kurennoy.

A motion for provisional arrest and detention of Yanukovych filed by Ukraine was considered and dismissed in accordance with Article 3 (Political offences) of the 1957 European Convention on Extradition, he told journalists. Ukrainian authorities were informed about this decision, Kurennoy added.
MOSCOW, July 12 (RAPSI) - The Presnensky District Court of Moscow on Wednesday sentenced Russian businessman Sergey Polonsky to 5 years in prison for large-scale embezzlement but released him from punishment, RAPSI learnt from the court.

The businessman was freed from jail in the courtroom because the statute of limitation had expired.

On June 20, a prosecutor asked the court to sentence the defendant to 8 years in prison and a 900,000-ruble (about $15,000) fine.

In December 2016, after a prosecutor had read the indictment, Polonsky denied all charges.

According to investigators, Polonsky, aided by Alexander Paperno, Head of the Mirax Group Finance Department and Alexey Pronyakin, CEO of Avanta company, have defrauded participants of shared construction apartment projects of 2.6 billion rubles ($43 million at the current exchange rate), thus committing a serious crime.

Polonsky, who is the founder of Potok (formerly Mirax Group), a diversified corporation that has been involved in several large development projects, is deemed to cause damages in amount of 2.4 billion rubles regarding Kutuzov Mile and 256 million rubles with regard to Rublyovskaya Riviera development projects.

Other projects Polonsky has been involved in include Federation Tower in the Moscow International Business Center, office buildings Mirax Plaza, Poklonnaya 11 and Admiral, condominium developments Mirax Park, Golden Keys 1 and 2, and the Well House.

In May 2015, the Cambodian authorities, where Polonsky had been avoiding Russian prosecution, extradited him to Russia.
State Duma adopts bill on status of meetings between imprisoned parents and their children

Context State Duma passes bill on meetings between imprisoned parents and their children

MOSCOW, July 12 (RAPSI)  The State Duma has passed in the third and final reading a bill allowing meetings between imprisoned parents and their children, the database for the lower house of parliament reads on Wednesday.

The bill introduces changes to the Penal Code of Russia. According to the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Counteracting Corruption Vasily Piskarev, these amendments are enforcing Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In particular, they allow to maintain connection between children and parents and avoid potential negative consequences for a childs emotional and psychological state caused by a prolonged separation.

Authors of the bill propose to allow convicted mothers of a child under the age of 14 or a child with disabilities to visit their children outside a penal colony for 15 days, two times a year in the first case and four times in the second one.

Convicted fathers will receive the same right if they are single parents.

The bill does not concern people convicted of crimes against children and teenagers as well as several other categories of inmates convicted of crimes of increased public danger.
A version of this article first appeared at EastWest.eu. Translated from the Italian by Joel Weickgenant. The views expressed here are the author's own.

In an interview with Politico last April, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama raised a dangerous prospect for the Western Balkans: the project for a Greater Albania. The idea cited by Rama would unify under a single flag all of the ethnic Albanian enclaves peppered across the various modern states in the Balkans and separated by borders in a decades-long state of flux.

Specifically, as Rama highlighted in his interview with Andrew McDowell, [n]o one would like to turn [in] on themselves and look for smaller unions, everyone would like to unite in the big union. But if theres no hope, no perspective, no space, then, of course, little unions may happen. Feeding into the growing polemic a few days later was Ramis Kosovar counterpart Hashim Thaci, who said that without the EU as an objective, ethnic Albanians would want to live unified in a single country.

We always seem to know too little about the Balkans, and still less about Albania, despite the mere 46 miles that stand between that country and the Cape of Otranto in Italys south. My own knowledge was fairly limited on the eve of a journey to the Balkans this summer -- my second such journey, but this one undertaken from the south, where the ferry let out at the Albanian port city of Durres. Starting from the south Adriatic like this, the Balkans lose their Serbo-centric geographical organization and appear under a new perspective, draped in the red of the Albanian flag. Even once youve crossed the border into the territories of the former Yugoslavia, Albania shouts at you from all corners. I was especially struck by the road in Macedonia from Ohrid to Skopje: The entry to one village after another was greeted by blatant displays of Albanian banners -- this despite being fully within FYROM borders.

In learning about Albania I had turned to the author Antonio Caiazza and his book In Alto Mare: viaggio nellAlbania dal comunismo al futuro. (In High Seas: A Journey Through Albania From Communism to the Future.) The book masterfully marries Albanias history to its culture, examining the painful dramas of its recent past and the surprising voices of politicians, intellectuals, and common people. High Seas builds a solid foundation from which to gaze at Albania -- at its future along the road it has decided to travel since it struggled to emerge from its 40-year sociopolitical isolation. And to understand the real sense of Greater Albania, I spoke to the books author, a journalist for the Trieste office of Italys RAI television, one of Italys top experts on Albania.

Mr. Caiazza, first of all what does Greater Albania mean?

Antonio Caiazza: The idea of a Greater Albania was born during the Italian occupation [during World War II], when all of the Albanian-speaking areas found themselves gathered within a single contiguous space. Obviously it was administered first by Italy, and then by the Axis powers. Fascist Italy considered Albania the beachhead it could use to break Greece. At the time, the borders of the protectorate included present-day Kosovo, the south of Montenegro, northwest Macedonia, all the way to Presevo Valley.

But the concept of a Greater Albania, or as they call it, Ethnic Albania, precedes this phase. It goes back to that epoch when all of Europe was shaken by the surge of movements formed around the idea of the nation-state -- of states unified by a single language, with a shared culture, and not dominated by a foreign power.

How do we interpret the statements made by Rami and Thaci on the subject?

Beyond statements made by politicians -- each of them suited to their own political purposes, issued at a time when both countries were soon to vote -- what remains and what helps you understand the intentions of a people are the cultural movements. I start from further back: The idea of a nation is inversely proportional to the appeal of the idea of great agglomerations, of great confederations. Europe, the concept of European Union, risks failure, and new candidates to its membership cannot fail to account for its instability. Public opinion takes this into account as well, with rising skepticism toward Brussels when the duties imposed seem superior to the expected benefits. Such a circumstance gives free rein to nationalist movements, and those have always existed in the Balkans.

The words of Rama and Thaci thus become a weapon, a way to hold Brussels hostage: If you dont let us in, if you dont accelerate the bureaucratic processes, the legislative adjustments, well go ahead and make our Greater Albania. Why is this a threat? Because it means undermining and destabilizing an entire area. Consider that Greater Albania means first of all unifying Kosovo and Albania, but do you think those ethnic Albanians living in that borderland between Albania and Macedonia would sit and watch? Or would they jump in too? And what about the area in the north of Greece, in the south of Montenegro? There would most probably be revolts.

If you then take Macedonia as an example  those Albanian flags you saw in Macedonia are located in a territory that for 20 years has felt like its own state entity. An Albanian university was founded in Tetovo, and the students there receive a degree to which the Macedonian state accords no value. Its fully staffed and has its own docents, but Tetovos Albanian university is clandestine, just as the entire state apparatus erected by the Kosovo Liberation Army was clandestine when Kosovo was still formally part of Serbia, with Serbian police still in charge of law enforcement. It was a parallel state, and Albanians paid taxes to the KLA. After the war this parallel structure became a state.

Are there risks for Macedonia too?

In Macedonia we see the same phenomenon: The parallel state right now is somewhat dormant, but when Kosovo was born, the fervor of the moment spread to Macedonia as well, and there were clashes. Were this Greater Albania to be born, Macedonia would set off, immediately -- the whole area would be destabilized. This is why I say that the political statements you mention are nothing more than a way to pressure the European Union, to hold it hostage. They are meant to say: Let us in, while you still exist. After all, you guys have your problems, too.

What would be the immediate benefits for Albania of EU membership?

The benefits are financial -- funds more ample and better structured than the episodic funding Albania and Kosovo already enjoy from Europe. The advantages tied to the removal of border controls, visas, or increased mobility are really minor advantages, especially since Albanians and Kosovars already won the right to come and study in Europe. In Italy, we have more than 11,000 Albanian students in our universities, and who knows how many more there are in the rest of Europe.

If on one side Greater Albania is a provocation to Europe, the risk of destabilization on the borders with Greece, Macedonia, and Montenegro is real. What is the biggest fear for Albanias neighbors? And what is the role played by separatist entities who in the past, and Im thinking about Kosovo here, have operated in the area?

Kosovos KLA has become a state, but it was born as a guerrilla group. In the era of the Kosovo War, the KLA had bases in Macedonia too -- mostly logistical bases. Attacks werent launched from Macedonia, but the groups there functioned as a rearguard, and you had arms deposits, munitions and supplies passed from there. Macedonia is fertile terrain from this point of view, and just as in that era Macedonia was the rearguard of the war in Kosovo, in a future conflict Kosovo could serve as the rearguard for a war in Macedonia. And the fact that these two countries eventually might be EU members would not be enough to stop Kosovars and Albanians from supporting a separatist movement in Macedonia.

Which effectively already exists.

Oh sure, in Macedonia everything is ready to go.

We already had the sad episode of the attack on parliament in Skopje

The Macedonians try to do what they can. Macedonia is a little Yugoslavia, just like Bosnia-Herzegovina is. Macedonia is no pure state from a national point of view. There are Macedonians, but also Roma, Serbs, Bulgarians. And then there are the Greeks, and then there are the Albanians. All of them represented in healthy proportions. Macedonians tried to placate Albanians aspirations for autonomy or a greater role by giving them the presidency in parliament, and what happened, happened. Macedonia is on the brink, just as Bosnia-Herzegovina is on the brink.

Europe knows this. The situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina is stretching the very limits of stability -- Serbs would like to unite with Serbs, Croatians think of unity with Croatians -- we cant forget the ideas of a Greater Croatia or Greater Serbia.

The reality is that the solution of a tripartite Bosnia doesnt seem to be long-lived. It served to stop the massacre. But in the context of nationalism that is not latent but rather explosive, Bosnia-Herzegovina is a state out of the world and out of history -- its outside of any cultural context. It would be nice if in the schools of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbian were taught and spoken in areas with a Croatian majority and vice versa, but it is not so. Nationalism still wins out.

In this context, the pan-Albanism were speaking of could be the spark that sets the Balkans alight?

It can beyond a doubt be that. The Balkans immediately forget the tragedy of war and start another one. Balkan wars have been an infinity. I see no lucid strategy behind the hypothesis of a Greater Albania, one elaborated coldly at a table between Tirana and Pristina; I mean, we dont have two ruling classes sitting down and saying all right, lets create this great state because its useful to our people. I dont buy it. It can be pushed as a way to hold Brussels hostage; it can exist because they no longer feel protected by an absent European Union, one that is weaker all the time. So they harmonize in an anti-Serbian key, they unify in order to count more, to reassure themselves. But a single Albanian state could play a role in its first year of life, after which it would be lacerated and eaten alive from the inside by the differences between Kosovars and Albanians -- differences that exist and are profound. We can in other words arrive at Greater Albania as an accident of history, where it starts as a way to threaten the European Union, only to result in the actual emergence of a Greater Albania. But from that very moment the real problems would begin. If there was no need to hold Brussels feet to the fire, why then would Kosovos ruling class ever consider such a political suicide? Which is exactly what it would be.

In what sense?

A Greater Albania would be commanded by Tirana, certainly not by Pristina. Right now in Kosovo there is a state. There is a president, a prime minister, ministers, undersecretaries, deputies, and other functionaries at every level. Under a Greater Albania all of this disappears. Its pointless to envision power shared half-and-half -- Tirana would take over everything. Today Albania functions as the mother of the Kosovar state, it holds Kosovos hand. All moves on the international scene are undertaken under Albanias protective wing. Its normal that it should be so, because Kosovo is a pristine new state -- it has no international experience -- while Albania has long existed. It has structure, and it has a diplomatic history to which Kosovo has no analogue. Today it holds Kosovos hand, but as a unitary state Tirana would say well take care of this now. And why would Pristina accept this, knowing full well that it is exactly what would happen?

At the end of the day these two countries already have their own internal problems.

Certainly. And union would merge those problems and create new ones. Diffidence, lack of trust, of relating substantially different realities. The rapport for instance with Serbs (not just the Serbian state, but the people and their culture) is very different for Albanians than it is for Kosovars. In short, I dont believe in Greater Albania. It doesnt seem to me like it would simplify anything; it would only spur greater chaos.
When the leaders of Albania, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo sit down with EU leaders in Italy on July 12, the agenda will be familiar. The summit is the fourth in a series of annual get-togethers known as the Berlin Process, and its goal is to strengthen economic ties between the European Union and the Western Balkans, as well as among the countries of the Western Balkans themselves.

The meetings, which will be attended by representatives from Germany, France and other EU members, are also the latest attempt by the European Union to preserve its influence in a politically fragile region. While the summit will focus heavily on infrastructure, specifically helping the Western Balkans become more connected in the fields of energy and transport, the Berlin Process is primarily a soft power tool for the European Union. Money plays an important role in the exercise of such soft power. For the 2014-2020 period, the European Union allocated 11.7 billion euros ($13.3 billion) in pre-accession funds for Western Balkan countries that aspire to join the bloc. The promise of accession, and the money that comes with it, is used to try to make the region as stable as possible, while also serving as leverage when dealing with national and regional leaders.

But the European Union's strategy for the Western Balkans is not without its challenges, and tension among countries in the region remains. Serbia, for example, does not recognize Kosovo's independence, which is one of the main obstacles for Serbia's accession to the European Union. Meanwhile, the regional government in the Republika Srpska, one of the entities that make up Bosnia-Herzegovina, regularly threatens to hold an independence referendum. And Serbia and Albania have cold relations, while disputes between ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians make Macedonia politically fragile. Some disputes even involve EU member states, as Greece does not recognize Macedonia's name and has threatened to veto its potential accession to the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization. More recently, Croatia has said it will not recognize a ruling by an international tribunal that was meant to settle a border dispute with Slovenia, which could create a precedent for future border disputes in the region.

The United Kingdom's Brexit could further undermine the European Union's soft power, as the smaller EU budget likely to result from the departure may mean smaller contributions for the Western Balkans. Crucially, the European Union itself is also probably not ready to accept new members any time soon. Following the economic crisis that began almost a decade ago, the bloc has faced political and economic problems and growing nationalist sentiment. In the coming years, the main threat to stability in the Western Balkans will be the perception that EU accession is not a realistic prospect for countries in the region. Should the promise of accession weaken, national and regional governments will have fewer incentives to introduce economic and political reforms or to seek political dialogue with their neighbors.

While the European Union's influence may waver, another foreign power has an active role in the region: Russia. The country has political, economic and cultural ties with countries such as Serbia and regions such as the Republika Srpska, and Moscow often uses infrastructure projects to bolster its foreign policy. Russia is currently discussing plans with Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary to revive the South Stream pipeline project, which was abandoned in 2013 under pressure from the European Union. If the Western Balkans are forced to wait too long to join the EU family, they may opt for a more reliable suitor elsewhere.
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By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) Delhi Universitys fourth cut-off saw a dip of 0.25 per cent from the previous list with the highest settling at 97.75 per cent for BA (Hons) Psychology course at Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR).

In the third list, LSR had pegged its highest cut-off at 98 per cent for the same course.

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Second highest cut-off in the fourth list are 97.25 per cent for BA (Hons) Journalism at LSR and BA (Hons) Economics at Hindu College.

The DU had announced its first cut-off on 23 June and the highest was 99.66% for BSc (Hons) Electronics in SGTB Khalsa College.

About 57 per cent of around 52,000 seats in undergraduate courses in various Delhi University colleges have been filled till now.

Admissions that begins tomorrow for the fourth-list will continue till July 15.

"After approval of admission by respective colleges, the applicant has to make online payment on the varsitys website till the deadline announced by the administration," a release said.

Next cut-off list will be released on July 18. PTI CPB DIP

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By India Today Web Desk: A complaint has been filed against actor Kamal Haasan by Hindu Makkal Katchi--a nationalistic Hindu party in Tamil Nadu-- for hosting Bigg Boss Tamil. Also demanding a ban on the show, the fringe group says the show is against Tamil culture. The group has filed the complaint with the Chennai Police Commissioner demanding the arrest of the veteran actor and all the other participants of Bigg Boss Tamil. They say that Kamal Haasan has tarnished the reputation of Tamil Nadu and Tamil culture.

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Chakrapani Maharaj of Hindu Mahasabha spoke to India Today and said, "Things shown in Bigg Boss are against the cultural value of India and no one who supports Indian culture will support this show. Earlier also Kamal Haasan has spoken against Mahabharata and Hindu culture, and we are sure that in future he will again speak something through this show that will hurt Hindu sentiments."

"The participants are mouthing obscene statements and are acting 75 per cent nude. It is also derogative of Tamil culture and hurts the sentiments of seven crore Tamilians," read the complaint.

"They should be arrested under law because they are hurting Tamil culture and the show should be banned," the statement added.

The show, which went on air June 25 on Star Vijay, marked the television debut of Kamal Haasan.

Earlier, Kamal Haasan had courted controversy when in an interview to a Tamil channel he had said, "In Mahabharata, Panchali was used a pawn while the men gambled. She was used as a collateral. And India is a country that respects and honours a book that revolves around men using a woman to gamble away as if she was a mere object." A PIL was filed against the actor for alleged derogatory remarks on Mahabharata.

Bigg Boss Tamil premiered on June 25 and is hosted by Kamal Haasan. Before the show was premiered, Kamal Haasan had said in a statement, "When Bigg Boss approached me to play the host, I funnily quipped, who better than me, right? All my life, I have been under a constant watch and have been judged on whatever I have done, public or private." (With inputs from Pramod Madhav)

Also read: Kamal Haasan's Bigg Boss Tamil begins: 15 contestants enter the house

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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 07/11/2017



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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.

couple Jordan Rodgers and JoJo Fletcher have yet to set a wedding date, but Jordan has revealed when that big day comes, he would prefer to have the event off-camera.Jordan, 28, admitted that when he gets married to his fiancee JoJo, 26, he does not want the ceremony to be televised, according to The Hollywood Reporter."It's something everyone always asks us. That's something we would have to discuss together but very honestly, my first reaction would be that I would probably rather not," Jordan explained."There's a distinct intimacy and privacy and it's a very special moment with family and friends, and I wouldn't want anything to tarnish that or to take away from that. It's a time that I want to be able to honor my fiancee and soon-to-be wife and her family, and I want it to be ours."Jordan suggested he doesn't want ABC taking over the reins of his wedding day. As with previous televised weddings, such as Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert's wedding for example, many people from Bachelor Nation were invited who probably wouldn't have made the guest list to begin with."I want us to run the show and make sure it's always what we imagined," Jordan said of his pending nuptials with JoJo. "If there's a way to do that and include fans, great. But that wouldn't be my first wish."The couple got engaged at the conclusion of 's twelfth season in Summer 2016, so Jordan and JoJo have been dating for about one year now.When asked why they haven't set a wedding date , Jordan told The Reporter, "The commitment to each other is absolutely still there and that's something we are going to do. We're also figuring out our life. We're learning more about each other every single day, what our life is going to look like and where it's going to be. Both of our careers and what we're passionate about."Jordan said he's simply enjoying his engagement to JoJo right now, adding that there is no need to rush marriage when they're so happy."[We are] continuing to date and court each other, and getting to know each other even more. And then when the time is right, we're absolutely going to sit down and start planning that," Jordan said of the wedding. "But we're definitely taking our time. We want everything to be right and make sure we're in the right place."Jordan currently works as a sportscaster on the SEC Network while he said JoJo is back to flipping houses again. When she first appeared on Ben Higgins ' season of The Bachelor, JoJo was dubbed a real estate developer although she was only responsible for one property at the time.The pair also recently moved to a new residence in Dallas, TX, which is JoJo's hometown."We just moved to a different place in a great neighborhood close to JoJo's family," Jordan told The Reporter. "We're getting settled and moving everything in -- there's clothes everywhere and we're getting our closets together right now. But we love our little neighborhood that we're in."However, Jordan noted they aren't sure whether they'll live in Dallas forever and there are "a lot of moving parts" as they attempt to figure things out together.In the meantime, the former reality TV stars are "very relaxed" and enjoying their "downtime" together."Even six months after [ ], it was still crazy. We would have people showing up at our house all day and night. Depending the city you are in, the cameras will follow you whether you are grocery shopping or whatnot. You always feel like you have to be 'on,'" Jordan said of fame and life in the spotlight."It's definitely slowed down and is much more normal now. We still love seeing our fans and fans that want pictures, but it feels back to somewhat normal."
"The Real Housewives of Miami" alum Joanna Krupa is officially headed for divorce.

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The 38-year-old model recently filed to end her four-year marriage to Romain Zago after splitting from the club owner in May, according to TMZ.

Krupa said in legal documents that her marriage is "irretrievably broken," although sources said the split was "extremely amicable."

Krupa and Zago divided their assets in a marital settlement agreement dated Monday.

"Joanna and Romain successfully and amicably resolved all matters; both remain friends and desire the best for each other," a lawyer for the pair said in a statement to E! News.

People reported May 9 that Krupa and Zago had amicably separated. The reality star shared a topless photo and a cryptic message Tuesday on Instagram following word of her divorce.

"Falling in love with yourself first don't make you vain or selfish - it makes YOU. #JoannaKrupa #BlackDoorManor," she captioned the picture.

Krupa is known for competing on "Dancing with the Stars" Season 9, and starring in Seasons 2 and 3 of "The Real Housewives of Miami."

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She is a host and judge on the reality competition "Poland's Next Top Model."
New England. Its a region of the United States steeped in history. The Mayflower landed here. And the Boston Massacre, as well as the Boston Tea Party, set the American Revolution in motion. Folks from New England are Yankees, some are patriots, and its in New England we find Yankee Hill Machine.

YHM is the manufacturer of modern sporting rifle parts including rail accessories, complete uppers and suppressors. YHM has produced parts for some of the big names in the black rifle market and they have their own lineup of AR parts and rifles. Theyre entering into their 66th year of operation and continue to build high-quality, American-made products for an exceptional value.

We traveled to central Massachusetts, an area rich with firearms manufacturing history, to visit the crew at YHM and test out their new suppressor, the YHM TURBO. Much like the challenge to the status quo the American Revolution offered, the YHM TURBO is certain to shake up the suppressor market. Completely redesigned from their popular Phantom line, the TURBO and its bigger brother the NITRO 30, are unlike any other suppressor available in value. With the possibility of the NFA being repealed, this suppressor will give you even more to celebrate like our revolutionary brothers and sisters.

At RECOIL, were just as excited as our readers for the possibility of the Hearing Protection Act to pass, which would remove silencers from the NFA listing. Not only would this be a political victory for the firearms community, itd eliminate the $200 tax stamp and, of course, make the range a little quieter. This possibility, along with the introduction of the YHM TURBO for only $489, makes the possibility of owning a 5.56 can for under $500 a reality. We shot the TURBO at the YHM range with a few members of the YHM staff. Shooting the can alongside the guys who designed it proved highly educational and convenient, as all of our questions were answered immediately.

We asked about the finish and were told our test can was fresh out of production and the high-temperature Cerakote finish was literally still drying as it was placed in our outstretched paws. The TURBOs construction, we were told, features a stainless steel body with Inconel blast baffle. Inconel is a nickel-chromium super-alloy, resistant to corrosion and oxidation.

We asked about full-auto capability and were shown a destruction test of the suppressor in the lab on YHM Advertising Manager Dave Ss phone. As we huddled around the smartphone, we watched the rifle, set in a vice, rip through drum mags and turn the suppressor various shades of orange, red, and white.

When we asked about the value of the suppressor, we learned the TURBO comes with the quick-detach muzzle brake. With some other manufacturers suppressors requiring the purchase of specific adapters, competitor suppressors have hidden charges not realized with the initial cost. This saves the buyer at least an extra hundred bucks. Sold as a combo suppressor and QD mount, the buyer has everything he needs (minus the rifle, mags and ammo) to reap the benefits of a suppressed rifle. YHM is seriously undercutting other manufacturers who sell these components separately.

We traveled to Massachusetts for this review and even though the state is rich with firearms history, a lot has changed since the revolutionary days. We werent going to risk imprisonment so we relied on the YHM crew to provide a host rifle. Like the TURBO, the host rifle is made entirely at the YHM facility with the exception of anything glass or plastic. It was equipped with the quick-detach mount thats sold with the TURBO. This QD, three-chamber brake and mount serves as a sacrificial baffle and adds more baffles to the sound suppression system without adding them to the suppressor body. It also works well to reduce felt recoil by expelling gases to the sides and out of the line of sight when used without the suppressor. This rifle and suppressor package handled extremely well and driving the rifle sights from one target to the next was effortless. When added to our test rifle, the YHM TURBO, at only 6.5 inches, didnt extend the overall length to an unwieldy proportion. The rifle balanced well with the TURBO attached and we couldnt complain about it being front heavy. The extra weight was enough to help with muzzle flip but not enough to force our sights low as we recovered our sight picture. During testing, we used a mixed ammo box of 55-grain rounds from various manufacturers and experienced no anomalies and consistent performance without a malfunction.

As with any suppressor and semi-automatic pairing, we encountered some blowback, a result of the can creating backpressure in the system. It was not uncomfortable, but noticeable; but if we had a 5.56 bolt gun, it wouldnt register on our radar. As with any AR, some mods (different charging handle, gas-venting bolt carrier, or a maybe a thin layer of silicon, if thats your thing) are available to limit the amount of gas-face. The YHM TURBO suppressor didnt produce Hollywood quiet noise suppression, but it did lower the rifles report to a point where we would not hesitate to use it without ear protection in the open. Since we were shooting in and around a covered range, we used electronic ear pro to dampen the report in the enclosed area. We didnt notice as loud of a report as we progressed downrange and closed on the targets. The only complaint we can anticipate about the TURBO suppressor is the fact it is not direct thread compatible; its gotta be used with the supplied brake. Other than that, were waiting for the titanium version drop so we can make a little noise again with the YHM crew.

Just as the muzzle loader was the firearm of choice for the American Revolution patriots, the AR15 is the rifle of choice for modern day patriots. Our forefathers would have killed for the tactical and practical advantage of sound suppression like the YHM TURBO Suppressor affords. For less than $500, you wont have to. For that price point, the YHM TURBO is bound to become a popular sound suppressor whether the Hearing Protection Act passes or not. According to the folks at YHM, The new TURBO brings suppressors into the reach of the everyday shooter, where it should be. The regular firearms enthusiast does not have thousands of dispensable dollars to throw away on this years newest gimmick in the world of sound suppression, they want something that they will trust will perform to the highest standards, and have a ton of features and stats that reassure them they made the right choice. Suppressors for all firearms? That is a revolution we can get behind!

Pros

-Saves you money for more gun parts.

-Comes with a Q.D. brake/suppressor mount

-Downward compatible with smaller calibers

-Designed for rigorous use

-Lifetime warranty

Cons

-Not user serviceable

-No direct-thread option

-No titanium option  yet

Specifications:

WEIGHT: 13.5 ounces

LENGTH: 6.5 inches

DIAMETER: 1.56 inches

BODY: 17-4 Stainless Steel

BLAST BAFFLE: 718 Inconel

SOUND: 134 dB (average out of 14.5-inch AR, 55-grain ammo)

MSRP: $489

URL: YHM.net
Without George Eastman, cameras would not have become small enough to carry, let alone take selfies!

By India Today Web Desk, Roshni Chakrabarty: George Eastman, the founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, was a high-school dropout and wasn't very bright when compared to his peers. But Eastman was extremely resourceful and had a knack for management. Coupled with his inventive mind, he turned into a very successful entrepreneur just by his mid-twenties.

He began his career as a 14-year-old messenger boy and went on to found the Eastman Kodak Company in 1892. This was the beginning of our selfies and made "the camera as convenient as the pencil" instead of a very complicated, time consuming activity.

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"Mr. Eastman was a giant in his day. The social philosophy, which he practiced in building his company, was not only far in advance of the thinking during his lifetime, but it will be years before it is generally recognized and accepted," wrote biographer Carl W. Ackerman, in 1932, according to the Kodak website.

On his 163rd birth anniversary, here are a few facts that you should know about the founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, George Eastman and how he built his company from scratch:

Photos of young George Eastman

Growing up

Eastman was the youngest of three siblings and was born in an upstate New York village on July 12, 1854

When George was five, his father took the family to Rochester where he established the Eastman Commercial College. However, he died soon after and the college failed as well, thus leaving the family is dire circumstances. George had to leave school by 14 and find a job

Eastman started out as a messenger boy with an insurance firm at the tender age of 14 for 3 dollars a week, following which he joined as an office boy in yet another insurance company

His measly pay of 5 dollars a week at the insurance firm made him study accounting at home in the evenings, and five years later, in 1874, he was employed at the local Rochester Savings Bank for 15 dollars a week

The handheld Kodak camera The handheld Kodak camera

Bitten by the photography bug

At 24, Eastman made a plan to vacation at Santo Domingo and was asked by a colleague to record to event. However, the "pack horse load" of supplies including a microwave sized camera, chemicals, glass tank, heavy plate holder and a heavy tripod, which were all required to click a photograph in those days of wet plate photography made him cancel the trip and instead work on simplifying the photography process

Eastman worked at the bank in the daytime and experimented with photography at night. He read in British magazines how certain photographers were working on dry plate photography by using gelatine emulsions on the photography plates so that they remained sensitive even when dry. He started making his own emulsions using a formula from one of these journals

After experimenting for three years, Eastman not only developed a successful dry plate formula by 1880, but also patented a machine that could make these photography plates with the new formula. He wondered how he could sell these to other photographers

Third-floor dark room and workshops, Clicked by Eastman in 1920 (source: eastman.org) Third-floor dark room and workshops, Clicked by Eastman in 1920 (source: eastman.org)

Setting up shop and breaking ground

In 1880, Eastman bought a second-hand engine for 125 dollars and started to manufacture dry plates from a building in Rochester's State Street. A businessman named Henry A. Strong was very impressed by this business prospect and invested money into Eastman's idea

The Eastman Dry Plate Company was born on January 1, 1881, with the partnership between George Eastman and Henry A Strong, and George retired from the bank later that year

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The transparent Kodak film

Business grew, and with 14 shareholders, the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company came to place in 1884, while the Eastman Company was formed in 1889. It was when the Eastman Kodak Company of New York came into being in 1892 that we know it by this name. The Jersey branch of the company came up in 1901 as per the state laws

Heavy glass plates were another problem area in photography and Eastman came up with the idea of coating the coating the photographic emulsion on paper, which could be rolled into a holder. Thus, the first film rolls were born. The first advertisements for this groundbreaking product went out in 1885. Soon after, the mechanism was perfected by using transparent films instead of paper film rolls and the product emerged as a game changer

Even though film rolls changes everything, the general public were still not doing any photography. So, Eastman brought out the Kodak camera in 1888 priced at 25 dollars. The easily handheld camera had enough film for 100 photos and once they were over, the entire camera needed to be handed back to the company where the film was developed and a new film roll inserted for 10 dollars

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The marketing mind

Eastman was brilliant at advertising and wrote the earliest Kodak advertises in leading newspapers and magazines himself

Kodak's slogan "You press the button, we do the rest", was coined by Eastman and became popular very quickly and was soon carried in newspapers, magazines and billboards

The word 'Kodak' was apparently invented by Eastman and was registered as a trademark in 1888. He said he loved the letter 'K' and this word both started and ended with it

The yellow trade dress, distinctive to Kodak, was also designed by George Eastman

A manager ahead of his time

Eastman was an exemplary manager, with his ideal way ahead of his time. He believed that employees needed more than good wages and planned for "dividends on wages". In 1899, he gave away a certain amount of his money to each of his employees

'Wage Dividend' was started by him soon after where each employee got some extra amount of money as per the company's yearly profits

Eastman, again in 1919, gave his employees the shares to one-third of the Kodak Company stock, worth 10 million dollars at the time. Later, Eastman established the other employee benefits which have become the norm now-life insurance, retirement annuity, and disability benefit plans

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George Eastman beside Kodok sign, African Safari (Source: eastman.org)

As an educationist

Eastman's study in the medical field made him develop a programme to build a medical school and hospital at the University of Rochester. Rochester has multiple landmarks that can be credited to George Eastman

Eastman, who only wanted to contribute to society using his wealth, was very concerned about the education status of African Americans. For this purpose, he donated 30 million dollars to the University of Rochester, MIT, and the institutes of Hampton and Tuskegee in 1924

"The progress of the world depends almost entirely upon education. I selected a limited number of recipients because I wanted to cover certain kinds of education, and felt I could get results with those named quicker and more directly than if the money were spread," he explained when asked about this large sum

He donated 20 million dollars to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) when he was impressed by a few of its graduates who became his assistants. The anonymous gift from 'Mr Smith' is still spoken about in a popular song from the institute

George Eastman's house, now a museum

Giving away his wealth

George Eastman did not believe in holding on to his fortune. Even when he earned 60 dollars a week, he started to donate to non profit organisations. The Rochester Institute of Technology was once the struggling Mechanics Institute of Rochester, which received 50 dollars from Eastman at the time

Eastman provided 2.5 million dollars for a dental clinic in Rochester and even developed a remedial dental programme to take care of the teeth of children. He also saw through the coming up of dental clinics in Rome, Paris, London, Stockholm and Brussels

The Eastman School of Music, along with a theatre and a symphony orchestra, was established by George Eastman who was a music lover and wanted to bring good music to the general public

Eastman methodically went through the art galleries on his Europe visits and later, his home turned into a showcase of one of the finest painting collections

Ironically, Eastman didn't like to have his photo taken and shunned publicity. Thus, he was not easily recognisable on the streets.

He had a progressive disability in his lower spine and frustrated at this inability to go on with a normal, active life, he ended his life at the age of 77 on March 14, 1932.

George Eastman's principle in life can be succinctly described by the following words by him:

"If a man has wealth, he has to make a choice, because there is the money heaping up. He can keep it together in a bunch, and then leave it for others to administer after he is dead. Or he can get it into action and have fun, while he is still alive. I prefer getting it into action and adapting it to human needs, and making the plan work."

Interested in General Knowledge and Current Affairs? Click here to stay informed and know what is happening around the world with our G.K. and Current Affairs section.

To get more updates on Current Affairs, send in your query by mail to education.intoday@gmail.com

--- ENDS ---
Shifa Clinic Athens is a branch of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), a national community of Musilms in America, and is one of many clinics around the nation open to under-privileged and under-insured members of the community.
A 35-year-old computer science dropout from Rajasthan has been arrested for his alleged involvement in a case of leak of customer data from India's newest telecom entrant -- Reliance Jio.

The accused has been identified by his nickname Imran Chippa and was arrested from Churu district in Rajasthan.

A resident of Sujangarh town, Chhipa had made the website Magicapk. He claimed to provide Jio user data through his website, the police said.

However, Jio has said that the claims of the website were "unverified" and "unsubstantiated".

After the police complaint lodged in Mumbai, the police reached Churu after tracking his IP address and took Chhipa into custody on Tuesday night.

"Chhipa has been arrested in the data leak case," additional SP, Yogendra Kumar Faujdar, told PTI in Jaipur.

Following the data leak, the domain of the website has been suspended.

"We have seized the computer and other devices used by him to leak the data and he will be thoroughly interrogated. A team of Mumbai police led by ACP Deepak Dhole had reached Churu district after tracking the IP address and will interrogate Chhipa," the police said.

An analysis by the Maharashtra cyber police headed by Inspector General of Police Brijesh Singh led investigators to zero in on the location from where the suspected data breach had happened, he said.

The suspects computer, mobile and storage devices have been seized and will be sent for a thorough examination, he said.

There were reports on Sunday which claimed that customer data, including mobile numbers and other details of Reliance Jio users, were allegedly leaked on an independent website.

Jio had also said its subscriber data "is safe and maintained with highest level of security".

The company is one of fastest in the world to touch the 100-million subscriber mark within months of its launch in September 2016.

When asked about the data leak, Maharashtra cyber polices superintendent Balsingh Rajput confirmed that some leak had occurred but declined to give details about the quantum of the breach.

Image used for representational purpose only.
The GSTs significance for the BJPs politics is as important as its implications for the Indian economy, says A K Bhattacharya.

A lot has been written about the transformational impact the rollout of the goods and services tax will have on the Indian economy.

In spite of its many current imperfections, the GST will yield many benefits simply because a broad architecture of a tax system is now in place to remove the cascading effects of indirect taxes, collapse a multitude of taxes and cesses into one tax and eliminate the inspector raj as well as physical controls on inter-state movement of goods.

Hopefully, the newly created GST Council will soon weed out the imperfections in the current GST like the multiplicity of tax rates, a plethora of exemptions and procedural complexities, thanks largely due to a tax bureaucracy that refuses to be tamed either in states or at the Centre.

But treating the roll-out of the GST only as an economic policy reform would be a grossly incomplete assessment of what the Narendra Modi government has achieved.

Equally important is the political message that the ruling party leaders have managed to convey through the way they hammered out a political consensus on the GST and launched it after reprioritising its political equations both within the Bharatiya Janata Party and outside.

The GSTs significance for the BJPs politics is as important as its implications for the Indian economy. In this context, three important political messages cannot be ignored.

One, the launch of the GST is being consciously used by the ruling party leaders to advertise its politics of cooperative federalism. They are reminding the nation that cooperative federalism is an article of faith for them and the new indirect tax system is proof of their commitment to that idea.

This is important because even before coming to power, BJP leaders including Modi had talked about cooperative federalism as an idea that they would pursue once elected to form the government at the Centre.

But on many occasions in the past three years, the BJP government has failed to use the principle of cooperative federalism to drive policy reforms.

Little action has so far been seen on the ground even though the NITI Aayog was expected to get states on board in pushing policy reforms across the country in a cooperative spirit.

Remember that after the embarrassing setback caused by its failure to amend the land acquisition law, the Modi government had indicated its desire to bring about similar reforms in the states.

The idea was to push states, particularly those under the BJP rule, to introduce land leasing to overcome the restrictive provisions of the land acquisition law.

Similarly, labour law rigidities were sought to be relaxed by encouraging states to amend their respective laws within their respective jurisdictions. But there was little follow-up action to persuade the states to move on reforms in either land leasing or labour laws.

Equally tardy has been the progress in implementation of reforms by states in agricultural produce marketing and real estate development, even though central laws in these areas have been suitably amended.

In this context, the roll-out of the GST is arguably the first big reform where the Centre has taken on board all states, irrespective of their governments political affiliation.

Indeed, cooperative federalism has been on display in the manner in which the states have been assured of protection against any revenue loss. Similarly, the states voice has been heard while ensuring that the Centre has no veto power in decision-making by the GST Council.

That spirit is further endorsed by the fact that all decisions at the 18 meetings of the GST Council so far have been taken by consensus without seeking recourse to voting.

Not surprisingly, there was a large presence of state-level leaders representing different political parties at the Central Hall in Parliament, the venue of the GST roll-out function on the night of June 30.

The Congress and a few other political parties boycotted the function, but that could not dent the larger image the ruling party has carefully nurtured to present the GST as a symbol of cooperative federalism.

Whatever little doubt anyone may have had on this count was quickly dispelled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who in his speech acknowledged the contribution of all political parties and many governments at the Centre and in states in making the GST dream a reality.

The second big message is that there is now a political attempt to project the GST launch as part of the governments fight against black money.

It is true that the GST would bring under the tax net a large number of transactions that would have otherwise escaped scrutiny. And the government did make an electoral promise of cracking down on black money.

But to sell the new indirect tax system not just as a tax reform but more as an attack against black money shows the BJP leaderships political savvy.

The irony of course is that the GST would turn out to be a more potent weapon against black money generation than demonetisation that at best could have tackled only the hoarded black money in stock.

Finally, the launch of the GST has coincided with the BJPs attempt at repositioning its axis with its key political constituency.

The government led by a party with close links with traders and shopkeepers has taken a step that would hurt these sections the most. And the BJP leaders are not shy of admitting that the GST would discipline those members of the trade who are errant.

This seems to suggest that the BJP has reset its ties with the trading classes and the launch of the GST confirms that transition.

How otherwise can one justify the manner in which BJP leaders have projected the GST as an instrument that would put an end to dubious account keeping by traders and shopkeepers?

Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters.
Four terrorists, two of them Pakistanis, are suspected to have been involved in the attack on Amarnath pilgrims in which seven devotees were killed, home ministry officials said ton Wednesday.

Quoting intelligence inputs, the officials said Pakistani national and Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Abu Ismail was the mastermind of Monday's attack and he was assisted by another Pakistani and two local militants.

A massive manhunt has been launched for the four terrorists, who are also believed to have used two motorcycles to escape from the scene after attacking the pilgrims bus, officials said.

They said the Gujarat registered bus, which was attacked, reached at Jammu on July 7 and got registered at Amarnath shrine facilitation centre.

Initially, the bus was part of the regular convoy of the pilgrims and travelled together till Baltal.

The pilgrims in the bus paid their obeisance at the cave shrine on July 8 and returned. On the way back, the pilgrims left the convoy and drove to Srinagar.

The Gujarati pilgrims stayed in Srinagar for two days as tourists. On July 10, around 4:30 PM, they left Srinagar for Katra.

The vehicle got punctured at a place 10 km away from Khanabal around 6:30 PM. Then the passengers went down and had food at a roadside eatery.

When the bus resumed its journey, it came under attack from the terrorists at Khanabal around 2017 hours.

Facing the bullets, the driver of the bus, Salim Sheikh, charged past the area but had to face another group of terrorists after crossing just 75 metres.

The driver again did not stop the bus despite facing the terrorist attack for the second time in quick succession.

The bus was finally stopped at a police point after a few kilometres and the policemen on duty took the pilgrims to the Anantnag police line where the injured were given first aid before being shifted to a hospital, officials said.
Security forces have launched a massive hunt for Pakistani national and Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Abu Ismail who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, a senior police official said in Srinagar on Wednesday.

The government has also sounded the "highest alert" across Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of Monday's attack in Anantnag district of Kashmir in which seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed.

Ismail, who has been identified by the security agencies as the mastermind of the attack, has been active in Valley for several years and had moved base to south Kashmir more than a year ago, the police official said.

Proactive operations have been launched, mainly in south Kashmir, to track down Ismail as investigations including communication intercepts have pointed to his involvement in the attack on the pilgrims, he said.

The official said the attack in Anantnag appears to be reprisal for killing of several LeT terrorists including top commander Bashir Lashkari in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.

"The terrorists are frustrated at the back-to-back losses suffered by them during counter-insurgency operations over the past month or so and have now resorted to attacking civilians and tourists," he said.

A home ministry offical indicated in New Delhi that the anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir would be intensified as he said the security agencies have been told to implement security plans with full vigour.

The Anantnag attack on the pilgrims came on the same day when police announced arrest of a module of LeT including a Hindu terrorist hailing from Muzaffaranagar in Uttar Pradesh.

Targeting of the pilgrims has led to a massive outrage in Kashmir, with people of the Valley saying that such incidents go against the concept of composite culture and Kashmiriyat.

Meanwhile, as the annual pilgrimage continues, the central government issued the "highest alert" in Jammu and Kashmir.

The alert was issued after a central ministerial team comprising Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh and Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir visited Kashmir and held extensive discussions with the top brass of the security establishment, Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the prevailing situation.

"Considering the unfortunate loss of life and injuries suffered by the yatris (pilgrims) in the recent terror attack, the entire security apparatus has been put on the highest alert by the ministers," a home ministry statement said.

The ministers visited Srinagar following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

They discussed the security situation in detail with the chief minister and the governor, before holding an in-depth security review with the local army commander, the chief secretary, the police chief and senior officers of the state government, the DG of the CRPF, and senior officers of BSF and other security agencies, the statement said.

The central ministers stressed that the entire country was with the Kashmiris and the pilgrims and that all arrangements for a safe and secure pilgrimage would continue with renewed vigour.

So far, more than 1.5 lakh pilgrims have visited the cave shrine located in the mountainous region of south Kashmir. The 40-day long pilgrimage will conclude on August 7.

The home minister on Tuesday took stock of the situation in Kashmir Valley, particularly on the routes to the shrine located in the Himalayas at an altitude of 12,756 feet, during an hour-long meeting.

As many as 21,000 paramilitary personnel in addition to state police forces have been deployed for security of the pilgrimage routes.

The number of paramilitary personnel deployed this year is 9,500 more than last year.

IMAGE: Bodies of the Amarnath pilgrims who were killed in Monday's attack in Anantnag, being brought by an IAF plane at the airport in Surat on Tuesday. All Photographs: PTI Photo
When the police rescued her from her maternal house in Goa's Candolim area, they found her in a room with urine all around the place.

By India Today Web Desk: A woman, who was locked in dark room for 20 years, was rescued by the police in Goa.

The woman, now in her 50s, was confined in the room for alleged "unnatural behaviour" and it was an NGO which informed the police about her following which she was rescued.

According to an officer involved with the rescue operation, the woman was found in the room without clothes.

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She was kept in a room with no electricity while the rest of the house was occupied by her brother's family.

When the police rescued her on Tuesday from her maternal house in Goa's Candolim area, they found her in a room with urine all around. She was given food through a slit in the door.

Superintendent of Police (Crime) Karthik Kashyap said that the woman was rescued with the help of activists from a women's rights NGO Bailancho Saad.

The rescued woman was sent for medical examination and then admitted to the Panaji-based Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour.

An offence has been booked under Section 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code, police said.

No arrests have been made yet and investigations are still on. The police will also record the statements of the rescued woman's family members.

According the woman's brother, she was mentally unstable and therefore was confined to a room.

"She would insist on not wearing any clothes. She was under treatment for sometime, but it was discontinued. We used to provide her with food and look after her," the woman's brother said.

(With inputs from Bhasha and IANS)

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--- ENDS ---
An Indian national with suspected Islamic State links, who had been deported twice from Turkey, was arrested from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, the police said on Wednesday.

An agent who had prepared his fake documents had also been arrested, the police added.

Shahjahan Velluva Kandy, 32, from Kannur in Kerala, was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police after it received information from Turkey's police about his deportation, said Pramod Singh Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell).

Kandy was being questioned about Islamic State operatives and his links with them, the police said.

He had gone to Turkey in June last year with his wife but was deported from there in February after he tried to cross over to Syria in an apparent bid to join the Islamic State, the officer said.

His wife was also sent back to India.

The police said he procured a fake passport using the services of an agent from Chennai. In the fake documents, he was identified as Mohammad Ismail, 35, the officer said.

He travelled alone to Turkey in March and made an attempt to cross over to Syria last month, but was deported to India again, he added.

He was arrested from the Delhi airport with fake documents on July 1.

Subsequently, the Chennai-based agent, who the police said was instrumental in preparing fake documents, was also arrested. The police did not identify him.

The officer said Kandy had been "radicalised" and a local contact in Kerala had introduced him to the Islamic State.

The police are looking into the documents that he was carrying and his nmobile phone records.

Last year in October, National Investigation Agency teams, with help from the Kerala police, Delhi police and Telangana police, had arrested six people with suspected links to the Islamic State.
Stepping up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused him of pursuing policies that created space for terrorists in Kashmir.



He also said that the prime minister's pursuit of short-term political gains from the BJP-PDP alliance in the state has cost the country dear and resulted in sacrifices of innocent Indians.



"Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India.



"Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively," he said in a series of tweets.



Gandhi also tweeted, "Modi's personal gain = India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood."



The

Congress vice president had yesterday termed the attack on Amarnath pilgrims as a "grave and unacceptable security lapse" and asked the prime minister to accept responsibility.He had also said that India will never be intimidated by terrorists.Opposition parties had also asked the government to introspect on its failure to prevent the "cowardly and ghastly" terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims despite reports of advance intelligence inputs."The government needs to introspect as to why, despite advanced intelligence inputs, was there a failure to prevent this attack?" a resolution passed by 18 opposition parties said.The BJP, however, asked Gandhi to "rise to the occasion" and not do politics over the Amarnath terror strike after he attacked the PM.
While India is going in a great path towards becoming digital India there are some things which are shame to our nation.

One of it is the manual scavenging.

Manual scavenging is a caste-based occupation involving the removal of untreated human excreta from bucket toilets or pit latrines that has been officially abolished by law as a dehumanizing practice.

It involves moving the excreta, using brooms and tin plates, into baskets, which the workers carry to disposal locations sometimes several kilometres away.

The workers, called scavengers, rarely have any personal protective equipment.

According to socio-economic caste census of India 2011 released in 2015, there are more than a lakh people who are identified as manual scavengers. They dont have any proper equipments and they are exposed to deadly diseases and infections.

Rediff labs analysed the socio-economic caste census 2011 data on number of manual scavengers in India.

The map above shows the number of manual scavengers in each district of India.

The top five districts with high number of manual scavengers are Jalna, Yavatmal, Solapur of Maharashtra, Daman and Diu and Amritsar of Punjab.

Out of 630 districts for which we have the data, 149 districts have no manual scavengers and the remaining 484 districts of India have at least one manual scavenger.

The government has taken steps to eradicate manual scavenging in India.

In 1993, the central government framed a law, the employment of manual scavengers and construction of dry latrines (prohibition) act.

Drafted by the ministry of urban development under the Narasimha Rao government, the law was passed by parliament in the same year.

According to the act the employment of scavengers or the construction of dry (non-flush) latrines faces imprisonment for up to one year and/or a fine of Rs 2000.

For the rehabilitation of manual scavengers in the year 2013 another act was passed and according to that act the following benefits are provided:

- Onetime cash assistance of Rs.40000 to identified manual scavengers.

- Loans for project cost up to Rs. 15 lacs on concessional rates of interest.

- Credit linked back-end capital subsidy up to Rs. 3, 25,000.

Skill Development Training up to two years with stipend of Rs.3000/- per month.

Even after all the initiatives by government still the manual scavenging is in practice in many places of India.

The biggest violator of the prohibition law is the Indian Railways where many train compartments have toilets dropping the excreta from trains on the tracks and it employs scavengers to clean the tracks manually.

In order to become a great nation first we need to eradicate the worst surviving symbol of untouchability -- manual scavenging.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday phoned Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to thank him for supporting Gopalkrishna Gandhi as the opposition's vice presidential candidate, Janata Dal-United leader K C Tyagi said.

Nitish Kumar, JD-U president, also received a phone call from Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday evening, Tyagi said.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the unanimous choice of 18 opposition parties for vice president, called Kumar as well to express his thanks, the JD-U chief general secretary said.

JD-U parliamentary leader Sharad Yadav represented the party at the meeting of opposition leaders that picked on the former West Bengal governor as its vice presidential nominee in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Rahul Gandhi had recently intervened to end the war of words between the Congress and the JD-U in the wake of Nitish Kumar breaking away from the opposition to support National Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind.
Not quitting, says Tejashwi Yadav. Accuses Prime Minister Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah of 'conspiracy'. M I Khan reports from Patna.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday said the allegations of corruption against him are full of lies and part of a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party, its chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Tejashwi also said the ruling Grand Alliance of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal-United and the Congress in Bihar is strong and it will continue to be intact.

"Allegations against me are false. Theyre not just allegations but a conspiracy by the BJP," Tejashwi told reporters after attending a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna.

Tejashwi has made it clear that he will not resign.

He further said that he will go to people to explain how and why the Shah and Modi have conspired against him.

"The allegations are based on case from 2004 when I was merely 14 years old. Tab to hamare daadhi moonch bhi nahi aaye the (I didnt even have a beard or a moustache at that time). Do you think a minor could carry out such a scam?" the deputy CM said.

He said some people, including a section of the media, are disappointed over no reports of a break up in the ruling alliance of Bihar.

"The mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) is strong and unbreakable," he said.

He said since he has taken over as the deputy CM, no corruption allegations have been levelled on him or any department under him.

Tejashwi said he and his government strongly believe in zero tolerance against corruption.

His comments come a day after JD-U putting pressure on him to come clean on the issue or step down.

He has been named as an accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a case related to a benami property.

However, his party RJD made it clear that he will not resign.

"The RJD has decided that Tejashwi Yadav will not resign," party spokesperson Shakti Yadav said on Wednesday.

Earlier, JD-U spokesperson Ajay Alok had said, "After an FIR is registered, one has to answer the court and the public both. It is everyones responsibility to keep the alliance functioning."

According to sources within RJD, an emergency meeting of senior party leaders and MLAs was held after party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav returned from Ranchi on Tuesday night at 10, Circular Road, official residence of Lalu.

It was decided in the meeting that Tejashwi will not be asked to step down.

Earlier on Tuesday, the JD-U had stated that it would not compromise on the issue of corruption, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying, while addressing a party meeting in Patna, Main apne sidhanto se samjhauta nahi karunga, main corruption ke khilaf zero tolerance par kayam hoon (I wont compromise with my principles. Im firm on policy of zero tolerance against corruption).

Kumar also said his government will do its work and law will take its own course.

Along with Tejashwi and Lalu, former Bihar CM Rabri Devi has also been named as an accused by the CBI in the case relating to transfer of three acres of prime land in Patna to the family by two businessmen allegedly in return for licences to run two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri when the RJD chief was the railway minister.

IMAGE: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav addressing the media in Patna on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI Photo
United States President Donald Trump has lauded the 'transparency' of his eldest son over the release of a chain of emails showing a Russian source offering 'sensitive information' about his White House rival Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the presidential election.

In an email to 39-year-old Donald Trump Jr, who is in the middle of a political storm over his meetings with a Russian source, his music publicist Rob Goldstone said the information 'would incriminate Hillary (Clinton) and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father'.

'My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency,' Trump said in a statement which was read out by the White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during her daily news conference.

While Trump Jr said he hopes that by releasing these emails would bring an end to the controversy, the opposition political leaders called for investigation and claimed that this is yet another indication of the connection between the Trump campaign and the Russians.

"Donald Trump Jr has admitted and documented that he, Jared Kushner, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer with the understanding that she was a Russian government lawyer providing damaging information on Hillary Clinton as part of Moscow's effort to help President Trump's campaign," said Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi.

"The attempt by these top Trump advisors -- to solicit the support of a hostile foreign power to win the American presidency -- is unprecedented in our history," he said.

"The need for Special Counsel Mueller's investigation and our Congressional inquiries to continue has never been more clear.

"Pending any investigation, no one who participated in the Trump Tower meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya should have access to any classified information, especially material relevant to our national security," Krishnamoorthi said.

Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the email shows that Trump Jr clearly understood the intent of the meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya.

"Instead of welcoming information from the Russian government, the Trump team should have immediately notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"I'm not a prosecutor, but I think this is an extremely serious issue and needs to be followed up on by Robert Mueller's investigation and the Congressional Intelligence Committees immediately," Cardin demanded.

Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein said these emails are deeply disturbing.

"They appear to show direct coordination between the Trump campaign and possibly the Russian government itself," she said.

"There's no escaping it: the Trump Campaign's inner circle met with an agent of a hostile foreign power to influence the outcome of an American election. The American people face a White House riddled with shadowy Russian connections and desperate to hide the truth," said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

"One after another, senior Trump officials have been caught hiding secret meetings with Russian agents. The incendiary news of the meeting arranged by Donald Trump Jr is a grave development in the investigation of Trump officials' possible collusion with Moscow," she said.

The New York Times, which first broke the story, said the emails show just how eager Trump Jr was to accept what he was explicitly told was the Russian government's help in his father's campaign against Hillary Clinton.

'The Justice Department, as well as the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, is examining whether any of President Trump's associates colluded with the Russian government to disrupt last year's election. American intelligence agencies have determined that the Russian government tried to sway the election in favour of Trump,' the report said.

The daily claimed that Trump Jr released the entire chain of emails on Twitter after it told him that they were publishing the emails that they had in their possession.

Several Congressional committees were reportedly considering to question Trump Jr about his meeting with a Russian offer of providing compromising information about Hillary Clinton.

Congresswoman Grace Meng sent a letter to the US Federal Election Commission urging that it perform an official investigation into the actions of the Trump campaign to determine whether they violated federal election and criminal law.

Congressman Elijah E Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said the email chain confirms that the president's son was both aware of and supported the Russian government's efforts to help the president get elected.

"Our country has a fundamental principle that a foreign adversary should not and cannot interfere with our sacred elections, period. The soul of our very democracy depends on it. I remind my colleagues from both parties -- the Constitution does not give Congress the right to remain silent in the face of this threat. We must investigate. And we must act on our findings," he said.

The Washington Post said these emails clearly showed that Trump Jr understood he was taking the meeting as a way of channeling information directly from the government of a nation hostile to the United States to his father's campaign.

'It is the most concrete public evidence to date suggesting that top Trump campaign aides were eager for Russia's assistance in the campaign,' the daily reported.

Sanders told reporters that President Trump is frustrated that Russia continues to be an issue.

"I think that the President is, I would say, frustrated with the process of the fact that this continues to be an issue," she said in response to a question.

"And he would love for us to be focused on things, like the economy, on healthcare, on tax reform, on infrastructure. And that's the place that his mind is, and that's what he'd like to be discussing," Sanders said.

IMAGE: Donald Trump Jr, left, with his father President Donald Trump in Hempstead, New York. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters
Went out to buy ice cream. Businessman turned militant returns home dead.

Umar Ganie reports from Srinagar.

'Dear Aaqib, How can I reveal the traumatised situation which we have been going through since you left home?'

Ghulamudin Dar, a resident of Srinagar, published this emotional appeal in a local newspaper to his son Aqib, who disappeared suddenly on June 27, the second day of Eid.

Aaqib told his family he was going out to buy ice cream.

Thirteen days after his disappearance, Aaqib returned home dead on Wednesday, July 12.

Aaqib was killed in an encounter with the security forces along with two associates, Javaid Ahmad Sheikh and Sajid Ahmad Gilkar, at Radbug in Budgam district, central Kashmir, on Tuesday night.

Aaqib, 24, an engineering college dropout, had returned to the Kashmir valley to start a business.

Aaqib, who hailed from a well-off family, set up a flourishing business at Nagam in Budgam, with his father's help.

Ghulamudin Dar is a government employee; Aaqib's brother studies abroad.

The family, who reside in an upmarket housing colony near Srinagar airport, had no idea that their youngest son would join the militants' ranks.

Before his sudden disappearance from home, Aaqib posted an apology to his family and friends on his Facebook page, which he later deactivated.

One of Aaqib's friends, who attended his funeral, described him as a "shy and introverted guy who would never harm a fly."

"Why would he join militancy if his business was flourishing? He had no reason to join militancy," the friend wondered, adding, "This question will haunt us and his family for life."

One weeping relative, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged that Aaqib had been detained by the police last November on stone pelting charges.

"He was picked up at an ATM while he was withdrawing money. He was released a day later and was not charged by the police because he was innocent," the relative said.

IMAGE: Ghulamudin Dar appealed to his son through a newspaper advertisement to return home. Photograph: Umar Ganie for Rediff.com

Aaqib had joined the Hizbul Mujahideen recently, a senior police officer said. A pistol and a rifle were recovered after he was slain.

The Rashtriya Rifles, the Jammu and Kashmir police's special operations group and the Central Reserve Police Force launched a joint operation in Radbug village around 6 pm on Tuesday, July 11.

Hours later, Aaqib, Sheikh and Gilkar perished in the firefight.
A rare glimpse into Anand Bhavan and Swaraj Bhavan, where the seeds of Indian Independence were sown.

Kind courtesy: Architectural Digest India.

Ahead of the 70th anniversary of Independence, Architectural Digest India goes back to Allahabad, to Anand Bhavan and Swaraj Bhawan, where Jawaharlal Nehru and his family lived, iconic homes where the seeds of Indian Independence were sown and nurtured.

Conde Nast, Architectural Digest India's publisher, kindly shared photographs from the magazine's special feature on the homes where 'great events have happened and great decisions have been reached'.

All photographs: Simon Watson/Architectural Digest India July-August issue

Anand Bhavan (which translates to abode of happiness) was the Nehru family's principal home from 1929 until 1946, when Jawaharlal Nehru moved to New Delhi.

The Nehrus moved to this house from the older family home -- also called Anand Bhavan -- a few yards away.

Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal's father and a leading lawyer in British India, renamed the older house Swaraj Bhavan (abode of freedom) when he donated it to the Indian National Congress in 1930.

With the launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement that year, nationalist leaders took momentous decisions, Congress workers thronged the corridors, fugitives hid out and the national flag was hoisted defiantly from its roof.

It was from here that patriarch Motilal, his children and grandchildren were led away, time and again, to prison.

In 1970, Indira Gandhi, then prime minister of India, handed over Anand Bhavan to a memorial trust.

More than any particular architect, the spirit behind the construction of Anand Bhavan was Motilal himself, who began building it in 1926 with such passionate attention to detail that after his death in 1931, his son called it another child of his, now 'lonely and deserted'.

Conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah suggests 'Swaraj (freedom) was on his (Motilal Nehru's) mind', when he chose an architectural idiom leaning towards Indian revivalism: Onion domes, decorative railings, jalis and rich internal embellishments such as the plasterwork on this stairwell.

Mahatma Gandhi stayed in this room when he visited Anand Bhavan.

The photograph on the wall (on the left) shows him standing on the verandah outside the room and greeting visitors below.

On the floor are some journals, a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, and a charkha, which became a potent symbol of Indian nationalism.

Gandhi first visited the Nehrus in 1919, radicalised their politics, and remained a towering presence in their lives.

This room where he stayed reflected his ascetic lifestyle, with its charpoy and khadi furnishings.

Two Nandi sculptures sit at the entrance to the central courtyard of Swaraj Bhavan.

It was a thoroughfare, a meeting place, and a venue for festivities that saw it festooned with decorations, and the tiered fountain at its centre filled with ice.

The wooden ladder at the top of the frame leads to a terrace, once popular for a view of the river Ganga.

This is now obscured by Allahabad's changing skyline, but staff say Sonia Gandhi invariably goes up to this terrace when she visits.

At the entrance of Anand Bhavan, a message is carved on the wall, which reads, 'This house is merely not a construction of bricks and mortar, rather it is closely related to our national struggle for freedom.'

'And within this house, many important decisions were taken and several great events took place.'

The original Anand Bhavan was sold to Motilal Nehru in 1898 against Rs 20,000.

After repairing the house with certain modifications, Motilal Nehru and his family entered the house in 1900.

Jawaharlal Nehru, future prime minister of India, was then about 11 years old.
"There were 48 pellets in my body, out of which 35 were removed. The rest are still inside."

"Being part of the police force is very difficult under these circumstances, but I have no choice."

Compelling voices from the youth caught on both sides of the Kashmiri conflict.

Photographs: Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

Police officer (25)

"I am the son of a farmer and joined the police as I had no job.

We are part of the same society, and using force against children is very difficult for us.

We try to exercise maximum restraint -- that is why we get injured."

Protester and student (18)

"I was hit by pellets last year during stone pelting,

and taken to a nearby hospital.

There were 48 pellets in my body, out of which 35 were removed.

The rest are still inside."

Police officer (47)

"I've been in crowd control since 2008.

First, we chase the stone pelters.

We fire tear gas only when the crowd gets out of control."

Protester and student (19)

"My parents tell me not to do stone pelting,

but I do, as we want freedom from India.

I was hit by pellets in 2016.

Two pellets are still in my body."

Police officer (31)

"I am the son of a farmer.

I joined the police as I had no job.

We exercise restraint during crowd control.

But when they get out of control, we have no choice but to use force.

It is very difficult to target our own people,

but it is our job and we have no choice."

Protester and student (19)

"My father is in the police.

I feel a stone is a more potent weapon than a gun.

We are being forced to resort to violence.

I feel violence is the best way to achieve lasting peace."

Police officer (25)

"I joined the police as I had no job.

We don't want to fire tear gas or pellets at the protesters,

but we do it for public safety after mobs go on the rampage.

We have to protect life and public property".

Protester and student (20)

"I was hit by pellets during stone pelting.

I have 80 percent vision in my right eye now,

but if I get a chance, I can pick up a gun."

Police officer (24)

"I joined the police as I had no job.

Being part of the police force is very difficult for me

under these circumstances, but I have no choice.

Even our own children and relatives take part in these protests."

Protester and student (18)

"I will continue stone pelting to fight against Indian oppression in Kashmir.

I feel we will achieve our freedom by stone pelting."

Police officer (23)

"I am the son of a farmer, and joined the police as I had no other job.

I have no regrets in joining the police.

I don't differentiate between who is pelting stones at us.

We have to act whether he is a policeman's son or someone else's.

For me, every stone pelter is equal."

Protester and student (23)

"If I get a weapon, I am ready to join the militancy,

but for the time being, the stone is our weapon.

My father is in the police, posted in Srinagar.

He used to tell me to join the police,

but now he does not insist."

Also read: Losing Kashmir's youth
In a video that has gone viral, a bunch of Bajrang Dal men could be seen slapping, pushing and heckling the imam, identified as Mohammad Yaseen, while protesting near Lahoriya Chowk mosque on Tuesday evening.

By India Today Web Desk: A group of Bajrang Dal members slapped and abused the priest (imam) of a mosque in Haryana's Hisar district while protesting the Amarnath Yatra terror attack in which seven people were killed on Monday.

In a video that has gone viral, a bunch of Bajrang Dal men could be seen slapping, pushing and heckling the imam, identified as Mohammad Yaseen, while protesting near Lahoriya Chowk mosque on Tuesday evening.

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Reports said the men saw Yaseen, a mango trader from Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, emerging from the mosque while they were protesting the killing of seven pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir.

The men attacked and abused Yaseen after he refused to say 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', and objected to being forced to raise the slogans.

The local traders' association later complained to the police, who have increased security in the area.

Hindi newspaper Amar Ujala reported that the incident has triggered tension in the Haryana town.

Also read: Send gau rakshaks to fight terrorists: Uddhav Thackeray takes a dig at BJP

Also read: Massive hunt on in Kashmir to nab Amarnath terror attack mastermind Abu Ismail

--- ENDS ---
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Arab Gulf States: Assault on Online Activists

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 12 July 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Arab Gulf States: Assault on Online Activists, 12 July 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59661cf64.html [accessed 12 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.

Gulf governments have sustained their campaigns to silence peaceful critics during the first half of 2017, Human Rights Watch said today, updating an interactive website, created in November 2016, featuring targeted human rights activists. On July 10, 2017, a Bahraini court sentenced human rights activist Nabeel Rajab to two years in prison on charges of "broadcasting false news" over tweets criticizing the Saudi-led Yemen war and Bahrain's treatment of prisoners. Other prominent activists targeted during 2017 include Essam Koshak in Saudi Arabia and Ahmed Mansoor in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Gulf states' contempt for freedom of expression has bled into the current Qatar crisis and blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt. A list of demands to Qatar for ending the crisis from these countries included shutting down Al Jazeera, the international news site supported by Qatar's government, and other media outlets allegedly funded by Qatar, a direct blow to media freedom.

"At a time when the gulf states' open political divisions have rarely been more serious, these countries remain stubbornly united in their collective assault on their citizens' right to free speech," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Gulf states are reaching a new level of Orwellian reality when they throw citizens in jail for both criticizing other gulf nations and voicing public support for them."

In a nod to Twitter's 140-character limit, the interactive website presents the profiles of prominent Bahraini, Kuwaiti, Omani, Qatari, Saudi, and Emirati social and political rights activists and dissidents and describes their struggles to resist government efforts to silence them. All have faced government retaliation for exercising their right to freedom of expression, and many have been arrested, tried, and sentenced to fines or prison. In addition to Koshak, Rajab, and Mansoor, other profiled activists include Zainab al-Khawaja from Bahrain, Waleed Abu al-Khair and Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani from Saudi Arabia, and Mohammed al-Roken from the UAE. The website includes new profiles and updates other profiles.

Hundreds of dissidents, including political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, and bloggers have been imprisoned across the region, many after unfair trials and allegations of torture in pretrial detention. Gulf rulers' sweeping campaigns against activists and political dissidents have included threats, intimidation, investigations, prosecution, detention, torture, and withdrawal of citizenship.

Koshak, a computer engineer, has used social media sites such as Twitter to push for human rights in Saudi Arabia, including highlighting the repression of peaceful activists and dissidents and advocating their release. The Saudi Criminal Investigation Department summoned him for questioning on January 8, 2017, without giving a reason, and detained him when he arrived. He has not been charged but remains in Mecca General Prison.

Rajab, co-founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), has spent several periods in prison for his peaceful criticism of the Bahraini government. Authorities arrested Rajab on June 13, 2016, over tweets that criticized the Saudi-led war in Yemen and Bahrain's treatment of prisoners. On July 10, a Bahraini court sentenced him to two years in prison on charges of "spreading false news in an attempt to discredit Bahrain," "offending a foreign country [Saudi Arabia]," and "offending national institutions."

Mansoor, an engineering student at Ajman University, is a prominent human rights activist and a member of the Human Rights Watch Middle East Advisory Committee. Informed sources have told rights groups that about a dozen security officers arrested Mansoor at his home in Ajman in the pre-dawn hours of March 20. The UAE's official news agency, WAM, said on March 20 that Mansoor had been arrested on the orders of the Public Prosecution for cybercrimes and detained pending further investigation.

His family had no information on his whereabouts until authorities issued an official statement on March 29, saying he was in the Central Prison in Abu Dhabi. He is facing speech-related charges that include using social media websites to "publish false information that harms national unity."

In addition to direct repression, gulf governments have acquired and deployed surveillance technology to track and monitor citizens' online activity, including Mansoor's.

In May 2016, Citizen Lab, a University of Toronto program that does research on advanced technology, security, and human rights, reported that it had discovered a campaign of spyware attacks by a sophisticated operator against Emirati journalists, activists, and dissidents. Though the attacker was unknown, circumstantial evidence suggested a link with the UAE government.

In August, Citizen Lab reported that Mansoor had received suspicious text messages on his iPhone promising information about detainees tortured in UAE jails if he clicked on an included link. Citizen Lab later said it discovered that clicking on the link would have installed sophisticated spyware on his iPhone that allows an outside operator to control his iPhone's telephone and camera, monitor his chat applications, and track his movements.

On July 2, the Wall Street Journal reported that officials working with newly appointed Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman purchased software to prevent criticism of the government by spying on Saudis online.

Gulf countries' repression of political dissidents and activists based solely on their peaceful exercise of freedom of expression violates international human rights obligations. Article 32 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which all gulf countries other than Oman have ratified, guarantees "the right to information and to freedom of opinion and expression, as well as the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any medium, regardless of geographical boundaries."

"Gulf states are intimidating, surveilling, imprisoning, and silencing activists as part of their all-out assault on peaceful criticism," Whitson said. "They should stop blocking gulf citizens from using social and other media to push for positive reforms."

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
EU: Draft Code for Sea Rescues Threatens Lives

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 12 July 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, EU: Draft Code for Sea Rescues Threatens Lives, 12 July 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59661d6a4.html [accessed 12 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 more refugees and migrants could be at risk of dying at sea if a flawed code of conduct for nongovernmental groups conducting search and rescue in the central Mediterranean is put into practice, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today after reviewing a leaked draft of the document.

On July 12, 2017, the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament will hold an "exchange of views on Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean" between MEPs, the Italian coastguard, the EU border management agency FRONTEX, and nongovernmental organizations.

"Perversely, the proposed code of conduct for NGOs saving lives in the Mediterranean could put lives at risk," said Iverna McGowan, director of the Amnesty International, European Institutions Office. "Attempts to restrict NGO search and rescue operations risk endangering thousands of lives by limiting rescue boats from accessing the perilous waters near Libya."

The code of conduct, drafted by Italy, was first proposed at an informal meeting of the European Council Justice and Home Affairs meeting on July 6, 2017.

The draft pact would curtail the work of nongovernmental groups carrying out search and rescue operations on the central Mediterranean by:

Barring them from entering Libyan territorial waters to undertake rescues;

Banning them from using lights to signal their location to vessels at imminent risk of sinking; and

Forcing them to return to port to disembark refugees and migrants, rather than allowing them to transfer rescued people onto other vessels at sea if necessary. This would remove nongovernmental groups' search-and-rescue teams for long periods from the area where they are needed, leaving more people at risk of drowning in the central Mediterranean.

The draft includes the threat of refusal to allow vessels from nongovernmental groups to disembark in Italy if they do not sign the code or fail to comply with any of its provisions.

Any code of conduct, if necessary, should have the goal of making rescue operations at sea more effective at saving lives, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said. It should be agreed upon consultation with the groups involved in search-and-rescue, should apply to all vessels carrying out rescues in the Mediterranean, and should not be linked to disembarkation.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch believe that the code of conduct may in some cases hinder rescue operations and delay disembarkations in a safe place within a reasonable amount of time, breaching the obligations states and shipmasters have under the law of the sea.

Italy's proposal for a code of conduct for nongovernmental groups comes amid a concerted smear campaign against these groups, and Italy's request for more sharing of responsibility among EU member states for rescue and disembarkation. While the EU has been extremely poor in providing Italy with the shared support and assistance it needs, it is instead focusing on training the Libyan Navy coast guard, under the UN-backed Government of National Accord, to build its capacity to intercept boats. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented reckless and abusive behaviour by Libyan coast guard forces.

"NGOs are out there in the Mediterranean rescuing people because the EU is not," said Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Given the scale of tragedies at sea and the horrific abuses migrants and asylum seekers face in Libya, the EU should work with Italy to enhance robust search and rescue in the waters off Libya, not limit it."

Background

More than 2,000 people have died in the central Mediterranean since January 2017 according to the International Organisation for Migration.

Last week, Amnesty International released a new report, "A Perfect Storm," about how failing EU policies are clearly linked to this soaring death toll and the horrific abuses faced by thousands of refugees and migrants in Libyan detention centers. On June 19, Human Rights Watch issued a detailed briefing on the lack of capacity of Libyan coast guard forces to perform safely search-and-rescue operations.

Nongovernmental organizations have rescued more than 80,000 refugees and migrants crossing from Libya towards Italy since the Italian operation "Mare Nostrum" was removed in 2014.

The UN Refugee Agency and the International Organisation for Migration have both criticized the nongovernmental organization code of conduct.

Two parliamentary committee inquiries this year in Italy found no evidence of misconduct on the part of nongovernmental organizations undertaking search and rescue and their contribution to search and rescue activities. The Italian Coastguard and Navy have expressed their view that nongovernmental organizations have been helpful and cooperative.

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
EU/Greece: Asylum Seekers' Silent Mental Health Crisis

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 12 July 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, EU/Greece: Asylum Seekers' Silent Mental Health Crisis, 12 July 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59661dd84.html [accessed 12 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 EU-Turkey deal designed to stem migration and refugee flows to Greece has had a devastating impact on the mental well-being of thousands of women, men, and children trapped on Greek islands since March 2016, Human Rights Watch said today.

In research conducted in May and June 2017 on the island of Lesbos, Human Rights Watch documented the deteriorating mental health of asylum seekers and migrants - including incidents of self-harm, suicide attempts, aggression, anxiety, and depression - caused by the Greek policy of "containing" them on islands, often in horrifying conditions, to facilitate speedy processing and return to Turkey.

"The psychological impact of years of conflict, exacerbated by harsh conditions on the Greek islands and the uncertainty of inhumane policies, may not be as visible as physical wounds, but is no less life-threatening," said Emina Cerimovic, disability rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The European Union and Greece should take immediate action to address this silent crisis and prevent further harm."

Thousands of asylum seekers, including women and children, are trapped in worsening conditions in EU-sponsored processing centers - so-called hotspots - and other facilities, amid an ongoing flow of new arrivals and slow decision-making on the part of the Greek government. In December 2016, the EU and the Greek authorities ended exemptions for vulnerable groups protected by Greek law from the requirement to remain on the islands.

The EU-Turkey deal, signed in March 2016, commits Turkey to accept the return from Greece of most asylum seekers who traveled through its territory and arrived on the Greek islands, in exchange for billions of euro in aid, visa liberalization for Turkish citizens, and revived negotiations for Turkish accession to the EU.

Human Rights Watch met in Greece with representatives from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), European Commission, Greek Asylum Service, local and international nongovernmental organizations (including disabled persons organizations and aid organizations), lawyers, and volunteers. Human Rights Watch also interviewed 37 refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants on Lesbos, including unaccompanied migrant children. The vast majority of interviewees described the deteriorating mental health among asylum seekers and other migrants trapped on Greek islands.

"Camps are places where vulnerabilities are created," one IOM official said.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which provides medical care on the islands of Samos and Lesbos, reported a high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and psychosis, and a significant increase in suicide attempts and incidents of self-harm, particularly since January 2017.

The trauma of war or forcibly leaving homes is enough to trigger anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in asylum seekers and migrants. But medical personnel interviewed said that mental health of asylum seekers and migrants has been impacted by factors related to the EU-Turkey deal. These include insecurity; harsh camp conditions; lack of access to services and information about the asylum process and their prospects for the future; delays in the asylum procedure; detention and fears of being detained and deported to Turkey; and feelings of hopelessness.

Rabiha Hadji, a 33-year-old Kurdish mother of four children from Syria who was detained at the Moria hotspot on Lesbos, was refused asylum protection in Greece on the basis that Turkey is a safe third country for her and her family. "My hope is dead since they brought me here," she said. "We saw all the terrible miseries [in Syria] but me and my children haven't seen a jail [until coming to Greece]." She was awaiting deportation to Turkey.

An EU official in Athens confirmed the negative impact that prolonged uncertainty has had on people's mental health on the islands. Asked what steps the EU will take to address the issue, the official said the aim is to speed up the asylum process and to increase returns to Turkey in a timely manner, thus preventing people from being trapped on the islands for longer than needed.

While length of the asylum procedure is one factor contributing to people's distress, speeding up the process could undermine the effective exercise of asylum seekers' rights. The length of asylum procedures should not be reduced at the expense of the quality of the process. Human Rights Watch has documented cases since the EU-Turkey agreement entered into force in which there were no interpreters, or inadequate ones, during asylum and admissibility interviews and serious gaps in access to information and legal assistance.

Registration and examination of asylum claims on the islands are prioritized based on nationality, resulting in severe delays for people of some nationalities, including for people from Afghanistan and Iraq. Asylum seekers from countries with a relatively low claim recognition rate, such as Algeria and Morocco, are often detained because Greek authorities allege that they apply for asylum merely to delay or frustrate returns to Turkey, raising concerns about the use of arbitrary detention based on nationality.

This differential treatment, and frustration at delayed procedures, has led to unrest in the hotspots and island detention facilities and psychological distress, Human Rights Watch found.

Greek authorities, with EU support, should ensure asylum seekers have meaningful access to a fair and efficient asylum procedure based on individual claims, not nationality. Asylum seekers should be admitted so that their claims for protection can be examined on their merits in Greece. The EU and the Greek government should work together to ensure that people receive timely and accessible information in a language they understand.

In addition, the Greek government should end the containment policy on the islands, including for at-risk groups, and, with EU and UNHCR support, transfer asylum seekers to the mainland and provide them with adequate accommodation. The Greek government should also enroll all children in schools, and provide adults with work visas and an opportunity to work.

"The European Union and the Greek government should work to restore the dignity and humanity of people seeking protection, not foster conditions that cause psychological harm," Cerimovic said.

Inhumane Policies

The EU-Turkey deal aims to return most asylum seekers from the Greek islands to Turkey under the flawed assumption that Turkey is a safe country for asylum seekers, without considering the merits of their asylum claims in Greece. Since the deal entered into effect on March 20, 2016, tens of thousands of people have been bottle-necked in deplorable and volatile conditions on Greek islands. According to governmental figures published by UNHCR, 12,873 asylum seekers are currently on the Greek islands. Thousands of them are living in extremely harsh conditions in overcrowded facilities while their protection claims are being processed.

An Action Plan between the European Commission and the Greek government published in December 2016 recommended that Greece take tougher measures aimed at increasing the number of returns to Turkey. Those measures included ending exemptions for vulnerable groups and people eligible for family reunification from the requirement to remain on the islands and requiring them to go through a fast-track admissibility process. The commission also recommended expanding detention on the islands and curbing appeal rights.

The Greek government is already carrying out some of these measures, including by increasing detention capacity, and by containing people identified as "vulnerable" on the islands until the first instance examination of their asylum claim under the regular procedure. In April, the government adopted a policy excluding asylum-seekers on the Greek islands who appeal negative asylum decisions from the possibility of participating later in the IOM Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programme, which offers voluntary returns to the home countries of asylum seekers, and forcing those who wish to participate to forego their right to appeal.

In May 2017, Human Rights Watch documented that the EU is inappropriately pressing Greek authorities and medical aid organizations to reduce the number of asylum seekers identified as "vulnerable," including people with disabilities, torture victims, and other at-risk groups. As a result of not being identified, at-risk people struggle to get the protection and assistance to which they have a legal right.

Factors Causing Psychological Distress

Insecurity and Uncertainty

The insecurity in the camps and uncertain futures, including when the first asylum interview will take place or when the decision will be made, have increased the risk of distress among asylum seekers trapped on the Greek islands.

Nakibullah, a 16-year-old boy from Afghanistan, said: "I've been here for 10 months and I am worried about what will happen. I am not well mentally because I live in insecurity."

"Hamid," an 18-year-old Bangladeshi stranded on Lesbos since November 2016, said, "It's been a while that I live here and every day that passes is worse. My biggest stress is about what will happen the next day. What tomorrow will bring. Why are you keeping me here?"

Detention and the risk of deportation to Turkey is another catalyst for anxiety, depression, or self-harm. "This is especially the case since [increased] detention and deportations became a reality in the last few weeks," a lawyer on Lesbos told Human Rights Watch in May. Twenty-two people were deported back to Turkey the week before Human Rights Watch's visit to Lesbos on May 18. A total of 1,210 people had been returned back to Turkey by June 13, since the deal entered into force in March 2016.

Greek authorities transferred "Ahmad," a 20-year-old Syrian, in May 2017 from Chios island, where he had lived since August 2016, to the Moria pre-removal detention center on Lesbos. "We came here and we don't know if we are going back to Turkey or whether we are going back to Chios," he said. "I'm in a nervous situation. Being between [other detainees] makes me nervous. Yesterday, an Algerian guy hurt himself. My feelings are dead." Two other people in separate interviews confirmed that an Algerian man had harmed himself by cutting.

In response to EU prodding, Greece is taking some steps to speed up the asylum process. Authorities recently started to apply a fast-track procedure provided for in a Greek law adopted in April 2016 that entails examining the admissibility or eligibility of international protection claims within 15 days, including appeal.

"More frequently, new arrivals have their interviews scheduled in the first five days of their arrival," said Lorraine Leete, a lawyer from the Lesbos Legal Centre, which provides legal advice to asylum seekers and other migrants on Lesbos. "They are not given adequate time to prepare for interviews or meet with the lawyers."

MSF said that it takes time and expertise for experiences of abuse, torture, or persecution to come to light. Reducing the length of asylum procedure should go hand in hand with an improved capacity to detect people's "vulnerabilities" while maintaining their right to appeal.

Harsh Camp Conditions

Extremely bad living conditions in overcrowded hotspots with little to no access to services is another key factor that contributes to deteriorated mental health. An MSF representative said that on Samos, they see more and more refugees intentionally harming themselves.

"Imran," a 15-year-old boy from Afghanistan who lived for more than 10 months in overcrowded and volatile conditions at Moria, said:

I've been 10 months here [on Lesbos] and the situation is very difficult. I am not well at all here. I have 'psychological problems' that I also had in Afghanistan. During my time here, they have worsened because I live under these conditions. I've reached a point where I harmed myself three times. Now, I [get counseling and] am on medication. I also have pain in my stomach. It hurts. I don't sleep much. I don't fall asleep easily. I might fall asleep at 3 or 4 in the morning and wake up by 8. I feel awake all the time. I don't have an appetite and energy.

An MSF representative said that poor conditions in hotspots are especially harmful to people with mental health conditions or torture victims: "For persons who have experienced extreme violence in detention back in their countries of origin, a place surrounded by barbed wire, the presence of police, and violent clashes clearly cannot be a proper place for them."

Amir, a 26-year-old asylum seeker from Iran who has been detained on Lesbos since mid-April, including for 20 days at a police station cell, said: "I am not good because in Iran I was in a military prison and while I'm here I see the fences and I remember my past [] During the first week I was here, I couldn't sleep all week [] I had nightmares of the torture I've been through in the military prison."

"Halid," a 16-year-old boy from Afghanistan who has been living in Moria since December 2016, said harsh camp conditions, uncertainty, and fear of deportation exacerbated psychological distress he felt while in Afghanistan:

When I first came here it was very hard because I didn't know anyone. Now I see a psychologist. I speak, and I feel a bit better. Back in Afghanistan I did not feel well with everything that happened. Here, the conditions didn't help. And now, the fact that I don't know what will happen in the future also makes me not feel well. I am afraid of being deported.

The hotspots were originally designed as registration and transit centers where people were supposed to stay for short periods, not as places of indefinite containment.

An MSF representative said that the treatment of refugees, including being contained on the islands and in camps, not only exacerbates existing mental health conditions but also creates new psychological distress:

There are many people with PTSD, due to violence they have experienced in their home countries or because of trauma they have experienced during the treacherous journey, but the uncertainty of what is going to happen and the living conditions on the island [Lesbos and Samos] further exacerbates the symptoms and creates new mental health conditions. We have new cases of people with anxiety, depression, self-harm, and more people will most likely develop new forms of mental health conditions due to the conditions on the islands.

"Bilal," a 26-year-old asylum seeker from Syria with a mental health condition, has been detained on Lesbos for more than three months pending return to Turkey. He said he was held for more than two months at a police station cell, where he said he attempted suicide, before being moved to Moria. "All this time [at the police station] I had seen no doctor," he said. "Then I hurt myself in the police station, and then they [the police] brought me here [to Moria]."

"Anush," a boy from Afghanistan who was registered by Greek authorities as 20 but says he is 16 and is living with the general population in Moria since the end of August 2016, said:

I feel very bad. Whatever you do, even if you change it [Moria], it is not a place to be. Psychologically I feel very bad. I go to a psychologist and a psychiatrist, every week for a month now. It helps but when you live in Moria it doesn't help. From the moment I got here, my psychological well-being got worse because of all the situation and whatever happens in Moria. We came here because of a better life but there are lots of problems.

An NGO worker following Anush's case added: "[He] has lots of psychological 'problems'. We visited a psychiatrist, we visited a neurologist but as he says, if the conditions don't change, this doesn't help. He has lots of anxiety and at least one panic attack per day. His fingers are trembling and he has severe headaches."

Discriminatory EU and Greek Policies

The discriminatory policy adopted by Greece that is based on nationality, not individual cases, is another source of mental anguish. An MSF representative said:

The procedure is different for nationalities of applicants within the recognition rate [granted protection] below 20 percent. Such discriminatory procedure is not comprehensible. The person rightly believes that their case should be assessed on the basis of their individual claim, not their nationality, but that is not happening on the islands. The system completely destroys the dignity of people.

Asylum Process Stress

Two lawyers providing legal advice to asylum seekers on Lesbos said that the Greek Asylum Service (GAS) has taken some steps to schedule interviews and issue written notices for dates that, if kept, would allow for relatively prompt consideration of claims, but it has not been consistent in keeping those appointments.

For example, the interview for "Anar," a 27-year-old man from Afghanistan, has been postponed without explanation at least 5 times during the 10 months he has lived in Moria. "It's made me 'crazy,'" Anar said. "When I think of the person I was 10 months ago when I first arrived and the person I am today, it's not the same person."

Leete, the lawyer providing legal advice to Anar and other asylum seekers on Lesbos, confirmed that Anar's first interview was postponed without explanation. Leete added that Anar's experience is not unusual. "Many go there regularly on the scheduled day of the appointment, wait for hours, only to be told to come instead another day," Leete said. She added that Rohingya from Myanmar, who had been on Lesbos for nine months at the time of our interview, in mid-May, are repeatedly given new dates, because the asylum service says it cannot get interpreters.

Many people also fear having their asylum claim rejected. A member of a Syrian Kurdish family of five who were rejected on both first and second instance hearings said:

We got rejected twice. We were in Kara Tepe [open camp on Lesbos] one month ago. My husband went to renew the [asylum] application card. He went inside the asylum office and the police arrested him. The police then came to my room, inside Kara Tepe and brought us here [Moria]. They didn't even let us take our stuff. Later the police brought our stuff. For four days I didn't eat at all, I went on a hunger strike. And they took me to a hospital.

One of the lawyers interviewed and a representative of MSF confirmed that the family had been denied full examination of their claim in Greece on the basis that Turkey is a safe third country for them, and has been detained in a closed compound inside Moria since April 28. A family member said:

When we arrived here first, the lawyer told us, 'You will get out in 10 days.' But, we don't know how long we are going to stay here. They should tell us. Is it two months, three months? If you killed someone the court would say, 'you are going to be in jail for six years.' But to us, they don't say anything.

Leete said that one of the biggest tragedies of the declining mental health of refugees in Greece is that people who have a right to international protection and who are refugees under EU and Greek law are in fact being denied protection:

Many people have given up and are volunteering to go back to their home countries. They came to Europe seeking safety, they are not finding it here, and are instead trapped on the islands. They don't know if they will be allowed to stay, or returned back. Will they be rejected as other people who have had valid claims? That's the biggest tragedy: the system has come to the stage where people 'volunteer' to go back to the countries where their lives might be in danger. And when I say 'volunteer' that should be put in a quote as I think it is a forced departure. Everyone who came to Greece, and decided to risk their lives, came here for a reason.

A representative of Doctors of the World (MDM), an international organization which operated in Moria until end of June 2017, said: "Not only are we not meeting their needs, but [the system] is doing more harm."

The feeling of helplessness and lack of activities are other factors that influence people's mental health. "They have fought for months, nothing has changed," an MSF representative said. "It is also the feeling of not being able to change anything, of not having anything to do, the feeling of hopelessness and uselessness."

Nakibullah, the 16-year-old boy from Afghanistan who has been trapped on Lesbos for 10 months, said: "I am losing my time here. Here time goes by without anything happening."

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At least three Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed in an encounter in Budgam that began on Tuesday evening. The operation came within a day of the deadly attack on Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Anantnag.

By India Today Web Desk: At least three terrorists were killed by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam in an encounter that began on Tuesday evening.

According to early information, the three militants were part of the Hizbul Mujahideen. Forces recovered their bodies along with at least one self-loading rifle but the terrorists' identities were yet to be verified.

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The encounter took place in Radpug village of Budgam's Mahagam area at around 7.30 pm on Tuesday. A joint security team of the Central Reserve Police Force, the Indian Army's Rashtriya Rifles and the Jammu and Kashmir Police's Special Operations Group was carrying out a cordon-and-search operation when the made contact with the terrorists.

The cordon-and-search operation was launched in the aftermath of Monday night's attack on Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Anantnag. 7 people had died after terrorists opened fire on a bus ferrying the pilgrims from Srinagar to Jammu.

While the Budgam encounter is beleived to have ended today morning, search operations are still on in the area.

(With inputs from Shuja ul-Haq in Srinagar)

ALSO READ | Was Amarnath pilgrim bus real target of Anantnag attack? Cops wade through maze of clues

ALSO READ | Amarnath attack: Lashkar-e-Taiba over-ground workers tailed pilgrims for 2 days

ALSO WATCH | Inside story of Amarnath terror attack: How Lashkar terrorist Ismail plotted strike

--- ENDS ---
Syria: Airstrike on School Kills Civilians

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 12 July 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Syria: Airstrike on School Kills Civilians, 12 July 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59661e524.html [accessed 12 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.

One of the airstrikes hit the courtyard of Martyr Kiwan middle school in the town of Tafas, killing eight people, including a child, most of them members of a family who had been displaced from another town and were taking shelter there, witnesses said. Artillery attacks roughly an hour earlier on the same day killed two other civilians, including one child, near the school. At least five people were wounded.

Expand The impact crater in the Martyr Kiwan school courtyard from a Syrian-Russian airstrike on June 14, 2017. Seven of the eight casualties, including a child, were from a displaced family and had been sheltering in the school.  2017 Private

"A sign at the entrance of the middle school in Tafas says, 'Keep the school clean,' but the floor was smeared with the blood of a whole family on June 14," said Bill Van Esveld, senior children's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "As long as no one is held responsible for such repeated unlawful attacks, it's likely they will continue."

Witnesses said that to their knowledge no members of non-state armed groups fighting the Syrian government were killed or injured in the attacks, and that they did not know of any military objects in the vicinity of the attacks. A local resident said that anti-government armed groups known as Fajr al-Islam and al-Mutaz Bellah are present in Tafas, 13 kilometers north of the city of Daraa, but that neither had any presence in or near the school.

Human Rights Watch contacted witnesses and residents in Tafas by phone and WhatsApp, as well as a relative of the displaced family that had been sheltering there. Some of the names of those interviewed are withheld for their protection. Human Rights Watch also reviewed photographs and videos the witnesses shared. Tafas hospital, where most of the victims were transferred, provided a short report describing the victims' injuries. Syrian government ground forces are located about five kilometers southeast of Tafas.

Human Rights Watch is not aware that the Syrian or Russian authorities made any statements about the attacks.

The Martyr Kiwan school had 300 to 400 students before the 2011 uprising, and a similar number subsequently, as some children from Tafas had fled but others who had been displaced from other towns were enrolled there, said one Tafas resident. The school was on summer vacation on June 14, which may have limited the number of casualties. The school had previously been damaged by an airstrike in November 2016 that did not cause any casualties, and had continued to operate even though some displaced families were living there. Another resident who lives nearby said that middle school staff told him they plan to teach students in two shifts in the building that was not damaged until the damaged building can be repaired.

Expand Damage to the Martyr Kiwan middle school from a Syrian-Russian airstrike on June 14, 2017 that killed eight civilians, including a child.  2017 Private

Syrian opposition groups captured Tafas in August 2013. All the witnesses Human Rights Watch spoke to said that there were no fighters or other military objects in or near the areas that were attacked on June 14. "The rebels are far from the town, on agricultural lands and in old bases," said Abu Wesal, a civil defense worker who responded to the attacks. The opposition Free Syrian Army stated that it launched rocket and artillery attacks against Syrian army vehicles at a checkpoint in Khirbet Ghazala, about 15 kilometers east of Tafas, on June 14.

Abu Wesal shared photographs he took of the impact crater in the school courtyard, and of the remnants of the bomb used in that airstrike, but it is not possible to positively identify a specific type. However, given the close proximity to the weapons' impact, the bomb created significant blast, fragmentation, and thermal effects, which are evident on the bodies of the victims. Both Abu Wesal and another civil defense worker who responded to the attacks said that all the bodies and wounded they evacuated were civilians, and that there was no military object at the school. No weapons or military uniforms are visible in any of the videos and photographs of the attack's aftermath that Human Rights Watch reviewed.

Witnesses said they could not see the aircraft that dropped the bombs. A fixed-wing aircraft is briefly visible in a video posted online by Shahid, a local media organization, which the group described as footage of the first airstrike on Tafas. Two subsequent airstrikes hit the north and east of Tafas, causing minor injuries, a second civil defense worker said.

The United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, reported at least 87 attacks on schools or educational staff in Syria in 2016, which killed 255 children in or near schools. The Syrian Human Rights Committee reported 132 attacks against "educational institutes" in 2016, including 113 by Syrian-Russian airstrikes. A Syrian nongovernmental humanitarian group, the Assistance Coordination Unit, found that 27 percent of the 3,373 schools it assessed in November and December 2016 in 90 subdistricts in Syria had been damaged due to the conflict.

According to the UN, 1 in 3 children in Syria are out of school and 1 in 3 schools are not operating because they have been damaged, destroyed, used by military forces, or used to shelter displaced civilians.

"The joint Syrian-Russian military operation in Syria has repeatedly demonstrated contempt for civilian lives and for the schools, which represent a better future for the country," Van Esveld said. "The attacks on Tafas appear unlawful, and the victims deserve justice."

The June 14 attacks in Tafas

At around noon on June 14, 2017, an artillery attack killed Hiba al-Hasan, a 12-year-old girl, and Mohamad al-Salkhadi, who was selling vegetables, near al-Omari square, a residential area in the middle of town, Abu Wesal and another civil defense worker in Tafas who responded to the attacks told Human Rights Watch separately. Other artillery attacks hit areas in Tafas to the north and west at around the same time but without casualties, and attacks continued later in the day, the men said. Abu Wesal said the artillery attacks originated from the direction of areas controlled by Syrian government forces near Tafas: Tal al-Khedr and Dara'a al-Panorama. Tafas has been subjected to repeated artillery attacks from government-held areas, witnesses said.

Beginning at around 1 p.m., a fixed-wing jet aircraft dropped four bombs in short succession on Tafas, witnesses said. The first airstrike hit an open area immediately behind the Kiwan middle school, about 300 meters south of the square hit by the earlier artillery strike. Another civil defense worker said he arrived at the site of the explosion within a few minutes, and that a second airstrike hit the school's front courtyard shortly thereafter. "I saw the [second] bomb hit the school, because I was very close," he said. "Me and my team went inside the school." Human Rights Watch saw a video that the civil defense worker said he filmed at the time showing at least five bodies, blood, and body parts in the school entrance.

Abu Wesal also arrived at the school shortly after the second attack, "about three minutes after the first one, just enough time for the plane to circle around." Among the victims whose bodies he removed was that of his cousin, Ahmad Naji Kiwan, whose home was next to the school.

It was the first time I'd seen something like that  the remains were splattered all over. There were six bodies, amputated heads, amputated hands, amputated legs, not one was left intact. We tried to look for survivors and heard children screaming. The only two survivors we found are the boy [Bara'a al-Masri] and a girl. They were [] stuck under mattresses and furniture. I swear, to this moment, the smell of blood and remains is stuck on the metal. The [bomb], when it fell, tore down the door, the metallic front gate of the school. We found one body with part of the door having pierced him from the chest onto his back. Something indescribable.

The other seven people killed and wounded at the school were among roughly 15 members of an extended family who had been sheltering there since Syrian forces captured their hometown of Ataman, about 10 kilometers away, in February 2016, said a resident who lives near the school. Witnesses and Syrian rights groups identified the family members killed as Yasmin al-Masri, a 13-year-old girl, and her relatives Rami, Mohamad Ahmad, Mohamad Ayed, Ahmad, Mahmud, and Mahmud's wife, Basma al-Hari, 31. Al-Hari died while in surgery due to shrapnel wounds in the head, chest, and stomach, according to a written statement from Tafas hospital.

The hospital statement said it had received the bodies of seven people who were killed in the attack, as well as al-Hari, who died in surgery, and four other al-Masri family members who were wounded: Bara'a Mohamad al-Masri, 3, who had abdominal wounds and a ruptured leg artery; another boy, a girl, and a woman, 55, who had abdominal wounds and was transferred to Jordan. A video uploaded to YouTube on June 24 by Orient News shows a boy identified as Bara'a al-Masri, and a doctor who describes performing surgery on him.

The aircraft conducted two other airstrikes shortly after hitting the school, witnesses said. The third strike wounded two children when it hit a former military barracks about 2.5 kilometers east of the school that is being used as shelter for displaced families from the towns of Sheikh Maskin, Ebtah, Garfah, and Ataman, Abu Wesal said. The fourth airstrike hit land next to a former cigarette warehouse which also shelters displaced people on the edge of Tafas without causing casualties.

Another resident who lives near Tafas told Human Rights Watch that he visited the school the day following the attack on behalf of a children's organization, and that he also met Bara'a al-Masri in the hospital: "He had no one anymore. No mother. No father. Only his uncle, who was devastated. I went to visit him the next day as well, and offered some help." The boy was discharged from hospital five days later. A family member said that the boy had been transferred to a hospital in Jordan, with another relative.

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Body cameras for the Mooresville Police Department have arrived. Find out when they will be used.
When 24-year-old Jahed Choudhury got married to 19-year-old Sean Rogan, he wanted to show the world that "you can be gay and Muslim". Their wedding ceremony marked the first same-sex marriage involving a Muslim partner in UK.

By India Today Web Desk: You can be gay and Muslim, that's what Jahed Choudhury and Sean Rogan are trying to emphasise after they got married in England's West Midlands. What makes this union special is that this is the first same-sex marriage involving a Muslim partner in UK.

Jahed got married to 19-year-old Sean Rogan in a low-key ceremony at Walsall registry office. The couple first met in Darlaston where Jahed was sitting on a bench crying. They have been together since two years now.

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Also read: India finally has a gay marriage bureau!

In an interview to Express and Star, Jahed recalls the struggles of being gay in a traditional Bangladeshi Muslim family. He felt like a 'black sheep' of the family and was bullied at school. His community too ostracised him for being homosexual.

Jahed even tried changing his sexual orientation and went on religious pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh. However, he eventually became suicidal and tried killing himself.

Also read: Indian-origin leader Leo Varadkar will be Ireland's first gay Prime Minister

While talking about the marriage, he said that his family does not want see it as "it's too embarrassing for them". "They think it's a disease and can be cured, some of my family still call it a phase", he told Express and Star.

But his husband, Rogan said that being gay is not wrong and it's not 'a phase'. "People just need a bit of support."

Jahed had a message for people going through the same thing. He said that it was okay and "we're going to show the whole world that you can be gay and Muslim".

Also read: Homophobia on campus? 38% IIT Bombay students think homosexuality is a 'disease' to be cured

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Cambodians hold images of prominent government critic Kem Ley on the first anniversary of his death at his mother's home in southwestern Cambodia's Takeo province, July 9, 2017.

Cambodian police arrested a young social media user on Wednesday for a video she posted on Facebook suggesting that Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family were behind the killing last year of a prominent political analyst and scholar, RFAs Khmer Service has learned.

Heng Leakhena said the premier and his relatives had a hand in the gunning down of Kem Ley a year ago when he stopped for coffee in a Star Mart convenience store beside a Caltex gas station in the capital Phnom Penh.

Police in the capital said they apprehended Heng Leakhena in flagrante delictoa legal term used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offenceafter she posted a video clip of herself making comments that the premier and his relatives masterminded the murder.

They have questioned her, and she remains in custody.

She posted the video she made at a ceremony on July 9, marking the first anniversary of Kem Leys death.

The contemptible Sen and his entire family are all murderers, Heng Leakhena said in the video which she posted on the first anniversary of Kem Leys death.

Their hands are stained with Dr. Kem Leys blood, she said.

Khieu Sopheak, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, said that it is impossible to release Heng Leakhena because she has committed an in flagrante delicto crime.

She may have been too emotional on the anniversary of Kem Leys death or it may have been her premeditated intent to do it, he said. Freedom of speech in a democratic society has its boundaries. She cannot just do whatever she wants. I am very sorry that she is so young and has committed such an offense.

Duch Piseth, director of the countrys Center for Human Rights Advocacy, said the action that authorities have taken against the girl is too harsh because Hun Sen is a public figure and should not be immune from public scrutiny.

I think a public figure should be more patient, he told RFA. In the meantime, the government should create an independent committee to investigate Dr. Kem Leys murder case to find real justice for him and his family.

Though authorities have oversight of how freedom of expression and rights should be enjoyed, the judicial police should resort to softer means to address people who criticize the government, he said.

Court cases against critics

Heng Leakhena will be the fourth person to become involved in court cases brought against them by Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) government over comments on the murder of late political analyst.

Hun Sen has sued three others for defamationSam Rainsy, former head of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), opposition Senator Thak Lany, and jailed political commentator Kem Sokover accusations that the CPP planned Kem Leys murder.

Sam Rainsy and Thak Lany are both in exile, and Kim Sok is in jail awaiting trial.

Days before Kem Ley was murdered on July 10, 2016, he discussed on an RFA Khmer Service call-in show a report by London-based group Global Witness detailing the extent of the wealth of the family of Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for more than 32 years.

Former soldier Oeuth Angwho calls himself Chuob Samlab, a Khmer name meaning meet to killconfessed to shooting Kem Ley over a U.S. $3,000 debt. Though he was sentenced to life in prison in March for the crime, it is widely believed that others were involved in the slaying and that Oeuth Ang had had no contact at all with the political analyst prior to the killing.

Cambodians held services in the capital Phnom Penh and elsewhere around the country on Sunday and Monday to commemorate Kem Ley on the first anniversary of his death, while the United States and rights groups called for a full and impartial reinvestigation of his murder.

Reported by Moniroth Morm for RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
A flagship political discussion show run for decades by government broadcaster RTHK has been accused of peddling an anti-Beijing agenda in Hong Kong amid reports the city's government is planning a political campaign against "hostile overseas forces" feared by Beijing.



The round-table format politics show, featuring newsmakers, politicians and questions from the audience, has been broadcasting live to the people of Hong Kong from Victoria Park since its inception in 1980.



But the edition of RTHK's City Forum that marked the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule was slated by pro-Beijing voices for its title: "One country, two systems: a 20-year sham?"



The "one country, two systems" approach was offered by Beijing as part of its formal handover treaty with the U.K., promising the maintenance of Hong Kong's existing freedoms and a "high degree of autonomy" on the internal running of the city.



But repeated interventions by China's parliament in sensitive political cases, including the appointment of lawmakers and the conduct of elections, as well as the cross border detention of five Hong Kong booksellers over the sale of "banned" books in China, have left many feeling that those promises were empty.



Meanwhile, the Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po newspaper quoted a pro-Beijing journalists' association as calling for the "malicious" producers of the show to be disciplined for damaging anti-handover sentiment.



"There have long been a handful of producers at RTHK who have nursed hostility towards their country, and have used their control of the airwaves to pour poisonous, vulgar speech and exaggerated satire of national leaders in aid of their anti-China political aims," the paper quoted the Association of Veteran Hong Kong Journalists as saying.



"Journalists should show some responsibility to society, not spread rumors and slander, sow discord, polarity and social conflict," it said.



The group called on RTHK to "discipline" those responsible.



"This department has long harbored a cancerous tumor, that will only continue to grow bigger and bigger if it is ignored," the group told the Wen Wei Po. "It can only return to health if it makes a concerted effort to deal with it."



Association chairman and adviser to Beijing Chang Wan-Fung brushed aside concerns that Beijing has interfered repeatedly in Hong Kong's promised autonomy in recent years.



"This phrase, a 20-year con, is rumor-mongering and slander," Chang said. "RTHK is a government broadcaster of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government of the People's Republic of China."



"Its staff are civil servants, and at the very least shouldn't be aligning themselves with opposition factions, or with anti-China or anti-Hong Kong forces," he said.



Topic for debate

But the head of RTHK's television arm, Amen Ng, said the provocative phrase had been used in the form of a question, to provoke debate on the show.



"On the day the show went out, the topic was the demonstrations, and the show quoted a slogan used by [march organizers] the Civil Human Rights Front," she told RFA.



"There was a question mark added to the phrase to show that it was a topic for debate, rather than a fixed point of view," Ng said.



She said RTHK has a duty as a public broadcaster to reflect different views across the whole of Hong Kong society, and that the station was collecting opinions from all quarters on the controversy for further study.



Chris Yeung, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA), which warned in a report this month that the influx of money from mainland China risks compromising the city's press freedom, agreed with Ng.



"The show's title merely raised a question, which showed careful journalism on their part," Yeung said. "They were trying to ensure that the show didn't have a fixed opinion."



"But a small number of people in the media are perhaps a little oversensitive," he said.



The row over the show comes as officials from China's liaison office in Hong Kong have been accused of trying to influence lawmakers' votes on sensitive issues in recent weeks.



Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary Patrick Nip on denied allegations from Democratic Party lawmaker James To, who said there was "a lot of evidence to show mainland interference in Hong Kong affairs."

However, news site www.hk01.com reported that newly sworn-in chief executive Carrie Lam may come under pressure to set up a "political unit" charged with countering pro-independence and localist rhetoric in the city.



It said a recent two-year research program commissioned by Beijing's central policy unit had found the city's executive-led government weakened by recent divisions over political reforms, leaving it on the back foot.



The report suggested setting up a "political unit" to track, deter and contain opposition voices, the website said.



Beijing turns the screws

Professor Chung Kim-wah, director of the PolyU Centre for Social Policy, told RFA that such reports were not surprising, but could backfire.



"It's not a big surprise to me, especially in the last few years, when central government policy has played a very different role [in Hong Kong] compared with before," Chung said.



"In the decade between 2001 and 2012, all [the central policy unit] did was some public opinion surveys and research, but they have given the impression of actually telling the government, and in particular the chief executive, how to promote and implement policy in recent years," he said.



Current affairs commentator Liu Ruishao, who appeared on the controversial episode of City Forum, said Beijing should back off and let Lam get on with managing the economy and social welfare for the next couple of years, however.



"They don't need to start thinking about any political reform package for 2022 until 2020, so the best thing would be for them to back off and let Carrie Lam have some time to get to grips with the economy, social issues, and social welfare," Liu said.



Meanwhile, the HKJA said incoming investment by mainland Chinese businesses in Hong Kong media outlets could worsen the problem of self-censorship among the citys newspapers and TV stations.



Eight out of 26 mainstream media outlets in Hong Kong are effectively controlled by Chinese money, the HKJA said in its report earlier this month titled "Two systems under siege: Beijing turns the screws on Hong Kong media."



By the end of the year, i-Cable will join the list of entities relying on Chinese capital, raising the proportion to more than one third, the report said.



"After President Xi Jinping came to power and the 2014 pro-democracy Occupy movement in Hong Kong, Beijing moved into the drivers seat," it said, calling on Lam's administration to take immediate action to defend the city's autonomy.



The HKJA has also called on Lam to enact freedom of information and archives laws, to stop using informal blog posts to announce major policies, and to end government refusal to accredit journalists from online-only news outlets.



Reported by Goh Fung for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Ding Wenqi for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Terminally ill political prisoner and Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo suffered "respiratory failure" and septic shock, according to the hospital in northeastern China where he is receiving treatment.



Liu suffered respiratory failure as his condition worsened, the Shenyang No. 1 Medical University hospital in Shenyang, Liaoning province said in a statement.



It said Liu's family had declined to have him put on artificial ventilation, which was necessary "to maintain life".



"The hospital has explained the necessity of tracheal intubation to the patient's family; The family refused the tracheal intubation," the hospital said on its website.



A source close to the Liu family told RFA that his condition is very unstable.



"Yes, of course it's gotten more serious," the friend said. "He is still being watched by the police, though, and nobody from outside is allowed any contact with him."



"Now, it's just Liu, [his wife] Liu Xia and [Liu Xia's brother] Liu Hui in the hospital," the friend said. "Nobody else is allowed to just go there and visit him."



Tumor is growing

However, another source quoted a relative who had managed to visit on morning as saying that Liu had only been in danger for around 20 minutes, after which he had stabilized. RFA was unable to confirm this report independently, however.



The hospital said Liu's late-stage liver tumor has grown and that he has bleeding from the liver as well as kidney problems.



The latest statement comes amid a growing chorus of criticism aimed at the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which is preventing Liu, his wife Liu Xia, and her brother Liu Hui from leaving the country to seek medical treatment overseas.



Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said once more that overseas critics should respect China's judicial sovereignty and "not interfere in China's internal affairs under the pretext of an individual case."



Former top Communist Party aide Bao Tong said he is very angry at the authorities for preventing Liu from accepting offers of treatment from Germany and the United States, however.



"What sort of government is this?" Bao said. "They need to try to save his life, and he needs to be set free."



"Any sort of delays, or excuses for delays only serve to show us what the government really thinks of its citizens: they treat them like animals," he said.



Inhumanity stretches back to Mao era

Bao said the refusal to consider the humanity of citizens dates back to the Mao era of China's recent history.



"They have never treated people like people," Bao said. "They see them as targets for political struggle, oppression and dictatorship; even their emphasis on a harmonious society means they don't recognize people as human."



"It would be the easiest thing in the world for them to grant Liu Xiaobo's wish and allow him to travel overseas for treatment," he said.



Hong Kong Medical Association chairman Yeung Chiu-fat said septic shock is a very serious form of infection.



"Septic shock means ... that the extent of the infection is very serious, and if the person's immune system is compromised, then the bacteria can spread through the whole body," Yeung told RFA.



"We could be talking about one or two weeks [of life left]."



Chen Bingzhong, former director of China's Institute of Health Education, said overseas treatment could prolong Liu's life, however.



"They need to be able to employ the latest treatment protocols ... and collaboration with overseas is necessary to do that," Chen said. "If it is possible for them to allow him to be treated in Germany or the U.S., then it is entirely possible that his life could be prolonged."



U.S. oncologist Joseph Herman from the University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center and German doctor Markus Buchler of Heidelberg University said last week that moving Liu to an overseas hospital would be feasible.



Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
A Thai farmer holds a lemon she collected with a wooden tool on her plantation in central Thailand's Nonthaburi province, March 23, 2016.

The trial of three Thai nationals charged with trafficking and abusing eight Lao workers has begun in central Thailands Phetchaburi province amid a crackdown on illegal migrant laborers in the Southeast Asian country.

The Laotiansall members of the same family from Sanasomboun district, in southwestern Laos Champasak province near the borders with Thailand and Cambodiahad worked illegally on a lemon plantation in Phetchaburi province since 2011 until they were rescued last September.

Police Lieutenant-General Thammawutt Wichianmaneechot, director of the Thai anti-human trafficking unit in Phetchaburi province, told RFAs Lao Service that the suspects have been charged with physical assault and detention, human trafficking, forcing people under 17 years of age to perform labor, and possessing illegal weapons.

It is the duty of the jury to decide whether or not the employers as defendants are found guilty of human trafficking because they deny that they have committed human trafficking and insist it is just a wage payment-related case, he said.

During the trial at Phetchaburi province court on July 6, the prosecutor called four witnesses, including two police officers who showed photos of a gun illegally possessed by the accused men and of their arrests when the men tried to conceal the weapon and flee the scene.

The officers also provided as evidence their daily notes on the matter and reports of the raid police conducted to rescue the Laotians and arrest their Thai employers.

Another witness was a representative from the Labor Rights Promotion Network Foundation, who presented photos of scars on the Laotians bodies from injuries allegedly caused by the Thai men.

A representative from the Thai Social Development and Human Security Ministry who also testified said the eight Laotians were trafficked, beaten, and forced to perform hard labor in Thailand.

Attorneys representing the accused men denied all charges on behalf of their clients and said the evidence presented was based only on hearsay from the Laotians because the prosecutor had no photos of the alleged beatings.

Samak Thabthani, director of the Thai human trafficking prevention agency, told the court that he had provided assistance to the Laotians.

I also repeated in court what the victims told me, he told RFAs Lao Service after the trial. The opposite side denied all charges, but our lawyers will be working hard on this case. As of now the next court hearing date is still unknown.

The eight Lao workers were not present in court because they had been sent back to Laos earlier this year after spending six months at a rehabilitation center.

Restrictions on migrant workers

The trial comes as hundreds of undocumented Laotians in Thailand recently fled the country after the Thai government on June 23 imposed new restrictions on illegal migrant workers, carrying a jail term of up to five years and a fine of up to 100,000 baht (U.S. $2,941).

Following a backlash from companies and migrant advocates, the decree was suspended for 180 days to give the migrants time to obtain the proper documents in Laos before returning to Thailand.

Laotians returning home have reported that some Thai border police are demanding money from them, however.

On Monday, Lao workers said officials charged them each 500 baht (U.S. $15) to 1,000 baht (U.S. $29) at the Thali border checkpoint in northeastern Thailands Loei province before they were allowed to enter Laos.

Other illegal Lao workers were detained at a checkpoint in northeastern Thailands Yasothorn province while traveling home by bus, according to one undocumented worker who declined to be named.

After they got the yellow slip from the Lao embassy [in Thailand], they took a bus to Laos, he said, in a reference to the document Lao nationals need to be able to cross the border when heading home. The embassy charges each person 500 baht for the certificate.

Once the bus arrived in Yasothorn province, they were detained by police, he said.

The police did not let them go and they took whatever money they had, he said, adding that his three friends had to hand over 10,000 baht (U.S. $293) to the police.

In another case, a Laotian returning home by bus said Thai police and soldiers stopped the vehicle and ordered more than 40 Lao workers to get off.

The authorities sent the workers to the immigration checkpoint in Palan commune in Natarn district of northeastern Thailands Ubon Ratchathari province and collected 800 baht (U.S. $23) from each but did not provide receipts.

A Thai newspaper on Monday denied the veracity of the mans claim, saying that the Lao worker previously told it that before the decree took effect, Thai police at border checkpoints would charge each Laotian 500-800 baht before allowing them to cross.

RFA could not reach officials at Thai police checkpoints where the incidents allegedly occurred.

Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Today a former NASA engineer along with one more person was arrested, and sources in the excise department say they have also identified several high and mighty of Telugu film industry who were either in touch with the peddler or consuming drugs.

By Ashish Pandey: The Hyderabad drug scandal, which exposed schools students and several high profile people using MDMA and LSD, has brought several shocking facts to light.

Today a former NASA engineer along with one more person was arrested, and sources in the excise department say they have also identified several high and mighty of Telugu film industry who were either in touch with the peddler or consuming drugs.

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On Wednesday, the excise department's Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is investigating the case, issued notices to three actors including two actresses, and four producers, two directors and a fight master of Tollywood.

Excise department served notice under section 67 of NDPS act and asked them to appear before SIT in six days time.

After the notice was served to persons related to the industry, the Movie Artists Association (MAA) conducted a meeting to discuss the situation and slammed those who were involved in the drug scandal.

The MAA meeting was attended by its president Sivaji Raja, producers Suresh Babu, Allu Arvind and actor Srikanth.

So far 12 members, allegedly involved in supplying and possessing the drugs, have been arrested by the Telangana Excise and Prohibition Department while a haul of around 850 LSD, MDMA blot with a market value of over Rs 3 crores has been recovered from the accused.

Also Read:

Hyderabad: Drug racket haul reveals city school children major consumers

Watch Video: India Today expose: Party drug industry busted

--- ENDS ---
Southeast Asian lawmakers Wednesday called on Malaysia to treat undocumented workers fairly and respect their human rights as Kuala Lumpur carried on with an immigration crackdown that has rounded up more than 3,300 foreigners this month, according to government figures.

As of 10 p.m. Wednesday (local time), immigration agents had detained 3,323 workers without proper papers during the first 12 days of the crackdown that began on July 1, Malaysias Immigration Department said.

The detainees are mostly from other countries in Southeast and South Asia. They include 1,230 Bangladeshis, 825 Indonesians, 273 Myanmar nationals, 119 Vietnamese, 123 Thais and 95 Filipinos, and the rest are from other countries, officials with the department said.

Malaysia launched the crackdown a day after the governments deadline for workers to register with the immigration authorities expired.

The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) issued a statement expressing concern about the round-up taking place in Malaysia.

A desire to decrease the number of undocumented workers in the country can never be an excuse to further victimize the vulnerable, Mu Sochua, an APHR board member and member of the Cambodian National Assembly, said in the statement.

The group describes itself as a collective of regional lawmakers made up of current, former and retired parliamentarians from across the 10-nation ASEAN bloc.

While Malaysia has a legitimate need to address the fact that so many migrants find themselves without proper paperwork, it must ensure that basic human rights are respected for all people at all times, Mu Sochua said.

As thousands of new detainees are sent to be locked up in Malaysias overcrowded immigration detention centers, the crackdown risks worsening conditions in those facilities that are already dire, APHR said.

The Malaysian government must provide answers as to how they are addressing this sudden influx of thousands of detainees and how they will ensure that conditions do not deteriorate further, Mu Sochua said.

According to the regional parliamentarians, the government had registered only 161,000 undocumented migrants through its Foreign Worker Temporary E-Card Program. It is an initiative to give an opportunity to all employers, who have hired foreign workers without work permits, to register their employees in an effort to address labor shortages in certain economic sectors.

The deadline for registering all undocumented workers under the program expired on June 30, prompting the crackdown.

Apart from the more than 3,300 detained foreigners, 63 employers allegedly involved in hiring undocumented workers had also been arrested, Mustafar Ali, the director-general of the immigration department, told reporters on Wednesday night.

Employers should be subjected to the maximum penalty if found guilty of keeping illegal immigrants, Ali said, adding that violators could face fines, jail time and whipping.

He did not elaborate.

More than 30,000 undocumented workers have been sent back to their home countries since the beginning of this year, Ali said.

Ali debunked concerns about possible overcrowding in the immigration departments 13 jail centers, saying that most detainees had been deported before the government imposed a June 30 deadline for employers to register their workers under the E-Card program. He said the deadline would not be extended.

2 million workers without papers

There are two million legally registered migrant workers and at least two million others who are undocumented in Malaysia, which has a population of about 32 million, according to non-governmental organizations.

Most of the undocumented immigrants work in construction, palm oil plantations, factories and cleaning services, doing physically taxing menial jobs, which locals shy away from and describe as 3D  dangerous, difficult and dirty.

Malaysia, a federation of 13 states and three federal territories, experienced a surge in the number of low-income workers mainly from Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh after its economy posted robust growth in the past few years.

In April, the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights also voiced concerns following local newspaper reports that more than 100 people, mostly from Myanmar, had died in the past two years in Malaysian immigration detention centers.

Although the Malaysian government pledged an investigation into the allegations, little has been done to address the alarmingly poor conditions in the centers since, APHR said.

Malaysias home ministry said it was trying to improve the conditions but its budget was constrained, according to the South China Morning Post.

It is important for embassies of countries sending large numbers of workers to Malaysia to demand full access to their detained nationals, as well as accurate figures of the number of their citizens currently being detained, Mu Sochua said.

Foreign embassies have a responsibility to represent their citizens and to demand answers from the Malaysian government. At the same time, Malaysian authorities should be transparent.

People, not commodities



APHR reiterated the need for regional solutions to address the widespread abuse of migrant workers throughout Southeast Asia.



While abuses are particularly egregious in Malaysia, migrant workers tend to be treated exceedingly poorly throughout the region, according to APHR Board Member Eva Kusuma Sundari, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives.

The lack of coordinated action among (Southeast Asian) governments to protect human rights in the context of migration is contributing to this problem and giving free reign to employers, recruitment agents and authorities to abuse migrant workers, Sundari said.

Governments must remember that migrant workers, whether documented or undocumented, are not commodities, but people who have made enormous contributions to the regions progress, she said.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Myanmars refusal to grant visas to a United Nations team investigating abuses against ethnic Rohingya Muslims is a slap in the face to victims that risks lumping the country with the worlds pariah states, like North Korea, who block independent fact-finding missions, a rights group said Wednesday.



The condemnation came as the arrival of the U.N. human rights envoy to Myanmar was met with protests by residents of troubled Rakhine state, where she is leading a delegation to probe allegations of rights violations carried out on the Rohingya by security forces.



In late June, Myanmars civilian government under de facto leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi informed the U.N. Human Rights Council that it would conduct its own investigation into the situation in Rakhine, and refused visas to three investigators the council asked to send to the region.



On Wednesday, John Fisher, Geneva director at Human Rights Watch, urged the government to reconsider its decision or risk facing international censure, saying that to deny the team visas would be a slap in the face to victims who suffered grave human rights violations by Myanmars state security forces.



Does Aung San Suu Kyis government really want to be included in a very small and ignominious club of countries that reject Human Rights Council decisions? Fisher said in a statement.



North Korea, Eritrea, Syria, and Burundi are human rights pariah states that obstructed the work of independent, international investigations into alleged rights abuses, and it would be a travesty for a democratically elected, National League for Democracy-led government in Myanmar to do the same.



Fisher advised the government to immediately issue visas to the U.N. team and fully cooperate with its investigation.



Otherwise, the governments that pushed to set up this fact-finding mission need to stand up for it and impose a political consequence on Myanmar for blocking its work, he said.



Fishers statement followed one issued Monday by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, calling on Myanmars government to provide the team with visas, saying that the international community cannot overlook what is happening in [Myanmar].



Troubled state



Northern Rakhine state has seen a string of disappearances, murders, and attacks on security forces since deadly attacks there on border guard stations by an obscure group of Rohingya Muslim militants.



A four-month security crackdown followed the attacks, during which an estimated 1,000 were killed and 90,000 Rohingyawho are denied citizenship and other rights in Buddhist-majority Myanmarfled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape alleged atrocities committed against them by security forces.



Since then, nearly 40 civilians, including several ethnic Rakhine people, have been killed and more than 20 have gone missing or been abducted, according to the government.



Troops in northern Rakhine have been put on high alert in the area following other attacks by Muslim militants, though a state parliamentary official and political parties have called for increased security.



In February, the U.N. said in a report that the campaign against the Rohingya very likely amounted to war crimes, and three months later the rights council ordered Indira Jaising of India, Radhika Coomaraswamy of Sri Lanka and Christopher Dominic Sidoti of Australia to urgently investigate reported abuses against the ethnic group by security forcesincluding rape, torture, and murder.



Aung San Suu Kyi has said a U.N. fact-finding mission would raise tensions in Rakhine, and Myanmar officials say a domestic investigation and a commission headed by former U.N. chief Kofi Annanwhich is not mandated to investigate human rights abusesare sufficient to address problems in the region.



Journalist access



Myanmars government on Wednesday granted access to 18 Myanmar nationals and foreign correspondents representing international media, including RFAs Myanmar Service, to northern Rakhine state for the first time since the security crackdown in October last year.



Myo Myint Aung, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Information, told RFA that priority had been given to foreign media for the five-day government-escorted visit, during which reporters will travel to Buthidaung and Maungdawwhere most residents are Rohingya.



Reuters News Agency quoted Thet Swe, a director at the ministry's News and Periodicals Enterprise, as saying that journalists would face no restrictions regarding areas they could report from, and stressing that no for show areas had been arranged to mislead them about the situation on the ground.



The itinerary does not include visits to villages at the center of a two-week offensive in mid-November, where numerous abuses have been documented, but Thet Swe said it is not fixed and subject to changes due to weather and security concerns.



Reporters would be taken to the village of Tin May, where security forces killed two suspected militants and arrested one after they detonated a bomb on Sunday, Reuters reported, citing an announcement from Aung San Suu Kyi's office.



Rights envoy



Also on Wednesday, nearly 100 people gathered at the airport in the Rakhine capital Sittwe to protest the arrival of U.N. special rapporteur on human rights Yanghee Lee as part of her July 10-21 visit to Myanmar to investigate developments in the countrys human rights situation.



The protesters, who were given permission to protest by authorities and are believed to be members of a small local group known as the Rakhine Ahlin Takar, held signs which read get out Yanghee Lee and sorry Yanghee Lee, not welcome as the rights envoy left the airport in a car.



Ma Kyaut Sein, a protester in Sittwe, told RFA that Lee discriminates against the ethnic Rakhine in favor of Bengalis, using a pejorative term for the Rohingya which suggests they have illegally entered Myanmar from neighboring Bangladesh.



Every time [U.N. officials visit and] return home, we end up with more problems and more terrorist attacks in Rakhine state, she said, adding that it is better for the U.N. not to come at all.



Another protester named May Phyu told RFA that in the six times Lee had visited Myanmar, she hasnt done anything for the Rakhine people.



She only helps the Bengali Muslims, claiming they are a minority [of Myanmar that should have the rights of citizenship], she added.



After her arrival, Lee met with residents and community leaders, who told her they want the government to set up thorough checks on the Rohingya to determine who is entitled to citizenship, and asked her advice on how members of the two ethnic groups can live together peacefully in Rakhine.



They also called for the government to bring stability to the region, adding that rule of law can only be achieved when acts of terrorism by both sides are ended.



Lee later left for Buthidaung, where she was met by another group of around 100 protesters, and was expected to continue on to Maungdaw for the evening.



On Tuesday, Lee met with residents of Rakhine states deep-water port town of Kyaukphyu to hear from those whose rights have been affected by special economic zones and other mega-projects that they say have not benefited them.



Reported by Thiri Min Zin and Kyaw Thu for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Egyptian authorities continued this week to round up and deport ethnic Uyghurs studying at Cairos Al-Azhar Islamic University, prompting some to appeal directly to the universitys senior imam for his help in preventing their forced return to China, sources said.



More than 200 Uyghurs, many of them religious students, have been detained since July 4, rounded up in restaurants or at their homes, with others seized at airports as they tried to flee to safer countries, sources told RFAs Uyghur Service in earlier reports.



As many as 80 others may now have been seized on Wednesday, according to a July 12 report in the Middle East Monitor, citing a source in the Egyptian security service.



The Uyghurs were arrested for alleged irregularities in their residency papers, the Monitor said in its report.



With many Uyghur students now detained or on the run, others linked to Chinese government-controlled student associations have recently appeared at meetings held in Cairo to welcome an official delegation from northwestern Chinas Xinjiang region, Chinese diplomatic sources say.



But these Uyghur students are few in number, Ilshat Hassan, president of the U.S.-based Uyghur American Association, told RFA.



And they are viewed as traitors by the majority of the Uyghur students who have been targeted [for removal], Hassan said.



'In league with China'



Human rights and Uyghur exile groups have condemned China for violating the rights of the Uyghurs and breaking a UN treaty forbidding forced repatriations.



The actions of the [Egyptian] government are in violation of international conventions against torture, Sandra Jolley, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedoms, told RFA in an interview.



[These] protect individuals who will face imprisonment, torture, and death should they be deported to their homes, Jolly said.



Egypt, a Sunni nation, is in league with China, and that is not a good sign.



I would like to call upon the Grand Imam. We met with him earlier this year, Jolley said.



He has a powerful voice. He leads Al-Azhar, and he should accept some role in protecting the students who attend this very prestigious university.



Call for protection



In a recent letter, a group of Uyghur students living in Cairo meanwhile appealed to Dr. Ahmed El-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, to intervene to block further deportations to China.



Our only sin is that we want to learn and study religion, said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Arabic-language news outlet HuffPost Arabi.



Egypt, where Al-Azhar is built, [should be] a safe haven for those who want to learn, the letter said.



In a July 7 statement issued after a meeting the day before with a Xinjiang delegation arranged by China's ambassador to Egypt, Al-Azhar said that no Uyghur students had been arrested "inside Al-Azhar campus or from any buildings associated with Al-Azhar."



"The institution is following up with authorities in the wake of reports on social media," Al-Azhar said.



Speaking to an RFA reporter, an assistant to the press officer in the Egyptian embassy in Washington said she was not in a position to comment.



I cant say anything, she said.



Reported by Mamatjan Juma and Kurban Niyaz for RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by Alim Seytoff. Written in English by Richard Finney.




A Vietnamese sailor from a crew held for five months by Islamic militants in the Philippines was killed during a firefight with Filipino troops over the weekend, Vietnams Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, a week after captors beheaded two other hostages when their ransom demands were not met.



Vietnams state media quoted Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang confirming that the body of Tran Viet Van was discovered among several corpses following a Saturday raid on the Abu Sayyaf group by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the island province of Sulu.



I am deeply saddened to affirm that the Vietnamese citizen Tran Viet Van has been killed after an attack by the Philippines military forces targeting Abu Sayyaf, Hang said.



We would like to send our deepest condolences to the family of Tran Viet Van and hope his family will soon overcome these painful moments of great loss to stabilize their lives.



According to Hang, the Vietnamese embassy in the Philippines is now coordinating with local authorities to complete forensic and legal procedures, and support funeral preparations for the victim.



It was not immediately clear whether Van was killed by members of the Muslim insurgent group or by military forces during the chaos of the raid.



ABS-CBN News cited Brigadier General Cirilito Sobejana, commander of Joint Task Force Sulu, as saying that the Philippines military only confirmed the identity of Vans body on Monday, after forensic comparison and matching of finger prints turned out positive. The report said Van had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.



Van was one of six sailors aboard a vessel named the Giang Hai who were taken hostage by Abu Sayyaf in February while shipping cement from Indonesia to the Philippines for International Shipping Co. One of the crew was later shot dead by the militants, but four remain in captivity.



News of Vans death came a week after Filipino authorities discovered the decapitated bodies of Hoang Van Hai and Hoang Trung Thong on the island of Basilan. The two are believed to have been beheaded on July 5.



Hai, Thong, and four other Vietnamese crew members of the cargo ship MV Royal 16 were taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf group in November. Filipino troops rescued a third MV Royal 16 crewman, Hoang Vo, from Abu Sayyaf last month, but three others remain in captivity.



Vietnamese state media has provided limited coverage of the incidents, aside from foreign ministry statements condemning the terrorists.



On Wednesday, Hais brother refused to comment when contacted by RFAs Vietnamese Service about Vans death, saying he had been warned not to speak to the press, without providing further details.



Earlier this week, Hoang Van Hais uncle Trung told RFA that Abu Sayyaf executed the two crew members because the group had waited too long for ransom money from Vietnam, which he called a state that doesnt work for the benefit of its people.



Vietnams Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 11 urged the government of the Philippines to quickly address the kidnapping of Vietnamese citizens in the country and ensure their safety.



Islamic militants



Abu Sayyaf, which formed in the 1990s with financial assistance from Al-Qaeda, split into a loose collection of factions in the mid-2000s and is now believed to number around 400 members. Several of the factions have declared allegiance to the Islamic State since 2014, according to the BBC.



The Islamic militant group has become known for kidnapping over the past 15 years and has earned millions of dollars in ransom, which it has used to acquire modern weaponry, boats and communications equipment.



According to the Filipino military, Abu Sayyaf is still holding a total of 21 hostages, including 15 foreigners.



In February, the group beheaded 70-year-old German national Jurgen Kantner after its demand for 30 million pesos (U.S. $590,000) was not paid.



Abu Sayyaf beheaded two Canadian hostages last year.



Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Emily Peyman. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
The Ride Round Rhody bike ride, which starts and ends at The Farmers Daughter on Route 138 in Kingston, takes place Friday, July 16.
China's Foreign Ministry reiterated the 1890 Sikkim-Tibet treaty that it says confirmed the border, although India has stressed that the convention was only "the basis of alignment" and that the boundary had not been delineated or demarcated.

By Ananth Krishnan: After Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar on Tuesday expressed confidence that India and China would resolve the stand-off in Doklam as they had handled similar incidents in the past, China's Foreign Ministry responded saying this incident was "different".

Speaking in Singapore, Jaishankar said, "It is not the first time that it has happened. How do you handle it is a test of our maturity. I see no reason, having handled so many situations in the past, that we will not handle this." The Foreign Secretary also said both countries "must not allow differences to become disputes".

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ILLEGAL TRESPASS INTO CHINA'S TERRITORY

In Beijing on Wednesday, asked to respond to his comments at a daily press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said, "China has pointed out many times that the illegal trespass into China's territory across a mutually recognised border line is different in nature to frictions that happened in undefined sections of boundary."

"This is totally different from the undefined boundary in eastern, middle and western sectors," said Geng.

Geng reiterated the 1890 Sikkim-Tibet treaty that China says confirmed the border, although India has stressed that the convention was only "the basis of alignment" and that the boundary had not been delineated or demarcated.

The Foreign Ministry also reiterated its stand that India had to withdraw its troops before any dialogue to resolve the stand-off. "We once again require India to withdraw border troops to the Indian side of the boundary and properly settle disputes at an early date," added Geng.

ALSO READ:

Doklam standoff: India, China must not allow differences to become disputes, says S Jaishankar

India-China standoff: All you need to know about Doklam dispute

ALSO WATCH:

China's territorial sovereignty undermined by Indian troops: Chinese Embassy in India

--- ENDS ---
Eggleston Plaza, an affordable housing project with a first-floor restaurant, will open next month in the same spot where the Eggleston Hotel stood for more than a century across from the Hippodrome Theater on North Second Street in Richmonds Jackson Ward neighborhood.

Developer Kelvin Hanson had planned 10 years ago to save the shuttered Eggleston Hotel, the only African-American hotel still standing then in Richmond. But the historic structure collapsed in 2009 before he could start the restoration.

Today, eight years later, were ready to celebrate, Hanson said to a group of dozens of people who gathered Wednesday morning for a ribbon cutting in front of the new, four-story structure with 31 apartments.

We hope we got it right. We hope we made you proud.

Eggleston family members attended the event, including Neverett A. Eggleston Jr., whose father  Neverett A. Eggleston Sr.  owned and operated the hotel for decades.

Eggleston Jr. said his father, who lived and worked his entire 107 years in that one section of Jackson Ward, operated a restaurant, poolroom, ice cream store and tailor shop in addition to the hotel.

At the site, a three-story lodge opened in 1904 as Millers Hotel and reopened as the Eggleston Hotel in the late 1930s, attracting black entertainers and athletes such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Redd Foxx, Moms Mabley, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays and Satchel Paige.

For decades, the Eggleston Hotel was one of only three hotels in the city that permitted black guests. Its restaurant became a popular dining and gathering place.

Today is a special day for me professionally and personally. Jackson Ward was my home for 13 years, and I started my business (The Hanson Co.) in this neighborhood, Hanson said, noting the areas history as an epicenter of African-American entrepreneurship.

The Eggleston family will run the restaurant on the first floor of the building at North Second and East Leigh streets. The restaurant, under construction, is expected to open later this year.

One- and two-bedroom apartments in the same building are 520 square feet to 729 square feet. Monthly rents range from $780 to $950 with water, sewer and trash included.

Half the apartments are leased and the first residents are expected to move into their units in August, said Johann Armstead, corporate business manager with The Hanson Co. Its a work in progress, she said.

The apartments are available to tenants who make no more than 60 percent of area median income. That means one person cant make more than $32,500 a year, while two people renting an apartment cant make more than $34,800 a year.

The $6 million-plus project includes 10 completed nearby townhouses at East Leigh and North First streets and a Victorian house, built in 1910, adjacent to the new building on North Second Street. The Victorian was renovated into a first-floor office for The Hanson Co. and a second-floor apartment.

Its pretty quiet for a downtown location  pretty chill, said Kyle Mason, who rents the second-floor apartment in the historic Victorian house.

Although the project hit bumps in construction and financing, its completion meets a need in the city and makes this block a cool place, said Douglas C. Dunlap, interim director of economic and community development for the city of Richmond.

It wasnt long ago that this block was dead on the vine, he said.

The Hippodrome, built in 1914 as a vaudeville and movie theater, was a popular music venue, attracting stars such as Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. But in later years, it fell into disrepair. Closed and reopened over the past century, it most recently received a $3 million renovation and reopened in spring 2011.

Funding partners for Eggleston Plaza were the city of Richmond, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the Virginia Housing Development Authority and Virginia Community Development Corp.
POWHATAN  Powhatan native Norris Goode Jr., who survived a fight in 2016 that ended with a blade broken off in his brain, took his fight for justice to the streets of Richmond last week.

Goode and Phillip Thompson, who is the criminal justice chair for the NAACP Virginia State Conference, led a group of about 40 protestors in an action on Friday, July 7 to petition key officials in state government asking for the removal of Circuit Court Judge Paul W. Cella.

After gathering on the steps of Richmond City Hall in the morning, Goode was joined by family members, friends and supporters carrying signs and shouting No justice, no peace! as they walked. They carried copies of their petitions to the Office of the Attorney General, Virginia Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission and the Office of the Governor before ending the day with a rally at the Bell Tower on Capitol grounds.

Goode, his family and his supporters continued to maintain that Cella demonstrated bias when he delivered a not guilty verdict in the aggravated malicious wounding case against Jesse Moore, 25, of Jetersville during a bench trial held on Wednesday, March 15.

Jesse Moores brother, Jacob Moore, 22, of Powhatan was also involved in the fight with Goode and was charged with the same crime. However, he testified against his brother and a special prosecutor made a motion during his hearing on June 22, to amend the charge against the younger brother to misdemeanor assault and battery.

Cella declined to comment on the issue on July 7.

Delivering the petition

The three page petition for review of the conduct of Cella delivered by the group of protestors outlined the areas of injustice they felt they had seen in the case against Jesse Moore.

According to the petition, the request Goode was making specifically of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission does not involve the decision per se in that case, although Mr. Goode does question based on the evidence as to why Judge Cella did not find Mr. Moore guilty of any one of several lesser charges that were available and clearly within the discretion of Judge Cella to apply. Instead the request was based on Judge (Cellas) seemingly unprofessional, biased and outright dismissive conduct during trial that seemed to place Judge Cella more in a position of defense counsel for Mr. Moore rather than an unbiased trier or facts.

The petition went on to request the commission investigate the judge for violating two sections of the Canons of Judicial Conduct of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

In the description of Canon 2, in which a judge shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of the judges activities, Goode called Cellas behavior during Jesse Moores trial into question. He questioned the judges comments to witnesses and the prosecutor and seemingly dismissiveness of testimony, evidence and witnesses statements and asserted his actions brought into question the judges bias and professionalism during the trial.

Canon 3 says a judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially and diligently. The petition asserted that Cellas conduct; discourteous behavior; outright hostile and biased words and conduct on the Bench connoted a potential bias and prejudice toward Mr. Goode and witnesses for the prosecution. The petition also said called into question what it describes as the judges somewhat cavalier attitude toward witnesses and evidence presented at trial and his decision not to find Jesse Moore of even a lesser offense despite clear evidence of a crime committed by Mr. Moore.

While Goode doesnt view the commission as a judicial appellate body on the case itself, it should be in the business of assuring that Judges do not abuse the awesome discretion they are given in administering the law and justice in the Commonwealth of Virginia, according to the petition. It also asserted the commission must be sensitive to the issue of race and its impact on the Judicial system in the State of Virginia and the concept that justice must be dispensed in an equal non-partial or non-prejudicial manner.

Goode asked the commission to thoroughly investigate this matter and produce finding as to the conduct of Judge Cella.

Rallying support

The main speakers at the rally at the Capitol building were Goode, Thompson, and Goodes parents, Rebecca Parker and Norris Goode Sr.

Thompson and Goode Jr. had delivered the petition at each stop on the protest march. Thompson also read the petition in full at the rally. After the rally, he said they will continue to follow up and make sure the petition is considered. He also said that this is going to be a political issue in the next election, particularly focusing on how to prevent miscarriages of justice like this.

Goode then spoke to his supporters, thanking them for being a source of illumination on a long, dark journey, especially those he did not know but who still stood beside him. He said he didnt think the weight of the litigation would be this heavy.

I have been down low but todays a very good day. I wake up on days like this knowing that I am facing litigation or cameras or having to speak, but it has been awesome today. I did not think it was going to be easy but you all have made it not easy but bearable, he said.

He recalled the trauma of learning he had a blade in his brain, his spiritual and emotional state before going into surgery to remove it, his recovery and the process of going through litigation.

I did not think it could happen to me. I did not think it could happen in Richmond or my small community of Powhatan. I did not think it was possible or plausible but I am the example, he said.

A visibly angry Goode Sr. echoed his sons assertion that his family never expected to see a situation like this happen in Powhatan County and for nothing to be done about it is a sin and a shame before God, he said.

I still try to fathom how it is that a judge who is supposed to be good at what he does has a mountain of evidence and he cant figure out what to do. Obviously, he is confused, because my son did not stab himself, he said.

Both Goode Sr. and Parker emotionally described the day of the fight between Goode Jr. and the Moore brothers and the hours afterward as they learned about the blade in their sons brain. They talked about the miracle of his recovery but also the effects of his injury.

They also both expressed their anger and frustration at people who say they should be thankful and let it go.

We are not happy with that, Goode Sr. said, his voice rising. We are grateful to God that he has the activity of his limbs, but I am not satisfied that nothing has been done. So if weve got to stand here this week and Ive got to stand here by myself next week, I will stand here until something is done!

Parker said she is angry for several reasons, including the knowledge that in their hometown, many individuals have chosen to take a stand back because they do not like confrontation, they do not understand how they can help, they do not want to be involved, they do not want to lose business for whatever reason, they are concerned about how it appears.

I am sick of people telling me you should just be thankful hes alive. Are you serious? Do you really think Im not thankful that my son is alive?... Im tired of people telling me, let it go. Let it go? What if it was your child? And should I let it go, because it could be somebody elses child behind me, Parker said. At what point do you stand for right and justice and decide that I am not going to be the person that turns the blind eye, that hushes up because of the almighty dollar or the color of my skin?

Showing support

The men and women who came to support the protest and Goode Jr. ranged from family and old friends to new faces who wanted to show their support and represented a mix of ethnicities.

The Rev. Morris Gant Jr., pastor of Guildfield Baptist Church in Powhatan, was in the middle of vacation with his wife but said they drove nine hours from Ohio the day before, which was also their anniversary, to be at the protest.

I wouldnt have it any other way because this has to stop. I am a former City of Richmond police officer. I have been in the court buildings. I dont believe this decision would be the same if it were two black guys attacking a white one, he said.

Gant thought the protest went extremely well and expressed what many in the group believe, he said, which is that if they dont continue to move forward, the issue will be dropped. He added he hopes people will see justice for other people the same way they want to see justice for themselves.

If your son was attacked, would you think anything different from what the Goode family thinks? Would you want anything different from the judge? he said.

Juanita Jo Matkins of Louisa County belongs to a group of women in her county who keep each other informed on what they see as injustices that have happened around Virginia and the nation. When she heard about the rally, several of them decided to come and participate.

I believe it is just another case of a black victim where the white justice system doesnt fairly consider the merits of the case. I think attention needs to be paid to it, she said.

She said she hopes the commission not only investigates but makes their findings public.
In a warning aimed at India, the People's Daily posted a photograph of the newspaper's editorial from September 22, 1962, written days before the India-China war.

By Ananth Krishnan: The Communist Party of China's official mouthpiece, the People's Daily, has invoked a provocative September 22, 1962 editorial that warned India over "territorial provocations" as it stepped up its shrill rhetoric over the Doklam standoff.

In another warning aimed at India, the People's Daily posted a photograph of the newspaper's editorial from September 22, 1962, written days before the India-China war.

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That editorial was titled "If This Can Be Tolerated, What Cannot?", and warned that "Chinese people would not tolerate the provocation by the Indian Army." The 1962 editorial, published on the front page less than a month before the war, warned India that if it does not immediately accept the request of China" to withdraw its forward positions, China would "take necessary defensive measures" for which "the Indian side would be fully responsible."

The Chinese media rarely mention the 1962 war, but have on several occasions in recent weeks referenced the war in an unprecedented media campaign aimed at India over the Doklam standoff.

The People's Daily, which is the party's most influential paper, has in recent days even started a social media campaign fanning nationalist sentiment over the stand-off.

THE BORDERLINE

Through its widely followed accounts on Chinese social media such as Weibo and WeChat, People's Daily has been sharing an image of a map showing India's "trespass" in Doklam, which China claims as its territory but India and Bhutan say is Bhutan's and is disputed. The message reads: "@India - The Borderline is the bottom line!"

China on Monday reiterated its stand that a complete withdrawal by India was a precondition for talks, even as reports said a stalemate persisted at Doklam.

"If the Indian troops are preparing for the long term with no intention to leave, then how can there be room for diplomatic solutions?" said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang on Monday. "India should immediately withdraw its people without any condition. That comes before any substantial dialogue." "The diplomatic channels between the two sides are open," Geng added, "but we would like to see some real efforts and concrete actions from the Indian side."

By sharing the September 22, 1962 editorial, the People's Daily appears to be drawing comparisons with the current stand-off as well as stirring nationalist sentiment. That editorial accused India of "provocation" and said "the Chinese people cannot fail to express great indignation."

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'TRESPASS BY INDIA'

"The unprecedented serious incident in the eastern section of the Sino-Indian border was caused by the aggressive plan of the Indian government to deliberately encroach on our territory," the 1962 editorial said. "The Indian government regarded our restraint as tolerance. The Indian army, under the plan of the Indian government, has not only invaded China's territory in the western part of China's border, but has also violated the agreement in the middle of the territory, and launched large-scale armed forces deployment in the eastern section. Despite our warning and protest, India continues to encroach deep into our territory, and expands the provocation."

The irony is in this instance, the stand-off in Doklam was triggered by China expanding its presence deep into Bhutanese territory by extending a road into the Doklam plateau, an area contested by both countries. Beijing, however, has framed the stand-off as a "trespass" by India into "Chinese territory".

The 1962 editorial ended with a warning, saying that "If the Indian government does not immediately accept the request of the Chinese government, in order to protect the security of the Chinese border guards, the Chinese side will have to take necessary defensive measures, and the Indian side will be fully responsible. The situation is dangerous, and the consequences are serious."

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ALSO READ | India, China must approach each other with strategic maturity: Foreign Secretary Jaishankar

China warns India of serious consequences if it doesn't withdraw troops from Doklam area

ALSO WATCH | NSA Ajit Doval briefs PM Narendra Modi on China stand-off

--- ENDS ---
Its been another scandal-ridden year for the Vatican, and June proved particularly grim. Last month, Vatican police reported they had raided an apartment owned by the Holy See and arrested an aide to one of Pope Francis key advisers. Reports say the police, who had been tipped off by neighbors, walked into a cocaine-fueled orgy.

Francis was enraged at the salacious report, especially since it came on the heels of news that Australian Cardinal George Pell, the third-ranking official at the Vatican, had been charged by Melbourne officials with sexual assault. While Pell strenuously denies all allegations, he is due to appear in an Australian court on July 26.

Just days after granting Pell a release, Francis fired German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller from his position as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. During Muellers five-year term in the office, which processes accusations of molestations and rapes of minors by priests, the congregation managed to accumulate a backlog of 2,000 cases.

The Catholic Church has been rocked by sexual abuse scandals for three decades. This pope has vowed a zero tolerance approach toward sexual abuse, yet even he seems incapable of stanching the global abuse scandals.

The vast majority of Catholic clergy are good and holy men. The world is a better place because of Catholic priests over the past two millennia. They have founded universities, charities, hospitals, orphanages, and helped save a billion souls.

But the sordid crimes of a small minority of clergymen and the efforts of the hierarchy to cover them up have severely tarnished the reputation of the Catholic Church and dealt a severe blow to all of her faithful.

Disgusted Catholics in the West have been leaving in droves. In the U.S., the number of Catholics has dropped by more than 3 million in the past decade.

Even more striking is the rapidly declining number of priests. The shortage has become so severe that, worldwide, there is an average of just one priest for every 3,000 Catholics.

The long, dark shadows of the abuse scandal, coupled with demands of a lifelong vow of celibacy, have likely deterred countless numbers of morally healthy, devout men from choosing to serve God through Holy Orders.

Its time the Vatican considered what other Christian denominations have long accepted: the ability of clergy to marry. While the male-only priesthood is Catholic doctrine and cannot be reversed by papal decree, clerical celibacy is only a discipline of the church. Were he so inclined, Francis could begin ordaining married priests tomorrow.

For the first 1,100 years of the churchs existence, many priests were married. In fact, the first pope, St. Peter, was married. Even today there are married priests, thanks to Lutheran and Episcopalian priests who have converted to Catholicism.

Recently Francis told a German newspaper that the church must study the possibility of ordaining viri probati (married men of proven faith) to address the enormous problem.
The hottest weather so far this year has arrived in Richmond, and one record might be challenged before temperatures drop over the weekend.

Tuesdays high temperature was 96 degrees at Richmond International Airport, which is the high for the year. Wednesday could top that by a degree or two.

It may not be pleasant, but the heat is right on schedule.

The middle of July often brings the hottest days of the year, yet its still too early to know if we could surpass this heat later on in July or August.

Wednesday

Itll already be close to 80 degrees in Richmond at daybreak. Then mostly sunny skies will heat the entire region well into the 90s by midday.

Expect a high of at least 95 degrees during the mid- to late afternoon, probably closer to 97 or 98.

Richmonds record high for July 12 is 98 degrees, which was first set in 1925 and then tied in 1936, 1937 and 1986.

It could be record-tying heat, but its not necessarily exceptional.

Wednesday is a relatively easy hurdle to jump when it comes to weather records. July 12 is the only day of the month where the daily record high in Richmond is lower than 100 degrees.

Otherwise it will be partly cloudy with a light breeze from the southwest. An isolated thundershower or two is possible, but it looks like a generally dry day for the region.

The heat index will likely be in the 100- to 105-degree range during the afternoon.

Thursday

The heat will be in full force again, but the chance of beating a record high will be much more distant.

Expect a similar range of temperatures as Wednesday: upper 70s for the low and upper 90s for the high.

The record high for July 13 is 101 degrees, which was set back in 1954.

The thunderstorm chance looks minimal again on Thursday, but not zero.

Weekend trend

Temperatures will start to decline Friday, but dont expect dramatic relief.

A cold front will slide into the area Friday night and increase the chance for scattered storms early in the weekend.

This means the highs are more likely to be in the lower to mid-90s for Friday and Sunday, and maybe just upper 80s on Saturday.

There isnt much in the way of cool or refreshing air behind that front, which will just stall and dissipate along the Southeast coast.

Even if storms and clouds drop the afternoon temperature into the 80s here and there, it will still feel muggy for the foreseeable future.
By PTI: By Aditi Khanna

London, Jul 12 (PTI) India is among the countries ready to forge an "ambitious" new trading relationship with the UK after Britain leaves the European Union (EU), Prime Minister Theresa May has told the Parliament.

In a statement in the House of Commons on the recently concluded G20 summit in Hamburg, May said that her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi involved discussions on a wide range of issues, including tackling modern day slavery.

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"At this summit, I held a number of meetings with other world leaders, all of whom made clear their strong desire to forge ambitious new bilateral trading relationships with the UK after Brexit. This included America, Japan, China and India," May said in her statement on Monday.

In response to Opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn on the issue of striking new trade deals, she added: "I am very happy to tell him (Corbyn) that we are already working with the Americans on what a trade deal might look like. We already have a working group with the Australians, and we have a working group with India as well.

"We are working on trade in three areas. Obviously, one area is looking ahead to the trade agreements we can have with those countries we do not currently have them with as a member of the European Union.

"The second is ensuring that, where there are trade agreements with the EU, we are able to roll those forward as we leave the EU.

"The third area is working with countries such as India and Australia to discuss what changes we can make now, before we leave the EU, to improve our trade relationship."

Labour MP Graham Jones asked May if she had raised the issue of modern day slavery and child prostitution in India during her meeting with Modi, to which she said that it was an issue "previously" raised with the Indian PM as the UK wants "people around the world to address it".

"We are very clear that we want to see this issue being dealt with. That is one of the reasons why we have put into legislation the requirement for companies here in the UK, which will be manufacturing and will be sourcing products from around the world, to look at their supply chains and report on what they find in them and whether or not modern slavery is taking place within them," she told Parliament.

Modi and May had held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany last week, during which the Indian leader had raised the issue of Indian economic offenders like liquor baron Vijay Mallya and former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi and sought the UK?s cooperation in extraditing them to face the Indian courts. PTI AK ZH

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A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
An Indian-origin psychiatrist couple were killed in a plane crash in the US today according to a media release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

By Press Trust of India: In a tragic incident, an Indian-origin psychiatrist couple were killed when their private plane crashed in the US state of Ohio, police officials said today.

Umamaheswara Kalapatapu, 63, and his wife Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu, 61, both of Logansport, were killed in the crash, according to a media release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The Piper Archer PA-28 piloted by Umamaheswara is believed to have crashed sometime between 10:36 AM and 12:30 PM on Saturday, July 8, the release said.

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The release goes on to report that Ohio State Highway Patrol Aviation with the assistance of the Civil Air Patrol located the crash scene in an abandoned retention pond near the village of Beverly in southeastern Ohio.

Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Garic Warner said in an interview on Monday, July 10, that the crash occurred about 3 miles northwest of Beverly.

NO WORD ON WHAT CAUSED CRASH

Searchers found the wreckage Saturday afternoon.

There was no word on what caused the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

The Bowen Center replied to a NewsChannel 15 tweet to offer condolences to the Kalapatapu family- "It is with great sadness we have been informed about the loss of Dr Kalapatapu and his wife. We offer our condolences to friends & family".

The Kalapatapus were psychiatrists and owned Raj Clinics, with offices in Logansport, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Lafayette and Kokomo.

Heather Geisler, Logansport, said shes done data entry, scanning and "a little bit of everything" for the Logansport clinic for the past eight years.

"They were generous to a fault, extremely hardworking and dedicated to their patients," Geisler said of the Kalapatapus.

Umamaheswara Kalapatapu was a talented photographer while Sitha-Gita Kalapatapu was a gifted musician and "fantastic cook," Geisler said.

Umamaheswara Kalapatapu received multiple state, national and international awards and recognitions for his photography and had been a certified professional photographer by the Professional Photographers of America since 2005, according to Pharos-Tribune archives.

"They were just two people that were so full of life. Its hard to imagine that theyre not there anymore. They were wonderful people, absolutely wonderful. Two of the kindest people Ive ever known and Im going to miss them," Geisler said.

Raj Clinics Logansport location opened in 1995, she added.

ALSO READ:

At least 16 killed as US military plane crashes in Mississippi, search on for others

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ALSO WATCH:

Fadnavis not first to survive plane crash. Here are a few others who did

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--- ENDS ---
RICHMOND  U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Tuesday that the investigation into possible collaboration between Russia and President Donald Trumps presidential campaign could broaden to include potential treason as new details continued to surface about Donald Trump Jr.s interest in accepting Russian assistance.

Were now beyond obstruction of justice in terms of whats being investigated, Kaine told reporters Tuesday.

This is moving into perjury, false statements and even into potentially treason.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Trump Jr. agreed to a meeting last June with a Russian attorney after being told in an email that the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, had incriminating information about Hillary Clinton that was part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump.

Kaine, Clintons vice presidential running mate on the 2016 ticket, called the emails very explosive in a later television appearance on MSNBC.

The emails provide wheelbarrows full of new evidence, Kaine said, for special counsel Robert Mueller and other investigators.
The Army can now make emergency purchases to meet shortfall of artillery ammunition, tanks shells, fuses and spares for weapons platforms.

By Sudhi Ranjan Sen: As the stand-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers continue at the Doklam plateau in Sikkim and the borders with Pakistan remains hot, India has quietly authorised the Indian Army to make emergency purchases of ammunition, stores, spares for several weapon platform worth thousands of crore so that the army is ready for a "short intense war", top sources told India Today.

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Typically, the Indian military is required to be ready to fight a short intense war that could last between 10 to 15 days.

An internal audit of the Indian Army conducted after Uri brigade headquarters were stormed by terrorists last year that left 19 soldiers dead had revealed huge shortfall in critical shortfall of artillery ammunition, tanks shells, fuses and spares for weapons platforms.

In retaliation to the terror attack, special forces of the Indian Army, aided by the Indian Air Force, had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and destroyed terror launch pads and Pakistan Army facilities.

An unknown number of terrorists waiting to cross over were killed in the raid.

The army identified 46 kinds of ammunition, spares for 10 weapons platforms like infantry combat vehicles and half-a-dozen mines of various kinds as critical for war fighting. These items can be purchased through the emergency purchase route.

Indian soldiers march during a full dress rehearsal for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. (Reuters image) Indian soldiers march during a full dress rehearsal for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. (Reuters image)

NO CAP ON SPENDING

The executive order authorising the Vice Chief of Indian Army to make emergency purchases was issued recently. The delegation of financial powers shortens the long winded process and red-tape plagued process of procurement.

"Unlike previous process, there is no per-determined cap on the amount that can be spent. Rather, the limit to spending has been tied to the minimum stores, ammunition that must be in the reserve of the army at given time. This is big shift," a senior Ministry of Defence officer said.

After the internal audit of the Indian Army carried out by the office of the Master General Ordnance (MGO) revealed major gaps, the army was authorised to make emergency purchases till March 31, 2017 to plug the gaps.

These powers - to make emergency purchases bypassing the laid out process - now have been extended till further notice.

Earlier, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) too had highlighted severe shortfall of ammunition and spares. In a report placed before the Parliament in 2015, the CAG had observed: "while availability of authorised stock against War Wastage Reserve (WWR) to meet the expected duration of operation formed the basic criteria for ensuring the operational readiness of the Army, we found during the review that against the WWR of 40 (I) days, the availability of ammunition was only in 10 per cent of the total types of ammunition held (March 2013)."

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It went on to note that "the acute shortage was a serious cause of concern directly impairing the operational readiness of the Army."

Also read:

Doklam standoff: China tells Arun Jaitley it is also different from 1962

Should India be tackling China first than Pakistan? 1971 war army veteran explains

LoC firing and Doklam: Chinese strategic expert says India unwise to engage in two conflicts

China warns India of serious consequences if it doesn't withdraw troops from Doklam area

Also read:

Worst India-China standoff since 1962: Jibe for jibe, eyeball to eyeball again?

--- ENDS ---
At least 10 Indians died in a fire at a window-less home in Najran, Saudi Arabia. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, confirming the incident, said the Indian consulate general will rush all help possible.

By India Today Web Desk: 10 Indians were among 11 killed in a fire in Saudi Arabia's Najran on Wednesday. One Bangladeshi national also died in the fire, which reportedly ripped through a window-less home shared by the vicitims. Six other people were injured in the blaze.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted about the incident, confirming the deaths of 10 Indian nationals and saying that Mohammed Noor Rahman Sheikh, the Indian Consul General in Saudia Arabia, is in touch with the governor of Najran, Prince Jluwi bin Abdelaziz bin Musaed.

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Swaraj added that staff from the Indian consulate general in Jeddah, which is around 900 kilomteres from Najran, will reach the location on the first available flight. Swaraj was responding to a message posted by one Vidya S who told the minister, "My household help's husband died in a fire near Najran in Saudi. We are not able to get the help to bring back his remains."

Arab News, an English-language daily based out of Jeddah, reported that all the deaths occured due to asphyxiation after the blaze in an old house that did not have any windows.

Prince Jluwi bin Abdelaziz bin Musaed, the governor of Najran, was said to have expressed his displeasure at there being no control on the kind of homes of foreign workers are given to stay. According to Arab News, Musaed has ordered setting up a comittee to investigate the fire and has said that municipal bodies must prevent companies from renting out unfit homes for foreign workers.

ALSO READ | Gulf crisis: Kerala CM Vijayan writes to Sushma Swaraj, raises concerns about Indians living in Qatar

ALSO READ | Sushma Swaraj asks Geeta not to leave premises without informing anyone

ALSO WATCH | Indian national Uzma, who was forced to marry Pakistani man at gun point, returns home

--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: Safety, for Indian women, especially in the National Capital Region, is increasingly becoming a far-fetched dream. Reportage on incidents of molestation and sexual assault dominate our news feed every day, and the situation is only exacerbating.

It was only last week that a Twitter user in a series of tweets documented an account of a few men trying to molest a woman in Hauz Khas Village. Today, another nerve-wracking incident has come to light.

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Also Read: Terrifying Twitter thread: How men prowl through Hauz Khas Village to abduct and rape women

A journalist with India Today Digital shared her harrowing experience with an Uber driver from last night. Following is her series of tweets:

"I get into an @Uber from a friend's place at 10.55pm. The car starts, driver asks where I had to go. The stench of alcohol and paan hits me."

She then goes on to give more details, "I tell him the location, ask him to follow navigation. On Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. We take the service lane. In 5 mins, car stops."

"I ask the driver what happened. He tells me car's run out of petrol. The stretch where he's stopped the car is dark and infamous for crimes."

The journalist then described how the driver spoke to someone over the phone, and informed him about having a woman in the vehicle. The choice of his words was alarming, and raised suspicion.

"The driver calls up his 'brother' and asks him to go to a petrol pump and get petrol. Driver tells him he has an 'aurat' in the car."

Suspecting shady behaviour, she starts weighing her options.

"At this point, I call up a friend and start working out options. Friend leaves from his place and tells me he's on way to pick me up."

After sensing that the woman was acting cautious, this is how the driver behaved: "The driver overhears me talking and asks if someone was coming to pick me up. I tell a curt yes. He locks the doors, switches on the light."

But at no point was she going to let her fear dominate her sense of judgement.

"I snap at him, ask him to switch off the light. Meanwhile, he's made 5 more calls, to 2 different people (from what I could understand)."

Her friend arrived before anything could happen, and this is how the Uber-driver reacted: "10 minutes pass, no sign of his 'brother' or the petrol. My friend arrives. I get off the car and ask the driver to end the trip. He doesn't"

"Driver gives both of us (friend and me) a death stare. I cancel the trip after asking him to end it falls on deaf ears."

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While all this was taking place, a UP Police vehicle passed by the Uber car, and as expected (shamefully), nobody cared to check why a car had stopped in the middle of a dark, lonely road.

"Meanwhile, a @Uppolice patrol van passes the car. They don't stop to even check why a car is just standing in the middle of the road."

"The entire stretch from the beginning of the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway to Noida Link Road -- NOT one policeman, NOT one police vehicle."

"I'm numb from the experience. Shudder to think what could have happened had my friend not reached there before the @Uber driver's friends."

"Funniest part: After I cancel the trip, @Uber_India decided to charge ME for the entire trip."

What's more disheartening is the way Uber India dealt with the report of the incident, and took no action against the driver.

This isn't the first time an incident like this has come into light. Uber India is infamous for overlooking these recurring complaints from women passengers, and putting their safety at stake.

This tweet is proof of the irresponsible behaviour of the company:

Update: 8 hours later, 2 bot mails from @Uber_India in response to complaints on app, saying they have 'resolved' the issue. NOTHING else. pic.twitter.com/44cCJQIb4C- Ananya Bhattacharya (@ananya116) July 12, 2017

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We're still waiting for Uber India to wake up and find a pragmatic way to deal with such a pressing issue as the safety of women.

--- ENDS ---
Julian Assange said he told Trump Jr to release the documents because his enemies have it so why not the public?

By Indo-Asian News Service: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has claimed that he contacted US President Donald Trump's son to publish via WikiLeaks the emails about setting up a meeting with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Instead, the US President's eldest son did so via Twitter, igniting a firestorm of criticism around his apparent willingness to work with the Russian government against his father's Democratic rival, the Guardian reported.

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"Contacted Trump Jr this morning on why he should publish his emails (i.e. with us)," tweeted Assange, who is based at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. "Two hours later, does it himself."

Trump Jr released the emails on Tuesday after The New York Times told him they had the documents and would be reporting on them.

Assange said he told Trump Jr to release the documents "because his enemies have it -- so why not the public?"

"Better to be transparent and have the full context," he continued, "but would have been safer for us to publish it anonymously sourced. By publishing it himself it is easier to submit as evidence."

It was not clear whether Assange's use of the word "enemies" was the reference to the media or political rivals, the report said.

INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE

The emails reveal correspondence between Trump Jr and his acquaintance Rob Goldstone as they set up a meeting with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who promised to share incriminating evidence on Clinton to help the Trump campaign.

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Trump," Goldstone wrote in one email.

"If it's what you say I love it," Trump Jr said in one reply, referring to the information about Clinton.

Trump Jr said that nothing came out of the meeting and that Veselnitskaya only wanted to talk about a US policy on Russian adoptions.

He denied any wrongdoing in taking the meeting, but lawmakers were vying to get him to testify before House and Senate committees.

US President Trump said in a statement that Trump Jr "is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency".

Also Read:

Donald Trump Jr says did not tell father about meeting with Russian lawyer

Trump Jr. releases emails showing Russian aid to thwart Hillary's campaign

--- ENDS ---
Belgiums polished-diamond trading slumped in June amid fewer shipments to Hong Kong, according to data the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) released last week.

Polished exports fell 12% year on year to $1 billion during the month, with imports also down 12% to $1.08 billion. Net polished exports stood at negative $73.3 million versus negative $84.3 million a year ago as Belgium exported a lower value of polished diamonds than it imported.

By volume, polished exports fell 8% to 460,201 carats. The average price of those exports declined 4% to $2,183 per carat.

Polished exports to Hong Kong, Belgiums biggest trade partner for polished diamonds, dived 22% to $354.4 million. US exports dipped 2.3% to $212 million.

Meanwhile, rough-diamond imports grew 5% to $996.5 million, and rough exports jumped 24% to $1.19 billion, the AWDC data showed. Net rough imports amounted to negative $192.9 million, compared with negative $14.4 million a year earlier.

Belgiums June net diamond account  total rough and polished exports minus total imports  was $119.6 million versus negative $70 million the year before.

During the first half of the year, Belgiums polished exports fell 9% year on year to $6.06 billion. Polished imports dropped 6%, also reaching $6.06 billion, while net polished exports slid to negative $1.2 million from positive $220.1 million.

First-half rough imports slumped 13% to $5.67 billion, with rough exports down 1.5% to $6.6 billion. Net rough imports came to negative $931 million compared with negative $193.5 million a year back.

The net diamond account for the six months more than doubled to $929.8 million from $413.7 million the previous year.



Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished




DiamondCorp, which owns the Lace diamond mine in South Africa, said its listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchanges AltX will be terminated on July 24.

The companys admission to trading on Londons Aim was cancelled on May 15, after a six-month suspension.

Mining Weekly quoted the company as saying that the last day to trade, prior to the termination of its listing status on AltX, would fall on July 18.

Two administrators, Cork Gullys Stephen Cork and Jo Milner were appointed last May, after DiamondCorps board determined that it was no longer able to continue trading as a going concern.

Deloitte & Touches Daniel Terblanche and Independent Advisorys Lebogang Mpakati were appointed as business rescue practitioners last November to rescue the business after a flood at the Lace mine affected operations, according to Mining Weekly.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




Burberry Group Plc. (BRBY.L) reported that its retail revenue for the first-quarter ended 30 June 2017 was 478 million pounds, up 3% on underlying basis or up 13% at reported FX. Comparable sales were up 4%. Timing of store footprint changes in the quarter resulted in lower average space year-on-year, reducing revenue by 1%.

The company noted that it completed remaining 50 million pounds of initial share buyback, 300 million pounds programme to be completed in fiscal year 2018.

In Retail, Burberry will focus in fiscal year 2018 on productivity from its current store footprint therefore no material contribution from net new space is expected.

In Wholesale, Burberry now expects total underlying wholesale revenue in the first half of fiscal year 2018 to be broadly flat compared to 287 million pounds last year reflecting little disruption for Beauty. Excluding Beauty, underlying wholesale revenue in the first-half of 2018 is still expected to be broadly unchanged year-on-year.

For the second half of fiscal year 2018 Burberry currently expects underlying wholesale revenue, excluding Beauty, to be down due to brand control.

Licensing: Total underlying licensing revenue for fiscal year 2018 is still expected to be up about 20% year-on-year including the impact of Beauty.

Guidance for fiscal year 2018 adjusted PBT at constant exchange rates is maintained. At 30 June effective rates, the expected impact of year-on-year exchange rate movements on FY 2018 reported adjusted PBT is around 25 million pounds adverse compared to previous guidance for 30 million pounds adverse at 28 April effective rates.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Editors Pick

United Airlines Holdings Inc. is giving pilots a 5 percent pay raise as promised during a pandemic cost-reduction deal, reports said. The pay hike is months ahead of schedule following the airline's return to profitability and positive outlook. The news came as the airline is struggling to come to terms on a new contract with its pilots' union, The Air Line Pilots Association or ALPA.

Elon Musk, in his first meeting with Twitter staff following the acquisition, warned that the social media platform could file for bankruptcy next year, reports said. The news comes as more and more key employees are leaving Twitter following the recent mass layoff. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said its watching Twitter with deep concern after the company's top privacy and compliance officer

Deutsche Telekom AG reported Thursday significantly higher profit in its third quarter with improved revenues. Further, the German telecom major lifted its dividend, and also raised fiscal 2022 guidance for the third time in the current financial year. Meanwhile, the shares were losing around 3 percent in the morning trading in Germany.
Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS-B, RDSB.L, RDSA.L,RDS-A) said Wednesday that through its affiliate Shell Overseas Holdings Limited has reached an agreement with CPP Investment Board Europe S.A.R.L. a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board or "CPPIB", to sell its shares in Shell E&P Ireland Limited, that holds 45% interest in the Corrib gas venture for up to $1.23 billion or 1.08 billion euros.

The transaction includes an initial consideration of $947 million or 830 million euros and additional payments of up to $285 million or 250 million euros between 2018-2025, subject to gas price and production.

The transaction, which represents Shell's exit from the upstream in Ireland, is subject to partner and regulatory consents and is expected to complete in the second-quarter of 2018. The transaction's effective date is January 1, 2017.

The Shell share of the Corrib gas venture's production represented approximately 27,000 barrels of oil equivalent/day in 2016.

Shell Energy Europe Limited or "SEEL" has signed an offtake agreement for some 40% of the Corrib gas venture's production for up to three years following completion.

CPPIB will be the new Corrib Gas JV partner and Vermilion will become the new operator of the Corrib Gas Venture.

The transaction will result in an impairment charge of around US$350 million, which will be taken in the second-quarter of 2017. At completion, a negative non-cash Cumulative Currency Translation Difference of around US$400 million will be released.

Shell noted that it will retain a presence in Ireland through its aviation joint venture, Shell and Topaz Aviation Ireland Limited based near Dublin airport.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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President Donald Trump's nominee to replace fired FBI Director James Comey has promised to remain independent if he is confirmed to lead the federal law enforcement agency.

Former Justice Department official Christopher Wray told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday the FBI's work would only be driven by the facts under his watch.

"If I am given the honor of leading this agency, I will never allow the FBI's work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law, and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period," Wray said in prepared remarks.

"My loyalty is to the Constitution and the rule of law," he added. "They have been my guideposts throughout my career, and I will continue to adhere to them no matter the test."

Wray said he was not asked for a pledge of loyalty during his selection process in contrast to claims by Comey, who alleged Trump asked for his loyalty during a meeting at the White House.

"No one asked me for any kind of loyalty oath at any point during this process, and I sure as heck didn't offer one," Wray said.

Wray's confirmation hearing comes amid a continued focus on alleged Russian interference in last year's election following revelations regarding Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer.

Recently released emails between Trump Jr. and publicist Rob Goldstone suggest a "Russian government attorney" was willing to provide information that would "incriminate" Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Goldstone told Trump Jr. the offer of "very high level and sensitive information" was part of the Russian government's support for his father's campaign.

Describing Russian interference in the election as an "adversarial act," Wray denied the president's assertion that the investigation of the alleged meddling is a "witch hunt."

Wray also said he has "no reason to doubt" the intelligence community's assessment that Russia was behind the hacks of the Democratic National Committee and former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

Asked what he would do if Trump requested he do something unlawful, Wray said he would "try to talk him out if it and if that failed, I would resign."

Comey previously claimed Trump urged him to drop an investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn contact with Russian officials.

Reflecting bipartisan support for Wray's nomination, the committee's top Democrat, Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has already indicated that she intends to vote in favor of his confirmation.

Wray is currently a litigation partner at the King & Spalding law firm, where he chairs the firm's Special Matters and Government Investigations Practice Group.

King & Spalding says the group represents companies, audit and special committees, and individuals in a variety of white-collar criminal and regulatory enforcement matters, parallel civil litigation, and internal corporate investigations.

Wray was New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's personal lawyer during the so-called "Bridgegate" investigation into lane closures on the George Washington Bridge.

From 2003 to 2005, Wray served as the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department's Criminal Division under former President George W. Bush.

Wray previously served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General and in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

(Photo: King & Spalding)

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
(Agencia CMA Latam) - Former Brazilian President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva was found guilty of corruption and money laundering and sentenced to nine and a half years in jail by federal judge Sergio Moro.

The decision is related to Operation Car Wash - an investigation that unveiled a broad corruption scheme involving state-owned firms, politicians, and construction companies.

Lula was charged with receiving an apartment worth R$ 3.738 million from OAS, a construction company, after helping the firm to win a bid to build a refinery for Petrobras, the Brazilian state-owned oil company.

The former president is expected to appeal against Moro's decision and will remain free until a higher court publishes a new decision. Lula's lawyers will speak later on that topic.

by Agencia CMA Latam

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

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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) - Colombia's non-mining exports to South Korea recorded a 32.5% increase during the first year of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA), said Mar?a Claudia Lacouture, Colombia's Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism.

From July 2016 to May 2017, Colombia's non-mining sales to South Korea amounted to US$182 million, compared to $137 million in the previous 12-month interval.

In the first five months of 2017, compared to the same period in 2016, sales were 14.3% higher.

by Agencia CMA Latam

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
The makers of Rajinikanth-starrer Kaala have asked for a week's time to reply to plagiarism charges.

The team of Rajinikanth's upcoming film Kaala, produced by his son-in-law Dhanush's production company Wunderbar films, has sought one week time from the Madras High Court to reply on plagiarism charges.

It was only last month that Rajasekaran filed a petition claiming that the title and story of the Rajinikanth's next belonged to him.

Speaking to India Today, the 46-year-old assistant director alleged, "The movie title Karikalan was registered by me 12 years ago. I have been renewing the title all these years. Despite that Pa Ranjith has used the title."

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Rajasekaran is quoting a 2012 case where he went to court against actor Vikram's film Kaikalan. "This film was eventually dropped. I have evidence to prove that at that time I had told that I was planning this movie for the superstar."

He further claimed, "For five years, I had been narrating the Karikaalan story to Sathyanarayana who is close to Rajinikanth. Now I get to know Ranjith is making the same film. I want to fight for my rights."

The Madras High Court had ordered Rajinikanth, director Pa Ranjith and production house Wunderbar films to reply. Today (July 12), their counsel said that the team is busy shooting for the film in Mumbai and need one week time to file the reply.

Sources close to the Kaala team said that they are clear about the title and storyline and there was no possibility of plagiarism.

ALSO READ: Plea against Rajinikanth's Kaala, petitioner claims story, title belongs to him

ALSO READ: Not playing Rajini's daughter in Kaala, says Anjali Patil

ALSO WATCH: Rajinikanth's Kaala in plagiarism row, makers seek one week time to respond to charges

--- ENDS ---
Former Delhi minister Kapil Mishra sought action against Lamba and Amanatullah Khan and accused them for tarnishing country's image internationally by making such tweets.

By Abhishek Anand: Tweets questioning the terror attack at Amarnath yatris by Aam Aadami Party MLAs Alka Lamba and Amanatullah Khan are drawing flaks from everywhere. On Wednesday, former Delhi minister Kapil Mishra sought action against Lamba and Khan and accused them for tarnishing country's image internationally by making such tweets.

"Nothing can be more unfortunate than politicising the terror attacks. The AAP MLAs, in their tweets, questioned the terror attacks and downplayed it. They termed the deceased as residents of Gujarat, aren't they our fellow countrymen," Mishra told India Today.

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On Tuesday, Amanatullah and Lamba tweeted about the terrorists attacks putting a question mark on its authenticity. Both had tweeted that the bus was from Gujarat and those who were killed were also from Gujarat where assembly elections are scheduled next month. Later, however, the duo deleted their tweets after an outrage on social media sites.

"The party should take action action against both as soon as possible. I feel that such tweets are deliberately being publicised for their personal gain. There is an entire IT cell of AAP which works with every tweet. If the party doesn't take action against them, their statements will be considered as endorsed by the senior party leaders," said Mishra.

Seven pilgrims, including six women, who were returning from the Amarnath Shrine were shot dead late on Monday evening in South Kashmir. The terrorists sprayed bullets on the bus carrying the pilgrims leaving seven dead and over 19 injured. The bus was bearing a registration number of Gujarat and a majority of pilgrims aboard were Gujaratis.

ALSO READ:

Massive hunt on in Kashmir to nab Amarnath attack mastermind Abu Ismail

Was Amarnath pilgrim bus original target of Anantnag attack? Cops wade through maze of clues

Amarnath Yatra terror attack: Army chief tells jawans to keep up pressure on terrorists

Amarnath attack: How the hero bus driver drove through bullets to save many lives

Kapil Mishra submits proof against Arvind Kejriwal, aides on water tanker scam, seeks time with CBI

Kapil Mishra vs Arvind Kejriwal: Exclusive details of what happened behind the doors at CM residence

--- ENDS ---
Kapil Sharma confessed during his Facebook live chat that he misses working with his old team.

By India Today Web Desk: Popular comedian Kapil Sharma recently conducted a live chat on social media site, and revealed quite a few things that has his fans excited.

The host of The Kapil Sharma Show revealed that he misses spending time with his old team.

"I too get emotional and this might be visible to you in my performance as well. I also miss them," Kapil said.

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The actor-comedian further said that former member Sunil Grover is like his brother, and that he will welcome him with open arms whenever he decides to return to the show.

"I have met him (Sunil Grover) a few times. He is like my brother and he can come back whenever he feels like," he said.

Not too long ago Sunil Grover had walked out of the sets of The Kapil Sharma Show after his fight with the host went public.

Also read: Kapil Sharma donates 100 cycles to an NGO to create awareness about visual impairment

--- ENDS ---
The police are waiting for the forensic report to confirm whether the RSS office was attacked by throwing petrol bombs or was set on fire.

Clashes also broke out between the RSS and the CPI-M in Kerala's Payyanur over the attack at RSS office. (TV grab)

By Rohini Swamy: Kannur district continues to remain tense after a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office was attacked, allegedly by Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M) workers at Payyannur on Tuesday.

Clashes also broke out between the RSS and the CPI-M in Kerala's Payyanur over the attack at RSS office. The Kannur Police are conducting a thorough investigation into the attack in which four workers suffered minor injuries.

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BJP workers had alleged that the CPI-M was behind the attack and called for a strike in Payyanur.

However, CPI-M workers alleged that BJP activists hurled three country bombs at a motorcycle rally taken out by them at Payannur on the first death anniversary of CPI-M worker Dhanraj. He was killed allegedly by RSS activists on July 11, 2016.

Police said a few houses of workers belonging to both parties were attacked.

POLICE AWAIT FORENSIC REPORT

The police are waiting for the forensic report to confirm whether the RSS office was attacked by throwing petrol bombs or was set on fire.

The rivalry between the RSS and the CPI-M spans more than four decades. The CPI-M has a strong hold over more than 3,000 villages in the district and it has been a constant tussle between the two parties to gain ground there.

The RSS has been trying to break into the CPM bastion, which has led to several killings.

Payyanur and several areas in Kannur have been politically volatile since the murder of Dhanaraj last year. A retaliatory murder of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh worker and autorikshaw driver CK Ramachandran took place within hours. On May 12, 2017, an RSS worker Choorakkad Biju, who was an accused in the Dhanaraj murder case, was also hacked to death.

ALSO READ | Kerala: CPI(M) and RSS workers hacked to death

Kerala: RSS leader, accused of murdering CPM activist, hacked to death in Kannur

RSS functionary hacked to death in Bengaluru in broad daylight

WATCH | Kerala tense after clashes between CPI(M) and RSS workers

--- ENDS ---
Both Lalu's daughter and son-in-law are being quizzed on why they paid chartered accountant Rajesh Agarwal Rs 90 lakh to buy shares in their company.

By Atir Khan: Trouble mounts for RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's relatives as Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized ledgers and records of their companies during searches at their farm houses last week. Both Lalu's daughter and son-in-law are being quizzed on why they paid chartered accountant Rajesh Agarwal Rs 90 lakh to buy shares in their company.

Fresh information about a couple of companies which were not on the agencies radar so far has also surfaced during the ED searches. Sources from the ED said the agency grilled Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti on Tuesday and son-in-law Shailesh Kumar on Wednesday in connection with source of Rs 90 lakh which Agarwal in 2007-08 had paid on their behalf to Jain brothers, so that they could buy shares in Mishail Packers and Printers through their shell companies.

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About 1,20,000 shares of Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt. Ltd were bought during 2007-08 at Rs 100 per share by four companies Shalini Holdings Limited, Ad-Fin Capital Services, Mani Mala Delhi Properties Pvt. Ltd and Diamond Vinimay Pvt. Ltd. Out of these three companies were controlled by Jain Brothers.

The couple was also quizzed about some loose sheets of miscellaneous papers and ledgers of Mishail Packers and Printers for a period between 2013 and 2016. These documents were seized during the searches on July 8. Sources said that although Misa and Shailesh are cooperating with the question, they are evasion when it comes to replying some key questions.

The duo was questioned regarding two companies KHK Holdings Pvt Ltd and Aegis Distribution Pvt. Ltd, whose documents were also seized in searches at Sarla Farms, Ghitorni. The agency had also seized Income Tax Returns, sale deeds and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs documents with regard to these companies.

ELECTRONIC DEVICES RECOVERED DURING SEARCHES

They are also quizzed about the electronic devices that were recovered from one of the searches. The devices are damaged and the agency officials have sought their cooperation in operating the devices.ED investigations have revealed that Rajesh Agarwal had provided Rs 90 lakh advance to Jain brothers for investment as share premium in Mishail Packers and Printer Pvt. Ltd, a company which is controlled by Misa and Shailesh.

The transactions have been verified by ED from the concerned banks. So the agency wants to know how this money was sourced by Agarwal. The couple were also asked the nature of business of the company, when was the company board meetings held and how many board meetings they had attended. The agency is suspicion that Mishail Packers and Printers is a shell company without having any substantial business.

Vinay Mittal who has emerged as a link has confirmed having introduced Shailesh Kumar to Rajesh Agarwal for investment in Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt. Ltd. Rajesh Kumar Agarwal is also a mediator in Jagat Projects Ltd, another company run by Jain Brothers, who are known for providing accommodation entries after charging commission from people, who turn their black money into white.

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Both Rajesh Kumar Agarwal and Jain brothers were arrested and interrogated, the agency got to know about their dealings with Lalu's relatives as well. The agency then carried out searches at their south Delhi farm houses as they claim they had reasons to believe it would yield useful evidence.

Also Read:

Lalu's daughter Misa Bharti appears before ED to join probe in money laundering case

Misa Bharti's husband Shailesh appears before ED in money laundering case

WATCH | Lalu Yadav after CBI raids: Ready to be hanged, but will end Modi, Amit Shah's arrogance

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Dear Editor

Re: Brickbats and bouquets for tourism

Unfortunately, the vast majority of Samoans take no responsibility or ownership of Samoas reputation when it comes to tourists.

Tourists are often seen as easy picking to rip off a few extra tala. I have lost count of the numbef of stories i have heard from tourists being charged double or more by taxi drivers or being intimidated by villagers demanding payment because a tourist stopoed at the side of the road to enjoy a view.

Many of our most popular natural attractions are totally un-improved with basic facilities like toilets, proper parking or even clear signage, despite collecting between $5 and $20 per visitor. All tourist operators need to follow the examples of those that do such improvements and enjoy the spoils of their success.

Fair enough that tourists pay their way, but we seem to bite the hand that feeds us and then complain when they stop coming to beautiful Samoa. 2016 was not good for Samoas biggest industry and 2017 is not looking to set any records, maybe because of high prices to get here, maybe partly because we are not good hosts...

Kevin Hartin
A 19 year old male from Savaii has been charged with allegations of indecent assault and having sexual intercourse with a victim under 16.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Salaa Moananu Salaa told the media during his weekly conference that the matter occurred last year in November.

According to reports from the Vaitoomuli Police Office the matter was reported to them by one of the ladys in the village, said Salaa.

The incident occurred on November last year and as of now the young woman is pregnant, which means she is 7 months pregnant."

The victim is 15 years old and she is in Year 10 in one of the colleges."

It was a lady who lives in the same village as the victim who reported the matter because she was concerned."

At the moment the accused is in police custody and he will appear in court on the 17th of July for first mention.

Salaa went on to say that this is one of the offences that the Ministry is looking into.

As we all know these kinds of matters occur often in police reports, he said.

Sadly, young girls are always the ones most affected."

However, we are also thankful to members of the public for reporting these disgusting acts to the Ministry so that we can endeavour to make sure that the people who are taking advantage of young girls, are put behind bars.
The fast running internet that will be enabled once the Samoa Submarine Cable is up and running, also has fast running security issues.

That is why Samoa needs to be vigilant when it comes to security, says Mike Baukes, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of UpGuard based in California.

Mr Baukes founded a Software Company called Upgard and they look at digital risk and digital security for some of the largest companies in the world.

Mr Baukes was the keynote speaker at the Cyber Seminar hosted by the Ministry of Communication, Information and Technology earlier this week.

There are a multitude of different threats out there that you need to be aware of."

The problem isn't just restricted to people coming on the island and trying to do skimming of ATMs."

Its really all of you being prepared to deal with this."

How will you respond to it? How will you be able to identify it?"

"Do you even know what you have? Do you how to control it?

Mr Baukes noted the need to understand the risk of that supply chain.

And if you understand all these components you're in a better place to actually defend yourself."

The reality is most people that come here and most organizations that probably come here to sell software, are more focused on making money."

When the reality is you're about to get all this internet and you really need to prepare yourself for the future of this."

It can be a revolutionary thing if you take it into account, but the reality of it is that most of you think that, nothing much will change... Im here to tell you that a lot will change."

If you don't protect the critical infrastructure to start with, youre probably going to have outages, with your banks, hospitals etc."

As more and more technology becomes infused in the way that you live life, its not just your phone and Facebook, it becomes more and more about how do you know that, that person youre actually talking is the same person you expect."

"How do you understand their motivations, how do you trust them.... 'Most of you are aware of technology but do you trust it?' said Baukes.

He also cautioned about scammers who pretend to be your family members when inreality they are not.

The reality is, these are problems are happening everywhere and more importantly, its not Samoas fault that youre in this situation, he pointed out.

According to Mr Baukes, Samoa is about to have this abundance of technology available and were probably not quite ready for it. "And we have to start thinking now on how were going to secure it."

He commented that only one local bank has a visa chip, thats on their credit cards.

Mr Baukes further pointed out that a lot of companies, may seem sophisticated but when you really pull the covers back theyre not really sophisticated.

They don't have great controls, they don't have great understanding of it."

Im saying here to you all, if you start taking a stand and educating yourselves a little bit more about what the things you should do to understand technology, then youre going to be in a much better place taking advantage of it."

This is not about, bringing tourism, or investing new tequila."

This is about you understanding that technology will change the way you do everything."

And people will expect a level of service, and quality to the internet when they arrive here and youd better be ready to make sure it is trustworthy.

He then pointed to the recent hacking of the Social Security Office of the United States of America.

Their company found misconfiguration on the system and as a result 4.8million Social Security Numbers were lost.

And more important that 4.8million people had to have their identities and numbers changed.

Baukes Company, Upguard helps companies around the world understand technology risk.

We are doing roughly seven billion calculations on everything on the internet."

So it could be a website, a mobile phone, email server we take all that information and we aggregate it."

Similar to what Google does for Google search. We do it for security though, he said.

Some of the companies utilizing Upguards services are National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Home Depot, the New York Stock exchange and United States Department of Transportation.

The weird thing is that probably all of you will hear is that I am a Samoan."

More importantly my family is from Papa Sataua. I don't have any university education, I attended school at Leifiifi and Australia.
Maluina Aiono of the village of Fasitoo Uta is the lucky winner for the Digicel Promotion Top Up & Win.

The promotion was for customers to top up six tala or more and be in to win weekly cash and tablets as well as daily credit giveaways.

Last week on Sunday the promotion came to an end and the winner of the grand prize was selected live on TV1 by Mulitalo Sailo Tulifau.

At the presentation held at the Digicel Office at the Plaza Building, Mr. Aiono acknowledged Digicel for the fantastic competition.

I have been a Digicel customer since the company was first established, he told the media.

From the beginning of this promotion, I have been topping up my mobile phone but I never thought I could win.

I missed my chance of winning a 1,000 tala because I own a shop and I was busy with customers so I didnt answer the call.

I was gutted when I heard Mulitalo saying my phone number and that I had missed my chance.

So that encouraged me to keep on topping up my phone and today I have won more than I missed at the start.

And in answer to the thirty thousand tala question?

As you can see I no longer am able to get up and do anything, said Mr. Aiono.

All I do is to sit at the shop and serve the customers so the cash will go straight to my parents to help them with the development of our family as well as our business.

When the call came through my phone I was busy serving customers at the shop so I just answered it and I was serving customers at the same time.

I heard Mulitalo say Id won but I didnt pay much attention . However, it was when the girl rang twice more and asked for my details and everything that it finally hit me.

I was shocked because I never thought I would be the one to win this prize. I want to thank the Digicel family for all the support.

As to how much he spent on topping up his phone, Mr. Aiono said it was probably more than a 1000 tala.

Acting Digicel CEO, Farid Mohammed said it has been fantastic to be able to give back to over 700 pre paid customers.

Now that our Top Up & Win promotion is over, weve launched our All in One promotion which will send one lucky winner and a friend or a family member to the U.K. to watch Joseph Parkers fight in September.

We have a lot more promotions this year for both our pre-paid and post-paid customers and were looking forward to rewarding and thanking our customers for their ongoing loyalty.
Today Im proud to announce the launch of a groundbreaking new partnership between The San Diego Union-Tribune, the regions most trusted news source, and GoFundMe, the worlds largest social fundraising platform. Beginning now, Union-Tribune readers will have the opportunity to start fundraising campaigns directly from Union-Tribune online stories to help people in their community and have a lasting impact on the San Diego area.

Weve already seen the remarkable things that can happen when news readers want to get more involved. Earlier this year, a California woman named Margaret Cotts read a piece about a foster father named Mohamed Bzeek who cares for terminally children. Moved by the selflessness described in the story, Margaret started a GoFundMe for Mohamed and went on to raise over $400,000 to help him better care for his foster children.

And weve seen how deeply San Diegans care about their community and help one another. When a complete stranger returned her lost cashiers cash of $676, San Diego resident Yesenia Ortiz-Del Valle couldnt get the mans selflessness out of her mind. She started a GoFundMe called We rise by lifting others to help this good samaritan who was homeless and unemployed, living out of a hotel with his family. The campaign went viral, raising more than $20,000 from over 600 people to give this kind-hearted man a fresh start.

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Yesenias life-changing campaign is one of more than 40,000 GoFundMes started by San Diegans, whove raised nearly $50 million on our platform. In fact, GoFundMe itself was founded in San Diego back in 2010, and our largest office remains in San Diego. This San Diego-born and bred company now has a global reachGoFundMe is now available in 18 countries, and donations have come from nearly every country on earthbut as always, real change begins at home.

Thats why partnering with the San Diego Union-Tribune couldnt be more fitting. For nearly 150 years, the San Diego Union-Tribune has been delivering news to doorsteps across San Diego, providing critical information and a valuable service to San Diegans each morning. Traditionally, the conversation about the daily news started over a cup of coffee at the kitchen table and continued in the office with your colleagues or over a beer with your friends.

Today, were living in a world that has been transformed by the digital revolution of journalism. Now the news is delivered right to your inbox or smartphone. Your friends and family and people youve never met are discussing the events of the day over email or on Facebook and Twitter. The 24-hour news cycle delivers breaking stories all day, every dayand it has moved the conversation online.

But up until now, there wasnt an easy way to take action online. This new partnership between GoFundMe and the Union-Tribune changes the dynamic. Instead of just discussing or debating a story, now you can take action to raise money for a person or a cause. Instead of passive news consumption, anyone can now be a part of the story by creating positive change for those in need. The news has evolved a lot in the last few years, and were confident this latest development will allow readers to make their voices heard in a new way.

Compared to the Union-Tribunes nearly 150 years of community service, GoFundMes seven years may seem a scratch on the surface. But recently, GoFundMe celebrated two milestones: more than 40 million donors on our platform have helped to raise more than $4 billion. And while those numbers are impressive, it still takes one person at a time to start a campaign. With this new partnership, we aim to make it as simple and as effective as possible for people who want to help to do just that.

Rob Solomon/CEO GoFundMe

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lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisberg
San Diego start-ups raised a solid amount of venture capital in the second quarter this year compared with a year earlier  signaling a good but not great fundraising environment for local entrepreneurs.

Two reports out this week  the PitchBook/National Venture Capital Association Venture Monitor study and the PricewaterhouseCoopers/CB Insights MoneyTree report  showed that more San Diego County start-ups raised money in the second quarter than in same quarter the prior year.

But even though more firms took in capital, the overall amount raised locally fell short of totals from the second quarter of 2016.

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The PitchBook report found 61 local companies raised $406 million, compared with 42 companies netting $411 million a year earlier.

MoneyTree pegged a similar trend, with 24 companies raising $287 million in the second quarter, compared with 22 firms pulling in $389 million a year ago.

San Diego venture capital climate last quarter bucked the nationwide trend of not only less dollars but also fewer deals for start-ups compared with the second quartter of 2016.

I think it is encouraging to see the number of deals (in San Diego) at a reasonable level. Thats a good sign, said Ryan Spencer, a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. In terms of dollars, when you are comparing year over year, we had a couple of mega-deals in the first half of 2016 that we havent seen this year.

In the second quarter last year, genomics biotech Human Longevity raised $220 million.

In San Diego, there is a growing convergence between the regions traditional biotech/pharmaceutical industries and its software/technology firms, said Spencer.

Edico Genome, for example, is a technology company that makes a high speed computer processing platform. But its product is tailored to speed up delivery of gene sequencing data in healthcare.

There are three companies in the top 10 deals that we think are best classified as software or internet, but those companies are related in some way to life sciences, said Spencer.

The PitchBook/NVCA Venture Monitor and MoneyTree reports contain differences for several reasons, including that PitchBook captures money raised by start-ups from angel investors.

There is plenty of capital available for start-ups, as venture capital funds have raised $130 billion since 2014, according to PitchBook.

The story over the last couple of years has been deal flow continued to decline, said Nizar Tarhuni, analytics manager for Seattle-based PitchBook. The bulk of that decline has been isolated at the angel and seed level, where we have seen those rounds fall off. But across Series A and up to later stage rounds, it has actually remained fairly steady.

For some angel backed start-ups, it has been difficult to make the jump from individual investors to their first round of institutional venture capital, said Tarhuni.

That has resulted in angel investors being a bit more careful in how they deploy capital (in companies) to make sure they make the cut in a very competitive market looking for investment at the Series A or Series B level, he said.

Nationwide, PitchBooks Venture Monitor had 1,958 companies raising $21.78 billion in the second quarter. Thats down from 2,162 companies raising $23 billion in the same quarter last year.

In the quarter, mega-deals for more established companies led the way, according to PitchBook. Thirty-four companies raised at least $100 million in the quarter. None were based in San Diego.

The MoneyTree report found 1,152 companies raised $18.4 billion in the quarter nationwide  again down from 1,495 firms taking in $21 billion a year earlier.

One of the strongest industries this quarter nationally was digital health, which recorded 113 deals for $2.7 billion, according to the MoneyTree report. Six digital health companies rung up mega-rounds of $100 million or more in the quarter.

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mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com;

Twitter:@TechDiego

760-529-4973
A 13-year-old Indian-origin boy died due to an allergic reaction after a piece of 'cheese' was thrown at him at his school in London.

By India Today Web Desk: Karanbir Cheema, a 13-year-old boy fell ill while he was at his school in west London. A student of William Perkin C of E High School in Greenford, Karanbir died due to an allergic reaction.

An allergic reaction occurred because a piece of cheese was 'thrown' on him.

The Cheema family demanded answers from the school and authorities whether their son was bullied at school or not.

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According to a report by The Independent, Karanbir's mother Rina said that he had multiple allergies but led a life of normalcy.

"I want answers, I want to get to the bottom of what happened, I will be asking the school if he was bullied but my son was very popular, you could not help but like that child, he never made enemies."

Karanbir was allergic to dairy products and always religiously avoided them.

According to the school, Karanbir got hit by a piece of cheese and died. His father was not convinced by the explanation and felt that the incident did not make any 'sense'.

The school showed remorse after the death of Karanbir Cheema and posted grief on their official website.

"The school has kept in close contact with the family, particularly in light of a number of unfounded rumours which have circulated over the past days.

"The student in question had always dealt responsibly with his multiple allergies and medical staff were therefore able to respond quickly with his agreed care plan during the incident on Wednesday June 28."

The police have arrested a fellow student of Karanbir on suspicion of attempted murder.

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More than 100 years after the Titanic sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic, artifacts salvaged from the worlds most famous ship disaster are scheduled to be auctioned off.

But to get your hands on a piece of history, you will need to make a bid on all of the more than 5,500 items pulled from the ocean floor. Also, you may have to go head to head with a wealthy, motivated bidder: Oscar-winning director James Cameron.

Premier Exhibitions, the Atlanta-based company that retrieved thousands of artifacts from the ill-fated liner, filed for bankruptcy protection last year and has offered to sell shoes, eyeglasses, statues, dishware, handbags and other Titanic relics to pay off some of its debts. Also for sale are the rights to salvage more items from the wreck.

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Court records show that the company claims total debts of $15 million, with $36 million in assets.

A bankruptcy judge has set a deadline of July 21 for interested buyers to bid for the collection.

Most of the 5,500 artifacts are kept in undisclosed facilities controlled by Premier Exhibitions, with about 1,500 items on display in shows run by a subsidiary company, RMS Titanic Inc. The exhibitions are now operating in Las Vegas; Orlando, Fla.; Flint, Mich.; China; and Hungary.

Premier Exhibitions had considered selling the Titanic artifacts in 2012 but decided against the sale. The company is now under new leadership, said Tim Quinn, spokesman for Premier Exhibitions.

Cameron, who directed the Academy Award-winning movie Titanic, has proposed teaming up with Robert Ballard, the professor of oceanography who helped discover the wreckage in 1985, to bid for the artifacts, according to David Gallo, an oceanographer who helped lead a 2010 expedition to the Titanic.

Gallo said he has spoken with both Cameron and Ballard, who told him they want to take the collection back to England.

Jim is dedicated and has a certain passion for the site, Gallo said. He would really like to see the collection stay together.

Calls to a Cameron associate were not returned. Ballard is working on an expedition in the Channel Islands and could not be reached, a representative said.

The Titanic sank after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage in 1912, killing more than 1,500 people.

After the remains of the ship were found 73 years later about 2 miles under the oceans surface, Premier Exhibitions won the salvage rights to the wreck. Since then, several expeditions have returned to the site to collect artifacts and map the ocean floor.

Gallo said the artifacts include letters and personal items that tell the story of the passengers on the ship. Expeditions have recovered some delicate artifacts intact, such as perfume bottles with perfume still inside, but other items have disintegrated to such an extent that they cannot be displayed, Gallo added.

Every time we go down we end up with more questions, he said.

Gallo said he hopes the bankruptcy judge ensures that whoever wins the bidding will keep the collection together and make the items accessible to the public.

This is an experience that people can have that is true. Its not animation, and its not concocted, he said.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
When Spencer Tapias car died last year, it was a blow. Then came the gift, no strings attached, from a Vista auto mechanic.

It was a used Ford, nearly a dozen years old. But it ran great and it was free  and that was invaluable to Tapia, who once again had a way to get his 4-year-old special-needs daughter to doctors appointments.

The mechanic who gave Tapia the car has made that generosity an annual tradition. For the third year running, TJ Crossman is giving away a used car to a person or family in need, and he is seeking nominations for deserving recipients from throughout the county.

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This year, Crossman is giving away a blue 2002 four-door Nissan Altima. It has more than 100,000 miles, but its really clean, he said.

Crossman will put in about $1,500 in parts and several hours of labor into rehabbing the vehicle before he hands it off.

TJ Crossman, owner of TJ Crossman Auto Repair, stands next to the 2002 Nissan Altima that he plans to give away next month. The car, seen here at his auto repair shop in Vista on Tuesday, is the third he has fixed up and given away in the last three years. (Hayne Palmour IV/San Diego Union-Tribune/Zuma Press)

The giveaway is part of a small but nationwide program dubbed Wheels to Prosper, in which auto repair shops fix up and give away a car to deserving folks in need. TJ Crossmans Auto Repair in Vista is the only shop in San Diego County signed on to the program.

Giving back is important to Crossman, a 42-year-old cancer survivor and single father who runs food drives and leads his 10-year-old daughters Girl Scout troop.

Life is short, he said this week. If I can change somebodys life by a small gesture, then I am going to do it.

Two years ago, Crossmans spirit of giving helped prompt the Vista Chamber of Commerce to select his repair shop as Small Business of the Year.

For the car giveaway, Crossman has assembled a team of three judges, including Tapia, to read through the dozens of nominations and select the next winner.

The winner will be announced at the Vista Rod Run, a classic car show held Aug. 6 in downtown Vista.

Tapia knows what it is to need a car. He said his daughter Nina has a rare condition known as Retts Syndrome. She does not speak, has limited use of her hands and relies on a walker or wheelchair to get around.

Tapia is a stay-at-home dad because she requires round-the-clock assistance. His wife is a librarian at an Oceanside elementary school.

When his car broke down last year, he and his wife were forced to borrow a vehicle to get their daughter to doctors visits in San Diego. He heard about Crossmans giveaway, wrote his own nomination letter and was humbled when they were selected.

For me and my wife, all we could do was break down and cry, Tapia said.

More information about Crossmans giveaway can be found on the repair shops web page, tjcrossmansautorepair.com

To submit a nomination, email Crossman at tj@tjcrossmansautorepair.com. Nomination letters can also be sent to him at 1148 N. Melrose Drive, Suite A, Vista, CA 92083.

All entries must be received no later than Aug. 1.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT

UPDATES:

This story has been updated to reflect the correct date of the Vista Rod Run as Aug. 6.
The U.S. military hasnt been able to solve the oxygen deficiency problem plaguing some of its jets, so a U.S. senator from Mississippi wants to dangle a $10 million prize in an open competition.

After the best minds in the federal government have tried and so far havent found the exact diagnosis ... lets unleash the brain power of the entire country, Sen. Roger Wicker said Tuesday during a hearing for the Navy secretary nominee.

Wicker inserted a clause in the Senates version of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that would allow the defense secretary to offer a $10 million prize to the successful researcher, as first reported by the Washington Examiner.

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The issue is pilots experiencing a disorienting oxygen deficient while flying a handful of different aircraft, including the Navys F/A-18 Hornets, E/A-18G Growler and T-45C Goshawk training planes.

Welcome to The Intel, a blog examining the hot military news of the day

The problem has also affected the Air Forces F-35A jets, which were briefly grounded in June as a result.

The issue became public in April after Navy instructor pilots staged a flight boycott to draw attention to the problem.

The Navys Coronado-based aviation command had to conduct a safety stand down for 12 days. Officials said they were throwing people and money at the problem without regard to manpower or cost constraints.

Fast forward to mid June. The Navy released the results of its deep technical dive into the problem.

The report suggested creating a single, dedicated organization to lead resolution efforts. It also called for a redesign of aircraft systems to meet oxygen generation system technical requirements.

On June 29, the commander of naval air forces, Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, announced that instructor pilots would resume flying the T-45 trainer with the on-board oxygen generator system, or OBOGS.

Students are scheduled to restart flight training later this month.

After months of using a modified mask and configuration that circumvented the OBOGS, new mitigation measures have been put in place that give us the confidence to safely resume flight training using the system, Shoemaker said then.

These mitigations monitor the breathing gas and alert and protect our aircrew, as well as incorporate new maintenance procedures to ensure the systems are clean and working properly prior to flight.

On Tuesday, Wicker said, The best Ive heard is that we can maybe patch together maybe half a solution here with a bit of solution there and get us back to flying.

Wicker added that he hopes his clause stays in the bill and is signed by the president.

The Mississippi senator challenged the Navy secretary nominee, Richard Spencer, to take this provision seriously.

Wicker said, You come from the private sector. You dont pay the money unless you get a solution.

Spencer seemed to like the idea, calling it a very exciting Chapter One of thinking outside of the box.

Military Videos  On Now D-Day paratrooper from Coronado jumps again in France  at age 96 On Now Remembering war's fallen, one name at a time On Now In Ramona, an airplane and an aviator provide living lessons on World War II 1:43 On Now Video: Navy's newest vessel sails into San Diego and a new future in surface warfare On Now Video: U.S. Navy files homicide charges over warship collisions On Now Stopping Marine hazing On Now Video: U.S. Navy Air Crew Grounded After Creating Vulgar Sky Drawing On Now Navy says Asia Pacific ship collisions were avoidable On Now Hundreds of recruits get sick at Marine boot camp On Now Cutler Dawson Talks Navy Federal

jen.steele@sduniontribune.com

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The names of Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department deputies whove lied, stolen, falsified reports and committed other types of moral misconduct are confidential and cannot be handed over to prosecutors  even in pending criminal cases in which the deputies are listed as potential witnesses  a Los Angeles appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The decision by the states 2nd District Court of Appeal makes clear just how secret officers identities and personnel files are in California. The ruling is also the latest turn in the fight over a secret list compiled by Los Angeles Countys sheriff of 300 deputies whose history of misconduct could damage their credibility if they are ever called to testify in criminal cases.

Its a victory for cops everywhere, said Elizabeth Gibbons, an attorney for the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the union that represents rank-and-file deputies.

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Last fall, the union sued the department over Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnells attempt to disclose the names to the district attorneys office. The union had argued that revealing the names to prosecutors, even in pending cases, would violate state peace officer confidentiality laws and draw unfair scrutiny of deputies whose mistakes might have happened long ago.

The appeals court agreed on the strict confidentiality of law enforcement personnel files. But it left open the possibility that names could be disclosed pursuant to a court order.

California has some of the strictest protections on law enforcement officer records in the country. Discipline hearings, personnel files and even the names of officers accused in internal affairs investigations are secret.

Notifying an outside agency, even a prosecutors office, that a deputy has an administratively founded allegation of misconduct involving moral turpitude cannot be characterized as anything other than disclosing information obtained from the peace officers personnel file, the court said in its opinion.

But some advocates for police transparency slammed the decision.

There should not be greater concern for protecting officers with histories of lying, domestic abuse, evidence tampering and other immoral conduct from public scrutiny than for ensuring that individuals accused of crimes receive a fair trial, said Melanie Ochoa, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

The ACLU, along with other advocacy groups, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in March, asking the appeals court to reject the deputies unions request that none of the names of problem deputies be sent to prosecutors.

Brady vs. Maryland

McDonnells effort to send deputies names to prosecutors had nothing to do with recommending that the officers be charged with crimes, the department contended. Instead it would have been a heads-up to the district attorneys office that the deputies were potentially vulnerable to attacks on their credibility if they were ever called to testify, and that prosecutors would potentially have to alert defense attorneys about the names.

Under the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brady vs. Maryland, prosecutors are obligated to alert defendants to any evidence that could aid the defense. That evidence includes information that could undermine an officers credibility. Not doing so could result in wrongful convictions.

Right now, police agencies in at least a dozen counties in California regularly do precisely what McDonnell was attempting. Some departments, including those in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura, have been giving prosecutors the names of problem officers for well over a decade.

Legal experts say Tuesdays decision could begin to change that.

Although the ruling pertains to the Sheriffs Department, analysts say it could embolden police unions across the state to refuse a prosecutors request to identify problematic officers who might be called as witnesses.

I think police unions will start flexing their muscles, said Jerry Coleman, a special assistant district attorney in San Francisco County who teaches prosecutorial ethics at the University of San Francisco School of Law. The result of that will only be a step backward in Brady discovery, and thats a shame.

The majority opinion by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Douglas W. Sortino, who is temporarily assigned to the appeals court, did not grant all of the deputies unions requests. Sortino and Presiding Justice Tricia A. Bigelow, who concurred on the decision, disagreed with the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs argument that the department should not compile a so-called Brady list in the first place.

The court also said, contrary to the unions argument, that the department would not necessarily be in violation of the law if it were to transfer deputies on the list to alternate assignments.

Justice Elizabeth Grimes issued a dissenting opinion, arguing that disclosing the deputies names to prosecutors in pending criminal cases would not violate officer confidentiality laws.

Moral turpitude

The legal battle began after the department warned about 300 deputies in October that their personnel files contained evidence of moral turpitude. The letters said such acts could include accepting bribes or gifts, misappropriating property, tampering with evidence, lying, obstructing investigations, falsifying records, using unreasonable force, discriminatory harassment and family violence.

The targeted group represents about 3% of the departments roughly 9,100 deputies.

In the letters, the department said the list would include only deputies found guilty of wrongdoing by internal investigators. The agency would provide prosecutors with just the deputies names, not their entire personnel files, the letters said.

A Superior Court judge agreed in January that providing the entire list of names would violate state law, but said the department could turn over the names of problem deputies when theres a pending criminal case in which that officer might testify. In February, a two-judge appellate panel granted the unions request to put a temporary hold on any transmission of names while it prepared for the ruling issued Tuesday.

Dignity and Power Now, an advocacy group for inmates and their families, started a petition to the appeals court months ago to allow the Sheriffs Department to send the deputies names to prosecutors. The petition gathered nearly 13,000 signatures.

The group said in a statement that the appellate court decision negatively impacts the safety of the community the county is entrusted to protect.

But Gibbons, the union attorney, said Tuesdays ruling merely clarifies existing law and rightly protects officers privacy.

The fundamental problem with this whole list is it comes with baggage, and the baggage is not deserved, said Gibbons, who said that many deputies are on the list for minor infractions.

The department, in an email sent by spokeswoman Nicole Nishida, declined to comment on the ruling and would not say whether it would appeal.

.

The court battle over the list of sheriffs deputies came as L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, right, who supported McDonnell in his election, has redefined how her office would handle the names of problem officers. (Nick Ut / AP)

maya.lau@latimes.com

@mayalau

ALSO

Police pursuits cause unnecessary deaths and injuries, L.A. County grand jury says

L.A. County to pay nearly $5 million to settle lawsuits in two shootings by sheriffs deputies

Despite scandals and doubts, Orange County district attorney wants another term, and a shot at vindication

UPDATES:

9:25 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details from the court ruling and comments from a union attorney, police transparency advocates and the department.

This article was originally published at 4 p.m.
A Pasadena man who was found guilty of stabbing and strangling the mother of his two children was sentenced to 26 years to life in state prison on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles County district attorneys office.

Jose Roberto Turner, 49, was sentenced about three weeks after he was found guilty of murdering 31-year-old Lajoya McCoy.

McCoys body was discovered on June 16, 2015, almost a week after prosecutors say she was killed.

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At the time, Turner and McCoy were separated and involved in a bitter dispute over the custody of their two children, according to prosecutors and Los Angeles County sheriffs homicide investigators.

Prosecutors said Turner had been harassing and threatening McCoy. They say he carried out those threats on June 10, when he brutally killed her.

Family members reported McCoy missing to the Monrovia Police Department on June 12 after she didnt show up for work and failed to pick up her sister from the bus station.

On June 15, police went to her apartment in the 800 block of West Olive Avenue and found evidence of foul play. The department then sought assistance from the L.A. County sheriffs Homicide Bureau shortly after.

Authorities discovered McCoys badly decomposed body inside her parked silver Toyota Camry the next day, about a mile from her home in the 200 block of West Cypress Avenue.

Turner was arrested on Aug. 27 and pleaded not guilty to murder Sept. 16, according to prosecutors.

This past June, he was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder with an allegation that a rope or cord was used as a deadly weapon.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

For more Southern California news, follow @latvives on Twitter.

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$20,000 reward in Alhambra hotel managers killing is announced
A Poway couple that hoarded more than 170 dogs, keeping them in squalid conditions, was placed on probation Tuesday and barred from owning animals for a decade.

Christine Calvert, 62, and Mark Vattimo, 72, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of felony animal neglect. In keeping with the plea agreements, each defendant was placed on probation for a term of three years.

In January, investigators found several dozen Yorkshire terrier mixes inside a dark and dirty room at the couples home, where the floors and walls were covered in urine and feces.

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The dogs coats were severely matted and tangled, and many were suffering from ear infections, fleas and hair loss.

Investigators discovered later that the couple had 31 more dogs, and weeks later, authorities learned Calvert had fled the state with even more animals.

She was arrested in Primm, Nev., with 46 dogs in a motor home.

As part of their plea deals, the defendants agreed to surrender the $82,000 motor home to the Humane Society of San Diego, which seized the dogs.

A few of the dogs were so sick that they had to be euthanized. Another five died of natural causes. The rest, more than 168 of them, have been adopted.

Outside the courtroom, Deputy District Attorney Karra Reedy said many of the dogs still suffer medical and behavioral problems as a result of the defendants neglect.

I just received an email today from a person who talked about one of the dogs hides under the bed all the time, and the other dog has had continuing surgery, the prosecutor said. Shes spent about $1,200 of her own money (because of) tumors and some other things.

Calvert and Vattimo were sentenced Tuesday afternoon in Judge Polly Shamoons courtroom. Neither defendant spoke during the hearing.

They may return to San Diego Superior Court in 18 months to ask a judge to reduce the convictions to misdemeanors, if the defendants have complied with the conditions of probation.

If that happens, the time for which they are banned from owning animals  as determined by state law  will drop from 10 years to five years, Reedy said.

The judge ordered Calvert, who was in a wheelchair, to undergo counseling and/or psychological treatment. Her attorney, Domenic Lombardo, did not disclose any specific diagnosis.

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @danalittlefield
Students throughout the city will be able to take free classes that can help them get into college or land good jobs through a program that is being expanded by the San Diego Public Library and UC San Diego.

Every child in San Diego deserves a chance to go to college and get that great job, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said Tuesday morning during a press conference at the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Library. But sometimes the price tag puts courses that would give their college applications a boost, like robotics class or test prep, out of reach. This program is going to help kids from all over the city, from Skyline Hills to Rancho Penasquitos, as an opportunity to advance their education for free.

Classes, workshops and counseling sessions started in January in a pilot program at the Central and Malcolm X libraries, and so far have 150 middle and high school students have participated. Since the launch, the program has expanded into branch libraries in Mira Mesa, Serra Mesa-Kearny Mesa and Tierrasanta.

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On Tuesday, Faulconer and top university and library officials announced that by the end of the year, the classes will be in branch libraries in City Heights, Linda Vista, Rancho Penasquitos, and Logan Heights, where classes begin Aug. 5.

Within the next few years, similar classes and workshops could be offered in all 36 of the citys branch libraries, said Library Department Director Misty Jones.

We are so fortunate to be able to work with this institution to create something that youre gong to see is truly a game-changer not only for the library, but for the whole community, Jones said.

Faulconer said the programs expansion will have a great impact on area students.

Its really been successful, but with more than 65,000 middle school and high school students enrolled in San Diego Unified School District alone, we know we have so much more to do and so much more opportunity, he said.

The classes are offered through the San Diego Public Librarys educational program Library NExT  Network of Education times Training  and are taught thought UC San Diego Extension.

UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said bringing university faculty members into communities fits with the schools strategic plan of offering scholarship and prep courses to local students.

When I came here five years ago, one of the first things I did was visit just about every neighborhood in the community, Khosla said. I talked to thousands of people, and what I heard loud and clear was, We want UC San Diego to be present in our neighborhood and not be just up there on the mesa.

Students at the libraries may take classes that are two or three hours long and taught by junior faculty members or UC San Diego graduate students, or day-long workshops taught by instructors at Sally Ride Science.

At Tuesdays press conference, Khosla, Faulconer and Mary Walshok, dean of UC San Diego Extension, joined Sally Ride Science students and teacher Lois Peterson for a Messy Science lesson involving mixing citric acid and carbon dioxide to make an extra-fizzy soda that could blow up balloons.

Besides classes in science, technology, math, art and other subjects, UC San Diego will provide students with college preparation and career development information.

Along with the classes that will help students succeed in college, the libraries will have classes in subjects such as Python computer coding to help students earn certificates that can lead to in-demand and high-paying jobs, Faulconer said.

Through these courses, were giving San Diego students an opportunity to succeed in a whole new way, he said.

The program is funded through $200,000 from the librarys budget, and Jones said the expansion to all branch libraries may be possible through the San Diego Public Library Foundation.

The schedule of upcoming classes in the program is available online at the Library NExT site, www.sandiego.gov/librarynext.

Homeless Playlist  On Now San Diego hepatitis outbreak continues to grow: 481 cases On Now Homeless entrenched in booming tent city along Santa Ana River On Now San Diego mayor agreed to homeless hub, then delayed, advocates say On Now Homeless outreach in San Diego On Now Video: Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #8 On Now In poverty himself, 'Water Man Dave,' is the fearless saint of San Diego's homeless 5:41 On Now Video: Homeless living in cars find safe havens 2:21 On Now Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #7 On Now Pitching a tent plan for San Diego's homeless On Now Homeless efforts get $80M boost for various services

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939
A government-run alternative to San Diego Gas & Electric could deliver more green energy while costing residents and businesses less money over time, according to a report released Wednesday by the city of San Diego.

The document sparked the latest round of jockeying by environmentalists, fiscal hawks, backers of investor-owned utilities and others, with each group espousing what it sees as the benefits, detriments or unknown factors of community choice aggregation  commonly called CCA.

Such programs have become increasingly popular across California, with a growing number of cities and counties considering them as a way to more rapidly boost use of renewable energy.

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The California Public Utilities Commission recently predicted a transformation in the states electricity landscape: It said investor-owned utilities, which today buy and sell power for about 76 percent of the market, could see their control over such decisions plunge to less than 15 percent by 2025, largely because of competition from CCAs and the installation of rooftop solar panels.

The study released Wednesday looked at the feasibility of launching a CCA program in San Diego, which might eventually be adopted to satisfy the citys pledge to tap only solar, wind and other green energy sources by 2035.

Were moving full speed ahead to reach our ultimate goal of using one hundred percent renewable energy citywide, and this draft study shows we have the ability to get there, Mayor Kevin Faulconer said on Wednesday after the reports release.

Under community choice, a utility still operates the poles and wires needed to deliver energy, but elected officials control the buying and selling of power for their jurisdiction. If a city or county votes to form or join such a program, ratepayers can opt out if they prefer to stick with the plans and rates offered by their traditional utility.

Specifically, the new report found that a community choice program has the potential to deliver cheaper rates than SDG&Es while providing 50 percent renewable energy by 2023 and 80 percent green power by 2027. SDG&E currently offers about 43 percent renewable energy to its customers, and under state law must get to 50 percent by 2030.

Advocates of community choice hailed the report, which was compiled by the fiscal, engineering and energy consulting company Willdan Financial Services in Temecula.

It confirms what we already knew  that San Diego families only stand to gain from the adoption of community choice, said Nicole Capretz, executive director of the San Diego-based nonprofit group Climate Action Campaign. The question is no longer whether we move forward with community choice, the question is what are we waiting for.

The SDG&E shareholder group that lobbies on CCA issues, Sempra Service Corporation, released a statement criticizing the report as flawed.

San Diegans deserve an open and honest conversation about the best way to reduce emissions in our region. The citys study is incomplete because it is not possible to determine what a government-controlled energy model will cost customers. Until the true costs and benefits of such a program are transparent and shared with the public, we believe it is premature to move forward.

The lobbying group said issues that could impact rates for both community choice and traditional utilities are still being debated by the state Public Utilities Commission. Specifically, the commission is reviewing whether to adjust an exit fee charged to CCAs to ensure that utilities are compensated for the long-term energy contracts they signed on behalf of ratepayers who subsequently became community-choice customers.

In the fight against climate change, San Diego approved a Climate Action Plan in December 2015 that calls for slashing its greenhouse-gas emissions in half by 2035 from the level in 2010. Electricity accounts for about 24 percent of the citys carbon footprint, behind transportation at 55 percent.

The city has already met an interim benchmark of cutting such emissions by 15 percent by 2020 as a result of state and federal mandates to improve fuel efficiency and for utilities to purchase green power. But theres debate about how San Diego can best get to its 2035 goal, which is legally binding.

The city is accepting alternative proposals for meeting its green-energy benchmarks.

SDG&E officials said the utility plans to submit its own competing blueprint, which the City Council would likely weigh against community choice and any other energy options. This process would include voting sometime early next year on a path forward.

Over the coming months we will also look at other approaches, put all the alternatives on the table and have a public discussion about the best way to ensure reasonable rates for San Diegans and a sustainable future for our city, Faulconer said.

Arguably the biggest opponent of CCA proposals in San Diego County is SDG&E.

This year, it became the first investor-owned utility in the state allowed to form a shareholder-funded lobbying group to weigh in on community choice. Investigators at the utilities commission said they are looking into whether the SDG&E lobbying arm began meeting with elected officials before it was cleared to do so. Sempra officials have denied any wrongdoing.

The creation of a lobbying division followed the Legislatures decision in 2011 to bar investor-owned utilities from using ratepayer dollars to speak out on CCAs. The lawmakers took action after a bitter fight between Marin County and Pacific Gas & Electric over establishment of the states first CCA program.

In the San Diego region, elected officials have expressed mixed views about community choice programs.

In February, the county Board of Supervisors declined to study the feasibility of CCA for the unincorporated communities it governs.

Meanwhile, Solana Beach has taken official steps toward adopting community choice, and three other North County cities  Encinitas, Del Mar and Carlsbad  are jointly looking at a similar idea.

By the end of the year, community choice programs from Humboldt to Lancaster are expected to serve nearly 1 million people, according to state energy regulators. In addition, cities and counties representing more than 15 million of the states nearly 40 million residents are in various stages of considering community choice.

Twitter: @jemersmith

Phone: (619) 293-2234

Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com
NEW YORK (AP)  Presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday summoned allies and Republican Party heavyweights to kick off a general election fund-raising operation and push back against the notion that his late-starting cash collecting would be outgunned by Hillary Clintons.

Well raise what we need to raise, Paul Manafort, the campaigns chief strategist, told reporters after a lunch meeting. He suggested that the money needed to win the race is not as much as people think.

We have enough to win, Manafort said.

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Trump loved to boast during the primaries that he was self-funding his campaign  though he also did accept donations  and he poured in more than $40 million of his own money into the bare-bones campaign. The move to an expensive, national general election campaign, however, requires a far bigger operation, so the Trump campaign signed a joint-fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee last month.

But the Trump campaign has been slow to raise money, only scheduling a few fundraisers. He had previously said he wanted to raise $1 billion for the battle against Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, but this week said he would be aiming to raise far less.

I think Donald is learning how to be a candidate, said John Catsimatidis, a billionaire oil refinery owner who has donated to both parties and ran for mayor as a Republican in 2013. Hes a very bright guy. Hes very fast on his feet. And he really loves America.

The Manhattan meeting at Trump Tower kicked off the Trump Victory Fund, the joint cash-raising operation with the RNC that plans to gather money both for his candidacy and for House and Senate GOP candidates. Traditionally, a candidates fundraising operation is launched months before a candidacy is declared.

Some traditional Republican donors have been slow to open their wallets to Trump and there has been concern that the candidates recent criticisms of a federal judge would be an obstacle to giving. Trump had suggested that an Indiana-born judge of Mexican decent overseeing the fraud case into Trump University would not be impartial because the celebrity businessman wants to build a wall along the U.S. southern border.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Trump backer who attended Thursdays 60-person meeting, said of Trumps remarks about the judge: People make mistakes and then they take it back, according to Catsimatidis.

Catsimatidis said Trump boasted of his ability to get free media coverage, negating the need to run a costly advertising campaign. Trump, who has several fundraisers scheduled for the coming weeks, also said he planned to compete in Democrat-friendly states like New Jersey, California, Maryland and Pennsylvania this fall.

Attendees said specific fundraising goals or which pro-Trump Super PAC to support, were not discussed.

Neither Trump nor RNC chairman Reince Priebus, who also attended the meetings, spoke to reporters.

____

Contact Lemire on Twitter at https://twitter.com/@JonLemire
A fire raced up a hillside along state Route 94 and toward a home in Golden Hill Tuesday night, but firefighters quickly attacked the flames, authorities said.

A San Diego police officer driving on the freeway spotted the flames off the right shoulder of the westbound lanes about 10:20 p.m., police said. The officer said brush and a palm tree were on fire, and that flames were spreading near a home on F Street, which parallels the freeway.

Residents in nearby homes on F Street near 29th Street were evacuated while firefighters doused the flames, police said.

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Crews on four engines had the blaze out within an hour, according to fire scanner traffic. It was unclear if the home that was threatened was damaged.

There were no reports of injuries.

The right, westbound lane of the freeway was closed for fire trucks during the firefighting efforts.

Breaking News

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) The "terminal decline" of the Congress party can only be revived by a leadership change, says historian and biographer Ram Chandra Guha, who suggests that the partys top job be handed over to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Stressing that it was his "fantasy", Guha said yesterday if there was a "friendly take-over" of the party by the JD-U leader, it would be a match made in heaven.

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"For the Congress is a party without a leader and Nitish is a leader without a party," Guha said at the launch of the 10th anniversary edition of his book India After Gandhi.

Nitish Kumar, he held, was a "genuine" leader.

"Like Modi, he has no family burden, but, unlike Modi, he is not a megalomaniac. He is not sectarian and focuses on gender, which is rare among Indian politicians. So there are things about Nitish that were appealing, and are appealing," he said at the function here.

But, he said, unless the president of the Congress bestowed the post on Nitish, there "is no future for him, or for Sonia Gandhi in Indian politics".

The 131-year old party, the columnist-author believed, could not be a major political player anymore, and could at best move from its present 44 seats in the Lok Sabha to 100.

"Now, if they have a new leader or leadership tomorrow, things could change. Two years is a long time in politics," he added, referring to the 2019 parliamentary polls.

He said the decline of the Congress was also "worrying", because a single party system was not "good" for democracy.

"Single party governance made even the great democrat Jawahar Lal Nehru arrogant; it made the instinctively authoritarian Indira Gandhi even more authoritarian. So what will this do to Narendra Modi and Amit Shah is something that I have started thinking about," the author -- known for critiquing both the Left and the Right -- said.

India had failed to emulate the stable two-party model of western democracies, Guha said, adding that the importance of two-party rivalry in states should not be undermined.

"The three states in India which have performed well over the past 70 years, according to economic and social indicators, are Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh. And all have a relatively stable two-party system," he said.

States where a single party ruled for long years -- he cited the case of Bengal under the Left and BJP-led Gujarat -- were a "disaster".

"The states that have a stable two-party system do the best because the Congress keeps a check on the Communists in Kerala, the BJP on the Congress in Himachal," he said.

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The book, a revised edition of his 2007 volume published by Pan Macmillan India, has new chapters on gender, caste and the rise of the gay movement in India, among others. PTI MG BDS MVV

--- ENDS ---
The deputy who shot and killed a gang member in a Vista backyard last week is the same deputy who fatally shot another gang member in Vista 11 months earlier.

Sheriffs officials on Wednesday said it was Deputy Christopher Villanueva who shot and killed Jonathon Coronel after a foot chase on July 5. They also released more details about what led to the fatal shooting.

About 10:15 a.m., members of the sheriffs Gang Enforcement Detail spotted Coronol as a passenger in a green Buick. Before deputies could pull the the vehicle over, Coronel got out and ran, hopping fences in the residential area. They gave chase but lost him, and uniformed patrol deputies, including Villanueva, came to help search.

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Lt. Kenn Nelson of the sheriffs homicide unit said that when the deputy encountered Coronel, the gang member was crouching, his right hand covered by a T-shirt. Coronel turned toward the deputy and simultaneously raised his concealed hand toward Villanueva. The deputy feared for his life and fired 16 rounds, striking Coronel multiple times, Nelson said.

Coronel was was unarmed.

At the start of the search for Coronel, Villanueva was told that Coronel was often armed with a handgun and had made threats in the past to kill law enforcement officers, Nelson said. Those threats had come recently, in social media posts, the lieutenant said.

The chase ended in the backyard of Jorge Valentin, who said Wednesday that he was perhaps 20 feet from Coronel at the time of the shooting. He said Coronel was face down, giving up, when he was shot.

Valentin said he was in his backyard when his wife told him deputies had jumped their fence. He spotted Coronel against the fence, next to his daughters playground set. He said Coronel, a stranger, put his finger to his lips in a shushing motion.

Valentin said he saw approaching deputies soon after, and they asked if hed had seen their suspect. A shed blocked Coronel from the deputies view.

With his pregnant wife still nearby , and his preschool-aged daughters inside, Valentin said he shrugged at Coronel as if to apologize because he had to turn him in.

I told him Get on the ground, Valentin said.

He said Coronel nodded, took off his shirt and got on the ground, stomach-down near the slide. Coronels shirt was in his hand, and his hands were tucked under his forehead, Valentin said.

Valentin said the deputies came quickly toward him, and one opened fire on Coronel.

I clearly saw how the bullets went in, he said. I still cant believe it. I had him on the ground.

Valentin said he and his wife were both handcuffed for about an hour, and he still bears bruising on his wrists.

Nelson said Valentins statement as an eyewitness was among the evidence considered as investigators piece together what happened. He said the version his office released Wednesday  in which Coronel was crouched, not laying flat  is supported by the totality of the evidence, including the preliminary autopsy report, physical evidence and statements from deputies and witnesses.

Sheriffs deputies are not outfitted with body cameras, and there is no video of the shooting. The only video evidence was taken by a resident in Valentins home. But that video begins after the shooting.

Based on the preliminary evidence that we have, we believe that the events put out today are more accurate and more inline with the evidence, Nelson said.

This is the second time the deputy has fatally shot a man in less than a year. The circumstances of the shootings bear similarities.

On Aug. 12, deputies spotted 33-year-old Sergio Weick, a known gang member wanted for parole violation, driving a black car. When they tried to pull him over, he sped off.

He led them on a brief chase before ditching the car and running into a gated community, with deputies in pursuit.

At some point, Weick stumbled and fell. Deputies said he started fumbling with his shirt and waistband, apparently in search of something, according to a report on the shooting.

Villanueva and Deputy Peter Myers yelled repeatedly for Weick to stop and put his hands up, but he ignored them, authorities said.

Both deputies fired at him several times, thinking he was going for a weapon. It was later determined he had a knife on each hip. Weick was taken to a hospital and died three days later.

Investigators said at the time that deputies were aware that Weick had made comments in the past about harming officers.

In January, former San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis ruled the shooting was justified.

Villanueva was an officer in Escondido for two years and has been with the Sheriffs Department for a year.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com
It took six months for the word nothing burger to enter the political lexicon in a big way. Whats not clear, however, is if the latest dust-up over Donald Trump Jr.s contacts with Russia actually is one.

Im Christina Bellantoni. Welcome to the Wednesday edition of Essential Politics. John Myers is away.

Trump Jr. released a series of emails ahead of their publication by the New York Times. The messages from Rob Goldstone, a music promoter with business dealings in Russia who is a friend of Trump Jr.s, led within days to a meeting at Trump Tower with Trump Jr. and two other high-level campaign officials, Jared Kushner, Donald Trumps son-in-law and advisor, and Paul Manafort, who was the campaign chairman at the time.

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Late Tuesday, President Trumps son described his interactions with people who suggested they had dirt on Hillary Clinton in the heat of the 2016 campaign as opposition research.

Speaking with Fox News Sean Hannity, Trump Jr. added that the meeting itself was a nothing and just a wasted 20 minutes. Sam Nunberg, a former Trump aide, dismissed the entire thing as a nothing burger.

David Savage gets right at why this is such a big deal in a piece looking at the legal implications of what Trump Jr.s emails reveal.

Federal law makes it a crime for any person to solicit, accept or receive a foreign gift or anything of value from a foreign person for a U.S. political campaign or for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office, he writes. This includes an express or implied promise to give something of value. So in that sense it may not matter whether the thing of value was ever actually provided.

Some scoffed at the idea the emails revealed any such promise. Still, Common Cause filed a complaint Monday with the Federal Election Commission and Special Counsel Robert Mueller alleging the recent revelations show the Trump campaign had violated the law by soliciting a contribution from a foreign national. Election law violations are usually pursued as civil matters by the FEC that can lead to fines and penalties, but the Justice Department sometimes prosecutes knowing and willful violations as crimes.

Congressional Republicans were trying to avoid talking about the news, but Rep. Adam Schiff, the Burbank Democrat who is the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, said the panel wants to hear from everyone connected to the June 2016 meeting in question.

Read the emails, and see our teams annotation of the exchanges. Well be tracking the latest on Essential Washington.

PROGRESS ON CAP AND TRADE

Here in California, after weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders released their proposal to extend the life of the states cap and trade system late on Monday evening, with the aim for a floor vote on Thursday. As Melanie Mason reports, the two-bill package includes changes to how the states landmark climate change program operates and a new effort to tackle air pollution in communities through increased monitoring and stiffer penalties.

The proposal was greeted with mixed reactions on Tuesday, with divisions among environmentalists over whether the proposal goes far enough to reach Californias ambitious climate goals.

Watch our Essential Politics news feed for developments and the vote this week.

JIMMY GOMEZ ARRIVES

Rep. Jimmy Gomez was sworn in as Los Angeles newest congressman Tuesday, saying in brief remarks afterward his approach to policy and politics is driven by personal and community experience.

Gomez sat down with Sarah Wire this week to talk about the transition from Sacramento to Washington and what kind of training he got for his new job.

GAS TAX FIGHT

Proponents of an initiative to repeal gas tax increases in California plan to sue over the state-drafted title and summary for the ballot measure, which they say is misleading and negative.The state attorney generals office on Monday released the description  language that must appear on petitions circulated by people who want to overturn the $52-billion tax hike for transportation projects.

Patrick McGreevy reports that GOP Assemblyman Travis Allen, who is running for governor, told him, We will wait to win in court and then we will be gathering signatures up and down the state.

A NEW SILICON VALLEY POLITICAL RECRUITER

A wealthy young Silicon Valley venture capitalist unveiled a plan to recruit candidates to run for office  possibly challenging Democratic incumbents  because he believes Californias governance is fundamentally flawed.

Many thought Sam Altman, 32, was eyeing a run for governor, but he told Seema Mehta that he is focused on providing technology and seed funding for a slate of candidates who share a set of policy priorities, such as lowering the cost of housing, creating single-payer healthcare, increasing clean energy use, improving education, reforming taxes, and rebuilding infrastructure.

TODAYS ESSENTIALS

-- Noam Levey examines the burning question in Washington: Is there a smaller fix for the Affordable Care Act? In case you missed it, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he will delay the August recess to deal with healthcare and other priorities for the GOP.

-- California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra backed a study on police shootings across the state, but only after rejecting a measure that would have increased his authority to criminally investigate such cases.

-- A measure that would have made it harder to punish California police officers accused of lying is done for the year.

-- San Diego real estate investor Paul Kerr is the latest Democrat to announce a challenge to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), whos a top target for Democrats next fall.

-- Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron drew their battle lines over Olympic bids Tuesday, as the U.S. president prepares to head to France to celebrate Bastille Day.

-- A state Senate bill to change Californias bail system advanced  with concerns over costs.

-- A new state law aims to limit where California judges place violent sex offenders out on conditional release.

-- The House of Representatives voted unanimously Tuesday to honor one of the creators of the Bakersfield sound, Merle Haggard, by renaming a post office in his hometown.

-- The California Assembly deadlocked Monday over a bill that would allow judges to not impose sentence enhancements of 10 or more years in cases where firearms were used in committing a felony. With some Democrats joining a Republican bloc in opposition, the vote was 32-32. The measure could come up on another day if the author can muster more votes.

-- In the 2018 race for California lieutenant governor, Democrats Asif Mahmood and Eleni Kounalakis reporting raising $1 million for their young campaigns, Phil Willon reports. Neither has run for public office before.

LOGISTICS

Essential Politics is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

You can keep up with breaking news on our politics page throughout the day for the latest and greatest. And are you following us on Twitter at @latimespolitics?

Miss Mondays newsletter? Here you go.

Please send thoughts, concerns and news tips to politics@latimes.com.

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Awaiting the benefits of climate change

Thank you for prominently reporting three items of good news on climate change on July 9. First and foremost, the G-20 is moving ahead on the Paris Agreement (G-20 vow climate action without Trump) without American taxpayers and corporations being the patsy for this nonbinding and mostly symbolic accord.

Second, because of climate change, environmentalists and scientists are reconsidering the advantages of nuclear energy after decades of mindless opposition (Nuclear power plant concerns shifting). And the icing on the cake, climate change could be good for California (Climate change could make California wetter).

Frank Felber

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San Diego

Marshland reclamation impact being oversold

The Audubon Societys desire to increase marshland for bird habitat in the proposed De Anza Cove development is understandable. The idea that increasing marshland in Mission Bay will affect sea level increases is totally absurd.

The total area of the mobile home park and RV campground is 122 acres. Considering the total surface area of the worlds oceans, 89.4 billion acres, converting the whole 122 acres to marshland would, for a 1-foot rise in sea level, decrease the rise by about the diameter of one water molecule.

Lloyd C. Brown

University City

Letters and commentary policy

The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below.

The G20 summit was far from win for Trump

In his column A summit of egos (July 7), David Ignatius writes that, Trump will probably say he won the Hamburg summit game, no matter what.

The problem is not with him saying it, its that he actually believes it, despite going down 19 to 1 against the other world leaders.

Gregory West

Poway

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An email thread that the presidents oldest son, Donald Trump Jr. , revealed in tweets Tuesday lit up the internet with accusations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in its meddling in the election. But the presidents son and some conservatives quickly offered a defense: They call it a nothing burger.

While a frenzy built over the contents and implications of the emails  including one sentence referencing documents part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump  Trump Jr. offered a carefully crafted statement that may serve as the basis of his defense.

The information they suggested they had about Hillary Clinton I thought was Political Opposition Research, Trump Jr. said in his statement, further explaining the context of a meeting he had with a Russian lawyer promising damaging information about the Democratic candidate as first reported by The New York Times.

The Times says the emails are the first public indication that Donald Trump s campaign was willing to accept help from Russians. Its unclear whether the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, passed such information. But Trump Jr. said that in the meeting, it quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information.

Nevertheless, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday that they wanted Trump Jr. to testify under oath, The Associated Press reported, which he said he was willing to do if called.

But some conservatives have for days downplayed the meeting as nothing more than routine efforts to collect political opposition research. Here are what a few of them, including members of Congress and White House advisers, had to say.

Even if Trump Jr. and some Republicans defend the emails and the meeting as routine activities to collect opposition research, the key issue may be whether the help came from the Russian government  as the emails suggest and as some believe.

Richard Painter, an ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush, drove that point home on Sunday.

This was an effort to get opposition research on an opponent in an American political campaign from the Russians who are known to be engaged in spying inside the United States, he said. We do not get our opposition research from spies, we do not collaborate with Russians unless we want to be accused of treason.

Democrats, including Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, and former Clinton aide Adam Parkhomenko, also jumped on board to counter the narrative by arguing that opposition research used by American politicians should never come from the Russian government.

Many others have shared their thoughts on opposition research and whether Trump Jr. was merely engaging in routine campaign operations. Those who ultimately decide whether those contacts were illegal will be the FBI and the Justice Department , with congressional committees also likely to weigh in on whether they were improper.

So was this a nothing burger meeting to collect opposition research or evidence of collusion with the Russian government to influence the election? You tell us what you think of these emails.

Have some thoughts to share?

Join me in a conversation: Shoot me a private email with your thoughts or ideas on a different approach to this story. As always, you can also send us a tweet.

Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @RunGomez

Read The Conversation on Flipboard.

ALSO

3 key exchanges in Donald Trump Jr.'s emails over Russian meeting

Who exactly leaked Trump Jr. emails story to The New York Times?
Before the world saw them, The New York Times had knowledge of the exchange of emails that led Donald Trump Jr. to meet with a Russian lawyer promising damaging information about Hillary Clinton during last years campaign.

The story  which the paper broke Sunday and reverberated Tuesday when Trump Jr. himself published the emails on Twitter  leaned on five unnamed sources confirming the existence of those emails. At least two of those came from inside the White House.

Related: Will Trump Jr.-Russian 'opposition research' defense hold?

Speculation about the sources, especially if they are inside President Donald Trump s close circle of advisers, added another element of drama to an already-frenzied political environment.

The emails create a huge problem for the president, who has insisted that his campaign did not collude with Russians to influence the election.

Related: 3 key exchanges in Donald Trump Jr.'s emails over Russian meeting

This has led many to wonder who within or close to the White House would leak such a damning scoop to The Times. Here are some potential suspects:

Corey Lewandowski

One-time Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski emerged as a possible source. He was running the campaign in June 2016, when Trump Jr. met with the Russian lawyer, and was fired less than two weeks after the meeting.

Though Lewandowski is not now a White House adviser, his possible knowledge of the meeting led some to believe he had an axe to grind. Was he one of those sources?

BuzzFeed News also quoted Trump adviser Roger Stone as saying on the record that he and Sam Numberg, another adviser, also suspected Lewandowski as one of the potential sources for The Times story.

Donny was a vocal critic of Corey, he walked him towards the exits, and fits the broad definition of a White House adviser, Stone told BuzzFeed News. Im not unbiased, but hed be my choice.

Jared Kushner

Trump adviser Jared Kushner also emerged as a possible source, according to BuzzFeed News and others reporting the search for those sources. After all, Kushner had knowledge of those emails and the meeting because he attended it along with one-time campaign manager Paul Manafort.

But what motivations would Kushner have to disclose that meeting? Such a leak would seemingly complicate things for Kushner, who is already under scrutiny for not previously disclosing his contacts with Russians when he sought security clearance.

Stephen Bannon

Trump adviser Steve Bannon does not appear to fit in the picture, but given his history of speaking anonymously to the press, its possible the former Breitbart chief could be the source.

A few theorized that the emails and the meeting implicated another top White House official believed to be a foe of Bannon: Kushner.

Again, theres very little to suggest Bannon could have spoken to The Times, but he is known as an infighter.

The Russians

Were the Russians mad that the U.S. didnt lift its sanctions after the G20 summit meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin? Even if there was no suggestion of a Russian source at play in The Times story, the motive of retaliation would fit the action.

And there is another possible Russian motive as well: the hope of bringing chaos to American politics with the leak.

Mike Pence

And one very big name has also emerged as a possible source: the vice president himself.

Conservative writer Allahpundit was willing to point to Pence. And that theory was promptly followed by a vote of confidence from political writer Josh Barro.

Pence is not known to speak to the press anonymously, and on Tuesday, the vice president distanced himself from the story and the controversy surrounding it.

But of course Pence has the ultimate motivation  to be the 46th president if the 45th president is forced out.

So who else might have leaked information about the emails and the meeting Trump Jr. had with a Russian contact promising damaging information about Clinton? Share your theories with us.

Have some thoughts to share?

Join me in a conversation: Shoot me a private email with your thoughts or ideas on a different approach to this story. As always, you can also send us a tweet.

Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @RunGomez

Read The Conversation on Flipboard.
The deplorable conditions took their toll. Skittish little Millie, a full-bred Yorkshire terrier, has no teeth and recently had six tumors removed from her tummy. The dark scares her. Move too fast and she will drop to the floor and snake away.

Then theres Buddy, who had to have his back paw amputated, the result of poor circulation. Lucy, a 2-year-old Yorkie mix, has limited eyesight and Lacy, 1, has lost all her bottom teeth.

They are among 170 Yorkies that the San Diego Humane Society rescued from a Poway couple earlier this year. It was the largest hoarding rescue in the agencys 137 years.

The number of animals and their squalid surroundings quickly made headlines when dozens of the animals were first pulled from a mice-infested home with feces on the walls and debris covering the floor.

The Humane Society of San Diego estimates it spent roughly $250,000 to take in and treat the dogs, removing teeth from some, limbs from a few, and spaying or neutering all of them. Some had lost hearing or eyesight.

Months after their rescue, the Yorkies are moving toward recovery and their new owners have formed a community, meeting up for play dates, sharing tips and encouragement, and raising thousands for the San Diego Humane Society.

A get-together of recovering rescued dogs. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune)

On a private group Facebook page, they post photos of their Yorkies sporting new haircuts, and revel in small victories  like the day that Flower took her first trip to the park, or when Floki actually responded when her new owner called her over.

You get to see these dogs recuperating, said Lucys owner, Holly Goulart. Im telling you, it is truly a happily-ever-after story. We have taken something negative, and turned it into something that is positive. At least we are trying to.

The story of rescue started in January when Mark Vattimo, one of the dog owners, called the San Diego Humane Society and asked for help, said agency spokeswoman Kelli Schry.

He estimated like 30 to 35 dogs, she said, and we just kept pulling out more and more and more.

Authorities would take 92 Yorkies or Yorkie-mixes from the four-bedroom home that day; the smell of feces and urine so strong that officers were forced to wear masks.

Many of the dogs were suffering from ear infections, fleas and hair loss. Their coats were severely matted and caked with excrement  so bad that the amount of matted fur removed from them actually weighed more than the tiny dogs themselves, Schry said.

Days later, authorities would find and seize 30 or so more dogs that had been hidden from them, and several weeks after that, discover Vattimos girlfriend, Christine Calvert, had fled the state with even more dogs. They found and arrested her in Primm, Nev., just across the California line, with 46 little dogs in a motor home.

In all, the San Diego Humane Society rescued about 170 dogs from the couple, but the number rose to 186 after some of the pregnant Yorkies had puppies.

Three of the dogs were so unhealthy they had to be euthanized, and five of the puppies died of natural causes. Seven of the dogs are still at the San Diego Humane Society and 171 have been adopted.

More than 1,800 people filled out applications for the animals. Goulart was among the lucky few tapped to take a dog.

I felt like I won the Lotto when they called and said I could adopt one, she said. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Like all the adoptive owners, she was strongly warned that these were dogs with special needs, medically and psychologically. After bringing Lucy home, Goulart quickly noticed little quirky behaviors. And I thought, What have I gotten myself into here?<TH>

Within a week, Goulart set up a private Facebook page for fellow owners of the rescued Yorkies, a place to share tips, concerns and ideas as to how to socialize the scared dogs. She called it #92 Yorkies Happily Ever After.

I thought maybe we could teach steps to each other, Goulart said. There were people who were so overwhelmed, they might have returned the dogs.

There, she asked basic questions  does your dog bark, does it hide and shake, does it know how to drink water out of a bowl? What Goulart got back were tales of dogs whod never been in grass, who refused to drink water, and who were so anxious that they would throw up. And none of the owners had heard their dogs bark.

The best word I can use to describe these dogs is broken,<TH> Goulart said.

After Debbie Parker took home Millie, she realized the 6-year-old Yorkie refused to drink from a bowl. Parker initially had to use a syringe to get water into her mouth. The dog, who had to have all her teeth removed, would pace in the dark at night and howl when Parker went to work.

The Vista woman joined the Facebook group, and found answers, suggestions and support. She also went back and got a second dog, the effervescent Rosie.

Millie is coming along, but its a matter of 10 steps forward, five steps back, said Parker, who believes the little dog is scared of the dark because it reminds her of the crowded, fetid room.

I dont think Millie wants to remember, Parker said.

In a row house in Little Italy, 2-year-old Buddy is learning to navigate without his hind right paw.

Hes a sweetheart, owner Dorothy Bertram said. He just runs back and forth all day. He must think this is the biggest place hes ever had.

Husband Daniel Bertram said they hope to outfit the 7-pound dog with a prosthetic. Like the other rescues, he is quite timid. But I think hes a pretty resilient and spunky little guy, Bertram said.

Scores of the owners are part of the Facebook group, and a few even went back to the Humane Society and adopted a second of the rescued pups. The owners also started to get together in person, forming a team for a Humane Society fundraising walk in May. They raised more than $4,500  third-highest fundraising team of the event.

They also teamed up last week for a Facebook livestream, to be part of a fundraiser for what the agency dubbed the Day of Giving. The donations topped $300,000.

When the owners get together, the dogs come too. The pups absolutely recognize one another.

When my little Lacy sees Rosie, they kiss and climb and play. It brings tears to your eyes, Goulart said. The two dogs were part of the bunch taken from the RV.

Schry said her agency is buoyed by the community the Yorkie owners have formed.

You can tell that they (the Yorkies) are the center of these peoples worlds, she said. Its great to see them finally get to live the life that they deserve.

Calvert, 62, and Vattimo, 72, each pleaded guilty to two felony counts of animal neglect. They had to relinquish the motor home and received three years of probation when they were sentenced Tuesday in a San Diego courtroom. They were also barred from owning animals for a decade.

People get mad at the (couple), Goulart said. But we all have our dogs. They are safe and loved and healthy, and at the end of the day that is what counts.

Figueroa writes for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Email: editor@pomeradonews.com
Ramona Community Planning Group unanimously voted to allocate $250,000 of Park Lands Dedication Ordinance (PLDO) funds for the proposed Ramona Skatepark.

Ramona Skatepark Champions, established as a 501(c)(3) in 2014, is working to become the maintenance entity for the skatepark and hopes to locate it on the future Ramona Intergenerational Community Campus off Main Street between 12th and 13th streets.

Tracy Engel, who has been spearheading the project, told the planning group at its July 6 meeting about their donor brick campaign to raise money for the skateparks maintenance bond fund, displaying one of the bricks and receiving the planning groups support.

For more information about the skatepark and fundraising campaign, email info@ramonaskatepark.org.
San Diego Countys 2017-18 budget includes $174,890 in Community Enhancement funds from Transient Occupancy Tax revenue for five Ramona nonprofits.

Four of the five received everything they asked for. The fifth received three-quarters of its request.

Ramona Chamber of Commerce, which requested $106,000, will receive $80,000. Other awards are: Ramona H.E.A.R.T. Mural Project Corporation, $39,140; Ramona Pioneer Historical Society, $23,600; Ramona Town Hall Inc., $20,000; and Ramona Outdoor Community Center Inc., $12,150.

Transient Occupancy Tax, or TOT, is collected from occupants of hotels, motels, bed and breakfast venues, mobile home parks, private campgrounds, and other structures occupied or intended for occupancy by non-residents for lodging or sleeping purposes.

Each county supervisor had a Community Enhancement budget of $1.1 million, not including returned funds from 2016-17 awards, and decided how much of his or her budget would go to each group requesting money. Ramona is in District 2, represented by Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

Ramona Chamber of Commerces $80,000 award is an increase from the 2016-17 amount of $75,000. In its application for $106,000 this year, the chamber said $60,000 would be for its annual Community Awards Gala, Ramona Open Studios Tour, Taste of Ramona, Safe Merchants Trick or Treat, Christmas Tree Lighting, Casino Night, Cruise Night, and Bike Poker Run events; $18,500 to promote agritourism; $13,000 for the Economic Development Backcountry Coalition program that also includes Julian, Borrego, Valley Center, and Alpine; $8,500 for the Last Wednesday Workshop business development series; and $6,000 for maps and guides.

Ramona H.E.A.R.T. Mural Project Corp. will spend $23,760 for a mural with a topic to be determined on the west wall of Ramona Fitness Center at 558 Main St., $7,880 for a mural on the west wall of Rons Tire and Brake at 2560 Main St. depicting the San Diego Raceway where cars once raced in Ramona, and $7,500 for a mural on the north wall of Daves Auto, Truck, and RV Services at 310 13th St. that will likely feature a multi-generational family reunion. The mural group received $35,040 last year.

Ramona Pioneer Historical Society will use $15,000 for its operations managers salary, $4,200 for operating expenses, $2,400 for humidifiers for the Millinery Shop and Scenery Room and for archival boxes, and $2,000 for upkeep that includes supplies. The historical societys 2016-17 grant was $20,000.

Ramona Town Hall Inc. plans to spend $15,000 on restoration of the town hall building and $5,000 for new entry doors with secure access and egress. It received $15,000 last year.

The award to Ramona Outdoor Community Center Inc., will fund $8,000 for expenses related to the Ramona Rodeo and parade and $4,150 for expenses related to the rodeo grounds and facilities. The organization received $53,365 of 2016-17 TOT funds.
French luxury purveyor PPR says it is changing its name to Kering.

The company behind Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent has been selling off its retail operations in recent years to focus more on its luxury brands. PPR stood for Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, but the Printemps department store and Redoute retailer have since been sold off.

Only the Pinault - the name of the companys founder and his son, the current CEO - still had a connection to the company.

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The company said the new name reflects its roots in Brittany and its hopes for the future. It said it should be pronounced caring and noted that ker means home in Breton.
ISLAMABAD (AP)  A U.S. Senate delegation paid a rare visit Sunday to a tribal region along the Afghanistan border that has long been considered a stronghold of al-Qaida, the Taliban and other insurgents.

The delegation led by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, visited the North Waziristan tribal region, a statement from Pakistans Foreign Office said. McCain posted pictures on his Twitter account of the delegation visiting Pakistani helicopter pilots at an air base in Miram Shah.

Foreigners are largely banned from the tribal region, where Pakistan has been waging a military offensive to root out insurgents for two years. The U.S. frequently carries out drone strikes in the region targeting Taliban and al-Qaida leaders.

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The U.S. and Pakistan have had fraught relations in recent years, with U.S. officials and many analysts accusing Pakistan of turning a blind eye to some insurgents, including the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan has been critical of the U.S. drone campaign, which has killed scores of civilians over the years.

We look forward to closer relations and resolving the differences we have, McCain told Pakistans state-run TV after meeting with army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif and Sartaj Aziz, the prime ministers top foreign affairs adviser.

McCain added that he was very impressed with the progress in North Waziristan.
Director Vinayan said in an interview that it was Dileep who was calling the shots in Mollywood and that Mammootty and Mohanlal have been mere puppets in his hands.

By India Today Web Desk: Mollywood was shocked when a popular actress was abducted and allegedly raped. The case took an even more shocking turn when superstar Dileep's name cropped up in the case, and he was arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy on Monday.

However, Malayalam director Vinayan is not surprised. "From my personal experience, I know that Dileep is a master manipulator and Mammootty and Mohanlal have just been puppets in his hands. He rose to so much power that behind the scenes, it was him who was controlling Malayalam cinema's progress," the filmmaker told The Times Of India.

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Vinayan had been sidelined in the industry after taking on the actor, who was known to have a lot of clout in the Malayalam film industry. It all began when Dileep walked out of director Thulasidas's Kuttananadan Express. Thulasidas accused the actor of leaving the film in a lurch even after accepting an advance for it. Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA), founded by Vinayan, called out Dileep's unprofessionalism but paid a heavy price for it.

Vinayan told the publication, "I had created the organisation MACTA and we had warned Dileep when he didn't act in a movie despite taking advance from the producer. He then challenged me publicly and said he would make sure I don't continue in my position."

Following Dileep's arrest, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists removed him from its primary membership and expelled him from the post of treasurer. The Kerala Film Producers Association as well as the Film Employees Federation of Kerala also expelled the actor.

ALSO READ: Why Mollywood was shockingly silent until Dileep's arrest in the Kerala actress abduction case

ALSO READ: How Dileep was arrested in the Kerala actress abduction case

ALSO READ: Does the Kerala actress abduction case date back to the Dileep-Kavya affair?

ALSO WATCH: 7 detained in Malayalam actress abduction case, rape charges filed

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By PTI: sounded in J-K (Eds: Updates with more details)

Srinagar/New Delhi, July 12 (PTI) Security forces have launched a massive hunt for Pakistani national and Lashkar-e- Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Ismail who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, a senior police official said here today.

The government has also sounded the "highest alert" across Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of Mondays attack in Anantnag district of Kashmir in which seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed.

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Officials in Delhi, quoting intelligence inputs, said four terrorists, two of them Pakistanis, are suspected to have been involved in the attack.

Ismail was the mastermind of the attack and he was assisted by another Pakistani and two local militants, they said.

Ismail has been active in Valley for several years and had moved base to south Kashmir more than a year ago, the police official said in Srinagar.

Proactive operations have been launched, mainly in south Kashmir, to track down Ismail as investigations including communication intercepts have pointed to his involvement in the attack on the pilgrims, he said.

The official said the attack in Anantnag appears to be reprisal for killing of several LeT terrorists including top commander Bashir Lashkari in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.

"The terrorists are frustrated at the back-to-back losses suffered by them during counter-insurgency operations over the past month or so and have now resorted to attacking civilians and tourists," he said.

A home ministry offical indicated in New Delhi that the anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir would be intensified as he said the security agencies have been told to implement security plans with full vigour.

The Anantnag attack on the pilgrims came on the same day when police announced arrest of a module of LeT including a Hindu terrorist hailing from Muzaffaranagar in Uttar Pradesh.

Targeting of the pilgrims has led to a massive outrage in Kashmir, with people of the Valley saying that such incidents go against the concept of composite culture and Kashmiriyat.

Meanwhile, as the annual pilgrimage continues, the central government issued the "highest alert" in Jammu and Kashmir.

The alert was issued after a central ministerial team comprising Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh and Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir visited Kashmir and held extensive discussions with the top brass of the security establishment, Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the prevailing situation.

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"Considering the unfortunate loss of life and injuries suffered by the yatris (pilgrims) in the recent terror attack, the entire security apparatus has been put on the highest alert by the ministers," a home ministry statement said.

The ministers visited Srinagar following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

They discussed the security situation in detail with the chief minister and the governor, before holding an in-depth security review with the local army commander, the chief secretary, the police chief and senior officers of the state government, the DG of the CRPF, and senior officers of BSF and other security agencies, the statement said.

The central ministers stressed that the entire country was with the Kashmiris and the pilgrims and that all arrangements for a safe and secure pilgrimage would continue with renewed vigour.

So far, more than 1.5 lakh pilgrims have visited the cave shrine located in the mountainous region of south Kashmir. The 40-day long pilgrimage will conclude on August 7.

The home minister yesterday took stock of the situation in Kashmir Valley, particularly on the routes to the shrine located in the Himalayas at an altitude of 12,756 feet, during an hour-long meeting.

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As many as 21,000 paramilitary personnel in addition to state police forces have been deployed for security of the pilgrimage routes.

The number of paramilitary personnel deployed this year is 9,500 more than last year. PTI MIJ/ACB DV SMN AKK AKK

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Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/12/2017 -- The Lemongrass oil is obtained by extraction of the stalks of the Lemongrass (Cymbopogon) herb. Lemongrass shrubs/plant mainly grows in Asia and cannot be available as fresh throughout the year, but now a days lemongrass oil and lemongrass extract or dehydrated forms are commonly used.



According to the discovery health, lemongrass oil is one of the bestselling oil in the world which is used by the culinary artist because of its fresh and enjoyable scent. Traditionally, lemongrass parts as well as its oil have been used as a remedy for various health issues such as, digestive disturbances, behavioral problems, circulatory issues, etc. It is also known as fever grass due to its ability to bring down a fever. Lemongrass oil is useful in prevention of growth of some yeast and bacteria, and has antioxidant/ antibacterial properties and an important vitamins such as vitamin A, B2, B3, B6, B5, B1, folate and vitamin C and also provides essential minerals such as copper, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, manganese, iron and magnesium. Due to all these numerous benefits of lemongrass oil market is in high demand. Lemongrass thrives in tropical and subtropical regions, such as India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, China, Cambodia, and Guatemala.



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Lemongrass Oil: Segmentation



Lemongrass oil market is segmented on the basis of the application, grade and regions. On the basis of lemongrass oil application market is segmented as pharmaceutical, cosmetics & personal care, and food and beverages. As Lemongrass oil possess high medicinal value and used in various treatments since history market demand in pharmaceutical segment is significantly high. On the basis of lemongrass oil application in cosmetic & personal care products, the product is used in soaps, deodorants, shampoos, conditioner, body lotion, air freshener and tonics. Its essential vitamin contents as well as skin healing properties are driving lemongrass oil market demand in personal care market segment. Lemongrass oil popularity as fragrance and taste, its demand in food and beverage market segment has grown over the time. It is used in various culinary delights, added to ready-made curries, paired with beef, fish, poultry and seafood's, it is also used for flavoring tea and soups.



Lemongrass oil market is further segmented on the basis of grades as food grade and therapeutic grade. Food grade is basically for food and beverage purpose and therapeutic grade is for pharmaceutical as well as personal care uses. Lemongrass oil market is later segmented on the basis of regions, as North America North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, and Middle East & Africa.



Lemongrass Oil: Region wise outlook



Latin America and Europe are leading regional markets importing lemongrass oil. However, being origin region of lemongrass oil, Asia Pacific market leading exporter market for lemongrass oil, India and China are major producer markets. Asia pacific and Europe markets are expected to witness higher growth in forecast period. In Asian countries such as, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia, lemongrass oil is a popular ingredient in many culinary delights. The market demand of lemongrass oil is increasing its popularity in flavoring Asian cooking too. Lemongrass oil is gaining popularity from health conscious consumers from Latin America, which is driving market growth in the region.



Lemongrass Oil: Trends and Drivers



Lemongrass oil has various medicinal, skin care properties as well as health benefits, due to this lemongrass oil is gaining popularity in the worldwide markets. Increasing popularity of lemongrass oil in aromatherapy is driving global market demand. The trending natural oil based personal care product demand by consumers, is another market driver for lemongrass oil.



In addition, lemongrass oil has various health benefits which are related to with essential oil are anticipated to drive the lemongrass oil demand in pharmaceutical and applications medical and the product has no harmful side effects which will help in penetrating the market in future. Also, increasing uses in food and beverage industry for culinary dishes is another major market driver.



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Lemongrass Oil: Key players



Some of the key participating players in Lemongrass oil market globally are, The Leburmuth Company, Essential Oils of New Zealand, Young Living Essential Oils, doTerra, Sydella Laboratoire, West India Spices Inc, Falcon ,Rajkeerth Aromatics, Reho natural ingredients etc. among the others.
Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/12/2017 -- Green power is basically production of electrical energy from environment friendly and renewable sources such as wind, geothermal, biomass, solar and low-impact hydropower. There has been an increased awareness among consumers regarding use of environment friendly sources of electricity supply. This in turn has led towards demand for green power sources in the recent past. In order to support green environment campaign, governments of various countries are taking initiatives to enhance consumer awareness as well as availability of green power sources. Globally, there has been integration of renewable energy and equipment installations. For instance, in Iceland 80% of the electricity is generated from earth's heat. Similarly in Norway, 98% of electricity is generated using geothermal, hydroelectric and wind energy.



There have been increased number of attempts to offer low-cost, environment-friendly options to low down the negative impact of using non-renewable sources of energy for electricity generation. For instance, in India the untapped market of renewable energy is anticipated to be around US$ 10.5 billion by 2017 end. In order to tap this potential market, government of India is taking various measures such as promotion of small power plants for both biomass and solar, entrepreneurship development for electricity in rural areas through solar power, biomass waste and rice husk, solar cooking initiatives, green campuses and buildings construction, and projects for off-shore wind generation, among others. With introduction of programs offering consumer choice for domestic electricity ensuring price stability balancing the increased electricity price volatility in some countries is leading towards increased adoption of green power sources as a mode of electricity generation.



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Green Power Market Segmentation:



Green power market is segmented on the basis of energy resources, equipment type. Different type of energy resources include solar, biomass, wind and small hydropower. Of which, biomass is further segmented into landfill gas and agricultural waste. On the basis of different energy resources, equipment vary and are classified into solar energy equipment, wind energy equipment, geothermal energy equipment and hydropower energy equipment. Further, agricultural waste is sub-segmented into poultry litter and others. Geographically, the green power market is segmented into seven regions namely North America, Western Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.



Green Power Market Dynamics:



Factors such as population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation, growing per capita consumption, depletion of conventional reserves and increasing concerns for climatic change are contributing towards increasing adoption of green power sources as mode of electricity generation. This is further fuelling green power market growth at a robust rate and is expected to gain significant traction in the near future. However, proper balance of environmental stability and economic development is a concern for government and environment control authorities across the globe. However, barriers towards growth of green power market include low cost of utility default service, high entry barriers for new entrants, lack of existing renewable energy plants and insufficient unbundling of revenue-cycle services. Despite of the aforementioned challenges, green power market is anticipated to grow significantly in the near future. This is attributed to development of solar parks, government initiatives and programs, increasing awareness regarding use of renewable energy sources, among others.



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Green Power Market Key Players:



Depending on the equipment manufacturers for energy resources such as wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy and hydropower energy, some of the key solar panel manufacturers are Trina Solar Limited, Yingli Solar, Canadian Solar and others. Similarly prominent wind turbine manufacturers include Siemens AG, General Electric Company (GE Power), and Senvion SE among others. Few prominent geothermal energy system manufacturers include FHP Bosch Group, Earthlinked Technologies Inc., Aquatherm Industries, Inc., and Ormat Technologies, Inc. among others.
By PTI: (Eds: With changes in intro, para 2 ,3)

Mehsana, Jul 12 (PTI) Dalit agitation spearhead Jignesh Mevani, student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and 15 others were detained today for taking out Freedom March allegedly without permission on the first anniversary of Una flogging incident, the police said.

Mevani, who is the convener of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, had invited Kumar to take part in the Azadi Kooch (Freedom March) here.

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A number of Dalit activists gathered at Somnath Chowk here before embarking on the march towards Banaskantha district this afternoon, the police said.

The Mehsana district authorities had cancelled the permission granted earlier to Mevani for taking out the march.

"We have detained 17 persons from Fatehpura circle. Later, an FIR was registered under IPC section 143 against them for being a part of an illegal assembly.

"We did not arrest them. They were let go afterwards," an official of the Mehsana A division police station, where the FIR has been lodged, said.

As per the schedule, Freedom March will end at Dhanera town of Banaskantha district of north Gujarat after one week.

The key agenda of this march is to mount pressure on the Gujarat government to allocate agricultural land to Dalits, so that they can start a new life with dignity, Mevani had announced last month.

After being released, co-convener of the manch, Kaushik Parmar, who is also named in the FIR, announced that the march will continue as they have the permission to enter Unjha, their next destination.

"We have been released by police after the FIR was registered against us. We have decided to continue our march. We are planning to reach Unjha by tonight," Parmar told PTI.

While addressing people at Somnath chowk before the march, Kumar, who is facing sedition charges, attacked the BJP governments at the Centre and in Gujarat, claiming that atrocities on Dalits and Muslims have increased under them.

He also alleged that people who dare to speak truth are booked under sedition charges to silence them.

In Una, Dalit youths were paraded and flogged for allegedly skinning a dead cow, an incident that caused nation-wide outrage after its video went viral. PTI COR PJT PD NRB DIP

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The Juno spacecraft, which is in orbit around the largest planet in the solar system, has began its transmission of data and images on Tuesday. It is reported that NASA's probe has just experienced its closest rendezvous with the very well known mammoth cyclone of Jupiter -- the Great Red Spot.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, this is mankind's closest in brush with the famous Great Red Spot of Jupiter. NASA's probe has had a flyby of the extremely huge crimson storm that has captivated scientists on planet Earth for hundreds of years.

The probe has passed the Great Red Spot, above its clouds about 9,000 kilometers (5,592 miles) on Tuesday. However, it will take some days for readings taken by Juno's array of cameras and other instruments to be sent to observers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. Also, it will take much more time for the data to be analyzed by scientists.

"This is a storm bigger than the entire Earth. It's been there for hundreds of years. We want to know what makes it tick," Steve Levin, the lead project scientist for the Juno mission at JPL, expressed.

Scientists believe that understanding the Great Red Spot more may give more clues to the mechanics, structures and formation of the giant planet as a whole. It is believed that the mammoth cyclone is produced by the energy that exudes from Jupiter's interior combined with the rotation of the planet. However, the exact inner workings are not known, as per Reuters.

The swirling cyclone ranks as the biggest known storm in the solar system measures about 16,000 kilometers (10,000 miles) in diameter with winds clocked at hundreds of miles per hour around its exterior. It is noticeably a deep, red orb that is surrounded by layers of different colors of pale yellow, orange and white. The Great Red Spot is continuously observed since about 1830.
SLED spokeswoman Kathryn Richardson said she could confirm that the Dillon County Sheriffs Office has asked for SLEDs assistance in the shooting that involved a deputy.
Shailesh Kumar will be confronted with the documents seized by the ED in the case and the statements given by wife Misa in relation to their finances and business transactions.

By PTI: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Misa Bharti's husband Shailesh Kumar today appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a Rs 8,000 crore money laundering case, officials said.

Bharti, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter, had appeared before the central probe agency on Tuesday and was grilled for almost eight hours.

Kumar, who was summoned again today after he skipped the first date on Monday, will be confronted with the documents seized by the ED in the case and the statements given by his wife in relation to their finances and business transactions, officials said on the condition of anonymity.

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The agency is expected to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Kumar, like his wife, will be questioned about his role in a firm, Ms Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited, his other finances and his links with a chartered accountant arrested by the agency earlier in the case, they said.

ED RAIDS ON JULY 8

The ED had on July 8 conducted searches at three Delhi farmhouses of Bharti, Kumar and the firm.

The raids had come a day after the CBI had raided multiple premises of Prasad and his family in a corruption case probe.

The latest summons to Bharti and her husband are related to a Rs 8,000 crore money laundering probe being conducted by the agency against two Delhi-based businessmen brothers- Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain, and others who are alleged to have laundered money worth over several crores using over 90 shell companies.

The Jain brothers were arrested by the ED earlier under PMLA.

LINK WITH SHELL COMPANIES

One of the firms that the arrested duo dealt with was Ms Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited.

Bharti and her husband are alleged to have been directors of this firm in the past.

According to ED officials, it was detected that 1,20,000 shares of M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited were bought during 2007-08 at a rate of Rs 100 per share by four shell companies - M/s Shalini Holdings Limited, M/s Ad- Fin Capital Services (India) Pvt. Ltd, M/s Mani Mala Delhi Properties Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Diamond Vinimay Pvt. Ltd.

These 1,20,000 shares, they said, were allegedly bought back by Bharti at Rs 10 per share.

WHAT SHELL COMPANIES DO?

The ED had also arrested Rajesh Agarwal, a chartered accountant allegedly linked to Bharti, who provided accommodation entries (black funds) of about Rs 60 lakh to M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited.

The searches, officials said, are part of investigations to unravel these links which allegedly routed black money using the shell companies in question.

Shell companies are firms set up with nominal paid up capital, high reserves and surplus on account of receipt of high share premium, investment in unlisted companies and no dividend income or high amount of cash-in-hand.

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The ED is the third agency probing alleged financial irregularities by the Lalu Prasad family after the CBI and the Income Tax department which recently attached benami assets worth about Rs 180 crore (market value) in its investigation against them.

ALSO READ | Lalu's daughter Misa Bharti appears before ED to join probe in money laundering case

ED likely to summon Misa Bharti, husband Shailesh for questioning

ALSO WATCH | Trouble mounts for Lalu, ED set to call Misa Bharti, husband Shailesh for questioning

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Hisar, Jul 12 (PTI) A Muslim trader from UP was allegedly slapped by an unidentified person when he refused to raise Bharat Mata ki Jai slogan during a protest by Bajrang Dal activists here against the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, police said today.

The activists of the Dal took out a march near a mosque here yesterday to protest the attack on pilgrims in Kashmir Valley.

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The Muslim trader hailing from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh had come to the mosque to offer prayers yesterday when the Dal activists were taking out a march.

As the Bajrang Dal activists were raising Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogans, someone in the crowd asked the trader who was at the gate of the mosque, to raise the slogan.

When he refused, he was allegedly slapped by someone in the crowd, police said today, adding a complaint was filed by the trader against around 100 unidentified people who were part of the crowd.

A Bajrang Dal leader here said no one from the Dal had slapped the trader. After the incident, the people in the mosque closed the main door of the religious place and informed the police.

The activists of Bajrang Dal, in the meanwhile, also dispersed after burning effigies and raising slogans against Pakistan. A case of rioting, promoting enmity between classes, maliciously insulting religious beliefs of any class, causing disturbance to an assembly engaged in religious worship, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation has been registered against 100-125 unknown persons, police said. Lalit Kumar, SHO, City Police Station said no arrest has been made so far. PTI CORR SUN DV

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: By Anisur Rahman

Dhaka, Jul 12 (PTI) At least nine children from an ethnic minority community have died of a mysterious disease in Bangladesh with doctors struggling to diagnose the cause of the deaths.

Forty-six others were being treated at a specialised hospital in southeastern Bangladesh.

All the children, who have died in four days, belong to the Tripura tribe.

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"The children, aged between two and 10 years, belonged to the Tripura tribe... they were suffering from the disease with symptoms of watery diarrhoea, vomiting and respiratory complications," chief government doctor of Chittagong Azizur Rahman Siddique said.

The disease appeared to be infectious one but so far was concentrated in one village, he said.

Siddique asked the villagers to temporarily confine nearly 600 school-going children at home so that the disease could not spread.

Officials of Sitakunda sub-district, where the disease broke out, said all the children belonged to the Tripura community. Four of them died today.

A health ministry spokesman said a special medial team has been sent to the area for further actions. PTI AR CPS AKJ CPS

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The sniffer technology is developed by Danish startup Explicit, which said that while a manned helicopter is currently required, the plan in the future is to deploy drones.

Danish EPA will perform the airborne surveillance on ships in Danish waters from this month. The objective is to detect and deter violations of the IMO Marpol Annex VI Emission Control Area (ECA) fuel sulphur content cap of 0.1%.

The new sniffer system is capable of measuring both sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions from vessels to determine their compliance, and is small enough to be carried on a drone.

The manned helicopter is an extremely efficient tool for this purpose, both because of the speed with which it can cover large areas and many ships, but also because of its maneuverability in the plume, said Jon Knudsen, ceo of Explicit.

You can achieve the same with rotary drones, but the manned helicopter currently has a much larger operational capacity, Knudsen said.

The performance and uncertainties of the new system have been validated independently by FORCE Technology, the Danish Government Reference Lab for Air Emissions.

Right now there is a lot of attention on the enforcement of Marpol Annex VI. We are increasingly being approached by authorities and other international partners interested in our technology and what it can do, Knudsen said.
The call by Sovcomflot follows significant shipping traffic growth along the NSR and further projected growth.

At a meeting held on Monday, Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev and president and ceo of Sovcomflot Sergey Frank stressed on the necessity of taking additional measures to ensure navigational safety along the NSR.

In 2018, just the two energy projects in the Gulf of Ob (Novy Port and Yamal LNG), both served by Sovcomflot vessels, are expected to generate around 11.5m tonnes of freight alone, almost doubling the Soviet-era NSR peak record of 6.6m tonnes in 1987. SCF shuttle tankers has commenced year-round oil shipments from Novy Port for the first time as recently as September 2016, and Yamal LNG is expected to come onstream in late 2017.

On Sovcomflots operations in the Russian Arctic and the Russian Far East, Frank reported that as at end of second quarter 2017, over 200m tonnes of crude oil and more than 16m tonnes of LNG have been transported for energy projects in the Arctic seas and the Russian Far East since 2006.

During the first half of 2017 alone, Sovcomflot vessels transported 17m tonnes of crude oil from the Russian Arctic and the Russian Far East to consumers.

Frank expressed his conviction that given the vulnerability of the Arctic ecosystem, substandard vessels and vessels manned by inexperienced and poorly qualified crews should be banned from Arctic operations.

Sovcomflot has pioneered the switch to LNG as a primary fuel for its aframax tankers, as part of its environmental responsibility for using the NSR.

This year, the company has placed an order for a series of the first-ever aframaxes purpose-designed to be run on LNG. These new generation ice-class 114,000-dwt tankers are scheduled for delivery beginning in 2018.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's perceived political ambiguity has ensured that the spotlight always remains on him.

By India Today Web Desk: When Congress president Sonia Gandhi announced Gopalkrishna Gandhi as the Opposition's vice-presidential candidate, Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav was sitting next to her.

Hours later, it was however a phone call from Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, wherein the former assured his party's support to Gopalkrishna Gandhi, that perhaps confirmed the JD(U)'s stand.

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Nitish Kumar had earlier broken ranks with the Opposition to declare his support for NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind. After BJP chief Amit Shah announced then Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind as its presidential candidate, the Bihar Chief Minister's first reaction was: "I am personally glad that he (Kovind) is the presidential candidate".

Nitish's appreciation for Kovind, which indicated that the JD(U) would go with NDA's presidential choice, came days after senior party leader Sharad Yadav had pitched for a strong Opposition candidate for the presidential poll.

Nitish Kumar chose to back NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind, much against Opposition's wishes. Photo: PTI.

WHAT IS NITISH's STAND ON CBI RAIDS ON LALU?

Nitish Kumar's support for Gopalkrishna Gandhi comes at a time when the JD(U)'s relationship with ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has hit a rough patch.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently raided the residence of Lalu Prasad Yadav and registered a case against him, wife Rabri Devi, son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and others on allegations of corruption in awarding contracts for maintenance of hotels.

The BJP has upped the ante on Nitish Kumar asking him to act against Tejashwi Yadav and sack him from the cabinet.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's stand on the issue has been ambivalent. He has refused to speak in public on the CBI raids on Lalu and his family, and according to a senior RJD leader also dialled Lalu this Sunday.

Yet, after the RJD made it clear that Tejashwi Yadav would not step down from the post of deputy chief minister, the JD(U) chief gave a four-day ultimatum to Lalu Prasad to decide on son Tejashwi.

Nitish while asking the RJD and Tejashwi Yadav to give a "fact-wise reply in public" to the corruption charges hurled at him is believed to have told JD(U) legislators at the Tuesday meet that the ruling Grand Alliance will not break.

NITISH's GROWING FONDNESS FOR NARENDRA MODI

Nitish Kumar's on-off relationship with ally RJD in Bihar runs parallel to his growing bonhomie with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.

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At the 350th Prakash Parv celebrations in Patna in January, Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi shared the dias and were seen sharing lighter moments.

Nitish Kumar shared the dais with Narendra Modi at Prakash Parv celebrations in Patan. Photo: PIB.

After the BJP government announced demonetisation of high value currency in November last year, Nitish Kumar was one of the few Opposition leaders who praised the drive.

He also lauded the Prime Minister for the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the border in September last year. "The decision of surgical strike taken by the Centre is successful," Nitish said.

A few months ago, BJP chief Amit Shah, on being asked why the party was soft on Nitish Kumar, said: "Nitish Kumar ka kuch pakda gaya hai kya... We are being unnecessarily critical of him".

Prime Minister Modi had earlier appreciated the Bihar chief minister for enforcing an alcohol ban in the state.

WHEN NITISH IS BEING NITISH

Notwithstanding Nitish's growing fondness for Narendra Modi, the former has still chosen to go with the Opposition's candidate for vice-president.

Five years ago, Nitish Kumar's JD(U) supported the UPA's choice of Pranab Mukherjee for president and backed NDA's candidate Jaswant Singh for vice-president's post in 2012.

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The JD(U) was then a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

In 2017, the JD(U), despite running a coalition government with the RJD and the Congress in Bihar, has decided to support NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

Nitish Kumar's perceived political ambiguity has ensured that the spotlight always remains on him.

ALSO READ:

EXCLUSIVE: No question of Tejashwi resigning, says Lalu on Nitish's ultimatum

Nitish's attempt to avoid deputy CM Tejashwi? Bihar CM cancels lok samvad citing ill health

Nitish Kumar meets Narendra Modi: How political flavour changed between cancelled dinner and lunch over 7 years

ALSO WATCH: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar attacks Congress, accuses it of indulging in reactionary politics

--- ENDS ---
Following UP Diliman's move not to collect tuition

NANCY ASKS CHED TO CLARIFY RULES ON FREE TUITION POLICY

Senator Nancy Binay today called on the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to clarify its rules and regulations regarding its free tuition policy in state colleges and universities (SUCs).

Binay said that while the CHED and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had released in April a joint memorandum circular guiding the grant of free tuition to SUCs for 2017, it is vague whether it will be full or partial subsidy.

"Malabo po ang polisiya ng CHED regarding free tuition in SUCs. Panawagan po natin na agaran nilang klaruhin ito, lalo na at tapos na ang enrollment period para sa maraming SUCs," Binay said.

She made the call following the decision of the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) not to collect tuition fees until the government makes clear its plan on free education.

"Sa taas po ng tuition sa UPD ngayon, hindi po klaro kung masasagot ba ng buo ng free tuition policy ang P1500 per unit cost, considering na nasa around 16,000 ang undergraduates nito," Binay said.

"So hindi po fair ito, lalo na kung sasagutin ng buo ang cost of tuition sa ibang SUCs," she added.

Binay is strongly pushing for the continued funding of free tuition in state universities and colleges (SUCs) nationwide.

"Isa po sa mga sinusulong natin na maging isang ganap na realidad ang libreng edukasyon sa kolehiyo. Patuloy po ang pakikipagtulungan natin sa ating mga kasama sa Kongreso pati na sa Executive branch upang taun-taon pong mabigyan ng pondo ang libreng college education," Binay said.

Binay said that the P8-billion appropriation for free college education is a great first step, but there is more work to be done to get the yearly funding for the program.

She noted that there are some laws that are not fully implemented because of the absence or lack of funds for the execution of the law.

"We will continuously work for the realization of free tertiary education for all, especially now that Senate Bill 1304, or the free higher education for all act, is up for the President's signature," Binay said.

Binay voted in support of the measure, which will provide full tuition subsidy for students enrolled in SUCs, during the deliberations in the first regular session of the higher chamber last March 2017.
Press Release

July 12, 2017 Legarda Supports First Rondalla Music Camp in Baguio Senator Loren Legarda today expressed her full support to the FirstRondalla Music Camp, which runs from July 8 to 23, in Baguio City. "Part of our rich cultural heritage is music. We have an abundance not only of great singing voices but also of very talented musicians. TheRondalla Music Camp is one way to harness the natural talent of Filipinos who are into string instruments. I congratulate all the participants of the First Rondalla Music Camp and we look forward to more of these kinds of projects," said Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance and an advocate of arts and culture preservation. The camp has been made possible through the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA), and the Musicological Society of the Philippines (MSP) in partnership with the University of the Philippines Baguio- Office of the Chancellor, and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda. National Artist for Music Dr. Ramon Santos is the camp director. The rondalla is an ensemble of string instruments played using a plectrum. The main instruments are the banduria, octavina, laud, guitar, and bass. The Rondalla Camp aims to train the participants through a two-week intensive training with renowned rondalla practitioners, experts and mentors. From this group of participants, the creation of the FirstRondalla Orchestra is being sought. "The rondalla is an effective medium that weaves the ideals of harmony and melody into the ideals of humanism. It is high time that we give our musicians due importance by giving them full-fledged support. It is my hope that this camp will be able to bring people closer, despite diversity in opinion and beliefs," Legarda concluded.
Zohra, 26, went missing on Tuesday after which her family and neighbors started protesting and demanding to know her whereabouts.

By India Today Web Desk: It was a riot-like situation on Wednesday morning outside a housing society in Noida's Sector 78 after a mob of few villagers surrounded the premises and started pelting stones.

Residents of Mahagun Moderne society were shocked to see villagers entering the society premises with rods. The mob of around hundred people were mostly domestic helps, daily wage labours and neighbours of a maid.

Mob gathered outside Mahagun Moderne society in Noida. (Photo: ANI)

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According to media reports, this maid was beaten up by one of the residents of Mahagun Moderne society. She was allegedly held captive in the boot of her employer's car and beaten up for stealing from their house.

Zohra, 26, went missing on Tuesday after which her family and neighbors started protesting and demanding to know her whereabouts.

Police personnel were deployed at the society and the situation is now under control.

ALSO READ:

For 20 years, she was locked in a dark room. Found with no clothes, urine stench

Delhi shocker: Rape victim forced to carry body of her child in Metro to Gurgaon

Delhi domestic violence: 15-yr-old girl locked inside room for two years

Telangana shocker: Woman poisons physically challenged 3-year-old daughter

ALSO WATCH: Odisha shocker: Mother kills 4-year-old daughter to be blessed with good fortune

--- ENDS ---
A federal judge said Tuesday he would hold antiabortion activist David Daleiden and his lawyers in contempt of court for posting clandestine videos of conversations with abortion providers despite the judges order to keep them sealed.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick III of San Francisco said Daleidens lawyers Steve Cooley and Brent Ferreira had knowingly violated his orders and that Daleiden and his nonprofit organization, the Center for Medical Progress, were also responsible. Cooley is a former Los Angeles County district attorney who narrowly lost the state attorney generals election to Kamala Harris in 2008.

Daleiden and others from his organization posed as fetal researchers to enter the conventions of the National Abortion Federation in San Francisco in 2014 and Baltimore in 2015 and later posted edited versions of conversations they recorded using hidden recorders. Orrick issued an injunction in February 2016 forbidding further public display of the recordings.

But in May, after state Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed criminal charges in March accusing Daleiden and a colleague of illegally recording speakers without their consent, his lawyers in the criminal case posted YouTube links to the videos. They said they had obtained them from Becerras office as evidence and did not consider themselves bound by a federal judges injunction in a separate case.

Matthew Geragos, an attorney for Cooley and Ferreira, said Tuesday that the lawyers were not defying Orricks order but merely trying to defend their client and his right to a public trial. But the judge said the lawyers and their client were not entitled to decide whether to obey court orders.

Orrick has not yet issued a formal contempt order, but he could require Daleiden and his lawyers to pay damages to the National Abortion Federation and could also refer the attorneys to the State Bar of California for discipline.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The postings placed NAF and its members in danger, said Derek Foran, a lawyer for the National Abortion Federation.

In a statement after the hearing, the Center for Medical Progress said it would appeal Orricks unconstitutional gag order.
Political events in the Bay Area

Town hall: Hosted by Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, at noon at Terra Nova High School, 1450 Terra Nova Blvd., Pacifica.

Anti-Trump march: A protest against President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, starting with a rally at 2 p.m. at U.N. Plaza, 355 McAllister St., San Francisco. The rally will be followed by a march. For information: http://bit.ly/2t9t5vE.

Environmental action: A conversation with the Sierra Clubs executive director and local environmental justice groups on what people can do to take action against President Trumps environmental agenda. The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the International Hotel Manilatown Center, 868 Kearny St., San Francisco. For information: http://bit.ly/2rWxPUs

Climate forum: Cool Effect, a Bay Area nonprofit focused on climate change, is holding a forum to discuss environmental actions that will help reduce carbon emissions. The event is from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Hawthorn Room at the Golden Gate Club, 135 Fisher Loop, San Francisco. For information: http://bit.ly/2turr9A

Health care film: A free screening of Now Is the Time: Healthcare for Everybody and discussion on single-payer health care. The event is at 7 p.m. at Or Shalom Jewish Community, 625 Brotherhood Way, San Francisco. For information: (415) 469-5564 or www.orshalom.org

Anti-Trump drag show: An Action in Drag, a night of retelling Rage Against the Machines self-titled debut album, by drag performers and visual artists. The event is from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Chapel, 777 Valencia St., San Francisco. For information: www.thechapelsf.com/event/1517674.
East Bay water rates that had already doubled over the past 10 years are shooting up another 19 percent, utility directors decided Tuesday over the objections of scores of angry customers.

The East Bay Municipal Utility District Board of Directors approved the rate hike on a 6-1 vote despite praising customers for conserving water during the recently ended five-year drought  the very action they said is now partially causing them raise rates.

Water is inexpensive, (but) getting it to the tap is not. This is not fun for us, board President Lesa McIntosh told the overflow crowd at the boards regular meeting in Oakland. We believe it is necessary.

The rate hike will take effect Wednesday, with bills rising 9.25 percent. Next July they will go up another 9 percent, and with interest compounding, the overall increase will be 19 percent.

This means the average users bill will go up a total of $9 a month after the 2018 increase.

EBMUD officials said the 19 percent rate hike will help pay for the first two years of a five-year, $608 million investment in pipeline and distribution projects, in addition to water treatment plant upgrades.

The water district serves 1.4 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and during the drought that concluded this winter, customers cut average daily usage from 250 gallons a day to 200 gallons a day.

That was great, board directors said, but it also meant less money flowing in to upgrade the districts aging pipeline system and improve its water treatment plants.

This is a dire time, said Director William Patterson. Old pipes are breaking all over the place. Its like running your car with a lot of things wrong with it.

The audience of more than 150 people, many of whom held signs reading, Stop rate hikes, wasnt buying it. One by one, nearly 50 of them took the speakers podium over a period of two hours, and not one voiced support for higher rates.

Ive got a 5-gallon barrel in the shower. This makes you furious, said customer Maureen Stapleton. No one can afford anything anymore. Ive got my bill at home and Im afraid to open it, and thats a fact.

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.

These people are slapping us on the back of the head.

Several customers also held signs reading, Stop shutoffs, to protest the 9,000 EBMUD water shutoffs last year for people who couldnt pay their bills.

The only no vote came from Director John Coleman, who represents the hotter-temperature zone of central Contra Costa County.

We need to look at things differently, he said.

Steve Rubenstein and Kevin Fagan are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com, kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF, @KevinChron
Telecom giant AT&T is going to great lengths to dilute a law the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed unanimously in 2014 requiring the company to spruce up its Army-green utility boxes with trees and artwork.

And the supervisors appear to be listening. A new version of the law, which would relieve AT&T of most of its box-beautifying obligations, will go before the boards Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee on Wednesday.

If the new law passes, San Francisco residents would be left with the basic surface-mounted facility boxes  bulky, green or beige bunkers about 4 feet tall that contain high-speed Internet equipment. The company has installed 305 boxes. There are an additional 155 boxes owned by other companies and the city.

AT&T describes the cabinets as critical pieces of Internet infrastructure. Angry neighbors characterize them as sidewalk impediments and ready-made canvases for graffiti artists.

Theyre clearly eyesores, theyre magnets for graffiti, they buzz, and they prevent disabled people from getting from their cars to the sidewalk, said Gary Weiss, president of Corbett Heights Neighbors, a group of residents whose homes abut the Castro.

In 2011, the supervisors voted 6-5 to allow AT&T to install 726 storage units on city sidewalks, to provide customers throughout San Francisco with Internet, phone and TV service.

Then, in 2014, the board passed legislation by former Supervisor Scott Wiener that required AT&T to festoon its cabinets in greenery and colorful murals, plant a tree near each box unless the city deemed it impossible, and make every effort to put them on private property. The company challenged the private property requirement in court and it was struck down in 2015.

AT&T abruptly stopped applying for box permits in 2014, claiming that Wieners law was too onerous. In 2016, it installed 28 new boxes, but didnt beautify any of them  the company had applied for those permits before Wieners law passed.

Now Supervisor Malia Cohen wants to undo several provisions of that law, repealing the landscaping mandate altogether and allowing AT&T to pay fees instead of painting murals on boxes or planting trees nearby  at least $1,489 for each revoked tree and $2,000 for each unpainted mural. The measure would still require AT&T to clean up utility box graffiti.

Cohen, who is running for the California Board of Equalization in 2018, received a $7,300 campaign contribution from AT&Ts San Francisco lobbying firm last month. Lobbyists from Lighthouse Public Affairs collectively contributed more than $8,000 to supervisors campaigns last fall, and $2,250 to Supervisor Jeff Sheehys off-cycle election bid next June.

Cohen and other supervisors denied those political contributions have swayed them. Lighthouse political strategist Boe Hayward said the firms support of Cohen had no impact on this legislation.

Three years after voting for Wieners law, Cohen has shifted positions. She now says the sidewalk cabinets are necessary if the city wants to deliver high-speed Internet to all residents, including to the disenfranchised communities that I represent.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

The folks who oppose (these boxes) are trying to make this more controversial than it really is, Cohen said.

AT&T currently has seven pending city appeals over utility box permits the Department of Public Works denied. Cohen and other supervisors said the company will withdraw those appeals if the new legislation passes.

AT&T spokesman Ben Golombek said that although the company hasnt made any promises, I think this ordinance would certainly address our concerns.

He characterized Cohens legislation as an attempt to clean up the 2014 law.

At the end of the day were a phone company that provides Internet services  were not a landscaping company, Golombek said. He added that Wieners law had a chilling effect on our ability to deploy infrastructure.

Were seeing a greater demand for data every single day, Golombek said. We want to provide better service for our customers.

But Weiss and other residents who revile the boxes say the proposed fees are too low.

The fees  which are significantly higher than the $500 fees that Cohen pitched in her original version of the ordinance  still represent a discount for the telecom company.

Susan Pontious, who runs the Civic Art Collection and Public Art Program for the San Francisco Arts Commission, said it would cost at least $3,500 to decorate a box, and that doesnt include the additional expense of managing a city art program.

The tree fee would cover the cost of planting a tree and watering it for three years, according to Public Works.

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 San Francisco residents have long complained about the boxes, saying they take up sidewalk space, attract blight and are just plain ugly, Cohens law has faced little opposition at City Hall. Meanwhile, AT&T lobbyists  among them Cammy Blackstone, who has served as an aide to several supervisors  have met numerous times with various supervisors, according to records from the San Francisco Public Ethics Commission.

Ethics Commission records also show how big a player AT&T is in local politics. In addition to campaign contributions from Lighthouse, the company also made at least two big charitable gifts last year, shelling out $50,000 for the Womens Foundation at the behest of Mayor Ed Lee, and $5,000 for the GLBT Historical Society at Wieners behest.

Even the group San Francisco Beautiful, which unsuccessfully sued the city in 2011 in an effort to ban the utility boxes altogether, now seems to be changing its tune. Golombek said the group is in talks with AT&T to start a pilot program in which artists would decorate the boxes.

Im conflicted, said San Francisco Beautiful Executive Director Darcy Brown. On the one hand, I dont want these boxes all over the city. On the other hand, people want delivery of (Internet) service.

Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who chairs the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee, said the new law has put her in a quandary, as well.

I dont love that (these boxes) are on our sidewalks, taking up space, Ronen said. But without this infrastructure we wont have the availability of high-speed Internet that competes with Comcast. And healthy competition between multibillion-dollar corporations is beneficial to consumers.

Wiener, who is now a state senator, acknowledged that communications infrastructure is important. Even so, he said, we also need good standards when we are installing these boxes in neighborhoods.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
Bill Hutchinson / The Chronicle

South San Francisco police are searching for a man they say groped a teen on a jogging trail as he passed her Monday evening, officials said.

The 18-year-old woman was walking on the Sister Cities Park Trail about 6:15 p.m. Monday when she was approached from behind by a man in his 20s riding a Razor scooter, police said.
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Gov. Jerry Browns bid to extend the states cap-and-trade system for fighting climate change illuminates some of the fault lines running through the Legislature  and through the governors own party.

The bill Brown announced Monday evening to extend cap and trade through 2030 contains elements designed to appeal to the oil industry and its allies, including moderate Democrats.

Notably the bill, AB398, would prevent local air regulators from placing their own limits on greenhouse gas emissions from refineries and other industrial facilities. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has been contemplating just such a move, despite stiff opposition from oil companies. The facilities are already covered by the cap-and-trade system.

Cap and trade works by setting an annual limit, or cap, on the states greenhouse gas emissions and forcing businesses to buy an allowance for every ton of heat-trapping gases they emit. The number of allowances available in any given year matches the cap. Both shrink year by year, slowly lowering emissions.

Businesses can buy the allowances through quarterly auctions run by the state or from each other.

The bill would limit the future price of cap-and-trade allowances. That gives businesses covered by the cap-and-trade system assurance that they wont get socked by spiraling allowance prices as the state attempts deep cuts to its greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades. California law requires the state to slash emissions more than 40 percent by 2030.

At the same time, the bill tells the entire business community  as well as government officials in other states and countries  that Californias cap-and-trade system wont go away.

The system is a centerpiece of the states climate fight. California has for years tried to entice other governments to join, although so far, only the Canadian province of Quebec has.

Theres some stuff in there for everybody, without jeopardizing the states goals, said Mike Mielke, senior vice president for energy and the environment at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business alliance that backs the bill. It provides the market that regulatory certainty. And it maintains that environmental integrity, in terms of the cap.

Many environmentalists, however, wanted a higher floor for allowance prices  not a ceiling.

Environmental justice advocates, who focus on the impact of pollution on low-income and minority communities, have shown growing clout in Sacramento in recent years. They consider the cap-and-trade extension bill a step backward, for both the states climate efforts and the people who live near refineries and other big polluters.

And they noted it comes while Brown is trying to position California as the bastion of climate action within the United States, now that President Trump is dismantling federal global warming efforts.

Its California climate policy thats been written by big oil, said Amy Vanderwarker, co-director of the California Environmental Justice Alliance. At a time when all eyes are on California, we have to stand strong and say this is not something we can support.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management Districts board of directors last month delayed imposing emission caps on the Bay Areas five refineries despite fears from some directors that Brown could preempt them.

It was very clear the governor was going to get involved in some kind of deal with the refineries, said Director Shirlee Zane, who had urged her colleagues to vote on the caps. Clearly, the postponing is now going to be a sad, moot point for our air district.

Zane urged state legislators to amend the bill and allow the air districts to do our jobs.

Representatives of the Western States Petroleum Association, the oil industrys main lobbying group in Sacramento, did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Brown  who has spent months negotiating with legislators, industry representatives and environmentalists  clearly anticipated some of the criticism.

He announced AB398 Monday night along with a companion bill, AB617, that would increase air pollution monitoring around industrial facilities, toughen penalties for polluters and force many factories and refineries to upgrade old equipment. In addition, AB398 specifies that money the state raises from selling cap-and-trade allowances goes first to projects fighting conventional air pollutants such as lead and soot particles.

With its strong air quality provisions, this agreement ensures that Californians in underserved communities  and communities most impacted by air pollution  will receive the greatest benefit, said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, in a statement released Monday night along with the governor.

Brown tried and failed last year to pass a bill extending the cap-and-trade system, meeting resistance both from business-friendly Democrats and some environmentalists who consider the system a license to pollute. He even threatened to sponsor a ballot measure reauthorizing cap and trade if the Legislature didnt act.

Viewed as a possible model for the nation when it launched in late 2012, Californias cap-and-trade system has recently been plagued with uncertainty.

The California Legislative Analysts Office warned that a landmark 2006 state climate law authorized the cap-and-trade system to run only through 2020, although the state officials in charge of the system disagreed. And a long-running lawsuit from the California Chamber of Commerce argued that the allowances amounted to an illegal tax on business, since they were not approved by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, as is required for tax increases.

The California Supreme Court declined to hear the suit last month  but Brown still wants his legislation to extend cap and trade to win the support of two-thirds of legislators, as insurance against future challenges.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF
Two jawans were killed in the attack by Pakistan troopers on an Indian Army patrol in Furgi area.

By Ashraf Wani: Two Indian Army jawans from 5 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles were martyred in a sniper shootout near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir.

It is believed Pakistani troops targeted two army jawans near Furkian Gali of Keran sector in Kupwara district.

It is not yet clear whether the jawans were fired by Pakistani troops or Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT). Furkiya area has been a known route used by militants infiltrating into the Kashmir Valley from Pakistan.

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Further details about the attack are awaited.

In the meantime, the Home Ministry has sounded a "highest alert" from across Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the killing of 7 Amarnath pilgrims by militants in Anantnag.

Security forces have launched a massive hunt to track down LeT commander and Pakistani national Abu Ismail, the mastermind of the Amarnath attack.

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San Francisco has issued its permit application for stationless bike-sharing operators, which could pave the way for more systems to compete with the expanding Ford GoBike program.

The application, published June 30, includes some financial and other requirements that dont apply to Ford GoBike, the station-based bike-sharing operation thats expanding in the Bay Area. That program started in San Francisco and San Jose last month and expanded to Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville on Tuesday.

Bike sharing is a huge phenomenon, especially in China, where a stationless, park-anywhere model has attracted billions of dollars in funding. Bay Area officials are hoping bike sharing will catch on here too  though they prefer the bikes to stay in dedicated stations when not in use.

Stationless bicycles can be parked anywhere its legal to park a bike because the locking and locator technology resides solely on the bike. The upside is that stationless bikes can be used anywhere in the city, not just where stations are available. The downside is that they could end up cluttering sidewalks.

San Francisco has somewhat of a vested interest in Ford GoBike, a public-private partnership between the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the five participating cities and Motivate, the Brooklyn, N.Y., company thats operating the system under a 10-year contract. San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland waived their permitting fees for Motivate, said Dani Simons, a spokeswoman for the company. However, the commission and five cities stand to share 5 percent of sponsorship revenues that exceed $7 million a year and of ridership revenues that exceed $18 million a year.

Still, at least three companies  Social Bicycles, Spin and LimeBike  say they want to start stationless sharing in San Francisco. Bluegogo, a Chinese company that started an uproar in January when it tried to launch stationless sharing in San Francisco without a permit or business license, has decided not to enter the market.

In March, the board of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Board of Supervisors passed transportation code amendments that prohibited stationless bike sharing without a permit. The permit application issued last month tries to mirror the Motivate contract, said Jamie Parks, the agencys bike-sharing program manager.

Both the stationless permit and the Motivate contract require bike-safety features, customer service and rebalancing to make sure bikes dont all end up in one place. Both require operators to make at least 20 percent of their bikes available in what the commission calls communities of concern.

The stationless bike-sharing permit requires operators to provide unlimited trips under 30 minutes to low-income customers. Motivate is required to offer them a discounted $60 annual membership, but Motivate is providing it for only $5 the first year.

The big difference is fees. The permit requires stationless operators to pay startup fees ranging from $12,208 to $19,558, annual renewal fees ranging from $9,725 to $17,074, and $2,500 a year to cover potential repairs to public property.

For every two bikes that they put on the street, stationless operators will have to pay the city to acquire and install a bike rack that can accommodate two bikes, at a cost of roughly $90 each.

That seems odd, since the permit allows stationless bikes to be parked in public bike racks or in the furniture zone of sidewalks, the area closest to the curb, where benches, kiosks, trees and utility poles are allowed.

But Parks said the city required the rack fee because we would still prefer that they be parked in racks to make sure they are not blocking pedestrian traffic.

The city waived its station-permit fees for Motivate because the alternative was spending $18 million of public funds to expand the Bay Area Bike Share program, which was started with taxpayer dollars. Ford GoBike is reportedly getting $49 million over seven years from its primary sponsor Ford Motor Co.

San Francisco has allowed scooter-sharing service Scoot Networks and car-sharing services such as Zipcar to operate without a permit from the transportation agency. However, the city recently approved a parking permit that will allow electric-scooter-sharing services to park on streets with residential parking permit restrictions for $325 per year per scooter. The board will consider a parking permit for car-share services such as Zipcar next week.

Bluegogo has decided not to offer bike sharing in San Francisco or any other U.S. city. We did not anticipate the major changes in bikeshare regulations and the red tape processes that differ city by city, Rebecca Kufrin, an executive with public relations firm Skyya Communications, said in an email. Instead, Bluegogo, which also makes bikes, has decided to sell them to other U.S. bike-sharing companies.

Other companies say they are eager to work with the city. We are looking very closely at the recently released San Francisco permit with the expectation that we will successfully be able to complete a permit and operate in the city, said LimeBike vice president Andrew Savage. The San Mateo company has gotten $12 million in venture funding from investors led by Andreessen-Horowitz. It operates stationless systems in Key Biscayne, Fla.; Greensboro, N.C.; and South Bend, Ind. It plans to launch in South Lake Tahoe this week and Seattle next week.

Social Bicycles of Brooklyn, which operates bike sharing in 27 cities, plans to introduce electric bike sharing in San Francisco under the name Jump. It started a demonstration project in the Bayview neighborhood while awaiting the permit application. Although its system is stationless, it requires bikes to be locked into a bike rack.

Its CEO, Ryan Rzepecki, said he expects to have some discussions with the city about the new permit but doesnt see anything that will make it not viable for us.

Spin, based in San Francisco, looks forward to working with the city to develop a path forward that works for everyone, so that all San Franciscans can enjoy the ease, affordability and equity of stationless bikesharing, CEO Derrick Ko said in an email.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Stationless permit requirements

San Francisco has issued a nine-page permit application for companies wanting to operate stationless bike sharing. These are some of the requirements:

Bikes: Should be high-quality, sturdy, with proper safety equipment (brake, light, reflectors); able to withstand outdoor storage and constant use for at least five years, have tamper-resistant security hardware and accommodate a wide range of riders. Must have a mechanism for users to report issues and a 24-hour customer service number. Bikes must be available 24/7/365, on an hourly basis or in smaller intervals.

Fees: Operator must pay the city agency:

A startup fee ranging from $12,208 (less than 500 bikes) to $19,558 (3,500 or more bikes) plus an annual renewal fee ranging from $9,725 to $17,074.

$2,500 a year for 10 years for possible repairs to public property.

For every two bikes in service, a fee to cover the cost of a standard bike rack.

Tracking: Bikes must have an on-board GPS device to provide real-time location data to the city. Operator must provide city with aggregate customer demographics that do not identify individuals.

Targeted communities: Operator must provide an outreach program to promote bike-sharing in low-income communities; maintain a multilingual website; provide unlimited trips under 30 minutes to low-income customers; and make sure at least 20 percent of bike availability is in communities of concern.

Rebalancing: Operator must redistribute bikes to maintain density of at least three bikes per square mile for more than 10 consecutive minutes between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. seven days per week.

Parking: Bikes must be parked in a public bike rack or in the furniture zone of the sidewalk.
Its illegal for a U.S. political campaign to ask a foreign person or government for anything of value  and thats what Donald Trump Jr. appears to have done in agreeing to meet with a Russian government lawyer during his fathers presidential campaign, legal and ethics scholars said Tuesday.

Trump Jr.s newly revealed emails about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York, also attended at his invitation by Jared Kushner, the candidates son-in-law and adviser, and Paul Manafort, his fathers campaign chairman, lay out a serious case ... of solicitation of an illegal foreign contribution, Richard Hasen, a professor of election law at UC Irvine, said in a blog post.

Hasen noted Trump Jrs response when a friend with Russian connections emailed him that a lawyer from the Russian government could provide the campaign with official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary (Clinton) and her dealings with Russia.

If thats what you say I love it especially later in the summer, the candidates son replied.

In that message, Hasen said, Trump Jr. appears to be asking for information of value to the campaign that he knows is from a foreign source. Theres a lot for prosecutors to sink their teeth into. Pretty close to the smoking gun people were looking for, Hasen said.

It might even have been treason, said Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor who was White House ethics counsel under President George W. Bush.

We clearly have a foreign adversary who is acting in a hostile way to the United States, Painter said in an interview. If any Americans sought to collude with Russia to help to accomplish these objectives, that would easily meet the common definition of treason.

Although Trump Jr. was not formally affiliated with the campaign, Kushner and Manafort were, and the candidates son clearly agreed to the meeting on the campaigns behalf, Painter said. When Trump Jr. was offered damaging information about Clinton, Painter said, the only responsible thing to do was to call the FBI, but Trump Jr. instead made it clear that he wanted to collude with the Russians to defeat Hillary Clinton.

President Trump, not surprisingly, had a different assessment. After his son made his email exchanges about the meeting public Tuesday morning, the president tweeted, THERE IS NO COLLUSION!

Later, however, in a statement through spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump said only that my son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency, and did not refer to his meeting with the Russian lawyer.

Trump Jr. has said the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, provided no substantive information about Clinton  only statements that were vague, ambiguous and made no sense, he told the New York Times. He said that Veselnitskayas real purpose to meet was to urge the lifting of U.S. sanctions imposed after the Russian government halted U.S. adoptions of Russian children.

Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press

For her part, Veselnitskaya said in a statement that she had not discussed the presidential campaign during the meeting and was not acting on behalf of the Russian government.

But even if Trumps son and his colleagues learned nothing damaging about Clinton at the meeting, legal analysts said, U.S. law prohibits even attempting to obtain anything of value from a foreign source.

The fact that he went to the meeting after being informed that the Russian lawyer possessed damaging information about Clinton suggests that he tried to obtain something from someone else. ... That fits within the definition of solicitation, said Bertrall Ross, an election law professor at UC Berkeley.

Hasen of UC Irvine said federal law broadly defines campaign contributions of value that are illegal to solicit from a foreign government or person. He cited Federal Elections Commission opinions concluding that polling information, or campaign flyers and door-hangers with little monetary worth, had some value and could not be accepted from a foreign source.

Information that would help the Trump campaign can be considered a thing of value for purposes of the campaign finance law, Hasen said.

Although the candidate himself was not implicated, it was only six weeks later that Donald Trump publicly called for the Russian government to hack into his rivals emails and make them public. White House spokesman Sean Spicer later said Trump was joking when he said that.

But Robert Bauer, a New York University law professor and former White House counsel under President Barack Obama, saw nothing funny about it. Mr. Trump and his campaign were open to whatever help the Russians would provide. They made that clear to the Russians, he said in an online posting.

Trump Jr.s emails may not be the last word on his Russian get-together, said Michael Salerno, a clinical professor of law at UC Hastings in San Francisco. He noted that the downfall of Michael Flynn, Trumps former national security adviser, began when previously undisclosed U.S. government recordings contradicted his public version of his meeting with the Russian ambassador.

I would be astonished if ... recording doesnt exist in these meetings with the Russian lawyer, Salerno said. Theres good surveillance on the Russians.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@egelko
By PTI: Lahore, Jul 12 (PTI) A Pakistani man has shot dead his sister and her daughter after his sibling got married for a fourth time following three divorces, in the latest case of honour killing in the country.

Bushra Bibi, 35, from Lahore, had contracted a fourth marriage with a man of her own choice, which angered her brother, police said.

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Her 16-year-old daughter who was from Bushras first husband, lived with her grandmother. Yesterday, when she came to meet her mother, the accused Mohammad Shahzad along with two unidentified accomplices, stormed into their house and shot them dead, The Express Tribune reported.

According to police, Shahzad was unhappy over her sister fourth marriage and also did not want his niece to visit her stepfather house to meet her mother because he feared she would involve her in prostitution.

Killing of women relatives in the name of honour is a menace still prevalent in many parts of Pakistan.

Last week, a 25-year-old woman was stabbed to death allegedly by her brother for "disgracing the family" by marrying a man of her choice in Punjab province.

A Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report stated that at least 16,498 cases of honour killings have been reported in Pakistan between January 1, 2004 and January 31, 2017. The commission?s data analysis showed that such incidents occurred more frequently in urban areas.

Nearly 1,000 women are killed in Pakistan each year for violating conservative norms on love, marriage and public behaviour. PTI AMS ASK AMS

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Richard Cordray, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, on Monday lobbed a golden apple of discord into the middle of Wall Street. Like the bauble that famously started the Trojan War, the final version of a rule issued by Cordrays agency  which prohibits financial institutions from using arbitration clauses to shield themselves from class-action lawsuits  immediately caused an uproar. How Congress and the Trump administration respond to the bureaus rule will reveal a great deal about where real power lies in this country.

As the use of compelled arbitration has proliferated in recent years, so have concerns about its fairness. Arbitration clauses force consumers who have complaints about a company out of the public courtroom and into private tribunals. The clauses also generally prohibit consumers from banding together to bring their claims.

That means, in almost all cases, that those claims wont be brought at all. As U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner put it, with respect to the small dollar amounts typically at stake in a class action, The realistic alternative to a class action is not 17 million individual suits, as argued by the industry, but zero individual suits, as only a lunatic or a fanatic sues for $30.

The content of the bureaus rule comes as little surprise. The Trump administration has tried to undo prior efforts to limit arbitration, but the bureau is an independent agency, and its director was appointed by President Barack Obama. When Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, it instructed the bureau to examine the use of the clauses in consumer contracts. The bureau completed that study in 2015, finding that very few consumers make use of individual arbitration.

In other words, allowing the continued widespread use of arbitration provisions and class-action bans would make it very unlikely that consumers who are wronged by illegal or deceitful business practices will get any relief. The other reasons that arbitration harms consumers  its secrecy, its lack of accountability, its bias toward the repeat players who fund arbitration firms  also argued strongly against it. And so the bureau issued a rule requiring that financial contracts not contain class-action bans, that any individual arbitrations be subject to procedural safeguards, and that the results of individual arbitrations be reported to the agency.

What is surprising is that the bureau chose to issue the rule at all.

Congress has already acted 14 times under the Congressional Review Act to reverse rules issued by the Obama administration. And the next director of the bureau, scheduled to be named in 2018, will presumably be friendly to arbitration clauses, which are overwhelmingly favored by Wall Street. And the financial lobby is just about the most powerful political force in this country.

So why did Director Cordray do it?

Maybe he believes that the American people know a sharp practice when they see one, and that they wont stand for the undoing of a rule that so obviously protects them.

Maybe he thinks that Congress will ultimately decide that forcing people into the shadows to resolve their disputes undermines the open and public system of justice on which this society was founded.

Maybe he is convinced that any future director will agree that Americans should not be compelled to sign away their constitutional rights every time they want to open a bank account or get a car loan.

Or maybe there is a simpler reason.

Maybe Cordray did it because it was the right thing to do.
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Russian efforts to sway U.S. elections, which go back even further than Soviet spies remarkably unsuccessful active measures against President Ronald Reagans landslide re-election, are to be expected. What is unexpected, and indefensible, is eager cooperation with that interference within an American presidential campaign.

Emails released by President Trumps son Tuesday show nothing less.

Before this week, it was clear that several presidential advisers had for some reason taken steps to conceal Russian contacts and that the president himself tried to hamper an investigation of the matter. Now we have the first public evidence that a Trump confederate was willing to work with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president and former KGB foot soldier, to get to the White House.

The June 2016 emails, released by Donald Trump Jr. after the New York Times obtained them, show an intermediary offering official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary Clinton as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. The younger Trump, a stiffly coiffed fixture of his fathers campaign and business empire, thanks the emissary in a prompt response and notes that if its what you say I love it especially later in the summer  that is, closer to the election, when the Russian dirt would be expected to do more damage.

Less than a week later at Trumps New York headquarters, his son and two other top advisers, son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign manager Paul Manafort, met with Natalia Veselnitskaya, identified in the email exchange as a Russian government lawyer.

In other words, much of a Republican candidates inner circle gathered to welcome Russias assistance in determining the next president of the United States  a strange, dark turn indeed for the party of Reagan.

From Attorney General Jeff Sessions squirrelly Senate testimony to the presidents desperate dismissal of FBI Director James Comey, its been obvious for some time that Trump and company were hiding something.

Now, were learning what they were hiding.
Mitch McConnell is stymied. He cant round up enough votes for a Senate Republican version of Trumpcare.

Some Senate Republicans want to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. Others dont want to cause 22 million Americans to lose their coverage, as the Congressional Budget Office predicts will happen if the Senate version goes into effect.

What should be the Democrats response? Over the coming weeks or months, Democrats must continue to defend the Affordable Care Act. Its not perfect, but its a major step in the right direction. More than 20 million Americans have gained coverage because of it.

But Democrats also need to go further and offer Americans a positive vision of where the nation should be headed over the long term. Thats toward Medicare for all.

Some background: American spending on health care per person is more than twice the average in the worlds 35 advanced economies. Yet Americans are sicker, our lives are shorter, and we have more chronic illnesses than in any other advanced nation.

Thats because medical care is so expensive for the typical American that many put off seeing a doctor until their health has seriously deteriorated.

Why is health care so much cheaper in other nations? Partly because their governments negotiate lower rates with health care providers. In France, the average cost of a magnetic resonance imaging exam is $363. In the United States, its $1,121. There, an appendectomy costs $4,463. Here, its $13,851.

The French can get lower rates because they cover everyone  which gives them lots of bargaining power.

Other nations also dont have to pay the costs of private insurers shelling out billions of dollars a year for advertising and marketing  much of it intended to attract healthier and younger people and avoid the sicker and older.

Nor do other nations have to pay boatloads of money to the shareholders and executives of big for-profit insurance companies.

Finally, they dont have to bear the high administrative costs of private insurers  requiring endless paperwork to keep track of every procedure by every provider.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicares administrative costs are about 2 percent of its operating expenses. Thats less than one-sixth the administrative costs of Americas private insurers.

To make matters worse for Americans, the nations private health insurers are merging like mad to suck in even more money from consumers and taxpayers by reducing competition.

At the same time, their focus on attracting healthy people and avoiding sick people is creating a vicious circle. Insurers that take in sicker and costlier patients lose money, which forces them to raise premiums, co-payments and deductibles. This, in turn, makes it harder for people most in need of health insurance to afford it.

This phenomenon has even plagued health exchanges under the Affordable Care Act.

Medicare for all would avoid all these problems and get lower prices and better care.

It would be financed the same way Medicare and Social Security are financed, through the payroll tax. Wealthy Americans should pay a higher payroll tax rate and contribute more than lower-income people. But everyone would win because total health care costs would be far lower, and outcomes far better.

If Republicans succeed in gutting or subverting the Affordable Care Act, the American public will be presented with a particularly stark choice: expensive health care for the few, or affordable health care for the many.

This political reality is already playing out in Congress, as many Democrats move toward Medicare for all. Most House Democrats are co-sponsoring a Medicare-for-all bill there.

A Gallup poll conducted in May found that a majority of Americans would support such a system. A poll by the Pew Research Center shows that such support is growing, with 60 percent of Americans now saying government should be responsible for ensuring health care coverage for all Americans  up from 51 percent last year.

Democrats would be wise to seize the moment. They shouldnt merely defend the Affordable Care Act. They should also go on the offensive  with Medicare for all.

 2017 Robert Reich

Robert Reich, a former U.S. secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at UC Berkeley. He blogs daily at www.facebook.com/rbreich. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters.
BAE Systems, the ship repair giant that operated the dry docks at Pier 70 for more than a decade before walking away last year, has agreed to pay the Port of San Francisco a $4.9 million settlement, money that will help fund improvements needed to lure a new operator to revive the facility.

The settlement agreement comes less than two months after the ship repair facility shut down amid a legal squabble between BEA and Puglia Engineering, which took over the dry docks from BAE earlier this year.

For a dozen years BAE Systems operated the repair facility, which consists of two dry docks. One, Dry Dock No. 2, is a monumental steel cradle capable of lifting 900-foot cruise ships weighing 60,000 tons. The other, named Eureka, is smaller: At 528 feet long, it can hoist ships weighing 14,500 tons.

But in 2016, with repair revenues declining because of new competition in Portland, Ore., BAE decided Pier 70 no longer fit its business plan. It sold the business to Puglia Engineering, which is based in Washington state. Puglia paid just $1 for the business but took on $38 million in pension liabilities.

But soon after taking over the dry docks, Puglia filed a lawsuit alleging that BAE had misled it into thinking that the two dry docks were well-maintained and could be put to immediate use.

Instead, Puglia said, it discovered the smaller of the two dry docks had deteriorated to an extent that it would cost $9 million to render operational. In addition, Puglias lawsuit claims that an additional $12 million in dredging is needed just to be able to ensure that vessels could get into the dry docks.

While the legal squabble between Puglia and BAE is not yet resolved, the $4.9 million will help pay for some of the most pressing repair work, which will help recover operations at the shipyard quickly, said Elaine Forbes, executive director of the Port of San Francisco.

In addition on Tuesday, the Port Commission authorized staff to issue a request for proposals for a new operator for the facility, which includes two dry docks, 15 acres of land, numerous buildings and port-owned cranes.

The port is hoping to select a long-term operator in October to bring back the 250 jobs lost when the shipyard closed May 28.

We will continue to act quickly, so the local union jobs return to our shipyard and city, said Port Commission President Willie Adams.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
Uber tried to assuage investors concerns Tuesday that a series of scandals are taking a toll on the business. It told them to expect improved bookings, narrower losses and a possible settlement with Alphabet that could resolve one of the San Francisco companys biggest legal hurdles.

On a conference call with investors, Uber executives said gross bookings increased more than 10 percent last quarter from the prior period, while losses continued to shrink, said people familiar with the meeting. Ubers attorney told investors that a lawsuit over self-driving cars from Alphabets Waymo could be settled before a scheduled court date in October, though she said no formal agreement is in the works, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

During the 15-minute call, Uber didnt release full financial results, saying those would be ready in the coming weeks. It was the first presentation to the privately held companys shareholders since the resignation of CEO Travis Kalanick, which was forced by several of Ubers major investors last month.

Were fortunate to have a healthy and growing business, giving us the room to make the changes we know are needed on management and accountability, our culture and organization, and our relationship with drivers, an Uber spokesman wrote in an email. He wouldnt comment on finances or plans for the Waymo suit.

A Waymo spokesman emailed: We believe we have strong evidence to put in front of a jury about Ubers misappropriation of Waymos trade secrets and look forward to trial.

Copyright

Will monkey

be left smiling?

A curious monkey with a toothy grin and a knack for pressing a camera button was back in the spotlight Wednesday as a federal appeals court heard arguments on whether an animal can hold a copyright to selfie photos.

A 45-minute hearing before a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco attracted crowds of law students and curious citizens who often burst into laughter. The judges also chuckled at the novelty of the case, which involves a monkey in another country that is unaware over the fuss.

Andrew Dhuey, attorney for British nature photographer David Slater, said monkey see, monkey sue is not good law.

Naruto is a free-living crested macaque who snapped perfectly framed selfies in 2011 that would make even the Kardashians proud.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sued Slater and San Francisco self-publishing company Blurb, which published a book called Wildlife Personalities that includes the monkey selfies, for copyright infringement. It sought a court order in 2015 allowing it to administer all proceeds from the photos taken in a wildlife reserve in Sulawesi, Indonesia, to benefit the monkey.

Slater says the British copyright for the photos obtained by his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd., should be honored. The judges did not issue a ruling Wednesday.

Venture capital

WeWork gets

more funding

WeWork Cos. raised $760 million in a funding round that places the co-working business among the worlds most valuable technology startups.

The New York company, which rents desk space to freelancers and businesses, is valued at about $20 billion after the investment, said a person familiar with the matter.

With a $300 million SoftBank committed early this year, the total size of the round is about $1 billion, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. The deal was reported this week by Forbes.

Mergers

Spurned Vizio

sues LeEco

Vizio sued LeEco in the wake of the Chinese technology conglomerates failed attempt at a $2 billion acquisition of the U.S. television maker.

Vizio seeks $60 million in damages, claiming LeEco paid only $40 million of a $100 million termination fee and didnt live up to its end of a joint-venture agreement the companies struck after the failed merger.

After the merger fell through in April, the companies agreed to set up a venture to sell Vizios products in China through LeEcos distribution, according to the Irvine companys complaint, filed Tuesday in Santa Ana federal court.

Chronicle News Services
Two civil rights groups and one of the states largest labor unions representing hospital workers have sued the state of California, alleging the state-administered Medi-Cal health insurance program for the poor discriminates against Latinos.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court, argues that the programs low payment rates to doctors and clinicians disproportionately harm Latinos, who make up a large percentage of the programs beneficiaries.

The action was brought by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center and the labor union SEIU-UHW. The organizations filed suit on behalf of four Medi-Cal beneficiaries who say they had to wait months or years to receive health care after many doctors offices told them they did not accept Medi-Cal patients because the program reimburses providers at a much lower rate than Medicare, which covers the elderly, or private insurers.

In effect, California has created a separate and unequal system of health care, one for the insurance program with the largest proportion of Latinos, and one for the other principal insurance plans, whose recipients are disproportionately white, the complaint says.

The lawsuit was brought under a state statute that, similar to the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnicity or other protected categories in programs operated by or funded by the state. It names two California health agencies and their directors: Diana Dooley, California secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency, and Jennifer Kent, director of the California Department of Health Care Services. Health Care Services administers Medi-Cal and is overseen by Health and Human Services.

The Health and Human Services Agency deferred comment to Health Care Services, which said it is reviewing the lawsuit.

DHCS has not identified any systemic problems with patient access to services in the Medi-Cal program, a spokeswoman for the department said Wednesday.

Attorneys for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund in 2015 filed an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with similar claims. On Wednesday, the Department of Health Care Services cited the response letter it sent regarding the previous complaint.

To the extent that you claim that Medi-Cal reimbursement rates discriminate against Latinos, there is no evidence of any such discrimination, the letter said. We are not aware of any evidence that Latino beneficiaries are being treated differently than other beneficiaries under the Medi-Cal program.

California operates the nations largest Medicaid program, with 13.5 million enrollees  about a third of the states population. Patient advocates and providers have long complained that Medi-Cal reimbursement rates  payments that go to doctors to treat Medi-Cal patients  are too low. Planned Parenthood, for example, recently cited low reimbursement rates as one of the reasons it closed three centers in Northern California.

Plaintiff Esther Castaneda, a 56-year old Medi-Cal enrollee who lives in Sacramento, said she suffered for 10 months with intense abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting from gallstones. But her surgery was canceled twice because the surgeons office did not accept Medi-Cal, she said. She eventually got the surgery in Mexico with funds that she and her family members paid for out of pocket.

The suit, which seeks to represent a class of all 13.5 million Californians enrolled in Medi-Cal, is not seeking monetary damages. The objective is to get the state to raise Medi-Cal reimbursement rates and ease administrative hurdles in the program that discourage some doctors from taking on Medi-Cal patients, said attorneys for the plaintiffs.

Bill Lann Lee, senior counsel at the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, said it is the first time that attorneys have brought a state civil rights case in health care under the theory known as disinvestment  that as the population of Medi-Cal beneficiaries evolved from predominantly white to predominantly people of color, the payment rates to providers, which is set by the state, fell.

Between 2000 and 2016, as the number of Latinos on Medi-Cal rose from 2.3 million to 7.2 million, Medi-Cal payment rates dropped 20 percent, the lawsuit says.

Hispanics make up 48 percent of Medi-Cal enrollees, according to the most recent data from the Department of Health Care Services. Whites make up 20 percent, followed by Asians at 13 percent and African Americans at 8 percent.

The same theory was applied in a 1975 federal case in Alabama, Whitfield vs. Oliver, in which two black plaintiffs sued the state, alleging racial disparities in state welfare programs that disproportionately harmed black beneficiaries. The court found that racially based discriminatory intent existed, and ordered the state to eliminate the disparities.

Each state sets its own Medicaid reimbursement rates, and Californias is among the nations lowest. Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for physician fees are 81 percent of the national average, according to data compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Only three states have lower rates.

The rate is so low that its a disincentive for doctors to treat Medi-Cal patients, or to treat only very few, said Lee, who previously served as assistant attorney general in the Justice Departments civil rights division under President Bill Clinton.

Catherine Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Cat__Ho
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A San Jose teenager was arrested at the Mexico border Tuesday in connection with the killing of a Marina woman two blocks south of San Jose State University last week, police said.

More for you 2 arrested in killing of San Jose teen in Santa Clara

Daniel Gebrehiwet Zeratsion, 19, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and will be transported back to San Jose to be booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of homicide.

Police believe Zeratsion shot and killed 20-year-old Myla Thi Dang around 5:07 p.m. on July 3.

After a caller reported loud bangs coming from inside a home in the 600 block of South 10th Street that evening, officers found Dang suffering from at least one gunshot wound. She died at the scene.

Police said last week that they had identified a suspect who knew Dang.

Police are asking anyone with information about the woman's death to call San Jose police Detective Sgt. Mike Montonye or Detective Jason Tanner at (408) 277-5283. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call (408) 947-7867.
Factions within the the RSS and VHP believe that the Jammu and Kashmir government, in which the BJP is a junior alliance partner, should be sacked in the aftermath of the terror attack on a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims.

By Siddhartha Rai: A growing section within the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), including some of its affiliates such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), believes that the BJP's power sharing experiment with the Mehbooba Mufti-led People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the Valley has gone awry.

While this line of thought has persisted for some time, it has become prominent in the wake of the Amarnath Yatra attack on Tuesday. Despite the BJP being in power as a junior alliance partner of the PDP, the VHP on Tuesday pinned the blame for the attack on the "soft" attitude of the state government and called for its immediate sacking. The saffron outfit demanded imposition of President's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir.

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VHP international joint general secretary Surendra Jain told Mail Today that he personally met Mehbooba and conveyed his concerns about the safety of the devotees, something, he claimed, was not paid heed.

"This attack is the result of the soft attitude of the BJP-PDP government. Our experiment to go with the PDP has failed. There is a need to rethink this strategy. Not much can be done in the state given the current tumult. The state government should be sacked immediately and the state be put under President's Rule. Indian army must take charge," Jain said.

Some within RSS too echoed similar sentiments. "The failure of the state government is clear. The attack reflects gross intelligence failure," an RSS functionary told Mail Today.

Many in the RSS believe the state government has not been paying attention to the aspirations of the rightwing's core support base - not mush movement has been achieved with regard to Kashmiri Pandits and their issue of rehabilitation or on the issueof West Pakistani refugees in the state. This, they believe, could lead to an eventual erosion of this base and prove counterproductive for the RSS as well as the BJP in the long run.

Jain also said his request to the state government for handing over the security of the entire yatra route to the Indian army was not heeded.

ALSO READ | Amarnath attack: How the hero bus driver drove through bullets to save many lives

ALSO READ | Amarnath attack: Timeline of terror attacks in the past 24 years

ALSO WATCH | Inside story of Amarnath terror attack: How Lashkar terrorist Ismail plotted strike

--- ENDS ---
LOS ANGELES  An overheated, seriously dehydrated hiker was in distress, and help was on the way until rescuers ran into two men armed with rifles.

The gunmen took radios from the Kern County Search and Rescue volunteers and sent them back where they came from, leaving the ailing hiker stranded for several more thirsty hours Saturday.

A section of the Pacific Crest Trail running from Mexico to Canada was closed as SWAT team members joined deputies to search for the robbers.

The trail reopened late Monday. It wasnt immediately known if the suspects had been found.

Its extremely rare for rescuers to be assaulted, but its not unheard of. Last year, a volunteer rescuer searching for a missing hiker was shot and wounded near the South Yuba River in Nevada County, northeast of Sacramento.

The incident Saturday in the remote Piute Mountains about 85 miles north of Los Angeles, in San Bernardino County, occurred after 55-year-old hiker Charles Brandenburg of Mendocino became dehydrated in scorching heat and activated a rescue device.

Hikers trying to complete the 2,650-mile trail have encountered challenges from an exceptionally wet winter that left a persistent snowpack and has made for arduous plodding and presented several hazards. Several hikers have been injured, and others have reported close calls scaling icy passes and fording raging rivers.

Brandenburg had left the trail for three weeks in June so the snowpack would melt more before he arrived in the rugged High Sierra. The delay meant he was hiking through extreme desert heat in the past week, with diminishing options for water along the way.

I needed water really bad, Brandenburg said. I undercut it. It was a mistake on my part.

After hiking through heat as high as 110 degrees, he became extremely dehydrated and ill Friday.

He awoke at 4 a.m. Saturday to beat the heat, but only had about a cup of water left and was 9 miles short of his next water stop. He only got a few miles before he called for help.

Four volunteers with the Kern County Search and Rescue team set out on foot to take Brandenburg water and became separated, Kern County Search and Rescue Sgt. Zack Bittle said. One pair turned down the wrong trail, where they encountered the robbers who stole their radios.

The rescuers were unharmed, but they were followed by the gunmen as they hiked back toward the Pacific Crest Trail, Bittle said. Eventually, the two gunmen ran off.

While Brandenburg waited for the rescuers, other hikers showed up, gave him water and waited with him.

What he expected would take a couple of hours turned into about a 12-hour ordeal as he learned by text message about the robbery and was told to stay put until a helicopter could airlift him and the others to safety.

Brandenburg said one man hid in the sparse forest while they waited for help. But he and two others werent sure how seriously to take the warning until the helicopter arrived and lowered a SWAT officer in camouflage to the ground.

Then we knew it was real, he said. It was really a trip. It was like a movie.

Brandenburg decided to move to higher ground, hoping to hitch a ride to Kennedy Meadows (Tulare County) in the southern Sierra to resume his trek in cooler weather.

Brian Melley is an Associated Press writer.
Kendrick Lamar is set to tour the country in support of his new album "DAMN." But the rapper has a surprise planned for a few cities along the way: Lamar is launching a one-day pop-up shop at select locations, including San Francisco.

Lamar announced the pop-ups via social media on Monday, and the shops are expected to feature exclusive merchandise from the artist.
A real-life angry bird won't stop attacking pedestrians passing by the Safeway in the Castro.

Within a few minutes of arriving at the grocery store near Church and Market, we saw the small blackbird dive-bomb two unsuspecting people (check out the video above for one example). A KTVU photojournalist said he witnessed at least a half dozen attacks.

While local news outlets started reporting on the random attacks Monday, Castro resident Eric Leroux said the bird has been active for weeks. He says he's been hit three times in recent weeks.

"I was on my way to the gym and I felt something on the back of my neck," Leroux said. "It hit me with his beak and I was like, 'What did I do?'"

Leroux said he now avoids walking down this side of Market, afraid the bird will swoop down on him again.

A spokesperson for San Francisco Animal Care and Control told Hoodline the blackbird is likely protecting its nest.

"Every year, this is a common occurrence all over the city," Officer Edith said. "We recommend using the opposite sidewalk until the babies have fledged, which should be in a couple of weeks."

Our advice? If you're walking down Market in that area, keep your eyes to the sky. In both attacks we witnessed, the victims were walking away from the bird, not towards it.

Don't say we didn't warn you.

Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com.
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Researchers with the California State Long Beach Shark Lab have discovered several hotspots for shark activity off the Southern California coast, areas that they're calling nurseries for young great whites.

Juvenile great white sharks congregate near Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Monica Bay, Huntington Beach and Dana Point in the summer months, before their annual migration south for the winter, according to the Ventura County Star.

Chris Lowe, a professor of marine biology at CSU Long Beach and director of the school's shark lab, started tagging juvenile sharks about 10 years ago and found that many of them would return back to the same handful of hot spots year after year. These areas may be safer for the young great whites, as they are sheltered from predators and have an abundance of easy prey.

WATCH: Close look at great white shark near Dana Point, Calif.

"The sharks that we tag tend to hang out mainly at those hot spot areas during their first few summers," he told the Star.

When the sharks return to Southern California, they don't always go back to the same hotspot, the newspaper reports. Lowe and his team are continuing their research and working to find out why the juvenile sharks return to the areas they do.

Shark sightings  and attacks  have been on the rise in recent months. The city of Santa Cruz instituted a four-day ban on entering a three-mile stretch of water Tuesday after a great white shark attacked a kayaker.

Lowe told SFGATE in May that the rise in shark sightings can be attributed in part to increased environmental protections. Populations of other marine animals, like otters and sea lions, have been thriving, which has given sharks more prey to feed on. That could in turn be contributing to a growth in the shark population.

For those worried about shark attacks, Lowe reminds people that the ocean is sharks' natural home.

"We have unfettered access to the ocean," he said. "Humans have forgotten how to share habitats with wild animals, and they have to be re-educated."
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NASA's spacecraft Juno flew over Jupiter's Great Red Spot on Monday and has sent back its first raw images of the Jovian's massive storm.

The agency said of the flyby on Tuesday:

"For generations people from all over the world and all walks of life have marveled over the Great Red Spot," said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "Now we are finally going to see what this storm looks like up close and personal." The Great Red Spot is a 10,000-mile-wide (16,000-kilometer-wide) storm that has been monitored since 1830 and has possibly existed for more than 350 years. In modern times, the Great Red Spot has appeared to be shrinking.

Here's what NASA officials had to say on Wednesday about the momentous flyby:

"For hundreds of years scientists have been observing, wondering and theorizing about Jupiter's Great Red Spot," said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "Now we have the best pictures ever of this iconic storm. It will take us some time to analyze all the data from not only JunoCam, but Juno's eight science instruments, to shed some new light on the past, present and future of the Great Red Spot." Early science results from NASA's Juno mission portray the largest planet in our solar system as a turbulent world, with an intriguingly complex interior structure, energetic polar aurora, and huge polar cyclones. "These highly-anticipated images of Jupiter's Great Red Spot are the 'perfect storm' of art and science. With data from Voyager, Galileo, New Horizons, Hubble and now Juno, we have a better understanding of the composition and evolution of this iconic feature," said Jim Green, NASA's director of planetary science. "We are pleased to share the beauty and excitement of space science with everyone."

Also, check out some of the images as processed by citizens participating in NASA's outreach project "JunoCam."

Jake Ellison can be reached at jakeellisonjournalism@gmail.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/Jake_News. Also, swing by and *LIKE* his page on Facebook. If Google Plus is your thing, check out our science coverage here.
By Shivani Chhabra: Priyanka Chopra is one celebrity who always excels at everything she does, be it her phenomenal music stints or international projects, she has been slayin' it all. The Baywatch beauty also has a knack for owning every look she pulls off, and setting fashion standards that only she can surpass.

From her glam-leather attire to the lovely maxi-dress spree, Priyanka exuded the kind of style that made heads turn everywhere she went.

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Also Read: Priyanka Chopra has proven she can pull off a leather dress like no one else

PeeCee is now shooting for her upcoming film, Isn't It Romantic, in New York, and setting the city on fire with her hotness. The former Miss World was recently spotted looking gorgeous in a bright, coral-pink dress for the shoot, and we are really looking forward to more stunning looks from the film.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/priyankachopra_.queen

Also Read: Priyanka Chopra's all-black attire might be too much for your heart to handle

The wrap dress beautifully accentuated PeeCee's curves, and looked like the perfect summer-evening dress just about any girl on the planet would want to steal from her.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/priyankachopra_.queen Picture courtesy: Instagram/priyankachopra_.queen

Apart from the brilliant colour, we also fell in love with how the plunging neckline showed just the right amount of cleavage, lending the look an air of sensuality. Add to that, cut-out shoulders that complimented the bodice of the flowy dress really well. In a nutshell, we're crushing majorly on Priyanka's dreamy dress.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/priyankachopra_.queen

Also Read: Priyanka Chopra's net dress has all the drama we wanted today

Picture courtesy: Instagram/priyankachopraa

Piggy Chops picked a classic pair of cream-coloured open-toe stilettos, and completed her look with a chic, peach coloured bag. You know that feeling when someone looks just too ethereal, and there's nothing much to say about their look, so you just sit and stare? That's exactly how we feel about Priyanka Chopra's look.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/filmfare

She wore absolutely no accessories, because the outfit was just perfect in itself. She finished her look by leaving her wavy hair untied, and wore minimal makeup with only a pop of plum on her lips.

We're heart-eyed over you, Priyanka.

Also Read: Priyanka Chopra's outfit is proof that she refuses to compromise on her comfort

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Kino Lorber Films

Theres nothing like a long-lost pet to stir memories of childhood. We all remember our first dog, or cat (or whatever). In Pop Aye, a disillusioned architect is paralyzed by a midlife crisis when a blast from the past jolts him into action: His long-lost pet elephant.

Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh) is being supplanted by younger colleagues in his Bangkok architectural firm, and he is trapped in a marriage that has long since lost its pop. Suddenly, he turns a corner and sees an elephant  and not just any pachyderm. It is Popeye, the elephant he grew up with in his small, remote Thai village.
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The New Parkway Theater in Oakland is celebrating the movie musical, but you wont see Singin in the Rain or West Side Story on these screens.

Instead, this is a 20-plus-film full embrace of the modern movie musical, from Grease to Josie and the Pussycats to 8 Mile and Beyonces Lemonade.

The series begins Friday, July 14, with Jim Hensons 1986 musical fantasy starring David Bowie, Labyrinth (4 p.m.), and last years swing dance documentary Alive and Kicking (4:40 p.m.). It also includes Oakland hip-hop doc A Lovely Day (6:20 p.m.), the Amy Winehouse profile Amy (6:45 p.m.) and Jennifer Lopez as Selena (9:30 p.m.).

The week closes Thursday, July 20, with a day that begins at 4 p.m. with Dreamgirls (2006) and is capped by a sing-along with R. Kellys Trapped in the Closet (9:30 p.m.).

Although the series occupies two of the New Parkways screens, meaning more than one musical is playing at any given showtime, most of the offerings are shown more than once. So if youre bound and determined to see Purple Rain (10 p.m. Saturday, July 15) but rue missing Hustle and Flow (9:20 p.m. Saturday, July 15), dont fret; Craig Brewers 2005 indie hit plays again at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 18.

Other highlights include classic concert films The Last Waltz (6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 16) and Stop Making Sense (9:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 19); pop culture guilty pleasures Spice World (7:05 p.m. Saturday, July 15; 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 17) and Josie and the Pussycats (2:05 p.m. Sunday, July 16; 6:30 p.m Tuesday, July 18); and, just for kicks, Repo! The Genetic Opera (7 p.m. Monday, July 17; 9:20 p.m. Tuesday, July 18).

The New Parkway Theater, 474 24th St., Oakland. (510) 658-7900. www.thenewparkway.com

Warner Bros. Festival: Want to go old-school with your movie musicals? The opening weekend of the Stanford Theatres roundup of classic Warner Bros. movies should be your destination, with the groundbreaking 1933 Busby Berkeley pre-code musicals, Gold Diggers of 1933 and 42nd Street (Thursday-Sunday, July 13-16).

The 34-film series, which runs through Oct. 2, isnt genre specific. The pre-code films get rougher with I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang and The Hatchet Man, both from 1932, on Tuesday-Wednesday, July 18-19.

Other highlights: The newspaper classic Five Star Final with girl-powered Three on a Match (Aug. 8-9); Two double features pitting Feud adversaries Bette Davis against Joan Crawford (The Letter and Mildred Pierce, Aug. 19-21; Humoresque and Dark Victory, Aug. 31-Sept. 1); Bogart, of course (Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, Sept. 2-4; The Big Sleep and To Have and Have Not, Sept. 9-11) and my wild card  a film no one thinks is great except me, The Fountainhead (on a double feature with East of Eden, Sept. 21-22).

G. Allen Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BRfilmsAllen
The Nazis were coming. It was November 1942, and Virginia Hall, a spy based in Lyon, France, knew she had to flee.

She was famous, after all  a Maryland-born operative with a wooden leg and a sobriquet, The Limping Lady  who was considered one of the most effective Allied spies leading the French resistance. She organized agent networks, assisted escaped POWs, and recruited French men and women to run safe houses, according to an account of her career on the CIAs website.

But she was being stalked by a pursuer of equal repute: Gestapo chief, Nikolaus Klaus Barbie, who went by his own moniker, The Butcher of Lyon. The Nazis believed Hall was Canadian, and Barbie once reportedly told his underlings, Id give anything to lay my hands on that Canadian bitch.

Hall was then a special agent with the British Special Operations Executive. She decided she had to escape France by crossing the border into Spain. But how could she trek into the mountains that separated the two countries with a wooden left leg?

Shed lost her real one after a hunting accident years earlier, and had learned to walk with a 7-pound prosthetic limb she nicknamed Cuthbert. She linked up with other resistance members, and with the help of a guide, vanished into the Pyrenees. She carried a rucksack and hiked up the snow by dragging her prosthetic leg and using her good right leg as a snowplow, according to Judith Pearsons 2005 biography of Hall, The Wolves at the Door.

Eventually, Hall made it to Spain. Although she was jailed for not having a passport with the right stamps, she was let go after 20 days.

Hall was determined to return to France, despite her most-wanted status among the Nazis. The British refused, but the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, agreed to send her back on its behalf to help the Allies prepare for D-Day.

After World War II, Hall continued to work for the CIA until her retirement at the age of 60 in 1966.

Hall might be one of historys most audacious, yet little-known spies.

After the Baltimore native died on July 8, 1982, at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville, Md., newspapers consigned her obituaries to the back pages.

But recently, the CIA named a training facility after her as the Virginia Hall Expeditionary Center.

And earlier this year, the Hollywood press reported that Paramount Pictures might make a movie about Hall.

Ian Shapira is a Washington Post writer.
On Sunday, Ric Gillespie settled into his living room in central Pennsylvania and flipped on a new History Channel documentary about Amelia Earhart, one that promised shocking new evidence that proved what had happened to the famed aviator.

Hundreds of miles away, in Florida, Mike Campbell did the same. Both were armed with a notepad and a healthy amount of skepticism, albeit for different reasons.

For most people, what became of Earhart during her doomed 1937 trip to circumnavigate the globe is a passing, sepia-toned concern, a historic relic occasionally brought up in articles like this one.

Gillespie and Campbell, however, belong to small, competing fraternities of people who have dedicated decades to solving the mystery of Earharts disappearance.

If theres one thing the men share, its their adamant refusal to believe that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 1937. The U.S. government accepts this theory and declared Earhart and Noonan dead following a fruitless, months-long search.

The History Channel documentary sparked the latest conflagration. In previews and media accounts the week before the documentary aired, producers had teased the program with a black-and-white photograph that supposedly showed Earhart and her navigator in the Marshall Islands after their disappearance  lending credence to the theory that Earhart had survived her final flight and been taken into Japanese custody, according to History Channel representatives.

However, after the program aired, a Japanese military history blogger matched the photo in question to one first published in a 1935 Japanese travelogue. It couldnt have depicted Earhart and Noonan, he said, because it had been published at least two years before the pair set off on their trip around the world.

Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Amy B. Wang are Washington Post writers.
WASHINGTON  The Human Rights Campaign, one of the nations leading gay rights groups, is launching a $26 million political organizing effort ahead of next years midterm elections.

While the effort is nationwide, the group is focusing its resources in particular on several key states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada. All six states are expected to have competitive Senate races next fall, and each is a presidential battleground.

HRC President Chad Griffin said the effort, which will include hiring at least 20 additional political staffers, aims to go beyond resistance  drawing from the phrase used by opponents of President Trumps administration. He said the group will focus on fighting legislation curbing gay rights and backing pro-equality candidates and initiatives.

Resistance is really important  all of the marches and the rallies, thats all important, Griffin said. But its also important to not only sustain that, but to take that to the next level.

HRCs announcement comes as Democrats and liberal organizations grapple with how to rebound from devastating defeats across the country in November. Despite Trumps sluggish approval ratings, Democrats have failed to pull out victories in several special elections this year, and the party faces a difficult electoral map in 2018, with many competitive Senate races in Republican-leaning states.

Griffin said the Human Rights Campaign is drawing in part on its efforts last year in North Carolina, where Democrat Roy Cooper defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who signed the controversial bathroom bill law. The measure required transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates in many public buildings, but was rolled back as part of a compromise plan signed by Cooper after he took office.

HRC spent more than $3 million in North Carolina ahead of last years election.

The Human Rights Campaign has been around since 1980. But Griffin said until now, the group had the resources to drop into a political battle only for a couple of months.

Since Trump got elected, donations to the group are flooding in (most donations are under $10), LGBT people are stepping out alongside other progressive groups to protest and, for the first time, there will be a dedicated effort to keep this community politically activated.

The Washington Post contributed to this report.

Julie Pace is an Associated Press writer.
AL DRAGO/NYT

WASHINGTON  The scope of congressional investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential contest came into sharper focus on Wednesday as lawmakers said they intended to question the former chairman of the Trump campaign and to determine whether Russian social media trolls were connected to Trumps election efforts.

The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to question former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and will subpoena him if necessary, according to the panels Republican chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. He said he and the committees top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein of California, have agreed to try to bring Manafort before the panel for questioning about the governments enforcement of a law requiring registration of foreign lobbyists. Feinsteins office confirmed that they plan to question him.
1 No new headquarters: The government is scrapping a decade-long plan to shutter the FBIs deteriorating downtown Washington headquarters and look for a new building in Maryland or Virginia, the General Services Administration announced Tuesday. The agency said does not have enough money to move forward with the plans. The Obama administration had sought $1.4 billion for the project, but Congress left it underfunded by about $882 million. The hulking J. Edgar Hoover Building overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue has long been the government building everyone loves to hate. The FBI has complained that the concrete building is obsolete, inefficient and no longer meets the needs of an organization that has grown dramatically in the last 40 years.

2 Twitter lawsuit: First Amendment advocates are suing President Trump, saying some of his critics have been unconstitutionally blocked from following him on Twitter. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. The lawsuit says Twitter has become an important public forum for the president and he frequently makes public announcements on his @realdonaldtrump account. The lawsuit asked a judge to stop Trump and his media team from blocking critics from following his personal account.
Rahul Gandhi said Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir which is a grave strategic blow for India.

By India Today Web Desk: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today singled out Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies and the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) alliance with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party (PDP) for the increase in terror attacks in the Kashmir Valley including the Amarnath Yatra terror attack.

In a series of tweets, the Gandhi scion said Modi's policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir which is a "grave strategic blow" to India.

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Rahul Gandhi said a "short-term political gain for PM Modi from PDP alliance" has cost India "massively". Modi's personal gain means India's strategic loss and sacrifice of innocent Indian blood, Gandhi said.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims were gunned down by militants in Kashmir's Anantnag on Monday night. The attack is the worst since 2000.

Modis policies have created space for terrorists in Kashmir. Grave strategic blow for India#AmarnathTerrorAttack; Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

Short term political gain for Modi from PDP alliance has cost India massively; Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

Modis personal gain= India's strategic loss + sacrifice of innocent Indian blood; Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 12, 2017

After the Amarnath Yatra attack, Rahul Gandhi had said it was a grave and unacceptable security lapse. The PM needs to accept responsibility and never allow it to happen again, he had said.

Opposition parties had also asked the government to introspect on its failure to prevent the "cowardly and ghastly" terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims despite reports of advance intelligence inputs.

"The government needs to introspect as to why, despite advanced intelligence inputs, was there a failure to prevent this attack?" a resolution passed by 18 opposition parties yesterday said.

The BJP, however, asked Gandhi to "rise to the occasion" and not do politics over the Amarnath terror strike after he attacked the PM.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had yesterday told India Today that if Mufti's regime becomes untenable then there may not be another option besides President's Rule.

He had also blamed the alliance between BJP and PDP for the deterioration of the law and order, security environment of Jammu and Kashmir.

Also read:

Amarnath Yatra terror attack: Army chief tells jawans to keep up pressure on terrorists

Massive hunt on in Kashmir to nab Amarnath terror attack mastermind Abu Ismail

Was Amarnath pilgrim bus original target of Anantnag attack? Cops wade through maze of clues

Also watch:

Amarnath terror attack fails to scare pilgrims, yatra continues unabated

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Nagaur district has been tense since June 24 when gangster Anandpal Singh, on the run since September 2015, was gunned down by the police in Malasar village in Churu.

By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: Rajput protesters demanding a CBI enquiry into the encounter of gangster Anandpal Singh resorted to widespread violence today in Rajasthan's Nagaur district.

The protestors resorted to torching vehicles and beating police personnel. About police personnel and 3 civilians have been injured in the clashes so far.

Internet services have been shut down and Section 144 has been imposed in the district as a precautionary measure. Situation continues to be volatile and tense in Nagaur.

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Superintendent of Police (SP) Paris Deshmukh is among the injured in the violence at Nagaur district's Sanvrad village. The SP's vehicle was torched.

Nagaur district has been tense since June 24 when gangster Anandpal Singh, on the run since September 2015, was gunned down by the police in Malasar village in Churu.

The gangster's family, backed by the Rajput community, is yet to cremate the body. They are demanding a CBI inquiry into the encounter and permission for Anandpal Singh's brothers, who are in judicial custody, to attend the funeral.

The SP of Nagaur said the body was kept in a deep freezer at his house where elaborate security arrangement was made.

Police were allowing people to enter the village only after verifying their identity.

The Rajasthan government has offered a SIT probe but Anandpal's family is sticking to its demands. The Rajput community is organising a 'shrandhanjali' rally in the slain gangster's native village Sanvrad today.

(Related inputs from PTI)

Also read:

Rajasthan: Muslim man killed by cow vigilantes in Alwar, attack caught on cam

Reliance Jio user data leak suspect detained in Rajasthan

Watch:

Rajasthan: Protests by Rajputs turn violent in Nagaur, heavy security deployed

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Rajasthan becomes the first state in the country to fix minimum educational qualification for contesting cooperative body polls.

By India Today Web Desk: In a move that is a first for the country, Rajasthan has fixed minimum educational qualification for candidates interested in contesting elections for elections to village cooperative societies and various other cooperative bodies.

To this effect, the Rajasthan Government amended the State Cooperative State Cooperative Societies Rules, 2003. The new rules will benefit around 10,000 cooperative and agricultural credit societies. In the long run the societies will reap the benefits as their management would be in expert hands.

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The notification regarding the amendment was released on July 10.

Listed below are the important features

For contesting election as members of governing boards of dairy societies, farming societies, consumer societies, weavers' societies, urban banks, housing construction societies, primary land development banks, credit societies and cooperative unions, the minimum educational qualifications will range from class 5 to class 8

The primary committee members need to have passed at least class 8. For district level members the minimum qualification required is class 10, while those interested in being a member of State level committee will need to be graduate

The elections to various posts in the societies after a certain level would be conducted through the State Cooperative Election Authority

Rajasthan is also set to be the first state in India to establish Recruitment Board by the Cooperative Committees. The Board will be responsible for recruiting personnel for the cooperative committees.

Interested in General Knowledge and Current Affairs? Click here to stay informed and know what is happening around the world with our G.K. and Current Affairs section.

To get more updates on Current Affairs, send in your query by mail to education.intoday@gmail.com

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SACRAMENTO  Police departments in California would be forced to release body-camera footage in use-of-force incidents and other cases of public concern under a bill by Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, that passed a legislative committee Tuesday.

The bill would no longer allow police to use the blanket explanation for not releasing recordings, claiming they are investigative records exempt from disclosure under Californias Public Records Act. Instead, AB748 would require an agency to disclose the recordings within four months if police claim its part of an investigation.

Law enforcement groups argue that the bill would push departments into releasing all footage, putting the publics privacy and investigations at risk. The bill allows for agencies to withhold recordings if they clearly demonstrate that the public interest in not releasing the video or audio outweighs the public interest in disclosing it. Law enforcement agencies would be required to outline their reasons for making such a decision.

This bill strikes a compromise between the publics right to know but also law enforcements need to do their job, Ting said at a hearing Tuesday in the state Senate Public Safety Committee, where the bill passed on a 5-2 vote.

Ting said currently the public has limited access to body-camera footage and that practices between agencies vary. Many agencies, Ting said, dont have a policy at all on when to disclose the footage.

Similar bills on when to disclose body-camera footage have stalled in the Legislature, even as the use of the technology increases.

Tings bill initially required law-enforcement agencies to adopt their own policies on the release of body-camera recordings, but last week he amended the legislation to create a statewide policy that pushes for disclosure, prompting backlash from law enforcement groups.

Due to the late changes to the bill, it would have to pass the state Senate and return to the Assembly for another vote before lawmakers wrap up session on Sept. 15.

Randy Perry, a lobbyist for Peace Officers Research Association of California and the California Association of Highway Patrolmen, said the bill would limit law enforcements ability to consider the privacy of individuals recorded and sets deadlines for release that may not prove workable. He said law-enforcement agencies supported the first version of the bill that allowed local agencies to adopt their own policies.

We feel very strongly that the discretion needs to lie with the agency that has the footage, said Cory Salzillo, legislative director for the California State Sheriffs Association. There are any number of possible permutations that could exist on why the video should be released, why it shouldnt be released, and this one-size-fits-all policy throws that out the window and says it is always going to be released.

The bill is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that police body cameras are an effective tool in increasing transparency and accountability, but only if recordings are released to the public. Otherwise, Lizzie Buchen, legislative advocate with the ACLU, said the withholding of recordings adds to public mistrust.

We know that while law enforcement does not seem to have a problem releasing videos that cast them in a positive or heroic light, they do regularly refuse to release videos of the greatest public interest claiming an exemption in the (Public Records Act) for ongoing investigations, Buchen said.

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez
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Aras Agalarov, the real estate magnate known as the "Donald Trump of Russia," is selling his estate in Alpine, NJ, for a shade under $7 million.

If the name rings a bell, it's because Agalarov has been in the news lately in connection to recently disclosed details of a meeting between a Russian lawyer and Donald Trump Jr. months before the U.S. presidential election.

The story has many twists and turns, and at least one path seems to lead to this home for sale in New Jersey.

Agalarov's son, a pop star who goes by the name of Emin, worked with his publicist, Rob Goldstone, to help put the plan in place for the meeting between the then-candidate's son and the well-connected Russian lawyer, according to the New York Times.

News reports have also traced the Agalarov family's ties to President Donald Trump, who appeared in one of Emin's music videos. And the father and son licensed Trump's Miss Universe beauty pageant to bring the event to Moscow in 2013.

In Alpine, the younger Agalarov attended Tenafly High School in his junior and senior years. According to NJ.com, the elder Agalarov was living in Manhattan at the time but wanted a "suburban setting" for his son.

Property records show Aras and Irina Agalarova purchased the home in 2006 for $8 million. The family is now ready to sell the opulent manse at a loss.

But their loss will be a buyer's gain. The home offers luxe amenities in suburban nirvana, and it's located close to New York City.

The French-style manor has seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and two half-baths. The entryway features a double staircase and a "spectacular" great room with windows that look out to the landscaped yard and a fountain.

The first floor features a family room and kitchen that leads to a patio, a formal dining room, a bedroom, a library, a wet bar, and a built-in aquarium, according to the listing. Two master suites dominate the second floor. The finished basement includes a recreation room, gym with sauna, wine cellar, and guest bedroom. There's also an outdoor pool.

The home is being offered fully furnished, minus the artwork. To move in, all you'll need is a large checkbook and your regular-sized toothbrush. In short, a home fit for a Russian oligarch could be your home, sweet home.

This article "Russian Oligarch With Ties to Trump Meeting Is Selling New Jersey Mansion" appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice from realtor.com
By Press Trust of India: The Saibaba temple received donations worth Rs 5.52 crore during the recent three-day 'Guru Poornima' festival, an increase of Rs 1.40 crore as compared to last year, an official has said.

The devotees, from the country as well as abroad, donated Rs 2.94 crore cash in the donation boxes kept in the temple premises between July 7 and 10, Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rubal Agrawal said yesterday.

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Besides, the donation counters in the temple received Rs 1.40 crore cash for which receipt were issued.

In addition to this, the temple also received Rs 52.48 lakh through online donations, debit cards, cheques and demand drafts, the CEO said.

During the three-day festival which concluded on Monday, the devotees also donated 2.233 grams of gold items and eight kgs of silver ornaments, worth Rs 61.4 lakh.

Also, the devotees from places like Malaysia, USA, London, Japan, Dubai and Australia donated foreign currency worth Rs 9.30 lakh.

Agrawal said the total donation worth Rs 5.52 crore this year was nearly Rs 1.40 crore more than that received during the festival in 2016.

Over three lakh devotees from different parts of the country and abroad visited the Saibaba temple during the Guru Poornima festival, he said.

ALSO READ:

You need to see how heavenly PV Sindhu looked for a visit to the temple

ALSO WATCH:

Ram Mandir rumble: VHP speeds up construction work of temple in Ayodhya

--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: Get set for some nostalgia this year with Salman Khan making an appearance in David Dhawan's Judwaa 2. Exactly 20 years ago, the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor entertained his fans with his dual avatar in Judwaa, and now the 51-year-old actor will bring Prem and Raja back on screen with Judwaa 2.

And his fans cannot wait to see the actor in David Dhawan's directorial venture, even if it's for a few minutes. Salman agreed to do a cameo in Judwaa 2, and it was only recently that he shot for his part. And if Varun Dhawan, who now plays the lead in Judwaa 2 is to be believed, the film only got bigger with Salman's special appearance.

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The 30-year-old actor posted a picture with Salman on the film sets and wrote, "#Judwaa2 just got bigger. The man @BeingSalmanKhan is in it now."

If reports are to be believed, Salman will appear as both, Raja and Prem, his twin characters from the film who have aged by 20 years. And his dual avatar will come face-to-face with Varun's double role.

Salman Khan in Aanand L Rai's next with SRK

If Bhai fans can't keep calm thinking about Salman's cameo in Judwaa 2, they are also eagerly awaiting Shah Rukh Khan's next with Aanand L Rai where the Wanted actor will be seen in a special song.

Bollywood's very own Karan-Arjun are busy bromancing, and giving their fans some major friendship goals. If Shah Rukh Khan agreed to do a cameo in Salman Khan-starrer Tubelight, the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor decided to return the favour by shaking a leg in one of the dance numbers for Aanand L Rai's next with SRK. The two actors recently shot for the song, and their fans are eager to see them share screen once again.

Suniel Shetty in A Gentleman

The trailer of Sidharth Malhotra and Jacqueline Fernandez's A Gentleman came out recently, and apart from the lead actors' sizzling chemistry, the only thing that will catch your eye is Suniel Shetty. The actor is back and how! He is 55 and hot, and redefines age with his new avatar in the film. He will be seen in an extended cameo in A Gentleman, we cannot wait to see him.

ALSO READ: Shah Rukh Khan gifts Salman Khan a luxury car. Friendship goals, anyone?

ALSO READ: Salman Khan to be seen in a double role in Judwaa 2?

ALSO WATCH | Salman bonds with SRK, becomes face of BMC's anti open-defecation drive

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"The issue of gau rakshaks is raging today. Why don't you send these vigilantes to fight terrorists?" Thackeray asked while addressing representatives of various Ganesh mandals for the upcoming festival.

By PTI: Taking a dig at BJP over the recent terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray the senior ally of his party to send 'gau rakshaks' to fight terrorists in the Valley.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district. While five of the deceased hailed from Gujarat, two were from Maharashtra.

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Also read: Post Amarnath Yatra terror attack, Sangh wants Valley under president's rule

"The issue of gau rakshaks is raging today. Why don't you send these vigilantes to fight terrorists?" Thackeray asked while addressing representatives of various Ganesh mandals for the upcoming festival.

"They (the BJP) used to say that do not bring sports, culture etc. in political issues. Today, religion and politics came together in the form of the terror attack. Should we understand that none of those terrorists would have been alive today if they had cow meat in their bags and not weapons?", Uddhav Thackeray said.

Also read: 7 Amarnath pilgrims dead, several injured in terror attack in Anantnag

During his meeting with the representatives of Ganesh mandals, he also said "If the BJP government can talk to separatists in the Kashmir Valley to resolve their issues, they can certainly talk with those wishing to celebrate the Ganesh festival amidst fanfare".

Uddhav Thackeray has also requested the Fadnavis government to bring in an ordinance against Bombay High Court restrictions on noise level during festivals.

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Misha looks adorable as she lands in New York with Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput for IIFA 2017.

By India Today Web Desk: If her father is a popular actor, Misha too has a fan following. The 10-month-old toddler has already become a hit with the netizens. If her cute videos on Instagram melt many hearts, her pictures with Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput go viral. And one such picture which is doing the rounds on the internet is of the trio in New York.

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It was on Monday night that Shahid and Mira along with Misha left for New York to attend IIFA 2017. And the official handle of IIFA shared pictures of Mira and Shahid arriving in New York. But what caught the fancy of many was their daughter Misha who looked adorable in the pictures.

Clad in a pink shirt and floral pyjamas, Misha looked cute AF as she cling on to her dad. This will be Misha's debut at the IIFA.

*Cuteness Overload Alert* The Kapoor family arrives in New York City for #IIFA2017. Let the celebrations begin. @shahidkapoor pic.twitter.com/KqQW9jlhJl- IIFA Awards (@IIFA) July 11, 2017

If reports are to be believed, Shahid will be performing at the awards night.

IIFA will kickstart on July 14 and the celebrations will continue till July 16.

ALSO READ: Shahid Kapoor-Mira Rajput head to New York with daughter Misha

ALSO READ: These photos of Shahid-Mira with daughter Misha is the best thing you'll see today

ALSO WATCH: Misha's smelly diapers come to me, says Shahid Kapoor

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By PTI: (Eds: With additional inputs)

Kaziranga, Jul 12 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today visited the flood affected Kaziranga National Park in upper Assam and ordered setting up of a coordination committee for wild life protection.

Undertaking an extensive visit within 20 km radius of rhino habitat Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in its Bagori Range, Sonowal assessed the impact of the current wave of floods on the World Heritage Site and its flora and fauna.

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The chief minister directed to form a coordination committee involving Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents Police and Divisional Forest Officers of five districts with a mandate to maintain close vigil on the movement of animals and their probable threats from poachers during the floods.

Taking stock of the prevailing flood situation and its resultant damage in KNP, Sonowal took a boat ride to oversee the extent of damage in Bagori Range, and said the Coordination Committee involving functionaries of five districts of Nagaon, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong, Sonitpur and Biswanath will report to the Forest minister on a day to day basis on the flood situation and protection measures being adopted for the animals.

Sonowal asked the DCs and SPs of Nagaon, Golaghat and Karbi Anglong to take stringent action against possible attempt of poaching.

He also asked the Environment and Forest Department to provide fodder and medical attention to the animals taking shelter on high lands.

While visiting the flood affected areas of Kaziranga, the chief minister interacted with the forest guards on duty.

Later on holding a meeting at Bagori, Sonowal asked the civil and police administration to be innovative and find ways and means to provide protection to animals in Kaziranga and asked the forest guards to be on high alert to thwart any poaching attempts.

He also asked the Veterinary and Forest department to fortify the highlands and plant saplings on them.

During the meeting, Sonowal directed Health and Public Health Engineering departments of the districts concerned to spray DDT at the flood affected areas and provide halogen tablets to the affected people. He also asked power company APDCL to check electric wires and transformers to prevent accidents.

Directing the DCs to reach out to the affected people on a daily basis and allot land to those affected by erosion, Sonowal said steps have already been taken to repair minor breaches on embankments.

Regarding NEEPCOs release of water from its power dam, which has caused flooding in several areas, the chief minister said the state government has taken up the matter with the North East Electric Power Corporation and impressed upon it not to repeat it further.

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Earlier, Sonowal visited two flood relief camps at Hatikhuli at Kohora in KNP and interacted with the inmates there.

Environment and Forest minister Pramila Rani Brahma, Water Resources minister Kesab Mahanta and Agriculture minister Atul Bora accompanied Sonowal during his visit. PTI ESB DKB

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By PTI: Kohima, Jul 12 (PTI) After Governor P B Acharya asked Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu to seek the vote of confidence in the Assembly on or before July 15, the Speaker has proposed to the CM to convene the House either on July 14 or 15.

Nagaland Assembly Speaker, Imtiwapang in a letter to the Chief Minister yesterday, proposed convening of the emergent session of the House either on July 14 or 15 while asking the former to seek the approval of the Governor.

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The Governor had yesterday asked the CM to seek the vote of confidence in the Assembly after former chief minister T R Zeliang staked claim to form a new government.

However, Liezietsu in a letter to the Speaker said that the Council of Ministers headed by him as Chief Minister has not advised the Governor to summon the Assembly.

He also pointed the decision in 2016 Arunachal case, where "the Supreme Court had clearly laid down that the Governor has no authority on his own to summon, prorogue or dissolve the Legislative Assembly.

"He (Governor) can only do so on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister," Liezietsu said, adding that since the Council of Ministers has not advised the Governor to summon the Assembly session, the question of summoning the Assembly on or before July 15 does not arise.

In response to the CM?s letter, the Speaker today reminded him that sessions are summoned by the Governor as per the Constitutional provisions and the advice of the Governor is a suggestion to him to fix a date for the session for the floor test as there have been claim by MLA T R Zeliang that your ministry has been reduced to minority.

Imtiwapang also requested the CM to take a call in the matter in consultation with the Governor without involving the office of the Speaker, which needs to be kept above partisan ends.

Zeliang had yesterday claimed the support of 44 MLAs.

"The numerical strength of my supporting MLAs has swelled to 44, including 37 NPF and 7 Independents. In a democracy, I would like to abide by the number game and not catapult to cunning and trapping games of compromising the unity of the party," Zeliang said.

Liezietsu had yesterday claimed that there would be no split in the NPF and had expressed confidence that MLAs camping in Kaziranga will come back soon.

The present strength of the 60-member Nagaland Assembly is 59 as the Northern Angami I seat is vacant now. The bypoll for the seat would be held on July 29.

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In the assembly, the NPF has 47 members, the BJP four and Independents eight. PTI NBS RG SMJ

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By PTI: Jaipur/Mumbai, Jul 12 (PTI) A 35-year-old computer science dropout from Rajasthan has been arrested for his alleged involvement in a case of leak of customer data from Indias newest telecom entrant - Reliance Jio.

The accused has been identified by his nickname Imran Chippa and was arrested from Churu district in Rajasthan.

A resident of Sujangarh town, Chhipa had made the website Magicapk. He claimed to provide Jio user data through his website, police said.

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However, Jio has said that the claims of the website were "unverified" and "unsubstantiated".

After the police complaint lodged in Mumbai, Mumbai Police had reached Churu after tracking the IP address and took Chhipa into custody last night.

"Chhipa has been arrested in the data leak case," Additional SP, Yogendra Kumar Faujdar told PTI in Jaipur.

Following the data leak, the domain of the website has been suspended.

"We have seized the computer and other devices used by him to leak the data and he will be thoroughly interrogated. A team of Mumbai Police led by ACP Deepak Dhole had reached Churu district after tracking the IP address and will interrogate Chhipa," police said.

An analysis by the Maharashtra Cyber Police headed by Inspector General of Police Brijesh Singh led investigators to zero-in on the location from where the suspected data breach had happened, he said.

The suspects computer, mobile and storage devices have been seized and will be sent for a thorough examination, he said.

There were reports on Sunday which claimed that customer data, including mobile numbers and other details of Reliance Jio users, were allegedly leaked on an independent website.

Jio had also said its subscriber data "is safe and maintained with highest level of security".

The company is one of fastest in the world to touch the 100 million subscriber mark within months of its launch in September 2016.

When asked about the data leak, Maharashtra Cyber Polices Superintendent Balsingh Rajput confirmed that some leak had occurred but declined to give details about the quantum of the breach. PTI DC/AG GVS DV

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Tejashwi Yadav, who has been named in a corruption case by the CBI, earlier today ruled out the possibility of him resigning from the Nitish Kumar cabinet.

By India Today Web Desk: Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav's securitymen manhandled a few journalists at the Bihar Secretariat today. The ugly incident took place just outside the entrance of Bihar Secretariat where a battery of mediamen were present.

Earlier, Tejashwi, who is under pressure to step down after CBI named him in a corruption case, ruled out the possibility of him resigning from the Nitish Kumar cabinet. Tejashwi described last week's CBI raids on him and his family in connection with a land-for-hotel case as a conspiracy hatched by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

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"I was just 13 or 14 when the sale of railway hotels took place. (2004 mein humari moochein bhi nahi aayi thi. 13-14 saal ka baccha ye sab kaise kar sakta hai?)," Tejashwi Yadav told reporters in Patna.

"I had pledged zero tolerance on corruption when I took over as minister. Not one case of corruption has been reported in any of the three departments I hold so far," he said.

"FIR against me is political vendetta. Conspiracy by Amit Shah and PM Modi. From Day 1 they have been trying to break our alliance but Mahagathbandhan is will not break and BJP will get a befitting reply," Tejashwi said a day after CM Nitish Kumar gave his deputy a 4-day ultimatum to come out clean over the corruption charges.

ALSO READ:

Will the real Nitish Kumar please stand up? On Bihar CM's penchant for keeping everyone guessing

Was 13, didn't even have a moustache. Not quitting: Tejashwi Yadav on corruption charges

EXCLUSIVE: No question of Tejashwi resigning, says Lalu on Nitish's 4-day ultimatum

As Nitish Kumar decides on dumping Tejashwi Yadav, Lalu's son is hitting political worries for a six

FIR against me is political vendetta, conspiracy by Amit Shah and PM Modi: Tejashwi Yadav

WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
By Anand Patel: It's ceasefire in Bihar Mahagathbandhan for now. The ruling Janta Dal United has softened its stand against Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi, who has been in a corruption case by the CBI.

This apparently after the Congress president Sonia Gandhi rang Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today morning to thank him for JD-U's support for Gopalkrishna Gandhi who will be opposition's candidate for the Vice President post.

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JD-U spokesperson KC Tyagi told India Today, "Soniaji called Nitishji today morning and thanked him for party's support for opposition's candidate for the Vice President elections."

"Sonia and Nitish are pioneers of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), it was Nitishji who had requested Sonia ji to bring together all the opposition parties and on his suggestion entire opposition is standing united," he added.

Asked about JD-U's ultimatum to RJD over graft allegations against Lalu sons, KC Tyagi said that Nitish Kumar has talked about honesty and transparency in public life and has given the example of BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani who had resigned after being named in the Jain hawala scam.

Trashing allegations levelled by RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari that Nitish Kumar should look around him before questioning his leaders, KC Tyagi said that three ministers of JD-U were asked to resign following graft allegation and Nitish Kumar himself had set high standards when he resigned as Union Railways Minister on moral grounds.

"There is not one person around Nitish Kumar who has been interrogated by the CBI or raided by the Enforcement Directorate or DA case against any of his MP or party office bearer," claimed Tyagi.

"Our leader has not sought any resignation nor set any deadline this is just media conclusion, but we have cleared our moral position on this issue," he added.

ALSO READ:

Will the real Nitish Kumar please stand up? On Bihar CM's penchant for keeping everyone guessing

Was 13, didn't even have a moustache. Not quitting: Tejashwi Yadav on corruption charges

EXCLUSIVE: No question of Tejashwi resigning, says Lalu on Nitish's 4-day ultimatum

As Nitish Kumar decides on dumping Tejashwi Yadav, Lalu's son is hitting political worries for a six

WATCH VIDEO

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Theres plenty of room for indulgence in an energy-efficient home. Expansive interiors, large windows, imported finishes  all can coexist within a home that produces as much energy as it consumes.

Thats the philosophy a pair of brothers put into practice in the East Bay.

Why stick with the old style of high-energy usage? We wanna raise the bar in our industry, said Keith OHara, president of Eco Performance Builders.

The OHara brothers, Scott and Keith, have done this before. Previously in Montclairs Jewel Court and now at Skyline Boulevard in the Oakland hills. In both cases, the homes offer bright, airy rooms and dramatic view decks. Their next zero net energy home debuts in a matter of weeks and also occupies a spot on Skyline Boulevard.

One might say Eco Performance Builders is three years ahead of schedule. After all, state auditors believe there will be a reliable market for ZNE homes by 2020.

Eco Performance Builders has already done this in the Bay Area, twice. A third home is 90 percent finished.

Their distinct designs create flowing floor plans within bright, airy construction. Spa bathrooms with soaking tubs await in the master bathrooms. They boast decks looking out at canyons or cityscapes.

The brothers have done scores of retrofits over the years. Seeking to curb energy waste, they fixated on ventilation systems. Over times they learned what systems were feasible and reliable.

That wisdom informs new builds. Most notably, a pair of ZNE homes along Skyline Boulevard. One already on the market, the other before the end of summer.

Using SiteSage software, the team monitors a homes energy efficiency in real time.

We can see what every circuit is using, Keith OHara said.

The program saves data, allowing the engineers verify how the home performs over time.

Glenn Friedman, principal for Taylor Engineering, consults with the brothers on their ZNE designs.

Friedmans background is commercial real estate, and the UC Berkeley graduate has extensive experience with LEED projects and energy-efficient building.

My interest in working with Scott and Keith was to set the stage and build ZNE homes that are equivalent to others in the area, with no discernible difference in cost, he said.

Eco Performance Builders puts its wallet behind its work. For all three of the ZNE homes, the team offers to pay any energy bills earned during the first three years.

Learn more at www.epbuilders.com.

Details

Keith OHara

President, Eco Performance Builders. Licensed general contractor specializing in mechanical designs and zero net energy building. Manages the electrical, plumbing and ventilation systems. Holds a bachelors degree in liberal arts and a minor in mathematics from Chico State University. Worked as a carpenter during college and joined his brothers construction firm after graduating. Began Eco Performance Builders in 2008.

Scott OHara

Owner, Scott OHara Construction. Licensed contractor and certified building analyst. Manager of Development and Construction at Eco Performance Builders. Manages the zero net energy builds in the Oakland hills. Began his construction firm in 1997 after receiving a bachelors in business and a minor in real estate and land use from Sacramento State University.

Glenn Friedman

Mechanical engineer. Consulting engineer for Eco Performance Builders. Principal for Taylor Engineering. Has more than 25 years experience with commercial construction and ventilation. Extensive experience with LEED projects. Received a bachelors of science in chemical engineering from UC Berkeley.
Frank Artale, a managing partner at Bellevue, Wash.-based venture capital firm Ignition Partners, has resigned at the firm's request after allegations of "misconduct" against him, according to a statement from Ignition Partners tonight.

In the statement, Ignition said that it received a complaint of misconduct from an anonymous "third party" on July 5. Four days later, the firm asked Artale to resign based on the complaint and a separate accusation last year.

"We took this serious and near-immediate step, in part, due to this complaint, combined with a third-party accusation of inappropriate conduct by Mr. Artale in 2016," the statement reads. "At that time, we engaged outside counsel and conducted an exhaustive investigation into the event. While the investigation did not substantiate the allegations, it did indicate that he demonstrated poor judgment, which we addressed with him. Following that report, we retained an expert consultant to conduct sensitivity and anti-harassment training."

Update, 9:35 p.m.: Asked for comment tonight, Artale referred GeekWire to Robert Headley, the firm's administrative partner, and declined to comment beyond the statement on the Ignition website.

Artale joined Ignition in 2011. Before that, he spent nearly a decade at Microsoft from 1991 to 2000, and was a general manager in the Windows group. He also was an executive at Citrix and XenSource, and founded a startup called Consera Software that was acquired by HP.

According to his bio, which has since been removed from Ignition's website, he "led Ignition's investments in Appfog, Couchbase, Cloudera (CLDR), Docker, and ScaleXtreme. He is currently a member of the board of directors for Apprenda, BlueStacks Systems, Bromium, Coho Data, SkyTap, SnapLogic, and Trifacta."

In 2013, Artale was named to the Forbes Midas "Hot Prospects" list and AlwaysOn's "Power Players in the Cloud" list. In 2012, GigaOm named him a top cloud venture capitalist.

Founded in 2000, Ignition focuses on early stage B2B startups in industries like machine learning, security, DevOps, and more. The firm has offices in Bellevue and Silicon Valley. Other managing partners include John Connors; Bob Kelly; and Nick Sturiale. Cameron Myhrvold is the firm's founding partner.

Here's Ignition's statement in full:

On July 5th, we learned of a complaint of misconduct by one of our managing partners, Frank Artale, from a third party who has requested anonymity.

Last Sunday, July 9th, we asked for Mr. Artale's resignation from Ignition Partners. He agreed and resigned, effective immediately.

We took this serious and near-immediate step, in part, due to this complaint, combined with a third-party accusation of inappropriate conduct by Mr. Artale in 2016. At that time, we engaged outside counsel and conducted an exhaustive investigation into the event. While the investigation did not substantiate the allegations, it did indicate that he demonstrated poor judgment, which we addressed with him. Following that report, we retained an expert consultant to conduct sensitivity and anti-harassment training.

SEE ALSO:

We deeply regret any adverse effects to any of the individuals involved in these events.

Kristina Bergman, a former principal at Ignition who now leads Seattle-based startup Integris, published a guest post this evening on GeekWire about her company's policy of removing board members who've allegedly committed sexual harassment. Her piece was posted before GeekWire learned of the allegations against Artale.

Bergman spent nearly four years as a principal at Ignition. The firm is an investor in Integris, and Crunchbase lists Artale as the partner involved in the investment. However, Bergman said via email tonight that Artale was not a director in the company. "There is no connection," she told GeekWire.

"Speaking more generally, I think we have an opportunity at the moment to create a new standard in the industry where founders and investors can implement a few common sense measures to ensure great people get to focus on building even greater companies," Bergman added. "I think Integris took that step a year and a half ago when we formed, and I'd like to share that best practice with the startup community in the hopes that we can make mechanisms like our Voting Agreement clause more commonplace."

Here's a tweet from Moz founder Rand Fishkin:

This is the latest allegation of misconduct in the tech industry. The New York Times published an in-depth story last month headlined Women in Tech Speak Frankly on Culture of Harassment, which included interviews with more than two dozen female entrepreneurs who shed light on the disturbing treatment they've received by their male peers in the tech industry.

The report, which led to the Dave McClure stepping down as general partner at 500 Startups, came out one week after The Information revealed how Binary Capital's Justin Caldbeck made unwanted advances to six women, some of whom were seeking funding or advice for their startups. Caldbeck and his Binary Capital partner resigned shortly thereafter, while the firm itself will be shut down.

And just weeks prior, an internal investigation at Uber  sparked by a former employee who wrote about being harassed at the company  revealed deep cultural issues and led to the resignation of CEO Travis Kalanick, along with firings of 20 of his former colleagues.

Heather Redman, who recently helped launch a new Seattle venture capital fund called Flying Fish, penned a blog post last month that stressed the need for more diversity in leadership positions, particularly at the venture capital level.

"Building that diverse team at the VC level, i.e., higher on the capital stack than at the founder level, and at the most senior level of the VC (i.e., full investing partner) creates huge leverage because now you've created an entity that is much more likely to fund diverse teams, and one that is a lot less likely to discriminate against diverse founders, consciously or (very importantly) unconsciously," Redman wrote.

This story was originally posted on geekwire.com.
Ted S. Warren/STF

Microsoft released a new artificial intelligence app for iPhone this morning that can read text from signs and documents aloud, describe people and their emotions, identify currency values, and narrate the activity taking place in front of the user, among other futuristic features.

The app, called Seeing AI, is designed for the visually impaired but also serves as a showcase for Microsoft's artificial intelligence capabilities. The initial release on iPhone continues Microsoft's approach, under CEO Satya Nadella, of working with a variety of platforms beyond its own Windows operating system.
News, July 5: Entrada Trouble

Change it Up

Change the Entrada! Old school! Give honor to the Native Americans where it should be!

Liz Montoya

via Facebook

Web Extra, July 6: Hot Wheels

Goooooo Cops!

I support [police on Segways]. There are too many homeless on the Plaza to the point it makes you uneasy. Tourists spend a lot of money to get here and spend more money shopping the Plaza. They deserve to feel safe and unhasseled by vagrants. A active police presence with new mobility vehicles will provide that.

Candis McKinzie

via Facebook



In Da Hood

Your tax dollars at work (or maybe rest)I have never seen a policeman on foot patrol in my neighborhood! Maybe now they can hit all the hoods!

Harry A Jones

via Facebook



$34K Well Spent?

While public school teachers live paycheck to paycheck, and students come to school hungry. Get your head out of your ass, Santa Fe.

Dru Libby

via Facebook

Watch Your Mouth

"If a motherfucker..." Perhaps the Segway-equipped officers can provide assistance to Mr. Hastcoat by towing his wheelchair to the RailRunner station? Perhaps the merchants association would like to start a GoFundMe page to pay for his ticket back to Albuquerque? Perhaps Mr. Hastcoat can learn a few dollars by providing training to the police academy on the very definition of "aggressive panhandling"?

Judy Kaminsky

SFReporter.com



A&C, June 28: Whos Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

We Miss Bowling Tho

You can call it what you want, it's something that's changed an abandoned bowling area to a unique attraction and changes the way people experience art. Meow Wolf is actually marketing to an audience that isn't wealthy, white, retired, "cultured" people, but the entire community, and if you ask me, that's more important than putting up another conventional art gallery with art pieces most real residents of Santa Fe are never able to afford.

Joseph Chavez

via Facebook



Its Gotten Personal

Politics and personal grudges find a platform in Eric Killelea's critical forum on Meow Wolf, most of which centers around the age old dorm-room discussion topic: "Is it art?"

Back in the day I used to enjoy late-night ruminations on subjects such as this. That is, until local (and late) artist Max Friedenberg delivered the proverbial mic drop, when he answered the question thusly: "If you frame it and ask people to look at it, it's art."

Bam. To this day, this is as thorough a definition of art as I know of. It blasts through a lot of fanciful subjectivity andmuch to the chagrin of late-night art school conversationalists everywherecuts the potential discussion time significantly.

Yes, Meow Wolf is art, by any definition. The real question Killelea's panel of malcontents are circling, then, isn't "Is it art?" Butis it fine art?

It depends, of course, on how you define 'fine'. Artist Tim Reed, the most vocal critic in the article, offers this: "Fine art is one of the most important tools we have to healing in a troubled society."

Which of course, begs the questionwho's doing the healing, who's getting healed, and how?  Giving hard-working people a place to congregate and contemplate the fantastical, the modern day mythological,  might. 

Personally, I prefer the warmer and more inclusive definitions of "fine." Community and story are very fine things.  And if an art space can provide a place for families to come together in wonder and imagine what is possible, in a way that grows love in our community, then that is very fine indeed.

Josh Schrei

Santa Fe

Letters, June 28: Local Gadflies

So-Called Science

The so-called science of current Forest Service "management" around Santa Fe is just unproven hypothetical theories. See George Wuerther, Idaho State University: "Summary of peer-reviewed research: Fuel reduction is not useful in preventing wildfires and in fact causes wildfires to be worse by opening the forest floor to wind and dryness." ...

We need more gadflies like ... Arthur Firstenberg and a lot less taxpayer-financed destroyers of nature.

Fred King

Santa Fe



Cover, June 14: Flight Plans

Ask the Residents

The city and county government's lack of representing their constituency outside of the airport boundaries is deplorable. In the SFR article, I am surprised the journalist who wrote the story did not interview any of the local people who resided next door to the airport about their input relating to quality of life, public safety, flight path restrictions, airport operations, and noise abatement concerns. Since the early '80s and afterwards, the city and county have ignored our concerns and eventually, we will have to rise once again, resist, object, and denounced future city/county plans for any type of airport expansion and projects at this location. By the way, who cares on what the passengers see when they pass by the old auto junkyards as well as smelling the chit coming downwind from the WWTF. Here in La Cieneguilla, we have to see and smell this chit every day and what has the city and county governments accomplished in addressing the land-use issues for our community south of the city and county limits? Nada!

Jose L Villegas, Sr.

La Cieneguilla

SFR will correct factual errors online and in print. Please let us know if we make a mistake, editor@sfreporter.com or 988-7530.



Mail letters to PO Box 2306, Santa Fe, NM 87504, deliver to 132 E Marcy St., or email them to editor@sfreporter.com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.

Santa Fe Reporter
When I first taught the art of Kent Monkman at Santa Fe University of Art and Design, the air in the classroom was thick with discomfort. Cavorting cowboys wearing assless chaps romped across vast Bierstadt-esque landscapes with stereotypical Indians by their sides. It was not what we had seen up until that point: triumphant settlers, roving expeditionaries in the vein of Lewis and Clark, and marauding Indians. This was a Landscape in the Americas class, and most of what wed spoken about and critiqued was the inextricable relationship between envisioning pristine landscapes and the aspirations of Manifest Destiny, the fantasies and projections of imperialism cloaked in the beauty of landscape painting.

Fast forward to our class on Monkman, a First Nations artist of Cree descent, who queered the whole template of 19th-century masculinity and landscape, calling out the genre's own shadowy subconscious. The artist's alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, a figure he paints into his scenes and one he also performs as, seemed an apt guide. For Monkman, Miss Chief "travels through time and exists in different periods of art history and history. ... It's her way of stitching together" the components that "relate to Indigenous people." Her travels take her across the Americas.

Miss Chief could again be glimpsed in the latest opening of the artist's work at Peters Projects. In Fate is a Cruel Mistress, a photo series in collaboration with Chris Chapman, the alter ego plays the role of "five female archetypes:" Jezebel, Delilah, Potiphar's Wife, Judith and Salome. The prints are part of a larger series titled Shame and Prejudice, which deals with the period of Confederation in Canada.

The title series, The Rendezvous, demands the most space, with large-scale canvases that double as stages for capricious revelry. The series is based upon the work of Alfred Jacob Miller, an American painter who traveled west of the Mississippi in 1837. He was one of many artists, including George Catlin, who put brush to canvas in an attempt at capturing Native life before Manifest Destiny would fully realize. This era was marked by Andrew Jackson's forced removal of the Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Muscogee and Seminole in the Trail of Tears.

Still, as Miller's paintings show, there were realms far beyond the reach of Jackson and the American government. Traders, trappers and Indigenous peoples came to their own pacts in these frontier spaces, especially in what Miller later described as "a grand carouse," or the rendezvous. On the confluence of the Green River and Horse Creek in what is now Wyoming, beaver pelts and buffalo robes could be exchanged for rifles, blankets, supplies and alcohol. It was, in other words, a frontier bacchanal that spanned only a few weeks. In a filmed talk from the VOLTA NY invitational fair, which plays on a loop in the exhibit, Monkman says, "People would get married. People would die. People would be born. They would celebrate their religious rituals. They would gamble. They would drink, carouse, trade."

The event was fertile ground for an artist known to transpose lesser-known histories with Biblical episodes and mythological figures. Indeed, Greek and Roman lore are familiar friends of the American West in Monkman's visions. Take for instance his version of the three graces. The goddesses of charm, beauty and creativity are, in his hands, three Indigenous women. Also from the looped video: "In Canada, there is a lot of violence against Indigenous women. We have over 1,300 missing and murdered Indigenous women. This paintings really speaks to the power of Indigenous women."

In the painting "Saturnalia," based upon the Roman festival of Saturn, you'll see men in drag wearing laurel wreaths and falling into each other's arms. "Wedding at Sodom" opens into a scene of a priest presiding over the union of two frontiersmen. "Baptism By Fire" depicts a story of one man doused in whiskey and lit on fire. It was a story Monkman came across in his archival research. Of the find he thought: "This is a kind of baptism by fire."

With detail for days, translucent washes of oil to create luminosity, and a whole cast of characters (some of Monkman's studio assistants stand in as the paintings' models), the series reminds us that history shouldn't be beholden to our contemporary social norms regarding divisions in race, class and gender. Indeed, history, according to Monkman, is filled with the whimsy of real people.



Kent Monkman: The Rendezvous

Through Sept. 2. Peters Projects,

1011 Paseo de Peralta,

954-5800



Santa Fe Reporter
Derek Malkhassian of Albuquerque now owns a dog, a delight once rendered impossible by his severe, allergy-induced asthma. But since he enrolled in Medicaid last year, a regimen of allergy shots and surgery for a deviated septum have helped him to breathe normally, even when Willow, a Yorkie, is around.

Medicaid also covers visits to a psychiatrist, part of his conditions of release after serving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence that ended in September. Without the coverage, he estimates he'd have paid north of $12,000 last year for all the care he's received.

Staff at the Los Lunas prison, where Malkhassian was incarcerated on a drug charge, helped him enroll in Medicaid. With an income less than 138 percent of the federal poverty limit, he qualified for the program after the Affordable Care Act expanded eligibility requirements. He wasn't insured at the time of his sentencing.

"I can't imagine being required to have that sort of treatment if they weren't willing to pay for it," he tells SFR. "Like, if I had to foot the bill, all the things I'd have to pay for as part of my conditions." Malkhassian, who now works a construction job with limited benefits, fears he'd be more likely to renege on his conditions of release and possibly end up back in prison if he had to pay for care out of pocket.

With the US Senate mulling legislation that could change federal funding for states' Medicaid programs, the future of health care for New Mexico's newly freed is less than certain. Under the proposed change, federal dollars in the form of block grants would give state governments more latitude in choosing how to spend funds, but the money would no longer be replenished by the feds on an ongoing basis. Advocates worry that a state program to help people like Malkhassian would slip down the priority list.

New Mexico legislation passed in 2015 changed the way incarcerated people retain health care before serving their sentences and after being released. The law bars people enrolled in Medicaid from being kicked off the program during their incarceration, which is what happened before. Instead, their enrollment is merely suspended if they're incarcerated longer than 30 days. Prisons then notify the state when a Medicaid-eligible person is approaching release date. That's when either enrollment or re-enrollment kicks in.

New Mexico's adult and juvenile prisons participate in the effort as well as five county jails, including those in Santa Fe and Bernalillo counties. As of last October, there were more than 4,000 inmate applications for Medicaid enrollment filed and over 3,000 requests for reinstatement of benefits post-release statewide.

Without the financial assistance, "it makes it harder to stay out of jail," state Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, who sponsored the rule change, tells SFR by phone. "People recognized that this is going to save money.  It would reduce the number of people who commit crimes again because they have mental or substance issues and didn't get treatment."

While it's too early to know whether the program has had an impact on recidivism, other analyses support Ortiz y Pino's claim. A 2004 study conducted by the Department of Justice examining recidivism among county jail populations in Florida and Illinois found that inmates with severe mental illness who had Medicaid upon release stayed out of jail longer. Several other states have implemented similar programs to New Mexico's since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

People passing through the Santa Fe County Correctional Facility are commonly afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse issues. Many also have severe mental illness, diabetes, hepatitis C and other ailments of the poor, according to Dr. Merritt Ayad, who launched and manages the re-entry program at the jail. Because people cycle through county jails at a more rapid clip than state prisons, Ayad hired a person last month to track down inmates who were released before his staff had a chance to enroll them.

"For people who were enrolled [in Medicaid], we're going to see if they went to services, and if they didn't, we'll offer to connect them to services, and we'll track whether they complete their programs," Ayad tells SFR. He says the detention center plans to create a database not only tracking which former inmates actually signed up for Medicaid but also whether they received treatment.

The Santa Fe jail's program is funded with state and federal dollars over three years, Ayad says. If it is shown to reduce recidivism, renewed funding will be more likely.

Still, a lot is dependent on what happens to health care in DC. About two-thirds of Medicaid expenditures in the state currently pay for elderly and child care. Adult primary care and, to a smaller extent, behavioral care represent smaller shares.

If Medicaid funding is changed to a block grant, says Ortiz y Pino, he fears "behavioral health would get the short end of the stick under those scenarios.  If the total amount gets a cap, and the number of elderly needs go up, and adult needs go up, then mental health cuts will maybe be 8 percent, then 6, and before you know it we'll have 2 percent for mental health."

For all the spectacle over health care in the US Congress, the stakes are clear for Malkhassian.

"I haven't researched much about Trumpcare," he says, "but I don't know what I would do without my current health care. Since I've been out I've been in the best health I've been in my life."



Santa Fe Reporter
Theres usually plenty of sun at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, held on a July weekend every year for the last 14 years. This was something different, though. This was Texas heat.

It was four weeks ago, June 17, and the temperature in Arlington topped out in the mid-90s. Humidity climbed to 85 percent. By 10 pm, three dozen exhausted artisans and scores of sticky, tired volunteers found their way to an air-conditioned room to gather.

Andrea Usai, a jeweler from Sardinia who was part of the first International Folk Art Market in Texas, says, We are all looking for more opportunities  to make our product as known as possible.

It was a mixed bag for the International Folk Art Alliances first-ever sister market; those who made scarves, drums and baskets did well. For some reason, fine jewelry hadnt sold as expected. Thats Andrea Usais trade, but the Sardinian artist still stood up to praise his fellow craftsmen and women, as well as the effort by the alliance to push the boundaries of its innovative program.

They were all pioneers, Usai told the crowd. He was proud to be counted among them.

"I knew that it was a new baby, so I managed my expectations. It had to be done. Nothing is like Santa Fe," he tells SFR on the phone from his Washington, DC, hotel room. He's at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. He'll be in Santa Fe in a few days. Hands-down, the market here is the premiere event of his selling season. He never considered saying no to the Arlington sister market.

"For me, the moment they said there is this opportunity and would you be interested, I said 100 percent. In fact, if there is more than 100 percent, I would be interested even more," he says with an easy Italian laugh.

The alliance, which puts on the annual Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, brought in Jeff Snell two years ago to lead the organization into expansion. Snell hopes to start half a dozen sister markets by 2025.

"These are not exercises of ego or just getting bigger and growing for growth's sake. It's about mission and opportunities for artists who are waiting," he tells SFR from his office. He's already shepherding the alliance into new office space as it prepares to mentor staff from the sister markets. Each potential new city has to commit to working at the Santa Fe market for a year to learn how the event comes together.

Snell, who has a background in academia as well as innovative nonprofit groups, looks to partner with a local universityas the alliance did with the University of Texas at Arlingtonfor each sister market. The first ones are likely to be in strong travel markets for Santa Fe, such as Denver, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Jeff Snell, CEO of the International Folk Art Alliance, is drawing on his background in social innovation to expand the market to new cities.

Snell sees expansion as a natural next step in a lot of ways, not the least of which is that sister markets can act as a pressure release valve.

The original market's 250,000 square feet will be packed once again this weekend, as Museum Hill's Milner Plaza is festooned with bright colors and alive with energy. Every square foot is mapped out and assigned a use. But there can only be so many artists. 160 this year. The venue can hold 163. 165? Too many.

That's a problem. For every artist who gets in to the festival and can access its intensive training designed to turn a traditional craft into a sustainable living, there are six more who want a chance.

"I don't like the idea of six qualified master artisans with their gifts waiting to be brought to the world through our market venue. And their faces are pressed against the glass asking, 'When can I come back? When's my opportunity?'" Snell says.

New markets mean each artist at the sister venue has a chance to grow their business outside the safe nest of Santa Fe. All of them will have come through the flagship program first. And while some such as Usai are coming to Santa Fe as well, 60 percent of the artists in Arlington only sold their wares in Texas. The vast majority of the Arlington artists were a natural fit with a special wholesaling program the International Folk Art Alliance sponsors at a nearby trade center in Dallas, so they have a financial safety net and are ready to grow. That means more spots in Santa Fe (54 this year) for new artists. The market is fast closing in on an alumni network of 1,000 artists from 100 countries.

Now is the time to try, Snell believes. The market for folk art and handmade work is booming. Artists on the sidelines mean, in a business sense, product on the sidelines. And that's no good. If, as filigree jeweler Usai says, the artists are pioneers, the frontier has come to them. The IAFF named Lidewij Edelkoort, a renowned trend forecaster and dean of Hybrid Design Studies at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, as its honorary chair this year.

"In an ever-more complex and information-riddled society, it will be important to touch base and to feel real matter, as if literally getting in touch with civilization," Edelkoort tells SFR in an email on her way to Santa Fe. "This is why the human-to-human revival of craft will always flourish."

Folk art is authentic. Authenticity sells. And if it's done right, it has an impact far beyond the confines of the weekend festival.



Santa Fe International Folk Art Market

7:30 am-5:30 pm Saturday July 15; 9 am-5 pm Sunday July 16.

Saturday early bird tickets $75; otherwise $15-$20.

Milner Plaza, Museum of International Folk Art,

706 Camino Lejo,

992-7600.





Santa Fe Reporter
By PTI: By K J M Varma

Beijing, Jul 12 (PTI) China has received the first overseas order to export its bullet train technology as Thailand approved a USD 5.5 billion high-speed railway project aimed at linking Bangkok with southern China.

The project is part of Chinas huge regional infrastructure plan to build a high-speed rail network connecting the southern city of Kunming with Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

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Construction has already begun in Laos but the Thai segment of rail has been stymied for years by tussles over financing, loan terms and protective labour regulations in Thailand, Chinas state-run television CNTN has reported.

The high-speed railway is set to start operations in 2021.

The Thai order is a breakthrough of sorts for the Chinese multibillion high speed train technology as Chinas attempts to export the bullet train technology were bogged down due to political issues, finance or stiff competition from Japan.

China is also trying to get the New Delhi-Chennai route for the high-speed train and started feasibility study for it.

Beijing was upset after Indias first bullet train route was bagged by Japan which is currently building Mumbai- Ahmedabad bullet train to operate its Shinkansen bullet trains.

China has already built a massive network of bullet trains connecting most of its cities.

It has the worlds longest railway network, 22,000 kilometres by the end of 2016, about 60 per cent of the total. network. PTI KJV MRJ

--- ENDS ---
Science fiction lovers will probably recognize the galactic tribunal trope from any number of graphic novels, books or films. Santa Fe Institute President David Krakauer introduces the notion of cosmic judges rendering decrees on humanity as part of a thought experiment:

"I'm so interested in the question, 'What can we be proud of?'" Krakauer says during an interview in his office at the institute where, on this June afternoon, smoke from fires burning in the national forest semi-obscures the vast city and mountain views from Hyde Park Road. Stacks of books crowd most available surfacesGeorge Johnson's Fire in the Mind and The Book of Trees by Manuel Lima catch the eye; a model rocket sits atop Krakauer's desk.

Santa Fe Institute President David Krakauer wants to know what Earthlings will say at a galactic tribunal. (Minesh Bacrania for the Santa Fe Institute)

So, at the galactic tribunal, where you're asked, 'What has your species contributed to the universe?' you could stand up and say, unequivocally, 'This was an amazing accomplishment and I could tell anyone on this planet or any other one that I thought this was something that was worthwhile.'"

Questions such as these, which require considering humanity and life on Earth from an interplanetary perspective, drive SFI's new InterPlanetary Project. It launches July 18 with a panel discussion between scientists, writers, artists and thinkers whose work all revolves in various ways around humanity's futurein space and otherwise.

InterPlanetary builds on the type of complex, interwoven, boundary-pushing research SFI is known for locally and internationally.

Santa Fe Institute's main partner in the endeavor, Creative Santa Fe, sees InterPlanetary as another joint project aimed at thinking through problems with both local and global significance.

"Our mission is to help people think creatively and outside conventional barriers," says Executive Director Cyndi Conn, "and to look at difficult complex issues using a visionary approach that combines arts, technology, innovation."

The project also comes at a time during which interest and money for space science is harkening a new golden age for galactic exploration. Among other developments, NASA ushered in a new class of astronauts from a record number of applicants, scientist Stephen Hawking proclaimed humans only have 100 years left on Earth, and SpaceX technologist Elon Musk published detailed plans for resettlement on Mars.

It's a fitting context, in other words, for InterPlanetary's first panel, for which the starting question is: "What will it take to become an interplanetary civilization?"

That mind-bender encompasses many concernsfrom preparing humans for space travel to the hard science and technology required to make the journey, along with aspirational initiatives centered on how we might communicate with other life in the universe (should it exist). Last but not least: How can humanity tackle the problems of today to prepare for its future?

As a child, Kate Greene always wanted to travel to other planets. She loved both science and stories. "When you're a kid and you think about other planets, it's fertile ground. I loved imagining other planets because the thing I liked the most about science was getting little bits of information here and there and weaving them together into a whole story."

Writer Kate Greene spent four months as a crew member on the first HI-SEAS simulation of astronaut life on Mars. (kjophoto)

As an adult, Greene ended up on a 2013 NASA-sponsored simulated trip to the Red Planet by luck. She was scrolling through Twitter and spotted a link to an NPR article on why astronauts crave Tabasco sauce. NASA was set to begin studies on astronauts food habits and, at the end of the article, there was a call to apply to be one of six crew members on the HI-SEAS projectthe Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, a Mars simulation research project that takes place on Hawaiis Big Island, approximately 8,200 feet above sea level on the Mauna Loa side of the saddle area.

"My palms started to get sweaty, my heart started racing," Greene says. "I had a real physical response to living out this kid dream, so I applied."

Greene applied and was accepted into the programnot by luck. Her background includes work as both a laser physicist and a science journalist. She spent her four months on the project as a crew member and crew writer, contributing dispatches for Discover magazine, while also conducting a separate sleep study for NASA.

HI-SEAS is a Martian simulation on the slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano on the island of Hawaii. (Courtesy HI-SEAS)

Day to day, she says, the experience didnt necessarily feel like living on Mars, and I dont know if living on Mars day to day would feel like living on Mars. A fair amount of her time and, presumably, a fair amount of time for future astronauts who would actually live on Mars, was spent indoors in a habitat that included living, kitchen, work and exercise space. The project incorporates 20-minute communication delays with the outside world and no real-time conversations to further simulate an off-world experience.

"For me, it felt more like graduate school, in a way," Greene says. "I studied semi-conductor lasers and spent a lot of time in the basement laser lab. We spent all day trying to figure out experiments. That's what it felt like in a lot of ways: working together, solving problems."

There were times, when the crew would don their spacesuits and walk around in a landscape that is red and rocky and "looked a lot like Mars on the outside," during which Greene could imagine she was exploring another planet. The experience also yielded other rewards, such as contributing research to help future astronauts, and collaboration with new people. Moreover, Greene, who will appear on the SFI panel, says the experience changed her work as a writer, and set her on a new path of integrating her science-writing background with more personal narratives. Her book of essays that came from the experience, Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars and Other Stories, is forthcoming from St. Martin's Press.

Of course, not everyone wants to travel to outer space, or even simulated outer space. But to scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton, just the prospect of human space travel sparks "intrinsic excitement" that "seems to be deeply rooted in being human."

Director of Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration, Elkins-Tanton's own research focuses on the processes involved with the formation of terrestrial planets. She has received numerous awards and accolades as both a scientist and a teacher.

To scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton, director of Arizona State Universitys School of Earth and Space Exploration, just the prospect of human space travel sparks intrinsic excitement. (Abigail Weibel)

In January, NASA announced Elkins-Tantons Psyche Mission had been chosen as one of the government space offices Discovery Program projects. Psyche is a metallic asteroid researchers believe is the core of what would have been a planet in the earliest days of the solar system, and which may provide information about the Earths own core. The project spacecraft is scheduled to leave Earth in 2022, reach Psyche in 2026 and spend close to two years mapping and studying the asteroid, which orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. Psyche is probably the only way human kind will visit or measure a core directly, Elkins-Tanton says.

Elkins-Tanton, like Krakauer, staunchly believes that inspiring workscientifically or otherwisecomes through collaborations across disciplines.

Her own school at ASU is somewhat unusual in science academia in that its faculty, students and research projects work across a spectrum of interests: from cosmology to earth science to technology. Last year, ASU's president asked Elkins-Tanton to lead an initiative across all the schools for an interplanetary initiative that has, she says, synergy with SFI's project.

Arizona State Universitys Psyche Mission, scheduled to launch in 2023, will spend 20 months studying the metallic asteroid. (ASU/Peter Rubin)

I think what we are doing is really important, she says. Humans are going to have a space future. Up until now, our space future has been worked on by national organizations like NASA or individual technologists like Elon Musk. We need all the human disciplines to come to bear if were going to have a human space future. We need the sociologists and the psychologists and the artists and the theater people to really approach what our society is going to be like as we go into space.

As such, Elkins-Tanton says, the initiative ties into what she calls her primary mission. "What we do at ASU that is so complementary to the Santa Fe Institute is we're also trying to create the future of education. We're trying to teach people process and not just content, to prepare them to answer questions we can't anticipate from where we are right now that are going to need to be answered in the future."

One of those questions, as Elkins-Tanton perceives it, is what impact will the discovery of life elsewhereintelligent or otherwisehave on the human psyche. She references 19th-century geologist Charles Lyell, whose work influenced Charles Darwin's human evolutionary theory. Lyell, she notes, "was the first to really clearly explicate and lay out for public consumption the proof that the earth must be very, very old and that there were these reoccurring natural processes that just operated over such a long time scale that it was hard for us to envision what it was."

This notion, she says, "caused a great crisis of faith. It caused a crisis in meaning. There was a sense that if things weren't laid out by divine providence and we were just subject to this pitiless occurrence of natural phenomena, then we had no meaning." Elkins-Tanton wonders if the discovery of life elsewherebe it uni- or multicellular"will give people that feeling that we've lost meaning or the feeling that we've gained meaning again."

Artist Dario Robletos Setlists for a Setting Sun (The Crystal Palace) will be part of SITE Santa Fes Future Shock exhibition in October 2017. (Courtesy the artist and Inman Gallery, Houston.)

Regardless, the prospect that we are not alone in the universe is fertile ground for scientists, artists and artist-scientists such as Dario Robleto.

Robleto has spent much of his career thinking on the message people of earth might want to convey about themselves. A formative moment happened when he was 6 or 7 years old and first encountered the Golden Record, placed on the spaceships Voyager 1 and 2 in 1977 containing images, sounds and messages meant to capture life on earth.

Robleto had stayed home sick from school and dialed a 1-800 number NASA had set up for listening to sounds of space as the Voyager made its first approach to Saturn. Robleto called in expecting to hear aliens, and instead heard the Golden Record. "I didn't understand that at all.  I was so disappointed. It just made no sense to me why NASA would send this into space. I had no idea I was listening to the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."

He's referring to Ann Druyan's brain waves, recorded shortly after she and Carl Sagan, with whom she collaborated on the Golden Record, admitted they were falling in love. Robleto says in many ways his work has been directed by Druyan's actions. "She essentially snuck love on board," he says.

Two years ago, Robletowho has ended up working with Druyanbecame the artistic consultant for the "Breakthrough Message" project, one of Yuri and Julia Milner's Breakthrough Initiatives founded in 2015 "to explore the Universe, seek scientific evidence of life beyond Earth, and encourage public debate from a planetary perspective," according to the project's website. "Breakthrough Message" is a $1 million competition to design a message that comprehensibly captures humanity and life on Earth for another civilization.

Robleto also serves as artist in residence at the SETI Institute. The work at SETIthe Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligenceincludes a vast array of research and development projects in the service of finding signs from advanced civilizations in the galaxy.



The Santa Fe Institutes InterPlanetary Project will help unfold the mysteries of the universe. (Minesh Bacrania for SFI)

Based in Houston, Robleto has shown work in both solo and group shows across the country, and has been recognized with a variety of awards, fellowships and residencies. As an artist, Robleto's practice spans mediums: He works in sculpture, paper, print and more. As an artist with both a background and passion for science (he was a biology major before switching to the arts), he prefers the term "trans-disciplinary" because it fully encompasses the degree to which his projects are intertwined rather than merely referential to scientific issues and phenomena.

"When I made the switch from science to becoming an artist, it never occurred to me to not bring that background with me," Robleto says. "I find the tension between them fascinating.  The common seed is both originate from the quest to increase the sensitivity of our observations."

Complexity science, which guides SFI's work, particularly interests Robleto. "I'm really drawn to the issue of scale in complexity science, how scaling up and down reveals a different set of information that wasn't apparent from the previous scale. That's not unlike what artists do."

The question of scale connects with another driving concern Robleto brings to his work and that has been a research focus at SFI: altruism.

"Competition and destruction," Robleto says, "dominates so much of all our topics." His personal quest "is poetic and scientific proof we can be cooperative at some fundamental level," which makes as much evolutionary sense as the belief that competition drives human existence.

After all, over the span of time, "the only civilizations that will survive are ones who figure out how not to destroy ourselves. If we ever found another civilization, just the fact that they're there, that means altruism won out."

Return to Krakauer's original thought experiment: What has humanity done for which it can be proud? Krakauer believes that while specific citations would vary from person to person, most would likely name artistic or scientific achievements rather than, say, "human decency," although he believes the latter also would be legitimate.

The question ties into Krakauer's own background as a mathematic biologist, and one of the many thoughts that prompted the InterPlanetary Project as a whole. We are living in a time in history, he argues, filled with "incredibly positive things," among them the ability to connect with other people all over the world, progress in our understanding of the environment, "the second great space race" and many other accomplishments. These signs of progress are occurring alongside other signs of the worst time in history, what Krakauer characterizes as a "stupidity pandemic, and the deepest political distrust and the worst kinds of prejudice." Interdisciplinary work, such as the InterPlanetary Project, provides an opportunity to consider how and why such darkness and light can occur togetherand perhaps yield some solutions.

"I'm very sensitive to this idea that interplanetary concept would be considered irresponsible and that we're running away from the problems we're facing now," Krakauer says. "It's the opposite. Friends have asked me, 'Don't we have real problems with income inequality and spoiling the environment?'" Yes, Krakauer says. And "if we really want to settle a colony on Mars, we sure as hell better understand how to create a social system that doesn't fragment within a year, we better understand planetary cycles and we better understand how we're going to grow food in an inhospitable environment."

Re-contextualizing some of these challenges within enlivened discussions is a way of "injecting playfulness  and hedonism" into serious topics.

Theoretical physicist Geoffrey West was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2006 by Time magazine, among other accolades. (Minesh Bacrania for the Santa Fe Institute)

Changing the lens through which we view our civilization and its workings might be one way (if an overly simplistic one) of considering panelist, former SFI president and distinguished professor Geoffrey Wests work. For much of his career, West, a theoretical physicist, focused on fundamental questions of physics: the cosmological implications of the evolution of the universe, the nature of dark matter.

For the last 15 years, his research associated with the Santa Fe Institute has been looking, from a physicist's perspective, which he describes as "quantitative, analytic, computable and therefore predictable," at "the phenomena that go on on this planet. In particular, the questions to do with the generic principles giving rise to life and laws of life, the regularity that underlies the extraordinary complexity of life around us, social life, the socioeconomic life, the life we've created on this planet." (West's most recent book, released in May, is titled Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies).

Just as Krakauer and Elkins-Tanton both emphasize the need for work across disciplines, West points to the way in which an interplanetary viewpoint can create a more holistic picture "in which everything is recognizing that everything is interacting with everything else and everything is dependent on everything else."

If "changing the world one planet at a time," as Krakauer describes the project's aims, sounds overly ambitiousthat, too, is part of the point. "Cynicism is boring," Krakauer says. "Gloom has its own aesthetic appeal  and optimism can be a little boring at times, but it is an optimistic project in that it says ingenuity is unbounded and understanding in many ways is unbounded and there's so much more to know."



Upcoming Events

July 17:

ET: The Extraterrestrial Screening; Panel discussion with biologist Chris Kempes and writer Neal Stephenson

4:30 pm Monday July 17. $9-$10.50; panel discussion: 7 pm. Free. Jean Cocteau Cinema, 418 Montezuma St., 466-5528.

July 18:

Interstellar Screening

3:30 pm Tuesday July 18. $8-$9. Jean Cocteau Cinema, 418 Montezuma St., 466-5528.

SFI's InterPlanetary Project Launch: Panel Discussion

7:30 pm Tuesday July 18. $5. Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W San Francisco St., 988-1234, ticketssantafe.org.

Confirmed panelists include:

Planetary scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton (Arizona State University)

Astronomy and astrophysics professor Sandra Moore Faber (UC Santa Cruz), the project investigator for the DEEP2 survey of 50,000 distant galaxies

Science and technology journalist Kate Greene

Screenwriter, producer, director and author Jonathan Nolan (

Interstellar

,

The Dark Knight

,

Memento

, and the

Westworld

TV series)

Transdisciplinary artist, researcher, writer, teacher and citizen scientist Dario Robleto

Digital media executive Scott Ross, who led George Lucas companies in the 1980s

SFI Miller Scholar Neal Stephenson, author

of Seveneves, Cryptonomicon

and

Snowcrash



SFI distinguished professor Geoffrey West

October 2017:

Oct. 13: Second InterPlanetary panel

Oct. 14: InterPlanetary film festival with new and classic sci-fi films hosted by the Jean Cocteau Cinema, SITE Santa Fe, Violet Crown Cinema and The Screen

Oct. 15: SFI Professor Geoffrey West will present his "theory of enormous power" at SITE Santa Fe

Oct. 17: SFI external professor Manfred Laubichler delivers a community lecture at the Lensic Performing Arts Center on the Anthropocene era.

2018 and beyond:

June 2018: The first InterPlanetary Festival is planned for the Railyard District with an innovation and technology expo, maker contests, music, lectures and discussions. The festival also will feature sci-fi films from the Jean Cocteau and Violet Crown Cinema, as well as interplanetary-themed artwork from SITE Santa Fe and the Currents New Media Festival.



Santa Fe Reporter
AG sues Presbyterian

Attorney General Hector Balderas says Presbyterian Health Plan and two related companies deliberately and systematically falsified Medicaid deductions and credits for four years. As a result, he says, Presbyterian avoided paying tens of millions of dollars in premium taxes to the state. The companies deny the claim.

Sick bars

People who have health insurance when they get released from prison or jail are

. Study after study confirms that. Most of the time, that insurance is Medicaid. It's often cheaper than housing inmates, but changes to the federal plan for Medicaid could mean that programs to sign inmates up for health care will slip far enough down the list of priorities that they won't get funded.

Kid sister

The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market is this weekend. Museum Hill will be packed with 160 artists and 20,000 people. But a month ago, the group that puts on the market held its first-ever sister folk art market in Arlington, Texas. It's part of

the market's impact on both artists and consumers into perhaps half a dozen cities by 2025.

Immigration policies haven't slowed market artists

Santa Fe's festival is still the big draw for the people who buy and make folk art, though. The International Folk Art Alliance says shifting Trump administration immigration rules

from getting into the country. Better than 9 out 10 artists invited to the festival are getting to Santa Fe, a rate that's on par with years past.

'Few, if any'

That would be in reference to cash-handling policies at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center. The city's flagship recreation center got

released yesterday. The review didn't find evidence of cash theft, but said the procedures at the GCCC are ripe for it.

Closed county meetings draw fire

Planned closed-door meetings between Santa Fe County Commissioners and federal, state and tribal representatives

by the state's most notable open-government group. The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government says the meetings, which are being held as part of a decades-old water-rights lawsuit settlement, should be open to the public according to state law.

Still hot

It's going to be another hot day today as the monsoonal moisture pattern we all know and love struggles to get a foothold in New Mexico. There's still a

and probably some nice clouds this afternoon. It's

going to cool down into the weekend.

Thanks for reading! The Word thinks it feels like a pancakes day. With coffee. And syrup. Maybe coffee-flavored syrup? Is that a thing?

Subscribe to the Morning Word at sfreporter.com/signup

Santa Fe Reporter
Licensed stock market operator NZX is abandoning its plans to develop a market for small and medium-sized companies, but crowdfunding platforms say they're yet to see enough demand to build a secondary market for the share sales they facilitate.

The public market operator's NXT and New Zealand Alternative Market, known as the NZAX, will be absorbed into the main board in the third quarter due to limited uptake by companies and generally low levels of trading activity, or liquidity, despite the expanding assets of KiwiSaver funds in need of viable investments and the government's partial privatisations several years ago which added a new lease of life to the stock market.

The launch of equity crowdfunding in August 2014 was intended to provide a new avenue for small firms to raise funds that wasn't available through the larger capital markets, and has largely been seen as a success. However, that demand, which has seen 30 successful deals through the country's two major platforms - Snowball Effect and Equitise - hasn't whetted investor appetite to buy and sell those shares after the offer, even if some potential investors missed out.

Peter Thomson, head of digital at Snowball, says investors should be looking at crowdfunding startups as a long-term proposition, but occasionally circumstances change and people need to sell. The country's biggest crowdfunding platform operates a halfway measure in that it will either connect the investor with the company or directly to an interested buyer. Two of its recent offers - Designer Wardrobe and Zeffer - ended up with a waiting list of people who would have liked to invest but missed out.

Both Snowball and its closest rival Equitise have tested the waters for a secondary market but ruled it out due to the lack of demand.

"Our general take is we will always look to help where we can, to put companies in touch with any buyers or sellers. Given where the market is at and what we have been witnessing, we haven't had the requirement, there just hasn't been sufficient demand," Equitise co-founder and director Jonny Wilkinson said. "That is a function of the maturity of the market and the life cycle of some of the companies involved, it's something that will come through over the years and we might try to provide it."

In the UK, which is the most developed crowdfunding market, London-based platform Seedrs launched a secondary market earlier this year. Trading is open for a week from the first Tuesday of every month, and buying is restricted to existing investors. So far, 2.5 million shares have been traded between 349 buyers and sellers, worth about 770,000 pounds overall, the platform says.

Snowball's Thomson, who has previously worked for Seedrs as chief marketing officer and for New York-based SeedInvest as head of digital marketing, says one challenge of a secondary market is setting a fair price. Seedrs uses a valuation policy that takes account of the price a company most recently sold its stock as well as ongoing performance information.

While many people who have sold their shares under the current system have been happy to sell them for what they originally paid, or for the price of the most recent round, that's not a sustainable basis to build a secondary market, Thomson said.

Part of setting a fair price is access to financial information. If it's three years since a company has raised capital, much of the information publically available from its prospectus may be out of date. The Seedrs model isn't open to new, uninformed investors, seeking instead to skirt disclosure obligations by only allowing trading by existing investors already familiar with a company. Many small start-ups are wary of having to make new disclosures about their performance.

"That gives you a window into why everyone's so nervous about all of this," Thomson said. "This is a philosophical thing: from the investor's perspective, you should be looking at buy and hold. From the company's perspective, if you're the CEO of one of these companies, the last thing you want is a stock price that's going up and down every month and people arguing about your financial statements. You want to be busy running the business, not worrying about your share price or quarterly reports."

"You don't want all of the bad of the public market," he said. "These companies are too small, they don't have a whole team of corporate investor relations people, it's often just an operational team and they don't have the capability to do all of that additional reporting."

Equitise's Wilkinson agrees - for small companies, maintaining compliance can be costly and distracting, he says. In 2015, Equitise promoted a trans-Tasman secondary market in partnership with Auckland-based Syndex. Wilkinson said the technology wasn't there so the market didn't eventuate, but "if we had investors screaming for it", the platform would look at offering a technology based solution.

Garth Stanish, director of capital markets at the Financial Markets Authority, says the regulator has no preconceptions about how a secondary market would operate, and companies wouldn't necessarily end up with huge disclosure obligations. Platforms with existing crowdfunding licences would need to apply to the FMA in order to operate a secondary market, but none have yet done so.

"We have very broad discretion in terms of what we'd look at if we did get an application," Stanish said. "If someone did come to us, as an overall thing we'd have to make sure the market itself was transparent - whether there were clear rules which set out the parameters of what buyers and sellers could do."

Stanish said New Zealand could end up with a model like Seedrs, and it was very likely any market would have limited trading windows so that companies weren't put under pressure for continuous disclosure.

"For example, in a situation where there was only one trading day a month, I suspect you would have some sort of cleansing notice. Any company trading would have to say, before the trading window, there's nothing else out there that investors should know," Stanish said. "You want that equality of information, you don't want the asymmetry where people who are in the know have a great advantage over others. I suspect that will be the sort of proposition we get."

(BusinessDesk)

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The New Zealand dollar fell against the euro and the yen, which rose against the greenback after Donald Trump Jr released a string of emails that indicated Russia was trying to help his father's campaign to become US president.

The kiwi dropped to 62.95 euro cents as at 8:30am in Wellington from 63.51 cents late yesterday and fell to 82.23 yen from 82.72 yen. The kiwi declined to 72.20 US cents from 72.33 cents yesterday.

The email chain between Trump's eldest son and PR consultant Rob Goldstone show the publicist helped arrange a meeting in June 2016 with lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya on the basis she could provide information that would damage presidential election rival Hillary Clinton. Veselnitskaya has denied having links to the Russian government and Trump Jr said he released the emails "to be totally transparent". Meanwhile, ahead of Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's testimony to the US House panel, Fed Governor Lael Brainard indicated he would take a cautious approach to further rate hikes this year while Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari said he didn't see much chance of the US economy overheating.

"The USD is under pressure this morning following some damning headlines for Trumps team," said Jason Wong, currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand, in a note. "We think the testimony (from Yellen) will support the prevailing Fed view that it is on a clear path towards normalisation of monetary policy."

The kiwi weakened yesterday after figures showed retail spending on credit and debit cards was unchanged in seasonally adjusted terms in June from May when it fell 0.4 percent, with lower fuel prices offsetting the expected gains in spending from the Lions rugby tour.

The kiwi fell to 95 Australian cents from 95.61 cents yesterday as the Australian dollar also gained after data that pointed to upbeat business conditions across the Tasman. The currency fell to 4.9130 yuan from 4.9210 yuan and traded at 56.20 pence from 56.16 pence. The trade-weighted index fell to 77.54 from 77.79.

(BusinessDesk)

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National car auction firm Turners is pointing to a huge surge in demand for imported used cars from regional centres as indicating a wave of confidence is producing a car fleet upgrade in a more confident provincial New Zealand.

"We think there is a fleet renewal underway, resulting from the fact that 700,000 cars and light commercials or 20 percent of the fleet are over 20 years old," Turners chief executive Todd Hunter told BusinessDesk in emailed comments. "The strong kiwi dollar and competitive new and used car prices are also supporting this.

"In the regions, this is also likely to be underpinned by higher confidence resulting from strong primary product prices and tourism receipts."

Turners' analysis of its own sales figures found not only record-breaking numbers of used imported cars being registered in the main cities, but spectacular surges of more than 20 percent in regions including Whangarei, New Plymouth, Nelson, Blenheim, Timaru and Oamaru.

"In fact, Greymouth leads the used import registration growth statistics with 70.7 percent year-to-date growth, although these 70 units (up from 41) are hardly having a large effect on the national import figures," said Hunter. "The over 10 percent year-to-date growth is largely controlled by large volumes of vehicles in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch."

(BusinessDesk)

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On the first anniversary of Una lynching, people gathered in Mehsana, Gujarat to protest against the increasing number of lynchings in the country.

By India Today Web Desk: Gujarat police has detained leaders from the Azadi Kooch rally taking place in Mehsana. Dalits, Muslims, Patidars, minorities and hundreds of women gathered in Mehsana, Gujarat to march against the lynchings happening in the country on the first anniversary of Una lynching.

According to Facebook lives done by documentary filmmaker Nakul Singh Sawhney and NewsClick, protestors have been detained by the Gujarat police. Kanhaiya Kumar who was present in the protest march was also arrested while he was on his way back to Ahmedabad.

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Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani also posted an update on Facebook stating that Kanhaiya Kumar, Reshma Patel and other protestors have been detained and said there have been attempts to attack him.

Here is a video of Kanhaiya Kumar addressing the gathering.

Police forces outnumbering the protestors were deployed in Mehsana after people started arriving in Mehsana for the march on July 12.

--- ENDS ---
Students studying in UP schools affiliated to UP Board will now be studying about goods and service tax (GST) as the same will be included in the Class 10 curriculum. It will be implemented from the current academic session.

By India Today Web Desk: Students studying in UP schools affiliated to UP Board will now be studying about goods and service tax (GST) as the same will be included in Class 10 curriculum's new syllabus. It will be implemented from the current academic session. As per an HT report, GST, as a separate topic of study, has been included in syllabus of social science for Class 10 students as part of the new updated syllabus released on May 5.

GST likely to be introduced for intermediate students

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It is expected that GST may also be included in the course of intermediate students as well in the coming days as part of their study of trade organisations and taxes, a proposal still under consideration of board officials holding meetings of course committees since July 3.

If a consensus is reached, GST as a separate topic could get introduced in the Class 12 commerce stream.

(Read: GST to be included in curriculum of UP's universities and colleges)

Pradeep Tripathi, Principal, Madhav Gyan Kendra Intermediate College, Naini said, "The new curriculum has been notified by the UP Board and GST has been made part of it. This is a welcome move as GST is now in effect and knowledge of it is important for the students. This inclusion will introduce the Hindi heartland state's students to the latest tax early. With GST set to be included in college/varsity level as well, early knowledge is will make students comfortable with this new tax system governing their lives."

What else?

Students of UP universities and colleges will now be taught about the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in order to create a workforce of GST-trained professionals. Inclusion of GST in the syllabus was important to help students understand the new tax regime. The decision to include GST in the commerce and management curriculum was taken at the vice chancellor's conference held on Thursday in Lucknow.

Read: AICTE makes yoga mandatory for students to earn an engineering degree

Read: DU to introduce GST in its Commerce curriculum

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: (EDS: Updating with White House reax)

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jul 12 (PTI) The Trump administration today strongly condemned the "cowardly" terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir and vowed that the US and India will together continue to fight terror threats in "every part of the world".

Seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 19 others injured in the terrorist attack in south Kashmirs Anantnag district on Monday night.

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"The United States and India will continue to fight together against terrorist threats in every part of the world," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in a statement issued two days after the attack.

The United States "strongly condemns the cowardly terrorist attack" on religious pilgrims in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on July 10, he said.

"We extend condolences to the victims families and the people of India. An attack on religious freedom is an attack on the most fundamental right of liberty," Spicer said.

Earlier, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert had expressed concern over the terror attack.

"We consider it to have been a terrorist attack in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in which seven religious pilgrims were killed. Thats of great concern to us," she told reporters at a news conference.

"These were civilians, they were killed as they were exercising their right to worship and that is, in large part, what makes this so reprehensible. That is a great concern to us and our thoughts and prayers go out to those people and to their families as well. Our prayers are with the victims and those who were affected," she said.

Several US lawmakers also condemned the dastardly act.

Congressman Will Hurd condemned the attack, saying, "My thoughts and prayers to all of the Amarnath Yatra terror attack victims and their families. The attack is reprehensible and must be condemned."

"The terrorist attack on Amarnath Pilgrims is outrageous," said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

"Religion is a fundamental right and human right #AmarnathYatra #ReligiousFreedom," she tweeted.

Congressman John Ratcliffe, in a tweet, offered his prayers for the families of those killed in the "horrific terrorist" attack.

Congressman Jim Costa said he is "deeply saddened at the cowardly attack" on innocent Amarnath yatra pilgrims.

"My thoughts and prayers are with you," he said.

"The terrorist attack on Amarnath Yatra is reprehensible and must be condemned," tweeted Congressman Ted Poe.

"Our hearts go out to the victims of the terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra. We must stand united against these deplorable acts of terror," said Congressman John Culberson.

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Hindus and pilgrims of every religion should be able to visit their holy places without fear of attacks by terrorists, said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

"My prayers are with the victims and their families of this senseless, vicious attack on the #AmarnathYatra pilgrims," tweeted Congresswoman Anna G Eshoo.

In a statement, Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) -- USA condemned the dastardly attack on Amarnath pilgrims.

"Indian American community is very sad and shocked to hear this barbaric attack on innocent pilgrims travelling to Amarnath shrine and pray for all victims and their families," said Krishna Reddy Anugula, president of the OFBJP-USA. PTI LKJ ARK NSA ASK AKJ ASK

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Some of the 1,400 Iraqis have faced deportation orders for years, even decades, but Iraq's refusal to accept them allowed them to remain in the US.

Protesters rally outside the federal court on behalf of Iraqi nationals facing deportation (Photo: Reuters)

By Indo-Asian News Service: A federal judge in the US has halted deportation of more than 1,400 Iraqis, many of them Christians, who argued they would face persecution if expelled from the country.

Some of the 1,400 Iraqis have faced deportation orders for years, even decades, but Iraq's refusal to accept them allowed them to remain in the US, Efe news reported.

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Their situation, however, changed in March when Iraq agreed to receive them following a deal sealed by President Donald Trump.

Although most of the 1,400 remain at large, immigration officials arrested 199 of them in June, largely in Detroit (Michigan) and Nashville (Tennessee), with the intention of deporting them immediately.

CASE FILED TO HALT DEPORTATION

According to the US authorities, they committed serious crimes, ranging from homicides to crimes related to drugs or weapons.

Those arrested, however, filed a joint lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the country's leading civil rights organisation, to halt their deportation.

They claimed that because of their status as minorities (as many of them are Chaldean Catholics and Iraqi Kurds) they would be at risk of persecution.

In his ruling, Judge Mark Goldsmith said deporting Iraqis would expose them to "a substantiated risk of death, torture or other serious persecution before their legal claims can be tested in a court".

However, the Justice Department, which has not yet reacted to the ruling, argued that Goldsmith, appointed by former President Barack Obama, has no power to make such decisions.

ALSO READ:

Iraq's Mosul celebrates first Eid without Islamic State in years

Islamic State blows up historic Mosul mosque where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared self-styled caliphate

ALSO WATCH:

33 Indians rescued from Iraq's ISIS zone reach New Delhi

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Settepani family just signed on for another 10-year lease at 676 Forest Ave. in West Brighton. With a decade on the North Shore already behind them, they plan to celebrate and "give back" to the loyal guests of Bruno's Bakery and Restaurant, formerly known as Pasticceria Bruno, with a spruced up dining room and bakery.

"We made a better place for you to come," says Biagio Settepani, the master baker, cookbook author and Bruno's co-owner.

The restaurant shut down briefly in early July and reopened as Bruno's Bakery and Restaurant on July 7th . Now, subway tiles line the back wall on a swath of the bakery section.

"We're bringing back the old school look," says Biagio's son Salvatore, referring to the family's first endeavor in Greenwich Village.

Bruno's gelato station, formerly near the front entrance, has been pushed back near the soon-coming bar area. And, the restaurant now includes additional seating with booths that replace Pasticceria's high-top tables.

"But we're missing our gelato case," offers Biagio with a smile, adding, "It's on the plane coming from Italy."

Biagio's business partners are his children -- Joe, Salvatore, Fina -- along with wife, Pina. Joe tends to the baking at the Dongan Hills location. Salvatore works as Pastry Chef at the West Brighton operation. Pina oversees everything in the front-of-the-house especially during the holiday season.

Fina handles back-office operations like social media and marketing. She manages wedding orders and works with "the Bakery Girls," primarily at the Hylan outfit. But Fina soon will take some time off: She and husband Elvis are expecting their first child in December.

"We have a great team," she says about going on maternity leave.

"I'm starting to get all my customers ready for that...but there's always email!" she says cheerfully.

And, Dad's role in all this?

"Retirement," Biagio jokes.

Seriously, that is not happening with the growth spurt happening at their pair of restaurant properties. For instance, the family awaits the Hylan Boulevard venue's rebranding to the name "Bruno's Bakery and Restaurant." They're considering two Manhattan locations plus one near the Staten Island Ferry.

"Forest Avenue's become the restaurant row of the North Shore," says Salvatore. "It's nice to know Bruno's has become a destination place. We're family-owned. We have a great front-of-the-house staff."

Salvatore recalls the beginnings of Bruno's: "We came to Staten Island as a bakery."

In December, 2004, the flagship Staten Island spot in Dongan Hills opened as a cafe, then expanded into a full-service restaurant, and eventually into private events, off-premise catering, family dinners-to-go and elaborate speciality cakes. A Neapolitan pizza concept and sandwich called panuozzo came to the Dongan Hills spot last year with much success.

The thin-crust rectangular pie prevails at the West Brighton store.

"It's all about quality. And that's what we stand by," says Biagio.

At both Bruno's, all items are made from scratch from the breads and cannoli shells to the gelato, cookies, jam fillings and frostings.

The full liquor license comes to West Brighton in the next few weeks and Salvatore plans for Italian cocktails and speciality drinks at the hands of a professional mixologist.

The menu at Bruno's on Forest is staying the same. Favorites like a 10-ounce Tuna Picante with its chili glaze and sweet, sesame seed coating are a mainstay as is the Chef Salad. Salvatore tinkers with the new brunch menu, a format soon to be announced.

"We're continually developing new items," says Salvatore, pointing out that Grub Hub handles their delivery orders.

"The older clientele can't get to us. We deliver to the City now," says Salvatore.

"We deliver pastries also," says Fina.

Both places are closed on Mondays.

"With all the hype of The Wheel coming to Staten Island and a lot of tourists coming to Staten Island, we would like our two locations to be real destinations to experience the food of Europe," says Biagio.

He's driven by the passion for food.

"It's all about loving what you do. Eveyrthing else is great," he enthuses.
Note to readers: We're aware that the image may not display properly in this entry. Click this link to see the page reproduction.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Today's archive page is from Aug. 24, 1970.

Funeral arrangements are being made for a 20-year-old Air Force sergeant who recently returned from Vietnam.

Sgt. Ralph E. Fulmer of West Brighton was killed along with two friends in an auto accident in Maine.

He was returning to Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire after a two-day pass.

Fulmer had come back to the United States after a year's duty at Cam Ranh Bay Air Force Base in Vietnam, where he received the Air Force Commendation Medal.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Spurred by a probe into a 24-year-old woman's overdose death in West Brighton nine months ago, authorities have dismantled an alleged narcotics-trafficking ring which peddled heroin, fentanyl and cocaine on Staten Island, around the city and in Newark, N.J., authorities said Wednesday.



Three borough residents were among the seven suspects arrested, including Mack (Butter) Patterson, 33, who authorities believe supplied the deadly drugs, stamped with the brand name "Passion," to the victim.

An autopsy showed heroin, fentanyl and cocaine were present in the woman's system, said officials.



A synthetic opioid, fentanyl is about 50 times stronger than heroin and is increasingly found mixed in with illegal drugs, authorities said.

Over the course of six months, undercover cops bought more than $20,000 in narcotics - mainly heroin and fentanyl - on 11 occasions from Patterson and his alleged co-conspirators, said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon and Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill in announcing the arrests.

The other Staten Islanders arrested under "Operation Smack Down" were Javier Solis, 41, and Robert Barbosa, 32, authorities said.

Most of the defendants are charged with conspiracy, while Patterson, Solis and several others are also charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance.

"With these types of targeted investigations, we are holding drug dealers accountable for the lives they destroy as overdose deaths continue to plague towns and cities across the country, especially here in Staten Island," said McMahon.

The woman overdosed on Oct. 21 in the bedroom of her apartment on the 200 block of Myrtle Avenue, said authorities.

Responding officers found her unresponsive and administered naloxone, an overdose antidote.

She was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, where she died the next day, said officials.

At the scene, officers found empty glassine envelopes stamped with the brand name "Passion," authorities said. The envelopes are typically used to package heroin.

Cops identified Patterson as the supplier of those drugs by analyzing the victim's cell phone and through other investigative leads, said officials.

He lives on the 800 block of Henderson Avenue, West Brighton.

In his first three sales to undercover cops between Nov. 29 and Jan. 4, Patterson sold 330 packages of "Passion" containing cocaine and fentanyl, authorities said.

Solis allegedly participated in one of the sales.

In setting up the drug deals, Patterson and the cop met on Staten Island. They then drove to one of three locations in Newark where Patterson exited, and returned shortly thereafter with the drugs, said authorities.

In some cases, officers saw Patterson meet a supplier, officials said.

A wiretap investigation led investigators to identify Newark residents Brandon Felix, 28; Marcus Alexander, 45, and Odell Wilson, 53, as heroin and fentanyl suppliers, and Queens resident Frank Hopkins, 33, as a cocaine supplier, said authorities.

Cops also identified Barbosa as a Staten Island-based dealer who worked with Patterson, said officials.

In a final deal on May 9, Patterson sold 843 glassines of heroin and fentanyl, marked with a variety of brand names, such as "Blue Magic, "Dope" "Family Guy," "Bull" and "Frank Lucas" to an undercover cop for $4,980 authorities said.

Patterson has been behind bars since July 6 for allegedly selling heroin to a customer on the 800 block of Forest Avenue, West Brighton.

He is being held in lieu of $15,000 bond or $7,500 cash bail in that case, which is pending in Staten Island Criminal Court.

His lawyer on that case could not immediately be reached for comment.

The defendants were expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Manhattan state Supreme Court.

"Like other New York City officials, I fear we will see a record number of fatal overdoses again this year," said Brennan, the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, in a statement. "The spike of deaths is due to highly potent fentanyl, mixed with heroin and cocaine or packaged and sold alone. It is critical that we cut off the supply of drugs and bring those who are profiting from this tragedy to justice."

Two weeks ago, Staten Island prosecutors charged Stephen Cummings with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide stemming from the overdose death of a man to whom Cummings had allegedly sold fentanyl.

Prosecutors said wiretaps in that case showed Cummings, on several occasions, knew of the lethal potency of the drugs he peddled and had even warned the victim. Despite realizing that, he recklessly sold the narcotics to the 52-year-old man, they contend.
An agreement between Qatar and the United States has been signed on Tuesday aiming at combating the financing of terrorism.

By Reuters: The United States and Qatar signed an agreement on Tuesday aimed at combating the financing of terrorism, as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Doha to try to end a month-long rift between Western-allied Arab states.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt imposed sanctions on Qatar last month, accusing it of financing extremist groups and allying with the Gulf Arab states' arch-foe Iran, allegations Doha denies.

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Tillerson said the agreement signed with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, had been under discussion for weeks.

"The agreement which we both have signed on behalf of our governments represents weeks of intensive discussions between experts and reinvigorates the spirit of the Riyadh summit," Tillerson said at a joint news conference with Sheikh Mohammed.

US President Donald Trump met representatives of Arab states during a visit to Saudi Arabia in May.

"The memorandum lays out a series of steps that each country will take in coming months and years to interrupt and disable terror financing flows and intensify counter terrorism activities globally," Tillerson added.

The four Arab states boycotting Qatar said later on Tuesday that sanctions would remain in place until it met their demands and that they would keep a close eye on the tiny Gulf monarchy's efforts to fight terrorism funding.

In a joint statement released in their state media, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain said they appreciated US efforts in fighting terrorism but that they would closely monitor Qatar's behaviour.

Sheikh Mohammed said the agreement was not linked to the crisis with the four Arab countries, which the United States fears could impact its military and counter-terrorism operations and increase Iran's influence in the region.

QATAR'S DENIAL

Tehran has sent food supplies to Qatar and allows the country's carrier to fly through its airspace.

Qatar denies it supports militant organisations and says the boycott is part of a campaign to rein in its independent foreign policy.

"Today, the state of Qatar was the first to sign the executive programme with the United States to fight terrorism financing," Sheikh Mohammed told the news conference.

Tillerson said the agreement includes milestones to ensure both countries are accountable through their commitments.

"Together the United States and Qatar will do more to track down funding sources, will do more to collaborate and share information and will do more to keep the region safe," Tillerson said.

Egypt later said at a meeting of the US-led coalition against Islamic State in Washington that the coalition should not include member states that supported terrorism, like Qatar.

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A US official who had knowledge of the deliberations at the meeting later said "the other working group countries dismissed the Egyptian demand".

"Terrorism is a global problem that requires a global response - and we all have work to do," the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

DIPLOMACY

Accompanied by Kuwaiti mediators, Tillerson flew to Doha on Tuesday for talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, over the crisis. He said he was due to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks with officials from the four Arab countries.

On Monday, he and British National Security Advisor Mark Sedwill met with officials from Kuwait in order to patch up the row among the Western-allied countries.

Following those discussions, the United States, Britain and Kuwait urged all parties to resolve their dispute quickly through dialogue, Kuwait state news agency KUNA reported.

Kuwait's ruler, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, expressed "bitterness" on Tuesday over what he described as an unprecedented rift in the Gulf, but said he intended to push ahead with mediation efforts.

Foreign ministers from the four Arab states leading the boycott of Qatar will meet with Tillerson in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on Wednesday.

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Coming from some of the most influential powers in the dispute, the plea for a negotiated solution may be aimed at an earlier refusal by Qatar's adversaries to discuss renewing ties with Doha until it first acquiesced to a list of demands. They include closing the Al Jazeera TV channel, shutting a Turkish military base in Qatar and downgrading ties with Iran.

Qatar hosts Udeid Air Base, the largest US military facility in the Middle East, from which US-led coalition aircraft stage sorties against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

US President Donald Trump has expressed support for Saudi Arabia in the dispute.

ALSO READ:

Qatar to seek compensation for damages stemming from Arab blockade

Qatar could face further sanctions by Arab states as deadline approaches

ALSO WATCH:

No immediate plans to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, says Pakistan

--- ENDS ---
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A high rate of New York City public school special education students are not receiving the services they need and are entitled to, according to a report released Wednesday by Public Advocate Letitia James.

Under federal law, the Department of Education (DOE) must provide services -- such as speech therapy, occupational therapy and mental health counseling -- to students who are in need, depending on what is mandated via each special needs student's Individualized Education Plan, or IEP.

When the special education service is not available at a child's school, the school is required to try to find a service provider to come into the school. If that is not possible, the DOE issues the parent a Related Service Authorization (RSA) voucher, and the parent becomes responsible for finding a service provider.

But during the 2015-2016 school year, a high rate of RSA vouchers went unused.

"The Department of Education has failed the most vulnerable children of New York City by not providing adequate support for students with disabilities," said James.

According to the report, District 8 in the Bronx had the highest rate of unused vouchers, with 91 percent, or 129 vouchers. District 27 in Queens was the worst of that borough, with 79 percent, or 231, unused vouchers. And in Brooklyn's District 20, 78 percent, or 353 vouchers, went unused.

On Staten Island, where 24 percent of students have an IEP, 27 percent of RSA vouchers went unused, according to the report issued by James' office.

In the city public school system 19 percent of students -- or 200,000 children -- require an IEP.

"The RSA voucher program does not work for students, parents, or schools; and is leading to the neglect of students with disabilities. It is essential for the DOE to re-evaluate its reliance on RSA vouchers and find a way to provide for all students," James said.

According to the report, parents had issues locating providers and arranging transportation to and from providers' offices - something they did not have to worry about when services were being provided in school.

"The percentage of students receiving their recommended related services increased to 95 percent during 2016-2017 -- up from 84 percent five years ago -- including very substantial gains in areas of the city that have historically been the hardest to serve. We are committed to continuing this work in order to fully meet the needs of every student," said Toya Holness, spokeswoman for the Department of Education.

Holness said that in the "very small" percentage of cases when the DOE cannot provide services and families are issued a RSA, the DOE works closely with the families to connect them with the appropriate provider and provide transportation.

Additionally, 700 staff clinicians have been added to staff over the past three years.
CITY HALL -- Rats! Staten Island isn't part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's $32 million plan to cut down on the pesky rodents.

While there's been thousands of rat sightings on Staten Island in recent years, the borough only has one so-called "rat reservoir," according to city officials.

The vermin hotspot is in New Brighton and will soon "graduate" -- meaning the Health Department's anti-rat efforts are starting to work.

"Staten Island has the lowest rates of rats that we see around the city," deputy health commissioner Corinne Schiff said during a press conference outlining the city's plans on Wednesday. "We do have one rat reservoir in Staten Island and we're getting ready to graduate that reservoir because we have seen improvements."

Rats are a gross consequence of unsanitary or trashy conditions, but they can also taint food and spread diseases. Earlier this year, a Bronx worker died of Leptospirosis, which is spread by rat urine.

"It doesn't matter what community you're in, everyone wants to get rid of rats," de Blasio said.

There were at least 10,618 complaints made to 311 about rodents or conditions attracting them on Staten Island since 2010, according to data from the city's non-emergency line.

This includes 4,705 rat sightings, and 2,346 of them were made since de Blasio took office in 2014. So far this year, the city has received at least 401 complaints about rat sightings on Staten Island.

The $32 million interagency effort announced by de Blasio on Wednesday is on top of existing extermination efforts and may be expanded to Staten Island in the future if successful.

"This is costly...as we build out, in theory, it could be more cost-efficient," de Blasio said. "We will look at all five boroughs, at other areas we should move in on."

THREE OFF-ISLAND TARGETS

The initiative includes purchasing 336 fancy compactor trash cans at $7,000 apiece, more frequent trash pickup and increasing fines for illegal dumping.

For now the plan targets the three "most infested parts of the city," including the Grand Concourse area in the Bronx, Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn and Chinatown, East Village and Lower East Side in Manhattan.

This year 3,771 properties in the three zones had signs of rat activity -- including fresh tracks, droppings, active burrows or runways and rub marks, fresh gnawing marks or live rats.

The city wants to reduce such "active rat signs" in these areas up to 70 percent by the end of 2018.

The new solar-powered trash compactors the city will buy are already on some city streets, including throughout lower Manhattan. They each cost $7,000 including five years of maintenance.

Another 1,676 steel cans at $623 each will replace remaining wire baskets in the rat zones. The Sanitation and Parks departments will increase basket pickup.

The city will also spend $16.3 million replacing dirt basements at some public housing projects in the areas. Another $8.8 million will be used for new trash compactors at the developments.

HIGHER ILLEGAL DUMPING FINES

The mayor plans to back a law increasing the fines for illegal dumping by private businesses from $1,500 to $,5000 for first-time offenders and up to $20,000 for additional violations.

De Blasio acknowledged that enforcement against illegal dumping has been difficult on Staten Island, but said greater consequences will help reduce rat activity at dump sites in the most infested areas.

The city will also work with Council lawmakers to introduce legislation requiring buildings with 10 or more units to put trash out at 4 a.m. in the three areas.

"We want to get rid of their four-star sidewalk cafes," Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Surveillance footage obtained by the Staten Island Advance shows a group of teens allegedly breaking into cars in Annadale early Monday morning.

Diana Cannizzo, of Mosley Avenue, who provided the footage, said her unlocked car was broken into around 3:30 a.m., and a total of $33 was removed from it.

From there the group goes on to check Cannizzo's neighbors' cars, leaving the ones they find locked.

"It's sad," Cannizzo said. "They're kids. They're 15 and 16 from what I'm hearing. Where are their parents that they're out at 3:30 in the morning?"

Police, so far, have arrested three teens in connection with the incident.

Kevon Scott, 16, of Egbert Avenue in West Brighton, and two 15-year-olds were apprehended for the alleged theft, police said.

All three suspects have been charged by police with petit larceny, unauthorized use of vehicle and criminal possession of stolen property.

Police did not release the names of the 15-year-old suspects due to their age.
Uttar Pradesh police has beefed up security for the Kanwar Yatra, which is currently in progress, in view of this week's terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in which seven Amarnath Yatra pilgrims died.

By Rajat Rai: While the state government has beefed up the security in the entire state specially in the western and poorvanchal region, in view of the Kanwar Yatra in progess, the Kanwariyas have challenged the terrorists to confront them face to face.

After the attack on Amarnath devotees in J&K on Monday evening, UP CM Adityanath Yogi called an emergency meeting to direct the administration and the police to beef up security.

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"Security is generally beefed up every year during this event (Saavan), but in view of the recent attack, we have taken additional step and specific directions have been passed at every level", UP DGP Sulkhan singh informed.

Yogi has also assured protection to the devotees, who participate in thousands in the one-month religious event, Saavan.

"We are not scared of anyone. I challenge them to confront us..." said a devotee from Behraich.

Yogi on Tuesday said, "It was an act of cowardice and the entire country is condemning it. We are ready to give them a befitting reply not only in UP but everywhere. We will ensure that the Kanwar Yatra gets over successfully and safely.

ALSO READ | Amarnath Yatra attack: Bodies reach Gujarat's Surat, states announce relief to kin

ALSO READ | Amarnath Yatra attack: Terrorists acted out of desperation, early assessment shows

ALSO WATCH | Amarnath bus attack survivor narrates tale of terrorist strike

--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: Well, given the busy schedules that most of us are entrapped in, managing a vacation in between is quite a big deal.

And once you have visited the destination of your choice, you just can't stop talking about it to people, can you?

To many of your friends, this never-ending blabber might sound unpleasant or even boring. But that should not deter you from remembering those happy holiday moments.

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Talking about experiences, rather than just keeping quiet, tend to keep people happier. And you have psychological research to back the fact.

A study by Cornell University psychologists has revealed that a trip is not just about visiting a particular tourist spot. It is the over-all idea of a vacation that people draw satisfaction from. The first phase, that is, planning builds anticipation. The second phase or the trip itself adds new experiences and memories to one's kitty. The final part is that of reminiscing, which essentially forms a part of the study.

Also Read:7 tips to help you travel better and safer during monsoons

From the research, the university scholars have inferred that people derive maximum enjoyment from discussing experiences they have had, as opposed to other discussions like talking about the gifts they have bought. Talking about experiences, in a way, helps one keep them alive.

But what if you encounter negative experiences? "One way people come to feel better about negative experiences...is by putting them in the broader context of one's life, which conversation facilitates,'' the researchers were quoted by Business Insider.

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Names of many retired judges were doing the rounds before the meeting but TMC and Left parties together backed the former West Bengal governor.

Retired IAS officer Gopal Krishna Gandhi is the Opposition's choice for the Vice-Presidential election.

By Supriya Bhardwaj: Putting up a united front, the Opposition announced that Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi will be their candidate for the Vice Presidential election.

Though the announcement of former Governor's name was made by Congress President Sonia Gandhi but the proposers of former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi's name were Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Left parties.

TMC's bitter rival, Left parties together penned an unthinkable script of the selection of Opposition's Vice-Presidential candidate leaving other parties spellbound.

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SINGLE NAME FROM OPPOSITION

None of the other Opposition parties, including Congress, gave any other name as a candidate for the Vice-Presidential Poll.

It was a matter of 20 minutes when the consensus was build and the announcement was made by the Opposition.

Interestingly, when Gopal's name was finalised, it was leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad who spoke to him, while CPI leader D Raja sent him an SMS.

"When we broke the news to him, Gopal replied that whatever is best in the interest of country, he will do," said Raja.

DEREK O BRIEN PROPOSED GOPAL'S NAME

Names of many retired judges were doing the rounds before the meeting but TMC and Left parties together backed the former West Bengal governor.

"Only Gopal Krishna Gandhi's name came up. Congress had already said that they will not propose any name. It was TMC's Derek O Brien who proposed Gopal's name. It was then backed by leaders of Left parties - Sitaram Yechury and D Raja. It was interesting to see the two arch rivals build up consensus on the same name," said a senior Congress leader.

Rajya Sabha MP D Raja said, "Gopal Krishna Gandhi stands for certain values which is why we agreed".

"In view of the current political situation, an ideological battle must happen. Who better than Gopal Krishan Gandhi, a former diplomat and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi?" Sitaram Yechury said.

ALSO READ | Bapu's grandson Gopal Krishna Gandhi is Opposition's vice-presidential candidate

Vice-Presidential election: A call by Rahul Gandhi makes Nitish Kumar assure of his support to Gopalkrishna Gandhi

ALSO WATCH | Meira Kumar files nomination for Presidential election

--- ENDS ---
The fight over funding the wall is a major obstacle to funding government agency operations for the budget year beginning Oct. 1. Some conservatives are threatening to shut the government down if the wall is not included. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., has raised the threat as part of his GOP primary campaign against Sen. Luther Strange, threatening to filibuster any funding bill that fails to include money for the wall.
The Arab countries placed a trade and diplomatic embargo on Qatar a month ago, accusing it of providing financial support to terrorist groups. Qatar has rejected 13 broad demands from those nations, including closing the television network Al Jazeera, which criticizes many governments in the region. Qatar has denied the charges and considers the embargo an infringement on its sovereignty and independence.
This city has won the title for the first time ever.

By India Today Web Desk: With colonial and Spanish architecture, weaving a fairy tale-like look about itself, this city is nothing short of a Mexican Disneyland. Coupled with its artistic brilliance is also a cosmopolitan feel about the place. This is San Miguel de Allende, the city in Mexico that has now been awarded for being the best city in the world.

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Travel+Leisure recently concluded the 2017 World's Best Awards, ranking the best hotels, cities, islands, transportation and cruise lines from across the world, in terms of their popularity and tourism potential. Among the cities that made it to the top 15 are Charleston, South Carolina; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Kyoto, Japan; Florence, Italy; Oaxaca, Mexico; Hoi An, Vietnam; Cape Town, South Africa; Ubud, Indonesia; Luang Prabang, Laos; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Rome, Italy; Siem Reap, Cambodia; Udaipur, India and Barcelona, Spain.

San Miguel de Allende, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has won the title for the first time ever.

This beautiful city is Mexico owes its charm to its artistic assets, historical importance and a carnivalistic ambience. Named after Ignacio Allende, it is the first municipality that was declared independent during the Mexican War of Independence. In the 20th century, it began attracting artists and writers, who gradually established the city as a seat of art and culture.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/Carameleyes_brunette

The primary attraction of the city is its well-preserved historic centres. The tallest building here is Parroquia de San Miguel Archangel, a Gothic church, with a facade of pink limestone. Legend has it that the colossal church is based on Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, built by an architect who drew inspiration from a picture postcard.

Also Read:The World's Best Travel Destination for 2017 is already on your bucket list

To feel the pulse of the city, one should head to El Jardin, the city square dotted with city vendors, artists and local musicians. Canopied with well-groomed trees, it offers tourists a place to relax, while immersing themselves in the spirited, colourful and musical treat that the place is.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/paogrzo47

While on one hand, the place is rich in Mexican culture, San Miguel de Allende also represents a peaceful co-existence of foreign and national influences, given the bulk of international footfalls in the city, mostly from America.

What adds to the exuberant structure of the city are the numerous festivals that it boasts of--jazz and blues festival, puppetry festival, or the fools' parade, to name a few. At the same time, one is offered plenty of options for shopping and eating. From a rooftop dinner at Luna Rooftop Tapas Bar with a panoramic view; antiques and paintings at Fabrica La Aurora; or Oprah's favourite Casa Dragones Tequila, one can enjoy all, amidst the pleasant weather.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/soymarianaludmila Picture courtesy: Instagram/soymarianaludmila

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The closest airports to San Miguel are in Leon (BJX, about 70 miles away) and Queretaro (QRO, about 45 miles away), from where one can take a shuttle or a cab ride to the destination. The best option is to take a connecting flight in Houston or Mexico City.

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Police are investigating after a fire at a unit complex in Lyons saw fifteen people evacuated.

Two cars parked beneath the car port of the two-storey complex on Strathgordon Court were damaged in the blaze overnight, as well as the exterior of the building and one room on the first floor.

While fire crews contained the fire to that room, there was smoke damage throughout the remaining rooms.

The ACT Ambulance service also attended the scene.

ACT Policing are now investigating the cause of the fire.
The irresistible lure of being apart of an AFL finals series appears to be the motivation for Melbourne co-captain Jack Viney to return ahead of schedule, possibly for the round 18 clash with Port Adelaide at the MCG.

Melbourne fans had feared the worst when Viney struggled off the ground after injuring his plantar fascia against Sydney at the MCG in round 15.

While medical advice cautiously maintained the tough midfielder would be sidelined until round 19 or 20, Viney is now quietly confident his return to the team maybe as early as the Port Adelaide clash.

"I'm not too sure [when I'll return, but], hopefully in the next couple of weeks," he told Melbourne TV.
Asking someone to marry you is the highest compliment you can give another human being, according to my dad.

When I was younger, I'd try and come up with superior compliments to try and prove him wrong.

"You're cooler than Elvis. You're funnier than Elmo," I'd offer. "You're the most beautiful/smartest/bestest person in the world ... "

But I could never compete. Because asking someone to marry you is an all-encompassing, all-star compliment. It's saying to someone, you think they're so amazing, you want to spend the rest of your life with them. And have that officially recognised in front of the people who are most important to you.
It is easy for non-Muslims to forget that there are places where Muslim women lead lives full of frivolity and fun: they shop, read fashion magazines and travel to Europe. But on social media a global community of fashion-conscious Muslim women are challenging the stereotypes of Muslim women as submissive and disempowered.

In Indonesia, where Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms, these so-called hijabers are creating an image of the ideal, modern Muslim woman. She observes the strictures of the Quran, but is active and visible in the world on her own terms.

Ria Miranda was one of the first designers to create the Hijabers collective with a group of like minded fashion designers. Credit:Instagram/Ria Miranda

The Muslim fashion industry has developed especially quickly in the last couple of decades. From its roots in Turkey, in recent years the hijabers phenomenon has become very much a part of the culture in our region.

In 2010, prominent Indonesian Muslim fashion designers Dian Pelangi, Ria Miranda, Jenahara, and Ghaida Tsuraya established a Hijabers' Community in Jakarta. In the seven years since then, the Hijabers Community has grown rapidly, sprouting official branches in several major Indonesian cities.
A woman is the second person to be charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Sydney teen Brayden Dillon, 15.

The woman, 30, was arrested at Blacktown police station about 2pm on Wednesday.

Brayden was shot in the head in his bed at close range at his home in Glenfield in Sydney's south-west on Good Friday.

Police will allege the woman owned the white Mazda 3 that was used as the getaway car.
Opponents of Adani's vast new Queensland mine have howled at the premier after she told them they would not stop coal mining in the state.

Protesters interrupted Annastacia Palaszczuk's town hall meeting in Cairns on Tuesday night, chanting "no, no, no" in opposition to the mine.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was interrupted by protesters who chanted and later broke into song. Credit:Tammy Law

But the Premier told them jobs were vital and coal mining would not cease in Queensland: "Coal is going to be a part of our energy mix for many years to come," she said.

"Rubbish!" the protesters howled in reply.
A man has complained to police after he was allegedly threatened with physical violence by local councillor.

The Redland City resident has alleged Redland City councillor Paul Gleeson threatened him after the pair made comments to each other on Facebook.

Alexandra Hills resident Dan Ling has had a confrontation with Cr Paul Gleeson after each made Facebook comments. Credit:Redland City Bulletin

Dan Ling, who is active on social media, said Cr Gleeson at first phoned him Monday morning and left a message saying "we're coming around and going to sort this out".

Mr Ling said Cr Gleeson arrived at his home shortly afterwards and tried to enter his front door.
Drones have been recognised as a very real threat to Australian cities, as the use of the technology by terrorist organisations increases.

Defence contractor EPE manager Keith Mollison, who had 25 years' experience in the British Army including a stint as deputy director of intelligence, spoke at the annual Safe Cities conference about the threat of drones on Wednesday.

Drones could be used to inflict damage on cities, a defence expert has warned. Credit:Paul Rovere

"Drones can inadvertently cause significant hazards to public safety," he said at the Brisbane conference.

"The spectrum of improper and illegal use of drones, even inadvertently, ranges from mischief to mayhem to protest, even acts of terror.
The chief minister was forced to issue this directive after a major embarrassment caused following his visit to martyred BSF head constable Prem Sagar's home.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has cracked whip on his secretaries, divisional commissioners, district magistrates and IPS officers to end the culture of decking up the place where he is slated to pay a visit.

The chief minister was forced to issue this directive after a major embarrassment caused following his visit to martyred BSF head constable Prem Sagar's home.

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The incident dates back to May 12 when Yogi Adityanath paid a visit to martyred BSF head constable Prem Sagar's home in Deoria. Prem Sagar, 45, was one of the two soldiers killed and mutilated, in an attack by Pakistan's Border Action Team on May 1.

The UP government was quick to deck up Prem Sagar's home even for the CM's courtesy visit.

Even for a short visit which lasted for less than 15 minutes, an air-conditioner, a sofa, a red carpet and saffron towels to cover the table were put in place. However, soon after the CM left, the officials removed all the items from the house.

The UP CM on meeting the family gave Rs 6 lakh compensation, Rs 4 lakh in cheque and Rs 2 Lakh in cash. He promised jobs to both sons of the martyr and also better education for the children.

Taking cognisance of the incident the CM directed all the officials to stop the exercise. The note issued by the CM reads, "The chief minister is extremely unhappy with the incidents in Deoria and Gorakhpur where the CM had gone to offer condolence and relief to family members of martyrs." The incident at the BSF martyrs home generated widespread outrage and was branded the ugliest possible form of VVIP culture.

ALSO READ

Yogi Adityanath keeps his promise, meets martyr's family, gives Rs 6 lakh compensation

BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar cremated at his native village Tikampaar

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A lifelong early riser, Ms Yeomans, 29, has found the perfect job for her early-morning self as a track rider for leading Caulfield horse trainer, Ciaron Maher.

While the rest of the world sleeps, Ms Yeomans sets off to begin her day under a dark sky.

Lucy Yeomans rides Jameka after work at Mordialloc beach. She gets to see the sunrise every morning, "which is pretty special". Credit:Vince Caligiuri

The piercing sound of an alarm clock rouses Lucy Yeomans from her slumber.

Todd Sampson (right) spent time with the Hazda tribe in Tanzania. A study of the tribe found that over 20 days, there was only 18 minutes when no one was awake.

For more than four years, Ms Yeomans has had a strict sleep regime of going to bed at 8.30pm for a 3.50am start at the track.

"You couldn't do my job if you didn't love it, because of the crazy hours," she said. "The roads are empty, but when you get to the track everybody is up and about."

According to new research, Ms Yeomans' natural affection for early mornings can be traced back to evolution.

A healthy mixture of early birds, night owls and wakeful elderly people may have evolved as a clever way of protecting the community from wild beasts and dangerous environments during the night, a US study has found.
Domain Road will close for five years to make way for the Melbourne Metro Tunnel, triggering the need for a new tram route, the 58, between South Yarra and the CBD.

Two extra tram stops and four kilometres of rail have been built along Toorak Road West during a school holiday "construction blitz", said acting transport minister John Eren.

Domain Road closed on Wednesday between St Kilda Road and the western edge of Edmund Herring Oval to allow the works on the new station to proceed.

The 58 tram will run along the new route while Domain Road remains closed.
Locals are saddened by the news that a much-loved St Kilda institution, Gruner's butcher and deli, is about to close.

Owner Peter Gruner said when his parents opened the Barkly Street shop in 1958 there were 15 continental butchers in nearby streets. He reckons his is the last.

Peter Gruner's retirement spells the end of Gruner's butcher and deli in St Kilda, which his parents founded in 1958. Credit:Simon Schluter

Mr Gruner,76, has seen big changes in St Kilda with affluent young professionals moving in.

In the 1960s, there was one milk bar next door and two across the road, and there were fruit shops and no supermarkets.
Now, the answer to the Mystery Melbourne - it is Wellington Street in Collingwood. But it is not how the area looks now, the photo was taken from a story by city editor Clay Lucas on a proposed development in the area.

The first with the answer was @cgarrett0001.
Students could soon be elected to every state secondary school council and given full voting rights.

The Andrews government says it is "seriously considering" an overhaul of school councils to give students a greater say in their education.

It follows a campaign by the state's peak student body, the Victorian Student Representative Council, which has raised concerns about young people being locked out of key decisions.

Education Minister James Merlino said students had presented him with "very compelling arguments" about why there should be mandatory student representatives on school councils with full voting rights.
A WA researcher has found dolphins deliberately seek out and follow fishing trawlers along the Pilbara for days, weeks and even years.

A new study by University of Western Australia adjunct professor doctor Simon Allen found dolphins were repeatedly following fishing trawlers along the coast in the hopes of "scoring a free meal"  and the practice was proving risky for the dwindling Pilbara population.

Dolphins chase down a fishing trawler off the Pilbara coast. Credit:Simon Allen

"Previous studies have shown that 20-50 dolphins are accidentally caught in this fishery every year," Dr Allen said.

"The tendency for the dolphins to exploit the trawlers as a risky but efficient means of scoring a meal on a repeated basis is problematic for fisheries management, as dolphin foraging "traditions" tend to be handed down from one generation to the next.
The City of Joondalup's plans to build a Jacob's Ladder-style fitness staircase at Whitford Nodes park in Hillarys have come under the microscope after a local environmental group highlighted a number of concerns with the chosen site.

The City of Joondalup announced it would put $420,000 towards the project last week, and confirmed it would develop final designs for the structure once it had sourced external funding to cover half the cost of the project.

An early design concept for the staircase would link the park to the look-out tower. Credit:Save Joondalup Beaches Facebook

A local community organisation believe the Whitford Nodes site was an inappropriate choice and the "Jacob's Ladder" project could set a dangerous precedent for future development sites.

Mullaloo Beach Community Group president Mitch Sideris said if the development was allowed to go ahead, it would undermine years of work done on restoring the Swan Coastal Plain bushland.
The McGowan government has labelled the state opposition's new whistleblowers website as a "complete travesty" that is "dangerous" and potentially illegal.

On Tuesday, the Liberal party launched its wawhistleblowers.com website urging members of the public to report any public servants, including government ministers or members of parliament, "acting corruptly or failing to act in the course of their duties".

Roger Cook said the whistleblower website was 'potentially illegal'.

Acting Premier Roger Cook slammed the website and called on the state opposition to pull it down immediately.

"The Liberal party's dob in a dodgy public servant website is a complete travesty," he told reporters outside Parliament on Wednesday.
Police have charged a 31-year-old man with arson after a fire ripped through a Welshpool factory and caused around $9 million damage earlier this year.

At around 10.25pm on March 14, emergency services were called to the warehouse on Pilbara Street.

The fire took nearly three hours to put out. Credit:9 News Perth

Around 60 firefighters attended the scene, and it took nearly three hours until the building was declared safe.

An assessment of the building found the blaze had caused extensive structural damage, and the damage bill was estimated at around $9 million.
A young boy has been left injured after a 38-year-old woman is alleged to have deliberately driven her car into a Cooloongup property on Tuesday afternoon.

The incident occurred at around 12.30pm at a residence in Breaden Drive.

Rockingham Detectives said the woman knew the people at the property, and repeatedly rammed the garage door with her car, causing damage to the front of the home.

WA Police spokeswoman Susan Usher said two children were present at the time, and one boy was injured during the attack.

"One of the children received cuts and bruises as a result of bricks, glass and debris hitting his legs."
Talking to India Today, senior Muslim leader of Agra Mohd. Sharif Kale said that the Yogi government has reduced the Minority Welfare budget by Rs 580 crores this year compared to the Akhilesh Yadav government.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath along with UP Finance Minister Rajesh Aggarwal before presenting the State Budget for 2017-18, at Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow on Tuesday. Photo: PTI

By Siraj Qureshi: The Modi and Yogi government share the common slogan of 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas', but the way Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has curbed the Minority Welfare budget in his first annual budget presented in the assembly, the Muslims are feeling cheated.

Talking to India Today, senior Muslim leader of Agra Mohd. Sharif Kale said that the Yogi government has reduced the Minority Welfare budget by Rs 580 crores this year compared to the Akhilesh Yadav government, which has made the Muslims lose hope of anything good coming out of this BJP government in UP. He said that the Yogi government has allotted just Rs 2475.61 crores for the minorities and this has disheartened the Muslims who were hoping the 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas' was not just a slogan.

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Social activist Kamran Qureshi said that the Yogi government has allotted Rs 791.83 crores for the minority students, while another 150 crores are allotted to arrange for the fee shortfall. Similarly, for the upgradation and modernization of Madarsas, the Yogi government has allotted only Rs 394 crores, which is too less. Even earlier, the minority students could not get scholarships due to lack of funds and this situation has not improved even now.

Kamran said that the Yogi government has decided to build female hostels in Minority-dominated areas, which is quite appreciable, but this gesture becomes mere symbolism when we look at the budget of Rs 18.41 crores allotted to this scheme. If more funding had been arranged for the scheme, it would have been useful.

He opposed Yogi government's move to stop the construction of boundary walls on graveyards, for which the Akhilesh Yadav government had approved Rs 400 crores, while arranging for Rs 100 crores as grant for 146 Madarsas. However, the Yogi government hasn't set aside anything for this purpose.

Quresh Welfare Society General Secretary Mohd. Arif Advocate said that the minorities have lost hope with the first budget of Yogi government. While the backwards have been allotted Rs 1203 crores, minorities will get only Rs 941 crores, General categories will receive Rs 682 crores, while 23 crores have been set aside for tribal welfare. Rs 1950 crores have been earmarked for the welfare of Scheduled Castes, which is quite large compared to what the minorities have been given. He expressed hope that the Yogi government will think more about minority welfare and raise the funding for the same.

Also Read:

Yogi Adityanath govt presents maiden budget worth Rs 3,84,659 crore for UP

Watch Video: Tryst with tax: How GST will impact your daily shopping budget

--- ENDS ---
Beirut: The Iraqi government must do something "significantly different" to prevent Islamic State from reforming, a senior US commander said on Tuesday, even as the jihadist group managed to recapture a village close to the newly liberated city of Mosul.

Liutenant General Stephen Townsend, the commander of the US-led coalition against IS (or ISIS, ISIL), said that despite the historic victory in Iraq's second city, the war was not over.

"If we're to keep ISIS 2.0 from emerging, the Iraqi government is going to have to do something pretty significantly different," he said. "They're going to have to reach out and reconcile with the Sunni population, and make them feel like their government in Baghdad represents them."

IS militants seized huge swathes of northern Iraq in the summer of 2014 after the Iraqi army retreated. The group was welcomed by many of Mosul's Sunni residents who had felt marginalised and persecuted by the Shia-dominated government in the capital and believed the Islamists would offer some protection.
London: British Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered an inquiry into how contaminated blood resulted in the deaths of at least 2400 people and infected thousands more, more than 30 years ago, a episode that members of Parliament have called "one of the worst peacetime disasters in Britain's history".

Britain's health minister, Philip Dunne, told Parliament the government would set up an independent public inquiry aimed at getting to the truth of what happened in the 1970s and 1980s when patients, many of them haemophiliacs, received blood products infected with HIV or hepatitis C, supplied by the taxpayer-funded National Health Service.

ACT Health made repeated requests for information. Credit:James Davies

It was not immediately clear what form the inquiry, which comes after decades of campaigning by victims and their families for justice, would take.

Diana Johnson, a Labour member of Parliament who has led the cross-party call for an inquiry, told the House of Commons on Tuesday that the blood contamination scandal was a gross injustice, calling it a "cover-up" on an "industrial scale" that extended to the highest levels of the government.
Work performance of RST have to take place, Every Country has the responsibility on their justice chain.

DAWN BEACH:--- Minister of Justice of Curacao Quincy Girigorie refused to sign the agreement on the sharing of information. Minister Girigorie said that there are certain legal aspects have to be verified before he could put his signature to the document. However, the Minister of Justice of the Netherlands Stef Bloc, Minister of Justice Arthur Dowers and St. Maartens Minister of Justice Rafael Boasman signed the document pending Curacaos decision.

Minister Stef Blok said that during the JVO meeting held on St. Maarten over the weekend he said parties agreed to share data and DNA profiles. Minister Blok said that they have agreed to share information on flight passengers, the exchange of DNA profiles, and further study on providing adequate care for prisoners with mental disease. Asked if the Netherlands will make good on their promises this time around and provide the necessary tools and manpower to re-enforce the Justice Chain on St. Maarten. Minister Blok said that every country is responsible for the internal management of the Justice Ministry in their country. Asked by SMN News if that is indeed the case why then the Netherlands is the one appointing the Attorney Generals and Prosecutors for the Countries Curacao. St. Maarten and the BES islands. In responding to that question Minister Blok said that the JVO meetings were about cross-border crimes and indeed each country is responsible for the internal management of their justice ministry.

Evaluation on the RST has to take place.

Minister of Justice of St. Maarten Rafael Boasman said that this his second JVO meeting and when he attended the first meeting he made clear that he did not agree on the structure in place for the RST. He said over time before this meeting was held he managed to get his colleague Minister from Aruba Arthur Dowers agreed to make changes to the structure of the RST (TBO). He said that in that agreement the local law enforcements were totally left out and he could not support the agreement.

Minister Dowers said that one very important step and the decision was taken during this JVO meeting was to have the work of the RST evaluated. He said that the functioning of the RST must be conducted as well as the quality of the investigations they conduct, their efficiency and the price tag for their services. He said the islands have agreed to establish a working committee who will put in place the topics for the evaluation to which the Dutch government has agreed to. Dowers said that when the committee finishes their work then they will proceed with the evaluation which will help improve the quality of services given to the countries by the RST.

Minister Boasman said his efforts yielded success because at least one sentence from the agreement was deleted and further to that an evaluation on the working performance of the RST has to take place before they move forward. Minister Boasman said he does not want to send the wrong message about the RST because St. Maarten do benefit from the work the RST is doing locally, however, there must be more cooperation between the RST and the local police force. He said that the name alone RST means that the team is about cooperation and thus there must be more involvement of the local police.

Another topic that was discussed during the JVO meeting is the AFPAK team (Assets Recovery Team) that is operational both in Curacao and Aruba. Both Ministers Arthur Dowers, and Quincy Girigorie said that they agreed to give a presentation about the operations of the AFPAK team when they meet again. The Ministers of Justice of Curacao and Aruba said that the team in their country is working in full compliance with the law and so far has helped the judicial chain.
Pond Island:--- As the University of St. Martin prepares to co-host The 1st International Conference on Small Island States (SIS) and Subnational Island Jurisdictions (SNIJs) along with the UNESCO Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability, the support within the local community is mounting. Persons have actively been expressing their interest in participating, much to the delight of the local organizing committee. In order to be able to financially support upcoming scholars who are desirous of attending, the Conference Committee has been reaching out to local stakeholders to contribute to travel bursaries.

NAGICO responded swiftly, agreeing to sponsor travel bursaries for two international students in the amount of $500 each. The travel bursaries will be awarded on a competitive basis and will be made granted to graduate students who fulfill the eligibility criteria. The Local Organizing Committee is immensely appreciative of NAGICOs support and expressed admiration for the way in which NAGICO consistently supports initiatives which have a positive impact on the wider St. Maarten Community. The co-chairs of the local organizing committee continue to avail themselves to assist persons who are interested in making paper, panel and poster presentations.

To find out more please visit the Conference website at http://projects.upei.ca/unescochair/call-for-papers/ or contact the local organizing committee via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr announced on Wednesday that he just recently returned from Curacao and managed to obtain the NAF8M that was owed to St. Maarten from the division of assets, this NAF8M he said came the Development Foundation.

Besides, that Minister Gibson said that he held meetings with the Minister of Finance and Prime Minister of Curacao on at least two important topics, he said a decision has been taken to dismiss the members of the supervisory board of the Central Bank. Minister Gibson explained members of the media that as Ministers they had to weigh if the board members were working in the interest of the countries Curacao and St. Maarten, the bank and to further develop the economy or if these board members are busy fighting over their personal matters. The issues at the Central Bank has been going for years and it shows that the board members were not working in the banks best interest. He said since the decision was taken letters were sent out.

He said that the members that St. Maarten proposed already submitted their resignations including the chairman that was appointed through the courts on behalf of Curacao also submitted his resignation. Minister Gibson said two members of the board are now being heard and when that process is completed they will proceed and dismiss the board members and appoint a new board consisting of seven members.

Minister Gibson said he also discussed the current state of the branch of the Central Bank on St. Maarten and the amount of money that is spent on operational cost. He said that the operational bank spending NAF60M which is spent in Curacao while almost nothing is spent on St. Maarten. He said when analyzing that he considered the imbalance to be immoral, unfair, and unjust and cannot continue.

Gibson said that he has reached an agreement with the Prime Minister of Curacao as well as with the Minister of Finance and it has been agreed upon that the Central Bank will finally upgrade the Central Bank on St. Maarten including the hiring of personnel. He said based on his calculation which is based on St. Maarten shares in the bank he said that at least 20% of the operational cost must be spent on St. Maarten. That 20% is equivalent to 12M which he believes will empower the countrys GDP. Minister Gibson said the agreement made will not be executed immediately since the 2018 budget is already prepared, but assured its a work in progress.

Asked by SMN News if the agreement made recently will bear fruit since its been years now that St. Maarten has been requesting that the St. Maarten branch of the Central Bank be upgraded. Minister Gibson said that they do not have only a verbal agreement but they also have the resolution giving the countries that have to ensure that it is done. He said each Minister will request the Governor of the countries to sign a resolution which will be given to the new board of directors who would have to execute the beefing up of the Central Bank on St. Maarten.
ThousandEyes Achieves ISO 27001 Certification Reaffirming Commitment to Data Protection

SAN FRANCISCO, CA  (Marketwired)  07/12/17  ThousandEyes, the Network Intelligence company that delivers visibility into every network, today announced that it has attained ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Certification for its Information Security Management System (ISMS) supporting its network performance management software as a service application. With this certification, ThousandEyes has reaffirmed its highest commitment to protecting users and their information by implementing a comprehensive information security management system in accordance with internationally recognized standards.

At ThousandEyes, the security of customer data is one of our highest priorities, and this certification provides a strong endorsement of ThousandEyes data security practices, said Alexander Anoufriev, chief information security officer at ThousandEyes. We are proud to have some of the largest and most respected organizations in the world as our customers. Because we ensure our technology and systems are guarded against potential leaks or other threats, these customers can have the confidence and trust in ThousandEyes that their data is continuously protected and secure.

The ISO 27001 standard ensures that organizations can establish methodologies and apply a framework to business and IT processes to help identify, manage and reduce risks to the security of information. At ThousandEyes, the standard protects financial information, intellectual property, employee records, and third party/customer information. ThousandEyes will undergo an annual review and three-year recertification to maintain ISO 27001 compliance.

Achieving ISO 27001 Certification is part of ThousandEyes overall strategy to stay current and proactive about risk management. Other certifications and standards that ThousandEyes and its employees comply with include:

Trust service principles issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Inc., and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants

US  EU/Swiss Privacy Shield

TRUSTe Privacy Program Requirements

Other Federal and local laws and regulations

For more information about ThousandEyes commitment to security, visit .

ThousandEyes is a Network Intelligence platform that delivers visibility into every network an organization relies on, enabling them to optimize and improve application delivery, end-user experience and ongoing infrastructure investments. Leading companies such as ServiceNow and Twitter, as well as eBay and other members of the Fortune 500, use ThousandEyes to improve performance and availability of their business-critical applications. ThousandEyes is backed by Sequoia Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, Tenaya Capital and GV (formerly Google Ventures), and has headquarters in San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit or follow us on Twitter at .

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Highwire PR

+1-415-990-3348
New Analysis Shows Most Customer Journey Expansion is in Loyalty and Growth Applications; Total Journey Interactions Quadruple

BOSTON, MA  (Marketwired)  07/12/17  , provider of the leading for brands and agencies, today announced the release of its annual . This global analysis covers more than two billion customer interactions across the key vertical industries using the Kitewheel Hub through 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The report not only underscores the growing popularity of customer journeys as a winning model for customer engagement  with total interactions quadrupling year-over-year  but also uncovers a number of key market trends.

Total journey interactions quadrupled between 2015 and 2016 as marketers ramp up their embrace of an integrated, omni-channel customer journey approach

Customer Journey AdTech  the delivery of targeted and personalized ads synchronized with other channel interactions  was the fastest growing channel, rising 14x year-on-year

IoT, thanks to the unprecedented scale it offers, accounts for almost 30% of all interactions on Kitewheels platform

Social interactions are down sharply  accounting for only 5% of the overall mix in 2016, from 75% in 2014  due to a decline in social listening for lead acquisition tactics

Email interactions in 2016 grew 12x over 2015, highlighting marketers increased focus on this channel for personalized and targeted communication

Retail marketing is getting truly omni-channel  growing 300% between 2015 and 2016 and using an ever-richer channel mix

Customer Journey use cases that align with customer growth, such as loyalty and cross-sell, are growing faster (400%) than those focused on customer acquisition (28%) or conversion (119%)

This years report broke down the customer journey data into three use case classes  customer acquisition, conversion and growth. The findings reveal that growth use cases are rising rapidly, with total volume increasing almost five times year-over-year, while acquisition and conversion use cases continue to grow steadily but more slowly. As a result, more than 75% of all interactions on the Kitewheel platform are now geared towards growth use cases, underscoring a rise in data-driven, personalized channels that allow marketers to leverage existing relationships with consumers.

As journey interactions on our platform continue to grow at an exponential rate, were seeing a major shift in marketers behavior as they embrace a data-driven, omni-channel customer journey approach, said Mark Smith, President of Kitewheel. While only a few years ago, most journey marketers were mostly focused on uncovering potential new customers, todays overwhelming focus is on the later stages of the path to purchase, where highly personalized engagement leads to more consistent ROI.

For an in-depth breakdown and analysis of interaction data from Kitewheels Customer Journey Hub over the past three years, download the free report .

Kitewheel analyzed and compared more than two billion interactions across the retail, auto, travel, healthcare, insurance and healthcare industries from its industry-leading Customer Journey Hub. Data from 2014, 2015 and 2016 was organized by use cases  acquisition, conversion and growth  as well as by channel including email, web, IoT, AdTech and social media. Findings reflect the marketing strategies of Kitewheels broad customer base, primarily addressed through around thirty of the worlds top marketing agencies.

Kitewheel orchestrates intelligent customer journeys by unifying decisions across all touch points for brands and their agencies. Kitewheels innovative Customer Journey Hub visually unifies disparate systems, touch points and technologies to provide seamless customer experiences that drive real-time revenue as well as long term loyalty.

Kitewheel has more than 30 of the worlds leading marketing agencies as active partners, including the top six agency groups Omnicom, IPG, WPP, Publicis, Dentsu and Havas, and was named a Gartner Cool Vendor in 2014 and a Visionary in the 2017 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Marketing Hubs. Kitewheel serves its global partner and client base from offices in Boston, New York City and London. For more information, please visit and follow Kitewheel on and .

Media Contact:

Nick Sneath
Hillcrest standardises on IGEL IZ zero clients for group-wide desktop solution

Reading UK. July 12, 2017  IGEL, a world leader in the delivery of powerful unified endpoint management (UEM) software, thin clients, zero clients and all-in-one solutions, today announced that the Hillcrest Group of Companies, a social housing, care, skills, training and employment organisation, is updating its desktop infrastructure to provide an easy to manage, affordable, reliable and multimedia-ready solution for 800 staff across its 50 sites in Scotland.

The project will see the replacement of existing Axel thin client devices as they become end-of-life with new IGEL IZ series zero clients. These connect to a centralised Citrix server and desktop environment which underpins the whole organisation. The project is already over 70% complete with over 200 Intel Atom-powered IGEL terminals now installed.

Established in 1967, Hillcrest Housing Association is one of Scotlands largest providers of social housing with over 6000 quality properties in Dundee, Edinburgh, Angus, Perthshire and Fife. It is the parent company of four trading subsidiaries which make up the group  Gowrie Care, Hillcrest Enterprises, Hillcrest Maintenance Services and Northern Housing Company. With its headquarters in Dundee, the group exists to enhance the quality of life of individuals and communities by providing a range of services and initiatives that improve housing, support and care, employment and training opportunities.

Hosted at its own datacentre, The Hillcrest Group has created a so-called Citrix farm based on a XenServer virtual server platform along with Citrix XenApp for VDI[1]. Ewan Sutherland, Hillcrest Groups IT operations engineer, explains, Staff connect and are presented with a customised desktop tailored to their group membership. Housing staff are presented with a branded desktop with applications specific to housing. Care staff are presented with a different desktop and range of available applications. And so on.

The advantage of this approach is that, rather than applications having to be installed for staff on individual devices, they are delivered based on the users Active Directory group membership. Everything can then be managed easily and centrally  a massive boon for the IT team  given the group is diverse with staff on multiple locations. Sutherland says, The IGEL terminals are powerful devices although we have them fairly well locked down so they currently act solely as Citrix clients for staff connecting to their work specific desktop

Functionality built-in to support multimedia over a distributed network

Supplied by IGEL reseller, Softcat, The Hillcrest Groups choice of IGEL IZ series zero clients was driven not only based on price, reliability and low power consumption, but the ability to support multimedia as well as dual screens without a specialist adaptor having to be purchased. Dual screens are a key requirement for certain job functions within the organisation who need access to various applications at the same time without chopping and changing systems.

IGEL IZ series zero clients support multimedia applications effectively over a distributed MPLS network which connects Hillcrest Groups 50 sites. This is key as The Hillcrest Group runs a lot of online training sessions for its disperse workforce having developed an Intranet called E-den which contains video, Microsoft PowerPoint and other documentation.

Sutherland explains, It saves staff having to come from all over Scotland to Dundee HQ for training purposes, some of which is compulsory. They can now complete it online and courses are automatically ticked off once completed

In addition, IGEL IZ zero clients also enable stuff to plug in external storage devices like USB flash drives and mobile phones so that files and folders can be copied easily.

Easy management of the desktop estate made easy by IGELs UMS

Over and above product features, it is IGELs Universal Management Suite (UMS) which has really impressed. Sutherland says, If you put the time and effort to learn the UMS, its an excellent tool and makes life really easy. The beauty is you can make configuration changes which can be rolled out to all devices in minutes not hours. For example, a firmware update can be carried out remotely or a scheduled task can be set up to automatically update the firmware on devices out of office hours.

The IGEL UMS also directly helps operational staff. Sutherland explains, If some-one is visually impaired, we can change their local screen resolution from HQ so its easier for them to work and reset it once they have finished using the device. In addition, we can resolve 80-90% of day-to-day questions and issues remotely with the shadowing function. Thats a huge time benefit for the IT team and everyone in the business.

Ainsley Brooks, IGELs UK & Ireland country manager, says, Once you have the UMS set up and IGEL devices plugged in, powered up and connected to a network, the day-to-day management of them is really minimal. Thats the beauty of a centralized desktop strategy and one which the Hillcrest project shows very clearly.

[1] Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
Googles Key Travel Industry-Specific Search Ranking Factors Highlighted in New Searchmetrics Study

Travel brands rank higher by giving searchers a highly browsable experience

SAN MATEO, Calif. (July 12, 2017)  New research from Searchmetrics identifies the important travel industry-specific search ranking factors that travel agents, airlines, hotel chains and other travel-related brands should consider in order to help improve their visibility in Google searches.

A summary of the findings is: Travel brands rank higher by giving searchers a highly browsable experience, helping them easily gather and compare related information. They should also cover topics comprehensively, using more words and more large images, even if this means pages load a little slower.

The research, published in a paper, Travel Ranking Factors: Data Insights for Performing on Google, is particularly significant now because Google is better able to deliver more tailored, industry-specific results, assisted by the AI and machine learning technology in its RankBrain system.

Google now more accurately determines searchers intentions by analyzing the keywords and phrases they enter in the search box, said Daniel Furch, Head of Content Marketing at Searchmetrics. It knows the context of individual searches  including whether they relate to travel, retail, finance or other verticals  and ensures that results reflect the characteristics that meet the needs of searchers. For travel marketers, as for marketers in other verticals, this means they can no longer focus solely on generalized, universally applicable rules to drive the best search performance. They also have to take account of specific factors that are important in their specific vertical.

The new travel sector study is based on an analysis of the top 20 search results on Google.com for over 6,000 typical travel-related search terms (examples include airline tickets, vacation rentals and budget rental car). Searchmetrics identified the most commonly occurring elements that appear in these travel results, noting how they differ from its separate, broader Google ranking factors study which analyzed the results from 10,000 general, high search volume keywords that apply across all industries.

Below are five learnings from the analysis that travel sites should consider when planning their content and search optimization strategies:

1 Make browsability a priority

Travel-related pages that rank higher tend to be more browsable. That is, they tend to have more internal links that allow searchers to click through and browse related content on the same site. This suggests travel searchers are more interested in comparing a variety of similar options and gathering related background information. The study found that travel-related pages ranking in Googles top 10 results have around 23% more internal links (compared with general results that rank in those positions within its broader ranking factors study). The number of internal links on a travel page and how highly it ranks were also found to show a high positive mathematical correlation of +0.21[1]. Or, the more internal links on the page, the higher it ranks. However, its not just having a high number of links that helps travel pages to rank well, its about having an intelligent internal link structure  using the menu, links from the pages main content or sidebars etc.  that guides visitors intuitively through the website.

Travel-related brands need to ensure their web pages intelligently link to related content throughout their site, so searchers can easily find relevant content and background to help them compare and decide on their travel plans, said Furch. This is not surprising as planning a vacation for example involves so many details  from flight times and luggage allowance to insurance, car-hire, and seasonal weather patterns. Searchers want to be able to find answers to all those questions as painlessly as possible.

2 Dont be afraid to include plenty of large images

Pages that rank in the top ten Google results for travel-related queries use around 38% more images over 200 pixels per page. Using more larger images can increase the file size and slow down page load times, and Searchmetrics analysis indicates that travel-related pages listed in the top ten results have a 40% larger file size and take almost 3 seconds longer to load (travel pages take 10.6 seconds to load on average, while the average across all industries is 7.8 seconds). So, Google appears to understand that travel searchers value seeing more higher quality images above a streamlined site that loads quickly.

3 Be comprehensive  even it means being more wordy

Travel-related pages that rank higher tend to carry more text than other high ranking pages. In fact, Searchmetrics analysis indicates that travel results that make it into Googles top ten results average over 2,500 words per page, which is 57% more than in the companys wider benchmark Google Ranking Factors study (the average across all industries is 1,633 words per page for results that rank in the top 10). Obviously, this suggests travel marketers should be comfortable using longer copy to cover topics comprehensively.

4 Use longer lists

Pages that rank in the top 10 results for travel-related searches have longer bullet point lists  nearly four more bullet points per list than pages in the general results published in the benchmark study. As with the need for longer copy and links pointing to related content, this finding suggests travel sites need to prioritize satisfying searchers hunger for detailed information. After all, using bullet points makes it easier to assimilate details  everything from hotel descriptions to holiday packages and car-hire terms.

5 Dont fret about keywords

Travel pages that rank in the first two pages of Google use the searched-for keyword or phrase far less frequently in the text than other top-ranking pages. The study found that travel results included the searched keyword on the page around half as much as search results on the first two pages for general searches (travel pages in the study mention the keyword three times on average versus 7.4 times for general search results pages). Keyword matching is a simplistic, outdated SEO technique and it seems even less effective in travel, where brands need to be focusing on creating relevant, informative, comprehensive content that addresses the searchers needs.

To download Travel Ranking Factors: Data Insights for Performing on Google visit: http://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/ranking-factors-travel/

This is the latest in a series of Searchmetrics industry-specific ranking factors studies focusing on individual verticals. Other vertical studies can be downloaded here http://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/ranking-factors-industry/.
Confirming the development, ED lawyer Hiten Venegaonkar told India Today that it was easier for him to get bail because he is not an accused in the case filed against Naik by National Investigation Agency.

By Mustafa Shaikh: A special PMLA court granted bail to Aamir Gazdar, a close aide of controversial preacher Zakir Naik, on Wednesday. Gazdar, who was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) for money laundering, was granted bail with surety of Rs 5 lakh.

Confirming the development, ED lawyer Hiten Venegaonkar told India Today that it was easier for him to get bail because he is not an accused in the case filed against Naik by National Investigation Agency (NIA).

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Gazdar's lawyer said that ED was not able to prove any crime was committed after the ban on Islamic Research Foundation.

"ED booked my client under section 10, 13 and 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act," said advocate Mubin Solkar adding, to prove these charges they are required to sight a proceed of crime which took place after IRF was banned on November 17 last year.

A case was registered against Gazdar a day after government's ban. "The only crime they sighted was purchase of a land in 2006, but IRF was banned much later. Hence the rigors of section 45 under Prevention of Money Laundering Act didn't apply and it was argued as a normal bail application," said Solkar.

Gazdar was arrested by ED in February this year under three sections of PMLA. Officials claimed that Gazdar allegedly handled cash funds and transactions worth Rs 200 crore on behalf of Naik and his NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).

Also Read:

Zakir Naik created dummy firms to cover up funds received through hate speeches: ED probe

Witness statements indict Zakir Naik aides in ISIS case

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The threatening email indicated the sender "didn't care about living or anybody else," according to the superintendent.
'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever': What to know before you see it
122 countries adopt global treaty banning nuclear weapons



By Carole LANDRY



United Nations, United States (AFP) July 7, 2017



The treaty providing for a total ban on developing, stockpiling or threatening to use nuclear weapons will be open for signatures as of September 20 and will enter into force when 50 countries have ratified it.

The United States, France and Britain said they remain committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which seeks to prevent the spread of atomic weapons but also puts the onus on nuclear states to reduce their stockpiles.

None of the nine countries that possess nuclear weapons -- the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel -- took part in the negotiations or the vote.

"This treaty offers no solution to the grave threat posed by North Korea's nuclear program, nor does it address other security challenges that make nuclear deterrence necessary," they added.

The treaty will create "even more divisions at a time when the world needs to remain united in the face of growing threats, including those from the DPRK's (Democratic People's Republic of Korea's) ongoing proliferation efforts," they said.

The Western powers said the treaty fails to address the security concerns of the nuclear states who maintain that their atomic stockpiles serve as a deterrent against a nuclear attack.

"This initiative clearly disregards the realities of the international security environment," said the statement from the three ambassadors.

The treaty outlawing nuclear weapons was adopted by 122 countries at the United Nations on Friday despite the boycott by the nuclear powers and their allies.

In a joint statement, the three nuclear powers recalled that they had boycotted negotiations on the treaty and have no intention of joining it.

United Nations, United States (AFP) July 7, 2017 - The United States, Britain and France on Friday rejected a newly-adopted global treaty banning nuclear weapons, saying it "clearly disregards the realities" of international security such as the threat from North Korea.

A global treaty banning nuclear weapons was adopted at the United Nations on Friday despite opposition from nuclear powers Britain, France and the United States which said it disregards the reality of dealing with international security threats such as North Korea.

The treaty was adopted by a vote of 122 in favor with one country -- NATO member The Netherlands -- voting against, while Singapore abstained.

None of the nine countries that possess nuclear weapons -- the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel -- took part in the negotiations or the vote.

Even Japan -- the only country to have suffered atomic attacks, in 1945 -- boycotted the talks as did most NATO countries.

Loud applause and cheers broke out in a UN conference hall following the vote that capped three weeks of negotiations on the text providing for a total ban on developing, stockpiling or threatening to use nuclear weapons.

Within hours of its adoption, the United States, Britain and France rejected the treaty and said they have no intention of joining it.

"This initiative clearly disregards the realities of the international security environment," said the UN ambassadors from the three countries.

"This treaty offers no solution to the grave threat posed by North Korea's nuclear program, nor does it address other security challenges that make nuclear deterrence necessary," they said in a joint statement.

North Korea marked a worrying milestone in its drive to develop nuclear weapons when it tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile this week.

Nuclear powers argue their arsenals serve as a deterrent against a nuclear attack and say they remain committed to gradual approach to disarmament outlined in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The decades-old NPT seeks to prevent the spread of atomic weapons but also puts the onus on nuclear states to reduce their stockpiles.

Impatience however is growing among many non-nuclear states over the slow pace of disarmament as are worries that weapons of mass destruction will fall into the wrong hands.

- Delegitimizing nuclear weapons -

Led by Austria, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and New Zealand, 141 countries joined in drafting the treaty that they hope will increase pressure on nuclear states to take disarmament more seriously.

Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland voted in favor as did Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Kazakhstan and many African and Latin American countries.

"We have managed to sow the first seeds of a world free of nuclear weapons," said Costa Rica's ambassador, Elayne Whyte Gomez, the president of the UN conference that negotiated the treaty.

The International Committee of the Red Cross hailed it as a "historic step towards delegitimizing" nuclear weapons and declared the adoption "an important victory for our shared humanity."

Welcoming "an important step" towards a nuclear-free world, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the treaty reflects growing "awareness of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences" of a nuclear war.

Disarmament campaigners say the treaty will increase the stigma associated with nuclear weapons and have an impact on public opinion.

"The key thing is that it changes the legal landscape," said Richard Moyes, director of the British-based organization Article 36.

"It stops states with nuclear weapons from being able to hide behind the idea that they are not illegal."

"It is beyond question that nuclear weapons violate the laws of war and pose a clear danger to global security," said Beatrice Fihn, director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

The treaty will be open for signatures as of September 20 and will enter into force when 50 countries have ratified it.

United Nations, United States (AFP) July 7, 2017





A global treaty banning nuclear weapons is set to be adopted at the United Nations on Friday despite opposition from the United States, Britain, France and other nuclear powers that boycotted negotiations. Supporters describe the treaty as a historic achievement but the nuclear-armed states have dismissed the ban as unrealistic, arguing it will have no impact on reducing the global stockpile ... read more

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Chahid El Hafed, July 12, 2017 (SPS) - The Council of Ministers warned on Tuesday about the danger of the spread of the Moroccan drug and its consequence in the region.

Morocco is according to the Council of Ministers, the largest producer and exporter of cannabis in the world and does not hesitate to use it in a dirty war to encourage organized crime gangs and terrorist groups, thus; threaten peace and stability in the region and the world.

In a statement released today, the Council of Ministers meeting under the leadership of the President of the Republic, Brahim Gali stressed that the national question steadily progresses under the consensus and unity of the Saharawi people around its unique and legitimate representative, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia El Hamra and Rio de Oro (F.POLISARIO), gaining several successes on the diplomatic front, both at the level of the United Nations, at the level of the African Union or at the level of the European Union.

The Council of Ministers strongly condemned retaliation against the prisoners of the Saharawi student movement, known as "Wali's companions, warning at the same time of the Moroccan occupation's intention to issue harsh sentences against the Saharawi political prisoners of the Gdeim Izik Group that the Moroccan court has postponed their trial for 18 July 2017.

In that sense, the Council of Ministers has expressed its solidarity and support to all Saharawi political prisoners in Moroccan prisons, calling for their immediate release.SPS

125/090/TRA
In joining the H&H Group PLC board, Colin will be integral to supporting the development and planning of business strategies for the Group and its individual operating companies.

H&H Group PLC employs over 320 industry professionals and provides services from 18 locations spanning the north of England, from east to west, as well as in southern Scotland. The appointment of Colin as a new non-executive director highlights its success and its aim to adapt to changing markets and business circumstances.

Colin is a highly respected vet and in addition to his veterinary and consultancy work, he frequently lectures throughout the UK and abroad. In 2001 he won the prestigious Pet Plan Vet of the Year award, and in 2013 he was awarded UK Dairy Vet of the Year.
We all want to be success stories, stars, winners. What if I told you that the best way to get there is to always be the underdog? That adversity and intense competition make us strive that much harder to succeed. And that, if you aspire to achieve great things, competitive spirit is among the most important qualities to have.

Dont let all the negative press about hypercompetitive entrepreneurs like Ubers Travis Kalanick and Amazons Jeff Bezos fool you. Theyre not successful in spite of their compulsion to win, but because of it. The same is true of most of the greatest CEOs of our time, from Bill Gates and Andy Grove to Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs.

Related: "An Entrepreneur Needs to Be Both, Humble and Arrogant"

This is not just an American phenomenon, mind you. Softbank founder and chairman Masayoshi Son has a chip on his shoulder as wide as his $85 billion companys global footprint. Thats why the boy who once lived with his immigrant parents in an illegal shack is now Japans richest man. He is never satisfied with what he has.

Related: Why Humble Leaders Inspire Loyal Teams

Likewise, when Lee Kun-hee took over the Samsung Group upon the death of his father, the Korean conglomerate was known as a low-quality producer of low-budget commodity items like food and clothing. That was 1987 when he famously told his staff to change everything except your wife and kids. Today, Samsung generates 20 percent of South Koreas GDP and Lee is the nations wealthiest man.

Just last week, Samsung ended Intels 26-year reign as the worlds biggest semiconductor company, but not because the Silicon Valley chip giant is resting on its laurels. On the contrary, the companys leadership still follows Groves driving principle, that only the paranoid survive. In his book of the same title, Intels former chairman astutely observed that success contains the seeds of its own destruction.

The dominant characteristic among every one of those outstanding leaders is that, even when they were on top, they never felt like they were. They always acted as if they were underdogs fighting bigger and better-equipped enemies on every front. Thats what made them winners over the long haul, which is the only timeframe that really matters, when you think about it.

Related: Turns Out, Humility Offers a Competitive Advantage

I can personally attest to the power of the underdog mentality. I spent the bulk of my thirtysomething-year career competing against Microsoft, Intel and Samsung. Those 800-pound gorillas may have dominated their respective markets, but they never gave up a single percent of market share without fighting as if their very existence depended on it.

In one of the greatest business books of all time, What They Dont Teach You at Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack says that true champions are never satisfied with their own accomplishments. They live for the challenge of the next battle, not for the fruits of the last victory. For them, competing and winning is not an event, but a way of life.

Another defining characteristic of super-competitive entrepreneurs is their keen self-awareness: an unabashed openness about their relentless drive for perfection. If that makes them hard-driving a-holes and tough to satisfy, so be it. Flawed as they may be, they make no apologies for who they are. They are their own genuine selves. Ive always appreciated that quality. But then, Im the same way.

Ironically, those who do all the talking about being good guys often turn out to be the biggest creeps. Im thinking about Gravity4 founder Gurbaksh Chahal, who continued to paint himself as a valiant victim, even after pleading guilty to domestic violence and battery.

Just last week, founder Dave McClure was forced out of 500 Startups over several sexual harassment incidents and a sexual assault claim. In each case, he took advantage of entrepreneurs seeking funding from his startup incubator. In his obligatory apology post titled Im a creep. Im sorry, McClure writes:

When confronted about what happened, I was at first defensive. I didnt have much empathy for the people I hurt and offended, and rather than face up to my own shallow motivations, I rationalized my actions and came up with reasons to find blame in others, rather than solely with me.

He goes on to say that he ultimately came to realize that he was the problem, and not full of goodness and light as he once thought.

The takeaway is simple: If you want to be a winner, dont act like one. Stay humble and grounded. Thats the way to achieve success over the long haul.

Related:



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


S hares in oil firms John Wood Group and Amec Foster Wheeler dived on Wednesday after fraud cops launched a corruption probe into Amec.

Wood shares fell 10% to 561p from 623p and Amecs fell 6% to 426.5p after the Wood said it was not possible to estimate the impact of the probe on Amec.

The Wood statement, drafted by the company last night and issued this morning, jarred with an Amec statement issued at 6pm last night, which said the investigation was not expected to have an impact on the completion of the deal.

Numis said: This in our view introduces some scope for deal-completion uncertainty, and to the extent the deal comes under doubt, it will likely be taken as a negative for Amec shares. Wood has previously been more bullish on the deal despite the SFO probe, which it flagged as a possible risk months ago.

Wood chief financial officer David Kemp earlier said it understood the risk of the investigation before making an offer to buy Amec in March.

Analysts also felt the SFO woes would not hit the merger, with RBC Capital analyst Victoria McCulloch calling the share price slide a slight overreaction.

Management were aware of this and dont see the legal issues as a concern to prevent the deal, she added.

The SFO investigation is tied to its larger probe into Monaco-based engineering company Unaoil.
W hen Trajal Harrell was eight he started going to a gymnastics class in his small town in southern Georgia. His grandfather would pick him up afterwards. Gymnastics ran from 2pm-3pm but Harrell told his grandfather that it ended at 4pm, because that way he got to watch the girls ballet class that went on afterwards.

I was mesmerised, says Harrell. It wasnt so much the movement as the ritual, the formality of it that I really loved watching. I understood that in my town, boys did not take ballet, and I understood that I didnt tell my grandfather I wanted to watch it. It wasnt even that I wanted to do what they were doing, but I loved watching the construction of movement. I look back on that and think this must have been the beginning seeds of wanting to be a choreographer.

It was more than a decade before Harrell finally took a dance class (he was known in his family as the one who couldnt dance) but he did go on to become a choreographer.

He has built a following in New Yorks downtown scene and across Europe for his work, most notably Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at the Judson Church, a series of performances where the worlds of vogueing and postmodern dance collide as Harrell imagines what would have happened if a vogueing drag queen in Sixties Harlem had turned up at the Judson Church, the experimental mecca of NYC dance at the time.

Mesmerising: Caen Amour / Orpheas Emirzas

Harrell is New Yorks best-kept secret. He is established enough there to have been granted a two-year residency at MoMA, but his work has been little seen in London. That, however, is being rectified with a major performance exhibition that offers a retrospective of his work so far, dating back to 1999.

When we meet at the Barbican, where hes about to begin work in the Gallery, Harrell, 44, has just flown in from Athens, where he lives much of the time (he estimates about 70 per cent of his work is now in Europe, with the rest of his time split between Georgia and New York). Hes warm, voluble, switched on and spooling through complex ideas.

Its clear that his background is academic. A straight A student, Harrell went to Yale University to major in American studies, with a concentration on creative processes. He always had an interest in theatre. In the seventh grade (Year 8) his teacher invited him to take part in the annual History Day Competition, for which he wrote and directed a group performance and won first prize in the state for six years on the trot.

At college he was acting and directing but increasingly interested in movement rather than words, making music video-esque scenes, he says. A friend said to me, I think you may be trying to be a choreographer.

Postmodern: Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at the Judson Church / Ian Douglas

The fact that Harrells work spans both high-cultural theory and pop-cultural flashpoints, such as music videos, catwalks and Harlem drag balls, is what makes it so interesting. He isnt making fusions of forms. He doesnt necessarily learn the dance styles  like the boy watching the ballet class from the doorway, he approaches them as an outsider  its more about comparing the ideas underneath: The idea of realness in vogueing in relation to the postmodern idea of authenticity.

In the Barbican show, called Hoochie Koochie, visitors will be able to choose from three or four things to watch at any time, with 14 works on rotation and a cast of 15 dancers, and with the boundaries between stage and backstage blurred.

The title refers to the hoochie coochie dance style thats referenced in his latest work, Caen Amour. Hoochie coochie goes back to the turn of the last century, a western take on the dances brought over from the Middle East (think belly dancing), but over the subsequent decades it became an all-purpose term for exotic dancing.

Harrell came across it in childhood. Every year in my small town there would be a fair, my father would take me. There would be a Ferris wheel, and there would also be a hoochie coochie show. At a certain point, my father would send me away with friends and cotton candy (candy floss) and as the years passed I started to realise: Hes going to watch naked ladies dance! We never talked about it ever. But this is my first understanding of dance as a live spectacle.

Where to see dance in London 1 /6 Where to see dance in London Royal Opera House Home to the world-class Royal Ballet, the Royal Opera House is a stunning auditorium with a gigantic stage. The Royal Ballet began performing there in 1946, with Margot Fonteyn performing in a gala performance of Sleeping Beauty to mark the occasion. It is now home to revivals of classics by choreographers like Kenneth MacMillan and Frederick Ashton, and innovative new works by contemporary figures like Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor.



Covent Garden; roh.org.uk Sadler's Wells One of the biggies, Sadlers Wells has been around since the 17th century. The current Islington building is the sixth on the site since it began 1683, but it was in 2005 that director Alistair Spalding said he wanted Sadlers to do for dance what the National Theatre does for drama. It presents all forms of contemporary dance and helps to develop original work in both its main house and the smaller Lilian Baylis Studio. Their associate artist list is basically a whos who of contemporary dance, counting Wayne McGregor, Matthew Bourne, Hofesh Shechter and Crystal Pite amongst its number.



Islington; sadlerswells.com Southbank Centre The Southbank Centres jampacked year-round programme of multi-arts festivals always places high importance on dance. They play host to a range of international companies, from our very own English National Ballet to the Hong Kong Dance Company.



Belvedere Road, Embankment/Waterloo; southbankcentre.co.uk The Place This old drill hall near Euston develops dancers as well as hosting performances. It is home to the London Contemporary Dance School, but its 280-seat theatre hosts over 200 performances a year. Its also home to Resolution, the biggest UK festival for emerging dance companies.



Off Euston Road; theplace.org.uk Jacksons Lane A bit of a wild card choice: Jacksons Lane is Londons most exciting venue for circus and cabaret companies. If you want to have a jaw-dropping evening of people contorting and bouncing and swinging about in a way that us mere mortals can only dream of, get yourself to Highgate to see whats going on at Jacksons Lane.



Highgate; jacksonslane.org.uk The Barbican This brutalist beauty is home to a whole stew of different arts forms, and regularly plays host to some of the most exciting dance companies. The huge complex has performance spaces from the blooming big to the intimate, and in the last year has played host to bright choreographing talents including Julie Cunningham, Michael Clark, Siobhan Davies, and Ballet Black.



Silk Street, Barbican/Moorgate; barbican.org.uk

Harrell never saw the hoochie coochie show himself so, like much of his work, its an exercise in imagination, and about exploring the questions of exoticism, colonialism, sexism, racism that crop up along the way.

But he did do some research. One guy I talked to went to a hoochie coochie show in Ohio, says Harrell. He said they went into the tent, the woman comes on, she puts on the phonograph, takes off her clothes and she just stands there and looks at them, no smile, nothing. Its easy to see strip shows as women being objects of the male gaze, but to me this was a woman whos not stupid, says Harrell. Shes playing with the idea of object versus subject. Whos the object here? Just like today. I know many dancers who supplement their income by working in stripping. And they bring some of their art into this. I assume it was no different in 1912. I think the hoochie coochie show is part of the history of modern dance.

As with all of Harrells work, theres lots to think about. In the Barbican show, as well as vogueing and hoochie coochie, he delves into the Japanese dance form butoh, classical Greek theatre and the early-modern dance pioneer Loie Fuller. There are many layers of fiction and reality, history and imagined histories to explore.

Ultimately, he says, I want people to believe in impossibilities. There are so many things we have to solve in this world and if we stop believing in the impossible, its over. Art is one of those things that can push us towards the impossible. I think at its core my work is always trying to encourage people there. Its like me wanting to be a choreographer. I somehow believed in the impossible.

And from those first glimpses of a ballet class to the international stage, that belief has turned into something undeniably real.

Hoochie Koochie is at the Barbican Gallery, EC2 (020 7638 4141, barbican.org.uk) July 20-August 13
L ondon has an unshakeable spritz spirit. In good times and bad  but generally on the condition theres at least a promise of sun  the capitals bars pop and splash with the sound of fizz.

Spritz, thats strictly speaking a wine-based cocktail but the boundaries are blurred, has broadened out beyond Aperol to be the drink of the summer, says Luca Missaglia, bar manager at Aqua Shard. He explains its appeal: A spritz is great as its refreshing, easy to drink and lighter than other drinks. Theres a practical benefit that makes a nod to virtue: It can be enjoyed for longer because it has a lower alcohol content. Missaglia has created a menu of cocktail sorbets, including an Aperol spritz, all served in coupe glasses with sparkling wine.

Over the past few years Aperol has become entrenched as the average slickers weapon of choice, usually in combination with prosecco and an orange wedge. It looks cheery and the colour is flattering.

As if to make the point, Hackney rooftop bar Netil 360 hosts an Italian-themed Aperol Spritz Social tomorrow in the spirit of the spirit, serving giant cicchetti spreads by renowned Peckham-based Italian dining hall Forza Win alongside the aperitif.

Best rooftop bars and pubs in London 1 /33 Best rooftop bars and pubs in London Netil 360, Hackney 1 Westgate St, E8 3RL, netil360.com

During the day, Netil 360 (on top of Hackney's Netil House) has its serious face on, with free workspaces, a cafe and even yoga sessions. But throughout the summer, they're in a more relaxed mood, with day parties, outdoor movie screenings, comedy nights, and various workshops . Expect lots of drinks, foodie pop-ups, and, naturally, terrific views. Queen of Hoxton, Shoreditch 1 Curtain Rd, EC2A 3JX, queenofhoxton.com

The Queen of Hoxton's rooftop has had more makeovers than Madonna and gleefully continues the trend this year. Their outside space has been re-imagined as A Tribute To Dr Strange, channelling San Francisco in 1967. Expect a side of psychedelia with all the food and drink. Proud, Camden The Horse Hospital, The Stables Market, Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 8AH, proudcamden.com

Marking 150 years since Lewis Carroll's children's classic was first published, Proud have transformed their rooftop spot into a homage to Alice's Wonderland. It's well suited to late night drinks, but on Saturday's the 'Mad Hatter' hosts a tea party, complete with board games and croquet. Game on, old thing. Prince of Wales, Brixton 467- 469 Brixton Rd, SW9 8HH, pow-london.com

For those who want to dance, POW salutes you: it is, unquestionably, a place to party. On the weekends, come for the DJs, while in the weekday, make do by bouncing between their three bars. Happy memories are made here, even if you won't always remember them the next morning. Dalston Roof Park, Dalston 18 Ashwin St, E8 3DL, bootstrapcompany.co.uk

An eco-addition to Hackney's growing rooftop scene, the Roof Park always has something going on. On the one hand, it's an urban oasis covered in impressive topiary, solar panels  which power it  and allotments, while on the other, it hosts cinema screenings, acoustic gigs and foodie residencies., as well as its fair share of parties. Opposite the overground station, this is a super-convenient rooftop, open daily. Coq D'Argent, Bank 1 Poultry, EC2R 8EJ, coqdargent.co.uk

A favourite among city types, D&D's Coq D'Argent has a storming menu and very decent wine list. The seated area is charming enough, but make sure to wander to their garden (pictured) for the best views. You'll leave in high spirits and with an empty wallet. The Rooftop at The Trafalgar 2 Spring Gardens, SW1A 2TS, thetrafalgar.com

The Vista terrace is a little disconcerting, for one delightful reason: despite being in perhaps the busiest part of London, it somehow largely avoids being overcrowded. In fact, Vista is often surprisingly quiet, although expect the odd tourist. Drinks are as pricey as one would expect in the centre of town, but the views are hard to top. Frank's Cafe, Peckham Peckham Multi Story Carpark, 133 Rye Ln, SE15 4ST, frankscafe.org.uk

This huge spot takes over the entire top of a multi-storey carpark, so there's plenty of space for everyone, despite it's immense popularity. From May 19, expect a fabulous barbecue, lots of drinks, and a very chilled vibe. Arguably London's coolest rooftop, and the 360 degree views are oddly soothing. Rex Sushi Samba, Bishopsgate Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AY, sushisamba.com

The glamour here is only hampered if you're scared of heights: at 39 stories up, it's somewhat vertigo inducing. Still, they've one of the most glorious views in London and an excellent cocktail list. You'll have to fight your way through yah-yah types to get to the bar, but it's all part of the ridiculousness, which is what makes it fun. Boundary, Shoreditch 2-4 Boundary St, E2 7DD, boundary.london

Come hungry to Boundary: they've just launched a Provencal-style summer menu, with the likes of Ortiz anchovies and ricotta, octopus and chorizo skewers. You'll need to book, as it gets busy quickly, but once you're up there, it's charmingly relaxed. Be sure to have a gin 'n' tonic, they've got their own label gin and are rightly keen on the stuff. Radio Rooftop Bar, The Strand 336-337 Strand, WC2R 1HA, radiorooftop.com

Come up in the evening for a high-end Ibiza feel: there are plush white sofas and big bucket seats galore, as well as a few tables for couples. The drinks are pricey, and the music might not be for everyone (there's that Ibiza theme again), but the view includes the London Eye, Big Ben, the Shard, the Gherkin and more. With London landmarks like that and flickering candles, it's a very decent date night spot. Pergola on the Roof, Shepherd's Bush 101 Wood Ln, W12 7FA, pergolaontheroof.co.uk

Head to the BBC's old haunt, the television centre, for this new pop-up. Food comes courtesy of Salt Yard, Le Coq, Rabbit and Patty & Bun, so you won't go hungry. Just prepare for it to be busy: they've a capacity of more than 500, so it's not one for a quiet drink. Oxo Tower, South Bank Barge House St, SE1 9PH, harveynichols.com

When it's warm, the Oxo tower offers a lovely sense of occasion. Go for the stunning views over the Thames and beyond, including St Paul's and the Gherkin. Given how splendid these views are, the cocktails don't need to be anything special, so it's all the more pleasing that they are. A Michael Kyle www.michaelkyle.co.uk The Lost Format Society, Croydon NCP Fairfield Car Park, Barclay Road, CR0 1JN, lostformatsociety.co.uk

Croydon get their first rooftop offering in the form of this rooftop cinema and bar. If you're not in the mood for a film, seek out the secret garden, where they've rooftop yoga, giant Jenga and Connect Four, bowls and plenty of music. The Culpeper, Spitalfields 40 Commercial St, E1 6LP, theculpeper.com

When the sun comes out, this Spitalfields pub overflows onto the pavement around it: the trick is to head upstairs, which is a little quieter and has a view out over the Gherkin. Sunsets are particularly beautiful up here, but no-one comes to a pub for that, so rest assured that they've plenty of beers on tap, decent cocktails and the food is some of the best pub fare in London. Besides, in the small hours of the morning, it's popular with local bartenders as its usually open later than everywhere else, making for a great crowd. Aqua Spirit, Regent Street 240 Regent St, W1B 3BR, aquaspirit.co.uk

This the where the well-groomed set come for a post-work sundowner in the hotter months. Twin terraces attached to the various Aqua restaurants allow brilliant views across Soho and Mayfair rooftops. There's plenty of standing room, too, so you'll likely be able to squeeze in: cocktails are pricey, but ingredients are top shelf. Angler at the South Place Hotel, Moorgate 3 South Pl, EC2M 2AF, southplacehotel.com

You needn't eat at the two Michelin star Angler restaurant to enjoy this bar, though if you can walk past the menu without at least being tempted, we'll be impressed. Still, one can get a taste of it with the bar snacks here. Cocktails wise, order The Peruvian, a long riff on an Aperol Spritz. Perfect summer fare. The Castle, Islington 54 Pentonville Rd, N1 9HF, thecastleislington.co.uk

This is an understated rooftop, and don't come for endless views, either: rather, spend an evening here gently unwinding with a pint as the sun fades. The food's decent, it's jolly, what else matters? The Lock Tavern, Camden 35 Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 8AJ, lock-tavern.com

Something of a Camden institution, this pub does a decent raft of guest ales, offers a fine selection of whisky (including a few ryes and some Japanese) and often hosts gigs the the cozy confines of the second floor. Still, when the sun's out, head to the tiny terrace for the communal tables and or the row of repurposed cinema seats. It's almost always crowded, but it's a lively spot with charming views over Camden market. Roof Top Kitchen at Alfies Antique Market, Marylebone 13-25 Church St, NW8 8DT, alfiesantiques.com

Alfies is a daytime port of calm: ideal if you're taking a break from the market. We'd come for lunch, order one of the daily-changing specials, and then give in to the temptation of wine and while away a few hours until closing time in the early evening. Roof Top Kitchen at Alfies Antique Market Queen Elizabeth Roof Gardens Bar, South Bank Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX, southbankcentre.co.uk

The term 'hidden gem' is overused, but means something here: tourists and Londonders alike often walk straight past the yellow staircase that leads up to this roof terrace. That doesn't mean it doesn't get busy  it is fairly central, after all. The garden is the result of volunteers from St Mungo's charity and feels a world away from the concrete lines of the Southbank Centre below. Jugs of Pimms and other summery libations are on offer with light snacks, well into the evening. Victor Frankowski & Southbank Centre The Roof Gardens, Kensington 99 Kensington High Street, W8 5SA, virginlimitededition.com

You'll need to make a little effort to get in here, as they're big on glitz and glamour. Unsurprisingly, it's all rather lovely: the Babylon terrace gang are hot on their cocktails and when the grill gets going, the food is on point. Their parties have a reputation, too, for all the right reasons. Notch, Oxford Street 535 Oxford Street, W1Cnotchldn.com

Notch takes over from the car crash which was Roofnic (Grace Dent declared she'd rather jump off the roof than return to it), and they've started from scratch. Try and nab a seat on one of the swings which looks over Oxford Street. There's street food on hand, plenty of drinks in jars and some excellent pre-mixed Negronis (served in tuna can-esque tins, no less) and, on the weekends, a brunch menu. Bussey Building, Peckham 133 Rye Ln, SE15 4ST, busseyrooftopbar.com

The Bussey Building boasts a respectable bar, but head there for their regular film screenings, which show a mix of classics and fairly recent releases, with food laid on by Forza Win and Pizza Pilgrims. Golden Bee, Old Street Singer St, EC1V 9DD, goldenbee.co.uk

Golden Bee's swank won't be to everyone's taste, but if it's your thing, you'll love it. And isn't diversity London's shining glory? There's no denying it's a beautiful spot, and if you want to listen to DJs spin club classics and house, it's hard to beat. And while plenty of people come dolled up, cocktails start at just 8.50.

Variety, though, is a boon  and Londons cocktail connoisseurs are never slow to stir from their laurels. Even Polpo, who were pioneers of the Aperol spritz, now serves Cynar fizz, a savoury grown up drink with artichoke liqueur and soda. For another refreshing take to head to Duck & Waffle in the Heron Tower on Bishopsgate for a Red Pepper Spritz, where head of spirit and cocktail development Rich Woods will whip up a mix of blanched red pepper vodka, Noilly Prat Dry vermouth, leftover red pepper stalk and seed cordial, red pepper vinegar and prosecco. Downstairs at SUSHISAMBA, Woods serves a Sake Spritz with sake, elderflower liqueur and plum and fig vinegar, served long and spritzed with soda. Over in Soho, Company Below serves Smoke Without Fire, a punchy spritz made with mezcal, aloe vera, lime, chipotle and ginger beer.

Indeed, the capital is awash with alt-spritzes; everyone is experimenting. The Cava Sangria at Brindisa Shoreditch is an alternative take on the classic Sangria, spritzing up a classic with delicious prosecco, homemade lemon syrup, peach liquor, and triple sec as a fruit garnish. Made of Dough in Peckham serves an unmissable Staibano Spritz, which beefs up regulation Aperol with Amalfi Smooth and San Pellegrino Arancia substituted for the soda water. Meanwhile, Brick House Bakery uses orange wine as the base for its spritz.

At Super Lyan in Hoxton, the Chattanooga Cooler is a tropical spritz, made with Super Lyans passionfruit pale ale, mango, pineapple and spices mixed with Jack Daniels for a long, fresh, holiday number. The Chattanooga Cooler nods to the refreshing wonder a beer brings but has a big flavour thats ideal in the heat, says Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan. Bubbles are key, but find a combination thats not heavy or sweet, then fold in your favourite flavours.

London is a fast-moving city, where every day new concepts and ideas, but also people, are coming by the wagonload, says Greg Almeida, head bartender at Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London. Its important to make sure our guests, old and new, do not get bored; but also to push our ideas forward and experiment.

To this end, Rosewoods spritzes are packed with spices and herbs  Almeida recommends a spritz made with Suze, a gentian-based bitter aperitif from France. At Scarfes, The Flying Boot is a neat twist on the spritz: Haig Club Whisky, Spanish spiced sauvignon blanc, creme de cassis, balsamic glaze and tonic water.

Sack, the sherry bar in Spitalfields, uses the dryness of fino sherry in the Fino Spritz, assembling a light take on the spritz. In Southwark, Bala Bayas Gazozini cocktail packs in the flavour with a mix of grapefruit and thyme, watermelon and parsley, grape and ginger-flavoured Gazoz topped up with sparkling prosecco. Packing more of a punch, Orioles Everglade is a heady blend of Bulleit rye whisky, grapefruit citronette and absinthe.

Indian spritzes are all also the rage, typically featuring a playful infusion of spices. The Jaipur Fizz at Talli Joe in Soho is made with vodka, St Germain, rose and lime, topped with prosecco. Meanwhile, at Jamavar in Mayfair, the redoubtable Burman is a blend of Indian spiced gin Opihr and apple juice, shaken with lemon, blue lady flowers and champagne.

Even kombucha has had the fizz treatment. Brewed in Hackney but stocked around London, JARR Kombuchas fermented tea is a delicious gin sidekick and could ease any hangovers.

As much as taste is important, its only half the package. Location is key. Youve got to remember, its perfect outdoors, and rooftop bars are wonderful, says Chetiyawardana. Rumpus Room at the Mondrian hotel does some amazing light combinations that are perfect overlooking the water of the Thames. Hole up with your best tipple tips, and toast the Great British summer. Its time for a spritz blitz.
A s you get older, getting a good nights kip seems harder and harder.

But what many might blame on smartphones and stress actually may be an evolutionary survival tool, designed to help protect us from nocturnal threats, researchers say.

While studying modern hunter-gatherers in Tanzania, scientists from the Duke University in South Carolina found differences in age-related sleep patterns has one very big benefit: it ensures that at least one person in a tribe is awake at all times.

This means that they can be on the lookout for potential danger, while the rest of the group sleeps.

Over the three-week period that researchers studied the tribe, there were only 18 minutes when all 33 tribe members were asleep simultaneously.

The scientists concluded that experiencing restless nights sleep as you get older could be an ancient evolutionary trait from thousands of years ago when humans would have to keep watch for predators.

'The idea that there's a benefit to living with grandparents has been around for a while, but this study extends that idea to vigilance during nighttime sleep,' said study co-author Dr David Samson of the Duke University in Durham, South Carolina.

The study looked at the Hadza people in northern Tanzania - who hunt and gather for their food in the same way that humans used to before farming.

David Samson

The tribes live and sleep in groups of 20 to 30 people.

In the daytime, the men and women split into separate groups to forage for berries, nuts, tubers and meat in the woodlands surrounding Tanzania's Lake Eyasi.

As night sets in, they reunite at their camp, where everyone beds down for the evening next to a fire or together in huts made of woven grass and branches.

They tell an important part of the human evolutionary story because they live a lifestyle that is the most similar to our hunting and gathering past, said Alyssa Crittenden, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. They sleep on the ground and have no synthetic lighting or controlled climate.

Researchers have also found similar patterns in birds and mice, but this is the first time the scientists have recorded the phenomenon in humans.

The scientists believe the theory could be the reason why many elderly people experience insomnia.

A lot of older people go to doctors complaining that they wake up early and cant get back to sleep, co-author Charlie Nunn, professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke said. But maybe theres nothing wrong with them. Maybe some of the medical issues we have today could be explained not as disorders, but as a relic of an evolutionary past in which they were beneficial.
W hen Tim Griffin found out that his beautiful Golden Retriever Molson had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, he devised a plan to make sure he made the most of every day with his best friend.

After vets gave Molson just three months to live, the Pennsylvanian man came up with the ingenious idea of writing a bucket list itinerary for his poorly pup, that would help the two of them enjoy their last days together on earth.

So far, Griffin and his family have given adorable Molson the send off of a lifetime. Hes enjoyed camping in the wilderness, feeling the wind in his hair in a convertible car, flying in a helicopter and bounding around in a waterfall, among other epic adventures.

But the highlight of his wish list so far has to be getting married to his lifelong flame - a black Labrador called Josie, in a ceremony attended by 30 people last month.

Molson even tied the knot / Tim Griffin/SWNS.com

Patient Molson was kitted out in a top hat and tuxedo while his slobbering bride padded around in a white dress and veil, as an ordained minister pronounced them man and wife.

They even tucked into a dog-friendly cake, adorned with biscuits and treats for the newlyweds.

The diagnosis was a shock at first, Tim told Metro. When you hear the C word you think it is a death sentence.

He has good days or bad days, and the lump on his nose gives him pain, but we have been taking him out and doing things outdoors with him.

He loves the water so we thought of different ways to get him into it, like taking him to a waterfall and a hot tub.

He also loved riding in the convertible, you could see his ears and lips flapping.

Griffin says that his Golden loves nothing more than being in the water / Tim Griffin/SWNS.com

Griffin has been sharing updates of Molsons adventures on his blog, where hes paid tribute to the friend that is always there for you, that has a favourite spot on the couch, creates odours that can clear a room and loves nothing more than photobombing pictures at the last minute.

The doting dog owner says that writing the bucket list and photographing the journey has helped him and his two children to come to terms with the cancer diagnosis.

It has given us the chance to focus on all the happy memories instead of just sitting at home watching him deteriorate, he said.

If anyone else is thinking about it I would say, go for it. It has been a lot of fun.
A s any fan of The Godfather films knows, in every powerful family there is a Michael and a Fredo Corleone. Michael is the calculating protector of the familys interests, icily self-controlled; Fredo is the endearing shambles, ill-at-ease with all that money and power, prone to embarrassing the clan.

With the Trumps, Michael is a blend of Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner  photogenic, inscrutable and indisputably loyal. Fredo was the nickname given by the Presidents campaign team to his eldest child, Donald Jr. Yesterday, it became apparent why. Last summer, high on his fathers political ascent, he agreed to a meeting with an acquaintance of a Russian pop star, whom he had met while helping stage the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow in 2013.

The acquaintance was a lawyer whom Donald Jr was told had official and sensitive information about Hillary Clinton from the Russian government. Information that was part of the Russian governments support for Mr. Trump.

Rather than promptly picking up the phone to the FBI to inform them that a foreign government might be trying to sway a US election, Donald Jr sent back an email saying, I love it. He and Kushner and his fathers then campaign boss, Paul Manafort, met the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, on June 9 2016 in Trump Tower.

Rex Features

Veselnitskaya has said the meeting was to discuss the 2012 Magnitsky Act, which imposes sanctions on Russian officials identified by the US government as having violated human rights. The Kremlin responded to it by banning Americans from adopting Russian children. Veselnitskaya says she had nothing to offer about Clinton.

For months, though, President Trumps opponents have been trying to prove that his campaign team colluded with the Russians, trading the promise of easing sanctions in return for dirt on Clinton. The White House has repeatedly denied it. Donald Jrs klutzy email trail seems to have given those opponents their smoking gun.

Except, of course, with the Trumps, nothing is ever quite as it seems.

Reince Priebus, the Presidents chief of staff, called the latest revelations a big nothingburger. Its certainly more than that. Democrats hope its the full Big Mac.

But theres no guarantee. Was Donald Jr acting innocently but foolishly, being sleazy or criminal, dangerous or trivial? Or was he trying to assert his place in the family hierarchy after being usurped by Kushner?

Donald Trump Jr defends meeting with Russian lawyer

In The Godfather Part II, when the younger Michael explains to the older Fredo that he was stepped over because their father wanted it, Fredo explodes: It aint the way I wanted it! I can handle things! Im smart! Not like everybody says... like dumb... Im smart and I want respect!

That seems to be the way President Trumps circle saw Donald Jrs attempts to appear relevant. While Ivanka and Kushner assumed powerful roles at the Presidents side, Donald Jr was arranging meetings through friends from the beauty pageant circuit.

Donald Trump meets Vladimir Putin at G20 - In pictures 1 /12 Donald Trump meets Vladimir Putin at G20 - In pictures US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany AFP/Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, German Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany Reuters US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany Carlos Barria/Reuters Russia's President Vladimir Putin talks to U.S. President Donald Trump during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany Reuters US President Donald J. Trump shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the retreat at the opening day of the G20 summit in Hamburg, German EPA US President Donald J. Trump shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the retreat at the opening day of the G20 summit in Hamburg, German EPA

Unlike his sister, Donald Jr. has often missed the nuance of the Trump brand  the fine grades of cheese. He proposed to his wife in a shopping mall in New Jersey in return for a deal on the engagement ring from a diamond shop.

One question lingering over this latest Russia story is who might gain the most from all these leaks. Criticism of Donald Jr may end up deflecting it from Kushner and the President. The conspiracy theories are rife.

In the latest edition of Vanity Fair there is a fascinating piece by Marie Brenner about the Presidents long friendship with Roy Cohn, a vicious and vengeful New York lawyer, who made his name prosecuting alleged Communists on behalf of Senator Joe McCarthy in the 1950s. The late Cohn served as Trumps guide to New York when he was trying to break in as a property developer.

Donald Trump Jr defends his actions in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity / AP

A journalist who covered his dealings describes Cohns, and hence Trumps, three-step strategy for dealing with the press: One: never settle, never surrender. Two: counter-attack, counter-sue immediately. Three: no matter what happens, no matter how deeply into the muck you get, claim victory and never admit defeat.

It worked for Cohn and it has worked magnificently for his best-known client. It explains Trumps ability to survive attacks, self-induced and otherwise, which would have sunk most other politicians.

Since his election Trumps approval rating has fallen from 45 to 39 per cent. Bad, but far from catastrophic. His disapproval rating has gone from 41 to 55 per cent. Again, given everything he has done and been accused of doing, this is far from disastrous.

When Democrats accuse Trump of lies and nepotism, Republicans say the Clintons were no better. Bill lied under oath and Hillary put Chelsea out front in their campaigns.

And there are still large chunks of the America who love what he is doing. They approve of his choice of the conservative Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. They like the fact that the President is forcing Mexico and Canada into updating the Nafta free trade agreement. They adore his promises to roll back business and environmental regulation and unleash free enterprise.

They cant get enough of him attacking the Paris climate change agreement. Its environmentalism and it sounds French, neither the source of anything good.

And if other world leaders choose to deride him at the G20 summit conference, so much the better. This isnt a group of people you want to be popular with, because if they like you, it probably means they are pinching your wallet.

So goes the thinking in Trumpland. Not even Fredos clangers are likely to change it.

Follow Philip Delves Broughton on Twitter: @delvesbroughton
A pub chef who tried to bludgeon to death his friend after finding him naked with his girlfriend after a cocaine-fuelled lock-in has been jailed for nine years.

Frenchman Nicolas Cherpin, 29, dreamt of marrying Chloe Jackson and had moved to Britain to be with her, the Old Bailey heard.

However, he flew into a rage when he found her with Douglas Foley, their colleague at the Old Crown in New Oxford Street, after a wild night of drink and drugs on April 21 this year.

Kevin Dent, prosecuting, said Cherpin, his girlfriend of eight years and Mr Foley had drunk a large amount of alcohol and taken cocaine during the lock-in, which started after the pub closed at 3am.

Both Mr Foley and Ms Jackson ended up in a state of some undress on the top floor of the pub, he said. The defendant believed Ms Jackson and Mr Foley had been together in some kind of sexual encounter.

Cherpin punched Mr Foley repeatedly, breaking his nose as he cowered on the floor. He then searched for a weapon and asked a waitress for a sharp knife. He stabbed Mr Foley repeatedly in the chest, legs, neck, head and stomach, only stopping when Mr Foley blacked out.

Mr Foley, who was naked, fled to the bar where Cherpin began bludgeoning him with pint glasses and slashing at his neck. He grabbed empty pint glasses and repeatedly smashed them on Mr Foleys head, even after the glass had broken, said Mr Dent.

The court heard Mr Foley was curled up in a ball on the floor, crying out Im done. The attack only ended when a passer-by burst into the pub and dragged Cherpin into the street. Cherpin told police: I saw my girlfriend naked with another man, so I tried to kill him.

Mr Dent said Cherpin repeatedly asked officers: Is he dead?, adding: I hope so, I meant to kill him.

Jailing Cherpin for nine years after he admitted attempted murder, Judge Jeremy Donne QC said: You had undoubtedly experienced a high level of provocation by finding your girlfriend, a woman you intended to marry, who you considered to be the centre of your life, semi-naked with a naked man on top of her.

Cherpins parents, who are teachers in northern France, wept in the public gallery as their son was led to the cells.

Mr Foley told the court he had partially forgiven Cherpin. It was a rather messy and wild night that spiralled out of control  none of us could have imagined things ending like this but I think we are all feeling sorry that they did, he said.
A teenager was rushed to hospital after being stabbed in a busy shopping arcade at school closing time.

The victim, 16, was attacked on St Georges Walk in Croydon at about 3.40pm yesterday.

Bystander Kate Hill, 28, told the Croydon Advertiser she had heard a girl repeatedly shouting but you stabbed him to a male who was trying to rip a rucksack from her back, as another teenager sat clutching his abdomen nearby.

The injured youngster was rushed to hospital. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

The attack occurred as Labour MP Steve Reed, who represents neighbouring Croydon North, was in a meeting seeking more help to tackle knife crime in the south London borough.

At 3.33pm the MP tweeted: Meeting with Londons Deputy Mayor for Policing to ask for more support to stop rising knife & violent gang crime in Croydon.

The eastern end of the arcade was cordoned off for several house following the attack.

A member of staff at a nearby fast food restaurant, who asked not to be named, said: The first I knew about it was when the ambulance arrived. It was just after school broke up  we heard the victim is just 15 years old.

A Met spokeswoman said: "Police were called at around 15:40hrs on Tuesday, 11 July to reports of a stabbing in St George's Walk, Croydon.

"The London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance also attended.

"A male, aged 16, was taken to hospital by LAS. His injuries are described as not life threatening or life changing.

"There have been no arrests at this stage."

Recent figures show knife crime in Croydon is on the rise: there were 175 stabbings in the area in 2016, and 32 people were knifed in the first two months of this year.
A heavily pregnant woman has become the latest victim of moped muggers in London after being knocked to the ground as her phone was stolen.

The 31-year-old was barged over from behind as two men on a moped mounted the pavement outside Genzo restaurant in East Finchley High Road to snatch the phone.

Witnesses described her as being being very shaken. One said she was visibly heavily pregnant  it looked like six months at least and that passers-by were shocked by the use of force against her and the dangerous way the muggers had ridden onto the pavement.

The woman was taken to hospital and later discharged after being treated for what police described as minor injuries. It is understood that her unborn child has not been harmed.

The muggers escaped despite another motorbike rider attempting to give chase. Police are still searching for them.

Onlookers said the crime was a disturbing example of the violent menace posed by offenders on mopeds.

It follows a succession of similar offences across London in which moped robbers have snatched phones from pedestrians. Some have been carrying weapons and have ridden at high speed along pavements to carry out their crimes.
A murder investigation has been launched after a man was stabbed to death in a block of flats in east London.

Police were called by paramedics to Straight Road, in Romford, just before 10.40pm on Tuesday to reports of a stabbing.

Officers found a 28-year-old man suffering from stab injuries at the block of flats, police said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene just after 11.20pm.

Detectives for the Met Polices Homicide and Major Crime Command have since launched a murder probe and are appealing for witnesses.

The mans next of kin have not yet been informed and he has not been formally identified.

Anyone with information that could assist the inquiry can call the witness line on 020 8345 3985, Tweet @MetCC, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
M ore than 50,000 has been raised for an aspiring model and her cousin who were scarred in an acid attack in east London.

Resham Khan was with her cousin Jameel Muhktar, 37, when the pair were attacked by a man who allegedly threw a substance through their car window.

The pair were celebrating Ms Khans 21st birthday when the attack took place in Beckton on June 21.

A GoFundMe page set up in wake of the attack has raised a total of 56,325 for the pair, with Ms Khan having received an outpouring of support on social media.

Scarring: Resham Khan was left with horrific scars following the attack / GoFundMe

She has backed a petition for the government to introduce licensing for the sale of corrosive liquids and acid.

Both Ms Khan and Mr Muhktar suffered life-changing injuries in the attack.

Mr Mukhtar said the attack left him "emotionally wrecked" and "in continuous pain".

In the letter supporting the petition, Ms Khan said: My plans are in pieces; my pain is unbearable, and I write this letter in hospital whilst I patiently wait for the return of my face.

John Tomlin has been charged in connection with the attack / Met Police

She added: I cannot sit back whilst others remain indoors in fear of this happening to them. This problem needs to be eliminated. I refuse to allow the country I grew up in to simply get used to corrosive substance attacks.

The fear is real.

John Tomlin, 25, appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court on Tuesday having been charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent.

He grinned from the dock and blew kisses to well-wishers in the public gallery as he was led away.

Mr Tomlin, of Colman Road, Canning Town, east London, had handed himself in to police on Sunday.

In March, the Met Police revealed the number of reported acid attacks in London climbed from 261 in 2015 to 454 in 2016, a rise of 74 per cent.

The data, seen by the BBC, revealed that almost a third of these attacks were carried out in Newham and that victims are twice as likely to be male than female.

East Ham MP Stephen Timms is leading a debate into the problem of acid attacks in Parliament on Monday.
A host of Formula 1 stars descended on central London for a spectacular show featuring super-fast cars, live music and thousands of fans.

Whitehall and roads around Trafalgar Square were cordoned off on Wednesday evening to make way for the historic live show.

It was the first time in Formula 1 history that all 10 teams have come together outside of a race weekend to put on a public show.

Stars including Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were all in the heart of the capital for Formula 1 Live, as well as British racing legend Damon Hill.

Formula 1 Live London: Stars descend on Whitehall for historic show 1 /24 Formula 1 Live London: Stars descend on Whitehall for historic show Crowds line Whitehall on Wednesday evening Getty Images for Formula 1 Sebastian Vettel shows of to thousands of spectators Getty Images for Formula 1 Pop group Little Mix take to the stage in Trafalgar Square Getty Images for Formula 1 Race cars move around Trafalgar Square Getty Images for Formula 1 Thousands of people attended the one-off event Getty Images for Formula 1 Pascal Wehrlein of Germany and Sauber F1 drives the Sauber C32 Getty Images for Formula 1 Sebastian Vettel drives his Ferrari through central London Getty Images for Formula 1 Drivers from all 10 teams zoomed up and down Whitehall Getty Images for Formula 1 Huge crowds watch Vettel drive past Getty Images for Formula 1 It is the first time in Formula 1 history that all 10 teams have come together outside of a race weekend to put on a public show Getty Images for Formula 1 Hosts Jake Humphrey and Rochelle Humes talk to the crowd Getty Images for Formula 1 F1 fans attend the live show in Trafalgar Square Getty Images for Formula 1 Canadian Lance Stroll, of Williams, zooms past fans Getty Images for Formula 1 Williams driver Felipe Massa greets fans Getty Images for Formula 1 Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing speaks before driving at the event Getty Images for Formula 1 F1 drivers are set to speed down Whitehall in the historic event Getty Images for Formula 1 Crowds gather for the Formula 1 live event in Trafalgar Square Getty Images for Formula 1 Sadiq Khan with schoolchildren at the F1 Live event earlier n Wednesday afternoon

However, Lewis Hamilton was the only driver missing from the all-star line-up after deciding to go on holiday in preparation for this weekend's Grand Prix.

Hamiltons former Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg  who retired from the sport after winning last years title  flew in to take part, as did Jenson Button, Britains 2009 champion, who gave Naomi Campbell a ride in a race car.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: F1 Live London is a brilliant opportunity to show young people in our city that learning about science and engineering can provide them with fantastic careers, and can be great fun.

It is the first time in Formula 1 history that all 10 teams have come together outside of a race weekend to put on a public show / Getty Images for Formula 1

"It will also bring fans of all ages and backgrounds together to celebrate a sport they are passionate about and in which Britain is a world leader.

The live show, which was streamed online, began with show cars lined up outside the National Gallery before a moving display through the streets. Earlier on Wednesday, children and young adults were given the chance to learn about careers in Formula 1 at the Schools and Innovation Showcase, also in Trafalgar Square.

F1 drivers are set to speed down Whitehall in the historic event / Getty Images for Formula 1

Cllr Robert Davis, deputy leader of Westminster City Council, said: Westminster City Council has been working closely with the F1 teams and the Mayor of London to ensure that school children in central London will benefit from this exciting event.

"We hope that they will leave Trafalgar Square awed and inspired, with an eye on any one of the myriad of career opportunities in British Motorsport and beyond. Westminster is fully supportive of this type of event and we have worked with all authorities to keep disruption to an absolute minimum.

Sadiq Khan with schoolchildren at the F1 Live event

Sean Bratches, Managing Director, Commercial Operations at Formula 1 said: F1 Live London is the most striking example yet of Formula 1s evolution this year.

"We feel there is no better way to celebrate the exciting season we have had so far than to have this landmark event in London on the eve of the British Grand Prix.

"This is all about giving our fans the opportunity to get closer to the teams, cars and drivers they love.

The evening event was hosted by Jake Humphrey and Rochelle Humes.
A ngry Grenfell Tower survivors heckled the officer leading the police probe into the fire, calling on him to arrest someone at a heated public meeting four weeks on from the blaze.

The meeting was arranged to provide locals with a chance to put questions to key figures leading the investigations.

But it descended into chaos as frustrated residents became angry and upset.

Investigating officer Matt Bonner was quizzed at St Clement's Church - a short distance from where the blaze happened exactly four weeks ago.

Heated: Members of the Grenfell Tower community attend a public meeting with representatives of the Gold Command structure at St Clements Church / PA

"I cannot tell you about the case as it would put the investigation at risk," he told the audience.

He was met with cries of "arrest someone" as the crowd grew increasingly frustrated by his explanation.

He said the police investigation would "not be quick but it would be thorough".

Also in attendance was incoming council leader Elizabeth Campbell, who was heckled by one audience member.

Grenfell Tower fire: A timeline of the tragedy

Hilary Patel, who is part of community engagement for the Grenfell Response Team, told the locals that they should not be worried about the building collapsing.

"The building has never been at risk of falling down," she said.

Residents were told that Grenfell Tower could not be covered yet because doing so could change the humidity and other factors inside, which could interfere with the investigation.

Concerns: There are fears the tower is not safe for surrounding homes / Getty Images

They were also told scaffolding was not yet an option, as it would need to be fixed to the middle of the building, which could also interfere.

Residents were also assured that the air around the estate was safe enough to breathe.

"We've monitored for asbestos and found none in the vicinity," said Dr Deborah Turbitt, from Public Health England.

Residents: People gathered for a vigil to mark four weeks since the Grenfell Tower / PA

One woman, whose questions to the panel were being translated, took the microphone as residents at the meeting began shouting over each other, and asked them: "What truth are you looking for here?"

"They're just wasting time," a translator told the room for her.

During the evening, the grieving community held a vigil remembering those lost in the horrific fire.

Vigil: People place candles at the memorial wall on Bramley Road / PA

Hundreds of mourners, many in tears, slowly filed down a wall plastered in tributes in the west London neighbourhood as dusk fell.

Pictures, flowers and handwritten messages are wrapped around swathes of the area, illuminated by candles brought out for the occasion.

At least 80 people died in the inferno on June 14 while hundreds who called the block home were forced into emergency accommodation.

Among those at the vigil was Emma Dent Coad, the newly-elected MP for the area.

She told the Press Association: "It's very, very hard, people are on the edge. I know people who have been lost, I know people who have lost people, I know people who are besides themselves with grief. It is really, really difficult.

Vigil: A young girl places flowers at the memorial wall on Bramley Road / PA

"My plan is to get down here as much as possible, being here is just important for me.

"It is still chaotic, the whole process of housing people, getting them social housing, mental health help, whatever other help they are getting, obviously the people who aren't getting help come to me.

"It's disgraceful, actually, the council are still failing people every day."

Asked about the frustration vented at the meeting, council leader Elizabeth Campbell said: "I'm not surprised. Platitudes don't really count in a situation like this."
S taff at four London hospitals gathered in pickets on Wednesday morning as they launched a major cleaner's strike.

Hundreds of cleaners, porters, catering and security staff, employed by Serco on between 9.75 and 10.80 per hour, are insisting on a 30p wage increase to keep pace with the increasing costs of living in the capital.

Serco has pledged that services at Whipps Cross University Hospital, the Royal London, St Bartholomews Hospital and Mile End Hospital will not be hit despite the walkout of several hundred staff on Tuesday.

However activists tweeted images of dirty toilets at Mile End Hospital on Wednesday.

Domestic workers, whose jobs entail keeping hospitals clean as well as feeding patients and moving beds, say that since Serco won a 600 million contract with Barts Health NHS Trust last year, they have been harder pressed while wages have stagnated.

Worker Margaret Acheampomaa wrote for the Independent that cleaners are now expected to perform 57 tasks per shift from mopping to high dusting, while colleagues began to suffer tendonitis, aching joints and ganglion cysts.

"I have frequently seen colleagues, grown men and women, break down into tears," she wrote.

Unite national officer Colenzo Jarret-Thorpe said: Low paid workers who keep our hospitals clean, safe and running smoothly are not prepared to get poorer while the multimillion pound privateer Serco rakes in millions.

Unite members working for Serco at Barts are refusing to accept one per cent after seeing their real living standards drop year on year.

Mr Jarret-Thorpe said: Workers regularly report getting home late, tired and sore from the intense workload heaped on them by Serco - they deserve better treatment and better pay. We urge Serco to get around the negotiating table and resolve this dispute."

Serco won the 600 million soft services contract for Barts last year. The firm made a profit of 82 million in 2016 across its global business.

The firm insists it wants to pay workers fairly, but it has blocked further increases of 30 per hour.

Phil Mitchell, Serco contracts director, said: We agreed with the Trust that all our staff would be paid at least the London living wage of 9.75 per hour from day one of our contract, resulting in an average increase in pay of 3.5 per cent for over 100 permanent staff.

"For those staff on higher salaries, we have protected all their terms and conditions and offered a pay increase for this year which is in line with NHS colleagues.

"We have robust plans in place to ensure we are continuing to support the Trusts hospitals to care for patients as normal during Unites action.

Staff took part in a three-day strike last week that disrupted hospital services as toilets reportedly went uncleaned and beds were left on floors.

The current strike is planned to last until next Tuesday morning, but staff have warned that they will stage a further 14-day stoppage starting on July 25 with further strike action planned for August and September.
T he officer leading the search for those killed in the Grenfell Tower fire has described the first moments he entered the burning building as footage of its blackened interior is released.

Sergeant Alistair Hutchins is the head of a team of DVI  disaster victim identification  volunteers whose job it is to recover the bodies of those who perished in the fire.

In an interview with the BBC, he described the mammoth task of searching every inch of the 23-storey tower for any trace of human remains and said it is the worst incident he has dealt with in almost 20 years, saying it could take as long as four months to identify all of the remains.

The search is on-going for victims of last months fire. Police believe that around 80 people were killed but only 33 have so far been officially identified.

Grenfell: The police released footage of officers inspecting the building after the blaze / Met Police

Sgt Hutchins was one of the first people to enter the building when it was still alight, alongside Phillip Stone  the DVI coordinator for the Met Police.

Our task was incredibly difficult, he said. [There were] no lights so we had to use head torches, hoses everywhere. Fire equipment everywhere with fire-fighters still fighting fires up higher, smoke conditions, the heat, water pouring down the stairwells

If you imagine walking through a waterfall it will give you an idea, with the waterfall being hot - those are the conditions we were working through initially.

Notting Hill Grenfell Tower Fire - In pictures 1 /49 Notting Hill Grenfell Tower Fire - In pictures A blaze rages through Grenfell Tower block in Notting Hill Jeremy Selwyn Aerial view of the fire at Grenfell Tower, Notting Hill Jason Hawkes Jeremy Selwyn Aerial view of the fire at Grenfell Tower, Notting Hill Jason Hawkes Jeremy Selwyn A firefighter investigates a floor after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower PA Exhausted firefighter rest on steps of houses after ours of tackling the blaze Alex Lentati Jeremy Selwyn Residents wave frantically at a window during the blaze Nigel Howard Emergency personnel operate during the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 27-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA A police officer helps to evacuate a local resident from close to the scene of a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London Reuters Debris and ash surrounding Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate, Latimer road Jeremy Selwyn A fleet of ambulances at the scene ready to deal with the injured AFP/Getty Images A firefighter rests during the battle against the blaze at Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn Firefighters prepare to enter the building to tackle the flames EPA Nigel Howard Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London PA Flames engulf the tower block in Notting Hill AFP/Getty Images This shocking image shows flames engulfing the 27 storey tower Jeremy Selwyn Police and Emergency services at the scene of a major fire in Notting Hill after a block of flats Grenfell Tower is engulfed in flames Nigel Howard A person peers out of a window from the building on fire in London AP Firefighters react as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower AFP/Getty Images Smoke rises from the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block in North Kensington, London EPA Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Alex Lentati Aw omen react followign the blaze at Grenfell Tower Alex Lentati Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Jeremy Selwyn A water jet douses the fire at the Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey apartment block seen through a fence in North Kensington EPA Young children wear protective face masks near the burning 24 storey residential Grenfell Tower block in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images Two men hug within the security cordon as Grenfell Tower is engulfed by fire AFP/Getty Images A man (circled) looks from a window as smoke pours from a fire that has engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower PA Smoke billows across the London skyline follwing a fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate Alex Lentati Firefighters on the scene at Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road early this morning Alex Lentati A view of debris from the Grenfell Tower fire covering a football pitch EPA Aerial view of the closed of Westway follwing a the fire at Grenfell Tower in the West Lancaster estate, Latimer Road. Jeremy Selwyn Fire fighters tackle the building after a huge fire engulfed the 24 story Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London Getty Images A local resident is carried to receive some medical aid at a community centre close to a fire that has engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower PA

He said his team had never had an incident on this scale, adding: Its probably the worst incident that I have ever dealt with and I have been doing DVI for 18 years.

Sgt Hutchins explained that the process begins with recovering any visible remains before sending in dogs where structural damages prevent officers from entering certain areas.

Officers then conduct a fingertip search of each flat on their hands and knees  searching for small fragments of bone and teeth.

Video: The harrowing footage shows the charred remains of the tower block / Met Police

What we are doing here is the recovery operation; getting the deceased out of the flats, stairwells, or corridors, he said.

We also have family liaison officers [and] reconciliation officers, that have to look at all the evidence and information and try and say these people are from these flats and if identification is correct.

Sgt Hutchins leads a team of 12 DVI officers, 24 search trained officers and six archaeologists.

Grenfell: When Sgt Hutchins entered the building, parts of it was still on fire / Reuters

Due to the dangers of asbestos in the block, officers are forced to wear protective and respiratory equipment meaning, in the heat, they often cannot work for more than two hours at a time.

The team are an amazing bunch of people, he said. The DVI officers we have are extremely passionate about what we do and that is fundamental.

They are all volunteers and they dont get any extra money as a police officer to do this and they come back again and again.

Firefighters film their approach to the Grenfell Tower fire

Since the devastating fire on June 14, the police have come under scrutiny and been accused of not being open about the true death toll.

On Monday, Scotland Yard announced it believes 255 people had managed to escape the building.

It estimated that around 350 people should have been living in the tower but 14 were not at home on the night.

Grenfell Tower: The team do not yet know how long the search could take / Getty Images

But Sgt Hutchins said he could not predict how long it would take for all victims to be officially identified and returned to their families.

We have never had a disaster of this scale in the UK so we dont know exactly, he said. We have got a rough estimate of four months but clearly as we get to the more challenging areas certain tasks become more difficult and that may slightly increase.

He added: I deeply, deeply understand the frustration the families have and the answers they want and it is only natural.

Grenfell Tower aftermath - In pictures 1 /18 Grenfell Tower aftermath - In pictures The top section of the death trap Grenfell Tower Jeremy Selwyn The tower today, after the flames were extinguished Jeremy Selwyn A close up of the tower's damaged windows PA Fire service personnel survey the damage PA The tower today, after it emerged at least 17 were killed Jeremy Selwyn Rows of blackened windows after the fire Jeremy Selwyn Police sent in sniffer dogs today to search for bodies Jeremy Selwyn PA The Grenfell Tower at dawn today Jeremy Selwyn Donations have flooded in for victims Jeremy Selwyn Water is sprayed on Grenfell Tower PA Rows and rows of blackened windows. It is feared over one hundred people may have perished Jeremy Selwyn Part of the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London as firefighting continue to damp-down the deadly fire AP Fire crews examine the wreckage PA

All I can say is please be patient. We are doing our upmost best for you and we are working as hard as we can.

I have no doubt that we will have an extremely emotional moment when we are finally given the all clear.
T he mother of a schoolboy who died after suffering an allergic reaction to a piece of cheese allegedly thrown at him has told of her agony.

Karanbir Cheema, 13, below, became ill at his school in west London.

Police arrested a 13-year-old boy on suspicion of attempted murder.

He was bailed until later this month as enquiries continue. Today Karanbirs mother Rina said: I want answers, I want to get to the bottom of what happened.

"I had provided the school with all the medication from the beginning of September ... did they follow his care plan?

The head of William Perkin C of E high school in Greenford, Alice Hudson, said: Everything that should have been done was done.
F ood lovers were sent into a spin today after a major US food website claimed mince on toast was a 'classic' dish enjoyed by most Brits on a regular basis.

Diners were sent into a frenzy after Farringdon foodie hotspot The Quality Chop House served up the dish to the editor of Eater and presenter of the publications The Meat Show Nick Solares.

Mr Solares fuelled the row after branding the dish  consisting of bread fried in beef dripping topped with ground mince in a rich red wine sauce, served with watercress  a British classic.

Baffled diners took to social media claiming they had never heard of the quintessential meal.

Darren Rogan wrote: Beans on toast, yes. Mince, no.

Another user added: Im British and I have never heard of mince on toast  fortunately.

Nikki Bayley tweeted: Brits may be a bunch of Brexit-voting idiots but, MINCE ON TOAST??

Marcus Kelson said: I don't know where mince on toast comes from but I find the concept utterly disgusting.

While Bert Swattermain added: In Britain we call mince meat cheese. Cheese on toast is a very popular dish in the U.K. Ask anyone about cheese on toast & theyll agree.

Eater later tweeted to say: Forgive us, Its more accurate to say its a quintessentially British dish, rather than a British *classic*.

Head chef at The Quality Chop House Shaun Searley defended the dish which he claimed had been passed down from his grandparents.

He told HuffPostUK: Ive always lent on family heritage when it comes to food.

My grandparents and great-grandparents grew up eating ground beef and dripping on toast.

They didnt fry the bread in dripping like we do at the restaurant but spread it on bread, he said admitting that he has adapted the meal: But the essence of the dish is within what I remember growing up.

Its the job of the restaurant to make primitive recipes more refined, he added. That means taking great British heritage components - dripping, bread and ground beef - and putting it together. For me, that is a classic British dish.

Following the uproar New Zealanders claimed the dish as traditional Kiwi fare.

Helen Jackson, a food writer and former food editor at the New Zealand Womens Weekly magazine, told the Guardian: To me it is something that has been around for ever: we had it as children and I would say generations of people on farms have eaten it in New Zealand.
A t least 2,000 passengers were evacuated from Paddington station on Wednesday evening following a fire alert.

Firefighters rusehd to the scene to investigate a smell of electrical burning reported at the station just before 8pm.

Commuters were asked to leave the building and warned that disruption to services is expected to last all night.

National Rail warned trains could be cancelled or delayed by up to one hour.

Fire alert: The station has been evacuated (@_MattDolan)

Reports suggested the cause of the burning smell is a possible electrical fire located under platform 10 and London Fire Brigade later tweeted that it was in an "intake room".

LFB initially posted: Firefighters investigating slight smell of electrical burning at #Paddington Station. 2,000 people evacuated before we arrived.

National Rail released a statement warning passengers to prepare for major disruption at the station.

A fire alarm sounding at London Paddington is causing major disruption to trains to and from this station, it said.

Trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected to continue until the end of service.

Frustrated passengers were left waiting outside the station for over an hour, with no news as to when trains would resume service.

Bystander Anna Regoutz tweeted: "Giving up on #paddington. Doesn't look like anyone has updates or knows what's going on. Starting long journey via Waterloo #commuterfun"

And Hannah George shared a picture of the crowds, writing: "Hundreds of people waiting outside of Paddington Station and ambulances in the area. Not clear what's going on."

At 9.45pm, LFB declared the incident was over.

Passengers have been advised to check for travel updates from National Rail.
A row has erupted after Samsung snubbed London for a new European headquarters because Britain's capital is "not a fun place to live unless you are really rich".

Samsung Next, a $150 million technology fund owned by the South Korean company, said Berlin had been chosen instead due to the lower cost of living.

Its managing director in Europe Felix Petersen told The Times it has become "increasingly hard for people to build companies" in London and that there were no reasonably priced neighbourhoods left.

However City Hall and business groups immediately hit back at the claims, saying London continues to attract tech talent from around the world.

Mr Peterson said: "In Berlin, you can do stuff without much money. You can bike around or sit in the park. There are uncommercialised zones. You can experiment and play around with technology in a more relaxed environment.

Berlin has been chosen for Samsung Next's headquarters instead (AFP/Getty Images ) / AFP/Getty Images

In London, the cost of living, the cost of getting around and the infrastructure mean it's not a fun place to live unless you are really rich, especially for young people."

London is a virtually impossible place to live if you want to have children, he added.

However a spokeswoman for Mayor Sadiq Khan insisted London is one of the best cities in the world in which to do business.

Average cost of living prices London v Berlin London Rent per month, one bedroom apartment in city centre: 1,684 Rent per month, one bedroom apartment outside city centre: 1,180 Transport (monthly pass): 132 Basic (Electricity, Heating, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 apartment: 142 Meal for two people, mid-range restaurant, three-course: 55 Pint of beer: 4.50 Berlin Rent per month, one bedroom apartment in city centre: 670 Rent per month, one bedroom apartment outside city centre: 490 Transport (monthly pass): 72 Basic (Electricity, Heating, Water, Garbage) for m2 apartment: 200 Meal for two people, mid-range restaurant, three-course: 36 Pint of beer: 2.85 Source: numbeo.com

She said: London is Europes largest tech hub and is open to talent, entrepreneurs and innovation from all over the world.

Some of the worlds biggest companies are proud to call London their home and have made a commitment to the city. In the past year alone, Apple, Google and Facebook have pledged long-term investment into London, saying that the capital is leading place for technology and innovation.

However the Mayors office did concede that cost of living in London is a problem.

Mr Petersen's words also drew criticism from Russ Shaw, founder of technology trade group Tech London Advocates, who told the Times that London was among the most liveable cities in the world.

Mr Shaw said that 1 billion had been pumped into London's tech sector by investors during the first half of this year alone, adding: "Berlin has a lot of catching up to do.

Meanwhile Will Higham, executive director of business group London First told the Standard: "London is an amazing city and we continue to attract many businesses - both large and small - and a huge amount of talented people.

But there's no question that we have to work hard to keep our capital globally competitive and be Brexit-ready by 2019 - we need commitments from local and national government to start building the homes and transport links this city urgently needs."

In addition to the cost factor, London is also battling to retain talent following the UKs vote last year to leave the European Union.

A number of major banks are considering shifting parts of their operations away from the capital in order to be able to retain crucial passporting rights and provide clients with a seamless service after Brexit.

Speaking at a conference in Paris, JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon said that he was on track to move "several hundred" of 16,000 UK jobs to the EU after Brexit, while HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver said that the company might move 1,000 jobs from Britain to Paris in the event of a hard Brexit.
F ears are growing for a nine-year-old schoolgirl in south London who has been missing from near her home since Wednesday morning.

Sinai Barnor was last seen just after 8am near her home address in Croydon.

Sinai - described as a black girl, 4ft tall and slim, with dark hair in plaits - is known to ride buses.

At the time of her disappearance she was wearing her school uniform which comprises of a white shirt and grey skirt.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call police on 101 or Missing People on 116000.
J eremy Corbyn has personally sent Theresa May a copy of his partys election manifesto after the PM appealed to Labour to support her policies.

The Labour leader, who enjoyed a surge in support in the run-up to last months General Election, shared a photo online of him signing a copy of the manifesto.

In thick black pen the Islington North MP Mr Corbyn writes: Dear Prime Minister, you asked for policy ideas. So heres our General Election manifesto. Kind regards, JB Corbyn.

Earlier this week PM Mrs May appealed for cross-party support in delivering Brexit and pushing through Government-backed legislation in a speech to the Commons.

It comes after rumours of mounting unrest within the Tory party over Mrs Mays "weak" leadership following the June 8 vote which left her with a reduced majority.

In Parliament earlier this week, Mr Corbyn hinted at the manifesto stunt as he said: Im really surprised she [Mrs May] had so much to contribute to the G20 given there was barely a mention of international policy in her partys manifesto, or indeed any policy, so much so that the government is now asking other parties for their policy ideas.

Mr Corbyn posted the picture on social media. / Jeremy Corbyn/Twitter

And so if the Prime Minister would like it Im very happy to furnish her with a copy of our election manifesto. Or better still, an early election in order that the people of this country can decide.

Mrs May told the Commons: This government has an ambitious agenda to change this country and there are many issues on which I would hope that we would be able to achieve consensus across this house.

Labour also alleged the Conservatives had run a negative, nasty election campaign filled with vitriolic personal attacks including on shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

'You asked for policy ideas', Mr Corbyn wrote. / Jeremy Corbyn/Twitter

Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP Ms Abbott pulled out of the election campaign just days before the vote citing ill health. She had been slammed for a string of media interviews in which she appeared to stumble over manifesto details.

In a letter to Tory Party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin, senior Labour MPs said the Conservative Party promoted personal attacks as a core component of its national campaign.

The comments come as Parliament prepares to debate the abuse directed at MPs. The PM is calling for cross-party unity to crack down on bullying after claiming Mr Corbyn had failed to condemn intimidation.

Yvette Cooper also said Labour supporters had directed abuse at female Tory candidates and Labour members.
T he King of Spain said he is confident his country and Britain can overcome their differences over Gibraltar in order to reach a solution that is "acceptable to both sides.

King Felipe brought up the contentious issue  that has split opinion since the UK voted to leave the EU  as he addressed MPs in the Housed of Parliament.

In Wednesdays Prime Ministers Questions in the Commons, Tory MP Andrew Rosindell had urged Theresa May to remind the King that Gibraltar is British, despite long-standing Spanish claims on the territory.

During the traditional address, the King spoke in front of both MPs and Lords and was watched by his wife, Queen Letizia.

Address: The King spoke about Gibraltar during his speech

He said Britain and Spain have a long-shared history and have "frequently stood shoulder to shoulder" as friends, partners and allies, in the best interests of both nations.

"It is just as true, however, that during our rich and fruitful history there have also been estrangements, rivalries and disputes, he went on.

But the work and determination of our governments, authorities and citizens have relegated such events to the past.

UK State Visit of the King and Queen of Spain - In pictures 1 /24 UK State Visit of the King and Queen of Spain - In pictures Spain's King Felipe kisses the hand of The Queen as she greets him during a Ceremonial Welcome on Horse Guards Parade AP Household Cavalry riding ahead of a state carriage procession carrying Queen Elizabeth II and King Felipe VI of Spain PA King Felipe VI of Spain inspects a guard of honour during a Ceremonial Welcome on Horse Guards Parade Getty Images Spain's Queen Letizia with Britain's Prince Phillip Duke of Edinburgh ride in a carriage together EPA The Queen and King Felipe VI of Spain ride in a carriage during a State visit by the King and Queen of Spain at Centre Gate, Buckingham Palace Getty Images Prime Minister Theresa May and Home Secretary Amber Rudd (left) arrive for the state visit PA The Queen stands with Spain's Queen Letizia as their husbands King Felipe and Prince Philip inspect an honour guard during a Ceremonial Welcome on Horse Guards Parade AP Prince Philip and Queen Letizia of Spain arrive at Buckingham Palace REUTERS EPA The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall greet King Felipe VI and Letizia of Spain at his hotel in central London at the start of the King's State Visit to the UK PA The Queen and Spanish King Felipe VI leave in a state carriage following a ceremonial welcome for his State Visit to the UK on Horse Guards Parade PA Queen Elizabeth II, Spain's King Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia and Britain's Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh during a welcoming ceremony at Horseguards Parade EPA Queen Letizia of Spain meets Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at their hotel during their state visit to the United Kingdom Getty Images Queen Letizia of Spain and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh ride in a carriage during a State visit by the King and Queen of Spain at Centre Gate, Buckingham Palace Getty Images Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Letizia, Spanish King Felipe VI and The Queen pose for a photograph after arriving back at Buckingham Palace after a ceremonial welcome at the start of the Spanish King and Queen's three-day state visit AFP/Getty Images King Felipe VI of Spain is greeted by The Queen during a ceremonial welcome for his State Visit to the UK on Horse Guards Parade PA King Felipe VI of Spain inspects a guard of honour with the Duke of Edinburgh during a Ceremonial Welcome on Horse Guards Parade PA The Horse Guards Parade with The Queen and Spanish King Felipe VI during a welcome ceremony for the Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia near the Buckingham Palace EPA

"I am certain that this resolve to overcome our differences will be even greater in the case of Gibraltar and I am confident that through the necessary dialogue and effort, our two governments will be able to work towards arrangements that are acceptable to all involved."

He added that any Brexit deal must give the thousands of his compatriots in Britain, and UK expats in his country, "sufficient assurance and certainty" over their futures.

King Felipe said those citizens have a "legitimate expectation of decent and stable living conditions".

Speech: Theresa May (R) sits with Jeremy Corbyn and his wife Laura Alvarez / AFP/Getty Images

The King said Brexit "saddens" Spain but that it "fully respects" the will of the British people.

"At the bilateral level, our governments must work with determination to maintain and even improve the network of relations we have built within the European project," he went on.

"This is something that our societies - which are so profoundly intertwined - truly demand of us.

Parliament: The King gave the speech in the Palace of Westminster / AFP/Getty Images

"Given these circumstances, we must particularly bear in mind the thousands of Britons and Spaniards who live in each of our nations, who form a sound foundation for our relations.

"Those citizens have a legitimate expectation of decent and stable living conditions, for themselves and their families.

"I therefore urge our two governments to continue working to ensure that the agreement on the UK's withdrawal from the EU provides sufficient assurance and certainty."
A former Cavalry officer has won a landmark legal battle to secure equal rights for gay couples over their pensions as enjoyed by heterosexual couples.

John Walker, 65, battled all the way to the Supreme Court after his former bosses at chemicals group Innospec Ltd refused to confirm that his partner could have access to his pension after his death.

He argued the stance was discrimination based on his sexual orientation, meaning gay couples had less rights that heterosexual couples despite the 2005 Equalities Act.

Innospec refused to give in, insisting that because Mr Walker, who worked for the company for 20 years, had paid into his pension scheme prior to his retirement in 2003, and the equalities law did not count as it had not yet taken effect.

But in a landmark ruling this morning, Supreme Court judges ruled in Mr Walkers favour and said in future gay couples should have equal pension rights.

Delivering the judgement, Lord Kerr said: If Mr Walker was married to a woman, or, indeed, if he married a woman in the future, she would be entitled on his death to the pension provided by the scheme to a surviving spouse.

He said the fact that Mr Walker earned his pension when discrimination was outlawed was irrelevant: At the time the pension became payable, it would be against the law to discriminate against him on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Mr Walker, who was backed by human rights organisation Liberty, said prior to the hearing that a ruling in his favour would "dramatically change the lives of thousands of same-sex couples".

The judges relied on EU law which bans discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, stating that Mr Walkers partner should have access to the pension pot and they made a declaration that the UKs Equalities Act should be overruled on this point in the future.

The Court of Appeal, when previously hearing the case in 2015, had ruled against Mr Walker because the law had not come into effect until after he had retired.

But the Supreme Court said this should not matter.

Mr Walker entered into a civil partnership in January 2006 and later converted it into a marriage.

In a statement before the case, he said: "The Government should be ashamed that, in 2017, I and so many others are being forced to live with the worry that our loved ones won't be provided for when we're gone, solely because of our sexuality.

"My husband and I have been together for 24 years. During that time, I also gave more than two decades of my life to Innospec, paying in exactly the same amount into the company pension fund as my heterosexual colleagues.

"How can it be right that my husband will get practically nothing but, if I were to divorce him and marry the very first woman I see, she would be immediately entitled to the full spousal pension? It's not just unfair  it's absurd."
T he Government came under fire today after it admitted it did not carry out a formal assessment of the impact of quitting the Euratom agency.

Former minister Ed Vaizey said the failure was surprising because of possible consequences for jobs, energy supplies, research and medicine.

MPs stepped up pressure on ministers this morning by holding a Commons debate on a decision they suspect was taken in 10 Downing Street with minimal consultation.

They were demanding to see the legal advice that led the Government to insist that Britain had to leave at the same time as quitting the European Union.

Euratom is the body that governs the transportation of radioactive materials needed in nuclear energy and research.

Without new international agreements to replace it, MPs fear Britain could run short of materials needed for scientific work and to produce electricity.

An impact assessment is a detailed study by impartial Government officials and economists of the likely costs and benefits of a policy decision or regulation.

Asked by the Evening Standard to disclose any such study in relation to quitting Euratom, a spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy admitted there had been none.

A spokeswoman said: Although no formal Impact Assessment was carried out, government did assess the impact; the nuclear industry, the R&D community and the Office for Nuclear Regulation will all confirm this as government is in continuous dialogue with the industry on this.

Mr Vaizey said: Its very surprising that the Government has not carried out a formal Impact Assessment on the impact that leaving Euratom will have on our world-class nuclear industry.

He said the review could have been key to deciding whether it was right to leave Euratom.

Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary David Davis declined to defend Boris Johnson for remarks saying the EU could go whistle for the money it is seeking from Britain in a Brexit settlement.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the Foreign Secretary of arrogance. But Mr Davis chuckled and told MPs: You will have to get the Foreign Secretary here to explain his views if you really wanted to. Im not going to comment on other ministers.
K irstie Allsopp has sparked a national row after saying it is disgusting to keep a washing machine in the kitchen.

The Twitter storm struck on Tuesday as Ms Allsopp said much of her lifes work had been to help stamp out the practice, and then branded her detractors f***wits.

The debate began when the Location, Location, Location host responded to a tweet by Jim Waterson in which he wrote: Americans in our office are always confused by the British habit of putting washing machines in kitchens and view this as disgusting.

Ms Allsopp chimed in: It is disgusting, my lifes work is in part dedicated to getting washing machines out of the kitchen.

She said the appliance could be put in a bathroom, hall cupboard, or airing cupboard instead.

Some social media users responded with anger, accusing Ms Allsopp of being a snob.

Some people really do not have any choice but to have it in the kitchen, wrote one Twitter user.

Not everyone is as privileged as you, Kirstie. Do you seriously think everyone has room to put a washer elsewhere? asked another.

Ms Allsopp responded: Look you bunch of total f*** wits, IF POSSIBLE have a washing machine out of the kitchen frees up space, if not possible no big deal.

She went on: Please note there is a degree of humour in this debate, no need to take it quite so seriously.
M inisters were today braced for new accusations of a cover-up after an official report confirmed that overseas funding is fuelling Islamist extremism in Britain.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd told MPs that the report  which was commissioned amid claims that money from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states was promoting the spread of Islamist ideology  had found that organisations of extremism concern had received significant sums from abroad.

She said that money from overseas also had paid for Britons to study deeply conservative forms of Islam and funded preachers who had come to this country to spread a similar message. She added that some of those who had benefited had become of extremism concern.

In response, Ms Rudd announced new measures to tackle overseas funding through a new requirement for charities to declare any money received from abroad. She said the Government would also be ready to confront their overseas counterparts when evidence of issues of concern arose.

But the Home Secretarys decision not to publish the report, which she attributed to national security reasons and the level of personal information it contained, was expected to produce a backlash from MPs who have previously called for the full contents to be made public.

Announcing her decision in a parliamentary statement, Ms Rudd said the report provided the best picture we have ever had of how extremists operating in the UK sustain their activities.

The main finding was that Islamist extremist organisations in the UK received most of their funding from small, anonymous public donations of which the majority were probably given by fellow British residents.

She said that some of the donors may not know or support the organisations full agenda and that some extremist groups portrayed themselves as charities to increase their credibility and to take advantage of Islams emphasis on charity.

Ms Rudd warned, however, that overseas funding is a significant source of income for a small number of extremist organisations.

She added: Overseas support has allowed individuals to study at institutions that teach deeply conservative forms of Islam and provide highly socially conservative literature and preachers to the UKs Islamic institutions.

Some of these individuals have since become of extremist concern.

The Home Secretary said that further public awareness campaigns would now be mounted to encourage people to check the nature of organisations they were supporting. Efforts would also be made across the financial services sector and grant making trusts and foundations to ensure that money passing from them was not inadvertently supporting extremism.

Todays move follows a report earlier this month by the Henry Jackson Society think tank which claimed that Saudi Arabia is the chief foreign promoter of Islamist extremism in the UK.

The think tank added that there was a clear and growing link between Islamist organisations backed by overseas funds, hate preachers and extremist groups promoting violence.

It called for a public inquiry into the role of Saudi Arabia  which has denounced the allegations as false  and other Gulf nations.

Last weeks report by the society said that some of Britains most prominent Islamist extremist preachers  men such as Abu Qatada, Abu Hamza, Abdullah al Faisal and Sheikh Omar Bakri  were all followers of a Wahabi-style ideology promoted by Saudi Arabia.
K ing Felipe VI of Spain may use the first state visit by the Spanish royals for 31 years to urge Britain to give up sovereignty over Gibraltar, diplomats said today.

The king and Queen Letizia were being welcomed with a carriage procession along The Mall and a royal salute fired from Green Park and the Tower of London.

The Queen will host the three-day tour which includes a speech to Parliament and talks at 10 Downing Street with Theresa May and senior ministers from both countries.

Although Spains claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar has been kept off the agenda, diplomats think the king will raise it either in his speech today to MPs and peers or at the political talks tomorrow.Gibraltar is not formally on the agenda  but you can imagine it may arise at some point, said a diplomatic source.

Last September, Felipe used a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York to attack the colonial anachronism of Gibraltar.

The royal visitors were being greeted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Horse Guards Parade this afternoon.

They will be feted at a grand state banquet in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace tonight attended by Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Later they will visit the Crick Institute and Oxford University and, with Prince Harry, carrying out his first state visit, will visit Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath and visit the tomb of Eleanor of Castile, the 13th-century Spanish princess who married Edward I.
H undreds of people have been forced to flee their homes after a huge blaze ripped through a hospital building.

But, where is Weybridge Community Hospital what caused the fire and how has it affected those living nearby?

Where is Weybridge Community Hospital?

Weybridge Community Hospital is based in Weybridge, a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey.

The three-storey building is situated in a largely residential area close to the towns main high street and offers childrens and adolescent Services and gastro and liver services.

Smoke billows into the air after the fire broke out late on Tuesday / Andrew Davis (Twitter)

It also holds general surgeries and has a urology department.

Weybridge is about one hour from central London on public transport.

When did the fire happen?

Surrey Fire and Rescue crews descended as flames ripped through the centre at around midnight on Tuesday.

Residents reported hearing a loud bang before the roof of the community hospital was engulfed by flames within 15 minutes.

Weybridge fire

Matt Leisegang, 28, said 40 minutes later the entire top floor of the building was destroyed.

How big was the fire?

Around 50 fire fighters battled the blaze using eight fire engines from across Surrey.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes for safety reasons and are being put up in community halls and churches.

A police cordon was placed around the building and the nearby Weybridge Library has been closed until further notice.

How badly was the building damaged?

All three storeys of the community hospital have been damaged by fire.

One witness told GetSurrey a police officer on the scene said the building was a write off.

Was anyone injured?

No one was hurt in the fire, a spokesman for Surrey Fire and Rescue service confirmed.

What caused the blaze?

The cause of the fire is currently unknown but is being investigated by Surrey Police.

Anyone with any information is asked to call 101, quoting incident reference P17174548.
D onald Trump's son has said his father was kept in the dark over his meeting with a Russian lawyer who is said to have claimed she could influence the US presidential race.

The White House was rocked yesterday after Donald Trump Jr released a chain of emails about his meeting with a Russian lawyer who supposedly had dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump Jr said he did not tell his father about his meeting with the lawyer, describing it as "just a nothing."

The emails show his exchange with a music publicist who wanted him to meet with a "Russian government attorney."

Donald Trump Jr defends his actions in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity / AP

They reveal that Mr Trump Jr was told the Russian government had information that could "incriminate" Mrs Clinton and her dealings with Russia.

Speaking to Fox News in the US, Donald Trump Jr was asked whether he told his father about the meeting.

He said: "No. It was just a nothing. There was nothing to tell.

Natalia Veselnitskaya said she met with Trump Junior to discuss sanctions between Russia and the U.S / AP

"I mean, I wouldn't have even remembered it until you started scouring through this stuff. It was literally just a wasted 20 minutes, which was a shame."

The Russian lawyer who met with Trump Jr also denied she had any links to the Kremlin and insisted she met with President Donald Trumps son in 2016 to discuss sanctions between Russia and the U.S., not to hand over information about Hillary Clintons campaign.

Donald Trump's son released the emails via Twitter

I never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton. It was never my intention to have that, Natalia Veselnitskaya said.

It is quite possible that maybe they were longing for such an information. They wanted it so badly that they could only hear the thought that they wanted.

President Trump today sent a message defending his son to his 33.7m Twitter followers.

He posted on Twitter that his son is "a great person who loves our country!"

Mr Trump Jr blamed the decision to take the meeting on the "million miles per hour" pace of a presidential campaign and his suspicion that the lawyer might have information about "under-reported" scandals involving Mrs Clinton.

An email exchange claiming to have "information that would incriminate Hillary"

He added that the meeting "really went nowhere" and that he never told his father about it because there was "nothing to tell".

"In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently," Mr Trump Jr said.

Democrats in Congress voiced outrage and insisted the messages showed clear collusion, with California Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, declaring that "all of the campaign's previous denials obviously now have to be viewed in a different context".

Yet Republicans - who stand the most to lose politically from Mr Trump's Russia ordeal - did not join in the condemnation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was confident Senate investigators would "get to the bottom of whatever happened". And Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican on the intelligence committee, cautioned that the emails were "only part of the picture".

Mr Trump Jr, who was deeply involved in his father's presidential campaign, portrayed his decision to release the emails as an effort "to be totally transparent". In fact, they had already been obtained by The New York Times.

Hours after the son posted the emails, the father rose to his defence.

"My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," the president said in a statement read to reporters by White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Although Ms Sanders declined to answer questions about the emails, she stood by the White House's long-standing insistence that no-one in Trump's campaign colluded to influence the election.

As congressional committees and Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigate, the emails will almost certainly be reviewed for any signs of coordination with the Kremlin, which the White House and Mr Trump Jr have repeatedly said did not take place.

In the emails - dated early June 2016, soon after Mr Trump secured the Republican nomination - music publicist Rob Goldstone wrote to Mr Trump Jr to connect him to Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya. Mr Goldstone wrote that the information "would be very useful to your father".

"If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," Mr Trump Jr replied in one of the emails. Days later, Ms Veselnitskaya met with Mr Trump Jr on June 9 at Trump Tower in New York. Ms Veselnitskaya has denied ever working for the Russian government.
A man has been left seriously injured after leaping out of a car travelling 65mph during argument with his girlfriend.

Police in Pennsylvania said the 24-year-old man hurled himself out of a moving car as it travelled down a highway on Monday.

Officers told the Times-Tribune that the man asked his girlfriend to stop the car mid-row.

But he jumped out before she had chance to stop.

The man has been taken to a hospital, where he is expected to survive.

Officers are treating the incident as an attempted suicide.
A massive iceberg nearly four times the size of Greater London has broken away from Antarctica.

The enormous lump of ice is thought to cover an area of around 6,000 sq km, which is around 15 times the size of the Isle of Wight, twice the size of Luxembourg and a quarter the size of Wales.

The giant ice shelf  which was part of an area on the west of Antarctica named Larsen C  has been monitored by scientists for the last 10 years after a huge crack began to form. An ice shelf is a large sheet of ice attached to land.

On Wednesday US satellite date showed the iceberg had finally split off, an event called calving, and had started to drift into the Weddell Sea, part of the Southern Ocean.

An image of the huge crack before the ice berg broke off. / British Antartic Survey

The new trillion-tonne iceberg is thought to be one of the 10 largest icebergs ever recorded, measuring over 200-metres thick and 5,800 square km.

Is the new iceberg caused by climate change? According to Professor David Vaughan from the British Antarctic Survey, "there is little doubt that climate change is causing ice shelves to disappear in some parts of Antarctica at the moment". He added that there are no obvious signs climate change is causing the whole of Antarctica to break up - but around the Antarctic Peninsula, where we saw several decades of warming through the latter half of the 20th century, "ice shelves are collapsing and ice loss increasing". In the case of Larsen C, the calving could be a result of climate change or it could be natural. In other ice shelves cracks can form naturally with no link to warming. Glaciologist Dr Martin OLeary from Swansea University said they are not aware of any link to climate change.

Experts will continue to track the block amid fears sea currents and winds could push it north where it could break up and stray into the path of cruise ships visiting from South America. But the iceberg is not expected to move fast.

Professor Adrian Luckman, who has followed the iceberg's formation as part of Project MIDAS at Swansea University, said: "We have been anticipating this event for months, and have been surprised how long it took for the rift to break through the final few kilometres of ice.

"We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C ice shelf, and the fate of this huge iceberg.

"The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict. It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments.

"Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters."

Since breaking off, the Antarctic peninsula, the most northern part of the continent, is now changed in shape, scientists said.

The rift had been monitored by scientists using the European Space Agency satellites.

An image from NASA showing the rift in the Larsen C ice shelf. / AFP/Getty Images

In the 1950s a US Navy icebreaker ship recorded an object of 32,000 sq km. Since satellites have been used, the largest iceberg seen was 11,000 sq km after breaking off in 2000.

Experts say the new huge iceberg will not directly make sea levels rise because it was already floating before it broke off. But ice shelves act as buttresses holding back glaciers flowing down to the coast.

Dr Martin OLeary, a Swansea University glaciologist and member of the MIDAS project team, said: Although this is a natural event, and were not aware of any link to human-induced climate change, this puts the ice shelf in a very vulnerable position.

An illustration showing how the trillion-tonne iceberg, one of the biggest on record, has snapped off the West Antarctic ice shelf. / AFP/Getty Images

"This is the furthest back that the ice front has been in recorded history. Were going to be watching very carefully for signs that the rest of the shelf is becoming unstable.

The similar Larsen A and B ice shelves, which are further north on Antarctica than Larsen C, collapsed in 1995 and 2002.

David Vaughan, glaciologist and director of science at the British Antarctic Survey, told Reuters that the two ice shelves collapsing "resulting in the dramatic acceleration of the glaciers behind them, with larger volumes of ice entering the ocean and contributing to sea-level rise."

He said: "If Larsen C now starts to retreat significantly and eventually collapses, then we will see another contribution to sea level rise."
A law that will allow people over 18 to carry knives with blades longer than five and half inches in public has been passed in Texas.

It means people carrying anything from daggers to swords will not be breaking any laws in a bid to simplify the grey areas" surrounding existing legislation.

The current restriction is that carrying any knife with a blade over the length of five and a half inches in the southern US state is illegal.

But as of September 1, this restriction on size will be removed, after the governor of Texas Greg Abbott signed off the bill.

AJ Postell, co-founder of Texas-based Lone Star Gun Rights group, told Fox News: What this law does is it gets rid of all that grey area and simplifies the law.

He added: We were seeing a lot of Texans get in trouble for the mere possession of something that they were legally allowed to own and to buy, but they were getting in trouble for possessing that item.
A huge study using data from peoples smartphones has identified both the laziest and the most active countries in the world.

Scientists at Stanford University in the US looked at 68 million days worth of steps from more than 700,000 people using a special app.

Hong Kong had the highest number of average daily steps with 6,880, eclipsing the global average of 4,961.

At the other end of the rankings was Indonesia, where researchers recorded just 3,513 steps on average per day.

The most active countries (Based on average steps per day) Hong Kong 6,880 China 6,189 Ukraine 6,107 Japan 6,010 Russia 5,969

Scott Delp, a professor of bioengineering and one of the researchers, told the BBC: "The study is 1,000 times larger than any previous study on human movement.

"There have been wonderful health surveys done, but our new study provides data from more countries, many more subjects, and tracks people's activity on an ongoing basis.

"This opens the door to new ways of doing science at a much larger scale than we have been able to do before."

The least active countries Indonesia 3,513 Saudi Arabia 3,807 Malaysia 3,963 Phillipines 4,008 South Africa 4,105

The study, published in the journal Nature, found that countries with a bigger difference between the fittest and the laziest also had higher rates of obesity.

Tim Althoff, another researcher, said: "For instance, Sweden had one of the smallest gaps between activity rich and activity poor... it also had one of the lowest rates of obesity."

The UK was above average, with 5,444 steps per day.
D ozens of strangers on a Florida beach formed a human chain to help rescue members of a family caught in a riptide.

Jessica Simmons spotted the group of eight people struggling in 15-foot water and began swimming out on a discarded boogie board to help.

Meanwhile her husband and others started forming a human to bring everyone back to shore. The ones who could not swim stayed in shallow water. Eventually, about 80 people formed a chain that got to within feet of the family.

Ms Simmons, her husband and others then towed the family to the chain, which passed them back to shore.

The human chain, that was a great thing to happen, said Panama City Beach deputy fire rescue chief Larry Couch.

I am so grateful, said Roberta Ursey, one of the rescued family which had been enjoying a day out on Saturday. These people were Gods angels that were in the right place at the right time. I owe my life and my familys life to them. Without them, we wouldnt be here.

Ms Urseys mother, who was among several others trapped in the rip current, suffered a heart attack and remains in hospital.
This is not funny. Please submit angry comments.

According to its media release of 11 July 2017 , the German Federal Court of Justice confirmed the decision of the Federal Patent Court granting Merck a compulsory license to EP 1 422 218 owned by Shionogi. This allows Merck the continued distribution of its antiretroviral drug Isentress , an approved medication for treatment of HIV-patients, on the German market.The case is highly unusual not only because compulsory licenses are exceptionally rarely granted under German law, but also because the license was granted in preliminary proceedings, which is a first.After license negotiations between the parties failed, Shionogi sued Merck for patent infringement before the Regional Court (Landgericht) Dusseldorf (No. 4c O 48/15). This proceeding was stayed pending the outcome of the opposition before the EPO (the oral proceedings in the appeal before the EPO are scheduled for 11/12 October 2017 ).In defense, on 5 January 2016 Merck initiated compulsory license proceedings before the BPatG requesting such a license based on  24(1) German Patent Act in proceedings on the merits. Five months later, on 7 June 2016, Merck requested the compulsory license be granted by way of a preliminary order. With decision of 31 August 2016, the Federal Patent Court ( 3 LiQ 1/16 ) preliminarily granted such license, allowing Merck to continue distributing Isentress. 24(1) Patent Act allows the grant of a compulsory license if (i) the infringer tried to obtain a license on reasonable terms, and (ii) there is a public interest in the grant of the license. In its Polyferon decision, the BGH had further specified the requirements for a compulsory license in the public interest for medicaments (BGH GRUR 1996, 190  Interferon-gamma/Polyferon). The BGH ruled that in order for a medicament to fulfill the requirement of public interest, it (a) must treat a serious disease that (b) cannot be treated by a comparable product or (c) can only so with considerable side effects.Applying the Polyferon criteria, the Federal Patent Court held that HIV-infections were both infectious and lethal, thus a serious disease. While there might have indeed been alternative compounds like Dolutegravir on the market the Court appointed experts confirmed that the replacement of Isentress with another drug was not acceptable given potential life-long side effects and disadvantageous drug interaction due to the exchange.Further, the expert also stated that Raltegravir showed particular advantages in the post-exposure prophylaxis and in the treatment of certain patient groups (e.g. babies, infants, pregnant women and long-term patients). In consequence, as the other pre-requisites of  24(1) Patent Act were fulfilled, the public interest outweighed Shionogis interest in the exclusive exploitation of the patent at issue.Judging from the media release - the grounds of the decision are not available yet - the Federal Court of Justice fully followed this reasoning, preliminarily permitting Merck to distribute Isentress for the treatment of specific patient groups that could not be treated with other drugs without serious side effects.A deeper analysis of the decision is possible only once the grounds are available. It will be particularly interesting to see what the BGH has to say on the efforts required of the alleged infringer to obtain a license on reasonable terms. The Federal Patent Court held that the criteria developed under competition law for FRAND licenses were not applicable in the context of  24(1) Patent Act. The media release of the BGH only states, somewhat cryptically, that in view of the specific facts of the case, "namely the uncertain outcome of the opposition proceeding", Merck's efforts had been sufficient.: the written grounds for the decision are now available.
M argot Robbie is reportedly in talks to play the role of Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantinos forthcoming film about the Manson Family.

The Australian actress is thought to have been approached by the acclaimed director who is keen for her to portray Roman Polanskis late wife, who was murdered by Charles Manson and his followers.

Tate was eight-and-a-half months pregnant when she was brutally killed at the age of just 26 back in 1969.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Pulp Fiction filmmaker had a secret meeting with Robbie this year, although the outcome is unknown.

New project: Quentin Tarantino is working on a film about Charles Manson / Dave Benett

Tarantino is reportedly also keen for Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence to star in the new project as well as frequent collaborator Samuel L Jackson.

This will be the filmmakers first feature film based on real life people, and is expected to go into production next year.

Kate Bosworths husband Michael Polish is also working on a film about the life of Manson, with the actress set to play the role of Tate.

While a release date is yet to be set, it is based on Greg Kings book Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders.

Manson, who was convicted of killing Tate and a number of other people back in 1971, remains in prison.


Arash Hampay, a human rights activist, reports that refugees in Greece are being subjected to horrific human rights violations, including denial of medical treatment, police brutality, and inadequate living conditions. In his piece, he begged the EU to ensure that all of its member states abide by all 31 articles of the European Declaration of Human Rights.

He wrote: How dare [the EU] speak in the beautiful language of human rights? How dare they talk about humanity and law and democracy? How dare they condemn human rights abuses in other countries when they are committing human rights abuses here, themselves?

Hampay reports that the refugees are fleeing totalitarian regimes, terrorists, and unspeakable horrors in their homelands, but they are treated like they are the criminals.

Not only are the Greece authorities looking the other way, whilst many refugees freeze to death in tents and die in preventable accidents at the camps, they are also attempting to deport many refugees like Hampays brother.

Hampay wrote: We are brothers, we arrived on the same day, and we are both political activists. We have had all the same experiences. Yet his asylum claim was rejected, while mine was accepted. The authorities attempted to deport him while he was still appealing his claim, and together with lawyers and the UNHCR we were able to pull him off the boat at the last moment. But since that day hes been in jail for two months, though he is innocent of all crimes.

The brothers, along with three other detained in Moria Prison are now on hunger strike, but the Greece authorities are denying medical care to the prisoners.

Hampay wrote: When I did hunger strikes in the Evin prison in Iran, our friends and family were allowed to bring us salt and water to keep us from starving to death. These basic rights are denied to those doing their hunger strike in Moria jailThey do not have access to salt or sugar to add to their water and prevent rapid deterioration of their health. The police have prohibited visitors from coming to bring them these needed items, and they have not yet been visited by a doctor.

As if this wasnt cruel enough, a city official attended Hampays protest to ridicule him and say that refugees were not welcome there.

He wrote: On my lonely vigil in a square in the centre of town, I have been lucky enough to have visits from the police: they constantly harass me and take me to the station, drive us from the centre of town seize my friends phones. Even the Vice Mayor came to mock me, tear down my pictures of my imprisoned brother and friends, tell I wasnt wanted here and should leave So I have actually found some common ground with the mayor, the police and the courts. We all agree that the refugees should be able to leave this country.

Imprisoned for helping the poor

In Iran, Hampay worked for the Hamyaran-E-Mehrandish Association, which provided medicine, clothing and food to those in poverty, like his late father. Hampays father was murdered by Iranian paramilitary police after being fired from his job for advocating for better working conditions.

While working here, he interviewed some of the people he was helping on camera in order to record their stories. For attempting to reveal that the Iranian Regime was failing to protect its people, Hampay was sent to prison on the vague charges of insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran and propaganda against the regime of Iran.

Whilst in prison, he was kept in solitary confinement for six months and was brutally beaten by the guards; an attack which ruptured his tendons and knocked out his teeth. Five times he was threatened with execution, walking right up to the gallows only to be spared at the last minute; a common intimidation tactic used by the Regime against prisoners.

Even after prison, Hampay was still subject to brutal attacks by plain-clothes operatives, who destroyed his camera including all of the interviews that he had done. When they threatened him with a further fifteen-year prison sentence, he fled with his family.

He wrote: I am used to having my human rights trampled on. I have been tortured by police in jails from Tehran to Istanbul. But the treatment like we are experiencing here at the hands of the European Union has left me shocked.
The keynote speaker was Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, who stated that the only way to liberate the Iranian people from religious tyranny and to establish peace and tranquility in the region is to overthrow the velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule). Mrs. Rajavi emphasized that the overthrow of this regime is indispensable, feasible, and within reach, and that a democratic alternative and an organized resistance already exists. She added that this democratic alternative is working to establish freedom and democracy in Iran, and that it will bring harmony to various ethnic groups, and will bring an end to the tensions between Iran and its neighbors.

Many distinguished political figures spoke at the event:

 Gilbert Mitterrand, head of the France Libertes Foundation, welcomed the participants: Your broad presence here is like a referendum against the clerical regime and it shows the ability of this resistance to a democratic change in Iran. I also have to convey to the organizers of this gathering, the message of gratitude of the French President Francois Hollande (2012-2017). He has said that he will continue to pay attention to the human rights situation in Iran, due to the invitation you have made to participate in this gathering.

 Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York: Finally, I can say, and I can probably say this with a good deal of authority, that the government of the United States supports you, we are behind you, we agree with your values.  The regime is evil and it must go. Free Iran.  We have an alternative, and that alternative is you. It is a democratic alternative. It is a force for change. It is well organized. It has popular support. And it has a vast network of supporters.

 Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives: Iran must be free. The dictatorship must be destroyed. Containment is appeasement, and appeasement is surrender. The only practical goal is to support a movement to free Iran. Any other goal will leave a dictatorship finding ways to get around any agreement and to lie about everything.

 Prince Turki Bin Faisal Al-Saud from Saudi Arabia: This gathering is a place of assembly for all Iranians who left Iran due the oppression of the Velayat-e Faqih regime. Along with the representatives of many countries in the world who have suffered from the terrorism of this regime, the regime that is the biggest sponsor of terrorism. The Velayat-e Faqih regime needs to export crisis to survive, but the first victims of Khomeini and his followers are the Iranian people. Your efforts to confront this regime is legitimate and your struggle is for the liberation of the Iranian people with all its spectrum from Arabs, Kurds, Baluch, Azeri and Fars from the oppression of the Velayat-e Faqih.

 Ed Rendell, former Chairman of the U.S. Democratic Party and Governor of Pennsylvania: Now the next step is to free Iran. You all know down deep that regime change is up to the people of Iran, and that means you, that means the people who are in Albania, that means the Iranian dissidents all around the globe, and it means Iranian dissidents in Iran, in Tehran, and all of the different cities. But the United States has to stand firm and stand behind this movement. And I believe we will.

 Joseph Lieberman, former U.S. Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate: The capital, since 1979, of Islamic extremism and terrorism has been in Tehran under this extremist regime, and that is why its got to go.  To just talk about [what happened to the 30,000 Iranians, mostly members of the MEK, who were massacred in 1988], to hold Madame Rajavis picture up in public places, is a sign of the unrest of the people and the growing confidence of the people that change is near.  It is time for America and hopefully some of our allies in Europe to give whatever support we can to those who are fighting for freedom within Iran.

 Bernard Kouchner, former Foreign Minister of France: Change in Iran will open the way to end extremism, the extremism born in the name of Islam throughout the region. This is not because Islam is a good ground for terrorism, instead they are using Islam as a tool for extremism and murder. So your role is not only necessary for change in Iran, but change Iran is certainly the beginning of a real change for democracy in the whole region.

 Tom Ridge, former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary and Governor of Pennsylvania: We join you in solidarity to raise our voice in support of a free Iran, regime change, and certainly the strong and inspirational leadership of Madame Rajavi.  There is only one popular, organized, magnificently led organization that can provide the democratic alternative to the existing regime.

Only one group with proven leadership. Only one group with an exciting and clear vision for the future of Iran. A group led by an inspiring Muslim woman who mirrors the aspirations of the Iranian people who seek a secular republic with gender equality, separation of church and state, respect for human rights, and peaceful coexistence with its neighbors. A new Iran, a force for good, for human rights, for stability, and for peace.

 John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the UN: The fact is that the Tehran regime is the central problem in the Middle East.  There is a viable opposition to the rule of the ayatollahs and that opposition is centered in this room today.  I have said for over ten years since coming to these events that the declared policy of the United States of America should be the overthrow of the mullahs regime in Tehran. The behavior and the objectives of the regime are not going to change, and therefore the only solution is to change the regime itself. And thats why before 2019 we here will celebrate in Tehran.

 Nasr al-Hariri, chairman of the Syrian opposition negotiating team: Anyone who is serious in the war on terror should put his position on Tehran and overthrow of this fascist regime. This regime should be put under pressure at the international level and at the United Nations, condemning it for its war crimes and its crimes against humanity, and should be expelled from the Islamic Cooperation Organization.

 Judge Ted Poe, Member of the US Congress: There were countless attacks at Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty. The IRGC was behind all of these attacks. And I have introduced legislation in the House of Representatives to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity. And we will get that done, I can assure you. He added: about thirty years ago Khomeini, murdered 30,000 people because they were political dissidents. They wanted a regime change. Its time to have a day of reckoning for those people that were murdered.

 Sir David Amess, Member of the British Parliament: The Iranian regime has been severely weakened; Mullahs are internally and externally very isolated. In Iran, the society is in an explosive state. People are crying out in the streets for change. The countrys official opposition, the Iranian resistance, is expanding its activities inside the country. Internationally it has emerged as the only democratic alternative to the theocratic regime. Today we do not want to talk about condemnation of the mullahs crimes, we want to talk about regime change, which is at long last within our grasp. We want to talk about a future Iran with Maryam Rajavis ten point plan, which gives freedom and human rights to all the people of Iran.

 Giulio Terzi, former Italian Foreign Minister: European leaders and businesses are ill-advised rushing  at their own risk  to the Iranian market as if Rouhani were making of it a new El Dorado: too often their partners are linked to the IRGC.

World leaders should look to the Iranian people, to the expatriate community: they should stand with them, support the Iranian Resistance, the freedom and human dignity the Iranians are striving for. The message to the mullahs must be: Its time for them to go.

 John Baird, former Foreign Minister of Canada: Instead of engagement, accommodation, and appeasement, there is a better way. The time has come for the Iranian people to take charge of their own future. The time has come for regime change in Iran. The crowd at this rally today is the best indication of the desire for the Iranian people to seek a new path.  Id like to acknowledge the courageous leadership of all of you in this hall today and especially the courageous leadership of Madame Rajavi.

Broadcast at the event were videos and images of the campaign of youths and supporters of the PMOI and the Iranian Resistance in Tehran and 50 other cities throughout the country in support of the Great Gathering. Slogans such as Freedom, Equality with Maryam Rajavi, Death to Khamenei, Hail to Rajavi, Death to the principle of Velayat-e Faqih, long live National Liberation Army, No to death penalty, Hail to the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran, Equality of all nationalities and followers of religions with Maryam Rajavi were displayed.

At great risk, political prisoners across the country sent various messages from inside the prisons that expressed solidarity with the Grand Gathering, supported regime change and democracy and freedom in Iran.

Mrs. Rajavi laid wreath at the memorial of 120,000 martyrs of freedom.

In addition to dozens of speakers from more than 50 countries, several U.S. senators and Congressmen expressed their solidarity by sending video messages to the annual gathering of the Iranian Resistance. They included Robert Menendez, senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Lord Carlyle and Lord Clarke from the UK; and Senator Gianluca Castaldi of Italy, as well as a large number of European Parliament lawmakers, including Vice-President Ryszard Czarnecki, and personalities from other countries.

Twenty-nine prominent American former officials declared their solidarity with the goals on the eve of the gathering, Under the leadership of Maryam Rajavi, a Muslim woman standing for gender equality, which is an antidote to Islamic fundamentalism and extremism, it [MEK] is working every day to bring about a tolerant, non-nuclear Iranian republic based on separation of religion and state, that will uphold the rights of all. The National Council of Resistance of Iran, pursuing its long journey that began more than a half-century ago, has the vision, leadership and courage to lead the way to the creation of a new Iran. The obligation to stand up to this corrupt and illegitimate regime and say no more rests with the Iranian people alone, but the international community must meet its responsibility by condemning the Mullahs oppression and embracing the Iranian peoples aspirations for a free and prosperous Iran accepted and respected around the world. Today, we join with the Iranian people and colleagues from many other countries in pledging our support to this great cause.

In addition, MPs from different countries issued statements of support, including:

 Statement by 265 members of European Parliament in condemning human rights abuses in Iran and calling for the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist entity;

 Statement by more than 300 lawmakers from the Houses of Commons and Lords in the UK and 100 British Bishops, condemning the massacre of political prisoners in Iran in 1988 and in support of comprehensive sanctions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC);

 A statement by 320 Italian parliamentarians, condemning human rights violations and the massacre of political prisoners in 1988 and underscoring the need to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice;

 A statement by more than 100 Polish parliamentarians, condemning human rights violations and the wave of executions in Iran and on the need to prosecute its perpetrators;

 A statement by the majority in the Parliament of Malta and a large number of lawmakers in the Romanian Parliament;

 A statement by a number of Nobel laureates in support of the goals of Free Iran gathering.
As part of the legal framework surrounding the deal between Iran and the P5+1 countries, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Secretary of State is required to report to Congress every 90 days, whether or not Iran is in compliance with the deal.

In April, he decided that certifying Iran as compliant with the deal was in the national security interest of the United States, and communicated this to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), but he did mention that the White House was reviewing policy on Iran and that he was unwilling to break the deal until the policy had been decided upon.

Three months later, with the review into foreign policy on Iran still not completed, four leading Republican Senators have written an open letter to Tillerson asking him to publically acknowledge that Iran has violated the deal.

Senators Tom Cotton (Ark.), Ted Cruz (Tex.), David Perdue (Ga.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) wrote: We believe that a change in that policy is long overdue. As we near the end of another 90-day review period, U.S. interests would be best served by a sober accounting of Irans JCPOA violations as well as the regimes aggressive and destabilising behaviour.

It details a long list of Irans violations of the deal, including carrying too much heavy water (a material used in the production of nuclear materials) and the operation of advanced centrifuges, and the behaviour of the Iranian Regime which leads the Senators to believe that the Regime is not holding off on their development of nuclear weapons.

In the letter, the four Senators argue that it is in the national interest of the US to increase pressure on Iran before they have nuclear weapons.

It read: Iran continues to wage a campaign of regional aggression, sponsor international terrorism, develop ballistic missile technology, and oppress the Iranian people. Irans aggression directly targets the United States. In light of these actions, there is simply no basis on which to make a certification that U.S. national security is bolstered by continued sanctions relief. In fact, a continuation of the current policy would be tantamount to rewarding Irans belligerence.

If Tillerson admitted that Iran was in violation of the nuclear deal, it doesnt necessarily mean that the deal would automatically collapse but it would provide leverage on the Iranian Regime.
Firefighters from several departments spent Tuesday afternoon fighting a wildfire south of Gering.

As of Tuesday evening, the fire had burned about 100 acres of land, burning about 80 acres of grass and 20 acres of timberland in steep canyons in the Wildcat Hills, Region 22 Emergency Management Director Tim Newman said.

Newman said that the fire is believed to have been ignited by lightning strike Monday evening and was reported at about 12:30 p.m. The fire is located about a mile to a mile and one half-mile off Old Stage Hill Road, off the east gate of the Wildcat Hills and south of the Wildcat Hills estate area.

Firefighters with Gering, Banner County, Scottsbluff Rural, Scottsbluff, Mitchell, Minatare and Nebraska Game and Parks were on hand to battle the blaze. Newman said that two airdrops by the National Forest Service out of the Great Plains Dispatch, based in Rapid City, South Dakota, were also made on areas that firefighters could not reach in canyons. Newman estimated that the single-engine plane can drop an estimated 600 to 800 pounds of retardant.

It is under control, It's not going anywhere, Newman said of the fire. Its just hard to get out in thick underbrush and the gullies.

Though the area has not been under any red flag warnings, Newman said it's unsurprising that a wildfire occurred with high temperatures and humidity in the 10 to 20 percent range.

Fire crews planned to monitor the fire overnight to ensure that it doesnt spread. Its hoped that the fire will burn itself out in the canyons, Newman said.

The Firefighter Ministry also responded, providing water and snacks to firefighters.
GERING  One family is among those prepping and preparing for this weeks Oregon Trail Days festivities. The family of John and Pat Harms has been hard at work, readying to bring back a popular food booth at Fridays food fair.

The family oversaw and staffed their Greek food booth at the event for 15 years before they took a break while John Harms served in the Nebraska Legislature, Pat Harms said. They returned for a short stint, but its been two years since they were last at the fair.

Theyll return this year, heading up the booth again as a fundraiser for their church, Plymouth Congregational Church. Longtime member Shirley Flack said people look forward to the booth.

Its kind of a tradition, Flack said. You say Harms and people think Greek food.

Pat acknowledges that it really has become a tradition for the family. She and her husband, John, their three children and spouses and their grandchildren prepare the food and work the booth.

It can be a lot of work, with people lining up at the booth. However, that is some of the fun, too.

I think I like meeting all the people. A lot of people stand in line for a long time, she said. The first time, it blew my mind. They like getting something that they cant around here, except for the Greek festival (held each year in Bridgeport during August).

Preparing the food  gyros, chicken souvlaki and baklava  is a lot of work. Over the years, its gotten easier as they have purchased equipment, like a cone-shaped spit and rotisserie that cooks the lamb and beef mixture that is used for the gyros. They acquired the machine when a restaurant went out of business, and though it takes about three hours to make one cone of beef and lamb, Pat Harms said its a good machine. Last time, they made 16 cones of lamb-beef meat.

This year, Pat Harms daughter prepared the baklava, which Pat Harms explains is a dessert made with alternate layers of fillo dough, butter, and sugar and a syrup of sugar, honey, water and lemon juice drizzled on top. She said she learned some recipes from John Harms mother, but with the older Greeks, its a pinch of this and a pinch of that. It makes a recipe difficult.

She found the recipe that she has been using in a Greek cookbook and it got the seal of approval from Johns dad. Shes been using it ever since.

During the fair, Weve got it down to a routine, Pat Harms says. It operates like a system.

In May, Plymouth Congregational Church celebrated its 91st anniversary. Flack said fundraisers help the church do what needs to be done.

The food fair will be held on Friday, 5 to 8 p.m., in downtown Gering. The Harms booth will be in front of First State Bank at 10th and P Street.
SCOTTSBLUFF  Starting July 14, the United Way of Western Nebraska will host its annual Stuff the Bus.

According to Steph Black, United Way Executive Director, Stuff the Buss is one of United Ways initiatives to highlight better education. The event gives communities an opportunity to donate school supplies to those who may not otherwise be able to afford it.

Stuff the Bus is a program that has been running for more than a decade. As the program continues, it becomes more relevant as back-to-school shopping lists seem to be getting longer each year. For some families, their money is better spent on groceries than school supplies.

The supplies donated to Stuff the Bus will help fill 175-200 backpacks and be distributed through Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska and eight different school districts, including Scottsbluff, Gering, Mitchell, Morrill, Minatare, Bayard, Bridgeport and Banner County.

Not only can community members donate supplies, but they can also donate money.

The money will be split among the school districts and used on prepaid credit cards. When supplies start running low, which Black said will happen quickly, the schools can use the cards to buy more supplies.

United Way has teamed up with 25 Pacesetter businesses to use as donation locations. The Pacesetter businesses are businesses that encourage their employees to get involved in the community. They will have totes throughout town where supplies can be dropped off. Pacesetter businesses include the City of Gering, the City of Scottsbluff, Herbergers, Target, Sam & Louies Pizzeria, and more.

School supplies can also be dropped off at the United Ways public locations, which are Main Street Market, Walmart, and the United Way itself. Any money donations, in cash or check, can be sent or dropped off at United Way at 1517 Broadway, Suite 106 in Scottsbluff.

To wrap up Stuff the Bus, Panhandle Coop will have a hamburger feed on Aug. 4. The feed will be the last day of donations for Stuff the Bus, and half of the proceeds from the hamburger feed will be donated to United Way.

The community makes a huge impact, Black said. She said that donating to Stuff the Bus takes weight off of the shoulders of families, schools and teachers, who often help pay for supplies out of their own pocket.

Every little thing helps. Even if you dont have kids, you can pick up a pack of crayons while youre grocery shopping and itll make a difference, said Black. No donation is too big or too small.
Hope Martinez, 76, of Scottsbluff, died Monday, July 10, 2017 at her home surrounded by her loving family. Her Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 2:00 pm Friday, July 14, 2017 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Scottsbluff with Fr. Jonathan Sorenson as Celebrant. Inurnment will follow at Fairview Cemetery. Her Rosary service will be Thursday at 8pm at the church. The family respectfully requests that memorials in Hopes honor be made in care of the family to be designated at a later time. Online condolences may be left at www.jolliffefuneralhome.com.

Hope was born November 6, 1940 in Lubbock, TX to Epifanio and Francisca Barron Castillo. She later moved to western Nebraska with her family for employment opportunities and decided to make Scottsbluff, Nebraska her home. She made numerous friends who became her family. Hope married Robert Martinez and together they raised four children; Robert, Glenn, Cecilia Crystal and Erica.

Hope lived a generous life with the people she loved. She not only raised her children, but also her grandchildren, and was a mother figure to several others. Hope was outgoing, a woman of her word, and her advice and wisdom will be truly missed.

Hope is survived by her children Robert (Crystal) Lucius, Glenn (Connie) Lucius, Crystal Shirley and Erica (George) Martinez; her siblings Geneva (Marine) Ayala, Hortencia (Rudy) Trevino, Richard (Dora) Castillo, Epifanio (Stella) Castillo, Jr., and Alex (Linda) Castillo; 19 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Her parents, husband Robert, and brother Ernesto Castillo preceded her in death.
Fourth of July is over and summer is now well underway. The Legislature has been adjourned for well over a month now, but lots of things have been happening at the Capitol.

After the Legislature convened on May 23, I went back to the district to spend time with family and constituents in the district. Within the first couple weeks, many of the special committees at the Capitol started to host a variety of briefings, meetings, and hearings to discuss the policy topics that they oversee.

One of those special committees which I am involved in is the Legislatures Planning Committee. The Planning Committee began the interim by reviewing data from the Center for Public Affairs Research (CPAR) at the University of Omaha used in policy decision making. For example, data on housing statistics for District 48 shows that as of 2014 there were 16,354 housing units with a total population of 36,684 people. Twenty-three percent of those housing units were built in 1939 or earlier. This comprised the largest segment of homes in the district. This shows a great need for the expansion of affordable housing.

In addition to my responsibilities with the Planning Committee, I am also serving on the Economic Development Task Force, which was created this year with the passage of LB641. The Task Force is responsible for addressing Nebraskas economic development policy and providing its recommendations to the Legislature. During our research, we will gather input from various state agencies including the Department of Economic Development (DED), research institutions such as CPAR, and various other stakeholders throughout the state.

Much of the discussion at last months Task Force meeting was centered on the issues of state tax incentives for businesses and workforce education. Courtney Dentlinger, the Director of the DED, discussed the incentives Nebraska offers through the Nebraska Advantage Act. Some of these components include tiered incentive packages designed to attract investment into the states workforce and the distribution of Community Development Block Grants, which are designed to transform our communities and spur economic growth. For the next meeting, we will be discussing higher education and how it translates to the workforce using data provided by the Department of Labor.

Another activity I have been engaged in is working toward investment in early childhood education. The Buffett Early Childhood Institutes Early Childhood Workforce Commission has been a great champion toward this cause. The Workforce Commission is a gathering of public and private sector leaders who are dedicated to expanding and strengthening our early childhood workforce. Due to low pay and other circumstances, there is difficulty in hiring and retaining people who want to work in early childhood education. Research has shown that commitment to the workforce in this industry leads to improved outcomes for children in the earliest phase of their lives. This equates to better living conditions and opportunity for our communities.

In keeping with the workforce theme as one of my priorities, I introduced a legislative resolution this year (LR238) which would provide an interim study for the funding of behavioral and mental health internship programs for rural Nebraska. In a recent article published by the Associated Press, my resolution was mentioned as one solution to the workforce shortage. Demand in the health care industry continues to grow in rural Nebraska, but the supply for professionals in behavioral and mental health professions is lacking. My interim study will address that issue.

I have also been involved in the Legislatures Building and Maintenance Committee, which is tasked with addressing the states need for repairs of state-owned property. The Capitol building, State Office Building housing major agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services and the DED, and university campuses all are under the purview of the Building and Maintenance Committee. There are approximately 3,300 state buildings in Nebraska, with many needed projects such as fire alarm replacement at the State Office Building, replacing an outdated heating and air conditioning system at the Capitol, and roof replacement at the Community Corrections Center in Lincoln.

In addition to my responsibilities at the capitol and across the state I have spent time with many constituencies in the district. Interim is a great time to acquaint myself with the issues occurring in local governmental jurisdictions such as Scotts Bluff County Board of Commissioners and the City of Scottsbluff. It is also a great time for me to coordinate with them on pending legislation that would have an effect locally, such as my bill to allow the use of tax increment financing (TIF) for the development of affordable workforce housing, LB496. It is still pending in the Legislature.

I have also been meeting with other constituencies throughout the district such as members of trade organizations. Some of the organizations I have met with so far include those in healthcare, childcare, and private business organizations. Putting myself at the ground level of my constituencies gives me a deeper understanding of how policy at the state level affects others. Last but not least, the past month has been spent getting to know individual constituents and which issues they care about the most. I am always open to doing what I can for the constituents I represent.

As always, I remain open to your feedback on how I may address the issues that mean most to you. Please do not hesitate to contact my office with any questions you may have. Thank you to those who have taken the time to express their views on various issues. My contact information is: Senator John P. Stinner, District 48 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln NE 68209-4604; telephone: 402-471-2802; email: jstinner@leg.ne.gov.
For many Nebraskans, summer means a long-awaited vacation. If you will be leaving the country, your passport should be your first priority.

Throughout my time in office, my caseworkers have handled hundreds of passport situations on behalf of Nebraskans. I would venture to say weve had the opportunity to help out with nearly every scenario in the book. The best advice is to make sure to get your passport when you do not yet need it. It is a much bigger challenge to deal with the federal bureaucracy at the last minute.

The current passport surge has the State Department encouraging travelers to submit their applications as soon as possible. The surge is due to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), implemented in 2007 to require all citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda to present a passport or other form of valid identification upon entering or leaving the U.S. Ten years later, millions of passports issued as a result of WHTI are expiring.

The State Department estimates 48 million passports will expire between Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 and FY 2019, compared to 31 million in the past three years. In FY 2016, the State Department received 16.8 million passport applications. The agency is anticipating it will receive at least 21.1 million applications by the end of FY 2017, and another 20.6 million applications in FY 2018.

To avoid travel headaches, check your passport expiration date frequently  ideally before planning any international trips. Passports issued to applicants age 16 or older are valid for 10 years. Applicants under age 16 are issued passports valid for five years.

Many countries require passports to be valid for at least six months beyond the dates of travel, so renewing earlier is better. My office has heard from many travelers who arrived at the airport only to be told they could not board their flights because their passports were too close to the expiration date.

If you realize you will need your passport sooner than six to eight weeks from the time of applying, the State Department recommends expediting your application for an additional fee. Information about processing times and fees can be found on the State Departments website at State.gov/Travel. There are also many useful resources for travelers on the website, from passport guidance to preparation trips to travel warnings.

For those with emergency travel needs, the State Department is available to help. If you experience a serious illness, injury, or death in your immediate family and need to travel within 72 hours, you can contact the National Passport Information Center (NPIC) at 877-487-2778 Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. After business hours, NPIC officers can be reached for emergencies at 202-647-4000.

My congressional caseworkers also have significant experience helping Nebraskans with passport challenges and are happy to look into a situation to see how they might be able to assist. Please contact my Grand Island office at 308-384-3900 to speak with a caseworker.

To everyone in the Third District, I hope you have a safe and memorable remainder of the summer season wherever you choose to enjoy it.
Iredell deputies say a father and son hatched an unusual scheme to embezzle money from a Mooresville gas station this week that involved the son taking money from the cash register in plain view while dressed as a woman.

After the son took the money, he went behind the store and set his disguise on fire, accidentally burning a fence and part of the building, according to a press release from the Iredell County Sheriffs Office.

The son, father and the sons girlfriend all face felony charges.

Deputies were called to a theft report on Monday about 3 p.m. at the Mystic gas station, 2135 Charlotte Highway, Mooresville. When they arrived, they found the fire burning near the building and called the fire department, the release said.

The store clerk, Rex Allen Farmer, 62, told deputies that someone took money from the cash register while he was pricing items in a cooler. Deputies interviewed witnesses and reviewed video surveillance, which showed someone wearing a dress and a dark wig taking money from the register.

Deputies believe that person was the clerks son, Rex Carlo Farmer, 42.

The elder Farmer showed his son how to open the register moments before he went outside and put on his disguise, according to the release.

The son then ran out of the store in his dress after taking the cash and took off the wig and dress, the release said. He set both on fire next to the business in an attempt to destroy evidence, but the fire also caught a privacy fence and a meter base near the building.

Deputies then found the son and his girlfriend, Kayla Nicole Price, 26, at their home on Meadow Creek Drive in China Grove. They had the stolen money with them, the release said.

Rex Carlo Farmer was charged with larceny, felony conspiracy to commit embezzlement by an employee, felony burning of personal property and felony obstruction of justice. He was given a $25,000 secured bond.

The clerk, Rex Allen Farmer, also of Meadow Creek Drive, was charged with felony embezzlement by an employee and felony conspiracy to commit embezzlement by an employee. He was held under a $10,000 secured bond.

Price, who deputies say knew of the crime and was present when it happened, was charged with larceny and felony conspiracy to commit embezzlement by an employee. She was given a $5,000 secured bond.
Prime Minister Mihai Tudose has met on Wednesday at the Victoria Governmental Palace with National Defence Minister Adrian Tutuianu, Interior Minister Carmen Dan and Chief of General Staff (SMG) Nicolae Ciuca, official sources told agerpres.

According to the quoted sources, the four officials are discussing topics of national security and endowment.

The meeting takes place one day after an agency of the Pentagon announced that the US State Department approved a possible sale of Patriot missile defence systems to Romania, worth 3.9 billion US dollars.
In Brussels on Tuesday, Romania's Prime Minister Mihai Tudose said that in his conversations with European officials in Brussels he very firmly reiterated that the unveiled additional tax on business turnovers will not be introduced.

"I have very firmly reiterated that the unveiled additional tax on business turnovers will not be introduced; that we are predictable as far as our financial and tax systems are concerned, and that all our simulations so far and our expectations point to us keeping within a 3-percent government deficit target," Tudose said at the main offices of Romania's Permanent Representation with the European Union.

He added that he discussed with Romania's Finance Minister Ionut Misa and it is becoming increasingly clearer that the tax as its stands cannot be introduced.

"After yesterday's conversation at my meeting with Finance Minister Ionut Misa it is becoming clearer that the tax as its stands cannot be introduced," said Tudose.

He mentioned having discussed in his conversations in Brussels a Europeans directive calling for a conjugated effort of the Europeans states for transparency and interconnection in relation to information about multinationals.

" With Mr President Juncker I discussed the subject of a 2016 European direction that urges the European states to transparency and interconnectivity in relation to financial information about multinationals or companies that externalise their profits, thus leading to an artificial shrinkage of the tax base. It is a very important directive, and we have to somehow implement it. The principle here is every business operator should be paying taxes where they derive profits (...), because they no longer externalise profits, as they are hiding them pure and simple outside the European Union. (...) We have to find mechanisms here, but we will not implement anything (...) that would solve one case and perhaps spoil the smooth operation of honest operators," said Tudose.

Asked about the solidarity tax, Tudose said: "Simulations of it have not been completed."

Responding to whether or not he will be scrapping the personal asset return that would be needed in case the aggregate income tax is introduced, Tudose said: "There can be no household taxation, on all your assets, without you first declaring exactly what you own in assets. (...) They are closely related."

Tudose also said he doubts the asset return will be implemented in 2018.

"As far as the aggregate personal income tax return is concerned, which includes the asset return as well, it will be the end destination. Applying it when we can is complicated. It has to be well prepared in technical terms and in terms of acceptance, so that people may understand what we are doing and why. I doubt such return will be in use in 2018. (...) This is no scare, but a good thing for the citizens. (...) Implementing it now is hard because we do not have the required infrastructure and people have not figured out yet what this is all about," said Tudose.

agerpres.
[July 12, 2017] Largest Ride-Hailing App in Southeast Asia Expands Bug Bounty Program on HackerOne

HackerOne, the leading bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure platform provider, today announced the launch of a public bug bounty program for Grab, Southeast Asia's largest ride-hailing platform. Grab is the latest company to rely on HackerOne to improve security, joining General Motors, Twitter (News - Alert), Starbucks, Nintendo and over 800 other companies embracing continuous, hacker-powered security. Grab, which is based in Singapore, operates in 65 cities across Southeast Asia and provides up to 2.5 million rides daily. The Grab app has been downloaded onto over 45 million devices. To date, Grab's bug bounty program has resolved nearly 200 vulnerabilities. Building on the success of its private bug bounty program, Grab's public program will invite HackerOne's extensive global network of over 100,000 hackers to search for unknown security vulnerabilities. "Sophisticated and far-reaching security measures, such as those made accessible through HackerOne's platform, are vital to earning the trust of our passengers and drivers," said Ditesh Kumar, director of engineering, Grab. "We believe that no technology is perfect and that working with a diverse portfolio of skilledsecurity researchers is crucial to building the safest technology possible."



HackerOne is the most widely adopted bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure platform provider in the world. Bug bounty programs are cost-effective and allow software-powered organizations to identify vulnerabilities in systems faster. More than 50,000 security vulnerabilities have been resolved by more than 800 organizations on HackerOne globally, including Adobe, the U.S. Department of Defense, GitHub, Intel, Slack, Qualcomm (News - Alert) and more. "Working with the hacker community is an undeniably effective way to find security vulnerabilities," said Alex Rice, CTO and founder, HackerOne. "The launch of Grab's public bug bounty program signals their commitment to working the largest hacker community to protect their over 45 million mobile customers."

Grab will award hackers between $100 to $10,000 USD per valid vulnerability reported, depending on the impact and severity of the issue. To participate or learn more about Grab's public bug bounty program visit https://hackerone.com/grab. About Grab Grab is Southeast Asia's leading ride-hailing and mobile payments platform. Grab solves critical transportation challenges to make transport freedom a reality for 620 million people in Southeast Asia. Grab's core product platform includes transport solutions for drivers and passengers with an emphasis on convenience, safety and reliability, as well as its proprietary mobile payments platform, GrabPay. Grab currently offers services in 65 cities across Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. For more information, please visit: http://www.grab.com. About HackerOne HackerOne is the #1 hacker-powered security platform, connecting organizations with the world's largest community of trusted hackers. More than 800 organizations, including the U.S. Department of Defense, General Motors, Twitter, GitHub, Nintendo, Kaspersky Lab, Panasonic Avionics, Qualcomm, Square, Starbucks, Dropbox (News - Alert) and the CERT Coordination Center trust HackerOne to find critical software vulnerabilities before criminals can exploit them. HackerOne customers have resolved nearly 50,000 vulnerabilities and awarded more than $17M in bug bounties. HackerOne is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in London and the Netherlands. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170711006694/en/

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Editors note: This is the first of two parts about the Lead Belt riots 100 years ago. The author, Mike McGraw, visited his grandparents in the Lead Belt while growing up, but never heard about the riots.

FLAT RIVER, Mo.  This old mining town in the southeast Missouri Ozarks once straddled the richest lead deposits in the world. But it no longer exists, and the name is all but forgotten  much like the riots here that shocked the nation a century ago this week.

As Americas debate over immigration rages, it might be helpful to revisit that incident, variously called the Lead Belt Mining Riots of 1917 or, at the time, at least, The Hunky Riots.

The precise cause remains up for debate. But its clear that the local miners who started it were jittery at the prospect of being drafted for service in World War I. And they feared they would permanently lose their jobs to recent immigrants who were ineligible for the draft.

There were Italians, Poles, Russians and Hungarians, among others, but they were all generally referred to as Hunkies.

The mining companies had been importing them for years, and the pace accelerated when lead prices spiked in preparation for the United States entry into the war.

To make matters worse, some of them came from Austria-Hungary, the German ally that started the war in the first place.

Wielding pitchforks, clubs, knives and guns, and hoisting an American flag, about 1,000 American miners rounded up men, women and children, anywhere from 700 to 1,500 depending on whose version you believe. They beat many of the men in the process, ransacked their houses and stole their livestock.

Two children who were forced out reportedly died later in St. Louis of exposure. But there were also acts of relative kindness. One family with a newborn infant was allowed to stay, at least for a time.

A few foreigners were lucky enough to be marched off to the payroll office where  at the point of a miners gun  the paymaster issued their wages.

The future doughboys then marched the foreigners to the depot, where they were loaded onto St. Louis-bound trains. According to one account, a man stood at the door and punched each foreigner in the ribs and kicked him. As (the train) pulled out, a fusillade of shots were fired into the roof of the car through the open door.

Fifteen hours later, there was not a Hunky left in the entire  District, according to one local historian.

In the aftermath, one of the local newspapers announced, Never before in history, in this country or any other, have things happened like (they) happened in the Lead Belt of St. Francois County last Friday night and Saturday.

Mass amnesia

Despite the momentousness of the event, witnesses to the riots quickly succumbed to what the state militia later called an astonishing loss of memory.

That rings true down through the ages. I spent many happy hours here as a child, visiting both sets of grandparents, but I dont remember hearing a word about the riots.

My paternal grandfather was mayor here in the 1930s. My grandmother worked for the local newspaper. And my maternal grandfather was in the midst of it all, working underground as a mine captain.

In fact, I didnt learn of the riots until my grandparents were long gone. And I have wondered ever since whether my mine captain grandfather played a role in them.

As it turns out, he did. But not in the way I had expected. As with most issues involving American attitudes toward immigrants, its complicated.

The Bulldog

Well over 6 feet tall and 250 pounds, Henry Duemler was not a man to be trifled with. He had huge forearms and massive, thick hands that could have easily broken a man in two.

His World War I draft card described him as stout, an understatement by any measure.

He loathed unions and Democrats, pretty much in that order. It is said that he carried a sidearm for much of his life, a habit he probably acquired sometime after 1905 when, at age 20, he went to work as a shoveler in the mines.

By the summer of 1917 when he was 32, he had worked his way up to mine captain at the No. 9 Shaft in Leadwood. As both enforcer and bodyguard for the boss, according to family lore, he was known as the superintendents Bulldog.

My grandfather was at his post 100 years ago, on Friday, July 13, 1917, when the riots broke out.

Europe on fire

Europe had been at war for three years by then. But Eastern Europe had been spinning apart since the turn of the century.

Millions of unskilled peasant workers flooded into America after the turn of the century. By 1920, more foreign workers had come to Missouri than at any other time in the states history.

Antoni Pacosz, the son of a serf, immigrated to the U.S. in 1905. He was recruited by German labor agents to work in the lead mines here.

The nation at the time was brimming with resentment about jobs lost to foreigners with unpronounceable names, said Antonis granddaughter, poet Christina Pacosz, in her 2011 essay about the riots.

I try to imagine the grandfather I have never known, she writes, a man who said no to slavery in his village in Poland and came to America with its promise of freedom and wealth.

In her essay, A Great Deal of Doing: The Missouri Leadbelt Riot of 1917, Pacosz says she first learned of the riots from her Missouri-born father, Walter Pacosz, who witnessed them as a 3-year-old child.

Walters father, Antoni, had been working in the lead mines a dozen years by then and had become friendly with the local sheriff, who warned him of the impending trouble.

Antoni took his son and as many others as he could gather to the boardinghouse he and his wife ran for other shovelers.

My father vividly remembered mattresses stuffed into windows; all the children huddling in a dark, stuffy room, said Pacosz, of Kansas City. The emotional trauma of a small, scared boy is what my father recounted 

He was rescued by the state militia after several days and nights of terror.

Uncle Joes feudal domain

The New York City-based St. Joseph Lead Co., known to locals as Uncle Joe, showed up here around the time of the Civil War. The company acquired most of the independent mines that were active at the time and transformed the area now known as The Old Lead Belt into one big company town.

One St. Louis newspaper described what St. Joe and other mining companies built as a feudal domain. They ran stores, farms and even whole neighborhoods. Historian Christopher Gibbs, who grew up in the area, noted that the companies retained control in part by using their influence to keep local communities from incorporating.

The consolidation was also occurring 200 feet below. St. Joe eventually connected all the mines into what a local historian called one contiguous, subterranean mega mine, with 240 miles of underground rail lines.

St. Joe helped make Missouri the nations largest producer of lead, and the state still mines a large portion of the lead produced nationwide.

The companys influence on Missouri history is undeniable. In fact, St. Joe played a key role in the creation of the Lake of the Ozarks, the nations largest man-made lake, 160 miles to the west.

St. Joes agreement to buy power produced by Bagnell Dam, which created the lake beginning in 1929, was instrumental in greenlighting the project.

While lead is still mined elsewhere in Missouri, the mines here have since played out and closed, except for a tourist attraction in Bonne Terre, where a flooded remnant of the mines attracts scuba divers from around the world.

Over the course of 108 years, men like Henry Duemler and Antoni Pacosz extracted 8.5 million tons of lead from these mines.

But it took a toll.

dangerous work

Between 1895 and 1925, 147 miners died in accidents. According to death records at the state archives, they died from explosions, cave-ins, falling rock, inhaling gas and being crushed between 2-ton runaway ore cars.

Many of the dead were American-born, but about a fourth of the miners who died during that 30-year span had names like Zovanday and Janisow, Washinsky and Varisuck, Paraszcriak and Owkkowski, Petrovitch and Wajwicz.

And one was named Duemler, my grandfathers younger brother James, a railroad man in the mines.

He died in mid-January 1926 while replacing a rail tie in St. Joe Leads Hoffman Shaft No. 11. He was using a pick to clear away rock when he struck what miners called a missed hole.

These were shot mines, meaning the ore was freed by drilling holes in the ore and dropping sticks of dynamite inside, then clearing the area and detonating the charge.

But this hole was missed until James Duemlers pick found it.

It was just that kind of missed hole  an unpredicted explosive force  that may have sparked the riots in the first place.

The U.S. entered World War I in April 1917, and a month later the federal government began gearing up to draft 3 million men to fight in Europe. By then, the war had been raging for three years, and casualties were mounting.

St. Francois County alone was producing 65 percent of the lead contracted for by the federal government in its drive to stockpile munitions for the war.

With production pressures driven by spiking lead prices, the mining companies had been recruiting foreign workers as shovelers for years, paying them 30 cents an hour. It was the worst job in the mines.

In a phrase that still echoes through immigration debates today, Uncle Joe said it had to hire the foreign miners for those jobs because American workers would not accept them.

Ryan Hennessy provided research for this story.

Mike McGraw is a special projects reporter for Flatlandkc.org, the digital magazine of Kansas City PBS. Reach him at mmcgraw@kcpt.org, and follow his stories online at flatlandkc.org and @FlatlandKC.
FLORISSANT  The City Council has unanimously approved a resolution calling for the repeal of Missouris Right to Work law.

The council passed the measure Monday evening.

Missouri became the 28th state to ratify such legislation in February. Under the law, employees of unionized companies cannot be mandated to join, but must receive the same benefits as a union employee without membership or paying fees.

The council also enthusiastically supports a MoveOn petition with almost 75,000 signatures to block its implementation, scheduled for this August. The AFL-CIO is also working to collect 90,000 signatures to put the law to a vote by the public.

In its resolution, the council charges the law makes it more difficult for workers to organize, destabilizes unions' power, impedes raising money to work on behalf of all employees, and threatens the general welfare of employees and their work conditions.

Were now faced with the misguided mindset of the haves and the have-nots that is heading into the direction of reducing the middle class," said Florissant Mayor Tom Schneider. "Organized labor is one of the last in the century guarding the middle class against this ill-advised social change.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.  A privately owned company plans to use robotic spacecraft to launch a series of commercial missions to the moon, some 45 years after NASAs last lunar landing, officials said Wednesday.

Moon Express, based in Cape Canaveral, Fla., is developing a fleet of low-cost robotic spacecraft that can be assembled like Legos to handle increasingly complex missions, founder and Chief Executive Officer Bob Richards said in an interview.

The initial spacecraft, known as MX-1E, is slated to fly before the end of the year aboard a Rocket Lab Electron booster, which launches from New Zealand. Moon Express hopes the endeavor will clinch a $20 million prize from Google, but Richards said the win was not essential.

Moon Express has raised more than $45 million from private investors to build its first spacecraft and buy launch services.

Google is offering a top prize of $20 million for the first privately funded team to land a spacecraft on the moon; have it fly, drive or hop at least 1,640 feet and relay pictures and video back to Earth. The second prize is $5 million.

Contenders have until Dec. 31 to launch their spaceships.

Google also is offering bonus money for other milestones, such as touching down near an Apollo landing site or finding evidence of water.

Richards presented the spacecraft design in Washington on Wednesday.

Besides vying for the X Prize, Moon Express will fly science equipment and payloads for at least three paying customers, including Houston-based Celestis, which offers memorial spaceflights for cremated remains.

Richards said the company would pay for the initial mission, with customers funding subsequent ones.

The company plans to set up a permanent robot-operated base on the moons south pole to prospect for water and other materials. By 2020, Moon Express expects to return lunar samples to Earth for research and commercial sale.

The MX series of spacecraft also can be scaled up for travel to other destinations, such as the moons of Mars. The company expects to complete the first spacecraft in September.
Former brewery scion August A. Busch IV was held overnight Monday by Swansea police after he attempted to leave an office park in his helicopter while appearing to be intoxicated, authorities said.

A breath test showed Busch had no alcohol in his system, but police said he failed field sobriety tests, according to court documents. Police applied for search warrants to obtain blood, urine and other samples.

No charges have been filed. St. Clair County authorities said they are still investigating the incident, which started shortly after noon Monday, when Busch landed the helicopter at the Bronze Pointe office park off Route 159.

Police were called and arrived to find a helicopter that had landed close to buildings and other obstacles. They spoke to the pilot, later identified in court documents as Busch. Unsure of the legalities, officers contacted the Federal Aviation Administration, which said it investigated whether any aviation laws were broken.

Authorities returned to the office park about 8 p.m. when witnesses reported Busch, who appeared intoxicated, was trying to leave in the helicopter, according to court documents. Its not clear where Busch had been in the meantime.

Swansea police said in court documents that Busch seemed intoxicated, anxious, rambling and unable to keep a single train of thought. A breath test showed no alcohol in Buschs system, but his behavior led police to conduct several field sobriety tests, which court documents indicated Busch failed.

During those tests, his speech was very mumbled and slurred, documents say.

Busch declined to provide fluid samples to check for intoxication, and police applied for a warrant to obtain them. The samples were taken at Belleville Memorial Hospital, police said. Results were not yet available.

Busch told police he has a concealed carry permit in Missouri, and had a loaded gun in his pocket, according to court documents. Busch gave police permission to search the helicopter, where they found three more loaded handguns and a pepper spray gun, court documents say.

Several types of prescription drugs also were recovered, the documents noted. Some were prescribed to Busch and others to the woman who was with him, identified in court documents as Dawna M. Wood.

Busch told police he had the drugs to treat his anxiety issues, police said. At one point while talking to police, Busch began jumping around and running sprints, telling police he needed to get more oxygen to cope with an anxiety attack. Police called for an ambulance, but it was not needed.

Busch was held by Swansea police overnight on suspicion of reckless conduct, unlawful use of a weapon and being intoxicated in or about an aircraft. He was released shortly after noon Tuesday. No charges were filed.

St. Clair County States Attorney Brendan Kelly said the case still is under investigation.

Busch, 53, is the former head of Anheuser-Busch Cos. and ran the brewing giant from 2006 until it was bought out two years later. He has had several high-profile dealings with police.

In January, Busch was questioned by police after he pulled a gun during a confrontation at a bank in Key West, Fla. No arrests were made, no charges were filed and no one was injured.

In that incident, police said a man in a pickup became angry with Busch for parking in a manner that blocked access to a bank door.

A witness said that while Busch walked to an ATM, the pickup driver got out of his vehicle, began yelling at Busch and walked toward him. The witness said Busch pulled out a handgun but kept it pointed at the ground.

In 1984, Busch avoided criminal charges after a car crash in Arizona that killed a 22-year-old woman.

In 1986, Busch was acquitted by a jury of third-degree assault charges in connection with a high-speed police chase in the citys West End.

Then in 2010, Adrienne Martin, Buschs girlfriend, died of an accidental drug overdose at Buschs estate in Huntleigh. Two years later, Busch paid $1.75 million to settle a wrongful-death civil suit.
[July 12, 2017] Mobile Innovations Corp. Picks CACP 2017 to Launch MPA NICHE 3.0 With Industry-First Two-Factor Authentication for RMS & CPIC Data Access on ANDROID & iPHONE

MONTREAL, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile Innovations Corp. CEO Gary Bauer today announced the 112th Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Conference and Expo 2017 as the venue for the upcoming release of his company's new secure mobile RMS / CPIC data solution  the MPA Niche 3.0 suite of law enforcement apps with industry-first Two-Factor Authentication for Android and iPhone. MPA Niche also features law enforcement apps for GPS tagging and location look-up, various forms and reports including street check, intel submit, witness statement, and an electronic pocket notebook. Two-Factor Authentication enables users to access data on their smartphones when two factors of authentication are provided. It is an extra layer of security for officers, designed to ensure they are the only persons who can access their accounts, even if someone else knows their password. Canadian Law Enforcement policy requires all National records or Police data be accessed only if protected by 2-factor challenge/response authentication. In Canada and many other countries, Two-Factor Authentication is required by strict government privacy laws and regulations like NIST SP800-157, which have been put in place for protecting confidential and personal RMS and CPIC information on mobile devices. Mobile Innovations integrates Entrust Datacard and Gemalto SafeNet with access to Niche RMS data and other policing apps providing the mandated data protection  previously available only with the discontinued Blackberry Smartcard reader, a PC or a ruggedized laptop. Mobile Innovations is the only company with a viable, device-agnostic, Two-Factor protected 'totl mobile policing' solution.



MPA's secure access to Niche RMS, CPIC and MTO/PARIS data, as well as a well-rounded family of law enforcement apps literally puts the sum of police knowledge at the officer's fingertips. Police records and confidential data can be accessed, created, sent, checked, and backed up securely by the officer in the field. A robust back office suite and the ability to carry out basic work functions offline round out the MPA Niche offering. Mobile Innovations Corp. CEO Gary Bauer  known for his work with Blackberry's 2-Factor solution  says that his company's new, NIST-compliant MPA Niche offering fills a significant void in the mobile policing marketplace. "Secure and encrypted mobile communications used to mean having a Blackberry phone and a Blackberry smart card reader. For the last four years after Blackberry smart cards readers disappeared, no viable mobile alternative has been available. Ours is first out of the gate; MPA Niche is the first secure mobile RMS data solution that is really complete, and completely device-agnostic."

"With CACP 2017's theme of Policing in a Digital Society, and the special emphasis on security, the 112th Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police 2017 Conference and Expo is the perfect setting to showcase the power of MPA Niche 3.0 on any Android or iPhone. We invite all attendees to visit us at our booth at the Palais des Congres to see how MPA Niche 3.0 can change the way your mobile officers can work faster and safer with better knowledge, when they need it most." Visit Mobile Innovations at Booth 219 or contact us in advance to arrange your demo. For more information or to set up your MPA NIche demo, please contact:

Gary Bauer - President

[email protected]

416-889-9997 Mobile Innovations is a privately held company dedicated to enhancing mobile computing with the most advanced secure mobile data products available for Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile smartphones and tablets. Based in Niagara Falls, Canada, Mobile Innovations also has operations in Toronto and the United Kingdom, and works with over 75 clients across Canada, the United States and in the European Union. Mobile Innovations is a member of the BlackBerry Alliance Program, Samsung Enterprise Alliance Program and the Apple Developer Program. Related Files MPANiche_3.0.pdf Related Images image1.jpg image2.png Related Links Our complete mobile policing product line. Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2twSNjYlkxw View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mobile-innovations-corp-picks-cacp-2017-to-launch-mpa-niche-30-with-industry-first-two-factor-authentication-for-rms--cpic-data-access-on-android--iphone-300486695.html SOURCE Mobile Innovations Corp.

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While authorities investigate whether former beer mogul August A. Busch IV was intoxicated while operating a helicopter in Illinois earlier this week, Florida authorities are working on a burglary in which Busch is the victim.

Key West police arrested a man Friday for breaking into Busch's home in the western part of the city, a police report said. Busch was not home at the time.

The suspect, a 37-year-old Arizona resident, told police he was visiting Key West and had been drinking with some friends. He said he became separated from the friends and woke up in Busch's home. Claiming he did not know how or why he got there, he called police.

Tapes from surveillance cameras at Busch's home indicate that the suspect rummaged through most rooms and stole a box of ammunition, the report said.

Busch told police he wants to pursue charges against the man and will provide the surveillance footage, the report said.

Meanwhile on the local front, no charges have been filed against Busch, St. Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly said.

Busch, 53, of Huntleigh, was arrested Monday after he landed a helicopter on the parking lot of the Bronze Pointe business park in Swansea, Ill.

He was held overnight Monday on suspicion of reckless conduct, unlawful use of a weapon and being intoxicated in or about an aircraft. He was released Tuesday afternoon.

Although a breath test revealed no alcohol in his system, authorities got a search warrant to have blood, urine and other samples taken from Busch at Belleville Memorial Hospital. The results are pending.

Busch was piloting the helicopter and also carried a passenger, Dawna M. Wood, police said. She identified herself to police as Busch's wife.

Busch has been unavailable for comment about the incident; a source said that while Busch and Wood are not legally married, they have been in a relationship for several years and consider themselves as such.

Busch, 53, is the former head of Anheuser-Busch Cos. and ran the brewing giant from 2006 until InBev took over the company two years later. He also is no stranger to high-profile dealings with police.

In January, Busch was questioned by police after he pulled a gun during a confrontation at a bank in Key West. No arrests were made and no charges were filed.

In 2010, Adrienne Martin, Buschs girlfriend, died of an accidental drug overdose at Buschs estate in Huntleigh. Two years later, Busch paid $1.75 million to settle a wrongful-death civil suit.

In 1986, Busch was acquitted by a jury of third-degree assault charges in connection with a high-speed police chase in St. Louis. Two years before that, Busch avoided criminal charges after a car crash in Arizona killed a 22-year-old woman.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven,

Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
Friday is Bastille Day. On July 14, 1789, a rowdy gang in Paris stormed the infamous Bastille prison, freeing seven prisoners (everyone assumed there would be more) and setting into motion what would become the French Revolution.

What better day to celebrate all things French? Or at least all foods French?

The French make the best food in the world  just ask them. But its true. In many respects, if not most, French cuisine sets the standard for the rest of the world.

From the lowly french fry to the most elegant sauce, many of the best and most flavorful ideas came from France. Even the words we use to talk about food came from France.

Cuisine is from the French word meaning kitchen. Menu came from the French term for a detailed list. And recipe? OK, recipe is from the Latin imperative meaning receive, as in receive instructions. But its kind of French, because Rome conquered Gaul, which later became France.

The point is, French food is great. If you need more convincing, think about this: They invented the chocolate eclair. Thats all the proof you need.

As Julius Caesar said as he was marching into Gaul, All French food is divided into three parts. One is the type that people make at home, one is what they serve at all those charming little bistros and one is the fancy stuff served at the pricier places.

To honor the wisdom of Caesar for this Bastille Day, I decided to make one dish that people make at home, one that is served at a bistro and two that are fairly gourmet  remember, the French gave us the word gourmet, too.

For the homey dish, I picked Pommes Anna, an instant favorite. This is a dish that truly does taste as great as it looks, and also as it smells. But the exceptional flavor belies the ease with which it is made.

Basically, Pommes Anna are potatoes that have been sliced thin and arranged in pretty circles or a spiral, absolutely doused in butter and sprinkled with shallots and then baked until the exterior is a bit crispy but the layered inside is creamy smooth.

If you like, you could sprinkle a little fresh herbs on it before cooking (Id recommend thyme), or maybe some mushrooms. But why add anything to a dish that is already perfect?

My next recipe is for the type of food you would find at a bistro  specifically, Le Petit Truc bistro, which was in Burgundy and which created the dish. As with so many great bistro recipes, it is deceptively simple to make.

Chicken with Tarragon Vinegar is based on the time-honored pairing of chicken with tarragon; the faint, fresh licorice taste of the herb always blends magnificently with the savory flavor of chicken.

The twist that was created at Le Petit Truc is that along with regular tarragon it also uses tarragon vinegar. The acidic vinegar adds a certain snap and sass to the tomato sauce that coats the meat.

I was afraid that my ravenous taste testers would not enjoy the flavor of vinegar with their chicken, but all that I asked said they loved it. So if the thought of adding vinegar to your chicken gives you pause, you can certainly leave it out and the dish will still taste great.

But try keeping it in. It will taste even better.

For my first gourmet item, I made a fish terrine I learned how to make in a cooking class in France. After being cooked, the terrine needs to be set aside to cool, so we placed it on a balcony overlooking a cobblestone courtyard in Paris.

Nothing could be more Parisian than that, I thought. If La Vie en Rose wasnt being played on a nearby accordion, it certainly should have been.

The terrine is made up of layers of pureed white fish  try to use fresh fish for this; it will make a world of difference  and pureed salmon, separated by thin layers of roasted red pepper, zucchini and smoked salmon.

It is French culinary elegance distilled in a single dish. It takes a little effort to make, but your guests will be impressed.

And the sophistication does not stop there. For my other gourmet dish, I made a traditional French dessert, Charlotte au Chocolat. As with the other French dishes I made (except the terrine), this one tastes like it was a lot harder to make than it was. It has a high flavor-to-effort ratio.

Charlotte au Chocolat is a ring of ladyfingers filled with layers of chocolate mousse separated by layers of more ladyfingers that have been briefly soaked in a liquid  raspberry liqueur, Kahlua or coffee.

You can doll it up, if you like, with raspberries or mint leaves or bits of crushed pistachio. It looks so good that it is traditionally presented tied in a pretty ribbon, like a present.
ST. LOUIS  Horse-and-carriage operators must give their horses a day off in the extreme heat.

If the thermometer hits 96 degrees or higher at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, St. Louis Department of Health animal care officers will issue a citation to anyone breaking a city order that bans the use of horse carriages, department spokesman Harold Bailey said. In the past, he said, operators have complied.

Jenny Holzum, business manager of St. Louis Carriage Company, said all her carriages were off the road Wednesday. Her business stops running carriages when the temperature reaches 95 degrees, she said. On hot days, her horses are kept inside their stables with fans blowing on them.

We put our kids first, Holzum said.

The citys carriage ride industry has, for the past few years, been the subject of legal battles over regulation.

In 2014, the citys then-health director, Pam Walker, butted heads with some in the industry after she witnessed a horse showing classic signs of a heat stroke. The incident spurred her to say she would impose a ban on the industry, but she later clarified that she did not have the authority to do so.

She ultimately ended up issuing several industry policies, including the rule that carriage horses be sidelined on days when the heat index reaches 100. Operators in violation can be fined $500 under the city policies.

But exactly which entity regulates horse carriages is unclear.

Months after Walker rolled out new policies, an animal rights group sued the St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission in an attempt to bring stronger regulations to horse carriage companies. The lawsuit was dismissed, prompting animal rights activists to protest.

The commission eventually took a stand on the carriage industry in September 2016 when it ordered Eureka-based Brookdale Farms to end its carriage rides after the business was accused of using unlicensed drivers and working its horses when it was too hot outside. The company sued, and a judges ruling left industry regulation in limbo.
Tamela Wilson died June 23 from complications of the Bourbon virus, which she likely caught from a tick bite at Meramec State Park where she worked.

A week later, the state Department of Natural Resources announced the park was an area of interest in an investigation of a case of Bourbon virus, and ticks were being collected for testing. The state health department confirmed the same day that a resident had contracted the virus, but did not mention the death.

Wilsons daughter Amie May of Bonne Terre, Mo., thinks the statements were too vague to properly alert the public.

I want people to know its out there. We have a virus that doesnt have a cure, and thats scary, May said.

Bourbon virus was discovered in 2014 after a man living in Bourbon County in eastern Kansas came down with flulike symptoms and later died after being bitten by ticks. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested his blood and confirmed the new virus. Since then there have been only a handful of reported cases, including Wilsons.

Wilson removed two ticks from her body a couple of weeks before she was admitted to Barnes-Jewish Hospital on May 31 with a low white blood cell count. After testing for other tick-borne diseases was negative, her blood was sent to the CDC, which confirmed she had Bourbon virus.

There is no treatment for the viral illness. May said that Wilson also acquired secondary infections including pneumonia and HLH, or hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, where the immune system attacks its own organs.

Wilson, 58, had been treated for non-Hodgkins lymphoma since 2012, which may have been another complicating factor. People over 50 and those with chronic medical conditions who catch a tick-borne disease have a higher risk of developing severe illness.

Her daughter said Wilson had been healthy and working full time as an assistant superintendent in the state park in Sullivan, where she also lived.

She had the perfect job because she loved to camp, and any time she could she was on the river floating, making bonfires at night, May said. She was the center of our family. Holidays were spent at her house. She got us all together as a family, and we dont have that now.

Not enough is known about the Bourbon virus to determine a typical course of illness, said Dr. Steven Lawrence, an infectious disease specialist at Washington University who was not involved in Wilsons care.

The few people who have had confirmed cases of Bourbon virus reported symptoms of fever, headache, body aches, rash and fatigue. All of the patients were hospitalized, but it is unclear how many deaths have been attributed to the virus.

Scientists have not definitively traced the virus to tick bites, although it is highly likely because of the patients histories of tick bites and the virus similarity to the Heartland virus, discovered in Missouri in 2009.

The two viruses are extremely rare and do not constitute a public health threat, Lawrence said. While there is a possibility that more cases of Bourbon virus are going undetected, we know it would have to be a situation where most cases are very mild because we dont have a lot of people sick in the hospital, he said.

However, two more common tick-borne bacterial diseases that can cause serious illness have spiked in 2017 after a mild winter.

There have been 229 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever reported in Missouri this year, up 100 percent over the five-year median. Ehrlichiosis is up slightly, with 149 reported cases. Tick-related bacterial illnesses in Illinois have grown from about 40 confirmed cases in 2000 to nearly 350 cases last year. The diseases are treatable with antibiotics if caught early.

It will take several months to complete the investigation into tick-borne diseases at Meramec State Park, according to a state health official.

The attention on Bourbon virus is a good reminder for people to avoid tick bites and recognize the symptoms of tick-borne illness, and for doctors to consider the diseases among patients with flulike symptoms this time of year. While most tick bites do not lead to infection, its important to get ticks off the body quickly. An infection can occur if the tick is attached on the skin for 24 hours or longer.

Lawrence compares the situation to the Ebola scare of 2014. While there was virtually no chance of catching the virus in the U.S., thousands of Americans died from common influenza that winter.

There is nothing that would make us think that either Bourbon or Heartland are really common, Lawrence said. This is an opportunity to say there are things we face every day that are much more of a problem. I see patients who get sick and die from tick-borne infections that could be prevented if people treated it early and doctors recognized it.
UPDATES with video of neighbor account, photos and additional detail from fire captain, Paul McKee and Landmarks Association official

ST. LOUIS  A fire that began in a vacant historic mansion with ties to Mark Twain grew to four alarms early Wednesday as it spread to at least two nearby buildings because of windy conditions.

Another building three blocks away also caught fire, within minutes of the first fire, but it wasn't downwind so embers aren't necessarily the culprit  raising suspicions about the likelihood of arson.

All of the fires are within the area being redeveloped by Paul McKee. The vacant mansion that burned was built by Twain's uncle, James Clemens Jr., and owned by McKee's Northside Regeneration.

Its a devastating loss, McKee said. "Its an incredible historic monument. I bought it, (my wife) Midge and I did, to save the building.

The interior was nearly all wood, he said, and it appears to be "totally gone."

What just burned is the most unbelievable woodwork youve ever seen, McKee said.

One man at a house hit by embers apparently suffered minor smoke inhalation while trying to douse flames with a pan full of water. No other injuries were reported.

Arson investigators have descended on the four-block area to find the cause.

Officials tell of a frantic morning with back-to-back fire calls that eventually summoned 100 firefighters to the area north of downtown.

The first report came at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday for a fire near the intersection of Helen and Mullanphy streets, in the city's St. Louis Place neighborhood.

St. Louis Fire Capt. Garon Mosby said flames had engulfed the structure, front to back, by the time firefighters got there. Commanders at first wrongly sized it up as a four-story warehouse. It was hard to see because it was "full of fire," Mosby said. The flames also destroyed structures adjoining the mansion that once housed a chapel and convent.

As firefighters tackled that blaze, another call came in for a fire three blocks away, at 15th Street and Cass Avenue. There, they found a vacant two-story, mixed-use building in flames. Crews scrambled to get to that scene just as fires were being detected at two homes in the 1600 block of Helen Street.

Red-hot embers had floated two blocks northeast from the Clemens House, sparking fires at the homes on Helen. Firefighters sprayed down roofs in the neighborhood to prevent embers from starting more fires.

One of the buildings that caught fire due to the embers is a vacant and long-ago boarded up townhome known as the Sherman House, 1630 Helen Street. A sign in front boasts "Historic Restoration Coming Soon." Next door is Leon Bell's two-story flat, where Bell escaped along with his adult son, two daughters and four grandchildren.

Bell, 70, said a neighbor saw two men running from the Clemens House area about 3 a.m. Bell said he suspects arson. He said McKee's controversial and long-delayed NorthSide Regeneration project has many enemies in the neighborhood.

Bell, who is with a neighborhood watch group, said he awoke about 3:30 a.m. to make his daily rounds. When he opened the door, the sky was filled with what looked like a million fireflies, seven or eight inches long, he said. They were red-hot embers falling on homes on Helen Street.

"We've never seen anything like it," he said. "The sky was lit up like the Fourth of July."

He looked to the south and saw flames a block away, shooting 100 feet or more into the sky, he said. He saw the cinders landing on rooftops of neighbors homes and alerted them. When he got back home, he saw that his own home was on fire. An ember had latched onto the window sill on the second floor, outside his son's bedroom.

"My son started putting it out with pans of water," he said.

The Clemens house, at 1849 Cass, was a Greek-revival style mansion. Twain was said to have visited several times. The house was later sold to the Sisters of St. Joseph, who added a chapel and expanded the property. But it had stood vacant in recent years. It became a city landmark in 1971.

McKees NorthSide plan encompasses some 1,500 acres north of downtown, but work has been stalled for years amid legal battles and uncertainty over whether the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency would choose a site for its new facility within the footprint. Some residents grew impatient as McKee amassed land during the past decade, accusing him of letting properties deteriorate and making grand promises without actually breaking ground.

The Clemens house is just down the street from the future site of the NGA, which includes land that McKee sold back to the city in a deal negotiated in 2015. The city and McKee hope the $1.7 billion project will serve as an anchor and boost property values in a part of town that has long struggled with disinvestment.

In a 2009 story in the Post-Dispatch, McKee said he was partnering with a downtown rehabber and hoped to renovate the Clemons House into senior apartments and a museum honoring the heritage of the neighborhoods around it. In 2010, the Missouri Housing Development Commission authorized $10 million in tax exempt bonds for the project, but the developers couldn't find other investors, and the bond opportunity passed.

McKee said most recently, he asked Telesis Corp., the national housing developer working with him to build hundreds of homes just to the north, to see if it could include the property in its plans.

We were trying to come out it from a different way with Telesis recently, McKee said.

For years, and as recently as 2015, the Clemens House was on the Landmarks Association of St. Louis Inc.'s list of "most endangered" structures in the region.

"Every year there is less and less to save of the (Clemens) Mansion and its associated chapel," the association said on its website. "Open to vandals and the elements for years, the buildings offer a sad commentary on how even high profile and highly significant buildings are allowed to fade into oblivion in a city that lacks the will and authority (or at least selectively wields them) to hold derelict absentee property owners like OFallon MO based Northside Regeneration accountable for the condition of their buildings."

Andrew Weil, executive director of Landmarks Association, said the mansion, the chapel and the vacant convent were all in horrific condition, missing windows and a roof and left exposed to the elements and to vandals and thieves. When he read online Wednesday morning about the fire that destroyed the Clemens House, Weil said he felt like a friend had died.

"This is a very very important building, and it's just been crumbling and crumbling and crumbling," Weil said. "You watch it erode every year, and now it's gone."

"The real issue in my mind is, properties like this  which are really important pieces of our city's architectural heritage and our city's history  are allowed to fall into such disrepair," Weil said. "Vandalism is a big problem. The city lacks the ability and will to hold property owners accountable when they let their property get to that point."

McKee said he has lost about 10 to 12 buildings in his Northside Regeneration footprint to fires, including one last year in Old North St. Louis. The Clemens House is the largest that has been destroyed in a blaze, he said. In the past, it's generally because homeless people use the empty structures for shelter. Most of that is in the wintertime, when theyre in these old buildings and start a fire in a barrel or something, McKee said. McKee said one other building he owns was partly damaged by fire Wednesday, but that he didn't yet know the extent.

All of the fires were under control by 6 a.m., but fire in one building rekindled about four hours later, and crews were back at work to snuff out those flames.

The Fire Department's Fire Investigation Unit is handling the investigation. No arrests had been made Wednesday.
ST. LOUIS  For as long as 10 days, one inmate at a state prison in Farmington sexually and physically abused a cellmate in a manner so severe that his prison term was extended 22 years.

Austin Gallup ultimately pleaded guilty to abusing the St. Louis County man in 2013 in what the victims attorney calls torture.

During that period, Missouri Department of Corrections employees failed to properly check on the two inmates, who were locked alone together in one of the more restricted areas of the prison. Moreover, the state workers falsified logs and failed to follow procedures aimed at protecting inmates from other prisoners.

Those are among the new revelations in a state investigation obtained this month by the Post-Dispatch through an open records request.

The findings add yet another example of a state agency reeling from poor employee conduct  one that mirrors an incident at the state-run St. Louis Community Release Center. There, corrections employees lied about logs and instead surfed the internet and streamed a movie while a resident whod been treated for mental illness lay dead for 10 hours in a restricted area of the large halfway house.

And like other problematic incidents within the Department of Corrections, the Farmington case also could leave Missouri taxpayers footing the bill. The victim filed a lawsuit in February seeking $10 million. Cira Duffe, one of his attorneys, said she withdrew the case in March to exhaust administrative remedies.

It will be refiled, she said.

Duffe said she wasnt aware of an inspector general report launched after the discovery on May 31, 2013, of her client at Farmington Correctional Center. The report, which was completed Nov. 3, 2013, says corrections employees lied and failed to follow procedures in administrative segregation, one of the most restricted areas of the prison. The findings were based on numerous interviews with staff, wing check logs and surveillance video.

The report concluded that several corrections officers violated staff conduct and failed to follow a post order requiring that prison wings be patrolled every 30 minutes. Corrections officers are supposed to visibly check through each cell door window and keep a record of it.

Multiple officers told investigator Matthew Pierce that they were too busy to do the checks. Some said it was customary to initial the logs even though they werent done at the end of a shift. Some said that there was inadequate lighting and that Plexiglass windows into cells were hard to see through because of dirt, wire and scratches.

Negligent and indifferent

A shower log showed that Gallup and the victim hadnt been out of their cell for 10 days, according to the inspector general report. The victims statement was heavily redacted. The investigator said a written statement wasnt obtained from him due to the victims emotional state.

The report says the victim was severely beaten and sexually assaulted during a time period of five to 10 days and that the findings were forwarded to St. Francois County authorities, 70 miles south of St. Louis.

In 2014, Gallup pleaded guilty in the matter to charges of forcible sodomy, deviate sexual intercourse by forcible compulsion and first-degree assault, serious physical injury. Gallup, 24, currently held at Potosi Correctionial Center, was sentenced to an additional 22 years in prison. He was already doing time for statutory rape and sodomy of a child under the age of 14.

In February 2017, his former cellmate at Farmington Correctional Center, filed the $10 million federal civil rights lawsuit against new Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe, former director George Lombardi, warden Tom Villmer and dozens of unnamed state employees.

He claimed corrections employees and officials were negligent and indifferent for failing to take steps to project him. The victim alleged that hed been in the cell in question for about 20 days. After the first five days, according to the lawsuit, his cellmate started beating him, then raping him. He claimed his cellmate deprived him of food and drink and forced him to drink urine and eat feces.

The victim alleged his cellmate yelled and bragged about what he was doing to him.

During the fifteen plus days that Plaintiff was literally being tortured  no correctional officer, case worker, mental health worker or a member of the medical staff observed, checked on, spoke to or had any type of contact with Plaintiff, according to the lawsuit.

A pattern

The victim suffered post traumatic stress, a broken jaw and other harm to his body and genitalia, according to court records.

The victim, 27, is serving a 10-year sentence for attempted child kidnapping.

His abuse case is among a string of incidents that have plagued the Department of Corrections, which has been under fire since 2016 when the Kansas City publication The Pitch revealed how the states largest agency quietly paid out millions of dollars in damages to female corrections officers who alleged they were harassed at work and retaliated against for speaking out.

Last spring, the Post-Dispatch reported the damning inspector general report about the incident at the St. Louis Community Release Center. In June, Donald Ruzicka resigned from the Board of Probation and Parole after facing scrutiny for toying with inmates at parole hearings by trying to make them say names and songs such as Hootenanny and Soul Man.

Later in June, Gov. Eric Greitens issued an executive order to create a task force designed to clean up the state prison system.

Asked about the inspector general investigation from Farmington Correctional Center, David Owen, spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said director Precythe wasnt available for comment.

Owen asked for a list of questions by email which largely went unanswered. Among them is whether the department has enacted changes in response to the 2013 case, whether the windows and lighting have been fixed at Farmington, and whether any action has been taken against employees who falsified logs.

The Department instead issued a statement.

The incident happened prior to the directors arrival and serves as another example of why leadership, management, and following the policies and procedures are critical to the safety and security of staff and offenders at the departments correctional centers, release center, and probation and parole field offices, according to the statement.

As always, the department takes any assault on a staff member or offender very seriously and reviews the incident to make sure the appropriate actions were taken, which includes reviewing any policies and procedures to ensure their effectiveness.
EAST ST. LOUIS  Two men from Nebraska were indicted in federal court here Wednesday and accused of committing four armed robberies stores in April as part of a multi-state crime spree.

Allen McCray, 19, and Victor Linton, 23, both of Omaha, robbed a MotoMart, a Circle K and a Casey's General Store in St. Clair County of cash on April 15, the indictment says. They took clothing from a Prime Sole store in Effingham County on April 19 and fired a gun during the robbery, the indictment says.

They now face charges in Illinois of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, four counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two gun charges.

The exact store locations are not listed, but federal prosecutors thanked police in Maryville, OFallon, Troy and Effingham for their assistance, as well as the Illinois State Police, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and other agencies in Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri and Indiana.

The indictment says that the pair, along with an unnamed co-conspirator, committed robberies in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

Both face other state and federal charges and are being held in the Lafayette County, Mo. jail, online records show.

News reports say that they were arrested after shooting a store clerk in Higginsville, Mo.
[July 12, 2017] Sandvine Virtual Series architecture delivers 60% more packet processing power with Intel Xeon Scalable processor

WATERLOO, ON, July 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Sandvine, (TSX:SVC) a leading provider of intelligent broadband network solutions for fixed and mobile operators, today announced that the new Intel Xeon Scalable processor platform will provide their Policy Traffic Switch (PTS) Virtual Series customers with up to 60% more packet processing power. As a member of the Intel Network Builders ecosystem, Sandvine had early access to Intel Xeon Gold 6150 processor based platforms. After extensive in-house testing using Sandvine's current PTS Virtual Series software build, Sandvine measured packet inspection throughput improvements of up to 60% over a comparable reference platform using Intel Xeon E5-2699 v3 processors. The most significant improvements came when inspecting small (64- and 128-byte) packets, which are typically the biggest challenge from a performance perspective. The improvements mean that communications service providers (CSPs) will now need to utilize fewer vCPUs in their virtual workload environment to achieve a given level of throughput and to enable Sandvine's network policy control platform at line rate speeds. Sandvine's Virtual Series products are currently deployed in the control and data planes of CSPs of all sizes, including TextNow, an MVNO, Bakcell, a tier-1 mobile operator, and Digicel, a multi-national operator group. When these and other Sandvine's Virtual Series customers migrate their deployments to systems that take advantage of the Intel Xeon Scalable processor capabilities, the improved packet processing performance will allow them to implement significantly more complex network policy control use cases without the need for additional software licenses. "Without any optimization to our PTS Virtual Series softare, the Intel Xeon Scalable processor will provide our customers with the ability to do significantly more with the Sandvine platform without the need for additional vCPUs," said Don Bowman, CTO. "Later this year when we update our Virtual Series products to take advantage of the Intel AVX-512 instruction set featured in the new processor, we will also be able to enhance our cyber security solutions with innovative new features based on deep machine learning and neural-network acceleration."



Sandvine has validated the significant performance improvements that the Intel Xeon Scalable processor enables, and builds upon a history of collaborating to demonstrate cutting-edge virtualization performance to CSPs. In October 2015, Sandvine, in collaboration with Intel and Dell, was the first network policy control vendor to achieve more than 1Tbps of traffic inspection, a benchmark that took more than a year to be matched by anyone else in Sandvine's industry. ABOUT SANDVINE

Sandvine's network policy control solutions add intelligence to fixed, mobile and converged communications service provider networks, to increase revenue, reduce network costs and improve subscriber quality of experience. Our networking solutions perform end-to-end policy control functions, including traffic classification, policy decision, and enforcement. Deployed as virtualized network functions or on Sandvine's purpose-built hardware, the products provide actionable business insight, and the ability to deploy new consumer and business subscriber services, optimize and secure network traffic, and engage with subscribers.

Sandvine's network policy control solutions are deployed in more than 300 networks in over 100 countries, serving hundreds of millions of data subscribers worldwide. www.sandvine.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this release which are not historical facts constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements") and are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of such laws. Statements related to the scope of deployment of Sandvine's products by a specific customer, the potential revenue opportunity with any particular customer or in any market segment, the benefits of Sandvine's products and services to be realized by customers, Sandvine's market position, future opportunities, product development plans and demand for Sandvine's products and services are forward looking statements, as are any statements relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve both known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Sandvine to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, changes in internal deployment strategies or plans by specific customers; the growth of broadband internet usage and levels of capital spending on broadband network management systems; the timing of orders and manufacturing lead times; changes in customer order patterns or customer mix; insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; increased competition in the broadband network equipment industry; dependence on the timely development and market acceptance of new product offerings and standards; rapid technological and market change; manufacturing and sourcing risks including dependence on key suppliers and key technologies; dependence upon indirect channel sales and resellers; factors such as business and economic conditions and growth trends in the broadband network equipment industry and in various geographic regions; dependence upon key intellectual property and the potential for infringement of the intellectual property rights of others; global economic conditions and uncertainties in the geopolitical environment including the impact of regulation related to the internet and the delivery of internet services and export control regulations. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions, and Sandvine does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change, except to the extent required by applicable law. SOURCE Sandvine

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It developed as I expected since our last visit: The Illinois state budget constipation was relieved with a big tax increase. That is exactly the way a lot of residents regarded it.

Grumblers suggested they would just move, although the closest state with a lower income tax rate is Indiana.

And woe betide we who dared point out that most Illinoisans shared some blame by dozing through decades of overspending by their elected officials  until the bills could no longer be ignored. Some insisted its not their debt, without suggesting just whose it is.

I wonder if they would have noticed the difference had the Legislature been able to pull off the increase (of $12 per $1,000 earned) in secret?

Well, folks are sure noticing now. Theres a big election next year, and I suppose thats one of the main reasons the General Assembly finally voted last week to pass what seemed to be an inevitable tax hike. The sooner (meaning the further from Nov. 6, 2018), the better.

It in effect had been just another battle between House Speaker Michael Madigan, a 24th-term Democratic representative, and a governor  in this case, Bruce Rauner, a first-term Republican. As speaker, Madigan has prevailed in various ways with six governors.

Politically, Madigan remains invincible. I think that only he or God can decide when its time for him to go. He runs in a safe district near Midway Airport in Chicago, collects a large majority of votes for re-election and is returned by House members every two years to the podium. So loyal  or perhaps in some cases afraid  is the persistent Democratic majority that I cannot remember any serious challenge to his leadership.

Madigan already had been speaker for 12 years when, in 1995, Republicans gained a short-lived House majority. Political pop quiz: Whom did the GOP choose for speaker? Answer: Lee Daniels of Elmhurst. But by 1997, and ever since, Madigan was back in charge.

He is the one leadership constant through years of providing good services and solid public-employee pensions that cost more than the state was bringing in. Appreciative unions played a strong role in delivering the majorities that, in turn, delivered Madigan. Business interests not only despise his pro-labor stand but blame it for a commercial climate they say drives out companies, jobs and tax revenue.

It was support from the anti-Madigan brigade that installed Rauner, in 2014, as their fresh breath to fix things.

This followed four years of scandal-tainted Republican Gov. George Ryan (who went to prison for corruption), six years of buffoonery by Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich (in prison for corruption) and six years of inertia by Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, a party fringe activist who never gelled with Madigan.

We knew going into it that Rauner, a businessman with no government experience, was vulnerable to a mistaken belief that his private-sector acumen could out-maneuver politicians on their home field. (That situation reminds me a little of the White House, although Rauner and President Donald Trump could not be more different.)

Rauner stood fast for pro-business regulatory and tax reforms that Madigan and Co. would not accept. When the governor used vetoes to try to hold the state budget, tax increase and bond rating hostage, Madigan  assisted by votes from 10 Republicans  ran right over him.

Now, with the election not quite 16 months off, I wonder whether Rauner wounded himself by over-playing his hand or made himself an Alamo-like hero for standing proudly against an insurmountable enemy.

He plans to run again, and the radar has not picked up viable competition so far for the GOP primary March 20. A demonstrated willingness to bolster his campaign fund from a personal net worth reported to be near $1 billion should scare off all but the most well-heeled Republican foes.

He already has attracted two well-heeled Democratic foes who might be able to match him dollar-for-dollar. Venture capital tycoon J.B. Pritzker may not yet be a household name downstate, but its hard to escape his TV ads here. Chris Kennedy, the son of assassinated Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, belongs to one of Americas most prominently monied families.

Those still fuming from the tax increase when they go to the polls next year will like Rauner. Those who favor a stable operating table before surgery on state programs may not.

People who fear that things in Springfield will just keep stumbling along on the same path until the next crisis should look beyond the gubernatorial contest to the Senate and House races  and who will be the legislative leaders. Thats where substantive change will occur, or not.

Just look at what happened last week.
JEFFERSON CITY  Missouris new governor is headed to Rhode Island this week to attend a meeting of fellow chief executives and hear an address by Vice President Mike Pence.

Gov. Eric Greitens will trek to Providence as part of the National Governors Association summer meeting that runs Thursday through Saturday. A specific itinerary of his travel was not available Wednesday.

But, Greitens spokesman Parker Briden said the governor also will participate in a meeting to address national security as part of his role as a member of the Council of Governors. The council addresses issues related to the National Guard, homeland defense and defense support to civil authorities.

Since taking office, Greitens has made a number of trips out of state, including at least five to Washington, where he has met with Pence, President Donald Trump and other officials. Last month, he headed to Colorado Springs and spoke to donors at a private retreat sponsored by the billionaire conservative Koch brothers.

In Missouri, Greitens faces a Friday deadline to take final action on bills sent to him by the Legislature during their spring session. Among the legislation awaiting his signature is a rewrite of state pension laws that could help government employees qualify for retirement benefits faster.

The House and Senate also are still grappling with Greitens' call for a special session on abortion-related issues. Neither chamber is currently scheduled to return to the Capitol until later this month.

Pence, who campaigned for Greitens in 2016 and visited Missouri in February to discuss job growth in St. Louis, will deliver an opening keynote address on Friday.
Updated at 9:30 am July 13 with Backpage response

WASHINGTON  The House Wednesday passed several bipartisan anti-human trafficking initiatives that had bipartisan support from St. Louis-area members.

They'll need to pass the Senate to become law, no sure thing in this partisan environment. But the issue - particularly as it applies to sex trafficking of minors and other illicit trade - has been one area where Republicans and Democrats have shown they can agree.

The three measures passed by voice vote Wednesday are part of multi-front efforts to confront what lawmakers say is a growing but largely hidden problem.

Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, who sponsored a bill to give grants to local police forces to fight sex trafficking, said that more than 22,000 calls had been made to a national sex-trafficking hotline over the last decade. She pointed to a recent case in Springfield, Mo., where girls aged 13 and 14 were imprisoned for sex trafficking.

The crime of sex trafficking rips through the fabric of our community and our country, she said.

Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, a co-sponsor, said human trafficking is a form of 21st Century slavery and that St. Louis is one of the top 20 markets for these horrific and inhuman crimes because of the citys location at the intersection of major transportation routes.

The bill Hartzler and Clay pushed through the House would allow local police departments to compete for federal grants to educate and to prosecute customers of illicit sex. Clay said one of the big problems in fighting the problem is that young victims of the sex trade are often told by traffickers that they have nowhere to go for help because they are breaking the law.

Victims might be fearful of going to law enforcement and being charged with a crime, Clay said. The House also passed legislation re-authorizing a 2000 law protecting victims of sex trafficking, and one aimed at boosting law enforcement tools to detect human trafficking.

Others in the delegation have taken up the issue as a primary cause. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin, has introduced legislation that would make it more difficult for online sites, like Backpage.cm, to advertise sex on their sites, by amending a section of the federal Communications Decency Act.

The House previously passed legislation Wagner sponsored that, among other things, boosts resources to track human trafficking.

In addition, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, have engaged in a long-time battle with Backpage that has coursed through Congress and federal courts.

The two issued a report earlier this year highly critical of Backpage. McCaskill and Portman also led a successful, and rare, effort to declare principles of the online advertising site in contempt of the Senate for refusing to provide documents or testify before their Senate investigating committee.

Backpage has argued that it is protected under the 1st Amendment and that a federal communications decency act passed at the dawn of the Internet protects it on those grounds.

Backpage lawyer Liz McDougall has previously told the Post-Dispatch that the site cooperates with law enforcement and that driving it out of the sex advertising business would drive human trafficking further underground, making it harder to detect and prosecute.

McDougall has accused McCaskill and others of tactics similar to the infamous 1950s Sen. Joe McCarthy against a 1st Amendment-protected company.

But the Washington Post reported this week it had received evidence that a contractor working for Backpage was aggressively soliciting and creating sex-related ads, despite Backpages repeated insistence that it had no role in the content of ads posted on its site.

The newspaper said it got that information from filings in an unrelated lawsuit in Kansas City.

McDougall told the Post-Dispatch that the Washington Post story was "grossly misleading" and that "nothing in the (Washington Post's) sensationalist allegations contradicts the fact that Backpage does not create ads, merely hosts them."

But McCaskill told the Washington Post that, if true, the Washington Post report undercuts any Backpage claims that it is a 1at Amendment-protected mere host for others speech.

McCaskill told the newspaper: "This is about as far from passive as you can get. This is soliciting. This is, really, trickery. . . . So I hope this opens the floodgates of liability for Backpage. Nobody deserves it more.
Jaguar Land Rover engineer Dr Amy Rimmer.

JAGUAR Land Rover engineer Dr Amy Rimmer has won Autocar magazines Rising Star Award for British women in the car industry.

A panel of judges recognised 29-year-old Amys significant work as an autonomous vehicle research engineer and her passion and commitment to the car industry.

In addition Amy, pictured left, also won the Vehicle Development category award. Amy studied mechanical engineering at Cambridge University, with placements at the McLaren F1 team.

She then completed a graduate scheme at Rolls Royce plc, before studying for a PhD, working on autonomously reversing trucks with trailers.

Amy joined Jaguar Land Rover in 2015 and now works as a research engineer on ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and autonomous systems and is developing vehicles which can navigate urban environments autonomously.

She said: To be recognised for my work in future autonomous cars is really exciting. Encouraging young people to consider automotive careers is so important to the future of our industry.

Jaguar Land Rover employees took 21 of the 100 places in Autocars list of British women in the car industry.

Among them was 21-year-old Chloe Crutchlow, who won the Apprentice category for her work on the emissions measurement technologies.

The Autocar Rising Star Awards identify and celebrate the British car industrys most promising future female talent, highlighting the range of career opportunities available.

The awards celebrate roles from retail to manufacturing, from vehicle development to communications.

Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover executive director of product engineering, said: Our initiatives have helped to increase our female engineering workforce from nine per cent to 11 per cent, and our aim is to keep encouraging women to pursue careers in engineering and continue to attract more women into our business.
The Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto reiterated his stance that following the Panama Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report , that revealed huge disparities in Sharif family assets and means of income, therefore Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has lost moral grounds to maintain his slot.

According to the details, PPP Chairman Bilwal Bhutto-Zardari lent his support to the rising chorus of demands for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs resignation following the revelations made in the report submitted by the Panamagate joint investigation team (JIT) to the Supreme Court on Monday.

Bilawal, who was addressing a press conference in Islamabad following a high-level huddle of party leaders, also suggested that a case should be filed against the premier. He further said that the prime minister had lost all ethical and legal grounds to retain the premiership.

Nawaz Sharif is indulged in money laundering and now has to step down without wasting time, Bilawal Bhutto said while talking to media after the party bigwigs press conference.

Bilawal said that JIT report has disclosed all reality regarding Sharif family wealth and corruption and they should have stop to threat JIT and apex court. He alleged that Sharif family has misled the apex court as well.

Delivering clear message for PML-N, Bilawal said Stop threatening JIT and apex court.

He continued We will make future course of action by joining hands with other opposition parties.

They [the Sharif family] used to say that were presenting accounts for the last three generations for scrutiny  what we have found instead is that the report has exposed all three generations of the first family as thieves, he remarked at one point.

The rule of law should be equal for all. It shouldnt be that if a reference is filed against a politician from Sindh, his name is immediately placed on the exit control list, but the rules keep changing for the people of Punjab, he observed.

To a question of whether the PPP may launch a grassroots agitation movement, the PPP chairman said that his party was devising its future course of action and all options are being considered.

Bilawal said he had also directed Opposition Leader Khurshid Shah to contact all opposition parties and devise a joint strategy on the issue.
PPP's Saeed Ghani on Friday dismissed all allegations raised against him after his win in the PS-114 by-election, a provincial assembly seat from Karachi, accusing his main rivals  provincial legislators from MQM-Pakistan  of attempting to intimidate him.

He also accused the MQM-P of being the same as the MQM-London, which stands accused of anti-state activities.

"These people have not changed, we know how they operate and we refuse to be intimidated by them," Ghani said.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had a day earlier withheld a notification to declare Ghani as winner after admitting a petition filed by the MQM candidate from the constituency, Kamran Khan Tessori.

Tessori had accused the PPP of rigging the election and sought the ECPs orders for a vote recount and the verification of thumb impressions on votes cast by the National Database and Registration Authority.

In his petition, Tessori had alleged that the by-election for PS-114, held on July 9, was rigged by the PPP with the help of the Sindh government and local police.

To start with, many persons were apprehended red-handed while casting bogus votes; but the bogus votes were not identified or excluded. Those who had cast bogus votes were either related to PPP candidate Saeed Ghani, or belonged to the PPP or were its supporters, the petition read.

It pointed out that the PS-114 constituency had never been a constituency of the PPP. Since 1998 till the 2017 by-election, the PPP has never been able to get more than 3,827 votes  but, surprisingly, this time its candidate secured 23,797 votes, which cannot be believed, it said.

"At least in polling stations 79, 85, 86, 87 and 90, the PPP with police help, captured polling stations and the PPPs candidate and his cohorts brazenly cast bogus votes," it added.

"Even before the by-election, there had been pre-poll rigging. The voters faced hurdles in reaching the said polling stations," it alleged.

"Additionally, because of the very close proximity of those polling stations to one another, the voters were clustered, harassed and were further inconvenienced. Because of these, voters of the MQM shied away and the PPP had a field day in casting bogus votes."

Tessori has also submitted a comparison of votes secured by the PPP in the 2013 election from the constituency and in the 2017 by-election.

The PS-114 seat had fallen vacant after PML-Ns Irfanullah Khan Marwat was disqualified. Marwat had won the 2013 general election from the constituency, securing 37,130 votes against his closest rival Abdul Rauf Siddiqui of the MQM, who secured 30,305 votes. PTIs Israr Ahmad Abbasi and PPPs Sajjad Ahmad Pappi could bag only 13,807 and 3,827 votes, respectively.

In the recently held by-election, the scene entirely changed. Ghani secured over 23,000 votes and runner-up Kamran Tessori secured over 18,000 votes. PML-Ns Akbar Gujjar and PTIs Najeeb Haroon bagged a little over 5,000 votes each.
Snow has settled on the Desert Road bringing icy conditions to the North Island.

In the Bay of Plenty, the current temperature is 9.6 degrees. The expected high for today is 12.

Todays southerly change will see overnight lows plummet, with two degrees forecast for tonight and four degrees for the next two nights.

According to WeatherWatch.co.nz, snow flurries are expected about the Central North Island to 700m at first then lowering to 400m or perhaps even 300m in the afternoon, clearing in the evening.

WINTER IS HERE & extreme weather conditions can make driving treacherous. Please be safe & plan ahead. More: https://t.co/WeqzTOAe8u ^TP pic.twitter.com/eaXNHVxpRI  NZTA Waikato/BoP (@NZTAWaiBoP) July 11, 2017

Flurries about the Wellington region to 300m clear around midday. Some snow lowers to 300m for a time about the Wairarapa, 500 or perhaps 400m about Hawkes Bay then 600m in the evening for Gisborne about the ranges.

Overnight as heavy rain pushes into the Wairarapa with it comes heavy snow to 500m, 400m for Wellington.

The rain is expected to move up the country, with shower forecast for the Bay today, tomorrow and Friday, according to the MetServices five day forecast.
A Tauranga man scooped the Powerball jackpot on Saturday night to take home $10.3 million.

New Zealands newest multimillionaire has an impulse decision to thank for all the zeroes now in his bank account.

Although the winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, is still having trouble believing his luck.

It was getting late on Saturday night when I remembered that I hadnt bought a Lotto ticket, says the winner.

I dont play every draw, but I guess I just had a lucky feeling.

I couldnt get to the shops in time, so I jumped online and grabbed a ticket through MyLotto.

That last minute purchase proved to be a fortunate move for the Tauranga local, whose numbers all came up on Saturday night.

The winner wasnt even aware that someone had won the big prize when he jumped online earlier this week.

I was checking my email when I saw a message from MyLotto saying, you have won a prize, but I didnt know how much Id won, says the winner.

I knew it was over $1000 because I had to fill in a prize claim form and I thought, gee, this could be quite good.

Even when I logged into MyLotto and saw the amount $10.3 million I still thought I must have got one of the other prizes.

Eventually I thought  maybe Ill just phone Lotto NZ and check. It was a helluva surprise when they told me Id won the big one!

With the millions now safely in his bank account the winner is starting to believe that he did actually win Powerball.

Its incredible, but totally surreal, says the winner.

While the winner and his family are over the moon about their windfall, their first thought is about helping others.

I want to be able to do good with it. I feel like this win is a gift and Im going to be able to enrich a lot of other lives around me.

The winner has already identified a number of charities he intends to support and is thinking about how he can help his local community.

This is the second largest Powerball prize won in the Tauranga region and the eighth Powerball win over the years.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and his team will be visiting Tauranga today, as part of their tour of the countrys regions.

He will be giving a speech to members of the public at the Tauranga Yacht & Power Boat Club at 1pm.

Speaking to SunLive, Winston says he will be talking about the wealth of the regions, and how much they earn for the country versus how much is returned to them by central government.

Regions are experiencing huge spending deficits on roads, sewerage, and other things ratepayers keep arguing about with councils. Last year the central government received $1.5 billion of GST from tourists, but failed to return any of it back to local governments.

Top of the list for his talk in Tauranga will be the citys infrastructure  and how its being paid for.

Why does Tauranga have two toll roads, while Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch have none? Both harbour bridges are toll-free  which Im pleased to say I had a role in  but why do you guys continue to be penalised?

The regional tour is also an opportunity for New Zealand First to shore up its party vote, which is very likely to exceed five per cent again.

A recent 1NEWS Colmar Brunton poll puts the party on 11 per cent  but Winston believes real support among New Zealanders could be even higher.

This time out last election, the 1NEWS poll had us on three-and-a-half per cent, and we got almost nine. Now theyre saying were on 11 per cent, and they believe theyre accurate.

But its a good benchmark for what we can get. Our own polls say we are much more than 15 per cent. Im telling you, my team is seriously confident, and were working our butts off at the moment to achieve it.
1de enero, 2 de febrero, 3 de marzo, 4 de abril, 5 de mayo, 6 de junio, 7 de julio... San Fermin! This popular Spanish song, known all over the country, shows how todays date can mean only one thing in Spain. 7 July is the feast of San Fermin, the patron saint of the region of Navarre and in whose name the famous bull running festival takes place in the city of Pamplona every July.

So, it seemed an easy topic then for this weeks What Happened Today section. However a little research reveals that actually nothing happened on 7 July in history to warrant San Fermin being celebrated on this day.

According to the story of the saint, he died a martyr on 25 September of the year 303 AD, a date that is celebrated in other places that have Fermin as their patron saint.

In Pamplona, however, the Church used to commemorate the feast of San Fermin on 10 October, but moved the festivities to 7 July in 1591, for one indisputable and sensible reason: the weather was an awful lot better in Pamplona in July than in October and the people were tired of washed-out celebrations. The other advantage was that in July the city already held a bullfighting festival so the change in date marked the start of the association of San Fermin with bulls.

The feast date is not the only thing about San Fermin (known as San Fermin of Amiens) that is a little hazy. In fact, its not clear that he even existed at all and his story, of which academics have found no historical evidence, can only be classed as a legend.

Like most legends though it has survived for centuries, however it was first recorded in Amiens, France, in the 9th century and reached Pamplona in the 12th century.

The story tells how Fermin was born in the third century AD, the son of an important Roman senator and a noble woman, both pagans. They were converted to Christianity thanks to the teachings of St Honestus and baptised by St Saturninus, the first bishop of Toulouse, France.

Fermin was later sent to Toulouse where he was ordained a priest and returned to preach in Navarre. However he then went back to France (then known by the Romans as Gallia - Gaul). There he is said to have converted thousands of pagans and settled in Amiens. At some point, though, he got on the wrong side of the Roman authorities and was imprisoned, tortured and beheaded.

However much truth there is in this tale, it certainly means a lot to the people of Pamplona who now turn out into the streets for seven days of partying and bull-running in the name of San Fermin, who they ask for protection before they set off.

The festival, now known as the Sanfermines, gained international fame thanks to American writer Ernest Hemingway. It attracts thousands of international visitors, some of whom join in the bull-running early each morning.
Oliver Perry is about to open his latest exhibition of sculpture in the Sala el Posito, a former granary on Plaza de la Constitucion, in Velez-Malaga.

The Pennsylvania-born artist is no stranger to exhibiting in Malaga; he first came to the province in 1968, aged just 27, and has stayed ever since.

By his own admission he was very introverted as a young man and a loner, so he decided to learn a second language, thinking it would help him to communicate. He chose Spanish and thought hed go to Mexico to learn, but eventually settled on Spain, having decided that Mexico was very big and that if he was determined to learn the language then he may as well come to Spain itself. He says he had no reference and no map.

He boarded a cargo ship destined for Algeciras and from there made his way to Seville, Granada and then down through the Alpujarra and eventually to Nerja.

Ending up in Nerja was a complete coincidence. Oliver explains that he had taken a bus in Salobrena to Torre del Mar. However, the heat, combined with twists and turns on the N340 meant that many passengers were taken ill. Icouldnt stand it any more so Igot off at the next stop, which was Nerja,he says.

Nearly 50 years later the area is still very much his home. He and his Belgian wife, Jenny, bought an old farmhouse near Frigiliana, which they have refurbished and added studios where Oliver creates his pieces.

His work has taken him around Europe and his very first exhibition, in the early 1970s, was in Washington DC, where his family moved to from Pennsylvania when he was a child. Since then he has exhibited in Spain, Germany, Denmark, Germany, Poland and again in the USA.

Oliver started out as printmaker after arriving in Spain and in 1999 turned his hand to sculpting iron. He continues to sketch but more recently is perhaps better-known for his sculptures; the most recognisable is arguably the work he was commissioned by Frigiliana town hall to do in partnership with his fellow sculptor, Robert Harding, for the Three Cultures Festival.

The pair came up with a design using Perrys iron and Hardings stainless steel, which integrated the Christian cross, Jewish star of David and Islamic crescent moon, and Oliver also sketched an image of the sculpture which is used on Three Cultures material and as a symbol around the town. The actual sculpture can be found at the bottom of Calle Santa Teresa, in the old town. Oliver says of the commission: It was great to be asked to do the commission as two foreigners living in the town - it really felt like we were accepted by the community.

Religious symbolism and in particular the cross is a strong theme in a lot of Olivers work, with a number of open cross sculptures, the idea of which he says represents faith flowing, allowing the believer movement within their belief. There are also smaller works dotted around the farmhouse representing Semana Santa iconography, including penitents bearing their crosses.

Oliver Perry in his studio / J. Rhodes

Another concept at the heart of Olivers work is the relationship between bulls and the female form. Oliver admits that the combination came about by accident when he was sketching what was supposed to be a woman and when he looked at it again he decided that his creation looked more like a bull. But the idea was born and Oliver has stuck with it in a lot of his work; the interface between bull and female symbolising tension but not violence as the woman always has the upper hand in my work,admits the artist.

This latest exhibition is called Hierro y Nudos or Iron and Knots, and includes a collection of pieces of iron which he moves around spontaneouslyand then adds pieces of string (or rope for larger works), which in his studio makes them look like a huge, fun interactive games, with many of the pieces taking on an almost human appearance, from entire families sunning themselves on deck chairs, to people working out in a gym.

Some of these, plus three of his larger pieces, which live in the land around his farmhouse, as well as collages, will form the exhibition in Velez-Malaga, which opens on Tuesday 11 July and will run for a month.
Weekdays

-- Wellness screenings, immunizations, flu vaccines and all recommended vaccinations, STD testing, blood work (cholesterol, hemoglobin, etc), Coles County Health Department, 825 18th St., Charleston. Call to make an appointment at 217-348-0530.

-- Living with Diabetes, 2:30-3:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday in METS at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. For more information, call 217-238-4808 or 217-258-2199.

-- Pulmonary Rehab, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. or 1:30 p.m. in METS at Sarah Bush Lincoln. For more information, call 217-238-4973.

-- Walk-in Flu Immunization Clinics, 8-11:30 a.m., 1-3:30 p.m., Shelby County Health Department, 1700 W.S. Third St., Shelbyville. Call 217-774-9555.

-- Heart health screenings, $95, or $190 for screens to detect peripheral vascular disease. To make an appointment, call 217-258-2238.

Thursday

-- Healthy Directions, 6 p.m. every Thursday in the Lumpkin Family Center for Health Education at Sarah Bush Lincoln. A six-month community weight-management program, which is supported in part by WomenConnected, a giving circle within Sarah Bush Lincoln. For more information, call 217-258-2199.

-- Blood drive, 1:30-5:30 p.m., Lantz Gym, 600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston.

-- Ostomy Support Group, Evening meetings four times a year. Please contact Jenna Kreke, BSN, RN at 217-258-2493 for times and locations.

Friday

-- Big Brother, Big Sister Pajama Party Sibling Class, 6-7:30 p.m., Lumpkin Family Center for Health Education; $5 per child. Pre-registration required. Includes discussion of basic baby dos and donts, a movie, snack, photo op, and more. Bring child in pajamas with one pillow, one blanket and a baby doll, teddy bear or other stuffed toy to practice holding a baby. Children must be accompanied by a parent. For more information, contact Allison Masse, RN at amasse@sblhs.org or at 217-258-2229.

Saturday

-- "Oh, Baby Express" childbirth class, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Fee is $30 per mom and birth partner; this includes all course materials. $15 discounted rate for women on WIC or the Illinois Medical Card - please call office at 217-258-2229 (BABY) for discount. This course is great for those whose schedules cant accommodate the Two-Week Comprehensive, but still want to learn the essentials for delivery at Sarah Bush Lincoln. For more information, contact Allison Masse, RN at amasse@sblhs.org, 217-258-2229.

Monday

-- Balance Clinic, 9-11 a.m., HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital Physical Rehabilitation department. A physical therapist will provide a simple 15-20 minute balance screening and fall risk assessment free of charge. A physicians order is not required for the screening and patients do not have to register with the hospital. However, screenings are being conducted by appointment only. Appointment times are available between 9-11 a.m. Call 217-347-1243 to schedule an appointment. For more information on HSHS St. Anthonys Physical Rehabilitation Balance Clinic, contact Candy Jansen, Physical Rehabilitation manager, at 217-347-1277.

-- Blood drive, 2-6 p.m., Central Community Church, 200 LaFayette East, Mattoon.

Tuesday

-- Blood drive, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Lake Land College, 5001 Lake Land Blvd., Mattoon.

-- Advanced Cardiac Life Support, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., SBL EMS Department. This program teaches medical personnel to take care of cardiac emergencies that may be present in the acute care setting. The program is designed for physicians, nurses, paramedics, physician's assistants, nurse practitioners and respiratory therapists. First-time students take a two-day course, while those seeking recertification enroll in a one day course. It is an American Heart Association course and is taught by SBLHC instructors. Contact the SBL EMS department at 217-258-2403 for registration information and price.

-- First Aid Course, SBL EMS Services, Participants will learn how to assess a victim of a cardiac arrest, how to access help, and how to begin providing life-saving interventions for those victims of sudden cardiac events. For more information, contact the EMS Office at 217-258-2403.

-- American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR AED Class, Tuesday, July 18 at 6:30 p.m., HSHS St. Anthonys Memorial Hospital auditorium. Pre-registration is required. For more information contact Community Programs at 217-347-1529.

July 19

-- Basic Life Support provider classes, HSHS St. Anthonys Memorial Hospital. Pre-registration is required. Contact Kristi Smith, Clinical Educator, at 217-347-1283 for class times and availability. There is a nominal fee for the completion card.

-- SBL Weight Management Program, Free informational session on the HMR method of weight loss. Sessions will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 19 in the SBL Effingham Clinic and at 6 p.m., Thursday, July 20 at the SBL Tuscola Clinic. For more information or to register, call 217-238-4774.

-- Breastfeeding Class, 6:30 p.m., HSHS St. Anthonys Memorial Hospital auditorium; Pre-registration is required. Maternal nutrition, breastfeeding techniques, early preparation for breastfeeding, and postpartum experiences are some of the topics covered in this class. For more information contact Community Programs, at 217-347-1529.

-- Blood drive, 1:30-5 p.m., Hilltop Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation, 910 West Polk, Charleston.
GLADE SPRING, Va.  Fourteen-year-old Katelyn Gregory is serious about books.

Oh, I loved this one, the teen said as she skimmed the shelves at Glade Spring Library. When other kids her age are busy texting, Gregory spends a lot of her free time poring over novels.

Thats why the librarys new teen center is right up her alley.

Earlier this month, the library converted a conference room into a space just for teen patrons, complete with contemporary seating, new books and the latest in technology.

Its nice to have our own room. I think its fun for teens to come to a library where you are not shushed, said Gregory.

The addition was made possible by the Abingdon Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of Washington County, both of which partnered with the library to receive funding for the $12,000 project.

Each Rotary club received $3,000 in grants from their Rotary district, and in return the clubs matched the funds with their own money to complete the community project.

We knew Glade Spring Library has strong teen programming, and we were looking to expand that, said Molly Schock, assistant director at Washington County Public Library in Abingdon, and a member of the Rotary Club of Washington County.

Rotary members recently visited the library to install new equipment tailored to the requests of teens who regularly visit.

According to librarian Tonia Kestner, the center features new contemporary seating that allows teens to study or relax. A desk power center offers plug-in power for laptops, electronic readers and tablet computers.

New book shelves display more than 400 books  many of which are new  for the teen readers.

A television mounted on the wall in the center allows teens to use Xbox games. Digital video production and editing equipment will give patrons opportunities to create videos with the help of a green screen, which allows filmmakers to superimpose anything or anyone into a photo or video.

Eventually, the teens can learn to make public service announcements for our website and podcasts that can be added to blogs, Facebook and website content, said Kestner.

Our teen patrons are as important as other library patrons, and we want to meet their needs too. We recognized they needed a space in the library they can identify with instead of just a shelf next to the childrens books. We also incorporated other resources they can use for school work.

Charlotte Parsons, director of the Washington County Public Library, recognizes the roles of libraries are changing in the digital age.

The library is no longer just about providing access to books, she said. Its very important we provide access to technology because thats where people are obtaining information, and that extends from learning how to use a Kindle to doing online research.

Kestner said the role of the librarian is changing along with it. She completed a class on video editing in order to help patrons with the new equipment in the Glade Spring Library.

This equipment will offer new experiences in technology weve never had before, said Kestner.
As Russians seized parts of eastern and southern Ukraine in the opening stages of the war, mayors, civilian administrators and others say they have been abducted, threatened or beaten to force their cooperation. In some instances, they have been killed. Human rights activists say these actions could constitute a war crime. Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said he was abducted from his office and the bullying and threats did not stop for a minute." He said they tried to force him to continue in his role but he refused. After six days in detention and an intervention from Ukraine's president, he was exchanged for nine Russian prisoners of war and expelled from the occupied city.




Forced into a marriage of convenience after her husband dies, Amanda Haynes is determined she will never love again. Not that it bothers Brandon Miller. He needs her husbands cattle ranch and life insurance policy. She needs financial stability and long-term support for her son and herself. But she never expected to care so much about the running of the ranch.



Butting heads over the decisions of the ranch, adding to her frustration and grief at her loss. Her wellbeing is soon threatened as their lives become entangled with Billy the Kid and his gang. What has she gotten herself into? What kind of man has she married? Is there any way out?

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions . One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.A strong arm grasped Amanda, catching her upper arm and dragging her onto the horse. As soon as she was solidly on the animal, she grabbed ahold of Brandon as tightly as she could.They took off. The bull pawed at the ground, making all manner of grunting noises, but as if by some miracle, he ran off to the left. All of this happened as if time had slowed.The horse continued to push forward. And as they neared the edge of the fence, Brandon urged the horse to go even faster. Were they going to break through? What would happen to the cattle with the fence destroyed?But as they approached the fence, the horse leapt. Amanda gripped Brandon impossibly tighter. Jolted when the horse landed, her teeth chattered.Only then did Brandon slow the horse. He then placed a hand on her upper arm and pushed.She released him.He sucked in a deep breath and expelled it.Had she been holding him too tightly? Her face warmed.He took hold of her shoulders. Are you all right?She nodded, and though their faces were but a breath apart, she was not quite able to meet his eyes, fighting tears in her own. Only then she found herself staring at his bare chest. Jerking her head away, she averted her gaze.Do you realize what could have happened? His voice rose.She nodded, still not able to meet his eyes. The force of his emotion hit her. Was he so concerned after her?I would have had to shoot that bull.What? Eyes wide, she tilted her face up to look at him.That bull is worth half my herd.So he was only worried about the cattle. Not her. His precious cattle.Sara is originally from Middle Tennessee. After a short stint in Memphis, where she earned a degree in Biology and began a career as both a Zoo Educator and a Sleep Technician, she then followed a dream to work for a large zoo in Orlando, FL as an Educator. Once she and her husband started their family, they moved back to Middle Tennessee where they currently reside. Sara and her husband now enjoy a full life with their three beautiful and very active children. She enjoys many creative outlets  singing, piano, drawing, drama, and organizing anything. And even though she has enjoyed her career as a Zoo Educator, Sara's great love of the written word continued to draw her to write. She has always been an avid reader and, for many years, has been what she terms a closet writer. Her travels and love of history have served to inspire her to write clean Historical Romance. Sara has made several trips to the Czech Republic. Her time among the Czech people and the landscapes of the country inspired her and greatly influenced her work on her debut novel, The Lady Bornekova, set in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. Sara is also the author of The Generals Wife, Off to War, Hope in Cripple Creek, and A Convenient Risk and a member of ACFW.Buy the book at Amazon
THERESA, N.Y. -- A soldier charged with fatally shooting his wife and a state trooper in Northern New York was receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, according to two family members.

Justin D. Walters is facing charges of first and second-degree murder.

The New York State Police said Walters, 32, was arrested Sunday after killing his wife, Nichole V. Walters, 27; and Trooper Joel R. Davis, 36; near Walters' home in Theresa during a domestic dispute.

Walters -- who is an active duty soldier in the Army -- was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder earlier this year, his mother told 24 Hour News 8, a Michigan TV station. She said Walters was getting treatment and she thought Walters and his wife were doing well. She declined to comment Tuesday when reached by Syracuse.com.

Another relative, Larry Walters, told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that Justin Walters was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following two tours with the Army in Afghanistan. He was receiving treatment at Fort Drum, he said.

Larry Walters said Justin Walters was still dealing with PTSD, but sounded OK when they spoke by phone a couple months ago.

A Fort Drum spokeswoman said Justin Walters is a staff sergeant with the 1st Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division. He has been stationed at Fort Drum since he joined the Army in September 2007.

Justin Walters was living in Theresa, but is originally from Zeeland, Michigan.

Justin Walters was sent to Afghanistan twice: from January 2009 to January 2010, and then from March 2011 to March 2012.

Justin Walters is being held at the Jefferson County jail with no bail.

Kira Maddox contributed to this article.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A landlord is facing a criminal charge for exposing his tenants to lead paint at his Syracuse's Near West Side property that has flunked 21 inspections in three years.

The Onondaga County District Attorney's Office charged Mendy Kletzky, 34, of Brooklyn, with willful violation of health laws, a misdemeanor. If convicted, he could face up to one year in jail and up to a $10,000 fine.

Kletzky entered a not guilty plea Tuesday in Syracuse City Court and was released. He could not be immediately reached for comment. But earlier this year he said he had not fixed the violations in the house at 119 Kellogg St. because of financial problems.

The Kellogg Street house is occupied by Rashida Mims, a woman with nine children, one of whom tested positive for lead poisoning last year. The family has been featured in syracuse.com stories about how lead paint poisons hundreds of kids each year in Syracuse.

Mims moved into the house four years ago. She said Kletzky promised to fix peeling paint and other problems in the house, but he never did. She called the county Health Department and requested a lead inspection, which found high levels of lead.

The county ordered Kletzky in 2014 to correct the lead hazards. Since then, the county health department has reinspected the property 21 time and the problems have not been fixed, the District Attorney's Office said in court papers.

City and county officials have been trying to move Mims and her children. Mims said she expects to move out next month.

Kletzky tried unsuccessfully to evict Mims last year after she stopped paying rent. Earlier this year Kletzky said Mims was living in the house as a "squatter" and should have moved out.

The city has a pending judgment of more than $1 million against Kletzky over outstanding code violations at the house.

Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- If birthdays are worth celebrating, then Siri's 50th birthday calls for a celebration that lasts all summer long.

Siri, the beloved and oldest elephant resident of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park, is turning a half-century old this summer. To celebrate, the zoo is hosting a series of elephant-themed events.

The aptly-named "Summer of Siri" features Pachyderm Parties on July 12 and July 26. The parties include games, face-painting and crafts. There will be guided walks of the Asian Elephant Preserve, where visitors can see the elephant herd -- Siri, Doc, Romani, Kirina, Targa, Mali and Batu - enjoy their favorite summer snack, watermelon.

The first 250 children attending the Pachyderm Parties will receive a free elephant toy.

The "Summer of Siri" will continue with a week of elephant-themed activities kicking off on World Elephant Day, August 12, and culminating with the Asian Elephant Extravaganza on Saturday, August 19. The popular annual event is a celebration of both Asian elephants and the traditional cultures of their native Asian countries.

Siri's Birthday Party will be held during the Asian Elephant Extravaganza. The 9,000 pound elephant will be honored by being painted with an Asian headdress and will also enjoy a special birthday cake.

Siri, whose name means "to be free," is the zoo's original Asian elephant. She came to Syracuse from Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo in 1972, when she was five-years-old. For many years Siri was the only elephant at what was then the Burnet Park Zoo and developed social skills with people instead of with other elephants.

"Siri's a different kind of elephant. She really likes to socialize around people." said elephant handler Seth Groesbeck. "She likes to hang out with us a lot."

Siri has a devoted following and has received national media attention. She appeared in the 1997 Discovery Channel documentary "The Ultimate Guide to Elephants." Her paintings were the subject of several books, including "To Whom it May Concern: An Inquiry into Elephant Art."

Groesbeck has worked closely with Siri for 12 years and said she was the reason behind the zoo's renovation during the 1980s.

"The zoo really is what it is today because of Siri," said Groesbeck. "Years ago when they actually looked at whether we should keep the zoo around, Siri was really the main focus of why we should keep the zoo. The zoo is as it is today because of Siri."
Patricia Dioguardi's horoscope told her she would win something big in the near future, so when she walked into Wegmans for her shift, she bought a $5 New York Poker scratch-off ticket.

Now, she's $1 million richer.

The 61-year-old Rochester woman had worked for Wegmans for 27 years, and was planning to retire after just one more. But now...

"I gave my boss my two weeks' notice right after I scratched the ticket," Dioguardi told WROC-TV. "I had planned on retiring next year, but this win moved up the date."

Dioguardi was presented with an over-sized prize check from the New York Lottery's Yolanda Vega at the Wegmans on East Ridge Road on Wednesday.

NY Lotto's Yolanda Vega introducing winner Patricia Dioguardi, who won $1mil scratch off at Ridge Rd East @Wegmans @News_8 #ROC pic.twitter.com/lzLU99kMTN  Jordan Guerrein (@JGuerrein) July 12, 2017

Dioguardi plans to take the one-time lump sum payment, which will leave her with $536,058.
Clint Eastwood has recently gotten into the habit of casting real-life heroes in his movies, turning laymen into big screen stars.

For his next film, "The 15:17 to Paris," the director has called upon the heroes the story is based on. Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone will play themselves in the upcoming biopic about their experience derailing a terrorist attack.

While traveling through Europe in August 2015, the trio boarded a train from Brussels to Paris when Ayoub El Khazzani, a 25-year-old Moroccan man, wielded an AK-47 in a terrorist attempt. The three friends, one of whom was in the Oregon National Guard and another in the U.S. Air Force, and their act of bravery were heavily covered on the news.

Variety reports that the three will have decent sized roles and the movie is set to begin during their childhood so audiences can understand the friendship that eventually led them to that moment on the train. Other actors cast include Jenna Fischer, Judy Greer and Ray Corasani.

The film is based on the book of the same name that Sadler, Skarlatos and Stone co-wrote with Jeffrey E Stern. Eastwood will produce the Warner Bros. movie along with Tim Moore, Kristina Rivera and Jessica Meier.

"The 15:17 to Paris" is said to be Eastwood's follow-up to "Sully." Eastwood has won five Oscars, two for Best Director of "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby."
Sturges Electronics, of Dryden, was founded in 1978. The company makes cable and wire harnesses, supplying factories that serve defense, medical, and energy industries. The founder was ready to retire and announced early in 2016 that Sturges would close at the end of the year.

That's when Gary W. Nelson stepped in. He has had a long career leading manufacturers, including Buckbee-Mears in Cortland and Applied Concepts in Tully.

Nelson was CEO and had become a significant shareholder at Applied Concepts. Sturges was a supplier. Nelson visited Sturges, expecting he might buy some of the equipment. Instead, he saw an opportunity and persuaded the retiring owner to sell the factory to him.

Nelson's purchase, finalized in July 2016, kept a Central New York factory from closing, saving 15 jobs, and putting in place a plan to expand.

Tell me about growing up and early leadership roles.

When I was a kid, we moved back and forth a few times between Maryland and Cortland. I largely grew up here.

My father passed away when I was young, and my mother (Mary Lou Gutchess) moved from Maryland permanently up here. I went eighth through twelfth in Homer and graduated from Homer High School in 1980.

Early leadership roles? I wasn't captain of a team or anything like that.

When I was 15, I bought a car and some other pretty expensive things, and I decided that I needed to work full time. So, I started washing dishes at Howard Johnson's.

I had to quit lacrosse. I had to quit playing sports. I had to be to work by 4 o'clock every day, and I worked weekends.

Within a year, I was running the kitchen in the evenings, kind of had charge of the whole place.

I ended up hiring some of my friends. They were washing dishes. If they weren't exactly on the ball, I was: We're friends and stuff, but I need dishes - 200 people in the dining room.

In a way, I guess I did have a leadership role. I had a lot of responsibility in that job all the way through high school. I didn't leave there until after I left for SUNY Geneseo.

What did the experience of being in charge each night teach you?

I learned the feeling and sense of responsibility and accountability.

There was nobody else. When there are 200 people coming in the door and you have 10 waitresses throwing their tickets up, there's no not getting it done. You either throw your hands up, saying you can't do it, and you ask 200 people to leave. Or you just figure it out - it doesn't matter how crazy it is, and it was crazy at times.

What advice would you give somebody new to a leadership role or aspiring to take on leadership responsibilities?

Management and running the business itself can be complicated. There are a lot of components, and if you don't know what you are doing and you screw it up, things can go wrong.

Leadership, on the other end, is about as simple as it gets.

There are all kinds of books out there, and I've read books on leadership. I got my MBA, and I had to read all this stuff on leadership.

I thought some of the stuff was crazy. It was too complicated. I don't think it's that complicated.

It's the basic: Treat people the way you'd want to be treated. Recognize people. Interact with people.

It sounds like The Golden Rule.

Yes.

A lot of managers can create a separation between management and the hourly workers. I've never allowed myself to do that. Step right out in the middle of people. Treat the guy running the machine the same way you'd treat the vice president of sales.

Talk to them. Ask about their family. Really care. They'll recognize that. There's a difference between a genuine conversation with somebody.

So, I think treating people the way you'd want to be treated - it's the Golden Rule. It's simple. It's amazing how complicated people can make it.

Treat people with respect.

In your Conversations, you've asked about mentors. I've had a lot of mentors that taught me how to manage. I had some very intelligent people with a lot of business experience, an MBA Harvard or Stanford pedigree, that taught me a lot about management, a lot about running business, a lot of technical stuff.

But I can't recall one mentor that taught me about leadership, except what not to do.

That's how I learned.

I'd sit in a room with high-level people, dressed probably in thousand to two-thousand-dollars-worth of clothes, and talking to the average Joe sitting around the table like there's an enormous chasm. You can feel and sense the condescension.

I watched people get to a position above me. I'd watch them talk about themselves and interact with people in a way that made themselves above everyone.

I thought: I don't like the way that makes me feel. I'm sure others don't either.

People are not walking out of the room thinking: We're going to do whatever it takes to make it happen for this guy. Definitely not. They might be doing just the opposite, and nobody's going to know it.

Then I watched that person fail.

And then I watched another one come along and do some similar stuff. And I watched the person fail.

So, I started pulling together a learning: Hey, the way I feel about how I would do it, might be better than what I've witnessed.

I've always enjoyed developing relationships with people. That's one of the most important things in leadership.

I know that I can trust every one of the people to watch out for this place. That's how I treat them. When you treat people that way, that's the way they respond.

Summarize the management-leadership differences.

Management is purely IQ. Leadership is EQ.

EQ is emotional quotient.

There is data to support that high IQ and low EQ rarely results in a successful outcome. High EQ, even with a low IQ, results in a much better outcome.

Obviously, high EQ and high IQ is a win-win. But EQ is valued much more over IQ in terms of getting results.

I believe that to my core, because I've witnessed it.

It's amazing what you can do with people who just have drive.

Something like EQ means you have the ability to communicate - easily - with another person.

You can have all the IQ in the world around table, but if people aren't talking to each other, nothing happens. It's one of the things that drives me crazy about politics. All the suits and all the education and all the money and yet none of these people can even talk to each other.

So, EQ is more important than IQ.

Yes. One of the fundamental EQ principles is self-awareness. Understand how your actions impact the other person. Don't be thinking about what you're getting out of the conversation. Think about how what you're saying is impacting the other person.

I could be in a room with some folks here and their perception of me is such that if my voice starts getting a little elevated and they may start thinking: He's not happy. Or he's panicking. Or whatever.

I need to be able to read that and calm folks down or have a sense of what their perspective is before I even start talking, so I make sure that I'm making them comfortable.

And I've met so many people that walk in a room and they can't get the focus off themselves. And I've never seen a good result from that. Ever.

So, yeah, it's the Golden Rule and it's understanding how your actions impact others and getting out and connecting with people.

Anyone in our company knows they can walk in my office and tell me whatever. One guy came in - he's a fisherman - and he sold me eight walleyes. One guy comes in and he has his granddaughters with him going to a tournament selling a bunch of raffle tickets.

Little things like that. You never want to be aloof.

One of the first things I did when I got here is I brought a gas grill down, a Bluetooth speaker, brought the food, people brought dishes to pass, and we stopped at noon, and cooked and ate and sat around the table and BS-ed. Asking people questions about themselves.

The result? I think these people would do anything for this business.

I wouldn't dilute my advice with a lot of other stuff. It's so simple.

You've been describing leadership. What are the qualities of good leadership?

One of the things that comes to mind: A servant attitude.

I think that comes along with self-awareness and the Golden Rule.

Some people walk into a room and expect that they are being served by the people around the table. Whereas a leader walks into a room and will view it this way: I'm here to serve you. I'm the guy that can break down barriers. I'm the guy that can buy something that you need.

So, when I walk into the room it's: You have a job to do and I want to make you feel like you have everything you need to do your job, so what can I do for you?

It's an attitude. If you walk in the room and this guy's expecting us to kiss the ring, you're not going to get the buy-in. You're not going to get loyalty.

But if you walk into the room and the leader is looking you in the eye and saying: Hey, what can I do for you? Oh, you have an issue at home? What are you doing here? Get out of here.

Sure, you have to know people aren't abusing you as well. The solution to that is starting with the right attitude - the servant leadership, engaging, and connecting. Then you have trust.

What are the attributes of poor leadership?

Being self-absorbed. Being quick to judge. A good leader doesn't punish mistakes.

Aren't mistakes bad?

No. Mistakes are good. They show that someone is attempting to move something forward. If you're moving something forward, it's not going to be without mistakes.

I stress, there is a difference between taking excessive risk that results in a mistake and not being attentive and not doing the proper preliminary steps. That's an unacceptable mistake.

But a mistake, when you are doing your best, if you punish that, you won't move forward.

Learn from it. Make sure that in the future now we now if we don't do this, a costly mistake can happen.

That's another reason to connect with people. When you've connected, you can tell when they are truly recognizing and can learn from their mistake.

If the leader is aloof and set apart, you can't tell. Then you get the feedback and you say: Oh my god. Who made the mistake? Who did this? You'll scream and yell.

What good is that going to do?

When you punish mistakes, you just ensure that people won't take a risk.

In our company, I'm turning it from slowly ramping down to close to taking back off again. I've got to count on every one of the people in this company. If I teach them to shiver in their shoes over a mistake, it's counter-productive.

Accountability over a mistake that doesn't cost you anything should be the same as a mistake that's very costly. Yeah, it didn't cost us, it didn't hurt us. Yeah, but the next one might.

Mistakes that don't cost anything but are careless need to be followed up on just as well as a careless that costs a lot. And vice versa.

One of things I've always told my employees: If there is a quality problem or a mistake, the first thing I'm going to do is insert myself in the situation to ask: What could I have done? Would I have made this same mistake given the same information? If I would have made the same mistake, we need to improve the process. We're not punishing the person.

I think I got that when I went into production at Buckbee-Mears. I learned roles and jobs on the ground floor. When you do that, you realize, holy cow, there's a lot of pressure to not screw up and I don't know if I have all the information to keep from screwing up.

It comes back to a philosophy. Some managers or leaders have a philosophy that the default position of people is laziness, carelessness, apathy.

I disagree. I feel like if you're a poor leader, then yeah, that's the kind of people you're going to have. If you're a good leader you'll have the opposite.

It's about how you treat people.

The weekly "CNY Conversation" features Q&A interviews about leadership, success, and innovation. The conversations are condensed and edited. Last week featured Maryann Roefaro, CEO at Hematology-Oncology Associates of Central New York and author of "Building the Team from the Inside Out".
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand plans to host a town hall meeting in Syracuse on Friday, kicking off the first of a series of town hall meetings she plans to hold across New York this year.

The event from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday will be held on the Syracuse University campus, and is open to the general public. The meeting will be inside Goldstein Auditorium at the Schine Student Center, 303 University Place.

Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has not held a town hall meeting in Central New York since she took office in 2009, succeeding former Sen. Hillary Clinton. Gillibrand won a special election in 2010, and was re-elected to a full term in 2012.

She is up for re-election in 2018, and has generated buzz as a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 2020.

In general, Gillibrand and New York's senior senator, Charles Schumer, do not hold town hall meetings. Instead, they visit the state's 62 counties (Schumer makes it an annual tour) for specific public events, or to draw attention to issues in those counties. Schumer also visits the Syracuse area at least once a month.

Reps. John Katko and Claudia Tenney, the two Republican House members in Central New York, have been criticized by constituents for not holding similar open forum town hall meetings this year.

Katko answered questions in May from a pre-selected crowd of about 130 people at Onondaga Community College for what was billed by television stations CNY Central as a town hall meeting.

More than 600 people submitted their names for admission and 150 were given tickets after their names were selected at random, according to CNY Central, according to the station.

Tenney met with 22nd Congressional District residents Monday in a series of small-group, open-door meetings in her New Hartford office billed as "Coffee with Claudia." A similar event will be held 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Tenney's Binghamton office.

Gillibrand will not require tickets to her Syracuse town hall event on Friday. Those who plan to attend are asked to RSVP through Gillibrand's website, but her office said same-day seating will be available for those who RSVP on site until the auditorium reaches its capacity.

The senator plans to hold a second town hall meeting in New York City, but the time and date of that event and subsequent meetings across the state have not been finalized, a Gillibrand spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
Are you ready to USE your TALENTS to make the world a better place for Children?





If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the worlds leading childrens rights organization would like to hear from you.

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote childrens survival, protection and development. The worlds largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
James Cromwell

FILE - In this Saturday, March 29, 2014, file photo, actor James Cromwell arrives at The Humane Society Of The United States 60th Anniversary Benefit Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif. Cromwell was among six people arrested on Dec., 18, 2015, at an upstate New York power plant that is under construction.

(Richard Shotwell | Invision/AP)

WAWAYANDA, N.Y. (AP) -- Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell is heading to jail in New York for blocking traffic to protest a power plant.

A town judge sentenced the 77-year-old Cromwell and two fellow protesters to a week in the Orange County Jail for civil disobedience at the construction site of a 650-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in December 2015.

The protesters say the plant in Wawayanda (way-way-AHN'-dah), 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of New York City, threatens the environment. A spokesman for the group Protect Orange County says Cromwell and others will rally at the plant site before reporting to jail Friday afternoon.

Cromwell lives in a neighboring town. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including "Babe" and "L.A. Confidential."
Voters shot down a $369 million bond issue floated by Southeast Community College last year to pay for new construction and building renovations across its 15-county service area.

With taxpayer-approved bonds out of the picture, SCC plans to use a variety of funding mechanisms to move forward on $70 million in construction projects as the first phase of a college-wide facility master plan.

SCC President Paul Illich said on Tuesday administrators have identified a list of projects they will ask the Board of Governors to approve in the coming months.

With the bond not passing, nothings changed, Illich said. We have the same needs, were just going to have different types of funding strategies.

"Its more of a mixture than if the bond has passed.

Those priority projects include:

* A 61,000-square-foot health sciences building at the Lincoln campus at 8800 O St.

* A 68,000-square-foot multipurpose classroom building would replace the 1960s-era Jackson Hall at SCCs Beatrice campus.

* Two projects at SCC-Milford, including a 40,000-square-foot classroom building as well as a 56,000-square-foot facility for the diesel tech program.

* New learning centers at Wahoo and Falls City

A new downtown Lincoln campus to replace SCC's academic transfer and dual credit programs at Education Square could be included in the work. The Board of Governors learned of five potential sites for the new downtown location on Tuesday.

SCC could also buy space in either north or west Lincoln to build a new track for its Professional Truck Driver program.

Nebraska law allows community colleges to levy up to 11.25 cents per $100 of valuation, including 2 cents to be put into a building fund.

Illich said SCC would use a combination of its general fund monies, generated through state aid, local property taxes and student tuition, as well as its capital improvement fund to complete projects.

Were going to be very creative and do our best to move forward while staying within our authority, Illich said.

The college also plans to try a new strategy to build dormitories at its Beatrice and Milford locations through a public-private partnership, leasing land to private developers to build the residence hall and later renting rooms to students.

Although SCC would manage the building through a long-term agreement, the project would put the developers at risk to keep the building occupied.

Illich said SCC will also engage private donors to help fund new building projects.
Microsoft on Monday unveiled an ambitious plan that would use technology found in the television white space spectrum to develop affordable broadband Internet access for at least 2 million consumers. [*Editors Note  July 13, 2017]

The aim is to bridge the technology gap between urban and rural American communities.

The spectrum is a currently unused portion in the 600 Mhz frequency range designated for UHF television bands, which allows wireless signals to travel over hills and through buildings and trees into rural areas.

Microsoft has deployed 20 such projects in 17 countries around the world, including Columbia, Kenya and Jamaica, providing access to a total of 185,000 people.

Microsoft President Brad Smith outlined the plan at a high-powered luncheon in Washington, D.C., which was sponsored by the Media Institute.

Thirty-four million Americans still lack access to broadband, he pointed out, and although 23 million still live in rural areas, progress for broadband penetration in the country has plateaued.

This it not just about watching YouTube videos on tablets, as enjoyable as that may be, Smith told attendees at the luncheon. Its about education. Its about healthcare. Its about agriculture and growing a small business. It is a vital part of modern day life.

Business Case

Microsoft issued a white paper on the rural broadband gap and how best to approach it, based on research from Boston Consulting Group.

Eighty percent of rural areas would benefit from the white spaces spectrum for populations of 2 to 200 people per square mile, according to the paper. Satellite coverage would work best for smaller communities, while fixed wireless would best serve more densely populated areas.

Microsoft will work with a group of investment partners through its Rural Airband Initiative to have 12 different projects up and running over the next 12 months in 12 different states, Smith said. The company will make initial investments in capital costs and then work with local operators on a revenue-share plan to recoup investments.

Microsoft also has partnered with the National 4-H Council to train people on the latest technology. Deployment of the broadband initiative will improve Internet access for students in local schools, provide telemedicine in rural hospitals, and offer access to greater opportunities to employ precision farming, which uses sensors to estimate the specific needs for water and other resources. It also will aid small businesses and individual consumers.

The effort is meant to be a catalyst for a larger industry-wide plan that could expand broadband to the nations rural population at a cost of between US$8 billion and $12 billion over a five-year period. Such a plan would cost 80 percent less than the cost of fiber alone and 50 percent less than using fixed wireless technology like 4G, the company said.

Microsoft has not specified a cost attached to its own 12-state plan, but said it planned to reach out to additional partners and that the public sector would need to play a role for expanded broadband coverage with federal and state infrastructure investment.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was in South Boston, Virginia, on Monday, learning more about Microsofts efforts to provide broadband service to thousands of students in rural parts of the state.

The FCC is committed to bridging the digital divide and ensuring that all Americans can enjoy the opportunities provided by high-speed Internet access, said Tina Pelkey, the FCCs new press secretary. We will continue to work in partnership with industry, state and local governments, and the nonprofit community to achieve that goal.

Public Knowledge has urged the FCC to make greater use of TV white spaces by managing the public airwaves.

Although the technology has been deployed in some rural communities for high-tech precision farming and some wireless ISPs, the cost of equipment has discouraged widespread adoption, said Harold Feld, senior vice president of Public Knowledge.

The group has urged the FCC to make the technology more affordable, but resistance from the National Association of Broadcasters has stymied that effort, he told TechNewsWorld.

Promise and Pitfalls

The plan is a positive step, noted Shirley Bloomfield, president of NTCA, the Rural Broadband Association.

However, even the most cutting-edge technology is going to need lots of fiber backhaul to make a compelling broadband product, she told TechNewsWorld.

White space spectrum technology is promising, but its very expensive unless you get enough users or participating organizations to make it cost-effective, observed broadband technology consultant Craig Settles.

Microsoft is to white space what Google is to fiber, he told TechNewsWorld. Both companies have the money and the market credibility to drive adoption, or at least experimentation with technologies.

In order for the plan to work and make money, Microsoft needs to be able to reach critical mass within a certain time frame. Google has run into that problem with deployment of Google Fiber.

Every once in a while, Microsoft  whose operating system for desktop computers has dominated the industry for years  takes on an initiative that is beyond its comfort zone, said independent telecom analyst Jeff Kagan.

The future of Microsofts business lies in several different areas, he told TechNewsWorld. They obviously see this as something thats important to their business. It plays towards what Microsoft will be tomorrow.

*ECT News Network editors note  July 13, 2017: Our original published version of this story indicated that Microsofts plan to provide broadband access for at least 2 million consumers would cost between US$8 billion and $12 billion. However, that amount does not accurately reflect Microsofts investment in the overall rural broadband plan, according to company rep Lindsey Lombardi. The total capital and initial operating cost to eliminate the rural broadband gap falls into a range of $8 to $12 billion, Microsoft President Brad Smith said. However, Microsoft has not attached a dollar amount to its own spending on the initiative it announced.
Microsoft on Tuesday announced a refresh of its Surface Pro tablet-laptop computer.

Although Microsoft said the fifth generation of the unit has been redesigned from the inside out with more than 800 new custom parts, the Surface Pro looks similar to its predecessor.

If you were looking for a major redesign of Surface, this isnt it, said Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research.

Nevertheless, Microsoft has made some significant improvements in the tablet cum laptop.

Overall, the new Microsoft Surface Pro is a significant, even substantial, improvement over the Surface 4, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

Better Battery Life

Battery life has been boosted to 13.5 hours, which is 50 percent greater than the new Surface Pros predecessor, and 35 percent greater than its Apple rival, the iPad Pro.

Microsoft has upgraded the processors in the line, too, giving the new unit 2.5 times more computational performance than the Surface Pro 3, and 1.7 times the performance of the iPad Pro.

The Surface Pro models that use Intels 7th-generation Core m3 and i5 chips are fanless, so theyre quiet as well as powerful. The i7 model of the unit with a fan is relatively quiet, too, with a noise level of 18db.

The fanless 7th-gen Core i5 capabilities are unique in a tablet, and its apparent Microsoft did some serious thermal work, said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.

The new Surface Pro also has a high-resolution screen  2736 x 1824  with 267 pixels per inch, which is 50 percent more than a 12-inch MacBook.

The display is enhanced by Microsofts PixelSense Accelerator technology, which is designed to make colors vibrant and precise.

More Sensitive Pen

Improvements also have been made to the Surface Pen, which is sold separately and is offered in four colors  platinum, burgundy, cobalt blue and black. With 4,096 pressure points, the pen is four times more sensitive than the original Surface Pen, Microsoft said, and with a latency of 21 milliseconds, its close to capturing the experience of an analog pen to paper.

The long battery life and the fanless design will be the greatest draws for this Surface Pro, Reticles Rubin told TechNewsWorld.

Meanwhile, the new pen technology should resonate with those using their Surface for nuanced drawings, he added.

Drawing on the new Surface Pro is easier, too, thanks to an improved hinge that gives the unit 165 degrees of motion.

Microsoft also has spruced up the keyboards for the new Surface Pro. Theyre covered with Alcantara fabric, which is treated with a high-performance polyurethane coating to resist spills. Keyboard colors match those of the Surface Pen.

Future LTE Support

The new Surface Pro remains light and thin at 1.7 pounds and 8.5mm, and its going to support LTE later this year, Microsoft said.

If you preorder a unit, you will not have the option to use 4G connections, explained Jeff Orr, senior practice director for mobile devices at ABI Research. You can only use WiFi or Bluetooth connections.

The addition of cellular connectivity rounds out the capabilities of the Surface Pro.

If youre talking about a truly mobile product, you should be able to connect anywhere, Orr told TechNewsWorld.

Despite its many improvements, the new Surface Pro still doesnt support USB-C connections.

It would have been nice to have at least one USB-C port, Pund-ITs King told TechNewsWorld.

Microsoft also has dropped numbering with this latest model, which may confuse the market in the long run.

Its more difficult for buyers to know what is new and what is old in the channel, Moorhead told TechNewsWorld.

Buying peripherals are more difficult, too, he continued. We have seen these issues with the Apple iPad, and we will see them with Surface Pro.

Refresh Needed Badly

A new version of the Surface Pro was overdue.

The product line definitely needed a refresh. This brings the Surface Pro products up to spec with other Surface products, ABIs Orr said.

This will help Microsoft continue the momentum its had with Surface and help establish it in more organizations, he added.

Before the refresh, that momentum might have begun to stall.

The current Surface Pro has been around for a year and half now, so its sales began to slip because its old technology, said Jack E. Gold, principal analyst at J.Gold Associates.

They really needed to update it, he told TechNewsWorld.

Microsoft began taking advance orders for the new Surface Pro Tuesday, and will start shipping units June 15. Base price is US$799 for a model with an Intel Core m3 processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 128-GB solid state drive. Keyboards are $159.99. Pricing for the Surface Pen was not announced.
Microsoft has just unveiled Microsoft 365, which bundles together Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security, giving "a complete, intelligent and secure solution to empower employees."

Microsoft Announces New Office 365 Plans For Businesses

Essentially, Microsoft 365 is a new way for enterprises to purchase Office and Windows together, bundling the company's mainline software into a single subscription. In addition, it'll also offer users Microsoft 365 Business, debuting via public preview come Aug. 2. It includes Office 365 Business Premium and security and management features for Office software and devices running Windows 10.

Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella unveiled both types of bundles at its Inspire partner conference, attended by 17,000 people, who were there to hear about Microsoft's partnerships and other plans.

Microsoft says the workplace is changing, especially by virtue of teams often being distributed globally. From such trends, the company observes a new culture that's emerging. Its new plans are a reflection of those.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise And 365 Business Plans And Release Date

Microsoft 365 Enterprise will be offered in two plans: Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5. Both will launch on Aug. 1. Microsoft hasn't laid the details on pricing yet, but says it'll depend on the specific plan and "other factors."

Microsoft 365 Business, meanwhile, will launch its full stable release later this fall following the public preview on Aug. 2. It will cost each user $20 a month.

Ahead of both release dates, Microsoft will let users try three applications coming to both Office 365 Business Premium and Microsoft 365 Business. These applications include Microsoft Connections, an email marketing service; Microsoft Listings, a publishing tool for business information; and Microsoft Invoicing, which is pretty self-explanatory.

The company has also included MileIQ, its mileage tracking app, into Office 365 Business Premium. In addition, Microsoft has also launched Azure Stack, which allows businesses to host their own hybrid cloud. Several companies including HP, Lenovo, and Dell are all building systems to run Azure Stack, the first shipments of which launches September.

Microsoft's cloud business has been one of its most profitable units in recent years, a sort of saving grace from the tumble of its Windows Phone venture and other less alluring products and services. As the company treads the way of the cloud further, we might see Microsoft approach cloud-based services more extensively going forward.

"We are incredibly enthusiastic about Microsoft 365 and how it will help customers and partners drive growth and innovation," said Microsoft.

Thoughts about Microsoft new Office 365 bundles? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Tesla could finally have a legitimate challenger in the luxury electric car industry in the form of the Lucid Air, an all-electric supercar by Lucid Motors.

In a video uploaded by the startup, the Lucid Air was shown reaching speeds of 235 miles per hour, which is much faster than the top speed of the Tesla Model S.

Lucid Air Hits 235 Miles Per Hour

The video, which was taken at the Transportation Research Facility in Ohio, showed off the mind-blowing speed that the Lucid Air is capable of achieving.

In a blog post, Lucid Motors revealed that in the first test of the Lucid Air prototype in April, the electric vehicle's software limited its top speed to 217 miles per hour, which it was able to reach. In the second test featured in the video, the team behind the Lucid Air removed its speed limiter, allowing the electric vehicle to accelerate to a speed of 235.44 miles per hour.

Lucid Air: A Worthy Tesla Model S Challenger?

The top speed of 235 miles per hour achieved by the Lucid Air is far faster than the Tesla Model S top speed of 155 miles per hour, already making the Lucid Motors prototype look much more powerful than Tesla's offering.

However, that might not be a fair comparison, considering that the Lucid Air speed limiter was deactivated to allow the electric vehicle to go as fast as it could. The actual production version of the Lucid Air will be rolled out with the speed limiter, and it will also be heavier, which will bring down its top speed to more manageable levels. The Lucid Air's prototype also packs a 1,000-horsepower engine, compared to the 400-horsepower engine that will be included in the electric vehicle's first production model.

The major takeaway from the testing video is that Lucid Motors is not backing down from challenging Tesla, especially as the Lucid Air was built by the same people behind the Tesla Model S. Peter Rawlinson, Tesla Model S chief engineer, is now the CTO of Lucid Motors, and he is backed by other former engineers for the Tesla Model S such as Eric Bach, previously Tesla's director of engineering.

Lucid Motors has now come the closest in becoming a legitimate threat to Tesla, unlike Faraday Future, which is currently struggling with a host of issues. The Lucid Air will roll out with a $52,500 price tag by next year, with a range that starts from 240 miles and going as far as 400 miles.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Earth has seen five mass extinction events over the last half-billion years. Now, researchers claim that a sixth mass extinction is unfolding and humans are largely to blame.

Biological Annihilation Of Thousands Of Species

In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, July 10, scientists claim that the world is facing a biological annihilation of thousands of species.

For the research, Gerardo Ceballos, from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, and colleagues mapped 27,600 species of birds, amphibians, mammals, and reptiles, which represent nearly half of the world's known terrestrial vertebrate species, and found evidence suggesting that the Earth's sixth mass extinction event is more severe than previously believed.

Nearly one-third of the studied species were found shrinking in numbers and in territorial range. The number of individual animals that used to live alongside humans also dropped by as much as 50 percent. Ceballos and colleagues also found that the temperate regions lose species at an equal or even higher rates than the tropics.

The researchers found what is described as "extremely high degree of population decay" among vertebrate species including those considered at low risk of extinction.

"We describe this as a 'biological annihilation' to highlight the current magnitude of Earth's ongoing sixth major extinction event," the researchers wrote in their study.

Sixth Mass Extinction Largely Due To Humans

Ceballos and colleagues noted that their findings were conservative given that the drivers that cause the extinction and population loss of species such as habitat loss, over-exploitation, pollution, invasive organisms, climate change and toxification, were taking increasing trajectories.

The researchers also noted that while previous mass extinctions were often linked to sudden and catastrophic natural events such as meteor strikes, sudden changes in climate and massive volcanic eruptions, the current mass extinction is largely caused by humans.

"The massive loss of populations and species reflects our lack of empathy to all the wild species that have been our companions since our origins," Ceballos said. "It is a prelude to the disappearance of many more species and the decline of natural systems that make civilization possible."

Consequences That Can Impact Humans

The researchers warned that the declining population of animal species has unwanted effects on humans. Fish, considered as commercially extinct, for instance, have damaged local economies of fishing communities. The decline in the elephant's population in Africa due to poaching is also blamed for millions of revenue loss from tourism.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Microsoft reportedly plans to announce a proposal to tap the unused spaces between television broadcasts to deliver high-speed broadband internet to more than 2 million Americans.

The unused channels between TV broadcasts are called white spaces and they're typically set aside for television channels, but they can also send internet data. Microsoft wants to use these white spaces to enhance broadband access in rural America, aiming to deliver high-speed internet across 12 states in the United States within the next five years.

High-Speed Broadband For Rural America

According to Microsoft president Brad Smith, white spaces make it possible to reach more than 80 percent of Americans who live in rural areas and don't have broadband, The New York Times reports. The 12 states Microsoft will initially target are Texas, New York, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, North Dakota, South Dakota, Maine, and Kansas.

"Millions of Americans, including millions of students, largely in rural communities, lack broadband internet access, which is a critical component of enabling success in today's digital society," Microsoft explained last month in a letter [PDF] to the Federal Communications Commission.

The company argued in the letter that using white spaces would be greatly beneficial to delivering wider broadband internet connectivity in rural America, as its research and community efforts have revealed.

How It Works

White spaces employ a frequency band that allows network operators to obtain a greater range of operation for wireless broadband signals, with less infrastructure and lower costs. Consequently, providers could tap those white spaces to expand their existing networks and reach areas where current technologies are not feasible.

The FCC could give a green light to use white spaces and ensure that each market has at least three white spaces channels and one vacant UHF channel, added Microsoft. The company reportedly wants to propose a hefty $10 billion program to make things happen but highlights that a regulatory certainty is essential to support the necessary investment.

Microsoft plans to offer more details on Tuesday, July 11, as well as demonstrate four devices that take advantage of white-space technology. According to Smith, such gadgets would be increasingly affordable, dropping below $200 by 2018. The technology would not be unprecedented, as Microsoft already tested this approach in Africa as part of its 4Afrika project, as well as in India through a pilot in Andhra Pradesh. The white space spectrum holds great promise and it's unused anyway, but it remains to be seen whether Microsoft's proposal will be successful.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Microsoft has made an announcement that could mean the end of the Windows Phone.

Amidst a flurry of major announcements such as its plan to expand broadband access to rural Americans, Microsoft also announced that it would be ending support for the mobile edition of Windows 8.1, which is the operating system used by the majority of Windows phones.

Windows Phone 8.1

When the mobile version of Windows 8.1 was first released, it was a big moment for Microsoft and represented what was, perhaps, the last real push for Microsoft to position its Windows operating system as a legitimate competitor to Android and iOS. The mobile edition of 8.1 brought a lot of new features to Windows phones such as Cortana support, a revamped UI, and general system updates. However, despite their best efforts, Windows Phones simply never caught on.

Microsoft's decision to end support for Windows 8.1 makes sense from the perspective of focusing on the mobile edition of Windows 10, but it is debatable how much Microsoft is even focusing on that. The latest Creators Update brought a host of new features and improvements to the desktop OS, but few to the mobile version. Beyond that, there is also the issue that Microsoft generally offers mainstream OS support for five years, but the mobile version of 8.1 is only about three years old.

The Future Of Windows Mobile

All of this begs the question, is Microsoft done with the Windows Phone? If we had to speculate, we would say that Microsoft is likely done with the Windows Phone branding, but not ambitions for the mobile space. We believe that the Windows Phone brand is simply too damaged at this point. What might happen is for Microsoft to release a Surface Phone within the next few years to capitalize on the popularity of that brand. Unlike the Windows Phone, the Surface line of products has sold very well and done a lot to build Microsoft's reputation as a legitimate hardware manufacturer.

Theoretically, it is possible that Microsoft might license the Windows OS to third party manufacturers, but we don't see that happening. The Nokia Lumia did not sell very well and Microsoft only has one more chance to demonstrate that the Windows OS can compete with Android and iOS. If it does make another serious attempt at the mobile space, we expect the latest version of Windows running on a custom-built Surface device.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Facebook Messenger, quite possibly the most widely used mobile messaging platform, will soon display ads.

After a limited beta the company performed in Thailand and Australia, Facebook has apparently finally decided to roll out the ads option for everyone who uses Messenger.

Facebook Rolls Out Ads On Messenger

As per VentureBeat, users might soon see the normal flow of their Messenger home screens interrupted by sponsored ads before this year ends. Moreover, similar to ads seen on Facebook and Instagram, they'll be specifically tailored to the user; a lover of dogs might see dog care-related ads, skin care products might show up for someone searching for moisturizers, and so on  you get the idea.

Facebook uploaded a video showing how ads will work on Messenger. Clicking an ad will bring you to the website of the company or it can also open a conversation with the business within the Messenger app. It will just open up a tab, which you can dismiss. Also, because the ad shown in the demonstration contains an image, the whole placement looks much, much bigger than the typical message rows.

Besides direct placements on the home screen, businesses using Messenger can already send sponsored ads to users that messaged their business prior. Stan Chudnovsky, head of product for Messenger, said that ads will make the platform profitable.

"There are some other business models we are exploring as well, but they're all around ads one way or another," he said.

How Facebook Will Roll Out Ads On Messenger

It's worth noting that the betas Facebook performed in Thailand and Australia involved sending nearly all Messenger users ads. Yet Facebook plans to change its delivery approach once the ads roll out globally.

The company says it will roll out the ads slowly, and it also confirmed that it doesn't totally know when the average user will even see the placements. Facebook will take a data-driven and feedback-driven approach with regard to enabling ads, so there's a chance a user who hates seeing ads might not see it at all, provided they sternly reprimand Facebook regarding the change.

Some of these changes will sure appear pesky to some users, surely. But it's a logical move for the time being from a business standpoint, seeing just how big Messenger is and just how many users are using the platform. VentureBeat notes that ads will bring Facebook closer to its goal of connecting 1.2 billion users to 70 million businesses on the site.

Thoughts about Messenger soon displaying ads? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
"Dialogue and negotiation in Venezuela, found at the Paris Forum for Peace, three friends: the governments of France, Argentina and the Republic of Colombia," said the president... | Read More
That quaking beneath your feet is from shock waves in Washington where tipping points are merging with other tipping points to create the Mother of All Tipping Points.

Not only did Donald Trump Jr. meet with a Russian attorney who, he was told, had damaging information about Hillary Clinton, but there are emails indicating that he knew in advance that the opposition research was part of the Kremlin's effort to help Donald Trump become president.

It that's not collusion, it seems at least "collusioney," a newly minted term surely destined to erase all memory of Monday's exhaustively used "nothing-burger."

Smoking guns don't need to be nearly this hot to capture Washington's attention, but these latest revelations should be enough to make every American take a deep breath. Whether Trump Jr. is merely stupid is yet to be determined, but he wasn't alone in that meeting. Joining him were his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort, then Trump Sr.'s campaign manager, who is known to have had business dealings in Russia for a number of years.

The New York Times broke the story over the weekend, reporting that three (unnamed) individuals had corroborated the existence of the damning emails, which clearly establish intent to "something." Tuesday afternoon, Trump Jr. released the email thread between him and some guy -- named Rob Goldstone -- a music publicist who knew some guy who knew Donald Trump vis-a-vis the Trump-owned Miss Universe contest. Got that?

Goldstone arranged the meeting, which took place in Trump Tower in June 2016 -- just before the Republican primary season had ended -- to talk about dirt on the presumptive nominee's general-election opponent. After Goldstone said that the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, had information that would incriminate Clinton, Trump Jr. replied that he'd "love it."

Who wouldn't? You're the namesake son of the man on track to become the Republican nominee and possibly president -- and Russia wants to help him win? Hell da!

The fact that the alleged opposition research was part of Russia's war on Clinton, as indicated in one of the emails, would have raised flags for most people -- no, make that for all but these people. I'm confident that, if the nice Ace Hardware man who recently helped me select a mailbox were to receive such an email, he'd contact the FBI as soon as possible.

Which, obviously, is what Junior, Manafort and Kushner should have done.

Thus, we can presume that all three knew better than to attend such a meeting. After all, it could well have been a trap -- and I'm not sure it wasn't. But to the inexperienced minds of Kushner and Trump Jr., the calculation may have been as simple (and feeble) as: Why not? Defeating Clinton was in the national interest, wasn't it? And the Trumps have (or had) no pique with Russia.

Trump Jr.'s claim that he didn't tell his father about the meeting rather strains credulity, don't you think? Ditto Veselnitskaya's claim that she has never worked for the Kremlin and has no idea what all the fuss is about. She was here to lobby against American legislation that her client finds objectionable.

In an exclusive interview Tuesday with NBC News, Veselnitskaya said she never had any "damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton. It was never my intention to have that." Asked where Trump Jr. could have gotten that idea, she responded, "It is quite possible that maybe they were longing for such an information. They wanted it so badly that they could only hear the thought that they wanted."

So, apparently, the future of the Trump presidency is in the hands of Goldstone. He set up the meeting; he brought Trump Jr. into a damning email exchange; he promised dirt. Wait, who is this guy again?

Well, that's a very good question. He's an intermediary for Veselnitskaya, who either (a) works for the Kremlin and possibly even Vladimir Putin; or (b) is just a lawyer/lobbyist interested in U.S. policy. Wouldn't we like to know? Also possible is that President Trump knew all along about the meeting, which may be why he acts like a cocker spaniel at a Doberman rally whenever the name Putin comes up. What did Veselnitskaya really come to say? For whom?

More shock waves are doubtless coming. Meanwhile, we know for certain: When a Russian lawyer meets privately with the future president's son, his son-in-law and his campaign manager on a third-party promise of Clinton-disabling intel, it's hard to say the Trump campaign had nothing to do with Russia. For now: Collusioney.
When Gov. Pete Ricketts announced a review of the Nebraska State Patrol in June, he told reporters such an audit would improve the agencys operations.

Within a week, the governor announced the firing of its superintendent, Col. Brad Rice, and the placing of two command staff and four other State Patrol officers on administrative leave as the investigation continues. He appointed a committee to assist in the search for Rices replacement a few days later.

In publicizing the dismissal and suspensions, Ricketts said the State Patrols reputation must be beyond reproach. His swift, decisive actions to address and reverse what he said may be potential high-level interference on internal affairs do just that  and must continue as the results of the states investigation merit.

The nature of the initial findings that spurred the firing  reported interference in internal investigations at the highest level and concerns about use of force, among other topics  are of great public concern. Both could jeopardize the ability of officers to perform a fair investigation of Nebraskans suspected of a crime.

A law enforcement agency considered to be without integrity cannot effectively police for people who dont trust or respect its authority. Ricketts correctly noted Nebraskans must be able to have confidence the State Patrol will always fulfill its mission to serve and protect.

Accountability to the proper authority is a vital part of the two-way street of respect citizens and officers must share. By turning the initial results to the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys Office for additional investigation  and promising the final report will be public  Ricketts is striving to make sure that faith in the one law enforcement agency that serves all Nebraskans remains solid.

The State Patrol has a stellar history of service and should command the respect of Nebraskans. Despite allegations of possible wrongdoing by a few, the agency is filled with men and women who represent the positive ideals the badge embodies.

Given the speed of events, they will likely soon have a new leader, one who must meet the same high bar. Ricketts cadre of advisers contains veterans in law enforcement and the courtroom will help vet an able superintendent to head the department.

In just a couple short weeks, the governor has taken decisive steps to ensure the State Patrols reputation wont be compromised long term by the outcomes of the ongoing investigation. To best serve Nebraskans, the agency must stay accountable and trustworthy. Ricketts actions show hes committed to maintaining the State Patrols essential integrity.
Southern University is refusing to release its investigation into a law school faculty member who was at the center of a recent firestorm involving Baton Rouge's Council on Aging, saying providing the report to The Advocate would violate the professor's privacy.

Dorothy Jackson, a professor specializing in elder and succession law at Southern University Law Center, runs the school's Elder Law Clinic, which employs law students to provide free legal services to the poor and elderly.

Jackson, a board member and the former attorney for the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging, was placed on administrative leave in April while the school said it would investigate the law clinic. Jackson offered legal services to now-deceased Helen Plummer, acting as her attorney and notarizing her will in July 2016 at Southern's law clinic. After her death, Plummer's family accused both Jackson and the Council on Aging's executive director Tasha Clark-Amar of swindling a 95-year-old grandmother who they say was not of sound mind, as the will awarded Clark-Amar $120,000 over the next 20 years to oversee Plummer's trust. The trust is valued at about $314,000, based on Plummer's assets.

Southern University spokesman Henry Tillman confirmed Wednesday that Jackson is still on administrative leave. Jackson, contacted by phone, declined comment Wednesday, but she has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Winston DeCuir, an attorney representing the Southern University Board of Supervisors, said in a letter to The Advocate that he could "confirm that the University has conducted an investigation into Professor Jackson's role as an Administrator, with the Southern University Elder Law Clinic, and her relationship with the East Baton Rouge Parish Council on Aging."

In his letter, Decuir added that the investigation resulted in a "single report" about Jackson's conduct and her performance as a Southern law center employee.

The Advocate requested the documents related to the investigation from Southern under Louisiana's open records laws. But Decuir said that providing the investigation would infringe on her privacy rights.

"As a private citizen, Professor Jackson has the constitutional right to be 'secure in (her) person, property, communications, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches, seizures, or invasions of privacy,'" Decuir said.

But an attorney representing The Advocate said the public is entitled to see the content of the report.

"The public has an acute interest in ensuring that public business is subject to public scrutiny, particularly where, as here, a public employee has been investigated for her conduct in carrying out the functions of her public employer," said Scott Keaty, the lawyer representing the newspaper. "More specifically, the substance and results of such an investigation must be disclosed in order that the public can be confident in the operations of its government  both in how governmental employees have acted and how investigations of such employees have been conducted. There is simply no reasonable expectation of privacy in such situations."

The Council on Aging has been under fire for months, since Plummer's family came forward with the allegation that Jackson and Clark-Amar coerced their grandmother into an arrangement that paid Clark-Amar $500 a month for 20 years, an arrangement that is far above the going rate for such a service.

Clark-Amar voluntarily withdrew as executor of the estate amid the backlash, but she contended she had a genuine relationship with Plummer before she died and would visit her often. She is suing the Plummer family for defamation in state court.

State District Court Judge Don Johnson removed Clark-Amar from overseeing Plummer's estate in April. Jackson stepped down from her role as attorney for the estate.

However, both Clark-Amar and Jackson retain their positions with the Council on Aging despite calls for their resignation.

Jackson is one of two Southern University employees with ties to the Council on Aging who are currently on administrative leave.

Brandon Dumas, the vice chancellor for student affairs, was the Council on Aging's board chairman, but he resigned in May after reports surfaced he no longer lived in the parish and was in violation of the board's bylaws. Dumas was placed on leave by the university last month within days of reports that Southern was investigating a sex tape circulating on the internet that may have involved a student and a school employee. His leave also was preceded by a report Southern had been put on a warning list that it could lose its accreditation. The school did not say whether Dumas' leave was related to either of the issues.
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  A Louisiana man has been ordered to spend 45 days in prison and pay a $2,500 fine for killing a whooping crane in 2014 and killing ducks a year later from a moving truck, authorities said.

If Lane Thibodeaux of Gueydan fails to pay the fine within a year, the 21-year-old man could return to prison for another six months, defense attorney Barry Sallinger said Tuesday. He wrote in an email that Thibodeaux had fired toward a flock of white ibis but didn't mean to kill the endangered crane standing among them.

Sallinger later said by phone that Thibodeaux's actions were "ill-advised and inappropriate" though he said the man didn't have "specific intent" to kill the birds when he fired at them with a rifle from a distance. Hunting either species is illegal.

Rewards offered in killings of endangered whooping cranes in Rayne RAYNE  Rewards of up to $9,000 are being offered for information that leads to the arrest a

The female whooping crane had a leg wound when she was found near the community of Gueydan on Nov. 2, 2014, less than a year after being released to the wild. She had to be euthanized the next day.

After getting tips that Thibodeaux had killed the crane, agents obtained a warrant to search his phone and found photos and videos of him shooting ducks from the driver's seat of a moving truck in the area where the crane was found, said a statement issued Tuesday by Adam Einck, enforcement spokesman for the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

The ducks were killed Feb. 14, 2015, according to the bill of information against Thibodeaux.

Can't see the video below? Click here.

Thibodeaux pleaded guilty July 7 to one count of killing the crane and four involving the ducks. According to court documents, Thibodeaux didn't have a hunting license, and he shot the ducks out of season and from the driver's seat of a moving truck. The fifth charge was wanton waste of migratory game birds, for killing and crippling ducks and just leaving their bodies.

Another whooping crane shot dead in Indiana as species battles extinction INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  The recent fatal shooting of an endangered whooping crane in rural India

U.S. District Judge Carol Whitehurst, in sentencing Thibodeaux to 45 days, said the term will begin after Thibodeaux leaves state custody. He has been jailed for several weeks, and he and his family decided together that he wouldn't seek bond "until he could resolve these charges and seek long-term substance abuse help," Sallinger said.

A department news release said that if Thibodeaux pays the fine within a year, he will serve five 45-day sentences all at once  but otherwise, he serves them one after the other.

That's a condition of Thibodeaux's probation, Sallinger said.

Informants will split a $10,000 reward for his conviction. Einck said he can't give the number of informants.

Thibodeaux also faces state charges of witness intimidation, for threatening people who knew he'd shot the crane and telling them not to talk to investigators, said Einck. Sallinger confirmed that those charges are pending.
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Louisiana residents across the state are wearing pink Wednesday in honor of state Rep. Julie Stokes who last week dropped out of the race for state treasurer and announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Candidates heading to qualify for upcoming local and state elections wore pink attire and ribbons; the legislative staff took a group photo in pink boas and leis; at least one state senator donned a hot pink hard hat during an event.

Supporters are also encouraging people to donate to the Susan G. Komen Foundation in Stokes' honor.

Julie Stokes drops out of state treasurer's race after cancer diagnosis Rep. Julie Stokes dropped out of the race for state treasurer Thursday after being diagnosed

Stokes, a Kenner Republican who has been in the state House since 2013, was ramping up her state-wide campaign when she announced she has Stage 2 cancer and is beginning at least 5 months of chemotherapy treatment.

Several of her would-be opponents in the treasurer's race were among those wearing pink on Wednesday.

Here are some highlights from social media:

Today when I qualified for the Council At-large seat I did it in pink for my friend @JulieSStokes! #FightLikeJulie pic.twitter.com/hKdk8C7DSb  Helena Moreno (@HelenaMorenoLA) July 12, 2017

UMCs VP of Operations, Lisa Miranda, is wearing her pink today. As a #breastcancersurvivor, she encourages all to #FightLikeJulie. pic.twitter.com/YxF9olWyr0  UMC New Orleans (@UMCNO) July 12, 2017

We are all standing with @JulieSStokes today and women everywhere to #FightlikeJulie against breast cancer! pic.twitter.com/VrUAFPI68J  Walt Leger (@WaltLeger) July 12, 2017

We stand in support of Rep. Julie Stokes. Julie is a fighter and we know that she will be victorious! #FightLikeJulie pic.twitter.com/dczSJk3V51  Paul Hollis (@RepPaulHollis) July 12, 2017

The Chamber team is wearing their pink today in support of @JulieSStokes! #fightlikejulie pic.twitter.com/OCXQy52dy7  Jefferson Chamber (@jeffersoncoc) July 12, 2017
WATERFORD  A Rochester man walked into the Waterford Police Department on June 19 and confessed to sexually assaulting a 5-year-old family acquaintance more than 25 years ago, according to a press release from the Waterford Police Department.

As a result, Kurt A. Willick, 61, of the 1600 block of Rookery Glen, is now facing three charges of first-degree sexual assault of a child.

According to the criminal complaint:

Willick said that about 25 years ago, he exposed his genitals to the girl three days in a row and had her touch him. The acquaintance followed him to his room like a puppy after the first day, so he kept exposing himself, Willick contends.

After the third incident, Willick said he realized what he was doing was wrong and stopped.

The victim, now 31, told investigators on June 26 that she remembered at least two occasions, but believed there were others.

The victim reported that Willick would tell her things such as: This is between you and me, and would call her his little buddy. She confirmed that the behavior suddenly stopped one day.

If Willick is convicted of all three charges, he could face up to 120 years in prison. He made an initial court appearance Monday and was placed under house arrest after signing a $500 signature bond that he is not to have contact with any minors.
The four announced candidates for the state treasurers race officially submitted the papers and paid the fees Wednesday to get their name on the Oct. 14 ballot.

Three well-funded Republicans  state Sen. Neil Riser, of Columbia; former Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis, of Baton Rouge; and former state Rep. John Schroder, of Covington  arrived early enough for donuts at the Secretary of States Office.

Two others, who have raised no money, came about the time jambalaya arrived for lunch  New Orleans lawyer Derrick Edwards, who signed on as the only Democratic candidate; and Joseph D. Little, of Ponchatoula, who qualified as a Libertarian Party candidate.

They seek to replace longtime state Treasurer John Kennedy, who stepped down earlier this year after being elected to the U.S. Senate. Candidate sign up continues Thursday and ends at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Three Republicans joined another race, this one to replace Scott Angelle on the Louisiana Public Service Commission. Angelle left in the middle of his term to take a job with President Donald Trump's administration.

New Orleans will be electing a mayor, and that is expected to attract a lot of voters; but treasurer, the only statewide race on the ballot, is expected to draw few to the polls.

One reason is that voters just dont know who the candidates are.

An automated phone survey Baton Rouge pollster John Couvillon conducted Tuesday showed that 57 to 59 percent of the 1,050 voters questioned had never heard of the candidates when the name of each was called out. Paid for by Accountable Louisiana PAC, the poll has a 3 percent margin of error.

Derrick Edwards ran unsuccessfully in the U.S. Senate race last fall and was the only candidate who polled above single digits.

Edwards says he would increase transparency and accountability on the states finances. Let the people know exactly how their tax dollars are being spent, he said.

All the major candidates promised to embrace the watchdog role created by Kennedy.

The state treasurer manages revenues and debt, basically ensuring that the bank accounts have enough money to cover the checks he or she signs to pay the bills. The treasurer presides over Bond Commission, which decides which loans to take out to pay for state projects; and brokers the terms of the billions in loans.

But the candidates talked primarily about state budget problems, over which a treasurer has no responsibility.

"The challenges that we are being faced with in our state need someone with qualifications and experience. I'm a fiscal conservative. I've worked under two governors. I have worked very successfully to increase our bond ratings under both governors," Angele Davis said.

She worked for former Gov. Mike Foster, who chairs her campaign, and drafted state budgets during the first two years of Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration. She also ran the tourism department for Mitch Landrieu, when the Democratic mayor of New Orleans was lieutenant governor.

Her son, Davis Kelley, work pink to qualifying in honor of Republican Rep. Julie Stokes, who withdrew from the race last week after being diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer.

Neil Riser, who owns a funeral home in Caldwell Parish, also wore pink to honor Stokes.

I see what Treasurer Kennedy, now Sen. Kennedy, has done. I think he brought it to the forefront, the role being showing the people and letting them know where wasteful spending is going on, Riser said.

Riser has chaired the state Senate Revenue & Fiscal Affairs committee, which is in charge of the state's construction projects. He reported having $155,901 available for the treasurers race.

John Schroder is a residential developer in fast-growing St. Tammany Parish. He resigned his legislative seat in June to focus on the campaign for treasurer. His campaign had $609,622 on hand.

"I'm a fighter for people. That's what I do. This provides me an opportunity to represent people from a different seat than where I've been the last 10 years, Schroder said.

One of the announced candidates, Mike Lawrence, dropped out of the race also because of cancer. A former state auditor and accountant, Lawrence also was briefly a campaign strategist for ex-Ku Klux Klan leader David Dukes U.S. Senate bid last fall.

Lawrence said in a text that the $185,000 of personal funds that he had set aside to run for the treasurer will be redirected, instead, to treat his wife, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I will be dedicating all of my time to her potential recovery, Lawrence said.

Voters in parts of 13 parishes, including much of the Baton Rouge area, Morgan City, around Lafayette, and the bayou parish communities also will be asked to choose a commissioner for the Louisiana Public Service Commission District 2. The five elected PSC commissioners regulate the cost of monthly utility bills as well as telephones, some trucking and cabbie services.

Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards tapped Houma lawyer Damon J. Baldone to serve as the interim commissioner. Though Baldone was a Democrat when he was in the Louisiana House, he signed up to run for the seat as a Republican.

Former state Rep. Lenar Whitney, R-Houma, officially qualified Wednesday morning to run for the Louisiana Public Service Commission.

Craig Greene, a Baton Rouge physician, also signed up to run as a Republican in the PSC special election.

Melinda Deslatte, of the Associated Press, contributed to this report
In all the reviews of the 2017 Legislature, the consensus is that the lawmakers failed to do the one thing they need to do: address the "fiscal cliff."

That is the expiration of temporary sales taxes and other revenue increases that enabled new Gov. John Bel Edwards to patch together a budget in his first year in office. Many of the new taxes, particularly an onerous new one-penny on the sales tax, expire on June 30, 2018.

Not enough of a cliff, apparently, as next to nothing was done on tax reform, and even less on credible spending reforms. Both should be part of a solution, but the GOP-led House thinks only of cutting medical services for the poor in the giant Medicaid program. Well, that and opposing taxes.

What should not be forgotten is that this is a largely self-made crisis.

In 2002, the people voted in the Stelly tax reform plan. It raised taxes on higher-income earners while adding significant exemptions from the sales tax. The sales tax breaks to every resident on food and residential utilities are in the Louisiana Constitution and will not likely be changed.

But over a couple of years, the Legislature repealed the income tax provisions. Then-Rep. Edwards was among those voting for repeal, blowing a hole in the states revenue structure from which it has not yet recovered.

That hole is not just about the reversal of the Stelly plan, and its subsequent benefits to the better-off, who are the people legislators most listen to. Changes to the sales tax have been studied, bringing it in line with Texas and other states on taxing services. Reducing tax breaks billed as "economic development" is also a good idea, as with the film tax credits and others for favored industries.

But the main thing is eliminating the one-cent "emergency" sales tax increase of 2016, and it will take some version of Stelly 2.0 to do so. There just isn't enough money in the other changes to deal with the $1 billion or more needed.

In fact, depending on how it is structured, most people would probably get a net reduction in their taxes, even in paying a bit more in income tax, because of the broad reach of the new one-penny sales tax. Somehow, that's a hard sell; Edwards favors it but says legislators aren't buying.

Louisiana is now tops in the nation in average sales taxes. It is not a good place to be.

It's also astonishing that lawmakers resist changes: Our recurring budget crises are not acts of God or the Federal Reserve or the Saudi oil cartel. They are a consequence of a decision by governors and Legislatures past to do the financially irresponsible and politically attractive maneuver of eliminating the Stelly provisions.

Don't let legislators, as they consult back home, get away with dodging personal responsibility for the crises they universally deplore.
While the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) does have a 70 per cent success rate in identifying unpaid superannuation obligations during business audits, according to the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), individuals would be well advised to make their own inquiries.

In reality, according to Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), non-payment of super is increasing in Australia, with at least 690,000 or 6.5 per cent of the workforce affected annually.

If your actual contributions don't match the amounts detailed on your payslip, you might like to have a conversation with your employer. Credit:Getty Images

Thanks to employer-guaranteed super contributions, while you work away diligently your employer is helping tuck away money for your nest egg on your behalf.

Of those affected, ASFA's report indicates that they lose $3800 a year on average. Owing to the nature of superannuation funds where growth comes as a percentage of the amount in your account, these losses compound further over time.

In fact, a 25-year-old affected for five years will lose about 14 per cent of their retirement income. When you consider that an individual may need anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million to retire comfortably, that loss could be $70,000 to $140,000.

How can you tell if your employer is honouring their superannuation commitment to you?

First of all, your payslip, while it should give you a clear indication of what you are entitled to, is not proof of what you have received. Your superannuation fund will send you an annual report after the end of the financial year detailing all your contributions for the previous financial year as well as your overall account balance and any fees incurred.

If you are particularly concerned and don't want to wait until July, you can contact your super fund directly or register with the my.gov.au website.
Expectant mothers are typically advised to avoid flying in their final trimester. But job candidates at one Spanish airline were required to take a pregnancy test before they were even hired.

The airline, Iberia, defended the test in the name of safety. Government and union officials decried the practice as sexist.

Iberia said the test was among multiple examinations that were administered after candidates had been selected to be hired but before a formal job offer was tendered. Credit:iStock

Iberia said this week that it would drop the practice after being fined for discrimination.

The airline required potential employees to pass a series of tests before being hired, including a medical examination, which for women meant a pregnancy test. Iberia described it as a routine step used to ensure the safety of employees.
Sometimes the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Sometimes the apple is also considerably dimmer than the tree. And sometimes the apple must be thrown under the bus so that the tree and a few of its most crucial limbs don't tumble to the forest floor, where they'll be chopped up and used as firewood by Democrats.

Is that the fruity fate of Donald Trump Jr.?

On Tuesday morning, he released a chain of emails from June of last year that prove that he was eager to get dirt on Hillary Clinton from a representative of Russia, that the information was indeed characterised as "part of Russia and its government's support" for his father's presidential bid and that he held a meeting in the hopes of learning more.

It was, for my money, the most jaw-dropping development yet in an already-surreal presidency, and making sense of it requires some conjecture.
RACINE COUNTY  Torrential rains caused flooding throughout the county Wednesday and put the Fox River in Burlington at a record high level.

The City of Burlington and Racine County each declared a state of emergency Wednesday morning. More than a dozen roads closed due to nearly 7 inches of rain that fell between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in some parts of the county.

The worst flooding was seen on the countys west end. By 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Fox River in Burlington was at an all- time high at 15.5 feet, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was 13.5 feet set in 2008.

This is very significant flooding, record-breaking, said Mark Gehring, National Weather Service meteorologist. The Fox River basin has been hit extremely hard, harder than weve ever seen in the modern age.

The Fox River is expected to peak at 16.5 feet by noon Thursday, local officials said.

Burlington city officials encouraged property owners to monitor the Fox and White river levels and expect increased flooding, which will lead to street and park closures.

They urged residents to stay away from the river and off of bridges, saying the area is hazardous.

Please be advised, the Fox River waters are continually rising quickly, the city said on its Facebook page Wednesday night. Be prepared to evacuate the premises.

The weather service said 6.82 inches of rain was recorded at the Burlington airport between Tuesday night and Wednesday. About 6.2 inches was recorded in Rochester, and in Lyons, Burlingtons western neighbor in Walworth County, more than 8 inches fell, according to the weather service.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for Racine County that was expected to continue into Thursday. Officials were bracing for the possibility of more rain late Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

We are concerned about the potential damage to both public infrastructure and to homes and businesses, County Executive Jonathan Delagrave said in a news release. County staff is monitoring the situation closely, and we are prepared to do everything we can to support local municipal efforts.

Power was knocked out to about 14,000 customers in Burlington and other parts of western Racine County at about 5:45 p.m. after a We Energies substation in Burlington flooded, We Energies spokesman Brian Manthey said.

This is quite an incident right now, Manthey said late Wednesday.

A curfew in Burlington went into effect at 10 p.m. Wednesday and was scheduled to last until 6 a.m. Thursday. The curfew applied to all residents except for emergency personnel and those commuting to and from work or students traveling to and from classes.

Sandbags are being filled and distributed to the community. Two pick-up points are Walgreens, 680 Milwaukee Ave., and Karcher Middle School, 225 Robert St.

Delagrave cancels listening session due to weather Racine  Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave has cancelled his next listening session

Officials assessing damage

David Hansen, who lives in Burlington, said he saw at least two cars stuck in McHenry Street near Market Street and a fire truck that had trouble getting through.

He made it through, but he had to drive really slow, Hansen said.

I lived here 15 years and avent seen it flood like this, he added.

Charlie Roy of Burlington said he saw Burlington firefighters in a boat rescuing a resident from their house.

Ash Elmer of Burlington said most of her neighbors had significant (amounts of) water in the basements.

Residents who need to file a damage report can dial 211 or toll free at 866-211-3380. Information collected will be forwarded to the Racine County Emergency Management Office several times a day. The office will use the information to determine the scope of the flooding.

An emergency declaration positions Racine County to ask for state and federal assistance, if the situation warrants. In addition, the county executive has the authority to make county personnel and resources available.

Video: Racine County officials give update on flooding Racine County officials gave a media briefing on flooding in the county at about 10:30 a.m.

Road closures

Many roads were closed throughout the county, including several portions of Highway 11 and roads near Highway 11; Highway 20 eastbound at Highway 75 in Dover; and Highway KR near Interstate 94 in Yorkville.

Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said he received reports of motorists driving around barricades and he urged them not to do so, warning that citations may result.

Officials say residents who see flooding while driving should turn around. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles, according to a warning from the National Weather Service.

The state Department of Transportation also closed Highway 50 in western Kenosha County near the Fox River. Officials said the closure may be in effect throughout the weekend or until water levels dissipate, and asked drivers to follow alternative routes along Highways 83, 11 and 75.

Damage minor elsewhere

Village of Waterford officials reported Wednesday afternoon that the threat of serious flooding subsided. However, forecasts for more rain raised concerns about uprooting of trees.

Flooding problems were less severe in the City of Racine, though officials warned residents to monitor Root River levels.

Otherwise, the Racine Wastewater Utility was handling and treating water coming to the treatment plant.

Western Racine County paper delivery affected by flooding WESTERN RACINE COUNTY  Due to flooding, delivery of The Journal Times in parts of Western R

Racine was fortunate not to receive the volumes of rain that fell in other local areas, said Keith Haas, general manager of the Racine Water and Wastewater Utilities.
Tobacco giant Philip Morris is running an under-the-radar campaign to convince federal politicians to legalise e-cigarettes containing nicotine, with anti-smoking campaigners accusing the company of using the same "astroturf" tactics it used in its fight against plain packaging.

The multinational has been using its offshoot smokers' rights lobby group - dubbed "I Deserve To Be Heard" - to contact Australian smokers and vapers and urge them to make submissions to a parliamentary probe into the use and marketing of e-cigarettes.

The company's campaign - along with a coordinated push from Australia's online vaping community - has seen the inquiry inundated with submissions from people who say vaping has helped them quit smoking and dramatically improved their health.

While health groups in Australia and across the globe continue to warn about the potential risks of nicotine vaping, 107 of the 108 submissions so far loaded on the inquiry's website are strongly pro-vaping - and the vast majority follow a similar "personal story" template.
Often, company share prices fall for very good reasons. The company's competitors start winning, its technology becomes obsolete, or it was just wildly overpriced.

But sometimes  just sometimes  such a decline is caused by a market overreaction. Just ask shareholders of Flight Centre, who seem to regularly face predictions of the company's demise. After sailing (flying?) into some tough headwinds recently, thanks to falling airfares and lower bonus payments, the company's shares sank under $28 recently, with many writing its epitaph, and short-sellers betting on further falls.

Retail Food Group owns Michel's Patisserie, Gloria Jean's, Crust Pizza, Donut King and others.

Then the company's founder and chief executive, Graham "Skroo" Turner, did his best Mark Twain  "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated"  and Flight Centre is now trading well above $40 a share.

Trying to pick so-called "turnaround" ideas is tough. As Warren Buffett said, "turnarounds seldom turn". But let's cast a net into the murky depths of the Australian Securities Exchange to see if we can find some pearls among the swine.
In the Sharobeem family, the apple doesn't appear to fall far from the tree.

Eman Sharobeem's two sons Richard and Charlie appeared at ICAC on Wednesday and were accused of lying and receiving payments from the public purse to which they weren't entitled.

Charlie Sharobeem and step-father Haiman Hammo outside the ICAC inquiry on Wednesday. Credit:Jessica Hromas

Richard, 25, who blessed himself before being questioned, was accused of lying about his qualifications on his CV, just like his mother had done, and did not have Bachelor of Business from Griffith University as he had claimed.

After failing every subject in his bachelor of criminology degree before dropping out, he got a job under a fake name without an interview at a publicly funded organisation run by his mother. He was accused of regularly not showing up and of taking a work car to use as if it was his own. And again, like his mother, he received more than $34,000 in extra payments for work he never performed in one year alone. He had a $5670 red Suzuki motorbike paid for by taxpayers.
Police are appealing for more information about two separate shootings in Sydney overnight as the victims refuse to co-operate with detectives.

A 29-year-old man was dropped off at Liverpool Hospital in the city's south-west with a gunshot wound to his leg about 8pm on Tuesday.

Police have been told the man arrived in a small white hatchback, possibly a Toyota Corolla.

Emergency services were then called to the intersection of Epping and Vimiera roads in Marsfield in Sydney's north-west about half an hour later to reports of a shooting.

A 37-year-old man was found with a gunshot wound to the leg. A crime scene has been established.
Queensland's favourite polar bear cub is a girl. Now she just needs a name.

The little white ball of fluff's carers at Sea World on the Gold Coast have gone most of the way there, narrowing the list down to four options.

The polar bear cub at Sea World on the Gold Coast takes its first steps. Credit:SEA WORLD

"We've got to find a name for this beautiful little girl," Sea World director of marine services Trevor Long told Today.

"So what we've done, we have chosen four names.
A Gold Coast security company owner is facing charges in the Federal Circuit Court for allegedly sacking a worker sick with pneumonia, threatening to sack staff who spoke to the Fair Work Ombudsman and underpaying staff.

Adam Marcinkowski and his company VIP Security Services Pty Ltd are facing charges for taking "unlawful adverse" action against three staff members and underpaying staff more than $15,000, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Former Palmer United Party candidate Adam Marcinkowski. Credit:Palmer United Party/Twitter

The security company was contracted to provide services at a range of Gold Coast Council sites, including three libraries, for 24 months before April this year.

FWO inspectors visited a number of council sites last year to check whether staff were being paid minimum entitlements, after which the former Palmer United Party candidate allegedly threatened to sack staff if they spoke with FWO inspectors.
Small business operators could face hefty costs from taking the Commonwealth to court if they miss out on government contracts under new proposed legislation that is supposed to help level the playing field.

It is hoped the changes will help small business to get a bigger slice of the government procurement pie, which can be up to $60 billion per year.

Kate Carnell says the mechanism to allow small business to sue the government could be too costly for many operators. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Under the new legislation introduced by Small Business Minister Michael McCormack, both local and international suppliers will be able to take their complaints in relation to a breach of the Commonwealth procurement rules to the Federal Court.

But the plan is not without its quirks, according to the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell.
A Chinese team has successfully "teleported" data from one elementary particle to another, something scientists say is yet more proof of Beijing 's burgeoning quantum capability.

The breakthrough gives China a significant edge in developing unbreakable codes in the cutting edge field of quantum cryptography.

China's first quantum satellite prepared for launch in August 2016. Credit:Xinhua

The team that made the breakthrough works out of a base station in the snow-covered mountains of Tibet, 4500 metres above sea level.

The altitude allows the station to get as close as possible to a tiny Chinese satellite, Micius, orbiting high overhead.
Patrons enjoying one of Melbourne's most famous cafe strips have been evacuated due to billowing smoke from a blazing kitchen.

Police cleared Degraves Street after smoke filled the graffiti-covered laneway on Wednesday afternoon.

Six trucks were called to the scene shortly after 2pm when the blaze erupted in the kitchen and spread through the flue and ducting at Cafe Adiamo.

Firefighters in breathing apparatus put out the fire, which was brought under control after 13 minutes.
Victoria's state coroner will begin an inquest next week into the deaths of six people killed when a car drove into them in Bourke Street.

The Coroners Court announced on Wednesday that Judge Sara Hinchey would open the inquest next week, and that the investigation would run parallel to Dimitrious "Jimmy" Gargasoulas' criminal case.

Hundreds of bunches of flowers were laid in Bourke Street in the wake of the tragedy. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Mr Gargasoulas faces six charges of murder and 28 counts of attempted murder after driving a car through central Melbourne about 1.30pm on January 20.

Six people, including a 10-year-old girl and a three-month-old boy, died in the tragedy. More than 30 people were injured.
ELMWOOD PARK A village committee is continuing to hash out details on what officials would like to see in a possible future village administrator.

An ad hoc committee has had three meetings regarding the topic thus far. The committee is comprised of local residents and trustees; Village President Kathy Wells said meetings are open to the public.

Wells said the committee has been brainstorming about the prospect of creating an administrator position, but nothing concrete on the proposal has been brought to the Village Board.

Its another avenue to see if this is something that the village needs, Wells said.

Although the Elmwood Park community hasnt been vocal about a need for this position, Wells said different people in other municipalities have brought it to village officials attention as something the village, Racine Countys second smallest with just under 500 residents, should consider.

Infighting on the board and occasional confusion on protocols has sometimes raised tensions in recent years.

Were so small, I dont know if this is something we actually need and if it would be beneficial for the cost, Wells said.

Wells said if the village does decide to create an administrator position, it will be a part-time post and the person would be appointed by the Village Board; it would not be an elected position.

No timeline has been set as to when a village administrator position would be put in place, what the job description might entail, what the salary might be or how it would affect the roles of the village trustees, who currently split overseeing various operations of the village, located south of Racine in the general area of Taylor and Lathrop avenues.

Right now, were nowhere near figuring that out, Wells said.
Two Labor members have allegedly posed as Greens to dishonestly obtain electoral information while doorknocking in Melbourne's north.

Labor's administrative committee will decide on the future of the pair's party memberships by the end of the month.

The ACT Greens have been accused of mishandling an allegation of sexual assault. Credit:Natalie Grono

One of the accused pair volunteered at Bill Shorten's office for four days last year, a spokesperson confirmed.

The information gathered by the Labor members has been returned to the Greens.
A Victorian Nationals MP is being investigated by police for alleged fraud after complaints that he forged documents to illegitimately profit from two land sales.

Tim McCurdy, 54, lower house MP for Ovens Valley in north-east Victoria, is alleged to have falsified documents to secure sales commissions worth about $375,000 while working as a real estate agent in 2009.

Tim McCurdy MP (left), at the opening of the 57th Parliament in December 2010. Credit:Joe Armao

The alleged offences were committed more than a year before he entered State Parliament in 2010 but have come back to haunt the MP some eight years later after police revived their investigation into the property deals.

The investigation into alleged criminal activity by an opposition MP is an awkward development for the Matthew Guy-led Coalition, which is campaigning aggressively on law and order.
Ambulances were a common sight during Caitlin's first year of university.

They would pull up outside her residential college and whisk intoxicated students to the nearest hospital.

Caitlin is speaking out about the dangers of risky drinking at residential colleges Credit:Joe Armao, Fairfax Media.

"You would look out your window and there would be an ambulance," the 20-year-old Monash University student said.

On one occasion she walked into the communal bathroom and found her friend on the tiled floor.
A 41-year-old mentally ill Perth man who stabbed his housemate in the neck in an unprovoked attack has been sentenced to almost four years behind bars.

Kobe St John Ruse had invited the victim, who he met through a friend, to share his small Claremont unit only a week or two before the November 2015 incident.

The District Court of WA heard Ruse, a diagnosed schizophrenic, had not been taking his medication and was instead using illegal drugs.

The District Court of WA heard Ruse, a diagnosed schizophrenic, had not been taking his medication and was instead using illegal drugs, which left him in a psychotic state.

Ruse believed his housemate - who was attacked from behind while he cooked noodles - had threatened to shoot him with a replica pistol.
An Events Manager is warning of a new scam targeting Perth's restaurant industry through social media channels.

Brooke Lingard works with The Old Laundry Bar and Kitchen in North Perth and said it was recently contacted by two people trying to run the same dodgy play.

The scammer's email. Credit:Brooke Lingard

"The first scammer contacted the restaurant through their email address on the website and asked to place an order for food, $2,000 worth, to pick up," she said.

"They then go through the process of looking through the menu and choosing their selection and even to the point of giving us their credit card details."
Once a happy-go-lucky confident young girl, 8-year-old Jane* now suffers night terrors and smacks herself in the head - overwhelmed by the emotions running through her mind.

The change... all thanks to a repeat child sex offender in WA, out on parole for similar crimes when he committed his latest heinous acts.

Gildersleeve's most recent victims were girls aged just 6 and 8. Credit:Dimitri Maruta

This is the case of 49-year-old repeat child sex offender Wayne Scott Gildersleeve.

Jailed last month for a string of "persistent" sex offences against two Perth children, his crimes would rank as every parent's worst nightmare.
Bangkok: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has cancelled his attendance at official events and remained out of the country for days, prompting speculation he is receiving medical treatment in Singapore.

But the strongman who has ruled for more than three decades hit back on Facebook posting photos of himself with his family and friends at what appeared to be a Singapore mall.

Hun Sen lies in a hospital bed in Singapore in May where he said he was treated for "extreme exhaustion". Credit:Facebook

"Do I have the right to be happy in gathering children and grandchildren in these pictures or not?," he said, adding that regardless of his location, he could run the country "especially cracking down on the chaos caused by a group of gangsters, extremists and national traitors".

In May the 64-year-old announced on Facebook he had been hospitalised in Singapore to treat "extreme exhaustion".
Toronto: More than 300 bushfires in British Columbia have forced Canadian timber mills and gas pipelines to shut as hot, dry weather fans blazes across swaths of western Canada and the United States.

Wildfires have swept across the west of North America, forcing thousands of evacuations across British Columbia, California and Colorado and prompting military personnel to mobilise on both sides of the border to help battle the flames.

Gas company Enbridge said on Tuesday it had closed a compressor station on its T-South pipeline, which carries natural gas from northern British Columbia to the US border. Maintenance work in the affected area also has been halted, while emergency response plans were under way to protect facilities and workers, a spokesman said.

Another company, Kinder Morgan, said it was closely monitoring the fires and was taking preventative actions near its Trans Mountain crude pipeline, including "removing vegetation to create a fire break and adding sprinklers to keep the areas wet". On Monday, the company had said the blazes were in the "vicinity" of the pipeline. Trans Mountain carries 300,000 barrels a day of crude oil and refined fuels from neighbouring Alberta to the Vancouver area for export to the US.
Los Angeles: A Californian lawmaker has introduced articles of impeachment against US President Donald Trump, making good on a promise he made to move the process forward.

Brad Sherman, an 11-term Democrat who represents part of the San Fernando Valley, was the first to draft and circulate articles of impeachment last month. He formally introduced the measure, titled HR 438, on the House floor Wednesday afternoon.

The measure accuses Trump of obstruction of justice and seeking to "use his authority to hinder and cause the termination" of an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, including "through threatening, and then terminating, James Comey".

Democrat Al Green of Texas who had previously held a joint news conference with Sherman supporting the effort to impeach Trump, was the only co-sponsor of the measure.
DOVER  Horses are the latest asset enlisted in the ongoing search for a Dover woman who has been missing since June 25.

On Tuesday, horses and riders from the Milwaukee Police Departments Mounted Unit searched fields near the home of Lynn Rickard, located in the Hickory Haven mobile home park in the 500 block of Schoen Road. The area is south of Highway 11 and east of Highway 75.

Rickard, 59, is believed to suffer from a mental illness and medical issues. She needs to be on oxygen 24 hours a day. She was last seen in the early morning hours June 25, naked and crossing a cornfield. Her husband, John, discovered her missing after he awoke later that morning.

The effort is a continued effort by the Racine Sheriffs Office to try and locate Lynn (Rickard) by using available resources, such as the mounted unit, sheriffs officials said.

The Racine County Sheriffs Office has utilized every resource available and continues to seek closure for the Rickard family, Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said Tuesday.

This apparently is not the first time Rickard has gone missing, according to family members. The last time she wandered away, she was located about 5 miles from her home.

Rickards husband is offering a $10,000 reward for her safe return.

Lynn Rickard is white, about 5 feet, 4 inches tall and about 150 pounds, with brown hair longer than shoulder length and brown eyes.

Anyone who sees Rickard is asked to call 911 or the county dispatch center at 262-886-2300.
Washington: Donald Trump jnr has just released the emails that led to his meeting in June 2016 with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. Jaw-dropping is not too strong a term for them.

As I wrote on Monday, this meeting - also attended by US President Donald Trump's then-campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner - is potentially a key piece of evidence in the investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian nationals.

Trump jnr had already admitted he attended the meeting after being informed by email that Veselnitskaya was offering to provide damaging information about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

But the emails themselves - which he posted on Twitter apparently after learning that The New York Times was about to publish them - are far more damning than anyone could have imagined.
Jessica and Derek Simmons. Credit:Facebook By then, Ursrey and the other eight people stranded with her had already been in the water for nearly 20 minutes, fighting for their lives. Ursrey and the others had ventured into the water to rescue her two sons, Noah, 11, and Stephen, 8, who had gotten separated from their family while chasing waves on their boogie boards. Tabatha Monroe and her wife Brittany, in Panama City for a birthday getaway, were the first two to hear the boys' panicked cries for help. The couple had just gone into the water when they saw the boys far from shore. They swam over and grabbed hold of their boogie boards. But when they tried towing them back to shore, the women couldn't break free of the current. They tried to swim straight and they tried to swim sideways, Tabatha Monroe told The Washington Post, but nothing worked. After about 10 minutes, a few young men with a surfboard snagged Brittany and towed her back to shore, just as the number of people who needed rescuing grew.

Soon Ursrey, who had heard her boys cries from the beach, was also caught in the riptide, followed in close succession by her 27-year-old nephew, 67-year-old mother and 31-year-old husband. Another unidentified couple struggled to tread water nearby. On shore, the human chain began forming, first with just five volunteers, then 15, then dozens more as the rescue mission grew more desperate. Jessica and Derek Simmons swam past the 80 or so human links, some who couldn't swim, and headed straight for the Ursreys. "I got to the end, and I know I'm a really good swimmer," Jessica Simmons told the News Herald. "I practically lived in a pool. I knew I could get out there and get to them." She and her husband started with the children, passing Noah and Stephen back along the human chain, which passed them all the way to the beach.

By the time Jessica Simmons reached Ursrey, the 34-year-old mother could hardly keep her head above water. "I'm going to die this way," Ursrey thought to herself, she told The Post. "My family is going to die this way. I just can't do it." Ursrey remembered Simmons coaxing her to carry on. "I blacked out because I couldn't do it anymore," Ursrey said. She woke up on the sand to the sound of more screams in the water.

Someone yelled that Ursrey's mother, Barbara Franz, still in the water, was having a heart attack. Simmons told the News Herald that Franz's eyes were rolling back. At one point, the 67-year-old woman told the rescuers "to just let her go" and save themselves. Instead, Ursrey's husband and nephew held Franz's body up as they struggled to keep their own heads above water. "That's when the chain got the biggest," Ursrey said. "They linked up wrists, legs, arms. If they were there, they were helping." Nearly an hour after they first started struggling, just as the sun prepared to set, all ten of the stranded swimmers were safely back on shore. The entire beach began to applaud. "It was beachgoers and the grace of God's will," Ursrey said. "That's why we're here today."

Both Brittany Monroe and Franz were transported to a local hospital. Monroe was later released after being treated for a panic attack and Franz remains hospitalised, her daughter said. She suffered a massive heart attack and an aortic aneurysm in her stomach, but has been taken off the ventilator and is considered to be in stable condition. The Ursreys plan to meet up with Jessica and Derek Simmons once Franz is released from the hospital, but Roberta said she could give hugs to the dozens of strangers who rescued her family. "It actually showed me there are good people in this world," Ursrey told The Post. In a Facebook post, Jessica Simmons expressed a similar sentiment: "To see people from different races and genders come into action to help TOTAL strangers is absolutely amazing to see!! People who didn't even know each other went HAND IN HAND IN A LINE, into the water to try and reach them. Pause and just IMAGINE that." The whole ordeal has given the Ursreys, who just moved to Florida from Georgia a month ago, a newfound respect for the power of the water.
New York: A US Food and Drug Administration panel opened a new era in medicine on Wednesday, unanimously recommending the agency approve the first treatment that genetically alters a patient's own cells to fight leukemia, transforming them into what scientists call "a living drug" that powerfully bolsters the immune system to shut down the disease.

If the FDA accepts the recommendation, which is likely, the treatment will be the first gene therapy to reach the market. Others are expected as researchers and drug companies have been engaged in intense competition for decades to reach this milestone.

A research technologist prepares a Tessa t-cells infusion for cancer patients as part of a clinical trial at Singapore's National Cancer Centre in Singapore in February. Tessa is also looking at gene-altering drugs. Credit:Bloomberg

Novartis is now poised to be the first, and it is working on similar types of treatments for another type of leukemia, as well as multiple myeloma and an aggressive brain tumour.

To use the technique, a separate treatment must be created for each patient - their cells removed at an approved medical centre, frozen, shipped to a Novartis plant for thawing and processing, frozen again and shipped back to the treatment centre. A single dose of the resulting product has brought long remissions, and possibly cures, to scores of patients in studies who faced death because every other treatment had failed.
Kuwait: The United States and Qatar have signed an agreement aimed at combating the financing of terrorism, as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Doha to try to end a month-long rift between Western-allied Arab states.

Tillerson said the memorandum of understanding signed with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, had been under discussion for months.

"The agreement which we both have signed on behalf of our governments represents weeks of intensive discussions between experts and reinvigorates the spirit of the Riyadh summit," Tillerson said at a joint news conference with Sheikh Mohammed.

"The memorandum lays out a series of steps that each country will take in coming months and years to interrupt and disable terror financing flows and intensify counter-terrorism activities globally," Tillerson added.
Moscow: Russia will expel 30 US diplomats and seize diplomatic property if Donald Trump does not release two compounds seized by American authorities last year, Russian diplomats have warned.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was outraged by the ongoing property dispute, which he said was the result of an attempt by the outgoing administration of Barack Obama to "poison to a maximum US-Russian ties".

Cars with diplomatic plates drive out of a compound near Glen Cove on Long Island on December 30, after the US expelled dozens of Russian diplomats. Credit:AP

Mr Lavrov said on Russian state television on Tuesday: "The situation is outrageous. It is just shameful for the United States to leave this situation hanging in mid-air".

He added that retaliatory measures were being drawn up but declined to discuss the details.
London: The British government said on Wednesday it would not publish in full its report on the sources of funding of Islamist extremism in Britain, prompting opposition charges that it was trying to protect its ally Saudi Arabia.

The report, commissioned in November 2015 by then-prime minister David Cameron, was handed to the government last year and ministers have been under pressure to release its findings following three deadly attacks in Britain since March which have been blamed on Islamist militants.

Amber Rudd has said she wants to encourage continued migration from EU nationals who work hard and pay tax in Britain. Credit:Bloomberg

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said that though some extremist Islamist organisations were receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds, she had decided against publishing the review in full.

"This is because of the volume of personal information it contains and for national security reasons," she said in a written statement to Parliament.
RACINE COUNTY  With construction season underway, the Racine Unified School District has run into a few potholes with regard to construction projects at Horlick and Case high schools.

David Hazen, chief operations officer for the district, said the career and technical education (CTE) building at Horlick, which is scheduled to be built this summer on school property but not connected to the school building, has been delayed.

The steel for that project has been back-ordered, so we think (it will be finished in) October for that, Hazen said. Were going to push like crazy, but theres only so many things that (we can do).

Hazen updated the School Board on the project during a work session on Monday. He assured board members that the delay would not affect any of the schools programs this fall.

Also at Horlick, the district is remodeling science classrooms, work which is scheduled to be done in the fall, and also is constructing an addition, which includes an elevator and is scheduled to be done by January 2018.

The district is using its own funds and CTE grant money to pay for the CTE building. The other construction work at Horlick, 2119 Rapids Drive, Racine, will be paid for with funds from the 15-year, $128 million referendum district voters approved in 2014.

Hammes Field issue

The district also is planning on resurfacing the track at Hammes Field at Case High School, 7345 Washington Ave., Mount Pleasant, but Hazen said that project has become a bit more complicated.

Basically, the plan for the Hammes Field track was to take off the top surface, use the existing base, build it back up and resurface it, Hazen said. As they took off the top surface, it turns out it wasnt consistently the same thickness.

Hazen said in some areas there wasnt much of a foundation.

The problem now is we dont have a good base, Hazen said. We have to redo the base.

On April 24, the School Board approved spending more than $400,000 to repave the track. To redo the base, Hazen said the School Board will have to approve an additional $146,000 to complete the project.

The amount of money thats been allocated already is enough to redo the base, Hazen said. If you (the School Board) were to say No to the extra money, it wouldnt have the top part.

Right now the district is working on rebuilding the base using referendum funds.

Other projects

Hazen also updated the School Board on other construction projects, noting that the construction at the REAL School, inside the Sturtevant Sportsplex 1101 Stellar Ave., has been going along real smooth.

Hazen projected that construction of the Alternative Education Center at the former Kurten Clinic building, 2405 Northwestern Ave., Racine, is going to be done but itll be right at the deadline.
RACINE  A 54-year-old Mount Pleasant man has been charged after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman while giving her a massage at a former Regency Mall massage parlor.

Huaying Sun of the 5800 block of Margery Drive is charged with felony third-degree sexual assault.

In January 2011, officers spoke with Sun after a woman told police she went to a massage parlor at Regency Mall, 5538 Durand Ave., and was sexually assaulted by Sun.

According to a criminal complaint, Sun asked the woman to undress, fondled her breasts and touched her genitalia.

The business relocated to 5802 Washington Ave., Mount Pleasant, several years after the incident.

When Stephanie Kohlhagen, Mount Pleasant clerk, performed a routine annual background check on massage parlors, she discovered the pending sexual assault charge and terminated the business license.

We alerted the state; much to my dismay, they didnt really react too much to it, Kohlhagen said, adding she also alerted the Village Board.

Kohlhagen said the village does not license the individual masseur, they are licensed by the state. However, it does license the business.

The only way we can keep track of issues like this is if they get a business licence, Kohlhagen said. If something does happen, its easier to track down those people.

Kohlhagen said Suns wife is applying for the business license.

A preliminary hearing for Sun is scheduled for July 26. It was unclear as of Wednesday why Sun was charged six years after the incident. He remained in custody as of Wednesday at the Racine County Jail, according to online records.
Americares announced on Tuesday that it will be honoring former president George H.W. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush for their dedication to humanitarian causes at the 30th annual Americares Airlift Benefit in October.

The Bushes have been champions of Americares since the very beginning, graciously supporting our health programs and participating in aid missions all over the world, said Americares President and CEO Michael J. Nyenhuis. We are pleased to honor them as the first recipients of the Bob and Leila Macauley Humanitarian Spirit Award. We look forward to celebrating their contributions and our history together at the upcoming benefit.

George and Barbara Bush will be the inaugural recipients of the Bob and Leila Macauley Humanitarian Spirit Award, named for the founders of Americares. The award honors outstanding individuals who exemplify extraordinary courage and commitment to humanitarian endeavors and making a difference in the world.

As a childhood friend and classmate of Bob Macauley, Bush was one of the earliest supporters of Americares. The Bushes traveled overseas to help deliver essential medicine, food, shelter, and medical supplies for families suffering in the midst of famine, war and natural disasters. From 1984 to 1993, Barbara Bush served as the honorary chairwoman of Americares Doctors to All Peoples program, which sent volunteer physicians on overseas medical missions. Barbara Bush became Americares first  and only  ambassador-at-large in 1993.

In conjunction with the dedicated work with Americares, the Bushes have devoted their lives to promoting volunteerism, encouraging public service, improving literacy and supporting cancer treatment and research. Most notably, they have been dedicated supporters of Points of Light, the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. A representative of the Bush family will accept the award on their behalf.

We are truly honored to be the recipients of the first Bob and Leila Macauley Humanitarian Spirit Award, Barbara Bush said in a statement. Their vision all those years ago, that resulted in the birth of Americares, is a shining example of what can be accomplished when you have the heart, the will, and never quit looking for the way. Its been a privilege to play a tiny part in Americares, and even more so to have called these two dear, wonderful people our friends.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The email to Donald Trump Jr. just before the general election campaign offered a meeting with a Russian lawyer who would provide incriminating information about Hillary Clinton as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." The younger Trump wrote back: "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."

While every campaign seeks damaging information on political opponents, the interaction between the president's son and a foreign national represents a departure from the norm. Legal experts are divided on whether what happened could be a crime.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE MEETING?

Details of the previously unknown meeting on June 9, 2016, among attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya, Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort emerged over the weekend. Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law and was a key figure in the campaign, and Manafort, a campaign chief, attended at Trump Jr.'s request.

An email exchange Trump Jr. posted to Twitter on Tuesday gives more details about why the meeting was arranged. A music publicist friendly with the Trump family said in those emails that Russia was supportive of the Trump campaign and that a "Russian government attorney" had dirt on Clinton to share.

The emails included a message from the publicist, Rob Goldstone, that the attorney had "some official documents and information" to provide, but Trump Jr. said he received nothing.

Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017 Here is page 4 (which did not post due to space constraints). pic.twitter.com/z1Xi4nr2gq  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

DOES THIS SHOW THE CAMPAIGN COLLUDED WITH THE RUSSIANS?

First, it's important to remember that there's no law, per se, against "collusion." Trump advocates have been reminding people of this for weeks. However, some attorneys say that the events described in the emails could amount to a conspiracy to break campaign finance law.

Jeffrey Jacobovitz, a criminal defense attorney who represented White House officials during the independent counsel investigation of President Bill Clinton, said Trump Jr. and others involved in the meeting are "exposed to the conspiracy to commit election fraud." He said they appeared to be working together to illegally solicit a foreign campaign contribution in the form of opposition research.

WAIT, DON'T ALL CAMPAIGNS SEEK OPPOSITION RESEARCH?

Trump Jr. made this argument Monday on Twitter, writing sarcastically, "Obviously I'm the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear info about an opponent... went nowhere but had to listen."

Indeed, presidential campaigns typically have entire teams of employees devoted to digging up dirt on their opponents. And longtime political strategists recall being inundated with offers from all sorts of people to share tips that campaigns might find useful.

SO WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT?

No one has stepped forward to say they experienced anything quite like the Trump Jr. interaction with the Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in New York.

Terry Sullivan, who was Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign manager, wrote on Twitter, "Running @marcorubio camp lots of random people asked to meet to share 'secret oppo' I was just never dumb enough to meet w/ them." He added: #ButWeLost

Campaigns tend to be timid about handling materials that could have been obtained illegally. When a former congressman helping Al Gore prepare for a presidential debate received an unsolicited package of George W. Bush's debate preparation materials, he turned it over to the FBI.



WHAT ABOUT THE INTERACTIONS COULD BE ILLEGAL?

Foreign nationals are prohibited from providing "anything of value" to campaigns, and that same law also bars solicitation of such assistance. The law typically applies to monetary campaign contributions, but courts might consider information such as opposition research to be something of value.

Larry Noble, a former general counsel to the Federal Election Commission, said the newly released emails "put meat on the bones" of a possible criminal campaign finance violation. The emails show that the younger Trump knew the Russian government was offering the information and "give a clear indication he was soliciting it." As for whether the offer involved something of "value," Noble said that could be established if the Russians put resources into obtaining the information or even sent anyone over to relay it to the Trump campaign.

Noble, Jacobovitz and other lawyers argue that the Trump campaign saved money by not having to do that opposition research on its own, arguing that what Russia offered was essentially an "in-kind" campaign contribution. The goods don't need to have been delivered, they say, to trigger the solicitation provision.

DOES EVERYONE AGREE ON THAT?

Tom Fitton, president of the conservative Judicial Watch, said "it would be an absurdist interpretation of the law" to consider what Trump Jr. did a crime. "The law does not cover talking politics," he said. "If it did, pretty much every political meeting would be considered an in-kind contribution that needs to be reported."

Bradley A. Smith, a former Bill Clinton-appointed Republican Federal Election Commission member, also says "a meeting does not a conspiracy make."

Opposition research might have a marketable value, Smith added. "But if someone simply comes to the campaign and says, 'I have some information you might find interesting,' I don't think we've had a solicitation by the candidate or campaign."

"There's no illegality in the meeting," one of President Donald Trump's private attorneys, Jay Sekulow, said on Fox News Channel's "Hannity." He said there is no law on the books that Don Jr. may have broken.

Opposition research might have a marketable value, Smith said. "But if someone simply comes to the campaign and says, 'I have some information you might find interesting,' I don't think we've had a solicitation by the candidate or campaign."

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

There are multiple probes into the Trump campaign and its interactions with Russia during the 2016 election, led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and by Senate and House committees.

Trump Jr., who hired an attorney this week, said Monday that he is "happy to work with the committee to pass on what I know," referencing the Senate intelligence committee. Kushner and Manafort agreed weeks ago to cooperate with the congressional probes.
A 20-year-old Texas A&M student who was found dead in his fraternity's house in December died of an accidental drug and alcohol overdose, officials said.

The Brazos County Sheriff's Office recently received autopsy results for Matthew Hayes, who was found dead at the Sigma Phi Epsilon house Dec. 6.

According to Sheriff Chris Kirk, the autopsy results show Hayes had significant amounts of hydrocodone, the pain reliever hydromorphone and the antihistamine chlorpheniramine, which is sold over-the-counter to treat allergies. Hayes' blood alcohol level was 0.11, which is over the legal limit. Medical examiners concluded the drugs and alcohol suppressed Hayes' heart beat and caused him to stop breathing.

No foul play is suspected in Hayes' death.

"[The drugs] were obviously self-ingested," Kirk said.

As previously reported by The Eagle, the night before his death, Hayes had attended a formal party in Downtown Bryan. The last time he was seen alive was the following morning, hours before his death. He was located later in the evening by his fraternity brothers, who thought Hayes was asleep in his room. The friends checked on him after he missed a daytime event and found he was unresponsive.

Hayes' death came just a few months after the death of 19-year-old Anton Gridnev, who was found dead at the Sigma Nu fraternity house in August 2016. An autopsy showed Gridnev had died from an accidental drug overdose, with several varieties of opiates in his system
Three Brazos Valley residents who pulled a 3-year-old girl from a burning car in a Mother's Day accident that killed her mother were presented Tuesday with certificates that honored their heroic efforts.

Leonardo and Lydia Garcia, of Hearne, stood quietly with Bryan resident Jose Elano Castro-Perez II before the Bryan City Council and were presented with framed certificates from the Bryan Police Department and the Bryan Fire Department.

Around 8:30 a.m. May 14, Isabel Marie Castillo, 22, was driving southbound on Harvey Mitchell Parkway near Texas 6 when he car went off the road, down an embankment and hit a tree, Bryan police said. Her daughter, 3-year-old Miracle Castillo, was strapped in her car seat in the back seat.

Shortly after, the Garcias were headed to church when Lydia Garcia saw a pillar of smoke coming from the side of the road and alerted her husband.

"I saw the vehicle down there, and he made a U-turn," Lydia Garcia said. "He went down [into the ditch]. He was really trying to see how he could get to the people inside, but the doors were jammed up."

Lydia Garcia called 911 while Leonardo Garcia tried to open the car, which was filling with smoke. He flagged down Castro-Perez, who was driving down the road, and together the two men used a tire iron to break a window. As flames appeared, Castro-Perez reached through the broken window and pried the back door open so Leonardo Garcia could grab Miracle and pull her out.

Lydia Garcia recalls the tragic nature of what unfolded before her. Leonardo Garcia declined to speak to The Eagle on the incident. Lydia Garcia said the scene was frightening and she was screaming as she watched her husband and Castro-Perez battle with the car.

According to police, the front of the car was so engulfed in flames that it was impossible for the two to reach Isabel Castillo. Castro-Perez told The Eagle through his son, who was interpreting for him, that the three stood with Miracle and tried to comfort her as they waited for firefighters to arrive. Jose Perez-Castro III said his father felt strong parental feelings when helping pull Miracle from the back seat.

"He had memories of my niece, his granddaughter, when he saw the little girl," the younger Perez-Castro said.

Through his son, Perez-Castro said he thanks God for Miracle being alive and that he knows the outcome could have been even worse. He said he was not able to meet up with the Castillo family after the accident but attended a public fundraiser for her family and donated money later that week.

Lydia Garcia held Miracle after she was rescued and rode in an ambulance with her. The Garcias also took care of Miracle at the hospital until her family could arrive.

"At first I was holding her," Lydia Garcia said. "From the look of her face, I think she hit her head. She would come to and try to say something until they put her in a stretcher. In the ambulance I talked to her. We were asking her name and kept hearing 'Nicole.' She's 3 years old and was trying to say 'Miracle.' "

At the award ceremony, the three were approached by Priscilla Hernandez of Bryan, Miracle's grandmother, who thanked the heroes. Hernandez and Lydia Garcia embraced in a long hug and wept together.

"I can't thank them enough, from the bottom of my heart, for rescuing my granddaughter," Hernandez said. "There are no words to tell them."

Hernandez said she will show the photos of the awards ceremony to Miracle one day, because she wants the girl to know the faces and names of the three people who saved her life.

Bryan PD spokesperson Officer Kelley McKethan shared that the three rescuers have been honored with the Civilian Service Citation from both the police and fire department. She read a statement of gratitude aloud, and Bryan Officer Joel Bravo repeated the statement in Spanish:

"Had it not been for Lydia seeing the accident, and the fast actions of Leonardo and Jose, there is no doubt that Miracle would have not survived this incident. Leonardo and Jose ignored perilous danger to save a life, which is a value we want to uphold for our community."
A Bryan lawyer and Texas A&M graduate with a lengthy military background has been tapped to clean up the embattled Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission after a series of controversies and high-level departures at the agency.

TABC commissioners picked Adrian Bentley Nettles to head the Texas liquor agency after a closed-door session Tuesday.

Sources told The Texas Tribune that Nettles informed TABC Chairman Kevin Lilly that he will accept the offer. Nettles is set to replace Sherry Cook, who announced in April she would step down from the executive directorship amid a series of spending controversies at the TABC.

"Brigadier General Bentley Nettles is a tested leader whose integrity, skills and experience, in both the military and the private sector, make him the ideal choice to get the TABC back on track," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. "As a highly decorated military officer, and Texas lawyer, General Nettles has dedicated his life to serving Texans and his country, and I am confident he will continue to be a dedicated public servant in his new role. I have no doubt that his steady hand will restore trust in the agency, and I look forward to working with him in his new role."

Nettles was released from active duty in 2015 and now has a law office in Bryan, focused on assisting veterans with issues related to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, estate planning, Medicaid and small business. Over the course of his military career, he was awarded 24 awards and badges, including a Purple Heart.

Nettles earned his bachelor's degree from Texas A&M in 1985 and received his law degree from the South Texas College of Law. According to The Association of Former Students, Nettles has served as the general counsel for the Joint Force Headquarters Texas Army National Guard and as the designated agency ethics official for the Texas National Guard. He also serves as a member of the Bryan Texas Utilities board.

He and his wife, Tracy, have two children and live in Wellborn.

TABC Chairman Kevin Lilly said six candidates were interviewed for the executive director position on Tuesday. Lilly praised Nettles' leadership, strong legal background, character and history of public service. "I think he's a great American and a great Texan, and his history of public service is unblemished," he added in a brief interview Tuesday.

Lilly was tapped by Abbott, who has expressed public concern about TABC, to reform the agency. After Cook announced she would step down, Abbott said in a tweet, "It's time to clean house from regulators not spending taxpayer money wisely." He added, "This is a good start."

Robert Saenz, executive chief of field operations, will serve as acting executive director until Nettles can take over, likely in three to four weeks. Julia Allen, an assistant general counsel at the agency, will serve as acting general counsel.

Six high-level officials have left TABC in the past few months, including Ed Swedberg, who became acting executive director after Cook's departure. He quit Friday after a few weeks on the job.

The TABC has seen a spate of departures since The Texas Tribune began reporting a series of stories about the agency, including lavish trips officials took to out-of-state resorts, questionable use of peace officer status by agency brass, and failures to accurately maintain records of state-owned vehicles.

Since the Tribune began its reporting, Texas lawmakers also have voted to ban most out-of-state travel for agency personnel.

In June, the Tribune reported that the TABC tried to cancel every permit held by Spec's liquor stores or fine the retailer up to $713 million. In a blunt ruling, a panel of judges said the TABC failed to prove any serious infractions made by Spec's and recommended that no fines be imposed on the Houston-based liquor store chain.

Besides Swedberg and Cook, the agency's general counsel, chief of enforcement and head of internal affairs all have left the agency since the beginning of July.

When Swedberg quit Friday, he said he did not want to participate in the "termination" of another high-ranking official, Licensing Director Amy Harrison. Harrison, who helped oversee the creation of a controversial flyer depicting agency honchos partying during out-of-state junkets, still had her job Tuesday, TABC spokesman Chris Porter said.
In the first stretch of President Donald Trumps administration, Americans watched aghast while Trump alarmed our European allies with his noncommittal to NATOs logic of mutual self-defense, presided over the leaking of British terrorism intelligence, and yanked the American strand from the fabric of the Paris climate accord, leaving that agreement threadbare and fragile.

If Trump is, as he and his supporters have imagined, rallying the desire and the courage to preserve the West in that hoary clash-of-civilizations narrative, he appears to be doing a poor job of it.

This geopolitical fracturing has been a source of anxiety for my coworkers and me lately, but we are no Brussels diplomats, no environmental scientists. As one of the lexicographers at the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, a 123-year-old and still-incomplete Latin dictionary, I write meticulously organized entries for this academic reference work alongside an international team of classicists. Encyclopaedia Britannica calls the thesaurus probably the most scholarly dictionary in the world, and after one year on the job, Im inclined to agree.

But my job may not exist much longer if the Trump administration succeeds in eliminating the National Endowment for the Humanities, the agency that funds the single American position at the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae. In an academic parallel to the United States retreat from climate agreements and military alliances, defunding the National Endowment for the Humanities threatens to pull the nation out of the worlds collective effort to define  literally  Western history.

The Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, based in Munich, is a comprehensive dictionary written by scholars and for scholars. On the shelf, it resembles the Oxford English Dictionary, but administratively, the project looks a bit like CERN, the laboratory for the study of particle physics. Just as the 22 member states of CERN collaborate on long-term research too costly for one country to undertake alone, the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae is home to scholars funded by countries from around the world, among them Japan, Denmark, Italy and the United States. While collective efforts at CERN have culminated in feats such as the observation of the Higgs boson particle in 2012, the contributing nations of the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae have similarly celebrated the completion of the volume for the letter P in 2010 and the newly published account of ratio, reason.

Since 1984, the American government and the Society for Classical Studies jointly have set aside money for one postdoctoral fellow to contribute to this monumental lexicographic project. But Trumps proposed budget, released in May, would eliminate this federal funding along with the rest of the National Endowment for the Humanities because, as Stephen Moore from the Heritage Foundation explained recently, the American public hates to see so much waste in government spending. Of course, eliminating the National Endowment for the Humanities would not reduce government outlays in any meaningful way. Its annual operations, which last year cost American taxpayers less than $150 million, represent a percentage of the overall budget so infinitesimal that a calculator probably will show it in inscrutable scientific notation.

Even if the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, runs on the generosity of a small number of governments and foundations, our findings detail centuries of wide-ranging human experience. By digging through our offices 10 million records of Latins long history, I have compiled entries for words such as reminiscor, to remember, whose examples show how countless ancients recalled the face of a childhood friend or perhaps the guilt of a long-concealed sin.

In my study of remisceo, I discovered that the first record of remixing, found in the prescient words of Horace, describes the combination of musical genres. During the first weeks of Munichs birdsong-filled spring, I had the pleasure of documenting the history of nidus, nest, and learning how Romans understood the environment and its various home-building creatures.

Our dictionary is indispensable for understanding classical authors such as Horace and Livy as well as theological giants such as Ambrose and Augustine. As we finish compiling entries for the letter R, we will write the comprehensive history of res publica, the republic of Romans such as Cicero, who inspired the American founders themselves.

When we complete our account of Latins T words, one of our lexicographers will chronicle the origin and development of that tricky theological concept of trinitas, the trinity. The stories of Western politics and religion are threaded through these words, and only by illuminating their histories can we clearly understand the texts of antiquity that still influence who we are and how we think.

Sometimes it feels as if we lexicographers are piling together a medieval cathedral, one that is centuries in the making and that no single generation  and indeed, no single country  can call its own. And perhaps this metaphor hints at an unfortunate reason for renewed political hostility to work such as ours.

Many politicians today do not look to a timeless cathedral as a guiding architectural analogue for their statesmanship. Instead of constructing a Burkean civil society of intergenerational effort, they now see their ideals reflected in a glitzy skyscraper on Fifth Avenue: a monument to a real estate developer whose megalomaniacal impulsiveness brings to mind certain Roman predecessors, and not good ones.

My hunch, in other words, is that Trumpists are not eager to eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities and to undercut international scholarship out of genuine concerns about government spending or even a principled, radical isolationism.

Instead, my job is newly imperiled because my research is not fast-paced and exciting. Thesaurus Linguae Latinae entries are much longer than a tweet, more tedious than a campaign rally. When our presidents family history is told through gaudy hotels and neon-saturated casinos, and when his policy positions center on a hyperbolic big, beautiful wall and tales of urban violence worthy of dystopian action films, it should surprise no one that his administration is racing to cut its support, small as it already is, of the quiet study of old books.

Will the United States continue to support such research under an administration that fantasizes only about aggrandizing towers and border walls? Under a president who might gawk at the grandeur of the Colosseum but would never read the meditative letters of Seneca?

Perhaps, I suppose, we could rebrand the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, as The Big, Beautiful Latin Lexicon and gild the edges of our pages. Then maybe  only maybe  would the words of Latins revered saints and ancient statesmen stand a chance in the era of Trump.

Charles McNamara holds a postdoctoral fellowship at the Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften in Munich.
The dust over Hamburg, the venue of this years G20 summit, is slowly settling, though it will take a while until the wounds, which uncontrolled riots have made in some parts of the city, will heal. Outside the conference centre, it was burning cars, broken glass and cobblestone-throwing criminals who dominated the news. Inside the conference center it was the chapter on energy and climate, which was the biggest conflict zone among heads of states.

According to insiders, the climate chapter was the most controversial part of the key document, the G20 communique, and an agreement was only reached after a long night of negotiations that went right down to the wire. It was the French President Emmanuelle Macron who fought until the last minute for the best language that would demonstrate the willingness to advance climate action that 19 plus one world leaders would eventually commit to.

So: is it in the end a good outcome for climate protection, will the outcome get us closer to keeping global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius and thus preventing mankind from continuing on a course that can only trigger the worst impacts of climate change?

The question cannot be answered without looking at the developments of climate diplomacy over the few months, especially the June announcement of President Trump that he intends withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement. Though he had already expressed his intent to exit from the agreement during the election campaign, the formal announcement still shook the international community.

The Paris Agreement not only reflects the broadest commitment for international climate action, the world has ever seen, it is also a symbol of unprecedented multilateralism to cooperate for the sake of the most vulnerable countries and for the welfare of future generations - and thus a symbol of hope and peace. While leaders from all over the world quickly came out with statements in support of the Paris Agreement, backed by an overwhelming wave of support from civil society and the business community, it still remained unclear, how they would act at the G20 summit, where the German presidency had bravely put the issue high on the agenda.

Taking this difficult political context into account, it is no small achievement by Merkel as this year's G20 chair to have brought about a consensus between the 20 leaders of the largest industrialized countries and emerging economies, which can be spelt out as "agreeing to disagree". With the support of other progressive heads of states, she managed to conserve the unity of the group while clearly isolating Trumps position on climate in the communique. In the text itself this was expressed by dedicating one paragraph in the energy and climate chapter to the US, stating that the G20 leaders "take note of the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the Paris Agreement". This stands in stark contrast to the following paragraph, where the other nations stressed that the Paris Agreement is "irreversible". The world is going in one direction, irrespective of the US.
The other week, Ravi - a community forest watcher - picked up the phone and called in his latest sighting. He had spotted a breeding pair of Indian grey wolves inside the Kalpavalli Community Conservation Area (KCCA).

The KCCA is an area of 9,000 acres restored, protected and conserved as a biodiversity reserve by some of India's most impoverished communities in the state of Andhra Pradesh in Southern India. The conserved land is village common land, which serves as a zone of multiple-uses - it is where people and wildlife co-exist side-by-side. Rural community members access a variety of non-timber forest produce including thatch grass and fodder, while large carnivores like wolves, leopards, hyenas and sloth bears share the same space.

The KCCA is an experiment in regeneration and community-led conservation started over 20 years ago and has today become an example of coexistence. The project started with restoring degraded common lands to improve soil fertility, boost the local watershed and empower rural communities. In the early 1990s, following months of community mobilisation, a plot of hundred acres in the hills surrounding Mustikovilla Village was chosen by the Boya Community for restoration. Within the year, soil salinity reduced and spurred the grasses and shrubs to bounce back. Shepherds from the neighbouring village of Shapuram trespassed onto this slow-flourishing piece of land. They grazed their sheep and goats and cut a few saplings much to the annoyance of the people from Mustikovilla. A minor altercation ensued and the erring shepherds were fined a few hundred rupees.

This incident led to the people of Shapuram to approach the Timbaktu Collective to initiate their own restoration efforts on the common lands of their village. Over the years, this concept has spread to other villages and today over 2,000 members from 10 villages have pooled together resources to protect common lands in their villages. Collectively, they protect the resources of 9,000 acres of land.

For the first decade, the project focussed on improving the watersheds within the conservation area - slowing down rainwater, reducing erosion, and planting native shrubs, grasses and trees - which were critical to restoring riparian habitat. This process was spearheaded by the time volunteered by community members and in addition small grants were raised to offer basic support. Another important component was educating the youth and children on the importance of protecting the upstream watershed.

Over the past five years, we at Timbaktu Collective have noticed the increase in the diversity and abundance of wildlife in these areas. This has encouraged us to engage the service of a full-time wildlife conservation team. Our conservation approach blends wildlife conservation with the idea of improving people's access to water, fodder and other non-timber forest produce.

Our approach, which has been to catalyse nature conservation and give importance to wildlife within the framework of a "development" organisation, is still uncommon in India. Although the majority of India's wildlife is outside traditional protected areas like National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries most existing approaches to conservation are still based on these models of "Fortress Conservation". This dominant approach creates government-owned inviolate spaces which excludes local communities and where management decisions are taken unilaterally by centralised agencies. In contrast, the model of conservation at the Timbaktu Collective is a bottom-up approach. For example, the conservation area doesn't have a physical fence but instead works on social fencing which is founded on communication, trust and strong social interconnections at the village level. Regular community mobilisation takes place alongside training programmes and focused conservation education.
Filipinos are the biggest supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump, an international research organization said.

Sixty-nine percent of Filipinos gave their vote of confidence to the new U.S. leader, said the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Research Center.

"Trump's greatest support in the poll comes from Filipinos, 69 percent of whom say they have confidence in the U.S. president," it said in the survey.

About 1,000 Filipinos were part of the survey conducted from February 26 to May 8, 2017 said CNN.

Despite the high confidence in the U.S. President, majority of Filipinos disapprove of Trump's proposals and policies.

Trump's proposal to build a wall on the border between the U.S. and Mexico gained 61 percent disapproval rating. Sixty-eight percent of Filipinos disagree with his decision to withdraw U.S. from international climate change agreements.

Fifty-six percent of Filipinos disapprove of Trump's move to withdraw U.S. support from the Iran nuclear weapons agreement.

Across the 37 countries surveyed, a median of only 22 percent said they have at least some confidence in Trump to do the right thing regarding world affairs, while 74 percent have little to no confidence in the new U.S. leader.

"Around the globe, confidence in the U.S. President is at some of the lowest levels measured by Pew Research Center over the past decade and a half," Pew Research Center said.

Other countries with high confidence in Trump are Nigeria (58 percent), Vietnam (58 percent), Israel (56 percent), and Russia (53 percent).

In Mexico, only five percent have confidence in Trump.

Fifty-five percent of Filipinos surveyed believe the relationship between the Philippines and U.S. will stay the same, while 26 percent think it will improve.

Majority of those surveyed worldwide said Trump is a strong leader, but few describe him as qualified and caring.

Sixty-nine percent of Filipinos described Trump as a "strong leader," while 67 percent said he is "well-qualified to be president."

Fifty-one percent said he is charismatic and 54 percent said he is caring about ordinary people.

However, nearly half of Filipinos interviewed for the survey believe Trump is arrogant (49 percent), intolerant (46 percent), and dangerous (41 percent).

President Rodrigo Duterte and Trump have cordial relations and have spoken by phone at least twice. The first in December 2016 when Duterte called Trump to congratulate him on winning the US presidency.

In a leaked transcript of an April 29 phone call between the two leaders, Trump praised Duterte's "unbelievable job on the drug problem," referring to the Philippine government's war on drugs, entering its second year in July.

The U.S. leader has invited his Philippine counterpart to visit the White House. Duterte has yet to accept.

Trump is expected in the Philippines in November 2017 for the ASEAN leaders' summit and related meetings in November 2017.
The Department of Labor and Employment has chosen the city government of Legazpi as recipient for the JobStart program funded by Canada in the Bicol region.

City Public Employment Services Office (PESO) chief Diosdado Raneses said DOLE has made the announcement during the JobStart planning workshop recently conducted by the DOLE Bureau of Local Employment, Embassy of Canada and Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the Water Front in Cebu City.

JobStart is one of the programs of DOLE for young Filipinos intended to give them opportunity for employment, especially the out of school youth aging from 18 to 24 years old who encountered financial difficulties, Raneses said.

Raneses noted that the women organizations in the city will also be prioritized for employment opportunities.

During the planning workshop DOLE said that the womens organization will be given high percentage for employment opportunities but they first need to undergo life skills trainings and other seminars as part of enhancing their skills and abilities, he said.

He added that after the training, the beneficiaries will enroll in a technical, vocational institute in order for them to qualify for better employment. However, those job-starters who will not pass the training will be given opportunity to retrain.

In preparation for the implementation of the JobStart program, Raneses said that his office has conducted a series of job fairs and skills training.

The JobStart Philippines Program is an employment facilitation initiative of the DOLE with funding support from the government of Canada and technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank. The program seeks to assist young Filipinos start their careers and find meaningful employment.

It aims to enhance the knowledge and skills acquired by jobseekers in formal education or technical training in order for them to become more responsive to the demands of the labor market.
Nellie Philpott only has a few more weeks in Southwest Virginia before she leaves for Europe.

Philpott, a rising junior at Franklin County High School and the Roanoke Valley Governors School, will spend her next school year in Germany as an exchange student through a program of the Council for International Educational Exchange (CIEE).

She is one of 50 students from the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico to be awarded a Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Scholarship for the 2017-18 school year. CBYX is a student exchange program co-sponsored by the U.S. State Department and German Bundestag (Parliament).

Philpott will spend the year living with a German host family, attending a German high school and participating in a four-week language and cultural immersion camp to help her understand German culture, language and everyday life, according to a CIEE news release.

She also will be able to visit the Bundestag, meet with American and German officials, take part in intercultural seminars and explore Germany through trips to various places, the release stated.

Im very excited and thrilled, Philpott said in a phone interview. I almost cant believe its happening.

This will not be Philpotts first time in Deutschland, as Germany is called there. She traveled to the country with family members when she was about 5 years old, but she said she remembers little of the trip. Her parents are Benjamin and Mary Ellen Philpott of Boones Mill.

As an exchange student, Philpott said she will be living in Schwerte, Germany, with a host family with kids about her age. She already has talked to the family, and they are excited about her coming to stay with them, she said.

According to information online, Schwerte is a town of about 47,000 residents in the district of Unna in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germanys largest state. Companies there largely make iron and steel products.

Philpott said she is fascinated by Germany because its a very interesting culture, much like the United States in some ways and different in others. She looks forward to finding out what those differences are and learning about them, she said.

She will leave for Germany in early August and remain there through the end of the school year, she added.
MOUNTAIN VALLEY  More than 100 people welcomed Vernon Koony Frog Gilbert to his new home during a housewarming party Friday night.

Gilberts house was built entirely by donations and through funding from Total Action for Progress (TAP) in Roanoke. When Rick Carter started the process last summer, Gilbert, now 69, was living in a shack without electricity or water  the house in which he was born and never left.

Friday evening, Carter stood on the front porch and addressed the crowd watching from below as Gilbert stood in front of the porch, smiling shyly.

This gentleman right here before you, most everybody knows him, Vernon Gilbert, Koony Frog, Carter said.

Carter said that Gilbert sometimes helps him in his construction work, so Carter has seen his old shack many times when he had gone to pay him. He became more and more concerned about the difficulties of Gilberts living conditions.

Several trips down there it kept sticking on me, sticking on me, and really, its a lot easier to walk away from something than to deal with it, Carter said.

It all came to a head when Gilbert dislocated his collarbone, which made hauling water jugs and cutting and stacking wood for heat too difficult. Carter said it made him realize people had better get together to help him get a better place to live.

Carter applied through TAP, but a mortgage loan from that organization would fulfill just a part of the need. Land needed to be secured, and a great deal of preparation would have to be done.

Jesse and Lucille Shelton donated a parcel of land just a walk through the woods from Gilberts former home off North Fork Road. Churches took up collections, and individuals made direct donations to a dedicated bank account as well as an online funding page.

The bottom line is we could not have built this house without everybodys help, Carter said. I know whats in this area as far as cooperation and goodwill.

Construction on the house began in winter, with Carters brother, Mike Carter, as the contractor. Anybody who knows anything about construction or just finish work can take a real close look inside this house. We added a few things. My brother applied to make sure it happened, Rick Carter said.

Mike Carter, joined by others giving donations and discounts, gave the house a great many upgrades over what the TAP funding would pay for: solid wood cabinetry, a large shower with a seat, hardwood floors, large porches, upgraded doors, extra windows and more.

Because of TAPs funding, Rick Carter said, His house payments are ridiculous small compared to what you and I are used to. He has a light bill, and he doesnt have a phone other than his cell phone. He has property taxes, and he has state taxes hes got to pay. TAP is the actual lien holder on this house, and if all payments are made, TAP would release the house from the lien in 10 years.

He is now a landowner and a homeowner, Carter said. Guess what! Happy days are ahead.

The crowd applauded heavily.

For as long as he has known Gilbert, Carter said, Gilbert has taken everything in stride and not complained about his harsh living conditions.

He never asked me or anybody in this community to do this, Carter said.

Carter said Gilbert is known far and wide for being friendly and helpful. As much as hes tried to give to this community, hes always had a friendly face. You dont see him with his lip poked out.

After Carters talk, people walked through the house and looked around. The living room has a deep, cushiony black sofa facing a wide-screen television. Above the sofa is a huge photograph of his former house.

The kitchenette is supplied with a small, two-seater table. One bedroom still is empty, but the other has a double bed with a blue plaid comforter. A television hangs on one wall, and the monitor of his security system hangs on the other wall.

The security system is wireless, and from his bed Gilbert will be able to see whats going on outside, if anything, Gayle Johnson said.

Throughout the house, in a nod to his nickname, frog knick-knacks are on display. A whimsical frog sign reads Koony Frogs New Pad July 2017 at the back door, and a cheerful frog decoration hangs on the front porch rail. Frogs also decorate the mailbox.

Lucille Shelton said that Gilbert always has been helpful to others and never complained about his situation. Knowing his story really makes people realize the blessings they normally take for granted, she added.

Throughout the event, Gilbert occasionally flashed wide smiles. His smiles seemed to be a big larger and freer than they had been in the past  thanks to a new set of teeth.

Dr. Peyton Moore made and fitted him with over-dentures and implants through the Virginia Dental Associations Donated Dental Services program.

Gilbert went through Donated Dentals application process and was approved, Moore said. Nine times out of 10, it (the program) is for disabled people or people who dont have income. His income levels qualified him.

This new type of dentures uses a dental implant which replaces the root of the tooth, Moore said. Titanium screws are installed permanently into the mouth, and the dentures snap onto them. The teeth are very much like natural teeth. They only need to be taken out once a day to clean them.

When Gilbert first tried the dentures he had a terrible gag reflex, Moore said, but hes done really well with that. That dudes a survivor. He has a tremendous sense of humor.

Gilbert walked through his house Friday showing aspects of it to the visitors. In the back yard, a tent was set up over tables which held refreshments.

It feels great to be able to move into his new home, Gilbert said.

Tonight went real well, said Vance Johnson, another of the organizers of the house effort. Its been real enjoyable. People have been a real big uplift for Vernon and its made this thing real good. Its pleasing to the heart to see something like this happen for Vernon and see the outreach of the people in the neighborhood to get this thing going for him.
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A local bank chain recently delivered a car full of donations to the Connecticut Humane Society in Westport.

Bankwell said it collected pet supplies as part of its ongoing Pet Adoption project at its nine area branches and at PetPantry locations throughout Connecticut over a 3-month period.

More Information There are still featured animals available for adoption. Click here to learn more. See More Collapse

Bankwell launched its Pet Adoption project in March to create awareness about the many cats and dogs in need of homes at shelters throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties.

The bank had also teamed up with Norwalk photographer Michael Bagley to shoot portraits featuring local shelter animals. The pictures were displayed in Bankwell's local branches.

On June 30, members of the bank filled the Bankwell Suburban and unloaded the donations at the humane society.

"Additionally, Bankwell donated a check totally $2,948 to the organization as a result of a matching donation program spearheaded by the bank," said Diane Knetzer, Director of Marketing at Bankwell, in an email.
When it launched in 2006, fashion brand Nasty Gal was the envy of startups everywhere. It quickly grew from an eBay store into a $100 million business, but the excitement was short-lived. Because the brand focused more on marketing and advertising than on addressing its business issues, cash flow suffered, profits dried up and the company fizzled out, filing for bankruptcy in late 2016.

Related: How to Reach the 5-Year Mark Without Imploding

Unfortunately, this story is all too common among startups. It's easy to get wrapped up in big ideas and forget about practical innovation -- constantly improving the components of your business to help you make money.

There are two components to practical innovation: coming up with the right ideas and turning them into profits. Both are challenging, but they're crucial to keeping your company alive, particularly through the early stages of growth.

Find your business's idea sweet spot.

The right idea is one that lives at the intersection of customer appeal, feasibility and profitability. Finding that sweet spot is easier said than done, however.

One way to jump-start idea generation among your team is to ask, "How might we . . . ?" That's different from starting a brainstorming session asking, "Can we . . . ?"

"Can we?" implies that the idea might not be possible. But by starting with "how," you're giving your team members the confidence that there is a solution out there -- they just have to find it.

Utilizing the Double Diamond approach (discover, define, develop and deliver), experimenting frequently and even joining a startup incubator to gain outside perspectives are great ways to try new things and hopefully find that next great idea. Then, once you have that idea, it's time to fund it.

Remember that cash is king (and queen).

According to a study by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, 82 percent of failed businesses attribute their demise to their lacking a clear understanding of cash flow.

Maintaining cash flow is one of the biggest challenges a startup will face. You must maintain a constant focus on timely billing, as well as accounts payable and receivables. This will keep you from becoming so caught up in your ideas that you forget to track the in/out of the company's cash.

If you're thinking that a loan will solve the problem, consider that getting one can be difficult, especially if your company has burned through cash in the past. In addition, according to Nav's Small Business American Dream Gap Report, 45 percent of small business owners don't even realize they have business credit scores (which strongly affect a company's ability to secure a loan).

You may choose to fund your company with your own cash, which was the case in the early days with the company I started, Mitchell Communications Group. But treat those funds as you would any loan that needs to be repaid on a regular schedule.

To ensure you're managing your company's cash flow in a way that encourages practical innovation, here are a few things to consider:

1. Bootstrap your way to the top.

Yes, you've heard the advice time and again that you need to be frugal and not blow through cash like there's no tomorrow. However, according to Fractl's research on startup failure, 40 percent of funded businesses still fail because they run out of money.

Related: The 4 Steps to Scaling Your Startup to the Next Level

You can increase your chances of reaching and maintaining profitability faster by wisely managing your finances. Maintain a strong grip on both your fixed and variable costs, and save every extra dollar you can scrape together. Keep a rainy day fund or access to a line of credit that can tide the company over if cash flow slows. Continually look for ways to realize efficiency in your business. The first few years will be a challenge, but with hard work, a defined strategy and low expenses, you will get there.

For inspiration,look at marketing software company Hootsuite. The company set a goal to be cash-flow positive by the third quarter of 2016, and by utilizing smart spending habits and consistently landing larger clients, it was able to reach that goal a quarter early.

2. Resist the urge to splurge.

Basic financial principles also apply to businesses. Simplifying your expenses and living within your means are critical aspects if you want your company to succeed.

Consider Warren Buffett, for example. Although he's one of the richest people on the planet (worth more than $74 billion), he still lives in the modest Nebraska home he purchased in 1958.

Though not everyone takes Buffett's frugal lifestyle to heart, according to a new study by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, only 40 percent of Americans spend less than they earn each month. When you create significant financial pressure for yourself personally, you're much more likely to pressure the business to try to close the gap for you. This is an unhealthy behavior that will not only hurt you in the long run but could bring down your company, too.

So, avoid becoming a statistic: Stick with your principles and wisely manage your personal expenses. Resist splurging on large expenses -- either personally or in the business itself -- when your company starts bringing in more cash. Use budgeting software to do the heavy financial lifting for you. And don't forget to think about long-term goals worth saving for.

3. Creatively encourage early payments.

While it's difficult enough to save money and spend your income wisely, you'll also face unexpected roadblocks along the way, such as clients and customers who are unwilling or unable to pay.

According to an Atradius Payment Practices Barometer survey, more than one-third of receivables for B2B companies aren't paid on time. And when those payments aren't made within 90 days, those companies lose nearly 52 percent of their value.

So, it's important to protect yourself by creating incentives for clients to pay early, as well as potential penalties when payments are consistently late. Discounts and reward programs are effective for reducing receivables, as is your provision of a method of electronic payment. By thinking strategically and realizing that these challenges will arise, you'll be able to prepare early and protect your cash flow.

Related: Lifestyles of the Rich and Frugal: 7 Thrifty Millionaires and Billionaires

Putting the "start" in "startup" is tough. But you don't need to come up with a billion-dollar idea to survive. By sticking to practical innovation and doing everything you can to make ends meet during those critical first few years, these strategies will make the long-term payoff well worth the effort.

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NORWALK  When Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now closed its doors in 2012, it left a gaping hole in the citys social services net.

In the time since, area nonprofits and city departments have worked to fill the void. Now, one more is joining the mix.

Action for Bridgeport Community Development, Inc.  which has provided energy assistance in Norwalk since NEONs exit  celebrated the grand opening of a Norwalk office Wednesday, intended to serve people from Norwalk and Westport. The organization opened in Bridgeport more than 50 years ago and serves nearly 30,000 individuals and 11,000 families annually throughout Fairfield County.

Im looking at this as a new era, a new beginning, said Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, who will be responsible for selecting Norwalk representatives for the ABCD board of directors.

For years we had the NEON organization in Norwalk. Unfortunately they filed bankruptcy and for quite some time, the people in Norwalk that had significant needs for the basic things that we all take for granted, didnt have a place to go. They didnt have a central location to go to find out where they could get help.

The new office will house the energy assistance program and a supportive services office, which will take a holistic approach to case management. Though the social services agency provides a whole host of services in Bridgeport and the surrounding towns  from early childhood and youth services to energy assistance and supportive services  ABCD is only bringing these two departments to Norwalk.

Though the arrival of a new social services agency had many celebrating, some local social services leaders are concerned ABCD will continue to operate as an outside agency simply offering services in Norwalk, rather than as a Norwalk-focused organization. ABCD is opening a Norwalk office but will operate under the Bridgeport-based board of directors and staff.

Adam Bovilsky, human resources and fair rent director for the city of Norwalk, said his department took on many of the clients who no longer knew where to turn for services following NEONs closure. He said he is looking forward to working with the agency to help them become accustomed to Norwalk.

I think that any new resource that we can bring into the city to help support our more vulnerable populations is valuable. I am glad that in addition to energy assistance, theyll also be providing supportive services. I look forward to learning more about those services and how we can work collaboratively with ABCD.

The 2016 ALICE Report, released in the fall by the United Way, estimates 36 percent of Norwalk residents are living paycheck to paycheck based on an adjusted poverty line that considers the cost of living in the area. Bovilsky said this is a good measure of the number of people who will need to take advantage of social services at some point, so adding another agency with a South Norwalk office certainly cant hurt.

ABCD has provided 2,200 Norwalk households with energy assistance over the past three years. Carmen Ramos, who runs the energy assistance program for ABCD, said she hopes to expand this service with the new office.

I know the need is out there, she said. Together we need to reach out to the community and find out what their needs are. We can work together and serve more clients.

William Bevacqua, ABCD assistant executive director, said ABCD made the decision to open a Norwalk/Westport office after they were approached by the Connecticut Department of Social Services about doing so. DSS also asked ABCD to complete a needs assessment for the community.

We will be, in conjunction with the other social services agencies in the area, responding to the needs that were brought to us for the services that we provide, Bevacqua said. We discovered the needs here are energy assistance  career and job assistance  case management, and well try to work very closely with local schools in terms of the early learning programs, and the intent is to work very closely with whoever is designated as the Head Start provider.

Bevacqua emphasized that although ABCD will be filling part of the void left by NEON, the organization will not provide all the services previously offered by the now-defunct nonprofit. That means theyre not planning to take on Head Start programming, which is currently under federal interim management. The federal Administration for Children and Families posted earlier this month a competitive funding opportunity specifically for the Norwalk service area. The deadline to apply for the nearly $1.6 million to run the program is July 31.

We have it under review, but weve made it very clear to most of the folks that Head Start really belongs to a Norwalk-based entity and were prepared to work in tandem with whoever gets designated, Bevacqua said. Right now, unless it doesn't come to pass that an agency is interested in it here or can meet the requirements, were hoping that a Norwalk-area agency takes on those services.

kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt
Full repeal of Wisconsins prevailing wage requirement is regaining momentum after its lead state Senate supporter said it must be included in the next state budget.

The demand from Assistant Senate Majority Leader Leah Vukmir, R-Brookfield, inserts another wrinkle into talks about how to break the state budget impasse. Lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker already missed a July 1 deadline to enact the new two-year spending plan.

Twenty-four GOP lawmakers included prevailing wage repeal in a separate proposal, made public Thursday, that they say would cut costs at the state Department of Transportation.

Back on the table

Together the developments re-ignite a prevailing wage repeal debate that, at least publicly, had grown dormant in recent weeks.

Two years ago, GOP lawmakers and Walker partially repealed prevailing wage, the minimum pay requirement for workers on public construction projects, by removing it from projects funded by local governments.

Vukmirs proposal would abolish it entirely by removing it from state-funded projects. Only projects with federal funding would remain subject to the federal prevailing wage requirement, known as Davis-Bacon.

The repeal measure enjoys broad support from business groups, GOP lawmakers and Walker, who included it in his original budget proposal. The Legislatures budget-writing committee removed it from the budget in April along with other non-fiscal provisions.

Prevailing wage repeal bills sponsored by Vukmir and state Rep. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, were heard by lawmakers this spring, but little has been said publicly about them since.

Now, Vukmir and at least two other senators say prevailing wage repeal needs to be back in the state transportation budget. Without a revenue infusion or new borrowing, lawmakers face a nearly $1 billion funding gap to match what they approved for highway improvement spending in the last budget, according to the states nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

Any viable transportation proposal must include the repeal of this unnecessary law to receive the support it needs to pass the Senate, Vukmir said in a statement.

Vukmir has said she is considering seeking the Republican nomination in 2018 for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, of Madison.

Senators whose offices told the Wisconsin State Journal they side with Vukmir include Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, and Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg.

Kapenga, in a statement, said any discussion on a viable transportation package must start with reforming the way WisDOT conducts business and must include a full repeal of prevailing wage.

Not all senators are taking a hard line. Sen. Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said hes fine with repealing prevailing wage as part of the budget or as a standalone measure.

Spokespersons for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, did not respond to requests to respond to Vukmir.

Vos said Thursday he supports the inclusion of prevailing wage repeal in the DOT efficiency proposal offered by the 24 lawmakers, which also include Hutton.

Eric Bott, a spokesman for Americans for Prosperity Wisconsin, a conservative advocacy group that has helped lead the push for prevailing wage repeal, said his group fully anticipates that it will be put back in the budget.

Counting votes

If at least three GOP senators side with Vukmir, they could attempt to ensure prevailing wage be included in any final budget deal. Thats because a budget likely must be passed with only Republican votes  all Democrats are likely to oppose it  and Republicans hold a 20-13 edge in the Senate.

A full repeal of prevailing wage would be another resounding defeat in Wisconsin for labor unions, which helped enact such measures nationwide during the New Deal era.

Democrats and labor groups say prevailing wage ensures all contractors have a level playing field when bidding for public projects. That helps Wisconsin contractors compete with those from out of state, while also preventing shoddy contractors from landing state jobs, they say.

Prevailing wage repeal supporters say the move is needed to cut costs for transportation projects. Vukmir has said it would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time.

The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau found research on the impact of prevailing wage laws on construction costs is mixed and inconclusive.

A fiscal estimate for the bill from the state DOT predicted it will save the department money but said its impossible to predict how much. The estimate notes that since most highway projects use federal funds, the bill only would exempt a small minority of projects from prevailing wage.

An estimate from the University of Wisconsin System said it cannot predict the bills impact on the Systems budget.
An Omaha woman pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Hall County District Court to prostitution, possession of a controlled substance and first-offense driving under suspension.

Lateefah Williams, 24, was arrested by the Nebraska State Patrol on March 7.

Possession of a controlled substance is a Class 4 felony. Williams is accused of possessing cocaine.

Prostitution, with zero or one prior convictions, is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Driving under suspension is a Class 3 misdemeanor.

District Court Judge Teresa Luther scheduled Williams pretrial conference for 9 a.m. Sept. 6. A jury trial will be part of the jury term that commences Oct. 16.
Grand Island police say Amy Keck, in attempting to elude officers Friday night, entered the home of a person she didnt know and tried to hide methamphetamine in the bathroom.

Police arrested Keck after she entered a residence at 107 W. 22nd St. shortly after 9 p.m. Friday. Keck, 38, was in the company of her 6 year-old daughter at the time.

She was arrested by officer Shane Kucera.

According to the affidavit, police encountered Keck while patrolling the alley of East 22nd Street. Police say she was driving on a suspended Nebraska drivers license.

As an officer approached her vehicle, she parked inside a driveway and exited her vehicle. She then walked into the backyard of a random persons residence and asked the homeowner if she could use the bathroom, the affidavit says.

The officer followed Keck and told her to get out of the bathroom. Upon leaving the bathroom, Keck was placed under arrest for driving during suspension.

Searching the bathroom, police found a substance believed to be methamphetamine inside a cabinet. Tests later confirmed that the substance was meth.

In a search of Kecks vehicle, more suspected methamphetamine, a scale and a meth pipe were found, the police reported.

During all of the above activities, police say, Keck was accompanied by her minor daughter.

In Hall County Court Monday, Keck was charged with possession of a controlled substance, committing child abuse negligently with no injury, driving under suspension before being reinstated by the state and possession or use of drug paraphernalia. Possession of a controlled substance is a Class 4 felony.

Judge Al Corey scheduled Kecks preliminary hearing for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 4. He set her bond at $2,500, 10 percent of which is necessary for her release.

Kecks address is listed as 518 E. Capital Ave., No. 36.
The most common cause of agricultural-related deaths in Nebraska is overturned tractors and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).

To help future farmers be better drivers, Alex Farfalla and Dan Kent of the University of Nebraska spent Monday and Tuesday at College Park in Grand Island teaching a tractor safety course for 14- and 15-year-olds who plan to work on a farm.

The course provided extensive training on tractor and ATV safety with in-class lessons and hands-on activities. The goal of the course is to instill an attitude of safety first and a respect for agricultural equipment.

Federal law prohibits youths under 16 from working on a farm for anyone other than parents or legal guardians. Certification received through the course grants an exemption to the law, allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to drive a tractor and to do field work with specific mechanized equipment.

On Monday the classroom instruction included hands-on demonstrations. On Tuesday, the students were given a driving test, equipment operation and ATV safety lessons. To receive certification, they had to demonstrate competence in hitching and unhitching equipment and driving a tractor and trailer through a standardized course.

Farfalla is a graduate student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Kent is a tractor driving instructor.

Tractors are the No. 1 cause for fatalities among agricultural youths, with ATVs following closely in second, Farfalla said.

One of the biggest things they teach the youths, she said, is to empower themselves when they are working outside on the farm.

A lot of times, this is their first job and sometimes there might be chores or tasks asked of them that they might not be skilled to do or feel comfortable with, Farfalla said. We want to make sure that they feel comfortable telling their employer.

According to Bureau of Labor statistics, in 2014 agriculture was ranked as one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S., with a fatality rate of 26.7 per 100,000 workers. Long hours and close, constant contact with heavy machinery and equipment causes the bulk of injuries and fatalities on the farm.

Eleven students took the tractor safety course this week.

Jason Brockman, 14, of Deweese said he was taking the course, so I can help out on the farm.

Im learning a lot of different things about tractors, Brockman said.

Another student was Shane Adkisson, 15, of Sutherland. He said he was taking the course because he will be taking over my great-grandpas farm.

Born and raised on a farm, Adkisson said he was familiar with driving a tractor before taking the course.

I needed to get certified because I need a job, he said. With this, I can rent myself out and get work.

Adkisson said the course helps you be prepared if you get into situations, so you dont die.

Kent said while the students are just learning about driving farm equipment, it is a lifelong skill that is learned and reinforced on a daily basis on a farm or ranch.

They will never stop learning about being a farmer, he said.

Kent said they try to instill in the students that every day is a new opportunity and every day is a new scenario out there.

Agriculture is an ever-changing occupation, he said.
Hot, dry weather continues to deteriorate crop conditions, according to the recent USDAs National Agricultural Statistics Service crop and weather report for the week ending Sunday.

Statewide, corn conditions were rated 2 percent very poor, 7 percent poor, 23 percent fair, 56 percent good, and 12 percent excellent. Corn silking was 14 percent (up from 8 percent the previous week), behind the 26 percent last year and the 23 percent for the five-year average. For the 18 major corn-growing states, the USDA reported that the crop was rated 3 percent very poor, 7 percent poor, 25 percent fair, 52 percent good and 13 percent excellent.

For the 18 major corn-growing states, corn silking was 19 percent (up from 10 percent the previous week), behind the 30 percent last year and the 27 percent for the five-year average.

The USDA said that for the week ending Sunday, temperatures averaged 2 to 6 degrees above normal. Moderate amounts of precipitation covered most of the western counties and eastern parts of the Panhandle; however, the eastern half of the state remained dry.

In the Grand Island area, daytime highs between July 2-9 averaged 90 degrees, with .01 of an inch of rain recorded. Twice during that time span, the temperature reached 100 degrees or higher.

On Tuesday, the National Weather Service in Hastings issued a heat advisory warning that the heat index could range from 100 to 105 degrees. There was a chance of rain and thunderstorms Tuesday night. That chance also exists the remainder of the week, with high temperatures in the 90s and high 80s expected.

The National Drought Monitor has more than 60 percent of Nebraska (including the Grand Island area) under a D-0 drought category, which means it has been abnormally dry for a month or more. During the last 30 days, Grand Island has received a little more than 2 inches of precipitation. For June and July, so far, Grand Island is down about 3.40 inches of precipitation based on the 30-year average.

Worse drought conditions exist in North Dakota, eastern Montana and South Dakota.

Earlier this week, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue authorized the release of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota for emergency haying.

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson said persistent drought in the Upper Great Plains is forcing many Farmers Union members in the region to make tough decisions about downsizing their herd or even keeping their farm.

Given that they are also dealing with a severely depressed farm economy, the secretarys action will go a long way toward alleviating some of the concerns currently facing family farmers and ranchers, Johnson said.

Statewide, topsoil moisture supplies rated 24 percent very short, 41 percent short, 35 percent adequate, and 0 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 16 percent very short, 38 percent short, 46 percent adequate, and 0 percent surplus.

Soybean conditions statewide rated 2 percent very poor, 6 percent poor, 26 percent fair, 61 percent good, and 5 percent excellent. Soybeans blooming was 51 percent, well ahead of the 25 percent last year and the 35 percent average.

While corn and soybeans make up more than 75 percent of Nebraskas principle crop acres, the states largest crop is grass at nearly 25 million acres of pasture and rangeland. The USDA said that state pasture and range conditions rated 3 percent very poor, 16 percent poor, 41 percent fair, 37 percent good, and 3 percent excellent.

Stock water supplies rated 3 percent very short, 11 percent short, 86 percent adequate, and 0 percent surplus.

Alfalfa conditions statewide rated 2 percent very poor, 8 percent poor, 31 percent fair, 53 percent good, and 6 percent excellent. Alfalfa second cutting was 69 percent complete, ahead of the 56 percent last year and the 50 percent average.

Drier conditions allowed the winter wheat harvest to progress. Winter wheat conditions rated 3 percent very poor, 12 percent poor, 36 percent fair, 43 percent good, and 6 percent excellent. Winter wheat mature was 85 percent. Harvested was 52 percent, ahead of the 35 percent last year and the 38 percent average.

Sorghum conditions rated 0 percent very poor, 2 poor, 32 percent fair, 55 percent good, and 11 percent excellent. Sorghum headed was 4 percent, more than the 0 percent last year and the 2 percent average.

Oats condition rated 0 percent very poor, 2 percent poor, 37 percent fair, 56 percent good, and 5 percent excellent. Oats coloring was 86 percent, near the 84 percent last year. Mature was 61 percent. Harvested was 26 percent, near the 22 percent last year and the 27 percent average.

Dry edible beans conditions rated 7 percent very poor, 15 percent poor, 21 percent fair, 42 percent good, and 15 percent excellent. Dry edible beans emerged was 96 percent. Blooming was 4 percent, near the 2 percent last year and the 3 percent average.
Laurie Dethloff, executive director of the Central Nebraska Humane Society, is retiring.

The retirement was announced by a news release Tuesday.

Laurie has provided steady leadership and has managed CNHS through challenging times always with a view toward providing the highest level of care to the animals, Tanya Hansen, president of the board, said in the news release. The board is grateful for her devotion, passion, and leadership over the past 10 years, and we wish her well in her retirement.

The release does not indicate when Dethloff will leave the Humane Society.

Under Dethloffs leadership, CNHS has served an increased number of animal adoptions while decreasing the euthanasia rates, opened a medical clinic staffed with a full-time veterinarian, increased public awareness, gained national exposure, strengthened alliances with other animal rescues and law enforcement, and worked tirelessly to aid in prosecution of those who abuse and neglect animals, the release says.

The CNHS Board is working with Dethloff to ensure a smooth transition and expects the selection process for the next executive director to take place through the summer.

The release says that Hansen is optimistic. With the dedicated staff and members of the board, we look forward to meeting the challenges ahead and increasing the resources available to serve the animals and the community, she said.
Emails have emerged showing that the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., was eager to meet with someone he thought was a Russian official with "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, during the 2016 election. These revelations seem to support allegations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
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Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 08:08 1949 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a8933da 4 Editorial #Editorial,President-Jokowi,Joko-Widodo,#Jokowi,diplomacy,G20-meeting,#G20Leaders,terrorism,counterterrorism,environmental-issues,Paris-Agreement Free

Beyond the human yet popular approach of diplomacy a la President Joko Jokowi Widodo, characterized by his wefie sessions and video blogging with fellow world leaders, Indonesias international standing has gained prominence, as shown during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, over the weekend.

The elite forum restricted to the worlds most developed nations and emerging economies saw Indonesia playing a pivotal role, rather than second fiddle, as was apparent in the joint statement of leaders underlining the need for international cooperation in countering terrorism. The cooperation will take shape in information sharing between intelligence and law enforcement agencies, which is a timely move given the spread of terrorist cells across the globe.

The summit came against the backdrop of the recapturing of Mosul that signals the imminent defeat of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Iraq. Many have warned, however, that a new danger is lurking as the IS foreign fighters with their bomb assembling and combat skills will return home and cause trouble there. The spillover of the fight against IS is now occurring in Marawi in the nearby southern Philippines.

As this daily has reported, Indonesia, which has been fighting terrorism for decades, won praise from fellow G20 members for its ability to balance hard and soft approaches through counterterrorism operations to foiling attacks and deradicalizing convicted terrorists. Despite its imperfections, Indonesia is seen as a role model in the fight against terrorism, as a result of its compliance with the rule of law, rather than excessive use of power.

For sure, Indonesia is well experienced in counterterrorism and will become a force to reckon with, taking advantage of its moderate strain of Islam. Having the worlds biggest Muslim population while being democratic is an asset that Indonesian leaders, including Jokowi, have capitalized on in a bid to contribute to world peace, as promulgated in the preamble of the 1945 Constitution.

Outside the terrorism issue, Indonesias voice was loud and clear in asserting its national interests vis-a-vis the developed world. During the G20 summit, Jokowi sought every avenue available to convince the United States and European Union members to lift their barriers against Indonesias key export commodity, palm oil.

As the worlds largest palm oil producer, Indonesia has been suffering from the restriction, which has been imposed on the pretext of massive deforestation resulting from improper subsidies the government gives the industry.

Indonesia also used the G20 forum to confirm its commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that we and the world agreed upon in the Paris Agreement in 2015. Then-president Barack Obama included the US in the deal to fight climate change, but his successor Donald Trump, who attended the G20 summit in Hamburg, has retracted the US commitment.

Indonesias assertive diplomacy as shown in the annual G20 meeting is a message of the countrys bid to play a bigger role that it deserves in world fora. Jokowis attendance at more international events in the future will testify to this.
For four days, the region of Karo  one of North Sumatras main tourist destinations, well-known for its cool temperatures  has successfully held another edition of its annual Flowers and Fruits festival.



Thousands of people attended this years festival, which took place at the Mejuah-Juah Park in Berastagi and ended on Sunday, having featured numerous attractions comprising artists and traditional art performances.



Previously, the festivals official name was the Thanksgiving Party, which celebrated the residents gratitude for a successful harvest season. Over the years, it began to attract more and more tourists, which spurred residents to rename the event.

Read also: North Sumatra eyes cooperation in tourism, renewable energy with South Korea



Under its new name, the festival is part of a traditional religious ritual in which locals prepare tasty food and don colorful traditional dresses to celebrate the harvest season in jubilation.



Its locale only adds to the merriments, as Karo  located 70 kilometers from the provincial capital of Medan  offers captivating vistas and cool breezes.

The average temperature in Karo is between 17 and 20, suitable for its land to produce quality vegetables, fruits and flowers. Farming products are locally known as bumi turang and they are mainly distributed across Java Island, with exports to Singapore and Malaysia.



However, for the last seven years, the production capacity of local farmers has been disrupted by regular eruptions of nearby Mount Sinabung, which has also heavily impacted the regions tourism sector.



Therefore, the local government, has been working to improve and promote the Flowers and Fruits Festival.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, has said he can't support the current version of the Senate health care bill. That's not because he's worried about 22 million Americans losing health insurance or the odious tax cuts for the very wealthy. Rather, Sen. Johnson is concerned the bill doesn't go far enough to dismantle ObamaCare and he specifically cites his opposition to guaranteeing health coverage to people with preexisting conditions.
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Linkedin Marcel Thee (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 09:21 1949 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a896328 4 People Youth,program,tolerance,SabangMerauke Free

We, Indonesians, need to learn more about the philosophy of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika as well as understand more about the history of Indonesia. Not the what part, but more about the why part.



The statement came from Ayu Kartika Dewi, co-founder of SabangMerauke, an intra-nation student exchange program that aims to promote cultural diversity, talk about how the country can come together and reinforce values of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika [unity in diversity], Indonesias official motto.



While her sentiment may not be unique, Ayu has spent the last five years putting her words to action through the SabangMerauke program.



She knows that the old Indonesian adage of tak kenal maka tak sayang,which roughly translates as if you dont know, you dont love, rings true, as in recent times unfamiliarity has bred dangerous cultural stigmas and ignorance that has often led to hatred. [Indonesians] need to travel more to other countries and within the country, not just as a tourist and doing touristy stuff, but they need to really interact with the locals and understand their culture, Ayu said.



Only by experiencing diversity and being exposed to other ways of thinking can we learn to expand our horizon.



Through SabangMerauke, which involves Ayus colleagues Dyah Widiastuti, Aichiro Suryo Prabowo, Jourdan Hussein, Putri Rizki Dian Lestari, Tidar Rachmadi and Meiske Demitria, she does exactly that.



It is a simple but effective exchange program. On school holidays, a child travels to a different region of the country to live with a family of a different cultural background for three weeks.

Here I am: A boy arrives in Jakarta to participate in the Sabang Merauke program.(SabangMerauke.id/File)

The students are accompanied by a mentor, which they refer to as kakak, whose job is to help both parties  the kid and the family  become acquainted and comfortable with each other.



This unique mechanism will foster meaningful interaction, therefore debunking stereotypes and shattering misconceptions, Ayu said.



There is also post-program mentoring that ensures communication between the host family and the student is sustained.



The three weeks is filled with activities that aim to encourage cross-cultural understanding.



The activities include Religion Day, when the students visit worship houses and interact with religious leaders; Career Day, when they visit offices and interact with people of various occupations, such as government officers, photographers or CEOs; Nationalism Day, when students meet and write poems for national war veterans and visit the National Museum; Education Day, when they visit the University of Indonesia and interact with students; and Entrepreneurship Day, when students interact with entrepreneurs and learn to creatively solve problems.



So far, the majority of these kids have come from rural areas and carried out the exchange program with Jakarta-based families.



The selection process mostly prioritizes students from post-conflict areas. The hope is that after completing the program, the kids return to their homes with a positive experience that they share with their respective communities.



[We hope they spread] positive words and beautiful stories about their intercultural and interfaith experiences, Ayu said.

Career day: As part of the program, participating children visit various offices and meet with people from various career paths, including officials like then Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama.(SabangMerauke.id/File)

Ayus idea for SabangMerauke came after a trip in which she taught as an elementary school teacher in a remote village as part of the Indonesia Mengajar (Indonesia Teaches) program. Arriving in the village, she quickly realized that its residents, all of whom practiced Islam, had a limited understanding of other religions.



Ten years before Ayu arrived, a riot occurred between Muslims and Christians in the area, resulting in thousands of casualties and hundreds of thousands of refugees. As a solution, the local government segregated the area into two villages, a Muslim village and a Christian village.



I happened to be deployed to the 100 percent Muslim village. Although my students were too young to understand it, there was hatred passed down through the generations, Ayu said.



One afternoon, she recalled there was potential for another riot. Her students ran to her house in a panic and told her: Maam, please be careful with the Christians. They could burn down our house.



The students, she said, had never before met a Christian.



And they didnt even understand the meaning of riot, but they had so much hatred and anger toward Christians. And I believe this was also the situation on the other side of the fence.



To change their perception, Ayu requested that a Christian teacher take over for her. The result was surprising, with her students and their parents all responding well to the new teacher.



According to Ayu, the issue of fearing the unknown was inherent in Indonesians, with individuals learning about different religions without interacting with those who practiced them.



Indonesia is the 4th most diverse country in the world, but a study revealed that 68 percent of Indonesians were against the building of places of worship in their neighborhood by people of different faiths. Indonesias education system was not designed to help deal with intolerance as the curriculum was mono-religious, meaning Muslim children only learned about Islam, Ayu said.

Real experience: Participants join in activities aimed at encouraging cultural understanding.(SabangMerauke.id/File)

With challenges related to funding, among other issues, Ayu said that her team had asked the question, How far we should go in promoting tolerance?



For instance, when we created the recruitment criteria for host families, we were discussing whether we could only accept traditional families, she said. How far should we push the envelope to ensure that we do not do more harm than good? Will we create unnecessary debates that will push us away from the core objective? What are the boundaries?



So far, SabangMerauke has done a lot of good. Ayu knows of students whose lives and perspectives have changed for the better.



One story that I remember is of Apipa, a Muslim girl from an all-Muslim village who stayed with a Chinese-Christian couple as part of the program. She was initially very scared because they were the first Christian people she had met in her life, and she had heard scary stories about Christians. Initially, she requested several times to be moved to a Muslim family, but we insisted that she stay there. We also facilitated the discussion with the family. After several days, she felt a lot more comfortable, Ayu said.



Now they are very close and still keep in contact.

Topics : Youth program tolerance SabangMerauke
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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 09:18 1949 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a89631c 4 National migrant-workers,human-trafficking,Visa,Middle-East,undocumented-worker Free

A taskforce on human trafficking, along with a team from the Manpower Ministry, detained 10 Indonesian workers in a raid on PT Nurafi Ilman Jaya, a company that secures places for Indonesian migrant workers, in Condet, East Jakarta.

The workers are AR, N, J, S and AN from Cianjur, A and MY from Cicalengka, Y from Cikarang, NF from Cipanas, and N from Sukabumi, all in West Java.

"They were about to fly to Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, when we found them," an official with the National Police general crimes directorate, Comr. Ferdi Sambo, said Tuesday as quoted by Kompas.com.

The taskforce also arrested a woman named Hera Sulfawati who claimed to work for the company and was responsible for guarding the workers and preparing their meals. She was also responsible for taking the workers to a medical check-up.

"From recent investigations, we've found out that the company belongs to Fadel Assagaf," Ferdi said.

The taskforce confiscated 29 passports, a document of financial transactions with the name of Fadel Assagaf, 46 forms and 10 visas.

Before going abroad, the workers received Rp 6 million from a sponsor and stayed in a place provided by the company.

However, according to the Manpower Ministry, the company is not allowed to send Indonesian workers abroad because its permit was revoked in December 2016.

Investigators have named Fadel a suspect in human trafficking. (dmr)
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Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung, West Java  Wed, July 12, 2017 08:30 1949 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a894d3d 1 National ahok,basuki-tjahaja-purnama,Buni-Yani,blasphemy,ITE,ITE-Law Free

A panel of judges at the Bandung District Court has decided to continue the trial of Buni Yani, the uploader of a controversial video showing former Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama making supposedly blasphemous comments about Islam, despite objections from the defendant against his indictment.

The trial will be continued with the examination and adjudication of the defendant, presiding judge M. Sapto said as he read out the panels decision at a hearing in Bandung, West Java, on Tuesday.

Buni read out his objections during a hearing last month. He rejected prosecutors indictment, which stated he had violated Article 32 (1) of the 2016 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, though he was never investigated.

The law carries sanctions for anyone found guilty of intentionally making changes, hiding or transmitting electronic information or documents belonging to other people or the public.

Prosecutors indicted Buni for allegedly spreading an edited video of Ahok making a speech in Thousand Islands regency, during which the latter mentioned a Quranic verse. The video triggered uproar, with many suggesting that the former governor had blasphemed against Islam.

The indictment will be proven in the trial, Sapto said during the hearing.

Prosecutors have also accused Buni, who works as a lecturer, of violating Article 28 (2) of the 2016 ITE Law, which prohibits the spread of hate speech based on SARA (matters pertaining to tribal affiliations, religion, race and societal groups). (kuk/ebf)
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Linkedin Hendarsyah Tarmizi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12 2017

Canadian businesses have been actively involved in trade and investment in Indonesia for a number of decades. Although the government-to-government approach has been the main contributor to the strengthening of economic relations between the two countries, private business organizations have also played an important role.



The Indonesia Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) is among the most active business organizations in promoting investment and trade between the two countries. The ICCC regularly conducts various programs that are not only related to business activities but also carried out through social events.



The ICCC was formed in 1996 through the merger of two organizations, the Canadian Business Association (CBA) and the Indonesia Canada Business Council (ICBC). The CBA was largely represented by Canadian businesspeople in Indonesia, while the ICBC largely consisted of Indonesian businesspeople interested in closer business ties with Canada. Both organizations agreed that merging their resources and efforts would produce an even stronger organization and more closely connect the Indonesian and Canadian members of each organization.



The mission of the ICCC is focused on serving the needs and interests of the Indonesian-Canadian business community, primarily via information sharing and business and social networking activities, says Vivien Kusumowardhani, the ICCCs newly elected chairperson.



Kusumowardhani, the president commissioner of PT Sun Life Financial Indonesia, was elected as the chairperson during the ICCC Annual Networking Luncheon and General Meeting in Jakarta in April this year. The new executive board also includes Gregory A. Elms as vice chairperson, Tony Costa as treasurer and Edwin Pieroelie as secretary-general.



The ICCCs main role is bridging the two countries business sectors through a wide range of programs, such as providing information and analysis on trade and investment trends in Indonesia and hosting events that provide opportunities to learn about and discuss business opportunities in Indonesia and in Canada.



In addition, the ICCC also represents the general interests of Canadian business to the Indonesian government and provides practical assistance and information to support existing and new businesses.



The ICCC also regularly organizes social networking events to bring Canadian and Indonesian members of our network closer together, Kusumowardhani said.





In addition to such programs, the ICCC also closely collaborates with the Canadian Alumni in Indonesia (CALINDO), Canadian Education International (CEI) and the Canadian Womens Association (CWA), as well as other business chambers and organizations in Indonesia.



Indonesia is one of Canadas main foreign investment destinations in Asia. In the beginning of the 1980s, Canadas outward foreign direct investment in Indonesia was the countrys largest in Asia, excluding Australia.



With the increase in Canadas foreign investments in other Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore and China, in the early 1990s, Indonesias ranking on Canadas foreign direct investment list continued to drop. Indonesia was the sixth largest recipient of Canadas foreign direct investment in Asia in 2016.



According to data from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada), a non-profit organization focusing on Canadas relations with Asia, in 2016, Canadas foreign direct investment reached a total of C$2.59 billion, a slight decline from C$2.52 billion in 2015 and C$3.90 billion in 2014.



Canadian companies are involved in various business sectors, such as mining, financial, construction, energy, transportation, warehouses and telecommunications. A number of major Canadian companies have operated in Indonesia, including Sunlife Financial, Manulife Financial, Husky Energy, Talisman Energy and Circle K.



Husky, which has been in Indonesia for 30 years, is currently developing gas projects in the Madura Strait offshore. These include the BD and shallow water MDA-MBH fields, which are expected to produce natural gas and associated liquids.



Circle K, which has been operating in Indonesia for more than 25 years, has become one of the most popular and successful convenience store companies in Indonesia. At present, the Canadian retailer has more than 500 outlets in seven major cities including Jakarta, Bali, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Makassar and Batam.



Several other organizations have also contributed significantly in promoting bilateral economic relations. For example, most trade missions are organized by the Trade Commissioner Service of the Canadian government as well as by provincial trade office representatives, such as the British Columbia Trade & Investment office in Jakarta.



The ICCC Board and its members are often called upon to meet with and brief visiting trade missions so that they may hear directly from them about business opportunities. The ICCC also regularly holds social events to provide excellent opportunities for its members to network not only within the Indonesian-Canadian business community, but also with members of other business chambers based in Indonesia as well as other Canadian chambers in the region.



Among annual flagship events are the Maple Leaf Ball, the Canada Cup Golf Tournament and the Friends of Canada Networking Evening, as well as regular breakfast briefings and luncheons on current business issues. The ICCC also organizes quarterly business networking evening gatherings called Biztros.



In the field of trade, Canada is also one of Indonesias major trading partners. But Indonesia continues to suffer a trade deficit, although the figure has indicated a declining trend in recent years.



According to data from Indonesias Trade Ministry, two-way trade between the two countries slightly dropped to US$2.11 billion in 2016 from $2.3 billion in 2015. In 2016, Indonesias imports reached a total of $1.38 billion, higher than its exports of $732.44 million. During the year, Indonesias trade deficit amounted to $650.58 million but it showed a significant decline from $886.90 billion in 2015 and $1.10 billion in 2014.



Indonesias major exports to Canada consist of woven clothing and apparel articles, electrical machinery equipment, rubber and rubber articles and knitted apparels, while its imports mostly comprise cereals, wood pulp, paper or paperboard scraps, fertilizers, boilers and mechanical scraps.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 15:16 1948 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a8a5c15 1 Business cantrang,fishing-rule,ban,SusiPudjiastuti Free

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has said her decision to halt the use of cantrang  a kind of Danish seine net, a fishing instrument identified as unsustainable and not environmentally friendly  is final.

She said President Joko Jokowi Widodo agreed with her decision.

It is final. Cantrang operations will stop in December, Susi said while attending a hearing with House of Representatives Commission IV, which oversees maritime affairs, in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Susi is responding to recent protests lodged by fishermen in front of her office in Jakarta.

Cantrang used by fishing boats measuring less than 10 gross tons will be replaced with fishing equipment prepared by the government, while the owners of bigger boats will be allocated loans from state-owned lenders Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN).

Cantrang was previously grouped under the category of instruments Susi banned in Ministerial Regulation No. 2/2015.

The regulation bans the use of all types of trawls and seine nets, which the ministry argues are destructive to coral reef and the seabed ecosystem in general.

The implementation of the ban was postponed after Jokowi intervened following protests from fishermen.

Susi stressed that her ministry would be firm against violators of the ban.

They [fishermen] have new types of fishing equipment, she stressed, adding that the fishermen who had replaced their cantrang had better catches with the new equipment. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 12:45 1948 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a8a2e59 1 Business ceiling-price,rice,cooking-oil,garlic,Enggartiasto-Lukita Free

The Trade Ministry has confirmed its plan to set new ceiling prices for rice, cooking oil and garlic.

The ministry will coordinate with the Agriculture Ministry, which regulates staple food production.

Currently, the ministry has set ceiling prices for rice, bulk cooking oil and simple packaged cooking oil at Rp 9,500 per kilogram, Rp 10,500 per liter and Rp 11,000 per liter, respectively.

New ceiling prices for rice will vary according to its variant.

The garlic ceiling price, meanwhile, has changed frequently because of unstable stocks imported from China and alleged hoarding and price-fixing practices by certain importers.

"We don't want to be played by garlic importers anymore. We won't let only certain importers dominate 60 to 70 percent of the market. Never," Trade Minister Enggartiasto "Enggar" Lukita said recently as quoted by Tribunnews.com.

Currently, garlic importers need to apply for import documents at the Agriculture Ministry and Trade Ministry. (rbk/bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 15:20 1948 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a8a67f8 1 Business government,debt,state-budget,CORE-Center-Reform-Economics Free

The government has been advised to reduce its dependency on foreign debt in trying to cover the deficit in the state budget.

Just to cover interest, the government had to allocate Rp 221 trillion (US$16.53 million) in 2017, said the Center for Reform on Economics (CORE Indonesia) in a statement on Wednesday.

CORE Indonesia records that in the last three years, the interest on debt increased by 18 percent on average, compared to the period between 2009 and 2014, when interest on debt only increased 7 percent in average.

The government should improve the management of debt risk, CORE Indonesia added.

Previously, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said government debt had reached Rp 3.67 quadrillion (US$274.23 billion) in April.

The data shows that when President Joko Jokowi Widodo took office in 2014, government debt was Rp 2.60 quadrillion, meaning that during the three years he has been in office, government debt has increased by Rp 1.07 quadrillion.

Meanwhile, the government is seeking to increase the budget deficit by Rp 467.3 trillion for development financing this year, as shown in the draft 2017 Revised State Budget under discussion by government officials and the House of Representatives.

CORE said that although Indonesia had received a good investment grade rating from several organizations, the government should not feel secure because the risk
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 15:54 1948 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a8a827c 1 Business LRT,The-Greater-Jakarta,moving-block-signaling Free

The government has decided to use moving block signaling -- a signaling system in which the blocks, or sections of track, are defined in real time by computers as protected zones around each train  for the Greater Jakarta light rail transit (LRT).

With a moving block system, trains can transport more passengers than when a fixed block system is used, said Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi.

Budi said that by using moving block signaling, the LRT could transport up to 750,000 passengers per day while with fixed block it would only be able to transport 500,000.

We want the system that offers a shorter headway. [With moving block], headway can be shortened to one minute, said Budi as reported by kompas.com on Wednesday after attending a meeting to discuss the LRT project with Maritime Coordinating Minister Luhut Pandjaitan in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The cost of moving block signaling for the LRT project will be Rp 200 billion (US$14.96 million) to Rp 300 billion, Budi added.

Seventeen percent of the Greater Jakarta LRT has been developed to date. The system will have three three lines, namely Cawang-Cibubur, Cawang-Bekasi Timur and Cawang-Kuningan-Dukuh Atas. (bbn)
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Linkedin Viriya P. Singgih (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 10:23 1949 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a89b22b 1 Business Oil-palm-products,exports,Japan Free

Indonesia is seeking to seal a deal to export more oil palm products to Japan, especially products that can be used as biomass, amid the latters growing appetite for renewable energy power generation.

An Indonesian delegation, which comprises representatives from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the Trade Ministry, the Indonesian Oil Palm Estate Fund (BPDP-KS) and various other associations, is visiting Tokyo and Osaka between July 10 and July 14 to conduct business meetings with at least 30 major Japanese importers.

Dikki Akhmar, chairman of the Indonesian Palm-Kernel Shell Business Association (Apcasi), said in a statement on Tuesday that his side expected to reach an agreement to supply palm-kernel shells for five biomass power plants in Japan with a combined capacity of 320 megawatts (MW) of electricity over the next 10 years.

At present, renewable energy accounts for 14.6 percent of Japans national energy mix, 2 percent of which comes from bioenergy. The country aims to increase its renewable energy portion to 25 percent by 2030, with bioenergy contributing 4 percent of the total figure.

Therefore, demand for palm-kernel shells among Japanese companies has grown by more than 40 percent annually within the past three years, says Bayu Krisnamurthi, chairman of the Association of Agriculture Experts (Perhepi).

Indonesias exports of palm-kernel shells reached 450,000 tons to Japan and 400,000 tons to South Korea in 2016, with a combined export value of more than Rp 1 trillion [US$74.93 million], Bayu said. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 11:25 1948 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a89df8c 1 National aceh,irwandi-yusuf,President-Jokowi,investment Free

Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf has said President Joko Jokowi Widodo has instructed him to encourage investment in the province.

The President emphasized [that the provincial administration] should convince investors not to be hesitant about investing in Aceh, Irwandi told reporters after meeting with the President at the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.

Irwandi, however, admitted that security and the provinces restive history remained nagging issues for investors.

Irwandi was installed for a second term in office after winning the recent gubernatorial election.

He will serve until 2021.

According to Irwandi, the region shows relatively low crime rates compared to other provinces across the archipelago.

He has asked the central government and Indonesias ambassadors abroad to actively campaign for his province in order to convince investors about the opportunities available in the countrys westernmost province.

We will also fully support the central governments programs, such as toll road construction, special economic zone development and irrigation projects, Irwandi said. (dmr)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 07:45 1949 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a892faf 1 National KPK,Golkar,GolkarParty,lawmaker,e-ID,#e-ID,corruption,Andi-Narogong Free

Golkar lawmaker Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa has finally complied with the Corruption Eradication Commissions (KPK) summons for questioning as a witness in the high-profile graft case surrounding the e-ID card procurement project after dodging a previous summons.

Agun, who heads the House of Representatives inquiry committee against the KPK, is a witness for businessman Andi Agustinus, aka Andi Narogong, who has been named a suspect in the case.

He failed to attend Thursdays questioning, as he opted to visit Sukamiskin Penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, with his fellow members of the special committee. The visit was said to follow up allegations that the KPK had violated inmates rights when handling their cases.

I had explained [to the KPK] that I would come for the questioning on Tuesday, although I also must lead an inquiry committee meeting today, Agun told reporters when he arrived at the KPK headquarters in South Jakarta on Tuesday.

He further said the questioning would benefit both the KPK and him as the inquiry committees head, because he could directly see the condition of the antigraft bodys new headquarters and how investigators conducted their jobs.

Agun denied allegations that he knew Andi in relation to the project. I have testified, which should have been recorded in the investigation record, that I didnt know him, he said. (kuk/ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 11:41 1948 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a89f6a3 1 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Tourism-Ministry,China,tourism-promotion,Chinese-tourists,foreign-tourists Free

The Tourism Ministry is set to hold sales missions that focus on Indonesian dive sites in three cities in China, namely Beijing on July 25, Chongqing on July 26 and Guangzhou on July 28.

The Chinese market is important for Indonesia. Apart from being the ministrys main target market, China also contributes a significant amount of tourists to the country, said the ministry's deputy minister for Overseas Promotion, I Gde Pitana.

The Chinese tourists are currently interested in marine tourism. Our main target markets are Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, while the secondary city that we are eyeing on is Chongqing, he added.

Read also: Action needed to lure 10 million Chinese tourists to Indonesia

Among the destinations that will be promoted at the sales mission events are Bali, Lombok, Komodo Island, Alor, Derawan, Wakatobi, Togean, Ambon, Banda and Raja Ampat.

Around seven sellers from Indonesia are scheduled to meet with Chinese buyers during the event.

Last years sales mission reportedly managed to bring together five sellers and 75 buyers in Dalian, six sellers and 73 buyers in Qingdao, and five industries and 80 buyers in Beijing. (kes)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 12:33 1948 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a8a1fbd 1 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,traditional-dance,student Free

Students of Al-Izhar High School Pondok Labu in South Jakarta have recently earned second place in "Dancing in the Street" category at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod 2017.

The six-day festival was held in Llangollen, Wales from July 3 to 9 and joined by 4,000 people.

Apart from the aforementioned category, the students also scored high in "Choreographic Folklore" and "Traditional Folk Dance" categories.

Read also: Russian group arrives for Indonesian immersion program

[Their performance of] Randai Dance and Tari Piring [Plate Dance] took the fourth position with [the score of ] 83.7 in 'Choreographic Folklore' category and Rapai Geleng Gance earned the fifth position with [the score of] 91 in 'Traditional Folk Dance' category, said the students mentor Arniyani Arifin.

The winner for the "Choreographic Folklore" category was Loughgiel Folk Dancers from Northern Ireland, followed by Gabhru Panjab De and Real Folk Cultural International, both from India, who took the second and third positions, respectively.

Loughgiel Folk Dancers of Northern Ireland was also crowned first winner in the "Traditional Folk Dance" category, followed by Gabhru Panjab De from India, Corrivrechan from Scotland and Real Folk Cultural International from India, who ranked in the second, third and fourth positions, respectively. (kes)
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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 15:04 1948 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a8a5a07 1 News Singapore-Airlines,HighFlyer,krisflyer,business,Airlines,#airlines Free

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has launched the latest frequent flyer program for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Entitled as HighFlyer, the program will reward companies and their traveling employees when they fly with SIA and SilkAir.

Once registered as the programs members, the companies will earn five HighFlyer points for every S$1 spend on tickets that are booked via the airlines booking platform or appointed travel agent. Meanwhile, their employees should be registered as KrisFlyer members in order to be eligible to earn the miles.

Read also: Singapore Airlines partners with UOB for frequent flyer program

In addition to that, the companies that reach certain annual spend will be given a choice to move to the airlines Corporate Travel Program for large businesses. Further information about HighFlyer can be obtained from the airlines website.

We are always looking for more ways to delight our customers and make their journey with us more rewarding, said the airlines senior vice president sales and marketing Campbell Wilson in a press release. The Singapore Airlines HighFlyer program highlights SIAs commitment to constantly enhance the benefits for our corporate clients and business travelers. (asw)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 12:08 1948 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a8a0fe3 1 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Mount-Bromo,Yadnya-Kasada,ritual,Tengger Free

Despite the cold weather that reached 10-degree Celsius, thousands of people went to Mount Bromo on Monday morning to witness the annual Yadnya Kasada ritual.

Held on the 14th day of the Kasada month on the Hindu lunar calendar, Yadnya Kasada is a ritual practiced by Tenggerese Hindus. This year, the event was spread into a two-day festival from July 9 to 10.

Prior to the Yadnya Kasada, there's the Eksotika Bromo pre-event which became its own attraction that eventually made the tourists spend a longer time here. Usually, tourists would only stay at Mount Bromo for one to two days, but thanks to the events they stayed three to four days this time. We saw almost 10,000 people within the three days. We're still waiting for the official data from TNBTS, said the tourism ministry's archipelago marketing development deputy, Esthy Reko Astuti.

In the press conference, Esthy also said that this event has made it into the national agenda and in the future should have better preparation that also includes local residents and communities.

Read also: Reog Tengger: Mount Bromo's must-see attraction

"This annual activity has a tremendous effect for the locals. It's better to hold these events on decided dates so the preparation and promo activities can be executed way before the event. We must also pay attention to Beyond Bromo and sell [tourism] packages so it will have an impact in increasing the economy of Tenggerese people who live 2.329 meters above sea level," she added.

To attend the event, tourists came through Mount Bromos four main entrance gates which are located in Pasuruan, Malang, Lumajang and Probolinggo regencies.

Pendopo Agung Desa Ngadisari (Ngadisari village Grand Hall) became the starting point of the Yadnya Kasada procession. A number of rituals commenced at 7 p.m. local time, as offerings began to be distributed to the Luhur Poten temple at the sand grounds right at the bottom of Mount Bromo.

Following the ritual, the Tengger tribe shamans, local public figures, and Tenggerese people gathered and prayed for their safety and prosperity. At dawn, the offerings are carried to the crater of Mount Bromo. The ritual procession attracts many tourists.

For the main ritual, the Tenggerese made offerings such as livestock, fruit, and vegetables to Hindu deities by throwing them into the crater of Mount Bromo. The offerings are symbols of gratitude from the people of Tengger. In the procession, some were seen throwing out Rp. 50,000 and Rp.100,000 bills as offerings and this ended up creating a bit of a chaos from people who were trying to get the money before they went into the crater.

Tourism minister Arief Yahya said the tradition has a positive impact on the local economy.

"[This tradition] can elevate the villagers' economy, especially those who sell food and beverage, also those who provide lodging. However, visitors must also be aware of their trash to keep Bromo sustainable and comfortable for tourists to stay longer so they know that Indonesia has everything. From mountains to beaches, a rich culture and incomparable natural beauty."

The event also featured traditional art performances by the Tenggerese, such as Sendratari Kidung Tengger, Kidung Tengger poetry reading, Jaranan Wahyu Tunas and others. (asw)
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Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 11:02 1949 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a89d366 1 Destinations UNESCO,World-Heritage-List,Asia,temple,cultural-heritage,#travel,destination,#destination Free

As many as six sites in Asia have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List this year.

The World Heritage Committee early this month commenced its 41st session in Krakow, Poland. An inscription session, a designated meeting held to consider additions to the World Heritage List, gradually announced the new sites from July 2 to July 9.

By the end of the week, UNESCO announced a total addition of 22 new sites to the list, including cultural and natural sites spread across regions in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Read also: Indonesia postpones plan to propose Kota Tua as world heritage site until next year

Among them are the following six Asian sites:

Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk

Where : Cambodia

Sambor Prei Kuk Archeological Site representing the Cultural Landscape of Ancient Ishanapura in Cambodia. (UNESCO/So Sokun Theary)

Cambodia's ancient temple complex is the only new site in Southeast Asia and brings the number of heritage sites in the country to three.

Sambor Prei Kuk, which means "the temple in the richness of the forest" in the Khmer language, is an archaeological site spanning 25 square kilometers. The site has been identified as the ancient royal center of Ishanapura, the capital of the Chenla Empire that flourished in the late 6th and early 7th centuries AD.

The area includes a walled city center as well as numerous temples, ten of which are octagonal and unique in their Southeast Asian aesthetic. Elements decorated in sandstone are a particular characteristic of the pre-Angkor architecture, known as the Sambor Prei Kuk Style.

"Some of these elements, including lintels, pediments and colonnades, are true masterpieces. The art and architecture developed here became models for other parts of the region and lay the ground for the unique Khmer style of the Angkor period," said a statement on the UNESCO World Heritage website.

Okinoshima and Associated Sites, Munakata

Where : Japan

Japan's Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region: Miare Festival (land procession).(World Heritage Promotion Committee via UNESCO/Imaki Hidekazu)

Japan's Okinoshima is located 60 kilometers off the western coast of Kyushu Island, in the Munakata region of Fukuoka Prefecture.

Home to the Okitsu Shrine, which was built in the 17th century, the island was an area of worship to pray for the safety of sailors as well as a site of successful exchanges with the people of the Korean Peninsula and China between the 4th and 9th centuries, according to a report by The Japan Times.

"The archaeological sites that have been preserved on the island are virtually intact, and provide a chronological record of how the rituals performed there changed from the 4th to the 9th centuries CE [Common Era/AD]," UNESCO said on its website.

Still considered sacred, the island continues to maintain its traditions, including its prohibition of women.

Okinoshima only allows 200 men on the island on May 27 each year, as reported by the BBC. The men must disrobe and undergo a purification ritual on its shores before they set foot on the island.

Read also: UNESCO World Heritage Sites under threat around the world

Historic City of Ahmedabad

Where : India

The Adalaj step well at the Indian heritage tourist site Ahmedabad, Gujarat.(Shutterstock/File)

Ahmedabad is a walled city that was founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah in the 15th century, and continues to flourish as the capital of Gujarat state for six centuries to the present.

"The urban fabric is made up of densely packed traditional houses (pols) in gated traditional streets (puras) with characteristic features such as bird feeders, public wells and religious institutions," UNESCO stated.

Located on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati River, the UNESCO notes that the site presents a rich architectural heritage from the sultanate period, especially in the citadel of Bhadra.

Bhadra, which is located inside the walled site, is a fort city with walls and gates surrounding numerous mosques and tombs, as well as important Hindu and Jain temples of later periods within the citadel.

Historic International Settlement of Kulangsu

Where : China

Sunlight Rock Temple towards the rising sun in Kulangsu, China.(Cultural Heritage Conservation Center of THAD via UNESCO/Qian Yi)

One of two sites in China added to the World Heritage List this year, Kulangsu (also known as Gulang Island) is a tiny island located on the estuary of the Chiu-lung River that faced the city of Xiamen.

The historic site became an important window to foreign exchange in China after the commercial port opened in Xiamen in 1843, which subsequently established the island as an international settlement by 1903.

"Kulangsu is an exceptional example of the cultural fusion that emerged from these exchanges, which remain legible in its urban fabric. There is a mixture of different architectural styles including Traditional Southern Fujian Style, Western Classical Revival Style and Veranda Colonial Style," said the UNESCO statement.

The fusion of international aesthetic influences created a new architectural movement unique to the area called Amoy Deco Style, which is a synthesis of the Modernist style of the early 20th century and Art Deco.

Read also: What to know about UNESCO heritage sites in Indonesia

Hoh Xil Plateau, Qinghai

Where : China

The Mount Bukadaban located in the Hoh Xi plateau in the Qinghai region, China.(Peking University via UNESCO/Hoh Xil Nature Reserve Administration)

The second site in China added to the list this year is the Hoh Xil plateau in the Qinghai region. Located in the north-eastern extremity of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Hoh Xil is "the largest and highest plateau in the world". The area comprise of alpine mountains and steppe systems situated more than 4,500 meters above sea level, creating year-round sub-zero average temperatures.

Its unique biodiversity includes the Tibetan antelope, where China claims the area is a key migratory route of the endangered large mammal.

The BBC reported Tibetan rights groups have criticized the UN's cultural body's decision, saying that the move may embolden Beijing to resettle Tibetan nomads who currently live as herders on the Hoh Xil plateau. China however had said it nominated Hoh Xil out of conservation concerns.

Landscapes of Dauria

Where : Mongolia and Russia

The Torey lakes in the Dauria landscapes, a transboundary site shared between Mongolia and Russia.(UNESCO/Evgeniy Kokukhin)

The landscapes of Dauria is a transborder site shared by Mongolia and Russia. UNESCO notes the site as an "outstanding example of the Daurian Steppe eco-region" with cyclical climate changes that create a wide diversity of species and ecosystems of global significance.

The vast natural site is home to rare species of fauna, such as the white-naped crane and the great bustard, as well as millions of vulnerable, endangered or threatened migratory birds. It is also a critical area on the migration path of the Mongolian gazelle. (kes)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 12, 2017 15:33 1948 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a8a6cf1 1 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,yogyakarta-tourism,Kalimantan Free

Kalimantan Island tourism is slated to be promoted in Yogyakarta in a three-day event called Borneo Extravaganza 2017 that will be held from July 14 until 16 at the atrium of Jogja City Mall.

Yogyakarta is chosen because it is one of local and international tourists main destinations. We see an increase in tourist numbers every year. The high quantity of flights that serve the Yogyakarta  Kalimantan route also makes it easier for tourists to visit Borneo, explained tourism ministry's archipelago tourism development deputy, Esthy Reko Astuti.

Themed 'Funtastic Borneo', the event has appointed East Kalimantan province as the host and will showcase cultural attractions from Dayak and Chinese ethnic groups, Malay dance, also local handicrafts such as anyaman (woven crafts) and gemstones from Martapura, South Kalimantan. Local food and tour packages will also be offered.

In the next three years, the number of foreign tourists will reach 20 million and local tourists will reach 275. Indonesias tourism competitiveness index will take the 30th place in the world, an increase from its current position in the 42nd place among 141 countries, Astuti added.

Read also: 'Journey to Long Saan' chronicles Dayak man's returning to ancestral land

Wawan Gunawan also mentioned Kalimantan's focus on tourism objects which encompass nature, culture and man-made resorts such as Tanjung Puting National Park that is famous for its orangutan conservation, Derawan Islands for diving, Rungan and Kahayan rivers for river cruises. The Dayak, Malay and Chinese cultural tourism in Singkawang, West Kalimantan, also serve as tourist attractions in Kalimantan.

East Kalimantan province's head of tourism department, Timur Syafruddin Pernyata said the promotion will highlight the five provinces in Kalimantan encompassing South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and North Kalimantan.

"There will be an exhibition of tourism potential information, creative economy, and culinary arts. We will also hold a tabletop discussion with the tourism industry by inviting [tourism package] sellers from each province to be introduced to national and international buyers so they can have tourism package transactions in each province," he explained. (asw)
It's undeniable that William Shakespeare is one of the most popular playwrights in history.

If youve gone through the British education system, its likely that youve come across one, if not more, of William Shakespeares plays. Outside of the classroom, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) reports that over one million people visit the Stratford-upon-Avon theatre each year. In the United States, Shakespeare in the Park, which is performed in Central Parks open-air Delacorte Theater, also remains popular, with a reported 80,000 people attending each year.

But why does Shakespeare remain so popular? One might argue that Shakespeare was phenomenal with his use of language and theatrics and that he was arguably the most popular playwright of his time. However, there might be other reasons for why he remains so popular; namely, his plays' enduring political themes.

It is undeniable that the current political landscape is rather rocky and tense. In Britain, the Conservative Party have just confirmed a deal with the DUP, known for their anti-abortion and discriminating policies. The UK is also set to leave the EU, something which has arguably divided our nation for over a year now. In the US, President Donald Trump continues to cause havoc through his unrestricted use of Twitter and his hostility towards certain media outlets. Elsewhere in the world, such as the middle east, political conflict and civil war rage on.

But how does this link to Shakespeare? Many of Shakespeares plays feature some sort of political issue, especially his histories and the tragedies. Shakespeare sure loved to put a political travesty at the heart of his plays. But how does this link to Shakespeare? Many of Shakespeares plays feature some sort of political issue, especially his histories and the tragedies. Shakespeare sure loved to put a political travesty at the heart of his plays.

Take Hamlet, for instance. A King is killed by his brother, who then immediately takes his place in both political and familial worlds. Pushed by his ghostly father, Hamlet takes murderous revenge on those he blames for his fathers death, namely his uncle and mother.

reviewed Recently, The National Studenta University of Birmingham production of Hamlet at the Cresent Theatre. Katie Paterson, the director of the play, spoke to The National Student about her choice of direction for the performance, linking the tragedy to the American political climate.

I was thinking about Gertrude. She's just like Melania Trump - this woman is sexualized and is made into a doll and you have no idea what she thinks about anything. She reminded me very much of Gertrude. In Hamlet, you have a sleazy leader and this enigmatic woman figure.

Furthermore, Paterson sees Hamlet as a left wing student-like figure: Hamlet is a whiney intellectual student with a very left wing attitude and doesnt really know what to do. He doesnt understand how this man is in power.

It just felt like a very relatable thing. A lot of people I know around me are currently feeling the same. Its the feeling of knowing that you want to change things but not knowing how or what to do.

YouGov In April 2017,produced statistics claiming that age is a strong factor in determining which party someone will vote for. For instance, in the 18-25 age bracket, the Labour Party have a 19% lead over the Conservative Party.

Like Hamlet, who grieves for his father, the large number of students that voted for Labour is currently going through a period of mourning. We long for what could've been possible under Corbyn, just like Hamlet longs for what his father could've achieved.

Patersons Hamlet was also placed in a modern setting, making it more accessible for an audience that might not be as familiar with the play. This setting also emphasised the play's modern political links: We didnt need to add context; we already have the context," she says. "Hamlet is very much suited to today, perhaps even more so than the 60s or 80s."

Its not only literal politics that Hamlet connects with; it engages with gender politics, too. Like most of Shakespeare's plays, there are very few female characters. In Article 19s Hamlet, however, Horatio and Marcellus are both women. Paterson told The National Student: Hamlet has been done to death and I havent seen a version where Ive liked how Ophelia came across. I wanted to play with gender roles and give Ophelia more gusto."

Elsewhere, the RSC is currently orchestrating their Rome season. The company are producing plays such as Julius Caeser, Antony and Cleopatra, and Titus Andronicus alongside other Shakespeare and Roman themed works.

In Julius Caesar, plotting within the political network brings down the great ruler. The play explores how easily a crowd can be manipulated through words and actions, something which feels particularly relevant in light of the rhetoric of Trump.

In April 2016, The Economist wrote an article comparing Bernie Sanders to Shakespeares Mark Antony, finding similarities in their rhetorical style, positive perspective, approach to their competitors, and the fact they were both underestimated in their ability to win over the public. Unlike Antony, however, Sanders was not as successful as his Roman counterpart. Nevertheless, the impact he had on the American election must be commended. Very few people expected Sanders to become as popular as he was.

As a playwright, William Shakespeare covers a lot of ground. However, in 2017, it is his more political works which stand out in reflecting our current political climate. Whilst we might find many links between Hamlet, the RSC's Rome season, and the wave of conservatism sweeping the West, we can only hope that our story won't end in the same fashion as any Shakespearean tragedy.
The Labour Party wants to abolish student debt, as Jeremy Corbyn emphasised in his campaign for the recent general election.

Corbyn has stated his desire to help students who have built up a significant amount of debt from their education. According to iNews, he stated: Im looking at ways we could reduce that, ameliorate that, lengthen the period of paying it off, or some other way of reducing the debt burden.

However, the shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, has stated that it would require around 100bn to achieve any plan of getting rid of student debt. She insisted that the party would not commit to anything unless they knew how to pay for it.

Rayner stated: Jeremy said thats an ambition, its something that hed like to do. Its something that we will not announce that were doing unless we can afford to.

She continued to say that the massive amount of 100bn quoted is likely to increase over time.
Cats, or rather spending time with cats, is becoming increasingly trendy. Cat cafes are popping up across the United Kingdom and Europe at speed. However, its safe to say that Japan is ahead of the trend.

As well as hosting the worlds first cat cafe, Japan has an island almost entirely populated by cats. Tashirojima Island in Japan has been nicknamed cat island because the number of cats outnumbers the human residents by roughly six cats per person.

The islanders worship the cats, believing that the animals bring good fortune and wealth to local citizens. A shrine was built, called Neko-jinja, in honour of a cat that died as a result of a fishing accident. The shrine is a popular tourist attraction and resides at the centre of the island, and is surrounded by offerings and cat figurines.

via GIPHY

It is thought amongst locals that the cat population prevented further damage to the island as a result of the 2011 tsunami that flooded both of the islands two villages as well as destroying many houses.

Cats were initially taken to the island to guard silk worm farms against mice. However, the cats werent neutered, leading to todays impressive cat to human ratio. The cats spend most of their time in the islands residential areas, lurking around hoping for some food. Although they also enjoy the attention that they get from tourists who are encouraged to interact with the islands feline residents, at the cats discretion of course.

via GIPHY

If youre wondering how to get to Tashirojima Island, you can catch a ferry from Ishinomaki three times a day. Although the island isnt as tourist friendly as youd think; there are no restaurants and just one shop that sells limited food, a photo exhibition of the islands feline residents and a collection of cat merchandise.

The island has a population of just one hundred and makes up just 3.14 square kilometres of Japan, therefore tourists can get around mostly by walking.

via GIPHY

It is uncommon for visitors to stay on the island for longer than a day, but for any cat lovers who wish to stay longer, there are some minshukus - Japanese bed and breakfasts. But be sure to book in advance as there arent many around!

Cat Island isnt Tashirojimas only nickname. The majority of islanders are over the age of 65 which has lead to the somewhat less flattering name of terminal village.

Here's a list of other feline-friendly holiday destinations:

1. Tashirojima Island

2. Istanbul

3. Tokyo

4. Moscow

5. Egypt
Screen grabs of a text conversation have to be pretty special to go viral online, but this conversation between Shelley Zhang and Chris Chappell about Harry Potter is something truly exceptional.

Chappell had never read the books about JK Rowlings Wizarding World, so 20 years since its release he decided he should catch up on some pop culture. All seemed to be going

well,

until the budding new Potter-fan reached Harrys fifth year at Hogwarts.

(Twitter/Shelley Zhang)

(Twitter/Shelley Zhang)

After reading the first four of Rowlings Harry Potter books without a hitch, Chappell had accidentally stumbled across a fan-made version of the fifth instalment.

The alternate version Chappell had mistakenly discovered, entitled Harry Potter And The Psychic Serpent, has a number of features divergent from the originals  including Dudley Dursleys untimely death, Harry owning a pet snake and some raunchy scenes between the hero and Hermione Granger.

(Twitter/Shelley Zhang)

When I was first talking to Chris, I was laughing so hard, I was crying, Zhang, who received the messages at work, told the Press Association. I must have looked like I was going through some huge emotional event, sitting at my desk, shaking and wiping away tears.

Zhang said Chappell does plan to read the real version of the book, but also wants to finish the fan-fiction as he was more and more impressed by its more than 500 pages of detailed alternate plot  a plot written by fan-writer BL Purdom.

Friend is reading Harry Potter for the first time. He suddenly realizes he's read a fanfiction Order of the Phoenix instead of the real one. pic.twitter.com/tKNgT6usi6  Shelley Zhang (@shelzhang) July 10, 2017

This is definitely not the first time this has happened, Purdom said of Zhangs tweet. But I wasnt aware it was still happening after all this time!

Purdom wrote the book way back in 2001, two years before Rowling released the official fifth book in the Harry Potter series. Her novel even included a cover made by one of Purdoms readers depicting Harry transformed into a Golden Griffin or winged lion.

( Amorya )

When you slowly get won over by the fanfic pic.twitter.com/o91WLEikPE  Shelley Zhang (@shelzhang) July 11, 2017

When the name of Rowlings book was first released, Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix, Purdom says many online began to share her work under its name  in an attempt to claim it was Rowlings soon-to-be-released novel.

Im mainly shocked that people are still downloading these files years after the books by JK Rowling have been published, said Purdom, who lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

How on earth did they not question ANY of the events they've described?  Michael Farrell (@mikefarrell) July 11, 2017

Can we PLEASE have a book club for this fanfic & can your friend be our Oprah  Mara (@mara__iara) July 11, 2017

Purdom says she knew Rowling could not have Harry behaving all that realistically like a hormonal teenager, so she deliberately added features such as antagonist Lord Voldemort using teenage girls to try and manipulate Harry.

Although Purdom says she never saw Horcruxes coming, or Harry dropping out of school, she claims she did guess a number of things correctly. These include Severus Snape loving Harrys mother Lily, Harry understanding Snapes past through the Pensieve and Hagrid bringing a relative to Hogwarts

in Harrys fifth year.

(Twitter/Shelley Zhang)

Some stuff that wasn't quite true, but wasn'texactly not true? Also, LOL at Harry getting all muscled from running. Very detailed. pic.twitter.com/oJyqXO2tKS  Shelley Zhang (@shelzhang) July 11, 2017

In later fan fiction by Purdom Ron Weasley and Hermione end up together, as do Harry and Ginny Weasley  in keeping with Rowlings story, which was yet to be released.

Ill always be the most tickled that I landed on Percy Weasleys birthday to the day, she said. In my prequel I had him born on 22 August 1976, and two years after I posted that chapter, JK Rowling wished Percy a happy birthday on her old website on 22 August.

(Twitter/Shelley Zhang)

If Chappells confusion has indeed turned to intrigue into Purdoms books, he will be pleased to hear theres more where the Psychic Serpent came from too  three more books in fact.

I basically followed Rowlings model of one book per year of school, so Psychic Serpent is his fifth year, the sequel to that is his sixth, and the third is his seventh, said Purdom. I also wrote a prequel taking place from 1975-1982 that gave the backstory to my version of Harrys last three years of school featuring his parents and their friends.

(Twitter/Shelley Zhang)

Purdom says she started off reading the Harry Potter books to her children before becoming a bit obsessed herself, becoming involved in Harry Potter Education Fanon (HPEF) a non-profit organiser of Harry Potter symposia.

She has made the presentations at these gatherings of papers she wrote on

the Wizarding World, which she has now combined into a book called Quantum Harry: A Unified Theory of the Potterverse. Purdom is making the book into a podcast for release later this month, and it has its own Facebook page

And we're still talking about it this morning. I did not see the Shakespeare angle coming. pic.twitter.com/prq5ZU03l6  Shelley Zhang (@shelzhang) July 11, 2017
Going viral can have more benefits than just a pat on the back from your mates and a dead battery from all the notifications you are getting.

For Josh Avsec, 22, and Michelle Arendas, 21, the internet falling in love with their odd story has resulted in a free holiday to Maui, Hawaii, courtesy of dating app Tinder.

Josh and Michelle began messaging back in September 2014, but after Michelle neglected to reply to Joshs first message until two months later, the pair began sending late replies with accompanying rubbish excuses.

This continued over the next three years until Josh decided to post the exchange on Twitter.

Hahahaha one day I'm going to meet this girl and it's going to be epic. Look at the dates of our tinder texts. pic.twitter.com/DASQK4c5cX  Josh Avsec (@Wes_03) July 8, 2017

It quickly went viral and Michelle even joined the party.

sorry I'd reply but I need to give it a few months !  Michelle Arendas (@mch_rnd) July 8, 2017

Josh, from Ohio, said: So many people were telling us that we were relationship goals or that it was so cute, it really stacked the pressure to get to know her.

So while this tweet was going viral, I sent her a couple direct messages, making jokes about all of these hilarious comments.

In a stroke of marketing genius, the pair were then contacted by Tinder, who asked them which city theyd like to go to, paid for by the dating app.

Its time you got together IRL. You have 24 hrs to decide the city you want to have your first date in and well send you there! @mch_rnd https://t.co/7r2JQtcxKC  Tinder (@Tinder) July 10, 2017

Maui in Hawaii was the chosen destination.

Aloha! We're sending you to Maui but you can't take two years to pack your bags!  Tinder (@Tinder) July 11, 2017

Honestly just a huge s/o to the internet! thx for making some of my dreams come true, I've always been a big fan !!!!!!  Michelle Arendas (@mch_rnd) July 11, 2017

They seem pretty chuffed about the offer, and the internet is praying this free holiday has a happy ending!
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The Ministry of Home Affairs has started preparations to amend the laws governing the security bodies for implementing the 84-point reform paper made public by Home Minister Janardan Sharma on June 27.
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After 30 years, a new flood control feasibility study will include the input of landowners and supply a multitude of options other than a dry dam.
India requests Nepal to set up consulate general at Visakhapatnam

India has requested Nepal to set up its Consulate General Office at Visakhapatnam port in order to facilitate the works related to clearances of cargo in the field.
India to compensate Nepali traders affected by GST

The Indian government has agreed to compensate Nepali traders who are being levied higher duties on various logistic services since the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1.
It's our annual Labour Weekend tradition ...The Sound 'Hall Of Fame' Countdown... Where we honor the greatest 500 songs of all time as voted by you.
KMC to cancel contract with Kathmandu View Tower Construction Company

Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is to cancel the contract with Kathmandu View Tower construction Company, citing the company has not forwarded works even after one year after the agreement.
NHRC protests govt neglect of its recommendations

Tired of the governments reluctance to implement its recommendations, the National Human Rights Commission has charged the executive with diminishing the role of the constitutional body.
At least 16 policemen were injured, including a Superintendent of Police, in violence in a village in Rajasthan's Nagaur district on Wednesday over an alleged staged gunfight, police said.

A mob attacked police with stones and set afire a police vehicle in Sanwarda village in Nagaur district late evening, injuring 16 policemen, including the Superintendent of Police, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) N.R.K. Reddy said.

Though police denied it, eyewitnesses said at least four protesters too were injured.

Three seriously injured policemen were referred to a Jaipur hospital.

Thousands of persons had gathered in the village from all over the state to demand a probe by the Central Bureau of Inquiry into the death of gangster Anandpal Singh on June 24.

His family claimed he was killed despite his willingness to surrender before police and that it was a part of the political conspiracy to eliminate him.

The protesters also damaged a section of the railway tracks in the area, following which rail traffic was diverted between Ladnu-Kuchaman section.

Earlier, police was deployed and Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure imposed in the village due to the protest.


The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday condemned the terrorist attack on Amarnath Yatris in Anantnag area of south Kashmir in which seven people lost their lives and said the Central government should review security measures during the ongoing pilgrimage in the valley.

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said intelligence agencies had already alerted the Centre about the possibility of such a terrorist attack on the Amarnath Yatra.

The Central government should deliberate that instead of having prior information of such an attack, what were the lapses in the security set-up that led to the death of seven innocent pilgrims, Singh said.

If no Yatra bus was allowed to travel after 7 p.m. through that area, Singh added, why was this particular bus allowed and that too without a security cover. The bus was not even registered for Amarnath Yatra.

At least seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 12 others injured, four of them critically, when a bus they were traveling in was caught in crossfire between militants and government forces in Khanabal area of Anantnag in South Kashmir on Monday evening, police said.

Calling the attack a cowardly act, Singh said such terror attacks on the yatra have been a consistent feature for a long time now.

It is not the first time that such an attack was carried out on the Amarnath Yatra. Similar attacks were also made in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2015. And this time despite the deployment of an extra 40,000 security forces, the terrorists managed to carry out this dastardly act, Singh said.

As per the reports, it is Pakistan that is behind this terrorist attack, and the Centre should give a befitting reply to them, Singh said, adding that AAP stands with the Centre in this hour of need.
With the Supreme Court on Tuesday directing Punjab and Haryana to obey orders passed by it on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday said if chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh was sincere about protecting the rights of Punjab he should unequivocally declare no SYLno water to Haryana immediately.

In a statement, the SAD president said this was of utmost importance as a wrong message had been sent out to Punjabis by the CM by welcoming the Supreme Court order which has given two months time to execute its decree to give Punjabs waters to Haryana through the SYL canal.

By welcoming this move and stating that he is ready to start negotiations with Haryana on this issue, the CM has sent out a message that the waters of Punjab can be put on the negotiating table. Nothing can be more absurd than this. What will he negotiate? Does he want to sell out the interests of Punjab?, he said.

The SAD president said the fact of the matter was that Punjabs rights over its river waters were inalienable and could never become a matter of negotiation.

Capt Amarinder should understand this before even speaking on this issue. If he is still in doubt he should take note that no SYL exists on Punjab territory as of now. "(Former CM) Parkash Singh Badal has returned the land acquired for the canal back to farmers. What will Capt Amarinder negotiate with Haryana when the issue has already been settled on the ground? Badal asked.

He said the Punjab CM should make it clear to Haryana that the waters of Punjab are not negotiable. "Dont dilly-dally and use sweet talk on this issue. Be firm and decisive," Badal said adding that if Capt Amarinder went to the negotiating table, the SAD will go the people and stop you from taking any such step.
Passenger who fainted on bus dies

A person who fainted while travelling on a passenger bus from Bagai area of Madi to Narayangadh has died.
The Cabinet Committee on Security met here on Wednesday to take stock of the security situation in the wake of the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims and the stand-off with China along the border.

According to government sources, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the meet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The CCS was held prior to the Cabinet meeting.

Seven persons were killed and 19 others injured on Monday night when militants opened fire at a bus carrying Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat rushed to the valley to review the security on Tuesday, while two central ministers  Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir and Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh were sent by the Centre to assess the situation.

A stand-off continues between Indian and Chinese troops since the middle of June on the border in the Sikkim sector.


A day after being named as the opposition candidate for the post of Vice President by the Congress and 17 other parties, Former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Wednesday said he is a 'citizen candidate' who is worried about the future of the country.

"I see myself as a citizen candidate, I am an independent citizen and a very ordinary person. I am not a politician. I am a citizen candidate who is worried about the future of the country," he said, adding, I am grateful to the 18 opposition parties for having thought of me."

Expressing concern over the crisis in the country, he said he has faith in the institutions of democracy and common sense of Indians.

There is a mini crisis in India. Crisis of terror, fear and there is also an agrarian crisis. But I have faith in institutions of democracy and common sense of Indians, he said.

"And I would like to say to the Parliamentarians, who form the electoral college should choose the Vice-President in a view to make the Rajya Sabha a true instrument as it was in the times passed and it has been over the years  a true instrument for voicing the views and the feeling of the states of India which is called the council of the states and that is what I see the role of the Vice-President as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha to be," he added.

According to reports, 18 opposition parties on Tuesday named former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi as the Opposition's nominee for Vice President.

"Gopalkrishna Gandhi is the opposition candidate for the Vice Presidential election. We have spoken to him and he has agreed to be the opposition candidate," Congress President Sonia Gandhi said.

Gandhi's name was proposed at the meeting by the Trinamool Congress and backed by all the parties present. No other name was discussed in the meeting.

The last date for filing of nomination for the Vice President's post is July 18. The scrutiny of the papers will take place on July 19. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is July 21.

(With inputs from agencies)
Violent protests broke out in the old city areas of Srinagar on Wednesday against killing of a terrorist Sajid Ahmad gilkar along with two other operatives of the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) outfit in an overnight encounter in the Radpug village of Budgam district in central Kashmir.

The authorities as a precautionary measure clamped curfew-like restrictions and switched off the mobile phone services to control the stone pelting mobs.

The three HM terrorists hiding in the house of Ramzan Dar were killed in a joint operation that was launched Tuesday evening by the Army, CRPF, special operation group of the police and the district police in the village. The terrorists fired at the security forces when they were cordoning the village thereafter an encounter began which ended this morning when the Army announced killing of the three ultras.

Two AK-47 assault rifles and a self loading rifle have been recovered from the spot.

The security forces detected these terrorists while hunting for the ultras who had killed seven Amarnath pilgrims on Monday.

Security forces were rushed in strength as violence broke out in Srinagar and tension escalated after killing of the three terrorists.

Violent mobs took to streets in Srinagar and Budgam districts and a large number of people participated in the funeral of the slain terrorist.

The long-stretched encounter exhausted the terrorists but the troops stopped the operation at night to avoid collateral damage. The terrorists were shot dead when they sprayed bullets at the security forces and made an attempt to break the cordon. The two other killed terrorists have been identified as Javed Sheikh of Churpora Narbal and Dawood of Mustafabad.

The authorities are expected to clamp curfew in the Kashmir valley this evening to thwart attempts of creating violence on Thursday in view of the Kashmir Martyrs Day when the separatists have given the call for shutdown and rallies to mark the occasion. July 13 is observed as Martyrs Day in Kashmir to mark death of 22 persons in police firing in 1931 when a mob allegedly tried to attack the central jail in Srinagar.
NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday said the President's post is above party politics as it is the highest Constitutional post of the country.

Kovind made the remark at a meeting he had with the NDA MPs, MLAs and other supporters at Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das residence here this afternoon.

Union Chemical and Fertilisers Minister Ananth Kumar briefed the media quoting Kovind having said at the meeting that "Service to the nation is my duty and given an opportunity to serve as president I will keep the national interest and constitution of India as my top priority."

Kovind said that once he became the Governor of Bihar, he did not remain member of any political party and he performed all his duties as governor as per the Constitution.

He said the Constitution is the final book for him and as the president of the country he will follow only the Constitution.

Ananth Kumar said after declaration of Ram Nath Kovind s candidature for the president s post, the support for him has been growing and several political parties from the opposition camp have also supported him.

The Union minister said AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh and TRS in Telengana have also lent support to Kovind.

Kumar said in Jharkhand, besides NDA ally AJSU party, MLA Gita Koda of Jai Bharat Samanta Party and MLA Bhanu Pratap Sahi of Naujawan Sangharsh Morcha have also offered their support to Kovind.

Kovind expressed his gratitude to the people of Jharkhand and said that the support of most of the people for his candidature is, in fact, respect for Indian tradition and culture.

Welcoming Kovind earlier, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das said that Kovind as the governor of Bihar has increased the dignity of the post of governor.
Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju will lead a high-level central team to supervise rescue and relief in flood-hit Northeastern states where lakhs have been affected by heavy rains and floods.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked Rijiju to personally supervise the relief operations and facilitate all possible help to the affected states.

The team comprises members from the National Disaster Management Authority, the NITI Aayog, and National Disaster Response Force. It will visit Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur from Thursday to Sunday.

"All defence and paramilitary forces along with state agencies are involved in rescue and relief operations in these states. If such situation arises, additional central forces can be deputed there from other parts of the country," a Home Ministry statement said.

A PMO release said Modi spoke to Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minsiter Pema Khandu and other officials both in Delhi and the states on the flood situation.

He said the entire nation stands with the people of Northeast and the central government would provide all possible help to normalise the situation.

Heavy rains in the past one week have wreaked havoc in Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh. Floods have claimed several lives in Assam, where over 12 lakh persons in over 2,000 villages in 20 districts have been affected. The total number of deaths in this year's flood-related incidents have climbed to 33.

The deaths in devastating landslides triggered by heavy rains in Arunachal Pradesh have risen to seven.
Two soldiers of the Indian Army were martyred as Pakistani troops indulged in unprovoked firing at an picket in the Keran sector of North Kashmir.

Reports said that a soldier was wounded in the incident.

The Pakistani troops from across the line of control (LOC) targeted the picket where three soldiers were injured. Two of them reportedly succumbed to their wounds.

Reports said that the martyred soldiers have been identified as Lance Naik Ranjit Singh and Rifleman Satish Bhagat.

Official details of the incident were awaited.

In another incident, Pakistani troops fired mortars in the civilian areas of the poonch sector.
With the US under President Trump ploughing a lonely furrow, we have the curious spectacle of India and China coming together on several issues like trade and climate change, while China remains implacably opposed to Indias more vital ambitions ~ membership of the Security Council and the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

China also periodically rakes up border issues, deliberately slighting India in the bargain. With Chinas tacit support, Pakistani terrorists keep the Kashmir cauldron boiling. On top of it, India and China have an ongoing border dispute, a dispute over the contours of the Indo-Pak border; a dispute about sharing of river waters but still India and China are each others largest trade partners.

Since Independence, two great powers (the USA and China) and a contentious neighbour (Pakistan) have deeply influenced our foreign policy. Till recently, the USA played the role of our elder brother.

China was the typical bully, mocking us and kicking us on the shin when no one was looking. Pakistan was the estranged cousin, with a great familial similarity and an even greater familial enmity.

Russia hovered in the background, a lender of the last resort, whom we turned to when no one else supported us. This equation changed with the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1990, which made the world unipolar.

The Chinese saw it as a golden opportunity to replace Russia in the global pecking order. Keeping their ultimate aim under wraps, the Chinese concentrated on building up their economic power which was used to create principalclient relationships with strategically located but impoverished states.

After the 2008 meltdown in the West, the Chinese felt confident enough to openly articulate its hegemonistic ambitions, challenging the existing world order and trying to dominate their smaller neighbours.

Continuing the same trend, the Chinese have been uncharacteristically loquacious in its current border dispute with India. The Chinese press and officials have been commenting daily on the border dispute. The Indian side is also particularly vocal with the defence minister reminding the Chinese that Indians are not the pushovers they were in 1962. Despite this verbosity, the Indian side has no clear idea about what the Chinese are trying to accomplish.

Perhaps, brought up on non-alignment, non-violence and Panchsheel, Indians are naive enough not to appreciate that foreign policies of all countries are guided by self-interest alone, and not by consistency or moral principles.

For example, Indians are genuinely flummoxed when some important US official castigates Pakistan for terrorism on Indian soil, but changes his tune when he visits Pakistan. We genuinely think that after designating Hafiz Saeed and Salahuddin as international terrorists, the US would catch them by the scruff of their necks and give them their just desserts ~ as they did to Osama bin Laden.

We feel hurt when our closest friends, Nepal and Bangladesh, attend Chinas OBOR meeting. Coming to our latest border dispute, one can say that in addition to self-interest, China is motivated by a sense of historical greatness and a desire to establish its supremacy.

To achieve this objective, China has invested heavily in modernising its army and has assiduously built up military infrastructure along the Sino-Indian border. We are in a much weaker position on the border because in addition to nuclear armaments and a large army, China has a number of allweather roads, railway lines and airfields near the SinoIndian border, particularly in the Eastern Sector, while we have very few means of ferrying troops to the border quickly. This can partially explain the deliberate provocations and snubs China hands out to us frequently.

Realistically, we are left with very few choices to end the current dispute. First, we have to stop attacking China through belligerent statements and understand what China is trying to convey through its official statements and state-controlled media. Then we have to talk to China directly, assuaging their concerns and putting across our concerns to them.

This does not mean that we should accept Chinese hegemony. Relations between nations are finely nuanced; we can talk to the Chinese without appearing to have been cowed down. So far, robust trade relations between China and India have ensured that no precipitate action has been taken by either side but the border stalemate has shown us in poor light; our strategic weakness is now manifest before the entire world.

To avoid repetition(s) of this kind of situation we have to provide road, rail and air connectivity to all points at our borders so that we can mobilise troops whenever required.

Simultaneously, modernisation of our armed forces has to be accorded priority. A war-like situation can be avoided only if the enemy sees us as strong.

Second, our border states are in turmoil and Pakistan and China are unashamedly fuelling unrest against the Indian Government in Kashmir and the Northeast. For our own wellbeing, we should keep the residents of Kashmir and the Northeast satisfied even at the cost of concessions. Third, we have to engage efficiently with our neighbours. Many regional projects like the Chabahar Port Project have been hanging fire for decades.

Contrast this with China which is running trains to Europe while we struggle to provide connectivity within India. If we had sufficient foresight, we could have made Pakistan a client state instead of giving China this opportunity. We have the potential to outdo China, only lack of initiative, sloth and bureaucratic inefficiency hold us back.

The writer is a retired Chief Commissioner of Income-Tax
The ice was not broken at Hamburg: if official Indian accounts are to be taken at face-value the Sino-Indian military stand-off at the Doklam plateau at the trijunction with Bhutan hardly figured in the conversation between the Prime Minister and the Chinese President on the sidelines of the G-20 meet.

It would appear that the frost has actually spread, even if on the ground no physicality has broken out. For Beijing has continued to keep the tensions at near-fever pitch, either through statements from its foreign office, its embassy in New Delhi, or via its state-controlled media quoting strategic experts.

The spat has now extended beyond the building of a road in allegedly disputed territory. As suggested earlier, the longest impasse on the LAC in recent years is not a simple question of varying perceptions of the frontier. The recent advisory issued by the embassy to Chinese nationals in India to be alert for their own safety is probably a bid to inject a people to people element into the equation: a follow-up of the closing of the Nathu La route to Kailash Mansarover.

Somewhat more belligerent is the argument if that India could extend military help to Bhutan, China could do so too if Pakistan sought assistance in Kashmir. It might be an over-simplification to write all that off as academic kite-flying, or mere reactions to the multilateral naval interaction which Beijing says is targeted on the South China Sea.

Thus far the External Affairs Ministry has declined from entering into a war of words ~ as desired by the immature Vice-President of the Congress who is ignorant of what happened when his great-grandfather asked the Army to throw the Chinese out of NEFA ~ but silence is not always the best response. It often only emboldens the adversary.

New Delhi cannot afford to ignore a Chinese comment that it could review its approval of Sikkims amalgamation with the Indian union. Without endorsing the Trinamul line that a foreign hand is at work in the Gorkhaland agitation, the negative impact on Sikkim of the roadblock at Siliguri could up the ante in Gangtok. The union home minister will have to do more than make verbal assurances to the chief minister.

And not just in terms of keeping open the national highway to Gangtok ~ the entire hill region merits urgent attention. It is all very well for Mamata Banerjee to view everything through a Bengal prism, but Raisina Hill needs to look further afield.

The situation in Darjeeling could have its fallout on the troubles at the trijunction: the Chinese could well fuel the trouble, as Paksitan does in Kashmir, and India is alleged to do in Balochistan.

Internal troubles can have external implications in border regions, These aspects must be borne in mind by all those who are in the picture.
America has gone off at a tangent. Quite the most resounding message from the G-20 summit in Hamburg was the distinct isolation of the country in terms of its traditional leadership in world affairs. Donald Trump has ploughed a lonely furrow, effectively reducing the group to what has been fashioned as G-19.

More accurately, the Hamburg declaration has been inked by the truncated group. Within six months of stepping into the White House, he has altered the parameters of international relations, most importantly with regard to climate and trade. The US was conspicuously alone on the issue of climate change, where the 19 other members agreed to move ahead with the Paris agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By refusing to sign the pact, America has defied the world, and Trump's iteration of rhetoric ~ I was elected to represent Pittsburg not Paris ~ will cut no ice.

The US position has been highlighted in the official communique issued at the conclusion of the meeting. Trump has not been able to check the forward movement, however.

The President's obduracy on the two dominant issues has been greeted with a sense of dismay generally, pre-eminently by Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the host country, and Theresa May.

Our world has never been so divided, was the reaction of the French President, Emmanuel Macron, who has signalled his intent to convene another climatechange summit in Paris in December. The two major issues for the meeting were trade and climate-change and it was recognised that the US was not going to change its position. No less striking was Trump's condescension.

During the meeting on climate-change, he left for his one-to-one with Vladimir Putin, and daughter Ivanka stepped in for her father at the high table.

Almost incredible has been the indifference of the US President when the planet has to countenance a welter of challenging issues. His promise to help countries access clean fossil fuel has reportedly infuriated environmentalists. In the aftermath of 'G-19', there is little doubt that America stands in unsplendid isolation.

President Trump's perception of international trade could trigger a confrontation with Europe, if the intial response of the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the Italian Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, is any indication. The scenario could exacerbate if the US President reinforces protectionism and imposes restrictions and new targets on steel imports. Fears that the fresh cache of tariffs might provoke a global war are not wholly unfounded.

The plot thickens with Junckers warning that We are prepared to take up arms if need be. The Italian PMs caveat that we cannot waste this moment of recovery can be contextualised with the general economic downturn in Europe.

A possible trade pact between Trump and Theresa May will make no difference to the persistent blight.
Chinese troops have departed for Africa to establish a military base for logistical support in Djibouti, the first such Chinese facility to be set up outside its borders, a local media report said on Wednesday.

Two ships carrying soldiers and military equipment left the southern port of Zhanjiang on Tuesday, following a farewell ceremony by the People's Liberation Army for the units in charge of the new base in the Horn of Africa, Efe news reported.

The base will support China's military operations in Africa and Asia as part of international humanitarian missions, escorting ships to avoid piracy and peacekeeping, the Army said.

After China showed interest in opening such a base in 2015, Beijing reiterated many times that the facility would not be for military expansion but to provide logistics support to international activities and protection of maritime routes.

Djibouti already hosts military bases set up by the US, France and Japan, which support warships escorting convoys carrying humanitarian aid to different countries in the region and guard the waters against maritime piracy, apart from other objectives.
Ranibari murder case: 2 get life sentence with property confiscation

The Kathmandu District Court on Wednesday has slapped two persons to life imprisonment with confiscation of property for their involvement in the murder of a couple at Ranibari in Kathmandu 12 years ago.
At least seven civilians were killed by militants in Afghanistan's Farah province, an official said on Wednesday.

"The incident occurred in Bala Buluk district on Tuesday when militants intercepted a long-distance bus, singled out seven civilians and shot them dead before letting the vehicle with the remaining passengers go," Xinhua news agency quoted the official as saying.

The bus was travelling from Farah to neighbouring Herat province, according to the official.

The reason for the bloody carnage is not yet clear. However, locals blame Taliban for the attack.

Tolo News in a report said the militants seized control of the road and set up checkpoints to intercept and check vehicles running along the road.

More than 10 Taliban militants were killed and seven wounded after Afghan security forces arrived at the area and engaged with the militants, the report said.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since late April when the militant group launched its annual rebel offensive in different places of the country.

Observers believe the group would intensify activities to gain more territory ahead of winter and snowfall in the mountainous country.
A leading Pakistani newspaper on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to "do the right thing (in) democracy and step aside, at least temporarily" in view of the corruption charges he faces.

The Dawn admitted in an editorial that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report submitted to the Supreme Court on the Sharif family's assets held abroad as revealed by the Panama Papers was not a perfect document.

"But the JIT report has laid out a number of very serious and specific allegations against Prime Minister Sharif and his children. Simply, no democratic order ought to have a Prime Minister operating under such a dark cloud of suspicion," it said.

It said the ruling PML-N party may urge Sharif to stay on in office and Sharif may be tempted to do so, "but the toll on democracy would be too great.

"The Prime Minister has a clear alternative: step aside, fight whatever charges are brought against him or his children in court and, if he is eventually cleared of the charges, he can seek a return to office as the law permits."

The Dawn admitted that stepping aside now would not be an admission of guilt.

But Pakistan "does not need and cannot afford the distraction of an incumbent Prime Minister fighting corruption charges in the courts".

The editorial found fault with the Sharif family in not going the extra mile to provide evidence and explanations to the satisfaction of the investigators.

"Sharif may have his doubts about the fairness of the system, but the system has doubts about him. The system must prevail over the personal."
Turkish police on Wednesday killed five suspected Islamic State group jihadists in the central Turkish province of Konya, the governor's office said.

During the operation, the five terrorists were neutralised after they resisted armed force, and four security forces were lightly injured, the governor's office said in a statement.

Police also seized weapons during the raid including five Kalashnikovs, a gun and ammunition.

The raid took place as part of an investigation into whether the suspects were planning to target events commemorating last year's failed coup on July 15, Dogan news agency said.

The statement did not say whether the five had actually been planning an attack.

Police began the raid shortly after sunrise, targeting a house believed to belong to an IS cell, Dogan said, indicating that they searched a total of 10 separate addresses.

Turkey has been hit by a series of attacks in the last 18 months blamed on IS and Kurdish militants.

In a report published on Tuesday, the interior ministry said there had been 14 major terrorist attacks conducted by IS including 10 suicide bombings, one bomb attack and three armed attacks.

The attacks had killed 304 people, including 10 police officers and one soldier.

The last major IS attack was during New Year's Eve celebrations at an elite Istanbul nightclub where a gunman killed 39 people, most of them foreigners.

Police arrested the attacker after a manhunt.

Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed Turkey had killed 3,000 IS terrorists during its operations against the group in northern Syria which ran from August until March.

He also said Turkey had deported 5,000 terror suspects and banned another 53,000 people from entering the country.
Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed on Tuesday the execution of four local extremists convicted in numerous terror attacks in Qatif in the eastern province, Al Arabiya local news reported.

The ministry said in a statement the four executed were convicted of several terror attacks since 2011, including shooting, using weapons and explosive devices that targeted the Tarut police station and several security patrol units in the restive Eastern Province area.

Although the ministry didn't highlight the sect of the four, they are most likely Shiites of the Shiite minority that reside in the eastern side of the Sunni conservative state.

Usually violent Shiite youth are behind many attacks against civilians and police personnel in Qatif region.


Amid calls for his resignation, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday got into a huddle with his top aides to chalk out a strategy to deal with the Panama case probe panel's damning report that recommended filing of a graft case against him and his family.

The six-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that probed the Sharif family's business dealings in its 10-volume report submitted to the apex court yesterday recommended that a corruption case should be filed against Sharif and his sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz, as well as daughter Maryam Nawaz, under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance 1999.

It found Sharif and his children to be "living beyond the known means of income".

The report, however, was slammed by the Sharif government as "trash" with Sharif's close aide and minister for development Ahsan Iqbal in a press conference with other ministers, saying they will challenge the report in the Supreme Court and will "completely expose and unveil its contradictions and falsifications".

Sharif on Tuesday consulted senior party leaders and loyalists to formulate a policy to deal with the legal and political consequences of the high-level inquiry report against him.

Sharif also called his younger brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif from Lahore to be a part of a meeting attended by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, Minister of Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of Petroleum Khaqan Abbasi and other members of his legal team.

According to sources, today's meeting was more focused on how to defend the prime minister and his family in the Supreme Court which will hear the case on July 17 and has already asked the parties to respond in the light of the JIT report.

"The meeting has also expressed complete confidence in the leadership of the prime minister," sources said.

Sharif faces formidable legal and political challenges after the report. His fate is dependent on the verdict of the Supreme Court which will hear the arguments and decide on a future course of action.

It is likely that it may ask the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to launch the corruption case against Sharif and his children. But it may also reject the report after hearing the objections by the Sharif legal team.

But even before any action is taken, opposition parties have joined hands and are asking for his removal.

"Sharif has no reason to stay in power. He should resign immediately," Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf senior leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.

Pakistan Peoples Party leader Syed Khurshid Shah said the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) should start working on in-house change by replacing Sharif.

Sharif's nemesis Imran Khan told the media yesterday that Sharif should resign.

"There is no need of further trial or proceedings. He should go away and should be barred from leaving the country along with other family members," Khan had said.

Replying to the opposition, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar rejected the call for Sharif's resignation and said: "why he should resign. There is no allegation against him. The JIT report is faulty and we will defend the case before the Supreme Court".

Railway Minister Saad Rafique alleged that the conspiracy to remove Sharif was hatched outside and is being implemented through Imran.

Both the ministers were of the view that the JIT report was not final and it cannot force Sharif to resign.

Only the Supreme Court has the authority to take the final decision about the future of the prime minister, they said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned the terror attack that killed seven Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir, his spokesperson said, asserting that he was closely looking at the situation.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, most of them women, were killed and 19 others injured in the terrorist attack in south Kashmir's Anantnag district late Monday.

The bus, bearing Gujarat registration number, was on its way from Baltal to Jammu when the attack took place.

"The deaths of civilians is to be condemned in any situation," Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at the daily press briefing here in response to a question by PTI about the Secretary-General's comments on the attack.

When asked about his response on the fact that the attack was reportedly masterminded by a Pakistan-based militant leader, Dujarric said he would only comment on the deaths of civilians.

"We are obviously looking more closer to exactly what happened," he added.
RJP-N submits necessary documents to register with EC

The agitating Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJPN) leaders have moved ahead the process to register their party with the Election Commission (EC).
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Rain likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 54F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 54F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Ruling alliance rules out statute revision

After the CPN-UML refused to budge from its stance, the governing parties on Tuesday made it clear to the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) that an amendment to the constitution is not possible, as they dont have the required numbers in Parliament.






Organisation: Uganda Christian

University (UCU)

Duty Station: Mukono, Uganda

About UCU:

Uganda Christian University was founded when the historic Bishop Tucker

Theological College was promoted as a university in 1997. Bishop Tucker

Theological College trained clergy and educators during its 84-year history

from 1913-1997. The local chief, Hamu Mukasa, granted land for the college to

operate in Mukono. International partnerships were part of the Colleges

missionary history. The Church Mission Society teamed with Ugandan leaders and

others to assure the College had the necessary intellectual and other capital.

By the late 1990s, the Church of Uganda sought to have a broader impact on

society through the higher education  not only of clergy but of other

professionals as well. Uganda Christian University was established in 1997.

Job Summary: The

Administrative Assistant will oversee the day-to-day running of the School



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:

The jobholder will manage and maintain

office records.

Offer secretarial and administrative

support to the SRPGS.

Provide support in organizing the Deans

and other Heads of Units Diaries.

Take care of all internal and external

office telephone, email and other correspondences.

Organize and coordinate departmental

meetings, workshops, clinics, trainings, etc e.g. graduate board &

admission board

Handle petty cash and requisitions for

internal and external supervisors, workshops, seminars and other related

activities.

Draft and type out formal letters e.g.

appointment letters for internal supervisors for Post graduate students.

Tasked with the requisition for money,

equipment, furniture and other supplies for the School and ensure their

maintenance

Maintain general safety and security,

monitor access, and maintain appearance of the overall environment of the

Office.

Take minutes at the different SRPGS

meetings

Attend to students academic and other

issues as they arise, and refer to the Dean and the Heads of Units, where

necessary

Attend to visitors and students that come

to the SRPGS and avail them with the necessary information e.g. course

information to prospective students

Handle and process students examination

results that come from the Faculties

Participate in budgeting and planning

processes for the SRPGS

Serve as a link between supervisors,

coordinators and the School

Act as a link between the SDC Chair and

the SDC Secretariat.

Perform any other official duties assigned

by the Dean and Heads of Units.



Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience:

The ideal candidate should preferably hold

a Bachelors degree from a recognized Institution of Higher learning

Possession of a Masters degree will be an

added advantage

A minimum of two years of related working

experience performing administrative tasks

Excellent computer skills (Word, Excel,

Access, Power point and internet)

Previous experience in minute taking

Excellent written and oral communication

skills, with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail

Ability to coordinate resources other than

oneself (arrange events)

Ability to be adaptable and flexible and

to learn new skills quickly

Excellent interpersonal skills especially

when dealing with students, staff and visitors

Be a person of high integrity with an

excellent work ethic

Ability to work under pressure to meet

deadlines and be available to work after normal working hours

Must be a committed and practicing

Christian

How to Apply:

All qualified candidates should send two (2) copies of an application

letter clearly demonstrating suitability together with updated Curriculum Vitae

and three (Academic, Leadership, Pastoral) references. Please remember to

attach two (2) copies of academic and professional certificates and transcripts

to:

The Manager, Human Resource & Administration,

Uganda Christian University,

Pilkington Building,

P.O. Box 4, Mukono, Uganda

Email: jobs@ucu.ac.ug

(Applications sent online should be in one PDF document)

st July 2017

by 5:00 pm Deadline: 21July 2017by 5:00 pm
Congress on Tuesday said that it will stage a protest outside Parliament against the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in its present format on July 18.

A gherao of Parliament House would be held to protest against GST in its present form on July 18, Congress' Delhi Chief Ajay Maken told reporters at a press conference here.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has opposed the GST in its present form because the BJP-led central government has created six slabs in the GST with a 40 per cent outer limit whereas the party was in favour of GST with 14 per cent as the outer limit, he said.

The former Union Minister also said that lakhs of people demonstrated against GST in Gujarat's Surat in which not only traders, but also workers and common people participated.

He also said that the traders of the city were fed up with GST and from time to time, the traders' associations of Delhi had informed about their plight and problems.

Maken said the adverse impact of GST was not only affecting the traders, but also the common people.

Hitting out at the centre, he said: The world over, wherever GST has been implemented, an outer limit has been set, but the BJP-led Central government has created six GST slabs with an outer limit of 40 per cent.

He further said that said after implementing the GST by the BJP-led Central Government, the roti, kapada aur makan of the common people have been affected as prices have soared sky-high, and the prices of essential commodities have gone beyond the reach of the common people.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's son-in-law Shailesh Kumar will be appearing before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday in the alleged Rs 8,000 crore money laundering case.

Earlier on Monday, Shailesh had skipped the summon by the ED. Meanwhile, his wife and Lalu Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti were yesterday grilled for eight hours in the case.

She was reportedly asked to bring along certain documents, including those related to her personal finances.

On Saturday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had raided three Delhi premises of Bharti, Shailesh and a firm allegedly linked to them in the money laundering probe involving shell companies.

The ED is the third central probing body investigating the alleged financial irregularities by Lalu Yadav's family after the CBI and the Income Tax department, which recently attached Benami assets worth about Rs 180 crore.

Earlier this week, the CBI registered a corruption case against Lalu Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejaswi Yadav, former Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Managing Director P.K. Goyal, and Sujata, wife of Lalu's confidante Prem Chand Gupta on allegations of awarding the tender for development, maintenance and operation of hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006.

Following this, clouds of uncertainty have been hovering over the RJD's alliance with the Janata Dal (United). The Congress, however, has been extending full support to the RJD.
Cracking the Reliance JIO data breach case within 24 hours, the Navi Mumbai and Maharashtra Cyber police teams have zeroed in on the prime suspect who will be brought from Rajasthan to Mumbai on Wednesday.

Confirming the developments, Maharashtra Cyber Superintendent of Police Balsing Rajput said that following an FIR lodged by the Navi Mumbai Police, the cyber sleuths got a lead which was thoroughly analysed to pinpoint information on the culprit.

Rajput said that with the help of Rajasthan Police, one man was arrested from Churu district of that state and further investigations were on.

A team of Maharashtra Cyber, Navi Mumbai Police and Reliance Jio officials are in Rajasthan conducting raids with the help of Rajasthan Police, while a team from QuickHeal is providing technical help in the probe, Rajput said.

The suspect, identified as an engineering student Imran Chimpa, hails from Sujangarh in Churu, and the Navi Mumbai Police have sought his transit remand from Rajasthan to Mumbai.

He would be brought to Navi Mumbai where the case was registered following a complaint by Reliance JIO.

The proprietor of a local internet service provider in Sujangarh, where Chhimpa was a customer, confirmed Chhimpa had been detained, adding he had received a query from the police about Chhimpa earlier on Tuesday.

In a July 5 post on Frendz4m, an online message board, a person with Chhimpa's Internet Protocol (IP) address and using the handle "imranchhimpa", posted a link to "magicapk.com" saying the site could provide personal user details of anyone with a Jio connection. The post said the data was obtained from original documents.

The proprietor of the local internet service provider said that police asked him for the installation address of that particular IP address, and made him accompany them to Chhimpa's home, where he was later detained.

Chhimpa was not immediately reachable for comment, and his phone was switched off. Police declined to comment on whether there were any other suspects in the case at this time.

A spokesman for Jio said there was no immediate comment on the company's own investigation into the alleged leak.

Major Breach

On Monday, Jio said the data leak appeared to be "unauthentic", and the company's subscriber data was safe and maintained with the highest security.

Some Jio users, though, took to Twitter to say they were concerned that personal information on Magicapk.com could be accurate. Some Indian media said their own checks suggested some leaked data were authentic. The Indian Express newspaper said it was able to cross-verify details on a number of Jio customers it knows.

The Magicapk.com website showed as "suspended" since late Sunday.

Jio launched last September and already boasts over 100 million subscribers after drawing in users with months of free service and now cut-price deals.

Analysts said that if the names, contact numbers, email addresses and Aadhaar numbers of all Jio customers were compromised, it would be a major setback for the telecoms industry's new entrant.

Many users registered for Jio using a 12-digit Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number, commonly known as the Aadhaar number.

The government is pushing for Aadhaar numbers to be used in everything from opening a bank account to filing tax returns. The number, which works in a similar way to US Social Security numbers, is unique to each Indian citizen and stores users' biometric data in a centralised database.
After days of chaos and uncertainty, Basirhat has finally returned to normalcy. However, all is far from over as political mudslinging continues in the region and is heating up day by day.

The Centre has sought a detailed report on the violence, which was ignited by a Facebook post of a 17-year-old boy. The Mamata Banerjee-government has still not lifted Article 144, and political parties continue to be prevented from entering the area. In addition, the army is still camping, with four companies of paramilitary forces patrolling the area round the clock.

Meanwhile, the Congress and the BJP, yet again, attempted to send their fact finding team to the troubled zone, but were prevented en route and sent back. Cant we go and see what is happening? We belong to a major political party in India and I am an MP, said Adhir Ranjan Chaudhry, President of West Bengal Congress.

The BJP has also condemned the manner in which their political team was prevented from visiting the spot. The state BJP was also slapped with a notice from the West Bengal government for circulating a fake video. The video was allegedly made from a Bhojpuri film and named as shots from Basirhat. Two TV channels were also served the notice for the same.

The Trinamool Congress fears that, given an opportunity, the BJP would politicise the situation in Basirhat and would polarise votes across North 24 Parganas. It is one of the most important districts of West Bengal and has 33 assembly seats. The voting pattern of North 24 Parganas, which has a mix of urban-rural and Hindu-Muslim population, is similar to that of South 24 Parganas and Kolkata.

So, the two Parganas are crucial for any ruling party in West Bengal. If they win these, they can retain the power, but a loss would mean that they stand the risk of losing power, said Nilanjan Banerjee, a political science professor of Kolkata.

Meanwhile, the BJP claims that the West Bengal government had a partial role in instigating violence there. Trinamool Congress MLA Dipendu Biswas himself instigated the mob, which mainly consisted of jihadis. Trinamool Congress surrendered to the jihadis in West Bengal. We will not be silent. We will go and unravel the truth, said Biswapriya Roychowdhury, General Secretary of the West Bengal BJP.

Roychaudhury also said the Centre was considering sending a team from home ministry to assess the situation. We have requested them to send the team immediately. Chief minister has accepted the fact that the intruders from Bangladesh came to Basirhat crossing the border. Home minister assured us of considering it, he said.

Such an attempt is, however, met with resistance.

Law and order is a state subject. We will take it very seriously if the central government attempts to do anything on those lines. Whatever they need to know, we would inform them in our report, said Partha Chatterjee. We will not let the situation get aggravated, he added.

Sensing the BJP attempt to polarise the situation, Mamata Banerjee has asked the police to take immediate action against the rioters. The new additional director general of South Bengal Sanjoy Singh and IB-ADG Sanjoy Chunder were asked to monitor the situation immediately and submit a report to the chief minister.
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan said that the stay on the Centres May 26 notification, banning sale of cattle in livestock markets for religious sacrifices and slaughter, should not be considered as a setback for the government. Said Harsh Vardhan to THE WEEK, It is not a setback to us. We only asked the Supreme Court to give us some time to come up with changes in the notification. And it was granted to us by the court. Now, we are examining all representations objectively, as there were some apprehensions. The order by the Supreme Court is being deliberately misconstrued by a section of the media as a serious disappointment for us, which is wrong. We know well that certain aspects need tweaking and we will get back to the court soon.

After the notification in May, the Union government received representations from different people which said that certain rules of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 2017, were sensitive and complicated. The Supreme Court, on July 11, told the Centre that the rules on the sale of cows, buffaloes and camels be kept in suspension till new amendments are notified. Earlier, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court had stayed the new rules. The apex court said that the Madras High Courts interim order, which expired on July 8, would remain in force across the country.

The case was heard by a bench consisting of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. The Union government was represented by Additional Solicitor General P.S. Narasimha. Asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented public interest litigation petitioners, Why would the Central government want a seller and buyer of cattle to give a certificate that the animal is not meant for slaughter? Sibal said that the legal question was related to intrusion into the powers of the state government.

The Union governments decision was slammed by several states. Kerala witnessed beef fests in various parts of the state to protest against the decision. Said P. Karunakaran, CPI(M) MP, Kasaragod, to THE WEEK, The Supreme Courts order is an important step. The Union government has no right to interfere in the eating habits of people. It is the fundamental right of people to eat what they want to eat. I hope the government would make all the necessary amendments at the earliest and correct its mistakes after consulting with the state governments.
Kashmir police on Wednesday said that one of the key accused in the lynching of deputy superintendent of police, Muhammad Ayub Pandith, was killed along with two other militants in an encounter with security forces at Redbug village of central Kashmirs Budgam district. Two security personnel were injured in the encounter.

Police said Sajad Ahmad Gilkar of Nowhatta in downtown Srinagar had played a key role in the lynching of Pandtih on the intervening night of June 22 and 23.

Pandith was attacked by a mob at Jamia Masjid on suspicion that he was a government agent on a secret mission. Gilkar's name surfaced during the investigation into the murder.

After the incident (lynching of Pandith), he went underground and joined Hizbul Mujahideen,'' the police statement said. ''He was also involved in grenade attacks on CRPF at Nowhatta, Safa Kadal and in a grenade attack on the police party at Khanyar on April 30''.

The statement said Gilkar was also involved in the attacks on one Abdul Qayoom in Barzulla and on army convoy near SKIMS Bemina on April 1.

Two other militants killed in the encounter have been identified as Aaqib Gul of Srinagar and Javaid Ahmad Sheikh of Beerwah in Budgam.

It was after many years that two militants from capital city, Srinagar, was killed in an encounter.

They were involved in weapon snatching incidents in the south and central Kashmir, and also carried out anti-national activities,'' the statement said. ''Javaid Sheikh was involved in a number of attacks on security forces and central Kashmir also.

Police said the encounter broke out during a search operation in Redbug on Tuesday night, after the militants hiding in the area fired on the forces.

The militants were asked to surrender through their family members, but they refused and fired indiscriminately. In the ensuing encounter, the three militants were killed,'' the statement said.

Scores of people clashed with security forces when the bodies of militants reached their homes.

Curfew-like restrictions were imposed in the old city to keep a lid on the situation. Mobile internet was

also suspended in some parts of central Kashmir.

This was the first encounter in Kashmir valley after militants ambushed a bus carrying Amarnath Yatris at Botengoo village in Anantnag killing seven and injuring 19 on Monday.
President Donald Trump's eldest son eagerly agreed last year to meet a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have damaging information about Democratic White House rival Hillary Clinton as part of Moscow's official support for his father, according to emails released on Tuesday.

The emails, released by Donald Trump Jr, are the most concrete evidence yet that Trump campaign officials welcomed Russian help to win the election, a subject that has cast a cloud over Trump's presidency and spurred investigations by the Justice Department and Congress.

The messages show that the younger Trump was open to the prospect of very high level and sensitive information from a Russian attorney that a go-between described as part of Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump ahead of a meeting on June 9, 2016.

If it's what you say I love it, Trump Jr responded. He released the messages on Twitter after the New York Times said it planned to write about them and sought comment from him.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump Jr said that Trump's campaign manager at the time, Paul Manafort, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, now a top White House adviser, also attended the meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who denies having Kremlin ties.

He said Veselnitskaya did not provide any damaging information about Clinton at the meeting and instead sought to discuss Russian sanctions.

In retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently, he said. For me, this was opposition research.

Nevertheless, the correspondence between him and Rob Goldstone, a publicist who arranged the meeting, could provide fodder for US investigators probing whether Trump's campaign colluded with the Kremlin.

The crown prosecutor of Russia ... offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father, Goldstone wrote Trump Jr on June 3. Russia does not have a crown prosecutorthe equivalent title is prosecutor general.
SC demands show-cause notice against suspended IRD DG Sharma's custody

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a show-cause notice on a habeas corpus writ demanding release of suspended Inland Revenue Department (IRD) Director General Chudamani Sharma, who is in the custody of Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
A House panel Tuesday unveiled legislation to begin building President Donald Trumps long-promised wall along the U.S-Mexico border. Mexico, however, will not be footing the bill.

The move by the House Appropriations Committee again puts the Trump administration and its allies on Capitol Hill on a collision course with Democrats who oppose the wall and succeeded in blocking a request by Trump to deliver the money when passing an omnibus spending measure earlier this spring.

Democrats objected to the funding and significant opposition surfaced among Republicans as well, many of whom have problems with the wall. The administration and congressional Republicans took a pass on forcing the issue in May but vowed to fight for the wall this summer and fall.

During last years campaign, Trump bragged that Mexico would pay for the wall but hes never come up with a serious plan to deliver on his boast. Instead, the $1.6 billion down payment for the wall will be added to the governments almost $20 trillion debt.

The wall money is embedded in a $44 billion homeland security funding bill released on Tuesday by the House Appropriations Committee. A House Appropriations subcommittee is slated to give the measure a preliminary OK on Wednesday. GOP leaders hope to pass the measure before adjourning for the August break.

The fight over funding the wall is a major obstacle to funding government agency operations for the budget year beginning Oct. 1 and some conservatives are threatening to shut the government down if the wall is not included. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., has raised the threat as part of his GOP primary campaign against appointed Sen. Luther Strange, threatening to filibuster any funding bill that fails to include money for the wall project.

And Trump himself reacted to news reports suggesting Democrats had bested him on the earlier catchall spending bill by taking to Twitter to complain about Senate filibuster rules and declaring that: Our country needs a good shutdown in September to fix mess!

Democrats quickly signaled theyre eager for the fight.

Once again, Republicans are trying to put American taxpayers on the hook for the multi-billion dollar boondoggle President Trump swore Mexico would pay for, said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Trumps immoral, ineffective and expensive wall is strongly opposed by Democrats and by many Republicans as well. A wall of bipartisan opposition is the only thing House Republicans are trying to build here.

(AP)
(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Dovid Lau Shlita, met on Tuesday, 17 Tammuz with Rabbi Yehoshua Fass in order to formally apologize for the inclusion of Rabbi Fass name on an unauthorized list published by the Chief Rabbinate earlier this week. The list includes names of Diaspora Rabbis whose authority has been allegedly questioned by the Chief Rabbinate with regards to verifying Jewish identity.

Rabbi Lau expressed his apologies to Rabbi Fass and explained that he was not aware of the existence of this list and certainly not of its publication, and that it was released without his consent. I regret that this incident may have called your reputation into question. The Chief Rabbinate recognizes and appreciates you as a Rabbi and all that you have done for the Jewish people. Chief Rabbi Lau added that he has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter.

Rabbi Fass, who co-founded Nefesh Nefesh, which has assisted over 50,000 Olim to Israel over the past 15 years, said after the meeting: The Rabbinate should serve as a shining example of unity and connectivity within Judaism and promote its positive values in order to bridge any divides and prevent Sinas Chinam. In addition, Rabbi Fass expressed his sincerest hope that this matter will be resolved immediately, and that a healing process will begin to develop between the Chief Rabbinate and Rabbinic leaders across the world.

Below is the translation of the letter sent by the Chief Rabbinate to Rabbi Fass.

10 July, 2017

To: Rabbi Yehoshua Fass Shlita

Executive Director of Nefesh BNefesh

Over these last few days, a clerk in the office of the Chief Rabbinate publicized, of his own personal accord, a list of unapproved documents.

When HaRav HaGaon Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau Shlita was made aware of this list, he immediately asked me to protest with the utmost fervor the assault on these Rabbis, and notify that this document did not receive his approval, nor did he know anything at all about it.

In his name, I approached the Director-General of the Chief Rabbinate, Rabbi Moshe Dagan, to thoroughly investigate this conduct.

In explaining this document, we were told that the intent was not to reject these Rabbis, G-d forbid, but rather that certain documents that reached him had questions surrounding them and uncertainties regarding them. Some were suspected of being forged, and others due to other elements found in them.

Chief Rabbi Lau is saddened that this document impugned your good name, and therefore has asked me to inform you that this document is in no way, G-d forbid, a rejection of you. The Chief Rabbi very much values all your endeavors, and has instructed all those involved in this matter to act accordingly.

Signed,

Rabbi Raphael Frank

Senior Advisor to the Chief Rabbi

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo credit: Nefesh BNefesh)
Holidaymakers could still be hit with huge bills for using their mobiles in Europe this summer despite a clampdown on charges for phone use abroad, our investigation reveals.

New rules introduced last month mean that if you use your mobile phone for calls, texts or browsing the internet while on holiday within the European Union, it will cost the same as it would in the UK.

The European Commission pledged to end punitive roaming charges, saying 'mobile phone users will pay the same price as at home, with no extra charges'.

If you use your mobile phone for calls, texts or data whilewithin the European Union, it should cost the same as it would in the UK but several clauses leave Britons at risk of hefty bills

The 'roam like at home' scheme promises to revolutionise the way we take our holidays, with families able to access maps and restaurant reviews, make reservations and check on relatives back at home at no extra cost.

But several clauses leave Britons at risk of hefty bills if they travel to the Continent.

If you use your phone for sat nav or download a film  and exceed your data allowance  you could still find you're hit with big costs.

And if you take a short flight to a country outside the EU  a day trip to Monaco while holidaying in the South of France, or a ferry to the Channel Islands, for example  you also face big penalties.

Experts also warn that roaming costs remain punishingly high if you're travelling outside the European Union entirely.

Here, we reveal the hidden dangers to watch out for, and how to keep your costs down.

WHY ROAMING USED TO BE SO PRICEY

When you use your phone to call, text or surf the internet away from the UK, you are 'roaming'.

This means your mobile or tablet is using a foreign network. Your mobile network  Vodafone, EE, O2, Three or whichever you use  has to pay the foreign operator to use their network and this cost is then passed on to you.

But the EU felt the amount operators were charging their customers had got out of hand and did not represent the actual cost. One in ten Britons have returned from their holiday with roaming charges that add up to over 100 more than their typical bill, according to comparison site uSwitch.

We have reported examples of travellers hit with eye-watering bills. NHS worker Shannon Mills, 19, was billed for almost 22,000 by O2 in 2015 after making video calls and using social media during a holiday to Turkey.

Rebecca Bradbury, 25, was left penniless when Orange, which is now part of EE, took almost 1,000 from her bank account in data roaming charges following a two-week trip to Thailand in 2014. She insisted that Orange had sent her no warning texts to say she had exceeded her data allowance.

Beware huge fees outside Europe You could pay even higher rates if you travel beyond Europe this summer. Some mobile networks have rushed to reduce their prices outside Europe to be a step ahead of the competition. But steep roaming charges remain in place with many providers in some of the most popular holiday destinations. Turkey, which attracts more than 1 million UK visitors every year, is among those countries where you could be caught out, as it straddles both Asia and Europe. Customers on O2 and EE Max tariffs holidaying in Turkey will be charged 1.50 a minute to call the UK, while Three charges its Advanced customers 1.40. Text messages also cost up to 50p each with EE, 40p with O2 and 35p with Three. Vodafone allows you to use your UK allowance for calls, texts and data while youre travelling in Turkey. But O2 charges up to 6 per MB of data for its customers in Turkey. The average webpage uses 3 MB to download, so visting just two or three would make you hit O2s 40 roaming cap. If you plan ahead, you can avoid such steep charges. For example, customers can buy an O2 Travel package in advance from 3.99 per day. This includes 120 call minutes, 120 texts and unlimited data. Ernest Doku of uSwitch says: Its important to remember that roaming charges will still apply outside the EU, so holidaymakers heading to destinations often mistakenly believed to be part of the European Union  such as Turkey  may still be caught out. Unfortunately for some, far-flung destinations such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand remain pricey in terms of roaming, so holidaymakers

PRICE CUT THAT'LL MAKE YOUR TRIP CHEAPER

Since June 15 this year, all EU mobile operators have had to offer roaming at domestic prices.

Customers do not need to do anything for this to happen. If you have a phone package which gives you a certain quota of calls, texts and data use each month, your roaming will simply be considered part of this allowance.

When this allowance has been used up, the new rules say you should only be charged your home phone network's usual domestic rates for extra data, calls or texts. This could transform the way people use their mobiles abroad.

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Rather than switching off their phone's roaming facility, or locking it in a safe for the week, UK holidaymakers travelling to Italy, France, Spain and the rest of the EU can use their handset just as they would at home.

It means they can ring friends, make video calls to family, send work emails, update their status on Facebook and upload photographs to Instagram without fear.

They can also use their data allowance to use Google Maps, for example, to find their way around a new city, or work out a driving route to their villa from the airport.

Travellers can look up top restaurants online, find out the weather forecast or keep up to date with the news in the knowledge it should not cost them a small fortune. But there are exceptions and people could still be caught out by several little-known loopholes.

One in ten Britons have returned from their holiday with roaming charges that add up to over 100 more than their typical bill

DON'T GO MAD WITH DATA USE

You can make as many phone calls as you like and send as many texts as you wish from anywhere in the EU and you will be charged domestic prices.

And you won't pay a penny extra for receiving calls or texts while you're abroad either. But the rules for data  browsing the internet and downloading items  are different. Data is measured in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB)  a gigabyte is equal to 1,000 megabytes.

EU rules state that once you have exceeded a 'fair' amount of data, networks can charge you more than the domestic rate. Even if you have unlimited data included in your contract at home, you could still find yourself paying higher rates above a certain amount of data usage

Three has a cap of 12 GB of data at domestic rates. Any data usage over these limits comes with a surcharge of 0.78 p per MB. EE users can use up to 15 GB.

After this, they would need to buy an add-on of 100 MB for 78 p, 500 MB for 3.90 or 1 GB for 7.80. Giffgaff caps some tariffs at just 6GB of data, after which you are charged 0.78 p per MB.

So if you endlessly stream films on holiday when you're not connected to the hotel's Wi-Fi, or if you are glued to Google Maps while trying to find museums or attractions, you could find yourself with a big bill.

And the rules haven't changed for international call rates in the UK. If you use your mobile to call a restaurant in Spain while you're in the UK, you'll still have to pay the international charge on top of the call.

If you're with O2 or Vodafone, for example, a call from the UK to a Spanish number could cost you as much as 1.50 per minute.

BE CAREFUL OF EXTRA CHARGES

The new rules on roaming charges only cover European Union members  but a recent study by Carphone Warehouse suggests three-quarters of us are unsure which countries on the European mainland are in the EU.

To add to the confusion, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, which are outside the EU but part of the European Economic Area (EEA), are included in the deal.

The European destinations most likely to catch you out this summer are Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man  all are in the British Isles but not part of the EU or the EEA.

On the mainland, Switzerland and Monaco are excluded because they're outside the EU.

Providers such as EE, O2 and Vodafone won't charge roaming fees to travellers in these countries  but be careful, as some networks will.

Three, for example, will continue to charge roaming rates for Monaco, including 10p for every MB of data. Virgin Mobile will charge roaming fees in Switzerland, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey. iD Mobile, an offshoot of Carphone Warehouse, also charges roaming fees for data in Switzerland.

If you travel to Geneva this summer, for example, it will charge 2 per minute to call home, 50p per text and 1.25 for 1 MB of data. Giffgaff charges roaming rates for Switzerland, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Monaco. Networks have also been less generous to their pay-as-you-go customers.

For example, O2 customers with pay-as-you go SIM cards will be charged roaming rates to use their mobiles in Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, Monaco and Switzerland. But pay monthly customers can use their usual UK allowance in these countries.

Even if you have unlimited data included in your contract at home, you could still find yourself paying higher rates above a certain amount of data usage

ALERTS THAT SAVE YOU THOUSANDS

Under EU guidelines introduced in 2010, mobile operators must apply a cut-off limit once your bill for using data reaches 50 (excluding VAT)  around 44.

Different networks have varied this slightly. O2 caps charges at 40 while Three's limit is 42.50. This means providers must send you a text when you reach 80 per cent of your agreed roaming cap and another when you actually hit it.

When you've used 50 worth of data, the network cuts off your internet connectivity to stop you using any more data  unless you reply 'YES' to the text and agree to exceed the data cap. The 50 data restriction means you may only get two or three minutes into streaming a film before you reach the cap and your provider cuts off your internet access.

However, customers can quickly override this by responding to the text message to say they want to continue using data.

Experts warn that many people don't realise this means there is no longer any ceiling on the cost of their bill and they could find themselves being legitimately charged data bills that run to thousands of pounds.

Mobile provider iD, for example, charges 1.25 per MB for data in Switzerland.

It means someone streaming a film such as Jurassic World would pay 600 to watch all the way through in standard quality (SD) and 2,176 to watch in high definition (HD), if they had overriden the 50 cap, according to research by uSwitch.

The film is two hours, four minutes, so customers would end up paying as much as 17.50 per minute.

A Virgin Mobile customer visiting Jersey this summer will be charged 50 p per MB of data. By opting out of the 50 roaming cap they risk racking up a bill of almost 900 to watch a single film. If they chose to watch Jurassic World they would pay 240 in standard definition or more than 870 in high definition.

Virgin Mobile says customers should consider 'carefully' before lifting the data cap, which 'is there to protect them from running up large bills'.

A spokesman for iD Mobile said its customers could set their own cap to above or below its 41 automatic limit, or could call the network to block roaming altogether.

Ernest Doku of uSwitch says: 'The cost of data can be high per megabyte, so it doesn't take much to reach your cap if you have one.

'Our advice to consumers is not to remove the cap. Where possible, use Wi-Fi and download music and useful local maps before you travel.'

l.eccles@dailymail.co.uk
Chopper: Former De Beers chairman Nicky Oppenheimer

De Beers is to redevelop its historic headquarters in the City, after owners Anglo American cancelled plans to sell the fortress-like property. Ex-chairman Nicky Oppenheimer will be most relieved.

When the grey-whiskered old Harrovian, 72, sold the family stake in De Beers for 4billion in 2012, he kept his access to the buildings helipad. Interesting fact: Oppenheimers the only person allowed to fly a private chopper within the Square Mile.

Offcut from BTs annual general meeting yesterday: flashy BT boss Gavin Patterson: I read and respond to every email personally. Angry shareholder: I find this comment quite amusing.

I wrote to him with a complaint on February 10. It went down five levels of management before I got someone prepared to even look at the question. And it still hasnt been resolved. Gav: Er, February was a particularly busy time

What a hoot Mike Ashleys High Court tussle with investment banker Jeffrey Blue has been. Not least for presiding Judge, Sir George Leggatt.

After hearing yesterdays closing arguments, the courtly old Etonian flashed a wolfish grin at the court before intoning: This has been a lot more interesting than some other cases.

My man in the gallery reports Sir George, 59, struggled to keep a straight face while Ashleys boorish drinking habits were laid bare before the court.

Barclays boss Jes Staley visited the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate this week to announce more funding for British agriculture.

The sturdy Bostonian, 60, gingerly sampled a pint of Yorkshire-brewed beer before posing with a prized bullock. Barclays like to get their moneys worth out of 8million-a-year Jes, dont they?

When not delivering well-remunerated speeches to the City, whats David Cameron doing with his time?

A mole spotted him yesterday breakfasting at Ace Cafe, a greasy spoon on Londons North Circular road where leather-clad bikers famously congregate.

Well known in gay circles too, Im told, since it was the setting for cult 1964 film, The Leather Boys. Hardly sounds Daves natural milieu, but apparently the foods not bad.
Embattled BT fought off calls for boss Gavin Patterson to quit over the 530million accounting scandal which shareholders have branded 'the Italian Job'.

During the company's annual general meeting in London, angry investors demanded explanations from outgoing chairman Sir Michael Rake about how the fraud at its Italian business had happened and whether anyone had been held accountable.

They also complained about the company's 14billion pensions deficit, its troubled network and cables division Openreach and a record 42million fine from telecoms watchdog Ofcom.

Shareholders are demanding BT boss Gavin Patterson quit over the 530m accounting they have branded 'the Italian Job'

Rake, presiding for the last time before he steps down in November, admitted the issues had 'overshadowed' the company and formed a 'perfect storm' that hammered its share price.

But the 69-year-old rejected calls for Patterson to quit over the BT Italia scandal  and a vote afterwards saw shareholders overwhelmingly back him.

BT INVESTOR GRIPES 'Openreach is completely out of control and is abusing its monopoly position' 'Why can't I get a phone signal from the end of my garden?' 'Do you think the Mafia were involved in this scandal?' ' Much-loved red telephone boxes are part of our heritage. But they are missing panes, filthy and need re-repainting' ' We get cold calls every day. One of the numbers I have to ring most often is 1471'

Rake told investors: 'In a very large company you cannot take steps that would further damage it in a crisis.

I do not believe these events reflect the general culture at BT.'

He pointed to the 4million pay cut that had been taken by Patterson, 49, and said managers in Italy had been sacked.

Corrado Sciolla, the former head of BT Europe, resigned in January.

Speaking after the meeting, Patterson admitted that the Italian accounting scandal had been 'a humbling experience'.

He added: 'Even if some of these issues relate to previous years, it still comes out on my watch and I take responsibility for it.'

He rejected suggestions that he had feared for his job. Patterson said: 'Shareholders continue to support me.

I think they understand Italy is a very unfortunate situation  and one we are extremely angry about still  but it was a very sophisticated fraud and we have acted swiftly to address the situation.'

Patterson insisted Openreach, which has been accused of delivering poor customer services and being slow to carry out repairs, was improving steadily.
Nationwide and RBS have revealed plans to cap unauthorised overdraft fees, hot on the heels of Lloyds' move this morning to scrap the charges altogether.

From 1 August 2017 Nationwide will apply a monthly maximum charge cap on all unarranged overdraft fees, charges and interest of 50 per month on its prime current accounts.

At the same time, the society will reduce the transaction fee for any payments above official overdraft limits from 15 to 5 per item on its FlexAccount, bringing it in line with the fee on FlexDirect.

RBS and NatWest meanwhile said they recently wrote to customers confirming they are cutting the maximum fees for unarranged overdraft usage by almost half, from 150 to 80 from 24 July.

Lloyds will scrap all unfair charges on unarranged overdrafts

Customers who choose to use the banks' overdraft control service will not be charged any unarranged overdraft fees, even where contactless payments take them over their agreed limits.

Banks are under pressure to overhaul their unauthorised overdraft charges, after the competition watchdog told firms they must cap charges by August.

Despite the new caps, backbench MP Julian Knight called on all banks and building societies to follow Lloyds' lead and get rid of unfair overdraft charges once and for all.

Nationwide and RBS / Natwest are stopping short of scrapping unauthorised overdraft charges altogether, as Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland have by bringing in a 1p per day charge for every 7 of overdraft used instead.

RBS and NatWest have auto-enrolled all their customers with mobile phone numbers registered on their accounts into 'Act Now' alerts.

These go out about 9am to tell customers if they are overdrawn and give them until 3.30pm to put money in their account before they incur any charges. Over 9 million customers are registered for text alerts and RBS said it sends out over 2.3 million texts per month.

Knight: Other banks must follow and end this practice which punishes some of the most vulnerable in our society

Knight, Conservative MP for Solihull and a former personal finance journalist with the BBC and Independent, headed a committee of MPs who called for an independent inquiry into sky high overdraft fees earlier this year.

Backed by Tory peer Lord Flight, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Sharkey and the former shadow chancellor, Labour MP Chris Leslie, Knight said in February that watchdog plans to crack down on high cost credit don't go far enough for those struggling to manage debts.

Today Knight praised Lloyds' decision to scrap all fees for unauthorised overdrafts - when customers accidentally go over their arranged overdraft limit - from November.

The changes also apply at Halifax and Bank of Scotland  meaning that four in ten current account holders in Britain will be affected.

Knight said: 'Lloyds is leading the way and now the other banks must follow and end this practice which punishes some of the most vulnerable in our society.

'For too long the big banks have milked consumers with rates which would make a payday lender blush sometimes for the most innocuous of transgressions such as going overdrawn by a few pounds.

'People need to know what they are paying and must be treated fairly.'

This is Money has campaigned against unfair bank charges imposed to profit from unauthorised overdrafts since 2006. Last July, consumer group Which? unveiled research showing that falling into an unplanned overdraft by 100 can cost borrowers as much as 180 in just over a month.

This is 156 more than payday loan providers are allowed to charge customers following a fee cap brought in two years ago.

What are the other banks doing?

What has Lloyds done? Lloyds will charge 1p per day for every 7 someone borrows on an overdraft - and scrap unauthorised overdraft charges. It previously had two systems, both of which have now been ditched. One involved APR-based interest charges and a 6 per month charge for using your overdraft. The system on other accounts involved a 1 per day flat overdraft usage fee. At present someone who was 26 overdrawn without arrangement could potentially be charged 86 in unauthorised and monthly fees. The removal of the monthly and unauthorised fees will make it simpler for many customers to understand and manage their accounts. But finance expert Andrew Hagger said it works out at approximately 52 per cent interest, so is more expensive than the clutch of providers who charge less than 18 per cent interest. The new Lloyds tariff is cheaper for its customers with smaller borrowing requirements (due to the axing of the 6 monthly fee) For those borrowing sums in four figures it starts to get more expensive  for example a 2,000 overdraft for 12 days currently costs a Club Lloyds customer 17.47 but under the new tariff it works out at 34.29.

This is Money asked the other biggest banks in the UK to confirm whether they had any plans to follow Lloyds.

A Barclays spokesperson said: 'Barclays does not provide unarranged overdrafts or any other form of unarranged borrowing. We have introduced text alerts, grace periods and buffer zones to help customers manage their finances and avoid fees.'

For arranged overdrafts, Barclays charges 75p per day on overdrafts up to 1,000, 1.50 per day for 1,000 to 2,000 and 3 per day for over 2,000.

Customers without emergency borrowing are not charged anything if they exceed their arranged overdraft facility, unless a transaction was returned as unpaid.

If a transaction was returned unpaid, customers would be charged a fee of 8 per day. From 8 June the bank capped the number of unpaid transaction fees to four per month with a maximum charge of 32.

A statement from Santander said: 'We believe in a simple and transparent approach to overdraft charging.

'We already have a maximum total monthly overdraft fee cap that applies to all arranged and unarranged overdraft charges including paid and unpaid transaction fees.

'We constantly review our charging structures to pricing to ensure we remain competitive and offer good value to customers.'

A spokesman from HSBC said: 'It is important to consider the cost of both arranged and unarranged overdrafts, and we feel our overdrafts offer good value.

'We are removing interest charges on unarranged overdrafts on our most popular accounts including HSBC Bank Account, HSBC Advance, as well as our Graduate Account and retaining the policy of not charging more for an unarranged overdraft than by the amount the customer is overdrawn, up to a maximum of 80 a month.

'We havent charged unpaid item fees on any of our accounts since 2013. We do, of course, keep our products under review.'

SIX OF THE BEST OVERDRAFT DEALS There are a handful of accounts on the market offering fee-free overdraft buffers or to waive fees and interest on your whole overdraft for a fixed period. We have rounded up the best options in our regularly updated guide here, but below are a few of our top picks. First Directs First Account comes top of the polls when it comes to customer service, and it offers the largest interest-free overdraft buffer at 250 - after that it charges interest at 15.9 (EAR) per cent. Switchers currently get 100 cash to sign up, it requires a 1,000 monthly deposit or you pay a 10 monthly fee. M&S Bank's Current Account offers a 100 fee-free buffer and also charges 15.9 EAR per cent. It currently pays 185 in vouchers if you switch and stay for a year. It also requires a 1,000 per month deposit. Nationwide's Flex Direct account offers to waive borrowing fees and interest for the longest at 12 months - the agreed limit will depend on your individual circumstances. After that there is a flat 50p charge each day to use an authorised overdraft or 5 for unauthorised borrowing. The account also offers the opportunity to earn 5 per cent interest on balances of up to 2,500 paid every month, which could be worth up to 125. Both Santander's Everyday Current Account and 123 Current Account give a four month grace period to switchers. The Everyday option has no added extras and no monthly fees. The 123 Account costs 5 per month to run but you get 1.5 per cent interest on up to 20,000 and up to 3 per cent cashback on household bills. For a gimmick-free overdraft, Tesco Bank offers a flat rate of interest at 18.9 per cent on authorised or unauthorised borrowing. There is also a free Overdraft Control service that will stop any payments being made if it will take you into or increase your unagreed overdraft. The account also pays 3 per cent on balances up to 3,000 and Clubcard points for spending.




Students end hunger strike in Saptari

Students who were on a relay-hunger strike in the district for the past four days ended the protest today after being ensured of addressing their demands.
MBABANE - Comedians have been warned against making fun of the country, and its government leaders and those who attend their shows.



The Swaziland National Council of Arts and Culture (SNCAC) summoned all comedians, following utterances made by comedian Dr. Shakes during his one man show held two weeks ago.



The comedians are said to have apologised to SNCAC and promised to no longer make controversial jokes that tarnish the countrys image or that of an individual.



SNCAC CEO Stanley Dlamini said the purpose of the meeting held last week was strictly to advise the comedians to mind the content of their jokes as some of them were not in good taste.



The comedians apologised to the council, further asking the council to issue an apology to the nation on their behalf. They further mentioned that they were not aware that at times their jokes turned to provoke the very fans that supported them, said Dlamini. Dlamini confirmed the meeting with the comedians, adding that they had fruitful talks on the day.



He said as a council they noted that some of their jokes were annoying fans and were touching on very important people in society. So as a council whose interest is to have art promote the country not tarnish or damage it , they decided to call them as they wanted clarity on some of the jokes.



Dlamini said they were happy with the outcome, saying they reached a common ground with the comedians.
MANZINI  I just hope there are walking sticks in prison just in case I get a custodial sentence.



These were the words of robbery and attempted murder convict, David Mafitsifitsi Msibi (63), before he was sentenced to six years imprisonment by the court yesterday.



However, the court suspended half of the sentence. In his mitigation of sentence, he expressed hope that there were walking sticks in prison just in case he was given a custodial sentence.



Msibi committed robbery offences last year in collaboration with one Wonderboy Vilakati (37) of Mpolonjeni. He had pleaded not guilty to tying one Mduduzi Zubuko together with his wife, Sindisiwe Ellen Zubuko, with a fan cable and hacking them with a slasher before robbing them of their valuable items valued at about E80 000.



Mduduzi, who was severely hacked, said Msibi informed them that he had been sent to kill them on the night of the incident.

Zubuko, a former AD Enterprises employee, who was attacked while he was inside his house, told the court that he had locked all his doors when three men, including Msibi, entered his bedroom carrying bush knives and slashers. Msibi said they had been sent by certain people to finish me off and later steal money which had been kept in our bedroom.

They then took a blanket and covered us. After a while, they removed it and cut a fan cable, which they used to tie our hands, feet and bodies. While demanding money, they searched the whole house and would continuously hack me with the bush knife. The suspects, led by Msibi, then demanded my car keys and took all my valuable items, house appliances, clothing and loaded them into the vehicle, Zubuko said.
MBABANE  The court has been called upon to determine the constitutionality of the disciplinary tribunal in the police service.



This after a Malkerns-based police officer, who is due to appear before a disciplinary tribunal, has approached the High Court with urgency for an order declaring the appointment of the disciplinary board unlawful and null and void.



Joseph Mamba, who has been charged with absenteeism among other charges, has informed the court that the appointment of the disciplinary board is unconstitutional.



He said in terms of the constitution, a sector service commission should have been established six months after the constitution came into force, to deal with disciplinary issues within the police service.



Mamba said the respondents in the matter, the chairman of the CSC, national commissioner of police, the prime minister and attorney general have been in default for about 10 years.

The veracity of these allegations is still to be tested in court.

The respondents are still to file responding papers. Mamba is represented by Sibusiso Nhlabatsi of T.R. Maseko Attorneys.

Mamba cited Section 173(3) and (4) as read with Section 276(a) (iii) of the Constitution of Swaziland Act of 2005.



According to Section 173 (3) and (4), Member of a service commission shall be appointed by the King on the recommendation of a line minister or any other authority as may be provided in this Constitution or any other law.



Subsection 4 states that the in recommending to the King for the appointment of a member of a service commission, the line minister shall proceed in a competitive, transparent and open manner on the basis of suitable qualifications and the line minister shall endeavour to recommend a person who can effectively discharge the responsibilities of that office.


MBABANE  Did Lozitha High School get special treatment?



This was the question that came to many after hearing that Lozitha School, both primary and high school, were among the first to have food items delivered to their premises.



This follows a riot by the pupils at the school, where they vandalised school property because of shortage of food at the school last Wednesday. Calm was restored after the quick intervention of police. The Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) had said they had anticipated more of such actions should the food not be delivered immediately. School had to break early as the pupils were sent home after vandalising the property, but order had been restored the next day.



Meanwhile, during a visit to the school yesterday, a pot of beans was already on the stove by 4:30pm. Deputy Head teacher Laurette Litchfield said the delivery was a surprise because they did not expect it so soon.



She said the food would last the school for at least four weeks as there was quite a number of pupils.

She added that she was not so sure what would happen after the four weeks but for now, they were happy that the pupils would write exams on full stomachs.



She shared that the school served breakfast at 11am as a full meal consisting of beans and rice.

Litchfield said most of the pupils did not have breakfast at home so instead of lunch, the school served meals in the morning and that would sustain the children all day.






EZULWINI  Somnjalose High School pupils offloading bags of maize, beans, peanut butter and cooking oil from a government truck on the first day of food delivery since the crisis in the countrys schools. (Pics: Sibusiso Shange)

MBABANE  Sheer joy was written on the faces of pupils and head teachers as government finally delivered food to 21 schools yesterday.



The joy did not only remain at the schools, but also extended to Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Education and Training Pat Muir and the ministrys officials who were having sleepless nights because of the food crisis which had hit most schools this second term.



Heavy pressure had been mounted on government by various stakeholders to stick to its mandate of ensuring that schools had food to feed the pupils.



Indeed, government acted swiftly in ensuring that by the end of the week, food supplies were already being delivered to schools.

The delivery of the food will continue this morning as the ministry has ensured that today most of the schools in the Lubombo region will get theirs.



The delivery in some schools yesterday also meant that government was able to meet the five working days ultimatum which was given to it by Members of Parliament (MPs) following a motion that was moved by Lugongolweni MP Joseph Souza calling for government to address the situation immediately.



The items consisted of mealie meal, rice, beans, peanut butter and cooking oil, which were delivered to some of the schools yesterday. The food came in 50kg bags of mealie meal, beans and 25 and 10 litres of cooking oil and peanut butter, respectively.
MAHLANGATSHA  Residents of Mahlangatsha are asking themselves if a young girl of the area could have possibly escaped the clutches of a ritual murderer.



The eight-year-old Grade II pupil at Mahlangatsha Primary School was reportedly snatched off a pathway leading to her school early on Monday morning by a stranger, who stuffed her into a sack before disappearing into a nearby bush.



The culprit is alleged to have emerged from the thick vegetation surrounding the path while a group of schoolgirls were travelling from home to catch a bus to school, just before 6am.

The school is situated about 10km from the survivors homestead.



On a daily basis, the young girl, together with other pupils from the area, travel about 1 km on a narrow path that cuts through a thicket to reach the bus stop, where they board their bus at 6am.



So as usual, on Monday morning, the young girl reportedly oined others and headed for the bus station. As the schoolgirls were walking down the path and minding their own business, a man suddenly emerged out of nowhere and charged at them.



Information gathered was that the man first tried to grab one of the girls but she fought back. With the initial target resisting, the man quickly pounced on the eight-year-old, who he managed to stuff into a sack before taking off.



Fortunately, the remaining girls were smart enough to raise the alarm, to which community members responded promptly and gave chase. Noting that he was being pursued, the man apparently got scared and let go of the sack, giving the young terrified girl a chance to escape. A witness said the man threw the bag on the ground and bolted towards a nearby forest.
The 1950 treaty

The Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed between Nepal and India in 1950 is a major issue of contention behind the ongoing Gorkhaland movement in Darjeeling.
The job issue

With the Gulf crisis showing no sign of resolution, the number of aspiring Nepali migrants seeking a permit to work in Qatar has plummeted sharply.
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By Naeisha Rose

City Councilman I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans) secured $700,000 in funding for 17 art institutions throughout Queens and visited some of them last week to learn about their projects for the summer and the ensuing year.

We have this rich legacy of art, culture and music in southeast Queens, Miller said about his June 26 visits. The world has embraced it. I dont know if weve embraced it, and I wanted to highlight that, particularly for the next generation.

The first institution he stopped by was the Jamaica Center for Arts Learning, at 161-04 Jamaica Ave. The organization has over 40 programs.

We have a hub for the arts that we can use to attract people to come down here, Miller said. We have a lot to offer here, and we need to train our young people in the arts so that they can be well-rounded, holistically, and the programs here are also for our seniors who are painting, quilting and tapping.

Lincoln Center BORO-LINC set up an art exhibit at the Center, featuring pieces by children and their families who were trained by Artist-in-Residence Emmett Wigglesworth. Wigglesworth is a retired U.S. Marine, muralist, painter, poet, fabric designer and 20-year Queens resident who has art displayed throughout Ghana and the United States.

They create these family murals, tapestries and sculptures, and it is an opportunity for the family to do work together and have fun, said Cathy Hung, the executive director of JCAL.

Christopher Williams, a composer and choreographer-in-residence at JCAL, was elated about the funding for the center.

This enabled me to have a valuable number of studio hours that I would have to rent myself, Williams said. It saves me an incredible amount of money and allows me to embark on my creative process that is more organic and its not rushed. Im not pinching every penny.

With the money that he saves, Williams gets to pay his dancers as he choreographs a romantic opera based on a series of ancient texts called the Mabinogi  the Welsh version of Arthurian tales, according to the composer.

Andrew Clarke, the founder of Braata Productions, was happy about receiving funds for his organization and couldnt wait to extol the importance of old Caribbean music.

Braata Productions is a Caribbean performing arts center with an emphasis on the preservation of folk music, Clarke said. The old folks music is not being appreciated and thats sad because that is where the music started. Reggae was Rock Steady, and before that it was Ska, and before that it was folk music, meaning Mento, which is the basis for all our music.

Clarke wants to continue educating Caribbean-Americans, and those not familiar with older Caribbean music, through folk performances at his center, located 118-05 on 200th St. at St. Albans.

Rudolph Shaw, the Guyanese artistic director of the Caribbean American Repertory Theatre Inc., was thankful for Millers contributions to the arts in Queens.

We focus on mainly Caribbean, African-American theatre, Shaw said. Through the councilmans funding, we were able to do a tribute to Irving Burgie, who lives in this area.

Burgie, a Bajan-American songwriter, is responsible for several of Harry Belafontes hits, including Day-O (The Banana Boat Song), according to Shaw.

Shaw is currently working on a revised version of To Sir, with Love, written by fellow Guyanese playwright E. R. Braithwaite, who passed away at 104 last year.

The theatre is located at 114-13 Ovid Place in St. Albans.

Councilman Miller later left JCAL to visit Carl Clay, the CEO of Black Spectrum Theatre.

The funding that we receive is vital for Black Spectrum Theatres organization, Clay said. Its mandatory if we are going to operate.

Black Spectrum does 50 events each year, including concerts, after-school programs, theatre and films that have gone on to be featured in film festivals around the world. Some films have been in the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival.

Shaw plans to showcase a play called King Fish in the fall. It is about the first-ever all-black comedy show that was featured on television.

Black Spectrum Theatre is located at 119-07 Merrick Blvd.
Tourist spending jumps 41.9pc

Spending of foreign tourists who visited Nepal surged by 41.9 percent in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, as arrivals of foreign nationals continued to increase after India lifted economic blockade in February 2016 and life gradually returned back to normalcy following devastating earthquakes of April and May 2015.
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
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ALBANY  A fourth Democrat plans to challenge Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik in next year's 21st Congressional District election.

Emily Martz of Saranac Lake announced her run for the seat Wednesday evening in her hometown alongside the village mayor and other supporters. Her bid further swells the field that has lined up to take on Stefanik, an Essex County Republican serving her second term.

In an interview, Martz, the operations and finance director for the business group Adirondack North Country Association, kept coming back to a core theme: The need to create family-sustaining jobs.

She pointed to ANCA's work with Queensbury-based Apex Solar as the group sought to work with companies in the clean energy sector to boost the industry regionally. She said efforts to increase demand for clean energy that ANCA worked on led the company to create a small satellite office in Keene, Essex County, with three new jobs.

"Anyone who knows Keene knows that three jobs in Keene is significant," she said. "So I know that with the right leadership in Washington ... we can replicate that kind of success in multiple sectors around the entire region."

Like the other three Democrats seeking to unseat Stefanik, Martz was quick to jump on the Republican's vote for the House's American Health Care Act legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act, claiming that the bill restricts access to health care. The Congressional Budget Office has projected the bill would increase the number of uninsured people by 19 million people.

Also like the other Democrats, Martz is politically green. The 21st district seat is the first elected position she has pursued.

"To me, politics means engagement in your community, engagement in your society," she said after pointing to her non-political position on the Saranac Lake Downtown Advisory Board. "My service on the downtown advisory board is an extension of my involvement in helping to create economic viability within the community, which is what politics is all about."

Stefanik campaign spokesman Lenny Alcivar repeated on Wednesday that the Republican "is focused on her bipartisan work delivering real results for the hardworking families and small businesses across the 21st District, not on politics."

Martz joins Patrick Nelson of Stillwater, Katie Wilson of Keene and Tedra Cobb of St. Lawrence County in seeking the congressional seat.

The district spans from Lake Ontario to Lake Champlain and from the Canadian border south into parts or all of Saratoga, Warren, Washington and Fulton counties.

mhamilton@timesunion.com  518-454-5449  @matt_hamilton10
ALBANY  Is it better to have an insider or an outsider lead Albany schools?

That's a question the community continues to debate in the week since the city school district announced its next superintendent would be longtime Nevada educator Kaweeda Adams.

Her supporters said the board of education had a seemingly ideal candidate for the job right under its nose  longtime Albany educator and Interim Superintendent Kimberly Wilkins  and yet it went with a candidate who lives more than 2,500 miles away. Why?

That's a question board President Sue Adler won't answer, as it would require her to disclose whether Wilkins was a candidate in the first place (sources confirm she was). In hopes of yielding a better candidate pool, the board agreed last fall to conduct a confidential superintendent search, meaning it would not disclose candidates or finalists to the public.

But Adler will tell you why Adams was chosen.

"The board strongly believes that Ms. Adams is the most qualified person to help our district not just move forward but to move forward as quickly as possible with the critical work that we need to do to increase achievement for all in our district," Adler said.

Adams, a school associate superintendent who has served in Nevada's Clark County School District for 28 years, was selected for her track record in numerous administrative positions and experience serving a large, diverse school district. The Nevada school system is the fifth largest in the nation. The board is expected to finalize and approve her $197,000-a-year contract Thursday.

Former school board member Kenny Bruce is hoping to pressure the board to change its mind.

He started a petition Tuesday calling on the board to reconsider and appoint Wilkins to the job, crediting the stability she brought to the 9,700-student district in her year and a half as interim superintendent, her 23 years of service to the district and her "hands-on and collegial" management style. The petition had 225 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon.

But Bruce, who resigned in May after board members accused him of breaching confidentiality in the search, admits he has no confidence the board will heed his call.

"I'm not convinced that any effort by the community would change the board's decision," he said. "But I do think it's important that the community weigh in and let our elected representatives know that we're not happy with their decision."

Wilkins did not respond to a request for comment. She has not publicly stated whether or not she was interested in the job.

In a Facebook post that went viral last week, Bruce accused the board of making its decision "behind closed doors" and picking someone no one knows over "a daughter of Albany who was delivering results."

The post seemed to resonate and quickly gained more than 156 likes, 148 shares and 58 comments, many of them in support of Wilkins.

Alicia Barr, a 2007 graduate of Albany High who now has her own child in the district, said Wilkins really seemed to care about the community, having visited her daughter's school for a "very small event"  unlike previous superintendents, she said, who would show up only at high-profile events like graduation.

"Dr. Wilkins has left large shoes to fill," she said. "Shame on the board for using her when it was beneficial and then passing over her when they decided it was time for someone permanent."

The post also sparked a larger debate for Albany school supporters: Would an outsider be as loyal to the district or care about its children as an insider would? Or would an outsider come in with fresh eyes, ready and willing to shake up the status quo?

"Many times an outsider can see things that natives are blind to," one commenter wrote.

Albany has cycled through four superintendents in the past 10 years, two of whom were selected on an interim basis. A lack of stability at the top, critics argue, makes it impossible for anyone to develop or fulfill long-term goals or plans for the district, which has struggled for years to boost achievement.

It's made some progress on this front, with the graduation rate climbing 9 percentage points in five years from 49 percent in 2012 to 58 percent in 2016. But reading and math scores remain abysmally low.

For her part, the 51-year-old Adams has assured the public she plans on sticking around in her new role.

"I tend to grow roots pretty fast," she told the Times Union last week.

She will meet with members of the community for the first time Thursday at a 6:30 p.m. reception at Delaware Community School.

Editor's note: This story has been updated. Incomplete data regarding 8th grade math proficiency have been removed.
SCHENECTADY  When Tony DiCarlo was a police officer in 1989, it sometimes was a punishment to be assigned to patrol downtown streets.

Now, the co-owner of Katie O'Byrnes Irish Pub and Restaurant sees the streets differently.

"The difference between now and then is night and day," he said.

On Tuesday, a Katie O'Byrnes neighbor was the subject of a visit by Gov. Andrew Cuomo at Proctors just down the street: The decrepit Amtrak station, which is being demolished.

Cuomo arrived in the afternoon to tout the shiny new renderings inspired by the old Union Station, built on the same grounds along Erie Boulevard in 1910. The new train hall will feature multi-story arch windows and a gold dome with a weathervane in the shape of the Empire State. The floor of the station will be highlighted by a grand map of the state adorned with the Empire and Adirondack corridors train stops. Art that recalls historic times in Schenectady will line the walls.

For the governor, the $23 million train station project is a small step in his growing list of infrastructure accomplishments. Cuomo on Tuesday touted the train station, scheduled for completion in October 2018, as another example of what he sees as his ability to build in the 21st century. His list includes projects at LaGuardia Airport and upstate airport terminals, a Manhattan train station and a new Tappan Zee Bridge  even as the New York City subway system and other downstate train woes have become a political migraine.

The governor also took a page from his Buffalo revival rhetoric, turning the train-station project into an emblem of downtown revitalization in a struggling city.

"I hope you feel it because it is a different day," Cuomo said of the energy he claims now exists in Schenectady, where a new casino opened just down the road earlier this year. "I was chatting with the mayor before we came out, and I said, 'You know, you can feel it when you come into the city.'"

For some business owners near the train station, that isn't political bluster.

"I feel it," said Dawn Taylor, the owner of the 105-year-old Wedgeway Barber Shop on the corner of Erie Boulevard and State Street. She called the new station renderings "gorgeous."

Across the street at Katie O'Byrnes, bar manager Tommy Kennedy said there certainly is a vibe that Schenectady is being rebuilt.

For whatever planned glory the train station is supposed to help restore, there still are some current headaches. Both Taylor and Kennedy pointed to confusion amid the chaotic whir of construction equipment. Kennedy said some patrons have wondered where the temporary train stop is with passenger operations moved to a parking on Liberty Street parking.

Taylor said that a clear picture of what exactly was going on with the station hadn't been put out after years of project delays.

The longstanding fits and starts and cost of the project have invited scrutiny. A partner in the Wall Street building next door, in which Katie O'Byrnes is among the first-floor shops, has kept up pressure on state, federal and Amtrak officials as he has sought the opportunity to refurbish that building as the train station instead.

Peter Guidarelli, a partner with Empire Edison Development LLC, has publicly stated his vision for the project could save considerable taxpayer money and time without the need to demolish the existing station. He has followed the train station project closely and said the $23 million price tag is far above the roughly $15 million that state officials last year said was budgeted for the project.

Guidarelli, a former county legislator, said he told state officials that renovating his building, which is adjacent to the railway, would have saved the state millions of dollars.

"I pressed the state to look at my building as an alternative when they went over budget," Guidarelli said, adding that the ongoing construction will also have an adverse impact on the existing businesses there. "This was an alternative I just asked them to have a fair look at it. ... They spent almost nine years and almost $5 million to figure out what they wanted to build and they gave us two meetings in two weeks to tell us 'no.'"

State Department of Transportation Commissioner Matthew Driscoll was bullish about the new design and the plans that are moving forward. He said the demolition, which comes well in advance of a new terminal being ready, is necessary to clear the way for the Union Station-style passenger depot. He said $23 million remains the target cost of the station, with Cuomo's office later saying that $17 million in state money is set aside for construction costs. Another $2 million in state money is available for engineering and other project costs.

Cuomo originally proposed $15 million in his budget for the project, with another $10.4 million in federal money available. It was not clear how the change in the state funding between the proposal and the actual planned spending came to be.

mhamilton@timesunion.com  518-454-5449  @matt_hamilton10
ALBANY  Two Mexican immigrants who were arrested May 30 by federal agents in Saratoga Springs were sentenced Tuesday for illegally re-entering the United States, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Arturo Garcia-Lopez, 45, and Leonel Martinez-Ramirez, 23, were each sentenced to time served after pleading guilty. They have been incarcerated for 43 days and will be deported.

As part of his guilty plea, Garcia-Lopez admitted that he had illegally returned to the United States after he was deported to Mexico on June 9, 2015. Garcia-Lopez had also been deported on Sept. 26, 2014 and June 4, 2015.

As part of his guilty plea, Martinez-Ramirez admitted that he had illegally returned to the United States after he was deported to Mexico on March 3, 2013.

Since President Donald Trump  who has vowed to order stricter immigration enforcement  took office in January, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have shifted their focus from arresting undocumented immigrants with a criminal record to anyone who has violated immigration law.

"ICE focuses its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. However, as Secretary (of Homeland Security John) Kelly has made clear, ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement," ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls said in May. "All of those in violation of immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention, and if found removable by final order, removal from the United States."

ICE agents from the Buffalo field office, which covers 48 counties in New York, made 40 percent more arrests between Jan. 20 and March 13 than during the same period last year.

ICE agents arrested 203 people in upstate New York in the 52 days between Jan. 20 and March 13. Roughly 75 percent of those immigrants had criminal records, Walls said.
Transaction of Rs1m or more in cash barred: NRB

Come July 16, no one will be allowed to conduct transaction of Rs1 million or above in cash.
TROY  Campaigns of the two Rensselaer County Republican candidates' campaigns executive post have churned through court fights -- now their nominating petitions will have to withstand scrutiny once Thursday's filing deadline passes.

Assemblyman Steven McLaughlin and Deputy County Executive Christopher Meyer appear headed to Republican and Conservative primaries for the seat, which carries a $121,300 salary.

Late Tuesday, state Supreme Court Justice Roger D. McDonough ruled that the state Independence Party Executive Committee's authorization of McLaughlin to run as a candidate was invalid for failing to comply with election law and party rules.

McDonough upheld the Rensselaer County Independence Party Executive Committee authorization for Meyer to run.

McLaughlin did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment about McDonough's ruling. But on his Facebook page "Steve McLaughlin for Rensselaer County Executive" posted, "My opponent recently brought more court actions, all in an attempt to stop Independence Party voters from participating in a primary. They failed. That failure will mean a primary for the Independence line on September 12."

McLaughlin has successfully run a write-in campaign to win the Independence line during the primary.

Meyer issued a statement saying, "I am pleased that court actions to date have clearly taken into account the necessity of local residents being heard during the endorsement procedure, rather than big time party bosses. This is a victory for all those who serve locally on their respective committees and know firsthand the issues that concern all of us as Rensselaer County residents."

The two, hoping to succeed retiring County Executive Kathleen Jimino, are not ducking confrontation in the preliminary rounds of the campaign.

Meyer has secured the local committee endorsements for the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines, plus state Reform Party support.

McLaughlin has questioned Meyer's tactics in getting the Republican and Conservative nods.

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McLaughlin is recognized statewide for criticism of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, while Meyer has handled much of the day-to-day county operations behind the scenes and never run for elective office before.

McLaughlin in a Tuesday interview said a county Conservative Committee meeting was held illegally on the afternoon of June 28. He raised questions about why Meyer, North Greenbush Supervisor Lou Desso, a county employee, and Lonnie Warrington, the Conservative committee secretary and a county employee, were at the meeting during the middle of the work day.

McLaughlin provided video taken by his campaign volunteers of Meyer and others entering the committee meeting at Republican headquarters in downtown Troy.

Andrea Smyth, the Democratic county executive candidate, is scheduled to file her nominating petitions at noon Thursday at the county Board of Elections office.
ALBANY  Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made a point during his tenure of not straying too far from New York.

As chatter about him seeking the White House in 2020 heats up  again  New Yorkers are remaining firm that he should continue to stay home, according to a new poll.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows that 55 percent of voters say the Democrat should not run for president in 2020. Upstate, 65 percent say he shouldn't run, the largest percentage of any region or subdivision of those polled.

A bare majority of Democrats are on board with the idea, however, with 50 percent saying Cuomo should run and 43 percent saying he should stay home. Predictably, 74 percent of Republicans say he shouldn't run.

What's more, voters aren't high on the idea that Cuomo would make a good president. Only 34 percent say he would, while 56 percent say he wouldn't. Among Democrats, a plurality (49 percent) say he would make a good president.

Again, upstaters are the most pessimistic about a Cuomo White House, with 66 percent saying he wouldn't make a good president and 27 percent saying that he would.

"Gov. Andrew Cuomo is hurting in Albany and New Yorkers say he should fuhgeddabout Washington," said Maurice Carroll, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "This might change - it almost certainly will - when the 2020 presidential year comes along. But for now his New York neighbors don't think Gov. Cuomo would be a good President and they don't want him to try for the job. He's got a couple of years - and more Trumpian tweets - to change their minds."

The one bright spot for Cuomo is that 51 percent of voters say that it would be good for New York if he ran.

On Tuesday, the governor recycled his standard response when asked about his 2020 prospects.

"I'm running for re-election as governor of the state of New York and that's what I'm focused on and that's what I'm doing and that's what I wake up thinking about," he said. "That's my focus."

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The latest numbers from Quinnipiac are similar to what previous polling by the university has shown on the question of whether Cuomo should seek the presidency. An NBC4/Marist poll released last month also showed that 51 percent of voters don't want him to run.

Meanwhile, as Carroll alluded to, Cuomo's numbers take a dip when voters are asked about his current job. Forty-six percent statewide say they approve of the way he is handling his job as governor. The only region where a minority of voters approve of the way he is handling his job is upstate, where 37 percent approve and 48 percent disapprove.

Quinnipiac polled 1,137 voters. The margin of error is +/- 3.9 percent.

mhamilton@timesunion.com  518-454-5449  @matt_hamilton10
The following capsule reviews of recent releases, long runs and revivals come from various wire services, as noted:

RATINGS: G - Suitable for all ages. PG - Parental guidance recommended. PG-13 - Parental guidance strongly suggested.R- Restricted; anyone under 18 must be accompanied by adult.

    Excellent    Good   FairPoor

47 Meters Down

Thriller. Mandy Moore and Claire Holt double the damsel-terrorized-by-sharks trope, but take it underwater in a disengaged cage and tanks with not enough oxygen. An often terrifying if somewhat implausible horror-thriller. If this sounds ridiculous, it is. But once we get off land, and the cage breaks away from the boat, the movie develops a tense rhythm that rarely slackens. Mandy Moore is very good, getting better and better as an actress. (PG-13 for sequences of intense peril, bloody images, and brief strong language)  (David Lewis, Hearst Newspapers)

Baby Driver

Action. A young, hearing-damaged getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) who uses music to guide his moves is coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey) and finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail, alongside a colorful clutch of underworld characters (Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, John Bernthal, Eiza Gonzalez, Lily James). Written and directed by Edgar Wright of the "Cornetto Trilogy" fame. "Baby Driver" feels new. It's an action film with some traceable ancestry in Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino movies, but the attitude is different here, and so is the emphasis on style. Music plays a big part in this Edgar Wright film, but it also helps charge some intense scenes with an extra blast of energy. It's a wonderful thing that can't happen often enough, the realization that a director knows exactly what he's doing, that a movie is in good hands. (R for language throughout and violence)  1/2 (Mick LaSalle, Hearst Newspapers)

Beatriz at Dinner

Comedy. Director Miguel Arteta and screenwriter Mike White ("Chuck & Buck," "The Good Girl") team up again for this "serious comedy" about a holistic medicine practitioner (Salma Hayek) who attends a wealthy client's dinner party after her car breaks down, leading to escalating tensions between her and one of the guests (John Lithgow). Also stars Connie Britton, Chloe Sevigny and Jay Duplass. Part comedy and part melodrama, "Beatriz at Dinner" does offer a good performance by the redoubtable Hayek, but it's all so heavy-handed that it's hard to stay engaged with the movie. Hayek clearly attempts to give some balance to her performance, but Beatriz is such a relentless do-gooder that when she finally erupts, it's not entirely convincing. (R for language and a scene of violence)  (Walter Addiego, Hearst Newspapers)

The Beguiled

Drama. Sofia Coppola remakes Clint Eastwood's Western thriller about a wounded Union soldier taking refuge in a Confederate girls boarding school, leading to rivalries and sexual tension. Starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning. The difference between this updated look and the work done by director Don Siegel in 1971 is that Coppola fails to create any of the tension that made the original so haunting. Compared to the original, Coppola's version looks more like a junior college production of "The Beguiled." (R for some sexuality)  1/2 (Rick Bentley, Tribune News Service)

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Animated. Dav Pilkey's series of children's novels makes it to the big screen in this animated feature about George and Harold, two fourth-grade pranksters who hypnotize their principal into thinking he's a ridiculous and overly enthusiastic superhero. Featuring the voices of Kevin Hart, Thomas Middleditch and Ed Helms. Not every family-friendly movie needs to be filled with "Inside Out"-style Trojan horse psychotherapy. The result is a cinematic wedgie: a little too dark, a little too nihilistic, a little too empty. (PG for mild rude humor throughout)  (Peter Hartlaub, Hearst Newspapers)

Cars 3

Animated. Pixar's least-acclaimed franchise gets a third go-round, this time with Lightning McQueen trying to prove to a new generation of racers that he's still the best race car in the world. There are lots of races in "Cars 3." The races, almost too many to count, take up an enormous amount of screen time, so if you're someone who can't get enough of contests between animated automobiles, this movie is a dream come true. For everyone else, this latest installment in the Pixar franchise is a disappointment. (G)  (M.L.)

Despicable Me 3

Animated. Gru (voice of Steve Carrell) meets his long-lost, charming, cheerful and more successful twin brother Dru (voice of Steve Carrell) who wants to team up with him for one last criminal heist. "Despicable Me 3," the latest installment in the juggernaut series about an ex-villain who now chases super-villains, has a lot going for it: cute characters, some clever set pieces and of course, dazzling animation. But this time around, the story appears to have been lost in the shuffle. (PG for action and rude humor)  (D.L.)

The Hero

Drama. Sam Elliott is the latest actor to get a late-career role-of-a-lifetime; he plays an ailing movie star coming to terms with his past and mortality in this comedy-drama. Just when he thinks there's nothing left to do but get high and die, a reason to live comes through the door in the form of Laura Prepon, as a lively, gorgeous woman who just happens to like old guys. Lee doesn't even have to do anything. To talk about the story in "The Hero" in such blunt terms makes it sound silly. But in the actual experience, it's not silly at all, which tells us something about Brett Haley as a writer-director. He knows what his actors can sell. He knows how to create an emotional universe in which this kind of improbable thing doesn't seem a matter of screenwriting convenience, but destiny. (R for drug use, language and sexual content)  (M.L.)

The House

Comedy. Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler play a married couple who start an illegal casino  along with friend Jason Mantzoukas  after they realize they spent their daughter's college fund. "The House" is astonishingly, mystifyingly unamusing. With Ferrell and Poehler in lead roles, the comedy could have been solid counterprogramming to summer franchise-mania. Instead, director Andrew Jay Cohen delivers one lazy sketch after another, manufactured under the misguided pretense that lewdness and violence are inherently funny. The direction is no more artful. Shot like a sitcom with editing that highlights the bizarre pacing, the movie goes all in on montages to advance the story. In the end, "The House" aims to be a humorous version of "Breaking Bad." That's not such a bad premise, but the execution is lacking in every way. (R for language throughout, sexual references, drug use, some violence and brief nudity)  (Stephanie Merry, Washington Post)

Megan Leavey

Drama. Based on the true life story of a young Marine corporal (Kate Mara), whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq. The first half of "Megan Leavey" is an unremarkable war movie, which is followed by a touching story about the importance of animals in people's lives. It's a movie about a woman and her dog, about the love that can happen between a human being and an animal. (PG-13 for war violence, language, suggestive material, and thematic elements)  (M.L.)

My Cousin Rachel

Drama. In this new adaptation of Drama. In this new adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's novel, a young man (Sam Claflin) plots revenge against the woman (Rachel Weisz) he believes murdered his cousin, but his plans are shaken when he starts to fall for her. Director Roger Michell finds a particular register for "My Cousin Rachel," something different from his previous work. (PG-13 for some sexuality and brief strong language)  (M.L.)

Paris Can Wait

Comedy. Eleanor Coppola  wife of Francis Ford and mother of Sofia  makes her narrative directorial debut with this romantic comedy about a movie producer's (Alec Baldwin) wife (Diane Lane) who takes a road trip through France with one of his associates. It's not often that a sincerely made, completely uncynical film should turn out to be awful, but that's the case with "Paris Can Wait." Eleanor Coppola has turned in a poorly acted, colossal bore of a film that strikes wrong notes from beginning to end. (PG for thematic elements, smoking and some language) 1/2  (M.L.)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Adventure. The fifth go-round in the Walt Disney theme park ride-inspired action series finds Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) searching for the powerful Trident of Poseidon to protect him from the ghost of his vengeful nemesis (Javier Bardem). Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom return to join veterans Depp and Geoffrey Rush. (PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence, and some suggestive content)  (M.L.)

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Action. In the third iteration of the webslinger this century, Brit Tom Holland takes over from Brit Andrew Garfield (who took over from homegrown Tobey Maguire) as teenaged crimefighter Peter Parker, now fully part of the Marvel Universe. Look for Batman/Birdman Michael Keaton to cross over as the big villain. Yes, the time has come for another Spider-Man movie. It's time to reboot that whole thing again. And so here we are with "Spider-Man: Homecoming," starring Tom Holland, who is not only the third Spider-Man in 15 years, but the third best. But he's not bad. No, he's pretty good. In fact, that's we have here, and that's what we celebrate today  a pretty good Spider-Man movie. So the question on the table, the one we must all look inside and ask ourselves, is this: How excited are we at the prospect of another pretty good Spider-Man movie? The movie breaks no new ground, and action sequences that were intended to be thrilling just sit there on the screen, incapable of stirring a single pulse, but content in their competence. (PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, some language and brief suggestive comments)  (M.L.)

Transformers: The Last Knight

Action. Sir Anthony Hopkins joins Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Stanley Tucci and returnee John Turturro in Michael Bay's fifth (!) entry in the action series about vehicles that turn into giant robots.(PG-13 for violence and intense sequences of sci-fi action, language, and some innuendo)  (M.L.)

The Wedding Plan

Comedy. In this Israeli film, Michal refuses to cancel her wedding arrangements when her fiance bows out on the eve of her wedding, because as an Orthodox Jew, she insists that God will supply her a husband. Writer-director Rama Burshtein takes a novel approach to the marriage-minded romantic comedy genre in "The Wedding Plan," in that she strips out the marriage, the romance and the comedy. You might not agree with Burshtein's thoughts on love and relationships (or you might), but either way it is thought-provoking. (PG for thematic elements)  1/2 (G. Allen Johnson, Hearst Newspapers)

Wonder Woman

Adventure. Finally making it to the big screen in her own film after 76 years, the Amazon princess named Diana (Gal Gadot) rescues a crashed pilot (Chris Pine) and joins him in fighting in World War I, as well as becoming a timeless superhero. Also stars Robin Wright, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen and Danny Huston. "Wonder Woman" is a different kind of action movie, and it's all the better for it. (PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, and some suggestive content)  1/2 (M.L.)
Lori Van Buren

GREEN ISLAND  A veteran's organization is working with village, county and state agencies to establish an emergency shelter and command post inside an American Legion post, the Green Island mayor's office said Wednesday.

Green Island, Albany County, the Albany County Sheriff's Office and the state Division of Veterans Affairs have installed an emergency generator inside the Legnard Curtin American Legion Post 927, located at 35 Cohoes Ave.
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Diane J. Nelson, a multiple graded-stakes winning jockey who rode over 1,000 winners while capitalizing on her good looks with a modeling career, has died. She was 54.

Nelson died July 5, according to a post on the Moloney Family Funeral Homes of New York's website. There was no cause of death listed and no obituary.

A memorial service was held Monday at Mother Teresa Tribute Center at Nassau Suffolk Crematory in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York. Denise Bisset, a relative of Nelson's, wrote on the website's condolence page that the service was for immediate family only.

Nelson was the sixth female jockey in North America to reach 1,000 winners. She had 1,095 victories from 9,905 career races and purse earnings of $19,106,392, according to Equibase.

Nelson was one of the elite women jockeys in the sport, although she never rode in any of most prestigious Triple Crown or Breeders' Cup races.

She rode regularly on the highly competitive New York circuit, where at times she was the lone woman.

"I'm realistic enough to know that I'm not going to get all the good mounts," she told the New York Daily News in 2001. "There are 10 riders in here that are the top riders in the country. I would prefer to stay here and ride less and ride quality. I've gotten to ride some unbelievable horses in my career. That means more to me than winning a lot of races."

Nelson's career began at New York's Aqueduct Racetrack on Feb. 27, 1986. She rode her last race at the same track on Jan. 20, 2007.

She won eight graded stakes races in her career, including the Grade 1 Prioress Stakes with Acey Deucey in 2005 at Saratoga.

After debuting at Aqueduct, she moved to New Hampshire's now-defunct Rockingham Park and later Suffolk Downs in Boston. Eventually, she went on to ride at the New Jersey tracks and the New York circuit near her Long Island home.

"Being in New York is incredible," she told the Daily News. "I'm not going to get rich, but there's always a chance of riding a really nice horse and winning $100,000 stake races."

Nelson said the lack of women riders who followed her was proof of how tough it was to survive in the sport.

At 5-foot-6, Nelson was considered tall for a jockey. After being featured in television ads for the

New York Racing Association, she landed a contract with the Ford Modeling Agency.

"Diane was beautiful inside and out," Abby Fuller, a former jockey who competed against Nelson, wrote on the mortuary's website.
SARANAC LAKE (AP)  A 97-year-old man believed to be the last of hundreds of World War II-era Norwegian sailors sent to New York's Adirondacks to be cured of tuberculosis has died.

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reports Knute Grytebust died in December and was buried Tuesday in Malone in northern New York.
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SCHENECTADY  A Troy man is accused of firing a gun at Schenectady police Tuesday afternoon as officers chased him down State Street, city police said.

Police tried to arrest two men  who they suspected had an illegal handgun  about 4:30 p.m. near 817 and 819 State St. but, as the officers approached, the men turned and ran, police spokesman Sgt. Matt Dearing said.

The short chase ended when both men were apprehended nearby, the sergeant said.

Witnesses told police they saw one of the men fire a shot as he ran from police and officers found a weapon at the scene, Dearing said. Evidence technicians from the police department have scoured the area and detectives interviewed the two men in police custody.

At 7:30 p.m., city police asked anyone who was in the State Street area in the late afternoon to check their cars for damage caused by a gunshot. Anyone who found damage or witnessed the chase was asked to contact Schenectady police detectives at 518-382-5263.

By 9 p.m., investigators had determined that 21-year-old Timothy A. Morris of Troy fired one shot at the officers as they approached to arrest him, Dearing said.

Morris is charged with felony attempted aggravated assault of a police officer, two counts of felony criminal possession of a weapon, felony reckless endangerment, misdemeanor resisting arrest and misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance.

The second man, 20-year-old Jeffery D. Nunnally of Schenectady, was not charged in connection to the State Street chase.

Nunnally was arrested on an active felony warrant from the Schenectady Police Department connected to a separate incident. He is charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor criminal mischief.

Both Morris and Nunnally were arraigned in City Court and taken to the Schenectady County jail.
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The Showtime Network is looking for extras to appear in the upcoming miniseries on the 2015 escape of two killers from Clinton Correctional Facility, according to the Press-Republican of Plattsburgh.

The newspaper reports a casting call will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, at the Strand Theatre in Plattsburgh.

SEE THE PRESS-REPUBLICAN ARTICLE

Showtime will film "Escape at Dannemora," an eight-hour series, at upstate locations later this year, the premium network announced.

Ben Stiller is the executive producer and director of the series based on the stranger-than-fiction account of the 2015 prison break from Clinton Correctional Facility. The escape sparked a massive manhunt for convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat, who were aided by Joyce Mitchell, a married female prison employee with whom they both became sexually entangled.

Benicio Del Toro will play Matt, an artistic yet intimidating force within the prison who masterminds the escape. Patricia Arquette will play Mitchell, a working class woman who supervises the prison tailor shop and becomes sexually involved with both convicts, inducing her to assist them with their escape. Paul Dano will play Sweat, a convicted cop-killer who uses his good looks to seduce Mitchell and plotted the escape.

The series follows the April release of the Lifetime movie "New York Prison Break: The Seduction of Joyce Mitchell."

Matt and Sweat were free for 20 days, until Matt was killed in a confrontation after being spotted by law enforcement, 50 miles from Clinton and less than 20 miles south of Canada. Two days later, Sweat was wounded and captured less than 2 miles from the Canadian border.

Mitchell and Sweat pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to the prison break. Mitchell received a sentence of 28 months to 7 years in prison, serving her sentence at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in Westchester County.

Sweat was sentenced to an additional 3 to 7 years on top of his earlier sentence.
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Six men drowned in upstate rivers on July 3, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said Monday. Forest Rangers also rescued eight hiking groups on backcountry trails over the course of one week.

"These visitors were unprepared for waterways made dangerous by recent heavy rains," the DEC said. "Places normally safe for swimming or boating can quickly become dangerous after storms. Water is forceful, and even good swimmers have a tough time staying afloat due to turbulence and hydraulics."

The best way to stay safe in upstate rivers and lakes is to always wear a personal flotation device, the agency said.

Six swimmers, boaters drown in one day

At 2:55 p.m. July 3, someone reported an unconscious man floating in the Sacandaga River in Hamilton County. Four Forest Rangers, plus several sheriff's deputies, launched an air boat into the river in Northville and began to search.

An hour later, they found the 64-year-old man's body in Class 3 river rapids only accessible by water. The man had gone tubing with six other people but he did not have a personal flotation device. After riding strong currents about 300 yards, he tried to get to shore but was swept under and did not recover.

The same day, someone called 911 in Essex County to report an Ithaca man last seen swimming in the Flume area of the AuSable River in Wilmington had not resurfaced from the high water, dangerously strong currents and increased turbulence brought on by recent rain.

Forest Rangers and local fire crews posted overnight lookouts along the waterway and planned recovery efforts in case the man was pushed out by the currents and continued downriver.

Rangers specially trained in swift water rescues partnered with the State Police Dive Team to place a technical rope system over the flume. Searchers found the man's body at 2:16 p.m. and police used the rope system to pulled the man's body from the gorge.

Also on July 3, troopers in Herkimer County asked Forest Rangers to help search for three men last seen boating on the Mohawk River in Little Falls. A witness told police he saw the group enter a closed boat launch area, ignoring signs indicating the river was not open to the public, and launch a new paddle boat without any flotation devices.

Rangers and troopers searched on foot, aboard a DEC air boat, via a DEC drone and in a State Police helicopter. Lookouts were also posted along the shoreline. A day later, at 11:15 a.m. July 4, one man's body was recovered. The other two men were found dead July 5, one by the State Police dive team and the other by a fire department lookout and state drone.

A seventh man drowned July 5 in Kiwassa Lake.

At 7:59 p.m. July 6, someone in Saranac Lake, Franklin County, called 911 to report a 66-year-old man had gone kayaking the night before but had not returned. Rangers, local fire crews, troopers, a DEC environmental conservation officer and a State Police helicopter rushed to the scene.

At first, the search parties focused on the surrounding land and interviewed local campers but clues eventually indicated the man was in the water. The State Police Dive Team responded and the DEC brought in a drone.

The man's body was found submerged underwater three days later, at 11:26 p.m. July 9, by dive team members using side scan sonar.

Hikers injured, lost on back country trails

On July 3, someone called 911 in Ulster County to report an injured hiker between Slide and Cornell mountains in the Slide Mountain Wilderness, which is near the town of Shandaken. The caller provided coordinates, which Forest Ranger Kevin Slade used to hike to the group and treat the injured man.

A State Police helicopter also responded, hoisting the injured hiker from the mountain to an ambulance staged nearby. The man was then taken to a local hospital.

At 8:07 p.m. the same day, a hiker on the Ridge Trail on Balsam Lake Mountain  located near the town of Hardenburgh in Ulster County  called DEC dispatchers to report he'd turned the wrong way and needed help getting out of the woods.

Ranger David Meade called the hiker, confirmed his location and determined that the man and his friends were not adequately equipped to continue hiking in the dark. Ranger Nathaniel Shea gathered headlamps, found the hikers and helped them hike out.

At 8:47 a.m. July 4, a woman in Saratoga County called 911 to report her boyfriend was overdue from a hike and she didn't know his itinerary.

Rangers who searched several potential trail heads and interviewed family members determined the man's car was parked at the Adirondack Mountain Reserve lot. A trail register indicated he intended to hike Dial and Nippletop mountains  located near Keene in Essex County  as a July 3 day hike.

Rangers searched drainage areas and herd paths in the area throughout the night of July 4, with State Police helicopters scouring the mountains from above, without success.

Investigations revealed the man was last seen 3:30 p.m. July 3 at the summit of Nippletop Mountain.

On July 5, 18 Forest Rangers searched areas from Nippletop Mountain to Elk Lake and areas around the AuSable Lakes. State Police investigators in a communications van arrived at the AuSable Club and worked with AT&T to try to get more information on the man's cell phone usage. State Police helicopters flew Ranger crews to remote locations for more searches.

The rough terrain and topography required communication coordination via DEC Ray Brook Dispatch on four radio towers on four peaks  Whiteface, Blue, Gore and Belfry.

At 10:11 a.m. July 5, Rangers on an unrelated assignment north of Elk Lake found the man in good health and got him out of the woods by 12:40 p.m. His gear and level of preparedness allowed him to survive two unplanned nights in the Dix Mountain Wilderness Area.

Hours after that man was first reported missing, another hiking party called DEC dispatchers to report two of their friends were missing near Fort Ann. The three reporting hikers had made it down to the trail head but two women had not been seen since they reached the summit. The call came in at 5:05 p.m. July 4.

Dispatchers reached the missing woman via cell phone, which gave Rangers their coordinates. Two Rangers responded, made voice contact with the hikers and brought them to the trail head where they were reunited with their friends.

At 11:15 a.m. July 6, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office asked Ranger Melissa Milano if she could help find a 75-year-old woman with dementia who had been missing for roughly five hours. Rangers organized a volunteer search party, who found the woman in good health at 1:51 p.m. in Glen.

At 1:05 p.m. that day, another hiker called DEC dispatchers to report man had injured his knee on Thomas Mountain in Bolton. Forest Rangers responded, splinted the man's leg and carried him out of the woods. At 2:15 p.m., they arrived at the trail head, where the Bolton Ambulance Squad was waiting to take the man to a local hospital.

At 9:05 July 6, someone called DEC dispatchers to report three hikers were overdue from an outing near Jabe Pond in Hague. Tho 10-year-old boy, 27-year-old man and 50-year-old man had left their Hudson Falls home at 6 a.m. with plans to take a canoe on Jabe Pond and scout the area in search of deer tracks for the next hunting season. The group planned to return home by 3 p.m.

Rangers found the groups' car and started searching the area by foot, eventually finding the men's canoe. The group was nowhere in sight, so the search area was expanded and three Rangers spent the night scouring the wilderness.

At 5:25 a.m. July 7, Rangers found the three lost hikers in good health on the west side of Middle Mountain and guided them back to their boat on Jabe Pond. By 8 a.m. the three explorers were back in their car and headed home.

At 11:01 a.m. July 7, someone in Greig, Lewis County, called 911 to report a woman had been thrown from her horse on the Otter Creek Horse Trails. A deer had spooked the horse, who bucked the rider from the saddle into a tree.

Rangers responded and treated the woman for back and neck injuries, before carrying her to a private home nearby where a helicopter was waiting to take her to a hospital.

At 5:38 a.m. July 9, the Blue Mountain Summit Steward in Hamilton County called DEC dispatchers to report a 16-year-old girl with an ankle injury on the summit of Blue Mountain. The teen didn't think she could make it back down without aid.

Forest Ranger Jason Scott used a radio transmitter maintenance road to drive to the summit on his four-wheel-drive patrol vehicle. He treated the hiker on scene before taking her and three family members back to the trail head, where the Blue Mountain Lake Ambulance Squad was waiting to take her to a hospital.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the back country. Visit DEC's Hiking Safety web page and Adirondack Backcountry Information web page for more information.
President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted out a series of emails from the 2016 campaign Tuesday, showing that he agreed to a meeting with a "Russian government lawyer" who was said to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton. The offer was part of "Russia and its government's support" for the Trump team, according to the emails.

The tweeted emails blew up on Twitter and confirmed previous reporting, particularly from the New York Times, about Trump Jr. being offered potentially compromising information about Clinton from the Russian government. Among Trump's online base, however, the emails meant basically one thing: that the mainstream media got owned again.

"BOOM! Donald Trump Jr. Beats #FakeNews and Releases Entire Email Chain on Meeting Russian Lawyer," read a headline on Gateway Pundit shortly after Trump Jr.'s tweets. The pro-Trump site was picking up on an insta-reaction from Charlie Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA and campaigned with Trump:

"Don JR beats the fake news to the punch and releases the entire email chain. Nothing here is even borderline. This is just basic campaigning"

Others on the pro-Trump internet followed with their own similar, instant analyses. "NY Times story blown out of the water," Jack Posobiec tweeted. He then hopped on Periscope, the live-streaming service, to tell his followers that mainstream reports on the significance of those emails was nothing more than "confirmation bias."

"This is not proof of anything," Posobiec said. "You've got an email from one source who's this fat nutjob who says Russia supports Trump." Based on context, Posobiec was probably referring to Rob Goldstone, a music publicist. Goldstone represented Emin Agalarov, whose father, Aras, is an Azerbaijani Russian businessman with connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Father and son were both referenced in the email exchange.

Other insta-analyses around the Trump internet defended and celebrated Trump Jr.'s emails, which the son of the president published after the New York Times had obtained them and was preparing to publish a story about it. A stickied thread on r/The_Donald, a popular pro-Trump message board on Reddit, cheered Trump Jr.'s decision to tweet the emails. Mike Cernovich tweeted that the emails proved "the lying NY Times fabricated another fake story." And Scott Adams, the Dilbert creator who has become an active voice on the pro-Trump internet, launched his own Periscope to discuss the emails with his fans.

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Adams seemed certain that the emails contained no evidence that Trump Jr. had done anything wrong or even sketchy. "In what country do we live where listening to somebody talk in America is illegal?" he said.

As BuzzFeed reported this week, Trump's online base of support was already rallying around Trump Jr. in response to the New York Times's series of reports on the Trump son's meeting. An anonymous pro-Trump internet personality told BuzzFeed on Monday that when "liberal Fake News starts its coordinated attack on Don Jr., the pro-Trump online ecosystem tries to defend him as best we can."

Trump Jr. - particularly his Twitter feed - has been a reliable presence in the pro-Trump internet. Last week, for instance, when Trump supporters were accusing CNN of "blackmailing" an internet troll who created a version of an anti-CNN meme that was later tweeted by the president, Trump Jr. joined in. Trump Jr. later found his own anti-CNN meme to tweet.

The Trump internet is in constant collision with mainstream media, and the way in which today's news played out online is no exception. The emergent narrative, as it was now, is almost always one of victory. Remember the Comey hearings, which confirmed several anonymously sourced stories about the Trump administration? The Trump internet found plenty to celebrate in the hearings, too. And that narrative was crafted almost instantly as the hearings unfolded, particularly by a gleeful live-tweeting session by one of the Trump internet's best-known members - Trump Jr. himself:

"Today's Winners: @realDonaldTrumpThe DOW America/#MAGA"

"Losers: Comey Loretta Lynch#MSMbut especially NYT"
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Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President Donald Trump, was this week the focus of a New York Times report stating that he was told in a June 2016 email that there was a Russian effort to aid his father's presidential campaign.

The Times' report was sourced by three people with knowledge of the email, and the email's existence was apparently confirmed Tuesday morning by Trump Jr. himself who tweeted screenshots of the email chain on Twitters.

"To everyone, in order to be totally transparent, I am releasing the entire email chain of my emails with (publicist and former British tabloid reporter) Rob Goldstone about the meeting on June 9, 2016," he wrote in a statement posted Tuesday to the social media website. "The information they suggested they had about Hillary Clinton I thought was Political Opposition Research...I decided to take the meeting. The woman, as she has said publicly, was not a government official."

RELATED: The Latest: Russian lawyer says she had no info on Clinton

Most notably, the latter screenshot includes an offering of "very high level and sensitive information" that would possibly serve to "incriminate" Trump's opponent, the then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

The emails, in short, seem extremely incriminating to some and a big "nothing burger" to others.

President Trump appears to be standing by his son, releasing a statement Tuesday read by White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying that, "My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency."

RELATED: Russian dirt on Clinton? 'I Love It,' Donald Trump Jr. said

But not all right-leaning pundits agree with the President's assessment. In a podcast Tuesday, before Trump Jr. publicly released screenshots, conservative radio host Glenn Beck stated that, "This (situation) is so critical that I don't think we take anyone's word. We don't assume this email is real...because I believe the consequences of this email are astronomical."

After the email chain was released, he reacted in real time. "Holy cow," Beck said. "That is...there's your smoking gun."

Writers, politicians, and media personalities across the spectrum have since also weighed in with differing viewpoints of the release of Trump Jr.'s emails. See some of them in the photo gallery above.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


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Writing from the beginning and the end of American playwright Edward Albee's long and illustrious career is combined in "At Home at the Zoo," which opens on Saturday, July 22, at the Berkshire Theater Group's Unicorn Stage in Great Barrington, Mass. The two-act show comprises "The Zoo Story," Albee's first major play, dating from 1959, and "Homelife," a prequel, written in 2004.

"If you're a student of theater and read plays, you can see they're written by the same playwright 45 years apart," says stage director Eric Hill. "But the great thing about the plays and the fascinating thing about Albee is that his thematic concerns remain the same and are only sharpened and honed in ever-more-sophisticated ways. He's remained thematically on the same ground."

That thematic ground is human relationships, especially the dynamic within a marriage.

"Homelife" depicts an evening with a married couple, Peter and Ann. He's a successful publishing executive, and they live on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The marriage is rocky (no surprise) and despite their years together, communication does not come easily nor flow smoothly. In "The Zoo Story," the husband Peter visits the Central Park Zoo, where he encounters Jerry, a talkative and rather unhinged individual.

More Information If you go "At Home at the Zoo" When: Previews at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 19, through Friday, July 21; opens 8 p.m. Saturday, July 22, and continues through Saturday Aug. 26. Where: Berkshire Theater Group, Unicorn Stage, 6 East St., Stockbridge, Mass. Tickets: $47-$52. Call (413) 997-4444 or visit: http://www.berkshiretheatregroup.org See More Collapse

"Albee approaches sexuality from that peculiar bifurcated perspective of people as animals and people as human beings," says Hill. "Going to the zoo, you see animals. But are we looking at the animals in the cage or at the people? Or maybe the humans are in the cage of New York City. Albee's perspective is that New York City is a zoo with cages and people in them."

Hill refers to Albee's work as "poetic realism," and points to the zoo imagery as a vivid example of the technique.

"I'm a fan of poetic realism with emphasis on poetry," says Hill. "And I'm a fan of Albee for his ability to use language to extend the boundaries of the setting, so the audience experiences something transformational. Whatever is being worked out on stage is being worked out individually in the audience."

"I believe in the healing power for theater," continues Hill, "allowing us to move forward without whatever ails us."

The estate of Albee, who died last September at age 88, was recently in the news. In May, the estate withdrew rights to Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" from a theater in Oregon that had cast an African-American in the role of Nick. The reasoning was that the character is repeatedly described in the script as blonde and blue-eyed. In addition, if Nick and Honey were an interracial couple, then it would be addressed in the dialogue of the play, which is set in the 1960s.

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While the decision by the estate goes against the trend of so-called "color-blind casting," many in the theater community were supportive of the Albee estate.

"I'm of two minds," says Hill. "I'm one of the first people to do nontraditional casting, starting in the '80s, and I'm always trying to advance opportunities for actors of color. But it's their plays and they want them done in a certain way. And there are real biological things in the text that wouldn't have made sense."

With little hesitation, Hill acknowledges Albee as the great American playwright, placing him above Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller. He also emphasizes that part of Albee's gift, and part of poetic realism at its best, is humor.

"Albee does all of this within a very sophisticated and comedic technique," explains Hill. "His dialogue is fluid and so rich and so engaged and the comic value is quite wonderful. He leads us into darker waters with deft uses of comedy. It's not a bummer evening; it's a wild ride."

Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy.
THE ISSUE:

Top Trump aides, including his son, hoped to get Russian help to win the election.

THE STAKES:

The president's claim that the Russian intrusion is "fake news" is a lie, and probes must go forward.

More Information To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com or at http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion See More Collapse

---

Whatever else you may think about the email trail linking Donald Trump Jr. to a Russian lawyer who claimed last summer to have dirt on Hillary Clinton  whether you think they show collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign, or even treason, as some senators suggest  this much is clear: The Trump team has been lying to us all along.

It's not true, as White House aides have repeatedly said, that there were no contacts between the campaign and Russian meddlers. The push to get to the bottom of the Trump-Russia link is not, as the president has said, "fake news."

Nor is Special Counsel Robert Mueller pursuing a "hoax," another favorite Donald Trump accusation. At least, not according to the president's own pick to become the new FBI director, Christopher Wray.

"I do not consider Director Mueller to be on a witch hunt," Mr. Wray declared in his confirmation hearing Wednesday, quoting another of the president's stale smears.

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No, the questions about the Trump campaign's link to a hostile state's interference with American democracy are very real, and the White House pushback against getting to the bottom of the matter is now revealed to be unpatriotic duplicity.

A top aide to the president, Jared Kushner, sat in with his brother-in-law at a meeting set up with the clear hope of accepting help from the Russian government to get Mr. Trump elected. Why hasn't Mr. Kushner ever stepped in to prevent other presidential aides from furthering the lie that there was no such contact? Why should we now believe that Mr. Trump himself didn't know about the Russian overture? What claim to credibility does the Trump White House now have, with its record of persistent prevarication underscored by these new revelations?

Republicans who have until now given Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt in his insistence that there was no truth to suspicions of collusion  or who couldn't imagine he would be dumb enough or evil enough to link hands with America's longtime adversary  now must take a step back. Every American who cares about the survival of our democracy should support a thorough and aggressive investigation by Mr. Mueller, free of any interference, which Mr. Wray pledged the FBI to upholding.

The revelation that the younger Mr. Trump, Mr. Kushner and Paul Manafort, then the Trump campaign manager, were willing to hear a pitch by a foreign government to help manipulate the U.S. electorate should shock the Congress into bipartisan determination to make sure such interference doesn't ever happen again.

We don't yet know where the Mueller or congressional probes will lead. What the emails show is that we must not look away until they have led wherever they will.
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COLONIE -- Janeen Uzzell arrived to her mentor meeting as perhaps any engineer would.

I had my list, said Uzzell, head of Women in Technology for General Electric. If you have someones 30 minutes, you have a list. And if youre an engineer you also write, If she asks this, Ill talk about this.

But her mentor, Paula Madison  now a retired NBC Universal executive vice president/GE company officer, as well as a trustee of Vassar College  stopped her.

We are not going to talk anymore until you go on a date, Uzzell recalled her saying.

More Information Not a member of Women@Work? Sign up at TUWomenatwork.com - and tell a friend. See More Collapse

Laughter broke out among a crowd of some 50 women, several of whom were GE employees, on Wednesday at the sixth in a series of Straight Talk breakfasts held by the Times Unions Women@Work magazine and networking group. Uzzell, who has 16 years of experience with GE, shared what qualities she seeks in a mentor, the importance of a strong tribe, and solutions to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce, among other tips.

Much of Uzzell's experience with GE has spanned from Milwaukee to New York City and Washington, D.C., and internationally in areas like Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, Africa and Saudi Arabia. The Clifton Park resident earned her bachelor's degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and an MBA from Farleigh Dickinson University.

Though Uzzell got laughs for some of her remarks, she didnt see the humor back then.

I said, I was thinking about transitioning into a different roleId like to do this, Id like to do that, she said. So then (Madison) calls out to Maria, her admin, and said, No more calls from Janeen until she goes on a date. I didnt call Paula for a year.

Still, Madison saw beyond Uzzells list and found the areas of her life that needed the most work.

Im not saying Im not still working on my personal life, Uzzell said. I just love how she course corrected me.

Mentoring conversations between Uzzell and Madison shifted again when Uzzell lost her father and she faced the next phase of her career. During that time, Madisons mentoring spanned from career, personal, to tips on riding the company jet.

And to my first time as the only female on a panel with all men, she said. It was a black stage and all of the men wore black suits.

Madison told her to wear white or beige.

I think mentoring carries all kinds of shapes, she said.

But with women literally unrepresented in the highest levels of leadership, the importance of mentors cannot be understated.

We are usually only one or two in the room, Uzzell said. Thats usually women in general and then minus for women of color.

Uzzell spoke of the importance of having a strong tribe of people internal and external to your company. She said several years back she met with Ursula Burns, former CEO of Xerox. Burns, the first black American woman CEO to head a Fortune 500 company, has since stepped down from that role.

I had a chance to meet and spend some time with her, Uzzell said. It was very impactful for me, as a black woman, to meet her in that CEO role. I think if I took away one thing from the conversation I had one on one with her it was the trouble she has in being the only one at that level.

A tribe can answer questions like who you should talk to, bounce ideas off of, and receive advice or guidance from, she said.

I think that is a challenge we face as black women, particularly, and as all women  managing our conversations, managing our trust, and who we can share with, she said. That tribe and that community is so important.

Uzzell's own tribe, the people she keeps close to her, has pushed her career further, she said.

You might just come to work, put your head down, Uzzell said. Its not going to get you the next thing. You have to take on extra assignments, you have to be speaking. Your degree and hard work arent going to get you there because everyone in this room is working hard.

While diversity in the workplace remains a problem, the solution may be finding outspoken, honest people moving toward fair goals, she said.

We should be having the conversations, Uzzell said. We should be making people feel more comfortable until we can help normalize this conversation.

It takes women to push back a little and say we should not always refer to the job applicant as a he, she said. [Its] an awareness thing. To make statements, [such as] lets not talk like this.

Not a member of Women@Work? Sign up at TUWomenatwork.com  and tell a friend.
Japanese knotweed is destroying roads, footpaths, and infrastructure across Tipperary and can only be dealt with by experts with specialised equipment and training, heard this months Co. Council meeting.

Co. Limerick is leading the way in combating the destructive plant, developing a smartphone app where members of the public can notify the authorities if they spot the pernicious weed. Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is providing funding to combat the invasive weed, which spreads easily.

Cllr David Dunne said the Japanese Knotweed is being left to run riot near Carrick-on-Suir. Its spreading and spreading. Its the owners who have responsibility for it.

Cllr Marie Murphy said both Clare and Limerick have been very proactive regarding the Knotweed, and Tipperary Co. Council needs a precise plan regarding eradication.

Director of Services Marcus OConnor, said Councillors have had a workshop on the matter, and the Municipal Districts are engaging in a campaign of public education concerning knotweed, which can attack the underlying integrity of buildings.

Senior Engineer Michael Hayes said there is a 3-year programme in place, and the TII is providing sprays and information on its website. Its a very specialist job, said Mr Hayes.
Two local companies are among five nationwide that have been warned by the Environment Protection Agency to improve standards.

Tipperary Co-op Creamery Ltd and sawmills T&J Standish in Leap, Roscrea, have both been told that unless they increase environment compliance, they face action.

The other sites are Irish Cement in Limerick; food processors Arrow in Kildare and pork processors Rosderra Irish Meats Group, which has facilities in Roscrea and Edenderry, County Offaly.

The five sites are now on the EPA National Priority Site List for enforcement and three of the sites account for over half of all complaints received to date in 2017.

The sites were named this week when the EPA launched a new enforcement initiative to drive further environmental compliance at industrial and waste facilities. Licensed facilities with the poorest compliance status are identified as National Priority Sites for enforcement using a new system developed by the EPA. Points are allocated to each site based on compliance data such as complaints, incidents and non-compliances over the previous six months. Sites which exceed a certain threshold become a National Priority Site and are targeted by the EPA for further enforcement action.

A small number of sites have significant compliance issues and we consider them to be National Priority Sites for enforcement. The EPA will escalate enforcement action against companies, and their directors, if necessary, if compliance does not improve, warned Gerard OLeary, director of the EPAs Office of Environmental Enforcement.

The agency's 2016 report, which was also released this week, shows that a number of companies were either fined, paid costs or made donations during the year. These include Irish Meats Group, which paid over 9,085; Vedanta Lisheen Mining, paid 5,000 and T&J Standish parted with 2,288.

The EPA has just under 40 licensed sites in Tipperary in the intensive agriculture, industry and waste sectors.
This years HOTAfest will feature live music from artists Sara Watkins, Cathy Fink, and Marcy Marxer, Rachel Eddy & The Early Mays, and The Comfortable Catastrophe. There will also be workshops and a contra dance.
[July 11, 2017] China Agriculture Sector Given a Boost by Toria Investment

SHANGHAI, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Toria Finance, a global investment firm with holdings of 5.6 billion dollars, has recently set up a billion-dollar trust targeting the agricultural sector in China and the region. The firm's penetration strategy into the world's biggest market for food production, food consumption and food import, revolves around two core ideas; harnessing technology for improved harvesting, and establishing collaboration initiatives for local farmers and agriculture companies. Toria Finance has plans for the creation of a 500 million-dollar agricultural technology park in the near future, which will include a research & development center, an institute of development strategy, a modern agriculture-produce export center, and a logistics center. Upon completion of the Agriculture Technology Park, Toria Finance will have access to resources that improve harvesting. Plans have been drawn to improve agriculture process through innovation and automation. New tools (e.g. sensors and smart water sprays) will be incorporated into the farming process, increasing efficiency and reducing manpower. The goal is tocreate a 'smart' farming culture where farmers are better informed by using data generated by sensors placed in the fields. This data is then used by Artificial Intelligence systems that will adjust device settings to determine optimum water volume to be sprayed on crops, and will also adjust temperatures through mechanical roofing to ensure optimal levels of soil fertility. This framework relies on integrating information technology with every aspect of the farming process.



Biotechnology is another attractive technological agricultural advancement. Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) crops are engineered to suit local farmers. This could reduce insecticide usage and contribute to improved health and a cleaner environment. Crops-engineering includes other innovative products such as 'Golden Rice', which upon harvesting promises higher yields, lower production costs, and reduced vitamin A deficiency among the lower-income. Toria Finance believes in developing an agricultural ecosystem of farmers, sellers and anybody else involved in the process from farm to plate. This collaboration initiative allows for many benefits. Having one platform allows the collection of data which allows for better planning and distribution of crop yields. This data over time can be used to better predict market demand. Logistic companies will never deliver too much harvest, farmers are able to prepare for the sudden surge in demand, and pricing for crops will be more exact.

These translate to more efficient harvesting, higher cost savings and higher returns. Other benefits include centralized distribution centers and the development of more innovative agricultural products. Toria Finance aims to establish multiples of these collaboration initiatives across China, with the goal of one day linking them into one network, thus creating a single agricultural intranet. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-agriculture-sector-given-a-boost-by-toria-investment-300486443.html SOURCE Toria Finance

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[July 12, 2017] Tyler Technologies to Provide Public Safety Solution to Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania

Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL) signed an agreement with Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, for Tyler's New World public safety solution. Lehigh County signed the agreement and will act as the fiduciary, and the system will be used by both Lehigh and Northampton counties. The agreement, which is the single largest deal for New World public safety, will work with two counties' public safety answering points (PSAPs) and deliver them one combined Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Mobile Data system. Due to 911 legislation passed in 2015 (ACT12), which funds a large percentage of all PSAPs operating budgets, non-county PSAPs in Pennsylvania are required to consolidate. The cities of Bethlehem and Allentown are both scheduled to lose their funding for their individual PSAPs in 2019. These cities are the last two municipalities to hold PSAP status and funding due to previous legislation. To determine the best approach to the pending consolidation, the counties and cities hired MCM Consulting Group, Inc. to conduct a PSAP study on the best way for the neighboring agencies to address the requirements. Their study revealed that implementing a common software system for Lehigh and Northampton counties would be the most efficient and best approach for better public safety. With the Fire and EMS agencies in the commonwealth having very complex response plans, Lehigh and Northampton counties required a vendor that would perform a seamless integration with best-in-class software. Tyler has strong experience in Pennsylvania, becoming the leading provider of CAD solutions for PSAPs across the commonwealth and adding nearly a dozen PSAPs as public safety clients over the last two years. In addition, Tyler has successfully implemented public safety software in consolidation situations like the one i Lehigh and Northampton counties, including Snohomish County, Washington; METCOM 911 in Woodburn, Oregon; and the entire state of Delaware. Lehigh and Northampton counties are working with Essential Management Solutions to manage the project, who were instrumental in the PEMA application process to obtain the funding for the agencies.



"There is a lot of complexity that goes into a consolidation of agencies, and we needed a vendor that would not only deliver a strong CAD product, but would also be able to manage different needs from our two agencies," said Laurie Bailey, 911 director, Lehigh County Emergency Services. "We are confident Tyler's solution will allow us to efficiently handle our calls for service, easily transfer requests, and provide the best service while increasing safety for our constituents." "We're eager to see how the New World CAD solution will help our response be more seamless, since we will be doing a true CAD sharing between our county and Lehigh County," said Todd Weaver, deputy director, Northampton County EMA (News - Alert). "We're hopeful the consolidation will make our agencies stronger together with Tyler's software as our common resource to better serve our community."

The New World CAD solution will help the two counties improve response times with its functionality that allows call takers and dispatchers to make critical decisions quickly. It will also provide valuable information through Tyler's Esri-based CAD mapping solution, improving the agencies' tactical analysis. Finally, with the addition of mobile messaging, agencies can perform critical tasks from the road and access mission-critical data, which will help them to easily communicate and share data with the other agencies. "We're confident in our ability to bring a solid CAD and mobile solution to these counties that will be brought together by the consolidation," said Greg Sebastian, president of Tyler's Public Safety Division. "Our comprehensive, easy-to-use solution will effectively manage the critical activities of each agency and allow for interaction between them. Our solution will also provide these two counties the ability to transfer calls for service to other neighboring customers who are also utilizing Tyler's CAD solution for improved response times. Our previous experience throughout the commonwealth has prepared us for this complex project, and we're eager to begin the implementation process." Lehigh and Northampton counties are located roughly 70 miles northwest of Philadelphia. About Tyler Technologies (News - Alert), Inc. Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) is a leading provider of end-to-end information management solutions and services for local governments. Tyler partners with clients to empower the public sector - cities, counties, schools and other government entities - to become more efficient, more accessible and more responsive to the needs of their constituents. Tyler's client base includes more than 15,000 local government offices in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and other international locations. In 2017, Forbes ranked Tyler on its "Most Innovative Growth Companies" list, and it has named Tyler one of "America's Best Small Companies" eight times. The company has been included six times on the Barron's 400 Index, a measure of the most promising companies in America. More information about Tyler Technologies, headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at tylertech.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712005109/en/

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[July 11, 2017] UnitedHealthcare and Optum Support People Affected by Wildfires in Butte County

UnitedHealthcare and Optum, the health benefits and services companies of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), are taking immediate action to help people in California affected by ongoing wildfires in the Butte County area. Support includes assisting health plan participants who may need to make alternate arrangements to ensure continuity of care and access to early prescription refills, as well as a free emotional-support line to help people in affected communities. Help Finding a Network Care Provider, Early Refills: Plan participants who need help finding a care provider in the UnitedHealthcare network or obtaining early prescription refills can call customer care at the number located on the back of their medical ID cards. For plan participants who may have misplaced their medical ID card, call 866-633-2446, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. (in the local time zone), Monday through Friday. People enrolled in employer-sponsored and individual health plans who have a smartphone can download the free Health4Me app, which provides instant access to their ID card, network care providers, their personal health benefits and more. The Health4Me app is available as a free download at the Apple iTunes App Store and the Android Market on Google (News - Alert) Play. Free Help Line: Optum,a leading health and behavioral health services company, is offering a free emotional-support help line.



Along with the toll-free help line, emotional-support resources and information are available online at www.liveandworkwell.com.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping to make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. For more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on Twitter (News - Alert). Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for UnitedHealth Group. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170711006646/en/

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[July 12, 2017] CONTACT SOFTWARE's New Partner Neilsoft Launches PLM Roadshow in India

PUNE, India, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CONTACT SOFTWARE has a new PLM partner in India, namely Neilsoft. The global full-service provider helps companies make their development process more efficient. Neilsoft is now conducting its first seminar involving CONTACT SOFTWARE's product portfolio in three major cities in India. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/534935/Neilsoft_Logo.jpg )

The CONTACT SOFTWARE Global Ecosystem is flourishing: with Neilsoft, it has gained a new partner who can make a difference. The company has a long history of engineering expertise and establishes itself internationally with its comprehensive offering of consulting, services and software. More than 1,000 employees worldwide provide support to customers from a variety of industries in the USA, Europe, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region and in its home market, India. "Industry in India is booming, thanks to the government's Make in India campaign," says Michael Sanjay Murgai, who is responsible for International Sales and Partner Management at CONTACT SOFTWARE. "In Neilsoft, we have found the right partner to help us exploit the opportunities offered by this rapidly growing PLM market," added Michael Sanjay Murgai.



Neilsoft has its headquarter in the city of Pune, which is one of India's key industrial centres and the location of many outstanding academic institutions including one of the country's best universities. The mega city is a major hub for mechanical engineering, consumer goods and IT industries as well as for the extremely well represented automotive industry, including numerous German companies. Companies like Daimler, MAN and VW, for example, and suppliers such as Bosch, Leoni and ZF Friedrichshafen have subsidiaries in Pune. This PLM roadshow is a first-class forum created by experts for experts. In the seminars, Neilsoft and CONTACT SOFTWARE will demonstrate the potential offered by state-of-the-art PLM technologies and discuss key application scenarios with participants along with few case studies. Neilsoft's series of seminars will start on 17 July in Pune and will be making a stop in Chennai on 19 July before finishing up in Delhi on 21 July.

About Neilsoft Limited:

Neilsoft Group is an engineering technology solutions and services company servicing clients across Manufacturing, Process and AEC/Infra sectors. It provides solutions for Engineering Design, Simulation, Document Management and Enterprise-wide Collaboration and Project Management areas. We partner with Industry-leading technology providers such as Autodesk (Gold Partner), Bluebeam, Solibri, FM Systems, Microsoft, CADISON, IT&F and SIGMA, CAD learning, etc. The company is headquartered in Pune, India and has pan India Sales and Support offices (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore,

Ahmadabad, Chennai, Ahmadabad, etc.). Neilsoft also provides its solutions and services globally in the USA, Europe, Middle East, APAC regions.



Media Contact:

Praveen Kapse

Neilsoft Limited

[email protected]

+91-8888109199





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[July 12, 2017] Power of Korea ICT, Leading international cooperation to prevent the spread of infectious diseases

SEOUL, South Korea, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- KT's international solution of preventing and blocking the world health crisis through telecommunication operator's Big Data has been successfully adopted to the G20 Joint Declaration. KT's idea of using technology to contribute in raising South Korea's status through the G20 Joint Declaration process. The economic and social losses and human loss from infectious diseases are very high and is a significant problem in need of a resolution within the international community. Therefore, KT is working to secure international corporation to spread this idea to the world and to reduce this crisis. In the Joint Declaration (page 8), 'Building Resilience' part, shows prevention and correspondence against the World Health Crisis. Especially, in the 'Safeguarding against Health Crises and Stregthening Health System', it highlights the importance of building a strong health system to prevent an international health crisis.



In the agreed documents, G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development's 'global health' p18, it supports international efforts, including WHO Health Emergencies Program to manage health risks and crisis. Moreover, it highlights importance of early identification of disease outbreak to response effectively. In 2016, KT with Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning, constructed a 'smart quarantine system' that analyzes the roaming data of travelers visiting the infected area to follow quarantine procedures. Currently under the leadership of the CDC, it is being implemented with other telecommunication companies.

KT CEO Chang gyu Hwang stated "as global cooperation enhancement is stipulated in G20 Summit Joint Statement, a stepping-stone is set for preventing global communicative diseases by utilizing big data. KT will continuously show its best endeavor to improve national status and pride while working closely with the ministries of Health and Welfare, Science, ICT, and Future Planning." Furthermore, at the UN Global Compact (UNGC) conference in New York 2016, KT CEO Chang gyu Hwang proposed a project to prevent the global spread of infectious diseases by analyzing the roaming information of mobile phone users (about 7.3 billion people) for the first time in the world with 800 international telecommunication companies.

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[July 12, 2017] BAE Systems Masters Critical Business Data, Enabling Data Champions with xDM from Semarchy

Intelligent MDM Empowers Business Users to Stay Ahead of Export Controls for Regulatory Compliance LONDON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Semarchy, the Intelligent Master Data Management (MDM) company, today announced that BAE Systems, provider of some of the world's most advanced, technology-led defense, aerospace and security solutions, has employed its innovative xDM platform to harness the enormous amount of operational and engineering data the business relies upon. BAE Systems looked to Semarchy as a disruptive solution that would provide a greater consistency of data for the back-office systems at a level of granularity which dusty legacy MDM solutions are incapable. "After hearing about Semarchy being an innovator, we decided to investigate further," said Tony Croughan, Head of Programme (Business Transformation) for BAE Systems, Military Aircraft & Information (MA&I). "We're undergoing a major transformation of our back-office systems which necessitates data consistency to assure proper integrations between many different systems. Semarchy hands control from IT over to our business users and data stewards, which is extremely appealing and like nothing we had seen on the market." Share this story on Twitter via Click-to-Tweet http://ctt.ec/GXPaJ



BAE Systems put Semarchy through months of rigorous testing to meet the high expectations of quality and security. The Semarchy Proof-of-Value approach allowed for a much faster implementation once it passed all testing. Rather than give BAE Systems a demo version, BAE personnel were able to see a live working model of the solution, and then iterate from that starting point to catapult it to a fully-functional system. "BAE Systems is a globally respected firm, with high expectations of their technology vendors and a rigorous testing process for new solutions," said Richard Branch, VP and GM for Semarchy UK. "When we first approached BAE about our Intelligent MDM solution, we knew this would be a huge undertaking. We are honored that xDM surpassed expectations in speed, ease of use, and accuracy. We are looking forward to a continued relationship, demonstrating our smart, agile and measurable approach to managing master data."

As the Intelligent MDM company, Semarchy enables semantic consistency in an enterprise-centric fashion. The agile design of its solutions goes beyond conventional "golden record" tools, focusing on empowering and organizing the data stewardship function to provide trusted MDM across any domain. Semarchy xDM implementations start with business processes, including information governance from the ground-up, and concentrating on delivering measurable ROI to a business in weeks. For more information on Semarchy and xDM, please visit www.semarchy.com/xdm. ABOUT BAE SYSTEMS

BAE Systems provides some of the world's most advanced, technology-led defense, aerospace and security solutions and employ a skilled workforce of some 82,500 people in over 40 countries. Working with customers and local partners, we develop, engineer, manufacture and support products and systems to deliver military capability, protect national security and people and keep critical information and infrastructure secure. ABOUT SEMARCHY

Semarchy (www.semarchy.com) is the Intelligent MDM company. Its xDM platform is an innovation in multi-vector Master Data Management (MDM) that leverages smart algorithms and material design to simplify data stewardship, governance and integration. It is implemented via an agile and iterative approach that delivers business value almost immediately, and scales to meet enterprise complexity. Semarchy, Intelligent MDM and xDM are trademarks of Semarchy, Inc. in the US and other countries. Media Contact: North 6th Agency

212.334.9753

[email protected] Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/470644/Semarchy_Logo.jpg

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[July 12, 2017] Boutique Restaurant Dishdash Leverages Epson ColorWorks C7500GE On-Demand Color Label Printer to Expand Business

LONG BEACH, Calif., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Epson America, Inc. today announced that Dishdash Middle Eastern Cuisine, a family-owned restaurant with locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, has purchased and installed the Epson ColorWorks C7500GE on-demand inkjet label printer to help streamline in-house label production for their baklava packaging. Dishdash purchased the inkjet label printer after acquiring Oasis Baklava, a small local family-owned and operated bakery, to rebrand their labels and meet California health rules and regulations, helping them expand their business, reduce costs and produce customized high-quality color labels in-house. "When we bought Oasis Baklava, we knew the first step to rebranding without increasing costs was to fix our labels in-house. Since our baklava has a shelf life, we needed a label solution that would allow us to customize and print our labels quickly, while meeting the state's rules and regulations," said Ashwin Shenai, IT Manager, Dishdash. "We chose Epson's ColorWorks C7500GE because it is a very accurate machine that allows us to print high-quality labels with consistent color accuracy, helping us customize our labels and reduce costs, while printing the exact number of labels we need." By leveraging the ColorWorks C7500GE, Dishdash has been able to efficiently create customized, on-demand high-quality color labels with spot-on color accuracy of their brand logo printed on their baklava packaging, which is distributed to their DISH n DASH fast casual restaurants. Dishdash plans to expand their baklava labels with the addition of a back label, which will include its ingredients, nutritional facts, product information and barcode, in addition to creating custom brand labels for customers interested in purchasing their pastries for their own store, restaurant or event. Dishdash chose the ColorWorks C7500GE in large part for its speed, durability and inks, which provide consistent results in a quick turnaround time. "Epson's customer service has been phenomenal," said Shenai. "From our initial research of finding the best label printer to use in-house, to providing best practices on how to use the C7500GE, Epson's team has been there for us every step of the way and has really gone out of their way to make the entire process of printing our own labels in-house work for us." Built for reliable, high-quality performance with speeds up to 59 feet per minute1, the Epson ColorWorks C7500GE is ideal for demanding, high-volume environments that require high-print-quality prime labels that are durable and cost-effective. Powered by PrecisionCore print head technology, the durable, bench-top printer enhances print speed, image quality, ink durability, and color resolution with the flexibility to cost-effectively scale up production  saving up to 50 percent in total labeling costs versus preprinted labels  for higher volume industrial and manufacturing applications.



Driving the ColorWorks C7500GE is the included Wasatch RIP and Print Management Software. The Wasatch SoftRIP is a sophisticated RIP solution designed to save time and money by including superior color management options, efficient layout features, powerful workflow tools, variable data printing, and contour cutting, all while producing excellent quality color. "The Wasatch software is awesome at what it does with spot color accuracy and the included print driver," said Shenai. "Not only does it produce excellent color accuracy, but bundled with the C7500GE, it does a phenomenal job achieving individual color profiles and obtaining accuracy in CMYK prints." "We are pleased that the C7500GE has helped Dishdash bring label production in-house and has given them an easy solution to include their logo on their baklava labels," said Andrew Moore, senior product manager, Epson America, Inc. "Designed to produce efficient, on-demand color label printing and reliable performance, Epson's printers help businesses deliver high-quality labels while meeting the needs of state health regulations, allowing smaller businesses like Dishdash to have full control of their production and to cut costs."

About Epson ColorWorks C7500GE: Continuous printing  Continuous label media can be used without pre-die cutting or a pre-printed black mark on the liner; full bleed label is printed with eye mark for post finishing die-cut and laminating

Continuous label media can be used without pre-die cutting or a pre-printed black mark on the liner; full bleed label is printed with eye mark for post finishing die-cut and laminating Spot color matching  Most common prime label spot colors can be achieved within a deltaE of 1.5 for very high color accuracy

Most common prime label spot colors can be achieved within a deltaE of 1.5 for very high color accuracy Web layout accuracy  Label art work can be positioned more accurately over the web

Label art work can be positioned more accurately over the web Reliable, durable performance  Printing mechanism can produce over 3.3 million 4"x6" labels before first major service; rugged design means minimal maintenance

Printing mechanism can produce over 3.3 million 4"x6" labels before first major service; rugged design means minimal maintenance Advanced image quality  Epson PrecisionCore inkjet technology, UltraChrome  DL inks and Wasatch SoftRIP deliver vibrant, accurate colors, smooth gradations, precise barcodes, and ultra-sharp text

Epson PrecisionCore inkjet technology, UltraChrome DL inks and Wasatch SoftRIP deliver vibrant, accurate colors, smooth gradations, precise barcodes, and ultra-sharp text High-speed, on-demand color printing  Full-color labels with optional variable data printed up to 59 feet per minute 1

Full-color labels with optional variable data printed up to 59 feet per minute Powerful productivity  Compatible with a wide range of medias including ultra-gloss, gloss, semi, matte, and uncoated

Compatible with a wide range of medias including ultra-gloss, gloss, semi, matte, and uncoated Seamless integration  SoftRIP includes seamless compatibility with label artwork in common formats such as PDF and TIFF

SoftRIP includes seamless compatibility with label artwork in common formats such as PDF and TIFF Highly efficient  High-yield individual ink cartridges deliver fewer user interventions and less waste

High-yield individual ink cartridges deliver fewer user interventions and less waste Low cost of labeling  Efficient ink usage and flexible media choice with five years of estimated printer life 2

Efficient ink usage and flexible media choice with five years of estimated printer life Variable Data Printing (VDP)  Optional SoftRIP VDP for sequential numbering, bar codes or images can be inserted and managed A video about the Epson ColorWorks C7500GE can be found on Epson's YouTube page: https://epson.com/p/C31CD84A9991. To learn more about Epson's full line of ColorWorks label printer solutions, visit http://www.epson.com/colorworks, or email [email protected]. About Epson

Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to connecting people, things and information with its original efficient, compact and precision technologies. With a lineup that ranges from inkjet printers and digital printing systems to 3LCD projectors, smart glasses, sensing systems and industrial robots, the company is focused on driving innovations and exceeding customer expectations in inkjet, visual communications, wearables and robotics. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 72,000 employees in 88 companies around the world, and is proud of its contributions to the communities in which it operates and its ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impacts. Epson America, Inc., based in Long Beach, Calif., is Epson's regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (facebook.com/Epson), Twitter (twitter.com/EpsonAmerica), YouTube (youtube.com/EpsonAmerica), and Instagram (instagram.com/EpsonAmerica). Note: EPSON, ColorWorks, PrecisionCore and UltraChrome are registered trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation. All other product brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. EPSON disclaims any and all rights in these marks. 1Printing in full 1200 x 600 resolution with Flush-onto-Paper Mode enabled. With Flush-onto-Paper Mode disabled, print speed is up to 52 feet per minute.

2 Printing mechanism can produce over 3.3 million 4"x6" labels before first major service. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boutique-restaurant-dishdash-leverages-epson-colorworks-c7500ge-on-demand-color-label-printer-to-expand-business-300486743.html SOURCE Epson America, Inc.

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[July 12, 2017] Ferns N Petals - Early Bird Offer With Free Shipping Worldwide on Rakhi Orders

NEW DELHI, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ferns N Petals, a leading online gifting company announced a special offer for customers worldwide. For all the rakhi orders including rakhi, rakhi hampers and combos, the company is offering free shipping worldwide including countries like USA, UK, Canada, Australia, UAE, and Singapore etc. till 20th July 2017. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/534936/Ferns_N_Petals_Logo.jpg )

Raksha Bandhan is an important festival which is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm by Indians across the globe. Ferns N Petals wants to make this more convenient for the customers. International deliveries for rakhi gifts can be costly due to various reasons and duties. And that is the reason it is offering free shipping worldwide to its customers so that they can easily buy online rakhi and other rakhi gifts. About the company's recent new offer, Ferns N Petals AGM, Ms. Sangeeta Chaudhary said, "We understand the importance of Raksha Bandhan festival and want to offer a new variety to our customers. We have included new rakhis like Feng-Shui rakhi, precious stone rakhi, sandalwood rakhi, hand-printed rakhi, personalized rakhi, zardosi and mauli rakhi etc. And not just rakhis, we are also delivering traditional Indian sweets like Kaju Katli, Ladoos, nd Dodha Barfi etc. Internationally. We have also added 36 new countries to our existing list of 70 countries and the total is now 106 countries comprising of 70,000 plus cities and towns. Order rakhi and sweet combos, chocolates etc. and get free shipping worldwide."



A majority of the population shops online on Raksha Bandhan for various products and gift ideas like rakhi gifts for sister, rakhi hampers and combos etc. Similar trend is visible on other occasions and festivals as well. Out of the total online shopping population, most of them shop through their smartphones. Keeping this trend in mind and expected rise in the number of orders, Mr. Himanshu Chopra, Senior Manager, Mobile Business said, "Mobile is showing a tremendous growth month-on-month basis. Compared to last year, the traffic contribution on mobile has increased from a meagre 35-40% to a staggering 65%-70% this year. Following this trend, we have taken steps to take the user experience to the next level. We are coming up with a newer version of the mobile website very soon which will be superfast in terms of loading speed, will work even on a 2G connection and will be very user friendly. We have tried to make the user experience from discovery to consideration to decision very simple and very efficient for a user." Ferns N Petals is moving ahead at a fast pace but it is keeping customer satisfaction and experience in focus. That is the reason; FNP also offers expedited next day air shipping with some extra charges for the orders placed by customers at the very last minute. This is besides standard and free shipping delivery services. All the orders are shipped locally so that perishable items remain fresh when they reach you.

The offer of free shipping worldwide on rakhi and other rakhi products is valid on orders placed till 20th July 2017. About the company Ferns N Petals was established in the year 1994 in Delhi and has since then entered into various business segments like flowers, cakes and gifts delivery. The company has experience of more than 21 years in this domain and has been serving its global customers for a long time. It can offer its services quickly in India and abroad to its customers through its reliable and quick delivery services. For more details, visit our website: http://www.fnp.com The address of the company is mentioned below:

Ferns N Petals Pvt Ltd

FNP Estate, Ashram Marg

Mandi Road, Sultanpur

Gadaipur, New Delhi - 110030 Media Contact:

Eshmeeta Kaur

Corporate Communication

Ferns N Petals Pvt Ltd

[email protected]

+91-9711901471



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[July 12, 2017] Innoviti Raises Rs. 120 Crores (~US$ 18 Million) to Grow its Payments and Lending Businesses

BANGALORE, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- - Current round of Series B funding led by the Singapore-based SBI FMO Emerging Asia Financial Sector Fund (the 'SBI-FMO Fund' jointly setup by SBI Holdings Group of Japan and FMO of Netherlands), Bessemer Venture Partners and existing investor Catamaran - US$ 5 Million was previously raised in Series A in June 2015. Funds were used for a) rearchitecting the flagship uniPAY payments platform in to a full-fledged enterprise grade product - uniPAY Next and b) extending the platform to offer lending solutions to small businesses under the brand smelending.com - The new uniPAY Next platform's superior performance has driven rapid market acceptance with Innoviti today processing more than US$ 3 Billion in B2C transactions across 50,000+ POS terminals. Innoviti grew 100% in transaction processing volumes last year against the national average of 55%. Volume processed per terminal in Innoviti's portfolio is 1.7X of India's national average - a demonstration of the superior quality of the solution - Innoviti's smelending.com small business lending platform processes more than 150,000+ loans from 30,000+ SMEs every year, with over $500 Million of loans disbursed till date - The current Series B funding will be used to a) continue the rapid market expansion for the uniPAY Next platform and b) expand the smelending.com product to target payment and lending to more businesses right across the supply chain. Leading payments company, Innoviti Payment Solutions today announced financing of Rs. 120 Crores (~ USD 18 Million) to further its vision of digitally organizing the flow of money for businesses across the retail supply chain. The current round was led by the SBI-FMO Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners and existing investor Catamaran. Masterkey Holdings, Bangalore were the exclusive investment bankers to the deal. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151009/10132317 )

Less than 10% of India's retail payments are currently digital, creating a market opportunity of more than $500 Billion annually. Similarly, the shortfall in supply of funds to SMEs is estimated in excess of $300 Billion and is difficult to solve in the absence of technology-based solutions. Further, the Indian market requires a differentiated approach to product design given the communication infrastructure challenges and low levels of awareness about digital technologies. Innoviti has focused on an experience-centric approach to solving these problems through its uniPAY Next and smelending.com platforms. Deep technology has been used to build solutions that work within existing infrastructure constraints to deliver payment processing reliability of more than 96% vs. the industry average at 80%. Enhanced reliability builds confidence in digital payments with both the consumer and the merchant. Transaction processing time has been brought down to an average of 2 seconds (vs. industry averages at 7 seconds), thus delivering a superior experience to the customer. Over the past twelve months Innoviti has also been extending the platform to provide lending solutions for small businesses. Branded as smelending.com, this platform extension provides a frictionless process for addressing the short-term working capital requirements of small businesses. Using technology to automate all aspects of the lending process, the platform enables loans as small as Rs. 30,000 (US$500) for periods as short as 15 days. Designed as an asset-light platform, smelending.com connects lenders to small businesses and processes more than 150,000 loans annually for over 30,000 such small businesses. On the payment processing side, Innoviti has several recent firsts to its credt. These include a) the launch of faster contactless card acceptance for the first time in multiplexes, b) launch of UPI acceptance in offline retail through its [email protected] solution in collaboration with NPCI, and c) launch of automated acquirer fallback feature to provide greater payment processing reliability to merchants struggling with store and bank network failures.



The current round of funding will be used to a) aggressively market the uniPAY Next experience to acquire customers looking for greater speed and reliability in their payment acceptance, b) rapid expansion of smelending.com platform to provide working capital loans to kirana stores and brand franchisees, and c) expand the product to address payment and lending issues beyond just retail to more businesses across the supply chain. Innoviti's payment platforms serve a marquee client base of merchants including Reliance Retail, Titan, Landmark Group, INOX, Indigo, Walmart and several others. Leading banks such as HDFC, ICICI, Axis, SBI, Standard Chartered, Kotak and Citibank use the platform to access customers for processing their payments and distributing to them loans.

"A rapidly growing Indian economy with fledgling infrastructure needs a different approach for the delivery of payment solutions. An approach that first focusses on making every transaction happen, and happen fast. Innoviti with its extensive experience and relationships in the payments space has embarked on the journey of delivering to this simple promise of speed and reliability in payments. The current funding from marquee investors is a huge endorsement of our approach and business plan. We believe that our platform is a game changer and are eager to utilize this round of funding to rapidly scale our presence," said Mr. Rajeev Agrawal, CEO, Innoviti. "Catamaran's choice to partner with Innoviti because of the company's innovative approach to credit distribution built on top of a robust payments platform continues to yield positive results. Over the years, Rajeev has proven that he is a great custodian of capital and has demonstrated perseverance, commitment, flexibility and drive through an important phase of his business. He is an entrepreneur with a solid reputation across the ecosystem and has leveraged his strengths to build confidence and traction across marquee customers and partners alike. With a strong foundation and a well-capitalized balance sheet, Innoviti is well poised to strengthen its market position in what continues to be a receptive ecosystem for well-designed digital payment and lending solutions," said Mr. Abishek Laxminarayan, Director, Catamaran. "We are excited to partner with Innoviti as we jointly build the leading digital payments platform in India. Innoviti is a company focused on developing unique solutions for the Indian payments context and we like companies with the ability to create IP. We believe these solutions will also be valuable to other countries in Asia and we will work with Innoviti to extend our network in this region to them. We also look forward to working with our co-investors Bessemer and Catamaran," said Mr. Suramya Gupta, Fund Manager, the SBI-FMO Fund "We like Innoviti's vision of organizing the flow of money across the supply chain. It is large and very relevant to India as it is emerging now. We believe this vision, coupled with Innoviti's superior technology, will drive them to leadership in the payment ecosystem," said Mr. Vishal Gupta, Managing Director, Bessemer Venture Partners. About Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, India Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (formerly Innoviti Embedded Solutions Pvt. Ltd.) has been a pioneer in the use of technology to solve real-world payment acceptance problems of merchants. Using its indigenous payments platform, Innoviti has delivered differentiated solutions for payments automation, consumer credit distribution and SME lending that have become a benchmark in their markets. Innoviti processes over Rs. 20,000 Crores of payment transactions annually including Rs. 1000 Cr. of credit. It is India's only payments company that can process transactions through any channel - be it web, mobile, in-store or at the time of delivery. The company has won Deloitte Asia Pacific award three years in a row and Red Herring Asia award twice. For more information, visit: http://www.innoviti.com. About Catamaran, Bangalore, India Catamaran is an evergreen domestic investment firm with interests in VC/PE, joint venture partnerships and public market investing. We invest in a few selected talented entrepreneurs and investors each year. Our portfolio spans FMCG, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, education, medical devices, media and other sectors. We are active across stages: seed/angel, expansion, and public market investing. Across all our investments, we are a fundamental long-term oriented investor looking for teams with strong values addressing large opportunities in a differentiated and capital-efficient way. We have a preference for companies that are altering the fundamental fabric of life in India, or earning greater respect for our country overseas. About the SBI-FMO Fund The SBI-FMO Fund is a Private Equity fund based in Singapore which invests in FinTech and financial services companies across Emerging Asia. The Fund has been setup by two global institutions - The SBI Holdings Group (http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/english/), a leading Internet-based financial services conglomerate in Japan that was spun-out from SoftBank, and FMO (https://www.fmo.nl/), the Dutch development bank. The SBI Holdings Group is the leading FinTech conglomerate in Japan and one of the best performing Japanese Private Equity/Venture Capital Asset Managers with an AUM in excess of USD 5 Billion. FMO is one of the world's largest Development Finance Institutions. The SBI-FMO Fund leverages the joint strengths of both its sponsors to help companies benefit from the Fund's global networks. About Bessemer Ventures Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) is a $4B venture capital firm that funds consumer, enterprise and healthcare startups around the world, from seed stage to growth. BVP funded the early stages of Blue Apron, Pinterest, Skype, Bigbasket, Swiggy, Motilal Oswal, Shriram City Union Finance, Home First Finance and Twitch and helped build 117 IPOs including Twilio, Yelp, LinkedIn, Shopify, MindBody and Wix. Follow us @BessemerVP. Media Contact:

Sarath Chandra Nerella

Senior Manager - Marketing

Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

[email protected]

+91-7795348478



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[July 12, 2017]

Glassdoor Survey Finds The Majority Of U.S. Workers Believe Employers Should Not Ask About Salary History

MILL VALLEY, Calif., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Perhaps it's time to rethink age-old hiring questions like, "How much do you/did you make?" According to a new survey from Glassdoor, one of the world's largest and fastest growing job sites, more than half of U.S. workers1 (who are employed or unemployed but looking) (53 percent) believe employers should not ask candidates about their current or past salary history when negotiating a job offer. This survey, conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Glassdoor among more than 1,300 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, comes at a time when new laws are being adopted to address this inherent gender bias in long-standing hiring practices. Several states and cities are currently considering laws that would ban employers from asking about salary history, following similar laws recently passed in New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Massachusetts, Delaware and Oregon, among others.

Significantly more working women (60 percent) than working men (48 percent) believe salary history questions should not be asked. On average, women in the U.S. earn about $0.76 for every $1.00 men earn on an unadjusted basis2, according to Glassdoor Economic Research. This documented pay gap, compounded by the fact that more than two-thirds (68 percent) of women do not negotiate pay compared to half (52 percent) of men, can quickly put women at pay disadvantages, especially when prior salary history is used to determine starting pay in job offers.

"The time of looking backward to go forward to determine pay is over. Asking prior salary history questions can trigger unintended consequences and introduce bias into the hiring process that disadvantages women from day one," said Dawn Lyon, Glassdoor chief equal pay advocate and senior vice president of global corporate affairs. "We need to reframe the conversation to pay expectations around the value of the job and the skills and relevant experience required to do it. Many companies are already doing this without legislation or regulation because it's the right thing to do. And, candidates can help chnge the conversation by offering answers that address their pay expectations based on the role and their current market value, while also taking into account how the company structures its overall pay and benefits package."







While most Americans do not think employers should ask about current or past pay, most do want more pay information up front from employers. Nearly all U.S. workers (98 percent) say it would be helpful to see pay ranges included in open job listings, and 95 percent say it is important to be thoughtful and informed about a company's pay philosophy (e.g., how pay and pay increases are determined) prior to accepting a job offer3. This is valuable for employers to consider given that nearly three in four U.S. workers (72 percent) report that a salary and compensation package is among their top considerations when determining whether to accept a job offer3.

"Pay is a key area where implicit bias can creep into people processes," said Lori Nishiura Mackenzie, executive director of the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University. "Women are often implicitly assumed to be less qualified and thus, have to work harder to demonstrate their worth, especially in roles that are male-dominated. The same negotiation tactics can have different returns for different employees depending on their race, gender, and other dimensions. Due to stereotypes and bias, past salary is not an accurate measure of an employee's value and putting all the onus on the candidate to negotiate their salary is not the answer either. It is critical to base offers on what the job is worth, starting with clear criteria and qualifications for the role when making decisions about a total compensation package."

For job seekers, Glassdoor offers several resources to help them better understand fair pay and determine their current market value, along with tips and advice on how to shape conversations about pay during the interview process. Resources include:

For employers, Glassdoor also offers resources to help them navigate conversations around pay and pay philosophy including a total rewards package, in addition to advice on how to respond to new laws prohibiting employers from asking about salary history. Resources include:

More Data + Interviews

For more data, including breakdowns of survey results by age, gender and location, and/or to speak with a Glassdoor spokesperson, please contact: [email protected].

1 U.S. workers refers to adults who are either employed or unemployed but looking for a job

2 Unadjusted basis refers to the unadjusted wage gap found between men and women after controlling for differences in education, work experience, location, industry, job title and company

Methodology

3 The 2017 survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Glassdoor from March 30 - April 3, 2017 among 1,329 U.S. workers (who are employed or unemployed but looking) ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact [email protected].

About Glassdoor

Glassdoor is one of the largest and fastest growing job sites in the world today. Set apart by the tens of millions of reviews and insights provided by employees and candidates, Glassdoor combines all the jobs with this valuable data to make it easy for people to find a job that is uniquely right for them. As a result, Glassdoor helps employers hire truly informed candidates at scale through effective recruiting solutions like job advertising and employer branding products. Launched in 2008, Glassdoor now has reviews and insights for approximately 700,000 companies in more than 190 countries. For labor market trends and analysis, visit Glassdoor Economic Research. For company news and career advice and tips, visit the Glassdoor Blog and for employer-related news and insights to help employers hire, visit the Glassdoor for Employers Blog. Visit Glassdoor.com or download our apps on iOS and Android platforms.

"Glassdoor" and logo are proprietary trademarks of Glassdoor, Inc.

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/glassdoor-survey-finds-the-majority-of-us-workers-believe-employers-should-not-ask-about-salary-history-300486684.html

SOURCE Glassdoor
[July 12, 2017] Global Model-based Manufacturing Technologies Market to Stand at US$ 53,550 Mn by 2027-end

VALLEY COTTAGE, New York, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- There is a tectonic shift in the global manufacturing vertical, which is rapidly transforming the existing production lines as well as adding more dynamism to them. The trend of data exchange and automation in manufacturing technologies has led to the rise of Industry 4.0, more popularly known as smart factories. Modern day factories follow certain models that allow more efficient, systematic and cost-effective manufacturing. In order to stay competitive, manufacturers are adopting the latest model-based manufacturing technologies. Future Market Insights in its new report projects that the US$ 23,866 Mn global model-based manufacturing technology market is set to register an impressive CAGR of 7.4% during the forecast period (2017-2027) to reach a valuation of US$ 53,550 Mn. The arrival of smart manufacturing technologies and cloud-based CAD systems are expected to facilitate the growth of the market over the next couple of years. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161020/430874LOGO ) The FMI report also cites that robust development in RFID-based manufacturing technologies and modernization of oil & gas, food & beverage and few other large scale sectors are benefiting the global model-based manufacturing technologies market. In terms of revenue sales, North America and Europe were the most dominant markets for model-based manufacturing in 2016. Countries such as the U.S., the U.K., Germany and France are expected to remain key markets for sustainable revenue generation from sales of model-based manufacturing technologies throughout the forecast period. Some of the leading market players such as HCL, Siemens and PTC have a strong base in North America, which is also supporting the market's growth in the region. Meanwhile, a massive growth potential exist in Asia with China, India, and Japan at the forefront. In terms of value, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is projected to be the most attractive market for model-based manufacturing technologies in 2017 and beyond. Market in Japan, on the other hand, is expected to register the highest Y-o-Y growth rates over 2027. Request a Sample Report with Table of Contents and Figures: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1575 Highlights of Report Also Include: Based on software type, manufacturing execution systems (MES) and enterprie resource planning (ERP) systems will continue to be the most attractive segments of the market over the assessment period.

By end-user industry, automotive and oil & gas are expected to account for sizeable value shares of the market between 2017 and 2027. During the same period, industries such as the aerospace and the defence are likely to witness strong Y-o-Y growth rates as well.



Preview Analysis on Global Model Based Manufacturing Technologies Market Segmentation By End-user Industry - Automotive, Electronics and Semiconductor, Aerospace and Defence, Oil and Gas, Other Industrial Sectors; By Software Type - MES (Manufacturing Execution Software) Based Systems, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Based Systems, MRP Based Systems, CAD & PLM Based Systems, Other MbM Software: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/model-based-manufacturing-technologies-market For market players, emphases will remain on collaboration with software vendors, platform providers, and other OEM companies. To maintain a steady sales growth, agreements on long-term contracts with equipment suppliers will also be crucial. Also, strategies as such are anticipated to help equipment vendors to increase sales revenue and attract new potential customers in emerging markets. FMI's report has profiled some of the top companies operating in the global model-based manufacturing technologies market, which include Aspen Technology Inc., Oracle Corp., SAP SE, Honeywell International, Inc., Ibaset Inc., Autodesk Inc., PTC, Inc., Siemens PLM Software Inc., Rockwell Automation, Inc., Dassault Systemes, Schneider Electric SE, ABB Ltd, Seabrook Technology Group, Vero Software Ltd, Sogeti High Tech SAS, KPIT Technologies Limited, General Electric Company, Statii Ltd, CNC Software, Inc, Cimatron Technologies, Inc.

More from FMI's Cutting-edge Intelligence: Mass Notification Systems Market Segmentation By Application - Interoperable Emergency Communication, Integrated Public Alert and Warning, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery and Business Operation; By Solution - In-building Solution, Wide-area Solution and Distributed Recipient Solution; By Product Type - Hardware, Software and Services; By End-user Vertical - Commercial, Education, Energy and Power, Healthcare, Defence, Automotive, Transportation and Logistics and Government Institutions: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/mass-notifications-systems-market



Segmentation By Application - Interoperable Emergency Communication, Integrated Public Alert and Warning, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery and Business Operation; By Solution - In-building Solution, Wide-area Solution and Distributed Recipient Solution; By Product Type - Hardware, Software and Services; By End-user Vertical - Commercial, Education, Energy and Power, Healthcare, Defence, Automotive, Transportation and Logistics and Government Institutions: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/mass-notifications-systems-market Cognitive Systems Spending Market Segmentation By Product Type - Hardware, Software and Services; By Deployment Type - Public and On-Premise; By Technology Type - Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning and Automated Reasoning; By Verticals - Banking, Education, Government, Healthcare, Insurance, Manufacturing, Securities & Investment Services, Telecommunications, Transportation and Other Industries (Cross Industries, Discrete Manufacturing, Process Manufacturing, Retail): http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/cognitive-systems-spending-market



Segmentation By Product Type - Hardware, Software and Services; By Deployment Type - Public and On-Premise; By Technology Type - Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning and Automated Reasoning; By Verticals - Banking, Education, Government, Healthcare, Insurance, Manufacturing, Securities & Investment Services, Telecommunications, Transportation and Other Industries (Cross Industries, Discrete Manufacturing, Process Manufacturing, Retail): http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/cognitive-systems-spending-market Enterprise Asset Management Market Analysis and Forecast by Solution - Analytics, Mobile, Cloud-Based; By Services - Consulting, Implementation, Training and Support, Outsourcing; By Vertical - Public Sector, Manufacturing, Oil And Gas, Healthcare And Pharmaceuticals, Energy and Utility, Transportation, Wholesale And Distribution, Food And Beverages, Paper And Packaging, Chemical Process Industry, Mining, And Services Industry: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/global-enterprise-asset-management-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 and an aerial view of the competitive framework and future market trends. Browse More Electronics, Semiconductors, and ICT Market Insights Contact Us

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SOURCE Future Market Insights

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[July 12, 2017] SkyWater Technology Foundry Announces Formation of Board of Directors

BLOOMINGTON, Minn., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SkyWater Technology Foundry announced the formation of its Board of Directors. The inaugural meeting of the new Board of Directors was held July 12, 2017. The formation of the Board comes following the creation of SkyWater Technology Foundry in March 2017 as the result of the purchase of Cypress Minnesota Inc., a 200mm semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility in Bloomington, Minn. from Cypress Semiconductor Corp. The purchase was funded by Oxbow Industries, a Minnesota-based private equity firm and diversified holding company. Led by Gary Obermiller, Interim-CEO of SkyWater Technology Foundry and Co-Founder & Operating Partner of Mill City Capital, the Board is charged with providing guidance and strategic direction of company activities. Remaining board members include: Tom Lujan, Principal at Lujan Legal Counsel, LLC;

Michael Moore, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing at SkyWater Technology Foundry;

Dana Nazarian, Executive Vice President, Operations & Technology at Cypress Semiconductor;

Dr. Scott Nelson, Chief Technology Officer and EVP Corporate Development at SkyWater Technology Foundry;

Loren Unterseher, Managing Director of Oxbow Industries; and

Bart Zibrowski, Executive Vice President, CFO and Treasurer at SkyWater Technology Foundry and Operating Partner at Oxbow Industries.



the United States and to continue the legacy of high-tech manufacturing and innovation at this facility," said SkyWater CEO Gary Obermiller . "As the most-advanced DMEA-Trusted, independent U.S.-based and owned semiconductor foundry currently in operation, the company has a unique position within the marketing. Under the guidance of such a seasoned Board of Directors, we are in a position to grow rapidly." The company manufactures wafers for Cypress under a multi-year supply agreement as well as provides engineering and manufacturing services for a wide range of global technology customers, including the U.S. government. Ideally situated to assist innovators in IoT, medical, photonics, and superconducting applications bring new products to market, SkyWater has the in-house expertise and production capabilities to develop to any scale with a wide array of special materials.

About SkyWater Technology Foundry

SkyWater is a U.S.-based technology foundry specializing in the development and manufacturing of a wide variety of semiconductor based solutions. As a globally recognized, DMEA-Trusted facility with advanced development capabilities co-located with volume production, SkyWater has the ability and flexibility to innovate to any scale with a wide array of special materials. Our roots go back to the pioneers of computing technology and as such SkyWater offers what most foundries cannot: decades of technology innovation experience. Reach out to see how SkyWater can help revolutionize your product. To learn more, visit www.skywatertechnologyfoundry.com. Contact:

Eva Keiser, APR

[email protected]

612.940.4254 View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/skywater-technology-foundry-announces-formation-of-board-of-directors-300486815.html SOURCE SkyWater Technology Foundry

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[July 12, 2017] Global Lifting Columns Market - Drivers and Forecasts by Technavio

Technavio analysts forecast the global lifting columns market to grow at a CAGR of almost 5% during the forecast period, according to their latest report. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712005935/en/ Technavio has published a new report on the global lifting columns market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire) The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global lifting columns market for 2017-2021. The market is segmented on application (industrial sector, healthcare sector, and ergonomics), type (multi-stage lifting columns and two-stage lifting columns), and geography (the Americas, EMEA, and APAC). The global lifting columns market is expected to witness large-scale growth in its adoption during the forecast period. Mainly, the highest level of adoption will be witnessed by APAC. Countries like India and China are likely to contribute massively toward the global lifting columns market. This is due to the rising industrialization and awareness among people about the benefits of products incorporating lifting columns. This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before purchasing Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free. Technavio research analysts highlight the following three factors that are contributing to the growth of the global lifting columns market: Increasing demand for movable beds and chairs in healthcare sector

Technological improvements in lifting columns

Increase in automation Looking for more information on this market? Request a free sample report



Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Increasing demand for movable beds and chairs in healthcare sector

Amidst a hectic lifestyle and busy schedule, most people tend to ignore their health. Rigid schedules, work pressure, and deadlines are the general causes of stress that affect the health of an individual. Moreover, the increasing strategic pressure, pollution, and other toxic materials in the air have made humans prone to various diseases. Sushmit Chakraborty, a lead automation research analyst at Technavio, says, "At present, the outspread of obesity is a major challenge for the world. This arises due to the hectic life schedule of individuals. Due to this health problem, the number of people visiting the doctor nowadays has increased intensively. Consequently, the number of beds required by the hospital to cure these many people has also increased. As a result, the number of lifting columns required in the healthcare sector has increased to accommodate the rising number of patients." Technological improvements in lifting columns The advancement and improvement in technology enable growth of the global lifting columns market. Different industries have their different requirements based on several design-related challenges. The innovation in technology in terms of design and manufacturing capability of vendors witnessed advanced lifting columns that are suitable for a particular working environment. The various versions of lifting columns in the market enable OEMs to manufacture products in accordance with the requirements of customers. "During the past, lifting columns were handled manually. At present, lifting columns that can be handled with the help of an electronic switch are being manufactured. Moreover, nowadays lifting columns that can be handled using a wireless remote are also available in the market. A good technical system permits repeatability of operations with the same efficiency. A compact design allows lifting columns to hold a high load capacity, handles misalignment even in non-flat surfaces, enhances comfort, and reduces loss for the end-users," adds Sushmit. Increase in automation Automation has given rise to various operations that can run by one-time programming of the equipment. A lifting column is one such equipment. Through lifting columns in the industries, the processes can be carried out repeatedly with the same efficiency and accuracy as the first time. Through automation, companies have found greater use of lifting columns for the timely delivery of materials with reduced wastage. In hospitals, the staff is less in number compared to the number of beds. Therefore, the presence of the hospital staff at every moment is not possible. In such cases, automated processes, such as moving the patient or wheelchairs without assistance, will not only make the job of the hospital staff easier but also incorporate comfort and self-control among the patients. Browse Related Reports: Global Valves Market in Mining Industry 2017-2021

Global Demand Response (DR) Market 2017-2021

Global Residential Air Quality Control Services Market 2017-2021 About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 10,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712005935/en/

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[July 12, 2017] PD-L1 Overexpression in Solid Tumours Forecast in 18 Major Markets 2017-2027 - Research and Markets

The "PD-L1 Overexpression in Solid Tumours Forecast in 18 Major Markets 2017-2027" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering. PD-1 is a T-cell immune checkpoint that is involved in the dampening of autoimmunity in the peripheral effector phase of T-cell activation. This leads to a tolerance' of cells expressing PD-L1 (programmed death ligand-1). PD-L1 is expressed normally on a number of different cell types including; placenta, vascular endothelium, pancreatic islet cells, muscle cells, hepatocytes, epithelium, mesenchymal stem cells, B-cells, T-cells, dendritic cells, macrophages and mast cells. This report provides the current prevalent population for PDL-1 over-expression in cancer populations across 18 Major Markets (USA, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Russia, Turkey, audi Arabia, Japan, China, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, India, South Africa and Australia) split by gender and 5-year age cohort. Along with the current prevalence, the report also contains a disease overview of the risk factors, disease diagnosis and prognosis along with specific variations by geography and ethnicity.



Providing a value-added level of insight from the analysis team, several of the main cancers with PDL-1 over-expression have been quantified and presented alongside the overall prevalence figures. Key Topics Covered:

1. Introduction 2. Cause of the Disease 3. Diagnosis of the Disease 4. Variation by Geography/Ethnicity 5. Disease Prognosis (News - Alert) & Clinical Course 6. Key Cancers associated with the condition 7. Methodology for quantification of patient numbers 8. Top-line Prevalence for PD-L1 over-expression in Cancer populations 9. PD-L1 over-expression by type of cancer 10. Abbreviations used in the report 11. Patient-Based Offering 12. Online Pricing Data and Platforms 13. References 14. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6l7qpz/pdl1 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712005972/en/

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[July 12, 2017] Major step forward for digitalisation in Africa

FORTALEZA, Brazil, July 12, 2017 /CNW/ -- Multinational telecommunications company, Angola Cables, announced today that construction had begun on its South American data centre, located in Fortaleza, Brazil. The data centre is an important next step in the company's roll-out of promoting the digital inclusion and empowerment of Africa by the use of subsea internet cable connecting Africa to the Americas and providing high speed internet at some of the lowest latency speeds between the two continents. Angola Cables was launched in 2009 with the mission of becoming the leading driver of digital enablement in Africa. The Fortaleza centre represents another important step in developing international routes for digital traffic between the Americas and Africa. Two key routes will run from the Data centre. The SACS system will connect the Fortaleza centre to Luanda and is expected to be completed by mid-2018. The Monet Cable will connect Miami with both Fortaleza and Sao Paulo Brazil and is due to be completed by the end of 2017. However, the Data Centre aims to accommodate more cables from the cable dense region of Fortaleza. Antonio Nunes, CEO of Anglo Cables says, "The systems will enhance Africa's global communications networks, provide a 'meet me' point with high connectivity and access to larger markets. They will also deliver the lowest lateny routing between Africa and South America."



He said partnering with Brazil to establish this Data centre has been a productive journey so far. "We were delighted to be a part of the ceremony to mark the start of the building of the centre. This is a Brazilian tradition we were honoured to share in." Clients who have already signed in Brazil include Prefeitura de Fortaleza, Claranet and AmLight. Angola Cables' product manager Fabio Jose said that the centre is a Tier 3 DC from a design and construction perspective, this will account for the different layers of security, humidity and environment controls and all the pre-cautions required to operate the DC with safety, efficiency and reliability. We are creating a digital gateway between the closest point to Africa in South America."

Angola Cables is focused on the 15 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), having established itself as the main international telecom service provider for the Angolan market. The WACS system, which Angola Cables is a partner in with 11 other companies and which links Yzerfontein in South Africa to London in the United Kingdom is already in operation greatly enhancing Africa's connectivity to Europe and Asia. About Angola Cables Angola Cables is a multinational telecommunications company founded in 2009, which operates in the wholesale market and whose core business is the commercialisation of capacity in international circuits for voice and data through Submarine Cable Systems. SACS and the Monet cable system will interconnect three continents (South America, North America and Africa) as well as a Tier III data centre in Fortaleza to interconnect the cable systems. Angola Cables also runs Angonix, a neutral Internet Exchange Point located in Luanda, which interconnects global networks and content providers. Angola Cables also manages Angonap, a neutral data centre located in Luanda and the company's traffic exchange point in Angola. For more information, visit http://www.angolacables.co.ao. For further information, contact: Andrew Cole

Atmosphere Communications

Cel: +27 (0)79 483 3208

[email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/major-step-forward-for-digitalisation-in-africa-300487124.html SOURCE Angola Cables

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[July 12, 2017]

NASA Opens Media Accreditation for Upcoming Space Station Cargo Launch

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Media accreditation is open for launch of the next SpaceX commercial cargo resupply services mission to the International Space Station, currently targeted for August.

The uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Media prelaunch and launch activities will take place at Kennedy. Credentialing deadlines are as follows:

International media without U.S. citizenship must apply by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 25 .

on . U.S. media must apply by 4:30 p.m. Friday, July 28 .

All media accreditation requests should be submitted online.

For questions aout accreditation, send email to [email protected]. For other questions, or additional information, contact Kennedy's newsroom at 321-867-2468.







This is SpaceX's twelfth mission under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract. In addition to supplies and equipment, Dragon will deliver several science investigations to the space station, including building on the success of the Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) balloon flights. The instrument has been transformed for accommodation on the International Space Station. The goal is to extend the energy reach of direct measurements of cosmic rays to the highest energy possible to probe their origin, acceleration and propagation.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station has been occupied continuously since November 2000. In that time, more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft have visited the orbiting laboratory. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in exploration, including future missions to Mars.

For launch countdown coverage, NASA's launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacex

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-opens-media-accreditation-for-upcoming-space-station-cargo-launch-300487342.html

SOURCE NASA
[July 12, 2017] Mouser Electronics-Backed Formula E Race Team Gears Up for New York

The Mouser Electronics-sponsored Faraday Future Dragon Racing team will take to the streets of Brooklyn in the New York City ePrix on July 15-16. The race will be the first FIA-sanctioned motorsports event to take place in the city. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712006315/en/ The Mouser Electronics-sponsored Dragon Racing team will take to the streets of Brooklyn in the New York City ePrix on July 15 and 16. Mouser is a proud sponsor of the 2016-2017 Dragon Racing all-electric car team in collaboration with TTI, Inc. and valued supplier team members Molex and Panasonic (News - Alert). (Photo: Business Wire) Drivers Loic Duval and Jerome D'Ambrosio will navigate a 1.21-mile track through the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. The waterfront track will feature views of the iconic Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. "Duval and D'Ambrosio are talented drivers with a strong team backing them," said Todd McAtee, Vice President, Americas Business Development for Mouser Electronics. "We are proud to support this exciting new technology as a sponsor alongside TTI, Molex (News - Alert), and Panasonic. Best of luck to the team as they head to New York for this historic race." Mouser is a proud sponsor of the 2016-2017 Dragon Racing team in collaboration with TTI, Inc. ad valued supplier team members Molex and Panasonic. This is the third straight year that Mouser Electronics is sponsoring Formula E racing. Formula E features cars powered exclusively by electric power and represents a vision for the future of the motorsports industry, serving as a framework for research and development around zero-emission motoring.



"These skilled drivers and their cutting-edge cars are incredible," said Mike Morton, TTI Global President. "TTI is proud to play a part in the pursuit of sustainable automotive technologies of the future." "Molex is excited to again work with Mouser in sponsoring this racing venture," said Fred Bell, Vice President of Global Distribution for Molex. "We look forward to watching electric automotive technology in the hands of truly talented drivers."

"At Panasonic, we are pleased to be part of a forward-thinking technology that could determine the future of our automotive industry," said Jeff Howell, President of Panasonic Industrial Devices Sales Company of America. "Through this sponsorship, Mouser consistently proves its dedication to technological innovation," added McAtee. After New York, the final two races will take place in Montreal on July 29 and 30. To learn more about the Formula E series, visit www.mouser.com/formula-e/. With its broad product line and unsurpassed customer service, Mouser strives to empower innovation among design engineers and buyers by delivering advanced technologies. Mouser stocks the world's widest selection of the latest semiconductors and electronic components for the newest design projects. Mouser Electronics' website is continually updated and offers advanced search methods to help customers quickly locate inventory. Mouser.com also houses data sheets, supplier-specific reference designs, application notes, technical design information, and engineering tools. About Mouser Electronics Mouser Electronics, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an award-winning, authorized semiconductor and electronic component distributor focused on rapid New Product Introductions from its manufacturing partners for electronic design engineers and buyers. The global distributor's website, Mouser.com, is available in multiple languages and currencies and features more than 4 million products from over 600 manufacturers. Mouser offers 22 support locations around the world to provide best-in-class customer service and ships globally to over 500,000 customers in 170 countries from its 750,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility south of Dallas, Texas. For more information, visit www.mouser.com. About Panasonic Industrial Devices Sales Company of America Panasonic Industrial Devices Sales Company of America is the advanced industrial components and electronic devices sales division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation. The company provides cutting-edge components that power a diverse range of wireless and mechanical devices. Standard and custom components range from industrial automation devices to passive components, relays, connectors, sensors, wireless connectivity, semiconductors and more. About Molex Molex brings together innovation and technology to deliver electronic solutions to customers worldwide. With a presence in more than 40 countries, Molex offers a full suite of solutions and services for many markets, including data communications, consumer electronics, industrial, automotive, commercial vehicle and medical. Trademarks Mouser and Mouser Electronics are registered trademarks of Mouser Electronics, Inc. All other products, logos, and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170712006315/en/

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Indiana soldier reflects on Veterans Day from Kosovo

Sgt. Chris Griesinger is among about 300 Indiana National Guard members who deployed to Kosovo from Camp Atterbury, which is south of Indianapolis.
What's the mark of a good bakery? "You can taste when butter is used," Food Critic Carlton Logan told host Gina Kaufmann on KCUR's Central Standard. "You can tell when real ingredients are used. It has a very different taste compared to something you get in a supermarket."
Suspect in custody after 5-year-old child shot in leg LENEXA, Kan. - A suspect is in custody after a child was shot early Tuesday morning. At 12:22 a.m., Lenexa, Kansas police officers responded to Crossland Economy Studios at 9775 Lenexa Drive on a reported armed disturbance. When officers arrived, they learned a 5-year-old had been shot in the leg during a dispute between adults.

Realization that life is getting tougher in the so-called Golden Ghetto as the middle-class fades and Kansas economic tinkering takes its toll on workers. Suspect in custody, read more:
Clay Chastain...Sly James' insider dealing, untrustworthy and overbearing leadership has created a civic quagmire that jeopardizes the city's future.

Mayor Sly James' insider dealing, untrustworthy and overbearing leadership has created a civic quagmire that promises to confound voters, invite more lawsuits and cloud the City's way forward on several major issues as follows...

Fair play for this local petitioner, we covered media debate and now it's only right to offer this perspective on an upcoming Kansas City ballot issue as Mr. Chastain goes all in on the top politico at City Hall.Take a look:* Thanks to insider dealing Sly, there is now a direct conflict between Ballot Question #2 (petition proposal to build Kansas City a new rapid citywide rail / electric bus and bikeway system) and the Sly supported insider plan to merely extend the slow running (in traffic) streetcar line to the Plaza via an insider manipulated and restricted election. So Sly, what will happen if voters approve both transit proposals, or Question #2 loses and the City is sued by petitioners for your role in deliberately misrepresenting the intent of that petition plan to voters?* Thanks to insider dealing Sly, there is also a direct conflict between Ballot Question #1 and the Sly-supported plan to extend the streetcar to the Plaza because Ballot Question #1, if approved by voters, mandates all rail proposals be placed before citywide voters. However, Sly's insider manufactured streetcar plan is not being placed before citywide voters. So Sly, what happens if voters approve both ballot measures?Thanks to insider dealing Sly, there is now a blistering dispute between supporters of the corporate-sponsored downtown convention hotel, including Sly, who do not want the public to vote on that public-subsidized insider deal and supporters of a valid petition, who do. So Sly, what happens if construction of the hotel begins and petitioners file a lawsuit to stop the project because you and the City did not honor their valid petition and let the people vote as you were instructed to do by the Missouri Supreme Court?Thanks to insider dealing Sly, many people do not trust the City on how to proceed with improving our airport. It now appears the voters will only be given a chance to vote on a single-terminal plan and not an alternative plan to merely restore and keep KCI in its current convenient configuration. So Sly, what happens if the voters reject a new single-terminal plan? Sly has already answered that question for us..."We are screwed," he said.Most all this civic confusion and civic distrust has occurred because the people do not trust Sly to let them vote on anything and because most everything Sly advocates for directly benefits the elite and not Kansas City's everyday citizens. So Sly, once you've burned your bridges with the public trust, you've burned your bridges.Clay Chastain...leader and designer of Ballot Question #2 designed to provide the people a more green, prosperous and transit-oriented Kansas City.##########You decide . . .
Missouri special session costs are $139,000 and growing JEFFERSON CITY * Back in January, Gov. Eric Greitens complained that some Missouri lawmakers were considering giving themselves a pay raise when the state resources were thin. Although the pay raise idea fizzled amid his fierce opposition, Greitens' call for the Legislature to spend time in the capital city for two special sessions this summer may erase any financial benefit he sought by blocking the maneuver.

The tab for Summer debate was almost as costly as the price of the political capital that the new Guv wasted on both sides of the aisle. Take a look:
After eight consecutive years of toil by the Greek people, the European Union is finally recognizing that Greeces budget is no longer breaking the blocs rules, AP reports

The recommendation from the EUs executive Commission to close the so-called excessive deficit procedure on Greece comes in the wake of the sharp improvement in the countrys public finances after years of austerity.

Pierre Moscovici, the EUs top economy official noted this is a very symbolic moment for Greece and a recognition of the massive reduction of Greeces fiscal deficit, to below the euro area average. Greece, he added, is ready to turn the page on austerity and open a new chapter of growth, investment and employment.

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

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Europa credito urgente License: CC-BY-SA

Source: thenationalherald.com
With the opening of the "Local Food Workshop", an extensive project for sustainable food and ecological agriculture on Crete has now been launched. Stavros Arnaoutakis, Governor of Crete, Thomas Ellerbeck Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the TUI Care Foundation, Michael Mavropoulos, Regional Director East Mediterranean of TUI Destination Services, as well as Angeliki Chondromatidou, Chief Consultant of the Greek Tourism Ministry, welcomed more than 80 local wine-growers, olive-growers as well as representatives of different hotel groups, two winery and an olive mill at the TUI Sensatori Resort Crete by Atlantica (Atlantica Caldera Palace ) near Heraklion. The objective of the joint project on Crete is to link the island's most important economic factors  tourism and agriculture. To this end, the TUI Care Foundation, Futouris and the local agricultural consultancy The Local Food Experts, link local agricultural producers with the local tourism sector, helping to turn the Greek island into a showpiece for sustainable food on holiday. The project is supported by the Greek Ministry of Tourism and the regional government of Crete.

"The project shows how great the potential of tourism is for local value creation and employment in the holiday country. In order that everyone benefits from this  guests, local businesses and the local population  a close networking of the economy, agriculture and the tourism sector is important. We need to develop a common understanding of what guests value when visiting a holiday destination. And in the tourism industry we need to promote the fact that we are open to local products, influences and experiences. We are bringing this together in our project for sustainable agriculture and sustainable holidays in Crete", according to Thomas Ellerbeck.

The focus of the project is on the two main products of Crete  wine and olive oil  and ecological cultivation and processing methods. In addition, seven traditional Cretan vines are particularly promoted by the production of local wines. Bart Lyrarakis, managing director of the Lyrarakis vineyard on Crete, emphasizes the importance of the project for the preservation of local wine varieties. His vineyard was already involved in the pilot phase "Sustainable Viticulture", which was implemented in 2016, in which sustainable cultivation practices were implemented in collaboration with the local wine-growers.

In order to allow visitors to visit local production sites and have direct contacts with the wine and olive-growers, an innovative and interactive excursion program is being developed. Awareness and communication measures accompany the project.

In the long term, the aim is to improve regional food quality and quantity in holiday hotels, to reduce the negative environmental impacts of agriculture and to strengthen the local economy. In addition, guests will benefit from an expanded regional menu in hotels and on excursions.

ABOUT TUI CARE FOUNDATION

Building on the potential of tourism as a force for good, the TUI Care Foundation supports and initiates partnerships and projects which create new opportunities for the young generation and contribute to thriving destinations all over the world. Connecting holidaymakers to good causes, the TUI Care Foundation fosters education and welfare of children and youth, the protection of nature and the environment and sustainable tourism in destinations worldwide. TUI Care Foundation works global and acts local  it builds on strong partnerships with local and international organisations to create meaningful and long lasting impact. The charitable foundation values transparency and the efficient use of funds. Therefore 100% of the donations go to partners and projects with all operating costs of the foundation covered by TUI. TUI Care Foundation was founded by TUI, the worlds leading tourism business, and is based in the Netherlands.

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
Boursa Kuwait today announced that its new Market Watch service is now active on the companys website.

The new service aims to offer delayed and real-time market data, it said.

The new Market Watch service provides a summary of the price index, value and volume traded, advanced, declined, unchanged trades and status.

Market Watch can be accessed via Boursa Kuwait official website.

Boursa Kuwait has made it possible for subscribers to search for the required data by sector.  TradeArabia News Service
Case Construction Equipment, a leading seller of a full line of construction equipment around the world, has appointed AMA Motors as its new official distributor for Bahrain.



As per the deal, AMA Motors will sell and support a full range of Case equipment from its 2,000-sq-m premises located in East Riffa.



In particular, it will offer the perfect products to meet the high demand for backhoe loaders and skid steer loaders with its award-winning ranges, said a statement from Case.



Also in stock, will be the range topping Case motor grader, the 885B alongside its heavier wheeled loading shovels, the company added.



The AMA Motors facility boasts an ample showroom, a built-in display area where it can show the equipment on gravel and rocks, a well-equipped workshop and training facility. In addition, it operates two well-stocked parts shops to provide fast and efficient parts service.



The company said it is well placed to support Bahrains booming construction sector.



The construction industry in Bahrain has been booming for the last few years with the government investing the Gulf Development Programme funds to modernise its airport and highway system, as well as building affordable new homes.



AMA Motors is committed to delivering exceptional customer support and already has in place the expertise and parts to ensure a smooth transition for customers in the kingdom.



As more projects enter the development stage, the countrys construction sector will be critical to economic growth in the next two years, according to a report recently published by the National Bank of Kuwait.



Growth in the third quarter [of 2016] was led by the construction sector, which expanded by an annual 7.2 per cent, reported the Bahrain Economic Development Board. The forward momentum of the projects is beginning to push up growth in several other non-oil sectors as well.



The new distributor will support Case customers across the territory with the powerful back-up of the brands organisation and resources, said a top official.



Franco Invernizzi, the regional director at Case Construction Equipment, said: "We are very pleased to extend our collaboration with AMA Motors. They will bring to our customers more than 60 years of experience and the personal care of a family-owned business together with the backing and resources of a global brand like Case."



It will complement the offering of Case products with a range of services, bringing to Bahrain construction businesses new and innovative ways to purchase and maintain its equipment, stated Invernizzi.



"For example, AMA will bring to market flexible equipment leasing options, designed to fix customers costs and deliver exceptional on site hassle-free performance," he noted.



"This appointment builds on the long-standing and successful partnership that has developed between CNH Industrial and AMA Motors over the years. The latter has been serving as distributor of Cases sister brand," he added.



Case is a brand of CNH Industrial, a world leader in capital goods listed on the New York Stock Exchange and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario of the Borsa Italiana.



It sells and supports a full line of construction equipment around the world, including the Number One loader/backhoes, excavators, motor graders, wheel loaders, vibratory compaction rollers, crawler dozers, skid steers, compact track loaders and rough-terrain forklifts.-TradeArabia News Service
Hilton, one of the largest hospitality companies in the world, has announced the appointment of Mohab Ghali as vice president operations for Egypt and North Africa.



In his new role, Ghali will be responsible for regional strategy development and well as overseeing operations for 19 hotels and 14 pipeline hotels in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, said a statement from the hospitality giant.



An Egyptian-Italian national and lifelong hotelier with more than 25 years experience, Ghali has a proven track record of successfully managing all aspects of hotel operations, opening seven Hilton properties in 11 years across four different brands.



Ghali is widely recognized as a corporate strategy and development specialist who is effective and accountable in high-profile executive roles, said the statement.



His consistent delivery of superior results in growth, revenue, operational performance and profitability earned him the 2010 General Manager of the Year Award, and the 2015 MEA President Award for Hilton Worldwide.



Ghali began his career as a front office supervisor in 1992, progressing in his career with Hilton hotels across Egypt holding managerial positions that included front office manager, executive assistant manager, resident manager and general manager.



In 2008, Ghali took the position of country manager for Hilton in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE where he was responsible for leading operations and projects across the emirate for seven operating hotels and managing three general managers, four hotel managers and a full cluster set-up of 2,300 team members.



He then served as the general manager for Conrad Hilton Dubai before taking on his current role in Egypt.



With a Hilton hotel or resort in nearly every corner of Egypt, the company is in a unique position to help meet the needs of every guest, no matter their style or preference, remarked Ghali.



"I am looking forward to further showcasing Hilton as an all-encompassing brand, providing guests with quality experiences in Egypt while promoting the individual destinations and the country itself to a wide audience of travellers both domestic and international," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Waymark Tech Launches AI Tool to Identify Crossover Between Financial Regulations

Waymark Tech, a provider of regulatory intelligence software, announced the launch of a new AI-powered tool that automatically identifies regulatory crossovers and conflicts between incoming regulations, such as MiFID II, GDPR, and PRIIPS.

The first of its kind worldwide, the launch signals London-based regtech-startup Waymark's aspirations to become the first-choice global provider of AI-powered regulatory intelligence software to small- and medium-sized financial services and legal firms.

Accessible immediately from within Waymark's Wayfinder product, the real-time tool identifies which regulations apply to a company and then finds common areas and conflicts across other regulatory packages. This allows compliance officers to streamline implementation procedures, reduce risk and lower costs dramatically.

For example, the tool can flag up that both MiFID II and PRIIPs will require fund managers to give retail investors and professional investment advisors suitable information to compare products and understand risks.

The tool can also identify areas of potential conflict between incoming legislation packages, acting as an early warning system to flag implementation challenges. MiFID II, for example, requires financial services firms to provide regulators with easy and immediate access to their client database while GDPR incentivises companies to encrypt this data.

The new tool currently covers 43 EU regulations, including MiFID II, PRIIPS, UCITS V, BASEL III, EMIR, GDPR, AIFMD, and SFTR.

Powered by artificial intelligence developed by Waymark, the Wayfinder platform provides financial services and law firms with a list of specific articles from the incoming regulations that are directly relevant to them, depending on their activity, geography, and size. The software also provides companies with practical step-by-step guidelines to ensure compliance with these regulations.

Mark Holmes, CEO of Waymark Technology, said: This new tool provides compliance officers with a faster and better way to build up a deep understanding of different regulations, and how they all connect together. It provides them with the insight they need to approach compliance issues confidently and strategically.

We are going through a period of regulatory turbulence in the financial services industry. Compliance managers are overworked, stretched, and exhausted. One of their biggest problems right now is finding exactly which parts of these new regulations apply to their firm  and which just dont. And crucially, if they take action to do one thing, are they falling foul elsewhere.

This tool, as with all our products, provides compliance officers with an answer to that problem. It breaks down threatening amounts of regulation in real time into consumable chunks that are directly applicable to their company; tells them what steps to take to comply, and flags any crossovers and conflicts.

For more information on related topics, visit the following channels:


Search News Archive : Fast Travel News Promotion Via Search, Social Media + Email Follow Us On : MYANMAR'S SANCTUM INLE RESORT PAYS TRIBUTE TO PHAUNG DAW OO PAGODA FESTIVAL Industry: Events

The luxury resort in Inle Lake launches a package introducing travelers to 800-year-old Buddha images on the storied Inle Lake.



(TRAVPR.COM) MYANMAR - July 12th, 2017 - Sanctum Inle Resort is greeting one of the biggest events on Myanmar's calendar, the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival, with a package introducing travellers to 800-year-old Buddha images on storied Inle Lake.



Pilgrims from across Myanmar will descend on the lake for the festival to pay their respects to the sacred images, towed in a gilded barge by hundreds of Intha fishermen in long canoes. The fishermen's iconic one-legged rowing style is as famous as the lake itself.



Held from September 21 until October 8 this year, the festival begins and ends at one of the country's holiest sites, Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, that houses five Buddha images caked in gold leaf. During the festival four of the images are paraded around the lake in the barge, festooned in gold, white umbrellas, flags and flowers, with the procession making its way to 14 stilted villages on the lake. The fifth image stays at the pagoda to 'guard' it during the festivities.



It is believed the images were brought to Inle Lake by Bagan's King Alaungsithu who reigned for 55 years during the 12th Century.



Each village welcomes the four images with fanfare including Shan dances and martial arts on ceremonial boats. Rowing competitions between the villages based on the singular one-legged rowing style are also a highlight of the festival.



"The most fascinating time hands down to visit Inle Lake is during the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival," Sanctum Inle Resort's General Manager Philippe Arnaud said. "The sight of the images rowed on the sparkling barge pulled by myriad leg-rowers against the eye-achingly beautiful backdrop of the lake and mountains is one to behold."



Sanctum Inle Resort's 'Splendid Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival Package' includes a one-day sightseeing tour of the pagoda festival, two-night stay in a Cloister Deluxe room for up to two people, breakfast for two each day and set dinner for two each night, return airport transfers, WiFi access and use of the resort's bicycles, and a 10 percent discount on spa and laundry.



The 94-room resort, which celebrated its grand opening in October last year, is situated on the banks of the lake and boasts a classic yet contemporary design, with arches and cloisters referencing Myanmar's monastic life.



The package is priced at USD 450 net for two people. For more information, visit www.sanctum-inle-resort.com. For bookings, contact reservation@sanctum-inle-resort.com or +959 252 818800. ### Please contact the person or company listed above for information regarding the content of this press release. TravPR.com are not the issuers of this press release and are not responsible for the accuracy of the content. Share Release :



CONTACT INFORMATION Name: THET KO KO HTAIK (Mr.) Company: Sanctum Inle Resort Phone: +959 252 818800 Email: reservation@sanctum-inle-resort.com Web: PRESS RELEASE TAGS
Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 11

An electricity fault at the Employees State Insurance (ESI) hospital, Majitha Road, forced doctors to sit under the shade of trees to run their OPDs. The fault which surfaced yesterday morning could not be rectified till the OPD hours today.

However, officials claimed that the snag was repaired by the evening. Officiating in charge of the hospital Dr Kulwinder Singh said, Technicians were called and they have been working on the problem since yesterday evening. He said as per last reports from the maintenance staff, the problem had been solved, but it would be checked only tomorrow morning.

He admitted that the work at the hospital had suffered, as the staff and the patients had faced problems. We have made every effort to solve the problem as fast as we could. Many of the wires are old and they could not take the electricity load and the heat, said Dr Kulwinder Singh.

While a few of the doctors sat under the trees to provide consultation to the patients, the technical staff in the labs sat idle, as in the absence of electricity, there was not much work for them.

Due to humidity, the patients and the doctors were not comfortable, even though they were sitting under the shades of trees. The patients were seen standing around the doctors, as there were no sitting arrangements in the open.

The employees of the hospital were seen sitting in open corridors to ward off the heat and humidity inside their rooms. It is very difficult to manage without a fan. It is tough, commented a senior doctor.

The patients admitted to the wards, though only a few of them, said they faced trouble last night in the absence of electricity. Sources at the hospital stated that a cable wire supplying electricity to the entire hospital had melted yesterday. Earlier, the maintenance staff could not figure out the problem. After a thorough check was made, efforts were initiated to replace the cable wire, said the sources.
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 11

Senior citizens visiting government hospitals in the city are often at the receiving end of the hospital managements apathy, as there are no separate registration queues for them.

At Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here, though the display screen on the registration counters mentions a separate queue for the senior citizens and the handicapped, in reality they are forced to stand in queues for other patients.

Below the display screen about the senior citizens queue, a handwritten note states that the patients of ortho and medicine could stand in this queue. A senior citizen standing in another queue when asked why he was not standing in the queue before the window for the senior citizens, said, I had tried but as I had to see a skin doctor, I was asked to stand in this line. He said the windows were marked on the basis of which department the patient wanted to visit.

However, it was on March 3, 1993, that the Directorate of Research and Medical Education had first issued instructions for maintaining separate queues for old-age patients.

It becomes difficult for the senior citizens and the pensioners to get treatment from the doctors, as they cannot stand for long hours in the queues, lamented another senior citizen. The fresh instructions to maintain separate queues for these people were again issued by the department in 2001 after complaints of non-compliance by the hospitals were received.

BR Preenja, general secretary, the Punjab Employees Rights Protection and Welfare Union, who had earlier been pursuing the matter at the local level, said, Now, as I cannot go to hospitals because of my age, I do not know the conditions, but the attitude is always apathetic. The senior citizens should be treated with respect and not made to stand in long queues.

The hospitals Medical Superintendent, Dr Ram Sarup Sharma, said, We had issued clear instructions to maintain separate queues for the disabled and the old.

He said the matter would be inquired into and separate queues for the old would be restored.
Srinagar, July 12

Security forces have launched a massive hunt to track down Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander and Pakistani national Abu Ismail, who has emerged as the mastermind of the deadly attack on Amarnath pilgrims.

Proactive operations have been launched, mainly in south Kashmir, to track down Ismail as investigations, including communication intercepts, have pointed out to his involvement in the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, a senior police official said.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 19 others were injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmirs Anantnag district on Monday evening.

7 Amarnath pilgrims killed in terror attack in J-K's Anantnag

Govt reviews security in Kashmir after attack on Amarnath yatra

Amarnath Yatra attack: Bus driver recounts horrific night of terror

Despite attack on pilgrims, Amarnath yatra continues as usual

The official said the attack in Anantnag appears to be a reprisal for killing of several Lashkar militants, including Bashir Lashkari, in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.

The terrorists are frustrated at the back-to-back losses suffered by them during counter-insurgency operations over the past month or so and have now resorted to attacking civilians and tourists, he said.

According to the official, Ismail has been active in Kashmir for several years and had moved base to south Kashmir more than a year ago.

The Anantnag attack on Amarnath pilgrims came the same day when police announced arrest of a module of LeT, including a Hindu terrorist hailing from Muzaffaranagar area of Uttar Pradesh.

Lashkar has not only distanced itself from the attack on Amarnath pilgrims but also condemned the attack.

LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi, while condemning the attack on pilgrims, has said, It is against Islamic teachings.

The attack on the pilgrims is highly reprehensible act. Islam does not allow violence against any faith, he said. PTI
Srinagar, July 12

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said the Amarnath Yatra would continue uninterrupted despite Mondays terror attack in which seven pilgrims were killed and 19 others were injured.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was personally monitoring the situation, Singh, who is the Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office, said.

Hailing the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said the entire nation is with Kashmir and congratulated them for their resilience against militancy for the last 25 years.

The Yatra will continue. Safety and security of the pilgrims will be ensured, he added.

Despite the attack on Monday, the pilgrims insisted that the Yatra should not be suspended even for a day, and it should continue, Singh said.

We are here on behalf of the Prime Minister. He is monitoring the situation and has personally arranged help for the victims of the attack. We express our solidarity with the victims, said Singh.

On the probe, Singh said: No one should jump to any conclusion on the attack. Let us wait for the definite inferences and inputs to come from the security agencies. IANS
Srinagar, July 11

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti visited the Srinagar airport today to pay floral tributes to the pilgrims killed in a militant attack near Botengo, Anantnag, on Monday night.

Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh also paid floral tributes to the slain pilgrims.

An official statement said the Chief Minister consoled the bereaved families expressing deep anguish over the tragic death of their family members. She said the gruesome act of violence had shaken the edifice of Kashmiri ethos and culture and people across the board had condemned this gory act.

Earlier, Mehbooba and Nirmal Singh visited the injured tourists at Srinagar and Anantnag. The Chief Minister herself supervised the rescue and relief operations through the night at Anantnag. She visited the injured and stranded yatris and promised them all help from the state government.

Immediately on hearing about the incident, the Chief Minister along with Minister for Works Naeem Akhter straightaway drove to Anantnag and took assessment of the situation. She visited the place where the incident took place and also the district hospital where the injured were being treated. Mehbooba sat with the stranded yatris throughout the night and made sure they were provided the necessary help.  TNS
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 11

Governor NN Vohra, Chairman, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, visited the Technical Area, IAF Base, Srinagar, early this morning to meet the 19 yatris who were injured in the terror attack near Anantnag late last evening.

After treatment, the injured pilgrims were airlifted to the Srinagar airport this morning. Three pilgrims, who were more seriously injured, are still in hospitals at Anantnag and Srinagar. The Governor expressed his concern and sympathy to the injured yatris and wished them a safe journey home.

He also met Salim, the driver of the bus which was attacked by militants. He saluted him for his courage by not allowing the vehicle to go out of control when he was repeatedly being fired upon from the front and the windscreen was totally shattered.

The Governor paid respect to the seven pilgrims killed in this terror attack and laid wreaths on their coffins.

The injured pilgrims and the coffins of those killed were carried to Ahmedabad in a special IAF aircraft which arrived from Delhi this morning.
Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 11

Anger spilled onto roads as Jammu observed spontaneous shutdown against the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims with protesters blocking highways at different places from Lakhanpur to Udhampur.

The city observed a complete bandh on the call by the Jammu Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), Congress, Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCI), Jammu chapter, and transporters, which was supported by the Bar Association, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Team Jammu, All J&K Panchayat Conference (AJKPC), Bajrang Dal and other social and political organisations.

Representatives of different organisations took out rallies in the city.

All the shops, public transport, schools, colleges, private offices and business houses remained closed to protest the attack. The Bar Association also suspended the work at the Jammu High Court.

Speaking on the occasion, Zorawar Singh Jamwal, chairman, Team Jammu, said the attack had exposed the so-called security arrangements made by the Centre as well as the state government for this years yatra.

He added that the biggest terror attack on the yatra was executed by militants in 2000. For the last 17 years, no such incident has taken place. This year, militants managed to target the yatra due to pro-militant policies being adopted by the PDP-BJP government in the state, he said.

Meanwhile, Anil Sharma, AJKPC president, said it was high time for the Centre to take some harsh measures to deal with the perpetrators of terrorism and their sympathisers in the Kashmir valley.

The first and foremost step is to withdraw the security cover provided to Hurriyat leaders in the Kashmir valley. They have waged a war against the nation but they are enjoying the security cover on tax payers money. All the facilities extended to them need to be withdrawn to control their anti-national activities, Sharma said.

Moreover, most of the districts were partially closed. However, Ramban, Batote and Banihal observed complete bandh.

Mobile net snapped

Feeling the heat of anger among the people on social media, the state administration on Monday night ordered all mobile network providers to snap down the Internet services in Jammu province.

No shutdown in Katra

Katra and Reasi remained unaffected by the bandh call, as 33,000 pilgrims paid obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine on Tuesday. However, the Congress held a protest at Katra and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, too, protested at Reasi.
M Aamir Khan

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 12

Asserting that the Amarnath yatra will continue with renewed vigour, MoS for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said security apparatus along the yatra routes would be stepped up in the evening hours.

All arrangements for a safe and secure yatra will continue with renewed vigour.in view of the attack, patrolling will remain in place till late night. ROP (road opening party) will remain in place (for extended duration)this decision has been taken, Ahir told reporters here on Wednesday.

He made the comments in the wake of Monday evenings militant attack at Botengoo in South Kashmir that left seven Amarnath pilgrims dead.

Ahir, along with MoS in the Prime Ministers office Jitender Singh, had arrived here on Tuesday to take stock of the security situation and held meetings with Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

He said the security apparatus had been put on the highest alert and said they had also met the top security forces officials to prevent similar attacks and to remove the shortcomings.

Both the ministers lauded the role of the civil society in Kashmir for condemning the attack on pilgrims.

I congratulate the civil society.the attack was condemned in one voicethere was no selective condemnation, said Singh.

He said the militancy in the Valley was in its last phase. We are now in the last phase of militancy, Singh said.

When asked about the possible security lapses that led to the killing of pilgrims, Singh said the inquiry into the incident was on and the matter should be left to the wisdom of the security experts. Last word must come from the security experts, he said.

On Home Minister Rajnath Singhs statement on permanent solution to resolve Kashmir issue, Singh maintained that it meant that the terror will finally meet its end.

He avoided a direct answer to the question whether the Centre would initiate talks with the Hurriyat or other stakeholders to resolve the Kashmir issue. He maintained the party stand that Kashmir was an integral part of India.
Srinagar, July 12

The market in Pahalgam near the Nunwan base camp of the Amarnath yatra on Wednesday observed a shutdown to protest against the terror attack on pilgrims.

The yatra, which passes through the Pahalgam market along the traditional route to the cave shrine, was, however, going on smoothly.

The shops and other business establishments in Pahalgam tourist resort observed a complete shutdown in protest against the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, a police official said.

Several trade bodies, including the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, travel and tourism players; and civil society groups on Tuesday held silent protest against the attack on Amarnath pilgrims.

Separatist groups, including both factions of Hurriyat Conference and JKLF, have also condemned the attacks on the pilgrims saying those behind the incident were not friends of Kashmiris.

Seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, were killed and 21 injured when terrorists attacked a bus in Kashmirs Anantnag district on Monday evening. PTI
Houston, July 12

Various US Congressmen have strongly condemned the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir that killed seven persons, including six women, criticising the despicable act of terrorism.

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Several Congressmen from Texas, Florida, Arkansas and California issued a statement criticising the attacks, and paid condolences to the families of the deceased and injured.

Some of them took to twitter, openly criticising the act.

Congressmen in the state of Texas strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Kashmir and expressed deep condolences and sympathies to the bereaved family members.

Congressman Ted Poe, US representative for Texass 2nd congressional district said, The terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra is reprehensible and must be condemned.

Congressman William Pete Olson, US representative for Texass 22rd congressional district, wrote, The terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra is deplorable & must be condemned. Prayers for the families of those killed.

Congressman William Ballard Hurd, US representative for Texass 23rd congressional district, said, My thoughts & prayers to all of the Amarnath Yatra Terror Attack victims & their families. The attack is reprehensible & must be condemned.

Congresswoman Sheela Lee Jackson, US Representative for Texas 18th congressional District tweeted: the terrorist attack on #AmarnathPilgrims is outrageous. Religion is a fundamental right and human right.

Congressman John Ratcliffe, US representative for Texass 4th congressional district, said, Sending my prayers to the families of those killed in the horrific terrorist attack.

Congressman John Culberson, US representative for Texass 7th congressional district, Our hearts go out to the victims of the terrorist attack on #AmarnathYatra. We must stand united against these deplorable acts of terrorism.

US Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, Floridas Seventh Congressional District in the US House of Representatives, wrote, Saddened by the barbaric act of violence against #AmarnathYatra pilgrims. People everywhere must stand united against hate.

Indian American Rohit Ro Khanna, US Representative for Californias 17th congressional district, tweeted: The world must stand united against the heinous terorrist act on Amarnath pilgrims. Its an attack on the freedom of religious expression.

French Hill, US Representative for Arkansass 2nd congressional district said, Once again, innocents are victims of terror. My sympathy to the families horribly impacted by the murders at #AmarnathYatra. PTI
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 11

Dr Hardeep Singh Ghai, who took over as the civil surgeon yesterday, held a meeting with all senior medical officers. Various schemes under the National Health Mission were also discussed.

He instructed the officials that proper hygiene should be maintained in hospitals and health centres.

He also instructed them to gear up to tackle disease such as dengue or chikungunya and isolation wards should be set up.

He also asked the staff that Bhagat Puran Scheme should be implemented properly.
Srinagar, July 12

Two soldiers were killed today as Pakistani troops, violating the ceasefire, resorted to firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in the remote mountainous Keran sector of Kupwara. The Army did not elaborate on the intensity of the firepower by the Pakistani troops.

Since the past few weeks, the Pakistani army has been shelling border villages and forwards posts of the Indian Army in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu.

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Meanwhile, the security forces have launched a hunt for Pakistani national and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander Abu Ismail, the brain behind the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims on Monday, a senior police official said.

The government has sounded the highest alert across Jammu and Kashmir.

Proactive operations have been launched, mainly in south Kashmir, to track down Ismail with investigations, including communication intercepts, pointing to his involvement in the attack.

The official said the Anantnag attack appeared to be in retaliation against the killing of several LeT terrorists, including top commander Bashir Lashkari, earlier this month.

"Frustrated at back-to-back losses in the counter-insurgency operations over the past month or so, they are now attacking civilians and tourists," he said. A Home Ministry official in Delhi indicated that the anti-terror operations would be stepped up.

Meanwhile, a central ministerial team comprising Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh and Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir held extensive discussions with the security top brass, Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

They discussed the security situation in detail before a security review with the local Army commander, Chief Secretary, the police chief and senior CRPF and BSF officers.
Rameswaram, July 12

Twenty people, including passengers of a bus and two drivers, were injured when a crowd pelted state transport buses with stones after a fisherman was fatally knocked down by a state bus in Thangachimadam area on Tuesday night.

The two bus drivers are reported to be in serious condition. The passengers suffered minor injuries, police said.

They said the protesters also made a futile bid to set ablaze another bus, leading to mild use of force by police, which rushed to the spot, to disperse them.

Eleven people had been arrested in connection with the violence and cases booked against 150 others, they said.

Police said violence broke out after a fishermen returning home with his wife on a bike after attending a function was fatally knocked down by a government bus. His wife was seriously injured.

As news about his death spread, people in the area surrounded the bus, blocked road traffic and pelted the vehicle and two other buses with stones, police said.

District Collector S Natarajan and Superintendent of Police Om Prakash Meena rushed to the spot and held talks with the agitators even as some persons tried to set a bus ablaze, leading to the police action.

The fishermans body was later sent to Ramanathapuram government hospital for post-mortem.

Armed police had been posted in the area and the situation was under control, police said. PTI
Beijing, July 12

China on Wednesday said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has attracted international attention and urged India and Pakistan to avoid escalating tensions.

Without elaborating what it meant by situation, Beijing said it was willing to play a constructive role in improving relations between India and Pakistan.

Situation in Kashmir has attracted a lot of attention (of the) international community, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said here.

The conflict near the Line of Control (Loc) of Kashmir will not only harm the peace and stability of both the countries but also the peace and tranquillity of the region, he added.

We hope that relevant sides can do more things that are conducive to peace and stability in the region and avoid escalating the tensions.

China is willing to play a constructive role in improving relations between India and Pakistan.  IANS
Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 12

Chief Justice of India JS Khehar on Wednesday agreed to set up a five-judge Constitution Bench to decide if the Aadhaar scheme violated an individuals right to privacy.

The five-judge Constitution Bench will hear it for two days commencing July 18 and decide if the issue needed to be referred to a larger Bench of nine judges.

The CJI decision to set up a five-judge Constitution Bench came after Attorney-General KK Venugopal and senior advocate Shyam Divan mentioned the matter before him.

Divan submitted that last week a three-judge Bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar had asked both the petitioners and the government to approach the CJI for setting up of a Constitution Bench.

The Attorney-General supported it. If it could be heard and disposed of early, it would be in public interest, Venugopal told the Bench.

He said an eight-judge Bench had earlier ruled that right to privacy was not a fundamental right.

The petitioners have challenged the governments ambitious Aadhaar scheme on the ground that the biometric details taken from individuals violated their right to privacy.

A three-judge Bench had in August 2015 referred the issue to the CJI for setting up of a Constitution Bench to decide the issue of right to privacy.

The NDA Government on July 7 had taken strong exception to petitioners in the Aadhaar case describing India as a concentration camp, leading to a spat between the Attorney-General and Divan in the top court.

A Vacation Bench had on June 27 refused to pass an interim order against the Centres notification making Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits of social welfare schemes after the government assured that no one would be deprived of their due for want of this identification.

Another Bench headed by Justice AK Sikri had on June 9 upheld the validity of a provision of the Income Tax Act that mandated linking of Aadhaar number with PAN for filing IT return from July 1, 2017, saying Parliament was competent to enact such a law.

However, it had read down a part of Section 139AA  added to the Income Tax Act by the Finance Act, 2017  to save those who dont have the unique identification number until the main challenge to the Aadhaar law on the basis of right to privacy was decided by a Constitution Bench.

Earlier, the apex court had passed a slew of orders asking the government and its agencies not to make Aadhaar mandatory for extending benefits of their welfare schemes.

However, it had allowed the Centre to seek Aadhaar voluntarily from citizens for extending benefits of schemes such as LPG subsidy, Jan Dhan scheme and Public Distribution System.
Panaji, July 12

In a shocking incident, a woman, currently in her 50's, was on Tuesday found to be 'confined' in a room in her parents' house for the last twenty years for her 'abnormal behaviour' in Candolim village near here, the police said.

The woman, locked in a dark room, which has been her world for the last two decades, was rescued after an NGO alerted the police.

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"The woman was locked in a dark room of her parents' house currently occupied by her two brothers and their family members. She was being served food and water through a window," a senior police official told PTI tonight.

A team from the Women's Police Station raided the house on the information given by the NGO 'Bailancho Saad'.

The official said the NGO came to know about the woman through an email sent to them by a person who claimed to have seen the woman.

"When the police team entered the room, they found that the woman was naked and was reluctant to move out of the room which is located on the backside of her parent's house," the official said, adding she was confined in the dark room for almost 20 years.

Citing her family members, the official said the woman was briefly married to a man from Mumbai, but returned home soon after finding that he was already married.

"Her family members locked her in the room after she started behaving abnormally after her return from Mumbai," the official said.

The woman was taken for medical treatment by the police. The Goa Police have arrested four members of the family.

PTI
Beijing, July 12

Ships carrying Chinese military personnel for Beijings first overseas military base, in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, have left China to begin setting up the facility as Chinas rapidly modernising military hones its global reach.

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Djiboutis position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worries in India that it would become another of Chinas string of pearls of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

China began construction of a logistics base in strategically located Djibouti last year that will resupply naval vessels taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular.

This will be Chinas first overseas naval base, although Beijing officially describes it as a logistics facility.

State news agency Xinhua said in a short report late on Tuesday the ships had departed from Zhanjiang in southern China to set up a support base in Djibouti.

Navy commander Shen Jinlong read an order on constructing the base in Djibouti but the report did not say when the base might formally begin operations.

Xinhua said the establishment of the base was a decision made by both countries after friendly negotiations, and accords with the common interest of the people from both sides.

The base will ensure Chinas performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia, it said.

The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways, the Xinhua report.

Not military expansionism

The Peoples Liberation Army Daily said in a front-page commentary this was a landmark move that would increase Chinas ability to ensure global peace, especially because it has so many United Nations peacekeepers in Africa and is so involved in anti-piracy patrols.

China would not seek military expansionism or get into arms races no matter what happened, it said.

These promises will not change because of the construction of the overseas logistics base, it said.

The state-run Global Times said in an editorial on Wednesday there could be no mistake that this was in fact a military base.

Certainly this is the Peoples Liberation Armys first overseas base and we will base troops there. Its not a commercial resupply point. It makes sense there is attention on this from foreign public opinion, said the paper, which is published by the official Peoples Daily, said.

However, Chinas military development was about protecting its own security, it said. Its not about seeking to control the world.

Djibouti, which is about the size of Wales, is located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea on the route to the Suez Canal. The tiny, barren nation sandwiched between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia also hosts U.S., Japanese and French bases.

There has been persistent speculation in diplomatic circles that China would build other such bases, in Pakistan for example, but the government has dismissed this. Reuters
Jitendra K Shrivastava

Tribune News Service

Patna, July 12

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday claimed that he was falsely being implicated in graft charges as after RJD chief Lalu Prasad the BJP now feared him.

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After the cabinet meeting, Tejashwi said, Modi and Amit Shah have hatched a conspiracy against me as the BJP is scared of me while it feared Laluji earlier. Since we come from backward classes, I am being victimised.

After graft charges surfaced against Tejashwi and his father Lalu Prasad and mother Rabri Devi, Tejashwi cleared his stand for the first time on Wednesday.

We also follow zero tolerance policy to corruption and did nothing after I became deputy CM. If I did no wrong after I came to power, how can a 14-year-old boy commit graft, Tejashwi said on the corruption charges levelled against him.

Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday had asked Tejaswi to clear his stand on the graft charges against him and his family. The JD-U had also asked Tejashwi to make details of charges public after the BJP-led opposition kept demanding Tejaswis resignation as the CBI raids were conducted at Lalus residence in the past week.

The RJD has already announced that Tejashwi wont resign. Now it is up to Nitish Kumar to sack Tejashwi or compromise on his zero tolerance on corruption. Nitish during his earlier tenure had sacked his four cabinet colleagues after their names had figured in corruption cases.
Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 12

Amid questions being raised about the effectiveness of the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP government in dealing with terrorism in the Valley, top BJP leaders say a democratically-elected government is the only way forward for a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmir.

There is a good coordination between all agencies (including security forces) and the coalition government. The coalition is capable of meeting all challenges. We (BJP) are not helpless spectators and have a strong say in matters there. The Central and the state governments are on the same page.

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People who advocate Presidents rule are oblivious to the political legitimacy a government requires to meet challenges in the state. Besides, what can the Presidents rule achieve? they ask, responding to the political criticism following the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims.

Saffron leaders say the incident should be viewed juxtaposed with recent successes by security forces in eliminating top terrorists there.

When you are engaged in a fight, the enemy will not surrender immediately. It (the attack) is an unfortunate situation, but a result of strong government action.

Any false sense of calm is a wrong signal. It means you are playing into the hands of the enemy. When you want to achieve a long-term goal, you should be prepared for such incidents, they add.

Though the incident has hit the saffron party where it hurts the most--its core Hindutva base--party leaders disagree the incident will have any negative political fallouts.

The onus of giving explanation was on Opposition parties, whose conflicting views had given more strength to anti-India forces. We have been consistent in our stance. Parties who sometimes praise Army and sometimes berate it owe people an explanation, says a senior party leader.

Meanwhile, on Oppositions statements on the incident, BJP leader GVL Narsimha Rao says, Unfortunately, parties like the Congress and CPM have attacked the Army chief and the Armed Forces who have registered major successes in eliminating terrorists and their sponsors across the borders. It is because of effective actions by security forces that Pakistan-sponsored terrorists have been curtailed.

We hope the political parties will speak up against enemies of India rather than training their barbs at the Army. Such political opportunism has given unwarranted moral strength to enemies of the country and in a way contributed to such actions.
Shirdi, July 12

The Saibaba temple here received donations worth Rs 5.52 crore during the recent three-day Guru Poornima festival, an increase of Rs 1.4 crore as compared to last year, an official has said.

The devotees, from the country as well as abroad, donated Rs 2.94 crore cash in the donation boxes kept on the temple premises between July 7 and 10, Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trusts Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rubal Agrawal said on Tuesday.

Besides, the donation counters in the temple received Rs 1.4 crore cash for which receipts were issued.

In addition to this, the temple also received Rs 52.48 lakh through online donations, debit cards, cheques and demand drafts, the CEO said.

During the three-day festival which concluded on Monday, the devotees also donated 2.233 grams of gold items and 8 kg of silver ornaments, worth Rs 61.4 lakh.

Also, the devotees from places like Malaysia, the US, the UK, Japan, the UAE and Australia donated foreign currency worth Rs 9.3 lakh.

Agrawal said the total donation worth Rs 5.52 crore this year was nearly Rs 1.4 crore more than that received during the festival in 2016.

Over three lakh devotees from different parts of the country and abroad visited the Saibaba temple during the Guru Poornima festival, she said. PTI
Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 11

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has convened a meeting of chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana in an attempt to arrive at an amicable solution to the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal issue, the Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday.

During a hearing of the case, senior counsel AK Ganguly told a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra on behalf of Punjab that the Prime Minister had convened a meeting of the two chief ministers.

As Ganguly made the all-important statement, Attorney General KK Venugopal said he was not aware of it. I was not informed by the water resources secretary about any such meeting. But if its happening, its good, Venugopal told the Bench.

The Attorney General explained the background of the case and requested the Bench to give two months to arrive at a negotiated settlement of the vexed problem.

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Venugopal said much of the work on the canal in Haryana had been completed and it was only the Punjab part that remained pending. Two of the engineers who went to start the work on the SYL canal in Punjab were shot and killed, he said.

The Bench directed both states to ensure that there was no agitation on the SYL canal issue during pendency of the case.

How can there be any agitation when the matter is pending before this court? it wondered. The Bench asked Punjab Advocate General Atul Nanda and Haryana Advocate General Baldev Mahajan to inform the authorities concerned about it during the day and fixed September 7 for further hearing.

The direction came after Nanda told the Bench a political party in Haryana was agitating on the issue and preventing vehicles with Punjab numbers from entering Haryana.

After the SC hearing, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar appealed to his Punjab counterpart Capt Amarinder Singh to take immediate steps for the construction of the Satluj-Yamuna-Link canal for the benefit of farmers of both states.

Thanking the top court for doing justice, Khattar appealed to Capt Amarinder Singh to cooperate in the construction of the canal in Punjab.

Welcoming the top courts decision to give two months to resolve the SYL issue, Captain urged the Centre to facilitate dialogue with Haryana for an early resolution.

He said the problem could be solved only through negotiations and Punjab did not want to deprive anyone of this essential commodity (water). The critical shortage of water in the state prevented it from sharing this vital resource, he added.

During the hearing, Rajasthan also demanded that its rights must be safeguarded in any settlement between Punjab and Haryana.

Represented by senior advocates Shyam Divan and Jagdeep Dhankhar and the states Advocate General, Haryana demanded implementation of the decree and construction of the canal. How long we will have to wait? said Divan.

Punjab, represented by senior advocates AK Ganguly and RS Suri and the states Advocate General Nanda, contended that there were difficulties in implementation of the courts decree.

Ganguly said the decree was premised on the fact that there was enough water in the river. But now there is not much water flow, making it impossible to give effect to it.

But the Bench said, You first construct the canal, the water issue we will see later.

Ganguly replied: You are putting the cart before the horse. No, you are putting it (the cart before the horse), the Bench shot back.
Paris, July 12

A trillion-tonne iceberg, one of the largest ever recorded, has snapped off the West Antarctic ice shelf, scientists who have monitored the growing crack for years said on Wednesday.

The calving occurred sometime between Monday, July 10 and Wednesday, July 12, when a 5,800-square kilometre section of Larsen C (ice shelf) finally broke away, the Swansea University said in a statement.

The massive ice cube, larger than the US state of Delaware, has a volume twice that of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes. It is about 350 metres thick.

The iceberg weighs more than a trillion tonnes, but it was already floating before it calved away so has no immediate impact on sea level, the team said. It will likely be named A68.

With the calving, the Larsen C ice shelf lost more than 12 per cent of its total surface area.

Icebergs calving from Antarctica are a regular occurrence. But given its enormous size, the latest berg will be closely watched as it travels, for any potential risk to shipping traffic.

The calving may have heightened the risk of the remaining ice shelf disintegrating, the Swansea team said.

Ice shelves float on the sea, extending from the coast, and are fed by slow-flowing glaciers from the land.

They act as giant brakes, preventing glaciers from flowing directly into the ocean.

If the glaciers held in check by Larsen C spilt into the Antarctic Ocean, it would lift the global water mark by about 10 centimetres, researchers have said.

The calving of ice shelves occurs naturally, though global warming is believed to have accelerated the process.

Warmer ocean water erodes the underbelly of the ice shelves, while rising air temperatures weaken them from above.

The nearby Larsen A ice shelf collapsed in 1995, and Larsen B dramatically broke up seven years later.

The final break was detected by a NASA satellite.

We will continue to monitor both the impact of this calving event on the Larsen C ice shelf and the fate of this huge iceberg, said lead investigator Adrian Luckman of the universitys MIDAS project.

The fate of the berg is hard to predict. It may stay in one piece, but could also break into fragments.

Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters, said Luckman.

The team said the calving at the iceberg cannot be directly placed at the door of global warming, describing it as a natural event.

Human actions have lifted average global air temperatures by about one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial levels, according to scientists.

Antarctica is one of the worlds fastest-warming regions.  AFP
Berlin, July 12

German special police commandos arrested several people during raids in Berlin on Wednesday over the spectacular robbery of a 100 kilo gold coin, worth about $4 million, from Berlins Bode Museum in March.

Pictures showed armed police in balaclavas and paramedics outside a property in the Neukoelln area of Berlin.

We are at the moment conducting searches and executing arrest warrants in several places in Berlin concerning the break in at the Bode museum in March, said Berlin police.

The unlikely robbery from one of Berlins most prestigious museums in the centre of the capital, from behind bullet-proof glass stunned Germans.

The Canadian coin, named Big Maple Leaf, which bears the image of Queen Elizabeth II, is made out of pure gold with a material value of about $4 million. Its face value is about $1 million.

The coin, 53 centimetres in diameter and 3 centimetres thick, even made it into the Guinness Book of Records for its unrivalled degree of purity. It was loaned to the Bode Museum in December 2010.

Police had said it was probably stolen by a group of robbers who broke into the museum through a window, possibly with a ladder. They had also said they would expect the coin to be melted down.

The Bode has one of the worlds largest coin collections with more than 540,000 items.

German media showed a picture of a man being led away by police with a white garment thrown over his head to disguise his identity. Reuters
Beijing, July 12

The hospital treating Chinas cancer-stricken Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo offered a grim update on his health on Wednesday, but human rights groups cautioned that the authorities might be manipulating the medical reports.

The 61-year-old democracy advocates liver function continued to deteriorate and he suffered from shock and organ failure, according to the First Hospital of China Medical University in the northeastern city of Shenyang.

The hospitals website has been giving regular updates about Lius condition since he was admitted early last month after he was transferred from prison due to late-stage liver cancer.

The Chinese government has rebuffed international appeals to let Liu seek treatment abroad, saying he is getting the best possible care from top domestic doctors.

The United States repeated calls on Tuesday for Liu to be released and said it was ready to welcome him if he chose to be treated there.

US and German cancer experts visited Liu last weekend and determined that he was strong enough to be medically evacuated, but the hospital has issued pessimistic medical updates since then.

As the authorities are controlling all the information about Liu Xiaobos health condition, its difficult to verify if the information released on the hospitals website is true or not, Amnesty Internationals China researcher Patrick Poon told AFP.

Its also legitimate to question if the authorities are releasing the information about his worsening health as an attempt to delay and justify not allowing Liu Xiaobo to leave the country, Poon said.

Human Rights Watchs Asia researcher Maya Wang said there had been little information coming from Lius family about his health, limiting the amount of independent updates.

We simply dont know to what extent this is professional medical report and to what extent this is politically- manipulated information, Wang said.

Amid the medical updates, a video was leaked earlier this week showing the Western doctors praising their Chinese counterparts as they stood by Lius bedside.

The scene was denounced as propaganda by rights groups while the German embassy said on Monday it seems that security organs are steering the process, not medical experts.

But in an editorial, the state-run Global Times newspaper said the video aimed to show the Chinese doctors efforts to help him and said, Western forces are politicising Lius cancer treatment.

Liu was arrested in 2008 after co-writing Charter 08, a bold petition that called for the protection of basic human rights and reform of Chinas one-party Communist system.

He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December 2009 for subversion. At the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo in 2010, he was represented by an empty chair. AFP
Kano (Nigeria), July 12

Boko Haram ambushed Nigerian troops in the country's restive northeast, leaving three soldiers and two Islamists dead, military and vigilante sources said today.

The insurgents opened fire on a military vehicle convoy late Monday in Hambagda village outside the town of Gwoza near the border with Cameroon, they said.

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"A convoy of soldiers and vigilantes was ambushed by Boko Haram terrorists in Hambagda village in which we lost three soldiers," said a military officer in Maiduguri.

Two "Boko Haram terrorists" were killed" in a shootout, while the rest fled, said the officer, who asked not to be identified as he was not authorised to speak about the incident.

Babakura Kolo, a member of a civilian militia fighting Boko Haram alongside the military, gave a similar account.

"There was an ambush by Boko Haram on soldiers and our colleagues in Hambagda," two kilometres outside Gwoza, said Kolo who also lives in Maiduguri.

"Three soldiers and two Boko Haram fighters were killed in the attack," he said.

News of the attack was slow to emerge because of destruction of telecom masts in the region in previous Boko Haram attacks.

Boko Haram seized Gwoza in July 2014, making it the headquarters of their so-called Caliphate.

Although it was retaken by Nigerian troops in March 2015, the extremists continued to raid nearby villages from their hideouts in the mountains along the border with Cameroon.

At least 20,000 people have been killed and 2.6 million others displaced since the hardline Islamist group began a rebellion in 2009. AFP
Mosul, July 12

Iraqi forces clashed with Islamic State fighters holding out in Mosuls Old City on Wednesday, more than 36 hours after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the militants in the de facto Iraqi capital of their self-declared caliphate.

Abadis announcement marked the biggest defeat for the hardline Sunni group since its lightning sweep through northern Iraq three years ago, but pockets of Mosul remain insecure and the city has been heavily damaged by nearly nine months of gruelling urban combat.

About 900,000 people have fled the fighting, with more than a third in camps outside the city and the rest living with family and friends in other neighbourhoods. Activity has quickly returned to much of Mosul and work to repair damaged homes and infrastructure is already underway.

But Iraqi forces exchanged gunfire with the militants in their final redoubt just before midnight and into the morning, two residents living just across the Tigris River from the area told Reuters.

Army helicopters strafed the Old City and blasts sent plumes of smoke into the air, though it was unclear if they were controlled explosions or bombs set off by Islamic State, the residents said by phone.

We still live in an atmosphere of war despite the victory announcement two days ago, said Fahd Ghanim, 45.

Clearing operations

An Iraqi military official attributed the activity to clearing operations.

There are Daesh (fighters) hiding in different places, he said, using an acronym for Islamic State. They disappear here and pop up there then we target them.

He declined to estimate the number of militants or civilians in the area, but the top U.S. general in Iraq said on Tuesday that as many as a couple of hundred fighters could still be in Mosul.

There are bypassed holdouts. We havent cleared every building in this city the size of Philadelphia. Thats going to have to be done, and there are also hidden IEDs (improvised explosive devices), Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend told reporters.

There are still going to be losses from the Iraqi security forces as they continue to secure Mosul. South of the city, reinforcements arrived to help Iraqi forces push out Islamic State militants armed with machine guns and mortars from Imam Gharbi village. The militants have taken control of 75 percent of the village.

The militants assault on Imam Gharbi, launched last week, is the kind of strike Islamic State is expected to deploy now as US-backed Iraqi forces regain control over cities the group captured during its shock 2014 offensive.

A separate attack on a border guard convoy in western Anbar, near the Syrian border, killed two soldiers and wounded four on Tuesday, military sources said. Reuters
Taipei, July 12

Chinese aircraft carrier the Liaoning entered Taiwans air defence identification zone early on Wednesday morning on its way back from Hong Kong and is being monitored, Taiwans Defence Ministry said, adding there was no cause for alarm.

The Liaoning left Hong Kong at noon on Tuesday, before entering Taiwans defence zone by travelling in a northerly direction via the western side of the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said.

Taiwan was monitoring the situation, had detected nothing unusual and people should not be alarmed, it added.

The Soviet-built Liaoning, Chinas first aircraft carrier, had been in Hong Kong for events marking the 20th anniversary of the territorys return to Chinese rule from Britain.

It was the fourth time that the Liaoning has sailed near self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own, in recent months for what Beijing has said were routine drills.

Earlier this month Taiwan scrambled jets to shadow the carrier as it made its way to Hong Kong.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan, which China considers a wayward province, under its control. Reuters
Washington, July 12

In the midst of a firestorm over Russian meddling in last years US election, senior diplomats from both countries will meet next week to consider a number of disputes, the State Department has said.

Career diplomat Thomas Shannon, the US State Departments third-in-command, will host Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Washington on July 17, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on Tuesday.

Moscow had cancelled a previously scheduled late-June meeting in St. Petersburg between the counterparts, citing new US sanctions linked to the conflict in Ukraine.

Shannon has been hard at work as we have been trying to find areas that we could deal with some of these so-called irritants, Nauert said, without elaborating.

Diplomats quoted by Russian news agencies stressed that Shannon and Ryabkov would discuss sanctions imposed last December at the tail end of Barack Obamas presidency, which led to the expulsion of some 30 Russian diplomats and spies, as well as the closure of two stateside Russian residential complexes.

The two officials will also likely take on issues concerning Ukraine and Syria, according to US diplomats.

Upon returning last weekend from a jaunt to Europe during which he met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that it was time to move forward in working constructively with Russia! But Trumps aspirations will likely come up against US lawmakers who are demanding more sanctions over Russias alleged meddling in the 2016 vote that brought him to poweraccusations Moscow has denied.

News that the Presidents eldest son Donald Trump Jr met with a Kremlin-linked lawyer during the campaign has ramped up the tension.

The real estate scion in June 2016 admitted to meeting the Russian lawyer in a bid to get damaging material on his fathers presidential rival Hillary Clinton.  AFP
A Tulsa-area church dodged tragedy Monday afternoon when dozens of boys and some men on the way to a youth camp lifted an overturned bus off of an eighth-grade boy pinned beneath it and pulled him to safety.

The boy  and 13 other boys who were riding on the bus with him  sustained minor injuries when the bus overturned.

They were traveling in a caravan of buses from The Church at BattleCreek in north Broken Arrow and its satellite churches in the Tulsa area to Windermere Baptist Conference Center in central Missouri.

There are a few stitches, a few arms in slings, a few black eyes, said the Rev. Alex Himaya, senior pastor of Battle Creek.

Theyre all doing good. Were so thankful.

Himaya said the caravan of buses left Tulsa on Monday carrying more than 700 middle school and high school students heading for the churchs annual youth camp.

After a four-hour drive, just a quarter mile from the camp entrance, one wheel on the next-to-last bus in the caravan dropped off the pavement, and the bus overturned.

Fourteen of the boys on the bus were hurt, including Himayas son and the boy who was tossed out and pinned under the bus.

The rest of the 37 students on that bus, and all of the students and adults on the bus right behind it, got out and lifted the bus off the boy, Himaya said.

He was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital at nearby Osage Beach, Missouri. The other injured boys were transported by multiple ambulances. Traffic was tied up for miles.

Himaya said the boy was not crushed by the bus because he landed in a ditch.

Were so grateful that the Lord was watching over that bus, he said.

Himaya, who had arrived at the camp by car 15 minutes before the accident, declined to identify the boy without getting permission from his parents.

But the boy stood up on a stage at the camps Tuesday morning services, he said.

Himaya posted a video on Facebook late Monday in which he said, I was told by the nurses that theyre all going to be treated and released, and that cat scans are all clear. It appears that all of them are OK, he said.

He said the annual weeklong youth camp will go on as planned.

This is a big deal for us. All of our staff come.

Himaya has been pastor of The Church at Battle Creek, and now its several satellite campuses, since 2003. The main campus meets in what was once an outlet mall.
The Muskogee-based Eastern Oklahoma Veterans Health Care System has made significant strides since a critical 2015 news story was published, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General says in a report released Monday.

Signed by Dr. John D. Daigh Jr., assistant inspector general for health care inspections, the report says the Eastern Oklahoma system, which includes two Tulsa clinics, has fulfilled 11 of 19 recommendations from a May 2016 site visit and has target completion dates within the next few months for the remainder.

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, who requested Office of Inspector General reviews of both the Eastern Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City systems, told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Tuesday that we have solved the problem in Oklahoma.

Inhofe was presenting legislation that would permit third-party investigations of VA facilities.

Inhofe praised Ralph Gigliotti, director of the VA Rocky Mountain Network, which includes Oklahoma, and said he thinks most of the problems at Oklahomas VA facilities were related to leadership and turnover in administration.

Mondays report notes that the Eastern Oklahoma system went through several top administrators in a relatively short period of time, but it also highlights broader staffing issues that may continue to be a problem, particularly at the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee and some outlying clinics.

Specifically, the report says the systems rural locations and low pay make recruiting and retaining personnel, particularly medical specialists, a difficult task.

It also says the Eastern Oklahoma system has had trouble implementing Veterans Choice, a new program intended to allow veterans to use private health-care providers closer to their homes, and in being able to transfer out patients needing higher levels of care.

Investigators reviewed the deaths of 10 acute- care patients and found it more likely that the deaths were due to the severity of the patients diseases rather than poor quality or a lack of care during their ICU stay.

Inhofe requested the OIG investigations after a Dec. 22, 2015, USA Today story outlining failures in the two systems, and particularly the Oklahoma City hospital.

Since then, Inhofe and other members of the Oklahoma congressional delegation have pressed for changes making it easier for regional directors to dismiss local administrators.

Mark Morgan, who was brought in to run the Eastern Oklahoma VA in 2016 after several temporary directors, said he expects continued progress.

I have reviewed the OIGs findings and recommendations and concur with all of them, Morgan said. We have already implemented or completed 11 of the recommendations and are actively working to complete the remaining eight by the end of the year.

The Eastern Oklahoma system includes the Montgomery Medical Center in Muskogee, outpatient clinics in Tulsa, Hartshorne, Muskogee and Vinita, and the behavioral medicine clinic in Tulsa.
Update: The winning flag was announced shortly before 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The design is said to represent the settlement of Tulsa by the Creek tribe under the Council Oak Tree alongside a Native American shield most-famously represented on the Oklahoma state flag. The color red is said to represent lives lost during the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot, and the blue field represents the Arkansas River.

The Tulsa Flag group that held a citywide, privately funded contest to identify a new city flag plans to unfurl the winning design Wednesday morning.

The group has known the winner for about a month, but plans to reveal it were delayed after City Councilors unexpectedly soured on the concept of changing the flag after residents called for keeping the current one.

Joey Wignarajah, one of the Tulsa Flag leaders, said whether or not councilors are ready to support a change, he is ready to reveal chosen flag.

Weve been getting a lot of questions about where this winner is, Wignarajah said. And we think its time to announce the winner.

The Council has discussion of the flag on its agenda for Wednesday but no action, which is anticipated for future meetings.

The Tulsa Flag group has been working with councilors to address concerns about its process from taking public submissions, to paring designs down via committee and to the vote.

Among of the biggest concerns from residents and councilors were the lack of a none-of-the-above choice, and the requirement that residents text their vote from a cellphone.

Weve been working with the council quite a bit, Wignarajah said. Weve made some tremendous strides. Were not there yet, but we think its time to give the people the flag they voted for.

The winning flag, to be announced Wednesday, got more than 50 percent of the votes out of 8,200 total.

Wignarajah said a number of misconceptions have plagued the groups grassroots effort to update Tulsas flag.

For one, there has been confusion over what his group wants to actually change.

Wignarajah said because the current flag is the official Tulsa city seal on a white background, some people think the group wants to change the seal.

Nobody is changing the city seal, Wignarajah said. The city seal will remain the city seal. Manhole covers, water utility bills, the doors on public-works vehicles  none of that changes. Were just looking to change the flag.

Wignarajah said the seal has never been part of the conversation.

Its a phenomenal seal, but its a very bad flag, he said. No one wants to fly it outside their house. No one wants to put it on their shirt.

In fact, it is a misdemeanor in the city of Tulsa to use the city seal without permission, making most private uses or reproductions of the current flag on T-shirts or hats technically illegal.

Will the city prosecute anyone that uses it? Absolutely not, Wignarajah said. They are reasonable in that regard. But its still illegal.

Whether it is legal or not, Wignarajah said the main reason people dont fly it is because its just not attractive.

You cant find the flag anywhere, he said.

Tulsa City Hall has two flags flying on top of the building: the American flag and the Oklahoma state flag.

The Tulsa flag is in Tulsa City Council chambers and a council committee-meeting room.

The only known places it is flying downtown is at the southwest corner of the BOK Center and at Tulsa Transits Denver Avenue bus station. It also flies at a smattering of other public properties outside downtown.

Its a bad flag because its got too much detail that you cant discern when its on a flag pole, Wignarajah said. Change is hard. I think we really want them (councilors) to see the vision that this is the flag that can be out all over the place.
After being escorted out of the hospital, the man got into his vehicle and rammed into a security vehicle. He then sped toward the security officers, attempting to hit them, and the officers "fired one shot each at the vehicle in self-defense," Saint Francis said in a press statement.
A Tulsa man accused of detonating a pipe bomb outside an unoccupied Air Force recruitment office in Bixby is described in court records as a disgruntled U.S. veteran who hated the military.

A federal criminal complaint naming Benjamin Don Roden also contains a social media comment allegedly posted by him as he sought employment in any foreign country to teach a special warfare tactic that was developed off of what I naturally do.

Investigators who searched the veterans south Tulsa apartment reported finding two pipe bombs and other materials or items associated with making explosive devices.

However, law enforcement personnel havent uncovered any evidence linking the Monday bombing to domestic terrorism, the acting U.S. Attorney in Tulsa said Wednesday.

Theres also been no evidence that Roden, 28, had any help from others in the bombing, Acting U.S. Attorney Loretta Radford told media following a court hearing for the suspect.

While we do not believe that the evidence that we have gathered thus far indicates domestic terrorism, we also dont want to rule out the possibility that this might involve domestic terrorism, Radford said.

The 11-page federal criminal complaint filed Wednesday accuses Roden of malicious damage to federal property by use of explosive, use of explosive to commit a federal felony and two counts of destruction to federal property.

In addition to his Facebook page, investigators developed leads from a witness who saw Rodens motorcycle speed away from the bomb site simultaneous to the sound of an explosion from the area of the recruitment center where the witness first laid eyes on the motorcyclist.

The pipe bomb was detonated about 10:30 p.m. Monday at an Air Force recruiting center in Post Rock Plaza near 104th Street and Memorial Drive in Bixby. Initially as a person of interest, Roden was taken into custody by federal and local authorities Tuesday afternoon at the Sand Dollar apartment complex near 61st Street and Riverside Drive.

Besides breaking windows, the resulting explosion from the detonation of the explosive device caused significant structural damage to the front of the recruiting station, the complaint says.

No injuries were reported.

Roden hated the military

Roden, formerly active duty Air Force, was discharged in April from the Oklahoma Air National Guard, according to a spokeswoman for the 138th Fighter Wing in Tulsa.

Roden joined the Air National Guard in 2014 after he left the Air Force, the spokeswoman said. He joined the Air Force in 2012.

Federal special agents interviewed Rodens last commanding officer prior to Rodens resignation from the Air Force, according to the complaint. The commanding officer described Roden as smart and capable of constructing electronic devices, as well as a person who hated the military and had received disciplinary actions.

Roden wanted to quit the Air Force and join the U.S. Marines, however, the U.S. Marines would not accept Roden, the criminal complaint states.  Roden blamed the U.S. Air Force for preventing him from being accepted by the U.S. Marines.

Roden was a senior airman in the Air Force and trained as a firefighter. Roden wanted to be trained as an electrician by the Air Force and resigned when he discovered he couldnt complete the necessary training to become certified, according to the complaint.

Investigators also tied Roden to vandalism that took place the day before the bombing.

The complaint states that a U.S. government vehicle assigned to a reserve recruiter, who works at the Air Force center that was targeted, had all four tires slashed and its windows broken on Sunday.

The complaint notes that a public Facebook page for Ben Roden features a post from 12:56 p.m. Sunday that states: That government vehicle looks beautiful setting outside that office in tulsa. That is how I am going to make up for 2 years 7 months without a job and harassment.

In addition to the two pipe bombs and materials associated with improvised explosives manufacturing, authorities confiscated from Rodens apartment a handgun, an AR-15 rifle and an application for a long-term visa to Germany, according to the complaint.

Investigators searched a Sand Springs address associated with Roden, where they found electronic components, assorted documents and notes, rifle powder and smokeless powder.

The complaint describes how the Oklahoma Air National Guard base in Tulsa on Monday received two anonymous manila envelopes addressed to a lieutenant colonel and a commander. The packages, postmarked in Oklahoma City, contained four pages of printed comments which appeared to have come from the Facebook.com page belonging to an individual named Ben Roden.

One of the comments appeared to be an open job application of sorts, with him describing his skills and a request for salary that just needs to be enough to live after two and a half years of unemployment. The post in part reads:

Any country willing to let me come over to you and get a job let me know. A Special warfare tactic was developed off of what I naturally do and I can teach what I do. I have knowledge of analog circuits, some electrician knowledge, and natural mechanical and electrical ability. I think the u.s. Government is trying to keep me from leaving because of my special warfare capability. They destroyed my passport before leaving active duty and they do not Normally do that.

The post also states that the U.S. government think(s) I am too smart and that I have had a lot of problems with them spying on me as well.

Rodens first court appearance

Roden made his initial appearance before a magistrate Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Magistrate Frank McCarthy ordered Roden to continue to be held without bond in jail and appointed a federal public defender to represent him after the suspect said he couldnt afford to hire a private attorney.

Roden requested both a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing after the U.S. Attorneys office requested he be held without bail until his trial.

The hearings will be held at 10 a.m. Friday in Tulsa federal court.

Radford said the government will oppose Rodens pretrial release.

Individuals who secret and make pipe bombs in my opinion should not be allowed to live among the citizens of the Northern District of Oklahoma and of course my greatest fear is if released he will continue to make pipe bombs, Radford said following the hearing.

Roden listed on his jail booking sheet that Advance Research Chemicals in Catoosa was his place of employment. The company produces chemicals, including fluoride, acetates, nitrates, sulfates and oxides, according to the companys website.

Advance Research Chemicals Human Resources Manager Cecile Jairamani said Roden was employed one day, June 12, as an electrical helper. The criminal complaint states the company was Rodens last known place of employment.

Radford said investigators have uncovered no evidence linking the bomb and two other devices recovered from the suspects apartment to Rodens prior employer.

Federal agents on Tuesday were considering whether the bombing constituted domestic terrorism. FBI spokeswoman Jessi Rice said there had been no conclusion yet on the intent and werent calling it an act of domestic terrorism.

Rice defined domestic terrorism as any act of extremism that supports a religious belief, a political belief, a radical belief,  something that instills fear in the American citizens and the government.

Malicious damage to federal property carries a prison term of five years to 20 years in prison.

Destruction of federal property carries a prison term of up to 10 years.

Use of an explosive to commit a federal felony carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years with the term running by statute consecutively to other prison terms, Radford said.
A teachers demeanor and bond with students plays an integral role in their desire and ability to ask questions and engage in a class, a panel of Tulsa-area high schoolers told educators at a conference Tuesday.

Prompted by questions from the audience and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister, the eight student panelists shared their perspectives with more than 200 attendees of a session, titled What Students Wish Their Teachers Knew, at the EngageOK conference at Union High School.

Anna Davis, who graduated from Sapulpa High School in the spring, recounted her experience feeling belittled by a teacher when she asked questions in class.

The way that teacher used his voice, or belittled me, when I would ask questions, completely just shot my confidence in a subject that I really loved, Davis told attendees of the panel discussion. I think its really important that the teacher shows that its not a hassle to have to help someone else along, or to expose them to different things.

Raquel Jackson, who is going to be a senior at Broken Arrow High School in the fall, added that many of her friends are afraid to speak up in class because they worry theyll be embarrassed.

(Students) asking questions is a sign of them wanting to learn, Jackson said, explaining that teachers should foster an environment in which students feel comfortable asking questions  even if it means repeating material the teacher has already taught.

Fear of judgment by peers was another reason the student panelists said theyre often hesitant to speak up in class.

The students suggested that teachers take written questions from students and then answer them out loud in class, and include ice-breaker type activities to help students get to know one another at the beginning of each semester.

The student panel discussion is new this year to EngageOK, an annual education conference organized by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

The conference on Tuesday brought hundreds of teachers and school leaders to Union High School, which is one of six locations across Oklahoma where it will be held July 10 through 20. A different group of students is participating in the panel at each of the locations.

Afterward, Hofmeister said the purpose of the panel is to share students perspectives with the teachers and school leaders attending the professional development sessions.

The main takeaway from Tuesdays session, she said, is that many students wish their teachers understood how much a relationship means to their overall learning, and that when they are feeling that interest from a teacher, when they know a teacher cares, it actually makes them more engaged as students, and it increases their learning.

(Students) also know that it is not easy to be a teacher, and when a teacher offers to meet with a student outside of class, whether thats a planning period or before school or after school, we hear stories over and over from students of just how much that means to them, Hofmeister said. And we know that thats something that teachers need to know: that its appreciated, that its a sign of caring, and its something that our students are depending on.

Student panelist Kenny Luong, who is going to be a senior at Broken Arrow High School in the fall, said afterward that a theme that he hopes educators recognize is the importance of considering students perspectives.

Taking the time to really know what their students are thinking is a really important part in the success of a school, Luong said.

Luong said he hopes the panel discussion will continue to be included in the annual conference.

I think it gives an opportunity for teachers to ask questions that they might not have time to ask and have a wide variety of students answer, Luong said. So I think its a really good idea to keep doing this.
A Tulsa County Assessors Office employee received a one-year deferred sentence Wednesday after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor related to accidentally firing a gun while he worked as a security officer during the Wanenmachers Tulsa Arms Show in April.

Brian Keith Pounds, 48, accepted a plea agreement from the Tulsa County District Attorneys Office.

Special Judge Millie Otey deferred sentencing for one year in accordance with the plea agreement and dismissed another misdemeanor charge of violating the Oklahoma Security Guard and Private Investigator Act. Pounds also was ordered to pay court costs.

He declined to comment on the matter after the proceedings concluded.

Pounds was charged April 7 on an accusation that he recklessly handled a .22-caliber pistol during the gun show on April 1, which led to former Tulsa County Sheriffs Office Sgt. Ricky Treadwell sustaining a wound to his finger.

A probable cause affidavit says Pounds, who was a Tulsa County reserve deputy more than a decade ago, was working as a security officer at the main entrance to the event at Expo Square when he failed to clear a gun while pointing it over Treadwells head.

While Pounds handled the firearm, he discharged a round at a concrete wall, which then caused the projectile to hit Treadwells finger. The second misdemeanor count, which the state added in May, alleged that Pounds worked as a security officer despite not having been licensed to do so since 2004.

Records from the Sheriffs Office indicate that Pounds reserve deputy and part-time employment statuses were terminated on Nov. 4, 2005. He was suspended from the reserve program in February 2004 but was reinstated in September of that year after he wrote a letter saying he had much time to reflect on the situation that got me here and asked then-Sheriff Stanley Glanz to allow him to return.

Pounds had been a reservist there since April 2002.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Police shot and killed a man while serving an arrest warrant early Wednesday in southwest Oklahoma City.

Police officers trying to serve a warrant in the 2900 block of SW 23 said a man fired a gun at them, said Capt. Bo Mathews, a spokesman for the Oklahoma City Police Department. Officers returned fire, killing the man, officers said.

It was initially unclear whether the man inside the home was struck by gunfire, but police confirmed around 10 a.m. Wednesday that he had been shot and killed. No officers were injured.

Mathews said officers who fired back at the man then backed off from the house and called a tactical team about 2:30 a.m. The shooting was just east of S Brookline Avenue.
Iraqi military forces have taken back Mosul, a significant victory in the long, bloody fight against ISIS terrorists.

Much remains to be done: Rebuilding the city, ensuring that ISIS doesnt return, and the continuing attack on the terrorists supposed capital, Raqqa.

It has taken nine months to wrench the city from the grip of ISIS. The victory should signal that the ISIS dream of a caliphate that would encompass the Middle East and possibly the world is crumbling, but it doesnt mean that the instability that gave rise to ISIS in the first place is solved.

The fight for Mosul has displaced more than 1 million civilians. Many of them are ill and malnourished. That is the bloody legacy of ISIS and U.S. policy that allowed Iraq to spin out of control.

Fighting with ISIS remnants continues in and around Mosul. Those remaining jihadists must be rooted out and the city made as safe as possible. Most important, the Iraqi government, mostly Shiite, must come together in a fashion that will allow it to govern peacefully.

Failing to unite the country following the defeat of Saddam led to fierce resentment among minority Sunnis and the Kurds. The ISIS terrorists fed on that resentment and turned many of the rejected Sunnis into ISIS followers. Iraq must cut any ties with the Shiite-led regime in Iran, which used the Shiite-Sunni rift in Iraq to increase its influence in Iraq and Syria.

Bad policy and limited choices have extended the fight against ISIS painfully. Let us hope that victory in Mosul will signify the beginning of the end in the latest effort to return stability to the region.
ABC2 is launching another raunchy series next week, Sex in Strange Places.

UKs Stacey Dooley travels to Turkey, Russia and Brazil to meet young people who are trading on their looks and sexuality for a living.

The demand for sex is universal; the price paid by those who buy and sell is not. What do the attitudes of punters, police and the public towards the sex industry tell us about the places Stacey visits? From VIP call girls, flown first class and earning thousands of dollars a night, to street corners where every car that stops could carry a rapist or murderer, sex workers, brothel owners, and clients reveal the realities of working in this hidden and often dangerous world.

Stacey begins her journey in troubled Turkey. As the European gateway to the Middle East, it is a secular nation laced with conservative and religious attitudes to sex. Though the subject of sex is largely taboo here, surprisingly, on paper Turkey is the most liberal of the countries Stacey visits in this three-part investigative series. Prostitution is legal and there are even state-run brothels. Stacey meets sex workers who regard themselves as tutors to the uninitiated men of a sexually repressed society, preparing them for marriage. But even here Stacey discovers an overwhelming sense of terror pervades as she meets women who fear for their lives just for being seen talking to her. In a world where state registered prostitutes have sex worker marked on their ID cards and will never be allowed to join the army, police or civil service, Stacey meets a brothel Madame and discovers that for many girls theres no way out.

For trans-sexuals the situation is worse. While Turkey is home to the biggest gay pride march in the Muslim world, according to the campaign group Transgender Europe, there are six trans-gender people killed in Turkey every year. Rejected by their families and with employers refusing to hire them, many are forced to live in an underworld of illegal brothels where armed gangs and corrupt police officers exploit each and every one. The war raging in neighbouring Syria has added an even darker, highly exploitative layer to this already stigma-rich business. Istanbul now has more Syrian refugees than the EU. War and sex-slavery go hand in hand, with many young Syrian girls and mothers forced to sell their bodies to make ends meet. Stacey braves the journey from Istanbul to Gaziantep close to the Syrian border where several hundred ISIS fighters are believed to live in hiding. Here she meets a young woman who was sold into sex slavery by ISIS fighters. Covered from head to toe in black she desperately wants to share her story but is so traumatised that she cannot stop crying. This is Turkey like youve never seen it before.

9.35pm Monday 17 July on ABC2.
A hearing in the Seven West Media / Amber Harrison case in a packed NSW Supreme Court was adjourned within its first few minutes today, after lawyers for Seven again objected to statements Harrison was due to read out via a phone hook-up.

After a third draft was prepared Harrison told the court she has already consented to an order preventing her from speaking publicly about the case, but that being forced to pay costs would bankrupt her.

She described Sevens actions as brutal, protracted and unnecessary.

Seven chose to run this trial and they should pay for it, she said.

Seven have half a dozen lawyers in the room today. Seven are professional litigators, their pockets for litigation are deep and their appetite for it is endless.

Seven has always deliberately tried to increase costs.

They are getting their injunction, their trial, their win and all the orders they seek, she said.

Seven seeking costs against me will drive me into bankruptcy. I am a foster parent and if I have costs against me, it will affect my family.

But Seven counsel Dr Andrew Bell SC said, Harrisons colourful statement contained at least 12 wrong false or misconceived statements and is marked by a very high degree of revisionism.

We know nothing about Ms Harrisons financial circumstances, he said.

Other than she received in excess of $400,000 from Channel Seven in return for promises that she breached.

These proceedings were initiated when a former employee published on Twitter stolen documents containing confidential legal advice to the Channel 7 Board about a matter which had nothing to do with the former employee, Dr Bell said.

That former employee had taken images of those documents in an unauthorised way, had retained them, and published that material on the internet in February this year.

I should not be punished by the Supreme Court for taking a stand, Harrison said.

I ask you to order a walkaway between Seven and I.

The judge will make his decision by the end of the week.

Source: ABC, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald
No its not a drama about a high-ranking church official.

Canadian crime drama Cardinal begins today at SBS On Demand.

The 6 part series stars Billy Campbell as Detective John Cardinal and Karine Vanasse as Lise Delorme, investigating the murder of a young girl in Algonquin Bay.

This is an adaptation of Giles Blunts mystery novel Forty Words for Sorrow.

It premiered in Canada in January.

In this six-episode mystery series, burned-out Detective John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) is brought back into the Algonquin Bay Police Homicide Unit when the hunch he wouldnt let go  and got him demoted  about the disappearance of 13-year-old Katie Pine is proven horribly correct.

With his young new partner, Detective Lise Delorme (Karine Vanasse), Cardinal relentlessly tracks Katies killer, which soon leads him to a series of murders that are escalating in frequency and intensity. Cardinal soon begins to suspect that Delorme has a hidden agenda of her own, and struggles to keep from her a dark secret buried in his past that keeps threatening to resurface.

As they race to catch the most brutal killer their small Northern Ontario town has ever seen Cardinal struggles to keep his head above water as the life hes built with his wife and daughter threatens to unravel.

Thursday July 13 on SBS On Demand.
Malala and Anwar Ahmad Ayesh at a school in Hasansham camp.  UNHCR/Cengiz Yar

HASANSHAM, Iraq  During her first visit to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday called for world leaders to invest in education for children in conflict stricken countries.

Education cannot be ignored. Especially for countries that are going through conflict. Education is a basic human right. Every world leader gives their child education so lets give it to these children, she said during a visit to a camp for Iraqis displaced during the fighting to retake Mosul.

Its important to speak out for internally displaced girls because I was displaced for three months, so I know how hard it is to get an education when you dont have a home, the girls education campaigner and UN Messenger of Peace said.

"I know how hard it is to get an education when you dont have a home."

Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her work championing education rights for children. In her native Pakistan, she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman after speaking out on the importance of girls education.

Highlighting the needs of displaced Iraqis in Hasansham U3 camp, home to 7,600 Iraqis displaced by the conflict in Mosul, Malala told UNHCR that the loss of education for young people is one of the worst losses in conflict, and that education can protect children, particularly girls. Education is necessary to protect children both now and in the future, she said.

More than 900,000 people have been displaced by the fight to retake Mosul from extremists. Some have since returned home, but many are still sheltering in UNHCR-built camps on the outskirts of Mosul, renting, staying with friends or family or living in war-damaged buildings.

Malala says education is needed to protect displaced children (Houssam Hariri, camera / Rima Cherri, producer)

There are more than three million displaced Iraqis throughout the country, including around 350,000 children who are not enrolled in school, which is almost half of all those of school age.

Displaced children studying in camps face extra challenges such as the soaring summer temperatures and the difficulty of studying inside tents with a shortage of books, stationary and limited sanitary facilities.

Hasansham U3 camp has a primary and secondary school housed in a tent that runs in shifts. In the camp there are currently 1,115 primary school children and 425 secondary school children enrolled.

Malala praised UNHCRs work supporting displaced families in Iraq, but highlighted a lack of funding. We need to support the organisations working here by giving a little donation or some support on social media. Lets speak up for these children, she said.

Malala listens to Anwar Ahmad Ayesh talk about her experiences.  UNHCR/Cengiz Yar

Malala visited the tent of student Anwar Ahmad Ayesh, 13, whose family fled violence and bombing in western Mosul in April. Anwar's father was killed by extremists and like many other children in the city during their three-year rule, she did not attend school. Instead, she would wake up every day hopeful that their problems would soon be over.

I used Malala as a source of hope and inspiration to overcome my difficulties. I knew that one day I would be able to go back to school, she said.

To cover UNHCRs overall funding requirements, USD 126 million is urgently needed to meet the critical needs of vulnerable children, women and men and to continue to provide protection, shelter, camp coordination, management and assistance to the displaced and those seeking to return home.


MTV Teen Mom reality star, entrepreneur and public figure, Farrah Abraham, will celebrate the launch of award-winning gentlemens club Crazy Horse IIIs VIP back door key party on Friday, August 4.

In celebration of her adult film, Back Door Teen Mom, the brunette bombshell will host the opening party for the Crazy Horse III VIP back door membership alongside the citys hottest entertainers. The Crazy Horse III Back Door Membership includes premium transportation; discrete and expedited entry through a back door entrance for the keyholder and their guests; VIP seating options; and a complimentary bottle of Moet Champagne with each visit. With a retail value of $10,000, the lifetime membership is available at a discounted rate of $5,000 when purchased online, for a limited time.

Complimentary limo service, pending availability, is available on the easy-to-use Crazy Horse III app or by calling 702-673-1700. Available for download on all mobile platforms, the app allows users to personalize their experience with features including table reservations, bottle service packages and dancer profiles.


During Back-to-School season, UNLV School of Medicine will host an event offering free immunizations, vision and dental screenings, and WIC information for children and adolescents.

UNLV Medicine Pediatric Physicians will be available with information, and can answer questions about immunization and other general health care issues.

Nevada and The Clark County School District (CCSD) requires all school-age children to have their immunizations up-to-date for the upcoming school year. Required Vaccines includes DTP, DT, DTaP, Polio (IPV), MMR, Hepatitis B, Varicella, Hepatitis A, Tdap and MCV4.


Silver Sevens Hotel & Casino donated $2,892 to the Alzheimers Association from a month of purple promotions the casino hosted throughout June in honor of Alzheimers & Brain Awareness Month.

(Pictured: Silver Sevens Hotel & Casino General Manager Dan Uonites (L) presents Alzheimers Association Desert Southwest Chapter Executive Director Dan Lawler with a check for $2,892 from Silver Sevens month of purple promotions throughout June)

Offerings included purple-themed Food For Thought food & beverage specials and a selection of souvenirs in purple shades in the gift shop, with a portion of proceeds from each going to the Association. Employees were also able to participate in Casual for a Cause jean days.

In addition, Silver Sevens transformed the exterior marquee and lighting, table games felts and dice in purple, along with purple uniforms for employees and purple beads handed out to guests throughout the month.

The donation is part of Affinity Gamings continued partnership with the Association to contribute at least $125,000 in 2017.


Queensryche and special guests Skid Row are returning to Las Vegas for a performance at the Sunset Amphitheater at Sunset Station on Saturday, October 7, 2017. Doors open at 6 p.m. (Pictured: Queensryche).

Located outdoors at Sunset Station, the Sunset Amphitheater is the perfect destination for a concert experience under the stars. Tickets for Queensryche and Skid Row start at $25 plus tax and applicable fees and go on sale Friday, July 14, 2017 at 10 a.m.

Queensryche first burst onto the music scene in 1982 with the release of their self-titled 4 song EP Queensryche. They very quickly gained international recognition and performed to sold out audiences around the world. With the follow up first full length album The Warning in 1984, and the ground breaking 1986 release of Rage For Order, Queensryche continued to prove their worldwide dominance as one of the most respected and creative bands of the 1980s. In 1988 the band turned out yet another monumental album Operation: Mindcrime, which would go on to become one of the top-10 bestselling concepts records of all time, and set the stage for continued sold-out performances around the world. With the release of the critically-acclaimed and commercially-successful Empire in 1991, the band earned multiple Grammy Award nominations and won the MTV Viewers Choice award for the #1 chart topping hit Silent Lucidity. During the next 10 years, the band continued to release albums and tour the world to sold-out audiences. Queensryche has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and have continued to break new ground and push their creative process.

Skid Row  The first rebellion started in 1986. New Jersey kids, punk and metal attitude, determined to conquer the world. All for one, banded together with single-minded purpose. The battlefield was the stage, the songs their arsenal in an us-against-them musical coup detat. Top Ten singles. Gold and multi-platinum sales. No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. The world was theirs, the rebellion won, until there was nothing left to fight for  so they fought each other. Following an ill-advised South American tour in 1996, the band was finished. But the core camaraderie never died.

Now, Skid Row is gearing up to record the final installment of the United World Rebellion trilogy. Classic dual-guitar teams are a key component of great songs  K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton. Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. Add Snake and Scotti Hill to that list. That sound is rambunctious exuberance. They got older, but Skid Row never really grew up. United World Rebellion  Chapter Three is still the youth gone wild, their musical spark still burning gasoline.
A&B Central Square is located in the heart of Nha Trang, bordering the streets of Tran Phu, Hung Vuong, and Le Thanh Ton. The hotel and trade centre complex boasts on-site amenities like a shopping mall, infinity pool, gym, and rooftop restaurant.

Unicons, a member of Coteccons Group, is the general contractor for the project, while HB Singapore is responsible for architectural and landscape design. The project is on track for completion in 2017.

In the first 10 years, the developer is committed to generate fixed-income yields. After 10 years, clients will receive 80 per cent of the rental profit. In addition, HD Bank will provide guarantee certificates for clients and investors. On top of this, clients can get a 15-day vacation per year at the project or other five-star resorts operated by A&B Group.

A&B Central Square is expected to become a sure-fire investment for investors as Nha Trang's hospitality market is growing fast. According to the statistics of the Khanh Hoa Department of Tourism, Nha Trang has welcomed more than 7.8 million tourists in the first half of 2017, including 3.7 million international arrivals.

The average length of stay (LOS) of international tourists is 3.95 days and 1.65 days for domestic tourists. The city also achieved a high occupancy rate of 70 per cent.

The total sector revenue of the province was estimated at VND7.515 trillion ($330.66 million) in the given period. The number of tourists to Nha Trang is forecasted to increase for the last six months of 2017.

From June 28 to July 28, A&B group will organise the programme Discover A&B Central Square to win a holiday to Nam Nghi Resort Phu Quoc. The programme has attracted the interest of potential customers and investors. For more information, please visit www.abnhatrang.vn
The popularity of consumer finance is climbing higher thanks to the initial bump provided by leading foreign lenders, Photo: Le Toan

It all started with foreign firms

Home Credit Finance Vietnam, a subsidiary of Czech-based Home Credit Group, has been in Vietnam since 2009, employing 10,000 staff members and operating through 6,900 points of sale in 63 cities and provinces across the country. The firm states on its website that it has served some five million happy customers so far.

Targeting durable goods buyers, Home Credit offers fast loans, revolving credit lines, and credit cards to its customers. They are also expanding their retail deposit services for select customers.

According to Nguyen Quynh Lan, managing director of the Business Information unit at data and business information provider StoxPlus, the consumer finance (CF) era in Vietnam in fact began in 2007 with the participation of the very first 100 per cent foreign-owned CF company called Prudential Vietnam Finance, then followed suit by Home Credit (formerly PPF Vietnam) and Societe Generale Viet Finance (SGVF). The sector has been managed by these companies from the very beginning.

Despite the large presence of foreign CF firms, the largest company, in terms of market segment, in the CF space is the Vietnamese firm VPBank Finance Company (FE Credit), a consumer lending subsidiary under VPBank. Even though its a local firm, VPBank Finance has been adopting new technologies very quickly to expand its loan portfolio and maintain its leading market position, Lan said.

A slice of the cake for all

In its report titled Vietnam Consumer Finance Market 2017, StoxPlus noted that the countrys consumer lending market had flourished in 2016, with the outstanding loan balance adding up to $26.55 billion for the year, accounting for 11.4 per cent of Vietnams total loan value.

With current low contribution to Vietnams GDP (at 13 per cent), compared to regional countries, the market has great room for development in the future.

In its earlier reports, StoxPlus also made a remark on the countrys CF market: Following a robust surge in 2014, the consumer finance market in Vietnam has witnessed the fastest growth in 2015 with growth rate of 44.1 per cent compared to 18 per cent in 2014. The outstanding loan balance soared from $10.5 billion in December 2014 to $15.12 billion at the end of 2015.

Among CF products, housing loans and home improvement contributed the majority of consumer finance loans over the period. While home appliances and furniture experienced gains, vehicle loans gradually lost their market share, the report stated.

Home Credit and Prudential Finance are not the only firms that have chosen Vietnam as a destination for their operations, as banks in Vietnam and other foreign investors have also seen the potential of the consumer lending segment in the country.

According to Katsumi Mizuno, director of Credit Saisons International Markets, there is still potential for credit growth in individual consumption and card services in Vietnam, thanks to the countrys young population and the meager market penetration of these products.

The rise of local

A few years back, there was a raft of finance companies taken over by local banks, in a bid to further their consumer credit activities and take advantage of the blooming consumer market in Vietnam. During that time, Maritime Bank acquired the Vietnam Textile and Garment Finance JSC (TFC), changing the entity into Maritime Bank Finance Co., Ltd. (MSBFC), Techcombank bought and transformed Vietnam Chemical Finance JSC (VCFC) into a limited company, VBBank took over Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Finance Company (CMF), Military Bank (MB) merged with Song Da Finance Company (SDFC), and Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB) acquired Vinaconex-Viettel Finance Company (VVF), forming SHB Finance.

State-owned banks like BIDV and Vietinbank, or commercial banks like Sacombank or ACB, might also set up or acquire a finance company to grease the wheels of their consumer credit operations. This is important because, under regulations set forth by the central bank, only finance companies are allowed to carry out consumer credit activities and provide intensive and diversified consumer finance services.

Local CF firms, unfortunately, did not previously have a real function of consumer lending, they chiefly offered project financing and did not have any CF products. Taking over the CF companies was simply to obtain the licence to operate in such a market, said StoxPluss Lan.

Nevertheless, banks realised afterwards that it is challenging to build up a CF module from scratch, as the CF model very much differs from banks retail banking models. So they ought to seek co-operation with foreign partners, Lan told VIR.

HDBank, for instance, bought out SGVF  one of the largest foreign-owned consumer finance companies in Vietnam  in 2013, and converted it into HDFinance.

Not long after, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), in early 2015, allowed HDBank to transfer 49 per cent of HDFinance to Japanese-backed Credit Saison Co., Ltd., changing the finance company to HD Saison Finance.

With the capital injection from Credit Saison, by the end of 2016, the firm claimed that it had met the demands of three million customers at over 7,500 points of sale across the nation. The services provided range from motorbike and car loans to loans for electronics and furniture, as well as cash loans.

FE Credit reportedly earned some VND1 trillion ($45.45 million) in pre-tax profit in 2015 and VND2 trillion ($90.90 million) last year. The firm has also signed a $100 million contract with Switzerland-based Credit Suisse to back its finances.

FE Credit, according to StoxPlus, maintained its leading position, in terms of market share, in 2016 with 48.4 per cent, up from 44.92 per cent reported in 2015. Home Credit and HD Saison, meanwhile, secured the second and third position, with 15.77 per cent and 12.15 per cent of the market share, respectively, for the year.

FE Credits total outstanding loan added up to $1.4 billion, as three-fold as much as the runner up Home Credits.

Earlier this year, Japans Shinsei Bank bought 49 per cent of MCredit  the consumer finance arm of MB. MCredit is now renamed MB Shinsei Consumer Finance. Yukio Nakamura, vice chairman of Shinsei Bank, said that the deal will open up opportunities and improve the competitive edge of Shinsei in Vietnam.

MCredit will enjoy MBs strong customer database and sales network, helping them cross-sell to the lenders customers. At the same time, the company will also have access to Shinseis information systems, which can fasten and standardise the process of customer verification, loan approval, disbursement, and collection.

Its expected that the local-foreign co-operation model will continue in the future. Weve worked with numerous foreign investors, and they all agree that the CF sector here is still very promising, despite its rapid growth in recent years, said Lan. They are interested in investing in the sector. They are, however, facing quite a number of obstacles such as regulations and new licence requirements.

So, to get in, they will have to work with a local lender, and based on their international experience, they could likely come up with a new business model to compete with Home Credit or FE Credit.
well, i finally figured out how to make get virtual dj to recognize midi functions from djm 2000. now the only question is, how do i save it as a DJM 2000 profile instead of "simple midi wrapper".



let me tell you.. it is awesome. full control of cue points, samplers, and more.



i only wish i could use the type d as a touch mouse pad and the 3 triggers as a mouse buttons and page 2 as mouse scroll to quickly scroll though long lists of files in the db.. any ways..



===== issue resolved =====



method: all steps are for the DJM 2000



1. connect djm 2000 to computer with a usb cable.

2. on your mixer.. at the bottom right there are 2 buttons in the "MIDI" section. press the ON/OFF so that the button white light turns on.. that's the 1st step to causing the DJM 2000 to be able to send midi commands to the computer.

3. again, in the "MIDI" section there is a button "START/STOP". press that button once. right where you have the touch screen monitor for midi, mix and remix, there is a little horizontal screen it should read out "MIDI START" if it says "MIDI STOP" then press the "START/STOP" button again. if it says "MIDI SNOP SHOT" then you pressed the button for too long. it's a quick press and release.



with MIDI START and MIDI ON, the DJM 2000 is now ready to send midi signals. As it turns out, Virtual DJ has been ready to receive midi signals from the mixer all along.



go to virtual dj settings. go to mappers, from the drop down select "simple midi wrapper" click on "auto key learn" press a button in the dj mixer. virtual dj will show you that it caputres the midi signal.. now add in a command that you want.. it's that simple. later.



i hope this helps you all.



DJ kz
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.
Say it with us now: Awwww. Photo: chancetherapper/Instagram

As far as dads of Instagram go, Chance the Rapper is top notch. Chancelor Bennett became a young father to baby girl Kensli in 2015, and though he was protective at first about sharing her with the world (like any new dad), he has since surrendered to the cuteness and must now share her every smile, squint, and childhood first daily. Kensli is without a doubt a daddys girl (shes his twin!) and her fathers Instagram is a shrine to her. In honor of Kenslis first time going potty on the potty  a toilet-training saga obviously well-documented on his gram  lets give it up for Chance the Father out-daddying everyone on social media in just six months.

It all began on September 21, 2015, when Chance the Rapper announced to the world the birth of his new bundle of joy and asked for some privacy, making only short mention of Kensli a couple months later when she scratched his face before his SNL debut. What are kids for!

Kenslis little, tiny baby hand made an appearance on Chances Instagram on Christmas Eve 2015  her Insta debut, though technically the little nugget popped up in an earlier picture from inside her mommys belly. Yes, Kensli has been Insta famous since the womb.

All privacy went out the window over a year later, on New Years Eve 2016, when Chance introduced Kensli to the world because just look at her! Shes wearing the baby edition of the lion onesie that Chance rocked in his Kit Kat commercial months earlier. Kensli is Chances very own Simba! (Or should we say Kiara; shout out to Lion King 2.)

Since that blessed day, Chances Instagram has become a Kensli scrapbook where some of the best moments from her nearly 2 years of life have been curated for maximum adorableness. Heres Kensli in a portrait with her extended family, the Obamas.

Look, its Kenslis first trip to Disney World.

COME ON.

But as any professional daddy Instagrammer knows, the real gems are the candid ones and the cutest moments are best captured in video. And oh my gosh, Chance has a knack for narrating Kensli  who as a toddler cannot yet speak intelligibly for herself (just wait!)  and her most endearing filmed antics. Presenting, Grandma Kens:

Chance even makes the trials and tribulations of being a baby look riveting. Heres young Kensli already mastering how to be a strong independent woman who can eat and go pee-pee in the potty like a big girl all by herself while also doing some light reading on aerospace engineering.

And if it werent for Chances dad humblebrags, how would we ever know that Kensli is on her way to being Kensli the Superstar?

Chance, of course, is not a regular dad. Hes a cool dad. And sometimes that means he has to go on tour and be separated from Kensli for extended periods. Its rough and the mood on Chances Instagram during these times gets grim. But, then, a ray of sunshine: They reunite! At which point Chances Instagram (especially his stories) turns into a giant ball of love and, oh wow, whos chopping onions?

Would it surprise you to learn Chance recorded his own version of the ABCs to teach his daughter the alphabet? Then you havent heard his Arthur cover.

Heres to hoping Kensli will always be Chances #wcw and the only girl in his life, and may he never dare put his Instagram on private.
Carrie Coon (left), Oprah Winfrey (center), Nicole Kidman (right). Photo: HBO

Just about any Emmy Award category these days can accurately be described as competitive. But in the competition that decides which Emmy category may be the most competitive  because, sure, lets take this awards thing to that level  the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie may be the ruler of them all this year.

Certainly, this field has been stacked with great performances from fine actresses before. But in recent years, it was usually pretty clear, even before the nominations were announced, who would emerge as the winner. Sarah Paulson in The People v. O.J. Simpson? She had that Emmy at I object, Judge Lance Ito. In 2015, as strong as contenders like Queen Latifah and Maggie Gyllenhaal may have been, it was pretty clear the Emmy would go to Frances McDormand for Olive Kitteridge. The same could be said of the years when Jessica Lange won for American Horror Story: Coven, or Julianne Moore won for Game Change, or Claire Danes won for Temple Grandin.

This year is different. There are so many extraordinary actresses in the mix that its difficult to figure out which six will make it into the inner circle when nominations are announced on Thursday, let alone determine who might wind up with an Emmy statuette in her hand come September.

For starters, theres the Big Little Lies contingent. Both Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon are vying in the Lead Actress category (Laura Dern and Shailene Woodley are positioned in Supporting), and its hard to imagine a list of nominees without both of them on it. Then theres Feud: Bette and Joan, last springs other deep dive into female rivalry, which asks voters to consider both Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon, an ironic prospect considering the fierce Oscar showdown between their characters, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, that was depicted on the FX series. (Honestly, Lange should arrange to accept on behalf of whoever wins.)

That leaves three slots open, which means theres room for Carrie Coons work as the sturdy, undaunted Gloria Burgle on Fargo, and possibly for Felicity Huffman, who has been nominated on two previous occasions for her work on American Crime without winning an Emmy.

And then theres Oprah Winfrey, who turns herself emotionally inside out in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, in what may be the most revelatory performance of her career. I dont see how you can move forward with this category this year without including Oprah in it, too.

Again, this isnt the first time the Actress in a Limited Series race has overflowed with work from some of the top actresses in Hollywood. As one example, I refer you to 2004, when Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Helen Mirren, Judy Davis, and Emma Thompson were all nominated. But the amount of talent in this single category speaks to a broader trend: how dominant female performances have been, across the board, during the past year.

The members of the Television Critics Association, including me, recently engaged in nominating and voting for the organizations TCA Awards, a process that involves choosing nominees in the Individual Achievement in Drama and the Individual Achievement in Comedy categories. These are, essentially, awards for the best actor in each genre, without respect to gender.

In recent years, its been fairly common (and refreshing) for the Individual Achievement in Comedy nominees to be majority female; such is the case again this year, with five women (Pamela Adlon, Kristen Bell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Issa Rae, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and two men (Aziz Ansari and Donald Glover) making it to the final round. Individual Achievement in Drama generally tends to skew more male. But this year, six women  Carrie Coon for The Leftovers and Fargo, Claire Foy for The Crown, Kidman, Lange, Sarandon, and Elisabeth Moss for The Handmaids Tale  were nominated, while only one man, Sterling K. Brown of This Is Us, managed to fight his way onto the list.

While engaging in the initial process of suggesting nominees, the performances that immediately leaped to my mind tended to be ones that came from women, including the ones mentioned above, as well as Rita Moreno and Justina Machado in One Day at a Time; Lena Dunham in the final season of Girls; Tracee Ellis Ross on Black-ish; Millie Bobby Brown in Stranger Things; and probably 50 more if I just keep on rolling out names. Which is not to say the year was lacking strong work from male actors. I recently wrote quite a number of words solely on how flawless Michael McKean was on Better Call Saul. There are plenty of other men who are very worthy of Emmy nominations this year, too.

But whats striking about the performances from women this year is not just the sheer number of really great ones, but the fact that so many of them are memorable. The reason theyre memorable is partly because of the quality of the acting, but also because the actors are increasingly getting to bring to life characters who are fully realized, idiosyncratic, individuals, each of whom  like actual women  is completely her own person.

A number of the women mentioned above arent just actors on their shows, theyre also either producers or creators of the series in which they star, and that makes a difference, too. A woman can give a thrilling performance in a show that she didnt write or produce herself, of course. But when shes more deeply involved in the creative process behind the scenes, she can have an even deeper impact on shaping her character. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Issa Rae, Lena Dunham, and Pamela Adlon convincingly inhabit their characters because they are talented actors, but surely it helps that theyve known them since they first showed up on a page. They are these women, but theyre also the women who gave birth to these women.

Thanks to them, and others, there are more complicated, screwed-up, petty, flawed, strong-as-hell women on TV now than there have ever been. Thats making voting for or predicting the Emmy nominees and winners extra hard this year, especially in that megastacked Actress in a Limited Series category. Theres an embarrassment of riches there and elsewhere. It serves as a reminder of how much great television can be created when female actors  and writers, producers, and directors, too  are given the space to tell their stories, on their own terms and from their perspectives. Lets hope this sort of Emmy embarrassment only continues.
Conservative Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump for some time now, and, evidently, his distaste for the president has influenced his whole perspective on Republicans. My party has betrayed their core values, the MSNBC personality told Stephen Colbert on The Late Show. Scarboroughs listed grievances with the GOP mostly extended to the lack of action taken against Trump before he was elected, including candidate Trumps remarks about Judge Curiel and his promise to ban muslims from entering the country. What exactly is the Republican Party willing to do? Scarborough asked. How much of this country and our values are they willing to sell out? When Colbert asked Scarborough about his political affiliation, he answered, I am a Republican, but Im not going to be a Republican anymore. Ive got to become an independent.
Bookseller One Grand Books has asked literary celebrities to name the ten titles theyd take to a desert island, and theyve shared the results with Vulture. Below is The Crown and Beatriz at Dinner star John Lithgows list.

Sabbaths Theater, by Philip Roth

This is one crazy book, but I just love it. Its about a reckless, old, out-of-work puppeteer named Mickey Sabbath who gets himself in all kinds of trouble out of sheer libidinous self-destructiveness. Roth wrote it with exuberant abandon, reflecting the character of Sabbath himself.

The Last Lion Trilogy, by William Manchester

Reading these three Churchill biographies is a mammoth undertaking, but it gives an epic account of an extraordinary life. I took on the role of Churchill recently and Manchesters magnum opus was my indispensable handbook.

Absalom, Absalom!, by William Faulkner

I have to include Faulkner. With multiple narrators, shifts in time, and sentences that go on for 1,000 words, it is an Everest-like challenge. But its epic story of the doomed Sutpen dynasty is a masterpiece of Southern literature. Read it slowly (you pretty much have to) and savor every word.

A Bright Shining Lie, by Neil Sheehan

This is the most gripping book Ive read about the Vietnam War, written by a New York Times journalist who, along with David Halberstam, was one of the best on-the-ground chroniclers of that chapter in our history. And because it focuses on one single, indelible character, it reads like a great novel.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North, by Richard Flanagan

Heres a novel of intimate emotion and historical sweep. It tells the twin stories of an Australian doctors melancholy love affair and his appalling experience as a war prisoner building the Burma Railway. Most potently, Flanagan makes use of his own fathers real-life biography in telling his story.

Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families, by J. Anthony Lucas

This is another terrific piece of journalism written years ago about an even earlier time. Its a portrait of the city of Boston during the racial strife of the 60s and 70s. Lucas tracks the lives of three families  African-American, Irish, and upwardly mobile Yankee  to bring the struggles of that era back to life.

Act One, by Moss Hart

Moss Harts memoir of his early years (he died too young to produce Act Two) remains the gold standard among books about the American theater. Fully half of it is about his collaboration with George S. Kaufman on Once in a Lifetime, Harts breakthrough success. It is the best description of the creative process of theater that Ive ever read.

The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood

Atwood keeps several plates spinning in this engrossing novel. What a gleeful storyteller she is. Her book is part family saga and part Gothic fantasy, with a plot twist near the end that casts the whole book in a dazzling new light.

Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee

Warning: This is one of the most upsetting books Ive ever read, but its a great one. Set in South Africa, a nation struggling to remake itself in the wake of Apartheid, it tracks a professors downfall as he suffers a career-ending scandal followed by a horrific episode in the life of his daughter. Its a Booker-winning book by a Nobel-winning novelist.

Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett

Finally, something brand-new. In this recent novel, Ann Patchett makes use of haunting events in her own life, which, coupled with her storytelling skills, lend her book an extra layer of emotional intensity. If you have siblings, and especially if you have half-siblings, it will bring your own childhood back to vivid life.
Robert Downey Jr. in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Photo: Marvel Entertainment

By the time we check in with Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming, hes already been bitten by a radioactive spider, fought with the Avengers, and seen his unfortunate uncle Ben die a tragic death, which means that he needs a new role model. Enter Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, a.k.a. the guy who decided to drag a teenager into a battle between teams of superheroes in Captain America: Civil War and then, as we see at the beginning of Homecoming, dump him back in Queens in the care of Jon Favreau. As far as mentors go, hes so close to the bottom of the barrel you can hear his suit scraping against the wood. In fact, within the story that Homecoming lays out, Iron Man seems to do more harm than good. A Marvel movie would never conceive of painting Robert Downey Jr. in a bad light, but it sure seems like Iron Mans the real villain here. Hes got great power, but hes not teaching responsibility.

First and foremost, Iron Mans decision-making doesnt quite add up. He gives a 15-year-old a fake internship at Stark Industries, which pulls him away from his school activities like band (socialization is very important for teenagers!) and encourages him to spend his time traipsing through dangerous neighborhoods fighting crime, which mostly means accosting people breaking into their own cars and occasionally helping elderly people across the street. The internship does not appear to be paid. Iron Man also gifts this teenager a suit with the power to kill other people  in a locked mode, sure, but still within his ability to access  and gives Peter enough license to incur a significant amount of property damage. (Peters actions wreck several suburban backyards, cause a bunch of cars to fall off the Staten Island Ferry, and destroy the Washington monument.) If Tony Stark gives Peter license to do all this in the name of his extraordinary abilities, we can at least agree that he has poor judgment. Also, he really likes to hit on his interns aunt, which is inappropriate.

Tony Starks always been something of a lovable rogue, and hes accomplished many heroic things in other films. Here, however, his actions seem more sinister when hes dealing with children  and as it turns out, when hes running Stark Industries, which, in Homecoming, seems to operate on the shady end of the spectrum. In the beginning of the film, we learn that the business of cleaning up the wreckage from the Avengers New York battles has been given over to the Department of Damage Control, which, as Darren Franich pointed out in EW, is co-financed by Tony Stark and seems like a fairly malevolent force, despite the fact that national treasure Tyne Daly is its main spokesperson. DDC forces out local contractors like Michael Keatons Adrian Toomes, giving it the monopoly on superhero clean-ups. This might be designed to prevent dangerous alien tech from slipping into the hands of the unready (even though Toomes and his pals manage to steal it anyway), but it also ensures that Tony Stark has a vertical monopoly on superhuman activity: The battles use Stark technology; the clean-up crews are Stark branded; the PR is managed through Pepper Potts. Starks superpower, after all, is that hes smart and rich. He lives in a world with few consequences. Money solves most of his problems; his monopolies prevent him from directly answering to the public. Who is he to teach a 15-year-old personal responsibility?

Its unclear whether or how Stark Industries turns a profit, but its actions, as Homecoming reveals, have forced Americans out of their jobs. Case in point: Adrian Toomes, who offers the most compelling critique of Stark before he decides to become the evil Vulture. Toomes starts out in salvaging, gets forced out of his job by the Department of Damage Control, and then turns to a life of crime. As he faces off against Spider-Man, Keaton also gives the film a rare jolt of class consciousness as he tells Peter, The rich and the powerful, like Stark, they dont care about us. The movies quick to supply examples of Toomess hypocrisy; as Vultures own Abe Riesman pointed out, hes something akin to a monstrous vision of a Trump voter, furious at the elites of the world but unable to acknowledge his own relative privilege, as exemplified by a modernist home with way too many windows.

The Vulture wears a bird suit, and goes from murder-curious to murderous after accidentally killing Logan Marshall-Green, but that doesnt mean we should ignore his ideas. In the long term, Tony Starks actions do hurt the little guy. Hes like a Silicon Valley CEO who, after disrupting the economy with one good product, doesnt acknowledge the evil hes produced as a consequence. Tony Stark and his compatriots have seized control of a significant portion of the worlds power apparatus, and they are forcing out the ordinary man. Does this make Iron Man the villain? Marvel movies tend to have villains who intend to do harm, while people who cause damage unintentionally are more redeemable. (See Bucky Barnes in Winter Soldier or Civil War.) Surely, theres enough evidence in Homecoming to see Toomes as at least a complicated figure, operating in something of a moral gray area.

If you accept that framing, in which Iron Mans presence is more of an obstacle to Parkers development than an aid, Homecoming becomes much more interesting movie. Think of Shakespeares Henry IV, where Prince Hal must realize that Falstaffs kind of a bumbling fool and he has to figure things on its own  except, almost tragically, because Homecoming is such a proIron Man movie, Peter never has that realization. The films third-act battle sequence takes place over the transfer of Starks valuables from New York City to a new headquarters upstate; the depressing implication is that the most heroic thing Spider-Man can do is make sure Iron Mans stuff is okay.

The most heroic thing Spider-Man really does, however, is end up deciding not to work with Iron Man at all. At the end of the film, Peter turns down Tonys offer to join the Avengers and decides to stay in Queens, finish high school, and defend his own turf. He does this to impress the Tony Stark he imagines, rather than the one that exists, thinking the offer was a test for his training, while in fact Tony had reporters ready for a big new Avenger announcement. Peter walks away smiling, while Tony fumbles into the idea that hell just propose to Pepper Potts instead. Someday, the kid might realize his heros not who he thought, but not yet.
Yorke. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella

With Radioheads much-maligned concert in Israel a week away, Thom Yorke has issued another statement defending the bands decision to play Tel Aviv despite complaints from human-rights activists. This time, Yorke says that Radiohead does not support the politics of Israels prime minister. Playing in a country isnt the same as endorsing its government, Yorke writes. Weve played in Israel for over 20 years through a succession of governments, some more liberal than others. As we have in America. We dont endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America. This is Yorkes second response to criticism from director Ken Loach, who previously signed a petition along with Roger Waters and others urging Radiohead to boycott Israel in solidarity with pro-Palestinian rights groups. There are people I admire like Ken Loach, who I would never dream of telling where to work or what to do or think, Yorke said at the time.

But on Tuesday, Loach published an op-ed in the Independent condemning Radiohead for allegedly ignoring his and other artists requests to meet with the band to further discuss the boycott. I dont know who is advising Radiohead, but their stubborn refusal to engage with the many critics of their ill-advised concert in Tel Aviv suggests to me that they only want to hear one side  the one that supports apartheid, Loach wrote. Last week, a Palestinian activist group held a protest during Radioheads concert in Scotland, where they raised up the Palestinian flag and signs when the band took the stage. Some fucking people! Yorke reportedly said in response.
A Waco man who was involved in the 1999 robbery-slaying of an auto lot mechanic was sentenced to 40 years in prison Wednesday on a drug charge.

Judge Ralph Strother heard evidence against Aquorida Eugene Harris in a bench trial Wednesday before finding him guilty of possession of 165 grams of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.

Prosecutors Jennifer Jenkins and Aubrey Robertson sought a life sentence against the career criminal, while Harris attorney, Sam Martinez, argued that 20 years would be more appropriate.

Strother split the difference, noting that he handled Harris when the judge was presiding over McLennan Countys juvenile court.

Harris turned down a plea offer of 40 years from prosecutors before trial. He must serve at least a quarter of his term before he will be eligible for parole.

Previous conviction

Harris was on parole for a 2007 conviction for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver when Waco police officers spotted him and another man sitting in a car with the doors open in a parking garage at 1516 James Ave. at 3:30 a.m. in April 2016.

Harris was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the 2007 case.

Police found Harris in possession of an energy drink containing methamphetamine that police alleged contained 155 grams, plus 10 grams of crystal methamphetamine and scales and baggies commonly used by drug dealers.

Other testimony showed that Harris was involved in the November 1999 robbery-murder of Edward M. Lee, a 68-year-old retired truck driver who worked as a mechanic at Burns Used Cars, 1601 Franklin Ave.

Officials determined Harris did not participate in the murder, but he was arrested in an abandoned motel with two others in possession of nine car titles, 22 sets of car keys and a .22-caliber pistol taken from the auto dealership after Lee was killed.

Harris was 14 at the time. He was sentenced to 13 years for aggravated robbery and started his sentence at a Texas Youth Commission facility before being transferred to an adult facility from which he was paroled.

Harris testified at the trial of Rayshun Gooden, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2001 in the beating, stabbing and suffocation death of Lee.
The day after a series of fiery crashes on Interstate 35 killed three people under the Valley Mills Drive overpass, Texas Department of Transportation officials are preparing to make repairs to a bridge that suffered minor damage in the fire.

Excess concrete on the Valley Mills flyover bridge onto northbound I-35 had become brittle and fallen onto the interstate, but there was no structural damage to the bridge, TxDOT spokeswoman Jodi Wheatley said.

Crews will scrape the damaged portions of the concrete off to make sure no other concrete falls and repair the interstate where the trucks caught fire, Wheatley said. Neither one is super difficult. It is just a matter of dealing with curing concrete.

TxDOT expects to have the flyover reopened by 7 a.m. Thursday, she said. Drivers should continue to use extreme caution in the area because work could take longer than expected.

The interstate fully reopened at about 4:20 p.m. Wednesday, but there will be closures again from 9 p.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday as crews work on the bridge and the burned interstate pavement. No further work is expected to be needed after Thursday morning, but plans could change, Wheatley said.

Crash investigators believe three people died in the six-vehicle pileup Tuesday afternoon, including the driver of one of four tractor-trailers involved, and a woman and a younger person from one of two passenger vehicles involved. Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said officers are continuing work to identify the victims.

Charred portions of the flyover were visible Wednesday as TxDOT inspectors used ladder trucks and other equipment to investigate the stability of the structure. It has remained closed since the wreck at about 2 p.m. Tuesday. The inside lanes of the interstate were also closed Wednesday afternoon to allow access for inspectors.

There is not any concern about the stability of the bridge itself, but its the concrete that was apparently damaged in the heat from the fire causing the concrete to chip off, Wheatley said.

TxDOT inspectors worked through the afternoon to evaluate the bridges integrity.

The interstate was closed from Highway 6 to near McLane Stadium shortly after the wrecks Tuesday, Swanton said. The southbound lanes reopened by about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, and the northbound lanes remained closed until about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Hundreds of motorists were blocked in traffic for hours, prompting Robinson police, other neighboring agencies and community members to take fuel, food and water to stranded motorists late Tuesday night.

Walmart donated water to Victorious Life Church for motorists, according to a press release from Robinson police. The church also offered food as police walked to people stranded to offer assistance.
1. Yes. Taxpayers are funding its operation; they should have a voice in the naming process.

2. Yes. The city should operate with a spirit of inclusivity. Residents will be responsive.

3. No. Public input can be problematic; rejection of suggestions can be divisive for residents.

4. No. Residents elect council members to make decisions on their behalf. No input is needed.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say whether public input would be more of a benefit or a hindrance.

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ASHLAND  A new optometrist is joining Dr. John Batemans practice to help Ashlanders see clearly.

Dr. Andrea Carda started seeing patients this week. She will be in Batemans Ashland office on Tuesdays and will join him in Plattsmouth once a week as well.

Carda said Bateman was not originally planning to add another doctor to his practice. But she stumbled across his office in Plattsmouth recently and discussed the idea with him. Soon he signed her on board.

A native of Brandon, S.D., a town of 7,000 people near Sioux Falls, Carda said she was looking to work in a community like her hometown, where doctors remember your name when you walk through the door.

I was looking for that small town feel where you get to know the patients and their family members, she said.

After graduating from high school in Brandon, Carda attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D. where she graduated with a bachelor of science degree in biology in 2005. She attended the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago for her medical degree, which she received in 2009. She worked for two years in Illinois before moving to Nebraska.

Carda and her husband, also a South Dakota native, settled in the Omaha area to be closer to family but also have the opportunity to live in a city.

We like the big city, but not Chicago big, she said.

Carda knew from an early age that she wanted to work in the medical field. After shadowing every medical professional available during her senior year of high school and freshman year of college, she settled on optometry.

My family optometrist got me interested in it, she said.

She was attracted by the fact that optometry would allow her to have more time for a family life. She and husband Landon have two daughters, Ayla, 4, and Addison, 2.

Carda enjoys the variety working in optometry provides.

Its something different every day, she said.

Her favorite thing is to work with patients to understand their eye health.

Helping someone see is a great feeling, she said.

While she works with patients of all ages, Carda has a special interest in pediatric optometry.

I love working with kids, she said.

At Batemans office, Carda will offer a full range of optometric services, including full routine eye exams, testing for glaucoma, macular degeneration and cataracts and diabetic eye exams.

Carda is not the only new face in Batemans office. Last month, Camee Schofield began working in the office.
Number of fires around Rome quadruples since last summer.

The spate of recent bushfires in the greater Rome area has been condemned by the president of the Lazio region Nicola Zingaretti who claimed that the majority of the blazes were started deliberately.

The fires, mainly in the suburbs and countryside surrounding Rome, have led to people being evacuated from their homes as well as road closures and disruption to train services.

Rome mayor Virginia Raggi said the number of fires around the capital since 1 June has almost quadrupled compared to the same period last year, a phenomenon she blamed on arson attacks as well as the country's ongoing drought.

Mount Vesuvius in flames near Naples

Lazio is not the only region affected by fires this summer. On 11 July alone firefighters dealt with 1,100 bushfires across Italy, according to Italian news agency ANSA, including a spate of separate blazes on the slopes of the Mount Vesuvius volcano near Naples.
The team at Waterford Walls has hardly been able to contain its excitement this week as it brings another exciting artwork to the city....
CHANGES to the junction between New Street and Barrack Street have backfired, becoming yet another source of traffic chaos in the heart of the...
AS we count down the days, hours and minutes to Christmas, we at Waterford Today would like to make one appeal before the festivities...
RENTS in Waterford are now spiralling out of control, with costs 16.2% higher than they were in the same period last year  and...
THE road to the classroom is to be made safer and easier for four Waterford primary schools. They have been selected for inclusion in...
All of which raises the question of whether digital wallets might finally be ready to take off? Digital wallets are little used today, but future growth looks likely. Credit:Getty Images A recent Reserve Bank paper found the number of payments made with a smart phone were still tiny, making up just 1 per cent of point-of-sale transactions. But Dr Leila Fourie, chief executive of payments body Australian Payment Network (AusPayNet), says the public transport change is important, especially when four in five Australian adults have a smart phone, and we are already among the biggest users of tap-and-go payments in the world. One reason she believes the Manly ferry change is important is that payments for trains, buses or ferries to work tend to be habit-forming. Research has shown your first transaction of the day, which is often on public transport, tends to influence how you pay for things throughout the day.

AusPayNet, which represents commercial banks, the Reserve Bank and some big retailers, is also in talks with other states about how they might do something similar to the Manly ferry trial in NSW. It met with other states last week, and Fourie is hopeful of introducing a consistent solution across states. Banks also point to the experience of London, where consumers have long been able to use their credit card when paying for a bus or tube fare. As a result, more people there are using digital wallets, which make up near 5 per cent of all payments on the city's transport system. So, why would consumers bother ditching physical wallets for digital ones? Convenience is the obvious reason, as digital wallets can replace credit cards, debit cards, loyalty cards, and public transport tickets. Fourie believes that in the longer term, plastic cards will ultimately be displaced by other types of digital payments, pointing to trends in emerging markets.

"Payments are becoming almost invisible. Customers are using new modes of payment like wearables, apps and mobile phones," she says. Shayne Elliott, chief executive of ANZ Bank and a keen advocate of digital wallets, has even predicted smart phone payments might overtake plastic within less than ten years. Slow burner Against this, however, there are also plenty of good reasons to think it may not be a fast change. Using your phone as a wallet leaves you high and dry if the battery goes flat, or if your bank has a technology meltdown. Many of us simply still like cash.

More fundamentally, all the biggest banks, except ANZ, aren't offering a digital wallet that you can use on the iPhone, because of a messy corporate brawl with Apple. Earlier this year, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank and Bendigo Bank lost their long-running battle to effectively collude in their negotiations with Apple over its payment service, Apple Pay. The banks had wanted to negotiate as a bloc with the technology giant, in a bid to gain access to the near-field communication (NFC) chip on an iPhone, the component that allows tap-and-go payments. Apple was having none of it, and the competition watchdog rejected the banks' push in March, which means we are no closer to several of our biggest banks offering Apple Pay. One of those banks may yet blink, and do a deal with Apple, but they would probably only do so if they thought they'd lose customers because they weren't able to offer Apple Pay. It's not clear we're at that point yet.
Fuel efficiency was not a deciding factor when Collin Phillips bought his new car.

The deciding factor when he bought his brand new Mercedes Benz CLA220D station wagon was "about having a nice car  the luxury factor".

The 37-year-old software sales rep previously drove a Skoda but when it was time for an upgrade the Benz was his first and only choice and he took fuel economy as a given.

"The fuel efficiency was definitely a tick for me on the criteria but is just didn't rate highly. I knew that all three models of the Benz that I considered would all have the latest greatest technology in the way of fuel efficiency," the Melbourne resident tells BusinessDay.
London: Malcolm Turnbull has declared he is a Republican and an Elizabethan ahead of his first-ever meeting with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

The Prime Minister refused to say whether he would raise the dismissal letters exchanged between former governor-general Sir John Kerr and the Queen ahead of the Whitlam government's removal in 1975.

Mr Turnbull, the former head of the Australian Republican movement, was tight-lipped  in keeping with protocol  ahead of the meeting which his wife Lucy will also attend.

"Even Republicans like myself can be, and in my case are, very strong Elizabethans as well," Mr Turnbull said.
I was watching a new show on the Crime & Investigation channel the other day (shh, don't tell anyone). It was called Court Justice: Sydney  a fly on the wall series about the Downing Centre Magistrates courts.

But it wasn't the effect of the law on real people's lives that caught my attention, fascinating though that was. It was an exchange between Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge (what a woman she is) and a defendant that literally stopped me in my tracks.

Assuming women need protection from swear words is not respect. Credit:Stocksy

The defendant was in the witness box and his lawyer was asking him questions in the usual fashion. The defendant was charged with affray but he was pleading (quite reasonably) self-defence. The defendant was a professional boxer who had gone to the aid of a friend who was being viciously attacked. In the witness box, he was asked exactly what the attacker had said to him.

Defendant: (Looking at Magistrate Milledge) Can I say it?
Detectives have charged a man over a string of robbery and burglary offences committed across Perth over the past several weeks.

Police will allege the 37-year-old man was involved in eight separate incidents between June 10-July 7.

The man has been charged in connection with eight offences.

The man was arrested on Tuesday as result of a police investigation into a series of aggravated burglary offences, primarily targeting Automatic Teller Machines.

Police will allege the man, of no fixed address, was involved in the following incidents:
The emails, tweeted by Trump jnr on Tuesday , could provide material for Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential election.

Trump jnr met the woman, lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, on June 9, 2016, after an email exchange with an intermediary.

New York: Donald Trump jnr's meeting with a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who had incriminating information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton that could help his father's presidential campaign could lead investigators to probe whether he violated US election law, experts said.

In one of the emails dated June 3, 2016, Trump jnr wrote: "If it's what you say I love it." He released the tweets after the New York Times said it planned to write about their contents and sought his comment.

Donald Trump jnr is at the centre of a storm surrounding his meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. Credit:AP

Trump jnr said in his tweets that nothing came of the meeting. Veselnitskaya told NBC News early on Tuesday she was not affiliated with the Russian government and had passed no information.

"In retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently," Trump jnr said in an interview on Fox News on Tuesday evening, US time. "For me, this was opposition research." He said he did not tell his father about the meeting.

Collusion itself is not an actual crime under the US criminal code, so prosecutors would look to see if Trump jnr's conduct ran afoul of a specific law, legal experts said.
This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.

One of the shortest, simplest yet deepest books I have read on politics is The Three Languages of Politics by Arnold Kling. Its a mere 146 pages and you can have it on your Kindle for a mere $3.99. This is a new and (slightly) expanded edition. (And you can listen to my EconTalk interview with him on the book at no charge.)

Kling argues that our political discourse is dysfunctional because we look at the world through lenses that our political opponents do not share.

Through Different Lenses

Liberals see the world as a battle between victims and oppressors.

Conservatives see the world as a battle between civilization and barbarism.

Libertarians see the world as a battle between freedom and coercion.

Take almost any issue and you see the debate play out along these lines. Take the outrage over police shootings of blacks. As liberals see it, the police are the oppressors, the young black men are the victims. And of course, the liberals are right. So many African-Americans have died without good reason at the hands of police.

Kling argues that our political discourse is dysfunctional because we look at the world through different lenses.

Conservatives value law-and-order. The authority of the police is crucial to keep chaos at bay. The police have a tough job. They must constantly confront violent and dangerous people who are often armed. Many of the neighborhoods the police patrol are gang-ridden and on the verge of social disintegration. And arent most or all of the people killed by the police criminals or potential criminals?

Conservatives stand with the police. And of course, the conservatives are right. Police play a crucial role in maintaining the conditions for normal life, especially in many troubled neighborhoods.

Libertarians worry about the coercive power of the state. Relations between the police and the communities where they work are corrupted by drug laws that restrict the freedom of people to buy what they want and take responsibility for their own choices. And because the police have the legal authority to use force, they are prone to abuse it. So it is not surprising that they shoot people from time to time.

And of course, the libertarians are right. Drug laws are a tragic failure. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty and the police on the ground must be careful not to misuse their monopoly on the legal use of deadly force.

Framing Problems

Or consider immigration. Liberals sympathize with impoverished people victimized by limited employment opportunities in their native countries coming here to find a better life for their family.

Is particularly useful for understanding why our political debates are so fruitless.

Conservatives fear that the cultural differences that immigrants bring may threaten the American way of life, especially if they come from countries seen as less civilized or democratic than the United States. Conservatives are particularly worried about illegal immigration because they view the lax enforcement of laws as the road to barbarism.

Libertarians dont like the idea of borders to start with  goods and people should be free to move freely. We have no right to tell people who they can hire or where those people can live.

Of course, there are variations within each group but even these variations are related to the three lenses. Some liberals are against immigration but thats often because they worry about the impact on the wages of low-skilled American workers who struggle to prosper because of the power of businesses to exploit low-skilled workers. Those workers are the victims of greedy profit-hungry employers.

Conservatives will sometimes support immigration because of the importance of free markets, a key part in the view of some conservatives of a civilized society.

Blind Men and an Elephant

One use of Klings taxonomy is how easy it makes predicting how various groups will respond to any particular policy issue. But it is particularly useful for understanding why we struggle to get along with each other and why our political debates are so fruitless.

The person youre arguing with just doesnt see the world the way you do.

Liberals cant understand the views of conservatives, conservatives have no respect for liberals and neither group respects libertarians. That lack of respect leads to moral self-righteousness and endangers discourse. It also leads to a great deal of intolerance. This brilliant essay by Scott Alexander describes the problem eloquently and powerfully.

Once you realize that other groups are coming from a different place than you are, you actually can empathize with their views. It may not be as fun, but you can actually view your ideological opponents as decent human beings who look at the world differently from the way you do. And it shows the foolishness, other than for therapeutic catharsis, of yelling at your opponents oblivious to why they dont understand the wisdom of your views. The person youre arguing with just doesnt see the world the way you do.

We are like the blind men and the elephant where the elephant is some social problem. We grab hold of one part of the problem and fail to see that the world is more complicated.

In this essay, I want to add a twist to Klings original vision. I want to speculate about the three blind spots of politics. Liberals, conservatives, and libertarians each have a blind spot that should give them pause and maybe reduce the confidence they have in the correctness of their position. (OK, thats a bit of a fantasy, but I can dream.) Each of these blind spots is a natural outgrowth of the lens that each group adopts.

Dehumanizing People

Liberals first. In their eagerness to empathize with the victim, they can turn the victim into an object rather than an independent actor. Poor people are so oppressed in the liberal view, they dont just have limited agency to choose and live life in meaningful ways. They have no agency. They are simply objects manipulated by powerful people around them.

There are a variety of policies that liberals support that ignore the ability of poor people, for example, to make choices and improve their lives. One example is school choice or various educational reforms that empower parents over bureaucrats. Liberals will often condemn school choice by arguing that poor parents are simply incapable of making good choices for their children. Poor parents need to be protected from their own bad decisions. And of course, theres some truth to this  all of us, rich and poor, can make mistakes. But if were not careful, we dehumanize those we wish to help by denying their potential for agency.

In their zeal to preserve civilization, they demonize those that they see as a threat to it.

I remember discussing privatizing social security with a very successful (liberal) lawyer. He explained that he would, of course, be capable of making his own investment decisions. But his secretary was a different matter. She simply wasnt capable of that level of intellectual sophistication.

I pushed back arguing that the market would create ways for her to improve her knowledge. But the more interesting point was that he was a stock-picker. He eschewed index funds. I think Id prefer to let his secretary manage my portfolio if his choices were the alternative.

Conservatives dehumanize in their own way. In their zeal to preserve civilization and the American way of life, they demonize those that they see as a threat to civilization. They can forget that most immigrants are hard-working individuals who want a better life for their children. They can forget that poor people face tremendous disadvantages and that while some can rise about their situation to find opportunity, the environment that many poor people live in makes making it, even in America, oh so difficult. It is not the fault of the poor that their schools are ineffective. It is not the fault of the poor that it is hard to find a job in many poor neighborhoods.

Too many conservatives see their own success as simply a result of hard work and see the poor through their eyes. That vision is often blind to the challenges so many poor people face today.

Not Empathic Enough

My tribe, the libertarians, has a special set of blind spots all our own. We often romanticize the power of economic freedom. We struggle to imagine that some people are poorly served by markets, that some transactions involve exploitation of ignorance and that the self-regulation of markets can fail. In our zeal to de-romanticize government, we often ignore the good that government does especially in cases where freedom might perform badly.

We should be more humble about what economic freedom can achieve.

Our worst mistake is to defend the freedom of business to do what it will in situations where government has hampered or destroyed the feedback loops of profit and loss that make economic freedom successful.

I fear too many libertarians, for example, defend Wall Street simply because it is the punching bag of liberals, forgetting that Wall Street helps make the rules that exempt the largest banks from the market discipline of profit and loss.

Perhaps our biggest weakness is that we ignore the complexity of poverty and growth. Economic freedom will always lead to good outcomes  yet the slow and corrupt situation of Eastern Europe and Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union should give us pause.

We think educational freedom and eliminating the minimum wage will end poverty, and it might. I think it certainly will help. But we ignore the role of culture and family in holding our most disadvantaged back. Incentives may help, but they rarely solve every problem perfectly. We could use a little liberal empathy for those who have a tough time. We should be more humble about what economic freedom can achieve.

I write these words at a time when I find it increasingly unpleasant to read the newspaper and my twitter feed. The level of disdain for those we disagree with runs high. It is a good time to remember the three languages of politics and to consider our blind spots as well. We look at the world in different ways. Each way has its own strengths and flaws. This is a good time in American history to keep that in mind.

Reprinted from Medium.

Russell Roberts is the host of the weekly podcast, EconTalk and co-creator of the Keynes-Hayek rap videos. His latest book is How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life. He is also a John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow at Stanford University"s Hoover institution.
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By Adam Morton

Jul. 11, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By Adam Morton Jul. 11, 2017 | 07:29 PM | PADUCAH, KY

At Tuesday's meeting, the Paducah Board of Commissioners approved the recommendation by City Manager Jeff Pederson to hire Tammara Tracy as the city's new Planning Director.



Tracy comes from the City of Indianapolis where she has served as principal planner in the Department of Metropolitan Development. She began working for the City of Indianapolis in 1988. She also spent three years as the Pike Township Administrator, a liaison between city and county government. "Basically I was the front line problem solver for my particular township," Tracy said.



Pederson said, She brings a lot of enthusiasm. She brings some identity to Paducah by virtue of having been a visitor on multiple occasions and a broad array of experience in areas that, I think, are going to strengthen what is already a strong team in the Planning Department.



Commissioner Sarah Holland said, "I am so excited to have Tammara here. I think that she is going to be a fantastic addition to the city staff and strengthen an already strong team. I think that her past experience in neighborhood empowerment is really exciting, considering the new direction we want to take neighborhood revitalization."



Commissioner Allen Rhodes said Tracy brings a one of a kind view to planning. According to Rhodes, Tracy owned a book store for a while. "I think that brings a unique perspective to planning where somebody says, 'Look I've made a living as an entrepreneur.' That's exciting to me." Rhodes said.



When asked about her vision for Paducah, Tracy says she is leaving that to the citizens. She said, "The vision for Paducah is held with the residents of Paducah. I, as a planning director, don't impose any kind of vision upon Paducah. Paducah has its vision."



Tracy said when she came to Paducah from Indianapolis she was struck by the forward thinking and the attitude of the people wanting to make their community better. Tracy said she wants to live and work in that kind of community.



Tracy will officially begin her role on August 17. Previous Planning Director Steve Ervin retired in March.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jul. 11, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 11, 2017 | 09:33 AM | PADUCAH, KY

Multiple units of the Paducah Fire Department were on the scene Tuesday morning at a fire in the Elmwood Court Apartments.



Firemen responded at 9:13 am, and multiple apartment units were evacuated. Pam Spencer, Public Information Officer for Paducah Fire, said three buildings and 15 units were impacted in some way.



Two people sought treatment for minor injuries, and one Paducah Police officer was treated for possible smoke inhalation.



Five units at 2309 South 25th Street suffered damage in the blaze, five units at 2307 South 25th were evacuated due to smoke, and another five units had power turned off while the fire was being extinguished.



Spencer said building 2309 is severely damaged. Tommy Holliman, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Paducah, told West Kentucky Star those living in that building will be housed in other Housing Authority apartments around the city.



After an air quality check by fire officials, those living in building 2307 were allowed to return to their homes.



The American Red Cross was on the scene, and will likely provide some financial assistance for incidentals to residents who were displaced.



The Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause of the blaze.






Four region teams look to advance tonight in football playoffs
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 11, 2017 | 09:48 PM | MAYFIELD, KY

A man faces multiple charges after police say shots were fired in Mayfield Friday night.

According to the Mayfield Police Department, officers responded to a shots fired call at the Mayfield Plaza Apartments around 10:30 pm. Witnesses told police that 29-year-old Edward Williams of Mayfield had fired two shots outside the apartment complex.

Officers were told that Williams then entered one of the apartments. When police went to the apartment, they saw Williams place a small dark object into a trash can. Officers looked in the trash can and found a handgun and a loaded magazine.

Williams was arrested after police determined he was a convicted felon. While searching Williams, a small amount of marijuana was found, as well as a 9 mm round matching the ones loaded in the magazines. It was later determined that Williams had been banned from the plaza apartments.

Williams was charged with burglary, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, tampering with physical evidence and possession of marijuana. He was lodged in the Graves County Jail.
Liverpool are due to play Tranmere in a pre-season friendly tonight, though sadly fans in attendance will not be getting a first look at new signing Mohamed Salah in action.

The Egyptian winger completed his 34million move from Roma in the middle of June, but will not be eligible for selection by the Reds until he leaves the UK and then returns. Yep.

Due to rather silly immigration procedures, Salah will have to leave the United Kingdom, spend a couple of days on non-UK soil and then return again once his work permit is granted before hes officially able to start playing for Liverpool.

Discussing Salahs temporary absence from the team-sheet, Jurgen Klopp explained the palaver to the clubs official website:

Mo Salah is here in training but cannot play because of the rules, so thats what we have to accept. We will try to get the working permission or the visa, Im not sure what it is we need to get but we have to go to Paris and leave him there for a day or two and then hell come back. We are hopeful he can play soon.

In short, Salah, who has spent the last few weeks training at Melwood, will have to be shipped to France for a couple of days before hes allowed to come back and begin training at Melwood again.

In slightly less confusing news, Klopp also confirmed that Jordan Henderson is in contention to return against Tranmere after his 2016/17 season was ended prematurely by a nasty foot injury suffered in early February.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/07/2017 (1948 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I reached the pinnacle of my acting career in 2007 when the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre invited me to portray a dead body in the Act 3 graveyard scene in the opening-night performance of Our Town.

But that stiff performance was dramatically overtaken Monday morning when I agreed to jump in the chilly waters of Provencher Pool and portray a dead body in a water-safety video for the Lifesaving Societys Manitoba branch.

All in all, it is a lot easier playing dead on land than in the water.

On the stage, for instance, the biggest challenge was the fact that, after not moving a muscle for about 30 minutes, you are overcome with an overpowering urge to (a) pick your nose; and (b) scratch a medically sensitive area of your body.

In the pool, however, the biggest obstacle is the fact that (a) you cant breathe because you are floating face-down in the water; and (b) it is extremely hard to hear the director when he tells you it is OK to flip over and resume breathing.

This all came about because my buddy Lorne Edwards, a former CJOB radio personality and now a media-outreach officer for the Lifesaving Society and the Canadian Safe Boating Council, felt that, what with being a seasoned newspaper columnist, I was capable of remaining motionless for long periods of time.

Out of all the members of the media, I thought of you first, Doug, Lorne said as we stood on the pool deck waiting to jump in the water. Youre a big guy like me, so I know you can float. And if you can do it (play dead) on land, you can do it in the water.

The Lifesaving Societys goal was to produce a powerful video to promote water safety during National Drowning Prevention Week, which runs July 16-22.

The idea was for a drone equipped with a camera to fly over Provencher Pool and capture alarming video of me and about 24 other volunteers pretending to be drowning victims. Unfortunately, the drone operator was sick, which meant Kevin Tordiffe, operations manager for the Lifesaving Societys Manitoba branch, had to use a handheld camera and clamber up the pools lifeguard towers to shoot video of us floating in a lifeless manner.

The first thing we had to do was hop into the pool in our street clothes and cavort about as though we were having a swell time playing in the water. Then Kevin did a dramatic countdown  OK, everyone, youre going to drown in three two one  which was when we all had to begin floating face-down without moving a limb. We went from frivolity to tragedy in a heartbeat.

This is easier said than done in the sense that it is extremely difficult to get your legs to float on top of the water unless you first rapidly kick with your feet to get them to rise to the surface. Its not something deceased people are supposed to be able to do.

We simulated drowning several times, until Kevin decided he needed some dramatic solo shots of victims  such as me  who were wearing life-jackets. I dont mean to brag, but Kevin and Lorne agreed that, when it came to being a dead body in a pool, my performance was extremely wooden, in the sense that I floated extremely well.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipeg Free Press Columnist Doug Speirs brings his considerable acting talents to Provencher Pool as he lies face down in the pool, pretending he has drowned.

We all had a good time playing dead, but the fact that we were even asked to do it underscores an alarming problem in Manitoba, especially during the summer months.

What we thought wed do is get between 20 and 25 people in a pool and show them as if theyd drowned to demonstrate the number of people who drown in Manitoba on an annual basis, Tordiffe told me as I stood dripping on the pool deck.

The most recent statistics say about 25 people drown in Manitoba every year. In recent years, its been as high as 40 drownings. That coincided with the 2011 flood.

According to the societys latest report on drowning, the biggest tragedy is the fact the highest drowning death rate in Manitoba is among children under five years of age (3.8 per 100,000). That number is the highest in Canada.

The recent statistics show that kids under five in Manitoba are drowning at three times the national average, Tordiffe said, clutching his video camera. Were the worst in Canada. We are the child-drowning capital of Canada. Thats something we want to change.

The societys plan is to post what they hope will be a shocking video on their social media accounts along with their YouTube channel, youtube.com/lifesavingmanitoba, during National Drowning Prevention Week.

Were hoping well get an opportunity for more Manitobans to see the message about drowning prevention and water safety, Tordiffe told me. The third week of July is typically the worst week for drownings in Manitoba.

We want this (video) to be a moment where people see that transition from fun to tragedy and are shocked by that and keep it in mind when thinking of their summer activities. Were hoping to draw attention to what people can do to reduce their risk and prevent drowning.

Were embracing social media as a means of getting the message out. We are a not-for-profit charity and dont have boatloads of money for advertising.

Tordiffe said this appears to be a typical summer, with six drownings reported so far, but the real numbers dont surface until coroners reports are finalized. He said Manitobans typically underestimate the number of drownings in the province because not all the deaths are reported in the media.

People assume that drownings are happening at pools where there are lifeguards and thats not true, he said. Less than one per cent of drownings happen where a lifeguard is working. Most happen in the wild  lakes, rivers, while boating.

Back in the pool, when we volunteers were not simulating drowning, we were asked to demonstrate the three life-saving activities of the societys Swim to Survive program, namely: 1) Pushing your way to the surface after a disorienting entry; 2) Treading water for one minute; and 3) Swimming 50 metres.

Research shows if all Canadians could do these three skills we could reduce drowning by as much as 90 per cent, Tordiffe noted. We see that as the basic minimum every Canadian should have for lifesaving skills.

I had to carry out skill No.1 by somersaulting into the water while wearing a life-jacket, which resulted in me being suspended upside down under water, where I sucked about half the pool into the interior of my nasal passages. I was not a pretty sight when I bobbed to the surface.

I was very impressed with your flip into the water, Edwards said. You had good form and demonstrated much more grace than I expected. Plus, you had the perfect panic-stricken face when you popped out of the water.

When it was all over, I pointed out to our director, Kevin Tordiffe, that I was one of three volunteers who had drowned despite wearing a life-jacket, which, it turns out, was one of the points they wanted to drive home.

He noted that Dan Jorgensen, 59, a former police chief from Kenora, drowned earlier this summer after his kayak overturned, even though he was wearing a life-jacket.

Nothing drownproofs you, Tordiffe explained as I towelled off. If you hit your head or the jacket isnt on correctly or the water is cold  all these things affect your ability to save your life. The life-jacket is going to help you, but it doesnt guarantee youll survive. If youre going to be engaging in water activities, swim with a buddy.

So make sure to check out the video next week, and remember to stay safe near the water. I may just be a working stiff, but it shouldnt take a drowning to make people pay attention. Not even a pretend one.

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Doug Speirs, wearing a life-jacket, participates in the making of a video to promote National Drowning Prevention Week, which takes place July 16-22. Manitoba children under the age of five drown at three times the national average, says the Lifesaving Societys Manitoba branch.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/07/2017 (1949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At the Habitat for Humanity build site, just off the broad vein of Portage Avenue, Tuesdays grey skies arrived as a blessing. Volunteers had laboured all day in Mondays broiling heat, so this new cool breeze came as a relief.

Yet it was not so wet on this, the second day of building, that it dampened their enthusiasm. For most of the day, the only thing that rained on the St. James site was the clomp of workboots and the tackety-tack of pounding hammers.

In a way, this is the calm before the storm. There was only one Secret Service agent in Winnipeg on Tuesday, and in khaki pants and a cap she blended discreetly with the throng of 500 volunteers; but soon, there will be many more.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Photo of Kiran Kumar (front) with her mom Renee and dad Teddy are from Princeton New Jersey and are in Winnipeg helping to build homes with Habitat for Humanity.

It is no small thing to raise 25 houses in a week. It is an even bigger thing, when a former president is on board.

That is the prize of the week. That is where all of this is heading. The glare of the spotlight, the blitz of construction, it is all building to this: on Thursday, Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, will begin two days of building at the site.

For Habitat organizers in Winnipeg, the visit is precious. This is the 34th annual build for the Carter Work Project  Winnipeg is a rare city to earn a return visit  and Carter is 92 years old. Its hard to say if there will be many more.

So what a chance, to host him now. The opportunity to work with the Carters is the highest profile piece this organization has, says Habitat Manitoba CEO Sandy Hopkins. It literally put Habitat on the map here in 1993.

When Hopkins joined Habitat 11 years ago, he canvassed his friends about what they knew about the non-profit. The responses he got back zeroed in on two things: that Habitat builds houses, and that Carter had visited here in 1993.

So Hopkins was elated when, at Habitats national conference in May 2015, he learned the Carters were interested in returning to Winnipeg. One caveat: the news had to stay secret until after the Carters 2016 build in Memphis, Tenn.

But in August 2015, Carter revealed that he was battling cancer which had spread to his brain. Local Habitat staff, still sworn to secrecy about the planned Winnipeg visit, began to accept the possibility that it might never come to pass.

Yet just months later, in December 2015, Carter surprised the world by announcing that he was cancer-free. Soon, the local Habitat chapter began furiously planning the logistics of the build: the size, the site, the special protocols.

Its not like regular Habitat builds. Usually, organizers are only wary about thieves; now, they must coordinate with the Secret Service, Winnipeg police and RCMP. Oh, and the site must be designed to allow a motorcade to pass through.

What were thinking about is what are the pieces we have to get right, Hopkins says, of the focus that consumed his office for months. The last thing we want to have happen is for the Carters come to town, and we blow it.

Because its not only about Carter, but everything that comes with him: the visitors, the media, the international attention. A reporter from the New York Times was calling Winnipeg on Tuesday, looking for quotes.

Meanwhile, in one of the sites trailer offices, staffers from Habitats Georgia head office sipped Slurpees and chatted about their sightseeing plans in the city: the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, they beamed, looked beautiful.

They arent the only visitors. Since 1984, the Carter Work Project has amassed a small army of loyal volunteers, many of whom come back almost every year: almost 70 of the daily participants here in Winnipeg are American.

You just keep going and doing these things, no matter what, says Jean Cravens, on a break from the build.

Cravens story is a classic of the genre. Now almost 80, she joined her first Habitat build around 25 years ago, in her hometown of Lexington, Ky. One of the families at her church was getting a house, so she signed up to help.

Soon, Cravens and her husband Gene caught what regulars jokingly call Habititis. Its a hard habit to break, once its started: Cravens is now on her eighth Carter build, a journey thats taken her to India, Thailand and Hungary.

People at home say Oh, youre giving up so much to go on these things, Cravens says, and her voice rolls with a gentle Southern lilt. No, we have a great time. We have so much fun with the people that were working with.

Like many of the travelling regulars, Cravens speaks glowingly of the Carters. Shes hammered nails next to the former president, and painted a bathroom with Rosalynn Carter. Theyre so warm, she says, and so focused.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Construction crews raise the roofs on twenty homes at the Habitat For Humanity build on Lyle Street, Tuesday.

We need more President Carters in the world today, she says, wistfully. He could have sat in Plains, Georgia and not done anything except write books and whatever. But hes chosen to help people, and hes inspired so many.

In this travelling corps, there are some first-timers. On one of the rising Habitat homes, 18-year-old Kiran Kumar swings a hammer alongside her parents. Being here, she says with a grin, is her high school graduation present.

To be honest, Kumar adds, all of her friends got cars for their grad gifts. Thats normal in her hometown of Princeton, N.J., a sparkling Ivy League enclave a stones throw from New York City. She wanted to come here instead.

I dont have any friends that do this kind of stuff, she says. I think its cool that Im like the only one doing it.

See, Kumar and her family have already begun to catch Habititis. In 2008, her older brother Nikhil joined a Habitat build. This past January her father, Teddy Kumar, built houses in Guatemala with Habitats Global Village program.

We got hooked, Teddy Kumar says, and the family breaks into laughter.

So last year, Kiran joined one of Habitats high school programs, working with 120 other students to build decks and paint houses. The experience stuck with her, and in the summer before she starts college, she wanted to do more.

Helping other people, it sounds cliche, but personally its really satisfying, she says. It makes me feel like Im actually making a difference, instead of sitting around doing what teenagers do every day.

For Kiran, the connection to Carter is a little more distant. Unlike Cravens and her own parents, she has few clear memories of the former president; she learned about him in school, she adds, and from that she respects him.

Still, shes never seen a president in person before; the closest she came was seeing Barack Obamas motorcade. So the chance to work on a house, while the Carters are working nearby: Thats going to be really cool, she nods.

At this, her mother, Renee Kumar, smiles. Carter was elected president in 1976, the first year that Renee was old enough to vote; four decades later, he will be picking up a hammer nearly alongside her, and getting a house built.

Hes walking the walk, instead of talking the talk, Renee Kumar says. We love them (the Carters) both. We have tremendous admiration for them. Never met them, but we think theyre a wonderful inspiration for people.

We have to teach our children that theres bigger things, she adds. When you meet people out here, it gives you that inspiration.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/07/2017 (1949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AN invasive insect that has destroyed scores of black and mancana ash trees in the Pembina Valley this spring has arrived in Winnipeg.

Damage from the cottony ash psyllid can be seen lining the boulevards in front of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights at The Forks.

We just found it last week, City of Winnipeg forester Martha Barwinsky said. We dont know what that means yet, in terms of what action the city will take or whether trees will have to be destroyed.

JUSTIN SAMANSKI-LANGILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The cottony ash psyllid feeds on both black and manna ash trees. It weaves a white cottony substance (pictured right) on the the leaves causing them to shrivel and fall off.

In Morden, 97 black and mancana ash trees have already been destroyed, and remaining trees are being sprayed to try to prevent further losses. Winkler plans to take out more than 50 trees and is half-done spraying the city in defence against the insect.

When people hear of an ash tree infestation, they usually think of the emerald ash borer, which has been mowing down trees in Eastern Canada and has now moved as far west as Thunder Bay, Ont.

However, the villain in this case is an aphid-like insect, native to Central Europe. It had been previously reported in Edmonton, Saskatoon and North Dakota. The insect feeds only on black and mancana ash trees. It weaves a white cottony substance on the leaf and essentially causes leaves to shrivel and fall off.

For example, along Israel Asper Way at The Forks, the centre median is treed with green ash that are still healthy as they are not susceptible to the cottony ash psyllid. But trees alongside the roadway are mancana and black ash, whose leaves are shriveled and covered with the psyllids cotton.

In Carman, where the local council wants to get rid of the healthy ash trees in its downtown, its trees are also green ash and not susceptible to the psyllid.

The irony is ash was the main tree used to replace elm trees in Winnipeg and surrounding urban centres after Dutch elm disease started destroying boulevard elms decades ago.

Everyone went crazy planting ash trees. They were relatively fast growing, they were resistant to road salt and they were native to Manitoba, said private arborist Ken Fosty. Now its come full circle, insofar as the ash trees are dying, too.

Five trees across the street from my home are all gone, said Morden Mayor Ken Wiebe, following that citys ash tree removal program.

Urban centres cannot allow dead or dying trees to stand because of the danger they pose falling onto property or people. Morden is replacing its ash with six varieties of trees to prevent widescale destruction from insects or disease in the future, Wiebe said.

In Winkler, Peter Froese, director of works and operations, is hoping black ash trees that still have top leaves and some remaining foliage will survive. Then the leaves can still feed the roots, he said.

Barwinsky said Winnipeg officials are trying to determine the extent of the infestation before taking its next step, such as tree removal or spraying. I suspect were going to lose some trees, but to what degree, I dont know.

She said she holds out hope the infestation wont be as bad as one that struck Edmonton a few years ago, resulting in significant tree loss. The insect seems to do its greatest damage in dry conditions, she said.

Winnipeg has about 101,000 ash trees in boulevards and parks, of which about 15,000 are black or mancana ash. There are another 11,300 susceptible trees on private property, Barwinsky said.

Winkler and Morden have begun spray campaigns using an insecticidal soap called Trounce, which plugs up the insects breathing apparatus, said Fosty. The soap film suffocates the little bastards, he said.

However, Barwinsky is uncertain about the effectiveness of the spray. She has been in consultation with counterparts in Saskatoon who are experimenting with pesticide injections into the trees. We really dont have any idea how it got here, she said.

The cottony ash psyllid may have migrated here through nursery stock, she said, adding she doubts it moved on firewood, as the insect isnt a wood-borer.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/07/2017 (1948 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the 15 months he has been Manitobas health minister, Kelvin Goertzen has demonstrated a clear and profound disdain for sacred cows.

The past 90 days alone, Goertzen unveiled plans to close and repurpose three Winnipeg hospital emergency rooms, shutter two dozen rural Emergency Medical Services stations, and cut tens of millions of dollars in operating funds from regional health authorities.

The assault continued this week with the announcement the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is closing four QuickCare clinics, a hallmark initiative of the former NDP government, while also increasing fees for long-term care day programs, transportation and independent living supports.

These are decisions that strike deep at the heart of some of the services and facilities Manitobans hold most dear.

I dont think anybody would describe me as risk-averse, Goertzen said in a recent interview.

Indeed, he seems committed to even bigger changes in the future.

Included in the recent barrage of announcements was the 2018 launch of Shared Health Services Manitoba, an agency that will centralize back-office services for regional health authorities, including procurement, capital planning and contract negotiation.

However, it will also be the launching pad for what could become the next great assault on the sacred cows.

Although some of the decisions to date have been controversial, in reality nothing Goertzen has done will significantly slow the provincial health-care systems voracious consumption of tax dollars. Real progress will only come when government and health-care practitioners work together to control costs and eliminate waste at the front end of the system.

Canadas public health-care system was born out of a strange marriage between a taxpayer-supported administration and physicians who, for the most part, operate as independent contractors. Taxpayers may pick up the tab, but doctors make most of the decisions that ultimately drive costs.

Given they are highly trained experts, it only makes sense to grant physicians control over decisions on when and how people are treated. However, in recent years, many within the health profession have been forced to admit they are not always thoughtful or efficient in doing so.

In short, physicians perform or order too many unnecessary surgeries, MRI exams and laboratory tests. An April 2017 report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information estimated Canadian doctors are responsible for more than one million unnecessary treatments and tests every year.

Many consider this chronic waste to be the single greatest obstacle to a sustainable health-care system. Its hardly surprising then, Manitoba has plans to tackle some of this chronic waste.

Dr. Brock Wright, president and CEO of Shared Health Services, said work is already underway to create provincewide standards of practice for clinical care, diagnostic imaging and laboratory tests that will help physicians make better decisions on what treatments or tests to perform  and when to perform them.

There needs to be more accountability in the provincial system, Wright said in an interview.

A key to this initiative is a decision to create a provincial medical staff that will eventually include all physicians practising in Manitoba.

Wright said under the current system, physicians who do not practise in government-funded facilities and do most of their work in private clinics, operate almost at arms length from the provincial Heath Department, which has little influence over how and when they prescribe certain treatments and tests. Once fully enrolled in the provincial medical staff, all physicians will be held accountable to the provincewide standards, Wright said.

This will not be an easy process. Physicians have, in the past, fought strenuously to maintain their independence. Wright conceded he has not had time yet to engage in a meaningful discussion with physicians on how provincewide standards and central oversight will impact their practices.

However, Wright said, he believes most physicians understand less waste means, in the long run, less fiscal stress on the system and less conflict when it comes time to negotiate fees and other remuneration.

None of Goertzens initiatives to date  including Shared Health Services  are sure things. In fact, he will have to go to some lengths to convince Manitobans plans to close emergency departments and rural EMS stations are, in the long run, more efficient and effective. And he will likely have to do that before the next provincial election.

Its also important to remember many of the advances or improvements Goertzen is seeking can only materialize if patients and physicians radically change the way they interact with the health-care system.

For example, the reorganization of Winnipeg emergency departments can only succeed in shortening wait times  the key goal of the initiative  if two things happen:

First, the province must improve home-care services and build more personal-care home beds to free up hospital beds. A lack of beds results in patients requiring admission to be warehoused in the ER, which leads to longer waits.

Second, the province must convince non-emergent patients to stay away from the ERs. Currently, the gross majority of ER patients do not, in fact, need ER treatment. Nonetheless, when you witness the bitter protests around the closing of the Concordia Hospital ER, you know many people in that area are not ready to make the transition.

Notwithstanding all the controversy surrounding Goertzens decisions, Manitobans should all be able to agree something has to change. The current system does a lot of great things, but it is too costly and fails too often to be considered a success.

Perhaps at this stage in the evolution of the provinces health-care system, a culling of the sacred cow herd is just what the doctor ordered.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/07/2017 (1948 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The defence team for a Winnipeg mother convicted of concealing the remains of six dead babies is asking the judge to toss out the case.

A delay motion has been filed in Andrea Giesbrechts case, arguing the charges against her should be thrown out because the case took too long to get to trial.

Giesbrecht has been convicted of six counts of concealing a childs body for hiding dead babies in a McPhillips Street storage unit. The Crown is seeking a sentence of 11 years in prison while the defence has argued Giesbrecht, a 43-year-old mother of two, shouldnt go to jail.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Trevor Hagan Defence lawyer Greg Brodsky raised the possibility of filing a delay motion in the case during sentencing arguments last week.

Provincial court Judge Murray Thompson will now have to decide on the merits of the delay motion before he imposes Giesbrechts sentence Friday. The sentencing decision is set to be broadcast live.

Under the Supreme Court of Canadas deadlines imposed last year, provincial court cases have an 18-month window to get from the laying of charges to completion of trial. Giesbrechts criminal charges were in the system before the Supreme Court ruling came into effect a year ago.

She was arrested after the remains were discovered by storage facility staff in October 2014. The trial didnt begin until a year-and-a-half later, after lawyers argued pre-trial motions, including on how the autopsies of the babies were to be conducted.

The trial stretched from April until last October, with delays in between. Giesbrecht was found guilty in February and lawyers made sentencing arguments last week, during which time defence lawyer Greg Brodsky raised the possibility of filing a delay motion in the case.

If Thompson decides the case was unreasonably delayed, the only remedy under the law is to drop the charges.

Manitobas Court of Appeal has said if lawyers are going to argue a case has taken too long to get to trial, they should file delay motions at the earliest opportunity, such as when trial dates are set, rather than waiting until the last minute.

The facts necessary to decide a motion for unreasonable delay are essentially established once a trial date is set and any other pre-trial motions are determined. If the motion is successful, the trial dates can be used for other accused persons, thereby ameliorating delay pressures on the justice system as a whole, Court of Appeal Justice Barbara Hamilton wrote in a June 29 decision on a separate case.

During Giesbrechts trial, three medical experts testified the babies were likely born alive. Their decomposed remains  some no more than bones  were found in garbage bags inside plastic containers. All the fetuses, including one that was partly mummified, were found to be between 34 and 42 weeks gestation.

Brodsky has said there were no live births and suggested the six babies may have been stillborn. A medical expert testified the chances of that happening were one in 500 trillion.

When he found Giesbrecht guilty on all counts, Thompson said he believed she would have known the fetuses were likely to be born alive.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/07/2017 (1948 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A group of Manitoba families that have lost loved ones will hold a press conference today at 11 a.m. to announce they intend to call for the removal of the chief commissioner and the remaining three commissioners of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

A media release stated that the press conference will be led by local MMIWG coalition members Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, Sandra Delaronde, and Angie Hutchinson.

The group is speaking out a day after Marilyn Poitras resigned as a commissioner of the federal MMIWG inquiry.

Families and survivors agreed that the status quo cannot continue. They also agreed that a hard reset should take place with a call for the removal of the Chief Commissioner and the remaining three Commissioners, the media release stated.

It said there is a need for a development of an Indigenous-designed and Indigenous-led process for Manitoba that will contribute to a renewed and independent national inquiry process.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/07/2017 (1948 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An early morning robbery on a north Winnipeg street Tuesday resulted in a man being sent to hospital with stab wounds.

At approximately 1:15 a.m., emergency personnel were dispatched to a report of an injured male at a residence in the 100 block of Bannerman Avenue, Winnipeg Police said.

A 48-year-old male was found suffering from a number of stab wounds to his mid-body and was transported to hospital in critical condition, but has since been upgraded to stable, police said Wednesday.

The victim had left an establishment in the 1400 block of Main Street and was walking on the 100 block of Atlantic Avenue when he was approached by a suspect, police said. The victim was stabbed and robbed of an undisclosed amount of money.

The suspect is described as an Indigenous male with a thin build.

The police ask that anyone with information that may assist investigators call 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/07/2017 (1948 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg Beach couple is flabbergasted after a trailer filled with roughly $26,000 worth of fine teak furniture and artwork was stolen from their backyard last weekend.

Laurie and Betty Russin, 70 and 68, had packed up several pieces of their teak collection, along with some favourite paintings, with plans to move it to Bettys hometown of Brockville, Ont., where the couple plans to split their time.

One of Lauries sons brought his cargo trailer (valued at $11,000) to help them make the move, and they loaded it up over Canada Day weekend.

After returning from a Sunday drive July 9, Laurie Russin noticed the trailer, which was locked, was gone. A neighbour told the Russins it likely happened around 9:30 a.m.

It was broad daylight, for Gods sake, Russin said Tuesday. I got everybody and their dog looking for it.

The couple has been collecting teak furniture and art for more than 20 years. Among the stolen pieces is a dark walnut chair, a honey oak foyer chair with a mirror and five of six coat hooks, four paintings, a teak couch, a surfboard-style coffee table and a dining room table set with matching chairs.

Russin was concerned the dining room table would be damaged during the move, so he removed the legs, wrapped them individually and put them in the back of his truck. Wherever that table is, it has no legs, he said.

He said the paintings stolen were mostly landscapes, however there is one distinctive still-life portrait of a bouquet of flowers in the haul as well.

The furniture and art is identifiable, Russin said, and hes hoping antique dealers and furniture buyers around the province keep an eye out for the stolen collection.

He said he thinks whoever stole the trailer  described as a white 2015 Triton 14-foot, aluminum, tandem-axle enclosed trailer, bearing the Manitoba licence plate X320R  probably assumed it was full of work equipment.

I dont think they thought for a moment that it was furniture, he said. I just hope we see it again.

Local RCMP are investigating, and ask anyone with information regarding the incident contact the Gimli branch at 204-642-5106 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/07/2017 (1948 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Self-driving cars will kill the precious thrill of the open road while hurting large segments of our economy.

When killjoys and bureaucrats get their way, we give up the things that make our lives rich and fun. Were approaching that now with these pod-like vehicles.

Private companies and federal agencies in the United States are working to put millions of driverless cars on roads and theres a good chance those vehicles will eventually comprise the majority of personal vehicles on our roads: some are predicting fully automated cars will account for 10 per cent of annual global vehicle sales by 2035, with that percentage expected to grow from there.

Jared Wickerham / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Uber employees test a self-driving Ford Fusion hybrid car, in Pittsburgh in 2016.

Google plans to put its autonomous driving technology into minivans, Tesla plans to have a fully driverless car ready by 2018 and many other companies plan to roll out self-driving cars by 2020.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation has kicked off the regulatory process that will be necessary for the technology to further grow.

Theres no doubt that federal bureaucrats want to discourage individual driving and, as usual with government meddling, theyll tell us its for our own good.

So, lets examine what our society might look like if driverless cars become the dominant means of private transportation.

First, wed be deprived of the precious freedom of mobility and the magnificent joy of driving on the open road that have made America the most mobile  and most fun  car country on Earth.

H.L. Mencken, the Sage of Baltimore, once defined Puritanism as the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy. Driverless cars are a 21st-century illustration of that adage.

No one with an ounce of adventure coursing through their veins wants to travel in a drab little pod  probably with federal hackers recording your every move and quite possibly your every conversation.

Forget that wonderful little ditty about the free, fresh wind in your hair life without care.

When you look out the pods window, all you will see is other pods  no more awesome Ferraris, Mustangs, Corvettes or Porsches.

As well, there would be no more thrilling, iconic car movies such as Steve McQueens Bullitt, Paul Newmans Winning, James Garners Grand Prix or Thunder Road, which was the perfect 1950s drive-in movie with bootlegger Robert Mitchum outrunning dull revenue cop Gene Barry.

Chase scenes would have to be done with bicycles  that is, with drivers wearing government-approved helmets.

Some 65 years ago, Route 66 captured the imagination of the baby boom generation with two young guys having great adventures while speeding across Americas open roads in a Corvette convertible.

We would never have fallen in love with the show if the guys had stayed home in, say, Dubuque.

Of course, massive change  especially when heavily guided by big government  always means huge economic disruptions.

For example, hotels would lose out as people sleep in their cars during overnight trips.

Using a car as a moving motel is much more cost-efficient and convenient than booking a hotel room.

On the other hand, the drab reality would also make people far more nostalgic for the golden age of the automobile.

This, in turn, may boosting attendance to such famous car museums as the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Ind. and the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum in Hershey, Pa.

As Americans view these glittering works of automotive art, theyll begin to fully realize just how much the country has lost in switching to the dullness of automated pod cars.

Whitt Flora covered the White House for The Columbus Dispatch and was chief congressional correspondent for Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine.

 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Fastenal is reporting maintaining their strong start to 2017 in their second-quarter reports, continuing their 50th year of business with the strongest sales and earnings growth since 2014.

The manufacturer reported Wednesday that sales had reached $1.12 billion, up 10.6 percent from the second quarter of 2016.

The company reported earnings of $148.9 million, or $0.52 per share, an increase of 13.2 percent from last years numbers.

Dan Florness, Fastenal president and CEO, said in the announcement that the numbers felt more like the Fastenal of old.

The second quarter of 2017 felt more like Fastenal, Florness said. We have grown well over the last year, but market headwinds have masked this growth.

Now the company says it thinks this trend will continue.

In their corporate earnings conference call, Florness noted that they are continuing to expand into different, non-fastener related business including vending and Onsite locations.

The Onsite facilities, where Fastenal operates a distribution point for materials within a different companies building, increased by 54.5 percent in the second quarter of 2017, with 68 new locations signed compared to 44 in the first three months of 2017.

At the end of June the company had 486 active sites, an increase of 45.9 percent.

The number of industrial vending machines also increased, with installed devices reaching 66,577 at the end of June, an increase of 14.1 percent from the same time last year.

Florness said it was positive that the growth was spread out across different products and services.

That gives me more comfort in our ability to execute and our ability to hang on to some of that, Florness said.

The companys employee numbers at the branch and Onsite locations were slightly reduced from last years second quarter, down 0.7 percent, while their full-time employees were down 0.3 percent to 17,612.

They also attribute some of the gains to positive impacts from the acquisition of Manufacturers Supply Co., which was completed on the last day of the first quarter of 2017.

The company, also known as Mansco, is headquartered in Hudsonville, Mich., and has additional facilities in Wisconsin, Alabama and Texas. It generated around $50 million in revenue in 2016.

In the first quarter the company grew by less than 1 percent but was the first growth since the second quarter of 2015.

For the first three months of the year the company reported earnings of $134.2 million, or 46 cents per share, up 6.3 percent from last years first quarter. Their net sales increased to $1.05 billion, up 6.2 percent.

At midday Wednesday the companys stock was down $0.88 and trading at $42.73 per share.
Watkins Inc., the nationally known maker of J.R. Watkins lotions, toiletries and cooking spices, could sell at least parts of the company, according to court filings stemming from the chief executives divorce proceedings.

Headquartered in Winona, the privately held firm is one of Minnesotas oldest companies, dating back to 1868 when founder J.R. Watkins began selling a liniment oil still available today.

Nearly 40 years ago, financier Irwin Jacobs rescued Watkins from bankruptcy and his son, Mark, has been in charge of the company for about half that time.

The Jacobs operation is only the third to own and operate what has been a family run business since the outset.

But the company, which employs hundreds in a Winona factory and others in offices in Hopkins and Wayzata, has quietly been exploring a sale since April 2016. Thats when it retained a national business brokerage firm to find a purchaser, according to court papers filed Monday that are the first public indication of a willingness to sell.

A buyer looking to acquire the personal and home care lines of Watkins came forward last month with a letter of interest, the documents show.

Mark Jacobs said Tuesday in a written statement to MPR News that there is no final deal in place currently.

We do however, have a responsibility to listen to all offers that could add value to our company and to its Stakeholders, Jacobs said. If and when we decide to take on a partner to help continue the growth of the company, it will be an investor/partner who shares our commitment to the brands integrity, our employees, our customers, our direct selling consultants and our retail partners. Additionally, we are committed to keeping our ownership and being a part of the tremendous growth ahead.

The rest is a mystery because the potential buyer insisted on a hush-hush arrangement that shields its identity, a possible purchase price and its plans for the portions of the business it would gobble up. The transaction is currently in the due diligence phase.

Theyve been looking at stuff. We have no further action from them, no additional progress, said Barry Gersick, a Minneapolis-based attorney for Watkins. Nothing is binding ... Right now, all theyre doing is looking and seeing if they want to go further.

Court cases in Hennepin County and in southern California brought the possible deal to light.

Mark Jacobs, who lives in California and has been CEO of Watkins since 1998, is going through a divorce. As part of that, Jacobs provided a redacted copy of the letter of interest to his wife, Patricia. Court papers say she sought the information as she seeks to appraise his finances for the purposes of dividing their property.

Lawyers for Patricia Jacobs planned to ask a California judge on Tuesday to require release to her a nonredacted copy. Watkins, along with Irwin Jacobs, sued Mark Jacobs in Minnesota on Monday, asking for an injunction to stop further release of information; a hearing is set for Thursday in Hennepin County District Court.

This is an extremely important potential business transaction for Watkins and its ownership interest, Gersick and law partner Martin Fallon wrote in pleadings that seek an emergency court order. Watkins would be irreparably harmed if the potential deal is negatively impacted and falls through because of the disclosure of information subject to the (nondisclosure agreement).

The lawyers went on: To lose the opportunity presented by the current interested entity, and without any other interested buyers in the background, would precipitate financial damage and harm to Watkins and its ownership interests that are impossible to quantify or calculate.

In their filing, the Watkins attorneys contend Mark Jacobs violated his fiduciary duties by providing even the redacted copy.

Built as a company offering door-to-door sales of its lotions, tonics and gourmet spices, Watkins has branched out over the years to include cleaning supplies and sell its wares in stores.

In recent years, Mark Jacobs was credited with helping Watkins grow the extract and spice end of its business. The company moved to get its products onto store shelves of more big retailers, such as Wal-Mart, to challenge the big supplier in the market, McCormick and Co.
Submit an event for Around Town by emailing calendar information to bnr-news@wiscnews.com at least three business days before the event date.

Today

Nature hike: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Devils Lake State Park. A Hike Back in Time. Join retired Park Naturalist Ken Lange on a geologic exploration of Devils Lake. See boulders transported by glaciers, a glacial lake bed, potholes, Devils Doorway and much more. This hike is approximately 3.5 miles, with some steep sections. Wear proper footwear and bring plenty of water. Meet at the Steinke Basin parking lot. For more information, call 608-356-8301.

Public farm meeting: 1-3 p.m., U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency, Sauk County FSA office, 505 Broadway St., Baraboo. Open house regarding the 2017 County committee election process. Producers, including minority, women and new farmers, are encouraged to attend the meeting and participate in the 2017 election. For more information, call Curt Norgard at 608-355-4420, ext. 2.

Storyteller: 1 p.m., Sauk City Public Library, 515 Water St., Sauk City. Bilingual storyteller Kay Elmsley Weeden will share tales, in English and Spanish, with children and adults. Doors open at 12:50 p.m. and tickets are not needed. For more information, call Amy at 643-8346 or visit saukcitylibrary.org.

Concert: 6:30 p.m., Reedsburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Concert in the Park series at City Park. Coulee Region Steel Band will perform. Bring a lawn chair or blanket; food, refreshments and Farmers Market products will be available; no vehicles or pets allowed in park. For more information, call 608-524-2850. In case of inclement weather, signs will be posted indicating a new location.

Ferry seminar: 6:30 p.m., Lake Wisconsin Alliance, Merrimac Ferry Wayside. The third educational seminar for 2017 is a free event that will feature stories old and new on the Merrimac Ferry and the Merrimac Scoop will provide ice cream to attendees.

Thursday

Fishing program: 9-11 a.m., Devils Lake State Park. Learn to Fish program will teach the basics of fishing. Those 16 and older will need a fishing license to participate. All supplies and bait will be provided. Meet at the North Shore boat launch. For more information, call 608-356-8301.

Worm races: 10 a.m., Baraboo Public Library, 230 Fourth Ave., Baraboo. Kids in grades 4k-5 are invited to compete in worm races. Library Board President Mary Grant will serve as judge and emcee through the qualifying heats. Bring your own worm or adopt one from the library. This program is free. For more information, call 608-356-6166 or visit baraboopubliclibrary.org.

Quilters meeting: 6:30 p.m., Gem City Quilters Club, Baraboo Civic Center, 124 Second St., Baraboo. Club member Marilyn Stavnaw will be the speaker presenting her quilting dilemma for discussion. All are welcome. For more information, call Barbara at 608-356-9137.

Book club: 6:45 p.m., Ruth Culver Community Library, 540 Water St. in Prairie du Sac. Mystery Book Club will discuss mysteries by William Kent Krueger. New members are always welcome. For more information, call June at 643-8318 or visit pdslibrary.org.

Radio Club: 7 p.m., Yellow Thunder Amateur Radio club, City Services Building, 450 Roundhouse Court, Baraboo. Discussion will be on the Field Day operation. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Those interested in amateur radio or electronics are welcome.

Concert: 7 p.m., Sauk County Courthouse lawn, 515 Oak St., Baraboo. Concerts on the Square concert series will present Madison Brass Band  in the British tradition. The Al. Ringling Theatre will serve as the rain site. For more information, visit barabooconcertsonthesquare.com.

Friday

Fair event: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sauk County Association for Home & Community Education, Sauk County Fairgrounds, Baraboo. Taste of Sauk County will be featured in the Open Class Building No. 1. Some of the products featured for sale will be honey, maple syrup, garlic, lavender, soaps, homemade pies and more. For more information, call Sylvia at 608-356-7096.

Canoe event: Noon to dusk., Devils Lake State Park. Paddle a 28-foot Voyageur canoe anytime from noon to dusk presented by Fox of the River Voyageur Canoe LLC. Learn about the Voyageur way of life from guides Jean Paul Pauquette and Jacques Largillier. This free event is sponsored by the Friends of Devils Lake. Meet at the North Shore boat launch. For more information, call 608-356-8301.

Art opening: 5-8 p.m., Reedikulus ArtsLink, ArtsLink Gallery, 129 E. Main St., Reedsburg. Free gallery opening featuring Milwaukee artist Chris Sweet. Refreshments will be served. The exhibit continues through Aug. 10 and will be included in the Reedikulus Art Crawl and the Gallery Stroll.

Concert: 6-10 p.m., Full Throttle Night, FloodZone Bar & Grill, 109 W. Broadway, Rock Springs. Performance is by Altered Ego. All proceeds go to the Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue to help care for the animals. In addition to live music, there will be classic cars, trucks, motorcycles, food, arts and crafts vendors, 50/50 raffles and prizes. For more information, call Jeff Kozlowski at 608-697-8643 or email jeff@wisconsinbigcats.org.

Poetry reading: 7:30 p.m., The Village Booksmith, 526 Oak St., Baraboo. Second Friday Poetry will feature readings by Bear Clan Elder Sherman Funmaker who will share stories from his upcoming book about growing up in a Ho-Chunk family among 10 siblings. Open stage will follow where readers can share their own work or the work of others. For more information, call 608-355-1001 or visit www.villagebooksmith.com.

Night hike: 8:30-10 p.m., Devils Lake State Park. Explore the world of nocturnal animals. Thermal imagers and trail cameras will be used to discover the secrets of the night. Meet at the Steinke Basin parking lot. For more information, call 608-356-8301.

Saturday, July 15

Blood drive: 8:30 a.m. to noon, American Red Cross, Hillpoint VFW Hall, S6088 Highway 154, Hillpoint. To make an appointment or for more information, call 800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit www.redcrossblood.org.

Trail improvement: 9 a.m., Ice Age Trail Alliance Lodi valley Chapter, Fern Glen trailhead, Highway J near Lovering Road, Lodi. All tools provided. Bring gloves and water and dress appropriately for working. For more information, cal Bill at 608-843-3926 or email billpatti@charter.net.

Canoe event: 9 a.m. to dusk., Devils Lake State Park. Paddle a 28 foot Voyageur canoe anytime from 9 a.m. to dusk presented by Fox of the River Voyageur Canoe LLC. Learn about the Voyageur way of life from guides Jean Paul Pauquette and Jacques Largillier. This free event is sponsored by the Friends of Devils Lake. Meet at the North Shore boat launch. For more information, call 608-356-8301.

Fair event: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sauk County Association for Home & Community Education, Sauk County Fairgrounds, Baraboo. Taste of Sauk County will be featured in the Open Class Building No. 1. Some of the products featured for sale will be honey, maple syrup, garlic, lavender, soaps, homemade pies and more. For more information, call Sylvia at 608-356-7096.

Merchandise shoot: 10 a.m., Honey Creek Rod and Gun Club, E7412 Highway C, Leland. Food and refreshments available. For more information, call Rick at 608-477-0895

Dancing show: 2 and 7 p.m., Sauk Prairie Dancing with the Stars, River Arts Center, 105 Ninth St., Prairie du Sac. Eight of Sauk Prairies celebrities will partner up with professional ballroom dancers and compete for the Mirror Ball Trophy. The winner will be chosen by the judges and the audience. Tickets are $25 general and $15 for students 18 and younger. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.riverartsinc.org, call 608-643-5215 or visit the gallery, 590 Water St., Prairie du Sac.

Steak feed: 4:30-7 p.m., American Legion Post 242, 116 W. Main St., La Valle. Dinners include an 8-ounce sirloin steak, roll, baked potato, cole slaw, coffee and dessert. Cost is $12. Beer and wine available at cash bar.

Dance: 7:30-10:30 p.m., Devils Lake State Park. Dance to the Big Band sounds of the Hal Edwards Orchestra at the Chateau. Cost is $10. For more information, call 608-356-8301.

Sunday, July 16

Theater workshop: 1 p.m., Mirror Lake State Park Amphitheater. Kids workshop presented by the Summit Players will feature Shakespeare in the Park with a performance at 2:30 p.m. The Summit Players are a traveling, seven member theater company who present short, accessible, free Shakespeare workshops and performances to audiences around the state of Wisconsin. A state park sticker is needed to enter the park. The program is free and donations are welcome. For more information, call 608-254-2333.

Family event: 6 p.m., Merrimac United Methodist Church, 25 Church St., Merrimac. Free family friendly event with a light supper, music, kids activities and fellowship. In the event of bad weather the event will be held in the church.

Monday, July 17

Sewing repairs: 9-10 a.m., Baraboo Area Senior Center, 124 Second St., Room 24, Baraboo. Senior sewing repairs and alterations will be offered by Teena Castle. Fees will vary depending on the specific project. For more information call Diane Pillsbury at 608-356-8464.

Magic show: 1 p.m., Ruth Culver Community Library, 540 Water St., Prairie du Sac. Magician Scott Obermann will perform as the Great Scott in a magic show with tricks tailored to build trust, respect and be more responsible. Children of all ages are welcome, but those under six must be accompanied by an adult. This program is free. For more information, call Beth at 608-643-8318 or visit www.pdslibrary.org.

Movie discussion: 6:30 p.m., Reedsburg Public Library, 370 Vine St., Reedsburg. Retired film critic Jimmy Gillman and the Deeper into Movies series features Blowup. Viewing guides and copies of the movie are available for check out. For more information, call 608-768-7323 or email info@reedsburglibrary.org.

Tuesday, July 18

Womens club: 1 p.m., Lodi Area Womens Connection, Luckys On the Lake, W11579 Highway V, Okee. Beauty In and Out will be presented at a luncheon with guest speaker Sharla Fritz. Fritz will discuss how to dress with style buying clothes at a resale shop. Fritz is the author of three books that will be on display. The cost is $12. For more information and to check availability, call Eileen at 608-592-3265 or Diane at 608-293-2333 or email splreservation@yahoo.com.

Chess club: 1 p.m., Ruth Culver Community Library, 540 Water St. in Prairie du Sac. Chess Club for children for all levels. Beginners instruction, boards and chess pieces will be provided. For more information, call 608-643-8318 or visit www.pdslibrary.org.

Teen challenge: 4 p.m., Baraboo Public Library, Attridge Park, 900 Second Ave., Baraboo. Take part in the Great Desert Challenge. Build the tools needed for survival. This free program is for teens who have completed grades 6-12. For more information, call 608-356-6166 or visit www.baraboopubliclibrary.org.

Caregiver group: 6 p.m., Aging and Disability Resource Center of Sauk County, Sauk Prairie Community Center, 730 Monroe St., Sauk City. Family Caregiver Support Group is a support group for those who care for their parents, spouse or children. The group meets the third Tuesday of the month. Light dinner will be provided. For more information, call Marina Wittmann at 608-355-3289.

Pasture walk: 6-8 p.m., Sauk County Conservation, Planning, and Zoning, E10941 River Road, Sauk City. Walk will include high stock density grazing of dairy heifers on wet ground. For more information, call Sadie at 608-355-4842 or email sadie.schroeder@saukcountywi.gov.

Teen Tuesday: 6:30 p.m., Ruth Culver Community Library, 540 Water St. in Prairie du Sac. Teens will be shown how to create paintings on a small canvas, make buttons and design shrinky dinks. Suited for grades 6-12. For more information, call 608-643-8318 or visit www.pdslibrary.org.

Nature hike: 8-9:30 p.m., Devils Lake State Park. High-Tech Bat Hike. Stroll the lake to find bats. Special hand-held devices will be used to record and amplify bat calls. Observations will go back to the Wisconsin Bat Program to help in bat research. Meet at the North Shore Visitor Center. For more information, call 608-356-8301.
Well all have egg on our face. Republicans will look like we dont know what were doing if we are somehow through July to August and we dont have a state budget.

Thats Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, on the current impasse in Madison on the state budget. And hes right. His party controls the governors office and both houses of the Legislature, and it still cant reach agreement on how to spend taxpayers money. Maybe Republicans dont know what theyre doing.

The biggest impasse appears to be over transportation funding (although education also is a thorny issue), with Fitzgerald and Gov. Scott Walker arguing for more borrowing and delay, and the Assembly, led by Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, arguing for more revenue streams.

On that, Vos is right, and he and the Assembly should stick to their guns.

Walker and Fitzgerald probably are hoping for one of two things: a federal bailout in the form of infrastructure aid from the Trump administration or that future generations wont mind paying more for roads. The first could happen but is a short-term fix. Good luck on the second.

In a feeble attempt at compromise, Walker said Thursday he was willing to reduce the amount of debt because theres more money in the transportation coffers than expected  but he still wants to borrow $300 million. Fitzgerald, who wants to borrow $750 million over the next two years, argues that theres waste in the Department of Transportation and that it was pointless to discuss raising taxes when Walker has committed to vetoing any tax increase, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Both are ignoring the essential challenge of transportation funding: an aging and deteriorating road system that traditional revenue streams can no longer adequately repair and expand, coupled with growing demand for roads and transit.

Vos, who to his credit and somewhat out of character, is waging a very public fight on this, issued a news release recently with some facts that deserve noting:

US DOT says Wisconsin roads rank 47th in the nation, and estimates that 71 percent of our roadways are in mediocre condition.

Wisconsins transportation fund deficit currently exceeds $1 billion.

Our debt service levels on transportation bonds exceed 20 cents per dollar  a number that will grow to an even more unsustainable level if more borrowing occurs without additional revenue sources to support the debt.

Whats needed is a multi-pronged approach that could include toll roads, fees for heavy trucks, modest hikes in the registration fee and gas tax, and perhaps a vehicle miles traveled system. But the current system is failing, and borrow-and-delay is no answer. The state needs new sources of revenue.

Until Walker and Fitzgerald deal seriously with that, therell be a lot of egg on a lot of faces.
VFW Post 1163 Commander Ty Letto and Quartermaster Alan Winter were recently presented with All-State post honors at the VFW State Convention in Oshkosh.

They also were recognized as All-State Captain of the five-post All-State Team. The post was awarded All-State status for the seventh time and the second year in a row.

The white hats and Team Leader/Captain Status designate the Beaver Dam Post with the distinction of the states top post for its support of the VFW mission to help veterans, their families and their community. Of the 300 VFW Posts throughout Wisconsin, five posts were granted All-State status at the State Convention with VFW Post 1163 receiving Team Leader/Captain status for top post.

To achieve this distinction, a post must have successfully completed a broad range of VFW mission projects, such as community service activities, youth programs, support of military personnel/families, support of public safety, and honoring veterans.

The members of Post 1163 are very active in supporting the community through the food bank, fundraising to assist veterans in need, funeral honors, flag ceremonies, the annual magic show, working with youth groups in education and community activism, Voice of Democracy and Patriot Pen programs, and being the face of veterans and service members in the community, Letto said. It is through the memberships hard work and dedication that our post is recognized for this prominent state award.

Veterans who are interested in becoming involved in the VFW should contact Letto at tyletto@gmail.com or visit VFW Post 1163 on Facebook.
Suspicious  Sunday at 12:01 a.m., a woman told police someone was knocking on her door in the 200 block of West Street.

Suspicious  Sunday at 12:03 a.m., someone reported that a man was trying to get into the kayak rental building in Waterworks Park.

Disorderly conduct  Sunday at 1:29 a.m., someone told police that three other men in the 400 block of South Center Street jumped a man.

Intoxicated person  Sunday at 3:16 a.m., a 27-year-old man was cited with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and open intoxicant. The passenger, a 22-year-old woman, was cited with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

Disorderly conduct  Sunday at 4:07 a.m., a man told police that a woman hit him in the 400 block of Madison Street. The woman was asked to leave the residence.

Vandalism  Sunday at 10:49 a.m., a woman reported that her house was egged in the 600 block of East South Street.

Vandalism  Sunday at 12:49 p.m., a woman in the 200 block of Webster Street reported that a patio window was shattered.

Misc.  Sunday at 2:36 p.m., a woman near the East Mill Street and South University Avenue intersection told police she couldnt remember where she locked her bike up. Police located the bike.

Break-in  Sunday at 2:47 p.m., a man told police that that someone was in his apartment in the 700 block of South Lincoln Avenue. Nothing was missing.

Animal  Sunday at 5:09 p.m., a dog bit a man while he was trying to break up a dog fight in the 400 block of Monroe Street.

Animal  Sunday at 6:53 p.m., a car near the Park Avenue and South Lincoln Drive intersection hit a cat.

Drugs  Sunday at 7:10 p.m., someone told police about a possible drug transaction in the 100 block of Lakecrest Drive.

Animal  Sunday at 7:12 p.m., a man told police that people took off a storm drain cover in the 100 block of Cody Drive. The people said a cat was stuck in storm sewer.

Fight  Sunday at 10:35 p.m., two men were in a fight in the 100 block of North Spring Street. A 29-year-old man was arrested due to a Winnebago County warrant.

Accident  Monday at 9:24 a.m., a vehicle hit a parked car in the 1200 block of North Center Street.

Vandalism  Monday at 12:20 p.m., a vehicle was keyed in the St. Katherine Drexel Parish parking lot, 408 S. Spring St.

Intoxicated person  Monday at 12:54 p.m., someone in the 400 block of Madison Street reported that a man was lying on the sidewalk. The man was released to a responsible party.

Hit and run  Monday at a man reported that a vehicle door and mirror were scratched near the West Water Street and West Maple Avenue intersection.

Theft  Monday at 6:47 p.m., a woman reported the theft of a purse at Wal-Mart Supercenter, 120 Frances Lane.

Accident  Monday at 7:09 p.m., a woman drove into a traffic light near Travel Mart, 821 Park Ave.

Theft  Monday at 8:21 p.m., a woman reported the theft of an iPad in the 300 block of Rosendale Street.

Suspicious  Monday at 8:54 p.m., a woman reported that a man was in a restaurant in the 1600 block of North Spring Street and was staring at employees. He was asked to leaved but remained in the parking lot. Police advised that he move along.

Disorderly conduct  Tuesday at 12:45 a.m., a woman and a man were involved in an altercation in the 100 block of North Roosevelt Drive.

Accident  Tuesday at 2:17 a.m., an officer assisted Dodge County Sheriffs Office and Beaver Dam Fire Department at an accident scene near the Highway 151 and Gunn Road intersection.
After waiting months to fill its open emergency management director position, the town of Necedah has two residents ready to do the job.

The town approved Scott Darnell as the new director and Steve Norling as his backup during the July 10 board meeting at town/village hall. The position has been open since March when former director Gerry Ganther chose to step down. It is an unpaid position.

The management director oversees the towns emergency procedures in the event of a natural disaster or other calamity. Board Chairman Terry Taft said having two directors isnt unusual.

The town of Germantown has two and they have a population of 1,700 people, Taft said, noting the town of Necedah has more residents. If Scott is out of town for a week or two, well have someone to fill in.

I dont care, Ill take it, Norling said.

The towns new emergency management team will work with Juneau County Emergency Management Director Gervase Thompson if an issue arises. Both Darnell and Norling and taking classes to become certified in emergency management.

We dont pay a set salary for them, but whatever training they need, we pay for their mileage and training expenses, said Town Clerk Susan Kosinski.

Schultz welcomed

as road supervisor

Taft introduced Leo Schultz as the municipalitys new road supervisor. Schultz started June 27 and is becoming acclimated with the towns large area and many roads.

Hes a little bit new at this, but were happy to have him aboard, Taft said.

Schultz has experience operating dump trucks and heavy machinery through previous positions in excavating. Before coming to Necedah, Schultz worked for Gerke Excavating from Tomah. Schultz replaces former road supervisor Darrell Santana who accepted a position in the Milwaukee area.

In his first report to the town, Schultz said his crew has been busy grading roadways. He also said town residents are continuing to place materials in the dumpster at the town garage on days that arent designated for trash dumping. Kosinski said residents can drop off trash at the dumpster the second Saturday of every month from 9 a.m.  noon and the fourth Wednesday of the month from 3 p.m.  6 p.m.

It never changed, but the dumpsters have been unlocked for awhile, Kosinski said. Its going to take awhile for people to hear they are now locked and its not a free for all.

The town plans to place better signs at the dumpster alerting residents when its locked and what times it will be available.

Water remains

an issue

Residents at the meeting said motorists are ignoring a road closed sign blocking off 25th Street due to high water.

Some motorists are using residents driveways to turn around when they see the road is closed, causing damage to property. Necedah and neighboring communities have been dealing with high water levels for several months. Last Septembers flooding sparked the problem, which only intensified with spring runoff and the high amounts of rain the region has received this summer.

Town residents believe the area needs better drainage systems in place before it can fix damaged and closed roadways.

We have issues with the water table here, Taft said. We have to wait for the water to come down before we can really do anything.

Necedah officials stressed for residents to remain patient as it works with the county and state to find solutions.

Also at the meeting, the board changed the October meeting date to Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 6:30 p.m. Taft said he will be at a Wisconsin Towns Association meeting the previous Monday so the board voted to change its meeting date.

Tanya Kotlowski, the new superintendent at Necedah Area Schools, gave a brief presentation to the board. Kotlowski, who grew up in neighboring Adams County, takes over for Larry Gierach who retired in June. Kotlowski previously worked in the Adams-Friendship School District.
Following torrential downpours that flooded streets, basements and fields early Monday, a second wave of severe weather came through southern Wisconsin early Wednesday, with the new surge of water flooding streets and waterways and creating meteorological misery from La Crosse to Kenosha.

It appears the hardest-hit areas were in Walworth, Racine and Kenosha counties, said Lori Getter, crisis communications manager at Wisconsin Emergency Management.

Rainfall amounts from the Milwaukee office of the National Weather Service proved it, with 7.75 inches of rain at Bohners Lake in Kenosha County, 6.6 inches at the Burlington airport in Racine County and 5 inches in Genoa City in Walworth County.

The Kenosha County Sheriffs Department said crews evacuated eight people and two dogs Wednesday from the Pleasant Prairie Mobile Home Park after rising waters from a nearby ditch flooded the park. No one was hurt.

Numerous other municipalities also had to contend with with impassable streets due to flooding. Amtrak had to suspend travel between Milwaukee and Chicago, but service on the Hiawatha line resumed Wednesday afternoon.

There have been washed-out roads in Clark and Chippewa counties, and a bridge was washed out in the town of Lafayette in Chippewa County, Getter said.

Manhole covers were blowing off on streets in Waukesha because of too much water in storm sewers, and the Honey Creek dam in East Troy was being monitored because water was flowing over the top.

Madison had plenty of rain Wednesday morning, but only seven-tenths of an inch was recorded at the airport.

Madison Streets Division Superintendent Chris Kelley said a few trees came down, some streets were flooded and there were reports of washouts along some streets, but all in all the city came out in good shape.

If we get more rain, however, we can expect some trees to get uprooted, Kelley said.

A lightning strike at about 4 a.m. Wednesday destroyed a 60-foot ash tree at the corner of Harvest Hill and Westfield roads on Madisons Far West Side. The lightning damaged part of the sidewalk, blew out some windows and damaged the siding of a nearby house; it also threw debris from the tree up to 130 feet away. The downed tree blocked Harvest Hill Road for more than five hours.

Alliant Energy had about 2,600 customers without power at noon Wednesday, mostly in far southwest Wisconsin near Dubuque and in the Lake Geneva area.

We Energies had restored power to 20,000 customers since early Wednesday, leaving fewer than 600 without power by late afternoon.

A flood warning was issued Wednesday morning for the Rock River at Afton south of Janesville, since the river reached flood stage at 9 feet by mid-morning. The river had receded below flood stage by evening.

Cooler and drier air is coming on Thursday, and the sun is expected to be the dominant weather feature on Friday and through the weekend.

Temperatures are expected to be seasonal, mostly in the upper 70s to low 80s, with a slight chance for storms Saturday night  the only rain in the forecast from Thursday night to Tuesday.

State Journal reporter Barry Adams and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
South Africa needs a sensible debate about its Reserve Bank

Debates on monetary policy in South Africa over the last couple of decades seem to have come from a madhouse.

First, in the 1990s the country had old discredited Washington Consensus policies rammed down its throat. This was done with little regard for alternative progressive ideas and little or no democratic debate or public participation.

And then recently the countrys Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane released a report that made sweeping populist recommendations about the South Africa Reserve Bank. The report favoured revising the countrys constitution and a binding recommendation for a monetary policy regime that excludes any reference to price stability. A mandate like this simply doesnt exist in any comparable country with a well-developed private banking system.

To put the report in context we want to focus on basic monetary policy principles that have been debated for centuries by serious thinkers and scholars. We also explore how South Africa can move the debate forward constructively and responsibly.

Broadly, thinkers on monetary policy can be considered on a scale with sound money advocates on the one side, and those concerned that money and banking must serve the productive economy  lets call them serve-society advocates  on the other.

We locate ourselves unambiguously on the serve-society side of the debate. We agree with William Lowndes who served in the British Treasury in 1695, who said that money supply must serve society. Thomas Attwood in the 19th Century, John Maynard Keynes, the trade union leader Ernest Bevin and Hyman P Minsky in 20th Century, concurred.

Unlike Mkhwebanes report, these economists, particularly Keynes and Minsky, understood that currency and money markets under capitalism have a nasty tendency to be unstable. Thats why the regulatory and lender of last resort function of the Reserve Bank is so vital. (When the operations of the inter-banking lending market cease to operate, the lender of last resort is the entity  usually a Central Bank  that has sufficient liquidity to lend to banks short of funds.)

The South African Reserve Bank has performed these roles moderately well for almost a century. The country hasnt had a systemic banking crises since the formation of the Reserve Bank in 1921. Experts in the field Calomiris and Haber, 2004, find that South Africa is among the most stable top 13 banking systems in the world. The Reserve Bank should take credit for much of that.

That doesnt mean that its beyond criticism which is why a serious debate is needed. The debate doesnt need to rely on the ideas of fringe adventurers and crackpots. The country has a wealth of intellectual talent on monetary and central banking policy inside and outside its universities that straddle the ideological spectrum. The countrys public intellectuals in the unions and in civil society organisations have excellent ideas on central banking and monetary policy. Ordinary citizens should be drawn in too.

One thing is clear: things cannot remain as they are because so much is changing in the world of central banking and in economic life.

The two camps

Sound money thinkers tend to view banking as just another business, best left to the free market. Historically sound money economists have preferred deregulation of the banking system. But since the spectacular collapse of thousands of banks in many parts of the world in the 1930s, and the banking and financial crises after 2008 , very few now propose abolishing the lender of last resort function of central banks.

Sound money economists now want central bankers bound by rules, rather than allowing for discretion. But they still focus on the virtues of trade and private finance.

For their part, serve-society advocates worry about production, employment and growth.

Keynes  by no measure a crank or a crackpot  was very much in favour of adjusting monetary and fiscal policy where necessary. He was a passionate advocate of sound banking and financial regulation because he understood the inherent instability of capitalism. He warned that getting it wrong could massively increase poverty and unemployment.

In 1933 he proposed three safeguards when shifting economic policy priorities: Firstly, dont be doctrinaire. Secondly, he maintained that the economic transition of a society is a thing to be accomplished slowly. And thirdly, dont allow intolerance and the stifling of instructed criticism. For those not in public office he offered this final piece of advice:

Words ought to be a little wild  for they are the assault of thought on the unthinking.

A changing world

Conventional notions of what central banks are, and of what they should do, face a number of challenges. For example, the processes of technological innovation, including the growth of crypto currencies like Bitcoin, are rapidly reshaping some of the core functions of central banks.

And over the last three decades a number of economic factors have forced central banks to review their roles. Theyve had to do so to align their functions with other states in the wake of greater economic regionalisation, the creation of monetary unions and the establishment of regional central banks.

The events of 2008 also shook confidence in the ability of central banks to use their reputedly vast capacity and skills to predict and head off the crisis. This has been particularly true as far as their regulatory responsibilities to promote financial stability are concerned.

As pointed out by Princeton Professor and former deputy-Governor of the Banque du France, Jean Pierre Landau, a return to the status quo ante in respect of central bank policy is neither desirable nor indeed feasible.

Despite this warning the status quo ante is being defended all over the world as if nothing has changed, and as if all is well in our economies.

Let the debate begin

After the release of the Public Protectors report the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Lesetja Kganyago, offered the potential space to begin a serious debate about South African monetary policy aimed at creating a more inclusive and prosperous society and economy.

But, he warned, such a discussion would have to be based on evidence and sound analysis.

In our view ideas must come from across the ideological spectrum. And they must be debated in legitimate and properly structured forums. One place to begin the discussion would be Parliaments Portfolio Committee on Finance.

Other structures  such as the Reserve Banks Monetary Policy Forums (as proposed by the governor) and forums led by business, labour and civil society organisations as well as universities  need to keep up the momentum.

There must be no place for defensive postures, arrogance or condescension. The debate must be guided by one overriding objective: to improve the quality of life of the many South Africans for whom the end of apartheid has brought no real material change? It must consider the impact of change on employment, investment and growth.

Vishnu Padayachee, Distinguished Professor and Derek Schrier and Cecily Cameron Chair in Development Economics, School of Economics and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand and Bradley Bordiss, PhD candidate Development Economics, School of Economics and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
No scientific credibility to claim that vaping is 95% safer than cigarettes

Lancet calls research extraordinarily flimsy. What do we know about the safety of e-cigarettes?

Africa Check, a partner of Wits Journalism and with the help of research done by Dr Patrick Ngassa Piotie from the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute , this week published their findings after investigating the reliability of a UK research report and its claims that are now being used by e-cigarette companies in South Africa to support claims in their advertising material that their products are 95% safer than traditional cigarettes:

Tobacco smokers turn to battery-powered electronic cigarettes, some containing nicotine, in places where smoking is banned or to help them quit. Many believe vaping is much less harmful than regular cigarettes  specifically on the back of a controversial study.

Recently, South Africas advertising watchdog ordered electronic cigarette seller Twisp to pull a radio ad saying its products are 95% safer than smoking. Yet the claim still appears on its website.

Its also on the website of a Twisp competitor, Vaperite. Both say it was the conclusion of an agency of the UKs department of health, Public Health England.

To be clear, the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa did not judge whether the Public Health England review was credible. It ruled that the claim was not adequately substantiated for the products advertised.

In this fact-check, well take over where the advertising authority left off. Is there sound evidence that the smoking of e-cigarettes  more commonly called vaping  is 95% safer than regular ones?

Cigarettes scored 99.6% maximum relative harm

The Public Health England report, titled E-cigarettes: an evidence update, was published in August 2015. However, its conclusion was based on a research report published the year before in the journal European Addiction Research.

The Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, a UK charity, got together a panel of 12 international experts in London in 2013. The panellists had expertise in a variety of disciplines to do with nicotine and tobacco research, such as medicine, psychiatry, policy and law. (Note: Dr Kgosi Letlape, president of the Health Professions Council of South Africa was one of the panellists.)

During a two-day workshop, the experts used a model called multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to estimate the harm of products that contain nicotine. When faced with an important decision, a group of people using the MCDA method will select the best or most preferred alternative among a set of options. Such a decision is made after analysing multiple criteria thoroughly and weighing their importance.

Using this method, the panel rated electronic nicotine delivery system products such as e-cigarettes to have only 4% maximum relative harm. Cigarettes were ranked as the most harmful nicotine product with a score of 99.6%.

Limitations: Lack of data & selection of panel

Before you reach for an e-cigarette, its important to read on to two key limitations the panel itself pointed out.

The first is that they had to deal with a lack of data. E-cigarettes are fairly recent products and have therefore not been researched thoroughly when it comes to dependence, illness and associated death. Subsequently, one could expect that e-cigarettes would score very low on those key health-related criteria.

The second is that the expert panel wasnt selected based on formal criteria, meaning bias could have crept in. This problem is compounded by the conflicts of interest some panellists disclosed.

For instance, Riccardo Polosa, a professor of internal medicine, reported serving as a consultant to Arbi Group Srl, an e-cigarette distributor. Another author, Dr Karl Fagerstrom, has served as a consultant for most companies with an interest in tobacco dependence treatments. One such company is Nicoventures, which was set up by British American Tobacco to develop and commercialise non-tobacco nicotine products.

Lancet calls research extraordinarily flimsy

Though the vaping horse had bolted, criticism quickly followed. In an editorial a week after the Public Health England report was published, The Lancet medical journal called the research extraordinarily flimsy.

This was for the reasons pointed out earlier: the absence of evidence, the way the experts were selected and the multiple conflicts of interest.

The Lancet concluded that the reliance by Public Health England on work that the authors themselves accept is methodologically weak, and which is made all the more perilous by the declared conflicts of interest surrounding its funding, raises serious questions not only about the conclusions of the Public Health England report, but also about the quality of the agencys peer review process.

Two weeks later, the British Medical Journal followed suit. In an analysis, two British professors described the research from which the claim was extracted as a single meeting of 12 people convened to develop a multi-criteria decision analysis model to synthesise their opinions on the harms associated with different nicotine-containing products.

The deputy vice-chancellor for research at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University in South Africa, Professor Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, has written extensively on tobacco control and usage in sub-Saharan Africa. He told Africa Check that is questionable whether the same percentage difference would be obtained when researchers used accepted risk assessment principles, compared to the panellists value judgements.

What do we know about the safety of e-cigarettes?

So, the paper which was the basis for the claim that vaping is 95% safer than smoking has a number of holes. But are there perhaps other, thorough scientific studies to back it up?

Most reviews suggest its too early to say for sure. The Cochrane network of health researchers considered all studies up to January 2016 where e-cigarettes were used to help people stop smoking tobacco.

The reviewers wrote: Expert consensus broadly holds that, based on all available evidence, electronic cigarettes are considerably safer than traditional cigarettes, but further studies are needed to establish their safety profile compared with established smoking cessation aids.

An earlier review published in the journal Preventative Medicine  looking more widely at the health effects of e-cigarettes  evaluated studies published up until 14 August 2014. It concluded that due to the many methodological problems, the relatively few and often small studies, the inconsistencies and contradictions in results and the lack of long-term results, no firm conclusions can be drawn on the safety of e-cigarettes. However, they can hardly be considered harmless.

Because the jury is still out, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved e-cigarettes containing nicotine as a product to help people quit smoking.

Ultimately, the World Health Organization reported in August 2016 that no specific figure about how much safer the use of these products is compared to smoking can be given any scientific credibility at this time.

In the final instance, harm to others must also be considered when evaluating evidence, not only the relative harm at the level of an individual smoker, Prof Lekan Ayo-Yusuf told Africa Check.

While e-cigarettes might be an efficient nicotine-delivery device for an individual smoker, it remains unknown how effective this would be in reducing population harm, he said. When e-cigarettes are available without regulation, possible community harm may include the re-normalising of regular cigarette smoking and the promotion of smoking among young people.

Conclusion: The claim is unproven

The idea that smoking e-cigarettes are 95% safer than regular ones comes from a research report that was published in 2014. It was catapulted to public prominence through a 2015 review by an agency of the UK department of health.

The review was quickly lambasted by two leading medical journals, The Lancet and British Medical Journal. Both highlighted that there isnt yet enough data on this fairly new product to rate its safety and that it was essentially based on the opinion of 12 experts.

Furthermore, the deputy vice-chancellor of a South African medical school told Africa Check that it is questionable whether such a difference can be replicated using established techniques.

More research is needed to say with scientific credibility whether e-cigarettes are safer than regular smoking.

Patrick Ngassa Piotie (@PatNgassa) is a medical doctor hailing from Cameroon and has a masters degree in public health from the University of Pretoria. He currently works as a researcher at the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute.

This article was used courtesy of Africa Check, a non-profit organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org  Copyright Africa Check 2017
Grad student uses high-tech medical device to study fish

CAT scan : Computer tomography allows scanning of fish skeletons, like this from an Ocellated Frogfish, in exquisite detail. Frogfish are in the same family as toadfish. Specimen from the collections of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Photo by Diego Vaz Photo - of - Hide Caption

If youve spent time in the shallow waters of Chesapeake Bay or the Atlantic seaboard, youve likely encountered a fish with a face only a mother could love.

Toadfishes are very different from a usual fish, says Diego Vaz, who is studying the creatures for his doctoral research at William & Marys Virginia Institute of Marine Science. They have a stocky body, a flattened head, and very large pectoral fins. They also have bulging eyes, fleshy whiskers, and the ability to make noises variously described as grunts, growls, and hums. Some people think they sound like a vibrating cell phone.

Oyster toadfish, also called oyster crackers for their ability to crush the shells of the tasty bivalves, are the only toadfish species in Chesapeake Bay, where they play an important role as predators of young crabs. But all told, there are thought to be 82 species worldwide, including several in the tropical waters off Brazil, where Vaz grew up. It is partly this diversity that drew him to the study of the toadfish family; he was also fascinated by their unusual reproductive behavior.

Unlike most marine fishes, which have free-swimming larvae, oyster toadfish build nests and take care of the eggs he explains. And it is the males that do sothey attract females to the nest during mating season with vocalizations produced by a swim bladder that has sonic muscles attached to it.

Yet details of toadfish behavior and biology are known for only a few species. For most toadfishes, says Vaz, basic information is lackingwere unsure of their anatomy, modes of reproduction, age to maturity, whether males and females differ, and so on. Several species are known from just a few specimens, and one, a toadfish from South Africa, is based on study of a single fish.

CAT scans for toadfishes

To help better understand toadfish biology and evolution, Vaz and his advisor, VIMS professor Eric Hilton, have turned to a new tool for marine researchcomputerized tomography, or what many know from a medical visit as a CAT or CT scan.

CT scanning is a procedure that takes thousands of X-ray pictures of the same specimen from different angles, says Vaz. The result is a 3-D model of the skeleton. He notes that it is particularly useful for studying the skeletal anatomy of uncommon species.

A big advantage of CT scanning, he says, is that it is non-invasive. To investigate toadfish skeletons, I had asked to borrow specimens from museum collections around the world, but no museum will send out a rare specimen to go through an invasive procedure. CT scans fixed this issue.

Vaz captures his CT scans in the lab of Dr. Adam Summers at the University of Washingtons Friday Harbor Laboratories. Adam offers free use of his CT scanner to any researcher, says Vaz. I've been there three times since last year to scan biological material.

Summers operates the CT device as part of Scan All Fishes, a long-term effort to scan every species of fish worldwide for online access. This is a very neat part of the project, says Vaz, to offer this free source of anatomical information for any purposefrom science to education. He already has plans to incorporate some of the scanned images into a course for marine science minors at W&M.

To visualize soft tissues, Vaz turns to old-fashioned dissection, and a procedure known as clearing and staining. For the latter, he says You put a specimen through a series of chemicals that stain bones red, cartilage blue, and that leave other tissues transparent. Vaz calls the results colorful and beautiful.

Chemicals can also be used to reveal soft tissues in CT scans, but like dissection and clearing and staining, these processes modify the specimen and you cant reverse the changes, says Vaz. He thus applies invasive methods only when a toadfish species is abundant and specimens easily obtained. Such is the case with most toadfish species from the mid-Atlantic. The Nunnally Ichthyology Collection at VIMS alone holds 42 specimens of the oyster toadfish Opsanus tau.

Putting toadfish in their place

CT scans and other analytical techniques have enabled Vaz to begin exploring some of the fundamental questions of toadfish biology. Although researchers have long considered toadfishes a natural group that evolved from a single common ancestor, he says, we know very little about their evolution.

A recent study explored evolutionary relationships among toadfishes by examining skeletons of one species in each of the 23 known genera. But Vaz says many questions remain. How might the skeleton vary within each genus, or between juveniles and adults? he asks. And can anatomical features other than the skeleton aid our understanding of their evolution?

Vaz also questions how toadfishes relate to other fish families. Recent studies have placed toadfishes in different positions on the tree of life, he says. Historically, scientists thought they were most closely related to cods, angler-fishes, and cusk-eels. But the recent analyses agree they are just as closely related to other spiny fishes. So, theres room to investigate this aspect too.

For Vaz, the importance of understanding the basics of toadfish anatomy is clear. This knowledge is the foundation of biology, he says. It allows us to define and distinguish species. Every biological study relies on taxonomical and systematic knowledge to recognize its object of study. No agency can protect any organism and its diversity if it doesn'tt have this primary information.

Vaz and Hilton stress the key role that museum collections play in supporting taxonomic research, and the importance of training scientists in the fundamental skills of species identification and classification.

Its not just systematic biologists that use classifications, says Hilton. So do conservation groups, lawmakers, and the general public, particularly for highly endangered groups of organisms.

I recently found the third known specimen of Barchatus indicus, a toadfish from the Red Sea and Somalia shore, adds Vaz. This specimen was sitting in Harvards Museum of Comparative Zoology for more than 50 years without being properly identified. You cant understand or manage a fish or fishery if you cant identify all its species.
W&M joins other Virginia research universities in instrument-sharing agreement

A core of cores William Schubert 19 uses a hirox microscope in ISC 1223, one of William & Mary core instrument labs. The university entered into a formal agreement with other Virginia research universities to share scientific equipment. The 1223 lab also houses instruments such as a time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometer and a variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometer. Photo by Joseph McClain Photo - of - Hide Caption

William & Mary has joined six other Virginia research institutions in a formal agreement that will encourage shared use of scientific instrumentation.

The other signatories of the five-year Memorandum of Understanding are Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, University of Virginia, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Old Dominion University and Virginia Tech.

William & Mary hopes and expects this agreement to share resources will heighten the efficiency of each participants efforts and the excellence of research done in the commonwealth, said William & Mary President Taylor Reveley. Effective collaboration can bear rich fruit for us all.

The MOU formalizes and places on an institutional basis the casual scientist-helping-scientist practices of the past, explained Dennis Manos, William & Marys vice provost for research. He credits CEO Michael Grisham of the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corporation (VBHRC) with spearheading the drive that led to the agreement, which was based on an existing mutual-assistance arrangement between the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University.

The instrument-sharing agreement is the second multi-university collaborative program orchestrated by VBHRC. The Virginia Neuroscience Initiative (VNI) is a collaborative that involves all the signatories of the instrument-sharing MOU plus five medical centers.

Manos explained that VNIs goal is to facilitate collaboration among researchers and includes a registry of Virginia neuroscientists. While the new collaborative is based on instruments, rather than individuals, organized sharing of important lab equipment across the commonwealth is a practice that will benefit all participants, he added.

One part of the idea is that we can increase the effectiveness of the faculty, staff and students doing research work in the universities, Manos said. Every institution cant own every scientific instrument, and pooling resources is one way of making sure that were not limited by the in-house existence or availability of a piece of equipment to do a job.

Manos said the agreement will create a pool of laboratory instruments for the common use of Virginias scientists. A researcher will be able to use equipment at another consortium university at the same cost as scientists at the host institution.

For instance, we have a transmission electron microscope thats good enough for most of what we do, but UVA has a better TEM. Its unbelievably good, he said. In the event that one of our folks finds our instrument inadequate for their work, it would be nice to use the better one that our colleagues have in Charlottesville.

An online inventory of the instrumentation at all seven institutions is being prepared, so that scientists with a question will know what institution can offer equipment that can point to an answer. Manos noted that William & Mary will be adding a long slate of instruments to the list, including the universitys 17.5-tesla NMR magnet, a live-cell confocal microscope and $1.5 million in equipment recently added to the Integrated Science Center through the Cabell Challenge.

Its unrealistic to think that all of the spectrometers, CAT scanners, confocal microscopes and other machines that make up Virginias STEM arsenal are sitting idle and ready for use by a guest, and so Manos said that an ideal inventory will include updated information on availability of each instrument, in addition to a description of the capabilities.

On any given day, you dont know what piece of equipment is working and you don't know what is available, he said, adding that sometimes an instrument is dedicated for a single experiment for months, even years. Thats part of the beauty of having a centralized inventory.

Each member of the consortium will appoint faculty who will act as contacts for intermural instrument use. Christopher Del Negro, chair of the Department of Applied Science, and Eric Bradley, chair of the Department of Biology, are points of contact at William & Mary.

A list of available instruments throughout Virginia is only a start, as Manos points out that sharing the necessary know-how for operating equipment and interpreting the results is implicit in the agreement. He used the example of William & Marys time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometer (TOF-SIMS), an expensive and versatile device that is useful for understanding the detailed surface characteristics of a wide range of materials, ranging from organic tissue to semiconductors.

We have experts who have been using the TOF-SIMS for years, and were good at interpreting what the data means. If someone came from another university to use our TOF-SIMS and were puzzled by their data, we would happily talk with them, he said.

VBHRC, also known as the Virginia Catalyst, is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation funded by the Virginia General Assemblys general fund and seven of Virginias research universities, including William & Mary. A press release announcing the signing of the MOU reports that the organization has now awarded 24 grants totaling $10 million, combined with $20 million in matching funds, which financed the achievement of meaningful milestones. This support resulted in follow-on funding of an additional $80 million and the creation of high-paying jobs throughout the Commonwealth, the release noted.




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Euratom gains new attention in UK parliament debate

12 July 2017

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The British government and media are discussing with renewed concern the prospect of the UK's departure from the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Current plans would see the UK leave both the European Union and Euratom by April 2019.

The peaceful use of nuclear energy within the EU is governed by the 1957 Euratom Treaty which established the Euratom Community as a separate legal entity, but which is now governed by the EU's institutions. The UK government announced the intention to leave Euratom in explanatory notes to a bill it published on 26 January authorising Brexit. The notes state the bill empowers the prime minister to leave both the EU and Euratom.

Nuclear power plants generate almost 30% of the electricity produced in the EU - from 130 reactor units in operation in 14 EU countries. Each EU country decides alone whether to include nuclear power in its energy mix or not, but Euratom establishes a common market in nuclear goods, services, capital and people within the EU. The Euratom framework also includes nuclear cooperation agreements with third party countries, including Canada, Japan and the USA. It facilitates UK participation in long-term research and development projects, and it also provides a framework for international nuclear safeguard compliance.

Parliament's EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee said yesterday it had launched a new inquiry into the implications of Brexit for energy security in the UK. The committee will begin taking evidence in September and will examine issues that include the implications of withdrawing from Euratom. Meanwhile, some Members of Parliament (MPs) are urging the government to rethink its position towards this treaty.

"The UK and the EU have common energy needs, and rely on common rules and an energy market to help ensure a secure energy supply. Leaving the EU exposes the UK energy system to some critical uncertainties, with potential impacts for both industry and consumers," the committee said. "This inquiry will seek to highlight the issues the government will need to consider when developing a new energy relationship with the EU to ensure secure, affordable and sustainable energy."

Among other issues, the committee will also examine: what the UK can learn from other non-EU countries' experience of trading energy with the EU; how the Single Energy Market on the island of Ireland could be maintained; and the UK's approach to funding energy infrastructure investment and energy research post-Brexit.

'Nobody ever complained'

The prospect of the UK's departure from Euratom has attracted British media attention in recent days, as 'rebels' in Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party are arguing this would not be in the country's best interests.

May emerged successful but weakened from the general election on 8 June, short of the 326 MPs required for an overall majority - with only 318, down from 331 before. She then secured the support of ten MPs of the Democratic Unionist Party, but this week suspended an MP from her own party.

The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg reported yesterday that there are "plenty of would-be rebels who believe they have the numbers on all sorts of issues to force the government to back down". She added: "First up could be membership of the European nuclear safety agency, Euratom. The rebels are very confident they have the numbers to get the prime minister to back down without even having to put an amendment down. One cabinet minister told me it would be a sensible move to show willing to compromise on an issue which doesn't raise much public concern, and would not raise too much suspicion of Brexit backsliding."

The Guardian newspaper said on 10 July: "Of all the many European collaborations threatened by Brexit, the UK's participation in [Euratom] might seem an odd subject for Tory [Conservative] rebels to pick for their first fight. But the government's policy on leaving this nuclear safety and research watchdog provides an unusually clear-cut example of the economic pain of taking back control - and one for which there is unusually limited political justification."

The Financial Times reported yesterday, "Since Theresa May has committed the country to severing all ties with the European Court of Justice (ECJ), it also required a separate clause announcing our intention to leave in the Article 50 legislation that triggered the start of the two-year Brexit process in March. But the cost of any short-term chaos is hard to justify given that nobody ever complained about the minor compromises imposed by Euratom on British sovereignty in the first place. Instead, it provides an embarrassing example of the unintended consequences of the prime minister's hard red line on dealing with the ECJ," it said.

'Very alarming'

In a position paper Exiting Euratom it published on 3 May, the UK's Nuclear Industry Association said the government needs to work closely with industry to bring about replacement arrangements in a timely manner. The paper sets out the priority areas for negotiations with the European Commission as the UK ceases to be a full member of the Euratom community alongside the process to leave the EU. It also sets out the steps the government needs to take "to avoid serious disruption to normal nuclear business" in the UK and across the EU.

Tom Greatrex, NIA chief executive, said today reports that there was no impact assessment undertaken by the government before deciding to trigger leaving Euratom are "very concerning".



He said: "While the industry has provided government with detailed information to help them understand the role of Euratom, it has also repeatedly been made clear to government that the industry's preferred position is retain membership of Euratom. It is important now that the government ensures there is regular and constant dialogue with the industry, so they can understand the full consequences of decisions they will take over the period ahead."



He added: "While medical isotopes are not classed as special fissile material and so not subject to safeguarding provisions, it is not accurate to say that Euratom has no impact on radioisotopes used to diagnose and treat serious conditions. We are not able to produce them in the UK, so they are imported mostly from France, Belgium and the Netherlands. As they are listed in the Euratom treaty (appendix A2) as part of the common area in nuclear goods, services and material, they are subject to the treaty. With half-lives of days, the ability to trade and move isotopes constantly is required. It is imperative that the government ensures there is no impediment to the supply of isotopes as a consequence of leaving Euratom."

Some 43% of people surveyed by YouGov for New Nuclear Watch Europe are in favour of the UK negotiating to remain a member of the Euratom Treaty, and 30% supportive of the creation of a new, nuclear regulatory group including EU and non-EU countries.

R esearched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Nigerian regulator committed to safety, says IAEA

12 July 2017

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Nigeria has a committed regulatory body that works for the continuous improvement of nuclear and radiation safety, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) peer review mission has concluded. However, it noted challenges related to its independence in implementing regulatory decisions and activities.

An IAEA Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) team today completed a ten-day mission to Nigeria. The 12-member team comprised senior experts from France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Latvia, Morocco, Pakistan, Slovenia, Turkey and Zimbabwe, as well as three IAEA staff members. The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) is the body responsible for regulatory oversight in the African country.

IRRS missions are designed to strengthen the effectiveness of the national radiation safety regulatory infrastructure, while recognising the responsibility of each member state to ensure nuclear and radiation safety. The missions compare regulatory technical and policy issues with IAEA safety standards and, where appropriate, good practices elsewhere. The regulatory review process also draws directly upon the wide-ranging international experience and expertise of the regulatory review team members. The review leads to a report that identifies good practices and provides recommendations and suggestions for improvement.

"The IRRS team recognises the strong commitment of Nigeria to improving nuclear and radiation safety."



Lamberto Matteocci,

IRRS mission leader

The IRRS team identified good practice in the NNRA's routine training for news media to inform them about its processes and decisions, as well as the possible radiation risks associated with facilities and activities.

The team also made recommendations and suggestions to the government and NNRA to help them further enhance the country's regulatory framework in line with IAEA safety standards. These include the government establishing a national policy on safety and ensuring the corresponding legal framework is in line with those safety standards. It also recommends that the government ensures the NNRA is effectively independent and is functionally separate from entities having responsibilities or interests that could influence its decision-making.

The IRRS team also suggested NNRA carry out an analysis of all competencies needed to cover its responsibilities, and develop and implement a human resource and training plan. It should also ensure all facilities and activities have valid authorisation, and establish and implement an enforcement policy to respond to non-compliance. The NNRA should also consider formalising cooperation with other authorities having responsibilities related to safety.

Team leader Lamberto Matteocci, technical coordinator for nuclear safety and radiation protection at the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, said: "The IRRS team recognises the strong commitment of Nigeria to improving nuclear and radiation safety. We believe the outcome of this mission will be of great help to the country in order to enhance its national regulatory framework."

NNRA director general Lawrence Dim said, "The Nigerian government will work with the IAEA to develop a work-plan for the implementation of the mission's recommendations and suggestions. Nigeria is always ready to cooperate with the Agency in the area of nuclear and radiation safety, as well as in other areas. We are committed to using the IAEA safety standards and international best practices to improve our policy, and legal, technical and regulatory infrastructure."

The final IRRS mission report will be submitted to the Nigerian government in about three months, the IAEA said. It noted Nigerian authorities have said they plan to make the report public.

According to the IAEA, Nigeria makes extensive use of radiation sources in medical and industrial applications, as well as in science and research. It started up its first research reactor at Ahmadu Bello University in 2004 for the analysis of materials and training.

To address rapidly increasing baseload electricity demand, Nigeria has sought the support of the IAEA to develop plans for up to 4000 MWe of nuclear capacity by 2025.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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How many countries are there in the world? People have argued that there are 196 countries although many believe that there are 195 countries since they do not consider Taiwan as an independent country but instead as one of the provinces of the Peoples Republic of China. There are only 193 countries officially recognized by the UN and two non-member observer states - the Vatican and Palestine. But these countries are the only officially recognized states by the UN, meaning some other countries in the world might be seeking their independence and as such are partially recognized. Some of these countries form part of the independent states such as countries formed by the collapse of Soviet Union. Here are five countries that might be mysterious to many.

5. Rehoboth Basters

The Basters are an ethnic group in Namibia who are descendants of the European settlers and the indigenous Southern Africans. They are considered a subgroup of the Afrikaners in Namibia. They have inhabited the Central Namibia since the second half of 19th century, especially in and around the town of Rehoboth. They migrated to Rehoboth around 1868 and were given permission to permanently settle around the area during a peace conference of Okahandja in 1870. The settlement was to separate them from the Nama and Herero. While at Rehoboth, the Basters drafted a constitution, installed their leaders, and set out their settlement structure. In 1885, they entered into an agreement with the Germans leading to the German colonial expansion in Rehoboth. After the Germans defeat by South African army, several efforts were made by the Basters to reestablish the independence of Rehoboth. They were incorporated into apartheid. Between 1979 and 1989, a new government was set up to govern Rehoboth as a semi-independent state. When Namibia became independent in 1990, Rehoboth lost its self-government. Since then, the Basters have been campaigning to reclaim their independence from Namibia.

4. Forvik

Forvik, officially known as the Sovereign State of Forvik, is an unrecognized micronation covering an area of about 2.5 acres of the island of Forewick Holm in the Shetland Island. Forvik was established by islands controversial owner, Stuart Hill, in 2008 when he declared the area a British Dependency Crown. However, the United Kingdom through the Ministry of Justice considered Forvik part of Shetland Island and as such was subject to the UKs legislation. The ownership of the island was disputed and there were no inhabitants except Hill who lived in tents at the time. The name Forvik was given to the island by Hill and is a pseudo-Norse version for Forewick which is the name of the headland on the adjacent Papa Stour Island. Forvik undertakes all the activities open to sovereign states including having its own parliament called The Ting. It also has its own constitution which has been signed by every member. Forvik issues citizenships, passports, and its own currency. In an attempt to attain independence, Forvik does not recognize the United Kingdom or the European Union as its superior. It also claims all rights to the sea and seabed in its water.

3. Barotseland

Barotseland is located between Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Zambia. It is inhabited by the Lozi people or Barotse which is a unity of over 20 previously individual tribes that are related through kinship. The Lozi people speak the complex Silozi language derived from Sesotho. Barotseland covers an area of about 126,000 square kilometers but might have been larger at a certain time in history. Barotseland enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy under the British colonial administration in the 19th century following the negotiations between the British South African Company and the Litunga (King) of Barotseland. The Barotseland gave the company minerals in exchange for the protectorate status. The kingdom of Barotseland was divided into two, north and south, with a man taking charge of the north and the woman taking the south. In 1964, Kenneth Kaunda and Litunga signed an agreement establishing Barotseland within Zambia. The agreement granted Barotse local self-governance right. In 1969, the government of Zambia changed Barotselands name to Western Province announcing that all provinces would be treated equally. Barotseland has since expressed a desire to secede and is theoretically independent of Zambia. It has a flag and a government called Kuta that is presided over by Ngambela or prime minister.

2. Elgaland-Vargaland

Elgaland-Vargaland is an art project and a micronation that was developed by Carl Michael Von Hausswolff and Leif Elggren in 1992. They formed the name out of their own names and defined the country as the border of other countries. The two felt that it was kind of silly that their country, Sweden, still had a king. They named themselves kings and the country were only announced in an advert in Dagens Nyheter newspaper on May 27, 1992. Elgaland-Vargaland undertakes some of the activities open to the sovereign states including a flag and a national anthem. It also issues passports and stamps on request and has several embassies, mainly art exhibitions. By 2007, Elgaland-Vargaland had 850 citizens and by 2014 it had claimed about 1000 citizens. They also regard dead people as citizens. In 2007, they announced that they had annexed Isola di San Michele, an island cemetery. Elgaland-Vargaland has established 20 embassies in different parts of the world with the ambassadors given the freedom to do whatever they want in the name of the kingdom.

1. Atlantium

The Empire of Atlantium is a micronation surrounded by sheep paddocks in rural New South Wales, Australia. It is located a short distance from the town of Boorowa and covers an area of about 0.8 square kilometers. Atlantium was founded in 1981 by George Cruickshank, George Duggan, and Claire Marie. Cruickshank was declared the sovereign Head of State with the title Emperor GeorgeII. The group ceased to be active in 1990 and was only revived in 1999 with the launching of a website that was instrumental in attracting more members. Aurora was made the global administrative capital of Atlantium and its spiritual homeland. Atlantium does not maintain any territorial claim. However, it promotes the idea that Aurora has extraordinary status in Australia. As of 2015, Atlantium has almost 3,000 citizens from over 100 countries with about 20 individuals holding functions such as imperial legate, ministers, and judges. Atlantians consider themselves dual-citizens and members are encouraged to participate in activities of their resident countries.
Flags, Symbols, & Currencies of Mongolia

The current flag of Mongolia was adopted on January 12, 1992, and resembles the old flag used between 1945 and 1992, except that the current flag has a different shade of blue and do not have the star atop the national emblem. The flag's current color standard was set in July 2011, almost 20 years after its adoption. The flag of Mongolia The flag of Mongolia consists of three, equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red, with the national emblem centered on hoist-side red band. national emblem, locally known as "soyombo" is a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol. The red color, once used to represent Communism, today represents progress and prosperity, and the blue represents the sky. The national flag has a height to length proportion of 1:2 Historical flags of Mongolia Mongolia adopted the first national flag in 1911, following the fall of the Chinese Quing dynasty and subsequent declaration of the Mongolian independence. The flag was yellow in color and featured a Soyombo, lotus flower, letter "E" and "Bam,", silk tail, and religious prayer text. In 1919, the Chinese troops occupied Mongolia and revoked its autonomy. The following year, China introduced its five-stripped flag and banned the use of the yellow Mongolian flag. Hoever, the Revolution of 1921 saw the restoration of Mongolia's independence and the readoption of the yellow flag. In 1924, Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed, with a new flag introduced. The flag had a red field with the state emblem in the middle. In 1940, Mongolia adopted a second constitution, and with it, a new flag was adopted. The new flag featured a red field with new emblem in the middle and "Mongol People's Republic" written on either side of the emblem. At the end of the Second World War, a new flag was adopted. The flag was tricolor of red-blue-red vertical bands with Soyombo centered on hoist-side red. At the top of Soyombo was a golden star.

Historical and Other Flags of Mongolia Flag of Mongolia Yellow rectangular flag with letter Flag of Mongolia Mongolia used the flag of China during this period Flag of Mongolian People's Republic Red flag with state emblem at the center Flag of People's Republic of Mongolia Red flag with new coat of arms at the center Flag of People's Republic of Mongolia Red, blue, and red vertical stripes with Soyombo on red stripes on the hoist side

Symbols of Mongolia

National Coat of Arms of Mongolia The state emblem of Mongolia was adopted on March 25, 1992, following the fall of the Communist government. The emblem is circular, with a tumen nasan (representing eternity) encircling a blue field. The blue field symbolyzes the clear sky during the day. Inside the blue field is a wind horse divided into two by Soyombo. Above the field is the Cintamani, representing the Buddhist Three Jewels. Below the wind horse is a green mountain range with the Wheel of Dharma. The emblem is supported below by khadag (ceremonial scarf)

National Anthem Anthem Title : Mongol Ulsiin toriin duula (National Anthem of Mongolia)

: Mongol Ulsiin toriin duula (National Anthem of Mongolia) Music composer : Luvsanjambyn Mordorj and Bilegiin Damdinsuren

: Luvsanjambyn Mordorj and Bilegiin Damdinsuren Lyricist : Tsendiin Damdinsuren.

: Tsendiin Damdinsuren. Date of Adoption: 1950 The national anthem of Mongolia was previously known as State Anthem of the Mongolian People's Republic." It was composed in 1950 by Luvsanjambyn Mordorj and Bilegiin Damdinsuren, with Tsendiin Damdinsuren. writing the lyrics. The anthem was officially adopted in 1950 to replace the old anthem, "Mongol Internationale" used between 1924 and 1950. The lyrics of the current anthem were slightly changed in 1961 to, among other things, remove names of some of the Soviet and Mongolian leaders. However, the 1950 lyrics were restored, with only the names of Lenin, Stalin, Sukhbaatar, and Choibalsan removed. Mongol Ulsiin toriin duula Darhan manai tusgaar uls Dayaar mongoliin aryun golomt Dalai ih deedsiin gegeen uils Dandaa enhjij, uurd monhjino. Hamag delhiin xudarga ulstai Hamtran negdsen ewee behjuulj Hatan jorig, buhii l qadlaaraa Hairtai Mongol ornoo manduulya. Ondor toriin mini suld ibeej Orgon tumnii mini zayaa tuxij Undes yazguur, hel soyoloo Uriin urdee oblon badraaya. Erelheg Mongoliin joltoi arduud Erh qoloo jargaliig edleb Jargaliin tulhuur, hogjliin tulguur Jabhlant manai oron mandtugai. National Anthem of Mongolia Our sacred independent country Is the ancestral hearth of all Mongols, May all of the world's good deeds Will prosper and continue for eternity. Our country will strengthen relations With all righteous countries of the world. And let us develop our beloved Mongolia With all our will and might. Our great nation's symbol blesses us And the people's fate supports us Let us pass on our ancestry, culture and language From generation to generation. The brilliant people of the brave Mongolia Have gained freedom and happiness, The key to delight, and the path to progress. Majestic Mongolia  our country, live forever.

The Currency of Mongolia is the Mongolian Tugrik

The Mongolian currency, known as Mongolian Tugrik/togrog, has been gaining value against the US dollar making it a strong hub for investment, especially for the neighboring China and Russia. The mineral deposits in the country have attracted Foreign Direct Investment which has helped develop the banking and financial sectors. Mongolian togrog has been the official currency of Mongolia since 1925. Coins and Banknotes The first coins, mongo coins, were introduced in 1925 in the denominations ranging from 1 to 5 made of copper, 10 and 20 made of silver, and 50 was a mix of silver and copper. However, over the years the coins were minted from aluminum, bronze, cupronickel, and gold. The shape of the coins denotes the full moon in the Mongolian culture. Just like the coins, the tugrik notes resembled the Soviet ruble during the period of the Mongolian People's Republic. They were similar in terms of color themes, design, and they included the denominations ranging from 1 to 100 togrog. The different denominations had different colors and symbols. 10, 20, and 50 Mongo were pink, yellow, and brown respectively with each having symbols of archery, wrestling, and horse riding, an important part of the cultures in the country. These denominations are no longer in use due to their low value against the US Dollar. The Purchasing Power of Mongolian Currency The current denominations have different purchasing powers such as the 10 togrog can purchase water, 100 togrog can purchase one lollipop, and 200 can purchase just a few sweets. 500 togrog is the average fare paid on public transport, 2500 togrog can afford the cheapest meal at the Tsai Nii gazar while 3500 togrog is the average price for a packet of cigarettes. 20,000 togrog would pay a taxi fare around the city center and 40,000 togrog is the average price of accommodation in a tourist hostel in Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolian tugrik Banknote Mongolian 1000 tugrik Banknote

Historical Currencies of Mongolia The Mongolian dollar was used between 1921 and 1925, and were issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollars. The currency was meant to replace the Chinese yuan but this did not happen since the Europeans considered it worthless. The dollar was finally replaced by togrog in 1925 at a rate of one Soviet ruble, with 1 tugrik equaling 18 grams of silver. . The togrog is denoted as  and abbreviated as MNT under the ISO 4217 currency code. Historically, the togrog was subdivided into 100 Mongo. The Mongo are no longer in circulation due to a reduction in their value and are normally issued to tourists as collectibles as novelties. In 2010, the togrog recorded the worlds highest increase in exchange rate against the USD at 15%. Due to the fall in investment and mining revenue, the rate is currently down by 24%. The importation of local and foreign currency in Mongolia has been limited to 815 Tugrik.
The Nepal flag was officially adopted on December 16, 1962. The flag is unique in that it is the only flag in the world that is non-quadrilateral in shape. It is, in fact, a combination of two pennons or pennants that form a double pennon. Originally, the flag had two separate pennons that represented the Rana Dynastys rival branches. In the last century, the two pennons were joined together but the new version of the flag was only adopted in 1962 when a constitutional form of government was established in Nepal. A pennon refers to a flag that is larger at the hoist than at the fly. The upper section of the flag is thus smaller than the lower one. The background color of the flag is crimson. The borders of the entire flag are in blue. The upper segment of the flag features a stylized moon. The lower segment has a white sun with 12 rays. Prior to 1962, the emblems of the flag, that is, the moon and the sun featured faces of humans. These were, however, removed in the modern version to modernize the flag.

Symbolism

Every part of the flag has its own meaning. The triangular shape of the flags pennons symbolizes the Himalayas. The crimson red color of the flag represents the color of Nepals national flower, the rhododendron. It is also believed to symbolize the bravery of the people of the country. The blue border represents the color of peace and harmony according to Nepali culture. The celestial bodies in the Nepalese flag are indicators of the permanence of the Himalayan nation. Just like the sun and the moon, the country will survive for ages. The moon is also an indicator of purity and calmness of the people of Nepal. At the same time, their fierce determination is symbolized by the stylized sun. The moon and the sun also represent the variable climate of the country. They represent the cool weather of the mountains and the warm weather of the Terai lowlands of Nepal, respectively.

History of the flag

Prior to the establishment of British rule in much of the Indian subcontinent, Nepal was one of the many independent states in the region. Nepal had its own flag representing the ruling dynasty of the region. During the British rule, Nepal managed to remain independent although it served as a buffer state between China and India. Despite the fact that flags of most other countries in the region were replaced by the flag of Imperial Britain during the colonial rule, Nepal managed to keep its traditional flag. There were, however, some changes incorporated in the flag of Nepal over the centuries. The present version flag was formally adopted on December 16, 1962.
Flags, Symbols, & Currencies of Netherlands

The Netherlands flag was officially adopted on February 19, 1937. It is a horizontal tricolor of red, blue, and white (from top to bottom) and its dimensions have a width-to-length ratio of 2:3. The fesses (stripes or bands) are equal in size, and use the following specific colors: the red stripe is officially bright vermillion; the white stripe is officially described as silver; and the blue stripe is described as cobalt blue. Influence of the Flag of the Netherlands The flag of the Netherlands has had a profound influence on the design of flags in other countries around the world as a result of shared history or economic relations. For example, the flag of Russia is thought to have been influenced by the flag of Netherlands, and in turn influenced the Slavic countries such as Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Yugoslavia. Other countries include the Republic of South Africa and several other colonies which now form part of South Africa. The flag of the Netherlands also influenced the flag of Albany, the capital of the US state of New York, as well as the flag of the mayor of New York. Other influences include the flags of the following counties in the state of New York: Duchess, Ulster, and Westchester. History of the Flag of the Netherlands In 1572, William Prince of Orange rose to lead the Dutch against Spain in the struggle for independence, and he used the following colors: orange, blue, and white. While at Leiden is 1574, the soldiers' uniforms bore these colors as well. At the time, the flag earned the name The Princes Flag, because it was made in his honor. William is known within the Netherlands as the Father of the Fatherland. However, the orange color was unstable because it eventually turned red, and therefore in the 17th century the orange color was officially replaced with red, which has remained to date, although the official decree to adopt the flag was not was made until 1937.

Historical flags of Netherlands Flag of Netherlands Orange, white, and blue horizontal stripes

Symbols of Netherlands

National Coat of Arms of Italy The royal coat of arms is placed on a mantle of ermine surmounted by a crown. The coat of arms date from 1815, when the Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded but was first adopted in 1907. It is the same as the Dutch national coat of arms and originates from the House of Nassau in Germany. It consists of a blue checkered shield with a lion holding a sword in one hand and arrows in the other hand. The central lion is the same as the lion on the oldest coat of arms of Nassau, dating from the 13th century. Above the shield is a royal crown. Two lions support the shield on either side. Below the shield is a ribbon with the motto: "I shall maintain" in French

National Anthem Anthem Title: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe

Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Composer: Adrianus Valerius

Adrianus Valerius Lyricist: Unknown

Unknown Year of Completion: 1574

1574 Date of Adoption: 1932 The Netherlands' official national anthem is Wilhelmus van Nassouwe, or more commonly called Wilhelmus (translation: the William). It is considered to be the oldest national anthem of the world at 440 years old. Popular with the Dutch for centuries, it was not officially recognized as the Netherlands' national anthem until 1932. On most occasions, only the 1st and 6th stanzas (of 15 stanza) are sung. The song was penned during The Netherlands's struggle to gain independance from Spain. It narrates the story of Willem van Oranie, or William of Orange, hislife and his reason as to why he is fighting with the King of Spain. The song is told from the point of view of William, with the anthem's lyrics written in first person. There is some confusion regarding the consideration of Wilhelmus as the oldest national anthem in the world. This is attributed to the fact that Kimigayo, Japan's national anthem, has the oldest lyrics in the world, with the words written during the 9th century but the melody composed in the 19th century. The anthem was created as the official song for the House of Orange and supporters. The lyrics are of unknown origin. The first melodic arrangement for Wilhelmus was created in 1574. In 1626, Adrianus Valerius, a Dutch composer, successfully slowed down the tempo of the melody in order for the anthem to be easily sung in church. The melody used in the current version is an arrangement by Walther Boe from 1932. Wilhelmus ben ik, van Duitsen bloed, den vaderland getrouwe blijf ik tot in den dood. Een Prinse van Oranje ben ik, vrij, onverveerd, den Koning van Hispanje heb ik altijd geeerd. Mijn schild ende betrouwen zijt Gij, o God mijn Heer, op U zo wil ik bouwen, Verlaat mij nimmermeer. Dat ik doch vroom mag blijven, uw dienaar t'aller stond, de tirannie verdrijven die mij mijn hart doorwondt. The William William of Nassau, scion Of a Dutch and ancient line, Dedicate undying Faith to this land of mine. A prince I am, undaunted, Of Orange, ever free, To the king of Spain I've granted A lifelong loyalty. A shield and my reliance, O God, Thou ever wert. I'll trust unto Thy guidance. O leave me not ungirt. That I may stay a pious Servant of Thine for aye And drive the plagues that try us And tyranny away.

The Currency of Netherlands is the Euro

Netherlands, like most of the European countries, use the Euro as its official currency. The Euro was adopted as the countrys official currency in 2002, although the currency itself has been in use in the Netherlands since 1999 but only by electronic means and travelers check. Travelers visiting the Netherlands are often advised to convert their currencies to euro since no other currency apart from the euro is accepted in the country. The euro currency, like in other EU countries, is meant to eliminate headaches that European travelers would experience prior to the introduction of Euro. The euro came in both coins and banknotes in a wide range of denominations. Prior to the adoption of Euro, Dutch guilder was the Netherlands currency. Euro Banknotes And Coins The euro currency was minted both in coins and banknotes. Coins were minted in several denominations ranging from 1 to 50 cents and  1 and  2. All the coins feature Queen Beatrix on the reverse. Banknotes were issued in the denominations of 5 to 500 euros.Coins tend to be more prominent in the Netherlands than the banknotes since most of the local businesses refuse to accept banknotes of larger denominations. While most of the Eurozone countries do not accept 1 and 2 cents, the denominations are still widely acceptable

euro Banknote 20 euro Banknote euro Coin 1 euro Coin

Historical Currencies of the Netherlands Dutch Guilder The Dutch guilder was the Netherlands currency between the 1680s and 2002 when it was officially replaced by the euro. The guilder became a subunit of the euro between 1999 and 2002 with payments mainly done in guilder since there were no euro coins and banknotes. The term gulden was a Dutch adjective for golden indicating that the currency coins were made of gold. The currency was denoted by f or fl symbol derived from an old currency known as Florin. The original guilders had the image of Pallas Athena upstanding while holding a spear with a hat on top of it. The guilders replaced the silver coins that circulating in the United Netherlands. It was replaced by the French franc between 1810 and 1814 but was readopted after the Napoleonic wars. The guilder became decimalized in 1817 with one guilder subdivided into 100 cents. However, the last pre-decimal coin was withdrawn in 1848. The guilder was replaced by the euro in 2002 at an exchange rate of one euro for 2.20371 guilders. The banknotes that were in circulation at the time of the change of currency can still be exchanged until 2032. Dutch Guilder Coins And Banknotes Dutch guilders were minted in both coins and banknote. The first coins were made of silver, gold, and copper in different denominations. The circulating coins were redesigned in 1982 after the coronation of Queen Beatrix featuring the profile of the queen. The production of the guilder coins ceased after 2001. At the time of conversation, the circulating coins were in the denominations of 5, 10, and 25 cents, 1 and 5 guilders. Banknotes were in the denominations ranging from 5 to 1000 guilders. The notes depicted several Dutch celebrities including Joost Van den Vondel, Frans Hals, and Baruch de Spinoza.
Mongolia is a multi-party state and is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic with the executive power in the country being exercised by the President of the Republic and the Government. While the legislative power is vested in the parliament and government, the judiciary of Mongolia is independent of the legislative and the executive. Before the year 2008, the voting system of Mongolia was a "winner takes it all" type which discouraged strict party discipline. Following new electoral laws introduced in the country, the Mongolian People's Party claimed victory over the governing Democratic Party during the 2016 elections.

The Executive Branch Of The Government Of Mongolia

The Mongolian President is not only the Head of the National Security, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces but also the Head of State. Candidates vying for the presidency are nominated only by parties that have seats in the Mongolian parliament. The president is elected to serve a term of four years by popular vote. One can serve only as president for two terms and is popularly elected by a national majority leader. According to the Constitution of Mongolia, the president is responsible for calling for the dissolution of government, issuing decrees; veto all parts of the legislation, proposing a prime minister and initiating legislation. If the president is incapacitated, absent, or resigns, the chairman of the State Great Khural (SGKh) stands in as president until a newly elected president is inaugurated.

The Government Of Mongolia

The leader of the Mongolian government is the prime minister who is appointed by the President to serve a term of four years. Members of the government are also appointed by the president but only after they are proposed by the prime minister. However, if the prime minister is not in consensus with the president on the issue concerning the appointment of members of government in a week's time, he or she is required to submit the issue to the SGKh for the appointment of the cabinet. The Mongolian Cabinet comprises of 13 ministries. The government of Mongolia can only be dismissed under the following conditions; when a motion of censure is voted in by the SGKh, when half of the cabinet simultaneously resigns, or when the Prime Minister resigns.

Parliament Of Mongolia

Mongolia has a unicameral parliamentary system comprising of 76 seats and is also known as the State Great Khural. Parliamentary seats are allocated through a system known as mixed-member proportional representation (MMP). The districts directly elect 48 of the 76 members while the remaining 28 are appointed through proportional representation by the political parties. Members of the State Great Khural elect the speaker and the vice speaker from either a coalition or each party in the government. Both the Vice Speaker and Speaker of Parliament also serve for a term of four years.

The Judicial Branch Of The Government Of Mongolia

All judges in Mongolia are selected by a Judicial General Council (JGC) which is empowered by the country's new constitution; the JGC also protects the rights of the judges. The highest judicial body in Mongolia's legal system is the Supreme Court. The JGC also appoints justices whom the president selects and are confirmed by the State Great Khural. Constitutionally, the Mongolian Supreme Court is empowered to go over all the decisions made by the other lower courts aside from rulings made in specialized courts unless such cases are appealed. The Supreme Court is also responsible for providing official interpretations on all laws apart from the constitution.
Berber people are an ethnic group indigenous to North Africa, occupying regions stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. They speak the Berber languages which belong to the Afro-Asiatic language family. There are about 14 million Berber speakers in North Africa today with the majority found in Libya, Algeria, and Morocco. The majority of the population in North Africa is believed to be either Berber in origin or sharing a common ancestry with the Berbers. Berbers are not entirely a homogeneous ethnicity but include a wide range of societies. Berber language, heritage, and history are considered the major unifying factors of the Berber people.

Berber Languages

Tifinagh script, a Berber alphabet.

Berber languages are closely related and belong to the Afro-Asiatic language group. There are hundreds of dialects among the Berber population, but the vast majority of Berbers speak one of seven dominant Berber dialects. It is not possible to ascertain the exact populations of Berber speakers since most of the Maghreb countries do not have language data. It is estimated that 14 to 20 million people in Africa speak the Berber language. Berber languages include Tarifit, common in Morocco, Kabyle in Algeria, and Tashelhyt in Central Morocco. There has been a strong movement by the Berbers to unite all the languages into a single standard known as Tamazight. Other notable Berber languages include Siwa, Zenanga, and Sanhaja.

History And Origin Of The Berber People

Berbers have inhabited North Africa for many years with records suggesting their presence as early as 3000 BCE. The group is first mentioned in Egyptian writings during the Predynastic Period. For several years they inhabited the coast of North Africa. The Berbers interacted with the European colonialists and invaders of the coastal regions of North Africa who left some imprint upon them. The Sudanic empires and pastoralists from East Africa also had a great influence on the Berber people. The Berbers expanded from the coastal areas of North Africa into Sahara, displacing the earlier inhabitants such as the Azer. However, they were assimilated into North Africa by the Arabs as early as the 11th century. The areas in North Africa that retained the Berber language and traditional beliefs such as Morocco and Kabylie were least exposed to the foreign rule.

Demographics

Nomadic Berbers with dromedaries in the Sahara desert, Morocco.

The majority of the Berber people live in Morocco accounting for at least 35% of the population and in Algeria where they form at least 15% of the population. A sizable number of Berbers are also found in Libya and Tunisia. The majority of the North African Arabs also have Berber ancestry. Outside of North Africa, there are about 2.5 million Tuaregs in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Tuaregs are traditionally nomadic Berbers inhabiting the vast Sahara Desert. Berbers are stereotyped in Europe as being nomads. However, the majority of Berbers are mainly farmers occupying the mountains close to the Mediterranean coast. Some notable Berbers include Zinedine Zidane, Augustine of Hippo, and Ziri ibn Manada, the founder of the Zirid Dynasty.

Culture And Religion

Culturally, Berber men take care of migrating livestock with the seasons, seeking water and grass for the animals while women take care of the family. Their social structure is tribal with a leader appointed to lead the tribe. Most of the tribe leaders are men, though many women like Tin Hinan and Tazoughert are known to have governed their tribes. Most of the Berbers are Sunni Muslims but the majority incorporate traditional practices in their worship. Traditional practices tend to dominate rural areas where Berbers outnumber Arabs. Before conversion to Islam, some Berbers had converted to Christianity while others practiced polytheism.
Who Are The Chechens?

The Chechens are a Caucasian ethnic group which originated from the North Caucasus region, Eastern Europe. They were named after a Russian village referred to as Chechen-Aul. Chechens refer to themselves as Vainakhs meaning our people. The term Vainakh is used by both the Chechen and Ingush people. A large number of Chechens currently live in the Chechen Republic, which is a Russian federal state. They have settled around the isolated terrain of the Caucasus Mountains. The Chechens are egalitarian and organized in local clan groups known as teips.

Geographical Areas Inhabited By The Chechens

As much as most Chechens live in Chechnya, others are found in Dagestan, Moscow, and Ingushetia located in the Russian territory. Furthermore, the countries of Kazakhstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Jordan are also inhabited by Chechens. As a result of the Chechen Wars, thousands of Chechen refugees have also settled in the European Union.

The History Of The Chechens

The Chechens are part of the Vainakh peoples. They were influenced by the Byzantine and Georgian cultures. Consequently, some Chechens converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. About the same time, Islam religion began to infiltrate the Chechen society. Nevertheless, the Chechen pagan religion still prevailed until the 19th Century. One challenge that the Chechens had to deal with in the 13th and 14th Century was the invasion by the Mongolians and Tamerlane. They successfully resisted the Mongols, albeit at a cost of massive destruction of their state. The Chechens then moved into the lowlands of Caucasus in the late Middle Ages. Their neighbors became the Ottomans and Persians. However, in the 16th Century, the Russians began to expand towards the region were the Chechens, Ottomans, and Persians dwelt. They were resisted by these people leading to the Russio-Persian War which took place in 1722-1723. The Russians defeated the Persians, thereby gaining much of the Caucassian territories. Then in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Russians waged war against the Chechens who were described by General Yermolov as a bold and dangerous people. This war which was fought for decades was won by the Russians with the Chechens losing most of their entire population. Most refugees fled to the Ottoman Empire. The Russian victory did not end the rebellion of the Chechens against the Russian/Soviet power. In fact, they tried to regain their independence in the 90s after the fall of the Soviet Union. This led to the formation of the new Russian state known as the Chechen state in 1994. Clearly, the Chechens are relentless in their quest for independence.

The Culture Of The Chechens

Before the Chechens adopted Islam, they practiced many beliefs and traditions. For instance, they engaged in rituals like rain rites, the Day of Thunderer Sela, and the Day of the Goddess Tusholi. They also preserved their history in stories and epic poems known as illesh. The Chechen society is structured in clans, that is about 130 teips. The teips are made up of gars (branches), and gars made up of nekye (patronymic families). The Chechen culture has cultivated in them a Chechen character which is a strong sense of nationhood. Their national animal is the wolf which is derived from their belief that the Chechens are free and equal like wolves. Chechens value their freedom and this can be seen in their daily practices such as a simple greeting which is marsha oylla which means enter into freedom. They are predominantly Muslims.
The Tibetan people inhabit Tibet Autonomous Region, parts of Nepal, India, and Bhutan. They are native to Tibet and number approximately 7.8 million. They primarily speak the Tibetan languages. In 1956, China forcibly incorporated Tibet into the People's Republic of China and considers it as one of its provinces.

Origin Of The Tibetan People

Recent genetic analysis of the Tibetan Y-chromosomes revealed that the Tibetan people emerged from a subgroup of Han Chinese who migrated westwards along the upper Yellow River region and ended up in Southern Himalayan region. They mingled with the local communities which included people from Central Asia, northeastern India, Bhutan, and Nepal.

Where Do They Live?

The most recent census conducted in 2014 revealed that the Tibet Autonomous Region was home to 2.2 million Tibetans. They total approximately 7.5 million including those residing overseas. They were also found in large numbers India, Nepal, and Bhutan. According to Central Tibetan Administration, the number of Tibetans is on a decline compared to 1959, although the Chinese government refutes this and claims that the number is on the rise. The Chinese government states that improved living conditions and lifestyle have led to the rise of the population of the Tibetan people.

Languages Spoken By Thr Tibetan People

The Tibetan language is classified a Tibeto-Burman language. The language consists of several dialects and sub-dialects which include the Central Tibetan, Amdo and Kang which are not mutually intelligible. Other forms of the Tibetan language are spoken in northern Pakistan, Ladakh, Baltistan, and Kashmir. The Tibetan language is stylized and adheres to the traditional social hierarchy. Honorific terms are used to communicate to equals or superiors while ordinary words are used when speaking to the socially inferior. The written form of the Tibetan language is used in Buddhist literature; the phonetic system was created based on the Sanskrit language that was developed in India. It consists of four vowels, five inverted letters, and thirty consonants. Sentences are structured to flow from right to left

Religion Of The Tibetan People

A large proportion of the Tibetans practise Tibetan Buddhism and traditional beliefs known as Bon. According to Tibetan legend, Lhatotori Nyentsen the 28th King envisioned a sacred treasure from heaven which he attributed to the Buddhist sutra and several religious objects. Buddhism in Tibet took root after King Songtsen Gampo married a princess. It became popular in the 8th century. Tibetans continue to practice the religious practice of placing Mani stones in public places. The Buddhist and Bon lamas conduct religious ceremonies and care for sacred places.

Culture Of The Tibetan People

The Tibetan people have a rich and diverse culture. The Bathing Festival is the observed by a large majority and is conducted during birth, marriage, and death. The Tibetan art center on religion; sculptures and wooden carving portray religious beliefs. The Ihamo (folk opera) involves dancing, songs, and chants drawn from Buddhist history and stories. Most ceremonies are characterized by colorful masks. Several ancient forms are still used today despite the development of the modern drugs. More than 200 plant and 40 animal species are used to treat different diseases. Their primary food crop is barley which is used in making the tsampa, the staple food. Dairy products are also consumed in large amounts while meat, particularly mutton, are prepared into a spicy stew.
Concerns Raised Over Weedkiller Chemical  Council Say It Has EU Approval

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Jul 12th, 2017

A Wrexham Councillor has raised concerns over a chemical used to control weeks, with the Council pointing out the active ingredient glyphosate is approved for use in the EU.

Cartrefle councillor Ronnie Prince, pictured above, has said: Wrexham Council sprays Roundup all over the Borough to control weeds and yet there is raging controversy as to the safety of Roundup and its active ingredient  Glyphosate. In 2015 the World Health Organisation said that Roundup contained an active ingredient that is classed as probably carcinogenic to humans.

In the Lancet Oncology dated 2015, it stated that a key ingredient was carcinogenic for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma is now stated to be the fifth most common cancer in the UK.

Cllr Prince also cited TV presenter Chris Packhams campaign over the substance, which called for a ban  however the National Farmers Union strongly criticised the information put out citing nine reports concluding it is safe to use.

Cllr Prince said: Whilst the controversy rages on wouldnt it be prudent of this Council to discontinue the use of Roundup until it is proved one way or another to be safe or otherwise, because in the future if it were proved to be carcinogenic or detrimental in other ways to human health, and we had our doubts now at this time, would the Council be held accountable?

He added: I will be asking the Council to review its policy of controlling weeds in the Borough and its use of Roundup at this time. I will also be asking for a Health and Safety investigation to take place on the methods used in the spraying of Roundup in my, and other wards in the Wrexham area at this present time.

We asked Wrexham Council if they were comfortable with use of Roundup, and if with the concerns being raised is the use of it being paused.

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, told us: Glyphosate is an effective herbicide used to treat weed growth. It is used by Streetscene staff in Wrexham, as part of weed control in the County Borough.

In terms of the safety of glyphosate. We are guided by HSE advice on the use of herbicides. I refer to the Health and Safety Executive website information on glyphosate, the active ingredient in Round Up.

Glyphosate is currently approved for use as a herbicide (weed killer) in the EU. Approval was granted in 2002, based on a review of mammalian toxicology, ecotoxicology and other data. The current approval expires on 31 December 2017 at the latest.

Neither the EUs assessment of glyphosate as an active substance nor the UKs assessments of applications for authorisation of products which contain it have found the substance unacceptable for use.

WCBC ensures that operatives in Streetscene use the correct personal protection equipment and are properly trained and certificated in how to use the spray correctly. Any Streetscene staff using the herbicide will hold a PA1, PA2 or PA 6 certification, depending on the usage.

Top picture: Councillor Ronnie Prince being shown use of Roundup by a Council tenant, in this case near an open rainwater drain.
Justin Trudeaus Liberal government has ordered the Canadian military and the countrys signals intelligence agency, the Communications Security Establishment or CSE, to collaborate in the development of cyberwar capabilities.

Last month, the Liberals presented a new defence policy aimed at giving the military the hard power to aggressively assert Canadian imperialist interests and ambitions around the globe. It calls for military spending to be hiked by more than 70 percent over the next decade, to $32.7 billion. This includes funds for an expanded fleet of fighter jets, 15 new warships, armed drones, and the recruitment of 5,000 additional military personnel. The new policy also says that the development of offensive cyberwar capabilities must be a top priority for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

Toward this end, the defence policy paper calls for the creation of a new Cyber Mission Assurance Program as well as a new job category of cyber operator within the military in order to significantly increase the number of military personnel dedicated to cyberwar functions. The CAF also plans to use reservists with specialized skill-sets to fill elements of its new cyber force.

Two weeks after the defence policy announcement, the government tabled legislation (Bill C-59) that would give the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canadas counterpart to the US National Security Agency (NSA), new powers to launch cyberattacks against foreign targets, including states computer infrastructure and communications networks.

Bill C-59 is the Liberals promised reform of Bill C-51, the anti-democratic law Stephen Harpers Conservative government passed in 2015 under the fraudulent pretext of fighting terrorism. The Liberals new legislation, however, upholds Bill C-51s main attacks on fundamental democratic rights, including granting the security agencies virtually unrestricted access to personal information collected by other government agencies.

Like Bill C-51, Bill C-59 empowers CSIS, the countrys primary domestic spy service, to actively disrupt so-called threats to national security and, if necessary, to use illegal means to do so. And going beyond Harpers legislation, Bill C-59 expands CSIS power to store and analyze electronic data and share it with the other spy agencies.

CSE and CSIS carry out mass surveillance operations that violate the constitutional rights of millions of Canadians and others around the world, and are implicated in conducting espionage activities against foreign countries, their leaders, opposition movements, and corporate rivals of Canadian big business.

But elements within the political establishment and the security and military apparatuses have long criticized the limited defensive character of the spying agency operations and called for the arming of CSE with cyber war capabilities.

Bill C-59 would enable CSE, with the approval of the ministers of defence and foreign affairs, to engage in offensive actions such as shutting down servers, planting malware on phones or other devices, and disrupting online information.

Bill C-59 also provides the legal cover for CSE to integrate its operations more closely with the Canadian military. To be sure, CSE already works closely with the CAF, Public Safety Canada, Global Affairs Canada and Shared Services Canada on cyber issues. CSE provided intelligence to the Canadian military during the Afghan war, with retired CAF head General John Adams boasting in 2010 that over half of the actionable intelligence that Canadian soldiers used in prosecuting the Afghan War came from the CSE.

Now, however, the spy agency will be able to wage aggressive cyberwarfare and is mandated to work with military in waging offensive cyberwar operations.

Defence Minister Harjitt Sajjan, who expressed strong support for CSE/CAF integration, explained that What [the section of Bill C-59 pertaining to the CSE] doesis allow the CSE to assist the Canadian Armed Forces, which was not the case before. The new law allows CSE to be able to (use) their specialized tools and skills to make sureour interests are protected.

The integration of the spying agencies with the military is part of a more aggressive, imperialist foreign policy demanded by the Canadian ruling class, which the Trudeau government is fully committed to enforcing. One day prior to Sajjans presentation of the new defence policy, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland delivered a speech in which she vowed that Canada must resort to hard power, i.e. war, to uphold its interests abroad. She also insisted on the maintenance of Ottawas strategic partnership with US imperialism, and the need for increased military spending.

One important mechanism for the expansion of joint Canada-US military-security operations will be the US National Security Agency-led Five Eyes, a vast spying network also involving the signal intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. In fact, with its new cyber measures the Canadian state is aligning its practices with those of its partners, which are using the pretext of Russias and Chinas development of cyberwar capabilities to dramatically increase the powers of their spy and cyber agencies.

Cyberattacks can have a devastating impact on economic and social organization. In 2010, the US, in collaboration with Israel, launched a cyberattack (using the NSA-made Stuxnet worm) on Irans nuclear enrichment plant at Natanz which forced some 1,000 centrifuges to self-destruct.

Last May, a cyber weapon concocted by the NSA was stolen and used by a group of hackers to infect some 350,000 computers. 70,000 devices such as MRI scanners, blood storage refrigerators and operating equipment used by Britains National Health Service were also targeted, forcing the NHS to turn away emergency room patients and divert ambulances, thus risking patients health and even their lives.

The Canadian ruling elite and the media have cynically welcomed the draconian Bill C-59 for its creation of a super watch-dog committee which will replace the Security and Intelligence Review Committee. In fact, the new National Security and Intelligence Review Agency will be staffed with tried and trusted representatives of the ruling class, and will not be accountable to the public. A National Security Commissioner will be tasked to work with the security agencies to establish legal cover for their operations, including CSIS disruption campaigns.

Defence Minister Sajjan acknowledged that in the case of CSE and cyberwar, details of any attack will not be made public. "Just like any other type of (military) operation, it goes through a very strict process and obviously for national security reasons, we can't outline a lot of the work that is being done" said Sajjan. A provision within Bill C-59 also states that CSE can take whatever precautions necessary to maintain the covert nature of its cyberattacks.

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President Donald Trump issued a statement on Monday celebrating the liberation of Mosul as a victory over terrorists who are the enemies of all civilized people.

The fate of Iraqs second-largest city and that of the country as a whole, however, has proven that when it comes to enemies of humanity, ISIS is a bit player compared to US imperialism.

This city, which three years ago had a population of nearly two million, has been subjected to a murderous siege that dragged on for nearly nine months. The scenes of destruction in Mosul are comparable only to the kind of devastation that was wrought upon European cities in the Second World War. The Old Town of western Mosul, the heart of this ancient city, has been largely flattened by US missiles, bombs and shells, with hardly a single residential or commercial building left intact.

The crimes carried out against the civilian population are on a Hitlerian scale. Close to one million people have been driven from their homes. Those trapped in the city were subjected to a continuous bombardment by US warplanes, attack helicopters and heavy artillery. Early on in the siege, the destruction of basic infrastructure and the cutting off of all supply routes deprived hundreds of thousands of men, women and children of electricity, clean drinking water and access to adequate food and medical care.

The total number of dead and wounded may never be known. Buried in the reports of the victory celebrations by the US-backed Iraqi forces is the grim fact that these troops were dancing on rubble amid the unmistakable stench of rotting corpses.

The monitoring group Airwars has documented the deaths of 5,805 civilians as a result of attacks launched by the US-led coalition between February and June of 2017. There is no doubt that this figure, which excludes casualties during the first four months of the siege as well as those resulting from the intense bombardment of the past three weeks, is a serious underestimate. Tens of thousands more have been wounded.

Among those escaping from the besieged city, boys and men were treated as ISIS suspects, in many cases subjected to interrogation, brutal torture and summary execution, all under the approving eyes of American Special Forces advisers.

Amnesty International issued a report Tuesday titled At Any Price: The Civilian Catastrophe in West Mosul, in which it recounted that civilians were subjected to a terrifying barrage of fire from weapons that should never be used in densely populated civilian areas.

In Amnestys typically cautious fashion in dealing with the US government, the report stated that US-led coalition forces appear to have committed repeated violations of international law, some of which may amount to war crimes. The organization is calling for the convening of independent and transparent investigations where there is credible information that violations of international humanitarian law have taken place, in order to prosecute those reasonably suspected of responsibility for war crimes.

While Amnesty indicts ISIS with far greater conviction than it does the US military, it raises no questions as to who is responsible for ISIS in the first place, much less the historical roots of the human catastrophe inflicted upon Mosul.

When it swept across Iraq three years ago, seizing Mosul and roughly one-third of the countrys territory and exposing the rotten foundations of the US-trained Iraqi security forces, ISIS had been well-armed, funded and trained for use as a proxy force in the wars for regime change orchestrated by the CIA and Washingtons regional allies, first in Libya and then in Syria.

The roots of the emergence of Al Qaeda-linked Sunni militias in Iraq, however, lie in the quarter-century of war, sanctions, invasion and occupation inflicted by US imperialism on the oil-rich country, resulting in the decimation of an entire society, the loss of well over a million lives, and the turning of millions more into homeless refugees.

In pursuit of a divide-and-rule strategy, the US occupation stoked sectarian divisions in Iraq, with particularly bloody results in Mosul, with its broad intermingling of ethnic and religious groups. Subsequently, the Shia-dominated government installed in Baghdad persecuted the Sunni majority of Mosul and Anbar province, creating fertile soil for ISIS.

The overriding source of the disasters that have befallen the people of Mosul, Iraq and the broader Middle East is the unprovoked war of aggression launched by the US in 2003 on the basis of lies about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. At the time, apologists for US imperialism promoted the war with the charge that Saddam Hussein kills his own people. The late Iraqi ruler, however, would be amazed at the scale of death and destruction Washington has been able to inflict upon his country over the course of the past 14 years.

If the legal principles and criteria employed by the prosecutors at Nuremberg were applied today, there would be many in Washington facing life in prison, if not execution. These include George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the US administration that launched an unprovoked war of aggression, the main charge for which the surviving leaders of the Third Reich were tried.

In addition, there is Barack Obama and the leading figures in his administration and military-intelligence apparatus. Elected largely on the basis of misplaced hope that he would put an end to US wars, Obama continued them in both Iraq and Afghanistan and expanded US interventions into Libya and Syria. It was under his administration that the siege of Mosul was launched.

Finally, there are the criminals within the Trump administration, from the president to his defense secretary, Gen. James Mad Dog Mattis, who proclaimed a policy of annihilation in Iraq and Syria, to the generals and CIA chiefs who have implemented this policy of mass slaughter.

Both major political parties, a media that has become a shameless instrument of war propaganda, the corporations and banks seeking to counter American capitalisms decline by means of militarism and war, and every other major American institution are responsible for the war crimes in Mosul and those that have been carried out throughout Iraq and the rest of the region over the past decade-and-a-half.

Complicit as well are the US academics who have maintained a discreet silence on the crimes and lies that pervade US policy, not to mention the various pseudo-left organizations that have enlisted themselves in support of imperialism under the disreputable banner of human rights.

If action were taken on Amnestys proposal to prosecute those reasonably suspected of responsibility for war crimes, the defendants dock in Washington would be crowded indeed. Yet no one has been held accountable for these crimes.

Settling accounts with Washingtons war criminals is the task of the American working class, united in struggle with the working people of Iraq, the rest of the Middle East and the entire planet. Under conditions in which escalating militarism in the Middle East and around the globe threaten to coalesce into another world war, the fight to build a new mass antiwar movement based on the working class and the youth and directed against the capitalist system assumes ever greater urgency.